we need to talk more about the hatsune miku x oc old woman yuri that was the blue planet music video. It’s so good, the album cover also implies miku outlived her partner too. This is the yuri we needed, good lord

I sort of rambled about this in the tags of a post, but I wanted to make a proper one myself since I find it very fascinating (law backstory flashback you will always be famous). so one of my favorite scenes is this one:

it is a very meaningful moment for these two, a very clear turning point to their dynamic at that time, and it's made even clearer by how law starts referring to rocinante as cora-san afterwards.

now, there are several instances throughout dressrosa arc where the similarities between doflamingo and law are mentioned, with the former going as far as to call them both birds of a feather. and as it's shown in the flashbacks, reading about flevance was enough to trigger doflamingo's traumatizing memories of his and rocinante's childhood, which seems to motivate him to bring law into the family. the way law seeks to lash out at everything then is reminiscent of doflamingo's own worldview and experiences, at least from his pov:

rocinante noticed those similarities as well and though he tried to (questionably) discourage all kids from joining the DQ pirates by scaring them away, law's case in particular prompted him to bring up the topic with sengoku at some point, as seen during sengoku's conversation with law.

sengoku repeats what everyone says about the amber lead disease, that it's incurable, and warns rocinante not to favor law much for it could jeopardize his mission. whether rocinante's agreement here was reluctant or not ig is up to each reader but learning of law's real/full name (his relation to the D clan) reignites his initial worries and some more, considering the historic opposition/threat the D represents wrt celestial dragons and how this could endanger him if doflamingo were to find out.

so there's even bigger reasons for rocinante to not want law to become doflamingo 2.0. though as he later admits amidst his drunken speech, the will of D no longer matters to him when it comes to saving law, as rocinante's journey to cure his disease ends up making him feel genuine sympathy for law beyond that. he's forced to witness first hand how much discrimination and dehumanization law's subjected to time and time again, because of his disease and ties to flevance. before all this, law's mentioned his imminent death more than a few times and does it after too. and during the first disastrous hospital visit, he tells rocinante: see? I'm not even human anymore!

which brings me to this bit of dialogue:

for all of law's similarities and/or parallels to doflamingo, it's worth noting that rocinante experienced the same things his brother did and due to his younger age probably understood even less of what was happening or why they were being targeted in the first place. compared to doflamingo, rocinante also has way less dialogue in their backstory but one he does have is this:

this happens in the part where rocinante, doflamingo and their father are strung up on a wall and shot at with arrows. the villagers all express their anger, grief, the violence and suffering they've gone through because of celestial dragons like the donquixotes. albeit different in nature, along with doflamingo, rocinante experienced a kind of dehumanization as well.

so, again: for all that law might resemble doflamingo the most, I do wonder... how much of himself did rocinante see in law, though subconsciously? a kid who lost his family, subjected to the kind of violence that led him to resign himself to death (seek it, even) and was treated by others as inhuman because of circumstances out of his control? it might've not been what rocinante believed to be his own motivations to help law, likely never actually saw or realized the similarities they shared, but imo it adds some more depth to his kindness and sympathy towards law.

this also marks a stark difference between the donquixote brothers. whereas doflamingo got caught up in a very vicious cycle (which traces back to the existence of celestial dragons as a whole and was further enabled by others like trebol) that he planned to continue with law, rocinante was able to see past law's rage and acknowledge the pain beneath. after all, rocinante knows too what it's like to be hurt by others who've been terribly hurt first and became someone who wasn't exactly keen on returning the sentiment, unlike doflamingo, regardless of whether it was in his nature to be so or if it's something that was nurtured as he grew up. that's not to say rocinante was an endlessly kind saint (he had his own biased views) or that he wasn't capable of violence (he did beat up all those medical staff and burn down hospitals for example), but those incidents weren't caused by a sense of entitlement on his part or such. he didn't blame law for stabbing him or in general for seeking revenge against the world, ultimately chose to protect and save him instead - which, indeed, changed law's life. as law presently insists, he owes cora not just that very life but his heart as well.

lastly - law himself might not disagree with doflamingo insisting they're of the same sort, but law is also the kid who couldn't fathom leaving his dying little sister behind. who softened and lowered his guard after receiving genuine kindness/love/sympathy for the first time in years. who saved a little mink and risked his own neck later on to save a boy who'd just lost his brother in the worst way possible. who didn't even consider putting his crew in danger when he knew (and expected) he might die and his whole revenge plan against doflamingo was rooted in love and grief to begin with, the same upon which the foundation of his crew was built and is a tribute to. last we saw of him, law orders bepo to go back in winner island because can't leave the crew behind, etc etc, so there's that too. how much of it is law's own nature and personality? how much is due to the impact cora had on him? both? would've doflamingo turned out differently or made different choices if his parents had tried harder to school him out of those CD views or if he'd had more positive influences aside from them, instead of the people he ended up surrounded by? would he have become the same kind of person he is rn no matter what? interesting stuff to think about.

creepy/messed-up history facts

the man in the booth across from lincoln was named major henry rathbone, and after booth fired the shot, rathbone tried to tackle him to the ground, but booth sliced rathbone in the arm with a dagger. after that night, rathbone was never free of guilt. he suffered from stomach ailments to heart palpitations, and on december 23rd 1883, he attacked and killed his wife clara, and attempted to kill himself. he spent the rest of his life in a mental institution.

in 1494, sailors returning from the new world brought with them massive outbreak of syphilis, which spread through an entire french army, and with no antibiotics to counteract it, the disease spread unchecked. the skin on victims' faces would essentially rot away from the grisly ulcers. in some cases, the noses, lips and other body parts of the affected people were essentially gone.

in 1890, thomas edison, using wax cylinder, produced a line of baby dolls. they had wooden bodies, procelain heads, and miniature phonographs in their chests. the phonographs would play back recordings of young women reciting nursery rhymes like "hictory dickory dock," and "now i lay me down to sleep." (here's the audio of them x)

dentures used to be made from the teeth of dead soldiers. they were ivory base plates with real human teeth attached, a lot of these were sold to dentists by scavengers looting corpses from the battle of waterloo. the dentists would boil the them down, cut off the roots, attach them to ivory plates, and sell them.

in 1929, a pair of scientists at princeton university wanted to test and understand how the auditory nerve percieves sound, and their test subject was an alive cat. they cut out part of its brain and attached one end of a telephone wire to its auditory nerve and the other end to a reciever. weirdly enough, many researchers think this helped lead to the development of cochlear implants. but the cat was killed after the scientists wanted to see if it worked on a dead cat.

in 1726, mary toft told doctors that she gave birth to rabbits, and doctors were fully convinced until they found pieces of corn inside the stomach of one of the rabbits, proving that it hadn't developed inside her womb. she instead was manually inserting the rabbits to make the delivery look as realistic as possible.

it was believed that babies under the age of 15 months couldn't feel pain, so doctors would instead use muscle relaxers that had a paralytic effect to stop the baby from moving. this essentially meant they couldn't move or cry but they could still hear, see, and feel everything that was done to them. this was accepted up until 1980s

there was a tiger in india named man-eater of champawat who became dependent on human flesh, which at the turn of the 20th century inflicted a seven-year reign, killing 436 men, women, and children. she was eventually killed in 1907.

there was a book called "how the mail steamer went down in mid atlantic, by a survivor," which tells the story of an unnamed ocean liner that sinks in the atlantic. the protagonist is a sailor named thompson, who grows concerned over the lifeboat shortage, and sure enough the liners collides with a small sailing ship in a fog. as the ship sinks, only 200 of the 700 people on board survive. the second novella "the wreck of the titan: or, futility" by morgan robertson, follows the fictional ocean liner titan, which hits an iceberg in the north atlantic and sinks. like the titanic, the titan was described as the largest ship afloat at the time, both ships had a shortage of lifeboats, and the titan was dubbed "unsinkable." when the accident occurred, roberston simply said he was knowledgabe about maritime operations, saying "i know what i'm writing about, that's all."

some books created in the 18th and 19th century were bound in real human skin which was called anthropodermic bibliopegy. most of these books that were bound with human skin instead of animal skin were mostly based on anatomy or erotica.

during the battle of ramree island, which was fought between january and february 1945, japanese soldiers were cornered by english troops seeking to conquer burmese island of ramree, forcing japanese troops to cross 10 miles of swamp. the japanese soon began to suffer the effects of tropical diseases, but the presence of large numbers of scorpions, tropical mosquitoes and thousands of saltwater crocodiles, the world's largest reptiles, was even worse. In its genre. very aggressive beasts that can reach 8 meters in length and weigh more than a ton. according to some survivors, during the night, they were hunted one by one, in which the crocodiles would ambush them from underneath. and the survivors said the worst part was hearing the screams and the breaking of bones in the dark.

there is a cocodile named gustave (or was if you believe he's dead), a large nile crocodile in burundi who has been rumored to have killed 200-300 people. he's never been captured, but it has been stated that he could be "easily more than 20 feet, and weigh more than 2,000 pounds." he was/is estimated to be over 100 years old, and was/is described as having bullet wounds over his body, and his right shoulder blade was found to be deeply wounded, but they don't know what could have caused it. it's been rumored that he would leave the corpses he killed behind. in 2019, an article revealed he was killed, but there's no photographic evidence which leaves people doubting it's true.

AITA for calling my (24m) brother (20m) out for a bad habit he's sensitive about?

To preface, this isn't that dramatic of a story. We've always had a good relationship, and still do. Nothing in this story has affected that, and hopefully it stays that way. He's a good guy, and always means well.

But he is a huge, HUGE know-it-all. In almost every conversation he *has* to be the expert. He'll lecture my mom on how to cook, telling her stuff like what the best spices are and tells her how she could improve her technique. When we play games together, he'll always tell me what I should be doing and when to do it. He's a philosophy major, so if you EVER get into a disagreement with him he'll bring up Deleutze or Aristotle or some bizzare thought experiment, always using it to justify himself and admonish you. I'm a full time professional programmer, and he'll lecture *me* about software and do the classic elitist "why are you using x instead of the obviously superior y?"

I could really go on for a LONG time, because this is a constant with him. He can't go 20 minutes without "helpful corrections". I sometimes poke fun at him if I can get a harmless jab in, calling him "professor" or something. It irritates him a lot, but we're brothers, so of course we get on each other's nerves. He annoys me, so I annoy him.

A recent breaking point was when I was drinking this horrible tasting laxative stuff because I was constipated (somewhat embarassing to admit in a public post, but here we are). He began telling me how if I just chugged it, it would be easier. I told him that no, actually, chugging it would make me barf.

Instead of letting it go, he just couldn't. He almost turned it into suffering olympics. "I don't know why you won't listen to me. Do you even know how often I've had to drink that? If you've done it as much as I have, you'd know what I mean."

He said that to me; his brother with severe gastrointestinal disease, who had 5 colonoscopies by the time I was his age. I've drank literal gallons of this exact stuff, and he knows that. I snapped at him more than I probably ever have before. I told him that, actually, it's possible for OTHER people to know better than him, and sometimes he should just learn when to shut up and let people do it their way instead of his way.

He did NOT take it well, but he didn't get mad. I kinda wish he did, because instead he got REALLY sad. Not in a manipulative way, he was actually trying to hide it. He mumbled some kind of defense about how i "misunderstood him" and he changed the subject. But for the next few hours his "light" was totally gone. He forced himself to smile and act like everything was fine, but he was clearly hurt by it. I remembered that a few months ago, he mentioned that he had self-hatred problems he was trying to work through. I think I hit that nerve inside him.

I don't know what to do going forward. I don't feel like I was wrong to say what i did, but feels like the emotional damage he took was way worse than the frustration at him I felt in the moment. If I could go back, I genuinely don't know whether I would say it again or not. AITA?

What are these acronyms?

Odin, Thor, and Kratos with a frail companion that has trouble using their abilities.

a/n; Requested work.

Kratos

    Kratos would be by your side to even assist you in getting out of bed given your weak frame. Due to his half-god status, he was aware that occasionally disease wasn't something your people could simply shrug off and go on from. It takes time, and in your case, it didn't seem like it would ever go away. He didn't hate taking care of and providing for you; he just wished you had the freedom to do as you pleased. It seemed like ages since he last seen you lively and healthy. Gets apprehensive about holding you at times for fear that his size would do you harm. In order to avoid upsetting you and making your illness worse, tell Atreus to be extra kind with you and watch his anger when you're in the room. Kratos did everything he could to protect you because he knew you possessed abilities, but using them would harm your health. As a result, he wanted you to use your power as little as possible. would not be as enquisitive as Atreus, who would constantly enquire about your power. What is it? Do you know why you aren't able to use it? When you use it, what actually occurs to you?

Thor

    With this man by your side, you wouldn't have to do anything or worry about anything. Thor made sure to regularly check on you and deliver your medication at the precise time, every day. If you were having a harder time than usual, he wouldn't let you lift a finger and would beg you to simply let him get you the cup of water personally rather than you doing it. Thor would attempt to accompany you whenever Odin sent you on missions despite your fragile appearance, even if it meant that he would later be reprimanded and yelled at by his father or worse.He promises that you won't ever have to use your powers if you don't want to. He is always available to protect you from harm, even if it means sacrificing his own life in the process. gives you a great deal of freedom to act anyway you like, so if you choose to use your power even if it harms you, he will be there to take care of you afterward. You would be cared for and then given a warm, soothing hug. He knew how it felt to have your freedom taken away, and he wouldn't dare do it out of selfishness.

Odin

    Knew about your illness before you even informed him about it, but never broached the subject with you before you had explained it to him. Although he initially had faith in you, Odin needed to be certain about whom he was opening his heart to. You would receive the best care and comfort possible, and Odin himself would choose a servant to attend to your needs. But not just any servant; one who he knew he could rely on and who possessed the necessary skills for cooking, fighting, and nursing. Will stop you from using your powers, reassuring you that he has everything under control and that you shouldn't utilize them if the implications were for your wellbeing. No, that wasn't up for debate. You really didn't have to worry about anything in this world because he would provide you whatever you wanted and more. Odin would enter your chambers while you were fast sleeping, sit next to you, and talk to you softly about his day so as not to disturb you. Leaves you with a gentle kiss on the forehead, a parting gift until the next morning.

Do not copy or translate my works.

Inventor/Invention

-In case you didn’t notice, I’ve been trying to make most of the characters in this AU look like they’re age 50+...which is something I’ve never done before, and it might explain why the designs have been so hit or miss. ^^;;;  Fortunately, Susie seems to be a hit; I like how this drawing came out. ^^ I think this body type + clothing aesthetic + age demographic is a particularly rare combination; personally I’ve never seen a character who looks like this before. And yet, I managed to make it work~.

-Susie (the current ‘President Haltmann’, btw) is basically Magolor’s right hand, and helps him with all the technological aspects of his conquest-- not only did she create Auto-Nightmare, she also had a large hand in cloning Blade, and studies the progression of her disease throughout the story. In return for playing the tech support role, she’s allowed to have the Haltmann Works Co. drain resources from all the worlds that Magolor conquers-- which he would agree to, of course, since it would be an easy way to keep his new subjects in line (read: oppressed and afraid) while he’s off looking for more heroes to murder.

It makes me wonder, though, what would happen if the “player” chooses to have Magolor become nicer over the course of the story…like, if he really does turn himself around, he and Susie would have to come into conflict over this deal eventually. ^^; Maybe I just won’t let him get to that point; maybe the best he can do for the purposes of the story is learn to love Blade and take care of her…while completely ignoring all the evil he’s done to the rest of the universe, and simply not giving a damn about letting the HWC consume everyone and everything he left behind. XD

-P.S. Susie basically has two main designs: she’d appear in this physical form for certain cutscenes, but fight exclusively with her mecha (which I totally will draw at some point…I promise…⚆u⚆; )

-Auto-Nightmare is the result of me wanting to finally use Nightmare in an AU for once, but wanting to do it in an unorthodox way. ^^ Besides, I can’t really see a more canon-esque Nightmare willingly being subservient to someone like Magolor…and in terms of traitors/fickle allies, Mags already has his hands full with Marx. I don’t need another character in the party who plays the same role…

So Auto-Nightmare was born, combining the Power Orb with some of Nightmare’s accessories to create this cuter, more unassuming design. Which eventually informed his character concept.

-”Auto” is not really Nightmare; not even an amnesiac-reset version of Nightmare. Technically he’s just a machine that was designed to force Nightmare’s Power Orb to awaken…but ultimately failed, and now simply draws from its power to create his own identity and abilities. The result is this walking bundle of anxiety who feels inferior to his “former self”, and tries to make up for it by doing everything his bosses tell him to do. ^^; However, over the course of the story, he befriends Blade, and starts to become more assertive. He may not be able to stand up for himself, but he quickly learns to stand up for his ailing friend, even to the point of openly criticizing Magolor for his treatment of her.

-As you might have guessed, this is where his “death” comes in. ^^ Soon after I decided he should be Blade’s only real friend, I kinda knew he had to die, because he would end up getting in Magolor’s way. Isolation is a large part of what makes an abusive relationship work; a victim with a staunch supporter who genuinely wants what’s best for them will escape your control eventually... …Besides, Magolor is terribly petty, and would probably be offended by this ‘magic tin can’ talking back to him…enough to snap and shatter his face while Blade is unconscious, if the "player" so chooses. =T

Because Auto isn’t really alive, he doesn’t exactly die…the Power Orb itself can even reform on its own. But breaking it in the first place causes his whole system to reset: he reverts to a silent, emotionless shell who just stands around and follows simple commands...and this is a devastating, soul-crushing event for Blade. Especially if you go one step further and choose to have Magolor lie about what happened to Auto, and/or imply that she killed him accidentally during one of her Malady flare-ups.

-On that note, if you don’t choose to have Magolor go down ^that sickeningly cruel path and just leave Auto alone, Blade actually does kill Auto accidentally, leading to a similar outcome. But at least then, it becomes an opportunity for Magolor to help Blade through this traumatic experience, and start to form a genuine bond with her. Again, if the "player" so chooses~.

I recently found your S&T swap au and I am in love. It’s so good! And your art is so adorable you do not understand

Ok, so I had some thoughts while looking through your au.

Are their personalities different due to how their pasts are different?

And, I’m pretty sure, there were like ancient depictions of a form looking like Sonic saving the world and stuff so I wonder if like sonic was “destined” to be the hero but in this case that isn’t the role he had. Meaning Tails has to prove to himself and others that despite what destiny tried to say, he is a hero.

Aww thnx so much 🥺!!!

These are very good thoughts and there are a quite few differences in personality so I’m just gonna do this in sections:

Sonic:

Sonic’s not too different to how he is in canon, I think swap sonic still has like the same demeanour and attitude, like they’re not that different in terms of being pretty chill, too cool for school and generally being a little shit

He leans more into the piloting thing and he likes to fly fast. Do not insult his piloting skills unless you wanna annoy him

no one really expects him to be a super genius they’re always caught off guard by it when says something really scientific just casually (except the people who are just used to it)

He tends a danger to himself most of the time, being sent to the hospital every couple of weeks cuz of of his experiments, inventions or just straight up forgetting he fit the blowtorch on the floor. (A lot of the times is a some dumb stuff that he does for ‘science’)

Zero sense of self preservation and a tendency to just casually play off injuries (“Relax shadow, all the bleeding was internal, that’s where the blood’s supposed to be-“)

filled with lots of energy and from the lack of usage of his speed to let some of it out, always constantly moving. Constant leg bouncing disease and rambling at record speeds (only tails can understand him the most when he’s in ramble mode). He’s also a really fast thinker

When his speed is brought up he gets a bit visibly uncomfortable and changes the subject, pretending that it never happened

Hes bad at taking compliments, he just brushes it off and tries to either discredit himself or awkwardly change the subject. When he was younger he was even worse

The boy would not see sun in days if allowed to hyperfocus on inventing, tails often has to drag his ass outside when that happens

The tornado is his baby

Tails

He’s more confident & independent from doing hero stuff and travelling

He’s a huge history nerd, whenever they go to angel island he ignores sonic & knuckles he goes straight for the ruins.

He knows random trivia facts

He owns many notebooks and has about 6 in total so far

In his travels he loves to learn about different cultures and traditions

Tails’s 8 year old brain at some point just comes to the conclusion that he straight up can't die cuz after everything he's been through he's still alive and so Tails slowly becomes more reckless with his well-being because of it much to sonic’s chagrin

This kid is really curious, you would be surprised how many of his adventures started out as innocent curiosity. He gets side tracked a lot because of it. (Once Sonic asked him to go get some groceries from the supermarket, returned in gold armor with a sword and a country. He forgot the groceries)

He reads a lot of comic books for catchphrase and megamind voice presentation.

People often underestimate him due to his age and adorable appearance and he uses it to his advantage

Cusses frequently

Does not hold back on insults. Someone could be debating whether or not to fight this eight year old but then he opens his mouth and they’re like “nah, the kid deserves it.” And squares up

Destined hero thingy

Tail’s definitely did have to prove to others and himself that he was a hero despite it not being destiny, and sonic had to prove that just because he was ‘destined’ to be a hero doesn’t mean that has to do it it in a way that’s foretold of be a hero at all

But despite this Tails does have a bit of imposter syndrome and feels like, despite all that he’s achieved, he doesn’t deserve to be called the ‘hero of mobius’.

He was just a little kid who wanted to help

But sonic called bullshit on that and told him that’s exactly why deserves to be called a hero, a little kid standing up against seemingly impossible odds and challenges over and over again just because it’s the right thing to do.

I’m thinking that maybe the prophecy will come into play later down the line but I’m still deciding

Thanks for the ask!!!

Sonomi Hoshiakari/Cure Forest

Warning: this may contain character deaths, subject of diseases, and suicidal thoughts

Nickname: Hoshiakari-san(2nd years, 3rd years(Floyd, Kalim, Rook, Ortho)), Sonomi(1st years, Kaida, Farah, Fuyumi, Hoseki, Kiko(Epel)), Sonomi-chan(Yumeri, Mizuko, Hokori, Seiza), Tulip-chan(Taiyou, Yuri, Kalim), Child of Plants(Malleus), Princesse des Plantes(Rook), Appleflower(Vil and Epel), Leaf Sheep(Floyd), My Lady(Samara), Herbivore(Leona), Akari-san(Ortho), Akari-shi(Idia)

Twisted from: Snow White(Snow White and The 7 Dwarfs), Strawberry Cookie(Cookie Run), Nodoka Hanadera(Healing Good PreCure), Tsubomi Hanadera(Heartcatch PreCure), Kanade(Project Sekai)

Age: 16

Height: 149cm

DOB: 5/19

Species: Human(?)

Homeland: Sagewillow

Family:

Haruka Hoshiakari(Mother: Deceased)

Adelio Hoshiakari(Father)

Fuyumi Hoshiakari(Olde sister)

Akio Hoshiakari(Older brother)

Roscoe Springbloom(Uncle)

Emerald Springbloom(Aunt: Deceased)

Rosie Springbloom(Cousin)

Dorm: Pomefiore

Class: 1-B(No.1)

Clubs: Gardening(Creator)

Hobby: Staring into the ceiling and the walls, collecting rocks.

Likes: Spending time with Samara, studying about plants and medicine, singing

Dislike: Violence, being sick, being isolated

Pet peeve: Unable to understand some things.

Favorite food: None

Least favorite food: Porridge

Favorite drink: Water

"A first year of Pomefiore who's a very shy girl who spent the majority of her time with her personal butler Samara in the library and is the lead vocalist of Moonlight Bloom."

Appearance:

Sonomi has slightly long dark pink hair that reaches her shoulders and is tied up in a side ponytail with a pink streak and light pink eyes.

As Cure Forest her hair became light pink and is longer almost reaching her knees and us also tied to a side ponytail and is decorated with flowers

Background:

Sonomi is the youngest princess of Sagewillow and is daughter of Adelio and Haruka, but due to her unknown disease she passed away immediately after giving birth to Sonomi and the pinknette immediately got that illness.

Because of that, she is isolated that the castle not knowing the outside world while her father and uncle did everything they can to find a cure for her but is unsuccessful, she began to wonder if her mother died because of her and ended up wished that if she didn't existed then maybe her mother would still be here and not in heaven.

Personality:

Sonomi is a very shy and is often an introvert who has trouble with talking to people and usually spending the majority of her time with Samara and if she wasn't with the vampire butler she's at the botanical greenhouse.

But in general she's a very kind hearted girl who has major communication problems who's emotions clouded her judgement

Unique Magic: Floral Evergreen

It allows her to to magically grow plants and flowers however she cannot grow vegetables and fruits as that was Rye Gourmand's magic "Citrus Growth"

Trivia

Appleflower are her favorite.

She can get jumpy at times.

She has a hand mirror as her signature weapon.

Raymond 🤝 Sonomi and Rosie: dead moms

Nobody knows about her being a princess, only Samara knows.

What do you think about her

@zexal-club @yukii0nna @anxious-twisted-vampire @marrondrawsalot @writing-heiress @liviavanrouge

is that AVAN JOGIA? oh, no, that’s HARIJ ‘HARI’ VASAV, a THIRTY-TWO year old ER NURSE PRACTITIONER AT VALPARAISO CENTRO MEDICO who uses HE/THEYpronouns. they currently live in VALPARAISO, and the character they identify with most is CRISTINA YANG FROM GREYS ANATOMY . hopefully they find their own little paradise here in el país de los poetas! 

NAME — harij vasav  NICKNAME(S) — hari NAME MEANING — harij: the horizon. hari: lion, one who forgives all sins. vasav: lord indra AGE — thirty-two DATE OF BIRTH — october 25th STAR SIGNS — scorpio sun, virgo moon, scorpio rising PLACE OF BIRTH — boston, massachusetts SEXUAL ORIENTATION — queer RELIGION — agnostic, it's complicated SPOKEN LANGUAGE(S) — english, gujarati, spanish OCCUPATION — er nurse practitioner at valparaiso centro medico RESIDENCE — valparaiso FAMILY — munjal vasav ( father ), roslyn vasav ( mother ), hayva vasav ( sister )

tw: mentions of alzheimers, passing of a parent ( non descriptive for both subjects )

when your dad is a world renowned neurosurgeon it’s a hard pedestal to fall from, especially if you feel like you haven’t even begun to measure up. it’s even harder when that same father slowly starts to lose his memory. 

hari grew up as a shadow, at least, that’s what his dad called him when he would go to work with his father because him and his mother were fighting again and they couldn’t find child care. it seemed insane that a couple years later they would inevitably get back together again and have another child. then, his father would have two shadows. 

hayva would be the golden child, the one that would step up to the plate and do everything that his father had always wanted for hari, and hari wanted to make the same kind of difference – it’s just not in the way that their dad wanted. 

whenever they visited their mother on weekends she would look at her son, rest a hand on his shoulder and squeeze it as if she was saying that she understand what it meant to come second or third in his father’s life. 

but hari would always be his shadow, he was interested in the brain, but wanted to be at the heart of the action. 

when his dad is diagnosed with early on set alzheimer's their world shifts, hayva goes into overdrive into finding a cure, hari thinks that havya is a little naive to believe that they’ll be able to find one in such a short amount of time. it’s a slow process, and hari doesn’t want to just stand by and watch. 

they were a gifted student, but their extracurriculars lied behind a camera, growing up with other hospital kids gave them an abundance of free time and they would make movies, their playground was white walls and sterile environments but they made it into a kingdom. 

between weekends at moms, week days with his dad, he had his camera, but he stuck to his studies. he never knew what he wanted to do, and never felt like they quite fit in with their peers because they never had much time to get to know them. 

their dad used to say he was in his glory days before the disease finally took him out, their dad wrote books, did research, gave talks and began to prep hayva to take his place when she was old enough. 

hari loved their sister, but they loved their peace of mind more. 

it didn’t quite hit until their first year of college, that first taste of freedom when they were still deciding on what to major in. there was a college party, no one could really remember what really happened, too much drinking, too many kids who made stupid decisions, but hari had stepped in, with his calm demeanor and steady presence, he took control of the situation, saved a life. 

emergency medicine was what he was passionate about. they decided to become a nurse, and then eventually, an emergency nurse practitioner. 

his dad said that he was proud of him, but sometimes he wished that he would take his place, hari had said, why have me when you have hayva?

it would be years little communication, his dad’s disease worsening, and then, eventually a funeral. 

then there was a will, entitled to harij vasav, his dad had a little place in valparaiso and it was up to hari what they wanted to do with it. 

they’ve been trying to clean up the place, while living in it, with intentions to settle up. but they keep finding things in the house that belonged to their father throughout the years that makes it hard for them to let go. 

news articles of their fathers works, while harij’s school campus articles of the student film project they did when they were a sophomore, on top of him making the dean’s list, and when he got accepted at his first job, and how yes he might have been the munjal vasav’s child, harij was a good er nurse practitioner carving their own way in life without their father’s fame. 

maybe they’ll sell the house, but right now they’re finding that hard to do. 

headcanons & fun facts: 

kind of shy at first but once you get to know him a total goofball 

copes by playing video games 

has a letterbox account that they run like the navy 

actually a good little ‘filmmaker’ it was his passion all throughout his life but never got around to living it #sad but oh well !! 

a fan of so many muses in valpo like how come theres so many celebs and musicians living here this is crazy 

renting out a room so if anyone would like that connection im so down 

very good at their job !!!! like online they sound like an idiot but trust they know what theyre talking about when it comes to work matters !!!!! 

lowkey a pothead when they were not working but like thats fine theyre allowed 

also an avid vaper with esme and dante i fear :///// 

not close with their sister unfortch but she is a badass and is still currently in school etc to take up their fathers position 

mama’s boy !!! they talk all the time they’ve gotten very close over the years which is good but also sad bc theyve both felt that neglect ( even if it wasn’t purposeful on their dad’s end ) 

idk they’re an idiot to all relationships i fear

they wanna be loved so bad, and just like Seen

has a bearded dragon its their bestie frfr

Having fun isn't hard when you've got a library card!

Werewolves... Werewolves - god, why did 90% of it have to be smut? Why the hell do they even let this stuff into the library- ah-hah!

Shade plucked a dusty old book from the library shelf. He ran his fingers over the old leather cover, nearly sneezing from the amount of dust that had flown off this thing upon being touched. He flicked through the pages with care, one tug too hard and the yellowed sheets would disintegrate.

The parchment pages of the book were stained with coffee, carrying the scent of countless years of age and dust. Shade made sure to check - to make sure no one was looking. Seemed like everything was quiet, thankfully. He deliberately came early, no one's gonna be at the library at 7am anyways.

The Lycanthrope, scientifically known as "Homo Lycanus" is the scientific name for a rare variant of humans infected by a very ancient disease. The disease itself is estimated to have first appeared just after the Cretaceous period.

Initially, it was an infection that resided in primates - slowly tracking down lineages as it traded numbers for potency. What initially started off as higher aggression soon turned into an entire morphological change that was directly correlated with higher infection rates.

Scientists estimate that the first appearance of a "werewolf" (or man-wolf) was during the initial domestication of wolves. The interaction likely resulted in a cross-species contamination, wherein a wolf was infected with the Lycaenus disease, and spread it to other wolves.

This, unfortunately, led to multitudinous and unjustified deaths of wild wolves during the 18th and 19th centuries. While presenting asymptomatically, the disease adapted to wolf biology - which would bear catastrophic results for any human who happened to be bitten by an infected wolf.

Unfortunately, we are still unable to determine the correlation between the full moon and a forced transformation. Some have hypothesized that it is actually a spike in adrenaline and cortisol that causes the disease to present itself - a form of parasitic self-preservation turned up to an unnatural degree.

No cure has been discovered yet, beyond herbal remedies of superstition and death. We suspect vaccination could aid in the prevention of spreading it, but we have yet to find a willing test subject. Once lycanthropes start showing symptoms, treating it becomes far more difficult - perhaps impossible.

One thing is for certain, though. The longer a lycan remains infected, the more strain it places on his body. Every shift, even minor ones - can cause irreparable damage to the muscle and bone - let alone frequent blood loss.

No lycan has died a man, and those in old age find it harder and harder to shift back. It is why we must find this cure...

Shade's hand shook as his grip tightened on the book. He felt his heart rate spike, a sudden strike of fear causing a pang of pain in his chest. Without thinking, he quickly turned and started to bolt towards the door. There was a loud crack, his leg buckling as he felt a claw dig out of one of his shoes. It took a lot of effort not to scream...

There was already a sense of pressure in his back, he didn't have much time to get to his dorm. The horrifying, wet schlick sound met his ears as claws burst out under his nails, beads of blood dripping onto the book. The claws dug small holes into the cover, and slowly - the blood seeped into the pages. Thankfully, this wasn't a full moon. He could maintain control and prevent a full change if he just stayed calm-

Thud.

Of course there was someone else here... And he just had to run into them...

-

To be continued...

Chapter 18

18th January 1993 

It couldn’t be true. It had to be a nightmare. The worst nightmare she had ever had. Surely somebody would wake her up soon, assuring her that everything was alright and nothing bad had happened, that Charles and her most intimate bedtime phone talk had not really been exposed to the whole world, that her children, parents and neighbours, all of their friends, her parent’s friends, her children’s friends, Andrew’s colleagues, Charles’ family, her children’s teachers, her own teachers (those who were still alive) and literally everybody on this planet not only had read or heard about Charles and her affair but actually their whole, silly, private conversation which was now ridiculed and scrutinised everywhere. She could never leave the house again. She would die here, die of shame and guilt and embarrassment. What had she done to her family? How could they ever possibly forgive her? How could they ever even talk to her again, without always having these awful few words in mind which had become the number one subject of several cartoons and silly jokes on the radio and television within the wink of an eye? How could anyone ever possibly take her seriously again, without deliberately or not, thinking of that? She was going to be branded a whore forever. Her poor parents. They didn’t deserve this. Her mother was already suffering enough from that horrible disease that had carried off her grandmother so painfully just a few years ago and now she even had to deal with her daughter’s disgraceful scandal. To say, she'd be appalled would be a dramatic understatement, not to speak of her father who'd probably never be able to look into her eyes again. And how on earth was she supposed to explain all of this mess to her poor little innocent darling Theodora who was only just five and had no idea of the ways of the world yet, but who had started school only just a couple of months ago and was surely going to be confronted with the fact that her mother and Sir were more than just friends at some point, probably not very decently or age appropriate. Camilla just wanted to stay in bed forever and die. At least she had been able to reach Andrew in London and he had immediately gone and picked up Tom from Eton. Annabel was meanwhile looking after Laura, who's boarding school wasn't far from Stourpaine, and she just wanted her children to be safe and sound, away from the spotlight and the public eye. And, thank God, Thea had been home with her anyway, as it had been Sunday yesterday. She hadn't talked to her about it yet, she just didn't know how; and she was incredibly afraid and felt deeply ashamed. But surely her little sunshine would notice that something was wrong, rather sooner than later… She was so sensitive with these kinds of things. Camilla sighed and pressed her tear stained face into her pillow. What was the time? She hadn't slept a second yet but it had to be almost time to get up… soon it would be 24 hours since her whole world had been turned upside down so cruelly. The house of cards had collapsed. It was over, it had to be, Charles was going to leave her now, they'd surely force him to give up on her, and she'd never see him again. She felt another stitch in her heart and was overwhelmed by another wave of tears. She didn't even feel sorry for herself, she just felt so incredibly sorry for her family, her children, and of course, his children as well. The poor boys had already suffered enough due to that awful book that had been published last year and which had revealed way more of their mother's escapades than it was possibly good for anyone but now they had to deal with their father's infidelity as well, in all its shameful, little details. 

A quiet knock on the door startled her. "Mummy?", her little angel's little voice asked carefully and hesitant, almost afraid. "Yes, darling, come in!", Camilla replied, desperately trying to sound happy and unbothered, greeting her daughter with a heartfelt smile, invitingly opening her arms for Thea to come and cuddle up to her, which the little girl only too happily did. Camilla hugged her tightly and tenderly stroked over her beautiful blonde hair. Being five-and-a-half years old now, more and more of her character traits came to light and for Camilla it was amazing to recognise both good and bad habits from actually all three of them, herself, Charles and Andrew in her every day. There definitely seemed to be some kind of a balance between genetics and environmental aspects which helped or influenced shaping a child's personality. Thank God, she didn't resemble Charles or any of the Windsors at all; she was the spitting image of her and a typical "Shand girl", like Annabel, her daughters and Laura were as well, she had the same smile and laugh, but when she was upset about something, her whole face would darken and sometimes Camilla had a hard time pulling herself together when this beautiful and adorable little girl turned into a pouting miniature version of Charles because it was too cute and funny, just as when she started to sound like Andrew when she played with or "educated" the dogs. 

"Are you sad, Mummy?", Thea asked cautiously and cuddled up to her mother even closer. Though she really tried very hard, Camilla couldn't stop her tears from falling anymore and she knew that there was no point in lying to her any longer. They had probably lied way too often and now had to deal with the consequences. "Yes, darling. I am sad. But it has nothing to do with you, my little angel.", she assured her, forcing herself to smile and softly kissed her on the forehead. "You, sweetheart, are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I love you so much and I'm so proud of you. You are the light of my life and I thank the Lord every day that he's given you to me." Thea looked at her with wide eyes. "But then, why are you so sad, Mummy?"

No poll this time again but honestly... I was having a hard time writing this and right now I'm not sure if/what Camilla will tell Thea... :'( She's only five after all... What a heartbreakingly impossible situation :'(

I absolutely loathe the idea that some historical figures are unworthy of sympathy/empathy because of the status/privilege they enjoyed in life. I saw a long tirade against the lack of “class consciousness” among people who are interested in Marie Antoinette this morning (today’s her birthday, so I was just browsing for gifsets, lol).

Marie Antoinette was obviously extremely privileged and wealthy from birth. But she also suffered deeply regardless of her status. By the age of 15, she’d experienced the deaths of her father and numerous siblings to awful diseases like smallpox, and at 15 was sent away from home, stripped of everything she knew (including her literal clothing), and thrown into a foreign country to live with total strangers, was the subject of intense scrutiny and cruel gossip about every facet of her life for 20+ years, lost children in every possible way—to miscarriage/stillbirth, deaths in infancy and young childhood, and forced separation—and was imprisoned and eventually executed in her thirties…but not before having her surviving children taken away from her and witnessing the violent deaths of her beloved husband and several of her close friends.

People can have empathy for someone long dead who happened to be wealthy/powerful (while still acknowledging their privilege and acknowledging that their less-privileged contemporaries suffered in different ways) as a fellow human being!

Wanted to ask you something related to NDE's: I've seen waaaay too many scientific skeptics attempting to write them off as caused by a gland in the brain, or a result of the drug DMT, or a mix of drugs in the brain trying to calm you before death... But. there is not only not ACTUALLY substantial evidence that ALL of the NDE is caused by so (specially in patients who's brain already is basically dead) but I've seen waay to many people shrug off the specific VERIDICAL cases where people learn of either things that will happen or are happening around them that they should have NO WAY OF KNOWING. They just /casually/ shrug it off. Cast it aside. Ignore it.

Why do you think they do so? Because they know that veridical NDEs break their hypotheses? Because they cannot reasonably explain HOW people can do this and it makes them uncomfortable?

Science is, at its worst, just another religion. If the study methods, the subject or people's experiences don't match the current scientific dogmas of the said field, then it must be a hoax. I mean, even with evidence, we have so many old cases where some scientist says "Hey there's this new evidence, I think this is valid" and others are "No, that's bullshit, just a delusion".

I personally try to think that we're scientifically always living some "dark ages", and while we have information and understanding, we should remember that we don't know it all yet. Technology evolves and gives us more and more access to something which was inaccessible before. Scientific hard facts in the past were that the Earth is the central of the universe, asbestos is fine, arsenic is not dangerous, women have hysteria, being a gay is a mental disease, and uterus is an organ which travels all around the body. Heck, even such a new thing than black holes were just a theory when I was young and now they're been proven to be real! What are such "dark age" scientific facts of our own time which will be proven wrong, or even harmful, in the past decades or centuries?

Scientists (and doctors) want to keep their jobs. Get labelled as one of these "nut cases" and you lose your job. Behind the hidden doors, doctors, nurses and surgeons admit to their patients that many have had an NDE. There's a good case about that with Anita Moorjani, who had an NDE and she recovered miraculously from a cancer. Her doctor agreed with everything which she said but when media interviewed her doctor, he brushed it all off as nonsense to keep his job and credibility. Who wants to be the first to be taken on a stake and burned as a modern witch for their scientific heresies?

Quantum biology is something which is being studied and one of its topics is consciousness. What is it, where is it, what happens to it? I think many quantum level studies have lots of similarities to spiritual topics, like quantum particles being connected and "aware" of each other, no matter what the distance.

Eben Alexander's case is scientifically one of the best NDEs, simply because his brain was in such condition that no activity was supposed to occur, not even on a subconscious level. I think Anita Moorjani is scientifically one of the best cases, too, and widely medically documented.

And yet, if you have made your mind that this is not science but some nonsense, no evidence will not change your mind.

And it's OK, in this case.

unsolvable mystery

— welcome. you are authorized to view the profile of haku shota.

the file is corrupted. would you still like to view anyways?

this story is part of the +world universe.

synopsis: shota had always proved to be a source of confusion for those around him, but what could anyone do about it?

genre: sci-fi, supernatural powers!au, virtual world!au 

wc: 483

a/n: i deliberately focused on how the group is struggling with their perception of him and therefore it's more from the group's perspctive.

taglist: @restlessmaknae

underneath the innocent playfulness shota (or soul, as he liked to be called) showed was an existence that was quite difficult to unravel. because of this, he was, for lack of a better words, a subject of curiosity for his fellow team members.

for one, he routinely spoke to jongseob's drones, the way one would speak to a pet they owned. (surprisingly, the drones seemed to like him a lot, if such an adjective were possible for machines like these, swarming around his head like bees to a brightly-colored flower.) he was a strange kid, usually curled up in front of a tv with snacks or busy with his rollerblades. the boy seemed to have a new interest every day.

also, his power wasn't obvious. jiung found soul one day levitating a phone for a couple seconds, which was strange because he had never seen the boy do that. ever. when did he get that ability?

the language barrier didn't help much either, but to soul's credit, his korean was really improving. still, he naturally was quiet around most of the team and it was hard to get a read on him.

presently, intak, jongseob and theo were watching soul from behind a column. he was playing with the drones, skating back and forth and watching them try to chase him.

"hey, how come soul is immune to alcor?" theo, the eldest asked. not even they, with superpowers that helped them out greatly, were completely immune to the alcor disease that had spread across korea.

no one had the answer, but intak had a question of his own. "everyone saw soul for the first time here, right?" he paused. "was there anyone who first saw him in the real world?"

jongseob suddenly remembered something, pulling out his phone. "look at this," he said, and what theo and intak saw astonished them. it was a grainy video of soul, but since the camera quality on jongseob's phone was good, it seemed unusual for any subject to appear pixelated, to the degree that they almost couldn't tell it was him. "i took this when he was sleepy last time."

“when he was sleepy?" intak said.

the boy continued in his fun with the drones, ignoring the trio that was examining him intently.

what an enigma soul is, jongseob thought. but so adorable. somehow it’s surprising that the two of us are really the same age? still, we don't know what he can do, so we have to proceed carefully.

really, it would help if the team figured out what his deal was. because unfortunately, they didn't know everything they needed to about alcor, and seob had a feeling that soul might have some of the answers they needed.

for one second, soul turned around, an innocent smile still on his face, and resumed what he was doing. it seemed that he would remain a mystery.

Dainichi Nyorai (the sun) also dies - Esoteric Buddhism 2 (essay)

In 1995, Shoko Asahara, the founder of Aum Shinrikyo, who caused the subway sarin gas attack in Japan that killed and injured thousands of people, said that Esoteric Buddhism was a superior sect within Buddhism. In Japan, there is a tendency to praise Kuukai, who introduced esoteric Buddhism, as an exceptional religious figure. Is that so? The supreme deity of Esoteric Buddhism is Dainichi Nyorai, the incarnation of the sun. Kuukai has been certified as Dainichi Nyorai through rituals, so he is a hardcore figure.

The blazing sun is a being that never rests for a moment, emitting energy of light and heat and giving blessings to all things. However, science teaches: ``The sun also has a lifespan, and someday it will burn out and die.''Currently, the sun is in its prime, but the teaching of Buddhism is that everything that exists is subject to ``birth, old age, illness, and death.'' This is the fundamental point, and the Buddha made his argument from there. It would be foolish to think that only the sun can escape birth, old age, disease, and death. It is irrational to think that the sun will live forever by capturing only a fleeting moment of life.In that sense, the teachings of Esoteric Buddhism go against the entire teachings of Buddhism and are laughable.

By the way, as proof of the worship of light and heat, there is a strange practice in Esoteric Buddhism called ``burning goma,'' in which a pedestal is made of wood and a fire is lit inside. It seems like they want to imitate the energy of the sun's light and heat, but even if they repeat this childish behavior, certain death will come to them. It would be a wasted effort. You could say that Kuukai was an idiot.

Rei Morishita

大日如来（太陽）も死ぬー密教２（エッセイ）

１９９５年、日本で地下鉄サリン事件を起こし、数千人を死傷させたオウム真理教の教祖：麻原彰晃は、密教が仏教のなかで優れた宗派であるとしていた。確かに日本では密教を伝えた空海を格別な宗教人として称える風潮がある。そうなのだろうか？密教の最高神は大日如来であり、太陽の化身である。空海自身、儀式で大日如来であると認定されているから、筋金入りである。

燃え盛る太陽、一瞬たりとも休まず光や熱のエネルギーを発散し、万物に恵みを与える存在。だが、科学は教える：「太陽にも寿命があり、いつかかならず燃え尽き、死ぬ。」今現在太陽は壮年期であるが、存在するものには必ず「生老病死」があるというのが、仏教の教えの根本であり、仏陀はそこから論を立てた。太陽だけが「生老病死」から逃れられると考えるのは、愚かだと言えよう。生の一瞬のみとらえて太陽が永遠に生きると考えるのは不合理だ。

その意味で、密教の教えは仏教の教え全体に背くものであり、笑止である。

ちなみに、光と熱を崇めるという証拠に、密教では「護摩を焚く」といって、木を組んで台座を作り、その中で火を燃やすという奇習がある。よほど太陽の光と熱のエネルギーにあやかりたいのだと思われるが、こんな児戯に類する行為を繰り返しても、確実な死が、その者たちにやってくるのだ。無駄な努力であろう。空海は、馬鹿だと言ってよいだろう。

Saints&Reading: Wednesday, February 14, 2024

february 1_january 14

Forefeast of the meeting of the Lord

Forefeast of the meeting of the Lord

VENERABLE PETER OF GALATIA, HERMIT NEAR ANTIOCH (Syria_429)

Saint Peter of Galatia lived during the IV-V century, and came from the region of the Black Sea. From a young age was distinguished by his fervent piety and his determination to acquire spiritual treasures. When he was seven years old, he went to Galatia and then to Palestine, where his faith grew even stronger. During the second quarter of the IV century, He lived an ascetical life in the mountains, which had been glorified by so many great spiritual athletes and teachers of Christianity.

Saint Peter was able to perform miracles, just as Christ did, so that even his garments had miraculous power, just as the Apostle Paul's handkerchiefs and aprons did (Acts 29:22). It did not take long for his spiritual fruits to be noticed, and many people came to him, reaping valuable advice and solace for the wounds of their souls, which were very difficult to cure.

Because of his great virtue, he also received from God the gift (charism, χάρισμα) of having demons subject to him. He delivered a possessed man named Daniel from the demons, whom he instructed in asceticism, and then accepted him as his co-struggler.

Later, he healed the mother of the historian Bishop Theodoret of Cyrrhus, a devout woman who suffered from an incurable disease in one eye. Hearing about Saint Peter's gift of working miracles, she hoped that he would heal her of this terrible affliction. Theodoret's mother was only twenty-three years old when she went to see him. She was very beautiful, and she wore a lot of make-up, an expensive silk dress, and gold bracelets on her arms, as well as gold rings in her ears. When the holy monk looked at her, he discerned some good soil (Matthew 13:8) in her for a word of profitable instruction, but decided that first he would cure her fondness for fine clothing.

He said, "My child, just as a painter who does not paint according to the rules of his art, but as he pleases, insults the art of painting, so do those who cover their faces with red, white, or black paint, offend the Creator; for in this way they seem to accuse Him of imperfection in His creation, but He has the power to do as He wishes. As the Prophet-King David wrote: 'All that the Lord willed, He created' (Psalm 134/135:6). He gives to everyone everything that is useful, and nothing which is harmful. Do not disfigure the divine image created by God."

The monk's words fell on fertile ground and produced good fruit. The young woman fell at the ascetic's feet and begged him to pray for her and to heal her. Saint Peter replied, "If you have firm faith in God's help, you will be cured of your illness; for God is always ready to grant the petitions of a believing soul."

Then he placed his hand on the afflicted eye and, making the Sign of the Cross, he healed her.

The Saint once blinded a city magistrate, who wanted to rape a certain nun, thereby preventing him from carrying out his unholy desire. Saint Peter performed many other great miracles, as Bishop Theodoret (who wrote his Life) relates.

After living in a God-pleasing manner for ninety-nine years, Saint Peter surrendered his soul to God and received the reward for his spiritual and ascetical labors in the year 429 at the age of 95 (or 99, according to other sources).

In Greek usage, Saint Peter is commemorated on November 25. He should not be confused with the other Saint Peter of Galatia, who lived during the IX century, and is commemorated on October 9.

THE HOLY MARTYR PERPETUA A WOMAN OF CARTHAGE, AND THE CATHECHUMENS SATURUS,REVOCATUS, SATURNIUS, SECUNDULUS AND FELICITAS (202-203)

The Holy Martyrs Perpetua, Felicitas and those with them. Vibia Perpetua was from a patrician family, and lived in Carthage. She came to believe in Christ, and was baptized after her arrest as a Christian. A few days later, the twenty-two-year-old woman was taken to prison with her infant son. Arrested with her were her brother Saturus, the servants Felicitas, Revocatus, Saturninus and Secundulus, who were also catechumens.

Despite the exhortations of her father, who persistently appealed to her maternal feelings, the widowed Saint Perpetua refused to offer sacrifice to the pagan gods.

Before their execution, Saints Perpetua and Saturus had visions from God, which strengthened their souls. Saint Felicitas, who was eight months pregnant, gave birth to a baby girl while in prison. She rejoiced because now she would be permitted to die with her companions. There was a law forbidding the execution of pregnant women.

The martyrs were led from the prison into the amphitheatre. Saturninus and Revocatus had to face a leopard and a bear. Saints Perpetua and Felicitas were brought to the arena in nets, and they were pitted against a wild heifer. After being tossed to the ground by the heifer, the two women were led out of the arena. Saturus was bitten by a leopard, but did not die. The martyrs were then led to a certain spot to be killed by the sword. The young gladiator who was to execute Saint Perpetua was inexperienced and did not kill her with the first blow. She herself took his hand and guided it to her throat, and so she received the crown of martyrdom. This occurred in about the year 203.

The amphitheatre where these saints perished is located a few miles from the city of Tunis. In 1881, a room was discovered opposite the modern entrance into the arena. Some say this was a cell where the victims waited to be brought into the arena.

JAMES 4:7-5:9

7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up. 11 Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is one Lawgiver, who is able to save and to destroy. Who are you to judge another? 13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. 15 Instead you ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that." 16 But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. 17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. 4 Indeed the wages of the laborers who mowed your fields, which you kept back by fraud, cry out; and the cries of the reapers have reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. 5 You have lived on the earth in pleasure and luxury; you have fattened your hearts as in a day of slaughter. 6 You have condemned, you have murdered the just; he does not resist you. 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

MARK 11:23-26

23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. 25 And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. 26 But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.