#religion bashing isn't

[verdantmeadows]

Having to live in a world where your religion/spirituality is only seen as a weird cringe online thing that no one actually realizes is a spiritual belief and thinks is just "identifying with a character" or making jokes about it sucks and if you try to talk about it people just call it discourse or say you're not letting people have fun (and their fun is making fun of a spiritual belief or misunderstanding the belief because of just how many people co-opted our terms). I just wish I'd be able to say I'm otherkin(d) and alterhuman and people to take it seriously and not think I'm any more or less delusional than they'd think of any other religious person, as well as for it to not be misunderstood. I don't mind if people don't know what it means, but I really hate how people just think it's like, a Tumblr/Twitter/TikTok thing where people relate to a character or bash people for stuff and getting into discourse or doing dangerous stuff. I don't know how to word all this well but...yeah. Just thinking about it. Because of how it's been conflated online, even if you try to explain, people don't understand that yes, it's a genuine spiritual movement, and no, people aren't just having fun, they co-opted religious/spiritual terms which is just as serious and important as with any religious/spirituality. People will say, well, language changes and words change, but you wouldn't say that about terms from other religions or spiritualities being used wrong or improperly.

#otherkin #otherkind #alterhuman #book of kells #and this isn't bashing on fictionkin to be clear #i am fictionkin! #im saying people will say they are ''kin'' with a character #when they just relate to them or imagine themselves as them #when that is not at all what kinning is or ever has been #and the fact the idea of kinning being that is so widespread to the point people dont believe you when you say those are spiritual terms #that have been co-opted #it's sad #just thinking abt this! #also not saying other religions are delusional #but if you think otherkin(d) beliefs are then you are inconsistent for not thinking other religious beliefs are

[k1ngdom-of-thieves]

Ok here's the request, how would Deity! Jamil, Leona, and Malleus discovered their temple was attacked and destroyed leaving the reader a priest or acolyte the only survivor. And they had to fend for themselves. At some point, they return and rebuild the temple, then train the new people how to protect themselves. I hope this isn't too complex.

Thank you so much for waiting, I feel terrible for making you wait so long. I hope you still enjoy this :)

Deity!Jamil, Leona, Malleus + Watching their sole acolyte rebuild their temples!

Jamil Viper

Jamil was deeply enraged by the fact his temples were demolished, that his followers were slaughtered, and that his image was made a mockery of. That instead of simply dismissing his work, -which would have still pissed him off, but significantly less so- those against him chose to go after the innocent followers needing a place to belong.

He watches as the sole survivor, his poor acolyte, run to safety amidst the chaos. At this rate, there was nothing that he could do other than bless them with his gift of knowledge and hope that they would one day return.

Those hopes rang true as he saw you return many months later; and not alone. You had come back with a handful of skilled followers willing to come rebuild what had been destroyed. In only a handful of weeks, plans to revive the temple were already on their way. He was quite proud to see you use his blessings in such a way.

For Jamil, he sees the idea of making physical appearances needless to his followers. They know he watches over them, and he’d rather not deal with the frighteningly high number of people that go mad after meeting a deity. But, since you showed such a striking display of loyalty to him, he is more willing to bend that rule and thank you “in person”. It was via a mirage but the point still stands.

“You have shown me that your piety is unwavering, and that you truly care for me as well as your fellow acolytes. For that you have my thanks and my offer to you: I will grant you any wish you have, you just have to say it. What do you have your heart set on?”

Leona Kingscholar

Leona is also quite pissed at the destruction of his temple, but shifts his focus to the sole survivor: you. As long as he’s able to assist you to safety, he knows the fate of his religion rests in good hands.

While Leona would like you to eventually return, he’s not holding his breath. Considering what you witnessed and experienced, he’d be very surprised to see you stay in that part of the city.

So imagine the shock he had when you came back, not some three weeks later, ready to reclaim what was thought to have been lost. Proud doesn’t even begin to describe how he feels as he watches you bring people from all over to assist. Especially since he definitely isn’t the most beloved deity in the pantheon.

Of course, he’s not gonna let you go unrewarded. And don’t even think about telling him that “working for him is reward enough” shit. He’s been around humans for long enough to know that they love their silly little gifts and trinkets.

“You. Let me talk with you. What is it do you want me to give you? Power, money, fame? Don’t get all bashful now, you did something for me and I’m not gonna let that go unpaid.”

Malleus Draconia

Malleus is completely heartbroken. For starters, his followers are very few and far between. So for them to be slaughtered to make a mockery of him shook him to his core. Was he angry? Yes of course, but he cared about the followers that he started to view as family more than anything else.

As he watched you flee to safety, he had convinced himself that you would never return to his temple. He didn’t blame you either. It was far too dangerous; his many enemies could be lurking anywhere.

When you do eventually return, whether it’s been days, weeks, months, or maybe even years, he greats you like you never left. With open arms and acceptance.

He works with you to rebuild the temple. Deities aren’t technically supposed interact directly with mortals, but it’s not a heavily enforced rule either. With his help, it’s restored to its former glory in a matter of days; alongside any additions you wanted to make.

“You came back to me. For that, you have my eternal gratitude. I will never forget your kindness, and swear that your actions will be rewarded handsomely.”

#twisted wonderland imagines #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader #twst imagines #twisted wonderland headcanons #twisted wonderland #jamil viper #twst jamil #twst leona #leona kingscholar #deity au #malleus draconia #twst malleus #jamil viper x reader #leona kingsholar x reader #malleus draconia x reader

[incorrectgarashir]

DS9 Christmas Traditions

Sisko: He goes all-out and spends all day in the kitchen. The Prophets help anyone who gets in his way while he's cooking up the Christmas feast of all Christmas feasts.

Jake: Peels all the veg because when he was little Ben told him he was the best at it. Still hasn't figured out this was a ruse. Takes a sneaky swig of something alcoholic when he thinks his dad isn't looking.

Kira: Initially feels awkward participating in a religious event that's not from her own religion (especially since interfaith events simply don't exist on Bajor). Eventually she really begins to enjoy Christmas, especially the mulled wine. She always puts her stuffing on to Jadzia's plate while Sisko isn't looking.

Julian: Brings Christmas cards and a box of mince pies that no-one asked for. Also brings mistletoe that no-one asked for. Steals the sprouts off everyone's plates because he unironically loves them.

Jadzia: Starts the day with mimosas and by midday is drunk and has eaten every sweet in the local vicinity (including all of Julian's mince pies). Half an hour before dinner Julian brings her round with a raktajino.

Worf: Is surprisingly good company at the Siskos' Christmas bash, but takes every opportunity to remind everyone that Christmas should be celebrated on the 7th of January, and that his parents would always make 12 different dishes. And that Minsk has the best Christmas market on Earth.

Miles: Having grown up with his mother's beautiful, unreplicated homemade Christmas dinners, he's now kind of numb with shock every year as he has to endure Keiko's "homemade" replicated knock-off KFC Christmas.... He usually turns up at Sisko's later on when the kids are tucked up sleeping to poach a plate of real food from his boss (who always cooks for the 5,000),

Keiko: She usually turns up later on to retrieve Miles but ends up staying to watch whatever Christmas movie the Siskos have put on. She also finishes off the mulled wine and steals Julian's sprig of mistletoe that everyone else avoided.

Odo: He takes a couple years to actually show up after first being invited and sits and scoffs about solids and their love of gluttony... The one Christmas he could actually enjoy the meal, he ate himself stupid, made himself very sick and had to go to the infirmary.

Nog: Points out every little thing that Sisko does 'wrong' according to his Earth guidebook's description of a typical American Christmas. Gets highly stressed whenever Sisko serves British Pigs in Blankets at Julian's request instead of American Pigs in a Blanket. Always points out that eggnog sounds like his name.

Quark: Doesn't get an invite, but turns up at Sisko's anyway because he'll score really good free food. He can't figure out why some of the hewmons have little ornaments of a bunch of people, a baby and some farm animals, so he instead tries to sell ornaments featuring Wall Street, cos surely the stupid hewmons should worship it instead?!

#deep space nine #ds9 #star trek #ben sisko #kira nerys #julian bashir #jadzia dax #quark #nog #miles o'brien #worf #odo #jake sisko

[demeterdefence]

Thinking about your "Rachel bashing og greek myths" post, methinks she believed herself to be making greek culture a favor similarly to the author of The Phantom of Manhattan, the unofficial sequel to The Phantom of the Opera

In the preface, the author begins by saying that Phantom, unlike Frankenstein or Dracula, barely made a dent in world culture until Andrew Lloyd Webber came along to make the musical, which he considers the "true" version even tho like...it wouldn't exist without the novel! He bashes Gaston Leroux and basically states that his attempt at writing failed miserably and it's like DUDE, again, the musical and your problematic sequel wouldn't even exist without it, and just because it was bigger in France than in the usa it doesn't mean it had zero impact in culture

But of COURSE unless it's usa-approved then it doesn't count and isn't worth anything *sarcasm*

PHENOMENAL point, FANTASTIC point, absolutely true and correct

i can't be a total dick and say this is an issue solely created and implemented by rachel, because we've seen non-western cultures and religions absolutely whitewashed to hell and back - like, people have been drawing jesus of the bible as white for centuries when he was a middle eastern palestinian jewish man, and good god look what the west has done to the religions of india, china, and japan. but it's the way these kinds of stories drip with a sort of smugness in removing the original culture, in depicting it as backwards and broken.

rachel wants to claim she's making a feminist retelling, but the original myth was already feminist. ancient greece didn't pretend their society was not fiercely male dominated and patriarchal, and hades stealing persephone was absolutely in line with the traditional myths - the twist is that demeter wins. demeter punishes the male gods who stole her daughter, and the ferocity of her rage and grief forces hades and zeus to give in. if persephone hadn't eaten the pomegrante seeds, she wouldn't be in the underworld at all! this is a story that is so clearly a triumph for the mothers and daughters of ancient greece, of many worlds over, because it depicted explicitly that a mother's love was more powerful than even the gods. and rachel pisses all over that.

literally even going beyond that, looking at the society that is olympus and the underworld - all the technology they use, all the innovations they have. who exactly is making these??? where exactly is the material coming from??? you can handwave away most of the inventions by saying it's magic, but we've seen demeter talk about algebra, which was invented in the ninth century by a muslim scholar from persia. in speedrunning to this so called perfect modernized world, rachel actually erases the cultural offerings and developments of dozens of other ancient worlds, and kind of just gives the credit to the underworld, which is run by a slave driver.

persephone constantly bemoans the dullness of the mortal realm, and prefers to literally lounge around doing nothing, when the mortal realm is inventing the olympic games, the democratic forum, FOOTBALL. you have thousands of things to show the gods involved in - largely because the gods were the patrons!!! why do we never see zeus looking over the olympic games??? they happen in his sanctuary!!!

like the disdain rachel has for ancient greece is insane. she can't even bother to research the food typical of the time period, seeing as she writes persephone being looked down on for being vegetarian when vegetables were a key and staple diet of ancient greece. one could argue that a vast majority of ancient greece were vegetarian by general habit. she's baking cheesecake and french desserts and having fast food and carrot cake and maybe - maybe - she'll mention baklava. the ancient greeks are FAMOUS for their art, but we sure wouldn't know that from lore olympus. the only character who even references ancient greek music is apollo, with his lyre, and that's not exactly a ringing endorsement.

and this is not to say that an adaption has to follow the ancient text to a t - that's just not feasible and no one is expected to do so. but there's really something to how rachel does dismiss or ignore the canonical importance of so many of these stories to replace them with a western interpretation. even the therapy speak is grating. in episode 227, when persephone is talking about the concept of virginity, she's absolutely correct in pointing out how that's largely a social construct - but in light of the world she lives in and the world she helps control, the same idea could have been reached through means other than americanized psych talk.

so often, people will look back at the ancient world and think we are morally superior because we do not have the same views, or we have seemingly "developed." that is a view i abhor, because it removes the very act of learning and developing and understanding. rachel really talked big about how removing the incest of ancient greece made the story better, but incidentally, she managed to also take out the feminism, and literally the entire lgbt culture of ancient greece. apollo was even considered the patron of homosexuality! he was called to bless same-sex unions! zeus had DOZENS of male lovers; ares, hephestus, and hermes had known male relationships, and several of the ancient heroes and gods of greek mythology were described in terms we would refer to as transgender in modern times.

if rachel had gone "i'm writing a love story that's originally inspired by the myth of persephone and hades but it's very much modern and removed from the myths" that would be one thing, and i would not be bristling at that; myths have inspired countless stories over the centuries and will continue to do so for centuries to come. the problem is rachel wants to claim a rooting in these myths with zero understanding of how they work or why they work, and absolutely lets her contempt for the ancients shine through in every single aspect of her comic. it's gross and it's petty and she deserves none of the self-appointed "mythology expert" she's given herself.

#answered #anti lo #anti lore olympus #oh this is so long im so sorry anon i got heated lmao #me adding yet another run on sentence: AND ANOTHER THING - #i basically crammed six different essays in this reply anon forgive me i am so sorry #me going back to proofread this now that i'm slightly calmer: why did i use so many fucking commas

[theconstitutionisgayculture]

Would it be fair to say that one of the reasons for this current unholy alliance between Wokeoids and Islamists that we’re suffering under the assault from is because they’re both inherently political religions that aim to create a top-down reorganization of the world that, first and foremost, gives them complete dominance over everyone else?

Nah, there's no "alliance". Islamists hate wokeists just as much as they hate everyone else. The PR department of terrorist groups just know what language to use to appeal to western newspigs, which isn't even necessary, because western newspigs will take any excuse to bash the west, especially in favor of a group that isn't made up of white people.

The only reason the wokeists love Islamists is because most Muslims are some shade of pee oh see. They can't see beyond that. Their morality tells them that when a "black or brown body" comes up against a white person, the white person is evil and the non-white is pure, virtuous, and oppressed. Islamists literally raped women and children, and the same people who scream that Trump should be locked up because he said "grab her by the pussy" suddenly fall all over themselves to justify women and children being raped and murdered by patriarchal, super far auth-right religious fanatics because they were "fighting back against colonization".

Neither side has any real interest in what the other side stands for. They just use each other to shore up their own positions and then forget the other exists the moment they stop being useful or trendy.

[icegoddessrukia]

You know, so much of the fandom bashes Katara harshly for one harsh comment she made in The Southern Raiders to Sokka, when she was highly upset about her mother's death and she felt Sokka was dismissive of her feelings (which he kind of was, to be honest) and they go on about how unfair it is that Sokka didn't get an apology. Meanwhile, I've never seen any fans complain about how Zuko literally says the most disrespectful thing about Aang's culture (the "this isn't air temple preschool" comment) when he's literally the prince of the imperial nation that wiped out Aang's entire culture in the first place. Aang is just supposed to let that slide and no one in the Gaang defends him either. He never gets an apology for his culture and religion being mocked by an imperialist. Zuko is two years older than Katara here and this is after he went through the Day of Black Sun development when he realized that the Fire Nation were horrible to the other nations. There's no excuse for Zuko being such an asshole to Aang but I guess because he's Zuko, he gets a free pass while Katara has to be bashed forever for saying something unfair when she was traumatized and no one was really listening to her.

#Zuko Critical #anti-zuko #pro-Katara #pro-Aang #katara defense squad #aang defense squad #atla discourse #zuko criticism #I could also go on about how the entire Gaang mocked Aang for his religious/cultural beliefs when he was about to fight Ozai #which was somehow okay #but if someone did that to Sokka or Zuko fandom would be pissed off #and the way Sokka was a jerk to Katara so many times especially in Book 1 never gets brought up either #where was her apology? #Sokka critical #not that much but just to be safe #I don't blame Aang btw he did try to empathize but it wasn't enough for Katara in that moment #I don't feel Zuko's way was the solution either at all btw #I just think Katara needed to process her hurt but because she's a more sensitive person no one was really getting it

[dolokhoded]

Just letting you know we went ahead and made the fundraiser 🍉 It's on justgiving so the money goes directly to medical aid for palestine and will be sent to the charity even if the target isn't reached. we've also made a twitter account, not because we're expecting to gain much traction but to try and create as much noise as possible prior to the release of season 4

u guys are so cool for this i rlly hope it reaches more people.

for any mutuals coming across this ask:

fundraiser link

boycott the chosen post

i'd appreciate the support of anyone who can do their part in raising awareness about this, especially if you're christian. because i recognize that christian the chosen fans are not going to listen to me, some religion bashing atheist who's telling them to not watch their bible show. coming from you, however, it might make some impact.

#asks #boycott the chosen

[stagred]

MEDIA THAT INSPIRES MY VERSION OF ALASTOR!

Shawshank Redemption: Andy Dufresne. The themes of accepting your fate. Man imprisoned for a crime he didn't commit becomes a criminal to survive in prison, but still suffers immensely and makes close and passionate friends. Realizes that prison is where he thrives, yet craves freedom and spends nearly 20 years fighting for it

Candyman: Tony Todd's portrayal. Powerful, terrifying eldritch being. Tall, handsome, well dressed, eloquent. In a moment where bees are swarming in his mouth, he kisses the heroine with such divine passion that you almost forget the horror. But also themes of Black suffering, exacting revenge because you need to, not because you want to. Romance as a detriment, a disadvantage, not something to fight for.

SE7EN: Violent and creative crimes committed to force attrition. Embodying sin and punishing it. "People these days, you cant just tap them on the shoulder anymore. You have to hit them over the head with a sledgehammer. And then you'll find… you have their strict attention." Neon crosses, sex and debauchery, the underbelly of a city. The unnamed city that doesn't exist, but everyone can identify. "Mankind is good, and worth fighting for. I agree with the second part."

We Happy Few: Using happiness and suppression to hide your trauma. Attacking those who don't conform. The sinister fear behind every over-stretched smile. 60s vibes, but forever tainted by 30s and 40s events because the people never moved onward. Muttering to oneself in mourning of the memories you cant remember forgetting.

Bioshock: "No gods or kings, only man." Freedom of expression, but a violent hatred of the beings who control it regardless of the context they're in, like religion and education. Sander Cohen. Art at any cost. Transformation, puppets on strings, playing your part on a stage and diverting from the script. The neon glow of the 60s nightlife, but waterlogged and destroyed by time.

It Follows: A creeping monster that can only walk, but will never stop. Pass it on through acts of sex and debauchery. Vibrant red blood in a glowing blue pool from an entity you can't even see that you injured.

Matilda The Musical: Agatha Trunchbull. "The Smell Of Rebellion." Hatred of those weaker than you to an almost comical degree. Cleverness and loopholes in rules. Hurting people back, because why should you be the bigger person? "A contract is a contract is a contract!"

Carrie The Musical: Voice breaking during emotional numbers. "Eve Was Weak." Religious trauma manifesting physically. Covered in blood and surrounded by fire. "Mother was right."

The Shining: All work and no play makes Alastor a dull boy. Being held hostage by the narrative, regardless of if you're doomed by it. Blood cascading through the halls. "I'm not gonna hurt you… I'm just gonna bash your fucking brains in!" The empty ballroom, the bartender who isn't there.

The Green Mile: Killing a miracle. Percy Wetmore. Burning people alive just to see what might happen. Weeping as you sing "Cheek To Cheek" and face the reaper. Clutching the bodies of two little girls and crying to the heavens because it isn't fucking fair.

The Black Phone: The masks. "It's his favorite game: good boy, bad boy." The phone that doesn't work, and the calls that keep coming in. Little boys floating in the air, throats slit, begging for help. Jesus as a deity to worship for divination. The entire kitchen scene. (CW for child abuse)

Coraline: Forced smiles. Eating bugs like candy. "He pulled a looooong face, and Mother didn't like that." The Other Mother. "She'd love something to eat. / Mothers don't eat… daughters. / I dunno. how do you taste?" Watching victims through the dolls.

Welcome To Night Vale: The specific sense of melancholy and nostalgia that just listening to the podcast inflicts upon the listener. The radio host as the protector of the city.

The Princess and the Frog: Facilier. Friends on the other side. Voodoo in all its forms. "Fun thing about voodoo, Larry. Can't conjure a thing for myself."

#📻 alastor; headcanon.

[wc-confessions]

it's so frustrating that this fandom picks and choses when to care about realism. it's SO telling you guys only seem to care about it when the conversation is about disabled characters. super powers? ghosts? religions? nine lives? perfectly fine. a blind warrior? a warrior with missing limbs? a deaf warrior? that's unrealistic as um actually-

it's so embarrassing and you're not fooling anyone. it's such a stupid argument and doesn't hold any weight as this is a fantasy series but we both know that. you just want an excuse to bash on disabled characters and be blatantly ableist but instead disguise it as caring about realism or worldbuilding or accuracy or whatever new shield you people keep inventing. i'm sick of seeing this resurfacing every so often and this isn't even getting into how none of you know a single thing about real life disabled cats...

‎

#confession #text #anonymous #warriors #warriorcats #warrior cats #wc #ableism

[khaire-traveler]

hey, so im kinda new here but i was just scrolling and saw a post you made in like december of last year (im really late i know, im sorry) saying that the gods aren't going to harm you and won't toy with you, and um, i really mean no disrespect at all with this, this is a genuine question, and i in no way mean to bash you bc i love the greek gods too, but like don't the greek myths show the exact opposite of that? like zeus and poseidon legit flooding the whole ass earth just to get rid of humans? and so many different occasions where the gods smite humans bc of a tiny offense? or actually just toying with mortals because they find it funny? and just basically doing really questionable things to humans all the time? i love them and all, but isn't it a bit of a stretch to say that they wouldn't harm humans when they literally did for all of humanity's existance per the myths?

Hello, Nonny, thanks for the question! I appreciate that you were trying to be respectful. 🧡

Firstly, I would like to say that I made that post last year. My thoughts and opinions have shifted over time, and that post was mostly made with the intention of comforting those who needed it (including myself, at the time). Posts like that don't offer enough context to express what a person actually believes/practices. I still would like to believe that gods don't just fuck with people or harm them in really shitty ways, but this is due to personal experience, as are most things within this type of religion. It's very heavily based on each individual's experiences with the gods. I have never met two people with the same exact practice or even interpretation of the gods; something is always a little bit different, even if it's a very small difference.

Secondly, these are myths that you're referencing. Even in ancient times, they were not interpreted literally all the time. This isn't really the type of religion that I would suggest people interpret myths literally, and I don't mean that in a rude way. It simply doesn't make sense to me to do that, especially when the culture of the ancient Greeks was so vastly different from the modern day. In fact, many of the major "issues" people have with Greek myths can be explained by a difference in culture and ways of thinking. If you choose to interpret myths literally, go for it, but I personally find the gods to be VERY different from the myths people told of them.

You have to remember as well that it's not as if these myths were written by the gods themselves or something; some old ass white men were probably the ones writing that stuff down, and they lived in a culture where men had all the rights and privileges (this is all to say that many myths treat women like shit for a reason: the culture viewed women as being worth less than literal animals).

The Greek myths are not scripture. I feel that basing one's views of the gods solely on myths is extremely limiting and, in my experience, inaccurate. Zeus has treated me very kindly, even helping me escape from the worst abuser I've ever faced; Poseidon has been very respectful, gently approaching me and randomly just popping up for assistance throughout my life; Apollo has been a light in the darkness for me during many times of need, always willing to guide me when I've lost my way. The gods can be depicted in myths one way but act in an entirely different way in reality.

That said, however, the gods are complex beings, similarly to humans. They are capable of feeling any emotion - sadness, happiness, anger, disgust, etc. Of course they're bound to get upset at humans from time to time, but I don't believe they would act maliciously towards someone randomly or for a super petty reason. They can be kind, loving, and sweet, but being multifaceted, they can also be cruel, spiteful, and angry. I would argue that rarely does a worshipper experience the more "unpleasant" side of the gods, but it does happen, I'm sure. I just believe that the gods will not go out of their way to just "mess with people", if that makes sense. For example, I don't believe Aphrodite would ruin someone's life for making a one-off comment about how their partner is "as/more beautiful as/than Aphrodite". Like, why would she care? Especially if that person doesn't even worship her, why does it matter what that person says? It's just some random person, and she has much better things to do than spend her time ruining their life for a compliment to their lover. The gods simply have better things to do and/or are more mature than that. They're thousands upon thousands of years old; I'm sure they know how to handle someone who called them a mean name or said something "hubristic" in a respectful and disciplined way, especially if that person isn't a worshipper/doesn't believe in their existence.

Of course, there are people who would disagree with me, and that's perfectly fine. There is no right or wrong belief when it comes to these things. The beauty of this religion is that you're free to think whatever you want. If you want to believe that Hermes is the god of Monster Energy™, you're absolutely free to do so! If you want to believe that saying someone is as beautiful as Aphrodite is insanely disrespectful and not ok, then you're free to think that as well. There's nothing wrong with believing whatever feels right to you, but just remember that at the end of the day, religion should be a generally positive experience for you. It should make you feel good in some way, be that happiness or fulfillment or even comfort. Religion shouldn't make you feel uncomfortable, unhappy, and unsafe constantly. There are times where religion - especially this one imo - will test your limits or push boundaries, but it shouldn't make you feel like shit all the time.

Ok, anyway, I apologize for going into a tangent lol. I hope this gave a sufficient answer to your question. Believe whatever you feel is right, Nonny. I may believe that the gods are kind (although they certainly can behave otherwise, being multifaceted), but you're welcome to believe the opposite. There is no one single way to interpret the gods; it's different for everyone. The only recommendation/advice I have for you is to base your views of the gods on personal experience rather than myths. Myths are just that: myths. They are meant to teach lessons or explain the nature of the world. Sometimes they're even just meant to show examples of a god's wrath/why you should respect the gods. Point being here that they aren't usually meant to be taken literally, and I personally would not recommend doing so, but it's entirely your choice.

I hope this helped and gave you a good answer! Take care, and have an awesome day/night. 🧡☺️

#helpol #anon asks #answered asks #hope i worded this well #it's 1am and i am in greece atm so sorry if the wording is weird #I'm insanely tired and a little bit buzzed lol

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Jim and Pete both know a thing or two about the power of creation. It was something they'd bonded over, in coded language and shared looks and the discovery of binders and razors and dirty jokes and ways to settle into their own skin. Even though their interactions had been gruff, sharp at the edges, they'd sunk into a strange sort of not-quite-friendship, an understanding that sometimes kept Jim going.

Jim isn't Lucius. They're not in love with Pete. They have Olu, and Archie, and Jim and Lucius are both open but their types are wildly different. Lucius once made eyes at Izzy while Jim has kissed Archie.

But there was some part of Jim that tried to cling to that feeling. Not of love, but of understanding. Of a faith in their power to create, not destroy. It's been so hard to remember over their past few months trapped in the hell that has been the Revenge, forced to kill, to watch Lucius waste away, taking what little happiness could be sought in Archie's blood-stained kisses. Jim has not created. Jim has barely survived.

But as Stede Bonnet's dinghy docks against the side of the Revenge, Jim remembers what creation felt like. 

Jim is more familiar with holes, with destruction, than creation.

They have wanted to believe that somewhere out there, Olu is alive and searching for the Revenge. That months and months of living in hell were worth it, because the sun would break through at the end.

They have doubted. They have faltered. But they have clung, in a way they never did to the religion of the nuns, to this impossible, necessary faith.

God will be struck down. The sun will arrive.

In a literal sense, it's true. The crew all emerged onto the deck after the storm to find the sun beating down on the deck after days of storms.

But more importantly, Jim's sun has returned. Their Oluwande is back, climbing up the ropes to the deck of the ship along with the rest of the crew, Pete included. 

In between the dinghy and the crew, Blackboard groans on the deck.

Alright, then.

So, God lives.

Jesus rises from the dead on the third day. Miraculous. Divine taken human form. The sinners clamber to his side and all that-

Fuck that.

They're sinners, they all know that. Killers and thieves and pirates, down to their bones.

But killing God was no sin. It was no act of pride. It was an act of survival. Now that the sea god has been incapacitated, stripped of his wrath, of his deadly touch, they can all breathe. They can all live.

Jim steps right over the half-dead corpse of the sea god and leaps for Olu. Their teeth bash together, their kiss awkward and harsh and desperate, but Jim's love is here, warming their chest, soft and hot and welcoming against the sharp blade that has become their very existence.

"I didn't think I'd see you again," Jim confesses their sin, their doubt, "I thought you were dead."

But Olu, their sweet Oluwande, doesn't falter, his smile brighter than the sun, the greatest blessing that Jim has had in months, in their whole life, probably. "Glad I could prove you wrong."

"I am never leaving you again, you hear me?" Jim's promise is a vicious, honest one. "They can bash my head in again and I'll crawl after you, killing any and every man I have to get back to you."

Despite the venom in Jim's words, the absolutely raw honesty in their voice, Olu doesn't falter. Doesn't even blink. "And I'll find you, across everything," Olu promises in return, just as honest, just as tender as Jim's blades.

Across from Jim, Lucius is still wobbly. They trimmed his beard last night and let him bathe in the captain's quarters, fed him dried ginseng and crushed clover, mint and horseradish, all in a warm broth with pieces of softened jerky that was supposed to start clearing out his lungs and filling his stomach, but one night of proper care and food does not clear out months' worth of illness and starvation. Lucius is going to need actual medical care on land, just as much as Izzy, to make a full recovery from the drowning and the trunk.

But right now, he is blinking into the sky for the first time in months. The sun's rays on the water are harsh enough to blind him after months kept in the dark, but he drinks them in anyway, seeking that paradise that was denied him, because there , sunlight glinting off of his shined skull, comes Black Pete, who makes the journey straight to Lucius himself.

Blackboard was a vengeful God, a demanding kraken, a figure of myth and monsters.

The man in front of Lucius is a dream, but is no myth. He is blessedly, physically human, fragile and tough and prone to giggling during sex and so hot and so blessedly alive.

Lucius is trembling. He is not recovered enough to run across the deck, no matter how much he might want to. He is nauseous and light-headed and-

And he cannot look away. He cannot bear to break eye contact with the man in front of him, the thought-made-flesh that kept him going for so long trapped beneath the deck.

"Babe!" Black Pete shouts and crashes into Lucius. They slam to the deck together, and Lucius' back is going to ache so badly later but he can't bring himself to care about future pain when past and current pain have become such an integral part of his life and this pain, at least, means Pete is alive, Lucius' own miracle, and for that, Lucius will bear any agony.

"I'm sorry," Lucius says, mouth almost pressed to Pete's. He can smell the dirt and sweat and sea water on Pete, and once would have found that a turn-off, but he's gotten so used to associating it with his crewmates, his saviors, over the past few months that all he can feel is deep, aching relief. "I lost my finger."

"I can whittle you a new one, love," Pete swears, and Lucius kisses him again, pulls him in tight, clutches on with everything he has. He knows the nails on his good hand and his wooden finger are digging into Pete's back, but if he lets go he's going to fall and he can't bear to drown ever again.

Pete doesn't grimace. He doesn't even flinch. He just pulls Lucius in even tighter, as if he, too, cannot bear to let Lucius leave him, can barely believe that he is holding his living lover, and Lucius was a ghost for so long, but he can never feel dead when he is being held so painfully tight.

The clouds parted on the fortieth day. The ship sailed on, at peace-

And then Saint Izzy Hands raises his pistol to Stede Bonnet, crouching over the body of the kraken. Izzy is leaning against Frenchie's side , the crew not having had a chance to whittle him a new leg just yet. He is a mess, sacrifices carved from his physical body, and yet he stands taller than Blackbeard or Stede Bonnet ever could.

"You can bring him back, if you dare," Izzy says, the avenging angel, "But you can't save him."

"I don't need to save him," Stede says, and there's something angelic in that, too, the faith in god even after god has wrong every human he has touched. "I just need to be there for him."

Izzy gestures to the brig with his pistol and spits over the railing into the ocean. "Take him down there. Do whatever you want. Try to bring him back from the dead. Keep him this side of the afterlife. Blackbeard will never be a god again."

"God?" the Swede asks, brow furrowing, and maybe no one who did not live on this ship, this hell on earth, will not understand what happened here, this cult to the kraken that was created, but as long as Olu and Pete don't question it too harshly, things will work out.

Blackbeard is not a god, anymore. If he survives, he is a man. Edward Teach will emerge, or nothing will survive at all, because if Blackbeard tries to return, someone on this crew- whether it be Jim, or Izzy, or Archie, or Frenchie, or Fang, or even Lucius- will make sure that this time around, the death takes.

Now that they have risen out of purgatory, out of the circles of hell, out of the storm, they can begin to recover. They can become people. They can find some way to turn this ship from hell into a home.

#lucius spriggs #ofmd season 2 #ofmd #fanfic #aletterinthenameofsanity #crossposted on ao3 #happy ending #canon divergence #canon divergent au #jim jimenez #traumatic found family bonding #jim x oluwande #pete x lucius #black pete #oluwande boodhari #reunion #trans black pete #israel hands apologist #izzy hands #israel hands

[anamericangirl]

I imagine the reason a lot of those mouth breathers that bash religion and Christianity in general is because they can’t live with the possibility of facing judgment for their actions. Which is funny seeing as they talk about God more than even most devout Christians across every sect.

Yeah in this culture of selfishness people just don't want to accept that everything they want to do isn't ok or good and don't want to give up sinful behavior or accept responsibility or judgment for their choices and we live in a culture that frowns on personal responsibility.

So they bash God and Christians for daring to speak against that and telling people they are going to have face judgment for their actions and not all actions are good.

#anon #answered

[hindulivesmatter]

Hey anon, you threw a tantrum in my inbox at midnight. But you know what, I'll address your ask bit by bit, because I'm nice.

It's every news organization that is blatantly Hinduphobic and either refuses to cover actual cases or alters its headlines to be misleading. The Citizenship Amendment Bill you're speaking about is not taking away citizenship rights, oh my god. Do your goddamn research. Here is what it actually entails.

Next. I reblogged a-s fischer's reply because that was the one I was focusing on. Not to mention all the news articles in the other reblogs were all thinly veiled propaganda. My "sources" were all actual fucking cases, buddy. When did I pretend that's all there is. a-s fischer blocked me like a coward after replying to me.

Huh. I'd love to know what your definition of Islamophobia is, because it seems like NOBODY ON THIS DAMN WEBSITE CAN SEEM TO AGREE ON A DEFINITION. I've defended every single thing Modi does? Absolutely not. BJP is a political party in the end, and they have members who are absolute pieces of shit. For example, Brij Bhushan Singh. I hate who he is as a human being, and he deserves absolutely no power. He deserves NOTHING. Understand this. Just because I talk about the positive side of BJP does not mean I won't condemn them when it is required. I will bash them when it's necessary, you condescending ass.

Yeah, we are educating people about our cultures, because currently, all I've seen over Tumblr is hatred for our own religion, Hinduphobia and antisemitism running WILD.

Also, I am Indian? I'm literally Marathi. I wasn't even replying to tikkunolamorgtfo, i was replying to a-s fischer. The OP wasn't even who I was talking about. Why can't a Jewish person be Indian? When did I ever assume that? a-s fischer was literally calling Hindutva "Hinduva" for god's sake.

Bro, you think we have an agenda, I promise you we don't. I'm an 18-year-old girl in college who's trying to spread awareness about Hinduphobia. That's literally it. Go piss your pants and cry about it somewhere else.

Liar liar pants on fire. Let's not pretend that the media in India isn't heavily skewed. The prejudice is real, and the media is perfectly happy to twist headlines to frame us as villains. I'd tell you to use your critical thinking skills, but from this long-ass rant you sent me, I can tell you don't have any.

#hindublr #hinduphobia #hindulivesmatter #desiblr #hinduism #receipts #answered #anon asks #dumbass #insane anon #anon how does it feel to get so triggered you send me this ask in the middle of the night

[starrynightarchive]

haii. 🧩🌵🍬

hello loml <3

what will make you click away from a fanfiction immediately?

ooo good question. i always give fanfics a chance even if they start off boring cause 1) just cause 2) i'm curious and nosy and want to see how it goes. while i can laugh off a lot of mischaracterization, blind villainization of characters is an immediate turn off for me. and not to sound like a stuck-up bitch but. bad grammar. i'm also not a fan of too many paragraph breaks.

share the link to a playlist you love

this playlist is so mentally ill and yet. i couldn't do that man justice. it needs to be more unhinged. gregory house the man you are.

post an unpopular opinion about a popular fandom character

ali you want me to get cancelled i see. very well.

fukuchi gets way too much hate. and also, it's never hating done right. like. make good points if you're gonna bash a character guys. everyone in bsd is fucked tell me something new

there's more to fyodor than just him being evil and cunning. it's so disappointing when people keep characterizing him as the evil slimy rat that gets defeated at the end of the day. he is a funny, smart, loser with a stupid crush on dazai. he is besties with nikolai. his relationship with religion isn't just a plot point/accessory, it's a fundamental part of his character that's so complex and interesting. his fucked up sense or morality. his loneliness. i can keep going. none of you get him like i do (except key. key gets him better than i do)

#thanks for the ask ali mwah #vi talks #as he should

[akiizayoi4869]

Why do you think so much of the ATLA fandom just violently hates Aang? It really confuses me how so many fans just seem to resent everything about him even to the point of making up reasons that don’t even exist to bash him and demonizing everything he does. I’ve never seen such an innocent and kind character get such a hateful reaction so it’s weird.

It's a lot of reasons honestly. One reason is because a lot of people in the fandom like Zutara, but since Bryke didn't want Zutara to happen and instead went for Kataang, that made a lot of fans angry. Another reason is because some things that Aang does in the show that should have gotten called out by the narrative never were. Also a lot of fans felt like he should have killed Ozai instead of taking his bending. But I think the main reason why a lot of the fandom just doesn't like him is because for most people he isn't relatable in the way that Zuko is. The show was made for a western audience, an audience who doesn't know what its like to lose your people to genocide, to have your entire culture stripped away just because another party thinks that their way is "better and civilized".

This may be controversial, but I also think race has a lot to do with it. I remember seeing a post on here a while back and the op was saying they noticed something very interesting when they spoke to poc about Aang and the air nomad genocide and when they spoke to white people about it. The poc seemed to sympathize with Aang a lot more because to a degree they know what that feels like, to have your culture ripped away from you and to have your people wiped out thanks to genocide. Because their ancestors were victims of it. When the op spoke to white people about it, however, they said that they could not connect with Aang at all because they don't know what that feels like, so to them he wasn't all that special. To them Zuko was much more relatable, so that's the character that they latched on to. Me personally I absolutely agree with this and think that there is truth to it. I'm African American, so in a way I can relate to what Aang went through. Thanks to racism and slavery in this country, many black people were killed for no reason, they were ripped from their homes(although this can also be blamed on black people too seeing as we sold our own people to the Europeans, who then took it to a whole other level) and were told that their culture was meaningless and that they would learn to live like white people. They were stripped of their names and given new ones, they were forced to speak a different language, practice a different religion that they had never heard of before. Now based on what little I know about my family history, at least on my dads side, we go all the way back to Kenya I think. But that's all I know. I don't know what tribe we come from, if we have any family there, or what my native tongue is. That's all gone now. So when I was rewatching the show last year and I got up to the part where Aang went into the avatar state upon finding Gyatso's body and from that being forced to realize that his people and culture were entirely wiped out by the fire nation? I felt that. I literally felt a chill go through me, and I actually cried a little bit.

The fandom I noticed also seems to give Aang shit because he would talk about what the monks taught him every now and then, and a lot of fans found it to be annoying after a while. But you know what? Aang had every right to do that. He was literally the only human being alive that represented what was once the air nomads. So him repeating his teachings whenever he got the chance to was his one way to hold on to his culture, to make sure that the air nomads would not be forgotten.

Wow this got pretty long, lol. But yeah, that's what I think as to why Aang gets a lot of hate in the fandom.

#atla #Aang #air nomad genocide #asks #Aki answers things #icegoddessrukia

[eighthdoctor]

I was wondering if you would be interested in going into how you’re handling Calia in TPtMB. I believe you mentioned in the comments on one of the interludes that you didn’t like how Blizzard handled her (as if you couldn’t say that for a lot of WoW characters lmao) so I wanted to hear more about your take on her.

I'll paste the relevant chunk of that comment reply here to get us started:

The problem with Calia in canon, as relayed to me by mylordshesacactus, is that she does not come off as sinister/offputting/uncanny in lore at ALL and she really, really should. She should at least be punchable. The devs are like "no she's perfect and her desires are 100% reasonable and in fact ideal for everyone else" and uh, yikes bro. Uncritical validation of her wish to take over Lordaeron and the Forsaken. ...So it's not gonna be rampant character bashing but she's NOT a good person and in particular she's not Great about respecting the agency of others. Oops. Good thing Alleria has a really stable sense of self, right?

Calia is, I think, really the only character where I'm paying a whole ton of attention to what she does in Shadowlands, just because she doesn't do much of interest before that.

A brief outline:

Calia Menethil is Arthas's older sister. She's friends with Jaina, when Jaina's in Lordaeron (see here for discussion of that, but tl;dr, a few weeks a year, not much more than that), but she's a few years older and Jaina is in her teens, so "friends" encompasses a wide range of affiliations that are not necessarily BFFs. Calia was supposed to be used as part of a marriage treaty but instead she married a guard and had a kid; neither of them ever come up again after the fall of Lordaeron so they're obviously both dead (altho fascinating story potential here where the husband becomes Scourge. Anyway).

She survives her brother's slaughter of Lordaeron by uh, it's not super clear. Thanks Blizzard. In fact the entire 20 year period between the Third and Fourth Wars is left sort of vague. Somewhere in there she becomes a priest of the Light, and she affiliates with a few Forsaken who are not fond of Sylvanas--and that's where this starts to get weird.

Because up until this point, Calia is a sidestory. She's Arthas's tragic sister. You can reconstruct some points of personality (notably, Miss Always Gets Her Way) and I would loooveeeee to know what's happening when everyone else is trying repeatedly to kill her brother, but mostly? Who cares.

She turns up a little bit in Legion, and then REALLY becomes a character in the leadup to Battle for Azeroth. And that's where it becomes clear that Calia's purpose in life is to inherit as ruler of Lordaeron.

And just in case you were unaware: There isn't a Lordaeron anymore. The population is 95% dead or undead Forsaken, and 5% completely absorbed into the surviving human kingdoms, because it has been twenty five years. The land itself is variously Fucked Up and claimed by the Forsaken, extremely Fucked Up and claimed by the Scourge, or tenuously normal and overrun by the Scarlet Crusade, who as you might guess from the name, are super not normal about religion.

Notably, there's not a power vacuum here or a group without a leader.

That's fine! She'll just take the Forsaken defectors. And uh, some land. Somewhere. Sylvanas doesn't really want Lordaeron City/the Undercity, does she? (She does.)

And the thing is, this is all fine. Like this is batshit insane noble privilege, Calia hasn't had anything to do with these people for twenty years or more, she has absolutely fucking nobody, she basically turns up to the Alliance and says "Hi make me queen of Lordaeron" and expects that to work out for her, she's categorically deranged. It makes sense that Anduin and Genn go for it, because one of the Alliance's Things for the last twenty years has been to retake Lordaeron (and repopulate it with WHO, Varian, it's not like you have an excess population yourself anymore), but it is definitely like. There is something unwell about this woman.

Except that Blizzard seems to think her claim justified (something something if you write enough hereditary monarchies you start believing in them).

The problem isn't that Calia wants to take over the Forsaken (and does, in Shadowlands). The problem isn't that she tries sneaking defectors away at the Gathering (and gets shot for it, oops). The problem is that the narrative validates her.

The writers think that Calia is the rightful ruler of Lordaeron, that she's the rightful ruler of the Forsaken*, that Sylvanas is Evil TM, and that literally everything Calia does (including a friendly working relationship with Faranell, who is, I cannot emphasize this enough, a war criminal actively engaged in inventing new chemical weapons) is objectively correct.

Which is nuts, and irritating, because among other things Calia is of the belief that the Forsaken can be healed (...) by treating them with the Light, which okay. Sure. I'm sure that will have no side effects, and also like, healed of WHAT.

* Sidebar, but demographic math says that a significant percentage of Forsaken must be quel'dorei who absolutely are not subject to Lordaeron under any understanding. Whoops?

So what am I doing with Calia? Well, as per canon, she's Little Miss My Way Or The Highway, she thinks she knows better than literally everyone else (incl Tyrande and Thrall), she thinks she's the rightful ruler of the Lordaeronians who are now Forsaken, and she is fairly fanatically loyal to the Light.

I just think that's all pretty damn repulsive and am writing her accordingly.

#asks for ts #Anonymous #the parallels btwn calia and turalyon are. not subtle. #alleria did not jump into a healthy and equal relationship is what i'm saying here #the power to manipulate belief