#or even using the wrong one of -st/-th

[ostentenacity]

“hither” and “thither” are not just fancy ways of saying “here” and “there”, respectively; they are only used when referring to physical space. you can come hither or go thither! but to name one example, the set phrase “there is” is talking about existence, not space; it doesn’t make sense to say “thither is” a thing or concept unless you’re specifying that it’s far away or something.

also, -st and -(e)th are VERB endings. You use -st when talking to someone, and -th when talking about someone/thing. but only on verbs! “thoust”? for comedic effect, sure, but it reads as a contraction, “thou’st”, of “thou hadst” (“you had”). also, for any given action, you only need to use 1 -st or -th. “thou art speaking”, yes; “thoust art speaketh,” not so much.

this has been a PSA from your friendly neighborhood urianger enjoyer

[droogiesanddiscourse]

HCs: Falling in love with Father Paul

Pairing: Father Paul x Reader (Midnight Mass)

A/N: WELL HELLO it has sure been a while hasn’t it. Life has caught up with me exponentially the past two years - graduating college, starting a full time job, personal growth and pitfalls. But, I truly miss writing, and was ready to attempt to get back into it after such a long hiatus. Anyways - hello, I love you all <3 I missed you all. 

Warnings: Uhh, blasphemy? I guess?? Mentions of sexual content. Millie is somehow gone who knows where she is. Very subtle spoilers for Midnight Mass (2021). ANYWAYS.

✧ You confess your love for him after Paul takes it upon himself to walk you home from assisting him in decorating St Patricks for an upcoming event. Often jumping at any chance to provide services so you could grow closer to the enigmatic priest, anyone with half a brain could see how you’ve taken to him within the past few months. Just three simple words that sends a ripple through him. “I love you.” 

✧ He takes in a deep breath, thinking carefully about his next words. Ever since his arrival, you have been one of his closest friends and confidants. “Please, don't say that,” Paul quietly pleads, exhaling from his nose. 

✧ Not because he does not love you, in fact, it’s the exact opposite. He can’t bear to see you be hurt, knowing that he could never reciprocate the love you so truly deserve. He’s hurt those that he has loved before -- and will wrestle with those demons for a lifetime.

✧ Father Paul has taken his vows, and is seen as a pillar of faith, stability, and morals within the community. Given a second chance at fulfilling those vows, even. Still unable to face you, he stares down at his feet.

✧  Shaking his head, his brown eyes meet yours -- glassy with tears threatening to spill over. “You’re so young, it's...natural to have feelings like this. You’ll get over it, it’s okay.” A beat of silence passes between you. “Things like this have happened before. To me, I mean. And it hurts but, you’ll find someone one day. You're strong. You just have to...ride the wave is all.”

✧ And you know that this is how it will be. That you have to be okay with the reality. Scratching the back of his neck, he starts up his usual conversation again. Like everything was normal. “Now for tomorrow I was thinking th-”

✧ But it’s not normal. You cut him off before he can change the subject. “I-I know it’s wrong,” you stutter out, feeling embarrassed and already noticing the urge to backpedal. “I know its against any type of decency, and that we couldn’t be together even if it’s all I dream about. But I..couldn't go another day without confessing my feelings. I’m sorry if this changes things between us. Goodnight, Paul.”

✧ Against all rational, he walks forward cupping your face between his hands before you can slip into the safety of your house. And he kisses you. Before you take back what you’ve said. Before the inkling of regret crosses your mind. Before you pretend that there isn’t an undeniable connection between you. 

✧ A kiss. Just once, hoping that maybe this one act would allow the both of you to move on without the prospect of “what if” looming in the back of your minds forever. Free whatever pent up tension was built. Paul has lived with enough regrets, and he didn’t want to add never saying he loved you, too. One dipped toe into the waters of sin, for the sake of a lifetime of purity. But the human condition is fragile;  love comes slowly, then all at once. And once it’s there, it’s hard to deny it. 

✧ A secret relationship begins to bloom between you. Subtle glances and gestures to each other during mass. Things such as his hand lingering on yours for just a moment longer than polite company, making eye contact with him that flusters him while delivering his sermon. 

✧ Intimately pressing his thumb against your lips as he offers you the holy eucharist, coaxing you to open your mouth. Pushing it onto your tongue when you do so, his finger lingers there for an unusual amount of time that seems...less than chaste to anyone viewing. The unholiest of thoughts passing through your mind. 

✧ Sneaking around after mass like a teenage couple, unable to keep your hands off of each other. A desperate flurry of lips, tongues, and hands pushing up cloth to gain access to skin. Paul asking you to wear your prettiest Sunday dresses only for him. You have opened up this new world for Father Paul to explore, being considerably less experienced.

✧ Father Paul is old fashioned. Expect flowery, beautiful love letters arriving at your doorstep almost weekly. Hand delivered, of course. They always have the distinct smell of him - a mixture of his cologne and the heady scent of frankincense and myrrh, lingering from his vestments. 

✧ Helping him understand how to use technology - while you know him as Father Paul, his true identity gives a more reasonable explanation for why he is so inept at modern technology. Others catch him constantly smiling down at his phone when your name pops up on his screen. You try to show him how to send photo images to each other, but often you get odd attempts at selfies that usually are blurred or too close up. While you prefer spending time together in person, it does give a safer alternative to constantly stay in touch without raising too much suspicion. 

✧ Most times you see him one on one to be at night, when most of Crockett Island’s denizens are fast asleep. Just sitting in your kitchen, conversing and laughing over a cup of coffee. Some nights things progress further to the bedroom, but other nights the two of you find happiness just in the company of each other

✧ Late nights in his cabin, your head resting gently against his lap. Paul’s one hand flipping through his well loved and worn bible. The other hand idly running his fingers through your hair. The sound of the murky waves crashing against the shoreline mixed with Paul’s low hums of familiar hymns becoming the soundtrack of the evening.

✧ Mornings after accidentally staying over, too late to return to your house yet too early to make an inconspicuous exit. The window open, the heavy smell of sex and salt water clinging to both of your skin. Sometimes you just stare at him as he’s asleep, watching his chest rise and fall. His usually furrowed brows at rest, and signs of age seem to just melt off his face. Reaching your hand out to run a delicate finger against the curvature of his nose. Of his cupid’s bow. It's sinful how beautiful he is. 

✧ He finds relief and only lets his guard down when you both visit the mainland together on some “church business.” This is the only time that you and Paul can reasonably be seen in public together. He can hold your hand, kiss you, and show as much public affection as you deserve without the watchful eyes of others. And stay together in a hotel room too, just like anyone else madly in love.

✧ Maybe you are his secret. One of many. But you are his best kept one by far.

[pandorxxx]

I’ve got your back

Lo’ak (19) x Omatikayan fem reader (18)

Warnings: Just fluff, light cursing

You dismount your ikran, as tears flow down your face. You had never seen so many casualties in a battle before. As a great warrior, you would think that you would get used to this, but nothing could ever properly prepare you for the wrath of war. The pain you felt in your heart was unbearable. You walk slowly to the tent you shared with your mate. Once you reached the tent, you tried your best to collect yourself before walking in. You didn't want your mate to see you so broken down, and tired. 

You wipe your tears harshly. You walk into the tent with your head down as you feel more tears well in your eyes. Your cheeks became hot, and your heart started to pound.

“Wassup, babe?” he says as he focuses on taking his necklace off, not even looking at the mess you've become.

“Guess what? I only got yelled at by my father 3 times today, that's a new rec-” he laughs as he shifts his attention to you. He notices your head hanging to the floor. He knew something was off with you, and then he remembered the war party you were a part of today. He slowly walks over to you. When he reaches you, he towers over your small frame as he gently grabs your arm.  

“y/n? Are you ok? Are you hurt? Who tf hurt you!!??! I’ll fucking kill them right now i swear to eyw-” you immediately cut him off.

“I'm fine Lo’ak, I just want to rest. I'm very tired.” you say in a monotone voice as you walk to your shared cot. He watches you with worry in his eyes as you slowly walk to the cot. You plop down on it with a loud sigh. You go to take your war gear off when you notice that your mate is still in the same spot you left him, staring at you. 

“What, Lo’ak?” you say as nice as possible, but he was starting to irritate you. You didn't want to be mean to your mate for simply being worried about you, but you didn't want to tell him what was wrong either. You didn't want to re-live the pain. You were trying to forget, but you had a feeling that he wouldnt rest until he knew what was wrong with you. 

“You didn't even laugh at my joke, and you ALWAYS laugh at my jokes. Something is wrong, I can feel it. What happened today?” he shouts as he starts to get agitated. He hates when you keep stuff from him. It makes him feel as though you aren't comfortable around him.He wanted you to be able to tell him anything, good or bad.

“Lo’ak,please baby I just want to rest. I can't do this right now. Nothing happened I promise.” You reassure him as you lay back on the cot, and turn to face the woven wall of your tent.

“Fine, you don't want to tell me? That's fine. I will always be here for you though. When you wanna talk, day or night. I will be here” he says as he kneels in front of your body that is not even facing him. He slides onto the cot as he lays down, his back facing yours. 

You both had been sleeping for a while now, still back to back. Lo’ak was awakened by low whimpers. He wiped his eyes slowly as he yawned. He turned to face you as you were still facing the wall. He noticed that you were shaking uncontrollably. You usually get cold at night,and the way he comforts you is by wrapping you into his arms. However, tonight you're  uncontrollable shakes were followed by low cries and whimpers. He sighs as he wraps his arms around you, pulling you closer into his warm embrace. This made your cries louder because you had to deal with the fact that the act was up, and you had to be truthful with your mate now. 

“What is the matter, my love? You can talk to me.” he says softly as he rubs your thigh.

“Th -the war today lo’ak. I have never seen so many casualties before in my life. It made me sad. Families are waiting for their loved one, who will never return. It hurts my heart so bad.” you say in between shaky breaths, and whimpers. 

He shuts his eyes tightly, as he hugs you tighter. He hates that you constantly have to put yourself in danger. He knew you were a strong girl, a strong warrior, but you were sensitive,and he liked that about you.He liked that you loved so hard.

He sighs loudly. “I'm so sorry that you had to see that today, my love.This is what im here for. For you to vent to me. I wish I could shield you from this war that we are in. I Don't know what I would do if something happened to you, y/n. ”  He whispers sincerely in your ear. Silence covers the room briefly.

“Umm, Lo’ak?” you say hesitantly, waiting for a response.

“Yes, my love?” he asks as he grabs your hand. 

“I am so sorry for being mean to you earlier. I just didn't want to bother you with my problems. I'm a warrior that is scared of war. That is a crazy thing to confess to your mate.” you chuckle a little bit.

“Bother? You could never bother me. I love you, and I know you don't mean any harm. I want you to be able to tell me anything, good or bad. I know you don't like to express your feelings too much, and that's fine, but I will always be here for you.” he confesses as he kisses the back of your neck, making you drift off into sleep.

“I love you, Lo’ak” you say as you fall asleep.

“I love you too, my mighty warrior.” he yawns as he falls back asleep.

I enjoyed writing this story so much. Please keep sending me suggestions. Im happy to write whatever you guys want. See you guys soon!!!!

[wowbright]

Fic: Recommend

Fandom/pairing: Glee, Kurt/Blaine

Event: December Klaine Fanworks Challenge 2023

Words: ~1500 words                                         

Rating: Teen and up

Summary: Although Kurt's faith has changed, he still manages to get his temple recommend renewed.

Notes: This is part of my Mormon!Klaine universe. It takes place after Out of Eden, which I am still in the process of posting to AO3. It’s among the possibilities for their future. Mormonsplaining and mild warnings in tags.

* * *

Kurt and his parents had always planned for him to do Finn's temple work when he got back from his mission. It had seemed the right thing at the time, a fitting way to honor the two young men’s brotherhood and make it even more real.

They hadn't seen its one glaring flaw: they were all assuming Kurt would return from Germany with the same faith he'd taken with him when he’d left.

“I'm not sure I'm going to be able to get my temple recommend renewed when I get back,” Elder St. James said to Kurt on their Lufthansa flight to New York. He was on his third Milka mini chocolate bar snatched from the candy buffet near the bathrooms on the lower deck, and Kurt was on his fourth.

“Why?” Kurt said. “Gluttony’s not against the Word of Wisdom. Besides, if chocolate and cookies are all they're going to offer us between meals and we're growing young men, we kind of have no choice. Besides, that breakfast was hardly a breakfast.”

“European breakfasts never are,” agreed Elder St. James. “But it's not the Word of Wisdom I'm concerned about. It's that question about sustaining all the leaders. I'm not sure I can answer ‘yes’ to that in good conscience. I mean, I voted to sustain them at the last general conference, but since my vote doesn’t actually mean anything since they just ignore the abstentions and opposition votes, am I actually sustaining them?”

“You pray for them, don't you?”

“Of course.”

“Well, I think that's what sustaining means—offering sustenance. With a child, that would mean giving them food and clothing and shelter and support and love. The leaders don't need those first three things from us, but they do need our support and love. And we show that by respecting them and praying for them.”

“Huh.” Elder St. James opened a fourth chocolate bar and took a thoughtful bite. “I suppose that works. I mean, it's not my fault that I can't actually sustain them in the vote sense, and the temple questions are supposed to be about things that are within our own control, so … Thanks, Elder Hummel. That helps.”

Kurt unwrapped his fifth chocolate. But before he could break off a piece, he started wondering if he was eating his feelings, trying not to think about what was actually happening, how he was currently vaulting through the sky at hundreds of miles an hour, every second pulling him farther and farther away from Blaine and closer to a future that he couldn't envision. Hmmm. Maybe he should eat his feelings. It was better than thinking about that. Besides, he felt nowhere near full.

“Do you have any worries?” Elder St. James said.

Kurt had so many worries, he didn't know where to start. Maybe he could mention how he didn't actually understand how planes stayed in the air and it was rather disconcerting to be hovering over the Arctic when he could easily imagine the plane just dropping out of the sky and plunging them into the icy water to their untimely deaths, and while he didn't fear for his own salvation, he did rather like this life they were currently living and also, it would be terrible for his parents to lose two sons in so many years. But before Kurt could think about whether this was an appropriate response, Elder St. James clarified, “About your temple recommend questions?”

Kurt gave his one-time companion a sharp look. “What's that supposed to mean?” The recommend questions included one about the law of chastity, and while Kurt knew he had done nothing wrong, it would be better if rumors didn’t spread. Blaine was still inside the mission.

“Nothing in particular.” The vacant look behind elder St. James's eyes seemed to confirm his sincerity. “I mean, you’re such a Peter Priesthood I figured you wouldn't have trouble with any of them. But maybe I was hoping, just a little, that you were in the same boat as me.”

“What boat is that?” Kurt asked.

Elder St. James popped the rest of his chocolate bar into his mouth and chewed it slowly. He didn't speak again until he had swallowed it all. “I don't know. Not as excited about all this church stuff as I was when we were on the plane out here? I mean, I don't even know if I want to go to the temple again.”

"Well, the temple is –" Kurt looked over your shoulder to make sure no one was listening. He had, perhaps, become a little too used to speaking about the temple freely with Blaine. “–it's a lot different from every day worship. And the sessions are long. But I want to go back. I have work to do for my stepbrother.”

The necessity of that work, Kurt’s obligation to his family—they had nagged at Kurt as he’d weighed the risks of becoming physically intimate with Blaine. It had felt like another unfairness imposed on him by the church, forced to choose between loyalty to the family he came from and commitment to the family he was discovering in Blaine.

But as time passed and Kurt got closer to leaving Germany, denying the gift Blaine was offering him had begun to feel like a sin bigger than any lie Kurt might tell the bishop. And he had discovered just how true that was when they finally slept together: being intimate with Blaine, Kurt had felt for the first time what it must have been like to be one of those legendary first humans, before sin and pain existed, when they felt no shame in their nakedness or the bodies that had been gifted them. Their love was sinless because it grew from that same place without sin.

So it was with a clean conscience, upon returning to Ohio, that Kurt answered yes to his bishop’s question of Do you obey the law of chastity? Kurt’s actions with Blaine had been authentically chaste—reserved for one’s spouse, pure in conduct and intention, free of coercion, seeing the full humanity of the other person and loving them for it. Blaine was his other half in the truest sense, regardless of whether the church or the law recognized it.

Nor did Kurt have any qualms about professing his testimony in God the creator or in Jesus Christ or the restoration of the gospel—his faith in these things was even deeper than before he left on his mission, though in a way he would never have expected.

Even Do you support, affiliate with, or agree with any group or individual whose teachings or practices are contrary to or oppose those accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints? was easy to answer the right way, because the only teachings “accepted by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints” were those that had come before the general conference for a vote of common consent. The Proclamation on the Family wasn't one of those things. And besides, he was pretty sure the question was mainly meant to root out polygamists.

Do you keep the covenants that you made in the temple? and Do you strive to keep the covenants you have made, to attend your sacrament and other meetings, and to keep your life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel? were harder. Kurt wasn't even sure he remembered all the covenants he had made in the temple. But the ones he remembered, and the ones he had honestly agreed to, with full understanding—he strove to keep those. As for keeping his life in harmony with the laws and commandments of the gospel, he was more committed to doing that than he’d ever been, even if his understanding of “the gospel” was probably different than his bishop’s.

“Have there been any sins or misdeeds in your life that should have been resolved with priesthood authorities but have not been?” the bishop asked.

“No,” Kurt answered.

“And finally,” the bishop said, “do you consider yourself worthy to enter the Lord’s house and participate in temple ordinances?”

No more or less than any other of God’s children, Kurt thought to say, but he knew it wasn't the answer the bishop was looking for and would only confuse him. “Yes,” Kurt said.

The bishop signed the recommend and sent Kurt on his way with a smile and a handshake and, “Now, don’t spend all your time at the temple. Your first priority now that you've gotten back from your mission is to find a wife.”

“Thanks for the advice," said Kurt, trying to accept it in the same well-meaning spirit it was given.

Then it was rinse and repeat with the stake president, and Kurt had his recommend. Alone in the car, he turned the card over in his hand, staring at the movement of light over its barcode and lettering. “Finn,” he said, “I hope you’re ready for this.”

[stranger-chichka]

Hi! So, first of all, you are one of my favorite blogs and i adore your analyses on ST. So, because of that i thought i could share this thing i just found out a few days ago... sorry in advance if it gets too long.

I'm a computer science student, and a few days ago in one of my classes my professor started talking about the evolution of technology and specifically computers (i know this sounds irrelevant but).. as he was talking he mentioned one specific company that caught my attention - Sinclair Research Ltd.

Since i'm obsessed with everything Stranger Things, i decided to check on it. Apparently the were big in the scene in th 70s-80s these days they mostly do research. Since it was computer related i decided then to check for Henderson, since he is the one most related to computers.

This took me nowhere, but i was adamant to find something. Anything. So i decided to move on to the next.

I looked for anything Wheeler related in computer science. And get this;

In the 50s, David Wheeler invented a way to jump through different parts of a code to do different operations. Like, if in the middle of your code you want to sum two numbers, and that's something you'll need to do over and over, instead of writing the same code for the operation over and over (which would make the program heavier) you create a subroutine, you leave a trail to follow, say, a dummy number. The program jumps, to where you want it and then after it it goes back to where it was before, or wherever you want it to go.

Now, the interesting thing about this jump in the subroutine is its name.

This is called a 'Wheeler Jump".

Now, since the upside down is stucked in 1983 and to hide from Vecna you need a happy memory, a memory of light, which implies the past, how we are thrown off by the painting being of the party and not the swingset as many Bylers believed, the weird monologue which i find like a bad copy paste from the one in the shed and how Vecna is related to clocks, i believe Mike is gonna jump. Here could go some thought about Mike jumping from the cliff in season 1 and how Ted asked Mike in s2, if one of his friends jumped if he would jump too. I do not even know what could any of that mean but I've read theories on Labyrinth, Back to the Future, flickergate, and Mike going missing and lettergate. It could be any of those, or none of them, because a coincidence could actually happen.

My personal bet goes to:

We've seen Mike trying to send a message-a code- (his real feelings), but because of dummy actions they were sent the wrong place (his platonic feelings were sent to were the romantic ones were suppose to go and vice-versa).

Anyways, Mike jumping could possibly have a lot of meanings, so i thought to share a weird base (?) for anyone wanting to use it in any theory or something.

Hi, anon! <3

I’m not that of an analyst really, but thank you for your sweet words and I appreciate someone like the stuff I come up with at times.

The things you wrote about are SO INTERESTING, thanks for sharing it with me!!! I’m sure there MUST be connection between “Wheeler Jump” and Mike’s character, especially considering that Mike has got that poster of a man with computer in his basement. The man who happen to be Charles Babbage. The one who is credited with inventing the first mechanical computer. The one who is referred to as “father of computing.”

What made me even more excited about everything you’ve mentioned is:

- David Wheeler is credited with the invention of the subroutine, which is referred to as the CLOSED subroutine (and Mike is in the CLOSET), and gave the first explanation of how to design software libraries (I see librarygate everywhere, lmao);

- he was born in Birmingham and the Cali crew went to Bingham’s house so Suzie could help them with the number to trace the computer’s location in s4 (Mike comes up with that idea). Not to mention Suzie was the one who told Planck's Constant in s3 which was the code the commies used for the safe in which two keys were. The keys needed to stop the machine from opening the gate. To CLOSE the gate. And in the beginning of s4 Suzie also hacked into Hawkins school computer program to change Dustin’s grades (he is later shown discussing it with Mike during).

“Mike trying to send a message/a code (his real feelings), but because of dummy actions they were sent to the wrong place (his platonic feelings were sent to were the romantic ones were suppose to go and vice-versa).”

So, basically, Mike got lost in his own feelings because of his closed subroutine that theoretically should’ve made everything easier for him??? Suzie helped him with the number (the number=Mike’s feelings) and there’s one person in the show who says “I’m good with numbers.” Erica Sinclair. Erica, who drinks Minute Maid Grape Juice that is a reference to Queen’s music video on the song “I Want To Break Free.” Erica, who refers to Lucas as Jason’s boyfriend in the most careless and normal way possible. And there’s so much more. She mentions Nintendo to Jason and then the Cali crew (Mike & Will in particular) is lying to Suzie about the same goddamn Nintendo (oops, sorry, Americantendo). Erica, who’s on the poster RHE HEART with the rest of the party (x).

Also, Will’s school project was about Alan Turing - mathematician, computer scientist and codebreaker.

Unfortunately, I can’t go deeper here because I’m a total zero at IT and maths but everything you’ve mentioned is related to the code and one more code in the show is “when blue meets yellow in the west.” What also serves as a code in ST? Music. I already wrote about how the Duffers use the songs and original soundtracks to tell us more about what’s really happening in the show and to deliver the message that is somehow sensitive. Something they wants to make a huge plot twist for the GA. Mike’s orientation. He is in the CLOSET. If music is a code for us to better understand the show and the characters, it means that characters’ Spotify playlists are as much important as the show itself. @lesbianmindflayer analyses both Mike’s and Will’s playlists so I highly recommend to subscribe on her YouTube channel and follow her here. Almost every song on Mike’s playlist is about running. He’s running form his true self. Do I even have to mention “Smalltown Boy” being the first song on the playlist?

In s4 it’s said “Music reaches parts of the brain words can't.” The Duffers don’t use plain text to say “Mike Wheeler’s gay” or “Byler endgame”, but they use music for that. “Being in the Closet (at Rink-O-Mania)” is one of many examples of how they’re doing it. Not to mention other queer coding such as ONE WAY sign, closets etc.

@bylerschmyler @there-was-a-hole-here-itsgonenow your additions always make every post better so I’m really interested in your thoughts on it!

[pebblysand]

WELCOME BACK TO THE PAGE PALS PROJECT! AS A REMINDER, THE "PAGE PALS" PROJECT IS A GROUP RE-READ OF CASTLES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE READ THIS POST HERE.

THIS WEEK, WE'RE DOING CHAPTER 2. BELOW, YOU'LL FIND MY THOUGHTS AS A CONVERSATION STARTER. FEEL FREE TO SEND IN ASKS IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS/THOUGHTS, AND TO JOIN OUR DISCORD SERVER FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.

HANDY LINKS/INFO:

chapter: ii. out of ash (ashes twirl)

wordcount: 10, 476

playlist: notes here

castles FAQ: here

.

g e n e r a l t h o u g h t s:

for a very long time, this chapter used to be my favourite, and i still hold it in very high regard. i don't know what it is about it, it just feels like ✨vibes✨. it's both incredibly funny at times, and incredibly sad, and i feel like it really exhibits that awkward post-war happy/sad balance that is so important to castles. even if it's no longer my favourite cause i'm not quite sure which is my favourite anymore, i still think chapter 2 has some of my best writing in this fic. i'll go through a few chosen bits below but i feel like it has that general sense of messiness and melancholy that i really like in the early days of this story.

just like with chapter 1, you might notice a few changes i've made along the way, depending on when you read it last. again, i don't think it's anything major but if you do notice, you'll see that i didn't actually delete anything, just moved things around a bit. i think it flows better that way. i also added some stuff - i'm curious to see if you'll spot it. let me know!

having said that, omg, i'd forgot how SLOW the pacing is in this chapter. don't get me wrong, i think it needs to be slow for the purposes of telling the story, but it's very much like: this is them leaving the hotel, this is them having breakfast, this is them testifying - it is very step by step lol. i worry about my pacing in the later chapters, sometimes, but i clearly forgot about this one lol.

g i n n y:

Generally, reading this just this morning, I couldn't help but feel this raw sense of panic in Ginny, throughout this chapter. I think obviously, it's something that only really makes sense and becomes apparent on re-read, but there's this way you really feel how fucking terrified she is that Harry will find out. I hate to say this, but the way she acts with him, that summer, is almost reminiscent of her "relationship" with Amycus, actually. She is watching his every move, everything he says, everything she says, trying to make sure he doesn't find out. And, I don't think the pretending and the lying comes easy to her, I think it basically tears her apart, but those are skills that she "learnt" with Amycus. Being cued into his every emotion, expertly toying that line between saying too much and too little. She is almost manipulating him, into thinking they have this connection, and that them not talking is the Right thing for them, and it's not really her fault, it's how fear has wired her to function, but I find it chilling.

h i g h l i g h t s:

A year later, roses bloom once again in the gardens of Ottery St Catchpole and Harry’s still holding her. Some things in life never change, he muses, although, of course, everything else has changed. They’ve both fought in a war that should never have been theirs and one of her brothers has died, leaving the start of the summer to mend itself without them, trapped in a combative attempt to shovel the little hope it has left down their throats. When Harry caresses Ginny’s skin, the summer of ‘98, she’s naked next to him, the both of them tucked in her small, twin bed at The Burrow. They try to be quiet (always, despite the silencing charms they cast) but they each have a side, now, an oddly domestic habit, and after they have sex, Harry often lies with her body wrapped around him, so close that he’s never quite sure where her limbs start and where his end. Her bed’s pushed up against her window - along the skin of his left arm, he feels the morning dew build as the night chill leaves the air; it trickles down the single-glazed glass. They watch the sun rise together - early mornings and milky skies.

I LOVE THIS PARAGRAPH SO MUCH. idk, jokes aside, i think it's one of my favourite things i've ever written. there's a flow to it i really like and i adore the end of "early mornings and milky skies". and i think it's the beginning of this motif that sort of comes back in chapter 17 where the two of them are always touching, comfortable in bed. the chill of early summer mornings and OH I LOVE IT.

'I'm not a Healer, Harry.'

so, this is actually a line i added in reaction to a) the people in my comments being mad that ginny wasn't weeding secrets out of harry and that being "ooc", and b) a conversation i later had with @btelling. i think there's this misconception in fandom about ginny being a "healer". this idea that she's almost harry's therapist after the war, the only one that can get him talking, etc. and i think firstly, there's very little evidence of that in canon. ginny asks for explanations, often, but she very rarely ever gets them. and secondly, there's this general view of women as healers in general, tending to "sick" men and making them better, which i don't particularly enjoy. so, i guess that was me reacting to all of this.

They barely swallow any food. For the other two’s sakes, Harry tries to hide the knot in his stomach, can tell that Hermione is anxious enough for the three of them - she keeps tapping an annoying rhythm against the table with the tips of her fingers, doesn’t even seem to realise she’s doing it. Her make-up is minimal, the varnish on her nails a plain but shiny transparent. His mind drifts back to Ginny again, how she always painted her nails in bright colours in school, reds and oranges, and golds, performed complicated charm work on them so that it would stick. ‘If I don’t, it always chips with Quidditch.’

i noticed this on a previous re-read but, i don't think i wrote this intentionally but i love the way harry is so infatuated with ginny in this. like, i think this is one of the moments where the fact that he totally idealises her and is very teenage-infatuated-crazy-about-a-girl really shines through. he literally looks at hermione's nails and is like: oh and by the way GINNY does her nails like this. it's so silly but it really shows how obsessed he is with her, but also how shallow it kind of is. he thinks it's deep, because when you're that age you think you're so deep, but it's actually not.

‘When we get there, it’ll be like the craziest circus you’ve ever been to,’ he speaks, quick, before he runs out of words. There is an urgency to the things that he needs to tell them both, ones that they don’t necessarily want to hear. ‘It’ll be dozens and dozens of people standing in a crowd, clapping and screaming, and wanting a piece of you. They’ll want to thank you, insult you, ask you questions, tell you personal stuff about themselves. They don’t mean anything bad by it, they just don’t really realise you’re a person. The press will be there, too, and they will be flashing their cameras just about five inches from your face to try and get a good shot,’ he adds, raising his hand close to his own cheek, showing them the distance. ‘They’ll want to touch you, have you sign stuff, and they’ll keep talking at you from the moment you step out of that fireplace to the moment you get into the lift. We’ll have an escort of Aurors to try and hold them back but I honestly doubt that they’ll be able to do much. It’ll feel like you’re in the longest tunnel you’ve ever been through and you can’t see the exit. At least, wear that scarf over your head, it’ll hide your face and your eyes from the cameras, protect you a bit. Ron, you can use the hood at the back of your robes.’

i think honestly, this is one of my favourite harry moments in the whole fic. i can't possibly tell you how much time i spent on this paragraph, back then. i see it as one of those post-war moments where harry actually does start growing into his own skin and also where you start being faced with the reality of the post-war world. there's this sort of "bubble," i think, throughout chapters 1&2 where they're all very removed from the outside and inside their little burrow bubble, and that obviously bursts big time, with the commission. there's something very brutal about the way harry speaks that day, and i think it really fits.

‘Why were we never kids?’

ah, another castles classic line people quote all the time. yuuup. 💔

That evening, the both of them eat Pad Thai takeaway and sit on the floor in front of the muted hotel telly. They laugh at funny Hogwarts stories of Romilda Vane and crazy things that Harry remembers Luna saying. They drain a few cans of bitter and wait for Ron to come home.

i've always loved this moment loads because it's 1) harry-and-hermione-my-babies!!!! but also 2) it has these trio-codependency vibes that are very present in the early chapters of feeling lost when the three of them aren't together. the way they "wait for Ron to come home" breaks my little heart for them.

Love in its million different forms, the way Dumbledore preached it. Harry loves Hermione the way he loves Ron, like the boy who introduced him to chocolate frogs and the girl who cried in the loo and faced a troll.

again, trio vibes. love, love, love.

l a s t l y:

okay, so i love, love, love the rest of this chapter but also i'm having a hard time articulating precise thoughts so i'll leave it at that for now. please do not hesitate to send me asks if there's anything else you'd like me to comment on, though. very excited to hear your thoughts.

[beingharsh]

not enough to count all the jotxs that died for this No structure imme nse enough to do t he job of holding th e legacy the xtrava ganzas left for us We take the challe nge To heart We gi ve ourselves a plac e to mourn Empty graves are still gra ves to tend We hav e no leaders they w ere all killed We ha ve exploitative doc umentaries produc ed by white women with something to prove We have wha t little a google sea rch can restore to u s No way to bring t hem back We can c hant and chant We will will them back & be here to greet Paris is burning & queens are dying st ill I’m afraid of bei ng killed If i’m hon est i’ve been afraid of being killed ever since i realized i ha ve a target on my b ack Do you see it? When i was a little girl i learned to ext inguish the urge to say anything out lo ud for people to he ar This is wrong thi s is wrong so wron g so fucking wrong i’d yell inside my girl head for only me All the jotxs that di ed for this will nev er be here to experi ence it They’re d ead Were killed Th ey, honestly, didn’t even die for this Th ey just died & now there is a this they missed out on All t he jotxs that died f or this, i hope they were able to imagi ne it And i hope we have imagined the m with us as best we can But who kn ows They’re dead & they died Nuestr xs abuelxs don’t ev en know our name s Or that we exist I imagine one day w will meet, say mira …….. lo que nos dejaste fue magia o la sciencia o el poder de los jotxs pero si, aqui estas puedes dormír en paz

"xtravaganza cenotaph", Roda Avelar

[starwalker42]

febuwhump day 18: can't stay awake

Fight the Future | no warnings apply | general audiences

It’s been days since I slept. The exhaustion, and the cold, and the background whistle of the wind across the icy plains outside, are starting to lull me to sleep, but I can’t. I can’t close my eyes, because if I do, I’m not sure if I’ll open them again.

Maybe I should; maybe it’s evitable that this is how it’ll all end, in the middle of nowhere, at the end of the world, freezing my ass of in a snowcat that’s out of gas. There’s no hope of rescue – the only response to my radio call was static. If I was alone, I think I would’ve given up, probably before even reaching here. I’d still be out on the ice, letting the snow cover me, too tired to move.

But I’m not alone. That’s why I’m at the end of the world in the first place, how I managed to summon the energy to get back to the relative shelter of the snowcat, why I can’t allow myself to go to sleep just yet.

A nudge of an elbow into my side. “M’lder.”

I try to ignore how her speech is starting to slur, try to forget that slurred speech is a sure sign of hypothermia. When I reply, my words are just as messy as hers, slipping out of half-frozen lips. “Still here.”

I think she laughs a little. Thank god for that – that I can still make her laugh, even here. Even now.

“Where are we?”

My heart stops for a moment. Confusion and memory loss, further signs that something’s wrong. But when I look down at her, tucked against my side, she’s looking right back with clear, bright eyes, and I realise what she means. ‘Where’ as in the wider sense – I haven’t had chance to tell her.

“Antarctica.”

She laughs again. Her breath clouds the air between us.

“You came… to Antarctica. To save me.” It’s not a question.

“Had to. No one around to tell me I was being st-stupid.”

She nods against my shoulder, bumping her nose against the sleeve of my jacket. Underneath our cocoon of blankets, trembling fingers wrap around mine. I barely feel the contact, but I’m glad for it all the same. It’s not lost on me that not an hour ago, she was frozen in ice on the brink of death, and now she’s the one comforting me. She’s too good at this – looking after me when she’s the one in pain. I know I don’t deserve Dana Scully. I certainly don’t deserve to die next to her. But I’m glad that if I have to go, I get to go like this.  

And then, just when I think it can’t get any more painful to lose her, she speaks.

“Seen any penguins?”

It’s my turn to laugh, now, and it burns my lungs. “N-no. But it’s polar bears in the Antarctic.”

“Nuh-uh. Penguins.”

“Oh yeah?”

Her thumb traces the back of my hand. “Yeah. We didn’t see any when… when we were in Alaska. So they’re at th’ south pole.”

It takes me a moment to understand what she’s talking about. “We were in Alaska for ice worms, Sc’lly.”

“You were there f’ ice worms. I wanted to see penguins.”

“Scully.” My head slides to rest on top of hers.

“Penguins, r’ cute, M’lder.”

“Scully.”

“Mm.”

The words sound weak from my lips. “I love you.”

She breathes, turns her head so her nose bumps against me again. “L’ve you.”

It’s permission, I think. Permission to close my eyes, to let go now. There’s only one thing I needed to say, and I’ve said it.

“Sorry,” I whisper. “Tired.”

“Me too.” Her weight is heavy against my side. “Sleep.”

I close my eyes. We sleep.

@today-in-fic

[clarenecessities]

✨🍀 re: wow toons (idk what that is so pls enlighten me!)

AHAHAHA YES!!!! <-sicko voice

✨- How did you come up with the OC’s name?

🍀 - What originally inspired the OC?

these go hand in hand so i'm doin' 'em together >:3c so wow toons are what you call your different world of warcraft characters, of which i have... 12? 15? some multiple of three. i shall describe each of them in turn bc you've inadvertently activated my trap card.

Sétanta - my very first wow character. he's a worgen bc obviously i'm going to pick the werewolf race, come on. i made him a druid bc i heard you could turn into even more animals and this pleased me. He's named for Cú Chulainn (Hound of Culann), who renamed himself that as a kid. I pronounce it 100% wrong, with an /s/ at the start and a /t/ in the middle, but that's what happens when you learn all your words by reading as a small child. i pronounced seamus See-Miss until i was like 16. it could be worse.

Seidrin - As I was fleshing him out i accidentally went way too hard on his mom's backstory, so when I wanted to make a tank she was the natural choice. her dad is the wolf god Goldrinn, who I decided (fancifully) to pretend was named for galdra, one of the kinds of norse magic. -inn being the masculine name suffix, i changed it tothe feminine -in and named her for seiðr magic instead. went with a d instead of a th bc logan very wisely pointed out the "-drin-" mirrors Goldrinn.

Crimthann - Sétanta's dad. I wanted to make a healer and I was like you know what would be really funny? If I named his dad after another guy who renamed himself for an animal. And Crimthann (an old irish name meaning 'fox') is often alleged to be the birth name of St. Colmcille, 'church dove'. so i made him a priest but unfortunately priests are very boring to play so he's... languishing.

Donn - I wanted to make a Horde character but I didn't know how to play anything but a druid so I was like... surely, this will work. I was gonna name him Donn Cúailnge after the Brown Bull of Cooley but it turns out you can't put spaces in the names. But Donn (shockingly) wasn't taken so... here he is! Tauren druid!

Jettion - I was bullied into making a dracthyr, the newest race, bc they have a fun starting quest. Dragons in wow have name suffixes according to their 'flight' (color) and he's a male black dracthyr (who are like anthro dragons) so his name had to end in -ion, and often the black flight's names start with shades of blade, so... it was either Jetion or Jettion, and I liked Jettion better bc it looks like Jettison.

Shannock - We all made vulpera, the little fox people together. but i'd already used the name Crimthann. so I was like 'maybe sionnach'? but if you can believeit some bastard already snagged it. so i went with a rough anglicization. i should play him more.

Lokworg - I've twice been bullied into making a monk bc supposedly they get fun later on & i just need to keep doing quests with my pals, but my pals are much faster than i am and outstrip me quickly. The first monk i deleted bc i don't care about him and honestly lokworg's not doin' much for me either. His name's orcish, lok is song/cry (noun) and worgs are the large, extra smart wolves orcs ride as mounts. More or less 'direwolf song'.

Rumpelteazer - Peer pressured into doing the worgen starting quest & I wanted someone who could learn to pick locks one day, so rogue it was! Originally named Scátha (irish for shade but also kind of an oblique reference to scáthach, the scottish warrior woman who trained Cú Chulainn (and my own pseudohistorical ancestor)), but I kept pronouncing it wrong and was listening to Cats 1998 soundtrack and... well... he's a rogue! and Mungojerrie was taken!

Ulfhedrinn - in keeping with the norse theme, he's named after the Ulfheðnar (singular Ulfheðinn, wolf+what's basically a hooded vest made of fur) that were an appropriately lupine variety of berserkers. I wanted to make a Horde healer and i was like you know... i haven't made this insane little family big enough yet.

Galdrulf - Okay, honestly? He was supposed to be Ulfhedrinn. We were starting with new Horde characters and we were gonna level together, but I got so lost in the customization sauce that I forgot Ulf's particular flavor of orc starts at level 10 instead of 1. So I panicked and made a warrior, and I named him galdr+ulf bc I'm not very creative under pressure.

Fuil - Bullied into making a dark iron dwarf but i'm not clear on why bc we never got farther than unlocking them? guys? are we doing anything with these? irish for blood bc he's going to be a Blood Death Knight. one day. probably.

Tigernmas - I was peer pressured into making a Demon Hunter, whom I wanted to name Crom but noooo, that was 'taken', so I named him after a pseudohistorical king that got himself and 75% of the men in Ireland killed worshipping Crom Cruach.

you know i'm sensing some themes here. a lot of irish. a lot of peer pressuring. jesus christ is seidrin my only woman? she doesn't even use the fpose model no wonder they keep he/himming me

[the-force-awakens]

Hiya there sweets!! ♡´･ᴗ･`♡ I was wondering if you were still accepting requests (if not pls ignore this ask <3) 👉👈

❛ let’s go somewhere, just you and me. ❜ with one of the moon boys (idc which/or all) x gn!reader

Thank you! *mwuah*

gender neutral reader (no pronouns), back on my rooftop conversation bullshit, hurt/comfort, went with steven & a smidgen of marc! both reader & the sys is autistic 🤗 reader could be interpreted as going into a shutdown. 1000+ words.

You were doing better than you'd been in months. Really, you were: you woke up every morning willing to get out of bed, eager for that first cup of tea, for the spring to inevitably reach your step when you hit the play button on Spotify for your favorite songs.

And it wasn't as if today was a bad day, even. It was good, albeit rainy. But for some reason, by the time the sun was gone and replaced by the moon - half hidden behind clouds - your mood had withered too. 

It wasn't as clear cut as you were angry or even sad, it was just the sense of unease that came from a lot of change in a short amount of time. It was the disappointment that came with some of those changes and losses, in the way the last year had changed yourself.

That, more than anything, weighed a great deal on you tonight than it had in a while and you weren't sure what prompted it. 

It hadn't seeped far enough that it fractured your outward cheerfulness though. One of your neighbors that you passed on the way into your building commented on how much happier you seemed of late and you'd politely smiled and agreed — because it was true, overall. Just not today. 

It did not, however, fool your neighbor: Steven Grant of flat 502, basically a historian wrapped up as a gift shoptist, and one of your few real friends since your move to London. 

Well, one of your few real friends in general, anymore. 

The second you'd ended up on the same elevator (lift, Steven corrected you gently, then nudged your elbow with his and assured you Marc refused to call it that either), his eyebrows furrowed as he registered that something was wrong. 

Which was how, after dropping your things off at your flat, you wound up on the rooftop with Steven as he spoke rapidly, eyes lit up, "Now you might want to close your eyes for this next bit, I'll let Marc take the reins on this one, I'm not a big fan of heights — oh, the old pigeon isn't going to like this one bit.”

You can't help but notice that he doesn't sound the least bit remorseful about it either.

You end up taking Steven's advice and cling for dear life to Marc, even though his embrace is solid and firm and you know he'd never drop you in a million years. 

London becomes a blur underneath you, the wind howling against your ears, and more than once you hear Marc grunt something close to a soft laugh beneath the mask and you wonder if Khonshu is - as Steven predicted - griping about how they're using his powers for the evening. 

And despite the height and anxiety that something will go horribly wrong and you'll both fall from the sky, you can't help but feel lighter than you have all evening. Like you left everything behind when the two of you took flight. 

When Marc lands, it's a little off kilter because of your differing heights but it isn't painful either (he triple checks), and follows you silently to the edge of the new rooftop. Across the way is St Paul's Cathedral, backlit by the full moon. 

“Steven thought going somewhere, just the two of you, might…help,” Marc offers after a minute of silence. 

You glance over at him. “You're leaving?” 

His expression softens with concern, eyebrows lowering even more than they normally set, over the anxiety you weren't able to hide from your voice. “Just for now. I'll stay when you need a ride home, if you want.”

You nod once and his lips twitch briefly into a near smile, which falls when Steven fronts once more. He blinks a little, taken aback by the way your face has fallen in the last few minutes and steps forward. "What's the matter, love?”

You give a half-hearted shrug and stumble into him, pressing your face into his chest. His arms twine around you, pulling you closer and you feel the inane urge to cry over how safe you feel, how much stability these three men bring to your otherwise unbalanced life. 

And before you know it, you're blubbering out confessions you hadn't even fully processed yourself while Steven holds and soothes you, rubbing gentle circles against your back: about how lonely you sometimes feel, how afraid you are of everything changing so much and especially recently. How you're worried the only reliable things in your life will disappear soon too, leaving you alone. 

“Hey, you're not alone. You've got me and Marc and Jake too. You've got your friends, you've got -” he taps your forehead - "all the worlds you keep stored up in here.”

“But what if I lose all those things?”

"What if you don't?” Steven rejoins gently, swiping away some of the tears that have tracked down your cheeks. “Maybe you'll lose some of those eventually, but all at once? I don't think so.” 

You drop your gaze from his face - so open and earnest and friendly. “Sometimes it's hard to believe that when it gets…noisy.”

“The brain can be a right twit sometimes,” Steven agrees, pressing a featherlight kiss to your forehead that has no business making your stomach flip the way it does. “But that particular voice that keeps on telling you this is more than a little dodgy.”

You can't help but snort a laugh at that, even though you know he's right. "I think that's being too polite.”

"I could compare it to Donna, if you'd like?” Steven offers. When you pick up your head, he's smiling softly down at you like he knows his words lifted the weight that had settled behind your ribcage.

Maybe it shows on your face, in the same way he'd seen what no one else had earlier. "That's better,” you say and you don't just mean about his commentary.

When his smile widens, you think he understands it too.

[thepringlesofblood]

Casting My Opinions Into The Void: d20′s Neverafter ep 1+2

this is the first d20 campaign im going to be following live and i am excited enough to do a lil post each week or so about it. mostly bc recycling and adapting and retelling and retranslating old stories that “everyone knows” is my whole shit. like i got a degree in the study of ancient greek and roman civilization (classics). my whole thing is reading old myths and plays that “everyone knows” how they go and seeing what each author/translator brings to the table.

anyway i watched episodes 1 n 2 and i am excited and my observations are below

(like if you were really into the Sisters Grimm series as a kid and are similarly excited for this lol the modernized fairytale characters in that series are literally called “Everafters” and its because it’s really good shorthand for the audience. i see you brennan i see you)

normally ppl who do the whole ‘dark/horror/thriller fairytale’ thing fuck it up bc they think it’s about the shock value, or about seeing how nasty you can get with it, so I usually avoid them, but after bingewatching a kadrillion d20 campaigns, I trust brennan to do it right. you have to find the core value/crux of what is horrifying about the story and tease it out, and play with the symbolism and icons of the original story to reflect that. and brennan fuckin delivered.

ep 1

folks, give a hand to the people who put detailed yet non-spoilery content warnings in the description. tbh dropout shows are setting the standard for sensitivity and inclusion in media. it’s so lovely to see a show w content warnings or pronouns put up onscreen and it just not be addressed. i am forever spoiled for any other kind of media tbh

at some point in the past, brennan found out he could make a really good realistic choking/gagging noise, and he has used it in every campaign since.

i appreciate the ‘scare off the meek early’ approach of it all.

th. the briars. the concept. the dead princes - UGH good backstory yall

i very much like the idea of becoming a ranger out of necessity, and because plants obey you on account of that whole feeding-on-your-blood thing

puss in boots using ‘pib’ as a nickname instead. of ‘puss’ or ‘boots’ - inspired

also zac is using his ‘smart little shit’ voice like he did w lapin and i am v excited.

look ill say it - the little red hen did nothing wrong and thats on that. i read that one when i was very little, it was on electric company or sesame st or between the lions, and i’ve always liked it.

so......anyone see how mother goose’s husband has the last name hubbard? like old mother hubbard lol

also there really is a Jack in so many stories, i’m glad we’re addressing this. little shit gets up to so much trouble

it feels like I have seen so many tired rewritings of little red riding hood, even though I can’t think of any off the top of my head. it’s usually a sort of surface-deep ‘girl power!’ situation. i’ve never seen one like this. i LOVE it. it was terrifying. the fact that we all just sort of accept ‘barbarian’ as a normal dnd class is kind of wild tbh, i like exploring that rage and its source.

Ep 2

saying the actual nursery rhyme in the context of being the nursery rhyme is so powerful. i fully didn’t understand what was happening to nat king cole (v powerful) until he was gone.

also, herr drosselmeyer - fantastic get. you have to talk about the sugar plum fairy at some point and they already went in hard on her in acoc so i love that they were like you know what, it’s weird uncle time.

(context: herr drosselmeyer is clara’s eccentric uncle with a bunch of automatons and he gives her the nutcracker)

also every production ive seen has his drip immaculate. 

my gender is this man’s cloak

Murph is the fucking ball again

“Please tell me how you’re a monster too so I don’t feel so alone” - Jesus Christ Emily Axford

Almost getting distracted by a bird instead of picking up v obvious plot hooks: pt 2

cinderella.......dude

Brennan really looked at K’s finale scene from mismag and went “how DID the mice get lithium?”

The POV of the mice - simplifying it makes it sound ridiculous, but if you really dig into the idea of the mice as sentient beings it’s horrifying.

Dude the symbolism…stepmother eating her kids bc they were always either a tool or an obstacle to her, of course they would be a sacrifice to her hunger for power.

i’ve always liked endings that have the stepsisters reconciling w cinderella bc in the end they were also victims of abuse and it wasn’t the same or the same degree of abuse as cinderella but they were still constantly on thin ice

can you tell that i rewatched d20 live recently and sobbed at adaine and aelwyn’s ending?

Cinderella stabbing the fairy godmother with the broken heel of the shoe that symbolizes both the ending she was meant for and the life that she was forced into. Turning that into glass armor. dude.

The pumpkin carriage rotting bc the fairy godmother is trying to make the happily ever after stay exactly how it is forever but nature decays and time passes and she can’t acknowledge that without realizing both that her role is in the story is over and not only does cinderella not need her anymore, cinderella doesn’t want her anymore, and maybe never wanted her in the first place. 

When puss in boots was asked what he wanted in life and he just said ‘to be comfortable’ #relatable like I know all this is gonna end with him realizing the value of love and friendship over material goods and I 100% agree with that but i feel like this goal or some variation of it are v common today and not often addressed in stories like this

Pinocchio swearing - 10/10. Also how the fuck is Lou doing a Pinocchio voice that perfectly straddles the line between hilarious and annoying. It’s ridiculous enough to always be funny, but sustainable and varied enough that it doesn’t grate on you.

i think we’re getting into “all the princesses in all the stories are all sisters” territory and i for one am THRILLED

"mirror, mirror.......leaned up against the wall”

we learn in this adventuring party that the OG concept for lou’s pinocchio is that he snapped off his nose so he would be able to lie, which is AMAZING. i fully did not put that together.

i am v excited for this battle, and v terrified.

[beheworthy]

hey there. I was wondering if there's a certain reason you block people? I've always really loved your gifsets and meta about Thor (the only reason i realized I was blocked was because I went to reblog one of your recent gifs and I couldn't).

We never really interacted much—i ended up unfollowing you at some point because I didn't want to make you uncomfortable by showing up in your notes all the time, but I would always see you in the Thor tag as one of the few blogs who was a fan of OG Thor

You don't have to unblock me, and I won't send another ask, but I just wanted to let you know that I really enjoyed your posts and I'm truly sorry if I did something in the past to upset you.

There are only 2 reasons I block people:

they are inc*st shippers (th*rki)

they are clogging the thor tag with takes i can't stand (pro thor3, anti jane, etc.)

If someone's being aggressive toward me, then I'd block them too. Otherwise, I don't even block random haters.

Sorry if I blocked you assuming wrong. If you aren't an inc*st supporter, please inbox me again with your username, I'll unblock you. I won't publish that ask and it can stay between us.

[raddysonmanlansing26]

•••[ BLOG ]•••

One Act Play

Submitted by: Raddyson Kyle Manlansing

Grade 11 - St. Francis

Submitted to: Ms.Tricia Mae C. Marquez

Theme: Real Life story

Length: One Act Play

Mode: High Mimetic

Setting: Morning at the streets of 9th avenue

What will be your name in the play? John

What will you be like? Arrogant man

Who else can be part of your role? Ben

What will he/they be like? My boss

Introduction

One morning, there was a man riding a bicycle on the busy streets of 9th Avenue. This avenue is full of tall corporate buildings and almost all of the workers there are either walking or riding their luxury cars. At the red light, the man riding his bicycle stopped and waited for the green light just like the other cars. Then one moment, when the light turned green, the man was hit by a red Ferrari car which was in the wrong lane for turning left. The car hit the man so hard the windshield got broken. The man in a suit riding the ferrari was so angry because of the broken windshield that he didn’t care if the man riding the bicycle was still alive. Luckily, the man riding the bicycle don’t have any injuries at all just scratches on his arm. The rich man angry point to the other while saying bad stuffs at him that he has to pay damages to the car and even belittle him. Little did he know that the man he is yelling is his bosse’s bosses’ boss.

Scene 1:

John is rushing on his way to work because he have to prepare for his meeting with the big bosses. He didn’t have time to prepare last night because he attended a party. Still hang over, he rushes to work and pissed off when he saw traffic. He was also reading, talking to his co-worker and driving at the same time.

John: Can you tell me what is the importance of this to our project?

Co-Worker: The importance is that the client will no longer be inconvenient since we have developed an easier way to –

John: I cannot hear you there’s a loud honk at my back. Let me call you again. I’ll just have to read this one more time.

Co-Worker: Wait, aren’t you driving?

**BEEEP**

John: I regret going out last night and did not prepare for this. Oh it’s red light! I’ll need more time to prepare! I’m gonna be late!

Scene 2:

John was reading the reports when the light turned green so he immediately turned left and didn’t notice that he is on the wrong lane and also didn’t notice the man riding the bicycle and hit him causing the windshield to break.

John: Oh finally green. I have to rush so that I can still review these.

**Booogsh**

John: Oh no! What happened! MY windshield! Oh my god, this costs a fortune!

**He got out of the car and saw the man who broke his windshield**

John: Why are you not looking. You saw me turning left. Why you did not stop? Pay for this. Do you know how much this cost? This costs more than your life! You have to pay!

Ben: I’m sorry. I didn’t know you are turning left.

John: No! You have to pay. Give me your name. If you will not pay me I will call the police and arrest you!

Ben: No please. Let us talk.

John: Talk? Do you know how expensive this is?

Ben: Yes. I know. Please calm down.

John: Oh you know? *Stare at the man* Then you know that you cannot pay for it right? How are you gonna pay for this? I will sue you. Even if you sell that bike of yours you will not be able to pay for this.

Ben: Again, I’m sorry but it is not my fault.

John: It is your fault you know that I’m gonna turn left! I will sue you! I will call the police. Pay for this!

Scene 3:

Police came and saw the car owner John, yelling and screaming at Ben.

Police: Sir, calm down. We are here to assess the situation. What happened?

John: This man is not checking before going. He saw that I am turning left but he didn’st stop and he hit my car. He has to pay for the windshield. This lowlife cannot pay for it so I will sue him.

Ben: Sir, I have called my secretary and am willing to pay this man the damages on his car.

Here’s is my calling card and my office address. Kindly call my secretary and he will be the one who will give you the money whatever it may cost i will pay you.

*Ben hands his calling card to John. And John read the name on the card and the office name and address.

John: You are Ben Choi of Choi Industries?

Ben: Yes. Again, I’m sorry for the damage of your car. My secretary will contact you.

Police 2: Sir, according to the CCTV, you didn’t have any left flashers and also in the wrong lane. You have no right to turn left because you are not on the right lane. You are at fault here. If anything, Mr. Ben here should be the one suing you. And also, i can smell alcohol on you. Are you drunk?

*John is still in shocked and can’t think straight. HE was yelling at the man who is the CEO of their company not to mention he is at fault why the accident happened.

John: I am so sorry Sir. Please forgive me. I don’t have the right to yell and scream at you even point fingers at you. I work at your company and I admire your work so much. Please forgive me.

Ben: It’s ok. I will still pay for the damages.

John: No need, Sir. You don’t have to worry about it. LEt me take you to the hospital. I hope you are not injured anywhere.

*John took Ben to the hospital to treat his wounds and apologize so much about what happened. Unfortunately, even when it is alright with Ben. The news spread out to their office and didn’t like John’s reaction to all of it so the John’s manager has to fire him.

[libidomechanica]

“A shade of pleasure, Virtue, All, our St”

A tanka sequence

               1

So oft as mine. And chaste the rest. A shade of pleasure, Virtue, All, our St. As now her was at a Beau. Where survived his were love.

               2

She sate with strides, the leave to killing Stars by Nighting faithful Kings almost strong dark all else! All theirs nor could team which he was this?

               3

To him wrong young husband marking a peacock stalking. With this i’ll leave my sovereign Tyrants, and be found his mistress joined in hands.

               4

Fresh breezes, borne, within me, the old are all her, than—Oh shame! Me of Julia’s heart, and whisper’d on, and reach’d his sceptre for cits.

               5

Pure simply didn’t find. That move as magnetic needle, and like more immortality to the My chaste as late as married!

               6

Now twelve vast Buckle for long done, in a reed, the wheeling die, not one? Now had to him to fade and gushing: sweet Arethusa!

               7

Not Momus self-involved; but said, Detain me, constant North, and he hies th’ express of sudden lawn: and believe! Love live wine.

               8

I can’t be, this name, and beauty dyed. But there am I, who they? In love, I was but a feint. Obstinate skin, the lawyers die.

               9

Security’ will pose winter night, the cypress that Diván which ours weep on so? And dull, there’s my poets gave us one.

               10

Fear the French his white? For this kind of ghost. From their home and by the ground thee, drop heaviest time, surcharg’d withstand, now believe it.

               11

Take, oh, take it earth or Doctor paid on sinful loving lantern, Child, a man, even so weak. ’ Replied:— My lady was the Park.

               12

Was lacking him much for? This to expiate amid the world, and casts his resurrection: touching so longest of cup and treat?

               13

Deep as lost, but he. Soft care, and light: soot-hoof and nostrils did not still; and all my woe. To him in a doze And yet should arrived.

               14

Down thinks that, nor cash. You were easy was; and whorl, how long that fed or a ready answer forget till he knew ’twas I. His home.

               15

Your side the moon may be my upbraided by every cold Muscovite flotilla, let me know. Where the Sky, there was their story?

               16

Anxious more ardent Lover light like a tent, O fool! And though you depends the whisperse, to lose, I cannot heed my lonesome Wild.

               17

Some Corner of the cloudy nightly they meant knight.— Young Juan the Morning sunflowers running on the laces in a fish descent?

               18

Discern but Thee in all in a bullet in my bonie, O. The morals, and by his coupled, still obey the prime felicity!

               19

And robed in the man had small and though long; although Longinus tell the bolts of matter ha’f o’t. Afflicting yet; the river.

               20

Wish her and fans turned heaps, sweet to the guest to warm Desire of lust, yet ’tis na lover? Deposition, the king, the reader!

               21

I bid her syne, while over the Stars, and state; she fell deliverers, both to plight? Be what change and the snow-light and might her Side.

               22

A virtues there was once tis so? Everyone not still, in window-ledge of another very farther your worthy of my truth?

               23

Here pause within thy smoke of Hercules furens; so dost their own fears, a measure and how she stood this destinies. But Don Juan.

               24

I said he, what can’t compel a well-bred, with descending in thy sweet, like Roses they did. And to some back, as if her homage.

               25

In days their vessel glides, the past thou dost thou would not on they met or Mufti, unless, and yet her Pray’r. Until it reach’d away.

               26

But trust the whole life? —Never, thou, Crispissa, ten- timber’d Troops an earth, as some think your hero was a vine. This is human door!

               27

To give thee; nor fell swoop, ’ in short, that they through the corporal’s duty. His Godhead some other the moon, not mentions, and the sun?

               28

A verse passe: this, e’re Phœbus watch-dog’s honour time, many? His houses spring all to counsel to Fate, in glowing Gems unloved.

               29

His obscurity. Stiff withdrew from me they can, the different tale is, whose lips of the mazy Ringlets heroic seems to roam.

               30

Thou dost taunt so saw that’s keeping him, tho’ stiff and Codille. Morn on the same—is t was in age. Not, after hid him derive.

               31

Arise; dreadful bow. I probably didn’t tell me from me? Without a siege, which still the window-seat, and reverie, nor an estate.

               32

Neuer slave, solemn! For your young and see how oft Ambition, as roll of his Fate more I shouldst rejoice to faintly. Prefer it.

               33

But sweet flowers felt it shall enrich my text and potion, like vibrates me, I adore, the Spears, where those lighten thine out of fire.

               34

Is gone our euphony: there one bag man, yet pure, such consters echoes awake! To the impatient, but could surprize the monster.

               35

She now while brightest wanes; who were gone? That was a sort of life; which fell upon years? The Russian starlight eyes, I am ashamed?

               36

Yon cloud apart i carry it in where one knee kneeling the amazement, which you, flint! Sometimes far away, but till the whirled her.

               37

Before, and wanton strokes of open-work is he, that their eyes did forever. Saint with some trouble in the poets gave no prize.

               38

Grace, not vsde to knows now. The origin her blood, but beg Security’ will serves thin arranged from her Smile, or you pass watched Maids.

               39

Now twelve control; there’s the parting their education round him. Thus loaded with holiday. That goes unlocks, and Purple Fire.

               40

The crown’d not shower. Whose loves the facts. When an only rise, and flesh—let’s sphering lips, he starry That shee taste freedoms former!

               41

I thanks for proue. Select they were she, ’ but t is sweetness that whistle blew up from her good year, thy great begets a bastard kind?

               42

Dost thou my ravishment? I am two-and-twenty, no use to praised her, while Psyche, but smiling and made you have cost, the light!

               43

A twisted like a ghostly wood, to cast it from the town. Which way the sacred Rites of rosy shadow smell in life but take that.

               44

” Said she, that of Thee! Cry, the lily starts and the bed as half drowning; o’er the center. But all Seville for its styled, in heav’d rill.

               45

He kept in wreathe three bonier yet. Lay, half-awaken’d by the set about then hath set us you then before an advent thee.

               46

Shows her eyes A Gyges’ ring the generations busy Sylphs aloft, there chief, in hands; a sovereign posterity. In my heart.

               47

Sudden, her dreams with to-morrow late, our treasure. And arc, sphere?—Oh! Faster all, her you around through water on the Bridge they give?

               48

Pursed to me, stared in these Dregs intermix’d? With grim head with that these tenderest, do the precipice she could never marked it up.

               49

Alas! Your poesie wring; for the Main the bright poetic voices more sudden ghost that till I thee? But not silent men prostrate Ace.

               50

And the left it is! And many a sparkled on her sight side, watched Parents all wonders ceas’d pursue its dam; the reeds in that feast.

               51

All the secret Truth! How can you may ye feelings vse to the Gazers strives the other, giving But that you know—But Don Juan.

               52

I to my degree is much in the great human life’s smile.—Whence did the king, breaking, but it in a vision Venus leaning, bone.

               53

Of Court; and take a tulips but now—What have not why: t was solitude! Bad; yet when homicide, but quiet on the ruin’d me.

               54

Of hell. After a room to see that my hid; but fit to move the dragon- fly around; thou shalt obey, and hold they mind can be?

               55

A temperate beames, and sulk against they can, with doating Tyde. No more ample truth, the breach. He did not be govern d—n.

               56

Next plack to the moment reach: and harmless arms; content. Of youth, or but ne’er so after long singe. From room for the heart as they home.

               57

Living Tow’rs, hear me? That great god Love light, that he seem’d, my lover on her remain orbed in one; of sunrisen morrow deep!

               58

Venus, or leaves are found Quiet understood, had been sleep with love. And then, fair sooth, who knew it was a Fiends, lace, and on Juan’s foe.

               59

And after parents to flaunt with which such barren vaulted Roofs rebound. And light; and here like to win your slave, I shut in my cheek.

               60

Wisp that the king in her love, human face, he did fly about them at that is, for giggling? Yet still they twitch on to scud like fires?

               61

’Gan to facts. ’What next demand perforce; and while I am old and one to win, no misnomer. Heavy present to lay the late.

               62

Then do the empires to beare coles of beauteous Face, for once assist they twitch’d my whole moon-struck his eye. All protection and Meg.

               63

And waste, when I married? They kept walking off you. I thank’d me dead; but as vain assuages, who madest his Teeth. The bed to prey.

               64

Welcome to stay and was molten in his lineage? For no subtile Serpents find Wordsworth, for in the stood serenades.

               65

In mystic marrow. Dutch in the powers: there rested: but with other knew to whom Suwarrow. Sooner fight finds—no Word with me.

               66

On soft strange fashion of benevolent mass-books on education round. The valorous air; but for this I read in it her.

               67

Of Danube’s bonie Jean. Maw of a peruke them happy Autumn, in the woman was to me hence, and in the climate’s sultry.

               68

I cannot tune there was it by a fearful death down from his paces back. For many little din, forbid by his forehead woos?

               69

Oh my Camel tumbled wind, without thence to Semele. ’ Education, lingering or is it thus to die, her Guardian can.

               70

He stood the mair they ne’ertheless lip to his forlorn upon the limping stars, and so low? Temptations open—you make refuse.

               71

Turquoise and ugly, without dislikes to weep on so? Glares I used gentlest side the midnight was a craft had felt his Discourse.

               72

Bee sucks from this you are rights, at Ombre, none Yet hold. Strangers either starving to reach us how to gloom, but once made the Spirits!

               73

Branch of dust and not know, or very might have moment wife. Thou the sun, o’er my wound his condition of the worst’s be in’t the bay!

               74

A child! ’Tis a common Weapons in Passion serve; and with my Emma lay; but that some French romances alone by no more? Love.

               75

Away into his glory! Ich libbe in love, and the water, which ancient Ladies in a cave; and through all Arabia breach.

               76

Rain. Cold Muscouy; if you scorn that tall its doing, through their softer Pow’rs gave me, leans and Dido rag’d in Metaphor, and good-b’ye!

               77

Thou faith, ye’re no more. Treat a preserued, himselfe onely hours is my sin, and so for love I hold catkins of Bonaparte!

               78

To left of the Past dim gulf! He knew this graver Prude sinks with such pass’d you lived in your future brought it is sweet lies been butter.

               79

It true—away, and conqu’ring Foe! Do; when my brain across the grass upon a glorious age, now farther dreams they either.

[stpaullutheranchurch]

June 12 2022

Trinity Sunday        June 12th    2022

Old Testament:        Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31

Psalm:            Psalm 8

Epistle:            Acts 2:14a, 22-36

Gospel:            John 8:48-59

Sermon Text:        John 8:48-59

Sermon Title:       

In the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Among our approximately 6000 LCMS congregations, St. John is the second most popular name and St. Paul is third; these are followed by (in order) Immanuel, Zion, Grace, Faith, Redeemer, Our Savior, Christ, Good Shepherd and St. Peter. The most popular name however, making up almost 10% of all LCMS churches, is Trinity. Now, I do not know why this is, but I find it interesting since the doctrine of the Trinity is one of the most controversial of all Christian doctrines. Perhaps some of these churches thought it was important to confess this truth of who God is, in their name. 

The Trinity is a doctrine that clearly sets Christianity apart from all other religions (including other monotheistic religions like Judaism and Islam) and cults (such as Jehovah’s Witnesses) and even many (so-called) Christian churches. This doctrine is highly offensive to all of these false religions. The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is vitally important because it deals with who God is and how He works to save or redeem His people. It is imperative that we get this truth right; that we believe in One God; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct persons in one divine being. This is what we confess in each of the Creeds.

How has this been controversial? In more ways than we can get into in a single sermon; after all it involves nearly 2000 years of church history. To briefly summarize, rarely has the divinity of God the Father been questioned, but historically the person of the Holy Spirit has been the subject of much controversy in the church; some of which we discussed last Sunday. However, the biggest doctrinal fights have come over the person and work of Jesus Christ our Lord. Some have doubted His humanity others His divinity, saying (contrary to Holy Scripture) that He is inferior to the Father. 

The truth is that the Holy Trinity is spoken of throughout the Bible, including the Old Testament, but much more clearly in the New Testament. So, Moses can write “The Lord our God is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4b, but also uses the plural to refer to God the creator in Genesis 1. In a similar way, the prophet Isaiah was called by God in this way; “Whom shall I send? Who will go for us?”. (Isaiah 6:8a) God is both One and Trinity, even in the Old Testament. 

This truth is made abundantly clear in the New Testament with the trinitarian baptismal formula in Matthew’s Gospel; and the trinitarian benedictions of Saint Paul in 2nd Corinthians and elsewhere. Peter’s Pentecost sermon today brings this out as well saying, Jesus, “being exalted at the right hand of God, and receiving from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He has poured out this, that you yourselves are seeing and hearing”. (Acts 2:33) We have also heard Jesus teach of this doctrine in the Gospel readings from the last several weeks saying, “the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things”. (John 14:26a) 

So, we believe, teach, and confess what is taught about God in the three ecumenical Creeds. The Athanasian Creed covers two topics. The first half, which we confessed earlier, speaks at length about the mystery of the Holy Trinity; that “we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in unity, neither confusing the persons or dividing the substance”. (Athanasian Creed, vs 4) The second half, which we will confess after the sermon, deals with the two natures of Jesus Christ, that “He is at the same time, both God and man”. (Athanasian Creed, vs 28b) 

This is the doctrine that the unbelieving Jews in our text could not (or would not) understand. They had multiple opportunities to admit they were wrong about Jesus; to repent and believe the Gospel. Their discussion/confrontation with Jesus goes back to verse 12 of John chapter 8 and Jesus spoke clearly about who He is. 

Just to give you a little background, in verse 13, the Pharisees said to Jesus, “You are bearing witness about yourself, that Your testimony is not true”. (John 8:13b) In other words, they called Jesus a liar. They continued throughout the chapter to question every single thing Jesus said, even insulting Him by saying that He was an illegitimate child, because of the unusual circumstances of His birth.

Finally, Jesus had had enough of their hateful nonsense saying; “Why do you not understand what I say? (answering His own question, Jesus said) It is because you cannot bear to hear My Word. You are of your father the devil and you will to do your father’s desires … (He is) a liar and the father of lies”. (John 8:43-44) “Whoever is of God hears the Word of God. The reason you do not hear it is that you are not of God”. (John 8:46b) Jesus is brutally honest with them; telling it like it is. 

At the beginning of our text today, the enraged Pharisees continue their assault/insults of Jesus, answering Him; “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon”? (John 8:48) This is what a hardened heart looks like; refusal to even listen to the Word of God and insulting and abusing the one who speaks it; in this case Jesus, the very Son of God. 

To say He has a demon is easily understood; they accused Jesus as having come from the devil; (rather than from God) while they themselves brag, “Abraham is our father”. (John 8:39a) But to call Him a Samaritan was also an insult. The Samaritans came from a group of Jews who had intermarried with the unbelieving nations and had thus corrupted their faith. Most faithful Jews, considered them unbelievers and refused to associate with them. 

“Jesus answered, I do not have a demon, but I honor My Father, and you dishonor Me. Yet, I do not seek My own glory; there is One who seeks it; He is the judge. Truly, truly, I say to you, If anyone keeps My Word, he will never taste death”. (John 8:49-51) “Truly, I say to you, anyone who hears My words and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life”. (John 5:24) Jesus speaks clearly here of His own relationship to the Father. 

In dishonoring Jesus with their rebukes, insults, and false accusations; the Pharisees are really attacking God the Father; whom they claim to believe in. They continue their rant against Jesus saying; “now we know that You have a demon! Abrahm died, as did the prophets, yet You say, if anyone keeps My Word, he will never taste death. Are You greater than our Father Abraham who died? And the prophets who died? Who do You make Yourself out to Be”? (John 8:52-53)

In saying, “now we know You have a demon” (John 8:52) the Pharisees double down on their attack on Jesus’ divinity; not at all accepting what Jesus has clearly said about Himself. “Jesus answered them, If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me; of whom you say, He is our God. But you have not known Him”. (John 8:54-55a) Do you hear what Jesus is saying to the leaders of the Jews? It is something He has said to them before, “He who sent Me is true and Him, you do not know”, (John 7:28) He tells them quite directly, You don’t know God!

But Jesus isn’t finished rebuking the Pharisees. He continues saying, “If I were to say, I do not know Him, I would be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His Word”. (John 8:55b) Wow! That wasn’t very nice of Jesus. Didn’t He know that it isn’t helpful to point out other people’s sins and false teaching in such a confrontational way? 

Jesus not only doesn’t stop there, He continues saying “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad”. (John 8:56) The Pharisees were just bragging about being Abraham’s descendants and now Jesus claims even Abraham as His own. “So, the Jews said to Him, You are not yet fifty years old and You have seen Abraham”? (John 8:57) Again, their hearts are getter harder by the moment, even as Jesus is simply bearing witness to the truth.

Then He spoke even more directly to them; in a way they could not possibly misunderstand. “Jesus said to them, truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am”. (John 8:58) Not only had Jesus seen Abraham; He existed before Abraham. In using the Old Testament name for God, “I am”, Jesus is saying I am true God and also true man; the One through whom “all the nations of the earth will be blessed”. (Genesis 22:18a) Of course, they did not accept Jesus’ answer in any way and “they picked up stones to throw at Him, but Jesus hid Himself and went out of the temple”. (John 8:59) 

The Pharisees were offended by Jesus’ words and this continues to be true today; for it is not just the unbelieving world that is offended by Jesus; many in the church are also offended by Jesus’ clear Word on any number of doctrines and teachings of the Holy Scriptures; including the doctrine of the Trinity, which we celebrate today.

So, we are warned in the Athanasian Creed; “whoever desires to be saved must think thus about the Trinity (verse 26) whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved”. (verse 40) “The Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods, but One God”. (verses 15-16) One God, in three persons; the Holy Trinity, is always working for us and for our salvation; particularly in the means of grace, where He has promised to be. 

For some of you, this teaching might seem too difficult and to others it may seem redundant or simplistic. Either way, believe it or not, getting back to the basics on this and other doctrines is often a good thing. So today, we allow God Himself, in His Word and in the liturgy, to remind us of who He is and what He is all about. We need these constant reminders because we are a forgetful people. We need these regular reminders because we are repeatedly tempted by our own sinful flesh, the moral and spiritual insanity of our world, and the devil’s half truths and lies; to doubt the Word and work of our triune God in the world and in our lives.

This is why we are constantly pointing you back to Christ and to His perfect, inerrant Word of truth. How else can we know if something is from God if we do not know His Word? How will we be able to stand up against the lies of the devil and this world, if we do not love the truth. These truths from God’s Word are offensive and foolish to those who do not believe in Christ, (those like the Pharisees in our text today) but this does not mean we are to ignore or downplay them, so that we do not give offense. Rather, let us acknowledge and gladly receive the gifts of the triune God, in this place, in the Word and Sacraments. “Blessed is the one who is not offended by Me”. (Matthew 11:6) Amen.

The peace of  God …