#like that is so true that’s my zayde

[clamsjams]

otto mentallis ur dumb rhyming slogans will always mean the world to me <3

[yourqueerauntiescrisis]

HeadCannons

First of all, I would just love to say thank you for the overwhelming positive support for my headcannons!

I feel like Eddie's family would all have jobs that would have to do with delivery services. His mother was a mail carrier. His father would probably would have been a milkman. On top of that, his Zayde (Yiddish for grandfather) would have been an iceman. From the late 19th century to the mid-20th century, in cities and towns, icemen would commonly make daily rounds delivering ice for iceboxes before the electric domestic refrigerator became commonplace.

In storage, some of the scrapped puppets had started a bustling little town of their own! Using the scrapped sets that were abandoned for new episode ideas. Wally sometimes goes there to check on his neighbors and for a change of scenery. (Shh! Don't tell the others.)

Frank started to cook after hearing the phrase "A way to a man's heart is through his stomach," and they wanted to see if it was true when it came wooing Eddie. Well, it turns out they have a talent for it! Frank cooks mostly for Eddie and has a sense of pride seeing him enjoy the meals they cook.

The neighbors all have a story where they have accidentally called Poppy "Mom/Mother/Mama/Ma." Wally had accidentally said it first with "Mother." Eddie, unfortunately, had accidentally called her "Mama" the most. Poppy doesn't mind. She loves it! 💕

Julie understands sign language because her brother, Jonesy, is deaf and Frank uses sign language to communicate when overwhelmed. Jonesy and Julie are teaching Eddie what some signs mean so that he can understand Frank on their rough days.

Howdy has old vinyl records that were gifted to him by some celebrity guests from their respective episodes. He loves them and listens to them often.

Eddie used to have a Pen-Pal segment that was scrapped in favor of his crafts segment. Most of his old Pen-Pals live in storage. Anything scrapped is erased from the neighborhood's memory except Wally's. Eddie's memory had been impacted the most because of it. But he has been saying some of their names lately, causing Wally to be feeling suspicious/guilty.

[understandableparadox]

Bottom of the barrel isekai review #1

content warning: Mention of sexual assault

This series is to point a spotlight at the worst and best isekais that float innocuously throughout the internet. Trash and treasures shall be sorted for your amusement and entertainment. 

Reincarnation coliseum

This was a Strong choice for my first trash manga review, but I believe that it is perfect as a tone setter for what this series entails. You may have memories of some anime that fits within the nebulous concept of an isekai, perhaps a portal anime, perhaps reincarnation, perhaps abducted to another planet.

I don't think it would be a misnomer to say that these older titles were softer in general, the concepts, the characters, the romances. The escapism was not rooted in frustration but instead fascination of what could be.  In that we have the true difference between modern and classic isekai. 

Modern isekai authors a great majority of the time are frustrated at a concept of society and want to escape from it in their stories. Although an even larger majority of the time, an isekai is made because the author is both irrevocably hornt up, has a chip on their shoulder about something and has decided to make this a problem for the world to deal with. 

A problem we will be dealing with today. 

The story of reincarnation coliseum is fairly simple. An average japanese college/highschool student is summoned via some magical means into a brand new world by a priestly order and its leader zayd. 

The moment you are introduced to zayd, who for lack of better words is an 8 foot amazonian women with tits the size of regulation basketballs and a outfit that would make even the sleaziest fantasy costume designer snear with a little bit of disdain, you understand a very simple fact about the story you are about to read. 

This is porn. It is not labeled as such but that is not due to the author's efforts. 

Everything in this story revolves around the concept that this is porn, every step it makes is in service of hurrying itself along to a secluded space so it can rip away the millimeter fabric of clothing it bothered to pretend to draw onto its women. 

Which isn't a sin in and of itself. I'm not going to pretend anime doesn't have a rich history of stuffing people in the bare minimum of fabric one can get away with without triggering a public indecency charge, perhaps im being a tiny bit of a prude by jumping the guns and bemoaning the duel blimp chested woman before me before I even get a chance to understand the basic plot!

So we learn that our protagonist has been summoned to the world at great cost! Why? Because the cost allows the summoned to gain a divine skill or cheat ability…

God Damn It. 

Ok im going to judge a cover by its book and a book by its cover and an author by their fucking lemming mentality desire to follow the fucking leader. 

There are…So Goddamn Many cheat skill mangas, its mind numbing. I’m being accosted by skill stealing, ability absorbing, mind washing fucking losers. Here I am swaying my way downtown, attempting to enjoy my stroll through the familiar roads of fantasy when out of the corner of my eye I spot a quaint and cozy little restaurant/manga. 

Oh my

I say, a slice of life in another world with a lovely protagonist that's here to learn how to do some blacksmithing for their local community? Oh be still my beating heart! My fingers wrap around the door as I throw it open, my heart open to the rapturous joy of simple blue collar trade skill living. Yet sitting before me radiating a malicious stench is some god damn rando with a super skill like… “Insta crafting”, “item shop”, or God fucking forbid, “hyper level”. IF YOU HAVE INSTA CRAFTING YOU ARENT FUCKING CRAFTING YOU JUST HAVE GOD MOD ONE YOU FUCK, PICK UP THAT HAMMER YOU SHODDILY DRAWN TWINK AND SWING IT, MAKE A FUCKING IRON TOOL FOR YOUR FELLOW VILLAGERS, OLD FAMER JANKINS HAS A GOD DAMN FAMILY TO FEAD AND WHILE YOUR TWIDDLING WITH YOUR MIGHTY SWORD IN HAND HES GOING TO MISS PRIME HARVEST TIME, YOU ARE RUINING THE LOCAL ECONAMY BECAUSE YOU WONT MAKE A FUCKING HOE. PERHAPS AND PLEASE TAKE THIS WITH THE EVER SO SLIGHTIST BIT OF SALT BUT MAYBE YOU DONT FUCKING NEED TO HAVE EVERY SINGLE GOD DAMN HERO POP OUT THE METAPHORICAL WOMB WITH THE STRONGEST SKILL, MAYBE HAVE THEM BE ACTUALLY WEAK, MAYBE ITS OK TO HAVE TO WORK TOWARDS A GOAL INSTEAD OF GIVING THE FIRST LIMP DICK LOSER THAT MANAGES TO SASHEY THEIR WAY INFRONT OF THE NEAREST TRUCK SUPERMANS TESTOSTERONE INJECTIONS BEFORE INTRODUCING THESE INVASIVE FUCKWADS INTO A NEW UNPREPARED ECOSYSTEM, IS THAT PERHAPS TO LARGE OF AN ASK?!

Where was it…? Oh yeah, the manga then takes a turn, the once kindly priestess shows her hidden colors and sells the protagonist to slavery, a life of fighting within the coliseum within the town. Ok, ok. We are finally getting somewhere. We are moving towards something we can describe without the nasty nerdy wink wink nudge nudge joking attitude as Plot. 

The protagonist is stuck in a jail cell with another young lady who describes herself as a sword slave. A slave who fights within the coliseum as entertainment. A concept we are not unfamiliar with, the gladiator may come to mind. 

She then goes along to explain the basic premise of the coliseum and its rules. There are both slaves and regular fighters that attend. Two fighters enter the arena and whoever loses will “belong” to the winner. In addition the winner may decide to change the sex of the loser. With the winner then gaining male genitalia. 

Could a concept like this have some nuance? Maybe, the idea that even a single loss is literally emasculating may play some part in a better story, the idea of a society where gender is as easy to change as a pair of clothes, to the point of even mixing and matching body parts, but it's not. In this story it's treated as something fetishy enough to warrant a demonstration panel but still scary enough to motivate the main character into both swearing vengeance against this society and winning at all cost.

Hey real quick, Imagine all the nuisance of the gambling and addiction and the willingness to throw away your life in pursuit of true hedonistic joy and thrill that we see in kakegurui. You got it? You imagining those big amazing psycho smiles the girls make? You remember the isekai the author nearly got sued for making? Good good, throw it all away. 

Because this is where the story decides to discard itself in blind pursuit of its carnal desire. Or to be less of a pretentious prick about it, it becomes porn, porn with a horribly predictable, horribly paced and horridly set up punchline. 

The plot or whatever semblance survived the suspiciously shaped holes poked into it becomes thus: Woman of the week shows up at the arena. The woman is strong, tall, well endowed and astoundingly cocky of their abilities, promising to assault the mc the moment they win because even when creating foils, the women are not allowed to express any sexual disinterest in the main character AT ALL, i mean, we gotta throw a bone for the trash readers that like fem dom right?

Anyways the special skill of the main character always allows them to counter, adapt or supersede whatever skill this apparent master combatant has trained with. They are soundly beaten and then added to the main characters harem by force where after one night they and please do pardon my words here, if i could i would shoot the author and help them with their hormone imbalance “Become slaves to their baser instinct and subservient to the main character.”

Each character becomes submissive and a prop for the next sexual escapade of the main character as they get ready for next week's fight. Occasionally the rules will be changed up or the main character will do something vaguely different for their fight, either because the skill for whatever reason wont work or because they want to pretend the main character is Gamer Batman. 

The manga I regret to inform you is both somewhat successful and has a slowly growing cult following. It's also still continuing on, it will likely gain merch and an anime adaptation that people will call “Cultured” because god will settle into a nice coffin before another joke gets invented.

Is it worth the read? No. no it's not. Is it worth learning about? No, not really. Is it capable of pulling emotion out of your dead heart? By god yes it fucking can. ‘

"Is the underlying story, barring any other concept, good?"

No, the story is a tournament manga but without the cool character designs. Each character is a basic human with slight alterations, the costume design makes my soul hollow. 

 "on a sliding scale of min to max, how much is the author using this to explore fetish" 

Scale set to max. Every character is just an introduction to a new fetish, every female character was drawn one handed. 

"How many story crutches does the author use to explore the story" 

There is no story, it's just porn that has story cosplay. 

 "Is the author attempting to use the story as a way to explain why he is not weird."

Yes, the author has an innate fear of male penetration and also seemingly believes that sex can make people submissive, obedient and loyal even if it's forced upon them. 

[wisdomrays]

REFLECTIONS ON THE QUR'AN: Sūratu’l-Ahzāb (The Confederates)

God has not made for any man two hearts within his body. Nor has He made your wives whom you declare to be (unlawful to you) as your mothers’ back (to mean that you divorce them) your mothers (in fact). Nor has He made your adopted sons your sons (in fact). Those are only expressions you utter with your mouths. Whereas God speaks the truth and He guides to the right way. (Al-Ahzāb 33:4)

Zayd ibn Harīthah, may God be pleased with him, was a freed slave of Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. Since Zayd preferred staying with the Prophet to staying with his biological father, the Prophet adopted him, and after that Zayd was called Zayd ibn Muhammad (i.e. Zayd, son of Muhammad) for a while. With the verse above, the Qur’ān prohibited calling him in attribution to the Prophet, also emphasizing that no one other than the biological parents can be regarded as the parents of someone and everyone’s identity should be attributed to his or her own parents. After the revelation of this verse, Zayd began to be called as Zayd ibn Harīthah. As for those who converted to Islam through Muslims, they were called as “Mawlā so and so” (i.e. the freed slave of so and so), like in the example of Sālim Mawlā Hudayfa.

The second point indicated in the verse above is as follows: a) The Arabs of the pre-Islamic age used to believe that intelligent and efficient people had two hearts; and b) when a husband said to his wife, “You are henceforth as my mother’s back to me,” which is called zihār, that wife was believed to be like the husband’s mother and regarded as divorced.

Thus, the verse abolished these two wrong assertions and practices at once.

The expression, “God has not made for any man two hearts within his body,” also has a metaphorical meaning. The heart mentioned here is not the biological heart; it is what the Muslim Sufis call the Divine faculty in a human being although it has some relationship with the biological heart. Just as the biological heart is the most vital organ of a human being as it pumps blood throughout the body causing death when it stops, so too the spiritual heart or the Divine faculty is the most vital mechanism of human spiritual and moral life. Everybody has both a biological and spiritual heart, not two. No one has two hearts one for believing in God’s Unity, the other for polytheism, one for sincerity, the other for ostentation and hypocrisy, one for the truth, the other for lies and falsehood. In short, the verse means: White is white and black is black. Neither your wives whom you declare to be your mothers are your mothers, nor are your adopted children your real children. Neither do intelligent, efficient people have two hearts. Likewise, you have only one heart, and neither belief in Divine Unity and polytheism, nor sincerity and hypocrisy, nor the truth and falsehood can co-exist in it.

Approaching the verse from another perspective, a human being can be or can be seen in duality because of different conditions in different periods of time. Nevertheless, Islam never permits such an attitude, which is considered to be the beginning point of a vicious cycle because such a position or attitudes make a human being more dangerous than aggressive unbelievers. The Qur’ān calls this attitude hypocrisy and declares that hypocrites are in the deepest pit of Hell. If a person claims to be following the way of God and have close relationship with God although he or she travels along the crooked, deviating ways, it means that such a person is carrying two hearts in his or her breast. The verse under discussion rejects such a position. In fact, God pronounces in two different verses that, “The (true) religion with God is Islam” (Āl ‘Imrān 3:19), and “Whoever seeks as religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted from him” (Āl ‘Imrān 3:85).

Truly, if the way is one, then the heart should be one, too. Those who deviate into different ways will not be able to free from disarray in their thoughts, vision, and hearts. Their claims of belief are no more than mere utterances with their mouths, as stated in the verse. If a person who claims to be a Muslim insults Islam and its values, such a person can only be a hypocrite.

In consequence, nobody carries two hearts and two consciences in their heart. With its sense of reliance and seeking help, that is, the needs of relying on a source of supreme power and seeking help from a supreme source of help that every human being feels in his or her heart, everyone has a single heart, and the heart is a most powerful, undeniable witness of God’s existence and Unity. Just as everyone can have a single spiritual heart, everyone has also a single biological heart, and a single real mother and father. No one can have another mother and father by claiming someone to be his or her mother or father, and no one can have a real child by claiming someone to be his or her child. The Qur’ān refutes and abolishes these dualities and establishes the unity of the truth with its manifestation in the outer world

[pargolettasworld]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwOu_rVbCKg

Last week, I enjoyed one of the most EPIC Chanukah presents I have ever received, a ticket to see “Fiddler on the Roof” in Yiddish.  Friends, it is an astonishing show.  See it if you can -- it’s playing in New York at New World Stages until January 1, 2023.

It’s amazing what a language change can do for a show.  Nothing else is really all that different from a common-or-garden “Fiddler” production.  Even the English supertitles are the original script and lyrics of the show.  But the language change.  It makes all the difference, and I still haven’t quite gotten my head completely around why it’s such a profound experience.  I’ll try to explain, but this may end up getting a bit longer than the average “hey, listen to this cool piece of Jewish music” post.  So . . .

“Fiddler on the Roof” is one of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time.  It’s been around for about sixty years, and no one’s gotten tired of it.  High schools stage it.  People literally all around the world love the story of Tevye and his daughters and their friends in Anatevka.  (I’m told it’s especially popular in Japan.)  And pretty much the reason that people give for this is:  “The story is so universal!  Everyone knows about generation gaps!  Everyone can relate to Tevye having this kind of generational conflicts with his daughters and learning about love!”

To a certain extent, this is true.  Sholom Aleichem’s stories about Tevye the dairyman and the fates of his five daughters* were translated from Yiddish into English and then carefully massaged into a show made by Jews, about Jews, but for di goyim.  That bit is important.  “Fiddler” tastes recognizably Jewish, but it’s all translated.  The score has dollops of klezmer, but it’s still pretty Westernized, and it’s often sung with a Western Broadway bel canto vocal style.  Tevye spends a lot of time in the first act explaining things to the audience, and the entire point of the song “Tradition” is to introduce a largely goyish audience to the world of Jews living in a Ukrainian shtetl in 1905.

The characters in this show are, in essence, my family.  My zayde was born in a shtetl in Ukraine, around 1910.  He’s roughly the generation of Tzeitl and Motl’s baby, which would make the younger characters about the age of my great-grandparents.  This (adjusting for generations) is also true of just about everybody who created “Fiddler,” right up to most of the current cast in the Yiddish version, many of whom are Jewish.  It’s all prettied up and sanitized for Broadway, but “Fiddler” is a show about Jews that is made by Jews, who are descended from people very much like the characters in the show.

I think it’s the translation that makes people think that the story is “universal.”  The show was originally in English . . . already a translation from the culture that it depicts.  As it traveled around the world, you had old-fashioned people in (mostly) funny, old-fashioned costumes, talking about this odd culture that not many people knew that much about, and talking about it in [insert your language here].  Of course it was “universal.”  There’s a layer of particularity that it’s really hard to get past in translation.

Oddly enough, it took one more translation to get the show beyond that barrier, and that was translating it back into Yiddish, the language of the original stories, and the language that the characters in the show are  speaking through the Translation Convention.  The Yiddish script is expertly done.  If you know a little Yiddish (as I do, and as more of the audience for this show than you’d expect does), you’ll catch a whole world of nuances about how the characters relate to each other, to the Divine, to the Torah, and to their Christian neighbors.  Where the original script uses “the Holy Book” a lot, the Yiddish script uses “di Toyre.”  The original script has to work with the fact that English uses a generic for “person,” but Yiddish uses “a Yid” as much as “a mensch.”  This, for instance, adds a whole new layer to one of Tevye’s conversations with the gradavoy, the policeman who is Tevye’s friend . . . but only sort of, because Tevye is a Yid and the gradavoy is not.

The show now sounds Jewish in a way that it kind of didn’t when it was in English.  It’s less “universal” now.  It’s specific.  It’s Jewish.  The story isn’t just about love and a generation gap -- it’s about a minority culture under a specific kind of threat, and you can hear that.  You can hear it in the emotional pitch of the dialogue.  You can hear it in Fyedka’s halting attempts at speaking Yiddish to Khave.  You can hear it when the Russian characters actually speak Russian.  The language now matches the musical vocabulary a bit better, too.  The klezmer and hazzanut flavoring comes out a bit stronger in Jewish.**

And there’s something else, too.  None of the actors are native Yiddish speakers.  They’re all smart cookies, and they’ve been carefully trained to act in Yiddish.  But if you’ve ever listened to native Yiddish speakers, you can tell that none of them are native Yiddish speakers.  Like my family, theirs changed languages upon leaving Anatevka and going to the various places the characters discuss in the final scene of the show.  On that stage, in the carefully enunciated Yiddish of the Anglophone actors, you can hear the postlude to the show. 

It’s sad to see the characters having to leave Anatevka and split up and go to New York, or Chicago, or Warsaw, or Krakow, or (as it was then) Palestine.  But in this consciously Jewish staging of it, you find yourself thinking thirty, thirty-five years into the future.  Though they don’t know it, they’re getting out of Ukraine while the getting is good.  You find yourself paying attention -- where is this character going?  Will that be a good choice?  Will this choice help the character to survive what’s coming for them all?

In the theater -- that living, breathing art form that is real people doing real things in a room filled with other real people -- you see the results of those choices.  The characters on stage are embodied by their descendants.  Anatevka is no more.  That culture was murdered.  The descendants grew up in a different language.  But tonight . . . ah, tonight, at the theater, Tevye and Golde, Tzeitl and Motl and Hodl and Perchik, and Bubbe and Zayde and Feter and Tante and Kuzyne, and the whole mishpoche, they’re all there.  On stage.  In the room, speaking not just from 2022, but from 1964, and from 1905 as well. 

This “Fiddler on the Roof” isn’t universal.  It’s Jewish, and it’s family in a really personal way.  I didn’t expect that one change to have such a big effect on me.  I really didn’t.  But it’s huge.  It felt like the old warhorse of a show changed from a presentation into an invitation.

If you’ve read this far, I thank you.  I’ve written all of this, and I still don’t think I’ve quite managed to express what it was like to sit and hear “Fiddler” in Yiddish.  But I’ve at least given a bit of what it was.  It was intensely personal, in a way that I had been told it might be, but I didn’t really know what it meant until I was there.

It’s a wonderful show.  Go see it.  Even if you think you’re overly familiar with “Fiddler on the Roof,” go see it.  You’ll be surprised.  And if you aren’t . . . well, it’s still a really good performance of “Fiddler!”

*Which aren’t quite as charming as they are in the musical.  Tzeitl and Hodl get endings that are . . . ambiguous at best, Khave’s story is completely open, and there is a reason that the show doesn’t even touch what happens to Shprintze and Beylke. **”Yiddish” literally means “Jewish” in Yiddish.  In a taped interview with my zayde made when I was a baby, he tells my parents about how, back in the Old Country, he and all the other Jews in the shtetl spoke “Jewish.”

[esculentevil]

A few years ago, @thorinduil made a post asking “which songs make you think about Thorin, Thranduil and the Thorinduil pairing?” Last year, I answered them via reblog and then kept adding to it as I remembered/thought of more songs... Instead of reblogging THAT reblog for its one year anniversary, I decided to post my answers separately, here, and just update THIS list, instead, from now on. SO! Basically: My Thorinduil Playlist~ xD

"Walk Through the Fire" by Zayde Wolf feat. Ruelle

Also “Young and Beautiful” by Lana del Rey which I literally wrote a fic about.

And “Famous Last Words” by My Chemical Romance; perfect for survivor!Duil

Fuuu!!! “Poison” by Alice Cooper!!! Jive, how did I forget that one? Thank my mate, everyone; s/he reminded me rofl while we RPed

Rediscovered “Empire” by Shakira and think it’d fit them perfectly~

“Steady, as She Goes” by The Raconteurs has major wait too long vibes which, seriously, is 100% Thorinduil (especially since Thorin dies with his glue blood...); altho I’ll admit this one only occurred to me cuz it’s in my mate and I’s playlist and, like with Poison, we were talking about these two yet again lmfao and also this fanvideo which got me thinking of S,aSG halfway through it so... yea

AND “I Don't Care” by Apocalyptica ‘cause it fits/these both reminded me I love it

“I hate U, I love U” by Gnash ft. Olivia O'Brien: this is literally their love story

Perhaps strangely, I think “Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)” by Eurythmics, Annie Lennox, and Dave Stewart would work for them--especially Thorin

“Gingerbread Man” by Melanie Martinez; partly because of this video; but also because of the climax of the song not shown in that edit (which is a real shame cuz that was sort of the part that sealed it for me and got me to add it to this list): Thranduil is so the icing on Thorin and Thorin’s so the crumbs on Thranduil and they’re 100% loving hard, fighting, breaking, and eating each other into nothing

“I Want To **** You Like An Animal” by Nine Inch Nails; for obvious reasons

“I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)” by Meat Loaf because, legit, that’s just Thranduil on top of that cliff refusing to throw away his people/family

“Say Something” by A Great Big World because acesout is right

“Unsteady” by X Ambassadors because, after writing “Once I trusted/relied on/believed in you and you let me down” and “Once I had hopes that we could build something beautiful together but reality reminded me that I’m old and ugly and not good enough (for you) so I thought it best to let you go when I should’ve held you” in this and reading acesout’s post linked above and realizing it’s true... I just want to see/read them holding onto each other like this v.v They deserve it.

“Rude Boy” by Rihanna and probably also “Only Girl in the World” by her, too; actually, “We Found Love” ft. Calvin Harris and “Diamonds” and “Stay” ... Huh... Rihanna actually has a LOT of songs perfect for them... their whole love story...

“Enemies” by Lauv because the sentiment is so them.

“Fire” by Wang Yibo because this romance is ALL about playing with fire~

“Accidentally in Love” by Counting Crows cuz it’s literally what happened

“Not Another Song About Love” by Hollywood Ending because, seriously, everything about this song is them: they hate everything about each other while also needing everything about each other and wanting each other’s love ‘til it all runs out ‘cause they’re all that each other’ve been dreaming of~

“I'm Not Afraid” by Tommee Profitt ft. Wondra but mostly just the first part/verse; the rest of it strikes me more as Thranduil fighting depression/Sauron’s shadow while knowing he’s not only lost Thorin as a lover but gained him as an enemy...

“Locked Away” by R. City ft. Adam Levine cuz it’s literally Thorin losing it all--from mountain to crown to gold--and yet not getting that Thranduil locking him up IS him sticking with him, by his side, and grounding him through the goldlust

“Baby Love” by The Supremes because Mizugetsu on YT is a folking genius and I always liked this song anyway--also, it just really fits them rofl and their story

“Teeth” by 5 Seconds of Summer: the “dangerous beauty/love to hate” vibes just work and the simp!Thorin feels--@lady-astria and I were just talking about this!

“Always” by Saliva because there’s nothing unThorin[duil] about it; it’s all them (especially, I think, from Thorin’s POV post-Smaug straight up to BotFA)

“Kiss from a Rose” by Seal because “my power, my pleasure, my shame” period. But also it really does sound like Thorin singing about Thranduil, his lit rose.

"Let Her Go” by Passenger; because sometimes you only know you love him when you turn away from him and his burning home to protect your own... or when you’re dying with a hole in your chest and finally UNDERSTAND WHY your One did that and finally stop hating him for it... because you never did.

“Unconditionally” by Katy Perry because it sounds like Thorin (mostly) and Thranduil grappling with their surprisingly deep love for each other as well as their inability to trust each other after all the betrayals they’ve suffered through; this song is what I think would happen if Thorin just admitted Thranduil was right and a good king for not asking his people to die for the dwarves that ignored him—and if Thorin’s love for Thranduil were stronger than his need to be number 1 or to horde and covet literally everything including Thranduil’s love and attention.

“A Sky Full Of Stars” by Coldplay because, in the canon, Thorin IS this to Duil and Thranduil WAS this to Thorin and every night he sees him there still

“Gravity” by Sara Bareilles; because something always brings them back together—it never takes too long—and they’re always there for each other... even when they’re gone

“A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri because it’s literally reincarnated!Thorin with Never-Sailed!Thranduil forever waiting for his love(s)’s return~

“Broken” by Lifehouse because Thranduil’s still holding post-canon; and, truly, they were both holding onto each other before all that even if they won’t admit it

[callsigndragon]

Oh. My. Goodness!!!! WOW! Gone is something else. Wow. (Long message again, sorry...)

First of all, I love Zayde Wolf - Heroes!!! And it is so fitting for the ending arc so far!

Onto the wonderfully amazing chapter,

Mickey being the technical genious is so fitting, I love that he discovered the app!

"You look at Liam, who is lying on the floor with Milo’s head over his tummy. Milo is like the brother Liam doesn’t have. Yet." - I can't wait until little baby darling finds out he's gonna have a sibling. And the Milo - Liam friendship is so cute!

"“I’m gonna call a friend.” You say, knowing that maybe you should have done this before, but there was already an NCIS agent taking care of the case, so you didn’t think it was necessary." - yes, yes, yes!!!! Yes, to reliable and helpful friends and family!!! Love it!

""There's more than that. You can't lie to me, Red."", "“Hey, hey, hey.” Jake holds your face between his hands, kissing your forehead. “Breathe, sweets. Why do you need to go to the doctor? Are you sick?”", "“You’re scaring me.” He mutters, his voice thick and hoarse." - Jake is the best husband ever!!! His attention and care and devotion is so, so, so heartwarming and heartmelting and just beautiful, the way you describe his feelings gets me every time, and I love how scared he is for Red and it's just so amazing! I am in love with the way you write him!!! 💗💗💗

"“Pregnant.” He repeats, and you open your eyes, and you can see in him a mirror of your own emotions. Scared and excited in equal parts. “You’re pregnant.”", "He laughs, his eyes welling up with tears as he gazes at your stomach. “We’re gonna have another baby.”", "“We’ll go tomorrow.” He gets up from the floor, kissing you passionately. His right hand caressing your belly. “We’re having another baby, oh my god.”" - oh my goodness!!!! The sweetness!!! The fluff!!! The whole reveal is so incredibly soft and, again, beautiful!!! My heart is so full!! It recquired conscious effort not to copy the whole conversation Jake has with Baby #2, honestly, it is just pure adoration and love and happiness, and it really is tear inducing. Thank you for amplifying the baby fever, it's just great. No, seriously, this is such an incredibly beautiful moment. I am in awe at how you manage to make it both be a relief and a reminder of all the angst that is going on - another reason why Seeing Red is a masterpiece 💗💗💗

"you grab the nearest thing, which happens to be a pan, ready to hit whoever walks through that door." - a pan, the one and only thing you'll ever need - a fact trusted and proven by many - love it!

"“Hi, Tony. Hi, Timmy” Liam waves, and McGee’s expression softens immediately. Yeah, nobody can resist Liam’s cuteness." - another well proven and absolutely true fact, Liam is everything 💗💗💗

"Jake coughs, not liking the stares that McNerd is giving you." - I love that he has literally his and his family's life on the line and his concern is how McGee looks at Red! 😂 He got his priorities right 😌

"You grab his hand, your thumb caressing the warm platinum band in his ring finger. “Jacob, I will crawl to the end of the world to be with you if I had to. There won’t be anyone else. Ever.”", "“I’m the only one who crawls here, love. Queens don’t do that.” He smirks, pulling you close by the belt loops of your pants to kiss you." - stunningly beautiful!!! 🥺🥹 The LOVE!!! The DEVOTION!!! "Queens don't do that"!!! My goodness!!!! Said it before, I'll say it again - their love is goals. And incredibly beautiful. 💗💗💗

"“Sometimes you have to take risks.”" - Jake, honey, I agree, but come on, you have already risked enough. Although I would have loved to see how he would have tried to convince his father about him going back.

"The backdoor of the house is open. And there’s a black box on the counter. That shouldn’t be there." - the suspense was so good!!! Had me at the edge of my seat

"It’s a chess piece. A red queen." - oh hohoho, the symbolism!!! The symbolism!!! Loving it ❤️

It would be too long to copy the whole part of Jake getting to the house, but it is just an awesome piece of writing as well. Holy moly, I could feel the adrenaline and the tension, it is so perfect! And when he enters the house? So good! So, so good. Amazing. Incredible. Stunning. 💗💗💗

"He’s gone." - noooooooooooo!!! I mean, I expected it, but NOOOOOOOOO!!! Poor darling Baby must be so scared 🥺🥺🥺

You never cease to amaze me, your writing is awesome as ever my Lovely. 💗💗💗

Lots and lots of love to you 💗

(italics anon 💚)

I WILL ANSWER THIS BC YOU DESERVE IT MY LOVELY ITALICS ANON

First of all, I love Zayde Wolf - Heroes!!! And it is so fitting for the ending arc so far!

I know right??? I have another song that fits Checkmate (ch. 51) here's the song

""There's more than that. You can't lie to me, Red."", "“Hey, hey, hey.” Jake holds your face between his hands, kissing your forehead. “Breathe, sweets. Why do you need to go to the doctor? Are you sick?”", "“You’re scaring me.” He mutters, his voice thick and hoarse." - Jake is the best husband ever!!! His attention and care and devotion is so, so, so heartwarming and heartmelting and just beautiful, the way you describe his feelings gets me every time, and I love how scared he is for Red and it's just so amazing! I am in love with the way you write him!!! 💗💗💗

So. I know everyone thinks Jake's a bit of a douchebag, but we can see a change towards the end of the movie, and even before actually. In the beach scene, not only do the other characters follow him when he imitates that the football is a grenade, but later on when Bob catches the ball and everyone is cheering for him, Jake does it too. There's no bad blood between them at that moment. And I know that, somehow, we were robbed of a scene in which Jake apologized in his own way. Jake cares about his teammates the rest of the movie, and at that moment when he looks geniunely scared of Rooster having to fly the mission and not him, who is the best pilot on the team (I'm sorry, I don't take criticism. Even Maverick says that), while everyone is more focused on the HANGSTER moment, for me it's a precious scene in which we can see Jake's real persona. Later on, when they're getting ready to fly, and he announces that 'dagger spare is ready', Jake is the first one after Maverick to tell that he's ready to fly, as if he's trying to give Maverick the final opportunity to choose him instead of Rooster. Jake knows, even though he doesn't use the right words to say it, that Rooster isn't ready to fly the mission, and Maverick shouldn't have asked him to do it.

SO. I know that he cares about the rest. And he cares in that way, with actions rather than words, why wouldn't he care so much about his wife? Jake is more open with Red, they communicate a lot and that's something that I've been trying to portray, how Jake communicates with different characters. Is like everyone of them knows a little part of something, but Red knows them all.

Payback knows about his fears of becoming a father, of not being good enough for Liam.

Mav knows about his past and how he's still trying to protect his family after those years.

Javy knows how he still loves Red.

And Red knows everything, his fears, his dreams, his reasons behind every action. Jake feels like he owes her that. He's not afraid of vocalizing his fears with her, because he knows that Red won't judge him or laugh at him. It's the purest relationship.

bUT IT LEADS ME TO THIS:

"Jake coughs, not liking the stares that McNerd is giving you." - I love that he has literally his and his family's life on the line and his concern is how McGee looks at Red! 😂 He got his priorities right 😌

Yeah, he's not jealous, actually he's more scared. Scared that Red might have reunited with a past love, one that didn't put herself and her son in danger, someone that might be more easy to be with than him. He's afraid that now that he has her back, and that he has a son he had been wanting for years, someone comes in and takes them away from him. So that's why he asks if there's 'feelings left'. If Red had told him that she had feelinds, I can assure you that Jake would have stood aside and would have give her the opportunity to leave. Because a little voice inside of his head keeps telling him that he's putting his family in danger and that they would be better without him. The thought of becoming Jacob St. James again has crossed his mind, you know. Everything to protect his family.

And I'll stop my rambling here hahahaha

I love and appreciate all your comments my dear italics anon, I love you lots and I hope you have a great day! 💚💚💚💚

[dailytafsirofquran]

Tafsir Ibn Kathir: Surah Al-Nahl Ayah 106-109

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

16:106 Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief - except one who was forced while his heart is at peace with the faith - but whoever opens their breasts to disbelief, on them is wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a terrible torment.

16:107 That is because they preferred the life of this world over that of the Hereafter.

And Allah does not guide the people who disbelieve.

16:108 They are those upon whose hearts, hearing (ears) and sight (eyes) Allah has set a seal over. And they are the heedless!

16:109 No doubt, in the Hereafter they will be the losers.

Allah's Wrath against the Apostate, except for the One Who is forced into Disbelief

Allah says:

Whoever disbelieves in Allah after his belief - except one who was forced while his heart is at peace with the faith - but whoever opens their breasts to disbelief, on them is wrath from Allah, and theirs will be a terrible torment.

Allah tells that He is angry with them who willingly disbelieve in Him after clearly believing in Him, who open their hearts to disbelief finding peace in that, because they understood the faith yet they still turned away from it.

That is because they preferred the life of this world over that of the Hereafter. And Allah does not guide the people who disbelieve.

They will suffer severe punishment in the Hereafter, because they preferred this life to the Hereafter, and they left the faith for the sake of this world and Allah did not guide their hearts and help them to stand firm in the true religion.

They are those upon whose hearts, hearing (ears) and sight (eyes) Allah has set a seal over. And they are the heedless!

He put a seal on their hearts so that they would not be able to understand what is beneficial for them, and He sealed their ears and eyes so that they would not benefit from them. Their faculties did not help them at all, so they are unaware of what is going to happen to them.

No doubt,

means, it is inevitable, and no wonder that those who are like this -

in the Hereafter, they will be the losers.

meaning, they will lose themselves and their families on the Day of Resurrection.

except one who was forced while his heart is at peace with the faith,

This is an exception in the case of one who utters statements of disbelief and verbally agrees with the Mushrikin because he is forced to do so by the beatings and abuse to which he is subjected, but his heart refuses to accept what he is saying, and he is, in reality, at peace with his faith in Allah and His Messenger.

The scholars agreed that if a person is forced into disbelief, it is permissible for him to either go along with them in the interests of self-preservation, or to refuse, as Bilal did when they were inflicting all sorts of torture on him, even placing a huge rock on his chest in the intense heat and telling him to admit others as partners with Allah.

He refused, saying, "Alone, Alone.''

And he said, "By Allah, if I knew any word more annoying to you than this, I would say it.''

May Allah be pleased with him.

Similarly, when the Liar Musaylimah asked Habib bin Zayd Al-Ansari, "Do you bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah!''

He said, "Yes.''

Then Musaylimah asked, "Do you bear witness that I am the messenger of Allah!''

Habib said, "I do not hear you.''

Musaylimah kept cutting him, piece by piece, but he remained steadfast insisting on his words.

It is better and preferable for the Muslim to remain steadfast in his religion, even if that leads to him being killed, as was mentioned by Al-Hafiz Ibn Asakir in his biography of Abdullah bin Hudhafah Al-Sahmi, one of the Companions. He said that;

he was taken prisoner by the Romans, who brought him to their king. The king said, "Become a Christian, and I will give you a share of my kingdom and my daughter in marriage.''

Abdullah said: "If you were to give me all that you possess and all that Arabs possess to make me give up the religion of Muhammad even for an instant, I would not do it.''

The king said, "Then I will kill you.''

Abdullah said, "It is up to you.''

The king gave orders that he should be crucified, and commanded his archers to shoot near his hands and feet while ordering him to become a Christian, but he still refused. Then the king gave orders that he should be brought down, and that a big vessel made of copper be brought and heated up. Then, while Abdullah was watching, one of the Muslim prisoners was brought out and thrown into it, until all that was left of him was scorched bones.

The king ordered him to become a Christian, but he still refused. Then he ordered that Abdullah be thrown into the vessel, and he was brought back to the pulley to be thrown in.

Abdullah wept, and the king hoped that he would respond to him, so he called him, but Abdullah said,

"I only weep because I have only one soul with which to be thrown into this vessel at this moment for the sake of Allah; I wish that I had as many souls as there are hairs on my body with which I could undergo this torture for the sake of Allah.''

According to some reports, the king imprisoned him and deprived him of food and drink for several days, then he sent him wine and pork, and he did not come near them. Then the king called him and asked him, "What stopped you from eating''

Abdullah said,

"It is permissible for me (under these circumstances), but I did not want to give you the opportunity to gloat.''

The king said to him, "Kiss my head and I will let you go.''

Abdullah said, "And will you release all the Muslim prisoners with me!''

The king said, "Yes.''

So Abdullah kissed his head and he released him and all the other Muslim prisoners he was holding.

When he came back, Umar bin Al-Khattab said,

"Every Muslim should kiss the head of Abdullah bin Hudhafah, and I will be the first to do so.''

And he stood up and kissed his head. May Allah be pleased with them both.

[titheinironside]

Vampire, ghost and full moon!

Thank you for the asks!! They are very much appreciated.

Vampire - do you like horror movies? if so, what’s your favorite?

I do! My current favorite is a rather new one: The Menu. I love a good black comedy, and one with psychological horror elements is right up my alley. My Second favorite is Carrie - the original version.

Ghost: do you have any paranormal experiences?

I haven't in years, but when I was younger I would hear voices calling my name that sounded like family members that weren't home at the time. I also used to take naps as a teen, and I vividly remember going to lie down for a nap one day and hearing a man's voice say "hello" directly in my ear. My room was empty.

There was also the time where, in the period leading up to my Zayde passing, a man would stand outside our front door periodically checking his watch. Only my brother saw him too, the rest of the family said we were making it up. We stopped seeing him after my Zayde died.

Full Moon - are you dressing up this year? if so, what will you be?

I dress up every year! I have a historical fashion interest and have many Victorian and Edwardian styled outfits that I cycle through each year. I then go spend my night in the local cemeteries, hoping to keep any restless spirits company. True story.

[starofthewolf]

Dark Pathways

Are you a man or a monster?

When you look at yourself, are you a man or a monster?

You can't take back the damage you've done

Oh, you can hide, but you can't run

No, you can't take back the damage you've done

Afraid of what you might become

A man or a monster…

Those lyrics played as I got home tonight. Reflecting what I had been feeling after a friend told me something I didn’t know earlier this evening. The way he revelation are out seemed like it was something he had been planning to say and that may have made it hurt more. I’m not sure yet. He told me that I made a really bad first impression on his now fiancé the first time we met years ago now. I said the words I’m not surprised but really I was. Along with many other “feel bad” emotions that I can’t truly put words to. He also said that he want us to be friends since I am not friends with another guy in the groups girlfriend. It’s complicated but the short version is we were friends and after they started dating I realized some things and now we are no longer friends. Not the guys fault because when I took a step back from her I realized I didn’t trust her, was deeply hurt by her, and didn’t trust myself to be friends with her. After he told me I removed myself from others and pondered these two things and my brain went down some dark roads.

First, I thought about he fights I’ve had with my dad lately. Most of them started because I got emotional or had a panic attack or some other imbalance while interacting with him. This would lead to him being upset and it feeling like that was my fault.

Then I moved on to some interactions with no my mom. No real fighting but I would try to say ‘I feel this way’ and watch her completely disregard what I said and keep pushing. Then if I pushed the idea of what I felt harder I’d get ‘I’m just trying to help but I guess I’ll just stop talking’.

Then to the new “friendships” I thought I was making. The ones who are nice enough when we share space but really don’t notice me otherwise. Who forget to tell me important things about the event we go to weekly. I had Ben so excited to have new friends. To maybe have a dance community again. But I was terribly wrong.

I also had my latest tattoo where the artist vision and mine were starting to differ at the last session. He stopped and pushed for me to tell him if I didn’t like something. I did and felt like shit for it because he changed what o wanted but didn’t charge me for that time.

At work I have had many moments lately where I thought I was doing well. Where the students o was working with were making a connection with me and I could do something good there. And some of that’s true but not too the capacity I had thought. Big positive feeling crushed and shoved into a small box.

All of this adds up to show me that I shouldn’t have strong feelings. In fact, I’m not allowed to have “big feelings” because all it does is fuck things up. I need to become less. To not push. To bury my feelings deep down and hide them from everyone. All I do is mess things up and cause problems if I’m myself. I guess I need to become someone else.

[wrathofthestag]

Chinese Food and Star Wars

Summary: Jack recalls eating Chinese Food on the 25th with his family as a child. Written for the @12daysofficmas. Also on AO3 with additional notes and links.

“We got one chicken chow mein.”

“That's mine,” Alicia said.

“Some egg rolls, no shrimp. A beef chop suey, sesame chicken, a chicken fried rice, two orders of spicy garlic green beans, egg foo young, and who ordered the vegetable fried rice with extra mushrooms.”

Jack smiled.

“I did, papa! Me!”

Bob grinned and ruffled Jack's hair.

“Here you go, Jacky.”

While Bob and Alicia made their rounds to various Christmas parties each year (NHL commitments and fundraisers they couldn't get out of), their true "Christmas" celebration was ordering a ton of food from Mr. Wong's and watching Star Wars. With Hanukkah behind them, and the rest of the city practically closed, the Zimmermanns enjoyed their yearly Chinese food and Star Wars blow out every 25th of December.

“And the lovely Ms. Alicia has the beef broccoli as well.”

“Thank you, Bobby.”

Jack loved this tradition. His friends from the team would be opening presents and going to church, while he would have this time with his parents.

Maman was always so comfy and casual, her hair up in a messy ponytail, settling into the couch with her chopsticks and container of beef broccoli. Papa would set up the living room for their movie marathon and not talk about hockey or be stressed out. They would just be the Zimmermanns and nothing else.

When they lived in Montreal, they would go out for Chinese food with Zayde Eli and Bubbe Esther on the 25th. Oysessen, Zayde would call it.

“It's a day off,” Zayde would say. “Let's celebrate!”

And they would. Jack remembered getting extra almond cookies and eating them while sitting in Bubbe's lap, everyone laughing and sharing stories.

“Papa, doesn't this look like Bubbe's kreplach?” Jack asked as he held up a potsticker.

Bob and Alicia laughed.

“Don't let her hear you say that, Jacky,” Bob said.

“All right, who's ready for some Star Wars?” Alicia said as she took the remote control.

“Me!” Jack called out, jumping in his seat. “Me!”

Jack smiled as the movie began, and he watched Papa feed Maman a piece of sesame chicken with his chopsticks.

+

“How do you like that eggnog, Jack?"

“Oh, euh, it's good.”

Jack took another sip. It was far too sweet for his taste, but the look of pride on Aunt Judy's face told him it would be mean not to have some more. It was, after all, his first Christmas in Madison as Bitty's boyfriend, and he didn't want to mess anything up.

Christmas songs streamed through the living room as Bittles and Phelps mingled and laughed during Coach and Suzanne's annual Christmas party.

Even though everyone was kind and welcoming, and Jack grew up with a ton of Catholic friends, there was always something about Christmas that made him feel a bit like an outsider. He knew that at Bitty's, that was no one's intention (hell, Bitty and Suzanne had even made some rugelach for him). Still, he suddenly felt like the only Jewish person in all of Madison at that party.

“Hey, sweetpea,” Bitty said, giving him a quick squeeze on his forearm. “I'm back. Kitchen crisis averted! Mama was totally exaggerating. The egg rolls are fine. Here, I brought you one.”

Bitty handed Jack a small paper plate. It was decorated with Santa faces. On it sat one perfect egg roll.

Jack was hit with a deep wave of nostalgia.

“What's wrong?”

Jack shook his head.

“No, nothing. Thanks for the egg roll,” he said with a small smile.

Bitty took the plate, put it down, took Jack by the hand, and led him to the empty laundry room, where it was quiet.

“Jack?”

Jack shrugged.

“It's silly. I just suddenly remembered eating Chinese food with my parents every Christmas. I mean, obviously, we didn't celebrate Christmas, but we did do that. Papa would order a ton of food from Mr. Wong's, and we'd eat it in the living room⁠—straight out of the containers⁠—and watch Star Wars movies all day. It was our tradition.” Jack blushed. “I just sort of thought about it.”

Bitty smiled.

“Jack, I'm sorry. Here we are shoving all this Christmas stuff down your throat--”

“Bits, no--”

Bitty held up a hand, “Lemme finish, Mr. Zimmermann.”

Jack smiled.

“Okay.”

“And we didn't even give it a second thought about how it would make you feel.”

“It's fine. I'm used to it this time of year.”

“Yeah, but you shouldn't have to be.”

Jack kissed Bitty. The room smelled of fabric softener and pine.

“This is part of who you are,” Jack said plainly.

Bitty said, “Yeah, and being Jewish is part of who you are. And we're a team, so come on.”

Bitty took Jack by the hand again and grabbed their jackets from the hooks in the living room.

“Coach,” Bitty said as he tapped Coach's shoulder.

Coach was chatting with Aunt Judy's husband, Uncle Pat.

“What's up, Junior?”

“Can we borrow the truck? We have to run to Toco Hill for a couple hours, and then we'll be back.”

“Toco Hill?” Coach asked.

Bitty nodded, and Jack wasn't quite sure what was going on.

“Sure,” he said with a smile. “See you in a bit.”

About 45 minutes later, they were in Atlanta, of all places. Jack noticed the neighborhood they were in had a lot of synagogues and what appeared to be kosher markets. They finally pulled in front of a restaurant called Chai Peking.

“I could totally go for some sweet and sour chicken right now,” Bitty said.

Jack looked at Bitty.

“Bits, what did you do?” he said with a smile.

“Come on, I want you to tell me some more about your mama eating straight outta a carton because that sounds like something!”

“Oh, it was,” Jack began with a laugh. “And Papa and her would always fight over the last egg roll, too.”

“Wanna call them?”

“Yeah,” Jack smiled, “I do.”

Jack opened the door to the restaurant, as Bitty placed his hand on the small of his back, suddenly feeling less alone.

[babbushka]

Zannah! I’m not asking for breeding kink, but I would love some hot Flip wanting to keep you stuffed full of his cum and wanting to knock you the fuck up. Please and thank you 😍

Anonymous said: Can you please do something with Flip wanting to have a baby with you but make it hot 💘Thanks Mrs Z!

2k, it's a lot fluffier than it was supposed to be lol; NSFW (birthday sex, PIV, lil bit of body worship, mentions of pregnancy/trying for pregnancy)

Sneaking upstairs with a cup of coffee in hand, you throw open the curtains of your bedroom window, letting the sunlight come pouring in. The birds are chirping, the butterflies are fluttering, there’s not a single cloud in the sky – it’s a perfect day for your husband’s special celebration.

Blinking awake, startled, Flip looks around, confused. He checks the clock and makes a move to bolt because shit it’s so much later in the morning than he normally wakes up, but you put a hand on his shoulder and sit on the edge of the bed next to him, and he sighs.

“Happy birthday handsome.” Practically beaming at him, you hand him the fresh hot mug of coffee, which he takes gratefully, still not entirely sure what’s happening.

“Don’t fuckin’ remind me.” Your man groans as he sips down the scalding black coffee, perfectly bitter.

Flip turned a whole thirty-nine this year, and he wasn’t in the mood to deal with it, not one bit. He always had a rough time with birthdays, but something about being just a hop-skip away from forty has him feeling extra sour. One look at you though, and he can’t help but feel some of your happiness soaking into his own skin, your joy contagious.

“Aw c’mon,” You pull the mug away after he’s had another sip, and place it on the night-stand before crawling in on his side of the bed, shoving yourself as close to him as possible even though your side is wide open. “Another year around the sun is another year you get to spend with me.”

“Alright it’s not so bad when you say it like that.” Flip concedes, because really, you were nothing if not the light of his life.

“Of course it isn’t. I’m always right.” You wink, and all Flip can do is kiss you.

“Yes dear.” He rolls his eyes sarcastically, and you scoff out a laugh, tugging on his earlobe playfully.

A moment of comfortable silence ticks by, before you’re walking your fingers up his bare chest, walking them up up up his sternum to toy with the golden chai that rests in the pit of his throat. It glints in the sunshine from the window, and you twirl it around your finger.

“You don’t have to go into the office today you know…” You trail away, raising an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t?”

“Nope, called in a favor with Harry.” You explain, biting at your lip, settling to straddle his waist, “And, I’ve asked Jimmy to babysit. So we’re home alone, all day today.”

At once, his hands are smoothing up your thighs. The parting of your robe opens up, and you give your shoulders a little shimmy, letting it slip off your arms, revealing your naked body on top of him.

“Oh really.” Flip smirks at that, licks his lips.

“Really really.” You grin, grabbing his hands and guiding them up to your breasts, letting him get a handful of your body. He squeezes at you, and you bite your lip again in the way that you know he likes, “Anything you’d care to do to take advantage of that…Mr. Zimmerman?”

Flip looks at you for a long while, a heated gaze. He feels old as shit sometimes, but when he’s with you, he never feels younger. Something about that true love bullshit really was true, wasn’t it? He’s got something on his mind, has had it there for a while. He figured there wasn’t a better time to ask for it than now, so he clears his throat and squeezes at your tits again, rubs his thumbs over your nipples.

“I think I’d like to get you knocked up again.” He murmurs, and it’s clear in the way that your posture straightens up a little more, that whatever you had been expecting, certainly wasn’t that.

“Wait really?” Blinking at him, you feel your heart beat just a little bit faster, your hopes getting up, and you have to double check that you even heard him right, that it wasn’t just some auditory hallucination.

“Really really.” Flip chews on the inside of his cheek, runs a hand through his hair in the way that he does when he’s nervous, “I think it might be a good time, to start trying for another one, if that’s something you’d want.”

“I want it.” You rush to say, because you do, you’ve been thinking about it for months now, thinkin’ about how the kids are getting old enough to be a little more independent, how you miss having babies around the house.

“Yeah?” Now it’s Flip’s turn to get hopeful, his big brown eyes growing wide as he stares into your soul, crossing his fingers that this beautiful morning isn’t a dream.

He’s been anxious about it, lately. About the thought that he was starting to get too old to have more kids, anxious that when they go to school the other students might think he’s a zayde instead of a pop. He’s not even forty, but it’s something that’s been resting real heavy on his shoulders and it feels good to know you want a bigger family.

“I have dreams about it, about our big family.” You shuffle a little closer to him, and he takes the hint, wraps his strong muscled arms around your waist and tugs you all the way into his lap, immediately kissing at your throat while your arms hug his shoulders, your fingers in his hair, “The kids running around in the backyard, playing together. In my head they all have your dimples.”

“I’m gonna fuck you so full of my come that there’s no way it won’t happen.” He groans, pushing you backwards making you give a startled little yelp, not stopping the onslaught of kisses that wet your neck, groaning into your skin, “Let me? Let me make you feel good.”

You’re already wet, and your legs fall open when his weight settles on top of you. He tugs the sash of your robe away and you’re naked before him, and he groans, drops his head into the cleavage that’s on display just for him, groans again.

“You’re so fucking sexy,” Flip bites at you, small nips of his teeth that have you giggling because they’re on your ribs and you’re ticklish there, but the sound of your laugh only makes Flip harder, because he loves you too much for anything else, “Look at you, look at beautiful you are. Couldn’t ask for a better woman to be my wife, I swear I won the fuckin’ lotto.”

It’s only a moment or two later that he’s yanking your hips down to better meet his cock, and then he’s pushing right in. You had anticipated that, had jerked off a little bit in the shower earlier in the morning so you’d be nice and stretched for him. It’s his birthday, you don’t want him to have to do too much of the work after all.

He sets right to work, thrusting straight into you, filling you up completely. A rush of adrenaline makes you sweat, makes your hand shake, because you’re at the perfect spot on your calendar for conceiving -- if it’s going to take, today’s the day, and the fact that Flip knows it only makes you moan that much louder.

“Flip!” You whine his name, because you know how much he loves to hear it when you cry for him, crying out in pleasure that has your eyes rolling back into your head already, even though you’ve just started, “You’re – oh, oh do that again.”

Mouth dropping open, he fucks up hard against your gspot, your toes curling around his waist where he’s pulled your legs up for a deeper penetration, and goddamn does he get deep.

“Damn,” Flip grunts as the slick sound of skin slapping against skin fills the otherwise quiet room, your mouths panting into one another, breathing heavy, chest heaving, “Dammit you’re so hot, I’m so fucking lucky. How’d I get so lucky? This cunt’s so tight.”

Your body bounce bounce bounces on the mattress underneath him as he fucks you hard, and you feel the warmth of pleasure start to build up in your bones, body aching for release. You didn’t let yourself come in the shower, wanting to save that for Flip to see, because he loves looking at you, but it makes you more and more desperate.

“Faster! Please – oh yes! Yes right there!” Your tug on his hair, fingers tangling and winding through his sleep-mussed locks, mouth dropped open as your back begins to arch, “I’m close!”

“Go ahead and come baby, I’m gonna get as many of them out of you as I can today.” He says right away, and you laugh at that a little bit, because you know that means he’s got a marathon of sex in mind for the day. You’re not angry about that at all.

He doesn’t let up on thrusting in and out, ramming over your gspot again and again until your head throws back and you’re babbling, his mouth hot on your jaw where he sucks and licks because bent like this he can’t reach your tits, only egging you on more.

“Fuck, Flip – Phil!” You gasp and writhe underneath him as the pleasure coils hotter and hotter in your stomach, “I’m – ”

“You’re okay, I’ve got you, you feel so good – do you feel good?” Flip drops his hand to your clit for the first time today, giving attention to the poor neglected thing, and your eyes fly open, overwhelmed with the feeling.

“Yes!” You shout, answering his question and praising him and pleased that he’s fucking you all in one, “Yes god -- fuck -- fuck Philly, you’re so good please knock me up, please please please!”

That’s all it takes for him to blow his load, the way that your pussy clenches and flutters around his cock, squeezing him tight tight tight. When he comes, maybe you’re just imagining things, but it feels heavier, feels bigger than normal, hot and thick as it shoots up into you.

Flip pants, groans, and you sigh, the two of you breathing in tandem, eyes closed. Flip pulls out so that he can shuffle down your body and press his cheek against your heartbeat in the way that he always does, his hand drifting down to your cunt to push his come back inside your cunt where it starts to leak out.

Kissing your sweaty chest, he nuzzles his nose against your breast, teasing at your stiff nipple and sighs happily. You’ve only barely just weaned your daughter off, and something in him gets selfishly glad that you won’t be dried up for a while still, as he smacks a kiss to your sternum.

“Knees up ketsl.” Flip announces, even though he’s out of breath still as he does it, one helluva wakeup call.

“Mmhmm.” You nod, sleepy already, the post-orgasm bliss coursing through your veins.

Flip pulls off of you, and manhandles you a little bit because you’re so boneless, shoving a pillow underneath your hips to keep you propped up. He’s not superstitious, but he’s a little ‘stitious, and this worked the past two times you wanted to get pregnant, so he’s not going to break tradition now.

Only when you’ve got your legs bent at the knee and your knees tucked to your stomach, arms wrapped around them to keep them there, looking very silly from the way the pillow cants your hips up, does Flip settle down next to you and light a cigarette, kissing your cheek.

“I love you so fucking much, you know that?” He whispers, like it’s some special secret just for the two of you, “And if it doesn’t take today, then we’ll just have to try again tomorrow.”

“And the next day?” You turn to look at him with glassy eyes, smiling.

“And the day after that…” He attacks your face with kisses once more, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this birthday wouldn’t be so bad after all.

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

Tagging some Flip loving friends! @mochabucky @sacklerscumrag @artsymaddie @bitchydecisions @direnightshade @reyloaddict55 @thembohux @kylorenswhxre @sunflowersinthesnow @babayagakeanu @safarigirlsp @steeevienicks @materialisthicc @hswritingrecs @han68000 @rosi3ba3z @chapterhappygirl @loverofallthings @groovetoob @bxnnywriting @glassbxttless @angel-bxby3 @smallgirlbigpersonality @lovelyyy-luna @2000andwhat @raddo1975 @cornmousequeen @metsienmenninkainen @caillea @painttheskylineforme @holding-on-to-starwars

[pargolettasworld]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYgwJPLOnQw

So the line on the Jewish position on the afterlife is pretty much “we believe that there is one, but we’re not terribly interested in it.”  This is pretty much true if you’re talking the Official Rabbinical Position.  But when you start getting into folklore . . . well, that’s something different.  Because there isn’t really an Official Rabbinical Position on what the World To Come is like, you can project almost anything you like onto that concept.

Which is how you get this rather amazing song.  The singer is chatting with Zayde, who died a while ago, and asks what the afterlife is like.  Zayde reports in that the major entertainment is Moses arguing with the Divine over the Eternal Questions.  Why do the Jews have to put up with so much oppression and pain, a rather pointed reminder of the Divine’s parental role toward the Jews, some dickering about who is responsible, whether the Jews are being punished, that sort of thing.  This argument appears to be the most interesting game in town, which . . . yeah, I probably would be interested to spend a few years of my afterlife eating immortal popcorn and listening to Moses and the Divine arguing.  That checks out.

[thespoonisvictory]

I don't recognize all the YouTubers on the YouTuber alignment chart- could you list them out? I'd love some new channels to watch!!

!!!!!!! I love this question!!!!!

Lawful Good: Ladyknightthebrave. Her video essays have made me cry on multiple occasions, they are all just absolute love letters to pieces of media with so much respect and attention to detail put into them. Recommendation: Stretching Genre - A Haunting of Hill House Video Essay

Neutral Good: Breadsword. Video essays about pieces of media, often children's, that are just so filled with love and softness and wonder. fantastic editing, and he always picks topics that aren't overdone. Recommendation: Disney’s Robin Hood and the Death of Color, or The Black Cauldron - Disney's Halloween Masterpiece (yes these are both disney but I promise he does much more).

Chaotic Good: D'Angelo Wallace. This guy got super popular for his critiques of mainstream internet celebrities, but honestly his music reviews and cover of smaller dramas are just as good. His takes are always nuanced and comprehensive, and he has an excellent sense of humor. Recommendation: justin bieber subjected us all to yummy for a bad album, or The Disappearance of Blaire White.

Lawful Neutral: Yhara Zayd. Another film critic who is so much smarter than I will ever be. Her videos are consistently unique and focus predominantly on films with nonwhite or female audiences, creators, and actors, and she handles the nuances of that beautifully, and her attachment to coming of age films and romcoms in a space where that can be looked down upon is refreshing. Recommendation: The Day Rue "Became" Black.

True Neutr:l, Sarah Z. Absurdly thorough in all of her videos, Sarah focuses largely on niche internet culture topics, with, once again, a kindness and nuance that is often lacking in other handlings of the topic. Recommendation: The Late Capitalism of Fast Food Twitter, or Online Boundaries and Emotion Labor

Chaotic Neutral: Sideways. A content creator who focuses heavily on film scores and how they can impact a viewing experience, particular when it... worsens it. It's a subject I'm super interested in but haven't been taught, and having it delivered in a super funny, engaging way is something hard to find. Recommendations: Why the Music in Cats (2019) is Worse that you Thought, or Why How To Train Your Dragon Has The Best Opening Ever

Lawful Evil: Jenny Nicholson. One of the funniest content creators I've ever encountered, especially in media criticism. Her deadpan humor never misses, and her commitment to picking media she's actually interested in discussion never makes her videos boring or predictable. Also, I really like (some of) her starwars opinions. Recommendations; Well, I didn't like Joker, or The Grim Dystopia of a Christmas Prince

Neutral Evil: Tom Harlock. Another one of the funniest people I've encountered, and definitely not for people who don't enjoy mean-spirited humor. I've watched some videos of his more times than I would like to admit, it just satisfies my urge to roast people more competently than I actually can: Recommendation: Undercover as a Facebook Yummy Mummy

Chaotic Evil: Schaffrilla's Productions. Just- chaotic movie and film reviews, often about animated content. He's not afraid to have unpopular opinions or publicly dislike something popular, which is admirable. Recommendations: Why Megamind is a Subversive Masterpiece.

[basicsofislam]

PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH)’s BIOGRAPHY : The Battle of Muta.Part3

Returning to Madinah

Khalid started to move toward Madinah, with his army, which was saved from being destroyed by the help of God. The enemy watched them astonishedly. The enemy soldiers looked as if they had been glued to the ground. They could not dare to follow the Islamic army; it was a big defeat for them.  

The mujahids were approaching Madinah with the dignity and majesty of gaining a bright victory. Meanwhile, Ya’la b. Umay­ya arrived in Madinah before the army and went to the presence of the Messenger of God. When he wanted to narrate what had happened to the Messenger of God, the Messenger of God said, “I will tell you what happened.” He narrated what had happened exactly. Ya’la said, “I swear by God, who sent you with the true religion and book that you did not omit even one word about the incidents.”[ Ibn Kathir, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 468. ]

The Messenger of God said, “God eliminated the distance between us and I saw the battlefield through my eyes.”[Ibn Qayyim, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 174; Ibn Kathir, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 468.]

The Prophet Tells Jafar’s Family that Jafar was Martyred

It was the day when Jafar was martyred in Muta.

After the Messenger of God narrated the Companions about the phases of the battle and that three commanders had been martyred, he went to Jafar’s house.

Asma bint Umays, Jafar’s wife, was not aware of anything; she was busy with housework. She had washed the faces of her children and combed their hair.  

The Messenger of God said, “O Asma! Where are Jafar’s children?”

Asma was still unaware of anything. She knew that the Messenger of God loved children a lot; so, she did not think of anything. She brought the children. The Messenger of God embraced and kissed them. Meanwhile the Messenger of God could not help crying.

At that moment, Asma felt as if her heart was wounded. She said, “O Messenger of God! May my mother and father be sacrificed for you! Why are you crying? Have you received any bad news about Jafar and his friends?”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 22; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 282. ]

The Messenger of God told her about the sad incident: “They were martyred today.”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 22; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 8, p. 282. ]

Asma started to cry suddenly; tears were running down her face. The women nearby gathered around her. The Messenger of God said to her,

“O Asma! Do not say any bad words and do not beat your chest.”[ Ibn Sa’d , ibid, Vol. 8, p. 282. ]

Then, the Messenger of God went home and said to her wives, “Do not forget to cook meals for Jafar’s family. Thereupon, they cooked meals for Jafar’s family for three days. It was the first meal cooked for the household of a dead person in Islam.

The Prophet prohibited crying for Jafar for more than three days.[ Ibn Kathir, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 477. ]

The Messenger of God said that God Almighty gave Jafar two wings in return for his two hands that were cut off and that he flew in Paradise with them. Therefore, he was given the name “Jafar at-Tayyar (the Flyer)”.[ Ibn Abdi’l-Berr, al-Istiab, Vol. 1, p. 242. ]

The Prophet Cries When He sees the Looks of Zayd b. Haritha’s Daughter

The Islamic army had not returned from Muta to Madinah yet.

The Messenger of God sawZayd b. Haritha’s daughter. She was looking at the holy face of the Messenger of God sadly and she was about to cry. When the Messenger of God saw her, he could not help crying due to his compassion and mercy.

Sa’d b. Ubada asked, “O Messenger of God! What is this?”

The Prophet answered, “It is the yearning of the beloved for the beloved.”[ Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 47. ]

The Islamic Army is Welcomed

It was a hot day.

It was seen that the white standard of the Messenger of God started to shine in the horizon of Madinah. The army that was coming was not the army of Zayd but the army of Khalid b. Walid, who was given the name “Sey­fullahi’s-Sarim [the Sharp Sword of God]”.  

The mujahids who were like embodied spirits and courage statues were sad because of losing fifteen mujahids including three commanders but they were happy because of gaining a bright victory; they were coming to Madinah like gliding bright stars.

The Messenger of God said to the Companions, “Let us go together to welcome our brothers.”

Despite scorching heat, the Muslims obeyed this order and left Madinah in order to welcome them.

The Messenger of God was also leaving Madinah in order to welcome the mujahids. Everybody, children and adults, was around him as if he was a star. He ordered that children be mounted on animals and Jafar’s only son, whose father was martyred, be given to him. The Messenger of God mounted Jafar’s son on his own animal and proceeded.

In the place called Juruf, outside Madinah, the mujahids were welcomed by them; it was a lofty view.

Meanwhile, the mujahids heard some unpleasant words: “Those who escaped fighting in the way of God!”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 24; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 129. ]When the mujahids heard those words, they went to the Messenger of God to complain. The Messenger of God said, “You did not escape; you fought and fought repeatedly.”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 24; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 129; Halabi, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 792. ]Thus, he consoled them.

Upon the statement of the Messenger of God, the Muslims stopped condemning and upsetting the mujahids by uttering words like that.

THE EXPEDITION OF DHAT AS-SALASIL

(8th year of the Migration, the month of Jumadal-Akhir /AD 629)

Some Arab tribes probably evaluated the result of the Battle of Muta as a defeat and retreat for Muslims; so they gathered in order to attack Madinah. They were the tribes of Quzaa, Baliyy, Juzam, Lahm and Amila.[ Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 131. ]

When the Prophet heard about it, he summoned Amr b. As at once and said, “O Amr! Take your weapons, put on your travelling clothes and then come back to me.”

Amr left at once, took his weapons, put on his travelling clothes and returned to the Prophet.

The Messenger of God said, “O Amr! I want to send you somewhere leading a military unit so that God will give you peace and wealth!”

Amr said, “O Messenger of God! I did not accept Islam in order to become rich. I accepted Islam without expecting any benefits in order to make jihad and be with you.”

Thereupon, the Messenger of God said, “O Amr! Useful wealth befits a person who helps others.”[ Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Musnad, Vol. 4, p. 197. ]

The reason why the Messenger of God chose Amr was that he was a relative of the tribe of Baliyy. His grandmother was from the tribe of Baliyy. He sent Amr because he wanted to soften them and to make them accept Islam.

Besides, the Prophet ordered Amr to invite the tribes to Islam first before attacking them.

After that, Amr left Madinah with about three hundred mujahids from Muhajirs and Ansar. When he approached the place where the polytheistic tribes had gathered, he saw that they were very crowded. Thereupon, he sent Rafi’ b. Makith to the Prophet to ask for help. Thereupon, the Messenger of God sent an auxiliary force of two hundred people under the command of   Hazrat Abu Ubayda b. Jarrah. Hazrat Abu Bakr, Hazrat Umar and many notables of Ansar and Muhajirs were in this military unit.

The Messenger of God told Abu Ubayda to meet Amr and to act together repeatedly.[ Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 4, p. 272; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 131. ]

The auxiliary forces moved very fast and reached Amr and the mujahids.

Amr said to Abu Ubayda, “I am also your commander because I sent somebody to ask for help from the Messenger of God.”

However, Abu Ubayda wanted to be the commander of his unit and said, “I am the commander of my soldiers and you are the commander of your soldiers.”[ Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 4, p. 272; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 2, p. 517 ]

Amr said he was the commander of both units and that he had the authority to command. The Muhajirs also took part in the argument supporting Abu Ubayda.

When Abu Ubayda remembered the warning of the Messenger of God, he did not want to lengthen the argument and said, “O Amr! When we left Madinah, the last word of the Messenger of God to me was, ‘When you meet your friend, obey each other; do not fall into dispute.’ If you do not obey me, I will obey you.”[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 272. ]

Thus, Amr b. As became the commander. He led the prayers in congregation.[ Ibn Hisham, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 272; Tabari, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 104; Ibn Kathir, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 617. ]

The weather was very cold where they stopped. The mujahids wanted to collect some, wood, to light a fire and to feel warm; however, Amr, the commander, did not allow them to do so. Some Companions objected to it.

When Abu Bakr wanted to talk to Amr b. As about the issue, Amr said to him, “Were you not ordered to obey me and do what I say?”

Hazrat Abu Bakr said, “Yes, I was…”

Thereupon, Amr said, “Then, do what you are ordered to do.”[ Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 199-200. ]

Hazrat Umar could not tolerate those words and wanted to object to him; however, Abu Bakr stopped him and said, “Let him do what he wants. The Messenger of God appointed him as our commander because of his skills of war. Since he is the commander now, it is not appropriate to intervene.”[ Halabi, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 200. ]

Thereupon, Hazrat Umar kept his temper and did not say anything.

In fact, Amr did not allow the mujahids to light fires because of a tactic and precaution. The number of the enemy soldiers was much more than that of the Muslim soldiers. If they lit fires, their number would be obvious and the enemy would attack them without any fear. However, if they did not light fires, they would not be able to know the number of the mujahids and they would have to act cautiously. As a matter of fact, it happened like that. The enemy thought the Muslims were very crowded and they scattered without even facing fighting them. Very few of them tried to resist, but they had to run away when the mujahids attacked all together.[ Ibn Kathir, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 517. ]Amr, the commander, knew the skill of war very well. He did not follow the enemy soldiers that ran away lest they should lay an ambush. The Islamic army returned to Madinah with a peace of mind since they fulfilled their duty.

Amr b. As Asks the Prophet a Question

When Amr b. As returned to Madinah with mujahids, he had a feeling in his heart. He expresses his feeling as follows:

“The Messenger of God (pbuh) sent me to Dhat as-Salasil leading an army. Hazrat Abu Bakr and Umar were among the soldiers.

I thought, ‘If I were not superior to them in the eye of the Messenger of God, he would not have appointed me as the commander while they were soldiers in the army.’

I went to the presence of the Messenger of God and asked him, ‘O Messenger of God! Who is the most beloved person for you?’

He said, ‘Aisha.’

I asked, ‘Who is the most beloved man for you?’

He said, ‘Aisha’s father.’

I asked again, ‘After her father?’

He said, ‘Umar.’ He mentioned some other men.  

Then, I said to myself, ‘I should not repeat this question.’ I was afraid that he would mention my name at the end of the list; so I kept silent.”[ Bukhari, Sahih, Vol. 5, p. 113; Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, ibid, Vol. 4, p. 203; Ibn Kathir, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 521. ]

In fact, Amr b. As was one of the notables of the Companions but there were so many people superior to him in the eye of God and there were ranks above his rank. When Amr realized it, he did not ask any more questions and kept silent.

THE EXPEDITION OF SIFU’L-BAHR

(8thyear of the Migration, the month of Rajab)

The Messenger of God appointed Abu Ubayda b. Jarrah as the commander of a military unit consisting of three hundred soldiers from Muhajirs and Ansar and sent them to a tribe of Juhaynas.[ Ibn Sa’d, Tabaqat, Vol. 2, p. 132. ]The aim of this expedition was to bring this tribe, which was an enemy of Islam, to reason and to teach them a lesson. Hazrat Umar was also among the mujahids.

The mujahids, who faced hunger and who had to eat tree leaves by heating them, eventually reached  Sifu’l-Bahr [Sea Coast]. At that time, when they were about to starve, Lord of Majesty, the Sustainer, gave them a huge fish through waves.[ Ibn Hisham, Sirah, Vol. 4, p. 281; Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 411; Tabari, Tarikh, Vol. 3, p. 105. ]They ate this fish during their stay there. The mujahids met nobody there; so, they returned to Madinah. The mujahids told the Prophet about the fish they ate there and asked if they needed to do anything for it. The Prophet said, “It was God’s bounty for you from the sea.” He also said, “If you have any piece from that fish, give it to me.”

Some mujahids brought some of that fish so that they would eat on the way. They gave a piece from it to the Prophet and he ate it.[ Ibn Sa’d, ibid, Vol. 3, p. 411; Muslim, Sahih, Vol. 3, p. 1536. ]

[wisdomrays]

The Messenger of God: Muhammad: Part 104

The Messenger's Warning and the Companions' Self-Control

Islam is distinguished from unbelief by its firm rooting in truthfulness. True Muslims do not lie. The Companions and their successors proved their attachment to Islam by their personal sacrifices in its cause. In addition, they feared God, lived austerely, and avoided life's comforts. Many great scholars and saints appeared among them, and their examples continue to be followed even today.

The Messenger warned people not to lie about him: "Those who lie about me should prepare their abodes in the Fire" and: "Whoever relates from me falsely is a liar." In the face of such warnings, would the Companions, who had sacrificed their entire lives for the cause of Islam, even think of lying about the Messenger?

Based on these considerations, the Companions took great care when narrating Traditions so that no mistake or misunderstanding would occur. For example 'Ali, the Prophet's cousin and son-in-law who was always with him, used to say: "I fear to narrate a Tradition from the Messenger so much that I would rather fall from Heaven than speak a lie on his behalf."

'Abd Allah ibn al-Mas'ud, one of the most knowledgeable and nearest Companions, was similarly careful. When asked to report from the Messenger, he began with: "The Messenger of God said," stopped and bowed his head, breathed deeply and unbuttoned his collar while his eyes filled with tears. After the narration, he added: "The Messenger of God said this, or something like this, or something more or less like this."

Zubayr ibn 'Awwam, one of the ten Companions assured Paradise, narrated only a few Traditions from the Messenger. When his son asked him why, he replied: "I am so afraid that I might say something contrary to what the Messenger really said. For he declared: 'Those who lie about me intentionally should prepare their abodes in the Fire.'" Anas ibn Malik, who served the Messenger for 10 years, said: "If I were not so afraid of making a mistake, I would relate many more narrations from the Messenger."

'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla met 500 Companions. When he visited a place, people would say: "The man who met 500 Companions has come to our town." He had a great influence on Abu Hanifa and Imam Abu Yusuf. He reports: "I was personally familiar with 120 Companions. Sometimes all of them were in the same mosque. When they were asked about something, each would wait for the other to answer. If they were asked to narrate a Tradition, no one would dare to. Finally, one of them would place his trust in God and begin to narrate. He would always add: 'The Messenger said this, or something like this, or something more or less like this.'"

Zayd ibn Arqam was one of the first people to embrace Islam. In the early days of Islam, the Messenger would meet with the Muslims secretly in his house. Zayd was appointed superintendent of the public treasury during the caliphates of 'Umar and 'Uthman. When he saw 'Uthman give items from the treasury to his relatives, he told him: "O Commander of the Faithful. People will suspect me and will no longer trust me. Allow me to resign." When 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla asked him to narrate a Tradition, Zayd answered: "My son, I have become old and forgetful. Narrating about the Messenger is not something easy."