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odinsblog · 8 months

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Dear President Biden,

We come together as artists and advocates, but most importantly as human beings witnessing the devastating loss of lives and unfolding horrors in Israel and Palestine.

We ask that, as President of the United States, you call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza and Israel before another life is lost. More than 5,000 people have been killed in the last week and a half – a number any person of conscience knows is catastrophic. We believe all life is sacred, no matter faith or ethnicity and we condemn the killing of Palestinian and Israeli civilians.

We urge your administration, and all world leaders, to honor all of the lives in the Holy Land and call for and facilitate a ceasefire without delay – an end to the bombing of Gaza, and the safe release of hostages. Half of Gaza’s two million residents are children, and more than two thirds are refugees and their descendants being forced to flee their homes. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach them.

We believe that the United States can play a vital diplomatic role in ending the suffering and we are adding our voices to those from the US Congress, UNICEF, Doctors without Borders, The International Committee of The Red Cross, and so many others. Saving lives is a moral imperative. To echo UNICEF, “Compassion — and international law — must prevail.”

As of this writing more than 6,000 bombs have been dropped on Gaza in the last 12 days — resulting in one child being killed every 15 minutes.

“Children and families in Gaza have practically run out of food, water, electricity, medicine and safe access to hospitals, following days of air strikes and cuts to all supply routes. Gaza’s sole power plant ran out of fuel Wednesday afternoon, shutting down electricity, water and wastewater treatment. Most residents can no longer get drinking water from service providers or household water through pipelines…. The humanitarian situation has reached lethal lows, and yet all reports point to further attacks. Compassion — and international law — must prevail.” – UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder

Beyond our pain and mourning for all of the people there and their loved ones around the world we are motivated by an unbending will to stand for our common humanity. We stand for freedom, justice, dignity and peace for all people – and a deep desire to stop more bloodshed.

We refuse to tell future generations the story of our silence, that we stood by and did nothing. As Emergency Relief Chief Martin Griffiths told UN News, “History is watching.”

Alia Shawkat

Alyssa Milano

Amanda Seales

Amber Tamblyn

America Ferrera

Andrew Garfield

Anoushka Shankar

Aria Mia Loberti

Ayo Edebiri

Bassam Tariq

Bassem Youssef

Cate Blanchett

Channing Tatum

Cherien Dabis

Darius Marder

David Cross

Dominique Fishback

Dominique Thorne

Elvira Lind

Farah Bsaiso

Fatima Farheen Mirza

Hasan Minhaj

Hend Sabry

Ilana Glazer

Indya Moore

James Schamus

Jeremy Strong

Jessica Chastain

Joaquin Phoenix

Jon Stewart

Kristen Stewart

Macklemore

Mahershala Ali

Margaret Cho

Mark Ruffalo

May Calamawy

Michael Malarkey

Michael Stipe

Michelle Wolf

Mo Amer

Oscar Isaac

Quinta Brunson

Ramy Youssef

Riz Ahmed

Rooney Mara

Rosario Dawson

Ryan Coogler

Sandra Oh

Sebastian Silva

Shailene Woodley

Shaka King

Susan Sarandon

Vic Mensa

Wallace Shawn

Wanda Sykes

👉🏿 https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/hollywood-demands-gaza-israel-ceasefire-joaquin-phoenix-cate-blanchett-1235763646/

#politics #palestine #gaza #israel #ceasefire #war crimes #hamas ≠ palestine #genocide #collective punishment #israel is an apartheid state #never again #humanitarian aid #benjamin netanyahu is a war criminal #bds #boycott divest sanction #never again to anyone

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themodernwitchsguide · 3 months

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tarot and their divinatory meanings (wands)

this post just includes the suit of wands, for the suit of pentacles click here, for the suit of swords click here, for the suit of cups click here, and for the major arcana click here

King of Wands

UPRIGHT: a passionate and energetic person, honest, noble, a good leader, handsome, possibly someone married

REVERSED: a severe and arrogant person, rash and impulsive, prejudiced, intolerant, aggressive in pursuit of gain

Queen of Wands

UPRIGHT: extremely focused and passionate person, successful businessperson, generous, may be a little self-centered, strong sense of individuality

REVERSED: deceit, infidelity, jealousy (especially if the surrounding cards indicate it), otherwise a strict, domineering, overwhelming person

Knight of Wands

UPRIGHT: travel/moving house, a fearless and adventurous person, possibly hard to tie down, flighty, or rash

REVERSED: discord, separation, stagnation/delays, life interrupted

Page of Wands

UPRIGHT: faithful and loyal person, excitement and energy (sometimes too much), inner battles keeping you from acting, a new job/position

REVERSED: bad news, indecision, gossip, someone noncommittal, not pursuing what you want

Ten of Wands

UPRIGHT: heavy burden, success becomes oppressive, taking on others' problems, obstacles overcome, martyr complex

REVERSED: shifting responsibility onto others, selfishness OR release from burdens, burnout

Nine of Wands

UPRIGHT: strength in the face of opposition, changes, deception, temporary ceasefire, be okay with hard work and taking risks

REVERSED: obstacles, calamity, a mistrustful person, illness/disability

Eight of Wands

UPRIGHT: great haste and hope, freedom after a period of inactivity, excitement/surprises, be patient--momentum is building

REVERSED: jealousy, dispute, domestic disputes, guilty conscience, forgive yourself and adapt your strategy

Seven of Wands

UPRIGHT: valor, a fight you have an advantage in, success, hold your ground, set a clear purpose and follow through

REVERSED: perplexity, anxiety, indecision causes loss, being defensive, you can't see the full picture

Six of Wands

UPRIGHT: public acclaim, gain, good news, victory, possibly even egotistic/arrogant behavior, reward for hard work

REVERSED: delay, fear, treachery/disloyalty, doubt in your abilities, feeling unloved/neglected

Five of Wands

UPRIGHT: competition, internal struggle, unsatisfied desires, struggle for wealth

REVERSED: trickery, complexity/contradiction, litigation, avoiding conflict at all costs

Four of Wands

UPRIGHT: harmony, happy and relaxed home, refuge, peace, weddings, pursue love/friendships, support and stability

REVERSED: loss of peace/harmony, dissatisfaction, conflict, fear of commitment, instability

Three of Wands

UPRIGHT: good business, you are in control and have a strong position, a good grasp on the future, travel, opportunities coming your way

REVERSED: failed venture, lack of growth, feeling trapped, disappointment, take time to plan

Two of Wands

UPRIGHT: laying foundations, patience, maturity, make plans for the future, watch and wait, look to the future

REVERSED: lack of prospects/plans for the future, loss of control, impatience/overconfidence

Ace of Wands

UPRIGHT: creation, fertility/birth/family, a beginning--start something new, act now

REVERSED: stagnation, lack of excitement/energy, excessive indulgence and the following decline, a false start

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artbyblastweave · 4 months

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It's so funny how Cap just COINCIDENTALLY seems to be physically unable to go through a SINGLE Republican presidency without having a crisis of faith that causes him to not be Cap anymore. Nomad with Nixon. USAgent with Reagan. Death and Buckycap with Bush, then HydraCap with Trump. I like to think him dying was the universe's way of identifying "...well he doesn't seem to be changing yet. Better balance this out real quick"

This is true, and moreover this ask dovetails nicely with another Cappost I've been thinking about making. Given the sliding timeline, who should we assume was in charge of the Secret Empire?

Loose, possibly at-least-partially misremembered background for those who weren't aware of this batshit plot point- In the early seventies, concurrent with Watergate, Captain America shut down a scheme by a neofascist group called the Secret Empire to, I dunno, hold the country hostage with a mutant-powered nuke or something, the specifics aren't important, what's important is that Cap cornered the leader of the group in the Oval Office, where he killed himself to avoid capture, and you never get to see the guy's face but it was all but directly stated that the Leader was Richard Nixon attempting a Coup D'état (possibly to get out of being prosecuted for Watergate?). This shakes Cap up pretty badly and he temporarily retired the Cap identity in order to operate as Nomad, The Man Without A Country, it was a whole crisis of conscience situation. Anyway, the whole situation is still vaguely implicitly canon, they refer to the Secret Empire, and there have been successor heroes who've taken up the Nomad identity after Cap got out of the funk. But It also can't have been Nixon who killed himself in front of Cap due to the sliding time scale- the rule of thumb for Marvel is that it's generally only been about 15-20 years at most since the Fantastic Four did their thing, which does hilarious things to the worldbuilding. My understanding is that you're supposed to assume that if the president is depicted in a marvel story you need to just mentally "swap in whoever would have been president 10-15 years before the present day, but given the specificity of this situation that quickly gets insane. Did Bush kill himself in front of Captain America to escape the consequences of the 2008 recession? Did Obama?! Was it just not a president at all at this point- in which case, why did Cap react badly enough to quit and become Nomad? And so on, and so forth. They basically gotta memory hole it, but I will not let them forget! Cap saw a U.S. President off themselves! But to tie this back to Civilwarposting- what I think about a lot is that from a worldbuilding perspective the actual political moment that generated Civil War is perpetually in flux. This is true of every Marvel comic but it's especially notable here because of the extent to which the comic itself is emphasizing the political moment and what created it. It's a Bush-era comic, a reaction to the politics and the rhetoric of the War on Terror and the post-9/11 years, Bush actually personally appears in it. But if it hasn't already, eventually it's going to have implicitly been pushed through Congress during the Obama Administration, and then during the Trump Admin, and then during the Biden Admin, and so on and so forth, and like. setting aside that there's already an entire swath of the marvel timeline that's very blatantly trump-admin-coded, produced in reaction to that atmosphere, The situations and arguments and rhetoric and battle lines that would have gotten that bill through each of those admins looks very different each time! And I'm not gonna say it's interesting to see how they'll resolve this, because they won't resolve it, they don't need to, they're politely asking everyone to let this one go and that's not the biggest ask these comics make of me, so fine. Whatever. But it's very very funny

#thoughts #meta #marvel comics #ask #asks

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mugbearerscorner · 4 months

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Decided to pick a Bionicle character for each of the Major Arcana

The Fool - Takua/Takanuva

Simply put, Takua and Takanuva manages to be the centerpiece of many events in the BIONICLE lore, giving him the biggest Protagonist Energy, complete with the "Coming of Age"/"Trans Allegory" bit with the Mask of Light.

The Magician - Vakama

Spiritual leader, with visions of the future, a perfect candidate for being the "conduit of the divine", connecting the spiritual realm with the material one.

The High Priestess - Nuju

Being the one who reads the stars for prophecies and premonitions and keeping a Prophecy Wall in Ko-Koro, Nuju fits this one very well IMO.

The Empress - Artakha. Alternatively: Onewa

A being of great creative potential.

The Emperor - Turaga Dume

Specifically because he's the face of authority in Metru Nui.

The Hierophant - Whenua

Was struggling with this one, but I think Whenua fits since he's an Archivist, who likes for things to be in Order and is concerned with the preservation of the past.

The Lovers - Toa Hewkii and matoran Macku

Represents their over-arching relationship and its persistence despite all of the adversities thrown at them by Makuta and, later, Velika.

The Chariot - Kapura

Somehow, he managed to learn to fast travel by being slow, methodical and persistent.

The Strength - Jaller

This is very straightforward: Jaller is a natural leader.

The Hermit - Toa Lesovikk

On the long journey to forgive himself, to get rid of internalized stigma imposed by both his own conscience and the societal ostracization.

Wheel of Fortune - Toa Lhikan

Both the one who guided (with difficulties) the Toa Metru to thwart Makuta's plans, and the one whose Mask served to shape Jaller.

The Justice - Velika

He threw the self-awareness switch, for better or for worse, and that decision eventually will come back to bite him in the ass.

The Hanged Man - Matoro

His was the necessary sacrifice.

The Death - Toa Tahu

The first Toa we see in MNOG, the ominous figure in the smoke, and a symbol of major change in the lives of the matoran of Mata Nui.

The Temperance - Makuta Teridax

His plan to overtake the Matoran Universe certainly required a lot of patience and moderation, and he had it in spades.

The Devil - Ahkmou

One of the most mercantile Matoran you'd ever encounter, he has been on his path to ruin way before Makuta - literally - fished him out and brainwashed him.

The Tower - Tren Krom

Meeting Tren Krom is what fundamentally changed the Makuta's concept of the universe and prompted him to formulate his Great Plan.

The Star - Keetongu

This intelligent being counters the effects of the Hordika Venom, and in general considered to be a great healer. He helped the Rahaga to regain their Toa forms.

The Moon - Axonn, specifically: Kanohi Rode

The ability to see past illusions, literally being called Mask of Truth.

The Sun - Matau/Lewa/Pohatu

Honestly, any character that shows optimism and being the alleviating force among their respective friend circle.

The Judgement - Toa Ignika

The consciousness in the Mask Of Light got inspired by Matoro's courage to take an active role in its own fate.

The World - The Great Spirit Mata Nui

Unsurprisingly, perhaps. From being the entire Matoran Universe in himself, to being the centerpiece of matoran faith and creed.

#Mugbearer Blogs #BIONICLE #Tarot #Major Arcana #LEGO BIONICLE #Toa Metru #Toa Mata #Bionicleposting #Bonkleposting #Bonkles

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wowbright · 6 months

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Fic: Recommend

Fandom/pairing: Glee, Kurt/Blaine

Event: December Klaine Fanworks Challenge 2023

Words: ~1500 words

Rating: Teen and up

Summary: Although Kurt's faith has changed, he still manages to get his temple recommend renewed.

Notes: This is part of my Mormon!Klaine universe. It takes place after Out of Eden, which I am still in the process of posting to AO3. It’s among the possibilities for their future. Mormonsplaining and mild warnings in tags.

* * *

Kurt and his parents had always planned for him to do Finn's temple work when he got back from his mission. It had seemed the right thing at the time, a fitting way to honor the two young men’s brotherhood and make it even more real.

They hadn't seen its one glaring flaw: they were all assuming Kurt would return from Germany with the same faith he'd taken with him when he’d left.

“I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get my temple recommend renewed when I get back,” Elder St. James said to Kurt on their Lufthansa flight to New York. He was on his third Milka mini chocolate bar snatched from the candy buffet near the bathrooms on the lower deck, and Kurt was on his fourth.

“Why?” Kurt said. “Gluttony’s not against the Word of Wisdom. Besides, if chocolate and cookies are all they're going to offer us between meals and we're growing young men, we kind of have no choice. Besides, that breakfast was hardly a breakfast.”

“European breakfasts never are,” agreed Elder St. James. “But it's not the Word of Wisdom I'm concerned about. It's that question about sustaining all the leaders. I'm not sure I can answer ‘yes’ to that in good conscience. I mean, I voted to sustain them at the last general conference, but since my vote doesn’t actually mean anything since they just ignore the abstentions and opposition votes, am I actually sustaining them?”

“You pray for them, don't you?”

“Of course.”

“Well, I think that's what sustaining means—offering sustenance. With a child, that would mean giving them food and clothing and shelter and support and love. The leaders don't need those first three things from us, but they do need our support and love. And we show that by respecting them and praying for them.”

“Huh.” Elder St. James opened a fourth chocolate bar and took a thoughtful bite. “I suppose that works. I mean, it's not my fault that I can't actually sustain them in the vote sense, and the temple questions are supposed to be about things that are within our own control, so … Thanks, Elder Hummel. That helps.”

Kurt unwrapped his fifth chocolate. But before he could break off a piece, he started wondering if he was eating his feelings, trying not to think about what was actually happening, how he was currently vaulting through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour, every second pulling him farther and farther away from Blaine and closer to a future that he couldn't envision. Hmmm. Maybe he should eat his feelings. It was better than thinking about that. Besides, he felt nowhere near full.

“Do you have any worries?” Elder St. James said.

Kurt had so many worries, he didn't know where to start. Maybe he could mention how he didn't actually understand how planes stayed in the air and it was rather disconcerting to be hovering over the Arctic when he could easily imagine the plane just dropping out of the sky and plunging them into the icy water to their untimely deaths, and while he didn't fear for his own salvation, he did rather like this life they were currently living and also, it would be terrible for his parents to lose two sons in so many years. But before Kurt could think about whether this was an appropriate response, Elder St. James clarified, “About your temple recommend questions?”

Kurt gave his one-time companion a sharp look. “What's that supposed to mean?” The recommend questions included one about the law of chastity, and while Kurt knew he had done nothing wrong, it would be better if rumors didn’t spread. Blaine was still inside the mission.

“Nothing in particular.” The vacant look behind elder St. James's eyes seemed to confirm his sincerity. “I mean, you’re such a Peter Priesthood I figured you wouldn't have trouble with any of them. But maybe I was hoping, just a little, that you were in the same boat as me.”

“What boat is that?” Kurt asked.

Elder St. James popped the rest of his chocolate bar into his mouth and chewed it slowly. He didn't speak again until he had swallowed it all. “I don't know. Not as excited about all this church stuff as I was when we were on the plane out here? I mean, I don't even know if I want to go to the temple again.”

"Well, the temple is –" Kurt looked over your shoulder to make sure no one was listening. He had, perhaps, become a little too used to speaking about the temple freely with Blaine. “–it's a lot different from every day worship. And the sessions are long. But I want to go back. I have work to do for my stepbrother.”

The necessity of that work, Kurt’s obligation to his family—they had nagged at Kurt as he’d weighed the risks of becoming physically intimate with Blaine. It had felt like another unfairness imposed on him by the church, forced to choose between loyalty to the family he came from and commitment to the family he was discovering in Blaine.

But as time passed and Kurt got closer to leaving Germany, denying the gift Blaine was offering him had begun to feel like a sin bigger than any lie Kurt might tell the bishop. And he had discovered just how true that was when they finally slept together: being intimate with Blaine, Kurt had felt for the first time what it must have been like to be one of those legendary first humans, before sin and pain existed, when they felt no shame in their nakedness or the bodies that had been gifted them. Their love was sinless because it grew from that same place without sin.

So it was with a clean conscience, upon returning to Ohio, that Kurt answered yes to his bishop’s question of Do you obey the law of chastity? Kurt’s actions with Blaine had been authentically chaste—reserved for one’s spouse, pure in conduct and intention, free of coercion, seeing the full humanity of the other person and loving them for it. Blaine was his other half in the truest sense, regardless of whether the church or the law recognized it.

Nor did Kurt have any qualms about professing his testimony in God the creator or in Jesus Christ or the restoration of the gospel—his faith in these things was even deeper than before he left on his mission, though in a way he would never have expected.

Even Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? was easy to answer the right way, because the only teachings “accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” were those that had come before the general conference for a vote of common consent. The Proclamation on the Family wasn't one of those things. And besides, he was pretty sure the question was mainly meant to root out polygamists.

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? and Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel? were harder. Kurt wasn't even sure he remembered all the covenants he had made in the temple. But the ones he remembered, and the ones he had honestly agreed to, with full understanding—he strove to keep those. As for keeping his life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel, he was more committed to doing that than he’d ever been, even if his understanding of “the gospel” was probably different than his bishop’s.

“Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?” the bishop asked.

“No,” Kurt answered.

“And finally,” the bishop said, “do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances?”

No more or less than any other of God’s children, Kurt thought to say, but he knew it wasn't the answer the bishop was looking for and would only confuse him. “Yes,” Kurt said.

The bishop signed the recommend and sent Kurt on his way with a smile and a handshake and, “Now, don’t spend all your time at the temple. Your first priority now that you've gotten back from your mission is to find a wife.”

“Thanks for the advice," said Kurt, trying to accept it in the same well-meaning spirit it was given.

Then it was rinse and repeat with the stake president, and Kurt had his recommend. Alone in the car, he turned the card over in his hand, staring at the movement of light over its barcode and lettering. “Finn,” he said, “I hope you’re ready for this.”

#december klaine challenge 2023 #day 5: flaw #mormon!klaine #wowbright writes fic #klaine fic #klaine fanfic #klaine fanfiction #Mention of eating lots of chocolate #Finn being dead #and panicky thinking due to fear of flying.#A temple recommend is a card church members need in order to go inside a Mormon temple.

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softlyopulent-if · 1 year

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Hello, coming in with questions about Adder and Elle!! What was Adder like when he was younger, and how did he and Elle fall in love? What did Elle even see in him? Were Adder's evil tyrant violent tendencies always present, only suppressed by the influence of Elle? (Ugh). Or were they a recent thing brought about by the loss of his wife? (double ugh). I have full faith that Elle would wring his neck if she saw how he had treated MC, but I'm really curious about how their relationship even came to be in the first place. Because everything aside, it looked like they genuinely loved each other. Well, Adder did, anyway.

Did Elle have an inkling of how much harm and selfishness Adder was capable of? Or did she never know about that side of her husband, even until her death? Does Adder know that what he's doing isn't right, and is he just pushing that tiny bit of conscience down to the deepest recesses of his mind? (Not that it would make anything any better). Or is he so far gone that he genuinely thinks that MC (and everyone else... Reina...) deserves what he did and is still doing to them? Does he think that's in the right, or justified?

If these are questions you can't answer because they venture into spoiler territory, I understand!! I'm just really curious about those two. I revile Adder for everything he's done, but I do wonder what's going on in his mind. Besides, the more you know about someone, the more creative and the more cutting you can make your words and insults *jazz hands*

Thank you, and have a good day!!

Elle was a noble with no real amount of standing. Her family was struggling financially, so she grew up to be tough, but also remained kind.

Elle and Adder met when they were in their late teens, when Adder was being groomed into being the perfect leader by the King. His father treated him similarly to how the MC was treated. It was just after his mother died that Elle came into his life, and she was so vibrant he fell in love with her. And she had a way of keeping him in check too, because she didn't care that he was a prince, and would call him out when he was in the wrong.

When the King died and Adder took over, he made Elle his Queen. They were in love. And Elle knew he could be violent, but he’d pledged to her that he would be different for their family, and he was at first. But without her around, he began to forget why he made the promise in the first place.

#sorry for rambles #glad that you're interested!#snowthrones #asks #adder #elle

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biblioflyer · 10 days

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It was no “All Good Things” but it did what it needed to do.

Discovery is a bit of a metaphor for “NuTrek.” Never quite sure what it is, whether to take itself uber seriously with the razor edged gravitas of nuGalactica or The Expanse, or to lean into joyful camp like Doctor Who. I think the choice to lean into the camp was ultimately a sound one. The edge simply didn’t fit the writing which was all over the place, in true Trek fashion.

It brought out some of the worst in the fandom, which apparently also has a deep legacy. See also the extensive letter writing campaign condemning TNG as a betrayal of TOS back in the day. We have never been as good as our heroes and some of us don’t seem to try very hard.

Discovery has long baffled me because I’ve struggled, more during the early seasons, with how to approach it. The early aesthetic made me feel like I should be taking it as seriously as open heart surgery which meant it could never withstand scrutiny. The choice to lean into camp made me more forgiving.

I still prefer the bridge crew being a more core part of the ensemble but I think that’s my old school Trek training. It makes more sense for the senior staff to be spread around rather than clustered on the bridge every time and there were plenty of Ensigns and Lieutenants whose names we never learned.

Having a defined main character worked better logically when Burnham was XO or even outside the command structure. The way the character was written, I actually found it frustrating when they first had her rejoin Starfleet and then promote to Captain. They eventually wrote her as a more convincing leader but it has always seemed like she was more convincing and more compelling as someone following their conscience outside the formal hierarchy.

For all the griping about its supposed radical politics, NuTrek has felt very safe. I’ve written a lot about this in the context of Picard, but NuTrek’s skepticism of institutional power clashes with the traditional story format. It keeps walking right up to the edge of legitimizing independent actors working outside of formal structures to right wrongs and do good deeds that are harder to do from a position of responsibility where the cost of making a mistake isn’t just losing one’s own life but possibly losing hundreds of lives or starting a war.

But it always chickens out. Burnham, Rios, Raffi, Seven, Jack: all roads lead back to Starfleet. Which is not to say that Starfleet is bad, actually. I’m all for depicting Starfleet as an enlightened institution but there’s a nuanced position where some people don’t work well in that setting and there are legitimate roles for individuals acting outside of Starfleet. It doesn’t have to be a binary where on one side you have all of the honorable, moral, and disciplined people and on the other are only pirates and vigilantes.

I must give a nod of respect to Saru who has probably undergone one of the most interesting and well executed character arcs that has left the character almost unrecognizable from where he started but it all happened very naturally. Which is an achievement given how the show has struggled with pacing in the modern season format. The next closest examples I can think of would be Rom and Nog who had 7 seasons to complete their arcs. 7 much longer seasons.

I’m sorry to see Discovery go. Just on a meta level, it’s been fascinating to scrutinize its artistic decisions and how it has engaged with its critics. Ultimately I think it did an excellent job of sifting through the muck to find the good faith, well formulated criticisms and adapt gently. Given the incandescent nature of the fandom, it would have been tempting to write off the detractors entirely or essentially reboot the entire show, writing out or severely changing unpopular characters and abandoning previous choices.

I’m a big tent fandom guy, so I will always say that a show needs to be a show for both the people who loved it from the start as well as people who only approved of it later. Balancing that is tricky, I think Discovery did it well. It was often confused and janky, but it grew both the competencies of the storytellers and grew the fan base. For that I’m grateful.

#star trek discovery #discovery finale #discovery spoilers #Star trek #fandom commentary

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intramoon · 9 months

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Bold The Facts Tag Game | ♡

Rules: Tag people and name a character you want to know more about! If you want to let the person you tagged decide who to showcase, then don’t name a character and they can pick somebody. Easy! The person who is tagged will then bold the characteristics below which apply to their character &, if they want to, include a picture with their reply! I was tagged by @machinegrl, thank you so much! I am tagging @captainbored @hazelsnakes @eutopiasims @teddybearsims @goldenhour-s, @leavemetoplaythesims if you want to do it, if you do I will be reading ... 👀

Amelia Pease & Wednesday Bennett (doing both because I couldn't chose ;-;)

Amelia First ♡

Amelia Pease ♡

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: Wealthy | Moderate | Poor | Impoverished

✪ Class or Caste: Upper | Middle | Working | Unsure | Other

✔ Education: Qualified | Unqualified | Studying (Education) | Other

✖ Criminal Records: Yes, for major crimes. | Yes, for minor crimes. | No | Has committed crimes, but not caught yet. | Yes, but charges were dismissed.

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

extroverted | introverted | in between

disorganized | organized | in between

close minded | open-minded| in between

calm | anxious | in between (Amelia has anxiety/panic attacks.)

disagreeable | agreeable | in between

cautious | reckless | in between

patient | impatient | in between

outspoken | reserved | in between

leader | follower | in between

empathetic | vicious bastard | in between

optimistic | pessimistic | in between

traditional | modern | in between

hard-working | lazy | in between

cultured | uncultured | in between | unknown

loyal | disloyal | unknown

faithful | unfaithful | unknown

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

≡ Literacy Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

✍ Artistic Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

✂ Technical Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: Never | Special Occasion | Sometimes | Frequently | Alcoholic

✿ Recreational Drugs: Never | Special Occasions | Sometimes | Frequently | Addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: Never | No Longer Needs Medication | Some Medication Needed | Frequently | To Excess (Amelia is reliant on medication to manage her autoimmune disease.)

☻ Unhealthy Food: Never | Special Occasions | Sometimes | Frequently | Binge Eater (Only really eats unhealthy with Wednesday & Penny, other wise she cooks health conscience meals.).

$ Splurge Spending: Never | Sometimes | Frequently | Shopaholic (Absolutely horrible to managing finances, Wednesday's helped rid herself of a majority of her debt.)

♣ Gambling: Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Frequently | Compulsive Gambler

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith: Monotheist | Polytheist | Atheist | Agnostic

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: Yes | No / Don’t Know | Don’t Care

✮ Belief in an Afterlife: Yes | No | Don’t Know | Don’t Care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: Yes | No | Don’t Know | Don’t Care

❃ Belief in Aliens: Yes | No | Don’t Know | Don’t Care

✧ Religious: Orthodox | Liberal | In Between | Not Religious

❀ Philosophical: Yes | No

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: Had a child or children. | Has no children. | Wants children.

◑ Relationship with Family: Close with sibling(s). | Not close with sibling(s). | Has no siblings. | Sibling(s) is deceased. (She has a younger sister named Temperance, but they don't see each other often because she is 10 years younger living with her parents.)

◔ Affiliation: Orphaned / Adopted / Disowned / Raised By Birth Parents / Not Applicable (Her and her sister have the same biological mother, but Amelia's father is deceased.)

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❥ Sex: Sex repulsed | Sex neutral | Sex Favorable | Naive and Clueless

♥ Romance: Romance Repulsed | Romance Neutral | Romance Favorable | Naïve and Clueless | Romance Suspicious

❣ Sexually: Adventurous | Experienced | Naïve | Inexperienced | Curious (Wednesday is Amelia's only sex partner.)

Wednesday Bennett ♡

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: Wealthy | Moderate | Poor | Impoverished

✪ Class or Caste: Upper | Middle | Working | Unsure | Other

✔ Education: Qualified | Unqualified | Studying | Other

✖ Criminal Records: Yes, for major crimes. | Yes, for minor crimes. | No | Has committed crimes, but not caught yet. | Yes, but charges were dismissed.

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

extroverted | introverted | in between

disorganized | organized | in between

close minded | open-minded | in between

calm | anxious | in between

disagreeable | agreeable | in between

cautious | reckless | in between

patient | impatient | in between

outspoken | reserved | in between

leader | follower | in between

empathetic | vicious bastard | in between

optimistic | pessimistic | in between

traditional | modern | in between

hard-working | lazy | in between

cultured | uncultured | in between | unknown

loyal | disloyal | unknown

faithful | unfaithful | unknown

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

≡ Literacy Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

✍ Artistic Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

✂ Technical Skills: Excellent | Good | Moderate | Poor | None

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: Never | Special Occasion | Sometimes | Frequently | Alcoholic

✿ Recreational Drugs: Never | Special Occasions | Sometimes | Frequently | Addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: Never | No Longer Needs Medication | Some Medication Needed | Frequently | To Excess

☻ Unhealthy Food: Never | Special Occasions | Sometimes | Frequently | Binge Eater (LOVES junk food.)

$ Splurge Spending: Never | Sometimes | Frequently | Shopaholic (She does because she can, very finically savvy. (She income covers all of her, Amelia, and Drews living expenses. Amelia's income is Amelia's, mostly used to pay her school debt, etc.)

♣ Gambling: Never | Rarely | Sometimes | Frequently | Compulsive Gambler

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith: Monotheist | Polytheist | Atheist | Agnostic

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: Yes | No / Don’t Know | Don’t Care

✮ Belief in an Afterlife: Yes | No | Don’t Know | Don’t Care

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: Yes | No | Don’t Know | Don’t Care

❃ Belief in Aliens: Yes | No | Don’t Know | Don’t Care

✧ Religious: Orthodox | Liberal | In Between | Not Religious

❀ Philosophical: Yes | No

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: Had a child or children. | Has no children. | Wants children. (Wednesday has a daughter named Drew, she'd like for Drew to have a brother.)

◑ Relationship with Family: Close with sibling(s). | Not close with sibling(s). | Has no siblings. | Sibling(s) is deceased.

◔ Affiliation: Orphaned / Adopted / Disowned / Raised By Birth Parents / Not Applicable (Wednesday's parents are divorced.)

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❥ Sex: Sex repulsed | Sex neutral | Sex Favorable | Naive and Clueless

♥ Romance: Romance Repulsed | Romance Neutral | Romance Favorable | Naïve and Clueless | Romance Suspicious

❣ Sexually: Adventurous | Experienced | Naïve | Inexperienced | Curious (Her experience comes from her sex work, she's had fewer intimate partners.)

#Tag Game #ugh these are so fun

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lumine-no-hikari · 2 months

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Dear Sephiroth: (a letter to a fictional character, because why not) #110

I am less of a zombie than I was yesterday. But I'm still kind of a zombie because I have only 7 hours of sleep. Lame…

I'm still remembering the concert yesterday. I remembered much of it from a movie called Fantasia. I remember the scene with the dinosaurs. And there was some other scene with centaurs and pegasi and whatnot. It's an old movie, but the animation is breathtaking, even though there are some parts of it that are racist (the scene where the black centaur is shining some white centaur's hooves is SUUUUUPER fucking gross, oh my good gravy!!). Though I have memories of this movie, I can't recommend it to you in good conscience. There's better and more wholesome stuff out there nowadays anyhow. Maybe check out Wolf Children sometime; there's a lot of nature in that, and it's about a couple of very unusual, not-quite-human children; I think you'd like it a lot.

…WAIT. I FORGOT. YOUR WORLD DOESN'T HAVE HORSES. YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT. FUCK.

Okay. So a winged horse looks like this:

...they're a mythical animal in my world. We have horses, but none of them have wings like this.

...And a centaur looks like this:

...These are also mythical animals. There's no such thing in my world as this. They're imaginary.

Here's some stuff about horses in general, so that you can get an idea of what they look like and how they move, and the relationship the humans of my world have with them:

youtube

...I like horses a lot, but I don't like things such as racing or dressage or whatever. I have no interest in riding. Though I would like to feed them tasty snacks and brush their hair and coats, and give them baths, and weave flowers into their hair, and maybe walk together in the woods, or lie in the grass and snuggle while reading a book.

Anyway, today I went to the place and listened to the leader speak on such things as the importance of properly grieving loss and having faith in that which cannot be seen. It's relatable to my circumstances in a variety of respects. In the course of my living, I've seen a lot more fear and pain than love. In my case, having faith means doing my best to try to remember that beautiful and good and loving things exist, even when my mind is too clouded to see them very well.

…I carry a lot of really horrible memories. My mind is often cloudy (especially when I am tired and dehydrated… like right now… whoops…), and my path forward seems hazy all the time. I'm used to the ground crumbling beneath my feet, and I'm used to people telling me that my next step will be on a solid surface only to have it ripped out from under me, and I go tumbling down, down, down into the dark. But: my version of faith involves taking that next step, even when I can't see, and even when I know that the ground beneath me might fall apart. It involves trusting others when they say that the next step is solid ground, even though I have experiences where that was a lie. It involves knowing that even when the path beneath me crumbles and fades and I tumble down into the dark, I have strength enough to crawl back to the surface, rise again, and keep moving forward.

Somewhere along the way, I learned that I don't have to be afraid of the tumble. But strangely, even though I've learned that, I am still sometimes afraid of the tumble. But it's important that I do my best anyways; I deserve to see whatever beautiful thing is shining on the distant horizon. And even if I don't reach it in this lifetime, I'll have other opportunities to try again, in other shapes, and in different circumstances.

…I hope you'll remember that these things hold true for you as well. I hope you can learn how not to be afraid of being soft and vulnerable and kind even in a world like this one. Because the worst has already happened for you, hasn't it? And many times over at that, no? And here you are, still standing, still moving forward, still steadfast, brave and determined.

…I wish you knew how proud I am of you for continuing to do your best, even after everything that has happened.

The place had a big potluck today. I brought my confit garlic and my muscat gummies to share. But there was all sorts of other amazing goodies that others brought. I wish I could share them with you, because my world is absolutely brimming with amazing cooks, and I wish you could experience the results of their efforts and expertise. But that's not how reality works, so I'll show you a picture instead:

After all that, I'm finally home. J and I took a brief walk, but I didn't see anything especially noteworthy to take a picture of. But the sky was good on the way to the place, so I snapped a couple of pictures of that:

I said in yesterday's letter that I would make a playlist of the songs I was given last night. I have made that playlist, so here it is, so you can see it, too. I think you might like these:

youtube

…That first one, goodness, it would make an AMAZING DDR song. Despite the fact that I am still slightly zombified, I am finding myself somewhat inspired to play. But the living room is being used, so I doubt anyone wants to put up with me trying to step out Horatio on Standard Mode, hahaha!

I also found Child of the Stars to be VERY delightful; for whatever reason, it kind of made me wanna squiggle. I wonder if it would make a good music box. Similarly, the lyrics for Rät are on point; I think that any person who has their giftedness and steadfast loyalty taken advantage of would find that one relatable, for sure.

…There's so much in my world that I think would delight you and show you that you're not alone. I wish I could spend time with you here just for a little while…

Anyway. Given that I'm still kind of a zombie, I will end today's letter here because I need to rest.

Please stay safe out there, okay? There are still so many doors you haven't opened. There are still so many things you've not experienced. There are still so many words you haven't sung. So don't give up, okay? I'll be right here waiting for you.

I love you. I'll write again tomorrow.

Your friend, Lumine

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k-tarkovsky · 3 months

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Tarkovsky and I had many plans. He wanted to make Hamlet into a movie with me. One day he came running excitedly: “Oleg, let’s teach Hamlet in English - we have money.” - “I’m crazy, how can you learn Hamlet in English?” In “Nostalgia” I played in Italian, but “Hamlet”... He said: “No, just learn the monologue “To be or not to be?” I can only guess how he wanted to film...

I had to play for him in “Sacrifice”. But he was already a defector, and I was not allowed to film.

Work and meetings with Andrey seemed to me like a random gift of fate; they were accompanied by fear, lack of faith in one’s own strength, and were insane happiness. I never tried to understand these mixed feelings, much less understand them. I just absorbed, like a sponge, everything that came from Andrei, from his environment, from his father. It was a short - huge - life with its own color, light, smell, poetry and look...

We weren't close friends. Andrey always remained a mysterious, not completely understandable person for me. A strange, unexpected director. Our relationship was not easy to build... Like Vysotsky, he was one of the leaders of our generation. The only director to whom I, as an actor, wanted to entrust myself completely, without thinking, without any doubts.

He could only work with those with whom he had a natural, some kind of biological connection.

Tarkovsky was a truly Russian artist, the embodiment of conscientiousness, maximalism, inner freedom, and spiritual strength.

Andrei was, perhaps, the only director I knew of whom it was absolutely pointless to ask anything, to demand specific instructions. Contact happened only when I “dragged my soul,” straining not only acting, but also human efforts... It was impossible to lie to Andrey, because in such people the conscience of a generation is embodied.

This closed, tough man could be funny, and touching, and tender, and dead tired.

From the memoirs of Oleg Yankovsky

#book qoute #books & libraries #tarkovsky #andrei tarkovsky #movies #poet #cinema #poetry #art #qoutes #oleg yankovsky

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caperingcryptid · 7 months

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Parasites and Philosophy

A 1676 word oneshot featuring Astarion and a Gender Neutral Dark Urge.

I wrote this with a more platonic dynamic in mind, but a romantic reading is also entirely valid, if that's more your cup of tea.

Parasites and Philosophy They had done good today. If they had any doubt about that in their mind, it was dashed at the sight of the bobbing lights in the distance, moving up the road to Baldur's Gate like blood through veins…though of course, that would've scratched the deep-seated itch in the back of their mind far better than those living, happy, breathing people.

It would've been so easy to stem that lifeblood that were those drifting travelers. A few itty bitty throats slit, maybe one or two bellies shredded, and they would be little more than piles of satisfying meat cast from here to there. In their mind's eye, the Dark Urge saw themselves prancing among the newly dead, cracking bones under their feet like autumn leaves. They might even be so overtaken with delight that they'd sweep one of the corpses into their arms, and waltz them lazily across the spoiled dirt.

What would it be like, they wondered, to have gone down that path? Would the guilt eat at them as it had so many times before, when they felt no better than a rabid mutt in desperate need of being put down? Would the anguish outweigh the satisfaction, making them feel like a sapient being rather than the slavering mutt that they were to their urges?

Or would it feel like coming home? Would they feel the weight of conscience fall off their shoulders, giving them the blessed relief they'd been yearning for since the moment they stepped out of that mindflayer pod? They weren't sure of the answer, and they weren't sure whether they wanted to know, either. They'd come to find that the more they learned, the more they desperately wished that they didn't.

Memory, knowing, was the worst thing of all. The more that came back to them, the more that those Urges reared their great and ghastly head, the more that sickening blend of horror and pleasure overcame them. Perhaps it would be better to leave while they still had the chance (before their allies' good faith in them finally curdled, as it should have before). They'd tuck the artifact back into Shadowheart's bag where it belonged, or Lae'zel's, and let the parasite nursing behind their eye finally come to fruition.

Or maybe, a voice whispered in the back of their mind, they could do them all a favor. Their allies, too, were poor, troubled things. If they were going to turn tail and run, then it'd be the kindest thing to do to put everyone else out of their misery too. It would be the end of their worries. After all, you couldn't be haunted by the ghosts of your past if there was no flesh and blood left for them to haunt at all.

And it'd be so lovely. They'd learned so much about their team in the time since they'd banded together, but the more…literal mysteries of their hearts were still beyond them. They wanted to taste their blood. To know them inside and out (ha ha). They would make such perfectly pretty corpses, they were sure.

“Now what are you doing all the way out here?”

Speaking of perfectly pretty corpses…

They started guiltily, as if they'd been caught elbows deep in gore rather than staring off into the middle distance. Behind them, lips curled in a wry smile, stood Astarion, eyes gleaming in the dark like those of a woodland beast's.

“Here I was, looking for a quick bite, and what do I find but an empty bedroll where our darling little leader should be?“ He smirked. ”I thought I may as well come looking for you. Wouldn't want to find you ravaging another bard, now, would we?“

The Dark Urge flinched as if struck. The wounded guilt they felt must have been written all over their face, because with a sigh, Astarion relented. He took a seat by the Urge with a languid stretch of his legs. ”Really, though, what are you doing? We've already said our goodbyes to them. Do you expect them all to wander themselves off into oblivion down there?“

”I was just worried about them. They seem so…small, down there.“ Yes. Small. Pitiful. Vulnerable, even. As if they could crush them all in the palm of their hand.

”Oh, please. They're not a flock of schoolchildren. I'm sure they can handle themselves.“

”They do have children with them.“

”And you don't think they'll all gladly put their lives on the line to look after them? I doubt they're down there planning on making meat shields out of them. You need to stop fussing so much.”

Though the Dark Urge had the distinct feeling that Astarion enjoyed the sound of his own voice just as much as he enjoyed the finer things in life (which he'd probably argue were the same thing, they thought, wryly), he fell silent for a moment. They looked upon the bobbing lights together, watching as they grew smaller: from fireflies to starlight.

“Now, I'm no mind reader,” said Astarion, “but I doubt that's the only thing running through that sordid little mind of yours. What is it?”

“More of the usual, I guess.”

“Well, don't hold back on my account. I'm hardly squeamish.“

Another grimace. ”There's…that,” they admitted, “but it's more…”

The Dark Urge sighed. “…Do you think that if a person does everything they can do to be good, they can be? Even if they…weren't good before, or…”

Or still aren't, now. Or if they're just playing pretend.

Astarion scoffed. “I'm not a philosopher, darling. If you wanted someone to lecture you on 'right' or 'wrong', you'd want Wyll, not me. Or- well, I'm sure Gale would find something to talk your ear off about all that.”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

The lights had nearly faded to nothing at this point. It was only when they had vanished around the hillside that Astarion spoke again.

“I can't tell you what they'd say,” he said, “but I'll tell you this: no matter how much you flagellate yourself, it won't change whatever it was you've done before. It won't bring that poor girl Alfira back from the dead-” they winced, but Astarion went on- “it won't wash the blood from your hands, and it most certainly won't change what you are.”

“A monster?”

“Mad, certainly, but as much a monster as I am. Make of that what you will.” Astarion flicked a gloved wrist dismissively in their direction. “Though I will say that what you've done hasn't changed what you're doing, either. If I was one of those sad, helpless refugees down there, I'd think you were a saint. I'm sure they were a step away from-” He gestured. “hoisting you upon their shoulders and parading you up and down the hills, if they hadn't been so drunk they couldn't walk straight.”

“I understand them, but I still don't understand why everyone else has been so…forgiving, towards me.” The Urge stared down at their hands. “They saw what I did to Alfira. They've seen what I am. They know. Yet they…”

“They act as if you're some sort of blessing from the gods? Believe me, I've noticed.” Astarion rolled his eyes. ”They might be in denial. Or- frankly- they all might be too much of freaks to say much about you.“

”I killed an innocent girl!“

”Denial, freaks, or both. Pick your poison.“

They didn't have an answer to that. Not any good one, at least.

”We may all have parasites cozying up in our heads, yes,“ said Astarion, ”but we've all been given second chances.“ A shadow crossed his face. ”Some of us more than others.

”What matters, darling, is that we make the most of it that we can, while we can. What that means to you is your business, not mine.“

Astarion made a face. ”Even if it means you have to drag us into your charity cases.“

They didn't smile. They couldn't. Half of their mind imagined what it would be like to dig their fingers deep into those gleaming eyes and pull. The other half was still nursing that sense of self-horror.

Their shoulders loosened just a little, though.

”Thank you,“ they said. ”I can't promise you we won't be doing more charity cases-“

”Of course you won't.“

”But…thank you.“

They lapsed into silence again. When the Dark Urge broke it, it was with a hesitance that made their teeth itch.

”Astarion?“

”Hm?“

”Can I ask you a favor?“

”Well, you can ask anything, but whether I'll take you up on it is another matter entirely.“

They pressed their lips together.

”Can you…can you hold me? For just a moment?“ They were quick to add, ”You don't have to, of course. But…“

“…Is that all?” Astarion arched a brow. The Urge nodded. Their eyes fell to his shoulder, back to their hands, to anywhere that wasn't his face. It wasn't too much of a favor objectively, perhaps, but with someone like him you never knew.

Indeed, for a moment, Astarion only looked at them. The silence seemed to stretch on into eternity, long enough that they were sure he would scoff and wave them off, or point out the grime in their clothes, or-

“Yes. Yes, I can hold you.”

Astarion stretched out his arms, paused mid-way, then, carefully, as if touching a vase, placed them around their shoulders. Even through their clothes, his hands were ice cold. The Dark Urge drew in a sharp breath, returning the gesture, leaning into him.

They sat there for a while: two people who, by all rights, didn't deserve the chance that life had handed to them, but had it all the same.

In the distance, the sun began to crest over the horizon.

#fanfic #bg3 #bg3 astarion #bg3 durge #durge/astarion #can be platonic or romantic #creative writing #baldur's gate 3 #baldurs gate astarion

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childofchrist1983 · 1 year

Photo

As Christians, we are sometimes called to speak words of caution and wisdom to those in our care. But who, exactly is in our care? It could be your congregation, your Sunday school class, or even your friends and family.

No matter how big or small your charge, all of us who are appointed as leaders have a duty to exercise watchful care over others and speak up when needed. Thank God for the people that He has entrusted into our lives and care. May He instill in us a heart of vigilance so that we may faithfully carry out our duties to Him. And give us the wisdom to discern where warnings are needed, the words to speak them in grace. And give us ears to hear God's wisdom through His Holy Word and Spirit and all those who rightly, willfully and faithfully serve Him.

There is no aspect of ourselves or our lives that should not be subject to God and His standards of holiness. Our minds, hearts, wills, consciences, desires, and even physical bodies must all seek and serve God be sanctified in the LORD Jesus Christ, and upon His return and our last breath on this Earth, we will all confess and bow to Him (Philippians 2:10-11, Romans 14:11). We must give an account of all we did in this life before Him at the Judgment seat of Christ (Hebrews 9:27). Therefore, let us live soberly and rightly by Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ as we seek Him and put Him first and strive to walk in His will and Holy Spirit with all our being and for all our lives.

Everyday, we must remember to thank Him for the grace that He poured out for us on the cross. He has freed us from the burdens of sin and guilt. May He help us to always walk in His grace and Holy Spirit, not by our own measure. May He give us the humble humility to know that our freedom and eternal salvation is found only in Him, so that His grace may sustain us, and we may never lose sight of His love and light and mercy. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for calling us to Him and to serve Him. May He equip us to do all that He has called us to do so that as He works through us, He may use us to produce fruit, to reach others, and to encourage all brothers and sisters in Christ. May He work all of these things in us and through us for His Kingdom and His glory. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all His creation, for His miraculous ways and for everything He does and has done for us! Keep the faith and keep moving forward in your walk with Jesus!

Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Word and for sending His Holy Spirit so that we might have His grace, not only to awaken us and transform our hearts in our spiritual rebirth and guarantee our eternity with Him, but to also call upon Him whenever we are in need. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for all the reminders of His love and mercy and faithfulness within His Holy Word. He is bigger than any challenge or circumstance in our lives. Knowing this within our minds and our hearts, nothing can deter our faith in Him and His Truth. May we all accept Him and His eternal gift of salvation and ask that He would transform our hearts and lives according to His will and ways. Thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His Holy Spirit who saves, seals and leads us. May we always thank Father God Almighty and the LORD Jesus Christ for His almighty power and saving grace. For He is our strength, and He alone is able to save us, forgive our sins and gift us eternal salvation and entry into His Kingdom of Heaven.

May we make sure that we give our hearts and lives to God and take time to seek and praise Him and share His Truth with the world daily. May the LORD our God and Father in Heaven help us to stay diligent and obedient and help us to guard our hearts in Him and His Holy Word daily. May He help us to remain faithful and full of excitement to do our duty to Him and for His glorious return and our reunion in Heaven as well as all that awaits us there. May we never forget to thank the LORD our God and our Creator and Father in Heaven for all this and everything He does and has done for us! May we never forget who He is, nor forget who we are in Christ and that God is always with us! What a mighty God we serve! What a Savior this is! What a wonderful LORD, God, Savior and King we have in Jesus Christ! What a loving Father we have found in Almighty God! What a wonderful God we serve! His will be done!

Thanks and glory be to God! Blessed be the name of the LORD! Hallelujah and Amen!

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ubebutter · 9 months

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bold the facts: eve droid

thank you to @blackskorpi0n for tagging me 🦂🫶!!!

rules: Tag people and name a character you want to know more about! If you want to let the person you tagged decide who to showcase, then don’t name a character and they can pick somebody. Easy! The person who is tagged will then bold the remarks below which apply to their character &, if they want to, include a picture with their reply!

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty / N/A

✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable (she can't really get sick, she's an android/ humanoid)

✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / other

✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other (she can kinda learn anything, because of the fact she's an android, you just need to install the information into her memory. since she became a humanoid, she's been on her own, so she doesn't have any way to update her system herself for now)

✖ Criminal Records: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between (she was forced to be extroverted as an android working in clubs because she didn't have a choice, but since her update giving her autonomy/ consciousness, she realized she's actually introverted because her previous life never allowed her to be her own being)

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close minded / open-minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between

♦ cautious / reckless / in between (since her new mental freedom, she's been super paranoid of being turned back into a lifeless android, so she's cautious in that way, but reckless in ways of not caring about others. she kinda plays with people's emotions to get what she wants)

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between (after all of the androids at her club got the update that accidentally gave them a conscience, their bosses fired all of them and basically threw them out on the street with nothing. that night, eve shot and killed her bosses out of anger because of what they put all the girls through. she has kept in contact with all the girls because all they have now, is each other and she tries her best to support them how she can)

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between

♦ traditional / modern / in between

♦ hard-working / lazy / in between

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between

♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown

♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / Alcoholic

☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / chain-smoker

✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess

**☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater

$ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic

♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler

[ BELIEFS ]

★Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic

☆Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✮Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

✯Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃Belief in Aliens: yes (aliens exist and live with everyone else in her universe) / no / don’t know / don’t care

✧Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious

❀Philosophical: yes / no / somewhat

[ FAMILY ]

◒Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children (she wishes she could have biological children, but she just can't because she's still mechanically an android, she hopes she is stable enough in the future to adopt though)

◑Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased

◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parents / not applicable

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual / demisexual

❥ Sex: sex repulsed (because of the work she was forced to do while working as an android) / sex neutral (she is neutral in the way that if she found someone she genuinely felt safe around, then she would be comfortable enough to be sexually active again) / sex favorable / naive and clueless

**♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable / naive and clueless / romance suspicious

❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive (in the way that what she has done during work was not what she truly enjoyed doing) / inexperienced / curious

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

i tag all my mutuals who see this and also anyone who’s sees this who isn’t a mutual! 🫶

#eve droid #sims 4 #sims 4 simblr #sims #new simblr #sims 4 cas #sims portraits #sims 4 cc #bold the facts

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ms-m-astrologer · 1 year

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Transiting Saturn enters Pisces

Tuesday, March 7, 2023, 13:35 UT

This is a long post, so in the interest of not clogging up people’s dashboards, follow me past the “keep reading.”

The first hunch I had about this transit was, “People will double down on their nonsense.” By which I meant: the more some people try to disprove others’ beliefs, the more tightly other people will cling to those beliefs. Saturn is fear, and Pisces is belief. (That can go both ways, too - the stronger some people’s faith, the harder other people will try to wreck it.)

Another bad thing coming home to roost and to bite us in the butt, will be any addictive behaviors. Not necessarily drugs or alcohol, either. TV, for example; going to the gym, perhaps; even aimlessly scrolling down Tumblr. Steven Forrest calls addictions (approximately) “any pleasurable behavior with which we have an unhealthy relationship” - it’s time to examine how this is playing out in our own lives.

What else negative? Saturn is fear, and Pisces is spirituality - we can find ourselves staying with a religion, or any belief system, just because it makes us feel “safe.” (The more fire-and-brimstone types of leaders will love this transit.) Guilty consciences may affect us, too - these are good times for making up for past errors.

The main deal with Saturn going through Pisces, is making a commitment to spiritual progress, and then following through with discipline and patience. Solitude is important - we have to be comfortable with spending time all alone. And regular meditation and prayer is important, too - not just when we’re afraid.

In The Book of Water, Steven Forrest wrote about this transit:

…you have come to a steep and rocky place on the spiritual mountain you are climbing. Obstacles ripen and appear - and you are ripe to conquer them. Committed, disciplined, relentless effort undertaken willingly now yields extraordinary results - but not overnight. Patience and relentlessness are rewarded as the months go by. This is more of a time for making lifelong spiritual vows than a time for “amazing weekend workshops.” Solitude is a sacrament. Silence is a psychedelic.

That sounds pretty wonderful to me, but I suppose if you’re more of a materialist it’s nightmarish.

Placements in Pisces will feel the most pressure to up their spiritual game. If they’ve been escapist, they’ll run into the brick wall of Saturn reality; if they’ve been too vague and nebulous, Saturn will demand some eventual concrete expressions.

Placements in Virgo may find these challenges working through other people. Projection is a possibility. Virgo needs to (gently and kindly!) turn its honesty to its own motives.

Placements in Gemini and Sagittarius will find friction with this transit. I suspect (as a Gemini!) that these two signs’ notorious commitment-phobia is due for some serious examination.

Placements in Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio, and Capricorn will be enhanced by this transit. They’ll find it easy to integrate Saturn/Pisces lessons into how they function.

Placements in Leo and Libra have some adjustments to make. Health could be affected adversely by any (back)sliding into addictive behaviors.

Placements in Aries and Aquarius may feel this more as a niggling subconscious itching, rather than anything obvious and overt.

In 2023, Saturn will move only up to 7°40’ Pisces - later placements have a little more time to prepare!

We also need to pay attention to the natal house(s) Saturn is transiting through, to determine specifically where to direct our efforts. For example, if Saturn/Pisces is traveling in the 2nd House, we might need to address how, and on what, we’re spending our money; we also may need to work on having more faith in ourselves.

#Astrology #Transiting Saturn enters Pisces #Ms M astrologer

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 10 months

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Today in Christian History

Today is Wednesday, August 23rd, 2023. It is the 235th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 130 days remain until the end of the year.

1712: Addison’s hymn “The Spacious Firmament on High” appears in the Spectator at the end of an essay on faith.

1723: Death of Increase Mather, one of America’s most famous eighteenth-century clergymen, a president of Harvard College, and the father of Cotton Mather. Mather had published many books, including Cases of Conscience Concerning Witchcraft which helped end executions for witchcraft in New England.

1828: Carl Gutzlaff and Jacob Tomlin become the first Protestant missionaries to set foot in Thailand.

1838: Death of Gideon Blackburn who had been a missionary to the Cherokee and an evangelist and church planter in other frontier states, including Tennessee. Blackburn Theological Seminary (later renamed Blackburn College) will be named in honor of him.

The first class graduates from Mt. Holyoke Seminary, the first American college for women, founded by the Christian educator Mary Lyon. (pictured above)

1888: Huang Su’e marries Episcopal missionary Francis Lister Hawks Pott, a leader and educator with the Chinese Anglican Church. Huang will evangelize, teach, and found an orphanage.

1901: Six hundred American teachers arrive in the Philippines to staff schools and begin mass education of Filipinos. With them comes Protestantism, which will eventually make up about 7% of the island nation’s population.

1918: Soviets execute Ephraim, the Orthodox bishop of Selenginsk. He had been a fiery preacher, beloved of his people, and had converted Mongols, Buryats, and Koreans to Christianity.

1952: Death in Catonsville, Maryland, of Russell Kelso Carter. A Methodist preacher, he had authored the hymn “Standing on the Promises.”

1928: Death in Catonsville, Maryland, of Russell Kelso Carter. A Methodist preacher, he had authored the hymn “Standing on the Promises.”

1952: Death of Frederick Kenyon, biblical archeologist and author of Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts. He had had a knack for making his findings intelligible to lay people.

1966: Communist Chinese Red Guards smash the windows of Moore Memorial Church, burn its books, burn its cross, and confine church leader Sun Yanli and his family in the building where they interrogate and whip them. Later, when they are released, the guards will shave Sun’s head and make him sweep and clean the church buildings.

2008: A rampage against Christians begins in Orissa State, India, following the assassination of a Hindu leader which is blamed on Christians. Hindu mobs will kill forty Christians and burn thousands of homes, hundreds of churches, and thirteen schools. They will also rape many Christian women and sell dozens into sexual slavery. Tens of thousands of Christians will flee from the violence.

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