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aliensupersyn · 6 months

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An Ajin Manga Review: Sato Was Never Defeated

Gamon Sakurai's weakest point in writing Ajin was that Sato was never defeated by Kei, but instead gave up in the end. Sakurai explains Sato as one who allows his sense of entertainment to lead his life. Sakurai demonstrates Sato's need for a stimulating challenge in chapter thirty when he endangers his extremely important rescue mission for the sake of fun.

He endangers all of his teammates as well as the rescued prisoner. The stakes that Sakurai has set here, which include multiple lives and Sato's career, encompass the sacrifices Sato will make to entertain himself. As a person, he will readily enter the most dangerous fires if it means he will have fun. Sakurai reiterates my observations with the final pages of chapter thirty, when Sato's dad reprimands him and tells him that life should not be treated as a game, or something trivial and taken lightly.

Sato's nature, to see life as a game, and his use of his own and others' to violently entertain himself, leads his motivations throughout the story. I argue that Sato only used the Demi-Human crisis as a conduit for his bloodlust. While such a point seems obvious on the surface, I mean to expel any possibility that he cares even a small bit for Demi-Humans and the growing violence against them. Sato, as a villain, has only one role to play within Ajin: to be the foil of Kei Nagai. Foil here means that both Sato and Kei lack empathy for other people, but they both presents this trait in different ways. Often times, foils are opposite of one another. The narrative focuses around Sakurai's exploration of a moral battle about human empathy. He uses the DH crises as a backdrop of the moral battle occurring between the two. Therefore, I argue that Sakurai uses Sato and Kei Nagai to demonstrate how human rights crises can often be used as covers for battles between powerful individuals' egos.

Throughout the narrative, Sakurai places the general public and the government's focus directly on the Demi-Human humanitarian crisis in Japan. Journalists and political activists argue about the violent extent of anti-DH laws. In online forums, regular people react to the news and viral videos about DHs; some joke, but most refute the idea that DHs face any sort of violence while within government custody. Actual government officials take Sato at face value and argue to ignore Sato's demands and focus on continuing their cruel behavior. The government then aims to more harshly punish and violate DHs in reaction to Sato's crimes and demands.

Through pages such as the ones provided, Sakurai demonstrates that Sato nor Kei act as the government and public's main concerns. Instead, Sato nearly single-handedly fuels Japan's arguments and attitudes about the DHs. Sato's claims of the government torturing DHs, his terrorist attacks, and his online uploads only inspire Japan to focus on DHs, not himself, as a subject of discussion. The discourse hinges on the questions: what does Japan do about the DHs?; are they allowed to live fulfilling lives?; should the government more viciously hunt DHs down? Sakurai depicts a Japan that says yes. The DH Control Bill represents an oppressive government's readiness to punish all those who they feel do not belong in their society. Sakurai also heavily criticizes governments' ties to corporations and the greed that prospers between these institutions. While the government denies that DHs were ever tortured, they also expeditiously pass laws that punish any and all DHs in reaction to one person's terrorism.

Despite his blatant commentary on the ways a society can trample on the human rights of oppressed groups, Sakurai focuses Ajin's narrative on Sato and Kei more than anything. All the details expressed above occur in the background of the narrative.

Japan denies that a DH human rights violation has occurred, while simultaneously denying DHs humanism. Throughout the narrative, the government takes egregious actions against DHs. Sakurai rarely shows any DHs beyond the main cast that suffer from these laws. Kei’s death in the first volume and Izumi’s backstory does show the reader the public’s general knowledge that DHs can be turned in for a ransom. Yet, beyond Izumi and Kei, Sakurai does not depict any other DHs fleeing or suffering from the violent laws being passed in the background of the narrative.

Sakurai has no need to show any background stories of DHs suffering. The story focuses on the battle between Sato and Kei most of all. Each story arc revolves around conflict between Sato and Kei. Every other character involved may be seen as simply being collateral damage in the battle between the two of them. Sakurai does not need to depict any other DHs suffering from the aggressive and violent laws made to oppress them, because that's not the point. Sakurai purposely depicts a society caught in the midst of an ego battle between two people. Chapter thirty-one begins with a neat illustration of my argument. The DH rights crisis appears in the literal middle of illustrations of Kei and Sato's battle of egos.

Sato's terrorist attacks act as nothing more than extensions of his own ego. As argued above, Sato does not care even a little about DH rights. He uses the DH humanitarian issue as a catalyst to fuel his need for bloody entertainment. Sakurai overtly depicts Sato as a character with no regard to the importance of life at any capacity.

Sato's bloodthirst and role as an aggravator for a humanitarian crises sets him up to be a morally bankrupt symbol of militaristic power. He pretends to act in the interest of an oppressed minority group while actually only satisfying his bloodlust. Sato's defeat therefore represents a victory in favor of the defense of life and its importance. Also, an expulsion of false actors in the fight for oppressed peoples' freedom from oppressive governments. More on the implications of Sakurai's ending later.

Sakurai uses Kei to depict his idea of what a struggle between an emotional and purely "rational/logical" perspective of the world looks like. I place rational and logical in quotations because even in-narrative, this terms takes on different meanings. At one point, a rational decision means acting in one's most favorable odds of success. In another moment, Kei breaks this rule and declares it to mean acting in a way to gain more favorable odds for one's goals. Instead, I will refer to the "logical" side of Kei as lacking empathy, because that's what Kei's attitude actually demonstrates.

Kei wants to be cold and distant. He feels life would be easier if he could be aloof and above any emotional issues that naturally occur in relationships with other people. He pretends to be above emotional responses to other's pain. In a way, Nakano acts as Kei's foil just as much as Sato. If Sato represents Kei's inability to completely detach himself from his natural empathy, Nakano represents Kei's inability to fully tap into his those feelings. While Kei lacks empathy, he does not see life as a game like Sato does. Kei still believes in an inherent value in life or being alive. Kei still goes out of his way to help others, even when it inconveniences him and his plans. For example, Kei returns to save the grandma who he stayed with, even though he was ready to escape with Nakano and leave the countryside behind. He refuses to explain his actions to Nakano, or even show himself to the grandma, revealing the selfness nature that he shares with Nakano.

Nakano consistently commits to selfless acts in the name of simply helping people. He expects nothing in return for his deeds, nor does he ever express a desire to be seen as a hero. Nakano cries for the sake of the others who have died, and who will die, declaring that he will always give his life to those who need him, no matter what.

Nakano represents Sakurai's idea of an extreme empathy for other people. He seriously considered Sato's proposal to improve the lives of other DHs, and once that was proven false, he committed himself to stopping Sato's terrorism, exemplifying his highly empathetic nature for other humans. Kei rests at the center of extremes that Sato and Nakano represent. Sakurai uses Kei's mother to demonstrate Kei's personal conflict between a cold demeaner and empathetic reasonings. In the second panel in page twenty-eight, Kei's mother even directly rebuffs Nakano's desire to care for everyone. Sakurai purposely places Kei in the middle of Sato and Nakano's empathetic extremes.

Instead of focusing on Kei as Sakurai's exploration of a balanced moral code, I want to shift focus back to Sato's end. I have thus far agued that Sato never cared about any other DH while he committed terrorist attacks. To reiterate my argument, I have shown evidence that Sakurai's depiction of the DH humanitarian issue plays a background role, while Ajin's narrative instead focuses on the battle between Sato and Kei. Sato's attacks only end on one condition: once he gets bored. He does not complete the hit list because he gets bored of it, same with the suicide plane attacks in the last arc. His motivations center around his need for violent entertainment, which Kei's challenges stimulate. In the end, when Sato is stopped, it's only after he's done doing everything he wants. Essentially, Sato does not lose, he simply satisfies himself. He reaches game over of his terrorist attack speedrun.

Sato's self-inflicted game over does not meet the stakes Sakurai set for Sato as a villain. As I argued above, Sato's defeat represented a victory in favor of the defense of life, and an expulsion of false actors in the fight for oppressed minorities against oppressive governments.

Given that Sato represents the worst of humanity, a powerful being with zero empathy for others, I find it distasteful for him to be allowed to commit egregious acts of terrorism on a whim and hardly suffer any consequences. Sato's unconscious body only receives an indefinite prison sentence. Because Kei simply knocked him out, Sakurai alleviates Sato of having to directly face any moral judgements from other characters. The rest of the cast do not get to voice their grievances directly to him. Honestly, it's not like he would care one way or another anyway. Sato reads to me as a power fantasy character. Not to say that he's Sakurai's power fantasy, or a projection. Just that he fits the model of one (extremely capable and undefeatable). Sato doesn't care about laws or consequences of his actions, and instead solely cares about his own entertainment. Not his own well-being, or anyone else's.

Sato allowed Kei to rush him into the river and possibly knock him unconscious. In the end, it was his decision to be caught. He was never defeated. He simply gave Kei the chance to win on the foundation of a desperate wager.

What does it mean for Sakurai to create a story in which the morally bankrupt type of human never loses? Ajin depicts a small group of humans attempting to save Japan from a crazed terrorist desperate to make the entire country his bloody playground. Sato spits in the face of people who genuinely care about the DH crises around the world. Sakurai criticizes Japanese media and government as immoral and corrupt institutions throughout the entire story. Finally, he depicts their violent murders at Sato's hands.

I do not have any extreme take to attach Sato's non-defeat too, and I won't make any wild arguments about Sakurai's politics considering the unserious and exaggerated tone of Ajin. But I will say that as a reader, Sato's non-defeat weakened the story for me. Sato's ending weakens every other character's, especially Kei's. They appear to me as people who luckily maintained some semblance of dignity instead of triumphant warriors who took down a morally bankrupt mastermind who unnecessarily endangered a minority group of humans.

I enjoyed Ajin, but I would not read it again. I personally do not find enjoyment rooting for Sato, but instead against him. When the stakes for his death were so thoroughly raised, Sakurai's decision for Sato to never actually be defeated spoiled those expectations I had for a narrative about the importance of human empathy.

Officially, I give Ajin a 6/10. Hope you enjoyed reading!

#ajin #ajin review #ajin manga #ajin demi human #kei nagai #sato ajin #ko nakano #izumi shimomura #literature review #manga review #gamon sakurai #review

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witchlockmonsterfox · 1 year

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honestly the smartest thing the TLOU series did was moving the outbreak from 2013 to 2003. it may be too long ago for some players/watchers to remember, but the entire storyline fits much better politically.

there were extreme concerns of bioterrorism at the time due to 9/11, anthrax, and the war on iraq. junior george bush was president. could i see that man — and the world — just bombing the fuck out of everything in paranoia? Yes. they also DID explain this in the show (that there was no other course of action) but it’s easier for me to see this happening in 2003, and an institution like FEDRA would have made more sense if started by bush in this political climate.

not to mention — i read science magazines back in the early 2000s, and around the article after article about bioterrorism, were small articles of doctors warning about what they thought was the real threat: a natural global pandemic, not an act of terrorism. in this context, that makes TLOU during this time frame hit even harder storywise. i assume that was what they were thinking about when moving the time frame as well — not just to make it correlate with this year.

bill and frank’s story also holds more meaning if you remember 2003. in this world modern society did not progress further. in the united states there was heavy campaigning against gay marriage, particularly by bush. it was not legalized. it was accepted even less.

(if this was in the podcasts, i haven’t listened to them yet, sorry!)

#the last of us #the last of us hbo #tlou tag #joel talks

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merrikstryfe · 1 month

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Let’s take the question of Jewish-Muslim cooperation and integration within Israel, a country with two million Arab citizens. In October, the leader of Israel’s joint-largest Arab political party wrote that “since the peace efforts have collapsed in recent years…our role under these circumstances as Palestinian Arabs and citizens of Israel has become greater and the need for us more essential. We can act as a future bridge for reconciliation and peace between the two peoples”. He has since called on armed Palestinian terror groups to disarm in order to help bring about a Palestinian state. While it is true that there remain deep pockets of hostility toward Israel in some quarters of the Israeli Arab community, and pockets of discrimination against it, such public statements were once unthinkable. And while they may not yet be mainstream, they are slowly reflecting a more popular reality in which Israel’s Arabs are taking a greater ownership of and role in their Israeli identity. Shortly after the 7 October attacks, the Israel Democracy Institute found the highest-ever number of Israeli Arabs answering ‘yes’ to the question of whether they felt part of the State of Israel. This follows a decade of record-breaking waiting lists for joint Israeli-Jewish-Arab schools, a record high number of Arab Bedouin’s volunteering for the IDF, and an even more noteworthy number of Israeli Arab volunteers to the IDF in 2020, steadily up sixty-fold in the prior decade. It should come as no surprise then that last week, on the floor of the UN General Assembly, it was a Muslim Israeli-Arab who took the Palestinian Ambassador to task for Hamas’ failure to agree a ceasefire deal (Hamas continue to hold his family hostage and treat many Israeli Arabs as collaborators). Such public scenes, conducted by Israeli Arabs openly in the defence of Israel, are relatively unprecedented. While today’s tension has undoubtedly spurred friction, especially as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza grows and as Hamas calls on its supporters to escalate attacks over Ramadan, there are voices echoing through Israel’s Muslim society that indicate the recent winds of change haven’t dissipated. As the Director of Israel’s Sharia Courts told Israeli media last week, “we are all citizens of the same country, and we should know each other and get closer to each other. There is much in common between Judaism and Islam.” At the same time, and in spite of the worst Israeli-Palestinian war since Israel’s founding in 1948, those Arab countries who normalised relations with Israel under the umbrella of the Abraham Accords in 2020 haven’t lost the desire for reconciliation. As the UAE’s top Presidential Advisor told a regional conference in January, the Emirates took a durable and “strategic decision” to normalise relations with Israel “and strategic decisions are [for the] long-term”. These relations have since been leveraged by Morocco to open a new aid corridor from Israel into Gaza, by the Emirati Air Force to fly over Israel and deliver aid to Gaza’s civilians in need, and by the Saudis who have suggested normalising relations with Israel if steps toward a Palestinian state can be negotiated. Little to none of this would have been possible had Hamas’ assault occurred four years earlier. The strategic spectacle of Israel being able to negotiate with powerful, influential Arab countries in order to advance regional cooperation and reconciliation with the Palestinians is an equation that could play a hugely significantly role in post-war Gaza. If Israel is able to engage regional allies on its post-war education, reconstruction, governance and border security plans in Gaza, as has been suggested by some Gulf states themselves, then the prospects for durable quiet and perhaps one day peace in the Strip and Israel would be given a huge boost.

#israel #palestine #israel palestine conflict

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sebeth · 4 months

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Who's Who In The DC Universe #1: Adam Strange, Aegeus, Air Wave I, Air Wave II

Adam Strange by Carmine Infantino and Murphy Anderson

Adam was fleeing from South American natives when he was struck by the Zeta Beam, a “beam of energy sent from the planet Rann in hopes of communicating” with Earth

The Zeta Beam teleported Adam to Rann instead

Adam meets a scientist named Sardath and Alanna, his daughter

Adam became the Rann’s first citizen and savior and later married Alanna

Rann is a planet of contradictions: “Some of its divided city-states possesses science far in advance of Earth, while others exist in almost barbaric splendor”

Adam teleports back to Earth whenever the Zeta Beam wears off, he then has to calculate where the next Zeta Beam will strike (always south of the equator) to return to Rann

I’ve always loved Adam Strange. How can you not enjoy an archaeologist who has space adventures? I’d recommend the Adam Strange miniseries that came out shortly before Infinite Crisis (no, not the Rann-Thanagar War mini-series, the “Adam Strange” mini-series that preceded it. It was excellent!

Aegeus by Don Heck

A Greek national who was planning acts of terrorism when he met Bellerophon (yes, the one from Greek mythology). Bellerophon had become an Olympian-hater so he gave Aegeus a magical bow and arrow, six daggers of Vulcan (shouldn’t he be called Hephaestus (?), and Pegasus. Aegeus then decided to pick a fight with Wonder Woman and the Amazons. It doesn’t end well for him.

For such a long-running character, Wonder Woman’s rogue gallery does not have the depth of a Flash, a Batman, or a Spider-Man. Aegeus is D list. Has he even been seen post-Crisis?

Air-Wave I and Air Wave II by Alex Saviuk & Dick Giordano

Did you know Hal Jordan’s cousins were heroes? And not of the Green Lantern variety?

Lawrence (Larry) Jordan was a native of Earth-2. He developed a helmet and belt that allowed him to into any radio wave, project his voice through radio waves, among other abilities. He created the Air Wave persona, battled nazis, and joined the All-Star Squadron.

Larry traveled to Earth-1 under “unknown circumstances”, became a district attorney, married a woman named Helen, and has a son named Harold (Hal). No, not that Hal Jordan.

Criminals later shot and killed Larry as revenge against his crusades as a district attorney.

Hal inherited the Air Wave equipment and persona from his father.

His mother had a breakdown after the murder of his father and was confined to an institution. Hal was taken in by his cousins, Jack and Jan Jordan.

Hal received some coaching on heroics from his cousin Hal (yes, that Hal), Green Arrow, and Black Canary.

The only appearances of either Air Wave that I’ve read were when Larry or Hal made appearances in the All-Star Squadron or JSA series. They were okay.

I suppose a quick detour is needed for younger readers about the various earths that will be mentioned in the Who’s Who:

Earth-1: The earth of the Silver Age heroes to 1985/1986: the home of Barry, Hal, Katar, Shayera, etc

Earth-2: The home of the Golden Age/original versions of DC’s iconic heroes: Alan Scott, Jay Garrick, Carter Hall. Also, the home of the Justice Society, All-Star Squadron, Infinity Inc, etc. Bruce, Clark, and Diana among other will have versions of themselves on both Earth-1 and Earth-2. The difference is the Earth-2 versions can age, marry, and have children while the Earth-1 versions stayed young and single.

There were multiple other earths, this is off the top of my head so the designations may be wrong, but a few more were:4

Earth-3: The home of the Crime Syndicate (reverse world where the Justice League are evil, and the villains are the good guys)

Earth-F: Home of the Fawcett heroes

Earth-C: Home of the Charlton heroes

Earth-Q: Home of the Quality heroes

DC simply created another earth when they bought out another company and then plopped the newly acquired characters on it rather than try to insert the characters on a prior earth. Crossovers between earths were frequent. DC eventually decided the continuity was too complicated and thus the Crisis on Infinite Earths was born. I don’t know, I was nine years old when the Crisis began and I understood the continuity just fine, so how complicated could it be?

#DC Comics #DCU #Adam Strange #Aegeus #Rann #Bellerophon #Wonder Woman #Air Wave #Larry Jordan #Hal Jordan #All-Star Squadron #Green Lantern #Who's Who In The DC Universe

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dfroza · 7 months

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A world war

(for spiritual truth)

“Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news— for which I am an ambassador in chains—so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do.”

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 6th and closing chapter of the letter of Ephesians:

Now to you, children, obey your parents in the Lord because this is right in God’s eyes. This is the first commandment onto which He added a promise: “Honor your father and your mother, and if you do, you will live long and well in this land.”

And, fathers, do not drive your children mad, but nurture them in the discipline and teaching that come from the Lord.

Slaves, respect and fear your earthly masters. Obey and serve them with the same sincerity of heart as you serve the Anointed One. Don’t put on a show just because they are looking (as if you were a people pleaser); but as a slave of the Anointed, do the will of God from your heart. Serve them in good faith as if you were serving the Lord, not men, because all good deeds are gifted back from the Lord, and they are yours whether you are a slave or not.

Masters, hear this: act in kind to your slaves. Stop terrorizing and threatening them. Don’t forget that you have a Master in heaven who does not take sides or pick favorites.

Finally, brothers and sisters, draw your strength and might from God. Put on the full armor of God to protect yourselves from the devil and his evil schemes. We’re not waging war against enemies of flesh and blood alone. No, this fight is against tyrants, against authorities, against supernatural powers and demon princes that slither in the darkness of this world, and against wicked spiritual armies that lurk about in heavenly places.

And this is why you need to be head-to-toe in the full armor of God: so you can resist during these evil days and be fully prepared to hold your ground. Yes, stand—truth banded around your waist, righteousness as your chest plate, and feet protected in preparation to proclaim the good news of peace. Don’t forget to raise the shield of faith above all else, so you will be able to extinguish flaming spears hurled at you from the wicked one. Take also the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray always. Pray in the Spirit. Pray about everything in every way you know how! And keeping all this in mind, pray on behalf of God’s people. Keep on praying feverishly, and be on the lookout until evil has been stayed. And please pray for me. Pray that truth will be with me before I even open my mouth. Ask the Spirit to guide me while I boldly defend the mystery that is the good news— for which I am an ambassador in chains—so pray that I can bravely pronounce the truth, as I should do.

I am sending to you Tychicus, my dear brother and faithful minister in the Lord. He will tell you everything that has been going on here with me so you will know how I am and what I am doing. He’s coming with news that will hopefully comfort your hearts. Brothers and sisters, let me leave you with a blessing:

May peace and love with faith be yours from God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed. May His grace surround all who love our Lord Jesus the Anointed with a never-ending love.

The Letter of Ephesians, Chapter 6 (The Voice)

A note from The Voice translation:

Paul knows that the real battles and dangers we face are not against flesh and blood. The enemies we see are real enough, but they are animated by spiritual forces of darkness that stay strategically hidden from view. These powers often reveal themselves in institutional evils—genocide, terror, tyranny, and oppression—but the weapons needed to combat them are not earthly weapons at all. What is needed, Paul advises, is to stand firm in God’s power and to suit up in the full armor of God. Although the devil and his demon armies are destined for destruction, they are serious threats now and must be resisted and beaten back. For Paul, the best offensive weapons we have are the word of God and prayer.

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 42nd chapter of the book of Jeremiah:

At this point, all the army leaders, Johanan (son of Kareah), Jezaniah (son of Hoshaiah), and the rest of the Judeans from the least to the greatest, came to the prophet Jeremiah.

People: Please hear our request and pray to the Eternal your God for the few of us who are still here. As you can see, what used to be many people is now just a remnant. Pray that the Eternal your God will tell us where to go and what to do.

Jeremiah: I have heard your request, and you can be assured that I will pray to the Eternal, just as you asked. I will tell you everything He says. I will hold nothing back.

People: May the Eternal be a true and faithful witness against us if we do not obey every word He speaks to us through you. Whether we like the answer or not, we promise to obey the voice of the Eternal our God. That is why we are sending you to Him. We want to obey the Eternal our God so things will go well for us.

Ten days later, the Eternal gave His answer to Jeremiah. Then the prophet assembled Johanan (son of Kareah), all the army leaders, and the rest of the Judeans from the least to the greatest.

Jeremiah: You sent me to present your request to the Eternal, the God of Israel. Here is His answer: “If you will stay here in this land, I will bless and protect you. I will rebuild you and not tear you down. I will plant you anew and not uproot you. For I deeply regret the disaster I had to bring upon you. I know you are afraid of this king of Babylon, but don’t fear him any longer. For I, the Eternal One, declare that I am with you and I will save you and rescue you from his authority. I will show you compassion, and then he will have compassion on you. He will even restore you to your land. But if you disobey the Eternal your God and say, ‘We’re not staying in this land; no, we will go and live in Egypt where we will not have to face the sights and sounds of war or go hungry for lack of bread,’ then listen closely to what I am saying to you, O remnant of Judah. The Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, declares: if you are determined to go to Egypt anyway and settle there after hearing My answer, the wars you fear and the famine you dread will follow you into Egypt. And there, you will die. Yes, all of you who are determined to run to Egypt and settle there will die from war, famine, and disease. None of you who go there will survive or escape the disaster I will bring to them—not even a remnant of this remnant.”

For this is what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies and God of Israel, promises: “Just as My anger and wrath were poured out on the citizens of Jerusalem, so it will be poured out on you when you step foot in Egypt. You will become a curse, an object of horror, a disgraced and ridiculed people. And you will never see this place, Judah, again.”

O remnant of Judah, listen to what the Eternal has said to you: “Do not go to Egypt!” You must recognize that today I have given you fair warning. Your lives are at risk, for you did not mean it when you sent me to the Eternal your God with this promise: “Pray to the Eternal our God for us, and tell us everything He says. We will obey Him no matter what the answer is.” So today I have given you His answer, but I can see you have no intention of obeying the Eternal your God, regardless of what He sends me to tell you. So you will surely die from war, famine, and disease in that place where you are now determined to go.

The Book of Jeremiah, Chapter 42 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for Thursday, October 12 of 2023 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons about rewinding to “In the beginning…”:

We always read parashat Bereshit on the Sabbath following the holiday of Simchat Torah, and therefore it begins the Torah reading sequence for the new Jewish year.... Right at the outset of the narrative of the Torah, then, we will read about the “proto-euangelion,” or the “first gospel” message of God’s redemption given through the Promised Seed of Eve...

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The very first prophecy of the Torah concerns the promise of the coming “Seed of the woman” who would vanquish the serpent (nachash) that had originally tempted and deceived Eve (Gen. 3:15). This prophecy is sometimes called the proto-euangelion (“first gospel”), since it is the starting point of all subsequent prophecy and redemptive history revealed in the Scriptures. Indeed, since the mystery of the Incarnation of God the Son (the “Son of Man”) is foreshadowed here, this prophecy is linked to the original woman, Eve. Just as Eve became a carrier of the corruption of human nature by heeding the voice of the tempter, so she would be the carrier of God Himself for the deliverance of mankind through the advent of the Redeemer. In the tragic aftermath of the transgression of the first man and woman, then, God first announced His unfailing redemptive love for the human race that would culminate in the birth, sacrifice, and resurrection of Yeshua our Savior and Deliverer - “born of a woman, born under the law” (Gal. 4:4).

Our restoration begins with God’s love and passion. God's first question to Adam after he broke covenant was: "Where (אַיֶּכָּה) are you?" - the voice of a loving Father in search of his son (Gen. 3:9). Of course God knew exactly how his son was attempting to hide, though He almost acted as if He was unwilling to believe that he would betray his love by disobeying His commandment. Therefore God’s poignant question was directed to Adam’s heart: “Oh my son, how did you get to this place?” God was giving Adam an opportunity to turn back to Him, to confess the sin, to undergo teshuvah, to become reconciled... This is the necessary prelude to any honest relationship with God.

Recall that the original promise of the coming Savior was given within the context of the curse and judgment upon Satan: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; he shall crush your head, and you shall crush his heel" (Gen. 3:15). That God’s promise was first directed to Satan is surely by design, since he “left his first estate” by becoming the “monster in the garden” and was therefore primarily responsible for the transgression of Adam and Eve in the first place (Ezek. 28:13-15,19). The promise delivered to Satan was therefore one of coming retribution and divine judgment: Evil would not have the last word in the matter of mankind, and therefore Satan’s schemes would be avenged by God in the fullness of time (Gal. 4:4-5). Notice, however, that Adam and Eve were not yet judged for their sin when the LORD God gave the promise of the coming of the Redeemer. Before a word of judgment was directed toward them, God’s love and light was already revealed. Indeed, immediately after their judgment was pronounced, “the LORD God made tunics of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them” (Gen. 3:21) - a clear picture of being compassionately “robed in righteousness” imparted by an innocent sacrifice. The very first sacrifice recorded in the Torah - performed by God Himself - prefigured the coming redemption by the “seed of the woman” who would die as a substitutionary sacrifice for their sins, and therefore Yeshua is rightly called "the Lamb slain from the foundation (or beginning) of the world" (Rev. 13:8). This further explains why Eve’s son (Abel) offered a blood sacrifice that was accepted by the LORD, whereas Cain’s offering the “fruit of the earth” was rejected.

The very first prophecy of Torah therefore describes - in the most succinct form - the coming of the Savior and the great conflict of the ages. First, God declares that He would put enmity (אֵיבָה) between Satan and the woman. This enmity, or “hostile hatred,” was based on the memory of Eve’s misguided trust she evidenced in the garden. When Eve first sympathetically listened to the lies of the nachash (serpent), she immediately began her descent into exile and became a temptress herself. Her first step toward sin was a gullibility or openness that ultimately resulted in a lack of trust of God (which is part of the reason why we must be saved by trusting, as a “like-for-like” reversal of the original sin). At the very dawn of human history, then, we see that “truth” (אֱמֶת) apart from God (א) leads to death (מֵת). Eve was deceived because of Satan, but Adam deliberately chose to disobey God (2 Cor. 11:3; 1 Tim 2:14). In response to her teshuvah (repentance), God blessed Eve before He judged her by imparting to her a God-given hatred for Satan and his lies, as well as the promise that she would take part in the birth of the Savior of mankind. The first promise of the gospel, then, focused on the woman and her role in the coming redemption. Notice that Adam later renamed his wife Eve (i.e., Chavah: חַוָּה, the “mother of life”) as an expression of his faith that the promised seed would come through her.

Eve might have initially believed that her firstborn son Cain (קַיִן) was the promised Seed himself. After all, the miracle of birth surely came as a great shock to her, and Eve’s faith in God’s promise that through her seed would come the deliverer was doubtlessly upon her heart at this time. When Eve called her son “Cain” (wordplay from the verb kana (קָנָה), “to get”), she was expressing her faith in God’s promise: קָנִיתִי אִישׁ אֶת־יהוה / kaniti ish et-Adonai, “I have gotten a man - namely, the LORD” (Gen. 4:1). Eve’s faith was obscured by the translators, however, who rendered the Hebrew as "I have gotten a man with the help of the LORD" (i.e., they inserted the idea of “help” and translated the particle et (את) as “with” rather than as the direct object marker for the verb). The ancient Jewish targums, however, agree with the original Hebrew. For example, Targum Yonatan reads: “I have gotten a man - the Angel of YHVH.” Surely Eve, the first mother of humanity, was endowed with great wisdom from God, especially after she turned to Him in repentance after her disobedience. The straightforward reading of her words, then, expressed her hope that the LORD Himself would be made a man...

Despite her hope that Cain was none other than the God-Man and promised Deliverer, Eve’s hopes were dashed when it became clear that her son was of the seed of Satan (1 John 3:12). His younger brother Abel (הֶבֶל) was a shepherd who evidenced faith in the promise of the coming redeemer by offering blood sacrifice (Gen. 4:3-5). Abel was persecuted and finally murdered by his brother Cain “because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous.” Their spiritual conflict is indicative of the ongoing warfare between the “sons of darkness” and the “sons of light.”

The murder of Abel necessitated that the coming seed would descend through another child, and therefore the Torah describes the birth of Seth (שֵׁת, lit. "appointed"), the third son of Adam and Eve. The Scriptures further state that it was the descendants of Seth who "began to call upon the Name of the LORD" (לִקְרא בְּשֵׁם יהוה), indicating that they had faith in God (אֱלהִים) as the Compassionate Covenant Keeper (יהוה) who would redeem humanity by means of the coming seed. Seth called his firstborn son Enosh ("man"), perhaps in the hope that his child would be the promised Savior (interestingly, bar enosh (בַּר אֱנָשׁ), or “Son of Man,” is the name for the Savior (Dan 7:13).

For more on this see the links following this post, below.

[ Hebrew for Christians ]

=======

Genesis 3:15b reading:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/gen3-15b-jjp.mp3

Hebrew page:

https://hebrew4christians.com/Blessings/Blessing_Cards/gen3-15b-lesson.pdf

10.11.23 • Facebook

from yesterday’s email by Israel 365:

But David’s overarching desire extends beyond his immediate salvation. He yearns for the day when God’s sovereignty will be universally acknowledged, and he will no longer face adversaries. “Let all the ends of the earth pay heed and turn to the LORD, and the peoples of all nations prostrate themselves before You; for kingship is the LORD’s and He rules the nations.” (verses 28-29).

We pray for the time when the entire world will recognize God as king, and when evil will be completely eradicated from this world.

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

October 12, 2023

The Whole Armor of God

“Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:13)

This modern age of terrorism, drugs, sexual license, rampant crime, and worldwide unbelief is surely an evil day; and each Christian urgently needs “the whole armour of God” to stand against the devil’s wiles today. This armor is clearly described in Ephesians 6:14-18, but it seems that Satan’s wiles have confused it in the minds of many Christian educators. Paraphrasing this passage, their view might be expressed somewhat as follows: “Gird your loins with an open-ended search for truth, and have on the breastplate of value sensitivity, your feet shod with the gospel of academic tolerance; above all, taking the shield of accreditation and legal protection, with the helmet of economic security and the sword of evolutionary thought, praying always to the Department of Education and your academic peers.” Such Christian compromise is no armor at all.

How much better to be undergirded with revealed truth, founded on creation and biblical inerrancy, than by a “search” for truth! The true breastplate is righteousness, both imputed and practiced, and the true peace of God through Christ adorns the beautiful feet of those who carry the gospel. The shield is faith, which must be exercised first of all in special creation (Hebrews 11:3). The helmet, protecting the mind, is the genuine hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8). With no armor for the back, since the Christian is “to stand,” not to retreat, the chief offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God that meets each particular need. Finally, insistent prayer is both an offensive and a defensive weapon. The “weapons of our warfare” are “mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds” (2 Corinthians 10:4). HMM

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zenruption · 1 year

Text

White Supremacy And The Threat To America

Is White Supremacy A Threat To America?

In the recent past, it has been easy to assume white supremacy is a fringe idea that may have had prominence in America’s checkered past but is no longer a threat. This perception feels naive now. The days of the Ku Klux Klan marching down Main Street may be over, but now they are hiding in plain sight. Those who once wore hoods and robes now carry torches on college campuses and show their faces, while everyone around them has a hi-def recording device in their hands and instant access to the internet. No more shame. No more Hiding. But, is it harmless cosplay? Or, has white supremacy become a threat again?

Yes, white supremacy is a threat to America. White supremacy is a belief that white people are inherently superior to people of other races and ethnicities, and that they should have dominance and control over them. This ideology has been used throughout history to justify the oppression and subjugation of non-white people, and it continues to fuel racism, discrimination, and violence in the United States today.

White supremacist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi organizations, promote hateful and extremist ideologies that can lead to acts of violence against people of color, religious minorities, and other marginalized groups. These groups have been responsible for numerous hate crimes and acts of terrorism, including the 2017 Charlottesville rally and the 2019 El Paso shooting.

Furthermore, white supremacy is not only perpetrated by extremist groups, but it is also deeply embedded in the cultural and institutional systems of the United States. Systemic racism, including discriminatory policies and practices in housing, education, employment, and the criminal justice system, has perpetuated inequality and social injustice for generations.

Therefore, it is important for individuals, communities, and institutions to recognize the threat of white supremacy and take action to confront and dismantle it. This includes promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion, educating people about the harms of racism and discrimination, and advocating for policies and practices that promote equality and justice for all.

Are White Supremicists Terrorists?

Yes, white supremacists can be classified as terrorists. Terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims, and white supremacists have been known to use violence and intimidation to further their goals of promoting white supremacy and oppressing people of color and marginalized groups.

White supremacist terrorists have been responsible for numerous hate crimes and acts of violence, including the 2017 Charlottesville rally and the 2019 El Paso shooting. These attacks targeted innocent people based on their race, ethnicity, religion, or other characteristics, and were intended to spread fear and terrorize entire communities.

Furthermore, white supremacist groups often promote extremist ideologies that can inspire individuals to commit acts of violence and terrorism on their own. These groups use propaganda, online forums, and other methods to recruit and radicalize individuals, and have been linked to a number of domestic terrorist incidents.

Therefore, it is important for law enforcement officials and policy makers to recognize the threat of white supremacist terrorism and take action to prevent and respond to these attacks. This includes monitoring and disrupting white supremacist groups, prosecuting individuals who commit hate crimes and acts of terrorism, and investing in efforts to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in society.

#white supremacy #racism #terrorism

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papirouge · 2 years

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I do not want to pay taxes.

I already pay 18% vat tax on everything.

I don't use public services much at all.

I do not want my taxes to go into bombing children in Somalia or some place in Afghanistan or Yemen or into funding abortions or funding public schools who teach children anal sex than math or science.

There is no accountability for our taxes.

Taxes are used to generate sin and lawlessness and usher in the Antichrist.

Anon, your taxes also go to fund hospitals, roads, public schools, and public transportation. If those things stop belonging to the people, they'll belong to faceless corporations that won't have our own best interest at heart but rather $$. I know low brain rightoids love demonizing the government, but politics have accountability before their citizens - the finance doesn't.

Just because something isn't directly beneficial to you doesn't mean it's useless. Maybe the cashier at your local shop use public transportation on safe, well maintained, roads/rails to be right at their job for you. Your aging parents will be healed with accessible and effective medical aid on public hospitals. Public school educate people equally to give access to higher education for everyone. If education gets back at becoming elitist, you can be sure the whole society will pay the price. I don't know about you anon, but I don't want to be like in a 19th century class inequality type of society, anon...

Yes, school is getting messy but let's not get caricatural and act like every school around was teaching toddlers to do anal. The whole world isn't like the United States of Babylon of the decaying West. Not every parent can afford homeschooling.

I'll end this post with reminding you what God, speaking through Paul, actually stated about taxes - that Christian rightoids will conveniently go blind about :

Romans 13

Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

You heard the boss

#now act accordingly #answered #Christian

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blessedarethebinarybreakers · 2 years

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Catholic here. How do I get over the fear that God is going to send me to hell for being trans and gay? I sincerely believe in Catholicism, but the traditional view re: gay love and relationships I'm finding harder and harder to hold, but I'm also afraid that I'm wrong, and I don't want to offend God and I have no desire to leave Catholicism, which in every other theological respect I love. Sorry for the long message. I just don't know what to do with the anxiety I get sometimes about it all. God bless and thanks.

Hey there, anon. I feel for you — while I personally have moved away from institutional Catholicism / the Roman Catholic Church, I still identify strongly as Catholic in how I experience Divinity and community. There is so much beauty in the Catholic faith! It is not right that we are so often made to choose between the tradition we call home and embracing the way God created us.

You're also not alone in these anxieties around hell. Too many Christians attempt to "bring people to God" through fear, rather than love — even though "their is no fear in love" (1 John 4:18); and Jesus came to invite us into wholeness and abundance, into genuine relationship, not terror! I will be praying for you, that these fears might ease in time and that God will help you truly feel Their deep, unconditional love for you. <3

_______

Do gay people go to hell? What about "mistaken" people?

I obviously don't believe it is sinful to be LGBTQA+. I fervently believe that God created all of us as diverse so that together, humanity reflects the Vastness of God's own Self; and that embracing and living into our LGBT/queer identities is a way of saying "yes" to the God who made us this way! If / when you struggle to believe that, wandering through my #affirmation tag might offer you some encouragement.

Meanwhile, I totally feel you on the worry that, even if most of you believes that God does affirm and embrace LGBTQA+ folk, there's that little what if in the back of the mind: "what if it turns out I'm mistaken? Won't God be angry — maybe even mad enough to send me to hell??"

But the good news is that even if we are wrong, God is a God of compassion, of understanding of our limitedness — Xe doesn't ship people off to hell for getting elements of theology wrong!

We can pray for God's Spirit to give us the wisdom to discern what God's will is; but at the end of the day, our finite minds won't get everything right. And that's okay — because heaven isn't a reward for getting the best grade on a theology test: heaven is a gift from God to us, pure and simple. That can be hard to digest, but it's the core of Jesus's message: we don't earn salvation; it's given freely and joyfully to us by the God who longs to be with us forever. There is nothing you can be or do to cancel out that gift.

Finally, for the official Roman Catholic stance, since it may provide you some comfort: Catholic doctrine does not state that LGBTQA+ people go to hell — "not even" those who "act on" being gay, trans, etc.

Catholic teaching around LGBTQA+ persons centers around compassion and understanding towards us. It does also teach that we should abstain from sex, can't get married, etc., and claims that gay sex is a sin — but, unlike some other non-affirming denominations, Catholicism does not elevate the "sin" of gayness above other sins. It's not an "unforgivable" sin; it's not The Worst Sin; it's not a damnable sin.

Obviously I'm not giving the Catholic Church a pass when it comes to its homophobia and transphobia, but yeah — while there are individual clergy members who teach against official doctrine and claim gay people go to hell, that is not what the official doctrine says. So while it's not a perfect stance, I hope that knowledge helps ease some of your fears.

Meanwhile, there are so many Catholics out there who disagree with anti-LGBT doctrine!

There are so many individual nuns, priests, laypersons, etc. who are in your corner! —

...from my aunt who is a Catholic nun, and has consistently celebrated my queer marriage & my being trans, as well as writing a beautiful message supporting my little sister coming out as bi, and even happily coming on my podcast that's all about being trans...

to the wonderful Father James Martin, a Catholic priest who advocates for LGBTQA+ folk...

...to Brother Robert Lentz, a monk and iconographer who frequently features queer Saints in his icons.

In fact, according to the Pew Research Center (2020), about three quarters of Catholics in the USA say society should be accepting of "homosexuality." Catholics in many other countries have even higher rates of that acceptance, such 95% in the Netherlands and 93% in Germany.

There are also lots of fabulous Catholic groups that advocate for LGBTQA+ folk:

DignityUSA works for respect and justice for people of all sexual orientations, genders, and gender identities—especially gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender persons—in the Catholic Church and the world through education, advocacy, and support. You can see if there’s a local chapter near you on the site!

New Ways Ministry (thanks to @c4bl3fl4m3 for reminding me about this group!!) has been advocating for justice, equality, and reconciliation within the larger church and civil communities since the late 1970s. .

The Progressive Catholic Voice is an “independent and grassroots forum for reflection, dialogue, and the exchange of ideas within the Catholic community of Minnesota and beyond.” It’s not LGBT specific, but here’s a link to all the posts that have been categorized as LGBT. .

The Wild Reed is a blog by Michael J. Bayly, an Australian who resides in the US and who served as the executive coordinator of the Catholic Pastoral Committee on Sexual Minorities (CPCSM) from 2003-2015. This blog has been churning out posts since 2006(!), with the most recent post being about Lil Nas X coming out. Lots of older posts review books, talk about queer Saints, and more.

Remembering that there are countless Catholics on your side can be a huge encouragement when facing fears that God doesn't accept you. You are supported, you are loved, and you don't have to choose between embracing your whole self & being Catholic.

_____

Is there even a hell at all??

It may help you to start rephrasing ideas around hell, and to explore alternative conceptions of heaven and hell in the Christian community.

Instead of thinking of hell as a place God "sends" "bad people," many Christians (including a lot of Catholics) conceive of hell as a place some people choose to go — "hell's door is locked from the inside" — the only way to "end up" in hell is to say no to God's freely offered gift of heaven.

Meanwhile, Orthodox tradition holds that heaven and hell are the same "place" — we all end up in the unfiltered presence of God, but to evil people that Presence is agony.

And there are some Christians (myself included) who don't think hell exists at all! (or at least that very few, if any, people end up there.)

Some posts that might help you explore conceptions of hell that don't lead to being frozen in fear:

From another Catholic fearful of going to hell for being gay; plus my whole #fear of hell tag

My essay about how hell is a human solution to the problem of evil, not a divine solution — that God's justice is restorative, not punitive

This Shirley Guthrie quote about how "heaven is for sinners"

The concept of purgatorial universalism

______

In closing

Dear anon, you are a beloved child of God. God made you gay, God made you trans, and most simply, God made you — not for suffering, not for fear, but for the purpose of loving and being loved by God.

When it's hard for you to remember that...

Check out those previously linked organizations for a reminder of how many Catholics are in your corner

Wander through my #queer and Catholic tag for a reminder that you're not the only LGBT Catholic; or my #affirmation tag; or my trans Jesus or God beyond gender tags...

Reach out to someone you can trust; or take some time to sit quietly with God, asking that They enfold you in their love.

I wish you the best, anon. This kind of fear is hard to shake, but even in the midst of it, you are deeply and eternally loved. Hang in there <3

#queer and catholic #fear #fear of hell #long post #hell #catholic tag

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quazartranslates · 3 years

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Welcome to the Nightmare Game II - CH45

**This is an edited machine translation. For more information, please [click here]**

[<<< Previous Chapter | Table of Contents | Next Chapter >>>]

-----

Chapter 45: Star Death Reality Show (XXVIII)

His right hand slammed against the emergency close button, and his body rushed out with the instant acceleration from pushing off it. As if Qi Leren had thought about the plan in his mind for a long time, he opened a hand and threw a grenade behind him without looking, sprinted out like an arrow leaving the string, and repeated this old trick when he rounded the corner, throwing down another hand grenade!

Two consecutive explosions shook the corridor like a tottering boat. Qi Leren threw himself to the ground, feeling the turbulent heat flow from the corner and blow his hair into a mess.

He coughed twice on the ground, got up, and ran away again.

Leviathan didn't catch up, and Qi Leren who had already run to the floor where the arsenal was located finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The research institute was huge, and it would take "extraordinary luck" to run into that monster again. However, he didn’t know whether Leviathan had a sensitive sense of smell... Qi Leren looked back, and the world was immersed in a bright silence. This kind of terror hidden under the light was frightening.

He Yi had been parasitized by Leviathan, who was obviously Su He’s doing. He himself had said that he’d released the dangerous creature in the underground glacier. The octopus was similar to the alien queen in Aliens, much more difficult to deal with than the ordinary octopuses. What's more, it also had human intelligence... Hey, why did you listen attentively to He Yi just now and forget to smash his head?

Qi Leren walked on, and when he came to the corridor where the arsenal was located, he saw at a glance that Dr. Lu was poking around.

"Ah! Qi Leren! You’re still alive!" Dr. Lu excitedly ran out, "How is it on your side? Have you seen Su He?"

"Have you met Du Yue?" Qi Leren asked.

Du Yue also ran out of the arsenal and took Qi Leren's arm: "Qianbei! I thought you were going to die! Thank god! You can't die!"

Hey, what did this kid say? Qi Leren lamented Du Yue, who was too agitated and incoherent, and patted him on the shoulder in comfort.

"Why is that guy so stalker-ish?" Dr. Lu muttered with a bitter expression.

Qi Leren said with a straight face: "He can hear you."

Dr. Lu's face went white with fear, staring at him, looking overwhelmed.

"I’m just scaring you, he should be gone." Qi Leren pondered that Su He seemed to have too much free time. He was acting as both a prison guard and a Devil, and he also had a lot of beautiful subordinates. No matter how much he divided his time, he couldn’t do everything. He shouldn’t be idle enough to come here to peep at how a group of wannabes did in their task.

Dr. Lu was relieved and complained, "Don't scare me all the time."

Only Du Yue, who had never seen Su He, wondered: "Who is Su He?"

Dr. Lu quickly waved his hand: "A super terrible Devil, who is cruel, cunning, and ruthless, the worst in the universe! Your qianbei was killed by him before, and his death was miserable. You could say he’s a freak!"

Du Yue was taken aback: "So bad…"

Qi Leren, who had died miserably: "........"

"Yes, your qianbei's boyfriend is grief-stricken, and he’s still wandering the world, unaware that he’s still alive."

Du Yue was dumbfounded again: "Ah, my qianbei has a boyfriend? Isn't it a beautiful woman? Qianbei said that she was particularly beautiful!"

Dr. Lu looked at Qi Leren silently. Qi Leren, who had once talked with this youth about first loves while they were watching Annie, coughed twice: "Don't talk about this now, I have something very important to say: in the glancer beneath the institute..."

Forcibly changing the subject was successful. Qi Leren locked the door of the arsenal, briefly explained the previous events, and skipped a lot of things. He only told the two people about Su He's saying that he had released Leviathan from the underground glacier, and told them about his previous fight with the monster.

"We need a temperature below minus forty degrees? Awesome, our temperature regulating clothes only guarantee that we won't lose heat in environments above minus 30 degrees. Once the temperature drops below minus 30, we won't last long, and even worse when it reaches minus 40. If you cool down that much, you may as well sign your will. To tell the truth, it's quite amazing that you can still insist on not wearing gloves..." Dr. Lu looked at Qi Leren's bare hands and then at his own hands in thick gloves and couldn't help showing envious eyes.

Qi Leren moved his fingers. Although he was cold, he wasn’t frozen. He had good resistance to cold now, otherwise he probably wouldn’t have escaped just now.

"I can't think of a way to deal with it now." Qi Leren walked around the arsenal to find the weapons he needed. "Shall we set a trap and blow it up here?"

"You can try, but if there’s an explosion in the arsenal...……S/L Data can't save you from the fire after the explosion," Dr. Lu worried.

There were indeed difficulties. There were too many explosives in the arsenal. If the explosion lasted for several seconds, even if he saved here, the resurrected Qi Leren would still be blown to pieces.

"What should we do then?" Du Yue looked sad.

Qi Leren was also depressed, and he had to worry about another question: "How much private time do you have left?"

"This is reset at 8:00 every morning...I only have half an hour left." Dr. Lu was even more sad.

"Me too." Du Yue was also worried.

Qi Leren looked at his privacy time that was less than half an hour, which was also a headache.

After the privacy time ran out, the invisible camera that followed him would ignore his instructions and shoot him from 360 degrees without any privacy. In this way, he could neither use unscientific skill cards indiscriminately nor discuss things with Dr. Lu.

If only this thing had been blown up when Mark blasted it with a rocket launcher... Unfortunately, he had used the "Prophet's Heart" at that time and he was unscathed. Sadly, even the camera was preserved.

"Where are the others?" Qi Leren asked Du Yue.

"They ran away, and then I only met Dr. Lu," Du Yue said sullenly.

"Don't worry about them, you can't stop them from dying." Dr. Lu squatted on the ground heartlessly. "Think about how to get home alive first. By now, this task is definitely not C-level. We might say there is also an A. This Leviathan looks much more difficult than the crazy lady of B-level. "

Of course, Qi Leren thought. This Leviathan was released by Su He in order to force him to level up. However, now he didn't even know what the principle of a half-field was, because his teacher Chen Baiqi hadn't expected him, a loser student, to break his shell. In her prediction, this wouldn't happen for a long time.

The plan couldn’t keep up with the changes

"Let’s think about it again... This amphioctopus is intelligent, strong defensively, fast, and aggressive... I’m afraid it’s also very strong, and ordinary weapons can't handle it. I’ll try the rocket launcher next time." Qi Leren was also very worried about this weapon that he had never used before. There was no instruction manual for weapons here, and Chen Baiqi had never taught him how to use it.

Dr. Lu and Du Yue looked at him with eyes full of doubts.

Qi Leren coughed: "Let’s think of another plan, I don't think this is foolproof."

Qi Leren’s biggest reliance was the Prophet's Heart given to him by the Prophet, but the cooldown time of this item was as long as 24 hours. To try to wait for this to finish its cooldown, Qi Leren didn't think they could spend 20 hours safely.

Then what else can I do...

Glacier.

Underground glacier.

This word jumped into Qi Leren's mind without warning, and he suddenly remembered what He Yi had said before he died: "...Even if it’s frozen in the extremely cold environment of minus 40 degrees, it will not die, but will only go to sleep. It’s like the amphioctopuses’ soldier ant, and its fighting capacity far exceeds that of the workers. Leviathan is different from the ordinary octopuses. As long as it senses the approach of living creatures, it will be forcibly thawed..."

He Yi wanted to express the danger of Leviathan, but if you thought about it carefully, wasn't this its weakness?

40 degrees below zero wouldn’t kill it, but it would go to sleep. If he could lead it back to the underground glacier and then escape quickly, so that Leviathan, that couldn't sense the biological atmosphere around it, went to sleep, then he could wait for the Prophet's Heart to cool down before going back and killing it.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that this may be the only way.

"I have an idea," Qi Leren said into the silence. "The danger of confronting it is too great. My idea is that I’ll lure it into the underground glacier and let it return to its dormant state again."

Then Qi Leren explained his reasons, and discussed specific measures with Dr. Lu and Du Yue. The biggest problem was that Leviathan has intelligence, and it was difficult to set traps for it.

"We haven't been to the underground glacier. I don't know what the terrain is like. If it’s an underground crevasse or a huge underground lake, even you will be in danger. Why don't we try the laser corridor, surely it isn’t stronger than steel plates?" Dr. Lu also had an idea.

Du Yue nodded at the side: "Yes qianbei, it’s too dangerous for you to lure it to the underground glacier."

"He Yi knew about the laser corridor, and that I can pass through it. It would be difficult to lead it into that trap... But it reminds me that we need to find the others. After making sure that they haven’t been infected by the octopuses, I want to send them out of the research institute first, and then re-seal the basement of Annie's house. If they’re running around here, they could easily be killed by Leviathan," Qi Leren said.

The corner of Dr. Lu’s mouth twitched: "I think they aren’t already done for."

It was hard for Qi Leren to refute.

"But if you want to lure it to the underground glacier, will it be fooled?" Du Yue asked.

Qi Leren tried to maintain a strong smile: "Yes."

Only on this point, Qi Leren had full confidence. He would be able to taunt the monster’s ire towards him. As long as the laser corridor trap wasn’t in front of it, this monster would be like the most loyal boyfriend, only watching him in a crowd, abandoning all temptations and running towards him.

The two EX lucks, Dr. Lu and Du Yue, were just like wild flowers and weeds on the roadside, which were ignored by this single-minded monster.

This kind of thing had happened so many times that Qi Leren was used to it.

Time passed by, and there was only ten minutes left in Qi Leren's privacy time. The three people discussed how to explain it to the audience later, and unanimously recommended that Dr. Lu pretend to be the anchor, so that he could think of his lines quickly.

Dr. Lu wore a tearful expression as he auditioned:

Ladies and gentlemen of the audience, I have bad news. Just now, XXX went crazy, together with XXXX. Then they were all killed by Qi Leren and God. This god-like Qi Leren is neither a special soldier of the military nor an interstellar mercenary. Please believe that he is just an actor... Oh no, a lead singer of a tone-deaf band. Next, the lead singer of the strongest band in history is going to fight the boss. Please look forward to it.

"You really seem like a default actor. Come on, is this filming?" Anchor Lu said with disgust.

The heavy-hearted Qi Leren was not in the mood to make jokes and rolled his eyes.

He didn't want to waste any more time, so he could quickly took care of Leviathan and then set off for Ning Zhou in Purgatory.

Qi Leren pondered it. He could only use Save/Load now. Secretly Observing and Rain Day Laundry were cooling down alongside Prophet’s Heart. There were still Pleasing Rations left, but according to his experience, this monster was not in the range of creatures that could be bought off.

Then there were these weapons. Qi Leren picked up a rocket launcher and weighed it on his shoulder. Dr. Lu opened his mouth and said, "Wow, have you used that?"

"No, but I was shot at with one and hit straight on," Qi Leren said.

Dr. Lu looked at him with an expression of "I know you’re acting, but for the sake of friendship, I will barely cooperate with you." Only Du Yue, who was stupid, sincerely praised: "Qianbei is so powerful!"

Qi Leren glanced at the time. It was the early morning of the fifth day. Let's make it quick.

Dr. Lu considered his physical condition and suggested that Qi Leren rest for a few hours to refresh himself. Anyway, the door to the weapons room had been locked by him, so there was no need to worry about Leviathan breaking in.

In the past, Qi Leren might have thought about it, but now he was full of thoughts about Ning Zhou and refused this proposal.

Dr. Lu sighed: "Well, suit yourself. In fact, I’ve thought about waiting in this arsenal until the army arrives and rescues me. Either way, it can't get in."

Qi Leren was not so optimistic. The monster would come up with a way to break into the room sooner or later. Here, he could only wait to die, and...

Suddenly there was a slight noise above his head, as if something was crawling in a pipe. The three men looked up and looked at the metal ceiling above their heads, and fell into a strange silence.

Qi Leren suddenly thought of a problem.

The air of this large underground research institute was unexpectedly clean, and there was no staleness of air being trapped. Its exhaust facilities were obviously operational.

Qi Leren's eyes turned to the vents in the corner of the ceiling. There was a metal shutter one meter square. It seemed that the sound of something crawling had come from there!

-----

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voiceless-terror · 3 years

Note

(if you feel like it) what about “snowed in” or “comfort” with jontim for the tma december bingo? my jontim brainrot never stops and I’d love to see what you come up with (I’m sure it’d be amazing as always) thanks so much !

The JonTim brainrot is real and appreciated! I combined this prompt with one of @balanced-to-a-tea‘s, who asked for Secret Santa with the season one archives gang! Here there be 3.5k words of gifts, pining, and kisses of the Jon/Tim variety :)

“It’s a mess out there,” Tim reported, plopping down in his office chair and looking strangely cheerful, given the situation. “Looks like we’re stuck here for the time being.”

There were audible groans all around, though Jon’s was quieter than the others. If he were being honest, their current situation was his fault- he asked them to hang back at the end of the day and help him with some unreachable boxes (unreachable for him, that is). He was trying to get into the habit of checking the weather in the mornings, though he never managed to actually do it until he was too far from his flat to get an umbrella or a heavier coat. This resulted in a few sticky situations, including several occasions of arriving late, looking like a drowned rat.

“And here I was going to tuck in for the night, have a glass of wine, blast the heat at unreasonable levels,” Sasha complained, doing a half-hearted twirl in her chair. “Terrible!”

“What if we lose power?” Martin fretted, still outfitted in his coat and scarf. “I heard there’s going to be high winds. High winds!” Jon’s guilt increased. Being stuck with his (likely angry) staff in the Archives was not a great start to his career as Head Archivist. And just when we were getting along again…

“I’m sorry,” he began, his hands fidgeting. “I shouldn’t have started this project so late, I didn’t realize the weather would get quite as nasty as it did…”

“Don’t worry about it, boss!” Tim grinned, leaning back in his chair and propping his feet up on his desk, an act Jon would usually scowl at him for. “Should’ve told you ‘bout the storm. You never check the weather reports.” Jon flushed; Tim knew him too well. “Besides, I can’t say I was expecting it to get this bad; London’s not known for its prodigious snowfall.”

“You don’t seem too put-out by it.” Martin eyed Tim suspiciously as he began to unwind his scarf. “You’re smiling.”

“Well, yeah!” Tim swirled around, eyeing them all with an unfettered glee. Jon wondered what he had in mind; there was never a dull moment when Tim had free time. He’d learned that the hard way. “There’s something so romantic about being snowed-in, don’t you agree, Jon?”

Jon did not agree; being trapped, even in a big building like the Institute, left him feeling anxious and restless. Sasha agreed, if her rolled eyes were anything to go by. Martin seemed to be considering it, though.

“I suppose there’s something poetic about it?” he mused, leaning back against the wall. “The snow falling, blanketing the ground in white…” All eyes turned to him and he blushed under the scrutiny.

“See! Martin’s got the spirit.” Tim clapped his hands and got to his feet. “We’ve got leftovers from lunch in the fridge. Between that and Martin’s stash of tea biscuits, we won’t go hungry. And there’s that weird frozen lasagna in the back of the freezer…”

“We don’t have an oven, Tim,” Jon pointed out. “And I’m fairly certain that’s been in there for more than a year.”

Tim continued, impervious to any criticism. “And if we have to stay the night, Jon’s got that cot he thinks we don’t know about-”

“Hey-!”

“-and we can raid all the break rooms for their gross cushions-”

“I am not sleeping here,” Sasha said, punctuating the statement with a slam of a hand on her desk. “The weather report says it's supposed to pass over soon. We’ll only be here for a few hours, tops.”

“Weather reports are wrong all the time, Sash! Think of the fun we could get up to.” Tim smiled and Jon’s heart stuttered without his permission, most likely due to the idea of what Tim considered ‘fun.’ With the way his eyes lit up, however, Jon couldn’t fight a small smile. “Ooh! We could do Secret Santa, like we used to do in Research. Remember?”

Jon did remember. He still kept some of the gifts he’d received, mostly small trinkets from Tim and Sasha that somehow managed to give him a small thrill of happiness whenever he saw them. Still, he didn’t know how they could do such a thing in the Archives, with nothing around that could constitute a gift.

“How’re we supposed to do that?” Martin asked, sharing Jon’s concern. “Statements and office supplies are the only things we have access to.”

“Oh ye of little faith,” Tim replied, nudging Martin with his foot. “We’ll get creative! I’m sure with a little thought and effort, we can all find something suitable.” He’d already begun to scribble their names on a piece of paper. “C’mon, it’ll pass the time. Please?” Jon sighed, unable to argue when Tim used his most pathetic puppy-dog eyes.

“Fine,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes at Tim’s whoop of enthusiasm. “But don’t expect anything extravagant. I’m not feeling particularly creative.”

“I guess it could be a good distraction,” Sasha acquiesced, with Martin nodding tentatively. “How long do we get to find a gift? Or make one, I suppose.”

“An hour? Two? Then we can all meet back here and exchange!” Tim nodded, and without waiting for any agreement he crumpled the pieces of paper into a cup and stood up. “Martin, you first. No peeking!”

“I won’t,” he mumbled, reaching in with one hand with his head turned pointedly away. He pulled out a slip of paper and immediately turned red upon opening it. “Um, alright. Yeah.” Maybe he got Tim, Jon mused.

Sasha picked next, her face giving nothing away. Tim held the cup out to Jon, waggling his eyebrows. He ignored this, reaching in to pick one of the remaining two slips of paper. Tim!! It read, with several smiley faces and hearts. He felt his own face heating up and shoved the slip into his pocket, staring at the floor.

“And last but certainly not least, me!” Tim took the last slip with a flourish, grinning at what he read. The four of them stared at each other for an awkward beat until Tim broke the silence with a shrill whistle.

“What are you waiting for? Clock’s a tickin’!”

Fuck.

________

It had been an hour and a half. As far as Jon knew, Tim and Sasha were waiting in the break room, steadily demolishing Martin’s stash of sweets, the man himself having locked himself in Document Storage and thereby eliminating one more place for Jon to scavenge for a gift (not that there was anything in there, but it was the principle of the thing). So now here he sat, moping in his office with nary an idea for what to give Tim.

Tim. He was glad they’d started talking again, albeit not with the same frequency as before. There was of course an adjustment period, that was to be expected- especially when someone younger and arguably less qualified than quite a few candidates suddenly became your boss. But Tim had always been there for him, tolerated his quirks, helped him through a breakdown or two. He stuck by his side when most people in the department couldn’t stand him. Perhaps, with some time, they could go back to being as close as they were. Or closer.

Jon tamped that thought down- it was ridiculous to even think about, now that he was his boss. Professional boundaries aside, what would Tim even see in him? It wasn’t his fault Jon read into every wink, every casual word of praise. A hug or a warm arm around his shoulder that he leaned into instead of turning away. Tim did that with everyone, Jon wasn’t special. He wasn’t Sasha, with her beautiful laugh and her razor-sharp wit. Hell, he’d probably pick Martin over him. Someone nicer, with less sharp edges. Someone who laughed as easily as he did.

Someone who wasn’t Jon.

He shook himself from these thoughts, attempting to concentrate on the task at hand. What did he have that Tim could possibly want? Not his rubber band ball, though he knew that Tim was jealous of its now astronomical proportions (he added to it when he was stressed, which he always was these days). Not the stale packet of crisps in the bottom of his drawer. He thought vaguely of getting a book he thought Tim would like from the library, but that was more of a loan. Maybe an article he found interesting? Tim always used to read the ones Jon forwarded him, and even had a thing or two to say at the end of them. But maybe he found them annoying. Maybe he just did that to shut Jon up. Wouldn’t be the first time.

Jon’s thoughts kept straying to the foyer of the institute, where festive decorations had been set up at the start of the month, most likely Rosie’s doing. There was a beautiful handmade wreath, filled with pinecones and red flowers and other seasonal flora. He remembered back in Research, when Tim would terrorize them all with stupid little pranks and games, his main target being Jon. Jon would always duck away, grumble and complain, and Tim didn’t take it personally. Maybe I’ll indulge him just this once.

Mind made up, he slipped out of his office.

________

Tim watched his three friends with undisguised amusement.

Martin was fidgeting in his seat, constantly crinkling the grocery bag he’d decorated to look more seasonal. Tim knew at once that he’d gotten Jon; he wouldn’t have turned that red for anyone else. Poor sod. Tim had Sasha, a gift he wouldn’t sweat over. She appreciated a good gag. He was fairly certain Sasha got Martin, judging by her neutral, unbothered expression.

Or maybe he just hoped she did. Because that would mean that Jon got Tim.

Not that it would mean anything. He was just interested in what Jon would pick out, that’s all. He could be surprisingly thoughtful, if past gifts were anything to go by. He still had the small box of fidget toys on his desk, where they got regular use.

He clapped his hands decisively, attempting to clear his mind of any more Jon-thoughts. “Well, then. As the emcee for this event, I’ll go first. Sasha, may I present to you the Tim Stoker Coupon Bonanza, valued at over one thousand dollars- but for you? Free!”

He revealed it with all the fanfare of a marriage proposal, bending down on one knee to hand over a binder of hastily drawn nonsense that Sasha would surely appreciate. She took it just as delicately, thumbing through the pages with a delightful smirk.

“One free coffee from the place around the corner?” She put a hand to her chest in faux- surprise. “Tim, you shouldn’t have!” Never mind that he already got her coffee every morning.

“I know, I know. I’m too generous, really.”

“One three hour lunch break. Don’t think Jon would like that.”

“He can come along. Marto too!”

“One date to the Jade Buffet, where we will split the check- Tim, the rest of these are more for you than they are-”

“Moving on!” He interrupted. “Sasha, why don’t you show us what you’ve got?” She ignored his wink, shutting the book with an over-exaggerated sigh. She reached out for a small bag on her desk, which she handed over to Martin. He thanked her quietly, unwrapping a mug- Sasha’s favorite, with a cartoon of a dog that she’d hand-painted (Sharpie’d, would be more accurate) to look like one of those highland cows Martin was always going on about. The entire effect was monstrous, but Martin seemed touched. Tim was happy too, as this meant Jon must have drawn his name.

“Oh that’s- that’s so nice, thank you Sasha!” His smile was infectious, even Jon wasn’t immune to it (though he tried to hide it).

“It’ll probably come off if you wash it, so I wouldn’t actually use it,” Sasha advised. “But it could make a nice pencil holder.”

“Oh! That’s handy-”

“Ahem!” Tim once again interrupted; he was eager to see what Martin had whipped up for Jon, considering he’d holed himself up for about two hours. “Martin, I believe it’s your turn?”

“Um, y-yeah.” He put the cup down with some reluctance, picking up the bag he’d decorated with snowflakes and trees and handing it over to Jon, who looked surprised that anyone had gotten him anything. It was an expression Tim was used to; Jon never expected kindness, even in circumstances when he would very clearly receive it. Silly man.

As soon as Jon began to reach into the bag, Martin stumbled through an explanation. “You don’t need to keep it, n-not if you don’t want, but y-you’re always saying you’re cold and y’know, I have extras, so-”

Martin had given Jon one of his many scarves, this one a worn, dark green that was sure to look lovely with his skin tone. He spent two hours deciding on that? It was a nice gift, for sure. Jon held it in his hands like it was completely foreign to him, though Tim could see him running his fingers over the knit appreciatively, looking at it with wide eyes.

“B-But this is your scarf, Martin,” he said, once he found the words. “I can’t-”

“Well now it’s yours,” Martin replied, his voice steadying with resolve. “Anyway, I um- it’s got your name on it. Or your initials, at least.” He gave a nervous laugh, his face turning even redder if possible.

And sure enough, at the end of the scarf was a small, messy embroidered J.S., along with a crude attempt at a small cat face. The effort was adorable, and it sent a pang through Tim’s chest for several reasons he didn’t want to name.

“T-That’s- well, thank you, Martin.” Jon ran his fingers over the small ‘J’ as if it would disappear if he looked away. “That’s very thoughtful of you.” Jon placed it almost reverently back in the bag, giving Martin a rare, genuine smile, one that Tim wished he had put on his face. Stop that.

“Jon’s turn!” he said, mustering up his last bit of enthusiasm. “I for one have no idea who Jon got, so this is going to be a real surprise-”

“S-Shut up, Tim.” Jon muttered, reaching for something behind him. He hesitated, his hands trembling slightly as he pulled out a small sprig of what looked to be pine needles, because it couldn’t be what Tim thought it was, no sir, that wouldn’t make sense-

He watched as Jonathan Sims moved closer and with shaking hands and a beet-red face, moved up on his tippy-toes to hold a tiny sprig of mistletoe above their heads. And then, in what surely must have been a hallucination or a dream sequence, two lips met his in a tiny peck of a kiss that was over before Tim could truly register it.

He stared unblinking as Jon sank back on his heels, his eyes still tightly shut from the kiss. Tim brought a hand up to his mouth, the warm tingle of slightly chapped lips on his still fresh in his mind. Jon began to stutter in the absolute silence of the room, stumbling backwards without looking up from his feet.

“I’m, um- I-I have to. S-Sorry! I’m going to... goodbye now.”

And with that Jonathan Sims fled the room, leaving three stupefied assistants in his wake.

_________

“Knock Knock!”

Tim tried to keep his voice as light as possible. He didn’t think Jon could stand anything more than that right now.

He’d given him a half hour of solitude, enough for him to overcome whatever embarrassment he felt over the encounter. Martin was stewing in a corner, looking shell-shocked and mopey over the turn of events. Tim was just as shocked as he was. Little Jonathan Sims, grumpy researcher and now even grumpier Head Archivist, giving Tim a kiss? Under the mistletoe?

“Go get him,” Sasha smirked, kicking his chair. “Bring him some food. And maybe return the favor.”

So he took a plate of reheated Pad Thai and a bottle of rum he kept under his desk for special occasions, hoping to win Jon over. Let him know the kiss was much appreciated, and that perhaps he’d like another if Jon was so inclined.

The man jumped up from his desk, where he’d had his head pillowed in his arms and his chunkiest cardigan wrapped around him for warmth. It was getting colder, and Tim hadn’t checked outside recently, too distracted by current events. His face was still flushed red, and he wouldn’t meet Tim’s eyes. I’ll have to change that.

“Thought I’d come bearing gifts.” He waved the bottle of rum around for Jon to see as he walked into the room. “Of the food and drink variety. But I wouldn’t mind a repeat of what happened in the break room.” He threw in a wink for good measure- God, why couldn’t he ever be serious? He always fell back on jokes and teasing words.

“I’m-I’m sorry, Tim,” Jon groaned, reaching out for the rum and pouring a liberal amount into a mug that previously housed tea. He still avoided Tim’s eyes. “That was completely inappropriate, I-I just couldn’t think of-”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he placed the food down on Jon’s desk, ignoring the pain in his heart at the apology. So he didn’t mean it. He plopped down on Jon’s couch, trying to feign a lightness he didn’t feel as he drank straight from the bottle. “No harm, no foul. It was nice.” He shrugged. Jon moved from his desk to join him on the couch, looking so adorable and cozy that Tim had to restrain from taking him in his arms. He watched as Jon took two large mouthfuls of the rum, knocking it back like a champ. Jesus. And then he raised his eyes to his, meeting them with a wide-eyed hopefulness that made Tim’s heart stutter in his chest.

“So- so you didn’t mind?”

“Nope.” Tim took another sip of the rum, wondering where this was going. He wouldn’t…

“Then you-,” Jon gulped, seemingly gathering his courage. “You wouldn’t mind if we- that is, if I maybe did it again?”

Tim stared.

“I-I still have the mistletoe.”

Jon sat there, so earnest and vulnerable, his hands fidgeting with the drink in his lap. Tim remembered the first time he laid eyes on him, the taciturn young researcher with a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. He imagined asking him on a date, getting to know the man under that prickly exterior. Making him laugh, getting that rare smile that Martin got today. But he didn’t seem interested and Tim never wanted to push it, too respectful of his boundaries.

But maybe he hadn’t imagined the way Jon leaned into his touch. How he laughed at Tim’s shitty jokes a bit longer than necessary. That the looks he got in the library weren’t ones of annoyance, but fondness. So he set the bottle down, took the drink out of Jon’s hands and replaced it with the warm grip of his own. His voice came out low, quiet and serious and utterly unlike him.

“I wouldn’t mind at all.” And he leaned in and kissed Jonathan Sims, just like he wanted to do all those years ago.

It was a sweet, lingering thing- the taste of rum on his lips, lips that parted so easily for Tim like he’d been waiting, wanting this for so long, maybe even as long as Tim had. And when they finally parted, Jon stared at him with those deep brown eyes and gave him the smile he’d been wishing for and it was just for him. He put that there.

“Was-was that okay?” he murmured, feeling nervous and open under Jon’s intense gaze.

“Yes,” was the whispered response. He let out a small, charming laugh that Tim would always remember when he thought back to this night, the first night of many stolen kisses and secret smiles. “I-I liked that.”

“Well, good!” Tim could no longer contain the urge to have Jon in his arms and pulled him to his chest, appreciating the small squeak it earned him. “Because there’s more where that came from.” Jon leaned into his touch, as if trying to leech every bit of warmth from Tim that he could. It felt so utterly right to be here, on this uncomfortable couch with an armful of the man he’d been pining over for the last three years. Score, a giddy part of his mind yelled. They laid there in silence for a few minutes, reveling in the feeling of affection finally realized when Jon’s head perked up from his chest, a concerned look in his eyes.

“Do you think Rosie’s going to notice I nicked her mistletoe?”

Tim snickered. “Oh, absolutely. But I’ll take the fall. She’s not getting that back.”

Jon was always thoughtful with his gifts. And this was one he intended to keep.

ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28201134

#prompt fill #my writing #tma #the magnus archives #jontim #jonathan sims #tim stoker #advent archives #fluff #pining #i will not apologize for the sappiness of this #submit to my jontim agenda #cinnamoniic

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beeseverywhen · 2 years

Text

So I've been trying to think of a modern au version of Anakins betrayal because honestly what he did was terrible and I've seen au's where modern him is bad but not that bad like to betray your whole culture, to kill them. I've seen him portrayed as a drug addict and as a gang member and with it being like a political betrayal but it never hits me with the same enormity you know? I've seen some military aus which kind of hit the same betrayal just on a different scale but honestly I don't like the military so that didn't really sit right with me.

Anyway I was thinking: jedi as some kind of religious org, the basis of their beliefs being that they should offer help to anyone. So they take in orphans, kids who's parents can't look after them and raise them. Orphanage type creches till they are like 12 ish and then living in more of a Foster type situation with other jedi (their lineage) more of a home than a institution.

They run various programs local to their temple and worldwide and this has been a long standing thing like everyone know that the jedi aim is like to provide medical treatment and homes and food to the world.

But then they seem to be committing more radical acts? They only start helping certain countries/people (the public don't realise that this is being controlled by the gov)

Palpatine comes into power. Public trust in jedi is dropping. There are whispers that they are a cult. That they steal babies.

And then, the bombings start. Places that don't agree with the jedi, eco terrorism on projects the jedi disagreed with. It very very much seems like the jedi are doing this (though of course this is everything they are against, they would never sacrifice lives to prove a point but the public don't know that) the media vilify them. They are given a chance to hand over the radical branch which they can't do as there is no radical branch. When they don't do it, they are labeled a terrorist cult, they are on watch lists. Pretty much its illegal to call yourself a jedi. Their kids are all taken away and moved into group homes. The jedi either renounce what they are or go into hiding. Some jedi (like ahsoka) go abroad and do standalone aid work but they can't help nearly as much without the power of the organisation behind them.

Turns out palpatine has all these links with right wing terrorists who want jedi gone/major corps who are having profits reduced by jedi work. And has used his political power to turn public opinion/influence the media and also to groom a young jedi (Anakin!) Into the bombings. Yes it was all him not a group but palpatine interferes with the media/investigations to make it seem bigger than it is.

Padme figures out its anakjn and goes to confront him when planting a bomb. She's pregnant, it's very risky though she doesn't believe it. Obi wan finds out about her plan and sneakily dearms the bomb a step ahead of anakin. Padme confronts him, they argue, she says she's gonna reveal what he does so he does a whole if I can't have you nobody can, tries to detonate the dearmed bomb. Obi wan and padme are horrified by what he tried to do. They run away and are in hiding from Anakin/ the gov hunting down jedi (obi wan didn't denounce the jedi). Obi wan helps her raise the twins as their uncle. They are the next generation of jedi.

#star wars au #star wars #padme #obi wan #anakin

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96thdayofrage · 3 years

Photo

“Yeshua (Jesus) instructed his followers to arm themselves for self-defense and to address the community’s survival needs by providing health care, free meals, therapeutic counseling, and of course spiritual guidance.”

“Black Christians have the ever-present potential to reclaim a pivotal position within movements that challenge police terrorism, mass incarceration, poverty, militarism, and perhaps even the capitalist system itself.”

A recent PBS documentary by Henry Louis Gates about the Black church is a reminder of the vital role the institution has played in the survival and continuing struggles of an oppressed community. While Black Christians have played a vital role in the development of the Black Radical Tradition, the documentary also highlights the sudden, diminished leadership role the Black church played in movements after Dr. Martin Luther King’s assassination. In recent years, there have been repeated comments about the low-profile participation of the Black church in the Black Lives Matter movement.

Notwithstanding recent history, it will be an error to write off the potential of the Black Church to again find its way to the cutting edge of the revolution. That’s because Christianity has been radical from the start. Yeshua (“Jesus”) himself emerged from a poverty ravaged community of brown-skinned folks who daily endured surveillance, extortion, harassment, and violent attacks by white Roman soldier-cops deployed to First Century Palestine. We know from Luke 22:36 that, in response, Yeshua instructed his followers to arm themselves for self-defense. This group also engaged in an extended campaign to address the community’s survival needs by providing health care, free meals, therapeutic counseling, and of course spiritual guidance. The first Christians also had their share of political prisoners. In many ways they were strikingly similar to the radical organization started in Oakland, California in 1966 by a small band of brothers in berets and black leather.

“It will be an error to write off the potential of the Black Church to again find its way to the cutting edge of the revolution.”

Yeshua was betrayed by an informant, and when he was pegged as a revolutionary by Roman imperialists, he was accused of sedition, railroaded through a kangaroo court, and subjected to the death penalty. The Book of Acts tells us that after Yeshua left the Earthly realm, his followers grew in number, established multi-ethnic solidarity with other oppressed communities, and consolidated them into a small nation governed by socialist principles and socialist practice.

Yeshua’s disciples were not the last community of color to embrace revolution. Black Christians have a long history of radicalism, and that should come as no surprise even though slave masters made their best efforts to use the Bible to justify white supremacy and slavery. Kenyan scholar John Mbiti explains why enslaved Africans with a grounding in traditional African religions would certainly have rejected the lies about Christian doctrine taught by slave masters. He said:

“Because traditional [African] religions permeate all the departments of life, there is no formal distinction between the sacred and the secular, between the religious and non-religious, between the spiritual and material areas of life. Wherever the African is, there is his religion: he carries it to the fields, where he is sowing seeds or harvesting a new crop…”

Mbiti goes on to say:

“It is not enough to embrace a faith which is confined to a church building or mosque, which is locked up six days and opened only once or twice a week. Unless Christianity and Islam fully occupy the whole person as much as, if not more than, traditional [African] religions do, most [African] converts to these faiths will continue to revert to their old beliefs and practices for perhaps six days a week, and certainly in times of emergency and crisis.”

“Black Christians have a long history of radicalism.”

Thus, the influence of an African religious orientation naturally led enslaved Africans to embrace Christianity as a weapon for liberation rather than believe claims that the faith justifies slavery. After all, Mbiti points out that “…even if [in traditional African religions] God is thought to be the ultimate upholder of the moral order, people do not consider Him to be immediately involved in the keeping of it.” Consequently, enslaved Africans believed they had to take matters into their own hands if they wanted to be free. Both Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey found in their Christian faith the inspiration to rise against their enslavers. Vesey even organized his insurrection within the institutional framework of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

Historian Sterling Stuckey described Vesey as “a sophisticated idealogue.” Stuckey wrote: “Vesey promoted the use of radical Christianity and encouraged, through one of his lieutenants, its melding with African religious practices. ‘Beyond a general antiwhite attitude,’ [scholar Robert] Starobin writes, ‘Vesey combined the Old Testament’s harsh morality and the story of the Israelites with African religious customs.’ Indeed, Vesey used Christian radicalism to reinforce and rationalize his call to arms…”

Turner and Vesey believed their white oppressors were as morally bankrupt and as irredeemable as the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah. They likewise believed these enslavers deserved to suffer the same fate as their Old Testament counterparts. Like Turner and Vesey, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was also a radical Christian, but his method presumed the white community retained a conscience that could be pricked and prodded into righteousness through his movement’s non-violent witnessing.

“Both Nat Turner and Denmark Vesey found in their Christian faith the inspiration to rise against their enslavers.”

Because Yeshua was inclined on some occasions toward militant action and on other occasions toward non-violent resistance, we are left to speculate about whether he was in the camp of Turner and Vesey or in that of Dr. King. Perhaps he approved of both, depending upon the circumstances. Regardless of tactics, he clearly favored radical change. Theologian Obery Hendricks explains:

“Yes, Jesus of Nazareth was a political revolutionary. Now, to say that he was ‘political’ doesn’t mean that he sought to start yet another protest party in Galilee. Nor does it mean that he was ‘involved in politics’ in the sense that we know it today, with its bargaining and compromises and power plays and partisanship. And it certainly doesn’t mean that he wanted to wage war or overthrow the Roman Empire by force. To say that Jesus was a political revolutionary is to say that the message he proclaimed not only called for change in individual hearts but also demanded sweeping and comprehensive change in the political, social, and economic structures in his setting in life: colonized Israel. It means that if Jesus had had his way, the Roman Empire and the ruling elites among his own people either would no longer have held their positions of power, or if they did, would have had to conduct themselves very, very differently. It means that an important goal of his ministry was to radically change the distribution of authority and power, goods and resources, so all people – particularly the little people, or ‘the least of these,’ as Jesus called them – might have lives free of political repression, enforced hunger and poverty, and undue insecurity.”

“If Jesus had had his way, the Roman Empire and the ruling elites among his own people either would no longer have held their positions of power.”

Although the Black church has faded from its position of primary movement leader, if Hendricks’ perspective ever resonates with those who have not been bedazzled and bamboozled by charismatic religious charlatans, Black Christians have the ever-present potential to reclaim a pivotal position within movements that challenge police terrorism, mass incarceration, poverty, militarism, and perhaps even the capitalist system itself. Why not? Those who subscribe to liberation theology have played critical roles in Latin American revolutions, and the same can happen in the U.S. Zela Diaz De Porras, a judge during the early years of Nicaragua’s Sandinista revolution explained:

“Faith is the motivation. Politics is the vehicle that carries the motivation. That is to say, if I need to go to Managua, I use a car to carry me. The car can break down or run out of gasoline. There is no comparison…Really, there is no confusion of one thing with the other. Faith is transcendental, and the revolution is like the historical praxis for a transcendental motivation.”

Christian doctrine can always guide the faithful toward a redemptive and fulfilling relationship with God. But that relationship can be substantially enhanced if Black Christians not only take an honest look at how Yeshua and his disciples conducted themselves, but also emulate the first Christians’ active, engaged resistance to oppression. There will be only benefits for movements for justice if the Black church finds its way back to the frontlines of struggle.

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llendrinall · 3 years

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Here's a prompt for you.

Draco and Harry are dating and taking it slow (no one is aware & they started dating after the both of them had begun to go to therapy and heal a bit) and while they've together for a year (now its not somethin that either of them hide but they also dont go out and pronounce anything) they find an orphanage in the muggle world and they hang out with the kids and end up falling inlove with between 1-4 of the kids over time and both the Weasley's and Malfoy's find out about their relationship when they show up with their newly adopted child/ren.

"I thought you knew we were together"

"We thought you were becoming friends Harry!"

Draco saw the kid first. Not that it matters, but Harry claims that it was all his idea when, in truth, Draco saw the kid first and immediately knew what was going to happen. This is Harry, after all. Draco could have distracted Harry, insist they took the other exit of the restaurant, anything. But he did none of that because (don’t tell anyone this) Draco Malfoy might have a heart of his own and he was curious about the kid sitting under a lamppost with a book.

His names is Liam and he was doing homework. There is a lounge in the orphanage where, theoretically, children can do their homework. But the place is very noisy and there are some older kids who pick on Liam. Unless it’s raining heavily, Liam prefers to be outside where he can have some peace. He could go to the library and he usually takes refuge there, but it closes early on Fridays.

They had just had dinner, but they go back to the restaurant so Liam can work at a table where is warm and well lighted. The waitress gets Liam extra bacon in his sandwich and doesn’t charge them for it.

Harry surprises Draco because he doesn’t immediately take Liam with him, even though it’s clear that’s what he wants to do. He does say he would like to visit Roberta Clark’s Children Home and looks softly pleased when Draco says he will go with him.

They have been together for almost a year now, soft and tentative and careful because they both want this and are afraid to ruin it with a false step. They have just started to talk about living arrangements, although in a very vague way. Tonight, however, Draco begins a ruthless campaign against Harry’s house which is well located in London, yes, but it doesn’t have a garden unlike Draco’s house in Virginia Water, and it has one less room than Draco’s (not accounting for the music room), and it’s very dark. Draco can’t imagine children growing up happy here. Poor Sirius. And poor Regulus.

Harry is pissed, which is further proof that he needs Draco in his life because, Morgana, is he easy to read and manipulate.

That Thursday the two of them visit Roberta Clark’s Children Home where they are welcomed by the rudest social worker to ever plague the Earth. The deputy Director isn’t much better. She doesn’t like it when Harry points they have mold on the walls, all twenty-three times.

(This is one of the many reasons Draco loves him. For a hero of the light, Harry is a terror).

Draco walked in there knowing fully well they were going to adopt Liam, hence his campaign for the Virginia Water’s house because no child of his will grow up in Grimmauld Place. Children who grow up in Grimmauld Place become unhappy adults who die before their time. Draco thought that maaaaybe Harry still believed he was only going to show an interest in the institution and hand them money to improve the living conditions; but Draco knew there was no way Harry would leave Liam in there. The kid is eleven! An orphan! Harry can lie to himself all he wants. He will be Liam’s legal father inside a month.

What Draco didn’t expect was to get a child of his own.

Her name is Jamie, JamieTheGirl. There is a boy named Jamie and simply Jamie, not JamieTheBoy, because Jamie is a boy’s name. This is explained to Draco in a rush, with a mixture of pain and bratty attitude that speaks to him directly. JamieTheGirl hates her name, her haircut, the horrible dress she is forced to wear and Mister Gladwell, who is the rude social worker. JamieTheGirl wanted to know if Liam is lying, because Liam said he knew them (them being Draco and Harry) but Liam is eleven and everybody knows that nobody wants kids older than ten. Seven is best. JamietheGirl is nine so she could still be adopted, but she has been informed by multiple sources that nobody will ever want her because a) she has a bad attitude, b) she has a boy’s name and c) she is not cute enough.

“My name is Draco,” is all Draco can say. He is already vowing to hunt down those multiple sources who told Jamie she was less than perfect. “It’s not a bad name but it’s not a good one either.”

JamieTheGirl agrees.

Now that they are going to adopt two children it’s all the more reason to live in the Virginia Water’s house, which has more room and a very nice garden. They can always apparate the kids to their school in London. If Harry refuses to apparate (sometimes Harry exhibits some very weird ideas about magic and luxury) Draco will get a car. Not even a magical car, and actual muggle car. He will buy one and take the kids to school. Actually, they should go tomorrow to check the house and start the arrangements.

Harry stares at Draco. He is sitting on the kitchen counter in his stupid house in Grimmauld Place, eating Chinese food from the box as if he weren’t a filthy rich man, hero of the wizarding world. Draco loves him so much.

“What do you mean adopt?” Harry says.

“Oh, like this was going to go any other way.” Draco says, rolling his eyes. If the place had merely been overcrowded and noisy Harry would have contented himself to play the benefactor role and pay for renovations. But there was mold in twenty-three spots, the social worker made Snape look charming and evidently none of the adults in charge had any idea of what the children were going through and, even worse, what they were getting up to.

Draco knows Harry. It is a mere question of how quickly they can get the paperwork ready.

“I’m still going to do something about the place.” Harry argues, of course he does. He won’t simply take a kid and forget about the rest. But he is already thinking of all the wonderful things he will teach Liam. Draco can see it in his eyes.

They get married two weeks later, for the paperwork, but in essence they got married that night when Draco laid the rest of their lives before them and Harry realized that Draco knew him better than himself and that he still wanted to be with him.

They move to the Virginia Water’s house in early January. Liam can’t believe that he has been adopted, so he takes the fact that they are both wizards in stride. The adoption is much harder to believe than the fact that people can do actual magic. Also, he has his own room. His. With a door that he can close. The fact that he doesn’t have to hide his books so they won’t be stolen takes enough of Liam’s attention that he can’t worry about such unimportant things as magic.

JamieTheGirl is both easier and harder. She is easier because she desperately wanted to be out of the Children’s Home, and harder because she is naturally distrustful and very intelligent. Not to say that Liam is not distrustful or smart, but he is old enough to be jaded. Liam expects something bad to happen and he is willing to take it. He, like Harry, is stupid enough to believe that he can take new abuse if he also gets some comfort in exchange.

(note: Draco is going to piss on Dumbledore’s grave).

The first month is difficult, but once both Liam and JamieTheGirl act out and see there are no bad consequences, that they are not beaten or returned to the Children’s Home, they settle happily. JamieTheGirl asks to have her name changed, please, she will take a constellation name if they want to, just let her have a different name. They are enrolled in a new school and Draco buys a car and hires a chauffeur who happens to be a squib and there is no need for Harry to look at him that way.

Things are good.

It’s cold outside, the garden is dry and ugly, it rains nonstop for two weeks… but everything is good and nice. If Sean were here he would have something interesting to say about it. Everything in Sean is ugly, but he knows how to take the painful things and make them sweet, and he would know how to put into words that the world outside the house is ugly right now, but it’s also nice.

Draco feels Harry go rigid at the same time as him. “Who?” Draco says calmly just as Harry asks “What?”.

Sean is an ugly case. He was adopted when he was eight but he was returned a few months later. Nobody knows why although there is a lot of speculation. He often got himself beaten in school and once by Mister Murphy (“Who?”, “It doesn’t matter, he doesn’t work there anymore”, “Give me a detailed description of Mister Murphy, please”.) He is fifteen now so nobody will adopt him and Mister Gladwell says he will amount to nothing. Despite what Mrs Oxley says (Mrs Oxley is the deputy Director) Sean is not a criminal. He goes with bad people, sure, but he never stole Liam’s books and he even showed him a couple of hiding places. He is not bad at all.

On Friday they welcome Sean home. Just at the same time Mr Gladwell, Mrs Oxley, Mr Murphy and a criminal gang from the South Bank all suffer completely coincidental and unrelated accidents.

Sean is a young criminal. He is tough and hard, actively cultivating a mean strike and horrifyingly traumatized.

He is also deeply protective of Liam and Jamie. It’s heartbreaking.

Fortunately, Harry was also deeply traumatized at his age. It’s a horrible thought to have, but for once Harry is grateful for all that pain because he knows how Sean feels, he understands, and he can help.

No, Sean can’t have a wand or try magic. Yes, he still has to go to school. No, he can’t take the car. No, no smoking and no drinking either. Come along, you are going to take fighting classes.

Which might seem counter-productive. Do not teach the young delinquent to fight, yadda, yadda. Harry spent all of his fifteen year wanting to punch someone and Sean has this freaked-out look in the eyes that says he doesn’t trust Harry or Draco and that he wants to protect Jamie and Liam. The fighting classes make him feel more in control and they mellow him. Also, by the third time Draco has a tiff and demands to talk to the headmaster about Liam’s class placement, his math grades, Jamie’s English grades, and just-what-did-that-woman-insinuate-I-swear; something visibly relaxes in Sean.

(Not even Liam knows what his Biology teacher said that upset Draco. The next week they have the lovely Miss Quintrell instead and the whole class is happy so Liam doesn’t question it).

And suddenly it’s March and Ron’s birthday and there is a celebration at the Burrow. Harry arrives with his family and a well-structured explanation of how he is now the legal father of Sean, Liam and Possibly-Berenice (they are still trying names). He is really good at it. He gives a simple step by step account of the process, with helpful asides and clarifying details, everything. There is just this one thing. A small detail, really. An assumption that is not supported by reality.

“Mate, I’m very happy for you,” Ron says. “We all are. But, you never mentioned you were dating Malfoy and I believe I speak for everyone when I say it’s a shock.”

And, to be fair, nobody can say they are actually surprised that Harry showed up with three orphans. But Malfoy, well… Malfoy is something else. They thought Harry was merely befriending him, or possibly adopting him like he tried to do with Neville. The dating thing is a big mental shift.

“We are married,” Draco says, and then, at their stares, more quietly, “it was more convenient? For the paperwork?”.

There is a lot of “Harry Potter you did not get married without telling us” and “Harry Potter how could you just get married without a ceremony” and “you know we have been developing these party fireworks how could you do this to us” and Molly red-faced, waving a finger, “did you tell your parents, young man?” and it takes everyone, everyone, thirty seconds to realize she is not addressing Harry, but Draco, and Merlin’s pants, he did not, he didn’t tell them. Draco married Harry, moved with him and adopted three kids and his father doesn’t know, which goes a long way to ingratiate Draco with everyone, because Lucius Malfoy has not heard of this.

It also has the unexpected but very welcome benefit of making Sean laugh. Liam says Sean hasn’t laughed in years.

(And of course less than a month later the three kids have a hand-knit sweater, of course they do. Possibly-Berenice’s has a pattern of stars, pending her choosing a permanent name).

#asks #harry potter #draco malfoy #verse: Harry adopting left and right #Anonymous #textpost

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floatingbook · 3 years

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I'm a radfem married to a male. Should I feel bad about this?

What do you think the answer to that question is? I’m quite sure you know, without asking, what my opinion on this is. I’m wondering why you felt the need to send me this. Are you desperate for validation? Coddling? The rest of society is out there doing exactly that, so why are you in my inbox, asking a lesbian separatist whether I caution your behaviour?

Let’s look at your premises first. “I’m a radfem”. I think we loose sight of a lot when we just use short hands willy-nilly. I assume you meant “I’m a radical feminist”, so does that mean that you are actively fighting for women’s liberation, or do you just vaguely agree that men should not rape women in an ideal world? Do you think “radical feminism” means “making sure you can have a happy heterosexual life” (also known as “het-couple therapy”) or do you understand feminism as “a movement to bring about women’s liberation” and therefore “radical feminism” as “a movement to bring about women’s liberation looking at the roots of our oppression”? Do you understand that men are the root cause of our oppression? That they are doing, obviously, the violent oppression part (abuse, rape, beating, killing, …) but also the more covert parts (control of reproductive capacity, objectification, terrorism, beauty culture, reduced access to education, …)? Do you understand that men — yes, all men — are enforcers in a system that is solely designed to oppress and control women?

Do you think that your “male” is taking no part in the oppressing? Is your relationship truly free from misogyny? Hint: it’s not, and it will never be given what marriage entails as an institution. And even if he’s never abused you, and does an equal share of the chores, what misogyny against women that are not you are you glossing over in your rush to defend him? How misogynistic is he to his mother, to yours, to the waitress when you go out or to the medical secretary when he goes to the doctor? There are no good men. If he was a good man, seeing how misogynistic and cruel his fellow men are towards women, he would not have time for you. He wouldn’t have married you. He would be out there, relentlessly trying to make other men understand that women are human beings too. But he’s not. He married you, he’s satisfied with having you as his property and maid.

“Should I feel bad about this?” What do you think? Are you feeling bad about this? Or are you comfortable in your relative security, knowing that even if you’re vulnerable to the harm your husband can cause, at least you’re somewhat protected by him. You can always say to other men that you’re married; you know most of them will respect the notion, not wanting to infringe on the property of another man. You’re the one who decided that she’d rather be a little safer than the other women even if that means a cage. You’re oppressed, but at least you can live with it. You’re fine with the status quo is what you’re saying. You don’t care about all the other women who cannot compromise like you did. You first, and the rest of us can choke, right?

What does your feeling bad about it change? Feeling bad is useless if you don’t act. Do you think being married is helping liberating women? Do you even want women’s liberation? What are you trying to accomplish? “I'm a radfem married to a male. Should I feel bad about this?” You’re a clown. What are you doing to make things change? And don’t tell me “I go to the woman march once a year and donate to a rape shelter”. Marching? Asking men for something that they shouldn’t have taken or controlled in the first place is not going to get us anywhere but back into a false sense of accomplishment (see you, being fine being married because the law says you can have a separate bank account from that of your husband). Donating to shelters? They do necessary work, but they don’t treat the problem. They aren’t stopping men from abusing women. You can fund them extensively and women will still be abused, because nothing changes. Are you doing anything to change things? The answer to that question is probably why you feel bad.

And if you don’t feel bad about it, I don’t know how to explain to you that you should care about women. You know, the ones being oppressed? Your man doesn’t need your coddling.

#anonymous #answered #this boils down to #do you want things to change?#or do you just not want proper ladies like you being raped when you get home late?#you sound like a clown #'i'm aiding and abetting my opressor is that a problem?'#yes it is #stop coddling men #they already have a whole misogynistic system designed to do it #you don't need to be complicit too #heterosexual drama

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