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solomonish · 3 years

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My Personal Simeon Fall AU Headcanons

These are within the same realm of this fic - and it is intended as a Simeon x MC universe! These HCs will focus on his time in the Devildom rather than why he fell, but maybe that information will come eventually...

*some things regarding this war I keep mentioning may not be entirely clear - still working on that! However, I’ll try not to put out too much contradicting information, hehe!

WARNING: some angst, brief mention/implication of torture. forcibly removed memories.

First Days

He came to the devildom in a blaze, much like the brothers did, hurtling down like a shooting star. At the core, encasing him as his wings charred to soot, was a brilliant light blue, rimmed by a dazzling white and platinum gold. At his impact site, parts of the dirt and stone have crystallized in the same colors. The site is still roped off for investigation.

He fell, acting as a white flag for both sides to signal the end of a war very few people knew was raging. The impact sent the last of his holy energy into the surrounding area, and demons near the sight complained of itching and general irritation for weeks after.

The only people at the site who looked into his eyes when he struggled to get up were you, Diavolo, Barbatos, Lucifer, and Solomon. A few curious Devildom citizens were scattered about, too, but Diavolo's authoritative vibe kept them too far to see anything.

Diavolo and Barbtos kept him in one room in the castle as he adjusted to the sudden demonic energy inside him and learned to contain his wrath. You were allowed to see him, but only if supervised by Barbatos or Diavolo in case Simeon tried to hurt you.

He was despondent most of the time, sitting curled up and stiff in the middle of the bed that looked untouched. He spent days without sleep, simmering with rage. You never found out if he bottled it up or if he destroyed the room but Barbatos put it back together before you appeared.

(You might not ever learn that some of the methods Diavolo and Barbatos used to bring his memories back were...extreme. They had no intentions of torture or pain, but they desperately wanted to get to them if they could. That’s where his anger was used up - as he screamed out in agony, either from the extraction method or the feeling of having lost everything yet not quite grasping what that meant.)

Satan suggested books and sent some of his personal collection that helped him gather himself when he was created. Diavolo and Barbatos tried to jog his memories, both for personal reasons and to get information on the Celestial realm, but that was exactly why they were gone. His memories had been magically extracted, but haste made him forget most everything instead of just sensitive information regarding the realm.

Eventually, he was free to roam the garden and some hallways, and when Diavolo and Barbatos concluded that regaining his memories was impossible, he was housed.

Power & Standing

He was a powerful angel, so he is a powerful demon, yet not quite as powerful as the brothers.

Simeon, for the majority of the war, was fighting on the side of the Celestial Realm, so he's generally disliked among the citizens of the Devildom. Our cast are all weary around him for multiple reasons - aside from Satan, Beel, Solomon, and MC (obviously).

He isn't an official member of any student council or governing body, nor does he really have a final say in anything, but he does frequently act as an advisor of sorts. He tends to work with Barbatos on that front, discussing in the background anything that might need discussed or worked on separate from the brothers.

Simeon is a wrath demon, though the change in his temper is hardly noticeable at first. He resembles Lucifer in how strict he is, mostly when he is in charge of something, and his anger that releases when he isn't listened to mimics Satan's.

If they are near each other and angry about the same thing, Satan and Simeon can actually feed off of the other's anger and boost their power. Satan does NOT need the boost, but you bet he brings chaos and destruction tenfold is he has it. For Simeon, though, it practically puts him on par with some of the brothers, if only for a short while.

Socially, he is generally ignored, and nobody runs away from him if he initiates conversation - but he doesn't. Simeon turns into a bit of a loner, a large chunk of his personality and memories gone and replaced with anger.

He's still learning how to deal with it.

His demon form consists of black deer-like antlers (not small but just small enough to avoid being entirely cumbersome) and long wings with bone-tipped feathers. His wings are almost always folded against his back and hanging low, the dangling feathers reminiscent of his angelic cloak with the golden charms. He does have a little black deer tail but doesn't like it being commented on.

(Don't worry about aerodynamics or which animal he represents, it's a magical universe its fine uwu)

General Information

He lives in modest home on the outskirts of the Devildom, somewhat close to the castle in case there's some type of emergency that needs to be taken care of but not so close he gets a super nice house and causes some social uproar. He has a small yard and a garden he tends to meticulously.

I imagine the house as a sort of townhouse (although not a for real townhouse because its it's own thing), two stories tall. The downstairs has a small living room, kitchen and bathroom while the entire upstairs is an open bedroom/office type deal. It gives off a gothic cottage type of vibe. No idea if this is helpful so maybe one day I'll build it in the sims.

He keeps his house tidy but has many bookshelves filled with equal parts books and knickknacks.

As stated before, he is a wrath demon, and because of his memories being almost entirely erased, he had a similar fall and adjustment period as Satan. Also, as a writer, he has an intrinsic appreciation for books. He and Satan get along the most out of all the brothers - the fact that Lucifer has mixed (mostly negative)(?) feelings about Simeon makes the deal sweeter for Satan.

Beel doesn’t dislike him, and while he doesn’t trust Simeon yet he’s willing to see if Simeon is on their side now considering none of his family got hurt. Solomon still trusts him though, but he does get a little downtrodden when he has memories that Simeon doesn’t.

When angry, Simeon smiles sweetly but his voice turns dead cold. Whereas Satan goes feral and seeks destruction like a bomb, Simeon feels more like a sniper rifle that needs careful aim and precision with just as devastating consequences. Shouting and immediate carnage are rare and only come after a severe transgression.

Otherwise, Simeon allows himself to be more playful than before. He doesn’t exactly have snide remarks, but he is an expert at stating the truth in a way that feels like a blade cutting through your confidence.

In true "flaunt what ya got without really making it seem purposeful" Simeon fashion, he wears button-down shirts that are almost entirely unbuttoned. They are always patterned and funky, and he wears them tucked into black pants. I'm thinking something like this (he also has patterns that are more "groovy" than vacation)

Will also occasionally sport a deep v like this

He still acts just as naive and confused if you bring up how exposed he is to him, so its best just to suffer in silence.

When making a pact with MC, he makes sure the mark covers a scar he left and doesn't remember from the war on your shoulder. It feels like a longer-lasting apology.

He still calls you "little lamb," but instead of smiling gently at you like a loving shepherd, his smiles look like a predator baring his fangs at his prey. In a sweet way. In a hot way.

What Does He Remember?

At first, nothing. Demonic instinct claws at him and he lashes out at everyone and everything.

He is still a nightmare with technology. Nobody knows if this is residual from how he was before, a result of his memories being taken, or just a trick.

Occasionally, he’ll remember an inside joke, but only halfway. You’ll say something you don’t realize is from before, and he’ll laugh, almost like an impulse. But then his laugh trails off and he gets contemplative, wondering what, exactly, was so funny about it.

The brightness of the Celestial Realm is hard to forget. The rainbow framing the palace and vast fields appear in dreams. He never remembers anything ‘important,’ but it’s enough to remind him that he was discarded.

The Celestial War hasn’t gone away, not in its entirety. There are certain things like battle strategies that he can’t for the life of him conjure up in his mind, but he remembers the bulk of it. It helps him realize why some of the brothers were/are so aloof towards him - nothing was ever as simple as he thought it once to be. Fighting a losing battle isn’t a choice you make when its for love - its simply the only path available.

(Apologies are so, so hard to dish out when you can’t remember most of your transgressions, though.)

He remembers Luke and will worry himself to inconsolable tears at night just thinking about him. Those thrown away don’t get the privilege of knowing what happens to their friends - and even if he did, Simeon wouldn't be so stupid as to put a target on Luke's back by proving that he was still important to him.

But he can only remember Luke's terrified, teary eyes when he realized Simeon was going to turn on the Celestial Realm in the middle of a war, and how he pleaded with Simeon not to. Luke asked what he would do all by himself, and Simeon hopes to his Father for only one thing - that he figured it out.

This is his sore spot. Nobody is allowed to be privy to these thoughts, not even you. But some days he comes to RAD looking worse for wear and you KNOW something is bothering him. He'll just never tell you what.

#obey me #obey me simeon #obey me shall we date #obey me swd #swd obey me #swd simeon #simeon x reader #simeon fall au #mine #simeon #simeon x mc

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mightbewriting · 3 years

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So I came to W&H and B&E in an odd way. I'm a long time Dramione fic reader who like many of us doubled down on in 2020 to find comfort in a bananas year. I kept seeing W&H on everyone's rec list, but for whatever reason kept putting it off. Then I heard about the prequel and decided to wait for that to be finished, read it, then do W&H. But once it was finished, I saw you recommended W&H first so I was like okay I'll do that. I struggle with impulse control but am trying to do better so when I saw the audiobook for W&H I was like perfect, I'll listen rather than read that way I won't gobble it up in a day. Ha well that did not work, I listened to the first 3 chapters (at that time those were the only chapters they had recorded) then instantly ran not walked to A03, reread said chapters, then continued on. At Chapter 4 of W&H, I thought hmm maybe I'll read them simultaneously. I continued that way maybe through Chapter 13 of B&E and Chapter 7ish then fully committed to W&H first. I cannot imagine reading these fics in real time because reading them in full, back to back was the most intense glutenous binge and it's taken over my life in the best way. I have been living in your fictional universe for the past two weeks. I started a list of all the parallels and callbacks and eventually had to call it because they are innumerable. I'm awed. In literal awe. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Your writing - the individual words of your vast vocabulary, the way you string said words together into hilarious, heart breaking, heart stopping, beautiful, and visceral feelings is astounding. It's hard to explain but even good writers (and/or an intriguing plot) sometimes do not create an overall immersive feeling. But the feelings your words evoke are all encompassing and truly universe building. Like it's not just the wording or the plot or the charters but all of it together come to make something even greater than the sum of their parts. Your writing, your universe of W&H, S&S, and B&E live in my mind and heart and in an embarrassing amount of screenshots of passages on my phone and in voice memos to myself as I don't have anyone irl to fan girl with. When I think of your words and the world you built, I'm reminded of a Taylor Swift lyric: "it cut deep to know you, right to the bone". That is how I'd describe your writing's effect on me, but in the best way.

Your brain's capacity to plot, plan, and flawlessly deliver W&H THEN B&E? Idk how you kept all the threads and plot points and moments and timelines in check. My head aches just thinking about how you wrote these stand-alone but also inextricable works of art. Like how does one's brain function in such a level? And it's especially telling in B&E because we knew where we were going but I still gasped, screamed, squealed, giggled, had to put my phone down, clutched it to my heart, fist pumped, stopped half way through just for a minute to breath and take it all in, and overall looked and acted as an utter idiot during each and every chapter because while I knew where we were going I also had no idea! I'm just floored you managed to keep us at the edge of our seats with a prequel? Who does that? You do!

The texts in the final chapter of W&H devastated me, literal chills. I think about that daily. It's exactly what H and we needed. Just like a reminder of what they went through. It reminded me of Chapter 41 of B&E. Like a summary of where they had been and where they are now.

The other thing that rattled in my brain is the motifs of choice and time, life kind of boils down to those two things huh? But choice especially. It's funny because choice is so prominent but at the same time how W&H and B&E give off soulmate vibes even though this is not a soulmate fic (also are the rumors true...?!) because despite time turners, breakups, and lost memories, they always come back together. But more on choice: it's just as Draco says - in a million scenarios he'll always choose her and he feels lucky she chose him just once. But of course with W&H, she does it twice. And she does it in both timelines of B&E, and of course that's the problem when Draco realizes he has not done the same hence heartbreak 1.0. And just god - he wants her to have a choice with the potion, a choice with her memories, and stops the timey wimey madness by realizing he's taking her choice (and in a way H started it by taking away his choice and leaving the first time). And then those parts about how he chose her, she chose him, but they could not chose each other. This motif, these callbacks. I'm flabbergasted. It's just hitting me now that you extend the choice to us as readers - we get to choose whether H get her memories back or not.

Theo in all your Wait and Hope universe, but especially S&S broke me. Blaise asking who is taking care of Theo when he's taking care of everyone else? Theo's literal and figurative demons? Yikes. Those were unpleasant looks in the mirror for me. I'm glad Theo has his Blaise. Where's mine haha? Also just shout to your underrated Blaise. The fact that he might be my favorite of the Slytherians in your stories says a lot since he doesn't say a lot haha. But he packs such a punch in all your works.

Okay, after singing your well deserved praises and fan girling and marveling at your works (god this is so long, I'm so sorry!), at long last my ask. I still cannot get this out of my head: what did Theo mean in Chapter 1 of B&E when he suggests to Draco “I know that. Maybe you could—tell her some of—” some of what? I zeroed in on this as soon as I read it and it's been rattling in my brain ever since.

um. hi? holy shit. i dont know how to process this. i am resisting the impulse to cringe away from the level of praise happening here because i really need to learn how to take a compliment but oh my god? i am not...this is just...wowzers. you are very literally too kind to me. i have melted into a puddle of feelings in my reading chair here.

so, first things first: thank you. these are some of the nicest things i’ve ever heard about my writing and i can guarantee i will come back to this ask when I'm feeling like i suck and need a motivation boost. i can’t deny...it feels really nice to know that at least one person out there caught and appreciated some of the insane attention to detail i forced upon myself lol. so thank you. truly, thank you so much for saying such amazingly kind things that have short circuited my brain!

and im sure my friends at @etl-echo-audiobooks will be over the moon to know that their recording work was such a hit! your trajectory reading these stories is so fun and hilarious and probably the most unique reading experience i’ve heard so far xD

also, please be advised that your analysis on choice in these stories is probably going to live in my head rent free for the rest of my life. i feel seen, you know? you just...picked up what i was putting down and it feels really nice to know that it worked for you!

and ok. your question. that little dash of ambiguity i was planning on leaving open ended. but let it be known i can be plied with compliments. i can’t just *not* give you something in return for such a lovely and kind and thoughtful dose of joy you had absolutely no obligation to give me today.

so, in my mind, after draco’s house arrest ended and before he went abroad for his mastery, he and theo had an extensive (most likely drunken. also blaise was probably there too) night of reflection where they kind of just looked back at their childhoods and the war and the history of blood purity and just sort of went: “what the fuck?” i imagine draco probably confided in theo that when he went abroad, he planned to just try and pretend like none of it mattered, to see if that was really true. and draco probably kept him updated via owl (even though draco did not write enough and theo had feelings about that) so that by the time draco returned and we have theo asking that sort of trailing question, the implication at the end is “what if you told granger some of your realizations about it all?” so...not all that exciting? but there you have it!

in conclusion: thank you! you are too kind! i appreciate your thoughtful commentary SO much! i’m so happy you enjoyed these stories. and i hope the explanation of what theo was going to say wasn’t too underwhelming.

#thegirlwhowatchedeverything #asks #death by kindness #my death #i am dead #oh also yes #they rumors are true #im writing a soulmate story next #i intend to hurt you #you being ALL of you #*evil laughter*

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mrdemarlowe · 3 years

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"The 333" Prologue: Betrayals

At the height of humanity’s ignorance, a war was waged.

The night sky morphed into a sea of darkness, as legions of Angels swarmed towards Earth’s land. The Angel’s invisible form only made visible by the trails of fire they left behind on route towards the highest populated areas on the planet.

This event would have multiple consequences for humankind.

To start, almost ninety percent of Earth’s land was destroyed and submerged into the oceans, leaving the remaining ten percent of land poisoned or too small to inhabit. In order to deal with this calamity, the survivors of humanity took to massive sea craft, hastily outfitted for long voyages, and began their long and difficult way through the world’s now dominant oceans. Where they would sail for close to twenty years before finally finding a home on land.

A second consequence of the “Rapture” (as some would take to calling it), was a mysterious mutation that occurred within living creatures and caused grotesque deformation and dampened physical ability within the afflicted. In time however, the survivors began to notice that the once prominent and disfiguring mutations were evolving to less visible, more enhancing mutations.

This would be the rough explanation for the creation of the Loma, a new race of humankind that had adapted with abilities.

The third and final consequence of our war had much to do with the first and second, this would make way for the subspecies of monster races to emerge from mutated manifestations of human consciousness. Of course, not many scientists were counted among the survivors of humanity, so even though not many knew the true origins of these races, this was the generally agreed upon explanation. All they knew, or needed to know, was the danger these races would bring for humans in the future.

The Carrier City, home to our race’s remaining people, would steadily drift closer to an unknown fate, and towards a place with divine implications, but demonic foundations.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the world from humankind, a different race emerged. This race had been created through the evil that man had poured into the land, through years and years of blood soaked battles.

Appearing in various corrupted forms, with demonic ambitions and enhanced abilities, the Demazo Race began it’s task to create a new continent in order to lure in any surviving humans for subjugation.

Thus, after almost twenty years at sea, humanity came across a massive land mass they had never seen before.

The scholars on board Carrier City boldly claimed this error on the navigation teams and captain of the vessel, Domillus Sysa. There were accusations of concealing land, or deliberate avoidance in order to sustain control over humanity.

In the end, a small faction of rebels would depart to make their own journeys on the new land, as Sysa’s group would settle in the northernmost territory of their new home. This territory was named Bernum, and was the first land to be discovered and claimed by humankind in years.

The continent humanity had landed on was named Lynn, after the late wife of Domillus, who had risked her own health in order to develop a treatment for some unknown disease that had plagued Carrier City early on in its voyage.

None disagreed, and a new kingdom arose from the ashes of a war not yet forgotten.

In the years to come, a new history began to unfold created from the actions of King Sysa and his bloodline, leading humanity down a new path of existence within the land of Lynn.

This is where we’ll start our story.

Bernum consisted of three distinct geographic features. It’s mystic forest of Demal Dora, which guarded the entrance from southern invaders, to it’s vast mountain-scape, which created a perfect foundation for Bernum’s eventual Kingdom with natural defenses, and its beaches down on the north side of Bernum’s border, which provided a great area for ports and fishing.

It’s within the first geographic feature, where a small campfire can be seen. Sitting around this fire, sheltered from a raging wind, were four men of varying age.

The first man Jacoby Simms, a grizzly man with silver hair and beard equivalent to the moon, who’s short stature warred constantly with his fiercely overbearing presence, sat idly stoking the flames. His hair and beard, both braided heavily with an assortment of gleaming metallic objects, glistened as it rubbed against his silver armor. His heart and mind were heavy this night, and no amount of drink or song was helping to appease his stress.

But it mattered little, his stress would not be transferred to his subordinates, he loosed a short soft sigh, and fixed himself upright.

“Anyone up for a Sysan Story?” He asked in his gruff but heavily accented voice. “I know one that’ll go great with a moonlit night like we have here.”

The smile on his face was clearly forced, but he had small hope that his crew had not noticed as he stood to begin.

“I’d rather you tell us what was said in Bella and Cyllym.”

This response came from Cassius Grau, a young man of twenty one years, who’s youth often went unnoticed under his wise and questioning eyes. But with his messy hair, and growing stubble, his questions and air of authority quickly vanished under the uncertainty of his power.

To his left sat the youngest of the four, a young man of nineteen, with short dirty blond hair, and a constant look of paranoia in his eyes named Elliott Alba.

Elliott scoffed quietly, before continuing his scan of the dark surrounding forest. “We aren’t high enough in the chain of command to understand these things.”

This was said almost in complete unison with the words of the last man who sat directly across from Cassius. Tristan Zuna, who had started with “You” instead of “We”, and was quite irritated at the mocking done by his pupil, finished his statement with a word of chastisement. His jet black pencil tip mustache and hair, which he kept in the slicked back style of old world Spaniards represented his refined and suave personality and his slick black armor complemented him to a T as well.

“I suggest you stop with the interruptions, and listen to your elders.” Tristan finished eyeing both pupils.

“Don’t be so rough on the boys,” Jacoby laughed, “they’re just nervous of war, and rightly so. But we can talk about that tomorrow when we report to the King. For now let’s recount the tale of Demarlowe Sysa, the fourth King of Lynn, and the wielder of the *Holy Roar*.”

“In those days, demons still ran the majority of Lynn’s southern half, and war between the races had been an ongoing struggle for the past Sysa King’s. But King Demarlowe was young, he knew that he had the strength his father had lacked in his old age. He knew he had the power to subdue the Demon race for good.”

Jacoby paused for effect, before continuing.

“It was on a night like this, with the moon in full view, that the King led his forces to retake Bristol and Fallpin. He discovered his Holy Roar, and with it he banished the Demon Prince to the deepest pit of hell.”

“I doubt things were that simple.” Cassius interjected. “The rest of the Kingdom’s territories were still united in it’s support of the King.”

“And they still are…” Tristan began to argue, but Jacoby stopped him with a wave of his hand.

“This world is ever changing, things come and go, and sometimes we humans crave things we can no longer have, or will never be able to have. This can make us do evil things.” Jacoby looked the boys each in the eyes. “If war becomes an outcome that we are to expect, it is our own fault as a race for our desires and flaws. We just need to trust in those who have a higher sense of divine purpose.”

“I couldn’t agree more.” Cassius replied, a sinister smile forming at the corners of his mouth. “We should trust in someone with a higher purpose than just taxes, and technology. We need power and knowledge, with a system designed to cater to those who’ve obtained both. We need a new way.”

“Don’t you ever speak such treasonous words in our prese…” Tristan began to yell, but was cut short by Elliott’s calm whisper.

“Null.”

With this, the two older men found themselves unable to use their Lomatic abilities, and as the cold chill of fear rose deep in their chests they turned to see Cassius Grau rise from his spot with the sinister smile fully visible on his face.

“Lunaius et Espanza” he began in a strange foreign language, before switching back. “Kill each other, make it look like an enemy ambush, and die knowing you’re both failures as teachers. Your own students overpowered you.”

With an evil bout of laughter, the boys watched as their former mentors ripped each other apart while the reflections of the campfire danced inside pools of blood.

The first betrayal was finished.

The Next Day:

As the midday sun reached its place above Bernum’s cityscape, two tattered and frantic riders were seen approaching the Kingdom’s gates. Standing Guard today was Rose Petallis and Sylvia Lennox, two of the most promising Royal Guard recruits in their generation.

Rose, a sweet and logical girl, almost twenty years in age, with warm auburn hair and soft amber eyes, was the first to notice Bernum’s crest on the riders cloaks. This was also when she realized the identity of the men, as Cassius Grau and Elliott Alba reached the entrance.

Sylvia, who was much more aggressive in nature, brushed back her golden blonde hair from her light green eyes and shouted to the men below.

“Identify yourselves or submit to apprehension and interrogation.” She finished, still eyeing them suspiciously.

The pair waited a couple moments for any response before calling down again. This time, the question came from Rose.

“Cassius? Elliott? Where are Sir Jacoby and Tristan?” She asked each question in fast succession, worry clear in her voice. “What’s going on guys?”

“Stop talking!” Sylvia scolded, “Until we’ve confirmed their identity, we mustn’t reveal any important information.”

With seemingly no words coming from below, the two girls decided to head down for a closer look. When they reached the bottom they noticed something off about the two men.

They were bloody, with pieces of clothing ripped off in various places. The frantic energy had faded, and the two men now lay slumped over on their mounts. The scene looked slightly staged but the girls immediately recognized their comrades outside the gate.

“That’s the boys,” Sylvia observed, turning to lift the gate. “ Something must have happened down in Demal Dora. We must inform the King.”

As she finished lifting the gates, Sylvia noticed a brief glimmer of metal before a slice appeared across her jaw and cutting down the length of her chest. As she fell to the ground, life fading from her eyes, the form of Elliott Alba appeared in front of her.

“You really were so beautiful…” He sighed softly. “Such a shame.”

Then he plunged his sword deep into her gut, pulled it out and walked away, as Cassius finished off a struggling Rose with a swift snap of the neck.

Sylvia’s eyes filled with darkness as her vision faded, the last image seen replaying in her head. Cassius and Elliott, with putrid smiles on their faces, walking towards the castle. Their second betrayal complete.

Meanwhile, at the castle:

In the highest observation tower, a frightened and confused Darla Brand has just witnessed the betrayal of her comrades at the gate.

Her dark brown hair, usually worn down, had been tied back to prevent obstructing her view of the seasonal migration of the local birds, but what she had seen by the gates was a simple mistake of curiosity.

The fear and confusion changed to anger and a determination to inform her guardsmen of the incoming danger, but as she reached for the door handle she found it already turning. Once it opened, she was relieved to see her fiancé, Prince Damian Sysa, who had just arrived to surprise her with lunch.

“Cassius and Elliott are back,” she started, “but something is wrong, they attacked Sylvia and Rose. I just saw the entire thing from the observation scope, and they’re on their way here. I think something is going on.”

As she finished, she noticed the doubt in her betrothed ones eyes flicker slowly before switching over to trust when he noticed her gaze. She gave him a moment to grasp the situation before prompting him to action.

“I need you to trust me, go inform your father.” She begged. “I need to go and help the girls at the gate, but when you escape with the King, come and meet me there.”

With this, she raced off leaving Prince Damian to warn his father of the coming attack.

In a quick moment of thinking, Damian decided to utilize his ability.

A quietness filled the room as his eyes closed to this world into another.

The Luullo Void was a dimension built entirely on silence. Only those born with Luullo type abilities can access the void, but even among them few can freely roam inside it’s realm with consciousness.

Prince Damian searched quickly for any aura inside the void, knowing only one person who could help at a time like this. But to no avail, Damian could only reach out in hope.

Finally, after a few seconds, Damian reached the consciousness of his mentor, the only other man to have made conscious contact inside the void. Adamantis Black, his father’s right hand and the commander of Bernum’s Royal Guard.

In the throne room, located on the opposite side of the Castle:

Adamantis Black, a man of few words with dark black hair and a trimmed and kept beard to match stands across from King Darius Sysa, Bernum’s current ruler.

As he finished his report, he feels a pinprick of anxiety coming from the Luullo Void. Without hesitation he establishes connection, and as a first instinct scolds his pupil.

“If you can’t free your mind of anxiety, everyone will feel your presence here my young student.” He chastised lovingly. “We’ve discussed this issue before.”

He felt a mischievous smirk form on his face before remembering his current location. The king eyed him, clearing questioning the smirk.

“Your son has entered the void,” he answered without orders. “he is getting stronger, but as of yet has much to lear…”

He was cut off by a desperate Prince Damian.

“My Father… danger. Cass and El… attack. Protect the King.” His last sentence was short enough to come in clear and was the only one to catch Adamantis off guard.

Without hesitation the King’s commander charged for the door to secure the room, but was too late.

The door handle turned, and in walked a young man with jet black hair and a look of pure delight clear across his face.

“Hello father.” He addressed Adamantis, before spotting the King. With a quick bow he finished, “Your Highness.”

“What’s wrong Sebastian,” Adamantis asked, noticing that something wasn’t quite right with his son. “Do you know what’s going on with Cass and Elliott?”

“Indeed I do father,” Sebastian replied coldly. “In fact, I told them to do it. I made all of this fun happen today.”

At a point of almost hysterical laughter, Sebastian slowly begins to calm down as King Darius rises from his throne.

“Explain yourself now boy, or so help me, I’ll make you slap yourself into a coma.” The King started, an air of intense anger beginning to permeate from his every word.

“Empty threats at this point my King,” Sebastian turned his gaze more intently displaying his pleasure at his achievements. “Everything is as I’ve planned. The envoy from Cyllym to Bella claiming war, the spies in our capitol, even the assassinations in Aurora that closed the trade agreements with Bernum.”

Without another word needed, The King began to incite his ability the King’s Command, which allowed him to speak orders into fruition, however it would not activate, much to the King’s surprise and dismay.

As both Adamantis and King Sysa stared in horror, the walls began to fade away to a dark pitch black nothingness. Leaving behind only, the three men.

“Welcome to my Noir.” Sebastian spoke smoothly, as two more figures emerged behind him. “Glad you boys made it in time to enjoy the fun.”

As the figures began to materialize, the King noticed the faces of both Cassius Grau and Elliott Alba, grinning as if they had just spent the night with a commune of women. Each covered in blood without a hint of injury the King could discern.

“I take it you boys are going along with this then?” He asked, already knowing the answer. A sadness had already began to sit in his eyes and words carried heaviness at the thought of this treachery. “Why?”

“Simple Old man, it’s time for a new line of Kings.” Sebastian, who had now made his way closer to his father, began slowly. “Let’s not waste any more of it.”

Before he could react, Adamantis Black found himself deep within the Luullo Void once more. Yet this time felt different, almost permanent in a way. He saw far more clearly within the void than he had ever seen before. And in his final moments of life, he discovered the experience of being reborn into another.

As Sebastian Black’s blade finished it’s downward slice, Adamantis Black took his last breath, and his body hit the ground with a heavy thud.

The King could do nothing but kneel at his best friends side and watch as life faded from his corpse. An anger again beginning to form deep within his gut. With no hesitation, he began to curse Sebastian Black.

“You are evil incarnate, you shape yourself in ways to mix with innocence but you are corruption to your core. You will hurt those closest to you with no remorse, and trade power for bits of your soul. Yet your evil will be your undoing. It will consume you and erase your existence forever.”

As the King finished his fierce last command all three boys lunged forward. Each one plunging their swords deep into the King’s chest. And watched as his body landed uncomfortably on the ground.

“It’s a new Era boys, let’s make sure it remembers who we are.” Sebastian mutters proudly.

The blackness faded away leaving no trace of the incident that had just occurred, just a cruel smiling Sebastian sitting on the King’s throne. With his third and final betrayal finished, he commenced with his last objective.

“Inform the council of elders knows of the Prince’s treason, and make sure you capture them before they escape.”

With Sebastian’s orders, the two men disappeared to capture the prince, as Sebastian peered happily through his new throne room’s window.

A few moments earlier:

Prince Damian had felt the disconnection from his mentor before anything else, and once he had realized what that meant, began making his way towards the throne room. However he was stopped by a reestablished connection to Adamantis Black who spoke briefly through the Void.

“I am dead, your father is surrounded, nothing you can do, run, take Darla and the baby, live.”

As tears filled his eyes, Damian understood his mentors words, and he raced to find Darla and escape the castle grounds. He would never return to his home territory, and he rode away from it’s borders with tears in his eyes and hatred in his heart. He turned to give one last glance to his old life, then turned back and headed towards his new one.

In the years that followed, Damian and Darla would settle cautiously within the territory of Alorica where they would have their daughter Donna, and would stay hidden for years until sickness took hold of Darla and eventually, Prince Damian as well.

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equalseleventhirds · 4 years

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makes some soup makes some soup makes some soup

(since this ep said 'smirke was hubristic and incorrect' but also did not definitively say the eye & the other fears aren't distinct... and also bcos it's a routine for me now. i like to make fear soup. it is relaxing & fun.)

spirally stuff for sure, i sorta get why ppl were saying it was spiral (but it's not! it's soup!): 'smoothly shifting steps that grow and shrink to hidden whims', 'i have simply misplaced it for a moment', 'the one who sits in the central chamber cannot remember his name', 'a cacophony of undulating architecture', 'the corridors would invert every forty-seven seconds and shift incline every twenty, as well as growing a door to a staircase every two minutes', 'this didn’t make sense. it, it wasn’t fair!', 'but the fact that none of them should be there. that it doesn’t make sense. and it must make sense. there must be a system. there must be, because if there isn’t...'

eye a LOT, fitting for a smirke-monument and the Hubris of Knowledge (and we get the seeking knowledge and the fear of their true selves being seen! love that): 'desperate to add another sense to their observances', 'hanging over their faces to hide the looks of confusion and fear', 'it simply takes observation and thought and patience and, above all else, intelligence', 'they have spent their lives in holy objectivity, cleaving one gordian knot after another in the arena of publication and debate', 'how long has he been watching now?', 'timing and observing the rotations of the passageways above him', 'they’ll remember him forever, the first to escape the monument'

'the arena of publication and debate' feels also a little slaughter-y, possibly (violence metaphor about cutthroat academia fuck yeah thank you jonny), but u kno what's more slaughtery. 'he picks up his chunk of granite, and begins to smash the doctor’s head in yet again' [sounds of brutal peer review] thank u anil u fucking gem

lonely as well! fitting tbh, putting yourself separate and above other ppl is pretty lonely): 'argue about the angle with nobody', 'they will be the first to escape' (with the implication of being the only to escape), 'his peers are ignorant amateurs beside him'. (and i rly enjoy the implication that they are choosing their loneliness and suffering for that choice. hubris.)

some corruption, 'beyond their chipped teeth and rotten gums', 'their beards are long and matted with their prevaricating spittle', 'staining bloody notes into a torn and discoloured robe'

'there is a pattern to the movements, an unseen system to the shifting of the doors and the opening of the tunnels' is spiral, sure, but is it not also web. the unseen system? the secret pattern? 'they are only being led by the siren call of their pathetic little biases' too, and 'the thought of starting over, of composing yet another theory, fills him with a deep dread' (the inevitability of his actions... he's gonna do it anyway.)

some rather more metaphysical vast ideas: 'time means nothing in the pursuit of knowledge', and ‘you’re still working on mineral theory? how painfully outdated.’ (bcos yeah the idea that ur Outdated is! fear of the Bigness and ur insignifiance!) and the doctor's fall is also vast-y, for all he's not afraid of the falling (suddenly falling when u shouldn't be tho... the fear of ur fall from grace/power/etc... hm.)

i'm... not sure if the like, loss & hopelessness the various academics feel at losing their pet theories is desolation? it's not fire but it is loss of what they love and value... like, not that they don't deserve it, but is it desolation? hey jonny is all loss & destruction of what ppl love desolation???? even without the fire imagery? (pls say yes bcos otherwise what is the POINT)

and buried, 'fingers that end in jagged nails probing, eager, desperate for the wide and stately passages of marble' (dig...), 'this prison of geometry', 'the ground opens up below the poor, panicking doctor'

stranger: 'his curled lip is reflected in the face of this pretender' (and yo what's it mean that the professor is the stranger! another victim! fuck off smirke in particular!!) (altho 'his mouth breaks into a smile, lip splitting in the grin, spilling a drop or two of scarlet onto skin so pale as to now be near-translucent' makes him sound Uncanny & stranger, altho also a little bit flesh)

some of the more injury-body-horror stuff from flesh: 'smashing bone and cracking skull on the stairs and columns he impacts', 'lies still, his body twisted and broken'

‘scampers over to where he fell’ followed by a rly targeted gloating (like he was just WAITING for the doctor to fall in there so he could be mocked) feels hunt without the violence? the more psychological aspects, maybe. i’m not sure.

'he knows it will knit itself back together, slowly, painfully, as it always has before' brings up the painful-immortality aspect of the end

#tma spoilers #fear soup #managed to do this riiiiight before leaving work #might've missed stuff but. soup. here u go piping hot.#some of it is stretching but when is it not! metaphors get complicated!!#also while typing this i did in fact realize that the doctor without a name might be.............. uh.......................#u ever remember how jonny is british. anyway. doctor who.

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loyalflutist · 5 years

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I’m Yours (F!Byleth x Edelgard) *R-18+

Challenge: Edeleth Twitter Week (09/29/2019 - 10/05/2019) Day 6: I’m Yours

A/N: I was busy on 10/04 the entire day, so the fictions are starting to be backed up by a day or two. Also, since I’m not sure why Tumblr is hiding my lemons... (I wrote one for Dorothea and there was an older one with Edeleth that somehow disappeared from the search results...) Hence, I’ll begin to tag them as “LEMON THE LEMONADE” rather than the usual tag.

Also, beware of minor implications of nonconsensual activity and massive spoilers about Byleth’s origin and the following characters: Sothis, Rhea, Seteth, Flayn, Jeralt.

---

People sometimes think the world revolves around them. A singular entity in a vast space that shines the brightest. It was their life, and it was their life alone. No one has any control over it. Not their family. Not their friends. Not their enemies. No one. Absolutely no one. They were who they were. No one can define their existence.

Yet fate is sometimes cruel. That singular entity— that person, can be manipulated and placed under a hold from their oppressors. Brutal methods were enforced to brainwash the individual. Terrorize them. Drag them down with metallic chains fit for wild beasts. Mouths muffled by hands tainted with their very own blood. Blindfolds concealing the truth from them. False beliefs instilled into them. Obedience a necessity to survive the next day. And when a savior appears, they are taken away just as quickly as they appear. Oh, how terrifying it must be to open up to their significant other! Everything can go south so quickly… as for Byleth Eisner.

‘ I don’t want to be used. ‘

A shudder ran down her spine amidst her violent trembles. The teal-haired can be spotted in her private quarter, seated on her royal mattress in her loungewear. Legs pulled close to her chest, Byleth’s fingers tangled with her locks, her nails digging into the sensitive scalp. The weak heart that finally came back to life thumped heavily upon her chest; its pounding reaching her eardrums. These symptoms were becoming more and more frequent as the days crawled by… She gritted her teeth and felt her respiration hastened.

‘ I’m scared. ‘

How out of character, one may ask! She stands strong in adversary with features relating her to the infamous nickname, “Ashen Demon.” She commands the armies and battalions with ease. She commends those with their valiant efforts. She becomes a sly fox when teasing her alumni. She pridefully married an emperor of the Adrestian Empire. Hark, is this the Byleth everyone has come to respect and love?

The aftermath of the war was over, but the physical and emotional scars remain. Upon learning the truth about her origin from Rhea, Seteth, Flayn, and Jeralt, she wanted nothing more than to crawl under a hole and stay put. A rush of emotions that she had been bottling up over the years was becoming to rear its head from the corner— That wasn’t right… It came crashing into her fragile mental state like a tsunami. War had kept her emotions in check, but now that the main conflict was finally over with the staggering defeat of Rhea, nothing was keeping them back. Accompanied by poor coping mechanisms, it was inevitable PTSD would terrorize the ex-mercenary every night.

“I’m sorry to leave you behind like this, Byleth...”

No…

“We’re like family!”

No…!

“It is my duty to protect you.”

No!

“Mother, you have returned.”

“NO!!!”

“Byleth?!”

“?!”

She instinctively lashed out to the speaker with her hand. It stopped mid-air by a powerful grip. Dread overwhelmed the older woman as she tugged away from its captor. A couple of attempts failed, their hold was overpowering. Fear clenched her throat and choked her as whimpers trickled out. Why can’t she get away?! Through her blurred vision in the dark room, she began to cry; tears flowed down her cheeks like a waterfall.

The figure holding her was none other than Rhea. She had that holy smile, that holy aura, and that holy title glued to her physical existence. Yet the maiden stared directly into her shivering soul. Those same loving eyes that she once possessed similarities to. The one that she could easily call her “daughter.” Byleth quivered as she used her other hand to weakly push away from the female.

“Don’t call me Mother!”

“BYLETH!”

Rhea instantly disappeared in a blink of an eye. At that same moment, warmth immediately enveloped her entire body and blackened her sight. It was like a protective bubble… a blanket that someone had draped over her physical and spiritual body. Scarlet carnation’s aroma fluttered to her nose from the person’s bosoms. Their arms tightened its hold on the professor as said-person whispered,

“Byleth, it’s me.”

Now it wasn’t the voice of Rhea that vibrated her eardrums. It was the voice of her wife; Edelgard von Hresvelg had pulled her into a firm embrace.

Acknowledging her presence froze Byleth in place. She tried to peel away from her chest only to find it a futile try, the emperor resting a hand on the back of her head. The professor deeply inhaled her scent. Then, she exhaled her shaky hot breaths into Edelgard. This was embarrassing. Her meltdowns were meant for private eyes only, and those private eyes belong to herself. The fact that her wife just witnessed her disastrous distress might color her in a different light. She is her professor, she is older than her, and she has more experience in life than the white-haired. She wasn’t supposed to act this way.

“Byleth…”

“…”

Silence ensued afterward. Not a peep came out of Byleth’s mouth. The noble softly exhaled and pressed her lips upon her wife’s head. Fingers eventually ran through the teal hair, her nails gently scratching Byleth’s scalp. Small bursts of euphoria washed over her scrambled mind from Edelgard’s heavenly motions; drowsiness nearly making its way forward. Byleth adjusted the position of her head as a melancholic tune filled the quiet atmosphere.

“The footsteps of the lost child cease to be heard

Replaced only by that song of prayer

The song soon becomes that burning lamp

Guiding on that wandering traveler…”

It was rare to hear Edelgard sing. Whenever she participated in the fine arts, she would never dare express her interest with them to the public. Not even to her own wife out of embarrassment. However, tonight was an exception. The sorrow that dripped from the lyrics, yet there was a sense of consolation from those words showered to the listener.

Footsteps from the lost child…

That would be Edelgard.

Replaced only by a song of prayer…

That would be Edelgard.

The song that soon becomes a burning lamp…

That would be Edelgard.

Guiding on the wandering traveler…

That would be Byleth.

The two shifted their posture so Edelgard would easily hug Byleth on the bed. They laid down with Byleth holding onto her wife for dear life. Their legs tangled and a blanket providing additional warmth to the solemn night. Peering through the windows was the moonlight basking their resting figures. Despite the height difference, it appears Edelgard was the tall one in the relationship at this moment. She continued to scratch her wife’s head as she sang.

“If you feel afraid, just shout it all out loud

And you will know that I am right by your side

Holding you close with this trembling body of mine

To let you know that you are not alone

It’s alright if we can’t smile like before

For one day we will reach that place for you and me, that place… for you… and me.”

“…you should sing more often,” Byleth mumbled into her lover’s chest. She nuzzled into Edelgard and added, “But I think you should sing something happier.”

“Happier? You must be feeling better if you’re able to suggest something to me.”

“…”

Edelgard had to stifle her chuckle when the older woman reburied her face into her bosoms.

Oh, how the role has been reversed. She remembered the nightmares that had plagued her when she was a student. Numerous visions and hallucinations of her deceased siblings and classmates came to visit her from their grave. Their cold hands pulled her into the darkest abyss. She eventually finds herself strapped onto the wooden chair, the scalpels and needles jabbed into her exposed flesh from multiple non-consensual surgeries. Flaming aches throbbed from her hidden scars. They were unbearable to sleep through. It was always a surprise to Edelgard whenever she was able to function like a fully conscious person during her time as a student and as an emperor. Perhaps it was due to Byleth’s presence.

Byleth had always showered her with more love than she had expected. She would always sneak away from her own dormitory to sleep with her girlfriend. This was not merely an act of romanticism. This was an act to retain Edelgard’s sanity. This was furthered emphasized when Byleth went missing for five years. Nightmares that were shooed away had returned to haunt her. Lysithea and Caspar were unable to kick them to the curb despite their best efforts. Not even Hubert was able to quell those internal demons. She needed Byleth so badly. Byleth is her anchor. Without an anchor, the ship would float mindlessly from its path.

The emperor kissed the top of her head again. Now it was her turn to care for Byleth.

“Can you tell me… how long you’ve been having these breakdowns?”

“…”

“Are you scared of telling me?”

A hesitant nod. Then, Byleth rose until their face was on an equal level. The moonlight shone over their features, and the professor’s were mixed with fear and shame. Edelgard instantly brought her hand up to cup one side of her face. Her thumb rubbed among the cheekbone as she said,

“Don’t be afraid. Whatever you tell me, I won’t judge you.”

“…promise?”

“I promise.”

She deeply breathed.

“I’ve had them since the war ended. It first started when I was in the infirmary, recovering from my wounds.” Byleth’s lips firmed into a thin line. “I… I remember the way they looked at me.”

“They?”

“Lady Rhea… Flayn… and Seteth.”

Those names… How long has it been since Edelgard last heard of them? Though Flayn and Seteth had escaped from the war, Rhea was long gone. Still, those three played an important part in Byleth’s life. She knew that for sure. Their importance wasn’t subtle anymore the moment Byleth had merged with Sothis in order to combat their adversities. All three of those individuals began to bow down to the professor as if she were a holy being. Their words were articulated with precision in hopes of proving their devotion to her. It was as if Byleth Eisner was the goddess; her humanity long gone after the fusion. Edelgard always found it baffling. Byleth is Byleth. There is nothing different about her, save it for her insane strength growth. Just what made them so keen with her girlfriend?

“They used me.”

Indeed, they did. That was for certain. Sweet nectar stained their statement the moment Jeralt and Byleth stepped foot into Garreg Mach. Soldiers from the monastery were oblivious and blind to the manipulative threads that dangled overhead. Everyone was dancing to the beat of the Church and Those Who Slither in the Dark. The worst one of them all had to be Byleth, an outsider with little knowledge of politics, who was forced to join the mass. Not even Jeralt could save his daughter from their hands.

“I’ve killed so many innocent lives…”

But that was not her fault. She was simply following orders from Rhea during their time at the monastery. The same fault could lie upon her students too. They were the ones who delivered the final blow to every mortal foe that stand against the Church of Seiros. Villagers from various parts of Fodlan begged for forgiveness as Byleth slaughtered every one of them. Their crimes? Abstaining in the religious teachings of the Goddess Seiros. Regret gnawed at the ex-mercenary each time she received praised from Rhea and Seteth.

“Lady Rhea told me I’m her Mother…!” Byleth curled her fingers inward, unintentionally digging her nails into Edelgard’s back. The young lord bit back a yelp as her wife blubbered, “Can you believe that? I’m her Mother! She told me it was destiny— It was my fate that she be my daughter!”

She began to shed another round of tears and bit the bottom of her lip. Memories began to seep into her mind once more as she confessed her terrors. A child of a mother born of the progenitor god’s Crest Stone and a father who carried Rhea’s blood… She was literally related to Rhea, Seteth, and Flayn. She tried to reject the notion. She objected against Rhea of the ridiculous blood connection they had. She fought against the idea that Rhea is her daughter.

Obsession was something Rhea had to cope with her mourning. The lingering desire for a love Rhea desperately seeks for after the death of her mother extended out towards Byleth. Wet sensation overwhelmed her body, the revolting shudders that pulsed throughout her figure, the fingers that dared made her sing broken melodies unfit for the apparent goddess squeezed nausea into Byleth. It was all in the name of forcing the projected image and mentality into her. It was all there to say that Byleth was hers.

“She did so many things to me, I—I don’t know anymore!”

Disgusting.

“She told me I was hers! I was hers alone!”

Absolutely revolting.

“Byleth—”

“El,” Byleth sharply inhaled and eased her bruising hold. The abrupt pacification was alarming. Though her tears were now long gone, her intonation was grave. “I don’t want to be used by her. I’m not her Mother… and I don’t want to be used by anybody anymore… I’m scared of losing myself.”

“Rhea is long gone.” Edelgard kissed her weeping wife’s forehead. “No one will use you ever again. If anyone does, I’ll cut them out before they can do anything to you.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

From Edelgard’s perspective, it was heartbreaking to hear all of this from her professor. She had known about it. She didn’t know the extent of the details, but she knew these experiences were bad. What she did not gauge was how BAD Byleth had it during her time at the monastery. The façade was well-kempt and hid her inner turmoil well. Whenever the topic was brought up, Byleth would brush it aside with an “another time” excuse. When they did have the scarce time to become lethargic, Edelgard would always forget or hold back on the matter, the fear of ruining the positive energy that surrounds their dates.

It was her fault for having it reach to this level. Everyone has the possibility of hiding something behind their smiles. It just so happens that Byleth was one of them. If only she had noticed it earlier… If only she had suspected it sooner… All these times they spent together, Byleth was afraid to succumb to the lowest point of her emotional health before her wife. Edelgard may have recovered and rightfully moved on from her past after a year from the war… but that was not the same for Byleth. Edelgard lowered her hands to her sides.

“I’m sorry it got so bad for you, my teacher… I won’t ever let it happen again.”

“…it’s not your fault.”

“But it is.”

The blanket began to move in place as the Adrestian Empire’s emperor shifted her position. She eventually sat upright and straddled the older female; both of her hands pressed upon Byleth’s abdomen. From all the times they’ve spent together, Byleth knew where this was going. This kicked up the temperature within her head and caused her heart to beat faster— and for a different reason too.

“Please, let me make it up to you.”

“You… don’t have to.”

“I do. The fact that the archbishop dares call you hers infuriates— doesn’t sit right with me. I want you to be mine, and I want to be yours. Besides…” she cupped her chin and hummed. “I heard that sex is a good way to increase one’s mood.”

“?!”

So, it really was going down that route. It had been some time since they’ve last conducted this passionate activity. After all, they were both important individuals leading the united Fodlan and the Adrestian Empire. One acts as a war hero, and one acts as an emperor. Both always ran about their businesses. Various occasions forced them apart from each other. Whenever they had time to spend, they were either too tired or weren’t in the mood. They might as well diagnose themselves with TBD, also known as the “Too Busy Disorder”!

Edelgard blinked a couple of times when Byleth appears thunderstruck.

“…why are you giving me that bizarre look?”

“I’m confused. Who told you that?”

“Dorothea.”

“…”

“Byleth?”

“…”

“…I’m going to kill Dorothea when she returns from Brigid.”

“Please don’t.”

Imaginary fumes puffed out of the noble’s head as beads of sweat flew out of the professor. It was followed up with chuckles and giggles from the pair. The heavy atmosphere that hung over their shoulders began to lighten up. That was the first step towards recovery. Postures still the same, Byleth reached up to pat her wife’s arm. Red discoloration continued to thrive on her cheeks as she murmured,

“I’m yours.”

It may have been soft, but low and urgent. Edelgard felt her core tightened from the intonation. She leaned down and kissed her spouse’s lips. It was brief and simple; an act of consensual agreement for the upcoming event.

“Very well. I’ll make sure to chase your fears away.”

The white-haired fumbled to strip Byleth’s dark shirt. It was a slow and excruciating process as the tactician would lift her upper body every now and then to rid of the attire. Shirt tossed to the side, Byleth urged Edelgard to do the same.

“It would be unfair if it’s just me.”

“Are you sure you aren’t saying that just to see me naked?”

“There’s… that too.”

How bold of Byleth! Then again, wasn’t she always this bold? She had always teased her students of silly remarks. When it came to Edelgard, those teasing were more in line of flirting and outright full of suggestive innuendos.

No— it might have been more so with her underlying desire to indulge in her beautiful wife’s figure. Scars and sutures did not matter to Byleth. She loved Edelgard no matter what she looks like; her love for the lord transcends beyond physical affections and wants. Edelgard heeded to her words and took off her tanktop. It was thrown to the floor without a second thought.

Now, the two bore themselves half-naked to each other. As they were wearing their sleeping attires, there was one less hassle with regards to their bras.

“Breathtaking…” Edelgard commented, her hands sliding up to Byleth’s peaks. “I will never understand how I can make mine as big as yours.”

“Don’t say that. Yours has a charm of its own.”

“Maybe if I drink more milk…”

“El.”

Byleth pulled the young woman down with a single tug on her arms. Their lips crashed together. The way they kissed contrasted greatly from their previous one. Their tongues danced with one another as Byleth held the back of Edelgard’s head. Edelgard whimpered into her mouth the instant Byleth began to sweetly suck on her tongue.

“Mmm…”

In retaliation, when they parted for oxygen, Edelgard leaned forward to litter suckles and kisses onto the woman’s neck. She pushed her hips into Byleth, their neither region softly pulsating from the friction. A quiet groan slipped out of her wife’s mouth. That tickled Edelgard’s raw instincts as she retracted from the abdomen. Then, she pressed against it again. Not too gentle to be considered an annoyance, but not too harsh to elicit a full-blown euphoric trip. Just enough to justify the occasional moans from the older woman. The back and forth motion continued as Edelgard tenderly sucked and nibbled on Byleth’s smooth neck.

“Hah— Y-You’re… good at this as always— Hah…”

She closed her eyes and basked herself in the feeling of Edelgard’s hot mouth. To gain further access, Edelgard pressed her thumbs unto Byleth’s jaw, lifting it up so she could continue to explore the new premise. Byleth shivered from her profound action. The grinding against their private regions wasn’t helping either. She would softly gasp whenever pressure was applied to the soft nub. That turned on Edelgard and encouraged the continuation of her ministrations.

“I’ve learned it— Nngh… from the best teacher.”

“And w-who… who would that be?”

She concluded the hickey spree with one last smooch and raised her head. Sweat began to formulate on their forehead from the ensuing assault as Edelgard smiled. Though she did not offer an answer in return, the teasing question had a predictable response. They knew all too well who it was. In lieu of the lack of verbiage, Edelgard slowed her hips. Byleth had to resist the whine that nearly slipped from her throat.

The white-haired could tell she was frustrated. This was mildly amusing for the noble. How the mighty hero of Fodlan yearns for touches to satisfy her sexual hunger! And Edelgard would be the only person to ever deliver the salivating content to her front door. They exchanged another fleeting kiss, though more so to ease the impatient teacher.

“You’re so cute.”

Their roles were completely reversed in this case. Normally, those were the words whispered into the alumni’s ears while the professor’s fingers were buried deep into Edelgard’s flower. They would thrust in and out of the moist region. Heartful cries were proclaimed to the whole world as the bed creaked and rocked. Tonight, it was different; it was Edegard’s turn to make her wife tremble under her magical spells.

Edelgard proceeded to straighten her back and conduct adjustments to her straddling. Both her hands were kept busy by roaming Byleth’s bare figure. Pleasure zipped like electrical currents through the teal-haired thanks to the sensitive touches of her wife’s fingertips. They brushed, smoothed, and tapped on the elongated scars. Compared to Edelgard, they were not as numerous. Yet they were more haphazard and susceptible to touch.

She traced Byleth’s side.

This blotched scar came from a bandit’s brass knuckles. It derived from protecting Bernadetta. His vicious fist dug so hard into the ex-mercenary’s side, it managed to shatter a small portion of her ribcage. Crimson substances leaked from the corner of her mouth as Dedue and Felix avenged their fallen instructor. A miracle must have been in place to survive the aftermath. Had it not been for Linhardt’s and Marianne’s healing specialties, she would have been long gone.

She traced Byleth’s stomach.

This horizontal scar came from Dimitri. His dagger jammed into the teacher’s already-bruised tissue, breaking through the epidermis and slamming the hilt against it. Tears streamed down his face as he tore through her muscles. Blood splattered among the dirt road with a single flick of his wrist. Hubert and Ferdinand had tag-teamed to exterminate the dangerous noble. This time, Lysithea and Mercedes used plenty of white magic to keep their professor from walking over to the afterlife.

She traced Byleth’s chest.

This burnt scar came from Rhea. It was during the first revolt against the Church of Seiros at Garreg Mach. The archbishop conducted electricity through her open palm. Its incredible voltage charge nearly destroyed the Crest of Flames that kept the tactician conscious after stillbirth. Edelgard and Sylvain went in a frenzied state when the archbishop knocked Byleth into the abyss with another strike of her potent spell. Sothis was likely the one who assisted in the healing process during the five-year coma Byleth succumbed to. Without the female, Byleth would have never woken up from the rubble.

Each of these scars told terrifying tales. Close encounters with deaths were all too common for the students and teachers at the monastery, and their odds increased drastically after the war’s initiation. Edelgard’s scars mostly consist of her surgical implantations, but none ever met drastic battle scars like Byleth; the most she ever had were nicks and small lacerations from arrows and lances. (The army would never let harm fall upon their emperor!) She shook her head and settled her hands onto Byleth’s breasts.

Edelgard’s thumbs glossed over the brown nub, her fingers started to work on the mounds. A gentle squeeze emitted a burst of air from Byleth. She gazed downward and saw the woman furiously blushing from the said-action. The professor raised an arm up to conceal her lower facial features, her navy hues silently staring at her wife. Another squeeze caused a muffle this time. Then, she massaged the pair at a consistent pace. Every now and then, she would pinch the nipples between her thumb and index finger. A pinch would elicit a stronger reaction from the 26-year-old.

“Nngh— Y-You’re getting rough— Hah!”

“You think that’s rough?”

That remark was eventually joined by the returning gyrate of Edelgard’s hips. Byleth’s arm retracted as an uncontrollable moan erupted. A combination of the two activities were driving her insane!

“Hah..! Can you— Can you let me— Haah! Let me take off my pant! P-Please!”

Edelgard nearly laughed. Now her professor was begging for more? This never gets old. She adheres to her request and removed her hands. Another pause took place as they transitioned to the next phase. The blanket over her shoulders threatened to slip off as she yanked on their casual pants. After pulling it off, she tossed it carelessly aside like the other attires. Now it was time to move onto the main course. Edelgard’s predatory eyes darkened. She can’t wait to get her mouth all over Byleth and drive her to the edge of the cliff.

Previous sessions normally had Byleth lead the intercourse. This time, Edelgard took control. It had been so long since she acted as a ruler in their sex life. Another kiss was in a tall order for her lover. Hot bated breaths puffed at their faces upon departure. Edelgard flushed her body with Byleth, the blanket shifted to move alongside with the royal, and planted kisses over every inch of her wife’s alluring body.

“Hah…”

She licked the brown nub.

“Hah—!”

She swirled her tongue around the nub.

“Ha—AAH!”

She bit the nub.

“NNGH—AH!”

She used her teeth to rub the nub.

Byleth’s outcries were escalating in volume. It would be to no one’s surprise if they would earn a few dubious and flustered expression from fellow allies and soldiers. (The worst one of them all would be Hubert. He would hunt after Byleth and skewer her if he could!) But she didn’t care, and she’s certain her wife didn’t care either. Her licks, bites, and roaming hands continued almost as if she were making up the days they hadn’t showered in love. She would occasionally kiss as if to replace the traumatic events with their blissful memories. All in the name of making Byleth forget about those individuals… even if it is a temporary solution.

Edelgard lifted her mouth from Byleth’s breast.

“I’m going to move down,” she said. “Can I?”

“Why are you asking me that?” came a hoarse whisper. “You already know the answer.”

“Just making sure, my teacher. Can’t forget about consent, can we?”

The teal-haired would have playfully knocked on the female’s shoulder had they not been in the middle of having sex. Edelgard was always the careful one in the relationship.

“A-Ah…”

It felt good. Way too good. Byleth’s consciousness was starting to float into Cloud Nine as Edelgard made her way slowly down the writhing body. Pauses were made to plant fluttering kisses and strokes on the curves of Byleth’s belly, her hipbones, and silken skin on the inside of her thighs. Whatever negativity that strangled the professor had dissipated completely. Her body was engulfed in a fiery need of quenching as her walls were slick with arousal. Now all she could focus on was the pleasure.

“AH?!”

She unconsciously pressed her hips into Edelgard’s first stroke of her tongue. Byleth knew Edelgard was eventually going to descend to her neither region, but it had been so long since she had someone relieve her of the pent-up tension through oral means.

“Nngh—!”

God, it felt so GOOD. The strokes from her tongue were slow and steady, yet it managed to drag out the best sensation. Up and down her tongue went, Edelgard tasted as much as she could from the blossoming pink region. Byleth groaned and shuddered when her spouse tried to keep her thighs apart.

“A-AH! E-El—!!”

Byleth bucked from the powerful sensation. Her clitoris— Her clitoris! Edelgard became drunk from its scent as her mouth worked wonders upon the sensitive head and greedy lips. Had it not been for Edelgard’s strong arms keeping her hips down, she would have tossed the other female out of the mattress by accident! A faint grunt came from the busy white-haired. Enough blood had pooled into Byleth’s abdomen to cause a feminine erection of the pink nub.

“I’m not holding back.”

“Hnngh?!”

An index finger greeted the entranceway in the midst of her lavishing. First, its fingertip lightly brushed upon its surface. Vertical strokes croaked immodest sounds from the older woman. Eventually, the lord dug not one, but two fingers into the wet region.

“D-Deep!”

That was the remark after Edelgard wiggled the two body parts into her body. It was a foreign sensation for Byleth since someone other than herself is feeling the inner walls. They naturally clenched around the slender fingers. Its squeeze and release intervals were synched with her core’s reactions. Byleth’s hands immediately flung to the bedsheets. She trembled when Edelgard curled her fingers.

“AH! That— Hnngh!”

Words were discombobulated; sentence structures fractured. The state of her verbal speech was similar to the state of her mind. They were clearly in another plane of existence. Byleth lifted her head as her hips moved on its own.

SLICK, SLICK, SLICK

The sound effects were not helping. In this dead night, the steamy room amplified the wet motion coming from Edelgard’s fingers. Paired with their fast, hot breaths, bliss clouded their mentality and overwhelmed their hearing.

“S—So good— Haaaah!”

Byleth wasn’t the only one to be pleasured. Edelgard felt herself become wet; wanton desires starting to override her sense of self. Unlike Byleth, she had close to zero self-restraint when it came to achieving the climactic finale.

Thank goodness multi-tasking was her forte. A quick prayer to a godless entity sprung forth as she removed her remaining hand on Byleth’s thigh. It went down to her dripping nether region. She grimaced in Byleth’s hypersensitive labia, her fingers making quick work of her own clitoris. If there’s something she wanted to do, it was to be shoved off the edge alongside with her teacher.

“Nngh...!”

“E-El!”

A glance at her spouse drastically sky-rocketed the pleasure by tenfold. Byleth squeezed her eyes shut and found it impossible to remove the burnt image of Edelgard masturbating during their hot intercourse.

“I— Something… it’s coming— AH!”

The way the teal-haired’s face twisted… her looks were becoming desperate as Edelgard relentless tortured her with the thrust of her fingers and flick of her tongue on the clit. She was occupied with three matters at once, but Edelgard had always kept her lilac hues pointed at her significant other. There was so much to take in. She had to record them and burn them to memory. The amount of beauty that glistened from her wife… A dictionary would not be able to fully convey the radiant perfection of a being that is called “Byleth.”

Another groan burst from Edelgard, her fingers rushing to the finish line. The intensity was burning into her core and gathered enough aroused energy to strongly throb her rubbed nub.

“El… EL!”

“Byleth—!”

She was close, and so was Byleth. In an effort, to reach the mountain’s peak, Edelgard pulled back her fingers. They were pulled enough just enough to leave the remaining tips inside of the pulsating walls. A few rough rubs on the outer flesh were made. Then, she slammed it right back inside, curving at the most sensitive and erogenous area of the vagina: the G-spot. This was immediately followed up with her lips closing around the clitoris and sucking hard on it.

“A-AH—!!!”

“!!!”

Byleth’s muscles began to jerk, her figure stiffened, and her knuckles white as a huge explosion implored upon her body. As for Edelgard, she felt her body quiver from a sudden flow of euphoria throughout her figure. She retracted from her own area. Yet it wasn’t over for her teacher. She made sure to drag out Byleth’s climatic experience for as long as humanly possible, her tongue taking in the fluids, licking the moist premise, and swiftly rocking her curved fingers in and out.

“W—Why is it—! No— It’s coming again— NNNNGH!”

Right when she came down from her high, her professor bounced right back up to another orgasm. Though it was not as powerful as the first one, it still sent her spiraling upward to the clouds once more, pleasure rippling through her body until it faded into nothingness.

Their figures finally plopped back down on the mattress. A whimper came from Byleth’s direction once Edelgard removed her soaked fingers. All forms of heat excluding her spouse’s body evaporated instantly; the drug they undertook began to wear off. Now, they were basked with pleasant aftermath. Eyelids half-closed and head fuzzy, Byleth arms were extended outward on the bed to stare at the noble.

Edelgard crawled up as the blanket (with great wonder) continued to cling onto her shoulders. Upper body raised in a cobra position, not long afterward, she inserted the wet fingers into her mouth. Byleth’s eyes widened at the sight.

“T-That’s dirty!”

“Not if it’s from you,” she smirked. “You’re always a dessert I never tire from.”

“…”

Geez, when did Edelgard learn how to talk like that? Did she learn it from Dorothea…? No, it had to be Sylvain, right? No… that can’t be it… Just who and/or where did she learn that from? (Silly Byleth, it was from you!) The professor’s features became bright red, an embarrassed chuckle heard.

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything, my dear teacher.” She leaned down to tenderly kiss Byleth. Strands of her white locks fell upon Byleth’s rising chest as she proclaimed, “I will always be yours, and I won’t let anyone ever take that away.”

“El…”

That’s right… Though her PTSD is not easy to overcome, she must remember that she has Edelgard von Hresvelg. The woman whom she first protected, the woman whom she first taught, the woman whom she opened up to, the woman who became her wife. Past trauma may be ebbed into her history book, but the future can be built on top of them.

Their fingers intertwined. Then, Byleth closed her eyes and beamed.

“I will always be yours too.”

#lemon the lemonade #loyalflutist #edeleth #fire emblem #fire emblem three houses #edelgard #Edelgard von Hresvelg #byleth #f!byleth #f!byleth x edelgard #byleth eisner #fan fiction #fanfic #fan fic #fanfiction #one shot #os #edeleth week (twitter)#day 6: i'm yours

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basicsofislam · 4 years

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ISLAM 101: Muslim Beliefs: Knowledge of God Almighty: THE ESSENTIAL ATTRIBUTES

These are the following six Attributes:

(The All-Holy, Self-)Existence, Oneness, Having No Beginning, Eternal Permanence, Being Unlike the Created, and Self Subsistence.

These are particular to God and cannot be attributed to anyone or anything other than God. Since the opposites of these Attributes are not in question for the Divine Being, they are also considered to be among the Attributes of Exemption.

Wujud

([The All-Holy, Self-]Existence)

Literally meaning being and being existent, Wujud ([The All-Holy, Self-]Existence) is an Essential Attribute of God Almighty and denotes that God’s existence is by Himself. Even though some scholars of theology and Sufis have asserted that “Existence is identical to the Divine Being Himself,” and have therefore attributed to It certain meanings of Divine Unity, verifying scholars have seen Existence as the title of Eternal—Eternal in the past and in the future—Existence and accepted It as the original source of the metaphysical and physical worlds. Just as all existent things and beings are, in one sense, the shadows of the Light of that Essential Existence, so also it is through aspects of their existence such as contingency, being contained in time and space, being created out of non-existence, having certain, unchanging patterns of existence, and purposes for their existence, and through the order, favoring, wisdom, and mercy that they display through their existence or life, that they also act as witnesses and proofs of the Eternal Existence.

God is such a Necessarily Existent Being that in the same way as all the proofs, signs, indications, and witnesses in both our inner worlds and in the outer world demonstrate His existence and Oneness, our sensations, perceptions, and intuition, which we always feel appear in the depths of our spirits, and the points of reliance and seeking help in our consciences also indicate that Permanent Existence both individually and collectively. All consciences that are open to the life lived at the level of the heart and spirit always speak of Him and proclaim His Existence through an inward sensation and intuition that burst forth from the essence of their existence and more loudly than their external sensations and comprehension and more profoundly than their mental perceptions.

Wahdaniyya

(Oneness)

Oneness is an Essential Attribute of God in the sense that God Almighty has no peers, equals, rivals, or opposites in either His Essence or His Attributes. Since this Attribute denotes God’s being absolutely exempt or free from having any peers or equals, or any resemblance to any other things or beings, It is also considered to be among the Attributes of Exemption.

The Oneness of the Divine Being does not mean that He is one in terms of number; rather He is One in the sense that He has no partners, peers, equals, or opposites in His Essence, Attributes and Acts. As He is One and Unique in His Essence, He is also peerless and unequalled in His Divinity; it is only He Who is the absolutely Worshipped, Besought, Beloved, and Sought One. The Qur’an, which declares, Say: “He—(He is) God, (Who is) the All-Unique of Absolute Oneness. God—(God is He Who is) the Eternally All-Besought (Himself in no need of anything). He begets not, nor is He begotten.And comparable to Him there is none.” (112:1–4), expresses that He is absolutely One and completely independent of anything.

In every place where His existence is mentioned and stressed in the Qur’an and the Sunna, His Oneness is also mentioned; where His Oneness is noted, His being the Necessarily Existent One is also emphasized. Let us examine the topic briefly from Bediüzzaman, who dedicated his life to describing and teaching about God’s existence and Oneness:

O friend, everything bears a stamp and seal particular to the One, the Eternally All-Besought, and has signs testifying that He is its Maker and Owner. If out of the innumerable stamps of His Oneness and seals of His being the Eternally All Besought you can look at the “stamp” put on the sheet of the earth in spring, you will see that the following facts indicate and bear witness to Him as brightly as the sun:

On the sheet of the earth, we observe acts of ever-original, wise, and purposeful creation. Now notice the following facts and see that wise and purposeful creation:

The act of creation on the earth occurs in infinite abundance.

Together with infinite abundance, it occurs with absolute ease, through an absolute power and with perfect artistry.

Everything is created at an incredible speed but in perfect order and arrangement.

Things are created in absolute abundance and with the greatest economy or at the lowest cost imaginable, yet every individual is unique and priceless.

Despite innumerable causes of disorder and confusion, everything is brought into existence with extraordinary distinction.

Despite the vast distances in time and space and worldwide distribution, there is the highest correspondence and similarity between and among individuals and species.

Despite the highest correspondence and similarity, and though generated from similar or even the same materials, structural principles, and organization, they are in perfect balance and order with an absolute variety and a perfect individualization of characters and features.

The wise and purposeful creation, and perfect ease and artistry despite the absolute abundance; the perfect order, arrangement, proportion, and firmness despite the incredible speed; the uniqueness and highest value of every individual despite the absolute abundance and the greatest economy; the extraordinary distinction despite the innumerable causes of disorder and confusion; the highest correspondence and similarity despite the world-wide distribution; the perfect individualization of characters and features and distinction despite the highest correspondence and similarity and being generated from similar or even the same materials, structural principles, and organization—all these features are such wit nesses for both the existence and Oneness of the Necessarily Existent One that it would be absolute blindness and obstinacy not to recognize these witnesses, each of which has the strength of thousands of proofs.(1 al-Mathnawi an-Nuri – Seedbed of the Light (trans.), New Jersey, 2007, pp., 49–50.

Qidam

(Having No Beginning)

God Almighty exists free of time; He has no beginning and His existence does not rest on a cause previous to Him. His Attribute of Having No Beginning is a blessed title of His being eternal in the past in connection with His Name the First, and is the basis of the celebrated Name al-Muqaddim(the One Who causes to advance).

All Muslim scholars, to whichever school of thought they belong, are in agreement that Having No Beginning is one of the Essential Attributes of the Divine Being. Interpreting this in the meaning of God Almighty being absolutely free from and independent of any causes previous to Him, they have used the following statement concerning this Attribute of the All-Sacred One: “He is the First, Eternal in the past, without having a beginning.”

Both the Attribute of Qidam (Having No Beginning) and the celebrated Name al-Qadim (One with no beginning) mark the Divinity of God Almighty. They denote that God’s Existence has no beginning and that non-existence is not applicable to the All-Holy Existence. The opposite of Having No Beginning is being existent in time, from which God, exalted is His Majesty, is absolutely free.

Baqa

’ (Eternal Permanence)

Eternal Permanence with no discontinuity at all is one of God’s Essential Attributes and is related to the Name the Last, similar to the relationship of the Attribute of Having No Beginning and the Name the First. The Qur’an and the Sunna indicate this Attribute sometimes explicitly and sometimes allusively, and refer to God’s eternal permanence either through the Name the Last singly or the Names the First and the Last together. In addition to frequently reminding us that everything is perishable except Him, the Qur’an makes references to His Eternal Permanence by mentioning Him with His Names the First and the Last. Our Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, also reminds us of God’s Attributes of Having No Beginning and Eternal Permanence in some of his sayings or prayers, such as: “O God! You are the First, there is nothing preceding You. You are the Last; there is nothing to succeed You.”63 The Attributes of Having No Beginning and Eternal Permanence have approximate meanings and implications. It is this relationship or approximation which has led scholars to establish the undeniable, logical argument: “The non-existence of one who exists eternally is inconceivable.” In addition, it is also important that in demonstrating the relationship between these two Attributes verifying scholars usually mention them together.

Scholars have expressed the Attribute of Eternal Permanence sometimes with the phrase “the Undecaying,” sometimes with the phrase “the Undying,” and sometimes with the phrase “the Imperish- able.” All of these words have almost the same meaning.

In addition to the scholars who have seen the Attribute of Eternal Permanence as one of the Essential Attributes like (the All-Holy Self-)Existence, there have been some who have regarded It as being among the Positive or Affirmative Attributes, Which are the Attributes that describe Who God is, such as Life, Knowledge, and Power; they say: “God is eternally permanent with a permanence that is particular to His Essence.” There have also been some who have considered It to be among the Attributes of Exemption and have used Eternal Permanence in the meaning of God being absolutely exempt or free from cessation or becoming non-existent.

Another point to mention concerning Divine Eternal Permanence is that creatures will be favored with eternity in the eternal realm. God is Eternally Permanent, so some creatures will be favored with eternity in the other, eternal realm. However, God’s Eternal Permanence is by Himself and inseparable from Him, while the eternality of others is a relative permanence that is absolutely dependent on God’s Permanence. The eternality of Paradise and Hell is also due to God’s Eternal Permanence, like the eternality with which creatures such as human beings, jinn, spirit beings, and angels will be favored.

Muhalafatun lil-hawadith

(Being Unlike the Created)

This Attribute denotes that the All-Majestic, All-Exalted God does not resemble, in any way, any of His creatures in His Essence or Attributes. On account of the fact that the opposites of the Essen- tial Attributes of God Almighty are inconceivable for the Divine Being, this Attribute has also been mentioned among the Attributes of Exemption. The decisive, explicit statements of the Qur’an and the Sunna which state that God has no peers, equals, partners, or opposites point to the truth of His Being Unlike the Created.

While some misguided sects have deviated into likening God to His creatures in some respects, some other schools of creed and thought, such as theMu‘tazila64 and Jahmiyya,65 have gone to the extreme of not recognizing His Attributes to emphasize His being unlike the created. However, the scholars of the Ahlu’s-Sunna or the Sunni scholars have followed the middle way and, by recognizing God’s Attributes and drawing attention to an important, basic difference between the Creator and the creation which is marked by the Attribute of Being Unlike the Created, have emphasized that God is unlike the created in both His Essence and Attributes. They conclude: “Whatever comes to your mind concerning the Divine All-Transcending Being, He is beyond it.”

Qiyam bi-nafsihi

(Self-Subsistence)

God’s Being Self-Subsisting means He subsists by Himself in absolute independence of anything else and without needing anything, either in His existence or subsistence, while everything and everyone other than Him owes both their existence and subsistence to Him. On account of any meaning opposite to this Attribute being inconceivable for the Divine Being, this Attribute is also regarded as being among the Attributes of Exemption. Although this Attribute of Glory is not explicitly mentioned in the Qur’an, all the verses concerning God’s self-subsistence and maintaining the whole of creation also point to His Self-Subsistence.

Muslim theologians have explicitly stressed God’s absolute in dependence of and freedom from time and space, and from everything else, whether it be a substance or an accident, material or immaterial. They have regarded the physical causes and means that He employs in His Acts and executions as the veils of His Dignity and Grandeur. In the words of Bediüzzaman, Divine Dignity and Grandeur require that physical causes must be veils before the Hand of Power in the sight of the intellect, so that the Power’s relationship with some unpleasant and insignificant seeming things and affairs will not be seen.

2. Muslim, “Dhikr” 61; at-Tirmidhi, “Da‘awat” 19, 67

3. The Mu‘tazilites or al-Mu‘tazilah: The school of the Muslim “rationalists” which accorded creative effect to human will and agency, concluding that it is human beings who create their actions. In addition, it denies God Almighty Attributes, and claims that God is obliged to reward those who believe and do good deeds, and punish those who disbelieve. (Tr.)

4. Jahmiyya, founded by Jahm ibn Safwan, who lived in the second century of Hijra, is the deviant school of creed whose members deny God Attributes and humanity free will, attribute space to God, and claim that the Qur’an is created.

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notbecauseofvictories · 5 years

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greater-than-the-sword replied to your post: I hate to bother you like this, but I was...

I’ll talk to you about it anon. From the perspective of the Bible being God’s authoritative word.

I’m curious: does your translation of Matthew 5:28 read “woman” or “wife”? Is “ἐπιθυμέω” translated with sexual undertones (”desire”) or pure possessory ones, in parallel to the following commandments (”covet”)? Is your interpretation of that iconic phrase intended to be “do not commit adultery” or “don’t be envious” or “don’t steal from your neighbor, even in your imagination”? And what implications does that carry for the woman/wife in this scenario? After all, if sleeping with your neighbor’s wife is theft, what does it say if the object-to-be-stolen is into it, and wants that for herself? If the implication is that envy turns your heart from God, then what does it matter if you go outside of the bonds of marriage and get some strange, so long as that sort of jealousy doesn’t play a role?

Or should we be inferring that Jesus speaks to a male/female power dynamic here---”don’t think of your neighbor’s wife as just some object to be coveted, on the same level as his house, slaves, fields, animals.” It’s not as though we haven’t seen those tumblr posts go around, young women essentially instructing men not to look at them, articulating how uncomfortable that gaze is. (Admittedly, I’m fond of this reading, but that’s because of extracanonical reasons.)

And then, if we do go with the traditional “thou shalt not”: how does your religion interpret, expand, and apply that ruling? For the Catholic Church, “do not commit adultery” is NOT simply “don’t sleep with married people, or, if you’re married, don’t sleep with other people.” Thou shalt not commit adultery is also transliterated into, don’t sleep with anyone unless you’re married. In our strand of modern Biblical hermeneutics, Matthew’s telling everybody to belt up and wait for wedding bells, and that expands to cover masturbation, pre-marital sex, and non-heterosexual couplings. (Since, in the eyes of Catholic God, any couples who are not patterned off Adam and Eve can’t get Catholic married in the first place.)

I.........Look. I understand, I really really do. The desire to understand the Christian/Catholic Bible as a holy and authoritative text is powerful---there’s terrific lure to see it as something which contains profound answers and speaks to our lives, even 2000 years since it was threaded together from the Septuagint, 2nd century second-hand accounts of a prophet, and some letters and polemics early church leaders had lying around in attics. I even believe (truly, I do!) that it in large part does this, that the incredible breadth of poetry, theology, story, petty interpersonal squabbles, arguments and law, really does speak to some timeless truths about the human condition and what it is we’re seeking in a God, in a religious community, and in a radical vision of the world. Spending time thinking about what it means to say, “I tell you that everyone who gazes at woman to lust after her has committed adultery with her already in his heart,“ is a valuable exercise, whatever answer you arrive at.

But perhaps because of the Bible’s phenomenal complexity, contradictions, vast and far-reaching history, I find it infuriatingly simplistic to treat it as a definitive guide to the world. To me, it seems like the height of hubris to pretend that we can take the whole project---all 2000+ years of translations, early church struggles with questions of What To Do About Judaism (with bonus horrific prejudice), inherited Greek and Roman articulations of philosophy, arguments about the Official Canon, commentary, schisms, divergent political agendas, regional specificity, political weaponization in various forms, re-translations, eight million different kinds of exegesis, reinterpretation, more schisms, the filter of European power and subsequent Americanisms---and boil it down to “the authoritative word.” It’s only “a word” if none of us can actually agree on what it says, and have spent almost two millennia fighting each other like drunk relatives at Christmas trying to figure it out.

But hey, that’s pretty human too.

#I am irreverent. I am not stupid.#greater-than-the-sword #it begins in a garden #unto the prophet spoken #(I really do have a healthy respect for the catholic bible but I think that it's a beginning of a conversation. it is god trying to lure you #into discussion with the divine. it isn't literal. it isn't fact. it isn't truth.#it's something enormous beckoning you on and asking you to understand and want to know more as much as you can.)#(the bible is like.........lanternfish. you know. the bright bioluminescence to lure you onto the teeth.)#(only also the teeth are humanity and it's terrible and great.)#(.....................I am not actually catholic anymore but jesus you wouldn't know would you)

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dailyaudiobible · 4 years

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02/21/2020 DAB Transcript

Leviticus 11:1-12:8, Mark 5:21-43, Psalms 38:1-22, Proverbs 10:8-9

Today is the 21st day of February, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian, welcome to the Dead Sea. That's where we are now, the lowest point on earth. So, we could…we could for sure safely say it's all uphill from here. And it’s great to be here with you today as we continue our pilgrimage through the land of the Bible. And we completed day two yesterday and I’ll…I’ll share that with you in a little while but let's go ahead and center ourselves and orient ourselves to God through His word. And we’ll be continuing our journey through the book of Leviticus today by reading chapters 11 and 12 and we’re reading from the new International Version this week.

Commentary:

Okay. You guys remember like a couple weeks ago we were talking about the law because we were entering into, you know, the…the actual giving of the law and that's kind of where we are now. So, were talking about that and we were talking about the letter of the law and the Spirit of the law, which is a theme that the apostle Paul speaks heavily about, but we have a really good example of this today. So, in the book of Leviticus the children of Israel are in the wilderness, which is something that those of us who are in the land of the Bible, like we've been experiencing this. So, we now know what this looks like, and we now know what they were up against. So, in today's reading we have blood issues, special female blood issues. So, yeah, I mean the kinds of things we want to talk about every day. But this is childbirth and monthly flow issues. And, so, this would make her unclean. And, so, there was this way then to become ceremonially clean over a period of time and some hygiene and stuff. And, so, like we could be like, “this is…what's going on here? What’s this in the Bible for?” But if you're in the wilderness and there's a million of you and there's no hospital, right, like there's no 24-hour clinic anywhere. There's nothing like that. Then the flow of blood, like that in this day and age, that's a biohazard. So, there’s practical reasons for some of the things that are going on here that we can…we can go like, “well that's kind of constricting…well that's kind of strict…well that's kind of…” but if you lived in the desert and there…like none of the conveniences that you…that we take for granted even existed. You get a sense of okay, “yeah I can see why we would really, really want to keep some things tight because we don't want diseases spread throughout this entire community. Like, this could be devastating. So yeah, we gotta…like if we’re gonna be a culture we have to have ways of…of watching out for each other. And, so, that makes sense. And then there's these provisions of becoming ceremonially clean and restored into community and having the ability to worship with the community, enter into God's presence.

So, like let's assume for a couple thousand years and land ourselves in the first century in Jesus time and we have this interesting encounter with a woman who was bleeding. And she had been bleeding for 12 years, which means for 12 years she had been ceremonially unclean. That's the letter of the law. So, kept outside of community worship, kind of kept outside of the presence of God because of uncleanness, perpetual uncleanness. So, we have the letter of the law and then we have Jesus, God incarnate, and this unclean woman touches Him. That then makes Him unclean too. And He knows it's happened, so He stops, and He starts looking around for who touched Him. And she is terrified now because the implications are profound. There's a crowd. She made a rabbi unclean. Anything can happen here. So's she's trembling with fear and she comes, and she kneels before Him and tells Him everything. This is a woman who’s unclean. By the letter of the law she should be nowhere near Jesus. And if it were God's intention to keep unclean people away from them, then He should have stopped the whole thing and said, “who touched me” and…and then had her punished for breaking the law. That's not what He did. That's not what God incarnate in the person of Jesus did. She was healed. She could made clean. She could be fully restored. The letter of the law would've kept her outside and an unclean state until somehow, she stopped bleeding as if she could do that because she’d done everything she could to become clean. Her faith made her whole and God was there to tell her, “go in peace daughter.” That's the spirit of the law and hopefully that gives us some context as we continue working our way through the law, of understanding that laws can be rules that are meant not to be broken, but underneath them is a reason. If the reason is forgotten, then the law is about control and power. And we can see in Jesus today that's not what God's intentions are or were.

Prayer:

Father, we thank you for your word and we thank you for all that it brings into our lives, all the things that it gives us to consider and think about and contemplate and meditate upon. We thank you for that. And in the story that we read today, we see so clearly your heart toward your children but we have to confess that we are often guilty of trying to be the keepers of the law and we look at what everybody else is doing and what they're breaking and we’ve lost the plot. We forgot that there's a Spirit here. And the reason for all of this is to draw us back together with you so that we might have life. So, come Holy Spirit into all of this we pray and we ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Announcements:

Okay, so we are here in the land of the Bible on our 2020 pilgrimage and this would be our…third day…third day I think. Yeah, I think that's right. And yeah, we’ve been in the desert, we’ve been in the wilderness since we departed. We’ve been wandering around and I'm not sure it quite feels like 40 years yet but we…we’ve been in the desert. We’ve had this experience. And so, we ended up at the Dead Sea yesterday and that…and that was fun but…but when we left Eliot, when we left the Red Sea yesterday we came up into the wilderness and we were able to go to a place called Timnah where there's some very ancient Egyptian ruins. And this is a place that it's believed that Solomon mined copper, like mined minerals down in this area. And, so, there's some connections there. But there's also a scaled…a scale size replica of the tabernacle.

So, the children of Israel are wandering in the wilderness and they have this tabernacle for the worship of the Lord and it’s sort of the center of their culture and community and that will be replaced by the temple at a later time but this is this portable temple basically that travels around with them. God's signifying, He will be with them, He will be among them. And, so, we got to see that. And just…just seeing it is…is enough, like to go like, “here actually in the desert that we’re talking about, this life size replica…like I can put myself in the position.” But then to go in and actually experience it, to…to move, you know, into the outer courtyard, and then move into the holy place, move toward the mostly holy place, like to do all of these things and put yourself in this position brings an enormous amount of context. It’s so helpful to just…to begin to sew through the threads of redemption that weave their way through all of the stories of the Bible. So…so that was great.

So. from there then we had to drive a couple of hours north and descending toward the lowest part of the earth, which is the Dead Sea, but we got to visit a place called Masada, which is a very ancient stronghold, dates back at least to the Herodian period because so many of the archaeological things there are from Herod's time, but it had been a stronghold, probably for a long time. It's…when you’re up there you can see like how impenetrable the whole thing is. You have to ride like a cable car up to get up there. I mean you can run up there, but you gotta be in extraordinary shape and have plenty of time. So, it's just a…yeah…just a fantastic place. And there’s just unbelievable stories that…that are really identifying stories for the Hebrew people that, especially from the time of the destruction of Jerusalem. So, we remember Jesus predicting the destruction of Jerusalem…of the temple and we know…and we know that that happened a couple decades after…after His ministry was completed. And, so, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans because of rebellion. And, so, the rebels…you know, once…once the tides have turned and the Romans…Romans have decided they’re gonna crush this, that was pretty much what they planned to do, level the whole thing. And, so, rebels would, you know, escape. And Masada was one of the last places of stronghold and those…once the Romans were about to breach, once they were about to come in, then, you know, the people had a choice of freedom by death basically or slavery and torture. And, so, there were many deaths. But anyway, it’s…it's just really a remarkable place. But the views…the views of the Dead Sea and across to Jordan and of the vastness of the wilderness are spectacular from there. So, that that was that was enjoyable.

And then we made our way to the Dead Sea and we worked our way down to the to the shore there and…and just talked for a little bit about where we were and what we’d been through in the last couple of days and how to aim our hearts for the evening a little bit. And then it was that it was a part…a mud party at the at the Dead Sea. So, I mean the Dead Sea is really…you can float in it and that's an understatement. Like you pretty much have to float in it. It's really, really super dense. But man, it does something to your skin. I can put my…my hands in the Dead Sea and take a them out and all of a sudden like…like I’m…I’m like a kid again. And, so, it's always a fun, fun, fun, fun time.

And, so, that's…that's kind of where we are in the adventure and we’ll be continuing our journey North today and there is a lot to do. This is a full day but by the time we end the day we will be in the Galilea.

So, thank you for your continued prayers. It is coveted, it is needed. It is what sustains us. I believe that. So, continued prayers over the buses and vehicles and the logistics and the technology and the people and the weather and the health and stamina is…everything that goes into this, we thank you. It makes a world of difference for us to know that, yeah, that thousands and thousands and thousands are praying for us, but are also with us in Spirit….like that even though we can be here representing this community, this is a virtual thing and we’re all in this together. So, thank you.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com as well. There's a link on the homepage and I thank you for those who have clicked that link over the years, well from the bottom of my heart. We wouldn't be here if we weren't in this together. If you're using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment 877-942-4253 is the number to dial or you can hit the Hotline button in the app and begin to share from there.

Also reminding you if…if you're intrigued, if you’re like, “I want to do this, I…I want to go on that journey” we have plans to come back next year. Registration for that pilgrimage is open now. You can find it at dailyaudiobible.com in the Initiatives section. You can also find it in the app, just click that little drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner and it will open a drawer and you’ll see the Initiatives section. So, you can find out all…find out all about it there. These journeys are usually almost full if not full by the time we return. So, take a look. Love to…love to see you next year in Jerusalem.

And I guess…I think that's it for today. Wait…that's all for today. This Saturday, this Saturday we will be doing a Facebook Live from the Sea of Galilee. Yeah, that’s just a couple of days from now. So, we all gather and it's kind of like a little debrief about, you know, what we've experienced so far and then we also Facebook Live and just kinda let us tell you the story of what it's like to be here, what we’re experiencing, what we’re seeing and then take some questions coming in from you as you're watching and just about what's going on. So, that's always a fun time. It's about an hour long. So, it will be 7:30 PM local time, that's…that's the time in Israel. For those of you back in the United States that’s like 1:30 PM on the East Coast, 12:30 PM in central time where Nashville is and 11:30 AM in the mountain zone and 10:30 AM on the West Coast. And then if you are in London, I believe that will be 530 PM. if you’re in Australia I'm not sure when…it may even be a different day, but all you would need to do is like Google the difference between where you are and Tel Aviv and find that kinda time difference and then you can figure it out and we’ll be going live. So that's always a blast. So, looking forward to that. Hopefully you can attend and be there too

And I think that's…I think that's it for today. I think that's it for today. I'm Brian I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Alyssa from New Jersey I’m calling for the family of Diane. I just want to let you know I’ve been praying and I’m so sorry for your loss. Praying for the boys. I believe that Jeremiah 29:11, “for I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, plans to give you a future and a hope.” And I just want to encourage you to go through the grieving process and know that according to Thessalonians it says that “we will be again together, we will…the dead in Christ will rise first and we will rise to meet them in the air and together we shall be forever with the Lord.” So, I know that we have to go through the grief process, even Jesus wept. And just know that Diane finished her race, that she heard, “well done good and faithful servant”, and that we can go on letting her be an inspiration to us all to keep our faith to the end and to keep our eye on the prize to the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. So, just want to let you know that I was deeply moved by Diane’s initial prayer and then the prayers thereafter. And I just want to let the boys know that God is always with you and that you have the body of Christ around you to help you through this time. I’m also autistic. I have high functioning autism. So, you touch a special place in my heart. So, you’re in my prayers. I love you.

Hello, this is Kim in Las Vegas and I just wanted to call in and say I’m doing so much better this…this time and it was only a couple months ago that I called but all the depression issues, confusion issues, and when I thought that the growth that turned out to be an enlarged uterus was cancer, which it wasn’t. But through that whole thing Christ was talking to me and the six weeks on that film in LA I just had to sit and wonder what was going on with me, why I get so down and depressed and just got to spent a lot of time with Christ and a lot of time figuring myself out. And to say that God has filled me with joy is wholly His doing and it’s also help from you guys, everybody who’s been praying, everybody who calls in to pray because I need that too, I need to have people to pray for. And the fact that you guys call in and share that is important because we all need to pray for each other. We need to spend time in prayer and while we want to be selfless and pray for others all the time it’s important that we pray for ourselves as well. So, remember that everybody who calls in. We’re praying for you as well but I hope you’re praying for yourself because that’s important. We need to pray for ourselves and each other. But anybody struggling through darkness and pain right now, know that you can come out on the other end. I didn’t feel like I could even though in the back of my mind I didn’t know I could come out in the end it just didn’t feel like it. But Christ will fill you with joy. You just have to make it through whatever obstacle is in the way and walk into that next stage of life. Christ is with you. You may feel lonely and dark but He’s there. So, anybody who’s feeling that pain, you’ll come out on the end. We love you. And this is Kim in Las Vegas. Thank you.

Hi DAB family is His Welsh girl. I’ve been listening to the community prayer and I just have this picture of, you know, any time day or night when we are listening to the Daily Audio Bible that we are praying for our brothers and sisters all around the world. And, so, it’s just…it’s just a beautiful thing and I just want to thank God that He’s provided this, such a source of joy for us. But also, I just feel quite sorrowful because a few days ago I heard about Diana Davis. And, so Michael and Elijah, please know that we are praying for you and we hold you…we hold you in our prayers every day and your family. Candace from Oregon, thank you for singing so beautifully. I know that my redeemer liveth for Charisse and for her husband Rubin who passed away in early January. So, just Charisse please know that we’re praying for you. And Kristi from Florida, I’m praying for you today on the 14th of February, Valentine’s Day because I know that you’re moving from Florida to Ohio so to be close to your family because of your sister passing away. And I am so, so sorry about your grandfather too. So, please know that that we are praying for you and be…and know that Jesus is so close to you. Thank you, family. And God bless.

Hi Daily Audio Bible this is Julie from Maryland and I have a little story about how awesome God’s timing is. I am Jewish and I am also born again. I came to Christ in 2012. When I first came to Christ I…I felt like I had to announce my Jewishness and embrace Christianity and now I’m realizing that the devil is a liar and my identity is my identity and I am a Jew who believes that Jesus Christ is the son of God and it’s changing my life every day. And what’s really amazing is, recently…so I had a baht mitzvah when I was 13, which is a coming-of-age ceremony for Jewish girl, bar mitzvah for a boy, baht mitzvah for a girl. And I’ve been exploring my identity and I’ve been…I remembered that the portion of the Torah that I read during my baht mitzvah was about…was about the building of the tabernacle. And, so, when Brian was talking about how it must be boring listening to the discussions of the plans for the tabernacle, I was actually getting really excited because I was trying to figure out, “oh I wonder what was my part.” Long story short, I was going through some old books and old pictures and I found my Torah portion and I found my speech and it was the same part of Exodus that we had read that day in Daily Audio Bible and I was floored. And not only that the beginning of it was about the Sabbath and I recently started observing my own Sabbath. But thank God that…that Jesus has come so that we can be united with Him and we don’t need a day, we can just come to Him and rest of all times. So, I just wanted to share that story with you all. I hope you have a wonderful, wonderful day, afternoon, or evening.

Good morning DABbers this is Fonny from Northern California. This is a call in response to anonymous who identified herself as pink paint as an artist and its response to her beautiful heart cry for prayer and her step of faith in venturing into the community to request prayer for herself at this time. It’s apparently a very difficult time for her. I…I just admire your…your beautiful expression of the understanding colors. As you shared your request, as I was listening this morning, I was watching a beautiful pink sunrise come up over the horizon and I am…I am praying for you sister. I understand tough times and struggles. Sometimes joy and sorrow are two sides of the same coin. But I’ll be praying for you that God will come near, that He’ll come close to you, that He’ll…He is the one that draws near to the brokenhearted and He will comfort you and He will surround you. I pray for strength for you that you will meditate on the word and that you’ll be able to see a new day dawning. Love you my dear. Bye-bye.

Hey everybody this is Jared the Encourager. Pink Paint, I just heard your message and your description of the hopelessness you’re feeling right now. And I’m an artist as well and your description of God’s ability to use other colors and colors we don’t even exist…that we don’t even know exist in heaven and hell, even how we are all colors that come together is just such a beautiful description of the body of Christ and something that really grabbed onto me. And I’m just in tears. I, you know, my name is Jared the Encourager, I know that’s a gift God has given me, but I haven’t called in much over the last couple months because I’m…I’m in a similar place where I’ve just been really battling hopelessness. And, so, I want you to know that you’re not alone. And whatever color I am is being used by God in His masterpiece to build together His body and up courage…and encourage and uplift no matter what you’re going through. Your birthday is exactly one month after mine. Anyway, I’m praying for you and I’m praying for the rest of you, reminding myself and hopefully encouraging the rest of you along with me that there’s always something to be thankful for no matter what. Love you guys. Take care.

Hi family this is his little Cherry in Canada and I heard Pink Paint’s message and I know that it resonated with so many of us. Pink Paint you are going to get a lot of responses, a lot of prayer. You have such a beautiful heart and such unique way of expressing yourself. I love the artistry that shines from your…your prayer request. You’re such an artist you can’t even leave a prayer request without it becoming a poem. So, I bless you and I just want to pray for you and let you know that Jesus is so enamored with you. He loves every little thing about you. You make Him giggle so much in ways that you would surprise you. I just see and feel His delight in you. You know what? You are beautiful. You are breathtakingly beautiful and I think if you could see the colors that refract from your heart you would be overwhelmed and amazed because there’s definitely a lot of pink going on but there’s a whole lot more happening in and through and beyond just that obvious color. This may seem like a strange message but I love you and so does He.

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bthump · 6 years

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what are the things you like and dislike about the '97 anime and the films?

ty for asking, i’m just gonna write a few long lists lol

97 anime likes:

the animation, including the like, yk the more detailed stills they pan over in place of action or to punctuate important moments, i love it

the gorgeous backgrounds

most of the colour choices. red eclipse, femto’s blue eyes, casca’s skintone, griffith’s mauve clothes, etc.

how close it is to the manga. like, it’s a solid adaption just by virtue of making very few changes.

so like, most of it really, because i like the manga

special mention to the entire lead up to the eclipse from griffith’s reality break to the sacrifice tho, because i think that was all pretty damn perfect. it’s the most important scene and they did it right.

actually also shout out to casca’s flashback to griffith and the dead kid, gennon, the river scene, all that. another difficult v emotional sequence that they nailed imo.

griffith thinking about how he “loves” guts during the monologue

skipped most of the griffith/charlotte sex scene iirc which i approve of

the glimpse of black swordsman guts in ep 1. it’s not perfect but it’s way better than the ovas starting w/ 15 yr old guts

the opening and closing themes. fucking love both songs ngl

also the opening monologue. never get tired of hearing it

the score

the portrayal of griffith was honestly pretty solid imo. i have very few issues there. and lbr that’s important lol

97 anime dislikes:

not a big fan of griffith or guts’ character designs.

just about everything that isn’t identical to the manga is a change for the worse

turned griffith’s scratch marks into that giant unexplained scar

adding extra scenes where casca is secretly impressed with guts’ skills in battle in an attempt to build up their relationship better, which instead just made casca look unfair for still being a dick to him for 3 years and made guts stupidly gary stu-ish

obviously the straightforwardly romantic portrayal of guts and casca’s relationship

through several seemingly minor changes (eg, skipping guts’ night of self-doubt after he leaves, giving guts’ stay with godo its own half-episode, making guts inviting casca along super romantic rather than the incredibly casual and assholish way he does it in the manga, etc) it makes Guts’ dream seem legitimately noble and worthwhile, with none of the like… implicit critique the manga has. like honestly it completely fucks up what i consider one of the central themes of the story lol

the pre eclipse stuff also fails to sell guts’ sense of regret - through things like playing guts’ theme while judeau is telling guts to leave, not repeating guts’ statement of regret after casca tells him to leave again, the tone remains consistently in favour of guts’ dream. wrong and bad.

like it really reads like the suggested tragedy is that guts doesn’t get the chance to ditch griffith with judeau and take off with casca and the raiders lol

also fucks it up by never directly mentioning guts’ csa trauma

also fucks it up by losing guts’ self-destructive single-minded urge to fight monsters that we saw thru the wyald stuff. i’m not gonna say that losing wyald was a bad decision, but they should’ve at least moved erika suggesting that guts just wants to fight zodd again to the fucking waterfall scene in question, which they portrayed completely sans zodd discussion, completely sans implication of the self-destructiveness of guts’ dream

like in the manga he nearly gets killed by the falling logs and just laughs it off like a dumbass while erika is concerned and suggests that guts is driven by something irrational and not actually a ~noble~ dream, ie, wanting to fight zodd again (ie, going deeper, his csa trauma), while in the anime we get a 2nd scene where he successfully slices through the logs as a super basic symbol of growth and a narrative pat on guts’ back that shouldn’t be there!

honestly just fucking everything about the portrayal of guts’ dream lol it just takes it at face value in a way the manga consistently never did and always undermined and critiqued, and it bugs the hell out of me.

guts is just drawn in a way that makes him look angry way too often and he often feels ooc to me bc of it. like he lacks a lot of the warmth he has in the manga imo

showing that griffith is awake when guts says “i’ll stay too” even tho in the manga those words are placed over a panel of him asleep for a reason like, ffs

lots of other random nitpicky details that only i give a fuck about because my opinions and feelings about the story are too strong lol. like not showing griffith’s face when he asks if guts thinks he’s cruel

oh huge one: moving the scene where the torturer rips off griffith’s behelit from about a day after he was imprisoned to right before his rescue. completely trivializes griffith’s torture because it still looks like he’s been in there for a day at most

why on earth did it end where it ended????????????? who’s bright idea was that? the perfect ending is skull knight riding tf out with guts and casca and femto not killing them, but then they also cut out skull knight’s first appearance so idfk man.

oh some downplaying of griffguts, like i can’t complain too much about this because it was still p homoerotic, but things like omitting guts assuming griffith wants to fuck him right before their first duel. boo.

ultimately at the end of the day as much as i do genuinely like the anime, it’s not telling quite the same story the manga was - the story it’s telling is more boring and basic. but because it sticks so close to the manga the good story still shines through? it just means there’s inconsistent tone choices and stuff, like the aforementioned grievances.

it’s like, they kept casca’s diatribe at guts line for line while she’s screaming that griffith needed him and a man can’t live on dreams alone, but they don’t extend that train of thought to guts going off to pursue his dream, while the manga does.

anyway despite that giant list of dislikes i still think the anime is pretty fantastic overall. i just also like, blame it for a lot of wrong fandom takes lol.

movie likes:

character designs! honestly imo everyone looked pretty great.

they played up the homoeroticism and i appreciate that

illustrating griffith being torn between guts and his dream through that lovely moment when he catches guts when he nearly falls off the stairs right before he catches charlotte, and in a more romantically suggestive way

the whole scene where griffith shows up at charlotte’s window thoroughly improved on the manga, so hats off there. loved how completely out of it he was to the point where he barely realized where he was and immediately turned to leave when charlotte was like ‘woah dude wtf,’ love that charlotte was the one to ask him to stay and then physically move his hand back to her tit, love how emphatically griffith was thinking about guts during that sex scene, etc. like it’s still not perfect, but it is a vast improvement.

griffith showing up in person after the hundred man fight was a nice touch

it was cool that they got a lot of the same english vas from the anime dub back, and they all did a gr8 job. like it’s a pretty good dub imo.

i liked that they moved ‘the crystalization of your last tear shed’ to after guts’ post-eclipse breakdown

compared to the anime at least gtsca was more low-key and chill rather than dramatically romantic. still don’t want it there, and still not as… unromantic as the manga, but i’ll take what i can get

the animation during griffith’s transformation into femto, yk that whole sequence, was cool

slan’s english voice was super sexy

ummmmm i feel like they conveyed the whole dreams are stupid theme, and guts’ decision to leave being a mistake, better than the anime? like i got the sense that the ova ppl recognized that was a theme, at least. i’d have to watch them again to really be sure of that tho

movie dislikes:

GRIFFITH’S. NARRATIVE.

like holy fuck they completely destroyed his character lmao

i cannot believe

no backstory! no tombstone of flame! no ‘do you think i’m cruel?’ THAT WAS THE REASON HE MADE THE SACRIFICE FFS HOW DO YOU SKIP IT????

no dead kid angst, gennon only in vague implication, no self harm - oh no wait we saw self inflicted scratches, they were just completely contextless and meaningless to the point where we could assume charlotte’s nails made them

no torture chamber monologue

no guts monologue in the tavern either for that matter

no rooftop scene

again barely the implication of guts’ childhood trauma, both the sexual abuse and the general parental abuse. one vague flashbacky nightmare doesn’t cut it, it’s the cornerstone of the story

like i get it, it’s a movie trilogy, you have to cut some things, but goddamn, cut out gtsca. trim the hundred man fight. add 20 minutes to the first ova and take the insanely long rape scene out of the third. trim down the whole eclipse sequence. don’t cut out like… the story. like they cut out SO MANY emotionally relevant scenes and kept so many much less relevant scenes, idek.

and like let’s be real here, they turned griffith from an immensely interesting and complex character into a 1 dimensional dude who is torn between a vaguely evil ambition and being in vaguely evil love with guts, just for the sake of streamlining the least interesting aspects of the story

they don’t even try to pretend otherwise lol, look at his fucking hilarious evil smile here

also while i’m looking at it, in general i think they failed at the whole eclipse sequence. looks, lighting, colour, build up of tension… there are a few minor improvements here and there (eg casca’s point of view shot of femto, femto telekinesising guts back a la the black swordsman arc which emphasizes his failure to act when he escapes), but overall it doesn’t work for me at all. like imo the anime has the exact same highs and lows as the manga, but while the ova avoids some lows it never reaches those highs.

they also had griffith overhear guts saying he wants to stay. i really don’t get why this happened twice lol, like… ok his face is kind of shadowed here but he’s still very clearly asleep? this is an important detail, guts’ interrupted words are even on that very panel, so why would you go out of your way to show that he’s awake and listening at that point.

the pacing sucked. 3rd movie was too long, 1st was too short, and they skipped waaaaaay too many significant scenes that should’ve been there as emotional beats

honestly the movies are pretty, they’re nicely fanservicey in ways, they capture some good subtleties and nuances at times, but they’re a husk of the story

oh did i mention the music during the eclipse rape? incredible.

also i am actually generally positive about the movies too despite what it seems like here lmao. i’ve watched them all like, 3 or more times and i find them v enjoyable.

i just have a way easier time listing nitpicky flaws than positives honestly. the flaws stand out to me, the virtues pass me by because i’m just enjoying them and not dwelling on them

and lbr here at the end of the day no adaption will ever really satisfy me unless i somehow find several million dollars lying around and make my own lol. and that would probably be a flop anyway.

#Anonymous #ask #a #b #theme: adaption #theme: dreams #arc: ga

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veestormcourage · 5 years

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What do you mean it’s 2019

And I’m still writing Homestuck fanfiction and getting feelings going through the source materials to make sure I’m accurate.

I actually don’t really want to play Friendship Sim just because I’m afraid of the drift. Through the years after the peak of a work and it’s vast output period, there usually is a disconnect between the creator, the creation, and the fans. We’ve seen this with Dragon Ball, Sailor Moon, Naruto, Bleach, Fairy Tail, Supernatural, NCIS -- pick a show, pick a fanbase. Even the longest of runners, the mainstays of mainstream, there is a turnover in the fanbase. I haven’t watched DB Super, but I can recite the difference in Goku’s hair, muscles, and shirt by season and arc by heart. I never slogged through SMC’s second season, but I can tell you there are five seasons and 200 episodes of the original anime and give the print history of how the manga license has changed hands in the US. I’ve never stopped being a fan, but at some point, it’s over.

I still love Homestuck, and I appreciate that Friendship Sim hasn’t retconned all the things Hussie said in the old QnA’s, like that the colors of the castes are firmly defined, not drifting slowly from hue to hue (strict castes, no hemovariance), but it also seems a little bit too much like “your fantroll is canon!” like what happened with MLP (remember 2012, when I could post pony commissions without feeling deep shame?). What’s-her-face with the three eyes, seriously, how does she not get culled as a grub? Is that not a mutation? The other cobalt chick, the painter, her eyes are fucked up, too. But in canon, it was presented in such a way that Vriska’s psychic abilities were extremely rare and extremely OP given her cast. Since longevity was directly tied to blood caste, it was assumed psychic and physical abilities were typically on a slider. Or is the implication that all trolls are actually functionally immortal and it’s just violence killing off the lowbloods? Because that’s bunk. Reread the parts from the Beforan trolls -- the implication is that coolblood abuses are directly because of their lifespans, in a way. Sollux is insulted repeatedly for being a mutant, as well, but he seems perfectly in line with the other goldbloods. His psionics turn his eyes those colors, so he hides them behind the 3D lenses, but what’s the point if the other golds are the same? What makes him special? In fact, that’s long been part of the understanding of the characters: none of the trolls or humans are actually natural members of their species, so their somewhat extraordinary abilities that make them more suited for the Game is actual an intentional part of the Game’s meta. It also makes it make sense that each Ancestor had such a great impact on their societies -- even when it got flipped by the Scratches. I get that it’s supposed to be fun, and not canon, but it just seems to hurt some of the things I as a reader took for granted, and I as a fan based by fanworks heavily on them. In this case, it affects structures not only integral to my headcanons (like my ideas about how trolls society plays out), but that holy grail, my idiocanon: that headcanon which is not the construct of my ideals, but my very best grasp of the actual canon and how it should be handled, a concept for series with such convoluted and/or nuanced canons that one person is not capable of seeing entirety of the greater scope. If I’m wrong about Alternia, very well. If I’m wrong about something so basic to how I interpret the main cast, however, it affects all these other things that I have thrown myself into as I invested myself in the series. Is this ‘selfish writing,’ like I was told I specialized in back in 2013 when this post was probably a lot more topical? Sure. My blog, though, so who cares. I just would hate to feel more like the original image for Homestuck has been lost than I already do, just because I dove into supplemental materials (especially paid supplemental materials that are meant to fund a game I already pledged to fund six years ago). If anyone wants more on creators losing touch with their visions and how it applies to long-runners and their spin-offs, I’m sure I’ve got it somewhere under ramblez or tin foil hatz, but I also have a thing drafted and saved somewhere about how it applies to Sailor Moon in particular.

#homestuck #tin foil hatz #ramblez #don't mind me #friendship simulator #what am i doing with my life?

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ganymedesclock · 6 years

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the fact that zarkon is always in his armor (i don't believe we've ever seen him without, even at his wedding) speaks a great deal for his character. i hope we see lotor without his in future episodes.

Honestly one of the things I really appreciate about Zarkon writing-wise is that he manages to come across like an ostentatious, selfish tyrant, while still being the trend-setting ruler of an incredibly spartan empire.

I’ve said it before but s3e1 is a fascinating illustration of galra culture and its ins and outs at the higher level, so the thing that you have to understand is culturally, the aristocrats here are vain and prone to showing off. They’re flaunting what their culture values, things that they have in abundance.

The TL;DR of this ramble is that rather than the empire stubbornly wearing their “work clothes” to formal occasions? Armor is formal attire for the empire.

Throk defines himself as the ideal under galra culture. He confidently speaks for the fleet as a group and expertly tempts other commanders to his side. He’s the pinnacle of what the empire views as an ideal person, and he defines himself very explicitly and clearly as a warrior. He is a proud soldier, not a mere “enlisted infantryman” (scoff scoff), an individual of rank and power and most importantly of strength.

We see this underlying character established as early as s1e1, and throughout the series. A very specific, ritualistic phrase, offered by Sendak first: “I Conquer In The Name Of Galra.”

“Vrepit Sa”- a real-world phrase that is the derived root of ‘vampire’, meaning to stick or cling to. And it’s worth noting in DotU and especially in GoLion, the galra were neck-deep in vampire imagery. Zarkon was very batlike in looks, they literally drank goblets full of blood, Haggar once hissed and recoiled from a holy symbol.

The imperial commanders define themselves as predators. They are hunters, they are conquerors. When Lotor basically needles Throk right in his cultural pride, he challenges Throk to prove himself as a soldier. “You say you’re strong, so let’s see you pick up a sword and step into the ring. Prove your worthiness by proving your strength.”

See how this aligns with, say, Morvok, in s2e6, that cheerfully tells the Taujeerians he’s just screwed over that if they deserve to live they’ll prove it by being strong enough to endure. Or how Zarkon states in s1e1 that endangering soldiers in such a way that half of them die will prove that the surviving half will be stronger for it.

The culture of the empire boils down to pride in strength, and pride in mercilessness. So thus the image of an idealized galra is a long-lived and loyal soldier, one who has brutally and mercilessly hacked down any who stands in their path. They are cunning, they are cruel, and they are insatiable. They defer to their betters and discard their subordinates.

And the empire and its high-ranking commanders are greedy, but not in the sense that they want to surround themselves in opulence and gold. Rather...

They seize and hold vast regions, or command huge open spaces for themselves, that they have no intention of filling. Because the point is the invasive and aggressive nature of the deed. The point to Zarkon’s throne room is that as the Ideal Galra according to the empire, he has gorged himself on resources, on territory, on admiration. To approach him, to even be allowed in his presence, the other proud and conquering people in his environment must fold themselves up and become small.

And what this comes back to is that... of course these people are not covering themselves in extravagant resources. When all of their pride comes from being battle-ready soldiers, they cover themselves in armor, and only armor. They name themselves not as dukes, baronesses, or marquises, but as lieutenants, commanders, generals.

Which is why Lotor is able to play Throk like a damn fiddle by daring Throk to face him. The very implication of being not a soldier who will meet his enemies on the field of battle but a coward who’s scheming around behind the scenes creates immense pressure on Throk by the force of his colleagues and especially his allies- allies who backed Throk because they saw him as a better leader than Lotor.

Which is no surprise, really- it’s abundantly obvious that Lotor is not a soldier. He takes a lot from Altean culture and Altea’s social paragons were diplomats, explorers, scientists- and the long skirt of his armor is a piece worn by galra researchers. Lotor wears his hair long, his armor is sleek and smooth compared to the bristling spikes, he chooses to wear his own colors over anything that would depict him as a rank-and-file member of the fleet.

And Lotor’s not trying to pretend he is. He takes no pride in conquest- if he attacks, it’s to further a goal, and he withdraws as soon as that goal is better served a different way. To the Puigian leader, he extends not “it is your destiny to be crushed under my heel because I, a Galra, am superior to you” but crouching to speak to his hostage on his level, trying to entice him with power, with collaboration. His speech in s3e1 is pointedly discarding, even mocking things that the empire considers cultural ideals. Especially the idea of refusing to back down when, in Lotor’s own words, “your repetitive attacks are getting you nowhere.”

Lotor has chosen very pointedly to shape himself to Altean ideals, to value diplomacy, communication, information and observation. Military matters, loss or victory, is only significant to him where it either nets him something valuable or risks taking that away from him. He invokes the imagery of the paladins, who were found worthy for the character of their personality- for virtues like compassion, instinct, curiosity, empathy.

So what we see with the aristocrats in s3e1, that the fleet wrinkles their collective lip at the very thought of him, makes perfect sense. Because Lotor isn’t just unfitting in the galra ideal, he’s willfully subverting it and criticizing it.

But how does Lotor exemplify this, make his point, pretend to court the fleet’s opinion when he’s actually telling them exactly where to stick it?

He shows up as a gladiator. He shows himself off: all small and willowy, all dodging and evasive tactics- hair and armor in very Altean styles. He wears, proudly and comfortably and very, very obviously everything about him that makes him utterly unacceptable to the empire and he not only tricks everyone and sneaks up on them, but does so by posing as a slave gladiator.

Slaves, and the gladiators in particular, are the single lowest person in Zarkon’s empire. Below the average soldier, below non-galra citizens (who are shown watching gladiatorial matches in s1e3), gladiators live and die for the entertainment of the elites. They’re lab rats without rights.

Consider just how much of an audacious move that is for the prince trying to prove himself, when the empire considers so much as talking to prisoners socially frowned upon. Lotor up and pretended to be one.

And he uses that completely unacceptable, frolicking-about-with-the-lower-class kind of behavior and his completely unacceptable very atypical appearance, and he shows that all off, and then, he says “Hey, Throk. Fight me like a proper galra, because I know you’ve been plotting against me.”

Because Lotor’s just established himself as the most unacceptable atypical galra any of these people have ever seen without explicitly dropping his status as a mixed-race child- and now he’s accusing Throk of being improper by the standards of the empire’s culture.

This is a huge insult. And if Throk doesn’t immediately rise to this, prove himself a soldier, the implication is this outrageous brat is the better of the two of them- because passively folding up is how galra of the empire react to their social betters.

Throk actually doesn’t have any choice to respond. The entire commanding elite basically wheels to him with “Are you gonna let him talk to you like that, Throk? This brat? He wouldn’t know a real galra if it bit him, are you gonna let him accuse you of not being a real soldier?”

And of course the icing of it is, Lotor then proceeds to threaten Throk with the generals. Other “unacceptable galra”, using sneaky underhanded tactics. People Lotor has given the rank of general- making them higher ranked than Throk. Again, in the fleet, galra have some very ritualistic submission behavior to their ‘social betters’.

Lotor’s making it very clear if Throk doesn’t challenge him, that Throk won’t just be bowing his head to Lotor. He’ll be bowing his head to these guys. The generals each, in their own way, challenge Throk to back down- to fold and acknowledge them. Which Throk, a bigoted member of the old guard who doesn’t want to acknowledge Lotor’s legitimacy, much less that of the generals which he would view as even weaker, would rather die than do.

It’s not just a blow to Throk’s pride, Lotor precision suckerpunched Throk’s pride in front of the entire fleet and then sits there smiling because Throk’s fucked.

If Throk does the smart thing and backs down, his insurrection is over. None of his allies will stay behind him. He’s proven himself to be- scare chord- a coward. When elites in the empire are defined as being Proud Warriors, more than anybody else, people who would rather die than accept failure or defeat- if Throk folds, it’s a direct loss of status.

But of course Throk’s not going to be sensible- he can’t afford to be, and more importantly, Lotor just publicly humiliated him. So Throk is going to fight, and he’s going to be working overtime to prove that he’s a real, proper soldier, a true blueblood of the empire: proving how violent, merciless, and aggressive he is.

Which the other reason Throk is fucked is Lotor’s spent quite possibly years honing a fighting style that punishes excess aggression.

It’s a plan that hinges on galra aristocracy being incredibly proud and ostentatious and, just like any other case of nobility, keen to defend their status- with the added thing that in the empire, status is defined by martial prowess and cruelty to “lower status” individuals.

#voltron legendary defender #vld #Lotor #Throk #Zarkon #galra culture #readmore #Anonymous

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christsbride · 6 years

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Rediscovering The Vastness of John 3:16

Everyone has seen or heard John 3:16 on football face paint, billboards, bumper stickers, t-shirts, everywhere. It has seem to become a mindless slogan in evangelical christian culture. When digging into the meaning and the message, we find something so grand, so majestic, so powerful, that John 3:16 has the ultimate implications for all humanity; contained in these 25 words (NASB). For some, rediscovering John 3:16 can mean new eternal life! We see the object, expression, recipient, intention, and duration of ultimate divine truth. The seven wonders and maximal elements of reality all contained in this one statement.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life."

FOR GOD Much like Gen. 1:1, God exists, is present, and acts first before anything. Here, God, out of his very nature, not compelled by anyone or anything besides himself, takes action out of his own nature of LOVE. Coming from the Almighty Authority of the creator of the universe where there is no greater. SO LOVED Not just a moderate love; like how we love our pets or hobbies, but the ultimate selfless sacrificial love; the absolute greatest form of love, divine love, from God himself. He SO loved! The absolute mightiest motive - divine love from a divine nature. This is not condoning the behavior or the desires of the object being loved. It is separate, unconditionally uninfluenced benevolence apart for anyone or anything for no selfish intent. Before the existence of anything, God SO LOVED. THE WORLD Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Sanhedrin who came to Jesus at night so that no one else would see him with Jesus. He, and the rest of the Pharisees believed that salvation is only for the Jews and the rest of the world (all other nations that are not Jews) were not chosen for salvation (see Rom. 11:12; Isaiah 43:9; Zec. 9:1). When Jesus tells him "THE WORD" Jesus is refering to the nations who were not Jewish. He was telling Nicodemus that God's divine love was for Israel AND all the world too (1 Tim. 2:4). Thus, God's love extended to THE WHOLE WORLD. All the people of the world. The ultimate maximal being shows the greatest and maximal form of love to the maximal amount of people. This love is even for those whom God knew were going to perish anyway. Since God knows all things, knows the hearts of all people, and has seen all of time from before creation; yet, he still loves. God is perfectly JUST and therefore his LOVE must extend to all people. HE GAVE In his absolute sovereignty, unassisted, and uninfluenced act, he selfishly and freely gave something of maximal value- eternal value. Why give anything? He knew the world was perishing. How so? The sin and disobedience had already been judged (see John 3:17) which by necessity required an equal consequence- eternal separation at judgement. Because God is perfectly holy, righteous, and Just; he must deliver the equally just consequence for the offense. BUT GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD HE GAVE! He gave a solution for redemption that satisfied not only his love but also his divine justice. But it was God who had to give. The world did not deserve it, they were unholy, sinful, and perishing. Notice that HE GAVE and not HE SENT. This again shows his greatest form of love in offering and sacrifice for an undeserving unmerited world. All while the world is perishing; Paul (The Holy Spirit) expresses this perfectly when he stated "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8). HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON He gave God The Son, the eternal heir to all glory and power for all eternity who was the perfect reflection and radiance and glory of God himself (John 8:58; Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:9,2:9). He and the Son were one and the same (John 1:1,14, 10:30,33,36-38). ONLY is because there, for all eternity, will and forever has been only one. BEGOTTEN because he is FROM GOD himself. The person, God The Son, is of ultimate and supreme eternal value to God. Thus, he alone could satisfy God's perfect justice and love simultaneously. THAT WHOEVER Now we see John (The Holy Spirit) change the scope that this solution accounts for. It is not THE WORLD he is talking about now. It is conditional reference, WHOEVER. Though the Son was offered to the world with a value that can satisfy God for the whole world, not everyone will receive this redeeming atoning gift. Because God is perfectly loving and perfectly Just, it was offered still, knowing not everyone would receive it. It is God's love that also allows for those who are offered the gift, to freely reject it out of their own will and desire. None the less, the gift was still offered the THE WORLD- the absolute maximally widest welcome. Though it is the absolute widest welcome, not all will be covered by the sacrifice of Jesus (Matt. 25:32-33, 26:28; John 10:11,15, 17:9; Acts 20:28; Eph. 5:25-27; Isaiah 53:12). That is a very hard truth to accept but it is clear, the WHOEVER are only his sheep of the church who is the body of Christ. Some will blast this as exclusionary and intolerant but one fact they can not escape is that this gift is offered to THE WORLD. And due to God's love, the grants them their ultimate desire- to justify themselves instead of being justified by God The Son. Due to God's perfect Justice, he must then allow them to perish and pay for the eternal consequence themselves without Christ. None the less, it was still offered to all mankind. BELIEVES IN HIM This is the absolute easiest escape and relief from the pending perishing and final consequence. Those few who receive this maximally eternally valuable gift from God, who believe in God The Son get to open this gift of faith in God The Son. But this opportunity is hard to receive; that God himself would sacrifice for mankind. The Jews felt crucifixion was shameful and embarrassing. The Iliad wrote "Juno says to Vulcan: 'Dear son, refrain: it is not well that thus A God should suffer for the sake of men" (Iliad, xxi., 379,380). Muhammad refused to accept a great prophet from God would die in such a way. Many Gnostic beliefs refused to accept this. Sounds to low for a god to do and sounds to easy without the assistance of effort and works. But that is EXACTLY THE POINT. God's free gift to the world is simply faith in God The Son that is not earned or merited through ANY kind of effort or works. Seems too low for such a great God BUT the act of Jesus on the cross was perfect beauty planned from before the beginning of time! It was selfless and voluntary for the absolute greatest possible good. God ALONE is the author and giver of unconditional unmerited eternal salvation. The Holy Spirit declares, through Paul, that we are "made right with God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe" (Romans 3:22) SHALL NOT PERISH This is the maximally perfected divine deliverance from a perishing state that only leads to an eternal consequence. The consequence is due to the perfect justice of God. This gift redeems whoever believes in God The Son and takes them out of the state of perishing and restores them to a state that is NOT perishing. But not only satisfies the justice and removes their state of perishing but brings them into the most perfect state of all. The Holy Spirit declares, through Paul, "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1). BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE This is the priceless divine possession. The free gift of eternal life. Whoever believes in God The Son WILL HAVE eternal life. This is an absolute statement. Eternal life is something obtained and can not be lost. It is impossible to have eternity and then later not have it, because then it was not eternal. The eternal state of something is never ending. And anyone who believes will HAVE it, eternally. This is of eternal maximal divine value offered to the world from God himself. Something that can not be bought or earned. Of which is ONLY found in Jesus Christ (John 14:6). The Seven Wonders of John 3:16

The Almighty Authority - God

The Mightiest Motive - Love

The Greatest Gift - Begotten Son

The Widest Welcome - Whoever

The Easiest Escape - Believe

Divine Deliverance - Not perish

The Priceless Possession - Eternal life

If you have any questions or comments about this article please contact us or join our discussion forms

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mrlnsfrt · 5 years

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Jesus. All.

When I preached this message I began with the video below.

When we realize Who Jesus is we won't be able to refrain ourselves from worshipping Him.

We can barely grasp Him as a man, we are even farther from comprehending Him as God.

Christmas season is here and people, at least here in the southern portion of the US, are thinking about the birth of Jesus. Okay, maybe not that many people are thinking about the birth of Jesus, but it is on people’s minds more than any other time of the year. People often picture Jesus either as a baby in the manger or crucified as an adult. Think of all the times you have seen a portrayal of Jesus and roughly estimate the percentage of times Jesus was portrayed either as a Baby in the manger or crucified.

We struggle to grasp Jesus’ existence on earth as one of us, trying to understand Jesus as God is even more challenging.

Worship

Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people— saying with a loud voice, “Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” - Revelation 14:6-7 NKJV (bold mine)

God is worshiped because He is the creator. If God was to be worshiped solely because of Jesus’ earthly ministry only human beings would worship God. But God is worshiped by all creatures, even angels, though Jesus did not die for them, but because God created them all.

Creator

Believing that God is our creator has all kinds of implications. Worship shapes our lives, who we worship shapes our destiny. At the heart of the 10 commandments we have a reminder of creation along with a call, an invitation, a command to keep the Sabbath holy because of what God did as our creator.

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it. - Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV (bold mine)

I would like to point out a fascinating detail, a link between Revelation 14:7 and Exodus 20:11. These two texts are the only two places in all of Scripture where the words “made,” “heaven,” “earth,” and “sea” are repeated in that same exact order. Many see this as evidence that John, as he wrote Revelation 14, was reminded of the Sabbath and the 4th commandment. Worship is a big deal, who we worship is crucial, and when we worship appears to be a pretty big deal.

Word

But this is a post about Jesus, how does Jesus play into all this talk of worship and creation?

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend [or overcome] it. - John 1:1-5 NKJV (bold and brackets mine)

Jesus is God and creation did not take place without Him. You could say that everything in creation that is, is because of Jesus, and without Him nothing could ever be.

Paul puts it this way

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. - Colossians 1:16-17 NKJV (bold mine)

I imagine it as Jesus holding our reality together. I don’t know about you, but this kind of statement, these ideas, they just blow my mind. I need to take a step back and ponder the implications. Jesus is so much bigger than what we tend to think.

Speaking of sizes, consider the words of Psalm 19.

The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Psalm 19:1 NKJV

The study of the heavens should help us better understand the glory and power of God, and how much bigger He is then what we tend to imagine.

I remember hearing, and probably reading as well, about the fights between science and the church during the medieval period. I heard how the church taught geocentrism (the idea that earth is the center of the universe), and how it fought against scientists who discovered that the earth in fact revolved around the sun.

“the Catholic Church considered Galileo's heliocentric theory to be heretical. It placed Copernicus's book on its Index of Restricted Books and tried Galileo before the Inquisition. Galileo was forced to recant the heliocentric theory and was placed under house arrest for the last eight years of his life.” (read more here or you could just google it for more sources on this topic)

Some say the Bible teaches this. I have yet to be convinced. The theory I find more plausible is that the geocentric theory came into the church through philosophy, not theology. Aristotle “proved” that God exists and unofficially became the standard for science until the Renaissance. Aristotle placed the Earth at the center of the universe, and the church never questioned it and embraced it. Some say it was Ptolemy who produced the authoritative text on astronomy and he used a geocentric model. Either way, this model is not tied to any specific Bible texts.

I believe that the church adopted the geocentric views because it made sense in light of their understanding that man was the pinnacle of God’s creation. After all, why else would God choose to be born as a human baby in terrible conditions and die for us if we were not the center of the universe? When you think about it that way, it kinda makes sense.

Jesus became one of us and died for us.

So, we must be very precious to God.

Therefore we must be all that God has.

Putting things into perspective

There is an interesting TEDx talk by Michelle Thaller about Dark Mater that really piqued my interest. She describes how a spiral galaxy, like our Milky Way, is made up of about 1/2 trillion stars, or 500 billion stars. Though the earth revolves around our sun, our sun revolves around the center of the milky way, and it takes 1/4 billion years for our sun to go around once. She also shares how end to end, our is galaxy is 100,000 light-years across.

Not only are we not the center of our solar system, but we are also infinitely small.

But wait, there’s more!

Hubble Ultra Deep Field

This view of nearly 10,000 galaxies is the deepest visible-light image of the cosmos. Called the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, this galaxy-studded view represents a "deep" core sample of the universe, cutting across billions of light-years.

The Ultra Deep Field observations, taken by the Advanced Camera for Surveys, represent a narrow, deep view of the cosmos. Peering into the Ultra Deep Field is like looking through an eight-foot-long soda straw.

In ground-based photographs, the patch of sky in which the galaxies reside (just one-tenth the diameter of the full Moon) is largely empty. Located in the constellation Fornax, the region is so empty that only a handful of stars within the Milky Way galaxy can be seen in the image. - http://hubblesite.org/newscenter/archive/releases/2004/07/image/a/ 3/19/14

So it turns out that the emptiest piece of the night sky is not so empty. This image required 800 exposures taken over the course of 400 Hubble orbits around Earth. The total amount of exposure time was 11.3 days, taken between Sept. 24, 2003, and Jan. 16, 2004. (Spacetelescope.org)

I guess we have established that we are not the center of the universe. In fact, the more science and technology advance the more evidence there is of the vastness of our universe, the smaller we become, the more amazing God’s grace to care so much about the tiny inhabitants of a speck of dust planet.

But that’s not all

"More is unknown than is known." -- NASA

Dark Energy

“It turns out that roughly 68% of the universe is dark energy. Dark matter makes up about 27%. The rest - everything on Earth, everything ever observed with all of our instruments, all normal matter - adds up to less than 5% of the universe. Come to think of it, maybe it shouldn't be called "normal" matter at all, since it is such a small fraction of the universe.” (NASA)

Many continue to wrestle with this mystery and there are many theories available, but none have managed to provide a satisfactory answer. One theory is the following:

The first property that Einstein discovered is that it is possible for more space to come into existence. Then one version of Einstein's gravity theory, the version that contains a cosmological constant, makes a second prediction: "empty space" can possess its own energy. Because this energy is a property of space itself, it would not be diluted as space expands. As more space comes into existence, more of this energy-of-space would appear. As a result, this form of energy would cause the universe to expand faster and faster. Unfortunately, no one understands why the cosmological constant should even be there, much less why it would have exactly the right value to cause the observed acceleration of the universe. - NASA (bold mine)

Ultimately, the consensus seems to be that the thing that is needed to decide between dark energy possibilities - a property of space, a new dynamic fluid, or a new theory of gravity - is more data, better data. (NASA)

Mystery

There is an article from Time Magazine that has this to say about Dark Matter

It’s a mystery that has haunted astronomers for nearly 80 years now: what is the mysterious dark matter that outweighs ordinary matter—all of the atoms that make up stars, galaxies and clouds in the cosmos—by a factor of four to one? We know with near-certainty that it’s out there because of its powerful gravity. Galaxies spin so fast that they’d fly apart without the massive cocoon of dark matter that surrounds them, pervades them and holds them together.

-Time

The most recent information I found on Dark Matter and Dark Energy came from Gizmodo

Five-sixths of the universe’s stuff seems to be missing, and we just can’t find it. It’s called “dark matter,” and scientists have gone looking for it with some of the world’s largest, most expensive experiments.

Time and time again, these experiments come up empty handed. Most recently, the scientists at the XENON1T experiment, a literal ton of super-sensitive liquid xenon, didn’t find the signal they were looking for after a nine-month search. Nor has the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator in Geneva, Switzerland, managed to turn up anything. So, you might wonder, what are we looking for and why? And why are the world’s physicists so deeply divided about what “dark matter” could be?

[…]

But the most significant evidence for dark matter, as University of Chicago physicist Dan Hooper explained at a recent conference, comes from observations of the large-scale structure of the universe itself. It seems to be taking on some sort of gravitational structure for apparently no reason, so something—something thus far undetectable to us—has to be holding it all together. Calculations now imply that there’s around five times more of this dark stuff than regular matter. - Gizmodo (bold mine)

"“Dark matter is a placeholder for a thing we don’t understand yet.”" -- Erik Verlinde (theoretical physicist at the University of Amsterdam)

I recognize that I am not an expert in any branch of Physics, and I am not trying to discuss nuances of the research, I am here simply as someone who finds this fascinating. I am totally biased as I read all this because I am reading this as a Christian with a background in biblical theology. I will bring up one more theory and I’ll share my thoughts on what I take away from all this.

A theory of everything (ToE) or final theory, ultimate theory or master theory refers to the hypothetical presence of a single, all-encompassing, coherent theoretical framework of physics that fully explains and links together all physical aspects of the universe. (Wikipedia [I know Wikipedia is not a reliable primary source but I like the simple way it summarizes this.] for more information you can also check out Steven Weinberg. Dreams of a Final Theory: The Scientist's Search for the Ultimate Laws of Nature. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-78786-6.)

For the sake of brevity I will focus on String Theory, and to keep things simple I’ll share how NOVA puts it.

Far from being a collection of chaotic experimental facts, particle properties in string theory are the manifestation of one and the same physical feature: the resonant patterns of vibration—the music, so to speak—of fundamental loops of string. The same idea applies to the forces of nature as well. Force particles are also associated with particular patterns of string vibration and hence everything, all matter and all forces, is unified under the same rubric of microscopic string oscillations—the "notes" that strings can play.

[…]

The way a string-theory string vibrates may confer the properties of various fundamental particles, just as the way a violin's string vibrates confers the resonant frequencies we recognize as different musical notes. - Brian Greene ( NOVA)

As a pastor, what comes to mind when I read this is the creation account found in Genesis 1, where God speaks and creation takes place.

Think about it, God speaks = sound = vibration

Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. - Genesis 1:1 NKJV

Also, since the creation account is found in the form of poetry, I like to imagine God singing as creation takes place.

The Bible tells us that God speaks and creation takes place (Genesis 1). The Bible also tells us that Jesus is the Word (John 1). Science tells us that something is holding all of reality together and we cannot detect what it is with our instruments.

I say there is room for God. I am not suggesting that we stop studying or searching, I just don’t see science as being opposed to God, I see strong possibilities for both to get along. I look at science and I see evidence of God.

Faith

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. - Ephesians 2:8-9 NKJV

It is fascinating that in any area of study, physics, math, biology, chemistry, there comes a point where things are taken by faith. We know enough and for the remainder we make an educated leap. We are unable to prove everything. I am comfortable with that. I just don’t appreciate it when people make it seem like faith exists solely in the realm of religion and spirituality. In religion, I believe we also ought to study and advance. However, inevitably our studies and research will only take us so far, then we take a leap, but it is not a leap in the dark, it is an educated leap, a leap into the light. I do not believe in, or preach a blind faith, but rather that we all believe things by faith.

The beautiful thing about faith is that it is available to everyone. A child can believe, and a Ph.D. can believe, it is available to both artists and engineers. Salvation is available to everyone because it is by grace through faith. You don’t need to answer every single question, just enough to make the leap. I believe there is plenty to support the Christian faith. We may not be able to explain everything in great detail, but then again, neither can science. There is a beauty to enjoying the journey that must be admired. The journey should continue, we should remain curious and with a teachable spirit, but until certain things can be proven, its okay to take them by faith.

I would like to close with Acts 4. I would highly recommend you read the entire chapter, but allow me to share with you a few verses below.

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders of Israel: If we this day are judged for a good deed done to a helpless man, by what means he has been made well, let it be known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man stands here before you whole. This is the ‘stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the chief cornerstone.’ Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:8-12 NKJV (bold mine)

Ultimately we believe in Jesus by faith but it is not a blind faith. Jesus is our creator and our savior, science can’t find Him, but there is plenty of room for Him, and by the way, He is coming again.

Yes, I believe in these things.

I believe it is all about Jesus.

I believe we can sum it all up in

Jesus. All.

#Jesus #science #physics #space #stars #Colossians #faith #life #Bible

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