#that brings our fundamental truths | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

odinsblog · 7 months

Text

Let us be very clear: Hamas breached international law on the 7th of October. Hamas targeted innocent civilians in the most callous and inhumane manner, and their actions have been rightly condemned by right thinking people across the world.

But we should also be very clear, Israel has breached international law, not just every day since October the 7th, but virtually every single day for decades.

Israel occupies Palestinian land, against international law.

Israel blockades Palestinian territory, against international law.

Israel builds and expands illegal settlements, against international law.

Israel enforces an apartheid system that restricts the movements of Palestinians and denies their fundamental rights, against international law.

And Israel regularly and systematically attacks and kills Palestinian civilians, against international law.

So the question that must be answered by all of us in political life is this: How does the world respond to flagrant abuses of international law when it comes to the horrendous war crimes of Hamas? The response was very clear and very consistent. World leaders queued up to say Israel has the right to defend itself. One after another repeated their words the great and the good, including our government.

“Israel has the right to defend itself.”

Repeated in statement after statement, tweet after tweet, despite the full knowledge that those words have become contaminated. The words, “Israel has the right to defend itself” means in practice that Israel takes that right as license to bombard civilians, to bomb schools, hospitals and other civilian infrastructure. And it has now been taken as license to enforce the displacement of 1 million people from one end of an open air prison to another. To deny food, energy, medical supplies to a besieged civilian population, to actually deny them water, to ensure that children, the sick, the disabled, the elderly will literally die of thirst.

“Israel has the right to defend itself” has now become cover for, “Israel has the right to commit genocide.”

Right in front of our eyes. How come we never hear the words, “Palestine has the right to defend itself”?

Not when a humanitarian flotilla bringing essential supplies to Gaza is met with a military assault and the murder by Israel of nine unarmed activists.

Not when Palestinians march in peaceful protests against illegal blockade and are met again with a military assault and the murder of 300 of them.

Not after the countless bombings of Gaza by Israeli forces.

Not even when Israel targeted and murdered four little Palestinian boys playing football on a beach.

And not when Palestinians were dragged from their homes and forced to watch as those homes were destroyed to allow for new illegal Israeli settlements on lands that are clearly defined in international law as part of Palestine.

And not after the countless offensive attacks by Israel against the people of Gaza or the West Bank, have we or any heard anybody in this house or any Western leader uttered the words, “Palestine has the right to defend itself.”

And why not?

And by the way, I'm not asking you to say those words. And in fact, it's just as well you don't. Because we all know that the people of Palestine can't defend themselves, not against one of the most powerful military forces in the world that is backed up by even more powerful military forces.

The truth is that the people of Palestine, just like the innocent people of Israel, don't need the international community to tell them that their leaders have the right to inflict more bombings, more pain, more suffering. They need the international community to say, “Stop.” To release the hostages, to say stop the bombings, the siege, the slaughter. They need the international community to tell Israel to stop the blockade, stop the apartheid, stop the annexations, to stop the genocide.

And they need countries Tánaiste to lead the way. And Ireland should be one of those countries that leads the way.

We know colonialism.

We know oppression.

We know conflict.

But we also know conflict resolution.

We know peace building.

We know nation building.

And because of what we know, what our history has taught us, our call tonight must be clear, immediate, full and unequivocal ceasefire fires and a decisive international intervention that leads to negotiations and to a lasting and just peace settlement and to, at long last, to a free, sovereign and independent Palestine.🇵🇸

#politics #palestine #gaza #israel #genocide #war crimes #hamas ≠ palestine #ceasefire #collective punishment #settler colonialism #benjamin netanyahu is a war criminal #israel is an apartheid state #ireland #the irish

2K notes · View notes

worldoshaking · 4 months

Text

There’s something uniquely haunting about the words ‘one brings shadow, one brings light’ and how many different things they mean over the course of the story.

At the start of A Realm Reborn, the hero takes on the name of the Warrior of Light, and nothing could be more fitting. They are the champion of justice, someone who fights to bring peace to a war-torn, despairing world. It is a symbolism that resonates naturally and easily with the audience: the Warrior of Light lifts the shadow of the Empire, and lets people look forward to new beginnings, turn to a new dawn with the coming of the Astral Era. (As we eventually learn from Moren, the name was originally born of that symbolism: from people finding hope in their heroes, and giving them a name expressive of that hope.)

And then we meet the Warriors of Darkness: at first glance, they are obvious villains, seeking to undo the Warrior of Light’s work and drown the Source in darkness and fear. Their name evokes skullduggery and mystique, and it is a haunting inversion of the Warrior of Light’s, suggesting that they are bound to be our foes.

And then we learn the truth of their origins: they were Warriors of Light, just like us, and their path, so like ours, brought ruin upon their world. We learn, for the first time, that the Light is a force to be reckoned with and feared, and that Light and Dark are not so different after all.

When we finally get to the First, the inversion comes full circle. We meet Ardbert as the Warrior of Light, and our WoL is now the fabled Warrior of Darkness: the bringer of night and reprieve to a world that has known no rest from fear and striving. The term ’Warrior of Light’ is no longer a symbol of adulation, but one of reprobation and reproach.

The duality of shadow and light is also exemplified by Emet-Selch and the Crystal Exarch. The Exarch turns to the future with hope, while Emet-Selch lives in the past, with the shades of memory. The Exarch seeks to protect Hydaelyn’s will, and avert the return of Zodiark. Emet-Selch slinks and prowls on the margins of history, weaving malign and intricate plots, sowing discord and fear and doubt. The Exarch stands at the forefront of history, facing down corruption and chaos, making his city a bastion of resistance and rallying everyone beneath the cause of hope. Emet-Selch represents the shadow of conquest and imperialism over the land; the Exarch has built a city of kindness, fellowship and egalitarianism.

And yet, even here, the symbolism is inverted, for the hope the Exarch brings is in the shape of the gentle night, while Emet-Selch seeks to drown the world in searing light. In the bright open spaces of the Crystarium, it is only the Exarch who walks in shadow. He deals in secrets, hiding his plans and his face and his name, while Emet-Selch seeks to understand, and bestows terrible knowledge. The light of the Exarch’s plan is perfect and pitiless, and it is up to Emet-Selch’s prowlings and plottings to save him, gun in villainous hand.

And the most fundamental form of the inversion is learning that Emet-Selch is, in a way, fighting for the same thing as the Warrior of Light is: he is fighting to save his world and his people, and to him we are the villains.

The light of the Warriors’ hope and belief breaks through the miasma of Hades’ terror and grief. And at the end, Emet-Selch stands there, ragged light spilling out of the hole in his body, and smiles, in a final gesture of acknowledgement. He dissolves into a shower of gentle light, spilling over the Warrior of Light like a benediction.

Everything is inverted in the First: people glory in the name of sinners, shudder at forgiveness, and celebrate the night. The sin eaters are bright and beautiful and gentle, and they bring a terrible, merciless forgiveness: a forgiveness that tears you apart from the inside; a forgiveness that blankets the world in silence and inexorable light.

The first time we hear the iconic line ’one brings shadow, one brings light’ is in the scene where the Warriors of Light and Darkness merge into one—the Warrior of Light helping to contain the light raging within the Warrior of Darkness, their souls embracing in understanding and warmth. It is a moment of glorious illumination: of the twin Warriors understanding their connection, and of Ardbert seeing his purpose, the clear resonant notes of the theme song ringing out in glorious triumph. But it is also a moment of gentleness and reprieve. The light is no longer spilling out of the Warrior of Light’s wounded soul; Ardbert is there, providing them with sanctuary, with gentle shade. The Warrior of Light does not have to be fight their battle alone and unflinching. They do not have to be perfect any more, for there is someone to watch their back.

They are truly two-toned echoes tumbling through time: Ardbert retraced the Warrior of Light’s path on the First, and now they have retraced his.

The symbolism of light and dark is most starkly exemplified by Hydaelyn and Zodiark—Zodiark as the will of the star back to the past, to the splendour and sorrow and hubris of Amaurot; Hydaelyn as the will of the star towards light and growth and change. But now it is Hydaelyn who reigns, and defends herself against Zodiark’s incursion. She is no longer the disruptor, but the preserver of the status quo, of the lives that already exist. On the First, Light brings stasis and silence and emptiness.

We revisit this symbolism with Elidibus in The Seat of Symbolism: the heart of Zodiark, taking on the person of the Warrior of Light, and fighting off Hydaelyn’s champion, who bears the mantle of a Warrior of Darkness. Elidibus is lost in grief and darkness and doubt; he fears loss, and he does not remember. He must fight to save his doomed cause, though he does not know why. The Crystal Exarch and the Warrior of Darkness bring him light, in the shape of remembering, and of absolution. Now he remembers the comrades he fought for, and the love that drove him; he does not have to struggle on in the darkness any more.

In the Eden storyline, the symbolism of shadow and light is evoked by Ryne and Gaia, the Oracles of Light and Darkness. Mitron seeks to keep Gaia in the shadows, taking her memories, wresting away her agency over her life. Ryne brings her light, in a symbolic sense, helping her discover who she is and what she wants, offering her warmth and comfort and hope. But it is simultaneously Gaia’s darkness that helps them break the light’s chokehold and return life and growth to the world. It is the hammer of her darkness that breaks through the light’s overwhelming hold on Ryne, quite literally saving both her and the world. And in the end, she makes the powerful choice not to know of her past in Eulmore, preferring to turn her gaze to the future. Her story encapsulates a central theme of the Eden arc: escaping stasis, embracing change and growth, making new memories.

In Shadowbringers, right and wrong are not inexorable absolutes that we are to be judged by. Light and Darkness are two-toned echoes tumbling through time: humanity and the dragons, the Warriors of Light and Darkness, the champions of Zodiark and Hydaelyn. We should not be too quick to form our judgements, for nothing is as it seems, and there is hope to be found in the night.

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv meta #shadowbringers #shadowbringers spoilers #crystal exarch #g'raha tia #emet-selch #ardbert hylfyst #ryne waters #gaia ffxiv #rynegaia #my post

266 notes · View notes

caligvlasaqvarivm · 5 days

Note

Hey I know this isn't on-topic for an Eridan blog but you're the best HS theorist I know <3 so do you happen to have any theories about WHY Gamzee faked god tier? I always see theories about how he could be a real god tier too, or about how he manages to be immortal even though he's not god tier, but I cannot find any discussion of WHY he bothered with that ruse in the first place!!! He didn't even fool anyone, unless we count Caliborn for like 2 secs before Hussie told him the truth, and all he got for his trouble was shot!

I think it's mostly a gag, but this is the Analyzing Homestuck blog, so: I think it's because Gamzee wants to look like an adult to impress Caliborn.

Gamzee's lusus is physically neglectful.

But you were never taught that on account of a lousy upbringing. Your custodian was always out to sea.

And several things stem from that neglect - the first, his indoctrination into the Clown Cult, the second, his extensive and all-encompassing drug usage, and the third, his poor social skills, which leave him ostracized by his teammates.

Let's first take a look at what, exactly, that religion entails:

You belong to a RATHER OBSCURE CULT, which foretells of a BAND OF ROWDY AND CAPRICIOUS MINSTRELS which will rise one day on a MYTHICAL PARADISE PLANET that does not exist yet. The beliefs of this cult are SOMEWHAT FROWNED UPON by those dwelling in more common lawnrings.

TC: I PeEpEd oN A PlAcE Of 6 tRiLlIoN HeMoS TC: AlL Up aT OnE RoCk, BlEeDiNg aS EqUaLs TC: It's eAsY To sEe iF YoU SeArCh aLl yOuR FeElInS TC: ThAt pEaCe hApPeNs fIrSt, AnD MuRdEr's tHe sEqUeL TC: It's tHe bEaUtY Of tHe cArNiVaL, tHe mAgIc's iN TeNtS

TC: all my life i believed at a fuckin paradise to come what held the most baller, darkest of carnivals to join. TC: AND A PROPHECY TC: to tell all about a band of rowdy and capricious minstrels steeped in the good harshwhimsy. TC: THE MIRTHFUL MESSIAHS WERE FORETOLD TO BE CRASHING THAT FUCKING PIE STAND AND BRING THE HOLY RUCKUS. TC: like a giddy fuckin ninja one wheeling head long at the hugest fuckin horn heap shangri la's got to see. TC: I'M TALKING ABOUT THE VAST HONK, YOU BLASPHEMOUS MOTHERFUCKER. TC: what i believed in it to be was so beautiful, us and them all mellowing in tents, bumpin sounds, tossing back the faygo and soaking the miracles up our faith sponges, while the special stardust rained down at our elixir sticky faces, like a bunch a fuckin fairy powder from religion space. TC: IT WAS GOING TO BE US AND MOTHER FUCKING THEM. TC: them and mother fuckin us. :o(

In essence: Gamzee's cult believes that there will be a Vast Honk, which will kill all trolls; however, "a band of rowdy and capricious minstrels" will usher in/create a new paradaisical planet of nothing but good vibes and chill times, where the "mirthful messiahs" will get to enjoy eternity.

There's pretty clear parallels here to the Christian concept of the Rapture, which fits in with the Garden of Eden/Original Sin themes of the Dancestors and the Second Coming thing Karkat's got going on. But, more importantly, it's also pretty directly just... what SGRUB/SBURB are all about. Their original population all dies, but a bunch of kids band together to create a new universe, with new planets, where theoretically live out the rest of their godhood in peace and happiness.

Were it not for the casteist influences as a result of being a cult largely followed by highbloods, there'd pretty much be nothing inherently objectionable about Gamzee's belief system - it's fundamentally hopeful, and, in fact, when he raps about it to Tavros, part of it is outright about "equalizing" the hemocaste (they all bleed as equals, see). Tavros agrees:

AT: tHE SLAMS WERE TRULY PRIME, aND, AT: yOUR RELIGIOUS VIEWS, tHOUGH i DON'T SHARE THEM, aRE, AT: rEASONABLY INSPIRATIONAL, AT: i THINK i'M IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING AT LEAST ONE TEAR,

Next, we'll look at the sopor usage and ostracization together, because I think they're interlinked. People on Gamzee's team are friggin' mean to him.

CG: MIRACLES ARE LIKE POOP STAINS ON GOD'S UNDERWEAR. TA: eheheh makiing fun of people2 reliigiion2 i2 the be2t thiing two do.

GC: NO TH4T SHOULD BOTH3R YOU, TH4T R34SON GC: WHY DONT TH1NGS L1K3 TH4T BOTH3R YOU?? GC: NO WOND3R V4NT4S C4NT ST4ND YOU

CT: D --> What you do appear to know is e%actly how to ma%imize my livid contempt for you CT: D --> With your revolting language and your sense of decorum CT: D --> At such breathtaking odds with the richness and perfe%ion of your b100d CT: D --> I just hate you so much

CA: that is the wworst fuckin advvice CA: wwhat an awwful thing a you to say CA: MAGIC ISNT REAL STUPID STOP BELIEVVIN IN IT

On the whole, the team treats him as the party joke, if not outright worthy of derision. The one person on his team who IS nice to him, Tavros, ghosts him after Gamzee is too forward and asks to make out with him. He's deeply lonely, and what's more, his introductory narration is littered with pessimism.

You'll be doing one thing then something else hits you just like that and you roll with it. That's what you do when life hands you lemons. You sure as fuck don't make lemonade because who the fuck knows where that fuckin' shit comes from?

Someone is bugging you. This is exciting. You're always down for shooting the wicked shit with anyone that who'll put up with you.

That last one makes it clear that Gamzee is also aware of how much people on the team don't like him.

I'm also of the opinion that "Soft Gamzee" was always fake and never existed, which is outright stated by Hussie from the book:

The best explanation for why Gamzee says he's scared of Vriska, in my opinion, is this: he's flat-put lying. It's a good way for him to maintain his cover as 'Soft Gamzee.' It also provides some ammunition for those who, against all sense of good taste and judgment, want to continue to believe and assert that Gamzee is a decent guy with sensitive emotions and vulnerabilities before he undergoes his Muderstuck awakening. He was none of those things, ever.

But there's evidence for this - Gamzee has actually always been kind of casteist:

AT: i THINK i'M IN THE PROCESS OF RELEASING AT LEAST ONE TEAR, TC: Me tOo, BrO, yOu mOtHeR FuCkIn kNoW ThErE Be sOmE Of mY EyE's RoYaL JeLlY To gO WiTh yOuR EmOtIoNaL pEaNuT BuTtEr. AT: wHOA, aHA, hA,

He's trying to be affectionately so here, but given Tavros's "whoa, haha," reaction, it seems like it's still a pretty out-of-pocket thing to say. Especially in light of GamRezi, it's pretty easy to read him as making passive-aggressive digs to Terezi here:

TC: I'm OuTsIdE kEePiNg An EyE oUt HeRe FoR tHe OlD gOaT. TC: yOu KnOw HoW iT iS wItH fAmIlY. GC: NO, NOT R34LLY! GC: 4DURRRR DURR DURP TC: Oh YeAh...

TC: hAvE yOu EvEr EvEn SeEn ThE oCeAn? TC: oR i MeAn SmElLeD iT... TC: SoRrY. GC: >:[

His reaction to Eridan is also "indulge emotional theatrics," but depending on whether you believe Eridan killed his lusus, it's debatably justified. I'm just going to mention that that's also there.

His constant assertion that Karkat is his best friend, which isn't reciprocated until after murderstuck, also kind of reads as a palecrush to me. This is supported by the fact that Nepeta has always had pale GamKat on her shipping wall - which I believe is more representative of how people feel and what they want than whether a romantic pairing is viable, as part of her Heart (and NOT Blood) powers.

He won't stop referring to Karkat as his best friend, really awkwardly changes the topic when the conversation has led to him having to acknowledge that Karkat is closer to Sollux (whom Karkat calls his best friend):

TC: yEaH mAyBe BuT hE's YoUr BeSt FrIeNd ThOuGh So It'S aLl CoOl. TC: AnYwAy I tHoUgHt ThIs SoUnDeD lIkE a PrEtTy BiG mOtHeRfUcKiN dEaL mY mAn. TC: aAaUuUhHh... CG: WHAT. TC: Aw BrO nEvErMiNd, I jUsT fUcKiN dId LiKe To ScArE tHe ShIt OuTtA mYsElF hErE. TC: tHeSe DaMn HoRnS.

(Sidebar about the usage of "best friend," Karkat pretty much outright says he's unreliable when it comes to who his best friend is at any given moment LOL - he spends pre-murderstuck insisting Sollux is HIS best friend. King of mixed signals.)

EB: who is gamzee? CG: HE WAS MY BEST FRIEND. EB: really? i thought terezi was your best friend. ... CG: GAMZEE WAS MY VERY GOOD FRIEND, WHO WAS THIS GOOFY LOVEABLE BULLSHIT CLOWN UNTIL HE WENT PSYCHO AND KILLED SOME PEOPLE. I LIKED HIM A LOT. CG: I DON'T KNOW, I GUESS MY BEST FRIEND IS REALLY JUST THE GUY WHO I HAPPEN TO BE FEELING MOST SENTIMENTAL TO AT THE MOMENT, IS THAT A FUCKING CRIME.

If we take Hussie's statement that Gamzee lied when he chased Vriska (whom he doesn't like) away from his horn pile -

GAMZEE: VrIsKa hEy yOu wAnT To uH… VRISKA: What? GAMZEE: ShIt, I WaS AlL GoInG To aSk iF YoU WaNtEd tO HoP In tHe hOrN PiLe fOr a bIt oF MoThErFuCkIn sHuTeYe, BuT… GAMZEE: I DoN'T ThInK I WiLl cAuSe i'm pReTtY MuCh sCaReD Of yOu, SoyEaH. VRISKA: Aww. ::::)

Then it stands to reason he's also lying about being scared of Jack so he can prevent Eridan from providing Karkat with emotional support:

CA: this is a lot a pointless fuckin rubbish and isnt no emotional help to him or me either for that matter CA: put kar on TC: UuUuH, i cAn't rEaLlY ThInK AbOuT InTeRvEnInG, tHe bLaCk fRoWnInG MoThErFuCkEr kInDa sCaReS Me

So, personally, signs point to Gamzee always having been a lot shiftier and meaner than he let on.

Naturally, that begs the question of why he's pretending to be nicer and higher than he actually is (not that he isn't high, but he's definitely more cognizant of what's going on than people both in- and out-of-universe give him credit for). Well, the answer to that is pretty simple: it's because he loves his friends and wants to get along with them.

You like to chat a lot with your pal Karkat, who is usually pretty cranky, but he is your BEST FRIEND. You have a lot of OTHER GREAT FRIENDS who you also like a lot.

Gamzee's story pre-murderstuck is a pretty tragic one about a kid who never got to learn proper socialization and has whacked-out religious beliefs, whose neglect from his lusus has left him with deep loneliness, who desperately wants to fit in with his friends, especially the lowbloods, and therefore feels the need to hide how pessimistic and angry he actually is under the guise of drug usage and not retaliating against the constant digs they make at him.

I also feel like I have to specify that Gamzee was already a pretty angry, mean, troubled kid prior to Murderstuck, because it helps to clarify his actions after being influenced by Lil' Cal. The nonlinear nature of the story kind of confuses the sequence of events, but it seems to be as follows:

Dave blasphemes against Gamzee's religion so hard that Gamzee has a total crisis of faith.

Gamzee has a breakdown and gets so pissed off that he oopsie-daisy'd a jester puppet into John's room on Prospit.

Gamzee, with his faith lost ("and now i don't know what to think about the spiritual fantasies i had"), Tavros dead, and thus in a very emotionally fragile state, is contacted by Doc Scratch and given instructions (likely to kill his friends and paint his wicked pictures in their blood). At some point during this, he falls under Lil' Cal's influence, too. As every person we've seen under LE's sway has very compelling, natural reasons for acting the way they do, I think it's better to see Lil' Cal's influence as influence and not mind control. It brings out the worst in its victims, but only what was already there.

This seems to give Gamzee a new belief system to replace/supplement the old.

TC: i've been kicking the wicked ignorance on this shit. TC: BEEN MOTHERFUCKIN SLAUGHTERING THE WICKED IGNORANCE, BRO. TC: all up in lifelong denial about my calling. TC: AS A DESCENDANT OF THE HIGH MOTHERFUCKIN SUBJUGGLATORS. TC: we are higher than you, brother. TC: WE ARE HIGHER THAN MOTHERFUCKIN EVERYBODY. TC: honk. CG: GAMZEE CG: PLEASE NO TC: and now i'm the last one, so i finally motherfuckin understand. TC: I FINALLY GOT MY MOTHERFUCKING UNDERSTAND ON TO WHO THE MIRTHFUL MESSIAHS ARE. TC: they were always both me. :o) TC: AND ALSO MOTHERFUCKING ME. Do:

Remember, his original belief system actually emphasized equalizing the castes - in death, anyway. It also never specified that the Mirthful Messiahs would be specifically highbloods. The hint that Gamzee had internalized casteism was always there, but now that his belief system has been supplanted by this new one, delivered by Doc Scratch (the story's Devil figure), his casteism becomes full-blown:

GAMZEE: heheh. GAMZEE: CHECK IT THE MOTHERFUCK OUT. GAMZEE: it's the peasantblood. GAMZEE: HEH HEH. GAMZEE: fuckin heh. EQUIUS: D --> Peasantb100d EQUIUS: D --> Is that a joke GAMZEE: if your blood. GAMZEE: IS A RUNNING MOTHERFUCKING GAG. GAMZEE: then soon. GAMZEE: IT WILL BE RUNNING. GAMZEE: through my motherfucking fingers.

TC: shit was motherfuckin poison, didn't you know? CG: UH... CG: NO? I MEAN, I WOULD NEVER EAT IT, BUT TC: THEN GET MOTHERFUCKIN SCHOOLFED ALL ABOUT THE WICKED NEWS, PUNCHLINE BLOODED MOTHERFUCKER.

Basically, the religious boy had a crisis of faith and was tempted by the Devil into becoming his servant - into desiring utter oblivion for everyone except his own continued existence within the one doing the destroying, rather than a paradise of love, friendship, and hope. And this new faith is what carries Gamzee through to the end of the comic:

KARKAT: HE STARTED GETTING SO UNBELIEVABLY SELF SATISFIED AND PIOUS, LIKE WAY MORE THAN HE EVER WAS BEFORE. KARKAT: LIKE HE'S JUST SO COMPLETELY CONVINCED HE'S FOUND HIS CALLING, THAT THIS SESSION IS THE GATEWAY TO THE PROMISED LAND WHERE HE'LL FULFILL HIS DESTINY. KARKAT: HE'S SO CAUGHT UP IN HIS IDIOTIC SCHEMES HE COULDN'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT ME ANYMORE. KARKAT: WHATEVER. AT LEAST HE STOPPED KILLING PEOPLE.

So where does that bring us WRT the fake god-tier ensemble? Well, god-tiering in general is kind of a metaphor for becoming an adult - SGRUB/SBURB sets out for its player a quest directly tied into their maturation into adults, and god-tiering is (normally) supposed to sit right at the end of that questline, a semi-permanent state achieved at the end of adolescence. Characters who DO manage to god-tier without having naturally reached that point in their questline, especially Vriska, Dave, and Rose, have struggles that deal directly with "growing up too fast" - Vriska with the expectation that she be a vicious murderer, Dave with having never addressed his trauma and abuse, and Rose with having missed out on a loving relationship with her mother because she insisted on being more mature than her.

Gamzee's relationship to Caliborn is that of a parent:

ARANEA: It is just as well that cheru8 parents a8andon their offspring. Raising such a child 8y the familial standards of any race would 8e a monumental challenge. ARANEA: Nevertheless, it would seem there were those who tried. ARANEA: Details in my research suggest our villain had a num8er of acolytes oper8ting in the shadows, preparing for his arrival.

Kurloz also directly states that Gamzee's role in their religion is to serve and mentor their young lord:

KURLOZ: I COME BEARING THEE FINAL JOLLY ACCOUTREMENT MY FAITHFUL INVERTEBROTHER KURLOZ: THY BARDLY REGALIA IS DONE AND FUCKING DUSTED BY THE SPECIAL STARS THEMSELVES KURLOZ: ON THIS DAY THE DARK CARNIVAL REJOICED AND SAID IT WAS MONEY KURLOZ: NOW BRING TO LIFE OUR WICKED RUSE WITH APLOMB MY NINJA KURLOZ: OUR LORD AWAITS YOUR SERVITUDE AND TUTELAGE AT ONCE

And even beyond the religion aspect, Gamzee would take this job mother fucking seriously...

... Because his own parent failed him. See, we tie it all back to the beginning! Gamzee putting together a shitty fake god tier outfit is because he wants to be a good parent to Caliborn, an adult figure he never had in his own life, and god tiering is symbolic of that. And I think the saddest part is, he still didn't really manage to do that... because, perpetuating the neglect he faced from his own lusus, he wound up locking the two in a room and leaving them alone - possibly out of exasperation.

ARANEA: We will pro8a8ly never know who these scurrilous conspir8tors were. 8ut it is evident that at some point the cheru8 was locked in a room, either out of exasper8tion, or for its own good, until it was old enough to enter the session.

Like, I feel kind of bad for Gamzee, y'know? Especially since, alongside Eridan, he's one of the trolls the fandom seems to understand the least, and his story is also one of being failed by his family, society, and friends. This winds up turning him towards the worst parts of himself - the religious fundamentalism, the casteism, the emotional isolation - and away from the good - the fact that he loved his mother fucking friends, enough to wish upon them eternal paradise.

#homestuck #gamzee makara #homestuck analysis #homestuck lore #idk what to tag this #also i give up on fixing the colors. sorry

104 notes · View notes

asha-mage · 2 months

Text

Johnny: "Ever think back, about why we did it?" Rogue: "Did what?" Johnny: "Why we took on the corps- strapped in leather, chrome and iron." Rogue: "Dunno Johnny. We where young. Hot blood in our veins, shit judgement in our heads. Like all pups." Johnny: "We fought for beauty. Not knowing what was good or true. It was only the beautiful that meant a damn thing to us."

I've been thinking about this exchange non stop for days now. It comes right in the middle of Johnny, Rouge, and Weylan's final raid on Arasaka Tower, and in a moment of rare self reflection for Johnny right before the end. Rogue assumes he's just being nostalgic of course, and tells him to focus on the task at hand, but the truth is that in this moment Johnny is riding the 'last job' high and seems to realize what exactly it is he's fighting for. Not his survival, not his ideals, not to punish Arasaka for what they did to Alt or him- but for beauty. For life. For V's life.

Because Johnny does view V's life as fundamentally beautiful, as worth fighting for. It's why he rages at Alt when he learns the truth, why he desperately tries to reason with V at their lowest, and why, in one final act of rocker boy defiance, he marches to the edge of the Blackwall, rather then take V's final chance away. Johnny fundamentally views six months of V getting to keep living, keep fighting, keep being stubbornly insistently themselves, as more beautiful then a second chance for himself. The final raid on Arasaka Tower, destroying Mikoshi- it's his swan song, his final blaze of glory- his farewell to a world he left behind a long time ago, and that left him behind.

In this moment, Johnny sounds and feels fundamentally free in a way he hasn't all game. Because he realizes he's once again fighting for what that is beautiful, and that is what gives him the determination to kill Smasher and finally bring Arasaka down. That he's doing it for V.

#Cyberpunk 2077 #johnny silverhand #rogue amendiares #V #Silverv #Cyberpunk spoilers #The Sun #The Sun Ending

147 notes · View notes

charmedreincarnation · 1 year

Text

Time doesn’t exist you already have your desires!!

As you may have heard before, some of the greatest minds in the world have been pondering this idea for centuries. Albert Einstein famously said: “Time is an illusion.”

But what does that mean, exactly?

At a fundamental level, time is simply a construct of our own making. We make up the idea of time passing as a way to measure and make sense of our lives, but in reality, time doesn’t actually exist. So, if we accept the idea that time is an illusion, then it follows that the idea of manifesting our desires right now is not just possible but inevitable

The key to manifesting our desires is to believe that they are already available to us. We need to be able to see the possibilities that are available to us if we open our minds and hearts to them. We also need to be willing to take action that aligns with our desired outcome. We need to focus on the present moment and put in the effort and energy required to accomplish our goals. If we keep our focus on the present moment and take action, then the universe will be able to manifest our desires.

But regardless Time is a tricky concept. We often think of it in a linear fashion, believing that everything is happening at the same time, but this isn’t the case. In fact, that’s a rather simplistic view of how time works.

Let’s consider the basics of time. We measure it in seconds, minutes, hours and days. These are arbitrary measurements, based on the rotation of the Earth and other celestial bodies. The sun rises and sets, creating what we call a day. This is our natural unit of time, but we break it down further in order to keep track of our activities.

If we take a closer look, time is really just our perception of change. Change is all around us, and time allows us to measure it. We may feel like time is fleeting or moving quickly, but in reality time is a constant. One second is always one second, no matter how fast or slow we perceive it to be.

Time can be viewed as an illusion. We can’t experience everything at once, so we experience moments sequentially. This is why we have multiple clocks - digital, analog and other types - because they help us measure the differences between points in time.

That said, there are numerous theories that attempt to explain the concept of time. Some people believe that time is cyclical, meaning that everything happens in a repeating pattern. Others believe that it’s an illusion created by our perception of events. And then there are those who believe in a multidimensional view of time, with each individual moment connected to the others in an infinite web.

Regardless of which theory you subscribe to, the bottom line is this - time is relative. We see it differently depending on our own experiences and understanding of the world. Our perception of time may be skewed and unreliable, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist - it just means that we have to use our brains to make sense of it.

How does this apply to manifesting

Have you ever been waiting impatiently for something only to have it suddenly appear or manifest in your life? This could be in the form of a job, a relationship, or any other desired situation or object. You may have been waiting for weeks or months only to have it come to you in an instant.

This is because time isn’t actually an absolute reality; it’s just our perception of reality. The truth is that everything is happening in the present moment. There’s no past or future, only the now. This means that whatever you’re looking for is already here – you just haven’t seen it yet.

So how do we access our desires? The answer lies in shifting our consciousness into the present moment. Instead of thinking of our desires as something that we need to create or manifest, we can instead bring our awareness to the here and now. Accepting what’s happening in the present moment gives us access to what we want right away.

This doesn’t mean that the goal of manifesting our desires isn’t important, it just means that trying to force things into existence isn’t necessary. Instead, by being mindful of the present moment and releasing any attachment or expectations about what will happen, you create a space for your desires to organically manifest themselves in your life. This includes shifitng

In the vast sea of scientific theories, multiverse theory stands out as a fascinating hypothesis. It proposes the existence of multiple universes in addition to our own. While the concept of parallel universes has been around for centuries, the current scientific understanding of multiverse theory is fairly new.

The basis of multiverse theory in congruency to time is the idea that time is not linear. Instead, it’s a fluid concept that can move backward and forward, and bend and change at will. This means that time isn’t just a line, but multiple branches and pathways that lead to different outcomes.

It’s easy to see how this could explain the concept of multiple universes. Depending on the choices we make and roads we take, we could end up moving from one universe to another. The variations in time could explain why we live in one universe and not another.

But why does this matter?

Well, for starters, multiverse theory has implications for two major scientific fields: quantum physics and cosmology. By better understanding the concept of multiple universes, scientists can unlock more secrets about the universe, from uncovering its history to ultimately understanding the future.

Multiverse theory also gives us a better understanding of how each of our choices could shape our future. It proposes that for every choice we make, a new future path is created, giving us an almost infinite number of new possibilities. This is what we know as shifting and manifesting in the simplest terms

It’s an incredible concept, and one that continues to have researchers fascinated. By studying multiverse theory, scientists can gain a greater understanding of our universe and its place within the multiverse. It’s an immense topic of study with limitless possibilities

The reality is that our lives are happening all at once, take a moment and think about it – have you ever had a déjà vu experience? That feeling of familiarity where you feel like you’ve already been somewhere or experienced a certain event. It’s because you already have.

It is this non-linear notion of time that allows us to manifest our desires. Your desires already exist in the present moment, but your limited awareness of the present moment makes them appear to be in the future. When we focus our awareness on the present moment, we can begin to access and experience the manifestation of our desires even though they appear to be in a future reality. Manifesting works because we live in a limitless universe that supports us and has our best interest at heart. So if we can accept that time doesn’t exist and that our desires are already ours, we can begin to manifest our dreams and create the life that we desire instantly.

#void state #manifesation #law of assumption #reality shifting

744 notes · View notes

catmarlowastrology · 4 months

Text

Pluto: the destruction of the old to make way for the new

Pluto's energy is all about making profound and deep changes, like being born again. Unlike other planets that deal with more surface-level aspects of life, Pluto's impact goes very deep and touches the most fundamental parts of our lives.

This transformation isn't always easy; it involves intense and tough changes that feel like going through a big change or a restart. It's like getting rid of old beliefs, relationships, ways of living, and even parts of who we are.

Pluto's process of change is compared to the story of the Phoenix, a bird that rises from its own ashes. It symbolizes deep change that comes from our inner selves. Pluto affects the areas of life where we have power struggles, strong emotional ups and downs, and situations that make us face our deepest fears and insecurities. It's in these areas that Pluto works to reveal hidden truths, bringing to light what we've kept hidden or ignored.

#pluto #astrology #astro observations #astro notes #astrology observations #astro community #astrology notes #predictive astrology #astro content #birth chart reading #birth chart #natal astrology #astro #natal chart #horoscope #astrologer #zodiac signs #astroblr #astro blog

88 notes · View notes

4dkellysworld · 8 months

Text

Forgiveness for letting go

In Buddhism, forgiveness is not presented as a moral commandment. Instead, it is a way to end suffering. 1 Forgiveness is fundamentally for our own sake, for our own mental health. It is a way to let go of the pain we carry. Like the practice of compassion, forgiveness does not ignore the truth of our suffering. Forgiveness is not weak. It demands courage and integrity. Yet only forgiveness and love can bring about the peace we long for. 2

“Only forgiveness will make our soul peaceful.” — Buddha

Another element of letting go and being at peace with everything and everyone is genuine forgiveness. How so? Forgiveness is unconditionally surrendering whatever happened (i.e. the stories, the emotions, the thoughts) and accepting things for what they are (both back then and now) regardless of whether things have been resolved or not. It's a weakening of the ego because the ego loves to hold onto the stories it makes, and to forgive is to undermine the very things it holds onto; including its own existence. Forgiveness is also an act of letting go of the attachments and aversions, thus releasing karma as well.

The ego's first maneuver in dealing with this resentment is to try to get others to confess their faults. "You hurt me; say you're sorry." Sometimes this makes the ego feel temporarily better, but does nothing to uproot the original cause. And as often as not, even if the person does apologize, the likely result is now hatred of them. "I knew you did that to me; see you just admitted it!" The fundamental mood of the ego: never forgive, never forget. What the ego doesn't try is forgiveness, because that would undermine its very existence. To forgive others for insults (real or imagined) is to weaken the boundary between self and other, to dissolve the sense of separation between subject and object. And thus with forgiveness, awareness tends to let go of the ego and its insults, and revert instead to the Witness, the Self, which views both subject and object equally. Source

You don't need to do it for them; do it for yourself. Do it to let go of the negativity you've been holding onto, do it to stop hurting from memories, do it to be free of the attachments and the suffering that comes with it. Above all, do it for your own peace; that's the greatest reason of all. It doesn't mean you have to agree with what happened or have a relationship with them again or find the blessing in the pain - just let go of all the negativity you've been holding onto and accept things as they are.

Don't force the forgiveness or suppress emotions in order to do so or it wouldn't be genuine forgiveness. Remember, it is not being done in order to be morally upright (don't think of it as being the "bigger person"; that is an ego trap) or earn points to enter Heaven (lol); it is done to let go of the attachments and suffering and move forward into peace. This is also in line with Robert Adams teaching principles of being at peace with everything (although I haven't read about him talking on forgiveness specifically so far). Forgiveness is akin to mentally giving up everything (as Robert likes to say a lot) and moving on in peace.

Continue what you're doing but mentally give up everything. You have to reconcile yourself with the universe. Be at peace with every living thing, with every sentient thing. As long as you feel these things and you do nothing to stop the feeling, the attachment to this earth will become stronger and stronger and stronger. - Robert Adams

All this forgiveness/letting go/surrendering/giving up is done mentally within yourself; you don't need to communicate with anyone that you're forgiving. Even if you really can't find it in yourself to forgive the other person, at least do your best to come to a place of acceptance and peace for your own sake. If you feel guilty about something you did to someone - apologise (mentally), make peace with them in your mind and see them sincerely forgiving you then let it all go.

Do not judge whatever old thoughts or feelings that come up during this letting go, they are neither good or bad; they are simply leaving and are no longer yours. Just watch it pass through until it's completely gone. Start with something small and easy, and be amazed at the freedom and spaciousness you feel once you've let go of it completely.

All this also applies to yourself and your own thoughts and feelings about yourself; forgive yourself for what you did or did not do in the past and let it all go. Do whatever you can to make peace with everything; this will also help quiet the mind more and more. Remember that desire and attachment create the seeds of karma and that includes regret. When you've let go of enough, the mind will naturally be a lot quieter and it will be much easier to be Self without all the concepts and limitations.

So if letting go itself has felt too vague of an act for you to grasp in order to apply, try forgiveness instead! I recommend reading the linked articles for more information and also doing your own research about forgiveness and how to do so from a genuine place if this is something that resonates with you.

#taking another break!#writings #surrender #exercise #releasing #forgiveness

127 notes · View notes

penultimate-step · 22 days

Text

Thinking about Meme Oshino, and his philosophy that people can't save others, that they can only save themselves. I have mixed feelings about it overall. On one hand, I am sympathetic to the idea that a person can't be helped if they insist on being unchanging, and I would even agree that there's no point relying on being saved by others, because you can't control them, only yourself. But that doesn't mean that I think it is impossible to help others or be helped, there are plenty of situations where it's just self evident that having help from the people around you makes difficult situations more bearable. So why is Meme like this?

I think Meme is meant to foil Koyomi in this case. Koyomi starts the series in Kizu self-isolating out of depression, but it is not something that brings him happiness, or a way he really wants to live. Meme in Bake is the opposite of this, kind of an example of the type of person who really is fine in complete isolation, relying on nobody, being relied on by nobody, moving from place to place the moment he thinks he might be laying down real roots. And he's meant to be impressive, I think, the larger than life figure fully confident in the situation, who understands and can deal with oddities while our main characters don't fully understand and feel lost without his guidance; he really is someone with maximum "power as a human."

But his whole outlook shows what is required to live like that in truth, as more than a side effect of self-loathing and something you apply selectively to yourself. If you really believed that standing alone was the natural state of being, that people's happiness and suffering was ultimately caused by their own actions, then yeah, the logical extension of that is blaming a child for being abused, or saying teenagers are at fault for being depressed.

And even with all this he's not a bad person. He goes out of his way to assist the cast and presumably other random offscreen people as he meets them, he doesn't ever try to harm others (except, perhaps, Kiss-Shot in Kizu, but like. Super Vampire is extenuating circumstances). He's not some social darwinist saying people need to be alone and only the strongest deserve happiness, he really is a good guy, but he sees people as fundamentally alone. There's a saying that goes something like "nobody is an island," but Meme is the counterexample who shows what that island would look like, in it's most positive form. And it's not someone Koyomi can ever really be.

#monogatari #meme oshino #step.blogger #blorbo meta

40 notes · View notes

dyannawynnedayne · 11 months

Text

Btw, for anyone who is into medieval history, I HIGHLY recommend this book:

"The word “medieval” conjures images of the “Dark Ages”—centuries of ignorance, superstition, stasis, savagery, and poor hygiene. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors.

The Bright Ages takes us through ten centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them. We look with fresh eyes on the Fall of Rome, Charlemagne, the Vikings, the Crusades, and the Black Death, but also to the multi-religious experience of Iberia, the rise of Byzantium, and the genius of Hildegard and the power of queens. We begin under a blanket of golden stars constructed by an empress with Germanic, Roman, Spanish, Byzantine, and Christian bloodlines and end nearly 1,000 years later with the poet Dante—inspired by that same twinkling celestial canopy—writing an epic saga of heaven and hell that endures as a masterpiece of literature today.

The Bright Ages reminds us just how permeable our manmade borders have always been and of what possible worlds the past has always made available to us. The Middle Ages may have been a world “lit only by fire” but it was one whose torches illuminated the magnificent rose windows of cathedrals, even as they stoked the pyres of accused heretics. "

----------------------------

It is an absolutely wonderful, humanistic depiction of the middle ages, spurred on by a wish to reframe our view of it as the 'dark ages'. I am about halfway through it and it has made me cry plenty because god, PEOPLE.

I first heard about it on the Medieval Podcast when Daniele Cybulskie interviewed the authors:

And have been slowly chipping away at it with my other books I'm reading.

#text #books #i love love love the medieval podcast and also this book #and i HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend both!#Spotify

156 notes · View notes

tsukii0002 · 1 year

Text

RAD headcanons

Thanks to a tawdry publication I was able to read comments and opinions about why demons go to school and it left me thinking about it for days…. So here goes the headcanon resulting from that meditation about RAD.

Long text is coming!!

Headcanon on the structure, politics and history of the RAD!

The RAD is a recent new institution, established some time after the war.

Most of the nobles, the court and other powers of Devildom opposed or objected to this new institution.

Diavolo was also supported by many intellectuals and power figures (poets, sorcerers…)

So once the RAD was in place, Diavolo's identity as leader of the Devildom was consolidated (whatever the prince said went without saying).

Now, if Diavolo and Barbatos are among the most powerful demons... why aren't they teachers? Well, because in the society of the demons each type of demon had a function, they were super specialized.

In a manner of speaking, demons know a lot about their own and nothing about other things. For example the incubi and succubi were specialized in manipulation magic or curses that stole vital energy, while they did not know about potions or other types of curses (super specialization) .

Therefore, one of the goals of the RAD was to have experts in any subject to teach ALL demons about that subject. Barbatos may know a lot about potions but surely there would be a demon who would have dedicated their entire life to the art of potions and would be superior to the butler in that aspect.

This would explain why the "bosses" are Diavolo and the brothers, but they are not teachers but students.

Although Diavolo is a "student" everything must be reviewed and approved by the prince in order to move forward.

Considering that there would probably be a very wide range of the population in which age means nothing, we have teachers that are younger than some students.

This brings us to the next point, the RAD is an institution that seeks, in a way, social equality. By providing the opportunity for demons to have a general education, it frees them from having to follow a particular profession.

And this gives rise to a modernization of society with the emergence of new professions and companies such as Corvo or food and fashion franchises, models, magazines, amusement parks…

So a minor demon does not have to dedicate himself to what a minor demon used to dedicate himself to and can dedicate himself to something different, like cooking for example.

The RAD allowed Devildom to break out of the traditional structure that dominated the pre-Davolo reigns.

All with the intention of pursuing his dream, before achieving equality among the three kingdoms he will have to achieve equality among the people of his own kingdom.

With that said, we move on to the fact that RAD is one of the fundamental pillars for the aspirations of our demonic golden retrier: to break the taboos and myths of the Celestial Realm and the human world.

And there is no better way than education.

Diavolo's dream goes in steps, first we teach how the celestial realm works, then we try to establish bonds of cordiality, then that angels are not so threatening and then we bring in an Angel (humans are easier).

To achieve this, a school that is teaching the truth is essential.

Surely the RAD has also taken examples from the Celestial realm or from human educational institutions to create a unique institution that encompasses something of the three worlds, hence the various contacts with witches, wizards and other creatures.

Solomon helped to create the first curricula, zero evidence but no doubt.

As many of you commented, living a very long life means having to be constantly learning, imagine human society how fast it advances (evidence in season 3) in order to keep up with it is necessary to keep learning.

Also there were many reigns, a lot of history prior to what we know, to unravel all that and teach you that history it takes time, new inventions, new contributions or corrections of what is already known...

However, the RAD is divided into blocks, for basic studies, medium studies and advanced studies (which would be where our demons and ourselves are), according to what each student wants to learn.

Attendance at the RAD is not obligatory for demons, only those who aspire to certain jobs, such as historian, professor or politician have to have specific mandatory training.

In the RAD the youngest demons are those equivalent to 12 or 13 years old. Luke is a clear example (I'd like to write about his interactions with demons his age, Mephisto's brother perhaps?)

It took Mc months to understand the structure of the RAD because of its complexity and apparent meaninglessness.

Barbatos attends only the classes he likes.

Diavolo goes to all the classes because he wants to experience the most normal life possible, as some of you commented.

Lucifer attends almost more tutorials with teachers for problems caused by his siblings than he does classes.

Only Barbatos, Diavolo and Lucifer can leave class whenever they want, the other brothers need permission for special situations.

Solomon has pacts with a professor or two, and the tension in his classes are fun to watch.

Mc has been and continues to be lost in the RAD.

Diavolo will try to incorporate any funny events from the human world (thanks MC) even if they are preschoolers.

In short, to say that the RAD is an institution that goes hand in hand with the government and attacking it means attacking Diavolo's reign.

If you have come this far thank you very much, I know that a brick like this is hard to swallow, (re-reading it I have decided that soon I could write the constitution of Devildom XD)

Again thank you very much for reading and I would love to read your headcanon about the RAD, its students, teachers, etc. …. Best wishes.

#obey me #obey me! shall we date?#obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me otome #obey me one master to rule them all #obey me lore #obey me headcanons #obey me rad #obey me imagine #obey me devildom #diavolo obey me #obey me diavolo #diavolo om #obey me story #Obey me dev

396 notes · View notes

bestworstcase · 22 days

Note

Any thoughts on "The Sky is Falling"? I happened to be listening to it the other day and went "wow, this seems like something BestWorstCase would have Thoughts about", but searching your blog didn't turn anything up on it. If Tumblr search has failed me (probably not for the last time), I'd be interested to see what you've written before; otherwise, I'd be interested to hear now :)

ough i do have thoughts. many thoughts. idk if i’ve ever posted them, partly because i argue with myself a lot about whether it’s a hound song or an ozma song brfghks. much as i’d like it to be the hound for rotating him reasons, though, i do think ozma is a stronger textual reading.

unhinged about songs hours ->

the motif of the sky falling obviously calls to mind the chicken little folktale, of which there are numerous variations but in all of them the kerfuffle over the sky falling is hysterical: the danger is not real. in some versions of the tale, a sly fox incites the panic on purpose at the beginning and then eats the frightened birds who turn to him for help at the end.

the song’s narrative placement also connects it to atlas, and thence to atlas telamon, the titan who holds up the sky on his shoulders. (not the world—that’s a common misconception; classical images of atlas shouldering a globe depict the celestial sphere. it’s the sky.)

so we have on one hand the apocalyptic motif of the sky falling, and on the other the very real danger to atlas, conflated together: if atlas falls, so too must the sky… except that ‘the sky is falling’ is idiomatically an irrational fear. atlas may fall—that danger is real—but the world will not end if it does. the song’s central motif implies paranoid hysteria.

there is also the latin maxim fiat justitia ruat caelum, let justice be done though the skies fall. i go back and forth on whether i think the writers specifically have that in mind, in relation to this motif, but: “it’s important not to lose sight of what drives us—love, justice, reverence” and “in pursuit of a new world, no cost is too great.” fiat justitia, ruat caelum. that’s the salem perspective.

and i bring that up because of sacrifice:

Born an angel, heaven-sent Falls from grace are never elegant Stars will drop out of the sky, The moon will sadly watch the roses die In vain, Lost, no gain But you’re not taking me.

and

Show them gods and deities, Blind and keep the people on their knees. Pierce the sky, escape your fate, The more you try, the more you’ll just breed hate And lies. Truth will rise, Revealed by mirrored eyes.

with its similarly apocalyptic imagery (‘stars will drop out of the sky’/‘pierce the sky, escape your fate’) in relation to ozma and his task, and salem positioning herself in opposition (‘but you're not taking me’/‘truth will rise’)—fiat justitia, ruat caelum.

hence, ozma song.

‘the sky is falling’ is directly a dark mirror to ‘touch the sky’ but it’s also—i think more interestingly—a sardonic reflection on ‘until the end’ if one reads both songs as articulations of ozma’s perspective.

emotionally, ‘until the end’ leaves off here:

Love brings us dreams, But grief makes the heart burst at the seams. As light fills my eyes, I’ll picture me beside her, And pray that I’ll inspire, I promise I’ll be here until… …our story has been told. Til our bodies break down every door. Til we find what we’ve been looking for.

it’s a dream—a fantasy—ozma finding hope in this imagined scenario where he can be with salem again. i’ll picture me beside her.

and then she, uh. captures him:

Here comes another nightmare, Another fever dream. The horror just won’t stop, An endless scream, But this is not subconscious; We’re not imagining. We’re wide awake, This is reality.

lol.

‘until the end’ is very lovelorn and idealistic, and also fundamentally passive: though “desperate to make amends,” the promise ozma makes is to… wait. to do nothing. to hope for salem to make the first move.

and well. she does. this is what ‘the sky is falling’ is about, the collision of ozma’s romantic fantasies with the harsh reality of the situation.

Our world’s Lost without a soul. We’re losing all control, Not getting closer. Every day is just another dose of torture. Now we pay the cost. The race is lost, This nightmare’s Our real life.

points.

OSCAR: It should not be this hard getting people to just cooperate. OZ: And yet, it’s something I’m becoming increasingly concerned about.

this is what oz is worrying about all morning while the hound stalks oscar across mantle, how difficult it is to get anyone to “just cooperate.” because—contrary to the popular fanon—he is in fact still committed to his task and he does still, on some level, believe that remnant is damned and its people are missing something fundamental; his secrecy and manipulation, his guiding interest in silver-eyes and maidens and elevated ‘guardians’ and ‘symbols of hope,’ his all speak to his lack of true faith in humanity. and that traces back to what the god of light told him.

(since people love to cite ozpin’s commentary on ‘the story of the seasons’ as “evidence” that he’s abandoned his task by misinterpreting “I fear that if unrestricted magic use were possible, the results would be chaotic and catastrophic” to mean that ozpin thinks people are better off without magic rather than ozpin justifying his efforts to control the maidens; here’s part of his commentary on ‘the two brothers.’

Whether or not you believe in the Brothers, or in this story in particular, the underlying message still holds value: We are burdened with responsibility for our world, and we share a common destiny. Like the twin gods, we are intricately connected with one another, and if we can learn to work and live together, we can create things greater than the sum of their parts. Remnant survived the Great War, but while the four kingdoms now cooperate and coexist, our bond seems tenuous. We have a fragile peace, and in some ways, we are more divided than ever. Even if the gods aren’t real, even if they don’t return to judge us for our deeds, we should act each day as though they are arriving tomorrow. In the end, we will be the arbiters of our fates. We will either create a beautiful, peaceful world and live in harmony together or destroy ourselves and our planet, and the gods will judge what we have chosen.

in which he not only states his belief in his mandate and the inevitability of divine judgment outright, in plain terms, but also repeats the same fear he confided in salem thousands of years ago, that despite finding happiness or achieving peace, he worries that people are “more divided than ever.”)

thus: “our world’s/lost without a soul/we’re losing all control/not getting closer.” oz has become “increasingly concerned” about how hard it is to “get people to just cooperate.” and so “every day is just another dose of torture,” because, well…

To live free or die, it’s all the same. The enemy was right, there’s no reclaiming. In waves of shame, We’re desperate to make amends

…he knows salem is right. his task is impossible; things can never go back to the way they were. the old world, the world of the brothers, is gone and trying to reclaim it will achieve nothing but destroying remnant.

and yet he cannot bring himself to believe it, because to him this would amount to condemning the world, to admitting that remnant is broken and irredeemable and must be destroyed because it cannot be saved. to him, salem’s rejection of the mandate is horrifying—tantamount to a a declaration that nothing in the world is worth trying to save.

in her mind, rejecting the mandate is an act of defiance: remnant does not need to be saved because there is nothing wrong with it, and where he sees damnation, salem finds freedom. and that’s what ripped them apart.

‘sacrifice’ makes this point also:

Did the things you thought you should, All the things they said were good. All your faith in ancient ways Leaves you trapped inside a maze. […] Even with the lives you stole, Still no closer to your… goal.

that ozma’s faith in the god of light imprisons him in a futile, impossible quest because he can’t escape his belief that the world is broken, that salem’s freedom is really damnation. he achieves so much—he united the four human kingdoms after the great war and ushered in an era of unprecedented worldwide peace—and still, in ozpin’s own words, he sees only that people are “more divided than ever.”

the chorus of ‘the sky is falling’:

Better cover up your eyes, my friend, The sky is falling, Can’t outrun the ruin of our lives. Be prepared, we’re near the end, The final days are calling. Hold on now, The sky is falling down.

similarly echoes the motif of blindness that appears in ‘sacrifice’ (“close your eyes now, time for dreams/death is never what it seems” and “show them gods and deities/blind and keep the people on their knees”) and, more obliquely, in ‘until the end’ (“love brings us dreams/but grief makes the heart burst at the seams/as light fills my eyes/i’ll picture me beside her” -> the light is death, the light is love, love brings us dreams and death is never what it seems).

the first two lines of the chorus are also a direct inversion of ‘trust love’: “better cover up your eyes, my friend/the sky is falling” vs “trust love/and open up your eyes.” which is salient because ‘trust love’ is chiefly about ozlem; it’s in conversation with ‘sacrifice’ and ‘until the end’ and on top of the central motif of love restoring sight there is also, “if you could only open up a door/spread your wings and fly away from here/write yourself into a fairytale/all your problems would just disappear.” the you is ozma.

and that makes ‘trust love’ + ‘until the end’ + ‘the sky is falling’ really um, pointed foreshadowing:

All you have to be Is here in reality Leave your fantasy You’ll find the key To victory I know the dark’s returning And the fires of hate are burning But the lies can’t hide what’s true When love’s alive

in one sense ‘until the end’ is the fantasy and reality ensues in ‘the sky is falling’, but in another—deeper, more important—‘until the end’ is also the truth which ozma keeps hidden from himself, and ‘the sky is falling’ is the act of self-deception; better cover up your eyes, my friend, the sky is falling.

so all of this—all of it—this is the false narrative oz has constructed about himself and salem, his blindness:

A curse that’s Never-ending This path with No escape No sudden death We’re trapped In slow decay These words are Not symbolic The torment’s All too real Eternal enemy Our fate is sealed We slide Further down the hole The damage takes its toll Helpless and broken Failed to stem the Tide of pain The floodgates open Now it’s one more sin As evil wins And misery steals Our lives

notice too how this section of the song reflects darkly on the hope and longing expressed in ‘until the end.’

ozma let himself imagine a reprieve (“time falls away/but pain always finds a way to stay/the tears that you’ve shed/will find a tree to water/but only when you’re stronger”), which he now scathingly reminds himself is impossible: his curse is never-ending, there is no escape even in death, he’s trapped in slow decay, his fate as her eternal enemy is sealed.

he admitted to himself that he wished to make amends and for just a moment he let himself believe that he could (“and stare with pride into the face of fear/in our finest hour, i’ll be standing here/and should we fall to darkness/this power i will harness/i promise i’ll be here until the end”), and now he mocks himself for it: he has done nothing but decay, corrupted more and more with every lifetime as he becomes unrecognizable to himself; the damage takes its toll. helpless. broken. he can’t make the pain stop, he can’t fix anything, he can’t save either of them.

oz found enough courage and hope to crawl back out of his darkness and try, once more, to do the right thing—to make amends—and what happened when he tried? “i’m not upset that you left. i’m upset you came back.”

that conversation, oz trying to apologize and being told that he’d done wrong again, made a mistake again, happened at most an hour or two before the hound caught them. one more sin as evil wins, cue the chorus.

and then the song turns inside out. (pour one out for the terrible rap 😔)

Lost all my hopes And dreams Watch my life flash By in scenes And it seems there’s No soul on the Video screen But I’m green tryin’ To figure out what All of it means Staring at the casket Hoping to move past it Knowing things will Never be the same And that’s it Cold soaked as I stand in the rain Feeling nothing but pain Until I see you again

clears throat. not a metaphor. this is about the lost fable—ozma very literally watched his life flash by in scenes, narrated by jinn in ozpin’s own words, and then he retreated into isolation to think about it. not to brood or sulk but to reflect; he comes back with a very clear idea of what he did wrong and how he wants to change because he used that time to, well, try to figure out what all of it meant, knowing things will never be the same.

and that’s it?

this part of the song is an emotional echo of the regret and longing expressed in ‘until the end’; “love brings us dreams/but grief makes the heart burst at the seams/as light fills my eyes/i’ll picture me beside her/and pray that i’ll inspire” -> “cold soaked as/i stand in the rain/feeling nothing but pain/until i see you again” it’s the same idea.

that salem is his hope, his comfort. deep down in his heart of hearts ozma… wants to see her again. ‘until the end’ hints that it isn’t a coincidence that oz makes his hopeful return in the same hour that salem reaches atlas. here, too, “nothing but pain/until i see you again.” a flicker of hope. because the hound is taking them to her.

and then:

Feel the waves crash Loud and hard Oh God Lost control I think I’m gonna lose it All my sanity’s slipping away Oh Lord Press record I’d die without the music Each breath is closer To my death Except that which is, This life There’s none left Let my demons live on Through my legacy Study my pedigree I need therapy

he catches himself feeling that small glimmer of hope and freaks out. lost control, sanity’s slipping away. every breath is bringing him closer to death, oscar will die, his demons will live on in his next host, he needs therapy. why did he even think that?

where you seek comfort, you will only find pain. his heart knows that isn’t true, but ozma is still fighting tooth and nail to force himself to believe it; cue the chorus. better cover up your eyes, my friend, the sky is falling.

#ozma screaming at himself: the song

30 notes · View notes

blushcoloreddreams · 3 months

Text

7 ways you can include your spiritual life in your day to day life

For us to be happy in life we need to have things in a correct hierarchy. The things I refer to are the areas of our life, the people around us. In our hierarchy of life we have to see where we place our attention, where we place our resources. the correct hierarchy is First God, because he gave you life, he is the supreme father, the supreme intelligence, without him you wouldn't be here, nor would your parents, nor your husband, boyfriend, children. then family regardless of what that means to you. if it is still your base family or if it is the family you built. And finally your work followed by your social life. where is your attention where are your resources?

And how can we prioritize, direct our lives towards God?

1. seeking to have correct conduct. seeking to have more virtues and fewer sins. seek to please God and offend him less or if possible I don't offend him at all which is more difficult.

2.prayer that can be in a layman's way from the bottom of your heart like “Dear God…” and say what you want or it can be through written prayers. Prayer is like a little time that you take to create intimacy with this intelligence behind building the beautiful world we live in. Our relationship with. God is a relationship that needs to be nurtured. There's no way God can help you if you don't open the door. Prayer is like this door that invites you to be part of your world and act from your conscience.

3. a spiritual reading: I really like doing this. Wake up and pick up a book with just spiritual messages to start the day off right. I might Have ever mentioned before the book “the way” By Saint José Maria Escrivá, but there are several, depending on your taste and the religious denomination of each person.

4. put a loving intention in everything you do, as if you were doing it for God. So a loving intention in actions as if you were not for men, but for God. This is a way for you to sanctify your life, everything you do you do as part of a devotion.

5. attending some type of religious rite, being in these sacred places, regardless of what it is, brings us closer to God. I don’t know if you believe in energy or not but it’s the symbology of the place. If everyone goes there looking to connect with God, this place becomes sacred due to the very intention that one has to visit, especially the people going there to pay their respects, to thank God, to make their wishes and payers… so many people going there at the same time, opening their little window to talk to God, this takes the place of truth. So when we go there it's like it expands. This space, this connection is fundamental. it's important to go to these places frequently

6.A notebook for soul searching. having a kind of diary, or something esle (even digital if it is more practical for you) where you write down a daily self-analysis of what you did right and what you did wrong. For every time you have an emotional change of anger, sandness or about whatever it is, you write it down. I know that sometimes we take out a notebook and we don't know where to start, I'm going to make some suggestions: You can make a map with all the areas of your life: your family, work, studies, husband, boyfriend, whatever it was and you can ask yourself how you did in each of these areas? What good did you do , what did you do wrong, what are the predominant good and bad thoughts? and you can take the 7 deadly sins and all 7 virtues and do this subtle analysis of how you are in relation to each of them because we are looking to get closer towards God´s perfection, or we should at least try even if we make mistakes daily. This is a suggestion for you to see what your defects are, which of them are repeated, what you need to work on in order to have a personality with more virtues and fewer sins. Taking this moment to do this self-analysis is a way for you to get in touch with moral law so that you can improve yourself and start creating more intimacy with God. he is omnipotent and unipresent, we are the ones who need him and we are the ones who must seek to rise towards him because he is always already here. There are infinite prayers of all types that we can use to get closer to God, but if you don't know any, just talk to your heart, like someone talking to a friend, someone you trust a lot or someone you should trust, because God gives you gave life and continues to give you life every second and every minute that passes.

7. For all your successes, all your victories, all your glories, you must always remember to thank God because this puts us back in our humble place of smallness before the one who is feeding not only physical life but who feeds our thoughts often, the one which feeds our disposition and that acts through us. In the world, our victories are not even ours, it is all for the one who created us. and when we start to win, to have successes in whatever area we start to think that they belong solely to ourselves and this increases our ego and our pride and this is not good for us and for our spirit.

So I said 7 ways to include God in your daily life and I sincerely ask that each of you check which of these is most possible for you now, which of these is most feasible, which of these you can transform into an action today. Oh, if you enjoyed reading, go out and buy a book so you can always read it in the morning or if you plan to say this prayer before going to sleep. Take this list and organize yourself because God should be a priority for you, it should be part of your important values for your life to work. If you do this your life will change, we are the ones who gain the most from this because we know that we are not alone and that the closer we are to this the more blessed we are in life. we begin to have more wisdom to make decisions because God enlightens our mind, we start to be slower people because he starts to work in our hearts to be more charitable and with all these changes it is essential that good results come in every way in all areas and all scopes.

#personal #level up #feminine #traditional femininity #personal development #traditional gender roles #catholic #catholiscism #catholicism #traditional wife #traditional family #tradfem #trad wives #tradblr

41 notes · View notes

unicornjoking1111 · 1 month

Text

POWER (the nine fundamental aspects)

(Appearance,money,personality,social group/connections,physical health,mental health,popularity/fame,education,rich parents)

The information i am about to share with you is based on my views and its up-to you to whether take it in or not.

I know its irrelevant to talk about these things in this loa/void community but idk i felt like posting it PLUS i moslty have followers from this community (this is based on 3d as it has nothing to do with loa/void)

These things are there in "real" life and we are aware of it.. but i wish someone have told me these things

The things i am gonna share with you might hurt to some since i am gonna share you the "reality" of life

Please excuse me for my bad english...

In this fundamental aspects if you have more than 2 or 3 you have reached your goal in achieving your power

This post is like an introduction but i will add only about the topic appearance here and will be making new posts about other stuff

1) Appearance

I think pretty privilege is the right word for it! we have seen on social media that appearance has a huge role in making our life more easier and get away with things much easier and faster!

Appearance also correlates with other fundamental aspects such as social group/connections,money,popularity/fame and personality

In the topic of power appearance is one of the top 3!

pretty privilege as google says "a concept used to examine the economic, social, and political advantages or benefits that are made to both men and women solely based on their physical appearance."

when your pretty life gets easier! u will have more friends, people will treat you better,people will start to respect you and think you in a positive light which leads to greater social connections, even marry a rich guy/girl,brings you fame,get away with anything even if you did something wrong (please don't take advantage of your pretty privilege :D)

being pretty does not bring you genuine connection as there are disadvantages of its own!

pretty is subjective due to the cultural aspects of what is deemed attractive in society!

in terms of 2000's the beauty standard is skinny and blond but now we are in 2024 the beauty standard has changed in terms of accepting other aspects of beauty and the skinny and blond still remains beautiful up to this point!

is it unfair to keep this "beauty" standard? yes

is it necessary to change our self to fit into the standard? no

you can choose what you want to look like and how you want to look like there is nothing like i have be this to be accepted

dont be delusional into thinking "i love the way i am" when your really not! its like forcing yourself to like something which you actually dont like

beauty is real and we are humans after all! we choose this because that's what is pleasing to the eye

you can change how you look like! its not like you will be stuck with the way you are forever and our human body is always changing! so do what you gotta do! give it some love and don't be harsh with it!

you want to use your pretty privilege by becoming a model,social media influencer,be a pretty wife etc... do it! (mind you there will be negatives of its own)

The Standard

ok this part of the section is gonna be really sensitive and not a lot of people talk about this.. i dont even wanna express my views here cause this is the reality i faced... idk if yall bash me for it but atleast there gotta be someone who has to be honest..

Skinny

so.. being skinny gives you privilege! let me tell you why! i am a skinny person myself and my parents tell me to eat more cause i am "skinny" but the truth is being skinny is a privilege and a standard! i know a friend of mine who is so beautiful and her body is goals! but she told me she is fat and want to be skinny.. it makes me sad that someone so beautiful wants to be skinny.. its really hard but its the truth! even models and the social media influencers are skinny and it is accepted.. i get complimented by people who tells me that they want to be skinny like me.. it was a shock!

if i tell this to anyone who are not skinny they look at me with a weird face saying "you dont know how its like being fat and no one wants that except if you have big private part that's why people compliment you for being skinny". i am sorry for the people who calls themselves fat i just hate it man...

colurism

godddd! if your an asian i am so sorry! but a lot of Asians might relate to this one! its about being "white".

yes us Asians are so obsessed with white skin tone but the more shocking part is western people wants to be tan!!!!

idk bro i am so shocked i have no words honestly! for gods sake we are in 2024 and this colurism part sucks!!! like sucks sucks -.-

colurism is the part which hit me like bomb and ruined my childhood! i had black skin tone but i had to force myself to get rid of my shade and i did.. i went from black to white brown kinda combo... i had a lot of trauma with it.. my mom who used to beat me more for my appearance loves me now when i changed my color and now more "beautiful" to my mothers eye... this is one of the disgusting things i had to face when deep down i am hurt to the core..

but somehow being white is like the safe zone and an advantage apart from the tan or black color.. i think in 2024 people start to notice brownish or tan color to be attractive and more accepted.. but the black skin tone is never accepted and no change unless you have features (featurism such as eyes,nose etc..) which are considered attractive and accepted.. so the only way for people with black skin tone to get away with things is to have features which are accepted which sucks!!! i mean not only for black even for brownish/tan skintone.. idk about for people who have white skin tone.. i think you can have any features u want if your skinny..

i hate to write this part cause i am disgusted!!! i hate it so much but this is the privilege and this is the reality we are living in...

featurism

idk a lot about features and what is the standard nowadays.. i think having a small nose and plumpy lips are attractive..? idk man..

i think people with normal features are considered a pretty privilege..? like for example if you have (eye misalignment or anything which stands apart.?) its most likely not accepted as far as i have seen in real life but in modeling industry u can get away with it as they want unique features.

ya the "normal" features are considered beautiful? not much educated in this matter.

Final

yes this is the final part.. i think i have given you much awareness of whats considered a pretty privilege? choose what you want to do.. but i beg you to be gentle and don't be harsh with yourself.. change is ok but you need to have your own permission to allow to change and that's the first priority if you want to gain pretty privilege!

if you want.. i can tell you tips for a good self care routine (comment down if you want)? comment down on your views on this! negatives or positives its accepted.

#neville goddard #loa success #loa #manifestation #the void state #void success #void state #law of assumption #power #real world #society

27 notes · View notes

positively-bi · 9 months

Text

It ain't over til the bisexual speaks...

The March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation took place on the 25th of April 1993 in Washington, D.C. An estimated 80,000 to over 1 million people attended.

The 1993 March was the first March on Washington to include bisexuals in the title. Out of 18 chosen speakers, only one was bisexual: Lani Ka'ahumanu.

Afterwards, she wrote an article for bisexual magazine Anything That Moves about her experience entitled "How I Spent My Two Week Vacation Being a Token Bisexual", which can be read on her website here.

The webpage also contains a transcript of the speech she made at the event, which has been copied below the cut:

Aloha, my name is Lani Ka’ahumanu, and it ain’t over til the bisexual speaks...

I am a token, and a symbol. Today there is no difference. I am the token out bisexual asked to speak, and I am a symbol of how powerful the bisexual pride movement is and how far we have come.

I came here in 1979 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

I returned in 1987 for the March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.

I stand here today on the stage of the 1993 March on Washington for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Equal Rights and Liberation.

In 1987 I wrote an article on bisexuality for the Civil Disobedience Handbook titled, “Are we visible yet?”

Bisexual activists organized on the local, regional and national levels to make this March a reality.

Are bisexuals visible yet? Are bisexuals organized yet? Are bisexuals accountable yet?

You bet your sweet ass we are!

Bisexuals are here, and we’re queer.

Bisexual pride speaks to the truth of behavior and identity.

No simple either/or divisions fluid – ambiguous – subversive bisexual pride challenges both the heterosexual and the homosexual assumption.

Society is based on the denial of diversity, on the denial of complexity.

Like multiculturalism, mixed heritage and bi-racial relationships, both the bisexual and transgender movements expose and politicize the middle ground.

Each show there is no separation, that each and everyone of us is part of a fluid social, sexual and gender dynamic.

Each signals a change, a fundamental change in the way our society is organized.

Remember today.

Remember we are family, and like a large extended family, we don’t always agree, don’t always see eye to eye.

However, as a family under attack we must recognize the importance of what each and every one of us brings to our movement.

There is strength in our numbers and diversity. We are every race, class, culture, age, ability, religion, gender identity and sexual orientation.

Our visibility is a sign of revolt.

Recognition of bisexual orientation and transgender issues presents a challenge to assumptions not previously explored within the politics of gay liberation.

What will it take for the gayristocracy to realize that bisexual, lesbian, transgender, and gay people are in this together, and together we can and will move the agenda forward.

But this will not happen until public recognition of our common issues is made, and a sincere effort to confront biphobia and transphobia is made by the established gay and lesbian leadership in this country.

The broader movement for our civil rights and liberation is being held back.

Who gains when we ostracize whole parts of our family? Who gains from exclusionary politics?

Certainly not us...

Being treated as if I am less oppressed than thou is not only insulting, it feeds right in to the hands of the right wing fundamentalists who see all of us as queer.

What is the difficulty in seeing how my struggle as a mixed race bisexual woman of color is intimately related to the bigger struggle for lesbian and gay rights the rights of people of color and the rights of all women?

What is the problem?

This is not a competition.

I will not play by rules that pit me against any oppressed group.

Has the gayristocracy bought so far in to the either/or structure, invested so much in being the opposite of heterosexual that they cannot remove themselves that they can’t imagine being free of the whole oppressive heterosexist system that keeps us all down?

Bisexual, gay, lesbian, and transgender people who are out of the closet, who are not passing for anything other than who and what we are all have our necks and our lives on the line.

All our visibility is a sign of revolt.

Bisexuals are here to challenge the bigots who have denied lesbian, gay and bisexual people basic civil rights in Colorado.

Yes, Amendment 2 includes bisexual orientation.

Yes, the religious right recognizes bisexuals as a threat to “so called” family values.

Bisexuals are here to protest the military ban against lesbians, gays and bisexuals.

Yes, the Department of Defense defines bisexuals separately as a reason to be dishonorably discharged.

And yes, out bisexuals are not allowed to be foster or adoptive parents,

And yes, we lose our jobs, our children, get beaten and killed for loving women and for loving men.

Bisexuals are queer, just as queer as queer can be.

Each of us here today represents many people who could not make the trip.

Our civil rights and liberation movement has reached critical mass.

Remember today.

Remember that we are more powerful than all the hate, ignorance and violence directed at us.

Remember what a profound difference our visibility makes upon the world in which we live.

The momentum of this day can carry us well into the 21st century if we come out where ever and when ever we can.

Remember assimilation is a lie. It is spiritual erasure.

I want to challenge those lesbian and gay leaders who have come out to me privately over the years as bisexual to take the next step, come out now.

What is the sexual liberation movement about if not about the freedom to love whom we choose?

I want to encourage bisexuals in the lesbian, gay and heterosexual communities to come out now.

Remember there is nothing wrong with love. Defend the freedom to express it.

Our visibility is a sign of revolt. We cannot be stopped. We are everywhere. We are bisexual, lesbian, gay and transgender people.

We will not rest until we are all free;

We will not rest until our basic human rights are protected under federal law;

We will not rest until our relationships and families are not just tolerated but recognized, respected and valued;

We will not rest until we have a national health care system; We will not rest until there are cures for AIDS and cancer.

We deserve nothing less. Remember we have every right to be in the world exactly as we are.

Celebrate that simply and fiercely.

I love you.

Mahalo and aloha.

101 notes · View notes

gatheringbones · 2 years

Text

[“If the indigenous peoples of North America aren’t being imagined as living in a separate time, or as vestiges of some earlier stage of human history, then they’re imagined as living in an entirely separate reality (‘ontology’ is the currently fashionable term), a mythic consciousness fundamentally different from our own. If nothing else, it is assumed that any intellectual tradition similar to that which produced Plotinus, Shankara or Zhuang Zu can only be the product of a literary tradition in which knowledge becomes cumulative. And since North America did not produce a written tradition – or at least not the sort we are used to recognizing as such – any knowledge it generated, political or otherwise, was necessarily of a different kind. Any similarity we might see to debates or positions familiar from our own intellectual tradition is typically written off as some sort of naive projection of Western categories. Real dialogue is thus impossible. Perhaps the most straightforward way to counteract this sort of argument is by citing a text, which describes a concept the Wendat (Huron) called Ondinnonk, a secret desire of the soul manifested by a dream:

Hurons believe that our souls have other desires, which are, as it were, inborn and concealed … They believe that our soul makes these natural desires known by means of dreams, which are its language. Accordingly, when these desires are accomplished, it is satisfied; but, on the contrary, if it be not granted what it desires, it becomes angry, and not only does not give its body the good and the happiness that it wished to procure for it, but often it also revolts against the body, causing various diseases, and even death.

The author goes on to explain that, in dreams, such secret desires are communicated in a kind of indirect, symbolic language, difficult to understand, and that the Wendat therefore spend a great deal of time trying to decipher the meaning of one another’s dreams, or consulting specialists.

All this might seem like an oddly clumsy projection of Freudian theory, but for one thing. The text is from 1649. It was written by a certain Father Ragueneau in a Jesuit Relation, precisely 250 years before the appearance of the first edition of Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams (1899), an event which, like Einstein’s theory of relativity, is widely seen as one of the founding events of twentieth-century thought. What’s more, Ragueneau is not our only source. Numerous missionaries attempting to convert other Iroquoian peoples at the same time reported similar theories – which they considered absurd and obviously false (though probably, they concluded, not actually demonic) and attempted to refute, in order to bring their interlocutors around instead to the truth of Holy Scripture.

Does this mean that the community in which Kandiaronk grew up was composed of Freudians? Not exactly. There were significant differences between Freudian psychoanalysis and Iroquoian practice, most dramatically in the collective nature of the therapy. ‘Dream-guessing’ was often carried out by groups, and realizing the desires of the dreamer, either literally or symbolically, could involve mobilizing an entire community: Ragueneau reported that the winter months in a Wendat town were largely devoted to organizing collective feasts and dramas, literally in order to make some important man or woman’s dreams come true. The point here is that it would be very unwise to dismiss such intellectual traditions as inferior – or for that matter, entirely alien – to our own.”]

david graeber and david wengrow, the dawn of everything: a new history of humanity, 2021

#david graeber #history stuff #currently reading

552 notes · View notes