#Being Jonah's Whale

[kvetchs]

new men with old men names || schmekel

[autism-disco]

can i please request a fun fact about anything ever

[tossball-stick]

look. maybe i wont Say that my new rdr oc is just there to give some love to the less appreciated camp members but i did kinda perfectly craft a man thatd be beloved by pearson and grimshaw and who would get along with swanson well enough and well. sorry hed hate strauss. guy who was only turned into a gang member because of crippling debt and his own stupid decisions vs loan shark. hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby yknow

[yeslordmyking]

I wouldn't consider Jonah's actions as "failure" so much as I would "disobedience." Him ending up going to Ninevah despite trying not to is a lesson that we need to give up on using free will, choice, and sense of self to do what we want, and surrender to what God chose for us. It's hard to accept never getting what we want isn't a bad thing to be saddened by. It's hard to accept being punished for pursuing our own wants instead of God's is a blessing. It's hard to accept that changing what you want to what God wants kind of makes it not what you want anymore, but we're unable to choose what's best for ourselves, so we must willingly be altered and turn our backs on what we are attracted to in this world and learn is not part of what God wants us to have. We live in a world where someone else choosing your life for you is seen as control, manipulation, or sometimes abuse. But God is not a human being, these views cannot apply to Him. If we fight God, we suffer. So let's drop our own selfish wants and surrender to what God has chosen for each of us before we have to go the unpleasantries be get swallowed by a whale and course corrected. Study God's word meticulously and thoroughly and obey God's plan in God's time no matter your own desires, conveniences, or suffering that it may require.

The Lord disciplines those He loves. Hebrews 12:6 The very discipline we fear is the very thing that will save us from destruction. God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach repentance. But he fled from God. God sent a big fish to swallow Jonah. Imagine, Jonah was thrown into the sea, if the fish hadn’t been there, he would have surely drowned. That fish became God’s vessel to take Jonah to Nineveh. God’s plan for us is better than anything we could think of. God’s ultimate purpose for Jonah wasn’t just to save him from drowning but to save the people of Nineveh as well. Jonah had failed, but God had not. Nineveh was one of the worst cities; yet under Jonah’s ministry everyone from the king to commoner repented, seeking God’s grace and forgiveness. That’s the way the Lord can use failures.

[reality-detective]

It's going to be biblical 👇

The only conclusion here is: AMERICA....REPENT!

Think the coming eclipse is nothing? I did, too, until I discovered all these FACTS!

I don't claim to know what all of this means, exactly, but I believe it's important enough for all of us to be aware that this is happening and pray for wisdom.

On April 8th, 2024, there will be an eclipse. One eclipse is already amazing but this one is actually the last in a 3-part series that has SO much meaning behind it. It is important that we recognize that God said that He would use the sun, moon and stars to communicate with us:

Genesis 1:14- "Then God said, 'Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years..."

Luke 21:25 - "There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea."

So now we know that God said that He would use the sun, moon and stars to communicate with us, so let's break down this 3-part eclipse series:

1) With the path of this last eclipse, combined with the first 2 eclipses (one in 2017 and the other in 2023), it will create the Hebrew letter over America that is "Aleph Tav" and in Greek it is the "Alpha and Omega" - both means "The beginning and the end." God said in Revelation 21:6 that He is the beginning and the end and this Aleph Tav is like His signature. Why would He use an eclipse to put His signature over America? Let's dig deeper:

2) God has used eclipses to warn nations of coming judgement so that the nation can repent of their sinful ways and come back to Him. This happened with the story of Ninevah. God told Jonah to go to the wicked nation of Ninevah and warn them about coming judgement. Jonah ran away from the assignment and while out at sea got swallowed up by a huge fish and was in its belly for 3 days. Jonah repented of running away so the whale spit him up. He then went to Ninevah and warned the people but there was something that also happened while he was warning the people...an eclipse came over the land.

In the 19th century, ancient tablets were discovered that described an eclipse called the Bur-Sagale eclipse where the totality of the eclipse landed right over Ninevah while Jonah was there preaching of the 40 day warning before the coming destruction. Because of this, the people realized that this was a sign from God that what Jonah was saying was true and they repented and God spared their nation.

It is amazing how much America mirrors Ninevah. (If you don't see it, you may be part of the problem.) To make this even more clear, this last eclipse on April 8th will be going over 7 cities here in America called - yep you guessed it - NINEVAH! I honestly didn't even know that we had any city here in the U.S. named that but here we are - with this eclipse going over these cities (and there will be an 8th one that it goes over also called Ninevah in Canada.)

Here are the cities: 👇

Nineveh, Texas

Nineveh, Missouri

Nineveh, Indiana (this will be the highest magnitude of eclipse Mag 1.023, the local time predicted for it to occur is at 3:07 PM)

Nineveh, Ohio

Nineveh, Pennsylvania

Nineveh, Virginia

Nineveh, New York

Nineveh, Nova Scotia (Not in the US)

Could this be that God is warning us just as He warned Ninevah? There have been many "Jonahs" in the past few years warning the nation that we need to repent and add in this sign above our heads - we can't turn away from the fact that it is not a coincidence. But if you need more proof, let's keep going...

The first part of this 3 part eclipse series was in 2017. The path of that eclipse went over 7 cities named Salem, which is short for Jerusalem (Ps. 76).

Salem, Oregon

Salem, Idaho

Salem, Wyoming

Salem, Nebraska

Salem, Missouri

Salem, Kentucky

Salem, South Carolina

The mathematical "chances" of there being 7 Salem's with the first eclipse and then 7 Ninevah's for the 3rd eclipse is unthinkable. But what about the 2nd part of the eclipse?

4) Perhaps the most striking piece of the 2nd eclipse is that the precise center-line of eclipse path exits the USA directly over Corpus Christi. Corpus Christi means the "Body of Christ" and is one of the only towns named that in the world!

But let's go back to this upcoming eclipse and dig even deeper...

4) Jonah was giving a 40 day warning to Ninevah during the eclipse. If you look at our April 8th eclipse and fast forward 40 days then you will get to May 18, 2024 - the day before Pentecost. The history of Pentecost is that is the last Spring Feast that the Lord has given us (there are 4 in the Spring and 3 in the Fall). This is the day that the Lord sent the Holy Spirit down to all those who have accepted Christ. We are told that the "Restrainer" (many believe this is the Holy Spirit) will be removed before the Tribulation could it be that this is a warning for that? I'm not sure as that is a worldwide event and this eclipse will be just over North America but it is something definitely to think and pray about for more clarity and wisdom. No matter what, there are too many things lining up for it to not be nothing and so my job is to get the information out to you all so that you can at least be aware of these signs that God is giving us so that you can pray about it.

But let's keep going...

5) From the start of this 3 part eclipse to the end, it will be 7 years. God uses numbers a lot to communicate with us, and 7 has a ton of meaning. A few examples are - He created the world in 7 days, there will be a 7 year tribulation, 7 is used for completion, etc.

) Going back to how this correlates with Jonah & Ninevah's story -at the time of this eclipse, there will be another sign in the sky...it will take place under the constellation, Cetus, which is the whale constellation! And not only will it pass through the 8 cities in North America named Ninevah, it will also pass through Jonah, Texas! Speaking of other towns that it will pass through, these are some of the other city names that it will go right over:

Rapture, Indiana

Williamston, Kentucky - this is where the Ark Encounter is located. The Ark Encounter is a full size replica of Noah's Ark.

Eagle Pass, Texas - where we are having so many border issues.

And the point where it crosses the 2017 eclipse to mark the center of the X is an area in southern Illinois called Little Egypt. What is even more fascinating about this is that Little Egypt is sandwiched in between 2 other cities called Alpha, Kentucky and Omega, Illinois - both having the 2017 eclipse come over their cities. Furthermore, the intersection of the 2017 and 2024 solar eclipses occurs directly over the New Madrid Fault Line, a major seismic zone. An earthquake along this fault line could potentially destroy the U.S., making it one of the most perilous fault lines in the country. I have no idea if this will happen or not, but there are too many things here that are all literally lining up to not share with everyone.

7) One more interesting fact is that there are 2,422 days in between the 2017 eclipse and the 2024 eclipse. If you look up 2422 in Strong's Concordance, an Bible concordance that has every word of the KJV, takes us to Exodus 1:19 which says,

"The midwives answered Pharaoh, "Hebrew women are not like Egyptian women; they are vigorous and give birth before the midwives arrive."

Why would this be of any significance? Well, to me, it reminds me of how Jesus said that His return would be like a woman in labor with the signs of His coming growing stronger and closer together. We are at a point in history where we are seeing all of the signs that He gave us happening before our eyes. In fact, we are even seeing things that will happen during the tribulation get setup now. If we are seeing those things being setup now, that must mean that we are super close to it actually happening. Going back to God saying that He uses the sun, moon and stars to show us signs - and then Jesus saying that the signs of His coming will be like a woman in labor, well this information leading us back to Exodus 1:19 explaining that the Hebrew women have labor fast is so interesting to me! Could we be on the brink of the rapture and tribulation!? I don't know exactly when it will happen but Jesus did tell us that we would know the season and I do believe that we have been in that season for the past few years and are pushing closer and closer to it!

It is no secret that this world has gone mad and everyone knows that there is something happening behind the scenes that feels really uncomfortable. If you have that feeling, you are right! There is a major push for things to happen that were predicted to happen over 2,000 years ago. Most people seek their understanding in the wrong place though. They look to the news and the world to guide them; however, these sources will only bring more questions, not answers. It causes people to live in fear, anxiety and depression. However, Jesus didn't want us to live that way. He gave us the information so that we would know what is happening when we see these things. The first piece of living in His knowledge is accepting that God sent His son, Jesus, to die for our sins and on the 3rd day, Jesus rose from the grave and conquered death. The second piece is to repent to God of your sins and turn away from your sins. Most churches only teach how God loves you but don't teach repentance anymore and that is a HUGE part of your faith. Jesus said that there will be many who come to Him and say, "Lord, Lord, I knew you." But because they didn't repent of their sins and seek Jesus' ways instead of their own, He will reply, "Get away from me, I never knew you." We cannot just live however we want without any consequences. Even little children understand this concept, but it has been lost on most adults. This is why Ninevah was going to see destruction - because they were a self- serving, sinful nation - just like America is today. You can't change the heart of this nation, but you can change your heart and lead your homes to do the same. Third, pray for wisdom in these areas.

I know this has been incredibly deep but just like Proverbs 25:2 says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." This sign in the sky will be right over your head in just a few weeks - will you have the eyes to see what it really means?"

You Decide 🤔

[alexxncl]

‼️NIGHTBRINGER LESSON 32 SPOILERS‼️

normal and hard

masterlist | all lessons | season 2 | lesson 31 | lesson 33

i know i said i like angst and this is exactly what i meant by angst but OUCH ????

and ik i've (probably) said this about satan but i wish they'd show and tell levi how much they care about him to his face, like it'd at least help his self-deprecating and self-loathing tendencies be pushed to the back of his mind at least for a little bit yk

everyone needs a bit of reassurance, especially when they're so deep in a cycle of self-hatred that their default setting is to think the worst of themselves and believe that everyone around them thinks the same

also i feel like it's pretty obvious that levi and lotan are in the flood equivalent of the "eye of the storm" right? RIGHT???

he's completely submerged, which means he's still at least near the HOL, which means he's still in his room in his tub-bed right ?????

also, jealousy and envy are two different things, though they're very similar. jealousy is the threat of losing someone or something, evny is wanting what someone else has. we've seen levi act on his envy all the time, but the fear of losing mc forever is something he's never had to deal with until now. imagine they left without saying goodbye?? then he'd be envious. if the avatar of envy jealous is this bad, the avatar of envy being being envious is realm ending

also, this is the first time we've seen levi use his powers to this extent in the entirety of both games if i remember correctly. have we seen mammon and lucifer do the same ??? imagine what that would look like...

there's already a power gap between levi and mams, but the power gap between lucifer and the rest of the brothers is immeasurable. like lucifer ripped 2 of his wings off and birthed the 4th most powerful of 7 and is STILL the most powerful of all of them by a long shot. if this is what happens when levi's almost completely acting on and engulfed by his sin, what would it look like if lucifer did the same? or worse?

maybe i'm getting ahead of myself and thinking too hard, but what if levi's little d is lotan? like what if he can shapeshift or smth???

see now i'm really thinking his little d is lotan, bc how else would they teleport from the castle back to levi's room in the HOL and be underwater while being able to talk if lotan/no. 3 hadn't hadn't bought them there ???

"consumed by a snake" or whatever the fortune was, what if this is jonah and the whale type shit ???

SOBBING

ok so i was right about him being in the HOL, but not his room. he's in mc's room from the current timeline

"our love transcends time" or whatever the login screen for the game's opening is, this is a physical and spiritual manifestation of that. they love mc so much that even in different universes, they still feel an indescribable and irreplaceable connection to them. even in his darkest mental state, levi still seeks mc's presence, or at least the remnants of it, for comfort. the same can be said for the others

HE INITIATED THE KISS I'M GONNA CRY

while yes, he did kiss them to save them, the fact that he was able to push away his anxiety to save someone he cares about with no hesitation is proof that he's also deserving of love and affection and care regardless of what he thinks about himself. and the fact that he's still blaming himself for having feelings (even though the intensity of those feelings did end up flooding the devildom) makes me so sad

i just want him to be happy and love himself as much as he loves his brothers and mc and as much as they love him :(

he's getting there though, and i love how the devs take time with exploring how difficult it is to break yourself out of such a detrimental mental state not just for levi, but for everyone

[even-in-arcadia]

Of the Monstrous Pictures of Whales

In my very informed opinion it is absolutely essential to read Chapter 55 with visual aids. Here are some highlights pulled from Ishmael's Most Hated depictions so we can all be on the same page about what whales definitely don't look like.

Guido Reni & William Hogarth get the benefit of the doubt on account of the fact that it never says Perseus's sea monster is a whale. We can all agree that these definitely are not:

2. Robert Sibbald was the first naturalist to officially describe a blue whale and I'll give him a pass on being first and blue whales being incomprehnsibly large even now, but this really is not accurate in pretty much any way.

See below the cut for more "monstrous" depictions!

3. Physeter or Spermaceti Whale by Captain Colnett. Allegedly drawn from "life" but, getting out our scale rule will show that its eye is the size "a bow-window some five feet long. Ah, my gallant captain, why did ye not give us Jonah looking out of that eye!" Truly a missed opportunity from the captain there.

4. Oliver Goldsmith's An History of the Earth and Animated Nature is truly a treasure. Per Ishmael "I do not wish to seem inelegant, but this unsightly whale looks much like an amputated sow". The illustration on the right isn't directly mentioned in here but honestly it's a treasure and I feel obliged to share it with you. There's too much going on there for me to possibly pick out highlights. They're so bad they're perfect. No notes.

5. Bernard Germain, defying the laws of physics here. "Not only incorrect" but also does "not to have its counterpart in nature"

6. Cuvier's Sperm whale is "not a sperm whale but a squash." Succinct and shady. Perhaps my favorite description in the entire chapter.

[worldhistoryfacts]

Let's spend some time looking at the various ways in which artists have depicted the story of Jonah and the whale.

Some of the earliest artistic depictions of Jonah show him being swallowed by neither a fish nor a whale but by some kind of mythical sea creature. A Roman sarcophagus from the 3rd century CE depicts it this way, with Jonah doing a kind of head-first dive right into the monster’s maw:

A pair of elegant sculptures from around the same time show Jonah slipping head-first into the monster’s gullet:

And, having done a somersault in the monster’s belly, here he is on his way out. He looks pretty pleased to be getting out of there:

{WHF} {Ko-Fi} {Medium}

[girlactionfigure]

DARKNESS

October 7th and the story of Jonah

The anniversary of October 7th is here. I was going to write some words but I know I don’t need to. You were there. You have been there this year. You know. It’s between your heart beats and between your red and white blood cells. It’s in you now. Deeper than words. Deeper than thoughts. It’s in you. And you will have to live with it being in you. It is not something you can extricate. It is you now.

I want to talk instead, briefly, about the story of Jonah.

Yom Kippur is approaching.

Amidst the most scintillating of Jewish texts capturing our history and anthropology, we also read the Book of Jonah.

It’s a fantastic story. I’m sure you know the basics:

God asks Jonah to go to the wicked city of Nineveh and tell the people there to change their ways. But Jonah runs from this mission. Instead he gets on a ship to flee. During the voyage a storm rises that threatens to drown everyone on board. Amidst the spray it’s discovered that Jonah running from God is the cause of the storm. At Jonah’s own suggestion he is thrown overboard and this ends the storm. In the water Jonah is then swallowed by a whale. After three days inside the belly of the whale, Jonah repents and is spat out. He goes on to fulfil his mission in which the people of Nineveh are saved. Then there’s an aftermath in which Jonah experiences bitterness. God delivers Jonah a lesson on mercy.

When we remember this story. When we imagine the scene. When we consider the plot we think that the worst moment is Jonah being swallowed by the whale. This is the scariest escalation. It is dramatic. A wild monster opening its mouth to eat us triggers the most primal fear. Being eaten alive is the gruesome fate of most life on earth. As the whale’s jaws open we feel this is the worst thing that could happen to Jonah.

But this is actually the happiest moment of the story.

This is the moment where we should clap our hands in gratitude.

Because what Jonah attempted to do was nothing short of a suicide attempt.

And the whale that God sent prevented that from happening.

If Jonah had been met only with sea he would have drowned. He wouldn’t have been able to breathe. But that whale - far from being the bad guy in the story - saved him. That monster was a life support machine. The darkness that enveloped Jonah - a life support machine. Giving Jonah time out from the world - a life support machine. 

What seemed like a monster was a moment of salvation.

Jonah’s darkest moment was not the end, but a moment of opportunity. 

It gave him a chance for transformation.

And he took it.

In the cocoon of his despair, Jonah was shrouded in a darkness so hermetically sealed he could no longer see the outside world. So connected was he to his own pain, all his attention was drawn inwards to that agony. He could focus on nothing but his own sadness. And in that darkness there was only one place left he could look into - himself. And he looked. And he had the courage to connect with himself honestly. He realigned himself to the truth. And he did transform. And he emerged from the whale into the daylight.

It doesn’t feel nice to be in darkness and despair. I think the technical term is it feels fucking shit. But what we mistake for destructive agony can actually be a healing pain. It hurts to transform your body through exercise. It follows that it’s going to hurt a little when you transform your soul and your life. The important thing is to take the pain and take the opportunity.

If you ever get swallowed by a beast, whether that beast is despair, hopelessness, darkness, depression, lies, self-deception, estrangement from yourself, departure from the real you, unhealthy choices, destructive patterns, a series of terrible events or a set of dim and dire circumstances, as long as you stay breathing you have a chance to turn things around.

As long as you keep your body going, as long as it remains a vessel and life support machine for your soul like the whale was to Jonah, you can rise again, better than before.

You will face the most important decisions of your life only at your lowest moments. 

And tough times provide opportunity to make the biggest gains. 

Do not waste the worst moments of your life. You don’t get many. Take advantage of each and every one.

I hope God gives blessings to everyone damaged by October 7th. I hope you receive blessings you can’t even imagine. I hope you can’t even believe how happy you are one day. I hope your blessings came from the north, south, east and west. I hope they come from above and below. I hope they come from within and without. The important thing is, they will come. But to receive those blessings, you have to stay alive and hopeful even in the darkness. 

LEE KERN

[jaynovz]

Silverflint “In Peril” Fic Rec List

Hi guys! I got an anon a few weeks ago requesting Silverflint recs with the prompt: “one of them being in danger/peril/kidnapped (or anything akin to that) and the other going just above and beyond to save him. something with the vibe, if you hurt him i'll kill you.” 

There were hmmm not as many as I thought with the EXACT getting rescued parameter but I compiled some similar ones as well. Enjoy.

--

Affinity by Magnetism_bind

Summary: Silver spends his time while captured by Hands thinking of Flint and ignoring his feelings for the man.

It's a little harder to do so after Flint rescues him.

Notes: Oneshot, 4.6k, definitely the best and most faithful example of the prompt as submitted. Silver is held hostage and brutalized by Israel Hands and Flint rescues him.

Another Way by x_etoile_x

Summary: Silver doesn’t get the chance to turn back and attack the Spanish soldiers when he and Flint are captured on the warship, so he needs to come up with a different plan. Things get out of control. A retelling of their time on the warship at the beginning of S2, in the aftermath of this.

Notes: Long fic, 29k. Fantastic story on many levels. For the list, first chapter has a direct fulfillment of the prompt--Flint is in danger, Silver goes above and beyond to save him.

Fifteen Men in September by ballantine

Summary: Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum! Drink and the devil had done for the rest Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!

A Black Sails origin story for the song.

Notes: Long fic, 34k, just a fantastic read. There is a pivotal scene where Silver kills a man on Flint’s behalf and then further scenes of both of them in peril, Silver gravely ill. Very much the “going above and beyond” and “if you him I’ll kill you” vibe.

we were never meant to survive (but what if we did) by explosiontimothy, inwardphae

Summary: Since you still haven’t told me your name, I shall call you Jonah. You are so obsessed with sea and water that you’d make a home out of the belly of a whale if only it meant not to touch foot on solid land ever again. What if you get stuck there? I’d be forced to make my way to you and drag you out, cut the whale’s skin with my knife like a shark with its teeth and carve my shape out of it. And yours. There are two fighters, on opposite sides of the time war. They have never met but they know each other's names. But names are powerful, untamed things when they are spoken out loud. So they don’t call each other by their names, ever. Until, one day, they do. The Silverflint Time-Travel AU no one asked for, but you're all getting anyway.

Notes: Long fic, 46k, big concept sweeping crossover with the book This is How You Lose the Time War. Without spoiling, this story very much embodies “going above and beyond to save him.” Top tier.

darkness in his fingertips, eyes just the same by Jaynovz

Summary: A desperate fear is welling up in Silver. Flint, injured? How grievous a wound must it be to keep Flint from a battle? To prevent him from heading up the rescue party? Flint, who Silver had seen take a warship with a shot shoulder, Flint, who shrugged off injuries from raids with an annoyed grimace as if they were minor inconveniences. Silver’s heartbeat is too fast and too slow at the same time, ice creeps around him from all sides at the stark reminder that Flint is mortal. The man who would sneer at God, who would sail straight into a tempest, who seemed to control reality with his demons… Silver has seen Captain Flint bleed, yes, but it’s never mattered like this, never truly hampered him.

And on the heels of this fear is something far less enfeebling, something Silver embraces: a dark vortex of rage.

Notes: Oneshot, 4.3k. A reaction to in peril. An alt canon take of early s4 where Billy injures Flint at the Underhill Plantation. After Silver returns, he murders Billy for the insult. “If you hurt him, I’ll kill you” exactly.

frail and fragile bars by Ajaxthegreat

Summary: “I think you fuck,” Silver says. By which he means, with great intent: I think you are human. I know you are human. I see you.

Notes: Long fic, 21k. A very excellent story overall, and for this list specifically, it features Flint taking a sword to protect Silver in battle and Silver murdering the man responsible.

how we could be brought here by love by mapped

Summary: A 4x03 AU where Flint receives a minor injury in the battle of Nassau Town and Silver is very shaken by it.

Notes: Oneshot, 3.7k. Not a rescue so much as Silver’s intense reaction to Flint being hurt. I think it fits the vibe.

in over our heads by Jaynovz

Summary: Set at the end of 2.1.

The remaining Walrus crew want Silver flogged.

The experience creates some altogether unexpected outcomes.

Notes: Mid-size fic, 13k. Silver is flogged, Flint is very affected by that, takes care of him after, and they both learn a lot about each other ahem. “If you hurt him I’ll kill you” vibes definitely feature.

please do not let me go by natlet

Summary: Vulnerability, it turns out, is a blade that cuts both ways.

Notes: Series, 5 stories, 39k words total. An overall excellent series of Silverflint fics, however the one I’m thinking of for this list is the fourth, all pale and panting, where Flint is gravely ill and Silver goes above and beyond to take care of him. 

--

As always, let me know if you have a suggestion for an inclusion and I’ll give it a look. Thanks.

[anaseshaafi]

Can Dua Change Fate? Lessons from Hadith and Quran

In the intricate tapestry of Islamic faith, dua (supplication) holds a significant place. It is a personal plea to Allah, reflecting a believer’s reliance and trust in divine intervention. A question that often arises among Muslims is whether dua can change fate. To explore this, we delve into the lessons from the Hadith and the Quran.

Understanding Fate in Islam

Fate, or Qadr, in Islam, refers to the divine decree. It is the belief that Allah has preordained every event and outcome. However, Islam also teaches that humans have free will, and their actions, prayers, and supplications can influence their destiny within the framework of divine wisdom.

Dua and Its Significance

Dua is a powerful form of worship in Islam. It is not merely a request but an expression of a believer’s dependence on Allah. The Quran and Hadith emphasize the importance and effectiveness of dua. Allah encourages believers to call upon Him, promising that He will respond.

Quranic Perspective on Dua and Fate

The Quran highlights several instances where dua has played a crucial role in changing circumstances. For instance:

1. Prophet Yunus (Jonah): After being swallowed by a whale, Prophet Yunus made a heartfelt dua, acknowledging his mistakes and seeking Allah’s mercy. Allah accepted his supplication and saved him from the depths of the ocean (Quran 21:87-88).

2. Prophet Zakariya (Zechariah): Despite his old age and his wife’s barrenness, Prophet Zakariya prayed for a child. Allah answered his prayer, granting him a son, Yahya (John) (Quran 19:2-10).

These examples illustrate that dua can indeed alter circumstances, demonstrating Allah’s responsiveness to sincere supplications.

Hadith on Dua and Fate

Several Hadith further elucidate the relationship between dua and fate:

1. The Power of Dua: The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “Nothing can change the Divine decree except dua” (Sunan Ibn Majah). This Hadith indicates that while fate is preordained, dua has the potential to alter its course.

2. Dua as a Shield: Another Hadith states, “Dua benefits in things that have happened and things that have not happened yet. So make dua, O servants of Allah” (Jami` at-Tirmidhi). This suggests that dua serves as a protective measure, influencing both present and future events.

Balancing Fate and Free Will

The interplay between fate and free will is a profound aspect of Islamic theology. While Allah’s knowledge encompasses all events, human beings are granted the agency to make choices and seek divine intervention through dua. This balance is beautifully encapsulated in the Quranic verse: “Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves” (Quran 13:11). This verse underscores the importance of human effort and supplication in shaping one’s destiny.

Conclusion

Dua is a testament to a believer’s faith and trust in Allah’s mercy and power. While fate is a divine decree, the teachings from the Quran and Hadith affirm that sincere supplications can influence and change one’s destiny. Through dua, believers are invited to actively engage with their Creator, seeking His help and intervention in every aspect of their lives. Thus, dua is not only a means of communication with Allah but also a profound tool for navigating the complexities of fate and free will.

[eighthday]

Review first season "Vigil"

Ep 3. An episode about loneliness and loss.

Although the series is shown from Amy's point of view, but in this episode, each character experiences his own trauma and deals with it in their own way. (An episode about each of us.) The pressure on Amy is starting to build up. The first attempt to find the killer came to a dead end. Amy's time on the submarine has been extended from 3 days to 3 weeks, and her pills have run out. And she let Poppy down again by promising what she couldn't deliver. After all, it was then that she realized that she would not have the opportunity to wish Poppy a happy birthday. Who rewarded her with such boundless responsibility and a sense of guilt not even for her mistakes? These downward steps, which she has taken more than once in the past, will reach a deep end and a state of revelation on her part at the end of the episode.

And then the present comes and passes familygram ❤️from Kirsten. A pleasant little thing again)

This familygram is more personal than all the others. Was Amy a little happy that the radio operator who delivered the telegram only confirmed that Amy knew about Kirsten's attitude towards her, but was afraid to admit? It is likely that Amy does not specifically reminisce about Kirsten, not understanding and doubting where they are in the present. Is this her approach in a relationship, or does she not want to hurt herself even more?

This is also one of the few times when Amy smiles sincerely. Kirsten hides behind a wish from a cat to emphasize, but not to attract the attention of other people, highlighting only three words for herself. "So do I". It's about work, but for me it's also a part of Kirsten.

Looking at this scene, I have several questions: Who are all these people except Amy and Poppy? Why are Ian's parents not at the funeral? Is Poppy being picked up by a close family friend or a social worker?(They can't be Ian's relatives, because if they were, Poppy would have stayed with them) Is there no one on Amy's side who could support her? Are they even alive or is she alone?

It's great to know that, after several previous attempts, these two have started to build a good relationship in Amy's absence)

In addition, we see a lot of photographs in many scenes that decorate Amy's home. Who enjoys taking pictures, storing them on their phone, and then printing them out? Amy has many skills besides saving her own phone password from Poppy.

"It's unfair." Say this phrase to a detective who must uncover the truth and restore justice, who works so hard that he becomes a DCI, who has tools and assistants at his disposal, who solves cases after case, but who due to chance loses his future. We don't know why Amy left medical school after the second year, which is very difficult to enter, but maybe she was searching for justice? Amy saves and gives a chance not only to Harry, but also to herself. If you put a mirror in front of Amy, the main core of the scene wouldn't change. She admits something to herself that she couldn't even tell the therapist or Kirsten.

Since Kirsten sent such a familygram, there was more than just one moment associated with this book. Most likely, there were also many other books, because Amy couldn't immediately understand the message. Amy is probably used to seeing Kirsten awake in the early morning and therefore does not ask her anything, but simply raises Kirsten's hand in a familiar, confident gesture to hug her and be closer.

P.S. It couldn't have been another animal, could it?)

Who remembers the story of Jonah? The prophet who was swallowed by a whale for three days so that he would become what he was destined to become.

[krindor]

(trying to get some understanding about how common certain interpretations are in Jewish circles, because no one seems to agree)

[dragongirluvula]

Sometimes I honestly wonder how old vore as a fetish really is. I mean there are plenty of stories of characters being eaten/swallowed alive throughout history (Jonah and the whale, Red Riding Hood, etc) but itd be a real stretch to call them proper vore. As far as I can tell, art that deliberately tries to eroticize the act of devouring/being devoured by others doesn't seem to be older than the early internet. I mean there's certainly nothing stopping some medieval milkmaid from rubbing off to the thought of being fucked and eaten by a dragon, but if any proof of that exists I haven't seen it

My general world view on it is like, it's prolly always been a thing but in the age before easy mass communication it's not really something people were in a position to share.

I agree that those stories and others like them aren't like, vore as in the erotization of consumption but I'm sure if you went back in time several thousand years and communicated the idea to enough people at least one of them will have the "holy shit someone else gets it" reaction eventually.

It's not really provable but it's like, not really disprovable either without the ability to communicate the idea backwards like that, so like, I just kinda think that's prolly how it worked as someone who is not qualified in any space to make a hard claim on it.

Honestly thanks for this ask I love to ramble about this kinda side of things so much.

SINCE I'M TAGGING THIS PLEASE DO NOT ENTER MY BLOG IF YOU ARE UNDER 18.

[whale-osha-violations]

Would Jonah getting eaten by a whale count as an OSHA violation if:

A. He was a passenger and therefor not an employee?

B. He was chucked in intentionally

OR

C. Would the sailors doing the chucking be in violation since they are likely not using proper lifting techniques?

This is an interesting question! To address each point:

A: You are correct, as he is not an employee, there is no employer required by OSHA to provide him a safe workplace

B: I am not entirely sure what you are suggesting with this point, so if I misunderstood please clarify!

Intentionally choosing to do something unsafe doesn't prevent it from being a violation, and so if one or more employees made a decision that endangered them, OSHA could still get involved. However, it is good to bring up the point that he was thrown intentionally instead of falling into the ocean, since the latter would imply a lack of necessary fall protection. A decision an employee makes that doesn't create a dangerous workplace, even if it is something a customer wouldn't appreciate, is not going to be covered either as pointed out in A.

C: While there are recommended guidelines for safe lifting guidelines accounting for the amount of weight lifted and the technique used, there is no actual regulation specifically for lifting techniques other than the general guideline that workplaces should be free of harm.

So in conclusion, as neither Jonah nor the whale are considered employees, and the employees in question were not endangered in the act of throwing him overboard, it seems to me that this is not a violation

If a customer is making your workplace worse, just throw them into the ocean to be eaten by a whale. Its OSHA approved!

[five-rivers]

Life's Great Lie 17

AO3

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“Oh, thank God,” said Tony, “Bruce is here.”  All the other green, angry looking people were secondary, as far as he was concerned.  Having the Hulk on hand meant that he didn’t have to play Jonah again.  That had been.  Unpleasant.

A dart of red broke off the crowd of ghosts and angled towards Tony.  Valerie Gray.  And Bruce, too.  As Bruce. 

“Where do you want us?” shouted Valerie. 

“Take your pick!” shouted Tony, even as he lined up more shots.  He was going to be running out of all but the special anti-ghost ordinance soon.  “But—Bruce, you’re going to have to suit up.”

“Of course,” said Bruce, rubbing his face.  “Yeah.  Okay.  You would call it that.  Miss Gray, if you could take me up towards one of those…  big things…”  He gestured vaguely at the space whales.

“Cool!” said Tony, giving them a thumbs up.  “Now, all we need to do is get a shield around the portals, and we can roll up the streets.  No problem!”

“Sir,” said Jarvis.  “You may want to look at the Ops Center.”

What was going on now?  He turned and watched the shield around the airship flicker once, twice, and then go out completely.  The chitauri, who apparently were smart enough to smell blood in the water, regardless of any other tactical deficiencies, changed direction. 

“Well, that’s not good.  Anyone want to fill me in on what’s going wrong?”

“Well,” started Jasmine Fenton. 

.

“What happened to the thing being self-sustaining?” demanded Natasha as she punched out another mercenary.  Where had Loki even found these guys?  They weren’t even mind controlled.  Who in their right mind signed up to fight for the aliens in a literal alien invasion?

“Listen,” said Maddie Fenton, a little testily, “we quite literally built it on the fly.  It isn’t operating at peak theoretical efficiency, but it’s a testament to Jack’s engineering skills that we got it to work at all, much less while also trying to come up with a workable solution for the shields.  Be glad we have enough power to keep the portal open, even.”

“Forget the shields,” interrupted Tucker, his voice crackling slightly.  The Fentons’ communicators weren’t bad, and apparently they worked through the ‘spectral noise’ associated with ghosts, but they left something to be desired in comparison to the crystal-clear communications Natasha had gotten used to while working for SHIELD.  “Well, no, don’t forget them, forget them, we might still be able to—I’ve got— What’s your name again, dude? —I’ve got Selvig up here, and he says that if we can get Loki’s staff, we can shut down his portal.”

“Great!” shouted Steve.  “Anyone have eyes on Loki?”

.

The answer to that was, of course, a resounding no. 

.

“Oi, Tucker, you want to run by that thought you had about the shields again?”

Under other circumstances, Tucker might have been over the moon.  Tony Stark, asking him about something technical!  It was like a dream come true! 

But between the mind control, the alien invasion, and whatever was going on with SHIELD and HYDRA, Tucker’s enthusiasm for anything was pretty much nil.  So. 

“Uh,” said Tucker.  He and Selvig were standing in front of Loki’s portal device.  Well.  Tucker was sort of crouching, and Selvig was… sprawled.  That couldn’t be a good position for a guy that old, but whatever.  “So, Loki got the startup power for this thing from the, uh, the tower’s arc reactor, right?  So, it’s still plugged in.  The connection is live, and it looks like he used standard connectors.  Not, you know, a twelve-gauge extension cord, but Earth-made.  I think maybe we can use it to charge up the shields and use one here as the centerpiece – the power source – instead of the one in the Ops Center.  If it’s, like compatible.  Is that a thing we can do?  Mrs. Fenton?”

“Well, it isn’t impossible,”she said.  “But those portable shield relays – they weren’t made as independent shield generators, and for them to run on something other than ectoplasm – Jack, sweetie, do we still have those blueprints? – Thanks.  Alright, Tucker, you’ll have to make significant adjustments to the shield relay, probably even cannibalize one of them.  Are you able to do that?”

“Well,” said Tucker.  “Maybe?  I’ve got a lipstick laser and…”  He looked over his shoulder.   “Selvig.  Sort of.  But if it’s anything more complicated than rewiring the Speeder’s main gun to fire from the backseat window console, I’m going to need a bunch of tools and a science guy who isn’t dead on his feet.  No offense.”

Selvig waved him off. 

“You’re the one who—?  Never mind.  It is more complicated.  Quite a bit more complicated.”

“I’ll also need, you know, the generators.  Relays?”

“I’m still on my way,” said Romanov.  She sounded… upset.

“And so am I,” said Iron Man.  “Kid, I’ve got all sorts of tools in my apartment.  And dummy, too.”

Okay.  Cool.  Also, what did dummies have to do with anything?  Was that rich people code for something?

“Okay, want to give me directions, or am I supposed to just start pulling out drawers?”

.

“Hey!  Where’re you going?”

“You need more cover,” said Sam.  “This is what I have the jetpack for, remember?  Arrow boy isn’t going to get all of them, and they do have ranged weapons.”

It was true, one well-aimed shot through the Ops Center envelope could send the whole thing down.  They weren’t using hydrogen gas, of course, but an ectoplasm-nitrogen mix, so there was no danger of becoming Hindenburg Mk II, unless the aliens’ energy weapons reacted really badly with ectoplasm, but there hadn’t been any evidence of that yet, so…

Anyway, it didn’t matter.  Jazz was too busy keeping the Ops Center and the portal steady to do much else. 

“Be careful,” she said. 

“Can’t make any promises!”

.

Fury was having a bad day.  A really, monumentally, bad day.  One that was part of an already awful week but still managed to go above and beyond in terms of how completely awful it was. 

Primarily, he blamed HYDRA.  They were very easy to blame and were, in his opinion, responsible for at least seventy percent of the metric ton of crap he was currently wading through. 

But then, then he got a call. 

The call. 

Which meant that he had to take this boat riddled with snakes to fight off an alien invasion over New York.  Peachy. 

If ever he’d been tempted to give old friends a call…  But he wouldn’t.  Not yet. 

“Sir,” said Coulson, joining him smoothly as he walked down the hallway toward the main bridge. 

“What’d you find?”

“We have problems, sir.  Using the head start we were given, I’ve found no less than seventy problem areas on this ship… and some indications that the World Security Council may have similar issues.  We also have to assume there are unseen variables at play.”

Fury did not miss a step.  Benefit of being a cynical bastard.  The WSC was a shock, and a disaster on multiple levels, but the other number was… livable.  “Are there any particular personnel involved in these problems?”

“STRIKE teams seem to have an unusually high number of incidents.  Upwards of ninety percent.”

Fury strode onto the bridge.  “Tell the STRIKE teams to prepare to mobilize and pilots to scramble.”  Uriah gambits were unpleasant… but if he could kill two birds with one stone, he would, and he wouldn’t feel bad about it.  “What kind of air power are we looking at?”

“Significant,” said a comm. tech who was flipping through different news programs.  “They seem to have biologically based technology of some kind, weaponry is mainly energy-based, propulsion… unclear.”

Wonderful.  Fury scanned the other screens, trying to get a better picture of what, exactly, was happening in New York.  What tactics the enemy was using, what numbers they had, what resistance had been put up so far and by whom. 

“Sir,” said Agent Hill.  “The council is on.”

The council.  The same one Coulson had just told him was infiltrated by HYDRA.  The same one that would probably find a way to make their present situation all the more untenable and Fury’s day infinitely worse. 

It was a pity he couldn’t ignore them. 

“Put them on.”

.

Pandora hissed at the sting of the enemies’ weapons.  They were not ectoblasts, no, but there was the taste of something like magic to them, and energy was energy.  Still, they were not enough to damage her unduly, although they might prove troublesome, dangerously so, for the weaker ghosts of their force. 

But that was the nature of war.  Few battles were won without bloodshed. 

Her warriors should otherwise be a match for the chitauri.  The chitauri had numbers, doubtlessly, but her warriors had experience.  And once Frostbite and Dorathea lead their forces onto the battlefield, well… She could not estimate the number of enemies.  She had been told that they came from the stars, and those lands were numerous to the point of being innumerable.  Even so, there was a limit to passage through a choke point, and even the stars themselves may not turn things in the favor of a commander caught in one, no matter their numbers. 

But the ghosts, too, must pass through a portal.  Pandora eyed the slight waver in the portal’s outline with disfavor.  She was no expert in such matters, but many years of existence had given her some intuition for how portals should behave.  This one was stable enough, but not for long. 

All the more reason to resolve things quickly. 

“Hunter,” she said. 

“What?” snapped the mechanical man, the burnished plates of his armor flashing in the Sun. 

“Your task.  Find Phantom.  Free him from whatever compulsion he is under.”  Although Phantom still had much to learn, he was undeniably powerful.  Returning him to his proper allegiance would

Skulker looked away from the beast he was dismembering with some reluctance.  “Fine.  Dog.  Come here.”

The dog ignored him.  As it was Phantom’s, and Skulker hadn’t made the effort to learn its name, that was really no surprise.  Still, Skulker gestured at it.  It, in turn, bounded away, yipping.

“Are you, or are you not, the greatest hunter in the Infinite Realms?  Find him with or without the dog.”

Skulker grumbled but flew off.  Good. 

Pandora manifested a joint in her neck just long enough to crack it and drummed her fingers on the lid of her box.  It had been too long, far too long, since she had engaged in a proper battle against evil, and the more vicious of the leviathans flying through the air looked like they would, at least, give her a challenge. 

.

Thor had become more open-minded since his short stay on Earth, with Dr. Selvig, Darcy, and… Dr. Jane Foster.  Truly.  But he had to admit, these ghosts were unnerving.  Too similar by far to the draugr that had ofttimes haunted the stories of bards – the ones that made his father glare and try to shoo away both Thor and Loki. 

He had to find his brother.  Soon.  With all that had happened, with how, exactly, Loki had behaved, he believed, truly believed Daniel Fenton’s assertion Loki was being controlled, somehow. 

It was a foul thing, to put such a geas on a prince of Asgard…  Although, to be fair, putting a geas on anyone was foul.  It just seemed especially foul to Thor, that someone should do it to his brother. 

Loki had, perhaps, never been quite so good as one might hope, but he had always been… himself, as vague as that description was.  Even when he’d been consumed by madness, letting jotnar into Asgard, sending the Destroyer after people on Earth, he had still been himself.

Thor did not like this new version of Loki, who was very much…  It was like seeing his brother through a warped pane of glass, or in a reflection.  In fact, he liked it so little that he couldn’t even enjoy the utter destruction he was wrecking on the chitauri, lightning, head-crushing, and all.  Not that he had been enjoying combat quite as much as he once did in general.

The price of being worthy, he presumed. 

Alas. 

A bright green flying dog whipped past him at speed, heading towards the tower.  He narrowed his eyes at it.  Most of the ghosts had stayed concentrated around the portals.  What cause had this one to stray?

But he could not go investigate.  He could still hear the screams of the civilians cornered in the buildings nearby.  He would not leave them to fend for themselves until he had cleared this street. 

.

Danny and Loki would both have preferred to use the elevators.  Unfortunately, significant parts of the main upper elevator shaft had been repurposed for extension-cable-from-hell-powering-up-a-doomsday-device purposes, and no one wanted to mess with that, and the military-type guys they still had with them recommended shutting them off from a tactical perspective of ‘there’s more of them then there are of us, and we don’t want to guard them all.’  So.  No elevators. 

Danny could have just dropped them through the floor instead, but Loki seemed concerned about the effect serially dropping through floors had on Danny. 

Or, well, the effect that the effect it had on Danny was having on him, in any case. 

“I refuse to get stuck in a ceiling again.  I am a god.  I am to be treated with some degree of gravitas.”

“It was one time.  You should’ve seen what I was like when I first got my powers.”

“And how long ago was that?”

“Year and a half ago, about.”

Anyway, they were taking the stairs.  Danny wasn’t really upset about it, because it gave him more time to be annoying.  Right now, he was in the midst of a recital of all the ‘annoying younger sibling’ noises he had ever made.  Right now, he was working on ‘long drawn out sighs,’ which had really been a hit with Jazz, when he’d been eight.  Which was to say, she hated them.  A lot. 

And Loki didn’t seem to a have a lot of tolerance, either. 

“What,” he snapped, “are you doing?”

“Nothing,” said Danny, enjoying the way Loki’s face pinched up, as if he were searching for a way to order him to stop without really screwing up his other orders…

… speaking of which, could Danny have interpreted ‘get me out of here’ to mean ‘get me out of New York?’  Maybe.  But at this point, there were plenty of reasons to want them both in New York, including-- 

Danny’s train of thought derailed as he noticed the sound of footsteps echoing up the stairwell.  He looked down and then threw himself backwards as a redheaded woman – Romanov – brought a gun to bear on him.  She fired, twice, in quick succession.  Wow.  Rude.  And pretty brutal, too, but then again, New York was being invaded by aliens.  And she knew about his powers. 

(Hecking Fury, telling people about his powers.)

Although, considering trajectories… no, he was too sleep deprived to consider trajectories. 

He grabbed Loki’s arm, intending to drop them through the floor. 

“No, wait,” said Loki.  “Let’s see what the Widow wants.”  There was a malicious, almost cruel, edge to his voice, but there was a hollowness underneath it.  He did want to see why Black Widow, Natasha Romanov, was here, but the tone, the phrasing, was just to rile her up. 

Or to appear as if he wanted to rile her up.  Danny hadn’t listened to all the things Barton and Loki had discussed – too busy freaking out about the whole situation vis a vis mind control and alien invasions – but he hadn’t gotten the impression she was all that easy to rile up. 

But Danny had his orders.  And he still had to defend Loki.  Ice began to spread out from under his feet.  It was a bit sluggish, but it would give him the terrain advantage as far as maneuvers went.  The Widow kicked open the door on her landing and rolled out, into the floor beyond, staying more or less out of direct line of fire for both Danny and Loki. 

“I have eyes on Loki,” she said, out loud. 

.

“Crap,” said Tony, tossing the box to the Foley kid.  “Sorry, got to go, but hey!”  He was already heading for the edge of the roof.  “Maybe we won’t even need that if we do this right!”

.

Black Widow definitely been looking for them, which wasn’t surprising, but what was she carrying?  The bag was bulky and angular.  A weapon?  If so, why hadn’t she used it? 

Loki stepped out past Danny but stayed well within Danny’s ability to grab – or drop through the floor, if necessary.  Making the floor intangible instead was a valid strategy. 

“What is it you want, Widow?  Natasha Romanov?”

Romanov, meanwhile, had disappeared, almost as thoroughly as Danny could.  He tilted his head to one side, listening.  This floor, it seemed, had been imagined as semi-open lab space.  There were long work benches, empty places for equipment, some kind of robotic arm in the ceiling, and a cart full of plastic-wrapped computers, monitors and towers together. 

It was kind of cool.  There were a lot of places to hide. 

“Is this… revenge?  For Barton?”  Loki’s smile was sharp.  “He told me much about you, and I suppose Stark mentioned avenging this place.”  Two false images split off from Loki to prowl among the lab tables.  “It suits you better than it does him.  But don’t you think it somewhat… hypocritical?”

.

“Okay, Romanov, here’s how it is.  Loki likes illusions?  Let’s give him an illusion.”

.

Danny saw a flash of red out of the corner of his eye and angled himself to intercept, but no attack came. 

“After all… you’ve done so much… so much that others would be more than justified retaliating for, don’t you think?  All those regime changes, shall we call them?  And Barton’s no better, really.”  He hummed.  “The things you two did together.  Drakov’s daughter?  Sāo Paulo?  The hospital fire?  And you think taking vengeance on me will change anything?  You think it will make you some sort of hero?  Give you peace?  When you—”

One of the doors flew open, revealing Iron Man.  Who plowed through one fake Loki (Faki?  Fauki?  Fauxki?  Meh, he’d workshop it.) and swerved to shoot one of his repulsors at another.  Romanov popped up from behind a table and threw something at the feet of the real Loki, who crushed it with his heel, ignoring the sparks of electricity that flew up off of it. 

Danny batted Romanov back with a shield, straight into the cart of computers, which fell down on her.  Ouch.  But she’d be able to get back up and into the fight.  The important thing was that, right now, she wasn’t an immediate threat, which meant he could ignore her. 

Give her time. 

If she hadn’t wanted something, she would have run, kept hiding.  Just these few minutes – She was a shield agent, sure, but she had to have some kind of specialty in—

Anti-ghost missiles were a lot harder to avoid in such a small place, especially when distracted.  Danny hissed as one impacted his shoulder and splattered green all over his shirt, but he caught the next, and threw it back at Iron Man.  He tried to phase off the green goo, but it wouldn’t go.  It had to be some of that phase-proof stuff his parents had been working on.  Nasty stuff. 

Although, he had to be grateful it had only given him a bruise and hadn’t been mixed with something that would melt him.  It gave him hope for his future relationship with his parents. 

In the meantime, it definitely limited his options regarding protecting Loki and just removing themselves from the situation without getting into more destructive behavior. 

He hoped Iron Man knew what he was doing… for everyone’s sake. 

The missile exploded right in front of Iron Man’s mask, splattering him with green goo.  Danny had no idea what kind of sensor array he had, but that would probably buy at least a little time as he adjusted it to compensate for the eye-holes of his mask being covered up. 

He turned back to Loki, only to see another Iron Man grab the staff from him. 

Only for that Loki and that staff to dissolve into the air. 

Loki, the real Loki, stopped being invisible and laughed.  “Oh, that was good, that was very good.”  Not only was this Loki real, his smile might have been as well.  “But you didn’t think you could fool me, did you?”

Danny flicked invisible, noting with disfavor that the green goo stayed visible when he did so, and moved closer to Loki, fending off attacks.  Two Iron Men – Where did the second person come from?  Was it Barton, in a suit?  Someone else entirely?  The War Machine person?  Danny couldn’t remember his name.  – and Romanov together was a bit of a challenge for Danny to keep track of, given his present mental state. 

Luckily, however, one of the two suits, the first one, didn’t seem to have nearly the tactical awareness of the other.  He’d say it was Stark in the second suit, the fresher-looking one… the one without any form of ghost proofing Danny could detect. 

Danny swiped an intangible arm through the suit, cleaving through delicate wires as he did so, but leaving warm, human flesh untouched.  Several pieces of armor fell away, revealing a band t-shirt, but not the whole thing.  Interesting. 

Romanov threw a Fenton Ghost Zapper at him.  Loki knocked it out of the air, the sharp end of the scepter cutting it in two as he did so.  Iron Man – the one he was pretty sure was Tony Stark – tried to grab it again, even as Loki pivoted to try and catch Black Widow with it.  Danny used that as a pretext to pull Loki back, away from Black Widow.  They did not need her under control.  Nope. 

But… they wanted the staff.  They wanted the staff now. 

Selvig must have gotten knocked free.  He must have told them, one of them, about his safeguards. 

If one of these three could get the staff, get back to the top of the tower…  Then it would be over.  They’d have won. 

.

“Director Fury, the council has made a decision.”

Fury flexed his fingers behind his back.  “I recognize the council has made a decision, but given that it's a stupid ass decision, I've elected to ignore it.”  It’s what he’d say if he hadn’t learned what he’d just learned.  If HYDRA wasn’t threaded through every element of SHIELD like a deadly parasite.  If this sounded more like a simple fear-driven overreaction and less like a way to destroy one of HYDRAs most famous enemies and his new and very powerful allies? 

“Director, despite your shocking negligence, bordering on dereliction, you’re closer than any of our subs.  You scramble that jet—”

“That is the island of Manhattan, councilman.”  Although considering that HYDRA, in the person of Red Skull, had tried to blow it up in the past, he wasn’t sure that would sway them.  Until I’m certain my team can’t hold them—”

“There are two armies of alien origin, emerging from portals above that island.  If we don’t—”

“I will not order a nuclear strike against a civilian population, much less the densest population in the United States.  And the other army is an ally.”

“Based on what intelligence?  Based on what invitation?  That of someone already suborned by Loki?”

“If we don’t hold them in the air,” added another councilmember, “we lose.  We lose everything.”

“If I send that bird out, we already have.”

.

“Director Fury is no longer in command.  Override order, seven, alpha, eleven.”

“Sorry, sir,” said the pilot, who had just taken his seat.  He watched with some trepidation as Agent Coulson led a pair of his colleagues away.  This was all very irregular.  “I’m not familiar with that code.”

There was a pause.  “What’s your name, son?”

.

Cujo frolicked through the city.  It was loud, yes, but nothing he hadn’t been in training for while alive, and nothing he hadn’t experienced while dead.  So, a non-issue, obviously. 

The actual issue?  His person had just thrown a stick.  Obviously, Cujo had to go fetch it.