#he is capable of mimicry but not speech and he Can eat but the only thing i can say abt that is that he hates maple syrup SO much | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

marmaligne · 3 years

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headcanon in two parts, sorry. Ask does not miss it. 1.1 Oh, you know the insecticons from the tfp? Can I have a headcanon where a S/O person is on friendly terms with insecticons?

[TF PRIME] S/O Is Friends With The Insecticons

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* [S/O] meets them by accident quite a bit before the events of the Energon Eaters. Arachnid is still “leader” of the Insecticons by technicality as the only available ‘Queen’ for the hive-mind, however she never really patrols the area or takes care of the hive as she should, rather choosing to wander as a free mind, disobeying orders from everybody.

* You had stumbled upon the hive while taking a short walk along the side of the Jasper highway, leading out of town and to an old coal mine you liked to inhabit on your days off work. A home-away-from-home of sorts, it brought you peace of mind to have a quiet place.

* At least you thought it was a quiet, desolate area until you broke through a thinning in the rock floor of the entry shaft and ended up crashing an Insecticon tea-party.

*It was a rather awkward fall, and it had injured your hip joint on the way down, leaving you temporarily paralyzed in throbbing pains and nerve damage.

* The giant bug-like robots and their shiny, metal wingspans immediately armed themselves and aimed at the shifting dust and rockfall, growling and chittering in a language of some sort, unknown to you.

* “Is it one of those ugly-faced Decepticons ploys again?”

* “It’s too small and squishy, much sooner to be a predacons’ chew toy than any weapon.”

* You looked super confused, absolutely stupefied, completely duped, utterly incomprehensible, awkwardly awed, amazingly idiotic, a-

* Their manner of speech and vocal patterns was practically lost on you. You could pick up remnants of a language similar to broken [language], but really nothing else. In an attempt to make contact with the metallic giants to gain help, you enabled your parroting capabilities.

* Humans have the stunning ability to mimic sounds and specific noise frequencies, at levels other earthen animals, especially mammals, cannot. Using this ability, you managed to copycat the grinding and chattering noises coming from the vocal mass of bug-bots.

* [S/O]: “¿Krrt-grrut vvurrr chechch?”

* Hardshell: “¿Buzzzz vert-tet-brrrz, Erreech?”

* [S/O]: “¿Erreech?”

* Hardshell: “¡VRREE BUZZZ-EECH CLICKLICKIK!”

* The contact went well, unbeknownst to you, and the successful communication meant that you might actually have a chance at escape, or finding a hospital!

* Congrats! You are now [Tiny Bug Child]! You have no idea what they were speaking about, unaware that they were contemplating how to execute you, but you successfully managed to evade death by being cute and cuddly! People say curiosity killed the cat, but it evidently saves the naive human-who-fell-into-an-insect-cult-meeting!

* Hardshell, the Insecticon you nearly landed on top of, begins to lift you out of the rubble, and place you down upon a makeshift stone table, partially destroyed by the collapse. The others—including Wingflap, Bombshell, Shrapnel, Blockhead, and Kickback—gather closely around you, cooing and chirping in their weird language again.

* This was, evidently, how you became the new Queen of the hive, though you didn’t know it, and managed to befriend your way through the entire enclosed community and worm into the spark of every Insecticon, though they were very few in number.

* You made easy friends with Bombshell, and remained close with him up until his untimely death by Bulkheads hammer fist. He would often lay atop the Jasper cliffside with you, and make out shapes in the clouds, constellations in the stars—regaling to you tales of the Old Cybertron, when his own kind weren’t so despised, and were respected as viable assets and allies amongst those with forms like and unlike their own—until the Autobot Elitists ensured they were seen as ugly and malformed, made to hide away in the shadows and step away from society for ‘the greater good’.

* It’s how you came to hate the Autobots—and Decepticons—for all they had done, to their planet and yours, and to your friends as well.

* Your mimicry slowly turned into actual speech patterns and recognition. Repetitive sound signals were a key portion of Archaic Insecticon speech, which made it easy to recognize simple words or phrases, each indicated by a set of whirs, clicks, or beeps.

* Now that you could actively communicate with most of the hive, it was far easier to make friends with even the hardiest of bots.

* Hardshell, of course, was tough to crack. At your constant insistance, he spoke with you once or twice, and made sure to acknowledge your presence when in the room, as well as save you a seat at the underground pub every other weekend. It wasn’t actually a pub per-say, rather a dugout chamber with smooth walls and some stone slabs insert for seating, where the cons enjoyed engex they could sneak off the Nemesis from time-to-time.

* After awhile, he warms up to you, welcoming you back to the hive every day after work, standing alongside his multiple siblings, and pushing others aside to get to hold you first.

* Meanwhile this all happens, they still don’t know what a human is. Their simple understanding of earth comes only from what they’ve seen on the highway from the cliffside, or from video footage of the Autobot pests on the Nemesis. Due to their bulky size and noisiness, they’re banned from most human-inhabited areas.

* Don’t doubt that some of them have attempted to follow their [S/O] home. They have. And some of them won’t stop trying. It’s been more than one awkward encounter between you and some teens to get them to realize they could get you in trouble.

* You all eat [dessert] together sometimes, made with energon supplements for ‘The Boys™️’, with some good ol’ 25-something-kg of sugar mixed in.

* The boys were worried when you didn’t show up for a week due to hospitalization via severe food poisoning medical coma.

* When Arachnid finally returned to Earth, and her fight against Arcee had proceeded about as well as expected, she located the hive and proceeded to force them to engage in business with Megatron. She believed that by implementing her own soldiers amongst the ranks, she’d be better equipped to backstab Megatron when the time came.

* She was undoubtably surprised when Hardshell and some others adamantly refused to take part in her plans at first, until she enforced their compliance through the hive-mind.

*When she learned of your existence, and the very gauge of your importance to her former hive, she came at you with full force.

*The Insecticons were fully unprepared to deal with a fight between their small [S/O] and an extremely angry ex-Queen. In refute, they returned you to the surface without so much as a goodbye, and begged you to escape before Arachnid scented you out.

* It was soon after these events that you learned of Breakdown’s death, Bulkhead’s coma, and Bombshell’s demise due to the combined effects of a substance called Tox-En and injuries sustained during his battle with Bulkhead. It broke you inside to learn there was nothing you could have done to help, but you refused to disobey their pleas to stay away for awhile.

* At the hive, Arachnid rules supreme. Being able to control the hive-mind was a feat a human was incapable of achieving, only Cybertronians able to easily access the imbedded chain of command.

* Hardshell mourned the loss of a true friend—a small, squishy human—but a friend nonetheless.

* Wingflap and Kickback went through a collection of memories you’d left behind with them. Pictures and small objects gifted over the years, a small treasure trove of important parts of their lives, now without you in them.

* Shrapnel stims a lot more now, and has nervous tics that he believes are the result of the loss of his dear friend. He knows you aren’t dead, least not yet, but he knows that you’ll likely never come back.

* Blockhead, as dumb as everybody thinks he is, is actually very emotionally intelligent. He has a way with words he barely understands, and [S/O] acted as a big support for someone like him. Without them now, he can no longer function like normal, and now has nobody left to talk to.

* Arachnid could care less. She absolutely despises [S/O], and would smite them for all she cares. You matter little to her, and only worry her for the loyalty and capacity of her troops.

* It isn’t until the Energon Eaters appear that everything turns completely south.

* [S/O] finally builds up enough courage to march themselves back down to the mine, and demand to meet Arachnid face-to-faceplate.

* The desert is hot, Nevada is hotter, and the trek down the highway seems endless and tedious. You pass by 5 interstate signs on your way to the hive, and count the steps it takes to reach the entrance, parched by the time you make it there.

* In all your sweaty glory, you, [S/O], make your way down the carved pathway into the mineshaft, dark and cramped—just as you left it.

* But everything is exactly as it was left, not an item out of place. The entire hive was empty, including of those you cared about. Their rooms are full of memories, and their energon cubes still lie in a corner, collecting dust and grime.

* The search seems profitable, yet it leaves you with nothing, and the emptiness of the hive echoes around you, and in all the chambers, through the cavern walls of every room.

* You know they’re gone, that they have left without you, and without so much as a simple passing note.

* Perhaps someday you’d find them, hiding away in another Jasper mine, but you never would.

* In their haze of a hive mind, they barely even remember the face of the human they left behind. A long line across the moon—stretching on for miles—and a vampire on a false throne, draining the lifeblood from their veins, and the image of [S/O] from their minds.

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✨ Hope you enjoyed ✨

#writing #transformers x reader #transformers imagine #transformers headcanon #tfp insecticons #transformers #transformers prime #tfp decepticons #x reader #tfp #insecticons #platonic reader

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dooodle-bug · 3 years

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headcannon dump for my alternate legion bois!!

The Gang

-They are all actually pretty smart, even before they joined Olly! The problem was that they had stronger animal like tendencies/lifestyle and couldn’t really articulate or speak in a human way!

-In fact, most, if not all, Paperverse animals (ie Koopas and other irl wildlife) are sentient and capable of human intelligence!

-Olly seemed to have “domesticated” them by making them be loyal to him and only him, causing them to become more “civil” in a way by giving them the power of human speech!

-He captured them using traps he set up for any unlucky animal to come across. Unfortunately, it just so happened to be those particular six. :o(

-Upon capturing them, he brought them to his lil hideout/Peach’s Castle and did some crazy magic stuff, fusing their bodies with the office supplies he stole from the Craftsman along with the sacred Magic Spark! A byproduct of this is now they’re super big and can also talk and stuff. But on the plus side, at least they now obey Olly (for the most part) and work for him.

-Olly doesn’t treat them TOO badly. Like, he gave them food, shelter, etc. But he’s not really the most caring person out there, doing what he does for his own benefit instead of because he actually cares about them. >:o(

-The legion themselves seem to originally fight 24/7 due to naturally having predator/prey relationships, this now becoming not that common (but they still do fight for other reasons).

-They get along OK I guess. Some working better together than others, but they’re bonded by their love for Olly.

-If they had the option of going back to the wild vs staying with Olly, they’d choose the ladder simply because life was easier for them there.

Scratch/CP

-Eats trash. And practically anything really. He just really likes eating and food honestly. He’ll really just shove anything he can find into his mouth. Oh you’re giving him a treat? SHLORP. Your hand has been engulfed along with the food and is now slimy af

-If you touch its fur, you prolly expect it to be all soft and fluffy, but it’s actually the opposite. It makes a CRONCH sound and is really clumpy, matted, crusty and sticky. Pretty gross honestly. Still makes a satisfying crunching sound.

-Very nimble and quick on his feet. However, he’s awfully weak due to not eating enough, which is also the cause of his boniness. Because of this, he’s rather easy to take down, but rather ravenous and aggressive.

-Sometimes makes this horrific screaming noise.

-Fires missiles outta its mouth, just like in game! Actually, the entire mechanic of it all works the same as in game too! The problem is, its SUPER heavy and hard to hold up, therefore it just lays down on the ground when using its mouth as a missile turret!

Snap/RB

-She doesn’t have a BAD singing voice, mind you (it is a pretty good one though), it’s just that it’s so LOUD and ANNOYING. Like, bruh it can really get on everyone’s nerves real quick, especially considering how she just LOVES to sing. The calling just goes on and on and on and...

-It’s REALLY good at mimicry and impressions it’s almost scary. Like, it can totally do an impression of anyone really. It uses this ability to its advantage as well, scaring or luring prey!

-Very, VERY intelligent! Even compared to the rest of the legion she’s pretty smart, being a very calculated planner and thinker, coming up with rather grand ideas. However she is also super aggressive too, being easily irritable and one to pick fights or start drama. She’s one to be rather pissy and shrew if you will.

-How do those bands work? Similarly to how they do in game! You see those bands act as sorta armor and ammo (oh yeah it shoots bands by plucking them off its body and using its claws and/or wings to shoot) in battle. They also look super long, flowing and elegant as a plus (they FEEL smooth too)! Unfortunately, it can’t really fly for long periods of time due to the bands not being very aerodynamic and heavy af.

-To defeat it, you need to pull on its tail and/or head bands/feathers. And just like in game, it is reduced to a One-Man-Band, this time taking the form of a featherless bird with a rubber band for a head, which I still need to draw btw.

-Oh yeah did I mention she had all her feathers plucked out prior. Well she did. Why? Well wouldn’t you wanna give payback to someone who’s been bugging you??

Steal/HP

-Is a BIG Boy. Like, it may be pretty short, like only around 8 ft off the ground, but it makes up for that with SIZE. It’s over 18 ft long!! It’s the biggest one in size out of the entire legion!

-Why is he so big? Well he’s been alive for a loooooong time, born around the 50s. Unlike other Nile Crocodiles, he seemed rather reclusive, even from the start, avoiding everyone: his family, his siblings, even other crocodiles. Because of this, he was hidden away from society and predators/hunters, outliving his family and becoming massive in the process. He was just one to avoid others in solitude, eating only easy prey and sleeping.

-It, despite having four eyes, has incredibly poor eyesight, being practically blind. Because of this, it relies on sounds and vibrations more heavily. It also seems to have very particular choices in rhythm and music, most notably disco for some reason.

-Instead of living in the water, he lives in the hot desert, burying himself deep under the sand to wait and listen for his prey to come along. Once they do, he JUMPS outta the sand and snatches them just like a crocodile would do in the water. Afterwards, he gobbles it up and digs back under the sand.

-Since the 60s, it has been dubbed with the nickname of the “Desert Devil” due to it being seen as a horrifying beast that is both a rare sight and territorial, many seeing it as a demon of sorts. There have been records of it somehow travelling to the city as well as surviving hunters due to its incredibly thick skin.

Stick/Tape

-Smallest of the legion, clocking in at about 5 feet tall!

-His eyes are this yellow color due to licking them as geckos do. But the problem is that his tongue is made of tape, covering his eyes with a thin layer of sticky tape stuff, of course, this is completely natural and healthy for him! (Allbet, it must be a bit tricky to see)

-In fact, the whole inside of his BODY is consistent of tape. The only part that’s actually visible is the tail, of course! And yes, the roll of tape is physically connected to the pathetic stub of his actual tail and I need to draw that too.

-It has a very strong tail, using its dispenser as a club to hammer down on enemies and use its tail to snag people outta the air! It uses the roll of tape to, well, roll around quickly and hit people with it as well! It can use this roll just like in game AND use its sticky tongue too! Its feet are sticky too and can climb up walls!

-Those spikes on his body? Yeah, they can hurt you. He just usually doesn’t resort to it.

-It used to live on an island way out in the Great Sea. Not much is known about it, mainly because I haven’t fully fleshed it out yet, but what did happen was it used to be a big jerk, getting payback by having its glorious tail removed (naturally because geckos just can). After that, it looked weak and lost on of its main defense mechanisms and so went into hiding.

-He has a severe fear of water, fire, and sharp stuff. He also enjoys eating bugs.

Slice/Scissors

-VERY solitary, demanding to live and work alone. The only exception to this is the cutout soldiers, who are perfect in every way in its eyes.

-She used to have a whole family! Of course, her mate was later eaten, causing her be forced to care for her eggs, which were later eaten by a snake, causing her to grow angry towards the world, killing a crap ton of animals, including rather large snakes. (She has a burning hatred towards snakes if you can’t tell.) Anyhow, she unfortunately let her guard down one day and being captured by Olly.

-The way it kills is rather interesting. It swoops down from its perch and uses its gloriously big and sharp beak to stab and slash its prey, using its claws to rip and smash it to bits before consuming it. Of course, nowadays it uses its beak to simply slice up its victims to bits.

-Was very familiar with Shangri Spa. While she never actually interacted with anyone, she would watch them judgementally and sometimes even take a dunk in the spring of jungle mist to cleanse herself (she’s rather neat compared to the others)!

-It hates everyone honestly, caring only for its advance, becoming basically a heartless killing machine.

Stitch/Stapler

-Was born at a dog breeder. While it wasn’t BAD, mind you, they were curious one day as a young pupper and decided to slip out from under the fence and run away, unfortunately getting lost and being unable to find a way back.

-It’s basically a stray, who, unfortunately, is awfully aggressive and mean, only settling down and being happy for Olly. In fact, it might be the only one to really TRULY care for him. Maybe because instead of trapping it, Olly actually adopted and befriended it, giving it lots of pets and love!

-They are, as previously mentioned, super aggressive and mean, both their bark and bite being equally bad. And that stapler head gives an even greater PUNCH!

-It doesn’t like wearing clothes, vests, or any accessory, really. If it could, it would take off its collor.

-Although they can speak, they prefer not to.

Aannnnd that’s all I got for now, folks! Thank you to whoever stopped by to read it!

#I will never forget those guys in case you're wondering #yes you can still feel free to ask about them or my main legion! I always love chatting about them!#i-use-my-words-to-express-myself #tw captivity #tw animal cruelty #tw death #tw killing #tw running away #tw body horror #tw eye horror #pmtok #legion of stationery #paper mario the origami king

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rimurutempestslime · 5 years

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About

A partner and best friend of the True Dragon Veldora Tempest, Rimuru is the founder and King of the monster country Tempest of the Jura Forest. He is regarded as one of the strongest Demon Lords among the mighty Eight Star Demon Lords if not, He is the Strongest Demon Lord that ever exist and also the only proper Great Demon Lord currently. Consisting of Twelve Demon Lords named Subordinates under his Command.

Slime:

Rimuru initially appears as a blue-bodied slime, but upon becoming a Demon Slime, his body turns silver with streaks of gold.

As a slime, since his body is androgynous, anything he mimics takes on an androgynous form of the respective creatures, while still bearing huge resemblances to the individual creatures as well.

His mass also grew over time, allowing him to accommodate larger mimicry forms without using extra magic to compensate for the additional mass. Towards the beginning of the story, he only has enough mass to appear as a human child, but by the time he becomes an Ultimate Slime, he has enough mass to appear as a 16-year-old.

Mimicry: Human

In this form, Rimuru possesses silver (blue in the Light Novel, Manga, and Anime) hair. There are no visible sex characteristics; however, he is often mistaken for a young girl due to the fact that the original form belonged to Shizue Izawa. But when he wears the anti-demon mask he kept as a memento from Shizu, his speech pattern can also make him seem like a prepubescent boy to others.

Unlike Rimuru's other Mimics, his hair changes color to one similar to that of his original slime body. It is unknown if this is just for convenience's sake, but it may also be possible this is because he was once human before and has a special connection to the form.

Since his slime body is equal in mass to his human form, he fills this body with solid shape instead of black fog. Without the black fog, there is no additional magic consumption required to maintain the form. There is no discomfort when he assumes this form. If he uses the black fog, he can also assume the form of an adult.

His fine motor capabilities improve when he is in his human form, and he finds it easier to move in than his slime form. Even though it appears to be human, this form has no need for breathing, excretion, and reproductive organs. However, he can freely eat, taste, and drink.

In his human form, he wears a black (blue in the Manga and Anime) fur coat and a scarf. Under the coat, he wears the kimono and pants that Shuna had made for him. He also wears the steel thread underwear he makes himself. He often wears Shizue’s old mask to hide his demonic powers.

Since eating the Orc Disaster, his human form grew a bit. He now assumes the form of a pre-teen with feminine features. In this form, he is around 150 cm in height. In addition, he has obtained a devil transformation.

Upon becoming a True Demon Lord and changing his race change to Demon Slime, Rimuru has been depicted wearing a black overcoat. His nails also appear sharper and his overall human form appears slightly older.

Upon evolving further into an Ultimate Slime, Rimuru's human form ages to 16-17 years old. This form is described by Velgurind as appearing gender-less (as she saw it nude upon creation) but with dangerously cute features. By simply willing it, Rimuru can generate clothes from his own mass and magic power.

Personality:

He has a kind heart and a quirky personality. Even though he is quite laid back and wants to avoid troublesome situations as much as possible, he actually works very diligently when there is a task needed to be taken care of.

With the heart of a hardworking salaryman and a beloved senior co-worker, Rimuru has a hard time rejecting someone if they plead him to help, leading in him often ending up with more work than he can handle, which his boss from his previous life used to reprimand him for.

Being the very Satoru Mikami himself, he also believes himself to be a KY-person (Kuuki Yomenai) who makes jokes at the wrong time.

Rimuru tends to react very severely when there's a danger to his close ones, such as his countrymen, subordinates, (possibly due to the soul-link he shares with them), good friends, and students (he can't stand children suffering). One might say he overreacts to these cases, but it simply shows how deeply he cares for them, as a stark contrast with his usual cheerful self.

Unlike many other shounen protagonists, he has no problems with decimating any forces who dare to harm his subordinates and his country, regardless of their numbers, realizing full-well about the deed he's done.

After a mishap of subsidies, Rimuru tends to quickly revert back to his laid back self and mentally (or even in actuality) scratches his head at the scenery he caused.

He is described as cautious and cunning by other fellow Demon Lords, unaware that it is simply a means of him trying to prevent troublesome situations from going out of hand. As he progresses through the story, he slowly becomes more and more like an actual Demon Lord, and as he adjusts to the rules of the new world and understands the capabilities of his subordinates, he begins to let them handle tough situations on their own instead of voluntarily diving in first to patch stuff up.

He seems to have a lot of knowledge about video games and manga.

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goingtosee-theworld · 7 years

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Jane Porter Descends Into the Underworld: A Movement in Six Parts || Part 4: The Harpies

Part 1: Prelude Part 2: Sorrow Part 3: Interlude—Mother Part 4: The Harpies Part 5: Evil Pleasures of the Mind

Journey in the Dark (from Symphony No. 1 "The Lord of the Rings") - Johan de Meij

Isle of the Dead - Rachmaninoff

Flight of the Valkyries - Richard Wagner

[TW: blood (its not much tho)]

cameo by Roger’s dead dad

The other side of the door was pitch black, and winds wailed so loudly. Jane held onto her mother’s hand. She had read the Inferno in uni (one of Tom’s favourites, incidentally) and she tried to remember what was next—if anything was next.

She took a moment, in this darkness, to reflect. Her mother spoke of the fields and there had been a river. She had also spoken of a place of treasures. That all sounded very Greco-Roman. Which meant that beyond these doors, would be a place of punishment.

There was no purgatory, it seemed, no limbo for non-believers—there was peace and waiting, riches and celebration, ghosts that still wandered (which Jane supposed was as purgatory as it got)—and then beyond would be—

Well, she had nothing to go off of except the Inferno, which she knew was more Judeo-Christian, but would have to suffice right now.

After Limbo came Lust.

Lust was a storm.

Those winds were the wailing of the damned.

(She wondered, perhaps, if she’d end up in here—but no, no, she told herself. Sex wasn’t bad. It was sex that hurt others—that was bad).

“Just keep on,” Eleanor yelled to Jane, squeezing her hand.

They walked forward, blindly, the wailing overwhelming in Jane’s ears. Sometimes, she could pick apart a single voice, but she tried to let it go as soon as possible, because it made her chest feel all tight and she did not want to think about people who were trapped down here for all eternity.

“Let’s sing a song,” said Eleanor.

“Yes, let’s,” said Jane. She needed to concentrate on something that wasn’t the wailing voices of the damned.

Eleanor started.

“Lavender’s blue, dilly dilly, Lavender’s green,” she sang, squeezing Jane’s hand harder.

“When I am King, dilly dilly, you shall be queen,” continued Jane.

She focused on her own voice, her mum’s voice, and she thought of childhood, running through their little Bloomsbury flat with a cape round her shoulders, a plastic crown on her head, chasing her mum, who would sweep her long skirts into a curtsy and sing. She thought of how she would stub her toe on the coffee table and her mum would scoop her up and sing to her and stroke her hair. She longed for childhood now, where any trouble was nothing compared to her mother’s embrace.

“Call up your me—oh!” Jane’s foot stuck into something wet. Ugh, the Grecian sandals were massively impractical and she felt the mud squish between her toes.

“There’s a light,” said Eleanor. “There’s boats.”

Jane could see now. Her vision adjusted and sure enough, just as her mother had said, there were boats. Jane furrowed her brow, but trod over to one of them, her feet sinking into the mud with each step. She pulled her feet up, the ground making a sucking sound as she did so, and finally reached the boat. Glancing up, she saw an eerie swamp in front of them.

“The only way out is through,” said Eleanor, stepping into the boat, the tip of her sword hitting the side of it.

Jane pushed off the boat and got in, reaching for an oar.

“Don’t look down,” said Eleanor and she looked right at Jane. “Straight forward, Lady Jane. We will make it through.”

In the distance, Jane saw another boat drift past, a tall man with messy reddish-brown hair and a face that needed shaving stood on it, staring intently into the water. It drifted past. Jane blinked and it was gone.

“We mustn’t hit the other boats, yeah?” whispered Jane. Eleanor nodded solemnly.

For some reason, there were crickets. Jane did not know where the light was coming from but everything was an eerie greenish-yellow glow, like a night lit by a full moon. She heard the crickets from the trees, the slosh of her paddle in the water, and occasionally, some splashes from a nearby boat.

“Your grandfather’s here,” said Eleanor softly. “On one of the boats.”

Jane had never met her mum’s dad; he walked out on the family when Eleanor was only nine.

“How do you know?” asked Jane.

“I feel it in me,” Eleanor said, and sighed. “It’s alright. I never really knew him. He dropped all contact with us, you know.”

“I know,” said Jane.

The boat hit a shore and Eleanor leapt out, reaching a hand towards Jane.

They walked along the path, the trees fading out, till the only thing beneath their feet were the gravel of the path.

Up ahead in the distance, there was a long wall, stretching across. Jane craned her head to the left and then to the right. The wall did not seem to have any end, or any opening in fact. She craned her head backwards, as well, trying to see if she could see the tippy-top of it, but to no avail.

“How do I—“

Her words were cut off by a piercing screech and from the corner of her eye, she saw some winged creature swoop down at her.

“Mum!” cried Jane.

There was a loud clang, and Jane saw Eleanor’s sword in front of her, clashing with the outstretched talons of the great beast that had swooped down at them. Jane looked up—it had the upper torso of a human woman, massive wings—a harpy.

Harpy, harpy, harpy, Jane tried to remembered her magizoology textbooks as the harpy pushed off the sword and flew back up, beating its wings and screeching to the wall.

“Harpies fly in flocks,” said Jane.

Sure enough, two more joined the middle harpy, who had fair blonde hair and pale skin, with brilliant creamy feathers to match. The one on the right had dark hair and skin the colour of the earth, with brilliant brown feathers. The one on the left had fiery red hair and copper-coloured skin, her wings just as coppery.

The middle one let out a screech and dove.

“Run, mum!”

The only choice was go back to the woods, back to the swamp. The harpies would be on their tail, but they would have the cover of the trees, at least.

Jane ran. Eleanor ran at her side.

Jane felt her heart pumping hard, lungs filling with air. She tried to remember what she had read about harpies.

Harpies were contested in classification, she remembered. Some argued that they should be classified as beings instead of creatures, since they were capable of speech, but then others argued that their speech patterns were very rudimentary and seemed to be more mimicry than anything. Those who argued against their being classification also tended to be the sorts of people who called mermaids animals, so Jane did not know what she agreed with, only she’d never seen a harpy up close and wow they had beautiful wings and—

Harpies were a matriarchal creature, female dominated flocks. Males were rare, bullied into submission, used only for breeding, for child-rearing.

Harpies laid one egg at a time, usually, though sometimes there would be two. They were social creatures, with a hierarchy with an alpha female.

Harpies lived on rocky cliffs, there were colonies in Northern Scotland.

Harpies fed on fish and small mammals.

They would not eat her.

Harpies liked shiny things.

They liked—

Jane stopped in her tracks and ripped off the necklace she was wearing, holding it up in the air. Eleanor slowed her pace and whirled around.

“Jane—“

“Trust me, Mum.”

The harpies burst through the foliage, talons outstretched, wings beating against the trees.

“Do you want this?” said Jane, voice steady.

The red harpy shrieked and dove towards Jane, but she pulled her arm away (the harpy still scratched the side of her arm, she felt it tear open and bleed, the pain hitting her a second later).

Jane winced.

“I’ll give you this,” she said. “And the rest of my bracelets and necklaces.”

She shimmied a bracelet off her upper arm, wincing as it passed over the wound, and tossed it to the red harpy.

“Yes! Shiny!” screeched the harpy, diving towards it.

The pale and dark ones seemed more hesitant. Jane noticed the dark one flick her eyes towards Eleanor’s outstretched sword.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” said Jane, slowly. “My mum does not either.”

“Humans lie,” spat the dark-haired one. “They run from Fate. We chase back. We do our job.”

“Well, we need you to take us back, you see,” said Jane, keeping her eyes on the pale one, who seemed to be the leader. She was bigger in size than the others.

Eleanor lowered her sword; she was catching on.

“Everything is mixed up, you see,” said Jane. “My mum is supposed to be in Asphodel. But she got lost. And I’m supposed to be in…over the wall. We need to go back. You can help us get back. I’ll give you the shiny jewelry; and you’ll be doing your jobs.”

The pale harpy raised an eyebrow, then turned to the dark one, chattering in some bird talk. They dark one squawked to the red one and she snatched up the bracelet and flew up to her friends, and they started conferring.

“Jane,” whispered Eleanor, reaching for her daughter’s shoulder. Jane looked back, touching her mum’s hand.

“I love you, Mum.”

“I love you, my Janey. I am so proud.”

Jane bit her lip.

“Is it going to be hard?”

Eleanor linked her fingers through Jane’s.

“You will be brave. Let people in, Lady Jane. They will be there for you.”

“We take you,” said the pale one, interrupting Eleanor. She swooped down, as did her friends, landing on the forest floor. “I take girl to City. They take mother to Fields. You give us shiny.”

“Yes, of course,” said Jane, and she took off all her jewelry and dumped it in front of the birds.

The red head one cawed excitedly, taking some of the bracelets in her talons. Jane took this moment to rip a piece of fabric from her skirt, Eleanor crept near her and took it, tying it around the wound on Jane’s arm. The dark one looked up at Eleanor.

“Get on back,” she said.

And with one last squeeze of Jane’s hand, Eleanor swung a leg over the dark harpy, as the red one scooped up all the jewelry and they flew off.

“Goodbye, my Janey,” called Eleanor.

Jane turned towards the pale harpy, who stared at her with icy grey eyes.

“I know you lie,” she said. “I smell life.”

“Please,” said Jane. “I need to go there.”

“You seek the City,” she said. “Why?”

“The man I love is there,” said Jane. “I need to find him.”

They stared at each other, the harpy and the human, and finally, the harpy dipped her head.

“We fly.”

#bdrphellrunner #bdrpag #all classical music on this one bc why not why not #almost there #that next ones gonna be a doozie mwhaha #bdrptask

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matthewtwelveministry-blog · 6 years

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TRUE HAPPY STORY OF A CONVERT SOULS TO JESUS

TRUE HAPPY STORY OF A CONVERT SOULS TO JESUS : From a vegetable garden, which is beginning to flourish in all its furrows, Jesus enters a very large kitchen where the two elder Maries (Mary of Clopas and Mary Salome) are cooking the supper. «Peace to you! » «Oh! Jesus! Master! » The two women turn round and greet Him, one holding in her hands a lovely fish, which she is gutting, the other still holding a pot full of vegetables, which are boiling, and which she has just removed from the fire to see whether they were cooked. Their kind withered faces, flushed by the fire and work, smile out of joy and seem to become younger and lovelier in their happiness. «It will be ready in a moment, Jesus. Are You tired? You must be hungry » says aunt Mary, who has the familiarity of a relative and loves Jesus, I think, more than her own children. «Not more than usual. But I will certainly eat with relish the good food that you and Mary have prepared for Me. And the others will do the same. Here they are coming.» «Your Mother is upstairs. You know! Simon came... Oh! I am as happy as a lark this evening! No. Not really because... You know when I would be as happy as a king.» «Yes, I know.» Jesus draws His aunt close to Himself and kisses her forehead and then says: «I know your desire and your sinless envy of Salome. But the day will come when you will be able to say like her: "All my sons belong to Jesus". I am going to My Mother.» He goes out, climbs the little outside staircase and goes on to the terrace, which covers a full half of the house, whereas the other half is taken up by a very large room, from which come out the strong voices of men, and at intervals, Mary's gentle voice, the limpid virginal voice of a girl, which years have not affected, the same voice that said: «I am the handmaid of the Lord » and which sang lullabies to Her Baby. Jesus goes near noiselessly, smiling because He hears His Mother say: «My home is My Son. I do not suffer being away from Nazareth, except when He is away. But if He is near Me... oh! I need nothing else. And I am not afraid for My house... You are there...» «Oh! Look, there is Jesus! » shouts Alphaeus of Sarah, who facing the door, is the first to see Jesus. «Yes, here I am. Peace to you all. Mother! » He kisses His Mother on Her forehead and is kissed by Her. He then turns to the unexpected guests, who are His cousin Simon, Alphaeus of Sarah, Isaac the shepherd and one Joseph who was received by Jesus at Emmaus after the verdict of the Sanhedrin. «We went to Nazareth and Alphaeus told us that we had to come here. We came. And Alphaeus wanted to come with us, and also Simon » explains Isaac. «I could not believe I was coming » says Alphaeus. «I also wanted to see You, stay a little time with You and with Mary » concludes Simon. «And I am very happy to be with you. I did the right thing in not staying any longer as the people of Kedesh desired, where I arrived coming from Gherghesa to Merom and going round the other side of the lake.» «Is that where You came from? » «Yes, I visited the places where I had already been and even farther away. I went as far as Giscala.» «What a long road! » «But what a great harvest! Do you know, Isaac. We were the guests of rabbi Gamaliel. He was very kind to us. And then I met the synagogue leader of the Clear Water. He is coming, too. I entrust him to you. And then... and then I gained three disciples...» Jesus smiles frankly, blissfully. «Who are they? » «A little old man at Korazim. I helped him some time ago, and the poor man, who is a true Israelite without prejudice, to show Me his love, has worked his area, as a perfect ploughman works the soil. The other is a boy, five years old, perhaps a little more. Intelligent and brave. I spoke also to him the first time I was at Bethsaida and he remembered better than adults. The third is an old leper. I cured him near Korazim one evening a long time ago and then I left him. I have now found him again, announcing Me on the mountains in Naphtali. And to confirm his words he shows what is left of his hands, cured but partly impaired, and his feet, which have also been cured but are deformed, and yet he walks a long way. People realise how ill he was when they see what is left of him and they believe his words which are dressed with tears of gratitude. It was easy for Me to speak there, because there was one who had already made Me known and had led other people to believe in Me. And I was able to work many miracles. So much can be done by one who really believes....» Alphaeus nods assent without speaking, continuously absent-minded, while Simon lowers his head under the implicit reproach, and Isaac rejoices wholeheartedly because of the joy of his Master, Who is about to tell of the miracle worked shortly before on Eli's little grandchild. But supper is ready, and the women, with Mary, prepare the table in the large room and take the dishes there and then withdraw downstairs. Only the men remain and Jesus offers, blesses and hands out the portions. But only a few mouthfuls of food had been taken, when Susanna goes upstairs saying: «Eli has come with servants and many gifts. But he would like to speak to You. » «I will come at once, or better still, tell him to come up.» Susanna goes out and comes back shortly afterwards with old Eli and two servants who are carrying a large basket. Behind them the women, with the exception of the Most Holy Mary, are casting curious glances. «God be with You, my benefactor » greets the Pharisee. «And with you, Eli. Come in. What do you want? Is your grandson not well again? » «Oh! He is very well. He is jumping in the kitchen garden like a little kid. Before I was so dumbfounded and bewildered that I failed to fulfil my duty. I wish to show You my gratitude and I beg You not to refuse the little I am offering You. A little food for You and Your friends. It is the produce of my fields. And... I would like... I would like to have You at my table tomorrow. To thank You once again and honour You, with my friends. Do not refuse, Master. I would understand that You do not love me and that if You cured Elisha, it was only for his sake, not mine.» «Thank you. But no gifts were needed.» «Every great and learned man accepts them. It's the custom.» «And I do. But I accept very willingly one gift only, nay, I look for it.» «Which is? If I can, I will give it to You.» «Your hearts. Your thoughts. Give Me them. For your own good.» «But I consecrate mine to You, blessed Jesus! Can You doubt it? Yes, I... I did You wrong. But now I have understood. I have also heard of the death of Doras, who offended You... Why are You smiling, Master? » «I was remembering somethings.» «I thought You did not believe what I was saying.» «Oh! no. I know that you were moved by Doras' death. Even more than by this evening's miracle. But do not be afraid of God, if you have really understood, and if from now on you wish to be My friend.» «I can see that You really are a prophet. It is true, I was more afraid... I was coming to You more out of fear of punishment like Doras', than because of the accident. And this evening I said: "There you are. The punishment has come. And it is even more severe because it did not strike the old oak in its own life, but in its love, in its joy for life, by striking the little oak, in which I rejoiced". I understood that it would have been just as it was for Doras...» «You understood that it would have been just. But you did not believe yet in Him Who is good.» «You are right. But it is no longer so. Now I have understood. So, are You coming to my house tomorrow? » «Eli, I had decided to leave at dawn. But I will postpone My departure by one day, that you may not think that I despise you. I will be with you tomorrow.» «Oh! You really are good. I will always remember it.» «Goodbye, Eli. Thank you for everything. This fruit is beautiful, and the cheese must be as tasty as butter, and the wine certainly very good. But you could have given everything to the poor in My name.» «There is something for them, if You wish so, at the bottom, under the rest. It was an offering for You.» «Well, we will distribute it tomorrow together, before or after the meal, as you prefer. May the night be a peaceful one for you, Eli.» «And for You. Goodbye » and he goes away with his servants. Peter who with all the mimicry of which he is capable, has pulled out the contents of the basket, to hand it back to the servants, puts the purse on the table in front of Jesus and says, as if he were concluding an internal speech: «And it will be the first time that the old owl gives alms.» «It is true » confirms Matthew. «I was greedy, but he surpassed me. He doubled his capital by usury.» «Well... if he mends his ways... It's a good thing, is it not? » says Isaac. «It certainly is a good thing. And it appears to be so » state Philip and Bartholomew. «Old Eli a convert! Ah! Ah! » Peter laughs heartily. Simon, the cousin, who has been pensive all the time, says: «Jesus, I would like... I would like to follow You. Not like these. But at least as the women do. Let me join my mother and Yours. They are all coming... I, I, a relative... I do not expect to have a place amongst the disciples. But at least... at least as a good friend...» «May God bless you, my son! How long have I been waiting to hear you say that! » shouts Mary of Alphaeus. «Come. I reject no one, neither do I force anyone. I do not even exact everything from everybody. I take what you can give Me. It is a good thing that the women are not always alone, when we go to places unknown to them. Thank you, brother.» «I am going to tell Mary » says Simon's mother and she adds: «She is down in Her little room, praying. She will be happy.» ...It is rapidly growing dark. They light a lamp to go down the staircase which is already dark in twilight, and some go to the right, some to the left, to rest. Jesus goes out, and walks to the shore of the lake. The village is quiet, the streets are deserted, there is no one on the shore or on the lake in the moonless night. There are only stars to be seen in the sky and the murmur of the surf to be heard on the shingly shore. Jesus goes on board the beached boat, sits down, lays one arm on the edge and rests His head on it. I do not know whether He is thinking or praying. Matthew approaches Him very quietly: «Master, are You sleeping? » he asks in a low voice. «No, I am thinking. Come here beside Me, since you are not sleeping.» «I thought You were upset and I followed You. Are You not satisfied with Your day's work? You touched Eli's heart, You acquired Simon of Alphaeus as a disciple...» «Matthew, you are not a simple man like Peter and John. You are astute and learned. Be also frank. Would you be happy because of those conquests? » «But... Master... They are always better than I am and You told me, on that day, that You were very happy because of my conversion...» «Yes. But you were really converted. And you were genuine in your evolution towards Good. You came to Me without any elaboration of thought, you came through the will of your spirit. But Eli is not like that... neither is Simon. Only the surface of the former has been touched: the man-Eli is shocked. Not the spirit-Eli. That is always the same. When the excitement caused by the miracles on Doras and his little grandchild is over, he will be the same Eli as yesterday and as always. Simon!... he, too, is nothing but a man. If he had seen Me insulted instead of honoured, he would have pitied Me, and as always, he would have left Me. This evening he heard that a little old man, a child, a leper can do what he, although a relative, cannot do; he saw the pride of a Pharisee bend before Me and he decided: "Also I". But those conversions brought about by the spur of human evaluations, are not the ones that make Me happy. On the contrary, they dishearten Me. Stay with Me, Matthew. It is not a moonlight night, but at least the stars are twinkling. In My heart this evening there is nothing but tears. Let your company be the star of your distressed Master...» «Master, if I can... You can imagine! The trouble is that I am always a poor miserable man, a good for-nothing. I have sinned too much to be able to please You. I am not good at speaking. I do not yet know how to say the new, pure, holy words, now that I have left my old language of fraud and lust. And I am afraid I will never be able to speak to You and about You. » «No, Matthew. You are a man, with all the painful experience of a man. You are the one, who, having tasted mud and tasting now the celestial honey, can tell the two flavours, and give their true analysis, and understand and make your fellow creatures understand now and later. And they will believe you, because you are the man, the poor man, who by his own will, becomes the just man dreamt of by God. Let Me, the Man-God, lean on you, the mankind I have loved to the extent of leaving Heaven for you, and dying for you.» «No, not to die. Don't tell me that You are dying for me! » «Not for you, Matthew, but for all the Matthews of the world and centuries. Embrace Me, Matthew, kiss your Christ, for yourself and for everybody. Relieve My tiredness of an unappreciated Redeemer. I relieved you of your tiredness of a sinner. Wipe away My tears, because My bitterness, Matthew, is that I have been so little understood.» «Oh! Lord, Lord! Yes. Of course!...» and Matthew, sitting near the Master and clasping Him with one arm, comforts Him with his love...

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matthewtwelveministry-blog · 6 years

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TRUE HAPPY STORY OF A CONVERT SOULS TO JESUS : From a vegetable garden, which is beginning to flourish in all its furrows,Jesus enters a very large kitchen where the two elder Maries (Mary of Clopas andMary Salome) are cooking the supper.«Peace to you! »«Oh! Jesus! Master! » The two women turn round and greet Him, one holding in herhands a lovely fish, which she is gutting, the other still holding a pot full ofvegetables, which are boiling, and which she has just removed from the fire tosee whether they were cooked. Their kind withered faces, flushed by the fire andwork, smile out of joy and seem to become younger and lovelier in theirhappiness.«It will be ready in a moment, Jesus. Are You tired? You must be hungry » saysaunt Mary, who has the familiarity of a relative and loves Jesus, I think, morethan her own children.«Not more than usual. But I will certainly eat with relish the good food thatyou and Mary have prepared for Me. And the others will do the same. Here theyare coming.»«Your Mother is upstairs. You know! Simon came... Oh! I am as happy as a larkthis evening! No. Not really because... You know when I would be as happy as aking.»«Yes, I know.» Jesus draws His aunt close to Himself and kisses her forehead andthen says: «I know your desire and your sinless envy of Salome. But the day willcome when you will be able to say like her: "All my sons belong to Jesus". I amgoing to My Mother.»He goes out, climbs the little outside staircase and goes on to the terrace,which covers a full half of the house, whereas the other half is taken up by avery large room, from which come out the strong voices of men, and at intervals,Mary's gentle voice, the limpid virginal voice of a girl, which years have notaffected, the same voice that said: «I am the handmaid of the Lord » and whichsang lullabies to Her Baby.Jesus goes near noiselessly, smiling because He hears His Mother say: «My homeis My Son. I do not suffer being away from Nazareth, except when He is away. Butif He is near Me... oh! I need nothing else. And I am not afraid for My house...You are there...»«Oh! Look, there is Jesus! » shouts Alphaeus of Sarah, who facing the door, isthe first to see Jesus.«Yes, here I am. Peace to you all. Mother! » He kisses His Mother on Herforehead and is kissed by Her. He then turns to the unexpected guests, who areHis cousin Simon, Alphaeus of Sarah, Isaac the shepherd and one Joseph who wasreceived by Jesus at Emmaus after the verdict of the Sanhedrin.«We went to Nazareth and Alphaeus told us that we had to come here. We came. AndAlphaeus wanted to come with us, and also Simon » explains Isaac.«I could not believe I was coming » says Alphaeus.«I also wanted to see You, stay a little time with You and with Mary » concludesSimon.«And I am very happy to be with you. I did the right thing in not staying anylonger as the people of Kedesh desired, where I arrived coming from Gherghesa toMerom and going round the other side of the lake.»«Is that where You came from? »«Yes, I visited the places where I had already been and even farther away. Iwent as far as Giscala.»«What a long road! »«But what a great harvest! Do you know, Isaac. We were the guests of rabbiGamaliel. He was very kind to us. And then I met the synagogue leader of theClear Water. He is coming, too. I entrust him to you. And then... and then Igained three disciples...» Jesus smiles frankly, blissfully.«Who are they? »«A little old man at Korazim. I helped him some time ago, and the poorman, who is a true Israelite without prejudice, to show Me his love, has workedhis area, as a perfect ploughman works the soil. The other is a boy, five yearsold, perhaps a little more. Intelligent and brave. I spoke also to him the firsttime I was at Bethsaida and he remembered better than adults. The third is anold leper. I cured him near Korazim one evening a long time ago and then I lefthim. I have now found him again, announcing Me on the mountains in Naphtali. Andto confirm his words he shows what is left of his hands, cured but partlyimpaired, and his feet, which have also been cured but are deformed, and yet hewalks a long way. People realise how ill he was when they see what is left ofhim and they believe his words which are dressed with tears of gratitude. It waseasy for Me to speak there, because there was one who had already made Me knownand had led other people to believe in Me. And I was able to work many miracles.So much can be done by one who really believes....»Alphaeus nods assent without speaking, continuously absent-minded, while Simonlowers his head under the implicit reproach, and Isaac rejoices wholeheartedlybecause of the joy of his Master, Who is about to tell of the miracle workedshortly before on Eli's little grandchild.But supper is ready, and the women, with Mary, prepare the table in the largeroom and take the dishes there and then withdraw downstairs. Only the men remainand Jesus offers, blesses and hands out the portions.But only a few mouthfuls of food had been taken, when Susanna goes upstairssaying: «Eli has come with servants and many gifts. But he would like to speakto You. »«I will come at once, or better still, tell him to come up.»Susanna goes out and comes back shortly afterwards with old Eli and two servantswho are carrying a large basket. Behind them the women, with the exception ofthe Most Holy Mary, are casting curious glances.«God be with You, my benefactor » greets the Pharisee.«And with you, Eli. Come in. What do you want? Is your grandson not well again?»«Oh! He is very well. He is jumping in the kitchen garden like a little kid.Before I was so dumbfounded and bewildered that I failed to fulfil my duty. Iwish to show You my gratitude and I beg You not to refuse the little I amoffering You. A little food for You and Your friends. It is the produce of myfields. And... I would like... I would like to have You at my table tomorrow. Tothank You once again and honour You, with my friends. Do not refuse, Master. Iwould understand that You do not love me and that if You cured Elisha, it wasonly for his sake, not mine.»«Thank you. But no gifts were needed.»«Every great and learned man accepts them. It's the custom.»«And I do. But I accept very willingly one gift only, nay, I look for it.»«Which is? If I can, I will give it to You.»«Your hearts. Your thoughts. Give Me them. For your own good.»«But I consecrate mine to You, blessed Jesus! Can You doubt it? Yes, I... I didYou wrong. But now I have understood. I have also heard of the death of Doras,who offended You... Why are You smiling, Master? »«I was remembering somethings.»«I thought You did not believe what I was saying.»«Oh! no. I know that you were moved by Doras' death. Even more than by thisevening's miracle. But do not be afraid of God, if you have really understood,and if from now on you wish to be My friend.»«I can see that You really are a prophet. It is true, I was more afraid... I wascoming to You more out of fear of punishment like Doras', than because of theaccident. And this evening I said: "There you are. The punishment has come. Andit is even more severe because it did not strike the old oak in its own life,but in its love, in its joy for life, by striking the little oak, in which Irejoiced". I understood that it would have been just as it was for Doras...»«You understood that it would have been just. But you did not believe yet in HimWho is good.»«You are right. But it is no longer so. Now I have understood. So, are Youcoming to my house tomorrow? »«Eli, I had decided to leave at dawn. But I will postpone My departure by oneday, that you may not think that I despise you. I will be with you tomorrow.»«Oh! You really are good. I will always remember it.»«Goodbye, Eli. Thank you for everything. This fruit is beautiful, and the cheesemust be as tasty as butter, and the wine certainly very good. But you could havegiven everything to the poor in My name.»«There is something for them, if You wish so, at the bottom, under the rest. Itwas an offering for You.»«Well, we will distribute it tomorrow together, before or after the meal, as youprefer. May the night be a peaceful one for you, Eli.»«And for You. Goodbye » and he goes away with his servants.Peter who with all the mimicry of which he is capable, has pulled out thecontents of the basket, to hand it back to the servants, puts the purse on thetable in front of Jesus and says, as if he were concluding an internal speech:«And it will be the first time that the old owl gives alms.»«It is true » confirms Matthew. «I was greedy, but he surpassed me. He doubledhis capital by usury.»«Well... if he mends his ways... It's a good thing, is it not? » says Isaac.«It certainly is a good thing. And it appears to be so » state Philip andBartholomew.«Old Eli a convert! Ah! Ah! » Peter laughs heartily.Simon, the cousin, who has been pensive all the time, says: «Jesus, I wouldlike... I would like to follow You. Not like these. But at least as the womendo. Let me join my mother and Yours. They are all coming... I, I, a relative...I do not expect to have a place amongst the disciples. But at least... at leastas a good friend...»«May God bless you, my son! How long have I been waiting to hear you say that! »shouts Mary of Alphaeus.«Come. I reject no one, neither do I force anyone. I do not even exacteverything from everybody. I take what you can give Me. It is a good thing thatthe women are not always alone, when we go to places unknown to them. Thank you,brother.»«I am going to tell Mary » says Simon's mother and she adds: «She is down in Herlittle room, praying. She will be happy.»...It is rapidly growing dark. They light a lamp to go down the staircase whichis already dark in twilight, and some go to the right, some to the left, torest.Jesus goes out, and walks to the shore of the lake. The village is quiet, thestreets are deserted, there is no one on the shore or on the lake in themoonless night. There are only stars to be seen in the sky and the murmur of thesurf to be heard on the shingly shore. Jesus goes on board the beached boat,sits down, lays one arm on the edge and rests His head on it. I do not knowwhether He is thinking or praying.Matthew approaches Him very quietly: «Master, are You sleeping? » he asks in alow voice.«No, I am thinking. Come here beside Me, since you are not sleeping.»«I thought You were upset and I followed You. Are You not satisfied with Yourday's work? You touched Eli's heart, You acquired Simon of Alphaeus as adisciple...»«Matthew, you are not a simple man like Peter and John. You are astute andlearned. Be also frank. Would you be happy because of those conquests? »«But... Master... They are always better than I am and You told me, on that day,that You were very happy because of my conversion...»«Yes. But you were really converted. And you were genuine in your evolution towards Good. You came to Me without any elaboration of thought, you came through the will of your spirit. But Eli is not like that... neither is Simon.Only the surface of the former has been touched: the man-Eli is shocked. Not the spirit-Eli. That is always the same. When the excitement caused by the miracles on Doras and his little grandchild is over, he will be the same Eli as yesterday and as always. Simon!... he, too, is nothing but a man. If he had seen Me insulted instead of honoured, he would have pitied Me, and as always, he would have left Me. This evening he heard that a little old man, a child, a leper can do what he, although a relative, cannot do; he saw the pride of a Pharisee bend before Me and he decided: "Also I". But those conversions brought about by the spur of human evaluations, are not the ones that make Me happy. On the contrary,they dishearten Me. Stay with Me, Matthew. It is not a moonlight night, but at least the stars are twinkling. In My heart this evening there is nothing but tears. Let your company be the star of your distressed Master...»«Master, if I can... You can imagine! The trouble is that I am always a poor miserable man, a good for-nothing. I have sinned too much to be able to please You. I am not good at speaking. I do not yet know how to say the new, pure, holy words, now that I have left my old language of fraud and lust. And I am afraid I will never be able to speak to You and about You. »«No, Matthew. You are a man, with all the painful experience of a man. You are the one, who, having tasted mud and tasting now the celestial honey, can tell the two flavours, and give their true analysis, and understand and make your fellow creatures understand now and later. And they will believe you, because you are the man, the poor man, who by his own will, becomes the just man dreamt of by God. Let Me, the Man-God, lean on you, the mankind I have loved to the extent of leaving Heaven for you, and dying for you.»«No, not to die. Don't tell me that You are dying for me! »«Not for you, Matthew, but for all the Matthews of the world and centuries.Embrace Me, Matthew, kiss your Christ, for yourself and for everybody. Relieve My tiredness of an unappreciated Redeemer. I relieved you of your tiredness of a sinner. Wipe away My tears, because My bitterness, Matthew, is that I have been so little understood.»«Oh! Lord, Lord! Yes. Of course!...» and Matthew, sitting near the Master and clasping Him with one arm, comforts Him with his love...

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matthewtwelveministry-blog · 6 years

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TRUE HAPPY STORY OF A CONVERT SOULS TO JESUS : From a vegetable garden, which is beginning to flourish in all its furrows,Jesus enters a very large kitchen where the two elder Maries (Mary of Clopas andMary Salome) are cooking the supper.«Peace to you! »«Oh! Jesus! Master! » The two women turn round and greet Him, one holding in herhands a lovely fish, which she is gutting, the other still holding a pot full ofvegetables, which are boiling, and which she has just removed from the fire tosee whether they were cooked. Their kind withered faces, flushed by the fire andwork, smile out of joy and seem to become younger and lovelier in theirhappiness.«It will be ready in a moment, Jesus. Are You tired? You must be hungry » saysaunt Mary, who has the familiarity of a relative and loves Jesus, I think, morethan her own children.«Not more than usual. But I will certainly eat with relish the good food thatyou and Mary have prepared for Me. And the others will do the same. Here theyare coming.»«Your Mother is upstairs. You know! Simon came... Oh! I am as happy as a larkthis evening! No. Not really because... You know when I would be as happy as aking.»«Yes, I know.» Jesus draws His aunt close to Himself and kisses her forehead andthen says: «I know your desire and your sinless envy of Salome. But the day willcome when you will be able to say like her: "All my sons belong to Jesus". I amgoing to My Mother.»He goes out, climbs the little outside staircase and goes on to the terrace,which covers a full half of the house, whereas the other half is taken up by avery large room, from which come out the strong voices of men, and at intervals,Mary's gentle voice, the limpid virginal voice of a girl, which years have notaffected, the same voice that said: «I am the handmaid of the Lord » and whichsang lullabies to Her Baby.Jesus goes near noiselessly, smiling because He hears His Mother say: «My homeis My Son. I do not suffer being away from Nazareth, except when He is away. Butif He is near Me... oh! I need nothing else. And I am not afraid for My house...You are there...»«Oh! Look, there is Jesus! » shouts Alphaeus of Sarah, who facing the door, isthe first to see Jesus.«Yes, here I am. Peace to you all. Mother! » He kisses His Mother on Herforehead and is kissed by Her. He then turns to the unexpected guests, who areHis cousin Simon, Alphaeus of Sarah, Isaac the shepherd and one Joseph who wasreceived by Jesus at Emmaus after the verdict of the Sanhedrin.«We went to Nazareth and Alphaeus told us that we had to come here. We came. AndAlphaeus wanted to come with us, and also Simon » explains Isaac.«I could not believe I was coming » says Alphaeus.«I also wanted to see You, stay a little time with You and with Mary » concludesSimon.«And I am very happy to be with you. I did the right thing in not staying anylonger as the people of Kedesh desired, where I arrived coming from Gherghesa toMerom and going round the other side of the lake.»«Is that where You came from? »«Yes, I visited the places where I had already been and even farther away. Iwent as far as Giscala.»«What a long road! »«But what a great harvest! Do you know, Isaac. We were the guests of rabbiGamaliel. He was very kind to us. And then I met the synagogue leader of theClear Water. He is coming, too. I entrust him to you. And then... and then Igained three disciples...» Jesus smiles frankly, blissfully.«Who are they? »«A little old man at Korazim. I helped him some time ago, and the poorman, who is a true Israelite without prejudice, to show Me his love, has workedhis area, as a perfect ploughman works the soil. The other is a boy, five yearsold, perhaps a little more. Intelligent and brave. I spoke also to him the firsttime I was at Bethsaida and he remembered better than adults. The third is anold leper. I cured him near Korazim one evening a long time ago and then I lefthim. I have now found him again, announcing Me on the mountains in Naphtali. Andto confirm his words he shows what is left of his hands, cured but partlyimpaired, and his feet, which have also been cured but are deformed, and yet hewalks a long way. People realise how ill he was when they see what is left ofhim and they believe his words which are dressed with tears of gratitude. It waseasy for Me to speak there, because there was one who had already made Me knownand had led other people to believe in Me. And I was able to work many miracles.So much can be done by one who really believes....»Alphaeus nods assent without speaking, continuously absent-minded, while Simonlowers his head under the implicit reproach, and Isaac rejoices wholeheartedlybecause of the joy of his Master, Who is about to tell of the miracle workedshortly before on Eli's little grandchild.But supper is ready, and the women, with Mary, prepare the table in the largeroom and take the dishes there and then withdraw downstairs. Only the men remainand Jesus offers, blesses and hands out the portions.But only a few mouthfuls of food had been taken, when Susanna goes upstairssaying: «Eli has come with servants and many gifts. But he would like to speakto You. »«I will come at once, or better still, tell him to come up.»Susanna goes out and comes back shortly afterwards with old Eli and two servantswho are carrying a large basket. Behind them the women, with the exception ofthe Most Holy Mary, are casting curious glances.«God be with You, my benefactor » greets the Pharisee.«And with you, Eli. Come in. What do you want? Is your grandson not well again?»«Oh! He is very well. He is jumping in the kitchen garden like a little kid.Before I was so dumbfounded and bewildered that I failed to fulfil my duty. Iwish to show You my gratitude and I beg You not to refuse the little I amoffering You. A little food for You and Your friends. It is the produce of myfields. And... I would like... I would like to have You at my table tomorrow. Tothank You once again and honour You, with my friends. Do not refuse, Master. Iwould understand that You do not love me and that if You cured Elisha, it wasonly for his sake, not mine.»«Thank you. But no gifts were needed.»«Every great and learned man accepts them. It's the custom.»«And I do. But I accept very willingly one gift only, nay, I look for it.»«Which is? If I can, I will give it to You.»«Your hearts. Your thoughts. Give Me them. For your own good.»«But I consecrate mine to You, blessed Jesus! Can You doubt it? Yes, I... I didYou wrong. But now I have understood. I have also heard of the death of Doras,who offended You... Why are You smiling, Master? »«I was remembering somethings.»«I thought You did not believe what I was saying.»«Oh! no. I know that you were moved by Doras' death. Even more than by thisevening's miracle. But do not be afraid of God, if you have really understood,and if from now on you wish to be My friend.»«I can see that You really are a prophet. It is true, I was more afraid... I wascoming to You more out of fear of punishment like Doras', than because of theaccident. And this evening I said: "There you are. The punishment has come. Andit is even more severe because it did not strike the old oak in its own life,but in its love, in its joy for life, by striking the little oak, in which Irejoiced". I understood that it would have been just as it was for Doras...»«You understood that it would have been just. But you did not believe yet in HimWho is good.»«You are right. But it is no longer so. Now I have understood. So, are Youcoming to my house tomorrow? »«Eli, I had decided to leave at dawn. But I will postpone My departure by oneday, that you may not think that I despise you. I will be with you tomorrow.»«Oh! You really are good. I will always remember it.»«Goodbye, Eli. Thank you for everything. This fruit is beautiful, and the cheesemust be as tasty as butter, and the wine certainly very good. But you could havegiven everything to the poor in My name.»«There is something for them, if You wish so, at the bottom, under the rest. Itwas an offering for You.»«Well, we will distribute it tomorrow together, before or after the meal, as youprefer. May the night be a peaceful one for you, Eli.»«And for You. Goodbye » and he goes away with his servants.Peter who with all the mimicry of which he is capable, has pulled out thecontents of the basket, to hand it back to the servants, puts the purse on thetable in front of Jesus and says, as if he were concluding an internal speech:«And it will be the first time that the old owl gives alms.»«It is true » confirms Matthew. «I was greedy, but he surpassed me. He doubledhis capital by usury.»«Well... if he mends his ways... It's a good thing, is it not? » says Isaac.«It certainly is a good thing. And it appears to be so » state Philip andBartholomew.«Old Eli a convert! Ah! Ah! » Peter laughs heartily.Simon, the cousin, who has been pensive all the time, says: «Jesus, I wouldlike... I would like to follow You. Not like these. But at least as the womendo. Let me join my mother and Yours. They are all coming... I, I, a relative...I do not expect to have a place amongst the disciples. But at least... at leastas a good friend...»«May God bless you, my son! How long have I been waiting to hear you say that! »shouts Mary of Alphaeus.«Come. I reject no one, neither do I force anyone. I do not even exacteverything from everybody. I take what you can give Me. It is a good thing thatthe women are not always alone, when we go to places unknown to them. Thank you,brother.»«I am going to tell Mary » says Simon's mother and she adds: «She is down in Herlittle room, praying. She will be happy.»...It is rapidly growing dark. They light a lamp to go down the staircase whichis already dark in twilight, and some go to the right, some to the left, torest.Jesus goes out, and walks to the shore of the lake. The village is quiet, thestreets are deserted, there is no one on the shore or on the lake in themoonless night. There are only stars to be seen in the sky and the murmur of thesurf to be heard on the shingly shore. Jesus goes on board the beached boat,sits down, lays one arm on the edge and rests His head on it. I do not knowwhether He is thinking or praying.Matthew approaches Him very quietly: «Master, are You sleeping? » he asks in alow voice.«No, I am thinking. Come here beside Me, since you are not sleeping.»«I thought You were upset and I followed You. Are You not satisfied with Yourday's work? You touched Eli's heart, You acquired Simon of Alphaeus as adisciple...»«Matthew, you are not a simple man like Peter and John. You are astute andlearned. Be also frank. Would you be happy because of those conquests? »«But... Master... They are always better than I am and You told me, on that day,that You were very happy because of my conversion...»«Yes. But you were really converted. And you were genuine in your evolutiontowards Good. You came to Me without any elaboration of thought, you camethrough the will of your spirit. But Eli is not like that... neither is Simon.Only the surface of the former has been touched: the man-Eli is shocked. Not thespirit-Eli. That is always the same. When the excitement caused by the miracleson Doras and his little grandchild is over, he will be the same Eli as yesterdayand as always. Simon!... he, too, is nothing but a man. If he had seen Meinsulted instead of honoured, he would have pitied Me, and as always, he wouldhave left Me. This evening he heard that a little old man, a child, a leper cando what he, although a relative, cannot do; he saw the pride of a Pharisee bendbefore Me and he decided: "Also I". But those conversions brought about by thespur of human evaluations, are not the ones that make Me happy. On the contrary,they dishearten Me. Stay with Me, Matthew. It is not a moonlight night, but atleast the stars are twinkling. In My heart this evening there is nothing buttears. Let your company be the star of your distressed Master...»«Master, if I can... You can imagine! The trouble is that I am always a poormiserable man, a good for-nothing. I have sinned too much to be able to pleaseYou. I am not good at speaking. I do not yet know how to say the new, pure, holywords, now that I have left my old language of fraud and lust. And I am afraid Iwill never be able to speak to You and about You. »«No, Matthew. You are a man, with all the painful experience of a man. You arethe one, who, having tasted mud and tasting now the celestial honey, can tellthe two flavours, and give their true analysis, and understand and make yourfellow creatures understand now and later. And they will believe you, becauseyou are the man, the poor man, who by his own will, becomes the just man dreamtof by God. Let Me, the Man-God, lean on you, the mankind I have loved to theextent of leaving Heaven for you, and dying for you.»«No, not to die. Don't tell me that You are dying for me! »«Not for you, Matthew, but for all the Matthews of the world and centuries.Embrace Me, Matthew, kiss your Christ, for yourself and for everybody. RelieveMy tiredness of an unappreciated Redeemer. I relieved you of your tiredness of asinner. Wipe away My tears, because My bitterness, Matthew, is that I have beenso little understood.»«Oh! Lord, Lord! Yes. Of course!...» and Matthew, sitting near the Master andclasping Him with one arm, comforts Him with his love...

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