#super catholic christian boys

[asitrita]

Quite recently, while researching Spanish fauna, I found out that the endemic hare from Northern Spain “liebre de piornal” or “liebre de Castroviejo” is called “broom hare” in English, and since I’m just in such a Harry Potter mood lately, I couldn’t help but to think this was definitely the most famous pet among Spanish wizards, because there’s just no way little kids wouldn’t want to have their own broom hare lol. The little thing:

[faunandfloraas]

looking at twt and seeing a tweet talk about a girl group and the way the post was worded i was thinking these girls had committed an atrocity, cut someones heart of on the hanteo red carpet or something, like the wording was just so serious and disgusted and then I look and ? they danced in a church for a music video. I'm meant to be offended by this?

[gromlyn]

as someone who went to a private christian high school this perfectly describes multiple kids I went to school with all I'm saying is private christian high school is the perfect modern au setting if you're looking for a setting that captures systemic abuses of power like westeros

i am pretty anti asoiaf modern aus bc they seem to exist to remove any problematic content. this is why my modern au where larys is a school shooter and alicent is a pro life bible thumper is way better and different. plus american high schools love to reward homophobic and misogynistic repressed hot guy cops so it’s an au where criston always comes out on top

[actualmermaid]

Since I've spent the last month-plus neck-deep in queer Christian history research, I ended up with some thoughts™️ about "classical" Western homoeroticism vs. Christian homophobia.

Liberal Christian apologetics sometimes do a very annoying thing when asked to explain the homophobia in the New Testament epistles. Because it's real, it's there, and homophobic Christians take it as the Unquestionable Word of God. So obviously we have to do something about it.

The liberal explanation tends to go something like this: "the epistle writer is talking about the abusive and exploitative homosexual acts that were common in ancient Rome, not the loving/egalitarian/mutually respectful relationships that gay people are able to have today." And it's so frustrating because there is SOME truth in this. We and Paul both know that the Greeks and Romans were notorious pederasts and slave-abusers. And that's bad! It's super bad. I do agree that Paul/the epistle writer is condemning abusive behavior using language and frameworks that would have been available to him at the time. Deciphering the social context of the epistles can get messy.

But the annoying thing is this: it is not affirming to suggest that all gay people in the past were either abusers or their victims, and "we're more enlightened now" is a lie. We are not smarter than the Greeks. We are not more civilized than the Romans. We are not more pious than the medievals. (Hello there, Roman Catholic sex abuse scandals.) And there have always been gay people who have defied all odds to have loving, egalitarian, and mutually respectful relationships with each other, even if we do not know their stories or their struggles.

This is kind of the crux of John Boswell's "controversial" thesis: gay people have always existed, even if they had to conceal themselves and their relationships behind various protective structures. (I actually haven't read any of his books yet, so I'm not going to engage too deeply with the nuances of his arguments.) When people try to dismiss him, I suspect it's because they don't notice or appreciate what he probably noticed. I have a hunch that Boswell's arguments are not super intersectional and focus mostly on the privileged sphere of people who left written records in the Middle Ages, but hey, serious LGBTQ Christian history research has to start somewhere. I'll withhold judgment for now. But I do think he was totally right about one thing: Saints Sergius and Bacchus. They were totally a gay couple until somehow proven otherwise, IMO. The reason I think he was right is because he was able to notice the "classical" aesthetics of homoeroticism in their legend even though it might not obvious to people who don't know what they're looking for. Straight people reading the legend are like "there's nothing gay about this" and gay people are like "wow, this story is pretty gay."

If you've ever looked into Western gay history, you've seen two words: erastes and eromenos. This means "lover" and "beloved," the two sides of a classical Greek pederastic relationship. The Greeks did actually recognize an age of consent and had ideals of proper behavior that regulated these relationships, but these were still usually relationships between a teenage boy and an older man, which isn't great. They also had all kinds of weird ideas about the politics of penetration and so forth. The Greeks and Romans didn't really think that two people could really be equal to each other--in any relationship, there was always one who was sort of subordinate to the other. So it was "weird" for two social equals to be in a gay relationship, as opposed to one with one partner who was already "established" and was "showing the ropes" to a younger guy who needed some wholesome manly instruction. We may not be better, smarter, or more enlightened than people in the past, but we do have the ability to critique them and try to identify the harmful behaviors that we've inherited from them, so we can do better. We've come a long way since the days of erastes/eromenos relationships, but one thing has stuck around: the classical aesthetics of a "manly guy" and an "idealized youth" in love with each other.

Apropos of nothing, here's a photo of John Boswell and his longtime partner Jerry Hart. They were within a year of being the same age.

So anyway, this brings us back to the legend of Sergius and Bacchus. The version that Boswell translated takes great pains to show how Sergius and Bacchus were equals in every way. They're both Roman officers, they're about the same age, they sing in unison, and are united in the egalitarian love of Christ. However, they are still just a little bit unequal. Sergius is of a slightly higher rank than Bacchus.

To be clear, this whole legend is a literary creation, and it's got a bunch of Byzantine propaganda in it. It's not history, it's mythology. Whoever wrote it down would have been familiar with erastes/eromenos dynamics, because these were everywhere in classical antiquity. So they made sure to specify all the ways in which Sergius and Bacchus were equals, but took a firm position in ye olde fandom top/bottom discourse.

Throughout the legend, Sergius acts, and Bacchus is acted upon. Bacchus is killed first, and Sergius is temporarily demoralized. Bacchus then appears to Sergius in a vision encouraging him to stay strong. Sergius is so steadfast that they can't torture him enough to make him recant his faith, and he is beheaded. Even straight couples are not usually said to have been reunited in heaven, but Sergius and Bacchus are.

So, knowing that Sergius is the erastes and Bacchus is the eromenos in this story, we can start to notice it in iconography too. It's not always consistent, but sometimes icons will have Sergius' cloak curling protectively over Bacchus' head, or one of them taking a slightly more "authoritative" posture, etc.

Above all, they are always depicted as true equals--sometimes they almost look like twins.

Increasingly, modern icons are being made that explicitly communicate the idea that they were a gay couple. The one on the left was created by Robert Lentz, a Franciscan friar, for Chicago Pride in 1994. The one on the right makes the classical homoerotic aesthetic super explicit, and is by far the most sexually-suggestive "traditional-style" icon I have ever seen lol. Shoutout to this artist.

So to sum up: John Boswell knew what the fuck he was talking about. Also, none of this excuses the homophobia in the Christian scriptures or the homophobia that Christians continue to perpetuate. However, knowing what to look for in art and writing helps us understand that gay people were not magically granted the ability to have egalitarian relationships in the modern world, and THAT leads us away from problematic apologetics.

[sweetbunpura]

Honestly, I'm like 75% sure that Christianity (or any other real-world religion for that matter) doesn't exist in Twisted Wonderland in any meaningful capacity (Since I think most people seem to semi-worship the Great Seven, or at least that's how it looks like).

But if it did: Walt Disney would be God and Mickey would be Jesus.

And Yuu would be their prophet with how many damn vague prophetic dreams they keep getting.

I will accept no criticism on this.

I can't believe Mickey gave himself for our sins. Yuu is a disciple.

Mickey: Go and preach my world.

Yuu: Mickey doesn't believe in fair pay.

Mickey: Wait, no-

It's funny to imagine it since TWST is close to how our world functions, but they don't touch religion cause that's a whole fight waiting to happen. Rollo is probably the closest we'll get, but even he's not super religious. But it will not stop us from making jokes about him being a catholic boy.

Riddle: What does the word say today, Yuu?

Yuu, opens Disney world guide: Thou shall not die in the park.

Mickey: NOOOOOO!

[tiffanylamps]

[pics, links, and my silliness under the break]

[for caroline: eton's chapel, religious provisions]

info regarding the school with pictures (this is a complete side note: I think once you've* see where joo won lived and understand the people he went to school with [the royal family send their kids to eton], you get a better understanding of why joo won is such a snob. he probably even believes that his own studio flat is somewhat beneath him, considering he went to school with the children of billionaires... and like... we don't know how wealthy the han family (and lee family) is, but they must pretty loaded to send joo won to some of the top schools in england from age 7 to 17**) * i don't mean you you, caroline. i'm more using the figurative you, the "royal" you ** from my understanding, joo won was 7 when he was sent to england and that age is derived from the timeline of the show and by basing it off the korean aging system. meaning, he left korea as a 7-year-old boy and arrived in england as a 6-year-old boy. and he left when he was 16... but was 17 when he came back to korea...???? idk i'm probably wrong also, i'm throwing my joo won choir boy propaganda into the ring:

i can totally see him in the get-up. plus, it just seems so fitting for his personality that he would study the latin songs and become so engrossed with getting his notes perfect. like. perrrrfect. and he would refuse to help the other kids out with their parts, because he's a prick lol i'msemijokingbutnotreallybutlike touring eton college chapel choir goes to korea au when???? (pls know i'm joking... unless 👀. pls ignore me)

here is the choir boys in action to help set the ambiance

sorry to bombard you with all this eton nonsense, i just thought it might help you with your joo won religious trauma headcanon (and i... kinda wanna feed your headcanon for my own selfish reasons lol)

personally, i think a part of the reason why han joo won and lee dong sik are as intense as they are is because they both have some weird religious trauma going on. we know that dong sik is definitely from a christian/catholic background because the show literally opens with his family being christian/catholic/whichever it was, but joo won is. look at that guy. no one talks that much about hell unless you’ve got some deep-rooted catholic or christian trauma. have u ever seen a queer person talk about their relationship with religion. the energy is just different

[trippingontheescalator]

Snape Headcanons

He's bad at geography. Sure, he knows this super rare, obscure potion ingredient can only be found in this one area in Laos, but ask him to find Laos on a map he won't have a clue. There was a time he dreamed about seeing world, but he quickly realized he would never get the opportunity and so doesn't see any purpose in learning geography.

A lot of the Marauders' claims about him, like knowing curses as a first year, are exaggerated, but the one thing they're right about is Snape was very nosy. Part of it was because it was useful; knowledge is power, after all. He could trade gossip with his fellow Slytherins, or use it to keep one step ahead of the Marauders (or taunt them with it). But most of it is just his natural curiosity. He's a people watcher. He doesn't often understand people, is bad at human interaction, so he watches from a distance.

Severus knows half the first years think he's some sort of vampire and he revels in it. He knows exactly the kind of image he creates, dressing up in those long black, swishing robes, the spooky dungeons with the jars full of animal body parts. His taste is 33% Mad-Scientist-Run-Amuck, 33% Sad-Victorian-Boy-Dying-of-Tuberculosis, 33% Tacky-Post-Halloween-Discounted-Decor, and 1% Lucius's-Increasing-Despair-to-Make-Severus-Into-a-Functional-Human-Being.

In addition to potions and reading, Severus also does a lot of writing. He's been working on-and-off on a novel since he was fifteen. At this point, it's almost 500,000 words long. One of the few ways he's able to express his thoughts and feelings is through fiction. The main character was heavily based on Lily, especially in the early stages when they were still friends, but as he grew older he put more of himself into the character and now she's become the version of himself he wishes he could be. The night before he kills Dumbledore he burns the entire thing.

Severus knows the DADA position is cursed. Everyone knows it's cursed. He still asks to teach it every year because he also knows that it's the only way he can escape Hogwarts, and he's willing to risk death to do it.

His feelings for Lily have gone through the entire spectrum. At times, she was a sister to him, especially the years before Hogwarts. He used to be incredibly jealous of Petunia, wished he could be Lily's sibling and live in their house and have their parents. It became romantic as a young teenager, especially since she was the only person he felt safe enough with for his pubescent mind to fixate on and explore his budding sexuality. Later, as he became friends with the other Slytherins in his year, it was strictly platonic but nonetheless a very deep friendship. They were both trying to control the other, and Severus was especially worried that Lily would end up like Eileen if she gave into Potter's charms. After his failed apology, he grew angry and resentful and he tried very much to hate her (but he couldn't, not even after she married Potter). And then, after her death, it circled back around to brotherly. He liked to remember those early years best of all, and his devotion to a better cause after her death parallels that of Dumbledore's after Ariana died.

Look I know there's a lot of confusion about godparents, and HP didn't help by being coy about religion, but a godparent isn't a legally appointed guardian. Like, they definitely can be if the parents want that (as it appears to be the case with Sirius Black), but that's not the default. A godparent sponsors a child's baptism and is in charge of their spiritual upbringing, making sure they know their catechism, etc (hence the god part of godparent, its a Catholic/Anglican thing). And the most widespread religion in HP does seem to be Christianity with Christmas being celebrated and whatnot (though I do headcanon the purebloods have their own Druidic/Christian hybrid religion going on). With that being said-- Severus Snape is Draco's godfather. He's also Merula Snyde's godfather. And Pansy Parkinson's godfather. And, like, the godfather of 10 other kids of former Death Eaters. Severus Snape climbed the Death Eater ladder; he was one of Voldemort's favourites during the First War and these other Death Eaters were like, "Damn. I got to get on his good side. Please sponsor my child's baptism."

[starsandaces24]

I was thinking about St. Hilarion's. It could either be an Anglican or a Catholic school, which might mean different things for the boys.

-Anglican - The state religion, meaning that Edwin's parents would be relatively normal members of Edwardian society. Comprises most of the current faith schools in Britain (I'm getting this off Wikipedia), but not all of them. (I'm not getting into Catholicism versus Protestantism because I'm in no way an expert, but Catholics were definitely a minority religion in 1916 England).

In Charles' (and Edwin's) case, this means his parents might not be super religious. I don't know if Ms. Rowland is Hindu, Christian, or not super religious, but if she is Christian, she would probably be Anglican because that's who took over India. Anyway, his parents might not be very religious because the Church of England was the default, meaning they probably sent him to St. Hilarion's because it was the best school or his father went there.

Evidence: Charles' family doesn't seem to be as rich (Look at Charles' room, there's a pretty good post about it. It's pretty small and a rich family would probably let their kid have a bigger room even if one of his parents was abusing him) and the CoE gives out more spots to people who can't afford it (in modern times, at least.) Also, it's the state religion.

-Catholic - There were less Catholic schools, meaning he would probably be further from home. Charles' family would definitely be pretty religious because they sent their kid there instead of a non-religious school or something.

Evidence: There's only one thing I can think of, but it's pretty convincing. Saint Hilarion is only considered a saint in the Catholic Church. (And a few other Orthodox churches, but I'm not considering either of them).

-Conclusion: St. Hilarion's is probably a Catholic school. I'm explaining myself out of the "Charles' family might be poor" by saying Charles' grandparents would probably pay for his school.

Extra: I would assume that Edwin's father went to the school no matter what, and Victorian parents (I'm referring to Edwin's grandparents) living in colonies would often sent their little boys off to boarding schools to learn to be "proper members of society, blah, blah, blah." Edwin's father might have grown up in India.

Edit: Preempting the "Charles' is left handed, Catholic schools wouldn't have let him do that", I know someone slightly older than Charles and he made it out of school perfectly left handed. I asked him, and he said that they stopped doing it when he went to school. Does that mean every school did that? No. Does that mean that St. Hilarion's could have? Yes.

[disregardcanon]

i'm thinking about a npmd the good place au and HOO BOY the ideas

it's a season 1 setup, with tinky as the architect of the neighborhood.

... good janets are petes and bad janets are teds. OUR pete is the neighborhood's pete and he's just kinda. trying to get by. shit's weird, guys. he doesn't remember how he got here and all his protocols have been messed up and the guy that took him isn't very nice. but this is- it's fine. it has to fine (there's no other choice.)

grace chastity is still adjusting to the idea that the christian god isn't real. she is not enjoying that very much, but she IS validated by the idea that her actions as a christian got her into The Place Where Good People Go. her actual exploits like mission trips and getting dances canceled and running abstinence camp are what are brought up during the Look How Cool We Are Welcome to the Neighborhood gala.

steph has been assigned to be her soulmate. she isn't supposed to be here. she's not like, an ABSURDLY bad person for anything, she just. was raised by solomon lauter. so she got the hell out of dodge after graduation and MAYBE she did some scams to get by after that. and like maybe she knows how to make a molotov cocktail and has used one once or twice. she certainly isn't The Best Person Who Did All These Things To Help the World and Support Great Liberal Causes that they keep saying she is. (she... wishes she was. though.) and these bible studies that her soulmate (soulmate???? THE FUCK) grace chastity keeps trying to force her to do so not to out her to the authorities as A Mistake Who Should Not Be Here. really aren't helping. (like come on. grace still insists that it's bad to be bisexual but look who her soulmate is? STEPH! so maybe steph knows more about how to adjust to this new world that little miss evangelist does)

ruth fleming is the first recorded case (according to tinky) of a Human Without a Soulmate in the history of humanity. just her fucking luck. she can't even get the robot guy to fuck her. ughgggghhh. you spend your life writing high quality erotic for lonely people and it gets you into heaven! but it doesn't even get you a partner. fuckin' rude

max jagerman doesn't think that he did anything wrong. he was the king of hatchetfield high, and then hatchetfield community college, and then he managed to fight his way to a backup quarterback spot on the jacksonville jaguars (this is the good place it will be the jaguars). and then! he's the REAL quarterback! if patrick ma-fucking-homes would just drop dead he'd be the most famous quarterback in the united states, thank you!

but when he dies... the guy doesn't tell him congrats on all the success. he doesn't even recognize that this is MAXWELL JAGERMAN! the quarterback who should be the most famous and well-respected in the united states. he makes some weird references to how... ambition... is... bad? and that those that hurt other people are... bad? says something about being a channel of peace or whatever? and that if this was a mix up then max is free to go to "drowsy town"? whatever the fuck that means.

so when he says "but you're not an ambitious bully that hurt others to get where you were! you're a super nice silent catholic monk who promoted peace on earth, right?" and max just.... stares.

"do you want to keep up your vow of silence? you can just nod." and max... does. because what the fuck do you say to that? shit shit shit shit shit shit FUCK

his "soulmate" is richie lipschitz, warrior for the sanctity of other people's art. why, if his youtube channel that makes fun of other people's bad art and takes and uses his fan base to come after much smaller creators isn't a net positive in the world, then what IS? some loser who doesn't understand anything complaining about the fascist implications of attack on titan on the internet? HA! (richie is disappointed that his soulmate isn't someone better, who likes him, but it was never going to live up to rei or asuka anyway. so he'll live)

he's the only one who knows max, and they went to high school together. max was the exact sort of bully that he was in canon. and it takes a LOT of sweet talk about how richie's the one who's actually supposed to be here to get him to stay quiet about the Max Actually Being an Awful Football Player and Not That Cool Silent Monk thing.

ruth and richie become friends through a series of sitcom tomfoolery. the sitcom tomfoolery is mainly Dragging The Poor Robot Into Playing Games and then Getting Mad That He's Better At The Games Than They Are. also ruth getting frustrated that the robot does not want to fuck her. (it's not because the robot does not want to fuck she's just not his type)

steph knows that she recognizes that silent monk guy from somewhere but can't quite put her finger on it, and she knows that something is VERY wrong here.

grace is developing a crush on her soulmate and does not know how to do that. (does being a soulmate count as marriage? is it actually bad to be gay when god doesn't even properly exist? did her actions matter since she wasn't serving a real god? what do you do with an EXISTENTIAL CRISIS IN THE AFTERLIFE?!?!?! ugh stomachache.)

max wants to figure out how to go back to being The Coolest Guy Ever, FUCK YEAH (he can't even shout go nighthawks or jacksonville jaguars, because he can't talk! it sucks!) but he knows that his soulmate Will Not Help. the guy, unreasonably, is still holding high school against him. and also everything else that max has legitimately messed up since then. (ha, it's almost like. consequences to your actions-) and then he meets grace chastity, biggest prude and most Sure of Herself in This Entire Place.

and he's in love <3 he prostrates himself in front of her and BEGS her to help him become "a good person" so that he can stay here. and grace is like i really don't have time for that i have to teach my own Secretly Shitty Soulmate the bible. and steph's like uh you can just. stop doing that. i'm really not interested-

and grace is like NO YOU ARE NOT LEAVING ME YOU BEAUTIFUL CHARMING SEDUCTRESS! and steph's like ugh. did i finally cure this girl's internalized homophobia in time for her to just. not leave me the fuck alone? fuck

so a max who, in theory, wants to learn grace chastity's version of Good Personhood so that he can earn his spot here and become Coolest Guy in the Good Place, King of Good Place High, and mainly just wants to spend time with her and get her to like him, grace who is having a bisexual panic attack and also fighting off existential dread, and steph, who knows that there is something very very wrong here and that grace can't help her with morality but also. has not figured out what's wrong or who can. is just stuck here while the other two flirt and grace occassionally remembers to make googly eyes HER way instead of max jagerman's. who IS the famous football player. what a fuckin' world

steph starts trying to research What the Fuck Is Wrong Here, and realizes that max's soulmate, richie, and tragically unattached ruth are befriending the Robot with Godlike Knowledge. and she's like oh wow i could probably utilize that in my Research.

more sitcom shenanigans occur. grace and max stop noticing that their third wheel isn't attending bible studies and they become more and more them just dancing towards sexual encounters.

steph uses her con artist raised by a politician (other type of con artist) skills to notice more and more strange fuckery, as things with the world start spiraling further and further out of control.

"you're pretty funny. you know, for a robot."

"not a robot."

"then what are you, exactly?"

"... a spankoffski?" and steph feels really bad for laughing.

she gets figured out as Not Who She Appears to Be and has to go through this big long contrived process to get to stay in the good place instead of getting shipped off, and it just seems... like so much. they bring up reps from the bad place and the stakes seem so contrived.

ruth and richie shenanigan together by Trying to Find The Swinger Soulmate Pairs while steph tries to figure out why, exactly, nothing feels real. and it feels less real when the walls start to enclose and she might be getting removed from the good place entirely.

the bad place representatives show up: another weird guy with another weird name and his own robot.

the bad place even has their own version of pete- a weird, horny bastard who won't answer anyone's questions and just complains the whole time. but why would that demon that they brought up be... willing? to let them cut a deal? why does their architect seem... weirdly chummy with them? they act almost the same, treating their robot right hands with the same amount of... callous contempt. perhaps the Ted "deserves" it, but-

... why isn't tinky kind to pete? pete might not be HUMAN, but he's still... sentient. he has thoughts and feelings and he's her favorite company in this godforsaken place- and tinky is supposed to be the creator of a place that's good and just.

what exactly are their numbers indicating? why is everything so confusing and bullshit and-

she runs out to the lake, just to clear her head. sit by the water and watch. she pulls her knees up to her chest and wraps her arms around them.

"hey pete?" she asks. the well-dressed robot materializes beside her. sitting cross-legged.

"everyone has... points, right? that's how they figure out if you go to the good place or the bad place?"

"that's correct."

"who has the most points here?"

"you."

steph chuckles. "good one, spankoffski. i didn't know you could joke on purpose"

he tilts his head in confusion. "it wasn't a joke."

"i- what?"

"there are only 5 sets of numbers here. yours is the highest. it's been going up steadily ever since you got here."

steph just stares. "pete, there can't- there's hundreds of people here. why would only 5 of us have numbers?"

"only humans have numbers," he says simply. and oh god, oh fuck, oh shit-

"how did you get here?" she asks softly.

he looks thoughtful for a moment. "i... don't remember."

so steph gathers up the five other humans and they break their way into tinky's office, pete in tow.

and he's like "huh. what are you all doing here together?"

the other four humans are still confused, but steph is a forceful personality and convinced them this was the only way to fix things.

"go ahead and send me to the bad place," steph says, "i thought about it, and i don't want to keep making things so HARD on all of you. i was soooo selfish in life, but i don't want to keep that up."

tinky looks anxious. "oh steph, you aren't a burden."

she smiles. "but i thought i wasn't even supposed to be here?"

"we've made it work," tinky promises.

steph laughs. "i don't think so. this show reminds me what my dad would do, when he wanted to seem like he was fighting for something politically that he already had set up. it's all a show, right?"

tinky grins tightly. "i don't know what you mean."

"you're not sending me to the bad place, because i'm ALREADY THERE!" she declares. the other humans gasp. pete looks unfazed.

tinky blinks. "i don't know what you're talking about."

"there are only 5 sets of numbers here," steph says, "and guess whose is the highest? MINE! and i'm not even supposed to be here."

"two clerical errors? really?" steph demands.

"things happen," tinky says.

"and the three that got here fair and square?" steph asks, "we have a self-righteous church girl, a bullied youtuber who started bullying people himself, and an erotic writer. of teacher/student!" steph laughs, "come on, you're telling me that THOSE are the best humanity has to offer? and that max and i both just so happpenneeddd to end up here? in error?"

tinky grits his teeth. "no one else here is even human. if they were, they'd act like it. and they'd have numbers. but they don't."

"this is our own little nightmare realm that you cooked up to torture us."

then tinky laughs, maniacal and goat-like.

"wait," grace whispers, "i'm not... a good person?"

"NO!" tinky cackles, "that was the fun! but now... someone's ruined it for all of us. we're going to have to reset everything now. are you happy, stephanie?"

she frowns. "reset?" tinky snaps his fingers, and the humans pass out on his floor.

"i'm not supposed to be here," pete says, looking with wide eyes over to the passed out humans.

"ugh," tinky says, "RESET!" and not-a-robot not-a-boy spankoffski resets too.

he has another chance at this. and another. and another. and another. and another- however many it takes to get this right. and he WILL get this right, after all. he has all the time in the world.

[hero-israel]

I keep hearing about Irish stances on all this, often in the key of "oppressed people everywhere recognize each other :)))))," in large part b/c I live in super-Irish Boston but also online, b/c -- to be salty -- I think a lot of white Irish-American people cling to Irish history so they feel less like white oppressors. Every day I grow a little more surprised at how fucking shameless it all is. It never occurred to me, somehow, that the Irish people around here don't know that they've been treating us like fucking garbage for decades, that Irish anti-semitism has defined so many of our childhoods, that my dad STILL tells me to wear an Italian horn necklace in Southie so when people look at me, they'll think I'm an Italian instead of Jew. I mean, they *know*, I guess -- but it's just really something to see all my Irish-American friends who care soooo muchhhh about examining all their biases cheerfully be like, "ofc we stand with palestine and resistance worldwide :))))" Like yeah, no shit, Seamus? The Irish don't like those filthy, greedy Christ-killers? Boy, that sure comes as a shock! Not like this could be at all connected to one of the deepest and more entrenched bigotries you guys have only barely begun to cover up in the last couple of decades! Gee!

I can't speak about Irish-Americans, but can very confidently say that Ireland's government and society wrt Jews and Israel is incurably poisoned by primordial Catholic antisemitism. Ireland noticed that sex abuse and orphan dungeons were bad because the victims were also Catholic, but the same social structures and teachings inspiring constant judgment and death-wishing of Jews were left in place unquestioned and unchanged. Ireland was notoriously the only country to send condolences to Germany when Hitler died - even Axis Japan didn't do that! The IRA had strong Nazi sympathies, because calling Derry "Londonderry" was just that much worse than Babi Yar don't you know. Ironic that the colonized became the colonizers - the ultimate living embodiment of white Christian Europeans warping their entire society around interfering with a Middle Eastern conflict because they look and say HURP YOUR ENEMY IS JUST LIKE MINE YOURE JUST LIKE ME DURP ESPECIALLY I LIKE THE ME PART ME ME ME MEEEEE

[jenthebug]

Food bank update: sorting food again, this time with two teenage boys!

One, a 16-year-old black boy, was the absolute picture of conscientiousness: hard working, laser focused, changed his gloves every half hour like we’re supposed to, and listened to and understood everything.

The other, a 15-year-old Eastern European boy (I’m guessing Russian due to our local Russian enclaves and his admiration of Yuri Gagarin), needed more support and had more trouble staying focused, but he was still very helpful.

Listening to them talk was fascinating. 15 was very talkative and curious, so he was asking 16 all kinds of questions.

15: Are you Catholic?

16: I’m Christian. But not the kind of Christian that hates everyone.

15: Like atheists and gay people? My family hates everyone but I like gay people.

16: Gay people and atheists are cool.

Me: (happy queer atheist)

15 asked me questions too. He asked when and where I went to high school. I told him that I graduated in 1999 and that I’m old. He asked my age, I told him I’m 42.

15: You’re not old! Because my mom is 44 and she’s not old. Why do you say you’re old?

Me: I graduated high school and was moving through the world as an adult before you were even born.

16: Yeah, that’s old. Not, like, super old though.

Me: (lol thx kids)

I was bummed that Graye wasn’t there to start the shift, but they were down at the warehouse. 😁 I’m really starting to like them. Got myself a friend crush. They mentioned a volunteer karaoke night and I’m hoping they really want to plan something.

I made sure to thank the kids and heap specific praise on them, as kids need that. Got some good food, too.

[mattyriddlesbitch]

Theoretically, if one of the Slytherin boys were a different religion what and who would it be you think? For some reason I can't imagine all of them as Christians.

This is a really good question. I'm not trying to be biased at all. If you don't agree, that's completely fine. I'm more than happy to discuss this and hear other people's opinions. This is just how I feel.

I can honestly see Mattheo either being very atheist or like a devout believer, but I don't know in what religion. And my reason for that is he either doesn't believe because of his childhood and father and everything. OR, he would pray to any and all gods/goddesses to get through it all. I feel like he would go in phases of this, going in between believing and not. Like, he'll go through Christian/Catholic, then going to a little more obscure stuff, like Wiccan or Pagan. And I mean, like, Norse and Greek and Egyptian Gods. Like he is so desperate to find something to believe in, find some meaning in all of this.

I see Theodore as Catholic, if any religion. I don't really gave a big reason other than he gives off those vibes. I don't think he'd be super devout, like going to church every Sunday and praying all the time and all that. I think he'd be like the type to pray when things get hard for him and maybe wear a cross.

Lorenzo, I really don't know. I feel like he might believe, but no specific religion. Like his parents weren't of any denomination and never really taught him anything in regards to religion. But I feel like he's obviously been exposed to religious stuff and like kinda believes, kinda doesn't. More agnostic than atheist. But doesn't really do anything about it.

I don't see Tom really caring about that stuff. I feel like he's more logical based thinking, and if he can't see it, he can't believe it.

Draco would probably just be whatever his parents are until he's an adult, like moving out and all that. I think he'd go on a journey of discovering himself and not go based on what his parents say. I feel like he would be kinda like Mattheo where he'd either be atheist in the end, or find a religion and be really devout. I don't know if it would be Christian/Catholic. I think he changes a lot after he becomes an adult and I feel like he's just all over the place for a good few years before settling with something.

I can't really tell with Blaise. I don't think he is super religious either like Theodore. I feel like he if anything, he'd be pretty casual about it. Like praying when he wants something really bad, like getting a job he really wants or when he's ready for kids, like praying for his wife to get pregnant. I don't think he'd had a specific religion, it's just to God.

I do feel like for a lot of them, it's a big comfort thing. It's something to blame all the horrible things on and believe there's a meaning for all of it, some bigger plan than anyone can understand.

[bloodhivelottie]

yellowjackets headcanons dump!!!!!🐝

cuz these mfs are always buzzing around in my brain like the little bees that they are

• the yjs who got into the most shoving matches on the field are tai and shauna but nat talks the most shit just to rile the other team up lol. lottie also talks shit but in a real sassy way🙄

• jackie loves sweet foods but her mom never lets her eat them so whenever her and shauna go to the mall they sneak to get the biggest ice cream sundae known to man and share it :]

• van used to hold movie nights (at tai’s house) for the team and misty came once but she ate way too many skittles and threw up on the carpet and she wasn’t invited again after that😭

• lottie was a school transfer and didn’t have many friends at first which is why she joined the yellowjackets. the coach was crazy impressed with her skill and jackie started out really jealous and everyone was like ohhh we have a rivalry brewing!!! but jackie quickly came around and she was actually the one who started calling her lottie instead of charlotte

• van & nat were best friends as kids and lived in the same trailer park but when they were 14 vans mom moved to an apt and the two of them stopped hanging out and talking as much but they still have a bond with each other

• van and nat love the movie my cousin vinny and they still quote it all the time

• jackie was a HUGE fan of mia hamm and used to have a poster of her in her room but her mom got mad at her saying it wasn’t ladylike so jackie gave it to shauna but it’s been lying around shauna’s room ever since :[

• misty’s parents are rich doctors or something who are never home so she spends all her time either making super over the top collages of celebrity men or making a diary where she writes about literally everything and cuts out her yearbook and draws hearts around the boy she has a crush on. OR she’s up to some heinous shit researching crazy stuff. i just know she’s wayyyy too into serial killer info. and she’s prob dissected a frog or two in her time

• tai was the only one who was still able to enjoy soccer after the rescue. but i think van would’ve tried and maybe she still casually watched the uswnt until the 99’ers retired but after that she stopped watching.

• a lot of them turned vegetarian after they got rescued. i feel like nat’s vegetarian which is why she reacts like REALLY🙄 to misty when she eats beef jerky in s1 lol. lottie is absolutely vegan

• i like the hc people have that shauna’s jewish. jackie’s christian and she tries her best to celebrate shauna’s religious holidays w her but she always gets shit wrong but it’s the thought that counts right? nats definitely catholic but doesnt gaf

• lottie has a pet cat that she literally adores because it’s all she has to keep her company in her giant house cause her dad tells her not to talk to the maids :/

• nat can’t afford to buy her own guitar but kevyn lets her borrow his and he’s in the middle of teaching her how to play during the time she qualifies for nationals so the only song she knows how to play is come as you are by nirvana

• opposing teams HATE yj set pieces cause nat takes corners for the right side and tai and lottie are tall as fuck so they convert from corners a lottt >:)

• when shit got bad with nat or van’s family when they were younger they’d sneak out of their trailer windows and meet at a specific spot just to hang out and they’d talk all night or nat listens to her walkman and watches van practice tricks on her shitty beat up skateboard

• one time in the locker room nat’s putting a tape into her walkman and shauna notices and brings it up and they start chatting a little about their similar music taste for a minute until jackie appears and sweeps shauna away and nat’s just left there with her eyebrows raised cause she didn’t realize shauna was actually cool like that. LOL

• one day it was raining like crazy during practice and the field was muddy as fuck and tai accidentally slipped and got covered in mud. van’s crying laughing cause tai’s pissed about it until she slips and falls into the mud too. she ends up throwing some at the other girls for laughing at her and jackie gets hit and she’s like “oh so that’s how it’s gonna be huh?” and the next second everyone’s soaked and muddy and laughing and they all have to trudge back to the locker room afterwards and when they walk past coach scott he’s just shaking his head smiling

[greens-saline-solution]

Could you possibly do a Kyle Broflovski X catholic reader fluff? Where Readers parents don’t approve of the relationship because of religion and forbid the reader to see Kyle. However, They both still find a way to see each other. I know my writing is really confusing 😭 so no worries if you can’t do it.

Meeting the Parents

Note: I used to be Christian but was never Catholic so I’m sorry if I got anything wrong about being Catholic. You’re an adult so it's not like the parents can do much to forbid the reader from seeing someone, so I tried my best with it.

Warnings: parents disowning you

Gender: female

Relationship: established romantic

“I think I’m ready for you to meet my parents,” you say in a confident voice, but deep down you were scared of how your parents would react to you dating a Jewish boy. You know in their perfect world you would be dating a white, blonde, blue-eyed Catholic boy. “Awesome! I think I’m ready for you to meet mine as well,” you smile, you were excited to meet his parents, but also scared they wouldn’t approve either. You thought you needed to warn Kyle about your parents, knowing how they were. “My parents can be pretty scary, they are devout Catholics and I don’t know if they’ll approve of us dating… but we’re adults we can do what we want.”

“Oh, my parents are probably cool with us, if that makes you feel any better,” Kyle says, starting to stroke your back, “And if they do not approve of us, who cares, we’ll still see each other somehow.” You smile up at him, he was always so good at reassuring you that your worries won’t be as bad as you make them out to be. Kyle leans down and kisses you in the wooded area with a big rock you two claimed to be ‘your spot’. After he pulled away you two started texting your parents and set up good times to meet with them.

First, you and Kyle went to his parent’s house. You walked in and they greeted you with such kindness and then you all sat down and got to know each other. They were so happy Kyle had found a nice girl, they didn’t mind you two being different religions, especially because you weren’t too fond of yours. “Yeah, my parents were always super strict and I hated waking up early on Sundays to go to a mass that went on for what seemed like forever,” you said before they started telling you about Judaism. “Mom, it's not like she's gonna convert to it right now, or even ever, so she doesn’t need to know everything about it,” Kyle says starting to get a little embarrassed. “Oh, sorry honey, I didn’t mean to make it seem like I was trying to convert you,” Sheila says. “Oh no, no you’re fine,” you say not wanting her to feel bad.

Soon enough you had to get back home for your work tomorrow. Kyle excused you two from his parent’s house, but not leaving before Sheila gives you both of you hugs. You two got into Kyle’s car and Kyle turned on the car and started pulling out of the driveway. “So, that went really well, huh, Kyle,” “Yea, they really seemed to like you, so I don’t think they have any problems with us being together.” “It’s good we got the easy one out of the way first, I apologize in advance, but I really don’t know how my parents will be,” you say, preparing yourself for the worst with them.

Two days later you meet up with Kyle at his house. For the past two days, you had been extremely anxiety-ridden thinking of all the things that could go wrong when Kyle meets your parents. You knocked and Kyle answered the door, you went right in for a hug. Kyle hugs you back but you hold him so tight and say “No matter what my parents say, I want to stay with you, just so you know, they might not approve of us having different religions.” “I want to stay with you too, no matter what they say we’re adults and can make our own decisions to stay together,” Kyle says, petting your hair and giving you a  kiss on your head.

You knock on your parent's door, hand a little shaky, Kyle notices and says “It’ll be fine, sweetie, we can get through this.” Your mom opens the door and greets you with “Y/N!” and a big hug. Your father, behind her, says “Hello you two, I’m Daniel and this is Jane, come on in.” Your mother lets go of your hug and you and Kyle walk in. You all start talking when you get to the topic of religion, “I presume you’re Catholic too, Kyle,” your father says starting to talk about your priest. “Oh, no-” Kyle interrupts him, “I’m actually Jewish.” Your father immediately shuts up and looks at you along with your mother. “Oh god, here we go,” you say in your mind. “y/n, a word please?” your mother says in a sweet tone as she starts to get up along with your father.

You get up, looking back at Kyle with an ‘I’m sorry’ look, and start walking with them to the Kitchen, leaving Kyle alone in the living room, twiddling his thumbs. “What in the h-e-double hockey sticks do you think you’re doing bringing someone like that in here young lady!” your mom quietly scolds you. “How many times have we told you that you are supposed to date and marry a Catholic boy?” your dad whisper yelling at you. “You have to break up with him right now. You are not allowed to see him again.” “Mom, Dad, I’m an adult, I can make my own choices,” your parents begin demanding you stop seeing him, and how you need to break up with him.

“Come on Kyle, let's get out of here,” you say angrily, picking up your coat and purse. Kyle assumed what had gone down in there was not good by your tone of voice. It was confirmed when your father shouts out “Don’t come back until you come to your senses!” as you walk out the door. You start quietly muttering about how they were so unfair and so ridiculous. You get in your car and start bawling your eyes out. Kyle gets in and starts rubbing your back, “It’s okay, y/n, they can’t control us.” “I have to find a new church, as long as I stay with you they don’t wanna see me at all, and I don’t want to leave you,” you look at him with doe eyes. “Oh, y/n, we’ll get through this,” Kyle says as he goes in to hug you. You appreciate the embrace, starting your car after. You speed out of your parent’s driveway and neighborhood. Instead of going home, you drive to the park where your guys’ spot was.

You two get to the rock in the middle of the woods, hop on, and lay down together looking at the stars and cuddling. You curl into Kyle’s side, still lightly crying, and hold him tight. You loved your parents, but you also loved Kyle, you were so mad that your parent’s just immediately frowned upon him just because he was Jewish. You also couldn’t go to the church you had gone to your entire life, you didn’t want to stop going to church though so that meant you had to look for a new one, which scared and intimidated you, but you knew that god would give you the courage to get through this. 

You turned your head to the sky, closed your eyes, and started a prayer. You praised god before you thanked him for what you had, and how your parents cutting you off wouldn’t hurt you financially nowadays. You then explain your dilemma, how you were dating a Jewish man and there was nothing against it in the bible, but your parents disapproved of it and were getting you out of their lives as long as you were to stay with him. You asked for help being able to stay with Kyle and keep a relationship with your parents, or at least guidance in finding a new church and becoming completely independent. You finish with an amen and open your eyes looking up at all the bright, beautiful stars. You sniffle and look up to Kyle, “I love you so much I hope you know, I’m so sorry about my parents being so insensitive about your religion and how closed off they are,” you say. “I love you no matter what challenge life would give us.”

[droids-in-disguise]

Good Omens 2 making me think a lot about religion and religious deconstruction.

For context, I grew up Baptist, went to Catholic school for jr. high, and attended a private Christian school for my undergrad.

I grew up being told that the Bible was the ultimate source of truth, that is was the guidebook for our lives as Christians, and that, most importantly it should be taken literally.

I started wrestling with the concept of queerness when I was in jr. high. By then I had joined tumblr and had a best friend who was openly pan. But it was still a problem, because my church's reading of the Bible was that being gay was a sin. I existed very much in that "hate the sin, love the sinner" space that so many Christians seem to think is the appropriate answer. I also realized that despite being told that my church was doing Christianity the "right" way, these Catholics seemed to be just as sure in their conviction that they were doing it the right way.

In high school, I could sometimes privately admit to myself that the label "asexual" felt good, but more often than not I would lie to myself and say I was just too busy with grades and extracurricular activities to commit time to dating boys. I certainly never came out to anyone.

Ironically, it was the theology classes I took in college combined with the freedom of living away from my parents that helped me to finally realize that the Church as I knew it did not have the final say.

I learned that Biblical canon was not always set in stone and that it varies from denomination, that Hebrew and Greek words can have more than one translation or even no direct translation in English, I learned about liberation theology, and about womanist/feminist interpretations of scripture. Outside of theology class I took classes focused on Islamic history and literature. I had conversations about faith with my Muslim, Jewish, and Pagan peers. I met queer people who were both queer and Christian and who didn't see these identities as conflicting.

I had an old, hardass British lit professor who said something once during our study of Paradise Lost that I'll never forget, and that was that he believed God was like a diamond or some other precious gemstone, and that that all the different groups of Christians, Jews, and Muslims were all just seeing different facets of the same thing. Apparently this statement was something he had once told university higher-ups and it nearly cost him his job.

Despite all the deconstruction and the private acknowledgement that the church I grew up in did not have a monopoly on truth, I still went to church for years after. I did have the good sense to stop going to my parents' church and found one that was much more progressive and openly accepting of queer people, but even still it was hard to separate how much of me was there because I wanted to be there and how much was out of obligation or some sense of needing to reclaim my now tarnished view of the Church. I'm not sure where I sit now, only that I don't think I can be the one to create change from within, I am too damaged and tired for that.

All of this is why I think I relate so deeply to Aziraphale and the journey his character has undertaken, and why claims that he behaved out-of-character in the finale or that his coffee was drugged irritate me so much, because in another universe where I'm Aziraphale, I could see myself doing and saying the exact same things.

Letting go is hard, it's been painful and traumatic for me, I can't imagine what it would be for a being like Aziraphale with a much longer history.

There's such a strong desire to believe that it's only some of the Church that's bad and that if we have enough good people on the inside we can change it for the better.

Aziraphale has been hurt by Heaven and he's realized that Heaven is just as capable of doing bad as Hell (in many ways what Heaven does is more sinister because they won't admit to the bad and hide behind the façade of goodness and moral superiority), but he's a people pleaser and he's been an angel for so long, he can't just let go of his community and everything he has ever known no matter how poorly he has been treated by said Heavenly community. So then he gets this offer, work for Heaven, be in charge, make a difference. He can keep Heaven and Crowley, have his cake and eat it too. Of course he takes the job.

Crowley has had the outsider perspective for longer, he was the first to start asking questions. Perhaps there was a time when he too would've said yes to the Metatron, but now he knows better.

"We don't need Heaven, we don't need Hell. They're toxic!"

Aziraphale hasn't reached the same level of understanding that Crowley has, that no matter how many times he goes crawling back, Heaven will never truly accept him or be the place for him.

They way this story has been told over the past two seasons has been magnificent. Just as I can pinpoint all the different moments in my life that have helped to unravel what I thought I knew, we as the audience get to watch Aziraphale have these revelations too. In the first season we have the ineffable plan and this idea that armageddon is necessary and that Aziraphale shouldn't be the one to question it, but he does question it because he loves humanity, sees their goodness, and can't understand why a good God would allow them to be destroyed.

In season two, I found the bits surrounding Job to be especially poignant. First the shock that Heaven would condone the killing of children, then the realization that Crowley wouldn't kill the children or the goats going against his demonic "nature" proving Aziraphale's assumptions wrong, and finally the fear that lying would make him into a demon and the surprise when this turned out not to be true.

I have a feeling that by the end of season 3, when we get it, we will have the satisfaction of seeing Aziraphale and Crowley finally on the same page and I for one can't wait.

[evilelitest2]

Russian-Ukraine War Part 4: The Birth of Russia

So Russia is big. It's like one of their defining traits, vodka, art, brutality, colonialism, communism, and being massive.  But did you know that once Russia was once…not so big?  Let's do some history.

So the Mongolian Empire was a brutal genocidal engine of conquest but if you survived the initial invasion, it wasn’t so bad by the standard of brutal imperialists, the Mongols were big on religious tolerance, cultural integration and above all trade.  So the Russians found themselves suddenly connected to Central and East Asia through their Mongol overlords, and Russia for the first time in Russian history, it is as connected to East Asia as it is to Europe.  

The Mongolian Empire was great at conquest but struggled a lot with the ruling, and it probably won’t surprise you that it broke into 4 smaller states shortly after the death of Genghis Khan, located in the Middle East, China, Mongolia and Russia Respectively.  The one that concerns us is the Golden Hoard, the Russian based Mongolian state, who were called “Tatars” by the locals. 

The Golden Hoard wasn’t an Empire that spent most of their time breathing down your neck and setting major policies in their capital, instead they ruled indirectly via tributary states.  They would basically allow your kingdom to exist and kinda do its own thing as long as you paid your taxes, and one special boy kingdom was allowed the honor of collecting the taxes.  The special boy of our story is the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which will overtime be upgraded to the Principality of Moscow, to the Grand Principality of Moscow as they steadily get more and more powerful, using the privileges they got as the Mongol’s special boys to eventually grow their military and economy. 

Eventually they were able to push back the Mongols (assisted by the Golden Hordes constant civil wars), and by the time of Ivan the III aka Ivan the Great, the state was independent and a massive nation. Ivan III is kinda seen as the first independent Ruler of Russia, where Russia exists in its own right and not just as a Mongolian Tributary state.   Ivan’s grandson, Ivan the IV, aka Ivan the Vasilyevich, aka Ivan Grozny, aka Ivan the Terrible eventually decided that the Title of Grand Prince wasn’t quite good enough and so it was he who formally turned the state into an Empire, giving himself the title of Tsar, after brutally conquering all the people around him.  And so the Russian Empire was born between Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible, go figure.

(Ivan the Terrible, Very stable man)

So Ok, Russia is an independent Empire, but under Ivan the IV it becomes more than that, it becomes the Orthodox State.   Let me walk back a bit.  Christianity first super huge split was in 1054, where the Eastern Greek Speaking Orthodox Church broke apart from the Western Latin Speaking Roman Catholic Church.  The Catholics have the Pope, who manage to establish himself as a religious power greater than even Kings, while the east had the Patriarch, whose power was limited by the Emperor?  What Emperor you say?  Well time to talk about the Byzantine Emperor 

Patriarch (left) Pope (right)

So the Byzantines are the dominant supreme cultural power of the East right?  Well by the time of the Mongols, not so much.  The great city of Constantinople was sacked in 1204 by the 4th Crusade, in one of the greatest own goals in history, and the Empire was in a state of decline ever since.  And I mean actual decline, not Edward Gibbon (your decline is almost a thousand years) decline, which was pretty upsetting for the Rus, the other great Orthodox power (Ok I see you Bulgaria and Romania, you’ll get your own episodes another time calm down), and as Byzantine declined, Muscovy keep taking on more and more of the role as “big Orthodox power of the east”.  But the striking blow came when Constantinople fell in 1453 to the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed the II aka Mehmed the Conqueror, bringing a final end to the Byzantine empire…ok there were a few splinter states but Mehmet gets them 20 years later so once and for all Byzantines are gone.

(Mehmet II preparing to destroy Byzantinium)

SO I cannot empathizes enough how much of a blow this is to the Orthidox World. The Byzantine Empire was THE Orthidox power for over a thousand years, it was the center of the Orthidox world.Consantinople had been the center of the Orthodox church since Constantine himself, it's like Rome turning Muslim or Mecca Christian, like this is a theological crisis.  However, the Grand Principality of Moscow was eager to take on the role of center of the Orthodox Church, and Ivan the Great started to call Moscow “The Third Rome” to succeed the Byzantines as the Byzantines had “succeed” the Romans (despite being Roman…look i never said it is smart).  This is why Russia’s coat of Arms is the two headed eagle of the Byzantines.  His grandson Ivan Grozny unified the Principality into a strong centralized autocratic state through the power of brutal oppression and secret police, creating the Russian Empire.  Later the Patriarch would relocate there, effectively the closest thing to the head of the Orthodox church, making Moscow the new center of the Orthodox faith.

As the "Third Rome" Russia wasn't just an Empire, it had a divine mandate to take territory and spread the Orthidox Faith. The notion of this Russian style Manifest Destiny is going to come up again in this series, and it has never completely left the Russian National identiy.

Ivan took the title of Tsar which means Caesar as in Emperor.  As an Empire rather than a Principality, the “Divine Mandate” of Russia became to serve as the protector of the Orthodox Church, to reunify the old Kievan Rus, and restore Constantinople.  Like most empires, including the Mongol, the Russian Empire is based on the notion that they have a divine right to rule over everybody else. This dream was put aside for the Time of Troubles, a civil war so horrific that it makes Game of Thrones look peaceful, but after that confusion Russia was ready to go (this is where the Royal family goes from Ruik to Romanov) This is not going to be an extensive look at all of Tsarist Russia, just the stuff which I think is important to understand for Ukraine.  Colonization, the Tsar and Serfdom.