#god damn it i wrote a bible

[forsakenbythenarrative]

the phrase 'god-given name' is so funny to me because it's often used to refer to your name from birth but let me tell you about all the people in the bible who were given names by God and how many of those names were NOT the one they were born with

[maybank5]

𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐞

pairing ⤜ yn x jj

summary ⤜ a happy future fic, because we need some healing; jj on the beach with his family reflecting on his life.

a/n ⤜ how are we doing fam? me? not so well. this has been the hardest fictional moment that's ever hit me. i'm choosing to believe our boy is still off somewhere and gonna have the best, most fulfilled and loving future. sending hugs and love to each of you!!

song inspo ⤜ no song inspo for this one; but i did have 'nights in white satin' on repeat as i wrote

The sun is setting over the horizon, sinking down into the ocean and melting into streams of gold and orange against the shimmering water. JJ Maybank perches on his surf board for a moment, admiring it. He's never considered himself to be the most religious of people. Sure, he attended Sunday school as a kid, knows the bible stories decently enough; and yeah, there's times when he catches himself praying. Like the time John B got into that nasty accident, or when his son was born. There'd been complications, things had been touch and go for a moment. JJ had pressed his head against the glossy white wall of the hospital waiting area, hoping to God that things would be okay, as John B and Sarah rubbed his back comfortingly.

The one time JJ didn't pray might have been the one time he should. He'd been stabbed, by his son of a bitch father. Not Luke, the "real one" though JJ found it almost funny how he preferred to think of Luke fuckin' Maybank as his actual father. At least Luke had never tried to stab him. But that was beside the point; JJ had been stabbed, and things were not looking good. John B had felt for a pulse and had felt nothing. JJ can still remember the feeling of floating away, like riding a wave to the horizon. He hadn't prayed then. Instead, he'd made peace with his fate. He'd lived a pretty damn full life in 20 years, and if this was the end of it, so be it. At least on the other side, no one would be trying to hurt him, right? That sounded mighty nice to him. So he'd closed his eyes and let himself drift off towards that horizon.

Only instead, he'd woken up in a hospital, still very much alive. His best friends at his side. Pope and Kiara barely left his side, and John B had practically crawled into the bed with him to hold him in his arms until a nurse had yelled at him. JJ doesn't remember feeling such love until that moment. And that was when it all changed. He'd been given a second chance, and an opportunity to see just how loved and valued he is. He was never going to squander it or take it for granted again.

The sun is sinking lower, the water in front of him glittering in gold. JJ pushes his wet hair back off his forehead to admire it. Years ago he'd have just shrugged it off. Sunsets were a dime a dozen. Not anymore though. Now JJ takes the moment to sit and watch and appreciate.

He glances back to the shore, where his wife and baby are playing in the sand. Harley John Maybank's (it'd be a cold day in hell if JJ ever took the name of that man) new favorite thing was trying to rush to the water, his mom and dad hot on his heels. JJ could tell already that Harley was going to be a handful, and he couldn't fucking wait.

The waves were rising higher. It'd make for a sick surf tonight. JJ bites his lip, turns and paddles back to the shore. Some priorities rank higher than waves.

He tucks his board under his arm and hurries over to where the two of you are building a sandcastle with Harley's little castle-shaped buckets.

"Hey, baby," you glance up at your husband, reaching out and touching his cheek with his hand, always little assurances like that to make sure he's real, "Not surfing?"

"Nah," JJ shakes some water from his head, "Much rather'd build sand castles with this little one," he ruffles Harley's head of blonde hair, glistening in the sunlight.

You can't help but smile as he sinks down into the damp sand to help Harley stuff sand into his buckets. Moments like these is when it truly hits you, just how blessed you are.

JJ gently helps Harley, his eyes so soft and full of love and devotion. Harley John is his utmost pride and joy. He's always been soft with you, but the gentleness in which he treats your son is beyond anything you could imagine.

JJ packs the sand into the bucket with the back of a little plastic shovel. He wonders if maybe there was a time he'd done this as a boy, but shakes the thought from his head. It doesn't matter. He can do it now. He can do it with Harley.

"Sarah called earlier," your voice pulls JJ from his thoughts, "She and John B are going to have Baby Jackson christened. John B is supposed to ask you to be the godfather tomorrow, but Sarah couldn't wait to tell me. You know the two of them, it's not a church thing or anything. Just The Pogues and the ocean."

"Sounds nice," JJ says, wrapping his arms around Harley and pulling him softly onto his lap.

JJ reaches for your hand, pulling you to him as well. He presses a kiss the back of your hand, holding your hand and running his thumb over your knuckles. Nothing ever feels one hundred percent real unless JJ can feel it, touch it, revel in it. He tosses his head back as the evening breeze licks through his hair.

And in that moment, JJ can't help but stop and say thank you.

Because JJ Maybank lives every day in paradise.

[silly-boi-broski]

"I wrote this book for a few reasons: Because I wanted more stories about boys like me. Because I was angry. Because I still am. But mainly, I wanted to show queer kids that they can walk through hell and come out alive. Maybe not in one piece, maybe forever changed, but alive and worthy of love all the same. "That's what you'll find here. Terrible things, survival, love, and a future worth fighting for. "Sharpen your teeth, take up your fire, and let's do this."

"For the kids who sharpen their teeth and bite."

I will never be over this book, bro. Just looking back at the author note makes me want to reread it again and I've read it 5 times now. It's a book that makes me want to scream and cry and throw it across the room and vomit up my insides and finally yell at the people who hurt me in the past. It makes me want to reach out to the people I used to know because it reminds me of them. Because Theo reminds me of one of my old best friends because Benji reminds me of myself and so many other beautiful and hurt and angry people because Nick reminds me that I'm not the only one going through this shit right now, that just because I'm neurodivergent doesn't mean I'm automatically weak or broken or less than even though that's what so many people that I grew up around want me to belive. This book makes me feel so many fucking things at once, and I don't understand half of them, but I have never felt so seen. I have never felt so real and understood. I have exhausted my friends of sharing about it and gushing it, but I don't care because it's a book about boys like me and I can't get enough of it. For fucks sake, I could already recite half of the god damned bible verses in the book and it made me cringe everytime but it made me feel so fucking seen because I know that I'm not alone in thinking like that. I know other people know that pain of not being able to get away from those verses and quotes, no matter how hard I try.

Andrew Joseph White has tickled my brain and touched my heart in so many fucking ways with his writing, and I don't know how to feel about it, but I know for one thing now, no matter how much shit is thrown at me. I am not alone, because I am one of the kids who needs to sharpen their teeth, and bite.

[midnightscxre]

Lurking eyes flashed under the dim light of the street lamps like bonfires, while thick smoke waltzed around the clenched jaw. He heard the sound of burning tires and the screams caused by aggressive driving that belonged on Formula 1 racetracks, not narrow streets full of pedestrians.

" I don't like him. " Hoarse voice expressed the thought that came to mind as soon as the car door opened and the man stepped out.

" Tig, you don't like your own damn mother. " Spanish accent continued as coal-dark eyes scanned the center of attention of the others.

" Exactly. I can tell a fucking problem when I see one. One look of that skinny crack whore and you wouldn't like her too. " Older man in his fifties with greasy dark locks spat out, returning his attention to Vince that was approaching the shadows.

" I would like your mother, in a few ways actually. " Pyke spat out through laughter, dodging the swift reaction from the other man that tried to grab his neck, but instead managing to land a semi-hard kick to Pyke's hip, while spitting curses in bad Spanish that he recalled hearing in old soap operas.

" Enough. He's coming. " clenched jaw bathed in smoke finally joined the conversation, tone much more serious and authoritative than he was half an hour ago in the apartment of the redhead he was now watching as she hurried into the bar.

" So, what are your thoughts on him Jace? Are we breaking his legs, arms, or going straight for the neck? " Pyke leaned on the truck parked next to the storage unit Jace mentioned to Vince, removing himself from view. There was a dead silence, the one in which you suppress a loud breathing, avoiding standing out in that nothingness. The tongue twirled the cigarette filter as ash fell like snow on the dark pavement. Jace watched the man with interest. Normally, a cursory scan would be enough for a quick conclusion, but this seemed different. He couldn't make a rash decision, not under these circumstances. He measured Vince from head to toe. Funny man. A shirt that is too short, a striking jacket, a smile spread over his face as if his whole life is a joke. An interesting change from the tense posture where he had to fend off an onslaught of testosterone and jealousy with all his might. Vince bounced off what Jace thought would be the Clare's type.

He pursed his lips as one eyebrow lowered over a focused eye. When he thinks about it, there was no mold for her selection. He saw bald, with hair, tattooed, in a shirt. . . they all looked like arrogant jerks, that was the only thing they had in common. This man was the opposite. But again. . . not one of them lasted more than a couple of hours, not one of them had a name, not one of them did she try to mention. Yes, Jace was sure he was going to have to handle this situation very differently. He stepped out of the shadows without answering to his ' subordinate ' when Vince addressed him. Half grin appeared in the corner of the mouth on the choice of words from the newcomer, already hearing the colorful, nasty answers of his crew hidden in the darkness. Ashes hung from the cigarette as Jace took his last drag of that sweet poison. Ashy blond man took the butt between his forefinger and thumb and launched it behind him, letting out the last cloud of smoke that shaped his words.

" Honestly mate, didn't think you would. " and he didn't, only wondered about the outcome. Much more tough-looking bastards lasted less in ' one on one ' with the notorious redhead. Suspension and restlessness could be felt in the heavy summer air. Like the vicious pack of wolves hidden under the blanket of pitch black night,waiting for their leader's signal, his crew listened in on the conversation -- searching for a hint or code from the president so they can attack. But that ' charge!' order never came.

" Alright then, lets get this thing done. " Casually, even with a hint of positive energy, Jace slapped the truck with his palm. " C'mn lads, can't have Barney's guests thirsty. And having this shit on the street for too long might attract some unwanted attention. Tig left quite a mess in that Guinness storage. " Everything said on purpose and with a hidden agenda. Throwing hints left and right to poke the awareness that this was stolen goods, searched for, in order to observe the man's reaction. Jace had zero tolerance for ' uncertainty '. Letting someone near his ' sister ' was equal to allowing them in his tight circle of trust. It wasn't that he thought Clare was unable to pass a decent judgment nor that she was unable to break this guy's teeth in more creative ways that any of his goons could, what worried him was -- if this goes horribly wrong and he betrays her, it might just be the actual end of her tries and a permanent lock on her heart and trust.

" Man they had cameras even up the guards ass. It was either go in guns blazing or try act all Ocean's 12 and get busted. No beer for you and no more pussy for me. And with all due respect Jace, I ain't trading my sweet butts for some hairy guy's ass in the prison. " Tig spat back, being the first one to come to light. Pale irises shot Vince an irritated look, but quickly they found their focus on the opening door of the truck.

" Vincent, right? Grab those barrels, they go in the back, then the whiskey boxes on the left front. Careful not to put nothing in front of the bull, we are pulling that one out in the end. " slapping the fake, smooth hair on the mechanic beast with realistic features and mighty sharp horns, Pyke started unloading the tuck.

" Yo blonde-blond, move that ass or the only Benjamin Franklin you'll see is if you go swing that ass around the stripper pole a few blocks down. " Tig didn't hide his slight resentment. Ironically, it was not anything personal, mature criminal simply was allergic to 'newcomers' after one of the alleged allies costed him five years of his life after snitching to the FBI to get a better deal about the meth lab Tig had in his grandma's basement. As far as Tig was concerned, even his twin brother Marius, these days going by the name of Father Peter, golden child that was a complete opposite of Tig, a priest, would get the same dose of skepticism and rudeness. If not, even more.

As the truck was getting emptier by the minute, Jace's eyes almost never left Vince. He observed him like a scientist who follows a certain species of animal through life. From a reasonable distance, intensely and thoroughly. Dropping the last of the whiskey on an dusty, iron table that was corroded by soot, slight Irish accent finally traveled through the layers of the evening.

" What is your relation to Clare, mate? As I said, didn't see ya' around yet. Not much slides under my radar, specially when it comes to her. " blended soap of curiosity and letting him know just how deep his claws are in this situation, Jace collectedly reached for the newly pack of butterscotch candy, hidden in his inner pocket. Rest of the two men momentarily gazed at Vince, but not a peep leaving their throat. Callused fingers popped one of the hard pieces of candy into the watering mouth, canines crushing the sweet as soon as the lips closed. Arm flexed, casually reaching for another pocket, intentionally lifting the hem of the worn out jacked up, exposing a gun hidden under it, just next to the chain that tasted more blood then the firearm. " Take the rest to the bar. " Tapping the crumpled box on the rough palm, Jace instructed the others to leave. Obediently but clearly unsatisfied with being left out from the most exciting part, Tig and Pyke grabbed each one barrel crowned with a wooden box of whiskey and went through the heavy metal door with the sign ' exit ' on them. Flames ate the shadows when Jace lit his cigarette, arms resting on the brawny chest. " See mate, I don't like surprises. Tonight's one was however different, but ain't putting my finger on the choice yet. So tell me, where do you know Clare from, and how did you end in her apartment? "

If this was a normal world with normal people, such question would be comical -- answer clear as day. But their world was nothing even slightly ordinary and Clare certainly didn't belong in the basked of ' standard eggs'. Broad silhouette moved, heavy boots eating some distance, while all friendly spirit in Jace evaporated, vanished into the thin air. Merciless tormenter remained, one with a leash of thin patience and self control. " I am not one of those guys that will make angry calls if you break her heart, search a couple of bars I know you hang out at and if lucky land a punch or two in your face. " Muscles turned to stone, tension filling the chest and eyes turning nearly demonic. " I am the one who will hunt you down like an animal, break every bone twice until you don't scream every prayer known to man, drag you to the street, chain you to the back of my motorcycle and drive off with pulling you along while every piece of skin and meat does not paint the street. But I'll be mindful of your survival just so I can throw you in an unmarked grave, and bury you alive. " Raising his chin up, the man held the eye contact, allowing this terrors to skin in. " I ain't planning to sniff around no one sheets, I am more than confident Clare can handle her stuff alone, however, betray her, there is where I step in. Are we clear on that? "

* * * *

Little bear. Breath hitched while limbs went numb for a split second, then the feeling of warmth creeping like spiders spread across her back, aiming for the stomach where some sort of fluttering was going on, defying the permanent denial. Staring at the angelic face for a few moments too long, bubbling comebacks left forgotten with the echo of the nickname still ringing around the eardrums. Even when the male jumped out of the metal beast, mellowed expresson remained. . . until the chickens decided to gawk at the wrong rooster. Possessiveness spread its arms like a giant jellyfish, sending out electric shocks of contempt, territoriality and jealousy. The loud thump of the door closing drew the attention of two of the unsightly girls, but when the roar of her voice traveled between them, muttering was reduced to apprehension, a confused stare like a hyena's when a lioness appears. " Nice sight, isn't it? " unreadable undertone laced the voice, as the redhead tilted her head towards Vince for whom she was certain can't hear her. " Eyes almost fall out the sockets. . . " a blanket of blackness was drawn over the green eyes like dark clouds before a storm. " Or someone claws them out. Hope you can run fast in that cheap heels. . .wouldn't want no accidents. " Passing through their now petrified group, Clare gave each and every single one of them a personal taste of the growing wrath residing in her glare. They hung their heads almost humbly, looking away but certainly not in the direction which may just cost them their eyesight.

The stale air full of sharp smells like beer, cigarette smoke, strong perfumes and sweat bit her nostrils. She deftly made her way through the throngs of people at the entrance, raising her guitar above her head as she ducked and avoided glasses filled with colorful drinks. Clare blinked cheerfully towards the back of the bar, where a skeleton named Gunpowder above the stage proudly rode a polished Old timer BMW R51 with a trailer. Nodding at the inanimate object as a personal tradition every time she was about to perform, a piercing voice roared through the packed space, overpowering even the music from the speakers. " Over here, young'un. " A large man with a thick gray beard, wearing a lumberjack's shirt and a belt with a small iron hoof on it, waved a dirty rag from the bar, waving his hand to the redhead to come over.

" How's it going Barney? " giving a subtle nod and a polite smile, Clare placed down the guitar bag next to the wooden stairs of the stage. With sausage like fingers Barney curled the tip of his mustache. " God darn it Clareese, I nearly though you ain't comin'. Was worried something happened to you. " Ignoring the fact the man keeps calling her by the wrong name, not because is was ignorant but from fondness, Clare removed a couple of scarlet strands from the forehead as she started unpacking the instrument. You have no idea what a eventful night I had. . . Woman though to herself, fingers curling around the polished guitar's neck. " Nothing happened, just got a bit held up. Don't worry about it. " Eyes bounced across the room. No Vince. No Jace. . . however she spotted Pyke and Tig, carrying the alcohol behind the bar. " Clareese, Clareese! Damn it young blood, what is up with you? Where are you? " snapping back from her thoughts, Clare shook her head, returning the attention to the old man. " Placing the bull tonight, though you will be happy. " Plump lips spared no joy, corners curling automatically. Seeing the traces of true cheerfulness on the beautiful face, Barney returned a wide, toothy smile. " Now that is more like it. Gonna be the first one to ride it, I promise. " crossing his heart and raising his hand, the male pointed at the stage. " Do as many as you like, no rush, as always. However, I do want one thing in return for the bull. " Puzzled expression washed over her face. " And that is. . .? "

" Sing that one you hummed the other day. I like that. Bear trap. "

Oh no. . .

Pale as the river's pearls, eyes widen in utter shock. " No, no. . . um. . any other maybe? I can do the old ones, you know, ones that bring you back to your youthful days. "

Desperately trying to change his mind and not do 'the song' Clare felt sweat big as pees accumulating on the forehead. Shaking the head in refusal, man was persistent. " No, that one. It didn't leave my head for days, reminds me of my first love. That one. " Not adding nothing more or wanting to discuss this further, Barney turned, yelling at the bikers that nearly pushed half of the bottles on the bar to the floor. Trapped, cornered . . . screwed -- that is how Clare felt. Knowing negotiation time was over, sand of excuses left the hourglass, she rushed to the stage, plugging the guitar into the speakers. A few heads turned, and she quickly examined the room one last time. Ruby haired woman was not religious, but in this very moment a silent prayer left the privacy of her thoughts. Lord, just let me finish it before he walks in. For god sake. . . cursing the song before she even sang it, fingers delicately started caressing the guitar. Tender melody caught most of the attention, but all eyes were upon her when she released the nightingale's voice.

" It was a sudden light, like a fireflies in the night

Moon shining like the sun, and it was over and done, before I got the chance to run

Waves of his power crashed on my shore, barefoot I ran to meet it once more

You got me in a bear trap

Chains on my wrists of something I was not meant to miss, lost in the heavily mist

Warrior spirit spilling the blood and fear, yet I want to be near

And I don't need no seer, to tell me the future, that admiration became the heart's butcher

You got me in a bear trap

Pretty boy covered with honey,

got even closer when fangs and claws screamed ' Shun me!', but instead clouds shaped his face above me

Like little bears drawn to berries, lips sweet as cherries, but a dark threat it carries

Because I know, that bear trap will only break the bone,

leaving the foolish soul addicted and alone, curse of the solitude set in stone , but still the war drum of the heart leaps on his tone

Because you got me in a bear trap. . .

Fingers tapped rhythmically on the doorpanel to a mental tune, feeling the light blow of the cool breeze, eyelids shutting for just a moment to relish in the air that brought him a sense of comfort. To ease his nerves just a little before they shot out completely. Expecting some blunt reply back, he focused on her as she spoke, noticing the flicker of light in her emerald irises when talking about her love for music, her kind of music, tone holding a sense of passion behind it. No hesitation behind the smile that formed at the honest answer given in return. Mirroring her sense of happiness, bringing him the similar amount from receiving a small sample of her opening up. He’d take what he could get. He then could've sworn he almost felt his eyes bulge out of their sockets as his smile was replaced with a look of disbelief. Was that a compliment? He didn't think she'd disclose such thoughts aloud, let alone have them for that matter. His heart skipped a beat, sensing she was truly interested in what he had to say. "I-uh, thanks. Appreciate it." He tried to play it smooth, as if he didn't just stumble over his words. You fool. True expressions and emotions were unable to be contained, wanting to burst open like a dam. The intoxicated couple almost being struck like deer had been a voluntary distraction, causing him to laugh out loud. "They’re worth five points you know."

And he could've swore he’d gone into cardiac arrest at the second compliment, fingers ceased the consistent movements, hand retracting from the doorframe to lie onto his thigh. "Yep, sure do." The mentioning of his brother brought a pang to the receptors of his heart, seeping into his chest cavity, he knew she meant no harm by her words. Not knowing much about him. Adams apple bobbed as he forcefully swallowed the feeling down and replied calmly without a wavering tone. "Nah, not to brag but I'd been self-taught for the most part. He lives in Berlin, my hometown. His name is Edward, but my mom and I always called him Eddie." There were times he regretted leaving the only bit of family he had left behind, but something within him had sought something new. New experiences, places, sights, a whole fresh environment all around. A country at that. The 'American dream'. Although Eddie has tried to reassure it was okay, there was still a sense of guilt that ate at him within. They would keep contact by either phone or mail, but visits were rare. The last time he visited was over a few months ago since it'd been two years on the dot, and the goodbye was hard, but Vince knew what he really wanted out of life. Not wanting to be that guy who was in a hurry to get old, settle, and stay in the hometown till death. The fact he even mentioned the sibling was a sign of trust.

Gaze remained averted as he stared out the window, eyes flickering where his vision caught the view straight ahead of him. Listening to every word, he gave a firm nod in understanding, not necessarily catching on to the fact that Jace could likely know about Castello, but the simple fact that what both of them did wasn't supposed to be discussed openly, mainly aimed at Vince. And because Paul would sic his men on him like a group of ravenous dogs out for blood, if disclosed to the wrong person that is. Chances were low, but never zero. Even the fastest racehorse could be discarded and replaced with another if it happened to slip. He also related to the resistance of familial lectures, not pleased to be caught up in such either. “Wasn’t gonna say nothin’ to begin with. Don’t sweat it.” Though a small voice in the back of his mind was telling him there was something more to that, yet it was shoved aside like most.

Head turning slightly when she fumbled over her words, at first causing a confused furrow of both brows, until noting the blush of embarrassment forming on pale cheekbones. And before he could even respond with jesting words, his skeleton about jumped out of his skin when she pulled into the parking spot with a screech. Both hands gripping the sides of the seats, nails sinking into the leather like a frightened feline. "Jesus, Clare. Alright, you've made your point." He took a deep breath, eventually calming down. Is this what others felt when he had control of the wheel? Removing his sunglasses, he stuffed them into his jacket pocket before locking eyes with her. "I can assure that you have my word, my lips are sealed." Pinching his thumb and forefinger, he moved them across his lips as if he zipped them. "Gotta help Jace. I'll see you inside, little bear." Before she could respond to the last bit, he quickly got out of the car, not before sending a quick wink her way, and shut the door behind him. Completely ignoring the straying eyes that belonged to a couple of women in different age brackets, the same ones who screeched like a group of banshees when Clare pulled in, trying their darndest to catch a good glimpse of him in the dim lighting the outside bulbs provided, unsure whether it was because he was an unfamiliar face or not.

Quickly, he made his way to the other side of the building where Jace specifically said to meet at, not wanting to be a minute or even a second late. Mind overthinking and jumping to conclusions per usual. Making sure his presence was known, he approached the storage unit, completely masking his discomfort and queasiness of his stomach with a strut as he walked, boots loudly crunching the graveled area until he approached closer. Greeting the man who stood before him with a nod and a look of determination. “Made it in one piece, throw whatever ya’ got at me.” Trying to make light of the situation and cut any sort of tension that lingered in the air the best he could.

[todd-queen]

so I have actually not stopped thinking about the bible verses in Nona the Ninth

(they are actually over taking my every waking moment)

I was raised with a religous parent, so in addition to solving the numbers code, I was curious what any of the actual verses from the book of John were, and typed them into biblegateway.com today.

And god. damn. it. Muir has done it again.

The very first verse is John 20:8 (NIV):

"Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed."

TAMSYN!!! HOW DID YOU GET THE NUMBERS TO LINE UP PERFECTLY FOR THE CODE A N D THE BIBLE VERSE????

i am losing my mind so much

i compiled them all into a Google doc and took a screenshot, so please let me know if the image doesn't load right :)

i went through all the verses and wrote them down to try and find a quote in each chapter that at least correlated to each theme of the verse(s) (please forgive me if they aren't perfect- and feel free to add on!)

[gandalfsalt]

Solas and Numbers 23:23

This is another old "essay" I wrote last year after completing Inquisition and Trespasser for the first time.

The Well of Sorrows quest is called “What Pride had Wrought,” and this title is a direct reference to a biblical passage that serves as foreshadowing for Trespasser, and possibly Dreadwolf. We’re told at least once in the game that Solas means “Pride.” The Nightmare demon in the raw fade says, "Dirth ma, harellan. Ma banal enasalin. Mar solas ena mar din." (I know you, trickster. That was no victory. Your pride will be your death.) 

The phrase “what pride had wrought” means “what pride had done/caused.” What has Solas done regarding the Temple of Mythal, Mythal herself, or the Well of Sorrows? This could foreshadow Solas revealing himself as Fen'Harel later on in the game. It won't be the first time the devs hid meaning in a quest title - famously, Solas's personal quest, "All New Faded for Her" is an anagram of "Dread Wolf Fen'Harel." Not a stretch to say something similar is happening with this title.

The quest title got even more interesting when I realized that the phrase “What Pride had Wrought” originates from a biblical passage, Numbers 23:23 -  

"Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought!"

Matthew Henry, a 17th century British minister famous for his commentary and exposition of the bible, says that this passage means:

“Men change their minds, and break their words; but God never changes his mind, and therefore never recalls his promise. And when in Scripture he is said to repent, it does not mean any change of his mind; but only a change of his way.” 

God in this context is sounding a little like someone else we know, right? If we substitute Solas (Pride) for God, as the writers have done with the quest title, Henry’s interpretation still rings true. Solas refuses to change his mind or break the promise he made to himself to restore the world to the state before the fall of Arlathan. This could be seen as foreshadowing for Solas revealing himself as Fen'harel and committing to tear down the veil in Trespasser.

The second part, “when… he is said to repent, it does not mean any change of his mind, it is only a change of his way” is very interesting to me. If we’re buying my argument that you can sub Solas for God here, it could imply an allyship with Solas in Dreadwolf - that he can repent without changing his mind about what needs to be done, but he’ll change his actions in a way that could help the protagonist? Idk. 

The second part also has implications about his relationship with Lavellan. He has not changed his mind about Lavellan, but he has changed his way - instead of continuing the path of a relationship with her, he changes back to the solitary path of Din'Anshiral. 

Solas’ fatal flaw, Pride, causes him to behave like God, namely that Solas makes sweeping, unilateral decisions about the fate of the world. He has no right to do that, because as he says many times, he is no god. Ironically, Solas despises the fact that the other elven mages pretend to be gods, or endeavor to behave like God. However, in single-handedly making decisions on behalf of basically all living beings, Solas is acting as a god, as much as he says he believes he is not one. And those actions result in destroying his world and everything he loves. And he’s ready to do the same damn thing all over again in an attempt to “fix” how badly he messed up the first time!

So is the quest title, “What Pride had Wrought” merely foreshadowing (foreshadowing our discovery of everything Solas has done, and what he decides to do) or does it mean that even though Solas has committed to this path, he may repent later? Or that he still holds the torch for a romanced Lavellan? I can't wait to find out!

[multifandombullshitbabes]

Random Merlin Rewatch: Where a random number generator gives me a season and an episode from BBC Merlin; and then I comment on it as I go.

Today's episode: Season 4 Episode 7 - The Secret Sharer

Before I start, let me just say and I have done my uni exam and that's why I haven't been posting these even though I really wanted to. Not joking, I had to let my fingers rest 'cause I wrote all my notes and shit. It was a lot. Anyways, let's fucking do this.

LET'S GO INTRO!!!! YOUNG MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOOOOH

EWWWWW WHY IS AGRAVAINE TOUCHING MORGANA LIKE THAT I'M GONNA PUKE BRO

Damn, Morgana's eyes are so GREEN, that makeup really does it for her. Kinda funny she's wearing it to bed though. Girl.

GOOD LORD MAMA, HELLO

Agravaine needs to chill the fuck out. Every time he's on screen he gives me the ick. Ugh. Also Morgana looked so damn paranoid talking about Emrys. "He knows everything. All our plans, all our secrets." Girl.... RIP Morgana you would've loved therapy (or not).

Ohhh... interesting Morgana's reaction to Agravaine's accusation of Gaius, saying that he's the ones working with Emrys. She almost looks... hurt? Like. She really doesn't want to face the reality that Gaius exists, in the sense that she's just so hurt by everything these people that "loved" her have done. She just feels so betrayed by everyone, so hurt, so ANGRY. It's so tragic.

Oh my GOD. I NEED PEOPLE TO STOP MANIPULATING MORGANA!!! I'M SICK OF IT!!!! The way she hesitates!!! When she knows that it means that they're going to use Gaius or maybe even kill him!!! The way that she moves away from Agravaine, processing this, the way he INTERRUPTS THIS and insists, again, that it has to be Gaius, they have to do something. And for a second she almost looks so fucking scared, like!!

LOOK AT HER!!! ANOTHER PERSON THAT'S BETRAYED HER!!! SHE'S SO HURT AND SCARED!!! OH GOD HER AND ARTHUR ARE SO SIMILAR.

She even blinks her eyes after that line from Agravaine, like blinking away tears, her eyes are so shiny bro, I'm gonna cry :((. And after blinking she turns all smirky and "evil" and shit. Jesus Christ. I could write a whole thesis about Morgana and her character progression holy shit.

LET'S GO MUSICCCCCCC

AHHHHHH the iconic breakfast in bed scene!!! Yay!!!

I don't blame Arthur for spitting that out, shit looked dry as FUCK. Also there's a bunch of crumbs on the bed, Merlin, YOU'LL have to clean that up!!! Don't give yourself more work!!

"I don't know anything about Polishing." We really need more appreciation about how Bradley delivers his lines, this one is just too funny, only hearing it, bro. Also. Merlin writes Arthur's speeches. One of the best pieces of canon in my opinion. It's just so comical, for some reason. And they must be good too, 'cause no one's questioning them. It's just such a subtle way to show that Merlin IS smart. Sometimes. A little bit.

Merlin, babe, you cannot be serious. You writing the new bible or something, what the fuck is this.

"You don't have hours." Most threatening and terrifying Merlin's ever sounded. Arthur's better than me, I would've have an anxiety attack so bad it'd send me straight to hell.

THIS INTRO IS EVERYTHING!!! WHY ARE THEY SAYING THINGS SO PERFECTLY SILLY!! I LOVE IT!!! Also, damn, Arthur's BUSY. I guess we do forget that kings had to, y'know. Do basically everything, like be a judge sometimes. Hello??

Ah yes, what I've been waiting for: the wrestling Arthur out of the bed scene. Love it. No notes, really.

"You're doing very well, Arthur." WHAT IF I CRY???

"I don't think so."???? ARTHUR WHAT IF I SMACK SOME SENSE INTO YOU, SHUT UP!!! YOU'RE DOING PRETTY GREAT IN MY OPINION, LISTEN TO YOUR MANSERVANT FOR ONCE.

A tiny bit of appreciation for Arthur's chest hair.

Thank you.

Love that Agravaine just. Ignores that it's Merlin writing Arthur's shit. He must have gotten such a shock right at the start and now nothing's surprising anymore.

The fact that Morgana, all in black, has a white horse is so fucking cool to me. Work that shit, queen.

OK GORGEOUS?????

Hate the way Agravaine speaks. Shut the FUCK UP.

Arthur. Arthur, honey. Yeah, you've got to stop being so easy to manipulate. I know it's hard, but your uncle is so fucking obvious doing it, please, please, just. Please. Holy shit.

Morgana's dress (cloak?? hood?? idk) is so pretty.

Morgana being the last of her kind, High Priestess of the Triple Goddess. Merlin being the last Dragonlord. Something something...

Also. Some obvious orientalism is this episode. Kinda icky, but unsurprising giving it's BBC and also like. 2011 or whatever. But still. Ugh.

Welp. Welp, welp. Can't really say much about that, can I??

I can't remember, but I'm assuming that bracelet she gives to the Catha is from Morgause, simply by the look of pain in her face when it's out of her grasp. Literally, when will my wife's suffering end?

I wonder just how many different kinds of magic beings and users there are in JUST the five kingdoms. What about the rest of the world?? Like. that's just so cool!! I love world building, maybe one day I'll waste away some days just building up lore and lore, probably some made up, but mostly from all cultures and countries. That would be cool as fuck actually.

Agravaine's smile is so FAKE, FUCK OFFFFFFF

Ew, why does he just touch everybody. Weird uncle vibes, for sure.

Oh, I just don't like how Arthur's so quiet. I bet Agravaine's just gotten in his head so bad. He already looks ready to cry, like Gaius has already betrayed him. He's so used to that, what's one more?

Jesus, this hurts to watch. The fact that Gaius knows exactly what's happening, and he's trying to be as truthful as he can but Agravaine's just. making it all worse and horrible. This is so bad.

Ok, Gaius, I know you're better at lying than this. Fucking damnit.

EW. Agravaine's little smirk?? What the fuck is wrong with him? Jesus, I feel so sick watching this, knowing that he's just basically sentenced Gaius as a liar!! Fuck!!!

Well, at least Arthur noticed that Agravaine was being a fucking bitch. Not all is lost.

"... we might find some (proof)." Oh, ok, so you're just admitting that you're going to fabricated evidence against Gaius? Oh ok.

JESUS THESE MAN'S TITTIES ARE JIGGLING GOOD LORD

OH MY GOD, NOT THE PECS FLEXING??? I'm assuming normally you don't see that when you're on a horse adjusting yourself 'cause you got clothes on but this guy DOESN'T and you can SEE EVERYTHING.

The way that Merlin opens the door is so funny. He is NOT amused to be called upon by Agravaine. Mood.

Why is Agravaine's smile literally so disgusting, I cannot.

EWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW WHY DOES HE SMILE SO MUCH???? VERY MUCH WEIRD UNCLE VIBES. VERY MUCH "PUT SOME CLOTHES ON, YOUR UNCLE'S COMING." VIBES. EW. EW EW EWWWW

Love seeing Agravaine getting humbled, thank you big titty man.

Really? Really??? A book boldly proclaiming that it's about magic and sorcery, kinda hidden by one (1) sheet of paper as your proof? Really??? Are you for real right now?? Fuck off.

It is actually so upsetting seeing Agravaine in Merlin and Gaius's space. Like that's not for you, disgusting bitch.

Not Merlin finishing polishing the dagger and setting it on Arthur's nightstand JUST as the warning bells start to sound. Lol. Lmao even.

OH MY GOD THEY'RE DESTROYING GAIUS' SHIT??? WHAT THE FUCK

No no no. I hate this. The fact that Merlin now get's why Agravaine made him polish that dagger. He's fucking blaming himself right away, oh I can't do this.

Merlin literally looks like a baby in this shot, holy shit. My baby :(((.

Agravaine's acting (not the actor's, is the actor acting the character acting!! which is so fucking cool) is so fucking annoying. It's so obvious, dammit, Arthur, you're a king, how can you not see it!!! I know he's family, but you barely know him!!! I know he's from your mother's side and you want THAT side to be good unlike your father's side that's brought you so much pain, I know, but come ON!!!

Oh, Merlin's so mad, not at Arthur, at Agravaine and himself, but he's so hurt, so scared, so pained that it comes across as quietly, restrained angry, and it's fucking heart breaking.

Oh god. This is one of their most painful fights in my opinion. I think they get so fucking heart breaking when it's Merlin just. trying to show his side, trying to get Arthur to understand but Arthur just cannot because he's been given a certain information that WOULD make his actions sensible, but WE know they're lies!!! We do, Merlin does, but he can't just say that 'cause it might reveal HIS lie, and it's just UGH!!!!!!!!!! FUCK

MERLIN IS FUCKING TEARING UP I CAN'T. "He would not leave without saying goodbye to me." I AM GOING TO PUKE.

The way Merlin turns away when he's close to crying, ohhhhh. Oh BBC Merlin writers when I catch you. Colin Morgan when I catch you.

"I don't wanna lose another friend." I think these are the moments that really make me wanna chortle Arthur. I truly feel like he cannot understand the depth of the power that he has compared to Merlin. 'Cause what does that threat mean? Just them stop being friends but Merlin's still employed? Arthur sacking Merlin? Arthur treating Merlin how he's treating Gaius right now? Because, truthfully, with the power that Arthur has, any of these options is viable. I think this is what scares me, Arthur just cannot comprehend that he just cannot threaten his friends, his loved ones, like this just because he's king now. He simply cannot. The weight of it is different. Even if he would never hurt them, it doesn't matter, he has the POWER to. That's what's so scary. And then he wonders why Merlin doesn't tell him things. How can he?

The way things just. Change between the early seasons and now. The way Gaius talks to Morgana, knowing she wants to kill him, when he saw her grow up. I'm gonna be so fucking sick, y'all, what the fuck.

Does she braid some of her hair with leaves?? Or a green ribbon? What is that in her hair??

Not gonna lie, Morgana is so hot in this scene. Jesus. Love that voice, and that's all I'm gonna say.

HE LOOKS SO BABY!!!!!!!!!!1

I love that Gwen doesn't even question that Agravaine's behind it. She's like "I'll use my charms to get Arthur to see reason, don't worry bestie."

ICONICCCC GAIUS USING MAGIC!!!!!!!!

Oh, I love when Merlin doesn't even use words. Just golden eyes and BOOM. Magic.

MERLIN FOR FUCK'S SAKE BRO YOU CAN'T EVEN SNEAK OUT CORRECTLY WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!! That's so fucking funny though, I'm losing it-

GWAINE!!!! MY BABY!!! You look like a puppy :,).

Oop. Cock blocked.

Merlin is just in a fucking mood and honestly he deserves to be. But it is interesting how differently he acted with Gwaine and Gwen. I wonder if he's being shorter with Gwaine 'cause he's a knight now, and he knows that knights talk and are closer to the king's views than the servants. Classic class division and such, even if Gwaine is not like other knights. He just cannot be sure now. Also 'cause he almost got found out my Agravaine which does not good for your nerves I bet.

WOW. Gwaine, baby, STAND UP. Get some self-respect. Good god. At Merlin's back and call, it's really ridiculous bro.

Immediately on a secret mission, love these boys.

Not Agravaine seeing his plans fall apart, GET REKT LOSER.

I wonder if Morgana's a good cook. I think she isn't actually. Just never gets recipes right. Burns things, undercooks others.

Oh, poor Gaius... he really tried to fight it but...

It's really fun watching the series and recognizing common clips used in edits.

The way Gaius speaks about Merlin with such wonder and pride... crying rn.

LMAO NOT MERLIN JUST COMPLETELY TRIPPING BOTH OF THE GUY'S FEET. ALSO THE WAY THE CATH TURNED??? HELLO??? HE LOOKED LIKE A SQUIRREL.

"We should split up." "Yeah." two dumb bitches saying "exactlyyyy"

"If you find him, don't wait for me." Gwaine IMMEDIATELY disagreed with that, Merlin dearest, he's not gonna let that happen.

Oh my god, Morgana hasn't met Gwaine yet. All she knows, from Agravaine, is that he's a "hothead". Lmao. lol even.

I love how Agravaine, literal dagger to Gaius' neck, is disagreeing with Gwaine's very keen observation, that he's the kidnapper and traitor. Girl, shut the fuck up.

Gwaine is so handsome. Also, yes, not completely stupid because, if Agravaine didn't kidnap Gaius, how did he know where he was, hm?? Bitchass.

Jesus. Credit when credit's due, he can be a good liar. Also, I feel like Gwaine's acting like he believes Agravaine's innocent, mainly because he can sense something fishy about him. His question, "So you agree he was abducted then?" is so SMART. 'Cause what else can Agravaine do but agree and declare Gaius an innocent man? Yeah that's fucking right, bitch.

Morgana is literally so hot and tragic when evil, good lord.

UGH, Morgana using magic without words, YES!!! Love her being powerful.

Face card never declines for either one of them, good god. Y'know what, more and more I understand Mergana. Just. Look at them!!!

OH THE WAY MERLIN KNOWS THAT ALATOR KNOWS HE'S EMRYS. OH MY GOD?????

Oh jesus, the way Morgana's just RELIEVED to finally know who Emrys is, she's so scared of him she just doesn't want to be scared anymore. Her voice is so soft here :(.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT HE YEETED THE FUCK OUT OF MORGANA WHAT THE FUCK, WOAH!!!!!!!!1

Oh wow that scene just gave me chills, holy shit holy shit. The way Alator just kneels and allies himself to Merlin. Jesus Christ, that's my drug bro.

Gwaine and Arthur interacting. Gwaine being so soft about Gaius, so worried :(. Arthur too :(((.

I really do love how royals just think the servants can't fucking hear. Gwen is right there as they speak very sensitive matters. Like bitch?? They have ears I promise??

The way Gaius and Merlin communicate their fears and anxieties :((( I'm so emotional bro.

"My worry is Arthur." and THOSE are your loyalties, while Alator and other's loyalties are to YOU, Merlin, 'cause you're supposed to bring forth Albion, but you're too busy having a fucking CRUSH TO DO IT!!!!!!!!!!

Oh, the way Arthur walks into the room and Merlin cannot even BEAR to look at him. He's HURT. As is his right.

The way Merlin immediately lightens the mood, 'cause he wants things to be easy as possible, even if it gets hurts swept under the rug like this. UGH. AGHHHHHHHHH.

Boys. Stop eye fucking. You're supposed to at least be a little mad at him, Merlin, you kinda deserve that, y'know.

Love that Arthur believes without a doubt that Gaius withstood torture for him and Camelot and won. Like. He truly sees Gaius as this strong figure. Just always there since he was born, bro. Even before, while he was being made!! That's bonkers.

I love how Arthur understood Gaius' lied even though Agravaine talks in the "evil manipulative guy" voice all the time. Fuck off bro, I swear.

The Gaius is trying to teach Arthur to understand the complexities of magic, that it's all evil or all good, it's all different. I love this scene so much.

Pretty boy.

And that is it!!! God, what an episode!! I feel like this episode is a good starting point for a show rewrite, in which Arthur gets more and more curious about magic and tries to understand, and maybe we'd get a magic reveal and shit like. I like that a lot.

[can-of-w0rmz]

Do you think Adam would be homophobic/transphobic?

The fandom kinda forgets he’s hyper religious so I’m wondering your opinions

Eh, could be. I mean he wasn’t exactly hyper religious as much as super engrossed in Christian theology, which is a bit different? You wouldn’t exactly get a very very strict Christian being sympathetic to Satan, like he was. He basically just read bible fan-fiction and started to view the world through that lens. I feel like he’d have that view of a traditional heterosexual relationship between a cis man and a cis women and he’d be pretty fixated on that, but I also feel like if he encountered other types of relationships he wouldn’t be transphobic or homophobic. After all, kind of a big part of his character is that he feels damned for his existence, and I feel like if he came across that same feeling a lot of queer people tend to experience, his sympathy for that (like his sympathy for Lucifer being outcast/as queer people are often outcast for things out of their control, I feel like he’d sympathise with that) would likely overcome the theology he’s so versed in.

So yeah, I feel like he’d be a lot more likely to go the “ah, fellow creatures outcast and damned at birth by our mutual God” route than the “ummm actually it’s Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve 🤨” route, but I also think he’d mostly be exclusively sympathetic to queer despair than queer joy. I feel like if he encountered a loving happy gay couple or trans individual he wouldn’t exactly be homophobic, but he’d be more likely to go “alas, even my fellow members of creation cursed from birth are able to find in this existence their own happiness ~unlike me~” than to view them as just regular couples on the same level as a heterosexual couple.

So summary, tldr: he probably wouldn’t hold any contempt towards lgbt individuals and if anything he’d probably really sympathise with them, but he would probably still view them as fundamentally broken or damned from birth.

I can’t believe I just wrote an entire thing analysing if Frankenstein’s monster would theoretically be homophobic

[anxietyfrappuccino]

being christian or christian ajacent is so weird like,,, i don't believe the same things other christians believe.

i think reincarnation is legit despite hating the idea of being reincarnated. i don't think one lifetime is enough to find god.

i don't think fighting over land to establish a country is necessary. god gave us a whole fucking planet but you want this specific piece of it so much you're willing to kill to obtain it? fuck that just be nice and love thy neighbor. fuck borders honestly.

the bible was written from the perspective of men, it's flawed. it's full of war and racism and misogynistic metaphors. we, humans, have matured over time, but the people who think the bible is perfect are like the people who believe the united states constitution is perfect. it's not, and we shouldn't be acting like the human perspective can't experience growth. we grow individually. we grow collectively. people stagger that progress when they keep sticking to old harmful way of existing.

who is to say that after jesus ascended back to heaven, the men who eventually wrote the bible didn't change the story? we all know they've been altering it since it since it was published!!! it is impossible to write that much word and not give bias.

god/jesus said in the future his people would go to war. this seems to be some sort of justification for countries to create war. all i know to say is that going to war does not equate to starting a war. things are not worth going to war for. people are worth going to war for, to protect them, but it's never okay to instigate war.

being a medium is not witchcraft. it's a gift. crystals are not witchcraft. they're pretty rocks that may or may not hold a bit of magic and grace in them. either way, it's not harming anyone to have a comfort item or something harmless to believe in. astrology is not "new age" or witchcraft. it's been around for centuries in every part of the world. it's reading stars for fucksake. let people have a fun way of understanding themselves.

love is love and love also really fucking loses is human and it's more perfect than the bible will ever be. it's authentic, and it's natural. realizing i'm queer made me a better person. it opened me up to caring more about people and understanding people. i can't thank god enough for my orientations.

you can't just give up anxiety or trauma to god. you can't just pray it away and forget about it. that shit alters your brain. you have to work through it in order to heal, and i believe god wants to help his children work through their hurt, not attempt to throw it away like a dirty dinner plate into the trash. you've got to wash your damn dishes. it's takes time, and it's harder for some people than others. AND MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT DEMONIC. sorry, had to say it louder for the people in the back.

there may be other things i'm not aligned with, but this is what i can remember rn

[beardedmrbean]

An employment tribunal hearing brought by a sacked Christian teacher has collapsed after "prejudiced" comments were made by a panel member online.

The unnamed teacher brought the case against a primary school and Nottinghamshire County Council after she was dismissed for opposing the local transgender policy.

She was suspended for refusing to "affirm" an eight-year-old girl who wanted to be treated as a boy.

The teacher was later sacked for gross misconduct after looking up the child on the school's safeguarding database and sharing the information with her lawyers.

However, the case has collapsed after panel member Jed Purkis demonstrated a "significant prejudice against Christians".

The former GMB union officer has also expressed anti-Tory views, describing Conservative Party supporters as a "tumour".

The unnamed teacher described herself as a "Bible-believing Christian" and stressed her faith informed her belief on sex being an "immutable biological fact".

She also expressed concern about "social transition" resulting in "irreversible harm" being caused to a young person.

The case was being heard by panel members for six days.

However, all three members, including judge Victoria Butler, recused themselves late on Monday after Purkis' comments were discovered.

The hearing will be rescheduled for later in the year.

Responding to a comment suggesting only atheists should be in public office, Purkis wrote: "Damn right, you won't catch us killing in the name of our non-God."

Purkis also said: "If they are so f*****g super how comes there is so much shit going on in the world."

He separately asked "what's a good collective noun for Tories?", adding "a tumour of Tories" and a "cess pit of Tories".

Representing the teacher, Pavel Stroilov argued Purkis "appears to agree with a view which expressly advocates for religious discrimination in public life".

The teacher said it was a delay in receiving justice "but I have to have a fair trial".

[personal-blog243]

Thoughts on a particular brand of Christian interpretation of the Bible that grooms them to support authoritarianism…

(Disclaimer: I am not an expert please don’t use me as your only source on this topic)

in my experience most Christians have an extremely hyper-literal interpretation of the Bible that I don’t necessarily agree with, particularly not when combined with the doctrine that the Bible is completely 100% inerrant and infallible and is the absolute highest authority and is the one and only completely true word of God in a very strict literal sense.

It’s a very brutally honest “facts don’t care about your feelings” way to view God and the violence of the Old Testament.

This means that most Christians really DO believe that all of the rape, slavery, war, genocide, etc. in the Bible is totally 100% genuinely perfectly fine with God and that that must be what God himself actually wants to this day in a modern context as well!

Your personal morals be damned. Your feelings about all of this are irrelevant because it is what the book says. Most Christians really believe that if you want to identity as a Christian or a follower of Jesus in any way, you must accept and be perfectly okay with all of the bad things in the Old Testament as well. It’s all or nothing, take it or leave it. You can’t pick and choose. Facts don’t care about your feelings. This is what it means to be a real Christian whether you like it or not.

If you don’t like hearing any of that, or interpret the Bible differently, you clearly disagree with God himself about rape, slavery, homophobia, and genocide and that is all your fault. If you’ve got a problem with God then that’s on you. Surely God believes that you are wrong about these things and you are the problem. Do you think you are smarter than God???? Who are you to complain and question?

Christians are used to hearing these bad things and putting aside their own feelings and basic morals for the sake of the truth (or what they believe is true whether they like it or not 🤷🏼‍♀️). They are used to doing this for the sake of respecting tradition and authority and thinking their emotions and ethical philosophy doesn’t matter when there is a higher authority.

Just keep in mind that this is how most conservative Christians view both the Bible AND the U.S. Constitution! 😳! They are authoritative texts that can’t and shouldn’t be changed and to have an ethical philosophy that is different from the men who wrote these texts is an attack on the abstract concept of truth and authority itself.

This is why they are primed for authoritarianism. They think that having a different understanding of the role of these texts and how to interpret them means you think you are smarter or better than the the founding fathers (in the case of the constitution) and of God himself (in the case of the Bible).

Obviously not ALL Christians necessarily think this way I’m just cautioning against this mentality of having to accept terrible things in the name of truth and authority.

[bulbabutt]

the original reason for autobots being manufacturers and decepticons being war machines was because the Japanese toys they were pulling from were different and they needed a fast easy way to say why all the autobots were normal civilian vehicles in altmode while decepticons were guns, tanks and jets stop giving 80s writers credit for bullshit they made up because they wanted to sell toys, they were high on cocaine making most of it, while later stuff was Actually Planned Out

Damn that’s crazy I’m sure no modern transformers wrote dumb shit to sell toys!!!!!! Especially not a bunch of billion dollar movies!!!! You’re right the 80s had no good ideas which is why they never reused any of them again!!!! Are you fucking stupid lmfao

I don’t give a fuck if it was planned or not, I’m saying it’s crazy they didn’t build upon the concept of robots (the word coming from labourers) rebelling from their masters and instead the lore they created is pulled from the fucking Christian bible complete with god and his 13 apostles, and all robots being created in his image that’s lame as fuck ESPECIALLY if its planned out shut the fuck up holy fuck

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): The Treaty of Hudaybiyah and Calling the Great States of the World to Islam

The King of Ghassanis is Invited to Islam

Ghassanis were one of the strongest tribes in Syria.

The Prophet sent Shuja b. Wahb, one of the Companions, to Harith b. Abi Shimr, the leader of Ghassanis, with a letter to invite him to Islam in the month of Muharram in the 7th year of the Migration.

Shuja b. Wahb  set off rapidly as soon as he took the letter. When he arrived in Damascus, he could not find the king in his palace. He had to wait outside the palace for days.

Meanwhile, the doorkeeper of the king asked him why he had come. He said that he was the envoy of the Messenger of God sent to Harith. Then he told the doorkeeper about the attributes of the Prophet. Mira, the doorkeeper, could not help crying when he heard what Shuja said. He said, “I read the Bible. I saw the attributes of this prophet exactly there. “Then, he accepted the prophethood of Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) and became a Muslim. However, he kept his belief secret since he feared that Harith would kill him.

Shuja Gives the King the Letter of the Prophet

After several days, Harith sat on his throne and accepted Shuja, the envoy. When Harith took the letter of the Messenger of God from Shuja b. Wahb, he saw the following written in it:

“Bismillahirrahmanirrahim!

From Muhammad, the Messenger of God to Harith b. Abi Shimr!

Peace be upon those who are on the right path and who believe in God and His Prophet!

“I invite you to believe in God, who has no partners. If you accept my invitation, you will remain as the king in your country.”

The attitude of Harith suddenly changed when he read those words. He threw the letter on the ground and said furiously, “Who will take my sovereignty from me? I will attack him even if he is in Yemen before he starts to move here.” Then, he told his men to shod his horses. Then, he turned to Shuja and said, “Go and tell your master what you saw.”

Harith, the king, was determined to attack Madinah. He stated it clearly in the letter that he wrote to the Kaiser, who was in Jerusalem at that time. However, the answer he received from the Kaiser was just the opposite. The Kaiser said to him, “Do not attack him.”

When he received the letter of the Kaiser, Harith b. Abi Shimr came to his senses; he summoned Shuja again. He asked Shuja when he would leave and told his men to give him on hundred mithqals (450 grams) of gold.

Mira, the doorkeeper, went to see Shuja, who left the palace and was preparing to go to Madinah. He gave Shuja the food and clothes he had prepared for him to use on the way, and said, “Give my regards to the Messenger of God and tell him that I became a Muslim.”

The Curse on Harith

When Shuja b. Wahb arrived in Madinah, he went to the presence of the Messenger of God and told him what he had seen and heard in detail.

When the Messenger of God learned the negative attitude of Harith against his envoy and letter, he damned Harith by saying, “May his sovereignty be destroyed!”

After a while, Harith died as an unbeliever due to the effect of the curse of the Prophet and the sovereignty of Ghassanis was transferred to Jabala b. Ayham, who was the last king of the Ghassani sovereignty.

[zackstriker]

Hey, I just saw your tags about queer readings of the bible and that Mary Magdalene was a lesbian and I got really curious, could you maybe talk about that a little bit more? Only if you want to, of course, but as a lesbian called Magdalene I jumped while reading your tags 🤣 and I would just really love to read a little bit more about it

omg yes!! it’s one of my specializations in literature, i do queer biblical retellings. I call it my empathetic blasphemy bc i don’t ever really diss the bible/stories/characters in my work, i just tell them the way i see them. if i bash anyone it’s the people who propagate the hate (for example a recent quote from a piece i wrote is “god doesn’t like horror movies either, he told me himself. humans have a bad habit of turning everything into a horror story, look at my book, he says, they turned it all into blood.”)

i do sort of two approaches to it, i either look for inherent queer subtext in the bible (Judas and Jesus, Jesus and John, etc) and extrapolate that and expand upon it, using big queer emotion to relay the beats of the story.

Mostly i do the second approach though and that is just turning stories and characters gay and changing any and all dynamics i want with 0 evidence.

For example i rewrote the story of the Binding of Isaac but made them lesbian lovers instead of father/son. I also wrote a piece where God was in love with adam and kept reincarnating him so they could fall in love over and over (fun fact the catholics that read my stories hate this one usually bc catholics approach god with a much more father-figure like reverence that is MUCH less present in protestant branches, like i was raised seeing god as a creator not a father so i didn’t see the story as weird bc it was like a painter falling in love with their painting but i digress).

the mary magdalene piece falls more into the second one, basically the idea of mary magdalene (aka mary of magdalene) as a sinner woman was because a pope in the 500s was giving an easter sermon and mixed her up with Mary of Bethany and an unnamed sinner woman bc they were all women mentioned semi-near each other in the book of mark. (also mary magdalene had a book in the bible that the men of the church voted to kick out of the canon— if you want to read her gospel its easy to find online. she was called the apostle of the apostles and was jesus’s favorite. he told her stuff he didn’t tell any of the others. i could go on about how the defamation of mary of magdalene has impacts on sexism within the structure of the catholic church for HOURS). one thing I like to do is take mary of magdalene and make her and mary of bethany (the woman she was confused for) lovers, and then make mary of bethany (a “sinner woman”) into a jesus figure in that piece. it’s a reclamation of queer love, women’s rights, and sexual power from a religion where all of those are damned. (i also like to juxtapose judeochristianity with other myths/religions so i do crossovers where mary of magdalene falls in love with Calypso (daughter of atlas). My current MFA thesis is about Mary of Magdalene as a lesbian. There might be proof out there that others smarter than me have found but mostly I just decided in my head she was a lesbian and ran with it.

If you want to talk more about this stuff my messages are open! also i recommend the book Jesus and John by Adam McOmber, it’s a surreal queer biblical retelling that turns the story of the crucifixion into a strange and heartbreaking queer horror romance between Jesus and his disciple John.

*** Disclaimer— I write a lot about religion bc i find it fascinating and i was raised very religious and have trauma from it. this text post is not meant to serve as any kind of sermon/to encourage anyone to get into religion, it is strictly educational and an explanation of one of my areas of study.

[thetoaddaddy]

A funny little thing about fandom and fandom spaces. Especially if you are new to these spaces:

I got a friend who is fairly new to fandom spaces. She sends me screenshots sometimes of people in her fandom like being dramatic about shit and I’m not really phased by it cuz I’ve been in fandom spaces since I was like 12.

I gotta school her and tell her all these fandom lores. Like the fact Lord of the Rings had a gay fanfiction cult that scammed people out of money with promising amazing meet ups and were lack lustre, including flying out jed brophy and having his partner having to sob confess to him that she didn’t have enough money to fly them back home and they met Sean Astin several times for charity events and even got him to make the proposal between the cult leader and his main victim/“partner”.

Or that one time in the Hamilton fandom with that one white chick who pretended to be a woman of colour who had aids via sex trafficking but was in fact a white girl with a normal middle class upbringing. All to validate her fanfic about the aids crisis in the 80s with an age gap ship. Which she had no reason to do, like girl made a problem about nothing. And used this marginalized voice she crafted to scam money from people with sickbaiting. But the story then got watered down to the girl who exposed her did so cuz of a rival Hamilton mermaid cannibal crack ship… and then the call out poster then doxxed the scammer after promising not to. Honestly, what a damn mess that was.

The mass shipping wars between harry/ginny traditionalists vs the unhinged proshippers on the other side who shipped anything and everything(which is whatever i’m more proship at the end of the day its just fictional characters and they’re tagged properly, if you interact with it that’s on you). They fr had turf wars and an exchange of harassment(not to mention mrs scribe and her socks). Hello Draco’s Leather Pants I see you. Or the Snape Wives who astral projected sex with Snape via their husbands.

That bible self insert fanfiction writer who went to hell and back to try and claim they wrote my immortal. But he was bad at covering his trail, claimed this multiple times, tried to (shocker) get money and fame from this.

The sonic fandom in its god damn hayday was on a whole different level of insane. The ocs the edits the tracing. In general most spaces were toxic.

Clown meat fandom.

Or when Naruto fans harassed and sent death threats relentlessly to kishi for not making their ships canon at the end of the Naruto manga. We’ve seen things. We have lived through scammers, freaks, and extremists. There always will be in fandom.

I think whining about people who take their favourite character too seriously is not really looking at the full picture of what raving fans will do. Especially in young fandoms. Fanatic people have and always will act the fuck up. They’re the loudest of their fandom usually. But they don’t define their community as a whole. Just let them be. Nothing you can say will change them. They gotta go through the ravenous phases of fandom themselves. Then they become fandom elders like I… Like most of us are. We like what we like. We get friends from it. We make new headcanons and expand upon the blanks the canon materials left out. The ravenous do this too but they tend to have a sort of tunnel vision.

Regardless I don’t think antagonizing them is the right call. Fandom will always fandom. I think it’s just the natural life cycle of the fandom space. We’re all cringe. Ain’t none of us better than anyone else.

[serendertothesquad]

Seren's Studies: Odd Squad UK -- "The Other Ozzie" Episode Followup, Part 1

Well, this can either go really really great! Or it can go like "this shit...is so ass".

According to the fandom, this is a good episode, so I'm hoping that'll be the case for me as I pry off my cynic glasses, smile, and kick back at this episode that is titled similarly to "The New Ozzie" BUT IT BETTER NOT BE LIKE "THE NEW OZZIE" OR ELSE I WILL RI-

Let's get started with a followup on our last pre-finale episode. Below the break!

Fun fact: there's this family in my area who goes around to stores and supposedly plays the violin, except they don't and they're faking it.

That's what this is, but on a less egregious scale.

...Oh. It's a Jon episode. He wrote "A Dish Served Odd" previously, I believe.

Again, as long as it's not Omar or Tasha. I'll take what I can get.

Keytar, Ozzie. It's called a keytar.

Man can't know his instruments worth a hill of beans.

DO NOT THE POKE CHILD.

DO

NOT

THE POKE

CHI-

Okay, I said what I said about the violin family as a half joke! I didn't think it would actually come true!

I believe this is what people call "the world's most punchable face".

But...you can't really punch a child unless you wanna be a big-shot asshole, so...

Orli once again displaying God's gift of self-awareness of what series she's in and what universe she's in, while also missing the entire damn point at the same time.

"He's from an alternate universe."

So anyway, here's my 300-page bible on Agent Mandy and Peaches, my two OCs from an alternate uni- why are you getting in your car. WHERE ARE YOU GOING. LEMME GUSH ABOUT MY ODD SQUAD CROSSOVER ALTERNATIVE UNIVERSE, PLE-

Hold on, hold on. So this is something that's FUCKING NORMALIZED FOR THIS PRECINCT?!?!?!?!

That's such a fucking cool concept and it took them 10 fucking years to implement it why?!?!?!?!

So the way I see it, this is a world where Odd Squad: The Movie is made many, many times over.

...The movie we know has already been proven to be canon in this universe...

I want you to sit on this. Really sit on it. Think of the sheer possibilities. Think of all the fanfic material.

YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH BUM-BUUUUUUUUM BUM-DA-DUMMMMM-

"We usually end our cases with math."

You guys remember when Omar -- the agent, not the writer -- interrupted a math lesson with "WHY ARE WE TALKING ABOUT MATH?!?!"

This isn't exactly the same thing, but God if this isn't the most self-aware shit of the entire fucking season right here.

Mentioned this before, but it bears repeating: a villain turning things and people purple is very reminiscent of the show's pilot, which had Olive showing a slide of the same thing happening to a family.

Different countries, same oddness, abso-fuckin'-lutely a reference or you can bite my hot dog package whole.

...Oh no.

OHHHHHHH NO.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS FROM THE FUCKING FINALE. WHAT DO YOU M E A N IT'S FROM THIS EPISODE?????

*long sigh* Bad enough when Goopy Gus reared his ugly head, now they're doing it for Canadian-exclusive villains.

I'm going to get one of my biggest gripes out of the way now: the Baroness of Goo. She was portrayed as a villainess last season, but wasn't a villainess in Season 2. And Season 2 would be right, because she's not villainous; she's just incredibly hard to please. Why this franchise is so keen on painting her otherwise, when they have 10 years' worth of villains in a rogues gallery, I will never understand.

Of course, you should know my biggest gripe is that 3/4 of the villains on this board are Canadian. Lady Bread, Threesie Louise-ie, Game Show Gary, Mr. Lightning, the Baroness, the Stitcher, Father Time, Monsieur Papier-Mache, Goopy Gus, and the Waffler are all Canadian. (William Ocean is a bit blurred since he originated in Season 3, but it's not in the UK where he debuts. The Stitcher is a bit of an exception since she travels, but the sentiment is the same and it's implied she traverses in Canada so I'm including her.) We've had numerous villains they could have used to fill the board, up to and including the Terrible Three if they wanted to aim for foreshadowing. Instead Jon gave us nonsensical callbacks like this instead of narrowing the count down for an 11-minute episode or reworking the moral so the board isn't there at all.

Genuinely was not expecting this, and I had high hopes for this episode, but this is easily one of the most maddening things in the entire season bar whatever the fuck happens in the finale and now I am extremely pissed off.

Jon, I respect you, but don't do this. Either halve the board, or don't have it at all and focus on another mathematical aspect. None of these Canadian villains have any righteous reason to be in the UK, unless...

...Unless this season is trying to paint this as Anytown, Anycountry. And if they're doing that, then fuck you genuinely. Could have just said "Manchester" and been done with it, but nope.

*another long sigh* God, and we're only 3 minutes in. At this point I'm holding out for the in-universe blooper reel.

Ohhhh, so it's a dumber Ozzie.

I'd have liked it if he were more egotistical than dumb, but let's just hope this will be the funny stupid and not the "I'm going to army-crawl through non-comedic bullets" stupid.

These halls really shouldn't be echoing, and I don't think audio should be coming from the left audio channel only, either.

Now how in the hell does he get "Osner" from "Orli"?

To everyone who has ever questioned how the franchise handles memes, I need you to look at this, and then look at me as I tell you, "There's no fucking hope for an Among Us cameo or anything rent-free unless you really stretch your brain."

The Math Lady meme was already dated when "Villains Helping Villains" came out. Now it seems like the only how-do-you-do-fellow-kids thing they're willing to lean back on because it involves math. Which is stupid, and they really could commit to adding more memetic things if they wanted to.

Jon, what in the absolute fuck are you doing?

If I really wanted to, I could view this as some sort of jab at the acting industry. Maybe...not in the UK, but definitely in America.

Autonomy is as dead in his world as chivalry.

Now, see, you notice how a good chunk of the Canadian villains are crossed out here? Now we only have Mr. Lightning, the Baroness, the Stitcher and the Waffler as outliers.

...Oh my God, if it's the Baroness I'm going to launch myself into my yard and beat the ground and scream infinitely.

"And you're doing this without a script?"

"Well...yes, but also no. You see, I'm playing a character named Orli on a show called Odd Squad, so before each take, I have to read a script and-"

"Oh my gosh, we're twins!"

Alexander Shaw busted ass for his fucking paycheck this week, and he will not let you forget it.

I won't forget, because I respect the grind.

Orli you DENSE motherfucker. She kinda has to say it, because...y'know...the math lesson. Don't act like ya don't know!

I'm sorry, but there's not much that can beat the hairwear of the museum curator in "Ahead of the Times". That's one of the best designs in the entire franchise!

I'd normally crack on this book, but purple is a very strong indicator color for power, so there being a villains' guide for it kinda makes sense.

That being said, the more I think about whether it's the Baroness or not, the sicker I get.

NNNNNNNNNYYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FAAAAAAAAAAAHCK.

Okay, it's not the Baroness, I'm relieved, but still...this callback fucking pains me. How we went from "A Dish Served Odd" to this shit I will never understand.

Keep things linear. No episode callbacks. If you're doing one, make it smooth. This is as rough as riding in a Jeep.

Looking this up, I'm aware it's a Sherlock reference.

And frankly, I'm not fond of it.

Ahh, see, and it looks even goofier than when Mudbriar did the same thing in MLP!

They can try and disguise it all they want, but I know it's a Math Lady meme reference because I know my fucking shit.

(On to Part 2!)