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secretmellowblog · 1 year ago

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Les Mis French History Timeline: all the context you need to know to understand Les Mis

Here is a simple timeline of French history as it relates to events in Les Miserables, and to the context of Les Mis's publication! A post like this would’ve really helped me four years ago, when I knew very little about 1830s France or the goals of Les Amis, so I’m making it now that I have the information to share! ^_^

This post will be split into 4 sections: a quick overview of important terms, the history before the novel that’s important to the character's backstories, the history during the novel, and then the history relevant to the 1848-onward circumstances of Hugo’s life and the novel’s publication.

Part 1: Overview

The novel takes place in the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo, during a period called the Restoration.

The ancient monarchy was overthrown during the French Revolution. After a series of political struggles the revolutionary government was eventually replaced by an empire under Napoleon. Then Napoleon was defeated and sent into exile— but then he briefly came back and seized power for one hundred days—! and then he was defeated yet again for good at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.

After all that political turmoil, kings have been "restored" to the throne of France. The novel begins right as this Restoration begins.

The major political parties important to generally understanding Les Mis (Wildly Oversimplified) are Republicans, Liberals, Bonapartists, and Royalists. It’s worth noting that all these ‘party terms’ changed in meaning/goals over time depending on which type of government was in power. In general though, and just for the sake of reading Les Mis:

Republicans want a Republic, where people have power rather than monarchs and (in this context) elect their leaders democratically— they’re the very left wing progressive ones, and are heavily outcast/censored/policed. Les Amis are Republicans.

Liberals: we don’t have time to go into it, but I don’t think there are any characters in Les Mis defined by their liberalism.

Bonapartists are followers of Napoleon Bonaparte I, who led the Empire. Many viewed the Emperor as more favorable or progressive to them than a king would be. Georges Pontmercy is a Bonapartist, as is Pere Fauchelevent.

Royalists believe in the divine right of Kings; they’re conservative. Someone who is extremely royalist to the point of wanting basically no limits on the king’s power at all are called “Ultraroyalists” or “ultra.” Marius’s conservative grandfather Gillenromand is an ultra royalist. Hugo is also very concerned with criticizing the "Great Man of History," the view that history is pushed forward by the actions of a handful of special great men like kings and emperors. Les Mis aims to focus on the common masses of people who push history forward instead.

Part 2: Timeline of History involved in characters’ Backstories

1789– the March on the bastille/ the beginning of the original French Revolution. A young Myriel, who is then a shallow married aristocrat, flees the country. His family is badly hurt by the Revolution. His wife dies in exile.

1793– Louis XVI is found guilty of committing treason and sentenced to death. The Conventionist G—, the old revolutionary who Myriel talks to, votes against the death of the king.

1795: the Directory rules France. Throughout much of the revolution, including this period, the country is undergoing “dechristianization” policies. Fantine is born at this time. Because the church is not in power as a result of dechristianization, Fantine is unbaptized and has no record of a legal given name, instead going by the nickname Fantine (“enfantine,” childlike.)

1795: The Revolutionary government becomes more conservative. Jean Valjean is arrested.

1804: Napoleon officially crowns himself Emperor of France. the Revolution’s dream of a Republic is dead for a bit. At this time, Myriel returns from his exile and settles down in the provinces of France to work as a humble priest. Then he visits Paris and makes a snarky comment to Napoleon, and Napoleon finds him so witty that he appoints him Bishop.

Part 3: the novel actually begins

1815: Napoleon is defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by the allied nations of Britain and Prussia. Read Hugo’s take on that in the Waterloo Digression! He gets a lot of facts wrong, but that’s Hugo for you.

Marius’s father, Baron Pontmercy, nearly dies on the battlefield. Thenardier steals his belongings.

After Napoleon is defeated, a king is restored to the throne— Louis XVIII, of the House of Bourbon, the ancient royal house that ruled France before the Revolution. In order to ensure that Louis XVIII stays on the throne, the nations of Britian, Prussia, and Russia, send soldiers occupy France. So France is, during the early events of the novel, being occupied by foreign soldiers. This is part of why there are so many references to soldiers on the streets and garrisons and barracks throughout the early portions of the novel. The occupation officially ended in 1818.

1815 (a few months after Waterloo): Jean Valjean is released from prison and walks down the road to Digne, the very same road Napoleon charged down during his last attempt to seize power. Many of the inns he passes by are run by people advertising their connections to Napoleon. Symbolically Valjean is the poor man returning from exile into France, just as Napoleon was the Great Man briefly returning from exile during the 100 days, or King Louis XVIII is the Great King returning from exile to a restored throne.

1817: The Year 1817, which Hugo has a whole chapter-digression about. Louis XVIII of the House of Bourbon is on the throne. Fantine, “the nameless child of the Directory,” is abandoned by Tholomyes.

1821: Napoleon dies in exile.

1825: King Louis XVIII dies. Charles X takes the throne. While Louis XVIII was willing to compromise, Charles X is a far more conservative ultra-royalist. He attempts to bring back something like the Pre-Revolution style of monarchy.

Underground resistance groups, including Republican groups like Les Amis, plot against him.

1827-1828: Georges Pontmercy, bonapartist veteran of Waterloo, dies. Marius, who has been growing up with his abusive Ultra-royalist grandfather and mindlessly repeating his ultra-royalist politics, learns how much his father loved him. He becomes a democratic Bonapartist.

Marius is a little bit late to everything though. He shouts “long live the Emperor!” Even though Napoleon died in 1821 and insults his grandfather by telling him “down with that hog Louis XVIII” even though Louis XVIII has been dead since 1825. He’s a little confused but he’s got the spirit.

Marius leaves his grandfather to live on his own.

1830: “The July Revolution,” also known as the “Three Glorious Days” or “the Second French Revolution.” Rebels built barricades and successfully forced Charles X out of power.

Unfortunately, TL;DR moderate politicians prevented the creation of a Republic and instead installed another more politically progressive king — Louis-Philippe, of the house of Orleans.

Louis-Philippe was a relative of the royal family, had lived in poverty for a time, and described himself as “the citizen-king.” Hugo’s take on him is that he was a good man, but being a king is inherently evil; monarchy is a bad system even if a “good” dictator is on the throne.

The shadow of 1830 is important to Les Mis, and there’s even a whole digression about it in “A Few Pages of History,” a digression most people adapting the novel have clearly skipped. Les Amis would’ve probably been involved in it....though interestingly, only Gavroche and maybe Enjolras are explicitly confirmed to have been there, Gavroche telling Enjolras he participated “when we had that dispute with Charles X.”

Sadly we're following Marius (not Les Amis) in 1830. Hugo mentions that Marius is always too busy thinking to actually participate in political movements. He notes that Marius was pleased by 1830 because he thinks it is a sign of progress, but that he was too dreamy to be involved in it.

1831: in “A Few Pages of History” Hugo describes the various ways Republican groups were plotting what what would later become the June Rebellion– the way resistance groups had underground meetings, spread propaganda with pamphlets, smuggled in gunpowder, etc.

Spring of 1832: there is a massive pandemic of cholera in Paris that exacerbates existing tensions. Marius is described as too distracted by love to notice all the people dying of cholera.

June 1st, 1832: General Lamarque, a member of parliament often critical of the monarchy, dies of cholera.

June 5th and 6th, 1832: the June Rebellion of 1832:

Republicans, students, and workers attempt to overthrow the monarchy, and finally get a democratic Republic For Real This Time. The rebellion is violently crushed by the National Guard.

Enjolras was partially inspired by Charles Jeanne, who led the barricades at Saint-Merry.

Part 4: the context of Les Mis’s publication

February 1848: a successful revolution finally overthrows King Louis Philippe. A younger Victor Hugo, who was appointed a peer of France by Louis-Philippe, is then elected as a representative of Paris in the provisional revolutionary government.

June 1848: This is a lot, and it’s a thing even Hugo’s biographers often gloss over, because it’s a horrific moral failure/complexity of Hugo’s that is completely at odds with the sort of politics he later became known for. The short summary is that in June 1848 there was a working-class rebellion against new labor laws/forced conscription, and Victor Hugo was on the “wrong side of the barricades” working with the government to violently suppress the rebels. To quote from this source:

Much to the disappointment of his supporters, in [Victor Hugo’s] first speech in the national assembly he went after the ateliers or national workshops, which had been a major demand of the workers. Two days later the workshops were closed, workers under twenty-five were conscripted and the rest sent to the countryside. It was a “political purge” and a declaration of war on the Parisian working class that set into motion the June Days, or the second revolution of 1848—an uprising lauded by Marx as one of the first workers�� revolutions. As the barricades went up in Paris, Hugo was tragically on the wrong side. On June 24 the national assembly declared a state of siege with Hugo’s support. Hugo would then sink to a new political low. He was chosen as one of sixty representatives “to go and inform the insurgents that a state of siege existed and that Cavaignac [the officer who had led the suppression of the June revolt] was in control.” With an express mission “to stop the spilling of blood,” Hugo took up arms against the workers of Paris. Thus, Hugo, voice of the voiceless and hero of workers, helped to violently suppress a rebellion led by people whom he in many ways supported—and many of whom supported him. With twisted logic and an even more twisted conscience, Hugo fought and risked his life to crush the June insurrection.

There is an otherwise baffling chapter in Les Mis titled "The Charybdis of the Faubourg Saint Antoine and the Scylla of the Fauborg Du Temple," where Hugo goes on a digression about June of 1848. Hugo contrasts June of 1848 with other rebellions, and insists that the June 1848 Rebellion was Wrong and Different. It is a strangely anti-rebellion classist chapter that feels discordant with the rest of the book. This is because it is Hugo's effort to (indirectly) address criticisms people had of his own involvement in June 1848, and to justify why he believed crushing that rebellion with so much force was necessary. The chapter is often misused to say that Hugo was "anti-violent-rebellion all the time" (which he wasn't) or that "rebellion is bad” is the message of Les Mis (which it isn't) ........but in reality the chapter is about Hugo attempting to justify his own past actions to the reader and to himself, actions which many people on his side of the political spectrum considered a betrayal. He couldn't really have written a novel about the politics of barricades without addressing his actions in June 1848, and he addressed them by attempting to justify them, and he attempted to justify them with a lot of deeply questionable rhetoric. 1848 is a lot, and I don't fully understand all the context yet-- but that general context is necessary to understand why the chapter is even in the novel. Late 1848/1849: Quoting from the earlier source again:

In the wake of the revolution, Hugo tried to make sense of the events of 1848. He tried to straddle the growing polarization between, on the one hand, “the party of order,” which coalesced around Napoleon’s nephew Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte, who in December 1848 had been elected France’s president under a new constitution, and the “party of movement” (or radical Left) that, in the aftermath of 1848, had made considerable advances. In this climate, as Hugo increasingly spoke out, and faced opposition and repression himself, he was radicalized and turned to the Left for support against the tyranny and “barbarism” he saw in the government of Louis Napoleon. The “point of no return” came in 1849. Hugo became one of the loudest and most prominent voices of opposition to Louis Napoleon. In his final and most famous insult to Napoleon, he asked: “Just because we had Napoleon le Grand [Napoleon the Great], do we have to have Napoleon le petit [Napoleon the small]?” Immune from punishment because of his role in the government, Bonaparte retaliated by shutting down Hugo’s newspaper and arresting both his sons.

Thenardier is possibly meant to be Hugo’s caricature of Louis-Napoleon/Napoleon III. He is “Napoleon the small,” an opportunistic scumbag leeching off the legacy of Waterloo and Napoleon to give himself some respectability. He is a metaphorical ‘graverobber of Waterloo’ who has all of Napoleon’s dictatorial pettiness without any of his redeeming qualities.

It’s also worth noting that Marius is Victor “Marie” Hugo’s self-insert. Hugo’s politics changed wildly over time. Like Marius he was a royalist when was young. And like Marius, he looked up to Napoleon and to Napoleon III, before his views of them were shattered. This is reflected in the way Marius has complicated feelings of loyalty to his father (who’s very connected to the original Napoleon I) and to Thenardier (who’s arguably an analogue for Napoleon IiI.)

1851:

On December 2, 1851, Louis Napoleon launched his coup, suspending the republic’s constitution he had sworn to uphold. The National Assembly was occupied by troops. Hugo responded by trying to rally people to the barricades to defend Paris against Napoleon’s seizure of power. Protesters were met with brutal repression. Under increasing threat to his own life, with both of his sons in jail and his death falsely announced, Hugo finally left Paris. He ultimately ended up on the island of Guernsey where he spent much of the next eighteen years and where he would write the bulk of Les Misérables. It was from here that his most radical and political work was smuggled into France.

Hugo arguably did some of his most important political work after being exiled. In Guernsey, he aided with resistance against the regime of Napoleon III. Hugo’s popularity with the masses also meant that his exile was massive news, and a thing all readers of Les Miserables would’ve been deeply familiar with.

This is why there are so many bits of Les Mis where the narrator nostalgically reflects on how much they wish they were in Paris again —these parts are very political; readers would’ve picked up that this was Victor Hugo reflecting on he cruelty of his own exile.

1862-1863: Les Mis is published. It is a barely-veiled call to action against the government of Napoleon III, written about the June Rebellion instead of the current regime partially in order to dodge the censorship laws at the time.

Conservatives despise the book and call it the death of civilization and a dangerous rebellious evil godless text that encourages them to feel bad for the stupid evil criminal rebel poors and etc etc etc– (see @psalm22-6 ‘s excellent translations of the ancient conservative reviews)-- but the novel sells very well. Expressing approval or disapproval of the book is considered inherently political, but fortunately it remains unbanned.

…And that’s it! An ocean of basic historical context about Les Mis!

If anyone has any corrections or additions they would like to make, feel free to add them! I have researched to the best of my ability, but I don’t pretend to be perfect. I also recommend listening to the Siecle podcast, which covers the events of the Bourbon Restoration starting at the Battle of Waterloo, if you're interested in learning more about the period!

#les mis #someone in a discord server asked about this a while back #so i put it together!#it’s basically what I told them in the discord server but as a tumblr post #and with some extra stuff I forgot to say #but yeAH maybe if more historical information gets spread #we’ll get more canon era fanfics >:3333 #which are always fun

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 months ago

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Pensacola Prince Andrew, aka Matt Gaetz, has been defenestrated.

Good riddance.

The next weakest targets are the alleged rapist Pete Hegseth and the registered Qatari agent Pam Bondi.

The Democratic position should be communicated in simple words: an alleged rapist cannot command the American Armed Forces, and a Qatari whore, who cashed the checks of the government that harbored Hamas while they plotted October 7th, cannot be the chief law enforcement officer.

Hakeem Jeffries should make his members read the Monterey California police report into the congressional record. He should apply maximum pressure on the weakest Republican members who know their place in the MAGA herd is on its periphery — on the outside. There, they run against the headwind, and feel the full force of the dangers that lurk everywhere.

There are a few predictable ingredients when it comes to creating political good fortune.

The first is luck. The second is your opponent’s incompetence and overreach.

Trump is overextended, and the transition plan has collapsed into a rubble of insanity 60 days before the inauguration.

He has taken his first step backwards, and will take many more.

The zebras on the outside of the herd are the ones who are most vulnerable. In this analogy, their names are Hegseth and Bondi.

The Monterey police report established beyond a reasonable doubt that Hegseth is an epic buffoon. Truly.

He may also be a rapist.

He seems to have a problem with women. Big time.

Something broke somewhere, and this ought to be explored psychiatrically and forensically under public examination before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

According to Reuters, Trump plans to decapitate the senior leadership of the US military in a Stalin-esque purge. Guilt by association and kangaroo justice await the men and women who have spent their entire lives in preparation for immense responsibilities and leadership.

The good news is that behind them is another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another.

On Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman issued the following statement:

This report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth's attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated, and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false. Pete Hegseth is a highly-respected Combat Veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform.

Pete Hegseth should be brutally questioned about the US Navy and USMC and naval warfare theory, history, strategy and tactics.

The attitude of the Democratic opposition concerning his service in Iraq should be…wait for it…”We don’t give a f@#k.”

It doesn’t qualify him to be Secretary of Anything — let alone Secretary of Defense.

He should be derailed, mocked, humiliated, defeated and sent into a splendid exile on the Mar-a-Lago patio.

The whole lion pride should swarm the slowest zebra first — Hegseth — trip him, and then eat him.

When he’s gone and left behind as proverbial bones to be bleached by the hot sun on the Savanna, it will be time to give chase to Bondi.

She has fresh legs. Let her stretch them. She will not get far because she is running in Qatari quick sand.

I have said many times that Donald Trump Jr. is a moron and proof that nepotism is a very bad thing. It does demonstrate that Trump had some insight when he had some reluctance to bequeath his name, lest his progeny be “a loser.”

Junior has always reminded me of Uday, while Eric throws off more of a Qusay vibe. They are easy to mix up.

At any rate, they were a big problem for Saddam because, in the end, they were Saddam’s kids, and it was just going to be really hard for them to turn out okay — like Eric and Junior.

This is the point that really matters, especially if you are going to let Uday and Qusay pick the cabinet after their father buried their mother on the first hole of his golf course — after allegedly raping her years earlier.

You get the point, right?

This is all madness.

Make Pete Hegseth defend his depravity, his ethics, his unfitness and keep him pinned down. He is the top target.

Expose his profound and epic lack of knowledge, grasp of strategy, history and culture regarding the US military.

There is an old USMC saying: it is the 7 Ps.

It stands for “prior proper planning prevents piss poor performance.” This philosophy must be embraced by the Democratic Senate minority, led by the comically inept Schumer.

The US Navy and the US Army are two of the country’s oldest institutions. They are venerable. They are powerful. They will weather Trumpism if for no other reason than the NCO corps is as steeped in the traditions as is the general officers. In fact, from a lived experience perspective, more so. People who live without a North Star or a code do not comprehend those who do.

Let me tell you a story about the US Navy.

Think about this, as the alleged rapist and AAA-certified Fox News morning doofus gets ready to sink it:

This is the story of an elegant lady and her master. Her Master is a woman. She commands an American warship, a 44-gun United States Class heavy frigate, personally named by George Washington.

She was designed by an American genius from Philadelphia and built by New Englanders in a Boston shipyard. Her bow has sliced through all the Earth’s oceans, across four centuries of time.

American merchant ships and their crews were being preyed upon by the British and French Navies and looted by barbary pirates.

The young Republic was dependent on trade and commerce. The Third Congress appropriated money for the construction of six warships under the Naval Act of 1794 to protect American shipping.

The construction of the ships was spread between six states and cities. Local economies boomed around the building of the most technologically advanced machines ever constructed on the North American continent.

They were the spacecraft of their age, marvels of science, engineering and design. Though bigger than French and British frigates, they were smaller than the Capital ships of the great European naval powers. They were fast and their speed made them lethal under the command and crews of the born sailors who shaped the young United States and her Navy.

United States Ship is abbreviated as USS and precedes the name of an American Warship. What would be the names of the six ships?

It is an interesting question to ponder. Surely, the naming of these first American warships would have been imbued with meaning in 1794. We know it was not a trivial decision, and that it was made at the highest levels of government. The Secretary of the Navy submitted a list of ten names for consideration to President George Washington.

His office was as new as the country. Since there was no precedent, the founding generation was forced to make it up as they went along. John Adams had proposed a style of adornment and address for the office that would have embarrassed a European aristocrat. Washington rejected the flowery titles in favor of Mr. President.

The naming of the ships was a Presidential decision, and they offer a window into what was viewed as important, significant and meaningful in a young country not yet powerful or secure.

The first ship was named the USS United States.

One was named the USS Chesapeake, after the great Bay near Washington’s beloved Mount Vernon on the banks of the Potomac River.

Another, the USS Constellation, signified the constellation of stars on the blue corner field of the new red and white striped flag of the United States.

One was named USS President. There was only one President in the 1790s. He was the only elected Head of State in the world and his name was Washington.

King George III was curious about what a “President” would become and what Washington would do. He was astounded when he was told that his rival would transfer power voluntarily and return to Mount Vernon. The King said that if that were true then Washington would be the greatest man of his or any age.

There have been 46 American Presidents. Grover Cleveland counts for two. There have been great ones and bad ones. Honest ones and crooked ones. There have been successful ones and incompetent ones. There has only ever been one that has sought to break his promise and hold power against the will of the people. There are many names for such a person. American President has never been one of them.

Another was named USS Congress. The Congress was a co-equal branch of government that stood equally with the Article 2 and Article 3 branches of government created by the Constitution of the United States that imperfectly imagined a new nation with a new system of government into existence. The Congress was comprised of the elected Representatives of the American people.

It was unique in all the world.

There have been 117 Congresses. They have been filled with American people from our greatest thinkers, leaders, statemen and women to our most sublime fools, imbeciles, crooks, cons, racists, ne’er-do-wells, seditionists and criminals.

In the end, the United States Congress and the great Capitol Dome under which it meets is an extraordinary living achievement, a symbol of democracy and a raging hot mess.

The sixth ship is the USS Constitution. The USS Constitution endures. She survives. She has been fired upon, hit, damaged and fallen into periodic disrepair. She was forgotten, but her contribution remembered by the American people when it was retold in verse by Oliver Wendell Holmes in the 1830s.

Her hull was lined by Paul Revere, and her masts came from long leaf pine from South Carolina. She was set to be scrapped, but was saved by contributions from America’s school children in the 1920s.

Today, she sits in a quiet corner of Boston Harbor. She is the oldest floating ship in the world and the oldest warship in the US Navy. She remains in active service.

Our divided nation is at edge, in an angry hour where extremism has seized power with a seething contempt for American freedom and the Constitution.

It seems significant and worth remembering that none of those first six ships designed to protect a fragile freedom were named USS Supreme Court.

A radical court has acted in the name of the Constitution by stripping rights away from a specific category of Americans for the first time in history. It represents a type of judicial tyranny and societal engineering that is as radical and foolish as it is destabilizing.

The Constitution of 1787 was not perfect. It was far from just. It was, however, an incomparable work of genius that gave each generation of Americans a chance to create a more just society – to perfect the Union.

The American Constitution endures. It makes the United States of America a young nation and the oldest constitutional republic in the world.

Her namesake will fire a 21-gun salute on July 4th, 2026, to the United States of America in celebration of the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the independence of the United States.

She is undefeated. She is the USS Constitution.

[Steve Schmidt]

#transition #incoming #Cabinet apointees #TFG #Steve Schmidt #radical SCOTUS #corrupt SCOTUS #the US Constitution #the US Army #the US Navy

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loola-a · 1 year ago

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@fe-oc-week day 1 - introductions !

this is my best friend forever, florence von giselle !

Gender: Female

Race: Human

Birthday: 13th December

Fódlan birthday: 13th of the Ethereal Moon; Imperial Year 1161

Age: 18-19

Relatives: Mylan Von Giselle (Father)

Celeste Von Giselle (Mother)

Nationality: Adrestian Empire (Exiled)

Hometown: Dukedom of Giselle, which has since been merged with Hrym territory.

Residence: Garreg Mach Monastery

Factions: Ivory Swans

Occupations: Heir of House Giselle

Personal Ability: Ghostly Seance - Once per game + if unit is at max HP, able to revive any 1 fallen ally. [This only works if the revived unit fell during that specific battle, and the unit will also go back to being dead once the battle ends!]

Early Life:

Florence is the only child and heir to House Giselle. She’s childhood friends with Lindhardt, Bernadetta and Lysithea.

In 1167 during the Insurrection of the Seven, House Giselle along with House Hrym tried to secede from the Empire and join the Leicester Alliance. Working with the neighbouring House Ordelia, Hrym and Giselle raised an insurrection, but the Empire swiftly suppressed it. In retaliation for the uprising, Hrym’s main genetic line was eradicated. Four years later, House Giselle was found to have also colluded with Ordeila and Hyrm and were exiled from the Adrestrian Empire. Her family secretly relocated to Ordelia territory.

House Giselle is not noted as one of the seven involved in the Insurrection of the Seven as, after their exiling, all records of the House were destroyed.

Two years later, she developed an illness that took the life of her mother and left Florence bedridden for several years. While she eventually regained mobility, her legs remain very weak.

Personality:

Hating battles and loving peace and quiet, Florence does her best to avoid the harsh realities of the world, often idling about in escapist activities such as reading, composing or looking for ghosts. Her interest in seances and the occult stemming from the loss of her mother at a young age, and her desire to talk to her once more.

Despite being the heir to House Giselle, Florence has little love for her House, as it has lost all political and social standing due to their role in the Insurrection of the Seven. She often expresses guilt and remorse for her fathers actions, believing that the exiling of her House was the catalyst for all of her grievances in life. Due to her house being banished from the Empire and forced into hiding, not only was she separated from her home and her friends, but they were also unable to treat the sickness that took her mother’s life and left her bedridden for many years. In fact, in a majority of her endings, she abandons her claim to House Giselle altogether. Good for her!!

Lost Items:

A Planchette: A pointer made for a board used to contact ghosts. It probably belongs to someone who enjoys the occult.

Late Return Notice: A request letter from the library asking for a late book to be returned. It probably,y belongs to someone who frequents the library.

A Piece of Unfinished Music: An unfinished sheet of music. It probably belongs to someone who enjoys composing.

Quotes:

Choir Practice: “Hmm… I wonder if I could incorporate this melody into- Oh. My apologies, Professor.”

Cooking: “I’m quite useless at cooking, my mother always used to say I could burn an empty pan,”

Counsellor:

“Whenever I try to talk to someone about ghosts, they get scared and run away. I don’t mean to scare anyone, I just want to talk about my interests.”

“There’s a restricted section of the library that has all the interesting books locked away. How would I gain access to them without being expelled?”

“It’s my fathers fault that our House fell into ruin. I have no desire to inherit a House so wrought with disappointment and betrayal.” (war phase)

Dining Hall:

Favourite dish: “I haven’t eaten this since I was a child, how lovely.”

Neutral dish: “I usually just bring my food back to the library with me…”

Disliked dish: “I think I left something… somewhere. I should go.”

With Edelgard:

(Before C Support)

Edelgard: How are you liking your food, Florence?

Florence: It’s… fine. I’m sorry, I think I hear someone calling for me.

(After C Support)

Edelgard: Florence, I hear that you like to compose music! You must show me your work some time

Florence: I suppose I could…

With Jeritza:

Jeritza: …

Florence: …

Recruitment:

Requirements not met: “Sorry Professor, I have some books that I have to return to the library urgently. If I’m late again they might ban me.”

Requirements met: “Professor, I have a request…”

Accept: “Wonderful. I have heard your classroom is haunted. Is that true?”

Decline: “Oh. alright then…”

Gift:

Favourite: “For me? Are you sure?”

Neutral: “This is nice”

Disliked: “Oh… alright.”

Lost Item:

Not theirs: “That’s not mine. I’m afraid you’ll have to keep looking.”

Theirs: “Oh, you found it! I wondered where it had gotten to.”

Tea Party:

General: “Next time you should come to one of my seances. You can still bring the tea if you like.”

Favourite Tea: “Ah, this smell reminds me of being a child,”

Favourite Teas: Angelica Tea, Crescent-Moon Tea, Lavender Blend, Mint Leaves

Introducing own topic:

“I once spoke with a ghost who sounded a lot like you, Professor.”

“While I enjoy composing, I’m not a fan of singing or dancing myself. I’ll leave all that to the professionals.”

“You don’t get scared when I talk about ghosts, that’s what makes you different from the others around here.”

“Staying in the library past curfew wouldn’t get me in trouble, would it?”

“The things you might have heard about my House, I would prefer if you forgot all of it. People like to exaggerate…”

“Have you ever seen a ghost, Professor?”

Observe:

*humming* “Hm? Oh, it’s just… a song I’m working on.”

“Please don’t stare at me,”

End: “I had fun, thank you very much. I hope you invite me again soon.”

this ended up ridiculously long so if u made it this far tysm i love you

#fe3h #loola art #digital illustration #fe3h fanart #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #fe3houses #fe #fe16 #fe3h oc #fe oc week #ivory swans

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shih-coulda-had-it · 3 months ago

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What if Sorahiko was told to keep Kotaro and take care of him?

Look, this answer isn’t going to reflect favorably on Sorahiko, and I’m definitely projecting, so take this with a grain of salt: Sorahiko would do it, but he wouldn’t be happy about it, and Kotarou wouldn’t be either. It’s a worse scenario compared to Sorahiko guiltily searching for and obtaining guardianship over Kotarou post-Nana’s death.

[read-more because it turns out I love yapping about Sorahiko and his bad decisions. ~500 words of this bad timeline]

I don’t think Sorahiko wanted to raise a kid. He clearly shared some responsibility with Nana re: fostering Kotarou (forever haunted by, “Shimura, the decision we made…”, by the way), and Nana didn’t entrust Toshinori’s education to him until she was forced to. Sorahiko didn’t want kids.

Kotarou’s gone by the time Toshinori’s in the picture. Nana fosters him out for the purpose of removing him from All for One’s list of vulnerable targets. The degree of separation if Sorahiko took Kotarou wouldn’t be anything meaningful UNLESS Sorahiko removed himself and Kotarou from Nana’s vicinity entirely.

If Toshinori hadn’t been with them (and inherited OFA), I do think Sorahiko would have chosen to die with Nana. Nana would probably say, “You have to take this Quirk and go, please,” and Sorahiko would be selfish and stick by her side to the bitter end. He’s not a very good hero in that sense.

Let’s assume Kotarou knows Sorahiko is his mom’s friend. Let’s assume that Kotarou refuses to let go of the Shimura name even at a young age, which either obliges Sorahiko to play along or to put his foot down and make Kotarou resent him further. Let’s assume that Toshinori’s innate optimism and sunshine did have an effect on Sorahiko’s attitude, even in spite of the grief post-Nana, and so without Toshinori’s influence, Sorahiko is just a resentful asshole in charge of raising an elementary schooler. ON TOP of them being potential contenders for All for One’s grudge game against Nana in particular. This is not the recipe for a happy found family.

The resentment Toshinori and Sorahiko have for each other is like, because neither of them are Nana. Toshinori wants his mom, Sorahiko wants his partner/friend, and they see each other in her spot and utterly failing to justify their being there. But the resentment is somewhat leavened by the fact that they know she died for them to get out, so it’s resentment == shared grief. And Toshinori gets booted to American soon after, so it’s not like they’re stewing in the same space for years and years.

With Kotarou, it’s the same issue of resenting each other for similar reasons, except Kotarou’s, you know. A child. So you’d expect Sorahiko to be the mature, reasonable adult but NO. Sorahiko is saddled with raising a kid he didn’t want, the kid doesn’t want him, and neither of them know what’s happened to Nana because Nana went off-grid/had no media coverage/historical records after she split off. No closure except for a letter and photo for Kotarou, and slowly fading memories.

In a world where Kotarou still managed to grow up, marry Nao, have kids and invite Nao’s parents to live with them in suburbia--Sorahiko is definitely excluded from the family. Oh, Sorahiko is keeping tabs, but he’s more or less exiled to his should-be-condemned apartment building. Depending on whether you’re looking for a fix-it or not, Sorahiko finds his not-grandson before All for One.

Funny parallel: Kotarou’s refusal to acknowledge Nana || Hosu Arc Sorahiko’s lie of omission to Izuku regarding Nana’s gender and identity. The possible Watsonian explanation to this is that Horikoshi might not have designed Nana yet, but also--Sorahiko. Speak up. Sorahiko’s habit of not explaining shit is generational.

#bnha #gran torino #torino sorahiko #shimura kotarou #shih.txt #meta #asks #anon #tl;dr sorahiko isn't a good person if he's not had nana and toshinori to steer him right #and toshinori doesn't even get many opportunities (if at all)#to course-correct his old man #but i believe because i'm an optimist that toshinori and his all might era mellowed sorahiko out in SOME capacity #bc otherwise izuku would have had a worse internship

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vulpes-fennec · 2 years ago

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@elainweekofficial - Day 6

I would like to see Elain traveling somewhere in her story! So here's a moodboard of her traveling to the continent (read below the cut for a short snippet)

Tomorrow I leave for the Continent. I am pretty nervous, mostly because I’ll be making the journey with Lucien Vanserra, Jurian, and Vassa. I barely know Jurian and Vassa. And let’s not get started on my “relationship” with Lucien.

It’s springtime, which means the tulip fields will be in full bloom. The prospect of facing Koschei, however, taints my excitement for travel. The death lord awakens, and we hope to free Vassa before he calls her back for good. I’m keeping a travel journal…for fun. But if we die, I suppose this will be a record of our last days for Feyre and Nesta to read.

Everybody keeps clamoring me for any visions pertaining to the mission, and all I have to offer are nonsensical flashes and snippets. I don’t think we will die…but what if that is just my wishful thinking interfering with my intuition?

***

We are traveling the old fashioned way, by ship. The sea breeze is salty and strong, and I could stare at the mesmerizing little waves forever. I also saw my first pod of dolphins today, and they are so intelligent and beautiful!

Vassa and I have become fast friends, surprisingly. I suppose having Jurian to tease makes bonding easier. Jurian is a little weird, but if the Inner Circle trusts him to take care of me (after all that happened with the Cauldron, really?) then I hope he will be alright. I sense some strange tension between him and Vassa…

So far barely any interactions with Lucien. The only close contact we’ve had was when he put a glamour on me. Oh, I forgot to mention we are traveling incognito as humans!

***

Horses! My horse is called Freyda, and she is the sweetest horse I’ve ever met. With all the winnowing that happens in Prythian and walking in Velaris, I’ve forgotten just how much I’ve enjoyed riding horseback.

The countryside is particularly beautiful, too. We are technically traveling along the coast, as far from Koschei’s reach as possible. The seaside cliffs are a stunning verdant green, the sky a warm blue. So far I have identified four new flower species that we don’t get in Velaris.

We are also CAMPING. I was excited at first, but then discovered how uncomfortable sleeping on the ground can be. I don’t want to request an extra cushion—what if the others think me spoiled and soft?

Did I mention that Jurian and Vassa are definitely together? I found that out in the worst way possible by stumbling upon them having sex in the woods (a “quickie” as Nesta likes to say). I was so embarrassed! Thank Cauldron I did not see anything incriminating. Lucien says that someone can now understand how he feels. Apparently, Jurian and Vassa were not very discreet in the Band of Exiles’ Manor.

I’m trying to remain a cordial distance from my mate (bleh). Greeting him in the morning, assisting with camp duties, answering his questions, but nothing more.

***

Why did no one tell me that Lucien could catch fish with his bare hands?!? We camped near a small stream yesterday and were hungering for more than just dry rations. So he caught a rainbow trout for each of us…and I’ll admit he looked a bit dashing with his pants rolled off, shirt off (why did no one tell me that Lucien had MUSCLES), and long hair tied up.

I hope he does not find this travel journal…

#elainweekofficial #elain archeron #band of exiles

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dolphin1812 · 1 year ago

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Riot and insurrection are defined by minority vs majority, with insurrection being a just movement by the majority to maintain its democratic power and rioting being a minority using violence against the people (the exception being colonialism because Hugo believed in “civilizing” missions, as illustrated by his remarks on Columbus). Through this link, they’re also defined by their tie to progress: insurrection is part of progress and is good, and rioting looks to the past and is therefore bad.

Hugo’s comments on writing under tyranny are fascinating in the context of Napoleon III. Hugo was exiled, but he was still conscious of how censorship could affect his work in France. The dense prose mentioned, then, could be this novel! Its themes are concealed, to an extent, by its length and its digressions. Hugo outright tells us his opinions (like he’s doing now), but after reading so much, it can be difficult to keep track of without a very close reading (which is made difficult by length, too – even though the goal of these posts has been to close-read each chapter, there will always be chapters that I understand better and others that are incomprehensible. A censor needing to read this quickly would be very lost!). Hugo’s prose doesn’t seem concise at all, but perhaps he felt that it was appropriate for the breadth of what he covered, and that he felt he learned to better articulate himself with this consciousness.

(Or maybe Hugo wants a republic so he can digress freely. Maybe digressions are democracy)

Despotism being the same under a “genius” feels like a jab at Napoleon I, too, making it an even harsher critique of the less respected (by Hugo) Napoleon III! And it’s also a return to Louis Philippe, who – while a good person – still suffers from the flaw of being a king in a France that doesn’t want one.

And he has a point that suffrage is wonderful because it offers an alternative to both insurrection and rioting! If the people have a non-violent and legitimate way of expressing their opinions, then they become less necessary. Hugo’s dream of them disappearing is a lot – protest is seen as another right alongside suffrage – but it’s a nice ideal in that it imagines a democracy that functions perfectly and thus only needs the vote to decide well.

And unfortunately, Hugo’s right about the reluctance to distinguish between the two by those in power. We’re back to animal symbolism, but this time, it’s between an animal and a person. The “dog” expected to serve the person is beaten for disobedience, leaving no alternative but to transform into a ferocious lion capable of resisting.

I love that Hugo basically says “June 1832 was insurrection, but there’s a good chance I’ll forget and say riot in the future; just know I don’t mean that politically.” It’s almost a form of self-awareness over how many words he uses to describe most things!

He’s making a claim to historical accuracy, too, and one grounded in the perspective of the protesters. The judicial records he mentions would have been from their trials and, therefore, from the point of view of a state threatened by them. Hugo’s fictionalized account continues to give a voice to those neglected by those narratives.

#les mis letters #lm 4.10.2 #1832 digression

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hyukascampfire · 2 months ago

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hello ashlynn! i, 🌰, have very impressive procrastination skills and one of them involves finishing a 300-page book in record time. so it’s the wicked king time baby‼️ (SPOILER ALERT this time because too many things went down in this book.)

first of all, your favourite character turned out to be a traitor ??? there probably are other things i could begin with, but i genuinely didn’t expect that. i have yet to understand why the ghost believes balekin could help him fulfill his duties towards dain better than cardan and jude when balekin not only threatened dain while he was alive but also quite literally murdered him 💀 also, justice for heather— i know that deep down vivi means well but holly black does a good job at portraying how different the faerie psyche differs from the mortal one, thus making a romantic relationship between the two extremely difficult. ultimately, it’s clear that one of the two has a greater price to pay and it’s often the mortal who does so. it’s like how madoc and eva’s relationship ended in tragedy and watching vivi and heather’s relationship evolve (and deteriorate) in real time makes jude realise that this could be her future if she allows herself to love cardan. oh and, speaking of cardan… i have seen what that tail can do. not exactly my thing but i do see the vision lol i’d kind of started warming up to him but what the fuck was that ending ?? all that for fucking BALEKIN whom everyone hates ??? and i swear everyone collectively hated valerian so much that no one batted an eyelash when he died at the hands of mortal jude although he literally was a regent kid of faerie. i won’t start questioning cardan’s whims because he’s technically a medieval king and medieval kings are just Like That™, but my guess is that he’s exiling jude not to punish her but because he believes it’s the best way to protect her…? especially now that there’s chaos with the undersea and lord roiben’s court of termites (or has that storyline been solved already?) also, the isle of ash he just casually created at the end? 💀 ok edge lord

either way, i love how the author shows that dain’s geas on jude is not only a boon but also a bane— it’s part of human nature to seek beautiful lies and escapism in the face of suffering, and the fey clearly know it’s something they can exploit. but i find that there’s a little more comfort in knowing what is being done to you rather than learning about it in retrospect. and taryn……. yeah. on one hand, i don’t want to be a hypocrite. jude manipulates and deceives for the sake of her own interests, so there’s no reason why taryn can’t indulge in those dangerous games as well. however, i am THE reader so ofc i’m rooting for the fmc !!! get out of the way taryn !! it’s so fascinating to see how jude comes to resemble madoc more and more as the story progresses. the mixture of pride and contempt one for the other. you’re so right about how interesting how their dynamics are. and the whole “you can be happy and successful but not happier and more successful than i am” thing madoc and taryn have with jude. it’s so real. you can love your family endlessly and still envy them for receiving the affection you never got and realising the dreams you never did.

wow, this might actually be the longest ask i’ve ever sent ( > < ) i totally understand if you need time to reply (it’s also ok if you type a short answer lol i won’t be mad about that!) i’m so glad you recommended this series, i’m loving it ♡ looking forward to reading the queen of nothing after i’ve turned in my last assignment of the year AAAAA

remember to take frequent breaks and to stay hydrated. keep warm! love u!

p.s. idk about the people but i sure as hell yearn for beomgyu.

IM SO EXCITED AHHH okay

yes my fav character is absolutely the ghost 😭😭 from day one. i was so hurt when this happened. yk who my least fav is tho?? BALEKIN. i hate that fugly rat. i annotated some of the first book and the first thing i wrote for him was ew cause i hate him. a lot.

and YES holly black was so amazing throughout out the whole series about highlighting the difference of the human mind and the faerie mind. as much as vivi wants to live and belong in the human world, she doesn’t get it all the way. and heather, poor heather (i love her) has to put up with it.

i have seen what that tail can do 💀💀 the ending of this book had me absolutely gobsmacked but OH MY GOD you’ve gotta see what it turns into in the next part. also cardan edge lord LMAOO he rlly is just like that™️

and taryn… she does scheme in her own way. as opposed to jude’s path to fitting into elfhame by burning her own path, taryn took one of the two beaten paths. i understand why she did. but also… she just annoys me with the way she speaks i think 😭 i have a sister so ofc i know it is so true to life, but like you said, man i just root for jude >.<

my favorite scene in the whole series comes up in the next book and just know that i am going to gush to you about it when you’ve read it 🫡 GOD i love that scene. so much. hehe

i’m wishing you so much good luck on your last assignment, and thank you so much for the big message, love!! i love talking to you about stuff 🙂‍↕️

thank you and i absolutely will ♡

(i also yearn for beomgyu still it seems that the people yearn for taehyun hehe)

#𝓪𝙣𝙤𝙣 ; ﹙🌰﹚ chestnut anon #txt #tsfawc #to someone from a warm climate #folk of the air #﹙📃﹚༉‧₊ inbox #txt fanfic #txt x reader #taehyun x reader #taehyun fanfic #fem reader txt #yeonjun ff

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warwickroyals · 2 years ago

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beginning - previous - next

[TATIANA] How long have they known about this?

[JENNIFER WARE] For the better part of four months, ma’am.

[TATIANA] Oh, God.

[JENNIFER WARE] We assume it started when he was here for his winter leave, after Miss McClelland vacated her apartment at St. Mary’s.

[TATIANA] Yes, she told me that much.

[JENNIFER WARE] He’s been sneaking Miss Whitley into various royal estates, I assume in an attempt to avoid paparazzi.

[JENNIFER WARE] Obviously in order to do that he needed to penetrate palace security. Undoubtedly someone along the chain alerted His Majesty’s staff to this whole ordeal.

[TATIANA] Oh, brother.

[JENNIFER WARE] It’s a terrible look for him, to put that lightly.

[TATIANA] I just don’t understand what would possess him . . . What should we do?

[JENNIFER WARE] Nothing, at least for the moment. So long as Prince Alex is in New Westminster the intimacy between him and Lady Nadia will cease, but the palace won’t entertain talks about him serving closer to home. They never thought he was being serious about cleaning up his act, this affair just proves their point.

[JENNIFER WARE] This doesn’t even mention that fact that Lady Nadia’s future in-laws own sixty precent of the country’s print media. If news of this affair leaked, they would be the ones controlling the narrative.

[TATIANA] My poor baby, he’s always struggled with managing emotions.

[TATIANA] Growing up Nicholas had this aloof confidence about him. He never got into fights, never lashed out. Alex was a different beast entirely. He’s always reacted emotionally, physically. He really struggled in school because of it. Couldn’t focus, always wrapped up in his feelings.

[TATIANA] That was the reality of raising a child with special needs. [SIGHS] James hated that phrase. Sigh Special needs. He saw it as an insult, I didn’t. We argued constantly about it, I remember telling him, like, “What the F am I supposed to call it?” That’s Alex’s reality, and he was trying to deny it, that was my view.

[TATIANA] I understand, he wanted to protect our son from judgement, people can be cruel, but we never came to an agreement on how to . . . manage him. The damage has been done, clearly.

[JENNIFER WARE] Respectfully, ma’am, Prince Alex isn’t a little boy anymore, he understands the consequences of his actions. To get his way, he needs to stop blaming others and establish a track record of good behaviour. That’s on him, not you or his brother.

[TATIANA] But keeping poor Margaux away from her father, it feels wrong. I read the papers, I want to believe Alex is better off on the west coast, I even told Nicholas he’s making good progress . . . but it feels cold to just exile him like this.

[JENNIFER WARE] I find the claim that His Royal Highness would be a good influence over his daughter dubious.

[TATIANA] Kamryn gave me an earful about that, too, it’s almost as if they’re a divorced couple. Not surprising. That’s usually what happens when people think they’ve found the one at seventeen. What?

[JENNIFER WARE] Well . . . what about you, ma’am?

#warwick.story #chapter three #sim: jennifer ware #ts4 story #ts4 storytelling #ts4 legacy #ts4 royal legacy #ts4 edit #ts4 screenshots #ts4 royalty #ts4 monarchy #ch: tatiana #✨

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danjaley · 1 year ago

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Specially for @nocturnalazure here are Matt's answers to the Bold-the-facts tag.

[ PERSONAL ]

$ Financial: wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty (He can afford to live comfortably, and there was a lot of money saved over the last years, as there were no younger brothers to educate. However, he has to make sure the estate is prospering to maintain his lifestyle.)

✚ Medical: fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / non applicable (Apart from his cleft lip he inherited Fiona’s robust constitution. This helped him survive to adulthood and enables him to lead an active life running the family estate.)

✪ Class or Caste: upper / middle / working / unsure / other (Gentry/Landowner.)

✔ Education: qualified / unqualified / studying / other

✖ Criminal Record: yes, for major crimes / yes, for minor crimes / no / has committed crimes, but not caught yet / yes, but charges were dismissed (Unless you count eloping with Alice as an offence)

[ FAMILY ]

◒ Children: had a child or children / has no children / wants children (Soon to change, only delayed by author's real-life projects.)

◑ Relationship with Family: close with sibling(s) / not close with sibling(s) / has no siblings / sibling(s) is deceased (Close to his cousin Jonathan)

◔ Affiliation: orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by birth parent(s) / not applicable

[ TRAITS + TENDENCIES ]

♦ extroverted / introverted / in between

♦ disorganized / organized / in between

♦ close minded / open-minded / in between

♦ calm / anxious / in between

♦ disagreeable / agreeable / in between (Depends on his mood and what he thinks of the person in question.)

♦ cautious / reckless / in between

♦ patient / impatient / in between

♦ outspoken / reserved / in between

♦ leader / follower / in between

♦ empathetic / vicious bastard / in between

♦ optimistic / pessimistic / in between (Not the kill-joy sort of pessimistic, but he usually expects the worst. If the worst doesn’t happen, there’s still time to relax and enjoy the good things.)

♦ traditional / modern / in between (He’s traditional as in he wants nothing more than to be a respectable family father. On the other hand he’s unusually tolerant regarding same-sex relationships.)

♦ hard-working / lazy / in between (Due to his social status he’s expected to leave the physical labour to others, but he’s out on the grounds every day to make sure everything is done properly.)

♦ cultured / uncultured / in between / unknown (He’s not as much into culture as Jonathan, but has had a solid education. To strangers he often seems more uncouth than he actually is. Partly he does this on purpose as he feels he’s just giving them what they expect of him.)

♦ loyal / disloyal / unknown

♦ faithful / unfaithful / unknown

[ BELIEFS ]

★ Faith: monotheist / polytheist / atheist / agnostic (Protestant. As the local landlord he’s expected to be seen in church regularly and is content to fulfil this role. He doesn’t think about religion too deeply, but also doesn’t question it.)

☆ Belief in Ghosts or Spirits: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care (Growing up in a family and a house with some haunting-history, ghosts have always been part of his life. He doesn’t usually see ghosts, but he feels a special connection to his father.)

✮ Belief in an Afterlife: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care (Mixture of Christianity and ghost-lore.)

✯ Belief in Reincarnation: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care

❃ Belief in Aliens: yes / no / don’t know / don’t care (As I said for Jon, stories about life in other worlds or on other planets were a medium of satire, like in Gulliver’s Travels. When Matt read it as a child he didn’t get the satire aspect at all. He was doubtful even then about the truth of the dwarfs and the giants. But secretly he still believes Gulliver was an exiled Houyhnhnm.)

✧ Religious: orthodox / liberal / in between / not religious (Tolerating Alice’s orthodox opinions – and those of her brother of course.)

❀ Philosophical: yes / no (Sometimes brooding, but without theoretical background.)

[ SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION ]

❤ Sexuality: heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / asexual / pansexual

❥ Sex: sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable / naive and clueless (Gaining experience, but it was further complicated by Alice’s pregnancy. Made him more than ever afraid to break something.)

♥ Romance: romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable /naive and clueless / romance suspicious (Being gruff and romantic doesn’t go together very well. He’s deeply convinced that sweet-talking with his pronunciation would be nothing but ridiculous.)

❣ Sexually: adventurous / experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious (See above)

⚧ Potential Sexual Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

⚧ Potential Romantic Partners: male / female / agender / other / none / all

[ ABILITIES ]

☠ Combat Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none (Unlike Jonathan he knows how to shoot, at least in hunting. It’s sometimes needed on the estate. After the pirate fighting incident, he avoided brawling situations for fear of further damage to his face. He’s strong though, so he could definitely defend himself if attacked.)

≡ Literacy Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none (He can read and write in English and French, but the only literary genre he really enjoys are stories of travel and adventure.)

✍ Artistic Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none (His only artistic talent is for music. He plays the violin and the piano. Recently it came up backstage that he regrets not being able to play the bagpipes. His drawing skills are as poor as Andrew’s.)

✂ Technical Skills: excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

[ HABITS ]

☕ Drinking Alcohol: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / Alcoholic

☁ Smoking: tried it / trying to quit / quit / never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / Chain-smoker (Similar to playing the bagpipes, he can’t smoke. So he’s excused from doing it at social gatherings, but still takes part in the conversations.)

✿ Recreational Drugs: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / addict

✌ Medicinal Drugs: never / no longer needs medication / some medication needed / frequently / to excess (Sometimes he regrets that he’s dependent on mushed food being served wherever he goes. He likes to think that without this condition, he’d enjoy travelling much more.)

☻ Unhealthy Food: never / special occasions / sometimes / frequently / binge eater (As stated for Jonathan, they sometimes go out to drink hot chocolate in Edinburgh. Matt’s weakness for hot chocolate is an autobiographical detail – it has saved my life more than one. Of course Matt can always drink fresh milk at home. To him, chocolate is one of the few kinds of luxury food that he can enjoy just like everyone else.)

$ Splurge Spending: never / sometimes / frequently / shopaholic (Although he did indulge himself buying three new horses :)

♣ Gambling: never / rarely / sometimes / frequently / compulsive gambler

#mccarric extras

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practicalmagicintuitions · 2 years ago

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Why is everyone always so obsessed with comparing the books to the show? Just let the show stand on its own and let other people enjoy it...

I tried reading the books, I don’t like the author’s writing style, so I couldn’t get into them. Besides sending this now to you, I have never before made accounts online to harass people who like the books, constantly telling them how they should feel about them.

It is a personal experience, it’s subjective.

I’m a reader myself, I have watched many books I adore being turned into very bad movies or shows. I just compartmentalise and view them as what they are: the new creator’s vision inspired by the original. And why should that not be allowed? I mean, almost everything these days is inspired by other works.

Sorry for the rant, I’m just get a little fed up with going online (for example instagram) and only see negative comments under Witcher posts, and always the same ones too “I won’t watch it because Henry is leaving” “so bad you should have stick to book so Henry didn’t leave”, etc.... Don’t like it, people? Move on to another show you might like, focus your energy on something positive. It is a waste of time to post the same negative things under every single Witcher post 😅

I understand your frustration and your point but I am on the fence with this. I agree that there will be differences because of the process of adaptation and this is inevitable. For the record, I am not a gamer and I don't like The Witcher books but as you I watched many of my fav books turn into a mess, so I have an opinion on this.

I think the acceptance and the critique of the adaptations are crucially changed with social media. I think when you adapt the most important thing is to remain true to the message or ideology of the book and its characters. So, for example, if a book is anti-war you cannot make a pro-war adaptation of it. That's why the most criticized part of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies is the character change of Faramir. Or how Netflix's Persuasion basically butchered Anne Elliot's character. But many times the adaptation is good enough so the non-readers can enjoy it and be a fan of it which is not a problem. However. I saw it many times and this happened to the Witcher book fans that they are basically bullied out of their space (in this case from their subreddit) by the non-readers. Because they cannot bare the criticism. They cannot comprehend the idea that someone doesn't like show Yen, because she is different or cannot like show Geralt because OMG who wouldn't like HC? That's why some book lovers like to gatekeep and to be fair I see their point and to a certain extent I agree. Because those "fights" are rarely about the book, it's about the fandom or "owning" those beloved stories. You said if someone doesn't like just move on, but why those fans should move on who have already loved those stories when no one besides them knows about them? Why a Polish fan should move on and accept their beloved story and their unique culture is commercialized and uniformized? As a book fan has no right to say non-readers cannot watch or enjoy this, a show lover has no right to exile book lovers and say move on to an another show if you don't like it. Maybe those fan groups just shouldn't interact with each other, because I think both have some point and fault but they will rarely reach the middle ground.

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awakeningking · 1 year ago

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Awakening King | Chapter Three: May Those Wings Never Break

Two weeks after his exile, Reon returned to Gyroaxia.

The band was in the middle of another of their usual strenuous practice sessions, eventually stopping to allow for a break.

“By the way, Kenta-san…how’s that ‘revenge’ thing you were talking about going?” Reon asked, breaking the silence.

“Ah yes, that.”

Kenta sipped from his mineral water and took a moment to consider how much he should reveal. After some time, he decided that now was as good a time as any and began to explain.

“Well, it’s proceeding smoothly. When considering the sheer size of major record labels, you’ll realise they’re not entirely unified. I’ve been able to take advantage of that fault and I’m working on laying the groundwork for us.”

“Huh…?” Reon responded with a confused tilt of the head but Kenta didn’t pay it any mind. His explanation hadn’t particularly been intended to make Reon understand.

“What I’m saying is that sooner or later, someone else from their company will reach out to us,” Kenta simplified.

“That’s great and all but…I’m not big on the idea of running into that producer again…”

He laughed dryly at the pout on Reon’s face.

“I’m taking measures to prevent that. I don’t have any intention of leaving Gyroaxia in the hands of someone like him. Just allow me to take care of this matter.”

“Whatever you say, Kenken,” Ryo nodded in agreement as he nibbled away at a CalorieMate bar. He felt oddly similar to a small animal in that moment, in spite of his tall height. Contrary to his ‘go with the flow’ personality, he was a bassist with the abilities of a genius. His habit to not say more than he deemed necessary was another trait of his that Kenta liked.

“Are you sure about this?”

Looking at him with an element of suspicion in his eyes was Miyuki, the complete opposite.

“Everything is fine. Besides, have I ever done something that didn’t have Gyroaxia’s best interests in mind?”

“...No, you haven’t. That’s the type of guy you are,” Miyuki spat out, turning away in discontent. His disapproval wasn’t directed towards Nayuta—rather it was Kenta who was so often getting on his nerves. He knew his grievances stemmed from Kenta’s attitude towards both Nayuta and the other band members, though the man in question couldn’t care less. His drumming skills were first-rate, and that was all that mattered. As long as they produced the sounds that Nayuta wanted, Kenta didn't care what anyone said to him.

Noting that Miyuki had nothing more to say, Kenta turned his attention towards his favourite. Said favourite—Nayuta—despite the uninterested look on his face, was listening closely to the other member’s exchange. He seemed like he wanted to jump in and make a comment about how his ears were rotting from hearing mention of the producer that had struck such a deep nerve in him. Nayuta moodily furrowed his well-shaped eyebrows but the fleeting glance he cast at Kenta failed to conceal his interest in their conversation.

When their gazes met, Kenta turned his whole body towards Nayuta and addressed him in a gentle tone, taking care not to further dampen his mood.

“To carry out this plan, there’s a weapon I’ll need. Nayuta, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“What? If it’s anything stupid then I’m not interested.”

“I want you to make a new song—a powerful one that will make everyone understand the essence of Gyroaxia, and of Asahi Nayuta.”

Nayuta stared at Kenta with narrowed eyes. On the receiving end of a look that seemed to read him like a book, Kenta tensed up a little. He considered himself to have a good grasp on how to work with Nayuta but when faced with eyes that mimicked an unsheathed katana, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“...Fine. I’ll make something that slams into them and says, ‘This is our sound,’”

“I’ll be counting on you then.”

Kenta couldn’t help but smile, relieved that Nayuta accepted his request so quickly. Although he believed that Gyroaxia’s current discography could’ve sufficed, he knew that they wouldn’t provide the same impact as a new song. It’d also serve to prove the consistent high standard of the songs they released. He had an unwavering confidence in the quality of the songs Nayuta made so Kenta was positive that he’d create a song that would make the major record label turn their way again.

“Good luck. Our debut is in your hands,” Reon said to Nayuta with a clap on his shoulder.

“Shut up. I’m going to make the sound I want to make.”

“Geez, I was just trying to be supportive.”

Reon felt the irritation setting in when Nayuta shook his hand off.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure Nayuta knows that,” Miyuki chimed in, attempting to calm Reon down.

“That’s right. We can trust Nayuta to take care of this.”

“Miyuki-san, Ryo-san, you’re on his side too…? Alright, fine.”

With even Ryo joining in, Reon drew back, albeit still harbouring some anger. Nayuta had already lost interest in the trio’s conversation and had become lost in his thoughts with a downcast look, presumably already planning out the new song. After assessing Nayuta, Kenta clapped his hands together.

“Alright, we’ll leave it here for today. Focus on individual practice until next time…Nayuta, are you okay with that?”

“...Yeah.”

With a nod, Nayuta made quick work of packing up his belongings. As he expected, Nayuta couldn't shake the urge to jump right into writing a new song. At their current rate, he could expect promising things from whatever Nayuta might come up with. Looking at Nayuta’s turned back, Kenta smiled contently.

A few days later—

Following one of their practice sessions, in an unusual occurrence, all members of the band decided to go out for dinner together. Miyuki happened to have a coupon and brought up the idea of getting Genghis Khan together…when Kenta asked if Nayuta wanted to join, he spontaneously agreed.

After entering the restaurant, they started off by ordering beer for the adults and oolong tea for the minors. In high spirits, Reon wiped his hands with a wet towel and opened the menu on the touch screen.

“Should we start off with a platter?”

“Sounds good to me.”

“I want a salad too.”

While Miyuki, Reon and Ryo were fussing over the screen, Nayuta reached out and quickly ordered loin and grilled ribs.

“Hey, Nayuta! Don’t just decide on your own!” Reon objected to Nayuta’s selfish behaviour.

“I’ll eat what I want to eat. The rest of you can just do the same.”

“We came here together so the least you could do is consult with us first!”

Reon arched an eyebrow at Nayuta, whose gaze fell to his phone as if to say he had no further comment after making his own order.

“Well, Nayuta rarely ever comes out to eat with us and I planned on ordering a couple of things anyway. Why don’t you go ahead and get whatever you want too, Reon-kun? If you like, I’ll even cover for you and Nayuta since I just got paid,” Miyuki swooped in to amend the situation.

“Are you serious!? Thank you so much, Miyuki-san! Nayuta, say thank you too.”

“I’ll pay for myself. I don’t make a habit of indebting myself to others.”

Reon made a face of disagreement at Nayuta’s refusal to stray from his stubbornly independent attitude.

“I can’t believe this guy…”

Before another one-sided fight could break out, Ryo swiftly ordered a salad and steak tartare from the side menu and handed the touch screen to Reon.

“Get whatever you want and order quickly. I’m hungry.”

“Not you too, Ryo-san…fine, I get it. If this is how we’re doing it then I’ll get whatever I want too!”

Reon ordered meat, more meat…and of course, meat. Once he was done, Miyuki grabbed Kenta’s attention.

“Say, Mr. Accountant. Do you think we could cut into our celebration budget? We rarely ever do anything like this so I’m sure we could spare some, right?”

“Hmm.”

Like Miyuki said, they usually never put on any kind of celebratory events so they’d have enough to cover the dinner. Despite the studio costs they had to manage, their live shows sold a considerable amount of tickets so even for an amateur band, they were blessed with quite a generous amount of funds.

“You’re right. This is a special occasion, so I’ll allow it.”

The price was nothing if it raised all their morales. Maintaining motivation was essential for putting on a good performance and he was making an investment in that. Additionally, it would also prevent Nayuta—who had little financial freedom—from needing to spend any money.

“Now you can be treated too, Nayuta.”

“...Tch.”

Miyuki turned towards Nayuta with a big charming smile. Regardless of if he was convinced, he didn't say anything more. Eventually, their order reached their table and they all took their respective drinks. Miyuki raised his glass to initiate a toast.

“To the future of Gyroax—”

“Oi, Nayuta! Don’t just start drinking before the rest of us!” Reon scolded Nayuta, who had already gotten started on his drink before Miyuki had the chance to finish.

“It’s alright. He can do what he wants.”

Ryo followed suit and wasted no time in taking a bite of his salad. With a dry laugh, Miyuki lowered his glass.

“Well, it is what it is,” Miyuki sighed.

“M-Miyuki-san! I’ll toast with you! To Gyroaxia!”

“Oh, cheers.”

Reon bumped his glass against Miyuki’s with a resounding clink. As Kenta watched the duo, he began taking meat from the platter.

“I’ll handle the cooking.”

“So you’re our grill master for today, huh?” Miyuki immediately commented but Ryo pushed the plate of meat towards Kenta nonetheless.

“Kenken will take care of it.”

“Yeah, Kenta-san is the best at this kind of stuff,” Reon nodded in agreement. Their input seemed to convince Miyuki.

“Alright, I’ll leave it to you then. I like my meat a little bit rare.”

“I prefer mine well-done.”

“I’m fine with whatever Kenta-san does.”

As the trio shared their personal preferences, they began picking away at the sides they had ordered. Kenta turned to Nayuta who had been silently eating some pickled vegetables.

“Nayuta, do you want to start off with the loin meat?”

“...Sure,” Nayuta replied, somewhat absentmindedly. Although Kenta found his behaviour slightly concerning, he decided to focus on grilling the meat for the time being. A pleasant smell filled the air as Kenta continued to distribute grilled meat to each of the members’ plates. Like starved wolves, they devoured the meat.

“This is so good! White rice tastes the best with this sauce!”

“I don’t need any rice. When I’m eating Genghis Khan, just meat is enough.”

“I knew Kenken would make it taste delicious.”

Kenta grabbed a well-done slice of meat and placed it on Nayuta’s plate. He watched Nayuta chew on the meat before silently reaching for another piece with his chopsticks. He must have liked it, it seemed.

“Nayuta, I’ll cook some more for you to eat.”

“...Okay.”

The image of Nayuta contently eating the meat he grilled for him reminded Kenta of feeding a stubbornly unaffectionate cat. Nayuta tended to fall somewhat on the thinner side so he decided to take advantage of the opportunity to feed him meat and quickly prepared him some more. His physical strength was just as important as his musical prowess, after all.

“Y’know, it’s super weird that Nayuta came too. I thought I’d see pigs fly before a day like this ever came,” Reon said as he animatedly chowed down on his food.

“For sure,” Miyuki agreed, “This kind of feels like a kickoff party in the lead up to our comeback, don’t you think?”

“It does! Next time we see that producer freak we’ll knock him down with our music!”

“Yeah! Once we have our major debut, I’ll be sure to rack up even more fans.”

“Not only will Miyuki’s fans increase…but I hope the amount of people we’ll bring happiness to with our music will grow too. The day when I can return to the stars can’t be too far away now.”

“Let’s make sure our music is heard all over Japan.”

“Miyuki-san, don’t stop there—set your sights on the entire world! Total global domination!”

“ …Galactic domination.”

While the trio busied themselves with scaling the goal higher and higher, Kenta slid a glass of water Nayuta’s way.

“I was wondering how the progress on the new song is going? There’s no rush, but it may change how things will proceed depending on when it’s completed.”

“ …New song?”

Nayuta’s chopsticks froze in his hand. His brows furrowed and his shapely lips contorted but rather than resembling his usual sour mood, his expression seemed to read more as confusion.

“Again, there’s no hurry. Just make something that you're happy with.”

“I don’t need you to tell me that! Don’t order me around!”

Nayuta slammed his fist against the table, the tableware shaking in its wake. Ah, he’d said something to set him off, hadn’t he? Nayuta looked away in embarrassment, as if regretting his outburst of anger.

“...Just shut up and wait. I’ll make a song that no one could complain about.”

“Very well then. I’m looking forward to hearing it,” Kenta said as gently as he could, taking care not to upset Nayuta any further. For good measure, he added a few more slices of well-done meat to Nayuta’s plate.

“If you can provide me with a new song, I can take care of everything else. For today, just focus on eating.”

“...Okay.”

Unlike the Nayuta he was familiar with, he responded with an unpleasantly meek nod and picked up the meat he had been given. Kenta sensed that he may be experiencing some complications with the writing process.

A sudden eruption of cheers came from the table beside them in what appeared to be a celebration of sorts. They filled the restaurant with the sound of merry laughter and glasses clinking against each other. Someone amongst them must have lit a cigarette because the horrid smell of smoke began drifting towards the band’s table.

“The air flow in here sucks,” Miyuki said with a frown.

“Maybe the smoke filters aren’t working properly?” Ryo wondered, mirroring Miyuki’s look of displeasure.

But the one who had the most extreme reaction amongst them all was none other than Nayuta. Dropping his chopsticks, he immediately shot to his feet.

“Nayuta?”

“...I’ve lost my appetite. I’m leaving.”

“Hey, wait…Nayuta!”

Disregarding Reon’s objections, Nayuta grabbed his bag and left the restaurant. After being completely ignored, Reon’s anger began to flare up.

“Can he be any more self-centred!?”

“Aah…hey, I consider it a win that he at least went this long quietly eating his food. Besides, now we get to eat his share of the meat too,” Miyuki placated Reon and gave him a slightly larger helping of beef tartare.

“But…”

“You know how Nayuta is,” Ryo said as he leisurely ate his salad, seemingly unbothered.

“No one can stop Nayuta from doing as he pleases. Like Ryo said, you know how he is,” Kenta agreed.

“You two are way too soft on him!” Reon huffed but despite his anger, without Nayuta in the room with them, he couldn’t articulate any further complaints he had.

“It’s alright, I’ll have a word with him next time we see him. okay?”

“I have a feeling you’re just saying that, Miyuki-san.”

“Hey, eat your meat.”

Pacified, Reon followed Miyuki’s prompting and began chewing the meat. Finally preparing a portion for himself, Kenta started eating too.

Despite what Reon believed, Kenta wasn’t trying to spoil Nayuta. As the heart of Gyroaxia, it was only natural he held Nayuta’s wishes in high regard. For that same reason, his behaviour earlier bore slight concern for Kenta. It wasn’t the fact that Nayuta had left that worried him, but rather his abnormal reaction when mention of the new song had been brought up. It weighed heavy on his mind.

“Huh? Is that...Nayuta?”

A few days had passed since their last rehearsal. While on his way to the studio, Kenta passed by Odori Park but stopped in his tracks as he caught sight of Nayuta. It was an unexpected sight to say the least and Kenta couldn’t help but stare in wonder.

Was Nayuta...playing with a cat?

The animal had curled itself up around Nayuta’s feet with a grumpy look and despite the equally gloomy expression Nayuta wore, he made no attempt to shoo the cat away. Kenta pondered whether or not to call out to him but before he could make a choice, Nayuta lifted his head and caught his gaze.

“Is this your cat, Nayuta?” Kenta asked as he walked up to him.

“No, it’s not. He’s just decided to follow me around,” he grumbled, yet still crouched down to meet the cat’s gaze. In comparison to its sharp eyes, the cat's purrs were adorable. Nayuta’s brow furrowed.

“You shouldn’t get attached so easily.” The cat titled its head curiously as Nayuta met its stare with a stern look. “Never lose your pride. Remember that.”

Even if it was to a cat, Kenta strangely admired the way he spoke of his philosophy. Needless to say, the cat was unfazed by Nayuta's words, instead opting to nestle up to him and continue purring. Despite his annoyed expression, he reached out to pet the small animal. To Kenta’s surprise, Nayuta seemed to be fond of cats.

“Stay strong,” Nayuta said as he stood up, letting out a small cough as he did so. The rough sounds mixed within brought a frown to Kenta’s face.

“Have you caught a cold?”

“...It’s nothing,” Nayuta replied, sullenly turning his face away. Kenta tried to examine his expression, knowing he wouldn’t be content with pushing the matter aside. Nayuta looked rather unwell...

“Don’t push yourself too hard. You should rest instead of practising.”

“I told you it’s nothing. This won’t get in the way of my singing.”

Nayuta’s words betrayed him as he began to cough again.

“No. You should go see a doctor before anything else. I’ll get you some things to ease your throat later.”

As the jewel of Gyroaxia, Nayuta’s voice must not be damaged in the slightest.

Kenta fumbled around in his bag, taking out a towel from their live shows and wrapped it around Nayuta’s neck.

“The weather will get colder soon. I know it might look silly but make sure to keep it on. Should I get you a scarf or a muffler?

With an indignant look, Nayuta brushed Kenta’s hands away in irritation.

“Nayuta. What will you do if your throat is damaged?”

“I already told you, it’s fine.”

“I see. I’ll buy you some throat lozenges then. They should soothe your throat a little, at the very least.”

Kenta wracked his brain, trying to recall any nearby pharmacies located along the way. Which store was it that had the best selection of throat lozenges? Nayuta quickly became fed up as Kenta lost himself in thought.

“Are you my mum or something?”

“You’re our precious vocalist. It’s only natural for me to be worried.”

“...Hmph. Suit yourself. I’m going ahead,” Nayuta huffed and hurried away.

“How stubborn,” Kenta thought to himself before following along behind him. An icy wind raged between the two.

It only grew worse from there. In a stroke of bad luck, the studio’s air conditioning had stopped working.

“Huh? Is there something wrong with the air conditioner?”

Reon knitted his brows and sipped at his sports drink. Ryo also made a face of annoyance as he licked at one of the throat lozenges Kenta had bought.

“The air is so dry in here…”

“I’ll go and ask them about it.”

“Thank you.”

With that, Miyuki left the studio to seek out a staff member to question. In the meantime, Kenta kept an eye on Nayuta’s condition. He had coughed several more times since their practice session had begun. Despite his continued dismissal of Kenta's worries, he could hear the slight change in Nayuta’s voice. His high votes lacked their usual sharpness and power.

“Is he really alright…?”

Kenta peered over at Nayuta who raised his head with a bitter expression. As expected, his complexion had still yet to return to normal. Kenta took one of the lozenges from the bag Ryo held and offered one to Nayuta.

“Suck on this until Miyuki returns.”

“...Are you my mum or something?” Nayuta grumbled, yet still obediently took the lozenge. He popped the honey-coloured candy in his mouth and began intently glaring at his music sheets. Eventually, Miyuki returned.

“Bad news. Looks like the aircon is broken. They've called someone to fix it but it won’t be working today. What should we do?”

“Hm…” After hearing Miyuki’s report, Kenta came to an immediate decision. “We’ll end practice here for today. Nayuta doesn’t seem to be feeling well.”

“Quit screwing around!” Nayuta snapped, “I’m going to sing! If you want to stop then get out!”

However, as Nayuta began to yell, he delved into a violent coughing fit. Even as his hacking died down, his breaths remained harsh and laboured. Kenta instinctively rushed to his side.

“Are you alright!?”

“I told you I’m fine!!” Nayuta shook off Kenta’s hands and shot him a deathly glare. Unable to watch from the sidelines, Miyuki stepped between the two with a casual demeanour.

“C’mon, Nayuta. No need to be like that, he’s only looking out for you. Well, I guess I can see how it might be annoying.”

“You seem really unwell. Overworking yourself will only make it worse. You’re not a kid, you should know how important rest is to maintaining your health,” Reon piped up, agreeing with Miyuki.

“I feel the same. Let’s end it here for today.” Ryo’s words brought a flush of anger flooding to Nayuta’s face.

“...Shut up,” Nayuta violently slammed his fist against the wall, “Get out! All of you!”

Nayuta’s eyes burned with anger as he glowered at the other members. Reon was the first to react.

“Alright, alright! Geez, suit yourself then! Guess I won’t bother worrying about you anymore!” Reon yelled out his frustrations, packed up his guitar, and promptly left. Ryo followed after with a shrug of his shoulders. Miyuki seemed to hesitate, until Nayuta turned towards him.

“Didn’t you hear me? I told you to get out.”

“...Right. I’ll be going then. But seriously, don’t push yourself too hard,” Miyuki said. Knowing there was no room for discussion, he made quick work of tidying up and left the studio. With a cruel gaze, Nayuta turned to Kenta, the only one who remained.

“You too, Satozuka. Leave. You’ll only get in my way.”

When Nayuta reached this level of anger, he wouldn’t let anyone come near him. It would be futile to try and communicate with him and any attempts to converse would only fuel his stubbornness. With an adept understanding of that, Kenta let out a sigh. Even so, Nayuta wasn’t a child. He knew how important his throat was, so no matter how brash he acted, he would never purposely bring harm to it.

“Very well. Will tomorrow’s practice go ahead as planned?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see you then, in that case.”

Although it pained him, Kenta left the studio.

Despite being kicked out...Kenta couldn’t bring himself to go straight home. He found a seat in a café with a view of the studio’s entrance and took out his laptop while he waited for Nayuta to finish rehearsal.

Since the other day, he couldn’t help but notice a change in Nayuta’s behaviour. Kenta was unfazed by Nayuta’s short temper, frequent outbursts and tyrannical behaviour. Those qualities never got in the way of Nayuta’s ability to create music. He didn’t care what type of person Nayuta was, as long as he produced the best of the best.

It was a different story once his sound began to break. Little progress was being made on the new song, and he couldn’t help but feel concerned. Once his coughs had arisen, his voice began to lose its usual power. He simply couldn’t ignore it if Nayuta’s songs dipped below the bar of perfection. As Gyroaxia’s leader, and a man who had become enamoured with the voice of Asahi Nayuta, he had to do everything in his power to help him. It didn’t matter how much Nayuta came to hate or loathe him, as long as he could spread his divine voice.

“He should be leaving soon.”

The time that their usual rehearsals would end had come and gone, but Nayuta had yet to leave the studio. That in itself was not unusual, however when he was unwell and practising on his own, Kenta couldn’t help but be concerned. He’d assumed that Nayuta wouldn’t overdo it, but his stubbornness may have gotten the best of him and led him to push himself more than usual.

“I have no choice. I should go check on him.”

He knew Nayuta would be upset with him, but the well-being of his throat was more important. Kenta briskly packed his belongings away and returned to the studio.

“Nayuta!!”

The moment Kenta opened the door, his eyes darted straight to Nayuta, collapsed on the ground. He was at his side in an instant.

“Shut up…” Nayuta weakly lifted his head. He was ghostly pale and wheezes whistled from his throat. As Kenta tried to lift his frail body, Nayuta was attacked by another fit of violent coughs.

“I’ll call an ambulanceー”

“Don’t...there’s medicine...in my bag....”

“I’ll get it!”

He gently laid Nayuta back down and frantically opened his bag, immediately spotting an inhaler. He handed it to Nayuta, who brought it to his mouth as if he’d done it a thousand times before. After a while, Nayuta’s pained breaths eventually subsided. Although the colour had yet to return to his face, he seemed to have calmed down. Nayuta took the inhaler away from his mouth and glared at Kenta.

“Don’t tell anyone. If someone finds out, I'll leave Gyroaxia.”

“Understood. I won’t tell anyone. You have my word,” Kenta immediately replied.

If Nayuta ordered it, he wouldn’t tell a soul. Nayuta was a prideful man who couldn’t stand to show even the slightest of weaknesses. Kenta knew that Nayuta never intended for him to see him in such a state. The way he glared at Kenta with his pale complexion was both painful and divine.

Although Nayuta’s breathing had calmed down, he still shook with coughs from time to time, spiking Kenta’s worries. Judging from the way he handled the inhaler, it seemed that this was far from his first attack. Did he have a chronic illnessー

“...Can you still sing?”

The fear of losing Nayuta’s singing voice made the words spill from his mouth. Needing his dreadful nerves to be quelled, he couldn't help but ask. Howeverー

The moment he said those words, Nayuta’s composed features were dyed with rage.

“Of course I can,” he replied in a low tone, holding back his anger. However, that did nothing to hide the icy depths of his rage. “If you doubt me, you’re not needed here.”

Roughly grabbing his bag, he wobbled to his feet.

“Nayuta!”

“...Don’t follow me.”

In a clear rejection, Nayuta turned his back on Kenta and left the studio with an echoing slam of the door.

“It appears I’ve made a mistake…” Kenta brought a hand to his forehead with a heavy sigh. It seemed that his excessive concern for Nayuta's throat had led to him hitting an explosive nerve.

“I’ll leave it alone for now. I’ll see him tomorrow for rehearsal anyway.”

He could follow up with him then. Kenta tucked the thought away at the back of his mind and began to tidy up the studio.

The next day, Nayuta didn’t show up to the studio.

“Wait, Nayuta’s still not here?” Reon, the last to arrive, looked around the room in confusion. This kind of thing was unheard of.

Kenta impatiently checked his phone again and again. He had sent Nayuta countless messages, but none of them had even been read. After what he had seen yesterday, Kenta wondered if had collapsed at home. The thought made him uneasy.

“Have you tried contacting him?” Ryo asked

“I have…” Kenta half-heartedly replied. Nayuta’s pale face from yesterday burned in his mind. Miyuki set up his drums with a doubtful look.

“Okay, what happened? Did you two fight?”

“Nayuta and Kenta-san fighting? That’s impossible!”

“Well, maybe that sort of thing is needed from time to time. Kenta is always too soft on Nayuta, after all.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

“You two should hurry and make up already.”

“It’s nothing like that,” Kenta retorted, having lost patience with Miyuki and Reon’s incorrect assumptions.

What happened yesterday wasn’t a fight. He may have hit a nerve in Nayuta but...he’d be able to recover. He had created Gyroaxia in a way that would allow Nayuta to concentrate on music without sparing a worry for anything else. This was meant to be the perfect environment for Nayuta to sing. He didn't think Nayuta would throw that away so quickly which only fed further into Kenta’s worries. No matter what he did, he couldn’t free his mind from the image of Nayuta collapsed on the floor of his home.

“...I’m going to go see him.”

“Take care,” Ryo waved him goodbye.

“Huh?” Reon responded in surprise, “What about rehearsal!?”

“The three of you can go ahead with practice. You don’t need me here instructing you.”

“Alright…”

“I’ll contact you all once I know the situation...goodbye then.”

After bidding them farewell, Kenta rushed out of the studio. He couldn’t think about anything but Nayuta.

After leaving the studio, Kenta immediately called a taxi and set course for Nayuta’s apartment. Once he arrived, he frantically pushed the intercom, impatiently tapping his foot while he waited.

There was no response.

“If only I had a spare key.”

While contemplating whether he should ask the building owner to open the door for him, the resident that lived next door came out.

“Uhm, if you’re looking for the person that lives there, he went out this morning.”

“He left? Do you know where he went?”

“S-Sorry, I’m not sure…”

He tried pressing the kind neighbour for answers, but he only seemed to make her uncomfortable. Resisting the urge to click his tongue, Kenta bowed his head.

“Thank you for your help. Ah, if you happen to see him, could you please tell him that ‘Satozuka’ was looking for him?”

“S-Sure.”

After thanking the neighbour once more, Kenta left the apartment behind. Nayuta must have been feeling better if he went out.

But what if he had been hospitalised? Where was the closest hospital that treated respiratory related injuries?

“Where are you?” He messaged Nayuta and began researching hospitals in the area.

“Nayuta, please be okay…”

While he prayed for his safety, Kenta headed off to the hospital his search results provided him. He just needed to know that Nayuta was safe.

Nayuta wasn’t there.

He tried visiting the other hospitals in the area but Nayuta was nowhere to be found.

“Nayuta, where are you…?”

Desperately, he ventured to other places that Nayuta could be. He tried the cafe they’d occasionally visit after practice, their usual live house, the music store they would get their equipment fixed at… but there was no sign of Nayuta.

His agitation was quickly growing.

“Nayuta, do you really plan on quitting Gyroaxia?”

That couldn’t be the case. He didn’t want to believe it, but there was a detestable hunch he couldn’t shake off that he was right.

“If he could at least send me a text…”

Kenta had already sent Nayuta a number of messages but they had all been left unread. Where was Nayuta? What was he doing? He didn’t have a clue.

“I thought I knew him better than this.”

Kenta had no idea where Nayuta could have gone. His understanding of Nayuta didn’t extend beyond the topic of music.

The sun was quickly setting. He returned to Nayuta’s apartment once more, assuming he would have gone home, but there was no sign that he had returned yet. He tried going back to the studio, but the other members said Nayuta hadn’t come by. Naturally, they all began to worry.

“The least he could do is message me!”

“Should we look for him together?” He knew that Miyuki was offering out of kindness, but Kenta shook his head.

“No, this is Nayuta we’re talking about. If we make a big fuss about it, he’ll only grow more stubborn. Just leave this to me.”

In the wild, animals hide away when they’re injured. Nayuta had that trait too. He couldn’t show any weakness, lest his pride be damaged. After being ordered not to speak of his asthma to anyone else, Kenta decided that searching for Nayuta had to be up to him alone.

“...Right. But if anything happens, let us know.”

Miyuki was also aware of Nayuta’s characteristics, but he backed down faster than Kenta expected. He seemed rather opinionated on the dynamic between members of the band but thankfully, he knew that there were certain situations he should stay out of.

“Kenken, take care of Nayuta,” Ryo said, throwing a CalorieMate bar and a sports drink his way.

“I will...thank you.” He had been running around without anything to eat or drink so he appreciated the consideration. He accepted the drink and took a sip, swallowing it down his parched throat. “I’ll be going now. I’ll leave the tidying up to you guys.”

He left the studio and rushed out into the city again, now cloaked in the night sky. He didn’t know where to go but he couldn’t stay put.

Kenta thought about Nayuta’s behaviour. He hadn’t come to the studio, but he knew he couldn’t go a day without singing. Other than his home and the studio, he looked for places that Nayuta may have gone to sing. Karaoke? No, he rarely ever went to places like that. He opened up social media and searched for places near his high school and residence that he might have gone to sing. He stopped when an image of a street musician caught his eye.

“Nayuta?” He unconsciously said aloud. The video only had a short title, being named Nayuta is Performing a Street Live? It seemed that someone had secretly recorded Nayuta while he walked down the shopping arcade singing.

“Nayuta? From Gyro?”

“Huh? Is this a solo?"

“Wow, he’s really cool.”

“Even his acapella is perfect.”

“Who is this? He’s not a pro, right?”

There were a variety of comments left on the video.

“Is this...Tanukikoji?”

Based on the background, that was his best guess. Judging by the time the video was uploaded, there was a good chance that Nayuta was still there. It was lucky that he left the studio so soon, Nayuta could be just around the corner. They might have even passed by each other already.

Kenta ran off in the direction he suspected Nayuta to be, praying that he was still singing.

It wasn’t long before Kenta found Nayuta. Not far from the shopping arcade, a crowd had gathered around a closed storefront. From the middle of them, Nayuta’s powerful yet delicate singing drowned out the bustle of the city.　

“Please excuse me,” he said, attempting to make his way through the crowd, however it seemed a futile task. Yet, even though they were separated, he could still see Nayuta. Even if he didn’t stand on a stage, even if he didn’t have a musical instrument, Nayuta still sang with the voice of a king. His voice was solid like a winter night sky, spinning the most exquisite music there was. As many times as he had heard Nayuta sing this song, he never found himself less entranced.

He didn't want to let Nayuta go, he wanted to protect his voice—that, he was sure of.

Like Kenta, the crowd found themselves lost in Nayuta’s song. His surroundings fell silent, with Nayuta’s voice being the only thing that flooded the area. One by one, more shoppers stopped to watch and joined the ever growing crowd.

“Who is that?”

“That’s amazing. He’s super cool…”

“I wonder if he’s debuted yet?”

A number of whispers swept past his ears. He was proud of Nayuta to be able to make even those who didn’t know Gyroaxia lend him their ears. Kenta’s chest swelled with pride that Nayuta was their vocalist.

“I wonder if this could be of use too…?” As the thought arose, Kenta opened his phone’s camera and began to film. He recorded the performance and made sure to include a view of the crowd he had gathered. “I won’t disturb Nayuta until he’s satisfied.”

Nayuta wore his usual moody expression, but while he sang, in a way it seemed like he was having fun. His voice wasn’t at the peak quality that Kenta was familiar with, meaning his body had likely yet to fully recover. Nonetheless, he felt his worries and fears from yesterday be dispelled.

No matter what happened, Nayuta would continue to sing.

Kenta stared at the man who had been brought into this world to sing, feeling ashamed that even for a moment, he had doubted the person he had wagered his life on.

“...That’s all.”

Once he felt satisfied, Nayuta announced the end of his performance. Momentarily, the audience began to beg for an encore, but when it was clear that Nayuta had no interest in continuing, the crowd gradually dispersed. Once the audience had thinned out, Nayuta caught Kenta’s gaze and narrowed his eyes with a threatening glare.

“What’re you doing here?”

“You shouldn’t sing in here. It’s a dome,” Kenta replied, opposing Nayuta’s glare with an earnest look. The hostility in his eyes only grew. “We need to talk. Can you come with me?”

Nayuta’s gaze seemed to tear him to pieces, but Kenta didn’t dare shy away. Nayuta held his glare for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

“...Fine.”

“Let’s not stand around. We should go find somewhere to sit, at least.”

They walked a short while until they found themselves in Odori Park. Kenta bought a warm citrus drink from a vending machine and handed it to Nayuta. At first he seemed suspicious, but he accepted it in the end. Kenta purchased a coffee for himself and took a seat next to Nayuta on a bench.

“Why’d you pick this one?”

“It’ll be good for your throat. You’ve really overexerted it. Try to stay hydrated.”

“...You bastard.”

Nayuta’s anger flared up again at the mention of his throat, grip tightening on his drink with a crinkling sound. Before Nayuta could lose his temper, Kenta bowed his head.

“...I apologise for yesterday!”

“What’re you doing?”

“I never meant to doubt you. I was only worried. I’m sorry if it seemed that I didn’t have any faith in you.”

“...”

“You’re someone who won't let anything stop you from singing. I should have realised that sooner.”

The anger that still burned in Nayuta’s eyes began to simmer out little by little. Kenta’s eyes never left his as he announced his request.

“Nayuta. I never want you to stop singing so please, let me protect your throat. I’ll do everything in my power. What can I do? What can I do to protect your voice?”

Nayuta’s eyes widened slightly at Kenta’s desperate plea.

“...Can’t you quit that already?”

“No, I can’t. You were born to sing.”

Nayuta raised an eyebrow at his uninhibited assertion but Kenta continued without regard, taking the opportunity to lay out his feelings to Nayuta.

“Of course I’m concerned about your asthma, but it hasn’t brought any harm to your singing. If you need help on stage, I’ll do everything I can to support you. You don’t need to worry about anything other than creating the music that you desire.”

“...So it’ll just be the same as before?”

“No, I’ll do more for you than ever. I’ll take care of your health. You won’t have to deal with trivial tasks either. Just sing and perform, Nayuta. It’s the reason for your existence.”

Nayuta was astonished by the pride he held in his words.

“I don’t sing for your sake.”

“I’m fully aware of that too. I selfishly fell in love with your music all on my own.”

“...What a maniac,” Nayuta spat out, opening the lid on his drink and downing the contents. Seemingly pleased, he drank half the bottle before casting his gaze to the ground. Kenta turned to Nayuta, who held the air of an arrogant stray cat that always stood proudly.

“We’ve known each other for a while...yet I’ve never seen you have an attack as vicious as yesterday’s. Has it been worse lately? What causes it? Do you have any ideas?” Kenta asked. The sudden barrage of questions put a sour look on Nayuta’s face. “Please. I’m here to support you, but I also want to be aware of your situation. Can you tell me?”

After being asked again, Nayuta begrudgingly offered an answer.

“The doctor said...it was stress. But, I’m not that weak.”

“Stress? Did something happen? Even if it was only small, do you know what it could’ve been?”

“...It was that piece of shit’s band.”

Nayuta’s face turned sour. From that point, Nayuta’s words only grew more and more depressing. Like skipping a pebble across a lake, Nayuta told his story in brief words, with Kenta listening earnestly at every step.

Nayuta’s father was the vocalist of a legendary band. He abandoned both him and his mother for the sake of music. After he discovered that Nayuta had asthma, he told him, “You’ll never sing,” and cut him off. From then on, his mother would continuously apologise and look at him with sympathy and pity in her eyes…consequently, that legendary band had become an awfully sensitive topic for Nayuta.

Kenta was able to gather that much from Nayuta’s story, along with the fact that beating that band was his greatest motivator.

“I’m not going to try and idiotically copy him. I’ll beat him as my own self.” With a crunch he crushed the bottle in his hands. “But now when I try to write a song, my throat clogs up. It’s bullshit! My voice is completely different to his. I’m nothing like him!”

The flame in Nayuta’s eyes reignited and burned with anger once again. The fire they held blazed with a beautiful furocity that had the power to scorch all in its path. Kenta was enchanted by them. With the anger held in his eyes, Nayuta seemed like Icarus, flying towards the sun. Though he knew he’d crash to the ground, he didn't know how to do anything but aim for the top and continue soaring.

That’s why...Kenta wanted to protect Nayuta.

So that those wings would never be broken. So that nothing could hold down his wings of blazing flame that even the sun could not stand against.

“There’s certainly some similarities between your voices.”

“What?” Despite all the passion Nayuta had laid out, he bared his fangs at Kenta’s indifferent reply.

“Of course, there are clear differences. Your low notes are deeper and you're far better at expressing the delicate changes in notes. The music you suit is also completely different,” Kenta rationalised in his usual fashion.

“...What’re you trying to say?”

“Don’t let meaningless matters get in your way—it’s not like you. The only thing you need to be is yourself. In my eyes, your singing is the greatest in the world.”

Nayuta looked at him with wide eyes.

“One day, people will say the opposite. Instead, they’ll ask, ‘Is that Asahi Nayuta’s father?’.”

The view of the street live came to Kenta’s mind. One by one, he had dragged people in with his song.

“Even people that don’t know our music have stopped in their tracks for you. That’s the kind of power your voice holds.”

Kenta had seen it himself. One day, he would sing in front of a huge audience beneath that dome, and everyone would cheer the name Asahi Nayuta.

“I’ll make every person on the earth your fan...or will you lose your confidence and run away?” Kenta challenged with a smile. Nayuta took a deep breath and exhaled as if expelling everything he had been holding in his chest.

“Pretty cheap attempt at stirring me up...but I’m on board.” He said as he rose to his feet and threw his drink into the trash can in one clean shot. With the burning eyes of a king, he looked down at Kenta. “Just you wait. My new song will be the best thing you’ve ever heard.”

Nayuta’s chest swelled with pride as he flashed an arrogant smile that dripped with confidence.

The next day, Nayuta arrived at the studio before anyone else.

“You’re late. We’re beginning immediately!” Nayuta yelled once the other members turned up. Reon was taken aback by the display of his usual tyrannical behaviour, as if the events of the previous day had never happened. His cheeks flushed red with anger.

“You littleー! Where the hell were you yesterday!?” he yelled in outrage. Reon seemed like he might grab Nayuta by the collar so Miyuki rushed to keep the peace.

“Did you catch a cold? We were all worried about you.”

“I wasn’t…!”

“I never asked anyone to worry about me.”

“Geez, why do you have to act like this…?”

“Miyuki’s right, he was bedridden with a cold. Before our last rehearsal, the cold had begun to agitate his throat and the situation with the air conditioning did nothing to help either,” Kenta took the initiative to explain on Nayuta’s behalf before a meaningless fight could break out.

“...Hmph.” Nayuta turned away, making it clear that there would be no further discussion on the matter. However, that only made Reon angrier.

“That’s bullshit! You should’ve told us you wouldn’t be coming!”

“Calm down. He had a cold, it couldn't be helped. Just, let us know next time, okay? I was worried that you had collapsed or something,” Miyuki mediated while setting up his drum set. Meanwhile, Kenta fussed over Nayuta.

“Nayuta, I’ve bought more cough drops and made some honey-pickled radishes. I also bought you a scarf for you to wear on your way home. If the weather gets colder, I’ll buy you a muffler too…”

Kenta had brought along a larger bag than usual and Nayuta was shocked by the amount of items he pulled out.

“...Are you my mum or something?”

“That’s how he’s acting honestly! I mean, aren’t you being even more overprotective than usual, Kenta-san?”

“Geez, you’re like a parent that isn’t ready to let their adult son go.”

Kenta paid no mind to Miyuki and Reon’s criticisms and placed the scarf and throat medicine into Nayuta’s bag. When their break rolled around, he’d ensure that Nayuta ate all the pickled radishes he had made. Although Miyuki and Reon looked at Kenta with a face of astonishment, they eventually gave up and the preparations for rehearsal proceeded as usual.

“Now that the air conditioning is working again, we’ll be able to get through today without a problem...huh, hyah!?” Miyuki let out a yelp and stared in shock at the cat at his feet. “Huh? A cat?”

“...How’d that get in here?” Nayuta muttered with a scowl. It was the cat that had been following Nayuta around at the park. Kenta shooed the animal away from their instruments.

“Why don’t one of us take it in?” Kenta suggested.

“Just leave him be. He’s happy being a stray.”

However, the cat seemed to disagree and rubbed its head against Ryo’s leg with a meow. Ryo picked it up and stroked its purring neck before turning to Nayuta.

“That reminds me...how’s our new song going?”

Nayuta raised an eyebrow before the edges of his lips tugged up into an arrogant grin. The other members were shocked by the rare smile from Nayuta.

“I’ll show you...we'll have it mastered before our next live.”

After his declaration, Nayuta began to sing. The song was powerful yet delicate, striking and intense. It was a song that aimed for endless heights, with a sound that seemed to the tale of Gyroaxia’s endless hard work. It was a song that spread its blazing wings and aimed for what lay beyond even the sun.

After Nayuta had finished singing, Kenta gave him a pat on the shoulder. “Well done.”

“There’s still more to be done before it’s polished.” A look of seriousness set into Nayuta’s face and he raised his voice. “Practice starts now!”

That day, Gyroaxia took a big step forward.

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spiritsoulandbody · 14 days ago

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#DailyDevotion The LORD Provides Us Teachers

Neh 8:1-3 When the seventh month came, all the people gathered like one man in the square before the Water Gate. They told Ezra the scholar to bring the scroll of the Law of Moses, which the Lord had ordered for Israel...3And he read from it before the Water Gate from early morning till noon, to the men and the women who could understand. And all the people listened to the scroll of the Law...5Ezra, standing higher than all the other people, unrolled the scroll before all the people, and as he opened it, all the people stood up. 6Ezra praised the LORD, the great God, and all the people answered, “So be it, so be it,” as they raised their hands and then bowed with their faces to the ground and worshiped the LORD.

So Judah had just spent seventy years in Babylon. While some of the exiles gathered regularly to hear God’s Word, especially the Torah (the first five books) many apparently did not. Having returned to Jerusalem the people were gathered and they wanted to hear the Book of the Law of Moses. Having done so, he brought it before the people and read it to them. It took at least 4 to 6 hours to read. Unlike some people today they were able to pay attention past ten to twenty minutes. Most people are able to pay attention (without all sorts of fanfare and the like). They were all very attentive. We see the people stood when the book or rather scroll was opened. We do the same thing when the Gospel is read in our churches. After blessing the Lord the people bowed to the ground and worshipped the Lord with their faces (literally nostrils) to the ground. Now it is unfortunate today that many kneelers have been taken out of the Churches. I cannot tell you why. I know I have unfortunately heard a few voices over the years proudly say they will not bow. They are children of God and shouldn’t have to bow. Apparently the worship scenes in the book of Revelation have escaped them. Even our Lord Jesus Christ, who is God of God and Light of Light bowed down in prayer. They even lifted up their hands in prayer. Well I have to admit we don’t do a whole lot of that either. Maybe we should. Now Ezra had some helpers among the Levites helped the people understand the Law while the people remained in their places. One could imagine as Ezra read, he often paused and the Levites distributed amongst the crowd would then help the people understand what was read. As far as we can tell this is one of the earliest records of systematic preaching, not that it never happened before. And so today, the Lord our God, Jesus Christ has given us Eph 4:11 “apostles, some to speak the Word, some to tell the good news, some to be pastors and teachers…” Our Lord Jesus Christ has given them to read to us the Holy Scriptures. He has given them to explain to us what those scriptures mean. Like the Israelites we should fix our attention on them so that we may know what the Lord’s will is toward us and what he wants to believe and to do. Such reading and explanations (sermons) should bring us to at the very least kneel before the Lord in our hearts and raise our hearts with repentance, thanksgiving and praise for all he has done for us. Heavenly Father, never let your word depart from us and give us ears that hear and hearts that believe all that you would tell us and give us your Spirit that we may live our lives according to your word. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen. Read the full article

#Christ #Christianity #devotion #faith #Jesus #LCMS #Lutheran #Messiah #teachers #torah

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 2 months ago

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Do not obey in advance

* * * *

https://steveschmidt.substack.com/.../strategy-memo...

Pensacola Prince Andrew, aka Matt Gaetz, has been defenestrated.

Good riddance.

The next weakest targets are the alleged rapist Pete Hegseth and the registered Qatari agent Pam Bondi.

There are a few predictable ingredients when it comes to creating political good fortune.

The first is luck. The second is your opponent’s incompetence and overreach.

Trump is overextended, and the transition plan has collapsed into a rubble of insanity 60 days before the inauguration.

He has taken his first step backwards, and will take many more.

The zebras on the outside of the herd are the ones who are most vulnerable. In this analogy, their names are Hegseth and Bondi.

The Monterey police report established beyond a reasonable doubt that Hegseth is an epic buffoon. Truly.

He may also be a rapist.

He seems to have a problem with women. Big time.

Something broke somewhere, and this ought to be explored psychiatrically and forensically under public examination before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The good news is that behind them is another, and another, and another, and another, and another, and another.

On Thursday, Karoline Leavitt, Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman issued the following statement:

This report corroborates what Mr. Hegseth’s attorneys have said all along: the incident was fully investigated, and no charges were filed because police found the allegations to be false. Pete Hegseth is a highly-respected Combat Veteran who will honorably serve our country when he is confirmed as the next Secretary of Defense, just like he honorably served our country on the battlefield in uniform.