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sacred-stanning · 7 months ago

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Chapter 14 Part 6: Nice play, game [golf clap]

We're continuing our push up, and enemies continue to appear from the two side hallways.

In the last post, we saw Moulder get hit by a low-hit-percentage sleep staff cast. These photos here are me checking to see if Lute can grab the restore staff from him to cure his sleep status. But, uh, Lute just got staff access and is still only at D rank, and the restore staff requires C rank. So the sleep staff asshole hit the one guy in my army's left battalion who can cure sleep.

Great!

There is another way to prevent future sleeps though: murder

Lute gets rid of the bishop and picks up the sleep staff, which she also can't use.

Franz stays behind in the left hallway to take care of the reinforcements while Vanessa starts to move up, but not so far that she is in long bow range!

Ross continues his one-man siege on the middle room, and gets another disappointing level up.

Moving Lute up to take out the bishop was a little risky since there are enemies who can move and attack her up that way, but she manages to pull through.

Also, just a reminder that sleeping units can still dodge attacks somehow. lol

And here's another photo of Marisa in her new uniform. It's honestly hard to tell it's her since her long hair has disappeared--maybe tucked into the hood(?) on her head???

And this was an "oh crap" moment. I not only moved Lute up into range of some enemies who could attack her, but she was also in range of the Berserk staff that one of the druids up top has. Fortunately, she dodged this, because with Moulder asleep, I wouldn't have been able to cure it.

Here's the guy, and we can see that with his 14 magic, he has a range of 7 with the staff and Lute just stepped into that range!

"I have to concentrate. I have to help everyone. I'm a good mage." Lute repeated this mantra in her head and charged forward to take out a clump of heavily armored knights ahead.

"Hmph, all of that armor won't do anything against my magic!" she thought as she let loose bolts of electricity in multiple directions. "I'm good at this! I'm the best at this!" she thought excitedly.

But her excitement quickly turned to panic when a knight she hadn't noticed came from a side hallway and stabbed his lance at her horse. The horse reared up Lute almost fell off of the saddle.

Her hands feeling clammy, she pulled herself upright, and fired off more bolts towards the knight. And then she heard an eerie hum...

She almost didn't recognize what it was in the chaos of all that was happening, but the bright light that appeared along with the hum reminded her. "A berserk staff!?" Lute had only ever read about them in books, so she felt some excitement about getting to see one in person, but she also had to react. She chanted and put up a mental block that she (hoped) would block the staff's effects. This too was something she had only ever read in books, so she didn't really know if it was going to work..

Vanessa heard a scream. She turned and looked in the direction where Lute had galloped off. "What is she doing so far out in front of everyone!?" Vanessa panicked. She had specifically TOLD Lute multiple times to hang back behind more experienced soldiers, like herself, or even Franz, who as green as he was, was already showing a lot of promise.

Vanessa fought down the panic she felt rising in her throat. She couldn't even go and help. There were still enemy soldiers coming in from this entrance, so she needed to block it off before moving forward to prevent them all from getting pincered by enemy forces in front and behind.

Without thinking, she reached her hand up and felt the slight warmth of the talisman tucked under her shirt. "Be careful, Lute..."

Ross finishes off the last armor knight here. Next turn he can equip a 2 range weapon and open the door.

Ephraim gets the right door open, and Tana flies up to take out the bishop on this side, who has a silence staff instead of a sleep staff.

After my scare with the berserk staff on the left, I check the range of the berserk staff on the right.

But since I don't want Rennac running off, I end up risking someone being hit by berserk next turn, and I move Gerik up to take out the sword guy, and Marisa moves up and heals herself. Her job is just to help form a human wall so that Rennac can't keep moving left.

This puts L'Arachel in range of an archer, but I move her up this way so that she can talk to Rennac as soon as possible. It also turns out she has a support conversation with Ephraim!

L'Arachel starts out by questioning why Ephraim isn't off doing something, and Ephraim responds that he is waiting for appropriate timing to act. L'Arachel makes some comment implying that he may be looking for an excuse to stand around and talk to her (even though she's the one who started the conversation!) and then she finishes off by telling Ephraim she will show him her glorious actions. (That's a very awkward way for me to translate it, but the gist is that she's basically saying something like, "Watch me! I'm going to be amazing!")

Ephraim's reaction is to say, "She seems very reliable, but she sure is a self-promoting woman..."

I've chosen to translate his word, "jiko shuchou" as "self-promoting" rather than "self-confident" which might also be a good translation just because I think there's a slightly negative connotation to what he's saying.

First of all, he says that she "seems reliable BUT" and then continues. So since being reliable is a good thing, the contrast word "but" there implies that he's going to say something somewhat negative afterwards.

Also, in my experience, the word, "jiko shuchou" (self-promoting / speaking up for oneself), especially when combined with the "no tsuyoi" (strong) afterwards is usually used in kind of a negative way when it is describing a person's personality. My feeling is that this is a cultural thing. I think a dry, dictionary definition of the word would not necessarily reveal it to be negative, but in actual use, I feel like there's usually a bit of a feeling of "this person sure is in everyone's face" or "this person sure is self-centered" when someone is described as "jiko shuchou no tsuyoi" in Japanese.

In my personal experience, I don't think that Japanese culture places as much value on speaking up for yourself and having a strong sense of self-confidence as my own native culture (USA) does. I feel like it's much easier in Japan to cross that invisible line where you go from being perceived as having confidence (not a bad thing), to being perceived as being a self-centered asshole.

Kind of related to this, I remember being a little shocked in Japan when a male colleague invited me to his house for dinner, which his wife made, and he basically announced with her right there that it probably wasn't any good.

But when I thought about it, I think he didn't want to sound like he was bragging, and even though he didn't make the meal, if he had praised his wife too heavily, since she's his family, it would have sounded like bragging. (I have no way of knowing of course, but it's entirely possible he may have praised her cooking in private when guests weren't around.)

This is especially shocking for me as an American since I feel like it's not uncommon to run into people here who can't shut up about how "amazing" their family members are. I mean, even in the US, if you brag about your own family's accomplishments too much, it will still be seen as self-centered, but I think you can get away with more bragging on that front than you can in Japan.

I bring this all up because the English translation has him finish off with, "She seems so reliable… and SO assertive! Are women of Rausten all like that?" To me, it feels like the translation tried to downplay any negativity in Ephraim's comment, and to make it a bit more value-judgment-neutral.

But I am only one person, and Japanese isn't my native language, so if anyone ever reads this and thinks that I'm off in thinking that the original Japanese sounds slightly more negative than the official English translation, then I'd love to hear about it!

Next time: Risky plays, magic for days

#fire emblem #sacred stones #fire emblem the sacred stones #fe8 #ファイアエンブレム #聖魔の光石 #japanese language #japanese culture #american culture #cultural comparison #lute x vanessa #vanessa fire emblem #fire emblem lute #l'arachel #ephraim

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dfroza · 3 years ago

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to defend the True hope of his heart.

we all have to choose what our hope and treasure will be.

Today’s reading of the Scriptures from the New Testament is the 26th chapter of the book of Acts:

[Paul’s Defense before King Agrippa]

King Agrippa said to Paul, “You may now state your case.” Paul motioned with his hand for silence, then began his defense.

“King Agrippa, I consider myself highly favored to stand before you today and answer the charges made against me by the Jews. Because you, more than anyone else, are very familiar with the customs and controversies among the Jewish people, I now ask for your patience as I state my case.

“All the Jews know how I have been raised as a young man, living among my own people from the beginning and in Jerusalem. If my accusers are willing to testify, they must admit that they’ve known me all along as a Pharisee, a member of the most strict and orthodox sect within Judaism. And now, here I am on trial because I believe in the hope of God’s promises made to our ancestors. This is the promise the twelve tribes of our people hope to see fulfilled as they sincerely strive to serve God with prayers night and day.

“So, Your Highness, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. And how should you judge this matter? Why is it that any of you think it unbelievable that God raises the dead? I used to think that I should do all that was in my power to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that’s exactly what I did in Jerusalem, for I not only imprisoned many of the holy believers by the authority of the chief priests, I also cast my vote against them, sentencing them to death. I punished them often in every Jewish meeting hall and attempted to force them to blaspheme. I boiled with rage against them, hunting them down in distant foreign cities to persecute them.

“For that purpose I went to Damascus, with the authority granted to me by the chief priests. While traveling on the road at noon, Your Highness, I saw a light brighter than the sun flashing from heaven all around me and those who were with me. We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? You are only hurting yourself when you resist your calling.’

“I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

“And the Lord replied, ‘I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting. Get up and stand to your feet, for I have appeared to you to reveal your destiny and to commission you as my assistant. You will be a witness to what you have seen and to the things I will reveal whenever I appear to you. I will rescue you from the persecution of your own people and from the hostility of the other nations that I will send you to. And you will open their eyes to their true condition, so that they may turn from darkness to the Light and from the power of Satan to the power of God. By placing their faith in me they will receive the total forgiveness of sins and be made holy, taking hold of the inheritance that I give to my children!’

“So you see, King Agrippa, I have not been disobedient to what was revealed to me from heaven. For it was in Damascus that I first declared the truth. And then I went to Jerusalem and throughout our nation, and even to other nations, telling people everywhere that they must repent and turn to God and demonstrate it with a changed life. That’s why the Jews seized me when I was in the temple and tried to murder me.

“But in spite of all this, I have experienced the supernatural help of God up to this very moment. So I’m standing here saying the same thing that I’ve shared with everyone, from the least to the greatest. For I teach nothing but what Moses and the prophets have said was destined to happen: that our Messiah had to suffer and die and be the first to rise from the dead, to release the bright light of truth both to our people and to the non-Jewish nations.”

Festus interrupted Paul’s defense, blurting out, “You’re out of your mind! All this great learning of yours is driving you crazy.”

Paul replied, “No, Your Excellency Festus, I am not crazy. I speak the words of truth and reason. King Agrippa, I know I can speak frankly and freely with you, for you understand these matters well, and none of these things have escaped your notice. After all, it’s not like it was a secret! Don’t you believe the prophets, King Agrippa? I know that you do.”

Agrippa responded, “In such a short time you are nearly persuading me to become a Christian.”

Paul replied, “I pray to God that both you and those here listening to me would one day become the same as I am, except, of course, without these chains.”

The king, the governor, Bernice, and all the others got up. As they were leaving the chamber, they commented to one another, “This man has done nothing that deserves death or even imprisonment.”

King Agrippa said to Festus, “If he hadn’t appealed to Caesar, he could have been released.”

The Book of Acts, Chapter 26 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the 17th chapter of the book (scroll) of Isaiah where he continues with a message of Judgment:

A message about Damascus:

Eternal One: So much for the “city of Damascus.”

It’s done for. Soon it will be just a pile of rubble.

The towns around it will empty of people and be turned back to open land.

Imagine—sheep grazing and lying down where people used to live.

There won’t be a soul to scare them off.

The defenses of the Northern Kingdom, Israel, will fall—

Ephraim’s fortress walls will tumble down;

Damascus will no longer rule itself.

Aram—what is left of them—will resemble Israel’s fading glory.

That’s what the Eternal, Commander of heavenly armies, says.

Eternal One: Israel will be humbled then too;

our cousins, the children of Jacob, will lose their luster, their wealth and excess.

The land will resemble a field stripped until it is nearly bare,

like when the harvest has come and gone,

like the meager grain gleaned in the valley of Rephaim.

But some gleanings will remain

like when olive trees are beaten,

Where two or three olives remain at the top of a tree

and four or five hold on tight to its fruitful branches.

So says the Eternal One, Israel’s God.

Then, in that day, people will turn to the One who shaped them.

They’ll look on the Creator, the Holy One of Israel,

And disregard the things they’d made into gods.

They’ll turn away from worthless, handmade objects, sacred poles, and incense altars.

And then, in that day, their great cities will be abandoned

like defenseless outposts in a hilly forest,

Like those deserted when the Israelites took the land;

the scene will be eerily quiet and empty.

You have proven forgetful of God—how God pulls you clear of danger,

how God stands firm, like a great Rock where you can take shelter.

Because you have forgotten the one True God,

you planted pleasant gardens and set out tender vines of a strange god.

They sprouted so quickly the day you set them out;

they budded immediately the morning you planted them;

But you will never gather any sweet grapes from them.

What you reap will be illness and pain; that day will be filled with sadness.

Listen to the restless roar of the peoples!

They roar like a fitful sea.

Listen to the crashing thunder of the nations;

they thunder like a powerful surge of water.

But even if they thunder like a wall of water,

when God rebukes them, they will run far away;

With a word they’ll be driven like chaff in a mountain gust

or dust in a windstorm.

In the evening, look, their enemies terrorize them;

but by morning, they’re gone.

So it will be for those who attack and steal from us;

those who take, take, take will come to nothing and run away.

The Book of Isaiah, Chapter 17 (The Voice)

A link to my personal reading of the Scriptures for friday, june 25 of 2021 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible along with Today’s Proverbs and Psalms

A post by John Parsons that points to the True message of grace:

The message of the cross of Messiah is that your deepest need for love, peace, and happiness is not to be found in this world, nor in the religious philosophies of this world, but instead is found by being healed from the sickness of spiritual death. That’s the gospel message, after all, which presents an offense to the “flesh,” that is, to natural human pride and humanistic aspiration. Indeed many religious people seem to think that something more is needed than the miracle of Messiah, and they therefore both underestimate the severity of our lost condition while flattering the ego with the conceit that it can contribute something to prospect of genuine eternal life... The Apostle Paul admonished: "If with the Messiah you died to the axioms of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its presuppositions (i.e., δόγματα)?" (Col. 2:20). Religious “legalism” (i.e., adherence to formula or ritual rather than living in personal faith) is a worldly practice that leads to a false sense of security in the mantras, ceremonies, “virtue signaling,” theological jargon, and various “mummeries” of religion. Worse still may such worldly religion lead to a “holier-than-thou” sense of spiritual superiority or elitism. Yeshua denounced the religionists of his day by focusing on what mattered most of all -- healing the outcasts, touching the lepers, seeking the lost, and being a "friend of tax collectors and sinners" (Matt. 11:19). Focusing on outer forms of religion -- even Torah based religion -- elevates the law to an end in itself rather than as a means to the greater end of love and healing. We have to be careful not to make an idol out of religious practices, for all the commandments are meant to serve the end of receiving God's love and sharing that blessing with others. Any "Torah observance" that leads you to "thank God that you are not like other people" (Luke 18:11) is therefore not genuine Torah observance at all, for the heart of the Torah is love, just as love is the Torah of the Gospel (John 15:12).

"Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life" (Isa. 43:4). Receiving this message takes faith that is not based on your human experience. If you really know yourself, that is, if you are conscious of your own inner condition, then you are familiar with the voice of self-rejection and you may harbor the conviction that you are unlovable, unworthy, and essentially unacceptable. This is a place of profound loneliness and exile.... the hell of self-hatred. The deeper Torah of God's love (i.e., the cross), however, looks away from the self to the beauty of the LORD, to the one who calls you "precious and honored," "beloved," "redeemed," "treasured," "my child." Faith in God demands that you understand that he esteems your life as infinitely valuable, and indeed worth the very sacrifice of what is most dear to himself, so that you may know yourself as his beloved.

"Escape for your life. Do not look back...” (Gen. 19:17). You must turn away from what once defined you and never look back... This includes not only turning away from your former sins, but turning away from the guilt and shame of your sins... Living in the past, wallowing in your sin and regretting your mistakes, can cause you to feel worthless and even hopeless. If you feel compelled to revisit your former life, then be sure to do so before the foot of the cross, in light and presence of God’s redemptive love for you. You can't change the past, but you can leave it behind by turning it over to God for healing. Teshuvah (repentance) means accepting who you are in light of God's love and salvation for your soul. “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this, though I am single-minded: I forget the things that are behind and reach out for the things that are ahead ... heeding the upward call of God in Yeshua our Messiah” (Phil. 3:13-14). May you "find yourself in Him, not having a righteousness of your own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Messiah, the righteousness from God that depends on faith” (Phil. 3:9).

Remember that God's way of deliverance is entirely different than man's way. Man tries to suppress the flesh, to cover it up, to justify its failings, or to enlist its power in the battle against sin (i.e., religion), but God's way is to remove the flesh from the equation. The goal is not to make us stronger and stronger, but rather weaker and weaker, until the flesh is “crucified” and only the sufficiency of the Messiah remains. Then we can truly say, "I have been crucified with Messiah. It is no longer I who live, but the Messiah who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal 2:20). The word “Hebrew” (עִבְרִי) means one who has “crossed over” (עָבַר) to the other side, as our father Abraham did (Gen. 14:13). It is on the other side of the cross that we experience the very power that created the universe "out of nothing" (i.e., yesh me'ayin: יֵשׁ מֵאַיִן) and that raised Yeshua the Messiah from the dead. [Hebrew for Christians}

6.24.21 • Facebook

Today’s message (Days of Praise) from the Institute for Creation Research

June 25, 2021

In the Midst

“And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.” (John 20:26)

Jesus, in His earthly life, was often “in the midst” of things. At the age of 12 He was found in the temple, “sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them, and asking them questions” (Luke 2:46). Then, early in His adult ministry, His hometown enemies at Nazareth attempted to kill Him, “but he passing through the midst of them went his way” (Luke 4:30). Later, in Jerusalem, a group of Pharisees sought to stone Him, but He simply went “through the midst of them, and so passed by” (John 8:59).

Finally, however, they were able to put Him to death, and as a bitter testimony of their hatred, they had Him crucified with two common criminals, “on either side one, and Jesus in the midst” (John 19:18). Three days later, the tomb was emptied, and He would never again be in the midst of enemies. Instead, He met His disciples in the upper room.

There, “when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you” (John 20:19). Eight days later, with Thomas present, Jesus once again appeared in their midst and greeted them with reassuring words of peace.

Though now in heaven, His presence still speaks peace to us through His Holy Spirit, for He promised: “Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them” (Matthew 18:20). Even in the ages to come, He will be in our midst, for John says, describing that scene: “In the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain,” and then all creation will sing “unto the Lamb for ever and ever” (Revelation 5:6, 13). HMM

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