#Second Chance Part 1: Genesis | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

imsickofpasswords · 7 months

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A theory of the Ineffable Plan.

By elsamirrre5322 on YouTube

Realistic_Street1312 on Reddit

ParkSeo-Jun on Fandom

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(Yes, all me!)

Book of Genesis 1–11: And God said: 'Let us make man in our image"

From Neil Gaiman’s MAster Class: When you tell a story, it is crucial that you completely believe in what you're writing

Hi, Good Omens's fellow victims! Like so many, I have been trying to cope with Eternity (I mean the dreadful period between season 2 and, either season 3, or my personal Armageddon.) That rotting brain of mine came up with a theory regarding the message that Good Omens (book and show) is striving to convey. What is it that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman believe in so hard, as human beings and writers, that they want the whole world to understand it? Well, what I found, whether or not it is accurate, is at least beautiful. So I wish to share it with you.

Before I begin and you accuse me of pedantry, know that my every sentence begins with an invisible imho.

***

Since there is no way around it, I'll talk about the ship and the cruel, heart-wrenching, forever traumatizing, law-should-forbid-that-kind-of-things, cliffhanger. No matter how hard I think, this ship is the most beautiful love story ever (yes, imho). Is it because it doesn't involve burning passion, emphatic confessions and great sacrifices? It's about beings who harbor the same inner values but underwent such different trials that their personalities ended up diametrically opposed. Their love (and loneliness) pulls them together and allows them to rub off on each other, but they still retain their identities and won't go against their principles for the sake of the relationship. In the fight, they both proposed to each other, I mean proposed, like, let’s get married. And neither of them got rejected. They both wanted to be together, and made that part perfectly clear. What they declined was the terms of the contract. Either Crowley going back to pretending he trusts Heaven’s institution, or Aziraphale abandoning his faith. They both expect to be loved for who they truly are and believe in. And of course, this is exactly what they will achieve… True love instead of the illusion of love. First prediction in my Silly and Hopeful Book Of Prophecies.

***

Having taken the mammoth out of the room, I’ll explain my theory.

Whilst reading the book, I realized that the original story was never that of Aziraphale and Crowley (worry not, I have plenty to say about them…). It was that of Adam (originally, William the Antichrist) and the Them. More than that, it’s a saga about humanity achieving its full potential.

***

God

Of course, we should begin with God, since God created humanity, the universe(s) and the rules by which everyone and everything must abide. So. Who is God? Well if I could answer that, I'd probably know how to make a whale. I don't know how to make a whale. But certainly there are things we know, or can guess about God.

First, she (I’m a woman and it makes me obscenely happy to write “she” here) is the narrator. Second, she does not play dice with the universe. The first fact means that God can see everything, down to an angel and a demon drinking solidly for two hours, or a nightingale singing in Berkeley square. Second statement means there is no such thing as chance or hazard in that universe of hers. Everything happens for a reason.

It sounds like God wrote everything, everyone's destiny, like Gaiman and Pratchett did for their characters. Crowley says so himself. Humanity, Aziraphale, Crowley, everybody, they are all characters in the book called The Great Plan.

I think God injected herself in her own story under the disguise of Agnes Nutter. Only God can always be right.

So, here we have Gaiman and Pratchett hiding behind God, and God hiding behind Agnes Nutter. The Bible turned into The Great Plan, and then into a book of prophecies.

But what kind of person is God? Is She compassionate, loving, merciful? Yes. I firmly believe that. Err… Wait. Same God that drowned almost everybody, goats included, and wanted to kill Job's children… and goats!

“When his life was ruined, his family killed, his farm destroyed, Job knelt down on the ground and yelled up to the heavens, "Why God? Why me?" and the thundering voice of God answered, "There's just something about you that pisses me off.”

― Stephen King, Storm of the Century.

Yes. Same God who never failed to prove herself a master torturer, a mass murderer and a serial killer in a single package. How do I reconcile both sides? Death… is only temporary! I mean, Jesus could bring Lazarus back, Adam resurrected a fuckton of people, and Crowley easily performed miracle escapes. Maybe death isn't the terrible thing we think it is… (except for Nazis? But Nazis aren’t really human, are they?) As for Job's children and goats, God knew that Crowley was around, up to no evil…

Having said that, I remember Stephen King writing something else. Whoever remembers that quote, let me know. Something like this: " If God created everything, then It must rule over both Good and Evil. If It only rules over Good, then there must be someone who rules over it all. I’ll worship that someone as the actual Almighty."

I agree. Good and Evil are like two faces of a coin. Death introduced Itself as the shadow of Creation and states “I’m neither of Hell, nor Heaven”. Evil must be the shadow of Good. And everything is a part of God.

***

The Adams

No, not the family, come on! What would they be doing here? Ah, attending the Second Coming. Come to think of it, it's indeed the kind of event they wouldn’t want to miss…

Anyway, their name is spelled Addams and I’m actually talking about the two Adams of the story. Old Adam, who ate the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden, and young Adam (I mean Adam Young) who steals apples in the garden of his neighbor. As I see it, they are allegories of Humanity.

As Crowley said, most universes come pre-aged, while this one will be allowed to grow. In the same way, Humanity is a species that will be allowed to grow. What ever for? Entertain God? Eternity does sound boring. Certainly a God could use a good laugh once in a while… But Nah. What do people do when they're bored with their lives? Hint: not their best idea? They have children! (or pets. Pets is a good idea…)

At the beginning, Adam and Eve are all of Humanity. They can't tell good from evil as they haven't experienced anything yet. Despite looking like full grownups, they are still babies. Crowley designed, not a star factory, but a fancy wallpaper indeed, for… a nursery.

Now, how is Baby Humanity supposed to grow? Crowley! Good ol’ Crowley! His temptation is the first opportunity to exercise free will. It’s the first lesson and the reason why the apple isn't at the top of a mountain or on the Moon. Choose for yourself, and see what happens. By eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve don't actually get any knowledge of right or wrong. The first sin marks the beginning of the teenage rebellion that is necessary to grow beyond what was taught. Everything that comes after is like an initiation rite. A six-thousand year long initiation rite with angels and demons along the way as teachers and… the end of the world as a final test.

At the end of season one, Adam Young is back to being human. He represents Humanity at a later stage. An almost fully grown humanity that has learnt a lot (too much?) about free will. Once again, it takes Crowley’s intervention (just slightly motivated by the idea of Aziraphale’s threat never to talk to him again…) to push Adam towards the right path. Note that I didn’t write the good path. I meant the right path, the one that wasn't created for him even before he was born, I mean the path he made for himself.

The main difference between Old Adam and Adam Young deserves to be stressed here. Adam Young’s education was provided by other humans, his parents, his friends, Anathema… It means in 198X any random human is that evolved, already. The question is, how did Humanity reach this level of knowledge? And power?

Yes, power. Armageddon was stopped by… whom exactly? Humans! Humans only. Anathema, Newt, the Them. Meanwhile, Aziraphale and Crowley were gonna kill the Antichrist, a kid! A KID! And who stopped them? Madame Tracy, a stupid (I’m not the one saying), psychic, Jezebel-of-Babylon with a good heart. A nobody? No. A human.

***

The education of Humanity.

Let's stop to notice that Crowley and Aziraphale are adoptive parents from the get go, watching the kids anxiously from afar, wondering if they actually fulfilled their respective mission as an angel and a demon, not knowing that having kids goes way beyond giving them toys and feeding them applesauce. It's a life sentence. Your kids will always call you at ungodly hours, seeking comfort after a nightmare, no matter how grown up they are. There’s no escaping to Alpha Centauri, and forgetting about them!

What I find interesting is who Aziraphale and Crowley are, and how meaningful it would have been if God had actually chosen them to be the Godfathers of Humanity.

Crowley is the one who questions everything, right? And how does one learn? Through questions. Those who have children know what I'm talking about (no wonder God won't raise her kids herself, being humans or Jesus🙄). It is often said that Science (Man-made god) replaced God. And how does science work? Yes, questions again ! Goddamn, annoying, neverending, pain-in-the-neck questions… Curiosity is the first tool. It's curiosity Crowley injected into Eve, to tempt her into eating the apple.

Crowley is also the one who would suggest a suggestion box. Because he has… IMAGINATION…(here, you need to picture Aziraphale turning a turnip into… an INKWEEEELL… ). IMAGINATIOOOON…. That ability is very, very important. Should I say paramount? God being a writer, possibly a mixture of Pratchett and Gaiman, she can only treasure imagination. Imagination is what created Good Omens. Imagination is what allowed Crowley to stay in his burning car. It was Adam's tool to change reality. Human imagination brought War, Famin and Pollution to life and it's human imagination again, that of three quite ordinary kids, that destroyed them. Not a flaming sword, not an angel, not a demon, mere humans gifted with imagination. And free will. Gifts from a fairy godmother named Crowley.

Aziraphale? Aziraphale didn’t come empty-handed either.

Was he just passing by, fortuitously, when Crowley called out for help? Is it pure coincidence that they created the universe together in a no-sex-involved-whatsoever fashion? I mean, the higher-ups designed universes, universes, man! Big, complicated, extremely sophisticated things, but they couldn’t think of a system that’d be set into motion by a single angel? Come on… And was it just a hazard that Crowley and Aziraphale ended up together on Earth, with the mission of thwarting each other? (Balancing each other?)

No dice. What, then? Crowley is the darker shades of gray. Aziraphale is the lighter part of the spectrum. And God knows that. God knows that Aziraphale isn't as white as he looks, although he does look very white. How does she know that? Because she checked. And several times, if I were to guess. God sees everything. And yet, she asked Aziraphale what happened to the flaming sword. When he lied his way out, she could have punished him, but she just went quiet. She wanted to know 1) if he would lie, if he would dare stand up to Her to protect the children, and 2) if he would trust his inner compass.

Aziraphale has other strong suits. He’s very gay and bubbly, and fluffy, and fun, and embarrassing, and endearing, and adorable, and… yes, I’m in love with him, say you aren’t. At the same time, he is quite strong-minded and aware of being Crowley’s soft spot. He can have his demon do things to please him (to a certain extent), with just a cute glance or a frown. He is Crowley’s anchor.

What’s more, Aziraphale is very conservative, and not just where fashion and music are concerned. He has unwavering faith in God (I mean God, not the institution of Heaven) and nothing, not his love for Humanity, not his love for crêpes, not even his love for Crowley (not sure about the order here), will change that.

Last but not least, our favorite angel is intelligent. (Since it’s Pratchett and Gaiman saying so, it must be true.) He is the ONLY one to point out the existence of the Ineffable Plan. And the ONLY one to figure that it might diverge from the Great Plan. Without the need to hear it, he feels what the ineffable plan is. And that’s why he trusts God. Although he is able to admit the error of his ways, I don’t think he’ll be doing the "you were right” dance this time around. Third prediction. (Boy, do I wish that one isn’t accurate…)

Aziraphale and Crowley were chosen as godfathers because, together, they are the perfect balance, they are black and white and the entire spectrum in between. And somewhere in this spectrum is the most important thing in the universe. Although the ingredients may have been the same, I don't think Aziraphale and Crowley were created with the same recipe as the other angels. Neil just revealed on Tumblr that Aziraphale and Crowley together are a circle. They are perfection. This circle is what God wants for her children. A mind that has no beginning and no end, a God-like mind.

Aziraphale and Crowley intuitively know that. It’s the reason why they turn into an evil nanny and a good-hearted gardener, in hope their combined influences will make a real human being out of the Antichrist. It’s easy for them. Because, this is what they’ve been doing from the beginning! They spent their entire time on Earth playing the nanny and the gardener! For not one kid, but for all Humanity as a youngster. Aziraphale and Crowley are masters at it and it’s thanks to them that Humanity has learnt so much. Pay attention, it looks like they didn't do much, in the end, to prevent Armageddon. But they raised the kids who prevented Armageddon. Of course, the ineffable husbands got some help.

Earlier, I mentioned angels and demons being teachers. They’re all doing the same job, infusing humanity with both Good and Evil through temptations and blessing, having them make choices and watch the outcome. Here, I must say that in the story, (and in History) it feels like demons have all the easier parts, as their pupils seem to always be way ahead of them, from pretty much the beginning. “Yes, always this easy”.

“Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it.” ― Terry Pratchett.

When Crowley creates the universe, what comes first? Darkness. He has to summon light into it to reveal the marvels it contains. Are humans like that? Darknesses that require some light (not too much, otherwise they’d go as blind as angels) to unravel their actual beauty? So. Angels bring light. And demons just have to make sure the darkness stays into place? Something like that. But… if angels and demons are both working towards God’s plan, how is it they keep bickering? Stop. Is there a scene, a single scene where they actually argue? I can’t remember a single one… They all want the same thing. Get the bloody job done so everyone can call it a day and go home.

Why then were demons demoted and casted away? Crowley doesn’t even seem to understand what happened to him…

I guess it’s time I talk about the rebellion and the fall.

***

The Principal

The Principal? Who’s that? The one above the teachers, of course! The Metatron!

THAT Metatron… You want to kill him right now, don’t you? You want to peel off his skin with a blunt knife, you… wait, he doesn’t have a skin… and he probably can’t die anyway. You want to drink his soul with the tiniest straw? Tie him to a chair in front of episodes of Dora the explorer? I feel you.

Not sure if the Metatron has a counterpart. In the novel, his counterpart is Beelzebub, but it doesn’t feel like they’re playing in the same league. I mean… God’s voice, right?

There is a theory going around in the fandom that the Metratron has been editing people's past/memories, using the Book of Life. That theory was written by an actual novelist and it did sway me. However, if it were completely true, it would probably bother me. First reason is I don't want what I already saw of Aziraphale and Crowley's first encounter to be fake, even in the slightest. Second reason is… If you have the power to edit people's lives, why be so subtle about it? Or does the Metatron think he can make surreptitious changes that God won't notice? Hm. I don't know. In the novel, The Book of Life doesn't exist. The one who can "arrange matters af is you never even existed" is Adam. Not sure if this goes against the theory or sustains it…

Here are my own theories. Plural. I gave that bastard a lot of thoughts. I’m afraid none of them involve the disparition of the eccles cakes, sorry.

At first, I had a theory in which the Metatron was instrumental in the rebellion and the fall. It went like this. The Metatron is the voice of God, the Spokesman, as Aziraphale put it. Only when God herself initiates a conversation do you get to talk to her directly. Otherwise, you have to go through the Metatron. (The reason why Crowly envies Job’s opportunity to at least "be able to ask the questions") The Metatron may decide to withhold your message AND answer whatever he wants. Could he have used his position to create a cleavage between God and some of her most powerful subjects? What for? To overthrow God and rule in her place. Demons were sent to Earth, of all the horrible places in such a vast universe, so they could draw strength from all the human souls they’d lure to Hell… So they would grow tougher, smarter and more dangerous.

But that doesn’t seem right. God can see everything, remember? Okay, she could be traveling between universes, leaving Metatrons behind, as governors. In that case, of course, things might happen that she doesn’t know of. Even so. She and Satan still talk to each other. They at least met once, when they made that bet about Job. Surely, any misunderstanding would have cleared up then? Besides, in the book, Crowley mentions talking directly to God, although She just smiled instead of answering. I don’t know. I do have another theory of the Metatron though. Way more simple. Everything was set up by God.

God needed teachers for her children, but with angels being all good, better and best, the kids would only have learnt half what they were supposed to know. Besides, how would they make choices? They would just become angels as well. Obedient, boring, sickeningly good angels. God has that already. So, how did God trigger the rebellion? By using the Metatron.

Let‘s take a moment to think about who, or should I say what the Metatron is. He is a voice. All he knows is what God can say. He is oblivious of everything God cannot or doesn’t want to say. By definition, he is that one part of God that can never be aware of the ineffable plan.

I came to think of the Metatron as an AI, with flawless logic. If SF has taught us anything, it’s that any purely logical mind would want to eradicate humanity, seeing it for the nuisance it is. The Metatron must think that God made a mistake. Maybe God went nuts? Eternity with Elgar… it kind of gets at you after a while… Luck of the devil, the Metatron is there to save the day! What’s that universe where angels go around falling in love with each other, anyway? Nonsense! It's all because of humans' malfunctioning minds.

The Metatron’s sacred duty is to destroy humanity, if it is the last thing he does. To achieve that, he sees to it that a certain number of angels go rogue. Then he sends them to Earth so when the second war breaks out, the entire human race will go as collateral damage. In this case, the Metatron is the one who picked the evil teachers. He did the dirty job, unbeknownst to himself.

Another scenario is that the Metratron has nothing to do with the rebellion and is only striving to stick to the Great Plan, after Armageddon went sideways. In that case, God herself picked the teachers.

In both cases, the question is, was there actually a war? We all noticed how vague Crowly is about the fall, even while talking to himself. "Next thing you know i'm going a million light-years, freestyle-dive into a pool of boiling sulfur." And he can’t remember the guys he is supposed to have fought alongside with. There is some memory tempering here, or I don’t know anything. Either no Great War at all, or a war without Crowley. My bet is a war without Crowley. I read something in the book, can't remember what exactly, but I jumped and said “There must have been an actual war!” Besides, one explanation for a disabled angel like Saraqael could be a war wound. I guess?

Crowley sounds like he loves God, as much as Aziraphale does. This scene, where he snakes around his executive chair, saying "You said you’d test them". Maybe it’s just me, but I read hurt and love in his eyes, love for the world? Love for Aziraphale? Love for God? The reason why Crowley is dead set against going back, isn't it because, or partially because he feels he was betrayed by the One he loved and trusted most? I don’t think Crowley could have gone against God and seriously, how much trouble can you get into, just for asking a few questions? But then, if you’re going to submit your questions to the Metatron, who can’t entertain the concept of a flaw in the system…

***

The final tests.

It's like shoving a knife into the heart of a cake to see if it is well cooked. There's no way around the knife I'm afraid. God needs to find out if her children are fully grown humans. But what does this mean for Her? What does it mean, should it mean, for any parent?

It should mean that the young adults are now able to think for themselves, elaborate strategies to survive on their own, fight and overcome whatever life will throw at them, and… become a better version of their parents.

This is no longer high school, lads. This is college. So exams come in two waves. Midterm. The students have to prevent/overcome/survive Armageddon. And they do.

Armageddon didn't happen. Free will happened. Adam refused to follow his predetermined path and asked both sides to stop meddling into people’s affairs so humans can start to think for themselves. His friends rejected the nightmarish world that was left to them as a legacy. Dog became his own dog and is probably playing hide and seek with cats right now. Anathema decided to stop living according to a book written by her ancestor, NO MATTER how useful and accurate the predictions.

Yet another message here. Don’t let people tell you who you are and what you’re supposed to do. Your life and every choice at every turn are yours to make.

Notice that both God and Agnes sort of vanish at the end of season one. Agnes’s book is burnt by Anathema, and God goes silent. As if something happened that changed the course of what was already written. It's like Adam said: what is written doesn't matter. You can always cross it out. The great plan stopped right there.

And the ineffable plan took over. The ineffable plan is written by human beings in a decade-long essay that will decide if they passed the final test or not. (Of course, they pass, the show is called Good omens! Another prediction, gosh I'm so good, this is beginning to scare me!).

At this point, I think God is satisfied already. I mean if God is a writer and her characters achieved enough self-awareness to write their own story, then… they're real! I suspect writers' secret dreams have always been just that. Playing gods, creating universes and bringing characters to life! Not as puppets, but as sentient beings who will do as they please once the author rests their pen (closes their laptop, let’s be modern… but without bebop). I'm sure Sir Pratchett, having tea with Death, is kicking his feet at this very moment, seeing how many fans have fallen in love with either Aziraphale or Crowley or both and are spending so much time imagining the rest of their adventures.

A clue in the book. When Anathema burns the second Book of Prophecies, the smoke takes the shape of a smiling Agnes who winks at the world. I will always wonder if anything was written in that so-called sequel… Agnes wrote her book for her descendants and God wrote the Great Plan for her children. They must both be very proud that their offspring have finally spread their wings!

Now Humanity has cut the strings and gone from puppet to real living being. And that's where the fun begins. Because there is more to being a human than meets the eye. And this is what season 3 will be about. Oh, I know, it doesn't seem like there is an invisible imho. It's because there isn't! XD

***

The Second Coming, or season 3.

The concept of the Second Coming confuses me a great deal. Because of Jesus. The story doesn't seem to really involve Jesus as we know him, the one and only, the miracle doer, the precious son of God. There is a Jesus who ends up on a cross, alright, but no one says anything about him being special or performing miracles or anything. At the same time, there is an Antichrist, miracles measured in lazari and a second coming ( of Christ, I presume?). I went and picked some people's minds on Reddit. They had several interesting opinions, involving the third baby, Greasy Johnson, Muriel being Jesus under cover, and angels not minding the boss's son who only got this far through nepotism.

We see Christ nailed to a cross in the opening credits of season 2 and we see him again on the banner of the resurrectionists. All this considered, it looks very much like Jesus will have something to say about what happens next. I hope not, for it would probably feel like a Deus ex machina to me. That said, I think that the most important thing about Jesus has already been stressed out, his message.

Anyway, Jesus or no Jesus, there should be, as mentioned in the Scriptures, mass extinction, resurrection, judgment and either punishment or reward. Unless… the Scriptures don't apply anymore, since the great plan went down the loo and the new writers certainly don't want to see the world go to ashes. Unless… Wait. Wait a sec. We're talking about… humans! Hh!!!! That's it. We're baked. Literally. Nice knowing you.💀

And so what? What if humans only achieve self-destruction? Their choice. At least they got to choose.

But that's not really what I expect from season 3. Again. Good Omens.

After not-Armageddon, humans were granted a little time to study further. What will they learn? I don't think there can be a not-Second Coming. That would really be underwhelming, not to say disappointing. There has to be a planet-size all-out war at the very least, with pupils going berserk against their teachers (serves them well for highjacking nuclear weapons designed by their students! ) Only when the teachers have bent both knees, can the students show… mercy, kindness, compassion.

Love?

Jesus's message was "be kind to each other". Neither angels nor demons know how to do that. Both are cruel, cold and unforgiving. Heaven wanted to kill Aziraphale just like Hell wanted to kill Crowley. God on the other hand, used Agnes's last prophecy to save them, from what would have been real death…

God is much more than the sum of her angels, Good and Evil. Mixing good and evil triggers a chemical reaction that is the actual secret recipe to God's purest, greatest form of power. Yes. Love.

Aziraphale and Crowley drew enough strength to perform a 25 lazari miracle because they became one AND risked everything to protect their former enemy. They showed compassion and granted forgiveness (not to mention hot cocoa!). Gabriel and Beelzebub only love each other. They're not perfect together. Aziraphale and Crowley grew feelings that go further and run deeper than just romantic love. They experienced and mastered every aspect of love.

Every day, it's getting closer, love like yours will surely come my way…

Love is the last lesson. And the last gift. Now I know it sounds like everybody will end up naked with flowers in their hair… I for one wouldn't mind such a scene… I mean, if it's for the sake of the plot, what can you do?👀

… Anyway, that's how the students, following the example of the masters, embraced both sides of their true nature to become more than Heaven incarnate or Hell incarnate. They learn how to love and pass the final test! Last prediction. Almost last.

***

“There was never an apple, in Adam’s opinion, that wasn’t worth the trouble you got into for eating it”. At the end of the book, (Warning! spoiler ahead!) Adam, "half angel, half devil, all human, is slouching hopefully towards Tadfield.

... for ever."

For. Ever.

Aw, I forgot a gift, I'm afraid… Eating the apple was the path not to death (for man was probably created mortal as everything else). Eating the apple was the path to immortality. Crowley did the right thing. And so did Aziraphale. Adam is immortal because he is a successfully completed human. He's not the only one. They who were created in the image of God, the children of God, have become…

new Gods.

After that? Well… I guess the Bentley will become her own car and go with yellow and the self promise never to play a Queen song, ever again. The new gods may throw Earth into the trashcan since it's worn out anyway. Or maybe they'll restore it? Somehow I'm not afraid for books. I have a hunch that books will survive… Perhaps some of the gods will join the distant lights that "may or may not be stars?" They'll be like seeds, they'll travel through darkness to create new universes, new god factories…

What? Aziraphale and Crowley? They don't have to choose sides anymore. They were always on the same boat. And God loved, loves, them both. They can just love each other and be who they want to be. Adam, who could read Aziraphale and Crowley's minds, said: “I know all about you, don’t you worry”. Everything will be just fine.

What are they doing right now? Not sure. They're writing their own story too. But I guess it involves flying at the speed of light (or the speed of darkness?) to find the best spots for having picnics and reading books and listening to nightingales. I'm sure they'll stop by Paris. Somewhere near my house? I know a nice place for crêpes…;)

#neil gaiman #terry pratchett #aziraphale #crowley

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lananiscorner · 6 months

Text

The Leviathan's Tail

Summary:

Strife has lost count of the many, many times he has tried to conquer the obstacle course called "Leviathan's Landing". Dis has not. She decides to provide him with a little hint...

Notes:

Yes, I am still alive. This is the first thing I've written in months, so probably rusty as fuck. Anyway, his was written for Darksiders Week 2023, Day 1: Celebrating Genesis. Can't say I liked Leviathan's Landing--quite the opposite in fact, but bless whoever found that little exploit for the third section of it.

Disclaimer: This work was written for publication on Archive of Our Own and my personal Tumblr (lananiscorner) and is not for profit. Any re-publication on for-profit/monetized sites/apps is not authorized or supported by me. If you come across such a re-publication, please leave a comment in my tumblr ask box. Podfics and translations may be authorized upon request.

Fic text beneath the cut.

The platform collapsed under his feet once more, and so did what little was left of his patience. Strife cursed as he fell through the void, seemingly endlessly, before one of the giant, undead snakes that had made its home in there found him and catapulted him back up to the beginning with an unceremonious flick of its tail.

Leviathan’s Landing, Vulgrim had called it, and now Strife finally understood why.

“Have you been attempting this ridiculous excuse of an obstacle course again, brother?”

“Of course not,” Strife scoffed in response. “I just came here for my daily dose of void diving.”

He wasn’t sure if War had been making fun of him or not. It was hard to tell with the big guy, and the fact that he and Strife had not had much to do with each other before defecting from the nephilim did not help. He had been a part of the Crimson Oath—meaning what you say but never saying what you mean had been second nature to Strife, drilled into his very being from the day he took the crimson. War, on the other hand, had been fighting at the front of Absalom’s forces, a vanguard, a bruiser, as brutally effective as gracelessly blunt, and in many ways his demeanor came to match.

Even now, as War raised an eyebrow ever so slightly before turning back towards the serpent hole, Strife was not entirely sure if he had even noticed the sarcasm in his brother’s reply. Strife was going to give him the benefit of the doubt, though. If even one good thing had come out of their third visit to Eden, it was that Strife had learned his younger brother was a lot smarter than one would assume from a front line fighter who had gotten hit in the head a couple dozen of times.

Unfortunately, Strife thought with a sigh as he looked back on the increasingly narrow pillars shooting up behind him, there was a better chance of snow falling in Hell’s furnaces than War helping him with this. As he trudged back to the serpent hole, frustration slowly turned into anger.

He was supposed to be the one who was good at this sort of stuff. Finesse. Swiftness. Sure-footed work under frantic circumstances. This was his element… and yet here he was, sulking after the Creator only knew how many attempts at tackling the damned third section of this utterly insane obstacle course.

He wanted to shoot something. Or even better, punch it.

Perhaps I should ask War to let me borrow that gauntlet for a minute.

The thought had never had more appeal. Unfortunately, the cold, unforgiving universe once more decided to laugh at him.

The serpent hole was where it had always been—or, well, where it had always been since Strife and War had gotten here—for all Strife knew Vulgrim reshuffled and redecorated the place every X number of years—but War was not. Knowing his brother, he hadn’t gone back to Vulgrim and Samael for a chat either, which really left only one sensible option. With a deep sigh, Strife headed towards Dis.

“Brother, I swear by Lilith’s tits, if you went to fight Dagon without me…”

“Then what?” Vulgrim’s ‘associate’ was on him in a hot second, the bauble she had been tinkering with flung carelessly back into the void with a flick of her wrist. The smile on Dis’ face was as unmistakably smug as the tone was tantalizing in her voice. “Will we get to see an epic brawl between two of the last nephilim in existence? I would pay for seats to that show…”

“Aaaaaand you’d be getting ripped off.” Strife smiled underneath his helmet as he brought out his guns. “You wanna see a fight between any number of the four of us? Just ask who should be in charge or claim that one of us is light years ahead of the others, and you’ve got yourself a nice little show.”

Of course, the truth was it probably wouldn’t even take that much. If there were two things that were in a nephilim’s blood, it was to wander… and to fight. In hindsight, perhaps that was why Absalom’s excuse for attacking Eden had always rung so hollow for him.

“A home for our people.”

As if their people were the kind that wanted homes.

As if they would not get bored less than a month into living there and move on to another planet to mess up.

As if any permanent settlement was not only unrealistic and completely out of character for almost all of them, but also an amazing opportunity for one of the many, many, many races who wanted his kind wiped from the universe completely to attack them where it hurt the most.

Except that was us. Strife hated it when the little voice inside his head was right. It was us who wiped them from the universe. Didn’t even need another race for that.

“Hey, Dis, you wouldn’t happen to have seen War, would you?”

There was no point in lingering in the past, no matter how many times its ghosts tried to claw their way back into his mind.

He often wondered how many centuries he was going to have to remind himself of that fact before it finally worked.

“The big guy?” Dis looked up from whatever potion she had been brewing—where had she even been hiding the vials and ingredients?—and nodded towards the serpent hole. “He bought some more trinkets from me before going to the arena. I thought you’d already demolished the place?”

Strife shrugged. “Yeah, pretty sure we did. But then again, War’s the kind that doesn’t mind repetition.”

“But you do?”

“Sure do. It’s boring. And I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

Dis grinned ear to ear. “Like tackling Leviathan’s Landing for the two-hundred and sixty-eighth time?”

Oh you little demon bit— “I have not—”

Suddenly, the temptation to shoot her was almost unbearable. Strife knew the feeling. The itching at the back of his neck. The tingling in his veins. The blood lust that was so common for all of his kind. Too bad all the stuff she sold was useful. And she was kind of cute. For a demon anyways.

“It has not been two-hundred and sixty-eight times.”

“Oh it has.” Dis shook the vial she was holding twice and smiled as it turned from dull gray to vibrant blue. “I counted.” She gave him a quick wink. “Your enthusiasm and tenacity really is quite endearing.”

“I’m gonna shoot you just for that tone in your voice.”

Strife sighed. He wanted to say he couldn’t quite place why it pissed him off so much, but unfortunately he could. That dreadful mixture of cheeky seduction and almost mothering ‘bless your little heart, you tried’ kind of condescension was something every nephilim had known from the day of their creation.

“You know, Dis… if you’ve got nothing helpful to say, maybe say nothing at all.”

“Very well,” Dis scoffed. “Go catch a Leviathan’s tail then, for all I care.”

Whatever warmth had been in her voice had turned into to ice. Strife was hardly surprised. A slighted demon sounded like she wanted to murder him. In other news, fire was hot and Samael could not be trusted. He watched her float back to her books and beakers and whatever else she had stacked up in that makeshift laboratory of hers, took a deep breath and holstered his guns.

There were other demons to kill in the arena. No need to waste his time and ammo on the demon who was supplying him and War with upgrades.

He was just about to enter the arena and find out which section exactly War had run off to, when he caught the glimmer in the distance.

How he had never noticed it before, Strife couldn’t tell. His senses were usually unusually sharp—more so than most other nephilim’s in fact—it had always given him an edge he had sorely needed. Perhaps he had always been to distracted by conversing with War. Perhaps the angle had never been right. Either way, he could see it clearly now—the unmistakable glow of a creature core, and a big one at that. Strife stepped over the serpent hole and headed down the rune-riddled path towards the core instead.

It led him back to the big door. As once before, the keys he and War had found throughout Hell’s realms materialized automatically, shooting forth into their locks, no doubt drawn in by some powerful magic. There were not enough of them, of course. There hadn’t been last time either, and both he and War had agreed to leave the door alone until they had found a sufficient number to open the door.

As much as Strife loved a mystery, right now, the idea of what was hiding behind the gate was not nearly as interesting to him as the glow high above it, little more than a glimmer now that his sight line was blocked by the stone wall shooting up above the door. Strife climbed up one of the torches by the side, hoping to get a better look.

Who would put a stone wall above a door in the middle of nowhere? And who would put a core up there? And what kind of co—Oh.

He found the answer as he was balancing on the edge of the torch, flames licking dangerously close to his dangling scarf. From up here, he could see most of this corner of the void. He could see the entrance to the Boatman’s Labyrinth and Dis’ lab just before that. He could see the serpent hole. He could see the entrance to the Gauntlet. He could see the beginning of Leviathan’s Landing.

The beginning with the first pillars.

And the damned pillars.

And the second portal.

And the floating rocks that curved throughout the empty space like a winding snake.

And the third portal.

And a glimpse of the beginning of thrice-damned path he had just wasted hours on, bending gently in his current direction.

“You have got to be kidding me!”

This was it. This was the Leviathan’s tail. The end of the course. He couldn’t see if from where he stood, but he was as sure that there was one last portal up there as he was sure in his aim with his guns.

“Bless you, Dis, I promise I’ll bring you something really neat from the next vault I crack.”

Strife took a deep breath, then jumped towards the door, shadow-dashing mid air to land on one of the tiny outcrops in the rocky facade. If someone had told him to climb up this wall a week ago, he would have told them to get bent. Now, he was determined to scale this jagged piece of floating rock even if it was the last thing he was going to do.

As it turned out, getting above the door was the easy part. Getting up the wall behind it… Strife cursed under his breath as he tried to scale the rocks. Why did Lilith had to have been so incompetent at creating a hybrid between angels and demons? Where were the wings? You’d think that would be the first thing she would have taken from the angels. The wings. But noooooo. All he had was this stupid shadow wing thing he had gotten from Samael.

He had lost count of the many times his fingers had slipped from cracks to small and thin for a firm hold by the time he felt ready to climb back down again. Even though he was on the scrawny side as far as nephilim went, there was no way to get a good grip here. He almost missed the balancing act that was the pillars in the first section of Leviathan’s Landing.

Balance…

The idea that had sprung into his head was frankly crazy and likely to end with him losing parts he would hate to miss, but when had that ever stopped him? Strife shook the tension and soreness out of his limbs, then tackled the wall again.

This time, he planted one of his twin daggers firmly in the deepest horizontal crack he could find and clambered up onto it with as much care as he could muster. The tempered demon steel bent ever so slightly under his weight, but still, his feet remained steady. He had stood on worse. He just needed to put the thought of an arm’s length worth of razor sharp steel out of his mind.

The second dagger went into another split in the rocks, this time blade up. It was risky, but he could do it.

Strife took a deep breath, jumped up onto the hilt and immediately vaulted even higher, to grab the ledge at the top of the cliff. He hung on by the tips of his fingers, but he was going to be damned if he was going to quit now. With one last huff and a curse, Strife pulled himself to the top.

The core was humming quietly in front of him, its magic vibrating in the air, soft as the buzz of a bee on a warm summer’s day. It almost seemed to mock him with how peacefully it sat there, considering the violence this obstacle course had inflicted on him each time he had tried to get here the ‘right’ way.

“You little sucker…” Strife grabbed the core quickly before the universe could pull some new cruel joke on him and catapult it out of his reach by some contrived shenanigans.

I can already hear War’s response, Strife mused as he climbed down carefully, retrieving his daggers along the way. “You have not only cheated the creator of this course—you have cheated yourself.”

War could get bent. At the end of the day, Strife now had three Leviathan cores and War had none. And that’s what really mattered.

His brother was waiting for him by the serpent hole when he returned. Going by the few bits and pieces of demon that still clung to parts of War’s armor, it had been an entertaining run.

“So… how far did you get?”

“I stopped after the hundred and sixty-fifth wave.” War shrugged ever so slightly. “The arena is starting to bore me.” Then, he nodded towards his older brother. “I assume you tried the leviathan’s trail one more time?”

“Actually,” Strife grinned, even though he was fully aware War could not see it, “I grabbed the leviathan by its tail this time.”

War sighed. “You make as little sense as ever, brother.”

“Thankfully.” Strife thumped him on the shoulder quickly. “Now, shall we return to our regularly scheduled hunt for minor demon lords with delusions of grandeur?”

A rare smile graced War’s usually stern face. “Yes. Let’s go and kill Dagon.”

#Darksiders #Darksiders Week 2023 #Darksiders Week #darksidersweek2023 #Day 1: Celebrating Genesis #my fic #The Leviathan's Tail #Darksiders War #Darksiders Strife #Darksiders Dis

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ms-neens · 2 years

Text

James May, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond in "Come what May!"

My longest comic about the Grand Tour so far ～♡ This time Jeremy, James and Hammond head off to Britain’s number one car show! Sadly heavy traffic and certain weather conditions give them a rough time on the road...but thank goodness it’s Friday! *✦.°

All paintings, story and text by me (February 2022 - October 2022)

Thank you very much for reading and I hope, as always, I could make you smile with it! ♥︎ This comic will be released as a real book together with my “The Long Way Home“ comic, my “Scandi Flick“ poster, more single artworks of the trio and a bit more in 2023! Please stay tuned if you want a copy of the book for yourself! ♥︎ I’d like to add the pre-release cover as well:

A few words by the author (yeah, that’s me): This time my goal was to write/create/draw a sweet, funny, and heartwarming comic about the trio focused on a simple car ride. In typical fashion of all the comics I do, you won’t find any action based scenes or rude stuff (also I’m no native speaker, but you shouldn’t notice that while reading!). As a result the trio acts a lot nicer and definitely more helpful than in real Grand Tour episodes. The three guys have a super big place in my heart ♡ and because of that, once again, all I could create is something cute and adorable (I could never be mean to them!). Also not everything can be accurate, I have never been to James’s Pub, the Diddly Squat Farm Shop, inside Jeremy’s car or at a car show myself. I had a few reference photos, but 90% of this comic is drawn by memory and how I imagine environments. Anyway, I still hope that I got everyone in character, recognisable and enjoyable for you to look at! Stuff you might have missed:

On the outside of Jeremy’s farm shop you can spot Sansa and Arya, who were puppies when I started working on this comic, so I kept them that way…I am always happy when I spot a photo of the two on Jeremy’s Instagram! ♥︎

Actually everything in that comic takes part in the past, as I was working on it way too long...

Jeremy explains that it’s lucky to turn right at the start of a journey. Of course it’s from the Grand Tour Mongolia Special.

The numberplate on Jezza’s car is a pun on "Jeremy Clarkson 1 Diddly Squat Farm", in case you haven’t already noticed. I thought that’s funny.

James talks about fish finger sandwiches, he posted about them on his Twitter and FoodTribe accounts several times in the past and it’s a really nice and easy dish I like to eat as well!

The CDs in Jeremy’s glovebox are "Supertramp - Crime of the Century", "Yes - The Yes Album", "The Who - Who’s Next", "Genesis - Seconds Out", some album by Eric Clapton you cannot read and "Pink Floyd - The Dark Side of the Moon". Despite my age, these are all albums and bands I absolutely love and I think he does as well. ～♡

I had to make something up for the broken air conditioning, something like that is always happening on their journeys (especially in James’s cars!). I’m sure after the events of the comic, it was completely fine again! ^◡^

They always take photos of themselves sleeping and post it somewhere online, this time it was my chance to draw a scene of that! I enjoyed working on that one! Hehehehe...

Jeremy and James’s painful high-five I got from the Grand Tour Colombia Special

In James’s Pub Hammond gets served Spag Bol (yeah, I have this from "Oh Cook!") and Jeremy ordered the infamous fish pie. The reason why I’ve chosen two different meals is that Richard doesn’t like fish, a running gag I keep constant in all of my comics. Also it can be taken as a reference to "The Perfect Road Trip".

James’s apron I spotted in "Lochdown", I think it really suits him! ♥︎

And this time there’s even a moral of the story: Don’t drink and drive!

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study-with-aura · 10 months

Text

Thursday, August 24, 2023

Today felt long. I do not know why. I took many breaks while studying today. I normally do not need to. I think I miss Julien. I am here by myself now since Mom and Dad have to work. I did not realize it would feel so lonely without my brother.

Tasks Completed:

Geometry - Learned about angle pairs formed by parallel lines cut by a transversal + practice + honors work

Lit and Comp II - Reviewed vocabulary + read about poetic terminology + crossword on terms + read poem and answered questions + read Chapter 5 of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and took notes

Spanish 2 - learned professions vocabulary

Bible I - Read Genesis 18-19:1-29

World History - Read about the Yellow River civilization + looked at maps + watched a video on the "Mandate of Heaven" and the "Dynastic Cycle of China"

Biology with Lab - Read through the organization of life terms + read over lab safety information + completed the first part of the sugar crystal lab experiment (will complete this and answer questions next week since the lab takes a week)

Foundations - Read the definition of availability + took a quiz on Read Theory + watched a video on memory

Practice - 60-minute piano lesson

Khan Academy - Completed Unit 2: Lesson 3 of 9th-grade reading and vocabulary

Duolingo - Completed one lesson each in Spanish, French, and Chinese

Activities of the Day:

Ballet

Pointe

Journal/Mindfulness

What I’m Grateful for Today:

I’m grateful that I have a brother who makes me miss him so much.

Quote of the Day:

A thousand moments that I had just taken for granted- mostly because I had assumed that there would be a thousand more.

-Second Chance Summer, Morgan Matson

🎧Bruckner: Symphony No. 5 in B-Flat Major, WAB 105: II. Adagio - Anton Bruckner

#study community #study blog #study inspiration #study motivation #studyblr #studyblr community #study-with-aura

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theytistic · 8 months

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May I offer some nitpicking commentary about your power system?

The Turtle's Aura, I remember it being able to build constructions, but now when it can make any object, it kind of becomes just another Lucky Charm/Genesis and stops being about Protection.

What is the difference between the Bee and Dog? I like your version of the Bee's power, but your Dog has both basically the same concept (about authority) and very similar power (you can block a person's skills and give them orders via either the Dog or the Bee's toxin)

Your Rooster being future sight makes it a bit too similar to the Snake? The purpose of Second Chance is to learn future, and while it isn't this notable in Kari's system because of ~60 Miraculouses, in a 19 Miraculouses system it kind of strikes the eye more.

I like your idea of Rabbit's multiplication vs Mouse's shrinking, it works very well both with the animals and as a pair (Rabbit's extraversive power to "be everywhere" and Mouse's introversive power to hide in holes), but if your Mouse allows also to grow it kind of disrupts this picture? Less sure on this one, through.

The Horse's weapon being a sniper rifle doesn't fit the Miraculous world much, especially considering the Miraculouses were made in ancient times.

First of all, thank you very much for taking an interest in my au and thank you for your comments.

1 - About the Aura, I thought about protection, because it's almost unbreakable, and although it's not a Lucky charm and Genesis, since even if I tried to create something functional, it would only be the format; I didn't really think about it, it's a bit far from protection. I have some ideas that I've left out, I'll review them, of course they may also be a bit out of protection, but I don't think I'll be back with Shellter from the series.

2 - Ah, I think I know what happened, in the first version of the bee's power, it was to free people from the influence of akumatized people, but then I ended up changing it because it was similar to the Bee Palm from Scarlet Lady, and again I ended up not noticing the similarity in the exchange. I'll probably change the bee rather than the dog, since it hasn't been changed.

3 - I consider the second chance to be more of a save point than a vision of the future, since you have to live and try again and again, just like in the series, the longer you use the second chance, the older you get, not to mention that the vision of the future is more accurate, even if it is limited. But I think it's even better to change the second chance, since it's the only one that hasn't changed its power.

4 - Oh, that wasn't initially thought of, but it really is a good analogy, the rabbit was just one part of the original Mullo's separation of powers, but as well as making sense with his new concept, proportion, he was slightly influenced by two Yokais, Tesso and Kyuso, with Tesso being the main one, since in the legends I've read, he can change size, small or large.

5 - Oh, that was a translation error, English isn't my native language, I use a translator, originally it was supposed to be "rapieira", but I don't know why it came out snipe rifle. Here's my notepad in Brazilian Portuguese.

Thank you very much for warning me about this, I will change it, but I'm confused, when I put "rapieira" it comes out "snipe" Your comments will help me enrich my au, thank you very much.

#miraculous dimensional error au #miraculous au #ask #miraculous ideas #au #miraculous ladybug

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freyayuki · 1 year

Text

Final Fantasy Record Keeper Titan Magicite Fight

The fights in the 6-star Magicite Dungeons in the Final Fantasy Record Keeper (FFRK) mobile game are quest level 550.

Titan is the 6-star earth Magicite that’s weak to the wind element. Decided to try taking on the physical-weak version of Titan.

My team was:

Angeal Hewley from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

Have Angeal’s Awakened Arcane Soul Break 2 (AASB2), Synchro Arcane Soul Break (SASB), and Limit Beak Overstrike (LBO).

Usually, if I have at least 2 BDL relics for a char, that’s my cue to make their Hero Ability.

Since I have Angeal’s AASB2 and Sync, I should make his Hero Ability. I want to, really I do. And if the resources to make these abilities weren’t so scarce, I would have gladly done so.

The problem is the scarcity of these resources and the fact that Angeal’s Hero Ability is pretty bad.

His damage is also kinda lacking even with a fully complete Record Board. He does have some supportive capabilities too, but still.

It feels like he’s trying to be both a DPS and a support but he does neither well. I do hope he gets new and better tech soon.

Nevertheless, I’m glad that I have some of Angeal’s relics, especially his AASB2 because the animation for that features Genesis Rhapsodos from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (#ad).

Currently, Genesis is my absolute, most fave Final Fantasy char. He’s the reason why I’m playing Final Fantasy Record Keeper.

Anyway, Angeal deals physical wind and holy elemental damage so he’s part of both my physical wind team and my physical holy team.

For this fight against Titan, Angeal served as my secondary DPS. Still haven’t made his Hero Ability though.

Have Angeal equipped with the 6-star wind and ice Spellblade ability called Snowspell Strike. His second skill slot has the 5-star Spellblade ability called Raging Quadstrike which is only at rank 3.

Zack Fair from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy VII

Have Zack’s wind Chain Soul Break, AASB2, Sync and a few of his other relics. Completed his Record Board and created his Hero Ability, Rush Assault.

Zack served as my main and primary DPS although he has supportive capabilities too with some of his tech.

For instance, he can imperil wind and increase the critical hit damage of the party.

Aside from Zack’s Hero Ability, he’s also equipped with the 6-star Celerity ability called Ripping Storm. It’s only at rank 3 though because I ran out of the resources needed to max it.

Vaan from Final Fantasy XII

Have Vaan’s wind Chain Soul Break, which is the main reason why he’s part of this team.

Zack’s my main DPS so I didn’t want him to also have to juggle casting his Chain, especially since that would require a whole lot of gauges.

I have one of Vaan’s Awakenings and 2 of his Ultra Soul Breaks. Would love to get his Sync and his other AASB to improve my physical wind team.

Vaan is equipped with Lifesiphon and a rank 3, 6-star Thief ability called Storm Assault.

Elarra from Final Fantasy Record Keeper

Ultra Soul Break 1 (USB1), Magika Album

USB2, Magika Orare

Glint+ Soul Break (G+), Magika Amuletum

Glint Soul Break (G), Magika Pius

Elarra served as my healer. She can provide Regenga and hi fastcast. She can even help buff the party.

Elarra’s equipped with the Warrior’s Hymn and Passionate Salsa abilities.

Tyro from Final Fantasy Record Keeper

AASB, Fantasy Grimoire Vol. I

Arcane Overstrike Soul Break 3 (AOSB3), Triple Phase

USB4, Arbiter’s Tome

USB3, Divine Veil Grimoire

USB1, Warder’s Apocrypha

Glint Soul Break (G), Purifying Grimoire

Burst Soul Break (BSB), Keeper’s Tome

Unique Soul Break 2, Sentinel’s Grimoire

Legend Materia Relic 1 (LMR1), Archival Secrets

Tyro was here to Wrath and Entrust and support the party with his AASB and USB4. The aforementioned Soul Breaks can increase the party’s critical hit chance.

These relics combo very well with Elarra’s Magika Orare which increases the party’s critical hit damage.

Titan has a few annoying gimmicks. For instance, at certain thresholds, he will create this earth wall.

As long as it’s there, you can’t damage Titan. To get rid of this wall, you have to deal, IIRC, at least 50k+ damage at once.

I borrowed the Fabula Mage Roaming Warrior to help me with this. I also delayed summoning my Odin Magicite since his entry deals 99999 damage, which is more than enough to destroy the wall.

Titan also hits fairly hard. Having an Odin and 2 6-stars in my Magicite deck helped though.

Of course, Tyro Entrusted a lot to Elarra so she could keep everyone alive. AFAIK, I cast his Sentinel’s Grimoire too for more defense.

Super pleased to have been able to defeat Titan with this team. My clear time was 38.32 seconds. Even got to use both Zack and Angeal together, which is awesome.

I do wish I could get more wind tech for Vaan though so I could try taking on physical and wind-weak White Odin or Argent Odin. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to defeat Odin just with what I currently have right now since that fight is quest level 600.

If I can get the wind Sync of Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy VII, I could add him to my party.

I already have most of Cloud’s wind relics, including his AASB and even his True Arcane Soul Break (TASB) or Arcane Dyad Soul Break (ADSB), and he’s a really good wind DPS so he’d definitely be able to help.

I can probably try to make him work now but I don’t want to use him without his Sync. I know that’s not even his most OP relic (it’s actually his Ultra Cross Slash Ultra Soul Break which I don’t have yet but can easily lens from the The Record Lab), but still.

Just don’t want to use Cloud when he feels incomplete like this. Don’t want to make his Hero Ability either until I have both his Sync and AASB.

Conclusion

So what about you? Have you tried any of the 6-star Magicite fights yet? What do you think about these quests? Feel free to share your thoughts and opinions by leaving a comment below or by reblogging or replying to this post.

Notes:

screenshots are from my Final Fantasy Record Keeper game account

#final fantasy record keeper #this post stars:#final fantasy 7 #zack fair #angeal hewley #vaan #final fantasy 12 #tyro #elarra #ffrk #games #crisis core: final fantasy vii #mobile games #ffrk titan fight #gacha games #ffrk magicite fights #final fantasy crisis core #final fantasy 7 crisis core #ffrk 6-star magicites

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writingfics-passingtime · 1 year

Note

Idk if you're still doing this but! Director's Cut of ⭐️! Any of your favorites, old or recent I would love to hear

Hi anon! Thanks for this fun freebie 🤩

I’ll take this chance to talk about the religious symbolism in Off the Record, what made the cut and what didn’t 🫢 spoilers below the gif.

I knew I wanted their “You’re Daredevil” conversation to take place in the basement of Clinton Church, and I knew I wanted there to be these big underlying religiously-themed motivations. Matt's catholic guilt is a huge part of his story, past and present, and putting him in his context for the reader to unravel his identity felt fitting.

I did some research into Catholicism for this fic and found this idea called transubstantiation, which is a way some Catholics view communion. It’s what Matt explained to the reader; that the wine and bread, through prayer and ritual, are no longer wine and bread when consumed during communion, but they've transformed into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. It’s not a physical transformation, but a transformation in every other way. I still don’t think I fully grasp it, but I found it fascinating.

And I loved the idea that Matt is, all but physically, transforming himself into something completely different when he puts the mask on.

He alludes to these two distinct personalities when he says things like "I'd rather die as the Devil than live as Matt Murdock," but it's also this messy grey area: are Matt Murdock and Daredevil two different personalities, or just two different manifestations of Matt Murdock's commitment to upholding justice?

This story took place right after Daredevil season 1 so I didn't feel too much pressure to answer that question or have a more concrete character development for Matt. He was still figuring it all out even in Season 3.

Another religious symbolism thing I almost included, and really set up for, was this theory that it wasn't the Devil who tempted Eve.

I came across quite a few people pointing out that the Christian Bible never said the serpent who tempted Eve was the literal Devil, and that's why I set up Reynolds as this snake-like character. When the reader points out that she was being tempted by the Devil like Eve was, Matt was going to have her read Genesis and have her realise it never said the Devil was the tempter.

But it was getting messy. I felt a little uneasy trying to play with such a major event in a major world religion - there's a difference between pulling symbolism from religious tradition and then putting my own spin on an religious book that I'm not overly familiar with. I felt off about it, so I cut that part out.

Last thing I'll say is that I still sometimes regret not having Matt pray for the reader, like he did for Elektra when she'd been severely wounded.

In an early draft of the reader falling down the side of the building, Matt speaking the Lord's Prayer was interspersed throughout her fall, cutting back and forth between the two of them, and her thoughts were going to be a reflection of each line. So, like, "lead us not into temptation" would've been her reflecting on whether or not her drive to uncover the truth had been good or ego-based, and so on.

I thought it was a cool idea in theory, but it was an absolute bitch to try to execute. Besides, physics says that falling that far would take maybe 8-9 seconds so I was already pushing it, and I was taking too long on part 3/3 to the point where I was hating every word, so I just went without the prayer. I still like how it turned out.

Thanks anon !! I so appreciate you playing the Director’s Cut game 💜

#Answered #Thanks anon!#director’s cut #JJ talks too much

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beneaththetangles · 2 years

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Reader’s Corner: D-Genesis, The Liminal Zone, and Bleach 20th Anniversary Edition

In this week’s column, we look back to a couple of classics (including one getting a reprint), and to the usual suspects: isekai, romcom, and…magical school?

Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle, Manga Vol. 1

When I reviewed the opening light novel on which the Chitose in the Ramune Bottle manga is based, I explained just how obnoxious the characters and series overall are. The titular Chitose is smart, athletic, popular, and arrogant. He’s also thirsted after by a swarm of equally high-stat girls who don’t mind being referred to as his harem. In this initial volume of the manga, Chitose’s homeroom teacher gives him the task of convincing shut-in Kenta to return to school. Chitose may be two-faced, putting on the role of the perfect guy in front of others while constantly thinking in harsh and judgmental terms in his mind; but that less-laudable, authentic part of his personality is bound to come out as he deals with the angry otaku Kenta. Despite all his flaws, however, Chitose is only mildly aggravating in the manga compared to the light novel. Without being constantly in Chitose’s head, readers don’t constantly run up against his conceit, and that’s a good thing—until perhaps it isn’t. I ultimately gave the light novel volume a good evaluation because of the strong hints that there’s depth to the series. We don’t get to that (at least not yet) in volume one of the manga, which reads as if it were the first volume of Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki from Hinami’s point of view (and with none of her cute quirks). The storyline, in fact, is much the same, with Kenta taking Tomozaki’s place. I am eager to see how the manga handles the next volume, which should be better than this volume (if it follows the manga)—though it wasn’t too bad, especially when supported by the beautiful character designs and nice, crisp artwork. If you can stomach the lead’s arrogance, Chitose in the Ramune Bottle is definitely a series to keep an eye on. – Twwk

Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle (manga) is published by Yen Press.

Mashle, Vol. 7

If Mashle is a thinly veiled manga-ization of Harry Potter, then volume seven is this series’ Goblet of Fire, featuring top students in the school competing in a head-to-head tournament with high stakes and villainous surprises in store. In fact, it’s that last bit that’s most interesting in this volume, literally awakening me from my stupor and leading me to wonder if this series—which has for three volumes now transitioned away from straight-up comedy and more towards action and a fuller (though far less entertaining) tale—might now be gaining its second wind. Mashle, which can be forgiven for so closely emulating Harry Potter because the comedy is so uproarious, has become less and less interesting as it tries to explain the larger story of Mashle’s origins and his importance to the magical world as a non-magic user, as well as revealing a greater scheme of the villains of Innocent Zero. The jokes have slowed from a mile a minute to once or twice a chapter, and the action lacks suspense with its overpowered hero. But there’s promise in these chapters that some dramatic tension may have finally developed. I’d welcome that in volume eight—but not as much as I would a few more dozen references to cream puffs. – Twwk

Mashle (manga) is published by Viz Media.

D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared, Vol. 1

In 2015, RPG-style dungeons began appearing across the globe; three years later, they remain profoundly enigmatic. When overworked chemist Keigo has an unexpected dungeon experience, he acquires a strange skill that opens the way for new research and development. Keigo and his partner-in-crime, Miyoshi, have a chance to obtain tremendous profits as they investigate the dungeon’s secrets; but they also risk getting dragged into fierce political conflicts (foreign and domestic). This story is part fantasy adventure, part science fiction, and part diplomatic/political thriller. (When I say sci-fi, I mean that if, say, a character acquires the power to manipulate magnetism, there will be a discussion of Faraday’s law of induction and the physics principles behind rail guns.) Besides the fun blend of fantasy and sci-fi, the story also sets a big mystery: the dungeons. What is their purpose, and who or what is behind them? Arcane inscriptions within the dungeons may hold the answer… In short, I really enjoyed this volume. I thought the magic-science blend—the intrusion of fantasy into our world—worked well and gave the story a unique feel. You can bet I’ll be back for the next volume. ~ JeskaiAngel

D-Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared is published by J-Novel Club.

The Liminal Zone

Even Junji Ito’s “leftover” ideas turn into captivating “short stories” of horror and mystery. The Liminal Zone, developed out of old thoughts that he later decided to develop further, is a collection of four manga stories that were originally released in Japan on LINE’s manga app. They are diverse in topic and style, and all wickedly clever and mesmerizing: the tales range from one about a man who wakes with memories of slaughtering people in his sleep to another of a Catholic school gone awry via the corruption of its leader. While the former story is my favorite in The Liminal Zone (and the only one that I would call traditionally “frightening”), the latter one, “Madonna,” is certainly ripe for analysis on our Christian-focused blog. The story slowly unravels the history of corruption at the school, a corruption mixed with a theology that goes into deviant directions because of power gone unchecked. There’s something to be said here about how each of us, particularly leaders, can cause severe damage when indulging in sin; but the story also leaves room for hope through the kindness and purity of one character who does not fall. That story is certainly worth a closer look for Catholics and other Christians, but the other three in the collection are likewise excellent, combining various measures of whimsy, fantasy, the spiritual, and of course, horror. – Twwk

The Liminal Zone (manga) is published by Viz Media.

A Silent Voice, Vol. 2

I came into volume two of A Silent Voice with much hesitation after really despising Shoya’s actions in the previous volume. However, with this second volume, I strangely enough feel the tables have turned, and now my heart feels heavy for Shoya. I didn’t expect that my heart could feel this way after everything he’s done, but this volume really shows how Shoya has changed. It might have been five years since he bullied Shoko in elementary school because she couldn’t hear, but now he boldly declares to a new character, Yuzuru, that he will dedicate his life to Shoko and making up for all the wrongs he has done. We see him truly remorseful for his past actions and cannot help but feel compassion for him as he shares how he hates himself and how he views the people around him. As much as I didn’t like his earlier actions, I would never want him to take his own life or live completely alone. I was deeply concerned on his behalf and was very thankful for the very subtle change in him when he questions what friendship is and when a friendship forms. Also, as odd as it might sound, I was glad that this volume opened up with Shoko saying she hated Shoya. I don’t condone hate, but it made her character a lot more relatable because until this volume, I was genuinely at a loss to explain how she didn’t seem to express any anger. She continues to be a very inspiring person in that, despite her own feelings, she is still willing to give Shoya a second chance. Her actions are indeed humbling and inspire hope as I continue this series. ~ Laura A. Grace

A Silent Voice is published by Kodansha.

READ: A Silent Voice Reviews: Vol. 1

Bleach 20th Anniversary Edition, Vol. 1

I remember reading volume one of Bleach for the first time, picking it up in a Barnes and Noble and standing near an aisle of books, unable to stop myself from tearing through the manga. Twenty years later, an anniversary edition is coming out, but the sheen of the series has dimmed—by its conclusion, Bleach had become a textbook example of what happens when you create too many OP characters that you don’t know what to do with, either placing them in meandering, boring arcs or forgetting they exist for volumes on end. So why purchase this volume, whose only extra is new cover art from the launch of the series on Shonen Jump? Well, what’s the only reason for buying manga at all? Because it grabs you, because it’s engaging, because it’s good. And volume one still hits hard with slapstick humor, a really cool cast of characters (and two leads who are particularly endearing), and some pretty awesome action scenes. All these aspects get lost later on, but for one volume—and to be fair, for many thereafter—Bleach reminds readers why this series was so popular and beloved. For me, it was the manga most responsible for stirring my love of the medium. So for nostalgia’s sake, as well as for the strength of its initial chapters, I’m not sure there’s a single volume of manga that I’d rather own. – Twwk

Bleach 20th Anniversary Edition (manga) is published by Viz Media.

=====

“Reader’s Corner” is our way of embracing the wonderful world of manga, light novels, and visual novels, creative works intimately related to anime but with a magic all their own. Each week, our writers provide their thoughts on the works they’re reading—both those recently released as we keep you informed of newly published works, and those older titles that you might find as magical (or in some cases, reprehensible) as we do.

#Manga #Light Novels #Chitose is in the Ramune Bottle #Chitose kun wa Ramune Bin no Naka #MASHLE #Mashle: Magic and Muscles #D Genesis: Three Years after the Dungeons Appeared #D Genesis: Dungeon ga Dekite 3 nen #The Liminal Zone #Genkai Chitai #Koe no Katachi #A Silent Voice #Bleach #Reader's Corner #Articles #Author: TWWK #Author: Jeskai Angel #Author: Laura A. Grace

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derelictvessel · 12 hours

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Finally, after like 11 months, I have finished the rough draft for the next chapter of my fic. 15k words. It isn't even a first draft, just a rough draft.

I've also nearly finished my overhaul of the earlier chapters. I have so much more to do, but I'm so friggen close.

For anyone who follows me because of Second Chance part 1: Genesis, know that my plan is to finish all the edits and all my drafts, and then begin publishing each new chapter. I'm tired of having major edits to get back too, and remembering things I forgot to write in

For example, Octavia becoming Indra's seken. Or why Lexa isn't worried about Wells anymore.

I am moving again at the end of the summer, and I want to be finished with this fic before then, (it's 3 year anniversary)

#writing #fanfic #Scp1 #Genesis #Second Chance Part 1: Genesis #clexa fanfic #clexa

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dailyaudiobible · 9 months

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9/13/2023 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 12:1-14:32, 2 Corinthians 13:1-14, Psalm 57:1-11, Proverbs 23:9-11

Today is the 13th day of September, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be together, gathered here around the Global Campfire for another, another step forward on our journey. And our journey has led us well, it's led us from Genesis, all the way into the book of Isaiah, here in the Old Testament, and we’re, we’re well into it. It's a big book. So, we got a ways to go but today we will read chapters 12, 13, and 14.

Commentary:

Okay, so, in today's reading, we concluded the letter to the Corinthians, known as Second Corinthians. And I mean, it’s not that long of a letter. So, we’ve moved through it and it would be hard not to notice that Paul spends a bunch of time in this letter defending himself. He, he, he’d been dealing with a bunch of different power grabs and mixed messaging in the church from outsiders, and all kinds of people questioning whether or not he had authority. And according to Paul's way of thinking they were essentially questioning him while inflating or boasting about themselves, bolstering their…their own pedigree. Which then puts Paul in this weird situation where it’s like part of the human condition, where it’s like okay, do we have to play this game? Is this really a game of comparison. Is this the only way you’ll understand this? And so, then Paul has to kind of reluctantly boast about…about his own trials in ministry. And he does that, he does not at length but then he comes to this conclusion, that if there really were something that anybody could boast in, especially Paul, it would be his own weaknesses and the strength of Christ that is within. I suppose it’s not a stretch at all for us to understand that our Lord Jesus faced the same kind of scenarios, dealt with the same kinds of things. He was accused of being like an agent of the devil. He was often asked to prove that he had authority by performing a sign or a wonder. He was often questioned about who gave Him the right. Like, by whose authority are you doing these things, by whose authority are you saying these things. It’s the same kind of stuff Paul was dealing with. And that gives us a chance to kind of, kind of think about our own lives. How would we respond if we were asked about who gave us the authority to say the things that we are saying, and do the things that we are doing? Or if our, if our commitment to the Savior were to be questioned. Or would anybody even notice, or would anybody even care? I mean, our lives being transformed in visible ways that we can see, and we are in this process of ever-growing and being sanctified. Or are we standing back and looking for the proof, the pedigree? Paul brings his letter to the Corinthians in for a landing and closes it by inviting the people, his readers, to reflect upon their own lives. And I quote from Paul, “examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you? Unless, of course, you fail the test.” Paul is inviting us to test whether Jesus is within us in a way that our existence has been changed. We have been fundamentally altered; we are going in a completely different direction. For Paul, this is necessary because we have been made new, who we were was crucified with Christ and we live in Christ, and that reality should be reflected in an ever-increasing way in our lives. Lot’s of people have lots of different persuasions and views of Paul but, to this very day, Paul was recognized as living what he believed. And his…his devotion to Jesus and his commitment to the gospel, I mean, that's memorialized in the New Testament. A great portion of the New Testament is written by this guy. He believed what he taught. He was loyal to what he believed all the way unto his execution. What Paul tells us throughout his writings is that he has found that he must trust entirely in God for his physical needs and for his spiritual needs. And when he invites his readers to examine themselves, this is what we’re talking about. Where does our hope lie? Are we being transformed by ever-increasing faith and trust and reliance, and loyalty to Jesus? Let’s give it some thought today.

Prayer:

And Jesus, we invite You into that. There is no question about Your loyalty to us, that's the thing. Like, You loved us onto death and You love us into life and You will love us forever. It’s not You, it's us and we are invited to examine ourselves today. And so, come, Holy Spirit and…and bring the light of truth into the dark recesses of our hearts. We open ourselves to You. This is a time where the basement is open, the attic is open. The closets are open. Come, Holy Spirit, and lead us into all truth, and lead us into Jesus more deeply, we ask in His name. Amen.

Prayer and Encouragements:

Good morning, DAB. This is House of Joy Café from Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. How often I want to call and I’m just not able to record without losing it. So, I wrote it down. I’m able to bring this request to you now. On Tuesday, Auguste 29th our brother, sister-in-law, and disabled kids came to take us on a boat ride. On the way home, both kids went to sleep on the boat. Their daughter woke up bringing ringing her bell purse, we were almost home. And their son woke up at our dock in the arms of Jesus Christ. Please pray for our family, specifically dad, Craig is his name, mom Mary, and sister Megan. Thank you and God bless you.

Hi, Daily Audio Bible family. This is Chelsea from Oregon. I had called in a couple weeks ago asking for prayers of strength in regards to having my son. I had previously had miscarriages in the past and getting down to the wire of delivering, my baby was starting to get me nervous. So, I had called in and asking for prayers of strength and peace. And I just wanted to let you know that on September 1st, my son, Parker James Davis was born into the world, rapidly and intensely. But he’s here and he’s so amazing. And I feel so blessed and I feel so humbly grateful for everyone that said a prayer in regards to my needs and my family. As the time went waiting for this little guy to be born, it was such a special treat to listen to the, the Daily Audio Bible episodes and listen to the prayers of others. And while I was praying for other people that needed help, listening in to somebody that took the time to pray for me, it literally helped me just push through on until God decided it was time for him to make his entrance. And man, it really helped. And I just wanna say thank you so much because it means a lot to have somebody care that you don’t even know. So, I just wanted to say thank you and I’m so grateful as I’m recording this. I’m holding my little baby and it’s so amazing. So, thank you so much. And my heart will be going out to anyone else in prayer. Cause it helped me so much. So, thank you again. Bye.

Hello DAB community, it’s Morning Lift. Reaching out to say thank you all for your prayers. I really appreciate your continued prayers for me and my wife and my kids. And the reconciliation of our marriage. You all know that I went to court last month on the 29th of August and had a good legal result. But I fear the relational damage that’s been done by this court hearing is just significant. My attorney told me that during that day, that she had no concern for my reconciliation. That her only concern was the legal matters. And then she proceeded to cross examine my wife in a way that just destroyed her on the stand and made her cry and it was the hardest thing for me to watch. I don’t ever want to see that again. I don’t ever want to walk through that again. As a result, I’ve decided to retain new legal counsel and my new attorney’s recommendation is to send a letter to my wife. And my wife’s attorney’s asking for a cease fire. Asking to take some time and go to marriage counseling. And I’m praying, Lord, that my wife’s heart would be softened and that she would be agreeable to this idea. And I ask family that you would join me in prayer for my wife. That she would agree to this pause on the legal pursuit and a return to counseling to see if we can process through our conflict issues. There’s just been so much conflict and strife. And it’s just so hard. And I ask that you would bless us, God, that You would re-unify us, that You would at least help us to be more agreeable and work together as co-parents. I lift this up in the name of Jesus Christ and I pray that Your will would be done, God, in my life and my family and my marriage. In Jesus name.

Hey family, it’s Searching for Beauty. It’s, I actually don’t know the date, September 10th today. I just wanted to give you a bit of an update. I had round 4 of my targeted treatment for stage 4 cancer. And the blood work they did the day before, so it’s showing the results of three rounds of treatment. Now as my bone and liver metastases marker, blood marker at high normal regions. So, I don’t know exactly what that means but I know it’s good. I think it means that the cancer isn’t actively spreading, and these treatments are working. I have a CT scan for tomorrow which is the 11th. And I guess we’ll know more after that. I’m feeling pretty good. It’s been a bit of a wild ride the last couple of weeks. My older daughter got herself involved in a very dangerous lifestyle and I had to find her another place to live while having my younger one stay somewhere else until we can do that. A lot of moving parts in that. Yeah, finding a place. She needs to still find work, where she’s living now. And I’m hoping to stay in touch with her frequently. If you could please just keep her in your prayers. And my younger one at home here, we’re still probably in an element of danger but we know that God is protecting us. I thank you so much for all of your prayers. I do pray for all of you. Especially right now Liza, Philippians 4 and Danny from Oregon. God bless ya’ll. Bye Bye.

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johnhardinsawyer · 10 months

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Living Mercy

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

8 / 20 / 23 – 12th Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 15

Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32

Genesis 45:1-15

“Living Mercy”

(Moral Courage and Holy Mystery)

Brothers are supposed to get along – at least that’s what I’ve been told. Brothers are supposed to get along, but they don’t always.

I was in the eleventh grade. My little brother was in the fifth grade. We had just moved to a new town, didn’t know many people, and didn’t have anywhere to go (and no car to go anywhere in, anyway). It was raining outside. Both of our parents were at work. We had one grainy working channel on our ancient TV, we had each other, and we had all day. . . stuck in the house. . . together. We also had access to our dad’s collection of rubber bands, of which my brother availed himself and began to shoot at me with his finger. He was a pretty good shot. I was annoyed, so I went to my room to read a book. I locked the door, but that only gave my brother a chance to knock on it repeatedly and wiggle his fingers underneath until I got mad and chased him around. The final straw came when I needed to use the bathroom and my brother locked me out of the part of the house with the bathrooms. I yelled something like, “Open this door or else!” “Or else what?!?” my brother yelled back. And then I kicked the door – busting it open and leaving a big dent in it. The look of shock on my brother’s face was priceless. He didn’t mess with me after that. In fact, it took some time, but all these years later, my brother and I are pretty much best friends.

In today’s story from the Book of Genesis, we find a story about some brothers. Just in case you’re not familiar with the story of Joseph and his brothers, you might remember that we have spent some time this summer with the stories of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Abraham has one son, Isaac. Isaac has two sons, Jacob and Esau. And Jacob? Well, Jacob ends up having twelve sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. Out of all of his sons, Jacob loves Joseph the most, so he gives Joseph a colorful robe with sleeves. This special attention goes to Joseph’s head and he starts to annoy his ten older brothers. Eventually, they get fed up with Joseph and they beat him up, throw him in a pit, and sell him to some traveling merchants who are going down to Egypt.

The story of Joseph is long and detailed, but here are the highlights: Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. But God is mysteriously at work in Joseph’s life, lifting him up from slavery and imprisonment to become second only to the Pharaoh – the king of Egypt. When there is a famine, Joseph uses his God-given administrative skills to avert a crisis in Egypt. There is enough food for everyone and they even have some food left over to sell to foreigners, including Joseph’s hungry brothers who have traveled down to Egypt to find food. Of course, all these years after Joseph was beaten and sold by his brothers, they don’t even recognize their younger brother as this rich and powerful person who has had them arrested and brought before him.

Put yourself in Joseph’s shoes: the people who did you wrong, the people for whom you have been carrying a grudge all these years are right there in front of you. You have the power not just to kick the door in on them, but absolutely destroy them. What do you do? I mean, brothers are supposed to get along, but sometimes they don’t. People are supposed to get along, but sometimes we don’t.

Of course, it might seem old fashioned, or wishful thinking on my part, or maybe even counter-cultural to say that “people are supposed to get along,” because I’m under the impression that there are plenty of people who seem to be okay with not getting along. In a recent article in The Atlantic magazine, called “How America Got Mean,” David Brooks writes that the stories we tell ourselves as to why our culture is “mean,” is that social media, or the rise of despair and hatred, or economic inequality, or social isolation are each to blame. And, yes, each of these has had an effect on us. But, as Brooks writes,

The most important story about why Americans have become sad and alienated and rude, I believe, is also the simplest: We inhabit a society in which people are no longer trained in how to treat others with kindness and consideration. Our society has become one in which people feel licensed to give their selfishness free rein. The story I’m going to tell is about morals. In a healthy society, a web of institutions — families, schools, religious groups, community organizations, and workplaces — helps form people into kind and responsible citizens, the sort of people who show up for one another. We live in a society that’s terrible at moral formation.[1]

Now, before you say, “Duh, John, tell us something we don’t know!” I want to remind you where we are: a little church on a hill – a place that for nearly 275 years has had, as one of its goals, some kind of moral formation. I’m talking about the morals that we find in the ancient words of scripture, in the life and example of Jesus Christ, and in the centuries of moral formation that the historic church has sought to provide. Yes, the church has had an influence on culture, but Brooks is clear that religion – or religious moral teaching – is not always a cure-all for what ails us. As Brooks writes,

. . . the emphasis on morality didn’t produce perfect people. Moral formation doesn’t succeed in making people angels — it tries to make them better than they otherwise might be. Furthermore, we would never want to go back to the training methods that prevailed for so long, rooted in so many thou shall nots and so much shaming, and riddled with so much racism and sexism. Yet a wise accounting should acknowledge that emphasizing moral formation meant focusing on an important question — what is life for? — and teaching people how to bear up under inevitable difficulties. A culture invested in shaping character helped make people resilient by giving them ideals to cling to when times got hard.[2]

Times had been hard for Joseph, and yet he somehow still clung to a Holy and merciful ideal instead of clinging to resentment.

Just so you know, the story of Joseph takes place before the arrival of the 10 Commandments – God’s holy list of “thou shall nots.” And surely there must have been some kind of rule in that day and age – spoken or unspoken – that “thou shall not beat up your own brother, steal his colorful robe, sell him into slavery in Egypt, and go home holding the robe stained with animal blood, telling your father that your younger brother Joseph is dead.”[3] It was wrong what they did to Joseph and he knows this (and, deep down, they know it, too). But somehow, Joseph also knows that it would be wrong for him to destroy his brothers. Somehow, he still has some higher ideals to which he has been clinging ever since that awful act in his past. In the moment, his brothers don’t recognize him and have no idea the rage and fury that this fancy Egyptian-looking person can bring down upon them. If he calls for the guards and if he says the word, his brothers could all be killed. But Joseph chooses mercy and as he reintroduces himself to his brothers, he brings God into the story, as Eugene Peterson translates:

I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don’t feel badly, don’t blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn’t you who sent me here but God. He set me in place as a father to Pharaoh, put me in charge of his personal affairs, and made me ruler of all Egypt.[4]

In other words, “It might sound crazy, but God was part of it all – at work for good. Somehow, God made something good out of this awful thing that you did that most people would never forget or forgive. I don’t blame you, though, because God did something amazing – turning this whole awful mess around.”

For the record, this is one of the amazing things that God always seems to be doing – taking some awful mess and turning it around. Time and time again in the Bible, there are so many stories of redemption, and reversal, and even resurrection in which God chooses blessing over cursing, life over death, and mercy over condemnation.

Contrary to what you may have heard, our God is “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.”[5] This ancient description of God appears multiple times in the Hebrew Bible. And in the New Testament, we see Jesus Christ as the incarnation – the merciful, and gracious, and slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love embodiment of these words.

We see this idea in today’s reading from Paul’s letter to the Romans. Paul, who is descended from Benjamin, Joseph’s younger brother, writes, “All have been imprisoned in disobedience so that God may be merciful to all.” (Romans 11:32). Or, again, as Eugene Peterson translates,

God makes sure that we all experience what it means to be outside so that he can personally open the door and welcome us back in. Have you ever come on anything quite like this extravagant generosity of God, this deep, deep wisdom? It’s way over our heads. We’ll never figure it out. Is there anyone around who can explain God? Anyone smart enough to tell him what to do? Anyone who has done him such a huge favor that God has to ask his advice? Everything comes from him; Everything happens through him; Everything ends up in him. Always glory! Always praise! Yes. Yes. Yes.[6]

To put it another way, “We all know how it feels to be on the outside, but God – in God’s inexplicable mercy – graciously opens the door and welcomes us in. Why? How? We’ll never figure it out, we’ll never fully deserve it, but God is merciful. . . Yes. Yes. Yes.”

So, what about us? If mercy is one of the calling cards of the God we believe in, what is the church to do? What sort of moral example is God giving us and calling us to emulate. . . to live? If we supposedly live in a society that is terrible at moral formation then what if we began with mercy – living some of the mercy that we have been given?

What sort of moral courage does it take to show mercy in this world? As David Brooks writes,

Look, I understand why people don’t want to get all moralistic in public. Many of those who do are self-righteous prigs, or rank hypocrites. And all of this is only a start. But healthy moral ecologies don’t just happen. They have to be seeded and tended by people who think and talk in moral terms, who try to model and inculcate moral behavior, who understand that we have to build moral communities because on our own, we are all selfish and flawed. Moral formation is best when it’s humble. It means giving people the skills and habits that will help them be considerate to others in the complex situations of life. It means helping people behave in ways that make other people feel included, seen, and respected. That’s very different from how we treat people now—in ways that make them feel sad and lonely, and that make them grow unkind.[7]

In other words, moral formation humbly begins with mercy. For far too long, the message that our culture has received from the not-so-humble loudest voices who call themselves Christian is that the Christian message is not one of mercy. This could not be farther from the truth of who God is, though, and who we are called to be. And, while it may be old-fashioned, or wishful thinking, or countercultural, having moral courage begins with living lives of mercy.

Church, if we are to have any relevance, any impact – and, perhaps, any future – may we be known by the mercy we live, clinging to mercy even when it’s hard, even if we see little to no reward, even if we feel we have nothing to gain. The mercy we offer our enemies, and one another, and even ourselves is an amazing and Holy act of deliverance from the harsh reality of what is to the gracious blessing of what God intends for us and for all the world.

So, friends, give mercy. . . live mercy. And may your mercy – which is really God’s mercy at work in and through you – be a blessing.

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

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[1] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2023/09/us-culture-moral-education-formation/674765/.

[2] David Brooks, ibid.

[3] See Genesis 37.

[4] Eugene Peterson, The Message: Numbered Edition (Colorado Springs: NAV Press, 2002) 73. Genesis 45:4-8.

[5] See Psalm 86:15, Exodus 33:19, Exodus 34:6, Numbers 14:10, Psalm 103:8, Psalm 145:8.

[6] Eugene Peterson, 1556-1557.

[7] David Brooks, ibid.

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