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lesfeldickbiblestudy · 1 year

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Through the Bible with Les Feldick LESSON 1 * PART 3 * BOOK 66 BUT GOD! (Rightly Dividing the Word of God) – Part 3 Matthew 6:33 and Various Other Scriptures It is good to see everyone back for our third half-hour this afternoon. Again, we like to welcome our television audience, and we just thank you for all your encouragement, your financial help, your prayers, and your constant reference to praying for Laura, our daughter. We just can’t thank you enough. I think nine out of ten letters are still making mention of their praying for her, and we appreciate that so much, as she does. We’re going to keep right on with where we’ve been. I’m going to take you, for our jump off verse, back to where we started in our last program, Matthew 10 verses 5 and 6. Now, this is at the beginning of the Lord’s earthly ministry to the Nation of Israel in fulfillment of the covenant promises. Consequently, it has to be confined to the Nation of Israel, because the covenant promises of Abraham, Isaac, David, and Moses had nothing to do with the Gentile world. It was all Jewish. Okay, here we go, we’re going to continue on. Matthew 10:5-6 "These twelve (The twelve disciples that everybody knows the names forwards and backwards.) Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, (Now, that means what it says.) saying, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: 6. But (There is another of the important ‘Buts’ in Scripture.) go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." All right, now just to show how the Twelve - especially Peter, James, and John who were the pillars of the Jerusalem church and of the Twelve - adhere to that, let’s jump all the way up to the book of Acts. Now, I’m going to show that they never betrayed that commandment. They did not go to the Gentile world, because they were commanded not to. I don’t care how much theologians think otherwise, I’ll stick with what the Book says. Here we have it so obvious in Acts chapter 2, the Pentecostal sermon by the Apostle Peter; this is to show you that he’s not including Gentiles in his speaking. Acts 2:22a "Ye men of Israel, hear these words;" Any Gentiles in "ye men of Israel"? No. Couldn’t be. All right, you come on down a little further in the same chapter, verse 36. Acts 2:36a "Therefore (after referring to all the references in the Psalms) let all the house of Israel…" Now, that flies in the face of "world-widers" and Herbert W. Armstrong who maintain that the Ten Tribes of the North were supposedly lost and ended up in Western Europe and Scandinavia and became the seed stock of the Caucasian peoples. What a lie! Because they’re all twelve here. Now, if they were lost, Peter couldn’t call it "the whole house of Israel," but he does. But Peter isn’t the first, Ezra and Nehemiah used the same language. So, even at the time of captivity none of the Ten Tribes were lost. Now, some of them went into captivity in Assyria. But they didn’t disappear as tribal units. They were all still evident when they went out to Babylon. The same way here. Acts 2:36 "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." All right, turn over to chapter 3. We’re just going to chase down these references that show there’s nothing of the Gentile world in here. This is still keeping true to the commandment "Go not into the way of the Gentile." Acts 3:1a "Now Peter and John went up together into the temple…" How many Gentiles got into the Temple? Well, none. They had a little area on the outside, but they couldn’t go into the Temple like a Jew could. All right, then come on over to chapter 4 verse 10, and I don’t have to change one word. It’s all so obvious. Acts 4:10-11 "Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11. This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

" Now where was that reference? I think it’s Psalms 118 which refers to Christ as the stone rejected by the builders. It had nothing to do with Gentiles whatsoever. This is all tied to the Jewish promises. You can come all the way through the early chapters of Acts and it’s still all Peter and the eleven dealing with the Nation of Israel. Now of course, in chapter 9 we have what I call that great division again. Here is where we mark a straight cutting, or rightly dividing of Scripture. Now, instead of the Lord telling this man to go the Nation of Israel, or to go to anyone else, He designates the Gentiles. Acts chapter 9 verse 15, now of course, it’s going to come to Paul second hand, or Saul, because the Lord is directing it to a Jewish believer in Damascus named Ananias. Acts 9:15a "But the Lord said unto him, (to this Jew, Ananias) Go thy way: (Don’t argue with me. Because Ananias was scared to death of Saul of Tarsus. He thought he was going to take him back and kill him. So the Lord says…) Go thy way: for he (Saul) is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles,…" Now that’s clear language isn’t it? There’s no gobbledy-gook there. It’s just a plain statement that this man is now going to go the opposite direction that the Twelve went. We’re going to come back to Galatians in a little bit and pick up where we were in the last program. All right, now in chapter 10, and I think this is so interesting the way these things unfold. Chapter 10 is while Saul of Tarsus is out in his three year hiatus in the desert. Back here in Jerusalem God is going to deal again with Peter, but in a unique situation. Peter is in the house of one Simon a tanner. He’s going to reveal to him that He’s going to open the door as it was to the Gentile world, for the benefit of the Apostle Paul. Not for Peter’s benefit, for Paul’s benefit. All right, so here we have it in Acts chapter 10 after Paul has been converted on the road to Damascus. He’s out in the desert receiving all the revelation of the mysteries that he’s going to come back and start preaching to the Gentile world in a little while. But in the mean time, Peter is going to use the keys that the Lord promised to him. He used them for Israel at Pentecost, and I think here is where He used them for the Gentile world. Had it not been for this event, Peter would have never come to Paul’s defense at the Jerusalem counsel. Had Peter not come to Paul’s defense, I doubt that they would have even let him leave Jerusalem. But he did, because of this. All right, here we have the account with Cornelius, the Roman Centurion. But to show you that Peter is still a law-keeping Jew; he knows nothing of Paul’s Gospel of Grace, we come down to verse 11 of chapter 10: Acts 10:11-12 "And he saw (that is Peter) heaven opened (in his vision) and a certain vessel descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the earth: 12. Wherein (this great sheet) were all manner of four-footed beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the air." In other words, he had a mix of everything. Now, compare that to the kosher diet of a Jew. It was totally unbelievable. Here he has all these unclean things mixed in probably with the clean ones. Acts 10:13 "And there came a voice to him, (The Lord says…) Rise, Peter; kill, and eat." Well, it’s a picture, of course, of the whole scope of humanity. Now, look at Peter’s answer. Acts 10:14 "But Peter said, Not so, Lord; (Why?) for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.’" And why hadn’t he? He was a law-keeping Jew. Nobody had told Peter he was no longer under the Law. He’s a law-keeping Jew. This was horrific for him – to eat unclean animals! Well, it wasn’t any worse than to go to those unclean Romans, which is where God’s going to have him go. All right, so miraculously He gets Peter and six other Jews to go up the coast of the Mediterranean to Caesarea on the Sea. He goes to the house of Cornelius where God had miraculously brought the two entities together.

Now you want to remember, you know the account, how miraculously God dealt with Cornelius to send messengers down to Peter. Peter is now seeing the vision of the sheet. So, these things worked together to get Peter to the house of this Roman Centurion, Cornelius. All right, now again, for sake of time, we’re going to bring you down to verse 28 to show that this was contrary to Peter’s thinking. You’ve heard me say it a hundred times over the years, I think there were heel prints in the sand all the way from Joppa to Caesarea – "But Lord, I don’t want to go!" The Lord says, "You will, Peter." He gets there and he’s still adamant. Look what his argument is in verse 28. Acts 10:28 "And he said unto them, (The Gentiles in the house of Cornelius - all Romans.) Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto (or into the house) one of one of another nation; but God (See there’s another one! Oh, I love these. They’re all through Scripture! "But God." I could come back in a few weeks and use this one, but I’ll try not to.) but God hath shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean." How? By all the things that were in that sheet vision. Peter, you don’t call anything common or unclean anymore, because now the work of the cross is completed, and we’re going to take the Gospel to the entire world. Did Peter understand it? No. I don’t think he ever did. But nevertheless, he was obedient, somewhat, to what God wanted him to do. Now, what I’m trying to show here is that Peter and the eleven and all the other Jewish leadership are still aware that they’re to have nothing to do with the Gentile world. Nothing. But here he is by special dispensation, or whatever you want to call it, and look what he says: "It’s an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company or come unto one of another nation, but God hath showed me that I should not call any man common or unclean." All right, now come on over to chapter 11 and now we’ll see the reaction of the Jewish leadership down there in Jerusalem, the other eleven apostles, and the Jewish believers in the Jerusalem church. My, you would think they would have shouted "Hallelujah! God is going out to the whole world!" Are you kidding? Anything but. Acts 11:1 "And the apostles (all twelve of them) and brethren (the leadership of the Jerusalem church) that were in Judea (that’s Jerusalem) heard that the Gentiles had also received the word of God." Were they exalting? No, it doesn’t say that, but look at the next verse. Acts 11:2 "And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, (from Caesarea) they that were of the circumcision (That is of the Jerusalem church -- praised him?) contended with him." They met him at the door. "Peter, what’s the matter with you? How could you?" They knew nothing of the special vision that poor old Peter had to suffer through. So, they of the circumcision contended with him. Acts 11:3 "Saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them." You see the horror of all that? Peter, how could you, a good Jew, go into the house of these Romans? And that’s not the half of it, the word came back to us, I suppose from the other six Jews that went with him. You know there’s always some means of getting the gossip back before you get there. "You even ate with them!" I can prove from Homer’s writing that the favorite meat diet of the Romans was what? Pork. And Peter, a good Jew, eating pork? Well, that was the mentality, and it was as it should be. Okay, so everything concerning these Jewish leaderships was tying them to the nation of Israel, until God raised up the Apostle Paul with the admonition, "I’m going to send you to the Gentiles." All right, let’s come back to that chapter in Galatians where we left off in our last program and pick it up where it is so plainly stressed that Paul could have nothing to do with the Twelve, theologically speaking. Now of course, physically, there could still be a Jewish friendship,

but theologically Paul makes it so plain that God is keeping him totally separated from the Twelve. And this is what I want people to understand. This is rightly dividing the Scripture. Galatians 1 and we were probably down to about verse 15 in our other program, so we’ll move to 16. Galatians 1:15b-17a "…and called me by his grace, 16. To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; (or the Gentiles) immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them who were apostles before me;…" Now stop there a minute. I always like to look at Scripture logically, because even though it’s supernatural, it is still logical. It’s not clear out of sync. Now, if God is going to keep this apostle of the Gentiles separated from the Twelve, He’s going to have to make it as clear as clear can be that Paul is going to have nothing to do with the Twelve. And again, logically, if you were under this set of circumstances as Saul of Tarsus finds himself at the Damascus Road experience, where would be the first place to go to find out more about the Jesus of Nazareth that he had hated? Well, the Twelve! That’d be the logical place to go – back to Jerusalem and sit down at the feet of Peter, James, and John, and let them unload on him all the things they’d learned in those three years. But see, God is adamantly saying "No, Paul, you’re not going to have anything to do with the Twelve. I’m going to keep you separate from them." All right, now read on. Galatians 1:17b "…but I went into Arabia,…" You’ve heard me say it many, many times. Jerusalem was to the southwest from Damascus. Arabia is to the southeast. So, for all practical purposes, opposite directions, so that he stays further and further away from Jerusalem and the Twelve. Galatians 1:18a "Then after three years…" That’s why we feel that he spent most of those three years out in the desert. I think Mount Sinai, and then he went back to Damascus. Now, some people like to say he must have spent the three years in Damascus; at least it was civilized territory. But now wait a minute. Had he spent three years in Damascus, what would have been the evidence? What would he have had? Well, he’d have had a huge church. He would have had a huge church in Damascus, just like he did in Ephesus after eighteen months. But is there any sign of a Gentile church in Damascus? Not that I’ve ever been aware of. Not historically. Not archaeologically, nor scripturally. There was nothing that would indicate Paul spent any time at all in Damascus. That’s why I take the approach that he spent most of those three years out in the desert. And as you’ve heard me say it, even on the program, it probably took two and a half years to get Judaism out of his system so that God could fill him with the Gospel of Grace. Some of you know what that’s like. You’ve come out of a cultic background and you know how hard it is to walk away from it. Well, Judaism was no different. They were steeped in it. That’s why the whole Book of Hebrews is written, to show these Jews that yes, that was appropriate at that time, but now you’ve got to separate from it. Galatians 1:19-21 "But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother. 20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. 21. Afterwards I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia;" That’s where his hometown of Tarsus was located, up there in southeast Turkey. All right, now then, we’re going to jump into chapter 2, because I’m showing the ‘But God’ here. Yes, the Twelve were sent to Israel. But God is sending this man to the Gentile world. All right, now to show you again how clearly the Holy Spirit led Paul to write of these things, we might as well start at verse 1. Now this is all repetition. I know this is back in past programs, but they are probably several years ago. He says: Galatians 2:1a "Then fourteen years after,…" That is after that conversion on the road to Damascus. Now, if that was in about 37 or 38 AD, that jumps us up to 51 or 52 AD.

There has been proof positive that this Jerusalem counsel was in that very timeframe, somewhere between 51 and 52 AD. The Twelve and Paul and Barnabas have this knock-down, drag-out meeting in Jerusalem. It’s to solve a problem that had stemmed from the Jerusalem church coming in behind Paul’s little Gentile congregations and telling them that they had to also practice circumcision and keep the Mosaic Law. In other words, they were trying to get Paul’s new converts to mix Law and Grace. No different than a lot of preachers today. They just cannot get off that kick of mixing Law and Grace. Well, this was the whole problem that’s going to be settled now in Galatians 2, and the parallel, of course, is Acts chapter 15. All right, verse 2, Paul writes by inspiration. Never forget this is God’s Word. This isn’t Paul and his own thinking. This is the Word of God coming through the pen of the Apostle. He says: Galatians 2:2a "And I went up (That is to Jerusalem.) by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles,…" And what is THAT Gospel? Well, let’s look at it again for sake of new listeners. We have them every day. So bear with me when I repeat and repeat and repeat. I Corinthians 15:1 - 4. This is what we’re talking about. This is Paul’s Gospel of salvation that we must believe in this Age of Grace! I know most of you know it. I know that. But for benefit of others, we’re going to repeat it. I Corinthians 15:1-2a "Moreover, brethren, (He’s writing to Gentile Believers.) I declare unto you the gospel (Not ‘a’ Gospel, ‘the’ Gospel.) which I preached unto you, and which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (As believers. Not blown about with every wind of doctrine, even though the Corinthians were his most troublesome.) 2. By which also ye are saved,…" Now, how can you make it any plainer than that? Impossible. It’s by THIS Gospel that people are saved. No other. And then they tell us that there’s never been anything but one Gospel. I’ve shared this with the program more than once. I’ve confronted preachers who confront me and say, "There’s never been more than one." I said, "Oh, really? Adam and Eve were saved by believing in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, 4000 years before it happened?" And you know what their answer is? "Well, they must have." Isn’t that ridiculous? You mean Abraham was saved by believing in a death, burial, and resurrection? "Well, he must have." No, he wasn’t. It hadn’t even been dreamed of. They’d never heard of such a thing. Crucifixion, if I’m not mistaken, was an early Roman invention about 200-300 BC at the earliest. How could they believe in something that hadn’t even been invented, if you want to call it that. But anyway, here’s Paul’s Gospel of salvation. I Corinthians 15:3-4 "For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (It was God’s Divine purpose that Christ should go to the cross. It wasn’t an accident of history. It was all preplanned long before Creation.) 4. And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures." That’s Paul’s Gospel, simple and yet profound. That’s what you must believe in your heart for your salvation! You’ve heard me say it over and over, no human being who has ever lived or who ever will, can comprehend all that Christ accomplished at that cross of Calvary. It’s just beyond us. We take what little bit we can comprehend by faith. We know that when we believe it God has promised eternal salvation. All right, back to Galatians, this is what Paul always refers to when he says, "My Gospel" or as he says in this verse 2: Galatians 2:2b "…that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, (That must mean the Twelve in a separate room by themselves.) lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain." Now, I can readily understand that. I think most of you can if you’ve ever tried to deal with corporate people.

If you really want to get something done, how far up the corporate ladder do you have to go? As far as possible. If you want to get something done, get as far up that corporate ladder as you can possibly get. If you can get the head man, that’s the place to go. That’s where Paul had gone. We found it out getting a man’s passport. He called only about a week before we were ready to leave. Now, you know it normally takes six weeks to get a passport. Well, the dear old gentleman was 85 years old. He had been in service for many years, and he had also had a top secret job with the federal government for many years, so he had everything going for him, but he didn’t have a passport and we only had a week to go. So, I told him to go ahead and plan on it, and I’d jump on it as much as I could. Well, the fellow who was helping us in Minnesota jumped on the senator that he knew, and I approached our senator from Oklahoma. And they jumped right on it, both those senators, and you know what they did? They delivered that guy’s passport to his front door the day before we had to leave. Well, where do you go? Just as high as you possibly can, if you want to get something done! All right, now what’s Paul doing? He’s going to the top. Who’s at the top of the Jerusalem church? The Twelve. That’s obvious. The Twelve were the kingpins of the Jerusalem church. So, Paul makes sure that those are the ones he’s going to deal with to stop this infiltrating of his Gentile churches. It’s obvious. All right, read on. Galatians 2:3-4 "But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4. And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, (or secretly brought in) who came in privately (or secretly) to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:" Now we’ve got to be careful. They weren’t trying to get Paul arrested and thrown into a Roman prison. They were trying to get Paul to a place where he would agree to come back under the Law. Now, that’s how subtle religionists can be!

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preciouspg · 1 year

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MFM Devotional 20 December 2022 – Spiritual Dehydration (III)

Mountain Top Life Daily Devotional 20 December 2022 By Dr. D.K Olukoya – Spiritual Dehydration (III)

TOPIC: Spiritual Dehydration (III) (Mountain Of Fire and Miracle Ministries, MFM Devotional 20 December 2022)

BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Ezra 6, Ezra 7:1-10, Revelation 12, Revelation 13:1, Psalm 145:8-13

FIRE SCRIPTURE: John 4:1-10 (KJV)

1 When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John,

2 (Though Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples,)

3 He left Judaea, and departed again into Galilee.

4 And he must needs go through Samaria.

5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6 Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.

7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.

8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.

10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

MEMORY VERSE: “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring:” – Isaiah 44:3

MOTIVATIONAL QUOTES:

Spiritual dehydration is a dangerous spiritual state. Come out of it!

PRAISE AND WORSHIP:

Take praise and worship songs as led by the Holy Spirit

PROPHETIC WORD FOR TODAY:

THE LORD SHALL MAKE YOU LIKE A TREE PLANTED BY THE RIVER, IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

MFM Devotional For Today 2022 MESSAGE:

Dehydration is insufficient water in the body which could be mild or very serious, depending on the level of water one has in his or her body. In the same vein, spiritual dehydration is the insufficiency of the word of God and of the presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life. This is the point I have been trying to bring to your understanding. You need to know that spiritual dehydration is not something you handle non-challantly. It is a critical condition that needs concerted attention.

Some of the causes of physical dehydration are fever, diarrhoea, vomiting, etc. Now bringing these symptoms into spiritual templates, they become spiritual fever, spiritual diarrhoea and spiritual vomiting.

Are you suffering from spiritual fever? Have you allowed the mosquitoes of sin and evil habits to bite you? Many Christians are suffering from this malady today because of their constant fever has killed and is still killing several people.

Spiritual diarrhoea, especially the one connected to verbal indiscipline, is a major problem. Alot of people have brought different kinds of problems upon themselves because of the wrong use of their tongues. Diarrhoea in the physical makes one lose fluid. Spiritual diarrhoea also causes dehydration because many are given to too much talking which drains them of grace and unction of the Holy Spirit.

Another cause of spiritual dehydration is spiritual vomiting. This happens when you have fed yourself with the wrong spiritual diet through watching of obscene movies, listening to polluted music or feasting on social media garbage. When you engage in any of these you throw up spiritually and get sapped. Are you dehydrated spiritually? It is a dangerous spiritual state. That is why God said: for I will pour water upon him that is thirsty… (Isaiah 44:3).

PRAYER POINTS:

MORNING

Thank You, O God, for the outpouring of Your Spirit, in the name of Jesus.

Arrows fired to amputate my spiritual life, be destroyed by fire, in the name of Jesus.

My head shall not harbour bewitchment, in the name of Jesus.

EVENING

Every troubler of my Israel, fall down and die, in the name of Jesus.

Glory killers, arise and fight yourselves to death, in the name of Jesus.

O Lord, quicken me by Your fire, in the name of Jesus.

Powers waiting to celebrate my downfall, be disappointed, in the name of Jesus.

MOUNTAIN TOP LIFE is a daily devotional by Dr. D.K Olukoya (General Overseer, Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries, Worldwide)

Powerful Sermons' Notice Board: Until you are born again, God ever abiding presence will never be with you. You must be born again to enjoy continuous victory. Please say the displayed prayer below in faith:

Lord Jesus, come into my life. I accept You as my Lord and Personal Saviour. I believe in my heart You died and rose from the dead to save me. Thank You Lord for saving me, in Jesus name Amen.

If you just prayed the prayer of salvation online please send your testimonies and prayer request to [email protected], +234 (803) 078-0919 OR +234 (817) 363-1657.

More on https://preciousjesus1.blogspot.com

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deadcactuswalking · 1 year

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REVIEWING THE CHARTS: 26/11/2022 (Clavish/D-Block Europe, RAYE/070 Shake, Meekz’s ‘Respect the Come Up’)

For a fifth week, “Anti-Hero” by Taylor Swift sits at #1 on the UK Singles Chart. It’s our first Christmas week – yes, this early, and it’s in full force – so welcome back to REVIEWING THE CHARTS!

Rundown

As always, we start with the notable dropouts, songs exiting the UK Top 75 – which is what I cover – after five weeks in the region or a peak in the top 40. This week, given the first Christmas surge, was kind of a massacre? We say farewell to “I’m Back” by Fredo, “Die for You” by Joji, “Delilah (pull me out of this)” and “Turn Off the Lights again..” with Swedish House Mafia and Future both by Fred again.., “Evergreen (You Didn’t Deserve Me at All)” by Omar Apollo, “All These Nights” and “Not Over Yet” with KSI both by Tom Grennan, “Doja” by Central Cee, “For My Hand” with Burna Boy and “Shivers” both by Ed Sheeran, “Green Green Grass” by George Ezra and finally, “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals.

Now this last month of the year is always great for when you just need a list of songs typed out in succession alongside numerical chart placements, as there are a total of 10 returns this week, some being pretty high. However, they’re mostly Christmas songs, so we’ll cover those separately. Instead, we can focus on our notable gains, those being similarly scarce but we do see “Kiss Me” by Dermot Kennedy at #15 thanks to his #1 album and “Out of Nowhere” by Bugzy Malone and TeeDee at #13 off of the debut. That’s really it other than the return for “Three Lions” by comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner with rock group the Lightning Seeds at #20 – it’s essentially the England football anthem and it always arrives amidst World Cup time, peaking at #1 three separate times as a result, in 1996, 1998 and 2018. I think the song is lousy but its big boost from the FIFA World Cup in Qatar will see it surviving the Christmas frost even with ACR.

Speaking of said Christmas frost, we saw nine Christmas songs return and a switch-up in the canon also. First of all, the list, with “Jingle Bell Rock” by Bobby Helms at #69, the dreadful “Do They Know it’s Christmas?” by Band Aid at #63, the joyful “Underneath the Tree” by Kelly Clarkson at #62, “Fairytale of New York” by the Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl surprisingly low at #57, “Santa Tell Me” by Ariana Grande at #55, “Merry Christmas Everyone” by Shakin’ Stevens at #54, “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” by Michael Bublé at #49 and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” by Brenda Lee at #42. With the increased power of streaming playlists, we may start to see our traditional UK Christmas songs fade in popularity compared to the more worldwide classics, with a more streamlined chart that looks kind of like the US Christmas chart a bit more likely. Oddly enough, probably thanks to playlisting, we get the third most popular Christmas song on the chart not being the Pogues or Brenda as usual... but rather the recent #1 “Merry Christmas” by Ed Sheeran and Elton John returning at #40. Given that the song is, you know, terrible and may become an immediately dated downer in the post-COVID years considering the lyrics, I have my doubts about this entering the canon but it just might end up as one of the highest-charting holiday tracks for the next few years. At least it’s not the sausage roll version.

Oh, and of course, “Last Christmas” by Wham! is at #23 and “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey at #18. As for the top five on the UK Singles Chart, it currently consists of “messy in heaven” by venbee, goddard. and ArrDee at #5, “Miss You” by Oliver Tree and Robin Schulz at #4, “Made You Look” by Meghan Trainor at #3, “Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras at #2, and of course, “Anti-Hero” at the very top, being mostly unchanged from last week. Now as for the songs that weren’t on the chart last week, prepare for a semi-album bomb or as much as the Official Charts Company allows as we start with our newest entries.

NEW ARRIVALS

#74 – “Say Less” – Meekz

Produced by M1OnTheBeat and Chucks

UK rapper Meekz has released his newest album, Respect the Come Up, with three tracks from it charting this week. I’ve never liked Meekz as much as other British rappers largely because of how devoid he is of any real unique characteristics in his delivery, and how little his beat choice has ever impressed me, so the fact that half of this week’s batch of new songs are just Meekz is pretty disappointing. This is the opening track, which also got a video, and I’m not really impressed with this at all. Meekz drones on a piano loop before more gets layered onto it without a real build up, and the beat cuts out constantly so it feels a bit awkward. Sure, Meekz isn’t offensive, but the delivery is mostly flexing and gangplay that sounds particularly dull coming from his deadpan delivery. Once the trap beat comes in, it’s pretty rote, and Meekz has barely any control over the rhythm with his meandering flow through one, overly long verse. It trails off and ends as if nothing ever occurred, and I’ve yet to find a counter to the argument that nothing in fact did ever happen.

#68 – “AVA” – Natalie Jane

Produced by Doc Daniel, Pink Slip and Inverness

This is a largely rap-focused episode, so it’s good to get some diversity here but who is Natalie Jane? Well, as a teenager, she was an American Idol contestant in 2020, and this song is her breakout track... and it really is just Billie Eilish. She sounds pretty close to her, even closer than your typical smoky indie-girl voice, and there’s a mix of the elegant piano with bassy industrial blasts and trap-esque rattling. Jane is definitely less subtle as she tears through this guy’s cheating, making links between the affair and the seemingly manipulative relationship Jane had with this partner. I actually like the songwriting but in terms of production, it has a bit too much bombast, with the strings and horns alongside the tight drum fills and shrill vocal mix making the post-chorus seem a bit too triumphant instead of frustrated. With that said, the incomprehensible blend of vocal layers in the outro is kind of inspired, and I have to appreciate the vocal talent on display, so I’m sort of torn on this one. Tonally, it’s a bit of a nightmare, but that’s probably what works about it, and it’s almost definitely the appeal.

#66 – “Don’t Like Drill” – Meekz featuring Central Cee

Produced by Chucks, M-1 and Riddle

Welp, we’re back with Meekz this time and for whatever reason, this brings a lot more energy. He’s still not interesting and his flow is barely there on a rumbling drill beat, but at least he’s projecting his voice and going for newer flows throughout, despite the fact that most of them are way too slippery for a tighter drill track. Again, the content is what you’d expect, although the chorus about being not a fan of drill music even though his life reflects its content would kind of be an interesting concept if he wrote anything actually regarding it in the verses. The eerie loop under the occasionally clipping 808 is a pretty solid foundation, and with Central Cee’s energy and vague attempts at wordplay, he definitely maintains himself over this pretty good beat a lot better. In fact, Cench kind of kills this and honestly put more of himself into this track than Meekz does on like 90% of the songs I’ve heard from him. I wish the song ended naturally instead of the meandering instrumental outro but it does show off some of the odd distorted loops that are used for atmosphere’s sake, and I kind of like how jarring they are. With a better rapper than Meekz, this could really be something.

#35 – “Fresh Out the Bank” – Meekz featuring Dave

Produced by Clonez, Elevated and HONEYWOODSIX

I really wanted to like this last Meekz track. The watered-down melody feels like it’s coming in and out of existence and I love how driving it gets by the end of the loop, but Meekz just had to be as awkward and stodgy as possible on the damn chorus! That’s not to say that his verses are any better, but unmemorable verses can be forgiven by him just getting someone with actual groove and rhythm on the chorus like, I don’t know, Dave himself? The beat has an almost West Coast groove to it with wonderful pianos and an overwhelming bass, and personally, I love it... but neither Meekz nor Dave unfortunately do it justice. Dave is best when he’s lighthearted and casual, and many of his more serious tracks end up dubious or heavy-handed, but he can always run the risk of being very boring and here, there’s like no wordplay to speak of that isn’t slightly embarrassing. Dave leads into a beat switch with a soaring string arrangement, but the climax never really comes because it devolves back into Meekz’s chorus. I’m pretty disappointed with how neither of these artists can effectively ride what is probably the best beat I’ve ever heard Meekz on.

#31 – “Escapism.” – RAYE featuring 070 Shake

Produced by Mike Sabath

RAYE’s latest era hasn’t seen as much success as it could have, and I think that’s mostly down to a change in sound, since her big crossover hits with EDM producers aren’t entirely as accurate to her darker, R&B-inspired brand of edgy pop that she’s working with on recent tracks. I liked it on “Black Mascara”, and it’s no mistake to bring 070 Shake’s unique voice on board for this new track “Escapism.”... and yeah, it’s great. RAYE is practically rapping over a tonal shriek ripped into by the lively trip hop drums, which sound really organic and hit really hard against the drizzle of pianos and strings that separate RAYE’s badass, sensual revenge and her genuinely heartbroken response to a breakup. It’s a tad heavy-handed and drowning woes in drink and drugs is far from a new concept, but RAYE of all people sells it in a way that feels honest albeit as melodramatic as possible (which for the record, is a plus in this kind of pop). I love how the bass warps in the verses, and how the flows trail off in harmony in each verse. It sounds like over-thinking, which is somewhat ironic in how careless and chaotic the decadence can be, but the stream of consciousness of the second verse acts as a retrospection, retelling the events that she didn’t get to fully comprehend and contextualise when it was happening. 070 Shake’s bridge is bloody gorgeous also, with the synths flooding her cryptic murmur alongside pointed shrieks she lets out so brutally in the background, and if there’s a moment of true resonance and defeat, it’s when RAYE comes back in for the final refrain amidst the strings and mix that feels perfectly compressed enough for the dark places that this song is going. The song has energy but it restrains it all for the brief interlude where RAYE’s vocals are manipulated to the point of not being recognisable yet still carrying the same floaty harmonies over the trickling rain. It’s the tough sleep the next day or even the same night, where the worthlessness of the vengeful sex and substance abuse becomes even clearer. That looping vocal of “night” rings like an alarm through the final verse where we get a sneak peek of where this narrative could be going next. To cut it short for a surprisingly long and progressive song for the charts, I think this is excellent, and I’m actually very excited to hear where RAYE goes next with both this sound and the content itself. This album could shape up to be really cohesive if she sticks to this narrative, and Sabath’s detail on the production side cannot be overlooked as this is intricate. If this opens the door for more mainstream success for 070 Shake also, I’m all the way for it because she’s the future. Without a shortened edit, I’m not sure if this’ll last that long, but for a song to have fleeting success during the holiday season and disappear afterwards, you could do a Hell of a lot worse. Like...

#9 – “Rocket Science” – Clavish featuring D-Block Europe

Produced by Kazza and Madz Thomas

Sometimes I forget how big DBE actually are. They can propel a song by Clavish, who had yet to even touch the top 40, to a #9 debut by just their presence in his song and video alone... or more accurately, Young Adz’s presence, but there must be some reason why neither rapper has gone solo yet. I wish I liked this new track more, because I’m kind of gunning for DBE to survive the Christmas movement like they did last year. The production is fine enough, with the creeping keys and the skittering percussion but it’s a pretty standard trap track, although with the extra reverb that you can expect from DBE. Regardless, Clavish clearly upped his budget when it comes to production quality and vocal mix, and all three rappers end up flowing pretty confidently on their verses alongside a pretty infectious chorus. If there’s a problem that I have, it’s mostly with the content as Clavish and Adz both sound like really annoying boyfriends, but that’s nothing new. Surprisingly enough, Dirtbike LB is probably the best rapper here, since he mixes the melody with a faster paced flow and it sounds really convincing in his typical Auto-Tuned warble. Oh, and he doesn’t say a lesbian slur like Youthful Advertisements over here. Sigh, it’s fine for what it is, but I definitely don’t see it having much lasting potential.

Conclusion

Well, obviously, RAYE and 070 Shake get Best of the Week for “Escapism.”, with a reluctant Honourable Mention for “Don’t Like Drill” by Meekz featuring Central Cee, though trust me, one washes out the other in no competition. As for the worst, nothing here is actively offensive, but I’m really not a fan of the lazy “Say Less” so Meekz can take both Worst of the Week for that and also for butchering good production on “Fresh Out the Bank” with Dave, which gets the Dishonourable Mention. As for next week, I suppose we’ll see how Stormzy impacts the chart amidst more Christmas flurry, in what will be our first December chart. For now, thanks for reading and I’ll see you next week!

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rabbittstewcomics · 2 years

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Episode 355

Comic Reviews:

Aquaman: Andromeda 1 by Ram V, Christian Ward

Dark Crisis 1 by Joshua Williamson, Daniel Sampere, Alejandro Sanchez

DC Pride 2022 by Devin Grayson, Ivan Cohen, Tini Howard, Greg Lockard, Alyssa Wong, Stephanie Phillips, Danny Lore, Stephanie Williams, Jadzia Axelrod, Dani Fernandez, Kevin Conroy, Travis Moore, Ted Brandt, Ro Stein, Nicole Maines, Lovern Kindzierski, W. Scott Forbes, J. Bone, P. Craig Russell, Lynne Yoshii, J.J. Kirby, Meghan Hetrick, Nick Robles, Brittney Williams, Jess Taylor, Evan Cagle, Zoe Thorogood, Samantha Dodge, Giulio Macaione, Rye Hickman, Tamra Bonvillain, Marissa Louise, Jeremy Lawson, Triona Farrell, Enrica Angiolini

Multiversity: Teen Justice 1 by

Nubia: Queen of the Amazons 1 by Stephanie Williams, Alitha Martinez, Mark Morales, John Livesay, Alex Guimares

Poison Ivy 1 by G. Willow Wilson, Marcio Takara, Arif Prianto

Earth Prime Flash by Emily Palizzi, Jess Carson, David Lafuente, Pablo Collar, John Kalisz, Miquel Muerto

Marvel

Fortnite X Marvel: Zero War 1 by Christos Gage, Donald Mustard, Sergio Fernandez Davila, Sean Parsons, Edgar Delgado

Jane Foster and the Mighty Thor 1 by Torunn Gronbekk, Michael Dowling, J.P. Mayer, Jesus Aburtov, Marte Gracia, Matt Wilson, Nolan Woodard

Love Unlimited: Red Dagger and Ms. Marvel by Nadia Shammas, Natacha Bustos, Ian Herring

Marvel Meow 8 by Nao Fuji

Image

Skybound Presents: Afterschool 1 by Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Greg Hinkle, Giovanna Niro

Dark Horse

Ward 1 by Cavan Scott, Andres Ponce

AfterShock

Astronaut Down 1 by James Patrick, Rubine, Valentina Briski

Where Starships Go To Die 1 by Mark Sable, Alberto Locatelli, Juancho

Ahoy

Justice Warriors 1 by Matt Bors, Ben Clarkson, Felipe Sobreiro

ComiXology

The Very Final Last Girls by Josh Eiserike, Z Crockett, Andres Barrero

Scout

Code 45 1 by Benjamin Hunting, Joe Ng

Archie

Archie and Friends: Summer Loving

Titan

Doctor Who Origins 1 by Jody Houser, Roberta Ingranata, Warnia Sahadewa

Dynamite

Elivira: Wrath of Con by David Avallone, Elvira, Dave Acosta

OGNs

Motherbridge: Seeds of Change by George Mann, Aleta Vidal

Grip of the Kombinat by Damon Gentry, Simon Roy

Girl and the Glim by India Swift, Michael Doig

Secrets of Camp Whatever v2: The Doors to Nowhere by Chris Grine

Slip by Marika McCoola, Aatmaja Pandya

Additional Reviews: Obi-Wan ep4, Ms. Marvel, American Horror Stories s1, Chip n Dale, Jurassic World Dominion, Many Deaths of Laila Starr

News: Joker 2, Ghostbusters animated series, Ezra Miller, Arcane series of prequel shorts on YouTube, more Kevin Smith He-Man, McKeever back at Marvel, Junji Ito anthology series on Netflix, Love Unlimited, Bruce Campbell Evil Dead/Sgt Rock crossover, Thunderbolts movie confirmed, Spot in Spider-Verse 2, Dark Horse gets Ghostbusters comic license, George Stacy cast for Spider-Verse 2

Am It Glenn?

Glenn meets Ram V

Trailers: Spiderhead, Prey, Sea Beast, Black Adam

Comics Countdown:

Oblivion Song 36 by Robert Kirkman Lorenzo De Felici, Annnalisa Leoni

Slip OGN by Marika McCoola, Aatmaja Pandya

Aquaman: Andromeda 1 by Ram V, Christian Ward

DC Pride 2022 by

Secrets of Camp Whatever Vol 2: The Door to Nowhere by Chris Grine

Time Before Time 13 by Rory McConville, Ron Salas, Chris O'Halloran

Dark Knights of Steel 7 by Tom Taylor, Nathan Gooden, Arif Prianto

Twig 2 by Skottie Young, Kyle Strahm, Jean-Francois Beaulieu

That Texas Blood 14 by Chris Condon, Jacob Phillips, Pip Martin

Batman: Killing Time 4 by Tom King, David Marquez, Alejandro Sanchez

Check out this episode!

#comics #podcast #podernfamily #rabbittstew

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thotful-writing · 5 years

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Deputies of Havoc Pt.3

The SeedsxOur Deputies

Wren (Left) belongs to @bisexualrook

Ezra (middle) Belongs to @the-fucking-father

Em (right) is mine

“Alright, one of you come help me with this shit before I break everything in this fucking house.” Em shouted from her bedroom.

Wren rolled her eyes as she pushed herself up off the couch, Ezra followed closely behind.

“What’s wrong now?” She said as she entered the room, the position Em was in wasn’t the worst she had ever seen, especially since she’d started dating John.

“Wh- How did you even-“ Wren looked at her confused.

“Just shut up and help me.”

Ezra took one side and Wren took the other, helping Em straighten out the dress she was tangled in, pulling it down over her head and helping her free the hair she had caught in the zipper.

“Thanks.” Em huffed as she straightened the dress. Once she was stable she looked at her friends.

“Fuck, how do you two even do that? You look amazing and I’m raccoon in a dress.” She glanced between the pair, Ezra looking so handsome in his suit and Wren looking beautiful in a soft Summer dress.

“A very pretty raccoon though.” Ezra tried to make her feel better, but his comment earned him a sideways glance from Wren.

“You look great, you just need a little help. Ezra, you’re on hair, I’ll take make-up.”

“I don’t even know why we’re going to this thing. It’s going to be a bunch of Peggies and cult stuff.”

“Because Joseph asked us to go and Jacob and John are both going and us idiots love them so we are going. Close your eyes.” Wren knew Em wasn’t one for a bunch of make-up so she did the bare minimum. Poor girl really didn’t know what she was doing when it came to getting dressed up.

“Done.” Ezra said as he finished putting Em’s hair in a bun. Wren and Ezra stepped back and looked her over.

“See, perfect. Now let’s go, we’re going to be late.” They grabbed their things and headed out the door.

Once they arrived at the church they stood at the gates in awe, John really out did himself, he transformed the church into a different place. There were lights everywhere and tables set up, food and even a dance floor. All of the Peggies even looked like decent humans instead of murderous cultists.

“My love, you look amazing.” Joseph beamed at Wren as he approached, arms outstretched to her.

“Thanks, my dress has pockets.” She stuck her hands in the pockets to show him. She didn’t show him what was in them though, the knife and joints were her secret.

“Pockets or not, you look lovely.” He kissed her cheek as he led her towards the church.

“You look…nice.” Jacob commented as he walked up behind Ezra. Em nudged Jacob with her elbow, encouraging him to say more than that. With a sigh and an eye roll he spoke again.

“You look… cute.” A faint blush spread across Jacob’s face as he spoke low enough for only Ezra and Em to hear him. Ezra placed a swift kiss on his cheek as he looped his arm in Jacob’s and they made their way towards the church.

Em watched as her friends left, she shifted in the heels she was wearing and started to pick at the hem of her dress, anxiety forming in her stomach. She was just about to make a run for it when she felt a pair of arms wrap around her waist from behind.

“Sorry I’m late, darling. You look absolutely stunning.” He nuzzled into the side of her neck.

“But you haven’t even seen all of me?”

“Don’t need to. You always look perfect. Even in that damned unicorn shirt and sweatpants.” He grabbed her hand and led her to the church.

Em relaxed more as she walked with John, he always had this way about him that made her feel at ease, even in the most stressful situations. A short while later, Em noticed Ezra sulking at their table, she locked eyes with Wren and nodded towards him. They left John and Joseph and headed for him.

“What’s wrong?” Em sat next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

“What did Jacob do? Where is he?” Wren was already reaching for her knife.

“He didn’t do anything, I just- I wanted to wear a dress too.” He dropped his head low as he spoke and began fidgeting with his fingers.

“Aw, we tried to get you a dress but you couldn’t decide. Remember?” Wren placed her hand on his other shoulder and tried to soothe him.

“You tried on at least 50 dresses before deciding on wearing a suit.” Em spoke softly.

“I know, I just wish I had worn a dress so I could be pretty like you guys.” He glanced up at his friends and admired how beautiful they really were.

Em looked over at Wren, they felt bad for him, they wanted to help him feel better but weren’t sure what to do. Before they could say anything they noticed Jacob was standing behind them, how long had he been there?

“Come on, Kitten.” He grabbed Ezra’s hand and pulled him towards the dance floor.

“I don’t feel like dancing, Jake.” Ezra tried to pull away but Jacob wouldn’t let him.

“Listen to me.” He placed his hand under Ezra’s chin and pulled his gaze up to meet his own.

“You look incredible tonight, dress, suit, burlap sack, you always look pretty to me.”

A deep red blush crept across Ezra’s face, he lunged forward and kissed Jacob suddenly, wrapping his arms around his neck.

“He can’t be so bad if he makes Ezra that happy.” Em looked over at Wren.

“I still don’t care for him.” She narrowed her eyes at Jacob, still not convinced he’s good enough for Ezra.

“There you are, I’ve been looking all over for you.” John grabbed Em’s hand and pulled her towards the dance floor.

Wren watched her friends as they danced, both happy and smiling like idiots. She remembered she had a joint and decided to sneak off for a minute. She leaned against the back of the church as she lit it, taking a deep hit.

“I’m certain you’re not doing what I think you’re doing.” Joseph’s voice startled her and she began coughing and choking.

“Shit. J-Joseph.” She finally stopped coughing and tried to hide the joint beside her. Joseph reached around and grabbed it from her hand.

“Is my party that bad?” He glanced over at Wren.

“No, just thought I’d take the edge off. There’s a lot of people here.”

“That there are.” Joseph sighed before taking a hit of the joint and passing it back to Wren.

“Do we have to go back out there?” She brought the joint back up to her lips.

“Eventually. But for now we can hide back here.” Joseph grabbed the joint from her and put it out.

He grabbed her hand and pulled her close, their bodies pressed together as he began to sway to the faint sound of music. He rested one hand on her hip as he moved effortlessly.

“You’re a good dancer.” Wren smiled at him, there were still things she didn’t know about him.

“It’s all about having a good partner, my dearest.” He grinned before pressing a kiss to her lips, soft and gentle as they continued to dance.

The sun had set, and people started to file out, only a few remained. Ezra was eagerly trying to get Jacob to let him put flowers in his beard, which he was having none of. Wren and Joseph were both hovering over the food bar, feeding each other the finger foods and deciding which one’s tasted more like ‘Hope County’. John and Em were still on the dance floor, wrapped in each other until the song ended.

“Heels were made by the devil.” Em stepped back from John.

“Here, let me help.” He knelt in front of her and helped her out of the shoes, she placed her hand on his shoulder to steady herself.

“Better?” He asked as he stood back up.

“A little, but my feet still ache. We can just sit down.” She moved towards the table, but John grabbed her hand before she could get far.

He pulled her closer before bending down and sweeping her off her feet completely, holding her bridal style.

“John!” She squealed.

“Now you don’t have to worry about your feet.” He grinned.

“You’re an idiot.” She wrapped her arms around his neck as he started to sway back and forth.

“Ah, but I’m your idiot.” He smirked as he leaned forward, capturing her lips with his.

#joseph seed #jacob seed #john seed #wren hawkins #ezra hopkins #em barton #Deputies of Havoc #our idiots #far cry 5 #far cry fanfiction

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sawyersthot--a · 2 years

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Pinterest Board Masterpost

for reference!

Characters

Adeline Price/Spectral { DC Comics }

Andrea Barlow { Silent Hill }

Audrey Seed { Far Cry }

Bonnie Jo Harvey { Fallout 4 }

Corana { Star Wars }

Daro'Rassa { Skyrim }

Dawn 'Bright' Bird { Death Stranding }

Elise Ezra { Resident Evil }

Emma Clarke { The Last of Us }

Eve Seed { Far Cry }

Faekyre Iserawyn { Skyrim }

Fern { Stardew Valley }

Grace Redgrave { Vampyr }

Jennifer Price/Siren { DC Comics }

Jordan Price/Nightmare { DC Comics }

Judith 'Judy' Martson { RDR2 }

Katrina of Yahrnam { Bloodborne }

Leowyn of Ithilien { Lord of The Rings }

Minette 'Kitty' Versailles { Saints Row }

Nicole Prinz { Stranger Things }

Olivia Seed { Far Cry }

Plum { Stardew Valley }

Ravesse Avalthi { Skyrim }

Rosalie 'Omega' Bird { Death Stranding }

Sabine Brody { Far Cry }

Silviel Fireborn { Lord of The Rings }

Stella Garvey { Fallout 4 }

Vaessa Doxon { Cyberpunk 2077 }

Vicki Loomis { Scream }

Zoey Castle { Grand Theft Auto 5 }

Ships

jason todd x adeline price

john seed x audrey seed

ren x corana

higgs monaghan x bright

sebastian x fern

floyd lawton/deadshot x jennifer price/siren

teth-adam/black adam x jordan price/nightmare

samwise gamgee x leowyn of ithilien

billy hargrove x nicole prinz

harvey x plum

sam porter bridges x omega

thorin oakenshield x silviel fireborn

preston garvey x stella garvey

michael desanta x zoey castle

#masterlist #boy this took so long to do #pinterest #ocs #excuse my dumb messy pinterest

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whatapunk · 3 years

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Chapter 3!!

I’m not sure how well I did it (as dialogue and I do NOT get along), but writing drunken Kanan/Rhia/Hera banter was a blast for me. I’d also like to point out that I mention the Gorse conflict several times in this chapter and I think most people in the kanera fandom are familiar with that story, but if you haven’t read A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller you should give it a go! Especially if your soul needs every scrap of kanera you can find. As always, thank you so much for any likes and reblogs! You guys are the freaking best.

Title: Endings

Fandom: Star Wars Rebels

Relationship: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla; Kanan Jarrus/female OC

Rating: m for the profanity, possibly for non-explicit intimacy later

Word Count: 3217

Previous Chapters: Ch. 1 / Ch. 2

Chapter 3

“Force, Rhia, that was delicious.” Kanan placed his fork on his plate and pushed it away from him, feeling more full than he’d been in months. She smiled her thank you at his compliment.

Kanan swirled the contents of his drink around, examining them before taking a sip. He could already feel the alcohol, and he was only one and a half drinks in. He thought back to nights at the bar on Gorse and how many drinks he’d put away all while still being remarkably coherent. He also thought of all the nights he’d spent on the floor of that bar and decided he’d made a good trade-off in his adulthood.

Rhia stood and collected the plates and utensils, taking them over to the sink. Kanan watched her, his thoughts back on the lost memory of her cooking him breakfast that had suddenly made its home in his brain again. He smirked and let out a quick chuckle, realizing the image of her standing at the sink now matched the one in his memory like a mirror- just, with more clothing. She looked back at him.

“Something funny?”

“It doesn’t feel all that different,” he started. She raised an eyebrow at him. “Us, I mean,” he explained. “I had all these things I thought up to say to you but then you were just…” he trailed off, unsure of his next words.

“Just what?” she asked. He shrugged but smiled down into his glass as he drained it for the second time.

“I don’t know. Just you,” he said, his voice just beginning to be swallowed by alcohol-induced giddiness. “I kept thinking about what I should say to you earlier when I was meditating,” he said, ignoring or just not noticing the increase in the height of her already raised brow. “But then I got here and you were making dinner and suddenly we’re just shooting the shit like I’m 22 and you’re…” he paused, frowning. “How old are you again?” he asked, surprised he’d forgotten. He blamed it on the alcohol. She grimaced.

“I’m glad you’ve forgotten,” was all she offered up as an answer. He moved on.

“I’m just saying, you haven’t changed. At all,” he finished. He could hear his tone shifting, becoming lighter than it had been all day. Again, he gave credit to the alcohol. Rhia smirked but otherwise left the comment unacknowledged.

“Since when do you meditate?” she asked as she rinsed the dishes off.

“It’s new,” was all he added.

“Is that a jedi thing?” He looked at her, a little surprised. Rhia knew who Kanan was, but it was still somewhat new to him to hear people talk about it openly.

“It is. I’m sort of a jedi again,” he said and laughed at his own statement. He reached back and rubbed his neck. “It’s weird.”

Rhia finished washing the plates and walked back over to the table. On her way, she grabbed the glass bottle off the counter. She poured her own drink and didn’t bother to look at Kanan. She capped the bottle and set it near the center of the table.

“You know, I don’t really drink… at all anymore,” Kanan offered, eyeing the bottle.

“I’m not asking you to,” Rhia replied simply, quite relaxed. She’d meant it; she had no interest in trying to get Kanan drunk, especially if it was happening as quickly as it seemed to be. However, if he chose to get drunk, she certainly wasn’t going to stop him.

Kanan reached out slowly and grabbed the bottle, a peaceful look on his face. He poured another drink for himself and took a sip.

“You’ll never believe this, but-” and he laughed, caught off guard by how funny his next statement would sound to Rhia. “I have an apprentice- a padawan,” he said, slipping back into his chuckles. Rhia’s mouth all but fell open.

“You what?” she asked in disbelief. “You have a padawan?” Rhia was joking, but she was also very serious. Kanan finished laughing and looked up at her, nodding.

“Yep. And you know, I’m not a half bad teacher honestly,” he said, feeling prouder than he expected to. It was Rhia’s turn to laugh. “I’m serious!” he protested.

“Kanan,” she began. “Who put you in charge of their child?” she asked in the middle of another fit of laughter. Kanan’s face remained tranquil, but he did get a little more serious.

“Well… he doesn’t have parents- not anymore,” he said. Rhia stopped laughing and her expression softened.

“Well that’s… that’s good of you,” she said and took a drink. The more somber moment passing quickly, she looked back up at him with sudden realization. “Shit Kanan, you’re not just a master, you’re like a father aren’t you?” Kanan let out a short laugh that morphed into a sigh.

“Yeah I.... I kinda am. We’re kind of like parents,” he said, his grin turning huge.

“We?” Rhia asked, interested. Kanan looked quickly down at his drink for another sip.

“Yeah uh,” he began awkwardly. “Me and Hera we’re kind of… together.” Rhia smiled at him.

“She’s pretty impressive, Kanan,” she said and he smiled back at her, letting out a breath. “Way too good for you,” she added.

“You are not wrong.”

“Though, I assume she still fits your type,” she said and Kanan immediately rolled his eyes.

“Rhia, I don’t have a type,” he said adamantly, but she’d started giggling. “And if I did, it certainly wouldn’t be people with ‘daddy issues,’” he said, making air quotes. Rhia’s laughter filled the room.

Back on Gorse one drunken night, Rhia had begun taking a long oral history of Kanan’s ex-partners. After around a dozen stories that all pretty much began and ended the same way, Rhia surmised that Kanan seemed to be attracted to lovers who tended to have some either spoken or unspoken issues with their fathers. Kanan protested adamantly and continuously, and this had only worked to confirm Rhia’s suspicions. Upon inquiring about Rhia’s father, Rhia gladly told him that he’d passed away when she was a child. Kanan then accused her of lying to prove her point, much to Rhia’s amusement.

“So,” Rhia began, fighting down a burst of laughter, “you’re saying Hera has a really great relationship with her dad then, yes?” Kanan didn’t look up and tried desperately to hide the fact that he was holding back laughter. He took a drink, hoping to hide his creeping smile behind his glass. In the silence, they both eventually burst into laughter.

Kanan was definitely feeling it. His head felt like it was suspended in a bacta tank and there was a permanently peaceful look on his face. Having been so tense for weeks, this was undoubtedly a welcome disposition. There was something to be said as well for Rhia and the conversation they were having. Not only had it felt so nice to tell her about his family now, she’d made it feel so natural and ok. Not that he’d done anything wrong, but many exes could easily have turned bitter or offered fake support. Rhia, however, had been warm and normal. Telling her about Hera and Ezra felt just as natural as any of their conversations had been seven years ago. Still, there was no doubt- as much as the thought of Hera right now made his heart swell, his reverence toward Rhia in this regard had begun to sow seeds of conflict in him.

Their laughter subsided. Rhia met his eyes from across the table and the seeds began to grow. Kanan downed the last of his drink and gave all the signs of being about to leave. Just before he stood up, however, a very special voice spoke to him from the doorway.

“I wondered where you were,” Hera said, causing Kanan to go from surprised to smiling like an idiot in record time.

“Hera!” he said, and noted the volume in his voice had risen for no reason. He really couldn’t hold his alcohol anymore. Hera’s eyes widened knowingly, going from him to the bottle, and she smirked.

“Captain Syndulla,” Rhia stood up welcomingly and offered her a hand. “I didn’t really get to introduce myself earlier. I’m Rhia Denley,” she said, not seeming at all three drinks deep. She took Hera’s hand gently and the twi’lek returned a smile.

“Hera,” she replied. “It’s nice to meet you. I rarely get to meet a friend of Kanan’s,” she added. Rhia turned back to him and they both looked at him as he grinned drunkenly.

“That’s not surprising,” Rhia said. “He never had many of those,” and both women laughed at his expense. “Please, sit,” Rhia insisted, offering her a chair. She then went to the cabinet and pulled out another glass. Placing it in front of Hera, she began pouring. Hera held up a hand at a half.

“Oh that’s plenty, thank you,” and Rhia stopped obligingly.

“We were just talking about you,” Rhia began and Kanan shot her a look, concerned about exactly which part of their conversation Rhia was about to share. Rhia pretended not to notice. “I can’t believe Kanan has a padawan. You should have known this man on Gorse!”

Hera looked at him with pride, but she also took note of the fact that Rhia knew he was a jedi. She then realized Rhia had said “Gorse.”

“I did know him on Gorse,” Hera started. “Or, well, I met him on Gorse.”

Rhia looked at Kanan subtly and for the first time all night, the warmth in her face faltered slightly.

“It was after you… left,” Kanan offered, jumping in. “Maybe like a month after you left. I ran into Hera and swept her off her feet of course.” Hera snorted and Rhia followed.

“I know there is no kriffing way she followed you anywhere,” Rhia said, taking a drink. She turned to Hera, all but pretending Kanan wasn’t in front of her. “He was in trouble wasn’t he?” she asked flatly. Hera laughed.

“Something like that.” Kanan threw out his hands in dramatic disbelief.

“What? You were in trouble- we all were!” Kanan griped. Hera nodded, appeasing him.

“That’s true. Gorse was a mess,” she said and took a drink.

“What happened there?” Rhia asked. Kanan looked at her and closed his eyes, shaking his head.

“You remember that explosives guy, Skelly?” At the name, Rhia threw her head back in a resounding affirmative.

“Skelly! Man that guy was a fucking wack job,” she said and Hera laughed, clearly agreeing. “You met him?” Rhia asked.

“Oh yeah. I know I shouldn’t speak ill of the dead, but I have to agree. Skelly nearly got us killed a handful of times.” Rhia was definitely interested now.

Over the next hour or so (eventually none of them was really aware of the time), Hera and Kanan regaled Rhia with how they met on Gorse and the entirety of the disasters and successes of that highly unplanned mission. Eventually Hera emptied her glass and didn’t object to another, nor did Kanan.

Truthfully, the drunker Rhia got the more her insides were a battlefield of emotions. Here she was with two people whose company she was enjoying immensely. But she couldn’t deny that everything that had once attracted her to Kanan was still alive and well. In fact, he’d only seemed to change for the better since she’d last known him. Additionally, she was falling in love with Hera almost immediately. The twi’lek had come off as calm and quiet, and while she definitely embodied those traits to an extent, she was also assertive and commanded attention, even when she appeared meek. Rhia understood why Kanan was with her, and she could only imagine the luck he felt at having met her, let alone being her partner.

Rhia poured another glass, attempting to drown her thoughts, at least until she could be alone with them. She’d lost count of how many drinks they’d each had, but the bottle was approaching its final drops, a sign that the number was quite large. Kanan’s eyes were drooping and she wondered how long he’d last before he’d try to sleep on the floor. Hera was feeling it too, but she’d paced herself and remained relatively composed. Her speech gave her away though; each drink she took seemed to chip away at her filter. It just made Rhia like her more.

“Did you know him when he was Caleb Dume?” Hera asked abruptly, looking at Rhia with an interested expression. Rhia was a bit caught off guard and looked to Kanan for a hint at how to proceed. He met her eyes but said nothing.

“I did,” Rhia started, “or at least I think he was between ‘Caleb Dume’ and ‘Kanan Jarrus,’” she offered. Hera seemed to be contemplating this.

“I didn’t go by ‘Kanan’ yet, but she outed me,” Kanan said, pointing an accusatory finger at Rhia. Rhia rolled her eyes yet again.

“Hera,” she said, turning away from Kanan. “You should have seen this kid,” she started and a few drunken giggles made her pause. “You think he’s bad now? Everything annoying he does now, he did times a thousand when I met him,” and she slipped back into giggles with Hera. Kanan shook his head but smiled. Hera’s face lit up at a thought.

“You knew him when he was a kid?” Hera asked, excitedly.

“Well, not exactly. He was 17 but he was absolutely a kid that’s for sure,” she said grinning back at Kanan. “Though,” she went back to Hera, “if you told him he was a kid he’d get so offended,” she said and cackled with the twi’lek.

“He told me he hates that! Like, defensive much?” Hera said with a laugh. Kanan looked at both of them.

“I’m right here, guys,” he offered, but Rhia and Hera were still too busy laughing at the thought of young, defensive Kanan.

“Hera, do you know what this little teenager did nearly the moment he met me?” she asked. “Keep in mind, I’m quite a bit older than him and I was definitely too old for him when he was seventeen.” It was Hera’s turn to roll her eyes.

“Oh kriff, he tried to hit on you didn’t he?”

“Don’t tell me-” Rhia started, egging Hera on.

“He did the same thing to me!” Hera nearly shouted and the two women doubled over in laughter.

“Wow,” was all Kanan could say, returning to his glass. Eventually Rhia and Hera finished laughing and dabbed the tears from their eyes.

“So how did you figure out he was Caleb?” Hera asked.

“Well, at the time he was running with the smuggler Janus Kasmir,” Rhia started. Hera nodded.

“He’s told me about him.”

“So at the time I was part of a crew on a transport that he and Kasmir hired. Only,” she looked and spoke directly at Kanan, “they failed to tell us just how hot they were before we took off,” Rhia joked, as if she still held it against him. “I’d done some bounty hunter work before, so after even the slightest bit of research I found his goofy little face all over the holonet in an instant, and he hadn’t even bothered to disguise himself!” she all but yelled.

“I’d changed my look!” Kanan argued. “I’d started wearing a ponytail then,” he said with drunken confidence. Rhia and Hera shared a knowing look.

“He looked nearly identical,” Rhia continued. “So, I told our captain we needed to drop them, only-”

“He was a huge asshole,” Kanan cut her off. She snorted.

“Indeed. I didn’t tell him Kanan was a jedi, but he’d figured out that if I was so eager to get rid of them, he must be worth a lot. So, he intended to collect with the Empire. And do you know what this fucking maniac and Kasmir did to me?” she asked Hera, getting heated. Hera’s eyes were wide and she shook her head, invested.

“Look-” Kanan had started, but Rhia continued as if she hadn’t heard him.

“Those two idiots stunned me- even though I was going to help them! Next thing I know, I'm waking up on the floor of an escape pod with a crick in my neck!" she said, finishing her story with a drink. Hera frowned and looked at Kanan with goofy disapproval.

"Kanan!" she chastised him. He held his hands up in defense.

"We didn't know you were planning on helping us!" he spoke in a way that said this was not the first time he'd had to defend himself here. "The captain was your boyfriend. We assumed you'd just go along with him, so we took you hostage. And it worked!” he added. Rhia narrowed her eyes at him with a smirk.

“It did, but I hadn’t thought about turning either of you in until I woke up in that pod,” she said, laughing and lost in the memory for a moment. She drained her glass.

Hera watched the red-haired woman with great interest and warmth. She’d gleaned from their awkward meeting earlier that day that she and Kanan had some sort of history, and she’d felt the early pangs of jealousy when she’d found them here alone, drinking. But Rhia had a friendliness to her that seemed to quiet any other negative emotion in the room. There were still quiet thoughts in Hera’s mind relating to Rhia’s pleasing face and her tall, muscular frame that made her feel like competition. Not to mention, her vibrant hair, which seemed so deeply red at times and other times, when her movements caught the dim lighting just right, seemed almost reflective and chromatic. Regardless, Hera mostly felt like she’d formed a fast friend, and it was nice to be around another woman her own age. The alcohol didn’t hurt either.

“So what happened next?” Hera asked, interested in the end of the story.

“Well, we did a job or two together, just so I could get some cash now that I was crewless and shipless,” Rhia said, giving Kanan another quick look. “But it didn’t last much longer and I left him and Kasmir. Though, I did hear about some low-profile work on Gorse back then and I told him about it. I never thought he’d actually listen to me,” she finished, giving Kanan a small smile. There it was again, that competitive feeling inside of Hera.

“And then you ended up there at the same time, years later?” she asked, drawing Rhia’s attention back to her.

“Somehow, yes,” Kanan said, a little quieter than he’d been. A comfortable hush fell over the table. Three drunken adults sat, enveloped in warm intoxication and warmer memories. It hurt each one of them a bit to notice the emptiness of the bottle in front of them. The realization that the night was drawing to a close began descending on them, and Rhia, noticing the small bit left in each of their glasses, held up hers in a toast.

“To old and new friends,” she said, looking from Kanan to Hera. They both smiled back at Rhia and drained their glasses with her, adding the slightest bit of fog to their already foggy brains.

#i'm sorry this is so long #unless you like that #in which case you're welcome #star wars #star wars rebels #rebels #star wars fanfiction #rebels fanfiction #fanfiction #hera syndulla #kanan jarrus #endings

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numbersbythebook · 3 years

Text

Jared, 120, Holy Spirit

written by Will Schumaker

Jared means “descend”. I believe his prophetic meaning is tied to the descending from Heaven of God’s word, Jesus at both comings, and the Holy Spirit.

I just did a post on the numbers 962 and 34. They are consistently together. I believe 962, the age of Jared at death, signifies the end of this age. The age of the Holy Spirit ends, the descending of Jesus comes and the destruction of Babylon begins.

The end of this age is the end of the sixth day and the beginning of the seventh. Just as there were 6 days of creation and the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest so also is there expected to be 6000 years of man and the 1000 year millenial reign of Christ.

Jared is the 6TH patriarch and the 6th to die. He is tied to the completion of the number 6. Lamech dies out of order after Jared.

This is verse 34 then which should be tied to the number 962. It is the same concept. The end of the 6th day and the beginning of the 7th:

Genesis 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Genesis 2:3 has the same gematria as Ezra 6:15 and is the same idea, the house of God is complete:

Ezra 6:15 And this house was finished on the third day of the month Adar, which was in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the king.

Strong’s H144 =”adar” it is the only use of H144. Ezra 6:15 is 14400 verses before Lazarus with a gematria of 144 is raised from the dead. 144 symbolizes the completed church in Revelation.

John 11:43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.

Jared’s hebrew gematria is 214. Strong’s H7307 = ”Spirit” has the same gematria of 214.

“Spirit of God” has a gematria of 300 in Hebrew. The 24th triangle number is 300. The sum of all triangle numbers up to and including 300 is 2600.

2600 is the gematria of the verse where Jared is born and his first use in the Bible:

Genesis 5:15 And Mahalaleel lived sixty and five years, and begat Jared:

Strong’s G2600 = ”descent”, so the same as Jared.

So Jared is tied numerically twice to the Spirit.

In the New Testament Jared has a greek gematria of 120. Recall when the Holy Spirit was given at Pentecost there were 120 disciples gathered.

Act 1:15 And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and said, (the number of names together were about an hundred and twenty,)

Recall also that Jared was born when his father was 65. Sivan 6 is the traditional day of Pentecost and is the 65th day of the year.

So now we have three numerical ties between Jared and the Holy Spirit. Just as Jared means to desend and the Holy Spirit descended on the Church for the Church age so also the death of Jared signifies the end of the Church age.

The number 120 is used three other times prominently in Scripture.

Noah preached for 120 years before the flood came. This concept would match my previous post of 962, Jared’s age at death, and the number 34. Jared’s death typifies the end of the age, the destruction of ungodly Babylon and the saving of the saints.

Moses was 120 years old when he died and Israel entered the Promised Land. Moses is type of the law written on stones which we are incapable of obeying by ourselves. Joshua, a Hebrew form of Jesus, led them into the Promised Land. Only by the blood of Jesus do we get into the Promised Land and only by the Spirit are we convicted of our sin and able to obey.

At the dedication of Solomon’s temple there were 120 priests sounding with trumpets. At this dedication God’s presence filled the temple:

2 Chronicles 5:12 Also the Levites which were the singers, all of them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:)

In each of these four instances of the use of 120 there is an elevation in spirituality. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit dwelt in man. At Solomon’s dedication the glory of God filled the temple. When Israel entered the promised land they stepped into the covenant promises of God. The Promised Land is also a type of Heaven and the dwelling of God. The salvation in the ark is a type of the salvation in Jesus.

You could almost say 120 represents a step from the physical to the spiritual. Just like stepping from the 6 days of physical creation into the holy Sabbath day with our new bodies into the presence of God.

I looked at chapter 120 of the Bible. It is Numbers 3. There is a verse within this chapter with a gematria of 2391. Jared is Strong’s G2391 with a gematria of 120. Jared is tied to the number 120 and what it symbolizes.

Within Numbers 3 we find spiritual Israel. God took the Levites as His instead of the firstborn of Israel.

Numbers 3:12 And I, behold, I have taken the Levites from among the children of Israel instead of all the firstborn that openeth the matrix among the children of Israel: therefore the Levites shall be mine;

This concept is the same as what Paul said in Romans that not all Israel shall be saved.

Romans 9:6 Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: Romans 9:7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. Romans 9:8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

These numbers all work together with the same message.

#Will Schumaker #Bible Numbers #Gematria #Jared #patriarch #Holy Spirit #120 persons #120 years #Jesus #Salvation #Promised Land #Israel #Pentecost

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