#prophet-rebellion

[canisalbus]

I showed one of my friend tiny Machete eating bread and she thought he was a goat 😭

I love tiny bread Machete!

.

[cdr2002]

Mirror universe thoughts again (basically this whole account at this point outside of the Mortal Kombat stuff lmao)

When we first meet Intendant Kira, she’s in command of the station. Over the course of Crossover, she loses Sisko and Odo. The former starts the rebellion and the latter is killed.

By the end of DS9, Prime Kira is in command of the station. She lost Sisko and Odo, to the Prophets and the Great Link in her case.

Damn.

Thy fearful symmetry indeed

[forthedancingandthethriving]

(In order)

Valerie - The current leader of the Rebellion. The rebellion consists of mermaids, sirens, some humans/sentient creatures from the Mushroom Kingdom, and more. Mermaids and sirens of the newer generations have evolved fins on the sides of their face. Valerie is very caring towards the Rebellion, but also knows that Empress Moria is not one to be underestimated.

Bedelia - The second-in-command of the Rebellion. She's much older than she looks, due to the difference in aging for sea creatures compared to those on land. Despite this, she still gets nervous and hopes for, one day, a resolution to the tyrannical rule of Moria.

Gabriel - He's the current apprentice to the bodyguard of the prophet. He takes his job incredibly seriously and he will not hesitate to leap into action. War and violence is all he's ever known, and he hopes to end it one day.

Alessia - The current bodyguard of the prophet. Like Gabriel, she takes her job seriously, but she does tend to be very laid back whenever she can be. She hopes to teach Gabriel that life isn't all about war.

Nevia - The prophet. She sees past and future and knows exactly who Moria is, why she is the way she is, and the outcome of the Rebellion. She often hides herself away in her sanctum, unable to cope with what she knows. She even knows who started the rebellion in the first place. Diana and Juliano started it together until Juliano gave up once he realized what exactly Moria had done to Diana. Nevia hopes to eventually free Diana to give the rebellion some hope.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Jeremiah Confronted by a False Prophet

1 The following events occurred in that same year, early in the reign of King Zedekiah of Judah. To be more precise, it was the fifth month of the fourth year of his reign. The prophet Hananiah son of Azzur, who was from Gibeon, spoke to Jeremiah in the Lord’s temple in the presence of the priests and all the people. 2 “The Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon. 3 Before two years are over, I will bring back to this place everything that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon took from it and carried away to Babylon. 4 I will also bring back to this place Jehoiakim’s son King Jeconiah of Judah and all the exiles who were taken to Babylon.’ Indeed, the Lord affirms, ‘I will break the yoke of servitude to the king of Babylon.’”

5 Then the prophet Jeremiah responded to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the Lord’s temple. 6 The prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do all this! May the Lord make your prophecy come true! May he bring back to this place from Babylon all the valuable articles taken from the Lord’s temple and the people who were carried into exile. 7 But listen to what I say to you and to all these people. 8 From earliest times, the prophets who preceded you and me invariably prophesied war, disaster, and plagues against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 So if a prophet prophesied peace and prosperity, it was only known that the Lord truly sent him when what he prophesied came true.”

10 The prophet Hananiah then took the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck and broke it. 11 Then he spoke up in the presence of all the people. “The Lord says, ‘In the same way I will break the yoke of servitude of all the nations to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon before two years are over.’” After he heard this, the prophet Jeremiah departed and went on his way.

12 But shortly after the prophet Hananiah had broken the yoke off the prophet Jeremiah’s neck, the Lord spoke to Jeremiah. 13 “Go and tell Hananiah that the Lord says, ‘You have indeed broken the wooden yoke. But you have only succeeded in replacing it with an iron one! 14 For the Lord God of Israel who rules over all says, “I have put an irresistible yoke of servitude on all these nations so they will serve King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. And they will indeed serve him. I have even given him control over the wild animals.” 15 Then the prophet Jeremiah told the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah! The Lord did not send you! You are making these people trust in a lie! 16 So the Lord says, ‘I will most assuredly remove you from the face of the earth. You will die this very year because you have counseled rebellion against the Lord.’”

17 In the seventh month of that very same year the prophet Hananiah died. — Jeremiah 28 | New English Translation (NET Bible) NET Bible copyright © 1996-2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved. Cross References: Genesis 7:4; Exodus 32:12; Leviticus 26:14; Deuteronomy 18:22; Deuteronomy 28:48; Joshua 9:3; Joshua 10:12; 1 Kings 1:36; 1 Kings 14:15; 1 Kings 22:28; 2 Kings 24:13; 2 Kings 25:27; 1 Chronicles 3:19; 2 Chronicles 36:10; Psalm 107:16; Jeremiah 1:2; Jeremiah 7:8; Jeremiah 14:14; Jeremiah 15:12; Jeremiah 20:6; Jeremiah 22:10; Jeremiah 25:11; Jeremiah 27:2; Jeremiah 27:10; Jeremiah 27:12; Jeremiah 29:1; Jeremiah 37:19; Ezekiel 33:33; 1 Corinthians 14:16

[leaving-fragments]

also reading prophet song atm and it is... bleak. like it took a while to get into it because i was expecting a sci-fi-esque dystopia setting, but it's just very... real. and it continues to be very everyday and that makes it so much more frightening

[valorums]

RELATIONSHIP DYNAMIC TAGS

╰──➢  ⠀the crowning jewel of the republic ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑽𝑰𝑺𝑼𝑨𝑳𝑺

╰──➢  ⠀songbird trapped in a gilded cage⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑫𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑶𝑵𝑺

╰──➢  ⠀all i ask of you⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑩𝑶𝑿 𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑷𝑶𝑵𝑺𝑬

╰──➢  ⠀wishing you were somehow here again⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑨𝑺𝑲𝑩𝑶𝑿 𝑷𝑹𝑶𝑴𝑷𝑻𝑺

╰──➢  ⠀this is the queue of no return⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑸𝑼𝑬𝑼𝑬

╰──➢  ⠀far too many notes for my taste ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑺𝑪𝑹𝑰𝑷𝑻𝑼𝑹𝑬𝑺

╰──➢  ⠀why have you brought me here? ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑫𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑩𝑶𝑨𝑹𝑫 𝑮𝑨𝑴𝑬

╰──➢  ⠀it’s over now; the music of the night ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑨𝑹𝑪𝑯𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑫

╰──➢  ⠀a hot mess inside a dumpster fire inside a trainwreck ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑶𝑼𝑻 𝑶𝑭 𝑪𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑨𝑪𝑻𝑬𝑹

╰──➢  ⠀gaslight. gatekeep. girlboss. ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑶𝑹𝑰𝑮𝑰𝑵𝑨𝑳 𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑾𝑶𝑹𝑲

╰──➢  ⠀we’ll go from there ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑫𝒀𝑵𝑨𝑴𝑰𝑪 𝑴𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺

╰──➢  ⠀i make my own sunshine ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀𝑴𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑵𝑮𝑺

╰──➢  ⠀press conferences with secretary valorum⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀ 𝑷𝑼𝑩𝑳𝑰𝑪𝑰𝑻𝒀

╰──➢  ⠀some things never change ⠀⠀ ✧ ⠀⠀𝑺𝑻𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑪𝑨𝑳𝑳

( 𝑬𝑿𝑪𝑳𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑽𝑬 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / dooku’s protégé ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀even the shadows are worthy of love ⠀⠀—⠀⠀fallesto

( 𝑬𝑿𝑪𝑳𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑽𝑬 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / house serenno’s lost heiress ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀once upon a december ⠀⠀—⠀⠀fallesto

( 𝑬𝑿𝑪𝑳𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑽𝑬 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / prophetic and dyadic ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀the redeemer and her chosen one ⠀⠀—⠀⠀forcenexus

( 𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑬 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / force sensitive ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀force suppressed⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon divergent

( 𝑨𝑳𝑻𝑬𝑹𝑵𝑨𝑻𝑬 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / modern ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀first daughter of the united states⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon divergent

( 𝑴𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / the phantom menace ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀first daughter of the galactic republic⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon compliant

( 𝑴𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / the clone wars ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀the republic’s greatest hope⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon compliant

( 𝑴𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / rise of the empire ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀architect of the republic’s demise⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon compliant

( 𝑴𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / rebellion sympathizer ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀the twice condemned traitor⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon compliant

( 𝑴𝑨𝑰𝑵 𝑼𝑵𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑺𝑬 / resistance general ) ⠀⠀ ଽ ⠀⠀never underestimate the elderly⠀⠀—⠀⠀canon compliant

[anghraine]

My mostly-instrumental playlist jumping to "This Is War" while I was putting together a SW post got me thinking about my old habit of watching SW+This Is War fanvids and categorizing how they assigned the roles, esp OT-era ones.

My personal opinion of some appropriate OT-era movie assignments is:

The Good: lots of options actually (the Rebellion generally is best in my books)

The Evil: the Empire, various specific Imperial characters, etc (most comical if it's Motti being choked though)

The Soldier: Jyn and Cassian, or if only going OT, shots of Rebel soldiers or stormtroopers (one incorporating the PT would do better with clonetroopers though)

The Civilian: Baze and Chirrut or Bail Organa or Mon Mothma or Lando in ESB or Han (add PT and definitely Padmé)

The Martyr: Alderaan (or Bail specifically if you want a person) :(

The Victim: Owen and Beru (or Alderaan, or the Rogue One team generally/anyone on it)

The Prophet: probably Yoda (or weirdly enough, Palpatine—lots of emphasis on his foresight!)

The Liar: Palpatine (or Obi-Wan, lmao)

The Honest: it'd be pretty funny if it were Vader, but I'd go Chewbacca

The Leader: got to be Leia (could also be Mon Mothma)

The Pariah: Obi-Wan or Yoda or ANH Han

The Victor: Luke (or, depending, Luke and Leia)

The Messiah: Anakin, of course (I object to anyone else for this one!)

[mindfulldsliving]

Understanding the Three Days of Darkness in 3 Nephi 8

In our study, we'll explore the themes of prophecy being realized and the intensity of divine signs. We understand that this chapter is crucial for its theological implications

In-depth Analysis of 3 Nephi 8: Miracles, Darkness, and Prophetic Lessons 3 Nephi 8 in the Book of Mormon is a chapter that many of us find both awe-inspiring and sobering. This section captures a moment of profound divine intervention, as the land is engulfed in darkness and destruction following Christ’s crucifixion. The vivid imagery in this account not only fulfills prophecy but also acts as…

[heartofashepherd]

“Can Two Walk Together, Except They Be Agreed?” (Amos 1-3) - Sunday AM, ...

[lordgodjehovahsway]

Deuteronomy 13: Moses Commands The Israelites To Not Listen To False Prophets That Want Them To Worship Other Gods

1 If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, 

2 and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” 

3 you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. 

4 It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. 

5 That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you.

6 If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods that neither you nor your ancestors have known, 

7 gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), 

8 do not yield to them or listen to them. Show them no pity. Do not spare them or shield them. 

9 You must certainly put them to death. Your hand must be the first in putting them to death, and then the hands of all the people. 

10 Stone them to death, because they tried to turn you away from the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. 

11 Then all Israel will hear and be afraid, and no one among you will do such an evil thing again.

12 If you hear it said about one of the towns the Lord your God is giving you to live in 

13 that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known), 

14 then you must inquire, probe and investigate it thoroughly. And if it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done among you, 

15 you must certainly put to the sword all who live in that town. You must destroy it completely, both its people and its livestock. 

16 You are to gather all the plunder of the town into the middle of the public square and completely burn the town and all its plunder as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. That town is to remain a ruin forever, never to be rebuilt, 

17 and none of the condemned things are to be found in your hands. Then the Lord will turn from his fierce anger, will show you mercy, and will have compassion on you. He will increase your numbers, as he promised on oath to your ancestors— 

18 because you obey the Lord your God by keeping all his commands that I am giving you today and doing what is right in his eyes.

[ultrachoppedpenguinbouquet]

Jeremiah 27

[justana0kguy]

2024 JANUARY 15 Monday

"Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission than the fat of rams. For a sin like divination is rebellion, and presumption is the crime of idolatry."

~ 1 Samuel 15:22b-23a

[mc-critical]

Putting Sol's tags here, because they once again hit the nail on the head!

It's interesting to see how Mahidevran, Hatice and Gülfem's different yet overlapping relationships with outside forces (soothsayers, the superstitious/the "magical" and the "divine" in particular) form and feed into their core mindsets and views of their experiences.

Gülfem starts off rather as a background figure, so we learn more about her experiences and what exact role the outside forces have played in her processing later on. She's seen their harm, but she's also embraced the good they bring. They've caused all the bad in her life but that's why it's almost like they are the only ones aware of the full extent of her pain, hence joining in her hardships (E43: "Only Allah and I know how much I've suffered") - they're all she's left when even what small things she's established for herself in the harem are taken away, thus, unlike either Mahidevran or Hatice, she separates the outside forces from her pain altogether, pinning the blame only on herself (as seen by her scene with SS in E15). How can they be a part of her pain when she can confide in them so much? She's gained the support of others, sure, but her past isn't really brought up by anyone except herself when push comes to shove: that only stays inside her and within all those outside forces that dictate everyone's fates' grasp, the grasp of one force in particular: Allah. Gülfem goes with fate's flow, with Allah's flow (fate and Allah are constant here, but Allah is put at the most personal), only he can really console her and make everything better. What's done is done and even seeking justice is pointless, as only Allah will decide what will happen next to each and every one of them.

But what gets all the more interesting is Gülfem's persistent advocacy in one's own capability to step up and improve their own life, albeit with outside help. In Hatice, Gülfem doesn't see a mere mirror of herself, but someone who has the agency she doesn't have, the position and resources she can't have, so she, unlike Gülfem, shouldn't just stand there and wait for the outside forces to dictate her life and take away what was taken away from Gülfem herself. She should lean on Allah for help, she'll always have Gülfem's own support as well, but she should act and only if there's nothing more that can be done, then she can wait and hope for the best, but not do something drastic the way Gülfem tried to once. It has clearly taken a lot of strength out of Gülfem to keep going, a strength she perhaps didn't think she had (and that was probably due to Allah too as a presumed sharer of her suffering), so she advocates for others too to find their inner strength and believe in the best, always (even if Gülfem doesn't find herself capable to do so, she can find her solace in others doing it; until of course, all these others, all her loved ones disappear in their failed rebellions which causes Gülfem to finally rebel herself, ceasing to rely on any outside force). Or else they would just be more miserable. That is the theme in her relationship with seers and the superstitious: she didn't want Hatice to go to Yakup Efendi again in E37 because she doesn't need him, whatever he says shouldn't stop her efforts to get better (and besides, the future isn't entirely in his hands, either) but it may worsen things for her if she actually goes, bringing her only worry and disappointment (as it happened). She wants for Hatice not to take all the bad omens she gets into heart, to brush them off completely as they can't fully control her life, they can't be that final say; for a while she merely advices though, if she actively does something against them, it's to prevent Hatice from becoming more miserable. But the more desperate the people around Gülfem get and the more she loses them, the wearier she becomes of what they're doing and she tries to stop them in some way (this includes Hatice's dealings with Saliha Hatun). This is why Gülfem is the most down-to-earth and the least tied to seers, the superstitious and the "magical" out of the three. She actively strives to avoid them.

Mahidevran's reliance on outside forces, her faith in Allah is established as a major part of her character right from the start, this is how she's learned to survive in a place she otherwise feels helpless and alone in; such a major part, in fact, that it's there even at one of the closest peaks we get of her past: her E55 monologue ("I prayed to Allah to help me"), perhaps clearly signifying that she's already too ingrained in this environment, that she's already adopted this culture as her own (Süleiman, Hafsa, Hatice, all of them are already her family that has likely completely overtaken any trace of the past). Her faith in the supreme justice (unlike her relationship with fate) always remains strong and consistent, only growing more and more with every experience. But what about her relationship with soothsayers, perhaps her most changing relationship with an outside force??? S02 presents an interesting nonsequential throughline: in E26, when Yakup Efendi is first mentioned and appears, we learn that he was kicked out from the palace namely because of Mahidevran. We see her having rejected him, and perhaps having rejected soothsayers in general due to bad, terrifying prophesies. She was never associated with soothsayers at all before then anyway (unlike, say, Hafsa) and there we find out why. But she's apparently accepted/embraced soothsayers once - in her E55 monologue she also mentions that she had her fortunes told and they were good fortunes, pointing at the fulfillment of her desire to be with SS then ("...That I would go through a golden road and earn my desire.") and that incited her, assured her future happiness, making it almost a given. In spite of the monologue itself too pointing at all of Mahidevran's mixed feelings at the moment (that include the soothsaying, as she had then what she's long lost now and with SS's illness she gets to grapple with that for yet another time), the soothsaying clearly remains a part of the good memory to her, maybe even a cause for it, as her tone still recounts the yearning and excitement of that day, as fresh as they've ever been. It's still unclear whether Mahidevran sought the soothsayer herself or her fortunes were told in an official visit of the soothsayer (how she says it all indicates the latter more), or whether this was prophecied by another soothsayer or Yakup Efendi himself (the latter is far more likely again as Yakup was mentioned to have been the palace seer in E26), but it's palpable how that prophecy moved Mahidevran and shaped her going forward - it seems like she's really clung to it as a mark of her feelings and her prosperous future and has started to take seers and their prophesies more into account. And when she hears that one haunting prophecy which says of her not having anymore children, she can't take it. It's way too devastating to be true, so it has to be immediately discarded. Yakup has to be immediately removed of his position in order to stop saying things that make people mad, that make them tremble and shake them and the lives they've secured to their very cores. This is another reason why losing her child in E03, losing Süleiman, him not touching her even when he calls her again afterwards and Gülşah daring to even suggest that she might be pregnant in spite of all these odds aches so. She's experiencing in real time the effects of a faraway prophecy she's tried so hard to move past.

So when she sees that this particular outside force has rebuffed her, she renounces it, moving towards an outside force above it instead: just like she enlisted Ibrahim to kick Yakup out (he can't object an order), she leans on Allah (is there anyone above Allah?) for that prophecy to be avoided, for the good to come and overcome everything instead, all of this thus fueling her belief in divine justice even more. No one, not even seers, can foresee or interfere with the will of Allah. The good is there and it has to come from somewhere. And each time one force fails, Mahidevran moves to another, testing them all, from the tangible (her supporters) to the more and more intangible (seers, fate), but in the end, she always returns to Allah as the only fully reliable force as all the others still follow their own "agenda" regardless (when she loses her supporters and loved ones, she starts leaning on Allah entirely, but finding the kind of inner strength fully within herself she didn't believe she really had before as well, through letting her remaining loved ones go as well; the reverse of Gülfem's arc). Nothing can ease Mahidevran more than Allah and his supreme justice coming in eventually. But seers have hurt her especially and she doubts them even more due to the wound they've inflicted, labeling them and abhoring their practices, especially the ones applying magic: she distrusted the seer Hatice called in E86 ("...I don't hear good things about this woman. They say she's a witch. (...) What use will she be to you?"), wanting to send her off even during her "ritual' and disapproving of her arrival in Topkapi in E87. Those who come with bad omens, upset people and mess with their lives have to be involved with something bad, with these incomprehensible powers, they have to be bad themselves (is this why Mahidevran calls Hürrem a "witch" too?). This also plays part in Mahidevran's belief in the superstitious - she might have believed in it too previously, but she pays attention to it even more given the bad stuff likely to happen that always lies in her mind deep down, and will do so even more with each loss. She almost commodifies herself with the superstitious, because it immediately tells her what exactly to avoid in order for the bad stuff not to happen; it's a distant yet reachable enough force that's also part of who she is in this harem (it's no wonder she's the character who introduces superstitions the most - the impact of broken mirror(s), the snake as bad luck etc.). This is the only way she can be more laid-back towards a soothsayer too (along with her prophesies not being entirely about her), with her what recounting Remmal Elmas is known for to Aybige in E46.

Unlike both Gülfem and Mahidevran, Hatice is established as quite wary of outside forces right from the start, albeit going with their flow in the first episodes (similarly to Gülfem). She is met with their finality and their inescapability early on; she's experienced enough in the past to believe that she can't avoid them at all when they come, especially if they are dictated namely by her closest. How can she defy her fate? How can she disappoint her loved ones? How can she stand against what she believes in even if it breaks her? Well, that is right until she reaches happiness against all odds. For once, she can see the outside environment in a suprisingly more favorable light, with her getting the chance to be with Ibrahim and her closest approving of it. This doesn't last for long, though, as they're quickly separated and she goes through a great misfortune that brings back her distrust in outside forces, amplifying it. But there's one outside force she starts leaning on more and more as time goes by: the soothsayers, Yakup Efendi in particular. She is clearly reluctant to call him at all at first namely due to his reputation (she generally seems to get even more uncertain and concerned if her closest have a bad view of what she's uncertain and concerned about as well), but her own worries, along with Hürrem's, push her to go for it anyway - both her E26 and E37/8 calls of him are hesitant, but she always chooses certainty over inaction. Because she's lived in the unknown for too long, she's aware more than anyone that the misfortune can come unexpectedly and from any place, she's terrified of one particular tragedy happening all over again (her losing her children), so she seeks guidance, any guidance she can get to know how to proceed next. She has to be absolutely sure that she and her family are going to be safe. For she wants to have someone to tell her for certain that it'll all be alright for once. That their happiness is secure for once. That there'll be nothing to prevent it for once. And the only one who can do all that is the seer, because he goes beyond empty reassurances that can't calm anyone down, he's in touch with all the outside forces beyond anyone's reach (so he's safe and can be counted on in that regard). And Hatice trusts the outside forces as much as she can control them. Even if the seer tells her something bad, she'll know what to look out for, she'll try to control it. At the end of the day, she just searches for the truth. Will everything really be okay? Will they really have peace or will a member of her family be gone for good (E38)? She feels powerless when everything points at Yakup's second prophecy becoming true: it becomes the center of all the bad outside forces for quite some time (it all leads to this, doesn't it?), so she waits for it to be fulfilled any second now (SS elevating Ibrahim in E39, Ibrahim's poisoned arrow and absense in E43-4 etc). The more bad things happen, the more Hatice ultimately leans on the outside forces she feared so much, directing them herself.

Hatice's belief in the superstitious (i.e. the statues) is similar: she's already so accustomed to bad things happening due to external forces (and her bad feelings ending up correct, on top of it!; btw, early S01 Hatice is the more stagnant aftermath period, not her norm) that she reads everything as a sign. She's used to looking for signs, she needs signs to prepare for what will await her and caution accordingly. She confronts the unfamiliar, rejecting it entirely, in order for it to go away too. Of course, the way she believes in the superstitious is also influenced by her closest and who she is. But no matter what she does, the signs Hatice desperately searches for won't leave her and she can't help but sink deeper and deeper into them and what they mean; the more she feels she loses her agency and the more people disappoint her, the most unreachable, intangible outside forces she gets into, nearly embracing them. If she can't stop them, she has to work with them, in spite of how uncertain or scary it might be. That is at its peak in S03 when she starts dealing with black magic in order to eliminate Hürrem and she searches for the whereabouts of Ibrahim's grave through unusual means. Magic is fundamentally about making things happen and Hatice wants to seek accountability and gain closure all by herself as there's no one else left to completely trust anymore. If they won't help her but only hinder her, if they don't give her what she asks of them (they can't because they don't want her to have it for one reason or another, because they've taken it away themselves!), she'll make it happen through these other ways. It's her only option now. From being wary of a seer (a "witch" in this case) due to their fame and abilities, to their fame and abilities being the very reasons why she's calling them in the first place. She wants them to do exactly what they're known for in spite of any possible danger, even for herself. She won't stop at anything until they've all fulfilled their purpose. She almost "engulfs herself" in their practices, no matter how wrong it may seem (her regrets in E90 can signal towards this). Hatice has always been most tied with all of it anyway, so why not dig in deeper? What else is there to lose? Hatice's faith in Allah is also fascinating in that it isn't as prominent. She of course prays to him for Ibrahim to come back safe and sound for the campaigns and brings him up sometimes in her fury towards someone ("Allah will punish you" etc.), but not much outside of that. Is it because Allah is the biggest outside force she can't even try to reach? Or is it perhaps because his ways and will turn out reminders of all the undesired paths she has to follow?

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

Elijah's Reply

And he said, “I have been very zealous for Yahweh, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, pulled down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.” — 1 Kings 19:10 | Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. Cross References: Exodus 20:5; Exodus 34:14; Deuteronomy 31:16; 1 Kings 18:22; Romans 11:3-4; Hebrews 11:37

[books-and-omens]

So.

I wonder. I wonder when Aziraphale is going to know.

How long until he realizes what Heaven needs him for? It’s not reform. The Second Coming, they need him in Gabriel’s place to organize the Second Coming, to try and end humanity and time itself.

They were planning a nuclear war to start it off, yes? And then Gabriel literally said, ‘naaaaah’.

(I am laughing hysterically over that moment. “Naaaah.” “Naaaah?” “Yep. Naaaah.”)

They need Aziraphale to stand in Gabriel’s place and repeat after them. To say that amen. And do we think, for a moment, that Aziraphale would? Gabriel is deposed for ‘refusing to exercise his celestial authority’; yes, they can threaten Aziraphale with this same thing, and would he go along with it then?

No. No, he would not.

What does Metatron say about Gabriel’s punishment? “For one prince of Heaven to be cast into the outer darkness makes a good story. For it to happen twice makes it look like there is some kind of… institutional problem.”

“Which there isn’t,” Michael hurries to add.

Two rebellions, in themselves, would look like a pattern. Hey, Heaven—so how about three?

They (or anyway, Metatron specifically) think they can keep Aziraphale in line. Make him do what they need him to do. He is soft, he needs validation, he needs praise, he needs to be separated from his demon and there, that’s it, the bad influence’s gone, he is in their pocket.

He won’t be. Metatron thinks he knows humans; “So predictable,” he says in the coffee shop, condescending.

He thinks he knows Aziraphale, too. And—sure, he does to an extent: Heaven has molded Aziraphale so much, has exercised so much control.

But d’you remember what Crowley says—a side-note, such a seemingly small thing—to explain why Aziraphale is hosting the meeting of the traders’ association? “He’s… unpredictable. He has discovered his civic obligations.”

And I hope it turns out fucking prophetic.

Aziraphale, give them hell.

[d20brainrot]

Part of this has been sitting on my drafts for a while and after Brennan's "Do you think Kristen even wants to be a cleric?" question (which was honestly my conclusion as well), I think Kristen's only problem is not executive dysfunction. She also does not know how to be a cleric in a healthy way.

She only knows how to be a follower. Kristen was not good at converting people for Helio either and lost her faith before learning. She probably associates that work with Helio, even as a prophet of a deity she created. I have seen a few people mention her position as a prophet must feel very similar to being Helio's chosen and I fully agree.

Also, there is a way to do chaos in a productive way but Kristen's ends up destructive because its chaos without purpose. I think we have seen all the ways embracing chaos has been good (creating Cassandra came from embracing doubt and chaos) and in this season we're really seeing the other side of chaos which is fear, confusion and anger in the face of uncertainty.

Side note: I think Fig is actually a decent example of chaos with purpose: her actions are absolutely insane ("I disguise myself as him" "I minor illusion a sexy rat") but usually have an end goal (I wanna get the racist pirate off Riz, I wanna find Zayn through his rat) and are within her capabilities which really works with being the archdevil of rebellion.