#message from the Lord

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Judgment on Egypt

1 The word of יהוה which came to Yirmeyahu the prophet concerning the gentiles:

2 For Mitsrayim, concerning the army of Pharaoh Neḵo, sovereign of Mitsrayim, which was by the River Euphrates in Karkemish, and which Neḇuḵaḏretstsar the sovereign of Baḇel had smitten in the fourth year of Yehoyaqim, son of Yoshiyahu, sovereign of Yehuḏah:

3 “Prepare the large and the small shield, and draw near to battle!

4 “Harness the horses, and mount up, you horsemen! Stand with helmets, polish the spears, put on the armour!

5 “Why do I see them afraid, turned back? And their fighters are beaten down. And they have fled in haste, and did not look back, for fear was all around,” declares יהוה.

6 Do not let the swift flee away, nor the mighty man escape. They shall stumble and fall toward the north, by the River Euphrates.

7 Who is this rising like a flood, whose waters surge about like the rivers?

8 Mitsrayim rises like a flood, and its waters surge about like the rivers. And he says, ‘Let me rise and cover the earth; let me destroy the city and its inhabitants.’

9 Go up, O horses, and rage, O chariots! And let the mighty men go forth – Kush and Put who handle the shield, and Luḏ who handle and bend the bow.

10 For this is the day of the Master יהוה of hosts, a day of vengeance, to revenge Himself on His adversaries. And the sword shall devour, and be satisfied and made drunk with their blood. For the Master יהוה of hosts has a slaughtering in the land of the north by the River Euphrates.

11 Go up to Gil‛aḏ and take balm, O maiden, the daughter of Mitsrayim. In vain you have used many remedies, there is no healing for you.

12 Nations have heard of your shame, and your cry has filled the land. For the mighty has stumbled against the mighty, they have both fallen together.

13 The word which יהוה spoke to Yirmeyahu the prophet, about the coming of Neḇuḵaḏretstsar sovereign of Baḇel, to smite the land of Mitsrayim:

14 “Declare in Mitsrayim, and let it be heard in Mig̅dol. And let it be heard in Noph and in Taḥpanḥes. Say, ‘Stand fast and be prepared, for a sword shall devour all around you.’

15 “Why were your strong ones swept away? They did not stand because יהוה drove them away.

16 “He made many stumble; indeed, they fell over each other, and said, ‘Arise! Let us go back to our own people, and to the land of our birth, away from the oppressing sword.’

17 “There they cried, ‘Pharaoh, sovereign of Mitsrayim, is but a noise. He has let the appointed time pass by!’

18 “As I live,” declares the Sovereign, whose Name is יהוה of hosts, “For as Taḇor is among the mountains, and as Karmel by the sea, he shall come.

19 “O you daughter dwelling in Mitsrayim, prepare yourself to go into exile! For Noph shall become a waste and a ruin, and be burned, without inhabitant.

20 “Mitsrayim is like a very pretty heifer, but destruction comes, it comes from the north.

21 “Her hired ones too, in her midst, are like fattened calves, for they too shall turn, they shall flee away together. They shall not stand, for the day of their calamity has come upon them, the time of their punishment.

22 “Its sound moves along like a serpent, for they move on like an army and come against her with axes, like woodcutters.

23 “They shall cut down her forest,” declares יהוה, “for it is not searched, because they are more numerous than locusts, and without number.

24 “The daughter of Mitsrayim shall be put to shame. She shall be given into the hand of the people of the north.”

25 יהוה of hosts, the Elohim of Yisra’ĕl, has said, “See, I am bringing punishment on Amon of No, and on Pharaoh, and on Mitsrayim, and on their mighty ones, and on their sovereigns, and on Pharaoh and on those trusting in him.

26 “And I shall give them into the hand of those who seek their lives, into the hand of Neḇuḵaḏretstsar sovereign of Baḇel and into the hand of his servants. And afterward it shall be inhabited as in the days of old,” declares יהוה.

27 “But as for you, do not fear, O My servant Ya‛aqoḇ, and do not be discouraged, O Yisra’ĕl! For look, I am saving you from afar, and your descendants from the land of their captivity. And Ya‛aqoḇ shall return, and shall have rest and be at ease, with no one disturbing.

28 “Do not fear, O Ya‛aqoḇ My servant,” declares יהוה, “for I am with you. Though I make a complete end of all the gentiles to which I have driven you, yet I do not make a complete end of youa. But I shall reprove you in right-ruling, and by no means leave you unpunished.” — Jeremiah 46 | The Scriptures (ISR 1998) The Scriptures 1998 Copyright © 1998 Institute for Scripture Research. All Rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 10:13; Genesis 37:25; Exodus 12:12; Exodus 15:9-10; Leviticus 26:36-37; Deuteronomy 32:42; Joshua 9:21; Joshua 12:22; Judges 6:5; 1 Samuel 17:5; 2 Kings 18:21; Psalm 18:14; Psalm 46:7; Isaiah 1:20; Isaiah 5:25; Isaiah 10:13; Isaiah 11:11; Isaiah 19:1-2; Isaiah 19:4; Isaiah 19:13; Isaiah 21:5; Isaiah 30:16; Jeremiah 1:10; Jeremiah 1:14-15; Jeremiah 27:7; Jeremiah 47:2; Matthew 22:4

[muffinlance]

Consider: Post-canon Zuko wakes up in the body of his childhood self, the morning of That War Meeting. Would he still speak against the plans, knowing his fate? What do you think he would do differently the second time around?

"Turned away at the doors, Zuzu?"

"Shut up, Azula," her brother sulked. But sulked weirdly, after staring at her too long and too wide-eyed, not like she'd surprised him but--

But like he hadn't expected her to be there. At all.

He turned away. ...He turned back. "Hey, Lala? Do you think you could help me practice that one set?"

He didn't meet her eyes.

She narrowed hers. "Which set?"

"The one I'm bad at."

She scoffed. Pushed away from the wall she'd been leaning against. "That's all of them, Dum-Dum."

He didn't shout or stomp or yell about the nickname. His lips twitched.

"It's okay," he said. "If you're afraid you won't be a better teacher that my instructor..."

It was the most obvious manipulation ever.

Perhaps if he proved an adequate firebending student, she'd work on his courtly survival skills next. Honestly, it was good that not even Uncle Gets-Cousins-Killed had been fool enough to take Zuko into that war meeting. She could only imagine how terribly that could have gone.

"Keep up," she said, and turned her steps towards the training grounds.

He did. There, and during the katas she ran him through.

Azula kept her eyes narrowed.

"Hey," he asked, "do you know how to bend lightning yet?"

As if he could have missed it, if she'd been able to get more than sparks. "I will soon," she said.

"You will," he agreed, and flowed through his next set. The one she'd only just mastered.

Father didn't notice how weird Zuzu was being. Uncle never noticed anything. Zuko ate dinner and asked a servant for seconds and didn't stutter or flinch or lose his appetite when father asked, coolly, what he'd done with his day. Azula's shoulders tensed, because one mention of how she'd squandered her own training time teaching him--

"Azula hogged the training grounds. For hours," Zuzu scowled, exactly like a petulant thirteen year old.

Exactly like he hadn't been acting all day.

By the time Father was looking her way, Azula had her usual smirk in place. "I'm sure there would be room for both of us," she said, "you're not afraid of a little friendly fire, are you, brother?"

Zuko sulked. And ate his seconds, like he was enjoying each bite. There was something in his eyes, like a joke no one else was getting.

---

Father died that night. A heart attack. There were the faintest of burns to either side of the treacherous organ; the royal physician hypothesized that he'd grabbed at his chest, fingers burning hot in his final moments; so hot they'd only exacerbated the problem.

The royal physician would never have been brought any victims of lighting strikes. Those that occurred in the capital did not generally require a doctor in the aftermath.

Zuzu ate a hearty breakfast.

He didn't order seconds. Azula gave him points, at least, for not being tacky.

---

The sages named Iroh as regent.

They named Zuko as Fire Lord.

"No," the tiny Fire Lord in his perfectly miniaturized Fire Lord robes said, sitting at the head of his war council. "We're not doing that. And I'll be reviewing all recent battle plans, as well. What's this I hear about a division of new recruits being deployed to the front?"

He did not mention how he'd heard of the 41st Division. No one asked.

"Prince Iroh, surely--" one of the generals tried to appeal.

The young Fire Lord's regent was looking as startled as the rest of them, for a moment. Then he sipped his tea, and smiled.

"Your Fire Lord is correct, of course. A change in our leadership--a change the other nations may mistakenly view as weakness--will necessitate a change in our strategy."

"Now," said their lord, "what, exactly, is our overall objective in this war?"

War, the new Fire Lord decreed, was not an end unto itself.

---

The new Fire Lord continued to have time, to pretend to be trained by her. Azula watched him. Adjusted her footwork. Did not tolerate, and was not offered, any commentary on who was teaching who.

"What did you do with my brother?" she asked, as they flowed from one set to the next. As her hands, poised to throw fire, just so happened to be pointed his way.

He missed a step. It didn't look like an act.

"I'm, uh. Right here?"

She didn't bother to dignify that.

He didn't bother to look worried about her hands, one movement off from a true attack.

He looked around, then grabbed her sleeve, and tugged her further from any walls that may hide ears. The royal family's private training grounds were wonderfully large, and wonderfully open.

"It's me," he said. "It's still me. Just. More of me? Longer of me?"

She narrowed her eyes. A familiar expression, by this point. "Explain."

"...I found the Avatar," he said. "And this is definitely his fault, but--but I guess it started at a war meeting, when I was thirteen."

Azula listened. It was a very Dum-Dum story.

[namchyoon]

:') cr. jung-koook

[thatsbelievable]

[the-squeege]

I’ve been a huge fan of Glass Scientists for… what’s it been like… 7 years? Something like that.. anyway I’m super happy to see it getting more recognition AND EVEN GETTING PUBLISHED??? I got volume 2 the other day and in reading the after words about Jasper I figured I HAD to draw him and talk about why he is SO important to me and why I’m so thankful he exists the way he does. There’s so much else I could say about this series and how much I adore it and how important it is to me but for here I’m just gonna focus on Jasper and why he is so incredibly important to me.

also please go read the glass scientists if you haven’t already it’s SO GOOD

It’s.. not something I talk a lot about but to anybody who pays attention to me on here, it’s probably pretty obvious that I’m trans. Or maybe not. My best friends didn’t know for like 2 years until I made a joke about taking my t shots lol.

When I first started reading glass scientists I didn’t know I was trans. And ultimately this isn’t really a story of how I found out, to be completely blunt it kinda just happened and I’m like yeah, I’m way more comfortable this way, this is just who I am.

After coming to terms with being trans, I found a lot of comfort in many of the characters in Glass Scientists. Over the years something really resonated with me more and more about Jasper.. I always appreciated how yeah, he’s a guy and he’s also soft! And sweet! And I know how much of a walking talking trans man stereotype I am but it felt so nice to see a male character acting and feeling the way I do, bad posture and all.

A few years later and the pages where Jasper talks about being trans drop and HOOH BOY

Everything in these few pages just felt so real and personal to me. Like I had lived this experience of coming out before, as it’s something I and many other trans folk have had to do over and over again. The way Jasper talks about his journey, the way Rachel sees him and the way that the story just continues on with Jasper just.. being who he is. Especially in a world with almost no transmasc representation in media???? This was MONUMENTAL for me. I didn’t really know it was possible to be so seen and so understood in a piece of media.

The real kicker was Rachel’s line about how Jasper must have been so uncomfortable. As someone who’s been lucky enough to have a lot of support, and a loving partner who has been nothing short of incredibly kind and patient and understanding, that line just. I dunno it makes me tear up a little (a lot) every time I read it. That understanding and acknowledgment in those few little words means the world to me.

I wanted to write this out and be a lil vulnerable here after reading how Sage was worried about their portrayal of Jasper. Idk if they’d ever see this, but I wanted to get it out there that as a trans man myself, Jasper is perfect. I’m so thankful that Jasper exists in the story as he does, and that so much love and care went into portraying him. I get the same feeling reading that scene with Rachel and Jasper as I’ve had being comforted by friends and family. It’s so personal and touching. Thank you for writing Jasper the way he is <3

[seventh-district]

Figured I'd try my hand at some Redacted character post/text edits!

[ 1 / ? ]

Credit to @/sainthowlzon for all the Listener icons, and to @/elisacaleisa for their google drive with all the canon icons!

(slightly alternative version of the Solaires' GC edit below the cut bc i had a lil too much fun with what Vincent would name his contacts)

[pixxl-sunsets]

Daily-but-not-really-daily clairaudient wisdom from Apollo:

Take the time to focus on what is.

[jesus-holding-your-fave]

once again i come to remind y’all:

At the moment, requests are CLOSED!

the status of my requests is on the top of my pinned post, always has been and always will be

[thesummerstorms]

I just think it would be really funny if the candlehops followed Rook de Riva back to Antiva.

[locksnrocks]

more Soohyun thoughts

the king of entering a scene BY YELLING A LINE and then saying the next sentence in a calmer, yet still threatening tone. Marching into the workplace? YELL at the employee standing there quietly on his phone. Bring his car to a screeching stop at a cross walk to stop that same employee from walking home? Exit the vehicle YELLING and then continue normally (but angry). Same poor guy not wanting to go to lunch with him later? Demand he quit his current role and when he is not happy about that YELL at him. Follow same dude when he flees the vehicle. YELL some more and scratch his face (unintentionally) (but evidence that Soohyun is in fact a wet cat in a human body).

Manhwa Soohyun wasn't much for yelling. He did pull the "lurk outside of Daon's place every single day and make him spend the night with me" card. And he was so committed to getting to Daon once he was back that Jaemin made Daon move to his vacation house to keep him away.

Did anyone else start quietly cheering for Soohyun at the scene where he is sitting at his desk holding the ointment/bandages? Like, yes king, look at you reflecting on the unintended consequences of your actions and experiencing some genuine remorse for the damage you wrought- and oh, never mind, he almost immediately tosses them aside and starts angrily scheming to ruin Daon's work. Way to reflect, look at and acknowledge the responsible option, and deliberately choose not to improve. I couldn't help but laugh.

ALSO! In the scenario where there is no Seonghyun (in the show): Would Soohyun get his way? No Seong to enter the scene doesn't change Soohyun coming back, but without Seong's support Daon is in a significantly -weaker?- position to rebuff Soo's advances. That actually goes for both Soohyun and Jaemin, but in my definitely not biased at all opinion no sir not me, I think Soohyun would pull ahead in the end. He is just more upfront aggressive + has more access through the workplace.

I imagine it would get to the work dinner scene where Soohyun finds out Jaemin orchestrated that one guy undressing Daon & taking pics to really light the fuse. That leads to Soo outright telling Daon about Jaemin's machinations, Daon denies, but doubt is already sown through his sister's remarks just like we saw, confrontation with Jaemin - here's where I can't decide if that would go down the same with a Daon who hasn't had a peek at what authentic affection (too early to say love?) looks like thanks to Seong. But let's say Daon stays strong, doesn't stick around Jaemin. Then... yup, Soohyun's there and just keeps at it until Daon cracks.

Wait! The ring confession scene happened before the Jaemin confrontation scene... okay, I stand by the same conclusion - with even more gusto now because it was Seonghyun's words that Daon recalled during Soo asking to start over. Without that, Daon would be 1. already rejected earlier by Jaemin, and 2. Facing his first crush and just given The Ring of Too Big Feelings. I think Daon would crack right there. Nostalgia, or just an exhaustion of having to continuously rebuff this -raging lunatic- who also happens to be his boss's Boss. Who among us would hold out??

Then to hammer in the nail, Soohyun could go on and still reveal what Jaemin did, and then for funsies he goes with Daon to confront Jaemin. Then we could either say:

Let the Poly Flag Fly - something something and then the three of them reignite their toxic throuple-adjacent bubble of their uni days but for real this time. Like an 80% chance Daon ends up atticwife-d. No one goes to therapy.

Catfight: Soohyun physically attacks Jaemin / Jaemin physically attacks Soohyun. Bonus points for this happening if Soo doesn't reveal he is there initially until Jaemin's facade cracks and he tries to move in on Daon. Then Soo charges in. by the laws of drama convenience, no one goes to jail and Soohyun gets what he wants and no one goes to therapy.

Is it exactly a happy ending for Daon - eh, Soohyun's temper is going to be a forever problem stemming from his family issues, so no? Show Soo at least never choked Daon out like in the webcomic so yay for that way to hit the bare minimum babe. Soohyun would probably also still stop the whole going to the overseas branch project because why would he let Daon go away from him. But damn, did the Soohyun x Daon ship of their school days get royally screwed over by Jaemin.

Smarter than me writers could make this work, dang it.

by this i mean the evil polycule

[secretlocket]

it doesnt feel like christmas 😔

i think the extreme excitement i used to have for holidays ended when i was about 11-13ish. like yeah i’m still happy but not as i used to be

[yourbelgianthings]

the adventure zone balance (episode 66) / phoebe bridgers (i know the end) / iain thomas (the light that shines when things end) / welcome to night vale (episode 88- things fall apart) / audre lorde (movement song)

[dcawritings]

me @ dca in 'canon' outfits: ah my good boys, love them, adorable little jesters

me @ dca when someone puts them in like, normal clothes: Oh my god i need to fuck them right now, sexiest thing i've ever seen boy howdy Sunny please let me seduce you out of those tight jeans and that loose shirt you slu-

[bizarrebazaar13]

Oooo can I request a Nemesis userbox? Like "this user has embarked on a path of vengeance" or something? - @lord-emerson

I made multiple! the poison one is more specific my own nemesis oc but considering all the poison involved in the ambition, I think it could apply to others too :)

[dathen]

Okay actual Blorbo Wrapped for 2023 (in attempted chronological order) (focusing on new/particularly more intense than usual blorbos for brevity’s sake)

Professor Aronnax, Conseil, Ned Land, Captain Nemo (20k Leagues under the Sea) (yes I need to name every single one)

Sherlock Holmes

Cassandra Sithe (my TTRPG character)

Victor Frankenstein

Xenk (DnD movie)

Mina Harker

Maruki (Persona 5 Royal)

The Spot (Across the Spiderverse)

Major Hob, Chirp Featherfowl (ACOFAF)

Cui Buqu, Pei Jingzhe (Peerless)

Ballister Boldheart (Nimona movie)

Sissel, Yomiel (Ghost Trick)

Arlo Black, Howard Margrove (Candela Obscura)

Nona, Camilla (The Locked Tomb)

Walter Hartright (The Woman in White)

The Fix, Imelda Pulse (Mentopolis)

Laudna, Fearne, Imogen (Critical Role)

Zulf (Bastion)

Resh’an (Sea of Stars)

Arthur Holmwood

Inspector Lestrade (Granada Holmes)

Rocky, Ryland Grace (Project Hail Mary)

Otto von Chriek (The Truth)

Oscar (Malevolent)

Blorbo-in-laws include Asterion (BG3), Basil Hallward (Dorian Gray), all of Helen’s danmei faves, and Varney the Vampire.

Jesper and Inej from Six of Crows are blorbos-in-process.

[randomnameless]

"#also can we talk about how lorenz is apparently looking for a bride and how#his dad hasn't arranged a wedding since he was 4 to a noble heiress or something?#the barbarians had that with Ingrid and Glenn" I was thinking how weird that is since the empire also does it (Ferd with Bern) but iirc there was that shadow text about someone from Daphnel being in an arranged marriage so I guess House Gloucester is a "the person chooses who to marry not the parents"? Then I thought about (1/2)

Greg's deal with Ludwig to marry their heirs was interesting on paper, but cancelled due to Bernie being, well, Bernie.

You can interpret kid!Emile meeting kid!Constance as Baron Bartels wanting to secure a wedding between his son and the elusive House Nuvelle's heir... but that's only conjecture.

But let's be serious a moment, doylist wise, we couldn't have too many arranged marriages, because the player is supposed to be able to ship whoever they want and even have Billy marry everyone - even the disembodied gremlin in their head :(

There was nothing taboo, or said to be taboo in Nopes, about Matthias snagging an Adrestian to Barbarian Land (tm), or House Gautier frowning because Lady Gautier 1 was an Adrestian - if she was a noble... it opens another can of worms, can you imagine Miklan being Caspar's cousin, if Lady Gautier 1 was, idk, a noble daughter from House Bergliez? Let say she was, Miklan couldn't inherit Gautier because no crust, but what about his stance/role/title in Bergliez? Could he just roll over Caspar's older bro (never named) if he had more muhrit or something like that, and become Leopold's heir - even if he's part Faerghan?

As you noticed, we had instances of arranged marriages with the shadow note about House Daphnel - are we really supposed to believe the traditional House Gloucester, who puts much emphasis on its lineage and what not, would have let Lorenz pick anyone (even if he has his own criteria!) while Erwin wouldn't have arranged anything at his birth??

Jugdral wise we could have some "doomed by inheritance" pairings in the second gen, where Patty would have to return to Jungby as its Duchess if her bro Faval inherits something else (or died),even if she married, say, Ced who's staying as the King of Silesse.

But for all of its supposed "Jugdral inspiration", Fodlan didn't go there, so we will never know what happens with international marriages and their potential consequences.

Fodlan HC : Ionius's great-grandmother (who was a concubine!) was a scion of House Blaiddyd so Gertrude, Supreme Leader's second oldest sister, popped up a minor crust of Blaiddyd at birth.

Of course tensions arose between Gertrude's mom and Ionius (because the relationships between Faerghus and Adrestia were soured since Lambert beat Ludwig during the Battle of the Eagle and the Lion during their year together at GM) and she was exiled. Gertrude was designed to be the first kid to be "experimented upon".