Scott Maybell
@haliphron.ink
Grad student in Oxford, researching the political demonology of octopuses and other cephalopods.
Formerly: Salt Lake City Public Service, Arizona Court Mediator, University of Utah, University of Edinburgh
Formerly: Salt Lake City Public Service, Arizona Court Mediator, University of Utah, University of Edinburgh
Pinned
Scott Maybell
@haliphron.ink
· Apr 8
If you ever see a depiction of Satan, the Devil, or a demon as an octopus or other cephalopod, please send it my way. The attached screenshot is from a Latter-day Saint magazine and depicts Satan's temptations like an octopus's "tentacles" (octopuses actually do not have tentacles).
Reposted by Scott Maybell
and which of course we all know is false, as the loved ones of Breonna Taylor will remind you
seeing conservatives admit alex pretti was disarmed and need to change their message to “well you know where you won’t get shot? at home” is just an impressive level of pathetic allegiance to their dictator
January 25, 2026 at 4:08 PM
and which of course we all know is false, as the loved ones of Breonna Taylor will remind you
![Weakness
Despite his numerous forms and godlike power, Chaos has one consistent weakness: his brain [THIS TEXT IS HIGHLIGHTED]. This is a weak spot that, when hit, will cause Chaos' form to weaken and destabilize. He is also not well protected in most of his forms. Chaos is also noticeably slower than most other Sonic characters, even in his smallest form, Chaos 0.
Relationships
Tikal
Image: Chaos with Tikal and various Chao, from Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut.
Tikal was the only person that Chaos allowed to approach the Chao, as Chaos saw Tikal's caring nature towards them. When Pachacamac attacked the Chao and Tikal, Chaos attacked Pachacamac in revenge but became consumed by evil and rampaged across his empire. Tikal sealed him away until the Master Emerald shattered, causing Chaos](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:wtnk7ro7xz6fblhdf6fduftf/bafkreiboszcomypelezb5ry7dwemlnbmupremoyn5ib7jwzihbwuzcpqzu@jpeg)
Reposted by Scott Maybell
Shooting mothers, nurses, while arresting priests and toddlers - this is what comes of that. Their terror campaign is completely backfiring on them. People aren't backing down, they're just getting enraged and radicalised.
YouGov is out with a new poll after ICE killed another person in Minnesota today. Abolishing ICE is now +5 among all adults, and **+12 among independents**
substack.com/@gelliottmor...
substack.com/@gelliottmor...
January 25, 2026 at 7:46 AM
Shooting mothers, nurses, while arresting priests and toddlers - this is what comes of that. Their terror campaign is completely backfiring on them. People aren't backing down, they're just getting enraged and radicalised.
Reposted by Scott Maybell
I'm sorry, we don't have any milk, but I can get you authoritarianism without cream instead!
haliphron.ink/2026/01/19/a...
haliphron.ink/2026/01/19/a...
Alternate realities, politics, and coffee without toilet water
Slavoj Žižek has argued that counterfactuals are a constitutive element of a group’s order of thought.[1] This is to say that the way people talk about events which did not happen and realities whi…
haliphron.ink
January 19, 2026 at 12:38 PM
I'm sorry, we don't have any milk, but I can get you authoritarianism without cream instead!
haliphron.ink/2026/01/19/a...
haliphron.ink/2026/01/19/a...
A year ago I wrote a personal essay about the failures that informed my acceptance into grad school and my anxieties of being someone into "esoteric" and "occult" topics while working alongside generally kind and magnanimous Christian theologians. Didn't post until now: haliphron.ink/2026/01/19/t...
The Esoteric Impulse
Part 1: Failure in the Borderlands When a computer scientist develops a machine learning algorithm using a cost function, the program will run repeated trials to reduce the variables designated by …
haliphron.ink
January 19, 2026 at 12:13 AM
A year ago I wrote a personal essay about the failures that informed my acceptance into grad school and my anxieties of being someone into "esoteric" and "occult" topics while working alongside generally kind and magnanimous Christian theologians. Didn't post until now: haliphron.ink/2026/01/19/t...
Back during my master's program, I did a bit of genealogical work on William James's "will to believe." It was fun and humanizing to learn that in his initial formulation, he got shot down by a senior scholar and had to change the name multiple times. haliphron.ink/2026/01/17/h...
Humean Dilemmas and Wills to Believe
The following are some of my notes from my reading of Peter Harrison’s Some New World, a wonderful book I have some critical remarks on regarding a discussion on David Hume. I’ve pulled in some his…
haliphron.ink
January 17, 2026 at 7:02 PM
Back during my master's program, I did a bit of genealogical work on William James's "will to believe." It was fun and humanizing to learn that in his initial formulation, he got shot down by a senior scholar and had to change the name multiple times. haliphron.ink/2026/01/17/h...
Caananites still catching strays... From the Wikipedia page:
"The notion that Moloch is the name of a deity has been challenged for several reasons. Moloch is rarely mentioned in the Bible, is not mentioned at all outside of it, and connections to other deities with similar names are uncertain."
"The notion that Moloch is the name of a deity has been challenged for several reasons. Moloch is rarely mentioned in the Bible, is not mentioned at all outside of it, and connections to other deities with similar names are uncertain."
He's Moloch...an Old Testament pagan god demanding a constant supply of blood, burnt offerings & gold from cowering mortals, terrified lest he smite them.
Last week, Renee Good was made a human sacrifice to Trump.
This week, another woman has to offer her gold.
Minneapolis, the burnt offering.
Last week, Renee Good was made a human sacrifice to Trump.
This week, another woman has to offer her gold.
Minneapolis, the burnt offering.
Grinning like a 5-year old getting his participation trophy at the post-season T-ball pizza party.
January 16, 2026 at 11:12 AM
Caananites still catching strays... From the Wikipedia page:
"The notion that Moloch is the name of a deity has been challenged for several reasons. Moloch is rarely mentioned in the Bible, is not mentioned at all outside of it, and connections to other deities with similar names are uncertain."
"The notion that Moloch is the name of a deity has been challenged for several reasons. Moloch is rarely mentioned in the Bible, is not mentioned at all outside of it, and connections to other deities with similar names are uncertain."
The work by Helen De Cruz which impacted me the most was Friendship with the Ancients, which explains a philosophical method and imaginative exercise which involves engaging with deceased authors as companions and friends.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Friendship with the Ancients | Journal of the American Philosophical Association | Cambridge Core
Friendship with the Ancients - Volume 11 Issue 1
www.cambridge.org
January 13, 2026 at 2:19 PM
The work by Helen De Cruz which impacted me the most was Friendship with the Ancients, which explains a philosophical method and imaginative exercise which involves engaging with deceased authors as companions and friends.
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Scott Maybell
I am a simple person who thinks that telling the truth about things is important. I watched the video footage of this shooting, and the killing is casual and unhurried. DHS and aligned political actors are very ready to present a story of rushed, panicked violence, and it just is not true.
NEW: At least four videos show what really happened when ICE shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday.
DHS has established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
Our latest:
DHS has established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
Our latest:
DHS Is Lying To You About ICE Shooting a Woman
At least four videos show what really happened when ICE shot a woman in Minneapolis on Wednesday. DHS has established itself as an agency that cannot be trusted to live in or present reality.
www.404media.co
January 7, 2026 at 11:14 PM
I am a simple person who thinks that telling the truth about things is important. I watched the video footage of this shooting, and the killing is casual and unhurried. DHS and aligned political actors are very ready to present a story of rushed, panicked violence, and it just is not true.
I've been having so much fun watching streams of Blood on the Clocktower. It really shows how demonic imagery and concepts can be utilized for play and bonding, and IMO that's as much of a political demonology as the scarier forms that involve dehumanization.
January 6, 2026 at 10:41 PM
I've been having so much fun watching streams of Blood on the Clocktower. It really shows how demonic imagery and concepts can be utilized for play and bonding, and IMO that's as much of a political demonology as the scarier forms that involve dehumanization.
Reposted by Scott Maybell
Watching THE GREEN KNIGHT again
April 22, 2024 at 7:43 PM
Watching THE GREEN KNIGHT again
Reposted by Scott Maybell
This is what academic New Testament studies is like.
There are 3 canonical interpretations of Mommy kissing Santa:
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
1. The narrator’s mother and father are participating in Santa cosplay kink (family friendly)
2. Mama is cheating w a philanderer disguised as Santa (unclear if she knows)
3. Mama is hooking up w the ACTUAL Santa (moral gray area)
November 29, 2025 at 4:30 PM
This is what academic New Testament studies is like.
Coming soon! (I just wrote a chapter, but very excited about this project)
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/esoteric-...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/esoteric-...
November 27, 2025 at 12:59 AM
Coming soon! (I just wrote a chapter, but very excited about this project)
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/esoteric-...
www.bloomsbury.com/uk/esoteric-...
A couple of months ago, Media Club Plus / Friends at the Table published a great episode recapping + critiquing M. Night Shymalan's Signs (2002). I try to explicate their critique of the movie's take on theism/atheism, pulling a little from Brook Ziporyn's recent book:
haliphron.ink/2025/11/24/s...
haliphron.ink/2025/11/24/s...
Signs me up for atheism
Two months ago, Media Club Plus did an episode recapping and critically discussing M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs (2002). I am a huge fan of the show, I highly recommend giving the movie a watch and th…
haliphron.ink
November 24, 2025 at 12:43 AM
A couple of months ago, Media Club Plus / Friends at the Table published a great episode recapping + critiquing M. Night Shymalan's Signs (2002). I try to explicate their critique of the movie's take on theism/atheism, pulling a little from Brook Ziporyn's recent book:
haliphron.ink/2025/11/24/s...
haliphron.ink/2025/11/24/s...
We have been reading Swamp Thing to facilitate discussion about green religions, ecospirituality, pantheism, & similar topics on campus. I argue the comic presents an alternative to Science & Religion research on the imago dei: give it up, and find the sacred there. haliphron.ink/2025/11/22/s...
Swamp Thing and the Imago Nihil
Theologians, especially Christians, in the Science & Religion field have often been interested in the concept of the imago dei, the idea that humans were created “in the image of God” (see: Hef…
haliphron.ink
November 22, 2025 at 8:33 PM
We have been reading Swamp Thing to facilitate discussion about green religions, ecospirituality, pantheism, & similar topics on campus. I argue the comic presents an alternative to Science & Religion research on the imago dei: give it up, and find the sacred there. haliphron.ink/2025/11/22/s...
CFP due this Friday for a special panel on reality shifting and manifestation in Gen Z religiosity.
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
Call for Papers: Special Panel on Reality Shifting in Gen-Z
Putting out a CFP from my friends and colleagues at SWPACA, due this week on the 14th. Details at: CFP: Special Panel on Reality Shifting in Gen-Z : Area for Esotericism, Occultism, and Magic at So…
haliphron.ink
November 10, 2025 at 9:11 AM
CFP due this Friday for a special panel on reality shifting and manifestation in Gen Z religiosity.
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
Description: haliphron.ink/2025/11/10/c...
Relevant paper: www.zygonjournal.org/article/id/1...
In preparation for our reading group on Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing (if you're in Oxford, HMU), we've read Neonomicon. Here's an interview where Moore endorses Graham Harman's book on Lovecraft. It's fun hearing about him learning to appreciate academic philosophy. thequietus.com/culture/book...
All About Alienation: Alan Moore On Lovecraft And Providence | The Quietus
Towards the end of a recent interview with Alan Moore on his relationship with the writer Iain Sinclair our conversation drifted towards another topic: Moore’s upcoming Lovecraftian work Providence. A...
thequietus.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:58 PM
In preparation for our reading group on Alan Moore's run of Swamp Thing (if you're in Oxford, HMU), we've read Neonomicon. Here's an interview where Moore endorses Graham Harman's book on Lovecraft. It's fun hearing about him learning to appreciate academic philosophy. thequietus.com/culture/book...
Reposted by Scott Maybell
had an idea (wallpapers are below!)
November 5, 2025 at 6:11 PM
had an idea (wallpapers are below!)
The Chainsaw Man film was wonderful, but it shared the weakness of the Reze arc in the manga: the fight sequence is too long and one note. I wrote up some of my thoughts on how the sequence could have been altered with dynamic stakes and more Reze characterization.
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
Chainsaw Man Reze Arc: Lean Into the Diabology!
Chainsaw Man is perhaps my favorite anime and manga, so I was anticipating last month’s release of the Reze Arc film. Technically, Reze’s arc in the manga is a relative low-point, and t…
haliphron.ink
November 5, 2025 at 10:21 PM
The Chainsaw Man film was wonderful, but it shared the weakness of the Reze arc in the manga: the fight sequence is too long and one note. I wrote up some of my thoughts on how the sequence could have been altered with dynamic stakes and more Reze characterization.
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
haliphron.ink/2025/11/05/c...
Found an interesting chapter which details an anti-colonial Sri Lankan folk tale which describes Jesus as an avatar of Mara ("the Buddhist devil" in oversimplifying terms), sent to trick the world to trap people in samsara (citation in alt-text).
September 16, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Found an interesting chapter which details an anti-colonial Sri Lankan folk tale which describes Jesus as an avatar of Mara ("the Buddhist devil" in oversimplifying terms), sent to trick the world to trap people in samsara (citation in alt-text).
"Not caring about the things I care about" is not nihilism. With few exceptions, authoritarians and techno-capitalists are immersed in a world of meaning, moralism, and narratives. Islamophobes don't believe in *nothing*, they believe they are *at war with the Devil* or *defenders of The Occident*.
the complete embrace of nihilism and the rejection of being genuine is the greatest danger to humanity right now
August 27, 2025 at 10:53 PM
"Not caring about the things I care about" is not nihilism. With few exceptions, authoritarians and techno-capitalists are immersed in a world of meaning, moralism, and narratives. Islamophobes don't believe in *nothing*, they believe they are *at war with the Devil* or *defenders of The Occident*.