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ouroborosorder · 7 months

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Guide Ahead Means Something To Me

Writing about Guide Ahead is…. extremely difficult, for a few reasons. One is that it is a very dense story, and to fully unpack it would require an essay so unfocused that it would be functionally unreadable. But the biggest one is that Guide Ahead is a story that focuses really heavily on the subjective nature of interpretation. How can I speak authoritatively on the thematic meaning of the plot when even a basic description of its events demands a deeper poetic interpretation?

The answer is “I can’t.” So, let’s piss off my English teacher, and coat an entire essay in the phrase “in my opinion.” Because I have to get personal if I’m going to tell you why Guide Ahead is my favorite video game story ever told.

I was raised Mormon. My mother was religious, but my father was absolutely not. You can understand why I related to Cecilia basically immediately.

Ultimately, the thing that draws me to Guide Ahead is the very thing that makes it hard to write about. Guide Ahead is, in my reading, a story about the subjectivity of divine meaning.

The most obvious manifestation, and the most important, is Law. But, Law’s execution, in traditional Arknights fashion, is kinda unclear, so I’ll recap for those who have hobbies outside of this, unlike me.

Law is the supercomputer buried underneath Laterano, and is the sentient religion that binds all the Sankta together into a hivemind of sorts. The Sankta are actually just Sarkaz connected to Law, given halos, wings, and empathic communication between each other. But, the main thing they gain, is a biological impulse to obey the Lateran religion’s thirteen doctrines. Anyone who breaks these doctrines are marked as Fallen, are cut off from the empathic connection, and slowly revert back to Sarkaz. Law represents religion as a concept and a community. Saints and sinners are just one and the same. But despite that, the laws of religion are created just to perpetuate the existence of a special in-group. One enforced by empathic connection they cannot share with anyone outside of them. That is Patia’s point - the Sankta have created an “us” and a “them,” and even the devout Liberi are not seen as “us.” They’re just converts, not real Sankta.

But, Falling has… weird grey areas. Like how Andoain was able to shoot Lemuen, or draw his gun on the fucking Pope, and not Fall in the process. This is because the doctrines are not actually the guidelines they’re held to. The Doctrines are subjective interpretations of the objective Law that they are all beholden to. That Law being “It must survive.” Law only is interested in the perpetuation of Itself, and, as a result, the continued existence of the Sankta as a societal structure.

This is the first and strongest example of what I mean when I say Guide Ahead is about meaning. Law says that the failure of religion is ultimately that religions supplant any subjective meanings with an “objective” meaning. But this “objective” meaning is just another person’s interpretation of the in-group’s best interest. Laws biologically programmed into the Sankta’s souls are revealed to be nothing but interpretation of Law’s interpretation of events.

People Fall not because they have broken a concrete law, but because Law… because the in-group has decided they did. Or when they broke the rules, they did something that’s good for the church. There is no objective laws within the Lateran religion, no matter what the machine is named. The system just declares sin when it deems worthy, and absolution when sin is a benefit.

It is this very hypocrisy that drives Andoain.

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I remember being pulled aside at church one day. Everyone above 14 was given a sermon about the recent legalization of gay marriage. He said it was wrong, the church would never accept it. I asked him if it was like the time the church refused to give black people the Priesthood. He said this was different. I asked him how. He did not answer. I left and someone followed me out. He asked if I was okay. I told him whatever he was saying in there was not the teachings of any god that I know, and wasn’t the teachings of any god that loves me. I kept going to church after that, but deep down, I think I didn’t believe in it anymore. I didn’t feel like part of the community, I lost that reciprocation with my people. I just… began to think.

Andoain, as an antagonist, is defined by a search for meaning. He was the bishop of an Iberian church, and Iberia is doing pretty bad lately. His request for aid from Laterano was denied, and the message was clear to him. “You are one of us, but they are not.” But that answer just created a new question. Why? Why would those who claim faith and utopia as their ideals reject those who are suffering?

He searched for an answer in exile, and he didn’t find one. Instead, he found another story. The Sarkaz man who died in the watchtower to warn a town who hated him of an invading force. And this story made his question develop. Why would someone who is hated by everyone give their life to protect those very people? And why would those people then cry over the grave of someone they hated?

He had seen the realities of the Sarkaz and Sankta laid bare, but he couldn’t figure out the meaning behind it. He tells Cecilia these stories, knowing full well he doesn’t know what to make of them. I think he tells them to hope he finds the point partway through.

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As much as I hate the Mormon church for dear god everything they’ve ever done holy shit look at them? My feelings are predictably complicated. Years later, my family fell upon hard times. I don’t want to say more than that for my own sake. We were struggling to even live. But… the church helped us. None of us gone to church for years, but they offered a hand. They gave us access to the Bishop’s Storehouse, gave us food and supplies for free, because we were starving.

And yes, I know. I know they do this in an attempt at creating a false brotherhood in an effort to create a fascist sense of community. I have also read that part of Brothers Karamazov. I have also read Guide Ahead, come to think of it. But… Shit. Most of them tried to pretend we didn’t exist when we met them in the grocery store. And… they still helped us. In their eyes, I was Fallen.

But still, they saved us, and didn’t even ask for faith in return. I still can’t figure out why.

This is why I just… can’t see Andoain as a villain. I mean, yeah, he shot Lemuen, but even she doesn’t blame him for shooting his friends while holding the Stick That Makes You Shoot Your Friends. His entire goal is an attempt to sort through the cognitive dissonance between what the church tells him and what the church does. A dissonance that is, because of Law and the doctrines, innate to what the church is. An experience that should feel damn familiar to anyone who has spent time as an apostate. His plan is to simply confront the Pope about this hypocrisy, to get an answer, to find a meaning.

The answer he gets back is… It Must Survive. Law must survive. The in-group must survive. It doesn’t matter if we cry over the grave of the Sarkaz, because the Sarkaz would die for us. He searched for the answer to a question, the meaning of a statement. You are one of us. They are not. All this time, he searched for the meaning of those words, but in reality, those words were the meaning. That was all they ever had to say. He just needed to accept that.

…but if the in-group is all that mattered… why allow Mostima in Laterano? Why give her her position? She’s not needed for the survival of the in-group, the Law has deemed her an exile.

And… Why not Andoain?

Before he leaves, his gun is taken from him. A gun that, according to the church, has meaning. A meaning he takes as truth. He believes a part of him is left behind there. I don’t think he realizes it, but Mostima and Fiammetta are the question he left behind. They are Not Sankta, but yet they are accepted. And… I don’t know if there is a meaning to that. I still can’t figure out why.

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For a long time, I missed those days spent in the community I had left. I would remember the things I left behind. The churchball basketball games we were destined to lose. The conversations held on the roof of the storage building behind the church. The scouting activities that were clearly an excuse to go bowling. The shitty halloween parties with the game where you ate donuts tied to a string hanging from a fishing pole. I missed it, for a time. I couldn’t help but look back.

Cecilia is searching for meaning to almost everything. When Andoain tells his stories to Cecilia, he tells her that he can’t find the meaning of them. That if there is meaning to be found, she’ll have to find it herself. So. She does.

Cecilia was faced with the same situation Andoain was obsessed with. But for her, it wasn’t hypothetical. She existed between Us and Them. She felt the pull between the community and the love and fun they represent, and the outsiders who were hated and rejected by the people around her. Society told her the meaning of her dual identity, the meaning behind each half, and then told her to choose. But… she’d experienced otherwise. She’d felt the kindness of the Sarkaz from the Pathfinders, and the hatred from the Church. She’d felt things that contradicted the meaning that she was told was true.

Her story isn’t just being forced to pick a side between the church or apostacy, it’s being forced to pick what meaning she ascribes to the world. Ultimately, that’s why her answer can only be her own. Your belief is… subjective.

And she answered… with a bell. A Sarkaz girl, bearing a halo, ringing a bell that has not been rung since the Sankta were still called Teekaz. A bell that once marked the beginning of the new era. A bell that carries the weight of a Sarkaz, hated by the place they called home. A bell that rings with the melody of a Sarkaz lullaby once sung by a Sankta. A bell that asserts her answer. She’s not Sarkaz, she’s not Sankta. She is Cecilia.

Everyone else finds their own subjective meaning within that action. Something as mundane as the ringing of the bell suddenly has more meaning than divine scripture.

No one else understood the nuance of what she said, but they understood parts of it. They understood what they wanted to. Those who know nothing of Lateran culture understand it as just… a beautiful welcome, celebrating the arrival of talks of peace. Most have their meaning determined by the church’s traditions. The pious see it as the beginning of a new era, whatever that signals to them. To the Church, it is that their talks will bring about a new era of peace. To the Pathfinders, it is a signal to begin their attack on Laterano to begin their new era.

There is so much meaning in that action, but in the end, it’s still just a fucking bell. There’s got to be hundreds, maybe thousands of them in Laterano. But this bell meant something more than the other bells. This bell had meaning, and that meaning made it divine.

This, to me, is what Guide Ahead has to say. That there is so much meaning to be found in something as mundane as a ringing bell. Within such a simple action, there is personal expression, liberation, the sound of change. And in all of this, there is the echoes of divinity, the echoes of faith, as if all of these things are, in themselves, divine.

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When I left the church, I couldn’t help but look back, still tethered to a community who hated me. I think I wished I could stop looking back. I don't know if I realized I was.

In the end, everyone else looks back. They still have meaning to be found in Laterano. Andoain looks back, a part of his soul anchored there by the symbol he was told to believe in. Mostima looks back, knowing she’ll return just as she always does. Fiammetta looks back, because she refuses to let herself leave. Ezell looks back, unsure if he will be able to return home after what he has found.

But… Cecilia doesn’t. She has decided that she is not defined by the church, or the meaning they try to give her. She has decided to leave Laterano and see the world outside of it, to explore the world around her and find the meaning for herself.

And the last thing Cecilia does is... defined by ambiguous meaning. She sees Andoain walking in the sunset - and a word appears to her. The title of Martyr. A title she doesn’t understand the meaning or weight of, but that she feels is appropriate regardless. A title that, to other people, would mean something more. But to her, brings to mind the saints she heard of as a youth, a word her mother told her was important.

The story is ending, and they end it with an assertion. Cecilia is finding meaning, and others will find what they will within. Perhaps even she doesn't know all of it.

A while back, during a theater rehearsal, I suddenly remembered a conversation I had years before I left the church. I remembered speaking with my friends outside of the chapel after a sunday service. My friend said a sentence that has stuck with me ever since. “I don’t think science goes against God. I think God uses science and math. I think those things are holy, because they’re… what everything is made of.”

I remember looking around the rehearsal space and thinking that if science could be sacred, then… so is this moment, now. So is my time spent with the people I love. This is sacred. What I missed, what kept me looking back. It wasn’t the actual religion, but instead… just belonging to something. So… I stopped looking back. In that moment, however fleeting it was, I had found whatever it was I needed.

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Look. You probably had a different interpretation of Guide Ahead. This story is just… So goddamn dense. There is so much there that I didn’t even touch on. For the love of god, I just did an analysis of Guide Ahead and didn’t even really discuss Fiammetta?? What kind of hack writer am I? (I just… couldn’t talk about her without being more personal than I am willing to be in public.)

If you have an interpretation that is different than mine, that’s great. I encourage you to hold on to it, and hold it close. That meaning is yours, and yours alone, and that’s a precious thing.

Because to me, what I found… is that very idea.

There is meaning to be found in anything - and a meaning that is yours, and yours alone. All you have to do is find meaning. and the idea that there is meaning to the world, that everything has meaning not because there is a “true” meaning to it, but because we find one there, because we put one there… that makes everything feel… divine, to me.

So… wherever you find meaning, you can find the divine.

You can find divinity in a ringing bell. In a terrible cactus tart. A carnival game you know how to beat. The promises of peace around a table. A cup of coffee. A city you hate. A community you love. A flower growing near a grave. A weapon you carry. A people you surround yourself with.

Those are all… holy to me.

And to me… that meaning is enough.

I hope yours is for you.

#arknights #critical analysis #feel free to reblog #i know this is personal but don't worry I wrote it to be shared #thank you all.#finally i can rest

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beanghostprincess · 5 months

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there's just something so inherently poetic and romantic about zoro's devotion to luffy during all of wano that makes me go completely insane.

he sees luffy for the first time in like a week, which might not seem much but for them, who are used to feeling each other's presence all the time and did not have a good experience with being separated, it's torture to not be together. so of course they go all happy, kicking their feet and blushing when they reunite. then his captain is like "hey, this is tama. tama is our friend now" and zoro takes it extremely seriously and protects that random kid he has no connection to because luffy says so and, well, because she's just a kid and everything, but still i think zoro instantly accepting to adopt tama is really cute.

zoro acts like luffy's enabler during this arc, because his captain might do the most impulsive and reckless shit, and the dude will support him to death. even when he's just competing against kid and law to see who's stronger (or the dumbest), luffy is the most serious he's ever been here. of course, zoro has some moments of "okay, gotta stop this idiot" but it turns out zoro is fucking stupid too, and getting into a fight in the middle of a party while you look for your captain is just,,, so them.

and all of this is just silly moments that make you think "oh, okay, zoro is whipped, yes. we already knew that". but then he pulls the most romantic and poetic things we've ever witnessed in anime history and honestly, i fucking lose it every time he does things like this.

drake goes to them and asks if he can be on their side (btw dude could have just told luffy he knew koby somehow but okay) and zoro instantly goes 'protective first mate' mode and says "haha no the fuck you're not. disloyal people are the worst and you'll always be like that. once you betray someone there's no going back" which is something i love about zoro because, even if from his perspective drake was actually a member of kaido's crew and they're supposed to be the bad guys, zoro respects loyalty so fucking much that he doesn't care whose side are you on as long as you have your priorities and beliefs on the right place. i find that beautiful, especially knowing what comes next.

zoro is gifted a sword that theoretically could cut hell, to then being then perceived as the king of hell for the same reason, and then actually going to the battlefield and referring to it as hell itself because they're fighting to death against two emperors and saying "if you're sending our captain to hell, you'll have to take me with him" because he would quite literally go to hell for luffy. and then the guy goes and tells law "hey, this is going to hurt like a bitch and i might probably die. if that happens, you know, just take care of the rest because luffy trusts you too" and he goes and awakens his conqueror's haki without even meaning to and not even giving a single fuck when kaido tells him because his only ambition and will at the moment is protecting luffy and fighting for him. that, and also the countless times he saves luffy without hesitation during this fight, which are too much to remember but i swear every time he gets in between one of kaido's attacks and luffy, my heart does a backflip and i die. and also, the gentleness in which zoro treats luffy when he can't fight. the way he protects him when luffy puts all of his undying trust on zoro. they make me go wild.

the fact that luffy is constantly saying in this fight (and always, of course) that he's going to be the pirate king and showing it clearly with all of his parallelisms to roger, and then zoro pulling things that make him quite obviously the king of hell, just makes the whole "captain and first mate" thing seem so little for what they actually are. because we have 3 different couples of this kind in this story, and nobody compares to these two, because they're not just a captain and his first mate, they're literally kings. and i haven't watched more (i'm on episode 1030 if you're curious, uta time!) but i'm so excited to see how this develops. especially knowing the religious undertones behind whatever the fuck gear fifth is supposed to be (except for a lil cute and powerful af looney tune).

#anyway i love the way they love #and this is just ZORO's POV #imagine the way luffy acts too around him in wano #i could talk for hours about the amount of trust luffy has on zoro #they're gonna be the death of me #one piece #roronoa zoro #monkey d luffy #zolu #wano

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rex-shadao · 1 year

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The Lonely End of Belos

Or why Hunter, Caleb, Evelyn, Lilith, Collector, or anyone that Belos personally wronged didn't get to be the witness to his demise.

I admit, I was a bit unsatisfied with Belos' demise. After all the build up with Caleb hallucinations and Grimwalker bones, I thought he would fall into the graveyard pit, see the ghosts, and realizing all too late it's his fault before he melts into a pile of bones.

Prior to that, before Thanks to Them, I speculated on Belos' fate would be him being hunted down by an angry mob of humans led by Jacob Hopkins believing him to be some kind of cryptid monster either threatening the town... or offer a rare opportunity to get rich on the news. And then he falls apart like an animal.

And when Watching and Dreaming trailer hinted at Belos possessing the Titan, I wondered how they were going to defeat Belos without resorting to revenge or poetic irony (since Belos is this big final boss that the heroes would blow up like with the core). I thought perhaps they would turn Belos into a Palisman tree and make him give back all the Palisman he devoured in a twisted form of redemption. Perhaps they'll remind him of his past and start a mental collapse that causes him to lose control of the Titan as he sees images of Caleb. I was pretty sure Caleb would show up just before Belos dies, giving him the realization that he's damned.

But his actual demise... feels empty. He did fall apart as I expected and there's sense of loneliness in his demise, but... no Caleb. No Evelyn. Nothing hinting to his past. Heck, I don't think the name Philip is even brought up once. It feels like we've been cheated out of a cathartic demise, and I spent the hours since the special aired trying to make sense of this choice and why. Why is there no Wittebane lore.

And ultimately, I make this conclusion:

Belos refused to open up about his past. It's quite telling the Collector spilled everything of his Freudian Excuse from being bullied by the Archivists to being wrongfully imprisoned by King's Dad to his desire for friends and being accepted. Him opening up communications of his insecurities allowed Luz, Eda, and King to empathize and help him. To teach him kindness and forgiveness. To teach him the value of life through death. And through their teachings does the Collector become better and ultimately redeemed.

But Belos? We know he had a traumatic past and a lot of insecurities with his brother. We know he's a lot like Luz and the Collector when he was a child. But unlike them, he never opened up about his insecurities. He forcibly molds them into abstract ideas and rules. For the greater good of humanity. For the good of your souls. He always tries to make it non personal, thinking it makes him selfless and pure.

But what he ends up creating is a caricature of himself. A shallow representation of his former human life. The Hollow Mind portraits released this week on Twitter shows tragedy with the happy memories being free of scratches and burns. Those were the original looks. But in the actual episodes, even the happy memories were scarred and burned. As Understanding Willow reveals, if you burn the memory pictures, you essentially erase them from existence. This means that Belos barely remembers his past. Now that I think about it, Belos never actually used the word brother at any point. Just an old friend. At first, I thought he was trying to avoid triggering trauma memories regarding Caleb's murder, but now I wonder... did he actually forget Caleb was his brother?

Because if he did, then it explains why he never seem to make the connection that Eda and Lilith may in fact be the descendants of Evelyn and Caleb. He only remembers Evelyn's first name but can't remember her face or anything that would link her to the Clawthrones.

And then it hits me. Despite being the big main antagonist of the series... Belos has only one personal connection to our main trio: Luz the Human. Eda, he dismisses her as an Owl Lady outlaw who isn't important in the grand scheme of thing. And King, he thinks it's a weird dog demon, not a baby Titan. But Luz, he's obsessed with because A) she would help him learn the Light Glyph and find the Collector and B) she's the first human he has seen in centuries.

Thus, it is Luz that Belos focuses on the most. It's Luz that Belos wants to form an actual connection since Caleb's death. And when you think about those witnessed Belos' demise... Luz is the only one that Belos has any genuine interactions with. Eda, King, and Raine... they were all background pawns or obstacles, not even worth specializing personal grudges towards like he would with Lilith, Hunter, Evelyn, or even Caleb.

So in spirit, Luz is the last lifeline for redemption and forgiveness. And Belos blew it. He was so obessed with Luz due to her human status but he never gave anything about his past to her (Luz only got Belos' backstory from Masha). He assumes that being human alone is sufficient enough for speaking terms. And he choose the best looking human look for her: A non-broken nose Philip Wittebane. Just as how she saw him in Elsewhere and Elsewhen. The ideal adventurer and hero of the 17th century. He evidently forgot that this bearded Phillip destroyed Luz's respect for him. This Philip lied to her and betrayed her and Lilith. This Philip was not the hero Luz envisioned. After all, the Philip she idolized in the diaries was clean shaven. He could have chosen that form... if he actually remembers that.

And then he sloppily try to make himself sound like he's freed from a curse, sloppily using the term dark magic instead of wild magic, and taking great pains to even say that he did horrible things, even under the excuse of a curse. He has no idea on how to make himself relatable when it's all there within him deep down. He just uses the surface-deep level of relatability and Luz doesn't buy it. And the boiling rain melts away that skin deep humanity, revealing a rotting ghoul barely clinging onto life, screaming of how witches are evil and unforgivable as he crawls to Luz. Notably, he still doesn't give a reason as to why he thinks they're all evil. We all know what it likely is, but Belos never confirms it to Luz.

Belos is virtually on autopilot, repeating the mantra of humans are superior and witches are evil. He never speaks about how Caleb was "stolen" from him by a witch. He never speaks about how Gravesfield taught that witches are evil. His memories almost completely erased by his self-inflicted denial, all he can think of is wiping out witches and saving humanity. A caricature of his former self.

And by failing to swayed Luz, he's completely alone. There is no Caleb now. No Evelyn. No Hunter. No Lilith. No Grimwalkers. No Flapjack. Just Luz whose connection he tries to forge is now a shallow parody because of how much he doesn't understand her at all. But she wouldn't kill him since that would give him a known company at his last moment. Instead he meets his end by those that he doesn't even see as personally important beyond pawns. Though they have a lot of personal grudges against the former Emperor and tyrant, Belos only sees strangers at the end of in his long life.

Philip Wittebane is nothing more than a faded memory of a bygone era. He died with his brother Caleb, regulated to just folklore ghost stories told in Halloween of Gravesfield. To some, they may never really exist in the first place since 1613 is a very long time.

The creature that resembles Philip is just Belos and he is little more but a parody of a man, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

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gemsofgreece · 2 months

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νόστιμον ἦμαρ

There are two words in Modern Greek that are frequently used for the meanings of “tasty”, “delicious”. The most literal one is εύγευστος (évyefstos) which comes from the words ευ and γεύση and literally means “having good / pleasant flavour / taste”.

The other one is more common in everyday speech however. That is νόστιμος (nóstimos), which in Modern Greek means “tasty” and when used figuratively and colloquially it can also refer to a person you find physically attractive.

This has been the usage of the word since Medieval Greek, when the word was also used to describe something tasty, pretty or generally pleasant in any way.

The word is much older than that as its etymology reveals. Νόστιμος comes from the Homeric Greek word νόστος (nóstos), which of course means “coming home” and “returning to your homeland / hometown / place”. The adjective itself was used in the epics as well in the phrase «νόστιμον ἦμαρ», which in Modern Greek would be like «νόστιμη ημέρα» (!) but of course it did not mean “tasty day” but actually “the sweet day of returning home”.

This gives us more insight into how important it was for Ancient Greeks to return to their homeland, how much they prized that feeling of warmth, fuzziness and familiarity. Therefore, it seems that good things were often valued depending on how much they reminded them of home and of their own ways.

The exact meaning of a νόστιμο φαγητό (tasty food) is that it reminds you of the hearty, homemade meals you remember from your family, your grandma, your hometown or country. And in your mind, these qualities immediately make it delicious. This was a concept that was so common and unquestionable throughout the centuries that the word, which has no etymological connection to the words associated to flavour and food, has been used without the merest second thought to this day to denote something delicious.

And just as interestingly but totally in the same spirit, one modern word for “flavourless”, “bland”, “boring” is άνοστος (ánostos) which also existed in Ancient Greek but etymologically it would mean “not (like) returning home”!

Bonus grammatical context:

The differentiations in the word endings i.e in νόστιμον, νόστιμη are the gender endings and not conceptual or lexical differences. That is because the ancient version ἦμαρ and the modern version ημέρα are neuter and feminine respectively. This is not however a change that happened chronologically from ancient to modern Greek but it was due to the different variations of the word amongst several ancient dialects. ἦμαρ was used in poetic speech often however the modern ημέρα comes of course directly from the more common ancient form ἡμέρα (heméra). It was also the name of the deity of the day.

#greece #languages #Greek #Greek language #language stuff #linguistics #etymology #langblr #modern Greek #ancient Greek #Homeric Greek #medieval Greek #Greek culture

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cursedvibes · 9 days

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From what I’m understanding there is zero biological connection between Yuuji and Sukuna and from the translations I’ve seen he (Sukuna) describes Yuuji as his other half rather than Jin, even though Jin is the reincarnated twin. Almost like the soul/essence passed on to Yuuji through Kenjaku/Jin’s meddling. It’s like gege gave sukuita shippers all the good ‘one soul two bodies’ bits without there actually being incest haha

No, Sukuna calls his twin his other half because twins are two parts of a whole and treated by jujutsu as the same. 番った相手が俺の片割れの生まれ変わり... 俺同じとみた "[they/Kenjaku] paired up with the reincarnation of my fragment... [who is] identical to me" then he gives the whole speech about having to absorb (lit. "eat" but he's clearly talking about one twin absorbing the other because that's how you get conjoined twins or polymelia) this fragment/other half in the womb (however the fuck he remembers that...or maybe he's trying to be poetic about a natural process he found out about later). Uraume asks him what he means by 片割れ and he says his twin 双子. Well, he says he rejected being a twin, but that's just his edgy way of saying this fragment is a twin he doesn't recognize. He then states again that Kenjaku paired with the soul of his twin that had been drifting around and that is likely how Yuuji was created. The implication here is that Jin is the reincarnation of his twin because Kenjaku and Jin are Yuuji's parents. Sukuna knows Yuuji is Kenjaku's child, but he doesn't quite understand what's up with his body. There seems to still be some essence of the twin passed on to Yuuji, which likely gives him some of his special powers and is also what Uraume felt from him when Yuuji and Sukuna first clashed after the transfer, it wasn't just leftovers from Sukuna's cursed emergy. That together with remnants of Sukuna's presence in his body seems to be what Yuuji has awakened now.

If you want to, you could still say that biologically aka the physical bodies they currently inhabit aren't related. Sukuna is neither biologically related to Jin nor Yuuji because only his twin's soul reincarnated and Jin's body should have no relation to the one he and Sukuna had in the Heian era. So far there's nothing pointing to the Itadoris being related to Sukuna and even if they were, it would be watered down through one millennia and since Sukuna never had kids, the Itadoris would need to come from some other part of his family. But that doesn't seem to be the case. It sounds like it's random where the twin's soul reincarnates and this time it was Itadori Jin.

Their bodies are different, but there's still a relation through their souls. Jin is Sukuna's twin in his essence and soul and thereby Sukuna is Yuuji's uncle. Since twins are considered two parts of the same, I've seen some say that Sukuna would also kinda be Yuuji's father. While that may technically be true, I think it's a bit obtuse because Sukuna was simply not involved in the creation of Yuuji, so the titel "father" for him seems meaningless to me. Being his uncle also fits his personality and the way he acts around Yuuji and Kenjaku more. He might admit some relation to Yuuji, but he definitely doesn't see himself as a father.

Also, personally speaking, even if Yuuji was Sukuna's other half and "one soul in two bodies" (aka twins) that still at the very least sounds like selfcest to me 😆 but I mean, SukuIta is hardly known for being wholesome

#asks #jjk spoilers #I haven't really looked at the later pages of the leaks in detail #but from what I know Sukuna doesn't seem to give any more details to his explanation in the first 2 pages #jjk leaks #jjk 257 #itadori yuuji #itadori jin #ryomen sukuna

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clairesvalentine · 4 months

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OOOOOO UHHHHH IF YOURE ALRIGHT W IT maybe some cutesy/romantic headcannons w Luis Serra???? :000

my love — romantic luis sera headcanons

note: AHH I LOVE LUIS!!! he was never really my favorite before the remake but god they did such a good job with him. bro’s a little cutie patootie 🤭 i will definitely do a part two to this if you're down!

warnings: n/a

luis has always been a charmer, it's just a given. from his interactions with leon and ashley, that is very clear. however, it was kind of different when he met you. yes, he was his same old charming self but he was almost nervous to be around you. that was just because he didn't want to mess up what you both had. it was something special and for the first time in years, you made him feel like he mattered.

luis is a HUGE gift giver. from years on years of being under appreciated, he'd never want his significant other to feel that way. whenever he comes home from work, he's always bringing you something. from flowers to little pastries, you name it. he wants you to feel appreciated.

though luis is often silly or rambunctious at times, you'd find that he enjoys his peace and quiet. one of your favorite activities is sitting in your guys' backyard and staring up at the stars. he's a bit of an astronomy geek. luis would be pointing up at every star, telling you which one it is. if you managed to get one wrong, he'd tease you about it.

one thing about luis is that he remembers every little detail about you. from the way your eyes light up when you talk about something you love to the subtle preferences in your coffee, turning ordinary moments into cherished memories.

luis is quite the poet, crafting sweet verses that reflect the adventures you both share and turning everyday moments into poetic expressions of friendship and connection. every year on your birthday, you receive a new poem, each one more beautiful than the last.

#resident evil #resident evil x reader #luis sera navarro #luis sera x reader #luis sera resident evil

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thislilstangirl · 1 year

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I hope you can do a take on the Rolling Stone interview with Tenoch Huerta... particularly that part about "romantic chemistry between Namor and Shuri". Absolutely love how you break down and analyze the Namuri dynamic <3 Thank you!!!

thank you for reading!!

and what a lovely interview from rolling stone. i loved reading tenoch’s thoughts and opinions, especially about representation and how namor became more human and grounded with subsequent scripts.

lets look at what he said about killing ramonda:

Remember, he had been trying to create this alliance with Shuri before she became a queen. And Namor is thinking about the future — not because he was planning to kill the queen. But he’s 500 years old. So for him, it’s just a blink. The time goes. In the future, she will be a queen.

now this got me SCREAMING. firstly because, again, he specifically talks about having an alliance with shuri, not wakanda in general. secondly, i love how namor sees time. he looks at shuri and sees her future, not her present. something poetic about that for sure. and he treats her like a queen because to him she might as well be. but of course, shuri isn’t queen yet. it adds credence to my “shuri and the rejection of queenhood” meta. namor is consciously bestowing queenhood onto her. when she rejects his allyship, she is also rejecting his view of her as queen.

and lmao, despite seeing her as a queen he still calls her princess. the princess-is-a-term-of-endearment-theory stands strong.

So to kill Queen Ramonda [Angela Bassett] was never his plan, it was a reaction because they killed a couple of girls of Namor’s kingdom, and it was just a punishment. It’s like: You kill people, I kill your people. But, yeah, I swear to God, first he tried to make an alliance the best way he possibly could! Then things happened.

We been knew. its a somewhat justified act of murder. and i love his choice of word- punishment. it sounds like what a god would do in the face of insolence.

now onto that question.

i’m in two minds about writing about this honestly, because at the end of the day shipping does not and has never required validation from the creatives or cast. it’s a bonus, but isn’t a requirement for a ship to thrive in anyway.

it’s a big enough win that rolling stone is even mentioning romantic chemistry in their interview and to tenoch. another reminder that general audiences were also picking up romantic undertones in their scenes. even if the intent wasn’t romantic, everything from the production design, writing, music, costuming, and direction, gave them enough of a romantic foundation for them to go down that path in the future if they chose.

let’s look at the question and the abridged answer.

Q: On another note, some viewers felt that there was romantic chemistry between Namor and Shuri when she was in your city. Did you play that romantic chemistry deliberately?

A: “I don’t feel it was a romantic touch [between them] I think it was more a human, intimate touch…

I mean, when you meet someone and you have a good relationship, whether this person is the gender that you prefer or not, you always have this ambiguous relationship. It’s normal. It’s human.

If that can evolve into a romantic relationship or not? I don’t know. It wasn’t our intention. It could happen or not.

The beautiful part of this relationship is, it doesn’t need to be romantic to be deep. It doesn’t need to be romantic to be beautiful and bright and intimate…These characters, they create something. I don’t know. It was magical, but not necessarily romantic.”

you know what? i’m okay with it. because what is romance when we think about it? it’s intimacy, it’s connection, it’s beautiful.

the words tenoch uses to describe their relationship are so telling. beautiful. bright. intimate. deep. magical. nothing antagonistic, nothing referring to it as a rivalry, nothing about manipulation, nothing suggesting that their relationship is unequal or inauthentic. those scenes in talokan, were pure, unadulterated connection.

and of course that doesn’t have to be romantic to be compelling, and the intent in those scenes wasn’t romance. but he accepts that because shuri and namor have such a good relationship, it’s normal for it to be seen ambiguous. aka a romantic interpretation is valid (not that we needed that validation).

in the fact tenoch doesn’t dismiss the idea. he very easily could have. If that can evolve into a romantic relationship or not? I don’t know... It could happen or not. not ‘that wouldn’t work out’ or ‘i don’t think namor could see shuri in that way’. just ‘it could be romantic, but that’s not how i was playing it those scenes’.

look, i don’t hold my breath when it comes to marvel and romance and that has been the case for years. it’s not worth the disappointment. if marvel doesn’t pursue nashuri/namuri/seaprincess i wouldn’t be surprised. but we also know that marvel, for better or for worse, listens to the fandom. and with the fandom being generally positive (i couldn’t imagine getting a hit tweet with some of my other ships let me tell you) i’ve allowed a little hope to blossom despite my better judgement.

now that marvel knows that the general audience loved their chemistry and we’re thinking romantic thoughts about them…the scene is set for marvel to make some concrete moves towards that direction in the future. but again, shipping is for fandom. and no one is prying this ship out of my hands.

#namuri #namor x shuri #shuri x namor #wakanda forever #wakanda forever spoilers #black panther #meta #seaprincess #mcu #nashuri #shuramor #ask

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mightymizora · 7 months

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Even if Love

Let's have a Gortash.

Read on Ao3

He still takes the time, because he can. He takes the time because it is important to get these things right, and it is his great gift. Ever since he was a child he has understood instinctively how things piece together.

A shoe is simple enough in its construction, especially when it is being made by such simple-minded people again and again and again. Sole, tongue, toe, vamp, collar, counter, heavy stitch and buckle and lace, sole, tongue, toe and so on so on. He worked hard for his parents but they were always so limited in their thinking, and any suggestion of innovation to streamline, to innovate, to increase productivity or longevity or quality was met with stone faces and closed-fist swipes. He had not understood it back then. Part of him had believed what they had said about him being wicked. Now he knew the great pestilence in the world was that of the mediocre man and their insipid combination of fear and disrespect. If you have money, or power, or a seating above them, you can control them. If you show any weakness they will swarm upon you like maggots on rotting flesh to take what they can.

A shoe is simple in its construction, but there were many more things to see in the hells of more intricate make. There was no day or night in Avernus, so he took every moment that he could steal away to read, to study, to pass through what the master left out carelessly. When he ran out of things to steal away, he made plans to access more. While the others fell to their despairs, he made sure that no moment was wasted until he could find his escape.

Perhaps it was fitting that his first kiss was an Incubus. Poetic, for this child of wickedness. An early lesson that he had something other than his mind to trade. He sometimes thinks of it, tries to evoke it. Part of him is vexed that he cannot remember it; too young to truly appreciate what a unique situation he found himself in, too frightened perhaps to understand the great power in the transaction. Sometimes he still feels a familiar creep across his body; a strange experience, to be bought back to what pleasure felt like to him as a youth.

Life back in the Gate was full of banality at first. When one finds themselves in the gutters, one cannot be too picky about ones friends. The Heapside Reavers were uninspiring vagabonds, but it was easy to find a place at the top of their pile. With that came money, and with money came the possibility for more enterprising connections. New clothes, new accommodation away from the lower city. A new name for a new man, new plans, new threads, plays, mechanisms. New runners. He swore he would be a fairer master than those he had in the hells.

Weaponry had always been his great love. The intricacies of the infliction of violence. The first bomb he had seen appeared such a small, insignificant and unassuming thing; he had then seen it tear through eight men, leaving the one closest to in barely more than a red mist. He had taken one apart, examined it, rebuilt it, taken it apart, examined and improved it. The simple joy of the understanding of something capable of such things.

He still takes the time, because he can.

Compared to complex weapons, the petty rivalries of the Thieves Guild and the Zhentarim were simple. No need to take apart and examine; all that was needed was a little disruption. An undercut price, a better product, more loyal men, better suppliers. That, in turn, would need influence. He does not remember who first invited him to a meeting, but as soon as he arrived he knew he had found something truly special, something of fine intricacies and new thought, progressive thought. Rooms full of weapons dealers who wanted his product, ever expanding landlords who wanted good investment, those on the cutting edge of the new technologies of Toril, of the labour crisis, of fiscal reform. In the smoking rooms of those meetings he found his first true home, and the calling to bring these men to a much higher purpose.

To a God who finally saw, no, sees his worth. A God who comes to him in his sleep. A God who gives him hidden knowledge. A God whose hand shakes the hand of every great businessman, every rich lord, even if some dare not speak his name. He finds many, many more are more than willing to embrace the hand of Bane.

The extension of the Black Hand to shake the hand of Bhaal's chosen proved more complex. There was no sway of money, or resource, so he relied on what has always seen him through; intelligence. He encouraged the patrons of the Hall of Wonders to display artifacts from the old temple. He ensured that this was publicised in the right places. He sent a missive to the new temple, and set the bait.

He had been strangely disappointed, he remembers, when he first saw her. Draped in plain cloth, short and strong in stature. She seemed unassuming, somehow. She pulled back her hood and looked at him with a suspicious, heavy brow. I am intrigued to see what you can do, Gortash, she had said with a chuckle. I have heard such things about you. It was only when she unleashed herself on the private view of the collection that he saw her for what she was.

Weaponry had always been his great love. How could he not adore her as she tore through them with her hands, as she crushed their heads between her thighs, as she tore out flesh with her teeth? She with her flame red hair drenched in blood, she whose small body he now understood to be a compact, muscular explosion. She made his greatest prototypes seem like children's playthings. Still, he remembered her eyes gleaming with the reflection of the blasts from them, transformed into great pools in her arousal. He would never be able to forget how she looked at him that day.

He chases that look through the eyes of the others he fucks. He wants them to look at him with that same wonderment, that same reverence, but the moment he has them they feel cheap. Disposable. He craves only the sight of her tearing into flesh for many months, even as they continue his work. It is not until they return to the hells for the crown that he gets to see her work again, and she is magnificent. There is something that frees in him as she rips the heads from the imps who once tormented him, as she is bathed in demonic light. When they return with their quarry she is alight with laughter, with a glee, and he takes her bloody hands in his and kisses her palms without a thought. She almost crushes his head between them, her eyes taken over with that arousal born in blood. As her hands slip to grip him around his neck he takes himself into his own, spilling himself at her feet before she grants him the tenderness of a kiss.

Later, he takes her to his chambers. He has his servants run a bath to pull the blood and other fluids from her. He lays her on his bed, and takes the time to try to pull her apart.

He simply wants to understand.

#bg3 #enver gortash #manva warhelm #the dark urge

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snapscube · 1 year

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hihihi ok. so i’m in my last of us fixation mode and i’m being extra silly about it but i NEED to know what’s ur current opinion on the last of us hbo?? also i logged onto tumblr and saw a lot of rly good points defending joel’s final choice and i remember during the last of us pt1 playthrough u had differing opinions so i wonder if u think the show’s differences affect that at all? btw i LOVE ur stuff and cannot wait until u do last of us pt 2 wehehehehe!!! anyway besides all that i just want u to know that u are one of the things in my life that makes it easier to get up in the morning

I still feel exactly the same about the final events as I always have! The show didn't change it for me, and actually being able to remove myself from being in control of the situation in the game and actually just watch the events play out in show format solidified that further. The connection I have to Joel as a player when I play the game really helps me understand his perspective more and stomach the goal a bit more easily, but without that immediate intimacy it puts into perspective for me how kinda monstrous the whole thing is from every angle. Obviously I don't ever lose that sympathy for him, and I never stop understanding why, because the whole point of the conflict is that no one is in the right. Ultimately I think the damning thing for every single person involved is that they removed Ellie's agency from the equation, and I still stand by that. They all should have talked to her. They should have told her the truth. All she wants is for her immunity to matter, and I believe that they may have been surprised at the lengths she's willing to go in order to make a difference, whether it's ultimately the right call or not.

I don't know what arguments you've seen exactly in defense of Joel's choice, but personally I don't really agree with one I see a lot and I'd expect will pop up again now that the show is over, which is the whole "well who's to say a vaccine would have worked anyway?????" angle. I think, while reasonable from a meta standpoint, completely ignores the intended framing of the story in order to more conveniently justify a protagonist that the story through its entire runtime is trying to tell you is a little bit of a piece of shit. It's pretty clear and safe to assume that the ultimate intent here is that... yes, the vaccine WOULD have worked. Maybe not in the sweeping way they hoped, but Ellie's sacrifice absolutely would have done something. The whole moral dilemma of the situation really does not make any sense unless you give them that as fact imo.

So then, assuming that is true, you have to wrestle with the idea that Joel is willing to take down the entirety of humanity for Ellie. And not really for Ellie, because none of this is what Ellie wanted. The game AND the show QUITE LITERALLY SPELL OUT for us that Ellie really really really does not want to go back to Jackson without finishing what they started, regardless of the cost. Joel's reasons for saving Ellie, while understandable, are ultimately selfish and rooted in his own trauma and having just seen the light at the end of his grieving over Sarah. Again, incredibly sympathetic, but it's selfish. I know we like to joke as much, but Ellie IS NOT his daughter. They share a similar bond after everything they go through, but by the end of the game you can already feel Ellie pulling away from that notion because she's starting to realize Joel doesn't have the same commitment to the idea of her immunity being meaningful as she does, they're only a few miles away and he's already asking her to give up and go back to Jackson with him.

Then, of course, I think what ultimately damns Joel in my eyes on a poetic/storytelling level is his decision to lie to Ellie after it's all over. That's the nail in the coffin for me. It would be one thing if he said "they were going to kill you on that operating table without even telling you what was going on and I couldn't let them do that", but instead he lies to her to make sure she's still able to see him as the father he desperately wants to be again. It doesn't change anything. He tells her her worst fear has come to pass: her immunity, this unexplainable thing that has taken so many of her loved ones from her, is completely useless. Not only that, but now even more people are dead. Including Marlene, who's known her since birth. The only thing his lie changes is the fact that he's responsible for it all.

Anyway, part of what I love most about The Last of Us Part II is how it follows up on these threads and you may be pleased to know that I actually just started streaming the game last night after the HBO finale premiered cause I was so pumped up I couldn't wait any longer haha. So you'll be seeing VODs for that soon :)

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chlorine-and-daisies · 1 month

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fics i enjoyed last week!

Confiteor (M) by @adverbian- When the title comes from a prayer for confessing sins, and the tags say it's a marriage proposal, you know this one is going to hit. It's made up of Aziraphale's thoughts and a conversation with Crowley after all of the fighting is done- a forgiving, poetic, and grown-up kind of epilogue. As a 3k word oneshot, every phrase is intentional, and it definitely has that crafted emotional impact. I liked that we don't actually see Armageddon Part 2, but are able to piece together what happened from their dialogue. It's rated M for some *very lightly* implied masturbation at the start and sex at the end (just a few lines), but imo the real reason is because it's a mature take on the characters and their inner motivations. If the Final Fifteen is still hurting you, and you wish Aziraphale and Crowley would just sit down and talk, read this.

Terminus (T) by BraveLight (@emotional-support-demon-crowley)- This is a really unique AU where Aziraphale is an astronaut on a decades-long mission and Crowley is the mission controller responsible for bringing him home! But things get complicated quickly when a. they are absolutely whipped for each other and b. the company that started the mission may not actually want it to succeed! I love the characterization of Aziraphale, Crowley, and the Them in this one. They mainly communicate through calls, and the dialogue is always funny and sweet. I've gotten invested in the story and the mystery in it. It's currently on chapter 7/16, and I'm looking forward to see where it'll take us next!

You, you're driving me crazy (T) - author anonymous- Aziraphale prepares for his driving test in the 1930s, and tries to remember his lessons in the 40s! This one is clearly written with so much love. The narration and dialogue was perfectly in character, the historical setting is full of fun details, and the side characters were unique without feeling forced in. Aziraphale channeling his inner book detective to save Crowley was so entertaining!

requiem of a fallen angel (T) by viperinz- Aziraphale Falls, and Crowley holds him through it. This one is adorable, painful, and powerful hurt-comfort that made me laugh and cry. Yes, it was on my previous list too, and I'm recommending it again this week because the author just finished the sixth and final chapter, and the ending was soft and a satisfying wrap-up, plot-wise, symbolically, and emotionally!!

And for this week's deep cut: city continues on, alone (G) by burnttongueontea (@aziraphale-rights) from 2020! This is a oneshot that takes place in an AU where Adam turned Aziraphale and Crowley human, and they've settled down in the South Downs cottage. In it, Aziraphale returns to London after selling the bookshop. I know, I know- becoming human? Selling a single book, let alone the shop? Those are fighting words!!! But I would really encourage you to keep an open mind and give this a read. The descriptions of London are so vivid and Aziraphale's characterization is great, full of nostalgia and experience and love. It's sad, but there's humor in it too. The author really explores the idea of longing for a place and time in a way that not too many do. We're writing about immortals in this fandom and yet we often forget the weariness that comes along with watching everything go by. Not only that, but the author uses the human AU to tell a very human story about missing a place that no longer exists and watching it change as you start to age. It came as no surprise when I looked in the comments after reading and saw them talking about how they wrote it at a time when they were personally homesick for London! This is the purpose of all good writing- to write about the human experience, to connect to your characters, to tell a story only you could tell.

So yeah! This was a really great week of reading for me. I originally intended to share these lists every weekend- this is only my second post, and I'm already falling behind (it was finals week)! But don't worry, I'm still here to highlight recent work and share my opinions in long rants. I tried to tag all the authors whose Tumblrs I could find, but as always please let me know if I've missed one.

Please add your own recommendations (including self-promotion), and I hope you will enjoy these stories as much as I did!

#good omens #aziracrow #ineffable husbands #fanfiction #fanfic rec #fic rec #fanfiction recommendation #chlorine and recommendations

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non-neutoniangender · 1 month

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Welp its a halloween episode, and right on time too, we had an emotional moment to get through. Anyway, I'm not familiar enough with the x men to know what these costumes are, besides cool.

Holy fucking shit FCG you're trying to FORCE Laudna back???

I'm so glad the dice decided to say no, thats so poetic lmao

Laura freaking Bailey ladies and gentlemen, and you tell me she didn't realize she had feelings for Laudna? Leaving her the choice, saying she would be there.... such fantastic roleplaying

okay So here I took a several month long break from watching CR for various reasons and I come back to remember that. I stopped watching IN THE MIDDLE OF THE RESURECTION. and I had forgotten it was halloween

oh noooooo not a 7 :(

(I cannot take matt seriously in these contacts)

(or taliesin as a vampire(?) for that matter)

I love that Marisha dressed up for this episode

Oh my god poor Laudna she's so traumatized

Whitestone!!! its thriving

The pinky promise 😭😭😭😟😟😟

I really adore the cast letting Laudna have a moment with the sun tree. What a lovely connection

Not ashley trying to steal the holy symbol from her own character

The implication that fcg sneezes is gold. thank you marisha lmao

Find Familiar!!!!

oh my god he has a voice!!!!

I love the voice that Matt has given Paté, amazing moment for everyone!

Oh I love that Percy gives the monkey a gun, such a percy move glad the monkey now has a gun to use.

Wow Sam. Just wow. These drink things are getting much more elaborate. Honestly the wack picures of the cast were better imo

The DREAMS!?!?! Not Eshteross, thats an awful thought...

I love Frearne chatting to the Sun Tree like a good friend. Rite of passage for the druids.

Love how proud of Taliesin is of Percy's stuff.

GILMORE!!!!!!!! ya love to see it.

Damn the dreaming that someone died is going to become important in this campaign huh.

Also the wills are super cool

I can't wait to find out what the Hells do with the letters not addressed to them.

Anyway, I'm very happy to have finally finished an episode for the first time in months, and hopefully this is the start of some good momentum? I'm really curious about the solstice and such, so.

#critical role #cr 3 ep 28 #cr3 #bells hells

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noctivague · 10 months

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Incense for the Gods: Dionysos 🍇

So I was meant to post this a few months ago but as you might have noticed I sort of ghosted tumblr for a while lol

I started a serie about incense last year, started with a general post, then imagined incense blends, and I'm now working on crafting said blends for the Gods I worship (you can find links to said posts in my pinned post).

So here is Dionysos, who I have the most recent worship relationship with at the moment, and I thought making him an incense would make for a good gift :)

What I used:

Labdanum - this is one of my favourite incense EVER. It's a very sticky resin, it's an absolute mess to work with but O does it smells divine! Kind of intoxicating and very unique. Obviously lakes it perfectly suited for the god of wine and intoxication!

Fruity Sandalwood - some type of red sandalwood that smells, as the name suggests, very sweet and fruity. Adds some lightness/playfulness to the labdanum and pairs really well with it.

Siberian Pine Resin - would have been better to use Greek pine but they didn't have any at my store so I got this. The thought process behind this was about his symbol being the pine cone and his association with the wilderness.

High quality myrrh of Somalia - okay so I know that's not what I had originally planned in my theoretical plan and that myths points rather towards olibanum, I decided to go with myrrh because of the fact that Dionysos is trans and that myrrh is usually associated with femininity. Idk I liked the idea.

Results

So one thing that surprised me is that pine resin doesn't smell like fresh pine but rather strangely like rot lol its really weird and at first was really disappointed.

But then I remembered, isn't wine making basically like mastering the rotting process of grapes ?? So in a way its perfect and poetic !!

So yeah, I'm thinking now I should add bay leaves as well due to its connection with maenads.

Apart from that it's really pleasant and I use it eveytime I give them offerings !

#incense #incense for the gods #dionysos #dionysus #dionysos deity #greek gods #incense blends #helpol #hellenic polytheist #pagan #hellenic polytheism

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gigijenga · 1 year

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simple (?) definitions of the functions

Edit: I made some changes (they are in italics)

Without a basic knowledge of the cognitive functions, it can be extremely hard to understand mbti. Here are the simplified definitions of the functions:

Ne (extroverted intuition): this function spreads intuition/ideas externally. The main thing Ne values is possibility. Ne wants to understand the dozens of ideas that stem from one event. It does not like to stick to one idea.

ex: when it sees a flower, it comes up with dozens of flower designs of its own. It thinks of all the possibility the flower can look like, thought Ne does not care if it is practical (or considered a “good” idea).

Ni (introverted intuition): this function forges an intuitive idea internally. Ni takes information in and thinks of one idea, one insight, on possibility. Like Ne, Ni is focused on what might be possible, not on what is tangible. It wants to dive deeper into the “truth” to find a secret meaning/contradiction.

Ex: when it sees dozens of flowers, it comes up with its own design of a flower. Unlike Ne, Ni takes its time to analyze the depth of one specific idea. Ne does not care much about the accuracy and worth of its ideas (it values possibilities more), while Ni wants its idea to be valuable.

Se (extroverted sensing): this function is focused on the external physical world around it. Se is focused on the present and what is happening in the moment. Like Si, it is focused on the small tangible details. Se is a fairly direct and objective function. It does not like to meddle with hypotheticals and theories (this does not mean Se is unintellectual). This function is a kinesthetic learner and likes to meddle with its environment.

Ex: when it sees a flower, it simply, well, sees it. It's a concrete object that has no other poetic meaning to it.

Si (introverted sensing): this function is focused on the real world in its head/internally. Si is oriented towards the past, towards repetition. It makes decisions based on how similar events in the past enrolled. Si values predictability (not necessarily tradition).

Ex: when it sees a flower, it remembers how the flower connects to past sensory details and it stores the details of the flower in its head for further use in the future.

Fi (introverted feeling): this function is focused on its own internal moral code/philosophy. It makes decisions based on how moral the situation is based on its own feelings and values. Fi is often seen as the function that wants to be authentic because it is concerned if the current situation/its decision aligns with its personal values.

Ex: when Fi gives gifts to other people, it contemplates on what gift it would like/value. Fi also analyzes how the gift would be valuable according to the person’s inner feelings and beliefs.

Fe (extroverted feeling): this function is focused on the external moral code. It is concerned if its actions align with external beliefs and ethnics. Fe makes decisions based on what the majority values. It is aware of how its actions will impact/meddle with the emotional state of other people*. Unlike Fi, Fe believes ethics are not decided by itself. Fe is objective, like Te.

*Though other functions might have this ability, Fe knows how other people feel on a “deeper level” and it is confident in its ability to do so (just like how Fi is confident in its ability to analyze its own beliefs). For example, Te might be able to analyze emotions on a surface level, but it has trouble understanding the emotions of others on an in-depth level. Plus, Te is not concerned with the emotional environment.*

Ex: when Fe gives gifts to other people, it gives gifts based on what the majority believes is the best gift.

Ti (introverted thinking): this function is focused on the logical world internally. It forges its own logical claims, reasoning and conclusions. Ti is mainly concerned with the internal consistency and analysis of one thing, rather than external evidence that supports it. Inductive reasoning. “The ball will fall because I’ve seen the same ball fall down multiple times, therefore it will fall down this time.” Ti cannot understand how one thing can contradict its own “rule”.

Ex: when Ti gives gifts, it forms an analysis on what gift would be the most beneficial based on the patterns and observations it witnesses.

Te (extroverted thinking): this function is focused on the external world of logic. It is focused on data, evidence and facts from the outside world. It is focused on if something is practical/aligns with external rules and principles. It analyzes things based on how it relates to similar external logical principles. “This ball will fall because I’ve seen other rubber balls like this fall, so it is logical to assume that this one will fall.” Deductive reasoning. Te cannot understand how one thing can contradict the “universal rule”.

Ex: when Te gives gifts, it analyzes what is the most beneficial gift by evaluating the already the existing/assumed benefits each gift option has and picks the gift with the best benefits.

#mbti #cognitive functions #16 personalities #myer briggs #explanation #intj #intp #entj #entp #infj #infp #enfj #enfp #istj #isfj #estj #esfj #istp #isfp #estp #esfp

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embracing-the-ineffable · 3 months

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Twenty Questions

Thanks for the tags, @eybefioro, @goodoldfashionednightingale, and @hoarder-of-dragons! I picked my favorites from the posts you tagged me on, and added a few more of my own:

Currently consuming: Good Omens everything

Currently consuming: Good Omens everything (it's worth repeating!)

First ship: I'm not sure. I think I was introduced to the concept of ships through Thomas Sanders' Sanders Sides

Do you have kids? Yes, birth and foster 🥰

What sports do you play/have you played? Dance, horseback riding, and martial arts

Are you more likely to be sincere or sarcastic? Sincere

How many tabs are open on your browser? Over 3,000, because Session Buddy doesn't work on mobile yet 😅

What's your favourite colour? There's no way I can choose! I love the play of different colors with one another. I tend to wear a lot of purple, burgundy, and teal jewel tones, especially in the autumn and winter.

Favorite drink: Hot cocoa with marshmallows and herbal tea for the winter

Last movie: Nothing Lasts Forever and Pride and Prejudice (Those of you as obsessed with Good Omens as I am might recognize a theme here 🤩 )

Scary movies or happy endings? Feel good media with happy endings, please! The world is already full of too many sad and awful things.

When was the last time you cried? I don't remember, but it was probably induced by sleep deprivation and stress. Or really big feelings.

Any talents? Photography! And I love to nurture things. Sometimes that means cooking for loved ones, or growing a jungle of plants in my living room, or organizing gatherings for an extended circle of friends and chosen family

Talent you wish you had? Drawing

What are your hobbies? Right now, the only honest answer is Good Omens 😅

Do you have any pets? Yes! I've shared my life with a whole zoo full of cats, dogs, fish, and reptiles, including an adventure cat, a part-bear part-muppet therapy dog, and a tegu lizard that I trained to walk on a leash and harness.

Super power you wish you had? Reading minds

Dream job? I don't know! I've had so many, and they've all been valuable stepping stones on the path of my life. The jobs where I get to teach and help people - especially kids - are my favorites.

Dream vacation? Seeing the northern lights in person is high on my list. Also, a wildlife photo safari in Africa.

How would you change the world if you could? (Or, what are you passionate about?) I would teach everyone the skills of DBT (helpful for absolutely everyone who has ever had a strong feeling or a connection to another person) and then I would give everyone universal healthcare and a universal basic income with an aim to eliminating poverty, especially among children, plus all the other long term benefits that would stem from that. (Read more from WaPo about UBI here if you're interested.)

Currently working on: Solving the ineffable mystery with the lovely people at the @ineffable-detective-agency, and finishing a new fanfic for the Good Omens Minisode Minibang. Hopefully I'll be ready to post that later this weekend!

No-pressure tags for a few mutuals who might be into tag games, and an open invitation to everyone else!

@gallup24 @averywiseanimatedcat @procrastiel @commonmexicanname @crowleybrekkers @stumblingoverchaos @dunkthebiscuit @red-sky-in-mourning @im-not-a-virgo-im-a-lesbo @tragic-cosmic-magic @crowleybrekkers @lil-king-trash-mouth @celticseawych @phoen1xr0se @lemonic-whimssyy @ineffably-poetic @red-sky-in-mourning @weasleywrinkles

#twenty questions #tag game

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yukimomodivorce · 3 days

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Unecessarily long explanation/analysis of what Re:vale's name might mean

I don't know how to start this ok so basically this post and these tags from @nitunio

inspired me to try to explain my own interpretation and I maybe accidentally spent several days looking into the etymology in the process and now I have more to say about it than I did initially. So I wanna start by outlining every potentially relevant definition/use of re and vale that I found and then I'm gonna talk about how some of them relate to Re:vale. This post has sections and a reference list baby let's go

1: Definitions of re

1. In music terms, re is the second syllabic note in a diatonic scale (do re mi etc.)

2. Re: specifically with a colon at the end is often used as an abbreviation of 'reply' (especially in emails) and/or as the Latin re meaning 'regarding' or 'in reference to'

3. In most cases, re as a prefix/affix indicates 'back' (as in return) or 'again' (as in repetition)

2: Definitions of vale

1. The Middle English vale (pronounced like veil) is another term for valley (derived from the Latin vallis), used in literary/poetic contexts or place names to mean:

A low stretch of land surrounded by hills or mountains, usually with a river flowing through it

The world or mortal life (figuratively and often with connotations of sorrow or hardship, such as in the phrase "vale of tears")

2. In most modern uses, the Latin vale means 'farewell' or 'goodbye', especially in the context of death (apparently this is really common in Australia? I've never heard it before)

3. This use is derived from valeō (or present infinitive valēre), which basically means 'be well/healthy' - so vale in Latin means 'goodbye' in the sense of wishing someone good health, safe travels etc.

Valeō/valēre can also denote strength and worth, and it's the root of both valour and value

4. From what I can find, vale in Spanish is mainly used as a colloquial term similar to 'OK' or 'cool' in English, but it's an inflection of valer which can mean 'valid' or 'worth' and is also derived from the Latin valēre! everything is connected :D

TLDR two main uses of vale both derived from Latin: vallis meaning valley and valeō meaning to be well/healthy/strong/worth

3: What 1 year and 4 months of being a Re:vale fan does to a man

Yuki and Momo's symbols are both repeats, and the two dots (resembling a colon) are what distinguish repeats from final barlines in sheet music (more of me rambling about their symbols here - it's also where the design on their rings comes from, which is something that I keep realising and then instantly forgetting about).

Considering this, I think that the most relevant and likely intended meaning of the 're:' in Re:vale is repeat - we also see English words with the prefix used in this sense pretty frequently with Re-raise, 'revive' and 'rebirth' in Dis one., and 'restart' and 'reborn' in Period Colour. The 'back' aspect also has some significance here, especially in Re:member (the word remember doesn't mean you're like. membering again. it refers to memories. but the title re:member is very intentionally split that way because re:vale both gains and loses a member, so it works with both the again and back implications. anyways). This is also a bit of a recurring theme in i7, what with the whole "the ideal idol is one that doesn't end" thing.

Turning our attention to vale as in valley, once you look into it the whole "vale of tears" meaning doesn't really align with Re:vale unless you only interpret their story as a tragedy, but if you were to look it up and just see the definition "the world" with very little context, then it seems pretty fitting for the most famous currently active idols in the Idolish7 universe. But it actually symbolises how they mean the world to me and also to each other. And the figurative world of suffering that they have put me through thank you and goodnight. Just kidding there's more. I would say something about the valley (landform) and how Yuki is the river and Momo and Banri are the surrounding hills but you get the idea. Momo would live by the river...... he wouldlive by the river. I think about this every day

Anyways. So I really can't say how much of this is intentional but the 'goodbye' vale is especially accurate if you consider the underlying meaning - it's a way of saying goodbye, but it's also sort of a way of saying good luck and be strong. It's the same as how Banri has to say goodbye to Re:vale, but he also tells Yuki to "find a place to sing as yourself". And valour is kind of Trigger's thing (see: valiant) but reaching a little further for the 'value' meaning, it goes back to the whole Mikansei Na Bokura thing - all three of Re:vale's members had to lose something important to them, but the time they spent with it was still valuable and in the end they're able to retain those experiences and move forward to something just as valuable. In the end the name is a bit of a cluster of things vaguely related to them but I guess if you put it together it's like. The repetition of them saying this to each other. Yeah Momo after his injury getting that push from Yuki and Ban's concert to start saying goodbye and moving on and yeah like nitu said him affirming Yuki. Banri saying goodbye/I can't be there next to you anymore but I'll cheer you on from the sidelines and remember the time we spent together fondly and be able to smile once we meet again (<- from the end of his re:member pov). Yuki stabbing me 12 million times in the chest I mean um. Yuki... yeah I'm gonna need another 14 days to write that post let me get back to you on that one. But you get the idea. You get it

I think I had another point somewhere in here but this post has been sitting in my drafts for ages and I still haven't thought of it. But thank you very much for reading if you've gotten this far!!! As a reward you get a hug from me and the reference list :D

4: References

These aren't organised well at all but hopefully it's not too bad

Australian Writers' Centre: Q&A: The Origin of 'Vale'

Dictionary.com: Re • Vale

The English Idolish7 Wiki (my beloved)

Reddit: Contextual Use of "Vale"

Wiktionary: Vale • Valer • Valeō

also the google definitions of most of these terms but idk how to link those and I can't be bothered

#alabastxr.txt #idolish7 #re:vale #on an unrelated note i think i might have autism

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