#THIS COMETH GREETING

[todayontumblr]

Thursday April 6.

This Barbie is a Today on Tumblr post.

Hi Barbie!

Hi Ken!

Now we've got that out of the way, it really looks like we are just gonna have to party. I mean, how else are we going to pass the time until July 21, 2023 (or thereabouts)? You've probably seen the all-singin', all-dancin' trailer for #barbie (and if you haven't, you absolutely have to see it right this very moment), but it's safe to say that it looks fun, fun, fun. There is a lot of pink, a lot of good-looking people greeting each other, repeatedly, with either Barbie or Ken, a lot of dancing, a lot of silliness, a lot of perfectly-delivered lines ("I literally go nowhere without them!"), a lot of perfectly-shot shots (the shoes, the flying car) and simply more innuendo than we know what to do with. The year, 2023, and the world is Barbie's—so cometh the hour, cometh the camp. And you better be with us, or we're going to have to beach you off.

[petite-phthora]

Thank you...

[DP x DC fic]

[Love at first... murder? - part 10]

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Part 1

Ao3

---

Private chat nicknames:

ImBaby= Danielle/Dani/Ellie

MiddleChild= Danny

---

Danny rubs his eyes and stares at the laptop in front of him as he’s trying to focus. He’s currently at a table he claimed in his school’s library, and he’s been staring at his screen for a solid 25 minutes by now.

He currently has a free period, just before his last class of the day, so he decided to try and get some homework done now since he has less time after school today.

Because of his date.

He’s going on a date!

Due to the excitement, Danny can’t quite stop himself from grinning like a loon. To be perfectly honest, he hasn’t been able to stop grinning and blushing even since Red Hood had sent that last message.

It’s a date.

Red Hood had confirmed it’s a date!

The buzzing of his phone as he receives a message draws his attention away from his schoolwork even though it wasn’t on that anyway but on a certain kind and handsome vigilante.

Danny picks the device up and takes a look. Seeing Ellie had messaged him, he raises an eyebrow. Assuming it to be another one picture of her standing on some monument in human form in spaces humans without powers shouldn’t be able to get to, like a horse on a roof, he opens the chat.

Though…

That’s not a selfie on top of El Ángel de la Independencia in Mexico, he muses as he reads the text with a slightly confused frown.

---

Private chat

~ ImBaby changed their name to SirEllieOfTheInfiniteRealms ~

~ SirEllieOfTheInfiniteRealms changed the name of MiddleChild to HisMajesty ~

SirEllieOfTheInfiniteRealms: once nightfall has cometh upon us, and the world has been plunged into darkness, though blood may be shed, be assured brother o mine, thine honor shall be guarded. i have formulated various challenges most onerous to confirmeth whether the helmed knight in red is righteous enough to court thee. for now, i will have to wish thee adieu, brother mine, as I will need to maketh some preparations for these mentioned challenges before I can enact them. as for the outcome of the trials i have set, i shall visit thee within the following fortnight bearing the news. until such time, i giveth thou farewell. ancients be with ye.  o7

HisMajesty: ???

HisMajesty: have you swallowed an encyclopedia again? 🤨

HisMajesty: didn’t know it would actually work with teaching you new words 🤔

HisMajesty: would’ve been good to know when I still had Lancer’s English classes 😔😔

HisMajesty: what does even this mean? 🤔🤔

HisMajesty: what are you planning??

HisMajesty: Ellie?

HisMajesty: no seriously, like

HisMajesty: have you been hanging out with CW lately?? 👀👀

HisMajesty: cause this is exactly the sort of cryptic shit I’d expect coming from him 😕😒

HisMajesty: not you

HisMajesty: …usually 😔

HisMajesty: unless he told you to tell me this??? 🤨 🤨

HisMajesty: but then again, he prefers to use his sticky notes to leave me cryptic messages..

HisMajesty: Ellie? 😟

HisMajesty: what are you doing????

HisMajesty: where even are you right now?? 🤔

HisMajesty: last I heard you were in Mexico 🇲🇽

HisMajesty: are you still there?

HisMajesty: Ellie

HisMajesty: please answer me 🙏🙏

HisMajesty: Ellieeeeee ☹️

HisMajesty: Elle

HisMajesty: Els

HisMajesty: Ella

HisMajesty: Elski

HisMajesty: Elleroonie

HisMajesty: Ellexandro

HisMajesty: Eljamin

HisMajesty: Ellodore

HisMajesty: 🥺

---

Danny stops messaging her when he realizes she’s not going to read any of his texts any time soon. He lets out a weary sigh.

What has she gotten herself into this time?

---

Red Hood came to pick Danny up at his apartment at 12.50. He rang the doorbell this time. Before Danny can do so much as greet him, Red Hood hands him a box. Danny looks at it confused before moving his gaze onto Red Hood with the same expression.

“Here, for you” He grunts.

Danny looks back down at the box and under the stare of the helmed vigilante, that Danny can’t quite see due to the helmet. Danny takes it and opens it gingerly. Inside are what seem to be some kind of chocolate squares.

“It’s chocolate fudge. Homemade. Wasn’t quite sure what you would like…” Red Hood explains.

Danny looks back up and beams at him, cheeks turning slightly pink.

“Oh no, this is great! Thanks!”

He tries one out, under the watchful eye of Red Hood and Oh Ancients, they are delicious. Which Danny then also proceeds to verbalize.

“Oh my Ancients, these are amazing. Thank you so much!”

Danny gives him a quick hug, even lifting him slightly off the ground which does things to Red Hood (not that Danny noticed), as Red Hood lets out a soft “No problem” before letting go as he remembers something

“Oh wait! Before we go, I also have something for you as well!” Danny blurts out, quickly darting back into his apartment to get something, putting the box of chocolate fudge down on his counter.

He guesses Red Hood hadn’t quite expected that, as he was still frozen into place when Danny came back with his own gift for his date.

Danny hands over a small inconspicuous white box. Red Hood takes it and opens it before carefully taking out the sleek silver watch and turning it over.

As he’s looking it over, Danny starts talking again.

“Okay, okay, so I’ll explain what it does in a minute. First off though, put it on!” He says, jittery from nerves and excitement

He really hopes Red Hood will like it.

Red Hood silently does as he says and puts on the watch.

“Now turn to the wall and press that button right there!” Danny continues, pointing out a small button on the side of the watch.

---

What Jason had expected to happen when he pressed the button on the watch, was for it to light up or turn on or something, maybe play a little tune or a nice message.

What Jason hadn’t expected to happen, was for a toxic green laser to shoot out of the watch and blast the wall in front of him, leaving behind a black scorch mark.

Stunned, Jason drops his gaze back onto the, now slightly smoking, ‘watch’ before turning his wide-eyed gaze back onto Danny. Danny, who seems to be practically vibrating in excitement and is eagerly awaiting his reaction.

“Do you like it? It’s the Fenton Watch Ray! I modeled it after the Fenton Wrist Ray, but I decided to make the design more sleek and inconspicuous. When pressing the button, it’ll release a highly pressurized ectoplasmic energy blast.

“You see, it takes in ambient ectoplasm from the surrounding area as fuel! So it won’t run out of energy and you don’t need to charge it! The ectoplasm it’s infused with also makes it more resistant, so it’s harder to break and you’ll be able to take it out on patrol with you if you need it!

“Don’t worry though! While it may look a little dangerous, it’s actually quite harmless to living humans! The most it’ll do is knock them down, or even out on some occasions. And there’s no lasting after-effects!

“Oh! And this button,” Danny pauses as he points out a button on the other side of the watch, “shows you the time!”

Danny pushes the button and, sure enough, the screen of the ‘watch’ lights up, showing it is currently 12.56 pm.

During the entire rant, Jason just stares at Danny through his helmet in stunned silence. He didn’t quite understand everything that was just word-vomited at him, but he got the general gist of it.

‘Marry me,’ is what he wants to say.

“Thank you” is what he says instead, in the softest tone known to man with blushing cheeks and a lovesick smile on his face.

---

Taglist:

@i-always-say-yea   @uraniumwizard    @why-must-i-be-like-this   @griffinthing

[clanwarrior-tumbly]

Dude the anon with the arceus!reader and larry is massive brain frfr. Imagine the typical gang finding out the guy who looks like he could take a vacation for 1000 years and STILL be tired has a s/o and they’re like “can we meet them”

larry proceeds with summoning his s/o and the group very much finding out that the bright golden light coming from the sky is in fact not the sun and oh no its coming straight for them

also not a req btw but you can write hc’s about it if it strikes your fancy

HGHhghahgf this is brilliance

Like I imagine the gang (like Florian, Juliana, Geeta, Rika, Poppy, Hassel, and Nemona) learning that he's married/dating someone and they're like "oh okay of course he's gotta be in a normal relationship too right?

And then Arceus S/O pulls up when they're at a meeting or dinner or something (after much nagging to meet them and Larry being reluctant but eventually giving in) and is like "Be not afraid, for I cometh in a form more suitable for human interactions. Greetings, my betrothed. Are these thine acquaintances you've spoketh of two evenings ago?"

And all Larry says is "yes" and wonders why tf everyone looks so horrified and awestruck at once-

Most normal guy in Paldea managed to rizz up god

[talonabraxas]

Pha Yant: of lord surya (the sun) “a ruby flashing in the sky” Credit: JintheNinja (金齊天大聖)

Surya Mantra

÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷÷

"Japakusumsankasham Kashypeyam Mahadhyutim

Tamorim Sarvapaapagnam Prantosmi Divakaram"

Meaning : I bow down to the Sun God who is the cause of the day break, who dispels all darkness, who destroys all sins , who is matchless in brilliance, who is the son of Kashyapa and who is as red as a Japa Kusuma flower.

Surya Gayatri Mantra OM Bhaskaraya Vidmahe Mahadyutikaraya Dhimahi Tanno Adityah Pracodayat'

According to Hindu Mythology, Sun is a Kshatriya and born to Sage Kashyap and Aditi who is the mother of Gods. Her sons were defeated by the demons. Aditi prayed to the sun to be born as her son to fight and defeat the demons so that the Gods could get back their due. Sun agreed to it and was born as Aditya. Hindus believe that Sun is ever moving in a chariot drawn by seven horses. Surya, the Sun, is short in stature and has a prominent, shining appearance, with two arms, a curly mane of hair and shining, golden-brown eyes that are the exact color of honey. His mind is incisive and His complexion coppery or golden and He wears clothes of dark saffron. In both His hands, Surya has two red lotuses. The wheel of Surya's chariot represents the year and its twelve spokes are the twelve months.

God Surya (सूर्य) can be called the only god in Hindu religion who can be seen and prayed to in daily life. The Surya is depicted as having a body as shiny and radiant as pure gold. He is believed to be a golden red man with three eyes and four arms, riding a chariot driven by seven white horses. The Chariot harnessed by seven horses represent the seven colours of the rainbow or the seven chakras.

Surya is the life giver, sustaining all life on earth by providing all radiance and energy. He by mounting the wheel of time is also the one who is responsible for the beautiful seasons and causing the cycle of day and night.

The Surya is referred to in Sanskrit as "Mitra" or "Friend" down to the invariable warmth. Surya is depicted with two hands holding a lotus in both; sometimes he has four hands holding a lotus, chakra, a conch and a mace.

Surya in ancient literature

In Vedas, numerous hymns are dedicated to Surya, the Sun personified, and Savitr, "the impeller", a solar deity either identified with or associated with Surya. Even the Gayatri mantra, which is regarded as one of the most sacred of the Hindu hymns is dedicated to the Sun. The Adityas are a group of solar deities, from the Brahmana period numbering twelve. The ritual of sandhyavandanam, performed by some Hindus, is an elaborate set of hand gestures and body movements, designed to greet and revere the Sun.

The mantra in Rig Veda praise to the Surya as :

आ कृष्णेन् रजसा वर्तमानो निवेशयन्न अमृतं मर्त्यं च । हिरण्ययेन सविता रथेना देवो याति भुवनानि पश्यन ॥ (1/35)

(Throughout the dusky firmament advancing, laying to rest the immortal and the mortal, Borne in his golden chariot he cometh, Savitar, God who looks on every creature]

Gaytri Mantra in Vedas for Lord Surya

ॐ भूर्भुवः॒ स्वः॒ तत्स॑वितुर्वरे॑ण्यम् भ॒र्गो॑ दे॒वस्य॑ धीमहि। धियो॒ यो नः॑ प्रचो॒दया॑त्॥

(Om bhoor-bhuvaH svaH, tat-savitur-vareNNyam, bhargo devasya dheemahi, dhiyo yo naH prachodayaat.)

In the Vedas Surya Dev is referred to as the god of light who is responsible for all life on earth.

The Children of lord Surya are : Shani Deva (शनि), Yama, Yamuna, Tapti

Names of Surya

Ravi, Suraj, Aditya, Adit, Bhaskar, Pusha, Divakar, Bhanu

Vedic Mythology with stories

The Mahabharata describes one of its warrior heroes Karna as being the son of the righteous queen Kunti and the Sun. The Ramayana describes Lord Ram (श्री राम) as being descended from the Surya Vansh or the clan of kings as bright as the Sun. The Sun God is said to married to the beautiful goddess Ranaadeh, also known as Sanjnya. She is depicted in dual form, being both sunlight and shadow, personified. The charioteer of Surya is Arun, who is also personified as the redness that accompanies the sunlight in dawn and dusk.

Sun God in different cultures

The Solar deities associated with different aspects of the cultural universe of the society, but for the most part its raw image remains identical. In the 3rd millennium BC, the winged sun was an ancient symbol of Horus. The Neolithic concept of a solar barge, the sun as traversing the sky in a boat, is found in the later myths of ancient Egypt, with Ra and Horus. Egyptian myths imply that the sun is within the lioness,

Proto-Indo-European religion has a solar chariot, the sun as traversing the sky in a chariot. During the Roman Empire, a festival of the birth of the Unconquered Sun was celebrated when the duration of daylight first begins to increase after the winter solstice, — the "rebirth" of the sun.

In Germanic mythology this is Sol, in Vedic Surya, and in Greek Helios (occasionally referred to as Titan) or Apollo. Mesopotamian Shamash plays an important role during the Bronze Age, and "my Sun" is eventually used as an address to royalty. South American cultures have emphatic Sun worship. Svarog is the Slavic god sun and spirit of fire. In Aztec mythology, Tonatiuh was the sun god. The Aztec people considered him the leader of Tollan, heaven.

Surya in vedic Astrology

God Surya is the King of all the planets and is responsible for controlling all their movements. The Sun in Vedic astrology is called RAVI, or SURYA. In western tropical astrology, the Sun rules the Sign of Leo. He is exalted in the sign of Aries, and he is in his fall in the sign of Libra. In vedic astrology the Sun is known as the ATMAKARAKA, means .an "indicator of the soul." The Sun is the indicator of the father, our ego, honors, status, fame, the heart, the eyes, general vitality, respect and power.

He is particularly beneficial for the fire sign Ascendants of Aries, Leo, and Sagittarius. His nature, or temperament is PITTA, or fiery, and the gemstone associated with the Sun is the red ruby. The Sun's metal is Gold and his direction is east. His day is Sunday, and he comes into full maturity and brilliance at age 22.

The Vedas adore him as a witness (Sakshi) of all actions. He is the lord of Leo in the Zodiac. He stays one month in each Rasi and takes 365 days or 12 months to complete a round of 12 Rasis. Worship of Surya on Sunday is supposed to bring in manifold benefits to the worshippers. .

Surya and modern Astronomy

Our solar system consists of an average star we call the Sun, the planets Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. It includes: the satellites of the planets; numerous comets, asteroids, and meteoroids; and the interplanetary medium. The planets, most of the satellites of the planets and the asteroids revolve around the Sun in the same direction, in nearly circular orbits.

Our solar system the part of whole solar system, together with the local stars visible on a clear night, orbits the center of our home galaxy, a spiral disk of 200 billion stars we call the Milky Way. Again Our galaxy, one of billions of galaxies known, is traveling through intergalactic space. The order of planets revolving around the Sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

On February 14, 1990, the cameras of Voyager 1 pointed back toward the Sun and took a series of pictures of the Sun and the planets, making the first ever "portrait" of our solar system as seen from the outside.

Prayers to please Lord Surya

Surya namaskāra

Lord Surya helps one gain his eyesight and SURYA NAMASKAR will strengthen one's bones, cure illness, however severe it may be, cleanses the devotee from his sins and bestows on him progeny, wealth, good-health and long life. He is the cause for rainfall benefiting the world.

The lord Surya is prayed in the simplest way by folding one's hands in a namaskar at the time of sunrise. A simple chant of Om Suryaye Namah pleases the lord Surya. A Hindu worship Lord Surya at the rising of the Sun, known as Surya namaskāra There are twelve physical postures (asanas), which correspond to the twelve signs of the zodiac. During the sun's apparent journey through the heavens it passes through each of zodiac, and is said to triumph over each sign as it enters its domain. Associated with each other of the twelve positions of Surya Namaskar is a specific mantra. The 12 mantras for surya namaskara:

ॐ मित्राय नमः (aum mitrāya namah) ॐ रवये नमः (aum ravayé namah ) ॐ सूर्याय नमः (aum sūryāya namah ) ॐ भानवे नमः (aum bhānavé namah ) ॐ खगय नमः (aum khagāya namah ) ॐ पुष्णे नमः (aum pushné namah) ॐ हिरण्यगर्भाय नमः (aum hiranyagarbhāya namah) ॐ मारिचाये नमः (aum mārichāyé namah) ॐ आदित्याय नमः (aum ādityāya namah) ॐ सावित्रे नमः (aum sāvitré namah) ॐ आर्काय नमः (aum ārkāya namah) ॐ भास्कराय नमः (aum bhāskarāya namah)

The Gayatri Mantra is also associated with Surya.

Another hymn associated with Surya is the Aditya Hridayam, recited by the great sage Agastya to Lord Ram (श्री राम) on the warfield before the fight with Ravana in Lanka. .

[srbachchan]

DAY 5643(i)

Jalsa, Mumbai                 July 30/31, 2023                    Sun/Mon  1:11 AM

🪔 .. July 31 .. birthday greetings to Ef Reyhan Rezaei from Iran 🇮🇷 .. keep well and happy .. 🙏🏻🚩 love and wishes and the best ever for all  .. ❤️

I return .. in turn to be turned by the love of the tide of love at the GOJ ..

each Sunday the apprehension rises .. and to some it may seem like a deliberate act of mine to gain attention , but it is factual ..

the appreciation cometh but at the appointed hour .. and has been so for all these years .. but there have been several of them at times when the reversal has played upon one .. and the ‘one’ be the one truly yours .. and all truly yours ..

it is not to be disowned .. it is the way of life .. it’s the revolve of life .. as does the Earth revolve, so does fate and time and circumstance and love and recognition .. and .. following ..

in time, all celebrity followings fail ..  it is the call of nature .. nature is the purest ingredient of the Universe .. it carries the most astonishing quality .. called  balance .. if it did not, the Universe we abide in, would have perished .. not have existed ..

look around .. you will find the essence of the failing .. remembered , yes of their standing and value .. but not of their following .. 

you need commemorations .. and special moments for remembrance .. to be drawn back in time  .. for momentary appeal and applause .. and then .. it’s back to the new , the recent , the adored popular , ruling the throne of natures revolve  .. in time .. for they too shall be in the limits of their time .. till the next ..

I am who I am .. for mine .. that be the best cavern for the resting calm .. discover it soon .. design and decorate it well .. you will be spending a lot of your time there .. at last .. unknown , un disturbed , alone  .. 

to indulge in the self .. without inhibitions or responsibilities .. un answerable to any .. but to the peace you shall create  !!

My love and care and more .. 

Amitabh Bachchan

Monday July 31,  2023 ... 3:09AM ..

In case you are thinking I am asleep .. no i am contemplating sleep so 😴

ĀB 

[theglamourempress]

Venus in the 12th is a Goddess. She is a living embodiment of true spirituality: compassionate beyond measure. Her emotional quotient is high, here in the otherworldly home of Neptune. Venus in this landscape weeps at soul-stirring music, and cries at the exquisite feel of a newborn nuzzled against her cheek. Vibrational medicines which channel elemental devas are her ally. Art can leave her speechless.

She sees far into the future, our 12th house Venus, and, like a mermaid, brings lost treasures up from the ocean floor to share with others. Well, those who can be bothered to get out of bed at dawn! Her role is to guide us to the New Age, to taste the dew as the Sun greets morning, and to remind us that, as we go forth, we are so much more than we think we are. She delves, like the ancient priestess that she is, into her rich inner world, and speaks a language that crosses all cultures: love.

William Wordsworth painted the message of Venus in the 12th so eloquently for us when he wrote:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting

The soul that rises with us, our life’s Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting

And cometh from afar

Not in entire forgetfulness

And not in utter nakedness

But trailing clouds of glory do we come

From God, who is our home:

Heaven lies about us in our infancy!

Oh yes! Venus dances naked in the 12th, draping herself with clouds of glory. She hasn’t forgotten where her star is set.

Love makes the world go around, and Venus wants to show us that divine love will have us all living happily ever after. We just have to remember where we’ve come from. And if you are willing to wake up, the Priestess of the Dawn will guide you. - Veronika Sophia Robinson

[balanceoflightanddark]

The Monsters We Create Chapter 20

Our heroes return to a city torn apart, with lines divided in the streets and people making ready for war. In the midst of the chaos, Azula makes a gambit that could risk everything. Success means finding favor with her uneasy allies. Failure means risking her sanity to the voices in her head...

The King Cometh Arc (Godzilla)

Up From the Depths

Relics from a Lost World

More Than Just a Legend

God of Destruction

Upon the Ruins

Dragon Slayers

Wrath

Awakening Mountains Arc (Godzilla, Anguirus, General Old Iron, Rodan)

8. Omens of Disaster

9. Farewells and Greetings

10. Of Spirits and Monsters

11. The Guardian Beast

12. Into the Nest

13. Clash of the Titans (Anguirus vs General Old Iron)

14.��Let Them Fight (Godzilla vs Rodan)

Graveyard of Empires Arc (Godzilla, Mothra, Battra, Axor)

15: Old Wounds

16. Embers in the Wind

17. Infant Island

18. Mothra

19. When All You Have is a Dream

20. The Princess's Gambit

[high-on-dr3ams]

Author has stumbled upon a very curious little idea. And that is often a bad sign for any character that this idea happens to include. So here they were, spontaneously appearing right behind George, their new toy follower with a big grin on their face.

"Greetings. Lore hath cometh. Are you ready to part?"

- @write-like-its-goin-out-of-style aka Author :D

George was in the process of picking mushrooms, as one with definitely lots of friends does. He picks up his basket, turns around, and is met with a face full of Author.

“Jesus-!” George exclaims, almost spilling the basket. “What the hell??”

“Lor-ohhh right. Um…sure?”

[nerdygaymormon]

Matthew 25:1-13 - Parable of the 10 Virgins

Something about this parable and how we teach it has always felt off to me. We tell this story as one of scarcity. We teach the story as though the bridegroom doesn’t have enough grace for all of us. 

That doesn’t fit with a Jesus who turned 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes into enough to feed 5000 people and even had leftovers. The gospel is one of abundance, there’s enough blessings for all.

My church often teaches that this is a story about the Last Days. We need to carefully work hard to squirrel away enough oil over our lifetime and guard it because we can’t share with others and they can’t share with us. Nobody can share their testimonies with us, we have to gather our own. If that’s the case, then why do we gather together to worship, why is the Sacrament a communal activity, why do we have a monthly testimony meeting at church?

————————————————————

For a refresher, here’s the parable as relayed in the King James Version:

1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. 2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. 3 They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: 4 But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. 5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. 6 And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. 7 Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. 9 But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. 11 Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. 12 But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. 13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.

————————————————————

I like the way that Nadia Bolz-Weber updates this parable to our modern day:

It feels like Jesus is saying the Kingdom of God is like a bad dream where I’m supposed to go pick someone important up from the airport like . . . Dolly Parton, but I forget to fill my gas tank and then I’m idling outside baggage claim for so long I doze off and then when Dolly Parton finally texts she’s almost there, my car starts beeping that it’s nearly out of gas but then I realize the dude in front of me has a gas can strapped in the back of his monster truck and I ask if he can help me out but he just points to the overpriced gas station outside the airport and in a panic I use the fumes in my tank to get there but then when I’m filling up my Subaru I see Dolly Parton drive off in the passenger side of the dude’s F150 and she doesn’t even return my wave -  like she doesn’t even know me. 

So stay alert. The kingdom of God is like that.

Nadia follows this with questions, what are we supposed to learn from this story:

That we should not rely on others? That we should not give to those who ask of us? I mean, that would be weird wouldn’t it, if Jesus just suddenly took back everything he said about generosity and self-giving and instead gave us a parable about how we should be stingy and self-reliant?

—————————

Nadia provides an alternative interpretation to the story. The bridesmaids are foolish, not because they didn’t bring extra oil or because they fell asleep, but because they listened to the other bridesmaids. Some of the ‘wise’ bridesmaids said you can only greet the groom if you’ve already met your needs. Those foolish ones are made to feel ashamed. 

The foolish bridesmaids didn’t trust that the light of those around them could be enough to guide them. Light from a lamp doesn’t only shine for the person holding it. Others can see the light and can see the path being illuminated. Yes, if everyone had their own light then they could see better, but it doesn’t mean only those with the light can see and everyone else is blinded by darkness. 

If you had light and another didn’t, wouldn’t you offer to have them walk with you and let your light guide the way? And wouldn’t we want someone to do that for us if our light ran out?

The person who cried out that the bridegroom is coming, how did they know this? The bridegroom must have a lamp which could be seen from afar. The foolish ones didn’t trust that the light of Christ was enough. They didn’t believe the groom would offer to hold out his light where they could see it. 

In an effort to fix their situation, they missed the wedding banquet. Is the bridegroom calling them foolish because they listened to the other bridesmaids and doubted him and his goodness?

The bridegroom said “I know you not,” because they hadn’t come to him with their situation but rather wanted to be independent of him. Are we too busy trying to be self reliant that we don’t have time for Christ?

————————————————————

The part of the parable that really cuts is when they are knocking on the door and the person inside says “I know you not.” Do we really think someone who is seeking Christ will be turned away? 

These aren’t people who can’t be bothered, they aren’t off engaged in other questionable activities. These are folks who show up and have a lamp FULL of oil, they’re where they are supposed to be because they are seeking the groom.

Someone shows up to church and is willing, is seeking, is following, and Christ is going to turn them away?

The focus is on what they are lacking. We all are lacking, is that what we should focus on, that we aren’t good enough for Christ, He won’t want to see us?

Maybe the parable is saying instead of trying to solve everything on their own, if the foolish bridesmaids approached the groom, he could’ve solved this, that he can meet our shortcomings.

They didn’t have faith that the bridegroom would let them in if they didn’t provide their own oil. They didn’t believe he would welcome them to the feast. Instead they believed the groom had no mercy or grace to offer them.

The way I’ve always heard this parable taught, we believe the assumptions presented by the bridesmaids without questioning if this is really what the groom requires.

—————————

We are all sinners, we all fall short of perfection, none of us can save ourselves no matter how much “oil” we’ve gathered. In the parable, they all are awaiting the bridegroom with lamps full of oil and are looking for him. As they wait, all of the bridesmaids fell asleep. 

When the call came, they all responded to the call that the bridegroom is approaching by trimming their lamps, but they’ve waited so long for the groom that their lamps go out. 

I wonder if having our lamp go out is akin to when people face hard things in life and their faith falters, or to having some doubts. Everyone deals with hard things.

Those with extra oil refill their own lamps and tell the others that they won’t share and to go away and solve their own problems. In the LDS Church, we might use the phrase to go be “self reliant.”

When the ‘foolish’ bridesmaids show up to the banquet, the door is closed. The parable doesn’t indicate who closed it. It does not say that the bridegroom closed the door, locking everyone else out. It never is taught that the groom is keeping them away. In fact, the bridegroom wanted them to be part of the procession and to attend the banquet, they were invited guests.

Rather than a parable of hope in the ability of the Lord to save, I usually hear it presented as a fear-based warning that you better not be a ‘foolish’ one who wasn’t prepared and didn’t do enough. 

I think we are all foolish in the exact same way as the foolish ones in this parable. They fell for the belief that they were lesser and not wanted, and then they leave. The “wise ones” made the others feel this way. My experience is it’s other believers, other church goers, who act as gatekeepers and make us feel ashamed that we fall short.

It’s not included in this parable, but I think the promise that the first shall be last and the last shall be first should be a warning to the “wise ones.” How would they want to be treated if they were “last,” and they should start treating everyone that way because one day you may be last. 

————————————————————

Why are Christians commanded to worship together? Why is community so important? Nobody can do this all on their own. We need to borrow oil. We need the light given by another’s lamp. If we only provide for ourselves, what is the point of building a community?

————————————————————

My queer application is that I think most Christians would view queer believers as “foolish” and we need to go away and get ourselves fixed and in line with how they think we should be, only then are we welcome to come back. They think queer people won’t be invited to the great banquet of the Lord.

Do we listen to those who say Christ’s blessings aren’t enough and queer people will be excluded? Do we believe there’s no mansions awaiting us in heaven? Do we believe God made us queer and then rejects us for being queer? 

It is no wonder most queer people leave the church. It’s a place full of rejecting messages to queer people. The gospel is often not presented as good news but instead as a way to clobber queer people.

[the-aspiring-occultist]

Liber Israfel - sub figura LXIV

[This book was formerly called “Anubis,” and is referred to the 20th key, “The Angel.”]

0. The Temple being in darkness, and the Speaker ascended into his place let him begin by a ritual of the Enterer, as followeth

1. [Hebrew: Vav] Procul, O procul este profani.

2. Bahlasti! Ompehda!

3. In the name of the Mighty and Terrible One, I proclaim that I have banished the Shells unto their habitations.

4. I invoke Tahuti, the Lord of Wisdom and of Utterance, the God that cometh forth from the Veil.

5. O Thou! Majesty of Godhead! Wisdom-crowned Tahuti! Lord of the Gates of the Universe! Thee, Thee, I invoke.

    O Thou of the Ibis Head! Thee, Thee I invoke.

    Thou who wieldest the Wand of Double Power! Thee, Thee I invoke!

    Thou who bearest in Thy left hand the Rose and Cross of Light and Life: Thee, Thee, I invoke.

    Thou, whose head is as an emerald, and Thy nemmes as the night-sky blue! Thee, Thee I invoke.

    Thou, whose skin is of flaming orange as though it burned in a furnace! Thee, Thee I invoke.

6. Behold! I am Yesterday, To-Day, and the Brother of To-Morrow!

    I am born again and and again.

    Mine is the Unseen Force, whereof the Gods are sprung! Which is as Life unto the Dwellers in the Watch-Towers of the Universe.

    I am the Charioteer of the East, Lord of the Past and of the Future.

I see by mine own inward light: Lord of Resurrection; Who cometh forth from the Dusk, and my birth is from the House of Death.

7. O ye two Divine Hawks upon your Pinnacles!

    Who keep watch over the Universe!

    Ye who company the Bier to the House of Rest!

    Who pilot the Ship of Ra advancing onwards to the heights of heaven!

    Lord of the Shrine which standeth in the Centre of the Earth!

8. Behold, He is in me, and I in Him!

    Mine is the Radiance, wherein Ptah floatheth over the firmament!

    I travel upon high!

    I tread upon the firmament of Nu!

    I raise a flashing flame, with the lightning of Mine Eye!

    Ever rushing on, in the splendour of the daily glorified Ra: giving my life to the Dwellers of Earth.

9. If I say “Come up upon the mountains!” the Celestial Waters shall flow at my Word.

    For I am Ra incarnate!

    Kephra created in the Flesh!

    I am the Eidolon of my father Tmu, Lord of the City of the Sun!

10. The God who commands is in my mouth!

    The God of Wisdom is in my Heart!

    My tongue is the Sanctuary of Truth!

    And a God sitteth upon my lips.

11. My Word is accomplished every day!

    And the desire of my heart realises itself, as that of Ptah when He createth!

    I am Eternal; therefore all things are as my designs; therefore do all things obey my Word.

12. Therefore do Thou come forth unto me from Thine abode in the Silence: Unutterable Wisdom! All-Light! All-Power!

    Thoth! Hermes! Mercury! Odin!

    By whatever name I call Thee, Thou art still nameless to Eternity:. Come Thou forth, I say, and aid and guard me in this work of Art.

13. Thou, Star of the East, that didst conduct the Magi!

    Thou art The Same all-present in Heaven and in Hell!

    Thou that vibratest between the Light and the Darkness!

    Rising, descending! Changing ever, yet ever The Same!

    The Sun is Thy Father!

    Thy Mother is the Moon!

    The Wind hath borne Thee in its bosom: and Earth hath ever nourished the changeless Godhead of Thy Youth!

14. Come Thou forth, I say, come Thou forth!

    And make all Spirits subject unto Me:

    So that every Spirit of the Firmament

    And of the Ether.

    And of the Earth.

    And under the Earth.

    On dry land

    And in the Water.

    Of whirling Air

    And of rushing Fire.

    And every Spell and Scourge of God the Vast One, may be obedient unto Me!

15. I invoke the priestess of the Silver Star, Asi the Curved One, by the ritual of Silence.

16. I make open the gate of Bliss; I descend from the Palace of the Stars; I greet you, I embrace you, O children of Earth, that are gathered together in the Hall of Darkness.

17. (A pause.)

18. The Speech in the Silence.

    The Words against the Son of Night.

    The Voice of Tahuti in the Universe in the Presence of the Eternal.

    The Formulas of Knowledge.

    The Wisdom of Breath.

    The Root of Vibration.

    The Shaking of the Invisible.

    The Rolling Asunder of the Darkness.

    The Becoming Visible of Matter.

    The Piercing of the Scales of the Crocodile.

    The Breaking Forth of the Light!

19. (Follows the Lection.)

20. There is an end of the speech; let the Silence of darkness be broken; let it return into the silence of light.

21. The speaker silently departs; the listeners disperse unto their homes; yea, they disperse unto their homes.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Beware of Deceivers

If any one cometh unto you, and bringeth not this teaching, receive him not into your house, and give him no greeting: — 2 John 1:10 | American Standard Version (ASV) The American Standard Version Bible is in the public domain Cross References: 1 Kings 13:16; Acts 15:23; Romans 16:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:14; Titus 3:10; 2 John 1:10

[gottawritesomething]

Cry 'Havoc!'

Chapter 2 of Pride cometh before the fall (Gale FIC) (2/?)

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11

Isabel breaks into Gale's Tower for tea, that's it. Send Tweet.

TW: Allusion to Mystra

Wizards of the Coast and I are nemeses, so there is a lot of non-5e-compliant magic stuff

________________________________________________________

"“I cannot believe her. How dare she? She, she…ugh!” Gale threw up his hands. 

“Not to state the obvious, but this is what happens when you invite a stranger to your home,” Tara replied simply. At this point, Gale couldn’t help but feel she was right. What did this girl think she was doing?

________________________________________________________

The day of tea arrived faster than Gale had expected. Gale, for his part, had made a valiant effort in cleaning the tower; it looked like an almost reasonable place to host someone. The morning of, he decided to concentrate his attention on the food for the afternoon. Tara lazily watched him from her perch on a kitchen shelf as he bustled back and forth between the pantry and the oven.

“Forgive an old tressym for prying further, Mr. Dekarios, but this does seem like an awful lot of effort for an acquaintance. I know you do like to put your best paw–or, in your case, foot– forward on impressions, but certainly, this woman must already know of you and your many talents. Why such a fuss?”

“I think you mean why such a fuzz, Tara.” Gale chuckled to himself, his head ducked inside the oven prodding some uncooperative coals. “I certainly do not!” Tara looked peeved. “Why, if I didn’t know any better, I’d assume you’d made a friend. A proper friend.”

Gale smiled to himself; Tara had been particularly insistent about forging bonds recently. However, the more time he spent in Mystra’s presence, the less the connection he felt with mortals going about their day-to-day.

“I don’t know if I’d describe her as proper —And I have only just met her; I will remind you.” Returning to his erratic darting about.

“All the same, I am thrilled for you. Furthermore, we’ll get to see her magical prowess on full display today.” Tara purred, strangely smug.

“To what are you referring, Tara?” Gale asked suspiciously; such smugness was rarely victimless.

“Oh, I assumed you’d intentionally left the protection wards in place.” Gale’s face drained, as he began vigorously shaking his hands clear of their coating of flour.

“Why didn’t you say something?! What time is it? What if I don’t have time to disarm them? Tara!”

“If she is timely, she should be arriving shortly,” Tara said, licking her paw absentmindedly.

⟺

Talia had found the tower with relative ease. Though ‘tower’ seemed to be a bit of a misnomer, it looked more like an unusually tall townhouse. It had a great many windows, and even from the approach the heavy saturation of magic was palpable. Though the location itself was lovely: right along the water facing the ports. As she neared the base of the building, a glowing purple figure waved cheerily at her, beckoning her over.

“Good afternoon, Gale of Waterdeep would like to welcome you to his illustrious home. He greatly regrets being unable to greet you in person, but I can assure you he will come to fetch you shortly once he’s attended to a minor predicament.” The Projected Image of Gale remarked cheerfully.

“May I ask what the predicament involves?” Talia knew this was likely an overstep, but curiosity had gotten the better of her—as it so often did.

“Suffice to say,  there were some barriers to making the tower a more welcoming place for visitors.” The projection was still smiling but Talia noted a slight edge to the response. There were any number of possible causes for the wizards' delayed arrival. Faced with a few options, and in part because of a vague disinterest in standing on a street corner awaiting a wizard, she pried just a touch more to confirm her suspicions.

“Did he leave the protection wards in place on the tower?” Talia ventured a guess.

The projection looked at her warily. “At this time, the renowned Gale of Waterdeep is ensuring you will have a safe and enjoyable visit.” 

Talia smiled graciously at the summoned figure. She was quite impressed by the level of articulation he'd managed to capture and imbue the projection with. But rather unfortunately for him, it was just a glorified calling card and could do nothing to physically bar her from action.

“While that is exceedingly thoughtful of him, tell him to leave them in place. I will find my own way into the tower.” Talia suspected that this was not what Gale of Projection wished to hear, and even less so what Gale—who if she recalled her studies correctly could see and hear through the figure as though he stood before her—wanted to hear. The smile on the projection had become strained.

“I must strongly advise against this course of action. The protections placed on this tower were hand-crafted by Gale of Waterdeep, Waterdeep’s foremost archmage. Any attempts to breach the tower will be met by your inevitable failure and possible harm. Please wait to be collected by Gale!” Talia had already begun to stroll away, leaving the bewildered projection of Gale in her wake. Barely bothering to look over her shoulder as she spoke.

“I appreciate the forewarning, and IF I fail, he’s most welcome to sweep in to save me.” Talia called back.

“Again, I must insist–” Talia waved her hand, coating the figure in darkness.

⟺

Up in the kitchen as Gale’s view of Talia darkened to black, he’d begun to pace in earnest. 

“Such...unfathomable obstinance! I cannot believe her. How dare she? She–she…ugh!” Gesturing wildly to punctuate the point before throwing up his hands.

“Not to state the obvious, but this is what happens when you invite a stranger to your home,” Tara batting at a dislodged dust mote with lazy disinterest. Gale typically resented her critiques at such dire intervals but at this point, Gale couldn’t help but feel his stalwart companion was right.

What did that blasted woman think she was doing? He’d divined that she contained a great many traits, but blatant foolishness was not one he’d noted. He had been clear to him upon their meeting, that however talented she was, they were not matched in ability. He had been foolish to assume she’d noted it as well. Attempts to break his warding could cause great harm to befall her. The more intricately designed spells could be outright fatal. And to add to the stack the indignities, she’d blinded his Project Image! That did point to an understanding of spell mechanic,s but some spell trivia was not going to save her. No, it seemed that that task would fall to him. He stood up from the table, looking down at the offerings he'd taken great pains to stage and carefully lay out… it would be a true shame to waste. 

He stalked to the window, glancing out, half hoping to see her walking away from the tower if good sense had won out. He blew air from his nose, frustrated. He’d find her, probably a step or two past his door, and send her promptly on her way. He cursed himself for being so trusting. Mortals did like to test their luck.

Behind him, the scones in the oven began to burn.

⟺

Talia was in fact, well aware that there was likely no way she could break the wards Gale had put in place. At least, not through brute strength. Her approach was instead informed by what had gotten her through schooling with wizards, (who'd at large, salivated at the prospect of her failure.) Creativity, an encyclopedic knowledge of spell after-effects, and most importantly, a considerable understanding of how wizards thought. It wasn’t their fault, she reasoned. Their casting necessitated linear procedures and clear rules. As a result, they tended to assume others would approach problems and solutions as linearly as they applied them. She suspected that were that ever to change en masse, rogues might be out of the job.

She stretched, checked that the darkness was still covering the projection, and began to wander around the bottom of the tower. First, she had to pinpoint where the kitchen was most likely to be. Wizards believed it was terrible manners to interrupt someone while eating, so that faux pas often led to fewer protections on the kitchen. He likely had wards against teleporting, mist, and phasing, she’d reasoned, so those were out. As she gazed up at the tower, she noted a window near the top that appeared to have steam or smoke rising out of it. A simple cast and she took off towards the window, hoping very much for her sake that it was not laboratory smoke. As she grew nearer, she hugged the wall as close as she could, not wanting to be spotted and for the game to be over. By the time she'd reached just below the window she had recognized the smell of burning pastries. Excellent.

She gambled that he, like most wizards, expected attempts to breach their towers to come from the entry or the roof. As such, most spells would be oriented in such a way to reflect that mindset. Additionally, (she very much hoped) they had been calibrated to focus on the direct impact of a spell. The appearance after a teleport spell, the mist form solidifying, etc. Cast, result. Most wards she’d encountered focused on those two steps. She was angling exclusively for the third step, resolution.

⟺

Gale sent out a begrudging Tara with a Scrying Eye to look for Talia when he hadn’t immediately found her begging an apology in the entryway. He'd been balancing hope that she’d perhaps given up and gone home with disappointment at a ruined engagement. He was stewing in self-pity when he heard a deafening grinding noise coming from his kitchen wall. He swung his head, seeing the edges of a corridor attempting to open up on the side of his tower. Gale assessed the rocky outcropping attempting to force its way into his tower, with a great deal of amusement.

“Did you honestly think I didn’t ward against a Passwall?” Gale shouted through the layer of wall still remaining.

“I was positive you had, actually.” He heard a muffled response. He considered peeling away the ward that was preventing the wall from fully opening, but the indignities he’d suffered were already too grievous. Gale was feeling exceedingly vindicated, on par with his immense relief she’d not been skewered on a trap elsewhere.

“So, shall we have tea through 3 feet of stone for the next hour until the spell fades?” He asked smugly, awaiting her muffled shouted response. “Pull up your chair, it seems to be between a rock and a hard place.” 

“No need; I’ll be with you shortly!” With that, Gale watched the edges of the corridor fade, marking the dissolution of the spell. She’d given up. As Gale had suspected she would. He stood, leaned out the window to call for Tara and turned back to the un-breached wall. Where Talia now stood leaned against it.

“That is not possible,” Gale said incredulously.

Talia attempted a nonchalant shrug while clearly warring with herself as her expression bounced from smug to apologetic. Gale strode forward with great purpose. Was this an illusionary copy? Had the corridor been an illusion? Had he not been so incensed, he might have noted that the woman looked vastly more put together than their first meeting. Her darkened copper curls were pulled slightly back, framing her face. she’d traded her plain black serving robe for a deep green velvet robe corseted with brown leather. He might have allowed himself to notice those things if he wasn’t battling his irritation.

“How?” He asked simply; other words may have been harsher than he’d liked. As the words left his mouth, the woman seemed to understand he'd not desired this test to his patience after graciously inviting her to his home. Though the more he considered it, the more he found the anger fading to be replaced by an insatiable need to understand how she'd outwitted the wards in place. Unfortunately he swore she'd watched the entirety of his emotional shift play out plainly across his face and seemed to be awaiting a gentler tone.

"By what means did you circumvent my protections?" He tried again, his tone leveling as his undeniable hunger for knowledge sparked curiosity behind his eyes. At his request she brightened considerably.

“When the passwall spell resolves, it was designed to prevent people from being caught inside the generated tunnel. So it deposits them to the nearest safe surface. I had also ended my fly spell, so outside the tower would have sent me plummeting down. As far as the spell was considered, inside was the safest place it could place me,” she carefully explained.

Gale was impressed. He didn’t particularly want to be. But as he considered her plan's mechanics, he felt the last of the anger slowly draining away. He wondered if he would have thought to exploit such ambiguity. He breathed out slowly, letting the tension slide from his shoulders. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Talia mirror his relaxation as he allowed an uneasy smile to return to his face.

“An unorthodox approach, but you did manage to gain entry as you said you would. However, I must insist in the future, if I ask something of you, know it is for your safety and not my vanity. I'm happy to draw a line under the matter and move forward. But from here on, please at least discuss it with me. Agreed?"

She seemed to mull his request over, looking down at her robes, and brushing them off before meeting his eyes again.

“That seems like a fair request. I apologize.”

Gale gestured to the seat across from him. Talia strode across the room and took the seat indicated.

⟺

Talia was feeling a bit light-headed. She knew that sometimes she pushed the boundaries of rules or flaunted authority, but she rarely felt poorly about doing so. She told herself that those instances demonstrate a point, highlighted a hypocrisy, and only occasionally was to prove she could. But she felt genuinely terrible. He’d invited her to his home, and she’d immediately beset him. She was somewhat shocked that he’d allowed her to stay. They had been chatting for a few minutes about her time in Waterdeep and his time at Blackstaff, and she'd seen no trace of his initial outrage. She glanced around the kitchen, which was gorgeous and well-stocked. Dark cabinets lined the walls, and a lovely brick oven warmed the room. The smell of the burnt scones (which Gale had apologized profusely for) had faded, leaving a woody, old library smell that seemed to waft from every open door. She suspected he might have a few in this tower. He was midway through an explanation of the sorting improvements he’d requested at Blackstaff’s biggest library when she heard a soft rustling from the window.

She’d heard of tressyms before but had never had the privilege of seeing one in person. Talia rose to her feet careful as to not startle it. She assumed it was Gale’s familiar but despaired at her lack of knowledge on Tressymspeak. She knew the tressym would be able to understand her but they could not converse. Carefully, she bowed to the cat perched on the window.

“Ah yes, Tara this is Talia, and though I am sure she appreciates the deference, there is no need to bow.” Gale chirped cheerfully.

“I'm showing appropriate respect to the owner of the tower.” Talia whispered, hopeful the air had cleared enough for teasing.

“Hmph, it appears she hasn’t died. A slight improvement over what I expected.” Tara said, eyes narrowing. Talia startled, took a small step back. She'd not heard of a tressym speak Common so casually.

“Don’t be surprised, dear. Some of us are capable of conveying our intentions and communicating properly. Present company excluded. Is it typical of you to risk a gruesome death just to show off?” Tara mimed a swat at her.

At this, Talia looked properly shamed. As Gale looked on, pleased that Tara’s scolding could subdue even this tempestuous force of a person.

"You'll have to excuse her, she can get rather fur-ious." Talia bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too widely, as Tara shot Gale a look that could have melted iron.

The rest of the lunch continued comparably uneventfully; Gale confessed to some of his wilder days at Blackstaff as Talia relayed incidents of Wild Magic gone awry. She’d gotten a hearty laugh from Gale by describing an unfortunately timed surge at a friend's wedding, resulting in a displaced best man and an invisible ring bearer. 

The conversation had soon drifted to the intricacies of The Weave, of which he spoke of with great fervor. His hands danced across the air as he gesticulated, describing how there was nothing else in the world he could ever imagine himself doing, that it consumed his every waking thought and drove him to the furthest reaches of the realm. A misty and earnestly hopeful look in his eyes as he spoke of how every form of art paled in comparison, that at any given moment, he could feel the essence of the arcane whispering in the breeze. Talia found herself once again struck by how heartfelt his sentiment seemed. His language was still decorated with the frills of esoteric wording, but his love for magic was evident and honest. She could not recall the last time she'd been in the company of someone who wore their heart so plainly on their sleeve. She smiled to herself, enjoying his words washing over her before realizing that Gale had been looking expectantly at her for some time. For a moment, he looked surprisingly bashful as if embarrassed by her attention returning to him, though quick enough that she almost missed it before his air of self importance returned to him.

"I suppose I bored you with my prattle. You'd hardly be the first to get overwhelmed by the breadth of my knowledge, and besides, what use does a sorcerer have for the world of the studied magics?" He smiled cheekily, his eyes squinting pleasantly.

“I spoke at great length about the divine organization of The Weave and the serenity it invokes in its artisans, some you've clearly experienced yourself. However, from what I've read, Wild Magic benefits from no such architecture, so indulge me. What is it like for you?"

There was such a shine to his eyes that Talia couldn’t bear to dampen his perception of her interaction with The Weave. In truth, she had extreme respect for The Weave as a structure and vehicle through which magic could be accessed but she’d prefer a physical painting to a conjured one. And Wild Magic was nothing like The Weave.

“I think the easiest visualization and explanation I’ve seen is that Wild Magic feels a bit like standing in the center of a raging river. One that has banks and deltas but has swollen with torrential rain such that it threatens to wipe away the very path it walks. It moves fast, faster than you can think, and with such power, so a portion of your focus is always on preventing being swept away. Everything around you changes with the rapidity of the current and your mood; there are no landmarks to commit to memory, no rocks to cling to. Intuitively, you know how many uses the water that storms around you has but you have to aim it to do so.

“Fascinating. I’ve read that particularly skilled Sorcerers can harness Wild Magic, in a manner of speaking.“ Gale prompted, leaning towards her. His eyes fixed on her,his enthusiasm incurably contagious. Talia felt a smile forming as she matched his posture, like they were sharing a secret.

“It requires extreme self-knowledge and trust in your ability while knowing your limits. You’re never going to shift the current, but you know how to angle yourself to impact the flow downstream. Not getting bowled downstream alone takes a strong sense of identity and an unwillingness to lose yourself.”

She watched him consider her words before he leaned back, musing. “For myself, The Weave acts as a brush pirouetting upon the canvas, a concert between the corporeal and the ineffable, unreplicable in feeling regardless of the consistency of the result.”

“If you’re not a wizard, what is your occupation then, Talia?” Tara interrupted, and both Gale and Talia turned to look at her.

“Oh, I am… an archeologist. Of sorts…”

“Mhm, and you don’t live in Waterdeep? Where do you call home then?” Tara asked with narrowed eyes at the unspecific nature answer but Talia knew an interrogation when she saw one.

“I tend to travel, seldom staying in one place for long. My research is typically fairly hands-on, so I go where I am needed. I actually procured a Pradler's Portable Room rather than continuing to maintain housing in all the cities I visit.” She offered, pulling a large gold key from her robes.

Gale looked at the unwieldy key with interest. “If I recall, you simply place a tiny doorway down and use the key to grow it to full size. Then, unlock a door into a demi-plane. I’d considered an attempt to create one for traveling." He seemed to be considering his next words carefully. "If you'd be amicable, I would greatly appreciate a tour upon your return to Waterdeep.” Talia smiled encouragingly at him, her smile attempting to disguise the knot in her stomach. The light between the shadows of the window pane cast his features in a warm glow. There'd not been shadows so deep when she'd arrived, but a glance towards the window confirmed that it was vastly later than she'd intended to stay. She rose from the table.

“Speaking of visits, this was a lovely one, but I’m afraid I must prepare for my departure tomorrow.” 

As she prepared herself to depart, words began to tumble from Gale’s mouth in rapid succession. “Of course, apologies for keeping you. Though I insist, if you are interested in a full-time position in Waterdeep, I would be happy to assist you. Perhaps another teaching position at Blackstaff? The curator at the Piergeiron Museum owes me quite a favor, I could introduce you. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a spell exhibition by the Sorcerer at The Field of Triumph; perhaps they’d be interested in your talents.” He took a quick breath in. “Regardless, feel free to alert me when you’re next in town.” His tone had smoothed out, returning to its normal cadence. Tara perched on his shoulders as they led her to the entry.

“And here is the landing which you miraculously missed visiting.” Gale shot her a bemused look as Talia shook her head.

“Thank you for the tea and the entertainment. Good evening to you both.” As the door swung shut, Talia heard a whispered indignation from Tara. “Did you think to mention that she was beautiful, this ‘friend’ of yours?”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Gale whispered back. With that, Talia took off into the night.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, (Next Chapter)>Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8, Chapter 9, Chapter 10, Chapter 11

Interested in one-shots instead? (List of All Current Works)

[dairy-farmer]

So here I am, feel free to ignore if I'm breaking any boundaries.

 Your story actually made me think of Tim’s process through the trauma and mainly how he processes most adult things. I do like soft, hurt, self-sacrificing Tim like any hot, red blooded fan, of course.

But let me argue that Tim Drake is not a child child, he has been his own responsible adult since he was six. He learned budgeting and bills and taxes and stranger danger and all the things adults eventually teach children from TV/the internet and he is not ashamed of it.

Kinda that when Jack and Janet left him alone with a housekeepr, he basically parentified himself.

So in comes the 12/13 year old who sees Batman tiptoeing the edge and goes: I can fix this dude so hard!

And yeah, Bruce is almost lost to his grief and barely conscious of the utter shitshow around him, “sure, whatever kid, be Robin, but train with other adults, I’m too broken hearted to adult right now. Oh, you learned from Alfred and Dick, great, Imma teach you and oh, you disappeared for a while, huh, you got even better, I wonder what you did, well whatever let’s go on patrol.”

And years pass, Bruce heals, he gets his family back, he gains allies and perspective.

And maybe one day he is high as a kite on some scarecrow or ivy drug or whatever, he beat the villain, he did the justice, weee~

And he realizes he is home and Tim’s tiny hand is pulling hin towards the bathroom and he is confused.

Tim, on the other hand, is so used to Bruce’s shit, that he simply taps him on the back of the knees to make him kneel by the toilet bowl and goes: “Okay, you feel up to puking on your own or should I make you?”

And Bruce is even more confused because his children usually weren’t like this, they were soft and depended on his stability, none of his children should see him this vulnerable.

And maybe he takes a little too long to reply because suddenly Tim is shoving two fingers down his throat while holding the back of his head and suddenly Bruce is vomiting and Tim pats his heaving back and makes sure none of it goes in his  hair while TSKING because “Really Bruce? Don’t be a baby, my hand can’t hurt that much, I’m like 13.”

And Bruce, for once, realizes he is not the parent in this relationship and he is not sure how it happened.

You can extrapolate Bruce Mommy/Daddy-issues Wayne would definitely fall for that scarily inteligent teen that has become his highly unimpressed new mommy if you like.

Or he simply tries (and fails) to parent this child who somehow doesn’t need him like Dick and Jason and Damian ever did and he is frightened that if Tim doesn’t need him he will leave.

Which is why Tim gets more benefits than Dick and Jason ever did at his age COMBINED.

A car? You got it.

A Ducatti? Red, black or both?

Your own team instead of integrating you to Dick’s? SURE THING!

It is quite telling that even if Dick is Bruce’s oldest adopted child and the one he is trusting the mission to, TIM is the one who is supposed to inherit the company and thus Batman’s biggest source of income and Bruce’s charity and social justice pet projects in case of Bruce’s death.

________________________________________________________________

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i just read the comment you left on ‘here cometh the iceman’ and i cannot tell you how happy i was to be greeted by this in my inbox!!!!!!! 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍 😍!!!!

i love your tim HC so much because it reallly does align with how he behaves so often! tim is a child who has, often, had to parent himself. in the comics it’s implied that the majority of his developmental years in school were spent in boarding schools where his only supervisors were teachers and the few adults whose job were to look out for them. but even then tim would’ve had to learn how to deal with a lot of things himself- he had to put himself to bed, decide what and how to regulate his diet, how to deal with interpersonal issues along with any tension that came with living with another kid his age. tim is essentially a young adult in a child’s body. and to contrast that is bruce. who arguably, while he is an adult, lacks a lot of the landmark developmental milestones that tim has already had (through no choice of his own). 

bruce has alfred as a kind of crutch so many of the “adult” things tim experienced were things he never learned or developed the skills for. hence why when they came together, tim who was the more responsible, mature, and developed “adult” took care of bruce. it’s such an upside down pineapple situation where bruce is the grown up but the child and tim is the child but the grown up. so tim caring for bruce like when he gets poisoned and needs to vomit, tim treats him like a child who has swallowed something he wasn’t supposed to. he falls into caring for bruce like it’s a routine and bruce is struck with the realization of what had been happening while his head was buried in the sand from his grief.

bruce has sooo many hangups about his parents and their deaths, his relationship with them has guided so much of his life and how he expresses (or doesn’t express) his love. alfred had cared for and loved him but always maintained him an arm’s length away perhaos out of respect for bruce and the relationship he had with his parents. but tim! tim treats him in that soft way his mother did, taking a rag and dabbing away the sweat from his brow when bruce starts sweating buckets after vomiting. so many things tim does for him reminds bruce so starkly of his mother and father and it kind of makes him uncomfortable but that feeling gets trampled by and is the reason he never puts a stop to it - he likes it. he likes being doted on and cared for, he like that tim feeds him warm broths, oatmeals, and chicken soup. he likes that tim presses featherlight kisses to his scrapes and cleaned wounds. with tim there’s no expectation of him to make the first move, be responsible, or be the parent. not like there was with jason or dick.

but there’s also the fact that bruce no longer offers something to tim. safety, protection, etc. the things you expect from a parent. tim doesn’t want them, in fact he’s the one who provides them because bruce startles awake from a bad dream and tim is already there to comfort him.

bruce attempting to become the parent in their dynamic similarly failing leaves him scrambling and leaves him scared about the fact that tim could leave him.

this fundamentally changing their dynamic is so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! its why tim gets more leeway than the others, why he’s treated differently and “allowed” so much independence. i think if jason and dick weren’t so preoccupied with their own lives and issues they might stop and be like “hey wtfff”.

tim and bruce’s relationship and dynamic is one of the most fascinating to me because the two of them are mirrors, foils, and almost caricatures of each other in some cases. the two of them share so much in common but are also fundamentally different people. if tim had been in bruce’s shoes from birth he would’ve likely followed the same path but been different. same with bruce. if he had been the little idealistic boy whose parents more or less neglected him, he would’ve followed the same path as tim had but been....different. the two of them are such good characters, their shared history and dynamic is fascinating and thank you so much for this really good deep dive into their character and relationship!!!!!!! it’s so good!!!!!!!!!!!!

[masonxmahir]

for: OPEN ! @lunarcovestarters ( but probs gonna cap at 5 or 6 soz ) location: the fool's stage

Nothing could've be greater to Mason than having been named Squiggles the Jester of Knock Knock and other Yoks, the smile that took over could rival the sun itself in its brightness. After having bowed deeply to the Royal Court, they set about place, jestering away and having a blast. "Greetings to thee fellow traveller," Mason squiggled closer to the gathered crowd, "I beest overjoyed thee has hath decided to wander here. Cometh hither, doth not be shy, doth thee knoweth yond the soundeth for the present day is a bell?" they said and shook their head so the little bells at the end of their hat could be heard, "Is that not most beautiful?" he added with a light laugh, "But that is not the treat here! To joketh or not to joketh, is the questioneth, to which the answer I leaveth with thee. Tis after all mine own duty in this ye ol faire but I dare thee, doth thee careth to shareth a joketh that shall knocketh mine own socks off? The most comical shall winneth a prize most lovely and thee can declare having skills akin to me," he stood taller and posed Superhero style, "Squiggles!"

[dramatic-squirrel]

Daminette December Day 5- Storybook/ Mayhem

@maribat-calendar-events

As Damian stepped off the plane, chaos greeted him. Wolves and fairies, pirates and angels, characters from a countless number of stories ran around. It didn’t take the world’s greatest detective to figure out that it was the work of an akuma. But what bothered Damian was how out of control the situation had become. The further he walked into Paris amidst the mayhem, the more he discovered the extent of the problem; nearly every citizen had been turned into a storybook character.

The more he saw, the faster he raced to the 21st arrondissement. The only explanation for why Paris was in such a state was that Marinette was in trouble. As he raced by, he saw castles and magical flowers, houses of gingerbread and giant shoes. In all honesty, the scenery would have made him nauseous if he had time to think, but fears for Marinette consumed his thoughts. 

It seemed like eons, although it was probably no more than an hour before Damian arrived in front of what used to be Sabine and Tom’s patisserie. Now it was a giant tower, covered in thorns. Thankfully, Damian had enough foresight to observe first before rushing in. A couple of minutes went by when a knight ran up to the tower. While the knight attempted to enter the tower, two foes suddenly appeared from within the former patisserie. 

A queen, with a dress of roses and thorns and a beast. No doubt Sabine and Tom, who had been affected by the akuma.

The knight steps forward announcing his purpose. “What ho! I have cometh to save thy cursed princess. Do thou be the monster I must slayest?” It seemed like the affected citizens were dedicated to playing out their role in the storybook. Although Sabine and Tom didn’t seem keen on talking as they quickly dispatched and beat the knight, Sabine by controlling the roses and Tom with brute strength. Two sentinels protecting the tower.

The short bout did confirm a few things for Damian. The first of which was that Marinette was in the tower. The second was that she was afflicted by the akuma before she could transform into Ladybug, or else Tom and Sabine wouldn’t be so protective. It also meant he couldn’t get in through the front door. Luckily, he always carried a grappling gun with him.

It took a bit of maneuvering but thankfully, the tower wasn’t impossibly tall, it let him reach a lone balcony facing the Seine. And on that balcony was Marinette as a princess, just like he suspected it would be. Not wanting to get the attention of her parents, or the akuma he whispered to her. “Marinette, you need to transform into Ladybug.”

Marinette acted a bit startled at the sudden appearance of a person on her balcony but she took it surprisingly well. “Ladybug? I’m not quite sure I know what you mean, grim stranger.” Her eyes seemed cloudy as if she wasn’t all there.

A sigh of exasperation left Damian’s mouth, it was just his luck that she wouldn’t remember anything. “Marinette, my name is Damian. I’ve come to help you. Do you have a pair of earrings on you by chance.”

“Ah, of course! You’re the knight meant to break my curse!” Marinette looked excited. “Now I won’t have to suffer anymore.”

The conversation was getting him nowhere. If she didn’t know where the earrings were, he couldn’t borrow them to transform. His only option was to play along. “Yes, I’ve come to break the curse. What is your curse, and what do I have to do in order to break it.”

“The curse?” Marinette didn’t say anything for a long time. “I’m not sure what the curse is, just that I am cursed. But it’s very simple to break. Like all curses, it can be broken with true love’s kiss.” She looked at him expectantly.

Was that all? A kiss? It seemed simply enough, but it felt wrong for some reason. And then it hit him that this wasn’t the solution to their problem. “Why do you need me to save you, Marinette?”

“What?”

“The Marinette I fell in love with never needed saving from me or anyone else, so why is it different for you, Princess Marinette?”

“Well, that’s because a curse can’t be lifted by one person.”

“But who said you needed to be free of your ‘curse’?” Damian took her hands in his. “You were never cursed. Clumsy, certainly, but cursed? Never. The miraculous never cursed you, they simply let you become who you’re meant to be.” He gave her a reassuring smile, and she sent a timid one back.

“Are you sure? I mean, I usually tend to screw things up.” Damian knew she was almost there, she just needed one more push.

“I’m positive. You’re Ladybug and you always fix things.” The fog cleared from her eyes and she finally took stock of where she was.

“Damian?”

“Yes, Angel?”

“Thanks for saving me.”

“I only helped. I’m sure you would have made it on your own in the end.” 

“Thanks anyways,” she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you later. Tikki! Spots on!” Taking on her usual role of a superhero, she left to go clean up the mayhem of the most recent akuma.

[kimberlyeab]

Thinking about doing a FFXIV fic and trying out a certain character dialog, let me know how i did :P

CW: Spicy scenario

"What do I look like?" Y'shtola asked.

It was a simple question but it caught Urianger wholly off guard.

Y'shtola smirked. "I know my aether but I haven't been able to see myself in years. And you have a way with words that I appreciate."

"I see…" Urianger trailed a hand upon her bare side. "Thine skin is as soft as soothing satin from a regal abode."

Y'shtola sighed softly, trembling.

"Thine body is a work of the greats, a fitting model that wouldst made an Allagan artisan green with envy to know thy were denied thine elegance," Urianger proceeded, pleased with her state. "And thine eyes are what cometh to mind when I think of beaut. A master of the seas couldst spent their entire life and never see pearls as winsome as the two that greet me with every morrow I awake with thee."

Y'shtola shivered.

"Dear Thancred, dost thou have anything to add?" Urianger asked.

Thancred began to draw away from his spot betwixt Y'shtola's legs. Only, the dear maiden placed a hand upon the back of his hand and forced him back down.

"Let's not… sully a good moment," Y'shtola teased. "His tongue is better suited elsewhere."