Darkness names
MusicForDemons
2020.06.11 09:49 MusicForDemons
A place for posting music associated with demonic entities for the purpose of crowd sourcing ritual enhancement. Any of the infernal names, "Prince of Darkness" types, demonized deities and monsters are acceptable to post about. Pan, Loki, Hades, Kali, Cthulhu, etc or even more abstract terms like "the Devil" or "demonic femme" will work. All posts must adhere to the title format: [Entity Name/s], "Song Title", [Band/Artist Name/s]. For example: Satan, "O Father O Satan O Sun!", Behemoth.
2014.11.13 10:21 Mromson Stars Without Number
A subreddit dedicated to all things Stars Without Number, a sci-fi tabletop role-playing game designed by Kevin Crawford.
2013.06.21 19:10 Name Nerds
A community for those interested in names. Your posts are welcome so long as they stay on the topic of names and remain civil
2024.05.21 19:29 CroweGhost AITA? I pretended to be a girl's friend for an entire year and then wrote a hate letter to her
Alright, so… I (18F) kinda made this reddit account just to get some feedback about this situation, since I’m too ashamed to ask my parents. The girl in question is 16, and is probably one of the most annoying people I’ve ever met…
(TLDR: This girl I was pretending to be friends with in High School obsessively fantasized about murdering someone for an entire semester, is overbearing as a person, interrogates people on a daily basis and is nosy, injects herself into drama that isn’t her own, throws temper tantrums when she doesn’t get her way, constantly touches people and makes unwarranted comments about girl’s bodies, asked me to draw CP for her, and MADE FUN OF HER SUICIDAL BROTHER. And I wrote a hate-letter telling her that all of this stuff is a problem, but now I feel bad about it because I think she might actually have mental issues. It’s a really wild ride and a long story, so if you choose to read it, you should expect to be here for a while. And it’s High School drama, so I’ll try to discard the boring details.)
At the beginning of this year, I ended up in a small Sports Medicine class with literally 8 students total in it. That made things quiet, which gave us some room to start talking and getting to know each other after the teacher was done with the lesson and we had our small hands-on tests and assignments out of the way. (The classes took about 20 minutes every day. Really quick and easy. Laid back. It met curriculum requirements actually, because there wasn’t constant bullshit from other students making the lesson longer.). There’s this girl, who… I’ll call her Storm. You’ll find out why. Storm quickly became the most annoying person in the class. Any time she talked, she didn’t have anything interesting to say, but just kept going on and on and on endlessly. It was annoying, but we just kinda played along to be nice. Well… Around a month into school, Storme started opening up and became comfortable talking about personal topics. She told us this story about how one of her other friends (I’ll call her Katie) “betrayed” her the previous year, and then went on to talk about how much she hated Katie and didn’t care if she lived or died. (Honestly, Katie’s offense was miniscule. At most, she replaced Storm with someone else as her best friend. You know… Regular High School drama that wasn’t that deep. I honestly forgot all of what Katie did because it was just so miniscule.) Then Storme started saying ludicrous stuff like “I hope she falls into a volcano”, or “I hope she gets eaten by sharks falling from the sky. Like Sharknado.”. But like… She kept saying it constantly, out loud in class. She ranted about how she wanted Katie to get kidnapped by the Mafia, be flown up to the moon, and be dropped into a black hole to become “Katie-spaghetti”. It was honestly really funny at first, so me and a few other people in the class joined in a little bit and added our own stupid, childlike scenarios. (Katie has a reputation for being… A slut. That’s why it was funny at first.) But then after this schtick got old, Storm just kept going and going and going… She ranted about Katie until it physically hurt to hear her talk anymore. She was back to being annoying and boring again, but it was worse this time because it was obvious that she was trying to re-kindle our intrigue without realizing that she should move on to something else. Instead of assessing herself, she just kept yapping until everyone rolled their eyes every time she opened her mouth, because we knew she would just keep going on and on about all of the stupid ways she wanted Katie to de. Even the damn teacher told her to stop doing that, but she never listened and the teacher eventually just gave up telling her off (And honestly, I think the teacher started zoning her out.). Katie then gradually started to get more morbid with the things she was saying, to the point where I genuinely considered calling the cops and getting this girl some grippy socks. She talked until she became red-faced, started tweaking, and laughed in a neurotic, nervous angry way while she started wringing out her trembling hands. She genuinely looked and sounded unhinged, and what didn’t help was that she started saying stuff like “There aren’t metal detectors in this school, right?”, and “I wish I wasn’t such a good person, because if I wasn’t, I’d be acting on my impulse to cave her skull in the next time I see her. One of these days I’m going to snap and then just do it..” …Yeah, so I was genuinely considering getting the police involved in this because of those two sentences. Thankfully Katie is safe and sound to this day and Storm never acted on these “impulses”. I’m so glad it worked out that I didn’t have to call the cops, but I was seriously worried for a minute… One of my other friends in that class, (I’ll call him Mark), eventually kinda snapped and called her out for being the annoying piece of crap she is. Quickly, Storm and Mark started getting into arguments just about every day and started throwing things like wads of wrapping-tape at each other, and I was becoming worried that they were going to start actually full-on fighting. It doesn’t sound logical in hindsight, but I ended up taking it upon myself to step in and start acting friendly toward her and listening to her (or pretending to listen to her) just to draw her attention away from him. Pretty soon she started talking mostly to me, and this was intentionally done on my part so that the other people in the class could relax a little bit and start doing whatever on their phones and zone her out instead of having to pretend to listen in agony. Ultimately, it was an exchange that benefited everyone, because after Storme got that angry energy out of her, she shut up for the day. She continued to talk about Katie, but mostly to me. She talked about this topic endlessly, her words getting increasingly violent until Christmas break. Yeah… 5 months. She ranted about the ways she wanted Katie to die for 5 whole months. Months. But then when she was done ranting, she finally shut up. …Oh God, the silence sounded like angels singing. I didn’t even really retain any of the information she spewed onto me, but holy crap, when it was over it was like heaven on Earth. So that’s what I did – I acted like the “lightning rod” for this Storm of a person until it passed (kinda). She wrote a note to Katie explaining “You hurt me really badly, but I’m a Christian so I forgive you and I hope you the best”... As if she didn’t rant about her for 5 months straight. Make it make sense. But enough about that. Here’s where my fck ups began. I gave Storm my number and we quickly started saying that we were friends, though I didn’t actually like her at all and just wanted to keep the peace. We had a few things in common, but I still didn’t like her whatsoever. She continued to rant to me nonstop about Katie, even over text, and I was burnt out listening after a while. So… To dampen the impact of this girl’s obsessive ramblings, I started sending her pictures of my drawings. (I’m an artist). I had characters that I liked to draw that are ocs of an anime fandom (all of which are underage), and she seemed to calm down a bit and hyper-focus on them. She even has a folder in her phone’s gallery completely dedicated to storing my artwork. That’s great and all, but… One day, the topic of Wattpad came up in one of our conversations. I, myself, was one of those cringy Wattpad 12 year olds who made the most illiterate fanfictions ever to be conceived by a human being (They’ve long since been deleted. Thank God, those were awful.) Then… The topic of “Wattpad smut” came up, because I admitted that I used to read those because of the awful grammar and I thought it was funny. I still do sometimes, actually. The way people on Wattpad can’t write to save their lives is just hilarious. Like the stupid “Shrek x Donald Trump” ones are the ones that make me wheeze. I don’t take them seriously, and I love it when the author doesn’t take it seriously either. It’s hilarious. …But then this asshole said: “I don’t like to read bad grammar, it makes me mad. But I do like to read that type of content… For a different reason”. So uhh… That’s… Weird. But then she asked: “Have you found any… Good ones? Do you have any recommendations? Asking for a friend.” …FCK NO. No thank you. Nope, I’m done. No jerkoff material for you, ma’am. Nope. You’re done. Seriously, I put down my phone for a little bit and went outside to go stare at some birds at the bird feeder until my sickness went away. I fell nauseous because of that (though in hindsight, that seems like an overreaction). When I came back, I didn’t answer that question and kinda skated past it, and that seemed to be the end of it. …But there is NEVER an end with Storm. She DID forget about the resolution to that conversation, but since we talked about smut to begin with, she started asking me some questions about my art. She asked if I had ever drawn p0rn in my life. Of course, I didn’t really admit to anything. I skated past it too, but then she said: “I think (character 1) and (character 2) are really cute together… Like… Really, really cute together.”. That’s great, she likes my characters… Cool, cool. And then my worst nightmare: “Have you ever drawn p0rn of them?” …Of course I didn’t, because that would be CP… Plus I’ve never thought of those characters as being “sxual”... They’re literally 14 and 15 years old. Then basically, she made an indirect “suggestion” for me to draw them together. I said fck no. Hell fcking no. She tried to convince me to draw them “aged up”, but again I refused. She eventually dropped it, but since then, she passively talked about things of that nature… Like if she saw a guy she thought was cute, she’d tell me she thought he’s cute or hot or gorgeous or whatever and allude to -other- awkward desires that I didn’t want to know about. She put me off from drawing those characters ever again. I haven’t drawn them since and I don’t take my sketchbook to school anymore because I don’t want her to see my drawings and be reminded of that BS.
But enough about that… Storm is a church-going girl, and so she has a few church-going friends. (This also makes everything I’ve said before all the more ironic.). One day when I was transitioning from my 5th to 6th period, I saw her talking angrily to one of her church friends (I’ll call her Isabelle) outside the school building. Storm was accusing Isabelle of lying about smoking weed/vaping and drinking, and she seemed to be so interested in it that you’d think it had an impact on her personally. Isabelle denied doing that, and they eventually parted ways to go to class. I walked with Storm to 6th period (the Sports Medicine period), and I asked her why she was so damn interested in Isabelle’s habits. Know what she said? Storm said “I just don’t like liars.”... So let me get this straight: She thought she had the right to interrogate someone half to death because she just “doesn’t like liars”? Make that make sense. I’ve heard many stories about how Storm interrogates other people, too. If she sees a guy/girl’s name pop up on the screen of someone she knows, she’ll pester them until they give her one of two answers: either “I’ll tell you later”, or the actual answer. She’s done that to me too, in front of everyone in class. The thing that upsets me about this is that she claims to be “nosy”, but thinks it’s a positive attribute rather than an annoying one. She brags about being “nosy” sometimes.
And the sxual assault… Since we were in a sports medicine class, our projects involved a lot of hands-on things. That didn’t bother me by itself, but with Storm, it was a nightmare. This girl, in the process of strapping an ice bag to my thigh, called my thighs “small”, and said that I have a “beautiful body”. We also did shoulder stretching stuff the next week, and I happened to fall under her care while she stared into my eyes and made weird faces at me, all the while she made sound effects and made the process much more uncomfortable than it needed to be. One week, we ended up as partners again and she ended up wrapping my shoulder. This shoulder-wrap wasn’t an issue for me, but having her as a partner made it an issue. As expected, she made sound effects, but this time she stated the obvious as if it was new information that nobody would have ever suspected: “Wow, this is squishing your boobies huh?”... Emphasis on the word “boobies”. Jesus Fcking Christ, it was already awkward as hell before she even brought that up, why would she say something like that?? I didn’t even realize that until she brought it up. In fear of being subjected to her uncomfortable BS again and feeling violated, I texted her and told her that she’s been making me feel uncomfortable, and to please stop being so…. Weird. I get it’s an awkward thing to wrap up your classmate’s thigh, but that’s a moment to keep comments to yourself. Her response? “I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY-” Just… Stop it. I didn’t introduce the topic as a big deal and told her not to worry about it, but she kept apologizing for it nonstop. Just endlessly, like everything else. Even when I tried to change the subject to something else, she just kept apologizing for it practically until she went to bed. (She has a bedtime at 9:30… At 16 years old.) All of this stuff contributed to my overall hatred toward her. I don’t like her at all, and it’s a wonder I didn’t explode and insult her entire personality and deplorable behavior to her face (Meg Griffin style). Things are just so awkward and awful whenever she opens her mouth, and it just doesn't ever stop. But because of all of this, when it came time for my Senior prom, I decided to secretly invite one of my friends from that class as a plus one, and NOT Storm. I was worried that if I told her that to her face, I would all of a sudden be the new “Katie” in her conversations, because the infraction Katie did was so miniscule that it seemed to be less like a “betrayal” than what I did. (In hindsight, it was probably the other way around.) So… I just kept the whole thing to myself and so did the friend I took to prom (I’ll call her Beyonce. Because… She loves Beyonce.).
…Here’s why I feel bad: Storm doesn’t seem to be emotionally intelligent and is unable to control her mouth whenever she feels strong emotions. She talks nonstop about her second cousin’s friend’s pet hamster’s wife’s sister’s drama, hoping we’ll find something funny or interesting or impressive, while seeming unable to understand that she needs to change her tune. All she wants is to be listened to and understood, but nobody can and nobody truly wants to. She feigns confidence and goes overboard with compliments in the hopes of catching the attention of people who want to be friends with her. She’s not used to change and is very naive, to the point where (just yesterday) she quit her job at a fast food restaurant after only the first day of working there. For the longest time she didn’t have access to the internet, so she doesn’t really have a means to connect with other people through sharing videos or memes or whatever. …I feel like a bad person because I knowingly, intentionally played into all of this just for the pathetic reason of making her shut up in class. It’s despicable what I did, and I’m beating myself up for it every day. I was just originally going to leave the school, block her and never talk to her ever again in my life, but when she made that joke about her brother, I decided (stupidly) to take it upon myself to be the bearer of bad news. I gave her a letter. Within the “hate letter”, it isn’t actually hate, per se. It’s more like… A report on the behavior she needs to fix, as well as an admission to my lies over the course of this whole year. I told her the awful truth. I told her about everything I mentioned in this post and tried to keep it “professional”, though I did end up going as far as to say “you have all of the attributes of an obnoxious piece of stale bread”........... And what’s worse is… I told her to read it on the last day of school, and my reasoning is pathetic at best. I told her to read it on the last day of school because I didn’t want her to burden the class with her nonstop ranting about me, since she, Mark and Beyonce are sophomores and I’m the only senior in the “friend group”, which means that I left the school an entire week earlier than them. I’ve been intentionally delaying her pain and still talking to her over text acting like things are “normal” so that she doesn’t read it early, knowing damn well that on that last day of school, my words are going to hurt her so badly that she might not be able to recover for a while. In the letter, I told her that by the time she reads it, I would have already blocked her because I don’t want any more conversation with her due to me feeling so bad and having nothing more to say. If the plan goes right, she’ll read it on May 23rd, and on that day I will block her.
submitted by CroweGhost to AITA_WIBTA_PUBLIC [link] [comments]
(TLDR: This girl I was pretending to be friends with in High School obsessively fantasized about murdering someone for an entire semester, is overbearing as a person, interrogates people on a daily basis and is nosy, injects herself into drama that isn’t her own, throws temper tantrums when she doesn’t get her way, constantly touches people and makes unwarranted comments about girl’s bodies, asked me to draw CP for her, and MADE FUN OF HER SUICIDAL BROTHER. And I wrote a hate-letter telling her that all of this stuff is a problem, but now I feel bad about it because I think she might actually have mental issues. It’s a really wild ride and a long story, so if you choose to read it, you should expect to be here for a while. And it’s High School drama, so I’ll try to discard the boring details.)
At the beginning of this year, I ended up in a small Sports Medicine class with literally 8 students total in it. That made things quiet, which gave us some room to start talking and getting to know each other after the teacher was done with the lesson and we had our small hands-on tests and assignments out of the way. (The classes took about 20 minutes every day. Really quick and easy. Laid back. It met curriculum requirements actually, because there wasn’t constant bullshit from other students making the lesson longer.). There’s this girl, who… I’ll call her Storm. You’ll find out why. Storm quickly became the most annoying person in the class. Any time she talked, she didn’t have anything interesting to say, but just kept going on and on and on endlessly. It was annoying, but we just kinda played along to be nice. Well… Around a month into school, Storme started opening up and became comfortable talking about personal topics. She told us this story about how one of her other friends (I’ll call her Katie) “betrayed” her the previous year, and then went on to talk about how much she hated Katie and didn’t care if she lived or died. (Honestly, Katie’s offense was miniscule. At most, she replaced Storm with someone else as her best friend. You know… Regular High School drama that wasn’t that deep. I honestly forgot all of what Katie did because it was just so miniscule.) Then Storme started saying ludicrous stuff like “I hope she falls into a volcano”, or “I hope she gets eaten by sharks falling from the sky. Like Sharknado.”. But like… She kept saying it constantly, out loud in class. She ranted about how she wanted Katie to get kidnapped by the Mafia, be flown up to the moon, and be dropped into a black hole to become “Katie-spaghetti”. It was honestly really funny at first, so me and a few other people in the class joined in a little bit and added our own stupid, childlike scenarios. (Katie has a reputation for being… A slut. That’s why it was funny at first.) But then after this schtick got old, Storm just kept going and going and going… She ranted about Katie until it physically hurt to hear her talk anymore. She was back to being annoying and boring again, but it was worse this time because it was obvious that she was trying to re-kindle our intrigue without realizing that she should move on to something else. Instead of assessing herself, she just kept yapping until everyone rolled their eyes every time she opened her mouth, because we knew she would just keep going on and on about all of the stupid ways she wanted Katie to de. Even the damn teacher told her to stop doing that, but she never listened and the teacher eventually just gave up telling her off (And honestly, I think the teacher started zoning her out.). Katie then gradually started to get more morbid with the things she was saying, to the point where I genuinely considered calling the cops and getting this girl some grippy socks. She talked until she became red-faced, started tweaking, and laughed in a neurotic, nervous angry way while she started wringing out her trembling hands. She genuinely looked and sounded unhinged, and what didn’t help was that she started saying stuff like “There aren’t metal detectors in this school, right?”, and “I wish I wasn’t such a good person, because if I wasn’t, I’d be acting on my impulse to cave her skull in the next time I see her. One of these days I’m going to snap and then just do it..” …Yeah, so I was genuinely considering getting the police involved in this because of those two sentences. Thankfully Katie is safe and sound to this day and Storm never acted on these “impulses”. I’m so glad it worked out that I didn’t have to call the cops, but I was seriously worried for a minute… One of my other friends in that class, (I’ll call him Mark), eventually kinda snapped and called her out for being the annoying piece of crap she is. Quickly, Storm and Mark started getting into arguments just about every day and started throwing things like wads of wrapping-tape at each other, and I was becoming worried that they were going to start actually full-on fighting. It doesn’t sound logical in hindsight, but I ended up taking it upon myself to step in and start acting friendly toward her and listening to her (or pretending to listen to her) just to draw her attention away from him. Pretty soon she started talking mostly to me, and this was intentionally done on my part so that the other people in the class could relax a little bit and start doing whatever on their phones and zone her out instead of having to pretend to listen in agony. Ultimately, it was an exchange that benefited everyone, because after Storme got that angry energy out of her, she shut up for the day. She continued to talk about Katie, but mostly to me. She talked about this topic endlessly, her words getting increasingly violent until Christmas break. Yeah… 5 months. She ranted about the ways she wanted Katie to die for 5 whole months. Months. But then when she was done ranting, she finally shut up. …Oh God, the silence sounded like angels singing. I didn’t even really retain any of the information she spewed onto me, but holy crap, when it was over it was like heaven on Earth. So that’s what I did – I acted like the “lightning rod” for this Storm of a person until it passed (kinda). She wrote a note to Katie explaining “You hurt me really badly, but I’m a Christian so I forgive you and I hope you the best”... As if she didn’t rant about her for 5 months straight. Make it make sense. But enough about that. Here’s where my fck ups began. I gave Storm my number and we quickly started saying that we were friends, though I didn’t actually like her at all and just wanted to keep the peace. We had a few things in common, but I still didn’t like her whatsoever. She continued to rant to me nonstop about Katie, even over text, and I was burnt out listening after a while. So… To dampen the impact of this girl’s obsessive ramblings, I started sending her pictures of my drawings. (I’m an artist). I had characters that I liked to draw that are ocs of an anime fandom (all of which are underage), and she seemed to calm down a bit and hyper-focus on them. She even has a folder in her phone’s gallery completely dedicated to storing my artwork. That’s great and all, but… One day, the topic of Wattpad came up in one of our conversations. I, myself, was one of those cringy Wattpad 12 year olds who made the most illiterate fanfictions ever to be conceived by a human being (They’ve long since been deleted. Thank God, those were awful.) Then… The topic of “Wattpad smut” came up, because I admitted that I used to read those because of the awful grammar and I thought it was funny. I still do sometimes, actually. The way people on Wattpad can’t write to save their lives is just hilarious. Like the stupid “Shrek x Donald Trump” ones are the ones that make me wheeze. I don’t take them seriously, and I love it when the author doesn’t take it seriously either. It’s hilarious. …But then this asshole said: “I don’t like to read bad grammar, it makes me mad. But I do like to read that type of content… For a different reason”. So uhh… That’s… Weird. But then she asked: “Have you found any… Good ones? Do you have any recommendations? Asking for a friend.” …FCK NO. No thank you. Nope, I’m done. No jerkoff material for you, ma’am. Nope. You’re done. Seriously, I put down my phone for a little bit and went outside to go stare at some birds at the bird feeder until my sickness went away. I fell nauseous because of that (though in hindsight, that seems like an overreaction). When I came back, I didn’t answer that question and kinda skated past it, and that seemed to be the end of it. …But there is NEVER an end with Storm. She DID forget about the resolution to that conversation, but since we talked about smut to begin with, she started asking me some questions about my art. She asked if I had ever drawn p0rn in my life. Of course, I didn’t really admit to anything. I skated past it too, but then she said: “I think (character 1) and (character 2) are really cute together… Like… Really, really cute together.”. That’s great, she likes my characters… Cool, cool. And then my worst nightmare: “Have you ever drawn p0rn of them?” …Of course I didn’t, because that would be CP… Plus I’ve never thought of those characters as being “sxual”... They’re literally 14 and 15 years old. Then basically, she made an indirect “suggestion” for me to draw them together. I said fck no. Hell fcking no. She tried to convince me to draw them “aged up”, but again I refused. She eventually dropped it, but since then, she passively talked about things of that nature… Like if she saw a guy she thought was cute, she’d tell me she thought he’s cute or hot or gorgeous or whatever and allude to -other- awkward desires that I didn’t want to know about. She put me off from drawing those characters ever again. I haven’t drawn them since and I don’t take my sketchbook to school anymore because I don’t want her to see my drawings and be reminded of that BS.
But enough about that… Storm is a church-going girl, and so she has a few church-going friends. (This also makes everything I’ve said before all the more ironic.). One day when I was transitioning from my 5th to 6th period, I saw her talking angrily to one of her church friends (I’ll call her Isabelle) outside the school building. Storm was accusing Isabelle of lying about smoking weed/vaping and drinking, and she seemed to be so interested in it that you’d think it had an impact on her personally. Isabelle denied doing that, and they eventually parted ways to go to class. I walked with Storm to 6th period (the Sports Medicine period), and I asked her why she was so damn interested in Isabelle’s habits. Know what she said? Storm said “I just don’t like liars.”... So let me get this straight: She thought she had the right to interrogate someone half to death because she just “doesn’t like liars”? Make that make sense. I’ve heard many stories about how Storm interrogates other people, too. If she sees a guy/girl’s name pop up on the screen of someone she knows, she’ll pester them until they give her one of two answers: either “I’ll tell you later”, or the actual answer. She’s done that to me too, in front of everyone in class. The thing that upsets me about this is that she claims to be “nosy”, but thinks it’s a positive attribute rather than an annoying one. She brags about being “nosy” sometimes.
And the sxual assault… Since we were in a sports medicine class, our projects involved a lot of hands-on things. That didn’t bother me by itself, but with Storm, it was a nightmare. This girl, in the process of strapping an ice bag to my thigh, called my thighs “small”, and said that I have a “beautiful body”. We also did shoulder stretching stuff the next week, and I happened to fall under her care while she stared into my eyes and made weird faces at me, all the while she made sound effects and made the process much more uncomfortable than it needed to be. One week, we ended up as partners again and she ended up wrapping my shoulder. This shoulder-wrap wasn’t an issue for me, but having her as a partner made it an issue. As expected, she made sound effects, but this time she stated the obvious as if it was new information that nobody would have ever suspected: “Wow, this is squishing your boobies huh?”... Emphasis on the word “boobies”. Jesus Fcking Christ, it was already awkward as hell before she even brought that up, why would she say something like that?? I didn’t even realize that until she brought it up. In fear of being subjected to her uncomfortable BS again and feeling violated, I texted her and told her that she’s been making me feel uncomfortable, and to please stop being so…. Weird. I get it’s an awkward thing to wrap up your classmate’s thigh, but that’s a moment to keep comments to yourself. Her response? “I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY I’M SORRY-” Just… Stop it. I didn’t introduce the topic as a big deal and told her not to worry about it, but she kept apologizing for it nonstop. Just endlessly, like everything else. Even when I tried to change the subject to something else, she just kept apologizing for it practically until she went to bed. (She has a bedtime at 9:30… At 16 years old.) All of this stuff contributed to my overall hatred toward her. I don’t like her at all, and it’s a wonder I didn’t explode and insult her entire personality and deplorable behavior to her face (Meg Griffin style). Things are just so awkward and awful whenever she opens her mouth, and it just doesn't ever stop. But because of all of this, when it came time for my Senior prom, I decided to secretly invite one of my friends from that class as a plus one, and NOT Storm. I was worried that if I told her that to her face, I would all of a sudden be the new “Katie” in her conversations, because the infraction Katie did was so miniscule that it seemed to be less like a “betrayal” than what I did. (In hindsight, it was probably the other way around.) So… I just kept the whole thing to myself and so did the friend I took to prom (I’ll call her Beyonce. Because… She loves Beyonce.).
If this wasn’t bad enough, strap in because not even three weeks ago, Beyonce was doing her usual schtick of making fun of random things. She once made fun of cool whip and the entire state of Texas at the same time and somehow made it make perfect sense. She should really have a comedy show, I swear. But this time, Beyonce was making fun of the name “Gage”, saying “Why would anyone name their kid after a 12-gage shotgun?” and “People named Gage seem untrustworthy. I wouldn’t want to be near one in a zombie apocalypse, because he’d just feed me to those f*ckers.”. Funny stuff. Storm then said “My brother’s name is Gage”, and in order to preserve the flow of the conversation (and also to tick her off a little, I’m ngl), Beyonce asked her: “Is your brother untrustworthy?” And then without a single millisecond wasted, she said, in a Disney Channel comedy fashion: “Welll… We can’t trust him with his own life, sooo…”.. And then she laughed as if it was funny. Like.. Rib-stitches type of laughing. ….So then the others (understandably) went quiet, which left only me and her talking for a moment after her laughter quieted down. She complained about how confused she is that nobody finds her joke funny, and said that her joke had the “perfect timing and everything”... So then my idiot ass decided to say what I was thinking at that moment: “You don’t seem to be taking it seriously. That’s your brother, but you don’t sound sympathetic at all.” She tried to “defend” herself, but Mark interjected into the conversation and changed the course of it entirely, which just left her to sit there in silence, pouting. I felt bad for that statement, so I apologized for it over text when I got home from school. Quickly, we erupted into an argument, (with me holding back), and she ended up saying “What does it matter to you? He’s not your brother. If Beyonce said that about her brother, you’d laugh. But when I do, it’s bad.”. Beyonce’s brother is 8 years old…. So no, that would be even worse. …So then I had to explain to her how human decency works, and how making fun of your s*icidal siblings isn’t funny whatsoever and how that joke could be considered to be in very poor taste, even for people who like dark humor. When me, Beyonce or Mark made “s*icide” jokes, it was about OURSELVES and it was usually in a statement like “I don’t want to take a test next period, I’m gonna kms.”... …Storm ended up getting so mad that we weren’t having a conversation anymore; we were just throwing sh*t around. I told her that if she was being livestreamed at that moment, she’d be bashed on the whole internet for a week or so and be called “evil” for that joke. In hindsight I shouldn’t have said that, but my goal was just to tell her how insensitive others might perceive her comment to be. She said that it wasn’t my business to tell her how to feel about her own brother, but I wasn’t doing that at all, that wasn’t my angle whatsoever – I was just explaining what people find funny. I even said repeatedly that I wasn’t trying to tell her how to feel, and that I know comedy can help lighten situations, but somehow she forgot about that part. And then she went on this whole thing about ending every massive text block with “Not that it’s YOUR business, or anything” to snap at me, despite me being in the room at the time of the joke... So I ended the conversation right then and there because it was pointless to keep going and I really didn’t want to spend any more energy on her. The next day, I apologized to her again. I retracted my statements and told her that I was sorry for talking out of line. She accepted the apology, and things went back to “normal”. She forgot about it, but I didn’t. …So here are the reasons why I feel bad, before I delve into the contents of the “hate letter” I wrote to her. Here’s a list of my crimes:I pretended to be her friend for an entire school year. I hid the fact that I was going to prom with Beyonce from her, and then lied to her face repeatedly whenever she asked if I went to prom or not. I got into business that wasn’t my own and criticized her. I wrote a hate-letter to her that I directed her to read at home on the last day of school.
…Here’s why I feel bad: Storm doesn’t seem to be emotionally intelligent and is unable to control her mouth whenever she feels strong emotions. She talks nonstop about her second cousin’s friend’s pet hamster’s wife’s sister’s drama, hoping we’ll find something funny or interesting or impressive, while seeming unable to understand that she needs to change her tune. All she wants is to be listened to and understood, but nobody can and nobody truly wants to. She feigns confidence and goes overboard with compliments in the hopes of catching the attention of people who want to be friends with her. She’s not used to change and is very naive, to the point where (just yesterday) she quit her job at a fast food restaurant after only the first day of working there. For the longest time she didn’t have access to the internet, so she doesn’t really have a means to connect with other people through sharing videos or memes or whatever. …I feel like a bad person because I knowingly, intentionally played into all of this just for the pathetic reason of making her shut up in class. It’s despicable what I did, and I’m beating myself up for it every day. I was just originally going to leave the school, block her and never talk to her ever again in my life, but when she made that joke about her brother, I decided (stupidly) to take it upon myself to be the bearer of bad news. I gave her a letter. Within the “hate letter”, it isn’t actually hate, per se. It’s more like… A report on the behavior she needs to fix, as well as an admission to my lies over the course of this whole year. I told her the awful truth. I told her about everything I mentioned in this post and tried to keep it “professional”, though I did end up going as far as to say “you have all of the attributes of an obnoxious piece of stale bread”........... And what’s worse is… I told her to read it on the last day of school, and my reasoning is pathetic at best. I told her to read it on the last day of school because I didn’t want her to burden the class with her nonstop ranting about me, since she, Mark and Beyonce are sophomores and I’m the only senior in the “friend group”, which means that I left the school an entire week earlier than them. I’ve been intentionally delaying her pain and still talking to her over text acting like things are “normal” so that she doesn’t read it early, knowing damn well that on that last day of school, my words are going to hurt her so badly that she might not be able to recover for a while. In the letter, I told her that by the time she reads it, I would have already blocked her because I don’t want any more conversation with her due to me feeling so bad and having nothing more to say. If the plan goes right, she’ll read it on May 23rd, and on that day I will block her.
I feel awful for all of this. I feel like a monster for this. It’s painful knowing that I’m going to cause her pain and that I planned when it’s going to happen, but at the same time I feel like she deserves it. But at the same time, I know damn well that it wasn’t my place to do that. I should have left everything alone. Nobody I can talk to irl would even hear me out; they’d just stop at the words “hate letter”, which means my only option is to seek advice from people on Reddit. Do my motives for doing things make sense? Am I actually a bad person for this? Am I the asshole? Does she deserve what she’s getting?
2024.05.21 19:26 MWBartko Considerations on Sexual Immorality, Gender Identity, and my friends Non-Denominational Church.
Considerations on Sexual Immorality, Gender Identity, and my friends Non-Denominational Church.
A good friend of mine from a fairly conservative evangelical background is considering becoming a pastor at his non-denominational church. As part of the evaluation process, they asked him to write a paper on these topics that he is not an expert on.
He asked for my opinion and I offered to share it online to solicit constructive criticism, notes of encouragement, and or reading recommendations on these topics.
I believe his goal is to be faithful to the scriptures, loving to those outside the church, and challenging to those inside the church, as most of us could do better.
What he wrote is in the quotation marks below.
“1: Scope of the Issue
Sexual immorality has become a besetting and ubiquitous issue in our culture and in our churches. While many aspects of it are not novel or unique to this time and have clear scriptural input, there are others that bring challenges to our church for which we don’t have obvious precedent. The main point of these comments is to try and answer three questions with some degree of specificity: (1) how do we make ourselves a place where people who do not know Christ will feel welcome to come and learn of Him regardless of where they come from, (2) how do we pastorally care for people who have come in to the church with pre-existing circumstances related to sexual immorality, and (3) how do we equip our members to represent Christ to those in their lives that are dealing with these issues. We want to do this in a way that does not “walk a tight rope” or compromise to appease, but honors Scripture in its commands to both show compassion and exhort and correct. We must recognize that every individual circumstance is unique, and many will require careful and prayerful consideration, but this is meant to give a framework for that consideration.
2: Scriptural Basis for Corporate Response
There are many references we can point to that discuss and define sexual immorality throughout Scripture and many of these will be used below as we consider specific examples and situations. Let us start, however, by looking at passages that deal with corporate response rather than individual sin. It is clear that the Corinthian church had significant issues in this area, and much of Paul’s first letter was devoted to it. In chapter 5, Paul states that when sexual immorality is discovered in the church we should “mourn” over it and “not to associate with immoral people.” Importantly, he also makes clear in vv. 9-13 that these comments only apply to those “who bears the name of brother.” He explicitly writes, “not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world…for what have I to do with judging outsiders?” This is key in informing our response to those who are not members of the church. If it is our desire to see sinners come through our doors and come to know our Savior through our ministry, then we must be welcoming, accepting them where they are. This is not to say we hide or compromise the biblical position, but it is not an issue on which we want to filter people at the door. There are three categories of people in sexual sin that we need to form a response for. First, those just coming to the church who have not committed to it – these should be treated the same as any we are reaching out to with Christ’s love. They need Jesus, not behavioral change. Next, those who have recently joined the church but have pre-existing sexual sin patterns. This can and should be addressed with patience, dignity, and love. There are often many sin areas in the life of a new believer, and it is prudent to discern how and when to address each of them. Lastly, those who have been members in the church for some amount of time and fall into sexual sin. This is the group that Paul is primarily addressing in 1 Corinthians. While sex within marriage is a private issue, sexual sin cannot be a taboo topic. It needs to be addressed regularly and clearly. We need close enough relationships within the church that such problems do not fester in the dark. We must avoid the typical church pattern to vilify the first group, never see the second group, and pretend the third group doesn’t exist until it all blows up in scandal. May it never be.
3: Consistency Issue
There is a tendency in our Christian culture to treat some sexual sins as worse than others. Like the Corinthians, some things we seem to have accepted as just ubiquitous parts of our culture. Knowing the prevalence of promiscuity and fornication among teens and single adults and usage of pornography even within the church, we tend to address these as issues of indwelling sin, similar to anger or fear of man, with offers of accountability and understanding when someone falls. By contrast, when it comes to homosexuality or adultery, it is often a church discipline issue. We view homosexual marriage as a major problem, but remarriage after a non-biblical divorce is rarely addressed. These inconsistencies lead to stigmatization and polarization and should have no place in the church. The criterion for escalation should be unrepentance, not the nature of the sexual sin. It is clear from 1 Corinthians that all should be taken seriously, but none should be vilified above others.
4: Culture and Identity
The major underlying problem with many of the sexual sin and gender issues is that they have come to be culturally bound up with people’s identities. This is not a new phenomenon and is not unique to this issue. As far back as Acts 19, you see people becoming “enraged” because Paul had threatened the Ephesians’ cultural identity as worshipers of Artemis. People continue to find their primary identities in their employment, hobbies, sports teams, or families rather than Christ. None of these should be accepted, but none should be reviled either. If a person does not know Jesus, they are dead. How they identify themselves is of no concern. Once they have been made alive, they can be taught that “whose” they are is more important than “who” they are. All identity outside of Christ is not sinful, but if it takes paramount importance, it may become so. A person who recognizes a tendency toward same sex attraction may label themselves as gay or lesbian. This should not be considered a sin issue unless it becomes, for them, their defining characteristic or leads to sinful actions. We should recognize the difficulty of this struggle and support such a person rather than get hung up on labels. There must be clear distinction between identifying same sex attraction and engaging in homosexual behavior. These should be the guiding principles underlying everything that follows are regards individual cases.
5: Public Facing Information, Guests, and New Attendees
Considering what we have discussed, and Paul’s assertion in 1 Corinthians 5 that we ought to reserve judgment on sexual immorality to those we call brother, I would submit that public facing information regarding the church (i.e. website, app, etc) should not publish a position on sexual immorality, marriage, and gender identity. Doing so effectively places the filter at the door so that people who do not know Christ may be turned away from it. This is not tantamount to tacit approval. In appropriate contexts within the church, these topics should still be discussed and addressed, but I do not believe it is consistent with a biblical treatment of unbelievers to place it in a public facing forum. If we have guests or new regular attendees who appear to be engaged in a cohabitating or fornicating relationship, a homosexual relationship, or other sexual sin, this should not be a priority to address unless we have discerned that they are believers and join the church. Even then, it is important to draw a distinction between someone who deals with same-sex attraction and someone who engages in homosexual behavior. The next seven points are meant to discuss, in broad terms, how we should address those who join the church with pre-existing relationships or identity issues:
6: Promiscuity, Cohabitation – Hebrews 13:4, 1 Cor 7:1-2, Ex 22:16
Much of the biblical discussion on promiscuity is by inference. Clearly, sex was meant to be inseparably linked to marriage and outside of that context should be considered immoral. For those who join the church already in a sexual relationship who are unmarried we should apply Exodus 22:16 and encourage them to marry as soon as possible. If they do not wish to marry, they should be encouraged to separate. Paul acknowledges in 1 Cor 7:2 that marriage is the best remedy for “temptation to sexual immorality.”
7: Adultery, Divorce and Remarriage – Matt 5:32, Matt 19:9, 1 Cor 7:10-11
This issue is given much more explicit biblical instruction but is often glossed over in our Christian culture due to the messy landscape of divorces and remarriages. In cases where non-biblical divorce has occurred, if reconciliation is possible, this should be pursued. If reconciliation is impossible because one or more parties have remarried, it would not be sensible to divorce again in order to achieve reconciliation. The principle to apply here, I believe, is from 1 Cor 7:17-24 summarized in verse 20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” This is not an ideal circumstance, but it is the best way forward in an imperfect world. Of note, polygamy was common in the culture of the early church, and while not ideal, was accepted by the church, as evidenced by the qualifications for elder to be “a husband of but one wife.” We have polygamous cultures even within our local community and if they came to Christ, we should not counsel them to divorce all but one wife and thus disrupt their social structure. It is not ideal and would disqualify them from eldership, but they should remain as they are. Whether marriage after unbiblical divorce in the past disqualifies a man from eldership is a case-by case question for the eldership.
8: Pornography, Sensuality, and Lust – Lev 18:6-18, Matt 5:28
As mentioned above, use of pornography has reached a high saturation point within our culture and within our church. While once thought of as simply a male issue, there is a growing trend toward gender parity in pornography usage. It is an issue that should be discussed with some frequency within our church. For those that join the church and view pornography regularly, it needs to be made clear that while the world has largely destigmatized it, it is still sexual immorality. Furthermore, this isn’t just limited to nudity and pornography, but any sensuality that leads to looking at someone “with lustful intent” is the heart equivalent of adultery according to Matt 5:28. In our culture, it is not possible to avoid such things by just turning away. We need to address the heart issues of idolatry, selfishness, and satisfaction in Christ. Practically, how should we deal with those who have on-going struggles with pornography, sensuality and lust? Should this preclude them from eldership? From deaconship? Taken strictly, this would preclude nearly all men from eldership. These require individual evaluation from the elders, but a guiding principle should be, if the person is repentant and there is evidence of growth in their life, we should consider more responsibility and continued discipleship.
9: Homosexuality – Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, 1 Cor 6:9, 1 Tim 1:8-11
From the above references and others, it is evident that homosexual behavior is sexual sin. We cannot equivocate on that point. As we have discussed above, if a person who is already a believer and in the church and struggles with same sex attraction, we should approach them as we would handle anyone who is sexually attracted to someone to whom they are not married. If such a person decides that homosexuality is not sinful and begins sexually immoral activity, we should deal with them in the same way as any member who falls into unrepentant sin and go through the processes of correction and, if necessary, of church discipline. It is important that we draw a distinction between same sex attraction and homosexual behavior. We can do tremendous harm by demonizing same sex attraction and creating a taboo around it. A person who is struggling to abstain from homosexual behavior should be supported and encouraged. I believe Paul’s strong statements about not associating with sexually immoral people applies to those who remain unrepentant. Much more nuanced is the issue of how we address those that join the church already in a homosexual relationship. What about the married homosexual couple who join the church with their adopted child? Should we break up their family? I believe, in this case, the same principle should apply as to those who have gone through an unbiblical divorce in the past. We should apply 1 Cor 7:20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” We can recognize that this is not ideal, but it is the best we can do in a fallen world just as we do with someone who is married after unbiblical divorce. Whether should apply to a homosexual couple in a long term committed relationship who are not legally married would be an individual discussion with the elders. Again, these are nuanced cases that will need individual prayer, discussion, and discernment. I believe a great deal more patience is called for when a new believer joins the church that has a history or present reality of homosexuality, even if they are unrepentant at first, believing that homosexuality is not sinful, than we would demonstrate to a person who has been in the church for a period of time and then decides to pursue a homosexual relationship.
10: Bisexuality – Heb 13:4
Bisexual attraction is no more or less of an issue than anyone who finds that they are sexually attracted to someone other than their spouse. This is not a rare or unique circumstance, even within the church. Someone who is practicing bisexuality is, by definition, not confining sex to the marriage bed, and this, therefore, qualifies as sexual immorality. The issue, here again, is one of identity and cultural acceptance. If a person “identifies as bisexual,” the real issue is not the bisexuality, but the fact that they identify themselves primarily by their sexual desires, and not by Christ. It would be equally a problem if they “identified as heterosexual” and that was seen as their defining characteristic. If such a person were to join the church, our priority should be in helping them see their identity in Christ rather than focusing on renouncing their sexual preference.
11: Transgenderism/Non-binarism – Psalm 139: 13-15
It should be noted that the next two points should not be considered in the category of sexual immorality, but as they are connected to the same cultural moment will be discussed here. It should further be remarked that transgenderism is a modern issue with no direct reference in Scripture. It is a challenging issue that often falls prey to oversimplification and scapegoating. It is not sufficient to simply state that a person should identify with their born gender. There are those born with ambiguous genitalia and those born with sex chromosome abnormalities such that “born gender” is not necessarily accurate. These occur with a frequency of 1 in 448 births on average which is not particularly rare. The majority of people who consider themselves to be transgender do not fall into these categories, but the fact remains that these categories exist. Unless we plan to embark on genetic testing, we must be careful how we assert someone’s gender assignment. Furthermore, we must acknowledge that much of the gender confusion in our culture is due to a distortion of biblically accurate masculinity and femininity in our culture of which the church has been widely supportive for generations. Many transgender and non-binary individuals consider themselves so because they do not fit into the traditional boxes our culture has created for the genders. The church can start by recognizing that these boxes are incorrect. We can also acknowledge that gender differences and roles are far less important than most human cultures perceive. Christ himself challenged many gender norms in his ministry and Paul maintains “…there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28b) It is much more difficult to recognize this issue as a sin issue than many of the above concerns. If someone wishes to be addressed by different pronouns than they once did or dress differently than they once did, this does not amount to immorality. Once again, this can be an idolatrous identity issue if the person sees it as the central characteristic of their lives. There is often an inherent pride in asserting that such a person does not feel they fit in the body created for them, but if they come to love Jesus and understand and believe that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” then this issue may become moot. Whether or not they revert to dressing differently or using pronouns they did when they were younger is largely immaterial. This also addresses the issue of people who may have undergone permanent physical changes. While we should not endorse such modification if it is being considered, there is no reason to reverse such a thing in order to return to a base state. We must recognize that this is a group that has a high propensity toward mental health concerns, instability, and suicidality. They need love, support and prayer, not scapegoating and extra-biblical expectations of conforming to a cultural norm. We must further note that this group as well as the homosexual group have often experienced psychological and even physical harm from others in our culture, sometimes in the name of Christ. We must foster an environment of champions physical and psychological safety for these people.
12: Asexuality – 1 Cor 7:25-38
Asexuality also should not be considered sexual immorality. There is, in fact, wide support in Paul’s letters such as in 1 Cor 7 for people, if they are able, to remain unmarried and be “anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.” We tend to champion the model of the nuclear family in our Christian culture, but Paul sees chaste singleness as a better way. There should be no pressure from the church to make sure that single people pair off and get married because it is expected of them. As this state has been culturally identified with the LGBTQIA movement, it is seen on the same spectrum as the sexual immorality and gender issues discussed above, but it is not. It can still fall prey to the same issue of an idolatrous identity as some of the above issues, but it need not be so.
13: Glass Ceiling
In the event that God sees fit to bring people from these subgroups into our church, there would inevitably be a glass ceiling. The question is at what point. The four logical points are: regular attender, member, deacon, and elder. Regardless of their background or position, all should be welcome to be a regular attender. It is also clear, from the biblical requirements for eldership, that on-going problems or engagement in any of the sexual sins would disqualify them from that post. The middle two are less clear. I would submit that the bar for membership should be very low. This step, in my opinion, is when they would “bear the name of brother” and not before. Even if they disagree about the sinful nature of homosexuality, this should not disallow them from becoming members as long as they agree to submit to the churches position and not cause division. Allowing them to become members gives us the pastoral authority to speak into their lives, and we would hope that over time the Spirit would work in their hearts to convince them of the truth. Putting such a person in a deacon role would probably not be wise but would need to be evaluated prayerfully on a case-by-case basis. The difficulty here is that, while a position on homosexuality is not a salvific issue and should not be considered a core doctrine in the same way as the deity of Christ, for example, it is a sin issue. There is a limit to how far we can “agree to disagree” and still uphold our duty to root out sin in our midst. Once again, we should also distinguish between a struggle with same sex attraction and engagement in homosexual behavior when we consider our response. There is also a glass ceiling when it comes to marriage. While I believe we should not break up existing homosexual marriages, we should not participate in creating them. The marriage covenant between a man and woman was created, in part, to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph 5). This should not be co-opted to excuse or normalize immorality.
14: Nuance and Edge Cases
The above outline is by no means meant to be exhaustive or definitive. It is meant to provide a lens, supported by scripture, through which we can view these issues and consider corporate and pastoral responses. It should inform how we view the people that walk through the door from a wide range of backgrounds and how we equip those in our church to be Christ’s ambassadors to those in our community. Every person and circumstance, history and baggage will be different, and any non-nuanced position would be inherently evil. I pray we have many opportunities to talk, think and pray through specific situations that God would bless us with the chance to be a part of. What an honor it would be to be used to reach into broken lives like these with the Gospel of Grace.
15: Action Steps
As we consider practical and philosophical ways of responding to the above, I believe we should start from a position of corporate repentance. If we wish to truly reach out and touch the lives of broken people in need of a Savior who live a life of same sex attraction or gender dysphoria, we need to begin by recognizing that a great deal of harm, emotional and physical, has been inflicted on this group by the Church for generations. There are homeless people living in our area who were kicked out of their homes by parents holding a Bible. There are those who have been subjected to horrific methods that amount to torture under the guise of “Conversion Therapy” from Christian organizations. The only “conversion” we should concern ourselves with is to a regenerate heart. Attempting to change someone’s sexual attraction is very much beside the point. We cannot hope to be a place where such people can hear about Jesus unless they feel safe to enter our doors. We must also fight the tendency to consider sin in this area as something worse than others, even in non-Christians. James 2 says “…For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it….So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” As we consider corporate and pastoral responses to the argument above, we must start by removing our own planks and repenting for the historical actions of the Church.
Practical steps that we could consider taking would include: removing the statements from the website about marriage and sexuality, especially directly under our Core Beliefs. Again, this is not meant to hide or equivocate on the truth, but not to set such a barrier before someone even walks through our door. Secondly, we should consider how to address these topics within the church. A Sunday morning sermon is not ideal as it is time limited and a unidirectional conversation. A small group course format would be a consideration. We need to equip parents and family members of adolescents, teens, and adults with language to talk about these things in loving, humble, God-honoring ways. In the longer term, we need to consider how we can make our church a place where people would feel comfortable inviting friends and family who look, think and act differently than we do. We need to find a way of projecting safety and inclusion even in our public facing information. This isn’t a balancing act where we must make it clear early and often that we “love the sinner but hate the sin” as the saying goes. We just need to love the sinner. Dealing with the sin can come later God-willing. A third application point is to be mindful of what we say and what we allow to be said without being checked. Certainly, joking at the expense of those who are dealing with these issues is unacceptable, but we also need to work to avoid getting dragged in to pseudo-political discussions on bathroom issues, sports issues or other divisive concerns that have no bearing on the church.
I recognize that these proposals have the potential to divide the church. There are some who may leave the body over these sorts of changes. I would argue that it is our responsibility to them as well as to the unreached in our community to have those discussions and risk some of them leaving over it. These are not all things we should change overnight but after ample opportunities for discussions and prayer.
16: Conclusion – Mark 2:15-17
At its core, these are not issues of who someone loves, sexual attraction, or even specific sex acts. The core is idolatry and identity. When acceptance by others, self-determination, or physical pleasure become the central force driving our lives then we have become idolators. Though our idols take on different shapes, the struggles in this space are shared by all. Whether you are identified by your profession, your family, or your gender identity, you are not being identified by your Master. Building fences around or within the church because someone sins in a different way than us cannot be allowed. Making the excuse that we are somehow “protecting our children” by shielding them from people in our community who desperately need a Savior will not show our children who Jesus is. Within the church, we cannot be afraid to “speak the truth in love.” We need not and cannot shy away from sin in the church, but we must recognize that the Spirit works in each of our lives. Often this happens over a period of time. We should be prepared to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in this journey for as long as they need.
There is a significant correlation between this community and their relationship with religious groups, and the “tax collectors and sinners” that Jesus sought out in His ministry and their relationship with the religious leaders of the day. Our heart should reflect His. Jesus responded: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) If our church was filled with transgender people and gay families that loved Jesus, God would be glorified.”
Thank you in advance for any constructive criticism, notes of encouragement to and or reading recommendations on these topics that I can pass along.
submitted by MWBartko to TrueChristian [link] [comments]
A good friend of mine from a fairly conservative evangelical background is considering becoming a pastor at his non-denominational church. As part of the evaluation process, they asked him to write a paper on these topics that he is not an expert on.
He asked for my opinion and I offered to share it online to solicit constructive criticism, notes of encouragement, and or reading recommendations on these topics.
I believe his goal is to be faithful to the scriptures, loving to those outside the church, and challenging to those inside the church, as most of us could do better.
What he wrote is in the quotation marks below.
“1: Scope of the Issue
Sexual immorality has become a besetting and ubiquitous issue in our culture and in our churches. While many aspects of it are not novel or unique to this time and have clear scriptural input, there are others that bring challenges to our church for which we don’t have obvious precedent. The main point of these comments is to try and answer three questions with some degree of specificity: (1) how do we make ourselves a place where people who do not know Christ will feel welcome to come and learn of Him regardless of where they come from, (2) how do we pastorally care for people who have come in to the church with pre-existing circumstances related to sexual immorality, and (3) how do we equip our members to represent Christ to those in their lives that are dealing with these issues. We want to do this in a way that does not “walk a tight rope” or compromise to appease, but honors Scripture in its commands to both show compassion and exhort and correct. We must recognize that every individual circumstance is unique, and many will require careful and prayerful consideration, but this is meant to give a framework for that consideration.
2: Scriptural Basis for Corporate Response
There are many references we can point to that discuss and define sexual immorality throughout Scripture and many of these will be used below as we consider specific examples and situations. Let us start, however, by looking at passages that deal with corporate response rather than individual sin. It is clear that the Corinthian church had significant issues in this area, and much of Paul’s first letter was devoted to it. In chapter 5, Paul states that when sexual immorality is discovered in the church we should “mourn” over it and “not to associate with immoral people.” Importantly, he also makes clear in vv. 9-13 that these comments only apply to those “who bears the name of brother.” He explicitly writes, “not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world…for what have I to do with judging outsiders?” This is key in informing our response to those who are not members of the church. If it is our desire to see sinners come through our doors and come to know our Savior through our ministry, then we must be welcoming, accepting them where they are. This is not to say we hide or compromise the biblical position, but it is not an issue on which we want to filter people at the door. There are three categories of people in sexual sin that we need to form a response for. First, those just coming to the church who have not committed to it – these should be treated the same as any we are reaching out to with Christ’s love. They need Jesus, not behavioral change. Next, those who have recently joined the church but have pre-existing sexual sin patterns. This can and should be addressed with patience, dignity, and love. There are often many sin areas in the life of a new believer, and it is prudent to discern how and when to address each of them. Lastly, those who have been members in the church for some amount of time and fall into sexual sin. This is the group that Paul is primarily addressing in 1 Corinthians. While sex within marriage is a private issue, sexual sin cannot be a taboo topic. It needs to be addressed regularly and clearly. We need close enough relationships within the church that such problems do not fester in the dark. We must avoid the typical church pattern to vilify the first group, never see the second group, and pretend the third group doesn’t exist until it all blows up in scandal. May it never be.
3: Consistency Issue
There is a tendency in our Christian culture to treat some sexual sins as worse than others. Like the Corinthians, some things we seem to have accepted as just ubiquitous parts of our culture. Knowing the prevalence of promiscuity and fornication among teens and single adults and usage of pornography even within the church, we tend to address these as issues of indwelling sin, similar to anger or fear of man, with offers of accountability and understanding when someone falls. By contrast, when it comes to homosexuality or adultery, it is often a church discipline issue. We view homosexual marriage as a major problem, but remarriage after a non-biblical divorce is rarely addressed. These inconsistencies lead to stigmatization and polarization and should have no place in the church. The criterion for escalation should be unrepentance, not the nature of the sexual sin. It is clear from 1 Corinthians that all should be taken seriously, but none should be vilified above others.
4: Culture and Identity
The major underlying problem with many of the sexual sin and gender issues is that they have come to be culturally bound up with people’s identities. This is not a new phenomenon and is not unique to this issue. As far back as Acts 19, you see people becoming “enraged” because Paul had threatened the Ephesians’ cultural identity as worshipers of Artemis. People continue to find their primary identities in their employment, hobbies, sports teams, or families rather than Christ. None of these should be accepted, but none should be reviled either. If a person does not know Jesus, they are dead. How they identify themselves is of no concern. Once they have been made alive, they can be taught that “whose” they are is more important than “who” they are. All identity outside of Christ is not sinful, but if it takes paramount importance, it may become so. A person who recognizes a tendency toward same sex attraction may label themselves as gay or lesbian. This should not be considered a sin issue unless it becomes, for them, their defining characteristic or leads to sinful actions. We should recognize the difficulty of this struggle and support such a person rather than get hung up on labels. There must be clear distinction between identifying same sex attraction and engaging in homosexual behavior. These should be the guiding principles underlying everything that follows are regards individual cases.
5: Public Facing Information, Guests, and New Attendees
Considering what we have discussed, and Paul’s assertion in 1 Corinthians 5 that we ought to reserve judgment on sexual immorality to those we call brother, I would submit that public facing information regarding the church (i.e. website, app, etc) should not publish a position on sexual immorality, marriage, and gender identity. Doing so effectively places the filter at the door so that people who do not know Christ may be turned away from it. This is not tantamount to tacit approval. In appropriate contexts within the church, these topics should still be discussed and addressed, but I do not believe it is consistent with a biblical treatment of unbelievers to place it in a public facing forum. If we have guests or new regular attendees who appear to be engaged in a cohabitating or fornicating relationship, a homosexual relationship, or other sexual sin, this should not be a priority to address unless we have discerned that they are believers and join the church. Even then, it is important to draw a distinction between someone who deals with same-sex attraction and someone who engages in homosexual behavior. The next seven points are meant to discuss, in broad terms, how we should address those who join the church with pre-existing relationships or identity issues:
6: Promiscuity, Cohabitation – Hebrews 13:4, 1 Cor 7:1-2, Ex 22:16
Much of the biblical discussion on promiscuity is by inference. Clearly, sex was meant to be inseparably linked to marriage and outside of that context should be considered immoral. For those who join the church already in a sexual relationship who are unmarried we should apply Exodus 22:16 and encourage them to marry as soon as possible. If they do not wish to marry, they should be encouraged to separate. Paul acknowledges in 1 Cor 7:2 that marriage is the best remedy for “temptation to sexual immorality.”
7: Adultery, Divorce and Remarriage – Matt 5:32, Matt 19:9, 1 Cor 7:10-11
This issue is given much more explicit biblical instruction but is often glossed over in our Christian culture due to the messy landscape of divorces and remarriages. In cases where non-biblical divorce has occurred, if reconciliation is possible, this should be pursued. If reconciliation is impossible because one or more parties have remarried, it would not be sensible to divorce again in order to achieve reconciliation. The principle to apply here, I believe, is from 1 Cor 7:17-24 summarized in verse 20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” This is not an ideal circumstance, but it is the best way forward in an imperfect world. Of note, polygamy was common in the culture of the early church, and while not ideal, was accepted by the church, as evidenced by the qualifications for elder to be “a husband of but one wife.” We have polygamous cultures even within our local community and if they came to Christ, we should not counsel them to divorce all but one wife and thus disrupt their social structure. It is not ideal and would disqualify them from eldership, but they should remain as they are. Whether marriage after unbiblical divorce in the past disqualifies a man from eldership is a case-by case question for the eldership.
8: Pornography, Sensuality, and Lust – Lev 18:6-18, Matt 5:28
As mentioned above, use of pornography has reached a high saturation point within our culture and within our church. While once thought of as simply a male issue, there is a growing trend toward gender parity in pornography usage. It is an issue that should be discussed with some frequency within our church. For those that join the church and view pornography regularly, it needs to be made clear that while the world has largely destigmatized it, it is still sexual immorality. Furthermore, this isn’t just limited to nudity and pornography, but any sensuality that leads to looking at someone “with lustful intent” is the heart equivalent of adultery according to Matt 5:28. In our culture, it is not possible to avoid such things by just turning away. We need to address the heart issues of idolatry, selfishness, and satisfaction in Christ. Practically, how should we deal with those who have on-going struggles with pornography, sensuality and lust? Should this preclude them from eldership? From deaconship? Taken strictly, this would preclude nearly all men from eldership. These require individual evaluation from the elders, but a guiding principle should be, if the person is repentant and there is evidence of growth in their life, we should consider more responsibility and continued discipleship.
9: Homosexuality – Lev 18:22, Lev 20:13, 1 Cor 6:9, 1 Tim 1:8-11
From the above references and others, it is evident that homosexual behavior is sexual sin. We cannot equivocate on that point. As we have discussed above, if a person who is already a believer and in the church and struggles with same sex attraction, we should approach them as we would handle anyone who is sexually attracted to someone to whom they are not married. If such a person decides that homosexuality is not sinful and begins sexually immoral activity, we should deal with them in the same way as any member who falls into unrepentant sin and go through the processes of correction and, if necessary, of church discipline. It is important that we draw a distinction between same sex attraction and homosexual behavior. We can do tremendous harm by demonizing same sex attraction and creating a taboo around it. A person who is struggling to abstain from homosexual behavior should be supported and encouraged. I believe Paul’s strong statements about not associating with sexually immoral people applies to those who remain unrepentant. Much more nuanced is the issue of how we address those that join the church already in a homosexual relationship. What about the married homosexual couple who join the church with their adopted child? Should we break up their family? I believe, in this case, the same principle should apply as to those who have gone through an unbiblical divorce in the past. We should apply 1 Cor 7:20: “Each one should remain in the condition in which he was called.” We can recognize that this is not ideal, but it is the best we can do in a fallen world just as we do with someone who is married after unbiblical divorce. Whether should apply to a homosexual couple in a long term committed relationship who are not legally married would be an individual discussion with the elders. Again, these are nuanced cases that will need individual prayer, discussion, and discernment. I believe a great deal more patience is called for when a new believer joins the church that has a history or present reality of homosexuality, even if they are unrepentant at first, believing that homosexuality is not sinful, than we would demonstrate to a person who has been in the church for a period of time and then decides to pursue a homosexual relationship.
10: Bisexuality – Heb 13:4
Bisexual attraction is no more or less of an issue than anyone who finds that they are sexually attracted to someone other than their spouse. This is not a rare or unique circumstance, even within the church. Someone who is practicing bisexuality is, by definition, not confining sex to the marriage bed, and this, therefore, qualifies as sexual immorality. The issue, here again, is one of identity and cultural acceptance. If a person “identifies as bisexual,” the real issue is not the bisexuality, but the fact that they identify themselves primarily by their sexual desires, and not by Christ. It would be equally a problem if they “identified as heterosexual” and that was seen as their defining characteristic. If such a person were to join the church, our priority should be in helping them see their identity in Christ rather than focusing on renouncing their sexual preference.
11: Transgenderism/Non-binarism – Psalm 139: 13-15
It should be noted that the next two points should not be considered in the category of sexual immorality, but as they are connected to the same cultural moment will be discussed here. It should further be remarked that transgenderism is a modern issue with no direct reference in Scripture. It is a challenging issue that often falls prey to oversimplification and scapegoating. It is not sufficient to simply state that a person should identify with their born gender. There are those born with ambiguous genitalia and those born with sex chromosome abnormalities such that “born gender” is not necessarily accurate. These occur with a frequency of 1 in 448 births on average which is not particularly rare. The majority of people who consider themselves to be transgender do not fall into these categories, but the fact remains that these categories exist. Unless we plan to embark on genetic testing, we must be careful how we assert someone’s gender assignment. Furthermore, we must acknowledge that much of the gender confusion in our culture is due to a distortion of biblically accurate masculinity and femininity in our culture of which the church has been widely supportive for generations. Many transgender and non-binary individuals consider themselves so because they do not fit into the traditional boxes our culture has created for the genders. The church can start by recognizing that these boxes are incorrect. We can also acknowledge that gender differences and roles are far less important than most human cultures perceive. Christ himself challenged many gender norms in his ministry and Paul maintains “…there is no male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Gal 3:28b) It is much more difficult to recognize this issue as a sin issue than many of the above concerns. If someone wishes to be addressed by different pronouns than they once did or dress differently than they once did, this does not amount to immorality. Once again, this can be an idolatrous identity issue if the person sees it as the central characteristic of their lives. There is often an inherent pride in asserting that such a person does not feel they fit in the body created for them, but if they come to love Jesus and understand and believe that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” then this issue may become moot. Whether or not they revert to dressing differently or using pronouns they did when they were younger is largely immaterial. This also addresses the issue of people who may have undergone permanent physical changes. While we should not endorse such modification if it is being considered, there is no reason to reverse such a thing in order to return to a base state. We must recognize that this is a group that has a high propensity toward mental health concerns, instability, and suicidality. They need love, support and prayer, not scapegoating and extra-biblical expectations of conforming to a cultural norm. We must further note that this group as well as the homosexual group have often experienced psychological and even physical harm from others in our culture, sometimes in the name of Christ. We must foster an environment of champions physical and psychological safety for these people.
12: Asexuality – 1 Cor 7:25-38
Asexuality also should not be considered sexual immorality. There is, in fact, wide support in Paul’s letters such as in 1 Cor 7 for people, if they are able, to remain unmarried and be “anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.” We tend to champion the model of the nuclear family in our Christian culture, but Paul sees chaste singleness as a better way. There should be no pressure from the church to make sure that single people pair off and get married because it is expected of them. As this state has been culturally identified with the LGBTQIA movement, it is seen on the same spectrum as the sexual immorality and gender issues discussed above, but it is not. It can still fall prey to the same issue of an idolatrous identity as some of the above issues, but it need not be so.
13: Glass Ceiling
In the event that God sees fit to bring people from these subgroups into our church, there would inevitably be a glass ceiling. The question is at what point. The four logical points are: regular attender, member, deacon, and elder. Regardless of their background or position, all should be welcome to be a regular attender. It is also clear, from the biblical requirements for eldership, that on-going problems or engagement in any of the sexual sins would disqualify them from that post. The middle two are less clear. I would submit that the bar for membership should be very low. This step, in my opinion, is when they would “bear the name of brother” and not before. Even if they disagree about the sinful nature of homosexuality, this should not disallow them from becoming members as long as they agree to submit to the churches position and not cause division. Allowing them to become members gives us the pastoral authority to speak into their lives, and we would hope that over time the Spirit would work in their hearts to convince them of the truth. Putting such a person in a deacon role would probably not be wise but would need to be evaluated prayerfully on a case-by-case basis. The difficulty here is that, while a position on homosexuality is not a salvific issue and should not be considered a core doctrine in the same way as the deity of Christ, for example, it is a sin issue. There is a limit to how far we can “agree to disagree” and still uphold our duty to root out sin in our midst. Once again, we should also distinguish between a struggle with same sex attraction and engagement in homosexual behavior when we consider our response. There is also a glass ceiling when it comes to marriage. While I believe we should not break up existing homosexual marriages, we should not participate in creating them. The marriage covenant between a man and woman was created, in part, to reflect the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph 5). This should not be co-opted to excuse or normalize immorality.
14: Nuance and Edge Cases
The above outline is by no means meant to be exhaustive or definitive. It is meant to provide a lens, supported by scripture, through which we can view these issues and consider corporate and pastoral responses. It should inform how we view the people that walk through the door from a wide range of backgrounds and how we equip those in our church to be Christ’s ambassadors to those in our community. Every person and circumstance, history and baggage will be different, and any non-nuanced position would be inherently evil. I pray we have many opportunities to talk, think and pray through specific situations that God would bless us with the chance to be a part of. What an honor it would be to be used to reach into broken lives like these with the Gospel of Grace.
15: Action Steps
As we consider practical and philosophical ways of responding to the above, I believe we should start from a position of corporate repentance. If we wish to truly reach out and touch the lives of broken people in need of a Savior who live a life of same sex attraction or gender dysphoria, we need to begin by recognizing that a great deal of harm, emotional and physical, has been inflicted on this group by the Church for generations. There are homeless people living in our area who were kicked out of their homes by parents holding a Bible. There are those who have been subjected to horrific methods that amount to torture under the guise of “Conversion Therapy” from Christian organizations. The only “conversion” we should concern ourselves with is to a regenerate heart. Attempting to change someone’s sexual attraction is very much beside the point. We cannot hope to be a place where such people can hear about Jesus unless they feel safe to enter our doors. We must also fight the tendency to consider sin in this area as something worse than others, even in non-Christians. James 2 says “…For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it….So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” As we consider corporate and pastoral responses to the argument above, we must start by removing our own planks and repenting for the historical actions of the Church.
Practical steps that we could consider taking would include: removing the statements from the website about marriage and sexuality, especially directly under our Core Beliefs. Again, this is not meant to hide or equivocate on the truth, but not to set such a barrier before someone even walks through our door. Secondly, we should consider how to address these topics within the church. A Sunday morning sermon is not ideal as it is time limited and a unidirectional conversation. A small group course format would be a consideration. We need to equip parents and family members of adolescents, teens, and adults with language to talk about these things in loving, humble, God-honoring ways. In the longer term, we need to consider how we can make our church a place where people would feel comfortable inviting friends and family who look, think and act differently than we do. We need to find a way of projecting safety and inclusion even in our public facing information. This isn’t a balancing act where we must make it clear early and often that we “love the sinner but hate the sin” as the saying goes. We just need to love the sinner. Dealing with the sin can come later God-willing. A third application point is to be mindful of what we say and what we allow to be said without being checked. Certainly, joking at the expense of those who are dealing with these issues is unacceptable, but we also need to work to avoid getting dragged in to pseudo-political discussions on bathroom issues, sports issues or other divisive concerns that have no bearing on the church.
I recognize that these proposals have the potential to divide the church. There are some who may leave the body over these sorts of changes. I would argue that it is our responsibility to them as well as to the unreached in our community to have those discussions and risk some of them leaving over it. These are not all things we should change overnight but after ample opportunities for discussions and prayer.
16: Conclusion – Mark 2:15-17
At its core, these are not issues of who someone loves, sexual attraction, or even specific sex acts. The core is idolatry and identity. When acceptance by others, self-determination, or physical pleasure become the central force driving our lives then we have become idolators. Though our idols take on different shapes, the struggles in this space are shared by all. Whether you are identified by your profession, your family, or your gender identity, you are not being identified by your Master. Building fences around or within the church because someone sins in a different way than us cannot be allowed. Making the excuse that we are somehow “protecting our children” by shielding them from people in our community who desperately need a Savior will not show our children who Jesus is. Within the church, we cannot be afraid to “speak the truth in love.” We need not and cannot shy away from sin in the church, but we must recognize that the Spirit works in each of our lives. Often this happens over a period of time. We should be prepared to walk alongside our brothers and sisters in this journey for as long as they need.
There is a significant correlation between this community and their relationship with religious groups, and the “tax collectors and sinners” that Jesus sought out in His ministry and their relationship with the religious leaders of the day. Our heart should reflect His. Jesus responded: “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) If our church was filled with transgender people and gay families that loved Jesus, God would be glorified.”
Thank you in advance for any constructive criticism, notes of encouragement to and or reading recommendations on these topics that I can pass along.
2024.05.21 19:20 Elititas36 How well does the lore of my loyal/renegade DA successor fit in?
Hello! I wanted to ask those who are more well read on the lore and maybe better at story writing how well my background to my custom successor chapter fits in to the current setting.
Also I apologise I'm on phone when I wrote the majority of this
-The name is the angels of repose and they are an ultima founding chapter consisting primarily of primaris and some ex fallen which is explained a little later on.
They are a successor chapter to the dark angels and so follow their parent chapters doctrine of green wing, death wing and raven wing though most of this knowledge came from their unlikely allies.
Shortly after their founding the acting supreme grand Master tasked this chapter with the hunt for the fallen in a sector of space know to be deadly especially to the not yet proven primaris, with the company master even suspecting this of being a way to get rid of these new marines.
After 25 years of searching and slogging through xeno and heretic however the chapters resources and numbers dwindled to near extinction with all their brother on silent agreement that they had been forsaken, that is until an unlikely encounter with an adrift battleship not seen since the time of the horus heresy, these few remaining battle brother boarded the ship in hope of finding anything salvageable until they came across the dark black armour of the ones they were sent to Hunt.
Yet these fallen didn't seem too interested in stoking a fight aboard their vessel and the angels of repose few numbers meant they had little chance of winning such an engagement. As weapons were lowered and talks began, these fallen and forsaken angels would join as one.
This granted the once beleaguered sons of the lion ancient weapons from the time of the Great crusade and few more numbers to their ranks. Though they will surely be branded as heretics they serve the imperium where needed only scoffing at the likes of the supreme grand Master but rallying at the cry of their now returned father.
Feel free to speak your thoughts on it and offer any changes and ideas you might have.
submitted by Elititas36 to DarkAngels40k [link] [comments]
Also I apologise I'm on phone when I wrote the majority of this
-The name is the angels of repose and they are an ultima founding chapter consisting primarily of primaris and some ex fallen which is explained a little later on.
They are a successor chapter to the dark angels and so follow their parent chapters doctrine of green wing, death wing and raven wing though most of this knowledge came from their unlikely allies.
Shortly after their founding the acting supreme grand Master tasked this chapter with the hunt for the fallen in a sector of space know to be deadly especially to the not yet proven primaris, with the company master even suspecting this of being a way to get rid of these new marines.
After 25 years of searching and slogging through xeno and heretic however the chapters resources and numbers dwindled to near extinction with all their brother on silent agreement that they had been forsaken, that is until an unlikely encounter with an adrift battleship not seen since the time of the horus heresy, these few remaining battle brother boarded the ship in hope of finding anything salvageable until they came across the dark black armour of the ones they were sent to Hunt.
Yet these fallen didn't seem too interested in stoking a fight aboard their vessel and the angels of repose few numbers meant they had little chance of winning such an engagement. As weapons were lowered and talks began, these fallen and forsaken angels would join as one.
This granted the once beleaguered sons of the lion ancient weapons from the time of the Great crusade and few more numbers to their ranks. Though they will surely be branded as heretics they serve the imperium where needed only scoffing at the likes of the supreme grand Master but rallying at the cry of their now returned father.
Feel free to speak your thoughts on it and offer any changes and ideas you might have.
2024.05.21 19:19 _flashbulb VALORANT Taiwan vs VALORANT Mainland China
I was helping my friend the other day where several of his VALORANT clips was starting to gain views on YouTube and he wanted me to translate some Chinese subtitles for him. I didn't know the names of agents in Chinese, so I booted the game in Traditional Chinese. But then I found out the names they have for VALORANT Taiwan/Overseas are not the same for VALORANT China.
If you didn't know, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese are usually one-to-one (except one uses less strokes, CCP history, etc.) and they both can usually be perfectly understood on both sides, meaning any name in Taiwan would also work in China and vice-versa.
These discrepancies can also be found with the name of guns and the game itself. I created a list for myself when translating my friend's videos in the future and decided to share it here. All of my searches were done through Baidu and extensive trial & error image searching, but alas, I got most of the info down. I also used VALORANT mobile gameplay footage to help.
I'm planning to visit the Mainland within a year or so to try and see these images for myself. I also made a Reddit account just for this post, so excuse my absolute noob-ness. :P
Many names are phonetically sounded out, meaning Chinese characters are arranged in a way where they sound closest to their English counterpart. For every instance this occurs, I put a hashtag.
What's fascinating is that sometimes, they both match up but change the name ever so SLIGHTLY so there's a difference.
I'm still working to get more on here, so this will be updated over time and every time an agent releases or something. If you know otherwise or got any edits you wanna suggest, leave me a comment. :)
submitted by _flashbulb to VALORANT [link] [comments]
If you didn't know, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese are usually one-to-one (except one uses less strokes, CCP history, etc.) and they both can usually be perfectly understood on both sides, meaning any name in Taiwan would also work in China and vice-versa.
These discrepancies can also be found with the name of guns and the game itself. I created a list for myself when translating my friend's videos in the future and decided to share it here. All of my searches were done through Baidu and extensive trial & error image searching, but alas, I got most of the info down. I also used VALORANT mobile gameplay footage to help.
I'm planning to visit the Mainland within a year or so to try and see these images for myself. I also made a Reddit account just for this post, so excuse my absolute noob-ness. :P
AGENTS // 特務 (TW: Spy) // 英雄 (CN: Hero)
| Role | 《特戰英豪》 Taiwan | Literal Translation | 《无畏契约》 Mainland China | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CONTROLLER | 控場者kòng chǎng zhě | "crowd control" | 控场kòng chǎng | "field controller" |
| SENTINEL | 守衛shǒu wèi | "sentinel" | 哨卫shào wèi | "sentry / guard" |
| DUELIST | 決鬥者jué dòu zhě | "duelist" | 决斗jué dòu | "duel" |
| INITIATOR | 先鋒xiān fēng | "pioneer" | 先锋xiān fēng | "pioneer" |
What's fascinating is that sometimes, they both match up but change the name ever so SLIGHTLY so there's a difference.
| Agent | 《特戰英豪》 Taiwan | Literal Translation | 《无畏契约》 Mainland China | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 // BRIMSTONE | 布史東bù shǐ dōng | # | 炼狱liàn yù | "inferno" |
| 02 // VIPER | 薇蝮wēi fù | "viper" (of or relating to) | 蝰蛇kuí shé | "viper" (snake) |
| 03 // OMEN | 歐門ōu mén | # | 幽影yōu yǐng | "shadow" |
| 04 // KILLJOY | 愷宙kǎi zhòu | # | 奇乐qí lè | "fun joy" |
| 05 // CYPHER | 瑟符sè fú | # | 零 | "zero" |
| 06 // SOVA | 蘇法sū fǎ | # | 猎枭liè xiāo | "hunting owl" |
| 07 // SAGE | 聖祈shèng qí | "sacred prayer" | 贤者xián zhě | “sage" |
| 09 // PHOENIX | 菲尼克斯fēi ní kè sī | # | 不死鸟bù sǐ niǎo | "don't die bird" (phoenix) |
| 10 // JETT | 婕提 jié tí | # | 捷风jié fēng | "quick wind" |
| 11 // REYNA | 蕾娜lěi nà | # | 芮娜ruì nà | # |
| 12 // RAZE | 芮兹ruì zī | # | 雷兹léi zī | # |
| 13 // BREACH | 叛奇pàn qí | "rebellion" | 铁臂tiě bì | "iron (weapon) arm" |
| 14 // SKYE | 絲凱sī kǎi | # | 斯凯sī kǎi | # |
| 15 // YORU | 夜戮yè lù | "night killer" | 夜露yè lù | "night show" |
| 16 // ASTRA | 亞星卓yà xīng zhuó | "astral / star" | 星礈xīng zhuì | "star" |
| 17 // KAY/O | KAY/O | - | K/O | - |
| 18 // CHAMBER | 錢博爾qián bó ěr | # | 尚勃勒shàng bó lè | "chambré" |
| 19 // NEON | 霓虹ní hóng | # | 妮虹nī hóng | # |
| 20 // FADE | 菲德fēi dé | # | 黑梦hēi mèng | "dark dream" |
| 21 // HARBOR | 哈泊hā bó | # | 海神hǎi shén | "ocean god" |
| 22 // GEKKO | 蓋克gài kè | # | 盖可gài kě | # |
| 23 // DEADLOCK | 蒂羅dì luó | # | 钢索gāng suǒ | "steel cable" |
| 24 // ISO | 離索lí suǒ | # | 壹决yī jué | "one decision" |
| 25 // CLOVE | 珂樂芙kē lè fú | # | 暮蝶mù dié | "dusk butterfly" |
WEAPONS // 武器 (TW: Weapons) // 枪支 (CN: Guns)
Sidearms // 隨身武器 (TW: Sidearms) // 随身武器 (CN: Sidearms)| Weapon | 《特戰英豪》 Taiwan | Literal Translation | 《无畏契约》 Mainland China | Literal Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | 制式手槍 | "standard pistol" | 标配 | "standard" |
| Shorty | 短管 | "short barrel" | 短炮 | "short cannon" |
| Frenzy | 狂弒 | "frenzy killer" | 狂怒 | "frenzy fury" |
| Ghost | 鬼魅 | "ghost" | 鬼魅 | "ghost" |
| Sheriff | 神射 | "sharpshooter" | 正义 | "justice" |
2024.05.21 19:10 NoUnderstanding7116 My Very Honest Review For The Manga: Kaiju No. 8
 | Kaiju No. 8 Review: submitted by NoUnderstanding7116 to GODZILLA [link] [comments] With the Kaiju Genre being more relevant as days goes by, I would like to give my very honest opinion regarding the latest installment to this genre itself titled Kaiju No. 8. A story of a middle aged man named Kafka Hibino, wanting to be a part of a Kaiju hunting organization and fulfill his promise to a childhood friend who unfortunately for him, failed and found himself in a more suitable position as a kaiju cleaner instead due to the lack of talent needed to actually become a kaiju exterminator. But ofc, one day, it changed after Kafka swallowed what seemed to be a small parasitic Kaiju which granted him raw power in unimaginable proportions. Superhuman speed, strength, durability and other useful abilities that now gave him the possibility to reach his goal. With all said and done, let's begin. First and foremost, I actually think that Kaiju No. 8 is very mediocre. To explain that, I believe there are three major reasons as to why I feel that way. Which is:
Even though having very common tropes is bad, the reason why other competitors such as Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen were successful is because they have something interesting offered only in their anime itself. Chainsaw Man has a very consistent uncanny tone present in their story. Such as their lose screws characters, tragic backstories that they presented very eerily instead of sympathetically, the design of their characters, it's protagonist, the tone, the setting and it's antagonist. Calling Chainsaw Man edgy is an understatement, what it offers visually and story wise is always engaging due to the present identity shown in the series. While JJK on the other hand, even though I find it to be extremely overrated, at least the series made name for it's complex and highly detailed power system and even the monsters roaming in their world are called Curses or Cursed Spirits which I find to be cool, because it uses better words unlike basic terms like "Demons" for Demon Slayer or "Devils" in Chainsaw Man. Fire Force, another decent anime, didn't fail in creating distinctive uniforms that are easily recognizable and cool at the same time.
This last one is more of a Kaiju fan problem, which I'll address below:
Regardless, despite kaijus being present in their world. The anime's term for "Kaiju" is not the same as our's. The biggest villain is dubbed Kaiju No. 9, is actually a human sized humanoid that can talk. Some of the kaijus shown are literally a carbon copy of one said character but with black eyes and dark colour scheme to give an antagonistic vibe. The most focused threats aren't even kaiju at all, Kaiju No. 10 is also another decently large kaiju only to become a weapon and help one the heroes combat the villains afterwards (reminiscent to that of Venom and Eddie Brock). Basically, despite the word kaiju in it's title, it simply is not a kaiju genre. The "kaijus" aren't really kaijus, they don't function or act like one, at least the bigger more focused existential threats that challenges our heroes aren't kaijus at all. The Positives: Despite my take for Kaiju No. 8 seems very harsh, there's still good things about it, and for me personally:
Conclusion: I believe Kaiju No. 8 is a pretty good series. It does all thing's right, just not spectacularly. Doesn't feel like a Kaiju genre personally but still somewhat enjoyable to watch. Do I recommend this? Personally no, but I can see most people besides me enjoy it so probably yeah. With this I score it: 7/10. |
2024.05.21 19:09 EmmaBurger ID help!
 | Hey everyone! I found someone foraging for these mushrooms the other day and he gave me some. He said they were wine caps, but my Peterson guide doesn’t have that name in it and suggested King Ringstalk (Stropharia rugosoannulata). I found them this week, growing on a mulched path, partial sun, in a park with mostly white pine trees, blueberries, and briars growing in the area. The gills stain your fingers a bit and leave a dark purple spore print. submitted by EmmaBurger to mushroomID [link] [comments] |
2024.05.21 19:09 atatreedy [H] Imposter Factory, Yakuza LAD, Rainworld [W] Callisto Protocol, Long Dark, offers
For Trade:
...Steam...
IGSRep https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/11xs0w7/atatreedys_igs_rep_page/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
submitted by atatreedy to indiegameswap [link] [comments]
...Steam...
- Beacon Pines
- Children of Silentown
- Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh
- Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Drug Dealer Simulator
- Dust Fleet
- Epistory - Typing Chronicles
- Flame Keeper
- Heaven dust
- Impostor Factory
- King of the castle
- Mediterranea Inferno
- Oaken
- Rain World
- River City Girls Zero
- Shotgun king (ROW - non EU - key)
- Snowtopia: Ski Resort Builder
- SONG OF HORROR COMPLETE EDITION
- SSI Classics Collection (one key for 17 games)
- Steelrising
- Strategic Mind: The Pacific
- Unity of Command II
- What Lies in the Multiverse
- Wobbledogs
- Yakuza, Like A Dragon (EU locked)
IGSRep https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/11xs0w7/atatreedys_igs_rep_page/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
2024.05.21 19:07 atatreedy [H] Rainworld, Impostor Factory, Yakuza LAD + more [W]Calisto Protocol, The long dark, offers
For Trade:
...Steam...
IGSRep https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/11xs0w7/atatreedys_igs_rep_page/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
submitted by atatreedy to GameTrade [link] [comments]
...Steam...
- Beacon Pines
- Children of Silentown
- Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh
- Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen
- Drug Dealer Simulator
- Dust Fleet
- Epistory - Typing Chronicles
- Flame Keeper
- Heaven dust
- Impostor Factory
- King of the castle
- Mediterranea Inferno
- Oaken
- Rain World
- River City Girls Zero
- Shotgun king (ROW - non EU - key)
- Snowtopia: Ski Resort Builder
- SONG OF HORROR COMPLETE EDITION
- SSI Classics Collection (one key for 17 games)
- Steelrising
- Strategic Mind: The Pacific
- Unity of Command II
- What Lies in the Multiverse
- Wobbledogs
- Yakuza, Like A Dragon (EU region lock)
IGSRep https://www.reddit.com/IGSRep/comments/11xs0w7/atatreedys_igs_rep_page/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
2024.05.21 19:06 darrylthedudeWayne How would you Rework Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire into Frozen 3....that's also a crossover with both Tangled and Moana?
Another day, another installment of "Ol Switcheroo" I've already done a few installments already, all of which, i'll leave links to here.
Reworking FFH into TASM 3: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1cobprq/how_would_you_rework_spiderman_far_from_home_into/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reworking Wish into alternate Frozen 2: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1cqbo0b/how_would_you_rework_wish_into_an_alternate/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reworking The Batman into Dark Knight 4: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1ctd769/how_would_you_rework_matt_reeves_the_batman_into/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reworking Tangled into a Western Fantasy: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1cwguq4/rework_tangled_into_a_western_fantasy_set_in_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Today however, I'm wanted to ask people how they would rework the most recent Monsterverse film, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, into the third installment of the Frozen series...That also acts as a crossover with both Tangled and Moana. Which, is a weird thing to ask, but I think it could work if done right. But first, some ground rules.
submitted by darrylthedudeWayne to fixingmovies [link] [comments]
Reworking FFH into TASM 3: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1cobprq/how_would_you_rework_spiderman_far_from_home_into/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reworking Wish into alternate Frozen 2: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1cqbo0b/how_would_you_rework_wish_into_an_alternate/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reworking The Batman into Dark Knight 4: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1ctd769/how_would_you_rework_matt_reeves_the_batman_into/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Reworking Tangled into a Western Fantasy: https://www.reddit.com/fixingmovies/comments/1cwguq4/rework_tangled_into_a_western_fantasy_set_in_a/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Today however, I'm wanted to ask people how they would rework the most recent Monsterverse film, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, into the third installment of the Frozen series...That also acts as a crossover with both Tangled and Moana. Which, is a weird thing to ask, but I think it could work if done right. But first, some ground rules.
- Now usually I try to say to keep the basic skeleton of the whole movies premise the same, but in this case. I don't really think we can do that, since I don't think the human stuff or the stuff with Godzilla would really work for what I am asking here. However, Kong's story on the other hand, of finding a child like him, and freeing a enslaved group of people from a mad tyrant and his enslaved dragon creature thing (let's face, Shimu, kindof looks like a dragon with no wings), the basic premise/skeleton of that must be similar, swapping out Kong with Elsa, swapping out Mini-Kong with a boy who has lightning powers (or, really any power you'd like, i'll explain why I say that in a little bit), and swapping out Skar King, Shimu, and the enslaved Titan ape society with...well, an original villain(s) similar to Skar King and Shimu, and an enslaved human society. However, if you can try to rework the human subplot in someway, then you can, but that's just more optional.
- Since this is a crossover, the characters of Tangled and Moana must have a role in the story.
- Since there is going to be a Frozen 4 for whatever reason, it must have a mid credits scene that leads into it (despite the original Godzilla X Kong having no mid credits scene).
- Finally, it MUST retcon the Spirit/5th Spirit stuff from the second movie in some way. Also, have Anna get fire powers.
- Also, maybe undo the Anna being queen and have Elsa become queen again (or at least, in some sort of leadership position again) but this last one is more optional.
- Also, also forgot to mention, it obviously can't be set in Hollow Earth, so you'll have to use a different setting. Also, also, also, it must include the punching meme and the point and laugh meme. Anyone who saw GxK knows what I'm talking about.
2024.05.21 19:06 DTG_Bot [D2] Daily Reset Thread [2024-05-21]
Daily Modifiers
Vanguard Ops
- Heavyweight: Power weapons deal more damage, and more ammo is available.
- Arc Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Arc damage.
- Stasis Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Stasis damage.
- Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
- Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.
Dares of Eternity
- Durandal's Edge: When you're holding a Sword, damage from nearby combatants is reduced.
- Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.
Onslaught: Playlist
- Onslaught Rules: Defend and repair the ADU against waves of combatants. There are 10 waves to a set. ADU: If the ADU is destroyed, the activity ends. Scraps: An in-activity currency. They are earned by scoring and used to purchase and upgrade defenses at the start of every set and after waves 3 and 6. Rewards: Paid out after every set upon defeating the boss wave. Subsequent sets pay out better rewards. Legend increases rewards. Bonus Objectives: Rewards resources, vendor reputation, and armaments.
- Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.
- Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
- Arc Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Arc damage.
- Stasis Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Stasis damage.
- Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.
Riven's Lair
- Mettle: Power Level: All combatants in this activity will be at least 5 points over the player's current Power level.
- Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
- Blackout: Enemy melee attacks are significantly more powerful, and radar is disabled.
- Strand Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Strand damage.
- Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.
The Coil
- The Coil Rules: Successfully complete four pathways inside Riven's Lair. Escalating Difficulty: Player's Power levels are fixed. Starting at 0 each subsequent pathway increases all combatants' Power level over the player's by 5. Wishing Glass: Wishing Glass is an in-activity currency. They drop from combatants, Glass Collectors, and pots. Wishing Glass comes in multiple rarities equating to their worth. Wishing Glass is used to purchase Dragon's Gifts from Riven. Dragon's Gifts: A set of buffs are randomly chosen, once per run. Between pathways, players can purchase buffs from Riven via Wishing Glass. Buffs are separated into three price point tiers. Rewards: After each pathway, players will return to Riven for their rewards. Subsequent pathways pay out better rewards. Breaking through score thresholds unlock secret chests. Finishing The Coil with a platinum score rewards players with access to the lustrous and lucrative Chamber of Wishes.
- Multiplicity: Combatant difficulty scales with fireteam size.
- Limited Revives: Limited fireteam revives. Purchase additional revives from Riven with Wishing Glass. Small chance to drop from destroying pots.
- Full Extinguish: If all your fireteam members fall with 0 Revive Tokens, everyone is returned to orbit.
- Attrition: Regeneration is greatly impaired. Defeating enemies may create wells of Light.
- Galvanized: Combatants have more health and are more difficult to stun.
- The Pathways: Riven's wish magic stirs weekly. The following are the pathways and their order in The Coil: -First Steps (Temple of the Queen's Wrath) -Divining Hall -Sensorium (Pavilion) -Observatory
- Solar Threat: 25% increase to incoming Solar damage.
- Scorched Earth: Enemies throw grenades significantly more often.
- Overcharged Glaive: 25% bonus to Glaive damage.
- Overcharged Machine Gun: 25% bonus to Machine Gun damage.
Seasonal
Legend/Master Lost Sector
Exotic armor drop (if solo): ArmsThe Quarry: Legend
- Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
- Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Stagger] Unstoppable
- Threat: [Void] Void
- Shields: [Solar] Solar, [Void] Void
- Modifiers: Scorched Earth
The Quarry: Master
- Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
- Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Stagger] Unstoppable
- Threat: [Void] Void
- Shields: [Solar] Solar, [Void] Void
- Modifiers: Scorched Earth
Misc
- Terminal Overload: Ahimsa Park Weapon: Basso Ostinato (Shotgun)
- The Wellspring: Defend Weapon: Father's Sins (Sniper Rifle)
- Altars of Sorrow Weapon: Apostate (Sniper Rifle)
Guns & Materials
Banshee's Featured Weapons
| Name | Type | Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Masterwork |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Prophecy | Kinetic Hand Cannon | TrueSight HCS // Sureshot HCS | Appended Mag // Flared Magwell | Field Prep | Elemental Capacitor | Tier 2: Reload Speed |
| Whispering Slab | Kinetic Combat Bow | Elastic String // Polymer String | Helical Fletching // Straight Fletching | Archer's Tempo | Swashbuckler | Tier 2: Draw Time |
| Cartesian Coordinate | Energy Fusion Rifle | Red Dot 2 MOA // Red Dot Micro | Enhanced Battery // Projection Fuse | Under Pressure | Vorpal Weapon | Tier 2: Charge Time |
| Legal Action II | Kinetic Pulse Rifle | Arrowhead Brake // Corkscrew Rifling | Tactical Mag // Steady Rounds | Moving Target | Thresh | Tier 2: Reload Speed |
| Palmyra-B | Heavy Rocket Launcher | Linear Compensator // Smart Drift Control | Alloy Casing // High-Velocity Rounds | Surplus | Explosive Light | Tier 2: Reload Speed |
Master Rahool's Material Exchange
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Legendary Shards)
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Dark Fragment)
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Phantasmal Fragment)
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 25 Herealways Piece)
- Enhancement Prism (1 for 10 Enhancement Core & 10000 Glimmer)
- Ascendant Shard (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)
- Ascendant Alloy (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)
Bounties
Commander Zavala, Vanguard| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kill It with Fire | Defeat combatants with Solar damage in Vanguard playlists. | 25 [Solar] Solar | XP+ |
| Loose Ends | Defeat combatants in Vanguard playlists with Strand damage. | 25 Strand final blows | XP+ |
| Twisted Every Way | Defeat combatants in Vanguard playlists with Strand abilities. Defeating suspended combatants or defeating them with your grapple grants additional progress. | 50 Strand ability final blows | XP+ |
| Finish Them | Defeat combatants with your finisher in Vanguard playlists. | 5 Finisher | XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparring Grounds | Complete matches in any Crucible playlist. | 2 Crucible matches | XP+ |
| Scorched Earth | Defeat opponents with Solar scorch damage. | 6 [Solar] Solar scorch | XP+ |
| On the Mark | Defeat opponents with precision final blows. | 3 [Headshot] Precision | XP+ |
| Did You Throw Enough Grenades? | In Mayhem, defeat opponents with grenades. | 3 [Grenade] Grenade | XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Executioner | Defeat challenging enemies in Gambit. | 10 Challenging combatants | XP+ |
| Pins and Needles | Defeat targets in Gambit matches with Strand abilities. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress. | 30 Strand ability final blows | XP+ |
| Torn to Shreds | Defeat targets in Gambit matches by severing or unraveling them with Strand. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress. | 30 Strand severed or unraveled final blows | XP+ |
| Like Kindling | Use Solar ignition to defeat targets in Gambit. Defeating Guardians grants more progress. | 10 [Solar] Solar ignition | XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Cannon Calibration | Calibrate Hand Cannons against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision and against opposing Guardians. | 100 [Hand Cannon] Hand Cannon | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Pulse Rifle Calibration | Calibrate Pulse Rifles against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision final blows and against opposing Guardians. | 100 [Pulse Rifle] Pulse Rifle | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Linear Fusion Rifle Calibration | Calibrate Linear Fusion Rifles against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision and against opposing Guardians. | 100 [Linear Fusion Rifle] Linear Fusion Rifle | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Stasis Calibration | Calibrate Stasis weapons against any target. Earn bonus progress against opposing Guardians. | 80 [Stasis] Stasis weapon | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vexing Void | In Neomuna, defeat combatants with Void damage. Vex combatants grant additional progress. | 60 [Void] Void | XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank |
| Finish Majeure | In Neomuna, defeat combatants with finishers. Powerful combatants grant additional progress. | 10 Finisher | XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank |
| Party Time | In Neomuna, rapidly defeat combatants in groups of 2 or more with Auto Rifles, Submachine Guns, Pulse Rifles, or Machine Guns. | 20 Rapidly defeated | XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank |
| Terminal Rewards | Open chests after completing Terminal Overload. | 3 Chests opened | 1 Terminal Overload Key & 50 Neomuna Rank & XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onslaught Destroyer | Clear waves in Onslaught. | 5 Waves cleared | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Favor Finder | Collect Favors of Grace, Justice, and Zeal in Defiant Battlegrounds. | 20 Favors acquired | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Cluster Up | Defeat targets with Pulse Rifles. Combatants in Onslaught and Guardians are worth more. | 100 [Pulse Rifle] Pulse Rifle | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Fallen Down On The Job | Defeat Fallen. Those defeated in Onslaught are worth more. | 100 Fallen | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will of the People | Complete public events in the Dreaming City. Heroic completions are worth more. | 6 Public events | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
| Rapid Lair Defense | Rapidly defeat combatants. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil are worth more. | 60 Rapidly defeated | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
| Dragon's Fang | Defeat targets with Auto Rifles, Pulse Rifles, or Trace Rifles. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more. | 30 [Auto Rifle], [Pulse Rifle], or [Trace Rifle] defeats | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
| Dragonthread | Defeat targets with Solar or Strand damage. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more. | 100 [Solar] or [Strand] defeats | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
2024.05.21 19:06 DTG_Bot [D2] Daily Reset Thread [2024-05-21]
Daily Modifiers
Vanguard Ops
- Heavyweight: Power weapons deal more damage, and more ammo is available.
- Arc Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Arc damage.
- Stasis Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Stasis damage.
- Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
- Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.
Dares of Eternity
- Durandal's Edge: When you're holding a Sword, damage from nearby combatants is reduced.
- Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.
Onslaught: Playlist
- Onslaught Rules: Defend and repair the ADU against waves of combatants. There are 10 waves to a set. ADU: If the ADU is destroyed, the activity ends. Scraps: An in-activity currency. They are earned by scoring and used to purchase and upgrade defenses at the start of every set and after waves 3 and 6. Rewards: Paid out after every set upon defeating the boss wave. Subsequent sets pay out better rewards. Legend increases rewards. Bonus Objectives: Rewards resources, vendor reputation, and armaments.
- Power Level Disabled: Combatant difficulty is set at a fixed level.
- Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
- Arc Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Arc damage.
- Stasis Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Stasis damage.
- Champion Foes: You will face [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Disruption] Overload, and [Stagger] Unstoppable Champions. Visit the Character or Mod Customization screen to view your active anti-Champion perks.
Riven's Lair
- Mettle: Power Level: All combatants in this activity will be at least 5 points over the player's current Power level.
- Void Threat: 25% increase to incoming Void damage.
- Blackout: Enemy melee attacks are significantly more powerful, and radar is disabled.
- Strand Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Strand damage.
- Solar Surge: 25% bonus to outgoing Solar damage.
The Coil
- The Coil Rules: Successfully complete four pathways inside Riven's Lair. Escalating Difficulty: Player's Power levels are fixed. Starting at 0 each subsequent pathway increases all combatants' Power level over the player's by 5. Wishing Glass: Wishing Glass is an in-activity currency. They drop from combatants, Glass Collectors, and pots. Wishing Glass comes in multiple rarities equating to their worth. Wishing Glass is used to purchase Dragon's Gifts from Riven. Dragon's Gifts: A set of buffs are randomly chosen, once per run. Between pathways, players can purchase buffs from Riven via Wishing Glass. Buffs are separated into three price point tiers. Rewards: After each pathway, players will return to Riven for their rewards. Subsequent pathways pay out better rewards. Breaking through score thresholds unlock secret chests. Finishing The Coil with a platinum score rewards players with access to the lustrous and lucrative Chamber of Wishes.
- Multiplicity: Combatant difficulty scales with fireteam size.
- Limited Revives: Limited fireteam revives. Purchase additional revives from Riven with Wishing Glass. Small chance to drop from destroying pots.
- Full Extinguish: If all your fireteam members fall with 0 Revive Tokens, everyone is returned to orbit.
- Attrition: Regeneration is greatly impaired. Defeating enemies may create wells of Light.
- Galvanized: Combatants have more health and are more difficult to stun.
- The Pathways: Riven's wish magic stirs weekly. The following are the pathways and their order in The Coil: -First Steps (Temple of the Queen's Wrath) -Divining Hall -Sensorium (Pavilion) -Observatory
- Solar Threat: 25% increase to incoming Solar damage.
- Scorched Earth: Enemies throw grenades significantly more often.
- Overcharged Glaive: 25% bonus to Glaive damage.
- Overcharged Machine Gun: 25% bonus to Machine Gun damage.
Seasonal
Legend/Master Lost Sector
Exotic armor drop (if solo): ArmsThe Quarry: Legend
- Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
- Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Stagger] Unstoppable
- Threat: [Void] Void
- Shields: [Solar] Solar, [Void] Void
- Modifiers: Scorched Earth
The Quarry: Master
- Legend Difficulty: Locked Equipment, Extra Shields
- Champions: [Shield-Piercing] Barrier, [Stagger] Unstoppable
- Threat: [Void] Void
- Shields: [Solar] Solar, [Void] Void
- Modifiers: Scorched Earth
Misc
- Terminal Overload: Ahimsa Park Weapon: Basso Ostinato (Shotgun)
- The Wellspring: Defend Weapon: Father's Sins (Sniper Rifle)
- Altars of Sorrow Weapon: Apostate (Sniper Rifle)
Guns & Materials
Banshee's Featured Weapons
| Name | Type | Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 | Masterwork |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| True Prophecy | Kinetic Hand Cannon | TrueSight HCS // Sureshot HCS | Appended Mag // Flared Magwell | Field Prep | Elemental Capacitor | Tier 2: Reload Speed |
| Whispering Slab | Kinetic Combat Bow | Elastic String // Polymer String | Helical Fletching // Straight Fletching | Archer's Tempo | Swashbuckler | Tier 2: Draw Time |
| Cartesian Coordinate | Energy Fusion Rifle | Red Dot 2 MOA // Red Dot Micro | Enhanced Battery // Projection Fuse | Under Pressure | Vorpal Weapon | Tier 2: Charge Time |
| Legal Action II | Kinetic Pulse Rifle | Arrowhead Brake // Corkscrew Rifling | Tactical Mag // Steady Rounds | Moving Target | Thresh | Tier 2: Reload Speed |
| Palmyra-B | Heavy Rocket Launcher | Linear Compensator // Smart Drift Control | Alloy Casing // High-Velocity Rounds | Surplus | Explosive Light | Tier 2: Reload Speed |
Master Rahool's Material Exchange
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Legendary Shards)
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Dark Fragment)
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 10 Phantasmal Fragment)
- Purchase Glimmer (10000 for 25 Herealways Piece)
- Enhancement Prism (1 for 10 Enhancement Core & 10000 Glimmer)
- Ascendant Shard (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)
- Ascendant Alloy (1 for 10 Enhancement Prism & 50000 Glimmer)
Bounties
Commander Zavala, Vanguard| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kill It with Fire | Defeat combatants with Solar damage in Vanguard playlists. | 25 [Solar] Solar | XP+ |
| Loose Ends | Defeat combatants in Vanguard playlists with Strand damage. | 25 Strand final blows | XP+ |
| Twisted Every Way | Defeat combatants in Vanguard playlists with Strand abilities. Defeating suspended combatants or defeating them with your grapple grants additional progress. | 50 Strand ability final blows | XP+ |
| Finish Them | Defeat combatants with your finisher in Vanguard playlists. | 5 Finisher | XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparring Grounds | Complete matches in any Crucible playlist. | 2 Crucible matches | XP+ |
| Scorched Earth | Defeat opponents with Solar scorch damage. | 6 [Solar] Solar scorch | XP+ |
| On the Mark | Defeat opponents with precision final blows. | 3 [Headshot] Precision | XP+ |
| Did You Throw Enough Grenades? | In Mayhem, defeat opponents with grenades. | 3 [Grenade] Grenade | XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elite Executioner | Defeat challenging enemies in Gambit. | 10 Challenging combatants | XP+ |
| Pins and Needles | Defeat targets in Gambit matches with Strand abilities. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress. | 30 Strand ability final blows | XP+ |
| Torn to Shreds | Defeat targets in Gambit matches by severing or unraveling them with Strand. Defeating Guardians grants additional progress. | 30 Strand severed or unraveled final blows | XP+ |
| Like Kindling | Use Solar ignition to defeat targets in Gambit. Defeating Guardians grants more progress. | 10 [Solar] Solar ignition | XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hand Cannon Calibration | Calibrate Hand Cannons against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision and against opposing Guardians. | 100 [Hand Cannon] Hand Cannon | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Pulse Rifle Calibration | Calibrate Pulse Rifles against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision final blows and against opposing Guardians. | 100 [Pulse Rifle] Pulse Rifle | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Linear Fusion Rifle Calibration | Calibrate Linear Fusion Rifles against any target. Earn bonus progress with precision and against opposing Guardians. | 100 [Linear Fusion Rifle] Linear Fusion Rifle | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Stasis Calibration | Calibrate Stasis weapons against any target. Earn bonus progress against opposing Guardians. | 80 [Stasis] Stasis weapon | XP+ & Enhancement Core & Gunsmith Rank Progress |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vexing Void | In Neomuna, defeat combatants with Void damage. Vex combatants grant additional progress. | 60 [Void] Void | XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank |
| Finish Majeure | In Neomuna, defeat combatants with finishers. Powerful combatants grant additional progress. | 10 Finisher | XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank |
| Party Time | In Neomuna, rapidly defeat combatants in groups of 2 or more with Auto Rifles, Submachine Guns, Pulse Rifles, or Machine Guns. | 20 Rapidly defeated | XP+ & 50 Neomuna Rank |
| Terminal Rewards | Open chests after completing Terminal Overload. | 3 Chests opened | 1 Terminal Overload Key & 50 Neomuna Rank & XP+ |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Onslaught Destroyer | Clear waves in Onslaught. | 5 Waves cleared | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Favor Finder | Collect Favors of Grace, Justice, and Zeal in Defiant Battlegrounds. | 20 Favors acquired | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Cluster Up | Defeat targets with Pulse Rifles. Combatants in Onslaught and Guardians are worth more. | 100 [Pulse Rifle] Pulse Rifle | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Fallen Down On The Job | Defeat Fallen. Those defeated in Onslaught are worth more. | 100 Fallen | 1 XP+ & 25 Lord Shaxx Reputation & 50 Lord Shaxx Reputation |
| Name | Description | Requirement | Reward |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will of the People | Complete public events in the Dreaming City. Heroic completions are worth more. | 6 Public events | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
| Rapid Lair Defense | Rapidly defeat combatants. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil are worth more. | 60 Rapidly defeated | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
| Dragon's Fang | Defeat targets with Auto Rifles, Pulse Rifles, or Trace Rifles. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more. | 30 [Auto Rifle], [Pulse Rifle], or [Trace Rifle] defeats | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
| Dragonthread | Defeat targets with Solar or Strand damage. Combatants in Riven's Lair or The Coil and Guardians are worth more. | 100 [Solar] or [Strand] defeats | XP+ & 25 Spirit of Riven Reputation |
2024.05.21 19:03 mother_puppy New Releases May 21
MM Romance
Kindle Unlimited- Enchanting Exposition (Demon Magic #4) by Alice Winters - Amazon - (fantasy, established couple, series must be read in order, mage/demon, saving friend from dark magic, trapped in dark magic book, found family) - 317 pages
- Swipe Left, Power Down, Look Up by Amy Lane - Amazon - (contemporary, soccer coach/barista, sports adjacent, professional upheaval, sunshine MC) - 145 pages
- Under Your Skin by Lee McCormick - Amazon - (dark contemporary, mortician/serial killer, mortician covering up for serial killer, morally grey & obsessive MCs, angst, check CWs) - 386 pages
- New Tricks (The Les's Bar Series #4) by Jodi Payne & BA Tortuga - Amazon - (contemporary, gay bar meet cute, widower MC, 24/7 dom/sub, BDSM, MC new to BDSM, grief, check CWs) - 281 pages
- Moonlight Magic (Dark Forest Pack) by Annabelle Jacobs - Amazon - (MMM, paranormal, fae/witch/shifter, hurt/comfort, mates, angst, suspense, possessive shifter MC ) - 338 pages
- Pi (Code Name: Rodeo #1) by Thia Mackin - Amazon - (MMMM, paranormal?, maybe poly?, members of a SEAL team, action/adventure) - 238 pages
- Immersion Play (Leather and Lattes #1) by Katherine McIntyre - Amazon - (contemporary, kink café setting, one MC new to kink, daddy/brat, grief, check CWs) - 297 pages
- Icebreaker: An MM Hockey Romance (Portland Lumberjacks #1) by Blair Brady - Amazon - (contemporary, hockey, rookie/veteran, age gap, grumpy/sunshine) - 226 pages
- The Cry of the Night (Blood and Moon #2) by Alex Vale - Amazon - (dark fantasy, vampire MCs, established couple, series must be read in order, opposites attract, slow burn, action/adventure, check CWs) - 264 pages
- The Bump by Sidney Karger - Kobo & Amazon - (contemporary, rom com, relationship in crisis, road trip, freaking about about coming baby, secrets, opposites attract) - 363 pages
- Forever Yours, Kit: Gay Childhood Friends to Lovers Romance by Atreus Rosewood - Kobo & Amazon - (contemporary?, takes place in the 90s?, childhood friends to strangers to lovers, coming of age, second chance, forgiveness, "it's always been you") - 244 pages
- Dangerous Recall by Tyler Anne Snell - Kobo & Amazon - (contemporary, bodyguard/client, mystery/suspense, murder investigation) - 219 pages
- Nearlywed by Nicolas DiDomizio - Kobo & Amazon - (contemporary, rom com, engagement in crisis, early honeymoon to recharge, opposites attract, age gap) - 345 pages
- Blaze of Cortez (Rain City Tales #8) by Brent Archer - Kobo & Amazon - (contemporary, firefighters, workplace romance, coming out, trauma, check CWs) - 328 pages
- These Bittersweet Vines (The Eastern Quarter's Mana #2) by Dorian Valentine - Kobo & Amazon - (fantasy, magic, prince/bodyguard, amnesia, action/adventure) - 514 pages
- After: Puppy Love: MM Romance Novella Short Story (Trick of the Light #3) by Abigail Hunter - Amazon - (contemporary, established couple, series must be read in order, photoshoot setting) - 53 pages
Other Queer Romance
Kindle Unlimited- The Pleasure Protocol: A Scorching Billionaire Romance by Darcy Romaine & Kat Alexander - Amazon - (MF, contemporary, bisexual MC, billionaire/escort, BDSM, collared FMC) - 328 pages
- A Heart Bleeding Gold (Midnight Series #3) by H.M. Darling - Amazon - (FF, fantasy, vampire FMC, starting over, angst, check CWs) - 212 pages
- For Blood & Soul (Tales of the Immortals #3) by Tara Lynn - Amazon - (MMF, fantasy, vampires, established relationship, series must be read in order, action/adventure) - 368 pages
- Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann - Kobo & Amazon - (MF, paranormal, asexual FMC, sentient haunted house, love triangle between MCs and the house?, FMC with ESP investigating haunted house, single dad, opposites attract) - 415 pages
- Here for the Wrong Reasons: A Novel by Annabel Paulsen & Lydia Wang - Kobo & Amazon - (FF, contemporary, rom com, dating show contestants competing for a man, cowgirl/influencer, opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, slow burn, challenging comp het) - 365 pages
- Ice + Alligators by Angel Martinez - Kobo & Amazon - (FF, fantasy, ice fairy/alligator, ice fairy is banished to alligator's swamp, working together to defeat humans who threaten swamp) - 103 pages
- The 7-10 Split: A Romantic Comedy (Peach Blossom #1) by Karmen Lee - Kobo & Amazon - (FF, contemporary, rom com, second chance, enemies to lovers, Black FMCs, high school teachers and co bowling coaches, start & bring HS bowling team to victory) - 289 pages
- Second Night Stand by Karelia Stetz-Waters & Fay Stetz-Waters - Kobo & Amazon - (FF, contemporary, ONS to lovers, ballerina/burlesque dancer, dance troupe competition show rivals) - 334 pages
- A Liaison with Her Leading Lady by Lotte R. James - Kobo & Amazon - (FF, historical, playwright/theater owner, opposites attract) - 301 pages
- Bonded (New Eden #2) by Jessica Marting - Kobo & Amazon - (MMF, sci fi, cyborg/cyborg/human, human FMC, second chance MM, starship setting) - 186 pages
- Unexpected You (Sapph in the City #1) by Chelsea M. Cameron - Amazon - (FF, contemporary, boss/employee, romance authodisaster assistant, ice queen MC, age gap) - 233 pages
- Their Human to Entice (Unit A12 #7) by Morgan Robinson - Amazon - (MMF, sci fi, alien/alien/human, established MM alien adds third human woman, mates, woman needs a mate to leave Earth) - 213 pages
Audiobooks
MM Romance- Nearlywed by Nicolas DiDomizio, narrated by Michael Crouch - Amazon - (contemporary, rom com, engagement in crisis, early honeymoon to recharge, opposites attract, age gap) - 9 hrs 2 min
- Dangerous Recall by Tyler Anne Snell, narrated by Michael Dean - Amazon - (contemporary, bodyguard/client, mystery/suspense, murder investigation) - 5 hrs 21 min
- Volatile (Unlucky 13) by J.R. Gray, narrated by Tor Thom & Iggy Toma - Amazon - (contemporary, rehab resort setting, bandmates, sexual awakening, check CWs ) - 6 hrs 23 min
- Ghostly Findings (Ghostly #2) by E.M. Leya, narrated by Greg D. Barnett - Amazon - (paranormal, mystery/suspense, medical examinedetective, slow burn) - 6 hrs 7 min
- Rise (Wings 'N' Wands #2) by AJ Sherwood & Jocelynn Drake, narrated by Joel Leslie - Amazon - (MMM, fantasy, established relationship, series must be read in order, 2 dragon shifters & 1 human, set in Brasil, fated mates, magic, action/adventure) - 10 hrs 30 min
- The Amazing Alpha Tau Self-Improvement Project (Alpha Tau #2) by Lisa Henry & Sarah Honey, narrated by Nick J. Russo - Amazon - (contemporary, college, frat boy/nerd, boyfriend tutoring, banter) - 6 hrs 2 min
- Point Blank (Badlands #6) by Morgan Brice, narrated by Kale Williams - Amazon - (paranormal, established couple, series must be read in order, psychic/detective, mystery/suspense, wedding planning, ghosts) - 6 hrs 55 min
- Loyalty (Halcyon Diivision #3) by E.J. Noyes, narrated by Abby Craden - Amazon - (FF, contemporary, mystery/suspense, established couple, series must be read in order, save the world by finding a secret password) - 10 hrs 5 min
- A Liaison with Her Leading Lady by Lotte R. James, narrated by Beatrix Ayliff - Amazon - (FF, historical, playwright/theater owner, opposites attract) - 8 hrs 56 min
2024.05.21 19:03 DTG_Bot [D2] Weekly Reset Thread [2024-05-21]
Nightfall - The Ordeal: beep boop failed to fetch
Modifiers:
Rewards:
- Grandmaster reward:
- Pinnacle reward: Earn 200,000 cumulative points by completing Nightfalls.
Vanguard Surge: beep boop failed to fetch
The other modifiers rotate daily, check out the Daily Reset Thread for them!Raids and Dungeons
Weekly Raid and Dungeon
- Raid: beep boop failed to fetch
- Dungeon: beep boop failed to fetch
Raid Challenges
beep boop failed to fetchDares of Eternity: Legend
beep boop failed to fetchLoot
- Armor: Scatterhorn Suit, Wild Hunt Suit
- Weapons: Arsenic Bite-4b, Blast Battue, Corsair's Wrath, Deafening Whisper, Dire Promise, Enigma's Draw, Escape Velocity, Jian 7 Rifle, Royal Chase, True Prophecy, Friction Fire
Neomuna
Campaign Mission: Desperate Measures
Fight alongside your allies in a final stand against Calus, the Disciple.Partition: Backdoor
Break into a Vex Mind's stronghold and defeat it.Vex Incursion Zone: Zephyr Concourse
The Vex are testing CloudArk defenses in this region. Reality fractures as the VexNet bleeds through into Neomuna.Legacy Activities
- Savathûn's Throne World
- Campaign Mission: The Cunning: Following a lead from Fynch, search the dark corners of Savathûn's throne world for another clue to how she stole the Light.
- Europa
- Eclipsed Zone: Eventide Ruins
- Empire Hunt: beep boop failed to fetch
- Exo Challenge: beep boop failed to fetch
- Moon:
- Campaign Mission: Beyond
- Wandering Nightmare: Nightmare of Jaxx, Claw of Xivu Arath (Hellmouth)
- Trove Guardian is in Archer's Line
- Dreaming City: Weak Curse
- Petra is at The Strand.
- Weekly Mission: Broken Courier - Respond to a distress call in the Strand.
- Ascendant Challenge: Agonarch Abyss, Bay of Drowned Wishes
- Blind Well: Scorn, Plagues: Sikariis & Varkuuriis
Miscellaneous
Ada-1's Wares
| Name | Description | Cost |
|---|
Eververse Bright Dust Offerings
beep boop failed to fetchSeasonal Challenges
| Name | Description | Objectives | Rewards |
|---|
Notable Armor Rolls
Only notable rolls (stat total >= 59 or single stat >= 26) are listed here.2024.05.21 19:03 DTG_Bot [D2] Weekly Reset Thread [2024-05-21]
Nightfall - The Ordeal: beep boop failed to fetch
Modifiers:
Rewards:
- Grandmaster reward:
- Pinnacle reward: Earn 200,000 cumulative points by completing Nightfalls.
Vanguard Surge: beep boop failed to fetch
The other modifiers rotate daily, check out the Daily Reset Thread for them!Raids and Dungeons
Weekly Raid and Dungeon
- Raid: beep boop failed to fetch
- Dungeon: beep boop failed to fetch
Raid Challenges
beep boop failed to fetchDares of Eternity: Legend
beep boop failed to fetchLoot
- Armor: Scatterhorn Suit, Wild Hunt Suit
- Weapons: Arsenic Bite-4b, Blast Battue, Corsair's Wrath, Deafening Whisper, Dire Promise, Enigma's Draw, Escape Velocity, Jian 7 Rifle, Royal Chase, True Prophecy, Friction Fire
Neomuna
Campaign Mission: Desperate Measures
Fight alongside your allies in a final stand against Calus, the Disciple.Partition: Backdoor
Break into a Vex Mind's stronghold and defeat it.Vex Incursion Zone: Zephyr Concourse
The Vex are testing CloudArk defenses in this region. Reality fractures as the VexNet bleeds through into Neomuna.Legacy Activities
- Savathûn's Throne World
- Campaign Mission: The Cunning: Following a lead from Fynch, search the dark corners of Savathûn's throne world for another clue to how she stole the Light.
- Europa
- Eclipsed Zone: Eventide Ruins
- Empire Hunt: beep boop failed to fetch
- Exo Challenge: beep boop failed to fetch
- Moon:
- Campaign Mission: Beyond
- Wandering Nightmare: Nightmare of Jaxx, Claw of Xivu Arath (Hellmouth)
- Trove Guardian is in Archer's Line
- Dreaming City: Weak Curse
- Petra is at The Strand.
- Weekly Mission: Broken Courier - Respond to a distress call in the Strand.
- Ascendant Challenge: Agonarch Abyss, Bay of Drowned Wishes
- Blind Well: Scorn, Plagues: Sikariis & Varkuuriis
Miscellaneous
Ada-1's Wares
| Name | Description | Cost |
|---|
Eververse Bright Dust Offerings
beep boop failed to fetchSeasonal Challenges
| Name | Description | Objectives | Rewards |
|---|
Notable Armor Rolls
Only notable rolls (stat total >= 59 or single stat >= 26) are listed here.2024.05.21 19:03 JaguarLauren [F4F] Looking for somebody to chat or roleplay with regarding celebrity crushes as bound and gagged damsels in distress
Okay this is my first post here and I HOPE I'm able to make myself somewhat clear on what I want and that I'm doing this correctly. Haven't done a lot of RPing but I've got free time at the moment and I'm looking for something hot and fun and letting me share my fantasies with somebody else.
So my name's Lauren and I'm a cis-lesbian in my early thirties and my honest passion? Nice heated action adventure stories with PERIL AND BONDAGE and using all manner of my crushes(and hopefully yours) as inspiration.
What I mean by this? I love bondage! I love hot girls trussed up tightly in all manner of restraints and facing all manner of wicked danger! Could be as simple as getting caught out by bad types to being left with some ticking time bomb! So long as they are bound and gagged, struggling up a storm, and looking hot as hellfire.
You add in a cute duo in trouble(with a lot of added heat) all the better! Sexy mutual struggling as they intently try to save each other or get rescued? Woof that's the ticket!
And I basically have a fondness for SO MANY nice ladies! Actresses! Lingerie models! Singers! Etc. Etc.! Share who you crush on as well and even if I'm not familiar with them well I'll learn about them and crush on them too!
Now as far as limitations or preferences go it's really simple:
I don't really want these scenes ending BADLY for the most part! I like my girls escaping and probably sealing things with a kiss of relief and a sense of victory in the air! All that tension exploding into hotness is real appealing. We can work on some other levels of darkness but I want to check that we're always on the same page here.
I like sex and ALL the STEAM but I want to get fully comfortable before that comes out.
I love the process of the girls getting caught out and prepped and taunted and all that classic "bwahahahah evil" stuff! But the captors need to be women too and everything needs to stay pretty focused on the sapphic thrills
I like imagery like being stripped down to lingerie or getting tied up in skimpy bikinis but MANY bits of fashion do! So long as you want the scene to be dynamic I am QUITE down!
Again ANY cute female celeb you've got a thing for FROM WHATEVER ERA I can quite happily work with that! You got a specific thing for mid-90s Tia Carrere? Well lass that pleases me like punch!
I'm informal and can do RPs in the first or third person and am willing to work with you on your style! So long as it's pretty lightweight and easygoing with this! And I'd like to talk a lot too! Get a GOOD feeling for my partner!
And well I don't know if I can think of anything else? So hit me up on the reddit DM and we'll maybe talk about discord and the like! I'd just be really excited to get my own fantasies out and shared with somebody else who's got a lot of crushes and likes the thought of them bound and gagged in adventurous peril.
submitted by JaguarLauren to Celebrity_Fantasies2 [link] [comments]
So my name's Lauren and I'm a cis-lesbian in my early thirties and my honest passion? Nice heated action adventure stories with PERIL AND BONDAGE and using all manner of my crushes(and hopefully yours) as inspiration.
What I mean by this? I love bondage! I love hot girls trussed up tightly in all manner of restraints and facing all manner of wicked danger! Could be as simple as getting caught out by bad types to being left with some ticking time bomb! So long as they are bound and gagged, struggling up a storm, and looking hot as hellfire.
You add in a cute duo in trouble(with a lot of added heat) all the better! Sexy mutual struggling as they intently try to save each other or get rescued? Woof that's the ticket!
And I basically have a fondness for SO MANY nice ladies! Actresses! Lingerie models! Singers! Etc. Etc.! Share who you crush on as well and even if I'm not familiar with them well I'll learn about them and crush on them too!
Now as far as limitations or preferences go it's really simple:
I don't really want these scenes ending BADLY for the most part! I like my girls escaping and probably sealing things with a kiss of relief and a sense of victory in the air! All that tension exploding into hotness is real appealing. We can work on some other levels of darkness but I want to check that we're always on the same page here.
I like sex and ALL the STEAM but I want to get fully comfortable before that comes out.
I love the process of the girls getting caught out and prepped and taunted and all that classic "bwahahahah evil" stuff! But the captors need to be women too and everything needs to stay pretty focused on the sapphic thrills
I like imagery like being stripped down to lingerie or getting tied up in skimpy bikinis but MANY bits of fashion do! So long as you want the scene to be dynamic I am QUITE down!
Again ANY cute female celeb you've got a thing for FROM WHATEVER ERA I can quite happily work with that! You got a specific thing for mid-90s Tia Carrere? Well lass that pleases me like punch!
I'm informal and can do RPs in the first or third person and am willing to work with you on your style! So long as it's pretty lightweight and easygoing with this! And I'd like to talk a lot too! Get a GOOD feeling for my partner!
And well I don't know if I can think of anything else? So hit me up on the reddit DM and we'll maybe talk about discord and the like! I'd just be really excited to get my own fantasies out and shared with somebody else who's got a lot of crushes and likes the thought of them bound and gagged in adventurous peril.
2024.05.21 19:02 sadubrab We create a game "Runaway from me. Alexandra" pls feedback
 | Indie studio "Terrabyte Games" presents the trailer for the game "Run away from me. Alexandra" is an exciting adventure adventure with horror elements, promising players an exciting plot and unexpected twists that will keep you in suspense until the very end of the game. Players will have an exciting first-person adventure with a unique blinking effect. The plot tells about a girl named Alexandra, who finds herself in a dangerous situation after meeting a mysterious man named Eric. She will have to fight for survival in the lair of a maniac, passing interesting quests. submitted by sadubrab to indiegames [link] [comments] Features of the game The appearance of the main character Alexandra was created in the image of the famous blogger and journalist Dasha Ostrovskaya, who is actively involved in the development of the game and the creation of Alexandra herself, watching every detail and adding her ideas to the script. https://preview.redd.it/dppl39j79t1d1.jpg?width=3088&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=06b69a3a83ab2ec8a14aa315cdd635eaa5cf78c3 The phone is the main assistant in the game, it illuminates the dark locations that the heroine will have to go through, but you always need to be careful, the light from the phone attracts Eric. There will be no standard notes, papers, stickers, newspaper clippings, etc. in the game. Instead, the developers decided to implement the concept of gadgetization – everything in the game will interact with the player through a fitness bracelet and a phone. https://preview.redd.it/gxs3g8rb9t1d1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=1e45ccaa73d21dad1c163a7f69caaba04c09af7d The smartwatch will monitor the player's breathing, the more often Alexandra breathes, the more likely she is to fall into the clutches of a maniac. And of course, there will be a transition from the clock to the player's inventory. https://preview.redd.it/awg9q05i9t1d1.png?width=700&format=png&auto=webp&s=684036dd2a1168c1c28d2f8fa15d67a959f3f03c The game will have different endings, where everything depends on the player and his attentiveness. Several times the player will have to make an important choice on which the outcome of the game and the plot will depend. We also want to give a percentage of the proceeds for the purchase of equipment for Lisa Alert, so that in real life, situations like with Alexandra do not happen to any girl! Platforms: PC Developer: Terrabyte Games Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX9Cs0SFXjc Website: https://terrabytegames.ru/projects#!/tab/628126253-3 Genre: FPS Horror Setting: Realism Engine: Unreal Engine 5 Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2904970/_/ https://preview.redd.it/mtscc5dm9t1d1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=86a244e8f1344575dac591d5a3e2c1a2bca96fa8 https://preview.redd.it/orxmu5dm9t1d1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=dbe2c8c155f3d169e0c7948d2ed03c0b0d2af767 https://preview.redd.it/21kse5dm9t1d1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=12b15935bfbd6d3f0a75f4de06e13784a1ae4aac https://preview.redd.it/emaep4dm9t1d1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=109201c32390741214299edb08ed455dae6a0b5f https://preview.redd.it/rzzx05dm9t1d1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4b48eb821b21f394a7284d995e690a2d278adfaa https://preview.redd.it/f3vog5dm9t1d1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=118fe900137de85f561de228cbdec20eecfc13b5 |
2024.05.21 19:02 Ok_Landscape7517 Single male, slightly used! 49
Just hope to find my human
Hi all, I’m David, no staged names here! And yup, 49 and sadly single for a few years now! I’m in Scotland, and would prefer someone on same continent.
I’m a simple lad looking for that connection! That one human I can come home to and talk to, hold hands with and just be!! Or they can come home to me!!
I’m 173cm short, not toned but defo not fat. Middle of the road dad bod!?!? Salt and pepper short hair, glasses and beard. Happy to share pics.
I’m looking for my fem! Not necessarily cis but defo fem!!!!! So you can see I am very open.
I honestly think Vanilla is only good for ice cream!! Very K positive!!
Likes are travel, photography, camping if able, scuba if able, computer, sci-fi, fantasy, books of the digital kind tho and many many more!
I’m passionate about what I do and if you take time to know me then you’ll see what makes me tick!
I am drawn to a small build person, so that does mean hight and chest sizes lol! Hey if women can say they want tall dark and handsome, then I’m sure I can say my preference also! I’d hope that your not a barbie kind of person, IE All make up and glitter lol. Great eye candy and all but not really for me!
So what else do you want to know?
If you’ve made it this far! Whoop well done you, next step is to drop me a message and say something a bit more than “Hi” please!
Look forward to hearing from you, if you are out there!!!
submitted by Ok_Landscape7517 to ForeverAloneDating [link] [comments]
Hi all, I’m David, no staged names here! And yup, 49 and sadly single for a few years now! I’m in Scotland, and would prefer someone on same continent.
I’m a simple lad looking for that connection! That one human I can come home to and talk to, hold hands with and just be!! Or they can come home to me!!
I’m 173cm short, not toned but defo not fat. Middle of the road dad bod!?!? Salt and pepper short hair, glasses and beard. Happy to share pics.
I’m looking for my fem! Not necessarily cis but defo fem!!!!! So you can see I am very open.
I honestly think Vanilla is only good for ice cream!! Very K positive!!
Likes are travel, photography, camping if able, scuba if able, computer, sci-fi, fantasy, books of the digital kind tho and many many more!
I’m passionate about what I do and if you take time to know me then you’ll see what makes me tick!
I am drawn to a small build person, so that does mean hight and chest sizes lol! Hey if women can say they want tall dark and handsome, then I’m sure I can say my preference also! I’d hope that your not a barbie kind of person, IE All make up and glitter lol. Great eye candy and all but not really for me!
So what else do you want to know?
If you’ve made it this far! Whoop well done you, next step is to drop me a message and say something a bit more than “Hi” please!
Look forward to hearing from you, if you are out there!!!
2024.05.21 18:55 Zerone06 Chinese Taoism holds a presence in Altaic mythology in the form of gender-based duality and creation
The famous symbol of Taoist cosmology, Yin and Yang, represents dualism in the principles of universal existence. But it also reflects the harmony within these two, that is, it also has a monistic side.
The Altaic creation saga is a cosmogonic "beginning of everything" text of the Turks and it contains elements influenced by Taoist principles.
Here is how it goes:
When there was nothing, there was only water. Ulgen was flying above the water, forever adrift, since there was no place to land. But one time, Ulgen heard a voice from within him, "Hold from below, grasp what lies before you!" With that, he reached out his hand. From the depths of the water, a piece of rock emerged. Ulgen alighted upon the land, but then he just rested on, for he knew not what to reach further. Then, Goddess Agine rose to the surface and adressed him: "Create, then! Say 'I did, it's done', or else, do not say 'I did, it's not done.'" And then, she disappeared. Leaving Ulgen alone with the deed of creation.
If we were talking about Greek mythology, this would probably end up in sex. But Agine enters the water and disappears, and the story continues in another way. Because Agine has fulfilled her role. Agine is the goddess who triggered Ulgen into creating. By saying "Say 'It's done,' or else, do not say 'It's not done,'" she teaches Ulgen to believe that something that is desired to happen will happen, in other words, affirmation, because cosmogonic texts (since everything is created for the first time) have an aspect of suggesting how the world should be. One other side is the power of logos But that's a whole another matter.
In short creation first comes from Agine here. Now, the connection of nature-related feminine energy and creation is not a first in mythology as it exists in almost every mythology, but here it's a bit different because Agine inspires the creator instead of, you know, taking from him and causing creation by herself. She inspires the act itself, now we can talk about the manifestation of a dual system of thought without relying on gender and birth as it usually happens in myths, but rather in a cosmological sense.
The heaven/earth concept is another concept of Turks which is also a part of this dual system of thought. In Chinese historical literature, we can see the term Tianxia (天下), which means everything under the sky. So there is sky, and then there is what's under it. This is highly related to the Mandate of Heaven so it's a concept of mythology as well. Again, the usual translation of Tian in Chinese is Heaven so it's a divine thing. And from the Turks they usually refer to sky as Tengri. Dots are already connecting.
Anyways, let's continue with the saga:
An entity named Erlik emerged. Ulgen asked him who he was. Erlik declared his desire to gather soil and fashion it into an earth of his own, but this intention of him angered Ulgen. Erlik said that he would bring the soil to him if he kept his anger, Ulgen calmed down. Erlik then brought the soil. Ulgen took the soil and shouted: "What I have done will be!" and a piece of land was formed before him. Then he sent Erlik back to the bottom of the water again. This time Erlik only delivered some of the soil, but kept a piece in his mouth. However, the soil that Erlik kept in his mouth also grew larger and got stuck in his throat. When Ulgen asked why he hid the soil, Erlik answered that he wanted to create a place for himself. Ulgen got furious at his yet again attempt to rival his divine self. With fury, he banished Erlik, declaring he will never be able come to the surface again. Thus, Erlik remained underground forever, spreading diseases, torturing dead souls, and unleashing his curse.
Now here it resembles Greek mythology indeed. Erlik is similar to Hades as his role is ruling the underworld as the god of evil. But still, is the concept here really the one and the same as the clash between Zeus and Hades?
The distinction between good and bad is existent here that is obvious. But hear this: Although Erlik and Ulgen seem to be enemies in principle, they are actually complementary to each other. They are the two faces of creation, two faces of the same coin, just like how it was with Agine. The conflict between them is essentially conflict of territorial dominance of creation. While Ulgen represented the sky, Erlik wanted to take the earth, but when he couldn't, he was sent underground. Erlik is a complementary element of the creation since without under what there is cosmos can't fully shape.
Here is the explanation of Yin and Yang from Encyclopedia Britannica: Yin is a symbol of earth, femaleness, darkness, passivity, and absorption. Yang is conceived of as heaven, maleness, light, activity, and penetration.
As you can see, Yin and Yang contain not one, but all what is opposite. Therefore, we can clearly see Erlik's position on the opposite side of Ulgen, who, as heaven, represents Yang's properties. Now there are strong theories that Tengrism is a pantheistic religion. In the believed cosmological model of the Tengrism, all shapes from a tree and all what existence reaches is essentially bucketed in one. The elements of the universe are all connected to each other. So, while the model is like this, factors like the creation being formed from great contrasts and the universe's being still representing those opposite powers inevitably reflects the Taoist principles here. After all, Yin and Yang stand for Earth and Sky as well. Which is a clear core in Turkic belief as it could be understood from Orkhon inscriptions.
The saga ends as it follows:
Before getting imprisoned in the depths of the world, Erlik yearned for the most little piece of soil. Ulgen initially hesitated, yet Erlik pleaded so much, eventually he granted him the soil. But when Ulgen asked him what was his intention with the soil, Erlik plunged into the water, vanishing from sight.
As you can see, Erlik is indeed holds a part of creation in himself. It can be understood from here that the duality used by the Turks in their conception of the universe and creation is not dichotomous, but rather a form of harmony, and that it is probably related to Yin and Yang.
submitted by Zerone06 to mythology [link] [comments]
The Altaic creation saga is a cosmogonic "beginning of everything" text of the Turks and it contains elements influenced by Taoist principles.
Here is how it goes:
When there was nothing, there was only water. Ulgen was flying above the water, forever adrift, since there was no place to land. But one time, Ulgen heard a voice from within him, "Hold from below, grasp what lies before you!" With that, he reached out his hand. From the depths of the water, a piece of rock emerged. Ulgen alighted upon the land, but then he just rested on, for he knew not what to reach further. Then, Goddess Agine rose to the surface and adressed him: "Create, then! Say 'I did, it's done', or else, do not say 'I did, it's not done.'" And then, she disappeared. Leaving Ulgen alone with the deed of creation.
If we were talking about Greek mythology, this would probably end up in sex. But Agine enters the water and disappears, and the story continues in another way. Because Agine has fulfilled her role. Agine is the goddess who triggered Ulgen into creating. By saying "Say 'It's done,' or else, do not say 'It's not done,'" she teaches Ulgen to believe that something that is desired to happen will happen, in other words, affirmation, because cosmogonic texts (since everything is created for the first time) have an aspect of suggesting how the world should be. One other side is the power of logos But that's a whole another matter.
In short creation first comes from Agine here. Now, the connection of nature-related feminine energy and creation is not a first in mythology as it exists in almost every mythology, but here it's a bit different because Agine inspires the creator instead of, you know, taking from him and causing creation by herself. She inspires the act itself, now we can talk about the manifestation of a dual system of thought without relying on gender and birth as it usually happens in myths, but rather in a cosmological sense.
The heaven/earth concept is another concept of Turks which is also a part of this dual system of thought. In Chinese historical literature, we can see the term Tianxia (天下), which means everything under the sky. So there is sky, and then there is what's under it. This is highly related to the Mandate of Heaven so it's a concept of mythology as well. Again, the usual translation of Tian in Chinese is Heaven so it's a divine thing. And from the Turks they usually refer to sky as Tengri. Dots are already connecting.
Anyways, let's continue with the saga:
An entity named Erlik emerged. Ulgen asked him who he was. Erlik declared his desire to gather soil and fashion it into an earth of his own, but this intention of him angered Ulgen. Erlik said that he would bring the soil to him if he kept his anger, Ulgen calmed down. Erlik then brought the soil. Ulgen took the soil and shouted: "What I have done will be!" and a piece of land was formed before him. Then he sent Erlik back to the bottom of the water again. This time Erlik only delivered some of the soil, but kept a piece in his mouth. However, the soil that Erlik kept in his mouth also grew larger and got stuck in his throat. When Ulgen asked why he hid the soil, Erlik answered that he wanted to create a place for himself. Ulgen got furious at his yet again attempt to rival his divine self. With fury, he banished Erlik, declaring he will never be able come to the surface again. Thus, Erlik remained underground forever, spreading diseases, torturing dead souls, and unleashing his curse.
Now here it resembles Greek mythology indeed. Erlik is similar to Hades as his role is ruling the underworld as the god of evil. But still, is the concept here really the one and the same as the clash between Zeus and Hades?
The distinction between good and bad is existent here that is obvious. But hear this: Although Erlik and Ulgen seem to be enemies in principle, they are actually complementary to each other. They are the two faces of creation, two faces of the same coin, just like how it was with Agine. The conflict between them is essentially conflict of territorial dominance of creation. While Ulgen represented the sky, Erlik wanted to take the earth, but when he couldn't, he was sent underground. Erlik is a complementary element of the creation since without under what there is cosmos can't fully shape.
Here is the explanation of Yin and Yang from Encyclopedia Britannica: Yin is a symbol of earth, femaleness, darkness, passivity, and absorption. Yang is conceived of as heaven, maleness, light, activity, and penetration.
As you can see, Yin and Yang contain not one, but all what is opposite. Therefore, we can clearly see Erlik's position on the opposite side of Ulgen, who, as heaven, represents Yang's properties. Now there are strong theories that Tengrism is a pantheistic religion. In the believed cosmological model of the Tengrism, all shapes from a tree and all what existence reaches is essentially bucketed in one. The elements of the universe are all connected to each other. So, while the model is like this, factors like the creation being formed from great contrasts and the universe's being still representing those opposite powers inevitably reflects the Taoist principles here. After all, Yin and Yang stand for Earth and Sky as well. Which is a clear core in Turkic belief as it could be understood from Orkhon inscriptions.
The saga ends as it follows:
Before getting imprisoned in the depths of the world, Erlik yearned for the most little piece of soil. Ulgen initially hesitated, yet Erlik pleaded so much, eventually he granted him the soil. But when Ulgen asked him what was his intention with the soil, Erlik plunged into the water, vanishing from sight.
As you can see, Erlik is indeed holds a part of creation in himself. It can be understood from here that the duality used by the Turks in their conception of the universe and creation is not dichotomous, but rather a form of harmony, and that it is probably related to Yin and Yang.
2024.05.21 18:51 UzYugio It does 3 thing: Grant protection, recovery plus sp level 5 or lower then act as rank-up spell.
 | submitted by UzYugio to customyugioh [link] [comments] |
2024.05.21 18:49 FoamBornNarwhal My Southern Louisiana/Cajun-based Pokémon Team
 | Instead of going for a typical team of powerhouses and personal favorites, I really wanted to try something different and challenging with a little role play thrown in as well. submitted by FoamBornNarwhal to PokemonEmerald [link] [comments] I am Louisianan and of Cajun descent, so I tried to build a regional team based on Pokémon I would expect to find in Southern Louisiana. It was quite the challenge due to lack of balance, but quite fun to play with a regionally accurate team. ———————————————————————— My Cajun Team (in order of appearance): 1. Mudkip: my all-time favorite starter, but also the obvious choice since he basically turns into a swamp monster. He’s named Cou’yon (derived from “couillon” in French) which is sort of like a sarcastic/colloquial term of endearment that translates to “foolish person.”
|
2024.05.21 18:48 PotterheadZZ Historical Prompts! (Renaissance, Wild West, 1930s, and more!)
1. Courtesans and the Crown: I will be playing M! I am also open to potentially playing a MxM version. (1530s) Benjamin, the illegitimate son of a King, lives a life of luxury without any of the consequences that come with royal blood. He indulges in fine clothing, gambling and is a frequent patron of brothels. At sixteen, he met a courtesan named Antonia, who was five years his senior. Unlike the other women he had encountered, Antonia was beautiful, kind, and captured his heart. While they both share a deep love for each other, they face their own challenges. Benjamin is still learning the ways of the court at the age of eighteen, while Antonia holds a great deal of influence over him due to her life experience. From encouraging him to invite her to tea to spite his royal parentage and even convincing him to petition for legitimation to take his sister's throne, she is ready to shake things up, disguising their power-hungry nature as love. What started as a quiet and humble relationship has now turned them into vicious antagonists towards themselves and others, but their love for each other remains strong. Even though the character's name is Antonia, feel free to create your own character with a courtesan theme. I even encourage it!!!
2. Our Father, who art in Heaven: I can play M or F! (1450s) Through a combination of extortion, torture, and occasional bribery, Pope Castello has ascended to the Papal throne. Despite his vow of celibacy, his illegitimate offspring roam freely in the town, behaving as though they were the offspring of a monarch. His son, in particular, plowing through any woman with a pulse, loses vast sums of money gambling, and harbors his own dark secrets. Meanwhile, his father strives to elevate him to the rank of cardinal. However, what will happen when his son encounters the same fate as his father? Will he fall in love with a noblewoman and violate his church oath? This woman has her own secrets and a father who is eager to marry her off to the wealthiest suitor available. The resulting whirlwind will leave blood on the floor and lipstick stains on collars, reminiscent of The Borgias, but without the incestuous undertones.
3. Of course, Your Majesty: I will be playing M! (1500s) Your protagonist is the eldest child of a powerful monarch, destined to become the next Queen. During her childhood, she formed a close bond with the son of a Lord who was a bit older than her. As they grew up, their feelings for each other became more than just friendship, prompting them to explore a romantic relationship. However, it is the heavily religious 1500s, and fearing that their relationship would compromise her purity and jeopardize her chances of marrying another royal, the Lord's son was sent away to a chateau. Despite the distance, they kept in touch through letters and other means. But, a dramatic shift in the court's dynamics has brought him back, much to the chagrin of your character's father. He is willing to disrupt the status quo for the sake of love and occasionally for his own gain.
4. The Lost Princess: I will be playing F! (1480s-1520s) Princess Margery was adored by her subjects and set to ascend the throne one day. However, her fate changed drastically when, at the tender age of four, her carriage was attacked by bandits. In a desperate bid to survive, Margery pretended to be dead in the frigid snow of the forest. She wasn't certain what happened next, but she eventually found herself in the care of two kind-hearted parents who renamed her Elizabeth and raised her as their own daughter. As Elizabeth came of age, she began searching for potential suitors. But what happens when a young man uncovers her true identity? How does she make her way back to the castle, and what challenges await her upon her return? Most importantly, where do you fit into this tangled web of intrigue and deception?
5. For Our Kingdoms: I am open to playing M or F! (1530s) An arranged marriage between a prince and princess from neighboring kingdoms looms on the horizon. Is she a timid princess, suddenly thrust into the role of heir apparent, seeking a partner to bolster her claim to the throne? Or is she merely a commodity being sold off to the highest bidder? Regardless, what happens when two royals who are less-than-enthusiastic about the arrangement are forced to wed for the betterment of their kingdoms? With an unkind and brash prince making every quip in the book as he rises to the throne, she must find a way to make her marriage work. Will they find common ground, or will they be at each other's throats? Only time will tell.
6. Shadow in Stage Lights:I will be playing M! I am also open to potentially playing a MxM version. (Post-WWII 1940s) In the smoky haze of post-war Hollywood, where dreams are traded like currency and the past casts long shadows, Jack Turner returns from the frontlines of battle a shattered man. Once hailed as a literary luminary, he now struggles to find his place in a world that has moved on without him, haunted by memories he can neither escape nor forget. Enter your character, a radiant starlet whose ascent to fame is as swift as it is dazzling. Cast as the lead in Jack's latest play, she embodies the very essence of the character he once envisioned, igniting the stage with a brilliance that eclipses his own. But as the spotlight shines ever brighter on YC, Jack finds himself consumed by a bitter resentment, his heart seething with anger at the injustice of it all. In a world where shadows lurk behind every smile and fame is but a fleeting illusion, Jack and YC must navigate the treacherous waters of love and ambition, forging a path forward that leads them out of the darkness and into the light.
7. The West was Wilder: I will be playing M or F! (1830s) A young man is a moonshiner and owner of a notorious saloon in a small frontier town. With a reputation for brewing the finest illegal whiskey in the region, he walks a fine line between outlaw and respected member of the community. Meanwhile, a young lass is new to town and is seeking change. She has a tough exterior, but there is a vulnerability that draws folks in. As their paths cross in the dusty streets and dimly lit saloons of the Wild West, sparks fly between them. Whether it's a fiery confrontation over a poker game gone wrong or a chance encounter in the dead of night, their chemistry is undeniable. But with danger lurking around every corner and secrets waiting to be uncovered, their burgeoning romance is anything but smooth sailing.
8. Underneath the Bald Cypress: I will be playing F! (1930s) Amidst the sultry streets of New Orleans, the daughter of a wealthy sugar cane baron, finds herself torn between societal expectations and her own desires. Engaged to a controlling man of her father’s choosing, she longs for true love. Her path collides with your character, a jazz singer, a man of color, or something else entirely, sparking a forbidden romance that defies family secrets. As their love blossoms amidst the city's vibrant nightlife, she must choose between the safety of convention and the allure of a life filled with passion and uncertainty, where forbidden love and hidden truths threaten to unravel the world she knows.
9. Revolution or Run: I will be playing F! (Fallout Fandom) In Vault 47, life appears idyllic, with its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the horrors unfolding beneath the sterile corridors. Your character, recently assigned to a coveted scientist position, stumbles upon a hidden lab deep within the vault, where ghastly experiments are conducted on unsuspecting fellow dwellers. Amidst it all, your character finds help in a resourceful maintenance worker with a knack for uncovering secrets. With the weight of responsibility heavy on their shoulders, they must navigate a treacherous path, torn between loyalty to their community and the pursuit of justice.As tensions escalate within the vault, they must decide whether to ignite the flames of rebellion from within or to venture into the unforgiving wasteland beyond the vault's walls.
Linked here is my writing sample and lore explanation.
I am also open to sending a master list of my current OCs with their vague descriptions!
When you DM me, please send me the answers to these questions!
submitted by PotterheadZZ to RoleplayPartnerSearch [link] [comments]
2. Our Father, who art in Heaven: I can play M or F! (1450s) Through a combination of extortion, torture, and occasional bribery, Pope Castello has ascended to the Papal throne. Despite his vow of celibacy, his illegitimate offspring roam freely in the town, behaving as though they were the offspring of a monarch. His son, in particular, plowing through any woman with a pulse, loses vast sums of money gambling, and harbors his own dark secrets. Meanwhile, his father strives to elevate him to the rank of cardinal. However, what will happen when his son encounters the same fate as his father? Will he fall in love with a noblewoman and violate his church oath? This woman has her own secrets and a father who is eager to marry her off to the wealthiest suitor available. The resulting whirlwind will leave blood on the floor and lipstick stains on collars, reminiscent of The Borgias, but without the incestuous undertones.
3. Of course, Your Majesty: I will be playing M! (1500s) Your protagonist is the eldest child of a powerful monarch, destined to become the next Queen. During her childhood, she formed a close bond with the son of a Lord who was a bit older than her. As they grew up, their feelings for each other became more than just friendship, prompting them to explore a romantic relationship. However, it is the heavily religious 1500s, and fearing that their relationship would compromise her purity and jeopardize her chances of marrying another royal, the Lord's son was sent away to a chateau. Despite the distance, they kept in touch through letters and other means. But, a dramatic shift in the court's dynamics has brought him back, much to the chagrin of your character's father. He is willing to disrupt the status quo for the sake of love and occasionally for his own gain.
4. The Lost Princess: I will be playing F! (1480s-1520s) Princess Margery was adored by her subjects and set to ascend the throne one day. However, her fate changed drastically when, at the tender age of four, her carriage was attacked by bandits. In a desperate bid to survive, Margery pretended to be dead in the frigid snow of the forest. She wasn't certain what happened next, but she eventually found herself in the care of two kind-hearted parents who renamed her Elizabeth and raised her as their own daughter. As Elizabeth came of age, she began searching for potential suitors. But what happens when a young man uncovers her true identity? How does she make her way back to the castle, and what challenges await her upon her return? Most importantly, where do you fit into this tangled web of intrigue and deception?
5. For Our Kingdoms: I am open to playing M or F! (1530s) An arranged marriage between a prince and princess from neighboring kingdoms looms on the horizon. Is she a timid princess, suddenly thrust into the role of heir apparent, seeking a partner to bolster her claim to the throne? Or is she merely a commodity being sold off to the highest bidder? Regardless, what happens when two royals who are less-than-enthusiastic about the arrangement are forced to wed for the betterment of their kingdoms? With an unkind and brash prince making every quip in the book as he rises to the throne, she must find a way to make her marriage work. Will they find common ground, or will they be at each other's throats? Only time will tell.
6. Shadow in Stage Lights:I will be playing M! I am also open to potentially playing a MxM version. (Post-WWII 1940s) In the smoky haze of post-war Hollywood, where dreams are traded like currency and the past casts long shadows, Jack Turner returns from the frontlines of battle a shattered man. Once hailed as a literary luminary, he now struggles to find his place in a world that has moved on without him, haunted by memories he can neither escape nor forget. Enter your character, a radiant starlet whose ascent to fame is as swift as it is dazzling. Cast as the lead in Jack's latest play, she embodies the very essence of the character he once envisioned, igniting the stage with a brilliance that eclipses his own. But as the spotlight shines ever brighter on YC, Jack finds himself consumed by a bitter resentment, his heart seething with anger at the injustice of it all. In a world where shadows lurk behind every smile and fame is but a fleeting illusion, Jack and YC must navigate the treacherous waters of love and ambition, forging a path forward that leads them out of the darkness and into the light.
7. The West was Wilder: I will be playing M or F! (1830s) A young man is a moonshiner and owner of a notorious saloon in a small frontier town. With a reputation for brewing the finest illegal whiskey in the region, he walks a fine line between outlaw and respected member of the community. Meanwhile, a young lass is new to town and is seeking change. She has a tough exterior, but there is a vulnerability that draws folks in. As their paths cross in the dusty streets and dimly lit saloons of the Wild West, sparks fly between them. Whether it's a fiery confrontation over a poker game gone wrong or a chance encounter in the dead of night, their chemistry is undeniable. But with danger lurking around every corner and secrets waiting to be uncovered, their burgeoning romance is anything but smooth sailing.
8. Underneath the Bald Cypress: I will be playing F! (1930s) Amidst the sultry streets of New Orleans, the daughter of a wealthy sugar cane baron, finds herself torn between societal expectations and her own desires. Engaged to a controlling man of her father’s choosing, she longs for true love. Her path collides with your character, a jazz singer, a man of color, or something else entirely, sparking a forbidden romance that defies family secrets. As their love blossoms amidst the city's vibrant nightlife, she must choose between the safety of convention and the allure of a life filled with passion and uncertainty, where forbidden love and hidden truths threaten to unravel the world she knows.
9. Revolution or Run: I will be playing F! (Fallout Fandom) In Vault 47, life appears idyllic, with its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the horrors unfolding beneath the sterile corridors. Your character, recently assigned to a coveted scientist position, stumbles upon a hidden lab deep within the vault, where ghastly experiments are conducted on unsuspecting fellow dwellers. Amidst it all, your character finds help in a resourceful maintenance worker with a knack for uncovering secrets. With the weight of responsibility heavy on their shoulders, they must navigate a treacherous path, torn between loyalty to their community and the pursuit of justice.As tensions escalate within the vault, they must decide whether to ignite the flames of rebellion from within or to venture into the unforgiving wasteland beyond the vault's walls.
Linked here is my writing sample and lore explanation.
I am also open to sending a master list of my current OCs with their vague descriptions!
When you DM me, please send me the answers to these questions!
- What is your name and pronouns?
- What RP are you interested in?
- Are you comfortable playing on Discord?
- What gender are you interested in playing? (for scenarios 2, 5, and 7 only!)
- What are your hard boundaries for writing? (i.e. unwilling to write gore/abuse/etc)
- What is your biggest roleplay pet peeve?
- What is your paragraph min/max?
- What is the most important thing to you in RP?
- Are time zones important to you? If so, what is yours?
- Is ooc essential to you?
- Are you okay with a fade-to-black romance style?
- What is your typical romance speed? Slow/Medium/Fast Burn?
2024.05.21 18:48 Juzabro Forge of Darkness Chapter 6 summary
Part Two: The Solitude of This Fire
Chapter 6
Location: Hust Forge. Hust Henarald's conference room
POV: Kellaras
After making Kellaras wait some days, Hust Henarald finally grants him an audience and says "One day, I will be a child again". These words seem to be nonsense to Kellaras. While waiting for his audience he noticed the Hust Forge never stops working. Henarald goes on to say we all war with two parts of ourselves and both make weapons from anything at hand. Henarald asks Kellaras if Anomander simply wants a sword or to join the Hust Legion. He doesn't think Urusander's Legion would like that very much. Kellaras says he knows the request of a sword is unusual at this time. Henarald responds by saying others will see it as political. Perhaps even a secret allegiance. Kellaras is put off balance by Henarald's pragmatic responses and then shifting into ending each with "One day I will be a child again." Henarald asks for specs and Kellaras says Anomander wants the sword to be silent. Henarald responds by asking if he would prefer a gagged weapon and if Anomander will hide it's origin. Kellaras tells Henarald that Anomander wants his swords spine to be quenched in the purity of Darkness itself. Henarald muses on power and says those with the most power have the greatest fear and that means power is meaningless and delusional. Kellaras counters that the Forulkan would have enslaved the Tiste with their power had they won, but they lost to the power of the Tiste. Henarald responds, "A triumph in solitude makes a hollow sound, and to every glory proclaimed the heavens make no answer".
Kellaras reiterates that his master requests a sword. Henarald responds "To take the blood of Darkness". Kellaras is surprised by this as Mother Dark is not Azathanai. Henarald asks how she feeds her power and if now that Anomander knows the secret of House Hust if he will use it for political gain. Kellaras says his Lord is the ultimate secret keeper. Henarald agrees to forge Anomander's sword, but requires that he be present at the quenching of it by darkness to witness if it is blood Mother Dark uses. Kellaras tells him he won't be able to see anything and leaves the chamber trembling mostly upset by Henarald's repeated assertions that he will return to childhood.
Kellaras goes to the main hall where there is feast taking place. He pushes aside his doubts and is proud that he got Henarald's agreement to make the sword. He searches out Galar Baras and finds him leaning against a pillar staring at a woman that had just entered. Kellaras sees her see Galar Baras and watches her stiffen. The woman is Toras Redone. Kellaras notes that even grimed from hard travel she is beautiful and makes his way to Galar. Galar asks if Henarald spoke to Kellaras of childhood. Kellaras says yes, but does not understand. Kellaras invites Galar to join a table and Galar accepts though he tells him he can't drink. Galar tells the captain that the childhood thing troubles them all. Kellaras asks him to call him by his name and not rank. Galar says that Henarald claims that he is losing his recent memories, but no one can see any evidence of this. Galar tells Kellaras of a sickness called Loss of Iron that afflicts smiths. Kellaras tells Galar that in his meeting Henarald was sharp and focused. No evidence of a crumbling mind. Galar asks if he will tell Anomander of this. Galar says it has no bearing on the creation of the sword and says his master would likely just say returning to childhood isn't a bad idea.
POV: Galar Baras
Kellaras gets drunk and stumbles off and now Galar has to be alone with his thoughts and heartache at the presence of Toras Redone. She was still holding court at one of the tables and after a while she shuffles over to him. She comments on her husband transferring as far away as he could. She tells Galar that he is a pariah in the citadel. That people think him arrogant and dismissive. She knows that's not him, so is puzzled. She says he should have sex with the priestesses. That celibacy is not for soldiers. He should feed his appetites. Galar responds by asking if she is well fed. The barb slides off of her and she says well enough. She says she is certain that her husband stays true to her and that leads her to infidelity. Galar does not understand this. She changes the subject and says she has missed him. She tells him to go to bed, but he knows he won't be alone for long. He compares himself to Toras Redone's husband, Calat Hustain, knowing that both spend their nights alone, "because it was in their nature to choose it: to remain alone in the absence of love"
Location: Neret Sorr
POV: Kadaspala
With Osserc and Hunn Raal gone, Kadaspala is having a more enjoyable time having dinners with Urusander. The painting however was still irritating to him. He doubts anyone will see below the surface of his painting. He is finished and will leave in the morning. "There is but one god, and its name is beauty. There is but one kind of worship, and that is love. There is for us but one world, and we have scarred it beyond recognition". Kadaspala now truly sees Urusander and is terrified. Urusander asks him why he chose to accept this request. Kadaspala says he's denied hundreds, but if anyone can prevent a civil war, it's the man in the portrait. Although his thoughts imply that that may not be the same man standing before him.
Location: House Enes lands
POV: Cryl Durav
On his short self-imposed exile from the wedding preparations, Kryl finds the antlers of a long dead Eckalla. A symbol of triumph. Cryl thinks the triumph is hollow. Hunting for food was once a necessity, but that necessity bred traditions that resulted in the extinction of this animal. Thinking back on his youth he dreamt of discovering a new world free of Tiste where he could become prey and know the thrill of fear. Enesdia was also present in these fantasies. He thinks, "He had been trained for war just as he had been taught how to hunt and how to slay, and these were deemed necessary skills in preparation for adulthood. How sad was that?".
His horse notices some movement and he sees a troop of Tiste riders approaching. This makes no sense as there is no reason for them to come here on there way to somewhere else. Cryl rides to meet them and sees that they lead a score of Jheleck children. There were no chains. The captain of the company asks why Cryl is out this far and Cryl tells him who he is. The captain breaks in and says Cryl is probably fleeing the frenzy of the coming marriage. The captain introduces himself as Scara Bandaris and says there are two reasons for him being here, one trying to figure out what to do with the Jheleck hostages and two to attend the wedding. Cryl agrees to escort them all to house Enes. Scara perceptively guesses that Cryl is out here because he is in love with Enesdia. He says he will say no more on the subject.
There are 25 Jheleck children. Scara says they will raise wolves in these children. Cryl says he's heard they are more like hounds. Scara says hostage taking may come back to bite them. Scara laughs at his own joke and forces a smile onto Cryl's face. Cryl feels a little better.
Location: House Enes
POV: Enesdia
Enesdia is upset that Cryl has been gone for a few days. She searches out her father and overdramatically asks him why they are shirking their responsibility to their hostage. She says, "For all you know he could be lying at the bottom of a well, legs shattered and dying of thirst" Jaen responds "Dying of thirst in a well?" he tells her he sent him on a search for Eckalla. She says that's a hopeless quest. Jaen says Cryl's familiar with those. Enesdia asks what he means. Jaen responds that his time with House Enes is ending. It has only now struck Enesdia that her companion will not be at her side much longer. Enesdia laments the fact that Cryl's family has only one occupation. He will be a soldier like his only living brother, Spinnock. She muses that she could ask Andarist to offer Cryl a commission in the citadel, far away from fighting. Cryl would never know, but he would be safe.
Location: House Drukorlas
POV: Orfantal
Orfantal is standing near the estate road with Wreneck, a stable boy that used to be his friend. They are also standing near an old nag horse. They have been standing for some time. They are being circled by 3 feral dogs that have smelled the food that Orfantal carries. Orfantal wished he knew why Wreneck stopped being his friend, but it seemed impossible to ask now. Orfantal has all of his possessions in a trunk. They are not much. Orfantal thinks he could fit in there too, ready to be discarded. Wreneck is 10, Orfantal is 5. His grandmother is sending him off somewhere to learn how to grow up. He knows there will be a time when unhappiness comes into his life as it does with every boy. A wagon pulls up. It will be his ride to wherever he is going. Wreneck makes sure they know that he is going to the citadel and that he is nobleborn. Wreneck tells Orfantal that the old horse is blind in her left eye, so don't let anything ride on that side of her. Orfantal says goodbye to Wreneck and Wreneck waves dismissively and leaves.
POV: Wreneck
Wreneck turns from some distance to watch them leave with tears running down his face. He resolves himself to return to the "evil hag" and now he doesn't even have Orfantal to make his life easier. Nerys Drukorlat had forbidden him from playing or even speaking to Orfantal. She would fire him if he did. His mother and father and sisters relied on his income. He wished he could have played with Orfantal this entire morning and hugged him goodbye, but he was afraid of the evil hag.
Location: Toras Keep. On the road to the Citadel
POV: Orfantal
The party makes camp and the scarred old man who loaded Orfantal's trunk says that this is likely his horse's last journey. Orfantal is sad to not even know the horses name and wonders what things she has seen in her life. He decided that she had been a warhorse and saved her rider many times, but not from the betrayal that finally killed him. The leader of the troop introduces himself to Orfantal as Haral and tells him not to call him sir. He tells him he guards merchants and that's all. Orfantal asks about bandits. Haral says there are some Deniers. Haral tells Orfantal that he will be sharing Gripp's tent. The man who took care of his horse. He says that Gripp can be trusted and not some of the other men in the party.
Haral says after this he will be joining House Dracon's houseblades. Orfantal asks if he was a soldier once. Haral says few weren't in his generation. Orfantal introduces himself. Haral asks why she named him that. His name is a Yedan dialect. The holy language of the monks, Shake. Narad, one of the guards, says it means unwanted and laughs. Haral tells him to keep his mouth shut on this journey and tells Orfantal his name doesn't mean unwanted, it means unexpected. Narad laughs again and Haral savagely kicks him in the face then punches him. He then walks away from the unconscious guard. Orfantal is trembling and his heart is beating fast. Gripp comes over and calms him down. He says it's discipline and Narad was pushing for weeks. Orfantal now has a face to put to all the faceless betrayers in his war games. Narad. Gripp shows Orfantal how to raise a tent.
Location: Within sight of Dracon's Hold
POV: Ivis
Ivis and Sandalath are riding towards the hold. Ivis tells her that Draconus will be gone for several weeks still. Her body tells him that she probably had a child, but that's none of his business. She is now a hostage at House Dracon's and she will be treated well. Sandalath asks where Draconus comes from. Ivis says even his servants do not know, but he proved his worth in the war. Ivis is upset at the discipline now presented by his houseblades and resolves to fix it. Sandalath is being led to a warm bath and thanks Ivis. He responds, "My pleasure, milady". Hilith the head of the house maids does not like him calling her a lady as she is only hostage now. She lets him know it. Ivis says, "Old woman, you are no queen to so command me. I will choose the honorific our guest deserves. She rode well and without complaint. If you have complaint, await the pleasure of our lord upon his return. In the meantime, spit out that sour grape you so love to suck on, and be dutiful." Hilith says this isn't over. Ivis responds with a command to leave his courtyard and if he hears of her being miserable to the hostage that it will in fact not be over.
Location: Dracon's Hold
POV: Sandalath
Hilith tells Sandalath to come with her to the bath. Sandalath asks if the water is hot. and asks her if there is wood ready just in case. Sandalath challenges Hilith and says she is to treat her as if she was the lady of the house. Hilith bristles but agrees. Sandalath remembers her first stint as a hostage and the horrible hag that made her life miserable until Andarist found out and got rid of her. If Hilith turns out to be the same, she will tell Draconus. A younger maid escorts her to the correct bath, not the one Hilith had prepared for her. Sandalath says if Hilith is her enemy, then Sandalath should have many allies. The maid smiles and says thousands. Sandalath asks the maid about Ivis and if she finds him handsome. She says he is old, but Sandalath doesn't think so. Sandalath tells the maid she feels welcomed by this house and feels born anew.
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Chapter 6
Location: Hust Forge. Hust Henarald's conference room
POV: Kellaras
After making Kellaras wait some days, Hust Henarald finally grants him an audience and says "One day, I will be a child again". These words seem to be nonsense to Kellaras. While waiting for his audience he noticed the Hust Forge never stops working. Henarald goes on to say we all war with two parts of ourselves and both make weapons from anything at hand. Henarald asks Kellaras if Anomander simply wants a sword or to join the Hust Legion. He doesn't think Urusander's Legion would like that very much. Kellaras says he knows the request of a sword is unusual at this time. Henarald responds by saying others will see it as political. Perhaps even a secret allegiance. Kellaras is put off balance by Henarald's pragmatic responses and then shifting into ending each with "One day I will be a child again." Henarald asks for specs and Kellaras says Anomander wants the sword to be silent. Henarald responds by asking if he would prefer a gagged weapon and if Anomander will hide it's origin. Kellaras tells Henarald that Anomander wants his swords spine to be quenched in the purity of Darkness itself. Henarald muses on power and says those with the most power have the greatest fear and that means power is meaningless and delusional. Kellaras counters that the Forulkan would have enslaved the Tiste with their power had they won, but they lost to the power of the Tiste. Henarald responds, "A triumph in solitude makes a hollow sound, and to every glory proclaimed the heavens make no answer".
Kellaras reiterates that his master requests a sword. Henarald responds "To take the blood of Darkness". Kellaras is surprised by this as Mother Dark is not Azathanai. Henarald asks how she feeds her power and if now that Anomander knows the secret of House Hust if he will use it for political gain. Kellaras says his Lord is the ultimate secret keeper. Henarald agrees to forge Anomander's sword, but requires that he be present at the quenching of it by darkness to witness if it is blood Mother Dark uses. Kellaras tells him he won't be able to see anything and leaves the chamber trembling mostly upset by Henarald's repeated assertions that he will return to childhood.
Kellaras goes to the main hall where there is feast taking place. He pushes aside his doubts and is proud that he got Henarald's agreement to make the sword. He searches out Galar Baras and finds him leaning against a pillar staring at a woman that had just entered. Kellaras sees her see Galar Baras and watches her stiffen. The woman is Toras Redone. Kellaras notes that even grimed from hard travel she is beautiful and makes his way to Galar. Galar asks if Henarald spoke to Kellaras of childhood. Kellaras says yes, but does not understand. Kellaras invites Galar to join a table and Galar accepts though he tells him he can't drink. Galar tells the captain that the childhood thing troubles them all. Kellaras asks him to call him by his name and not rank. Galar says that Henarald claims that he is losing his recent memories, but no one can see any evidence of this. Galar tells Kellaras of a sickness called Loss of Iron that afflicts smiths. Kellaras tells Galar that in his meeting Henarald was sharp and focused. No evidence of a crumbling mind. Galar asks if he will tell Anomander of this. Galar says it has no bearing on the creation of the sword and says his master would likely just say returning to childhood isn't a bad idea.
POV: Galar Baras
Kellaras gets drunk and stumbles off and now Galar has to be alone with his thoughts and heartache at the presence of Toras Redone. She was still holding court at one of the tables and after a while she shuffles over to him. She comments on her husband transferring as far away as he could. She tells Galar that he is a pariah in the citadel. That people think him arrogant and dismissive. She knows that's not him, so is puzzled. She says he should have sex with the priestesses. That celibacy is not for soldiers. He should feed his appetites. Galar responds by asking if she is well fed. The barb slides off of her and she says well enough. She says she is certain that her husband stays true to her and that leads her to infidelity. Galar does not understand this. She changes the subject and says she has missed him. She tells him to go to bed, but he knows he won't be alone for long. He compares himself to Toras Redone's husband, Calat Hustain, knowing that both spend their nights alone, "because it was in their nature to choose it: to remain alone in the absence of love"
Location: Neret Sorr
POV: Kadaspala
With Osserc and Hunn Raal gone, Kadaspala is having a more enjoyable time having dinners with Urusander. The painting however was still irritating to him. He doubts anyone will see below the surface of his painting. He is finished and will leave in the morning. "There is but one god, and its name is beauty. There is but one kind of worship, and that is love. There is for us but one world, and we have scarred it beyond recognition". Kadaspala now truly sees Urusander and is terrified. Urusander asks him why he chose to accept this request. Kadaspala says he's denied hundreds, but if anyone can prevent a civil war, it's the man in the portrait. Although his thoughts imply that that may not be the same man standing before him.
Location: House Enes lands
POV: Cryl Durav
On his short self-imposed exile from the wedding preparations, Kryl finds the antlers of a long dead Eckalla. A symbol of triumph. Cryl thinks the triumph is hollow. Hunting for food was once a necessity, but that necessity bred traditions that resulted in the extinction of this animal. Thinking back on his youth he dreamt of discovering a new world free of Tiste where he could become prey and know the thrill of fear. Enesdia was also present in these fantasies. He thinks, "He had been trained for war just as he had been taught how to hunt and how to slay, and these were deemed necessary skills in preparation for adulthood. How sad was that?".
His horse notices some movement and he sees a troop of Tiste riders approaching. This makes no sense as there is no reason for them to come here on there way to somewhere else. Cryl rides to meet them and sees that they lead a score of Jheleck children. There were no chains. The captain of the company asks why Cryl is out this far and Cryl tells him who he is. The captain breaks in and says Cryl is probably fleeing the frenzy of the coming marriage. The captain introduces himself as Scara Bandaris and says there are two reasons for him being here, one trying to figure out what to do with the Jheleck hostages and two to attend the wedding. Cryl agrees to escort them all to house Enes. Scara perceptively guesses that Cryl is out here because he is in love with Enesdia. He says he will say no more on the subject.
There are 25 Jheleck children. Scara says they will raise wolves in these children. Cryl says he's heard they are more like hounds. Scara says hostage taking may come back to bite them. Scara laughs at his own joke and forces a smile onto Cryl's face. Cryl feels a little better.
Location: House Enes
POV: Enesdia
Enesdia is upset that Cryl has been gone for a few days. She searches out her father and overdramatically asks him why they are shirking their responsibility to their hostage. She says, "For all you know he could be lying at the bottom of a well, legs shattered and dying of thirst" Jaen responds "Dying of thirst in a well?" he tells her he sent him on a search for Eckalla. She says that's a hopeless quest. Jaen says Cryl's familiar with those. Enesdia asks what he means. Jaen responds that his time with House Enes is ending. It has only now struck Enesdia that her companion will not be at her side much longer. Enesdia laments the fact that Cryl's family has only one occupation. He will be a soldier like his only living brother, Spinnock. She muses that she could ask Andarist to offer Cryl a commission in the citadel, far away from fighting. Cryl would never know, but he would be safe.
Location: House Drukorlas
POV: Orfantal
Orfantal is standing near the estate road with Wreneck, a stable boy that used to be his friend. They are also standing near an old nag horse. They have been standing for some time. They are being circled by 3 feral dogs that have smelled the food that Orfantal carries. Orfantal wished he knew why Wreneck stopped being his friend, but it seemed impossible to ask now. Orfantal has all of his possessions in a trunk. They are not much. Orfantal thinks he could fit in there too, ready to be discarded. Wreneck is 10, Orfantal is 5. His grandmother is sending him off somewhere to learn how to grow up. He knows there will be a time when unhappiness comes into his life as it does with every boy. A wagon pulls up. It will be his ride to wherever he is going. Wreneck makes sure they know that he is going to the citadel and that he is nobleborn. Wreneck tells Orfantal that the old horse is blind in her left eye, so don't let anything ride on that side of her. Orfantal says goodbye to Wreneck and Wreneck waves dismissively and leaves.
POV: Wreneck
Wreneck turns from some distance to watch them leave with tears running down his face. He resolves himself to return to the "evil hag" and now he doesn't even have Orfantal to make his life easier. Nerys Drukorlat had forbidden him from playing or even speaking to Orfantal. She would fire him if he did. His mother and father and sisters relied on his income. He wished he could have played with Orfantal this entire morning and hugged him goodbye, but he was afraid of the evil hag.
Location: Toras Keep. On the road to the Citadel
POV: Orfantal
The party makes camp and the scarred old man who loaded Orfantal's trunk says that this is likely his horse's last journey. Orfantal is sad to not even know the horses name and wonders what things she has seen in her life. He decided that she had been a warhorse and saved her rider many times, but not from the betrayal that finally killed him. The leader of the troop introduces himself to Orfantal as Haral and tells him not to call him sir. He tells him he guards merchants and that's all. Orfantal asks about bandits. Haral says there are some Deniers. Haral tells Orfantal that he will be sharing Gripp's tent. The man who took care of his horse. He says that Gripp can be trusted and not some of the other men in the party.
Haral says after this he will be joining House Dracon's houseblades. Orfantal asks if he was a soldier once. Haral says few weren't in his generation. Orfantal introduces himself. Haral asks why she named him that. His name is a Yedan dialect. The holy language of the monks, Shake. Narad, one of the guards, says it means unwanted and laughs. Haral tells him to keep his mouth shut on this journey and tells Orfantal his name doesn't mean unwanted, it means unexpected. Narad laughs again and Haral savagely kicks him in the face then punches him. He then walks away from the unconscious guard. Orfantal is trembling and his heart is beating fast. Gripp comes over and calms him down. He says it's discipline and Narad was pushing for weeks. Orfantal now has a face to put to all the faceless betrayers in his war games. Narad. Gripp shows Orfantal how to raise a tent.
Location: Within sight of Dracon's Hold
POV: Ivis
Ivis and Sandalath are riding towards the hold. Ivis tells her that Draconus will be gone for several weeks still. Her body tells him that she probably had a child, but that's none of his business. She is now a hostage at House Dracon's and she will be treated well. Sandalath asks where Draconus comes from. Ivis says even his servants do not know, but he proved his worth in the war. Ivis is upset at the discipline now presented by his houseblades and resolves to fix it. Sandalath is being led to a warm bath and thanks Ivis. He responds, "My pleasure, milady". Hilith the head of the house maids does not like him calling her a lady as she is only hostage now. She lets him know it. Ivis says, "Old woman, you are no queen to so command me. I will choose the honorific our guest deserves. She rode well and without complaint. If you have complaint, await the pleasure of our lord upon his return. In the meantime, spit out that sour grape you so love to suck on, and be dutiful." Hilith says this isn't over. Ivis responds with a command to leave his courtyard and if he hears of her being miserable to the hostage that it will in fact not be over.
Location: Dracon's Hold
POV: Sandalath
Hilith tells Sandalath to come with her to the bath. Sandalath asks if the water is hot. and asks her if there is wood ready just in case. Sandalath challenges Hilith and says she is to treat her as if she was the lady of the house. Hilith bristles but agrees. Sandalath remembers her first stint as a hostage and the horrible hag that made her life miserable until Andarist found out and got rid of her. If Hilith turns out to be the same, she will tell Draconus. A younger maid escorts her to the correct bath, not the one Hilith had prepared for her. Sandalath says if Hilith is her enemy, then Sandalath should have many allies. The maid smiles and says thousands. Sandalath asks the maid about Ivis and if she finds him handsome. She says he is old, but Sandalath doesn't think so. Sandalath tells the maid she feels welcomed by this house and feels born anew.