#weaponized religion destroys faith

[sanddollarpoems]

An ordinary morning

Used to hold so much meaning

Now just a rehearsal

Of traditions once learned

#sanddollarpoems #spilled ink #poem #poetry #quick write #shorties #weaponized religion destroys faith #past and present

[trailingoff]

Aziraphale’s religious trauma

I’m sure others have discussed this in a lot of depth, but I can’t help throwing my hat in the ring. Aziraphale has major religious trauma after spending his entire very long existence as a member of a cult. If you’ve never experienced what it’s like to be indoctrinated into a religion, then it might be very hard to understand why he behaves the way he does, so I’ll try to lay it out for you.

Anyone who was raised from early childhood to believe that an all-powerful being is watching them as though they’re in a panopticon (a jail where prisoners are watched by authorities at random moments) and will severely punish them and/or their loved ones if anyone steps out of line (or just on a whim or based on a bet with Satan) either has experienced religious trauma or has somehow avoided it, perhaps through repression or retreating into themselves and managing to ignore what the adults were telling them. Another way to avoid the trauma is to continue to believe that the cult is ‘good’ and that those outside it are ‘bad’ and should seek redemption, forgiveness and salvation.

Not only does Aziraphale have this trauma, but it’s also based on reality in the GO universe. I was able to live with mine by realising that there is no empirical evidence for religious beliefs, by studying philosophy, by having therapy, and by reflecting on it for years. The trauma can still be triggered in me, leading to panic that God might be watching and judging me, and that an afterlife might exist, but luckily I’m now able to move through the panic relatively quickly. Aziraphale can’t do any of this because the beliefs of his cult are all too real. There really is a massively powerful (hopefully not all-powerful, but he believes she is) being who watches and judges him and everyone else at random moments. She has either directly ordered her angels to slaughter babies and children or has stood by and watched them do it. She has severely punished someone Aziraphale cares about, Crowley, who from that moment has been in a situation where he continues to be tortured by his fellow demons with no intervention from God and who simultaneously risks being destroyed by demons, by angels, by humans wielding sacred weapons (e.g. holy water) or by his own hand.

And so Aziraphale suffers from both religious trauma and the trauma of living under a real authoritarian dictatorship. This dictatorship is seemingly unbeatable and eternal, and it possesses weapons more powerful than the biggest nuclear weapons, more powerful than the sun, really more powerful than anything we humans can imagine.

Thousands of years ago, Crowley was kicked out in an extremely painful way, and he suffers his own trauma from that. He clearly doesn’t want Aziraphale to go through all of that, yet he wants Aziraphale to join him on ‘their own side’. At the end of the previous season, I thought Aziraphale was all in. I was happy to leave it at that ... even though it isn’t a realistic depiction of someone dealing with the particular types of trauma that Aziraphale has experienced and continues to experience.

Aziraphale and Crowley are still in constant grave danger, and they’re still living in God’s panopticon. That can’t just be hand-waved away. As we’ve seen this season, at any moment their fragile peace can be disrupted by a situation that puts them in danger of being harmed to the extent of being wiped from existence. They can’t actually just go to Alpha Centauri and it will all be cool. (And what would they do there for eternity anyway ...?) But yeah there is no way to escape from God, nowhere in the universe that God isn’t capable of supervising -- that’s real, not something Aziraphale merely has faith in, as humans understand belief in God. Aziraphale isn’t the equivalent of a human priest or a theologian or a cult member: he is a supernatural being created by a much more powerful supernatural being.

Perhaps there are only two ways for Aziraphale to deal with his trauma: 1) He realises that God and the Heavenly Host can be defeated. 2) He realises that they can be permanently altered in a positive way. 

At the end of season two, Aziraphale seems to believe he is being given the opportunity to bring about option 2. We don’t know if he has a plan or a vision for this, but for the first time he thinks he has a chance. Perhaps best of all, he has the opportunity to protect Crowley -- permanently! Imagine how anxious Aziraphale must have been, for thousands of years, that Crowley would be destroyed. It could have happened at any time, near or far from Aziraphale. Crowley faces dangers on all sides and also does foolish (from Aziraphale’s perspective) things like good deeds under the influence of laudanum and a heist so he can handle holy water. Crowley breaks and bends rules in ways that could kill him: Aziraphale isn’t catastrophising. This isn’t the same as a religious loved one telling you that you’re going to hell for sinning. Crowley has already been tortured in hell, and he could be tortured there forever, or he could be turned into an oily black puddle, or removed from the book of life etc etc. 

What Aziraphale doesn’t understand yet is that Crowley can’t be an angel again and still be the Crowley that Aziraphale loves. He also doesn’t see Crowley as an equal. If they’re going to take on heaven and bring down God’s dictatorship, they are going to have to do it as Aziraphale and Crowley, working in partnership, wielding the immense power of their love.

#good omens #good omens spoilers #aziraphale #crowley #religious trauma

[cityandking]

d&d character class asks

artificer: How good is your muse at picking up new tools/skills? Are they proficient with any tools? How are they at making things with their own hands?

barbarian: What makes your muse angry? How do they manage their anger? Has their rage ever led them to destroy something important?

bard: How does your muse handle social situations? Are they personable, charming, awkward, shy? How does your muse respond to being the center of attention?

cleric: Does your muse believe in any god or follow any religion? What drives their faith? Or, if they're faithless, why? What would it take for them to find faith in something or someone?

druid: How does your muse interact with the natural world? Are they good with animals? Plants? Do they keep any pets?

fighter: What's your muse's fighting style? Are there any weapons your muse is comfortable with, or a weapon they'd like to learn to use? What drives them to fight?

monk: How does your muse regulate their emotions? Are they in tune with themselves? How does your muse find peace?

paladin: What does your muse fight for? What tenets or oaths drive them? Have they ever had to break a vow, and if they have, why?

ranger: What is your muse's preferred environment? How good is your muse at fitting in with the world around them? Can they survive on their own, or do they need support?

rogue: How secretive is your muse? What are they secretive about? What would it take for your muse to spill their secrets?

sorcerer: What are your muse's natural talents? Have they taken the time to hone those skills? Do they like to show off, or are they quiet about their abilities?

warlock: Has your muse ever made a deal to get something they wanted? Is there anything your muse wants enough to broker for it? What would your muse sacrifice to get what they want?

wizard: What is your muse like as a student? Do they have the patience for studying? What do they like learning about? What do they most want to know?

#oc ask meme #oc asks #oc ask game #oc ask prompts #dnd ask meme #mine; ask meme #meme resources #taking these rn!! #also feel free to reblog etc #if anyone notices a typo PLEASE lmk #meme resource

[spoondrifts]

there's no fundamental difference between the bronze savant and the trawler-man in essence, only that one is sanctioned and one is not, but the dichotomous framing of deities as either dangerous/rural/culty/savage or safe/industrial/urban/moderate reflects the dynamics between urban and rural communities when it comes to poverty and power. outlawed minority faiths are subject to the legal authority of the majority group, which decides whose gods are sanctioned and whose are not, exercising its power over the minority through class- and religion-based oppression, keeping them fractured and unable to organize by destroying their primary community hubs (temples & churches), thereby stripping them of their ability to influence the larger culture by weaponizing arbitrary distinctions of "acceptability", a tactic that real-life oppressors use to maintain the status quo. faulkner directly states that even decades after the religious wars, disciples of their church are still scattered and slinking in the reeds in search of connection and power because of how brutally that was stripped from them. all this of course enforced by the police, an organization that always enforces conditions of oppression through violence regardless of individual cops' beliefs (like hayward) because they act as an extension of the will of the majority

#just some musings #i'm sure others have already made these points i was just ruminating this morning #tsv #the silt verses #brother faulkner #sister carpenter #hayward #the trawler-man

[muzzleroars]

What if the council lied about being able to return the light to an angel they tore the light from. So even in a universe where Gabriel killed V1 in their second fight he'd still fall.

YOU KNOW I THINK ABOUT THAT....since the council to represents the issues present in the leaders of the church and religion as an institution that rules over the individual, i often have to think that they lie. a lot. it wouldn't be difficult to believe they level constant threats against the hope of salvation (or, in this case, the hope to stay in salvation) to keep their control of the population. and once again, the removal of gabriel's light feels political as an action, since there would be very little reason to dispose of an archangel so powerful, so popular, and so committed to his work in hell - it is possible that they are so unreasonably dogmatic that they truly believe he is a traitor for his failure, but gabriel's speech to the last councilor suggests they were quite comfortable in their station. so really i wouldn't be surprised if this severing was irreversible and they simply used the promise of restoring it as a means to get gabriel to act. it is his only hope. and if he did succeed, he's burning down to embers anyway and they wouldn't have long to wait him out even if he begged for his restoration. yet he's likely opened his eyes enough even if v1 were to fail to see how the council is fallible and he's been used by them one last time. meaning their fate would be the same, but gabriel would feel the distinct mind-numbing pain of how he was weaponized against his own will into destroying what he could have loved. for false promises. and it would make him even more contemplative of what his faith meant in regards to his own selfishness.

#gabe is ALWAYS going to overthrow them lol #but there would be a much deeper pain in this scenario #and questioning of what his faith really meant #was it always just fear of punishment? #is that what he killed so many for? #cake answers #gabriel

[secular-jew]

ISLAMISTS ARE BULLYING BRITAIN INTO SUBMISSION

By Suella Braverman [Redacted - DT 23/2/24]

They started with the Jews. The Islamist cranks and Left-wing extremists then took control of the streets, harassed teachers through the courts, threatened to kill an MP who decided to leave public life and hijacked a by-election in a deprived town in northern England. We see their influence in our judiciary, our legal profession and our universities.

And then they came for Parliament. Keir Starmer bowed to the mob, abused his position and undermined the integrity of Parliament. Conventions cast aside, the Speaker’s legitimacy destroyed, and democracy denied.

In hock to the Islamists, Starmer is responsible for one of the most shameful days of our democracy. By taking the Speaker hostage he brought Parliament into disrepute. This is the behaviour of tyrants.

The truth is that the Islamists, the extremists and the anti-Semites are in charge now. They have bullied the Labour Party, they have bullied our institutions, and now they have bullied our country into submission.

But what is our response? Our leaders bury their heads in the sand, preferring the illusion of a “successful multicultural society”, terrified of being called “racist”.

On October 7, an Islamist death cult attacked one of our closest allies on a scale never before imagined. More than 1,200 Israelis were butchered, many women raped and murdered. 250 people were kidnapped. Now we’re told that Israel, in its noble mission to recover those poor hostages, must cease. Its defence forces must put away their weapons.

What is happening to our great country? That one which was respectful, welcoming, and where speaking your mind did not mean losing your job, or your life? Where different faiths and races co-existed peacefully? I remember that country, but it’s not the Britain I see now.

We cannot accept defeat. We need to refer Islamists, where they are a threat, into the Prevent programme. The Government has failed if 75% of MI5’s caseload consists of Islamist terrorism yet the proportion of Islamist referrals into Prevent is only 11% and falling. It’s not Islamophobic to challenge Islamist fanatics: it’s a civic duty.

We need to stop blasphemy laws being introduced by the backdoor. We cannot allow teachers to be hounded out of schools because a picture of Muhammad was shown, or children to be censured because a Koran was scuffed accidentally. In this country, it is perfectly lawful to criticise any religion or God.

We need to wake up to what we are sleep-walking into: a ghettoised society where free expression and British values are diluted. Where sharia law, the Islamist mob and anti-Semites take over communities. Enough of the hand-wringing and apologies. Turning a blind eye to fanatics has got us into this terrible situation: it needs to stop.

This is a crisis. And the fightback must start now, with urgency, if we are to preserve the liberties and privileges we cherish.

#secular-jew #israel #jewish #judaism #israeli #jerusalem #diaspora #secular jew #secularjew #islam #islamists #Islamist #uk #united kingdom #europe #england #jihad #demographic jihad #islam takeover of the west #submission #islam means submit #antisemitism #hamas #islamism #judea #tel aviv #samaria #vieformidable #gaza

[dead-lights]

star wars: occult of the empire

lmao i know i'm all over the place but i got bored and made star wars: edge of the empire tabletop player character folios for my favorite occults because this is what happens when adhd and autism gang up on me

i didn't pay $10 for journey to batuu for the gameplay all right

Force-Sensitive Exile (Explorer)

The Jedi are gone, the vast majority hunted down and destroyed by the Emperor and his minions. If any survive, they do so in hiding at the farthest edges of the galaxy. The Galactic Empire regards the ability to use the Force as a crime punishable by the harshest measures. In a few short decades, most of the galaxy has forgotten the Jedi, and dismissed the Force as an ancient religion. For many, this is by far the safest option. In the hidden corners of the galaxy, those who can touch the Force remain hidden, hunted, and outcast... but alive.

Scoundrel (Smuggler)

A Galaxy of Marks

Part con artist, part gunslinger, and part cantina brawler, the Scoundrel is quick-witted, fast on his feet, and quick to get himself into a great deal of trouble at the drop of a hat. He doesn't care one whit for rules or laws, except where he can use them to work an angle that either nets him a lot of credits or brings down an enemy. If he's really lucky - and he tends to have an unshakeable faith in his luck - he'll manage both.

Marauder (Hired Gun)

Up Close and Personal

Marauders don't necessarily mind shooting their opponents, but they would much rather get mixed up in a melee, weapons in hand, smashing and slashing their way through. Marauders are tough - probably the toughest combatants in any conflict. They tend to take a great deal of punishment while dealing out far more to any who would dare go against them.

Survivalist (Bounty Hunter)

Master of the Wild

Beyond Civilization, in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, there are places where few (if any) sentients have ever trodden the ground. Places like this are ideal hiding places for those fleeing the law or retribution for their actions. Places like this are where the Bounty Hunters who specialize as Survivalists thrive.

folio template by kainrath morgyn's pose by @honeyssims4 caleb's pose by @rebouks lilith's pose by @ladykendalsims lily's pose by @funkyllama

#caleb gets to keep his normal hair bc it's silly enough for star wars #morgyn ember #caleb vatore #lilith vatore #lily zhu #journey to batuu #star wars ffg #star wars #ts4 render #ts4 star wars #ts4 premades #ts4 townies #ts4 townie makeover #townie makeover #deadit

[dailycharacteroption]

Roleplaying Races 15: Duskwalker

(art by JoshBurns on DeviantArt)

And so we continue this special with the very last of the planar scion ancestries that Pathfinder 1st edition has to offer: the Duskwalker, the neutral-aligned planetouched.

Much like Aphorites, duskwalkers do not come into being in the same way as most. No mingling of bloodlines occurs in their case. Instead, they are born the way they are by the divine mandate of the forces they represent, but we’ll get into that.

According to legend, two powerful psychopomps, a yamaraj and an olethros mother, entered into a discussion about the interplay between fate and fortune, and how many souls lose their chance at destiny when their lives are cut short, and whether that is fair.

This discussion led to an agreement, approved by Pharasma, in which some souls whose fates were severed too soon and whose lives led to them being distinguished among the psychopomps and other guardians of the cycle to get a second chance.

These souls are sent back to the material plane along the secret planar paths known as the dead roads, taking the form of young children with a basket of supplies in hand, and are often found by locals wandering the graveyards where they exit the Dead Roads. These are duskwalkers.

Now, as you might imagine, off-putting children found roaming graveyards are likely to be viewed with apprehension by most simple folk, so while the psychopomps do their best to send them places where they will be accepted, some are not, and are forced to mature physically and mentally very rapidly in order to survive.

Having not experienced infancy, duskwalkers are born into this world knowing their duty to help protect the cycle of life and death as mortal beings, however, they can still shape their own fate, and a few reject it, even going as far as to ally with the sahkils, the terrible enemies of the psychopomps.

While many duskwalkers resemble humans, it is possible for them to be born resembling any sapient ancestry, though they typically sport gray skin, and sometimes sport odd features that resemble one of the various forms of psychopomps, such as feathers, animal-like features on the face, hands, and feet, and so on.

Like many other planar scions, duskwalkers don’t have much in the way of a society of their own. Most go their entire second lives never meeting another of their kind, and what few communities do exist are almost universally founded as part of or after some great unified goal to protect the cycle and/or destroy some great undead threat. Due to the sporatic nature of duskwalker creation, such communities may cease to even be duskwalker communites after a generation, populated by their mortal descendants and those of their mortal allies. Perhaps the only other peoples they feel common ground with are planar scions and other hybrid folk, though naturally they share a mutual distrust with most dhampir.

Duskwalkers are agile and cunning, but their connections to death makes their bodies somewhat fragile.

Their nature as native outsiders also gives them incredible night vision, the better for seeing the undead that hide from the light.

Many are also created with innate understanding of living bodies and also they mysteries of faith and the undead, making them more skilled in areas of medicine, religion, and undead-hunting.

Perhaps their most iconic ability, however, is their ability to channel their undead-slaying power into any weapon they touch, making even mundane blades at least partially effective against the spectral dead, though they can focus further once a day to improve this to strike true against such lost souls for a short while.

Naturally, being a duskwalker gives them natural resistance to negative energy and harmful necromancy. What’s more, they are totally immune to magic and supernatural power that would cause them to rise as the undead. (though rumor has it that duskwalkers that forsake their duty and ally with the sahkils lose that protection, making for truly terrible undead indeed)

Of course, not all duskwalkers are built the same, so there are some alternate traits for them as well. For example, some were utterly shunned by the locals and forced to steal and scavenge to survive, affecting what they were skilled in. Others were taken in by big families that showered them with love, making them more social with both people and animals. Meanwhile, some were favored by the olethros associated with the origins of their kind, and trade their resistances for a knack for finding the perfect chink in a foe’s armor at the right time. Those that were favored by the yamaraj side trade the same protections for a measure of their wisdom, navigating social situations with their sagacity rather than charm.

With their agility and wisdom, duskwalkers make excellent ranged combatants, (particularly gunslingers, rangers, and hunters), as well as rogues, slayers, ninjas, and of course various wisdom casters like clerics and druids. However, their knack for fighting the undead with mundane weapons also means that combat classes both mundane and magical are also a good choice. Naturally, any build or archetype that focuses on hunting the undead is a good choice as well, though those built around using the undead are anathema to all but the most corrupted of their kind. Their con penalty does mean that fighting in a straight-up fight is a bit risky for them, but not impossible to get around.

That will do for today, but I hope you enjoyed this final look at a planar scion option in first edition!

#pathfinder #race #duskwalker #planar adventures

[stromuprisahat]

How would you have concluded Shadow and Bone? What would be ideal ending to you?

I'd scratch all the shit from second season. Truly, there's nothing really worth salvaging.

I wouldn't interfere with the Crows. Hurrying up their plotlines and engrafting them into TGT was a huge mistake. TBH Ravkan cameos sucked even in the books. "Everyone meets everyone" trope's rarely well-handled.

I wouldn't erase Grisha genocide and Ravkan wars, I wouldn't blame them on the Darkling, I'd make the heroes attempt to solve those realistically. Hard decisions, moral dilemmas and dead ends included.

I'd skip idiotic speeches. I know US-American probably love those (judging from their stories), but that shit's pathetic. And a nice speech isn't really likely to open the masses' eyes and turn them into accepting philanthropists.

Alina would grow into a critical, active figure caring for more than Mal (plus like two more people ~sometimes~). Actually caring, not making a speech to three point half Grisha about... whatever was that "My beloved Second Army..." shit supposed to be. Oh, and she becomes less self-centred and more compassionate. Ironically, the pig-headed teen from books had more empathy than her allegedly more mature show!counterpart.

I'd never erase Aleksander's pragmatic, more ruthless streak, and while I cannot see a good ending for him in books, in show he feels much younger, more hopeful... less dead inside?! So even though I wouldn't make him into the brain-dead simp the second season did, he and less short-sighted Alina might work something out in the end.

Oh, and Nikolai would be introduced as the lonely, clever boy with need to prove himself. Anyone else sees Darknikolina possibility?

TGT ends because Alina's robbed of her nature, I think it should end with her fully embracing it, duties and responsibilities included. You cannot control other people's faith, but I'd want her to reject her alleged Sainthood, since Ravkan religion likes to use it to keep dehumanizing Grisha. I don't mind her becoming Queen- for more self-aware character it might be a good way to be able to influence people without that Sainthood she'd give up in my scenario.

I'd like to see her destroy the Fold hand in hand with the Darkling. She might have the power, but she doesn't know shit about merzost, and wouldn't it be a beautiful parallel? The first time they enter it, she believes him The Evil and he's forced to make her use her powers in order to expand it, the second time they both go willingly, and she trusts him enough to allow him to use her power, taking down the thing bit by bit.

Since we're keeping it, we'd need to address the wars and Grisha oppression. The ending doesn't need to mean something definitive- life doesn't work in absolutes-, but Ravka's lack of resources considered, they're in no position to end anything, unless they give up... or conjure something their enemies cannot trump. Excluding merzost, threefold amplified Sun Summoner under more experienced Shadow Summoner's guidance could make a unit small enough to infiltrate enemy territory and target strategically chosen places. With invisibility on their side, they might go unnoticed except for the traces of their activity. They're at that stage of history, when nations are starting to pull out nukes, and Ravka happens to own two fully conscious ones. With Grisha it's much harder. There might be laws, treaties and agreements, but those are just words, and words are wind. What deed might change one person's mind, can only reinforce another's prejudice. This is a nightmare to solve, but education, laws and black magic seems like the only way to go.

So that's the end I got to today. These three forcing Fjerda and Shu Han to lay down their weapons and agree to treat their Grisha in humane way, OR...

#reply #Shadow and Bone #What if/AU/... #Grisha #Ravka #Alina Starkov #The Darkling #Nikolai Lantsov #Darknikolina #General Kirigan #grishanalyticritical #A lot of it depends on making Alina grow #but...

[oldshowbiz]

The Woman's Club of Hollywood is located at 1749 La Brea directly south of Franklin Avenue. It is right in the dead center of Hollywood, California. The venue is sometimes rented out for weddings.

However, their website has completely scrubbed its sordid history.

The LA Conservancy doesn't mention it either.

This ancient building has always had a weird vibe. Well, no wonder.

For ten years, from 1958 through 1968, it was the home base of "Christian Identity" preacher Wesley A. Swift.

He was bankrolled by an anti-Semitic haberdasher from downtown Los Angeles named James Oviatt. The downtown Oviatt Building is also rented out for weddings and the LA Conservancy leads an architectural tour of the building in which they fail to mention its Klan history.

Oviatt gave money to Wesley Swift to help assemble militias in the Antelope Valley for the purpose of weapons training with the ultimate goal of doing violent battle with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement. The organization became better known in the 1970s as the "Aryan Nations."

A sermon delivered by Wesley A. Swift in this venue in February 1965 was typical:

"I have here one of the most unique pieces of writing in a newspaper. This is Baldwin. Black Baldwin. The scum of Negroes today. Called a brilliant writer and a great author and a great intellectual. Well, his kind of intellect belongs in a pig pen. What he says in his writing, in a piece of literature, called literature, that goes into our schools as literature ... every time he sees a white girl - he wants to rape her! He wants to assault every white woman to bring her down to his level, which proves he knows he's not up on your level. And he can only think of depravity and immorality to bring the levels together, that means to bring you down ... He says we don't have any nation, we don't have any flag, but we're going to get one! We're going to get it by violence and bloodshed and revolution! The Negroes gonna rise and take over! And that was in the San Francisco Chronicle last week. You say: what caused all this? It's because we have not heeded divine law and we have permitted those that are not willing to follow the laws of God to gain ascendency in our nation."

During a sermon delivered here in July 1964 he railed against the Civil Rights Act:

"This tyrannical bill known as the Civil Rights legislation which passed the house this week … The house passed a bill ... which is so filled with state and federal tyranny that it denies you and any establishment, even a church, the right to criticize or to disagree with any law relative to desegregation and anti-discrimination! "Makes it all so mandatory that there be prosecution against anybody who violates this law by securing the facts. A church would not be permitted to advocate the gospel of Christ or preach the content of this bible without violating their law as it relates to discrimination against pagan religions and against other gods. "One could not tell the story of the advocacy of God selecting and electing your race to this responsibility of world leadership without a differentiation between races … and if you declare the thing that God is advocating you'd be subject to prosecution!

"Civil rights legislation, which is not civil rights, but wrongs to the great Christian majority intended on mongrelizing your race and destroying your faith and reducing your nation ... to ... an elite core of evil … I think it should be a basic Christian project of every Christian to do all that he can to see that the persons who would surrender the liberties of these United States into the hands of the dictatorial authorities [are not re-elected]."

From his La Brea Avenue pulpit, Swift ranted against the changing immigration laws of the mid-1960s:

"Why do they want to destroy our immigration laws? Because immigration laws are the result of the Church's recognition that if we permit a flood of immigration into America of pagans and Africans and Asiatics that can out vote and out maneuver Christians, that they'll take over America and our freedoms will go!

"If you don't think this is the strategy, then you turn very carefully and examine the texts … which these Swedish and Negro Communists wrote."

Swift frequently invoked terms like "freedom" and "liberty" in defense of his view point and characterized Civil Rights laws and anti-bigotry as "tyranny."

He delivered horrific, racist sermons right here in the heart of Hollywood every single Sunday for a decade - and I have yet to see anyone acknowledge it.

#hollywood extremism #labrea #franklin ave #civil rights era

[catholic-character-tournament]

Round 1 - Side B

Propaganda below ⬇️

Leliana

Ex thief/assassin after her ex-girlfiend leaves her for dead she tries to go on a revenge quest but fails and becomes a nun to repent her previous sins. During the first game she joins your party because she had a vision of God telling her to do so (nevermind that her faith belives that god has left humanity to die after the death of his human spouse). If she survives the events of the game, meaning you don't try to destroy an extremly valuable religious relic in front of her causing her to turn on you and fight you to the death, she goes on to become the spymaster for the pope. During the third game she becomes your spymaster and you can even make her the new pope, if this happens her policies bring her many enemies but they all misteriously disappear after challenging her publically. If she dosen't survive the first game she still shows up in the third one with the same role but instead of beign a normal person she is a magic ghost of misterious origin that is somehow connected to rocks that are also blood and is pretending to be a normal human beign. She is even bisexual

her introduction is her walking up to you and going 'god told me to leave being a nun and help you.' she's a spy who worked for the pope. she's bisexual. she can have an elven mage partner and then immediately go 'okay guys mages and elves are cool now also the clergy can fuck now' and then she goes and fucks her (well known) elven mage partner. her views on religion are really accepting but also she founds An Inquisition with the intent of threatening someone into the position of 'inquisitor'. (This never happens but she would have done it.)

early leliana dragonage propaganda. the way leliana is introduced is by walking up to the player and telling them she got a vision from god saying to help them defeat evil. she also works for the catholic church and can be the literal pope. she helps start the second inquisition, which is like, really bad morally, but also very catholic of her. if you defile the ashes of her prophet you have to kill her and she comes back as a magic ghost to work for the church

Dracule Mihawk

Okay so he wears a cross necklace and his sword looks like he has a cross on his back. Like yeah hes a gothy bitch but got that Catholic vibes trust me also got that catholic vampire 18th century facial hair

his weapon is a giant bedazzled cross sword and if he held up his arms he’d look like he was being crucified on it. he’s spanish *and* dracula coded. puss in boots has been accepted and this is his human counterpart.

he keeps sipping red wine, what’s that if not the blood of christ?? also his hobby is gardening and he adopted two orphans. catholic mom.

a vote for mihawk is a vote for all of the forgotten one piece characters

#leliana #dragon age #dracule mihawk #one piece #cct polls #tumblr tournament #tumblr bracket #tumblr polls

[thelilbish]

Cat’s Cradle or The Cat’s Cradle?

The analysis is based on the novel Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (thanks to @to-bone-bigfoot for the recommendation)

Well, the book turned out to be way too complex than I expected it to be. I’m not saying I got the entire message correctly or completely but I can’t stop thinking about the author’s warning at the beginning of chap. 4. (Btw, I’m not gonna dig deep, just a few thoughts)

“Anyone unable to understand how a useful religion can be founded on lies will not understand this book either.”

Religions are supposed to be a salvation but man turned them into some instrument of control. Even Beatrice started doubting all of it at the end of S1 (and in S2 when Superion got back to life)

“Father, if Adriel’s bones really are driving people to belief, wouldn’t removing them weaken the entire Catholic faith?”

Those bones are a means of control. As Vincent stated, “A devil’s bargain to keep people reliant on the Church. As long as there is darkness in the world, people will turn to us for light”.

By naming that convent The Cat’s Cradle they claim that it is all a lie (except for the relationships the nuns established perhaps).

The walls that are supposed to be a shelter of truth is nothing more than a shattering of lies.

Also it’s all about technology. That Cat’s Cradle is a metaphor for a trap woven from the achievements of science and technology. For too long, man has considered themself the supreme creation of nature (Heart of a Dog by Bulgakov proves why this thought pattern is disastrous), who is allowed to engage in uncontrolled violence against his own kind and destroy the planet. In the hands of representatives of one species are "toys" that are dangerous for billions of living beings.

The Arc is dangerous and I know Jillian’s intention was to save her son but as Vonnegut stated “anything a scientist worked on was sure to wind up as a weapon, one way or another”.

So, my guess is that they named that ancient church The Cat’s Cradle in order to show the danger of science even though tons of inventions are made with good intentions, and the way religions can be a control means changing its original purpose.

#warrior nun #warrior nun season 2 #warrior nun season 3 #ava silva #kristina tonteri young #alba baptista #save warrior nun

[sisterdivinium]

@halobearerhavoc By this tag, you signed up for what I am posting here now (I couldn't help myself, even if it's not a digital game!) Based on John Harper's excellent Lasers & Feelings, this is:

Warrior & Nun

You are members of the ORDER OF THE CRUCIFORM SWORD. Your mission is to protect humankind from demons, preserve your dignity while serving in the Church and finding your own faiths. The HALO BEARER has been sucked by an interdimensional portal, leaving you to fend for yourselves while on leave on The Other Side.

PLAYERS: CREATE CHARACTERS

Choose a weapon for your character: Sword, Staff, Shotguns, Crossbow, Pure martial arts, or Gadgets.

Choose a trait for your character: Proud, Discreet, Outspoken, Eager, Bubbly, or Sombre.

Choose your number, from 2 to 5. A high number means you're better at WARRIOR (fighting, strategising, athletics, strength, passion, etc). A low number means you're better at NUN (diplomacy, academics, social abilities, rituals, calm, etc).

Give your character a cool saint name or something like it.

You have: a regular habit, armour, means of communication with other OCS members, a Mother Superion.

Player goal: get your character involved in crazy demon-hunting and women-kissing adventures and try to make the best of them.

Character goal: choose one or create your own: Prove yourself to your shitty family, Become next in line as halo bearer, Find yourself a new family with your sisters, Forgive yourself for your own sins, Be loved, or Keep Being Awesome (you have nothing to prove).

PLAYERS: CREATE YOUR OCS CHAPTER

As a group, pick two strengths for your convent: Handy connection to a rich, brilliant scientist woman; Ties with a powerful cardinal, Highly competent sisters, Gadgets galore, Large library on demonology, Easy access to vehicles.

Also, pick one problem: Most of the sisters are aggressive, undisciplined and possibly sociopathic; The press is on to you, The Vatican is unwilling to spend another penny on you, Mother Superion is always having a bad day, You only have ammo and fuel for another week, Your house priest might or might not have been compromised by a being from another dimension and is secretly working against you...

ROLLING THE DICE

When you do something risky, roll 1d6 to find out how it goes. Roll +1d if you’re prepared and +1d if you’re an expert. (The GM tells you how many dice to roll, based on your character and the situation.) Roll your dice and compare each die result to your number.

⬇️ If you're using WARRIOR, you want to roll under your number.

⬆️ If you're using NUN, you want to roll over your number.

0 - if none of your dice succeed, it goes wrong. The GM says how things get worse somehow.

1 - if one die succeeds, you barely manage it. The GM inflicts a complication, harm, or cost.

2 - if two dice succeed, you do it well. Good job!

3 - if three dice succeed, you get a critical success! The GM tells you some extra effect you get.

!! - if you roll your number exactly, you gain a moment of REVELATION. You get a special insight into what's going on. Ask the GM a question and they'll answer you honestly. Some good questions: what are they really feeling? Who's behind this? How could I get them to _____? What should I be on the lookout for? What's the best way to _____? What's really going on here?

With your Revelation, you can change your action if you want to, then roll again.

HELPING: If you want to help someone else who's rolling, say how you try to help and make a roll. If you succeed, give them +1d.

GM: CREATE AN UNHOLY ADVENTURE

Roll or choose on the tables below.

A threat...

A possessed cardinal

A demon-worshipping cult

An eurotrash would-be prophet

A Vatican ex-archivist

A mad scientist

A renegade sister warrior

Wants to...

Destroy/corrupt

Steal/capture

Bond with

Protect/empower

Build

Occupy

The...

Pope

Divinium

Vatican

Quantum tunnel

Tarask/wight demon

Holy artefacts

Which will...

Destroy the halo

Brainwash the masses with a new dangerous religion

Enslave humanity

Start a war/invasion

Rip a hole in reality

Fix everything

GM: RUN THE GAME

Play to find out how they defeat the threat. Introduce the threat by showing evidence of its recent badness. Before a threat does something to the characters, show signs that it's about to happen, then ask them what they do. "The Firstborn Children guards run toward you, what do you do?" "Your undercover tactical nun partner pours you a glass of lemon drop and slips her arm around your waist, what do you do?"

Call for a roll when the situation is uncertain. Don't pre-plan outcomes — let the chips fall where they may. Use failures to push the action forward. The situation always changes after a roll, for good or ill. Ask questions and build on the answers. "Have any of you encountered a nun who to all intents and purposes was dead but is now alive and kicking whilst in the process of becoming some sort of demon hybrid before? Where? What happened?"

#warrior nun #ttrpg #tabletop role playing game #i'm sorry but also i'm not #this has NOT been playtested but should any of you give it a spin tell me how it goes #it's satire of course but it SHOULD be functional since the lasers & feelings foundation is pretty solid #(if you're coming into RPGs from D&D 5e this will be hard for you to grok; find an experienced gamemaster to run it for you) #just when you thought tumblr user sisterdivinium couldn't get nerdier... #(i DID mention in the tags to another post that i ran roleplaying games though) #some of the results on the tables might seem contradictory but the idea here is that YOU interpret it as you like #so with the halo bearer on the other side the halo could still be destroyed if you fail #how's THAT for responsibility. fail your mission and ava dies and it's your fault she doesn't reunite with beatrice #funny and or misc

[plthroughlegallense]

[ISRAEL ORGANISES TOURS ON OCCUPIED TERRITORIES IN 2023]

A month after the Israeli Genocide in Gaza commenced, Israel organised a political propaganda “tour” consisting of talks, visits and tours on ATVs on Occupied territories.

(1) We find this baffling as Israel who is pushing a narrative of being “under attack” or continuous self- victimising, actually could have organised a one week program in collaboration with Security Agencies and the IDF.

Attached is the link,

(2) We are much at loss seeing a place that was once a beautiful home razed into nothing but dust and emptiness being paraded as a tourist site as being done here.

(3) The itinerary even includes an opening launch at a hotel with a politician and a former officer holding authority at the IDF as a speaker.

(4) It even includes a topic “When a Burqa is your weapon of Choice” from the unit that is known to pose as Arabs to infiltrate the local Palestinian population.

It is mind boggling to see a nation weaponising a dressing that symbolises one’s faith towards religion and adherence to culture for the use of violence.

(5) This tour brings attendees to see the Apartheid Wall (Kalandia Checkpoint) in which Israel ratifies it as a Security Wall. This wall has illegally annexed territories and trespasses private property, dividing families and communities from each other.

We cannot understand the purpose of visiting a wall that limits a certain population’s entry and exit to their own homes, schools and workplace on a whim whilst another population is not imposed the same.

(6) What we could not comprehend further is the use of ATVs as if it is a tourist site on another nation's border and a casual visit at a settlement town on the Lebanese border where the original Lebanese population was displaced from the Zionist entity.

In which, Israel is happy to treat the area as another tourist spot,

(7) It is dire need for Israel to continuously push a positive narrative on themselves whilst conveniently refuse to address issues of :

using Military Courts on Civil Offences

Coerced Confessions

Poor treatment and torture of Palestinians in prisons

Administrative detention - no charge, trial, credible evidence, etc

use of a revoked law on a area without jurisdiction (West Bank)

imposing punishment on civil offenders

(8) When looking back at November 19, we could not find any news on that specific date save for what is available in November 18 (relating to evacuation of premature babies in Al Shifa Hospital and UN School bombing) and November 20 (the ‘hamas’ tunnel in al-Shifa failed video) where CNN journalists were brought to ‘see the tunnel’.

Surprisingly, we found an article from CNN where Israel announces ‘brief suspension of military activities in Rafah’ for ‘humanitarian purposes on that date - 19 November 2023 which coincides with this “visit”.

The Kibbutz in the itinerary, Kibbutz Alumim

(9) Ending a tour of occupied territories, areas that were destroyed from airstrikes, tanks after a deliberate act of starvation, cutting off telecommunication and electricity on a single population

We see it as a direct show of colonialism, where areas were treated as mere “tourist spots” without any regard of the pain, beauty or life of the population that was once in existence.

The deliberate erasure of the Palestinians’ existence is continuously paraded by such tours.

How could a stranger understand the value of one’s home, it is not his to own nor he who built it

“A piratis aut latronibus capti liberi permanent”,

Things do not change their ownership when captured by pirates and robbers.

#colonialism #colonisers #settler #israel #settler colonialism #israeli settlers #israel is a settler colony #settler violence #tourism #genocide #palestine #ethnic cleansing #al shifa hospital #war crimes #flour massacre #administrative detention #home demolition #legal #law #democracy #collective punishment #constitution

[soulmythos]

INTRODUCING... SEVERED DAWN, SUNDERED NIGHT

— summary. — set in the soul mythos — adult fantasy space opera when vitoria is resurrected after a century adrift in space, she must find a way to unshackle her imprisoned gods before the monstrous plague beasts that destroyed her world infest the divines. all the while, the heretic who chained the gods whispers temptation, urging her to kill the deities she seeks to save.

pinterest board | lyrical playlist | instrumental playlist

— word count. — currently drafting — 10,070 of ~100,000

— contains. a main character with chronic pain, queer enemies to lovers, a prophet who suffers the wounds of her bloody visions, fantasy religion, cities within worm-leviathans, beasts that scribe runes on brains to birth more of their kind, a heretic who imprisoned the gods and now seeks to kill them, a fairytale-like journey to forge a weapon that will destroy divinity, and two dumbasses bickering about theology as they fall in love for 100,000 words.

— aesthetic. a forest of eternal ash, white flame flickers in a silver censer, leatherbound scriptures drape from a belt, beasts of void and tooth, a prophet born of the sea wreathed in starlight, an iron fortress spires into lightning-corded heavens, lungs heavy with incense, a sainted sanctuary amongst the cosmos, and the terror of starved gods infested with plague.

— plotline and visuals.

THE TOVAZOTH + THE SRASZA — a century after her death in the final battle for her world, vitoria is resurrected by her gods. she wakes to maroth, the heretic who imprisoned the divines, and he makes her an offer: kill the gods with him and take what they leave behind. vitoria refuses and returns to a people who have lost faith. she struggles to unite them against the plague beasts threatening their deities, and as she protects mortaldom’s final sanctuary, she is increasingly drawn to the heretic who continues to appear to her and the power they can provide her. — main characters. — Vitorael of Vyserth: 121, she/her — Maroth: ~1,000, he/they

— tag list. let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list!

#soulmythos: sdsn #soulmythos: vitoria #soulmythos: maroth #amwriting #writers of tumblr #writing community #writeblr #writers on tumblr #wip introduction #wip intro #my wips #fantasy #space opera #sci fi #soulmythos: wips

[heartsdefine]

☽ ─ ELSPETH'S DND CHARACTER BUILD (BG3 AU)

a work in progress, more to be added as i put the info together!

CLASS/LEVEL.

Level 6 Cleric (towards the end of Act 1) Proficiency Bonus: +3

ABILITY SCORES & SKILLS.

STRENGTH: 13 (+1) — Saving Throw: +1 ↪ Athletics: +1 DEXTERITY: 14 (+2) — Saving Throw: +2 ↪ Acrobatics: +2 ↪ Sleight of Hand: +2 ↪ Stealth: +2 CONSTITUTION: 16 (+3) — Saving Throw: +3 INTELLIGENCE: 16 (+3) — Saving Throw: +3 ↪ Arcana: +3 ↪ History: +6 ↪ Investigation: +3 ↪ Nature: +3 ↪ Religion: +3 WISDOM: 16 (+3) — Saving Throw: +6 ✓ ↪ Animal Handling: +3 ↪ Insight: +6 ↪ Medicine: +3 ↪ Perception: +3 ↪ Survival: +3 CHARISMA: 14 (+2) — Saving Throw: +5 ✓ ↪ Deception: +2 ↪ Intimidation: +2 ↪ Performance: +2 ↪ Persuasion: +2

PROFICIENCIES.

Weapons: Simple Weapons, Flails, Morningstars Armor: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Shields Instruments: Piano, Flute, Lute

LANGUAGES.

Common, Elvish, Druidic

FEATURES & TRAITS.

CHANNEL DIVINITY CHARGES: 2 (replenished by a short or long rest) - PRESERVE LIFE. Evoke a healing energy that restores 3 x Character Level hit points to allied creatures. - TURN UNDEAD. As an action, present your holy symbol and cause undead creatures to flee. - DESTROY UNDEAD. When you successfully Turn an Undead creature, it also takes 4d6 Radiant damage. DISCIPLE OF LIFE. Your devotion empowers your healing Spells. When casting a healing spell, the target regains an additional 2 + Spell Level hit points. BLESSED HEALER. Regain 2 + Spell Slot Level hit points when casting a healing spell on another creature.

FEATS.

LUCKY. You gain 3 Luck Points, which you can use to gain Advantage on Attack rolls, Ability checks, or Saving throws, or to make an enemy reroll their Attack rolls.

SPELLCASTING.

CLASSES: Cleric of Selûne SUBCLASS: Life Domain SPELL ATTACK BONUS: +6 SPELL SAVE DC: 14 PREPARED SPELLS: 9

SPELLS KNOWN.

CANTRIPS. 1. Blade Ward 2. Guidance 3. Light 4. Resistance LEVEL ONE. Spell Slots: 〇〇〇〇 1. Bless (Life Domain) 2. Cure Wounds (Life Domain) 3. Guiding Bolt 4. Healing Word 5. Shield of Faith LEVEL TWO. Spell Slots: 〇〇〇 1. Aid (Life Domain) 2. Lesser Restoration (Life Domain) 3. Calm Emotions 4. Prayer of Healing 5. Warding Bond LEVEL THREE. Spell Slots: 〇〇〇 1. Beacon of Hope (Life Domain) 2. Revivify (Life Domain) 3. Daylight 4. Mass Healing Word 5. Spirit Guardians

ETCETERA.

#re; elspeth cousland. ( you are a brutal thing made of flowers ) #hc; elspeth. #v; elspeth bg3. ( beacon of hope ) #she's honestly a pure healer in this verse tbh asldkfjalskd #no weapons training really #protect her!!!!