#the lost church

[tachyonpub]

#terry bisson #san francisco #Ramsey Kanaan #Peter Maravelis #Diana Block #Karen Joy Fowler #Jonathan Lethem #Nick Mamatas #Kim Stanley Robinson #Rudy Rucker #carter shulz #city lights #pm press #locus #the lost chuch #the lost church

[torto-isemusings]

Figured I'd show you guys the drawing I gave Mr. Lethem last night(by which I mean I printed a copy of the color version and gave it to him. He signed the original line drawing in my sketchbook on the right.)

A few other photos from last night, too

#terry bisson celebration #the lost church #jonathan lethem #the dystopianist

[creekbed-burial]

#mine #my photography #wisconsin #this church is one of my favorites in Wisconsin and im SO BUMMED i lost the pics of my other favorite one!!! #i mean i have a polaroid picture but its not as clear and crisp as what the 35mm pics would have been :( #regional gothic #american gothic #americana #midwest #midwest aesthetic #midwest gothic #midwestern gothic #midwest america #church photography #churches #church #polaroid film #polaroid photography #polaroid #small town gothic #small town america #small town usa #analog photography #film photography

[mother-lee]

cr. tim richmond

#photography #midwest america #church #steeple #plains #open sky #rural gothic #western gothic #regional gothic #american gothic #lost places #rural aesthetic #midwest aesthetic #americana #empty #landscapes #middle of nowhere #rural exploration #rural landscape #rural america #small town aesthetic #summer aesthetic #ruralcore #tim richmond #credits #american landscape #western aesthetic #rural #symmetry #hidden place

[mrpsychokiller]

#🧃 #lowest effort thing ive ever made #also i lost my mind spotting church in that image #red vs blue #rvb

[mothcpu]

The Savior / The Great Annihilator

#ULTRAKILL #V1 #gabriel #ultkl art because fucking KEYGEN CHURCH GUEST ARTIST??? P-2's going to be so good holy SHIT hakita is always on point #only the first theme too... I hope herb is right and we get a gauntlet before the big final boss because it sounds great (nightmarish) #anyway this is months old and I need people to see it already. ik I gripe about my backlog a lot but things get lost in it so easily :'P #gabriel ultrakill #V1 ultrakill #v1gabriel

[high-voltage-rat]

something I do appreciate about red vs blue is its particular brand of “came back wrong”. you were brought back, but you’re just a memory of the person you’re supposed to be. you’re just the expectations of them. you’re just the pieces everyone else saw and remembered. you’re tough like the original, but you’ll always fail no matter how tough you are, because the original failed, too. you’ve got a personality like the original, but it’s not quite right because you didn’t actually live the life they did. there’s this person you love- who you would kill or suffer or die for- but you don’t know why, you just know you’re supposed to be together because that’s what you were made for.

#thinkin abt tex and epsilon at 4am on a thursday #anyway thinkin about the fact that tex and church were never *actually* together outside of blood gulch #she tried to save alpha. she failed. he didn't know who she was and she was forced to leave him. #but realistically? he'd never met her before. because she wasn't allison and he wasn't leonard #they were both just copies that knew who they were supposed to be #and epsilon never met tex. he only had the copy based on alpha's muddled memories. #and then when he brought her back... she was just even more wrong because she was a memory of a memory #and even with all of alpha's memories #epsilon wasn't alpha. he was someone different because he'd been through different things #alpha didn't remember what was done to him. epsilon did. alpha didn't know what he'd lost. epsilon did. #alpha lived his life. had relationships with the reds and blues. epsilon just remembered it. #and with that in mind you have to wonder... #what did tex actually remember? who did she think she was? what did she think the director and alpha were to her? #because epsilon had alpha's memories but beta didn't even have that. #anyway yeah roommate agreed to experience rvb with me and we watched seasons 1-10 together and hooboy #I'm back on my bullshit #red vs blue #rvb #Agent Texas #tex rvb #Leonard Church #church rvb #epsilon rvb #alpha rvb #beta rvb

[dotpyenji]

A HEART BEATS BETWEEN THE WINGS OF WAR

#dragalia lost #dragalia #Michael #michael dragalia #I dont think I've ever put this much thought in a composition in my life it went from like #ooh i should draw michael from the back so i dont have to draw all dat stupid shit in the front #to heyyy if i make the shading Green he will resemble those dope ass bronze church statues #alongside the heart frame wings thing #it's not Entirely accurate to his in game wings but Whatever fuck it we ball. I am not drawing all that. #Michael Wave

[omegaverse-anthropologist]

going feral

i’ve mentioned feral alphas and omegas in a few posts before, but what does that mean? this post will discuss ferality,* its causes, common feral behaviors, and treatment.

*note: i will be using ‘ferality’ as opposed to the technically proper ‘ferity’ because the latter is based on the latin root and sounds pretentious, and the former is based on the english word and is more accessible

what is ferality?

ferality is a medical emergency caused most commonly by social isolation. it causes those afflicted to behave erratically, and is the most common cause of forced bites. it is one of the top ten causes of death for those over 80 years old. it is also called ‘loneliness disease’ or ‘bite fever,’ and is often euphemistically described as ‘losing oneself.’ in the past, more than a week of ferality was incurable. today, synthetic hormones and careful medically supervised management leads to over 90% of those afflicted to make a full recovery if treated before one week, and over 80% to regain most normal function if treated before two weeks. outcomes become less positive the longer someone experiences ferality, but there have only been 1,762 documented deaths directly from ferality in the US since 1980.

why does it happen?

humans in the omegaverse are pack animals not only because their ancestors saw practical advantages to living, hunting, and raising pups in groups, but because they were biologically dependent on one another. in simplest terms, interacting with pack aids the body in maintaining its optimal balance between the twelve dynamic (i.e., alpha, beta, and omega) hormones. prolonged lack of social support means that these hormones become unbalanced, leading the body to a state of multi-system disregulation.

ferality greatly reduces people’s access to the areas of the brain responsible for decision making, planning, empathy, and abstraction. it is the body’s desperate bid to regulate itself by any means necessary. those afflicted become impulsive, aggressive, and violent in some cases, so it is essential both for the afflicted person and those nearby that if you spot a feral person, you call emergency services immediately.

how do you spot it?

feral humans are fairly easy to spot based on their unusual, erratic, impulsive behavior. they may sniff the air (or other people) unsubtly, grab or touch things (or people) and fail to respond to spoken language. ferality is most commonly associated with inappropriate scent marking and biting for good reason: a feral person’s primary drive is to share scent with someone to help bring themselves back into balance. there are also some behaviors that can generally be attributed to the different dynamic sexes:

alphas

feral alphas tend to make aggressive eye contact as a posturing behavior

growling, snarling, and clicking at no one in particular

clenching and unclenching the fists and shifting from foot to foot

violence, especially toward other alphas

an acrid scent, like burning rubber or sulfur

betas

feral betas’ eyes tend to shift rapidly, settling on nothing for very long

humming, clicking, huffing at no one in particular

similar to alphas, they clench and unclench the fists and shift from foot to foot

general restlessness, moving quickly

climbing and perching inappropriately (e.g. on tables, vehicles, or buildings)

a rotting scent, like old meat or milk

omegas

feral omegas tend to make glancing eye contact—they meet someone’s eyes, hold, and look away several times

whining, purring, and clicking at no one in particular

baring the neck indiscriminately in a bid to entice a bite

hiding/burrowing (e.g. under tables or in closets. there have been several cases of feral omegas in clothing stores nesting in the clothing racks)

a chemical scent, like bleach or ammonia

how is it treated?

if you spot someone afflicted by ferality, it is essential to call for an ambulance immediately.

treatment begins in the ambulance. typically, EMS technicians anesthetize the individual for everyone’s safety. once it is safe to do so, the technicians draw blood and begin measuring vital signs and hormone levels to ensure that the individual truly is feral. in the past 30 years, rapid tests have made measuring hormone levels faster than ever. these levels are recorded and passed off to hospital triage, along with a record of any emergency hormones administered.

the hospital then brings the individual to the feral ward, where they have an individual room and nesting material marked with synthetic pheromones of all three dynamics. if the individual has been feral for less than ~three days, typically this is enough to trigger their body to begin regulating itself. in some cases, the individual may need direct scent marking in order to jumpstart regulation. if it’s necessary, a nurse or technician will swab the individual’s face and neck with a cotton swab soaked in a synthetic pheromone solution.

in more moderate to severe cases, the individual may need further assistance regulating themselves. in these cases, the individual will receive intravenous hormones and extremely frequent monitoring.

typically, after a few days of hormone therapy, the individual’s body will have reached a state of equilibrium and will be able to maintain the balance itself again. however, in some severe cases, the individual’s body may be unable to maintain the balance. these people will need hormone therapy every other week indefinitely. in some cases (especially those where there is also malnutrition or other severe condition), the issue will resolve itself with time. in others, the hormone treatment is for life.

how is it prevented?

the best prevention is maintaining healthy pack bonds. if, for some reason, this is inaccessible, clinics, health departments, and hospitals typically have nesting materials marked with synthetic pheromones. in the past five years, some nesting material companies have begun offering materials marked with synthetic pheromones. in addition, matching agencies sometimes offer scent-marked clothing or nesting materials for sale, though this practice is judged fairly harshly.

#just picturing an old southern woman gossiping in church #‘did you hear about the jones girl? went off to college away from her pack and didn’t have nobody and bless her heart she lost herself’ #that’s how that’s used lmao #i love making up statistics #the last biology class i took was in 2010 #im not a scientist #omegaverse #alpha beta omega #omegaverse headcanons #a/b/o dynamics #a/b/o headcanon #a/b/o #omegaverse dynamics #omegaverse headcanon #omegaverse ferality #ferality #feral #feral alpha #feral beta #feral omega #omegaverse feral #a/b/o feral #alpha #beta #omega #alpha headcanons #beta headcanons #omega headcanons #omegaverse worldbuilding #omegaverse anthropology

[scobbe]

Good practice for small talk is to just put yourself among other people but instead of looking at your phone or staring out a window or otherwise isolating yourself, pretend like you are a happy and interested dog. I’m not kidding, like you don’t have to even say anything, just pay attention to anyone else who is talking with a gently pleasant and attentive expression and smile a little if anyone turns any attention to you. A lot of people have plenty to say anyway and just want someone to listen. Then if a question or comment comes to mind you’ve already established some engagement just by pleasantly listening, and doing this helps immensely to wear down social anxiety.

#honestly listening is a lost art #80% of the conversations I engage in at church functions are just this #me being an interested dog #people love it #and honestly being a dog was a childhood dream of mine

[nathanwurnos]

LOST (2004 - 2010) 6.17  – The End

#lostedit #tvedit #lost #jack shephard #christian shephard #tv #this is my favorite scene in the whole show #the entire church scene is just #* #lost*

[urbanrelics]

SAPPHIRE CHURCH

Information about this abandoned church is extremely scarce. The church was built in 1877-1878, during the period when the city was experiencing enormous population growth due to the developing steel industry. During that period no fewer than 34 churches were built.

The church has a specatuclar blue vaulted ceiling, hence the name 'Sapphire Church'

Along with the demise of the steel industry, the population also lost interest in Catholic worship. Many churches fell into disuse and some were even demolished. This church was desacralized in 2019 and sold to a private developer. It is not clear what the plans are.

The church is now showing critical signs of decay, which are beginning to affect the structure. Not very hopeful regarding the survival of this very beautiful building...

#urban exploration #urbex #abandoned #urban relics #decay #derelict #abandoned places #ue #photography #urbanexploration #religious #church #sapphire #blue #abandoned addiction #abandoned buildings #lost places #belgium

[16-jarrah]

mentioning LOST's church ending got me riled up about the racism in LOST again lol. i obviously am aware that some actors just did not return to production for possibly other reasons, but also especially in the case of harrold perrineau (michael dawson) he felt like his character (and walt, his son) was treated like shit by the writing. and he was absolutely right. i've already made posts about this (will try to dig them up later), but michael was treated absolutely bullshit and unfairly wrt the story. michael betrayed them and killed two people, yes, but what did he do it for but to protect his son? he felt like nobody gave enough fucks about walt and there was some truth to that claim. his whole character arc is about being a dad to walt and their improving relationship over the course of being stuck on the island, so of course he would do that. it just makes sense.

which is why i don't think it's all that fair to punish him for it immensely in the narrative. harrold perrineau said it himself that he didn't want michael and walt to be another case of the absent black father stereotype [citation needed, i'll look for it but he said it in an interview] yet that's what he ended up being anyway. after his and walt's escape from the island, apparently walt cast him away because he doesn't agree with what his father did—which i actually think its interesting to explore: walt disagreeing with michael's actions and trying to grapple with it, but i don't think separating him from his dad was the best writing choice to make. walt is being punished for caring about his son by making his son be the one to cast him away. you can argue it's supposed to be tragic, michael is supposed to be a tragic character, but with the context surrounding michael's character? there's better ways to make his character be tragic than this.

which brings me to his next punishment. i was happy to see michael again on the kahana (just happy to see him in general), but it didn't last long when he gets killed, sacrificing himself to prevent/prolong the kahana's explosion from happening. (put a 📌 on this bc it's similar to how sayid dies and we'll come back to that later.) michael dies here and walt doesn't know about this. and then michael joins as part of the whispers, his soul trapped on the island (presumably forever) and that's why he's not in the church ending.

i'm gonna be frank. michael being trapped on the island because of his guilt or remorse or perhaps repenting for his sins is just bullshit to me. a lot of characters seen in the flash sideways and in the church ending are characters who've done "bad things". it's bullshit to have michael be the only one doomed to pay for his misdeeds forever. his misdeeds for... killing two people. not that killing two people is Nothing, but moreso if you examine the circumstances it's hardly anything to be damned eternally for.

remember the 📌 we had wrt sayid and michael? both of them died trying to prevent an explosion from reaching everybody else. which makes this more egregious imo. i can say 1000 things about sayid's arc (points to url), but this is about michael and not him, so i'll just focus on this: sayid was grappling with "being a bad person" for torturing and killing so many people. he worked as an assassin for ben. and yet, somehow, you're telling me sayid is not being damned eternally for his misdeeds but michael is? if you don't see the BS in that i don't know what to tell you.

i'm also aware why some characters don't appear any more re:conflicts with their actors (or just availabilities or other reasons for declining to come back), but even then arguably any conflicts with harrold perrineau stemmed from a justified place because of how michael was treated.

i think mr eko had a more dignified arc (he's one of my fav characters, thematically speaking) and honestly he had some of the rawest shit i've ever heard:

I ask for no forgiveness father for I have not sinned, I have only done what I needed to do to survive. A small boy once asked me if I was a bad man, if I could answer him now I would tell him, that when I was a young boy I killed a man to save my brothers life. I am not sorry for this, I am proud of this. I did not ask for the life that I was given but it was given none the less, and with it I did my best.

but despite this it doesn't change the fact that his absence in the church ending is very noticeable. he had meaningful connections with charlie, with locke, and interestingly like michael he kind of parallels sayid but this time thematically through their arcs. sayid is constantly burdened with feeling like he's a bad person and resigning to it as some sort of self-fulfilled prophecy, but mr eko is very firm about how he sees himself as not necessarily a bad man, just a man whose hands were forced because of the cards he was dealt. i wish we could have seen a more direct parallel between them, because it would've been interesting. back to the main point: i think it's such a missed opportunity for mr eko to not be here. especially since even after his death, hurley was able to communicate with his ghost, showing that he still had connections with his fellow losties even long after his death.

ana lucia being "not ready to move on" is interesting. but ultimately you can't help but raise a few eyebrows at it anyway. you can argue that, unlike mr eko she died an unresolved death, but most of the LOST characters died with an unresolved death. (she was killed early.) that's the whole point of the sideways segments. so what makes ana lucia so different from the others? yeah she killed shannon, but that was completely a freak accident. her people (the tailies) were being picked off one by one by the other so she was understandably on edge. she was kind of a hated character but i think a lot of it is just racism and misogyny combined tbh. (LOST is...notorious for a lot of misogynistic character writing decisions.) ana lucia was just as complex and morally "ambiguous" as the rest of them. i find the decision to make her corrupt in the sideways segments interesting (negative). cz like, there was never any indication she was like this in real life. what does that corruption symbolize? because obviously that corruption is a key to why she "can't move on yet". what exactly is she supposed to be repenting for? they hinted at a possible direction her arc is going towards before killing her off, ie. her ultimately choosing not to kill "henry gale" because she no longer wants blood on her hands. again, in a way, she's just like sayid! someone who decided they'd turn away from ceaseless violence. only right afterwards she got killed. so what does she need repenting for so much that she's left out of the church ending? much to think about.

i don't really know how to conclude this post. but my main point is that the lack of these characters during the church ending is and has racist implications. (again, i understand the casting issues, but it's still a writing decision you can critique as a viewer at the end of the day). i'll try to find the old posts i made last year abt michael and mr eko and their parallels to sayid and link them here (and self reblog).

edit: go read/look up "burn it down". it details a lot of the behind the scenes mistreatment of the staff (including racism and sexism), including actors and writers. the quote from an interview from harold perrineau that i mentioned was also linked in a reblog. (post link)

#op #lost #lost abc #abc lost #lost 2004 #<- have we agreed on a main tag yet #michael dawson #mr. eko #ana lucia cortez #meta #analysis #media analysis #church ending #// #lostposting #<- my tag for LOST rambles on this blog

[gxlden-angels]

I love getting validated on small things that I didn't even consider like it's always a treat and this time it's Gender

The Fundie Baby Voice™️ has been popping up a lot in ex-christian spaces lately and I actually had one in middle school and part of high school! I learned when and where to use it and how to turn up my southern accent just enough. I can still do it but it sounds weird after 3 years on T. The main place I used it was at church cause it made me sound sweet and polite. I used it for old ladies when I worked at a grocery store too. My family didn't like it when we were just all together cause they said it sounded like baby talk, but loved it when I used it at church cause everyone would tell them how sweet and soft-spoken I was

My therapist said it actively made him feel uncomfortable when I used that voice. He couldn't quite put his finger on why it made him uncomfortable (other than him only knowing me on T) but he very much did not like it and he's so so right for that

#he's a cishet white jewish man so it's always a treat when I talk about something like this #cause it started off about how I felt like my gender is a performance and I will use it to my advantage #I usually talk fairly neutrally and monotone so people find it uncanny when I change it up #especially if it's the way I talk to my family and the church folks that ask about me #Now that I'm on T and had top surgery I love fucking with ppl via my gender presentation #I like the chaos of not correcting ppl and watching them fight amongst themselves over what my gender is #My previous gender was Weird Little Girl #and now i'm Just Some Guy #I don't feel like I was always a guy I feel like my gender at the time was Weird Little Girl #and it changed over time but I loved the performance of being a weird little girl #I was not a girl I was specifically a WLG #And well I still know how to use my old performances even if I'm no longer a weird little girl #I consider myself a guy but not a man and a girlie but not a woman #my gender is whatever is funniest at the moment #My gender is whatever you project onto me. My gender is a mirror to your childhood trauma #anyways I kinda lost the plot but yea I can kinda still use the fundie baby voice but it sounds a lil off #cause I've been on T for over 3 years now #ex christian #religious trauma

[mother-lee]

#midwest gothic #vintage #regional gothic #church #southern gothic #photography #clouds #lost places #god loves you #dark #rural life #alternative #nostalgia

[coochiequeens]

The Church of England was created because HenryVIII knew Mary wasn’t a son

#Church of England #define woman #Eve was a woman #Men trying to look progressive #HenryVIII #Mary the First was a woman #ann Boleyn lost her head because she was a woman who gave birth to a daughter #Jane Seymour died because she was a woman who gave birth #Catherine Howard lost her head because men abused her