#what’s that quote about the problem with othering the enemy in media is that we can no longer see our own reflection in their eyes

[hamletthedane]

Love that Oppenheimer is a deeply disturbing horror movie about a man forced to accept that he is, in a person, the representative manifestation of mankind’s evil in committing one of the greatest horrors of human history - LITERALLY acting as the modern Prometheus, tormented by his sins for the remainder of time. Knowing that he will never be pitied and his actions will forever be utterly unforgivable because the blood of genocide and the potential of total human annihilation will eternally drip from his hands.

But also the simultaneous indictment by the film that to blame a single person for the Manhattan Project is to refuse to accept your own capacity for great evil if the ends ever seem to justify the means, and the culpability of every member of a species that lets itself create something so unspeakably terrible.

Hate that twitter’s take on such a nuanced and brilliantly handled examination of those issues is “movie bad because protagonist not evil enough.”

[positivelybeastly]

As a Hank McCoy stan, I must ask your opinion on a little idea.

A fan film about Beast.

No action, no battle, some drama, but overall a far quieter X-Men film that explores a side of Hank we don't see much if at all. His parental side.

Maybe he finds a lost or abandoned child and takes them under his care. But because this new character is human, this causes some problems. But in the end, Hank and the child agree to face the future ahead of them, no matter how hopeless it may seem.

What's your input?

First off, nice to meet you! Always a pleasure to see a fellow Beast stan in the wild, so to speak - and I like that there seem to be more of us over time; we're gathering strength, it seems.

Secondly, I think there would be a lot of mileage in this sort of project! X-Men is, at its heart, a metaphor about racism, prejudice, civil injustice, and I think it would be really interesting to examine those themes through an under-explored lens (at least in comic books), that of interracial adoption and parenthood.

You would, of course, have to be careful about the line to be struck between allegory and reality - this is always something I try my best to keep in mind when writing Hank, because yes, he is visibly mutated, and yes, in-universe, he is subject to prejudice as a result, but you generally have to make the struggles unique to the mutant race while being reminiscent of the struggles faced by other minorities.

For example: when talking about the multiple mutant genocides that have taken place in X-Men comics, I've often perused quotes that I think would be impactful for Hank to use, to communicate his state of mind, and I come across quotes that I think would be apropos, but because they're specifically about the tragedy of, in that instance, Native American genocide, I've felt uncomfortable using them.

Yes, they would be impactful, but I personally feel (as a white cis man) that it would be inappropriate for me to use them in relation to a genocide against a fictional minority, especially in dialogue spoken by someone who is, when boiled down to it, also a white cis man.

You would have to be very careful about making creative decisions like this one if you wanted to make a fan film - this is the definition of delicacy and sensitivity, and it can be hard! I don't really agree with the idea of 'kill your darlings' in fiction, but when it comes to media that wants to examine societal themes, sometimes, you do have to cut things that you think would be really impactful because you have to consider how it reads to other, real minorities.

That being said! Don't let this idea discourage you. Examining the way that Hank would be perceived around a small human child, examining the potential prejudices that would be levelled against him if he wanted to try and formally adopt them, examining the way that it would affect his work and cross over into his heroic life - and, of course, examining the way that this interacts with his own concept of himself as a parent.

Remember, after all, that Hank has complicated feelings about parenthood, and for good reason.

Like, there's a whole thread to be unravelled here, about Hank's feelings that he can't be a good parent because he's (in his mind) a chronic screw-up, because his bestial mutation could pose a potential threat to the child if he ever lost control, because he's a publicly known superhero with enemies (including another self who wouldn't hesitate to kidnap said child for nefarious reasons, I'm sure)

And what would those doubts look like to the kid in question? Would they interpret it as a lack of desire for a child, a feeling that they're a burden, making Hank's life that much worse by being there and relying on him?

But then there's all the sweet things, too!

In summation? There's a lot to unpack here - but provided it's done with some real care and attention to detail and sensitivity, I think you'd be looking at something really quite special, with a subject matter that, quite frankly, no MCU-Hollywood movie is going to tackle in the same way.

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

Kataang is a ship that dared to be different. Not sure why people think Kataang is a sexist ship when Katara and Aang both protect and support each other and neither is the damsel and the hero in the relationship.

And yet people think ZK is better than the average M/F ship when the reason why ZK is so damn popular is because of annoying overdone hetero-normalic tropes. To the point where people think Zuko taking a hit for Katara is romantic coded (and apparently me and my peers are """delusional""" for not seeing it as romantic coded) and that ZK fanfics are such romantic fantasies of Zuko saving Katara and Katara being such a meek little girlfriend for the badass chad fanon!Zuko. (As if the ZK fanbase is aware that Zuko and Katara are both pure yang energy and they have to make Katara meek to make the ZK ship work.)

I mean yes I am annoyed Z/tara is as popular as it is but Kataang is canon and ZK is dipping in popularity and it feels like the bulk of the ZK fanbase is just annoying ass middle aged women who get pissy at a kids show for not being the adult show they want...

Just food for thought...Especially considering ZK shippers act immature trying to 1-up people by saying their ship is popular (I mean, are they unaware Zukka topped Z/tara?) And again, popular doesn't automatically mean good...Especially since Z/tara is only popular because it hits all those hetero-normalic beats that people adore so much.

Guys, come on, let's be serious here. I LOVE kataang, with all my heart, BUT best friends to lovers is as cliche as enemies to lovers, main guy dates main girl is as cliche as hero falls in love with the villain who changes side. To quote my best friend @dragomer "A knife is cliche. It's still what you use to cut shit with."

The problem with Zutara fans is not the they prefer the more "traditional" romance, or that it's cliche, or that it's smutty, or that they sometimes make it a toxic dynamic, or that it's not a "progressive" ship. The problem is they feel entitled to push their preference as the only correct one - it's the same issue that made the fandom for Zukka, an actual non hetero ship, so hated by everyone else. No one likes the people that think only they are allowed to have fun with fanon. No one likes the people that expects them to disregard canon for the sake of their prefered fanon.

And speaking as a bisexual woman: we gotta stop with this nonsense of labeling straight ships "non-hetero normalic" for basic shit (and the reverse of it, the "hetero-normalic gay ship" that is literally just the age old homophobic question of "But which one of you is the woman?" with woke language attached to it). It doesn't matter if Kataang is "heteronormative" or not, because:

1 - All that matters in fiction is if something is WELL WRITTEN AND ENTERTAINING, not if it's progressive or more on the traditional side, if it's cliche or "subverting expectations".

2 - What media you find entertaining has nothing to do with your politic views and real-life sexual preferences. Liking one of H.P. Lovecraft's stories doesn't make you a racist, disliking Freddie Mercury doesn't mean you're homophobic (though it does mean you have shit taste in music), liking the most traditional straight romance ever doesn't mean you're straight yourself.

3 - In the case of Avatar in particular, lets be fucking real: no way two straight writers back in 2005, while working on a kids show in a network that had a long history of banning episodes of shows that tried to hint or full on talk about homosexuality, were thinking "How do we make this straight ship less 'hetero-normalic'?" They were just writting whatever felt right for the characters and story - that's why Avatar, while flawed and a product of it's time, aged WAY better than many shows of the time that had "be progressive" as the goal, it avoided forced narrative choices that were only made to beat the audience over the head with the moral lesson of the day.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

The Enemies of Liberty “Will Not Go Quietly into the Night" (From Panel at the ‪@danubenstitute‬)

When a wild dog is captured or cornered, it becomes even more ferocious. I have a sobering message for the people here: if you think a Tru.mp victory is going to make the enemies of civilization, the enemies of cognitive liberty, the enemies of civility itself, any kind of basic freedom, to quote the famous poem, "go quietly into this good night," I have a sobering message for you: you're a fool. You're grossly mistaken. That will not happen.

I predict that we will see a ferociousness and a tenacity and a pathological vengeance upon the people, and the cronies that we have thrown out of office, the people who have basically terrorized the United States and the west of the world for, at the very minimum of 12 years.

So, let's take a look at that landscape. What does it look like and who holds the levers of power>

Here's what we're fighting right now. In my opinion, the most important battle is in the academies. All of our academies are controlled by woke maniacs. All of them. If you look at the -- and this is not my, uh these are not my data points -- FIRE, Greg Lukianoff's organization does an excellent job of breaking down right, left, I don't think that those are very useful demarcations any longer. But just as a placeholder, we can use them. The overwhelming majority of college professors are in the far-left camp. That would be one thing, but they identitarians as many people on the panel have discussed. So, we have the control of the academies still belongs to the far-left, not merely the left. The control of teacher colleges of education, where teachers become certified, is controlled by the far-left.

The media landscape. Now the good thing about this, the positive news, and this is not a kind of pollyanna optimism, the positive news is that the media has been damaged tremendously from this. The legacy media. I wouldn't say that it's in tatters, but it's taken a blow. If you look at the number one, if you want one single indication of who will vote for whom, it boils down to a single sentence: how much do you trust legacy media? The higher the trust in legacy media, the more likely they are to vote Democrat.

So, let's take a look at the broader culture war. Four or five things pop to mind. One thing which is crazy. You have normal crazy and then you have extra-crazy. Anything with trans is extra-extra-crazy. So, for example there's someone, Eithan Haim, who blew the whistle on doctors mutilating the genitals of children in surgeries. And Dr Haim, instead of being given an award and thanked, was prosecuted by-- you're probably very familiar with this, yeah, he was prosecuted by the full extent of the law. And he told me in an interview, in no uncertain terms. If the Democrats get in, he's going to go to a Federal Penitentiary. For exposing the people who have mutilated the genitals of children, he will go to a federal penitentiary. The story is really-- I know someone will think, well there's got to be something more, but there's actually really nothing more to it than that.

Okay, so we have the trans issue, we have the quote-unquote transing children under 18. You cannot change your sex, by the way. That is, it's not even a myth. There's some great stuff if you have a chance, you want to look up the work of Mia Hughes which she's exposed something called the WPATH Files. So, the trans war, it plays large in the culture war.

Things that 20-30 years ago played in the culture War, for example abortion, plays much less in the culture war. Other things now have come to the fore: freedom of speech -- again the same ideologues, the same vicious ideologues who control the organs of the media, the organs of what ought to be independent, these are the people who will double down. These are the people who come with a ferocious tenacity, and part of the problem is that they have jobs for life. They're tenured. They're not going anywhere. And they look at the institutions to forward very specific messages to indoctrinate people. Very specific conclusions.

So, you can think about this in right or left. I personally prefer not to think about that, I prefer to think about it in terms of cognitive liberty. The people who want to tell you what to think and what to believe were just thrown out of office. And don't you for a single second think that these people are going to be happy about this and say, well you know, this is really unfortunate, this is really unfortunate we lost. These people will come back with a ferocity and a tenacity that I do not think that we have seen in a long, long time.

So, I leave you with this message. Now is not the time to rest on your laurels. Now is the time to work. Now is the time, right now, when we have momentum, using institutions like the Danube Institute, is the time to fight back and put the final nail in the coffin of the divisive madness which has thrown society off of a cliff in the last 12 years. Thank you.

==

Note: Links added by me.

[anarcheamor]

So I Wanna Talk Vodou in Castlevania: Nocturne But First...

We gotta talk about Magic in Castlevania as a whole. The problem though is that there's not much new to say that one can't grasp from watching the show and being exposed to other media which includes magic (which is like what? 99% of all fantasy fiction?). The show doesn't go out of its way to explain anything about how magic works but then again what is there that needs explaining? Pretty brown lady does some finger stuff and something goes boom or sparky, a couple of guys can raise the dead, something something levitating sword, something something magic portals, something something something something magic exists, just deal with it. What seems to be of interest to the show is how magic is used by each character and what that says about them, their roles in the story, and their arcs.

Sypha, for example, is the powerhouse of the main trio boasting the most diverse and deadliest set of abilities since her magic consists of control over fire, water/ice, and lighting. This has led her to be key to some of the team's wins over various vampires, creatures, or even humans. While Trevor may struggle with one enemy, she could be handling several at once. This dynamic is most evident during the fight with Dracula as Daddy Drac could handle his son and a Belmont but Sypha was a wildcard that he knew he would have trouble. Even if you can argue that by herself she could never beat Dracula, her presence was the edge that the trio needed. But what does that say about her? She's adventure- loving, brave, and her knowledge as a speaker gives her insight where Trevor's experience and Alucard's vampiric and scientific knowledge might fail them. However, none of this is more important, I think, than her role as the "heart" of the team. Trevor and Alucard are cynics held back by their respective familial traumas to see the world for what it is, she provides optimism and love for life and humanity that both lacked and this aspect of her character enabled them to think in ways they weren't able to before. Like her magic, she's able to take the elements of those she loves and make them into something more powerful than what they seem capable of. Get it?

You can basically extend this analysis to most of the cast. Nothing entirely too deep either for people whose hobbies involve over-thinking about the stuff they watch. You see, my thing is magic in most fiction isn't really... magic and that has some bad implications for Annette's Vodou in Nocturne. Why? Because it's basically just science when physics is weird and wonky. That's not even off brand for it either, we all know that one quote about advanced enough science being indistinguishable from magic but even before this quote some Italian guy name Giovanni Pico della Mirandola said that magic was the practical application of natural science. The video I reblogged of the guy moving a crowd of bugs from the light in his yard to the streetlight is absolutely magical... but pretty easy to explain using bug psychology. Hell some scientists go out of their way to find miracles from various faiths (mainly Christian though) and try to explain them just for funsies (or apologetics) to stretch the limits of what science can explain and what it can't. This is all well and good for a view of magic that is centered around the idea of it being manipulation of phenomena but it kind of runs against other perspectives that see magic and adjacent activities as more than just phenomena. Take, for example, the existence of deities. If there is a fire god, what is fire magic? Does the magic come from the god? Do you need to have a special connection with the god to do the magic? Is it possible to become a fire god if you're powerful enough or is there something more to the title? What separates what the god does from the magic a human performs? If not a god, what about a fire spirit? Is there a difference between a spirit and a god? Do spirits take on the form of the element itself or are they separate from it? Notice how me adding in the element of a conscious thinking entity now muddies the waters a bit. Now what would be a simple "application of science" is now a question of relationships between two persons.

Let's apply this back to Sypha. Sypha's magic is manipulation of fire, lighting, and water. Assuming that elemental spirits/deities exist, how did she acquire such skills? Does she pray to them, bargain with them, worship them? Is there a ritual involved that she has to perform? It's a bit of a headscratcher if we think on it but I don't believe that she's dealing with any external entities with her magic and I'm certain the writers intended for her magic to be as straight-forward as it appears. And notice how the other magic in the show fit a similar simplistic "mold"? Alchemy and Forgemastery are basically in the same "do a thing then a thing happens" territory that Sypha's elemental kinesis fits in. But just like how adding in a "second party" into the mix of the magic throws a kink in how we're supposed to perceive Sypha's magic, doing so for Alchemy and Forgemastery does the same. In fact, Alchemy stops being Alchemy the moment you start adding in cosmic beings because it practically ruins the point of alchemical work. So in a world where all the magic is connected together by a common "science-y" theme to it all that's supposed to enable us to shut off our brains and just accept said magic without explanation because we trust that there is one, how do you fit magic where entities are a part of how everything works? And when the magic you're introducing is from a faith that's been demonized to hell and back, how do you make it fit into your world with good representation? Well, for Nocturne, the answer is not terribly but not all that good either...

[ryttu3k]

Thoughts on Doctor Who - Dot and Bubble!

You know what, it's a bold new choice on Doctor Who to go, "Actually, this entire pastel-washed Celebration-meets-Tiktok society probably should die" but I can't say it's like. Entirely wrong in this case. Can't help someone who's so thoroughly wedged up their own arse (or stuck in their own bubble, ofc) they actively refuse help due to their own bigotry, y'know?

Actually, it's very much an 'offering mercy to the enemy' kind of thing. Which, historically, hasn't tended to go great either. It just hits a little different because we spent the entire episode focused on Lindy's storyline that we go, "Oh, she's the protagonist" and it's only at the end that we really get confirmation of, "Ah. She's the enemy." Although, in fairness, the endless microaggressions piling up culminating in killing Ricky was a pretty big hint, so…

Kind of refreshing that the first episode in which the Doctor's skin colour comes up is set in the future, which normally are pretty free of like. Racism and bullshit like that. Like Martha, Bill, Yaz, and Ryan all mention racism being an issue in historical episodes, Thirteen only gets talked down because of her apparent gender in a historical. You kind of make this assumption that even if there are still massive issues in the future, something like race isn't one of them. Only, it is. And Fifteen is the one to come up against the brunt of it. Any other Doctor, and the entitlement may have shown, but the racism may have stayed hidden (unless, again, Martha, Bill, or Yaz and Ryan as companion). Fifteen, however, gets them to show their asses just by virtue of existing. He was literally trying to save their lives!

Quote from RTD: "The moment we cast Ncuti, everyone said to me, "Oh my god, what's it going to be like when he goes into the past? Because a Black Doctor's going to face such racism." You sit there going, "What about now? Why do you think that racism's only in the past, when you look at what's happening to the world?""

Did come across as very nihilistic, ending-wise. RTD has said this episode was Black Mirror-influenced, and yeah, can definitely see that. You know what, that planet and the Finetime community are doomed. The planet's population is gone, a good chunk of Finetime's population is gone (or couldn't be led to safety, in which case it's only a matter of time), and lbr these kids only learned to walk a few hours ago. I would be amazed if they lasted a week playing Pioneers outside. And there's nothing that the Doctor can do, because they're so entrenched in their own racism that they refuse the literal lifeline he's throwing to them!

Conclusion: Fascinated how they went from, "Social media bad!" and "Killer AI!" to, "Actually, maybe social media isn't the problem and maybe, just maybe, it's people being so obsessed with staying within their literal bubbles that they begin to systematically dehumanise anyone who doesn't 'belong'" and also, "Actually yeah I'm kinda going for the AI deciding that the best way to deal with institutionalised and entrenched racism and bigotry is to kill them all with giant slugs."

(I mean, if the Dot AI could see how literally everyone was, I assume they realised they wouldn't accept a sapient AI as a new life form…)

Acting: Not quite as Doctor-lite as 73 Yards, this was more… Diet Doctor and Companion. That said, what we did get from Ncuti Gatwa was goddamn masterful. His reaction when he realises what's going on the end was heartwrenching - the disbelieving laughter, then the anger and frustration. So goddamn good. That said, Callie Cooke as Lindy was obnoxious and thus perfectly acted. Like at the beginning you were lowkey hoping she'd get her head out of her arse, and by the end you were hoping she'd get eaten :D Also enjoyed Tom Rhys Harries as someone who's been raised in the bubble but is at least trying to start just… slowly stepping out of it, only to be violently rejected by the rest of the bubble.

Continuity: Another Susan Twist! This time, actually called out! You know, there are two possibilities here, and both are extremely funny: 1) RTD intentionally cast an actor named Susan Twist to appear in every episode in order for her multiple appearances to foreshadow a twist revealing Susan Foreman, or 2) RTD intentionally cast an actor named Susan Twist to appear in every episode in order for her multiple appearances to have absolutely nothing to do with Susan Foreman and the repeated appearances are something else entirely. Either way, it's goddamn hilarious.

Nothing on Ruby's backstory this week, including a lack of snow. Ruby did feel somewhat unimportant here, she was only really there to make Lindy actually listen, because she's white and blonde and therefore Like Them and therefore worthy of listening to, and could have been replaced by any other young white companion, like Rose or Clara. If it had been the Doctor on his own, or Martha, Bill, or Yaz and Ryan as companions (or potentially even Donna, who might have got caught by ageism?), Lindy would have just kept blocking and blocking and never, ever listening.

The Big Bads of the season continue to oscillate between the possible Pantheon (the Toymaker, Maestro, possibly Mad Jack/the Fairies?) and just. Humanity. The humans who forced babies to be born then abandoned them, the military industrial complex, nuclear ambitions (the only one so far not set very far in the future), and now pastel-washed white supremicists. Very much a 'yeah, humanity definitely still hasn't solved these issues yet' kind of thing.

The 'stories being real' theme was handled kind of obliquely. Still definitely there, but it was a human consequence of being stuck in their own bubbles/narratives and being unable to see or accept anything outside it, and less a metatextual example like with other episodes.

Season ranking

As of s40e05:

73 Yards

The Devil's Chord

Dot and Bubble

The Church on Ruby Road

Space Babies

Boom

[fortleegospel]

Gospel News

Dear friends and members of Fort Lee Gospel Church,

I trust you've have a celebratory 4th of July week! For almost 250 years our nation has been celebrating our independence and freedom as a nation. While America has many troubles, we are still a nation that many in the world desire to come to and make their home. God has blessed us in many ways. I speak to many people who feel hopeless about the state of our nation. Issues include our troubled politics, violence, culture war issues, extreme weather, or growing tribalism. Here are some thoughts on how we can avoid depression and live as joyful participants of American society.

I. Understand What We Can Control

I have learned that I am happier if I focus on issues that I can control. This morning, I spent time reading my Bible and praying. It was a good morning. I could have lamented the facts that many others, even Christians, did not start their day with prayer. I can control what I do. I cannot lament the choices of others and stay joyful.

I agree with the quote by financial advisor, Dave Ramsey, who says, “What happens in your house is more important than what happens in the White House.” His primary focus is that you should not expect politicians to solve your financial problems. Under every President of our nation, some get rich and some become poor. Policies can make a difference, but we waste our time stressing over what the Federal Reserve or the President says or does. Better to save more than we spend and invest for the future. That is under our control.

When it comes to politics, we have little control over decisions made in Washington DC. What we can control and what we should do is pray. II Timothy 2:1-2 says:

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— 2 for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.

Most of us would be happier people if we prayed more and complained less. Most of us have the choice to “live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness.” Politicians are not stopping us. Hollywood is not stopping us. Wall Street is not stopping us. Let us take control and pursue godliness and holiness. This is where we will find our joy.

II. Limit Your Media Consumption

When I was a young pastor, it was common for preachers to criticize the ‘idiot box’ as the television set was called then. The TV was ‘amusing ourselves to death.’ In our generation social media has become all pervasive and a huge challenge to our wellbeing. The trouble with social media is that it keeps people engaged by making us angry.

Where excessive TV watching makes people apathetic, too much time on your phone’s news feed makes you angry at a political party, immigrants, NRA, one side of the Gaza war, or some other perceived injustice. The algorithm feeds you more stories according to what frustrates you about the world. How do we respond?

First, understand that you are a victim of propaganda. We all are. Second, take breaks from news and social media consumption. The Orthodox Jewish Sabbath is becoming more appealing. 25 hours, once a week, without phone, computer, or technology use. Third, remember that Jesus taught us to ‘love our enemies,’ not destroy them. A timely song for our generation is “The Jesus Way” by Phil Wickham. Check it out if you have not heard it. Fourth, guard your heart. God Word says:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. (Prov. 4:23)

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Rom. 12:2)

Social media consumption will not help us align with the heart and mind of Jesus.

III. Focus on Loving God and Loving People

The heart of Christianity is a call to love God and love others. When that is our focus, life is better. Most studies on wellbeing report that we enjoy life when we have good relationships. Healthy relationships start from being grounded in our relationship with God. When I know that God loves me, I can deal with a rude neighbor, a friend who is not returning my phone call, or a challenging season in my family. God’s love and our love for God grounds us.

When we reach out and love others we tend to build a better life. A preacher from a previous generation used to say that when he felt depressed, he would go to the hospital and visit the sick. By the third or fourth visit the depression would leave.

This principle of loving God and loving your neighbor is foundational to our faith and our wellbeing. Mark 12:28-31 says:

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

This same principle was articulated by President JF Kennedy when he said, “And so, my fellow Americans: Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.” When we focus on God and others, we benefit. When we look to make our corner of America a little more loving and kind, our focus turns from the big issues we cannot control to the small ways that contribute to our wellbeing.

Again, enjoy this holiday weekend and may God use us to be a blessing!

-Pastor Rick

Weekly Announcements

Sunday worship services at 11:00 AM continue to be livestreamed on our Fort Lee Gospel Facebook page, YouTube channel, and our website, www.fortleegospel.org. We meet in the building where we include a time of worship after the online portion of the service. The Tuesday Men’s Lunch and study meets at the church at 12:30 PM. The Tuesday Bible Study meets at 7:00 PM weekly. We are studying the book of Romans. The 6:00 AM Prayer Meeting on Wednesdays and Saturdays is at the church with an option to connect on Google Meet. The Women’s Bible Study will resume on September 7th. Connect info for Tuesday Bible Studies and Morning Prayer is: Meeting URL :

https://meet.google.com/suk-xpsf-nwh

For dial in: Phone: +1 567-351-1104 PIN: 469 349 929#

[loredwy]

I mean, specially nowadays with social media, thats basically what we started doing lmao

But when thinking about cancellation culture, for example, I find this two quotes pretty important too:

First,

[…] We externalize the problem as something outside ourselves, personifying it as an enemy that can be sacrificed to symbolically cleanse ourselves. Yet what we do to the worst of us will eventually be done to the rest of us. [...]

mainly because of how it reminded me that people nowadays, sometimes for the sake of convincing others of taking someone off the internet (for whatever reason) go back to check all of that person's past posts, comments and whatever there is about them, to try accumulating enough "negative points" against them. Which is why sometimes entire cancel discussions originate from, or include, something someone said maybe 7 years ago.

But that could happen to anyone, like I dont even remember half my posts, can you imagine having to go back through your whole blog just to check all your opinion posts are up to date? Having had some bad opinions dont set in stone that you are evil, just like how multiple good opinions dont mean youre a saint. Yet that doesnt change we still need to prove we are not "the enemy" to be "sacrificed" in the end.

And second,

[...] We need to develop the ability to wield force without ever mistaking power over others for our true objective, which is to collectively create the conditions for the freedom of all. […]

because whenever a topic is widely talked about, we tend to simplify it as a we vs them situation. There will always be two sides fighting each other, instead of a gradient of opinions that can depend on the situation.

Youre either pro- or anti- anything. And whenever the topic is discussed, both sides will just try to win the discussion, rather than exchange ideas. This encourages "social media bubbles" where you only surround yourself of people with who you have similar opinions, avoiding those that dont; because in the end, you will be able to have more deep discussions in this groups, as they will listen and think about what you say, rather than just jumping at your throat.

But we need to remember, if both sides stopped thinking of each other as something they need to exterminate, both could know better what topics they both actually agree with. And maybe even bring more interesting points to the table, to both reflect more about why you agree or disagree with something, and to discover and fix what are the underlying problems affecting everyone, independently of what their position about the topics were.

btw if you find yourself dehumanizing any person or group for any reason you’ve already lost

[dallasareaopinion]

The one thousandth post

It has been over twelve years since I first started this blog. And I knew the 1,000 post was coming up, so I wanted to write something so profound the universe would stop, you know the pride thing going on. Well…I can’t think of a thing.

And between spending three weeks in Washington D. C. moving, being tired, and uninspired I haven’t gotten around to this post. Yes we are in a new place and are settling in so do I have all the good excuses not to be Mt. Tibet inspired to save you all from your daily drudgery?

I was thinking this morning just in general not for this blog and thought the more I travel the more I realize how little I know. And that just sounded so familiar that I internet searched. Yep there are quite a few similar quotes running around about traveling and realizing how little you know.  Yet I do feel quite strongly about that thought. And I think I have blogged about something similar before because one of my favorite quotes is from St. Augustine “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” And as always he hits the nail on the head. And my thinking is quite a few problems we face could be eventually solved if more people had a better idea of everything going on beyond their scope of life. And besides traveling is quite fun.

So the above is not quite the earth shattering post I wanted to make, however, it does incorporate one of my favorite topics and pastimes, traveling. I love to travel and see new and even familiar places. Right now though I am sitting on my couch trying to figure out what to post.

And since I have not reached the peak of thought for mankind I decided I just needed to make my post and move on. I still owe you the rest of my independent or fictional third party platform for 2024’s election. It isn’t like our government is racing to solve all our problems right now and with Tucker in Russia committing treason, Trump crying don’t do anything so I can win, the Democrats caught between the games the Republicans play and their inability to push through them, the left and right wing media all geared up to tell us how bad is the other side, and absolutely no legislation of any kind about to be passed we, the people as usual are screwed. And quite frankly the Republicans now saying we shouldn’t do anything until the people decide with the next election along with them saying it was a rigged election if they lose, we can now guarantee nothing will be achieved for years.

And yet for some reason, as little as I don’t like government it would help if it actually did address some issues. And yes I know the Democrats are trying to do something and there was a bi partisan attempt at the border issue, but hey Trump passed gas so the Republican righteous jumped at the prescribed height and so no border bill.

And for the vast majority of us, we are stuck paying too much for everything, mainly now for corporate greed because hey, Wall Street prescribes the height they are to jump to, and no help from the people who we pay through tax dollars to protect us from enemies within and outside of our borders.

I will continue my tirades just so when the deal goes down there is something in writing that says I tried to tell you so. Maybe some future alien civilization will come across the remnants of our planet and dig through all the terabytes of information left behind and go, hey at least someone knew things weren’t working. Ah to be so redeemed.

Anyway if you are reading this on Tumblr or Wordpress you may go I do not see 1,000 posts and that is because I originally started this on blogger or blogspot or whatever and then somewhere along the line I started this same blog on the other two platforms and just copy and paste the same post to all three sites. My thinking is I need to try and reach more people. Who knows if that is succeeding. So if you want to catch up you have to go to blogger or blogspot and read from the beginning. I also changed my original description of this blog. At first it was a couple of paragraphs long, now it is a simple sentence that really doesn’t describe the blog, yet is more of my feeling about the whole sha bang.

Eventually I do want to do a podcast tied to this blog while still posting in the written word. I have a microphone someone gave me, however in all the moves we have made in less than a year I cannot find it. Once I do, be forewarned. My plan is for some of the podcasts to compliment my written posts and some to be on separate topics. And then there is the quote the best laid plans of mice and men and if you want to read something profound maybe read Steinbeck. And according to all the modern world thinking, I also need to create a brand so people can understand who am I. That is simple: crotchety old man who thinks he knows it all, who is frustrated that the people who say they know it all keep screwing it up. How about that for a brand?

Folks, we all need something better than the current leadership we have in this country and elsewhere on this planet, and honestly I hope we find it because I want to travel to where you live and enjoy life with you.

Cheers!

And before I forget, Go Mavs, Stars, FC Dallas, Rangers and then Cowboys (sheesh). Wish Dallas had received the World Cup Championship, but we did receive 9 games so it will be fun around here in 2026.

And yes there is quite a bit of news right now, but everyone else is commenting on all the craziness so another time maybe.

[wolint]

GODLY INFLUENCER

GODLY INFLUENCER

Matthew 5:13-16

 

Now, more than ever before in the history of humanity, has man began to take another’s word instead of God’s as laws to live by. An influencer is a person who inspires or guides the actions of others, one able to generate interest in something or someone by posting about it on social media. We now have so many influencers in varying shapes, organisations, product lines and sectors but not so much in the spiritual setting.

Yet believers have been called to be influencers wherever they find themselves, because we carry Christ and the light of him must shine through us to influence our world.

The social influencer is telling us how-to, where to go, what to, and when to, their influence is far-reaching and impacting that some believers are even following them instead of the scriptures.

Some people have completely thrown away the culture, and lessons they were brought up with to follow the fads purported by influencers as the “now” thing. The scriptures strictly encourage us to follow the teaching of our parents in Proverbs 1:8-9 and not to be influenced by anyone that speaks contrary to what it should be, we are not to entangle ourselves with the ways of the sinner or wicked as stated in Proverbs 22:25.

Our generation follows the advice of influencers, social, financial, professional, and otherwise but would not consult the scriptures for anything. There are influencers in every sector who have followers that will do anything and everything they purport in trying to look, be and sound like them, when what we as believers should be doing is letting the light and word of God in us influence the people we interact with. People should see us and see God and want to have what we have.

Even Satan has more influence than a lot of us believers, as we see in the number of people Jesus delivered from satanic influences in the scriptures such as the one influenced not to speak in Matthew 9:31-33, and many others.

As an influencer, we must be sure that we represent Christ and His kingdom properly. We can’t afford to do things that will turn people away from God, church, or salvation.

It is the good, positive, and upright things we do that influence a person and allows them to glorify the Lord, our Father in heaven, whom they cannot see but see through us.

The world is using subliminal messages to influence people into doing atrocious things to others, committing crimes, and creating false problems, yet the Lord says in 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7 that we have received the word of God so that we can become examples or influencers to other people.

We are a nation that quotes social media influencers in everything we do, we look at what they’re doing, eating, wearing, and the way they act and live to determine what we do when the scripture should be our standard.

We must learn to love the Lord more than anything else and follow His teaching, leading and guidance than we love the word and all its content according to 1 John 2:15-17. History is speeding toward a conclusion planned by God and ungodly influences and influencers are making the pace even faster by influencing people away from the truth and salvation and straight into the arms of the enemy that Christ died to deliver mankind from.

Proverbs 13:20 says "Walk with the wise and become wise; associate with fools and get in trouble." Obviously, influencers make an impact on their audience.

A particularly important caution is found in 2 Corinthians 6:14: "Don’t team up with those who are unbelievers." Do not be unequally yoked with or influenced by unbelievers.

You are an influencer, God made and called you to be a fisher of men in Mark 1:17, which makes us godly and spiritual influencers, so influence people for Christ and don’t be influenced for the devil.

PRAYER: Help me Lord, to not be easily led or allow my soul to be snared by bad company and influence in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT PRAYER MIN.

[arrowpusher]

Book Review #2: The Midnight Library (by Matt Haig)

I’m a slow reader and often read non-fiction, but The Midnight  Library was a real page-turner and convincing me to check out more fiction.

I first heard about because it was a recommended read by BTS, and naturally a lot of fans started reading it and talking about it. The book cover design with 00:00:00 even seems reminiscent of their song 00:00. 

The Midnight Library is not a light causal read. In addition to the dark stretches (trigger warning: depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation), there are deep and heavy themes throughout the book as it explores alternative universes of what could have been if you went back in time and followed through with regrets. 

“It is not the lives we regret not living that are the real problem. It is the regret itself. It’s the regret that makes us shrivel and wither and feel like our own and other people’s worst enemy.”

It starts off with the main character Nora having a terrible day. It’s Mercury retrograde with a string of unfortunate events, coupled with unanswered cries for help, and culminating in an attempted suicide. Nora then finds herself in the Midnight Library where she can choose to teleport to other lives that could have been if she had “fixed” her regrets. 

It’s all mostly relatable--a 30-something-year-old who feels all the insecurities because it’s a point in your life when your peers seem to be hitting milestones in all directions (sometimes the social media feed seems like an endless parade of engagement-marriage-home ownership-babies). It’s a time when we dwell on past decisions but forget our own accomplishments.

As Nora experiences the various alternative lives she could have lived, she promptly realizes that a lot of things are actually beyond her control. In reversing every regret, she finds a mixture of successes and tragedies. Big decisions could take unexpected turns, and small decisions could lead to a big impact. Even when she reaches a seemingly picture-perfect life, she quickly felt regret again when she found out that her decision to teach a little boy piano had actually changed his life, because he got into trouble in the alternate universe when she decided to pursue a academic career instead with a cush lifestyle. Nora also encounters a near-death experience when she faces a polar bear, and she had a sudden surge of desire to live.

The main takeaways:

Don’t focus on regrets, because things may not always end up how we would have expected it.

There are so many things beyond our control... just having good intentions and staying positive are like planting the seeds that could blossom into wonderful outcomes.

In order to prevent readers from getting too deep in the philosophical weeds about the meaning of life, the librarian (the wise figure in the book) reminds us that we don’t have to understand life to live it. 

Notable quotes:

“It’s about an infinite number of universes... Dream big... You can be anything you want to be. Because in one life, you are.”

“But you will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life” --Camus

“I think it is easy t imagine there are easier paths... But maybe there are no easy paths. There are just paths... Every second of every day we are entering a new universe. And we spend so much time wishing our lives were different, comparing ourselves to other people and to other versions of ourselves, when really most lives contain degrees of good and degrees of bad.”

“There are patterns to life... Rhythms. It is so easy, while trapped in just the one life, to imagine that times of sadness or tragedy or failure or fear are a result of that particular existence. That it is a by-product of living a certain way, rather than simply living. I mean, it would have made things a lot easier if we understood there was no way of living that can immunise you against sadness. And that sadness is intrinsically part of the fabric of happiness. You can’t have one without the other. Of course, they come in different degrees and quantities. But there is no life where you can be in a state of sheer happiness for ever. And imagining there is just breeds more unhappiness in the life you’re in.”

“Remember, when we were young enough, not to fear tomorrow, Or mourn yesterday. And we were just us. And time was now, And were just in life... The bad times are here. The bad times have come. But life can’t be over, when it hasn’t begun.”

“You can’t give up, Nora. You have more to offer. More opportunities to have. There are so many versions of you out there. Remember how you felt after the polar bear. Remember how much you wanted life.

“The game is never over until it is over. It isn’t over if there is a single pawn still on the board... And even if you were a pawn--maybe we all are--then you should remember that a pawn is the most magical piece of all. It might look small and ordinary but it isn’t. Because a pawn is never jut a pawn. A pawn is a queen-in-waiting. All you need to do is find a way to keep moving forward. One square after another. And you can get to the other side and unlock all kinds of power. 

“You didn’t have to enjoy every aspect of each life to keep having the option of experiencing them. You just had to never give up on the idea that there would be a life somewhere that could be enjoyed. 

“Nora wanted to live. Once she’d finished writing the inscription she waited a moment. Frustratingly, nothing happened, and she remembered what Mrs. Elm had once said. Want is an interesting word. It means lack.”

“We only need to be one person. We only need to feel one existence. We don’t have to do everything in order to be everything, because we are already infinite. While we are alive we always contain a future of multifarious possibility. So let’s be kind to the people in our own existence... Yesterday I knew I had no future, and that it was impossible for me to accept my life as it is now. And yet today, that same messy life seems full of hope. Potential. The impossible, I suppose, happens via living. Will my life be miraculously free from pain, despair, grief, heartbreak, hardship, loneliness, depression? No. But do I want to live? Yes.”

Life is a series of infinite possibilities.

[showtoonzfan]

Looks like they revealed the “redesigns” of Vox, Velvet, and Val. The only one who changed is clearly Velvet, Vox and Val are exactly the same except they’re simplified. It is disappointing, I never liked Vox’s design, (he looks too much like Alastor and his design is very boring honestly) and Val isn’t bad but…he never looked much like a moth either, he could have looked better but these are just personal nitpicks of mine. The only positive thing I have to say is that I am glad they changed Velvet’s outfit. Before I didn’t like her design because she looked nothing like a “social media” character, more like a clown Melina Martinez (I know I spelled that wrong) rip off lol. This is certainly better than before in my opinion, but ugh, the stripes, Vivzie what is it with you and the stocking stripes?? Anyway, for those who have seen the Hazbin leaks, this is VERY similar to how Velvet looked in her picture, except she had her hair in a bun and now it’s different here. She’s still wearing the same blue scarf thing and skull, so this kinda leaves me to believe that those leaks are real, however don’t quote me on that, we’re not 100% sure of course. However, I will definitely review the leaks, later lol.

With that out of the way, again…would have been easier if they drew the characters STANDING UP, so we can see their full bodies. Like how hard is that??? But anyway, on the subject of the three V’s, I should say that I’m DEFINITELY worried for the villains of the show. I feel like I’m going to have trouble taking some of Vivzie’s villain characters seriously, because I have the feeling most of them will just be edgy swearing “middle school bully”- style villains, ESPECIALLY Vox, who I 100% believe his rivalry with Alastor will just be similar to Blitz and Fizz’s rivalry, where they’re just throwing petty childish insults at each-other lmao. When it comes to Val, I honestly have no interest in him because we all know what his character is ganna be, the abusive jackass controlling Pimp who says lines like “I own you” “you’re nothing without me”- basically every abusive pimp or boyfriend character that you’ve seen ever. He’s kinda just a tool so the writers can have something bad happen to Angel dust to make him look like a helpless baby, so yeah I’m not excited to see Val nor do I care about him. Don’t really care for Vox either, and as for Velvet, we don’t know anything about her, she’ll be lucky if Viv gives her focus and development since she’s a female amongst two popular male characters lol. I expect her to kinda just be a Harley Quinn/Nifty knockoff, but I dunno we’ll have to wait and see. That’s all I have to say for these designs, I will say that I wonder if Vox even appears in season 1, because Viv had mentioned in a livestream once that he doesn’t appear until “way later” in the show. I certainly hope that Viv doesn’t try to cram in a shitload of enemies and problems in the first season (since she DEFINITELY did that with Helluva and look how THAT turned out) but again, we’ll have to wait and see. I certainly wonder who’s next.

[heartxshaped-bruises]

I posted 2,408 times in 2022

That's 1,044 more posts than 2021!

412 posts created (17%)

1,996 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@nanlanmo

@x-brokencrowns

@funnytwittertweets

@merrymusings

I tagged 2,408 of my posts in 2022

#★ qᴜᴇᴜᴇ - 802 posts

#[ answered ] - 196 posts

#★ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ꜱᴀꜰꜰʀᴏɴ ɢᴀʀʀᴇᴛᴛʏ - 191 posts

#★ ʟᴏᴠᴇ ɴᴏᴛᴇꜱ ᴏɴ ᴛʜᴇɪʀ ʜᴇᴀᴅꜱᴛᴏɴᴇꜱ: ᴊᴏᴇ - 179 posts

#★ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ᴇᴍʀʏ ʟɪʟʟɪꜱ - 164 posts

#★ ᴍᴜɴ ꜱᴛᴜꜰꜰ - 163 posts

#★ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ᴅᴀᴠᴇʏ ᴅᴇᴛᴛᴇɴ - 148 posts

#★ ɪɴꜱᴘɪʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: ʟᴜᴄɪꜰᴇʀᴏ ᴍᴏꜱᴄᴏɴɪ - 139 posts

#★ ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ᴡɪʟᴅ ʜᴜɴᴛ: ᴛᴀʟɪᴇꜱɪɴ - 135 posts

#quotes - 119 posts

Longest Tag: 130 characters

#[ cara and oliver defining their relationship through coffee and alleged re-enactments of the boston tea-party in the bathtub... ]

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

OPEN TO. f // m // nb ; mutuals && non-mutuals  ​ MUSE. Rachel Dolan (test-muse) RELATION. based on this plot. rachel’s muse b and it can take literally any direction !!  

        ❛❛Wait, that’s your locker ?? Shit -- sorry. My bad...❜❜ Rachel was deeply in thoughts and barely noticed as the other approached. As soon as he registered that he was blocking their access, leaning against the blue row of lockers in the hallway, he moved aside and hoped to not fall back into a staring contest with the wall across the room. MAN... HE FELT SO OUT OF IT. He’d been up very early, unable to sleep since his stomach was growling and didn’t stop ever since he dragged himself into school. 

        All that was left in his bag was another package of sour cream crackers. The other one had served as his breakfast. At this point he had exactly 20$ left and something told him that it would be tricky to split it over the week. Actually... his whole situation was tricky as fuck. But he tried not to think too much about it or this massive headache would return. Ignoring it helped to stay sane -- or maybe he was just becoming delusional at this point. Either way -- ignoring the problem until it got worse sounded tempting enough to go with it. HIS STOMACH GROWLED AGAIN and his hand shot up, but it couldn’t stifle the sound. Although his cheeks heated a little, his voice didn’t give away any embarrassment that he felt. ❛❛Don’t worry -- if I wanted to eat someone I wouldn’t go for you. The freshmen have shorter legs. Can’t outrun me.❜❜ Not that he could afford stupid remarks -- not with his reputation. But then again, he had no idea who the other was and maybe, just maybe he was lucky enough thath they didn’t know him, either.

24 notes - Posted July 10, 2022

#4

SEND ◕‿◕ TO PLAY WITH MY MUSES HAIR

     @nanlanmo​:  ❛❛ ◕‿◕ for Tal if he's feeling open to it lol!❜❜    

                                                                        ✧･ﾟ  𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐑𝐄𝐃.

See the full post

25 notes - Posted June 20, 2022

#3

✧･ﾟ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐂𝐊 𝐈𝐍𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐒

bc my bestie and I sold our souls to him and satan.

“Why do you think we’re out here? I’m not wearing any pants.”

 “God left us in a hot car to die and I think we deserve it.”  

“What?! What are you suggesting here that we do, this is really macabre.”

“I’m gonna bring the dinosaurs back and I’m gonna make them gay.”

“Social Media was a mistake made by the mistake of humanity.”

“There’s only one solution to this: Organized Crime.”

“Is this like a malicious compliance thing?”

“Well, now you get fired and I get a giftcard -- yeihh!”

“I’d say apply cold water to the burned area, but there’s no cold water that could cure this.”

“Well, nothing brings people together like a common enemy, am I right?”

“How much of this stuff can we sneak in before they catch us?”

“I’m so disappointed, this day sucks.”

“You really know how to... uh, savor your emotions for the ‘important’ things in life.”

“No, thanks. Just sex, drugs and rock’n roll for me.”

 “You stole my pokemon-card when I was twelve, get fucked!”  

“This isn’t facepalming. This is me ripping my entire face off.”

“How can any human have so little compassion and kindness?”

“Why is this a debate?! You can solve this with two sticks!”

“This is very disturbing but also very creative. Jesus.”

“That just sounds like prostitution with extra steps.”

“Who in their right mind would do this?”

“Oh yeah! I can feel the hellfire coming all along!”

“Why must you ruin everything I hold dear in life?”

 “The only people who’d call you a good catch are probably the cops.”

“So you’re not only proving that you’re creepy, you’re also proving that you’re a complete idiot.”

“What kind of shrooms where you smoking when you made this?”

“Just because your body can physically survive something doesn’t mean that your... uh, whole being is ready for it.”

“This is where this was going?!”

See the full post

34 notes - Posted November 18, 2022

#2

✧･ﾟ  𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑

OPEN TO. f // nb ; mutuals && non-mutuals  @indiestarter​​ RELATION. arranged marriage; a more historical setting possible. our muses were required to get married in order to form an alliance between their two parties -- can either take place in their own realms / worlds for supernatural muses or between the fae kingdom and the human world. both aren’t exactly happy about it and cope in their own ways, but lately mine has been warming up more to the idea. he secretly started to like yours but so far, all of his subtle efforts came to nothing.

        ❛❛I get it -- just because we’re married now doesn’t mean that you have to like me. But instead of making this harder than it needs to be, why don’t you cut me some slack? You’re not a saint either, my lovely.❜❜ Taliesin was unnerved as he turned around to his newlywed, sneering over the all too familiar bickering that the other never quite dropped. As if it could change something about their fate. The closer the day of their wedding had come, at least he had been willing to keep a more open-mind. It wasn’t like he had jumped with joy at the decision of the king. IT WAS A DUTY, NOTHING MORE OR LESS, to make sure the truce was kept and a strong alliance was formed and maintained between the Autumn Court and the others. But if he was forced to spend his life with someone he never met before, he’d do it under his own conditions. And that’s what was partially to blame for the rather rocky start they’ve had. He had been trying to cover up his own unnerving reluctance over the matter by embarrassing them in front of everyone during the official proposal. With other mischievous digs, words and actions that only made it worse to be in the same room with them. And now, on THEIR WEDDING DAY, he realized that there was the possibility that this constant fighting would turn into a perpetual state.

        Taliesin’s face didn’t give any of the mild regret over past mistakes away as they stood on the side, the noise and music from their wedding guests in the background. Nobody here celebrated any of them, only the alliance and their truce. He brought the glass in his hand up and downed the wine in one swig, SAVORING THE TASTE and the light haze it draped over his mind. ❛❛Mhmmm... this one’s good. You should try it. In that way, maybe we still get to somehow enjoy our wedding night.❜❜  

74 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

✧･ﾟ A short and easy workaround for Reblogs with Beta & XKit Rewritten

Disclaimer: This also seems to work with old Legacy-Threads when reblogging with the new Beta-Editor bc XKit Rewritten doesn’t work with Legacy. The whole trimming order and process of both combined can be confusing, but it’s important so the post doesn’t get fucked up. So technically, it's also helpful for Beta-Reblogging in general.  (video below)

SO, IF YOU WANT TO AVOID DOUBLE-POSTING of your own reblog, do the following:

Hit reblog (make sure you’re using Beta).

Enter reply, whatever.

Safe to drafts.

Remove the first post with Trim Reblogs.

Safe.

Refresh drafts.

Remove your own reply that now shows twice with the Beta-Editor. You will only have one option to remove here, so that makes it easy.

Refresh.

Tadaaa.

In this way you can preserve your partner's reply if you want to, since the blockquote-format won't work like that anymore. So hopefully, reblogs with the Beta-Editor & XKit Rewritten should be easier now for you and your partners without having to move your whole Legacy-Thread to a new post after this measure. I am very nostalgic over my old stuff, so that's a reason why I don't want to do it. If you have additions or experience possible errors, feel free to add them.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS WILL ONLY WORK if your partner reblogged their response without any XKit-Extension. Just a plain reblog.

78 notes - Posted December 10, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ashthehermit]

Legends of Tomorrow: A Retrospective 1.7

A lot of these episodes are melding together.  I think I was used to the later Legends, which changed mood drastically episode by episode.  Maybe humans weren't meant for bingeing television like this.  

The rooms on the Waverider are rather limited this early on.  There's the bridge, the brig, the cargo bay, the parlour.  But I don't think I've seen the kitchen yet.  I know that the joke about the single toilet will come about much later.  Right now, the Waverider seems like it isn't a place where people live.

MAROONED

We start with a Star Trek-esque cry for help.  Rip doesn't much care, but he knows the timeship in question will have a computer he can use to find Savage.  It's finally time for a space adventure.

It is also time for flashbacks on Rip's past.  Rip and Miranda are dressed like they are training to be in Starfleet.  There's no other sane reason to wear a miniskirt in a situation like this.  The Time Masters dress like Vulcans to my eye.

Jax quotes Star Wars, but precedes it by saying that he is quoting Star Wars, just in case we were wondering.  I think this is the first mention of this series' Time Pirates.  I never quite understood where they came from.  Are they people who stole from the Time Masters?  Are the legends effectively Time Pirates?  It feels like they are.  Rip did steal that ship against orders.  Apparently they're the natural enemies of the Time Masters.  That's all I've got.

'You're not Captain Kirk.  You're Picard.'

Ray and Kendra start talking about Star Trek, in case the reference was lost on me.  The episode isn't parody, and it isn't accurate enough to be a pastiche.  Again, it isn't quite sure what it wants to be.  Legends will reference Star Trek again in the future, but better.

Sara and Snart get trapped in the engine room (another room we've seen!), which allows for plenty of quality time.  The chemistry between these characters has been overlooked until now, but one of the better pairings of the show at the moment.  They talk about dying, which sounds dour, but they make it compelling enough.

Rip states that personal attachments are expressly forbidden, making the Time Masters the Jedi Council, as well as the Time Lords.  This season is really let down by how much it relies on other properties.  The later seasons continue this  Legends loves to reference other media.  The difference is that later down the line they become more parodical, more honest about where these ideas are coming from.  They might reference Indiana Jones, but it's in an episode that George Lucas is a character in.  This episode is Star Trek style, and this has been lampshaded, but it just isn't as fun.

'That'll teach him to mess with a nuclear physicist.'

Rip goes a little Sherlock, and offends Rory.  That isn't hard, but the admission that Rip was only ever interested in Snart was a good one.  It makes a lot of this make sense.  Rip wouldn't pick Rory.  He's got no talents that Rip can use.  It's part of the arc that sends Rory away from the team, so it's all fair enough.

Watching this though, reminds me that I do prefer the Savage-less episodes of season one.  There's more time for character moments, and more direct stakes.  Sara and Snart face the prospect of freezing to death.  Rip, Jax and Rory face the problem of maybe being killed by pirates.  There are no apocalyptic futures here.  Instead, Rip is devastated by the loss of his family again.  Sara and Snart get to cuddle up to stay warm, despite typically keeping people at arm's length.  Plus, Stein is funny wearing that beret.

'Time to choose a side I guess.  Chosen.'

It escalates to a punch up.  I enjoy this one a lot more than the previous.  There's a few corridor shots which are fun to look at.  And they're fighting Mick, which ups the stakes.  There's less of a sense that these are faceless goons.  At least, the pirate leader has been built up enough to be a secondary villain.

The message of the episode is that love is the highest power.  Which is pretty positive for this season of legends, and even a little philosophical.  Contrary to all that, Snart takes Rory to the woods to kill him.  This is, at least, what we have been building towards.  We are left to assume that Snart succeeds.

Now, we are going back to 1958, apparently before Savage encountered the legends at all.  I cannot remember how that will play out, but at the very least they are not moving chronologically anymore.  

[saby-chan]

Why the ATLA comics fail when it comes to Zuko and his family

To whom ever took their time to actually stop and read this post, thank you in advance for not skipping my post and willing to stay and read my humble opinion! I hope I won’t disappoint you!

As a relatively newcomer to the ATLA fanbase since 2020, I’ve come across a lot of interesting debates, comments and rants about the show, characters and fandom in general, but nothing has captivated me as much as the dumpster-on-fire that are the ATLA comics, more specifically: The Promise and The Search. 

On one hand we have the hardcore fans who want them to be animated or serialized into the Netflix live action, praising the comics for the new views and subject matters they’ve brought into the show’s lore, while on the other hand we have the furious Azula fandom who is really angry for the fact that best girl didn’t get the redemption arc she rightfully deserved so much after the painful event that was the Last Agni Kai and the even more angry fans of the Urzai ship (yeah, the people who actually ship Zuko’s parents unironically) who hated the retconning of the show’s cannon since the comics basically took a huge fat dump on what was previously established as official cannon, when the Search entered the scene, but between these two sides, who has the more valid point? In the end, are the comics good cannon or bad written fanfiction?

Well... Here are my two cents on this matter since I myself happen to be an Azula and Zuko fan and had huge expectations from these comics (since I wanted more from my fave hot-headed fiery siblings duo) but ended up disappointed: the comics are indeed a huge mess and actually bad written fanfiction when it comes to Zuko and his family! Don’t click off yet, because I actually documented the reasons why exactly the comics fail in this area:

1. The author of these comics is not part of the BryKe duo

Yes, I would like to start with the fact that if you actually take a second to look up who in the heck took the time to write these two books, you won’t find Bryan, nor Mike, but a fellow man named Gene Yang. This is important because while the wiki of both The Promise and The Search state BryKe as the creators, that doesn’t mean that they were the actual minds behind these comics, but rather because ATLA is their “baby” and these comics involve their characters, over which they have copyright. Mr. Yang here is the actual brain behind the plot, as the main writer, which explains why we find huuuuge inconsistencies between the show lore and the comics, especially Zuko wise.

My main issue with Mr. Yang isn’t that he isn’t BryKe specifically, but because he did an unforgivable mistake in his writing process: He projected himself into Zuko’s character, based on the relationship Zuko had with his father. This is a documented fact from an interview in which he explains that he sees himself and his dad’s relationship into Zuko and Ozai and used that when writing their interactions and built Zuko’s character in the comics. And this is wrong because when you have an already very developed and complex character such as Zuko, you can’t just come in and be like “Oh, I was an angsty teen just like him in my teenage years, fighting with my dad and whatnot, so he must have the same thought process as me!”. NO! This is bad fanfiction writer behavior! Zuko has his own personality and philosophy, which he developed over the course of 3 seasons and is not defined by only 1 unfortunate aspect of his past, so you can’t just base his whole mindset and actions off of your own personal experience just because you had the same daddy issues he had!

2. The whole “Promise that you will kill me if I turn out like my dad!” nonsense in The Promise

Reason number 2 why these comics fail and go under the category of “bad fanfiction” is because they fail to convey the core essence of the source material. The whole point of Zuko’s redemption was that he realized the wrongdoings of his ancestors and his own mistakes. He outgrew his desire of gaining his father’s acknowledgement in favor of choosing his own destiny. Having him worry that he’ll turn into his father is utter nonsense and feels like poor angsty drama material for the sake of angst. At this point in time, Zuko has overcame that obstacle in his life a long time ago and should be at the level where he himself is the “Uncle Iroh” for other people and in no way someone concerned of becoming their own worst enemy!

Not only that, but the whole point of Aang’s journey and the story of the show as a whole was to teach us, the viewers, the importance of forgiveness, empathy and love in life. Aang didn’t spare Ozai, aka “the ultimate evil” just to flex in front of his pals or because he is a “ 12 y/o vegan pacifist monk kid”, but because he knew that killing someone, no matter of what they did or wanted to do, wouldn’t restore balance into the Universe, on the contrary, him killing the villain would have meant perpetuating the “endless cycle of hate” that plagued the world. So having Aang promise to kill his best friend in case “they turned into an evil maniac like their dad” contradicts Aang’s whole character and it’s a nonsense that throws into the trash what we’ve learnt throughout the entire TV series.

3. Azula deserved (and was supposed) to have a redemption ark

This might still be pure speculation, but I count it as a documented reason because I’ve heard quite a few people saying that there should’ve been a book 4 in the show, aka “Book 4: Air”, and no, it wasn’t The Search, but actually Zuko and Azula’s journey as Zuko helps his younger sister heal her broken mind by being her very own “Uncle Iroh”. Sure, they prolly were going to end up looking for Ursa, but the journey should’ve ended with them actually being happy and a family again and not the bs we got in The Search where a still very unstable Azula runs away and becomes the “Next Joker”! The only problem is that M. Night had to pop up and curse the world with his movie, which forced BryKe to delay the project (and eventually abandoned it in favor of Korra).

All in all, either if BryKe had this preplanned or not, it made sense for Azula to get a redemption ark, she deserved it because she was just a broken 14 y/o child! If Katara’s mom’s murderer deserved to be forgiven, so did this poor child who had no fault for what happened to her since she had a dysfunctional family! What Gene Yang did in his poorly written fanfiction was to just antagonize a broken child, turning her into a monster for the sake of friggin angst!

4. The Search is the worst of the two, being flat af character wise

And finally, getting to the point that I personally find the most annoying about these comics: The Search. This one... This one is a mess on a hella lot many levels, and just to list a few: characters are flat as fudge, being either black as vanta black (like Ozai and Azula) or pure white like Gene’s Gary Stue OC, Mr Ikem (or how I like to call him, IKEA man) and his ‘victim’ rendition of Ursa, Azula gets to suffer more for no reason (see reason number 3 to why I find this as a no no), Ursa’s whole character sucks ass (man, I could write a whole thesis on why Yang’s version of her is terrible and doesn’t match the strong woman we got in the show) and Zuko does morally wrong stuff (my man literally used his unstable sister to bribe their dad into spitting info about Ursa... Show Zuko would never do that!;-;)

Oh boy, as a person who’s seen a ton of anime and other media and read many books, I can’t begin on how much I despise this type of writing: flat characters are the worst!

 ATLA characters in the show are nothing close to being flat! What I mean by that is that none of them fall perfectly into pure white (aka goodest of good characters with no imperfections) or vanta black (aka lowest and darkest twisted monsters out there), each of them are various shades of grey (like Aang who is a very light grey because despite being a very kind and nice character, he still isn’t a “perfect hero” since he ran away from his duties, practiced tax fraud with Toph, had insecurities and even threatened to kill people on ocassions like with the sand benders who took Appa) and this is a good choice because that prevents them from becoming what’s globally known as Mary Sues and Gary Stues (aka those either “perfect” characters with no flaws and/or unlimited power, or the twisted monsters full of flaws).

And the other reason why many other people hate The Search: it literally negates previously established cannon. And here comes my short essay on why this comic fails Zuko’s family (since we’ve already talked enough about Zuko himself).

In cannon and even interviews with BryKe, it was clearly stated that Zuko’s family was “once happy”. Where is this “once happy” family in The Search? All I see is pain, deception, lies and betrayal, nothing close to anything that resembles happiness. Okay, some of you might come in and say that “It’s because it was never the case! It was only lies and Zuko trying to convince himself that he didn’t live in hell forever!” and here is WHERE YOU WERE ALL WRONG! And why? Because, my dear fella, where were depicted the flashbacks of Zuko’s “happy family” in The Beach? Ember Island. And what do we know and had been even quoted in the show?  "Like waves washing away the footprints on the sand, Ember Island gives everyone a clean slate. Ember Island reveals the true you." (direct quote from the show). Exactly, no matter who you are or how hard you try, you can’t hide your true self when you are on the Ember Island, best example being Azula, who’s impenetrable though shell cracked and revealed the true vulnerable child that was underneath. If Azula couldn’t resist the “spell of the island”, no one can. So this means that Zuko’s family was indeed happy once and yes, Ozai wasn’t always the douchebag we got to know in Season 3 (I have a whole nother essay on my theories regarding what could be his real past story and why he’s actually the “Zuko” of his generation, based on stuff I gathered from old wiki entries and character analyses I made, but that’s for another time, lemme know if ya’ll are interested).

And what I guess is the biggest proof why The Search did this family’s past trash is comics Ursa herself. My dude, if this woman were indeed the victim of years of endless abuse and never loved her husband, I guarantee you that she would’ve been closer to what we saw in Todoroki’s mom from BNHA and Zuko would’ve gotten that scar or even worse long before the Agni Kai, not from his “daddy dearest”, but from “mommy dearest” herself, because no sane woman would be soo affectionate and attached to a child that’s the perfect copy of their abuser, sepecially appearance wise (again see Todoroki’s mom’s case from BNHA because the stories are really similar) and in no way would’ve she been willing to sacrifice her life for said child’s sake. With this ocassion, I remind ya’ll folks that according to the ancient ATLA cannon wikis on Nick’s site, Ozai was designed with Zuko’s appearance in mind, being meant to be like a “grown up scarless version” of Zuko. So yeah, remember this with a grain of salt that whenever you simp over grown up Zuko, you involuntary simp for Ozai too.

So yeah, I guess this kinda concludes my “not so short” rant about why the comics fail and are bad fanfiction. Lemme hear your thoughts in the comments and if you agree, feel free to leave a like and even reblog.

Bye bye and remember that Momo is the true strongest character of the show!

 Saby out.