hi hello hi I need to scream for a sec but I HAVE A SHORT STORY IN A PRINT ANTHOLOGY! like a real actual physical book!!! the anthology as a whole is about resource scarcity and specifically the moment a resource runs out, and true to form I wrote a funky thing about time and grief and messy familial relationships and gardening. cuz what is there to do when something ends other than to keep maintaining your plants.
this isn't even to say you should totally buy this thing but if you do want to check it out, it's available for preorder
This scene really spoke to me as someone who converted to Judaism. To be fair, I wasn't raised religious at all, so I don't know what it's like to leave one faith and move to another, but I still have thoughts!
I connected with Judaism because of it's emphasis on questioning and doubt, and this exchange also illustrates another key aspect of Judaism that I really identify with - following mitzvot/commandments because it does good right now for yourself and others, not due to some fear of eternal damnation. (that kind of philosphy doesn't work as well in a world where Heaven and Hell are confirmed as real planes lol.)
I also recently took a class (shout out to The Unyeshiva) that focused on the history of Jewish converstion. One thing from that class that I've been thinking about specifically in relation to Kristen's journey is different methods of proseletyzing.
The rabbi said we tend to picture xtian missionary groups that are pushy and make people uncomfortable - "Convert or you'll burn in hell." But there are ways to share information and offer one's faith to others as an option without making it a requirement - such as holding an intro to Judaism class or inviting friends to Jewish celebrations - which could still be considered proseletyzing in a way. She said the idea is: there are some people who would be happier practicing Judaism than not, and if we do some outreach those people are more likely to find Judaism, but not everyone will want to be Jewish and that's ok.
I'm not sure how much Ally is intending to work Jewish philosophy into Kristen's character arc, but I love being able to chew on the subtext anyway. Considering Kristen literally needs to convert a bunch of people to her religion ASAP I'm interesting in seeing how she decides to go about that.
I hope Kristen's journey works out and she and Cassandra are able to make amends. I also get angry at G-d, but at least I'm not in danger of destroying my entire religion because of my frustrations...
Thank you @sae-mian, @lilvulpix-alex, @zylphiacrowley, @bnuuywol, @abstinencesupreme, @wrenanigans, & @ariallis-rosaecae for coming to help me make Hades a fun time this time.
And thank you to everyone else who offered to help out! I wasn't expecting to get as much attention on that as I did, so it was really heartwarming to see you all chime in! <3
And now that Hades is chilling in the lifestream probably swearing at himself for Reasons, I can post a photoset I made earlier. :3c
been thinking about the aftermath of the school and elmville being destroyed and maybe one of two ways it'll be resolved:
one: bc of all the time quangle nonsense (affectionate) arthur aguefort is gonna show up at the very very end of the battle, see all the carnage and wreckage of his school and elmville and be like "oh nonono, can't have all this" *clap clap* and just reset the world by 24 hours, sky's not on fire, school's repaired, elmville's back to normal (and then two subthoughts about this: either the only people who remember the actual battle are the people in the gym (i.e. the ratgrinders, the bad kids, porter and jace, ankarna, etc.) OR the entire town remembers and everybody's just like "well, that's good ol' arthur aguefort and elmville for ya!")
two: they just let this terrible school full of evil teachers and insane academic policies BE destroyed and done (sort of in the vein of the end of buffy season 3) and aguefort decides to just completely rebuild over the summer
Finally received my copy of the first Magilumiere print volume from VIZ Media. Here it is beside my copy of the first Japanese volume. I don't have the space to be double-dipping on things but Magilumiere is an exception.
If you have enjoyed reading the series for free via official digital channels and you have the cash spare, I highly recommend supporting the official release that's local to you (or close enough, per me supporting the US release).
And if you haven't checked the series out on Manga Plus, now's your chance to get started in book-form before the anime series debuts in October-ish!