#Prophetic engagement

[igate777]

(via TRACKING THE SEASON WITH CALIBRATED PROPHETIC GPS.)

[thedeafprophet]

i truly do get that in the grand scheme of fandom, female characters are not appreciated as much as male characters and are often given less sympathy and far less attention

but the solution to this is not to harrass people over liking male characters or whatever. yes, people should check their biases, and yes, misogynistic behaviour and analysis should be called out when presented.

But harrasment is not going to make people want to engage with stuff. all it is going to do is push people away from engaging with content, and make you an asshole

[bijoumikhawal]

one thing bugging me about bajoran religion and world building is its implied worshipping the Pagh Wraiths isn't like, a new thing in Bajoran culture (obviously they were originally part of the Prophets, but they seen to have retained worship after that) and they're a despised religion, but the way that operates irl is more complex than how DS9 allows it by very literally making the Pagh Wraiths villains? I always hate when fantasy and sci-fi media does this "evil god with evil worshippers" thing because of this

[not-so-superheroine]

My article on Doctrine and Covenants 116 (RLDS), why it should remain as scripture...

(...and white paternalism in the church.)

I never posted this here because I don't know any Community of Christ saints on tumblr (shout out to tumblrstake saints for letting me hang out with them) Please read if interested in RLDS/CofC D&C scriptures and how we can do wild things like remove scripture via common consent. Or if you are interested in an issue that affects/affected Black Saints in Community of Christ. Esp in the United States church w/ Black american Saints.

TL;DR at the bottom

I wrote an article on Doctrine and Covenants section 116 and published it on medium. I also sent some copies out to church friends in historical societies. This was winter/spring 2023. (i later found out it made it's way to the First Presidency bc the Counselor to the President reached out about it. ) D&C 116, in part, pertains to the ordination of men of color, with a heavy focus on Black men. The revelation the Prophet Joseph Smith III received from God is that it is God's will that men of all races be ordained. It was adopted into the Doctrine and Covenants in 1865. It also has less savory parts that were used to justify segregation. When I asked those who wanted it out felt that it could lead people away/astray. They focus in on their, not unbased, conclusion that the revelation stated segregation is God's will, and therefore is false. All of the person's who spoke against it in my life were white reorganized saints. I decided to ask my Black brothers and sisters in Community of Christ. Many who experienced the church during the era of segregation. And, as I had a suspicion, none of them/us wanted it removed and were against the measure. Some felt it wasn't appropiate to weigh in due to position. Some didn't like it but didn't want to lead a charge on it. Some were quite vocal and gave presentations to the unofficial latter day saint groups. Some heard of my work (a newbie convert. pre-baptism for part of it. that's while I'm still shocked), and tracked me down, to talk about the matter. Generations of Black reorganized saints who all, for different yet overlapping reasons, wanted it to remain. Many let me listen to them and publish quotes. In the united states, Community of Christ is majority white. I think this is the case for most Latter Day Saint churches. It is quite possible that the stake/mission center that presented this resolution to the Conference didn't have Black members involved. I hazard that this is the case. Coming mostly from a good place but also unintentionally condescending or harmful. So I had to do something about it. obviously.

I went to an Apostle's presentation on Prophet-President JSIII and D&C 116 and was like "can I help you with more work on this topic?" and he was like "no, but i can help you?" he gave me his short powerpoint presentation, recommended me a few books, and I got to work. https://medium.com/@wednesdayrjones/doctrine-and-covenants-116-is-significant-scripture-and-scripture-is-what-it-should-remain-11bbcee561c3 My personal experience with the section when I first read it was evidence of the prophetic nature of the church. I was happy to see D&C 116 because it was a step in the right direction. A big one. Similar verbiage can be found in the revelation on Women in the Priesthood. God tells us, and we acknowledge in the Doctrine and and Covenants, that the misuse of scripture too often harms marginalized people and the Church is called to repent of such practices. that's continuing revelation, sis/bro/sib

The 1st Prophet of the Reorganization, Joseph Smith III, earned my respect in part by engaging with him through this text. And those early Black saints, whose' testimonies' i read and hold dearly, certainly have my respect and my adoration. i hope to embody the hope for Zion and activeness in bringing God's kingdom forth that they had.

we (me and other Black saints involved and our allies) were successful btw. the resolution went up to the first presidency for them to decide, as it wasn't decided on at the World Conference by common consent due to time restraints (I did have a few delegates promise to read parts of my article during their time in the discussion period). The First Presidency made no moves to remove it and i am glad to have had a part in that.

TL;DR here is an article i wrote about Doctrine and Covenants 116 - Race in the Priesthood in Community of Chirst/RLDS. It was up for removal and now it's not. Much due to the work of Black saints, including myself, those I interviewed, and others I was blessed to interact with. let me know what you think or if you have any questions about it or Prophet-President Joseph Smith III or his politics on race and abolition as well has his father's (from his presidential platform. Prophet-President Joseph Smith Jr. The 1st prophet of the Restoration.), or books recommendations or my beliefs surrounding this scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants as a whole, modern day prophets and prophecy and Continuing revelation etc. Or for my fellow saints, this sounds similar or bizzare? and do you have any questions about things like World Conference or how common consent is used within CofC? Any comments regarding OD2 and similarities / differences? I love to talk about history, esp where it ties with my faith. and it brings to mind, what does it mean for scripture to be Inspired.

or let me know if this inspires you to take on a sort of project, church or otherwise. Learning the D&C in depth requires knowledge of the the state of the church and historical context in which the prophet is seeking answers for is so fascinating.

[queenlucythevaliant]

Why did God harden the Pharaoh’s? I’m in a Bible as Lit class and someone brought up “wouldn’t that be against free will,” and why did God let the Israelites stay it in slavery for so long. Why is God different in the Old Testament to the New Testament? I hope this doesn’t bother you, with all these questions

Okay, so there are several different questions here and I'm going to try to address them all. I'm sure I'll miss something somewhere, so other more knowledgeable friends feel free to add on. Follow-ups are also very much welcome.

First off, Bible as literature class! Yikes. I took a Bible as lit class for my English minor years ago and my experience was pretty much wall-to-wall frustration. It was mostly an exercise in coming up with the most transgressive reads on Scripture possible and that really upset me.

I hope that your experience is better than mine. However, assuming that the class is at a secular university, I'd still encourage you to be intentional about talking the things you cover in class over with knowledgeable Christians in your life. I certainly benefitted a lot from doing so, both in the sense that I got to vent a whole bunch and in that I got help contextualizing the secular perspectives within Christian scholarship.

That out of the way: The God of the Bible is the same in both the Old and New Testaments.

I do understand where you’re coming from. It’s not uncommon for people to find God kind of inscrutable in the OT when they're more used to reading the NT. I actually think that's a failure on the part of the contemporary church in the West; large swaths of the OT tend to be understudied among lay-Christians.

Systematic theology can help a lot here. I'm just going to hit a few really broad highlights, but I really can't recommend Wayne Grudem highly enough if you're interested in more in-depth reading. Lots of people start with Bible Doctrine, but my family happened to have a copy of his enormous Systematic Theology tome in the basement when I was in high school and I got a lot out of just poking through that a little at a time too. A few quick bullets though:

Across all the Biblical texts, God is love. He glories in kindness to his people, whether it's in the covenant with Abraham, the Exodus, the faithful ministry of the prophets, Christ's ministry/death/resurrection, or the promised coming of his kingdom.

God is holy; he gives the Law to the Israelites so that they can approach his holiness without fearing for their lives and he sent Jesus so that we can do the same. Both Isaiah and Peter react with fear and awe in the face of God's holiness.

God is just. By virtue of his holiness, he cannot allow sin to go unpunished. As modern westerners, we often chafe against this but has any of us experienced justice that was actually pure? Justice is a form of faithfulness, and the same God who sent his people into exile poured out his wrath on his own son in our place. He has promised that one day, every evil will face his perfect justice.

God is faithful. He keeps his Covenant with Abraham even unto the cross. In the OT he is faithful husband to an adulterous people. In the NT he tells us that when we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny himself.

Lots of other characteristics but this answer is going to be long enough as it is. The only way to get a real sense for the continuity within the Bible is to read the whole Bible with an eye towards the continuity.

The reason that God is more approachable in the NT than the Old is that he became human. In the Incarnation, all of that holiness and justice and faithfulness and love that was God came to earth in our perfect likeness so that he could live beside us and die for us. God is certainly easier to approach in light of Christ's work, but he is utterly the same as he ever was. Read the Transfiguration and tell me that isn’t the God of Mount Sinai. Read John 1 and tell me it doesn’t remind you of the end of Job. Read the Gospels, Hebrews, and Revelation and play spot-the-OT-parallel. It's beautiful.

Why did God leave his people in slavery for so long? You could ask the same question about the Babylonian captivity and even about why Jesus waits to return and finally defeat Death. Why does he wait? Why let his people suffer?

Well. God is sovereign and he only permits evil to the extent that it ultimately accomplishes the very opposite of what it intends. Because the Israelites were slaves in Egypt, the Exodus was able to occur. The Exodus glorified God in extraordinary fashion, both among his own people and to the peoples of the ancient world. It was also a necessary type and precursor to Jesus's work on the cross. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that redemptive history rests on God's work in the Exodus, which is itself contingent on a period of slavery in Egypt.

“How long, O Lord” and “Come Lord Jesus” are the same sentiment in different words. We are still in exile, even now. We are chronologically exiled from the place where we belong, the New Jerusalem, and we mourn because we live in a fallen world in which sin and death can still hurt us. We can ask, just as the Prophets once asked, why God waits to vanquish the Enemy, extract suffering from the world, and restore our years that the locusts have eaten. And in each case (the slaves in Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, and the period of waiting for Jesus to return), the answer is that God does not fix it yet because He is doing something bigger!

Regarding Pharaoh's heart: this is basically a question of human nature. The easiest way that I can articulate it off the top of my head is using Augustine's fourfold state of man:

Prior to the fall, man was able either to sin or not to sin (posse peccare, posse non peccare)

The natural state of man after the fall is one in which he is unable not to sin (non posse non peccare). This was Pharaoh's state.

Following the work of Christ, regenerate man is able not to sin (posse non peccare)

In eternity, glorified man will be unable to sin (non posse peccare)

When we talk about man's will, we must acknowledge that our wills are subject to our nature. In other words, Pharaoh was a natural, fallen man. His nature was inherently sinful and his heart inherently hard.

What we've got here is sort of a "Jacob I have loved but Esau I have hated" situation. Pharaoh, in his natural state, had a hard heart and a natural enmity with God. God did not intervene to give him a heart of flesh. My people I have loved, but Pharaoh I have hated.

Not a perfect parallel, but I think it serves its purpose. The point is that God's sovereignty isn't in conflict with man's will, since our wills are a function of our natures. Man behaves however his nature inclines him to behave at any given time. We call this free will; however, God is entirely sovereign over all of it.

This is definitely a long, messy answer, but like I said, feel free to continue the conversation. I've got some biochem to work on, but I'm always happy to talk theology :)

[drawing-prompt-s]

Hello, I just wanted to say that I love how supportive and excited you are for all artists, especially the ones who are just starting out. Truly warms my heart ❤️

Thank you! I remember when I was little and doing art, and how that praise seemed to wane as i got older - it sucked, and i hate people feeling like that. And i know a little support goes a long ways.

Plus, i just legitimately get so excited seeing people doing these prompts and sharing their art on this blog!! I can't help it!!

-Prompt Prophet

[savage-flirtation]

How are you? I am a a pastor exploring. Would you private message me?

Exploring what exactly? For a person of God your blog is blank except for two explicit images in your likes! You're not exactly extolling the virtues and spreading HIS word! I think you'll find your job description is to bring lost souls into the light, not to look to corrupt them in private!

Using your job title to attempt to make you seem trustworthy is a gross manipulation!

Go to therapy, get counselling, and leave women on the internet alone!

[cruelsister-moved2]

me today in first arabic class when i saw shin and first example word was beyt and i can write my name way easier than all the guys called jack and shit followed by immediate rapid ego death when i realise i have to learn 3 versions of every letter and the teacher says she doesn't even understand moroccan arabic as a native speaker and then shows us arabic cursive thats literally just squiggles with no diacritics 😭😭😭

[moltage]

do u think mick and prophet have random arguments over which land is better. or an argument over the bible. bc y'know they're the exact opposites on those topics. i just think it's a funny idea that they'd both constantly tease each other on things they are not on the same page about

[yuridovewing]

I might just get a little mean when Firestar is picking deputies in my hyporewrite.... first he picks Whitestorm, who dies in the BloodClan battle. Then he picks Longtail, who gets blinded and steps down for his own comfort. Then he picks Graystripe who is his bestie and he's like "Okay, he's proved himself, he's grown as a person and can handle this and I want my best friend by my side" aaaaand then he gets taken away by the twolegs during the forest destruction. (alternatively this happens with Sandstorm, but idk. Kinda wanna keep Millie in there.) He refuses to pick a deputy, but once they're at the lake, he feels like he must for the sake of stability, so he appoints Brackenfur. Who dies a few moons later to the badger attack alongside his sister Cinderpelt, protecting his laboring mate Sorreltail in the nursery. And after that, StarClan comes down, shoves Brambleclaw in his face, and is like "you HAVE to choose this guy, it is only right to honor tradition". And since Brambleclaw did lead them to the lake, he figures it is appropriate even if he's ineligible... and then Brambleclaw participates in his assassination attempt with Hawkfrost.

[crapmagak]

New Engage Trailer

Just when I declare we probably won’t get one this week. Oh well, I’m not complaining.

We started out with what I found to be a big shock. The silver haired woman can be seen on the special edition, and because of the lighting I always assumed she was a princess of the autumn nation (Which we now know is called Brodia). Nope. Instead she is Alears mother, who seems to die after the night bridge chapter, giving Alear their macguffin hunt quest. Fire Emblem gonna Fire Emblem.

This reminds me a lot of Queen Mikoto, which gets me worried. Mikoto had such a good design, and it was a huge (if obvious) disappointment when she died so early in the story. Maybe she’ll end up surviving somehow, considering her place on the box art, but I won’t hold my breath. Also, despite seeming to have round ears, it’s implied she’s the white dragon from earlier. Maybe it’s another sign she’ll survive. Or it could just be that the other divine dragon girl has the same model for her dragon form.

Another thing of note is her saying when Alears memories return, he must fight with the utmost divinity. Considering later parts of the trailer, this seems like it’ll be important. Speaking of which, Marth sure did hesitate a little when he said Alear was kind, huh.

Edit: Also noticed that she hands Alear Sigurd's ring specifically, so it seems Alfred was not it's original bearer.

Next, we get a look at the Brodian castle, with its prince at its starway. But what really catches my interest is the next scene. The scenery looks like the edge of the bridge map we caught glimpses of in the trailer, and we have two new face, and a familiar one. To the left is Citrinne, now in her mage outfit. This makes me think Alcryst is not the red haired swordsman like I originally assumed, but rather this blue haired archer. And we’ve seen this character on the box art before. Because of his vampire-like appearance, I assumed he was from Elusia, but if the silver haired woman isn’t the second Brodian noble, then perhaps this man is. When looking at the first japanese trailer, we can see a mage with Citrinnes color scheme, and an archer with this man's color scheme on the defense map. Then we see a pink haired, red armored swords woman. Then we get a clear look at Brodia’s crown prince

In terms of first impressions, the prince seems a lot more friendly and charming than I expected. I didn’t expect him to be an asshole by any means, but what glimpses we saw in the first trailer made me think he’d be more stoic and angsty. I’m confident his class will be Noble/ Back up; and use swords. 

Edit: Turns out this dudes name is Diamante in the spanish and chinese versions. It's a cool sounding name, so I'm curious if it'll change at in english.

The new Prince Alcryst is interesting though. His red and blue clothes make me wonder, is he also Brodian royalty, or is he an Elusian noble who’s gone rogue and joined the heroes side? Looking at his brief clip, he comes off as a weird mix of timid and angry. I suspect his class is Noble/ Spy, using bows.

It’s seems Citrinnes outfit in the first trailer was her unique casual wear, though the dress does look pretty. Then we have the pink haired girl. I don’t think she’s a sword fighter/ myrmidon because of the armor and cape. Instead, I think she’s gonna be a sword cavalier or pegasus knight. Thankfully, we’ll probably get a look at her via twitter bio to learn more.

From dialogue, we also learn a couple things about Brodia. An alliance with the country took “some doing”, it has an ambitious king, and it’s titled “The Kingdom of Might”. Considering the design of its likely king, I think he’s gonna become an antagonist at some point, because look at him. What exactly are those “ambitions” of yours, brah?

Then we get a glimpse at the desert country, now called Solm (Rough guess). It’s described as an open minded country that has good relations with Firene. We also get a glimpse of two other characters from the special edition box art; the dancer girl and the man with a rose. This also leads to some glances at the country itself. Seems to have more cliffs than I expected.

The dancer girl seems cute and perky. Judging from her outfit, her talking about fun, and how we saw her fight in the first trailer, I think it’s safe to say she’s a dancer. I don’t know if her class will be called something like Dancer/ Back up, or Noble/ Dancer though. Also, she’s shown to use lances.

The rose man seems fun too, playing into the Casanova Wannabe archetype. His chest guard made me assume he’d be a bow unit intiatal, but maybe he’ll use daggers instead, or something else entirely. But if Alcryst is the resident Noble/ Spy… Well, there's no rule saying two nobles can’t share in some way. Or maybe he’s a Noble/ Qigong, since none of the other noble box art characters seem to fit the bill. In that case, maybe he’s going to be our first fist lord.

I’m also curious about Solm as a whole, and if it’ll really be the last of the four countries we visit, especially considering how it was introduced third.

Next, we get another look at the snowy battlefield scene, complete with a better look at the view mage we saw put on the ring. Seems a lot taller and lankier than I assumed. I’d guess he’s either the king or some kind of evil vizier. The next shot really intrigues me. When they say some Elusians worship the fell dragon, we get a look at the inside of this church of some kind. We see a lot of snowflake designs in the stained glass, and none of the dragon statues seem to actually resemble the cobra headed fell dragon. We also see Alear, Marth, Alfred, the Bordian Prince, and Alcrsyst face the sorcerer and the jester girl. Definitely curious how this meeting happened. My best guess is our heroes got captured.

Next we get a look at the bridge chapter, with the jester girl and her girl squad leading the attack. We’ve actually seen the jester on the special edition box art before, making me think she’s an Elusian princess. That would make the two girls behind her likely her retainers. They’re all probably gonna be recruitable later down the line.

The jester girl seems like she's gonna be the cute but crazy archetype that’s pretty popular, think Harley Quinn and Toga from MHA. We can actually see a bit of her skirt in a later shot on someone riding a pegasus, which makes me curious. Obviously this makes her class Noble/ Flier, but her weapon is a mystery. That fact the pegasus is white makes me think she isn’t a dark flier, but maybe she’ll wield tomes anyways. Swords or axes also seem fitting for her.

Then we have a brunette girl in a yellow dress. Her single pauldron and her weapon make me think she’ll be a sword fighter. The girl with violet hair is a bit harder to pin down. On vibes alone she doesn't strike me as an ax fighter, maybe an ax cavalier or pegasus knight instead?

Next, we get a good look at the last remaining character of the normal box art, showing that her outfit is even sexier than we first thought. The lighting and angle also make her face less weird looking. Also, first look at wyverns in this game, which I’m rather down with. Considering her rather ominous threat, I’m curious how they’re going to make this character join our side later. Because that's obviously going to happen. Also, judging from her tome and wyvern, it’s safe to say she’s a malig knight. This cutscene also seems to take place in a fort or castle, with Brodian soldiers fighting in the background, maybe even the one shown in the defense chapter. Perhaps her class is also Noble/ Flier, or Noble/ Wyvern (Or Dragon). The wyvern also makes me think she’ll play a role similar to Minerva and Jill, the wyvern knight of an enemy kind that joins our side.

Back in the spooky church, we can see the sorcerer talking with the supposed fell dragon. It’s neet to get a better look at our likely main antagonist. He’s even got weird dragon feet. We then get a shot of the sorcerer man grabbing the Brodian general/ king's sword, with dark magic flowing out. Things are not looking good for him, but I don’t think he’s gonna die here.

Edit: We also got to the learn this fell dragon guys name thanks to Spanish subtitles. And upon rewatching, we actually can here it there too, if only briefly. It's Sombrom

 Then we see a cloaked figure holding a tome, attacking Alear in the same room where their mom died. Curiously, we can also see a statue of a girl in a skirt and cape with a sword in the shot. Maybe it means something. After some more shots, we get a better look at the figure, who seems to be using the young girl model. Obviously some plot twist is afoot. Is it the manakete girl, Celine, or some other character not shown yet but will “Die” during the attack on Lythos.

Edit: Looking at the footage some more, I noticed something. When Alear's mom is defending them from dark magic, we see a ring of dark fire around them. So, is this the person who kills mom?

Another fun bit comes where we get a look at the four enemy generals of this game. We have a green haired dude with piercings, showing off his abs. Makes me think he’ll be a berserker of some sort. Next a blond girl in gothic lolita armor. Think she’ll be a pegasus/ falco knight. I hoe she’s really fuck up. Then we have an armored man who looks like a general or a great knight. Finally, a sexy woman with pointed ears and crescent shaped horns. As such, I think she’s a manakete. Damn it intsys. You make a non-loli manakete girl in this game after all, and she’s probably evil and unrecruitable, or your mom.

Ignoring the next cuts for convenience, we see our token dragon loli shoot a fireball at a corrupted in the windmill village. Then she says she’s just passing through, looking for someone. Seeing as how she’s not the one who gave Alear his quest, I’m curious who she actually is now. Probably something we won’t figure out until way later in the game though. As for who she’s looking for… Yeah, I haven’t a clue. 

We also see some glimpses of other (Likely recruitable) characters. First is a red haired lass in a dark bodysuit with a matching cape. Think she’ll be a dark mage. Gives me Odin/ Ophelia vibes. Next, well… Women in plate armor may be one of my many weaknesses. Either way, she looks like another armor knight. Considering we’ve seen Louis with a lance, and that Blue haired man with an ax, I think she’ll be a sword armor knight. The next two are a bit curious. They’re shown in Solm, but not only are they rather pasty, but their clothes are mostly white. Perhaps Lythosian refugees after the attack on the castle that Solm took in? The pauldron on the blonde one makes me think he’s also a sword fighter. The orange haired man’s cowl makes me think he’ll me a mage or monk of some sort. Seems to have a “one’s flamboyant and the other’s grumpy” dynamic.

Next is a bunch of shots of our characters fighting corrupted in the destroyed bridge. I actually think this isn’t a part of the night bridge map we keep seeing, considering the Brodian and Solmnian royals are with us. We see Roy with the Brodian prince, like in the first trailer. We also see Ike with the dancer girl, which is an odd combination. Seeing Lucina with Alfred in a quick cut makes me think emblems may not be tied to specific characters as much as I initially assumed. In fact, I’m confident there will also be a cut with the Malig knight woman and some other emblem we just weren’t shown for spoilers sake. I think this scene takes place near the end of the game, where our heroes take back the castle of Lythos in a triumphant charge.

Next we get a scene of the fell dragon towering over the sorcerer. I think it’s one of those scenes where the lesser villain steps out of line, and the main villain gives a display of power to show the audience who the real big bad is. This is also a good time to say a theory I’ve had since the first trailer. Basically, I don’t think this drow elf dude and the cobra wyvern we’ve seen are the fell dragon. Rather, I think they’re descendants like Alear. Mostly because the fell dragon in ural has front legs, five eyes instead of three and seems a bit larger and more detailed. I also think the Sexy Manakete woman we’ve seen will also have a cobra dragon form.

Cutting back to the snowy battlefield, we see the summoner summon evil Lyn, who's shown using a bow, which is neat. We also saw Lucina and Ike using swords in the trailer, so it seems their weapons aren’t locked to the mural. Also confirming the villains have some of the emblems. We’re then shown the Jester girl with a Lucina ring. Seems like a good way to spice up getting the emblems rings, attaching them villains to fight.

Finally, a shocking reveal. We see Marth turn into evil, red haired Marth. It’s cut to make it look like the sorcerers did this, but we can actually see corrupted Marth next to the supposed fell dragon in the church. This likely means Marths ring is equipped to our main villain, which is an exciting twist to say the least.

As one last stinger for the trailer, we see a sinister, red haired Alear in the pillars bridge, surrounded by flames. And a deep voice declares that everyone Alear has ever cared about is dead. I’m curious if they’ll have the balls to make Alear in the past actually fucked up and the like. Or maybe the big plot twist is that they were the fell dragon all along.

All in all, a pretty juicy trailer in the story department. Personally, I would have also liked to see some more maps, maybe what the class trees are like, and maybe confirmation of shape shifting classes. Still, it’s rude to ask for dessert so soon, and we’ve got too months left where Fire Emblem Engage will be the next big Nintendo release. Not gonna lie though, as someone who’s on his knees, praying for the the return of beast shifter classes, I’m starting to get nervous.

The does give me some theories for the story, though. Mainly, it seems like once our heroes are done in Firene (I assume finding Micaiah’s ring), Elusia attacks Brodia. Our heroes help Brodia recapture its bridge, then head to the castle. Said castle is attacked by Elusian troops, and after defending it, Brodia decides to counter invade. There's a big battle in a snowy field, only for the Eulsian sorcerer to summon Lyn’s emblem and win the battle.

This leads to our heroes being captured and brought to the fell dragon cathedral. Here, we meet our supposed fell dragon, who takes marth’s ring oh shit! Alear has a traumatic flashback, and then our heroes manage to escape to Solm. In this part of the story, Alear is super angsty about maybe being evil in the past. Our heroes then help the Solm royals fight back against Elusia, and eventually the Elusian princesses and thei retainers can’t take the fell dragons antics and side with the heroes.

Then it’s actually counter invasion time, baby! Basically just our heroes pressing deeper and deeper into enemy territory until they get to the church. This leads to Alear having some kind of character arc about their past, and after a battle against the fell dragon or the Sorcerer, getting Marth’s ring back.

Before our heroes can retake Lythos, though, I think we’ll have to fight Brodia for a little bit. Why? Because, well, just look at their king, who's been described as ambitious. Maybe this will lead into why Elusia felt it needed to side with the fell dragon in the first place.

Once that’s taken care of, our heroes bring the fight to the fell dragon. We go though Lythos/ the dark country, taking care of the generals and the like. This leads to a big battle with the fell dragon, only for the real fell dragon to be revived somehow and become the final boss. Then your typical fe ending happens.

Then again, my predictions haven’t exactly been accurate lately. Uhh… The drip marketings gonna stay at a slow and inconsistent pace.

Also, yes, I know some of the details about these characters were revealed in the leaks, but I don’t wanna spoil stuff.

[imaginalstudio]

So, I typed a text to a girl I used to see

Sayin' that I chose this cutie pie with whom I wanna be

And I apologize if this message gets you down

Then I CC'ed every girl that I'd see-see 'round town

And hate to see y'all frown but I'd rather see her smilin'

Wetness all around me, true, but I'm no island

Peninsula maybe, it makes no sense, I know crazy

Give up all this pussy cat that's in my lap, no looking back

Spaceships don't come equipped with rearview mirrors

They dip as quick as they can, the atmosphere is now ripped

I'm so like a pip, I'm glad it's knight

So the light from the sun would not burn me on my bum

When I shoot the moon, high jump the broom

Like a preemie out the womb, my partner yellin', "Too soon!

Don't do it! Reconsider, read some liter-

Ature on the subject; you sure? Fuck it

You know we got your back like chiroprac-tic

If that bitch do you dirty, we'll wipe her ass out as in detergent

Now hurry, hurry, go on to the altar

I know you ain't a pimp, but, pimp, remember what I taught ya

[thedeafprophet]

As much as i rag on heart's desire for not having a plot, I do think it works decently for what it is: A Tournament Arc.

Now, often tournament arcs are filler, but filler isn't inherently bad. And to be tournament arcs serve one good purpose: Showing off various characters and their abilities, the tournament allowing for focus on that.

Heart's Desire works in that purpose soley: it introduces you to some major npcs on a more closer level, and shows you what they're capable of. The Bishop and being a snuffer, learning about The Manager's past and witsnessing close up his mind and dreams powers, etc. etc. Its plays into this well.

If anything, I think it could have leaned into this more and that it didnt go into some characters as much as it could - i thought it was sad we never actually got to see Virginia compete, that could have been very cool. The introduction to her ex and the history there was neat, but it could have shown more of what she's capable of.

[transsexualprophet]

You're engaged??

to our lord and savior jesus christ

alternatively: who isnt these days

[igate777]

(via A PRAYER SESSION. TRACKING THE SEASON WITH CALIBRATED PROPHETIC GPS. PT 7)

[homunculus-argument]

Honestly, "high art" of any kind isn't really any more or less incomprehensible or unapproachable than Tumblr meme culture. It's basically the same kind of thing, really, but with a longer time span and more reading to catch up to - things making references to things that were a thing earlier, and everyone kind of supposes that everyone who sees the work also has some background knowledge of the previous work being referred. Just imagine an art history teacher breaking down a tumblr post like

"...And here we see the next poster replying with this image. Here, this image of a statue has a very exact symbolic meaning. The figure of the statue is the Greek god Apollo, here in his role as a prophetic deity, which you may have concluded from the original post referring to future events that may or may not come to pass. In his hand, he is holding a dodgeball, raised on the level of his head, as if ready to throw it. The threatening aura of the image is multiplied by the way the statue's eyes have been edited to gleam omniously - the poster replying to the Original Post is expressing a symbolic, indirect threat, that the future that the Original Post's author described might come to pass, as if the patron deity of oracles had personally cursed the Original Poster to a fleeting gift of prophecy, as swift and brutal as being slammed with a dodgeball."

[scrolling down powerpoint presentation]

"...The second reply, here, has an image of a smiling woman wearing a helmet, standing in a row of people in similar uniforms. This reply requires some slightly deeper konwledge of Tumblr meme lore to understand - the image is a fragmet of a larger whole: a single frame of a gif, of a clip from the movie Starship Troopers. What is important here is the omitted context, which is the line that this nameless character famously says in the scene: 'I'm doing my part!' By posting this image, instead of the entire captioned gif, the replier highlights the implied obvious meaning behind it: They are not merely announcing their intention to actively work to see that the future that the Original Poster foresaw will come to pass, but wordlessly taunt them by implying 'you already know what I mean to do.' It is - in joking - a threat."

"And as you see here, the Original Poster has replied to these comments with a gif, which depicts an encounter between two robotic arms. The swift and dynamic action of the gif serves to express the OP's emotions, as the first robot represents the author themselves, and the second one is a stand-in for the two previous repliers. The way the first robot arm grabs the second one and starts beating it against the floor represents the author's anger. As surrogates for the two parties engaged in the conversation, the author is expressing their personal desire to grab the two previous posters and violently beat them against the floor."