#fire must rain and suffering must be destroyed

[divinehellbeast]

the sun spoke to me

[gemsofgreece]

You really should know about Storm "Daniel"

Unlike how much all of us Greek blogs notify our tumblr communities about the regular (at this point) arsons wildfires afflicting Greece, we did not say much about the floods the country has been suffering from right now. There was a mention here and there and I even made a joke post as the storm was starting but not a lot of stuff in general. So, I think there's a couple of things you should know and I feel like I could address about it and actually it's not just about Greece. So I believe this could interest a lot of people and it should be something known worldwide.

In the beginning of September there was an alarm about an extreme weather phenomenon forming above the Ionian Sea at the west of mainland Greece. In truth, the phenomenon was not caused by the climate change. It was just a very rare occurence where a high pressure atmosheric system was sandwiched between two currents of low pressure. Low pressure systems are the ones resposible for stormy weather while high pressure systems generally create stable weather. As the low currents encircled the high pressure system, the storm that had started forming became unusually stable for a storm. As a result, the storm moved northeast above Thessaly and other regions of the central part of Greece and... just decided to stay there for an indefinite amount of time. Furthermore, because it's September and the Ionian Sea had warmed up throughout the summer, the medicane (Mediterranean cyclone) gained tropical features as it was forming, pushing its intensity to extremes unknown to this area.

The storm remained above all of central Greece for about 4-5 days but at the meantime it was causing side-storms in neighbouring countries, such as Bulgaria and Turkey. Both countries suffered from floods causing damages and deaths.

Istanbul, Turkey (CNN).

Tsarevo, Bulgaria (CNN).

Four people died in Bulgaria and seven in Turkey.

But like I told you the core of this was exactly on top of Greece's central mainland and islands. So what happened there? I happened to experience this shit first hand. My recollection of it is that it was unlike any other storm I had experienced before. My knowledge on meteorology is not very advanced, however I believe due to the high pressure part, there were actually no winds at all - or they were insignificant, so it wasn't like what you might have in mind as a conventional cyclone. It was a rainstorm but it was like a rainstorm from hell. The crucial part is that in Greece summer violent rainstorms may last for about five minutes but certainly not for five days nonstop. There was no pause, not even for a second. It kept pouring and pouring in indescribable volumes, without decreasing or slowing down, not for a moment. The fourth day it started taking short breaks.

As a person with a phobia of lightnings since childhood, I kept wearing earplugs throughout all these days. For four days, ten seconds did not pass without at least one lightning shrieking exactly on top of our heads. In the end, I am dead serious, I think my lifelong phobia has been cured somewhat due to this extreme exposure that eventually had a numbing effect. I think only the first day there was a record of 7,000 lightnings. I believe there must have been dozens of thousands overall. The lightnings also caused fires but the downpour was so overwhelming no fire could ever stand a chance.

Whether during or after the rains, what I was seeing outside was post-apocalyptic. The only thing missing was the zombies. It really looked like a background from a videogame, including a constantly lit up sky. I was not in danger though people dear to me were. The worst for me was a huge fall in the quality of living but that doesn't matter. The rains caused severe destructions across cities and villages. They caused floods, they broke bridges, they broke a massive number of roads, they made walls collapse, they destroyed springs, they damaged water and electricity outlets entirely, they drowned flocks and flocks of animals, they destroyed mountainous and coastal villages alike, they made cars float and fly over each other and they uprooted houses.

Village in Mount Pelion, Greece.

But that's not the end of it. Four days later, the storm moved southwest towards the Ionian sea, basically to the place of its original formation. It side-swept over Athens in the meantime, flooding the city, but that doesn't mean much since I could cry and Athens would still flood with my tears. Anyway. AFTER the storm left, the floods caused by it started multiplying and expanding. Picture that: a crystal clear sky, a bright sun and your phone screaming state alerts about evacuating your village or town because a lake has launched at you! Here's the thing: Thessaly is a massive plain surrounded by a ring of mountains. Half of those downpours fell right on the lowlands causing floods and destructions the first days. The other half however fell on the mountains, filled the streams heading down and they all met up and filled the lakes and the large river of Thessaly, Pineios and they all basically exploded the next days. Pineios especially exploded both in its western and eastern part, sinking the entirety of Thessaly's plains under water. As a result, floods were actively taking place days after the storm had ended and the weather was good. The phenomena have only started subduing since yesterday.

The overflowing of the river, trapped by the mountains.

Farmers won't be able to work this year and next year is questionable as well. There are huge concerns about various epidemics breaking out as more and more dead animals are found in the waters. Entire villages are under the water. There are estimations that some villages in west Thessaly might have been lost forever and their residents will have to move elsewhere. Sixteen people have died from the rainstorm and the floods.

Actual villages in Karditsa, Greece.

A more longterm danger is that the ground received such an unnatural amount of water that it might have been severely eroded and destablised, making it vulnerable to natural disasters I don't want to utter. Many roads are either broken or bloated and Thessaly has been cut out from communication and transportation with the rest of the country. To this day, there are maps guiding people how to drive from North to South Greece and vice versa by entirely skipping Central Greece! (Hint: they will have to drive through Epirus, aka western Greece.) The first days there was also complete isolation from what was happening in the country and the world and also the very regions we were in as we had no electricity and our only chance was getting a call from somebody being elsewhere and telling us what is going on.

Volos, Greece (CNN)

Many regions have received within 2-4 days 55 times their monthly amount of rain or more than twice the yearly amount. Greek meteorologist Christos Zerefos estimated that such a phenomenon occurs every 300-400 years. Meteorologists were alarmed internationally - with Germans and Americans reportedly saying they hadn't studied such a phenomenon again in their career. Its intensity was record high in the history of Greece and right in the top of Europe's as well. They also agreed that such a phenomenon would be devastating even if it had hit the most advanced and prepared country.

BUT THIS IS NOT THE END. The weakened Daniel seemed to slowly move towards South Italy but it decided to take a turn and headed south towards Libya and Egypt. Quite possibly, as the storm was once again travelling across the warm Mediterranean Sea, it was rejuvenated and gained even more tropical traits. Eventually, the medicane hit Libya with unprecedented force.

The cyclone travelling from Greece to Libya.

The toll it took on Libya is unspeakable. As I am writing this,

More than 5,226 people are killed and more than 10,000 are currently missing.

Like, can you wrap your head around what I am talking about? I don't see this shit being acknowledged enough across the world. I am checking this again and again, to ensure I am reading this correctly.

Daniel has officially become the deadliest medicane on record.

Eastern Libya, from Al Jazeera.

In the meantime, Greeks found opportunities to practice their favourite sport: political infighting. People who weren't even here when hell broke loose say that if this or that was properly done, we would not have problems at all. I even saw an idiotic Greek expat comment how "we got drowned in a little bit of rain". The truth is we should bloody thank our lucky stars and I say this with the entire awareness of half of Thessaly being currently underwater. It is true that Greek governments and people have done so many things badly, like building on top of streams and rivers, changing rivers' natural route, drying up natural lakes and all that shit that guarantees you are going to have massive problems once a serious storm breaks out. Also, the disaster revealed that there was once more a very questionable management of all the money given by the EU for anti-flooding measures after a previous flood (Ianos). Of course, I would be happy if at last we viewed this disaster as an opportunity to improve ourselves and the management of our land, however whatever happened these days wasn't the fault of anyone in particular. On the contrary, A LOT worse could have happened. A lot. Maybe Libya is not an indication because if Greece is not used to such extreme rain phenomena, then Libya is probably ten times less used to them, however we should not forget that this monster was STUCK at least five days over the heartland of Greece. For this alone we should damn be thankful we did not get it any worse and that the land endured in any way and of course now we have to correct old mistakes as well but let's do it united and determined and without wasting time once more in pointless infighting, which in this case might even be unfair. (In fact I think the thing we should blame the state the most about was not making it clear beforehand that this was going to be unprecedented, not just "very severe". They probably didn't want to cause panic and mayhem but still. We should know.) Of course I am not talking about how the state will treat the afflicted regions from now on, which is entirely its responsibility. And we should stand next to Libya. Greece has its wounds to mend but it should absolutely provide support to Libya. We know what this freak phenomenon was like.

I know this text is long but please consider reblogging this. We should know what happens on our planet. Thousands of people are dead from a freak phenomenon devastating regions across lands and seas. Also forgive any mistakes I might have made although I believe the information is correct for the most part. I didn't speak more about Libya because I don't know enough to analyze the situation as much. Perhaps there are ways of supporting the country too. As a last note, this phenomenon was not freakish because of the climate change - it was just a very unusual occurence. However, the - otherwise normal - warmth of the sea did feed and intensify the storm and the climate change might in the future cause these super rare, accidental phenomena to become more frequent.

[catulhu333]

Khaine and Khorne being directly stated to be the same

While this is an often discussed theory, or that the two are at least closely connected, and many hints of it in lore/fluff, there are at least two instances in canon were this was directly stated. First one is very old, from the 1988 article "Witch Elves!" in White Dwarf #108: "The Kryrnaa are an ancient order, founded during the early dark days of the building of Naggarond. They had turned from the worship of Slaanesh soon after their exile from the Elven Kingdoms, and, still drawn by the allure of Chaos, took the murderous Khaine as their new Master. For many centuries the Krynaa were a secret order, their name heard only in the whisperings of dark passages, but their numbers slowly grew. And as the Krynaa increased in strength, there came the inevitable conflict with the Dru Perim. For Khaine is that aspect of the Blood God recognised by the Druchii, and the Blood God, known to other races as Khorne, is the sworn enemy of Slaanesh."

The second time, is much newer excerpt, from 2006's Liber Chaotica:

"Of Pleasure And Rage

Behold! For I speak to you from the Shadows - the Great Darkness, that gives meaning to all Light. At the heart of this Realm, shrouded and unclear, stands the Powers of Chaos, locked in each other's embrace, hated lovers and eternal companions.

These Four are like points upon a compass - none are close and some are opposite. War and Pleasure are two such opposites, facing each other across eternity, hating and warring, two ideals seperated by an impassable gulf of Belief and Purpose. For Khorne is discipline, hardness, suffering and rage, while Slaanesh is indulgence, beauty, ecstasy and lust. Their opposition is carved upon the knucklebones of fate and conflict can be their only recourse.

Yet how mightier is Khorne than his delight-filled sibling! Oldest of gods and greatest of warriors, Khorne's armies stretch from infinity to infinity to infinity and the Pleasure God may not rival Him. But this was not always so. For in the days when the Slaanesh, Last Born and Most Beautiful, strove for existence, His power waxed stronger than all other gods, be they seperate or together, and it seemed as though His spiteful triumph would destroy the Balance in the Warp.

But as is ever the case, Khorne was there to stem the flow of Delight. He saw the growth of His youngest sibling, and hated Him even before his birth. With His mighty arms, Khorne sought to crush the life from Slaanesh before He had even left His womb, but the war god had not counted on the passion of Slaanesh's creators, and the harder He squeezed the greater the pressure became to drive His arms apart.

The war god fought on. He sought to give all mortals time to bring an end to their corrupting decadence - the decadence that fed the nascent Power that was Slaanesh. But mortals are weak as gods are not, and though some used the time bought for them by Khorne to learn from their wicked ways, many others did not and sank ever deeper into indolence and debauchery.

Slaanesh's tempermental screams and self-tormenting nightmares echoed through the Aethyr, and insanity bloomed on every world. Terrible storms raged throughout Heaven and Hell, and rains of fire lashed across Khorne's back, but His grip ever stayed firm around His embryonic sibling. Freezing winds tore at His face and floods of poison crept up His legs, yet still the War God would not let go.

Then His brother came upon the scene. Decay stood there beside War.

"Give up," sighed Father Nurgle. "Give into what must be. It is the nature of things that morals decay and cultures must rot. Mortals cannot leave their destined path."

Khorne turned away from His brother and grasped His wrists all the tighter. Then a gust of coloured light brought there to the brothers the Changer of Ways, and Tzeentch gazed upon the War God with amusement and disdain.

"End this," he hissed. "For it must come to pass. Change is the constant that cannot be changed. We Three must be Four, so the Game has demanded. Be it now, be it later, our sibling must come."

But Khorne would have none of it. He rorared His fury until the universe shook, and the foundations of All That Is, All That Was, and All That Shall Be, threatened to crumble. His brothers left Him then, one with a sigh and one with a chuckle, for both knew that the ending was close.

Upon the Mortal Plane the wars had all ceased. All morals and laws had rotted away, and the change to conceit was almost done. The Three wavered as decadence took hold, and Slaanesh expanded beyond size and beyond measure. But Khorne, unable to see defeat, hung on to His charge though his arms were bent back and His body near-crushed. Then with a scream of release that ripped through the Warp, Slaanesh threw off His eldest brother and burst into being.

Such was the Event of Slaanesh's birth, the metal body that had contained Khorne's essence since He had slain Khaelis Ra, shattered into a thousand pieces that scattered across the dimensions. But though His soul had been freed from its silver prison, Khorne had not the strength to strike a counter blow against exultant Slaanesh, and so the Pleasure God was left to reap the souls of His mortal creators and set His Throne alongside those of His brothers. So it was that the Three became Four and the Eternal Pantheon was complete.

From whenever 'then' was, until wherever 'now' is, the gods have continued their unending dance, twirling each other through the minds and souls of mortals. First one leads and then another, each keeping step in this pavane of peril, a stately measure played out to the beating of human hearts.

None of these powers can ever truly win against its brothers, for, as the Great Conspirator did say, it is the nature of things that change is the only constant - and nowhere is this more true than within the shadow place that is Chaos.

Yet still the gods dance and their bellows of delight shake the universe.

from the 'Liber Maleficarum'. Restricted distribution 2405- I.C. by order of K. M. Eisel, Witch Hunter Captain"

(written down by Dreadnautilus on reddit, as the fragment was in handwriting in Liber Chaotica).

As seen in the fragment describes Khorne fighting and destroying K(h)aelis Ra (the Nightbringer), exactly like Khaine was described in lore from the same period (the short story, and in-universe Eldar myth "The Birth of Fear"). And being, or rather Khaine/Khorne's shell being shattered by Slaanesh.

Does it mean Khorne and Khaine are the same? Not necessarily. Even the fluff from Liber Chaotica implies they are no longer the same, being split by Slaanesh. It's also hard to tell if this fluff/lore is canon, especially seeing multiple elements from the White Dwarf #108 were directly retconned. Still, it does show there were instances were the two gods of war and blood were stated to be same.

combined artworks of Khaine by Jes Goodwin and Khorne by Ian Miller

[sweetprfct]

Cruel Summer

Aaron Warner x Fem!Reader

Summary: You and Aaron Warner have been secretly seeing each other since the beginning of Spring. The problem is that your parents are part of Omega Point, the rebel group of The Reestablishment. While Aaron’s father runs The Reestablishment along with other leaders from other continent. From secret meetings to I love yous, you start questioning if all of this is worth taking the risk.

Author's Note: Hello, here's my first Aaron series. First off, I ctrl+delete Juliette in this AU. Second, Aaron is in his late twenties in this story and so is the reader. I try to make everything as accurate as possible but it has been a while since I read the first three books for the series, so I might forget certain details. Anyway, comments are welcome! Let me know if you want to be tagged. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: 18+, mention of violence, smut, MINORS DNI

Wordcount: 5.8K

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

It was raining.

It was always raining these days. If not, the sky was dark and gloomy. You didn’t know how long since the last time you saw the sun. Since The Reestablishment had taken over and wars had broken out all around the world, the sky was just blanketed by dark gray skies. You remembered your childhood and how the world was back then. Sunny skies, pink sunsets, children on the playground. You would hear the ice cream truck around the neighborhood during summer. You remember spending Christmas and Thanksgiving with your family. It was your favorite time of the year. 

Autumn and Winter. 

Now, it was just cold, gloomy and rainy most days. The weather was pretty much unpredictable. Broken buildings, fires breaking out, civilians lost around the streets outside or getting shot if they didn’t follow The Reestablishment’s rules. You have seen the brutal things the government had done to those civilians, and it hurts to see them suffer and it hurts even more knowing you couldn’t do anything about it. Your parents had warned you to stay away from trouble. To always stay alert because you never know what The Reestablishment would do next.

Your parents were part of a secret organization called Omega Point. They ran it along with their friend Castle. The group took in people who have some sort of supernatural abilities and aimed to destroy The Reestablishment. You, however, didn’t have any special abilities. You were only part of the group because of your parents. 

Castle was always alert, and he seemed to know more than what he led on. You couldn’t help but wonder if your parents also knew more than what they usually would tell you. You were always good at spying and sneaking out. That was your talent and most of the time, you were always successful in your own little personal agendas. Your parents knew that too. So, you figured they wouldn’t lie to you, knowing that you would eventually find out anyway. 

There was that one time that your parents had caught you sneaking out of the Omega Point base back in the Spring. They were furious over it that you were stuck for two weeks in your room because they didn’t want you going anywhere. You didn’t care though because you had an interesting time that night. You had sneaked out and pretended that you were part of the little gathering of The Reestablishment’s leaders. You were always so curious as to what they did. Curious how great their life must be in that part of Sector 45. 

And you were right. 

Because you saw everything. They had everything they wanted as if the world didn’t burn down and everyone was living in this hell. Most civilians could barely find any food to feed themselves and here they were living like Kings and Queens. 

“Are you lost?” 

His voice made you jump. You were at the back of the building, looking through the window and trying to see what was happening inside. You never had anyone caught you before. Ever. Not even your parents when you were spying or sneaking out and here he was, standing over you. As you looked over your shoulder, you saw a man with blond hair and piercing green eyes. He was staring at you with some sort of curiosity. Some trespasser, he probably thought. You were, but that didn’t matter because you were supposed to act like you were part of this gathering. He was in uniform and on his uniform it said, “Sector 45 CCR, A. Warner.” Your eyes shifted at the name, and you knew then that you had to make up some excuse to convince him that you belong in this little gathering. 

“Um… no.” You shook your head, straightening your clothes. “Just trying to get some air.” 

His emerald eyes studied you as you stood there with your back straight, acting like there was confidence radiating out of you. However, you could feel your heart beating out of your chest. It was running a million miles per hour, and you were terrified that he would be able to hear it. He furrowed his brows and looked over his shoulder to see the dark clouds blanketing the city. You knew he was wondering what you meant by that because it had been a while since the world had an actual fresh air. It made you even terrified that he probably realized that you weren’t part of this little party. 

“Hm…” His eyes studied you from top to bottom. “Which continent are you from? I’ve never seen you before.”

Your heart was gone. You couldn’t feel it anymore as you tried to make up some excuse but thankfully, he was called by another soldier from a distance. You immediately hid behind the post, so you wouldn’t be seen and just like that, he walked away. A sigh of relief washed over you as you watched him enter the building with the soldier. 

Sneaking inside the building, you made sure everyone else was busy and made your way up the stairs. You didn’t bother taking the elevator since you might bump into some more people and then, you were met with a long hallway, bright fluorescent lights illuminating it.

It made you feel like you were in a hospital.

Walking down the hall, you found the Supreme Commander’s office. The name Anderson was on the door and quietly, you turned the knob and peered your head behind the door. It was empty and dark. You looked around the office and went around the desk to find some sort of evidence to prove that The Reestablishment was doing something wrong. 

Something that could help Omega Point take down The Reestablishment once and for all.

Letting out a sigh, you pulled one of the drawers, but it was locked. All of them needed a key. Looking through all the files on his desk, you couldn’t find anything interesting nor the key to open up one of the drawers. You figured maybe he kept it safe with him. Hearing footsteps coming from down the hall, you walked out of the office and rapidly walked back to the fire escape staircase only to be met with the same man again.

He furrowed his brows and tilted his head at you. “What are you doing here?”

You sighed, “Can’t find the bathroom. Where is it?”

He turned his head to the side and gave you a side eye before walking back down the stairs and led you down onto another long hallway. 

“Thanks.” You murmured and entered the restroom. 

You waited a few minutes until you saw the shadow of his footsteps disappear. Unlocking the door, you looked both ways before finding the exit and out the back of the building again. You quietly hid from the soldiers that were on the lookout until you felt a hand cover your mouth, and you were pulled into a dark alley. 

Your fight and flight mode immediately turned on as you struggled in the person’s grip. You tried to reach for your knife in your back pocket, but the person was pulling you in their arms too quickly. Using your elbow, you jabbed the person right on their stomach as they groaned softly from the pain. You told your legs to start running as fast as you could, but you felt their hand grab your wrist and immediately, all you felt was the stinging pain on your back by the brick wall.

The light from the post illuminated his face, and you saw that it was the same man you met earlier. He pinned you against the wall, his hand clamped over your mouth, and his green eyes were wide. He quietly held up his index finger in front of his lips to let you know to be quiet as you both heard footsteps from a soldier from a distance.

He pulled you away from the light and hid you from the dark corner until the soldier had disappeared.

“Who are you?!” You whispered, anger in your voice. “Why do you keep following me?!”

An amused soft laugh escaped from him as his face leaned closer to yours. 

“I should be asking you that, love.” He whispered. “Who are you, and why are you sneaking around the building?”

You swallowed every emotion that was washing over you right now. Your heart was beating a thousand miles as you stared into his eyes. They were icy pale green. His features were sharp, and he looked sort of beautiful. Almost unreal.

“You could answer me or I could get one of the soldiers to throw you out or worse.” He added, his voice was cold and stern, his spare hand finding his gun on his holster. 

Your eyes followed where his hand was, and you kept your mouth shut. You couldn’t say a word. You couldn’t risk putting your parents and all your friends in danger because of one mistake that you made. Maybe you should have listened to your parents. Maybe you should have stayed back in the base and all of this wouldn’t have happened. He stared at you for a moment, his eyes studied you and his brows furrowed.

“I’m a nobody.” You finally replied, your voice stuttering. “J..Just lost.”

His eyes kept studying you until he took a step back and finally let go of you. You exhaled a sharp breath and looked at him for a moment. He looked distressed. He looked lonely. You didn’t really understand how you knew that, but you could see it in his eyes. 

“Go before someone sees you.” He said, his head hung low. 

You were ready to run because you should be, right? So, how come your legs weren’t moving? How come you couldn’t bear to leave him like that? 

“Y… You’re just gonna let me go?” You asked. 

He lifted his head, his eyes boring into yours. It made your heart beat faster again as he said, “Be glad I’m irritated tonight. I don’t have the energy to take you into a prison cell or kill you and make a whole scene.”

Taking a few steps back, you looked over your shoulder one more time before running off. That was when you were met with your parents when you arrived back at the base. They were furious. Asking you a bunch of different questions as to where you were and how dare you leave the base without letting anyone know. Your best friend, Kenji, was standing behind them. A disappointed look in his eyes as they sent you to your room and told you that you were going to be watched for the next two weeks to make sure you weren’t going to make any more reckless decisions.

Then, after two weeks passed, you found yourself outside the Omega Point base. You were walking near the water, your thoughts pinwheeling and wondering how long were you all going to hide? You kept asking if this was how the world was going to be until you died. Kept wondering how much more damage The Reestablishment would do until everything would fall apart even more. Wondering what else they did underneath all those metal tall buildings. What decisions and plans were they planning? 

Then, you felt that familiar touch grab you by the wrist. You let out a small shriek as you were pulled in the nearby forest—at least what was left of it—

“You.” Your eyes widened. 

You looked around for soldiers but there was no sign of them. You had told Kenji what happened that night. You described the soldier as someone who looked unreal, beautiful and part of you thought you were dreaming that night. 

“I don’t know, maybe there’s something in the air at their base.” You lightly teased. 

“You said his uniform said CCR A. Warner?” Kenji’s eyes widened. 

“Yes, why?”

You saw the worry that washed over Kenji’s face as he said, “That’s Anderson’s son. Warner is the most brutal and heartless Chief Commander in Sector 45. Jesus Christ, Princess!” 

Anderson’s son? You knew about him, but you hadn't realized it was him, especially with the fact that his name was Warner, not Anderson.

“Brutal and heartless?” You tilted your head. “Then… Then why’d he let me go that easily?”

“I don’t know but there’s something wrong about it. You need to be more careful! You don't know his agenda, and you might end up dead next time.”

Warner. 

Kenji’s words echoed in your head as you shook your wrist from his grip. You didn’t know what it was but there was something in his eyes today. Some concern he was feeling. If he was so heartless like Kenji said then why could you see the human inside him? 

The son of the Supreme Commander of Sector 45. Warner was the Chief Commander and Regent. The man that the soldiers were afraid of because of how cold he was. He could kill someone in a heartbeat and not have an emotion over it. How much of a robot he was as Kenji told you. You still couldn’t understand why he let you go unharmed. How he didn���t kill you for spying. You didn’t understand one bit of it. 

“What are you doing here?” You asked, your voice was low and ice cold. “Are you here to kill me? If so, just do it now—”

“No.” He shook his head, his eyes stared at the ground. “I know who you are.” 

He took your hand and dragged you further in the forest until you both saw the lake. He dropped your hand and pinched the bridge of his nose and paced back and forth in front of you. He whispered your name, and you wondered how he knew that. Although, knowing that he was the son of the Supreme Commander, you realized they probably kept files of everyone. 

“You’re part of Omega Point.” He stated, his tracks stopped and he stood in front of you. 

You felt your heart drop to your stomach. If he knew about you, then he probably would have known all the members of Omega Point. Kenji, Castle, you… your parents. 

Maybe you knew nothing of this world after all. Knew nothing about what The Reestablishment did nor what Castle and your parents knew about the new world. 

“H…How did you—” You shook your head.

“Doesn’t matter.” He took a step closer. “My father…” He took a deep breath. “I think…he’s killing… children. Killing certain people.”

You didn’t say a word. That revelation was a shock to you, but you knew there was something going on. You knew it was more than just taking over the world. More than just building up a new world, new rules and destroying every bit of history from the past. 

“That was why you were there, weren’t you?” Warner asked, his voice was stern. “You knew about this?”

“No.” You said. “I… I knew there’s something more going on. I was there to find evidence, but I wasn’t able to.”

“Well, I did.” Warner replied, his head shaking. “I think…”

“I…I’m sorry.” That was all you could manage.

You didn’t exactly understand why he was here. Why was he telling you all of this? What did he want from you? Why did he risk coming out here to talk to you? 

“I’m not.” He said. “I knew my father was vile… A psychopath.”

“What are you saying?”

“I want to help take him down.” His green eyes went dark as it met yours. “I want to kill him.”

A small gasp escaped your lips as he took another step forward towards you. You could feel your heart pounding in your chest as Warner looked up and stared at something behind you. 

“Meet me in that cabin at night.” He murmured. “I will look for more information and evidence that could help.”

You followed his eyes and saw the cabin just not too far. It was behind the tall redwood trees. This forest was the only thing left of this broken world, and you didn’t even realize there was a cabin right there. It was too hidden. 

“But—” 

But before you could say anything Warner had already left. You were left in the middle of the woods with your thoughts again. In the beginning, you were terrified to actually go through and believe what Warner said. You didn’t know him and he was part of The Reestablishment. How would you know that you could trust him? How do you know that he wasn’t playing a double agent? 

When you had sneaked out that night to the cabin, you brought yourself a few weapons in your pocket just in case you needed them. You couldn't bear to let Kenji know what you were doing. At least until you were sure about all of this.

Looking around the forest, you saw no sign of other soldiers, but you couldn’t help but wonder if they were just hiding. Entering the cabin quietly, you found Warner sitting by the fireplace. He had documents laid out all over the coffee table and wooden floors. You closed the door behind you and studied the image in front of you. For a moment, you slowly started to believe what he told you. He did brought the evidence. He brought every document he could find in his father’s office. 

“What are these?” You asked, settling yourself on the floor next to him.

You couldn’t help but notice that he was in his suit. Did this man ever wore anything else other than his uniform and suits? Your eyes then studied his blond hair, his long golden lashes and his eyes that were focused on the papers in front of him.

“Records of the children that mysteriously disappeared.” He said, gazing up at you. “But there was no evidence why they disappeared.” 

He gazed up at you, green eyes staring into yours. It was almost enchanting that you had to look away and focus your attention on the papers in front of you. Both of you spent the night looking through the documents, but you both couldn’t seem to find anything. They were all just records saying that they either died from an accident or they disappeared out of nowhere. No hard evidence at all.

Then, another night came and another and another. Kenji started noticing your late night routine until you finally told him the truth.

“Are you insane?!” He whisper-yelled in the middle of the hall. “This is not a good idea, Princess.”

“Just please trust me?” You pleaded. “Just please cover for me if my parents or Castle look for me.”

“Nuh uh!” Kenji shook his head. “I’m not going to agree with your little suicidal plan with Warner.”

“Kenji, he could be the key to finding all these records. I’ve seen it. Please just give us more time.”

Kenji stared at you for a moment before exhaling a sharp breath and said, “I hope you realized who you are talking to every night in that secluded cabin.”

A smile creeped up on your face as you pulled your best friend into a hug and thanked him. Then, a week of meeting with Warner had become two weeks then one month. Then, two months until Spring ended and Summer finally came. Not that it mattered since the weather stayed the same. It was rainy, dark and gloomy. 

The more you spent with Warner, the more you saw a different side of him. His walls were slowly unraveling in front of you, but it wasn’t to the point where you knew his personal secrets. His personal life. You have never seen him smile, he was always so serious. But he had told you about his father and how his mother died. That was the closest personal thing you have known about him.

It was awful.

His father tortured her and gave her drugs until she turned into almost like a wild animal. Warner mentioned how his mother’s ability was that no one could touch her, but her power was so strong that she could feel the pain of her own skin and suffered until she died from it. You were slowly understanding why he hated his father and why he was rebelling against him.

At least you thought you understood all of it until that one night… 

“Here.” He handed you a box.. 

“What is this?” You furrowed your brows and opened up the box.

Inside, there was wrapping paper and once you had ripped it open, you found a green dress, almost the same color as his eyes. You held up the dress in front of you and then stared at him, confused.

“What is this for?” You asked.

“You don’t like it?” He grabbed the dress from your hands. “I’ll change it. I don’t know your favorite color.”

He couldn’t even look at you. He was staring at the dress in his hands and then, you realized something. The dress was the most obvious one out of all the things he brought every time you met up with him. It was food at the beginning. Then, a nice blanket. Told you that it gets cold at night in the cabin, and it annoyed him to see you shivering all night. Then, you found some fancy soaps in the bathroom, which you never understood because you never took a shower in the cabin. Then, the cabin was slowly being decorated nicely. You thought maybe he was trying to make it a lot cozier. 

But no.

He was doing all of this for you. He was giving you gifts, but why? 

“No,” you took the dress back from his hands. “I like it. Thanks.”

You studied the dress in your hands for a moment then, you felt his presence in front of you. Suddenly, you felt the air between the two of you shift. His fingers found a strand of hair from your face as he tucked it behind your ear. You gazed up at him through your lashes and found his face inches from yours.

You couldn’t breathe. 

His fingers brushed gently against your cheek, and a small gasp escaped your lips. He never touched you. He was always distant even when he was sitting next to you. It was almost like there was a wall between the two of you but the moment you felt his touch, all of a sudden, you saw that wall crack. 

“You’d look beautiful in that dress.” He whispered.

The air in your lungs suddenly gave out. The wall he had put up between the two of you had split open. 

“Warner, I… I don’t understand what’s happening.” Your words stuttered, you could barely find your voice.

His hands then cupped your face as his green eyes were staring deep into yours. His eyes sparkled, and you were a glass almost breaking into pieces. His touch was the only thing that was keeping you glued together for a moment. He held your face like you were something so delicate that he was afraid he'd break you if he wasn’t careful.

“Do you know how much it’s killing me that I can’t hold you?” He murmured. “How much it’s killing me that I can’t stop thinking about you every second of the day?”

“Y…You can’t stop thinking about me?” 

His thumb traced the outline of your lips before his nose grazed against yours. You held your breath as you closed your eyes. You could feel the heat radiating off your body and all of a sudden, you couldn’t think straight anymore. 

“I can’t stop thinking about your eyes, these lips…” his thumb softly touched your lips, almost like a feather-like touch. “...your voice—god, your voice.”

His hand slipped at the back of your head before he said, “I don’t want to scare you away.”

Your breath hitched, “You’re not.”

His sharp features were right in front of you, and his eyes studied each detail of you. You forgot what it was like to breathe. Time has stopped. Time froze the moment he pressed his lips against yours, and you didn’t hesitate to kiss him back. He tasted so sweet. He tasted like peppermint. He kissed you hungrily and desperately like he has been waiting for this for a long time. He pulled you close and pressed your body against his. Your hands slid on his chest, and you could feel his chest heaving as he let his lips trailed down your jawline and down your neck.

You were gone.

You didn’t know how you were still alive because you had stopped breathing a long time ago. His kisses sent shivers down your body. It was something you never experienced before. Never felt before. It was so soft and at the same time, it was something so special. A luxury that you never tasted before. 

Warner scooped you up in his arms and carried you towards the bedroom, setting you gently on the bed. For a moment, he pulled away from the kiss. Both of you were breathless, and his fingers were caressing your face softly.

“I…I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time.” He whispered. 

You gazed up at him, breathless. “Then, kiss me again.” You murmured before pulling him close to you again. 

His lips kissed down your neck and down to your collarbone as he tugged on your shirt and pulled it over your head. You couldn’t breathe. You weren’t here anymore. His lips trailed down to your chest, and his hand gripped your hips as you ran your fingers through his hair. A jar of butterflies exploded in your stomach and fluttered all over your body. 

“Warner.” You whispered.

“Yes, love?” He gazed up at you. 

“Are… Are you sure about this?” 

Your heart was drumming hard in your chest and you swore, he could hear it. There was nothing more you wanted than this, but you knew how complicated the situation was. You didn’t want to wake up tomorrow and find him gone. You didn’t want to wake up and find out that he regretted it. Most of all, you wanted to trust him. Believe him that this was real. 

“I’ve never wanted anything more than this, love.” He said. “You’re consuming every part of my soul, and I can’t explain why.”

You slid your hand behind his head and pulled him down to kiss him deeply. Your heart was pounding hard, and you felt the world stopped around you. 

It was just you and him. 

You fumbled through the buttons of his shirt and immediately slid it over his broad shoulders. Pulling away from the kiss, you gazed down at his body, your fingers ran down his bare skin and you heard a breathless gasp escape his lips. Your fingers ran through the hills and curves of his muscles on his stomach. Then, you saw his tattoo that sits right on the bottom of his torso. Just below his hip bone. 

Hell is empty and all the devils are here. 

Your fingers grazed over the words, and you saw Warner’s chest went up and down as you continued to touch him.

“So… beautiful.” You whispered. 

However, you didn’t know what happened or what you said to him because you saw something shifted inside him. His eyes had gone dimmed and he immediately pulled away from you. You furrowed your brows and questions started running in your mind.

“What is it?” You asked.

“I…” He shook his head. 

You were confused. You watched as he repeatedly shook his head. He looked embarrassed. He got up from the bed and so did you. He kept taking a step back, and he looked jittery. 

You never saw him like this before.

“Warner…” You took a step forward.

You wanted to reach for him, but he was pulling away from you, and you didn’t understand why. You thought this was what he wanted. 

“I’m not…” His voice stuttered. 

Then, when he bent down to pick up his shirt from the floor, a gasp escaped your lips. Immediately, you walked towards him. You hesitated to touch him, but you saw it. You saw all of it. 

Scars.

His back was covered with them. Right on his upper back, just between his shoulder blades, there was also a tattoo that said:

IGNITE.

“W—What happened?” You asked, your fingers finally grazing over the scarred skin of his back. 

He winced from your touch as he turned around to face you. His face looked like he was in pain as he stared at you for a moment. 

“It’s repulsive, I know.” He said, sliding his shirt back in his body. “They’re birthday gifts from my father from when I was five until I was eighteen.”

You couldn’t help but clamped over a hand on your mouth, another gasp escaping from you. You felt the tears welled up in your eyes as you shook your head. Warner couldn’t even look at you. He turned his head to the side and stared at the wall. 

“I’m not beautiful, love.” He murmured. “I’m repulsive, and I’ve killed people before. Tortured them…” 

You were frozen for a moment. Trying to comprehend everything that you just learned. You knew his father was vile and a psychopath but the thought of Aaron having to go through that kind of abuse? The thought of him being trained by his father to kill people? Anger washed over you. Turning to face him, you walked across the room and cupped his face in your hands, letting his green eyes find yours.

“You’re not repulsive, and I’m not redacting my statement.” You said sternly. 

There wasn’t anything else that you needed to say to convince him to believe you because he was now cupping your face in his hands, his emerald eyes sparkling. You could hear your heart drumming in your ears as he pulled you in for another kiss. A hungry and desperate one but at the same time, it was all so soft like cotton candy. You slid his shirt away from his shoulders again as he carried you to the bed and towered over you. He was breathless as he kissed down your body, and you swore the room started to spin.

You couldn’t help but wonder if this was what heaven was like. If this was it. If you finally died and went to heaven. If you did, it was peaceful. Quiet. The only one that was looking at you was this man with piercing green eyes and leaving you soft feathered kisses all over your body like you were something new. Like he had never had something like this in his life, and he was afraid that he'd lose it if he didn’t hold on to it tightly. 

Your thoughts were gone as soon as you felt him unzipping your pants. The rest of your clothes were on the floor, and you were lying naked in front of him. You felt the blood rushed to your face as he studied you, a small smile lingering on his lips.

“So enchanting.” He whispered before pressing his face on your neck and leaving soft kisses on your skin. 

“I think…” He breathed heavily. “...my heart has exploded a million times.”

You smiled softly and cupped his face, looking right at him. You have never known this kind of look before. You have never seen anyone look at you like this before. Repeating the words that Warner just told you, you couldn’t help but think about how your heart also exploded a million times because this…

This was everything. 

Being with him was like a safe bubble that you wished you never wanted to leave. If you were asked, you would stay in this cabin forever. You didn’t care about anything else. You just wanted to be with him everyday and that was how it went for the next few weeks. You sneaked out of the base and saw Warner almost every night. It was an escape from this cruel world. A happiness you never knew existed but time was never enough. 

It was always never enough.

You always found yourself going back to the base in the early mornings, hoping you wouldn’t be caught by anyone. It was the perfect time since everyone would be asleep and the streets were empty during those hours. 

“You’re late.” 

You stopped in your tracks right before entering your room and turned around to find Kenji standing with his arms crossed in front of his chest. Sometimes you hated the fact that his power was invisibility because this man always appeared out of nowhere.

“Only five minutes late.” You corrected him. 

“I don’t like this, Princess.” Kenji said.

You looked around to make sure no one was around before pulling Kenji inside your room and let out a sigh. 

“Please, Kenji.” You murmured. “I do appreciate you covering for me every night but please understand that this is important to me.”

“Important?” Kenji raised his brow. “You’re meeting up with Warner. Anderson’s son. You know, the one who made this whole shit show of a world in the first place? The one we’re trying to take down?”

“I know, I know.” You raised a hand up to stop him. “But he isn’t like that. He understands what we do, and he wants to help.”

Kenji let out a scoff. “How sure are you that he can be trusted?”

“Because I know.” Your eyes were pleading for him to understand. 

“How sure are you that he isn’t using you just to get information about us too?” 

“Because he also hates his father and besides, we haven’t talked about that in a while.” You felt your cheeks heat up as you remembered Warner for a moment. 

Kenji was suddenly all scrunched up in disgust as he shook his head. “Ew. That’s gross. Don’t ever say that again to me.” 

“Just please, trust me? We will figure this all out soon. He’s trying.” 

Kenji let out a sigh and nodded his head. “Just be careful out there. It’s dangerous and honestly, I don’t like the fact that you are running around late at night out there.”

“Please,” You said, holding back from rolling your eyes. “I can handle myself, Kenji.”

“I know you can but still.” 

You laughed softly. You were grateful for Kenji and besides the fact that you knew he wasn’t really agreeing with this whole thing, you were still glad that he always understood you and never doubted you. 

“Whatever you say, Princess.” Kenji said before walking out the door. 

Flopping yourself on the bed, you exhaled sharply and stared at the ceiling. You couldn’t help but wonder if Kenji was right. Warner was Anderson’s son and even if he gotten pretty good at sneaking out of the base, you were terrified that one day his father might find out. Then, what was going to happen? It would risk everything. 

Everyone. 

***********

Taglist:

@gracie-221 @his-littlefox @hannahmarie71 @ecliphttlunar @indythefandomhoarder @reminiscentreader @hrtsbecca @soulaires @shattermelyhfmlblog @wildesqdreams @pookiebearnancy @ant-thebooknerd @boliviajane

[hiswordsarekisses]

“The Kingdom” is constantly used in connection with the rule of Christ in the hearts of believers - The Kingdom of God is within you! He must be The King of our hearts, ruling our wills and our life, and we are to be praying His Kingdom to come and His will do be done in the earth as it is done in Heaven.

“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them,

“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’

for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭30‬

“He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”” Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭20‬-‭21‬

“Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”” Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭18‬-‭19‬

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬

[thoughtsafterdark]

Stigmata

The world is quiet. So quiet. The silence deafens, bends backs, breaks minds. It holds its breath, waiting, biding its time. Still and poised yet tense, every pebble and grain of sand prepared to strike. Like a big cat stalking its prey, shoulders rolling so smoothly as it inches closer and closer. Like oil sliding off the skin of the water. Those moments when it crouches and becomes one with the Savanah. When the golden light of the setting sun sets the land aflame and blades of grass blend with raised heckles until they are one and the same.

It waits for you, for your conception and birth. Molecules aligning, cells dividing, flowers blooming. The water of your mother’s womb is surprisingly thin given the precious life it cushions. It is expelled from your lungs like a sacrament, like a fountain that once erupted from a desert rock millennia ago. Strong lungs as befit a firstborn son. Your first cries pierce the air and shatter the stillness into a million shimmering fragments. The diamonds spill across the inky blackness. A burst of colour from the Lord’s brush, arcing across the sky. Another promise, another new beginning. Yet Gods are foolish, lonely creatures. Their promises ring hollow and false to our suffering ears. The whips crack and our skin splits, oozes all the same. Where was God when my brothers withered and died, the cries ripped from their throats going unanswered?

And yet tell me why as I gaze upon you now, I am compelled to fall to my knees? As if every fibre of my being yearns to bow, to yield - as if your voice bursts from somewhere deep in my squirming gut and heart and not your lips?

Tell me why I itch to bury myself in the crook where your thigh meets groin and inhale the musk there as if your scent holds the Eye of the Needle, as if the grooves of your skin map Heaven’s Kingdom. Would you let me cry tears of rapture at your coming and wash your feet with them and my tongue?

I wonder if such a wonton display of devotion would anger you, frighten you. Would you toss me away in disgust, smash my face into the ground? Break my nose against rock and let me feel the warm flood of blood flow backwards down my throat, let me savour the salt and iron as I swallow devoutly. Tell me why I have never felt so alive as when your holy wrath rains down upon me like fire, like the destruction of Sodom.

I watch you now, standing proud against that same setting sun, gazing across the expanse of your new kingdom. Here as it dips low upon the dunes and the sand lashes at us. Its rays frame raven curls and fracture all around you, as if afraid to touch you and be seduced. A halo that revers yet fears you. It hardens your features as if you were hewn from granite Your jaw tightens against the onslaught, sharp enough to fell armies. Your eyes become the harsh ringing of blade against blade. Gone is the boy with the easy smile tugging at the corner of a mouth, crow’s feet wrinkling eyes. In his place is the cold pyre of divine righteousness. The commander of earth and sky, made to wield sound and air itself. I think of the icons of old, the waxy mournful faces of saints and note what a pale imitation they must be, if they had even a third of your weight.

You are a black hole - all-consuming, inescapable, inevitable - and we are all trapped in your orbit, edging ever closer to the Event Horizon that will surely destroy us. But tell me if our path is so doomed why my heart leaps at the prospect of pledging my death to you? What finer gift is there but that of my last breath, freely given?

In your face I see rivers of blood and the thrum of charging men. I hear the chants of our forefathers and the long line of prophets that came before, accumulating across the centuries into the tapestry that is your flesh.

Yet as you lie here beside me, the darkness kept at bay by the stubborn flame of a lone candle, your face serene with sleep and your sweat acrid and sharp in my nose - I see just a man plagued by a crown of thorns. I think of my hands, bathing in the blood of innocents in your name. Your name, a mantra, a hymn that ignites us all with awe and hunger. I wonder if knowing deep down you are just a man makes me more or less the fool.

Then your eyes open, lashes fluttering, and I see the light burning there and I know messiahs are not born but made in the hearth of a home, in the fierceness of a loyal heart and the beating lifeblood of a people starved of hope. I care not if you bleed red or ichor, I know only that I will follow you into hell itself, until we burn to ash and we become whispers, legends. Until we are nothing but dust floating across the dunes, the wind that stokes the flames of a thousand more rebellions.

[dailyanarchistposts]

Four months into the assault on Gaza, the Israeli military has forced over a million refugees to the edge of the Egyptian border and is now bombing them while threatening to mount a ground assault against them. In the following text, Jonathan Pollak, a longtime participant in Anarchists Against the Wall and other anti-colonial solidarity efforts, explains why we should not look to international institutions or protest movements within Israeli society to put a stop to the genocide in Gaza and calls on ordinary people to take action.

A shorter version of this text was rejected by the liberal Israeli platform Haaretz—an indication of the diminishing space for dissent in Palestine and within Israeli society.

Human Rights Discourse Has Failed to Stop the Genocide in Gaza

We are now more than 120 days into the unprecedented Israeli assault on Gaza. Its horrific repercussions and our inability to bring it to an end should compel us to reevaluate our perspective on power, our understanding of it, and, most significantly, what we have to do to fight it.

Amid the spilled blood, the endless days of death and destruction, excruciating dearth, starvation, thirst, and despair, the ceaseless nights of fire and brimstone and white phosphors raining indiscriminately from the sky, we must grapple with the bare ugly facts of reality and reshape our strategies.

The officially reported fatalities—in addition to the many Palestinians who remain buried under the rubble and aren’t yet included in the official count—already amount to the annihilation of nearly 1.5% of all human life in the Gaza Strip. As Israel escalates its attacks on Rafah, it seems that there is no end in sight. Soon, the lives of one in every fifty people in Gaza will have been extinguished.

The Israeli military is inflicting an unprecedented toll of suffering and death on the 2.3 million people of Gaza, surpassing anything ever witnessed in Palestine—or elsewhere during the 21st century. Yet these staggering figures have not penetrated the thick layers of dissociation and disconnect that characterize Israeli society as well as Israel’s Western allies. If anything, the reduction of this tragedy to statistics seems to hinder rather than enhance our understanding. It presents a whole that obscures the specifics: the figures conceal the personhood of the countless individuals who have died painful, particular deaths.

At the same time, the unfathomable scale of the massacre in Gaza makes it impossible to comprehend through the stories of individual victims. Journalists, street cleaners, poets, homemakers, construction workers, mothers, doctors, and children, a multitude too vast to be narrated. We are left with faceless anonymous figures. Among them are more than 12,000 children. Probably a lot more.

Please pause and say this aloud, word by word: over twelve thousand children. Killed. Is there a way for us to take this in and move beyond the realm of statistics to grasp the horrific reality?

The cold blunt numbers also veil hundreds of obliterated families, many of them completely erased—sometimes three, even four generations, wiped off the face of the earth.

Overshadowed by these figures are more than 67,000 people who have been injured, thousands of whom will remain paralyzed for the rest of their lives. The medical system in Gaza has been almost completely destroyed; life-saving amputations are being carried out without anesthetics. The extent to which infrastructure in Gaza has been destroyed surpasses the Dresden bombings at the end of the Second World War. Nearly two million people—roughly 85% of the population of the Gaza Strip—have been displaced, their lives shattered by Israeli bombings as they shelter in the dangerously overcrowded south of the Strip, which the Israeli government falsely pronounced “safe,” yet continues to pummel with hundreds of 2000-pound bombs. The hunger in Gaza, which was created by Israeli state policy even before the war, is so severe that it amounts to famine. In their despair, people have resorted to eating fodder, but now even that is running out.

About a month ago, an acquaintance of mine who fled to Rafah from Gaza City after his home there was bombed told me that he and his family had already been forced to move from one temporary refuge to another six different times in their attempts to escape from the bombs. In despair, he said, “There is no food, no water, nowhere to sleep. We are constantly thirsty, hungry, and wet. I’ve already had to dig my children out from under the rubble twice—once in Gaza and once here in Rafah.”

These rivers of blood must breach the walls of our apathy. If only time could stop long enough for all of us to process our grief. But it will not. It continues passing as more bombs fall on Gaza.

Decades of injustice have paved the way for this. Some 75 years have passed since the Nakba—75 years of Israel’s settler-colonialism—yet its defenders continue to deny the facts. Even after the the International Court of Justice (ICJ) asserted that there is indeed cause to fear that genocide is being committed in Gaza, the US and many of Israel’s other Western allies have effectively remained silent.

Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, called the court’s mere willingness to discuss the case “a disgrace that will not be erased for generations.” Indeed, the ruling is a disgrace. Despite everything being laid bare in plain sight, the court did not order Israel to cease fire. This is a disgrace to the court itself and to the very idea that international law is supposed to protect the lives and rights of those being crushed by the military force of nations.

It will undoubtedly be said that the law, by nature, is meticulous and that it considers the forest not as a whole but as individual trees. To that, we must answer that reality, facts, common sense must be above the law, not beneath it. Israel dedicates considerable resources to a legalism of the battlefield, intended to give cover to its murderous acts. This approach involves carving reality into thin slices of independently legally-approved observations and actions. A military target was present in high-rise X, justifying the deaths of over two dozen uninvolved civilians; apartment tower Y was the home of a Hamas-employed firefighter, legitimizing, according to the principle of proportionality, the decision to wipe out three neighboring families. But this practice cannot turn genocidal water into legitimate wine. This is legal gaslighting that shreds reality to pieces in order to conceal a pattern of indiscriminate mass murder.

If the slaughter of 1.5% of the population in four months is not genocide; if Israel’s acts are not deemed grievous enough for the court to order it to immediately stop the killing, not even in light of open incitement to exterminate Palestinians by prominent Israeli politicians and members of the press, not to mention Israel’s president and Prime Minister; when lack of punishment for such incitements and such acts is accepted rather than branded as genocide in the simplest of terms—then the words we use to describe reality have lost all meaning and we are in dire need of new language beyond the confines of legalese.

Leaving the butcher’s knife in the butcher’s hand—leaving Israel unhindered, unimpeded—means letting the slaughter in Gaza continue. This is the absolute ongoing failure of international law and the institutions entrusted with keeping it.

This failure passes on the responsibility of forcing an end to the ongoing catastrophe, so that it falls on the shoulders of civil society. This ought to compel us to move beyond the empty liberal paradigms of human rights, which have replaced liberation as the dominant discourse in leftist politics.

[dailydemonspotlight]

Trumpeter - Day 97

Race: Fiend

Arcana: Judgement

Alignment: Neutral

August 20th, 2024

The Book of Revelation, past giving you 1 soul heart, is an incredibly fascinating piece of biblical literature. As the final book of the New Testament, thus bookending the entire Bible, it takes a completely different shape from that of its contemporaries. Instead of being a retelling of past events with a mythologized flair, nor a religious study or even any form of didactic literature, it’s a complicated and interweaving telling of the end- the apocalypse. The beginning to this end, however, has one to call its name to the front. After all, the trumpets must have a sounder- and that’s where today’s Demon of the Day, Trumpeter, comes in.

To call about the end is the purpose of this fiend, being, ironically, not a demon but an angel, tasked by God to forewarn of the coming metaphorical ‘phase’ of the apocalypse. Each of the angels aren’t given a name, at least to my knowledge, but it can be believed that at least one of them is our little skeleton himself in SMT. Regardless, each angel tasked with this are to warn humanity of God’s arrival and wrath during the book of Revelations, and each trumpet plays before each major event. As there’s not much else to go into with Trumpeter himself, however, especially because Tony4You did a far better analysis than I could ever hope to achieve in his Fiends video (mainly due to his experience) I decided it could be interesting to go into what each trumpet means in the Book of Revelation.

The first trumpet, sounded on the first day of the end, is described in Revelation 8:7, speaks of the earth itself being cracked open, tearing apart the core and raining flame and hail all at once. It’s sometimes believed that this angel is Gabriel, though I’m not sure if there’s a source to this past general speculation- the only angel we can concretely say played a trumpet was only in the Talmudic version of the Book of Revelation. Regardless, the first phase of the apocalypse is still described as a world of fury tempered underneath God’s anger. To quote,

“The first angel sounded his trumpet, and there came hail and fire mixed with blood, and it was hurled down on the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up”

As this apocalyptic paragraph comes to a close, yet another trumpet sounds on the second day, this time rending the seas apart as what was described as ‘something like a huge mountain’ crashed into it, causing a third of all sea life to perish and the water to run with blood, as quoted in Revelation 8:8-9.

“The second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a huge mountain, all ablaze, was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned into blood, a third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed”

This wouldn’t spell the end, though, as the third trumpet would sound, bringing about a star to crash onto the earth below, blazing in flame, and lastly, the fourth would bring about the darkness to blot out the sun, the sun itself breaking apart and the moon cracking open. Interestingly, as observed in the Bible Study website I was using, the first four trumpets each touch on major material parts of existence, being the earth, the water, the sky, and light. Without these things, life could not exist, and God’s wrath is evidently striking them out, one by one, leaving the scant few sinners left on Earth to have some time to repent lest they suffer the full wrath of His might. However, for those who have not, and have somehow survived… a far worse fate awaits.

The fifth trumpet brings about a swarm of locusts that apparently represent Satan himself, unleashed by God to bring torment unto those still left on earth. Those attacked by said Locusts do not die, but they feel every last bit of pain, being trapped in immortal suffering- that is, until the sixth trumpet, which calls forth… something. I’ll leave it there, as we’re not quite done with the book of Revelation for this coming week, and I’d rather not spoil the fun, wink wink. Regardless, Trumpeter is a harbinger of the end times, and appears to represent said end times, being the angel sounding one of the trumpets proper. The apocalypse ends in roaring applause, and the Trumpeter is the one who plays the world’s last gasps.

Sources:

https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/REV.8.1-12

https://www.quora.com/What-is-an-angel-with-a-trumpet-called-in-Christianity#:~:text=It%20is%20a%20ceremonial%20way,Bible%20does%20not%20specify%20this.

https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12712

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/what-are-the-seven-trumpets-in-revelation.html

[blackwolfstabs]

Parker's Secret Santa Gifts🎄for @silliestgoosever

HAUNTED

"Even wolves bleed like sheep..."

fandom: Scream // Epiphany AU by @silliestgoosever // (parker's version) characters: Sam Carpenter, Christina Carpenter, & Tara Carpenter WARNING: contains angst, minor gore, & verbal abuse

Sam hissed as the warm steam from her shower cleared to let the cold air of the air conditioning burn her right eye. Her blind eye… 

It seemed like she got soap in that eye every fucking time she took a shower. It seemed like every time she “got used to” being blind in that eye, something would rip her back to reality, cursing her with how it got that way and all the damage that she’d suffered with it.

It never got easier to re-live. The fight, the words, the curses, the blame, the guilt, the pain… All the pain that her mother had caused. Physically, mentally, emotionally—all of it. It never got easier.

She pulled a comb through her hair, before grabbing a dry washcloth to press it against her stinging eye. If Christina was going to take half of her vision away, she should’ve taken the nerves with it too. It watered against the contact, making her grit her teeth as she wiped it and tried to blink away the sting.

“You’re pathetic!” 

A voice—a very familiar voice—hissed behind her.

Sam froze. Her heart skipped into a race, and she felt every muscle in her body tense. All of it. All of it hit her like a hurricane at once. It was the Cat-5- kind of hurricane that destroyed everything in its path in a single second and left the tragedy behind. It had winds that howled the foulest of words and rain that downed out even the loudest, most desperate screams. It was ruthless and held no remorse in the strength that it held. 

And that hurricane was named Christina Carpenter. 

She swallowed, not realizing that she was shaking, until it was pointed out.

“You always trembled when I was around,” the teasing began. “I always thought it was out of anger, but now that I know just how much of a coward you are, the truth really was that you were scared of me.”

She could hear her own breath shudder as she stared at the wall.

“You’re scared of me, aren’t you, Samantha? Just like you were afraid of your father, when you started having visions of him.”

She sounded so evil. So vile . So savagely in love with the idea of making her own daughter suffer for the decisions her parents made.

“Turn around and face me, Loomis ! You’ve still got one good eye, I know you can see me!” There was a fleeting moment of tense silence, before the woman growled, “Let me see that reward I gave you for showing me who you really are…”

How could she turn around after hearing that? What was she, a sad, obedient dog that did whatever her master wanted, no matter how demeaning, infuriating, or humiliating? Yes. She must be, because the next thing she knew, she was staring at herself in the mirror with her mother’s mirrored eyes glaring at her in disgust and prideful hatred.

She was standing right behind her. She was standing there, like she was some fashion designer that had just groomed their chosen model for a show. Some show… It was a horror show that left Sam’s stomach churning with nausea.

But she couldn’t look away. And Christina just grinned.

“Look how weak… how despicable…” Her hand came up to lightly graze over her daughter’s eye, “How revealing…”

Sam yanked her face away, flames of shock setting her body on fire as she felt the touch, as if she wasn’t dead and actually standing right behind her. However, her shoulders were grabbed and held in place, and the manifested woman snarled.

“Look at yourself, Samantha!”

And she reluctantly did so, thick blood covering the entire right side of her face and the lower left side, running into her blind eye, which seemed to sting a thousand times more than the soap did. She had to fight back a cry of pain as it dripped off her chin and onto the bathroom floor, leaving her world to regress back to that night. She couldn’t stop the tears that flooded into her eyes at the disbelief. 

No. This wasn’t real. It was her doing all of this.

She tried to wipe some of the blood from her cheek, but nothing came off on her hand. The pain was there, the touch was there, the voices and the haunting looks were there, but the real world wasn’t.

It was all because of her.

“Y-you’re not real,” she finally managed to speak. “You’re only in my head, just like he was.”

But her mother denied it. “Oh, I’m very real. Who else could’ve done this?” She hummed as she snaked her hands around the younger’s waist and grabbed the hem of her shirt. “I carved you up nicely, didn’t I?”

Sam swallowed back the nausea threatening to crawl up her throat. She nearly gasped at how cold the woman’s fingertips were as they curved beneath her clothing and brushed her warm skin.

“Even wolves bleed like sheep…”

Christina pulled her shirt up to expose the other scar she’d cursed her with, which was now gushing blood, just like her face was. Then, she took one hand and dipped two fingers into the crimson liquid to start drawing over her bare stomach.

Sam’s tears fell. She shook in her mother’s hold, paralyzed and unable to fight back small whimpers as she watched the blood trail being made on her torso, like a map of death. “No…”

“Yes.” The older Carpenter leaned in close to her ear. “Let those tears fall. Show me just how miserable it is to live with these scars on your body, blood on your hands, me in your head, and Billy in your heart.”

“No!” The victim managed to break the spiritual spectrum for a moment, ripping the hands away from her abdomen and pulling herself out of the hovering presence that held her captive. She looked over her shoulder, and there was nothing there. She dropped her gaze to her torso, and it was free of smeared blood. But when she met the mirror, Christina was still there with her glowing eyes that were full of insanity, bloodlust, and hatred for the one staring back at her—her own daughter.

“You can’t escape it, Samantha. No matter how hard you try, I will always be in every dark corner of your mind.”

The terror that she felt so strongly only seconds ago was drowned by a river of lava that burned fear to ashes and left nothing but rage and resentment. “I already got rid of one person who tried to control me—”

“You got lucky that time,” she cut her off. “Your mother, who you knew all your life until that night, isn’t that easy to ignore, and you know it. That’s why you can’t look away from what I’ve made of you. You can’t get rid of me.”

Sam stared her mother down, seething while her right eyelid twitched. It made her enemy chuckle. And that infuriated her. How dare she? That woman could mock her all she wanted. She was dead , so the war was already won. “I won’t beg you anymore,” she growled coldly. “Stay out of my life.”

Those 5 simple words combined in that simple sentence made Christina’s eyes go cold—colder than they already were. Then they lit up with hatred. Even though she was just a reflection in the mirror, she lunged forward. “You’re nothing, you hear me?! Nothing but a Loomis!” she screamed so loud that the reflective glass seemed to shake on the wall. “You know that you’re just like me, you’re just like Billy, and you know damn well that you’ll end up killing Tara, too! Your sister, the only person who could ever love you!”

“Liar!” her daughter bit back. That was the quickest response she could get out. She was rabid with insulted rage. She was already partially blind, but she couldn’t even see straight at this point. All she saw was red, and it wasn’t because of blood, this time. She was sick of being yelled at, and accused, and ripped apart by the tormentors who were biologically her own parents. Fuck that. She had endured too much. She didn’t want to take it anymore. “You’re wrong, Tara means everything to me! I would never fucking hurt her!”

“Did you forget? You already have.”

Sam’s blood went from fire to ice at the realization. She had hurt her. By leaving… She left all those years ago, and that was why Tara got hurt in the first place… to get her to come back to Woodsboro.

Christina chuckled. “You see? We’re the same, you and me.”

No. Fuck that. Things had changed. She loved Tara. And Tara loved her. “We’re nothing alike!” the younger Carpenter spat. “You’re pure evil!”

“Maybe. But I’m also dead… which means you can’t stop me.”

Every thing she said, there was a comeback. Every defense had an offense. Every truth had a dare.

“The day will come when you’ll hold Tara’s dead body in your arms, and there will be no second chances, no more I-love-yous, no more trust, and no more Sam Carpenter. Just Samantha Loomis.”

It was so painful. Sam didn’t think she had ever been as tense as she was right at this moment. Lies. All she could think of was the word lies . She wanted to say more. She wanted to argue. She wanted to rip out her tongue and shove it down her throat so far that she could grab a hold of her intestines and pull them back up and apart from what held them in place. 

But she was dead. So, there was nothing she could do but take it.

Christina knew her daughter was totally defenseless, looking like she was about to burst into tears again. And that thrilled her. It was refreshing and empowering, just like that night. Every time Tara was mentioned, it got to Sam deeply and emotionally. 

It was priceless. 

“You can never give her what she needs.”

Something snapped. Sam could feel it inside her. She went blind, totally blind as a guttural scream echoed off the drywall and her fist was thrown into the mirror.

Cracks.

Then shattered glass.

All in the blink of an eye.

The sound of shards falling from their placement, into the sink, and all over the floor snapped Sam out of her rabid trance. She was panting, her left-eyed vision settling on her fist that was still jammed into the mirror. Her arm was trembling and she could see fresh blood starting to accumulate on her knuckles. 

Christina was gone. The pain and the threats were gone. It was just her in the bathroom, alone, her damp hair bringing cooler temperatures to her face, while the realization that she had just punched the mirror and broke it processed in her head.

—

Tara threw the door to her room open and made it to the bathroom door, which was still shut. She knew Sam had been taking a shower, but the sound of an animalistic scream and glass shattering overpowered the music coming through her headphones. She knocked on it. “Sam?”

There was no answer. 

“Sammy, are you okay?”

Still nothing.

This made her anxiety rush in with no hesitation. She didn’t even bother to try again as she let herself in, nearly busting the door open. “Sam—” She froze only a step into the room.

Sam was sitting on the floor with shattered pieces of the mirror scattered all around her. Her head was hung, and she was holding her hand—her right hand. 

“Sam…?” Tara wanted to go to her sister’s side, but she didn’t have any shoes on, and the tile was littered with small pieces that could easily get stuck in her feet. 

Sam finally looked up from staring at the ground. It was slow and almost eerie the way she did it, but the relief that came over her little sister’s face when she realized that she was conscious and could hear her pulled her out of the shocked trance. Somewhat, at least…

As much as locking eyes made her nerves tempted to settle, the younger Carpenter was nearly horrified at the loss of control she must’ve experienced that caused her to break the mirror. “What are you doing?” her voice almost cracked as she said it.

Great. After all of that, she had just scared Tara. She swore she’d never be someone her baby sister didn’t want to be around, yet here she was, surrounded by her own unstable, toxic behavior. 

No. That wasn’t her. That was Christina trying to take her by the reins and control who she wanted her to be.

But she had to be honest.

“I’m fine, Tara,” she assured her. Her voice was quiet and tired with a small rasp from her previous yelling. Then, she looked away. “She, uh…” Her scarred-up face stared back at her in one of the large pieces of reflective glass. “It wasn’t real…”

She was still confused though… “What wasn’t real?”

The witch’s horrid design on her face was what held Sam’s attention. She hadn’t been real, but she had felt like it. The words, the blood, the touching. Being a canvas was something that still made her feel sick to her stomach. 

“Sammy?”

“Our mother…”

Tara blinked from her older sister to the glass on the floor, and then to the place where the mirror used to be. At first, she didn’t understand, but then it all made sense. “You saw a vision of her?” she asked, feeling confident in the answer but wanting to hear it for herself.

However, Sam shook her head. “It wasn’t a vision, Tara…” She watched the blood trickle down her knuckles.

“...it was a nightmare, while I was still awake.”

merry christmas josey! it was a pleasure to write something from your AU. i hope you enjoy it 🎄✨🎁

- parker (BWS)

[bookswithsyd]

Ghost Baby, Temples, & Droughts | Heaven Official's Blessing

Book three starts with the end. The large nation of Xianle might be prosperous in the capital, but the area of Yong’an is suffering from a deadly drought. So, what is the martial god Xie Lian to do? Only to borrow the Rain Master’s hat and trekking back and forth to bring rain himself.

One man cannot keep a nation goin when they are on the brink of falling. Xie Lian’s efforts are for not, as he must watch the beginning of the end of his kingdom. A war breaks out after the class divide is put in the forefront. With the kingdom having banished the starving people of Yong’an, the people retaliate for the lack of compassion.

Everything seems to reach its peak when the ever annoying Qi Rong gets himself kidnapped, causing Xie Lian to chase after him (ever the good cousin, I would have left him to fend for himself). Thankfully, Xie Lian is not on his own, a skilled young swordsman refuses to leave his side.

After the scorn of the Earth Qi Rong, is sent off, Xie Lian’s cultivation is put to the test. When flower yao use all means of temptation, Xie Lian must resist giving in and destroying his purity, thus weakening his cultivation level. This scene demonstrates how dedicated he is to cultivation after he IMPALES HIMSELF ON HIS SWORD.

This first section focuses on the war that not only destroys the Kingdom of Xianle, but ends the good will Xie Lian has built up with his people. With the fate of the land changed by the actions of Xie Lian, a deadly disease sweeps through the kingdom, only effecting the people of the capital.

The burning of Xie Lian’s shrines are what wraps up this flashback.

Back to the present, Xie Lian is back in Puqi Shrine, with a tied up Qi Rong taking control of a father’s body. To take a break from the sorrow and destruction, we get a glimpse in an annual competition amongst the gods. Who will receive the most lanterns from their devotees? Obviously the God of Water and Wealth will be sent many, along with the other highly worshipped gods, but who would have thought that nobody god who has taken to scrap collecting would blow everyone else away with his donations.

Before Xie Lian can figure out what is going on, he is sent on a detour to deal with that pesky fetus spirit that he encountered back in book one. How else does one hunt down a vengeful spirit who is set out to attack others? By shoving a pillow under your shirt and pretending to be the pregnant concubine staying in the guest room of course!

Next challenge, how do you take on a quick moving spirit? Well, you first jump in the water to get away from it. Then you come up with the brilliant idea to swallow the spirt and then shove your sword down your throat. According to Xie Lian, this is by far the best and only way to deal with this situation.

Well Hua Cheng has better plans. Instead of risking his precious gege, just have his silver butterflies capture the spirit while he pulls Xie Lian out of the water. Hua Cheng’s protective tendencies jump out in this section, making sure that Xie Lian is okay and taking him back to Ghost City (because of course he would end up in Ghost City).

What better way to welcome Xie Lian back to Ghost City than to show him the Thousand Lights Temple (through no urge of Hua Cheng, he seems embarrassed of his infatuation). The shyness shown from Hua Cheng was so endearing, the big strong Ghost King didn’t want to upset the Crown Prince. My favorite part of this whole book was the adorable domestic section with Xie Lian (trying to) teach Hua Cheng how to write.

Of course, we couldn’t forget the main reason Xie Lian ended up in Ghost City. The fetus spirit.

The whole section with the fetus spirit seems like its there to progress the plot, so I worried that it would be forgotten. Have no fear, Paradise Manner catches fire and everyone remembers the whole reason Xie Lian ended up in Ghost City.

Some bickering happens, a little fighting, and a whole lot of suspense before the mother of the spirit is found and taken back to the upper courts of heaven. With the power the spirit holds, the father must be a powerful man, so the hunt in the upper courts to find the parent begins.

A lot of finger pointing happens here. You are the father! No wait, you are the father! Very quickly, her credibility freefalls as she picks man after man as her baby daddy.

Obviously, nothing can be done with this useless information. So, off to some holding cell while the gods find a mountain to shove her in. With all the business in the heavens taken care of, Xie Lian can peacefully return to Puqi Shrine.

The best way to wind down after a hectic workday is by having a nice meal. Puqi Shrine is filled with a god, a ghost king, and a pain in the ass ghost in a human’s body along with a child or two.

This section is a sweet domestic slice-of-life feeling with Xie Lian and Hua Cheng cooking a meal and even the spiritual weapons getting in on the fun. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. To wrap up book three, a nice meal is interrupted by the Wind and Earth Masters paying the shrine a visit.

The best subject to talk about over a meal is how you were cursed as a baby and have been running away from a deadly spirit that is hunting you down, and now, after years and years of being free, it has reared its ugly head once more. The Wind Master begs for help, he can’t go to his brother because of his upcoming challenges, so Xie Lian is his only hope.

Of course this book has to end on a cliff hanger. After just starting their journey, the group is thrown a curveball. The typical mode of transportation, teleportation, seems to have come across… an error and they now are standing in a run down temple of Water and Wind.

[saras-devotionals]

Quiet Time 4/3

What am I feeling today?

Really tired and sick. I went to bed a lot later than I normally do and suffering the consequences of it now but I needed to get that work down. Also my pain hasn’t gotten better these past few days which is a little concerning but I’m sure it’s nothing.

Luke 17 NIV

(v. 1-4)

“Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.””

I always turn to this scripture. I know that I am bound to come across things that will make me stumble but I should never be the one through who it comes from. It’s good to keep in mind when interacting with others, just being very conscious of your behavior because you should be reminded of the violent imagery Jesus provides of the type of fate those people should have!

(v. 6) “He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

I always find this encroaching because sometimes I can think my faith is small

(v. 9-10) “Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ””

This is something I think about often. We’re owed nothing. Like absolutely nothing. God isn’t going to praise us for following Him or His commands because that’s already expected of us. It doesn’t make us special or worthy or anything of that sort.

(v. 27-35) “People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. “It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. “It will be just like this on the day the Son of Man is revealed. On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. Remember Lot’s wife! Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it. I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left.””

Basically saying that we have no way of knowing when the time will come. People will go about their lives as they normally do and that it can happen at any moment. Which is kinda wild when you think about it. Also Jesus said to remember Lot’s wife! She looked back on her life and ended up losing her life because she disobeyed God. The same applies to us, we have given our lives over to Christ and we can’t look back now.

[beardeddetectivepaper]

$27,307/$40,000

Hello, beautiful souls and kind hearts who love goodness and life I am Rawan ahmed, a Palestinian girl from Gaza l am 23years old.

I was born into a large family , a family filled with love, affection, happiness, and dreams. We lived in a warm and happy house, and there was reassurance and peace throughout the city. We used to go out together and love life together, being happy, working together, staying up at night, but suddenly war came and everything became... Ashes, the house, the memories, and the warmth. We no longer have anything. We have lost everything.

There is no happiness anymore, everything has become sad, because of the destruction and genocide caused by the occupation. Warmth has disappeared, tranquility has disappeared, happy life has disappeared, and fear, sadness and destruction have spread everywhere .

I am a student who graduated from Al-Aqsa University with a high average. I graduated four days before the war. I intended to apply for a master’s degree, but the war came and I lost all my dreams and ambitions. My university was destroyed and all my memories and dreams were destroyed with it.  I used to work as a mathematics teacher in a center full of students and dreams, but it was completely destroyed. I had no students, no work, or anything left. They did not destroy the places, they destroyed our dreams, our memories, and everything beautiful. We are destroyed, and our psychology is tired of destruction and fear of loss. I have a sister. A twin named Razan is studying medicine in her fourth year at Al-Azhar University, which was completely destroyed, and now she cannot complete her dream of becoming a doctor, as she has two years left until she graduates.  and I have a sister, Rahaf, who finished two years at Al-Aqsa University, specializing in engineering, and now she is unable to complete her education and achieve her dream of becoming a software engineer, working in companies and developing her skills. I am now writing my story under bombardment and destruction. Our house was bombed and destroyed, and we now have no place to sleep and feel reassured. Now we sleep in tents on the street in the rain and in the bitter cold, where there is no safety, no warmth, and none of the basics of life. My mother is a hypertension patient and an asthma patient who needs treatment, but she does not have one, and the smoke rising from the fire is affecting her negatively, and I am very afraid for her.

My grandmother must be taken out of Gaza quickly because she suffers from heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. She must be taken care of and given medical examinations, but all of this is not available, which has led to a deterioration in her health condition. Due to the lack of treatment, as the occupation prevents the entry of medicines we are very afraid for her Now my only dream and wish is for me and my family to leave Gaza safely. We are a large family, numbering 11 members. We are 7 girls, a boy, a mother,grand mother and a father. The situation in Gaza is currently very bad, as there is no clean water to drink, and this It led to us suffering from intestinal diseases, and there is no treatment available in hospitals or pharmacies. There is no healthy food. We do not have any of the basic necessities of life. There is no safe place in Gaza. Everywhere there is bombing and destruction. My family and I want your help to get us out of Gaza ,We need your support to escape from Gaza and save our lives to Egypt, as traveling to Egypt requires Egyptian coordination, and this costs $5,000 per person for adults and 2500$ for children We are 11 people, so coordination for all members of my family requires 35000$.

In addition to that, there are travel and passport transactions that require $3,000 and transportation in order to arrive Cairo International Airport, which costs $1000, and the rent for the apartment in which we will stay upon our arrival from the airport is $1000, and the basics of life because we left the house without taking anything. We went out at night under bombardment, without clothes, without food. We went out to escape for our lives and fled to tents in Rafah.Registering in universities and schools, purchasing all the basics of life we ​​need, and moving to a new stage in our lives in which we live in safety and there is no fear or bombing. All of this requires $40,000 to save our lives, get out of Gaza, complete our educational journey for me and my sisters, and achieve our dreams and Improving the health condition, giving the necessary treatment to my mother and grandmother, and taking care of their health. I don't want to lose anyone from my family, they are my life, love and everything. We live in a very difficult situation, we sleep in the cold, in the dark, there is no water, no electricity, no bathroom, no gas for cooking, only tents to escape from the bombing. I will attach to you pictures of the suffering we are experiencing in Gaza, such as cooking every day on firewood due to the lack of gas, heating water on the fire for bathing due to the lack of electricity, preparing bread on charcoal or fire, seeing the bombing and destruction in our eyes and sleeping so as not to see the horror in Night, my little brothers cry at night from fear and the sounds caused by the bombing, cats that have no food or shelter. We are very afraid. Therefore, I ask you to help us quickly get out of the war unscathed. I have a cat, and there is no cat food in Gaza. It will die of hunger. Therefore, please help me and my family to leave Gaza and travel to Egypt to find a house in which there is water, electricity, and healthy food, And also to find a treatment and medicine for my mother before her health condition deteriorates so that my brothers and I can complete our educational journey, achieve our dreams and ambitions, and preserve the safety of our souls.

[sins-of-the-sea]

The Cruel Choice

The Master lumbers around like a shadow in the smoke as armed forces move further in while helicopters cover the skies. He doesn’t lift a finger as his own thralls are being fired upon, gravely wounding them all. Ruixiong receives a bullet to the neck while Abena gains two on her torso. Rashid, being the biggest target, has four on his back, forcing him to lower his shield around Phoebus as he falls forward, nearly dead.

And despite the rain of bullets, the Master does nothing but talk. He takes the time to speak to his thralls as the armed forces take cover briefly in case the Seven fire back, not knowing for sure what they were dealing with other than the fact they can clear an entire pier in such small numbers. Sorcery? Advanced weaponry? They don’t know, and they must be careful to act accordingly. And yet still, the Master speaks, unafraid of their approach as his thralls lay on the ground, bleeding and dying.

“Did you think anyone would just come here to thank you for saving lives when you destroyed others? Did you truly believe, for a moment, that anyone would look upon you favorably for discerning which souls to spare and which ones to take?”

The Master takes an unfallen chair and seats himself onto it, going as far as to cross his legs as he rests a hand on a knee.

“Your actions with those hostages proved nothing. Nothing but the very fact you will never be seen as anymore than murderers and monsters. Those hostages did not see human faces; they saw demons. They didn’t see hands, they saw fog and fire. They didn’t see eyes; they saw sin. Your sin. All of your sins.

“There was no righteousness in your actions. Only cowardice. You hide your deeds beneath the mask of goodwill for humanity. But such goodwill is false. You know it. You know there are consequences in defying me… me, who always knows what is best for you. Did I demand you finish the job out of sheer cruelty? Oh, my beloved children… 

“I knew this would happen to you. Because this is what happened to you in Mactan. In Jeddah. In Beijing. And in Tortuga. You come in with good intentions, hoping to survive… only for you to die for doing the right thing.

“...But I am merciful, aren’t I? I gave you what you needed. And it seems, for all your hard work… I will have to step in again.” The Master raises his head as grenades are being ready while the armored trucks and helicopters close in…

“M-Master…”

“N-No….”

The Master turns his head towards Guy in particular. He smirks as he looks upon his leg in particular… the same leg that was wounded and introduced the fever that nearly killed him in 1521.

“Oh, Guy… how much you suffered this entire year. You only wished for it all to end. All because of some little words your brother said around this time last year.”

“...............”

“.......Would you ilke to know… the conditions of Phoebus’ Pact?”

“To… sell his soul…. To save my life…”

“...It was more than that.”

“......................”

“.....Phoebus the First. Son of Avignon. Child of the Persecuted by the Crown and the Cross.”

“................”

“Show them the true deliverer of all pain and suffering in the world. The true meaning of death.”

“..............”

“P-Phoebus…..”

Phoebus rises from the debris….

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

And says nothing. Nothing as the men, armored and armed, release their weapons to sip into a slumber.

First their eyes close.

Then their breath escapes their lips.

Then their eyes sink into their sockets. Their tongues roll back into their skulls. Their blood pools. Their skin tightens.

Then they rot. Then the flies and maggots die and rot. Any rat and roach that survived the chaos on the piers fell over and slept before fading away. Kelp that washed ashore curl and dry up even while the tides are still high. Seagulls and petrels lose strength mid flight. Foam and detritus containing dead fish form along the waves as everything dies.

Everything.

Even the drivers of the vehicles still going. The helicopters spin out of control and crash into the sea as well as the armored trucks, drowning anyone left who may have resisted Sloth’s slumber.

No words. No commands. Even the wind is dead. And nothing is left.

Only an eternal sleep.

Sloth.

[carleighalpha]

Promising Potential Pt 2

{Y/N} and Black Hat begin their plan to destroy the cities by capturing Lucy

Rating: M.

Word Count: 2.0K

Imagine: Smut.

Warning: Vampirism. Blood. Minor Death. Smut.

As Black Hat checked the train to make sure that the vampires that were freshly bred by the queen to rain hell upon the cities, he saw his mate, {Y/N} feeding on a human he had grabbed. She drank the fragile human dry before throwing the body to the side. She licked her fangs clean of her prey’s blood. Her {H/L} {H/C} hair was moving through the wind as she looked at her mate. He came over and kissed her as he could taste his mate’s prey on her tongue.

“ Such a unique taste.” Black Hat said with a fanged grin as {Y/N} smirked. Her venom, if placed in a human, would cause a burning sensation as they turned to familiars. It must have been a perk of being a female human vampire. The human didn’t get up as there was no blood in their system to complete the change.

“ Hunger is satiated.” {Y/N} said as her golden eyes bore into Black Hat’s. She walked inside and grabbed her leather trench coat. Black Hat began the train. The loud clanking of the wheels grew loud and clashed as gears began to grind with every cycle. {Y/N} placed her head on Black Hat’s chest, hearing his below average heart rate. Being Human Vampires, they had heart beats, which meant they had circulatory systems.

“ The Queen’s knowledge is great, thankfully giving us the ability to mate. Perhaps in the future.” Black Hat purred in his mate’s ear as he placed a glove covered hand on her lower belly. {Y/N} purred as the thought of being swollen with his child made her feel all sorts of happiness that she wanted. {Y/N} smirked at this and walked to the map.

“ How many clicks before we reach our target?” {Y/N} asked as Black Hat smiled. {Y/N} wanted what Black Hat wanted, to make the Church suffer and to bleed the world to her will. To end her suffering and brand of the bad blood that her town gave her.

“ Such a beautiful fire in your belly.” Black Hat said as he nibbled her neck. {Y/N} moaned loudly as he gripped the {S/F/C} top upon her.

“ Have you fed today?” {Y/N} asked as Black Hat smirked.

“ Saving it for Ivan’s old wife.” He replied as he soon had the train stopped. {Y/N} and Black Hat soon walked to the carts with the vampires and let them loose on the house. The two human vampires walk slowly to the carnage as Black Hat grabs the older woman and bites into her, snapping her neck and draining her dry. {Y/N} played around with Owen, Ivan’s brother, throwing him about before dealing some bites laced with venom that wouldn’t turn, but kill over a few days.

“ Let him come.” {Y/N} snarled slowly into Owen’s ear. She knocked him unconscious before turning to Black Hat, who had a screaming Lucy in his arms. {Y/N} lifted her and stared into her eyes. {Y/N} smiled as her eyes contracted, the girl finally going unconscious.

“ Thank god!” {Y/N} said as she walked over the debris. She walked out of the house to the vampires and howled a command for them to return to the train. They howled back before returning to safety from the sun. {Y/N} placed a bloody handprint on the threshold before Black Hat gave her a kiss, blood lacing his tongue. The two parted and walked back to the train. They placed Lucy in the cage and locked the door before leaving her to wake up.

“ Phase one done, now onto phase two, feed the army and keep tabs on the Priest.” Black Hat said as {Y/N} smirked. A familiar came in, James, one of Black Hat’s.

“ All is going smoothly, let us know when she wakes.” {Y/N} said before he nodded. Black Hat followed {Y/N} to their favorite cart. Their lounge. {Y/N} sat in her favorite {F/C} chair that resembled a throne as Black Hat sat in his.

“ How long before he is notified that his daughter’s been taken?” {Y/N} asked as she began to drink a glass of blood that they had drained from a passerby. Black Hat smiled at her question and her mannerisms.

“ A day at the most.” Black Hat replied as he poured himself a glass. The two were drinking their glasses and enjoying their company.

“ You have such deep desires. It must be delicious and intriguing to go deep into your desires.”  Black Hat said as {Y/N} got up and sat in his lap.

“ It is such a deep satisfying feeling.” {Y/N} growled into her mate's ear as she felt him harden.

“ Let me relieve our desires before I begin to get hungry again.” {Y/N} growled as she got up and led him to their off limit cart. They quickly lost their clothes and began to embrace upon the bed. {Y/N} quickly got on top and sank quickly upon Black Hat’s member. Black Hat growled out as the warm sensation surrounded him. Her walls were hot and wet and she kept moving up and down. Black Hat gripped her hips to drive into her deeper.

“ You feel so warm. I want to feel you!” Black Hat said as he sat up and began to nibble on her neck. {Y/N} moved again as she brought his head to her neck. Black Hat growled as he felt his orgasm get close. He then quickened {Y/N} to where her words became moans of pleasure, which sent Black Hat over the edge. He sank his fangs into her neck and {Y/N} cried in pleasure as his venom entered her system and pulsed her walls upon his member as he began to release his seed deep within her. The two held each other as Black Hat let her neck go and licked the wound shut.

“ Such a rich feeling.” He said as {Y/N} lulled her head back as the pleasure pulsed within her. Black Hat brought her head forward and brought her to him. {Y/N} knew what to do and bit into Black Hat’s neck. Her venom burned through him as she took little to ease the hunger. {Y/N} plucked her mouth off and licked the wound shut. Black Hat smiled before kissing {Y/N} slowly as they laid down after Black Hat withdrew himself from {Y/N}.

“ Exhilarating.” {Y/N} said as her breathing slowed as she fell asleep. Her energy drained. Black Hat brought her close as she grew warm with her energy slowly being replenished. It was a few hours passing before {Y/N} stirred awake. Black Hat was still asleep. She smirked at this as she got up and quickly got dressed. Black Hat stirred as {Y/N} got her leather trench coat on.

“ How did you rest?” Black Hat asked as he sat up. {Y/N} sat next to him.

“ Better than any other night I rested at a mortal.” She replied as he placed a hand on her cheek. Smiling at how she became powerful and proud as he trained her with drones and hive guardians. Her training was faster than his as it was a gift for her to recognize all patterns. Her strength with speed was almost prodigy level. Black Hat got up and dressed. As he put his hat on, a knock on the door stopped all future talk.

“ Who?” {Y/N} said as she got to the door.

“ James. She’s awake.” The familiar said as Black Hat walked to the door.

“ Step back.” {Y/N} said as James did what he told. The two human vampires walked out of their nest cart and began walking to the cart where Lucy was being held. However, when they got in, Lucy wasn’t alone.

“ Come now!” The lone familiar growled at a crying Lucy. He moved about the cage around her, not noticing the human vampires he called master. This familiar was called Marcus.

“ Don’t be shy!” He exclaimed as Lucy tried to calm, her heart beating loudly.

“ Give us a kiss!” He said with a vile tongue that Black Hat didn’t like. He grabbed Marcus and threw him. {Y/N} grabbing him and biting him hard as she excreted burning venom into Marcus’ neck. He growled at this in agony. The venom burned through his neck.

“ That’s no way to treat a friend.” Black Hat told him before {Y/N} snapped his neck.

“ Punishable by death.” {Y/N} said as she walked to the cage.

“ Please, let me go!” Lucy cried in worry.

“ You are in there for your own protection.” {Y/N} said in a cold tone as venom dripped out of her fangs. Lucy’s blood smelt pure and filled with life. Black Hat touched {Y/N}’s cheek.

“ If you go out, you shall be taken apart, piece by piece.” Black Hat tells her as a harsh warning. Lucy’s emotions grow harsh.

“ My uncle’s a priest. He’ll come after me.” Lucy said quickly and with no haste in her tongue.

“ Really. What makes you so sure of this?” {Y/N} asked this of the red head.

“ He’ll come after me. He’ll come after you!” Lucy yelled at the two, hoping to get a fear filled reaction, sadly it wasn’t one she expected. The reaction that filled the room was eagerness.

“ Well that is something we are absolutely counting on.” Black Hat said as his face came into view. {Y/N} saw his fangs glisten in the light.

“ Hunger. Her blood.” {Y/N} said as Black Hat got up and led her to a cart on the train to reveal one of the Night Shade people. The man cried out as he saw {Y/N}. The unnatural eyes and her stature frightened him.

“ What have you done, Devil's whore!” She cried out as Black Hat kicked him causing the man to spit blood on the floor. {Y/N} smirked at this as she quickly got to him and bared her fangs.

“ I let someone bring me to power.” {Y/N} said as she swiped his face to release more blood. {Y/N} licked her fingers as the blood brought her hunger to an all time high.

“ You are a curse!” He screamed out at the speed of {Y/N} as she had the man on his knees.

“ Before you die, just know if I’m the Devil’s whore, then meet the devil.” {Y/N} said as she pulled his hair back to make the man look at Black Hat.

“ A Priest! Fallen! demons are what you two are! Messengers of the devil!” He said before {Y/N} moved the man’s head aside and sank her fangs deep in his neck. He cried out as the burning venom began to surge through his body. {Y/N} held the man tight as she bled him dry of everything. She stood up and snapped her prey’s neck. The loud crack echoed through the cart. {Y/N} opened the cart's door and tossed the body into the land to be eaten by scavengers. She shut the door to see Black Hat smiling proudly at her mate.

“ Do we have a plan to go through Night Shade? I want my old home to burn and leave nothing.” {Y/N} asked as Black Hat smiled.

“ First stop, yes.” Black Hat said as the train soon started to slow down. {Y/N} smiled before the cart doors opened to unleash the vampires upon her old town. The screams and cries of villagers was music to the female human vampire.

“ Such glorious chaos.” {Y/N} said as the fires made her {H/L} {H/C} hair grow bright in the light. Black Hat loved his mate’s drive to kill and slaughter. The two knew the sun would soon rise. With a single cry, the vampires returned. The train continued its journey to bring carnage.

[hiswordsarekisses]

“The Kingdom” is constantly used in connection with the rule of Christ in the hearts of believers - The Kingdom of God is within you! He must be The King of our hearts, ruling our wills and our life, and we are to be praying His Kingdom to come and His will do be done in the earth as it is done in Heaven.

“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them,

“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’

for behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”

And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” Luke‬ ‭17‬:‭20‬-‭30‬

“He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”” Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭20‬-‭21‬

“Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”” Luke‬ ‭13‬:‭18‬-‭19‬

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭33‬

[mariacallous]

WASHINGTON (JTA) — President Joe Biden will visit Israel during wartime to hear in person about its strategy as its conflict with Hamas intensifies, and to press for humanitarian relief for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

In a snap call with reporters on Monday night, John Kirby, the National Security Council spokesman, outlined Biden’s plan for a one-day visit on Wednesday to Tel Aviv, where he will meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president will also head to Amman, Jordan, where he meet with King Abdullah, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority.

“The president will reaffirm our solidarity with Israel and he will look forward to getting an update from Israeli officials about about their strategy and the pace of their military operations and certainly expect to hear from Israel what they believe they need to continue to defend their people,” Kirby said.

Since Hamas invaded Israel on Oct. 7, killing more than 1,300 Israelis, wounding thousands and taking 200 captive, Biden has been unstinting in his support for Israel but has indicated concern that Israel has yet to set parameters for the counterattack, other than destroying Hamas. Israeli airstrikes have killed some 2,750 Palestinians, according to the Hamas-run Palestinian Health Ministry.

“We must not lose sight of the fact that the overwhelming majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with Hamas’s appalling attacks, and are suffering as a result of them,” Biden said in a post Sunday on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. He has also said it would be a “big mistake” for Israel to reoccupy Gaza.

It is rare for a president to visit a country at war when U.S. troops are not involved, though this will be Biden’s second such trip this year, after traveling to Ukraine in February. Rockets fired from Gaza, and to a lesser extent from Lebanon, continue to rain down in Israel. Hours before Kirby’s announcement there were sirens warning of potential attacks on Tel Aviv, and Israel is preparing a large-scale ground invasion of Gaza. But Kirby said the U.S. was assured that Biden’s security would be safeguarded.

“We are not dictating military terms and operational mandates to the Israeli military,” Kirby said. “I don’t know how much more clear I can make that. We’re not dictating terms to them. And we wouldn’t make a trip, obviously, if we did not believe that the proper security parameters would be in place.”

A military analyst told The New York Times that Israel would be unlikely to launch a ground invasion while the U.S. president was in the country.

“The ground operation is going to have lots of casualties on both sides,” Miri Eisin, a former senior military officer and the director of the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism at Reichman University in Israel, told the Times. “You don’t want to do that when the U.S. president is here.”

Kirby emphasized that a key component of Biden’s trip would be dedicated to getting relief to the Palestinians currently trapped within Gaza, whose borders with Israel and Egypt are shut down, and where supplies are largely cut off. The Biden Administration pressured Israel into reopening the water supply to the coastal territory.

“He will certainly reiterate that Hamas does not stand for the Palestinian people’s right to dignity and self-determination,” Kirby said. “And he’ll discuss again the humanitarian needs of all civilians in Gaza.”

Kirby repeated that Biden believed Israel should, as a fellow democracy, abide by the laws of war, but he said it was not the United States’ place to press Israel on how it should conduct a military operation.

“We are not putting conditions on the military systems that we are providing to Israel,” Kirby said. “They have a right to defend themselves. They have a right to go after this terrorist threat. And we’re going to continue to do everything we can to help them do that. As I said earlier, unlike Hamas the United States and Israel are vibrant democracies believe in respect for the innocent life, we ascribe to the law of armed conflict, and that will continue to be our mutual expectations going forward.”

Separately, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said she would be leading a delegation to Israel on Tuesday. U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer, a New York Jewish Democrat who is the majority leader, this week led a bipartisan delegation to Israel, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken has also traveled to the country twice since Hamas’ invasion.