#obstinacy

[tabernacleheart]

[Obstinate sinners] do the devil’s lusts, the lusts which he would have [his servants] to fulfil; [such sinful men] gratify and please him, and comply with his temptation, and are led captive by him at his will; [they even] do those lusts which the devil himself fulfils. Fleshly lusts and worldly lusts the devil tempts men to; but, being a spirit, he cannot fulfil them himself. The [particular and signature] lusts of the devil are spiritual wickedness; the lusts of the intellectual powers, and their corrupt reasonings; pride and envy, and wrath and malice; enmity to that which is good, and enticing others to that which is evil; these are lusts which the devil fulfils, and those who are under the dominion of these lusts resemble the devil, as the child does the parent. The more there is of contemplation of sin, and contrivance to sin, and secret complacency in sin, the more that sin resembles the lusts of the devil, [because] the more there is of the will in these lusts, the more there is of the devil in them. When sin is committed of choice and not by surprise, with pleasure and not with reluctancy, when it is persisted in with a daring presumption and a desperate resolution... then the sinner [is said to] do [not only his own, but even] the devil’s lusts. ...See what reason we have to stand upon our guard against the wiles of the devil, and never to hearken to him (for he is a murderer, and certainly aims to do us mischief, even when he speaks fair), and to wonder that he who is the murderer of the children of men should yet be, by their own consent, so much their master. 

Matthew Henry

[seymourmusicclub]

Orchestra Cometa - Obstinacy (1976)

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

by Thomas Manton | Because there is so much corruption in a man that hindereth the soul from believing in Jesus Christ, that it cannot be done away without the Spirit's manifestation. There is a double seat of this corruption—the mind and the heart. First, in the mind there is ignorance and unteachableness. Secondly, In the heart there is obstinacy and carelessness...

[freewriterevangeline]

Jason did missions for the Agency in his teen years and college. Unofficially. So it was natural for him to be recruited by the NSA out of college. He studied abroad several places. Went on summer tours of countries. He didn't like to be tied down, so he changed majors several times. But in the end he acknowledged the Agency was the best fit for him. He couldn't float around forever. (Perhaps he took a semester off as well. And perhaps got into some trouble, so he agreed he needed to "settle down" into something. And something that led to adventure and a lot of independence?! Sign me up. Still even with such a job he didn't like having to do what was Expected. Though he ended up liking it. He knew this. Oh Jason!!)

[wickedzeevyln]

While You Can

Run, run while you can;while your toes can spring from the asphalt;while time is on your sideand the wind is behind you,and the world is a trail of blur. The cartilage of your joints,fresh and oleaginous,pliable as your young mind,can take you to your destiny;can satiate wanderlust,a bitter aftertaste for a time long goneof a weary spirittenant to a rigid flesh. Breathethe scent of life in.Let…

[counter-culture-christian]

If them, in their ignorance were told the truth with the hopes to enlighten them yet they fail to consider or recognize what has been said and that indeed it is truth. . .they have lost the hope of being freed, because in their obstinacy of their ideologies they now continue in ignorance but also in greater darkness than before they were told the truth.

[vin100sblog]

« L'obstination est le chemin de la réussite. »

— Une citation motivante de Charlie Chaplin, acteur et réalisateur britannique

[plusanimablog]

Chapter 5: 3+1=5

Cooro and the boys are gathering berries before settling around a campfire, all while being watched by Nana. Husky and Cooro ponder about staying in the nearby city before Nana jumps out of the bushes to tell them to follow her. She leads them to a stunned deer, Nana having taken it down with her ultrasound attack. She tells them to kill it but Cooro and Husky have never hunted before so they're useless. Senri tries to slit its throat with a knife but the deer wakes up, kicks him in the face and runs off.

Now foodless, Nana whines about being hungry before Cooro shares their food with her, much to Husky's consternation. Everybody enjoys good snake meat before chat time. Husky asks if Nana was kicked out but Nana says she left by herself. She wanted to move but somewhere else but she's a young girl, she can't travel by herself. So she wants to go where they're going. The guys are nomads so it's not like they can just settle down, earlier conversation notwithstanding, so they can't exactly refuse. They finally formally introduce themselves to each other...save Husky, who's giving Nana the cold shoulder. And saying outright that she can't travel with them.

Why? Because Husky hates girls, that's why. Cooro is confused, noting that Nana did steal Husky's pearls but he's still having an extreme reaction. Nana apologizes but Husky drops the ultimatum: she stays, he leaves.

Stomping off, Husky looks for a river to escape to before Cooro follows him, asking him to come back. Husky refuses, saying that he can't travel with them or keep his promise to go with Cooro as long as Nana is in the group. When Cooro asks if the promise was why Husky was traveling with them, Husky says yes. Cooro then tells him to forget the promise, flying off while telling him goodbye.

Even Nana's like "Brah..." when he comes back so casually without Husky. Cooro correctly points out that Husky doesn't want to come back so there's nothing he can do outside of force him to, which he won't do. Nana then asks if Cooro knows what obstinacy is...

(Why did this come up when I typed the word into the GIF generator?)

Nana goes after Husky who jumps into a river to stay away from her. Calling him out for being a punky punk punk, Nana tells him to come back already. Husky refuses and Nana tries to drag him out of the water, saying that if she comes back empty-handed, it'll make her look bad. Also, it's getting dark out...which scares the explicitly-able-to-see-in-the-dark Nana out of her wits, to Husky's confusion.

FLASHBACK TIME

Nana used to live with a mom and dad. Her dad was an alcoholic fuckhead who used to beat her mom in front of her. Nana stabbed her dad with scissors one day and he didn't like that...

Back to Nana panicking in the forest. Husky runs over to stop her mid-freak out as she screams about her dad coming after her. Cooro and Senri find them and lead them back, Nana clinging to Husky all the while.

Nana explains that her dad was a shithead, hitting her and her mom. She stabbed him and fled, activating her +Anima as she was fleeing from him in the dark of the forest. Still, trauma being what it is, she's still scared of the dark due to the incident. She awkwardly asks Husky if he'll stay. Husky grumpily notes that if she looks bad because of him, he'll look bad too so he has to stay. So that's that.

In a random city, a priest hears of a boy with black wings, figuring out it's Cooro.

End of chapter.

BONUS STUFF FROM END OF VOLUME:

Cooro is 4'7, 77 pounds and loves apples.

Husky is 4'6, 74 pounds and loves gems.

Senri is 5'7, 133 pounds and loves small flowers.

Nana is 4'4, 65 pounds and loves cute clothes, flowers, ribbons, etc.

[tenth-sentence]

Obstinate silence.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" - J.R.R. Tolkien

[hobgoblinsandpeachfuzz]

no stay i don't care what you've said or done, don't go away, not now when life has just begun. come back and be the woman who i knew, help me to believe in you...

what on earth am i to do?

nothing gold can stay

[snickerdoodlles]

📚

❤!

so. i have beef with thai university bl's engineering and architect bias. not even about them getting the majors terribly wrong, like whatever movies and shows never get them right anyways, but university majors can tell us so much about a character. is the major something they've always wanted to do, was it picked on a whim, was it picked for their parents, is it a good fit, is it a bad fit, etc etc etc. it can be big insight into the facets of their character (ala the boys from not me) or the things they like and connect over (Kim and Chay from kinnporsche) and more. and while college majors don't have to be like, a big thing or relevant to all characters, if you're in the university genre, you really ought to be thinking about this sort of thing.

which brings me to love in the air: where, ironically, mr. background character Sig gets this development and none of the actual fucking mains do. (lita, i love you, but your writers certainly made choices.) but i'm not here to talk about my beloved Sig, i'm here to talk about my darling Sky.

given that Sky's dorm is absolutely covered in art and he has art reference shirts, i headcanon that Sky actually wanted to be an art major. he loves painting cityscapes and anything with brilliant colors. half his shirts were picked up from museums and event gallerias. but, after Gun and pulling himself back together, the guidance counselor asked one "you want to be an art major? but that's so...risky" and all of Sky's fresh wounds and insecurities slammed into him like a truck and he asked what would be a smarter choice then. the guidance counselor rattled off a list of ""practical"" art-inclined majors and Sky, perhaps drawn to the idea of building something new and lasting, chose architecture.

which! is a pretty good fit for him! he's good at it, he likes his classes, he likes twisting the assignments to fit his own visions. but that's all it is: a good fit he can settle for.

so, the fic proper:

it's third year. Sky's stressed over deadlines and midterms. and Prapai's watching him from the couch, concerned, because he's used to Sky's frantic energy this time of the semester, but this feels...different. but Sky rarely thinks to say things out loud when he's trapped in a storm of negativity, so it's up to Prapai to gently put his hand on Sky's shoulder and ask him what's wrong.

midterms, projects, club paperwork, next weeks' internship interview, Sky thinks. "this isn't FUN anymore," bursts out Sky, then immediately snaps his mouth shut because he did not mean to say that.

and Prapai doesn't let it go. Sky has a model due at 8am tomorrow that's only half-finished, but Prapai pulls him into the other room and gets him a glass of water and they talk. at first, Sky deflects, saying it's just stress, but Prapai hits him with the soulfully worried puppy eyes and next thing Sky knows, he's talking about how he's always loved art and had wanted to be an art major originally, but that's just not the smart thing to do and how architecture is a good place for him, really, he just also sometimes gets caught up in what ifs but really, he's fine. they've been talking for an hour and Sky's model is due in a few hours, but somehow Sky's not even thinking about that as he curls up into Prapai's shoulder and just breathes, feeling lighter than he has in weeks after getting that off his chest.

"so why don't you switch majors?" Prapai asks.

"don't be stupid, i can't do that," Sky retorts automatically.

"why not?" Prapai insists.

"i... but i... you can't... what."

Sky tries to say it'd be smarter if he just finished his current architect degree. Prapai asks why he should force himself through at least another 2.5 years of architecture if he doesn't even want to do it afterwards. Sky blurts out he never said that, then immediately changes the subject to what if he isn't good enough for art. Prapai counters he believes in him and that Sky will grow as he learns more. Sky insists it will take him even longer to graduate and find a job. Prapai says the time will pass anyways.

it's overwhelming. Sky drops the subject and returns to his model, which he only half focuses on. Prapai pulls an all-nighter with him, taking over the actual cutting since Sky's spacing, and encourages Sky to finish his other work. Sky goes to his desk and mostly stares at his assignment. the model gets done but the report doesn't, and when the professor yells at him the next day and asks why he wants to be an architect, Sky just stares at him for a good twenty seconds before going, "i don't." then bows to the professor and walks out.

the transition to an art major isn't fully smooth. Prapai jokes that he'll bribe the entire administration department if he has to to get Sky what he wants and Sky hits him for that, even as he's smiling. the actual switch turns out to be less painful that Sky anticipated (which is a low bar, the switch was growing into a full apocalypse in that boy's head). even his time in university isn't expected to be much longer than he'd originally planned for. it still doesn't take away how nerve-wracking the whole thing is for him because he's very much relying on Prapai to help smooth out any potential bumps. it's all worth it after he takes his first color theory class and feels like he's truly settled in.

sometime later, Prapai's parents have a soiree or dinner party or whatever it is rich people do, which Sky and Prapai also attend (and Sky zones out through the business chatter but delights in being Prapai's arm candy to the jealous), and eventually they wander over to where a small group of people are admiring and praising one of the artworks hanging on the wall. Sky's thinking "ooo art talk instead of business talk," then does a complete double take because that's his art. nearly yanks Prapai's hand off his wrist because what the fuck that's his art people are talking about his art, WHY ARE PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT HIS ART.

"...do you not like it?" Prapai asks, concerned, "i told you that my mom would like it, when i asked if i could give it to her..."

Sky makes a noise not unlike a deflated balloon. "but you! she! you were just being nice!!!!"

Prapai blinks. "my mom's on the board of three art museums, she doesn't bullshit when she says she likes your art."

Sky makes another deflated balloon sound. Prapai gently spirits him away to a private room and Sky Stares at him, confused.

"but i'm... i don't... i haven't grown that much, i'm still learning, i'm not that good..." Sky squeezes his hands, and asks in a very small voice, "they like it?"

Prapai gently squeezes back. "Sky... the person who said your art isn't good"--(they both scowl here, they don't need to say his name out loud to know who Prapai's referring to)--"maybe they said your art was bad not because it was true, but just because it would hurt."

(Sky's face scrunches at that. Prapai holds him as he turns those words over in his mind.)

"do you want to tell them that you're the artist? we don't have to if you don't want to, we can keep it anonymous if you'd prefer."

if takes Sky a minute before he nods and says he wants to tell people it's his work. then Prapai takes him back out and after a few moments of shyness, Sky comes out of his shell and Prapai delights in being his arm candy for the rest of the night.

[[ ask me about fic im not writing ]]

[baravaggio]

btw shevek was so real for this…just two bros reasserting trust

[lonelychicago]

[lemonsrosesandlavender]

Last Line

Thanks @forget-me-maybe for the tag! Rules: share the last sentence you wrote, and tag as many people as there are words.

… wow would you look at that, it’s C21 of Planar Tears again lol. I’ve got one thing on the brain and it’s THIS FUCKING CHAPTER. Ahem:

How foolish of him.

(For once, I’m sticking to the actual rules, with ONE sentence! And… four words = four people so… @dutifullylazybread , @cactusmisslittle , @theycallmeratt and @kimberbohwrites consider yourself tagged!!)

[relicsongmel]

Currently crying in the club on a Wednesday afternoon over this journal entry from my mom’s camera roll

[baladric]

trying to decide if "i will NOT read ANYTHING about HOW TO MAKE COMICS OR A GRAPHIC NOVEL or take ANY artistic class or do ANYTHING to EDUCATE MYSELF that isn't FIGURING SHIT OUT ON THE FLY" is a good hill to die on, as i begin designing my first graphic novel, or. not