#this is vaguely religion flavored

[glitterspeckle]

This never hurts any less. (You’ll come back, right?)

Alt title:

How Many Details Can I Add Before I Go Insane

Some extras

[asktotallyhuman]

"I would like to ask the local cleric more about their religion, as being raised with an open mind to listen and learn (and only told of one legend story for bedtime in my youth)... Father Syrus didn't hold any belief himself, but he was still enjoying listening to others of their own..."

"... but right now, I don't think they would be open to... talking with me just yet... what with my gray skin and all..." ^^;

(Wanted to ask Father Aldurn as Orchid just for laughs)

But luckily, with the magic of her charm, she's able to walk the town freely. Even enter the church, and speak to reverend Father himself.

Father Aldurn closes his book before he continues.

"The Aether, and the Nether, both places one could access with the right resources. Heaven and hell. Death brings one of three options:"

"One: A soul that is virtuous, is given the gift of "creation," spirit awakening within the paradise of the aether, free to fly and create in true paradise for eternity.

Two: A soul that is vengeful, filled with hatred and spite, is bound to eternal damnation. Dread souls to become a part of the soul-sand that covers the nether realm.

Three: Some say, that within the realm of the void exists a form of purgatory. Lost souls wander the barren wastelands of the void and the endrealm, their former beings slowly stripping away, until they become akin to a pearlless enderfolk, screaming in the dark with powers they can't control."

"If you want to learn more, my child, perhaps you would like to attend one of my sermons!"

[kyliaquilor]

I technically wasn't raised Christian, but I was raised Christian-flavored theist.

And yes, there is a difference there.

[burnt-kloverfield]

Just saw Heretic, the one with Hugh Grant and Sophie Thatcher and Chloe East, about the Mormon Missionaries.

It's definitely a scary movie. It tried to be mind bending and twisty, and it was, but not in the way it was trying to be. I'm just jazzed that there's a horror movie with Mormons.

It's definitely not a Mormon Horror Movie, just only slightly closer to a Horror Movie about Mormons. I did really enjoy this movie, but it was clear that it wasn't made by Mormons. Like there's a certain flavor of behavior that mormons have that the missionaries just didn't have.

Like I'm Mormon. I was a sister missionary. I was a dang good sister missionary. These missionary characters only vaguely resembled the sister missionaries I served with. Like, they've got the cardigan down. But otherwise?

I literally leaned over to my brother in the theater and went "these are really bad missionaries." Like they didn't actually even open the Book of Mormon. They didn't read a scripture. They didn't even start with a prayer. These gals had horrible conversation skills and absolutely did not teach anything. They came in totally unprepared.

Hugh Grant is perfect and phenomenal in this, and I have met so many people saying the exact same things he has. Countless people with his talking points. (At least until we get to the legit scary parts of him. That was actually scary.)(no spoilers because holy crap)

The last part of the movie felt rushed, and like something was missing, like they cut out scenes or something, but the ending was nice and a relief. Good ending.

It was a good movie. The thing was that the details that it missed were in the cultural aspect of how Mormon missionaries(and mormons in general) actually act. Like you wouldn't know unless it was your culture or religion, you know? Like, they didn't even have a Book of Mormon in hand to give him. Sister Paxton just had her one she had all marked up and sticky noted in her bag(she didn't even have her quad with her?). And the one elder that came looking for them? Where was his companion? There are few things that a missionary gets sent home for and leaving your companion is a big one.

I do appreciate the direction they took with Sister Barnes, of her being smart and logical and sincere and tragic backstory. Very perfect set up and good foil for Sister Paxton who was born and raised mormon in Ogden Utah with 8 siblings. And honestly, I am glad that she got to be smart, too.

But it was very clear that the actress didn't know how mormon behaved or acted. She didn't pray like a mormon. Any born and raised utah mormon is going to fold her arms over her chest and bow her head and start her prayer with Dear Heavenly Father. But Chloe East instead clasped her hands. I rarely ever see Mormons clasp their hands if they're not on their knees at the side of their bed.

Like, it's not like it's a sin to pray that way, it's just that there's a way people who were born and raised a utah Mormon move and act and speak. And this wasn't it. And I could tell and it was distracting.

Like Hugh Grant spoke more like a Mormon than the sister missionaries did. He got the wording and the phrasing and cadence right for certain things. Especially the little Morony vs Moroni mispronunciation thing.

It's just interesting how clear it is to tell when someone isn't actually a part of the culture just from mannerisms.

Sorry for the long post but dang, this movie was good, and could have been so much better, but how do you convey that there's a certain way that utah mormons hold themselves.

[satancopilotsmytardis]

Aaaa tanco your world-building is so magnificent! I love the idea that Tomura is such a hedonistic god and encourages his followers to be the same way, dancing and drinking and partaking in pleasures of the flesh as an act of worship to him. Also him being represented by three different animals (moth, spider, AND wolf) to showcase the different sides of him! How he was both destruction and creation! Love the flavor of this eldritch god Shiggy!

I was holding my breath when Dabi voiced that he needed to know that he was doing well or else his devotion would rot to resentment. It’s so true, Dabi needs praise to sustain himself, because his self-esteem is nonexistent. So glad that Tomura actually listened and improved. Honestly so romantic of him.

I loved the little clips as months went by that you gave us too! Sliding in the little tidbit where Enji got his scar trying to save the caravan (and be the savior to the people) made me giggle and kick my feet. I adore the little parallels to MHA canon and totally different AU fics.

The ending where Shoto AND Yagi gave up their magic too! I just adored this latest commission!

(Though Tomura mentioning his siblings of the pantheon has me curious if the rest of the LoV are perhaps also eldritch deities and if so what aspects they embody 👀👀)

Gnawing on this comment!! Oooh I had so much fun with this one!!! I loved getting to showcase Tomura as a god! I feel like I've got to do something else with eldritch god!Dabi too to help showcase how starkly different their religions would be! It was also fun to show that they didn't have good communication at the start and that they were hurting each other by not setting boundaries or expectations that were reasonable, and even at the height of their goals, Dabi still had doubts and was scared of Tomura taking things too far because he's a god and ultimately his goals matter to him more than Dabi's ever will. A lot going on with these two and it was a delight to write!

As for the League being other gods, that's a hard no. I did consider having a scene where the first person who shows up to worship at the temple with Dabi was Toga, but clearly I cut that as I didn't want the League to become a focus in this story! My general headcanons for the League in Fantasy AUs is that Toga is a human hemocraft cleric (her faith is just straight up in blood), Compress is a warforged arcane trickster, Twice is a changeling warlock, Magne is a human barbarian, and Spinner is a dragonborn eldritch knight. I intentionally left the other members of the pantheon vague because I didn't want to have to pick other MHA characters and assign them a lot of lore for who else would be gods of what!

Thanks souch for commenting!

[transgenderer]

I should probably finish that book on melanesian religion but like...the big points that you get from the early stuff make the later stuff less interesting

"Cargo cults" in the sense of religious movemenrs that mimic western technology (and use the term cargo) significantly predate ww2 (like, by 50 years)

Melanesian society was like destroyed by western powers using them for borderline (and sometimes literally) slave labor

The male populace was like all in distant plantations and then came back to the villages with broken bodies

White people were mysteriously very rich, this wealth came on cargo ships and source was vague

Revolutionary religious millenarian movements kept popping up the whole time

Preexisting millenarian movements had a thing about the ancestors coming back om boats

These combined to end up with the ancestors coming back and making you as rich as the white people

The magic got "white people stuff" flavored for pretty obvious class/power reasons

As far as I can tell, the idea that cargo cults originated from the plenty received during ww2 is basically straight up American propaganda about how great and generous we are

Uhhh. Yeah

So anyway this makes cargo cults much less sexy. Its just normal magic and millenarianism mixed with western stuff for coincidental reasons about the preexisting religion. Also magic that mimics technology has existed since forever

[woozis-boy]

thinkin about how appa would celebrate Easter with me. basing this a lot on my own childhood experiences. vague mention of religion (going to church)!

imaginary caregiver svt josh:

I think he would get up early on Easter morning and make something real yummy. I know pancakes are almost overdone but I think they'd be a real good Easter treat. and some scrambled eggs, and I think he'd make toast that looks like a bear or something. and then make some kimchi fried rice or somethin too, to get the Korean tastes in as well!! maybe somethin his Eomma made him when he was little

and then he'd wake you up and bring you to the kitchen to eat, and as soon as you're both done he'd give you a bath and dress you up in your Sunday best to go to a church service!! a real cute frilly dress if you like that, with bows in your hair and a cute sunhat!! or if you don't (like me), he'd dress you up in a cute button-down dress shirt that matches his suit, and he ties your tie with the most gentle love and boops you on the nose when he's done <3

and then when you get to church, he shows you off so proudly and holds your hand when you get shy when the ahjummas coo over you! and he finds his eomma and grandparents so you two can sit with them during the service, and he lets you sit in his lap as long as your good, which of course you are, and he gives little kisses to your hair and cheekies and forehead while you quietly listen

and then after church, you go to his Eomma's house, and while he helps his eomma and halmoni cook, his halappeoji (halabbeoji? his grandpa) plays with you and tickles you and wrestles you gently until Joshua steps out of the kitchen to tell him to knock it off because he's being too rough for his little baby!!

and then you have lunch and it's all really yummy korean food!! kimchi and tteokbokki and bulgogi and a bunch of other food I can't think of with my baby brain rn. and then his halmoni makes hotteok because she knows you like it!!

after all that, you do an Easter egg hunt in the house all by yourself (with Joshua's help). there are lots of colorful plastic eggs with yummy candy inside, like jolly ranchers and little chocolate coins! (and they're all your favorite flavors, because Joshua stayed up late the night before going through the bags of candy he bought for the eggs to find the ones you like. the other members will get the rest)

you go home after saying thank you to his eomma and grandparents and lots of hugs and kisses. appa shua doesn't let you change out of your church clothes yet, though! he gives you your biiig Easter basket, and it's full of candy and toys, like slinkies and race cars and a new stuffed bunny, and even a couple of spring coloring books!! and underneath it all, there's a new set of fluffy pajamas with little chicks on them!!

appa helps you change into your new jammies, and then you cuddle up on the couch to watch a movie while eating some chocolate from your basket. you share with Appa, of course, even though he says you don't have to. of COURSE you do!! he just gave you the bestest Easter ever!!

much later, he tucks you in with your new bunny and kisses your nose, saying goodnight to his little Peep before reading you a story to put you to sleep :)

the end!!! wrote this up at the laundromat doing big kid stuff so there's probably stuff I missed but hehe hope u enjoyed :)

[dgcatanisiri]

I've seen it said on occasion that it was a refreshing change to have the Inquisitor be unable to persuade and change the minds of the characters around them, that the characters felt "more real" that a brief conversation shouldn't change their entire worldview.

This is bull.

First of all, no one asked for their entire worldview to change, just that they GIVE a little - argue with Vivienne about the merits of mage freedom, be able to point out that fear is learned as much as anything, that the fear of mages has been taught because mages are not allowed to be part of the world that the common folk experience, or even that her view of magic is not shared BECAUSE it comes from so lofty a position in society, as she is a First Enchanter, leader of the Loyalists, mistress to the head of the Council of Heralds. Or, here's one of my personal favorites, the vote to break away from the Circles may have passed by a narrow margin, but it still PASSED, and if Fiona had refused to accept that, she'd have faced a hundred minor revolts instead of a singular organized one, which would have meant that the few who went around, burniating the countryside, would be seen as representative of them all, while have an organized structure to the rebellion allowed them the ability to disavow bad actors.

It's asking Sera to acknowledge that there's more nuance than her definitions of the world offer, or countering to Cassandra that, particularly if she intends to take a position of top authority in the Chantry, she needs to be able to look beyond its dogma and realize that to those who follow a separate faith, the Chant of Light is a herald of death, an omen of doom, because it refuses to allow any who follow a separate faith. It's telling Solas that the Dalish have been forced to build their history from tattered scraps, and rather than condemn them for what they lack, he should acknowledge and appreciate what they've recovered with no more than a vague notion of what the original picture looked like.

Y'know, it's asking to be able to actually ARGUE with these characters, rather than be lectured to by them about how THEIR views are the only proper way to view things, even if those views fly in the face of our experiences as the players, or even just how we roleplay a singular character. BioWare tries to talk up a stance of grey morality and a desire for the answers to be more than black and white, yet here in Inquisition, you ONLY get their stance, and, if you don't agree with it, you are dismissed - which also causes a lot of problems with something like the approval metric, where if you DON'T agree with a character, you'll never manage to unlock their full content - I am generally rolling a male Qunari Inquisitor, and yet I have, in over a dozen characters, only ONCE managed to obtain the rooftop cookies scene with Sera. If you don't get these scenes of character development, then you don't get to have a full view of a character.

And then there's the second and bigger issue - With most of the characters being various flavors of Andrastrian, with most if not all of them buying in to the narrative of the Inquisitor as the Herald of Andraste, a position that is borderline messianic within their religion, why do they NOT listen to the words that the Inquisitor says? If Skyhold becomes a place of pilgrimage as Cassandra notes in the arrival at Skyhold scene, if the Inquisitor is a voice of authority in Thedas like everything the game tells us, why SHOULDN'T their words carry weight, especially with the people closest to them? Why is the Inquisitor NOT persuasive to the people who know them when they believe through much of the game that they have been touched by a divine figure?

It doesn't make sense for the Inquisitor to lack in persuasive ability when the whole game is about how they have become a powerful voice and figure within the world.

So, no. It is NOT a good thing that the characters effectively brush off any attempt that the Inquisitor makes to argue with their stances.

[wearethekat]

February Book Reviews: Grave Empire by Richard Swan

Picked this new release up because I thought one of Swan's earlier works (The Justice of Kings) was interesting. In Grave Empire, an overlooked ambassadorial aide assigned to the barely contacted merprople is sent on a diplomatic mission to ask them if a dire prophecy about the end of the world is true. In the far-flung reaches of the empire, sinister forces haunt a military outpost, and a noble obsessed with the occult is studying a mysterious plague spreading from the north.

Take this with a grain of salt, since I've never gotten along with bloated multi-POV fantasy epics. But Grave Empire had painfully slow pacing, mostly due to its three different narrators. I liked Renata and her devotion to her dead-end job working for the most useless office in the Department of State (the Empire hasn't contacted the merprople at all in years). Until she's suddenly relevant to a highest priority mission because the merpeople are one of the last groups studying occult magics that are outlawed in the Empire. I liked her attachment to her sister, if not her lackluster and token romance later in the book.

However! I found it startling that the other two narratives were given equal page space. Soldier Peter reads like one of those cardboard stock characters who appear in one chapter for the sole purpose of being dramatically eaten to establish the monsters. But his chapters just keep going, and he doesn't have much character development or depth, aside from not wanting to get eaten. Likewise, corrupt aristocrat von Oldenburg feels like a one-off villain POV to establish what the bad guys are up to, and to flesh out a plague that Renata doesn't know about or experience personally. The combined effect of reducing the main mission to save the world from psychic destruction down to less than a third of the page space made the experience of reading the book drag, particularly given its weighty six hundred pages.

The just-preindustrial worldbuilding was a nice touch, though. Most fantasy doorstoppers stay safely in the overdone faux medieval. Swan's choice to place the world in a vaguely eighteenth century flavored world, albeit with global politics that feel a touch Victorian, allows the novel to explore interesting themes about power and empire. I liked the endless proxy war with a country professing a different sect of their religion, fought through two groups of converted wolfmen. Swan also has a nice touch with the body horror, and his depiction of the sinister, parasitic Knackerman was especially well done. Still, the stakes of literally the existence of all life on earth are a bit comically lofty, and an ambitious plot to tackle from this sluggish start.

Unless you'd find the early industrial fantasy horror setting particularly appealing, I don't think it's worth the read, given the less than compelling pacing. Not recommended.

[electricalpylon]

Hey! I was interested in your “angel spotted proof of heaven” tag. Between the feminine figures and divine machinery, there seems to be some slightly obscure/vague things you tagged with it. Would you mind sharing your perspective on what angels are to you?

its like halfway between the feeling you get when you see a cool or rare bird that you weren't expecting to see when you're out on a walk and the idea of inanimate objects with personhood placed on them compared to people (usually women) experiencing objectification and having personhood rejected.

all of that is filed under the word divinity both as a source of wonder and corruption and flavored like bronze age mythology and religion and sprinkled with catholic and gnostic imagery

[waterparksdrama]

do you guys really think awsten might be gay or something or did it just become a joke because of the way he acts and the things he says? because I already saw that he once said he was straight but I also said years ago that I was straight and now I discover that I like girls 💞 and I agree with what you said in the other ask about the fact that he grew up in an environment where that It was seen as a joke but anyway it just popped into my head randomly and I don't have anyone to talk to about it

i think awsten being some flavor of gay would explain a lot (and i mean a lot) especially when you consider the kind of poorly executed themes of this entire album cycle that keeps being vague or being too blunt to remind you it's about religion and sex. like the whole "religious trauma interlude" thing at my show i was just like. is he gay or something bc for a guy who has only dated bottle blonde women and has a generally good relationship with his religious aligned parents you'd think he wouldn't feel so traumatized by religion especially when the main thing he's gotten shit for is looking and acting gay right - iz

[quenthel]

I'm still not done w my Avowed pt but I'm having a lot of fun w it

What I don't like (so far):

Sometimes npcs will know things you haven't told them yet or react like your character knows something while you haven't learned yet x piece of information... It's strange bc sometimes half of the conversation makes sense logically but the other half does not....

The religion is a mess... Like nobody is really religious including your mc. Which is imo a big miss... Like they could get away w this in pillars more bc of what that game was Abt and arguably here they have an excuse too but still... Feels strange

The amount of onboarding still pisses me off but again I'm an old timer pillars fan... And this is a complex world but idk... A lot of it sounds way too out of character and the things you are told make the setting actively stupider sometimes bc the way it's put

This is a minor thing but it would have been cool if we get to say who our watcher was and what they did vaguely... Like how the storms of Sondra's mortar are gone and you find books Abt it but there are endings to deadfire where that does not happen.... Like ofc I don't want to import every minute detail but like picking maybe gender+ big ending choice in some way (maybe the envoy can discuss this w somebody and your envoy knows Abt it yk) would have been cool.... Ofc it would have no impact on most of the story bc it's tiny flavor details you find in BOOKS but yk

Another minor thing is that the way the zones connect together make no sense.... Like you leave Emerald Stair from an exit to the north and end up in Shatters carp which is to the southeast.... It's bugging me lol

And what I like:

The main story hooked me so well NGL... It's exciting and I love learning Abt this mystery we are served

The side quests all connect to the main story!!! So doing them does not feel like a waste of time, rather they build into the main story maybe w like 1-2 exceptions

The combat and gameplay are amazing and feel so good. One problem w it is having waves of enemies just spawn in feels kind of bad but other than that I'm having fun with it. I had to turn the difficulty up tho but whatever I guess

The companion writing is good... At first I was not a huge fan but as you get to know them they talk Abt their problems realistically which I appreciated... And they get properly mad at you if you do questionable things too it's awesome

The zones look very good also... There are lot of places that just look very nice and fun and I often stop to admire the places I am in

Speaking of which the exploration is also very nice... There are treasures and hidden things to find almost everywhere and I love jumping around to look for them lol

But yeah... It does not a 100% feels like a pillars game but it's still enjoyable imo... And I want to see the end of it... And also I want to explore my options maybe in a replay where I make different choices...

[strawbebbynya]

I don't know if my particular flavor of religion would be called, because a lot of it I just kinda made my own rules. Vaguely pagan adjacent is the best I can do.

I was raised Catholic, and it was a terrible experience for me. I have OCD and Christianity made my condition so much worse. No judgement for those who do feel they benefited from going to church, we probably had very different experiences.

But I still wanted to believe in something, you know? But I could never go back to organized religion after knowing how badly it fucked with my head.

Well, then I started making friends with people who do witchcraft. I asked questions and started doing research. I started to take what practices served me well (and weren't closed practices!) and just ran with it. I don't worship any deities, but accept them as a type of entity that could exist. I'm not part of any religious community, I do my own thing by myself.

With the witchcraft I've decided it doesn't matter if it's real or not, it still makes my brain happy. If I make a lucky charm then worst case nothing happens but I feel better anyway. I'm good at keeping to what's gonna be harmless, and none of it aggravates my OCD. Rocks are pretty. Tarot decks are pretty. Teas are just potions. I appreciate nature more than ever.

My life is more whimsical these days. I get to live like magic is real and I don't hate myself like I did when I was Catholic. It's nice and I like it.

i kees u mwah! im very very happy for you!!!!!!!!!! this was an interesting read :D

[moonssugar]

im actually very pretentious about fantasy religions if ur gonna make a fantasy christianity please combine aspects of existing groups and get weird and sexy and insane wit it and please make up your own shit that has never existed and could theoretically but also dont mix up things that are theologically inconsistent or call x group another when theyre clearly closer to y group bc i will know and i will not be pleased that you didnt do basic wikipedia research. you dont have to exaggerate the bad things churches do the real life horrors are way more compelling to explore and need to see the light of day. if i see you taking obvious insp from one denomination and putting it on another with no consideration with how they actually work im suing you for medical damage. cant tell anyone how churches differ theologically? go back to square one. there are no marian statues in a baptist church. no anglicans are not the same church as the catholic one. yes lutherans and methodists are different. no orthodoxy and catholicism arent the same. no most protestant churches dont have priests. no you dont have to copy and paste the cultish aspects of mormonism into your mainline protestant or evangelical church i promise you its already weird enough you just need to look deeper. but please do go apeshit on mormonism though. they all have specific psychological effects and theyre not the same effects literally ask the people that left. the flavors of trauma will differ ex christians are like baskin robins ice cream. and finally if youre critiquing a religion and your critique isnt vague enough to apply to all of it — get specific. dont just throw spaghetti at the wall, talk your shit but talk it well. i should know exactly what bitch youre talking about so dont be afraid to name drop. much to be said about fantasy christian based cults in media but thats another post

[doodlegraveyard]

In the you mention a sea goddess for andros ,Can you explain your thought process with that cause I found it a little random

@seth-the-whalelord Thoughts are vague right now but the thing about me is I’m an anthro nerd and I come at stuff from that perspective. The thing about cultures and societies is that they pretty much always Make Religions (/belief systems). I wanted to have the girls dealing with different flavors of traditionalism and in Aisha’s case I imagined her responsibilities as a princess to be as much spiritual as they are political.

I guess it probably does seem weird to invent a goddess because the Winx world has a mythology/cosmology that is tangibly Real- like no one is claiming the Great Dragon doesn’t exist, yes that’s god, he’s real, used to live in a planet, now he’s missing, we’re a bit worried about that- but also like…I have kind of swung the sorcerers in a direction where they’re basically religious orders who get magic powers from various powerful entities in return for their dedication. There’s surely other large powerful elemental beings in the Winx universe and what makes something a god/religion aside from people believing in it?

I don’t Think I really want a personified form for the “sea goddess” I mentioned, more like the ocean itself they worship. I mean they have a very cool and magical ocean on andros. Kind of makes sense to me

[aprofessionalwithoutstandards]

Got any more thoughts on catholic guilt scout?

Tbh while I imagine Scout as distinctly sexually repressed, I don't think it's really predominantly coming from "Catholic guilt." This might just be bc I don't experience a ton of it myself (despite being Catholic and feeling constantly guilty, I feel like most of it comes from having clinical anxiety and the more socially conservative aspects of American society, which can stem from but are not exclusive to Christianity), but I know Tumblr girlies love the concept so I'll bite. Scout tf2 can be easily read into as a person who is fabulously repressed, desperate for attention, and overcompensating constantly. You can analyze this through many lenses if you wish to do so - gender, sexuality, class, and, yes, religion. While not a distinctly Catholic guilt ("hard work" tends to be more of a Protestant thing, anyway), I do think Scout tf2 probably has some sort of "guilt" abt yknow, not being Man Enough, not being some great provider, being the youngest and the smallest and the weakest everywhere he goes, not being un gran varon, if I may. I think this is all easily manifested as some kind of epic Tumblrina vaguely Catholic-flavored angst, AND it can even be "historically accurate" or something too if you want. Add in another layer of being gay or being trans or something, and you're golden. I'm not particularly Into Scout in any sense of the word, but I get why people are, there's totally a lot there if you wanna look for it. Hey, look at me, Ma! Is anybody even payin attention to me?