#god likes slavery

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

Leviticus 25:44-46

Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.

You may also buy some of the temporary residents living among you and members of their clans born in your country, and they will become your property.

You can bequeath them to your children as inherited property and can make them slaves for life, but you must not rule over your fellow Israelites ruthlessly.

Exodus 21:20-21

Anyone who beats their male or female slave with a rod must be punished if the slave dies as a direct result,

but they are not to be punished if the slave recovers after a day or two, since the slave is their property.

Exodus 21:32

If the bull gores a male or female slave, the owner must pay thirty shekels of silver to the master of the slave, and the bull is to be stoned to death.

The objective morality of an eternal being.

#christianity #bible #bible study #slavery #god likes slavery #chattel slavery #god of slavery #religion of slavery #religion #religion is a mental illness

[bcitisthelight]

hey remember when we were discussing how weird the whole cliegg thing is in AOTC. and you had thoughts, feelings and emotions. tell me about those XOXO

(Big TW for this post - I discuss human trafficking, sex trafficking, rape, child abuse, slavery, and PTSD in this post. It's about the realities of slavery and Tatooine and how it involves the Skywalkers.) Something that I almost never see in any discussion on the Lars family is how sharply the fanon headcanons and characterizations of diverge from the ones we get in the moves. Like, particularly Cliegg and the prequel trilogy. Like - I feel like there's this automatic assumption that the Lars loved Shmi and that they cared for Luke out of dedication to her and her family, and it's this huge found family vibe but like can I be real. Can I be super real right now. It’s something that I find kind of baffling, because when I watched Attack of the Clones, and on every rewatch since (and there have been many), it always seems kind of obvious to me that Cliegg bought Shmi as a slave, presumably as a house slave, if not outright as a part of sex trafficking. And I don't mean in one of those "He bought her to free her, he's a good guy, etc etc". I mean, he bought her as a slave with the original intention of keeping her as a slave. And what's really interesting, is you can get pretty much all the clues about that from the exchanges between Anakin has with Watto, his and Shmi's former master.

Again, I want to stress that, because I think it's crucial that we see this for what it is - not an exchange between a former employee and his boss, not an exchange between a kid and a member of his former community. His former slavemaster. The man who won him and his mother in a gambling game like so many fancy necklaces. The source and object of Anakin's childhood enslavement. Watto would have beaten them. He made Anakin, a child of 9 - and I read somewhere once that Anakin started in the races at 6 - ride in a pod race that no human has ever won before, with the full expectation that he would die. This is a being whose entire life has revolved around the certainty that society is not only capable of functioning, but functions best, when sentient beings can be bought and sold like property. And, to be real with you, because this is a thing that happens to people who suffer enslavement, he very likely loaned them out temporarily for sex trafficking purposes for a quick buck - a practice that is noted historically in virtually every society that operated on a system involving slaves.

It's important to recap that, because I do think it's impossible to understand how deeply horrifying the conversation they have is without that context. Like, let's look at how he tells Anakin about Shmi -

This scene is....so telling to me. From the outset, Watto said he sold her as a slave. Like, it was a slave exchange. Watto heard about her freedom later - clearly, Cliegg bought her, and behaved in a way - intentional or not - that Watto believed he was buying her as a slave to own as a slave. That part is not subtext, that's just actual text.

"But Mikhayla" some will say "he freed her the second he bought her - he bought her in order to free her." Except....there is genuinely nothing in the movies, and off the top of my head, the wider narrative, that ever indicates that that's true. In fact it makes no sense in that case, for Watto to have not known that Cliegg was buying her in order to free her. Why would he have to hide that? Watto presumably doesnt care what happens to her, because he's selling her. In the larger materials, its said that his shop fell on hard times, and in the movies, we can see the proof. The script says he's sitting outside his shop, but at that point it resembles more of a kind of beaten down stand. He's still selling junk, but less and of poorer quality - presumably, he's spent all his money on gambling debts. And the thing is, slaves are expensive. He sold her years prior, and I bet he fed himself on that money for a very long time - he was a very motivated seller, as barbaric as that language is to use about a transaction involving a human person. He's not going to be fussy over why the person buying her wants to buy her. There's also the fact that this is a society that vastly runs on slavery, and large plantation owners would often "rent" out slaves to smaller but still profitable farms. And Cliegg is a moisture farmer with presumably a large tract of land for water vaporizers. If anything, I can see Watto having rented Shmi to her, Cliegg taking a liking to her, and then approaching Watto to buy her. I mean, if he's profitable enough to just buy a slave, then he clearly had at least some money. "He spent his whole savings!" Show me that in the text. "He loved her from the start!" Show me that in the text. "But Mikhayla," yet others will say, "he did free her! And then married her! He clearly meant from the start to free her, and only bought her to get her away from Watto. He could have never seen her as property. Who would marry their slave?" Except, in the real world, this is...another thing we see across multiple historical records, masters buying women as slaves and then later freeing them in order to legally marry them. PARTICULARLY in societies that operate so heavily on an entire caste system involving slaves - we can look to the Roman Empire, for example. Countless Roman officials, merchants, and military officials bought women, fell in love with them, and freed them in order to marry them. "But maybe she said yes!" (I know these are not your objections, but as you know, I'm an attorney, which means I constantly have to find an argument to fight against). So, to this imaginary detractor I say: I feel like it should be rather obvious, but I'll say it just in case - it is impossible for a slave to consent to any action they perform at the request of a slave master. It cannot happen. A woman who is enslaved cannot consent to marrying the man who bought her, and who has very likely been raping her up until this point, and wants to now marry her - usually, to make any children he had by her legally his children, and therefore citizens, rather than slaves themselves.

So really, whether or not Cliegg had a change of heart doesn't actually change my mind about his actions towards Shmi. I don't care if Cliegg DID love her - in fact, I'm sure he DID love her. People can and have convinced themselves of all kinds of moral superiority, people can claim to love someone while owning them as property! Shmi could never consent to marrying a man who held her as a slave. Even if he freed her, and she willing chose to stay there for a few years, and then he asked her to marry him. In my head, you can't overcome that power imbalance. Cliegg will never not be a man who once believed Shmi was a thing to be owned. He will never be a man who didn't see her as property. Like, at some point, it actually becomes kind of more and more unlikely that this is a guy who took up this transaction for non-malicious purposes. Because we simply do not see it in the movie. What I see in the movie is a slave owner saying he fell on hard times and sold his slave to a farmer who probably needed help on his land or in his house - he has no wife, so the latter is probably more likely. I see him saying that at the time of the transaction, he had no idea that Cliegg intended to free her. And for all that Cliegg calls Shmi his darling, his love, his wife - not once do we ever hear of any evidence that Shmi saw this as a love match. In fact, the only thing we find out about her daily life with the Lars family is that in the mornings, she wakes up early and goes to pick mushrooms. You know. A task for the house. An unpleasant task, done before everyone else is awake, that she does absolutely alone. I'm just saying. These implications are not good ones. I will say though, for all this, do you know what really sells me on the idea that the relationship between Shmi and Cliegg is is not a consensual one, is Anakin's reaction to it. This is a boy whose entire hopes and dreams have revolved around his mother's freedom. You have more excellent writing than me on this, but the moral injury Anakin suffers leaving his mother behind is. Intense. All he wants is to one day free her. In a way, a part of him is always that tiny boy who couldn't bear the idea of leaving behind his mom, who swore, the last time he saw her, that he would free her. And at this moment, all of his dreams have seemingly come true! His mother is free. According to Watto, she's found love, and married. For all he knows, she's had other children. Maybe that could involve SOME complicated emotions, but mostly you would expect that he would feel, at the very least, relieved. Happy. Interested, curious. Instead, this is his reaction:

He's grim, business like. He is not happy. He is not relieved. He doesn't even seem to acknowledge that she's still alive - the way he reacts is not a man who thinks his mother is out of danger. To Anakin, who grew up enslaved until 9 and knows how this society works, it seems almost immediately apparent that the Lars are just a different kind of danger. There's also this rather interesting detail:

This is a boy who bleeds, every second of every day, longing for a family. He basically begs at obi-wan's feet day and night, to be acknowledged as a son. His reaction to his wife's pregnancy is radiant joy - his reaction to know she could die, profound existential horror. I mean good god, he basically turns Palpatine aka Satan Himself into a father figure, because he's that desperate for one. And here, this man is claiming him as his family. He's talked about being excited to see him. He talks about planning with Shmi to meet him. He calls him "son". And Anakin doesn't give him another moment of his time, the second those words are out of his mouth. It's silence. For a boy who is so starved for intimacy he genuinely falls in love with the very first girl who was ever nice to him, to react to a claim of relationship this way. It's bizarrely out of character for him. Unless it isn't. UNLESS he's disgusted by that claim, instead of relieved by it. If he thinks his mother has been bought and then forced into marriage, of course he hates Cliegg. I remember when we were watching the movie together, and remember I said to you "You can just tell Anakin is thinking, 'Call me son one more fucking time'" And can I be real, I have so much more to say about this. As you know, I actually have essays of opinions and feelings about Shmi Skywalker and her horrible life, and how Anakin was the one bright point she had in that horrible life. I have feelings about how she gave away her only happiness, because she knew he did not deserve the life of a slave. I had ideas about how you could turn this into a way to actually fix AOTC and make it better, a way you could use it as an excuse to get rid of the Tusken arc entirely without losing the tragedy of his mother's death. But this post is already so fucking long and I'm sure you're tired of me talking xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

#star wars #human trafficking tw #abuse tw #csa tw #rape tw #slavery tw #all the trigger warnings #GOD THIS MADE ME REALIZE HOW MUCH I FUCKING LOVE SHMI SKYWALKER #BECAUSE SHE HAD JUST #THE SHITTIEST LIFE RIGHT #LIKE SHES BORN INTO SLAVERY AND SHE DIES IN SLAVERY SHE LOSES EVERYTHING HER SON IS GONE SHES MARRIED TO HER SLAVE MASTER SHE DIES IN PAIN #BUT HER LOVE FOR ANAKIN WAS SO GOOD #SO INTENSELY AFFECTIONATE AND VALIDATING #EVEN IN ALL THAT HELL #THAT WHEN ITS RIPPED AWAY FROM HIM FOR GOOD ANAKIN BASICALLY LOSES HIMSELF ENTIRELY

[echo-goes-mmm]

Ambrose and Elliot Extra #3

Masterpost

Warnings: none

This is not currently canon, but would take place much later into Elliot’s recovery, when he finally knows about Ambrose’s immortality and abandonment, but not the details. This may become canon later, I haven't decided

It was a Friday night, the last one before planting season, and the dining room was packed. It was more of a meeting than anything else, but Master Ambrose prided himself on being a good host, and Elliot would follow his wishes.

Elliot helped him send out a steady supply of platters laden with food, and drinks flowed over the chatter.

“So we’re going to rotate the fields this year-” 

“Well what about the sheep-”

“I’m just saying the orchards-”

“Ambrose, sir, I need more bread for the table,” he called as he put down more pints of ale.

“Got it.” Ambrose went to the kitchen to slice a new loaf.

The dull roar of the dining room suddenly turned to silence.

He looked up. 

Elliot had never seen a god before, but there was no mistaking him. He was tall, even taller than Ambrose, with reddish brown hair and one golden eye. 

He was looking around the room, and he was holding a bouquet of purple and white flowers.

“Excuse me,” he said, his voice low and smooth, is Ambrose here?”

No one answered him.

It couldn’t be… could it?

There was movement in the corner of his eye, and then a clatter. Ambrose stood in the doorway, platter and bread at his feet.

The god beamed. “Darling,” he said, stepping towards Ambrose. Ambrose stalked forwards, his face stormy, and the god paused.

Ambrose raised a hand, and slapped the god across the face with full force. The crowd gasped, and Elliot winced.

The god didn’t move away, still holding the flowers. “I am so sorry, my love.”

“Sixty-five years,” said Ambrose, his eyes closed, face unreadable. “Without a fucking word.”

Elliot had never seen him so angry before.

“I know.”

“You left me!” he shouted, voice breaking, tears beginning to flow down his face. “You bastard!”

“I’m sorry, Rosey.”

“Don’t ‘Rosey’ me! Where have you been?!”

“I- I’d rather not say in front of-” Ambrose grabbed the god by the wrist, and they marched upstairs, the flowers dropped and forgotten on the floor.

Somebody cleared their throat, and the crowd launched back into discussion about the upcoming growing season.

Michael sat on the chair nearest him. “Did you know?”

“I knew he was married, but-” Elliot shrugged.

Michael looked up from his tankard. “None of us knew either, but I thought he’d at least tell you he was married to a damn god, especially the god of lies.”

Elliot bristled. 

“Michael!” snapped Judy from across the room.

“We don’t talk much about the past,” bit out Elliot. Michael, for his part, looked chagrined.

Elliot didn’t know who exactly knew the details about his old life, but the regret on Micheal’s face told him that the man knew some.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have guessed.”

Elliot picked up the bouquet of flowers. Some of its petals had dropped to the floor, but miraculously they were growing back.

Of course they were magic flowers.

“I’m going upstairs,” he announced to the room. No one stopped him.

He found an old water pitcher in his room, and plopped the flowers in.

He didn’t hear any screaming from Master’s room, which seemed like a good sign.

Elliot cautiously made his way upstairs, holding the flowers.

He knocked and pushed open the door. Ambrose and the god were sitting on the couch, hands locked together and tear tracks on Ambrose’s face.

Ambrose looked up, wiping his face. “Oh, uh, come in, Ellie.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Master,” he said. He put the flowers on the altar in the corner, and he realized the statue of Ambrose’s god was actually his husband.

“It’s fine. Janus, this is my friend, Elliot. Elliot, this is my husband, Janus.” Elliot did not look at the god’s face. 

“A pleasure to meet you,” said Janus. His gut twisted. Michael had said he was the god of lies.

But then again… If Ambrose married him, maybe he was okay.

He hesitated. “Likewise,” he managed, and Janus smiled at him. Soft and gentle, just like his statue.

___________________

Ambrose slammed open the door and kicked it closed behind them. 

He whirled on Janus. “So,” he crossed his arms, anger draining out of him. “Where have you been?”

“Well, you know how Mael and I never got along for long?”

“I recall.”

“I may or may not have been turned to stone for a while.”

Ambrose pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Stone.”

“I came as soon as I could, I promise.”

The story checked out as far as he knew. Mael and Janus had a famous rivalry, and it was sometimes less than friendly. Mael was not above turning a fellow god into a statue. Janus was not quite as proficient at physical magic as Mael, better suited to mental tricks.

On top of which, the other gods wouldn’t have been interested in getting involved in their petty arguments. Ambrose knew some of them; they often rolled their eyes at Janus and Mael. They might have thought Janus deserved it.

It made sense it took over fifty years for him to break the spell.

“Are we divorced?” asked Janus gently. “I understand if you want me to g-”

“You’re an idiot.” Ambrose took Janus’s hand, lacing their fingers together. “Don’t ever leave me again.”

“I won’t.”

They sat down on the couch. Ambrose couldn’t bear to stay mad at Janus.

“You know, it’s awfully rude Mael didn’t tell me about your predicament. Wasn’t he at the wedding?”

Janus laughed, running his fingers over Ambrose’s knuckles. “I’ll let him know you’re offended.”

There was a knock on the door.

___________________

“There’s something strange about that boy,” said Janus, long after they had indulged themselves with each other. “What’s wrong with him?”

Ambrose sighed. “It’s not really any of your business.” Janus rolled onto his side, facing him.

“I’m just concerned,” he said, “Is he okay?” His hand drifted to the curve of Ambrose’s side, his thumb rubbing over the bare skin like he was fragile but irresistible. Ambrose shifted closer to him.

“No, but… he’s better than before.”

“How did you meet?”

“He came in one night begging for food. He was starving to death, and I wasn’t going to refuse.”

Janus nodded. His hand moved up past Ambrose’s ribs to his cheek. Ambrose leaned into his hand. He had missed Janus so much.

“How long ago was that?”

“Uh, three years give or take. He’s been staying here since. And I won’t make him leave, so deal with it,” he warned Janus.

“I wasn’t objecting. Just curious. He called you ‘master’ earlier. You didn’t-?”

“No, that wasn’t my doing. We tried working on it, but it’s something he can’t shake. Usually it’s ‘sir’, but sometimes he slips.”

“Mm.” Janus’s hand dropped from Ambrose’s cheek, and landed back on his side.

“He means a lot to you,” he guessed.

“Yes. Just… leave him be, okay? I don’t want him spooked. We’ve worked so hard.”

“I’ll keep my distance, if that’s what you want.”

“Thank you.”

Janus kissed him on the forehead, a familiar gesture that he’d been craving for so long.

“I love you,” said Janus. “I missed you.”

“Me too.”

taglist: @cupcakes-and-pain @secretwhumplair @paintedpigeon1 @whump-blog @whump-em @thingsthatgo-whump-inthenight @starfields08000 @littlespacecastle @mylovelyme @whump-cravings @zeewbee @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi @keepingwhumpwiththekardashians @fanastyfinder @roblingoblin285 @whumpzone @snakebites-and-ink @astrokea @magdalena-writes @latenightcupsofcoffee @tobiaslut @whumpsoda @loserwithsyle

#again NOT CANON #(yet. maybe. idk.) #but still fun to imagine #some townspeople : he literally just slapped a god are we gonna talk about that?? #the other townspeople: sounds like gossip to me. absolutely not #i love how everyone both knows everyone's business and simultaneously refuses to get involved #Little Wood in a nutshell. No wonder Ambrose likes it there #Kings of minding their own business #my writing #ambrose and elliot #slavery whump #whump

[jules-and-company]

one thing about me is that i’m an orestes-electra-pylades defender. if you don’t hear them being defended anymore that means i am deceased

#something something about them being linked forever #none of them being redeemable all of them being innocent #about this sister who was refused love all her life and who kept it all inside her to give it to her little brother #who loves him so much that the lines blur and we don't know if she's sister ; mother ; father ; or lover even #because who could love him more than she does ? #about this brother who grew up with nothing but rage #rage towards this man he was given to ; that man ready to sell him into slavery #rage towards his mother who got rid of him #rage even towards this father that he has to kill for despite never having known him #rage towards the gods who set up his own curse and let him suffer for a good long while #and apollo did not tell him that no holy ritual will ever truly wash all the blood from his hands #but despite all this rage has chosen to love #to love this sister that he only knew the name of #and who welcomed him with more warmth than three suns combined #who had more fight in her than him and who urged him to do them justice #that's why he did not really hesitate when he killed clytemnestra #because he had seen his sister - a princess - reduced to rags and is skin on bone #and about this friend who became the definition of devotion #who voluntarily chose to follow his friend whom he knew was damned #chose to share the burden of killing with him #and who followed him on every corner of the earth they went to #and i know those three took such gentle care of each other #i know that electra and pylades both refused to go to sleep while the other tends to orestes having his fits of delirium caused by erinyes #yes their hands are bloody #but it's the same blood that's running through their three hearts attached by a red string #and the red of blood looks a lot like the red of love #electre/oreste #classics

[quirky-ex-cultist]

Directly after this, I informed her of the fact that Jehovah’s Witnesses refer to the Governing Body as “The Faithful and Discreet Slave”. Her response?

“OH MY GOD, I WAS FUCKING JOKING???”

#i love when non xtians find out about this shit and are flabbergasted #like it is in your face that god condones slavery and always has but this is just SO funny #ex jw #ex cult #cult tw #ex jw memes #jw #funnies #jw tw #ex mormon #memes #ex christian #ex jw meme #ex jehovah's witness #cult #apostate #exjw #jw memes #pimo #religious trauma

[firstruleofmethclub]

Gimly's D&D 5E Player Characters - #3

Name: Khazaal the Apostate

Race: Hobgoblin

Class: War Cleric

Background: Slaver

Ability Modifiers: +4 Wisdom & Constitution; +0 Charisma

Campaign: I played Khazaal in a quick experiment thing my roommate and I did. One of us would build a dungeon out of tabletop terrain, and then the other would make a story and treasure and guards and traps for it, while the first would play as two characters and try to get through it, then switch. Seeing as this was just an experiment, and evil player characters often do not fit in actual campaigns, I figured this was my chance to bring the biggest bastards I could create to the table.

Khazaal and Legion (but especially Khazaal) were those two characters. They did end up beating the dungeon, but that's where I left them, probably forever.

Backstory: After Khazaal's vast hobgoblin warherd suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of small band of Acolyte heroes, she, the only survivor, questioned the immutability of her god Maglubiyet. She was cast out of goblinoid society for daring to think such heresies.

Even a Hobgoblin soldier as bold and enduring as Khazaal would not survive long alone, and without a tribe, she was forced to seek out strength elsewhere. On this journey, she met a group of zealots who were her match in combat, and soon after she became a devotee of the Wargod Bane, whose ruthlessness in battle reminded her of Maglubiyet, and whose symbol of the black hand, she likened to The Hand formation of Hobgoblin society, where she had once been a Fatal Axe.

Now with stability, Khazaal next sought out prosperity. To this end, she became a slaver, and was commissioned to search for slaves who had gone running.

#Slavery crops up like every 5 goddamn minutes in fifth edition for whatever reason #and I wanted to do a character who was like ''you know what? I doubt the divinity of my tribe's god who says we must kill and fight always' #like oh good for you #except no because you just traded it in for a different god who says exactly the same thing but you are undecided on the lack-of-divinity #for this one #and oh also now you threw doing a slavery into the mix #like you see how that's worse right? #as a like knockback to the ''former villain'' trope #the ''actually got even worse'' villain #which was fun to come up with but i do NOT think would be very fun to play in a setting where things like roleplay exist #or any ongoing capacity really #gimly #dandy #noticemequannaix

[fuckmeyer]

I saw a post about racist Jasper stans bitching bc they’re not able to enjoy shitty J*sper content bc of tags or whatever lol and someone said: “What is there even to enjoy?”. I had to laugh and I thought if you bc it’s so true. Most Jasper content isn’t even that enjoyable. It’s mostly the same boring white-supremacist garbage that I’ve seen before; even the jalice stuff is played out.

The only J*sper content I enjoy is content where he is worshipping Maria, thinking about Maria, talking about Maria, loving Maria, doing anything for Maria tbh. Is that bad? XD I owe it to you and your writing! idk something about a 19/20 year old dumbass confederate falling madly in love with a native brown woman and literally seeing her as a god-like figure as she’s basically handing him his karma for his racist crimes sends me. Ppl act like he was this awesome person before Maria and that it’s her fault he’s gutter trash now with the C*llens but he was gutter trash BEFORE he met Maria. She honestly made him so much better, stronger and MUCH more interesting. She literally created the man these stans thirst over so much. She is the blueprint.

the thing anti-María Jalice stans don't get is, without María, you do not have Jasper. for everything Jasper is, María is the catalyst ❤️

canonically, all we know about Jasper Hale pre-change is 1) he was born in Texas, 2) faked his age to join the Confederate Army* where he became the youngest major in Texas, & 3) was persuasive

beyond that, María made Jasper into the man the fandom adores. you like that he's an empath? guess whose venom made him one. you like that he's a warmonger? guess whose war he fought for. you like that he has a troubled past? guess who put the trouble in it. you like that he's "soft" "empath" "baby" (tbh i don't see it but ok)? guess who made him want to be that way. you like that he's submissive to Alice? guess who broke him in first.

you want Jasper with Alice but wish the María era didn't exist? lol just say you want the hot faceless Confederate to get with the psychic Mississippian & go

as for me, MARÍA ALL DAY BAYBEEEEE

here we have a woman who has suffered all her life at the hands of colonizers. born "1800s or earlier," we can suppose she has firsthand experience with colonization (at least Napoleon's invasion) & lived through Mexico's War of Independence. i.e., she has a deep familiarity with what it means to have your way of life ripped from you by invaders. PLUS she was a victim of Benito's army in the Southern Vampire Wars; her entire coven including her mate was killed.

& despite her losses, she rallied to take back her land & drive out her oppressors. baseline, she is a strong, cunning, powerful indigenous woman with a deep love for her community and her people. HOT

now let's look at Jasper, a bright leader in the Civil War who suffered defeat at the hands of the Union army. yes, María changed him. but did she force him to stay? to go to war? the newborn vamp with the strength & speed to overcome a "grown" vamp chose not to do so. the empath with the power to make anyone disregard him chose not to use it. some say María was "abusive" & "manipulative," but few acknowledge that Jasper had a choice.

why didn't Jasper leave? because he's submissive to anyone more powerful than him. because he was a loser. because the Southern Vampire Wars gave him a second chance at victory. because "empath" or no, he wanted to play war & win.

that's what's compelling about Jasper/María. as wrong as Jasper was for fighting for the Confederacy, he believed he was fighting for the same thing as she. he saw his way of life destroyed by "invaders" & fought back. it's a sick & twisted parallel between oppressor & oppressed that becomes subverted as their relationship goes on... & one that can heal them both.

María's experience with colonizers gives her a visceral picture of what it means to be oppressed... but her relationship with Jasper gives her the victory & emotional reflection she needs to move on. Jasper's military training gives him the hunger & knowledge for war... but his "curse" of empathy provides him with the tools he needs to recognize & address the horrors of his problematic past & move on.

tbh, i find Jasper & María are perfectly suited for a delicious character-driven narrative. Maria's story is that of a traumatized indigenous woman on a path from colonization to decolonization, & the sacrifices & destruction she endures realize that vision. Jasper's story is that of a troubled man on the path from self-hate to self-love, & what it means to undo the societal teachings/traumas & forge a life of empathy & forgiveness.

& that is something Alice alone can never give Jasper.

tl;dr all hail Queen María

#*non-americans: the Civil War (1861-1865) was a battle between Northern (Union) & Southern (Confederate) states... #...over whether to permit slavery in new U.S. territories. #maría my beloved #anon i'm glad you like my María writings (when i used to post them)! #anon thank you so much for giving me this ask and allowing me to just rave about María you are so wonderful <3333 thank you come again #twilight #twilight renaissance #the twilight saga #jasper hale #jasria #jasría #asks #(disclaimer: i don't hate jasper. i do not think of him. no hate to jalice stans either. lichrally i do not care. i simply love maría) #god i love her so much #most underrated character of the whole saga tbh #honestly if i didn't have this rewrite going on i would DEFINITELY LOVE to take a crack at writing The Jasría Story #i just see this gorgeous gothic horrific bloody strangely uplifting & bittersweet vampire novel #it's got death and sex and horror and blood and everything Twilight should've been but Worse (and Better) #ok fuck it fuck it FUCK IT I'M DOING IT. I'M OPENING A DOC. I'M TAKING NOTES. I'VE GOT TO WRITE THIS. SHE DESERVES IT #the-most-pathetic-edge wya bestie #let's change the renaissance. For Her #su-angelvicioso #i hope you see this & i hope you're doing well & if i write this series it's for you & i will get this story to you somehow

[homonationalist]

Once the veneer of fantasy is stripped off, the setting terrestrialized, and the orcs recognized as human, then, all the classic themes of Western racist thought become immediately visible. Tolkien’s aesthetic judgment on Mongols and orcs simply repeats Meiners’ aesthetic classification of races, and the even earlier medieval hierarchy: “The figure prized in medieval romances corresponded to Greek statuary, physiognomy was important, and a ‘skin of dazzling whiteness’ exemplified true beauty. Such beauty symbolized goodness, while blackness, small stature, and an ill-proportioned body meant ugliness and evil.” Similarly, twentieth-century German racists would contrast Aryans and dark “ape-men.” Blacks themselves, of course, had traditionally been seen in racist thought as close to apes, and possibly even prone to couplings with orangutans. In keeping with the foregoing, Tolkien describes an orc as “a short crook-legged creature, very broad and with long arms that hung almost to the ground” (TT, 62), while at the siege of Helm’s Deep, we are told, the orcs “sprang up [the ladders] like apes in the dark forests of the South” (TT, 178). The pure-blooded orcs’ fear of the sun also has its precedent in one German anthropologist’s contrast of a diurnal Aryan and a nocturnal non-Aryan race.

Charles W. Mills from “The Wretched of Middle‐Earth: An Orkish Manifesto” (2022)

#charles w. mills #the wretched of middle earth #lord of the rings #reading #i wish someone would do a dissection of the white supremacy in asoiaf like mills does for lotr #i mean maybe someone has i havent looked 😭 #but im revisiting a dance with dragons and the like white supremacy and orientalism is so insane #i read that in middle school so i didnt pick up on it but my god #even just looking at the wiki page for meereen like its alarming #the martells??? like im sure this has been discussed before but i havent read these books in like 10 years so its the first time im #seeing it with my own eyes #idk the way i find lotr repulsive after reading the wretched of middle earth #im like.....how are the people who make hours long youtube videos theorizing about asoiaf #not like intrigued or bothered by this at all #the only allegiance i have to hotd is alicent #otherwise that really is the white supremacy show #edit: all the ppl saying dany abolished slavery and has good intentions so she cant be imperalist or colonizing etc #and saying asoiaf is a fantasy so it doesnt have our current racial system in it....youareallsostupid.jpeg #if u can discuss the misogyny and gender politics in asoiaf u can discuss the racial politics goodbye #i feel like white ppl think discussing white supremacy or colonialism or etc in a work immediately means that work is bad and so they #do gymnastics to avoid having those conversations

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

"What a deliciously evil God! Mass murders, the endorsing of slavery. I"d say, you wn't find that in moral books like Humpy Dumpty, or Three Little Pigs."

#Stewie Griffin #Family Guy #bible #christianity #bible study #god is evil #god of slavery #god likes slavery #slavery #mass murder #god of genocide #genocide #religion #book of horrors #religion is a mental illness

[izzyspussy]

anyway where's that post about how able-bodied cis white women are sick of being damsels and their power/romance fantasies hinge on independence, but women of color, trans women, queer men, and disabled folks have reasons for being rescued/cared for to still be wish fulfillment because they haven't been forced into the damsel role and in fact have been barred from it. y'all remember that post. stupid question lol I know you don't.

#also. lmfao. excuse me but actually. implying that a moc being a house husband is akin to slavery because his partner happens to be white. #is WAY more racist than. saying. he'd like to be a house husband. oh my god how are you peopleeven real. LOL. #jack facts #reading process #soc

[magicalgirlmindcrank]

I think one of the stupidest benign things about Harry Potter is how jkr included "Lord" as part of the anagram of Lord Voldemort. He couldn't have anagrammed to Voldemort and taken the title of Lord cuz he's, y'know, a self centered power hungry freak. Nah, He only called himself Lord cuz he had a few letters left over and managed to spell it

#god it is almost a wonder anyone likes these books #even when you strip away all the racism homophobia transphobia fat phobia anti semitism and whatnot #oh and slavery apologia #can't forget the slavery apologia #you are left with a story that just isn't very good #it's somewhat of a miracle it tripped into the few enjoyable moments it had tbh

[silenthillbunni]

rich ppl disgust me so much, but the cult of ppl who worship rich ppl are even more disgusting

#rich ppl are arrogant and greedy and callous bc they get away with everything #they have not a single ounce of remorse guilt or pity for what they do to poor ppl #but oh god it disgusts me to no end how normal ppl look up to rich ppl #like celebs for example. how they glorify and excuse whatever they do no matter how bad #rich ppl ONLY do harm to humans animals and the environment #it's vile to worship them and ugh #idk anyway i just feel so alone in this #obvi there are many ppl in the world with sane brains but ig im just so detached from them #idk how to find more ppl w the same view as me #like i can find it slightly entertaining to like an artist's music or an actor's performance but im not worshipping them #they are still rich and disgusting even if i like seeing them in a movie #other ppl dont care abt that. they dont care if the kardashians or rihanna contribute to child labor and slavery #or that it's insane that one celeb lives in a mansion and have 20 cars while sm others live on the streets #being rich should be illegal and it doesnt matter how many ppl are walking around being like oooh im a communist :3 #they arent really. they arent actually. they'll defend capitalism always bc thats what they secretely like

[pointsfortrying]

Oh i am So going to get suspended from school

#rye rambles #rye rants #on fucking purpose #this uni has been pulling some serious bullshit this semester already but fucking???? a god damn??? 'isreali ambassador' #coming to talk about hama like fucking. #okay guess im punching a guy next week #or at the very least vandalize considerable amount of school property #holy fucking shit. #<- going to see if i can organize something but god i am so pissed off right now like #LITERALLY. HOW can you be so god damn #note that the email i got right after was asking for specifically african american students to talk about their experiences with slavery. #this school is fucking disgusting #argh. #<- knows that ppl on the faculty/staff are in support of palestine but the fucking dean and just #head in hands this semester has been so bad #for every single reason outside of the actual god damn classes besides one #fucking disgusting #AND IN KOREA. #LIKE. #IN /KOREA/ #jesus fucking christ #i swear to god if i see a single korean zionist im asking them what the fuck happened to their grandparents #head in fucking hands japans surrender of their occupation of Korea happened a couple of god damn years #before britain made god damn israel #head in goddamn hands

[mwagneto]

.........did thousands of westerners people really need a stupid joke about not feeding guests to realise the almost exclusively white blonde scandinavians have a history of awful racism and are still actively racist today?? like how is anyone surprised????? like ppl are literally acting like some celebrity's old problematique tweets got dug up so now they're getting #cancelled like HUH? sorry ppl live under some massive fucking ignorance rock but the rest of us are fully aware nordic countries are horrendously racist and xenophobic even towards white eastern european immigrants let alone people of colour (not to mention the systematic oppression of the native sámi people)

#no coz apparently this IS a shock to so many people which is. alarming to say the least #like I've seen north americans talk about how at least Scandinavia isnt racist (unlike northam) way #too many times like bro HELLO?????? HUH???????????? #it's genuinely baffling like. they're some of the most racist countries in europe bruh #like both societally and systematically #not to mention the history of slavery and colonisation . god #sweden #swedengate #Scandinavia

[obessivedork]

Big fan of the Nuka World soundtrack tbh

#reminds me of some of the fo2 sountrack #I will ALWAYS notice a soundtrack music is ALWAYS something I take note of and can enjoy #Also I'm 100% biding time making a plan to kill off all the gang bosses and give nuka world back to the traders #once I've fixed it up. naturally. God I hope you can do that. If not I have a safety save I can go back to lol #Like I said Marta is a chaos gremlin but she IS at her core kind. And also anti slavery lmao #(nvm I spoiled it for myself and I can do that! Ayoooo lol) #I do respect the option to go awol and apeshit and become a raider though! Unfortunately not one I want to play #I'd rather have the option to be an ex raider as a background or something #kat plays fo4 #fallout #fo4

[woohooincoffin]

Solas says I know a place and takes you to the middle of a swamp where he insults your culture, religious beliefs, and then dumps you.

#yeah im still thinking about this and its the next day #he might be telling the truth about the Vallaslin but my inquisitor did not let him remove it #I’ve played her as very proud to be dalish and believes in elven gods so it would be out of character even if solas says something else #maybe that’s what it represented then but it is not what it is now and she chooses to move forward #about the breakup … this is not the first time a man takes me on a date and dumps me 😭😭 but hey um wtf #honestly my lavellan does love him and is hurt but she has to be so many things to so many different people #there’s bigger things at stake and bigger problem to deal with at this time than whatever he's hiding or lying about #im pretty sure he was going to say something else not about the vallaslin #but his fear is dying alone becasue i saw it in the fade and yet !!!! he pushes everyone away he picks fights with everyone no matter whos #in the party he didnt come to the wicked grace game he never opens up beyond what he has seen in the fade. he is a fixed point #i wanna shake him by the shoulders and YELL WHATA RE YOU DOING you could have it all someone who loves you and a wonderf #a wonderful found family. he is kind and gentle but he is also so full of ANGER and he is so set on things being as he sees them. #Cole cant change because to Solas cole is always a spirit. the dalish are misguided and YOU Lavellan are just different YOURE special #the meaning of the vallaslin cant change because to him it represents slavery and it is in stone to him. things dont change with time they #are fixed. like things in the fade it what it was preserved. he is trying to hold on to a past that doesnt exist that has moved forward. #Solas says you cant change yourself by wishing. but i would say wishing for change is THE required prerequisite for change. a little though #a little idea a little wish that something was different better. but to #why cant you move forward Solas what the fuck are you holding onto so intesely #OKAY WHATEVER IM DONE WITH THIS ESSAY IM OVER IT ITS FINE ITS SO FINE