#some bad deeds are justified in the name of the greater good

[sideblog-d-azariah]

totally agree. unconditional love is such an important part of the Christian religion in general. i think a lot of people tend to just dismiss our religion as being some old fads or imaginary creations but they don't understand that like. God is love. the very existence of love shows us that He exists. The morals, practices, traditions and everything else is based on love, as an expression of it.

one of the religions that really appealed to me at a certain point was Buddhism. but what always nagged me at the back of my mind was how all the Buddhist understandings of life stemmed from a desire to avoid suffering and break the cycle of life. isn't there something greater than suffering? isn't life beautiful? why must my entire life be dedicated to running away from suffering? and Christianity provided me the answer. there is something greater than suffering, and that is love. all suffering is worth enduring as long as you have love in your heart. that's when i realized that Buddhism sorta started off from a flawed premise/question, which revolved around how to escape suffering rather than find something of meaning to endure it for.

I went from Catholic, to Agnostic, to Atheist, to Wicca, to Neopagan, to Buddhist, but what all of these other religions lack is one simple ingredient:

Unconditional love.

Only God loves unconditionally. All these other religions or movements promise something different: Self-Masterey, Worshipping of your own self, shallow Gods who only care about themselves etc.

Only Catholicism has a God who loves you unconditionally. Who tells you: "Come as you are. Do not be ashamed of your problems. I am here to help you. I am Love!"

And that is why I love being Catholic.

[xaracosmia]

ꕥ — WELCOME TO NEFE COSMIA, FAINA KUZMINA. 🌓

ꕥ  — ooc information;

name / alias: juni age: 21 pronouns: he/she ooc contact: akashicart twitter other characters in xc: aigis, arthur granvelle, haru okumura

ꕥ  — ic information;

name: faina kuzmina age: 28 pronouns: she/her series: original character canon point: n/a app triggers: organized crime, child endangerment, description of violence

personality:

the self that faina projects to the world is very specific: a woman shrouded in mystery, her true intentions often kept nebulous— but it’s hard to worry too much about that with her kind, warm smile and cheerily accommodating nature. she keeps a perpetually level head, unfazed by any bumps in the road or setbacks to her plans. she just seems to take everything in stride. she’s also very playful and likes teasing people, although it’s always light-hearted.

chipper and sociable, she can come across as a bit of an ditz— a little bit forgetful (especially when it comes to remembering names) and little bit of an airhead. at the very least, it doesn’t seem to get in the way of doing her job properly: if nothing else, faina is very good at what she does. her brilliance and intuition are unrivaled, although she tends to underplay them.

you might notice that she’s never truly present in most chats, deeply entrenched within her own thoughts and only sharing few of her own insights. in fact, faina prefers to divulge as little information about herself as possible. her words are often lined with hidden meanings and a strange sense of awareness, like she knows something you don’t.

but to some, there might be something off about her, contradictions in her behavior that border on unsettling. for someone apparently so scatterbrained, she’s oddly perceptive and frighteningly calculating. her motivations are always kept under wraps, but her ambition never is. she works awfully hard for someone who claims to hate working. she has a habit of staring. sometimes it feels like she’s staring right through you.

the reality is that, while she’s not entirely two-faced, faina isn’t honest, either. she’s ruthless, unrelenting, near machiavellian in her approach. while not outright unkind or cruel, she’s a firm believer in the ends justifying the means... but she recognizes that not everyone will see things her way, so she has a habit of obfuscating the truth to make it more palatable— though she avoids lying when possible. faina is the kind of person who will do something she believes is good for you whether you like it or not, someone who truly believes she knows best and *wants* the best for you. she has a rigid moral code and a strong sense of justice, and though she’s long since given up on fitting into the conventional model of a “good person”, she still tries to do good in her own way.

managing to somehow be both incredibly arrogant and have an incredibly low self-opinion, her ambition is most of all guided by her guilt. every life is precious and yet, there have been many that she’s sacrificed all the same, but it’s not something that she takes lightly. no bad deed is every taken out of malice or true selfishness, and she genuinely believes that every action she takes is in service of some “greater good”. that’s why none of it can be in vain, and why she’s so dedicated to reaching her goals. just a few more corpses to step over until she gets there.

something your muse struggles with:

insincerity and arrogance.

your muse’s greatest strength:

intelligence and determination.

history / background:

the luo family rules amaranth’s criminal underground with an iron fist. the kormos family sidles themselves comfortably right next to them, as their advisors.

faina luo has never known another way of life. while her parents would discuss business in dimly lit backrooms, she’d be relegated to sitting in the corner with her sister, katya, and the two sons of the heads of the kormos, loukas and damien.

she’s known damien for as far back as she can remember. she’s pretty sure he’s her best friend, but it’s not like there’s anyone else who could claim the title. even from the time that she was small, connecting with others had always been an empty pursuit. she has people she calls “friends”, but she feels nothing for them— they’re there to play games with her and do what she says and follow her around, but nothing more. she feels similarly towards her own family. damien is the only person in the whole world who she really cares for.

at school, she’s the queen bee. she’s a bitch— a mean girl who starts scuffles in the hallways that she rarely wins, but she still sits at the top of the social food chain. she can’t remember the names of any of the girls who trail after her after classes, her little posse. although her grades are nothing short of exemplary, she’s a delinquent, a punk, who gets into fights and spray paints profanity over freshly repainted buildings and flips off any figure of authority who raises an eyebrow at her. everyone either fears her or wants what she has.

she never really gets into trouble for any bad behavior. her parents are always too busy to even notice if she’s up to no good. sometimes they ask her to run errands for them or sit down at “family meetings”, and she obliges, oblivious to the true nature of it all as she texts her friends on her phone. faina thinks she’s on top of the world.

one night, when she’s about fourteen, she’s skulking back home alone when she hears a brief altercation. her curiosity leads her to a back alleyway just in time to watch three men push someone to the ground and shoot him in the head.

she recognizes the men. they’re family friends. they’re people who hang around her parents, who always give her expensive gifts for her birthday, who pat her head when they walk past her. faina stares, frozen stiff, before panic seizes her and she bolts.

it’s dark, and the men don’t know that it’s her. they give chase, likely with the intention of permanently silencing a witness to their cold-blooded murder. just when faina thinks she’s gotten away, a hand grabs her collar and drags her backwards.

... of course, they immediately realize that it’s the bosses’ kid daughter. she’s offered profuse apologies, one puts his coat around her shoulders as she shivers from fear, and they keep asking her—

why did you run?

just like that, the fantasyland she was living in ebbs and falls away. she realizes the reality of her situation, the reason that her friends stuck to her side when she treated them like they were worth nothing, why every adult in her life never seemed to find fault with her— they weren’t afraid of her, they were afraid of her family. this whole time, she’d been raised by murderers and gangsters.

seemingly out of nowhere, faina starts behaving. she’s watchful of what she says, what she does, she’s kinder, softer, politer, sweeter— a little angel. it turns out that you can be someone else besides the person you’re perceived as, so she takes advantage. and she starts planning.

she can’t stay here. these people are killers, and despite her shitty behavior in the past, she has always had a strong moral compass and she refuses to stick by such horrible people and take up their way of life. as usual, she confides in damien about her intention to run away and live an honest life outside of the undergrowth. she won’t be like her parents. damien, for all intents and purposes, seems entirely into the idea. he’s being mistreated by his brother, he doesn’t enjoy the things he’s made to do, he complains with her for hours about the injustice of it all. so the two of them will make their escape together and leave all of this behind them.

or so she thinks. the opportunity comes four years later, and damien just... refuses to go. he actually likes his life, he says, he doesn’t want to leave yet, he didn’t think she was serious, he needs more time. they argue heatedly and she says the nastiest things she can think of before she turns around and walks out, leaving him behind.

this definitely throws a wrench in her plans. she had never wanted to be on her own, but here she is— wandering the streets as far away from her family as her feet can take her, and as prepared as she is, it doesn’t feel like enough. she’s angry, sad, scared out of her mind.

faina knows she can’t survive on her own, so she finds people to involve herself with, searching for a new home. it never works out, finding herself used and played and manipulated and scapegoated and then tossed back out on the streets at every turn.

once again, she’s forced to realize how sheltered her worldview was— there really is no escape from the corruption and crime that bleeds into every corner of amaranth. there was never even any point in running away in the first place, but there’s still no way she’s going back.

it sickens her. she wants it to end. she wants to be the one to end it.

so once again, she switches gears. knowing that there’s no way she can bring down the assembly through honest, conventional means, faina decides to work instead from the shadows— re-infiltrating the undergrowth to destroy it from the inside out.

although she has a high school diploma, she’s never attended a university, but somehow she manages to snag a job as a detective at a seedy private investigation agency. she makes a name for herself in no time at all, quickly moving up through the ranks.

to keep up with her steady climb up the ladder, she decides to contract herself to a demon. making deals with demons is just about the shadiest business there is, but she’ll do what she has to in order to keep moving. a crow with beady, yellow eyes appears before her and she makes a deal with him— his power for her body upon her death. seems fair enough. what’s she gonna need her body for after she’s dead, anyway?

yes, she does what she has to. what she “has to” includes intimidation, blackmail, slander, organizing assassinations, violence and murder, the very activities she ran away from so she’d never have to be involved with. everything she finds herself doing weighs heavily on her mind, and some nights the guilt threatens to eat her alive.

she starts her own investigative agency, of which she’s the lead detective. although she acts under the pretense of investigating and arresting members of the undergrowth to bring them to justice, what she’s really doing is infiltrating, worming her way back in. she doesn’t need her family, she has her own connections, and she’s working her way up to the top. she’ll be the one sitting on the golden throne, setting things to how they should be.

when she’s about twenty-four, she crosses paths with emiliano montrose, a man she immediately recognizes as the goon of damien’s brother, loukas. she pulls a gun on him, threatening to kill him, but he makes a convincing appeal and she decides to take him on as her own lackey, a double agent of sorts. he has his own reasons and she’s fully of aware of them, but he’s as loyal as a dog and amusing to boot, so he becomes something like her right-hand man.

there’s much that remains to be done, though, and faina is determined to see it finished before she dies. she’s faina kuzmina for now, but one day she’ll go toe to toe with her family, and after she destroys them and the family name, she can be faina luo again.

powers / abilities:

ANGEL EYES. a power attained through a contract with a demon. by making direct eye contact with another, she is able to "swap bodies" with her target and possess them for as long as eye contact is maintained. breaking eye contact will immediately deactivate it. in this state, her original body is paralyzed and her target will not be able to move it. after the ability ends, both she and the target will retain full memory of what transpired. hence, she rarely uses her power unless her intention is to kill the target. using this power requires great focus and concentration, as the target’s body will instinctively fight to “expel” the anomaly possessing it. for every second this power is active, faina loses one day of her life.

inherent abilities:

ENHANCED PHYSIOLOGY. due to her demonic contract, faina’s capabilities exceed those of a normal human. she’s faster, stronger, hardier and her five senses are heightened. though, not to a particularly remarkable extent.

items / weapons:

DAGGER. a small, unremarkable blade that her father gave to her as a child for self-defense. she always keeps it on her person, hidden underneath her sleeve.

HANDGUN. a 9mm pistol she carries underneath her coat. she has other guns, but this is her preferred choice of firearm as it’s not out of the ordinary for a detective to keep one.

starting ability: NOTHING

starting item: dagger

extra:

not to be taken seriously

discord id: himejoshiguy

[warrioreowynofrohan]

Redemption Arcs in the Stormlight Archive

As far as I can tell, there are two main types of redemption arcs in the Stormlight Archive.

The first kind is by far the more common; we see it with Dalinar, Szeth, Elhokar, and Venli, and we see it rejected by Moash and Amaram. It involves the character repenting if the wrong they have done, taking responsibility for it, and seeking to do better. It often also involves the choice to reveal their actions and be answerable for them, most particularly in the case of Dalinar (via writing Oathbringer) and Venli (when she confesses her actions to Rlain, and accepts that he would be quite justified in rejecting her; and likewise when she returns to her people and accepts their hostility and suspicion).

For Szeth, confession is somewhat redundant - there are probably few people in Roshar who don’t know of his actions - but his choice to swear himself to Dalinar (whose brother he killed and whom he tried to kill) and accept imprisonment at Dalinar’s demand, and the scene with Navani showing that he not only accepts being hated but outright wants it, show that he is very willing to be held accountable for his actions. I’m not sure that Elhokar ever actually learns the full consequences of his actions regarding Roshone, but that seems somewhat secondary to the larger point of him realizing he’s a bad king and trying to become better and humbly try to do what he can. (I’ve seen some people say that it’s selfishness for him to go on the mission to Kholinar when he openly acknowledges he think he’ll be more liability than help, but that seems to go against the core theme of Shallan’s arc in the same book - that trying and failing, and learning, and trying again is better than not trying at all.)

The people who reject this form of redemption are the ones who reject responsibility for their actions; they feel guilt, but try to push it aside, rationalize their deeds, and ultimately give into Odium so they can avoid grappling with their guilt. In Moash’s case, the rationalization is everyone is terrible, so if he’s terrible too it’s not like that’s an anomaly or anything he should do anything about. For Amaram (and Taravangian, if you ask me) it’s rationalizing that his actions are for the greater good and trying to deny the selfish motives behind them.

But there’s a second kind of redemption arc that’s a somewhat different path. And this is the part of the essay where I try to talk myself into being okay with Gaz.

Gaz is just an awful person. He’s spiteful, selfish, venal, and petty. He goes out of his way to make Bridge 4 miserable. And - rather like Moash during his Oathbringer mini-arc - he knows it. From TWOK Chapter 30: “He’d hated himself for a long time now. It wasn’t anything new to him.”When Shallan shows up and offers the possibility of a chance to be good, to do right - something he wouldn’t have imagined on his own - he risks his life for it. He experiences people being grateful to him for it. And from that point, he becomes different. He’s openly devoted to Shallan, because she’s the one who offered him this opportunity to be a person he doesn’t hate. When she draws him, he almost cries. He’s, almost unbelievably, happy. In Oathbringer, he actively wants and enjoys the opportunity to make a positive difference. He doesn’t make any attempt to take responsibility for his past actions or apologize to the bridgemen (though, given the change in their respective positions, any apology would be more likely to be taken as cowardice than sincerity), but in the narrative it’s as though his very happiness in his new life makes up for this. He doesn’t carry the change from evil to good as a burden, the way many of the people in the first category do, but as a privilege.

And I think Rhythm of War was what made me start putting that together, because it’s where we see a similar moment of transformation with Leshwi. (Whom I like a good deal more than I do Gaz). The moment Venli reveals herself as a Knight Radiant, Leshwi sees the possibility of another life she wouldn’t have imagined possibile, and reacts with joy. And I’m going to quote the scene, because I find it one of the most beautiful ones in the book.

Leshwi fell to her knees before Venli, not flying, not hovering. On her knees. Venli knelt as well, as Leshwi still held to her face - but the grip softened.

A cool, beautuful light flooded in through the window behind. Like a frozen lightning bolt, brighter than any sphere. Bright as the sun.

“What have you done, Venli?” Leshwi said. “What have you done?”

“I...I swore the First Ideal of the Radiants,” Venli said. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry...” Leshwi said. A joyspren burst about her, beautiful, like a blue storm. “Sorry? Venli, they’ve come back to us! They’ve forgiven us.”

What?

“Please,” Leswhi said to Longing, “ask your spren. Do they know of an honorspren named Riah? She was my friend once. precious to me.”

And then Leshwi immediately changes sides, fighting to defend the unconscious Radiants and the civilians. Because for the girst time in millenia, she has hope that choosing right, choosing good, is even an option. The joyspren says a lot, because Singers don’t attract spren as easily as humans. The wonder, delight, reverence in Leshwi’s reaction is incredibly powerful to me.

So those are our two types of redemption arcs. The people who go looking for it, strive for it, seek it, suffer for it; and the ones to whom it is unimaginable but, when they are unexpectedly offered it, receive it with joy.

[asma-al-husna]

Allah’s name Al-Haleem— The Most Forbearing, The Calm Abiding, The Most Kind and Gentle— occurs eleven times in the Quran. He is the One who keeps on bestowing blessings, both visible and hidden, even though we disobey Him. Al-Haleem can punish us instantly, yet how often He grants us respite in a mild and serene manner, giving us the chance to turn back to Him!

Most Forbearing, Calm Abiding, Most Kind and Serene

Haleem comes from the root Haa-laam-meem, which points three main meanings. The first main meaning is to be forbearing, lenient and to be forgiving and the second is to be calm and serene. The third main meaning is to be not hasty and exhibit moderation.

This root appears 21 times in the Quran in two derived forms. Examples of these forms are ahlaamin (dreams), al-huluma (puberty), ahlaamuhum (their minds), and haleemin (forbearing).

Linguistically, the concept of hilm refers to the patience that arises from a sense of deep serenity and lenience and the concept of sabr points to the patience that arises by self-restraint and enduring something without complaint. Al-Haleem: . . . observes disobedience to Him, yet anger doesn’t incite Him, nor does wrath seize Him, nor do haste and recklessness move Him to rush to take vengeance even though He’s utterly capable of doing that. [Al-Ghazali]

Al-Haleem Himself says: If you loan Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. And Allah is Most Appreciative and Forbearing [Quran, 64:17]. . . And Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing. [Quran, 2:225]

Why does Al-Haleem delay punishment?

Al-Haleem Himself says: And if Allah were to punish people for what they have earned, He would not leave upon the earth any creature. But He gives them respite for a specified term. [Quran, 35:45] Al-Haleem can delay a punishment to give you time to return to Him, seek His forgiveness, and change your ways, because He is forbearing. He can even cancel your punishment altogether. Isn’t Al-Haleem acting out His love for us in an amazing way?

The hilm of people versus the hilm of Allah

Imagine that you got caught doing something bad, but the person let’s it slide and doesn’t punish you or embarrass you. Would you feel embarrassment, relief, and gratitude, telling them you’re not going to do it again and be grateful for their forbearance? What about Allah? Every single day we do things we shouldn’t, and in most instances He lets it go. Because He is Al-Haleem, His hilm is far above any forbearance a human being can ever show.

A beautiful similitude: parents and children

The parental system teaches us about Al-Haleem; the father and mother don’t have any rancour or hatred towards their children. In fact, they’re ready to sacrifice everything for their happiness. In this context Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah, and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allah said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire? We said, No, by Allah, not if she is able not to. The Messenger of Allah said, Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child. [Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] Who imbedded the great mercy and tenderness in a loving mother’s heart? Allah Al-Haleem.

How Can You Live by This Name?

1. Be forbearing to others: contemplate and practice.

No matter your temper, everyone can practice developing forbearance. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to Ashajj ‘Abdu’l-Qays: You have two qualities which Allah loves: forbearance and steadiness. [Muslim]

Is it forbearance when you let it slide once or twice but explode the third time because you have so much rancour inside you? Many relationships get destroyed because of moments of rage. Hilm is when you’re in a position to show your anger but still hold it back. How? Let Al-Haleem inspire you. Another way is to simulate forbearance for the sake of Al-Haleem, even though you feel enraged. Tell yourself: I’m suppressing my anger because I love Him and seek His Love, because I want to be close to Him, and because I would like to obey His messenger.

2. Don’t take advantage of the hilm of Allah.

Al-Haleem says to the people who inherited a garden but didn’t let the poor benefit from it: Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. [Quran, 68:33] This punishment was a wake-up call for them and a mercy, because they realized their mistake. If Allah had allowed them to do as they wanted, their punishment in the Hereafter would be unforeseen. So know that Al-Haleem did set rules out for you and never take advantage of His forbearance.

3. Show a good example to a sinful person.

Never be arrogant to a sinning person and try to advise him gently and by showing a good example. Think to yourself: such a sinful person may, one day, turn to Al-Haleem with sincere repentance and become better and dearer to Allah than I am. Only put a person in check for the sake of Allah, so that they are made aware of the consequences of their actions and return to Allah.

4. Be grateful for the hilm of Allah.

Just like you would be grateful to anyone who overlooks your faults and mistakes, recognize the extreme and intense forbearance of Al-Haleem towards you and return to Him after you sin. And as a way of being thankful to al-Haleem for His forbearance, remember to train yourself to be forbearing.

5. Make dua for hilm.

Make dua to Al-Haleem, asking Him for His forbearance for yourself and your loved ones. And ask Him to forgive you, because only He can protect you from His justified anger.

O Allah Al-Haleem, we know You are the Most Forbearing and You delay and cancel Your Punishment with great Wisdom. Protect us from taking advantage of Your Hilm by persisting in bad deeds, aid us to return to You after we sin, adorn us with gratitude for Your Forbearance and patience in hardships, make us of those who are forbearing and kind to others, never be arrogant and help us to develop hilm in times of anger, ameen!

[sparkletastic-cookiedough]

This, but having a lot of info downloaded into his brain kinda overrides some of his language skills.

Aka: Danny can no longer understand or speak in modern slang. Give him ancient Latin, he can read it. Old timey English where people used those extra letters (I personally mourn the loss of thorne, and believe that letter should be put back in the alphabet, we can get rid of the letter C in exchange.) and Danny can thrive like no other.

Maybe it also gives him historical knowledge, but in really weird ways. It’s instinctual and full of stuff like trivia facts, and general vibes. Danny has both a lot of respect, and a lot of hatred towards famous historical figures like Alexander the Great, or Attila the Hun. (There are two sides to the wars after all.)

Mr. Lancer is very frustrated, because all of the sudden Danny’s spelling is a lot worse. Danny struggles with typing on a computer now as well. It’s to the point where Lancer would worry about brain damage, except Danny is also better at some things now too.

The class was reading Shakespeare, and where most students would struggle a bit with the language, Danny understood things faster and easier.

They were going over Richard III, and Danny hardly needed charts to understand the ancestry. He didn’t stumble at all, just understood on some intrinsic level.

Danny’s science teacher is very confused, and very concerned. Danny keeps trying to bring up humorology. Jazz was talking with him about psychology, and Danny ended up bringing up defunct points about phrenology.

It isn’t all bad. Danny has a lot of knowledge now on things like raising horses, farming, and various mythologies. It isn’t easy for school- he kept getting Greek Myths confused with itself. He knows some stuff from history books is just wrong, that it writes war in cold facts and not the bloody and heartbreaking tragedy that it should be.

For Danny, it can be confusing at times. Almost every fact he knows, his brain labels as wrong. He sees more sides to conflicts than most people, and can’t pick a side without a wave of contradiction. He ends up seeking help from Clockwork, who has awareness of multiple timestreams.

Clockwork gives Danny guidance on how to deal with conflating facts, how to stay in the right moment, how to use his knowledge to his advantage. With help from the Ancients, Danny understands how to balance conflicting feelings. It’s by far Danny’s most difficult power to adapt to, but he grows stronger for it.

Danny ends up solidifying in his protective beliefs. Every person deserves rights and protection, everyone deserves compassion.

Danny is wary of the Justice league. He’s aware of the many people that commit injustice in the name of the law. He knows how people justify horrible acts under the guise of the greater good. How people will let things slide until it’s far too late.

Danny starts perusing his own Justice- the Justice for his people. Lives that lead with no affection, those who do great harm with little benefits, the paragons of true evil- Danny drags them into the realms and holds their souls on trial.

The Justice league is immediately aware and concerned. People have been going missing. Lots of supervillains like Joker or Lex Luthor, but also a few random people.

Only after Batman digs further into the disappearances does he recognize the pattern. Every missing person is some sort of criminal- and usually the worst kind. Stuff that makes Superman pale, makes Wonder Woman shake in fury when Batman goes over it with them in a debrief.

Superman almost wants to just let it continue. Every single person the entity went after was somewhere on the darker end of the villain spectrum. It’s good that they’re gone.

Batman worries. Even if Zatanna and Constantine assured them the kidnapped people were most likely dead, Batman worries that they still might be out there, planning some horrible deed. He’s alert, waiting for Joker to pop out again.

He also disapproves of the entity taking Justice into their own hands like that. Where is the line before the entity grows displeased with every single crime, and kills for anything it disapproves of?

He doesn’t know enough to not be wary.

Wonder Woman has always had faith in the gods. Who is Batman to stand in the way of divine justice? If this death god kills those irredeemable, maybe it’s for the best that they did so.

DP headcannon where instead of Danny knowing all dead languages he gains a teeny tiny amount of the language of somebody who’s died. Like if a Latin person died guess what Danny knows a few Latin words now. And this stuff stacks so if a (very terrible) event happens he could potentially learn entire languages with slang, accent, sayings- the whole package.

Anyways he’s trying to explain to Superman that he’s not kryptonion.

[cruelfeline]

As we all know, I am highly partial to Hordak and find him extremely sympathetic. While I don’t really talk about it much (because this is a Hordak Zone), I also find Catra extremely sympathetic.

The one known villain I don’t find very sympathetic is Shadow Weaver, and I swear it’s not for lack of trying! I’ve read people’s metas. I’ve watched Light Spinner over and over, trying to pick it apart and find that demonstration of SW’s inner turmoil, but it’s all been in vain. And I think I know why. So I’m going to discuss it while using Catra and Hordak as comparisons.

Hordak and Catra both suffer from a poor sense of self-worth and severe difficulty self-validating without the approval/affection of the abusers in their lives. Catra cannot be at peace without proving herself to Shadow Weaver (and Adora, though obviously she’s not an abuser). Hordak cannot be at peace without proving himself to Horde Prime.

I’ve seen it said that Shadow Weaver suffers from the same difficulty: namely one of self-worth and, as often follows, self-loathing. The problem I have with this is that, while I can look at Catra and identify the source of her issue (Shadow Weaver), and I can look at Hordak and identify the same (Horde Prime), I can’t actually look at Shadow Weaver and understand why she supposedly feels the way she does.

The answer to this that I’ve seen floating about is that the ruling guild of Mystacor is the source, that they have never trusted her, that they look down upon her and thus cause her this emotional turmoil. Potentially suggested in the scene pictured above. And I... hm. Hmmm. 

I just don’t see it.

The thing that makes Catra and Hordak’s stories work is that their abusers harm them for no fair reason. 

Catra is essentially abused because she is not Adora (no, I don’t buy SW’s claim that it’s because she sees herself in her, mainly for reasons that we’re discussing in this post right now). 

Hordak is abused first because he suffered physical illness (as far as we currently know; I know various free-will theories abound), and later because he became an “abomination” by daring to exercise his will and take a name. 

Both of these reasons are cruel, unfair, and unjust. There’s no logic behind them save for the ugliness of their perpetrators. There’s nothing anyone can say that can justify little baby Catra’s suffering, and while some may try to support Hordak’s treatment by pointing out his own evil deeds, the fact remains that he is not hurt because of those deeds; he is hurt because he got sick, and later because he has to gall to be his own person.

With Shadow Weaver, this pattern just doesn’t work. Yes, we see the Guild distrust her, shoot her ideas down, reject her proposal, but it’s for a good reason. Her plan is dangerous. It is foolhardy. It is just a bad plan. Mind you, I agree with the sentiment that the Guild should take greater action against the Horde, but that does not mean that Shadow Weaver’s proposal is the right way to do it. 

It would be one thing if she proposed the idea, got shot down, did it anyway, and ended up succeeding, but that’s not what happens. She gets shot down, does it anyway (wrongly thinking she’s altered the spell), risks Micah’s life, risks her own life, becomes a magical parasite, kills some people, and magically consumes a goat man. The Guild may not have trusted her, but the way the narrative works out, it was for good reason.

If the writers want me to group SW in with the likes of Catra and Hordak, even a little, then they should portray her supposed plight as unfair to her. They should, in some way, demonstrate that the Guild didn’t trust her for illogical, unjust reasons. As it stands, the Guild’s distrust ends up being the right call, because Shadow Weaver’s plans end up mutilating her and costing others their lives. And, after this, she follows her powerlust to the Horde, negating any sort of “planet-saving” endgame she may have been able to claim as justification for it all.  

It’s funny; I initially went into the Light Spinner episode really looking forward to connecting with SW in some way, but I came out of it somewhat disappointed. I just don’t feel like the writers made a good case for SW being anything but a power-hungry individual, especially when the Guild rejecting her proposition is followed up with a scene like this:

Focusing on being held back from power, rather than on the Horde, really does not a sympathetic look make. Rather, it makes her look like someone who thinks very highly of herself and is pissed when others don’t agree. It makes her look arrogant, especially with her (failed) claim that she “fixed” the spell of obtainment.

The whole thing just doesn’t give me a sense of her reacting to unfair, unjust, emotionally damaging treatment. Maybe such treatment existed in the past, before the Light Spinner episode, but it’s certainly not shown to us in any way. It’s not even alluded to, and so I’m left with just what I canonically see, which is that SW is angry that her terrible idea is rejected, does the dumb thing anyway, kills some people, and then flounces off to get addicted to Black Garnet huffing. 

I dunno; maybe I’m missing something? I’m certainly open to people showing me whatever sympathy-inducing story I might be overlooking, but as it stands? I feel like I’m not really supposed to feel sad for Shadow Weaver. If I am, then I’m afraid the writers made a pretty heavy misstep in how they’ve portrayed her.

[conaionaru]

Honor and Blood (Ivar the Boneless)

Prophecy of fire

Synopsis: Aslaug sees an unsettling vision about Vanya’s and Ivar’s future.

Warning: angst, fluff, Ivar, toxic family, prophecy

Tagged

@shannygoatgruff @youbloodymadgenius @xbellaxcarolinax @heavenly1927 @lol-haha-joke @queenbeeta​ @didiintheblog​

P.S.: Anything in cursive is in Old Norse.

I don't own the gifs. Also, thank you for your support. I really appreciate it.

Waking up next to Ivar became one of Vanya's favorite things in the morning. The way the light hit his tan skin as his bare chest rose slowly to the singing of the birds in the background. It all seemed like a dream she never knew she needed in her life. She put her pale hand on his chest and felt his heart beating slowly. Her husband looked so serene and innocent sleeping. Nothing like the stories she heard of Vikings. She loved the difference.

"Why are you staring at me?" He asked groggily, making her lock gazes with him. His blue eyes still looked tired, like they needed all the rest they could get before he was ready to leave the bed. Vanya chuckled as she laid her head on his chest and smiled in delight.

"I am admiring true beauty." Vanya teased, quoting his words from the wedding feast. Ivar rolled his eyes at her and threw his arm over her waist, drawing her closer to him. She closed her eyes and let his breathing lull her back to sleep. Unfortunately for both of them, a thrall knocked on their door, informing them that the Queen wants them to meet her in the Great hall.

The couple groaned in annoyance before Vanya rose from the bed and slipped an underdress over her naked body. She heard the thrall leave, as they were advised to do since they once entered to wake the royal duo, only to have a dagger thrown at them, when Ivar was getting dresses. So since then, they dress themselves. 

Vanya put on a pale purple dress with roses on it as Ivar tied his legs together. She still hasn't seen his them bare, but she doesn't push. It was better to let him do it at his own pace. The more patient she would be, the better, and she wasn't that curious to see them. Different or not, they were still legs. 

"What are you doing today?" Ivar asked, getting down from the bed and crawling to her side as she braided her hair. 

Vanya looked down at her husband as she finished her little braid and smiled at him. "Brynja and I are going to the market to buy new fabrics. Do you want me to sew you something? Any special requests?" 

Ivar shook his head at her offer and told her he is going hunting with his brothers and won't probably return till tomorrow if they decide to stay at the hunting cabin. Vanya wished him a good hunt and kissed him on the lips before they parted ways. 

She was still a little bit shaken up from yesterday's argument. The first night they talked together, he told her she could do whatever she wanted to do. Yet he obviously drew the line at Christianity. She didn't care about the Christian God - he was a useless god in her eyes. His punishments were too severe, and his rules cruel. Silas always mocked her with Queen Judith of Wessex, the woman who got her ear cut off. He threatened he would do the same to her if she continued to test him. She prayed to God for mercy, but it didn't come at all. Yet Silas was a sea away from her, and she worshipped other gods now. 

There was no place for God in her heart anymore; perhaps there never was. He was her father, God, and the possibility of him being with her even after death was beautiful. But the more she thought about it, the more she realized there never was an angel or God by her side. Silas was cruel to her, giving her bruises that took weeks to heal. And no matter how much she prayed, God did nothing. If he truly existed, he would have done something. What kind of cruel god is he if he does nothing? 

Maybe all gods are just stories told by men to justify their choices. The tales of all-powerful gods looking over them and doing incredible deeds gives them an illusion of order in this world. After all, children sleep easier, thinking someone is protecting them. Is that what her father was? A fool believing in a made-up story? 

The two sat down with the other Ragnarssons as Aslaug smiled at them a cup of mead in her hand. "What did you want to talk about, Mother?" Ubbe asked her, not liking the suspense.

Aslaug waved her hand at him in a dismissive way and sipped from her cup. "No worries. It is good news. Some traders offered to help Floki build ships by giving him some material. The only thing they ask is that you mention their generosity to the other people who will sail with you."

Bjorn nodded at that information and thanked her, saying he will inform Floki of it before they leave to hunt. Vanya looked at Bjorn curiously, trying to remember if he mentioned a journey. "Where are you going, Bjorn?"

The tall Viking looked at his sister in law and smiled at her proudly. "I found a map on our raid in Frankia a long time ago. I want to sail there, and Floki is building the ships for the journey." He explained excitedly thinking of the new things he would see when the time came. 

Vanya smiled at his excitement and wished him good luck on his journey. Apparently, the other brothers wanted to come too, and we're still pondering who would go and who not. Hvitserk was sure he would go even if he had to sneak on the ship.

They all ate, conversating together about their plans before the boys stood up to leave. Ivar kissed Vanya's temple and crawled away. When Vanya stood up to also go, Aslaug called her name. She mentioned for the redhead to sit next to her, cause she wanted to talk. 

Vanya braced herself for the hard conversation before her and sat down on Ubbe's earlier chair. "I am very happy for you and Ivar. And I am sorry for pressuring you. I didn't mean it in a wrong way. I simply want you two to be happy."

Vanya nodded at the Queen's words appreciating the less tense atmosphere between them.  "Who taught you to behave like that, Love?"

Aslaug's words were curious yet still made Vanya pause. She didn't know the reason behind her question; after all, why should the Queen care about it? "My father always said that people have greater importance than armies. He believed that being loved had a bigger value than being feared. I think the same. However, it is good to have both. Only love won't win wars if the need arises."

"Wise words. He must have been a smart man to think that. How did he die?" Aslaug questioned again, her eyes sharp as a whip. She was looking for something, that was sure. 

Vanya swallowed, thinking of her father's pale face and bony hands as he took his last breath in his chambers. "A sudden illness took him. He suffered for a long time before he passed away." Her tone was sad, and she could feel moisture at the corners of her eyes. Despite being dead for nearly three years, he was still a sore subject to her. 

"I am sorry, Love. But you have a new family here now. And who knows, maybe one day you and Ivar will have a family of your own if the gods bless you." And there it was—the point of the whole conversation. Aslaug wanted grandkids. "Do you want children, Vanya?"

Vanya frowned at the question, never really thinking about it. It was expected of her as a woman to bear children. She dreamed of a handsome husband who would give her many pretty children with rosy cheeks. She did want them, but she hated that it was expected of her. Silas and Mother always reminded her that bearing Ivar's sons was a must. But she wondered if it was possible for her to bring his children to the world. What if he couldn't give her a child because of his affliction? What would become of her then?

"I do want children. But I--" 

"You worry if you will have any with him, don't you?" Vanya nodded at the Queen's question in sadness. "I pray to the gods every night for you to get pregnant. I had a vision."

The ginger looked at Aslaug in wonder. Curious blue orbs met coal lined ones in a silent order to continue. "I saw a little body with eyes as blue as the sky looking up at ravens flying over its heads. The babe's hands wrapped around a snake's neck in a tight grip—the frozen sea behind the child as it crawled towards a fire to warm itself. I don't think it is a bad dream. The child is in danger, but it is a strong child. Brave and determined to survive."

Vanya frowned at the Queen's prophecy and nodded her head in understanding at it. "You could ask the Seer what the gods have to say about it. He will know what to tell you. But I am sure there is a child in your future." 

She hoped it was the truth; she wanted children with Ivar. But what if her child was in immense danger? The prophecy sounded anything but friendly to her, no matter what Aslaug said. A snake and a fire was anything but good in her eyes. It meant obstacles in the life of a child that wasn't even conceived yet, and she already worried about it. What if the child died before it would grow up? Or if it died in her womb? What if the fire that was supposed to warm it would burn it instead? 

"You are very silent today, Princess," Brynja commented, worried, looking over the silks the old woman offered to them. "Are you alright?"

Vanya looked up from the steel blue fabric she inspected before and smiled at her servant and friend. "Got a lot on my mind, that's all." Brynja nodded her head, not truly believing the Princess but decided not to press the matter. 

After Vanya bought the fabrics, did she ask a thrall to bring them to her chambers. "I wish to talk to you privately." Brynja nodded at the whispered words and led the wife of Ivar the Boneless towards a lake in the woods. The grass looked soft while the water was clear and twinkled in the sun. The day was rather warm today for Kattegat's usual coldness. 

The two women sat down on the grass watching the lake, neither saying anything for some time. Vanya cast her gaze down to her lap to look at the half-moon wounds she gave herself yesterday. She trailed her thumb over the tender scars and sighed loudly. "What do you think of Ivar? Be honest."

Brynja's head snapped towards Vanya as she watched the young Princess's blank face. Her usual honest front was replaced with a coldness that gave nothing away. She reminded the servant of Ivar at that moment. A hunter waiting for his prey to make its first move. 

"I don't know him that well, Vanya. I only serve you." Vanya hummed at the servant's frantic tone and looked back up at the lake. 

"My husband's personality worries me sometimes. I like him, that much I am sure. But his mood swings are frightening sometimes. He caught me praying, I confessed to him I prayed to the Christian god too. He got angry at that. He claims he won't hurt me, but yet he scares me." Vanya explained to the woman she barely knew. It was a foolish move; she could report it back to someone. But her feelings to Ivar were no valuable information to anyone. If she told it to Aslaug, the Queen would only talk to her. Vanya was in no danger telling Brynja about her situation. "When I was sent here, I begged my brother not to do it. I was worried my husband would kill me. So I ask you... Is my life in danger?"

Brynja took in a shake a breath and frowned deeply. "The Prince is mean; he isn't very fond of his brother Sigurd, and the Queen spoils him. But I don't think he would hurt you. Somehow you calm him. He isn't like he used to be before. It's not that obvious, but he is getting better. I think you should give him some time. Maybe talk to him."

Vanya nodded at the servant's advice and looked back at the lake, seeing flowers drifting in the lake. She smiled at the pretty things and stood up, surprising Brynja. 

The servant looked up at the Princess, who took off her shoes and lifted her dress. "What is your favorite flower, Brynja?" She tiptoed over to the edge of the lake and dipped her feet in before walking into the water.

"Princess! Get out of there!" Brynja warned fearing for her Lady's health from the cold lake. Yet Vanya ignored the worried shouts and walked to the flowers. When she realized that she couldn't pick the flowers while holding her dress, she dropped the skirt and plucked the pretty flowers. 

"Stop worrying, Brynja. Come on! What flowers do you like?" Vanya giggled a few Lily-of-the-valley flowers in her left hand as she walked closer to the coast to pluck more of the pretty flowers. 

Brynja smiled, watching the excited Princess enjoy herself; her white skirt floated around her as she walked over the bottom of the lake. She looked so serene and kind at that moment that marrying her to someone like Ivar seemed like a mistake. Yet the girl's good heart and patience were a plus for the youngest Prince. "Forget-me-not's, my Princess. I like purple flowers." 

Vanya chuckled at the information and gathered a few of those flowers in her hands, making a bouquet for her red-haired friend and servant. The lake was cold, but she could endure the chilly water until her task was done. She loved picking flowers back in the gardens of Slegia; the flowers were always put into a vase and on her father's table afterward. "Are you not bored with me, Brynja?"

Brynja shook her head at the question and watched the Princess make her way back to the shore. "Of course not, my Lady. I like serving you more than serving in the kitchen with the thralls."

With Brynja's help, Vanya crawled out of the lake and presented the curly-haired girl her findings. Brynja thanked her and put a forget-me-not into her hair, she also put one into Vanya's hair, complimenting the pretty Saxon on the look. The two girls left the lake in a good mood and went towards Vanya's and Ivar's room to change her wet dress. 

[darrowsrising]

Atlantia (Don’t know how to spell her name): *uses actual nuclear bombs* Lysander: meh Darrow: *causes a storm* Lysander: wow Darrow is the epitome of evil, he’s the literal devil

Do you have any idea how loud some idiots are on the same issue? And they are demanding to be taken seriously. I swear to Reaper, no matter how good and obvious the writing is, idiots mushroom at every oportunity.

Lysander is disgusting. He doesn't deserve to be Atalantia's toy, no one does, but that doesn't erase the fact that he is gross. Human decency has died inside him. He pissed on the good deeds he did at every oportunity. He makes Darrow a scapegoat for every bad thing that has been happening, but enables the likes of Atalantia and Atlas to do whatever they please and he excuses their every shit, because they are Golds. Fuck off with your space rascist scum!

You know what I hate more than power obssessed fascist slavers? Fascist slavers that excuse and justify slavery for 'the greater good'.

I am sick and tired of people (on fb groups and instagram) trying to sell him to me as some sort of redeemable, tragic hero. He IS supposed to be hated. If you don't, good for you, but get the fuck off your high horse.

Hell, the more Lysander stans try to shove him down my throat the more I despise him. Every 'my *insert endearment*' makes me barf, it's getting to a point where I can't even enjoy him as a character, because people can't help but wank him off. It's like the Roque issue - his stans wank him off and tear down Darrow to sprinkle glitter on his shit - but WAY WORSE.

Howl on!

[nicole-queen]

Chief what even is your profile picture? HE HATED THE UCHIHA FOR NO REASON

He didn’t hate the Uchihas for no reason.

“There were many sensitive individuals among the Uchiha… and nearly all who were exposed to strong emotions were taken by darkness and fell to evil.”

“Besides which… have you not heard the rumors about the Uchiha? That the stronger their hate, the greater their ocular powers.”

“That’s not entirely true… I simply treated any who posed a danger to the village, no matter what clan they belonged to, with extreme caution. The Uchiha just happened to be a clan particularly disposed to be considered such. ”

Tobirama literally spend his entire life in a state of war and the biggest enemies his clan ever made were the Uchihas. The same way the Senju killed Uchihas, the same way the Uchihas killed Senju; Tobirama (and Hashirama) lost two little brothers in battles involving the Uchihas; Tobirama did land the killing blow on Izuna but at that point the two of them had spent actual years battling each other.

Tobirama was completely right about their emotions and the power granted by the Sharingan - with the exception of two named Uchihas (Kagami and Shisui, not including Itachi), everyone else fucked up in some major way and were led by either their own hate or mistrust towards the village.

Tobirama said that the leader should be chosen by the people, Hashirama was indeed the driving force behind the creation of the village, the people loved Hashirama and even the Uchihas didn’t think Madara was fit for the role. The Uchihas at the time literally turned Madara down when he tried to make them rise against the peace and safety they had managed to achieve. He was unable to deal with that, so he decided to bring the Nine-Tails to destroy the village. Tobirama was entirely right about what destruction any Uchiha can bring on. We don’t know of any other person who turned against the village during the time Tobirama was alive, except for Madara - an Uchiha who managed to unlock the OP Mangekyo and couldn’t deal with the fact that he simply wasn’t viewed as a leader of a peaceful village and that Tobirama would most likely succeed Hashirama. Madara’s entire fate ended up decided by his inability to deal with his emotions, which was what Tobirama was entirely aware of. Nevertheless, Tobirama had seen the good the Uchihas were capable of - Kagami - but at the end of the day, how many Uchihas we have seen that have risen above their own self-importance?

“What is all-important is the village. The village is the keystone.”

“I thought I had arranged and guided things such that the Uchiha’s power could be harnessed to serve the village. Although… if they self-destructed for the sake of the village, then so be it. Either way, in the end, they were of use to the village of Konoha.”

If Tobirama truly detested the Uchihas for no reason, he would never have given them a position of power such as being the police force. No one gives additional power to someone they see no use of and want to dispose of.

He was wary of them (with a good reason) but he also saw that they could be harnessed to do good. By entrusting them with the protection of the villagers, he probably thought that could help them put the village over the clan. He didn’t have a problem with them dying for the sake of the village, but he also wouldn’t have a problem with either him or Hashirama dying for the sake of the village because it’s their jobs as leaders to sacrifice themselves for the sake of everyone else (which he did).

“However… it is also because they could feel such deep love… that there were quite a few Uchiha over the years like your brother and Uchiha Kagami. They could transcend the framework of clan and devote themselves to the village.”

Tobirama had risen above the clan mentality, but the Uchihas never did. As such, based on his previous - bloody - experience with them, Madara going completely crazy over something that he perceived but we have no actual evidence of, and that out of all the Uchihas we have seen, only two had no bad deeds to their names, Tobirama has all the justifications for his distrust of the Uchihas. But distrust isn’t the same as hate - he had gotten over his hate for the Uchihas when they build the village, as he openly said that Kagami and others had indeed proven themselves to be trustworthy; yet, the Uchihas possess power, the nature of which would always bring mistrust to them, justified or not.

[digikate813]

My Little Pony Re-Watch: Episode 34 The Mysterious Mare-Do-Well

* And I thought Boast Busters had a bad reputation. This is still considered by many to be the worst episode in the entire series. And considering we’re about to hit 200 episodes, there’s something impressive about that. But is it really that bad? Eeeehhhhhhh.........

*So Scootaloo started a fan club about Rainbow Dash. Makes sense to me. I am surprised that there are this many members, bu eh. Frankly I’m more surprised the rest of the Mane Six don’t have one.

*I’d make a joke about how many disasters seem to suddenly be happening for Rainbow Dash to assist in, but this is Ponyville. The place that has a major area destroyed at least 8 times a season. 

*The egotistical one gets a big head when showered with praise. Shocking I know. 

*In all seriousness, I get that Rainbow’s attitude once she’s named Ponyville’s hero is annoying. Because it certainly is. But I don’t think it gets bad to the points of her friends feeling she needs to get knocked down a peg. She’s not hurting anypony or being neglectful. I think if maybe she, forgot an important engagement with one of her friends or neglected somepony who needed to be saved for the sake of her praise, then this intervention if sorts would be much more justifiable. 

*The closest we get is her not immediately racing off to save someone because she wants to sign autographs. Which is bad, but her arrogance isn’t what causes her to mess up in the field. Anytime she does could have happened anytime. There is a conflict to be made with Rainbow Dash’s ego getting the better of her, but I think we’re missing a crucial final straw of some kind here.

*Enter the Mysterious Mare-Do-Well! I love that name and I really love the design! The only reason i can think for why they never brought back such a cool looking designs, even as a background gag, is because of how hated this episode became. Well there’s always fan works.

*Yes Ponyville only has room for one hero. Because as we all know, Ponyville only has one citizen who saves the town and has even saved Equestria as a whole. Yep! Nopony else in this town can claim that! No! Pony! At! All!!!

*Also is it me or is the dialogue in this episode subpar? The attempts at jokes kind of fall flat at every turn. There are a lot of attempts to be funny in this one, but I can’t think of a single time i laughed. Is it just me?

*I guess the action scenes with Mare-Do-Well rescuing ponies are kind of fun, but writing this out a week after watching the episode again, and after seeing it multiple times, I’m struggling to recall stand out moments.

*What does kind of work in this episode is portraying the approaches to being a hero. Mare-Do-Well displays a virtuous hero who swoops in and helps, and gets the job done with grace and humility. Never stopping to be thanked or praised. While Rainbow Dash keeps making herself look bad through her own need for constant praise and validation. She’s not doing these deeds for the good of Ponyville, but for her own egotism. And in the end, she becomes her won worse enemy because of that.

*And apparently a sad pegasus creates a rain cloud. It might be an obvious visual, but I thought it was kind of cute.

*Mare-Do-Well posters in the style of Batman the Animated Series. Pretty cool!

*So, the twist. When I first saw this episode I loved this! The episode does do a really good job of building it up, since the evidence is there but I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone guess it beforehand. And I do think it’s a solid twist. I know a lot of people complain about how the girls were bragging about their abilities in front of Rainbow Dash just like she was, thereby being hypocrites, and i get that, but I don’t know. It’s a good point, but at the same time when thy are Mare-Do-Well, they don’t run around begging for praise like Rainbow Dash did. Nor are they boasting their secret identity’s abilities and capability beyond in front of Rainbow Dash. The one they are trying to teach the lesson to. If it bothers you, i get it, but it never really bothered me.

*If anything, I really like them using Pinkie’s Pinkie Sense as a literal superpower

*Honestly i think the worse thing i can say about this resolution is that it has a really weak message. At least in my opinion. Sure the message of being humble about your accomplishments and talents is an important one, but it’s kind of a sloppy ride to get to that point, that the message can be lost. Execution and presentation are the most important things when trying to tell a story with a message that you want the audience to absorb. Especially for kids shows. And i don’t feel like the consequences were strong enough to leave any kind of lasting impact. When that’s lackluster, the message suffers. Even if it’s a good one.

*This premise actually has some great potential for a greater message of the consequences that come with doing things for your own personal gain, or being so caught up in your own world that you forget what’s important. But this is what we’ve got. 

*Didn’t we also kind of already do this in Boast Busters? Yeah i think Boast Busters did this better. Sorry everyone.

While I don’t think this episode deserves it’s infamous reputation for being one of the worse ones, it’s nothing special either. There is a lot of wasted potential here for me, and it’s not an episode I race to rewatch, or even click on if I see it on TV. But there are episodes of this show I consider far worse. It’s below average ot be sure, but not really horrible. Next Time: Sweet and Elite!

[amememightywarrior]

[fanfic] The Echo, chapter 1

The Echo Chapter 1 Fandom: FFXIV Synopsis: What do you do when your only champion crumbles to pieces because of all she’s been through? Invent time travel, apparently. But how easy is it to put a broken woman back together again if no one has invented tape? Story tags: fem!WoL, OC (billions of them), AU, Time Travel, Ishgard (everywhere), dragons Rating: probably NC-17. Trigger Warnings: None in this chapter, I think? But definitely swearing. Or if you’re triggered by minor errors in lore, there are definitely some of those, probably. Author Notes: You already know where this is going. Or do you?

He had warned me there would be complications. I'd told Him to hush, I knew what I was doing—well, more than the first go around—so there was less of a chance of me fucking everything up than before.

He had said it was foolish to risk everything for the chance to fix one thing, and yet this one thing I wished to fix needed to be fixed to save...

Save what?

This must be one of the complications he had warned me about.

It was going to be pretty hard to fix anything if I couldn't remember what I was trying to do. I just had to...I just...

Who am I again...?

~*~

~*~

«Our covenant yet remains, champion of Hydaelyn.»

The effort it took to open one eye was monumental. The large, mirror-like eyes of a dragon pup greeted me upon success. The pup's tiny triangular snout dipped and its long, fin-like ears flicked as it inspected my face. Then it blew purple fire at me.

“Gah!” I said, jerking my head sideways. Both my eyes popped open, the ice encrusting them melting away under the fiery onslaught. “What the?! What was that for?”

«Rise, mortal, ere thou joineth the dead in these frozen wastelands.»

I sat up, dislodging the pup. “I'm in a snowdrift,” I said. “Why...?” I squinted at the pup, who perched on my knee and looked expectant. I knew this little guy and that deep, menacingly slow-paced voice talking to me. “Mid...Midgardsormr...?” Wind whistled in my ears. The very air was ice. It hurt to breathe. The dragon pup, Midgardsormr, crawled up my arm to sit on my shoulder. “What happened?” I asked.

«A choice hath been made and the price paid,» replied Midgardsormr. «Thou lieth within the embrace of Abalathia's Spine, betwixt two sides of a war once quelled but now rageth as before.»

I looked down at myself. My clothes weren't exactly winter-worthy, but I wouldn't freeze in the next two minutes either. Abalathia's Spine sounded familiar. I wanted to say...Coerthas? “What price?”

«Knowest thou of thy choice?» Midgardsormr asked. He sounded almost perturbed.

I stood and tried to find a landmark. There was a strange sort of castle in the distance that appeared to be mostly unattached to the rest of the world. The rest was mountains and snow. “I don't remember,” I said. “I don't...I know who you are but I can't remember my name.”

Midgardsormr was silent. I needed to avoid death by deep freeze, so I started walking along the lowest part of the terrain. A weight clanking on my back prompted me to look back. Ah, my axe. That was also familiar to me, much like my scaly companion.

«This life thou hast lived ere our arrival here,» Midgardsormr said at last. «Events long past led to a break in thy soul, and though thy strength carried this star for a time, the break soon split thy soul in two. To save the world, we must save the soul that split. The choice thus made, we traveled to the time before the injury was done and came to rest here.»

I stopped. “Wait a second,” I said. “You're telling me my soul split in two because of something and we went into the past to fix it? That's crazy! And you went along with this idea?”

«Thy strength is beyond comprehension, champion of Hydaelyn,» replied the pup, «yet like a diamond wont to shatter when struck upon the correct point, thy heart was pierced and the damage left to fester.»

“I don't see how that justifies the two of us going back in time,” I said. “You shouldn't mess with time. Bad things happen.”

«Thy reluctance is familiar,» Midgardsormr said. «This was the last resort. Know that I would not have allowed it if it were not all we had left.» He flicked his tail against my shoulder and stretched his neck out to point off to the right. «This way, mortal. The sons of Ishgard know not thy face, for thy deeds were erased upon our coming. Tread carefully, and do not make conversation with me around others.»

I kind of remembered that bit about our relationship. He was invisible...imperceptible? to everyone else. I vaguely recalled he could show himself if he wanted, but the details of how I came to know this escaped me. It did assure me that I was not, in fact, crazy enough to hallucinate baby dragons talking in bass voices. “What exactly split my soul? Since I need to prevent that to justify this little trip into history.”

«What destroyed it then will not now,» he said.

I rolled my eyes, exasperated, and started toiling towards civilization again. “So the world's saved already? Yay!”

«Thy flippancy is ill-advised. A powerful bond forged was destroyed in moments.»

I frowned. “So...someone close to me died...and that broke me?”

«As a wyrm breathes as one with their consort, so did thee with thine. With it, an inextinguishable light shone. Yet with the destruction of the bond, the light darkened with bitterness.»

“And if I don't ever have this bond in the first place?”

«Two shall ever be greater than one. That strength is needed, champion. Alone, the balance tips towards Darkness slowly but surely.»

Oh man, this was rich. “Saved by the power of love,” I said. “Come on, Midgardsormr. This isn't a romance novel. Surely there's more to it than that.”

«Thou shalt see in time,» he said. «Enough. I tire of pointless chatter.»

“Before you go, could you at least tell me what my name is?” I asked.

«If thou canst recall such information without help, we are lost,» he said, and fell silent.

He had a point. I spent the rest of time thinking about what I knew of myself. I was twenty-nine...thirty? No, twenty-nine. Or was I twenty-eight? Female. Dark hair, white eyes, pale skin. On the short side. Marauder—no, I was a warrior. I was from...Limsa Lominsa. No, I wasn't from there, but I usually stayed there. I wasn't a pirate. I could have been, though. I knew a lot of pirates. My name was on the tip of my tongue. Ammmm...nope, lost it.

“Midgardsormr, are we friends?” I asked.

His tail slapped my shoulder blade. I got the impression he was surprised by the question. «After a fashion,» he said. «The covenant binds me to thee, yet I do not find thy company intolerable. Thy life is but a mere thread in the long tapestry of existence, but I will never forget thee.»

I smiled. “I guess that's a yes. Sorry if you mourn me too much when I die of old age and all, but I'm still glad we're friends.”

«I will not mourn. It is the nature of mortals to die.»

“So it is.” I noticed some sort of brick edifice poking out of the snow ahead and walked faster. The wind picked up just as I arrived at the door to a strange circular building. I knocked.

The person who opened the door was well over a fulm taller than me, with pointy ears and silvery blue hair. He looked down at me and said, “An adventurer? Do you seek shelter?”

I nodded. He let me in and put his shoulder to the door to close it against the now howling wind. Inside, several other similarly tall and pointy-eared men sat at a table playing some sort of card game. The lone man not wearing chainmail smiled politely at me. He had a wool shirt trimmed with white ruffles and a hat with a big feather across the front. Though the other men in the room had bony, refined faces, his was something of a baby face, with rounder cheeks and a perpetual innocent look. I wondered if I knew him. “Ah, another adventurer,” he said. “Seeking work at Camp Dragonhead, I presume? I fear the blizzard that has just arrived will delay you, rather. What's your name?”

My name came out of my mouth reflexively. “Ameme,” I said. Oh yeah...My name was Ameme Ame. What a weird name.

“Well met, Ameme. I am Lord Francel of House Haillenarte and this is Skyfire Locks,” he said, waving around the room.

“Is Camp Dragonhead far?” I asked.

“Not terribly, but the storm outside...”

Welp, back out it was. “To the north?” I asked, just to be sure I was remembering correctly.

Francel looked concerned. “Surely you can't be thinking of traveling in that...!”

“I'll be fine,” I said. “Just a few minutes inside to warm up and I'll be off.” I seated myself by the rather weak fire and held my hands near the heat. Much better. When I had feeling back in everything, I cracked the door open and slid outside. It didn't want to shut thanks to the wind, but I got it firmly closed and started north.

Skyfire Locks had several buildings on the way to Camp Dragonhead, but they were not very far apart and the blizzard wasn't terrible enough to make me seek shelter every three paces yet. It had crept north as well, but I outpaced it before long and discovered I was on a real, honest-to-goodness road leading to a huge fortified outpost. I made it to about shouting distance of the gates of the outpost when a massive shape hurtled past me, howling like a banshee and waving noodle-like arms. The frost-covered goobbue, a giant block of a creature with a mouth able to swallow three adults whole, charged the gates.

“Great,” I muttered as the outpost guards raced to stop the rampaging goobbue. I unholstered my axe and ran. “Hyaah!!” I shouted, slamming the blade into the goobbue's back. It went through like a hot knife through butter, forcing me to carry my strike until I hit the ground. The goobbue staggered to a stop and, rather to my surprise, fell in two pieces. I hadn't realized I was that strong.

Between the two halves of the goobbue, I saw a group of men looking like they'd been prepared to be squashed, only to be disappointed. The one in front, another pointy-eared man with silver hair like the one who'd let me into Skyfire Locks, mouthed, “Wow!” at me and started grinning. Very dramatically, he pointed behind me. “To arms!” he shouted. “There are more!”

I whipped around to see a veritable army of crazed goobbues, their noodle arms flapping wildly as they rushed the outpost. This was getting better and better. I went to meet them, several other armed men on my heels. They weren't exactly strong, but there were a lot of them all over the place. We were at it for a good twenty minutes killing the lot, mostly because I was the only one who could dispatch them in a single hit and had to do a lot of running around to keep the rest of the men from being crushed. By the time the goobbues quit appearing out of the blizzard, I was starting to feel the burn in my legs. We withdrew to the outpost. I stuck by the gates since just walking in didn't feel right.

“What got into them?” grumbled the gate guard. “You there—the one with the axe. What's your name?”

“Ameme,” I said.

“An adventurer, eh,” he said. “Thank you for your assistance. I've never seen anyone cleave a goobbue in two like that before. Looking for work?” I nodded. “Excellent. We could use someone like you. Lord Haurchefant is—” He stopped and nodded deferentially to the silver-haired man who had just walked up. “Lord Haurchefant, I was just speaking to the adventurer who helped us. She is wanting for employment.”

Haurchefant turned out to be one of those enthusiastic types who gestured a lot when excited. “I saw, I saw! That was magnificent, my friend!” he cried. “To think there are women like you in the world who can bring down a goobbue in a single stroke! My heart skipped a beat when the beast fell in two to reveal your most gallant figure standing behind. Indeed, there is work aplenty for those such as yourself.” He waved to a building not far inside the outpost. “Come, warm yourself by our hearth. We can discuss terms of employment inside. Oh, Ser Hourefaut, if you could...” He started chatting with the gate guard. Figuring him for a talkative sort, I shrugged and entered the building he'd indicated without him.

The building consisted of two stories, with the first story devoted to a single large room furnished with a few chairs, a large table covered in maps and figurines of dragons and knights, a desk and office space in the back, and a large fireplace along the side. Three men exercised shirtless in one corner while a rather motley-looking group of men and women occupied the chairs in another. The biggest of the motley group waved me over, calling, “Oi! Oi, newbie! Over here!”

One of the women, who had cat ears and a tail, said, “Another new face! Welcome to Camp Dragonhead, newbie. They might all be Ishgardians but they're the friendly sort.”

The one who had called me over snorted. “Friendly? Bit more than that, some of 'em. The pay's good, though.”

“Oh, psh,” said the other woman of the group, a freckled brunette with large green eyes. “If ye can't handle Haurchefant staring at yer arse every now and then, ye don't belong here. Not like he does anything, anyway. He's all talk.”

“I think he's nice,” said the cat woman. What was she again...? Miqo'te? That was it. Weren't they more of a warm-weather sort? “At least he's more of an equal opportunity ogler. So what's your name, newbie?”

I was going to be introducing myself a lot, wasn't I? “Ameme.”

The Miqo'te woman beamed. “Nice to meet you! I'm G'buloleh, but everyone calls me Goobbue. The Roe is Moonlight River and my rough-n-tumble Hyur friend here is Essenta. Our silent Elezen companion is Soluvrian. Don't mind him, he's not much of a talker.”

Roe? Oh, Roegadyn. I recalled the names for the various types now. Moonlight River raised a hand in greeting, while Essenta and Soluvrain simply nodded. Soluvrain had his hood up, so all I could see of his face was a flash of red-brown hair and a stern mouth.

“Our new friend here don't seem to be much of a talker herself,” Essenta observed.

Moonlight River decided to continue the conversation about Haurchefant. “You only think he's nice because he doesn't mind when you trip and crash into him!” he told Goobbue.

Goobbue's tail flicked. “He's perfectly kind outside of that! Besides, I thought you liked it when someone complimented your muscles.”

“Not when it's a—hello, Lord Haurchefant. What was the commotion outside?”

I glanced over my shoulder at the man in question as he entered. Haurchefant shut the doors behind himself and dusted the snow off his head. “An army of goobbues—and not the bardic variety, either!” Haurchefant said, smiling at the Miqo'te woman. “I see you've met the hero of the hour already. She split the goobbues in twain as though it were nothing.”

“Really? Ooo, she didn't mention that!” Goobbue leaned forward, interested.

“Not that we gave her a chance,” Essenta noted. “So, Ameme, anything else you'd care to divulge?”

Everyone waited a beat as though they expected me to actually say something. I shrugged. Haurchefant said, “So your name is Ameme, is it? Come, come, let us discuss the terms of your employment.” He led me to the desk in the back and sat in the high-backed chair. As I shifted in front of the desk, he fetched out a sheet of paper and started filling it with beautiful calligraphy. The man's penmanship was gorgeous. “Hmm...you have demonstrated your ability to wield your axe most effectively, but is there aught else you would like to do?” he asked as he wrote.

If there was something else I could do, hell if I remembered. I shook my head.

“Very well, then. Standard pay for a week's worth of work is one thousand gil, not including pay for any extra work you choose to undertake. You also receive a standard sleeping mat and two meals a day. Does this sound fair to you?”

“What sort of work would I be doing?” I asked.

Haurchefant stared at me. I wondered if I had said something wrong, but then he blinked and said, “Oh, fairly standard work for an adventurer—escorting porters, fetching or chopping firewood, things of that nature. Though after what I have seen you do, I may ask you to undertake more dangerous tasks! Nothing as difficult as fighting dragons, of course, but there are many dangers here in Coerthas.”

“Dragons?” I thought of Midgardsormr.

“Yes, the Dravanian horde is a constant threat here,” Haurchefant said. “Outsiders are not expected to assist in any capacity so you needn't worry about getting involved. Should you come to be threatened by a dragon during your duties, we would not be ungrateful if you choose to dispatch it, of course. Ah, and you receive no extra pay for fighting them...I suppose that is something to keep in mind as well.”

“Seems like that might get more dragons killed if you did,” I said.

He shook his head. “It has been tried and we have discovered the skill levels of adventurers far too variable to make it standard practice. Now we actively discourage it, in fact. You can read, I take it? Excellent. Pray look over the document to ensure it is to your liking before you sign at the bottom.”

I took the paper and read it. 'The undersigned hereby agrees to render select services (resource gathering, escort, hunting) in exchange for a weekly stipend of 1,000 gil...'

He really did have the most beautiful handwriting. It was cursive with lots of pretty loops, all regularly sized and at a precise angle. I signed at the bottom with letters that looked like they'd just gotten out of a bar after a full night's drinking.

Haurchefant set the signed document aside and beamed at me. “I look forward to seeing your skills in action,” he said, sounding as though he meant it.

[kingdomofthelogos]

The Devilish Letter of Feofar Gone

Read Mark 7

Download a printable version here.

In Mark 7:1-23, Jesus addresses the question of what really defiles a person, and this is a larger question than it might immediately appear. This is not just a question of how one navigates the technicalities of the Jewish law, but a question of what makes people good and what makes people evil. This question is fundamental to how people view the world, and although it is rarely stated out loud, this question undergirds every aspect of society.

Our message is taking a turn, for rather than hearing a message from a pastor’s perspective we return to Goblin Town, that sinister society deep beneath the terrestrial home of the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. It is a dwelling whose access is found in the long, steady descent from the natural light of God’s noble body to the land where all are equal in the darkness. It is the land of perceived opportunity, where inoffensive, feel-good slogans reign supreme. One can be as ulgy or beautiful as they like, for such is but a personal choice, and in want of the light there is no way to distinguish the admirable from the repulsive. This is the land of fake virtues, where one’s character is measured by how softly the news announcers react to it.

Moreover, it is the topic of announcers in Goblin Town that brings us to our point, to our new perspective. The following transcript is a message given from Feofar Gone, an announcer who operates the soundhouse of Goblin Town. In our world we have lighthouses which shine light to attract and guide ships, but in the lightless world of Goblin Town soundhouses are used to attract and guide lost creatures from the world above to the eternal depths. Feofar Gone just so happens to be charged, and even talented, in the art of attracting lost souls below. Let us not spend time wondering how his transcript was obtained, for doing so is easy enough for those who possess the skill. Instead, let us see what we can learn from his art.

A Letter from Feofar Gone

Dear humble tempters and modest comrades, how passionate is the thought of tricking a man into believing he is good or bad based solely on whether or not he has washed his hands. If we can get him to believe this, then we have all but won him to our eternal torment beneath all worlds. His citizenship below is not in question for it is only a matter of time. Our deceptive mission is to distract and confuse, that we might replace a man’s relationship to the Light while convincing him he is still fine. To the issue of cleanliness, our goal is to get the man thinking about the ritual formula of touching water with his hands, and forget about the possible presence of dirt. We want him to focus on things which can be satisfied without any honest cleaning or any honest effort. Get a man to believe that all he has to do to be good is to run his hands through water, and rather than asking himself if he is actually clean, he will ask himself if he did the deed of wetting his hands. Never is a thought given to the actual presence of dirt, but only to whether or not he satisfied the ritual.

It is through this magical bait and switch that we have managed to make simple the minds of the most intelligent creatures. Those whose natural characteristics draw them to study and think about the laws of life can easily be made the least likely to understand anything about it. It is always good style when we can get a man to earnestly believe he is doing something good when in fact he is doing nothing, for we like nothing.

Our goal is to be the ones who answer the real question of the human mind. You must see that the real question that weighs on the human mind is the question how one can be good and have good things in life while at the same time avoid suffering and unwanted things. The desire for this answer led to their fall, and we want to replace the Light in giving the answer. Regardless of how often or rare the humans think this question directly, it is the question which motivates all of their behaviors. What is the Heaven to admire and the hell to repulse? This is the formula they use in all their decisions, whether in choosing whom they would like to date, how they will organize their politics, or which items they want to buy at the market.

The Light has told His children to be careful, for He is aware of our scheme. In Matthew 6:23 He warned against us saying, “if the light in you is darkness, how great then is the darkness.” In all the joyful terrors below we actually find for ourselves an advantage in His warning. If we can convince the humans that we are the light, then they are truly our property. As the false light, we can then take advantage of the wisdom in Matthew 6:19-21 which teaches: do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. There is no greater joy for those of us below to have humans store up treasures with us in the deep when they really believe they are storing up treasures above. We want a man believing he is living by the Light’s morality from above when in fact he has replaced it with our morality from below. What a joyful art our work is!

Our job is to distract and confuse. We want the humans to have certainty in areas where they should be skeptical, and confusion in areas where they should have certainty. We want them certain that morality lies in the ritual of washing their hands, but uncertain when it comes to the presence of dirt. Furthermore, if we have them so focused on the ritual that the question of dirt doesn’t cross their mind, then we have really performed our duty well. But let us not be confused, while we know the truth that we are distracting them, we do not tell them that directly. Instead, we want them to think they are “focusing,” or whatever nice sounding euphemism we can use to make our malice sound like modesty.

 We want them certain in how they reinterpret the Scriptures of their Light, but completely unaware and undiscerning in the world around them. We want them certain in accusing their neighbors of oppressing people they’ve never met, and then saying things are “complex” when asked to justify their accusation. Never forget, accusations are our style and hobby; and, we can have people as our unconscious disciples if we lead them to believe their accusations are earnest reproaches and calls to virtue. The humans at some level know they are sinful and need to be corrected, and a righteous correction can often sound very similar to an accusation. Once again, our job is to distract and confuse. The difference between accusation and earnest correction can be sorted by examining what is objectively true; but, as you all know, objective truth belongs to the Light and we are students of the dark. We want them to have as little discernment as possible and as little objective truth as possible; therefore, we have them focus on perspectives, biases, and angles. We want them focusing on what is reported to them, what feels right, and not focusing on truths larger than themselves.

The Light made His creatures with a mind, and we want those minds! The Light always has His plans, trusting creatures to love Him in return, to willfully be transformed to His service. We do not want them to enjoy the freedom of His service, but believing that slavery to us will be more free. Our best research has found that showing humans the reactions of other humans is by far one of the most effective ways of getting them to willfully throw away their minds. Show them someone laughing and they will laugh too, even if they don’t yet know what is funny. The humans will listen to a clap track on their moving picture box and think something has happened worthy of applause. They will read a story in the newspaper and adopt the reaction and opinion of the writer while firmly believing it is their own. How stylish it is to have a human mimic others while believing they are thinking for themselves. It is through these tactics that we have nullified many great minds and given our own alternative to the Light’s gift of discernment. It feels so delightful to be on the expert side!

The Light has told them they need virtue, to be made holy as is He. As a result the humans might spend a great deal of their time wondering how they might stop sinning, how they might stop taking steps towards our complete darkness. But do not lose heart just because a human is thinking about how he might stop an evil, for we have a very clever way of keeping him on the downward descent.

The Light told His children in that letter to the Galatians 6:7 that with assurance God will not be mocked, a man will reap what they sow. We indeed know this to be true, and can again use the Light’s truth to our advantage. We know there is power in a name, and oh how good it feels when someone says our name. We simply must distract and confuse. If we can get the humans to continually focus on a sin, even if they think they are opposed to it, then they can actually find themselves embracing that sin so long as they are separated from the light. This formula is really simple indeed, keep them focusing on the sin problem and how they might stop it, but never let them affirm something different. Of this fact we are certain: no matter how much the humans might think they hate a sin from the start, if they think about it long and hard enough they will embrace it and repeat it, so long as an alternative is not given to them. If they are mad about teapots being broken because they were cleaned by hammers, tell them it’s time to clean hammers with teapots. The end result will be the same, but they will feel vindicated. If they are upset that one group is missing something another has, have them tear down the one group which has excess. Without the Light dwelling in them, it is easy to turn people into the evil they oppose while leading them to believe they are innocent. The more they sow downward movement the more they will reap it.

The humans have some awareness of our existence, but yet we still win if they will talk about the things we want them to talk about. Even if they think they dislike our goals, they will still use ideas, words, and tactics designed for our purposes. They think they are fighting us while they are actually doing our work.

 Our job is not to hold their hands as they come to us below, but to get them to come on their own. We do not want them thinking too deeply about what makes a person good or evil without our guidance and influence. We want their mind turned off, inhaling a well crafted narrative that tells them what to think so they do not have to burden themselves. We are here to lighten their load, to lead them to believe that our opinions and ideas are their opinions and ideas, to make them feel like they are smart when indeed they are simple.

Their Book of Job gives them wisdom in Job 5:2 saying surely vexation kills the fool, and jealousy slays the simple. Although they should head this as a warning, we have found it simple to fool them into thinking they are smarter than jealousy, completely unaware of how vexed and undiscerning they are.

The Light once told a young man in Luke 18:19 that “no one is good except God alone,” and then, to our joy, the rich young man walked away from the Light all by himself. He could not surrender to the certain fact that Light alone makes the good. The humans will be a slave to something, and being a slave to the Light will give them more freedom than being a slave to something else, or in many cases, nothing else. We do not want them aware of this fact, but deception on this point is easy enough. Although that rich young man understood the truth that would be written in Romans 6:22, but now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life, the young man flinched, and looked back to us for the comfort we afford. We are tolerant here, and we encourage one to choose what they want.

We want the humans thinking that it is their systems, tools, and weapons that determine how good or evil they are. We do not want them to know the truth: that only the Light can make them good and their sinful nature is the source of their calamity. The more we can corrupt their teachers, preachers, and all such positive role models to think this untrue logic the more we can teach people to believe they are thoughtfully good when  they are actually thoughtlessly empty. If we can get them to believe that the systems, tools, and weapons of the world are the means of transformation into goodness or wickedness, then they will be bickering all day long while they drift below to our eternal safety.

Your Respectful Soundhouse Operator, Feofar Gone

[asma-al-husna]

Allah’s name Al-Haleem— The Most Forbearing, The Calm Abiding, The Most Kind and Gentle— occurs eleven times in the Quran. He is the One who keeps on bestowing blessings, both visible and hidden, even though we disobey Him. Al-Haleem can punish us instantly, yet how often He grants us respite in a mild and serene manner, giving us the chance to turn back to Him!

Most Forbearing, Calm Abiding, Most Kind and Serene

Haleem comes from the root Haa-laam-meem, which points three main meanings. The first main meaning is to be forbearing, lenient and to be forgiving and the second is to be calm and serene. The third main meaning is to be not hasty and exhibit moderation.

This root appears 21 times in the Quran in two derived forms. Examples of these forms are ahlaamin (dreams), al-huluma (puberty), ahlaamuhum (their minds), and haleemin (forbearing).

Linguistically, the concept of hilm refers to the patience that arises from a sense of deep serenity and lenience and the concept of sabr points to the patience that arises by self-restraint and enduring something without complaint. Al-Haleem: . . . observes disobedience to Him, yet anger doesn’t incite Him, nor does wrath seize Him, nor do haste and recklessness move Him to rush to take vengeance even though He’s utterly capable of doing that. [Al-Ghazali]

Al-Haleem Himself says: If you loan Allah a goodly loan, He will multiply it for you and forgive you. And Allah is Most Appreciative and Forbearing [Quran, 64:17]. . . And Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing. [Quran, 2:225]

Why does Al-Haleem delay punishment?

Al-Haleem Himself says: And if Allah were to punish people for what they have earned, He would not leave upon the earth any creature. But He gives them respite for a specified term. [Quran, 35:45] Al-Haleem can delay a punishment to give you time to return to Him, seek His forgiveness, and change your ways, because He is forbearing. He can even cancel your punishment altogether. Isn’t Al-Haleem acting out His love for us in an amazing way?

The hilm of people versus the hilm of Allah

Imagine that you got caught doing something bad, but the person let’s it slide and doesn’t punish you or embarrass you. Would you feel embarrassment, relief, and gratitude, telling them you’re not going to do it again and be grateful for their forbearance? What about Allah? Every single day we do things we shouldn’t, and in most instances He lets it go. Because He is Al-Haleem, His hilm is far above any forbearance a human being can ever show.

A beautiful similitude: parents and children

The parental system teaches us about Al-Haleem; the father and mother don’t have any rancour or hatred towards their children. In fact, they’re ready to sacrifice everything for their happiness. In this context Umar ibn al-Khattaab said: Some prisoners were brought to the Messenger of Allah, and there was a woman among the prisoners who was searching (for her child). When she found her child she embraced him and put him to her breast. The Messenger of Allah said to us, ‘Do you think that this woman would throw her child in the fire? We said, No, by Allah, not if she is able not to. The Messenger of Allah said, Allah is more merciful to His slaves than this woman is to her child. [Al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] Who imbedded the great mercy and tenderness in a loving mother’s heart? Allah Al-Haleem.

How Can You Live by This Name?

1. Be forbearing to others: contemplate and practice.

No matter your temper, everyone can practice developing forbearance. The Prophet salallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam said to Ashajj ‘Abdu’l-Qays: You have two qualities which Allah loves: forbearance and steadiness. [Muslim]

Is it forbearance when you let it slide once or twice but explode the third time because you have so much rancour inside you? Many relationships get destroyed because of moments of rage. Hilm is when you’re in a position to show your anger but still hold it back. How? Let Al-Haleem inspire you. Another way is to simulate forbearance for the sake of Al-Haleem, even though you feel enraged. Tell yourself: I’m suppressing my anger because I love Him and seek His Love, because I want to be close to Him, and because I would like to obey His messenger.

2. Don’t take advantage of the hilm of Allah.

Al-Haleem says to the people who inherited a garden but didn’t let the poor benefit from it: Such is the punishment [of this world]. And the punishment of the Hereafter is greater, if they only knew. [Quran, 68:33] This punishment was a wake-up call for them and a mercy, because they realized their mistake. If Allah had allowed them to do as they wanted, their punishment in the Hereafter would be unforeseen. So know that Al-Haleem did set rules out for you and never take advantage of His forbearance.

3. Show a good example to a sinful person.

Never be arrogant to a sinning person and try to advise him gently and by showing a good example. Think to yourself: such a sinful person may, one day, turn to Al-Haleem with sincere repentance and become better and dearer to Allah than I am. Only put a person in check for the sake of Allah, so that they are made aware of the consequences of their actions and return to Allah.

4. Be grateful for the hilm of Allah.

Just like you would be grateful to anyone who overlooks your faults and mistakes, recognize the extreme and intense forbearance of Al-Haleem towards you and return to Him after you sin. And as a way of being thankful to al-Haleem for His forbearance, remember to train yourself to be forbearing.

5. Make dua for hilm.

Make dua to Al-Haleem, asking Him for His forbearance for yourself and your loved ones. And ask Him to forgive you, because only He can protect you from His justified anger.

O Allah Al-Haleem, we know You are the Most Forbearing and You delay and cancel Your Punishment with great Wisdom. Protect us from taking advantage of Your Hilm by persisting in bad deeds, aid us to return to You after we sin, adorn us with gratitude for Your Forbearance and patience in hardships, make us of those who are forbearing and kind to others, never be arrogant and help us to develop hilm in times of anger, ameen!

[jam2289]

Fighting Local Government Corruption - Part 6 of ?

Why do some people feel that they can trample other people's rights and that's fine? This article will be fast and heavy. We are going to see the eight ways that people detach morality from their actions, why it's hard to tell when politicians are lying, a disturbing statistic related to the dark triad, two experiments that show the tendency of some people to abuse power and other people to follow bad orders, how stories reveal some of these processes, and the possibility for redemption.

There are eight techniques that people use to make the bad things that they do seem okay. The psychologist Albert Bandura wrote the book "Moral Disengagement". He also has a five page paper by the same name. By knowing about these you can be more alert and aware of the various manipulation techniques that are used. This will be a short overview. They have semi-confusing names, so I'll break down what they really mean.

Moral Justification

This is simply doing bad things as a means to a "good" end. "I'll sacrifice those people over there so that I can get to this thing I want." Those other people are just collateral damage. It's all for the greater good anyway. This basic view is that humans aren't really ends in themselves, they are just tools or obstacles. (It's disturbing, I know, but it will get worse. Still, it's important to know these things.)

Euphemistic Labeling

This is how politicians talk. It's why it's often confusing and boring to listen to them. If, for instance, they were to tell the truth they wouldn't say, "I lied." Nope, they will say something like, "I presented the information through a medium in which I believed we would be able to protect the lives of innocent children." What does that have to do with it? We'll all wonder what they're talking about, because they aren't really talking about anything. It's often worse than that too. Sometimes they do something like this, "Things that were untrue were communicated." It means the same thing as "I lied.", it just sounds like they didn't do anything wrong, and that's why they use it.

Exonerative Comparison; or, Advantageous Comparison

"Maybe I've done bad things, but look at that guy over there, he does even worse things. So, maybe I'm not really that bad."

Displacement of Responsibility

"Someone else told me to do this bad thing, so it's not really my fault."

Diffusion of Responsibility

"I wasn't alone in doing this, a bunch of other people were part of it too, so you can't really blame me."

Minimizing, Ignoring, or Misconstruing the Consequences; or Disregarding or Misrepresenting Injurious Consequences

There are a lot of examples that fall into this category, but here's one simple example: "It's not really hurting them that bad."

Dehumanization

This is where you think of other humans as not human. It's often used in atrocities of various sorts, like when the Nazis called Jews pests. "These people are lower than us, they don't have rights because they don't deserve rights." (I think this is the most disturbing.)

Attribution of Blame

This one seems odd at first, but it's common. They just blame the victim for what they're doing to them. "You brought this on yourself."

Obviously some of these techniques are also why it's hard to tell when politicians are lying, but there is specific research into this too. Here is a tiny look into that. This is a piece of the abstract from the paper "Manipulating Public Opinion with Moral Justification" by Kathleen McGraw.

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...why it is so difficult to detect deceptive moral justifications. The difficulty arises because (1) people are not very good at detecting deception in general; (2) the mediated nature of political communication eliminates the nonverbal cues that are the most predictive of deception; (3) social judgment biases lead people to focus on the individual and inhibit suspicion; (4) the norms of political culture constrain politicians from accusing each other of lying, so that the public is not prompted by other sources to regard moral claims with suspicion.

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Luckily, not everyone is so constrained. For instance, let me reveal some information for you.

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This is from the Muskegon Circuit Court's website showing the township suing Hidden Creek Farm.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ynL4G4o3kY1ZCX8UB3nKQoWt1JFt8JWQ

Here's the township supervisor lying about it.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1X9TVcNZIubvTI49iR7ZOnxtuWuzo0kQM

Here's a recording of the township lying about it. (It's a phone call just over 6 minutes long. You'll have to download it to listen to it.)

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YDg8L1yU6xfO99ggWTw-YcR3GePglc9O

Here's a trustee saying he wasn't informed.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1mcDn0hBEHCiPpl3VTui_Z3GsOgT9bcwN

Here are the minutes before the lawsuit and injunction showing that it wasn't discussed in an open meeting.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11ou0UvSKl8Ddpd0tkv3ECCWSo4B8hb78

Here are the minutes after the lawsuit and injunction. The lawsuit still isn't discussed, and the injunction is voted on after it was already done.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1BpP4jVZ34d0VErSIEGFzjRLFs3mWkFMA

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Next, there truly are dark individuals. Most reasonable people know this, but they never expect to interact with them. They think they only exist on the news or in drama shows.

The dark triad is a set of three dangerous traits: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. Narcissism means the person lacks empathy and has an overly grandiose view of themselves. Machiavellianism means the person manipulates and exploits people, doesn't worry about morality, and uses deception to get their way. Psychopathy means the person can be remorselessly antisocial.

There are people out there with these traits. Here's the scary statistic: one percent of people are psychopaths. That means that out of the next 100 people you see... yeah. Add sociopaths into the mix and you at least double that number. Think about that when you're at a large gathering of people, look around, think about it, it's scary.

The environment makes a strong difference as well. The controversial Stanford Prison Experiment was funded by the Navy to see how and why abuse comes about in prisons. Students were randomly assigned to be guards or prisoners. With small suggestions to do what was necessary to keep the "prisoners" in line, the "guards" quickly turned to classic methods of prisoner abuse. Power and authority given to the wrong people in the wrong situation results in bad things.

Not always is it even the people with the most authority that do the actual deeds, sometimes they are just ordered to. Stanley Milgram did experiments to see if it might be true that the people that committed atrocities in the Holocaust felt like they were truly "just following orders." As it turns out, most people are willing to give massive electric shocks to people if they are told to do so by an authority figure. They are uncomfortable doing it, but they still do it. People question it, they feel like it's wrong, but when reassured and told to continue, they do. In the struggle between obedience and conscience, the conscience usually loses.

Some narratives do a good job of exploring these processes. For instance, in the television show "Poldark" Elizabeth makes small compromises. Slowly, over years of moral compromises, she puts herself in a position where she has to do bad things to try to justify the previous compromises she has made. Her bad decisions and bad deeds grow over the years until they become destructively large. It was bad at the beginning, but because it was small she got away with it, she thought.

Another way it can happen is like Danny from "Game of Thrones". At first she is doing bad things to bad people, and it's justified. But, over time she keeps doing those bad things, even when she is crushing innocent people.

This all brings us to the possibility for redemption. I believe that there is always some possibility for redemption in life, even Scrooge in "A Christmas Carol". But, if there is a jewel thief that is seeking for redemption, he still shouldn't be left alone in a jewelry store at night with a key. It's the same with positions of authority. When moral and legal violations have been made I believe there should be attempts to restore justice by the individuals that committed those wrongs. That process is best completed as a personal journey, after those people are removed from their positions of authority, by themselves or by the citizens.

Many of the things mentioned in this article are unsavory to look at, to listen to, to think about, but if we forgo our responsibility of being aware, then who will stop them?

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You can find more of what I'm doing at http://www.JeffreyAlexanderMartin.com

[homeschoolbase]

Teach this in Home school! please, God will condemn guilty sinners to Hell because He is Just, God offers salvation as an free gift through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God come in flesh to suffer the wrath of God we deserved, died for our sins buried and rose again. Repent and believe!

Teach this in Home school! please, God will condemn guilty sinners to Hell because He is Just, God offers salvation as an free gift through the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God come in flesh to suffer the wrath of God we deserved, died for our sins buried and rose again. Repent and believe!

Thank you for taking the time to read this message, I appreciate it! - I’d love to share this amazing news with you, but first, there is some bad news, here, take a test. Where are you going when you die? Do you think your a good person? If so... * How many lies have you told? * Have you ever stolen anything despite its value? * Have you fornicated or entertained lustful thoughts (aka. committed adultery-of-the-heart)? * Maybe you’ve never gone so far as to murder someone, but have you simply harboured hatred for another human being (aka. committed murder-of-the-heart)? * Have you desperately longed for something you do not own, or that someone else possesses? (covet) * Have you taken God’s holy and awesome name in vain, using it as a swear-word? (blasphemy), Have you remembered the sabbath day? There are some of the Ten Commandments. Now, if God were to Judge you on the Ten Commandments, would you be innocent or guilty? The Results You and me, we have both broke God’s laws, we would be guilty, none are good but God. Since the fall of man, it is now embedded into our very nature to be dreadfully sinful, utterly disobedient, and outrageous rebels. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. God is Holy and Just and will condemn guilty sinners, just as a Just Judge must condemn someone guilty of a crime. The Consequence God’s law clearly displays our wickedness and the problem we have with sin. His standard of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:3-17) expose our sinfulness. Romans 6:23 informs us of the wages of sin — death. By disobeying God who is Holy, Righteous, Just, Perfect, Sovereign, Eternal, by breaking His laws, we have earned death for ourselves (spiritually, physically, and perpetually for eternity). That was the bad news; Now we know nothing can create intelligent design, order, conscience, morality, but an external greater force, (Almighty God) can. Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: People know God exists, but suppress the truth in unrighteousness, John 3:19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Some sources for Jesus: 500+ witnesses, 24000+ manuscripts, fulfillment of Biblical Prophecies, historical, archeological, scientific data, 9 ancient sources, Holy Scripture, etc. The Lord Jesus Christ's resurrection shows that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one and only way, truth, and the life. HERE IS THE + GOOD NEWS! + The Ultimate Sacrifice and Victory Though we’ve lied, stolen, blasphemed, lusted, and broke all God’s laws, and will be justly condemned to Hell if we remain in our sins, God is the God of Love whose mercy endureth forever, God does not want any to perish but for all to come to repentance, so God sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, (God manifested in the flesh), to suffer the wrath of God we deserved, then Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again on the third day conquering sin death and the grave! God offers salvation as a free gift, amazing Grace! Our Response When we repent of our sins and trust fully in the Saviour to rescue us from our own sinfulness, we become new creations! “The old has gone, the new has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17)! Along with inheriting our new identity as a Christian, a child of God, an ambassador for the Lord, we are assured a place in Heaven and gain the desire and power to battle sin. Whereas before, we were held captive to sin, utterly powerless and given zero reason even to fight against it, now, we are slaves to Christ and His righteousness (Romans 6:18). This is where true freedom begins! But, what exactly does repentance mean? And what does it look like to trust Christ exclusively. Repentance is to reject your old sinful ways of living and make a 180-turn towards God and His good, righteous character/statutes. It means we feel the weight of our guilt before God and respond by sincerely apologizing for our wickedness, thanking Him for His pardon through the blood of Jesus, and living the rest of our lives to please Him — and Him alone. To trust Christ is to understand that only He has the power and authority to rescue you from your sin. No amount of good deeds will save you; only His redeeming blood-sacrifice will. Not one person will make it to Heaven because of something they did. The credit for our salvation belongs entirely to the Lord. So, love Him! “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30) because of Who He is and what He has done for us. Summary To sum it up, here is a brief message of the Gospel: You’ve sinned; I’ve sinned; we’ve all sinned. Every single one of us needs saving and we can’t save ourselves; there is no possibility of earning our way to Heaven. Jesus Christ, the blameless Messiah, — truly God & truly man — humbled Himself as a servant on Earth and died a horrible death, paying the penalty we rightfully deserved for our own sin. Three days later, He conquered sin/death once-and-for-all by resurrecting from the grave. Now, through Christ’s death and victory, we can be made alive (no longer spiritually dead). He paid our ransom, our fine, and triumphed over the power of sin so that we could do the same, following after Him. What do you need to do to receive this precious, totally undeserved gift of salvation? Repent and believe (Mark 1:15). Turn away from sin, reject your old way of life and place the entirety of your trust in Jesus Christ. Humble yourself. Quit being prideful, relying upon your own good deeds to get you through. Understand that He is the only way to Heaven and put your faith in Him alone to save you. Thank you for taking the time to read it, the person reading this, I care about you so much and there is nothing more important than your salvation, and God wants you to come to salvation. Peace be with you. Love you! We are saved by grace through faith in what Christ has done on the Cross, justified and given His righteousness as a gift!

Some quotes, not needed beause everyone knows intuitively God exists, but here anyway. I care for you, please humbly put your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

This view [that Jesus didn’t exist] is demonstrably false. It is fuelled by a regrettable form of atheist prejudice, which holds all the main primary sources, and Christian people, in contempt. …. Most of its proponents are also extraordinarily incompetent.

Maurice Casey, Nottingham University, in Jesus of Nazareth

Today, nearly all historians, whether Christians or not, accept that Jesus existed and that the gospels contain plenty of valuable evidence which has to be weighed and assessed critically.

The late Graham Stanton, Cambridge University, in The Gospels and Jesus

Biblical scholars and classical historians now regard it [the theory that Jesus didn’t exist] as effectively refuted.

Robert Van Voorst, Western Theological Seminary, in Jesus outside the New Testament

I do not have to provide you evidence because you know God exists but suppress the truth in unrighteousness, it is not a truth problem, it’s a heart problem, people don’t want there to be a God because there love for sin and pleasures are more than being righteous.

nothing can not create space matter nor time, and also they believe there is no such thing as good or evil nor objective truth, our conscience says otherwise.

The Bible is a reliable collection of historical documents written by eyewitnesses during the lifetime of other eyewitnesses which report supernatural events in fulfillment of specific prophecies claiming that they are words of divine origin, rather than human in origin." derived from 2 Peter 1:16-21

C.S. Lewis on Reasoning to Atheism

‎”Supposing there was no intelligence behind the universe, no creative mind. In that case, nobody designed my brain for the purpose of thinking. It is merely that when the atoms inside my skull happen, for physical or chemical reasons, to arrange themselves in a certain way, this gives me, as a by-product, the sensation I call thought. But, if so, how can I trust my own thinking to be true? It’s like upsetting a milk jug and hoping that the way it splashes itself will give you a map of London. But if I can’t trust my own thinking, of course I can’t trust the arguments leading to Atheism, and therefore have no reason to be an Atheist, or anything else. Unless I believe in God, I cannot believe in thought: so I can never use thought to disbelieve in God.”

—C.S. Lewis The Case for Christianity, p. 32.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEsas0imGrY&list=PLziUyIPw8DftLWbgm1ch27jFQKhZSw-1-

https://youtu.be/HEsas0imGrY

https://youtu.be/cia3C2Bn6v0

https://youtu.be/TCSUKIhjevo

[foodoliplife]

So what does good thesis statement appear to be?100 Thesis Statement Examples

So what does good thesis statement appear to be?100 Thesis Statement Examples

There was one tip that is big composing a great essay nearly every article on the internet provides you with. It is to create a clear and certain thesis statement. The impression a audience shall get greatly will depend on exactly exactly how good you can formulate the declaration. No one should have questions about its main idea and the topic you discuss in it after reading your essay. For this reason , you should invest some time composing your thesis statement. Write variants that are several objectively assess all of them. With them, do not give up and think of a new one if you are not completely happy. It could be an annoying and process that is exhausting. Nonetheless, you will have to try hard if you want to get good results. But exactly just exactly how one does it? You must know what’s the main notion of your paper and just how to communicate it in an extensive and concise method. Below are a few associated with the thesis declaration examples to simply help you create this task less problematic.

Thesis declaration formula

As you can plainly see, there is absolutely no universal thesis statement formula as all types of a writing project calls for an approach that is different. In a few full situations, you’ll have to consist of counterarguments, plus in other people presenting entirely your standpoint will suffice. Listed here are a few examples:

A closer examination proves that …… while there is a common belief that…….. The recent facts show that …… The reason for is …… and as a result …… despite the……..

Argumentative Essay

Recommendation of youngster work by worldwide organizations shouldn’t be supported. Consumers must not purchase products through the countries that endorse youngster work as this types of monetary approval encourages big corporations to boost the manufacturing, the fatigue of a child’s human anatomy may cause serious health issues, as well as the work deprives kids of the youth.

The morality of atheists and theists. Even though atheists would not have an instruction of great behavior given by the superior beings, they may not be less ethical than theists. They will have their very own compass that is moral guidelines founded by society to distinguish good deeds through the bad people.

Testing medications on pets may be the sacrifice we need to make. The best value we’ve is a person life. If testing a brand new medication on a pretty small bunny could cause saving your mum or dad from the terminal infection, then here is the sacrifice we have to make. Animal screening may cause our healthier future, less incurable conditions, and more saved everyday lives.

Obtaining a college diploma is important. Even though there are lots of samples of effective people with out a degree, everyone is going through this phase of self-development. The years in university offer you knowledge, improve your skills that are soft and link you along with other bright those who makes it possible to arrive at the most notable later on.

Information that is personal on the net needs to have a legislative foundation. Even though we can’t imagine our life without social media marketing, we need to be cautious concerning the information we offer as they can be useful for research reasons. There ought to be certain guidelines in regards to the option of big information and who are able to put it to use for someone’s benefits because it will be easy to manipulate people’s minds, gather the personal information without permission and use it.

Landing on the Moon is really a fake. Despite the clear presence of a documentary video clip of landing in the Moon, it ought to be named the largest fraud. The important points associated with movie together with proven fact that it could not be filmed on the Moon surface that we still have not made a come back there after more than 40 years indicate.

Moms and dads monitoring their children internet use could be the right thing. because there is lots of of good use and academic information about the online world, moms and dads should control the online world usage of kids. Kiddies get sidetracked, save money time on harmful those sites, and give a wide berth to social conversation.

Cash being an inspiration once and for all grades is definitely an option. The approach of motivating the youngsters to have good grades if you are paying them may be a model regarding the real-world situation. In the event that you work hard to get great outcomes, you’re going to get compensated appropriately. In this manner of support is acceptable and may be utilised by parents.

The line between exaggeration and is based on marketing. There aren’t sufficient regulatory norms to really make the advertisement that is modern deceiving. The line between exaggeration and lies is certainly not clear as well as the items turn that is advertised don’t meet the clients’ expectations. Whenever we introduce more rigid guidelines to marketing, you will have less disappointed clients.

Area missions really should not be a priority. We spend huge amounts of bucks on developing the techniques of Mars colonization while you will find huge numbers of people enduring famine right right here, on our world. It will be more useful to save money on saving people in Africa from starvation and water shortages than giving you to definitely a planet that is distant.

Unfair wage rates of physicians. In the field where human being life could be the biggest value, physicians should have the greatest wage prices, maybe perhaps perhaps not actors and vocalists. They save everyday lives, deprive us of physical discomfort, and now have to pay several years of learning and exercising in order to do this.

Euthanasia must certanly be legalized. Euthanasia must be seen as one of several feasible methods for closing a person’s life. The proper of life is directed at everybody and we also are absolve to just simply simply take choices we think about to be appropriate.

Homeschooling is beneficial. Homeschooling is an effectual means of educating young ones because it gives a way to give attention to individual power and weaknesses, make emphasis in the specific topics a young child has a pastime in, and adjust the studying way of the absolute most convenient for a kid.

Food diets are simply waste of the time. Multiple instances show that most the food diets have short-term influence on your body. Diets are inadequate because individuals begin gaining fat when they stop plus the organism passes through a stress that is unnecessary.

The creation of cigarettes should decrease by 90%. The production of cigarettes should decrease by 90per cent to make certain that over time, the harmful practice could vanish. a decrease that is significant the creation of tobacco items will resulted in minimization of need upon it because the cost are certain to get greater, the supply will decrease and people will never be able to get it.

Reverse discrimination during the workplace is a problem. The concern about being penalized when it comes to discrimination of ethnical minorities in the workplace results in the discrimination for the remaining portion of the populace. There ought to be law that balances away this inequality.

Redistribution of income allocated to the area programs is needed. The federal government must not put money into the seek out brand new exoplanets since it does not have any value that is practical individuals on the planet. Rather, they need to give attention to asteroid mining jobs in order to obtain the resources that are vital they all are utilized on the planet and survive.

Vinyl surgeries shouldn’t be permitted to every person. Even though synthetic surgeries are aesthetically justified, they don’t re re re solve the emotional issues of aspire to change one’s appearance. They must be permitted just in serious situations since they give people the fake satisfaction, may cause an addiction, and support the objectification of one’s image.

Game titles violence that is advocating be prohibited. Video games featuring violent episodes should really be prohibited while they result in violence at schools, harm the mindset of minds, and produce the image that is perverted of.

Abortions essay writers should always be appropriate. The legalization of abortions ought to be legalized as females needs to have the freedom in order to make choices regarding their bodies and you can find instances whenever there may be hardly any other way to the situation.