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stsebastiens · 2 years

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moving forward: a primer for unlearning (and re-learning) your faith

this resource list is based on the last seven years of my life and the media that helped me, personally, reckon with the christian evangelical upbringing that I had. ofc our life experiences are all going to be vastly different, so the tools that helped me may not help you, but i hope this provides at least a place to start.

NONFICTION

Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith – Kathleen Norris

“It seems clear, from reading the daily news if nothing else, that there will always be some in this world who want their holy wars, who will discriminate, vilify, and even kill in the name of God. They have narrowed down the concept of neighbor to include only those like themselves, in terms of creed, caste, race, sex, or sexual orientation. But there is also much evidence that there are many who know that a neighbor might be anyone at all, and are willing to act on that assumption.”

The Genesis Trilogy (And It Was Good, A Stone for a Pillow, Sold Into Egypt) – Madeline L’Engle

“We can recognize the holy good even while we are achingly, fearfully aware of all that has been done to it through greed and lust for power and blind stupidity. We forget the original good of all creation because of our own destructiveness. The ugly fact that evil can be willed for people by other people, and that the evil comes to pass, does not take away our capacity to will good. There may be many spirits abroad other than the Holy Spirit…but they do not make the Holy Spirit less holy. Our paradoxes and contradictions expand; our openness to God’s revelations to us must also be capable of expansion. Our religion must always be subject to change without notice––our religion, not our faith, but the patterns in which we understand and express our faith.”

The Lost Art of Scripture – Karen Armstrong

“In many ways, we seem to be losing the art of scripture in the modern world. Instead of reading it to achieve transformation, we use it to confirm our own views––either that our religion is right and that of our enemies wrong, or, in the case of sceptics, that religion is unworthy of serious consideration…because its creation myths do not concur with recent scientific discoveries, militant atheists have condemned the Bible as a pack of lies, while Christian funadmentalists have developed a “creation science” claiming that the book of Genesis is scientifically sound in every detail.”

Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairy Tale – Frederick Buechner

“For reasons of his own God hides himself from us, but however you account for it, he is often more conspicuous by his absence than by his presence, and his absence is much of what we labor under and are heavy-laden by. Just as sacramental theology speaks of a doctrine of the Real Presence, maybe it should speak also of a doctrine of the Real Absence because absence can be sacramental, too, a door left open, a chamber of the heart kept ready and waiting.”

American Harvest – Marie Mutsuki Mockett

“A writer friend once said to me than in intimacy with another person we build a world. When we lose that person––when they leave us––we lose that beautiful world. This is why breakups can be so devastating and why the death of a beloved is so shattering. It must be like this for someone raised to believe that the house in which they live––the house of God––is stable, only to start to see it as only a mirage. A simulator. How terrifying it is to doubt, to risk losing the entire world.”

FICTION

Gilead – Marylinne Robinson

“So my advice is this––don’t look for proofs. Don’t bother with them at all. They are never sufficient to the question, and they’re always a little impertinent, I think, because they claim for God a place within our conceptual grasp…I’m not saying never doubt or question. The Lord gave you a mind so that you would make honest use of it. I’m saying you must be sure that the doubts and questions are your own, not, so to speak, the mustache and walking stick that happen to be the fashion of any particular moment.”

Transcendent Kingdom – Yaa Gyasi

“At times, my life now feels so at odds with the religious teaching of my childhood that I wonder what the little girl I once was would think of the woman I’ve become…but the truth is I haven’t much changed. I still have so many of the same questions, like ‘Do we have control over our thoughts?’, but I am looking for a different way to answer them. I am looking for new names for old feelings. My soul is still my soul, even if I rarely call it that.”

POETRY

Mary Oliver - Whistling Swans - Franz Marc’s Blue Horses - Drifting - The World I Live In

Christian Wiman – All My Friends are Finding New Beliefs

PODCASTS

Where Do We Go From Here - S3 Ep. 97, “The Quest for Desire” - S3 Ep. 64 “Biblical Womanhood Was Always Cultural Womanhood” - S2 Ep. 23, “Why We Need Touch” - S2 Ep. 22 “I wasn’t Straight, but I Also Wasn’t Gay” - S2 Ep. 17 “Sex is for Wives, Too”

The Church Politics Podcast - “Christendom and the Politics of Christian Self-Interest” - “The Black Panthers, Grace, and the Aesthetic of Justice”

The Rise and Fall of Mars Hill

#ely.txt #idk how to tag this lmao. uhhhhhh #religion #christianity #theology

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hacawijo · 3 years

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Oh YEAH 😂 We’re Allowed to Just Support Our Ships Because We Like Them (Or, some reasons why I WANT Elriel to be endgame)

Tagging alternate ships because I want to hear from others why they love the ships they love!

Last night I asked myself a question I haven’t asked about a ship in a really long time: Why do I ship it (Elriel)?

I think that fans and shippers get so mired in evidence and proving that something will or won’t happen that we forget to sometimes just think about why we are in fact so passionate about the ships we like. Don’t get me wrong, I love evidence and theory and proof and close-reading posts - I’ve made a bunch, I’ll continue to make them, and I love reading them - but I’ve forgotten that it doesn’t always have to be about proving myself right or others wrong or about the great conversations/debates I have with other respectful, whip-smart shippers.

So, this post isn’t really about why I THINK Elriel will happen, it’s about why I WANT Elriel to happen. And I would love to hear the same from others about their own ships (Elriel, Gwynriel, Elucien, Vucien, or otherwise!).

1. As far as I can tell, it’s what the characters want. I really love Elain and Azriel. I think that Elain is different from pretty much every other Maas heroine and I’m always interested to see how she reacts to things. I also admire that she embraces small acts of kindness and thoughtfulness over grand gestures. I think that Elain’s love language is often thankless, and that’s something I want to learn more about. I also love Azriel. I especially love his relationships with Feyre and Nesta, and that, similarly to how I feel about Elain, I’m never exactly sure how he will react to something.

Setting aside those things, and many other little bursts of personality and character that I’ve enjoyed, I also think that both Elain and Azriel have suffered greatly in their lives, and I just want them to be happy. From everything I’ve read, it seems like the thing that is going to make both of them happy is if they are able to spend their lives together as partners.

Don’t get me wrong, I deeply care about Lucien and Gwyn as well (more thoughts on their characters in other posts will be coming). I want Lucien to be chosen and to feel valued and essential to another person’s life, and I want him to have a real home. I want Gwyn to continue to have agency over her life and claim the things she wants to claim (whether they be skills or friendships or recognition or what-have-you). But, as I see it, the scenario in which the most characters whom I love will be happy in the longterm is if Elain and Azriel are together. Which leads me to number...

2. I want Lucien and Gwyn to have their own stories, and as it stands right now, there is no way for Elucien or Gwynriel not to have a bunch of space taken up by Elriel. Angst has been established and it will need to be resolved before any endgames beside Elriel can happen. I don’t want the first half of Elucien or Gwynriel’s story to low-key be about Azriel and Elain. I want Gwyn to avoid that car crash altogether and have something totally new and her own. Obviously it’s more complicated for Lucien - he will be involved in Elriel no matter what because he is Elain’s mate. But from what I can tell, Elain just doesn’t want to be with him, and I don’t believe that Lucien wants someone who doesn’t want to be with him (again, I’m not trying to prove anything in THIS post, this is just what I think based on my readings of the books 🙃).

What’s more, I’m definitely not convinced that Lucien has any feelings for Elain beyond the mating bond - I don’t think they’re compatible. I think Lucien is good at talking to and figuring people out and that he likes to banter and flirt and be in the middle of things. I think it’s possible that pre-cauldron Elain could have vibed with that, but post-cauldron Elain is a different person. She is often content to listen and love and take up her own little corner of the world (and it’s not just being meek, she stands up to Nesta and PROTECTS that little corner of the world when it is threatened both then and when it comes to danger from outside forces). I just think Elain and Lucien would each be happier with someone else, and I think that Elain’s choice should be respected, and it’s pretty clear to me that she’s choosing Azriel right now.

You might be saying that Feysand’s early life was steeped in the angst and resolution of Tamlin and Feyre’s relationship, but here’s why it seems different to me. Feyre and Rhys’s relationship felt so separate from Feyre’s relationship with Tamlin because he was an antagonist in that story. In this case, any kind of love triangle/rhombus/word cloud is going to be tangled and far messier because all of the characters involved are beloved. And, Feysand had 2.5 whole books to build their story - whichever of the couples I’ve just talked about that end up endgame will pretty much only have one book and second- and third-hand hints that range from fairly numerous (Elriel) to hardly developed at all.

3. I want a love that flies in the face of the mating bond. I’m kind of over the mating bond thing. I think that I loved Feysand because Rhys and Feyre grew to love each other alongside their bond. Feyre fell in love with Rhys without knowing that she was his mate, and the mating bond was like a fulfillment of that love, that love was not really a fulfillment of the mating bond. Cassian and Nesta actually feels like a much more traditional mating bond story, in that they were deeply connected from minute one. The angst in that relationship came from Nesta’s inner turmoil and need for growth and independence to know and accept herself.

I’m ready for a bond that doesn’t work! I’m ready for some great people (who are apparently very different from a lot of previous nobility and significant figures in the courts of Prythian when it comes to respecting agency and being kind) who don’t let the cauldron dictate their lives to them. I don’t want to watch Lucien and Elain succumb to the bond, and I don’t really want Azriel to be chosen because of a mating bond with Gwyn. I want him to be chosen above a mating bond. And I want Elain to do the choosing!

4. I want to see Elriel because I think a relationship between them would be wholly different from Feysand and Nessian - and I don’t think that’s as true with Elucien and Gwynriel. I think that Lucien is more similar to Rhys and Cassian attitude-wise than Azriel and I think that Gwyn is more similar to Feyre and Nesta attitude-wise than Elain. I want to read about a love between two people who aren’t sassy and flirty and bold. Not that I don’t LOVE those ships as well, but I like it when Sarah does something a little different. Elorcan, for example, is one of my absolute favorite ships of all-time partially because it feels totally different from everything else in Throne of Glass (albeit in a different way).

I want to see how someone as kind and thoughtful and modest and romantic as Elain handles her intense lust and the massive potential for conflict and harm in pursuing a relationship with Azriel (and to be clear I don’t want to see her treat Lucien like trash, I want to see her use strengths that belong only to her to prevent harm that might have otherwise occurred if the bond was between Lucien and another). I want to see how someone as closed-off, controlled, cynical, and often melancholy as Azriel handles desire that contradicts his loyalties and the qualities on which he prides himself, and how he handles someone who sees him- really sees him, and just makes him un-complicatedly happy.

5. Also, as I said, I’m not going to get far into evidence or proof, but I do think the bread crumbs are pointing toward Elriel, and I do like to be right lol

Thank you for reading, as always I want comments and dialogue and thank you for being fans of these books with me!

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yandereboss · 4 years

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Hi what do u think that Chaldea’s resident Dick Mage (Merlin) would be as a Yandere?

The reason I got into Fgo in the first place! I may not have him in my Chaldea yet but I have the cute Nendoroid of him always staring at me in my room so its fine, ugh.. ;-;

Merlin

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

- He might seem like a simple trickster but he has the potential to be something really awful but in the beautiful wretched kind of way. He’s probably the prettiest looking man I’ve seen anyway.

- He’s been alive for a long time… Stupid hot old man either way he’s now become a spectator along for the ride but when you’re involved it’s a different story.

- When he was younger it hurt realizing no matter what he did events would always turn out the same as what happened in his future sight.

- Might rely too much on visions resulting in constant self-fulfilling prophecy and tragedy to those around him like Artoria. But if the future is already written there’s no point in changing it.

- Will claim to have decided to spend eternity watching humanity until the end of time in the tower of Avalon but it was the Lady of the Lake who trapped him there.

- Runs away from his problems a lot. Merlin is afraid of feeling betrayed and thrown away again…

- Is somewhat touch starved so he enjoys contact with his beloved significant other.

- Fate’s decided you were meant to be his for a long time god knows how long he’s been watching you. The first ever thing he saw a glimpse of the future of was you.

- Spending years in that tower have let his small infatuation grow and fester like an open wound turning into obsession.

- That or you’re the anomaly he can’t let go. The one person he can’t see the future of so that’s why you have to stay with him. You’re proof of walking free will he secretly hopes is real.

- Well with his future vision there’s no getting away if he’s able to always see your next move. In situations clairvoyance doesn’t work he’s extra careful and clingy.

- Horny constantly 3/5 of the time, the other 2/5 moments he keeps his thirstiness to himself but then his hands will be all over you.

- Merlin is a very complex and contradicting person. There are parts of his human and demon heritage he hates. Like he enjoys having magic and being better than a normal person but he’s repulsed by feral demon instinct that clouds his judgment and human emotions that get in the way.

- Very gropey but means his best this kind of human expression love that isn’t lust is new to him. His human emotions are usually repressed but when around you they come out at full force.

- Being a love interest also means being a food source. As part incubus he lives off of eating human emotions. He can’t help himself you just taste too good!

- Unfortunately its like a drug. If you somehow find a way to escape he’ll go through withdrawal other people just can’t compare.

- Soon his image of being a wise otherworldly mage falls apart. He’s desperate enough to get you back that he won’t care to put up the effort of maintaining his usual glamour charms.

- Its hard to stay collected when he’s basically starving so it drives him to become feral enough that he’s stuck running around looking more devilish and wild than usual.

- When he finds you your in for a really long night together. Your punishment will be deep bite marks and being unable to move in the morning. It will be awhile before Merlin can think clearly and not be driven by instinct.

- Poor boy won’t admit it but he’s also insecure of his demon features. It’s why you won’t see him walking around with a pair of horns or a tail he may or maynot have.

- Certain parts of his body are especially sensitive. Pet him enough and he’ll purr like a cat. After all he and his familiar Cath Palug were once one in the same.

- Isn’t embarrassed by nsfw but a simple romantic gesture like holding his hand will make him blush. A field of flowers will bloom in response to the sudden warmness in his chest. Flower crowns for days!

- Man is dummy thicc, there’s a ripped and hot bod under all those long robes he wears.

- It’s nearly impossible but if something gets him annoyed his cute elf-like ears will twitch.

- Your never going to go a second without him. He’ll always be present in any dream you have and follow you everywhere wether you like it or not.

#yandere x reader #yandere merlin #yandere Merlin x reader #Yandere Fgo #yandere headcanon

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themattress · 3 years

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Holy Shit!

https://imgur.com/gallery/WKkli

https://imgur.com/gallery/j9OQylb

Beyond the proof that the guy who uploaded this is involved with Bad Robot that he provided at the end of his second post, these definitely seem legit because the first post was in 2018, before The Rise of Skywalker came out, yet the treatment contains some blatant concepts that ended up finding there way into that movie that I have a hard time believing anyone but J.J himself could have come up with (plus, the rest of the plot is very J.J-like, as I’ll get into.)

So these definitely seem to be the discarded Episode VIII and IX treatments. Thoughts?

- Luke’s reasons for coming to Ahch-To definitely seem more in line with TFA than in TLJ, seeing as if he wanted to just “go there to die” he wouldn’t have left a freaking map to the place behind, plus it seemed off that someone disillusioned with the Jedi ways would go to the site of the first Jedi Temple to begin with. His portrayal also matches what we saw at the end of TFA (seeming to be in mourning for Han), and fits the “kind but sad” description from the script. And far from cutting himself off from the Force, Luke has been influencing it from afar as part of his grand plan, explaining Rey’s vision when she touched his lightsaber.

- Luke has a wife and kids! Sadly for EU fans, the wife is not Mara Jade.

- It was Luke’s influence via the Force that explained the things Rey could do that fans deemed her a Mary Sue for, plus some other things that weren’t so routinely noted such as the remarkable coincidence that she and Finn just happened to run into Han and Chewie right after obtaining the Millennium Falcon. Not sure how well this would have gone down...

- Saccrum, Snoke’s home planet, is literally Exogol. Secret ancient Sith planet that is nigh impenetrable to all non-Sith, site of the final battle and (as we’ll soon learn) where Snoke is repeatedly cloned and where Palpatine is resurrected by Sith alchemists...it’s fucking Exogol.

- I recall concept art for Kylo Ren’s partly metallic face floating around.

- Dathan Naut seems cool, but she never really amounts to much.

- So it seems J.J Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan’s vision for the Sequel Trilogy always seemed to boil down to “All the generations of Jedi vs. all the generations of Sith reaching a climactic battle, with Skywalker vs. Palpatine at the heart of it, and the Palpatine who becomes a Skywalker as the key to victory.” That idea was always where they were going.

- Jedi/Sith Holocrons were always gonna be a thing, which is why Rebels worked them in.

- Live-action Ahsoka was also always an objective, it seems, and I bet the way they wrote her out in Rebels’ “Twilight of the Apprentice” was to potentially serve as a lead-in for her appearance in the Sequel Trilogy. But because that never came to pass, they brought her back toward the end of the series and set her on the new trajectory that she’s currently on. Honestly, I think that’s for the better, Ahsoka wouldn’t have really fit in the main film series.

- Not big on this Cfi-Xi character, she mainly seems to be here to “no homo” C-3PO. And her main role relating to the Sith Planet ended up played just fine by C-3PO in TROS anyway.

- BB-8 had the kind of fake-out death they ended up giving to Chewie.

- Wow, so Hux was supposed to die in Episode VIII and Phasma in Episode IX originally. Funny how that got totally flipped backward in the versions we actually ended up getting.

- OK, this “family time” that Rey’s getting is precious. It’s sad we didn’t get to see this.

- Hoo boy, “this is the bad ass Luke Skywalker we’ve been waiting for!” Really? Et tu, J.J and Kasdan? In light of the recent showing by Luke in The Mandalorian, I again question why this portrayal of the character is so widely beloved by fans when it has little to no basis in the OT.

- Rey vs. Kylo Ren in a raging ocean backdrop; here in Episode VIII rather than IX. Similarly, it’s a duel that Kylo clearly has in the bag, but a fluke in the Force allows Rey to survive, although I much prefer the fluke we got to the one this treatment proposes because....

- Goddamn it, J.J. You’re doing the time travel / time paradox shit again? Were Lost, Fringe and Star Trek not enough for you to explore that concept in? This is the biggest part of these treatment drafts that rubs me the wrong way, it’s just so needlessly convoluted and cliche.

- Also, yet another Mystery Box in Luke’s severed hand on Saccrum.

- No Jedi Leia in that flashback? Yeah, I can see why Kathleen Kennedy rejected this.

- Btw, Rian Johnson wasn’t the only one who was going to turn Luke into an asshole failure, it seems. Making this highly risky plan with Ben and not letting his parents know about it? Dick!

- Snoke is the one who destroys Luke’s academy, not Kylo Ren. And he does so as he is dying; another clue-in that there’s more to Snoke than it seems given that he’s still around.

- Lando would have been in Episode IX anyway, albeit still running Cloud City.

- The idea for this Episode IX is that the Skywalkers are a Jedi dynasty that long predated Anakin (Shmi being a descendant of it), and the Palpatines were their Sith enemies. Sheev Palpatine also would have died his first death generations ago and was being constantly resurrected via clone bodies made on Saccrum ever since, so the one that Anakin killed wasn’t the original; Palpatine can’t be stopped unless Saccrum is destroyed. While not as convoluted as the time paradox shit, I appreciate the simpler route they ended up taking.

- J.J and Kasdan always wanted Rey’s father to be a defective Palpatine clone.

- There was never a planned origin for Snoke in these treatments; wherever he came from the bottom line was that Palpatine brought him onto his side by promising to share his key to immortality (constant cloned bodies made on Sacccrum) with him. Again, this ended up being simplified into Snoke just being a whole-sale creation of Palpatine’s from the very beginning.

- Since these are treatments, the “love” part of the dynamic between Rey and Kylo Ren is highly underdeveloped and would likely have been fleshed out in screenwriting. The end result, with the deprogramming vision of Rey and Darth Vader, sounds pretty effective though, but I think I much prefer the Leia death / vision of Han version that we ended up with.

- LOL, the “droid way of making love”. I want to see this idea repurposed someday.

- That’s an interesting twist on Alderaan, although it really doesn’t amount to anything given that the planet Leia grew up on and called home still got destroyed by the Death Star.

- “Magic blood”, another J.J-ism. Again, I much prefer the simpler version TROS gave us.

- The climax’s structure is basically the same as in TROS, with Rey (and others) heading to the Sith planet from Ahch-To and then Leia’s Resistance forces going there from their base, with Rey and Ben facing Palpatine. The biggest differences is that we also have Luke vs. Snoke and Finn vs. Phasma battles going on, in addition to a Jedi vs. Sith ground battle.

- Yeah, I don’t really care for how Phasma’s death is handled: making her hideously scarred and treating her sympathetically don’t sit right with me. Rian Johnson did it better, IMO.

- No red stormtroopers here, but there are red Tie Fighters.

- Ben still gives his life to save Rey, albeit in a less literal manner.

- Palpatine still wants Rey to ascend to the Sith throne and rule by his side. Also: “he loves the smell of burning hair, it reminds him of home”!? Wow, that’s dark in what it’s implying...

- OK, so while not a Jedi, Leia is the Big Damn Hero in the end. That makes sense.

- WTF? Rey straight-up kills Palpatine with Sith lightning!? Yeah, that definitely wasn’t ever gong to fly with Lucasfilm, since it totally contradicts ROTJ’s message! It was inevitable that we’d end up with the more correct “Rey deflects Palpatine’s own Sith lightning back at him”.

- “Rey Skywalker” is the end point for the story here as well, but it ending on Tatooine is so much more emotional than ending it on Alderaan Prime, a place that only just now exists.

My final impression is that we probably could have had the best version of the Sequel Trilogy possible IF the right corrections were made when adapting these treatments into real screenplays, such as axing the more convoluted and pointlessly fanservice-y elements and making different choices for a few of the characters (Rey, Kylo Ren, C-3PO, Phasma, etc...also something more substantial for Poe since they clearly had no idea what to do with him). However, it was also an impossibility for it to ever happen due to many different factors, the biggest of which being Carrie Fisher’s passing in 2016. So as it stands, I am still satisfied with the version we got and am especially happy that J.J returned for TROS to provide the end of the Skywalker Saga with some of his original (mercifully fine-tuned and simplified) ideas.

#Star Wars #J.J Abrams #What Could Have Been #Opinion #Analysis

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musingdistraction · 4 years

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Falling for Whiskey (Agent Whiskey x Reader)

Hello Mr. Pascal lovers :D. I recently watched The Mandalorian and fell for Pedro’s sexy voice and protective dad ways. I've been looking for Pedro content and discovered the fics tag by chance... It's so much fun and your stories are great, so I wanted to contribute too, cause I have so many ideas and my imagination is running wild about Pedro these days, haha! Agent Whiskey is one of my favorite characters from him, so here I go. English is not my first language so excuse the mistakes. Hope you enjoy it :)

Summary: (3k words) You're a young Statesman agent and are assigned to a mission with Whiskey and Champagne. The initial dislike between you and Whiskey will turn into something very different later, since you are going to fall hard for each other. He’s tough on the surface but a real cinnamon roll deep down, and you are his weakness.

Warnings: +18 content, references to violence, SMUT.

After a short but impressive record of good results since you became a Stateswoman, your superiors had assigned you to a new mission. You needed to steal some key data from a drug gang which was suspected to have connections with arm traffickers and a terrorist group. Agents Whiskey and Champagne would be teaming up with you for the operation. You were not happy with the arrangement since the take-off meeting had been tense, and these guys didn't seem to be team workers at all. The agents had been distracted and mostly contradicting your ideas, mainly that damn Whiskey. You were even on the brink of starting an argument once or twice. The situation was not ideal and you couldn't wait to wrap up the mission, and hopefully getting a new assignment with new partners.

Your boss had provided the information about the target, an accountant of the mafia. The idea was to set up a distraction and steal some key data from his laptop without him noticing, so that would give you time to collect further proof of their activities before they could react. You followed the guy around for a couple of weeks, studying his daily patterns, his connections and meetings. Working with Champagne was more or less ok, but Whiskey was making things difficult. He was getting on your nerves, being surly and sometimes plainly puzzling. You were exasperated at his attitude, wondering what was the deal with the lone ranger.

Finally the day came when you had planned to take action. You were supposed to act while the accountant was waiting for his boss in a restaurant, surrounded by some of the mafia thugs. It was not going to be easy. Whiskey and Champagne would keep them distracted. Then you would swap the laptop and leave a fake one. You would copy the data and later you would return the original laptop without them noticing. Things went wrong, however. All thanks to agent Whiskey and his seeming excess of testosterone. Instead of fulfilling his task, apparently he couldn't resist the first opportunity to attack the thugs and caused a ruckus, while the accountant fled the scene. You were frustrated, "This guy can't control himself, how are we going to succeed here?". But mostly you were bewildered since you had found that idiot to be quite hot during the fight. He was definitely fit and holding his whip in a skillful, sexy way..., you hated to be attracted to that type of guy.

It had been an epic fail that called for a group meeting where you all were scolded. Later that night you talked privately to your superior about the mission status, since you were not happy with the course of events. "Don't be too hard on Whiskey, the guy lost his pregnant girlfriend in a shooting not so long ago, with drug dealers involved. He hates them". "Then why did you assigned him to this mission?" you complained. "We want to give him a chance, he's a great asset to us and we need to know if he can overcome his trauma or we can't use him anymore". "Great" you thought, "so they are throwing us at this mess and expecting we handle this guy's issues too". You were not happy at all but also felt guilty for judging Whiskey so quickly while knowing nothing about him. You tried to imagine the pain of losing your girlfriend and a baby on the way...surely he had suffered a lot. No wonder he was easily provoked by the thugs earlier.

Next morning the team gathered in the headquarters in order to study the situation and decide the next step. You had to find another way to get the information you needed. At the beginning you were giving Whiskey the death stare and he didn't seem to know what to do or where to hide. But the truth is, after finding out what had happened to him, you saw Whiskey in a new light and couldn't be too mean. You wanted to make things work. However agent Champagne wasn't feeling so generous. At some point he casually dropped that you had suggested next time you and Champagne would do the fieldwork, while Whiskey would support from the office so he couldn’t mess up again. It was easy to tell that Champagne was joking from his mischievous smile, but Whiskey believed everything and started complaining, angry. You were amused and followed Champagne's ruse for a bit. Grumpy Whiskey was sort of cute and brought to your face a wide smile you couldn't hide. "Do you really think I would say that? We are a team. We have to do this together." He seemed pacified by your words and stopped complaining. Then, after some discussion on the operation details, you left the room a bit embarrassed since that smile might have been unintentionally too warm. Whiskey stayed there, looking thoughtful. And Champagne was still joking and laughing, maybe because he already caught that there was something going on between you and Whiskey? You were a bit upset though. You told yourself that the rough cowboy didn't care about the team or you, and you shouldn't let your guard down because of his sad story, that you needed to keep things professional...Only that was not really how you felt about him anymore.

Next day Whiskey dropped by your office and left you a document folder. He had been gathering intel about the drug mafia. The truth is he had been absent-minded and struggling since the beginning of the mission because he wasn’t sure about working for Statesman anymore…he was still quite depressed since his beloved girlfriend and their baby were taken from him. Then he had screwed up and that was a bit of a wake-up call, he didn’t want things to go that way. He actually liked his job and believed in the Statesman agency values. And there was a general change of mood in the team, with you suddenly smiling at him and all that, so he thought he should do something to contribute. You thanked him and devoted the afternoon to study the documents and review your action strategy. The guys you were facing were dangerous. You knew that the team needed to be solid in order to succeed, and that Whiskey needed to be fully on board. The guy was difficult to control and didn't like team work. You thought you knew what would take to make him change his attitude but it was difficult to take that step. After some internal struggle, you finally gathered enough courage to call him and ask for help. You asked him to elaborate on the documents he brought you and check the action plan together. Asking for help indeed seemed to operate some magic. His voice on the phone was soft when he said he was on his way to your office. He arrived quite fast. Then you sat together for several hours checking everything and discussing the details. It was a productive meeting. He actually helped and gave you good advice, and you gladly took it. His recommendations were quite clever. He seemed to be happy that you were noticeably impressed so he kept offering ideas, and you thought that was very cute of him. That night you stayed together until very late in the office, which you didn't mind since you were charmed by him. His masculine and honeyed voice lulled you and you found yourself once or twice checking his messy brown hair or his strong biceps showing through his shirt. When he casually touched your arm a couple of times to draw your attention, you felt the heat through your body. You wondered if he was aware of the effect his touch had in you. He wasn't, but he didn't miss how comfortable you were in his company or how you looked at him...and he definitely wanted more of it.

You worked on the plan together for a couple of weeks more, and things were looking good. The "team bonding" was going really well. So many hours spent with Whiskey had also an effect in you. You liked him more and more every day. He seemed to enjoy your newfound closeness and looked for you round the clock. He was very supportive and always helping. You felt he was being protective of you. One night you fell asleep during a stakeout, while you were spying on one of your suspects from a nearby apartment. You woke up later in one of the bedrooms, and Champagne casually said that Whiskey had carried you there, so you could get some rest. To know that he had taken such liberties with you and carried you in his arms…that made your heart race. The truth is Whiskey had awakened your female instincts in a way you never had felt before. He might seem tough at first sight but he had a soft side that just started showing, and you knew about his emotional scars. You were weak for him, maybe that strong but damaged guy in need for affection was your type after all? You wanted to take care of him, and that feeling intensified every time he was doing something nice for you. You felt the urge of giving him some love and taking care of him, and that included taking care of his needs as a man too...that very idea was enough to make your body temperature rise. You found him very manly, sexy, and suspected he was an expert and passionate lover. That made you fantasize about being with him and sometimes you were tempted to flirt, since he seemed to like you too. The circumstances were not the best for dating though, so you told yourself that you wouldn't act on your burgeoning feelings. Your determination proved to be weak though, since you couldn’t stay away from him. As for Whiskey, he found you very pretty and sweet when you didn’t had your guard up. He also thought of keeping the distance while working together, in order to not mess things up. However, what he wanted was to be around and protect you, and see your beautiful smile often.

A few days later, finally it was time to strike again and steal the files you were after. You had planned to get it from the office of one of the gang managers. Since the operation was taking place at a social club from the mafia, that gave you a perfect excuse to put on a sexy, revealing dress. You wanted Whiskey to look at you of course. When you arrived to the meeting point, he was there waiting with Champagne. He carelessly said that the group was not supposed to attract attention, while giving you a quick look from head to toe that gave you butterflies in the stomach. You were a bit embarrassed and blushing while reminding him that you were heading to a posh club so the dress was ok but the cowboy hat maybe not. Then you rushed to the car. When arriving at the club, your group stopped at the bar to check who was there, and Champagne ordered some drinks. You didn't know but apart from your sexy figure, Whiskey had noticed your red cheeks before. You were being too cute and looking too pretty for him to resist. The desire to touch you and kiss you was stronger than him. Suddenly he wanted to steal you and bring you far away, so he could keep you safe. Too bad he couldn't do anything in the middle of the operation... You were distracted watching your target -the club manager- leave towards the garden. Then, suddenly felt Whiskey's hand on your waist while he called your name and made you turn and look at him. It was for a second that he touched you, but it was firm, intimate, the kind of touch men use to sound out how welcome they are in your personal space, a warning that they are going to touch you more if you allow them. Your heart was pounding when you faced him. He approached your ear and said "Be careful, princess" in a low voice, and then winked. "We're going outside, see you later", said Champagne and they left you on the spot, distracted.

The agents headed to the garden, following the club manager. Finally alone, you were able to breathe again and quickly focused on your part of the job. You had to steal the content of the manager's computer in his office. This time everything went well and your team could finish and run from the place with no one noticing, bringing some valuable info that would make your boss happy. The operation was a success and the team gathered for some drinks at the bar later that night. Pretty soon, Champagne had started flirting and left with a girl. Your heart fluttered when it suddenly downed on you, that you were alone with Whiskey. But you already had a couple of beers so none of you were so timid anymore. He blocked a guy that tried to flirt with you, totally looking like a jealous boyfriend. It was pretty obvious what was going on there. You talked about the mission for a while and complimented each other's job. Then he smiled and looked at your dress, his eyes shining. "I see you're wearing a dress again tonight, you look very pretty in it ". "Should I wear it more often, then?" you said in a flirty tone... "But only when I'm around so I can protect you from the unwanted attention". Things were heating between both of you and your cheeks were burning. Then he smiled, "Hey, I love this song, come here", he pulled and made you stand up by him. By the time you started complaining about the old-fashioned tune, he already had grabbed you by the waist and was dancing slowly. You were a bit surprised by the move, but quickly shut up and surrendered to the sway and his physical proximity, allowing him to take the lead while looking at him in the eyes. “You like it, don't you?... I can think of other things that you will like, miss". Still smiling, he leaned in for a kiss. He was soft and slow, while holding you tight. Soon the kiss turned more passionate and you needed to separate in order to catch your breath. He looked at you intently and said "Let's go to my place, baby. It's too loud here and I want to be alone with you". For a second you tried to weigh the possible cons of that idea, but you liked him too much to stop there, so you agreed. In the taxi, his hand was resting on your thigh and you felt the burning heat between your legs. You kissed throughout the cab ride. He was running his fingers through your hair and while catching breath between kisses he promised "I'm going to treat you very well, princess". "You better do", that's all you managed to respond before he took your lips again. When you arrived to his apartment, the door closing after you sounded like heaven. Curious about his personal stuff, you explored a bit the living room, apparently to Whiskey's amusement. He approached smiling and grabbed you by the waist, "Do you like this cowboy's humble place, baby? Well, get ready to see the bed, because I'm going to ride you there". Then he started kissing you and lifted you in his arms. You wrapped your legs around him and got lost in his kiss while he carried you to the bedroom. Your fingers got entangled in his hair while he was unbuttoning your dress and kissing every centimeter of your naked skin. The way he touched you and looked at you was a big turn-on, so decisive, so confident and masculine. On the bed already, his hands all over your body, later his head between your legs made you lose your head. He seemed to lose it too when you slipped your hand in his underwear and started playing with his cock, which was ready for action. You noticed his excitement and kept teasing him, playing bad girl. That made him felt the urge to give you what you deserved. "What do you think you're doing, come here", he grabbed you and placed you underneath him, kissing you again, while pressing his hips towards yours. He still had his boxers on but you could feel he was so hard against your entrance. He played around it for a while and you showed your desire, by grabbing his butt and pushing him against you. Then he teased you, introducing the tip of his finger in you. "Oh baby you are so wet, you have no idea how much I like it.” He kept playing with his finger while kissing your neck and then going down to taste your nipples. Excited, you arched your back and made him go up in order to kiss him again, your hands running through his hair, next towards his back. “I want you so much”, you wanted him to know how much you desired him. He seemed pleased to see how excited you were. He kissed your neck and went up to bite your ear, suddenly feeling the need to assert how you belonged to him. “You know your pussy is mine, don’t you? You are mine now". Then he stood up and took off his underwear. You knew what was coming next, which made you even more excited. He leaned down on you and you hugged and kissed, this time completely naked, with no obstacles for the imminent intercourse. After some exquisitely desperate waiting and begging him to take you, he also couldn't wait anymore. He was on top of you, moving his hips so his cock would slide and position itself against your entrance. You were so wet and he was so hard that the tip entered you with no need for further guidance. Next he penetrated you slowly, taking his time, savoring your moans and the look in your face. He lied on you, holding you in his arms, one hand on your back, the other sustaining your head. He was on top of you, holding you tight and close to him, then started thrusting inside you with passion. Feeling his weight and the grip of his strong arms increased the delicious sensation of being helpless and possessed at his pleasure, his hips moving over you and the friction on your clit bringing you to unknown enjoyment heights. He certainly knew his way around a woman’s body. As you vibrated with pleasure under him, he felt more excited and wanted to be even more inside you, so he silenced your screams with a kiss, his tongue deep in your mouth. Then you completely surrendered to the feeling of being his, let go of all resistance and reached your climax. You kept making love for a while since your thirst for each other was not satisfied yet and he wanted to play with you more. When he came later, you felt so full of him and happy. Both of you were covered in sweat and exhausted. His blissful smile filled your heart with joy. He caressed your hair and showered you with sweet kisses. But his adoring brown eyes fixed on yours was what made you feel weak and realize that you had a serious problem going on there. You were falling in love.

#pedro pascal x reader #agent whiskey x reader #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal smut #pedro pascal #fanfic

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isakblu · 3 years

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The Takeaway from The Plague by Camus

2020 has hit people with a myriad of dreadful events, and COVID-19 is one of them. The pandemic first was announced in January and started from Wuhan, China, and then the virus spread later on around the world and became a massive crisis from March till now. COVID-19 not only purloined thousands of lives of people, taken away their ordinary day and replaced it with lots of requirements such as mask out on the street, and quarantine with social distancing lifestyle. It also questions people based on their actions and thought with multiple themes that have to deal with their status where they still try to figure things out from physically to mentally and emotionally their existence in this pandemic. However, the idea that most connect people together is the acceptance and revolt in the face of absurdity. It’s phenomenal in what manner the novel The Plague by Camus sketched a magnificent deep volume of the epidemic raging the characters in the books and the obstacles they have to face. I believe Dr. Rieux, one of the essential roles from the book, has been expressing his perception of absurd in these chapters of the book. Through this novel, people are going to find themselves being aware of humanity, and both The Plague and COVID-19 remind them that in the universe they are living in, death can be the last stop, but it can’t deny the fact that the dedication and enthusiasm people have for this life .

The idea of absurdity reflects the perspective of how people looking through the rumination on the parallel view between the side of living and dying. The Plague by Camus took place in Oran, Algeria, along a coastal town in North Africa, somewhere in the 90s. The author starts the novel before the bubonic plague even happening and becomes a critical event in the story where following by lots of narratives and character involved like the doctor, Rieux, the journalist, Rambert, the wanderer, Tarrou, and many more that show their characteristics and define the absurd and revolt in their term. From my perspective, Camus and the character Rieux both retain a strong relationship in their descriptions of the absurdity, and the readers can find out that Rieux has represented some part of Camus's thoughts all over the novel, even showing the opposite. Keith Nelson has distinguished the face of absurdity through Camus's point of view by the following quote: “Human beings are absurd because they have neither metaphysical justification nor essential connection to the universe. They are not part of any divine scheme and, being mortal, all of their actions, individual and collective, eventually, come to nothing.” Camus finds the meaning of life is bound to the words death, and worthless where he describes why people have to work so hard with all the blood, sweat, and tears they pour out while in the end, all left is grass, ground, and grave. Humans must lose and sooner or later die in nothingness behind their loved one's grief or no one, but some say difference. The rebellion, the people with hopes and dreams carry the actions, thoughts which make life more meaningful, revolting against the face of absurdity. People who believe that their darkest hour comes before their dawn, the one who enjoys the yellow come from life and the red they receive even if it turns blue, and nobody can symbolize both the acceptance and revolt of absurdity than Rieux, the luminary.

No one is perfect, and they can be fallible, but learning to change and fight for what right and wrong make the mortals human. In the town full of negativity, the soulless people, and the sorrow sky, Rieux seems to be the only one who sees as the days pass with the views as another painting and sound as another orchestra when he draws out his canvas “ The doctor was still looking out of the window. Beyond it lay the tranquil radiance of a cool spring sky; inside the room, a word was echoing still, the word "plague." A word that conjured up in the doctor's mind not only what science chose to put into it, but a whole series of fantastic possibilities utterly out of keeping with that gray and yellow town under his eyes, from which were rising the sounds of mild activity characteristic of the hour; a drone rather than a bustling, the noises of a happy town, in short, if it's possible to be at once so dull and happy.”(Camus 124) The meticulous details he gives showing how he is amused by the being, the existence of life, and acknowledging it. It's fascinating by the virtue of Rieux seeing things as it speaks to him, although the calamities have not come yet, came, and gone, he still finds the beauty and delight in each event as his vivid description passes on. The readers can figure out the point where Rieux shows the revolt in most of the parts in the novel, which explains how he loves to be pleased by seeing the world. He is also the first man in the frontline when the plague starts to hit Oran and spread all over the town. Announcing the news, organizing groups of sanitary, experiment vaccines, influencing others, treating and helping the patients, Rieux doing his best to be the cure against this deadly epidemic where it took so many lives from this place. He is the doctor where he can think that the death of people is a must thing and what moral is, but the facts that he tries to battling this disease exhibit that Rieux is a rebellion against what absurdity all about and a faith denier.

The acceptance is not always easy especially death, but before the eyes start to close and the heart stops to beat, the flashback of every moment and memory oozing back letting the person who listens to the last sound seeing how all the splendid things they do or give as happiness lies down with them. For the few left pages, before the final period place the last dot, Rieux has altered and become more aware of the reality where he accepts the absurdity as the suffering, the sadness he went through as the quote illustrates “But there was at least one of our townsfolk for whom Dr. Rieux could not speak, the man of whom Tarrou said one day to Rieux: "His only real crime is that of having in his heart approved of something that killed off men, women, and children. I can understand the rest, but for that, I am obliged to pardon him." It is fitting that this chronicle should end with some reference to that man, who had an ignorance, that is to say lonely, heart.” (Camus 302) Imagine after Rieux loses his best friend, Tarrou, he then receives news that his wife has also passed away, the ultraviolence he got is hard to compare. It’s unpredictable and how ironic is through this bubonic plague gave him the hero definition since the myriad of lives he had saved, but, at the same time, when calamity dies down, he left nothing but just a person with blackbirds on both his shoulders. The reality when he sees that all the stamina he works so hard for his people, friends, and beloved one, all vanish in the last breath. He accepts it, but the readers can’t contradict how Rieux knows that people will have to take an eternity sleep, he still hauls his body and mind to face the pandemic until it is all gone. I think that is the lesson I learn from this novel about how people should never giving up and put effort into their life. COVID-19 is a horrendous mess, but so many people have been doing the best to make the worst seem better, such as all the nurse and doctor wrestling their life to help patients. I think no matter how small the action is like just wearing a mask, it still contributes to my community and my family health as revolting against the face of absurdity rather than waiting for the death to come.

COVID-19 seems to be an unreal event, as shown in the pandemic from The Plague by Camus portrait. People tend to have hope in the pitch-black time of how many times it strikes them just to make the actions stronger where the victory they celebrate lies among the falls of the dead one. All things will have the last stop, and it's the same rule with humans and the plague in which the cure is going to found, where life describes the moment people have, and death is the proof of people's existence. The takeaway I found in the novel through the character Rieux is always battling for my life even though it short, I can make it meaningful. Absurdity is something someday I have to accept, but before that, I will keep seeking purpose, meaning, and happiness in this universe.

Work Cited

Camus, Albert. The plague. Vintage, 1948.

Website:

https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=a8LBjVImeO4C&oi=fnd&pg=PA2&dq=the+plague+camus&ots=DZh_dqjcDA&sig=JXM5oavWf83xNB9Sgjis6sVoJfc#v=onepage&q=the%20plague%20camus&f=false

Neilson, Keith. "The Plague." Masterplots, Fourth Edition, edited by Laurence W. Mazzeno, Salem, 2010. Salem Online.

Website:

https://online.salempress.com

Thank you for reading <3333333

Khang V Sun

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sprituality0 · 4 years

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Supreme God in Christianity According to the Bible

Spiritual Leader Saint Rampal Ji

When we talk about supreme God in Christianity, then these questions come automatically in our mind like

■ Who is God? ■ Why do we need to know about him?■ Are God and Jesus the same? ■ Has anyone seen God?

These questions have remained a mystery for all of us. But here all of these would be answered with proofs. All over the world, people are in search of the Supreme God, whether they are theist or atheist. Everyone needs God whether for money, mental peace or salvation. This article would be a complete solution for you if you want to know how can we reach God and get complete salvation.

But first, Let us give you a Brief Description of Christianity

The followers of Jesus Christ are known as Christians. Jesus was born circa 6 B.C. in Bethlehem. His mother was Mary. Christians believe Jesus was born through Immaculate Conception by an angel. Mary and Joseph were Jews. Jesus was given the knowledge of Injeel.

Most of Jesus's life is told through the four Gospels of the New Testament Bible, known as the Canonical gospels, written by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Throughout the New Testament, there are trace references of Jesus working as a carpenter while a young adult. It is believed that he began his ministry at age 30 when he was baptized by John the Baptist, who upon seeing Jesus, declared him the Son of God.

When Jesus grew up, spirits used to enter his body and they used to make prophecies and do miracles. Jesus preached about one God. As Jesus continued his preachings, the crowd became larger and they started calling him the son of David and as the Messiah.

The Judas and Pharisees heard of this and accused Jesus of having the power of Satan and calling himself the King of Jews in front of King Pilate. Pilate publicly washed his hands of responsibility, yet ordered the crucifixion in response to the demands of the crowd. The Roman soldiers whipped and beat Jesus, placed a crown of thorns on his head and then led him off to Mount Calvary.

There he was crucified and hung on a cross. While the crucifixion, all the spirits left the body of Jesus. When he was dead, he was taken down and buried in the tomb. But surprisingly, after 3 days the tomb was found empty. He had risen from the tomb and he first appeared to Mary Magdalene, then to Mary, his mother and then to his followers.

Was he Jesus who Rose from the Tomb?

The answer is No. He was not Jesus who rose from the tomb, but he was complete God Kabir who appeared as Jesus to keep the faith of the followers intact. Otherwise, all those followers would have lost faith in God. They would have become an atheist.

In this article, many other secrets about Jesus and God will be unveiled.

What the Bible says about the Existence of God?

Let’s discuss the existence of God in the Bible. Bible is the collection of three sacred books- Torah, Injeel, and Zabur. In both Christianity and Islam it is believed that the first human-made by God was Adam and we all are his sons and daughters. In his clan, many prophets were born. Some of them are Hazrat Dawoowd, Hazrat Musa, and Hazrat Isa.

Dawood or David received the book Zabur.Musa or Moses received Torah. Isa or Jesus received Injeel from Kaal Brahm (Satan).

which they believe to be the Formless God because he gave the verses of Torah, Zabur, and Injeel by Oracle. Hazrat Mohammad, who is the founder of Islam was born around 600 years after Jesus. He was born a Jew. Later he received the knowledge of Quran Shareef by Zibrael who was sent by the same god Kaal Brahm and then, Mohammad preached about Islam.

Disciples of Moses are called Jews, disciples of Jesus Christ are called Christians and disciples of Mohammad are called Muslims.

Quran Shareef has around 40 percent of the same knowledge of the Bible. (Kabir Sagar, Chapter 14, Mohammad Bodh, Page no 6)

There are many instances in the Bible which validate the existence of God. Christians believe that God existed even before Adam was born. All the creation is made by God himself (Genesis). In the New Testament of the Bible, there exists a Trinity in Christianity which preaches about the Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit. The millennial has explained about the three and it is believed that God is separate from the above three.

■ Below are some verses from the Bible that validate the existence of God:-

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1)

And without faith, it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes, his eternal power, and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20).

For what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So they are without excuse (Romans 1:19, 20).

Fools say in their hearts, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good. God looks down from heaven on humankind to see if there are any who are wise, who seek after God. They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse; there is no one who does good, no, not one (Psalm 53:1-3).

The above verses prove that the Holy Bible accepts that there is the existence of God. He created the entire universe. He is eternal and divine. Those are fools, who say there is no God.

Myths in World Christianity (Christian Mythology)

There are 5 myths on which the Christians believe. Lets burst them one by one.

God is FormlessJesus is GodThere is no RebirthGod Ordered Christians to Kill and Eat AnimalsAdam was the First Human

Myth 1 - God is Formless in Christianity

World Christianity belief about God being formless contradicts the Holy Bible. In Genesis, in the creation of the universe, on the sixth day, God created humans in his own image.

Holy Bible - Genesis - Sixth Day of Creation

1:26 - Then God said, "And now we will make human beings; they will be like us and resemble us. They will have power over the fish, the birds and all animals, domestic and wild, large and small."

1:27 - So God created human beings, making them be like himself. He created them male and female,

These verses of the Holy Bible prove that God is not Formless.

Genesis - Holy Bible

3:8 - That evening they heard the Lord God walking in the garden and they hid from him among the trees.

3:9 - But the Lord God called out to the man, "Where are you?"

3:10 - He answered, "I heard you walking in the garden; I was afraid and hid from you because I was naked."

3:22 - And Jehovah God made long garments from skins for Adam and for his wife, to clothe them.

Holy Bible – Genesis

18:1 - And the LORD appeared to him (Abraham) by the oaks of Mamre, as he sat at the door of his tent in the heat of the day.

18:2 - He (Abraham) lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing in front of him. When he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them and bowed himself to the earth.

18:4 - Please, let a little water be brought and have your feet washed; then recline under the tree.

18:5 - Seeing that you have come here to your servant, let me bring a piece of bread so that you may refresh yourselves

The lines above clearly describe the Lord God walking in the garden which Adam and Eve can hear walking and thus they hide. The Lord God also appears before Abraham who then bows unto them.

Moreover, Abraham requests God's feet to be washed and then God reclines under a tree. Abraham even brings a piece of bread for God to eat.

No wonder the Lord God is in form as he talks, walks, meets, eats and can be seen. He also reclines and has feet which can be washed. Therefore the Lord God rightly said in the beginning that he created man in his own image. This clearly proves the Lord God to be in form

Myth 2 - Jesus is God in Christianity

This is the biggest myth in Christianity for Jesus is seen as God. Jesus was a prophet with some supernatural powers sent by Kaal Brahm on this earth. He was sent from Vishnu Lok (Kabir Sagar, Mohammad Bodh, Jabroot, Mokam 3).

Isa paigambar padhe kitaba, uska naam injeel kitaba.

Salamalek taha hm keena, dasta bos unhu uthi leena.

Tahwa baithe vishambhar rai, vahi peer to wahi khudai.

Yah vishnupuri hai bhai,yame bhi ek baikunth samai.

Vishnu hai yaha ka pardhana, sun mohammad gyan vigyana.

In the Christian Trinity, which explains about Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, Jesus was the Son of God. Here are some biblical verses which prove that Jesus was the Son of God who was sent to spread the message of one God.

■ Hebrews 1:5- To which of the angels did He ever say, "YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU"? And again, "I WILL BE A FATHER TO HIM AND HE SHALL BE A SON TO ME"?

■ Matthew 17:5- While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"

■ Mark 1:11- and a voice came out of the heavens: "You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased."

■ Luke 20:13- "The owner of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him.'

In these verses, it is explained that Jesus was sent by God to give the message of complete God. He was the son or messenger of God.

Likewise in Hinduism, it is believed that Shri Krishna gave the knowledge of Shrimad Bhagvad Geeta.

In Geeta, it is written that only Complete God should be worshipped.

■ Those who worship Brahma Vishnu and Shiva are fools.

But priests in Hinduism were not able to understand Geeta verses properly and they started worshipping Shri Krishna instead of Complete God Kabir.

Myth 3 - There is no Rebirth in Christianity

In both Islam and Christianity, it is believed that there is no rebirth. It is believed that all humans will keep dying, as long as this creation will continue. Let them bury in the grave. When the doom will come, the dead (men and women) will be brought forth from the graves. Their deeds will be accounted for by God.

Those who have deeds according to all four books (Zabur, Torah, Injeel and Quran Shareef) will live in heaven. Those who have not obeyed the four books will be sent to Hell forever. After that, the creation will be destroyed forever.

This belief is wrong because when Hazrat Mohammad was taken up to heaven by Jibrael, there he saw David, Moses, Jesus, Abraham, etc. If we believe in the aforesaid statement then, Jesus, Moses etc should have been buried in the grave. How they went to heaven if they were meant to be in the grave till the doom? This proves that heaven and hell exists and also there is the rebirth of the soul.

Myth 4 - God ordered Christians to kill and eat animals

God is merciful and kind. Humans, animals and even the microorganisms are all his children. Then how can he order his one son to kill another son?

● God has made grass and leafy vegetables for the animals and grains, fruits and leafy plants as food for humans.

■ Holy Bible - Genesis

1:29 - I have provided all kinds of grain and all kinds of fruit for you to eat;

1;30 - but for all the wild animals and for all the birds I have provided grass and leafy plants for food -and it was done.

Hence He ordered them to be vegetarians.

After Complete God went back to his throne, then Satan sent spirits that used to enter the body of Jesus Christ and made prophecies.

In the Bible, Corinthians 2:12-17, there is proof that the spirits used to enter the body of Jesus.

14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere.

17 Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ, we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.

This proves that there were some spirits who used to speak in Jesus. Some said the words of God without any adulteration in it. But there were some spirits who used to peddle the word of God. These spirits have given the direction of killing animals and eating them. Those were not the words of Jesus.

Myth 5 - Adam was the First Human in Christianity

Both Christians and Muslims believe that Adam was the first human on this Earth. But is not true. Once upon a time, there was a sage called Manu. His son was Ikshwaku. In his clan, there was a king named Nabhiraj.

● The son of king Nabhiraj was Rishabhdev who was the founder of Jainism. Rishabhdev’s soul was reborn as Adam. This instance has been taken from the holy text of Jainism- “Aao Jain Dharm Ko Jane” from page no 154.

This validates that there were humans before Adam and Eve. When God Jehovah or Kaal Brahm sent them on this Earth, most of the place was uninhabitable. They were sent at a solitary place, which was cut off from everywhere. All Christians, Muslims, and Jews are the grandchildren of Adam. That is why they believe that Adam was the first human which is actually not true.

More than One God in Bible

God in the Bible is not the only one. There are more like him. So he can't be the Supreme God.

● Holy Bible – Genesis 3:22 - Then the LORD God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil. And now, lest he reaches out his hand and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.

● The Lord God Said, “Now these humans have become like one of us and have knowledge of what is good and what is bad.

■ Point to Ponder.

God is saying that after eating the wisdom fruit, these human beings have become like one of us. And if these humans ate the fruit of life from this garden, then they will become immortal like us. The key statement here is "one of us".

The God, who is saying this statement, is also referring to other Gods of equal status, that is why he is using the line "one of us" which means he is not alone. There are more like him.

● Holy Bible - Genesis 18 - The Three Visitors.

God in the Bible is not alone. There are more like him. Therefore he cannot be the Supreme God.18:1 - The Lord appeared to Abraham near the great trees of Mamre while he was sitting at the entrance to his tent in the heat of the day.

18:2 - Abraham looked up and saw three men standing nearby. When he saw them, he hurried from the entrance of his tent to meet them and bowed low to the ground.

18:3 My lord,” said Abraham, “if I have found favor in your sight, please do not pass your servant by.

18:4 Let a little water be brought, that you may wash your feet and rest yourselves under the tree.

18:5 And I will bring a bit of bread so that you may refresh yourselves. This is why you have passed your servant’s way. After that, you may continue on your way.”

“Yes,” they replied, “you may do as you have said.”

● Here the Lord has come up with two of his comrades. This clearly proves that there are more gods like him. This proves the belief of Christianity to be wrong that Jesus is the only God.

18:22 And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.

● This verse of the bible also proves that God is in human form. He is standing, talking and eating bread offered by Abraham. So this concludes that the Lord is in Human form.

Up till 18:22 there is mention of 3 people. They are addressed in the Bible as "they".

Also, there is a reference of 3 people in the Holy Bible, Genesis 19:1 to 19:25.

This further proves that there are more like them. These three Gods are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva who were sent by Kaal Brahm.

Who is God in the Bible?

After reading about Jesus and Jehovah are not complete Gods, the question which arises here is

● Who is complete God?

The Holy Bible gives the answer to this question. Let's find out.

● Iyov 36:5 - Orthodox Jewish Bible (OJB)

See, El is Kabir, and despiseth, not any; He is Kabir in ko’ach lev (strength of understanding).

Translation: Supreme God is Kabir, but despises no one. He is Kabir, and firm in his purpose.

In all Bible translations, the word Kabir has been translated as "Mighty" or "Great" whereas Kabir is the original name of Supreme God.

Conclusion: This verse of the Bible proves that Kabir is Complete God. The one who worships God Kabir by taking initiation from the complete saint sent by him gets complete salvation. After attaining salvation that souls rest in peace in the eternal abode Satlok forever. The throne of God is in Satlok.

God Kabir met Jesus and took his soul to Satlok. On their way, God Kabir made him see his ancestors David, Moses, Abraham, etc. in the Pitra Lokas. Then God took him to Satlok. But Jesus did not have faith in Lord Kabir. He did not believe him to be complete God, but he admitted that God is one. When he came back from Satlok he preached about one God and talked about salvation. After the crucifixion, he only pleaded God to forgive his children for all the harsh deeds.

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#writing #do it yourself #quotes #how to #history #sprituality #god #supreme #jesus

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voltron-s7-8-rewrite · 4 years

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Galran info and history

I wrote this for part of my Voltron season 7/8 rewrite, but you don’t have to know anything about that to understand this. I just wanted to make sure that you understand I’m not saying any of this is canon.

I love world building and hearing other’s world building ideas, so I thought I would share this separately from my rewrite for anyone who might find it interesting.

Before i get into the actual history, I want to bring up a concept about the Galra and their emotions.

This idea on how their emotions work came from a Voltron Con panel I could have sworn I once saw; though I haven't been able to find it again, so I fully admit that it could just be something my brain made up.

But what I remember during Q&A time, was someone asking if Keith's anger issues stemmed from his Galran genes; Lauren Montgomery responded saying that she's sure that was the case, and that the Galra have extreme emotions, and felt deeply.

That idea, that the Galra race was actually an extremely emotional race, was something that intrigued me, and I started building ideas off of it on how that would have affected them through what we knew about them in the series.

Some of this might contradict things Dayak said about the Galra’s history in "Omega Shield", but I don't hold her words as absolute truth, as the history of the Galra's origins could have been warped to fit Zarkon's twisted empire.

(Really though, that's just the excuse I'm going with if any of this history I made up doesn't really fit with show canon.)

That said, here's my version of Galran history:

The Galra, much like the ancient Vulcans in the main Star Trek canon, were an extremely emotional species. This was as much as a blessing as a curse; their emotions could lead to great empathy and peace as easily as it could lead to great anger and conflict. One small action from one tribe or person towards another could be taken wrong and set everyone off in long wars.

Through the years there were times of great upheavals and conflicts. Finally, in the last "War of the Tribes" the "Vrepit Sa" -as Dayak told- was made.

In the aftermath, the tribes realized their race would not survive if they continued this way and they decided to make a drastic change. Rather than continuing on as separate tribes, the survivors pulled together and united as one tribe, implementing a structured system, and a single Emperor to lead the species. They were still an emotional race, but now with a firm system in place, they could work through their issues using a universal law system.

With that, the race grew, prospered, and eventually became space faring. However, reaching the stars created problems, as coming into contact with races that did not follow the Galra's law started causing conflict once more.

Some species saw how the Galra's emotions were easily stirred, and took advantage of them. When the Galra realized this, war broke out for the first time in centuries, though this time it was the united Galra race against species that used and harmed them.

During one of these wars, the final battle happened on a planet called Feyiv.

In this battle, the Galra's current Emperor was killed, but instead of fleeing, another Galra stepped up and took charge. They ended up leading the Galra to victory as the other races retreated.

The Galra who had stepped up during the time of crisis was made the new Emperor, and the mountainside where they refused to retreat became a sacred site. A temple was built, and all future Emperors would go there to partake in the Kral Zera and ascend the Steps of Destiny in order to have the right to rule.

It was also during these wars that the term "Palen-bol" came into existence, as the Galra learned that through hardships and pain, they could be made strong.

Centuries went by, and over time Diabazaal became unstable from all the galactic wars.

A new and young Emperor, Zarkon, saw Daibazaal was going down a path of destruction, and decided he wanted to stabilize it. He sought out means to doing this, which eventually led him to meeting another young ruler of a peaceful race, Alfor of Altea.

Though the Galra were untrusting of other races due to the past, Zarkon came to see the genuine nature of Alfor and his people, and he and the Galra eventually embraced them as allies and friends.

This led Daibazaal to opening up to the idea of working with other races, rather than just opposing those who didn't live the same way they did. When Alfor introduced Zarkon to Blaytz, Gyrgan, and Trigel, the Galra flourished even further with all the new allies.

Eventually, when Zarkon and Honerva married, everything turned around for the Galran race, and they saw that they could peacefully exist with other races.

That's when the rift opened and everything came crashing down.

After Zarkon and Honerva were killed, Alfor was the one who took the responsibility to tell the Galra of their leader's passing. He led them in evacuating Diabazaal, and he and the other Paladins opened their own worlds to the Galra, embracing them as their own people.

Then Zarkon returned.

After having first lost their beloved rulers, then their home world, the Galra were in a state of devastation and their emotions pushed to the breaking point.

Now, here was Zarkon -who Alfor said had died- telling them that not only was that a lie, but that the one who spoke those lies was responsible for the destruction of their world.

At this point there already tattered emotions snapped, and seeing proof of Alfor's 'lies' in the form of Zarkon ‘alive and well’, the Galra turned on their allies, and attacked without mercy.

Hurt by the universe for the last time, the Galra rose up and united once more, this time deciding that the only way they could have peace would be to do what they did on Daibazaal, take control of everything and have it set under one ruling Emperor. Thus their conquest for the universe began.

It's at this point that Zarkon, now corrupted, began to twist the Galra's way of thinking.

Using their feelings of hurt and betrayal, he drove empathy out of his people, as it was their empathy that allowed them to open themselves up to other races and lose everything. In order to survive, they had to become strong, had to become powerful, had to conquer.

It was victory or death.

However, as the Galran mindset began to change, some resisted. A Galra named Marmora saw what Zarkon had become, and what he was pushing their people to be, and decided to do something about it. They united others who felt the same and began working against the Empire in order to save their people.

However, the one thing Marmora did agreed with Zarkon on, was that their race's emotions were the cause of many of their problems.

Though, Marmora thought the answer was to take a different route then Zarkon, and convinced their followers to temper and control their emotions. Their focus became seeking the truth to free the universe, and their own race from Zarkon.

For them it was knowledge or death.

When Marmora died, those who followed them took up their name and worked as the blade that would strike at the heart of Zarkon's Empire.

As the war went on, and the Galran Empire conquered more and more worlds, the Galra who remained on the worlds to set up colonies began intermixing with the different species.

When the mass inter species mixing was discovered by the empire, it was immediately discouraged and looked down upon, and great emphasis was put on the concept of being “pure blooded”. The majority of the Galra immediately stopped inter mixing, but it was too late.

Though the years the bloodlines became so intermingled that it caused the Galran race to go from looking like this:

To becoming as diverse as this:

Those who were of a mixed race did what they could to hide any evidence. Because of that, over the 10,000 years they forgot what their species originally looked like, and most modern day Galra have no idea of their mixed heritage.

Nowadays Galra only know another is 'half breed’ when the non-Galra parent is widely known of from the get go.

Which is why these four are specifically targeted as 'half breeds’ despite looking no less Galra then some of the others shown above:

Anyhow, that’s my idea for the Galran history in my version of season 7/8. Which, if you are interested in reading, can be found HERE Hope you all enjoyed.

Have a nice day!

#galra #galra empire #voltron #VLD #voltron legendary defender #mywritings

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reylofanfictionanthology · 5 years

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The Reylo Fanfiction Anthology St. Valentine’s Day Love Fest

This year, to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day, we wanted to show the Reylo Writing Community a little bit of love by hosting a Reylo Fanfiction St. Valentine’s Day Love Fest.

We will accept recommendations for this project until the end of February. You can find details about how to submit a recommendation to the project here.

Love Fest List #3/?

Reylo Community Recommendations

the back hand of god by meritmut

Summary: “He doesn’t know what it is, to have—that thing, inside you,” her voice is quieter than he’s ever heard it. “To feel it, clawing like it wants to get out.”

Recommendation by dearly: “A wonderfully Gothic and dark Penny Dreadful-ish AU.”

I don't want (to set the world on fire) by OccasionallyCreative

Summary: Rey goes on a mission to answer a distress signal on a Force-sensitive alien planet and finds something that might just save her if it doesn't lead to her ruin.

Recommendation by dearly: “Beautiful and lush writing, angst with Annihilation vibes.”

and the snow started falling by redbells

Summary: Trapped by shame and snow, Kylo Ren faces his ghosts.

Recommendation by dearly: “Post-canon angst set in a snow storm with Force ghost Han.”

The Interstellar Platypus by Omnicat

Summary: Laying eggs is hard when you’re almost entirely mammal, but that’s what modern medicine was invented for. Or: almost nine months ago, Rey unexpectedly put an egg in Ben. Today they get to celebrate it having successfully come out - if Ben can stay awake long enough.

Recommendation by Bombastique: “Rey has knocked a redeemed Ben up, and he has birthed an egg: what’s not to love? This is a strange and funny and gentle fic that goes unusually heavy into speculative fiction for a canon Star Wars story. Rey is joyful, loving, and mildly flummoxed by the situation. Ben is stubborn, proud, loving, and off his gourd on pain meds. Their egg daughter has a lovely shell. If Episode IX can’t get these two right, this will be the true canon ending for me.”

The ways we say I love you by Kyriadamorte

Summary: It's not that he doesn't love her; he does - more than his own life, more than power, more than the lies Snoke had wrapped him in for decades. And it's not that he doesn't want her - he does…after a fashion. But not in the ways he's supposed to. Not in the ways she'll eventually want. He's not that. And he can't be that for her.

Recommendation by dearly: “Soft reylo with asexual Ben”

Someone Else's War by sunshineflying

Summary: The tale of infamous smuggler Ben Solo and his desperate attempts to sweet-talk his way into the good graces of Rey of Jakku, so he can leave the planet and start making his way towards Cloud City. Rey is having none of it, but the two end up on an adventure across the galaxy, anyway. Starring all our beloved Star Wars sequel trilogy characters (for the most part), and a whole slew of the same events, but caused by different things, and often handled a little differently than in canon.

Recommendation by BonnieSwims: “A canon-divergent story with Smuggler Ben meeting Rey who owns the Falcon. Interesting take on their meeting, Ben's time with Luke, and how he deals with family, the Resistance, and Snoke. I loved how the author wove in canon events and added her own creative twist to Rey and Ben. It was good adventure that included Maz, Lando, Han, Leia, and the Resistance and even Snoke!”

RFFA Writers Self Recommendations

Proof by Contradiction by pillar_of_salt

Summary: Haptics, the sense of touch, is crucial for human exploration and manipulation of the world.-Five years after Rey Johnson breaks up with Ben Solo, CEO of First Order Technologies, she finds herself roped into talking him out of completing work on a massive, troubling new venture: Project VADER.

“This fic spawned out of a single joke I made to a colleague that private industry is like the Dark Side of academia. It then proceeded to grow arms and legs and a 20K plot while running away from me entirely. If you like science, robots, exes not being quite over each other, college/university AUs, some light treason, and gratuitous meta-commentary on academic culture and surveillance technology, you might enjoy reading this fic!”

beam that lights the way home by @politicalmamaduck

Summary: The stars lit their path to each other, and lit their way home together.

“This was my 2018 Reylo Fanfiction Anthology piece! I worked really hard to include so many of the other things I love about Star Wars canon, as well as a realistic Force bond and development of Rey and Kylo's relationship. The title and inspiration mean a lot to me as well, since they involve Irish mythology.”

cause i'm gonna make this place your home by @reylocalligraphy

Summary: “I promise you, one day, when this war is over, I will take you to see the most beautiful planets in the galaxy.” Two years later, Kylo makes good on his promise to Rey. Together, they take a holiday journeying planets all around the galaxy.

“This fic is a heartwarming tale of Rey and Ben understanding each other, traveling the galaxy (from Mustafar to Chandrila, Coruscant to Takodana), and finding home in each other.”

Banana Nut Muffins by sokki09

Summary: Ben's radio show is all over the place and Rey can't help but call in to comment.

“I wrote this for the latest collection, ATBFD, and I’m so proud of it!! It’s fluffy and full of banter and impromptu make out sessions!”

In Living Memory by SpaceWaffleHouseTM

Summary: Ben and Rey are rendered immortal after being struck by lightning at the precise same moment, and keep running into one another as the centuries drag on.

“I’ve put lots of thought and planning into it and I want to give people a story.”

#reylo #reylo fanfiction anthology #valentine's day love fest #rffa writers #photo edit #mod post #love fest list

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out-of-this-dimension · 5 years

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The Star Fox Adventures Game Manual -- Analysis

So, you may remember a few months back, I received a lot of hate mail on AO3 and FF.net for a fic that I posted that I’ve since taken down in hopes of redoing someday. The hate was largely from people who don’t like Panther (the fic was Krystal x Panther) but a lot of their arguments were attempts to debunk how “canon” my fic is. With a lot of my fics, I don’t stray too far from canon, but I do fill in “gaps” with my own headcanons. I feel like the SF series is a comfortable enough blank slate to do that. Mild spoilers for future fics, but one of these headcanons is that Panther is Cerinian. I’ve actually covered this headcanon previously on my blog but I’m too lazy to look up the link.

One of the arguments my “secret admirer” tried to make about how my fic “contradicts canon” is that “Well, Panther can’t be Cerinian because the Star Fox Adventures manual says that Krystal is the sole survivor.” (and then they made a hate fic about how my headcanon of Panther being Cerinian couldn’t possibly work, but that’s a story for another time).

Admittingly, I hadn’t looked at the manual in most of a decade, so that little tidbit escaped my memory. But honestly, with Cerinian OCs flying around left and right in the fandom, I thought it was an odd piece of info to nitpick about. Regardless, it sparked some intrigue, so I decided to poke around the internet and lo and behold, I found a PDF copy of the manual. Since it’s been a long while since the last time I read the manual, I decided to do an analysis on it. Analysis with pictures under the cut!

This is the “prologue” of Star Fox Adventures and while it’s all good and dandy, I want to point out three very important things-- 1. Peppy retired at this point, not after Krystal showed up. I mean, this is relatively minor but I thought it was noteworthy that our Barrel-Roll Loving Team Dad was already going to be retired before the “next SF game”-- whatever that would have been, though I’m fairly certain Assault’s development launched right at the heels of Adventures, if not while Adventures was in late development still. 2. Slippy apparently traded in his pilot’s wings to become a mechanic, which is... blatantly ignored in both Assault and Command because while he does mechanic-like stuff (playing off of his role as the “team smartie pants”), he still very much is a pilot. 3. Falco left because he was bored is only a rumor. I know “Farewell Beloved Falco” tackles this to a degree. I want to also note that this inspired me to re-read Farewell Beloved Falco on Monday and there’s no real point in the manga that says Falco left because he was bored (I have my own speculation as to why he left but I’ll save that for later). I find it really odd that the manual says Falco “simply disappeared”, when he very clearly left with great bravado at the end of the manga. He didn’t vanish into the night or anything, like this would imply. He said he was going to go solo for a bit and flew off after the Titania Incident. It... feels like maybe there was a miscommunication here between who was giving the person writing the manual details.

This is the Character Bio page, which, to my secret admirer’s glee, does contain the info that Krystal is the only survivor of Cerinia. It also name drops Cornerian Weapons R&D, which has also never been heard of before or since this manual. I actually searched excessively for more mentions about this and yielded no results. Curious. I had never noticed that and assumed Slippy had just been tinkering on stuff for fun. Also oof, my heart at ROB being considered a full-fledged SF member.

I’m going to skip over the parts I don’t have any commentary on.

So it’s pretty clear from the final product that Rareware had no idea what they were doing with the SpellStones. They clearly absorb magic from the planet to keep the planet from falling apart (which says to me that this is not the planet’s natural state but I’ve talked about that before so I’ll spare you the ramble). But what was going on with them is really unclear. I understand that Dinosaur Planet gives a better explanation of the SpellStones but that purpose does not seem to be canon any longer.

The text here implies that Scales has every single SpellStone in his possession (the Queen EarthWalker ALSO states he removed the SpellStones himself). Yet, when you make it into the game...

(Special note: I found this pic on Google and the file was called “Asshole”, which, tbh isn’t inaccurate but it gave me a chuckle so I thought I’d share it.)

Scales doesn’t possess all of the SpellStones. Drakor, a mutant in Scales’s army, guards the one at Dragon Rock-- we can assume Scales is responsible for that. The King RedEye has been fitted with one in his head-- we can assume Scales is responsible for that. But past that? We find Scales in the CloudRunner Fortress treasury with the first Ocean SpellStone, which he has clearly just found. And the entire point of DarkIce Mines, the entire reason the SnowHorn are enslaved, is because Scales is looking for the SpellStone. Which says to me that the SpellStone wasn’t even removed by him. He wouldn’t have had to enslave the entire tribe to go digging for it otherwise. He wouldn’t have had to lay siege to CloudRunner Fortress either.

So this entire plot point is absolutely inconsistent to what’s in the manual and even... in the game. What is the reasoning behind this? Probably the innumerable plot changes during SFAdv’s development.

With the fortunate release of the Dinosaur Planet ROM and the creation of the Warlock Engine by Hugo Peters, a lot has been uncovered in terms of how Dinosaur Planet would have originally looked like. Dark Ice Mines, for instance, was actually meant to connect via the SnowHorn Wastes (or, Northern Wastes) via a small cave entrance on the other side of the river near where one finds Garunda Te. The cave still exists in the finalized version of the game but leads to no where.

However, with Star Fox being added in, I think Rare felt the need to add in things that made the game feel a bit more in line with the Star Fox series. The planet pieces being torn apart was a way to shove in Arwing sections of the game. And the devs needed a reason for the change in the planet’s state... and what’s a better throwaway reason than “it’s just magic, bruh”? So the SpellStones, being focal points in the game’s story, were changed to being part of the reason for the planet falling to pieces. That led to DarkIce Mines, despite having a basically completed map, getting yoinked from the planet’s surface and tossed into space, meaning the entrance was sealed. The reason for all of this was handwaved into “Oh, Scales did this because he removed the stones” without... the game actually reflecting much of that at all because most of it had been made with a different story in mind.

I think Rare did this hoping that no one would look at the plot too closely but uh oh, that didn’t happen. And if you need further proof that this was all a bit of an “oopsie” on Rare’s part, you need not look much further than DarkIce Mines once more. Belina Te has a small throwaway line about how her father hid the SpellStone in the mines. She says something to the effect of “He didn’t say where he hid it, only that it was somewhere safe” which is code for “Yeah lol I stuck this important object crafted by the gods into the claws of a giant monstrosity but it’s w/e”. Maybe he was hoping that Galdon would protect it from Scales. I mean, it’s not a bad thought, really...

But the fact that the game seems to imply Scales has all the stones is still technically wrong. Now, because I think about these things a little TOO much, here’s my theory as to how this could have technically worked: All the SpellStones are placed in the same spot, you just traverse different routes (The Force Point Temples) to reach that spot. The only way I could see Scales making out with 2 out of 4 SpellStones is that there was a battle between the SharpClaw and the other dinosaurs at the central point where the SpellStones are located and General Scales was only partially successful. Which could very well be the case, but, unfortunately, the manual and game seem to not act as though this is the case...

tl;dr for that section: This literally makes no sense no matter how you slice it and sure, you can come up for reasons that things ended up this way but ultimately, the game is conflicting with itself about its own story. But let’s move on.

Apparently atmospheric conditions are so powerful on Sauria that it can interrupt communications, which I thought was a neat lore tidbit.

So I got 2 things from this tidbit about Saurian.

1. This language is called “relatively new”, even though it’s existed for thousands of years, which feels like a contradiction? A quick Google search estimates English has been around for 1400 years, to put that into perspective and I think English is considered to be fairly new compared to other languages, but I’m honestly not too terribly learned on that. Of course, that’s only viewing this through the lens of someone who lives on Earth. Having a language around in the Lylat System only for “a few thousand years” makes me wonder how long the older languages have existed? It’s quite possible that a few thousand years isn’t a long lifespan for a language in this universe.

2. Who were these off-worlders? And boy do I have theories.

Theory 1. The Krazoa. They are seemingly the gods to the dinosaurs and speak the same language. This could mean that they taught the dinosaurs this new language. It would fit the bill for their portrayal in this game. They are godlike entities, the dinosaurs do revere them... it makes sense.

Theory 2. The ones who taught the dinosaurs how to talk were the Cerinians. There is mild evidence for this with Krystal understanding Dino Speak without a translator despite being new to the planet (evidenced by the fact the CloudRunner had to explain the Krazoa to her/some dialogue bits about her learning of General Scales/the brief exposition we get about her searching the Lylat System for answers). You could argue this is due to her telepathy - she could just simply be talking in a way that the dinosaurs can understand but I don’t think Krystal’s telepathy had been firmly established as part of her character at this point (she had the ability to leave telepathic messages onto her staff and she could channel magic into Andross, but her true telepathy powers weren’t really shown until Assault). Krystal’s staff also seems strangely in-tune with Sauria, which I’ve theorized about previously. I’m mostly thinking on the Magic Caves that are conveniently scattered on Sauria. It could be that Cerinians had built the shrines within the Magic Caves to help their descendants out if they ever showed up to Sauria. So, I guess the tl;dr version is “Maybe the Cerinians had previously been on Sauria and had established the Magic Caves and had taught the dinosaurs their native language?”

To summarize my thoughts, the manual is a reflection of SFAdv itself- riddled with weird plot inconsistencies that you can almost fudge reasons/logic to cover but some of it feels like stretches for the sake of making plot make sense. There’s some contradictions in the lore/story but despite that, there’s still interesting tidbits to be found.

If anything, this booklet kind of validates my feelings from the post I made about canon awhile back. Not all of the canon makes sense when you nitpick it to death. When the source material conflicts with itself, you’re not going to win a “this is canon because x and y, etc” because... well... the story itself doesn’t even seem to know what’s canon.

Additionally, canon is something derived partially from people’s own experiences. Two people can consume the same media and come to different conclusions and that’s fine. We don’t need to have these tired debates about whose interpretation of canon is better. We just need people to understand that while their interpretation may fit them but it may not fit everyone. And that’s why, as I have begun doing Fanon Hot Take posts, I keep that disclaimer up. I don’t wanna say “My opinion of how to interpret canon/fanon is the best opinion” because that’s stupid. There is no definitive “best” because it’s all subjective. But people get into their own feelings so much about their interpretations and that’s when we have these debates of “well, my idea is better than yours”. Then people try to dismantle each other instead of just appreciating the different ideas being brought to the table. And it’s exhausting.

Frankly, I don’t ever think Panther being Cerinian will be canon. But Nintendo has not, as of this date, said he’s not. But that’s my interpretation of his character until Nintendo gives us more to go off of. And if my interpretation bothers someone enough that they decide to send me harassment over it, then that’s on them. I will not be apologizing for my interpretations, even if they do go against the grain. It’s a pity people like that exist, that would rather tear at others than try to just enjoy the content that appeals directly to him but alas, they are not the first person to be like that and they will not be the last.

On a lighter note, while I am still bothered by this person going out of their way to be so spiteful, I want to thank them for inspiring me to look at the text. It validated my feelings further and it made me realize how stupid the canon debate is. I actually had a blast going back over this book and re-reading everything. I hadn’t gotten to lay eyes on this booklet in years! I really hope I get to do this for other SF games because a lot of these manuals have such hidden gems.

Thank you for reading this ramble/analysis!

#star fox adventures #dinosaur planet #speculation #theory #analysis #long post #falco lombardi #the spellstones #farewell beloved falco #plot inconsistencies #continuity errors #starfox adventures #cerinia #sauria #dino language #the krazoa #lore #star fox #starfox

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leakinghate · 6 years

Text

The Depths to which We Sink

Disclaimer: This theory and analysis contradicts some points made in my previous metas, but what’s the fun of speculation if we limit ourselves to having it all gel together?

Nothing in animation is wasted: every action and expression seen on screen is something someone had to draw and something someone had to pay for. Everything is deliberate, from changes in expression to major plot events, and things which do not contribute to the overarching vision of the show will rarely, if ever, be included. Voltron Legendary Defender in particular moves so fast that they don’t have the space to include anything extraneous even when they want to. The showrunners have said in interviews that they’ve had to cut several of their comedy ideas for lack of space.

The exception to this that has always stood out to me as not fitting into the meta narrative is s2e2 'The Depths'. It's mostly plot irrelevant on the whole, with it being notable only for introducing the Blue Lion’s sonic canon. Sure it has some nice character moments for Lance, and the animation is beautiful, but it’s basically filler. It’s almost completely forgotten by the story, only brought up again once, when Lance references the mermaids in s3e2, ‘Red Paladin’.

In preparation for the fast approaching season 7 on August 10th I was attempting to re-watch the entire show up to the end of s6. Most re-watches I do I skip less plot relevant episodes like ‘The Depths’, but I wanted to go through the whole show this time.

But as I was watching this particular episode, post season six. I was struck by an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. So what do you do when you think you’ve stumbled upon some heretofore unnoticed foreshadowing? Why, bring it to the Lotura Discord of course! We put our heads together and came up with some fascinating observations, as well as some intriguing possibilities for where the plot might be headed in the future.

On re-watching it again, post season six, 'The Depths’ contains an uncanny amount of foreshadowing to the entire colony plot.

Two of our protagonists unexpectedly stumble upon a completely isolated and hidden settlement after traveling through a strange space anomaly. They are initially greeted by a single member of a race they previously believed did not exist (anymore).

The mermaid civilization is beneath a thick layer of ice, and the Altean colony is inside a dome.

Information received from an erstwhile ally reveals an apparently sinister truth about the actions and motivations of someone in power who had previously acted as a friend. To wit: the authority figure has deceived their loyal subjects for the purpose of killing them.

The ally that provides this information readily admits that they do not know all the facts and that their conclusion is only a theory based on the facts that they do have.

Dialogue from The Depths:

Lance: But what’s the point? Why mind-control the mermaids? Blumfump: To kill them! Lance: Really? Blumfump: Well, we don’t know that for sure, but hundreds of mermaids have disappeared and never come back.

Dialogue from The Colony:

Romelle: My brother was dead. I knew the truth, or at least part of it, but I also knew that no one would believe me without proof. When Keith and Krolia arrived they were my last chance at finding it. I told them what had happened to my brother, and as it turned out, so many Alteans that had been taken before him. As they explained their mission to me, we knew there must have been a connection between the missing Alteans and the pure strain of quintessence.

One of our protagonists is compromised by an antagonist’s mind control and is used to attack and subdue his fellows. The shadows on Hunk’s face when he is under mind control even look like Shiro’s scar.

The physical appearances of several characters are also intriguing. The one character we see fall victim to the Baku, Florona, is the only red-headed mermaid in the episode. A shade of red very similar to Bandor’s hair color.

Plaxum, the most prominent of the ‘cave dwellers’ and the one who eventually directly confronts the queen, has two ponytail-like projections on her head very reminiscent of Romelle’s hairstyle. They also share very similar body language. And Plaxum’s eyes while wearing her jellyfish are the same color as Romelle’s.

In fact, both of these pairs of characters share very similar color schemes; Plaxum and Romelle are teal, pink, and yellow, while Florona and Bandor are red, golden-yellow, and green.

These are all things which have already happened; there is no speculation here, only observation.

Hilariously, this means Bandor has been metaphorically represented by a red fish.

In other words, a Red Herring.

From Wikipedia:

"A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important issue. It may be either a logical fallacy or a literary device that leads readers or audiences towards a false conclusion."

This is exactly what we've been saying since season 6 aired. Specifically referring to Bandor’s line after his ship crashed through the dome. The one thing he manages to tell Romelle is: “Lotor... the other colony... It’s all a lie.” Which tells us exactly nothing, but is the evidence that convinces Romelle she is correct to distrust Lotor, and what sets off the chain of events that ultimately led to the s6 finale. It’s also the strongest evidence we as the audience have that Lotor has done something truly monstrous. The scene with Bandor irrefutably connects Lotor to the emaciated Alteans, even if we don’t know precisely what that connection is. It’s easy to assume the worst both in and out of universe.

In cinema characters with red hair are often made to be the red herrings. A red herring may be intentionally used by the writer to plant a false clue that leads readers or audiences towards a false conclusion. Bandor led Romelle to a false conclusion.

Both in and out of the show. Romelle concluded wrong. The paladins concluded wrong. The AUDIENCE concluded wrong.

What’s next? Well, the plot of ‘The Depths’ isn’t a 1-to-1 relation to the Altean Colony storyline, so it’s difficult to say exactly what aspects of the episode’s climactic fight and conclusion will turn out to be relevant. But, we can be fairly certain that the overall narrative is the same.

The apparent villain was actually being manipulated into taking the actions they took by a greater, silent threat. The few rebels our protagonists met were wrong about who was the real enemy. They were right about the issue, but wrong about the ‘why.’ The leader was not at fault because the leader had fallen prey to the creature first and was subsequently rendered powerless to stop it.

Perhaps even, and here we get into more speculation...

The real threat was something that loomed large in the background the whole time, assumed to be providing safety. Fallen from space.

The Baku is referred to as ‘the giver of life’.

That phrase is disconcertingly ominous, considering the only other time we've heard a similar phrase was in reference to Oriande. The Sages, or ‘Life Givers’, specifically.

And what is quintessence, but ‘life itself’.

JDS has previously compared Lotor to Magus from Chrono Trigger, a game I have no personal experience with, but @blackmoonbabe provides the relevant info here.

What if there's some kind of cosmic horror that Lotor's been fending off with Altean quintessence? Possibly, the only kind strong enough - apart from the rift sourced variety. Extracting it and storing the people in the hopes of eventually restoring them. Only, now that he's gone. There's nothing stopping whatever this thing is. Who knows. It might even be related to the rift creatures.

We still don't know what the Baku was or where it came from, just that it 'fell from space.' The new trailer for season 7 features a similar looking and very toothy one-eyed beastie.

When Lotor is pleading with Allura he says:

"Allura, you must understand I’ve given everything I have to plumb the depth of King Alfor’s knowledge, to unlock the mysteries of Oriande."

It might be that he found something bad while trying to unlock those mysteries.

All of this really makes you wonder why exactly Alfor kept Oriande's existence a secret.

Post season 1, there was an interview where the showrunners said that they had to kill off Alfor's AI because he knew spoilers. Which, okay, that’s fair.

Except... what exactly have we come to know now that only Alfor’s AI could have told us ahead of time?

Everything we eventually learn about Zarkon we find out through Allura and Coran. And everything surrounding Lotor and Haggar are things that Alfor’s AI wouldn’t have known about because they happened after Alfor’s death. The only outstanding piece of information that Alfor could have know was the location of and the information about Oriande. But, Allura doesn't even think to look for Oriande until mere moments before she and Lotor unlock the map to it. Certainly, the AI could have provided information of the proper way to get past the trials, but that was resolved easily enough in-episode and it was never truly portrayed as a risk that Allura and Lotor wouldn’t return before the castle ran out of oxygen.

If it was true that Alfor knew spoilers... there is something BIG concerning Altean Alchemy that we don't yet know. Not something little. Something potentially game changing.

Even knowing there was a good chance he was going to his death, and Coran and Allura would be on their own, Alfor never told Coran about Oriande. Coran and Alfor have been shown to have a particularly close, lifelong friendship - strong enough that Coran keeps at least two portraits of Alfor in his room above his bed. Alfor trusted Coran to the extent that he entrusted his beloved daughter, the Black Lion, and the future of the universe into Coran’s hands.

And yet.

Alfor didn’t tell Coran about Oriande. The one place Allura might go to strengthen her alchemic abilities and reach her potential. Alfor was faced with the possibility of letting the knowledge of Oriande and Altean Alchemy die, and he chose to risk it.

There had to be a damn good reason he didn't tell Coran about it. He might have known about something bad. It seems like he wanted Oriande forgotten; for Allura to never go there. Or at least, not until she was ready to make some tough decisions. Decisions he would rather spare her.

I’ve been feeling since around season 3 that VLD’s ultimate conclusion will be to show us that there is no true good and evil, that neither violence or pacifism is always the answer, that the world - the universe - is all shades of grey. Allura is our vehicle for that. It’s through her assumed prejudices that the show is shifting our viewpoints. She began the series believing that the Galra were all evil, the Alteans good. As time has gone on she’s improved impressively on her initial bias against the Galra, but has steadfastly refused to acknowledge her own people as capable of similar actions - her response to the alternate reality Alteans was to declare them not true Alteans instead of accepting that they’d become akin to the Galra Empire from her own reality.

It’s clear that Allura will have to face Honerva eventually, and will be forced to confront what the former greatest Altean Alchemist has become. But it’s too easy to dismiss Honerva’s corruption into Haggar as a side effect of the rift - not the willing actions of someone more concerned with knowledge than morality.

For six seasons we’ve seen Alfor as a paragon of good. His one fatal flaw being perhaps too good, too trusting, that he believed his friend’s words over his own judgement. Ultimately damning the universe to ten thousand years of being ground under the heel of a brutal dictator.

Alfor paid for that mistake with his life, with the destruction of his planet and the near extinction of his people. And so, he remains what all good in VLD is measured against, both in our - the audience’s - minds, and in Allura’s.

But just as our ultimate evil, Zarkon, was revealed to be more than just a monster, so too will our ultimate good be made more complex. In season 3 we were introduced to the younger Zarkon. A loyal friend and comrade. Awkward around an attractive woman, afraid of cats, and a dedicated and concerned ruler of his people. He was humanized, for lack of a better word, but we still see in him the man who he’d eventually become.

What better way to finally break through Allura’s idealized view of Alteans than by tainting Alfor’s image in some way? To finally see our Big Good do something morally grey? We’ve already seen it foreshadowed by the corruption of the AI, and the Alteans in the alternate reality.

The first time we’ve heard someone level legitimate criticisms against Alfor was at the end of season 6. Just after Lotor begins his breakdown he says:

"What about your father? He may have been a master engineer, but Alfor was too weak to defend his home world. I’m the one who had to step up and save our entire race. Who are you to question my tactics in bringing peace and prosperity to the universe?"

No one else criticizes Alfor for his choices. Even when they acknowledge he failed, he's always portrayed as having taken the best choice. But, what if Lotor's right? It certainly looks like he is.

If Lotor hadn’t stepped in and saved those few survivors of Altea’s destruction they would eventually have been discovered by the empire and executed. Zarkon had made it his personal mission to drive the Alteans to extinction. Alfor was weak. He surrendered to his fear of what would happen if Voltron fell into Zarkon’s hands and failed to utilize all his resources to defend Altea, his people, and his allies.

This won’t be the only fault we find out he had, mark my words.

There is something dark and unsavory lurking in the truth of Altean Alchemy.

Considering Lotor readily admits that Alteans perished in the process of his quintessence experiments, it may very well be that whatever required such vast amounts of concentrated quintessence is also something Alfor had to contend with in the past. Canonically, as stated in s3e7 ‘The Legend Begins’, quintessence was only first discovered in the course of studying the rift on Daibazaal. Alfor could not have been utilizing quintessence directly, because he didn't know it existed.

So if, whatever Lotor has been having to do with the colony, Alfor may have been having to do something similar...

He was simply sacrificing people.

It’s a lot easier to hide a handful of people going missing when you have an entire planet’s population to work with.

What if this is a thing that had always been happening, and that's why Alfor never told Coran about Oriande?

The thing is, Lotor can't know that now. Or he would have told Allura. To justify his actions, if it was something that Alfor would have dealt with as well.

Lotor didn't have Voltron. If there is some kind of Cosmic Horror beastie out there he might not have been able to fight it, let alone kill it. So he was building Sincline. Hence the urgency to get it completed even after Zarkon was gone. We know he was out of concentrated quintessence as of s4e5 ‘Begin the Blitz’. He was either going to have to access the rift imminently or harvest more people.

The powers that be keep talking about things not being black and white in this show.

Alteans can do bad things. Honerva became Haggar. Allura herself has made some morally questionable choices. Like what she did to Lotor for example.

Allura will need to realize that. The truth will rise from the depths and confront her in a way she can no longer ignore.

Alfor failed. It was up to Lotor to save the Altean people. He did what he felt he had to do, and in many respects, it will turn out he was right.

Lotura Discord™ Meta! The only brand of Voltron Meta you can trust to cover all the bases. No reach is too far! We’ll make it. *

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*satisfaction NOT guaranteed. No refunds or exchanges. Theories only applicable until explicitly disproved by canon. Available everywhere Lotura Discord™ members post.

#vld #The Depths #Allura #Lotor #Alfor #Romelle #Bandor #Plaxum #Florona #voltron legendary defender #s2e2 #Hate tries to Meta #Lotura Discord Meta #red herring #vld season 7 predictions #vld conspiracy theory #altean alchemy

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madewithonerib · 3 years

Text

RE: 2 Peter 3:9 | ⁹ The LORD is not slow to fulfill HIS promise as some understand slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish but everyone to come to repentance.

What does it mean that GOD is not willing for any to perish?

The second half of the verse, “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance,” is frequently used to argue against the doctrine of election.

The context of 2 Peter 3:9 is a description of scoffers who doubt that JESUS is going to return to judge the world with fire [2 Peter 3:3-7].

The scoffers mock, “Where is this coming?” [v.4]

In v.5-6 Peter reminds his readers that GOD previously destroyed the world with the flood in Noah’s time.

In v.7, Peter informs his readers that the present heavens & earth will be destroyed with fire.

Peter then responds to a question he knew was on his readers’ minds, namely, “what is taking GOD so long?”

In v.8, Peter tells his readers that GOD is above & beyond the concept of time. It may seem like we have been waiting a long time, but, to GOD, it has been a blink of an eye.

Then, in v.9, Peter explains why GOD has waited so long [in our view of time].

It is GOD’s mercy that delays HIS judgment.

GOD is waiting to give more people the opportunity to repent.

Then, in the verses following v.9, Peter encourages his readers to live holy lives in anticipation of the fact JESUS will return.

Some of the confusion regarding the meaning of 2 Peter 3:9 is the wording of the KJV translation:

“not willing that any should perish.”

Not willing makes it sound as if GOD does not allow any to perish.

However, in 17th-century English, willing carried more of an idea of desire than of volition.

The modern English translations of 2 Peter 3:9 render the same phrase “not wanting” [NIV & CSB], “not wishing” [ESV & NASB], & “does not want” [NLT].

In no sense does 2 Peter 3:9 contradict the idea that GOD elects certain people to salvation.

First, in context, election is not at all what the verse is talking about. Second, to interpret “not willing that any should perish” as “does not allow any to perish” results in the false doctrine of universalism.

But GOD can “not desire” anyone to perish & still only elect some to salvation.

There is nothing incongruous about that.

GOD did not desire for sin to enter the world through the fall of Adam & Eve, yet HE allowed it.

In fact, it was part of HIS sovereign plan.

GOD did not desire HIS only begotten SON to be betrayed, brutally tortured, & murdered, yet HE allowed it.

This, too, was part of GOD’s sovereign plan.

In the same way, GOD does not desire anyone to perish.

He desires all to come to repentance.

At the same time, GOD recognizes that not everyone will come to repentance.

It is undeniable that many will perish [Matthew 7:13–14].

Rather than being a contradiction to 2 Peter 3:9, GOD’s electing & drawing of some to salvation is evidence that HE truly does not desire people to perish.

Were it not for election & the effectual calling of GOD, everyone would perish [John 6:44; Romans 8:29–30].

https://www.gotquestions.org/not-willing-for-any-to-perish.html

Psalm 77:8; Ecclesiastes 8:11; Isaiah 30:18; Ezekiel 33:11; Daniel 4:29; Habakkuk 2:3; Luke 18:7; Romans 2:4; Romans 13:11-12; 1 Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 10:37; 2 Peter 1:4; 2 Peter 3:15; Revelation 2:21; Isaiah 46:1;

● Psalm 77:8 | ⁸ Is HIS loving devotion gone forever? Has HIS promise failed for all time?

● Ecclesiastes 8:11 | ¹¹ When the sentence for a crime is not speedily executed, the hearts of men become fully set on doing evil.

● Isaiah 30:18 | ¹⁸ Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you; therefore HE rises to show you compassion, for the LORD is a just GOD. Blessed are all who wait for HIM.

● Ezekiel 33:11 | ¹¹ Say to them: ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD GOD, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked should turn from their ways & live.

Turn! Turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?’

● Daniel 4:29-33 | ²⁹ Twelve months later, as he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ the king exclaimed, “Is this not Babylon the Great, which I myself have built by the might of my power as a royal residence & for the glory of my majesty?”

³¹ While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “It is decreed to you, King Nebuchadnezzar, that the kingdom has departed from you.

³² You will be driven away from mankind to live with the beasts of the field, & you will feed on grass like cattle. And seven times will pass you by, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, & HE gives it to whom HE wishes.”

³³ At that moment the sentence against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled.

He was driven away from mankind.

He ate grass like cattle, & his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle & his nails like the claws of a bird.

● Habakkuk 2:3 | ³ For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end, & will not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come & not delay.

● Luke 18:7 | ⁷ Will not GOD bring about justice for HIS elect who cry out to HIM day & night? Will HE continue to defer their help?

● Romans 2:4 | ⁴ Or do you disregard the riches of HIS kindness, tolerance, & patience, not realizing that GOD’s kindness leads you to repentance?

● Romans 13:11-12 | ¹¹ And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

¹² The night is nearly over; the day has drawn near. So let us lay aside the deeds of darkness & put on the armor of light.

● 1 Timothy 2:4 | ⁴ who desires all men to be saved & to come to the knowledge of the truth.

● Hebrews 10:37 | ³⁷ For, “In just a little while, HE who is coming will come & will not delay.

● 2 Peter 1:4 | ⁴ Through these HE has given us HIS precious & magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

● 2 Peter 3:15 | ¹⁵ Consider also that our LORD's patience brings salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom GOD gave him.

Charles John Ellicott, Theologian [1819–1905] | 2 Peter 3:9

[9] Third Answer—a practical one:

Make good use of what to you seems to be delay.

1.] The LORD is not slack—We are in doubt whether “the LORD” means CHRIST or GOD the FATHER.

In 2 Peter 3:8 “the LORD” certainly means GOD; & this is in favour of the same meaning here.

On the other hand, “concerning HIS promise” naturally refers to CHRIST’s promise that HE will return.

The same doubt recurs with regard to 2 Peter 3:15 [see Note there].

By “is not slack is meant “does not delay beyond the time appointed.” There is no dilatoriness; HE waits, but is never slow, is never late.

2] Concerning his promise—The Greek construction is peculiar formed on the analogy of a comparative adjective—“is not slower than HIS promise.” [Romans 3:23.]

3] But is longsuffering—[2Peter 3:15 & 1Peter 3:20]

As Augustine puts it, GOD is patiens quia aeternus —longsuffering because HE is eternal.

HE who is from everlasting to everlasting can afford to wait.

4] To us-ward—The true reading, beyond all doubt, is towards you.

It is specially natural here that Peter should not include himself among those whom he addresses; for he is writing mainly to Gentile Christians [2 Peter 1:1],

& this longsuffering of GOD had been conspicuous in HIS dealings with the Gentiles [Romans 11:11-36.]

[See second Note on 1 Peter 1:12.]

Joseph Benson, Methodist [1749–1821] | 2 Peter 3:9

1] The LORD is not slack—does not delay, or is not slow; concerning HIS promise—To fulfil it, as if the time fixed for the fulfilment of it were past;

for it shall surely be fulfilled in its season; but is long-suffering,

2] to us-ward—Children of men; not willing that any should perish—Any human being, any soul that HE has made.

That is, HE is not primarily willing; HIS first will, with regard to the whole posterity of Adam, has been & is, that they should be eternally saved;

& as a proof of it HE has given HIS SON a ransom for all; [1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 2:9;]

has commanded HIS GOSPEL, that is, the glad tidings of salvation, to be preached to all, to every human creature [Mark 16:15]

&, to help man’s weakness, causes HIS grace, even HIS saving grace, [literally signifies] to appear to, or to visit & strive with, all men, in order to their repentance, faith, & new obedience.

But if they reject HIS counsel against themselves, which they are under no necessity of doing, by continuing impenitent, unbelieving, & disobedient,

Then, secondly, HE wills, & that justly, that they should perish, for they are accountable to HIM, their rightful Lawgiver, Governor, & Judge,

& HE will judge them, & all the world, in righteousness.

Matthew Henry, Nonconformist [1662-1714] | 2 Peter 3:5-10

Had these scoffers considered the dreadful vengeance with which GOD swept away a whole world of ungodly men at once, surely they would not have scoffed at HIS threatening an equally terrible judgment.

The heavens & the earth which now are, by the same word, it is declared, will be destroyed by fire.

This is as sure to come, as the truth & the power of GOD can make it.

Christians are here taught & established in the truth of the coming of the LORD. Though, in the account of men, there is a vast difference between one day & 1K years, yet, in the account of GOD, there is no difference.

All things past, present, & future, are ever before HIM: the delay of 1K years cannot be so much to HIM, as putting off any thing for a day or for an hour is to us.

If men have no knowledge or belief of the eternal GOD, they will be very apt to think HIM such as themselves.

How hard is it to form any thoughts of eternity!

What men count slackness, is long-suffering, & that to us-ward; it is giving more time to HIS own people, to advance in knowledge & holiness, & in the exercise of faith & patience,

to abound in good works, doing & suffering what they are called to, that they may bring glory to GOD.

Settle therefore in your hearts that you shall certainly be called to give an account of all things done in the body, whether good or evil.

And let a humble & diligent walking before GOD, & a frequent judging of yourselves, show a firm belief of the future judgment, though many live as if they were never to give any account at all.

This day will come, when men are secure, & have no expectation of the day of the LORD.

The stately palaces, & all the desirable things wherein wordly-minded men seek & place their happiness, shall be burned up; all sorts of creatures GOD has made,

& all the works of men, must pass through the fire, which shall be a consuming fire to all that sin has brought into the world, though a refining fire to the works of GOD's hand.

What will become of us, if we set our affections on this earth, & make it our portion, seeing all these things shall be burned up?

● Revelation 18:7-9 | ⁷ As much as she has glorified herself & lived in luxury, give her the same measure of torment & grief. In her heart she says, ‘I sit as queen; I am not a widow & will never see grief.’

⁸ Therefore her plagues will come in one day—death & misery & famine—& she will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the LORD GOD who judges her.”

⁹ Then the kings of the earth who committed sexual immorality & lived in luxury with her will weep & wail at the sight of the smoke rising from the fire that consumes her.

● James 5:1-6 | ¹ Come now, you who are rich, weep & wail for the misery to come upon you.

² Your riches have rotted & moths have eaten your clothes. ³ Your gold & silver are corroded.

Their corrosion will testify against you & consume your flesh like fire. You have hoarded treasure in the last days.

⁴ Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you.

The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the LORD of Hosts. ⁵ You have lived on earth in luxury & self-indulgence. You have fattened your hearts in the day of slaughter. ⁶ You have condemned & murdered the righteous, who did not resist you.

Therefore make sure of happiness beyond this visible world.

Albert Barnes, American Theologian [1798-1870] | 2 Peter 3:9

1] The LORD is not slack concerning HIS promise—That is, it should not be inferred because HIS promise seems to be long delayed that therefore it will fail.

When people, after a considerable lapse of time, fail to fulfil their engagements, we infer that it is because they have changed their plans, or because they have forgotten their promises, or because they have no ability to perform them, or because there is a lack of principle which makes them fail, regardless of their obligations.

But no such inference can be drawn from the apparent delay of the fulfillment of the divine purposes.

Whatever may be the reasons why they seem to be deferred, with GOD, we may be sure that it is from no such causes as these.

2] As some men count slackness—It is probable that the apostle here had his eye on some professing Christians who had become disheartened & impatient,

& who, from the delay in regard to the coming of the LORD JESUS, & from the representations of those who denied the truth of the Christian religion, arguing from that delay that it was false,

began to fear that HIS promised coming would indeed never occur.

To such he says that it should not be inferred from HIS delay that HE would not return, but that the delay should be regarded as an evidence of HIS desire that men should have space for repentance,

& an opportunity to secure their salvation.

[See the notes at 2 Peter 3:15]

3] But is long-suffering to us-ward—Toward us.

The delay should be regarded as a proof of HIS forbearance, & of HIS desire that all human beings should be saved.

Every sinner should consider the fact that he is not cut down in his sins, not as a proof that GOD will not punish the wicked,

but as a demonstration that HE is now forbearing, & is willing that he should have an ample opportunity to obtain eternal life.

No one should infer that GOD will not execute HIS threats, unless he can look into the most distant parts of a coming eternity, & demonstrate that there is no suffering appointed for the sinner there;

anyone who sins, & who is spared even for a moment, should regard the respite as only a proof that GOD is merciful & forbearing now.

4] Not willing that any should perish—That is, HE does not desire it or wish it.

HIS nature is benevolent, & HE sincerely desires the eternal happiness of all, & HIS patience toward sinners "proves" that HE is willing that they should be saved.

If HE were not willing, it would be easy for HIM to cut them off, & exclude them from hope immediately.

This passage, however, should not be adduced to prove:

[1] that sinners never will in fact perish; because:

[a] the passage does not refer to what GOD will do as the final Judge of mankind, but to what are HIS feelings & desires now toward men.

[b] One may have a sincere desire that others should not perish, & yet it may be that, in entire consistency with that, they will perish.

A parent has a sincere wish that his children should not be punished, & yet he himself may be under a moral necessity to punish them.

A lawgiver may have a sincere wish that no one should ever break the laws, or be punished, & yet he himself may build a prison, & construct a gallows, & cause the law to be executed in a most rigorous manner.

A judge on the bench may have a sincere desire that no man should be executed, & that everyone arraigned before him should be found to be innocent, & yet even he, in entire accordance with that wish, & with a most benevolent heart, even with tears in his eyes, may pronounce the sentence of the law.

[c] It cannot be inferred that all that the heart of infinite benevolence would desire will be accomplished by HIS mere will.

It is evidently as much in accordance with the benevolence of GOD that no one should be miserable in this world, as it is that no one should suffer in the next, since the difficulty is not in the question Where one shall suffer,

but in the fact itself that any should suffer; & it is just as much in accordance with HIS nature that all should be happy here, as that they should be happy hereafter.

And yet no man can maintain that the fact that GOD is benevolent proves that no one will suffer here.

As little will that fact prove that none will suffer in the world to come.

[2] the passage should not be adduced to prove that GOD has no purpose, & has formed no plan, in regard to the destruction of the wicked; because:

[a] the word here used has reference rather to HIS disposition, or to HIS nature, than to any act or plan.

[b] There is a sense, as is admitted by all, in which HE does will the destruction of the wicked—to wit, if they do not repent—that is, if they deserve it.

[c] Such an act is as inconsistent with HIS general benevolence as an eternal purpose in the matter, since HIS eternal purpose can only have been to do what HE actually does;

& if it be consistent with a sincere desire that sinners should be saved to do this, then it is consistent to determine beforehand to do it

—for to determine beforehand to do what is in fact right, can only be a lovely trait in the character of anyone.

[3] The passage then proves:

[a] that GOD has a sincere desire that people should be saved;

continued...

Matthew Poole, Nonconformist [1624-1679] | 2 Peter 3:9

The LORD is not slack concerning his promise; i.e. doth not defer the fulfilling of it beyond the appointed time, Isaiah 60:22.

As some men count slackness; either the scoffers here mentioned, who, because of CHRIST’s not yet coming, questioned whether he would come at all, as if GOD had changed his purpose, or would not fulfil it: or believers themselves, who, through the weakness of their faith, & greatness of their sufferings, might grow into some degree of impatience, & think CHRIST slow in coming to avenge their cause, & give them their reward. So much may be gathered from Revelation 6:10.

But is long-suffering to usward; to us believers, or us elect.

Not willing that any should perish; any that he hath ordained to life, though not yet called.

But that all should come to repentance; all whom he hath elected; he would have the whole number of them filled up, & defers the day of judgment till it be so: or this may be meant not of GOD’s secret & effectual will, but of his revealed will, whereby he calls all to repentance promiscuously that hear the GOSPEL preached, hath made it their duty, approves of it, hath prescribed it as the way of salvation, commanded them to seek salvation in that way, & is ready to receive & save them upon their repenting: see 1 Timothy 2:4.

John Gill, Baptist & Calvinist [1697-1771] | 2 Peter 3:9

The LORD is not slack concerning his promise—The Syriac version reads in the plural, "his promises", any of his promises; though the words seem rather to regard the particular promise of CHRIST's coming, either to take vengeance on the Jewish nation, of which coming there was a promise made, & is often referred to by CHRIST, & his apostles; see Mark 9:1 Hebrews 10:37; & it now being upwards of thirty years since it was given out, some men began to charge GOD with slackness & dilatoriness; whereas the true reason of the delay of it was, that there might be time for the gathering in of his elect among them by his angels, or apostles & ministers, sent into the several parts of Judea, that so none of them might perish, but be brought to faith & repentance; & thus as the time of CHRIST's coming was prolonged more than was thought it would, so when the days of afflictions were come, they were shortened also for these elect's sake: or this promise regards the second coming of CHRIST, to judge the quick & dead at the last day, of which the former was a prelude, presage, & pledge; that CHRIST would come again, & appear a second time in person, was promised by himself, & often spoken of by his apostles; & many of the primitive Christians thought it would be very soon, & which might be occasioned by the hints that were given of his coming in the other sense. Now this being deferred longer than was expected, the scoffers or mockers take upon them to charge the LORD with slackness in the fulfilment of his promise: as some men count slackness; as if he had either changed his purpose, or had prolonged it beyond the appointed time, or was unmindful of his promise, & would never fulfil it; whereas he is in one mind, & none can turn him, nor will he delay the fulfilment of his promise beyond the set time; he has fixed a day for his coming, in which he will judge the world in righteousness, & he will keep it: he is not dilatory,

but is longsuffering to us-ward: not to all the individuals of human nature, for the persons intended by us are manifestly distinguished from "some men" in the text, & from scoffers, mocking at the promise of CHRIST's coming, in the context, 2 Peter 3:3; & are expressly called beloved, 2 Peter 3:1; & GOD's longsuffering towards them is their salvation, 2 Peter 3:15, nor is it true of all men, that GOD is not willing that any of them should perish, & that everyone of them should come to repentance, since many of them do perish in their sins, & do not come to repentance, which would not be the case, if his determining will was otherwise; besides, a society or company of men are designed, to which the apostle himself belonged, & of which he was a part; & who are described, in his epistles, as the elect of GOD, called out of darkness, into marvellous light, & having obtained like precious faith with the apostles; & must be understood either of GOD's elect among the Jews, for Peter was a Jew, & they were Jews he wrote to; & then the sense is, that the delay of CHRIST's coming is not owing to any slackness in him, but to his longsuffering to his elect among the Jews, being unwilling that any of that number among them should perish, but that all of them repent of their sins, & believe in him; & therefore he waits till their conversion is over, when a nation shall be born at once, & they that have pierced him look on him & mourn, & so all Israel shall be saved; or rather of the elect in general, whether among Jews or Gentiles, upon whom the LORD waits to be gracious, & whose longsuffering issues in their conversion & salvation. And upon account of these the LORD stays his coming till their number is complete in the effectual calling; & for their sakes he is longsuffering to others, & bears with a wicked world, with the idolatry, superstition, heresy, profaneness, & impiety, with which it abounds; but when the last man that belongs to that number is called, he will quickly descend in flames of fire, & burn the world, & the wicked in it, & take his chosen ones to himself. The Alexandrian copy reads, "for you", or your sakes; & so the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, & Ethiopic versions. A passage somewhat like to this is met with in a Book of the Jews [f], esteemed by them very ancient.

GOD prolongs or defers his anger with men; & one day, which is a thousand years, is fixed, besides the seventy years he delivered to David the king—And he does not judge man by his evil works which he continually does, for if so, the world would not stand; but the holy blessed GOD defers his anger with the righteous, & the wicked, that they may return, by perfect repentance, & be established in this world, & in the world to come.''

And it is an observation of theirs [g], that when GOD is said to be longsuffering", it is not written , but , intimating, that he is longsuffering both to the righteous & the wicked; but then he bears with the latter, for the sake of the former: compare with this passage Revelation 6:9;

not willing that any should perish; not any of the us, whom he has loved with an everlasting love, whom he has chosen in his SON, & given to him, & for whom he has died, & who are brought to believe in him. These, though they were lost in Adam, did not perish; & though in their own apprehensions, when awakened & convinced, are ready to perish; & though their peace, joy, & comfort, may perish for a while, & they may fear a final & total perishing; yet they shall never perish as others do, or be punished with everlasting destruction: & that this is the will of GOD, appears by his choice of them to salvation; by the provisions of grace for them in an everlasting covenant; by the security of their persons in the hands of CHRIST; by sending his Son to obtain salvation for them, & HIS SPIRIT to apply it to them; & by his keeping them by his power, through faith, unto salvation.

But that all should come to repentance; not legal, but evangelical, without which all must perish; & which all GOD's elect stand in need of, as well as others, being equally sinners; & which they cannot come to of themselves, & therefore he not only calls them to it, in his word, & by HIS SPIRIT & grace, but bestows it upon them; he has exalted CHRIST at his own right hand, to give it to them; & repentance is a grant from him, a free gift of his grace; & the SPIRIT is sent down into their hearts to work it in them, to take away the stony heart, & give an heart of flesh; without which, whatever time & space may be given, or means afforded, even the most awful judgments, the greatest mercies, & the most powerful ministry, will be of no avail.

Geneva Study BIBLE, ‎Protestant Affiliation [1557-1560] | 2 Peter 3:9

[8] The LORD is not slack concerning HIS promise, as some men count slackness; [9] but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

[8] The LORD will surely come, because HE has promised: & neither sooner nor later than HE has promised.

[9] A reason why the last day does not come too soon, because GOD patiently waits until all the elect are brought to repentance, that none of them may perish.

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/2_peter/3-9.htm

#repentance #not slow #The Day of the LORD

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theyearofcancerousthinking · 5 years

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June 13, 2019

Edith Gonzalez just died. She was a beloved Mexican soap opera icon. I loved her from Corazón Salvaje and knew she had been diagnosed in 2016.

I have a weird relationship with celebrities who have cancer - especially breast cancer. I look to those who have cleared their benchmarks: Christina Applegate, Rita Wilson. I keep tabs (from a distance) on those who were diagnosed at the same time I was, mainly Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Every time I catch myself thinking that it can’t possibly be true that I have a clean bill of health I look to the former. Julia Louis-Dreyfus has a way to go before I can look to her for comfort.

Last week another celebrity died unexpectedly - one of those you have grown up with, always seeing them on tv. And it hits me harder than expected. Knowing how young they were and how sudden their deaths were just drives home one of the main feelings I’ve had since my diagnosis: life is too short to not do whatever the hell you want. Do it, and do it well. Give it everything. Don’t suffer fools. Create the life you want.

Which is a great segue to the following mental health update I have: after months of my shrink recommending an anti-depressant, I finally relented. My oncologist wanted to refer me to a rheumatologist to explore the source of my debilitating fatigue. He wasn’t down with my blaming chemo + the ongoing hormone treatment.

My shrink had brought up the option before, but had also told me I did not have a straightforward diagnosis of depression, so I had rejected it. But then, after a trip to celebrate my nephew’s second birthday, I went through three of the saddest, heartbreaking, mentally twisted days where I convinced myself that the sadness I felt at leaving him was proof that the universe knew something horrible that I didn’t. And that S was going to die in a plane crash - and I was filled with anticipatory guilt. It was Doom & Gloom City. I was able to shake my self free from it on the third evening by realizing that I had been there before - I had had those feelings before and the universe hadn’t shown any of its cards. Three days is a long time.

I had a shrink appointment scheduled already so it was fresh in my mind as I told him about my thought process. My mind did not have time to pull any revisionist history. And yes, I am referring to my mind as someone separate to me because that is how it feels.

One of the driving points of therapy post-cancer is to find meaning in your life. I have struggled with this concept: what is meaningful? And how does anything meaningful cancel out how shitty life can be? (I definitely scared my brother-in-law and S one night, when I explained there were definite scenarios where I would rather not have been born - I was serious and thought I had good examples, i.e., the Holocaust.) One of the main, if not the only, meaningful experiences of the human condition is connection with those around us. And as someone who is super social and a relatively good judge of character, I have many wonderful people in my life who have been nothing but supportive during this ordeal. But, this was not as heart-warming as it could have been. Maybe as someone super social and open I took it for granted, but it just wasn’t enough.

For example, I witnessed an exchange between a homeless man and a gruff Long Island type, who did not allow him to pass through the train cars because he was clearly too weak to stand up-straight. My shrink thought that was a nice, heart-warming, meaningful moment. I thought it was nothing in the overall scheme of things. I have a bunch of these conversations with my shrink - no human interaction is enough to convince me that life is not fundamentally hard.

But now, with my nephew in particular - I was smitten. Thrilled to be bonding now that he is two and has more of an idea of who I am. Proud of that he is a healthy, brilliant, growing little boy. So incredibly proud of my sister and Bro-in-law for how they are raising him. And in the same instant I was feeling these things, I felt sadness that he lives far away, that I didn’t know he had been hitting all these milestones, and then guilt that I couldn’t be happy that he is great, and that in some twisted way I was making this about me? Why couldn’t I just be happy that he was healthy and growing? Why, when I finally found something meaningful did my mind swipe it away and replace it with fear and sadness? As humans we can feel awe and fear - and I can easily find and feel awe - and as it follows, meaning. But I cannot sit with that emotion. But fear? Hell, we have slumber parties, go to sleep away camp, go to boarding school, take long baths. The works.

My shrink recommended the medication again, and explained that he was not recommending a cast for a non-broken leg (my example) but rather a splint for a sprained ankle. He said I have a mild depression in relation to the menopause. Interesting right? Not the cancer. Not in relation to fear of a recurrence. Menopause.

I thought about this recommendation for two weeks. I spoke to friends who have been open about being on similar medications or open about contemplating them. I had one more quick episode of the twisted mental gymnastics that my mind engages in when it thinks I am not paying attention. I caught myself thinking that I was tidying up our apartment before a bike ride because if I died people would have to come over to pay their respects in a messy apartment. I was thinking this as if though it were the most normal thing in the world.

This time, 20 minutes passed before I realized it - not 3 days. Was this proof that I didn’t need medication? Maybe now that I was aware of the problem, I could get out in front of it?

And then, I saw the Brené Brown special on Netflix. I have been a fan for a long time. She spoke about how some people fear happiness. I thought that, clearly, was not me! Right? Who fears happiness? But then she went on to explain that some people feel happiness and then immediately rehearse tragedy, fearing that the other shoe must be about to drop. And I knew she was describing me. And I knew she was not contradicting anything my shrink had said - it might be human nature to want to control outcomes but engaging in this doom & gloom cycle was not healthy. Brené also mentioned that people who were resilient were good at gratitude and that set them apart from those who rehearsed tragedy.

I never would have thought I wasn’t somebody who was naturally grateful. NEVER. I have such a controlling sense of guilt that I thought I was a gratitude champ. But, my gratitude spirals very very very quickly into guilt, resentment, anger. Happy I caught my cancer early? Anger for all those who didn’t. Grateful I have great health insurance? Rage for those who don’t. Glad I have loving friends + family who rallied from near + far for me? Deep sadness for those who have to go at it alone. Of course I also mentioned this to my shrink and he pointed out that gratitude exercises are built to circumvent this by asking you to identify small joys: a great cup of coffee, a breezy bike ride, a great new album.

In the end, I thought long and hard about this decision. As open as I am about mental health (I mean, I do have this blog) I had to confront my open deep-rooted prejudice regarding depression. Shouldn’t I be smart enough to analyze my way out of this? Aren’t I mentally strong (even if I am not as resilient as I thought I was)? Aren’t I high functioning?

But then the feeling I described at the beginning of this post broke through it all: who the hell cares if I need a pill? Who am I trying to be strong for? Who am I trying to prove this to? At the end of the day, do you think my life will be marked as being someone on an anti-depressant? If I take a pill and it works, then I just improved my life. And if it doesn’t work (it might not with mild depression), I will have tried. I will continue to put the work in during therapy, and maybe one day I won’t need it anymore. I gave my shrink (and me, really) one year of being on it - I figured we could accumulate enough data in a year. But, if I need it until the day I die at 90 years young, and it made my days lighter + happier, then fuck it. Honor those who didn’t make it by taking life by the horns. We get one life and death is a total mindfuck but being hyper aware of it is mind-bendingly freeing.

#death #cancer #breastcancer #selfbreastexam #depression #antidepression #mentalhealthadvocate #mental health #cancersucks #brenebrown #brene brown #netflix #netflixandchill #mentalhealthparity #thrivenyc

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jaytodd1129 · 5 years

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Musings on the whole Brian May IG apocalypse of 2019 (aka: I’m Getting Way Too Fucking Old For This Shit. Literally.)

I’ve been debating on whether I should even say anything about this. I’ve been debating it for quite a while now. But since everyone seems to have their own opinion on the matter and to be sharing it quite freely, I finally figured hell! why shouldn’t I?

So I read the initial comment that sparked this entire thing. I read Brian’s reply. Then I read Brian’s reply to his own reply. And then, finally, the post where he announces he will become less active on his IG account from now on (To say I read the heaps and heaps of hate messages on his comment section goes without saying).

So without further ado, here are my two cents on the matter. Let’s start this shindig!

I first came across this entire situation at around 2am when I was unable to sleep and I opened tumblr to see posts about how “Brian May was now cancelled”. My immediate reaction was “Oh no. WHAT DID HE DO??”. As I kept scrolling down and seeing more and more posts about it, I felt my heart sinking. Brian May? Justifying rape? Defending sexual assault? Taking a rapists’ side?? What the hell?? The more I read, the bleaker the view for one of my favorite rockstars of all time became, so I decided to confront the situation head on, and read the damn comment with my own two eyes.

I mean... it must’ve truly been a horrible comment to spark such a reaction.

Riiiiiiiiiiiight?

Wrong. What I came across was a mildly annoyed comment from a dude-- at its core-- being peeved at being told what to do. That was it. Add in a remark about “innocent until proven guilty” and we have our so very infamous comment.

The last part seems to be the thing that has riled people up the most. But you know what? I’m gonna get this out of the way now before I proceed with anything else: it’s true!! Is this really news?? It’s what american and many other countries’ judicial systems are founded on! If “innocent until proven guilty” WASN’T true, I could go to work tomorrow and accuse my boss of raping me and have him arrested by noon. For fuck’s sake, HE could accuse me of raping HIM and have ME arrested by noon! Anyone could accuse anybody of doing anything, and it would immediatly be held as truth, and we’d all be in jail right now.

Presumption of innocence isn’t the problem with the way that rape and assault victims are treated in court. With the way that offenders get to serve meager sentences for actions that forever cripple the minds--and sometimes even---bodies of survivors. The problem is that the people in charge of delegating these punishments don’t seem to understand the true impact that rape and abuse have on victims. They seem to hold it in the same light as mugging or aggravated assault which is ludicrous and an insult to such survivors. This is what we need to work on changing! THIS! Not a principle that has kept order in society and protected us all for as long as there has been a thing called law.

That aside. I think we’re all guilty of intolerance towards people that have an opinion that even SLIGHTLY differs from our own. It’s like we’ve become allergic to listening and asking ourselves “why would this person think this way? what could be this person’s point of view?”. Nowadays, we meet everyone who seems to contradict us with an attack and we assume the worst behind the reason they do it. I think that if people had actually stopped to think about what Brian May meant with what he was saying, no one would’ve had such a violent response. Because I fail to see how anybody that gave his comment 2 second’s thought could ever interpret is as meaning “Rape is good. I’m siding with a rapist”. They would’ve realized that he was reacting mostly to the way that he was being talked to... which is my next point.

I don’t think that the girl who made the first comment was wrong necessarily. That is not the point I’m trying to make here. But don’t you think you go a long way from saying “Do this. Thanks.” to treating someone like a reasonable human being and kindly laying out your point of view? Wouldn't we all react better to someone trying to gently shed light on a certain matter, than someone ordering us to do something? I know I would. Seriously. I HATE it when someone (that isn't my boss) tries to order me to do something, and I can tell you right now, I probably would've had a very similar reaction to the one he had.

Lastly, I don’t know about Bryan Singer. I don’t know what he did or didn’t do. If he did what he’s being accused of, I hope he rots in a jail-cell for the rest of his life. I don’t care how wonderful The Usual Suspects is, I don’t care that he’s the father of most of my beloved X-Men movies. Being good at your job shouldn’t give you a free pass in the eyes of the law to do whatever the fuck you want. You’re still just a human being like the rest of us and should be held accountable for all and any crimes committed.

But everyone is an individual and we are as such allowed to form our own opinions and reason through things without immediatly going along with what the vast majority is saying. Brian May questioning things isn't wrong. It's just proof that he is a thinking man. And I think we should all strive to be thinking people and not punish others for questioning things. It’s by questioning things that we get to the truth.

#brian may #queen #if anyone wants to counter any of the things i've said here feel free to drop an ask #i'm all for debate as long as people remain respectful and don't resort to name-calling and yo-momma arguments

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