#The Kingdom of Heaven is Coming

[writermask-0807]

“heaven’s blessings.” {king baldwin iv x reader}

A/N: ahaha so yk how i said i'm gonna watch kingdom of heaven?? (it isn't available on bflix or any other website/app i checked 😭 someone pls help) i haven't yet 😅 (ALL HISTORIC AND KOH CRITICS PLS DONT COME FOR ME I DONT MEAN ANY HARM) so there's probably gonna be a lot of stuff wrong with this, and um. yk how i also said i was working on a koh fic?? yh this is not that one. for some reason i couldn't go any further than a couple of paragraphs, so here i am. with this absolutely shitty fic that looks even more horrible as I reread but. hope you enjoy?? 😭😭

warnings: hanahaki, some descriptions of hanahaki (?? it isn't that graphic or anything tho), also feel like i used 'bcos' too much, angst with no happy ending 😭 I promise the other one is happy!! 😭😭

word count: 322

thinking of king baldwin iv w hanahaki.

don’t you think that he would be the type that, as a man of strong faith, to think that this, too, is a blessing from god?

as a man of already frail health, this new illness is bound to take an even more horrible toll on his battered broken body;

taking root under his disfigured skin. fronds twining through his veins, greenery curling round his ribcage, twisting in his airways, stealing his very breath. blooming quietly in the darkness, petals like cremation ashes falling past his bruised lips like a prayer, some holy thing that can’t be attained.

because that’s what you are.

unattainable.

because knowing you - you with your tender smiles and your healing hands and your kind heart - you might probably still accept him, even with all of his ugliness, his ruined skin and broken bones, even with this blessing that’s really only a curse. but he can’t allow that. he can’t possibly be that selfish.

not to you, never.

it’s why he flinches away from your touch (no matter how much he yearns for it), soft and feather-light as it is, why he forces himself to look away from your wide eyes, your expression that’s hurt but you smile through it anyway because you wear your heart on your sleeve and you’re so gentle and kind and loving-

and he can’t.

and maybe that’s what his love for you is meant to be, in this lifetime. a love that seeps through skin and blood and bone. a love that lingers like an illness, because he can’t let you.

a blessing.

(and it’s only when the end is near that he gathers the delicate flowers into his arms, holds them close to his chest. this is the closest he can ever let you be.

and as his eyes flutter shut for the last time, he dares to hope-

perhaps, in another life.)

[incorrect-koh-posts]

I really like your interpretation of Saladin as a tired dad who doesn’t get paid enough for this shit, it’s genuinely delightful

Ahahaha, thank you, I'm glad we're in agreement there!

Saladin really doesn't get paid enough to deal with all this shit. I mean, not only does he have to shepherd all his troublesome family relations around (Taqi al-Din, Tughtakin, al-Afdal, al-Zahir ...), there are also those pesky Franks clinging to the Holy Land like barnacles to the hull of a ship. Ugh. Can a man not be a horsegirl and play polo in peace??

No wonder he developed such a magnificent side eye.

He is so majestic yet so utterly done(TM) and I want him to do unspeakable things to me.

[noomyguts]

half way through the vampire armand, and he loves love and god and family and the world, like can't emphasis enough how his love for others is repeated to be the direct connection to his humanity

hope nothing bad happens to rock the foundations of his very being

[love-others-despite-differences]

Not my usual kind of content at all however I just felt the need to remind you that GOD loves you

No matter what you faced or what you struggle with God will love you and stay by your side regardless. The devil will try to tell you that you’re the only one who struggles with this and that you need to bottle it up but the lord says that he is here and that he understands, we have a good and gracious God who we should never lose sight of. Don’t put off getting right with god until tomorrow, everyday is a gift

I’m not a Minster by any means but if you have any questions about God or what I have said feel comment (everyone is welcome to ask even if your not sure about being a Christian God still loves you and so do I, so ask away)

[holystormfire]

[wiirocku]

Matthew 19:14 (NIV) - Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

[soonsweetheart]

Triumphant.

That’s the word. The only one befitting enough to describe such massive, golden double doors that lead to paradise. The ones you’d imagine when thinking about the entrance to Heaven, except even more dazzling.

Hoards of people pushed through, squeezing their way inside and eagerly running towards whatever perfect pleasures awaited them. I even recognized a few faces, and weaseled my way into the crowd to try and catch up with them.

But then I heard His voice.

“Turn around.”

The words sent a small shiver down my spine, but I knew better than to disobey considering the trouble I’d gotten myself into before.

I turned around, but saw…nothing. I began to wiggle back out of the crowd, nearly getting trampled trying to fight the flow of direction. It was easier when I wasn’t surrounded; easier to hear, to see, to feel.

Finally my eyes landed on a small gate in the distance. It was not triumphant. In fact, one may have described it as rather drab, or dilapidated.

With one final glance at the triumphant double doors, so warm and enticing the invitation to paradise, I went the other way through the small gate. It felt wrong, as if I were fighting my instincts, but I followed the rocky and treacherous path.

It had dawned on me then that I was dead. Yet I had no memory of what had happened, the only thing in my mind was the sound of his voice guiding me through the narrow trail.

“Almost there,” he’d whisper, quietly leading me through the darkest valleys, providing a faint light at the end of the horizon. Yet with each step, the light grew brighter and more vibrant, like the sun…

Or maybe it was just Him.

“There you are,” he let out a soft sigh of relief, enveloping me in his arms. I was confused, unsure how the path away from paradise lead me to him, but I didn’t question it. Not now at least.

It was easy to melt into his touch, and graciously receive the hug I had only dreamed about all my life.

“It’s really you,” I whispered in disbelief, peering up into his eyes. His eyes were like fire. Looking into them made it clear how impossible it was to capture his appearance accurately in scripture. He was too beautiful.

He knew my thoughts, the flames of his irises shifting to a soft ember. “I’ve been waiting for you, sweetheart,” he whispered, looking into my eyes as if I were the beautiful one.

I’d never felt more beautiful than when He looked at me like that.

His fingers, warm and reassuring, grasped my hand and led me deeper into the warm atmosphere, and the sight put my previous understanding of paradise to shame.

Because it wasn’t riches or glory like I’d imagined, but rather…perfect love. His perfect love.

“So this is what home feels like.”

Inspired by Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”

Do not be deceived.

[metatrons-heavenly-kingdom]

@sliceocheese welcome to the Metatron's Heavenly Kingdom! Feel free to enjoy yourself! And don't mind that everythings a tad bit singed presently.

Let me know what your big desire is and we'll see if I can make it happen!

[tilbageidanmark]

(All the other memes I made..)

[jeandejard3n]

Jesus: Son of God

[the-monkey-ruler]

I was reading some Chinese texts and stories, and I have seen that while the immortals have their magic, they despise sorcery. Why is sorcery seen as negative by immortals and why are they different? (like, I think it's mentioned that Shen Gongbao relied more on sorcery even thought he has an immortal teacher)

I'm afraid I don't quite understand the English difference of how 'sorcery' and 'magic' are different things let alone how the translator from what you read translated the original characters. I have never seen any king of cultivation in Daoism being translated as 'sorcery' so I can't say what really say what the original characters could be talking about. It could be talking about 巫术 which I think sometimes include blood rituals but never seen in stories as something ‘bad’ or even acknowledged in Daoist stories. If anything, I think they were more regarded as doctors with unusual methods and fairly good with technology. But I really only seen it to describe Western wizards/witches the most so I cannot say how mush it is used in Daoist stories.

As far as I have been aware Shen Gongbao uses cultivation just as any other immortal and I do not think that he has ever killed/taken his cultivation from any other living creature. That is the only thing I can assume would be 'bad' as it is feeding off another's life force or perhaps even just meaning 'using cultivation for trouble.' I recall that most of his 'evil' deeds come more from Shen Gongbao's ability to manipulate people are his words and being a vengeful man rather than anything dark with his cultivation.

The best guess I can give you is that Shen Gongbao in your translation is the bad guy of the narrative and thus the term 'sorcery' has negative implications in Western term and that is why it is used. Similar to how 'fairy' is used for 仙 when 'immortal' is more proper but this chance depends on whether the immortal is a woman or not.

You can take a read yourself but I think it is just a translation preference.

"Taoism branched from witchcraft. During the Jin and Tang dynasties, due to the participation and compilation of literati and the absorption of a large number of Buddhist scriptures and theories, the original religious form of witchcraft and Taoism became theorized, and Taoism developed a large distance from witchcraft. Taoism has since risen to the level of the upper ruling class, while shamanism has continued to flow among the people. Since the ruling class in history banned witchcraft and " obscene sacrifices" from an orthodox position, the survival of witchcraft has become very difficult. Therefore, witchcraft began to seek survival and a way out. First of all, it was to get closer to Taoism. So that the people also agree that they belong to Taoism. As this development continued, witchcraft and Taoism gradually merged, forming a form of shamanism consisting of both witchcraft and Taoism, and the "two gates of Taoism and Law", namely internal witchcraft and external Taoism.

First of all, shamanism must identify Taishang Laojun , the ancestor god of Taoism , as its leader to confirm that shamanism also belongs to "Laojun's religion" or "Laojun's sect". So based on the legend of Laozi , I compiled the origin of Taishang Laojun, thinking that witchcraft became the original version of Taoism. In addition to moving Taishang Laojun, Zhang Tianshi , Sanqing , Sanyuan, Sanguan, Wuyue , Sidu , Xuantian God and many Taoist gods were also moved into the witch altar, and they were named "Taishang Wuling Laojun" Or "The Supreme Three-Yuan Heart Zhengfa", "The Supreme Five Thunder Purple Micro Thunder Court" and other titles were listed on it, and they absorbed a large number of Taoist scriptures such as "The Supreme Sutra of Changing Purity", "The Supreme Xuantian Miao Sutra", "Tai Shang Zi Wei Treasure Repentance", "Tai Shang Laojun Xing Treasure Repentance", "Three Officials Sutra", "The Three Officials of Heaven, Earth and Water to Eliminate Disasters and Sinless Confessions", "Eleven Days", "South Dou Sutra", The Beidou Sutra and other sutras and confessions are enriched in the witchcraft and Taoist altar with Taoist rituals.

- "A Discussion on the Formation of Witch-Tao Culture in the Symbiosis Cultural Circle" by Ye Mingsheng

[fortune-maiden]

Random TGCF Thought of the Day

The urge to frankencanon Ling Wen’s revised backstory to keep all the cute moments with Bai Jing but still have Ling Wen be actively responsible for Jing Wen’s pseudo-death and somewhat responsible for Xuli’s downfall

(preferably with swd & pm’s backing)

[incorrect-koh-posts]

"[...] narrative interest in Kingdom of Heaven focuses not on the outcome of the conflict between the Crusader Kingdom and Saladin but on the way it was fought, on means rather than ends, performance rather than goals. In the end, how the hero performs is more important than the fact that he lost the battle and surrendered the city. [...]

"Scott perhaps best encapsulates the anxieties that surround hard-bodied masculinity and the mourning for its loss in his uncanny image of Baldwin, the leper king of Jerusalem, whose death precipitates the destruction of the Crusader Kingdom. Rather than focusing the audience's attention on the ravages of the disease of leprosy (at least until after his death), Scott depicts him in a funereal image of a male body swathed in white robes and veils, his face hidden by a beautiful but lifeless silver mask. Baldwin is beautiful but inanimate on the outside - a hard-bodied shell - living but hideous on the inside. His voice detached from his body, Baldwin becomes a ghostly acousmatic, despite his physical presence onscreen. His voice seems to issue from an inanimate shell, cut off from its origin in a human body. He is his own - and his kingdom's - funeral effigy. In this figure the hard-bodied masculinity of the crusaders in Kingdom of Heaven is exposed as a performance, a disguise that hides the rottenness within the kingdom beneath its beautiful but dead veneer. The image allows not only the crusaders but Scott's audience to mourn lost glories."

- Laurie A. Finke and Martin B. Shichtman, Cinematic Illuminations: The Middle Ages on Film, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010, pp. 231f.

[love-others-despite-differences]

[holystormfire]

[garbagequeer]

WRONG. riverdale famously reached its prime with the super`powers. you have now destroyed your root chakra. you are not going to make it