#a fork in the road

[verycherie]

Arthur morgan the sigmaest sigma

[a-mimsy-borogove]

Defiance

(This is the initial idea that spawned a story I'm writing, about Humanity fighting to survive the Biblical apocalypse. I want to have it finished for the end of Writing Month, as my first real project, but I thought id share this here in the meantime. Please let me know what you think!)

The woman looked up at the face of God. 

EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW.

Countless times she had heard this, and refused. 

Every knee shall bow before the end. The corollary, in her eyes, was clear. 

She could not beat Him. Physically, logistically, ontologically, she could not. Against God Almighty, no mortal could stand. His angels alone held power beyond human comprehension. 

But He did not control her. 

No, she could not beat Him. But she could defy Him. And for Humanity, that would be victory enough. 

The woman looked up at the face of God, and again said simply, "No."

[kwebtv]

Season 1 Episode 5

Stagecoach West - A Fork in the Road - ABC - November 1, 1960

Western

Running Time: 60 minutes

Written by D. D. Beauchamp and Mary M. Beauchamp

Produced by Vincent M. Fennelly

Directed by Thomas Carr

Stars:

Wayne Rogers as Luke Perry

Richard Eyer as Davey Kane

Robert Bray as Simon Kane

Jack Warden as Stacey Gibbs

Jack Elam as Clell

Richard Devon as Ohio

Joseph V. Perry as Somerset

Riley Hill as Marty

Olan Soule as Cal

[wangxianficrecs]

a fork in the road by dragongirlG

a fork in the road

by dragongirlG

M, <1k, Wen Zhuliu

Summary: The day that Zhao Zhuliu turns fifteen and receives his courtesy name, his father pulls him aside and says, "There is a secret you must know." A Wen Zhuliu origin story, in which Zhao Zhuliu inherits his late mother's core-melting ability and promises his father he will never use it. When he breaks this vow, both of them suffer the consequences. He finds an unexpected savior in Wen Ruohan.

Kay's comments: I have a weakness for Wen Zhuliu and I'm always curious how people make up his origin story, so I really enjoyed this one! Heart-breaking for Wen Zhuliu and ah, it makes so much sense!

Excerpt: And Zhao Zhuliu's throat grows tight with fear. For in addition to his golden core--pulsing bright and strong within him—there is something else he has noticed in his lower dantian. A dark hunger that flows sinuously alongside his spiritual energy—never hurting it, or corrupting it (not yet, not yet)—but desiring it with a hunger that never seems to cease. "You know," says his father from the shadows. "You have it." Zhao Zhuliu nods slowly. "Yes," he says, barely a whisper.

pov wen zhuliu, graphic depictions of violence, murder, assault, father-son relationship, family secrets, canon compliant, golden core destruction, whump, @dragongirlg-fics

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[sparksofcalliope]

Two Poems by Mike Hall

#poetry #poems #poetrylovers #SparksofCalliope #PoetryCommunity

A Fork in the Road Forks in the road come and go, choices made on which path to take, life decisions impacted by the choosing. The pain from insults . . . from unwarranted blame, heaped upon a fragile spirit, leads to such a fork . . . but which path to take? One leads to resentment – a slow burn building into rage – the flames of wrath – all consuming –      burns the “f” from…

[puppyeared]

so a few things

my brother and i have our rooms facing each other he recently got a mood light installed and he can change the color his favorite color is purple

which would normally be. FINE but every time i walk to my room its just been this

[artbyblastweave]

Easily one of my favorite parts of the original Spider-Gwen run is that in this counterfactual universe where Frank Castle didn't take his kids to the park that fateful day, he instead ends up as a divorced cop estranged from his family and also the CEO of police brutality

[reality-detective]

Have you asked yourself any questions at all about Trump's hat?

Make note that he was the 45th president but it doesn't have an and(&) in between the 47. So if it's a dash/hyphen, that actually means through 47. He is a wartime president which has extended his duty through executive orders. He's showing you what is happening in plain sight, he just stepped out so the military can take care of the enemy which is within our own government.

He is the "Commander in Chief" and is showing the public where the corruption is and if you can't pick up the clues... You better wake up and stop following the lamestream herd everywhere they want you to go.

It's gonna get real within the next few months. The "Long Black Train" is coming to the fork in the tracks. You better know which way you want to go.

You can go left where nothing's right or you can go right where nothing's left. I'm going to the right and rebuilding what's not right.

The devil's drivin' that "Long Black Train" 🤔

[arthursfuckinghat]

The Stag 𑁦𐂂𑁦 Saint Denis

[vandaliatraveler]

Thomas and Douglas share a common legacy as historic coal mining and lumber towns, both of which reached their zeniths in the first half of the 20th century. The artifacts of area's industrial past, some of which are now being reclaimed by nature, are still evident along Douglas Road, which forks out of Thomas and follows the North Fork of the Blackwater River to Douglas. These include the beehive coke ovens that once lit up the night nonstop to produce coke for local blast furnaces. In addition to the abandoned structures, a number of coal company buildings have been preserved and added to the National Register of Historic Places, including the Davis Coal and Coke Company Administrative Building and the Buxton & Landstreet Company Store, which is now home to the Buxton & Landstreet Gallery and Studios. The area's bittersweet past includes a legacy of human exploitation and racial injustice. Like its brethren, the Davis Coal and Coke Company paid its miners in company scrip that was only redeemable at the company store, which charged inflated prices for goods and ensured it could reclaim their wages at a premium. The area was also home to the Coketown Colored School, a segregated school at the center of an important civil rights victory in 1892, when Carrie Williams, a teacher at the school, teamed with J. R. Clifford, the state’s first African-American lawyer, to defeat an effort by Tucker County to reduce the school’s term. The victory ensured equal pay and terms for African-American schools in West Virginia. The Coketown Colored School closed in 1954 when segregated schools were found unconstitutional.

[conceptofjoy]

[thedivine-feminine]

Take me back

[a-mimsy-borogove]

Crossroads: Part 1

This is the first part of my story about Humanity fighting off the Biblical apocalypse! I'm expecting it to have between 3–5 parts, but I hope to do more with this setting. This is also my first writing project, so please let me know what you think! I'm happy to hear feedback.

Also, TW: Religion, end-times; this deals a Lot with both of those, even if the goal is to overthrow them.

***

“Six of the Bowls have been poured, Lucifer’s army is massing, and our team estimates we barely have a week until the Second Coming. Everyone, we are running out of time.”

At the Coalition for the Preservation of Humanity’s conference table, Dr. Alex McKenzie, the lead Applied Theology researcher, presented their team’s findings. 

“Our efforts at defying prophecy have been growing more strained. While the supernatural disasters have been occurring as Revelation predicted, during the early years the population at large seemed to be resistant to prophetic inertia—the Red Horse’s effect was largely nullified due to the people’s general reluctance to fight each other in the face of a greater enemy. Since the Bowl Judgements began, though, that desire is being twisted. The Antichrist’s claims of waging open warfare on Yahweh have been drawing people to his cause—a cause all evidence suggests is futile. If Revelation is to be believed, which we have little reason to doubt by now, Yahweh is going to annihilate everyone who joins him—a death toll that will dwarf every war we’ve ever fought. 

“You know all of this. But the open question is why. We had initially assumed the Antichrist simply seized the opportunity, jumping on the people’s desires for revenge for his own ends. But we’ve found that might not be the only factor. Our research suggests Yahweh is taking a more direct role, in the face of His plan being derailed, influencing the people to join the opposing force.”

There was a general sound of assent throughout the room. Everyone there had been briefed on basic theological knowledge, and the story of Pharaoh rang in their minds.

”Perhaps the more important question, however, has been how is our group still in existence, rather than having been smote by providence. We believe we have found out why.”

Another murmur went through the assembly. Humanity was strapped for advantages, and knowing what was keeping them alive seemed as good of one as any.

“We theorize that Yahweh is bound by prophecy as much as He makes it. Yahweh hasn’t struck us with lightning because He never said He would.”

That got a reaction from everyone in attendance, with the crowd erupting into gasps and shouts.  

“Never said He would?!” One member spluttered, “Half of the Book is Him declaring the fate of his enemies!”

“Not quite,” McKenzie replied. “Yahweh talks at length about the fate of the followers of the Antichrist and Lucifer, but it’s always been that simple Us vs. Them dichotomy. He never accounted for a third party stepping in, and that keeps us from being obliterated or turned to the Antichrist’s side.”

Another member spoke up, “That’s all well and good to keep us alive, but how does this help us win?”

“What happens when you give a computer input it doesn’t expect?”

“It crashes,” he said automatically, before the realization hit him. “You’re saying… we’re going to BRICK Yahweh?

“Exactly. Yahweh isn’t like a simple computer program—He exhibits too much agency for that. Rather, think of Him as the most advanced AI in the universe—He can rewrite His own “programming,” which in this case is prophecy, but He’s still bound by it until He does. So we’re not going to give Him a chance to do so.”

“Why will this work? We’ve been trying to throw off prophecy for the last 7 years, and everything is still happening more or less on schedule.”

“Because this time, we’re not allowing for an interpretation of our actions as fulfilling the prophecies. We’re going to do something that disrupts the script completely and irreparably, and that will give us the opening we need.”

At that, McKenzie finally grinned. 

“We’re going to kill the devil.”

[smitten-miqitten]

Because I'm evil, a little headcanon for my Lavellan and Cullen:

Throughout Inquisiton Cullywully is down bad for Lavellan, but she's into Solas. No prob, he knows how to be respectful and professional and keep his crushes to himself. They still grow close, she helps him through lyrium withdrawal, he looks up to her, they play chess together frequently, etc etc.

Solas 'dumps' Lavellan for reasons unknown and baffling to everyone, given how very obviously he still cares for her. Lavellan is extremely sad and angry and embarrassed and emotionally closed off. Cullen doesn't touch this situation with a ten foot pole because he's not a moron. He's supportive but not stupid.

But then Solas is gone.

A year goes by.

Then two.

Lavellan and Cullen still play chess frequently. They talk about their families. His siblings are teasing him about settling down. Maybe Leliana and Josie are wink wink nudge nudging the pair, hoping Curly could fix what Chuckles broke.

Cullen caves and makes the ask. Can there be something here? Can they be more?

Lavellan politely declines. There's not nothing reciprocated. She thinks that, maybe, if any number of things had gone differently she could have said yes. But she's still hopelessly in love with Solas, which only gets reinforced in the most heartbreaking way in Trespasser. She can't in good conscience accept Cullen's heart when her own heart is outside her chest, off doing nefarious things to the Veil.

But because it's a 'No' tinged with the slightest bit of 'Yes', Cullen has in his secretest heart of hearts the littlest bit of hope that her mind might one day change. And this hope persists for ten years as she occasionally helps with his ex-Templar rehab center and they chat and play chess and his siblings like her oh so much. She's never anything but friendly, and he never asks again, but the hope remains like an ember.

Until one day, Inquisitor Lavellan goes to Minrathous and never returns. She goes to Minrathous and leaves Thedas forever and finally finally that tiny bit of what could be dies on the vine.

[alexsiple]

you say y-e-s to everything / will that guarantee you a win

[transingthoseformers]

I just realized that, by reconning his implied death in the tfp epilogue, rid15 robbed Starscream of his ghost shenanigans he deserved