#i mean Jerusalem is lovely don't get me wrong

[joseline-woodhouse]

Okay I have to say it.

Will, Ada and Montresor did something way worse than Annabel Lee.

Why? Because motive matters. Now don't get me wrong, a good motive cannot justify an inherently evil action, it however matters more and more when going deeper into more morally grey areas.

Annabel has made it very clear she understands these people, including Duke to be damned regardless of her actions and basically sees herself confronted with a trolley problem that goes: "You, your wife and like X other people are bound to rails. A trolly will run over all but one of you. However if you pull just the right levers, both you end your wife will survive. The first lever you must pull is on Duke." While this doesn't make her actions noble, it gives them a noble cause and one could argue in several ways that she's acting within a moral grey area if we take the situation to be as unshakable as it seems. To make to examples, one could argue in an utalitarian way (this saves more lives than the other option) or in a very human way (this saves a loved one at the cost of a soon to be dead man, who could blame her?). There are also concepts of morality that would condemn her, like for example the categoric imperative or Jewish or Christian (and I think Muslim) religion, in which it is inherently bad to kill a single person even to safe thousands of others.

Annabel considers killing Duke a necessary evil.

Montresor however is acting out of pure sadism and spite and he puts on quite a show to make this clear. He had done so even if he believed everyone would get a happy end and he is having the time of his life killing Duke. That is picture book chaotic evil behaviour right there and by no means redeemable.

Will and Ada? Arguably worse than Montresor, at least not a bit better. This is the kind of stuff that makes large scale modern genocides possible. Hannah Ahrendt (great woman, you should look her up) argues in her book "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" that evil at its worst is not some kind of demonic evil like it has been preached in medieval times, but lays within the sheer banality of an office worker casually doing the phone calls and paper work necessary to send thousands to their certain death, while the office worker goes back home, eats dinner with his family and thinks "I'm just doing my job. It's my supervisors moral responsibility, not mine."

Ada and Will tried to kill for no other reason than because they have been told to do so and the lack of willingness to accept responsibility really shows in their actions afterwards. So I am a bit confused when I see people arguing how terrible Annabel Lee is while defending the "poor boy Will".

So, controversial opinion: in this very specific case, even though Annabel Lee either started this or at the very least didn't stop it when she clearly could have, she hasn't committed anything as immoral as her henchmen committed, who did not even need a motive to kill.

Also I would every day prefer an Annabel Lee willing to kill Duke to safe her wife in the long run over an Annabel Lee that prefers to not be a controversial female character. Let's not forget these people don't actually exist.

[ghostofvalorie]

That Essay

@forsaire tagged me and now I MUST provide! You opened Pandora's box on this one.

To adhere to the rules I will first provide FOUR and ONLY FOUR of my fictional crushes! And to make it easier on us all I've narrowed it down to games only, so here we go!

I'm starting off from the very beginning of my journey into crushing on non-existent people, and people who have read my tags before might know this one already!

Malik Al Sayf from Assassins Creed 1 - 2007

A man whom you've wrong by being arrogant and then spends the next few hours of the game being yelled at by him, and rightfully so. Not only do you cost him his arm and place as an assassin in the brotherhood, but his younger brother as well.

Eventually Altaïr stops begin a prick and apologizes and Malik, bless his heart forgives him.

Still... not me rolling into Jerusalem hoping, wishing, to get yelled at because Malik's Voice Actor goes HARD <3 I love him and his 7 whole polygons! NEXT!!

Keeping it somewhat chronological:

The Arishok from Dragon Age 2 - 2011

He beeg. He got horns. He is technically an antagonist in the game but he has a moral code that makes sense to him that he is willing to kill and die for. Qunari famously live their lives incredibly black and white so to him he is in the right, even if we disagree.

But he just got a wholeass vibe, and he'll say nice things such as

"I have a growing lack of disgust for you" and I mean, with that voice... say no more sir. *takes shirt off*

NR 3: Adam Jensen from Deus Ex - 2011-2016

My cyborg husband <3

Ex-swat turned security guy, then interpool agent (depends on which game you are playing)

He's just an incredibly good guy, the sweetest person on the block. Ofc it depends on how you play and what choices you make, but MY Adam is a sweeheart that will go out of his way to help people.

And my boi got sass, he'll be snarky to literally anyone, his boss, the cops, criminals you name it.

He's also secretly a little funny. <3

Nr 4: Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 - 2018

I mean first off, he do a little *mlem* when he drinks coffee... Do i even need to say more?

Arthur is just such a perfect sad boy. Raised to believe his only worth lies in killing people when in reality he is incredibly competent, sharp and caring. Again depends on how you play the game, but my Arthur is the goodest boi in the west.

Now that was four, oh but look, somehow completely unrelated to all this, some other honorable mentions seems to have ended up after the cut, how silly of me!

And @xintothewoodswegox, show us what you got!

Beast from Beauty and the Beast - 2017

No further comment, your honor, if you've seen the movie you should know.

Kaidan Alenko from Mass Effect - 2012

How can we not love the powerful nerdass space magician! He's caring, he is cute, he is Canadian and schrodinger's person of color!

He also glow blue, what else can you possible want? I for sure do NOT kick my feet and twirl my hair anytime he wants to talk to me.

Eris Goddess of Chaos from Sinbad - 2003

I MEAN LOOK AT HER?!?!?!? Again an antagonist, but she is sexy about it.

Helga Sinclair from Atlantis - 2001

I'm-I i mean, I don't even have words. Every time I SEE Helga my brain flat-lines I can't help it.

THAT GIF THO???

Majima Goro from the Like a Dragon series of games

No comment, because if i start i will NEVER stop, he's story is too good.

Simon 'Ghost' Riley from Call of Duty MWII - 2022

I could literally put ALL the characters from that game in this list. ALL OF THEM, but to keep this somewhat short I've chosen ONE and i've chosen Ghost, the most tragic man alive.

Kar'niss from Baldur's Gate 3 - 2023

Another TRAGIC boi, missunderstood and abused </3 I could take care of him. LET ME TAKE CARE OF HIM LARIAN

Jonathan Reid from Vampyr - 2018

You didn't think I'd squeeze in a vampire this late, did you?

I wasn't overly impressed by Jonathan from the start, BUT, he is FASCINATING if you play him as a bloodthirsty villain willing to murder everyone for power! I'm here for bad-boy Reid!

Lastly, for now:

Corvo Attano from Dishonored - 2012

Also an incredibly tragic man, who's fate you hold in your hands with your actions!

He's just hot, he's a dilf, he can succumb to grief and violence or rise above it to save not only his daughter but an entire empire from destruction.

I'm not sure i've y'all have noticed the pattern yet but let me spell it out for you:

PEOPLE THAT CAN ABSOLUTELY DESTROY ME! Look at them all! So STRONG! So POWERFUL! Fuck, mess me up fam!

And the beauty lies in that they never would. Or I mean Eris might... but I'm in a firm belief that the others would never harm someone they care about and ain't that just the purest thing you've ever heard.

Now this was only the highlights of my fictional crushes, I've kept most of the absolute freaks out for now. Maybe I'll do an updated list later where werewolves and Cthulhu makes the cut, we'll see. Now I know HP Lovecraft wasn't a very cool dude to say the least, but you expect me to be normal about the big tentacle monster? REALLY?

Lower your expectations.

[misc-obeyme]

Hey cc :)

Its the anon who talked about yelling the wrong name during climax. I'm still laughing from the thought of calling lucifer diavolo though...

Can I be 🐆 cc?

Few days ago I was strolling through the holy land into a church that all religion can enter and enjoy. And then a thought came to me... let's summon lucifer here to escort mc through Jerusalem... he will surely wait outside the church getting weird looks from the minister and stuff...

Hope you enjoy the thought of pissed off Lucy getting lectured by mc who just went there for the architecture

Welcome back! Yes of course you can be 🐆 anon! I will add it to the list!

LOL listen Lucifer could probably stand to learn about something cool like architecture.

I wonder if he has issues going into churches and such? I mean, traditionally demons can't go inside churches, right? I don't know, I'm kinda going off Good Omens for that one ngl. Just remembering Crowley going into that church to save Aziraphale and having to like dance around because his feets were burning due to being a demon in a church lol.

I can't imagine Lucifer would be very pleased about such a situation. He would definitely wait outside. Meanwhile when MC does come back around, they're just going on and on about the structure of the building and the different designs used in its architecture.

Lucifer is like is this why you've brought me here, MC??

He might be like there is plenty of architecture to see in the Devildom, allow me to take you on a tour...

I would love that, honestly. I'd wanna know all about the architectural stylings of the Devildom and like... the history of it. I think it would be interesting to see where it's clearly influenced by the human world and where it sorta branches off into its own thing. Lucifer's like we had it first, humans copied us :(

Anyway, I think we should probably keep Luci out of the churches lol.

[aurianavaloria]

Enseigne - The Sword of King Baldwin IV

============================================

Finally, here's a little finished something for the KoH fandom - a total redesign of the sword of Baldwin IV.

Don't get me wrong - I love the swords in Kingdom of Heaven, but they are a tiny bit historically inaccurate due to their extended hilts. So, taking inspiration from both history and the film, I've overhauled Baldwin's weapon to be one slightly more in line to what I envision a 12th-century King of Jerusalem possessing.

The overall design is that of an Oakeshott XII-type sword. I do realize that this category tends to be a catch-all for swords that don't quite fit into X, Xa, XI, or even XIIIb, but it does seem appropriate for a late 12th-century warrior who would have had access to cutting edge (har har) technology and would have also needed the versatility of a weapon that could both slice and thrust with ease.

The blade is pattern-welded (you might have to zoom in to see it). Whether or not it is true Damascus steel is up to your own imagination; it is evident that the Franks would have also practiced their own pattern-welding techniques at the time. The shortened fuller bears the inscription "Virtus, Fides, Voluntas", which is Latin for "Virtue, Faith, Will" - appropriate, imo, for a chivalric king of the Holy Land.

As for the rest of the sword, I've replaced the almost cartoonish "roses" on the crossguard with more fanciful etching, but that's a matter of personal taste. I've also removed them from the pommel. The grip, instead of being cord-wrapped, is bone/ivory with gilt blue enamel detailing.

And what's a weapon of a legendary king without a name? My personal choice is Enseigne, which, according to the Old Norman dictionary, can mean everything from "sign" or "prophecy" to "paragon" and "exemplar", and even "war cry", depending on the context. A rather flexible definition that has multiple implications.

Anyway, I hope you like it as much as I liked designing it!

[matan4il]

I don't know if you watch Grey's Anatomy but in this week's episode (19x15), there's a kid who is a patient just when he was supposed to have his bar mitzvah, and so the doctors organize for him to be able to do it at the hospital. And he does it with his grandfather who hadn't been able to have one in Germany. It was really a nice scene :)

Awwww, Nonnie! Thank you for telling me! That sounds so sweet. I used to watch Grey's Anatomy, but i kind of had to stop. I loved Callie's storyline with Erica Hahn. I know, seems unpopular. She started out as a not-very-nice surgeon, but I liked it when they brought her back and allowed her to be more human. I liked that she became a multi-faceted character. And then when they were started to throw out hints about her and Callie? When they were doing the build up for them? Don't get me wrong, it was still NOT in the ballpark of hetero slow burns, I guess you could call it a 'mid burn', though it was still better than what most mlm couples get (with maybe the exception of Black Sails and Our Flag Means Death, at least of what I've seen). I was the eyes emoji. And then the show actually followed through, it ACTUALLY let them get together and kiss with the music swelling? :o I was in awe, I loved it, I was SO there for it. They even explored what it means for Erica to figure out she's gay later in life versus Callie exploring her bisexuality (I didn't always love how they went about Callie's bisexuality, but I did like that they let them each have her own discovery story).

And then they just... got rid of Erica? And in almost no time replaced her with Arizona? And it was so clear they were intent on telling a wlw story, which was awesome, but when the audience didn't react well enough to Erica, they just... got rid of her and brought in a younger, "softer" version of her, as if queer characters are that easily replaceable. I was offended. I LIKED having an older queer woman's story being told. And I get Erica didn't start out nice, but by the time her and Callie got together, I did like her. So it was hard for me to warm up to Arizona. And even when I kind of reluctantly accepted her, because hey, it's better than no queer rep for wlw, I ended up not liking a lot of what they did with Callie and Arizona. Like the way Callie gets pregnant. They had a ridiculous fight between her and Arizona, just so Callie wouldn't be technically cheating when she sleeps with Mark and gets pregnant, and then Arizona comes back and magically, all the stuff that drove her and Callie apart is not there anymore, and Arizona accepts the baby with relative ease, but it just became yet another storyline that doesn't show how MOST same sex parents ACTUALLY become parents. So IDK when exactly, but at some point around that time, I quit GA rather than quietly rage about how bad the wlw rep was IMO.

I want you just to understand what it means that you managed to make me wanna watch an ep of GA again! IDK, but I will. Thank you so much for telling me about that and just in case you're curious? There are actually a lot of real life stories like that! Holocaust survivors who get to make up for the bar and bat mitzvahs they were robbed off. Here's an example, there's a program that brings survivors annually to the Western Wall in Jerusalem to have their bar/bat mitzvah there! I find it very moving, because THEY are so clearly moved by what they get to do.

Have a great day, lovely! As always, my ask tag. xoxox

[dailyaudiobiblechronological]

8/24/2023 DAB Chronological Transcriptions

Jeremiah 51 - 52

Welcome to Daily Audio Bible Chronological, I'm China. Today is the 24th day of August,  Welcome. So great to be here with you today. Today we continue our story in the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 51 through 52, continuing on with the Evangelical Heritage Version for this week.l 

Commentary

So we see that we come out of the words of Jeremiah, out of his Prophecies And out of, you know, a lot of this is also Well, I mean it's through Jeremiah because we know that Jeremiah prophet, but a lot of it is the Lord speaking. And then it says that the words Jeremiah ended and it goes into the fall of Jerusalem. And Zedekiah being a 21 year old man is becoming king and He He does evil in the eyes of the Lord and. I I actually really love that the Bible does that. Like We get a quick introduction of who this king is. It's typically what's your name? How old were you when you became king? How long did you rule the land? Sometimes we get a mom's name and if they had done evil or done what was right in the eyes of the Lord, and then we get a summary of their life. And so this concludes the book of Jeremiah. And what an interesting place to to to leave it at. And tomorrow we'll begin a new book and I think this is so necessary. I think the book that we read not to like, jump ahead. I try to stay so present with what we read. But I did just look ahead and I was like, you know what, I'm excited to read the Book of limitations because there is nothing like this in the Christian community that I have seen or that I have found In a way that's authentic and. You know, there's there's sometimes where like you just kind of have to have a day and you're like, oh, I just want to like listen to some worship music. And you know, like you sometimes they're just looking for a specific song to speak into something or what you don't know Like that song exists. Like you type it into the search bar and you're like, this is a song I wanna listen to. Sometimes you're like. Let me just put this on shuffle. Lord, you you speak to me. What? You want to speak to me? You're like, Oh my gosh, everybody's just singing about the same thing. This makes no sense. Maybe this is just me, but. And then you like trying to find and encouraging word and everything feels like so mediocre and surface level and it's like Oh my goodness. OK, let me go read the Book of Psalms where David Is willing to be real about the struggles of his life. Or the Book of Lamentations, the book of. One of my one of my trying to think of Ecclesiastes where you just read the depths of it all and you're like.Thank God for this, because I'm not alone in what I'm feeling and this doesn't make me feel Crazy for feeling these things and so I just love that because I feel like sometimes we can lack this in our lives and not that, you know, everything that we go through, we're actually indebted to Speak about it or share on social media or share with everybody. I think there's a time and place for things for sure and I think a lot of the times we can just Move through things so An authentically and the reality is, is it's OK if you're in these places, it's OK to need something a little bit deeper.

Prayer

And so Father, I just thank you for your word. I thank you so much that we have real authenticity and People's stories, I think that they weren't perfect and that people were allowed Positions of power and even though they abused it and did it wrong that we still got to see and we get to Learned from them and see like that didn't workout for them that way. And you know maybe they they hope for that to go better but they didn't really try or they chose wickedness they chose evil. And this is how it worked out. And I just thank you, that we know so much about your heart and your word because we are in it daily and so I pray that we would just continue to Always seek you out and always desire your word.His name We pray Amen.

Announcements

Dailyaudiobible.com is our website. That's the place of connection where you can see what's happening here in the community, how to get connected and stay connected. So be sure to check that out. That is all for today. I'm China. I love you, and I'll be waiting for you here, Tomorrow.

Community Prayer Line

Greetings to you Daily Audio Bible. This is Walking in the light in Tennessee. Just checking in to say God is good and I'm still again walking in the light in Tennessee. Love you all. I listen to the prayers and the praise reports. I especially like the Praise report of the lady who said the tire fell down from another vehicle in front of her car and caused her to have an accident and destroy her car, but God is so good that he kept her safe and kept her in control throughout the entire incident. And that is the kind of God that we serve. I always, always an on time God. My prayers are with you all. I want to request prayers for my three sons. They are very different. As different as night and day. I lost my husband.Are coming up on four years ago this month and it seems like it's been a challenge for the family to be cohesive. It was already a challenge, let me not let me not give the impression that it was ever easy, but since losing my husband, it's been.More of a challenge as my sons have grown into men, and so I'm praying for.Unity of the Spirit and so that the family can be a family. That's my desire and so I know that God is able. I thank you for your prayers and I solicit your prayers as I'm praying for all of you. Still, always listen to the Daily Audio Bible Chronological.And the Daily Audio Bible that's sometimes, very often the highlight of my day. So God is good and God is love. Still walking in the light. And Tennessee, God bless you all.

Father God, we come to you covered in your blood, and Father God, we lift the Lady of victory to you. Father God, we just pray for an unexpected financial blessing to her so she's able to pay off all of these debts that we even we just pray if it don't come to her Father God that you sent.Oh, this to just pay these debts. Offer her out for her so she can continue her education, probably die. She is just what her name stays. And we pray that you just give her what her name says and father God, we also lift up. My brother dared to you little Dings and Father God we pray on September 19th.Did he come three? He'd be free to come home to his six children and his grandbaby. We pray Father God that you be his judge, jury and attorney. All these charges be dropped and thrown out. And my brother, if he is found innocent, he will be set free. The Father God, we give you all.All the glory and we just thank you anything.In Jesus name we pray. Amen. This is covered in his blood. I love you guys. My dad. See family. Have a wonderful, wonderful day. Beaches August the 14th, 2023.I just want to give a big shout out to the hardened family for continually providing for our needs as you read the scripture to us and allow us to call in for prayer. 

My name is Cheryl and I'm from northeast Nebraska, and a little over a year ago I called in for prayer for my mom.With breast cancer.And because of all of you and all people around the world through her church that were playing, she's healed. And I just want to give a big shout out she's seen them. Secret Daniel who called in thank you.I also want to send prayers.Umm.For all people who are suffering with disease because God is the Great Physician.And he's the one who creates healing in our mind, body and spirit, whether it is something physically wrong with you or emote emotionally or you're suffering with some sort of an addiction. If we pray and we know that, we all come together in prayer.He hears us and he will do something. When you're calling in, you're praying for things. Just know that I'm also praying for you.I want to pray for our schools, our administrative staff, teachers, support staff, Please bring your presence into our schools. Our children need so much protection from the outside world. Let them learn what they need to know, but not that things that they don't need to know.Thank you for the healing again of my mother from her breast cancer. We could use the quarry. And Lord, when we fall short of your expectations, we know that we can start new.So.Let's ask God for help because He loves us, He hears us, He heals us.She will try again. The whole heart and family. I give you the glory through Jesus Christ. I mean, you guys have really done anything.Thank you for the prayer. Warriors like Victoria, Soldier Lydia, Victory, Kingdom, Secret, Daniel and all of you. That Colin, I hear you. I pray with you. And I said thanks for all of you.Alright. 

[veale2006-blog]

3/7/23 The Olah Offering Tuesday, March 7, 2023 The Olah The most radical offering in ancient Israel was called the Olah - the burnt offering or whole offering. It's translated into Greek as holocaustos, from which we get the word holocaust. Olah means simply to go up. Messiah is the Olah, the whole sacrifice, total offering, the Olah that goes up. He went up from Jerusalem to the Father. He went up from the Mount of Olives. There are profound connections here because that which is totally offered up as a sacrifice, totally consumed, is that which goes up. We're all called to go up. We don't just have a walk in the Lord, we have an upward walk. Paul says the upward call. You go up when you become totally consumed in the Lord, in worship, praise, serving Him in love. The one who's totally consumed with God won't be able to help himself or herself. If you're totally consumed with God, you'll go up, rise, ascend. You're to be a little version of Messiah. Messiah is the Olah, the total sacrifice. He who ascends. You do the same, and so shall you.

Today's Mission Hold nothing back, but be totally consumed in your walk and in worship. Serve Him wholly and mightily as He gave Himself totally all out for you.

Philippians 3:14 14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Focused on the Goal I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.

MAY YESHUA HAMASHIACH BLESS YOU! Have a blessed day and week. Love, Debbie

[queenlucythevaliant]

"City of Men" is even better than "Jerusalem" in terms of its sheer power to compel me to get out the brick and mortar and start physically building the Holy City here on earth until God relents and brings it about properly and more people ought to know it. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

"City of Men," Charles Williams

How shall we build the city of men,

Love and our mays and we,

Who are not sons of the bondwomen

It shall be free as our mothers are,

But children of the free ?

.

Who seem as Sinai,

Moving their heads in that covenant

Though they be broken of men to-day,

So anciently and high.

.

Bruised with toil and pain,

Liberty that is the soul of them

They by whom we were brought to be,

Shall surely stand again.

.

Born to the ways of men.

Walk in our midst, of that free city

Thus to build up the city of men.

Each a free citizen.

.

Love and our mays and we,

Being not sons of the bondwomen

It shall be free as our lovers are,

But children of the free!

.

Holily loved and trod,

They by whom we were brought to be.

Little, O little, upon our hearts

Born to the ways of God.

.

Seemed they within our love, —

O but the mightiness in them hid,

Queens, and they rendered themselves to us

We were afraid thereof!

.

O but we knew them then.

Republican in Jerusalem,

Thus will we toil at the city of men.

City and citizen.

.

Whose name is liberty,

Jerusalem, the mother of all.

Stand fast, stand fast for Jerusalem,

That is above and free.

.

Stand fast in liberty:

We are not sons of the bondwomen

But children of the free!

[incorrect-koh-posts]

My favourite medievalist professor told me that KoH "has Orlando Bloom!"... who cares about Legolas when Jeremy bloody Irons and Alexander fucking Siddig are in one movie!?!?!?!

Also, why is it not made clear who they actually are?? I have read about Raymond, and I have also read Isfahani's works, and I had to learn both facts through Ao3.

Why are you like this, Mr. Scott.

A medievalist watching KoH for Orlando Bloom?? Owww. My heart. That would make me lose faith in humanity, too. 😂 Though, to be fair, my thesis supervisor (I'm writing about medieval literature, bc duh) recently told me that she liked Clive Owen in that abominable King Arthur movie, so ... I feel you 😂

As for Raymond and Imad: Well, obviously I wholeheartedly agree with you 😁 They're my faves in KoH (which means you will be subjected to a longer rant now, haha), I like the actors a lot, and while both historical figures were a bit shady in some ways, I find them absolutely fascinating. It is a fucking shame they didn't really get to shine in the movie.

The Imad-Rant

I think with Imad, it is quite clear why Scott chose to present a heavily fictionalised version of the character. Kingdom of Heaven was made in the aftermath of 9/11, after all, and the influences of that zeitgeist are written all over the film: how all organised religion is presented as fanaticism, how all crusaders who actually believe in the cause are shown to be uncivilised bigots, how Scott takes special care to show the Muslim characters as honourable, wise, and cultured - much more so than the 'bad guys' from the Christian side - to avoid tapping into the then-prevalent, 9/11-fueled racist stereotypes of Muslims being seen as backward religious fanatics with a penchant for violence.

It is this general cultural climate, I suppose, that affected the character of Imad - because Imad ad-Din al-Isfahani, also called al-Kātib ("the scribe"), didn't quite fit the role of 'good, wise Muslim' in his historical form. For that, I'm afraid, he comes across as a bit too enthusiastic when writing about thousands of Christian women being "deflowered", "stripped of their modesty", "tamed", "dishonoured", "forced to yield themselves" etc. at Salah ad-Din's re-taking of Jerusalem. You get the gist. (And don't get me wrong: the crusaders did all of those things too, and probably with just as much glee.)

But such a depiction of a Muslim character would have been deadly in the early 2000s - and still would be nowadays, tbh. So the writers likely stripped the historical figure of all its potentially questionable attributes to make it more digestible to a mass audience. Why they didn't make Imad a completely fictional character instead we'll never know - my guess would be they didn't want to lose their ... um, arguable claim to 'historical accuracy'. Whatever that's supposed to be.

I'd say, therefore, that I'm not too bothered with what Scott and his team did to Imad - at least in terms of entertainment value. The historical Imad ad-Din would probably not have made for a very sympathetic movie character. Sure, it would have made things more nuanced and interesting on the Saracen side, but overall, I don't think that would have done anyone a favour at the time of the film's release. So I try to be happy with what we have, which is, admittedly, a bit difficult because the script does the character so dirty. Alexander Siddig's performance was fabulous and definitely deserves more love; sometimes I cannot help but wonder what we could have had if KoH had focused a bit more on the Muslim characters and explored their motivations and backstories instead of Balian's. I think - if handled competently - that would have been nothing short of awesome.

So yeah, thank God for Ao3 and FFnet. 😉

The Raymond-Rant

As for why Scott made all those changes to Raymond III of Tripoli though, I have no idea. I'd speculate that he probably tried to simplify the whole thing a bit, since it would've taken an awful lot of screentime to accurately explain Raymond's role in the kingdom: e.g. that Tripoli was its own sovereign state, but that Raymond was nonetheless subject to the Kingdom of Jerusalem through his marriage to the Countess of Tiberias, yadda, yadda. So I think it was easier, in the end, to make him Lord Marshal and advisor to the king and be done with it. I must say I'm not too salty about the name change (though what idiot would confuse 'Raymond' and 'Reynald'??) because it at least hints at the fact that he was Count of Tiberias. What makes me far angrier is that they left out his wife, who would actually have been vital to make the whole Hattin episode make sense and would've given it some emotional heft. Ridley, my dude, I hate to break it to you - but women existed in that era, too.

Anyway. I know some people probably question my sanity on a regular basis whenever I start making heart eyes at Tiberias. Which, I admit, does happen a fair amount, lol. I partly blame my age-inappropriate yet persistent crush on Jeremy Irons for that. The man tends to be like catnip to me, even when he isn't battle-scarred, world-weary, and wearing chainmail. But I digress.

Because the point is: Even though they changed so much, his performance still fits so well with Raymond's actual backstory. From the way Irons plays it, you'd believe that this no-nonsense lord spent ten years in captivity in Aleppo and that - instead of turning angry and bitter at his captors like Reynald of Châtillon - he used the time to learn Arabic and acquaint himself with the ways of his Muslim neighbours. You'd believe that he was regent for both Baldwin IV and Baldwin V, and that he has four stepsons at home that he likes to shepherd around a bit but is actually very fond of. But you also wouldn't think it impossible that he'd make a private truce with Salah ad-Din to protect his own people and lands, even if that agreement was effectively treason to the crown, leading to the absolute carnage at the Springs of Cresson and doing great damage to both the kingdom and Raymond's own reputation.

He wasn't some coward who hauled his scrawny ass to Cyprus (that was Guy, btw, in 1190 or so) when he didn't like the vibe in Jerusalem anymore and left his friend to pick up the pieces. He had his reasons; and saintly bloody Balian actually fled the Battle of Hattin with him. Together, they went to Tyre to wait whether some help for the kingdom would arrive. (It did, eventually, in the form of Conrad of Montferrat.) However, at that point, Raymond had already lost all hope and returned to Tripoli to die of pleurisy, guilt, and - as some chroniclers wrote - "a broken heart". Yes. I'll never forgive Scott for depriving me of all that drama. *shakes fist*

Just look how sad the poor boy is. 😥

I mean, if anybody could pull off dying in such a painful and tragic manner, thinking it was all his fault that the kingdom was lost, it would be this beautiful man. Because no other actor dies on-screen with quite the same intensely wistful, guilt-ridden, and tortured energy as Jeremy Irons, and you can pry that opinion from my cold dead hands. He was perfect for Raymond of Tripoli. I just wish Scott had given him more to do.

Cyprus, my ass. 🙄

[wa-kaizen]

Christianity | TALK

I can see people be confused, or even already annoyed, so, let me just say, this is just me putting my thoughts out. My blog includes talking about spirituality, and religions are a part of that.

I will not be disrespectful, you can always practice in whatever religion you want! I just really wanna talk about Christianity today for a bit.

I was actually watching a video about a priest reacting to Christian jokes. It was quite fun actually! He is a chill person and I could tell there were some he genuinely found funny. (Because they were)

There was one about dinosaurs on Noe's ark, which was quite funny to me.

One of the hosts asked said priest about dinosaurs, can't remember well but it was probably his opinion.

Now! I don't think the host wanted any bad, dinosaurs are cool and being curious is human nature.

It was a little awkward though, because you could tell he was subconsciously curious if the priest thinks they were fake.

Or maybe I am reading too much into it. Who knows! That's not the point of this at all, I don't intend to be hateful.

It just made me have a realisation.

Well that, and reading the comments as well really. Multiple have said that usually Christians get mad at jokes easily, which is quite true.

That's when I realised that the reason why Christianity is hated and so misunderstood is not because of it's God, but most of the people who practise it.

I mean, I was already aware, but it started to sink in how much people misinform and how much they look down on people for not believing the same thing they do. Which is entirely wrong.

They tell other's that being homosexual is wrong! Changing your gender is dumb! That if you make any mistake that's horrible and you will go to hell!

These are not true, and very wrong.

The people saying these are the same ones who believe that Jesus is white, homosexuality is bad, God is the only God - the only heavenly being -, that Satan, Lucifer and the Devil are all the same, nothing existed before Adam and Eve! That Christmas is a Christian holiday.

And before you say I am hateful, I am a Christian. I can assure you that I am just baffled.

I just happen to actually study my religion.

Jesus is a beautiful brown man. He was born in Jerusalem. It's in Palestine. (I refuse to say Isreal!)

Homosexuality is normal. If it wouldn't be natural it would be in the bible. But it's not.

You know what's in the bible? That pedophilia is the worst sin. Yet, instead of acknowledging that, people are twisting it because they cannot stand the sight of two people loving each other.

Why? Because homophobic people associate relationships with sex only. They aren't aware of all the beautiful things that comes to you when you find someone who you can share your love with. Because they never experienced pure love.

It scares them so much that they put their hatred of innocent people above the safety of children. Aren't they simply shameful?

They are the ones also speeching that God will punish homosexuality, which he won't. There are animals that are attracted to the same gender, that reproduce asexually.

Will he punish them for being "lgbtq"? No. Will the Cherub help him and motivate him to punish them? No.

Because it doesn't matter. No matter what you are, it doesn't matter.

The bible is about love, not about how to hate one another.

That's what God teaches. That's what all Gods teach.

And yes, there isn't only one God. There is multiple. In fact, God has a wife. He has kids, and he has parents. Brothers and sisters too, possibly.

And all those other religions? Yeah, those Gods are real too. Who says they weren't? God said to follow only him, nothing more.

So when other people hate on others for not being a Christian it makes me so confused, that's not what you are supposed to do.

You are supposed to let them live the life they want and don't let other's make your faith fragile. Be kind, leave peacefully. That's all.

So why? Are they that insecure in their own religion? Maybe if they would educate themselves more they would be more confident.

If they would do that maybe they would know that Satan is someone who lures people to sin, Lucifer is the son of God who had became a fallen angel and the Devil isn't one being rather multiple beings, the higher form of demons.

Maybe if they wouldn't be scared of exploring this, they would know that no one rules over hell because hell and heaven don't exist. It wasn't in the first ever bible written, there is no guarantee you will be sent to either. Yes, there is a possibility they exist, but it's likely they don't.

If they would study, maybe, just maybe they would know that Jesus was born around March 13 during an eclipse and not December 25.

They would know that Christmas was stolen from peganism. That the actual God born on that date is the sun God, Mithra.

But most don't, most don't educate themselves even if they are wonderful and intelligent people who do.

Ignorant Christians will never know that they have prayer times, just like Muslims do.

They will live in their bubble, thinking Jesus is white and forcing their ideals on them.

Thinking that nothing were before Adam and Eve, shunning the idea that science and history can exist alongside God. He created everything, so he created the stars, the planets, the mushrooms before trees even existed, humans, the first life on earth which was most likely an animal. He created the dinosaurs.

And yes, ironically that made me have this whole thought process. I am not mad, or ashamed, or hateful. I am just in awe by how much Christians create a bad environment for others due to their own ignorance.

I know, I know, there are many smart Christians. I am one! So are a lot of my beautiful and intelligent friends.

But, you cannot say there aren't ones that are pain to be around. They think giants existed, yet that dinosaurs don't. I know, it sounds funny. It is funny. I am just in disbelief.

They are aware that Adam and Eve were most likely not even homosapien, right? They could have been Neanderthal or Devisovan.

Of course they don't consider it. It's not important, we will never know anyway.

History is complicated. But if God created everything, why wouldn't he create billions of years of History? I mean, he is immortal. He can.

So why do people ignore facts? It's just very funny to me, yet sad. To me, it further proves the fact that ignorance is bliss.

Today, I tried to watch videos of my own religion, and couldn't enjoy it.

Because there was always an uneducated person pouring out hate. No matter where I went, there just was.

So, I have realised. No one will respect Christians because majority don't have respect for others either.

It's fair, after all, they are going against exactly what the bible says. Which is being a good human.

I don't know, I wanted to write down my thoughts somewhere, and hey! This is my blog for spirituality, I will write whatever I want.

It was mostly to help me gather my thoughts, but I might talk about other religions too. I personally really love learning about them. Who knows, maybe I will talk about Medusa or Hinduism? Who knows.

[not12001ants]

genuine question- if banning abortion is an infringement on the freedom of religion part of the 1st amendment for jewish people, what about this reasoning for other religions?

if my religion said tonatiuh, the aztec sun god, requires human sacrifice where i get to rip out the hearts of war captives, would outlawing that be an infringement on my freedom of religion? i mean, i don't see that person as a human deserving of rights, so would me doing that be protected under the first amendment?

i'm hoping you'd say no, obviously, because human sacrifice to sun gods is and always has been wrong and should be illegal. because killing someone is an infringement on their right to life, even if it's acceptable under my religion.

this is a genuine question, i'm not trying to trap you or anything. i'm genuinely curious as to what you think of this.

I find it interesting that you bring up sacrifice performed by the Aztecs, as you see the reports of how mass the killings were is greatly overexerted. This idea that it killed millions comes from William H. Prescott, an American who lived long after the time of the Aztecs and also had an almost nationalist obsession with his Spanish heritage. He had never even visited archeological sites in Mesoamerica and had a weak understanding of these cultures. His blatant lie of sacrifice on this scale likely originated to justify the Spanish colonizing the land and “civilizing” the people. Several historians worry that his writings on Incan and Aztecs cultures have impacted the research of these societies by causing scientists to be looking for proof of this false narrative and looking at everything through a negative lens. 

The actual estimated death toll is likely 316,200, which is admittedly  a lot, but is nothing compared to what Prescott falsely accused them of. It also does at all compare to the mass amount of indigenous people slaughtered by the people who “found” the land, with 80 million likely dying, but we don’t really have an exact count. If we truly want to talk about a religion taking another person’s life so they could please their g-d, we need to talk about Catholicism

Based on what historian you ask, you’ll get a range of a million to nine million people murdered during the Crusades, plus they also committed several acts of hate crimes towards Jewish communities on their way towards Jerusalem. I mean if you consider Aztec ritual sacrifice to protect their lands bad, you must consider Christians slaughtering not even soldiers, but children that were just in their own country terrible. Or wait, is there a reason why people always associate non-christian beliefs with the occult and death, but ignore the bloodstain behind the “all loving” religion? 

But to finally answer your question, I’m not okay with people forcing things upon people when they don’t consent. Most sacrifices in the Aztec religion were actually not of captives, but of beloved community members known for their beauty. They believed this person to be the g-d incarnate, and would attend to this person’s every need for a year before the sacrifice. These people usually willingly died as they believed they were part of their g-d and when they had their heart ripped out, it would nourish their g-d, make their g-d stronger, and allow that g-d to protect their community. If modern tribe members consent to it, I’d say, it’s their choice. 

However, in the abortion case, having sex isn’t consenting to a baby or all the risks with that. Consent is always important. The right to do what you want with your body should be fundamental, if not, we practically belong to the State.

[duckiereads]

#Miraculous May Round Up Week 1

I saw that @booksandrandomfandoms was hosting a Miraculous May Book Photo Challenge and I thought this would be a really easy way for me to do my weekly posts while I have some personal stuff on top of my thesis. I'm doing weekly round-ups of photos because I can't be trusted to do daily anything. :')

Summaries for Single Books are from Publisher/Author sites. I didn't include summaries for the group photos to keep the post from getting longer than it already was.

If any of these interest you and if you are able, please support your favorite independent bookstores when purchasing these and other books!

05/01: SPOTS ON! - TBR

Books Pictured (From Left to Right):

Comics and Sequential Art - Will Eisner

Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo

Chasing Shadows - Swati Avasthi

On Beauty - Zadie Smith

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern

The Black Veins - Ashia Monet

Mooncakes - Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker

The Good Luck Girls - Charlotte Nicole Davis

Drawing Words and Writing Pictures by

Odd One Out - Nic Stone

On Bottom Shelf:

Isiah Dunn is My Hero - Kelly Baptist

His Hideous Heart - Edited: Dahlia Adler

05/02: Tikki - Bug on the Cover

The Virtue of Sin by Shannon Schuren

Note: the current paperback edition does NOT use this cover

Miriam lives in New Jerusalem, a haven in the desert far away from the sins and depravity of the outside world. Within the gates of New Jerusalem, and under the eye of its founder and leader, Daniel, Miriam knows she is safe. Cared for. Even if she’s forced, as a girl, to quiet her tongue when she has thoughts she wants to share, Miriam knows that New Jerusalem is a far better life than any alternative. So when God calls for a Matrimony, she’s thrilled; she knows that Caleb, the boy she loves, will choose her to be his wife and they can finally start their life together. But when the ceremony goes wrong and Miriam winds up with someone else, she can no longer keep quiet. For the first time, Miriam begins to question not only the rules that Daniel has set in place, but also what it is she believes in, and where she truly belongs. Alongside unexpected allies, Miriam fights to learn–and challenge–the truth behind the only way of life she’s ever known, even if it means straying from the path of Righteousness.

05/04: Plagg - Sly Characters

Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas

Friends for life. Or death. Spring break. Aruba. Swimming, sunshine, and golden beaches. It was supposed to be the best time of Anna’s life. Paradise. But then the unthinkable happens. Anna’s best friend is found brutally murdered. And when the local police begin to investigate the gruesome crime, suspicion falls on one person—Anna. They think she’s dangerous, and they’re determined to prove her guilt. With the police and media sparking a witch-hunt against her, Anna is running out of time to prove her innocence. But as she digs deeper into her friend’s final moments, she finds a tangled web of secrets, lies and betrayal. Will she clear her name in time?

Note: This book is now published as "I'll Never Tell."

05/04: Sass - Do Over

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life. Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

Note: When I got this book signed, Lauren Oliver looked at me and asked: Have you read this book? And I told her yes. She let out a relieved sigh. "Okay," she said, "cause if you hadn't, I usually give a warning that Sam starts out as a major bitch and sometimes people don't like her because of that and I wanted to make sure you were prepared." Reader, this is your warning. :'D

05/05: Daizzi - Pink Books

Books Pictured (From Top to Bottom):

The Princess Diaries - Meg Cabot

The Merciless - Danielle Vega

Queens of Geek - Jenn Wilde

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Everything Leads to You - Nina LaCour

Pride - Ibi Zoboi

Only to Good Spy Young - Ally Carter

I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl - Gretchen McNeil

05/06: Trixx - Shape Shifters

Red Hood - Elana K Arnold

You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry. Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She’s kept mostly to herself. She’s been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou’s past and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods—frightened, but not alone.

05/07: Akuma - Plot Twist

Plot twist or expert reveal, I don't care. My jaw was on the ground when I finished this one.

Warcross - Marie Lu

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down Warcross players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty-hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. To make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation. Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

05/08: Fluff - Time Travel

The Girl from Everywhere - Heidi Heilig

Nix’s life began in Honolulu in 1868. Since then she has traveled to mythic Scandinavia, a land from the tales of One Thousand and One Nights, modern-day New York City, and many more places both real and imagined. As long as he has a map, Nix’s father can sail his ship, The Temptation, to any place, any time. But now he’s uncovered the one map he’s always sought—1868 Honolulu, before Nix’s mother died in childbirth. Nix’s life—her entire existence—is at stake. No one knows what will happen if her father changes the past. It could erase Nix’s future, her dreams, her adventures . . . her connection with the charming Persian thief, Kash, who’s been part of their crew for two years. If Nix helps her father reunite with the love of his life, it will cost her her own.

05/09: Xuppu - Yellow Books

Books Listed from (Top to Bottom)

Mirage - Somaiya Daud

Permanent Record - Mary H.K. Choi

The Deadly Sister - Eliot Schrefer

Star Wars: Queen's Shadow - E. K. Johnston

05/10: Pollen - Books and Nature

The Tea Dragon Society - Katie O'Neill

From K. O'Neill, the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes THE TEA DRAGON SOCIETY, the beloved and charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons. After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

And that's a wrap on this week's post! I forgot how fun it was to take book photos! I may even go put these on instagram! <3

[multifandom-world8]

SECRET OBSESSION-CHAPTER 1

Everyone thinks that being famous is easy, well it's not. Fans can be awesome but let's not forget the haters. Don't get me wrong I love being an actress, I get to do what I love every day, but I'm a sensitive person. I was currently filming an episode of criminal minds, when I saw the familiar face of my agent with the more familiar face of Henry Cavill."Umm y/n what's Henry Cavill doing on set?" Matthew asked me "I'm as clueless as you are buddy”

told him, as I watched my agent lead him to my trailer for some reason. My last shot for today was a pool scene with Matthew, I'm going to kiss him which I know he's nervous about because it's his first kiss scene, but eventually everything went smoothly, he was a good kisser. When the director dismissed us, I went back to my trailer with my stylist but when she opened the door for me I saw that my agent and Henry were there."Ah y/n you're finally here" my agent, Sam, said as I walked in "Yeah we got delayed cause Matthew had some cold feet before the last scene" I told him, as I sat in my makeup seat and let my stylist take my makeup off while trying to avoid the elephant in the room."Well I have some amazing news, Henry came here to tell us you got the role you auditioned for in the justice league"

Sam said and I stopped my stylist for a second and turned to face both men "you're kidding right?" I asked but it was directed more to Henry "No, the director really liked your acting and casted you as Mera" Henry told me and I tried my best to not jump in excitement and make myself look like a fool in front of him and instead hugged Sam "that's awesome!" I told him

"right? All the hours you've spent in front of the mirror are finally worth it" Sam chuckled causing me to blush in embarrassment because in this case Sam forgot, Henry is still here..."There's nothing to be embarrassed about I do it all the time" Henry tried to reassure me but that ship sailed away dude "no need to say that to make me feel better cause that's not going to happen" I chuckled nervously "well aside from the good news that Sam gave you,I came to invite you to a meeting the whole cast is having at my house" Henry said as he got up from the couch and handed me a small paper with his address and phone number "thank you, Henry, that's so nice of you" I gave him a soft smile "nonsense, you're a part of the dc family now" he chuckled and I thanked him again before he left.

“Pam slap me" I told my stylist "what? I'm not doing that" she gasped in shock from my request "I need you to slap me so I'll know that what happened, really happened" I told her and she rolled her eyes and punched my hand "ow! I said slap for a reason!" I friend in pain and rubbed the part she hit "well at least now you know it's real" she grinned.I sat in front of my closet for three hours and still couldn't decide what I want to wear. I was being ridiculous, I know, but it's not every day I get cast in such a big movie with such an amazing cast. I ended up settling for a black dress I wore for the 'drive angry' premiere.I drove to Henry's place instead of taking the limo cause I felt it wasn't just another business meeting, it was a social meeting

Okay, his house is huge. And I mean HUGE and Elegant, but huge.I knocked on his door softly and he opened almost immediately "ah y/n! We've been waiting for you, come in!" He grinned and I blushed as I walked in.In his living room sat the whole cast but they all hit up when I entered the room."Everyone meet y/n, she's going to play Mera" Henry introduced me "hey guys" I smiled nervously "finally another woman other than me" Gal chuckled as she hugged, and while I was processing the fact that I'm hugging Wonder Woman. "Welcome to the family" Jason said and I shook his hand with a smile "thanks" "You're the girl that played with Nicolas cage in that 'drive angry' movie right?" Ray asked excitedly and I chuckled as I nodded "dude you have a mean kick" he said "thanks, though Nicolas wasn't as excited about it as you were" I told him "I'm sure" he chuckled "Welcome aboard y/n" Ben shook my hand and I smiled softly in return.

Henry and Ben took care of the barbecue while Gal and I cut the salads and Ray and Jason organized the table."So where are you from originally y/n?" Gal asked me "I'm from Israel, more specifically a small city near Jerusalem" I told her "omg I would never guess! You don't look Israeli at all" she chuckled "yeah so I've been told" I giggled. We continued to talk about some events that occurred recently until the boys called us to the table to eat."So, as a part of the tradition we have...everyone needs to tell an embarrassing moment he had onset" Henry said as he sat the food on the table "okay I'll start. When I filmed Wonder Woman last week it was a kiss scene with Chris and I accidentally kneed him" she said and I chuckled "almost as bad as what happened to me" I told her and then all eyes were on me "so tell" Jason smirked as he crossed his arms "well...I had a kiss scene with Matthew from criminal minds in a pool and he nearly drowned me twice cause he was nervous"

I admitted and they all chuckled "Henry your turn" I smirked "well when I dressed up for a scene at 'Batman vs Superman' my makeup artist walked in while I was changing" he said and we all laughed "I think Henry won fair and square guys" I smiled.We continued the round until everyone was done eating and then retired to the living room.These guys were awesome, they really accepted me and helped my anxiety fade away. When the evening was over I bid them all goodbye and walked to my car."Y/n wait!" I stopped dead in my tracks and turned around to face Henry who ran up to me "did I forget something?" I frowned "no-no, I just wanted to give you that" he said as he handed me a bag with leftovers "oh thank you" I smiled "no problem, I'll see you on set on Monday?"

"You bet" I smiled before I got into my car and drove away.

When I got back home I changed into my PJs and went straight to bed...But the second I pulled the blanket on me my phone alerted me that I had a new message. I opened it and it said-I had a real good time tonight, goodnight, 😇Henry-I smiled at the adorable message and sent him goodnight before I fell asleep.

[dog-day-morning]

WHEN DOGS CRY

Ezekiel 3:1-4

3 Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, eat that thou findest; eat this roll, and go speak unto the house of Israel.

2 So I opened my mouth, and he caused me to eat that roll.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, cause thy belly to eat, and fill thy bowels with this roll that I give thee. Then did I eat it; and it was in my mouth as honey for sweetness.

4 And he said unto me, Son of man, go, get thee unto the house of Israel, and speak with my words unto them.

The children of God thirst for the word of God, but there's a drought in the land for the Devil comes to steal that word from you. Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it. We are a rebellious house who have walked in the ways of sin forgetting the will of God. The Father was the same today as He was yesterday. Our temperament, and faith can change with the current of the wind or something we may perceive as being better than the Father’s love which is what Satan wants you to believe. When Yeshua fasted for 40 days and nights Lucifer came to Him while He was weakened thinking He could get the Son of God to forsake everything for his deception.

Luke 4:6-8

6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.

7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

8 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

How can you give me something you never owned? Derek Chauvin is appealing his court conviction without a lawyer, and no money. This is Satan’s downcast people, the wicked kingdom of Babylon that's falling apart in front of the whole world. Satan has no kingdom, we’re taking back everything they've taken from us including our dead, and slaughtered children. The drought will end with a Jubilee celebration of God's people who have been without, and the curses shall fall upon those who have persecuted us from the beginning. If you thirst your souls will be quenched by the waters of God, His Spirit that will enable the downtrodden to overcome and overwhelm ourselves including our enemies, the inner me; YOU!!! Satan will not go down without a fight, he's unrighteous, salty, and afraid of the judgment that's coming to this earth that will consume our open enemy without us having to lift a finger.

The dead in hell shall be given back to the Lord of host that is the army of Israel who will fight the enemies of Israel as we have been a homeborn slave to all of the Earth. We have bowed down as a broken people to all men with no one to care for our plight save our Lord. To see people defend the institution of WS is a cancer to your spiritual process that needs to be fixed before the Day of Judgment comes to claim those who are puffed up before the Lord. The missing white woman syndrome is a frustrating reality we witness throughout the year. People should be concerned about their missing loved ones, but you must realize who are the one’s going missing at an alarming rate. Becky, and Mai Ling do not have more precedent over Tanisha, or Quantasia yet they are the ones the public is asked to search for more than a Black child or woman. Asian nail salons that partake in sex trafficking on the sly use Black women as well as Asians against their will to facilitate their male, and female patrons. There are no Happy Endings for these women and children. God loved Israel when we were without fault, and could do no wrong before Him while the rest of the world compounds, and exacerbates our issues. If he didn't love us He wouldn't reprove or chastise us. In order to reign with Christ you will suffer with Christ. We suffered at the hands of our Egyptian Brothers including Esau while Esau revised the world’s history to favor him which is an abominable sin. We were children who sucked milk from our mother’s teets. Now the Lord has been feeding us meat to strengthen our spirit for what lays ahead .

Ezekiel 16:4-13

4 And as for thy nativity, in the day thou wast born thy navel was not cut, neither wast thou washed in water to supple thee; thou wast not salted at all, nor swaddled at all.

5 None eye pitied thee, to do any of these unto thee, to have compassion upon thee; but thou wast cast out in the open field, to the lothing of thy person, in the day that thou wast born.

6 And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

7 I have caused thee to multiply as the bud of the field, and thou hast increased and waxen great, and thou art come to excellent ornaments: thy breasts are fashioned, and thine hair is grown, whereas thou wast naked and bare.

8 Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.

9 Then washed I thee with water; yea, I throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil.

10 I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and I covered thee with silk.

11 I decked thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on thy neck.

12 And I put a jewel on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine head.

13 Thus wast thou decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of fine linen, and silk, and broidered work; thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom.

He said thou wast exceeding beautiful. For every woman who looks at the European standard of po, broke, and boney as a standard of beauty don't. Love your thick lips which they pay thousands of dollars a year to get, and maintain. Breathe through your flaring nostrils that the Father gave unto you in order to run, and never grow weary. Love your wide curvaceous hips, big thighs, and thick, lovely hind they pay a Dr. in Atlanta tens of thousands of dollars every so many years to look like Shantell from the hood who was blessed in the womb with a body they get augmented in order to try and look like hers, and by all means if you're deeply melinated with dark skin do not bleach your blessing. Melanin Is responsible for our higher intelligence, those hips, and that beautiful derriere, your brother's athletic prowess, the ability to endure the hell we've endured for these hellish 500yrs. You don't have to be darkly melinated to succeed in the world of athletics or academia. Florence Joyner Griffith set a record in the 1988 Olympics that still stands today. Katherine Johnson helped pave the way for the first American astronaut to successfully orbit the Earth. Melanin is called the God particle for a reason, it can't be duplicated or created in a lab. Thanks to cloning they can produce this element close to its essential form, but not to God’s precise design. Men have been trying to manipulate God's works through science without considering that He is Spirit. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. They're trying to circumvent the Father’s work carnally, that's' the crux of the problem. I said all of this to say this. They have used us like lab rats from the Tuskegee Experiment, back to days of slavery when they experimented, and operated on Black women without using anesthesia, to this day with this COVID-19, catastrophic, doomsday annihilation that got out of control, and became a global pandemic that was only supposed to affect the African Diaspora. The Chinese are first cousins to Esau. They are descendants of Japheth along with the Canaanites including the other tribes of the Earth whom Israel has blessed. I may be beating a dead horse so shoot me. This is what's coming down the pipes after God has had enough of the blood shedding of His people.

Revelation 6:10-11

10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?

11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

Those of us who have been slain, and suffered on this Earth who had a relationship with Christ will receive a robe of white. People are still going to hell like the police, neo Nazis, klansmen, KKKARENS, KKKENS, your 10yr old nephew Man Man. All of those who hate, and persecute Israel and our kinsman. After God has seen enough of this world's abuse of His children, that's when you'll see the miracles, signs, and wonders that will scare the junk out of everyone's pants, skid marks and all. There will not be a zombie apocalypse. What will happen is a Nightmare on Everywhere Street. This is the war they asked for.

Zechariah 14:12-14

12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the Lord will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.

13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the Lord shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.

The Mark of the Beast. We will spoil them by taking everything they've stolen from us globally. The colonization of Alkebulan is almost over and you have to believe these truths. The West, and the Far East have colonized the continent, whoring it out for its resources giving nothing back in return except paper, ink, and dust. I don't ascribe to the faith or religious doctrine of the Sabeans (Muslims) that came from the Bible of the Hebrews. The Israelites took nothing from the Quran, it didn't exist. My skepticism makes me suspicious of the biblical scholars who claim that Yeshua went to the Far East (Asia) while on Earth to study which is a misnomer in itself, He's all knowing. He may have journeyed there, but He said I come for my people Israel, and told His Apostles to minister to them only before His final ascension. I'm not trustworthy of those who are inclined to lie about everything including the world's history that is Black history. The Bible has hundreds of books that were purposely left out of the original 66 books that revealed more truths about God's people that are in the libraries of the Vatican. They will be revealed before or after Vatican city is decimated by the Father. The truths we seek will not come from a book exclusively interpreted by men, people lie. It will come from the Lord’s Spirit. Satan's time is up, and he's trying the saints who suffer not because of his torment, but for the testimony of Christ. We have been chosen by God to lead those who have deceived the world through clever deception and manipulation. Our souls are consumed with many insecurities that were intentionally placed in our spirit by men who understood how feared we were in the Old Testament because of the anointing. They have oppressed, and suppressed our powerful anointing before the Earth with a tactical methodology that if it wasn't for the Lord it would've consumed us before man. The word of God does not separate us from the love of God, it embraces, and keeps us safe with the blood covering of His Son.

Hebrews 4:12

12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Those who rebuked the word of God will have to answer to the Lord on the Day of Judgment. People in the last days are walking away from God's will like stubborn goats. Satan will lead you away from God blindly before those who'd rather believe in a lie to foster confusion, and a selfish mentality that's unhealthy for your soul. Israel. You are blessed by the Father to overcome, forgive, show a selflessness that others do not, giving of your sustenance to bless another, sacrificing for a greater cause that's greater than oneself. I tell you things that are written in the Bible you refuse to discern or cannot determine that are coming upon us. They are meant for this day, this hour, at this time. God will lead us out of the darkness into His marvelous light. Do not don't forget that this is Tribulation. Be prepared for calamities to hit us back, to back, to back, harder, and worse than the previous as a warning He's coming for His faithful. No man can judge himself worthy of the Kingdome. Pray for one another with a fervency. This will be the day of reckoning for the unrighteous who have sought innocent blood, and the provision God set aside for His children. This battle shall be fought by the Father’s host army that is not Christian?!! I worship in the Christian faith, but I desire to know the truth. I, and many of you are in search of the Lord's truths that we’ll find in the appointed season which is coming, but this battle is the Lord’s

Ezekiel 37:7-10

7 So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8 And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them.

9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

It amazes me that people still don't believe after what we've witnessed the last 40 or so years. Maybe it’s somewhat my fault. The Father works in mysterious ways. Man's flesh will melt inside of his loins, he will tremble in fear, and faint after witnessing hell on Earth; God's wrath. I’ll see you when I can breathe. Good evening, Elohim. 9/26/2021

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

Normally I don't like to ask stuff but I feel distressed. My mom is arguing about a preaching that she heard where it says that the antichrist will be gay. She quotes the book of Daniel, particularly Daniel 11:37. Her argument is that Daniel is a prophecy book therefore it must be true. It just really hurts that she'd say this to me and keeps making remarks about my faith. That I'm not a good enough Christian for not believing like her. Is what Daniel say true or is the interpretation wrong?

Hey there. I’m sorry to hear you’re distressed, and especially that your mom keeps making remarks about your faith. It is not right for any of us to judge another person’s faith like that! 

This is gonna get long, so for a tl;dr, after studying Daniel 11 and its surrounding context I can say pretty confidently that your mom is indeed wrong about how to interpret 11:37. If you want to explore just why with me, read on!

______________

So to start with, I disagree with your mom that everything in the Book of Daniel, or in any “prophecy book” of the Bible, must necessarily be “true” – or “come true” as if it were fortune telling. Biblical prophecy is not fortune telling or future telling. As I say in this post, biblical prophets were actually much more concerned about the present, about how the past had shaped that present, and about how the present could be used to shape the future! This is just a fact of how ancient Israelites viewed prophecy, regardless of how one interprets scripture (whether more fundamentalist / literal as I imagine your mom probably is, or more historical/contextual, etc.). 

Christians who get really into all the biblical visions of “the end times” and the rapture and stuff don’t want to hear this, because they want it to be somehow directly relevant to them and their futures (and that’s understandable), so the following paragraph is just some information for you rather than anything that’s likely to convince your mom:

Most biblical scholars say that most of the biblical prophecies aren’t about “The End Times” the way we conceive of it. The Book of Daniel’s prophecies do include some talk of the actual end of the world, but – like the Book of Revelation in the New Testament – the majority of his prophecies actually refer to kingdoms and intrigue going on in Daniel’s own time (or not so long before or after his own time). 

I have not studied Daniel’s prophecies, like, at all besides reading through them, so I can say more about how the Book of Revelation is less about “the end of the world” and more about “the end of the Roman Empire;” but Daniel follows a similar trajectory of being more about the fall of the empires that have oppressed his people than about the end of the whole world. If you have a Bible that offers footnotes about the historical context going on in any given passage of scripture, it will tell you all about that – that Daniel’s prophecies discuss the sequence of Babylonian, Median, and Persian rulers that oppress his people and criticize those oppressive kings. 

Thus when you go to look at Daniel 11 (and 10), you see that Daniel isn’t talking about “The Antichrist” in this passage – indeed, that title “Antichrist” is not used at all in this Book, or in any book of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) at all! – but rather he is talking about a Persian king who is going to arise and oppress his people. The New Interpreter’s Study Bible suggests in its footnotes for 11:37 that the specific king Daniel’s talking about is Antiochus, who “grew exceedingly arrogant: He abandoned his ancestral gods and imposed the worship of Zeus Olympus” – hence 11:37′s statement that he “shall pay no respect to the God’s of his ancestors.”

Now that we’ve reached the verse itself in our discussion, let’s have a closer look at Daniel 11:37. The New King James Version reads, 

“He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.”

The part of this verse that is used by some to claim that “the antichrist” (if you interpret this passage as even being about the antichrist, despite the context pointing to it actually being about a Persian king) is gay is, of course, “nor the desire of women.” 

But along with that seeming like a very random tangent for the prophet to mention in a verse that otherwise is about this king abandoning all gods, the issue with biblical Hebrew is that sometimes getting a precise meaning out of it is hard. Thus “nor the desire of women” is not the only translation into English that one can make from the Hebrew. I’ll list some other translations that have been made (and you can see tons more here):

KJV: “nor the desire of women”

NASB: “or for the desire of women”

NIV: “or for the one desired by women”

ESV and NRSV: “or to the one beloved by women”

New Living Translation: “or for the god loved by women”

CEB: “and the god preferred by women”

Now, there are many conservative Christians who believe that the King James Bible is never wrong, and therefore they’ll insist that the translation to “nor the desire of women” is the one “correct” translation. But even if that is the case, what exactly does “the desire of women” mean in English? Does it mean: 

that this guy doesn’t desire / isn’t attracted to women, as your mom believes? 

could it also mean that he doesn’t care if women desire him? aka he might still desire them, and doesn’t give a damn about whether they like him back

or does it mean that he doesn’t care what women desire/want – i.e., that he won’t listen to them about what they want, perhaps in regards to what gods he respects, since that’s what the rest of the verse is about?

Moving to look at those translations that translate it “the god loved/preferred/beloved by women,” some suggest that this meaning: just as the guy has no regard for “the god of his ancestors,” likewise he has no regard for the god[s] of his wives/concubines. There are examples in the Hebrew Bible of women having different gods from their husbands – Jacob’s wife Rachel takes her household gods with her into his house; Solomon’s many foreign wives convince him to worship their gods with them. So if the Hebrew here, hemdath nashiym, is translated something about “the god loved by the women,” that’s what it could be about – this guy won’t be swayed to worship any god, whether his own family’s gods or his wives’ gods. 

That above reasoning makes much more sense within the context of the verse than it being like “So this guy won’t care about his ancestors’ god, oh also by the way he’s gay or whatever, and back to the god thing, he’s gonna exalt himself over all gods.” It would be such a random tangent! 

_______

So that’s all the language and history stuff. Now let’s get hypothetical: 

so…what if your mom is right? So what if the verse is saying “this guy isn’t attracted women”? (and for the purpose of this hypothetical, let’s say the verse is about the antichrist though as I discussed above I do not believe that it is.) 

First off, just because he doesn’t desire women doesn’t necessarily mean he does desire men. He could be asexual and/or aromantic. That wouldn’t be much better, of course, because we’d be moving from homophobia into aphobia. Asexual and aromantic folks get vilified enough with the stigma that “oh you can’t ~~love~~?? you monster!” So I definitely do not like the supposition that the antichrist is ace/aro; that’s just as icky as him being gay.

But again, we’re in hypothetical land: so let’s say the antichrist is gay, or is aroace. ……..So what??

Gay people, aroace people, aren’t all perfect and good people. We can be badguys too, ya know? If the antichrist were cishet, it wouldn’t mean that All Cishet People Are Therefore Like The Antichrist – so if the antichrist were gay, why would it therefore mean that all gay people are like the antichrist? 

He’s just one person. A big bad person – but his sexuality isn’t necessarily a part of that. He’s not evil because of whatever his sexuality is or isn’t. 

I will close by offering some counterbalances to a supposedly gay (or aroace, or otherwise LGBTQA+) antichrist: there are also LGBTQA+ heroes in the Bible.

Daniel himself may well be one of them!!

To start with, Daniel is most likely a eunuch: after all, he has a position in the Babylonian court, and as David Bayliss notes, “it was customary for Mesopotamian kings in the first millennium BC to surround themselves with eunuchs as servants.” The Bible itself attests to this fact, in places like Isaiah 39:7 that talks about youths being taken from Judah to serve Babylon’s king as eunuchs. Along with those two facts, Bayliss continues with more evidence that Daniel was a eunuch:

Third, the fact that Daniel and the other captured Israelite youths were entrusted to the “chief eunuch” suggests that they were to become young eunuchs themselves.

Fourth, boys to be made into eunuchs were usually selected for their beauty, which is mentioned at the top of the list of selecting criteria in Dan 1:4.

Fifth, there is no mention of Daniel or his companions ever marrying (or having children).

Sixth, Daniel showed no interest in returning to Jerusalem after Cyrus the Great came to the throne (who allowed exiles to return to their homelands), which may have to do with his physical humiliation and the Deut 23:1 ban.“

Now, why’s it matter if Daniel’s a eunuch?? What’s that got to do with being LGBTQA?? Many queer scholars, myself included, have argued that biblical eunuchs share many similarities to gay people, or trans people, etc. I talk about the connection between biblical eunuchs and contemporary trans people in the section of this webpage titled “ ‘Better than sons or daughters’: Isaiah 56″.

(For other resources on eunuchs’ link to LGBT folks, see here, here, here, here.)

On top of that, some scholars have suggested a romantic/sexual relationship between David and the head eunuch under which he served, Ashpenaz. According to Daniel 1:9, Daniel enjoyed “the favor and tender love” of Ashpenaz. This could be a totally platonic thing, or it could be physical; the Hebrew is ambiguous. 

You might not be able to stop your mom from making her awful comments, but maybe being able to respond in your head to her “the antichrist is gay!” with “no, Daniel was gay” will help you a little. 

Please keep safe, and do what you can to keep your mom’s crap from getting to you (I know that’s much harder said than done). You are beloved by the God who made you, friend. And scripture is much queerer than hateful Christians want to admit. 

[bullwrinkledmagnum]

I scrolled through the article 3 times to reexamine the picture of the nails...

Abu tells me: it's there it wasn't a disappearing picture!

Then he tells me....: there was no pictures on the internet, it was in your head!

I remember when we went with Queen Elizabeth II

And she had told me we were gonna go watch them excavate coffins... No one else pays attention to a little old lady in a plane full of rambunctious boys. Except me.

So when we got there jesse tells me "hey you know everything, what's inside these?" And he got distracted by kids and had to yell turned back to me and said "huh whats these all about huh kid what? Tellll me!"

"Bones" and i walked away and he got to me and said "those are big bones"

I looked at the coffins and said "not really. They look to be normal size" cause the coffins were normal sized although tall but we were talking bones not fat which was all gone already...

So he was all bugging "so they're WHALE?!?!!?"

The Queen whisked by me giggling and I didn't know why...

Me: we're mammals! Think! What's wrong with you anyways?!!? You got too much airplane food?!?!

The Queen is in the corner hiding her mouth with her hand and just laughing and laughing do hard! She sounds like she's wheezing from the dirt and dust.

Jesse: is the quee ok?

Me: yes she's okay just a bit coughy. But there's noting wrong with her. Go on and look. [He starts towards the queen] at the box, dummy

Jesse: look i need to stsrt getting a little respect around here i aint her roayl highness majesty but i am an adul-- what?

Me: you really think the box is made of bone?

Jesse: yeah what? I do. You said --

Me: Then what kind?

Jesse: you said mammal so im guessing wooly mammoth

Me: DING!

Jesse turned away to kiss ass to the queen and i muttered "bat" under my breath but loud enough ...

Jesse: huh?

Me: no yeah you're right respect let's go into the next chamber.

So he goes to the Queen "do you know about these?!"

She nodded and tried to correct him But not "nooo" she told herself not to laugh

"Oh!! I made the best ancient discovery, yet!!"

I looked at him alk wtf are you talking about ass hole?!?!

"See these are all wooly mammoth coffins! Come look!"

"But Jesse excuse me! Jesse! Yoo hoo!"

"Huh"

"Jesse i thought all these caskets in these here tombs were all about rocks?"

Jesse looked at me

I shrugged palms up "Idk all the people left? Or maybe they were evil and had to have rocks piled on top of them!!" I ran towards the sunny door way because I don't make shit up, usually and the Queens smile was getting me to giggle and if she winked again id lose it.

Jessse: did you hear her? She was just repeating what i told her earlier. What im thinking here is all these are filled with Gold!! Because these people were the best and wanted to take all the gold with them! Here let's lift the lid off.

Queen: oh no! I don't mess with wooly mammoth bones. Human's only!!

Jesse: well, ill fond someone queen this will be amazing. I'll be right back. Keep an eye on the kids.

The queen stepped outdoors with me and we giggled ourselves silly until he returned.

He came out shortly and said he had help but the Queen said she needed help up the excavation laddar to get the boys and girls from the park and have lunch/supper.

He asked if he could continue with the coffins... She giggled.i told him she had said sure

So while upstairs picning in the grass... Alex, William and Jabar in the trees eating. William climbed down and said Jesse bad a wheel barrow

So i was sent to scout... It was empty.. So i returned to report the news

But William had seen it was full so he went around the corner, looked down and saw the ladder on the ground and the rocks piled down in.

Upon his report the Queen looked alarmed. I told her "don't worry. He told the kids a billion times how fragile everything is so he knows not to bother with to damage but also hes doing something stupid. Don't worry it will be fun. Always is"

The Queen decided to change from her usual dress and to put on slacks. Yes she ladders in heels and dress and hats and gloves and even a scarf from time to time.

"Think they're ready enough?"

"Oh you look nice. I like the blouse. I really like the polka dots. Come on boys. Youll need to drop the ladder for us ladies, shes old and privileged, I'm young and stout with a bad back. And come on jabar you can hold my hand like a good boy.... Or not" as he ran past us to tap William on the shoulder... But then he doubled back after telling William he was going to walk with me and the Queen.

At the pit as we called it we hollered for Jesse and we heard scrambling and rocks dropping and sounding like they were breaking.

"Like ice in a glass" said the Queen in a giggle

"JESSE! HEY GET YOUR ASS IN HERE! WE NEED HELP DOWN!"

"Yeah well we need the ladder!!"

"THERE AINT ONE!!"

Jesse looked pale

"Idk ask one of the kids. See if you can climb down" he caught me on his shoulder as i slid down the wall "you gotta see what i did kid i think i messed up... There was a body..."

I heard the Queen shouting i stopping to motion them to get the ladder and to climb down and ESP my twin not to jump

"You coming?"

"What? Yeah"

"So i took the body out and put all the rocks in here But they sure aren't gold. Why is your eye twinkling? Is it okay? I mean. I did good right?!?"

"Was it a real body?!?!"

"Yeah!! See! And i covered it with a tarp!".

"Let,me,see! Let me,at her!!"

He led me around the corner of the coffin and I lifted the tarp... I noticed it getting darker slowly from the doorway light then it was completely dark. I looked up. Everyone gathered in the doorway, shocking Jesse into a startle as he stood behind me rubbing my lower back. I dropped the tarp stepped back quietly, closed my eyes and bowed to the queen once to notify her the body looked undamaged.

She giggled... Jesse continued his speech and she couldn't help but burst out full blown hee haww

Jesse was all telling us how thrilling and masculine his discovery was and how if we left the room and went into the other chambers he would remove the rocks and put them in the wheelbarrow upstairs and discover a body completely undisturbed by the weight of the rocks!!

The boys eyes were in awe... The actors anyways... As we had all laid/sat in the grass telling the story of Jesse downstairs.

"But Jesse!! The rocks!! There's too many!! How on Earth did you get the lid off and so,many rocks appear? Did the lid break"

"They just popped up like popcorn! And the lid os here under this tarp safe and sound. See your majesty? Its perfect. We were very gentle. But this. This is magic!"

"Oh okay boys come on lets get through with the show" she was unpleased but tolerant.

"But Jesse you're like magic!! This! Look guys! Wait! I found a nail to the coffins! The Whale bone coffin!!"

2 boys had to laugh... And it started a train of giggles.

"I bet this one nail held this entire room of coffins together by itself!! And when you opened this one coffin! Just this one! It popped out! Amazing! Unbelievable!"

Everyone began to walk out..

"Thanks kid, know I love ya!"

"I know im appreciated!" I threw my arms ib the air and skipped to catch up with Everyone else.

I went into the next chamber which was filled with anger. We blew it out like dust and sat down and I said what i saw of the body and then we discussed theories and ideas of what the room we were in used to be. We discovered it used to be a home. And we were in the kitchen.

On the way home we of course had to wait for Jesse to load the last of the plane including his rocks that might turn to gold had said the Queen.

One of the protective squad mentioned how stupid and disappointing and annoying that Jesse James character is and how he almost ruined the entire tomb, disturbed a body, could have killed the Queen whom didn't want use the ladder, carried her on his shoulder, and on and on. So angry, bitter and adult like.

We all agreed and I looked around the plane, let out a great exhale of air and said "yeah and it was the best day ever!"

This man whom hadnt winked, snorted, giggled or even grinned the entire day snorted then suddenly he collapsed in his chair and began laughing, slow shoukder shaking at first then into insanity of hilarity. Then he bent around the back of his chair and said "thanks for being the best boss ever!!"

And for the first time in quite awhile, Ms Queen Elizabeth II blushed.