#and that the speech is directed more towards creators themselves

[yukidragon]

What powers do you think Jack has in the demo, and what other powers do you think he may have or want him to have in the full game?

I think that a lot of Jack’s powers are based off of empathy and thoughts, particularly when it comes to MC. I also think we haven’t seen the limit of what he can do yet.

There’s an unquestionable connection between Jack and MC. He cares about them, he needs them to need him, and if they start to draw away from him, his grasp on reality weakens.

In a way, Jack shares a lot in common with a tulpa, also known as a thoughtform, which is an independent entity brought into existence by the power of belief. Typically these start off as imaginary friends that gain their own sentience over time through the power of their creator’s belief. The person who imagined them into being desired their existence, and unless they can manage to detach themselves from relying on their creator, they can be snuffed out just as easily.

This fits a lot with the theme of comfort characters and why we need them, which is one of the inspirations for the plot of Sunny Day Jack. However, we do have evidence that Jack is more than a tulpa. He has memories of a past life beyond the character he’s playing as, and he knows lore about the character that MC is unfamiliar with. Heck, they didn’t even know about Sunny Day Jack or the show until they played the video tape.

We’ve seen hints that Jack can read MC’s thoughts and emotions, and some teaser art and comments from Sauce hinted that he can share their physical state as well, such as being drunk when MC is or experiencing period pain. While we can’t say for sure if this will be canon in the full game release, he did make a comment that suggested he literally felt their arousal towards him.

It also seems to work in the reverse. MC feels warm and happy when cuddling Jack, beyond the physical sensation of his body heat. Being with him makes them feel really good in general. When he starts feeling insecure though, he starts growing cold and distant from them, those golden feelings turning gray. They feel awful about leaving him to work, like they’re abandoning him when he needs them.

I think this empathy ratcheted up to a supernatural level. Jack feels MC’s emotions and vice-versa. This can make them both instinctively very drawn to make the other happy, as the other’s sadness causes them pain and distress similar to what they’re experiencing.

Then of course there are times when Jack literally comments on something MC was thinking about. In the “yes” route he even talks directly to them through the narration in red text, which implies that he’s speaking through thoughts, though it seems subtle enough that MC doesn’t realize it given they don’t acknowledge it at all.

In teaser art where Jack encourages a rival to kill themselves, it seems as though that it’s not a direct conversation. Rather, it’s not a situation where they try to say anything, but are looking at themselves in the mirror in distress. I think that Jack can use “intrusive thoughts” on other people, talking them in a way that seems more subconscious and indirect. These also can take the form of giving someone nightmares, as we saw in the ending with Nick.

It makes sense that if Jack can influence someone’s subconscious thoughts that he can give someone horrific nightmares, as our subconscious controls our dreams.

A lot of Jack and his powers seem to be based off subconsciousness and desire. He also seems to be growing stronger, as suggested by this speech of his.

Another power seems to be changing his appearance, and possibly manifesting entire items, such as the mysteriously appearing blueberries or new outfits. The current limitation is that only MC can see/interact with these things, such as his jacket, but if he eventually manages to give a villainous monologue to someone, I suspect that when he gets stronger he’ll be able to affect others in a similar way.

I think Jack will gain more power over time during the course of the game’s story, and I think it hinges mostly on how much MC loves/needs him. It might also be influenced by how many people are aware of his existence in general.

After all... Jack was forgotten, buried by a company that erased the memory of him and the whole show, silencing people under NDAs. It’s possible that the more people learn about the show, say from a reboot, the stronger he’ll become regardless of MC’s feelings.

Heck, it could even be that Jack was trapped in limbo of the tape due to so few people remembering him, and even then mostly just remembering him as Jack, even his co-workers. I doubt Joseph told them about his past considering he abandoned his former identity, so they would be more familiar with him as Jack’s actor.

As for other powers... MC observed that people seemed to conveniently exist around him. Maybe they were instinctively avoiding where he stood without realizing it. It would suggest that even at the start, he has a very slight affect on other people just by being present.

Although Jack can’t be seen by mirrors or other people, he seems very real to MC. He can converse with them, pick them up, have sex with them... He can also pick up objects considering he could cook food and clean dishes. He has a heartbeat and body fluids such as spit and sweat.

I think Jack’s trajectory as far as his powers are concerned is that he’s going to become more real to the world. At some point, I think he’ll be able to be perceived by other people on more than just a subconscious level, able to actually talk to them and be seen by them... and maybe touch them to, say, guide their hand to slit their own throat if they’re a threat?

Like a tulpa that’s gained independence from its creator, I think Jack might eventually become a person every bit as real as anyone else.

I think Jack’s ability to get in peoples’ heads makes him very, very dangerous and disturbing. He has a way with words, and if he can make people think these intrusive thoughts are their own? Well, that’s just weaponizing depression... and has the potential to drive people insane and to commit self-harm.

It also makes it harder for MC to escape the clutches of a yandere like Jack when things go down the more bad end routes. He makes them feel good to the point that they’re addicted to those good feelings. He gets inside their head, literally, and he can influence their thoughts. You can’t run away from someone if you want to stay with them after all, which can lead things down a very insidious path.

In the “no” route MC wants to be rewritten by Jack. He takes some part of them and fills that empty space with desire and need. It’s possible that he could go as far as brainwashing MC and others with his power, though fortunately that seems to be only something he uses on them as a desperate self-preservation tactic.

Other people though? If Jack gets strong enough, perhaps he could do the same to them.

In Jack’s speech, he mentioned a piece of him growing bigger. Combining this with him taking some part of MC, I think that there is some soul manipulation going on. I think he has a piece of his soul in MC and vice-versa, and he seems to be able to make that piece grow bigger with his power. This is pretty heavy conjecture of course, since this is very vague at the moment and it could be a part of their mind instead of their soul.

When talking with MC about Ian, they had a thought of just letting Jack take control. A second later everything goes black and they wake up the next morning in bed wrapped in his jacket. Some have speculated this is him possessing MC to literally take control of them, and I think that he might have that ability if they give him permission, consciously or subconsciously.

The fandom has been theorizing that Jack will be capable of possessing the other love interests at some point, especially when we saw teaser art of Ian dressed as Jack covered in blood. With the hints we have that it’s just Ian dressed as the part of a rebooted version of the character though, it calls into question if he actually has that ability.

I think it’s possible Jack might be able to possess people later on in certain routes. He’s reinvented himself before... so why not do it again if MC is trying to romance one of the other love interests?

I think that’s just about everything. I may have meandered around with this ramble, but that’s because we’ve only gotten hints of Jack’s powers at the moment. It’s possible he has more, or even that some of these suspicions are wrong. We’ll just have to wait for the full release of the game and see, but I have a feeling that Jack has more power than we realize, and it all hinges on MC's love for him and how badly they want him in their life.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

#Sunny Day Jack #Something's Wrong With Sunny Day Jack #SunnyDayJack #sdj #swwsdj #Headcanon Ramblings #Ask

[thechanelmuse]

TW: rape

‘I May Destroy You,’ Michaela Coel’s gimlet-eyed exploration of trauma and its myriad ripple effects follows Arabella (Coel) — a funny, messy, sharp-as-hell London writer — after a dizzying night in which she’s drugged and raped by a stranger. At first, she dismisses the hazy memory as just an upsetting image in her head. Soon enough, though, Arabella reluctantly comes to understand it as the truth, and tries to work through that horrifying reality without coming apart. [...]

Not every part of Arabella has a direct line to Coel, but the series’ catalyzing experience, unfortunately, does. In 2016, Coel took a break from a marathon writing session for the second season of “Chewing Gum” to grab a drink with a friend, and was drugged and assaulted by a stranger. She’s been sifting through the emotional wreckage ever since to find some kind of clarity, if not peace. Now, with “I May Destroy You,” she’s doing it for all the world to see. “As a fellow android exploring what it means to be human,” says Coel’s friend Janelle Monáe, “watching Michaela be vulnerable on-screen as she walks in her truth gives me and so many the bravery to walk in ours.” [...]

Coel began writing “I May Destroy You” in February 2017, in between acting in TV projects like the “USS Callister” episode of “Black Mirror” and Netflix’s limited series “Black Earth Rising.” She took solo mountain trips and wrote draft after draft of what would eventually become “I May Destroy You,” spilling her stories and tangled guts onto the page, rearranging them into shapes she could better recognize. In August 2018, she spoke about her trauma publicly while delivering the Edinburgh International Television Festival’s James MacTaggart Memorial Lecture, a prestigious assignment the festival has otherwise bestowed on a cadre of white British television mainstays (as well as no fewer than three Murdochs). 

The majority of Coel’s speech, delivered to a room of the U.K.’s most powerful entertainment brokers, traced the constant racism and classism she endured on the way to that Edinburgh stage — a theme subtextually underlined by the fact that Coel was, and remains, the only Black woman to have that platform. She spoke about turning her solo play “Chewing Gum Dreams” into a “Chewing Gum” TV series (which aired 2015-17 on the U.K.’s Channel 4), a transformative time that taught her the technicalities of making television and confirmed just how disinclined certain white gatekeepers are to trust a poorer Black woman’s vision. Toward the end of the 50-minute lecture, Coel revealed her assault and elucidated the industry’s inability — or unwillingness — to handle such a human emergency when pages are due. As for her recovery, she said, “It’s been therapeutic to write about it, and actively twist a narrative of pain into something with more hope, and even humor.”

When it finally came time to translate it all to the screen, “I May Destroy You” was so close to her bruised heart that Coel took on the challenge of playing several roles throughout the series’ development: creator, writer, actor, producer, director. Netflix offered her a total fee of a cool $1 million to make and star in the show, but the proposed contract wouldn’t grant Coel even a tiny percentage of the rights. She hadn’t fully realized how much claiming legal proprietorship over her work mattered to her until the prospect of not being able to emerged, at which point it became crucial. 

Then, after some Googling, she realized that her CAA agents would also be profiting from the deal via the endangered practice of packaging. Stung and surprised, Coel walked away from both her agents and the offer. “I’m not anti-Netflix,” she’s quick to say now, “but I am pro-‘the creator, writer, director, actor should probably have a right.’” She’s hyper-aware of how much this project required of her, and how comparatively little granting her “a right” might cost a powerful network like Netflix. “That’s not quite fair, is it?” Coel muses. Creating the show, after all, took almost everything she had.

With the BBC, a million-dollar paycheck might not have been in the cards, but more important to Coel, she didn’t have to fight half as hard to claim ownership. (As a matter of industry course, it’s far more common for British studios to afford creators rights to their work than it is for American equivalents.) They struck a deal, and Coel got to work.[...]

“When you’re restricted,” she explains, “sometimes that’s where you find great things: in the lack of possibility.” She attributes this rather Zen approach to Hugo Blick, the “Black Earth Rising” showrunner who showed her the value of keeping a cool, empathetic head on set. Blick’s ability to step away from a gnarly situation for even 30 calming seconds is one that Coel has worked to hone for herself, especially while steering a series with such fraught ties to her history. No matter how sideways things might go, she never wants to forget just how much she loves the collaborative act of building a television show, wild complications and all. 

Read more

From Forbes:

I May Destroy You’s Michaela Coel Rejected Netflix’s $1 Million Offer In Favor Of The BBC Because Of Ownership

The creative, who stars as Arabella and wrote all 12 episodes, started pitching the programme in the spring of 2017 with one of her first ports of call being Netflix who picked up her prior series Chewing Gum.

Though Netflix offered a generous upfront fee of $1 million (£800,000), the sum had strings attached, including full rights ownership away from the creator, something Coel pushed back against. Coel recalls a moment during the interview where she is speaking with a Netflix development executive on the phone, asking if she could retain even a very small 0.5% of the copyright to her show.

“There was just silence on the phone. And she said, ‘It’s not how we do things here. Nobody does that, it’s not a big deal,’” Coel recollected. “I said, ‘If it’s not a big deal, then I’d really like to have 5 % of my rights,’” Coel added, stating that she even went down to 2%, and then 1% and even as a final compromise to 0.5%.

Coel remembers that the executive said she would have to run it passed her superiors, before adding, “‘Michaela? I just want you to know I’m really proud of you. You’re doing the right thing.'”

“I remember thinking, I’ve been going down rabbit holes in my head, like people thinking I’m paranoid, I’m acting sketchy, I’m killing off all my agents,” Coel says. “And then she said those words to me, and I finally realized — I’m not crazy. This is crazy.”

Coel discovered her agents, Creative Artists Agency (CAA) were set to make an undisclosed amount from the series if she took the deal with Netflix. She reveals that the agency pushed her to take the deal prior to her finding out and their subsequent dismissal as her U.S. representation.

Taking the project to British broadcaster the BBC later in 2017, Coel found the corporation to be supportive with her maintaining creative control even with the explicit depictions of sex, sexual assault and drug use. Plus, as the broadcaster had to adhere to terms of trade, Coel had no problem with retaining the rights also. The broadcaster also brought HBO to the table as another co-producer to help subsidise a portion of the budget.

Read more

This isn’t about just “knowing your worth;” it’s about knowing the business (your business) and never settling just to secure “something.” A million dollar offer, no copyright ownership and no creative control is beyond disrespectful. Learn the business in whatever field you’re in and stay acclimated with jargon and new, current and old practices. Know your shit. 

It’s like when people say “Get a lawyer” to handle negotiations and look over your paperwork. You pay a lawyer to do a job, but it does not mean you should be oblivious to aspects of law and contract jargon among other things because “that’s what they’re there to do.” You can’t say someone (sometimes lawyers included) screwed you over after you’ve signed the dotted line. They’re protecting and looking out for themselves. Commit to do the same for yourself.

#michaela coel #i may destroy you #film business #ownership #hbo #bbc #netflix #business

[jammatown919]

Amongst The Crowd

Anon requested: Scylla’s pov of the rally! I still have two more Motherland requests but they’ll probably take me a couple weeks each. 

Scylla hadn't dared to hope that she'd ever see Raelle again. She didn't see how she could, considering everything that stood between them. With the war, the lies, and the fact that Raelle wished they'd never met, the chances of a reunion seemed slim to none.

But then the Army opened up a testing center for young witches, and the two managed to find themselves at it's grand opening.

Scylla was eternally grateful that Raelle, even from her vantage point on the stage, didn't notice her amongst the crowd. As much as she wanted to think that they could reconcile if she made herself known, she knew how unlikely it was. There was a much higher chance that Raelle would alert Alder to her presence, and she couldn't have that now.

That didn't make it any easier, though. With Raelle so close, Scylla's impulsive heart was screaming at her to abandon the mission, to make eye contact and let her girl know she was there. She wanted to rush onto the stage and throw herself into those familiar arms, to beg for forgiveness and say everything she should have said when she'd had the chance. But she still had some sense in her, so instead she hid.

She ducked behind people and signs, doing everything she could to stay out of Raelle's sight without making it obvious to the people around her that she was using them as shields. She sincerely hoped that she wouldn't have to do this for long, but it seemed that luck was not on her side today.

She spent hours waiting for something to happen, wishing that The Camarilla would just make their move so she could focus on literally anything other than her ex-girlfriend.

It was after dark when she began to notice a shift in the atmosphere. The crowd around her seemed angrier now, pushing closer to the side. Concerned, she followed the flow of movement, weaving through protestors that were jeering and shouting at something she couldn't see.

Once she got to a section of the crowd that wasn't moving, she peered over a man's shoulder and just about jumped out of her skin. Approximately three feet in front of her was Raelle, desperately trying to calm the protestors. Scylla ducked behind the man, glad that his attention was on Raelle and not the girl pressed up against his back.

She couldn't hear exactly what Raelle was saying, but she got the gist of it. Basically just a load of bullshit about how great the Army was and how the witches recruited today would be taken care of. Frustration welled in Scylla's chest at the thought of Raelle really believing that.

I wish I'd gotten you out of there before they convinced you that was true, she lamented. I would have if I'd known you'd be safe.

"Someone once told me," Raelle called into the crowd. "That I had to let the Army make me strong."

Scylla froze. Was Raelle talking about her?

"And she was right."

I was right?

Scylla's heart lifted a bit. Raelle still valued what had been said on their first night together. Maybe she still valued what they'd felt for each other, and all the time they'd spent together. Maybe she didn't hate her.

Scylla didn't have much time to ponder it, though. The crowd moved again, toward Raelle, and she had to duck behind someone else as her shield stepped away from her. Briefly, she considered stepping up in Raelle's defense, but she couldn't afford to blow her cover.

Reluctantly, she retreated farther into the sea of people, unconsciously slipping her hand into her pocket to clutch the picture she'd swiped from Willa. Somewhere ahead of her, she could just barely hear someone screaming Raelle's name.

Before she could even register what was happening, Scylla was suddenly thrown off her feet, vaguely aware of the same happening to everyone around her. She landed on a stranger's legs, and another stranger promptly landed on top of her. For about twenty seconds, they all lay in a stunned heap, trying to work out what the hell had just happened.

A sound bomb, Scylla realized. That had been The Camarilla's move; to attack the rally in a way that, until recently, only a witch could. To frame the Army, or maybe the Spree, and push the idea that witches were Public Enemy Number One.

As soon as the stranger who'd landed on her rolled away, Scylla scrambled to her feet to survey the damage. Most of the people were starting to rise as well, though some remained half-dazed on the ground. Automatically, she began to search for Raelle.

The other witch hadn't been blown far; only about ten feet away. At this distance, and with fewer people to hide her, Scylla was in plain sight, but she couldn't bring herself to move. She'd come here thinking that Raelle would never want anything more to do with her, but after that speech, she wasn't sure anymore. She wanted to know how Raelle would react to seeing her, even if just for a second.

She stood there, frozen, as Raelle rose and dusted herself off. For a moment, she considered running, but her feet were still planted firmly to the ground. Slowly, Raelle turned in her direction, her gaze flicking through the crowd as if looking for something.

Scylla's breath caught in her throat as their eyes locked. She wasn't sure if she'd been expecting anger, relief, or something else entirely, but she knew it wasn't there. All she saw in Raelle's expression was a kind of numb shock, which was admittedly one of the better reactions she could have gotten.

As Raelle stepped toward her, Scylla slipped the picture out of her pocket, gently playing with the edges. She couldn't stay longer than a few seconds, no matter how much she might want to, but she could at least leave something behind. That way, Raelle would know her eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her. With a final glance at the young, happy face of the girl she loved, Scylla let go of the picture and let it fall to the ground.

When she looked back up, she realized that Raelle's head was turned in another direction; a perfect chance to slip away.

I love you, she thought as she turned and vanished into the crowd. I hope I'll see you again soon.

------- If you enjoyed this piece, please consider reblogging to share it with others! Likes unfortunately don’t do anything to help posts circulate, so the best way to let a content creator know you appreciate their work is to reblog it and let more people see it!

#motherland: fort salem #raylla #scylla ramshorn #raelle collar #this probably isn't super consistent with the actual episode but I couldn't find the whole thing online to rewatch it #my writing

[blulemonades]

The Training Scene

 Edited 8-21-21

Prompt Scene to the Series: Rising Sun

Description: Y/N and Jasper are in charge of training both the other Cullens and Uley Pack, how to fight an army of Newborns. Still on touchy ground, Paul realizes the cruel severity of his imprint previous life and the rest of the pack seem to gain more respect for the tiny leech.

Word count:1902

DISCLAIMER: I USED SOME OF THE DIALOGUE WRITTEN BY MEYER IN THIS PROMPT. I USED THEM AS A WAY TO FIX MY STORY IN WITH HER STORY MORE FLUIDLY.

Warnings: physical fighting, foul language, talk of death

a/n: Paul and the rest of the pack will be wolf form for most of this scene anything in Bold will be the conversation between the pack.

I avoided looking at anyone in the pack as they walked through the tree line. While my family gawked and stared at the large pack, I stood tensed, swallowing the pings and pangs of guilt I felt for not sharing this detail with my family. However this wasn't my information to give them.

Trying to refocus my thoughts towards helping Jasper with plans of training. It became hard to drift from the grey-silver wolf that held my shattered heart in his hands. Anger and Embarrassment still flooded through my system from our last conversation. I was hurt that he had thought so low of me and that he felt the need to scream at me in front of the whole pack.

I flinched as the memory of what I said popped back in my head. 

~

“Do you really think I wanted to be this monster?” I spun around to stare at him. Ignoring the eavesdropping teens behind me. Paul's face still held the ame disgust, as it did after Jacob told everyone of the newborn army.

“You honestly think that I asked to be this bloodsucking filth.” Paul's face flashed in shock at my phrasing.

" I had a life." I stressed the last word " A good life. With a doting husband, who I only recently found out, killed himself because he couldn't protect me." 

I never told Paul about Jonathan...or anything about my past because…Well he never seemed to care. Hell, Alice and Jasper are the only ones that even knew about Jonathan's suicide...maybe Edward but- \

Finally looking and registering the blank look that was Paul’s face now. I felt nothing but anger as I tried to bite my tongue from telling him anymore. He doesn't deserve to know about Jon. He doesn't get to use that against me like he uses everything else to attack me.

He just doesn't understand the fuckery that I've had to deal with. “ Did you know that one of the uhh-” I looked back at the ground “side efforts~” 

I almost laughed at my word choice. “Of being a leech is that you can’t kill yourself.” I could hear his heart skip a beat. “ Yeah... we can kill each other just not ourselves.”

A laugh escaped my throat, then another , then another. I shook my head, trying to pull myself back together. “And I know that because I tried every single method of the book."

“Even lighting myself on fire, did nothing but tickle me.”

"Y/n" I heard him breathe, then I felt the tiniest brush of a touch on the top of my shoulder. Jerking away from him, and looking back at his face. I saw the disgust that had laced in his expression and eyes were gone. In its place, was an expression of remorse. 

Full on laughing I tried to continue my speech, “It’s hilariously fucked up isn’t it” If I could cry I would be. I swallow the dry sob in the back of my throat. 

“Well my whole entire existence is fucked up actually.” I started to calm down. “ If it wasn’t, I would be 6 feet under right now.”  

“ Y/n” He started but I held up a hand to stop him, but he squeezed out “ It was a bad choice of word-.” 

"Of course!" I blew up. " Because you didn't know." I raised an eyebrow as he raised a hand to touch me again. He put it back down as when he saw the flames in my eyes. I continued "Because you never gave me the chance to explain to you what I went through. You just assumed that I asked for it ." 

"I'm done with having to defend myself, morally from you."   I turned and headed back to my vehicle, ignoring Paul's yells, as I slammed the car door. Bella would just have to get a ride from Jake. 

~

A wave of calmness hitting my system pulled me from the embarrassing memory. My eye shot up to Jasper, who was on the other side of her. He was still staring straight ahead. 

“Welcome” Carlisle spoke, I let my gaze settle on his relaxed stance out in the middle. My father has always amazed me with his calm appearance. 

"I know it must be a difficult thing for you to come." Then he went on to explain that Edward would be acting as a translator, so that way they don't have to phase if they don't want to.

“Thank you” Edward replied in a gruff tone. “We will only watch and listen, but no more. That is the most we can ask of our self-control.” I was thrilled more by that statement than I should be. I was hopeful that maybe I would be able to leave this place without a glance at a certain wolf.

“That is more than enough,” Carlisle smiled calmly. “My son Jasper” his right hand moved to gesture  “And daughter, Y/N '' his hand then shifting slightly to me, I nodded in acknowledgement to Carlisle gaze.

If I was still human, I would have had thousands of tiny goosebumps, up and down my arms right now. It felt like there were at least a thousand eyes on me.

"-have experience in this area. They will teach us how the newborns fight, and how they will be defeated. I’m sure you can apply this to your own hunting style." I heard a low rumble among the wolves 

“They are different from you?” asked Edward. Or Sam? This is getting confusing already. Carlisle smiled, “How about I let them explain.” again gesturing toward Jasper and me before stepping back to stand next to Esme. Jasper and I both walked up from the back to where Carlisle stood in the middle. 

I took a quick glance at Jasper and knowing, he would want to talk more than I did but I promised to speak mainly to the wolves if he explained more to our family. So that meant this question was for me to answer. 

Directing and keeping my attention to Sam, I tried to stay unfazed as I spoke “Yes, as they are still very new to this life. The Newborns will be full of frenzy driven by the brute strength given to them from the blood that still lingers in their system."  

"The newborns will fight amongst themselves. As of today we know that their numbers sit at 20. Ten for us and ten for you, with that it shouldn't be too difficult. but it's highly likely that their numbers will either lower farther or raise. ”  A rumble of excitement seems to run through them. 

“We are happy to take more than our share. If necessary” Edward translated, I notice the change in the tone. I smiled, “We will have to see.”

“ What makes you two more qualified on this matter than any of the others?” Edward spoke again. 

 There was a rustle next to me as Jasper took a step forward. Arms behind his back, his stance reminded me of my first meeting with him after I changed, posed and ready for a fight. 

“Y/N and I were forced into this life for the same reason as these newborns were forced. Except developed a conscience that our creator-" spoke with clear disgust in his tone. " -did not have control over." 

I heard a small gasp behind me and a small rustling of feet behind me. Clearly Bella did not know this strange detail. Jasper began to pace. I always picked on him when he did this. 'Your military is showing', I would say. But right now, it was nothing short of intimidating how he stood. 

“We know how to defeat them because we know what it's like to be them.” “Thank you” Edward quickly cut him off. “We will watch now.” Nodding Jasper turned to face back to our family. 

“There are 2 things you need to know, 1. Don’t let them get their arms around you; they will crush you instantly. 2.” He stopped turning back to face the wolves.

I flashed a look at Sam, the black wolf stood taller staring back at the ex-major. 

“ Don’t go for the obvious kill “ Jasper spoke clearly emphasizing each word wanting them to understand him. “ They will be expecting that. “ Jazz relaxed “ and you will lose. “ Sam let out a huff in response. 

“ Y/N and Emmett, you are up first.” I heard a mumble pass down the wolf line as everyone spread back leaving me and Emmett at different ends of the field.

“This should be good” Emmett spoke now, seeming to warm himself up, rubbing his hands together. 

“Emmett relies on his strength very much like the newborns.” Jasper said “ so he will be a good example for you.” He looked between Emmett and I. "Start whenever you are ready." I smiled at Em “Don’t hold back” cockily,  he let out a bearish laugh at ending it with a smirk. “Not in my nature” and he charged.

I felt the wind as he chucked me in the air, quickly catching myself in a landing spin charging back at him. It seemed not even a long second had passed before I had his large head smashed into the ground. 

“Again” Emmett growled. Smiling, I pushed away from him. I tried to ignore the huffs and snorts coming from the wolves' side.

“Don’t lose your focus” I told him “Following your emotions is only making your moves more predictable.” He nodded, standing up and heading over to his end of the field again. I nodded toward Jasper who agreed with my assessment, gesturing to continue with Emmett.

Taking my place again, Emmett charged and within the next minute he was already calling for another rematch. 

"Don't turn your back on your enemy." Jasper spoke with an eye roll. 

**Paul’s Pov**

"Y/n is kicking his ass." laughed Jared. Silently laughing with him I watched as Y/N jumped on top of the big Cullen twisting him mid-air and slamming him into the ground again. 

"That she is, " agreed Sam lightly chuckling.

Watching her first stand across the field from that large Cullen made my insides twist in worry; however, as I watched her pin him in no time flat, it seemed to bring a sense of pride in me. It only made me feel even more guilty. I shouldn't be happy to finally see her again. I didn't deserve it. Not after what I said about her.

"God, please just apologize to her already" spoke Leah, before I could reply Sam growled softly

" Leah," he warned.

"Shut up" I replied harshly. "I'll keep my thoughts to myself."

"What? I am only trying to help! Out of all of us. I'm the one who knows best how to handle the emotional range of a woman." Quick to defend herself, I realized Leah made sense.Before anyone could really respond to her statement. We watched as Gruff-man walked off the field. Leaving only Y/n on the field...undefeated. Edward stepped up, Jacob tensed as Edward's death flashed in his thoughts

"Jake" Sam barked

Watching all the Cullen's fight each other it was clear to anyone that both Y/N and Jasper were the only experienced ones. Either of them lost a fight with any of the others. It made me wonder…

"We're done for the day"

------

#paul lahote x reader #twilight wolf pack #paul lahote #embry call x reader #paul lahote imagine #the twilight saga #twilight #twilight embry #twilight sam #twilight leah #twilight paul #twilight eclipse #twilight fanfiction #twilight fanart #twilight fandom #uley pack #forks washington #twilight edward #twilight jasper #twilight cullens #twilight volturi #twilight victoria #twilight new moon #twilight breaking dawn

[tawakkull]

ISLAM 101: Spirituality in Islam: Part 27

Shukr (Thankfulness)

Literally meaning gladness felt about and gratitude shown for the good done to one, Sufis use shukr to mean using one’s body, abilities, feelings, and thoughts bestowed upon one to fulfill the purpose of his or her creation: being thankful to the Creator for what He has bestowed. Such thankfulness is to be reflected in the person’s actions or daily life, in speech and in the heart, by admitting that all things are directly from Him, and by feeling gratitude for them. One may thank God verbally by only depending upon His power and strength, as well as upon His bestowal or withholding of favors, and acknowledging that all good and bounties come from Him. As He alone creates all good, beauty, and bounty, as well as the means by which they can be obtained, only He sends them at the appropriate time.

Since He alone determines, apportions, creates, and spreads [all our provisions] before us as “heavenly tables,” He alone deserves our gratitude and thanks. Attributing our attainment of His bounties to our own or to another’s means or causes, in effect thereby proclaiming that He is not the true Owner, Creator, and Giver of all bounty, is like giving a huge tip to the servant who lays before us a magnificent table and ignoring the host who is responsible for having it prepared and sent to us. Such an attitude reflects sheer ignorance and ingratitude, as mentioned in: They know only the outward face of the life of the world (apparent to them), and they are completely unaware of (its face looking to) the Hereafter (30:7).

True thankfulness in one’s heart is manifested through the conviction and acknowledgment that all bounties are from God, and then ordering one’s life accordingly. One can thank God verbally and through one’s daily life only if personally convinced, and if one willingly acknowledges that his or her existence, life, body, physical appearance, and all abilities and accomplishments are from God, as are all of the bounties obtained and consumed. This is stated in: Do you not see that God has made serviceable unto you whatsoever is in the skies and whatsoever is in the earth, and has loaded you with His bounties seen or unseen? (31:20), and: He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you reckon the bounties of God, you can never count them (14:34).

Bodily thankfulness is possible by using one’s organs, faculties, and abilities for the purposes for which they were created, and in performing the duties of servanthood falling on each. On the other hand, some have stated that verbal thankfulness means daily recitation of portions of the Qur'an, prayers, supplications, and God’s Names. Thankfulness by the heart means that one is certain or convinced of the truth of the Islamic faith and straightforwardness. Practical or bodily thankfulness, according to others, means observing all acts of worship. Since thankfulness relates directly to all aspects or branches of belief and worship, it is regarded as half of the faith. With respect to this inclusiveness, it is considered together with patience, meaning that according to some people, thankfulness and patience are considered as the two halves of religious life.

In His eternal Speech, God Almighty repeatedly commands thankfulness and, as in the phrases so that you may give thanks (2:52) and God will reward the thankful (3:144), presents it as the purpose of creation and of sending religion. In such verses as: If you are thankful I will add more unto you. But if you show ingratitude My punishment is terrible indeed (14:7), He has promised abundant reward to the thankful and threatened the ungrateful with a terrible punishment. One of His own Names is the All-Thanking, which shows us that the way to obtain all bounties or favors is through thankfulness, which He returns with abundant reward. He exalts the Prophets Abraham and Noah, upon them be peace, saying: (Abraham was) thankful for His bounties (16:121) and Assuredly, he (Noah) was a grateful servant (17:3).

Although thankfulness is a religious act of great importance and significant “capital,” few people truly do it: Few of My servants are thankful (34:13). Very few people live in full awareness of the duty of thankfulness, saying: Shall I not be a servant grateful (to my Lord)?, and try their best to perform their duty of thankfulness and order their lives accordingly.

The glory of humanity, upon him be peace and blessings, whose soles swelled because of his long supererogatory prayer vigils (tahajjud), was a matchless hero of thankfulness. On one occasion, he told his wife ‘A'isha: Shall I not be a servant grateful to God? He always thanked God and recommended thankfulness to his followers, and prayed to God every morning and evening, saying: O God. Help me mention You, thank You, and worship You in the best way possible.114

Thankfulness is the deep gratitude and devotion of one who, receiving His bounties or favors, directs these feelings toward the One Who bestows such blessing, and the subsequent turning to Him in love, appreciation, and acknowledgment. The above Prophetic saying expresses this most directly.

People are thankful for many things: the provisions, home, and family with which they have been favored; wealth and health; belief, knowledge of God, and the spiritual pleasures bestowed on them; and the consciousness with which God favored them so they could open themselves to the knowledge that they must be thankful. If those who are thankful for such a consciousness use their helplessness and destitution as “capital” and thank Him continuously, they will be among the truly thankful. It is narrated from God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, that

The Prophet David, upon him be peace, asked God Almighty: O Lord. How can I be thankful to You, since thanking You is another favor that requires thankfulness? The Almighty responded: Just now you have done it.

I think this is what is expressed in: We have not been able to thank You as thanking You requires, O All-Thanked One.

One can be thankful by recognizing and appreciating Divine favors, for feeling gratitude to the One Who bestows favors depends to a great extent on due recognition and appreciation of them. Belief and Islam (including the Qur'an) lead one to recognize and appreciate favors and thus turn to God in gratitude. One can be more aware of these favors, and that they are given to us by God out of His mercy for our helplessness and inability to meet our own needs, in the light of belief and Islamic practices. This awareness urges us to praise the One Who bestows upon us those favors and bounties that we consume. Awakening to the meaning of: As for the favor of Your Lord, proclaim it (93:11), we feel a deep need to be grateful and thankful.

Everyone is naturally inclined to praise the good and the one who does good to him or her. However, until this feeling is aroused there is no awareness of being favored by someone else, just as fish are not conscious of living in water. Furthermore, these favors may be attributed to the means and causes used to obtain them. If it is blindness and deafness not to see and appreciate the favors we continuously receive, then it must be an unforgivable deviation to attribute them to various blind, deaf, and unfeeling means and causes. The Prophetic statements: One who does not thank for the little does not thank for the abundant, and: One who does not thank people does not thank God, express blindness and deafness to favors and remind us of the importance of being thankful. Such verses as: Mention Me so that I will mention you, and give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me (2:152), and: Worship Him and give Him thanks (29:17) tell us that it is God Who truly deserves to be thanked, and also remind us of His absolute Unity.

Thankfulness can be divided into three categories. The first category consists of thankfulness for those things that everyone, regardless of religion or spiritual attainment, desires. The second category consists of thankfulness for those things that, although apparently disagreeable or displeasing, reveal their true nature to those who can see them as favors requiring gratitude.

The third category of thankfulness is that kind performed by those who are loved by God and view favors or bounties from the perspective of the One Who bestows them. They spend their lives in spiritual pleasure that begins in observing God’s manifestation of Himself through His favors, and take the greatest pleasure in worshipping Him. Although they are always enraptured with the spiritual delight flowing from their love of Him, they are extremely careful of their relationship with Him. Such people constantly strive to preserve the Divine blessings that have been bestowed upon them, and always search for what they have missed. While they constantly deepen their belief, love, and gratitude along the way toward Him, the “nets of their sight” are filled with different blessings and gifts.

O God! Include us among Your servants whom You love, have made sincere, and have brought unto You. Grant peace and blessings to our Master, the Master of those loved, made sincere, and brought near unto You.

#allah #god #islam #muslim #quran #revert #convert #convert islam #revert islam #reverthelp #revert help #revert help team #help #islamhelp #converthelp #prayer #salah #muslimah #reminder #pray #dua #hijab #religion #mohammad #new muslim #new revert #new convert #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam

[dorizardthewizard]

So I watched the Eurovision movie

Uh, I have a lot of thoughts because this is the closest we’re gonna get to the real thing this year ;^; First, the positives!

What they got right:

Overall, I like that it wasn’t really taking the piss out of the competition – whether you agree or not with how it was portrayed, the creators do have a lot of love for the show and that is reflected in how much it means to the characters. I think it was fitting to start with the kids watching and being inspired by ABBA’s win (I’m always up for showing people where the group’s fame started), and making it their life goal to perform in the contest. Just like Lars and Sigrit, many musicians in Europe grow up with Eurovision being an annual tradition and it’s their big dream to one day perform on that international stage, so yeah I think it decently showed how important ESC is here.

They got the overall vibe right too – most of the songs really felt like Eurovision songs (maybe a little dated but still), from the Viking-Europop opener to the Lordi-aesthetic one to whatever the hell Russia was doing. I don’t think Greece’s song was something they’d ever send though; it fits the character but not what the country typically sends. Then again, Estonia have sent an opera song in Italian and Romania sent yodel rap so actually, I take back that statement. They were missing a Balkan ballad though! Staging was on point – I think it was filmed at the Tel Aviv stage so that’s obviously a factor, but big angel wings and hamster wheels also bring a lot of familiarity :P No pianos being set on fire though, which, in a movie with so many on-stage disasters, is honestly surprising.

Of course there’s also the past contestant cameos, for that I’ll say one thing – needs more Verka. Maybe some contestants from earlier years would have been nice too, at least we did hear Céline Dion’s song in the song-along. Would also have been nice if the whole mashup was Eurovision songs, instead of throwing in some other ones just to make it more recognizable for non-Eurofans. Otherwise, the mashup was really seamless and sounded good.

Another thing the movie got right was European’s attitudes to Americans, not sure how I feel about it since the movie was made by Americans, but it’s self-aware and pretty funny :P There’s also the funny gag about countries not wanting to host because of how expensive it is, not sure why a guy working for the national broadcaster would care about that but looking at Iceland’s population size, I wouldn’t be surprised if he was also an economist for the government or something.

What they got wrong:

Of course, there were some things they didn’t quite get right. First of all, did the UK win for it to be hosted in Scotland??? Unless Australia won, or some other country that didn’t want to host or something. They actually made a joke about UK getting zero points, but they said it’s because no one likes us, when in reality we just send the blandest songs :/

There were also a whole lot of technical inaccuracies like Sweden breaking the rule on number of people allowed on stage, big five countries taking part in the semi-final (come on, how can you not get that right? Maybe they were afraid Americans wouldn’t recognise half the flags? :P), the contestants were just sitting by themselves in some room like it’s The Voice or something, their delegations nowhere to be seen, and then there’s the total lack of security or planning around the competition, with Lars just running around doing whatever. The countries presenting their votes in the semi-final stood out as well, but since we didn’t get to see the final I can brush over it, just so we experience the voting somewhere in the movie. Wonder why they didn’t use past contestants for the points announcements? They also had the French one speaking in English but you know what, they remembered to make sure he was standing in front of the Eiffel Tower so I’ll let them off :P

One thing that did bother me was how hard the movie tried to make us think the Icelandic song was a failure, except the song wasn’t even bad so they had to resort to all the incidents on stage. They even had that complete silence after the hamster wheel incident, and there is NO WAY that would ever happen – even the null points songs get cheers! In fact, people would cheer harder, and I don’t think Graham Norton, or anyone for that matter, would be that surprised that people remembered the song and actually gave it points (oh yeah, great to see him in this!).

Okay, some of those inaccuracies were nitpicks, but they’re just fun to point out. I don’t think they quite nailed the portrayal though, but more on that later.

The movie itself:

Judging the rest of the film, the humour really didn’t do it for me- it was just kind of jarring that one half of the movie felt like your usual light-hearted music contest film that was fairly rooted in reality, then the next there’s a dismembered ghost of Demi Lovato and a guy getting stabbed by Elves??? I know it’s classic Will Ferrel random comedy but honestly, those parts could have been cut out of the movie just fine, it’s like half an hour too long anyway and you can tell by the way the humour drags. It can basically be summarised by the ending scene where Lars is yelling at the Americans and then just keeps going, and I know that’s the joke in that scene but they do this throughout the whole movie – something will happen and the characters will keep reacting back and forth and it’s honestly exhausting. That might just be me though, maybe I’d prefer more witty and self-aware humour in a Eurovision movie but I guess non-fans wouldn’t get half the jokes so they went for over-the-top ridiculousness ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

As for the characters, Sigrit was great; she’s a good mix between cute and weird. Lars is… annoying tbh, maybe I just don’t care for Will Ferrel's character type but when Alexander asks Lars what he can possibly offer Sigrit I was like “yeah Lars, what CAN you offer?”. Their relationship was cute though and his arc about caring too much about winning was decent, it does kind of resonate with Eurovision because yeah, lots of countries will revamp their songs to have English lyrics and the style is increasingly converging to Americanized radio-friendly pop music. I do wish they’d focused more on this conflict, rather than bringing in a love square (?) with Alexander and Mita.

Speaking of Alexander, I actually liked how they portrayed the Russian character; he wasn’t a villain, he was fun to watch and was genuinely happy to see Sigrit succeed. I did not expect them to go there with the whole “there are no gays in Russia” thing – I laughed but also actually felt for the guy, and his friendship with Mita was peak mlm/wlw solidarity, it was sweet.

The ending:

For me, this is where it goes American Hollywood style and kinda reminds me of Madonna’s speech about everyone being winners. Felt like I was watching Camp Rock for a second then (which is funny since Demi is in this movie) – all the other acts are fun songs but we’ll just change ours to a ballad so it must be more heartfelt and resonate with the audience, as if a good chunk of ESC songs aren’t ballads already!! To be fair, they do well in having it be a personal song about her hometown and adding in parts in Icelandic (although I’ve heard it’s so butchered you can’t understand what’s being said), it’s a sweet ode to one of the best parts of Eurovision – celebrating where you’re from and making your country proud.

Wish they’d focused more on that tbh, we really could have done without Lars speaking to the audience – that’s the more Hollywood moment for me and kind of reminds me of acts that try to connect with the audience like it’s a concert. Sorry but we don’t do that here :P Instead of the “music is feeling”-like message, it would have been nice if the movie was more directed towards celebrating why the contest is so big and important even decades after it began, and how it literally brings an entire continent together for one night. This would have been nice especially because of all the cynicism towards ESC and its dismissal as just a dumb, campy event with no quality music whatsoever.

Huh, I just remembered there are no live instruments at Eurovision so how everyone can hear the piano at the end is beyond me, also the instrumental kicks in despite the fact that that song has never been recorded in a studio, let alone able to be played out loud onstage. But I’ll just imagine that’s for us to see, the audience actually just heard her singing and nothing else. I don’t think it would have been that impressive, so Iceland probably won everyone’s hearts through memes instead :’D

Overall, I don’t think the movie was terribly offensive or anything, just some silly fun that missed out on the potential of better portraying the Eurovision spirit. I might eventually watch it again, but with skipping out half the comedy :P

#eurovision #esc #eurovision movie #the story of fire saga #feel free to share thoughts if you were crazy enough to read all this! #my posts

[kitsoa]

So, about your Theory ...

So, we talked on Reddit a while ago, Kitsoa, and I have some more thoughts about your theory. It’s more rambling and longer than what I previously intended – my apologies for this.

Kitsoa- Hello again! I’ll reply in brief through quotes though I’m not interested in doing a solid defense of my theory. Mostly it’s a lot of creative stretching using the crumbs of the narrative and I’m not feeling particularly impassioned to bring out the counter citations nor do I think it necessary.

Also: I have written and re-iterated upon this meta theory of mine multiple times so if I am not referencing the correct Original Post in question that’s probably because I never bothered to do a big manifesto and I will take the fall for that confusion.

It’s certainly very interesting but parts of it seem to not only be unsupported but outright contradicted by the games. For instance, take your surmise that Xehanort’s villainy is motivated by his knowledge of the KH world as fictional and his self-knowledge that he has to play the role of the villain to create a conflict and thus sustain the universe. His actual speech in Re:Mind after Dark Road’s world tour points to something else:

“All around the world people live seemingly peaceful lives. They believe themselves to be moral and virtuous, but it’s all an act. Darkness lurks in the pit of everyone’s heart. Their light is a total farce. Those who are weak, and who desire greater power, simply strip the strong of their power, and convince themselves they’ve earned it. That’s how people become tainted by darkness. They believe what they want them to believe, using hollow reasons as justification. They repeat this cycle, and their darkness grows. No, its better they be ruled by darkness. People carry delusions of having power, but it’s a lie. They are but sheep pretending to be wolves. Though I can admit, I can understand why.”

This edgy little diatribe isn’t about the nature of the universe or Xehanort’s own origin … it’s about his view of human (or talking animal, w/e) nature. It’s a similar theme to his final speech in KH3, and ends not with him concluding that he needs to play the role of a villain to create conflict ,,, but that to prevent the KH universe collapsing into chaos, he needs to become its absolute godlike ruler. Which is what sets up the conflict, yes, but his goal isn’t explicitly to create conflict to keep the universe going.

Re: Xehanorts motive aligning with a meta-awareness on his ‘role’ as a villain. This is a theme I was definitely playing with. Xehanort is clearly symbolic of the corrupting pursuit of knowledge and we have a god-like encounter spark stranger behavior yet. It’s a fascinating trope yes? Corrupted by the Truth. Saving the world by sacrificing the world. That was my angle. The World Tour from Re:mind had him summarizing his villainous disdain and I’ll agree that it gives him no direction towards a ‘role’. But I also take note of the fact that this enlightenment comes directly from the actions of the chessmaster MoM who could feasibly manipulate Xehanort towards a conflict-sparking war. If Xehanort isn’t directly and consciously responsible for fulfilling the metacontextual requirements for a ‘story’ then MoM is. And as I’ve stated it probably comes from a more experimental god-mode type motive.

And again, your argument that time doesn’t really exist in the Disney worlds until Sora arrives and this is related to them literally being stories that he’s diving into. I don’t know where you get this from, at all. We go into Disney worlds and experience plots unrelated to the films (KH1 Olympus, Halloween Town); we go into Disney worlds in medias res (too many to count); we go into Disney worlds before the movie’s events take place (BBS Deep Space, Neverland); we even go into Disney worlds in-between or after the movies’ events (KH3 Toy Box, San Fransokyo). Which rather gets in the way of a simplistic “Sora arrives in the Disney world, time starts flowing forward and the movie starts” look at things. You’d previously characterized this as “every world has its unique story” which IMO would be a more reasonable way to look at things rather than the stronger “the worlds literally are the stories and nothing else”.

I’ll defend this a little. The entire concept of the Worlds as Stories demands only that we recognize a higher reality. A reader/audience/ creator relationship with the happenings. When I say ‘time doesn’t exist’ I’m saying it doesn’t matter. The only thing that does matter is the time spent there by Sora (or his subsidiaries). Time is going to move between visits but not at a pace that runs independently of Sora (and co). And all of the events within those worlds are unique to the source material-- on the virtue of having Sora. But when I say the worlds are the stories, I mean it... metaphysically. The relationship between the greater kh multi-verse (and no greater) and these literal planet world island things is that of stories given form. Most all of my KH musings come from the very simple concept that formless metaphysical concepts like love, bonds, imagination, memories etc are literal, tangible things. Tangible. In this, Worlds are not so much another universe equal to other universes. They are a story, fictional and potentially subservient to a greater reality. It’s only from that understanding that I add the extra layer upon KH (and Quadratum by later extension) itself. 

The exact logic behind this reasoning is cyclic. KH is a fictional story to the literal higher reality (us) and seeing how there's a parallel within the narrative, I just applied that logic within the universe and used my understanding of the ‘literal metaphysics’ theme going on with other lore concepts.

Power of Waking ejecting Sora into “real reality”: This analysis is based on the idea that Sora is “waking himself up” out of dream states until he “wakes up” out of KH reality into “real reality”. But YMX tells him (and implicitly us, via the conventions of this kind of villainous exposition) that Sora is repeating the same error he made in 3D and sending himself into the abyss at the bottom of the Realm of Darkness, not doing the opposite thing and “waking himself up” out of KH reality.

I’ll just punt Power of Waking stuff. There is a lot of stuff with the power but I take most of the speculation from the name and the results. There’s a big interweave of darkness that can support or deny my thoughts within the next sentence and I’m electing now to wait and see. Sora abuses the power of waking-- ends up in another reality. Waking--> realities--> dreams--> sleep. Run with the word association. I like to think the ambiguity with sleep and the darkness of abyss has more to say about the nature of reality as a whole ergo: “everything is a dream” concepts that are hard to swallow. What is waking up, if you find yourself deeper in sleep? Nonesense stuff like that.

MoM as Creator of the KH universe/Quadratum as the “higher reality”: Not only is he presented as a clear villain figure; given that the rest of the Foretellers are based on the Seven Deadly Sins, MoM as their leader would clearly represent the sin of pride. We also have him saying in Back Cover that he “might” disappear from the KH world, suggesting that it was beyond his control; and Luxu’s report suggests that the KH3 Keyblade War was engineered to open a means for him to return to the KH universe, presumably via Sora going to where he is in Quadratum/”unreality”.

I believe strongly in this still. MoM can be a villainous figure and at the mercy of universal laws while still being the Creator and denizen of a higher plane. I try not to dig into scenarios too much but follow me here: Creator of the world, literally self-inserts himself into a world of his own creation. He’s a verified Mad Scientist who of course likes to experiment and test his creations and he does so directly, physically, to them. There, he put them on auto-pilot and is watching Characterization carry on. I am not claiming that he is breaking the rules of his own universe and traveling in and out with ease. Nor am I saying if he is exercising any sort of Creator-granted power over their will. He’s there, he’s interacting with them, and he’s watching them. I find it to be an intentional obstaining of power. Self imposed limitations OR an understood sacrifice for this meddling (think, giving up ‘divine’ form to live amongst his ‘mortal’ creations in divine parallel. he is at the will of his universe but not out of control.)

When he says he ‘might’ disappear not only is he being vague on purpose to terrorize his high-strung apprentices but he’s made no indication that it’s something against his intention. And the actions taken by Luxu in formulating his return mean nothing to his plan or his ability or his potential Creator status. I can’t stress how Long Game I perceive MoM’s actions to be. All in the effort to observe, toy, and curate the perfect... something. And since I am talking about the literal nature of stories, I mean the ‘perfect’ story.

Also, we may note that if it was truly a “higher reality”, Quadratum wouldn’t be noted as the fictional Verum Rex video game in KH3 – there’d be no explicit sign at all of its existence, as it would be the higher reality generating the lower one. Which suggests that what may actually be the case, if the series is going meta, is that KH-verse and Quadratum view each other as fictional – in which case MoM would be somebody falsely claiming or believing to be the Creator, which makes sense in relation to the sin he represents.

Not that I’m saying KH-verse isn’t generated by a higher reality/being; but I don’t feel that the higher reality is Quadratum or that the higher being is MoM. There was a fairly interesting post on Reddit comparing KH to Plato’s world of the forms; in which case Kingdom Hearts would be the higher reality from which both regular KH-verse and Quadratum are generated. Or “unreality” really is a “lower reality” than the regular KH-verse, which TBF seems a bit less likely than “’reg. KH-verse’ and ‘unreality’ view each other as mutually fictional but are actually ontologically equal”.

I think my theory posts predate most of the Quadratum reveal so the details of the reveal haven’t been accounted for in my words but I did call it when breaking down Remind’s Yozora scenario. That said yes, I think there is a higher reality and I feel like you mentioned it outright. I see KH and Quadratum as equal fictional realities, segregated but connected through creator. Some of my earlier meta posts before re:mind saw Quadratum as the “higher reality” (or like “host reality”) until the presence of an author between them became apparent enough. We can potentially consider MoM=the author as a separate subject in this respect as it’s not entirely dependant on that reveal. Ultimately, my point in this caveat of the theory is that the relationship between KH and Quadratum strikes an intentionally meta-referential parallel to the actual creator Nomura. That’s an angle that is very audacious and I have full understanding in the denial but it’s my supporting evidence to a higher power within the re:mind secret episode alone.  As for the ‘unreality’ I literally think that is just a way for them to say ‘fictional’ without saying the word, not necessarily an indication of ‘rank’ (for lack of a better word). I use a little reverse logic on the reveal in Melody of Memory when I claim they are ‘equal fictional realities’. No one thinks to assume that they themselves are also “fake” so it;s not a stretch to believe that the reverse assumption could be true. This putting KH and Quadratum on the same level and almost guaranteeing a connection through a mutual creator. 

Now, you also talk about the Whispers in FF7R, but in that they’re in-universe contextualised as “guardians of destiny”, essentially manifestations of the Will of the Planet. Which just goes to show what I talked about earlier – the meta-level of a story can’t exist without a surface-level narrative. We know that the Whispers out-of-universe represent fan anger at changes to the plotline; but they’re presented as something in-universe, which can be defeated by in-universe forces (another reason I doubt it as it seems to leave no room for our heroes’ victory in the confrontation with MoM that’s being teased as the next saga).

I bring up the Whispers to note a synonymous use of the words ‘destiny’ and ‘fate’ to ‘story and ‘narrative’ Not explicitly of course, that would break the 4th wall, but its a subtext that's easier seen in a ‘remake’ because of direct references and deviations being drawn. I think the same synonymous use can be applied when brought up in KH because of their common creative entity.

Finally: How do you see this “metapocalypse” of yours playing out as an actual KH game? We know the conventions well enough by now – a trip through Disney worlds fighting monsters and villains in flashy shonen-style combat, being stalked and looked over ominously from afar by a council of villains with mysterious schemes. Then an invasion of the villains’ lair by the heroes with a final serving of flashy, SFX-heavy boss battles, a number of dramatic plot twists and arc resolutions, and an ending with the villains’ schemes having been at least forestalled. Then we get the ending credits; with an epilogue, a superboss and a secret ending all hinting at more to come.

Well I’m glad you asked! Honestly, I’m basically writing a fanfiction about it. I’m writing the story in part to engage some of these theories/speculations into a serviceable game narrative. So I’ll be vague:

Thematically: This breaking the 4th wall has the power to thematically drive home concepts of free will, defining your personhood and defying expectations. Furthermore, you have questions like... what makes something real? What makes it matter and what’s important? With growing up and the sanctity of youth being a constant struggle as the series and the characters age, the reverence in imagination and growing connections to things that aren’t stereotypically ‘real’ is a strong concept. If I were to break down the big message simply: As long as it’s real in your heart it doesn’t matter.

Overall, the reveal doesn’t really have to impact the basic formula. You can have Disney World Hopping and Villainous characters scheming and manipulating a greater force. I personally think the world-hopping parallel can become more direct with the context of it being movies/stories adding a different understanding of the process of visiting those worlds and meeting those characters. The episodes can be more about fate and predestination and can speak directly to the importance of the connections to those worlds. And the dramatic stakes are the literal threads of reality and godhood! 

If I am to be more detailed and imaginative (without substantial evidence)  I might say... MoM’s experiments in manipulating his own created world(s) are aiming to shape Sora (or 2nd favorite son Yozora) into some kind of perfect conduit for the marraige of reality and fiction and the success or failure of that process might weaponize his ability to connect with other hearts... real and not, all to the greater ascention of one chessmaster. 

(That’s not even mentioning how I have a personal reason to dislike it as it reminds me of an old theory that the KH plot was actually SRK imagining it all up in their childhood games or to put a darker twist on that idea, Sora dreaming it all up in a coma or while dying. I hated reading those ideas when I was younger and still do.)

I’m gonna sympathize hard with this. I hate ‘it was all just a dream’ theories. They are cheap and they trivialize the journey. That is not what this theory is saying. There is a higher reality in this concept and that is used as a proxy for our relationship with the series. The imagery of dreams is only a small facet of the reality/unreality theme so there is no ‘waking up’ or ‘end of story, goodbye’ attitude. The commentary is broader and it can potentially speak on the power of dreams and reality. The ‘realness’ of fake things. I’m sort of calling out KH for what it is: an imaginative story that expands upon what it means to truly experience stories.  Anyway, I rambled more than I thought. I haven’t written anything about KH in months so this was a little caffine shot for me. I’m not gonna be too stuck in the details and nor do I care exactly. I’m a story teller first and I just so happened to have predicted some things not so much because of the hints being dropped but because I understand some of the thematic intent behind the lore and certain narrative beats. The rest is just me having fun and finding the best reading. Sometimes I’m right. 

#kingdom hearts #kh meta #submissions #kh speculation #kh theory #long post #submission

[captain-s-rogers]

Have A Little Faith In Me

(gif credit to the creator)

Part One

Master List Pairing: Steve Rogers x OFC // Clint Barton x OFC Word Count: 1,900 Warnings: none? A/N: Debuting for OC Day 2020! Here’s the first part of the rewrite of my first ever Marvel series! If you want to be added to my tag list please let me know! Feedback is cool :)

Rockefeller PR firm. Though not connected to the famed family by any means, legend had it the J.D. Rockefeller himself had hired the founding members to handle his public relations in the very early success of the family. As a show of gratitude, in addition to a substantial cash and client flow, Mr. Rockefeller had allowed the firm to use the family’s prosperous name.

Anyone who was anyone in New York City knew of and often employed Rockefeller PR. The firm put on benefit events like they were going out of style, constantly hosting galas and banquets for one charity or another. Of course, with the guest lists for the events most often restricted to Manhattan’s elite, the donations poured in left and right. The firm had reached their renowned status as the most profitable and most charitable over the years. 

In more recent years, Sophia Hawkins and Lucy Cleveland had made names for themselves as the firm’s most successful representatives. That success had given the clout they needed to swing an event entirely different from anything the firm had done in a long time -- possibly ever. 

For starters, this event wasn’t being held to raise funds for an art gallery or secure investors for a corporation. This event was being held to raise funds to donate to several different organizations that supported the US troops and veterans. Not to mention, the event was made open to the public -- another component which had never been a part of a Rockefeller PR event. The thing was 1940s USO; everyone who showed up to attend the event was required to dress accordingly and make a donation at the door, in addition to their purchased ticket, of course

Both Sophia’s and Lucy’s grandfathers had fought in World War II, which had been Sophia’s inspiration for the idea. The firm’s executives hadn’t been keen on the idea when the two women first presented it, but between the excellent publicity that would come from supporting the troops and veterans, and the girls’ track record of successful events, convincing them to endorse the event hadn’t taken but a few minutes.  

The night of the benefit arrived, with a line forming out the door a couple of hours before the designated start time. Sophia and Lucy were dressed to the nines, double checking that everything -- from the menu to the music -- was in order. The servers were dressing in period-appropriate waiter and waitress uniforms, and the trio of women singing were emulating a 1940s singing group to a T. While the musical act ran through their era-specific setlist, Sophia and Lucy shined up the finishing touches on the decor. 

“Soph!” Lucy called out across the banquet hall, “do we need to alter the table settings? Caitlyn still has place cards for high-profile clients set out.” 

“We can just toss the cards, since there’s no guest list and we’re closing the doors as max capacity,” Sophia replied, already plucking name cards from a nearby table. 

“Do we have enough food?” Lucy continued. 

“We’ve got the chefs cooking for one-hundred-fifty and there’s one-hundred seats. I think we’re okay,” Sophia smiled. “Calm down, Luce. Everything is going according to plan. Nobody can plan like we can.”

Finally, Lucy was able to calm down. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right.” 

The women smiled at each other; everything was going to be perfect. Despite Lucy’s worries, they were well aware that this had been one of the smoothest events they had ever planned. Not having to please a bunch of snobby clients made the process a breeze. 

With only a few minutes to go, Sophia and Lucy decided they were happy with the state of things. After a short breather, they told the doorman to begin letting guests in the hall. 

Manhattan’s elite mingled with some lesser known citizens, filling the room and milling about the dance floor with freshly served drinks. The two event planners flitted about, adjusting table placements as necessary, making sure the food and drinks stayed well-stocked. The turnout was set to be huge, and within ten minutes of the doors opening, the hall was filled to capacity. 

Once everyone had found their seat, Sophia made a brief yet spectacular speech welcoming everyone and thanking them for their donations -- with the total amount to be named later in the evening -- the musical act took to the stage. Drinks continued to flow, the appetizers were served, and the nostalgia of the songs pulled a few couples to the dance floor. Sophia and Lucy stood at the back of the room, admiring their handiwork. 

“Ya know, Soph, I think we did a good job with this one,” Lucy mused, accepting a martini from the bartender.

“I think you’re right,” Sophia agreed. She sipped wine from the glass in her hand and took another cursory glance over the room, ever vigilant for any little thing that might go wrong. 

“Everyone seems to be having a good time,” Lucy added. “And, speaking of a good time, I do believe that gentleman in the corner is eyeing you. He has been all night.”

Sophia choked her drink. “You’re kidding, right? Lucy, tonight is not the night for your games, friend.”

“I’m not playing games,” Lucy laughed. “See, over by the band? Tall, blond. Might have to call the doctor, since he’s been nursing that beer for over an hour. But, yes, friend, he keeps glancing over at you.”

“I think you’re full of shit,” Sophia mumbled, though she looked somewhat hopeful as she threw a casual glance in the direction Lucy had indicated. She locked eyes with the man Lucy had nodded toward. 

“Still think I’m full of shit?”  

Sophia scoffed, shaking her head before she downed the rest of her wine and set the glass on the bar. Yes, she had been hopeful seconds ago, but this man was beyond handsome -- and she was on the clock, to boot. 

“Go, talk to him!” Lucy urged.

“Not a chance, Luce. We’re working, remember?” 

Before Lucy could come up with a suitable response to change her friend’s mind, the man in question started towards the two women. When he was close enough for them to see he was, for certain, headed in their direction, Lucy whispered a quick ‘good luck’ in Sophia’s ear, then made herself busy checking on the status of supper.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” the man began, “but are you Sophia Hawkins?”

Sophia nodded. “I am. Can I help you with something?

“I’m Steve Rogers,” he introduced, extending a hand. When Sophia slipped her hand into his for a confident but cautious handshake, he continued.  “I wanted to thank you for coordinating this event. It’s a great cause, and I’m very impressed with the level of authenticity.”

Sophia faltered for a moment, running through her mental files so could explain the familiarity of his name. She recovered quickly, pasting a polite, professional smile on her face. 

“We did our best to make it as authentic as possible. My grandfather and great uncle were in World War II, and my co-planner, Lucy’s grandfather was in the war, as well. We were able to find a lot of photographic evidence to go off of.”

Steve hesitated, casting an uneasy glance at the ground before meeting her eyes again. “Yeah, my grandfather was in the war, too. I think he would appreciate how well you pulled it all off.”

“Why, thank you,” she smiled. They stood in silence for a moment, and Sophia noticed the authentic detail of the Army uniform Steve was wearing -- even with the best costume designers, nothing they had provided for the waitstaff or singers was this authentic. The longer she looked, the more familiar the uniform seemed. 

Steve met her eyes. “Everything all right?”

Sophia nodded and quickly dismissed the strange familiarity as something she had seen in her own family’s photos. “Is the uniform your grandfather’s?”

Again, Steve hesitated, almost as though he was looking for the right words to answer an otherwise easy question. “It was. Found it in my mother’s attic before the event. Since time-period attire was required, seemed like the uniform was the way to go.”

“It suits you,” Sophia smiled. She turned away for a moment to ask the bartender for another glass of wine. 

Steve quickly took a sip of his beer while he waited for her to return to their conversation. He looked around the room, catching sight of the dance floor; a warm blush creeped over his cheeks and down his neck. The tempo had changed from upbeat and quick to slow and steady. A surge of confidence swelled in his chest, pushing him to act on impulse. Steve finished off his beer and set the bottle on the counter, then extended his hand to Sophia again. 

“Forgive me if I’m out of line, but would you like to dance, Ms. Hawkins?” Steve asked.

Sophia’s blush matched his as she turned to set the wine glass on the bar. She accepted Steve’s hand. “Call me Sophia, and I’d love to dance.”

The couple eased into a simple waltz as the music began to build from the first verse into the bridge of the song. They danced in silence through the chorus, concentrating on the steps before changing focus to each other. 

“You told me about your family, but what made you decide to do an event open to the public? I’ve been told your firm generally caters Manhattan’s high-status citizens.”

“We do, you’re right,” Sophia confirmed. “Lucy and I have done so many of those, we wanted to do something different. We were looking through old family photos together one night, just for fun, and the idea to do a benefit for the military came to us. The USO theme followed.”

“I don’t want to sound like a broken record,” Steve smiled, “but you did a really fantastic job.”

Sophia showed her appreciation for his compliment with a modest smile. When the song ended, though she was reluctant to do so, she thanked Steve for the dance and turned to return to the bar.

“Sophia?” he called, gently grabbing her wrist to keep her from getting too far..

She turned to face him, brows raised in question. “Mm?”

“Would you want to get dinner some time? Maybe get to know each other better. Sometime when you’re not working.” 

Sophia didn’t bother to stop the ear-to-ear grin that spread over her face. “I would love that.” 

A pen was handy in the pocket of her dress, since she was, in fact, working. She took Steve’s hand again and jotted her number across his palm. She clicked the pen before putting it back in her pocket. 

“I’ll call you in a few days,” Steve promised. “We’ll work out the details.”

“Sounds good.” Sophia nodded and winked at him. She turned to walk away, this time looking over her shoulder to add, “Thanks for the dance, Captain.”

He froze for a moment, fearing that Sophia was aware of his full identity. Her eyes glanced to the patches on his jacket before she turned away from him; that had been what tipped her off to the rank. When she was back at the bar and conversing with her friend, Steve looked down at the phone number written across his palm. With a suppressed but victorious smile, he worked his way back into the crowd.

@arrowsandmixtapes​ @the-murder-strut-murdered-me​ @growningupgeek​ @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan​ @captain-rogers-beard​ @kitkatd7​ @patzammit​ @sagechanoafterdark​ @what-is-your-plan-today​

#steve rogers fanfiction #clint barton fanfiction #oc appreciation day 2020 #ocs are people too

[jinruihokankeikaku]

can u do seer of rage?

Here we go!! Sorry 8out the delay, 8een havin some slight technical difficulties. Title: Seer of Rage Title Breakdown: One who passively understands [learns, teaches, studies, investigates] Rage [negativity, anger, doubt, skepticism, meta-narrative, demons] Role in the Session: What initially comes to mind here is the fact that both Seers and Rage players are remarkably skeptical and capable of seeing through illusion. This calls to mind the image of someone who is supremely critical of everything – one who will call the Game itself on its arbitrariness and contradiction, one who revels in exposing and naming its innumerable paradoxes and lapses inconsistency. They’ll see the Game as some sort of veil to be pierced or machine to be taken apart – not a worthy destiny but the work of some demiurge. This may seem a bit dramatic, but in the canon both Seers and Rage players have made efforts not just to understand the game, but to break it and thereby transcend it. This could, needless to say, end badly. However, the Game is a flawed thing, and sometimes, often even, it needs to be broken. The Seer of Rage provides a unique level of insight to whatever session they join, and they’ll be able to leverage their knowledge of people’s “inner demons” to resolve or instigate conflicts as they desire. I think a Seer of Rage would have access to some limited level of telepathy or extrasensory perception, including the capacity to detect particularly strong surges of emotion in those around them. This empathy is stronger on the receiving end, Seers being as they are a Passive Class, but there is likely some transmission – well developed Seers are meant not only to learn of their Aspect, but to teach of it and to inspire it in those around them (see, for example the Signless/the Sufferer, the Beta timeline version of the Seer of Blood Kankri Vantas, who becomes a martyr and messianic figure and inspires the formation of bonds and alliances, both domains of Blood). A Seer of Rage could eventually inspire the entire team, and possibly even beings beyond their session and its players, to adopt their attitude of relentless criticism, and perhaps ultimately transcend the grand cosmic joke that is the Game. Their Planet’s Quest, symbolic of their path towards personal development within the context of the game, will likely involve some sort of puzzle or investigation, with dire consequences in the event of success or failure. Perhaps the entire Planet has been by its Denizen enshrouded in illusion, obscuring the entire landscape and presenting a false Quest; in order to begin their true Quest, the Seer must first discern the unreality of their Land’s landscape. Their Quest will be engineered, paradoxically, to lead the Seer to the conclusiont that the Quest’s guidance is false; they will have to modify the techniques they use in combat and in interaction with their Planet’s consorts in order to confront their denizen and advance along their path to victory. A Seer of Rage will benefit most from co-players who share the Seer’s inquisitive attitude and critical gaze – a Sylph of Space, for example, may have an aptitude for examining physical spaces and objects in a manner that runs parallel to the Seer’s capacity for finding flaw in personal beliefs or consciousness/narrative in general. Additionally, a Witch of Life would share the Seer’s tendency towards rebellion, mirroring within the confines of the Game the Seer’s rebellion against the Game itself. Opposite Role: The Witch of Hope. These two Roles, despite being each other’s Inverse, share several similarities – they’re both rebellious, driven, and powerful to the point of being hazardous to their session. The key difference between these players lies in the Opposition between their respective Aspects – while Rage players tend towards cynicism, skepticism, and a critical worldview, Hope players tend towards firm convictions, faith in a religious or philosphical worldview (or in a particular person or group), and a more credulous or naïve worldview than most. This conflict could manifest dramatically were both of these Roles to be present in a team, as the Seer would see through (or at least believe themselves to see through) that philosophical schema in which the Witch had invested their faith. Should this contradiction become antagonistic, the resulting battle would likely be catastrophic for the Session as a whole, given the Witch’s nigh-unlimited capacity to bend reality and the Seer’s potential realization of their desire to break, alter, or defy the rules of the Game’s narrative. God Tier Powers Rage is the Expansive-Explosive-Personal Aspect, and its domains include fire, conflagration/explosion, anger, fear, and general negativity, as well as demoniacal or grotesque imagery and an uncanny capacity for meta-Game shenanigans. Seers are the Passive Comprehension Class, and their powers are geared towards learning of, and ultimately teaching others of, the many and varied domains of the Aspect to which they’re bound. With these things in mind, here are a few potential powers a God-Tiered Seer of Rage might have access to… Caustic Empathy: The Seer is capable of telepathically detecting Rage-associated negative emotions, including fear, anger, and disillusionment, and by focusing in on the mind of whoever is harboring these emotions, they can discern their cause and motive source. They’re also likely to be exceedingly self-aware in this regard, perfectly aware at all times of the cause of their Rage (although it’s important to note that self-awareness does not in itself constitute a capacity to effectively manage one’s Rage). This telepathic field can be inverted at the Seer’s discretion to render others aware of their own Rage, possibly drawing to the surface emotions hitherto repressed. Prophet of Rage: As a Passive Class, the Seer’s powers work in harmony with their Aspect, and the Seer of Rage serves Rage as much as Rage serves them. They are called upon to disseminate the truth of Rage, to awaken the inner demons of those around them, and to direct their furor towards the falsehoods surrounding them. Those under the Seer’s tutelage, whether fellow players or Game constructs, are more inclined towards both negativity and honesty, and have a tendency to see straight through the ordinarily enigmatic conceits of the game – for example, the Seer might be able to interpret the ramblings of Sprites more readily than most, and may even be especially inclined towards understanding the language of Denizens, even those Denizens not their own. Death of the Author: If the unthinkable slash inevitable were to come to pass, and the Ascended Seer of Rage were to become aware of the fourth and final fenestrated façade between fact and fiction, they would unlock within themselves a fresh font of Rage, likely directed toward the narrative itself. They might flagrantly flout such authorial conceits as “plot”, “characterization”, and “narrative consistency”, navigating the cryptic channels of canon to insert themselves into whatever situations they like, in a manner similar to that exploited by our canonical Bard of Rage, but somehow more mystical. Rather than merely wreaking havoc through reckless disruption of the right narratorial order, they would have an additional layer of meta-gnosis, which layer they would have the unique capacity to share. What happens when an entire cast of characters becomes aware of their creator? Some questions are perhaps best left unanswered, but I somhow suspect that our Seer of Rage doesn’t much care one way or another. Personality: The Seer of Rage is a harsh, but often helpful Role. They may at times take on a didactic tone, as with any Seer, but more often I imagine they’d prefer to be demagogues – working a smaller crowd, perhaps, than a charismatic leader like a Knight or Heir, but nonetheless playing off of emotions rather than reason. Their patterns of speech and attitudes towards relationships will likely mirror their Rage-bound paradoxical “passionate cynicism” – I’ve used the Marx quote “ruthless criticism of all things existing” in Rage player analyses before, but this might be the one in which it’s most apt. They’ll be among the first to recognize and call out social constructs that seem arbitrary and contrived, but may struggle to direct and focus their Rage against any particular machine, being as they are preoccupied with every falsehood and inconsistency of modern life. The Seer’s personal fatal flaw is like the Witch’s in kind, but opposite in source – while both Seers and Witches can be tempted into wrongdoing through their Aspect, Witches tend to be lured to “assume direct control” by the power their Aspect promises, while Seers tend to be deceived or tricked into believing “facts” overly tinted by the lens of their Aspect. In the case of the Seer of Rage, the key to personal growth is to apply their critical gaze even to their own Aspect as they do to all other Aspects of reality – to question the cynicism and accompanying grimdark thoughts which haunt them in order to espy not only the manner in which the world must burn, but also the character of that world which will rise from its ashes. Songs Cerise by Ghost Toxicity by System of a Down Black Planet by The Sisters of Mercy I hope you enjoyed this analysis, anon!! Sorry again a8out the delay, I’ve 8een movvin a lot of files around l8ly, and havvin some small personal stuff goin on, 8ut I should 8e 8ack to consistent scheduled programmin by next wweek at the l8est ::::> thanxx for the ask!! ~ P L U R ~

#Seer of Rage #Rage #Seer #Class #Aspect #Classpect #Classpect Analysis #Homestuck #anon #ask

[yoekko-novels]

[To Touch The Sky] Good, Wrong, Life, and Death - #004

Druchess and Hubrid continued walking along the grass as Druchess lead the way.

“How long will it take?” Hubrid says while they continue walking as the still air began to move.

“The longer, the better,” Druchess continues moving forward as the wind begins to blow against his robe.

“I thought that you’d forgotten about your people. I thought that you would have no connection with them, I’m sorry for what I’ve done,” Druchess refuses to look at Hubrid as he speaks. The wind muffles out his speech.

“Huh?” Hubrid says as the two of them continue towards their destination on the rough terrain. The color of the grass had changed from purple to green, its natural color in this world.

“Nothing,” Druchess begins walking faster.

“How far away is the meat? I don’t see any animals around…” Hubrid says as he looks over the terrain only to see green lakes and barren land with small amounts of green grass sticking out of them.

“It’s good that you remembered where meat comes from Hubrid, I’m proud of you,” Druchess says with enthusiasm while inside, he dreaded the truth he was leading Hubrid to.

“Do you remember the word morals?” Druchess asks hubrid as his beard shrinks little by little with each step.

“Yes, it means being good right?” Hubrid says with wavering confidence.

“That’s a good answer. How about forgiveness?” Druchess says as tears trickle down his face and are blown into the wind as it carries the viscous water into the face of hubrid.

“Hmm, it means to not hold grudges?” Hubrid asks as he feels water slap his skin.

“Another good answer Hubrid! However, those words bear much more weight than that. Forgiveness is hard to receive and hard to give. Morals are even trickier than forgiveness, what decides what is good and what is wrong?”

“... People?” Hubrid says with a pause as he racked his brain in search of an answer.

“Smart answer, but it goes deeper than that. Give it another try.”

“The King?” Hubrid asks in a questioning tone.

“It goes further than even that, Hubrid,” Druchess says as he looks up into the sky.

“The Goddesses?”

“Deeper,” Druchess says a cloud begins to cover the sun.

“The Creator?” Hubrid says as his frustration grows.

“I believe it is deeper than even that. I once had a friend who could probably answer that question. But, because of his morals, he no longer lives. Druchess says as he hesitates to turn his head and face Hubrid.

“He died? Why?” Hubrid asks with curiosity.

“Because of his morals.”

“Was he good?”

“I cannot decide that, but I do think he was,” Druchess says as he continues to walk as he uses his staff like a cane while his beard falls only to his knees.

“Who knows the answer?” Hubrid says despondently as the water on his body finally dried and the sun begins to reveal itself from the behind clouds.

“Anyone can answer it, but they’re all liars. Only you can find that answer inside of yourself. I once thought of myself as an upstanding man. Morals change and alter as you experience life and near death. I was nearly boiled alive for my ideals, I had to run from the sky to the ground and live in exile to escape.

“... What were your ideals?” Hubrid asks with curiosity as the sun is covered up once again, Arupio stood above them, floating in the sky whilst blocking the sun off as the two continued. Druches’s beard began to shrink even more as the two found themselves feeling cold without the warm embrace of the sun.

“I… I believed that everyone was born equal. That we all had the right to fight for the life we wanted to live. I saw the world in black and white, good and evil. Hubrid, those ideas were wrong.

Druchess turns around as tears leak down his face and he falters to his knees as he stared at hubrid as his beard fell only to his chest.

“I was wrong! We are not equal, this world was not made for me or you! This world is not good and evil, it’s all evil, Hubrid! The strong eat the weak and grow stronger and the weak only grows weaker. Look Hubrid!” Druchess cries out as he points in the direction they’d been heading. The place that was once filled with healthy grass was barren and dead.

A repugnant smell dispersed over the terrain, worse than anything Hubrid had ever smelt before despite his rough childhood.

On the ground were people littered the land underneath Arupio. Upon closer inspection, the dirt was red and small bits of vegetation sprouted out of red blotted areas.

“Wh...at is this?” Hubrid asks as Druchess continues weeping as his beard only falls down a small a bit underneath his neck.

“They’re dead. All of them Hubrid. Your friends, your family are all in the next world. They’re what we’ve been eating these past couple of months. The knights of Arupio placed magic on them so their corpses wouldn’t rot. They did it as a reminder to show the people who were in control. They poisoned the air so that no one could live on the ground any longer so that if anyone had survived by even the smallest chance they’d have nowhere to run! Rain can no longer even fall onto this barren land!”

Druchess’s beard grows even shorter, it was nearly a stub. Druchess looked on at the bodies and saw blood stains all over the dirt. Unlike the rest of the terrain, there was a single patch of grass that grew healthily, flowers that Hubrid had never seen before sprouted before his eyes in the desolate land.

“What are you saying Druchess?” Hubrid shouts out in anger as he stares at him.

“Hubrid I’m sorry. I will pay for my sins in time, but, before I do I must tell you something. You have to free Haaura from her chains. You have to free her!”

“Where are they?” Hubrid says as he falls to the cold ground as tears leak from his face and snot falls.

“The Godd-.” For the first time, Hubrid interrupts Druchess.

“My family…”

“... They crossed over into a better world. A world that won’t judge them as harshly as this one did.”

“Where is it?” Hubrid asks as he closes his eyes to stop the tears only for them to break free.

Druchess points to the sky.

“Arupio?” Hubrid asks as he wipes away the tears as they continue falling.

“No, even further than that,” Druchess points up as his beard becomes so small it’s nearly invisible, underneath the beard he’d had was symbols.

“If I help that lady, will she let me see… them again?” Hubrid says with a sniffle as he looks up at the sky only for Arupio to snuff it out.

“I… I don’t know Hubrid,” Druchess says with a smile as his beard fades away, only a single piece of hair remains and his voice becomes weary.

“I’ll go so high into the sky, that… my family will have to look up to see me!” Hubrid shouts with determination as Druchess begins to cough.

“What a stupid goal... Take my robe and staff Hubrid, educate yourself and then cross the bridge to enter Arupio,” Druchess jests as his beard fades completely.

“What happened to your beard, Druchess?” Hubrid asks with concern as his tears flow even more.

“This air and land are infected Hubrid, life can no longer live on the ground. I cleared away… most of the contaminated air with my books at a cost. Just like your family, my body won’t rot or decay. I’ll be here with your people if you don’t mind. if you ever need someone to talk to just visit…” Druchess coughs up a purple liquid and closes his eyes.

“Druchess? Druchess… What's… happening to you?...”

Druchess lays on the ground unresponsive.

Hubrid drops his book to free his hands and begins shaking Druchess violently.

“...Druchess, I never saw you as an emotional guy, when you were alive you were always so serious…” A voice calls out to Druchess as he lays unmoving on the ground.

A purple aura emanates from Druchess as a small light leaves his body and begins to move upward.

“Omaegius?… I’m so-.”

“Don’t mention it,”

“Bu-,”

“It doesn’t matter now, does it? Hey, you remember those talks we’d have about right and wrong?” A yellow aura speaks out to Druchess in the darkness.

“...”

“I think we were both wrong in the end. Do you think that everyone and everything is evil? Look over there,” The yellow aura gestures to Hubrid as it views him carrying Druchess’s body to the only green grass in the land.

Hubrid begins shoveling away at the patch of dirt and gas with his hands to dig a hole. Dirt enters the crevices of his hands and blood spills as he hits a sharp rock in the soil. He continues digging with vigor as he cries.

“What is that boy doing?” The purple aura asks as both of them spectate Hubrid digging away at the dirt.

Hubrid continues shoveling the dirt away as the soil begins to refuse to give way. Hubrid stops shoveling and with his muddied hands, he took the robe off of Druchess along with his staff and began stabbing away at the dirt. The robe changed colors from purple to yellow, the symbols changed as well from crescent moons to stars.

“It’s obvious Druchess, he’s digging a grave for you,” The yellow aura says to the purple aura.

“I’m not worthy as such a luxury…” The purple aura says as liquid leaks from its being into the dark abyss.

“Strong Holders don’t usually know how to give burials… did you teach the boy how to do that?”

“No…”

Hubrid stabs away at the dirt taking grain after grain to make space. In frustration, Hubrid screams out to the sky and stabs the staff into the dirt with both hands.

“He’s special…” Maybe he’ll be the one to strike fear into that good for nothing king…” The yellow aura says as it begins to fade.

The staff in Hubrid’s hands bends as it hits the cold hard dirt.

Hubrid lets out another blood-curdling scream then, as he began to try and stab it again a book fell out of his robe.

“Mourning,” was what the cover of the book read as Hubrid pauses his stab mid-air and picks up the book. As he touches it, he begins to feel numb.

“When all seems lost, just look at the sun and smile,”

Hubrid looks up at the sky to see Arupio once again and frowns at its sight.

“What do you think? Druchess?” The yellow aura asks as it nearly becomes invisible.

“I think… He’ll be the one to free Haaura and topple those power-hungry Gods.”

“Well, instead of discussing it, why don’t we just watch it together?”

The yellow aura fades completely as the purple aura sits in dismay.

“That’d be nice…” The purple says as it fades away.

Hubrid throws the book to the ground in a rage and the hole deepens and his emotions once again ensue.

“When you cannot see the sun, smile anyways.” The book reads as it glows inside of the hole.

Hubrid’s vision is blinded from his tears as he drags Druchess into the hole. He began to toss the dirt back on top of the hole, but as he turned to move the dirt, it had already been filled and a red flower was placed on top along with a marking. Hubrid grabs the book “True Kings,” and places it on top of the grave on its back. He opens it and the last page is visible. A tear falls onto it and causes the ink to smear.

“May The True Goddesses Forever Be in Your Favor and May Your People Forever Know Peace…” The last lines of the book were written in a dark bold crimson color.

Hubrid looks at the rose and remembers who he once was. A slave boy who lived his life with no emotion, always so far away from the heavens. Now, the heavens looked closer than they ever had before.

Hubrid walks slowly and exhaustively to where his family had been massacred and begins to dig more holes as he takes out more books.

#Novel #Writing #Writer #Author #OC #Comedy #Sad #Dark #Adventure #Fantasy

[intersex-ionality]

I’m sorry for asking but I cannot seem to find any answers. I see a lot of stray anti posts complaining about hazbin hotel, and I can’t for the life of me understand them because I haven’t seen the show. I read a summary of the plot, but perhaps you could explain better. What is it and why do so many hate it (and why have I seen no fewer than 4 unique posts claiming it’s “what happens when you let billdip shippers make things”?)

Now, I was never a billdip shipper, but I suppose I can see the, like, similarity in vibes between Alastor (a demonic radio host with untold evil powers and who speaks in a 1930s radio jockey voice), and Bill.

And since antishippers hate Bill and they also hate Vivienne Medrano, the attempt to compare “billdip” to an entire original cartoon property is, I guess, a logical connection for them.

But let me be clear: there’s absolutely fuck or all that can be said to parallel the popular interpretation of billdip, in no small part because there no Dipper character, and in much larger part because of Alastor extremely rejects all romantic, sexual and even platonic advances.

Antishippers hate Hazbin Hotel because they hate the woman who came up with and spearheaded the project. They loathe Vivienne Medrano for being a successful independent artist capitalizing on the desperate need in the general viewing public for the bright colors, musical numbers, and zany antics that only animation can provide, but without the stifling restrictions of being targetted towards children. Most “adult” animation is focused on being drab or viscerally disgusting as a form of schadenfreude humour. And while children’s animation certainly fills that bright and zany niche, because it is obligated to adhere to the morality of various broadcasters, it’s often very suffocated in what it can or cannot do or say.

The aesthetic that HH/HB has created is clearly a callback to two major styles of animation: the adult-aimed slapstick of early Warner Brothers, and the long-and-lanky exaggerated flailing limbs that were popular as a design choice in low budgets (TV, off-brand film) and fandom animation in the late 2000s.

Since this style of animation is also associated heavily with fandom’s last big burst of creative and sexual freedom before the whole “no boundaries, no barriers, the search algorithms can and will put porn on every child’s dashboard” disasters of 2013-2015, some people are naturally off-put by it, because it reminds them of the time a bunch of corporate overlords decided that they should destroy their own platforms. For whatever reason (it’s the capitalism, probably), people blame individual artists for this trash fire rather than the platform holders that purposefully destroyed organization and boundaries between groups in a desperate bid for ad revenue.

Antishippers have a deep-seated reflex reaction towards hating that art style. You can see it in the hatred of HH/HB, but also in the hatred of things like, “cringey once-ler fans” and of “people who draw all the homestuck like twinks,” and "people who draw Pearl like a man” and all kinds of other places.

Additionally, Vivienne Medrano was at the centre of a few other antishipper fiascos, because her previous projects involved what they call a “pedophilic student-teacher relationship between a child and an adult.” Of course, in truth, the relationship in question is between an 18 year old student and her 19 year old student-tutor, but when have anti-shippers let facts get in their way.

Likewise, she made a living for a while taking commissions for (SFW) furry art work, and has always had a very positive relationship with the furry community (despite not being a furry herself). People upset by her success as an artist are also quick to say that she has sex with animals, “like all furries do,” because as we all know, calling queer artists sexual cirminals is Good Praxis that has Never Caused Harm /sarcasm.

In effect, Vivienne Medrano is a perfect storm of things anti-shippers hate: successful queer creators who refuse to assimilate to heteronormativity; successful creators of color who refuse to assimilate to white respectability; unrepentantly proud of her art; unafraid to engage with sexual themes in a fun rather than puritanical and hateful way; popular in the late 2000s/early 2010s; an ascended fan who was able to turn her fandom credentials into a successful professional project.

Their hatred for all of these facts about her are presented in a way that lets them feel good about lashing out at someone they dislike/are envious of. Namely, by saying that her work is an act of sexual, racial, or gendered violence, rather than, you know, fictional and fun.

HH/HB is not somehow a perfect piece of art. I have made my own discomfort with facets of it very clear. And there are flaws other than my wariness of rehabilitation themes.

Some of the sound design is overwhelming, with a few scenes bordering Johnny Test levels of excessive sound effects; in some cases the editing has clipped too much quiet-space between the presentation of a joke and its punchline; those traits combined with the lack of closed captioning can make the show very hard to process for someone like me who has difficulty with speech.

The immense budgetary constraints of the animation can sometimes be seen in framerate dips or in peculiar background details. Zoomed out shots of the cast as an ensemble are particularly identifiable as places where what would have been filler art in a higher budget production were ultimately left in because there wasn’t time or money to replace them.

The show is extremely upfront about sexuality and especially queer and professional sexuality, which can easily be off-putting to people. Conservative Fox News hosts’ extreme homophobia and violence are put on full display--for the purpose of mocking them for being enormous sacks of shit, but on display nonetheless--which can likewise be uncomfortable.

At one point you see the clearly exposed brain of a cartoon egg, which I won’t lie, makes me gag every time it happens, no matter how stylized and brief the shot. (Why! Does the egg! Have a brain inside it!!!)

But, unironically, HH/HB is the best series of adult animation I have seen in probably a decade or more. Maybe in my entire life. Prior to this, the only option for adult animation that isn’t rooted in sadism or grey-beige palettes was anime, and the design direction and acting of anime are ultimately very different than that of western slapstick.

Obviously, not every anti-shipper is so outraged because they envy the success of an artist other than themselves. But a great many are fuelled by envy, either that they aren’t the success story, or that someone they perceive as The Enemy is a success story.

This is far from the first time that anti-shippers have proudly taken the same side as anti-queer bigots and as open and avowed racists, who also hate the show (for being gay, for featuring an interracial relationship, etc). It won’t be the last. But, for all that their actions are often indistinguishable from the queerphobes and the white supremacists, their motivations are at least meaningfully distinct.

#Hazbin Hotel #I suppose I'm the HHHB defense squad now #what a weird life #Anonymous

[tark-msi]

IS CENSORSHIP THE DEATH OF CONTENT CREATIVITY?

Censorship, unquestionably, is not just a deterrent to an individual's expression of creativity, but in fact, the very curtailment of their freedom. Since ages past, Censorship has been a tool utilized by ruling bodies, be it kings, queens, priests, religions, or in the present case, democratic governments, to curb expressions of dissent either by an individual or communities. Although an ancient tool, it is still quite popular and in wide use by modern governments worldwide, granted its severity differs from nation to nation. However, foremost, presenting facts: Censorship is always a product of the essentially dominant zeitgeist, which is without exception defined by the ruling social class (more often than not conservative), which wants to maintain the status quo of a specific region. Censorship is no new subject, and to better understand, we have to study both the present and the past. Even today, this is an issue that will undoubtedly affect our country's future.

Let us first state the precise definition of Censorship: "Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient." Censorship can be conducted by governments, private institutions, and other controlling bodies.” This is a standard definition of Censorship. However, what people fail to realize is that Censorship's scope spans far and wide beyond the scope of just entertainment and news media. Not to mention the methodology of implementing censorships.

Nevertheless, how about we first trace the history of Censorship up to the present date. The first, most famous instance of Censorship is known to have happened in ancient Greece, where the great philosopher Socrates was charged with "corrupting" the youths and was henceforth executed. ‘Censorship by death’ might seem a thing of the past but is still very much a part of the present world. Censorship keeps reappearing as a blot in the history of humankind, as a sinister spectre. We remember the brutal killings by the church in the 16th century against the progress of science, the mass Censorship of literature in the 17th century by James I, the bloody Censorship in the 18th century during the Reign of Terror, not to mention the censorships implemented by Great Britain when India began its freedom struggle. Even in recent times, Censorship is an ever-looming presence. It was only 40 years ago when Indira Gandhi had implemented the emergency curtailing any and all criticism against the Government. Unfortunately, it is no revelation that India is right now going through a phase where a new kind of Censorship might emerge. A Censorship where there will not be a need to suppress the truth since the truth itself might stop existing hidden under the dirty disguise of propaganda and the veil of patriotism. This Censorship is the courtesy of ******** **** belonging to *** party.

From the examples, it can be easily surmised that no single incident exists where Censorship as a practice led to a positive result. More often than not, Censorship has been a product of conservative social practices and orthodox morality. It is always geared towards thwarting the path of progress. In maintaining the status quo. Several justifications are given in favour of Censorship. All valid reasons in themselves, but the rampant misuse made by the privileged few seriously casts a shadow of doubt on the systemic of Censorship. As previously mentioned, Censorship is subject to a conservative morality, and furthermore, a tool by the Government. These two forces combined only work to hinder the freedom of speech of the average citizens. Severe direct criticism against the ruling body or the upper class is not taken kindly. The so-called 'sentiments' being hurt belong only to the Savarna Heteronormative world, when they feel an 'attack'. But when it comes to the straight-up unconstitutional portrayal and slurs against the Queer and economically depressed classes, our democratic system invariably fails at protecting their constitutional rights.

Censorship is beyond a doubt the bane of content creativity. The combination of the psychological aspect and malignancy of censorship further create sinister dynamics worth our study. In an environment riddled with Censorships, there is psychologically established a safe zone and a danger zone in the individual's mind, creating an isolation of ideas and further constriction of mind. For fear of physical and mental harm, the user/creator remains within the arbitrarily made safe zone, created and defined by those in power. Once the zones are psychologically established, they start taking social roots. The safe zone creepily and silently becomes the core of social values. Hence, in essence, Censorship, in proxy with social values, becomes unquestionable. This further extends the safe zone in the social environment. Stepping out of that safe zone results in facing the wrath of the society itself. It, of course, is an obvious fact that societal norms are ingrained in an individual since infancy and hence get rooted inside the mind. Again, gaining a psychological aspect and here we witness the vicious circle of isolating the information and categorizing it as right or wrong, not through any critical judgment but simply because it becomes a predefined entity by an arbitrary authority (The ruling body). A fixed societal system then leads to a stale system of information where nothing new or creative can exist; rather, nothing new or creative is allowed to exist.

Additionally, Censorship is not merely an act of banning or removing certain content or proliferation of specific ideas. It is a sheer exercise in redacting the truth and hiding it behind a veneer of lies. Just like creativity can be expressed in multitudes of ways beyond the limited scope of media, similarly there exist nuanced censorship practices aimed at crushing deviant and creative modes of thinking. Censorships aimed at creating only one designated path. The different types of Censorship are: Censoring certain content (Removal), spreading false information to overshadow facts (Misleading), capturing means of information (Hijacking), Destabilising communications (Isolation of areas), Interference in collecting data, active prevention of expressing of one's views (Banning protests), ignoring or refusing to acknowledge specific outlets of expression (Disregarding), the threat of harm to relatives or the personnel themselves, and in the most extreme case Censorship by Death. With the coming of the digital age, the act of Censorship has become far more nuanced and harder to detect. And while the people keep struggling to find new ways of expressing their creativity\ the hounds of censorship keep up the chase. The freedom of the Internet is like a double-edged sword. Finding accurate facts among the propaganda and Whatsapp forwards is like trying to find a needle in the haystack. Perhaps part of the issue lies with the overload of information that has become possible with the Internet culture of our time.

Without a doubt, all the blame and critical talk surrounding Censorship should fall on the Government, regardless of the party. The Government's responsibility is to listen to the people's voices, not dictate that voice. A common argument in favour of Censorship is that Government is trying to protect the people from harmful, negative or disturbing media and discouraging its promotion. Media such as child pornography, disturbing and traumatizing videos of murder and gore, texts which might not be suitable for specific age groups. Fair enough. But my question is, why doesn't the Government try to eradicate the problems themselves? How is it that no action against the crime itself is taken? The very existence of such media is proof of how miserably our Government is failing.

Moreover, when someone raises these issues explicitly, those people are silenced on the grounds of spreading 'disturbing' content. Media handles spreading hate violence against communities, and misogynist content are allowed to do what they want willy-nilly, but porn websites are like the ultimate taboo, Oh! What a ruin of 'Indian values’. The ‘disturbing’ content which so endangers our peace and freedom is nothing more than the artist holding a mirror to the society. The artistic freedom exists in the fact that the artist can hold the mirror in any angle to show the dirty side-lines which nourish our established societal foundations. Censorship only exists to break those mirrors. It is an inability to confront the rotten reality, to face the cost of maintain the status quo. We are concerned about the children seeing the scars on a woman’s naked body; Mind! We are not concerned about the scars but about the nakedness! But why ashamed now, when you so proudly beat her up in front of your own child? We are concerned about an abuse in a TV show; Mind! We don’t care about the abuse, but about the fact that it is being hurled at our shining, virtuous culture! But why worried now when the abuses you threw on the young Dalit boy, are being thrown back on you? His are the abuses which are probably the fairest.

An interesting incident comes to my mind, which will also serve as a nice metaphor. Back in February, one of our glorious leaders invited a foreign leader for a political visit. They were supposed to tour certain parts of the country, to show its beauty. In preparation, we made walls along the roads! For very good reasons surely, and not to hide the dirt and the poverty lining the streets. So, the tour continued and our leaders travelled our beautiful country through those clean, immaculate, and wonderful roads, lined with walls on either side. I think the name of the walls was ‘Censorship’. And so it is, that we kill and wall off creativity and the truth. Because the fact is there is no one truth. The diversity and the creativity are all their own forms of truth. All those paths exist for us to explore and learn. But censorship allows only one road. The clean one. Which only the virtuous, the rich and the clean can walk.

Baudrillard's insight into the creation of reality is incredibly useful and a much-recommended read. His much-acclaimed theory has been, how in the present age of information explosion, the one who controls the flow of information is the one who controls reality. We have already witnessed how dangerous Censorship can be during Stalin's reign, where around 80000 people simply vanished. A similar pattern can be seen today with mob lynching and murders of journalists and reporters who dare to raise their voice against fascism. The riots, the protests, the beatings and the killings are the signs of our time. Hence it is not just the threat of ‘Death of creativity’ that we face, but it is almost a matter of life and death. Only us, the people can stand against it and openly raise our voices by our Freedom of expression and speech. The question remains: When will we come together to fight it?

By- Aditya Singh

[wisdomrays]

A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF ISLAM: Part 2

On the contrary, Islam has been revealed with messages that deal with all kinds of matters and that provide satisfaction for the eternal and never-ending needs of humanity. It has never asked or suggested anything that goes against human nature, and has never neglected any of our needs or desires. For those who are mindful and righteous, there are no issues that have been neglected, no doubts or desires that go unanswered, and there are no conflicts between the commandments of the religion and their practical meaning, nor are there any gaps or issues that have not been taken in hand. On the whole, Islam, with its eternal messages and glad tidings about how to please and see the Lord in the hereafter, has been uniquely and divinely planned to suit human nature, its capabilities, goals, and tendencies.

Living an Islamic life, one benefits from the lawful bounties of this world, spending all one's years full of the joy of walking the corridors that lead to paradise and the eternal blessings of He Who Bestows. In addition to all of this, if a person can live his/her life totally concentrating on pleasing God, which is the essence of religion, then this person can be considered as being of the rank of the angels. The decrees made by humanity are limited, and are usually race and ethnicity oriented; these can never be an answer to the limitless and never-ending needs and desires of humanity. God is the Creator and the All-Knowing, and this religion is His decree given to mankind for this world. All other man-made systems are of limited vision and are short-sighted in their awareness, and their spirituality is always hazy.

Islam, the true religion, is a unique order that never misleads and a divine source that opens new earthly and heavenly prospects for human beings. This divine system is called 'religion' from the perspective of belief, 'shariah' from the perspective of actions, and 'community' from the perspective of social functions. Primarily, all actions and activities occur according to the belief system, and social life is shaped according to this behavior, these actions and activities. For this reason, believers, who have solid faith and who make their faith a part of their character, continuously practicing it, are sources of truth, justice and fairness; such a person is trustworthy, a representative of high morality, a seeker of knowledge and wisdom, and is loyal to the sacred call of religion. Such a faithful believer would also actively participate in working toward the perfection of human society.

Faithful Muslims, who are conscious of their religion, whose practices are in line with the divine commandments, whose hearts are always connected to their Lord, and whose actions reflect this relation with the Divine, will never be deceived, nor will such people be in a position of servitude to any other human being. Such Muslims are always aware of their relationship with this exalted community, and thus are self-confident; they reflect this assurance, and are distinctive in their behavior. They love, show sympathy, and deep respect for all the created things because of the Creator. They prevent themselves from performing base and simplistic actions that are not compatible with the honor of being human; they are above the others in their faith, wisdom, and actions. While doing all of the above, believers are never proud or arrogant, they never push or force others to accept their philosophy or way of life. Aware of the fact that Islam never causes repugnance, they accept everyone as they are, and instead of trying to push their ideas on others, they are adorned with true faith, trying to represent their religion flawlessly, and being one of those who are admired by those around. Yet, they are not seeking the admiration of others; they do everything for the sake of their Exalted God, thinking only of His approval in their everyday speech, behavior, and thought; such people are never 'ostentatious', considering this as little better than a virus infecting and killing the heart and spirituality.

As a matter of fact, Islam did not come to oppress the minds or the will of humanity, but rather it was sent to prevent such oppression and tyranny on the part of human beings, hence urging people to use their minds and their intellects alongside their freewill to make new choices. This was exactly how things were at the time when Islam was being fully practiced; its majestic spiritual charm never needed any mind games or tricks, nor was hidden or explicit cruelty accepted. Deeds were the language that Islam used to reach the heart, words were used to explain the details. Words were used as a tool to address the conscience, words that encourage good and prohibit evil were the means; physical enforcement was not used. Islam does not approve of enforced faith (this is against the nature of the religion), nor does it accept any practice or deed which is not oriented around the pleasing of God. According to Islam, enforced faith is hypocrisy, and such deeds are no more than showing off. The Qur'an strictly forbids oppression in faith, as can clearly be seen in this verse 'There is no compulsion in religion. True guidance is distinct from error.'(2:256). Islam exists to prevent all kinds of hypocrisy and disbelief, and to hinder those who want to show-off. All of these facts in no way contradict the persistent behavior of a believer in the expression and establishment of the Truth.

As long as there is an opportunity, Islam will address the minds and souls of humanity, saving them from hypocrisy and leading them to the truth by the perfect example of the prophet Muhammad (pbuh), lighting the true faith and belief in their hearts, and equipping them with an awareness of God's presence everywhere and eternally. This kind of behavior is nothing more than the result of the acceptance of the message of Muhammad (pbuh).

The message proclaimed by the last prophet (the Messenger) Muhammad (pbuh) is the final and complete divine message, and it is the most reliable, trustworthy path leading to God Almighty. If this religion cannot express itself very clearly nowadays, the fault lies in that it is not only being perceived incorrectly, but it is also not being depicted in the best possible manner by those who follow Islam. Nevertheless, we do not think that this situation will stay forever as it is. When the time is right, Islam will re-express itself in every stage of life and it will entrance mankind with its joyful colors and patterns once again.

When this community of Islam notices that once again they are renowned and their name has been given to them by God (according to a verse in the Qur'an, 'God is the one who gave the name Muslim to you and to those before you') they will be impressed, saying 'How Exalted, how Beneficial our Lord is' and turn their faces towards Him; they will submit to His wisdom.

Islam is an invitation that expresses the religions that came before it. As materialist and naturalist philosophies have became too energetic, the containment of this divine message has also meant that all other religions are defeated by those dangerous and terrifying ideologies. Islam is the protector of the true faith. Since every other prophet in the past proclaimed the same messages, Islam is a point of support, and acts as evidence for the other heavenly religions. Thus, to revive Islam means revitalizing the other heavenly religions, correcting those points that are erroneous, maybe even partially revising some points that are in need of repair and providing new ideas for the believers of other religions. I personally believe that all of the above are possible and the fact that all heavenly religions come from the same source is a great advantage in this direction.

#allah #god #muhammad #prophet #sunnah #hadith #quran #ayah #islam #muslim #muslimah #hijab #help #dua #salah #pray #prayer #revert #convert #reminder #religion #welcome to islam #how to convert to islam #new muslim #new revert #new convert #revert help #convert help #islam help #muslim help

[yukiwrites]

Sothis, Remembering

Thank you for the support as always, @xpegasusuniverse! This topic is so interesting even I’M at the edge of my seat aksçdlmkasd

Summary: After conjecturing what the Heroes’ Relics were made of, Byleth and Hanneman narrow down their search to the similarities of Byleth’s pulse to a Crest Stone’s. They would need to physically look inside the Professor’s body to find out, though what Byleth would see amounted to much more than answers to those questions...

Commission info HERE and HERE!

______________________________

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9 - Part 10  - Part 11 - Part 12 - Part 13 - Part 14  - Part 15

The days passed as though in a blur -- Byleth and Hanneman were barely away from each other after school hours, noses deep in their research. Of course, they tried not to be seen together as often so as not to arise suspicion, changing their meeting places so often Byleth needed a second mind (a.k.a. Sothis) to remind him of where they would meet next.

During a particularly busy morning, the two professors hoarded the Heroes' Relics in their possession at an unused storage room, far from the main halls of Garreg Mach monastery.

For the hundredth time, they tested each and every one of them: they all shone in a shimmering red when at the hands of a crest-bearer, be it Byleth or Hanneman. However, as always, only in Byleth's hands did the Sword of the Creator shine, despite its insides being hollow.

Hanneman shuffled his own hair in frustration. "It's precisely because of the Crest Stones imbued within each weapon that anyone who bears a crest can wield them." He huffed, gripping at the legendary sword until the nodes of his bony hands turned white. "Of course, only those whose crest matches the stone of the Relic can take out the weapon's full potential -- but it is completely different with this." He raised the weapon overhead, as though looking through the hole would make an idea dawn on him out of nowhere. "However, only this- only the Sword of the Creator is different; in anyone's hands but yours, it is just an elaborate pile of bones. Perhaps I could injure someone by whacking their heads with it, but that's about any use I can find for it." He narrowed his eyes, mostly forgetting Byleth was there, though still directing his speech towards the younger man. "But it should be impossible! Unless you yourself are a Crest Stone, it makes absolutely no scientific sense that only your Crest enables you to wield it -- the magic has to go both ways! From the weapon," he rested the sword over his legs, moving his fingers in the directions of the magical flow was supposed to go should a Crest Stone exist, "to the stone, and from it, to the wielder's Crest. Yet, it does not happen this way with-"

It took Byleth a brain hiccup to digest what Hanneman was saying. Him and Sothis exchanged glances -- the floating girl hovering around the room out of sheer boredom as usual -- and widened their eyes at the same time. "Wait, slow down. Back up." Byleth placed one hand over his forehead as though to slow down the rush of thoughts cascading through his mind, lifting the other one to stop Hanneman from talking. "You said 'unless I'm the Crest Stone itself'?"

The older man looked to the younger one as though speaking of something obvious. "Why, yes. You are a unique case -- you possess a power that makes so little sense it is yet to be documented; so it is not far from the truth to say that you are 'unique' in the very essence of the word. Somehow, the flow of magic that should go through the Stone to your own Crest is completely reversed when you wield the Sword -- instead of your Crest resonating with the Stone and, as a consequence, imbuing the weapon with power, you yourself feed it with the energy it needs to be considered a Hero's Relic. Hold it like this," he shoved the sword on Byleth's chest, forcing the younger man to hug it.

The Relic shimmered in red immediately, but Sothis was able to catch what Hanneman was talking about -- something that could only be able to be noticed if one was paying attention: the sword started shining from the parts that Byleth touched first, as opposed to how any other Relic behaved -- through the Crest Stone.

"My! For someone who blabbers all day long research this, research that, Hanneman is actually a competent observer!" Sothis mused as Byleth looked at the bright weapon.

"Hanneman, what if-" Byleth placed the sword on the floor with a tunk. He slowly widened his eyes, watching it fade in color first at the places the tips of his fingers were.

Unless he ‘were’ a Crest Stone. Voices of a distant past; memories that willingly dug themselves deeper and deeper into his mind, eluding any who tried to uncover them.

High quality 'materials'.

The faint pulsating each Stone radiated.

His own chest.

"What if I- what if I actually have a stone inside of me?"

"Preposterous!" Hanneman replied immediately, slapping Byleth's shoulder. "Magical item it may be, it is still a physical object! A human being cannot truly function with a foreign object inside one's body. First and foremost, it would need to hold actual space within the flesh -- and I assure you that no part of the human body is there by mere coincidence; all parts have their roles."

Frowning, although understanding the nonsense he was speaking of, from a biological point of view, Byleth couldn't help but feel this- this yearning deep within his chest. The silent, void chest that had never uttered a sound.

Yet, at that moment, he could practically feel at the tips of his fingers -- feel the phantom thumping his heart was supposed to sound; the beat that should've been a constant throughout his life.

Hanneman kept talking despite Byleth's inner turmoil, deafening even Sothis' exasperated plea for the younger man to stop this line of thinking at once since it was making her feel sick. "As such, even if it were possible to actually insert it into one's body, the stone would need to occupy the space of an organ -- even take over... its... role..." Realization dawned in Hanneman midspeech, his eyes widening as they searched for Byleth's, mirroring his surprised expression.

"My heart!" Byleth looked at his own chest as though he could see its silent inhabitant. "Hanneman -- the stone- it's in my heart! It would all make sense if-"

The older man couldn't stop a large grin from sprouting up, his eyes losing their focus as he completely turned into research mode. "It- as mad as that sounds, it does make sense! However, even if it IS true, what -- or who -- could've inserted such magical, one-of-a-kind item inside a mere child? You've never had a heartbeat as far as you remember, yes?"

"Yes, but that's not the problem right now." Byleth sprung up to his feet. "You need to open my chest, Hanneman. I have got to know if this is true, or not. We can't start conjectures on 'what ifs'."

"My word!" Hanneman also shot to his feet, ignoring the protest of his old joints. "As eager as I am to open up a test subject, you are very much alive, Professor! I do not have the medical license nor the knowhow to keep a subject alive once I start poking at its insides-"

Both Byleth and Hanneman blinked, their minds set on this mad experiment. "Manuela!" They said in unison, snapping their fingers. They looked around at the mess around them, nodded and stormed off of the room, not bothering to lock it behind them.

Manuela had just taken a sip of her tea when the duo exploded into the infirmary with their mad idea, making her sputter and choke on the beverage. "You want me to do WHAT?!"

"It is for the sake of science, Manuela -- for the sake of uncovering the secrets of this world!" Hanneman puffed his chest, seeing the entire world glimmering due to the potential scientific breakthrough he was about to witness.

However, the healer was more than used to her colleague's research mode, so she blatantly ignored him as she dried her mouth with her handkerchief. "I don't think you understand how complex a heart surgery is, dear Byleth! I'll need to quite literally SAW through your sternum, you know? Open up your ribcage and risk you getting an infection just for what? Curiosity? I'm sorry, but I can't agree to this."

"The voice of reason, at last!" Sothis threw her hands up in the air, crossing her legs as she floated about. "Give up this egregious idea at once! I am barely holding on as we speak..." She huffed.

Byleth himself felt lightheaded due to his link with Sothis, but he couldn't stop -- not when they were so close. So close to discovering... something. To digging something up that had been always just out of reach. He grabbed Manuela's shoulders, not realizing how desperate his expression had turned. "I need to know this, Manuela. I beg you, I'm begging..." He lowered his head. "I must know about this lack of heartbeat. I trust your skills completely -- I know you will not allow any ill to befall me during the procedure."

Taken aback by the explosion of emotion the usually stoic Professor displayed, Manuela started to sway positively.

She chewed her lower lip nervously, frowning deeply. "Oh, very well. But only after I make the necessary arrangements -- later tonight at the LEAST."

"Perfect!" Hanneman loudly clapped. "The Archbishop will be away until tomorrow's evening mass, so this couldn't be more ideal!"

"T-thank you, Manuela." Byleth rested his head on her shoulder, the lightheadedness swooping his entire body.

"NO! No, no!" Sothis protested, her voice fading away slowly -- her own consciousness being absorbed into nothingness as Byleth himself passed out. “Noo…!”

The body was exhausted.

So much power was used. So much destruction reverted.

Using the Pulses in every corner of the land only to heal specific spots of it drained more than one would think. So, so exhausted.

"... apply- anesthesia?" A male voice rang at the back of one's head, as though an afterthought through a thick glass.

"-do-...nk I am? Of cour..." A female voice replied, fading away, away... so slowly one felt that even the voice was tired.

One was tired. Exhausted.

Why were they (they? Who are they?) so prideful -- why did they (who was he referring to? What was his mind seeing? A stone throne...?) ravage the beautiful nature to that point?

Ah, was it a mistake from one's part to share knowledge with them? (Share knowledge? Heal the land? Was he seeing a dream? He could see through the eyes of someone else, as though he were trapped into their mind.) But now... it did not matter. The body was exhausted and would perish should it not rest. (The darkness started to make sense -- a very unique stonework inside an underground facility extended as far as the eye could see, a green light illuminating his steps.)

One must rest. (He saw the motion of blinking, though his own eyes did not feel the need to do so -- his eyesight was so much farther from the ground than before, as though he had become someone much, much taller. Another being entirely.)

The power leaves one's body. One has left one's children to care for the land until one can walk it once more. For now... Rest.

Darkness.

Byleth moved his head to the sides, trying to look, seeing nothing but blackness.

The sound of bone being slowly, ever so slowly, sawed, filled the world. Byleth felt it, for the first time.

He felt his heart beating.

The feeling lasted for a single beat, however, as he felt, or rather, saw his own heart being ripped out of his chest. "NO! I DON'T WANT TO SEE THIS!" Sothis yelled so loudly it felt as though she was beside him, not inside of his mind. She sobbed loudly, hiccups filling the void.

Byleth screamed inside the darkness, echoing his mindmate’s wails; the memories of being torn apart while still maintaining a sliver of consciousness cleaving his mind into two.

"THIS... this is-" Sothis curled herself up into a ball. "It's how I-"

Byleth held Sothis' hand as the both of them lay in the cold, somehow now able to physically touch her. "It’s how I died."

#byleth #sothis #hanneman #fire emblem three houses #fe 3h #my writings #yuki's commissions

[scribblewriting65]

Top 5 YouTube Channels

Intro

Communication is a powerful and ever-changing force; especially with the rise of the Internet in recent decades. And no online service knows this better than YouTube. Hosting thousands of channels and millions of videos, no website has sucked away our free time quite like Big Red.

Today I would like to acknowledge 5 of the platform’s strongest creators, in my eyes. Whether it be for their intelligent content or the sheer fun they bring, to me, these guys are some of the best of the best; and proudly hold some of my greatest respect.

Quick disclaimers: This is my first writing like this, and as you know, opinions can change over time; so please lower your pitchforks and know that there are plenty of channels I love. Also, when writing this, I don’t have a particular order in mind (Except for #1). Whether you find your favorite on the bottom, top, or nowhere at all, know that these guys deserve a watch (if my digital mouth has any impact on your choices, that is).

Enough talk though. Onward, to appreciation!

#5: JT Music

Art is mankind’s most unique unifier, and no art brings people together quite like music. Whether it be country, funk, or rap in this pick’s case, you can look just about anywhere for a good time.  And while rock star NateWantstoBattle is a close second in this regard, no musician really does it for me quite like JT.

While most would look at the genre “Video Game Rap” with an upturned nose, those that stick around won’t find anything quite like what Skull and Pat bring to the table. Their weekly tunes always bring a fire to my subscription feed, whether they’re putting me into the role of a badass superhero, or dragging me into the darkest abyss, I can just about always have a good time nodding my head to the beat.

Not only is their work consistently fun, but it’s also wide in diversity, and constant in quality. Hits like Follow Father, No Hero, and Hungry for Another One capture their source material perfectly within a musical context. Even their cameo appearances in tracks like DAGames’ We Want Out and Zack Boucher’s Ultimate Super Smash Bros. Rap steal the show with their wild energy. I always find myself smiling when I find their newest song; getting a small amount of enjoyment even in my less liked tracks.

Consistent fun and passion can be felt in the notes, and I can’t help but rock my skull out when JT Music starts playing.

#4: GameXplain

Games offer a wide variety no matter where you look. No matter if you’re looking for a deep insight into 30 second clips, latest updates on a title, or general thoughts on an event, you can always find something, or someone, explaining the perspective for you.

I’m a funny guy, aren’t I?

GameXplain has certainly explored over the years. From Cool Bits and Missing In Action in the past, to their famous modern Analyses and Discussions, Andre and friends have always hosted an approachable place with a variety of outlooks from its diverse crew, like Andre’s obsession with Stunt Race FX and Ash’s knowledge and love of Mega Man.

Even if you aren’t super into any of their interests, you’ll still find a laid-back but insightful pool of content. Their discussions are a personal favorite of mine, bringing fun, thoughtful ideas to events or ideas occurring in the gaming industry. I can’t help but get caught up in their hype, especially for Nintendo Directs or the annual E3 Show.

Even if I don’t quite understand the excitement that something is receiving, I can always go to these guys for a solid explanation and platform to join the hype train.

#3: Mithzan

It seems that no matter where you go, Minecraft can be found there. Games, books, plushies, animations, even an entire convention; those familiar blocks pervade some space of modern culture. While this space has hosted some incredible creations, simplicity also has its own beauty.

Mithzan uses this simplicity to great effect. With his buddies Ross, Pooki, Jerry and frequent guests, Max is always there to give me a laugh. And while Minecraft holds a variety of fun games like Would You Rather and Never Have I Ever, Mithzan also offers experiences outside of the blocks, like Uno and Dead by Daylight.

Along with the wide content, the experiences and humor are also varied, sometimes employing puns or old-fashioned smack talk, to name a few. Even with the different conversations and games, the fun and heart are always there. Whether he’s playing a wacky or horrifying game, Mithzan is approachable and honest with his style of play.

#2: Mother’s Basement

Appearances can be deceiving, no matter where you look. Assumed bullies are victims themselves, ‘loner’ people are simply introverted, and the most stubborn ones find themselves lost in an unexpected niche. All it takes is a little looking around, and you’ll find a new lesson or friend more often than not.

And what better place to look for insight than in a Mother’s Basement?

While not all people can see the artistry that anime brings to the table, Mother’s Basement brings its potential to the limelight. With weekly insights and discussions on things like how animation enhances an atmosphere or what makes a fight extraordinary in Animelee, the ideas and thought put into these discussions is top-notch.

Along with this, Geoff (the host)’s voice is great support, staying calm but strong, adding great emphasis on major points. He even provides touches of comedy and actual life advice into his videos. I find myself especially entertained with his analyses on My Hero Academia and Fullmetal Alchemist, but Geoff also covers topics like best romantic partners and essential shows to watch (and avoid), and pointing out his reasons why. Even if anime isn’t your style, there are some videos dotted in discussing topics like the nuances of binge-watching in “Is Binge Watching Bad for Us? (Netflix vs. Disney+)” and other media like movies (“Spider-Verse: The Ultimate Spider-Man Movie”) and video games (“Insomniac’s Spider-Man is Truly Superior”).

While it took some time to grow on me, I’m glad to have been welcomed into Mother’s Basement. With plenty of insight and care put into each video, Geoff is just about always a good choice for fun education on how artistic Japanese animation can be.

#1:Fawful’s Minion

The world is full of stories; they’re simply part of human nature. Whether it be fantasy, drama, or comedy, all of us have the potential to weave tales that inspire. And none have inspired me on YouTube quite like Fawful’s Minion.

This mean bean gaming machine has the mouth of a divine artist. His videos always bring a bright smile and incredible awe to me for just how much quality and care goes into each video. Fawful’s Top 10’s have never let me down with their fun, reasons, and pure passion that is tangible in every project.

Not only are the videos fun, but they’re also inspiring too. Fawful’s linguistics is beyond captivating, even partially motivating how I speak and write. Along with constantly being a good time, I’m always inspired to write or gain a storytelling voice whenever I watch an FM video.

And the touches of insight into his personal life give Fawful an air of relatability. Now, I realize I may make him sound like some sort of Shakespearian poet, but he also dispels this through his more colorful language, bringing in modern terms (and curses) and joyful, nearly maniacal at times, laughter and emotion into his speech, making himself grounded and relatable.

Most of all, Fawful’s storytelling skills were, and still are, a big reason why I write and tell my own stories. I want to enrapture others with my words like Fawful does, so he gets a big thanks and respect in my book. Balancing fun, humor, emotion, and creativity, Fawful’s Minion has made a goon out of me, running towards the goal of becoming a true storyteller.

Outro

If you made it here, thanks for sticking around! I wanna maybe try these sorts of blog/list posts more often, so tell me what you think! If you like this and want to see more, feel free to check out my AO3 Page: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScribbleWriting65. I hope you enjoyed this little list, and I’ll see you next time!

#scribblewriting65 #top 5 #list #jt music #mithzan #gameXplain #opinion

[tawakkull]

Spirituality in islam : Shukr (Thankfulness)

Literally meaning gladness felt about and gratitude shown for the good done to one, Sufis use shukr to mean using one’s body, abilities, feelings, and thoughts bestowed upon one to fulfill the purpose of his or her creation: being thankful to the Creator for what He has bestowed. Such thankfulness is to be reflected in the person’s actions or daily life, in speech and in the heart, by admitting that all things are directly from Him, and by feeling gratitude for them.

One may thank God verbally by only depending upon His power and strength, as well as upon His bestowal or withholding of favors, and acknowledging that all good and bounties come from Him. As He alone creates all good, beauty, and bounty, as well as the means by which they can be obtained, only He sends them at the appropriate time.

Since He alone determines, apportions, creates, and spreads [all our provisions] before us as “heavenly tables,” He alone deserves our gratitude and thanks. Attributing our attainment of His bounties to our own or to another’s means or causes, in effect thereby proclaiming that He is not the true Owner, Creator, and Giver of all bounty, is like giving a huge tip to the servant who lays before us a magnificent table and ignoring the host who is responsible for having it prepared and sent to us. Such an attitude reflects sheer ignorance and ingratitude, as mentioned in: 

They know only the outward face of the life of the world (apparent to them), and they are completely unaware of (its face looking to) the Hereafter (30:7).

True thankfulness in one’s heart is manifested through the conviction and acknowledgment that all bounties are from God, and then ordering one’s life accordingly. One can thank God verbally and through one’s daily life only if personally convinced, and if one willingly acknowledges that his or her existence, life, body, physical appearance, and all abilities and accomplishments are from God, as are all of the bounties obtained and consumed. This is stated in: Do you not see that God has made serviceable unto you whatsoever is in the skies and whatsoever is in the earth, and has loaded you with His bounties seen or unseen? (31:20), and: 

He gives you of all that you ask Him; and if you reckon the bounties of God, you can never count them (14:34).

Bodily thankfulness is possible by using one’s organs, faculties, and abilities for the purposes for which they were created, and in performing the duties of servanthood falling on each. On the other hand, some have stated that verbal thankfulness means daily recitation of portions of the Qur'an, prayers, supplications, and God’s Names. Thankfulness by the heart means that one is certain or convinced of the truth of the Islamic faith and straightforwardness. Practical or bodily thankfulness, according to others, means observing all acts of worship. Since thankfulness relates directly to all aspects or branches of belief and worship, it is regarded as half of the faith. With respect to this inclusiveness, it is considered together with patience, meaning that according to some people, thankfulness and patience are considered as the two halves of religious life.

In His eternal Speech, God Almighty repeatedly commands thankfulness and, as in the phrases so that you may give thanks (2:52) and God will reward the thankful (3:144), presents it as the purpose of creation and of sending religion. In such verses as: If you are thankful I will add more unto you. But if you show ingratitude My punishment is terrible indeed (14:7), He has promised abundant reward to the thankful and threatened the ungrateful with a terrible punishment. One of His own Names is the All-Thanking, which shows us that the way to obtain all bounties or favors is through thankfulness, which He returns with abundant reward. He exalts the Prophets Abraham and Noah, upon them be peace, saying: 

(Abraham was) thankful for His bounties  (16:121) 

and Assuredly, he (Noah) was a grateful servant (17:3).

Although thankfulness is a religious act of great importance and significant “capital,” few people truly do it: 

Few of My servants are thankful (34:13). 

Very few people live in full awareness of the duty of thankfulness, saying: 

Shall I not be a servant grateful (to my Lord)?,

 and try their best to perform their duty of thankfulness and order their lives accordingly.

The glory of humanity, upon him be peace and blessings, whose soles swelled because of his long supererogatory prayer vigils (tahajjud), was a matchless hero of thankfulness. On one occasion, he told his wife ‘A'isha: Shall I not be a servant grateful to God? He always thanked God and recommended thankfulness to his followers, and prayed to God every morning and evening, saying: O God. Help me mention You, thank You, and worship You in the best way possible.

Thankfulness is the deep gratitude and devotion of one who, receiving His bounties or favors, directs these feelings toward the One Who bestows such blessing, and the subsequent turning to Him in love, appreciation, and acknowledgment. The above Prophetic saying expresses this most directly.

People are thankful for many things: the provisions, home, and family with which they have been favored; wealth and health; belief, knowledge of God, and the spiritual pleasures bestowed on them; and the consciousness with which God favored them so they could open themselves to the knowledge that they must be thankful. If those who are thankful for such a consciousness use their helplessness and destitution as “capital” and thank Him continuously, they will be among the truly thankful. It is narrated from God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, that

The Prophet David, upon him be peace, asked God Almighty: O Lord. How can I be thankful to You, since thanking You is another favor that requires thankfulness? The Almighty responded: Just now you have done it.

I think this is what is expressed in: We have not been able to thank You as thanking You requires, O All-Thanked One.

One can be thankful by recognizing and appreciating Divine favors, for feeling gratitude to the One Who bestows favors depends to a great extent on due recognition and appreciation of them. Belief and Islam (including the Qur'an) lead one to recognize and appreciate favors and thus turn to God in gratitude. One can be more aware of these favors, and that they are given to us by God out of His mercy for our helplessness and inability to meet our own needs, in the light of belief and Islamic practices. This awareness urges us to praise the One Who bestows upon us those favors and bounties that we consume. Awakening to the meaning of: 

As for the favor of Your Lord, proclaim it (93:11), 

we feel a deep need to be grateful and thankful.

Everyone is naturally inclined to praise the good and the one who does good to him or her. However, until this feeling is aroused there is no awareness of being favored by someone else, just as fish are not conscious of living in water. Furthermore, these favors may be attributed to the means and causes used to obtain them. If it is blindness and deafness not to see and appreciate the favors we continuously receive, then it must be an unforgivable deviation to attribute them to various blind, deaf, and unfeeling means and causes. The Prophetic statements: One who does not thank for the little does not thank for the abundant, and: One who does not thank people does not thank God, express blindness and deafness to favors and remind us of the importance of being thankful. Such verses as: Mention Me so that I will mention you, and give thanks to Me and do not be ungrateful to Me (2:152), and: Worship Him and give Him thanks (29:17) tell us that it is God Who truly deserves to be thanked, and also remind us of His absolute Unity.

Thankfulness can be divided into three categories. The first category consists of thankfulness for those things that everyone, regardless of religion or spiritual attainment, desires. The second category consists of thankfulness for those things that, although apparently disagreeable or displeasing, reveal their true nature to those who can see them as favors requiring gratitude.

The third category of thankfulness is that kind performed by those who are loved by God and view favors or bounties from the perspective of the One Who bestows them. They spend their lives in spiritual pleasure that begins in observing God’s manifestation of Himself through His favors, and take the greatest pleasure in worshipping Him. Although they are always enraptured with the spiritual delight flowing from their love of Him, they are extremely careful of their relationship with Him. Such people constantly strive to preserve the Divine blessings that have been bestowed upon them, and always search for what they have missed. While they constantly deepen their belief, love, and gratitude along the way toward Him, the “nets of their sight” are filled with different blessings and gifts.

O God! Include us among Your servants whom You love, have made sincere, and have brought unto You. Grant peace and blessings to our Master, the Master of those loved, made sincere, and brought near unto You.

#allah #god #islam #muslim #quran #revert #convert #convert islam #revert islam #reverthelp #revert help #revert help team #help #islamhelp #converthelp #prayer #salah #muslimah #reminder #pray #dua #hijab #religion #mohammad #new muslim #new revert #new convert #how to convert to islam #convert to islam #welcome to islam