six ○ text

[mylegacy]

Who: Caesar Zeppeli & open
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: None
When: 2/27

Where I come from - or in my family, anyway, and families like mine. You give your child a special name at their baptism, the name of a saint that's meant to protect and guide them in life. It's just sort of a thing that's done, I never questioned it when I was young other than to wonder why my father chose what he did for me.

Mine is Anthonio, after Anthony of Padua. You're supposed to pray for him to find lost things, any kind of lost things, even ones that aren't tangible - lost faith, for example. It's funny but I don't think I ever actually have. Prayed to him. I always wanted to find all the things I lost by myself, which doesn't actually work that well all of the time.

The patron saint of today is Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows. He died on February 27. That's the thing, saint name days are named after the day a saint died on. So Gabriel died on the same day as me. I've been wondering if that's important - if I should recognize it in some kind of permanent way. Or if I should just try not to think about it, except that doesn't work very well either.

The other thing is that I remember having very strong opinions about some of the saints when I was younger. Catherine of Siena defied her parents and cut off all of her hair so she wouldn't be encouraged to marry. I used to think she should have done what they asked of her. Now I think if I ever had a daughter, I'd want Catherine to watch over her.

Comments

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[theshabbiestofmen]

Why did you think that about Catherine?

[Just curious! But as for death . . .]

I'm not religious, so perhaps this doesn't much matter, but . . . having known many people who died, I don't think there's much significance. I've never found death to be anything but ordinary-- in that oftentimes, it's senseless and cruel, and there's no great symbolic meaning to it. People don't die on certain days because of anything, but most often because they simply encounter people who are in some way twisted.

Does that make sense? I realize our situations are probably vastly different, and I'm not trying to argue with you, or cheapen your religious beliefs-- simply apply them to my own experiences.

[mylegacy]

Because I thought she should have put her family's wishes ahead of her own. That's how I was taught. So it was strange to me that her behavior should be idolized when it wouldn't have been allowed in my own family.

You don't have to be so defensive. I don't feel like arguing today, so even if I were offended, you're safe. I think I just want something to do today that's not thinking about how awful it was.

[theshabbiestofmen]

I have a friend who does nothing but argue when he wants to be distracted. Quite irritating, really.

[But all right, he can take a hint. Focusing on Catherine it is.]

That is strange. Though frankly, such traditions are rather foreign to me. I don't know that there was ever much familial pressure in my family.

[mylegacy]

It's standard where I come from. Or in my experience, anyway. I don't know what a family structure would look like without it, really.

[theshabbiestofmen]

Far more relaxed, I think. And far less stressed.

[He hesitates, but-- oh, well, Sirius isn't here, so:]

My friend's family was like that. Very focused on their legacy, on how they were perceived, on their status, all that. One son defected from the family; the other threw himself into it to make up for the elder's disownment. I never knew which had it worse.

Text;

[save_the_souls]

[Whoa hey is that Catholic speak on this network? That's something he hasn't heard in a long time. So of course, he'll be responding]

Maybe you never prayed to St. Anthony, but it's possible he still was there, guiding you. Like, maybe he helped give you the motivation to find what you lost on your own, instead of relying on others for help. The Lord works in mysterious ways, so it's likely the saints do as well.

Though I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, so I can't really say much about him. [That won't get canonized for another 20 years from Allen's time period] It could be important, or it could be a coincidence. It's hard to say.

[mylegacy]

[ANOTHER CATHOLIC . . . he's keeping you.]

I shouldn't think of it so literally, I suppose. You're probably right - little pushes can be just as important as big ones.

Gabriel was only canonized recently, for me. I remember looking him up when it happened because I was curious.

[save_the_souls]

[ Yes cool we can form a club. ]

Yeah, that's right. Not everything great is done dramatically.

I see. Do you know anything about him?

[mylegacy]

He was sort of a partier when he was young, actually. Family tragedy brought him to the church, but he died before he actually became a priest. Young - 22 or 23, I don't remember.

text

[kill_switch]

You remind me of someone. [A warboy who once tried to slit her throat and became one of her most trusted allies. Furiosa's wearing a small, bemused smile.] I think you should honor it as you feel fit. No one's here to dictate how you think and act.

[mylegacy]

[It takes him a while to figure out what to say to this. Of all the responses he thought he'd get, being reminded of someone - someone else who's had to think about all of this, to figure out how to metaphorically walk again in a world that doesn't make sense anymore - was not one of them.]

[Eventually:]

Thank you. I think.

What if I don't know what fits?

[kill_switch]

I think you'll know. Either by certainty or persistence.

[mylegacy]

Throwing things at the wall to see what sticks, you mean?

voice;

[monolike]

[holy shit that's AMAZING]

May I ask how people enter into sainthood? Is it a rank you obtain within your religion?

voice;

[mylegacy]

[Oh. Well.]

Generally, sainthood is a rank conferred after death by the Pope. It's called canonization. Ah, the Pope is the leader of the church. Does that make sense?

voice;

[monolike]

Ah yeah, it does. The head of the shrinechurch back home is also called the Pope, though I've never heard of canonization or anything like that. That's really interesting.

Do your people worship seraphim also?

[mylegacy]

Not quite in the same way as we worship God, no. They're considered holy, but not really prayed to.

Is it different for you?

[ragazzina]

I liked Catherine a lot, too. She was...one of the ones I prayed to, just before I went to work for Madame Lisa Lisa.

[No surprise there why that might be the case.]

You'd think that mine would be Saint Susanna, right? But it's not, it's really Saint Anne. I was the second daughter, so I think my parents thought I could use the extra help.

[mylegacy]

[He's really tempted to ask why, even though he sort of gets it in an abstract way, in that when you're looking at a baby you don't know if it's going to grow up to be perfect in every way. But at the same time he does sort of want to ask, because it should have been obvious, with Suzie, that everything would fall into place for her. Because she is perfect. Entirely. Anyone who doesn't see that on first glance is an idiot. Sorry, Suzie's parents.]

Do you think you did?

[There, that's . . . more neutral than "okay but that's dumb because you're hot". Nailed it.]

[ragazzina]

Well, SOMEBODY sent me you and Jojo. ♥ ԅ(ˆ⌣ˆ ✿)

[mylegacy]

I think Saint Anne would probably have just picked one. Maybe you have two saints after all and they didn't conference.

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[ino]

[ This ..... is interesting, but first: ]

What's a baptism?

[mylegacy]

It's how a child is adopted into the church.

. . . Basically you pour water on a baby.

[ino]

Why is a church adopting a baby? And why are they pouring water on it to do it?

[ WHAT THE HELL. ]

[mylegacy]

No. Ino. That's not what I mean. I mean, when a baby gets welcomed into the religion. It's not the church literally adopting a baby.

Water's supposed to be purifying.