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quran2002 · 2 months ago

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After reading the Quran, it’s time to conclude this blog with its summary. In my previous post, I briefly stated that Islam is a flawed, primitive, and exploitative religion. Now I will elaborate on my perspective.

After this brief introduction, let’s begin with the fundamental reason why Islam must be rejected by every Christian.

A Cynical Denial of Christ’s Sacrifice

Islam, as a form of monotheism centered on a single-person deity, does not recognize the concept of the One God in three persons as in Christianity. It denies that Jesus was the Son of God. In Islamic belief, Jesus was conceived by the Virgin Mary and was a great prophet who taught mercy. One might think that Islam acknowledges Jesus but not the Trinity. This isn't unheard of, as there are branches and heresies within Christianity that hold similar views. For example, Adoptionists believe that Jesus was born as a regular human and was only recognized by God as His Son upon His baptism. To a layperson, this discrepancy might seem inconsequential. While this issue is important in comparing how Christians and Muslims perceive the character of God, Islam also denies something with clear, far-reaching consequences.

According to the Quran, Jesus did not die on the cross. Verse 4:157 states that it only appeared to people as if Jesus had been crucified. As explained by Dr. Mustafa Khattab in his translation, Muslims believe that Allah caused someone who conspired against Jesus (likely Judas) to appear like Him and be crucified in His place, while Jesus was safely taken to Heaven.

In short, according to Islam, Jesus never died for our sins. And we were never saved. It is hard to conceive of a greater denial of a core aspect of Christian faith. On my main blog, I’ve already discussed that Salvation—the forgiveness of sins through genuine remorse and faith in Jesus—is a unique aspect of Christianity, absent in any other religion. When I wrote that post, I was studying the Quran, which is why I didn’t then address how this concept is approached in Islam. Now, however, I can explain that Muhammad cruelly and cynically transformed the idea of Salvation to suit his own military ends.

Salvation Through Obedience to War Orders

According to the Quran, Allah forgives sins if one is faithful, obedient, and avoids the gravest sins. At first glance, it might seem that Islam isn’t fundamentally different from Christianity in this regard. As in Christianity, sins are forgiven without requiring good deeds or specific acts to cleanse one’s bad karma. As the Quran states in 24:21, Muhammad agrees with the Bible that it is difficult for a person to completely cleanse themselves of all sins and that they need Grace to do so. Therefore, in Christianity, if you believe in Jesus and sincerely regret of your sins, they are immediately forgiven, and you will not be condemned if you die before living out that regret. Similarly, in Islam, if you believe in Allah, accept Muhammad as the prophet, and are obedient to them, your sins are forgiven even if you have not had the chance to live out your sincere obedience. The essential issue lies in how the Quran defines obedience.

In exchange for forgiveness of sins, Allah explicitly expects readiness to go and die in his wars (4:74, 61:10-12). The only true believers are those who sacrifice their wealth and lives in the fight for Allah (8:74, 49:15). Meanwhile, believers who refuse to fight are scorned (47:20-28, 33:18). Only the disabled and those incapable of fighting are exempt from this duty.

And here lies what could be considered the gravest evil of Islam. The Gospel, literally the good news, is negated. Jesus was not the spotless Lamb; he did not sacrifice himself for our sins; forgiveness of sins is not available through faith and sincere repentance. To experience absolution, you must be willing to go to a religious war and die in it. Like a dog.

I would also point out that the Biblical narrative is explicitly opposed to the idea of a religious state and entrusting humans with enforcing Divine Law. The entire Old Testament chronicles how the Chosen People fail in their attempts to establish a Holy Nation according to God’s instructions. The New Testament, in turn, tells of how God sends his Son, who is secularist in nature and aims to establish a religion based on voluntarism. Yet, the priestly caste of the Chosen People decides to kill him and knowingly lies, claiming he is Satan’s servant, when they see him healing the possessed.

In contrast, Islam not only claims that Jews rebelled and Christians are misguided, but also returns to the failed idea of a Holy Nation and further makes unconditional participation in religious wars a requirement for the forgiveness of sins.

The Religion of Fascist Peace

Continuing the topic of religious war, I dare to dispute the notion that Islam is a religion of peace—unless, of course, it's a form of peace akin to that which fascists might guarantee.

Starting with its support of an endless military-industrial complex (8:60), prioritizing the massacre of opponents over taking prisoners of war (8:67), and even promising spoils of war (48:20), Islam is an ultra-militaristic religion, reminiscent of the barbaric Nordic religions, where a better fate in the afterlife also depended on one’s readiness to die on the battlefield.

Furthermore, Islam criticizes Jews and Christians for establishing peace with pagans (5:80), refers to non-believers as the worst of all creatures (8:55), and commands believers to feel no sympathy for non-believers, even if they are family members (9:113, 58:22). Tribalism in Islam is radical. In contrast, Jesus commanded his followers to love their enemies, and the parable of the Good Samaritan was a critique of tribalism, emphasizing the importance of personal bonds. According to Jesus, a repentant sinner is cause for greater joy than 99 righteous people (L 15:7).

Islam, however, commands believers never to take non-believers as defenders/allies/friends, preferring instead the faithful, unless necessity requires deceit (3:28, 3:118, 5:51). Non-believers within one's own family are even called enemies (64:14). Although this same verse permits showing leniency to one's family, it also encourages believers to demonstrate their loyalty to Allah by treating non-believing family members as prescribed enemies.

It’s no accident that Jesus urged combatting evil with good rather than with more evil. As I previously mentioned, the Bible tells the story that humans should not be entrusted with enforcing Divine Law. Christ sought to move away from the concept of state religion and tribalism, only to be crucified by those who wanted to maintain state religion as a means of controlling their own people.

Islam is everything Jesus would reject in religion. It is ultra-militaristic, extremely tribalistic, and encourages persecution of one’s own family members as enemies if they do not believe. Islam is incompatible with the Democratic World, as its clearly defined foundations are those of a repressive state. If Islam is to be considered a "religion of peace," it is only if we equate peace with tyranny.

The three points above constitute my main critique of the Qur’an. They illustrate the fundamental religious and social differences between Islam and Christianity: the negation of the belief that Christ died for our sins, the morally questionable way this is exploited (making forgiveness of sins contingent upon willingness to participate in religious wars), and the path it openly leads toward (a repressive religious state). Even if similar accusations could be leveled at Christians through the pages of history, they cannot be made against the teachings of Christ, which transcended their time. This is why Christianity is not only compatible with the Free World, but indeed made its emergence possible, regardless of how influential people may have distorted it. Whether Jesus Christ was the Son of God is a matter of faith. But that he outlined a religion capable of moving beyond the age-old pathologies of all religions is a fact.

My further critique of Islam will address more secondary issues. Some of these are critiques of elements to be rejected for social reasons. Others are critiques of elements that should be rejected on religious grounds (although they also have social implications).

Allah is a tyrannical egomaniac

Christianity claims that God became human, washed His disciples' feet, and died for our sins. The Quran, however, speaks of everything being created to serve Allah, who even wants to destroy the world because people claim He has a Son (19:89-93).

Unlike the father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son, Allah is willing to abandon those who turn away from him and replace them with others (47:38). This expectation is not surprising in a deity who demands followers to go and die in his wars (despite being powerful enough to destroy all unbelievers Himself), yet he fails to inspire the same comfort as the Christian God.

It's no wonder Islam refrains from calling Allah a father.

Muhammad prefers privileges over leading by example

When Jesus washed His disciples' feet, He demonstrated the Christian ideal that leaders are the servants of all. Muhammad, however, favored privilege over self-abasement, allowing himself things he denied other believers. Specifically, he permitted himself to marry the daughters of his uncles and aunts (33:50). Furthermore, he forbade his former wives from marrying any other man (33:53).

Among other things, no one may raise their voice against Muhammad (49:1-5), and he is not required to listen to others (49:7). Naturally, he is also entitled to the first share of the spoils in the Religion of Peace™ (59:7). In short, he claimed royal rights.

It was pagan religions that exalted kings, while the Bible criticized and distanced itself from this concept. Pharaoh abused his power to the point of ordering the killing of Hebrew sons. God punished him according to what Egyptian law permitted the strongest and holiest to do, killing his firstborn. Israel, against God’s warnings, established kings who quickly led to Israel’s collapse as a state. Religious privileges lead to pathology, which is why Jesus set an example by radically moving in the opposite direction.

Muhammad, however, chose to go against all these examples and made himself a de facto king, thus allowing all the pathologies associated with allowing a man to fulfill Divine Law as described in the Bible.

Denying the virgins is pure lie

The Quran explicitly promises that in the Muslim paradise there will be virgins as well as eternal boys. The fact that they are to be virgins is stated clearly in 56:34-38. Additionally, they will apparently be completely devoted to their men, looking only at them (37:48-49). Male servants, meanwhile, are promised in 52:24 and 56:17-18. They all are likely going to be created for the benefit of the inhabitants of Muslim paradise.

In most religions, depictions of paradise served as an idealized model for how the world was meant to be ordered. In pagan religions like the Egyptian or Greek, pantheons of gods represented royal families because royalty was seen as rulers of the world. In Viking religion, Valhalla was filled with warriors, as warriors were paramount in Viking society. In this way, religions offered a “top-down” example of their values.

Muslim paradise, in contrast, presents an afterlife of sexual and boy slaves. This ideal of subjugating others becomes a standard to which followers of this religion are supposed to aspire.

Final thoughts

As a Christian, I am biased. But I also understand why I support the teachings of Christ, which offer salvation and forgiveness to everyone, always. These teachings also outline a religion devoid of the known pathologies found in others.

Even if Roman Catholicism was more focused on reconstructing Old Testament Judaism and its Laws, despite St. Paul’s writings on how we were freed from the Law. Also, Old Testament Judaism itself represented a departure from numerous issues found in pagan religions.

Islam, however, is a regressive religion. Despite claiming to derive from Christ's teachings, it contradicts the secularism they promote. While agreeing with Christianity on the necessity of grace, in Islam, grace is conditioned on a willingness to participate in Islamic wars. This makes Islam an exploitative and evil religion.

The defense of Islam could be seen as pragmatic: Muslims successfully defended themselves against the Mongols due to their fervor for battle. But let’s consider that before facing the Mongols, Muslims had been fighting Christians. Had Muslims not aggressively expanded their empire, depleting Christian forces, perhaps both religions could have resisted the Mongol horde more effectively.

In any case, this argument was nullified with the advent of the modern era, where technological advantage has a greater influence on victory in war than sheer numbers. And technological advancement arose in Western states, whose development was based on values aligned with Christ’s teachings.

Moreover, Islam supports polygamy, which favors strong and wealthy men. While this may enable rapid population growth, in the long term, it contributes to a decline in genetic quality. It’s no coincidence that genetic diseases are common among Arab populations. How can Allah be a true God who cares about successful warfare if he allows for the degradation of his faithful population?

Ultimately, Islam as a religion lacks positive values for the world, except for those it has borrowed from Christianity and Judaism. Yet, it has added its own negative elements, making it not only an unnecessary religion but also a harmful one.

#religion #bible #quran #islam #christianity #jesus christ #religion of peace #muhammad #allah #jihad #islamic jihad #jesus #holy trinity #God

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the-blackest-spider · 2 years ago

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The Angst Meme

Accepting | Open

@agentjjkelly left a message:

👿: What are your muse(s)’ fatal flaws? Any wishlists to do with them?

😁: So, the muse(s)… do they deserve the angst?

👿:

One of Natasha's fatal flaws is her believing she's expendable.

In the MCU/Marvel this belief comes from the Red Room and the fact all Red Room operatives were treated as weapons, and weapons could be replaced, they could be remade, and they could be fixed if damaged. She learned from an early age that her life was not her own, it belonged to the Red Room, to Mother Russia. In some ways, she did unlearn this, at least to the extreme, but she still believed she owed SHIELD, Nick Fury, Clint Barton, and the other Avengers, to name a few, that she would easily, and gladly lay her life down for and ultimately did end up doing, for the entire universe.

Natasha's fear of losing the people she cares about is also a fatal flaw, which works in tandem with her belief of being expendable. She lost so much in her life already that the sheer idea of losing anyone else, anything else important to her or that matters is unbearable. It's why she made the sacrifice she did, and she would do it again, however many times necessary to ensure that what needs to be protected is.

These beliefs also extend into her Final Fantasy VII Turk verse, where her loss of memories and the work she does for Shinra makes her feel she doesn't have much to lose as far as herself, if something happens to her, it happens, but she refuses to let anything happen to those she's come to care about in that verse. Unfortunately, as with the MCU/Marvel she's had to go through losses that had profound effects on her, the disappearance of her mentor, the Before Crisis incident and that fallout (if I'm writing her post that), and depending on when I'm writing her when she learns the truth about how she came into Shinra's employment, which tends to fall into anything post Dirge of Cerebus.

In her Star Wars verses, this also carries; in her Imperial Assassin verse she lives and exists according to Palpatine's whims, and she's lost a great deal beyond her life not being her own, and in her Outcast Jedi verse, she's lost and trying to find her place in the galaxy, and has nothing to lose if she has to give her life protecting others who cannot protect themselves as a Jedi would do.

On the flip side of her expendability, loyalty, and fear of losing important people to her, is the fact she is willing to do what needs to be done, even if it kills a part of her to do it. I also feel like this is a fatal flaw, her being so dedicated to doing what she feels is right, even if it means having to take down someone she cares about because they've given her no other choice. Doing so means she's making herself experience one of her worst fears, and having to deal with the aftermath of what that will do to her.

The ultimate fatal flaw, which is the cornerstone of all of these things is her stubbornness. Being stubborn can be a good thing or a bad one depending, and she's very much about sticking to her principles and her own code of ethics and morals, very stubbornly so. Once she's made her mind up, good luck getting her to change it, and she's deceptive, you won't know she's made the decision she has until she springs it on you, and she will fight to see it through (i.e. Vormir in Endgame).

As for a wishlist? Look I've been dying to do something with Natasha's current situation in the MCU (my Nat's anyways) and have her get killed only to come back to life. Also, more stuff to deal with the truth about her in her FFVII Turk verse, and similar stuff with her Star Wars verses, her doing something to save someone she cares about, but maaaaybe let it end happily somehow. XD

---------------------------

😁:

I'm going to be bluntly honest with this and say yes. Sometimes she absolutely brings the angst on herself tho. It's very rare for Natasha to do anything without thinking it over first, analyzing it, and pretty much going through it with a fine toothed comb, she's known as a master tactician for a reason because she can understand what will get the best, and most needed results in a situation. So, she knows exactly what she's doing, and what the plausible and most likely outcome will be in the end. She can be ten steps ahead of you and you have no idea. For example, in Endgame, when Nebula is talking about Vormir and that Thanos came back with the Soul Stone without Gamora, Natasha instantly clued into what it was going to take to get that stone. So, before she and Clint even talked to Red Skull, she already had her game plan and knew what needed to be done, and what she ultimately needed to do.

But sometimes, no she doesn't deserve the angst. As much as I enjoy angst, I also very much enjoy Natasha getting to be happy and have nice things and be able to hold onto all of that and not have to constantly look over her shoulder to make sure her happiness is safe.

#widow responses #widow ooc (cat speaks)#widowcanon

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malka-lisitsa · 2 years ago

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Verse: blood in the water

AU verse where once Katherine takes over hell, her target becomes Klaus. In her amplified anger and rage she hard focuses the true cause for losing everything in her life, and decides to pick apart Klaus' by taking everything he loves. Including his new born daughter. Now that she is the devil and has way more power than he does, she has no reason to be afraid of him. Perfect time for revenge.

Katherine sets about systematically taking/harming/torturing all of Klaus' siblings, with ZERO remorse, saving Elijah for last- because you know. It's personal. (She might kill Elijah I mean he was Klaus' biggest enabler and apologist, and he abandoned her for him so lots of bad blood there.)

She makes it clear that she is coming for Hope as the grand finale. She takes her time making her moves equally obvious and unpredictable, vindictively enjoying Klaus feeling helpless and angry. Watching them struggle to find something, anything to stop her, to save themselves.

Now this looks familiar doesn't it?

Katherine is not chaotic neutral in this verse she is 100% chaotic evil and I intend to play her as such. Katherine being the devil makes her more powerful than Klaus and its her turn to make him suffer the way he made her suffer.

Same powers as the devil wears prada verse, shes literally op but like so is klaus so fuck off. However the bone dagger is still a thing.

Funny thing about that bone dagger. It sends me to hell. But it cant keep me there, sorry <3

Would love to explore the psychological tolls it takes on Klaus and the people around him. Honestly its my favourite part of dark RP's. Just like I intend to explore the ways hell and her amplified rage has twisted Katherine.

Can Klaus appeal to her better nature and make a deal? Can he stop her in time? Is there anything good left in Katherine anymore? Does Klaus see what his actions have done, what hes caused? Can he take responsibility? Will that mean anything to her? What is he willing to sacrifice to save the people he loves? In the end will it even matter?

You chased me for five hundred years, your death is going to take at least half that long.

You'll never get free. Lamb to the slaughter, what you gonna do when theres BLOOD IN THE WATER?

#verse: blood in the water #Verse #Spotify

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autisticandroids · 3 years ago

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anon who ranted about confession:

i mostly agree and i think it's in character for cas to say not everything is Dean's responsibility, given he says that in 8x07 and spends 11 years trying to handle problems on his own bc he doesn't think they're dean's responsibility or because he thinks dean would do more damage than good.

but also i have an issue with saying deans not responsible for everything SPECIFICALLY after unity bc to me, in 15x17 he gives up the pretense. Chuck says "His sense of duty, his rage winning out in the end." But that's not REALLY what's driving Dean anymore in my opinion. At the very end, he is NOT saying that they have to sacrifice in order to stop Chuck from destroying the last universe. He's saying Chuck has to die because HE can't live under chucks CONTROL. To me, his control issues visibly overcame the complex of responsibility, essentially, rather than just being the underlying motivator. Which I think is like. Revealing to the other characters that if Dean no longer has the justification of saving the world or saving his family, well, that doesn't actually matter to Dean at a certain point.

So i think saying not everything is Dean's responsibility would have done more at addressing a larger arc of complexes Dean has, but with season 15 specifically, his control issues are dominating in a new way that, like, i think the responsibility complex becomes.....less important, next to the something much darker. Especially from the outside, there's literally no way Cas could witness that and think it stemmed from Dean feeling responsible for everyone because Dean is actively saying he doesn't care about everyone else anymore, so why would he think that's what needed to be addressed? Of course, calling him selfless was even LESS relevant and necessary and, I agree, actively detrimental.

Its like, yes that's what dean needed to hear from someone at some point bc that was actively ruining his life but also from Cas after whatever the fuck Unity was? Idk. I almost feel like that loving call-out from Cas would work more effectively around either the Trap OR even earlier around the Michael arc. But also you're right that IF Cas HAS to confess now and die, he might as well do something for the narrative and at least the responsibility complex is usually a driving force behind deans behavior. Idk. Sometimes I feel like Cas needed to kick his ass and call out dean being a selfish piece of shit. Sometimes i feel like Cas needed to extend the love he did in a more targeted way. Mostly i think we deserved a kiss if we're already being toxic.

(re: this)

you know that's fair! i actually had not thought of it that way before but you're right he kind of does give up on justifying his control issues in season fifteen. like, a lot of the individuals stuff kind of struck me as weird and ooc so i discounted it, but once i look at the larger picture through that lens it makes more sense. i hate it, i think it was a bad direction for them to take his character, but it makes more sense. it makes me want the secret better version of the s15 dean character development arc so much more now too, because chuck genuinely wasn't like. threatening anything, actually. all he was threatening was dean's control. and like i find the concept of overthrowing god so sexy and good but i am willing to sacrifice it for better dean character development. also at some point i need to post about my and leo's secret much worse version of the trap from this 'verse.

#spn #asks #anonymous

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aceparagoned · 1 year ago

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[ @floraesky || continued from here! ]

❝I truly do wonder if you even have the capability of putting an end to my existence.❞

There's nothing but a dull response to his threat. How many times has she wished for her end, only to never be granted that chance? It had to be countless at this point. Still, the former Protector hovers in the air, crossing her legs over one another, bringing her arm up to rest her chin upon her hand.

She supposes she could humor this a bit longer. It's not like she has anything else to do at the moment.

❝We're more alike than you realize. Or, is destruction all you know now and you refuse to listen to reason?❞

The deliverance of such a question sounds rather frigid and clear-cut in nature along with her unnatural orange hues reflecting the way that she felt. Truly, she could have gone down a similar path of pain and emptiness over losing the one thing that made her human, but instead she resigned to a life of loneliness and endless drifting. Make no mistake about the fact that pain still harbors itself in her heart of having to make the decisions she did, but there's no point to them now.

There never will be, anyway.

❝You're free to try to kill me if you'd like. It's not as if I'll stop you or anything. But, perhaps you should also consider listening to what I have to say on the matter. It's your choice.❞

#floraesky #☆ VERSE: BAD END ☆ what are you willing to sacrifice so as to save the galaxy? Everything; even one’s own humanity to end this war.#*ooc: oh this hurt to write jgfdkl;sjg #i hate what our characters are going through rn -- all the pain grief and misery and just #screams into the void abt all this kljgfsfds

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haleigh-sloth · 3 years ago

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what do you think about the development of bakugou and deku’s relationship so far? or just about bakugou’s character development in general?

i’ve seen pretty mixed reactions to bakugou’s character development. there are some that are happy with it, there are some that are extremely critical, and i’ve even seen some people compare him to endeavor.

when i first started mha, i didn’t like bakugou at all, but he’s changed a lot since the first chapter. i personally like his development, but i still think that there’s quite a bit way to go. bakugou has atoned through his actions, but he has yet to verbally apologize.

(sorry if you’re not interested in this topic, i just like hearing people’s opinions on it.)

Any of the main characters I'm cool with talking about. It's the side ones I truly don't care to talk about lol.

So Bakugo---whenever I FIRST started BNHA (before Shigaraki's intro) I was super invested in seeing a friendship develop between him and Midoriya because I'm a sucker for enemies to friends. Idk why I just am. Not too long after starting it though it quickly became obvious that they'd become friends so I wasn't as invested. It was too obvious, and then at that point I had completely shifted my focus to the League. So I just kinda took whatever happened with Bakugo and was cool with it. But as far as forming an opinion on his character and everything that's happened so far, and addressing some of the stuff you said about Endeavor, yeah I have some thoughts.

I actually ranted a bit about what I think of Bakugo's arc here, and I'll just go ahead and throw in what I said since I was about to repeat myself. Also forgive my harsh words toward Bakguo he's on my list of favorites despite how many times I call him a piece of shit lmao:

To be honest Bakugo's arc is one of the best, in my opinion. It kinda hit that break through point in the war arc where he made a sacrifice for Midoriya, and now we need to see how it carries out from here.

But the thing about Bakugo is that he's supposed to be a POS. Like seriously he sucks. At first. Nobody in real life would ever put up with a person like that lol. But this is a manga where behaviors are majorly exaggerated for comedy (his explosive anger) and for dramatic effect (his anger toward Midoriya for literally no reason other than personal insecurities), and the people in BNHA-verse are willing to put up with said behavior. Anyway--the reason I think his arc was handled really well is because:

He's a POS person who was actually punished in-story over and over and over again. Rightfully so. He's an asshole who bullies Midoriya for being quirkless. And then he gets captured by a villain, which leads to a lot of city damage and him feeling humiliated because he had to be saved by--you name it--Midoriya. Then once again his pride causes him to lose the first match at UA. Then he wins the sports festival in a way he never ever wanted.* Then because of his asinine behavior at the sports festival the villains genuinely think he's better off with them because it seems like he's being held back by society (he was in chains after all--big yike) and he gets kidnapped. Him getting kidnapped leads to All Might retiring while trying to save him. Then he fails the licensing exam and falls behind his other classmates. He finally starts to show some progress and stops getting punished by the story right around the second Deku vs. Kacchaan fight. That's when he starts actually improving. Somewhat.

*So about the Bakugo being compared to Endeavor--I've seen two attitudes toward it. Some people think it's a horrible comparison and gross and just whatever. And other people, like myself, see that comparison as quite fair, and deliberate on the author's part.

It doesn't take much reading comprehension to see that Bakugo is desperately in need of a change, because he's at risk of becoming--well--bad.

But the thing is, he was never EVER at risk of becoming a villain. That was never going to be an issue. He was at risk of becoming a much worse person and embodying more and more of Endeavor's negative qualities. Bakugo wants to be number 1. He wants to be number 1 for the wrong reasons. This is not up for debate. Citing what I said above--he was willing to go to extraordinary lengths to win matches at school not for the sake of being a better hero, but for the sake of making him feel better about himself. It's an insecurity thing, and he needed to work on it. And he has. But before he progressed at all--he had to face narrative punishment over and over again.

Bakugo and Endeavor are similar on purpose and they're compared in-story for a reason. People can separate Endeavor from the rest of the narrative all they want but he's a character just like everyone else, and there are intentional parallels and foils in place for him. Similarities between the two:

They both want to be number 1--for the wrong reasons.

They want to go about it the wrong way. Endeavor using his children to live vicariously through, Bakugo trying to get rid of Midoriya by bullying him into not applying to UA because he feels threatened by him. Bakugo continuing to go after Midoriya for his own personal reasons, when it doesn't benefit his development as a hero.

They physically and emotionally hurt others for their ambitions. And look, I'm not putting bullying on the level of abuse by any means. But they both hurt others for their own selfish reasons. They do, and that's a similarity between the two.

They want to feel better about themselves and so they don't want their egos hurt. As it was pointed out to me today by the genius @redphlox, while we were floating in a river in Somewhere, Texas--they were both granted top positions in a way that hurt their egos. Bakugo at the sports festival, Endeavor with the hero billboard charts.

Where there are similarities, there are also differences. Bakugo learned from his punishments. He gradually changed and made progress and improved as a person. Kind of. He's still an asshole but as stated above he had a huge turning point in the war arc when he went all sacrificial on us*. I'm hoping that we'll see him start viewing the villains differently now that he's back in the picture and it's bound to be a topic of discussion with Midoriya. I don't know what Bakugo's end game is but I think we're gonna see him grow more empathic as time goes on.

*Another prediction planted in my head by @/redphlox is that Bakugo getting skewered to save Midoriya might mirror the same way Endeavor sacrifices himself to save his son. Again, I don't think he'll die but I think we'll get a "GASP WILL HE DIE??" moment.

Sooooo yeah I'm pretty cool with Bakugo's character arc so far. It all depends on how it plays out from here. I think we'll see a lot of him and Midoriya working together. I think he'll help save Shigaraki's body, while Midoriya saves his heart and soul. I think it'll be a team effort between the two to get the job done. And I think he'll be a great member of the main group in the final battle. I'm excited to see how he's used in the story from here on out.

#bnha #bnha meta #i guess #bakugo katsuki #kachaan #dynamight #boku no hero academia #bnha asks #anonymous #character analysis #midoriya izuku #deku

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waitlifted · 3 years ago

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god I'm thinking about the great tree incident in reversed verse and how the meaning changes even with the results being the same

so in both verses, cass getting burned by the incantation is a result, both literally and metaphorically, of her self sacrificing knight behavior. in the main verse, it's what finally shocks her out of that mindset, realizing how damaging it is to tie yourself so blindly to someone. but in reversed verse... it actually makes it worse.

essentially, the explicitly romantic nature of their relationship frames the scenario differently in cassandra's head. while she was very badly injured, she was able to snap rapunzel out of the decay spell by doing so— in fact, it was literally her pained scream that was what broke the spell, so it was even literally cassandra's pain that saved her, not just incidental. and this... this is the first part of the relationship that feels right to her. she has all these ideas of how you are supposed to sacrifice for the ones you love, and here it is, proven to her in the most concrete form— to keep rapunzel, to keep her safe, she will have to give up parts of herself.

and much like the main verse, this leads directly into zhan tiri's manipulation. because cassandra so strongly correlates love with sacrifice, her brain makes the reverse connection as well— and so being asked to sacrifice everything seems the ultimate act of love. she's willing to give up everything she has up to and including her life to save rapunzel. it takes rapunzel in the end pointing out that cassandra's actions weren't actually helping and that she would never want her to go through that anyways that finally gets the lesson through her head.

so in a way, while cassandra still ultimately learns that blind devotion and self sacrifice is bad, she learns it in a different way. in main verse, she learns it's wrong to expect anyone to completely sacrifice themself for someone else— but in reversed verse, she learns that those who truly love you would never ask it of you to begin with.

#ooc.#waiting in the wings (hc.)#change the fates design (v5.)#(( this thought came to me abruptly and rattled me like a baby toy until i agreed to post it ))#(( so now you get to all join the galaxy brain zone with me ))

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shirtlesssammy · 4 years ago

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15x16: Drag Me Away (From You)

Then:

Castiel confesses a bombshell to Dean

Now:

We pick up right where we left off. Dean and Cas are about to share mutual I love yous and ---. A man checks into a motel late at night. The man is nervous entering the room, but reassures himself that he “can do this.” He sets up shop, and by “shop”, I mean he starts hitting the bottle.

Travis gets a text from Caitlin asking him why he would go “back to that place.” The creepy ring he grasps as he tells himself it was never real tells me it was VERY REAL. Get out of there, Travis!

Alas, it’s very real and he’s murdered by Closet Ghost Boy.

Sam and Dean are on the case!

Oh wait, I guess they knew the guy back in the halcyon days of their youth and they’re actually heading to his funeral. Sam recaps recent events, including Cas bailing on the fam. Then he asks if Dean and him are fighting again.

AND IT SENDS ME. #SamKnows

Dean denies knowing anything (AHEM. I sense DRAMA by the end of this episode --I’d normally say this would be left for the end of the season, but we’re really at the end of the season and the END OF THE SHOW...what’s with all the manufactured drama??) Dean then gets a text from Cas asking if he’s told Sam.

That’s a negative.

*Flashback Alert*

January 1993

Dean’s about 14 or 15 and Sam is 10. They’re dropped off by John to chill at a motel while he heads out on a hunt. Sam’s hiding something under his coat, and with a little prodding from Dean, it’s revealed to be a college guide.

#NerdAlert

Also, angst alert, I guess. This sets up the rift between brothers. Sam wants a normal life, Dean’s happy being a good little soldier. (Hmmm, something tells me neither of them will be in The Life when this is all said and done…)

Sam laments his life but unpacks his bag anyway.

Dean, meanwhile, heads to the vending machine to grab dinner. A young girl and her younger brother catch him stealing and introduce themselves as the mysterious Caitlin and Travis. And the young Travis is the DEAD KID.

They exchange life stories and Caitlin insults Dean’s Precious.

Present Day Sam and Dean meet up with Caitlin again.

(Mid recap mind-melt: THERE ARE FIVE EPISODES LEFT! What are we doing here????)

She tells them that the funeral was last week, but she needed them to help her. “I think she’s back.”

*Flashback Alert*

Travis was her first “victim”. He attempts to get a candy bar from the vending machine, and her gnarly hand attacks him instead. Travis DOES NOT deal well with it.

The group gathers in the motel room and Travis is upset that no one else saw the old lady in the candy machine. Dean tells Caitlin and Travis that monsters are real. Dean asks if weird things are happening in the town.

Apparently kids go missing in this town.

And in the present day, Dean tells Caitlin that he killed the thing that preys on children, so Travis had to have killed himself.

Team Youth start their investigation.

They think they’ve got things figured out, and Dean is IN CHARGE...or a dumbass even at 14. He heads out alone to fix things. Caitlin follows. (Insert Lucille Bluth gif: Good for her!)

Sam and Travis stay behind to play Boggle. #nerdalert

But seriously, now they’re setting up the idea that SAM might die at the end? No.

Dean and Caitlin continue their explorations, and Caitlin takes their endeavors less than seriously. GIRL. They find a nest, and something Dean freaks out about and pushes Caitlin to leave the area.

Sam and Travis start to spell out very grim Boggle results, when the game shakes and the room goes dark. The hag appears in a tangle of gnarled hair and dirty robes and heads straight for them. Dean and Caitlin burst in just in time! Dean chops off her fingers and gives her a bit of a stabbin’ and the witch evaporates into dust. Her ring is left behind on the floor.

Grown up Dean paces through the motel and encounters a ghostly version of his younger self. Young!Dean mocks him, tells him he failed, and hands him a knife. “You know what you have to do.” Dean sinks to his knees, the knife poised to slice into his heart.

When Sam interrupts him, Dean discovers that he’s been hallucinating everything - even the knife.

Later at the bar, Dean confesses to Sam and Caitlin that he saw the monster’s nest when he was hunting her as a kid. It was full of dead kids around their age. Sam’s horrified and asks why Dean never told him. Sweet bby Sammy, you know why! Though he tried to forget, the experience cursed him with nightmares for a long time. “We were both just kids,” Sam says to Dean’s BIGGEST GUILTY FACE MY GOD. “We used to keep a lot of secrets from each other!” Sam assures him. But that’s toooootally not the case now!

At the adjoining cafe, Dean orders dinner to go when Billie appears. “Working a case? NOW?” she asks. (Mmmmmm yes Billie lay it on us!) She’s fresh from the last of the alternate universes, having just watched it burn alive. (Guys, it was probably squirrel-verse but Boris saved Team Free Squirrel 2.0 for us!) Billie warns Dean that Chuck’s only days away. Amara’s on board and Jack’s ready so...let’s go Team Free Destruction! Dean asks her how she convinced Jack to turn himself into a bomb. Billie flips that right back on Dean. She told Jack that destroying Chuck and Amara (and incidentally, himself) was the only way to earn Dean’s forgiveness. And just...YEESH EVERYBODY.

Anyway, Billie’s not in Chuck’s book again until the very end, so she bids Dean a broody farewell. “This is on you, Dean.” No presssuuuuure! “I don’t like loose ends. I don’t like disorder,” she scolds. She orders Dean to come clean to Sam about Jack.

At the motel, Sam and Caitlin research monsters. She wonders whether he wants a normal life. GURL there ain’t no normal in Winchester-land. Sam stumbles across an article on Baba Yaga. She wears a ring which contains her heart, and is the source of her power. Caitlin recognizes the ring as belonging to her brother. Her mom had given it to Travis from the lost and found years ago. She heads outside to her car to find it.

In her trunk sits a box of Travis’s belongings. She can’t find the ring and is soon confronted by her dead brother holding the ring and grinning maniacally.

Dean returns with dinner, only to find Sam ready to hunt Baba Yaga and find the now-missing Caitlin. Because the attacks have all been at the motel, they prowl from wing to wing. Dean heads to room 214.

He walks inside, and I am momentarily agog at the wonders of these perhaps final motel rooms of the series. I love that the floor tiles in the rooms echo the Patchwork logo from the prior episode and that the quilt square design itself emulates tradition and family. And all the eyes in the wallpaper!

For Motel Room Science:

Ahem. Anyway. Dean heads inside, only to be instantly trapped behind the slamming door. Suddenly, he’s not in the motel room anymore. He’s back in the cannery, prowling its quiet spaces. He finds the site of the nest and flips back the tarp, only to reveal young Sam’s face lying there. Rattled, he tries to leave. Travis confronts him, but of course it’s not him. Baba Yaga tells him that she’s hungry for delicious people, and starts to throttle Dean.

Sam hears the struggle and heads in, stabbing the witch. Stabbing is distraction enough that Dean can yank the ring off her finger and smash it with the butt of his gun.

Later, Caitlin bids Dean farewell. He confesses to always being afraid and she smiles. “The old you never would have admitted that. What do they say about getting older? You tell the truth more because lies...they don’t make anything better.” Okay, first of all, literally nobody says that. Second, thank you for this theme acorn - I shall settle on my haunches to eat it! Nom nom nom.

Flashback to Dean and Caitlin parting ways as children. Dean hands her a phone number to call if she ever encounters trouble. So...typical kid stuff.

Young Sam asks if anyone ever found the missing kids. Baby Dean lies to his face and tells him that they were never found. John pulls up in the Impala and honks to beckon them out. The boys head out, a team for the moment.

As adults driving in the Impala of Feelings, Sam tries to call Cas. Dean orders him to hang up because he’s got a confession - I mean, update - to make. Billie visited him and told him that it was time to fight Chuck. “And there’s something else,” Dean adds. Jack’s going to die from the encounter and he’s ready and willing to sacrifice himself. Furthermore, Dean tells Sam that he learned this a while ago from Cas before he left.

Sam’s outraged that Dean would keep this from him. “I knew you couldn’t handle it,” Dean shouts at him. “You raise these ethical questions.” (I perk up.) He tries to justify it, but Sam shouts him down in turn.

They drive into the fade-to-black in brooding silence.

Brooding Quotes Lay Fragile Eggs:

I thought your imaginary friend told you it was bad to steal

Don’t you want a partner?

Hunting usually means going to gross places

Shoved it down the ol’ memory hole!

Not to make light of the death star galactic genocide, but what else is new?

I’ve seen this movie before

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn spoilers #spn recap #dean winchester #sam winchester #spn 15x16 #drag me away (from you)#supernatural season 15

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porschekittisawasds · 4 years ago

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simply cannot believe i made a supernatural fic rec list in the year 2020 but here we are

When Worlds Collide

When Zachariah dies, the illusions he’s created die with him. But before they collapse completely, sometimes they collide. That’s how Castiel goes from cradling Dean Winchester’s broken body one moment, to finding himself face to face with Dean Smith in the next.

note: basically endverse!cas’s world collapses right after endverse!dean is killed by lucifer and he gets thrown into the it’s a terrible life verse. drama and love and a whole lot of fuckery ensue. it’s tagged as major character death but it’s not really

Broadway Musical

This is the day that marked the Holy and Blessed Union of Dean Winchester and Jo Harvelle.

The merging of prominent bloodlines is always a grand occurrence, but breeding pedigree hunter families like Winchester and Harvelle is something to be rejoiced. It is also something to be meticulously planned, which thankfully the Host is very good at.

note: an AU where dean and jo are destined to fall in love and have two sons who will bring on the apocalypse and be the vessels for michael and lucifer. only problem is cupid’s arrows don’t make them fall in love with each other and heaven promptly starts freaking the fuck out so cas slips into a vessel and tries to do some matchmaking to get the whole end of the world thing back on track. it’s tagged as unrepentant crack and that pretty much sums it up, but it’s also a very funny and enjoyable read

a turn of the earth

Dean’s your typical half-orphaned, monster-killing 22-year-old until a trenchcoated stranger crashes into his back windshield one September night, claiming he’s an angel that knows him from the future and that he’s on the run.

Frigging fantastic.

note: listen i LOVE a good time travel fic

How (thanks to Gabriel) Dean and Castiel (accidentally) raised each other (and Sam)

In which, Gabriel meddles with the time line and Castiel becomes Dean's angel rather sooner than intended.

note: after lucifer stabs gabriel in hammer of the gods, gabriel uses his very last bit of grace to travel back to the beginning of time and decree castiel the angel of thursdays and dean winchester. fast forward a few eons and castiel hears mary’s dying cry. he shows up too late to save her, but he decides that a human life is very short in the grand scheme of things so he can play guardian angel to dean (and by extension sam) while also fulfilling his duties to heaven. not only is this pretty much my favorite supernatural fic, it’s also one of my favorite fics in general

The Shattered One

When it struck Castiel, he was in mid-flight. It dropped him out of the sky like a sparrow buffeted by gale-force winds. Castiel set down the first place he could find. He ended up standing in a field in Switzerland, swaying on his feet and staring down at his body, dazed by what it had just done.

note: okay so listen. this is tagged as mpreg but that’s kind of a stretch imo. it’s not like... mpreg mpreg in the sense that it deals with angel reproduction and has nothing to do with sex or pregnancy. angel reproduction goes like this: a section of an angel’s grace will suddenly and randomly break off and begin to grow on it’s own. after a certain period of time, another angel has to offer a piece of their grace and the two pieces will combine to form a new angel. that new angel is a fully developed, fully functional angel and is considered a new brother/sister instead of an offspring.

cas’s grace shatters which means he’s fucked because this takes place in season 5 after he’s defied heaven. no other angel will offer up a piece of their grace so his own is basically going to rip itself apart, killing him in the process. when dean and sam find out cas is going to die, dean offers up part of his soul in place of another angel’s grace. what results is a new angel that has just enough human in it that it takes the shape of a human baby and sends pretty much all of their lives into a tailspin.

ALSO just a heads up this is definitely more pre-destiel despite the relationship tag. there’s a sequel where im pretty sure they do get together but i haven’t read it so i cant’s say for sure.

Kiss You When It’s Dangerous

When his partner Uriel, betrays him, Federal Agent Castiel Novak is saved from becoming a ritual sacrifice by brothers Dean and Sam Winchester.

note: FBI!cas gets thrown headfirst into the supernatural. tagged as major character death, but again it’s not really

My Roots Take Flight

After forty years in Hell, Dean’s more than willing to accept the offer: become a guardian angel and earn his freedom. But his new ward seems destined to hunt alongside Sam, and there are secrets in Heaven that the angels don’t want found out. Dean’s going to have to choose between his duty and the people he loves- and to work out just where Castiel fits in.

note: season 4 au where dean is an angel and cas is a human except it’s way more complicated than that

Peace and Good Luck To All Men

Christmas in the Milton household was difficult enough without the added complication of guests- and if Luke and Gabriel placing bets on who can get with Sam first wasn’t bad enough, then Cas developing a ridiculous crush on his sister’s boyfriend definitely is.

note: the one where michael, lucifer luke, gabriel, anna and cas are all human siblings but michael and lucifer luke are still trying to kill each other, gabriel is still Like That and cas is still super into dean which is pretty inconvenient considering he’s with anna.

Asunder

Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (Matthew 19:6)

note: it’s been a very long time since i read this, but from what i remember it’s an AU where they’re all human and dean brings his friend/co-worker cas as his “date” to sam and ruby’s wedding for moral support. when sam was in college, he met ruby and they started using drugs together. after several failed attempts at helping him get clean, dean eventually cut sam off and it’s been years since they’ve spoken. even though sam and ruby are now both sober, dean blames ruby for everything that happened and the only reason he’s even going to the wedding is because bobby and ellen basically force him to. again, it’s been years and years since i read this so i can’t remember a lot of the details, but i do know that despite this being a dean/cas fic a lot of the focus is dean rebuilding his relationship with sam and that’s what i remember really liking about it.

Hanged, Drawn, and Quartered

Death brings Sam back — sort of.

note: a general fic involving only sam and dean. sam’s soul is so damaged from its time in the cage that when death brings it back, it shatters into pieces and so does sam. like literally. there’s four different sams now, each representing a distinctive part of his personality. sounds cracky but it’s actually surprisingly angsty and focuses on how the sams and dean are adjusting to their new reality and each other

Point Pleasant

(okay so this fic was deleted but i’m putting in on here anyway because the author has since turned it into a novel and had it published. im sure old pdfs of the fic are floating around but i highly recommend reading the novel version. if you know it was based on a destiel fic then it’s really easy to see those influences in the writing and the characters but it can stand up on it’s own. also!!!! it has pretty much the coolest take on the mothman’s origin story that i’ve ever heard.)

Ben Wisehart (Dean Winchester) grew up in the idyllic town of Point Pleasant, West Virginia. An early encounter with the supernatural shaped his worldview and served as the catalyst for his career as a bestselling horror writer. Thirteen years after abandoning his home, Ben returns to the town to investigate the apparent reemergence of the terrifying creature responsible for his childhood nightmares. In Point Pleasant, Ben is confronted not only by the town’s resident monster, the Mothman, but also by his former best friend, Sheriff Nicholas Nolan (Cas Novak). Together, Ben and Nicholas (Dean and Cas) uncover the mystery of the monster in the woods and discover that the ghosts that haunt us are sometimes made of flesh and blood. And sometimes, they lead us home.

Sympathy for the Devil (and Dean Winchester)

this is not so much a rec as it is a request.

basically an au version of season 5 (and kind of the whole series really). when god cast lucifer out of heaven, he tore out his grace. lucifer’s grace was put into the cage, but lucifer himself fell to earth and spent thousands and thousands of years reincarnating as a human. his latest reincarnation? dean winchester. so when sam opens the cage, lucifer’s grace is released and dean realizes that he’s lucifer. part of him still kind of wants to start the apocalypse but the other part of him has a whole new appreciation for humanity considering he now remembers every human life he’s ever lived. it’s made more complicated by the fact that dean (/lucifer) doesn’t really want to tell anyone that he’s apparently the devil so he has to keep his now angel status on the dl and also because despite heaven wanting the apocalypse to start, michael went missing from heaven shortly after lucifer was cast out and no one has any idea where he’s at.

this fic was deleted, but if anyone happens to have a pdf copy let me know. i would be highly appreciative!

#listen i read a lot of spn fic back in the day so im probably leaving a lot off this list #but these are the ones that i remember years and years later #also i just realized these are basically all AUs lmao #destiel #destiel fic rec #supernatural #supernatural fic rec #spn #ficrec

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ascottywrites · 5 years ago

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The Steter List --Tails

After I realized that the last post was getting pretty long (what does that say about me?) I decided to split it up into two parts Sterek and Steter, so that it’s easier to deal with and not as possibly overwhelming...here’s that Steter half!

--Steter a.k.a Stiles Stilinski/ Peter Hale--

*a.k.a. The ship that makes me rethink life

Something Powerful Between Your Thighs by Bunnywest (Complete: 4/4| 18,595) --Steter/ --Biker!Peter

Someone’s actually replied.Fuck.

I’ll give you what you need, pretty boy. And you can call me Sir.

The hairs on the back of Stiles’s neck prickle at that, and his dick throbs. He clicks on the profile and the picture that pops up is UN-FUCKING-FAIR. Jesus Christ on a bicycle, nobody should look like that. The man’s staring into the camera, a smile that’s almost a sneer on his face. And what a face it is. Intense blue eyes, cheekbones like cut glass, and a strong jawline covered in the perfect amount of stubble. His neck, what Stiles can see of it, is thickly muscled, and Stiles can see the beginnings of a tattoo that travels down. There’s the tiniest scattering of grey at his temples, and Stiles breathes out, “Oh yes, Sir,” as he drinks in the details on the profile.

Sacrificial Lamb by Bunnywest (Complete: 21/21| 54,900) --Steter

The Alpha has a scruffy beard, unkempt hair and dazzling blue eyes. The scar on his face is raised, running down his cheek like a twisting, gnarled rope. Stiles knows that it came from the blade of Kate Argent herself, and that the Alpha got it fighting in the battle where Kate killed his lover, cutting his head clean from his neck, if the stories are to be believed.

The Alpha lets Stiles look his fill, before indicating that Stiles should take the other couch, and Stiles does so, his father’s words echoing in his ears. He can do this, can be pleasant and amenable. The lives of his people may depend on it. The Alpha spends long moments surveying him, before saying, “I like you, Stiles.”

You don’t know me, Stiles wants to blurt out, but he bites his tongue.

The Wild Card by Bunnywest for Rainy182 (Complete: 1/1| 10,799) --Steter

It's courting season, and for Omega Stiles, that means he has a month to choose who he's going to spend his heat with. He didn't think he'd have many suitors to choose from, but apparently he was wrong. It's a good thing he has Derek's uncle Peter to guide him.

Ink Blossoms by Triangulum (Complete: 1/1| 24,501) --Steter/ Tattooed!Peter

"So, you're going to ruin your niece's baby shower with flowers in the wrong color?" the florist, Stiles, asks when they reach the counter. He pulls out a binder and starts flipping through it.

"Not ruin. Mildly inconvenience," Peter says.

"Right, messing with a hormonal pregnant woman seems like a great plan."

"To be fair, her fiance and the father of her baby is my ex-boyfriend," Peter says. "And we weren't broken up when they started 'dating'."

Stiles looks up at him in surprise. "And you're still getting her flowers?" he asks.

"It's under duress, I assure you," Peter says. He absolutely wouldn't be here if his alpha hadn't ordered it.

"Well, shit, yeah, let's get you some purple revenge flowers," Stiles says.

smoke & bone (mistletoe & fang) by rightsidethru (Complete: 1/1| 3,075) --Steter

Deaton once told Stiles to be that spark. He never fully explained what that meant, however. (It was intentional.)

Lie to me (I like them pretty and white) by orphan_account (Complete: 8/8| 12,577) --Steter

Fact number one: Only true mates can have kids together.Fact number two: Peter had a mate, who was pregnant with twins when he died in the fire.

When Stiles tells him he’s pregnant, he... well, it doesn't really go according to plan.

Stiles wakes up in the hospital. He’s alone, a packed overnight bag beside him brought by his dad probably... and he doesn’t really have a reason to stay, so he grabs it and runs.

/look at end notes for TWs/

*I still think this one is a cute little ditty.

Til Death by Bunnywest (Complete: 10/10| 50,770) --Steter

"How long do we have to find him someone?” Stiles asks.

“Two weeks,” says Derek, eyebrows pulling down even further. The fierceness of his expression tells Stiles just how concerned he is.

“He marries, or he goes to the camps. And you know what your father told us,” Scott reminds her.

The camps……aren’t camps.

Peter either finds a wife, or he dies.

*I'm not really a fan of female!Stiles, no particular reason, just not my cuppa. But this one I enjoyed all the way to the end! Intro to Ethics by thegirlnamedcove (Complete: 8/8| 18,061) --Steter

"The universe isn’t wrong about this stuff, the soulmate spell is ironclad, and that means you know this is going to work out. That’s something people don’t get with friends, or dating around.”

“Sure, people say that,” Stiles gestured at the mark where his arm was now stretched out along the back of the couch, “but we don’t actually have any way of knowing. None of us signed up for this. The Ancestors just decided to bestow it upon us and we all have to live with it. Maybe it’s not magic compatibility after all, maybe people just learn to live with one another because everyone around them is telling them to.”

In Sickness and in Fire by wynnebat for Green (Complete: 1/1| 7,320) --Steter

After a fight with an alpha from a rival pack, Stiles begins to turn. It doesn't go as expected.

*Despite the villan-esque portrayal and the Satan in a V-neck tag, there is a large part of me that believes that if Resurrected!Peter got the opportunity he would be that guy you want to have your back. Puppies and Programming by Bunnywest (Complete: 12/12| 17,012) --Steter

Stiles is rich, successful, and lonely.

Buying a Halebot Personal Support Bot seems like a great idea. A human-like robot that can read and respond to his desires and is perfectly sexually compatible, and doubles as a bodyguard? Sign him the fuck up. And it's perfect, at first. But then the P3Tr develops a glitch. Feelings.

Gentleman 'verse by Bunnywest (on-going series) --Steter

Stiles is an omega who just wants to be courted properly, and needs someone to help him though his upcoming heat.

Peter's the alpha who thinks he'd quite like to help out.

Things don't quite go as planned, but they still work out exactly as they should.

*Is it obvious that I have a special appreciation for Bunnywest?... Like is it too noticeable? Ha!

Worn Out Shoes by moonstalker24 (Complete: 28/28| 96,763) --Steter

When the dead rise, and the world comes to an end, the McCall Pack must learn to live in this new world, or die in the attempt. This is the story of the end, and of the year that follows.

*I found this origionally for the Accidental Baby Aquisition tag. ...I love that tag.

Falling In, Not Through by Julibean19 for Mysenia (Complete: 10/10| 49,898) --Steter

“You need to help me,” Stiles says eventually. He’s still in too much pain to move off the floor, but he’s picked up a stray feather, twirling it between two fingers with a look of pure terror on his face. Peter nods immediately, eager and willing to be involved in whatever this is.

Peter’s eyes flick between the feather spinning between Stiles’ fingers and the harsh angle of the bend of his wings above his shoulders. He doesn’t look like any picture of an angel Peter has ever seen. There should be an elegant swooping curve there, neat little rows of white or gold or silver, pointed tips flung far out from Stiles’ body and a halo above his head. If Stiles is an angel, the myths are all wrong.

In which Stiles finds that he has wings and Peter finds that a pack doesn't always need to be made up of wolves.

Wild Creatures by neglectedtuesday (Complete: 1/1| 13,000) --Steter

The treaty is signed while Stiles is being laced into his wedding corset. Ink splatters parchment as a maid pulls the ribbons, tighter and tighter. Stiles’ breath and future are taken away, all to save a village. He is a sacrifice more than a bride. The maid assists in fixing a choker around Stiles throat. Her hands are cold despite the roaring fire in the grate. The choker is a string of blood red rubies, they reflect the firelight with a wet shine like an open wound.

I'm Only Heard During the Silence Between My Screams by Irukashi_Narukib (wip: 39/?| 47,481) --Steter

Stiles thinks no one is listening, so he just... stops talking. It's just like that asshole Peter to refuse to take the hint.

Rewriting the future by Synesthetic (Complete: 28/28| 106,631) --Steter

Two days before their planned bonding, alpha Derek Hale runs away with his secret beta girlfriend, leaving Stiles heartbroken. With the demands of his omega physiology forcing him to bond with someone before his first heat, Derek's uncle Peter steps in and offers a solution.

A Darkness Follows by havok2cat (Complete: 9/9| 41,994) --Steter

Stiles serves his community service at Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital. He's assigned to a mysterious patient and finds himself quickly becoming obsessed.

Reluctant Allies With Benefits by veterization (Complete: 8/8| 93,217) --Steter

Peter suggests he and Stiles start having no strings attached sex. It's that simple. No, really, it totally is. Stiles will make sure of it.

as you are by veterization (Complete: 1/1| 34,093) --Steter

Stiles runs straight into a tree and suddenly, things are... different. Namely, he's in a world where Peter Hale is his boyfriend.

Took the Words Right Out of my Mouth (Must've Been When You Where Kissing Me) by stellewrites (Complete: 1/1| 6,008) --Steter

"Maybe he’s genuinely flirting, but he’s just pretty bad at it. Like, pulling your pigtails kind of thing?”

Stiles rolled his eyes, “Look, if you’re not going to help, I’m going to hang up, ok?”

“You asked for my opinion!” Scott laughed.

“Yeah, yeah…” AKA, Stiles works at a diner and has a love/hate relationship with the flirty Alpha that comes in almost daily with his pack.

Winding Roads to Flowering Fields by Tahlruil (ongoing series) --Steter

#steter #stiles stilinski #omega!stiles #regency #fae #zombie apocolypse au #teenwolf #teen wolf #fanfiction #ao3fic #peter hale #supernatural a/b/o #a/b/o #alpha!peter hale #ficrec #10/10 would reccomend #recommendations

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mrlnsfrt · 4 years ago

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Mental Health, Music, and the Bible

So here we are, 1 Samuel 16:14-23. To be honest I spent a week wavering, unsure if I would tackle this portion of 1 Samuel or just skip over it and hope no one noticed. This is a very challenging portion of scripture and many of the resources I usually use did not address the questions the text brought up in my mind. But as I woke up today and set down to write the post I felt compelled to write on it and also I was able to find one recourse that really helped me gain a better understanding of some of the issues taking place in this narrative. So let’s follow the story and deal with these issues as they come up.

In my last post, Heart Matter, we witnessed the anointing of David as the next king of Israel. Along with the anointing, David also received the spirit of the LORD (1 Samuel 16:13). In this post we follow the progression of events and discover that the spirit of the LORD has departed from Saul.

Choices and Consequences

Saul has been making a series of bad choices.

First, he offered a sacrifice instead of waiting for Samuel as God commanded. (more info at Obedience During Emergencies)

And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the Lord your God, which He commanded you. For now the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.” - 1 Samuel 13:13-14 NKJV

Second, Saul made a rash vow and was willing to kill his own son. (more info at Abuse and Misuse of Religion)

Then Saul said to Jonathan, “Tell me what you have done.”

And Jonathan told him, and said, “I only tasted a little honey with the end of the rod that was in my hand. So now I must die!”

Saul answered, “God do so and more also; for you shall surely die, Jonathan.”

But the people said to Saul, “Shall Jonathan die, who has accomplished this great deliverance in Israel? Certainly not! As the Lord lives, not one hair of his head shall fall to the ground, for he has worked with God this day.” So the people rescued Jonathan, and he did not die. - 1 Samuel 14:43-45 NKJV

Finally, God told Saul to completely destroy the Amalekites but Saul spared king Agag and the army took spoils from their defeated enemies. (more info at Mostly Obedient)

Now the Lord sent you on a mission, and said, ‘Go, and utterly destroy the sinners, the Amalekites, and fight against them until they are consumed.’ Why then did you not obey the voice of the Lord? Why did you swoop down on the spoil, and do evil in the sight of the Lord?” - 1 Samuel 15:18-19 NKJV

We must keep these events in mind as we look at Saul in 1 Samuel 16. I would like to highlight that the problem is not so much the poor choices that Saul made, but rather his lack of repentance. We do not see Saul humbling himself and seeking God.

Saul had said, “I have sinned,” but he never repented. No doubt he regretted the consequences that flowed from his preference of self to the will of God; but he still loved to have his own way. The spirit that prompted to set aside God’s command for his own choice was unchanged. It in itself was a state of war; but still it was restive, unsubdued; it chafed under restraint and conviction of rejection, and sometimes would break out in fury that its preferences should thus be chastised. “As a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.” It is this element of cherished sin, this persistent continuance in the original state of mind that contracted guilt, which poisons the entire life. It sets the whole man at war with God, and renders irksome what to a penitent, lowly heart would be meekly borne. Truly when men sin, and “will have it so” they are so far left to themselves as to work out in their life all manner of miseries.

- Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). 1 Samuel (p. 304). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

This would be similar to you being completely aware of a sin in your life, but instead of humbling yourself before God and begging His forgiveness, you feel angry at God for making such a big deal out of such a small sin. You’re not sorry about your behavior, you don’t think it’s that bad if bad at all. You’re upset about the consequences that accompany your poor behavior. You’re upset that you can’t just be happy with your choices, but you have no desire to turn to God. You refuse to humbly come to God, even though you’re fully aware of His coming judgment and that you are living your life outside of His will.

Transition

A transition has been coming for a while and now becomes more clear. From this point forward the story is more about David than Saul. Saul is still king, but the story is now about how David became king. In the first 13 verses of 1 Samuel 16, we witness the anointing of David, and now we witness the Spirit of the LORD departing from Saul.

But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and a distressing spirit from the Lord troubled him. - 1 Samuel 16:14 NKJV

God caused it?

This is a troubling passage. At first glance, it gives the impression of Saul being the victim of God’s bullying. It is challenging to read a text translated from a different language, especially if it was written a long time ago, in a very different place, with a very different culture. The more we read the Old Testament the more we become acquainted with the ancient Hebrew way of thinking. When you consider that God is ultimately in charge than in a way everything that happens had to be allowed by Him. I don’t wish to pursue this too far for it will distract from the main point of this passage but I do want to give you an idea of the Hebrew way of thinking. The story of Job is probably one of the best places to illustrate this point.

There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. -Job 1:1

I will super summarize the story and if you’re not familiar I would recommend reading at least the first two and last two chapters of Job. Job is faithful to God and Satan questions Job’s love and devotion to God. God gives Satan permission to cause Job to suffer.

9 So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!”

12 And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.”

So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord. -Job 1:9-12 NKJV

So Satan goes off and causes all kinds of destruction and calamities to come upon all that Job possesses. Yet God receives blame for what He allowed Satan to do.

While he was still speaking, another also came and said, “The fire of God fell from heaven and burned up the sheep and the servants, and consumed them; and I alone have escaped to tell you!” - Job 1:16 NKJB (bold mine)

It looks like God sent fire to destroy Job’s sheep and servants. But we know this was Satan’s fault and not God’s. At the same time, Satan could not touch anything that belonged to Job without God’s permission. Are you beginning to see how it is and isn’t God’s fault?

In chapter Job chapter 6 we witness Job’s suffering from his perspective.

For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; My spirit drinks in their poison; The terrors of God are arrayed against me. - Job 6:4 NKJV (bold mine)

God loves Job, God is not shooting arrows at him, God has not arrayed any terrors against Job. But God gave permission to Satan to do it. Satan delights in causing suffering, he is the enemy Jesus refers to in Matthew 13:28.

The point is that the departure of the Spirit of the LORD allowed for a distressing spirit to come upon Saul. Did God actively send it, or is it described this way because God allowed it by removing His spirit from Saul? Both are possible, my personal preference is that God removed His spirit and Satan jumped at the opportunity to torment the king of Israel.

Mental Health

There are well-meaning Christians who believe that all mental illness is in essence a distressing spirit sent by God or some form of demon possession that can be cured with a stronger devotional life. I have yet to be convinced of this. I believe that prayer helps in all situations. I also believe that God has gifted people in ways that they help others heal. I believe that there are people gifted with the ability to help others heal emotionally and psychologically. I believe that God gives doctors and nurses and others wisdom to help heal the body and counselors, psychologists, and psychiatrists the ability to heal the mind and emotions.

We have people in the Bible who love God and yet suffer from emotionally.

The sons of Korah seem to be struggling with depression and anxiety when they penned the words to Psalm 42.

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him For the help of His countenance. -Psalm 42:5 NKJV

Jesus also experiences trouble in His soul.

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. - John12:27 NKJV

Interestingly both the author of Psalm 42 and Jesus were emotionally intelligent enough to recognize what was happening. The author of Psalm 42 recognizes he is feeling down and disquieted. Things are not going well, he is struggling and feels like God is distant. He knows that he needs to trust in God, he knows that God will save him, even though right now he feels down. You should read the whole Psalm, you can feel the struggle in the words. This man knew God, believed in God, yet his soul was cast down and disquieted.

Similarly, as Jesus approached His death, his soul was troubled, John 12:27. Matthew records the following.

Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” -Matthew 26:38 NKJV

Jesus recognized that He was not well. His soul was exceedingly sorrowful. So Jesus sought the help of His closest friends. He did not want to be alone.

These examples are of people who had not rejected the LORD, were not living in rebellion against God, and still struggled in their innermost being with feeling down. They were aware of their feelings, they understood why they were feeling that way and that God was in control, they had faith, yet they still struggled. When you struggle with feeling down, abandoned, like there is so much sorrow in your life that it might just kill you, Jesus knows what that is like. The inspired writers of the Bible experienced emotional struggles and perhaps would have been diagnosed with depression and anxiety. They sought help, and their faith helped in the battle. I know of pastors who struggle with depression, with anxiety, Godly man and women who need medication due to hormonal imbalances.

There is still so much that we don’t understand about mental health. But in the Bible, even prophets struggle emotionally, sometimes even asking God to kill them.

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!” 1 Kings 19:4 NKJV

That was Elijah, the prophet who never had the opportunity to die! Talk about unanswered prayers. I have a series on Elijah and part 4, The Depressed Prophet is probably my most read blog of all times. Struggling with mental health is not necessarily a sign of rejecting God. But imagine struggling and not having the assurance that God is in control, that God is loving and merciful, everything will be okay in the end. Do you think that helps or do you think it would make it more difficult?

Saul needs help

Saul’s servants notice that he needs help.

And Saul’s servants said to him, “Surely, a distressing spirit from God is troubling you. Let our master now command your servants, who are before you, to seek out a man who is a skillful player on the harp. And it shall be that he will play it with his hand when the distressing spirit from God is upon you, and you shall be well.” - 1 Samuel 16:15-16 NKJV

Saul’s servants recommend music therapy. If you have ever listened to music you know that music has a special influence on our emotions. Music works in mysterious ways that seem magical. We still have much to learn regarding music, its power, and influence. With that said, we should also be careful with anyone who believes she has it all figured out. I really have to control myself here because I have strong opinions on music and have been involved with it my whole life. But let’s stick to the text we are studying. If Saul is struggling with fits of rage, anxiety, depression, paranoia, etc. (I won’t cite every occurrence for the sake of time but as you read about Saul’s life form this point on you see examples of these.) It makes sense that music would be helpful. Soothing music definitely helps calm the nerves.

Talent Search

And now we witness the birth of Israel’s Got Talent!

So Saul said to his servants, “Provide me now a man who can play well, and bring him to me.” 1 Samuel 16:17 NKJV

As Saul’s servants get busy with auditions and the setting up of the stage and the sale of tickets one of the talent scouts finds David!

Then one of the servants answered and said, “Look, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite, who is skillful in playing, a mighty man of valor, a man of war, prudent in speech, and a handsome person; and the Lord is with him.” 1 Samuel 16:18 NKJV

This description is troubling. How much time has gone by since the anointing of David? How old is David? Let’s take a closer look at the text. The word translated as “servant” is נַעַר (naʿar) which can also be an indicator of age meaning this could have been a young man. Why is this significant? Because a boy’s definition of a mighty man of valor is different from that of an adult. Imagine this boy knows David for a few years and witnessed or heard about David bravely fighting off bears and lions? Would this cause this boy to see David as a mighty man of valor? Or imagine David has sent a few would-be sheep thieves away wounded and scared. Maybe this would cause the local children to view him as a warrior while he had never really fought in a war or been a part of a formal army.

Another possibility is that the main point of this story is to transition from Saul to David. This would allow for this story to not be necessarily placed in chronological order but rather thematically. Therefore David is being described as the man that the audience knows him to be, the greatest king Israel ever had. So the narrator would be attributing to David all his qualities and contrasting him with Saul, even if all these qualities have not yet been demonstrated in the sequence of stories as they are being told.

David is a hero, a musician, and most importantly the LORD is with Him, and not with Saul. Saul had been a great man, now he needs the help of David who will ultimately surpass Saul because the LORD was with David.

Saul meets David

King Saul is so impressed with David’s resumé he cancels the talent show, which is really too bad since he never had the chance to listen to the bagpipe player.

Therefore Saul sent messengers to Jesse, and said, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.” 20 And Jesse took a donkey loaded with bread, a skin of wine, and a young goat, and sent them by his son David to Saul. 21 So David came to Saul and stood before him. And he loved him greatly, and he became his armorbearer. 22 Then Saul sent to Jesse, saying, “Please let David stand before me, for he has found favor in my sight.” 23 And so it was, whenever the spirit from God was upon Saul, that David would take a harp and play it with his hand. Then Saul would become refreshed and well, and the distressing spirit would depart from him.

- 1 Samuel 16:19-23 NKJV

Once again this verse is troubling. In the next chapter we have Saul not knowing who David is and I wonder again if this is not just a summarized account of how David began to learn about what life was like in the palace and in a sense began the new phase of the preparations to become king. God had provided a way for Saul to train David without Saul knowing that David would be the new king. If Saul had been humble and willing to obey God, perhaps he and David could have been best friends and enjoyed each other’s presence and God’s blessings. But sadly Saul was not interested in following God’s will.

Saul’s Rebellion

I wish to highlight a point I don’t want anyone to miss. Saul was rejected not because he made mistakes but rather because he refused to repent. Saul was not interested in following the will of God and this is why the spirit of the LORD left him. Saul was aware of this and this contributed greatly to his mental breakdown.

Guilty men, who will not sincerely repent and seek rest in Christ, know that judgment is coming, but they take care to hide that truth from others, and often bear a terrible strain on their spirits. - Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Ed.). (1909). 1 Samuel (p. 304). London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.

The music David played provided a diversion that soothed Saul’s nervous system. However, as we will find out as we continue to read the story, it did not cure Saul. Try to imagine the subduing influence David’s music had on the restless Saul as David poured forth to his harp strains of love and trust and hope in God! But as in all cases of mere diversion, the benefit was transitory. The underlying problem remained. The old fears would eventually come back in force. Saul had not sought the true remedy.

There is a lesson here for all of us. We must stop trying to seek rest and peace apart from God’s loving embrace. You can come to church, listen to Christian music, and find temporary peace and relief, but unless you make Jesus you LORD and Savior, the effects will only be temporary. As long as you continue to embrace a known sin you will not experience the peace the surpasses all understanding, even if you have a personal harp player.

This passage is not about the instrument or the type of music that David played, but rather about David’s relationship with God. Since the spirit of the LORD was with David and David made choices that were in harmony with God’s will, God blessed him and his music and everything he did. If this passage was about the type of music David played we would have been given more details on how to cast out demons through music. But all we have from David’s music is the words. If this passage and others that mention David playing had been descriptive than every church would need to have a harp to help with exorcism along with careful instructions regarding the chords and strum pattern and rhythm.

Call to action

There is one main thing that I want you to take away from this study, and that is your need for a deeper relationship with God. A relationship that clings to God when your soul is troubled, distressed, and downcast. A relationship that submits to the will of God even when it not your will (Luke 22:42). A faith that refuses to let go of God even if you feel like He is causing your suffering. A relationship where you know God as your personal Savior and not just the God of your parents, or spouse, or friend.

Do not hold on to sins that you know are keeping you from God. Turn to God, humble yourself, accept His will, and receive His salvation.

This will not make life easy, but it will guarantee your victory.

#Mental health #Music #Old Testament #Narrative #David

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