#fasting for protection

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

The Exiles who Returned with Ezra

1 These are the heads of the families, and this is the genealogy of those who went up with me during the rule of King Artaxerxes:

2 of the family of Phinehas, Gershom; of Ithamar, Daniel; of David, Hattush, 3 Shecaniah’s son; of Parosh, Zechariah and with him were registered 150 men;

4 of Pahath-moab, Eliehoenai, Zerahiah’s son and with him 200 men;

5 of Zattu, Shecaniah, Jahaziel’s son and with him 300 men;

6 of Adin, Ebed, Jonathan’s son and with him 50 men;

7 of Elam, Jeshaiah, Athaliah’s son and with him 70 men;

8 of Shephatiah, Zebadiah, Michael’s son and with him 80 men;

9 of Joab, Obadiah, Jehiel’s son and with him 218 men;

10 of Bani, Shelomith, Josiphiah’s son and with him 160 men;

11 of Bebai, Zechariah, Bebai’s son and with him 28 men;

12 of Azgad, Johanan, Hakkatan’s son and with him 110 men;

13 of the last of Adonikam, namely Eliphelet, Jeuel, and Shemaiah and with them 60 men;

14 of Bigvai, Uthai and Zaccur and with them were 70 men.

Voyage to Jerusalem

15 I gathered them by the river that runs to Ahava, and there we camped for three days.

As I reviewed the people and the priests, I found no Levites there. 16 So I called for Eliezer, Ariel, Shemaiah, Elnathan, Jarib, Elnathan, Nathan, Zechariah, and Meshullam, all leaders, together with Joiarib and Elnathan, who were wise. 17 I sent them to Iddo, the leader at the place named Casiphia, telling them what to say to Iddo and his colleagues the temple servants at Casiphia, namely, to send us ministers for God’s house. 18 Because we were favored by God, they brought us Sherebiah, a skillful man of the family of Mahli, Levi’s son and Israel’s grandson, together with his sons and relatives so that there were eighteen in total. 19 They also brought us Hashabiah and with him Jeshaiah of the family of Merari, together with his relatives and their sons so that there were twenty in total. 20 In addition, there were two hundred twenty temple servants whom David and the princes had appointed to serve the Levites. These were all recorded by name.

21 Then I called for a fast there at the Ahava River so that we might submit before our God and ask of him a safe journey for ourselves, our children, and all our possessions. 22 I had been ashamed to ask the king for a group of soldiers and cavalry to help us in facing enemies on the way, because we had told the king, “The power of God favors all who seek him, but his fierce wrath is against all who abandon him.” 23 So we fasted and prayed to our God for this, and he responded to us.

24 Then I selected twelve of the leading priests, Sherebiah and Hashabiah and ten of their relatives with them. 25 I weighed out to them the silver and the gold and the equipment, the offering for the house of our God that the king, his counselors, his officials, and all Israel present there had offered. 26 I weighed out into their keeping six hundred fifty kikkars of silver, one hundred silver containers weighing a certain number of kikkars, one hundred kikkars of gold, 27 twenty gold bowls worth one thousand darics, and two containers of highly polished copper, which were as precious as gold. 28 I said to them, “You are holy to the Lord, and the equipment is holy; the silver and the gold are a spontaneous gift to the Lord, the God of your ancestors. 29 Guard them carefully until you weigh them out in Jerusalem before the officials of the priests, the Levites, and the heads of the families of Israel, within the rooms of the Lord’s house.” 30 So the priests and the Levites received the silver and the gold and the utensils as they were weighed out, in order to bring them to Jerusalem, to our God’s house.

31 Then we left the Ahava River on the twelfth day of the first month to go to Jerusalem. The power of our God was with us; he saved us from the power of the enemy and ambushes along the way.

Finishing the journey

32 After arriving in Jerusalem, we rested there three days. 33 On the fourth day, the silver and the gold and the equipment were weighed out in our God’s house into the care of the priest named Meremoth, Uriah’s son, together with Eleazar, Phinehas’ son; and the Levites, Jozabad, Jeshua’s son, and Noadiah, Binnui’s son. 34 Everything was counted and weighed, and the total weight was recorded.

35 At that time, those who had come from the captivity, the returned exiles, offered as entirely burned offerings to the God of Israel twelve bulls for all Israel, ninety-six rams, seventy-seven lambs, and twelve male goats as a purification offering. All this was an entirely burned offering to the Lord. 36 They also delivered the king’s orders to the royal chief administrators and governors of the province Beyond the River, who supported the people and God’s house. — Ezra 8 | Common English Bible (CEB) Common English Bible Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible. Cross References: Genesis 25:21; Exodus 35:29; Leviticus 16:29; Leviticus 22:2-3; Joshua 22:16; 1 Samuel 7:6; 1 Chronicles 3:21-22; 1 Chronicles 5:20; 1 Chronicles 9:2; 1 Chronicles 29:7; 2 Chronicles 15:2; Ezra 1:9; Ezra 2:1; Ezra 2:6; Ezra 2:13; Ezra 2:15; Ezra 2:43; Ezra 2:69; Ezra 4:7; Ezra 6:17; Ezra 7:6-7; Ezra 7:14.15 and 16; Ezra 7:28; Nehemiah 2:11; Nehemiah 3:4; Isaiah 66:14

[the-raindeer-king]

Imagine Simon's mom doesn't die with Tommy and Beth. Maybe she was out of town, or at a friend's house, and Roba's men were sloppy and missed her. Anyway, so it's just Simon and her now, and because he blames himself for what happened, he's pulled away from her.

He pays her rent, even if he wanted her to live in a nicer apartment complex. And he visits during her birthday and Mother's Day, and sometimes just randomly stops by. But he never stays very long, and he doesn't tell her a lot about his new life. It's a very one sided relationship, but she tries to make the best of it.

And then you move in next door, during one of Simon's deployments. You feel bad for the sweet lady that lives next to you. She never seems to have much company, and you take it upon yourself to befriend her, spending more time in her apartment than your own.

You learn about her ex husband, her sons, the tragedy, and most importantly, you learn about Simon. And you hate him. Mrs. Riley (she insists you call her Sarah) is such a lovely woman, and it's clear how much she cares about her living son, how hard she's trying to keep their relationship alive.

It's the second Mother's Day after you move in when you finally meet Simon. Your relationship with your own mother is complicated, so you've opted to spend the day with Mrs. Riley. You'd gotten her a small present, and had planned to spend the day drinking wine and watching historical romance movies.

You're thoroughly shocked when you knock on her door, and a man answers. Six feet, built like a brick house, but under his scowl, you recognize Sarah's eyes.

“You must be Simon.”

His scowl deepens, but before he can say anything, Mama Riley is pushing past him, pulling you into her apartment to fuss over you.

She apologizes for not telling you sooner, but your plans will have to be rescheduled. Simon's back early, and she can't waste a precious second.

You're understanding. You've listened to her worried rants, given her space to cry over how things have turned out. You know she loves spending time with her son, even if the visits are short and he doesn't talk much.

Simon doesn't miss the way you glare at him. There's a fury in your eyes, even as you cheerily wish his mother a happy mother's day. For a moment, he wonders if you're a spy. But that thought is quickly diminished, when you verbally eviscerate him at the door.

You're quiet, not wanting to upset his mom, but your anger is clear. It may not be your business, but Mama Riley is your friend, and you adore the older woman. And you cannot stand by while he treats her like this. She loves her son so much, and he needs to step up and try harder.

As you're chewing him out, Simon's already head over heels, planning your wedding as the seconds tick by.

(A/N: You can read this as a stand alone piece, but I did write 3 more drabbles (four in total!) for this! They're all on my blog under the tag mama riley au. Thank you for reading!)

[couch-house]

little comic for disability pride month! HoH rouge is a headcanon i've had for a while but I never do anything with it... tragic... well now I've changed that :)

[soldrawss]

Part 2 finally! Part 3 to come soonish,,,

You can find part 1 here!

[somerandomcockroach]

[intotheelliwoods]

FUSION FIGHT FUSION FIGHT! <- <-

@dianagj-art The fusions are fighting!!! Because hey funny story, their first meeting does not go to well 😌It was SUPPOSED to be a friendly spar.. more details in my tags vvv

[hydrachea]

The way he doesn't hesitate for a second and even ensures he cushions the landing... We're being fed so well.

[neptuneslure]

clearing negative energy (a twitter thread):

cr: wetneptune on twitter

[possamble]

Do you have any headcanons or thoughts about Falin having a crush on Marcille pre-canon? Especially during her later years at the school/the years she was with Laios.

Just full on "awkward and slightly gnc teenage lesbian has a massive crush on the touchy-feely girly girl straight best friend" tropes everywhere. Even better bc it's the "best friend is also the popular girl while lesbian is the slightly ostracized quiet one" dynamic in school. Falin gets so so so good at not having a heart attack every time Marcille gets in her personal space. But she's so resigned to never saying anything bc why would a girl as blinding as Marcille ever like her back. She also doesn't make an effort to get over it either, she's just content to be trapped in that stable dynamic of silently being in love with Marcille while getting to enjoy CLEARLY being Marcille's favourite person. She gets so used to it that it's almost just background noise most of the time-- it would have to be, unless she wanted to be freaking out 24/7 bc Marcille is so goddamn affectionate.

Her feelings also definitely change throughout the time that they're in school together-- at first it was this "whooaaah pretty older girl" puppy crush that you can clearly see developing in the flashbacks we get (I think she doesn't even like... realize her fixation on Marcille is romantic at all until years after it starts, when she's 12-14 ish and all the other girls around her are talking about crushes). But then they get closer, over the years Marcille starts getting really attached and letting down her guard, and Falin gets to see the ridiculous side of her. She gets to calm her down from her tantrums when experiments don't work out, or help her clean up when something explodes in her face. I feel like the progression of her feelings from "schoolgirl infatuation" to "unrequited love" probably almost exactly corresponds to how slowly Marcille goes from trying to keep Falin at a polite but friendly distance (like she does with everyone else) to her facade completely eroding as she becomes her cheerful and ridiculous self again for the first time since her father died.

That's probably the saddest part: Falin knows that she's clearly Marcille's favourite person on the surface level, but she doesn't quite fully grasp the enormity of what that means to Marcille. She doesn't get that she's the person who made the world colorful again for Marcille, that she is the first person outside of Marcille's family to really and truly make her laugh. She just thinks she's the beloved but dinky little short-lived sidekick, one of many that Marcille has had and will have.

Part of it is that, despite Marcille becoming such a clingy and affectionate best friend, I think her initial demeanour already did its damage. You see Falin being super adventurous and weird at first, bringing Marcille berries and other stuff, only to be rebuffed by Marcille exasperatedly saying she's working or looking kind of put off by it. And by the time you see her a little older, shes already quieter and better at masking -- and I'm not saying that that's entirely Marcille's fault (being the weird girl at an all girls academy for almost the entirety of her teenhood must have been brutal, my god) but she definitely learned that she's a potential nuisance to Marcille if she doesn't tone herself down. She learned that Marcille most likely sees her as a weird little kid following her around bc she has no other friends. And for the most part, she was never given any reason to unlearn any of that.

And that all very very smoothly transitions into Marcille being her "first love that was never meant to be anyway" when she leaves the academy. Chapter closed in her mind: she loved and pined from a distance and that was that. Every now and then she'll see another woman with Marcille's build or her shade of hair and be like ":( I miss her..." But then just kinda move on with her day. Same with when she's going through her own spellbook and finds a note that Marcille left her/correction that she made-- she'll smile fondly and reminisce about how much Marcille doted on her, and then move on.

Sometimes she thinks about contacting Marcille but convinces herself that it's too late (she spent too many months focusing on getting Laios healthy again and didn't mean to go no contact, but ah well). It's only when she has a practical reason to be reaching out that would also benefit Marcille ("Marcille is studying dungeons and we need a trustworthy mage to go with us to the dungeons") that she feels like she's allowed/that it wouldn't just be 100% a nuisance.

I almost think she didn't expect Marcille to reply at all, only to get a telegraph (or some in-universe equivalent of express mail, maybe magical pigeon carrier) that's like. EN ROUTE TO ISLAND. LETTER TO FOLLOW. and she freaks out like AAAA LAIOS SHE SAID YES WE HAVE TO CLEAN UP NOW.

I do think getting a response accidentally sparks a little hope in her, judging by the way she acts in the chp 57 flashback-- she's pouty that Marcille sees her as a kid, gets really worked up about being presentable, and then tries to play it cool when she actually meets Marcille (as if she didn't freak out and force Laios to shave while rambling a mile a minute about Marcille). She's an adult now, really and truly, and she's seen and survived things that her 18 yr old self would have never even imagined-- then all of a sudden, the person she was in love with since she was ten years old appears, and she's so desperate to be seen as mature and competent. She's trying soooo hard to impress Marcille with her newfound combat and dungeoneering experience...

Only to fall right back into their old dynamic. RIP. At least she gets the girl eventually, even if it takes dying twice and being the core catalyst behind an almost-apocalypse.

[anglerflsh]

"elven mages are a boring choice" L+Ratio+Fireball

[the-witchhunter]

DP x DC Phantom Punk: Bat Punk

Decided to bring my Punk Danny AU back since all the Spider Punk stuff I’ve been seeing lately has got me ~inspired~ 

The Original Phantom Punk DC crossover Post

Just Punk Danny doing his thing, hanging out, maybe jamming with some folk in a random punk house, when, like it usually does in Gotham, shit happens.

Some thugs show up trying to intimidate and threaten the punks that live there. They’re trying to scare ‘em off, make ‘em sell as part of some scheme to demolish the whole block and put up shitty expensive housing. 

Now, there’s two things Danny knows: Landlords are bastards, and you got to protect your community

Now he could deal with some thugs in and out of Phantom form, but he just got off the GIW radar and beating hired thugs from a crime family brings the wrong kind of attention to his personal life

His solution?

He puts on a cheap Batman Halloween mask someone had lying around and proceeds to beat the hell out of their kneecaps with a bat decked out in denim covered in spikes and patches

As it turns out, it’s not just a one time thing...

[onismdaydream]

okay okay so like... hear me out. (tw for incest/pseudo incest)

yuji is so obviously in love with you, but doesn't wanna make a move because he doesn't wanna ruin your friendship if you don't feel the same. sukuna is very annoyed with his brother, always having to listen to him prattle on about how beautiful and perfect you are, while yuji continues to do nothing about it. sukuna isn't blind, of course, you are beautiful and he can't deny that he's thought about you when he jerks off. so maybe if he tries to get in your pants, yuji will finally have a fire lit underneath him. after all, sukuna really just wants yuji to stop being a little lovesick bitch.

but when sukuna flirts with you and you flirt back? oh he's not backing down so easily... what's the harm in fucking you before he lets his brother have a taste?

yuji is pissed though, the way your hands linger on his brother's body, the way sukuna's eyes seem to undress you in front of everyone. it makes him see red. he needs you, needs you before his brother can ruin you, your innocence — that's yuji's job.

so now you have both of them essentially fighting over you and maybe you want to teach them how to share.

[saltedbutter0]

solangelo is not "i can fix him." they are "tell me every single terrible thing you have done and let me love you anyway"

[info-data]

The way Data treats Spot is such a big proof of how much he feels... human feelings. And how he understands boundaries etc. Cats just *know* and Spot is treated so so well

Data treats his cat better than some humans treat theirs seriously

[rintoorou]

having the miya twins as your brothers would mean them betting over who’d cry on your wedding first

[dyinggirldied]

Undereage Superheroes On The Rise: A Morally and Ethically Cause of Concern?

It's supposed to be another clickbait news but it comes at the time when the existence of ghost was recently proved factual at a small town in Illinois along witha its dead teenage superhero, when the heroes of Paris and by large France accidentally revealed they weren't adults at all, not even close, when Spiderman was unmasked to be 16-year-old Peter Parker, when the Young Justice was wounded in a large scale attack.

Most of the people involved and not involved are not having fun.

(This is inspired by the Miraculous fanfic The Growing Pains of Child Soldiers by BloodWolf13, a fic which I recommend you read since it is very, very good. Hits all my whump and angst points)