#*topic

[alpine-sitte]

Pagan Temples & Individual vs Community (my thoughts)

Arith Härger has recently uploaded a new video where he talks about a question that comes up among neo-pagans:

I always really enjoy his videos because they really get me thinking about things - his perspectives on topics around paganism are extremely fascinating and give lots of food for thought.

In regards to this topic in particular, he also does state some things that were important to point out once again, in my opinion:

While some sort of “temples” or in general buildings that are centers of a certain religion could definitely help raise awareness about paganism and help make it an officially recognized confession when it comes to census and rights... it’s definitely a strange idea to build an enclosed place for pagans to practice their spirituality. He very correctly points out that sitting in a room with other people and trying to force some sort of spiritual experience sounds more like something Abrahamic religions would encourage. It doesn’t seem suitable for pagan spirituality at all, since the pagan spiritual experiences happen "organically” and therefore rarely at an agreed-upon time and place.

I too feel that a better use for temples would be to act as “havens” for the community. Offering a spot for pagans to meet up and interact with each other, exchanging about their experiences, but not limited to this kind of interaction only; building places that offer shelter, pastimes and information (education) with no strings attached seems more in the “spirit of” paganism to me than creating isolated chambers of scheduled worship.

I share Arith’s focus on animism, and that’s why I also share the sentiment that you cannot isolate animist spiritual experiences from the world around us. You won’t experience it in a place and time that is disconnected from it. You have to immerse yourself in it physically and mentally to experience it.

So, in summary... Like he says in the video, while the possibility for a more “official” and “serious” pagan community exists in the option of building temples, it would in the end probably just lead to “more of the same”.

I also had some not entirely related additional thoughts:

This is just a spontaneous idea I had while watching the video, but when looking at all the different “splinters” of modern paganism that can be seen online, it seems almost like an imitation of the countless splinters of US churches. So I’m wondering if many pagans who were raised culturally christian in the US have internalized this idea. Maybe this strange habitual hyper-individualism is a big hurdle in the way of paganism becoming more of a united community rather than everyone “cooking their own little pot of soup”.

Spirituality being something that is individual and differently experienced by each person is a core aspect of paganism. But I think it’s probably time to look at this concept in a more nuanced light. I think it should mean that no one has beliefs and practices forced onto them, but views/interpretations being different should not be a reason to exclude anyone from the pagan community or to fracture it into small insular sub-communities.

[lab-rats-obsession]

Okay, last post of the night - how do bionics work???

Here's all we know (this might be a little wrong because i don't watch lab rats in english, so some things might have been translated differently):

1. They were genetically engeneered (Donald mentions this in the first episode and also in the chip switch episode)

2. They have chip that gives them the ability to control their powers (or does it give them the powers?? This isn't really discussed)

3. Some parts of their body are metal (Chase's finger is a usb in one episode and they also have port for their chips on their necks, although that might be just an assumption)

4. They can be controled through their chips (triton app)

5. They themselves don't know what powers they have, and how to control them (last episode of first season)

6. Douglas gives Krane bionics through some weird operation (you know which episode - the one with Krane)

7. Douglas is able to give them new bionics powers (brother battle episode)

8. This is pretty much it?? Which is not a lot...

If you read through this (short, just like Chase) list you will probably come to the conclusion that the one thing that gives people bionics are the chips. That is obviously not true, but the show does nothing to better explain just how do the bionics really work. This has always bugged me, so I came up with some headcannons:

1. They have their 'powers' even without their chips, they just can't use them

2. They don't have the DNA of a normal human

3. They can't just gain random powers, they biology is modified to allow the bionics to exist - Bree's heart and lungs are larger than normal human to be able to keep up with her at higher speed, she also has that aerodynamical shape, even though she's not aware of it. Adam's muscles and bones structures are very different from normal humans, thay are stronger. Part of Chase's brain is actual computer.

3. Bree's invisibility is the result of Douglas playing with DNA of octopuses that can make themselves 'invisible'

4. The metal in their bodies made it really painful growing up. On similar note - their chip port is connected to their nervous system and if it gets damaged they could die

5. I'm tired and I will add things to this post once I'm less tired

[jamezvaldes]

I must know everything about Addy; TELL ME EVERYTHING!! Pls and thank you 😘❤️

!!!!!! of course !!!!!!

firstly and probably most importantly, the first six chapters are posted already on wattpad (x) I’d recommend starting there tbf. 

tbh idk what you want me to say so i’m just gonna ramble.

so my girl, addy fleming is a ted lasso oc. paired with jamie tartt, because my love for lance corporal will jensen still shines bight even after all these years. i miss him dearly and will only forgive mj bassett under certain circumstances (give me the sb movie i was promised in 2015 pls and thanks. But somehow bring back Mac, Novin and Wyatt tho. But have my boys Scott and Stonebridge as the mains but don’t you dare k*ll them).

so actually onto my girl. 

Addy Fleming is the head of the personal performance department, and tbh we don’t see her work that much. (FC: is the one and only Florence Pugh). 

Her main job might be at Richmond as a P.T. but she’s also a photographer and is pretty good at it as well. Has a degree in physiotherapy but doesn’t use it, as she isn’t able to practice in the UK. 

She got her job at Richmond as a personal trainer because of Roy Kent, someone she’s known since she was baby, literally met him when she was a few weeks old because he was friends with her older brother. 

Grew up in and around in football. 

Jamie started being nice to her to annoy Roy but also because she’s a sad girl. 

Roy is her bestie and he moves her into his spare room after she leaves LA (for sad reasons) to come back to London. 

Ted realises almost instantly that she is a sad girl and is like “she’s gonna be my best broken bird project” and always shoots down her suggestions for paintball. 

Her and Rebecca have such a fun and interesting relationship and it’s so fun to explore. 

She’s just a sad girl with some serious issues and yknow the fic is gonna be about her learning to cope in a healthy way. and lbr keying cars as well. 

Has a fluffy black cat called Snowball, Snows for short. And he’s just a gem. 

She’s just fun and chaotic and is just a good friend to everyone and anyone. I just think she’s neat. 

[bookwyrminspiration]

It's Nilnaea and I have a great angst idea. What if Sophie went to the Forbidden Cities and saw Amy, but Amy was already in her 30s/40s and didn't remember Sophie anymore? This would tie in with a theory I have that the Lost Cities exists outside the scope of time. So, for example, one year in the Lost Cities could be ten years in the Forbidden Cities. This is a thing that happens in fairy stories. I listened to a podcast once about Irish folklore where a king went off to a fairy place, and when he came back, decades had passed.

Anyway, Sophie would see Amy who has a wife and ten dogs and is simultaneously 'I could've had that' and 'I need to keep the world safe so Amy doesn't lose what she has'. And it kind of sinks in that she no longer has any ties to the human world and that those who remembered her from school, etc., declared her a cold case because she was never found. And in a way she becomes more like a fairy creature and untethered to the world. I think it is very interesting.

one word: yes. this hurts and I love it and desperately want it.

also I love messing with time!! All the implications and devastation it can wreak...so good. In one of my oc stories time and messing with time plays a huge role, part of why I've been avoiding working on it for so long because I need to thoroughly plan everything from the beginning; i could take it in a go with the flow approach, but that wouldn't have the same effect that I want. but that's besides the point--I love it when time doesn't align!!

Amy forgetting Sophie would hurt her so much, but I think deep down she might be like. Okay. This was how everything was supposed to be. I wasn't supposed to be part of their world and now i'm not and I can leave them. But there would be so much despair and angst wrapped up in that!!

I've seen it happen a few times in faerie stories (probably not that specific podcast, though), but I think most of the one's i've seen have the character come out after everyone is dead or elderly (It's been a while since I read a story like this so I don't remember). And that way there's no lingering connection--they may see the descendants of people they used to know and recognize features, but it's not the people they know. So having Amy be middle aged...that's a person that's still going to exist for a while. And that's her person. That the sister she grew up with--and then there's the element of her realizing she'll never get to grow old like that! I don't know if she'd mourn the idea of growing old, but more so the idea of normalcy it promises. Because people who grow old are safe. People who grow up are the people who survive. And Amy gets to be one of them without any threats anymore.

Don't mind me, just gonna internally scream (/pos) about the idea of Sophie becoming more inhuman. I love inhuman things so much!! I know this would be painful for her because all she ever wanted was acceptance and it's becoming less and less attainable, but I can't help but be a little excited about the idea.

Sophie had so few ties to the human world in the first place that I imagine loosing the one she had left would be devastating. Before she knew she was an elf she had her family--that was really it. She didn't have any friends, didn't have any concrete plans for the future or any interests. And then she lost the connection to her whole family--but then she got Amy back. But loosing Amy again...I think it would really sink in for her then that she wasn't human.

Repeatedly throughout the series she struggles to use the "right" language, referring to elves as other because she doesn't see herself as one of them. I don't think she saw herself as fully human ever, but I think that was closer than being an elf. And now it's farther away. Now she realizes that she never was close to human, she was just emotionally close to one human and couldn't let her go. I just think it'd be an interesting mental shift for her to have!

also I hope Amy and her wife and ten dogs are having a splendid time wherever they are. I personally choose to believe that Amy's wife is a scientist. Why? No idea. But it's such a sweet idea for them to have a little life together. So good!!

[neechees]

Seven year old me was so stressed because my teacher used to ask me to explain different bits of native history to my class girl I don’t know anything about Squanto leave me alone!

God i am so sorry. But actually this is still kind of a thing today, and not just in s hools like what happened to you, but i mean where people both on here and irl will ask Natives about cultural, historical, political, or spiritual things from another, sometimes completely far-away and unrelated culture and expect us to know things about it for some reason. A lot of us are working on learning about our OWN cultures, nevermind somebody else's. Like a Zapotec anon told me a white witch irl once asked them about how to contact a wend!g0 even though those spirits are specific to Algonquian territory and cultures. And a lot of times we get ppl asking Natives who aren't Ojibwe about Dreamcatchers even though Ojibwe people are the experts on them & that's where they originated. People really just need to stop assuming Natives know everything there is to know about Native stuff everywhere, like we're not your personal encyclopedias who know everything, especially not kids

[romantichopelessly]

I ALSO GOT MY FIRST YES FROM A PROFESSOR ABT OVERSEEING MY THESIS WORK

[theflirtmeister]

doing more phd proposal research and being hit by the what if im too stupid to do a phd and they think my ideas are rubbish line of thoughts