#with one word; pharaoh can take away your very lives. but there is one thing he cannot take away from you: making your favs autistic

[bluntloyalist]

ok look im not saying that sakura haruka is canonically autistic (and sugishita which is why theyre Like That with each other jsyk) but i am saying these images are all stored in a folder on my phone named fightism. anyway here is my extremely well-developed and unbiased research based off every episode of the anime released thus far

also i didnt screenshot it but despite being the only one to miss suo's lies during his introduction sakura then proceeds to read his personality harder than anybody in the room during the whole kind gentleman thing which i find extremely hilarious and autistic also

[flowerynameslover]

“Pharaoh has the power. He can take away your food, your home, your freedom. He can take away your sons and daughters. With one word, Pharaoh can take away your very lives. But there is one thing he cannot take away from you: your faith. Believe, for we will see God's wonders.”

The Prince of Egypt (1998)

Film Genre Meme: Animated Movies (2/5)

[j3ss3jam3s85]

Evidence of Exodus

Many often wonder if there is any factual evidence proving the Bible being true.   What if I told you that not only can I point you to strong evidence of the old testament Exodus being real, I can point you to a person in Exodus who has a real life replica of himself. Being possibly the only person mentioned in the Bible that we can truly see how they appeared.  (With the exception of Vladimir Putin's recent 2024 claim that he has an original painting of Jesus Christ that has been in Russia).

bNow, if you're not familiar with the book of Exodus (chapters 1-14), I suggest you taking a moment to read it. Otherwise, what I'm about to say may not make much Sense. Or, read this and then read Exodus, and things might make more sense to you as it's being read.  Either way, I highly recommend reading it.

Archeologically, we're able to prove many things within the Bible, however, Exodus is not one of them. Matter of fact, some of the things are extremely questionable.  For example, where are all these Israelites coming from mentioned? There are no records of a man named Moses in Egypt. Many movies depict the enslaved Israelites were building the pyramids, however, The pyramids were built long before the Israelites were enslaved. There are many things that people question in the book of Exodus, you might as well. Maybe I can help with any doubt that you may have. In hopes to open your eyes as to the possibility that these things really could have, and did indeed happen.

Let's go back to the story of  Joseph. Joseph is one of the 12 sons of Jacob, also named Israel. (Remember God changed his name to Israel because of his faith in willing to sacrifice his son). They fell into a Great famine Aunt resources grew very slim, so they went searching for a better life elsewhere. Can you guess where they ended up? That's right, Egypt! This is where we get "The children of Israel", also known as, the Israelites.

Joseph's gift from God was the ability to interpret dreams. In doing so, he was able to interpret the Pharaoh's dream which ultimately helped save Egypt from a great famine.  So how did his people, his family, end up in bondage?  Answer is, the Israelites were living and the delta and we're living a pretty prosperous existence. Up until the moment a new pharaoh becomes in charge. This Pharaoh knows nothing about Joseph.  For none other than narcissistic  reasons, the new pharaoh is upset that the Israelites are living such a lavish life.  He ordered task masters to watch over them, which is when they became enslaved.  This Pharaoh is historically documented saying  to his midwives, "watch the two stones." Meaning, Egyptian women often give birth while sitting straight up to let gravity help them with the birthing process. Often, they would sit on two stones to help assist them during  labor. This correlates with the Bible when pharaoh ordered the death of all the Israelite males that were being born.  This is around the time that Moses was born. With Moses's mom afraid of him being murdered, she sent him away, down the river, for a chance at life.

Another questionable biblical text says that the pharaohs daughter finds Moses and the river and takes him in as her own. An Egyptian naming their child Moses, which is Hebrew is not very likely. Leaving some skepticism. Let me push that skepticism aside. 

Remember, Moses is sent down river, so when he's found, he's found in the reeds. Now the Hebrew word massa (משא) means brought out.  However Moses, Moses is actually a pure Egyptian name, which means Born. Just think about Ra-Moses, Ra means God and Moses means birth in Egyptian, God is Born. Another common Egyptian term is  Toth-Moses.  So therefore, just because the name Moses doesn't appear as someone's name being an actual person, it does not mean he did not exist. Moses literally means birth and Egyptian. Something someone would say or call a newborn baby. 

Moses later has an encounter with God through a burning bush. God tells Moses that he is going to be the one to help set the Israelites free and lead them into the promised land. Moses, brings his brother Aaron with him to go speak to the pharaoh. Moses performs many miraculous wonders and so do the pharaohs magic wielders. So it's like they're in competition for a moment. Moses has a staff and he throws it down and it turns into a snake. Then Pharaoh has his people throw a staff and they also turn into snakes.  It was almost like this was something that they've seen before, and we're unimpressed.  Now you can take it exactly how it was written and think that a staff was thrown down and turned into a snake and both parties were able to do so. What I think happened is, the staff happened to be a cobra snake that was stiff like a staff with the head as the handle. When you throw the snake down onto the ground it then is able to slither away. This is a known practice and Egypt then and even today which would explain why people wouldn't be impressed.  Moses and Aaron came back time and time again with  9 different plagues. Trying to convince Pharaoh to let his people go. Pharaoh gets annoyed and Now orders that the Israelites are no longer going to be given prepared straw to mix with their bricks. Leaving them to cut their own straw to mix with clay in order to make their own bricks. Giving double work with the same deadline. None of the plagues presented so far didn't seem to phase the Egyptians whatsoever. By this point, God says enough is enough and lets the pharaoh know that if he does not cooperate, he will take all the firstborns of families who do not have a blood sacrifice over their door frame.  Of course Pharaoh did not take this threat seriously, so there was no blood sacrifice and he ended up losing his son. This is what makes pharaoh say okay, You can have your freedom, you can go.

When the Israelites leave, the Egyptians are all mourning the deaths of their firstborns. So, when the Israelites asked for gold and silver upon leaving, they just handed it over with no issues. So the Israelites are able to leave rich with gold and silver.  Rightfully so in my opinion. They just spent approximately 430 years, in slavery and are now heading to the promised lands.

As the Israelites were on their way, Pharaoh quickly changed his mind and decided to go after the Israelites and bring them back. This is when the famous part of Exodus happens that most people are familiar with. Did the Israelites really cross the Red Sea on dry land? While the Egyptians get swallowed whole by the water? There is a lot of skepticism about rather or not they truly did part the Red Sea.

Here the Israelites are leaving on foot with all this gold and silver. We know that they lived in the Delta part of Egypt so we can kind of figure out the route that they took. They don't take the Philistine route because Palestine is highly guarded with watchtowers. So what they do is go through the marsh. Now the misconception lies with where exactly they crossed at. Which they actually crossed through the Sea of Reeds and not the Red Sea. Now in the Bible it says that  Pharaoh's chariots were clogged. Sounds like they were going through mud. If you ask me. Which if I'm on foot I can get through but if I'm in a chariot I cannot. So Pharaoh's men ended up perishing while God helped the Israelites make it through safely.

In playing devil's advocate, if this story is true then why is there no record other than what is mentioned in the Bible of this particular situation? The answer is Egyptians were horrible at record keeping in general. Their record keeping is mainly made up of what is written in tombs or on Stella's. Which never mentioned anything about any of their defeats. Egyptians only kept records of victories. Honestly, this entire situation only really mattered to the Israelites. No one else really cared. But this was the beginning of their entire religion.

Biblically they never say who the pharaoh actually was. Historically, Egypt didn't even have a pharaoh at this time. Who ever was in charge would technically be a king. So where does the Bible get Pharaoh from?  It's actually a conjunction of 2 Egyptian words, that meant house, great. Which Pharaoh meant the one who lived in a great house. Fitting for someone living in a palace.

A clue in the Bible as to who this pharaoh may be is when they speak of the Israelites building the store cities  with bricks. Is it a coincidence that one of the cities names is Pi-Ramess?  They are using bricks, which historically we can narrow down the time frame in which bricks began being used to build the storehouse in these 2 cities mentioned.

i'm going to agree with Bob Brier, an egyptologist who suggested the Pharaoh in the book of Exodus is...... Ramesses the Great. Why?

Ramesses' built his capitol right beside the Delta, which would be close enough to the Israelites. Especially during the times Moses and Aaron were traveling back and forth trying to convince him to let his people go. The Israelite slaves built the city of Ramesses out of brick and he was the one who built these cities.  There is a sentence written on a Papyrus that explains grain ratios to be handed out to the soldiers and apperu (now I know I butchered inthe spelling of this word, but I spelled it the way it sounded).  Which The translation is thought to mean Hebrew. Many scholars believe that this is our Israelites. Other scholars believe that Merneptah was the ruler over The Exodus. They believe this because the first time Israel is mentioned is during the reign of Merneptah, which is Rameses 13th son and his successor. However, when Merneptah mentions Israel on his Stella. It is referred to as a people and not a country or a foreign land. Meaning around this time the Israelites were still wondering. Therefore, if they are wandering at this time, that means they must have left right before he began his reign.  Biblical scholars believe The Exodus happened in year 20 of rameses reign.  Guess what else happens right around this time? Ramesses loses his firstborn son, Amonhirkhopshef.

In the Egyptian museum, you can now see the mummy of Ramesses the Great. Which very well may be the only face you can look upon that is a real biblical figure.  I love it when science, history and the Bible correlate. 

References:

Brier, Bob. The history of ancient Egypt. (2013). The great courses.

Exodus 1+14

[five-rivers]

Cryptid Crawl! Chapter 2

See on AO3 for better formatting. Tumblr ate it for some reason.

For @aggressivelyclueless @going-dead @currentlylurking

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

Ghost Activity Map, Forums, Local Business Directory, Advice Blog

Forums -> Human Affairs -> Tourism -> Tourism Problems

Thread: MASSIVE PROBLEM

Cynosure (OP): @MOD I’m not sure if this is the right place for this thread, so don’t snipe me, but I’m kind of freaking out right now.  Apparently this big paranormal show is coming to Amity.  They’re always garbage, I know, but what if they actually see something?  We already have so many stupid tourists.  This thing is viewed nationally. 

Pharaoh (MOD): Mod here.  OP, we’re going to need some more detail if we’re going to figure out what to do, if anything.  Unfortunately, we can’t actually stop outsiders from coming in.

merknlurk: we could if you weren’t a coward

Pharaoh (MOD): Once again, we’re not killing anyone.

Bog Mummy: Hey OP how do you even know this.  Are you watching this show.

Cynosure (OP): Take your bad grammar and stuff it.  I’m looking for a good link now. 

Phantom (MOD): Is this that Cryptid Crawl thing?  If so don’t worry about it.  National or not no one takes those guys seriously.  We just have to play unfriendly locals and steer them away from any fights. 

Cynosure (OP): I’ve never heard of Cryptid Crawl before.  I’m talking about this. 

Phantom (MOD): ****.

.

[Video starts, showing two young men standing in front of a bank of old CRT television sets.  The sets initially show static, but moving humanoid figures can soon be distinguished in them.  Eventually, letters resolve from the static to spell out ‘The Investigation.’  Video shifts to a montage of the same two young men in various locations.  Locations include: an underground area shot in night vision, a bridge during the day, walking around a field with backpacks and EMF sensors.  The montage fades out, then fades back in to reveal an office-like space with several conspiracy cork boards.  The two young men walk in.  Both are wearing flannel shirts with the sleeves rolled up.  They are joined by a third extremely tall man who is wearing a trench coat and turtleneck sweater.  While the other two men are posed naturally, looking directly at the camera, and smiling, the third man has a thousand-yard stare and is standing completely straight.  Words at the bottom of the screen briefly identify them as Ned, Azrael, and Jimmy.]

NED: Welcome, investigators, to the first half of our very first two-parter. 

AZRAEL: And to those of you joining us for the first time this very special day, welcome to our Investigation into all things paranormal.  I’m Az, and this is my older brother Ned. 

NED: And this is our best friend Jimmy. 

JIMMY: Hng. 

NED: You’re right, we’re not paid for introductions.  What we are paid for is investigating the truth behind paranormal events all across America.  So.  Az, tell us.  What are we doing this week?  Where are we headed?

AZRAEL: This week we’re not headed anywhere.

NED: What?  But we’ve got to go somewhere.

AZRAEL: And we will!  You see, we’re going to be filming the second half of our two-parter live, on location, in the most haunted city in the world: Amity Park, Illinois. 

NED: Allegedly haunted.  And why aren’t we going this week?

AZRAEL: Because if we went this week, we wouldn’t have time to tell our viewers the whole, supernatural history of Amity Park.  That’s how haunted this place is.  We can’t even summarize it in one hour. 

NED (crosses his arms): It sounds like Az fell for the hype machine, huh, Jimmy?

JIMMY: Hng. 

AZRAEL: I did not fall for the hype machine.

NED: You’ve been tourist trapped, little bro. 

AZRAEL: Shut up and let me show you my research, okay?  By the end, Jimmy will be agreeing with me.  But first, I want to let you know we won’t be the only investigators, little i, on the scene.  We’ve got some rivals.

.

The Smart Twin: Hey, I hate to be that guy, but there’s more.  A whole bunch of the usual suspects were really insulted by the whole Cryptid Crawl thing.  And they’ve teamed up this time. 

Cynosure (OP): Are you telling me there’s three groups of weirdos about to descend on this town?  Three?  We already have the GIW and the Fentons.  If we get any more, we’ll hit some kind of weirdo critical mass. 

Phantom (MOD): Hey!

Thecooltwin: Guess that tells us its thename thief today

The Smart Twin: Anyway, the clip I saw is here.

.

[Video starts, showing seven young people and a tiger standing in various power poses.  Video has a ‘static’ effect filter.  Dramatic, spooky music plays.  The title ‘Groovy Ghost Blasters Extreme’ fades in.]

VOICEOVER: WELCOME TO THE GROOVIEST BLASTIEST EXTREMEST GHOST TEAM AROUND.  WE GIVE YOU VID.  THRASH.  DOWNLOAD.  BRENNER.  SULLIVAN.  ANDY.  FRAN.  SCAREDY CAT!  PREPARE FOR EXTREME.  GHOST.  ACTION.  IN AMITY PARK.  IN ONE WEEK.  NO CRYPTIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDS!  SCREW YOU CRAWLEY!  YOU SUCK!

VOICEOVER (more quietly and in a completely different tone): BroughttoyoubyGhostBlastersUnlimitedCorporationinpartnershipwiththeGroovyGangandGhostbreakersExtremethisisnotanendorsementofviolencegoodbye.

.

Phantom (MOD): ****!

Phrontist (MOD): @Phantom (MOD) Please stop swearing, there are little kids on this server and they look up to you. 

Phantom (MOD): I’m not swearing I’m just saying ****.

Phantom (MOD): ****?

Phantom (MOD): ****

Phantom (MOD): @Pharaoh (MOD) Did you do this?

Pharaoh (MOD): Oops, I forgot about that. 

Phantom (MOD): We’re in the middle of a crisis and you do this to me.  Unbelievable.  

JACK FENTON: this gives me a great idea!!!!!!!!! :)

[@JACK FENTON has been permanently banned.] 

[@JACK FENTON has been restricted from viewing forum posts.]

Phrontist (MOD): I’m not angry.  I just want to know who gave him access to the forums again. 

Phantom (MOD): ****.

Pharaoh (MOD): Crud, I thought I fixed that.  I’ll be back on it after I figure out how Mr. Not Supposed to Be Here got back in. 

Phantom (MOD): Oh you did.  I’m just swearing for real now. 

.

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Community Alerts -> Paranormal Investigators

Thread: Paranormal Investigator Discussion Board (PINNED)

Phantom (MOD) (OP): As you may have heard by now, three separate groups of out of town paranormal investigators will be coming to Amity Park next week.  These groups range from experienced to clueless and well-regarded to unknown.  They will all be attempting to film ghosts and humans for their viewers.  Please use this board to post any information you have about these or other groups who may be coming as well as any ideas you have for preventing these groups from successfully spreading more information about our ghosts.

Additionally, certain local ghost hunters may attempt to film and post videos online during this time.  As they will undoubtedly complicate the Paranormal Investigator situation, they may be discussed here as well.

Point25Back: why are you saying lOcaL gHoSt HunTeRS we all know its [EDITED BY MOD]

[@Point25Back has been banned for one (1) day.]

Pharaoh (MOD): Speaking of people who are banned, why do we keep letting him back in when he keeps breaking the rules?

Phantom (MOD) (OP): He hasn’t tried to dissect anyone yet.  Puts him ahead of the curve.

Pharaoh (MOD): Our standards are so low.

Lovetheshow: we're getting a crossover?  two crossovers?  Best.  Day.  Ever.

Valorous1: @MOD Maybe I'm not the one who should say this but is this guy even from Amity?  Or Elmerton?

Pharaoh (MOD): Yeah, we checked. 

.

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Community Alerts -> Paranormal Investigators

Thread: Why are we even trying to stop this?

West of West (OP): I think my question says it all, but just in case it doesn’t, why are we trying to stop the TRUTH from getting out?  It sounds like someone has an ulterior motive.  I say, let the Investigators in.  Tell them everything.  Let the world know. 

Valorous1: If you try to convince any of these idiots that any of the humans in town are ghosts, I will not be responsible for what I do to you. 

ashtree: of course you watch the investigators

West of West (OP): It’s the Investigation!

[THREAD LOCKED BY MODS.  DELETION PENDING.]

.

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Forum Bugs and Complaints -> Complaints

Thread: THE MODS ARE BIASED TYRANTS

West of West (OP): The mods keep deleting my perfectly reasonable and on-topic threads.  This is tyranny.  We need new mods. 

nobineryginger: why haven’t they deleted this one then lol man bro you just gotta follow the roleplay rules

West of West (OP): THIS ISN’T A ROLEPLAY.

Phantom (MOD): @nobineryginger It’s because we think it’s funny.

passthemike: Make your own site if it bothers you that much.

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AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Advice Blog

Recent Articles

Paranormal Investigators, Tourists, and Community Safety

Author: Phrontist

This week, we learned that several groups of Paranormal Investigators will be visiting Amity Park.  The last time something similar happened, it was for the one million dollar bounty (since withdrawn) on the ghost Phantom.  During that event, and in the immediate aftermath, the damages accrued by the city totalled more than…

READ MORE

A Statistical Analysis of Tourist Injuries and Tourist Related Injuries

Author: Pharaoh

Everyone has that story.  You know, the one about how some rubbernecking tourist crashed into your car during a ghost fight, completely derailed an orderly evacuation, or gave Technus ammunition because they couldn’t keep their phones in their pocket.  In this article, I’ll be exploring the relationship between high tourist…

READ MORE

Do I really need to explain why hunting people on live TV is bad?  Apparently.

Author: Phantom

Hello, everyone.  I’m Phantom, your friendly neighborhood ghost.  Although this fact seems to escape some people, I am in fact a person, and I don’t enjoy being hunted.  That’s a pretty normal thing.  I read the Most Dangerous Game, too.  That the hunting is being done with a camera and the only thing being killed is my privacy…

Dangerous Ghost Plants and How to Handle Them, Part 17

Author: Photosynthesis

In this latest installment of DGP, we’ll be covering Audrey-type carnivorous plants.  Now, although these critters are named after the star of Little Shop of Horrors, they typically don’t get quite that large, and smaller specimens can be taken care of with careful application of standard gardening tools.  We’ll be going over DIY and professional…

READ MORE

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AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Advice Blog -> Do I really need to explain why hunting…

Thread: I'm not hunting anyone, I'm a journalist.

West of West (OP): [EDITED BY MOD.]

Pharaoh (MOD): You might not have named names in this, but you included enough personally identifiable information to doxx not only yourself, but several members of this server, so we're deleting it anyway. 

West of West (OP): This is targeted harassment!!!

Photosynthesis (MOD): Keep this up and you'll be on the same thin ice as Point25Back. 

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AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Ghosts -> Hunting (INVITE ONLY)

Thread: ‘Groovy Ghost Blasters Extreme’

Valorous1: I hate to ask, but has anyone here worked with any of the (sigh) ‘Groovy Ghost Blasters Extreme’ before?  I want to have an idea of what they're like before we start talking about them on the public boards and offering help with the 'problem.'  As you know, I welcome the idea of more ghost hunters in Amity, but, you know.  Competent ones.  The name does not fill me with confidence.

My Hair: They've all worked in Amity before.  Their tiger almost mauled me once.  None of them caught Phantom for the bounty.

The Cooler Phantom: no 1 catches phantom tho xcept val theyr not sprcial

Valorous1: Are you telling me that's a real tiger

JACK FENTON: I caught phantom once!!!!!1!! super excited to teach new hunters the tricks of the trade!!!!! :)

Valorous1: jfc @MOD

[@JACK FENTON has been permanently banned.] 

[@JACK FENTON has been UNINVITED from the Hunting (INVITE ONLY) board.)

[@JACK FENTON has been restricted from viewing forum posts.]

Photosynthesis (MOD): @Pharaoh (MOD) He came back again. 

Pharaoh (MOD): HOW does he keep doing this?!?!?!  He doesn't even know what hacking IS.  I ASKED.

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AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Advice Blog -> A Statistical Analysis of Tourist Injuries…

Thread: Fine.  You win. 

West of West (OP): Your hype squad makes some good points.  I guess.  I won't expose the TRUTH until the government gets a clue and sets up real ghost countermeasures.  But the Investigators are professionals.  It doesn't matter what I do.  They'll know. 

merknlurk: u know u sound like a comic book villain right

Tubalover: Wow and that's coming from merk. 

merknlurk: what's that supposed to mean

.

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Forum Bugs and Complaints -> Bugs

Thread: my account stops working all the time :(

JACK FENTON (OP): my account stops working all the time. :(

for a while it workd fine but then I'm not on the page anymore and it wont let me back in.  :(

I keep fixing it but it keeps happening.  :(

FootballPoet: I think thats because youre getting banned dude?????

ashtree: not sure how the mods can make it clearer

tubahater: You break the rules more than @Point25Back 

JACK FENTON (OP): you sound like the guys who tried to take my license :(

but I'm still driving :)

Cynosure: Well, that's horrifying.

Pharaoh (MOD): @JACK FENTON could you tell me how you fixed it?  Maybe that will let me figure out what's breaking.  😇

JACK FENTON: sure!  :)  [EDITED BY MOD]

[@JACK FENTON has been permanently banned.] 

[@JACK FENTON has been restricted from viewing forum posts.]

Pharaoh (MOD): Gotcha.  😈

Bog Mummy: brutal

[THREAD LOCKED BY MODS.  DELETION PENDING.]

.

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Advice Blog -> Paranormal Investigators, Tourists, and…

Thread: I SAID YOU WIN

West of West (OP): I said you win.  You can call off your attack dogs nkw.

Phantom (MOD): Do you think we run the Advice Blog just for you or???

.

AMITY OF AMITY PARK: A Friendly Helping Hand

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Forums -> Community Alerts -> Paranormal Investigators

Thread: But they have a point amigos

Roswell’s Child (OP): you knwo ive been looking at cryptid crawls stuff and they kinda have a point about phantom.  like obv their video stuff has like spectral degradation and all that but its a pretty lit theory you got to admit.  and theresthe whole phantm not being a ghost thing food for thought amigos

Cynosure: [Insert: Incredibles ‘please, I can’t do this again, I’m not strong enough’ meme.]

Locker724: What does this mean?

[bastetwastaken]

ygo prompts: #8 with heartshipping? (post-canon, roommates, pining ryou, hesitant yugi, maybe a lil one-sided angst bc of puzzles)

Oooooo! Heartshipping! So much potential for sweetness and angst with these two. Thank you for choosing such a sickly sweet prompt <3

Here's a little thing about their new Friday night ritual they've developed through living together, wine, pizza and horror movies. Sounds great.

(Post DSOD, characters are 18+ and in the UK you can legally drink at that age.)

Ryou smiled as Yugi filled his glass again with the wine they both loved. This had become one of their Friday night rituals since they’d started living together. They’d get some wine, order pizza, watch bad horror movies and talk. 

He loved these nights, well, he loved any opportunity he got to spend time alone with Yugi. He wasn’t sure of the moment he’d realised that what he felt for him was stronger than friendship, but he’d embraced that feeling all the same. 

As of yet he hadn’t found a way to voice his feelings, but he was sure he would eventually…maybe. He sipped his wine. 

It may have been a long time since the spirit of the ring left along with the Pharaoh to the afterlife, but he still struggled with that feeling of loneliness which came with having so much room in your head to fill with troublesome thoughts. 

Yugi felt the same, and so it had made perfect sense for them to move in together, to become roommates in an effort to comfort each other and stave off that loneliness they both felt which no one else in their group of friends would ever really understand. 

He leaned back against the cushions of their sofa, laughing at the current scene playing out on the screen. 

Yugi moved to lean against him, Ryous' arm draped around his shoulders automatically. This was what Yugi was like when they drank, very affectionate and cuddly and he never minded that. 

He’d take any opportunity he could to be close to this man who had claimed his heart so completely. 

“I think about him a lot, ya know?” Yugi said suddenly, a slight slur to his sad words. 

Ryou took another sip of his wine, nodded, and then remembered Yugi couldn’t see him. 

“I know.” He said. 

“I never asked…” Yugi paused and turned his head to look at him for a moment. “Did you ever have what I had with Atem with…yours?” 

Ryou hummed, he knew what Yugi had with Atem. After everything that happened with Diva, Yugi had told him that he saw Atem again, that it broke his heart even more because it was just confirmation that what they had really was over. 

When he’d told Ryou what had happened when Atem was a spirit in the millennium puzzle he hadn’t been all that surprised. He knew the two were close, so that they had formed some kind of physical relationship beyond host and spirit didn’t shock him. 

“No.” He said after a moment. “Bakura had a lot of pain and anger in his heart, he had no room for me… anyway, I don’t even know how it would have worked…” 

Yugi nodded and turned away from him, finishing the wine he had in his glass and sighing as he placed it on the table next to him. 

“It was an accident for us.” Yugi said. “Well…not an accident…um, anyway, you know the word I mean.” 

Ryou hummed in agreement, but he had no idea what Yugi meant. 

“Anyway!” Yugi said loudly. “I just…when we realised we could talk properly face to face in the Puzzle, we spent a lot of time there and one day I just… I looked at him and I was like ‘I want you to kiss me.’ You know?” 

“Uh… yeah?” He said quietly, finishing the rest of his wine too. 

“And he did and it was…” Yugi stopped and sighed happily. “I should move on really… but like, have you ever looked at someone and just…really wanted them to kiss you?” Yugi asked. 

Ryou sighed softly, shrugging as he looked down at where Yugi's head was resting against his shoulder, untamed spikes brushed against his cheek as he moved. 

“Not that often.” He said. 

Yugi looked up at him and Ryou found himself breathless for a moment. Yugi's cheeks were a delicate pink from the alcohol, his eyes so soft and relaxed but full of curiosity as he moved again, sitting up and turning to face him. 

“Ryou?” Yugi asked, tilting his head to the side like a curious puppy. 

“Yeah?” He replied, shifting to put his glass on the table next to Yugis, intending to reach for the bottle again. 

“Has anyone ever kissed you?” Yugi asked him. 

Ryou bit his lip and looked to the side, his alcohol clouded mind trying to consider the possibilities of this conversation and where it would get him and why that really mattered at all really. 

“I’ve never really wanted someone to…” He said awkwardly, looking back at Yugi who was waiting patiently for his answer, his eyes moved down to Yugi's lips without his permission and he understood what Yugi had said earlier about looking at someone and wanting them to kiss you. 

“No one?” Yugi asked, his voice a little disappointed. 

“Well I guess if anybody were to kiss me,” He paused and shrugged. “…I would want that person to be you.”

He was so glad to have said something finally after months of living with Yugi and having to learn more about him and realising that what he wanted from him wasn’t just friendship. 

Without the confidence the alcohol had given him, he probably wouldn't have said anything for years, if at all.

Yugi smiled at him, a soft laugh falling from his lips as he moved a little closer, his leg pressed against Ryou’s as he simply looked at him and he wasn’t quite sure where to go from here. Luckily Yugi seemed willing to show him. 

He found himself leaning closer when Yugi did, his heart in his throat as a gentle hand came to rest against his cheek and hold him still. Yugi was so warm, and he was so close… but there was hesitation in his actions, he was waiting for something. 

His eyes moved to Yugi's lips again slowly. He wanted Yugi to kiss him so desperately. 

Yugi laughed quietly then moved forward, eyes closing and Ryou followed suit. His lips were so soft and warm as they pressed against his slowly, gently, and despite the haze in his mind from the alcohol Ryou felt his stomach fill with butterflies as the reality of what was happening hit him.

Yugi was kissing him, he was kissing Yugi, and it was better than he ever thought it would be. 

He sighed happily when Yugi moved away, their lips parted but he didn’t pull away completely, his eyes opened briefly, catching Yugi's questioning gaze and he smiled, moving his hands to Yugi's face and pulling him closer again. 

Each gentle kiss seemed too short, questioning and searching but Ryou was happy to reassure Yugi that this was what he wanted, that this was so much more than okay with him. 

He met Yugi's testing kisses with his own, soft sighs left his lips in between those gentle kisses and eventually the short kisses grew longer, Yugi pressed closer to him then shifted away for just long enough to clumsily slide into his lap. 

Ryous hands slid down to his hips, holding them firmly as Yugi's lips found his again.

----------- Want to send an ask?- Have a look at the list and what's okay here ^.^

[wolint]

COMPROMISED

COMPROMISED

1 Kings 11:1-13

 

Compromise, simply put is the middle way between two extreme situations. It is when we settle something less in order to gain favour or reach an agreement.

Compromise is the art of negotiation so that both sides can win, by giving a little, each side gains much and progress is made. But there is a time not to compromise. When the forces of evil want their way, we cannot give in, even a little. There are certain areas where compromise is good or right, the place where a good middle ground is needed to avoid conflict, to promote peace and safety than getting one’s way.

We first see such a good compromise in Daniel 2:8-14, where Daniel and his three friends work out a compromise with the court official concerning their diet.

Sadly, our text is the most extreme case of compromise ever recorded in the bible and we must be careful to take heed of God’s word in every area of our lives to avoid compromising our dignity, honesty, integrity, and faith.

The chapter starts off with a very sad but real statement: “Solomon loved many foreign women and clung to them in love. Solomon also loved the daughter of Pharaoh and many other women. Solomon’s heart was divided, it was compromised.

Unhealthy compromise as exhibited by Solomon always ends in tragedy. With the extreme wisdom and riches God granted Solomon, he was very foolish in his action.

God gave the specific instruction in Deuteronomy 7:3 prohibiting intermarriage so that Israel would not turn away from the one true God. Yet, here was the king blatantly disobeying God’s instruction in such an extreme way.

Solomon’s heart turned away from God!

When we compromise on the things of God, on our integrity, and principles, something always breaks.

Sometimes, we think something appears innocent or harmless, so we go ahead and compromise on what we should uphold to settle for what is at hand.

The enemy is always looking for a foothold but we mustn’t give him one according to Ephesians 4:26-27, he often starts us on compromising on something small, harmless and insignificant on the surface but the Bible makes it clear that God does not condone compromising His commands according to Deuteronomy 5:32, saying “Be careful to do what the LORD your God has commanded you; do not turn aside to the right or to the left”

Solomon compromised on everything the Lord forbade kings from doing in Deuteronomy 17:16-17, he did them all.

Healthy compromise is good and necessary in life if it does not cost us our values and beliefs.

We must not abandon God’s standards and our personal principles to be involved in things the Lord frowns upon.

In what area of your life are you compromising? Are you willing to tell a “white lie” to get your way? Ready to turn the other way when evil is going on to avoid offence? How about what you do when you feel threatened? Are you willing to compromise on your faith, the word of God and the principles of the gospel?

God’s righteousness is forever, His standard is sure, He would not accept compromise as He says in 1 Peter 1:16, be holy as He is.

Unhealthy compromise is costly, it destroys relationships, and reputations and reduces one’s values.

God has equipped us, according to Philippians 2:12-13, to resist compromise, not by our strength but by His.

Don’t be tempted to compromise on your faith. Never give in!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, I surrender my will fully to your, so that I don’t compromise in any way that will offend the Holy Ghost in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Shalom

WOMEN OF LIGHT INT PRAYER MIN.

[600shekels]

2 Chronicles 16: 7-14. "Non-Parallel Realities."

7 At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. 

8 Were not the Cushites[b] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen[c]? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. 

9 For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

Hanani= Grace

חנן

The verb חנן (hanan) means to be gracious or to favor. Nouns חן (hen), חנינה (hanina), תחנה (tehinna) and תחנון (tahanun) mean favor or grace. Adverb חנם (hinnam) means freely or gratis, and adjective חנון (hannun) means gracious.

Asa King of Judah= "Compassion, the King of Glory."

King of Aram=Exalted. "High but not overripe"

Army of the King of Aram=

Cushites="Weak but getting smarter", = turning South.

In concert with the common Hebrew particle כ (ke; as if, like), the name would mean As If He Were Weak.

And then there is the root ישה (yshh; meaning uncertain), which yields the noun תושה (tushiya), meaning wisdom, sound knowledge, which would yield the meaning of Cush as As If He Were Getting Smarter.'And then there is the root ישה (yshh; meaning uncertain), which yields the noun תושה (tushiya), meaning wisdom, sound knowledge, which would yield the meaning of Cush as As If He Were Getting Smarter.

Libyans= "West of Egypt" = Fully Enlightened regarding what is seen and also Unseen.

A Prophet told a compassionate king his grace was not enough. But Grace is of God so why would anyone who is trying to be as gracious as possible fall short?

The Tanakh says the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth, and he lives in the hearts of those who are fully committed to Him.

What did Asa do wrong? There are very kind people in the world that are ineffective at strategic planning and leadership. Certainly the King of Egypt had his moments, the greatest being the choice to give up his position to Joseph of Israel the last great good and wise leader the world has ever seen.

Asa, who replaces the pharaoh in our story puts the dreamer in prison and what happens next? Forward progress stops.

10 Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

11 The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. 

12 In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. 

13 Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors. 

14 They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.

The Gematria for verse 13 returns the word dashna which =

דָּשֵׁן dâshên, daw-shane'; to be fat, grow fat, become fat, become prosperous, anointed;

(Qal) of prosperity (fig.)

(Piel)

to make fat, anoint

to find fat (of offering - acceptable)

to take away ashes (from altar)

(Pual) to be made fat

(Hothpael) to fatten oneself (of Jehovah's sword)

The disease in one's feet means one settles wherever time finds oneself. This is not how the Book of Kings explains life. Not for a slave, nor for a monarch. It is not naive to perfume the past, but as the Tanakh says, it always digs its own grave. Our eyes must always be pointed forward and up. Especially if you work for the government.

This means the Watchtower of Aram with its chariots refer to Chief Executives and governments that can demonstrate they are competent at managing the logistics of life on this world.

Failure at any point in this covenant between the government and its citizens has to be addressed with the Sword of God, the Truth and bridges between moments crisis and their non-parallel realities must be built.

And what is the Truth? We cannot do this without reverence of God in the Utmost. And so very few of us understand what this actually means.

To start, to teach and learn the Truth, after everything that has happened, Donald Trump, his cabinet and Paul Ryan, third in the Chain of Command need to be arrested and put to death for Election Fraud and War Crimes.

Please see below and ask the WTO to sanction America if Joe Biden does not take definitive steps to protect the world from future American atrocities AT ONCE, TODAY, RIGHT NOW. To spare the human race from such a repertoire of corruption is a necessity if any of the other tenets we hold scared are to be valid. Do not allow this matter to languish:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/how-a-trump-era-policy-that-separated-thousands-of-migrant-families-came-to-pass

18 U.S. Code § 1091 - Genocide

(a)Basic Offense.—Whoever, whether in time of peace or in time of war and with the specific intent to destroy, in whole or in substantial part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group as such—

(1) kills members of that group;

(2) causes serious bodily injury to members of that group;

(3) causes the permanent impairment of the mental faculties of members of the group through drugs, torture, or similar techniques;

(4) subjects the group to conditions of life that are intended to cause the physical destruction of the group in whole or in part;

(5) imposes measures intended to prevent births within the group; or

(6) transfers by force children of the group to another group;

shall be punished as provided in subsection (b).

(b)Punishment for Basic Offense.—The punishment for an offense under subsection (a) is—

(1) in the case of an offense under subsection (a)(1), where death results, by death or imprisonment for life and a fine of not more than $1,000,000, or both; and

(2) a fine of not more than $1,000,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both, in any other case.

(c)Incitement Offense.—

Whoever directly and publicly incites another to violate subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $500,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

(d)Attempt and Conspiracy.—

Any person who attempts or conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be punished in the same manner as a person who completes the offense.

(e)Jurisdiction.—There is jurisdiction over the offenses described in subsections (a), (c), and (d) if—

(1) the offense is committed in whole or in part within the United States; or

(2)regardless of where the offense is committed, the alleged offender is—

(A) a national of the United States (as that term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101));

(B) an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States (as that term is defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101));

(C) a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the United States; or

(D) present in the United States.

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

16th June >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Solemnity of The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus

(Liturgical Colour: White: A(1))

First Reading Deuteronomy 7:6-11 The Lord set his heart on you and chose you.

Moses said to the people: ‘You are a people consecrated to the Lord your God; it is you that the Lord our God has chosen to be his very own people out of all the peoples on the earth.

‘If the Lord set his heart on you and chose you, it was not because you outnumbered other peoples: you were the least of all peoples. It was for love of you and to keep the oath he swore to your fathers that the Lord brought you out with his mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know then that the Lord your God is God indeed, the faithful God who is true to his covenant and his graciousness for a thousand generations towards those who love him and keep his commandments, but who punishes in their own persons those that hate him. He is not slow to destroy the man who hates him; he makes him work out his punishment in person. You are therefore to keep and observe the commandments and statutes and ordinances that I lay down for you today.’

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 102(103):1-4,6-8,10

R/ The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.

My soul, give thanks to the Lord all my being, bless his holy name. My soul, give thanks to the Lord and never forget all his blessings.

R/ The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.

It is he who forgives all your guilt, who heals every one of your ills, who redeems your life from the grave, who crowns you with love and compassion,

R/ The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.

The Lord does deeds of justice, gives judgement for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses and his deeds to Israel’s sons.

R/ The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.

The Lord is compassion and love, slow to anger and rich in mercy. He does not treat us according to our sins nor repay us according to our faults.

R/ The love of the Lord is everlasting upon those who hold him in fear.

Second Reading 1 John 4:7-16 Let us love one another, since love comes from God.

My dear people, let us love one another since love comes from God and everyone who loves is begotten by God and knows God. Anyone who fails to love can never have known God, because God is love. God’s love for us was revealed when God sent into the world his only Son so that we could have life through him; this is the love I mean: not our love for God, but God’s love for us when he sent his Son to be the sacrifice that takes our sins away.

My dear people, since God has loved us so much, we too should love one another. No one has ever seen God; but as long as we love one another God will live in us and his love will be complete in us. We can know that we are living in him and he is living in us because he lets us share his Spirit. We ourselves saw and we testify that the Father sent his Son as saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him, and he in God. We ourselves have known and put our faith in God’s love towards ourselves. God is love and anyone who lives in love lives in God, and God lives in him.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Gospel Acclamation Matthew 11:29

Alleluia, alleluia! Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart. Alleluia!

Gospel Matthew 11:25-30 You have hidden these things from the wise and revealed them to little children.

Jesus exclaimed, ‘I bless you, Father, Lord of heaven and of earth, for hiding these things from the learned and the clever and revealing them to mere children. Yes, Father, for that is what it pleased you to do. Everything has been entrusted to me by my Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father, just as no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. ‘Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened, and I will give you rest. Shoulder my yoke and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. Yes, my yoke is easy and my burden light.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[the-invisible-queer]

"He can take away your home, your food, your freedom. He can take away your sons and daughters. With one word, Pharaoh can take away your very lives. But there's one thing he can't take away from you: your faith."

Moses, bestie that is not the pep talk you think it is 😭

[stealingyourbones]

The whole tucker is a pharaoh thing - i thought maybe hawkman would recognize him? Idk a lot about hawkman/woman but im p sure one of their origin stories is that their the reincarnation of two ancient thanagarians that crash landed in ancient egypt and basically jump started human civilization? Maybe tucker was the one human that understood their tech the best when they tried to teach primitive humans and because of that, he became the first pharaoh after the golden age of the gods or something

Honestly at this point there's so many different Hawkman's origin stories that I will simply take your word for it. His entire backstory is so endlessly confusing. Is he Carter Hall? Cool so is it Carter or Karter? Is he actually called Carter Hall or is it just an alias? Is he Carter Hall Jr. who’s actually Fell Ander? Is he Hawkgod and the fusion of Hawkgirl, Carter Hall, and Karter Hall? Is he an alien or a human this time? Is it 9th or Nth metal this time? Who fuckin knows. There's more origins and heroes who carry the Hawkman title than members of the Batfamily istg.

Okokok so let’s just stick to the OG backstory: He’s an thanagarian who is reincarnated as the Egyptian Prince Kufu who got murdered via a cursed dagger and then continues from there. Dude is a brutal space cop that grew up on a war society planet. Dude is a cannon to aim and fire. He was kinda made as a way to go “let’s push the Green Arrow being a good liberal leaning guy” thing by having a completely opposite vibe.

He’s a space cop that is so hot headed and brutal dude that’s like a mix of Indiana Jones and Blue Lives Matter combo. (Indiana Jones is a tad odd but he was a museum curator so I think it’s pretty apt.) He’s so headstrong and fierce and even Batman is like “hey bro can u calm down the brutalness a tad?” He’s intentionally an unlikable character because he has all these memories and tragedies that he pushes everything away. (He also has a very toxic relationship with Hawkwoman but that would take far too long to get into but in summary: She has no memories of being Hawkwoman the two are literally destined to be together. Hawkman is a tad too obsessed with his lover and sometimes they meet and she is FAR too young for Hawkman.)

This is my interpretation of Hawkman since most of the comics I’ve read of him are silver age. I’m unsure how he is now but back then he was a full on sociopath who grew up on a war planet and is fully willing to kill.

Hawkman has to come to terms that everyone he loves will die and he will continue to exist. Imagine his pure delight to see a familiar person after years of only having Hawkwoman as a familiar companion.

(Black Adam also was a champion fighter for Prince Kufu so you could definitely mess around with Tucker knowing both)

I’d love that Tucker helps Prince Kufu and then proceeds to be the first pharaoh after the gods and just has a enemies to begrudging-respect relationship. This guy is just causing death and chaos and Tucker is just trying to live life. They keep meeting up and recognizing each other (mostly cause Carter never fuckin stops using the same name) and having petty squabbles. Tucker does his best to just piss off Hawkman at every possible opportunity. The League is very confused that this fucking child seems to know Hawkman and just RUTHLESSLY talks shit about him almost nonstop.

They do help each other though, they can relate to living far longer and seeing oh so many things that no human should ever see. They dispise each other but if it’s needed, they have the other’s back.

1, 2, 3

[pot-of-terv]

Goodness I almost didn’t finish this in time, I got a horrible migraine yesterday and today the time got away from me because I spent the day with a friend... But here it is!! I wanted to draw more but the writing took longer than I thought and now it’s so late that I should’ve been in bed over an hour ago :_D 

THEY FINALLY TALK... a little. But it’s a good beginning.

PuzzleJune 2021, Week Three: Dimension (Rules, Impossible)

It's a comfortable silence. Atem would be content to just stay there, feeling warm and loved, lodged between Yuugi's arms. Perhaps he could even doze off.

But he knows what he said, and he knows Yuugi is now waiting for them to talk. Their mental link through the Puzzle might be gone but maybe there's some kind of a residual connection left, because the feeling of expectation in the air is almost palpable.

"We're both going to get cricks in our backs if we don't move soon," Yuugi interrupts his thoughts. He sounds sleepy and some part of that guilt Atem felt before raises its ugly head.

"I– yeah," Atem mumbles and with obvious reluctance, lets go of Yuugi's waist and sits up. Something must show on his face because Yuugi peers at him curiously.

“I’m sorry for waking you, aibou,” he sighs and offers an apologetic smile. “I know you would’ve liked to sleep longer.”

Yuugi lets out a startled laugh and shakes his head.

“Uh-huh, but you’re way more important than that. You should know that, right?”

Atem is taken aback by the blatant sincerity of those words. It tends to happen a lot around Yuugi, and he’s not sure if he’s ever going to get used to it. On some level though... It feels nice. He chuckles and smiles at Yuugi, this time honestly.

“I guess I should.” He pauses. “Thank you, Yuugi.”

This time it’s his partner’s turn to look surprised. A slight blush climbs onto his cheeks which Atem notes, amused. Even now it’s not exactly a regular occurrence for him to call Yuugi by his name (it feels odd on his tongue – it’s hard to shake the memories of being called with that same name) and he resorts to ‘partner’ more often than not but he has been trying. He has his name now – no reason for him to withhold Yuugi’s own from him.

“I-it’s fine, other me,” Yuugi says and looks away, breaking their eye contact. He looks happy, though, so Atem doesn’t worry about it too much. What he does worry about is the conversation they’re about to have.

He stretches, probably more theatrically than necessary, then shuffles backwards on the bed to lean his back against the wall and snags Yuugi’s pillow to hold under his arms. He feels awkward and clumsy despite his mind having cleared up and he feels that he needs the extra comfort. Yuugi pulls his legs onto the bed and leans against the headrest.

They fall into another silence, yet this is a pondering one. Still not awkward, still not bad – Atem is pretty sure they’re not even able to have awkward silences. It’s a comforting thought and he hugs the pillow in his lap closer to his chest to cover his inappropriately goofy smile.

“We really don’t do this, huh,” Yuugi snickers after a while, breaking the stillness that had fallen over the room like a blanket.

Atem tilts his head on the side to look at him, leaning his cheek on the pillow.

“We really, really don’t,” he answers with an easy grin. Yuugi smiles back and there’s such fondness in his eyes that Atem could very well just drown in those purple depths. He sobers quickly though and his grin falters before vanishing, leaving his mouth in a tight line. He looks into Yuugi’s eyes with a new sharpness and the other boy mirrors his expression as if it’s his second nature (it probably is, considering). This is it.

“I’m so sorry for everything I put you through,” the pharaoh blurts out before he can overthink it. Yuugi looks almost shocked so he barrels on, “I know how greatly you suffered during those weeks leading up to the ceremonial duel. Those feelings were never a secret from me and I’m so, so sorry for not making it right… before it was already too late.”

There’s the familiar feeling of a lump in his throat and he fights to keep his eyes locked into Yuugi’s. He deserves honesty and Atem can’t allow himself to turn away. A shadow casts over Yuugi’s face and he's silent for a moment before speaking.

“I kind of knew. That you knew. I’m not too sure how it made me feel, though,” he says quietly. “Not very good at least, if I’m honest.”

Atem nods. He had presumed as much.

“I thought… I thought you just really wanted to leave. And I couldn’t blame you for it, I mean… you were dead, and the dead deserve their rest. And on top of it, that’s your family and friends you would’ve gotten to see in the Afterlife. Of course, it still hurt me,” Yuugi smiles sadly and lifts his knees to tuck his chin against them. “But I can’t blame you for that.”

“Why not?” Atem asks sharply and sits up straight. He squeezes the pillow against his stomach. “You have every right.”

All of a sudden Yuugi looks a little exasperated and he runs a hand through his hair, breaking their eye contact.

“Because… I don’t work that way?” he offers with a wince.

“Nah, you do,” Atem counters slyly. “You just don’t want to make me feel bad.”

Yuugi’s eyes snap back to his and the answer is written clear as day on his face.

“Well, that’s–! That’s!” he struggles to find the words before he just sighs and his shoulders slump. “Yeah. Okay. I want to blame you for it! But I can’t!”

Atem’s eyebrows rise toward his hairline as he stares at Yuugi in surprise. He opens his mouth to say something but Yuugi is faster.

“I love you too much to be able to.” His cheeks flush crimson and he slaps his hands over his face. “Don’t look at me,” he mutters, “I know that goes without saying but you just had to make me say it!”

Atem is completely speechless. Every direction he thought that this conversation could take them, this one was not what he had expected. Talk about dimensions, he thinks, perhaps a little dazed. Of course, it’s– it’s a given that they love each other–

“No,” Atem interrupts his own thoughts and throwing the pillow to the side, he crawls to Yuugi and kneels next to him. He takes a gentle hold of Yuugi’s right wrist but doesn’t pry the hand away from his face.

“It shouldn’t go without saying. Because we went with things without saying anything, you – and I – got hurt. And that should never happen again.” He takes a deep breath and feels himself smile.

“I love you, Yuugi, and that’s why I thought I had to leave. I thought you’d be happier. I couldn’t let myself be the reason you never got to live your life to the fullest, because if I stayed with you as we were, that’s what would have happened. I thought I knew the rules up until the last second.

“Turns out, I didn’t. I had another choice, a third one… I would have been a fool not to take it because that’s what I had always wanted in the deep recesses of my heart. You remember, right?” He tugs softly on Yuugi’s wrist to try to get him to look at him. “That night you asked me who I was. I told you I wanted to stay with you forever. Those feelings never changed.”

Yuugi lets his hands fall from his face but his eyes are closed tight. There are tears there, forming in the corners, and Atem wants to kiss them away. He doesn’t.

“I–,” Yuugi chokes on his words at first but keeps going, “I remember. I always remembered, but… I guess I stopped believing in it along the way. I didn’t want to hold you back, either. I never wanted to lose you but if it meant that you’d be happy, I’d do anything.”

He finally looks at Atem, eyes wet and shimmering, and laughs, voice thick with emotion.

“We’re such dummies.”

Atem holds out his hand and brushes a single tear off Yuugi’s cheek as it falls, his chest tight and heart fluttering somewhere in between his throat and ribcage. He almost doesn’t dare to talk in fear of his voice breaking... but what would that matter? They’re already laying out their hearts in front of each other, revealing the feelings that they had tried to keep private for reasons that don’t make much sense anymore – if they ever did.

“We are,” the pharaoh smiles and if his lip wobbles then be it. “Aibou… can you promise not to do anything like that anymore, to not… to not keep your feelings concealed for my sake?”

Yuugi takes his hand and squeezes. It makes warmth bloom in Atem’s chest.

“Only if you promise me the same.”

They just look at each other then, searching the other’s eyes. Would they be able to keep such a promise? After all those months of keeping things locked away, of always thinking about what they thought was the best for the other, of never talking things through? They both know it has to change, so… why not start now? They’re finally on the same page and moving forward, they need to keep it that way. Never rushing ahead or falling behind.

Simultaneously they both break into wide smiles and as Atem reaches for Yuugi’s other hand, they speak.

“I promise,” they say at the same time and it surprises neither. They laugh together, free and unburdened, and Atem leans forward to press his forehead against Yuugi’s. Yuugi meets him halfway and seeing the happiness in his eyes that close, Atem feels the prickle of tears in his own. They’re too close to look at each other for long but as they lean away they’re still smiling, still holding hands, tears now on both of their cheeks, and all is right in the world.

Despite everything, they still have each other, and their hearts are lighter. They’re aware that there’s a lot more where that came from but this is a better start than either of them could have hoped for.

They have each other, they have time, and nothing is impossible.

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

We believe in God...

1 If people believe God, then they know they have the things they hope to get. It is the proof of things we do not see.

2 There were people long ago believed God. He said they were good because they believed him.

3 We believe in God, so that is how we know that God made the world by his word. The things we see were made out of things that cannot be seen.

4 Because Abel believed God, he made a sacrifice that pleased God more than the one Cain made. Because Abel believed God, God showed that he was good. God was pleased with his gifts. Abel died. But because he believed God, he still speaks to us through his faith.

5 Because Enoch believed God, he was taken up into heaven without dying. The people could not find him because God had taken him. Before he was taken up, the holy writings say that he pleased God.

6 If a person does not believe God, he cannot please him. Anyone who comes to God must believe that God is real. And he must believe that God will bless those who try to find him. God will reward a person, if he really tries to find God.

7 God told Noah about things that would happen. These things had never happened before. Noah believed God; he respected God. He built a big house on a boat, and so his family was saved [from the big flood]. By believing God he showed that the other people were wrong. He was put right with God because he believed.

8 God called Abraham to go away to a place which he would have as his own. Because Abraham believed God, he obeyed him. He went even though he did not know where he was to go.

9 Because he believed God, he lived like a stranger in the land God promised him. He lived in tents with Isaac and Jacob. They had the same promise he had.

10 Abraham was looking for a city which will last for ever. It was the city God planned and made.

11 Sarah also believed God, and she was able to have a baby even though she was too old to have children. But she trusted God to do what he had promised.

12 Abraham was too old to be a father, but a great nation was born from that one man. They are as many as the stars in the sky and as the sands on the seaside. No man can count them.

13 These people all died still believing God. They did not get the things God had promised them. But they saw them far away and were glad to see them. They said they did not belong to this world, but were only travelling in it.

14 People who say such things mean they are looking for a country which will be their own.

15 If they had wanted the country they left behind, they could have gone back to it.

16 But now they want a better country. They want a place in heaven. That is why God wants to be called their God. He has made a city ready for them.

17 Abraham believed God when he was tested. The test was to give Isaac as a sacrifice. Abraham gave up his only son, even though God had made a promise to him about Isaac.

18 God had said to Abraham, `Isaac's children will be called your family.'

19 Abraham said in his heart that God could bring Isaac back to life. And so it was just as if he did get his son back.

20 Isaac believed God. He gave Jacob and Esau blessings that were to come.

21 Jacob believed God. When he was dying, he blessed Joseph's two sons. He leaned on his walking stick as he worshipped God.

22 Joseph believed God. When he died, he remembered God's promise and talked about the time the people of Israel would leave Egypt. He told them what to do with his bones when they left Egypt.

23 The father and mother of Moses believed God. When he was born, they hid him for three months because they saw that he was a very nice baby. They were not afraid of the king's orders.

24 Moses believed God. When he was grown up, he did not want to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter.

25 He chose to have troubles along with God's people. He thought that was better than the fun which he could have living a wrong life. The fun would last only for a short time.

26 He thought it was better to take shame, as Christ did, than to be a rich man in Egypt. He was looking for God's blessings.

27 He believed God and left Egypt. He was not afraid of the king's anger. He was strong because he saw the one who cannot be seen.

28 He believed God and obeyed his law about the Passover Feast, and put blood on the door posts. He did this so that the angel who killed the oldest sons of the Egyptians, would pass over. Then he would not kill the oldest sons in the families of the Jews.

29 The people believed God and went through the Red Sea on dry land. When the people of Egypt tried to do that, they were drowned.

30 The people believed God and walked around the walls of the city of Jericho for seven days. The walls fell down.

31 Rahab was a woman who used her body wrongly for sex to get money. But she believed in God, so she did not die with the people who did not believe in God. This was when the men came to spy out her country. She took them into her house in peace.

32 What more should I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets.

33 Men believed God and were able to win over other nations. They made people do what was right. They got what God promised them. They were not eaten by lions.

34 The big, hot fire did not burn them. They got away from men who wanted to kill them with long knives or swords. They were weak, but they became strong. They became very strong to fight. They drove away the armies of their enemies.

35 Women had children who died and were raised to life again. Some people allowed themselves to be beaten to death. They would not go free because they wanted to rise again to a better life.

36 Others were laughed at and beaten very hard. They were even tied with chains and put into prison.

37 They were killed with stones. They were tested. They were cut in pieces. They were killed with swords. They walked about wearing skins of sheep and goats. They were very poor. They were treated very badly. They were punished.

38 They were really too good to be in this world. They walked about in the desert and in the mountains, and in the holes in the hills and in the holes among the rocks on the earth.

39 All of these people had good things said about them because they believed God. But they did not get what God had promised.

40 God planned something better. They will be made perfect but only with us. — Hebrews 11 | Worldwide English New Testament (WENT) The Worldwide English New Testament Bible © 1969, 1971, 1996, 1998 by SOON Educational Publications. Cross References: Genesis 1:1; Genesis 4:4; Genesis 5:21; Genesis 6:9; Genesis 12:1; Genesis 12:8; Genesis 21:12; Genesis 24:4; Genesis 27:39; Genesis 39:20; Genesis 48:1; Exodus 2:10-11; Exodus 2:14; Exodus 2:22; Exodus 3:6; Exodus 12:13; Exodus 14:22; Exodus 18:4; Joshua 6:15; Joshua 6:23; Judges 4:1; Judges 6:2; Judges 14:6; 1 Kings 19:19; 2 Kings 4:36-37; Job 36:21; Isaiah 14:32; Matthew 12:36; Luke 9:31; Acts 7:20; Romans 4:19; Romans 8:24; Galatians 4:23; Hebrews 1:1; Hebrews 7:19; Hebrews 9:15; Hebrews 12:23; James 2:21-22; 1 Peter 4:14; Revelation 6:11

[ygo-is-gayer-than-i-remember]

Yugioctober Day 8: Yugi/Game

(Prompt list)  (Read it here on Ao3!)

Summary: How Yugi got his name.

This might be one of my favorite pieces from this whole thing because the headcanons I used for this are very near and dear to my heart.  I hope you all enjoy!

“Aibou?”

Yugi was hunched over a thin packet of homework, eyes scanning back and forth over the same paragraph detailing the word problem he was meant to be solving while he chewed on the end of his pencil.  The harsh light from his desk lamp glaring off the paper was starting to hurt his eyes, and he could feel exhaustion settling into his bones.  Hearing Yami’s voice, he was grateful for a distraction.  He would take any excuse to take a break at this point.  The assignment wasn’t due until Friday anyway.

Yugi sat back and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands.  “Hm?”

“May I ask you a question?”

“Mm-hm.”

“I’ve noticed that many of your older belongings have large markings on them right above or below where your name is written, as if something was crossed out.  Why is that?”

Well, whatever tiredness had been present was gone now.  He turned to see Yami watching him expectantly, albeit a bit nervously as well, but genuinely curious.  Yugi squirmed in his seat.

“Um…”

“You don’t have to explain if you don’t want to,” Yami assured him.

Yugi rubbed the back of his neck.  “It’s not that I don’t want to, it’s more that I’m...not really sure how to explain it to you.”

He really did want to tell Yami.  The reason for all those markings had been an important moment in his life, and Yami was one of the most important people in that life.  His other self, his other half.  They had been through so much together and their bond grew stronger and stronger with every experience, eventually blossoming into something different, something new and exciting and terrifying.  Only months ago they had confessed their feelings for one another and begun a strange yet wonderful romance, but all this time, he had kept this part of himself hidden.  Not out of shame.  He would never be ashamed of who he was, how far he had come, the steps he had taken to get there.  He had actually been wanting to tell Yami for a while, he was just never sure how.

“Perhaps this would be a better discussion to have in our soul rooms?”

Yugi nodded, moving to lay down on his bed with the Puzzle cradled to his chest.  He shut his eyes and let the world fall away.

-----------------------------

When he opened his eyes again, he was staring at the ceiling of his soul room, identical to his bedroom ceiling save for the lighting in the room.  He sat up to find Yami already waiting for him at the door just beyond the threshold.  Yugi smiled at how courteous the spirit was with his boundaries.

“You can come in,” he said.  “I told you, you’re always welcome in here.”

Yami returned the smile and entered, carefully stepping over the myriad of toys settled in the carpet.  He sat next to Yugi just close enough that their shoulders brushed.

“Okay, where to start…”  Yugi tapped his fingers on his chin.  How could he explain this to the 3,000-year-old spirit of a pharaoh who, just a week ago, had thought Canada wasn’t a real place?  (He still needed to get Jou back for that one.)  “So uh, when I was younger, I changed my name.  It used to be...something else.”

Yami tilted his head slightly.  “Is there a reason you changed it?”

“Yeah, eh…”  He leaned forward on his hands while his eyes scanned the room, trying to find an answer that didn’t sound wrong to him and didn’t confuse Yami.  Surprisingly, he found it on his bookshelf.  He perked up.  “Here, let me just show you.”

Yami watched him snatch a thick volume off the shelf and plop back down next to him.  He raised an eyebrow.  “A book of baby names?”

Yugi nodded and handed it to him.  “Check page 579.”

Yami flipped to the page in question, and as soon as he reached it, the room shifted around them.  They were still sitting on the bed, but now it was resting against the wall in the living room, taking the place of the cabinets the TV always sat on.  There were a few differences from the room as Yami was familiar with it.  Yugi’s Duel Monsters trophies were gone, replaced by images from some of Grandpa’s travels.  The couch didn’t have the hole in the right armrest, and Grandpa’s recliner still had the original wood handle to pull it back instead of the old car jack Honda had used as a replacement.  Book forgotten, Yami zeroed in on the lone figure occupying the space across from him.

It was Yugi, but a much younger version of Yugi.  He was laying on the couch with his arms crossed and his cheek pressed against one of the throw pillows, accentuating his already obvious pout.  His hair was at least twice as long as normal, all pulled back into a wild, multicolored ponytail.  He was soon joined by Grandpa carrying two steaming bowls of miso soup.  He looked younger too, with fewer wrinkles and a little less grey hair.  Grandpa set the bowls on the coffee table and took a seat on the other end of the couch.

“So, are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Grandpa asked the sulking child.

Little Yugi mumbled something none of them were able to understand.

“What was that?”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Yugi repeated.

Grandpa just smirked.  “If you don’t tell me, you don’t get to have any mochi after dinner.”

Yugi bolted upright, horrified.  “No fair!”

“My house, my rules,” he replied with a laugh.  “Now have some soup, maybe that’ll loosen your tongue.”

Yugi stuck out his tongue at Grandpa but grabbed the bowl off the table anyway.  The two of them sipped at their soup in silence, no spoons present, until Yugi was finished.

“Let’s try this again,” Grandpa said, setting his empty bowl on top of Yugi’s.  “What has you so upset, sweetie?”

Yugi crossed his arms again and stared down at his legs swinging off the edge of the couch.  “I don’t wanna wear the stupid uniform at school next year.  I hate it!  They’re gonna make me wear a skirt!  Everyone’s gonna think I’m a girl!”

“Xxxx, you are a girl.”  The first word Grandpa had spoken was garbled and unnatural, like a glitch in a video game.

“I’m not a girl!”  Yugi shouted.  “I don’t wanna be a girl!  I don’t feel like a girl!  I’m a boy!  I told you I’m a boy!  I keep telling everyone I’m a boy and no one believes me!”

Understanding and a little guilt dawned on Grandpa’s face, and he scooted closer to wrap an arm around Yugi’s shoulders.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were so serious about this.  How long have you felt like this?”

“I dunno, a couple years?”  Yugi sniffled and wiped at his eyes, his voice soft again.  “There were these guys on the playground and they tried to make fun of me by saying I looked like a boy and Anzu got all mad about it but it actually made me really happy and I...I-I went home with Anzu and...and she had bought a prince costume t-to go with my princess costume for Halloween ‘cause she...she thought it’d be funny and...she let me try it on and she, sh-she called me handsome and it felt so good, Grandpa!”

Yugi was a blubbering mess now, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.  Grandpa turned to pull him into a hug and let him cry into his shirt.  For a while, the only sounds in the room were Yugi’s sobs and Grandpa’s comforting reassurances that everything was alright.

“Daddy said he didn’t wanna hear about it, and Mama said it’ll go away,” Yugi continued from his shelter in Grandpa’s arms.  “But it didn’t go away.  It won’t go away and I don’t want it to go away!”  He looked up at his Grandpa with watery eyes.  “Is there something wrong with me?”

“There is nothing wrong with you.  If you really feel like a boy, then who am I to tell you otherwise?”  His voice held more conviction than Yami had ever heard from him, and he placed a gentle kiss on Yugi’s forehead.  “And I know you’re going to be the best damn boy this world has ever seen.”

Yugi let out a shaky laugh and wiped his eyes again.  “You said a bad word!”

Grandpa laughed along.  “I sure did.  So, have you picked out a boy name for yourself?”

Yugi nodded enthusiastically.  “Yugi!”

“Why Yugi?”

“‘Cause it means game and I like games!” Yugi explained, beaming.  “Games make me happy!  They make lots of people happy, and I wanna make people happy!”

“Wait here.”  He smiled and stood up, leaving a perplexed Yugi on the couch, and came back with a pen and a book, the same book that sat in Yami’s lap.  Grandpa flipped it to a page near the back and wrote something in it.  Yugi watched over his shoulder, his smile growing impossibly wider the longer he wrote.

“There.”  Grandpa clicked the pen shut.  “Now whenever you feel sad or people are being mean to you, you can look at this and remember exactly what makes you who you are.”

Yugi tackled his Grandpa in a tight hug, knocking some of the air out of him.  “Thank you thank you thank you!  I love you so much, you’re the best Grandpa ever!”

Grandpa returned the hug and gazed down at his grandson like he was the most precious treasure in the world.  “I love you too, Yugi.”

The scene melted away, and Yami and present-day Yugi were back in the latter’s soul room.

Yugi pointed to the page from the still-open book.  “Read it.”

Yami followed his finger to the handwritten line squeezed between two printed names.  In the same format as the other entries, it read, “Yugi: to love and be loved; to bring happiness.”  He closed the book and set it aside.

“He’s right, aibou,” he said with a soft smile.  “You are loving and easy to love, and you bring great happiness to everyone around you.”

Yugi laughed wetly, his eyes shining with joyful tears, and fell into Yami’s open arms.  “You’re such a sap.”

“Yes, but I’m your sap,” he teased, and he pressed a kiss to Yugi’s cheek.  “And he’s right about something else as well.”

“What?”

“You are the best damn boy the world has ever seen.”

[kujakumai]

cleaned up old WIP, 2800 words, AU where Yami Bakura succeeds in switching hosts in DK and Mokuba makes friends with an evil ghost. Not going to be continued but it literally would not leave my brain alone until I finished it.

Things were not going according to plan.

The plan was to take control of a soulless puppet, an easy vessel incapable of interfering with his ends. He had the vessel, had accomplished that much, but he was not expecting the pharaoh and his little friends to succeed and convince Pegasus to give everyone their souls back. So now not only was there a second person in this body he had to keep suppressed, but now he was stuck impersonating a child, smiling through an awkward reunion and then placed onto a helicopter next to a gangly high school student who was watching him like a hawk.

The spirit-that-was-no-longer-Yami-Bakura knew that he was supposed to be Mokuba, but he did not remember the tall one's name. K-something. He had a stupid jacket and hardly took his eyes off him the entire ride, as if he thought his little brother was going to disappear in a puff of smoke when he wasn't looking. Annoying. Infuriating. Luckily it did not seem he wanted to talk, or at least accepted silence. No one expects recent kidnapping victims to say much, which was a boon. A little dazed, a little quiet, a little off, and no one really found it unusual.

They dropped off the pharaoh and his friends, and finally landed at a gaudy and ostentatious house so large it took him a second to realize it was a home at all, an absurd monument to decadence with grounds full of ugly topiaries. Wealth, then. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad. He could work with this. The rich kid in the stupid coat quietly held his hand the entire walk up the driveway, until they entered a foyer just as gilded and obscene as the outside had been.

No, things were not going to plan, and playing grade-schooler was awkward and an insult to his dignity, and he was farther away from the other millennium items as he ever had been. He would have to grit his teeth through it until he could figure out the next step. In the meantime, perhaps, enjoy some amenities.

Richie rich sighed, relaxed his shoulders the moment they got inside. He looked at who he thought was his little brother and gave him a small, exhausted but genuine smile. He struggled with what to say next.

"Mokuba," he said, "I have to check on a few things in my office. See what kind of damage they did. Do you want to come with me?"

"No." Finally, a chance to be out of this idiot's sight.

This answer seemed to surprise him, a twitch of skepticism. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

He nodded. Keep answers short, when you're impersonating.

His face betrayed more skepticism, concern, and the tiniest hint of disappointment. As if rich kid himself was the one who was scared to be alone in his own house. He accepted the answer, though, to the spirit's relief.

Rich kid bent down and pulled him into a tight hug and ruffled his hair. "We'll get something special for dinner, okay? And ice cream."

"I do like ice cream." This was true. Ryou Bakura almost never bought ice cream, and when he did it was the stupid healthy kind that everyone knew shouldn't even really qualify as ice cream, which was another reason he was a terrible host. That and the fact that he was startlingly pale and had the upper body strength of a limp noodle and the personality of skim milk. This would be better, even if he had to deal with the abrupt drop in height.

Rich kid headed off towards the staircase with another tired but trying-to-be-reassuring smile, and it was then that the spirit of the ring felt an annoyance in the back of his brain. A presence. A scratching, biting, flailing presence, screeching mad, which he had been suppressing for a while now but finally broke through.

get out get out get out get out give it back its MINE get out

The host, awake. What a bother. More rambunctious than Bakura, then? No matter. He could handle a child.

that was MY hug and MY headpat and MY big brother and you can't have them he's been gone for ages and they're mine not yours get out get out get out

The spirit pushed back, ignored him. Shush. He had planned to hold this body alone, and he did not intend to go back to sharing. If you're good, I might let you have it back for a little while later.

shut up go away go away go away go AWAY

And then Mokuba Kaiba did something, something the spirit was not accustomed to or expecting at all, something which Ryou Bakura had never been willing or able to do. He shoved, violently, and the spirit of the ring was ripped out of control with some amount of panic.

"SETOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Why you insolent little--

Seto Kaiba was not aware of the mental turf war happening over his little brothers body. What he did see was his brother scream his name and fall down, and the whole room echoed with a metal clatter as his briefcase fell on the floor and he ran towards him.

--

The ring had been discarded unceremoniously to a side table, and not-Bakura-and-not-Mokuba-either had no choice but to wait and observe, as a pediatrician on a sudden housecall shined lights in the boy's eyes and rich kid, who the spirit had since gleaned was named Seto Kaiba, looked on in worry.

"You said you heard a voice?" The doctor asked.

"Uh-huh. I think it lives in the necklace."

"You got that thing at Pegasus's house?" Kaiba asked, in disbelief.

"I don't remember. I was just wearing it when I woke up."

"What did the voice say?" the doctor continued, professionally ignoring any talk about magic necklaces.

"Not a lot. It was kind of mean."

"I see." She turned to Kaiba. "He's fine, physically. You might want a psychologist." and Seto Kaiba made what could politely be referred to as A Face. This was not what he wanted to hear, this was news that worried and annoyed him in equal measure, and to some degree was news he had half-expected.

"He's had a rough few months. I'll look into it." and she was dismissed, and Mokuba hopped down from the counter.

"Can we order pizza?" he asked, with big pleading eyes.

Kaiba watched him with dry amusement. "Mokuba, you can have anything you want from any restaurant in a forty mile radius."

"And I want pizza. Real pizza, from somewhere that doesn't also serve caviar."

"Cheap pizza?"

He nodded very seriously. "The grossest greasiest cheapest."

"I can do that. Anything else you want?"

Mokuba's eyes lit up, and soon he was dragging Kaiba by the hand towards somewhere else in the house. "I got to this really hard level in my game I can't get past and I wanted to see if you could beat it, and I found this really cool video I wanted to show you, and I got a really good report card you never saw, and--" and months worth of pent up requests were tumbling out rapid fire, and Kaiba was smiling with affection and some amount of relief.

Loud and clingy, then, was the normal and expected behavior. The spirit of the ring made note of this, as he lie abandoned.

--

The ring was still sitting on a side table, in Mokuba's bedroom, apparently because no one knew what to with it or thought it mattered much. This was a problem. The spirit couldn't do anything without a host, and now everyone was suspicious, these stupid rich people worried too much and paid too much attention.

He was forced to sit there all night, pondering about how he was going to get out of this mess, when at one or two in the morning he observed Mokuba wake up, and rub his eyes, and hop out of bed. He did not turn the light on, but he did check the time, and reach under his bed to retrieve what appeared to be a small backpack. He took it with him as he moved quietly towards the door, and the spirit saw his chance.

Hey, kid. He was near enough to speak into his head. Maybe this wasn't a dead end.

"You!" Mokuba stopped in his tracks and looked right at the ring.

Yes, me. This could be salvaged, he thought, concocting a plan. This was a child. Play friendly ghost and imaginary friend. Surely it would not be hard to weasel himself into the good graces of a sixth grader.

Mokuba glared at the ring with suspicion. "I don't think Seto believed me when I said you could talk, but I knew it." He picked it up delicately by the string to examine.

Where on earth are you going at this time of night?

Mokuba was the current host, technically, so there was a connection, and 11 year olds are not particularly used to or adept at hiding their own thoughts, especially inside their own heads. The answer, if not in words but in abstract concept, was provided instantly as it bubbled to mind. He was going to the kitchen, as he did once or twice a week, not their personal kitchen but the house staff kitchen, where he would move a chair to stand on the counter to reach the very back of the highest shelf of the third cupboard to the left, which was where one of the cleaning staff kept a pile of chocolate so he could cheat on his diet without his wife knowing, a fact Mokuba knew through surreptitious eavesdropping. Mokuba's end was to steal just enough of it that he wouldn't be noticed, and add it to a stash of snacks and other shiny trinkets currently hidden in the bottom of a pile of legos in his closet.

...You steal food to hide in your closet? Why would a child who lived in a three-story mansion need to steal?

Mokuba was only mildly perturbed by the fact that someone had just read his mind. He was mainly curious, now. "Our dad didn't like junk food, so I always took stuff to keep around." he explained, "I guess I don't really have to anymore, 'cuz Seto will let me have whatever I want, but--" he faltered, unable to finish or give a reason.

There wasn't a reason, and Mokuba knew that. There was no need to sneak or stash or steal anymore, but he kept doing it, irrationally, for reasons that confused him, a complicated swirl of things a child could not name or understand but were very easy for the spirit to read. Fear; compulsion; habit; the illusion of safety; the sense that your life was precarious, unstable; a need to exert control over your surroundings. It was not the food or the stealing that mattered, but of the hiding, of having something they could not take away from him.

Mokuba didn't understand any of that, because he was 11 and 11 year olds don't understand why they do anything. He just knew he liked sweets and hated people telling him what to do and that having bags of chips and other people’s lost jewelry at the bottom of an old toybox made him feel better.

Can I come with you?

"No! You tried to take control of me!"

Yes, but you kicked me out, and you'd probably be able to do it again, so I would be stupid to try. I also like chocolate, you see, and it's very boring to be stuck here on your desk.

"Can you even eat? You're a necklace."

I can when I borrow a body.

"You tried to take over me so you could eat chocolate? I'm not stupid enough to believe that."

That and other things. I can't do very much at all, while stuck in the ring. No food, no sunshine, no running around. It's no fun to be without a body, which is why I am occasionally driven to steal one. Terribly sorry about that. he added, in his most pathetic-sounding tone, Please? I don't have anyone else to talk to.

Mokuba was hesitant, but clearly found the fact of his existence too interesting to ignore. "Fine." He picked up the ring and dropped it unceremoniously into his backpack, which had a dragon on it.

Not trust yet, but tolerance and curiosity. One step at a time.

You shouldn't go barefoot, you know. Socks will be quieter if you're trying not to get caught.

"I didn't ask you."

So Mokuba descended down the stairwell, in the dead quiet and dark of the Kaiba Mansion, with no flashlight because he knew it well enough to navigate blindfolded. The place was decadent in the ugly way rich people's houses were, luxury but without taste, soft carpets and gilded banisters.

Mokuba had not quite realized yet how to think at the ring, so he spoke in a low whisper. "What are you, anyway?"

A ghost. So much more complicated than that, but simple words were suitable for children.

"How'd you end up a ghost in a necklace?"

I died, and then someone put me in a necklace.

"That's not an answer." he followed up, "Do all dead people become ghosts?"

No. Just sometimes, maybe, if the way they died was especially violent or gruesome or terrible.

Mokuba frowned. He had caught on remarkably quickly to guarding his own head, but the spirit could tell he didn't like this answer.

This was delicate, but he risked a push. Was there someone you had in mind?

Mokuba said nothing. He reached the staff kitchen on the lowest floor, and opened the door, slow and careful. He was deciding whether to say anything, as he climbed up as quietly as he could and reached far into the back of the cupboard, scrabbling.

"Our dad killed himself last year. Jumped out a window." He finally said, hopping down with his spoils. He said this the same way one might dolefully report the milk had gone bad. Unfortunate but boring.

You don't sound very sad.

"Nah, he sucked. And he never liked me." he said, "Seto was really really upset though. He was pretending not to be, but I could tell." Now there were feelings there, big and weird and sad and clinging ones. For reasons the spirit could not discern, the simple phrase ‘Seto was upset’ carried with it more weight, a thousand million times more weight, than news of a father's tragic death by defenestration. "I hope he's not a ghost. I don't wanna see him again."

Probably not.

Mokuba sat down cross-legged on the kitchen floor, unwrapped candy in silver foil. "You really can't do anything from in the necklace? Like, ghost stuff? Make things float or anything?"

No. It is a bit like being trapped in a very small box.

Mokuba mulled this over for a little while. "If you wanted to borrow a body to do fun stuff, you could have just asked."

Really?

He nodded. "Not being able to eat chocolate sounds lame. It'd be mean to just leave you like that." He put one chocolate into his mouth and dumped the rest in the backpack, where they covered the ring unceremoniously. More indignities. "Not in front of my brother, though. And you have to give it back whenever I say so."

...I could agree to such a compromise. Your candy haul is impressive, by the way.

"Thanks!" He grinned, emanating genuine pride. No one had ever complimented him for stealing before.

Tragic, the work of great thieves. How the very best of it can never be bragged about, the most impressive of skills gone unnoticed by nature, how the very success of a perfect crime relies on keeping your mouth shut about it. An unappreciated art, where even mastery gains you no respect.

You don't care that this poor man has to go out and buy twice as much food to make up for what you steal?

"No, he's a jerk. One time when I was six they confiscated my gameboy, so I went to steal it back and he caught me and told my dad and I got in huge trouble. So every day for a week I snuck down here and moved his keys to a different place so he couldn't find them. They were all so mad at him for losing them all the time, and he thought he was crazy."

Why was your gameboy confiscated?

"Don't remember. I think I bit someone at school." he shrugged, "They probably deserved it, though."

Mokuba Kaiba. he said, I think you and I are going to be excellent friends.

"Okay. Do ghosts watch cartoons?"

[poptod]

hello! i'd like to make an ahkmenrah x reader request! maybe present-day reader gets teleported back in time to when ahkmenrah was alive and they eventually get to the palace and stuff happens? maybe they tell him about modern life? and maybe reader is unnaturally beautiful to the ancient egyptians because humans evolve to be more attractive as time goes on so a person from our time would be hot shit 4,000 years ago? this is long lmao. thanks!

Notes: god ive always wanted to do this kind of storyline but i was worried about like,, logic and stuff getting in the way of the storyline. anyway! i was so fucking elated to receive this request. i got a bit carried away so apologies! WC: 3.2k

+

Okay. It isn't that bad.

Would you ever see your family again? Probably not, but you weren't ruling the possibility out.

Would you ever get to have sour patch kids again? Probably not. But even during the time you lived in 2020, you had eaten more concentrated sour patch kids flavor than all of the people around you combined.

This little village on the outskirts of ancient Thebes is hardly L.A.––though that's probably a good thing––and is small enough for you to know every inhabitant. Your shop there is small to suit the town, and well known ever since your arrival in this time.

They found you beside the river, thought you to be a gift from the Gods. You were hazy, though––whatever had so forcefully pushed you back in time had made your head spin, making you sick and unbalanced. So, when they asked if you did in fact come from the Gods, you had no way of defending yourself either way. Generally you've been denying it––they think you are a god, and the only way you've convinced them you're not a god is by saying you're a gift from them. It explains the way you look, unnaturally beautiful and alien amongst the more pure genetics of earlier humans.

Your shop is pretty simple. You make portraits from paint, more realistic than anything else that exists, and it only affirms their belief in your god-like status. Fortunately word seems to not have gotten out––the village has remained small, and no one from Thebes has run into you. Every now and then you get unreasonably anxious that a noble will find you and turn you into a slave. It's a worry most people around you have, so you find comfort in the fact that you're not the only one. Still, you're not quite accustomed to such an atmosphere––the thought of nobles and Kings noticing you still sends terrified aches into your stomach.

It's about two weeks in that it gets bad. People start to pass by the village, more than you would've thought, and they're all looking to trade goods, food, and information. The people of the village talk about you––you're something interesting, you can't deny that, but they don't know just how worried you are. Whenever you see someone you don't recognize outside your home, you refuse to come out.

Five days later and there's soldiers in your home, looking over your paintings on their way back to Memphis from conquering the realm of Kush. You hold a deep contempt for them––you don't know all that much about history, but you know how Egyptian soldiers and Pharaohs reigned power over the people of Kush.

The soldiers aren't all that worrying. What really gets your heart pounding is the final man to enter your hut; a man bearing a crown and a long sword, with golden braces around his wrists and a chest plated in green scales. Your fingers dig into the wood of your counter when he notices you. The crown on his head––it's the crown of both upper and lower Egypt.

This is a Royal.

"Where did you learn this skill?" He asks you, eyes trained on one of your bigger drawings. It's just on papyrus––not for sale––and hung on the wall as a display of your talent.

"I spent a little while travelling the world," you answer. Technically, growing up in the modern world was a bit like travelling the world; you got to see the cultures and practices of many, many people. "The rest of it's practice."

"The peasants here, they... they claim you came from the Nile. Is that true?"

"Well... that is where I was found," you say carefully, but you can already tell you've fucked up. The look on his face is indescribable beyond the fact that he's pleased.

"How would you feel coming back to the capital with me?" He offers to you, setting his hands on the counter and leaning forward. "I think my father would much like to meet you."

"I – I don't think I'm really cut out for -"

"Nonsense," he dismisses with a smile, taking your hand from its' spot on the wood. "We shall teach you proper writing skills, give you a beautiful home, and the salary isn't horrid either."

You can't just say no. If you do, he's going to ask questions––he's going to get confused, and he's going to get suspicious. No one would turn down an opportunity like this; free schooling, free housing, and much more money for something you already do.

"Well... alright," you say quietly, looking to the home around you that you built with the help of the other villagers.

"Wonderful. My name is Kamun."

He's not a very nice person, you come to find. Or perhaps he's just not your tastes––the soldiers seem to like him well enough, at least the ones who aren't completely subordinate to him, but his attitude towards women and poor people is scathing to say the least. Otherwise he's very amusing, with a good sense of humor and quite generous with his food and wine as long as he gets his fill of it first.

The boat back to Memphis, where the royal family currently stays, is a long ride filled with various entertainments. It's clear these are not soldiers accustomed to rough conditions––the dancing women and flowing beer is enough to tell you that. Instead, you surmise these are faux war-heroes; people adored in their hometown for doing nothing but intimidating others in a foreign country. They try to get cushy with you, soften you up to their words and touches. It doesn't work.

He keeps you close to him. You let him do it, sort of––it's better than telling him no. Better than starting a ruckus. Then again, avoiding a ruckus is what got you here in the first place, standing before the doors of the courtroom where a false God on earth rules the Nile.

"Father, I bring you a gift from Thebes," says Kamun, pushing you forward by the small of your back. You can't bring yourself to meet the Pharoah's eye, so you fall to your knees and bow.

Everyone is staring at you. You don't look normal, and they all know it, and you know it. You could cry from the heat of their eyes on your back.

One of Kamun's soldiers steps forwards, handing the Pharaoh and his wife several of the drawings they'd taken from you. Silence passes as the two scan your work.

"How did you achieve such a mirror of the human face?" The Pharaoh asks in a slow, deep voice that sounds as he looks––old, weathered, wise.

"They came from the Nile," Kamun answers for you, and murmurs take the crowd by storm. You, on the other hand, feel your heartbeat increase in massive increments, speeding your already uneven breath. "A gift from the Gods, the locals said."

"I can't – I am not magic," you rush out, hoping your clarification clears you of any responsibility to the Pharaoh. You know he rules everything––if he says you are to stay here, you have no choice, and you don't like it here. Too many people. "I cannot give you anything, my King."

"I think you're lying," says a voice, its' tone soft and a velvet low. It catches you off guard, brings you to raise your head and meet the eyes of someone you don't know; a young man dressed in gold beside the Pharaoh's throne.

You almost lose your breakfast as your eyes bulge, your mind instantly recognizing him and connecting the dots. You were, by far, not a historian, but you knew a fair amount of Egyptian history––namely a family in the Old Kingdom who was headed by the Pharaoh Merenkahre. The remaining statues and busts of the King and his son are astonishingly accurate, and there can be no doubt in your head.

That being said, there also can't be any reaction on your face. You try your best to reign your expression in.

"I..."

Actually, you do have something to offer now. You know the names––memorized the history, committed each event to memory, and now you can pull their lifestory off from the top of your head. Wouldn't that be valuable to a King; a seer of the future, to predict the rise and fall of the economy and the coming armies. Besides, you can't just say he's wrong. That'd be treasonous to them. So you have to agree you're hiding something, come up with an excuse as to why you hid it, and it proves harder than you thought. You're quickwitted, though––it got you away from the villager's wrath, and it will promote you to noble living now.

You hide a smirk beneath a calm expression as you address the younger prince.

"They gifted me foresight," you say quietly, pretending as though it hurts you to tell the truth, "but told me to never inform others."

"You are in the presence of Ra once more," the Pharaoh reminds you.

"And others," you point out. "I would... it would be better to discuss such matters.. in private."

Detailed information about already-past events is enough to sway him to believe you. The Pharaoh is surprisingly easy to convince, and with a few, meaningless predictions of the future, he gives you housing in his own palace. Kamun looks proud of himself––puffs his chest out in front of his father and earns no compliment. Ire laces his glare as it falls upon his brother, Ahkmen, praised for his ability to see through your obvious lie.

The Pharaoh asks his younger son to guide you to your room. Apparently it's closer to his room than it is to Kamun's, and evening is approaching fast. The walk there, while short, is marked by a conversation composed mainly of Ahkmen's questions and your answers. When the two of you reach your room, he doesn't leave––actually, he follows you in and locks the door.

There's nothing more terrifying than a man with unchecked power, and there is no one watching you.

No fail safe.

You gulp.

"I know you're still not telling the truth," he says, and though it dismisses several of your worries it still begs the question; how did he notice? "Just thought I'd spare you the embarrassment in front of my father, but my generosity ends there. Now I won't hurt you, and I won't tell anyone––I'm just curious."

Oh thank fuck. He's not going to rape you.

"I'm not Egyptian," you blurt out.

"Obviously," he interrupts, but you glare him into raising his hands defensively.

"I'm from the future."

He stares at you. For a minute. You know this because you count it––he just pauses right in his stance, doesn't move, and stares at you for a whole minute like you just told him you're made of gold.

"I'm sorry, what?" He says, laughter suddenly wracking his body.

"It's how I know what's going to happen to your family," you say, hoping he'll believe you. Otherwise this handsome, seemingly-nice man is going to think you're insane for the rest of time. "I studied your family for years as a side-hobby, I don't know how to predict the future for anything but you and your father."

His laughing pauses, or lightens at least; enough for him to say, "actually?"

"Yes," you say, completely serious. This seems to gain his interest once more. "You have to help me. I know at some point people are going to ask me questions about other things and I'm not going to have an answer."

"Just do what all our priests do," he says with a chuckle.

"What do they do?"

"Lie," he says. You can't stop the grin that spreads across your face from the stupid joke, and when he sees that a shit-eating grin spreads across his own face, delighted he could make you laugh.

"Yes, well... I guess I could do that," you mumble in a laugh.

"There's no need for you to worry. Now that I know the truth, I can help you," he says, offering you something that takes nearly all the anxiety out of your brain. After two days travel with a prince, it feels like it took 50 pounds off your shoulders.

"Thank you, so much," you chuckle in relief.

"Of course. I do have questions though, and I want you to answer them."

"Anything."

These questions of his, they come at all times––almost at a constant rate when he takes you on long walks, which he does often. He passes it off to his father as an interest in your beauty, and it apparently works. This little lie also helps you enormously in avoiding the romantic advances of many of the people you come into contact with. You're still not quite sure how it works, since Egyptians supposedly had a strong sense of patriotism, but you look rare and they idolize it. Every eye that falls upon you sees something beautiful, and you can't understand it.

At least Ahkmen is normal. He doesn't talk about you being beautiful. Ever.

And it kind of makes you sad.

"Would you say people on the whole are happier in the future or in the past?" He asks you, his words surrounded by the warmth of a summer day in Egypt.

Birds chatter loudly in the trees around you, singing in the humid air that marks the mating season for many of them. The flowers that surround you are already familiar––you thought it would take longer for you to commit the shapes and colors to memory, but here you are. Dressed in gold-laced silk and turquoise necklaces.

"I think the happiness of a population is dependent entirely on the circumstances surrounding it," you say. Sometimes your answers relate more to the human condition than the progress of time on the human race; he likes these answers, too, so you tell him exactly what you think. "Six thousand years from now, there are times of great misery. One is even called the Great Depression, but five years before that were some of the most prosperous times my country had ever seen. The same cycle is evident here."

"So.. great misery and great happiness come in waves?" He asks, pace slowing as he tries to understand what you're saying. You pause along the pathway, allowing him space to think.

"It's a pattern, actually. When the economy goes up, it will always come down. Recessions happen right after economical booms. And yes," you say before he can ask, "a time of unease will follow the prosperity of the current years. But it won't be for a time yet."

"Will it happen in my lifetime?"

He's murdered about three years from now. You think you might be able to stop it, but if you do, it'll alter history quite a lot. Either way, he wouldn't live long enough to see the recession the building of the great pyramids caused.

"No," you say. "But I'd prepare for it anyway, if only to keep your citizens safe."

"Of course. You... you are a great scholar," he tells you, resuming the slow walk down the shore of the Nile.

"Oh. Uh, thank you," you mumble as a blush fills your cheeks.

"What did you do in your time?"

"I was an artist, but I spent a lot of time giving lectures on the role of autistic people in ancient Egypt. Autistic people are often timekeepers," you say, and you know he'll figure out what you mean. Autistic isn't a term here, but many timekeepers of these ancient times were autistic, and considered highly by their societies.

"You might be able to give lectures again, if you'd like," he suggests. "People would come from far and wide to hear you speak. And you've got things to say that I know many scholars will find interesting."

"Mmm," you wince, "I kind of want to stay away from altering history too much."

"Oh, yes. My apologies," he says in a softer voice.

"It's alright," you say. "I'm glad you think I would be a good choice for that kind of thing, though."

He chuckles bashfully as he turns to the ground, scuffing his sandals as he walks.

Ahkmen is sweet––much sweeter than any of his family members, and you find yourself appreciating that every time you pass by his room. You pass his door often, always stopping a second to contemplate the tall, wooden doors. He's on the pathway between your room and the library.

Most of the time he's not in his room. Actually, you can usually find him in the library––there or outside in the markets or near the stalls. Today is different; he's been missing all day, and only when you walk the path back to your room do you hear his voice, talking to himself in his bedroom.

"They're bombarded with just such compliments, though. I can't – I can't stand out!"

"Or maybe you should, because you still haven't said a single thing yet and they probably think you're completely uninterested and that's why they aren't noticing you?"

"You and your... logic," Ahkmen spits.

"Come complaining when you kiss them under my advice."

As you attempt to peek through the crack in the door you stumble, knocking your hand against the wood. You barely hesitate before knocking again––cool and collected, smooth to slip into another lie.

"Oh! Hello, um – hi," he says awkwardly, slipping out of the room when he sees you. He quickly closes the door behind him, careful to keep you from seeing the other person in his room, but you can't bring yourself to care about the stranger.

Think of an excuse, why am I here?

"Oh, that's... I like your flower," he comments softly, eyes flickering between your eyes and the flower tucked into your hair. You'd forgotten about it, but raised your hand to touch the petals as you smiled. The perfect excuse

"Thank you. I thought you might like it, so I," you take it out of your hair and grab his hand, holding his palm upwards, "wanted to show you.. um, here."

Setting the flower in his hand, you curl his fingers around its' stem and push his hands back into his chest. He stares at you for a moment, confused by your strange behavior, but accepting of your gift anyway. You know him well enough now––he'd never decline a gift from you.

"A white iris," he tells you in a lofty tone. "A symbol of the dead. Funny it looks so lively on you."

You need to get out of here before your chest combusts.

"I need to go now, but I'll see you this evening, yes?" You ask, stepping instinctively closer. He doesn't back away.

"Of course. And, um," he takes your hands, keeps you where you stand as he slips the flower back behind your ear, "keep it. I want to see it on you at dinner."

He's close to you––close enough that it gets hard to distinguish his breath from your own, when you started holding his hand. When his other came up to your face. When he leans in and kisses your forehead. It's barely there, just barely, but there's no mistaking the soft plush, the affection clear behind gentle, precise movements.

You rush away the second he lets your hands go.

[sisterssafespace]

Asalaam alaikum.. can you advise on how to deal with anxiety?

و عليكم السلام و رحمة الله و بركاته 🤍

أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم

بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم،

ٱذۡهَبۡ إِلَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنَ إِنَّهُۥ طَغَىٰ (24) قَالَ رَبِّ ٱشۡرَحۡ لِي صَدۡرِي (25) وَيَسِّرۡ لِيٓ أَمۡرِي (26) وَٱحۡلُلۡ عُقۡدَةٗ مِّن لِّسَانِي (27) يَفۡقَهُواْ قَوۡلِي (28) وَٱجۡعَل لِّي وَزِيرٗا مِّنۡ أَهۡلِي (29) ��َٰرُونَ أَخِي (30) ٱشۡدُدۡ بِهِۦٓ أَزۡرِي (31) وَأَشۡرِكۡهُ فِيٓ أَمۡرِي (32) كَيۡ نُسَبِّحَكَ كَثِيرٗا (33) وَنَذۡكُرَكَ كَثِيرًا (34) إِنَّكَ كُنتَ بِنَا بَصِيرٗا (35) قَالَ قَدْ أُوتِيتَ سُؤْلَكَ يَا مُوسَى (36)

24. Go to Pharaoh; He has transgressed.” 25. He said, “My Lord, put my heart at peace for me. 26. And ease my task for me. 27. And untie the knot from my tongue. 28. So they can understand my speech. 29. And appoint an assistant for me, from my family. 30. Aaron, my brother. 31. Strengthen me with him. 32. And have him share in my mission. 33. That we may glorify You much. 34. And remember You much. 35. You are always watching over us.” 36. [Allāh] said, "You have been granted your request, O Moses

ٱذۡهَبَآ إِلَىٰ فِرۡعَوۡنَ إِنَّهُۥ طَغَىٰ (43) فَقُولَا لَهُۥ قَوۡلٗا لَّيِّنٗا لَّعَلَّهُۥ يَتَذَكَّرُ أَوۡ يَخۡشَىٰ (44) قَالَا رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَا نَخَافُ أَن يَفۡرُطَ عَلَيۡنَآ أَوۡ أَن يَطۡغَىٰ (45) قَالَ لَا تَخَافَآۖ إِنَّنِي مَعَكُمَآ أَسۡمَعُ وَأَرَىٰ (46)

43. Go to Pharaoh. He has tyrannized. 44. But speak to him nicely. Perhaps he will remember, or have some fear.” 45. They said, “Lord, we fear he may persecute us, or become violent.” 46. He said, “Do not fear, I am with you, I hear and I see.

Surat Ta Ha (20) - طه 🤍

Dear sister, I found myself starting with these two passages that are of my absolute favorite passages in the holy Quran in general and in Surat Ta Ha in particular because in my mind when I hear the word anxiety it always connects to surat Ta Ha or what I love to call my anti-anxiety pill. Alhamdulillah.

Now why these passages? It might not be known or talked about a lot, but these verses are a proof that prophet Musa (as) had anxiety. In these verses, Allah swt orders him to go speak to the pharaoh, arguably the most tyrannizing criminal that this earth has seen. This task spikes prophet Musa's anxiety and in the first passage he asks Allah swt to (relax his chest) put his heart at peace and ease his affairs, then he requests support from a family member, his brother Harun (as) - and it is also interpreted that prophet Musa (as) had speech impairment, he has problems in his speech? Thus the " untie the knot from my tongue " duaa he made for Allah swt, so he needed to be also backed up by his brother. Can you imagine the amount of anxiety he must have been feeling and going through? Not only the Lord of the Worlds was directly speaking to him ( a surreal supernatural experience ) but also He swt was giving him such a BIG task! I mean sis! I have a thesis I need to finish and it feels like there is a mountain sitting on my chest 24/7, even when I sleep at night I have nightmares about it. And whenever I have to make an important phone call or go into the principal's office at work, I get the whole rapid heartbeats, stomachache, joint pain, shaky voice and whatnot. You know the drill.. Anyways, back to Musa (as), so what does Allah swt say? He swt doesn't tell him that he (Musa) is crazy or delusional, He swt doesn't accuse him of lack of faith, or of being dominated by the Shaytan's waswasah (whispers) like these now Shaykhs throw at us. He swt is the all-knowing, the most just, the most fair, the most merciful and the most gracious. He swt not only acknowledges prophet Musa (as)'s fear and immediately reassures him and calms his heart : you have been granted your request! " Ya Allah.. this gets me every time wallahi.

You know what's the thing we need the most when our anxiety hits? Reassurance. Full stop. Reassurance silences all the voices inside our heads, calms us down, puts our hearts to ease. And what a better place to get reassurance from other than Allah swt?

And Allah swt does it again, further down in the Surah, when faces with the task again prophet Musa (as) voices his worries again, and Allah swt doesn't get fed up with him, doesn't accuse him of being a coward or annoying.. He swt patiently assures him that He swt is with him and with his brother, He swts hears and listens. I once heard a tafseer for this verse that compares it to a mother's love, when her child goes out to play and she will reassure them by saying she is around not far away she could see them from the window and hear them if they need anything. How comforting, sübhanallah.

With that being said and clarified, let me cut to the chase before the post gets too long.

The first step to dealing with your anxiety is to actually accept it. Never be ashamed of it. It is something that even a high-ranking prophet experienced. It is not a sin, it is not your fault, it is just the way your brain is wired. And it is something that Allah swt is testing you with. And the first step to pass your test is to actually acknowledge and accept it. For me, it felt like my whole life made sense the moment I was diagnosed with anxiety. When my therapist actually uttered the words, which wasn't a long time ago, I felt so sorry for all the girls that I have been, throughout the different stages of my life whom had to struggle and push through the pain, the dilemma, the countless anxiety attacks and made it through without actually knowing what they had, while being called crazy, gaslit, disregard, attacked, humiliated, mocked, bullied, etc.. for something that they didn't do nor did they understand. So my first advice to you is to befriend your anxiety, you win nothing by fighting it and making it your enemy. On the contrary, she (oh trust me it's a she, lmao) is a part of who you are, to the point that it could define some of your personality traits, she lives in your head rent free, she is not going anywhere anytime soon, so you better make peace with her. Rejecting, hating, attacking, blaming your anxiety will only make it worse.

Another basic advice is to actually study it, learn it, identify your triggers, be in tone with your body, pay attention to your mood changes, your heart rate, the stomach pain, or whatever symptoms you experience, and identify the act or event or task that generated and triggered those symptoms. That's how you find your triggers, and then next time when you anticipate that thing, you could go through it in your head, you could rehearse or make plans, you could take all your precautions and whatnot.

As for remedies, I am no therapist, so I am not allowed to prescribe anything, but I do take pills myself when necessary. God knows sometimes it gets too much. Breathing helps. Deep thorough breaths from the tummy, they can help calm your heartbeats.. if when you feel anxious about something you would have the time to read some Quran then please do it, it really calms you down and distracts you from the problem even momentarily. Umm, you can listen to your comfort audio (be it a quran recitation or something like I have already mentioned in the post earlier today), talk to someone who makes you comfortable, whether a parent, a partner, a sibling, a best friend... and finally, I will give you my therapist's golden tip: if it doesn't work, ASK FOR HELP.

And eventually, always go back to Allah swt, the source of all comfort, the source of all reassurance and the source of all good. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Allah said, 'I am to my slave as he thinks of Me, (i.e. I am able to do for him what he thinks I can do for him). So always try to think (after you are done freaking out 😅) that Allah swt has got you, and that probably all the bad things that you are scared of won't even come true. Allah swt is the most merciful and the most gracious, He swt is the best of planners and no one has out best interest more than the Pne who created us. Alhamdulillah.

Tbh, I could go on about this for days, but I think I have written the longest answer for an ask in the history of Tumblr. So imma stop here.

I will leave you with 3 very meaningful duaas that are supposed to be recited in the morning and evening adhkar, try to incorporate them in your daily routine, and you will soon notice the difference, bi idhn Allah :)

- بسم الله الذي لا يضر مع اسمه شيء في الأرض و لا في السماء و هو السميع العليم ×3

In the name of Allah with whose name nothing is harmed on earth nor in the heavens and He is The All-Seeing, The All-Knowing. x3

حسبي الله لا إله إلا هو عليه توكلت وهو رب العرش العظيم ×7

Allah is sufficient for me, none has the right to be worshipped except Him, upon Him I rely and He is Lord of the exalted throne. x7

اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَافِيَةَ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَالآخِرَةِ، اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أَسْأَلُكَ الْعَفْوَ وَالْعَافِيَةَ فِي دِينِي وَدُنْيَايَ وَأَهْلِي وَمَالِي، اللَّهُمَّ استُرْ عَوْرَاتي، وآمِنْ رَوْعَاتي، اللَّهمَّ احْفَظْنِي مِنْ بَينِ يَدَيَّ، ومِنْ خَلْفي، وَعن يَميني، وعن شِمالي، ومِن فَوْقِي، وأعُوذُ بِعَظَمَتِكَ أنْ أُغْتَالَ مِنْ تَحتي ×1

O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in this life and the next. O Allah, I ask You for pardon and well-being in my religious and worldly affairs, and my family and my wealth. O Allah, veil my weaknesses and set at ease my dismay, and preserve me from the front and from behind and on my right and on my left and from above, and I take refuge with You lest I be swallowed up by the earth

P.s. you should know that I have written this answer for hours, taking as many breaks as my heart and my mind needed. I hope I managed to make a good enough answer for you 🤍.

May Allah swt calm your worries, and grant your heart sakinah and reassurance. Ameen.

Stay safe my dear, and don't hesitate to talk to me whenever it gets too much.

- A. Z. 🍃