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navegandoaciegas · 4 years

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Sunday Sinday

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader [Priest AU]

Warnings: priest!Bucky, explicit language, smut, very desecrating and blasphemous thoughts and actions, masturbation, corruption kink, sex in a public place, hair pulling. Both parties are consenting adults.

Summary: Father James preaches at Mass, and you think there’s no better time to sin than Sundays.

A/N: Yesterday (9/9) was my 21st birthday and I’m posting filth to celebrate it. @whateveriwant and I share one horny braincell and we had the same idea, so here it is bb.

Wide shoulders straining his black cassock, long chestnut hair pulled back, errant strands framing his chiselled face, thick rimmed glasses perched on top of his nose, Father James should be the depiction of all that’s holy, image and likeness of God himself, and instead he’s temptation in the flesh, and all you can think about as you do the sign of the cross and sit in the back pew is how much you want to do wrong with him.

“I confess to Almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and what I have failed to do.”

His soft voice fills the room, subtle blush on his cheeks, the memory of all your shared sins in the fleeting looks he sends your way. His impure fantasies of you on your knees, your pretty lips around his cock, you taking his virginity of the altar, fucking under the cross, in the confessional, the filthy whispers in your ears, words he never imagined would come out of his mouth, the taste of you lingering on his tongue. He never stood a chance against temptation, not if you’re the one luring him straight to Hell.

You tune out of his sermon, merely standing, sitting, and kneeling as you see the others do: there’s the column he stood against as you sucked him off, the bench he bent you over and spanked you for the first time, the backdoor where the cleaning lady almost caught you.

“We listen to a reading from the New Testament.” he announces, clears his throat, adjusts his glasses, and opens the Holy Bible, fingers scanning over the verses he knows by heart.

There’s guilt in preaching what he doesn’t practice, but there’s also that exhilarating feeling of omnipotence that comes with being in love, that rush of adrenaline of loving in secret and doing the impossible to not get caught whilst wishing you would be.

The devoted churchgoers sitting in the front rows are too absorbed to notice you, hanging onto every word he recites, and the rest of the benches are empty, the saints and cherubs on the walls and Jesus on the cross your only witnesses as you quickly slip out of your panties and spread your legs, waiting for him to notice you, a teasing smile finding its way on your lips.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we-”

He looks up from the pages, and his eyes meet you, or more likely what’s between your legs. He stutters, John or Matthew’s verses escaping his mind, “If we- we, uh, confess, we confess, yes, our sins- uh.”

Silence. Awkward, tense silence.

The white collar around his neck is suddenly too stiff and suffocating. Father James is like a deer caught in the headlights, his Adam’s apple bobbing up and down as his eyes flit around the room. The blush on his cheeks betrays his sinful thoughts, and he can only hope, as he gapes in front of his audience, that they won’t notice the tent in his cassock, the sweat on his forehead, his heaving chest and the light fog forming in his glasses.

Whispers arise, ‘is Father James alright?’, the good, righteous churchgoers ask among themselves, concerned about their beloved priest.

“As I was saying.” he clears his throat after a strangled apology, his fingertips finding the verse he was reading again, “If we say we have not sinned-”

His voice is a low buzz as he resumes his sermon, tension clear in his taut muscles and dry mouth; memories of all the times he’s taken you on these wooden benches invade your minds. All the times you’ve choked him with the cross around his neck, all those he’s spent on his knees, worshipping you like a goddess.

His pure soul you’ve tarnished with yours, the filthy words that sound so right on his holy mouth, his heady taste on your tongue when you swallow him whole, your wish to ruin him.

Your walls throb, arousal pooling at your entrance and rubbing on the fabric of your skirt as you grind your core on the bench, desperate for some sort of release.

He raises the chalice. “...It will be shed for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. Do this in memory of me.”

You were never one for good decisions, especially not when your brain is as fogged as his glasses. And there’s no better day to sin than Sunday, afterall.

You slip a finger inside your glistening folds, looking at him through lidded eyes, wishing he would be fucking you against the altar instead. Father James’ eyes go wide as saucers when he catches sight of you playing with your dripping pussy under your skirt, and he chokes on his wine, sputtering and coughing.

You close your legs and bite your lips when someone walks up to him and pats his back to help him through his fit. He glares at you, and you stifle a laugh, the scene too comical to keep quiet.

“Forgive me.” he stutters to the small crowd, worry evident in their eyes, “It went down the wrong way.” he tries to ease the tension , “We can begin the communion rite now, if I don’t choke before.” and earns himself a collective chuckle.

The walk from the back to the front of the church seems endless. Thighs rubbing together and against your folds, a light breeze from an open door blows up your skirt just slightly, but enough that if someone were to pay attention, they’d see you’re not wearing any panties.

You’re the last of the line, and by the time you get to him, the rest of the people are kneeling, their head bowed, oblivious to the tension between their good priest and the new girl in town.

“The Body of Christ.”

It’s a whisper, soft and intimate, meant for you and only you, the blue of his eyes swallowed by darkness when you part you lips wide open and stick your tongue out, a sight he’s seen countless times before, when you’re on your knees begging him to fuck your mouth. Air stills when your tongue brushes against his trembling fingertips, a shiver running down his spine, a groan almost escaping him because of what that damn tongue is capable of. Eyes locked together as you slowly chew, his gaze following the lump of your throat as you swallow.

“Amen.”

It’s lust, it’s sin, it’s wrong but it sure feels right.

He watches your hips sway as you walk back to your seat, knowing your pussy is bare and wet for him beneath your skirt, and he can’t wait for mass to be over soon.

Incense is thick in the air, and a shiver runs down your spine when you feel his presence. A hand pulls your shirt and shoves you behind one of the columns to the sides where you usually wait for your sweet boy after mass. The marble is cold against your back, his hold like a vice on your flesh, and it stirs up something inside you. He’s never touched you like this, not your shy, doe eyed James, with his tentative kisses and trembling hands.

“What the hell were you thinking?” he whispers harshly, lips hovering over yours.

A gasp, you feign surprise. “Since when do you use that language? You kiss the cross with those lips?”

“You're a bad influence.” he chuckles, “Anyone could have seen.”

“But no one did.” you retort “And that’s the fun part, baby boy.”

His fingers will leave bruises behind, you muse, as you take in the fire in his eyes and his body towering over yours. Your recklessness, your attitude, your pretty face, his lack of restraint, the way he can never resist you, his body that acts on its own, the animal instinct that snaps inside him when his hips thrust against yours and his hard cock presses on your stomach.

“You wanted to get caught, didn’t you?”

Your tongue finds its way from his neck to the shell of his ears, leaving goosebumps behind, “Can you imagine the scandal?”

“You’re such a brat.” is his strangled response as his hips roll against you, pinning you to the wall. His breathing is ragged, his jaw clenched.

“I am a brat Father, do you think you can forgive me for that?” you purr, a hand sneaking between you and palming his aching cock through his cassock.

“I don’t know, angel.” he mumbles in your hair, a thick thigh coming between yours. “You need to repent, and then atone.”

“How can I do that, Father? I want it so, so bad.”

Your skin is scorching hot, your head dizzy as his smell clings to you and intoxicates you.

In a blur you find yourself spun around, the marble digging painfully in your cheeks, his hand groping your ass and kneading the flesh to the point that it hurts. A whimper escapes your mouth when he slowly grazes your things up to your aching core, and he cups your pussy with a possessive hold.

“You’re so wet, all for me?”

It’s a soft whisper, a stupid question maybe.

“Only for you.”

He peppers your neck with small kisses, nipping your delicate skin. Your walls flutter around nothing, you’re desperate to feel him inside you, his thick cock filling you like no else’s can.

Father James is not a patient man.

His fingers swirl around your swollen clit, and you’re pretty sure there’s slick running down your thighs. The pressure in your cunt is almost painful as you wait for him to lift his cassock and free himself.

“Tell me you’re mine.”

It’s a low vibration grunted in your ear as he strokes his length and lines himself with your entrance, his tip smearing your arousal around.

“I’m yours.”

He slams his cock inside you, and you mewl when he fully sheathes himself. He sets a low pace, taking his time to slide in and out of your, revelling in the way your walls grip him so tight.

“More.”

You’re not begging, you swear. You’re merely requesting. A command, really.

“You must say your penance first, sweetheart.” he taunts you, his wicked self coming out the more time he spends between your legs, and you find out you’re not so different after all. “An Act of Contrition, princess.”

You feel your pussy clench down on his cock, the coil getting tighter with each gentle stroke. Your mind is swirling, and you desperately cling onto the last rationality you’ve got left to remember your prayer.

“My God.” you snarl when his hand pulls your hair, and you arch your back, this new position allowing his tip to reach the sweet spot inside you, “My God, I’m sorry for my- my sins” you moan, “with all my heart.”

He fastens his pace, the depravity of this all edging him closer to his release with each sweet sound you make. “Are you really?”

“Yes, yes, oh my God. I’m sorry, in choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,” you pant, tears streaming down your face, your breaths ragged, “I have sinned against you, whom I should-.” You’re sobbing, your hands clutching his shoulders for dear life, the sound of his balls slapping against your pussy so lewd as it resonates in the empty walls.

“Just like that, don’t stop, please.” you mewl, feeling the knot in your core about to unravel, your vision getting spotty around the edges.

You pull on his collar and tug him down, biting his lips, your tongue tasting his, his plush lips against yours, his hand around your neck. A harsh snap of his hips, one last look at the crying angel above you, and you come on his cock, your pussy so tight around him that he follows shortly after, his cock swelling inside you and filling you to the brim with his cum. Your limbs jerk uncontrollably, your eyes roll to the back of your head.

His hot breath fans over your neck, strong arms holding you flush against his chest. A soft kiss on your forehead, a gentle smile on his lips, your heartbeat frantic, and not because of the orgasm that just wrecked you.

“Am I forgiven, Father?”

The rumble in his chest as he snickers warms your heart more than it should.

“You didn’t finish your prayers, princess. Looks like we’re gonna have to do this all over again.”

God, you love Sundays.

If you’re interested in more Father James, check this out. This one shot is part of Innocent! priest Bucky x Reader. I hope you all enjoyed it, and if you did, please leave some feedback, I love reading your comments.

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #priest!bucky #bucky barnes smut #marvel smut #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky imagine #bucky fanfic

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fucknoirfolklor · 3 years

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Oh boy. I’m back to dump my thoughts about the new Sotsu episode. I was so excited for this. I’ve waited so long, embarrassingly enough.

I’ve not been reacting to episodes because I wanted to withhold my judgment…well, I’ll spit out what my big theory last week was. I thought Rika was going to grab the bullet like in the VN. It seemed poetic since the original anime didn’t have that “no losers,” scene.

Rika is off in this episode to me because in the latter half, despite everything Satoko did to her, she still wants to take her to St. Lucia. Moreover she still wants her in her life. The no losers attitude is gone and it’s become as much a game for Rika…

So, I was enjoying it, even the fragment hopping. I liked it visually, even if it wasn’t what I expected. I was disappointed that the gun scene was anticlimactic, but it seemed realistic enough that none of the club members could react in time…their shock was very human…but that’s become irrelevant.

Really, this doesn’t feel like Higurashi or Umineko to me so it’s not as simple as “Umineko fans are enjoying this while Higurashi fans aren’t.” It feels like FanFiction, not to knock fandom writers out there. There can be real gems.

As soon as Satoko was sliced by Rika’s sword shard and the fighting continued, I shut my brain off. The payoff isn’t going to be anything as grand as the visuals are showboating. I’m disappointed in the latter half of the fight because Rika already won. Satoko should have died when the shard hit her artery. The cliffhanger should be meaningless, and just drags it out when it already should be done.

So the DBZ murder dance of the latter has me feeling impatient. It’s a bunch of filler at this point. I know not to trust everything in the narration but there’s no solid rules or clues that it was definitely a metaphor. It being played straight breaks it’s own rules and setup…

As an Umineko enjoyer, this breaks both Higurashi and Umineko rules. I’m not familiar with Ciconia, but at this point it’s just tying the series down if it’s majorly referencing it’s rules. The marketing of this is problematic because it takes advantage of three different audiences in that case, or the benefit of the doubt one may have because they aren’t fully versed in all 07th Expansion content. It can’t stand on it’s own as it is but it could have and I feel cheated.

This isn’t just a loving troll, it’s sad to me. Neither Satoko or Rika’s motivations feel anything but cheapened for me. I’m glad some people can enjoy how ridiculous it is but the fact neither of them go in-depth with each other and it’s been dragging on this long with recaps, it’s a pathetic testament to how hungry we are for new content. It’s still saying the same thing over and over though: “Satoko just didn’t want to study!”

Coming out of her own mouth and Rika’s too. I’ve been saying it before and I’ll say it again: Rika isn’t in character either. Her whole identity is lost between Rika and Bern and she’s coming off as neither, nor even an in between. Rika and Bern should be two facets of the whole human character, ideally, to be well-rounded and feel like Rika. At least for me.

If she’s got it in her to retaliate, this Satoko specifically shouldn’t mean more than some other Satoko that isn’t corrupted. Rika should give this Satoko no mercy, yet with how it’s going it’s hard for me to even see this as a Bern thing either.

How is this anything like Bern when Bern loves tearing Lambda apart and Rika can’t stand the thought of killing Satoko? The original chair scene wasn’t framed this way. Rika hated what she did and seeing Satoko hurt that way.

This story has bit off more than it can chew and it’s trying to give Rika these Bern facets and the conflict could be interesting to see, but we’re still stuck looping on the same points: “Come to St. Lucia’s with me!” and “I hate studying!”

That’s not what these characters are about! I’m so bored. I would often think to myself back in the old days when I was watching Higurashi, “I’m glad I found something I love that doesn’t drag on like Naruto and Sasuke.”

It’s biting me in the ass. In the most ridiculous way. At this point I don’t know, I pity R07 almost. This story is lacking so much dignity so far and feels so exploitative. Not just of the characters but just…in general.

A lot of franchises go through this, with their creators getting a bit too full of themselves. With this entry, it’s so self-referential without the adequate payoff to these teases and hints that it’s reached a point I get embarrassed. I’ll think to myself, “Sheesh, I’m glad I didn’t write that.”

I’ve read short fanfics that have satisfied me more with this premise and these precise characters while making me feel something other than boredom. Those were just little itsy bitsy theories!

Oh well…in conclusion, I’m glad some folks enjoyed that. The latter half bored me. This anime’s script needs serious revisions. It feels like a rough draft and R07 has been working on it for years supposedly?

Well, fandom. I hope this fuels some creative works of your own. Until next time!

#higurashi sotsu spoilers #Higurashi sotsu

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a-little-slice-of-fandom · 3 years

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In response to the Jane ask, I totally agree! Her song, as vague as it might be in the newer versions, is very much about emotional abuse and her realizing/reflecting on it. In the other versions this is arguably even clearer! Besides the list in the first verse, there’s a line in the student run version that always get me, in the second verse after “with out my son your love will disappear”. Usually in the lastest version it’s “I know it isn't fair, but I don't care”, which can be a sign of even tho she knows that he has hurt her at this point, her love will still be there for her son. But the student run it’s something like “you’ll let us fall apart, try to break my heart” which I think is much more powerful in showing more of her self awareness at what would happen to her. Also that opening monologue before about if she was really loved or just checked all the boxes on a list before she could make him angry, she knew that he would be willing to destroy her if she didn’t do as he wanted (Cause Anne wasn’t some death that would never happen again and that only happened cause Jane was there, he was to said to have threaten Jane with the same fate cause of the pilgrimage of grace incident (also well it did happened gain two queens later). Also just a slight unrelated thing, I can sorta understand why people blame Jane for Anne’s death but also not really. It was a whole campaign against Anne, and we only know that Jane was yeah trying to be queen due to influence from her family and others trying make sure she was but I don’t think it’s her fault Henry (and others) decided the best course of action would be to kill Anne. Though I am not a big Tudor researcher, this is only from multiple weeks and hours of searching and learning cause of curiosity and someone could fact check me but that’s what i interpreted the history as. Random rant over) Also the fact (and I’m pretty sure this is true in the newest version), she says “loved” most of the time. The past tense is important there, cause yeah maybe she did truly think she “loved” him. And he may have been the only one she ever “loved” but that cause she probably didn’t get a chance to love someone else (when Henry says it’s you, it’s you after all). This is just speculation though, I can’t assume what a 500 year old historical figure was truly feeling but a character in a show is different and ready for analysis. For that I say that maybe she did “love” him but it easily could have been out of fear or wanting to just deal with the cards dealt to her. But at the end she realizes where she wants her love to be directed towards, and that’s her son and in “Six” her new found family.

And fun fact about her part in “Six” (I kinda learned from something on tumblr but can’t remember who but either way here it is.) it’s 200% about the queens as her family, with her pun at the end being the main signifier of this. “You could perhaps call us the Tudor Von Trapps” is a reference to the Trapp Family Singers, an Austrian singing family (if you see the wiki for them, they are apparently the inspiration for sound of music, Neat!). So from that you would think “oh she’s talking about Henry and her kids with him having a band” but then she says “Just kidding! We’re called the Royalling Stones!”. A Rolling Stones references and they were made by friends forming a band, so that can be associated that the queens are said friends in this case but also part of family that has grown! Also Rolling Stones have a song called heart of stone, seriously this is the most clever joke Jane had during the show and it makes me, a pun/joke lover, very happy to see this be such a character trait that it’s in the damn description for her character for an auditioning sheet (check out Citadle Theather and Six the Musical in google, i think you’ll find it.)

Anyway sorry about this long ramble, it’s just that even though I totally can see how people view Jane as “weaker” in terms of some writing choices made, I still think there’s a lot to talk about with not just her current incarnation but also the other ones as well. I wish some changes werent made to her song, but she is a still strong character about the effects of emotional abuse and maternity. There’s nothing bad about talking about those things, your right that it doesn’t make her any less feminist. Anyway ramble over and I hope you have a lovely day :)

Hello hun!

Please don’t apologise for rambling! I’m always so interested in hearing other opinions on the queens and I love the opportunity to discuss any queen at any time! Frankly, I’m just impressed you got the whole essay into one message! Have they gotten rid of the character limit? Sorry, not relevant to the question.

(Also sorry for how long this took to answer! Uni happened sort of happened and I didn’t want to half ass my response to such a well thought out ask)

I adore the older versions of Heart of Stone, especially the student run version! I completely agree that Seymour feels so much more aware of her place in Henry’s life in the older versions. In the older version she knows she wasn’t Henry’s true love (even though she loved him) and she knows her worth is completely dependent on her ability to give Henry a son. She literally says “nothing lasts forever, I’ll fade away”. That is such a powerful statement and I wish that line was still in the song! I still think these themes are in the new version, but they’re nowhere near as explicit. Plus the character development in the student run feels much more explicit, with Seymour saying “soon I’ll have to go, I’ll never see you grow” instead of “him grow” in the new versions. She’s clearly speaking to Edward in the older version, so the last half of HOS in the old versions (at least in my eyes) is actually directly speaking to Edward and not Henry as many people think. I still think this is true for the new versions, illustrating Seymour’s character development as she breaks away from Henry and rather concentrates on her son, but again I don’t think it’s obvious in the new version. The older version just felt so much more powerful and I think it presented Seymour as much more as a victim than the newer version...which I argue is true! Seymour was as much of a victim as any other character in the show and I think she deserves more sympathy than the show gives her, and for as much as I love the newer versions of six, you can’t deny that Seymour is reduced to a joke for half of the show. The student version is such a genuine and earnest version of Seymour, and I can’t help but love her. It’s definitely a testament to the actresses from the student run that their characters are still on parr with professional versions of the show!

(Im so sorry I don’t feel like I’m adding anything to your analysis, but you’ve really summed up my feelings perfectly! )

Weirdly, I think that the student run and studio run play with the idea of having a “heart of stone” better than the modern version. I love the contrast between the material things that Henry can buy versus the natural world. Material things can fade, but the natural world (and Seymour’s love) transcends that. It’s a really nice use of juxtapostion in that song and I just don’t feel like the newer versions play with those images as much as the older version.

I do sort of get why they changed it (I think Seymour spends upwards of 10 just listing different objects, which is powerful in its own way but I do think audience members could get bored of those verses) but I wished they had still somehow managed to keep the theme that Seymour as explicit. I still think it’s there in the newer version of the song, but I don’t think it’s anywhere near as obvious as the older version. It would make HOS more like AYWD in a way, and that would be brilliant. Six shouldn’t be afraid to tackle different forms of abuse.

I personally can’t comment on the whole Anne Boleyn vs Jane Seymour thing because I just don’t know enough about the situation. However I don’t think any of the wives should be burdened with the blame of what happened to their predecessors. It wasn’t their fault.

Also I’d never thought of the tudor von trapps vs the royalling stones indicating that it was a found family rather than a blood family, but it’s actually such a neat little detail and I think it makes complete sense! I have always maintained that Seymour’s “family” doesn’t have to be related by blood. Found family is just as meanigful and as important as a bloof family, and Seymour finding her place with the other queens and calling them her family rather than Henry is very powerful in my opinion. I just don’t think the “my family’s grown” lime has to be as literal as people take it. Thanks for bringing that line to my attention though!

Seymour isn’t a “weak” character, both in term of the writing and in terms of character development. As much as I love the older versions of Seymour, I still like the new versions and appreciate that Toby and Lucy decided to allow Seymour to be a motherly character and have that be treated as an equally empowering thing as the other queens. Some women want to be mothers and that’s okay!

Anyway thank you so much for this ask my love! I really enjoyed thinking about Seymour (since she’s not a character I talk about a lot). Sorry again for taking so long to respond ❤️❤️❤️

#six the musical #enya discusses: six #six #sixthemusical #six: student cast #six: studio cast #six: west end cast #ask #ask answered #anon #anonymous ask #heart of stone #anon ask #anonymous

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infinitywithyou · 3 years

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In times that he cried

Inspired by those five times + 1 time fics, featuring our many, many Seblaine verses through the years both here and on discord. Title from Seasons of Love from the musical Rent, which seems appropriate to measure the many seasons of love of this particular couple of ours. And your birthday. Although you usually write Sebastian, I’ve written these from his POV to show that you have always managed to write him with a heart. Especially when Blaine is involved. You, and he, are loved.

@problmatics

1. The thing about making the move towards something you want is that when you get it, when you find yourself with everything you thought you always wanted, it can be... overwhelming. It isn’t just a single moment. It’s an ongoing thing. And that is a lot harder. Pulling off a romantic, secret admirer type of mistletoe first kiss had been easy compared to the undaunting task of what comes next. And although he was loathe to admit it, it wasn’t something he’d been prepared for. Sebastian wasn’t proud of what he’d done, the way he’d ghosted Blaine for a majority of the rest of the school year, and then promptly disappeared to Paris like usual.

Paris of course, always made everything better; clearer. Strolling the streets, coffee in hand, head filled with snippets of voices speaking his first language as he peered into shop windows, until his eyes came across something that was so unbelievably Blaine Anderson, that it knocked the wind, the breath, right from his lungs. And maybe that was how Sebastian knew, deep down, in that place he often ignored, that this was worth taking a chance on. He went in and bought the bow tie and had it gift wrapped in the store.

He had a plan returning from Paris. Or, an idea, at the very least. And was determined to see it through. But life... moves on. It kept going, even when he was not there. So all Sebastian could do is realize missed moments and opportunities. Find a quiet, private spot, and let the disappointment and sadness wash over him. Not that he'd ever admit to that; no, because no boy had ever gotten to him like this. Not even Blaine Anderson. But sometimes, sometimes, life, and Blaine, will give him a second chance. (300 words)

2. As Sebastian stood there, dressed in a black tux, with light silver accents, he reflected in how he’d gotten here. 15 years; sometimes it felt like a life time, other times it felt like he’d blinked and it had all disappeared. He would never have thought it would take him this long to get his life, and shit together. It was truly as testament to Blaine’s love and loyalty, that the other was still there beside him; or would be, when he and Cooper arrived. Blaine had waited ten years for an engagement; Sebastian had never intended to make him wait another five for the wedding.

But things kept coming up, time seemed to slip through his fingers like quicksand. Blaine deserved perfect; tonight it was simple, basic, but classic, and romantic. Black and white, with silver and gold accents for the New Year. The silver, highlighting the grey sprinkled in Sebastian's hair the last couple of years. Most days he couldn’t be bothered to do much about except hide it under a ball cap or a beanie. Thankfully it wasn’t yet showing in his facial hair. Tonight he was clean shaven, and the grey in his hair coiffed stylishly. The gold, of course was for Blaine’s eyes, and the warmth, and comfort, Sebastian had always found there.

Because they'd waited long enough, and Sebastian wasn't starting another year without Blaine as his husband. Plus if the date meant that many of their guests had other plans; it didn't bother him or his anxiety any. When Cooper arrived with Blaine, who looked shocked, but relieved, Sebastian felt the sting of hot tears in the corners of his eyes. Feelings, real feelings, breaking through the fog he often found himself surrounded by. Because of Blaine. It was always because of Blaine. (300 words)

3. Sebastian laid propped on his side, still a little tender, watching as Blaine slept soundly beside him. Pink still tinged his cheeks, sweat still had his hair slick at his hairline and even in his sleep his lips curled in a small smile. Even asleep, he was beautiful to Sebastian. It had been a long couple of days; a week, ten days? He'd lost count as to when things had started to fall apart. Blaine no doubt needed the sleep, if his own restless was any indication of how his ex boyfriend felt in the days since their break up.

Sebastian would never had imagined that he would be the one to break up with Blaine, but he had, and had in a way, destroyed the younger man beside him. Until Blaine had managed to see him, to see the truth behind what Sebastian was doing, and challenged him, appropriately. Which was how they had ended up here, in a hotel room, broken up, but having just made love, the first time for Blaine. It was fucked up, but that was his way Sebastian realized, eyes dampening because he'd done this to Blaine. The only saving grace was that Sebastian had convinced Blaine to top so at least the other would still have the opportunity to experience that first the proper way.

Eyelashes fluttered but eyes didn't open, as a soft gravely voice murmured. "Stop staring, why aren't you sleeping?" Blaine asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I am not staring, I was sleeping," Sebastian lied, a smile on his lips as he pulled Blaine closer. "How are you feeling sunshine? Are you okay?" he asked, pressing a kiss to Blaine's temple.

Blaine's eyes fluttered open, finding Sebastian's. "I'm good, really good. I promise. How are you 'Bas?" (300 words)

4. Sebastian knew that it did cross a line. Sending a porn link to his...crush... who happened to be in a relationship with someone else. Even if he felt that there was no way Blaine was being properly satisfied in his current relationship. And so what if the actors in the porn had similarities to them? It was purely a coincidence. He and Blaine had always been able to talk about anything, so why should taking about sex, and what they liked, be off limits just because Blaine was in a relationship? Why was it wrong to picture his friend jerking off while watching said porn? Or to watch it, imagining it was the two of them, while he got off.

What really got to Sebastian though, was the way Blaine couldn't see just how wrong this relationship was for him. That he could really see Sebastian, but not see what Sebastian could, would, offer him. It was frustrating. Listening to Blaine talk about Kurt, both good and bad, was becoming harder and harder for Sebastian. So many times he just wanted to blurt out what he really thought, how he really felt, but he couldn't. Because the thing was, as much as he valued his friendship with the golden eyed boy, friendship wasn't what he really wanted with Blaine. It would never be the only thing he wanted. But he was Sebastian Smythe and he didn't do broken hearted. He wouldn't let a boy break his heart. Especially not a boy that didn't even realize he had it, or wanted it, to begin with.

It wasn't crossing a line Sebastian thought, gripping himself tightly and stroking slowly, to imagine Blaine's perfect ass, tight around him. When he climaxed, hot tears fell while he spilled over his hand with a sob. (300 words)

5. Sebastian stared down at his phone and the last message from the boy, man, he called Wolfie. Blaine was going. He and Quinn were going to lay out a map, throw a dart, and they were leaving town together. Blaine was leaving without him, without even talking to him or saying good bye. After everything that had happened between them, after everything that almost happened, after what could happen, Blaine was leaving. Blaine was leaving and Sebastian was.... heartbroken.

He paced around his room nervously, little things here and there catching his eye and reminding him of the tattooed, curly haired, leather jacket wearing loner that somehow saw him better than the people he'd known his whole life. Who would see him now, who would noticed when he was barely floating, or worse, drowning. Sebastian pulled a small bag out of his closet and began tossing those items into it. He had to find them. He had to talk to Blaine, face to face before he and the blonde left town. This wasn't how it was supposed to end.

"Where are you," Sebastian texted back. "You can't just leave like this. You can't just leave and not say good bye to me. I thought..." he didn't finish the text but sent it anyway. Hot tears stung at his eyes. "Regardless of what I thought, you're a coward if you leave like this and I know you're not a coward Blaine Anderson. Wolves aren't cowards." He picked up his jacket, pocketing his phone and slung the bag over his shoulder, turning for the door when he heard a knock. A knock on the window. Sebastian turned around, spotting a familiar figure on the other side of the glass. He went to the window and opened it.

"What are you doing here?" (300 words)

+1. Good bye's were hard. Especially when they involved someone you loved. But that was why hellos meant so much more. Even though he and Blaine had fought their families, Sebastian knew being in New York, at Columbia was where he was supposed to be, even while Blaine was still in Texas. Still the prospect of a visit from his boyfriend was welcomed. He understood why Blaine didn't want him at the airport, but now he stood in his apartment in New York City, pacing past the windows, waiting for lights signaling a car coming in. They had five whole days together, and then in about two weeks Sebastian would be back in Texas for Thanksgiving for about the same amount of time, and then they'd have almost a month at Christmas. It wasn't the same as seeing his boyfriend every day, but it was better than nothing. And it was just for a year. By the end of August, if not earlier, Blaine would join him in New York, and they'd be back together full time. Sebastian couldn't wait.

Lights lit up the street downstairs as the car slowed to a stop in front of his building. Sebastian grabbed his coat and rushed down the stairs, opening the door just as Blaine stepped onto the sidewalk with his bags. "Killer," he breathed, arms immediately wrapping Blaine up in his arms, before their lips met. He expected tears, one's he couldn't stop from streaming down his face. The kind of ugly cry that he sometimes teased his boyfriend about during the more romantic movies Blaine sometimes picked, but instead all he could do was beam a wide smile at him instead. So much so that his cheeks already hurt. "You're a sight for these sore eyes. I'm so glad you're here." (300 words)

#//taking a break to wish happy birthday to one of my favorite partners #ship:Seblaine

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centerofstupidity · 4 years

Text

Noah Primeval Preface Snark

If you enjoy the content you are reading, please like and follow the Center of Stupidity blog.

Summary: The author claims that his stories are rooted in "the theological and spiritual intent of the Bible." He also loves to scripture drop. The worst is yet to come.

In case anyone wants to read the original author’s preface in order to form their own conclusions, you can read it here.

In the event that this gets flagged, here is another place to read the chapter snark.

Inspired By True Events.

Keep this in mind, folks.

Because...

The story you are about to read is the result of Biblical and historical research about Noah’s flood and the ancient Near Eastern (ANE) context of the book of Genesis.

Translation: Because I did some research, it means that the novel is deep and elevated lit-ra-choor.

While I engage in significant creative license and speculation,

....

..................

......................................

That’s a verbose way of saying “I created a work of fiction.”

all of it is rooted in an affirmation of what I believe is the theological and spiritual intent of the Bible.

Even though there are countless Bible interpretations.

You found all of the "hidden truths"and know the "correct" way to read the Bible.

But silly me.

This is the same person who spews vitriol at movies that don't conform to his beliefs and wrote a paper called Calvinism and the Bible.

In the document, Godawa insists that "Calvinism is simply Biblical Christianity" and how the five points of Calvinism are “truly Biblical doctrines, then most of us western American Christians have been sold a bill of goods as to what the Gospel really is."

For those who are leery of such a “novel” approach,

Like some other writers, Godawa believes that he has a Wildean wit.

let them consider that the traditional Sunday school image of Noah as a little old white-bearded farmer

I gotta call bullshit.

The traditional Sunday school image depicted Noah as being a white man.

It didn't emphasize that he was an old farmer.

building the ark alone with his sons is itself a speculative cultural bias.

It's been a while since I've been to CCD…

But I don't remember them ever discussing at great length on how the ark was built.

They don't deal in the minutia.

Instead they focused on educating people about their faith.

And the whole "speculative cultural bias" comment is rich...

Coming from a man who preaches in his fiction and does evangelizing podcasts with his friends.

The Bible actually says very little about Noah.

Instead we get lengthy details about who begat who and what tribe they came from.

We don’t know what he did for a living before the Flood or even where he lived.

Which is why the Midrash aggadah was written.

According to MJL, Midrash aggadah interprets biblical narrative, exploring questions of ethics or theology, or creating homilies and parables based on the text.

For instance, one of the best known midrashes is the story about Abraham.

It states while Abraham was a young child in Mesopotamia, he was smashing idols.

This story suggests that God didn't randomly pick Abraham.

Instead, God knew that Abraham would be receptive to His voice.

How do we know whether he was just a simple farmer or a tribal warrior?

The answer?

We will most likely never know for certain.

And secondly, who cares? It is minutiae.

Oh wait.

The author is going to bestow us the answer.

Genesis 9:2 says Noah “began to be a man of the soil” after the Flood, not before it.

Genesis 9:2 says this:

The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.

(This comes from the New International Version.)

And I checked two other translations: the King James Version [KJV] and the English Standard Version [ESV].

They are the same as the first.

The passage about Noah becoming a farmer comes from Genesis 9: 20

Noah began to be a man of the soil, and he planted a vineyard. [ESV]

Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard. [NIV]

And Noah began to be an husbandman, and he planted a vineyard. [KJV]

So in conclusion:

If the world before the flood was full of wickedness and violence,

Because they would all fight evil physically.

It's not like righteous men would ever combat evil by using their words or practicing non violence.

Noah would not have been that different from Abraham,

Or…

He could have been a prophet whose words inspired others.

Nobody knows for certain what Noah did prior to the flood.

who farmed, did business and led his family and servants in war against kings.

Man, Godawa is obsessed with the idea of righteous warriors.

We know very little about primeval history,

There is a newfangled thing called archaeology.

but we do learn from archeological evidence that humanity was clearly tribal during the early ages when this story takes place.

Um…

The previous line belies the rest of the sentence.

Where's the editor?

Yet, nothing is written about Noah’s tribe in the Bible.

We also don't know anything about Jesus' childhood.

Your point being?

It would be modern individualistic prejudice to assume that Noah was a loner when everyone in that Biblical context was communal.

Who ever said that he was???

Is Godawa just making up arguments so he can tear them down?

Noah surely had a tribe.

You already said that. Move along.

There is really no agreement as to the actual time and location of the event of the Flood.

And in other news…

Bears shit in the woods and the Pope is Catholic.

So B. Godawa lists some theories about when and where the Flood took place.

He thinks it is "Early Bronze Age Mesopotamian contexts" because of some passages in Genesis.

By the by... He doesn't mention any specific passages.

At some other time, I'll take a look at the appendix.

Because right now, I'm not in the mood to read an appendix that is about one hundred pages long.

The Bible also says Noah built the ark.

And now for the following news bulletin:

Adam and Eve lived in a place called the Garden of Eden.

Are we to believe that Noah built it all by himself?

Yes, if you take the Bible literally.

It doesn’t say. With his sons’ help? It doesn’t say.

But that very same book does say earlier that Cain “built a city” (some scholars believe it was Cain’s son Enoch).

Which scholars said that?

Because doing a quick Google search got me absolutely bupkis.

Instead, I got a bunch of websites that talked about Cain building a city and naming it after his son.

Are we to assume that he built an entire city by himself?

No lie… I had to check and see if Cain had a son named Enoch. (And he did).

Because after the bungling of a verse from Genesis, I wasn’t sure if this was another mistake.

As for Cain building an entire city single handedly? I’m sure Christian fundamentalists would respond with “yes”.

My response would be “no” followed by:

Who helped Cain to build a city? A lot of golems? Some demons? Or did he hire a lot of people in the nearby area?

If Cain just hired a bunch of people, wouldn't the idea of God only creating two humans [a.k.a. Adam and Eve] be false?

How did Cain get the materials to build a city?

How would Cain know which materials would be good for building a city?

And why did Cain want to build a city in the first place?

Ridiculous.

Who knew that with one word, such disdain could drip from a person’s tongue?

Cain or Enoch presided as a leader over the building of a city by a group of people,

Wait a tick…

Godawa previously said that it was Cain that built a city but some scholars believe it was Enoch.

And now he is stating that it could be Cain OR Enoch.

Does that mean that Godawa forgot what he wrote previously?

Or the man who sees himself as the Grand Poobah of Biblical Knowledge is finally admitting that he doesn’t have all the answers?

just as Noah probably did with his ark.

So in other words, Noah just sat on his ass and barked orders at people.

Because as we all know, that is a great leadership style.

One of the only things Genesis says about Noah’s actual character is that he was “a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9).

Now a normal person would interpret this to mean that Noah was a good person who conversed with God.

But Noah Primeval turns Noah into a Gary Stu. (By the way, this will be revealed in future chapter snarks).

The New Testament clarifies this meaning by noting Noah as an “heir” and “herald” of righteousness by faith (Heb. 11:7; 2Pet. 2:5).

ESV [English Standard Version] said Noah as a “herald of righteousness” while NIV and KJV described Noah as a “preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5).

While ESV, NIV, and KJV all described how Noah “became an heir of righteousness.” (Hebrews 11:7).

You might be thinking to yourself: What’s your point?

If we are to take into account what the Bible said about Noah… It describes Noah spreading God’s message (like a herald or a preacher). But it also adds that because of Noah’s faith in God, he “became an heir of righteousness.”

This differs from the depiction in Noah Primeval where Noah is the Chosen One from an ancient prophecy.

And that makes him superior to all the other filthy mortals along with slightly less perfect than Jesus.

The popular interpretation of this notion of “righteousness” is to understand Noah as a virtually sinless man too holy for his time, and always communing with God in perfect obedience.

But is this really Biblical?

If you mean, some people acting like sanctimonious hypocritical assholes, then I would loudly shout “Hell yes!”

Would Noah have never sinned? Never had an argument with God?

Personally, my answers would be “no” for both questions.

But in this novel, when Noah isn't acting like a bratty teenager, he acts like a smug douchebag.

Yet the reader is supposed to see Noah as a paragon of virtue.

Never had to repent?

In order to repent, a person must have genuine remorse for their actions. It also requires accountability.

It doesn't entail a person rending their garments melodramatically until they are completely naked and then yelling at the top of their lungs. I'm looking at you, Noah Primeval.

As a matter of fact, the term “righteous” in the Old and New Testaments was not a mere description of a person who did good deeds and avoided bad deeds.

Maybe it is because the writers of the Old and New Testament know that good people are not perfect. They make mistakes and take ownership of their actions.

Righteousness was a Hebrew legal concept that meant, “right standing before God” as in a court of law.

What makes me so fucking disgusted is that Godawa has no qualms with cherry picking things from different mythologies and whatever doesn’t suit his narrative is either discarded or depicted as being malevolent lies.

It carried the picture of two positions in a lawsuit, one “not in the right,” and the other, “in the right”

You mean a lawsuit involves two sides: the prosecution and the defense?

or “righteous” before God.

And this series doesn’t hesitate to jump on a soap box and shout at the top of their lungs.

It was primarily a relational term.

*Sigh*

What’s next?

Are we going to define the definition of is?

Not only that, but in both Testaments, the righteous man is the man who is said to “live by faith,” not by perfect good deeds (Hab. 2:4; Rom. 1:17).

So righteousness does not mean “moral perfection” but “being in the right with God because of faith.”

In other words, ice is cold and fire is hot.

….

This is leading up to rant filled with gratuitous Bible citations.

What’s more, being a man of faith doesn’t mean a life of perfect consistency either.

You mean good people aren't perfect??? Thanks for notifying me Brian Godawa!

Look at David, the “man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), yet he was a murderer and adulterer and more than once avoided obeying God’s will. But that doesn’t stop him from being declared as “doing all God’s will” by the apostle Paul.

At risk of sounding like a broken record, good people are not perfect.

Which is why repeating the obvious makes a person look like a blithering moron.

Or consider Abraham, the father of the Faith, who along with Sarah believed that God would provide them with a son (Heb. 11:8-11).

What does this have to do with anything? Is Godawa trying to dazzle the reader with how many Bible verses he can quote?

Yet, that Biblically honored faith was not perfect, as they both laughed in derision at God’s promise at first (Gen. 17:17; 18:12).

I guess Godawa never heard of a thing called context.

According to the Zohar, Sarah laughed because her son would have a feminine soul.

The Zohar also states that a soul from the "feminine world" cannot have children.

Sarah knew this and laughed because this contradicted God's promise to continue Abraham's bloodline.

God had to remind Sarah that He has the power to do anything. Which means He can turn a feminine soul into a masculine one.

And because Godawa loves to scripture drop, he cites additional examples from the Bible when people either argued or complained to God.

The very name Israel means “to struggle with God.”

I normally don't split hairs but considering the fact that the author fancies himself to be a scholar…

The word Israel means "God contends".

An alternate translation is "He Retains God"or "God Is Upright".

All the heroes in the Hebrews Hall of Faith (Heb. 11) had sinful moments, lapses of obedience and even periods of running from God’s call or struggling with their Creator.

According to the NIV translation, it commended the people for having a strong faith in God and how that faith allowed them to do what it is just. It does not give blow-blow descriptions of their spiritual struggles or a detailed accounting of all of their sins.

Now that I'm thinking about it… I have a sneaking suspicion that this is leading up to Godawa justifying his depiction of Noah.

It would not be heresy to suggest that Noah may have had his own journey with God

Well, duh.

Noah's spiritual journey would have started with baby steps.

It is not like Noah would be chummy with God the very second he was born. A relationship with God is developed during a lifetime.

that began in fear and ended in faith.

That's assuming that every person that started a relationship with God that said relationship was founded on distrust (which is fueled by fear) or the case of Noah Primeval, built on a foundation that is a passive-aggressive hate boner for the Almighty.

For some individuals, their spiritual journey never originated from animosity or distain because they always had faith.

In fact, to say otherwise is to present a life inconsistent with the reality of every human being in history.

I'll say it again.

Every person's spiritual journey with God is different.

To insist that every person's relationship with God originated from negative emotions is not based in reality.

To say one is a righteous person of faith is to say that the completed picture of his life is one of finishing the race set before him, not of having a perfect run without injuries or failures.

It is time for a writing exercise! Let’s take this wordy sentence and make it concise.

I'll go first.

The completed picture of a righteous person’s life is not a perfect run without injuries or failures but rather they finished the race set before them.

Now that I'm thinking about it …

This verbose sentence sounds like something that belongs in a fortune cookie.

Also, I find it odd that this little nugget of wisdom uses the gender neutral phrase “righteous person of faith” but then uses his | him pronouns.

Why am I getting the feeling that this is a subtle message that only a man can be a "righteous person of faith"?

Some scholars have even noted that the phrase “blameless in his generation” is an unusual one,

“They also think it is peculiar that the Flood lasted for forty days and nights. Why not eighteen or twenty-five? Is forty God’s favorite number or did He just pick it randomly?”

reserved for unblemished sacrifices in the temple.

Wait a minute.

So these scholars are stating that the phrase "blameless in his generation" is only used for animal sacrifices.

Which means Noah is likened to an animal sacrifice…

Which is totally different from Noah Primeval's depiction of Noah as a macho and virile warrior who is the Chosen One.

Also, it is really dodgy when someone only gives some citations or doesn't provide any.

This physical purity

…

The words "physical purity" just sent shivers down my spine.

Because when words like that casually enter into a conversation, it is not long before an argument is made in favor of eugenics.

takes on new meaning when understood in the genetic context of the verses

"Genetic context"?

I didn't know that words had DNA.

Flippant comment aside, all this talk of "physical purity" and "genetic context" prompted me to do a quick Google search of the following: Noah blameless in his generation animal and it brought up a thread asking if Genesis 6:9 is referring to Noah's genetic purity.

before it that speak of “Sons of God” or bene ha elohim leaving their proper abode in heaven and violating the separation of angelic and human flesh (Gen. 6:1-4; Jude 5-7).

Um…

This is sort of correct.

Genesis 6:7-4 is about the Sons of God marrying beautiful human women and having children called Nephilim. Yet it also states that humans will live to be 120.

While Jude 5-7, the writer reminds the reader that God delivered his people out of Egypt and destroyed the non-believers. They also said that the angels who "did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling" along with the sinful people of Sodom and Gomorrah will be punished by "eternal fire."

Within church history,

The concept of the Grigori and Nephilim originated in Jewish folklore and legends.

At some point, early Christians either stumbled across an old scroll discussing these ideas or simply heard about it. They probably found the whole story to be fascinating and proceeded to write their own interpretations.

there is a venerable tradition of interpreting this strangest of Bible passages as referring to supernatural beings from God’s heavenly host who mate with humans resulting in the giant offspring called Nephilim.

The idea that some angels came down from Heaven to mate with humans doesn't sound bizarre to me.

Frankly, the Book of Revelation reads like John was on a big acid trip.

Other equally respectable theologians argue that these Sons of God were either humans from the “righteous” bloodline of Seth or a symbolic reference to human kings or judges of some kind.

Again, Christians didn't come with these alternate explanations. For instance, Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai strongly opposed the idea that the "benei elokim" were angels.

I have weighed in on the supernatural interpretation

That is a weird way of saying "I have decided to write a novel that depicts the Grigori as angels."

According to the Collins dictionary, the words "weighed in", means:

give an opinion or enter a discussion or argument

to measure how heavy someone is, esp. before a competition

It is important to note that The Free Dictionary and the Oxford Learner's Dictionaries has these definitions but with slightly different wording.

In conclusion?

and have provided appendices at the end of the book that give the Biblical theological foundation for this interpretation.

Only a filthy peasant has opinions.

An enlightened individual only believes in facts and since they are benevolent, they are imparting their wisdom to others.

This novel seeks to remain true to the sparse facts presented in Genesis (with admittedly significant embellishments)

“Admittedly significant embellishments”?

That’s putting it mildly.

More like “being preachy but insisting that you are only telling people facts.”

interwoven with theological images and metaphors come to life.

I’m sorry but I can’t take this statement seriously.

Because it reminds me of a scene in the movie The Ref when Gus is talking about how “a complex web of complications need to be weaved and woven into a quilt of some kind.”

Where I engage in flights of fancy,

That’s putting it mildly.

This story never put its feet on the ground.

such as a journey into Sheol,

Pray tell, what is Sheol?

An explanation would be nice because for all we know, Sheol is the name of a cave or a forest.

I seek to use figurative imagery from the Bible, such as “a bed of maggots and worms” (Isa. 14:11) and “the appetite of Sheol” (Isa. 5:14) and bring them to life by literalizing them into the flesh-eating living-dead animated by maggots and worms.

Let’s break this down, shall we?

Isaiah 5:14 ESV says this:

Therefore Sheol has enlarged its appetite

and opened its mouth beyond measure,

and the nobility of Jerusalem[h] and her multitude will go down,

Isaiah 5 is about the people of Israel who will be punished for their sins. This specific passage is discussing how the sinners are going to die.

Isaiah 14:11 ESV says this:

Your pomp is brought down to Sheol,

the sound of your harps;

maggots are laid as a bed beneath you,

and worms are your covers.

Isaiah 14 discusses how Babylon will be destroyed by God. This specific passage is about how the haughty King of Babylon will perish.

It still doesn’t answer the question of what Sheol is.

If we are still looking at the Bible for an explanation, the NIV translation of Isaiah 5:14 states:

Therefore Death expands its jaws, opening wide its mouth;

Also, the New International version of Isaiah 14 doesn’t use the word Sheol.

Instead, it uses the words to the grave.

Based on these translations, one can make the assumption that Sheol is the word for death or grave.

However, Sheol is a place where the souls of the dead reside.

Let's take a look at this line more closely:

bring them to life by literalizing them into the flesh-eating living-dead animated by maggots and worms.

The Bible having figurative imagery? That is not a groundbreaking revelation. Plenty of Bible scholars have written papers and or books analyzing this.

Figurative language is not supposed to be taken literally. It is used by a writer to convey an idea (example: time is a thief) or to paint a picture in a reader's mind (example: the flowers danced in the wind.)

To take something figurative and make it literal is asinine.

Also, "flesh-eating living-dead"?

I guess the word "zombie" is too plebeian.

Another player that shows up in the story is Leviathan.

“Another player”?

I bethink he is a pretentious rampallian who thinkest by using an antediluvian word maketh him intelligent and literary sir.

“Player” is an old fashioned word for actor.

It DOES NOT mean character.

So in conclusion:

While I have provided another appendix explaining the theological motif of Leviathan

Translation?

“Behold my dizzying intellect!”

as a metaphor in the Bible for chaos and disorder, I have embodied the sea dragon in this story for the purpose of incarnating that chaos as well.

One word:

I have also literalized the Mesopotamian cosmology of a three-tiered universe with a solid vault in the heavens, and a flat disc earth supported on the pillars of the underworld, the realm of the dead.

Thanks to Brian Godawa, the words "metaphor" and "literalized" annoy me.

I'd hate to rain on your parade but Mesopotamian mythology isn't the only one who had a three-tiered universe.

Below is an image of the Hebrew cosmology:

It also has an universe that has three levels: heaven, earth, and the underworld. The earth is a flat disc floating on water with heaven above it and the underworld below it.

If one takes a second look at the picture, you will notice that there are pillars or the foundation of the earth.

In conclusion, Mesopotamian mythology isn't the only one to depict a universe as being composed of three levels.

This appears to be the model assumed by the Biblical writers in many locations (Phil. 2:10; Job 22:14; 37:18; Psa. 104:5; 148:4; Isa. 40:22),

Jewish people have their own culture. They would not be using Mesopotamian mythology as their yardstick.

so I thought it would be fascinating to tell that story within that worldview unknown to most modern westerners.

You mean a different concept or an idea can be interesting? What a mind boggling revelation!

If I didn't know any better, I’d believe Godawa when he said telling a story from another culture’s point of view would be “fascinating.”

Yet it is painfully obvious that if something doesn't conform to his beliefs, it must be a vile falsehood created by malevolent beings.

The purpose of the Bible is not to support scientific theories or models of the universe,

Actually, the Big Bang Theory does not conflict with the story of creation.

but to tell the story of God through ancient writers. Those writers were people of their times just as we are.

Which is why the absence of Jewish culture is jarring.

Especially since all the "good" characters are Calvinists.

I have also woven together Sumerian and other Mesopotamian mythology in with the Biblical story,

It is randomly inserted (ex: Pazuz) or the deities are evil fallen angels who are destroying Family Values™ and Corrupting the Children™.

but with this caveat:

"Anything that doesn't conform to my worldviews must be the lies devised by Satan."

Like C.S. Lewis,

Did he compare himself to C.S. Lewis?

….

……….

…………………….

It is like trying to compare M. Night Shyamalan to Alfred Hitchcock.

Even though one is a hack while the other one is a talented creator.

I believe the primary purpose of mythology is to embody the worldview and values of a culture.

Aside from helping people to understand the world around them and giving them answers to timeless questions such as: Is there life after death? Why does evil exist?

Mythology also provides a form of entertainment and ensures that certain traditions survive.

But all myths carry slivers of the truth and reflect some distorted vision of what really happened.

This reeks of ethnocentrism!

Sumer’s Noah was Ziusudra, Babylon’s Noah was Utnapishtim, and Akkad’s was Atrahasis. The Bible’s Noah is my standard.

I'll bring this up if anyone tries to claim that Noah Primeval isn't preachy and ethnocentric.

So my goal was to incorporate real examples of ANE history and myth in subjection to that standard in such a way that we see their “true origin.”

....

You know what?

If someone wrote a Wiccan based fantasy series that demonized Christianity, he would be outraged.

Godawa reiterates his "speculation" that the deities were fallen angels with superhuman abilities that once belonged to God's divine council.

See the appendix at the back for my defense of this interpretation from the Bible.

I'm not in the mood to read a lengthy appendix that reads like you giving yourself a giant pat on the back. Perhaps that will be a future snark.

Lastly, I have permitted myself to use extra-Biblical Jewish literature from the Second Temple period as additional reference material for my story.

In other words...

He gave himself permission to steal and vandalize a different culture. Isn't that charming?

I use these ancient Jewish sources

I bet many people wished you hadn't.

not because I consider them completely factual or on par with the Bible,

"They are complete heresy. Instead, believe in the teachings of John Calvin."

but simply in an attempt to incarnate the soul of the ancient Hebrew imagination in conversation with the text of Scripture

Like the Yeti, the Hebrew imagination has yet to be found.

rather than imposing my own modern western one upon the text.

...

............

............................

I am within the tradition of the Church on this since authors of the New Testament as well as early Church Fathers

Just "Church Fathers"?

Christianity also had Church Mothers.

To name a few: Mary Magdalene, Phoebe, Junia, Lydia, Eudia, Thecla, Syntyche, and Prisca.

and other orthodox theologians in church history respected some of these ancient manuscripts as well.

While the author did the opposite.

Many of these texts from the Second Temple Period, such as Jubilees, Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs or The Life of Adam and Eve, and others found in the Pseudepigrapha, were creative extrapolations of the Biblical text.

I guess the word of the day is "extrapolations".

Extrapolation is defined as "to predict by projecting past experience or known data" or " to infer from values within an already observed interval."

I find it rather disgusting to imply that the Midrash is a product of guesswork or estimates.

Which means whatever the author's personal beliefs are founded in facts.

These were not intended to deceive or overturn the Bible,

Notice the word "intended".

It infers that the writers weren't deliberately telling lies.

It just happens that they were spreading falsehoods.

but rather to retell Biblical stories with theological amplification and creative speculation

You see, humans are a curious species. We don't like unanswered questions.

Therefore, we come up with a possible answer or an explanation for a particular event.

The purpose of the Midrash is to provide explanations or to give a story details.

Ever wondered who was Cain's wife? According to Book of Jubilees, she was Cain's sister and her name is Awan.

while remaining true to their interpretation of the Scriptures.

They weren't providing interpretations to Mesopotamian mythology.

In short, I am not writing Scripture.

Normally, I would believe this.

But subsequent interviews and podcasts along with the preachy messages written in the story belies this statement.

I am not even saying that I believe this is how the story might have actually happened.

Remember when I said to keep something in mind because it will be significant later on?

Well, now it is important.

This statement and the words "Inspired by True Events" are contradictory.

I am simply engaging in a time-honored tradition of the ancient Hebrew culture:

No, no, no!

Do not pass go. Do not collect $200!

I am retelling a Biblical story in a new way to underscore the theological truths within it.

Godawa only wants to associate with ancient Hebrew culture when it elevates him as a writer and his stories.

From his remarks, it is obvious that he regards the Midrashes as being subpar bodies of work that will mislead undiscerning readers.

That being said, that won't stop him using such texts in order to receive praise for his "creativity" and be commended in scholarly circles for using Jewish texts.

This mentality is similar to Rick Riordan's.

In case anyone doesn't know...

Rick Riordan is best known for writing the Percy Jackson series which retold Greek mythology. He then wrote a series based on Norse mythology called Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard.

Both series were a hit and he greatly profited from these stories.

After sometime, Riordan made the following statements:

“I didn’t realize some people still worship the old Viking gods. Very strange, and a little scary…In my opinion, the more you learn about the mythology, the more impossible it is to take it seriously as a religion… after you’ve met Odin and Thor in the stories, who in their right mind would ever want to worship them?”

" I love Greek myths, but why anyone would want to worship the Greek pantheon is beyond me. "

"It’s strange to think anyone would still worship the Olympians seriously."

Early in the book, the character Chiron draws a clear distinction between God, capital-G, the creator of the universe, and the Greek gods (lower-case g). Chiron says he does not wish to delve into the metaphysical issue of God, but he has no qualms about discussing the Olympians because they are a “much smaller matter.”

Unsurprisingly, this offended many polytheists.

You might be wondering: what's my point?

To put it simply? Both writers profited from incorporating different mythologies into their stories.

One writer made disparaging remarks about individuals who believe in these deities after becoming a best selling author.

While the other barely concealed their disdain for the source material they used that garnered their popularity and praise from critics.

In conclusion?

Don't build your career on writing stories using different mythologies and deride the believers of said mythos or the very thing that puts money in your bank account.

Then wonder why some people think you are a horse's ass.

The Biblical theology that this story is founded upon is provided in several appendixes at the back of the book for those who are interested in going deeper.

First of all..

Stop peddling your friggin' appendixes.

We get it.

It has citations.

Which means it is supposed to be scholarly...

Therefore... It is deep and elevated literature.

The beauty of fiction

Um, no.

It is not all beautiful.

It can also be bland or terrible.

And in some cases, it is deeply disturbing.

is that we can make assumptions regarding uncertain theological and historical information

Yes, you can.

Up to a point.

The moment when you insist theses assumptions or personal beliefs are based in fact...

Writers like Philippa Gregory and Brian Godawa are born.

without having to prove them one way or another.

You know what also doesn't require proof?

Faith.

The story requires only that we establish continuity within the made up world,

It is called the suspension of disbelief.

and accepting those assumptions for the sake of the story does not imply theological agreement.

Normally, yes.

But this series makes it abundantly clear that if you don't agree with the political and theological beliefs...

At best, you are country pumpkin. (Yes, he does equate them to being stupider than Ana Steele.)

At worst, you are not only a moron but a depraved degenerate as well.

So, sit back and

Reach for the booze because you are going to need it. Also, make sure that the vomit bucket is in front of you.

let your imagination explore the contours of this re-imagined journey

And before long, wishing that you never did and longing to depart for the Undying Lands.

of one of the most celebrated religious heroes across all times and cultures.

And by the end, you want:

To repeatedly punch the "good" characters in the throat and stab them in the groin. Especially Noah.

The villains to shut up and fuck off. Because they are what a thirteen years old boy would think is edgy. Especially if said boy was also a Bible thumper.

#book snark #chapter snark #bad fiction #snark #noah primeval #anti Brian Godawa #anti noah primeval

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themadamelibrarian · 5 years

Text

Brother's Keeper - Part 20 of The Adventures of Baby Castiel

Rating: Mature Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester (inferred) Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Castiel (Supernatural), Lucifer (Supernatural), Gabriel (Supernatural) Additional Tags: Angelic Possession, Casifer, Self-Sacrificing Castiel, Hurt Castiel, Implied/Referenced Torture, Angry Gabriel (Supernatural), Lucifer Redemption, Angst, Fluff, Alternate Season/Series 12 Summary: With Castiel possessed by Lucifer and having fled after being discovered, the Winchester's have no idea what to do next. Desperate for help, Sam prays to someone he has no hope of hearing from.

Notes: This started out as a conversation between @princessofsabriel (princessofsabriel.tumblr.com) and @lucibae-is-dancing-in-hell and myself. This is what happens when we open a google doc.

Thank you, to you beautiful snowflakes for helping me write this. It was great fun to collaborate with you and to have you as co-authors.

This is kind of an extension of the Adventures of Baby Castiel verse but can be read separately.

-----------------------

Share this story and show support for the creator!

Tagging: @copperseraphim @thenanahunter @lucibae-is-dancing-in-hell @idabbleincrazy @truxblooded

LINK TO AO3

Sam watched his brother’s shoulders slump in defeat after Lucifer fled with his newly acquired vessel. The light in the older hunter’s eyes grew distant with grief for his best friend. Castiel was his friend too, but to Dean, he had always been something more. Whether either of them wanted to admit it or not.

He stood up from where he’d been thrown, and rubbed his temple to try and stop the spinning. He had an idea forming. There was only one being, besides God himself, that Sam could think of might be able and willing to help them save Cas. Figuring nothing was impossible in this shit-show that was the Winchester’s life, Sam took a chance. The being he thought about most likely was dead, but Sam had to hope against hope that life would give them a break just this once. So, taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes in silent prayer:

“Gabriel? I’m not sure you can hear me. Hell, I’m not even sure you’re alive. But we need your help if you are. Well, Cas needs your help, actually. I’ve told you about the whole Amara-deal already, so I’ll skip that, but Cas he… he got it into his head that Lucifer could beat her. I don’t know exactly what happened but somehow… Lucifer possessed Cas. Gabriel, Lucifer is in Cas’ body. Cas is still in there and he fought his way to the front to stop Lucifer from killing me, so I’m assuming he’s conscious. But we need to get the devil out of there and… well, you’re the only one I could think of that cared enough about him and had the ability to help. Please, Gabriel. If you’re out there, please help!”

Releasing a breath, Sam imagined his soul reaching out to Gabriel’s grace, pleading for him to help them. Maybe he wanted to stay out of more of the Winchesters’ messes, but this was his little brother, surely he’d come out of hiding to help him; to save him?

He waited for almost a full minute and was just about to sigh in defeat as yet another prayer went unanswered when 180 pounds of pissed off archangel landed behind him with a swish of wings.

.oOo.

Gabriel had had enough. He really did. Before now he’d been content to sit in the background, letting the Winchesters figure out how to unscrew the universe. Since the last time he tried to help, Lucifer shoved a blade into his chest. The result of which was him hopping into a pocket dimension and spend the next several years trying to recharge. A meager trickle of healing energy coming from prayers, which he’d grown used to over the centuries. It was peaceful until he started hearing Sam’s prayers. It amazed him how much blind faith the youngest Winchester had. For all Sam knew, Gabriel was nothing more than stardust.

Focusing in on the prayer, he let all else fall into a quiet hum as Sam spoke. When the prayer concluded, Gabriel was filled with a feeling of despair. Lucifer was free. He couldn’t believe it. And what made it worse was that he was in Castiel’s vessel. Squashing his little brother’s grace like so many grapes. Grace wasn’t meant to be treated like that. This could kill Castiel and Lucifer knew it.

“That selfish, conceited, willful… ASSHOLE!” Gabriel roared. His feelings of sadness melted away at the thought of the Angel he raised, little Castiel, being treated in such a manner. The little fledgling he taught how to fly, soothed away nightmares of the pit and how to not call Lucifer a ‘birb’. Running on pure rage alone, he snapped his fingers to change into something more appropriate than a pair of pink silk boxers before flying to the source of Sam’s prayer.

“HOLD UP A SECOND! LUCI DID WHAT!?” he growled without greeting when he landed behind Sam, “Where is he?”

Sam jumped in surprise at the sound of a voice behind him. Whirling around with a gun drawn ready to blow a hole in whoever it was; what he saw was not what he was expecting. There stood Gabriel clad in black jeans and a matching leather jacket. “You… you answered? You’re really alive?”

Gabriel frowned at the hunter because that was not an answer to his question.

“Yes, Sam. I am alive. Yes, I’ve heard all of your prayers and yes, I’ve chosen to ignore them because guess what!? When you fuck up the world then it’s your fucking problem to fix it again. Last time I tried to help I got a fucking sword imbedded in my gut. Now, answer the fucking question? Where is Lucifer with Castiel’s vessel!?”

Sam just stared at him, stunned at the near biblical wrath rolling off the angel.

“More than likely in Hell” came the answer from behind him and he turned around to find Dean with his fists clenched at his side. It was a testament to how powerless Dean must have felt at that moment. He didn’t even bat an eye at the fact that a supposedly dead archangel was standing in front of his little brother.

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed and a growl, that probably shouldn’t make Sam’s toes curl the way it did, escaped his lips through clenched teeth.

“And you! If it weren’t for YOU, Dean fucking Winchester, making my little brother feel like less than the trash on the bottom of your shoe, he wouldn’t be in this situation!” Dean lifted his eyes with a hurt expression, but Gabriel was in no mood to stand down: “Yeah, that’s right! I know exactly what happened here. Sam has been a fountain of knowledge with his prayers. I’ll finish with you later because right now I have a brother to save!” With that, he flew away.

.oOo.

Gabriel didn’t know where he was exactly in relation to his siblings, but he could feel the cold, oily slick caress of Lucifer’s grace. He missed the days when Lucifer’s was warm and soft, but he can’t think about that now. Pushing aside his wave of nostalgia, he spread his wings wide, letting them flex in ways that he’d not felt since the last Heavenly war. Landing, he eventually caught sight of Lucifer sitting against a tree as the sunset in the West. He could see a hint of Castiel’s grace flicking against the barrier of Lucifer’s and it made Gabriel’s stomach roll.

“Lucifer,” he called out sternly.

“Gabriel,” the Prince of Hell drawled with a mouth that was supposed to belong to the cherub Gabriel raised. Granted, envesseled angels never used their own mouths but that wasn’t the point in Gabriel’s eyes. The point was that the voice was stolen. Angels aren’t meant to share a vessel. You don’t possess another angel, damnit!

“Good, you remember my name. Now get out of Castiel and slither back to the hole you crawled out of,” Gabriel snarled as he cautiously approached the older archangel.

Lucifer looked up with a smile, stroking a finger over Castiel’s cheek, “Now why would I do that?”

“You know why, Luci. Get out,” Gabriel hissed between clenched teeth.

Lucifer let out a laugh that sounded unnatural coming from Castiel’s vessel. Rolling up to his feet, he walked up to Gabriel, invading his personal space. “And who’s going to make me, Messenger? You?”

Gabriel grabbed ahold of Lucifer by the lapels and forcibly shoved him into the tree, pinning him in place. “If I have to, MorningStar. And let me tell you something. You can try and kill me. You can fight with Michael and bitch about the humans, but you touch our little brother? You hurt our brother, my brother, and I’ll send your ass so far back into oblivion you’ll wish I had killed you. I’ll carve you a new fucking cage out of your own grace, you big bag of dicks!" It was just a split second of a moment, but Gabriel caught the flinch of panic that came over Lucifer’s face before he hid it behind the cocky mask once again. Letting a smirk grow on his lips as he got up in his brother’s face once more, the anger still burning bright in his eyes as he promised: “Brother. I spent centuries watching the beings of the world come up with new and creative ways to torture one another. I even invented some myself... Last time we met, I had no actual intention of hurting you. You were my brother and I loved you. But this time, Luci-this time you fucked up real bad. You went and did the one thing I just can’t accept. You went and did something we all know is forbidden. And what’s worse...” with a growl, he pressed his nose up against Lucifer’s. “you went after my kid!”

Lucifer laughed loudly, the sound grating as it didn’t sound like Castiel at all. “Oh, Gabriel, how little you know. Castiel accepted me. He gave his consent, of his own free will.” He made quotes around the words free will and shoved Gabriel away. “Your precious little ‘child’ said yes to me when my own Vessel refused. Castiel consented. And who am I to deny a consenting Vessel? He’s still here, with me, not even fighting me much. Only when his precious Dean was in danger.” He began circling around Gabriel like a predator, smirking. “You can ask him if you’d like. I’d allow that much.”

Gabriel’s frown deepened as he listened to Lucifer’s words. He wasn’t that surprised to hear that Castiel had consented to the possession, he’d gleaned that much from Sam’s mind. No, what surprised him was how little Lucifer cared for the angel he was possessing. Even last time, when he’d thought he’d killed Gabe, he had wept for his brother. Now, he was possessing another brother, an angel he’d helped raise, and he wasn’t even a little sorry about it.

“Luci, what the hell happened to you? You used to be the light once. You were the best of us all. Now, look at you. Your grace is black and oily and fucking disgusting, feels more like a demon than an angel, and you’re possessing Castiel’s vessel. CASTIEL, Luci! You raised him as much as I did. How can you do this to him? How can you wilfully crush our little bird?” He tried to look at Lucifer like the brother he’d once been, tried to get him to feel enough to let Castiel go of his own free will. But the creature that stood before him didn’t care. He knew that already. Yet, he still needed to know how the angel that has once shone the brightest of all could fall so low.

“Because none of you are my family anymore!” Lucifer roared. “Father lost that when he ordered me to Fall. Michael lost me when he threw me into the Cage after I grabbed Lilith and introduced Sin to mankind. You lost that in that shitty motel with your… your pagan friends- no, before that! You ceased to be my brother when you ran and hid from us. And Castiel lost that when he threw a molotov at Michael in Stull Cemetery not that long after I thought I killed you!” Castiel’s… no Lucifer’s chest heaved, “Didn’t any of you think of what the Cage does to an angel? It strips you of everything but your basic instinct to survive. It forces you to think like a villain- and if you can’t, it makes you insane. Why else do you think our older brother is still the Cage and not free? All he can do is sing show tunes and jack off like a disgusting hairless ape. I had to adapt. And with adaptation comes a whole new set of skills. Unfortunately, not all those skills are good and wholesome. The angel you knew is gone, Gabriel. He’s never coming back. Father forced him to be this way. Father wanted the Devil- why else do you think he gave me control of the Darkness’ prison in the first place? Because he knew that I would fail. ”

Gabriel looked at his brother as he ranted, his heart almost breaking for him. Almost. Because the asshole still had Castiel trapped inside his own vessel’s mind and that was just unforgivable, no matter how much life and your family had gone and screwed you over.

“You know what, Luci? I almost feel bad for you. Yeah, you got screwed over. Yeah, that sucks. You go start as many apocalypses as you want and throw your fucking temper tantrums and maybe daddy will come back just to scold you for it. But you know what?” Letting his wings flare out behind him and his sword glide into his hand, Gabriel lowered his voice into a threatening tone, “Dragging Castiel into this? That’s the last straw. That, my brother, is what’s going to end you”

Lucifer laughed. “Oh, Gabriel, so scary,” he mocked. “Here’s the thing though. You kill me with your special angel stick,” he pointed to the archangel blade casually, “you kill your baby brother. And I don’t think you want that, do you? It seems to me that I win... again. So tell me how exactly you plan on doing this. Because I am curious.” He cocked his head sideways like a puppy and smirked. “Remember, I taught you everything you know about tricks. And after being in the Cage for millennia? I’ve learned a few more. Not to mention that my Vessel is not all what he seems, oh no.” His smirk grew into a malicious smile. “So, if you’re prepared to die- again. Come at me. I promise I won’t damage you - much.”

Heaving a sigh, Gabriel let his shoulders relax as he pretended that he hadn’t thought of that before coming here. Lucifer had taught him every trick, that was true, which was why Gabriel was about to do something that his big brother would never expect of him. Without warning, Gabriel reached up and grabbed the sides of Lucifer’s face, smashing their lips together in what could be seen as a kiss but that wasn’t Gabriel’s intent. Taking advantage of the surprise, he pushed every ounce of his grace into the already crowded vessel, praying to his Father for guidance and that what he was doing wouldn’t kill them all.

.oOo.

Blinking with eyes he hadn’t used in millennia, Gabriel looked around at the blackened landscape surrounding him. The sound of thunder echoing over his head and the only illumination from peels of lightning in the sky. “Castiel?” he whispered as he looked around. At first, he heard nothing, so he called out again. This time a small sound reached him. A child’s voice calling his name a short distance away. With another flash of lightning, he saw Castiel standing a few feet away, but this wasn’t the Castiel he remembered from the warehouse. This being was smaller… covered in filth with wings that looked as if they’d been plucked and then haphazardly had their feathers glued back on. Gabriel ran toward the child and fell to his knees in front of him, “Castiel, oh Father help me.” he breathed. Castiel looked up to Gabriel, scared blue eyes meeting the archangel’s golden ones. “Ga’riel. I’m scared.”

“Castiel!” Lucifer called, looking for the child-like fledgling. “Where are you, Castiel? We were just getting started!”

Castiel looked behind him in the direction of Lucifer’s voice, his little bedraggled wings quaking in fear. “Don’ let ‘im get me,” he whispered harshly.

Gabriel scooped him up into his arms and held him close. His large golden wings wrapped around the smaller angel protectively. “I won’t, Nugget. You just hold on to me and I’ll take care of Lucifer,” he whispered quietly into Castiel’s ear, “Now I want you to be very brave and think about Lucifer going away. Far away. Focus every ounce of your grace on that, okay? Can you do that?”

Castiel buried his face into Gabriel’s shirt, nodding as he squeezed his eyes shut and focused on Gabriel’s words. “Yes, Ga’riel.”

“Okay, here we go,” Gabriel took a deep breath and in a voice that echoed in Castiel’s mind, he began a recitation he’d never imagined he would ever need. “Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco, Omnipotentis Dei potestatem invoco, Aborro te ut, Angelum omnium obsequendum, Domine expuet, Domine expuet, Deum adempiremus veritas”

Lucifer cringed as the chant took place, glaring at his brother. “Traitor, ” he hissed before he was expelled from the Vessel that his baby brother was occupying and ending up in his True Form. Looking around, he groaned. Now he was without a Vessel and needed one. But he felt... powerless? What words did Gabriel utter?? Or was there something more sinister at play?

.oOo.

A flash of light brighter than the sun nearly blinded Gabriel, but he clamped his eyes shut and waited for the darkness to come again. Opening his eyes he looked at the ancient child in his arms. “Castiel, are you okay?”

Castiel let out a choked sob as he clutched onto Gabriel. “I only wanted to help.”

Gabriel’s heart broke at the sound of his brother crying against him. “It’s okay, Cassie. You were a big help and very brave. I’m so proud of you. You helped me make Lucifer go home.” Leaning back so he could carefully pry Castiel away from him his collar, he wiped the tears from his cheeks. “Can you continue to be brave for me?”

“Yes,” Castiel said in a small, watery voice, “I’ll be brave.”

“That’s my angel.” Gabriel smiled at him while sitting him on the ground at his feet. “I’m going to leave your vessel because it’s bad for both of us to be here, but I’m going to take you someplace safe so you can rest.”

Castiel looked like he was going to protest but then his mouth set in a hard line that spoke volumes about his true age. Nodding he took a step back from Gabriel, his wings drooping to the ground. “Okay.”

Gabriel ran his hand over the top of Castiel’s head, using a touch of his grace to clean the grime of Lucifer’s possession from him. The sky around them lightened with each passing moment that the Devil was gone. “I love you, Castiel and I promise to make this right,” he promised and with a reluctant sigh, disappeared from the seraph’s mind. Once he’s back in his own vessel, he pulled back from the ‘kiss’ with Castiel’s vessel and let his brother’s limp body fall into his arms, saying, “Hold on, baby bro. I’ll take care of you.” Opening his wings, Gabriel flew to one of the warded homes he’d kept over the years. Landing in the master bedroom, Gabriel changed Castiel into a pair of silk pajamas with a snap of his fingers. Taking a moment as he tucked the covers up around the Angel’s shoulders to gather his thoughts and plan out his next step. On one hand, he needed to find Lucifer and put an end to this farce. On the other hand, he needed to keep Castiel safe. Bending down, he kissed Castiel on the forehead and for the first time since he left Heaven, he knelt at the bedside and prayed to his Father, hoping that he’d be heard.

“Father, I know I’ve not spoken to you in a very long time and I don’t deserve your mercy. But please help me. Guide me as you once did so that I know which is the right path. I can’t do this alone.” he pleaded as he bowed his head until it touched the bed with his hands clasped behind his neck. “Mea Culpa. Mea Maxima Culpa,” he whispered to the air.

.oOo.

Dean had been wandering the halls of the bunker while Sam rested after having his soul ‘bad touched’ by Lucifer. What Gabriel had so bluntly said to him wasn’t anything he hadn’t thought himself since finding out that about the Devil’s possession. It just confirmed his own thoughts. He’d been a terrible friend and if he had to do it all over again, he’d change that. Hell, if he was given another chance with Castiel alive and well, he’d make it his mission to make the angel feel like a real part of the family.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an ungodly howl of rage from the dungeon. Grabbing the gun he seemed to always keep in his waistband, he charged down the halls until he reached the entrance. Stopping in his tracks, he’s confronted with the sight of a boy no older than 12 years. A child he’d never seen before, throwing themselves at the invisible barrier created by the Devil’s trap. “What the hell?” he whispered to himself as he took a cautious step inside.

The kid stopped their tantrum-like behavior and grinned maliciously at Dean. The kind of smile the hunter had not witnessed since Lilith. “I should have known,” the boy seethed, “I’ll tear Gabriel apart for this. I swear I’ll kill that traitorous runaway.” He stopped in his tracks and stared at Dean with a finger pointing to the ceiling, “There’s no way you’d be smart enough to do this.”

Dean glanced up to see that the usual symbols had been changed if only slightly with glyphs he didn’t recognize. Looking back to the boy, he finally recognized the look of disdain on his face. “Lucifer,” he said.

“Good for you, Ape. Want a banana for the effort?” Lucifer huffed as he turned his back on Dean to study the symbols etched into the walls. “Have to figure out how he weakened me,” he grumbled.

Dean’s heart leaped into his throat when he heard Lucifer admit that he was weakened. At that moment, vengeance caught hold of Dean, making him discard his gun in favor of the Angel Blade they’d left on the table from when Crowley had been their prisoner. With blade in hand, he threw it across the room, catching Lucifer unaware. “Hey, douche-wad! How big are you now?” Dean shouted as the weapon sunk deep into Lucifer’s back, piercing his heart.

Lucifer felt the blade pierce his chest and looked down in shock, touching the tip. Looks like Mikey killed me after all, was his final thought. Then with a gasp, the room filled bright light as his Grace shattered into oblivion; killed by his older brother’s True Vessel.

.oOo.

Gabriel stayed kneeling beside Castiel’s bed, trying to gently coax his brother’s grace to heal with touches from his own. “Come on, Little Bird,” he murmured as he worked. “It’s safe now. Gabriel’s here and I need you to come back. Please, Castiel.”

He was about to send another wave of grace deeper into Castiel, maybe even try to enter his vessel again to try and coax him out, when he heard his doorbell ring out the opening bars to Stairway to Heaven. Confused at who or what would know the house was here, let alone have the balls to ring the bell, he rolled up to his feet to go find out.

Opening the door with a jerk, he looked around ready to tear a new one into any girl scout he might find on his stoop. When he didn’t see anyone, he let out a sigh and promised himself to hunt down the culprit later. He was about to close the door when he heard a small coo from the rose bush beside the door. A rose bush that had not been there before and was blooming blood-red flowers. Letting his blade slip into his palm, he approaches the bush and pushed the branches of the bush aside. Nestled underneath was a basket, woven from reeds in a style he’d not seen since Moses. “What in the world?” Gabriel mumbled as he knelt down and drew the basket out of the garden. Sitting it beside him, he opened the pitch covered lid and gasped at what he saw inside. A baby. No, not a baby. A fledgling with wings in the shades of the rose-colored dawn. The fledgling looked up at Gabriel with a toothless grin and waved a piece of parchment at him. Reaching out, he took the letter from the baby and read.

Gabriel-

This fledgling is in your’s and Castiel’s hands now. It’s your fallen brother, Lucifer, whom everyone, myself included, wronged. This was never meant to be the plan, but it’s the way that it turned out, and for that, I am sorry. We all should’ve seen the warning signs, and I should’ve done something different with Amara. I thought that our Morning Star, the brightest of our Host, would be able to handle it. I was wrong. We all were.

Lucifer died shortly after you banished him from Castiel’s Vessel, but I offered to bring him back- but he’d have to start all over again. He accepted.

All Lucifer ever wanted was a chance at redemption, but we denied him that right- until now. You are the best choice at raising him, as Michael is still in the Cage and Raphael is no more. I believe that with Castiel’s help and the Winchesters’, we can regain our Morning Star once more.

Please, show him the kindness and compassion he once had.

Father.

“Lucifer?” he breathed out in disbelief as his eyes wandered back to the fledgling. Little Lucifer reached up with chubby hands that opened and clenched in a clear signal that he wanted to be picked up. Tucking the letter back into the basket, Gabriel lifted him out of the makeshift nest and held him to his chest. His wings automatically unfolding to wrap around them in a protective gesture. Lucifer’s eyes lit up with joy at the sight. His hand instantly reaching out to grab one of Gabriel’s feathers to stuff into his mouth. Smiling, Gabriel smoothed his hand over the fuzz on top of the baby’s head. “I think I’m going to call you Lulu. Cas didn’t seem to mind his nicknames and maybe it’ll keep you from taking yourself so seriously.” Standing up, he took the new bundle in the house to meet his sleeping brother.

.oOo.

Days later, when Castiel wouldn’t speak except to ask for Dean, Gabriel went to get the Winchesters. After an hour of arguing and explaining with little Lulu strapped in a sling around his chest, they finally agreed to come to Gabriel’s house. On the third day since their arrival, Dean’s was taking his turn spending time with Castiel, trying to coax the Angel out of his protective shell. Gabriel took advantage of the time to rest his grace and get some quality time with Lucifer.

Once again wearing the wrap sling with Lucifer tucked safely inside with only his head poking out, Gabriel found Sam sitting on the back porch watching the sunset. “Hey Kiddo, you look like someone who’s thinking too hard. What’s on your mind?” he sat next to the youngest Winchester. Lucifer whined and turned in his sling to nuzzle his face more into Gabriel’s chest, yawning softly, his wings fluffing up in contentment.

Sam shrugged as he glanced warily at the infant in Gabriel’s arms. “I was just thinking about what to do next. Amara’s still out there even though we haven’t heard anything from or about her since all this went down with you and Lucifer. I guess I just worry that something is going to come down on us and without help, we won’t make it out of this one.

Lucifer turned at the sound of his name, opening bright blue eyes to look at the hunter before hiding himself behind his still visible wings shyly with a squeak. Gabriel lifts Lucifer out of the sling and cradles him against his shoulder. His hand gently petting over his wings as he silently watched the sun sink below the horizon. What could he say? Don’t worry, it’ll all work out in the end? He just couldn’t say something like that right now. At least out loud. Everything seemed so chaotic at the moment.

“So.” Sam asks tentatively. “You going to stick around and help with Amara?”

Gabriel took a deep breath and turned to look at Sam. Nodding solemnly he answered softly so as not to startle the baby. “Dammit, I knew you were gonna be my death one day, Winchester!” he paused to consider his answer. Yeah, I’ll help. I’m no Luci, though, but I’ll do what I can,” he stopped to place a gentle kiss to the side of Lulu’s head while his mind whirled a mile a minute.

Lucifer contributed to the conversation by biting down on one of Gabriel’s invisible, golden feather and nuzzling more into Gabriel’s shoulder. “ Esiasacahe” he mumbled.

Sam reached over to pat Gabriel on the knee. A fond smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “No. You’re better”

“ Esiasacahe! ” Lucifer pouted and gently, but firmly pulled on a feather.

“I heard you the first time, Lulu.” Gabriel winced at the pain from the pull.

Sam looked unashamedly at Lucifer for the first time since his arrival, asking, “What did he say?”

“Brother,” Gabriel said with a small smile as he turned the infant around to face Sam. “He said ‘brother’.”

“ Esiasacahe, ” Lucifer purred happily. He pointed at Sam importantly. “ Zizop (Vessel)! ”

#My Writing #Supernatural #Fanfiction #spn fanfic #Lucifer #Sam Winchester #Castiel #Gabriel

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arrowdaily · 5 years

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Holy Smoaks! Arrow just revealed the true identity of Katherine McNamara’s character and we’re having a full-on family freakout!

Monday’s new episode of Arrow, “Star City Slayer,” dropped a bombshell in the show’s future timeline to reveal that the badass cage fighter Blackstar is actually Mia Smoak—the daughter of Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen. (We totally called it, by the way.)

Naturally, we hopped on the phone immediately to discuss the revelation with McNamara herself, who was just as excited as we are! “Oh my God, I’ve been dying to talk to someone about this,” she gushed to ET. “I‘m so glad that the cat is finally out of the bag!”

Read on for exclusive behind-the-scenes secrets about Mia Smoak’s script-to-screen reveal, whether or not Olicity fans should be worried about the fate of their favorite couple, and if McNamara is ready to take on the salmon ladder!

Entertainment Tonight: Take us back to the beginning, Kat. How did this role on Arrow first come to you and did you know all along that you were going to play Oliver and Felicity’s daughter? Katherine McNamara: So I knew before I started shooting. But when I initially auditioned, they, of course, did not reveal it to the people who were going up for casting. They [gave me] dummy sides and I believe it was a couple of scenes of a rookie cop or something, so I knew basically nothing. Then, after I was cast, I get a phone call from Beth Schwartz, the showrunner, and she said, “Oh yeah, congrats on joining the show! By the way, everything you know is a lie. You’re Oliver and Felicity’s kid—so congrats and have fun! Thanks, I’ll talk to you soon.” And I was like, “Wait, wait, wait! Hold on! Let’s press rewind—excuse me?” Immediately, my first thought was what a responsibility this is. I’ve seen the power of not only the Arrow fandom, but how much they love Olicity. How much this relationship is beloved by them and how passionate they are and how many opinions they have about it—so I know how important this is going to be for the fans if this is done right. Then I proceeded to watch all six seasons of the show and do as much research on the comic wikis and the show wikis and everything that I possibly could. Beth had said to me that they wanted her to be the perfect blend of the two of them—to be physically everything Oliver Queen and then intellectually everything Felicity Smoak, so I had my work cut out for me.

During your Arrow research, which Oliver and Felicity mannerisms did you choose to infuse into Mia? KM: Well, with Oliver’s physicality, obviously, I’m never going to look like Stephen Amell! [Laughs] No matter how much I work out or how much grilled chicken I eat—that man is on a whole different level. But what’s neat about bringing that into a character—especially a female character—is to find really interesting ways to bring those kinds of masculine physicalities and the very offensive and aggressive way of moving into this character. It adds a very interesting quality that we haven’t necessarily seen in many of the characters in the Arrow’verse yet. She is very much like him in many ways, but also, you have these qualities of Felicity in her: her wit and her tact and her intellect and the way in which she thinks about things and plans and strategizes. Something you’ll find about Mia that you’ll love, as time goes on, is she has quite the mouth on her. She’s quite snarky. We’ve seen a little bit, but it only grows and I think that comes from combining Felicity’s humor and wit with Oliver’s aggression and brutishness.

What are the chances we’re going to see you tackle the salmon ladder? KM: I have not done so as of yet, but I can only imagine that it’s going to be one of these days. That was my first question to Beth, by the way. “When do I have to do the salmon ladder? Because I have to start training, like, yesterday!” [Laughs] You know me well enough to know that I’m constantly training anyway, but that’s a new level of intensity.

In this episode, we discover that her name is actually Mia Smoak instead of Mia Queen. Can you elaborate on that a little bit and when we might be getting those surname answers? KM: I can elaborate in the sense that you will be getting those answers—but maybe not as soon as you’d like. In a few episodes, there will be an all-future episode where we really get to see a lot of Mia’s childhood and a lot of moments that really shaped her into who she became and why those qualities are the way they are, including her last name. But for now, it’s enough to know that she is Mia Smoak and she claims to be the daughter of Oliver and Felicity. So she knows that Oliver is her father, but does not take his name. Ultimately, the most important thing to know at this point is that this is indicative of how dire the world has become… To know that even having the last name Queen puts a target on your back.

You know that the Olicity fans are the best detectives of any fandom. They’re probably going to be worried when they hear that her name is Mia Smoak instead of Mia Queen and wondering what that means for Olicity’s relationship in the future. Should the fans be worried? KM: Maybe. I actually don’t know the answer to that question yet because we’re still shooting season seven right now, so I don’t even have all the answers… but, maybe. Even for me, that’s still a question mark.

Were you surprised when you realized that Mia Smoak and William Queen—who are half siblings— don’t know each other in the future? KM: I was surprised and that was another question I had for Beth. Thank god for Beth Schwartz because she has been such a lovely, collaborative wealth of information for me. There are many things that I don’t have the privilege of knowing yet, but she’s been so good to me in that I can call and ask her a question and she will give me some kind of answer to do my work off of that does not reveal what they still want to keep hidden. So thank goodness for her. But aside from my tangent, that is a very interesting question and one that we will get the answer to very soon. It all goes back to the ruin that Star City has fallen into and showing the real lengths that Oliver and Felicity had to go to to keep their children safe.

What was your first interaction with Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards like? KM: Well, it’s very interesting. I met Emily a few years ago just in passing because she and [Shadowhunters star] Isaiah Mustafa are friends, so I had already adored her because she was just so kind to me and just such a fun human being. And then re-meeting her was, of course, lovely on set because she’s just an amazing, kickass human being. I’ve really loved getting to know her and kind of pulling whatever qualities I can from her and from Felicity, and putting them into Mia because it can be a challenge to find those sorts of lighter and interesting qualities. Emily has just got this inner strength that I love at her core and that’s something that I’ve fed off of a lot with Mia. Stephen, actually, was the one that I re-met first when I was coming onto the show. I was there for a meeting of some sort and Stephen was shooting the “Slabside Redemption” episode, so he was, of course, covered in blood and scars and [had] a million other things on his mind and [was] obviously exhausted. But he happened to pop his head into the hair and makeup trailer and he stopped everything that he was doing, jumped out of his chair, came over, gave me a hug and had a long conversation with me and really, really made me feel welcome. To me, that’s such a testament to his character as a human being, and just who he is as a person and why the show has such a positive environment on set.

It’s been really fun seeing these flashforwards bringing a new chapter to the Arrowverse. What does it mean to you to be a part of the next generation of vigilantes? KM: It goes back to the responsibility that I realize I have with this character and whatever it ends up being. Just even being a part of the future and being a part of this universe is really wonderful. I mean there are so many interesting facets to the Arrowverse with the future with Nora that we have now on The Flash, and with Legends everywhere and now with having Ruby Rose as Batwoman and all of these incredible characters. There’s just so much diversity and inclusivity and all of these things that are happening in the Arrowverse. I’m so thankful to be coming from Shadowhunters which had a very similar environment, vibe and mindset. It’s really wonderful to still be part of that and I understand the responsibility and I’m excited for the challenge ahead.

Oh my God. We need you and Nora to be together and hang out! KM: [Laughs] I’m down! You set a time and we’ll be there.

We know that Mia is not necessarily a fan of vigilantes but how ready is Kat to suit up? KM: Oh, I’m so excited! I mean that was always one of my favorite elements of Shadowhunters was when Clary really got to buckle down and kick ass, and yet we really didn’t get to see that as often as we would’ve liked because Clary was so new to the world and she was still learning so much. But now we have Mia who, we’ll see very soon, is well versed in fighting and suiting up in her own way. Getting to see this character who very often finds herself in these situations, it’s a real treat. I remember watching this show as I was gearing up to start shooting Arrow and figuring out who Mia was and what this would entail. It’s so exciting. As an actor, there’s certain moments where you’re on set—whether you’re in the woods with Seelies and vampires and running around the forest with swords, or you walk into the Arrowcave, even if it’s covered with vines and waterfalls—just knowing who you are in that universe and what a thrill it is is. There are moments that are really special and you just want to pinch yourself a little bit and wonder if you’re dreaming or if this is actually what you do for a living. It just really makes me eternally grateful to be part of such a cool and interesting project.

So where do we go from here? You mentioned that we are going to have an all future episode. Now that the team knows who she is, how does this change things moving forward? KM: Well, it definitely changes things and it definitely provides a lot more information to everyone and fills in a lot of the missing pieces for both parties. Mia doesn’t know everything about her past, William obviously doesn’t know everything and neither do the characters of the future, so as all of the pieces come together and as everyone combines their knowledge or at least reveals certain pieces of information—for better or for worse things will move forward and things will progress very quickly. As you will see, time becomes of the essence and don’t forget, they did find those bomb schematics very recently, as well, so the future [could have] explosive content if you will.

#katherine mcnamara #cast #s7 #interviews #news

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missjackil · 5 years

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My 14x17 Opinion

Game Night

This was the first new episode since “The Announcement” and I have to say I was putting off writing it. I usually post these the day after, but I procrastinated so it’s a bit late. So forgive my butt-hurt tardiness and let's have at it.

I enjoyed this episode, though it wasn't without some issues. I must say that I was pleased that it wasn't as Sam-lite as I thought it would be from the promo pics, trailer, and knowing Jared didn't work a lot that week, I will always want for more Sam in an episode, but all his parts were necessary and high quality in this one, so I'm not angry at all.

We start the episode with Donatello making cookies, singing Raindrops are Fallin’ on my Head, which made me smile. It made me think of Butch Cassiday and The Sundance Kid and I love that movie, and if J2 ever want to play the leads in a remake, I would be willing to pay for it myself!

Donny gets interrupted by the door, and we know this is a problem because its the first 5 minutes of SPN, let's be honest. As soon as I see the bad guy’s wedding ring, I think “Shit... here comes Nick”. I thought he was gonna kill him and I'm glad he didn't. I like Donny, he looks like my dad. 😊

Back at the Bunker, the fam is getting ready for “Winchester Game Night” and Dean is playing Mouse Trap, and having no luck getting it to work. I had that game as a kid too and was never able to get it to work either, but it was fun putting it together! I did think it was a little sad but fitting, that Dean would have played that game as a 4 yr old, but leave it to John and Mary to give Dean a game made for older kids, that never worked out the way it was supposed to and had too many small parts he could choke on. (the irony is not lost on me)

Mary and Jack are in the kitchen. I could literally almost smell the Jiffy Pop popcorn. A Saturday night staple at my house growing up (any of you out there ever taste that greasy salt left on the sides of the foil pan? Good stuff!) and Mary starts in with the questions for Jack. I got a kick out of him telling her its annoying, and her face after. It’s ok Mary, he’s fine, he’s just a teenager now. Something I guess she never got to experience from the adult side.

Sam is out getting pizza, and all the times they’ve had pizza, I never really saw what Sam likes on his. Apparently both he and Dean like lots of pepperoni. Good choice boys! The joy is short-lived (of course) by Donatello’s call, and Dean and Mary go off to help. I loved Sam sitting there researching. I have always loved his look of interest and concentration during these times. Smart!Sam moment #1 he figures out the language is ancient Hebrew, #2 he has the moment of realization that he knows it’s from the Bible, and knows what chapter and verse. (demerits for the writers though for not knowing Peter is in the New Testament and is in Ancient Greek, not Hebrew, but kudos for Sam/Jared for at least knowing the book is located near the back of The Bible)

Mom and Dean in the car. Now we have the talk about how wrong she knows she’s been but how appreciative she is to have this time with him and Sam. Uhoh... sounds like lines typically given to a character who is soon to be killed off? Hmmm we’ll see. Soon they arrive at Donny’s to find Nick. He says he's poisoned Donny and to save him, they have to help him. He wants to talk.

Back at the bunker, violent rage!Sam awaits!! GOD that gave me tingles in the best way! I loved Dean leading Nick down the hall in cuffs, in slow motion as if leading him to his execution, and Sam standing there with his chest puffed out like a friggin’ bulldozer, and the snarl and slam attack against the wall!! (hand me that towel, please??) Dean backs Sam off, lots of brother touching going on, but we need intel, we can't kill him yet.

Now Sam is in self-loathing mode.... he thinks everything is his fault. So many people dying because of him. This is gonna be a big issue soon, I promise. Mom talks Sam off the self-deprecating ledge and tells him he gave Nick another chance because he’s a good man and that's why she’s so proud of him. Sam softens up into the sweetest “aww shucks ma” smile and I want to hug him💕 also, still lines are being spoken by mom that are synonymous with being killed off.

Now, I procrastinated talking about Cas and Anael because the whole thing was boring. I'm not a wife hater but at least make her necessary if you’re going to cast her. I was ok about her role as Sister Jo for Devil’s Bargain but she hasn't been necessary since. Cas wasn't even necessary in this episode. We knew he was hiding the fact that Jack killed the snake, and there are probably 1000 other ways they could have reminded us that the Samulet is still around and maybe they can use it, than for him to find a similar one in the thrift shop or whatever that place was. I dug Methuzula though, he was the oldest dude in the Bible. He wasn’t an angel, for any of you worried about him liking lasagna or why he couldn't just smite Cas... its because he's HUMAN just extremely old.

On to more interesting things.

Nick wants to talk to Jack. I was not pleased with Nick referring to Jack as his son. Im not 100% convinced that the writer (and all involved really) remembered that Jack isnt Nick’s son, but added that as a note of empathy Nick has for Lucifer, you’d THINK someone, particularly Jack would say “Im not your son” ?? but anyway, he gives intel to Jack and also gets his blood (dun dun dunnnn)

Sam is again a smarty pants and knows the antidote for Thalium is Prussian Blue (makes note) and figures he can hack the live feed (brains are so sexy) I also love that Sam’s word is the go word. So many more decisions are made because Sam thinks its the best option than he's ever given for in the fandom. So Sam and Dean take Nick with them to find Donny.

I really love the broments in this part. Dean tells Nick if he tries anything funny, Sam will shoot him. “And if anything happens to me....” “Sam will shoot me” “To start!” says Sam... because if he hurts Dean, Sam isnt letting him off that easy. But in true SPN form, as soon as Sam and Dean are separated, shit goes south.

Mom calls Sam and lets him know Donny was shot up with Angel grace, as Jack figured out, Nick was playing them. Now the fight between Sam and Nick ensues! Nick tells Sam why he used Donatello, which was to bring Lucifer back, “You can't, he’s dead he’s in the Empty” Sam says but this show’s self-awareness gets me sometimes lol Nick’s like “Cmon Sam you know no one stays dead anymore” and Sam starts kicking his ass.

Now, I have already seen a million of you whine and complain that Sam didn’t kill Nick. It’s almost as though some of you have never met Sam Winchester. Of course Sam could have killed Nick, and most of us wish he did, but Sam has stopped himself from killing humans before. He stopped himself with Jake in AHBL and also with Toni in 12x01. Unfortunately it always bites him in the ass. Could it be that Sam thinks if he can kill a human with his bare hands that he’s a monster? This isn’t bad writing folks, this is Sam’s character.

Nick takes advantage of Sam’s hesitation and starts nailing him with a rock. Spewing crap about Sam being Lucifer’s Perfect vessel and such.... this can only mean that issue will be coming up soon! Sam gets in the car and starts laying on the horn for Dean, calling out to him... Dean hears Sam is in trouble, enough playing around here time to kill some demons.

When he gets to Sam. he sees he’s badly injured. Sam can hardly hold on to consciousness, protective!dean kicks in! Apply preasure to the blled, call 911, call mom. Now check for brain damage and play a counting game with Sam This hurt my feels so much, it made it feel so much more serious than all the other head injuries he’s sustained. Dean and his caring big brother smile and light hearted speech so Sam doesnt panic just kills me in the best way!! Sam tries to count with him a little and breaks into “You always put me first... your whole life” and manages to muster a little smile. Dean knows Sam believes he’s checking out, and you see the fear all over Dean’s face as Sam fades away. (OMG these 2!! Every freakin time!!)

Meanwhile, Mary and Jack found Nick and he has summoned Lucifer and just about to take him in again (Lucifer looked pretty cool,,, gotta say) and Jack zaps Lucifer back into the rift (no not forever guys... cmon) and starts torturing Nick. Mary kinda flips out telling Jack to stop. He’s contorting his hand, burning him from the inside out... not simply killijng him. Mary is full on worried now. Jack stops and Nick is laying on the floor. Mary is in shock and tells Jack to go help Sam, He heals him and Dean cant even hide his relief as he turns away to catch his breath.

Now Jack returns to Mary who is more than worried about how Jack was torturing Nick. We know the Winchesters dont mind killing, but draw the line at torture. However, Mary stupidly poked the bear. She could have just kept herself and Jack calm and talked to the boys later, but she poked and poked till Jack freaked out. Though I am wondering if Jack was also hearing Lucifer when he was shouting “Leave me alone!!” But in any regard, he looked at Mary and something happened. Fade to black.

Aside from the Cas/Anael part, I really enjoyed this episode. A few issues yes, but it hit most of the marks needed for me to enjoy an episode. Ive already rewatched it twice and will again and again.

On a scale of Bloodlines to Lebanon, I give this a strong 7.5 without the Cas/Anael bit it would have been an easy 8.

#14x17 spoilers #game night #my opinion #i dug this one #love this 2nd half a lot

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randomnoteforfuturereference · 6 years

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Aftermath: Bombshell

So… this story and its counterpart was made at the beginning of this year. However, 4.2 and 4.3 ended up revealing that Dex and Nursey weren’t back in Maine/NYC during Game 7, but in Samwell/Providence. Because I’m a neurotic mess who likes my stories in a single canon-complaint headcanon-verse, I have zero qualms about going back and retconning. I continue to thank @kleeklutch for helping not only beta the changes but make the whole thing flow better.

**Warning: this fic contains explicit homophobic language, bullying behavior from an adult, mention of past physical trauma, anxiety, and allusion to the current opioid crisis.**

Read on AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13320069

There some moments in your life when you know that something catastrophic is coming but there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

You have to bear that feeling of helplessness despite your mind tearing itself apart playing out all of the possible scenarios that could unfold. Despite the constricted breaths, sleepless nights, and twisted insides weighing on your body as you get closer to zero hour. Despite everything, you just have to suck it up.

I’ve done it before. I can do it now.

I’m with over half the village crammed into Aunt Trish & Uncle Jim’s diner, and all eyes are fixed on the diner’s new bigass screen; where my former captain is about to make a seventh-game overtime shot that will earn the Providence Falconers the Stanley Cup.

I know who is going to win as this scene already played out over a week ago. Championship games tend to finish late, so we just record them so we can focus on work — in the process, we do our best to avoid to avoid news — until we all get together for a community watch party. After all, unless there’s a personal investment, there’s no point in losing productive sleep before a work day.

This year though, I was able to not only watch the game live but did so in Providence.

Unlike the alumni who had seats with Bitty, I held down the fort with Chowder and Nursey at Jack’s apartment. Though I bet that any stranger could have waltzed right in and eaten our snacks right next to us without being noticed. While I can recall the play-by-play, that night still went by in a cuss-laden blur. The only lasting evidence of how I felt were the scratch marks along my arm and slight crescents in my palms. I do know that we never let our eyes leave the screen as it went into fucking overtime.

Through overtime, I never noticed how much I’ve been holding my breath until Jack made the shot that brought the Falcs victory. At that moment, that held breath exploded out into a scream and joined the screams of my friends into a collective holler loud enough to be heard back in Samwell.

We were still celebrating — as was everyone else, evident by the chorus of shouts and honking of car horns pouring in from outside — when we saw Bitty running across the ice right into Jack’s arms. Because of course. Still, even as I rolled my eyes, I smirked and raised my bottle to them. Jack not only deserved the Cup; the two deserved all the happiness they can get.

Still didn’t prevent me from wanting to make a chirp out of Ransom and Holster probably being bummed that they can’t charge fines anymore.

Then the chirp died in my mouth, a horrible weight settled in my stomach, and blood drained from my face as realization hit.

Bitty was leaning back and gazing straight into Jack’s eyes. Something was said, and the serious look between the two turned into smiles.

Then they kissed.

Not the affectionate pecks that garnered so many fines. No, it was the intense lip-locked version that they indulged in whenever they thought nobody was watching; their expectation was frequently not the reality, but hey.

After the game, I didn’t say anything about what happened on the center ice. The state of Bitty’s phone was testament to the fact that he and Jack already had enough on their minds. And everyone else was so happy and showing them support. Nobody needed me barging in with the kind of issues that will just raise all kinds of questions.

In any case, that scene is about to be replayed here.

As the puck goes into the net, the diner erupts into cheers. Even if my village didn’t know that Jack was my captain, the Falconers being a New England team is reason enough to root for them. But honestly, I think they’re making a bigger deal about this championship than prior ones because of my connection to the Falcs.

As I add my voice to the collective cheer despite having been spoiled already, a part of me hopes that connection won’t cause them to make a bigger deal about other more personal concerns.

Though maybe they won’t have to.

As footage transitions to the postgame, I take my chance and scramble for the remote. With the focus now on celebration and general conversation, nobody should notice me turning the television off.

As I mash the remote’s buttons, the room goes silent.

They’ll probably tell me off for messing with the controls. I don’t care. It’s not like there’s anything to watch now since it’s just the post-game. All I’m doing is keeping the electricity bill down.

Then I see the blue light reflected off the countertop. No. This isn’t happening. Nonono…

As I raise my head, my stomach drops.

In grabbing the remote, I hadn’t turned off the television. I only muted it.

A delusional part of me still hopes that the camera will cut away. That those fucking journo seagulls will find something else to focus on other than my two friends being able to happily embrace without fear.

Of course, the cameras don’t turn away.

So I turn away instead.

And immediately regret my decision.

Everyone in the diner has their eyes locked onto the screen. There’s no more joy on their faces.

Just shock.

For some, their surprise is muted and hints that they got the news beforehand one way or another. However, even they watch the scene unfold in disbelief.

A disbelief being expressed in wide eyes and frozen expressions.

I steel myself for what will come after that shock. I hope that they’ll accept Jack and Bitty. I hope that they will accept the player they were cheering on just minutes beforehand. Either way, at least I will know where they stand.

Finally, Pa breaks the silence:

“Huh.”

… What.

I wait for him to add onto that. Any kind of elaboration. Anything. Anything!

Uncle Miguel looks in my direction. As does everyone else. Dammit, anything but focusing on me.

“The blond boy…” he notes, “that’s your captain next year, aye?”

I almost gag in my attempt to get my throat unstuck. “A-ayuh.”

“… Huh.”

Oh for FUCK’S SAKE!

Aunt Meg chimes in: “I mean, from what you told us about the blond one, I can kind of see it? Didn’t you say he’s a bit…?” She makes a limp-wrist gesture.

I’m saved from answering that by Uncle Jeremy. “Yeah, no surprise there. But Jack Zimmermann?”

By now, the whole diner is overcome by a low chorus of questions, bafflement, and speculation… most of which is aimed at me as if I have all of the damn answers. That’s not getting into those damn noncommittal grunts, as well as a bucketful of confusion from my younger cousins; one just asked me if that means Bitty is the girl.

While there are some comments of disapproval about how Bitty and Jack are making a scene, nobody’s explicitly disparaging or condemning the two. Which I guess is good? But nobody’s offering notes of support or at least acceptance either; though I suppose the comments about the “gutsiness” of the move count as a positive.

Overall, nobody seems to know what to think about this. If they do know, they certainly aren’t letting their thoughts be heard.

It’s pissing me off.

“So Zimmermann’s gay,” states a cousin.

“Bisexual,” I correct.

“Huh.”

Okay, that’s it! I all but throw my hands up as I move for the exit.

“You knew.”

The hissed accusation stops me in my tracks. It’s from the one person who would have a stance. I turn to see Uncle Owen glaring right in my face.

“I… I—“

“I’m not just talking about l… that." He punctuates his statement with a grimace of disgust and gesture at the screen. “You knew those two were screwing each other.” Each syllable is accompanied with him jabbing his finger into my chest.

In this moment, it doesn’t matter how much hockey has built me up. I feel like I’m a scrawny ten-year-old again, and each jab forces me backwards. With each step back, the diner gets more and more quiet as all attention focuses on the two of us.

“How long, boy?” he spits. “How. Long?”

“Since…” I hate how small my voice sounds. I hate how those around me, even though they downright loathe Uncle Owen, are curious for an answer. I hate how part of me wants to give more information than they expect but… can’t. “Since December.”

Actually longer, but nobody needs to know.

Nobody needs to know anything.

“Only two years in that libtard ‘school’, and you’re just full of surprises,” Uncle Owen muses. “Wasn’t the captain elected unanimously by the team?”

“Yes.” Shit! My answer comes out just as I realize why he asked that question. But it’s too late to take it back.

“So you knew the little shit’s a pervert and still voted for him?”

“He’s not a pervert.” I grit out as my hands ball into fists.

“So you say,” he sneers. “And I hear you’re spending the next year in the same house.”

A small part of me feels relief that he doesn’t know that I’m going to room with Nursey. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to control myself right now if the shit he spews goes in that direction. “The rent’s better.”

“Hah. Of course that’s your excuse: ‘The rent’s better.’” There’s a gleam in his eyes that’s too knowing for my liking. “What other faggy secrets—“

“That’s enough, Owen,” Pa growls while shoving his way through the crowd. “Leave my son alone.”

My father may be leaning his cane and may have kept his right arm back home. But in this moment, he looks ready to kick any able-bodied asshole’s ass.

Uncle Owen sputters, “You’re willing to let this Cultural Marxism—“

“I don’t give a flying fuck if Billy has a Little Red Book in his back pocket. You say another goddamn word to him tonight, and I’ll convince Shannon to finally cut you out of her life for good.” Pa doesn’t even raise his voice, but it’s enough to make everyone take a step back. “That will be after I rearrange your face to be as ugly as mine.”

I don’t know how long the standoff lasts. I only know that Uncle Owen is the one to back down and storm out… and that the bloody crescents in my palms are going to last a bit.

As if to enforce a sense of normalcy, the collective conversation picks right back up where it left off. This is despite the subject of the conversation being anything but normal. Pa nods to the door, and the two of us take our leave to begin the walk back home.

As the sounds of the diner fade, I check my phone. Besides the general rambling of everyone, Nursey’s making cryptic suggestions to check the national business news in the coming week.

Finally, I look up from my phone and back at Pa. “… You do know I’m no tankie, right?”

Pa chuckles. “Ayuh. Was just making a point.”

Heh, yeah. A point. He’s just saying that he’d love me no matter what. But would his love really be so unconditional if I actually started spouting commie, nazi, or beardie propaganda? I know mine wouldn’t.

So then why did he bring it up?

Uncle Owen was the one who said ‘Marxism’ first, and Pa was just taking the statement to its logical conclusion. Don’t think too much of it.

But did Pa rebuke Uncle Owen because what was being said was wrong? Or was it just because I was attacked?

If Uncle Owen made his language just focused on “them gaysexuals”, would Pa make the same statement except with the Little Red Book replaced by a rainbow flag? If he did, would that mean he considers being queer as bad as a communist?

I know that I should really be giving my father more credit than that, and there’s a heavy weight in my stomach at the fact that I would even have doubts. But still…

Pa nudges me. “Something on your mind?”

“Just…” Okay, deep breaths. “Just thinking about the coming year.” Which is technically the truth.

That gets a nod from him. “It will be interesting. No doubt about that.”

Yeah… interesting. I can just see the attention Bitty will get between him being Jack’s boyfriend and the first out NCAA ice hockey captain. Media may even come to Samwell.

People will know Bitty lives at the Haus. People will know where the Haus is; even if the media doesn’t divulge the location, it’s not like it’s hard to find due to all the damn kegsters.

What if we get paparazzi waiting for Jack whenever he comes to Samwell? What if there is paparazzi obsessed with Bitty himself? What if we get assholes who decide that spewing shit in a comment feed won’t cut it?

We don’t even keep the door locked. But even if we get the Haus secure, we have to walk to campus. Even in school, it’s not like they gate off the campus and limit access.

We should put in new locks and give out a limited set of keys. Convince the frats to install a surveillance system along the whole street. Maybe we’ll even have to stop hosting kegsters so often.

We should do something. We need to do something. We need to do something now! We need to try to keep several steps ahead of them even though they’ll keep trying to find a new way. That includes at our games.

The away games. Fuck. I forgot about the away games. FUCK!

Shit. We’re fucked. We’re so f—

“Billy!”

Pa’s voice forces me to stop walking, and it’s then that I see that I’m at least twenty yards ahead. Billy, you fucking idiot. Hell of a son you are.

“Shit,” I blurt out while rushing back. “I-I’m so—”

Pa cuts me off: “Enough of that. Right now, I just need you to breathe.”

It’s only at his request that I realize my breath are coming in rapid gasps. I try to do as I’ve been taught but can’t seem to get anything under control as my vision blurs and pressure builds behind my eyes. Oh, now you’re gonna cry about it? You gonna cry, you fucking little p—

A gentle pressure settles around my wrist, and I feel my trembling hand firmly pried away from my arm. The action forces me to look up and see Pa heaving deep even breaths to focus on. It’s not easy, but eventually I force myself back on track.

Once stability’s restored, Pa tentatively asks, “What’s the matter, Billy?”

This time, I don’t have to make the truth a technicality: “Just wondering how the school’s going to deal with the media and security issues.”

Pa nods and thankfully doesn’t ask me to elaborate. “I’m sure they’ll figure something out.”

I’m also thankful that he leaves it at that and doesn’t try to further any reassurance as we continue walking in silence.

A silence which only lasts for another few minutes. “So… your captains are together.”

When Pa comments like that, without the crowds around, the situation feels even more naked than before.

Maybe I can get something out of it though.

“Ayuh,” I mutter. “Did you know? Before this?”

He shakes his head. “Didn’t have time to read the news.”

While I believe that he didn’t find out until now, I have a harder time accepting his explanation why. However, now’s not the time to get into that. “What do you think?”

My question comes out as a whisper that keeps any emotion in reserve.

Pa looks off at some unspecified point. “Well, I can say that my bombshell doesn’t compare to the one they set off,” he remarks with a wry smile and a waving of his forearm stump around the right side of his face.

Jesus Christ… “Jesus Christ, Pa.” It’s not like he hasn’t made similar jokes before, but I still fail to find them funny.

Pa rolls his eye and thumps me on the back. “To answer your question… I don’t know what to think. Though it’s not like it affects us,” he states with a shrug.

It affects us more than you think. “You know that a lot of queer folk come Downeast, right?” Hell, everyone here knows about, and plenty attend, the pride event in Bar Harbor.

“Ayup, and I know they help keep this economy afloat. Make great music too. Most are still just passing through. I mean, sure, there are plenty staying up in Mount Desert. But still…”

So is that how it will be okay? As long as distance is maintained?

“Well one's going to be officially leading me.”

Pa creases his brow. “He is, isn’t he.”

“The other did lead me, and it’s not like he became magically bi after graduation.”

“Hm…”

My jaw clenches. At least it’s not fucking “huh”.

Our porch light shines into view and guides us inside. Once we get to the kitchen, Pa takes his prescribed painkillers while I watch; I know it’s irrational of me as he hasn’t gotten hooked so far, and it’s not like I’m here all the time, but I can’t help it after a few recent cases.

As he sets his glass down, Pa sighs, “Look, Billy. I know they’re your friends. So maybe I don’t get it. Doesn’t matter. I trust your judgement.”

It does matter.

But still… “Thank you.”

“Hell, they’re welcome to stop by.” Pa barely finishes his statement before barking out a laugh and shaking his head. For a brief moment my stomach clenches until he murmurs, “Like a Falconer would come here…”

I hide my relief with a huff: “You never know. You saw how full of surprises they are.”

That gets a much warmer laugh from him. “Ayuh. They really don’t do anything halfway, do they.”

For once, I allow myself to join in on the laughs. Maybe everything can be alright. Maybe it will be alright.

Maybe… just maybe… “Pa, I—”

“Anyways, I’m not sure if I can handle any more surprises,” Pa chuckles before looking up at me. “You say something?”

… it will be a disaster. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

I say goodnight, Pa pulls me in for a one-armed hug, and I make the obligatory noises of protest when he kisses my forehead.

Then I walk to my room and shut the door to whisper into the darkness enveloping me:

“Nothing at all.”

#william poindexter #check please #omgcp #omgcheckplease #FFR Makes Prose

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deadtower · 6 years

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i cannot BELIEVE i have a goyische christian trying to goysplain the torah and christianity to me as if i dont know anything about it lol but anyway here we go i guess @strawberry-milktea

original post here i just dont wanna be reblogging this giant fucking post and stretching peoples’ dashes

for your first paragraph ... i know. i fucking know lol i was christian for fifteen fucking years i KNOW all of that jfc lmao. i wasn’t saying “no one can ever read the scriptures besides jewish people” i was saying that your FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING IS FLAWED because they are JEWISH books written in HEBREW and there is ALWAYS GOING TO BE SOMETHING LOST when you translate from the original source. also like ... the christians back then are so fucking different from the christians nowadays that you can’t even compare the two so don’t even try it. and yes i fucking know jesus was a jew i’m very fucking aware bc y’all christians will NOT shut up about that fact as if it somehow bonds you to the ancient tribe y’all pretend like you had a shared history with when like ... you didn’t. that was us. lol

yes i call jewish people who believe homosexuality is a sin bigoted and vile as well lmao why ... wouldn’t ... i ... you really are sitting here thinking it’s only homophobic christians that i call evil for their views ? like as if if someones not christian but is homophobic im gonna be like “yeah mate carry on it’s fine” like ... lol ... anyway orthodox jews are becoming more and more accepting of lgbt+ people nowadays but you wouldn’t know that i guess lmao

i love how i talk about the torah because it’s what i have knowledge on and then you proceed to be like “oh it’s not just in the torah it’s in [list of new testament verses]” like ... you do know we don’t follow the new testament ... right ... anyway regardless of that, y’all literally stapled your book onto our tanakh and called it a day. i can write post-ending fanfic of my favorite book and staple it onto the end but it doesn’t mean that the original book is something i thought up or something i own in some way besides owning a physical copy ? idk why this is so hard for christians to grasp

this whole paragraph is shit i already knew because like i said i was a christian for fifteen years so you preaching at me about my own deity is like ... pointless because ive heard all that shit before

the problem with you is no one fucking asks you to share your homophobic viewpoint. like literally no one asked you to ‘warn’ anyone about homosexuality being a sin as you so think it is. literally no one lol. but as usual christians do this thing where they assume that everyone wants to hear the things they have to say on how they believe the world is and what G-d wants and they just assume people want to hear about how their lifestyle is a sin. which like ... they don’t lol. leave people alone because honestly no one wants to hear your bigoted ass telling them how theyre going to hell for being gay. like there’s literally not a soul on earth that wants you to do that so like ... shut your mouth lmfao

my problem with you is that you’re not only condescending to me, someone who has been studying both christianity and judaism since i was, like, a toddler (tbh i probably know more about christianity than you, but i’m not here for a dick-waving contest about who knows more, so i’ll let that one go and just say i have way more knowledge of your religion than you think i do), but your views that you say are just your own are something that you push onto people by ‘warning’ them about the dangers of their lifestyle. like, guess what ... that’s what happens in your religion. YOUR religion. as in, not theirs. so, like, the only person you should be worried about is YOU. and that’s it. that’s the problem that people have with you spreading your homophobic views. like, you think it’s a sin, great. then YOU don’t do it. leave other people alone especially if they’re not christian and if they have no intent to become christian. if you give me a cheese platter and i say “oh no thanks cheese isn’t for me” and you still try and force me to eat the cheese because, like, it’s SO good and it did WONDERS for your digestive system etc etc i’m just gonna be more upset at you for trying to force the cheese on me because i already said i didn’t want cheese. like it’s great YOU liked the cheese but it’s not for everyone and you have some kind of weird inability to accept that.

anyway that’s my two shekels about the whole thing

#long post /

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pamphletstoinspire · 6 years

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THE PROPHECY OF OSEE - From The Douay-Rheims Bible - Latin Vulgate

Chapter 8

INTRODUCTION.

Osee, or Hosea, whose name signifies a saviour, was the first in the order of time among those who are commonly called lesser prophets, because their prophecies are short. He prophesied in the kingdom of Israel, (that is, of the ten tribes) about the same time that Isaias prophesied in the kingdom of Juda. Ch. --- The chronological order is not observed in any edition. The Sept. very from the rest. They place the less before the greater prophets, and read some of the names rather differently, as Prot. do also, though they have nothing but novelty to recommend the change. We shall here specify the Prot. names, (H.) in the order in which these prophets appeared: (C.) 1. Hosea, 2. Amos, 3. Jonah, 4. Micah, 5. Nahum, 6. Joel, 7. Zephaniah, 8. Habakkuk, 9. Obadiah, 10. Haggai, 11. Zechariah, 12. Malachi. H. --- It is not known who collected them into one volume. but the book of Ecclesiasticus (xlix. 12.) speaks of the twelve; and 4 Esd. i. 39. specifies them as they are found in the Sept. Osee, Amos, Micheas, Joel, Abdias, Jonas, Nahum, &c. as in the Vulg. C. --- Many other prophets appeared before these, (W.) but Osee is the first of the sixteen whose works are extant. He must have continued his ministry about eighty-five years, and lived above one hundred and ten, if the first verse speaks of him alone. But some take it to regard the whole collection, and may be added by another hand. C. --- The style of Osee is sententious and very hard to be understood, (S. Jer.) as but little is known of the last kings of Israel, in whose dominions he lived, and to whom he chiefly refers, though he speaks sometimes of Juda, &c. C. --- By taking a wife, and other parables, he shews their criminal conduct and chastisment, and foretells their future deliverance and the benefits to be conferred by Christ. We must observe that the prophets often style the kingdom of the two tribes, Juda, Benjamin, Jerusalem, or the house of David; and that of the ten tribes, Ephraim, Joseph, Samaria, Jezrahel, Bethel, or Bethaven; and often Israel or Jacob till after the captivity of these tribes, when the latter titles refer to Juda, who imitated the virtues of Jacob better than the other kingdom. W. --- Then all distinction of this nature was at an end. H.

The additional Notes in this Edition of the New Testament will be marked with the letter A. Such as are taken from various Interpreters and Commentators, will be marked as in the Old Testament. B. Bristow, C. Calmet, Ch. Challoner, D. Du Hamel, E. Estius, J. Jansenius, M. Menochius, Po. Polus, P. Pastorini, T. Tirinus, V. Bible de Vence, W. Worthington, Wi. Witham. — The names of other authors, who may be occasionally consulted, will be given at full length.

Verses are in English and Latin.

HAYDOCK CATHOLIC BIBLE COMMENTARY

This Catholic commentary on the Old Testament, following the Douay-Rheims Bible text, was originally compiled by Catholic priest and biblical scholar Rev. George Leo Haydock (1774-1849). This transcription is based on Haydock's notes as they appear in the 1859 edition of Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary printed by Edward Dunigan and Brother, New York, New York.

TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES

Changes made to the original text for this transcription include the following:

Greek letters. The original text sometimes includes Greek expressions spelled out in Greek letters. In this transcription, those expressions have been transliterated from Greek letters to English letters, put in italics, and underlined. The following substitution scheme has been used: A for Alpha; B for Beta; G for Gamma; D for Delta; E for Epsilon; Z for Zeta; E for Eta; Th for Theta; I for Iota; K for Kappa; L for Lamda; M for Mu; N for Nu; X for Xi; O for Omicron; P for Pi; R for Rho; S for Sigma; T for Tau; U for Upsilon; Ph for Phi; Ch for Chi; Ps for Psi; O for Omega. For example, where the name, Jesus, is spelled out in the original text in Greek letters, Iota-eta-sigma-omicron-upsilon-sigma, it is transliterated in this transcription as, Iesous. Greek diacritical marks have not been represented in this transcription.

Footnotes. The original text indicates footnotes with special characters, including the astrisk (*) and printers' marks, such as the dagger mark, the double dagger mark, the section mark, the parallels mark, and the paragraph mark. In this transcription all these special characters have been replaced by numbers in square brackets, such as [1], [2], [3], etc.

Accent marks. The original text contains some English letters represented with accent marks. In this transcription, those letters have been rendered in this transcription without their accent marks.

Other special characters.

Solid horizontal lines of various lengths that appear in the original text have been represented as a series of consecutive hyphens of approximately the same length, such as ---.

Ligatures, single characters containing two letters united, in the original text in some Latin expressions have been represented in this transcription as separate letters. The ligature formed by uniting A and E is represented as Ae, that of a and e as ae, that of O and E as Oe, and that of o and e as oe.

Monetary sums in the original text represented with a preceding British pound sterling symbol (a stylized L, transected by a short horizontal line) are represented in this transcription with a following pound symbol, l.

The half symbol (1/2) and three-quarters symbol (3/4) in the original text have been represented in this transcription with their decimal equivalent, (.5) and (.75) respectively.

Unreadable text. Places where the transcriber's copy of the original text is unreadable have been indicated in this transcription by an empty set of square brackets, [].

Chapter 8

The Israelites are threatened with destruction for their impiety and idolatry.

[1] Let there be a trumpet in thy throat like an eagle upon the house of the Lord: because they have transgressed my covenant, and have violated my law.

In gutture tuo sit tuba quasi aquila super domum Domini, pro eo quod transgressi sunt foedus meum, et legem meam praevaricati sunt.

[2] They shall call upon me: O my God, we, Israel, know thee.

Me invocabunt : Deus meus, cognovimus te Israel.

[3] Israel hath cast off the thing that is good, the enemy shall pursue him.

Projecit Israel bonum : inimicus persequetur eum.

[4] They have reigned, but not by me: they have been princes, and I knew not: of their silver, and their gold they have made idols to themselves, that they might perish.

Ipsi regnaverunt, et non ex me; principes exstiterunt, et non cognovi : argentum suum et aurum suum fecerunt sibi idola, ut interirent.

[5] Thy calf, O Samaria, is cast off, my wrath is kindled against them. How long will they be incapable of being cleansed?

Projectus est vitulus tuus, Samaria; iratus est furor meus in eos. Usquequo non poterunt emundari?

[6] For itself also is the invention of Israel: a workman made it, and it is no god: for the calf of Samaria shall be turned to spiders' webs.

Quia ex Israel et ipse est : artifex fecit illum, et non est Deus; quoniam in aranearum telas erit vitulus Samariae.

[7] For they shall sow wind, and reap a whirlwind, there is no standing stalk in it, the bud shall yield no meal; and if it should yield, strangers shall eat it.

Quia ventum seminabunt, et turbinem metent : culmus stans non est in eo; germen non faciet farinam : quod etsi fecerit, alieni comedent eam.

[8] Israel is swallowed up: now is he become among the nations like an unclean vessel.

Devoratus est Israel; nunc factus est in nationibus quasi vas immundum.

[9] For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath given gifts to his lovers.

Quia ipsi ascenderunt ad Assur, onager solitarius sibi; Ephraim munera dederunt amatoribus.

[10] But even though they shall have hired the nations, now will I gather them together: and they shall rest a while from the burden of the king, and the princes.

Sed et cum mercede conduxerint nationes, nunc congregabo eos, et quiescent paulisper ab onere regis et principum.

[11] Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin: altars are become to him unto sin.

Quia multiplicavit Ephraim altaria ad peccandum; factae sunt ei arae in delictum.

[12] I shall write to him my manifold laws, which have been accounted as foreign.

Scribam ei multiplices leges meas, quae velut alienae computatae sunt.

[13] They shall offer victims, they shall sacrifice flesh, and shall eat it, and the Lord will not receive them: now will he remember their iniquity, and will visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

Hostias offerent, immolabunt carnes et comedent, et Dominus non suscipiet eas : nunc recordabitur iniquitatis eorum, et visitabit peccata eorum : ipsi in Aegyptum convertentur.

[14] And Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and hath built temples: and Juda hath built many fenced cities: and I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the houses thereof.

Et oblitus est Israel factoris sui, et aedificavit delubra; et Judas multiplicavit urbes munitas; et mittam ignem in civitates ejus, et devorabit aedes illius.

Commentary:

Ver. 1. Eagle. It makes a noise like a trumpet. Pliny x. 3. --- Osee denounces judgments on the house of Israel, which, though schismatical, was not entirely abandoned by the Lord. Salmanasar overturned the kingdom, and may be compared to an eagle, as Nabuchodonosor is frequently, Ezechiel xvii. 3. But he is not here meant. C. --- The temple shall be destroyed by him; (S. Jer.) yet not so soon. W. --- Sept. "In their bosom like earth appears, like an eagle," &c. H.

Ver. 2. Know thee. They resemble those to whom our Saviour will reply, Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Mat. vii. 22. C.

Ver. 3. Him. Sept. "they have pursued the enemy." But the former sense is better. H. --- The Assyrians prevailed. S. Jer. --- They carried Israel into captivity, before Juda. v. 9. W.

Ver. 4. They. Jeroboam and Jehu were assured by the prophets that they should reign, yet this was not a sanction of their right. God condemned their ambition and wicked conduct. The successors of Zarharias had still less pretensions to the throne. God permits such things. The people had not consulted him in these changes. C. --- Kings were their own choice. 1 K. xviii. Saul rose by their "error." S. Jer. --- Knew, or approved not. v. 2. Mat. xxv. 12. C. --- Perish. This was the effect, though contrary to their intention. H.

Ver. 5. Calf. The idol is broken in pieces, and carried away by the victorious enemy. Thus does the vanity of such gods appear. Their captivity is therefore often foretold. Jer. xliii. 12. --- Cleansed. The physician is disgusted with the obstinacy of the sick. C. --- How long will Israel resist the Holy Ghost? Acts vii. 51. H.

Ver. 6. Israel. This enhances the crime. Can a people so highly favoured adore the work of an artist? --- Webs, such as appear on a fine day in autumn. S. Jerom's master suggested that this was the sense. Interpreters vary. C. --- Sept. and Th. "is delusive." Sym. &c. "instable;" shebabim. H. --- Some erroneously read v instead of i. "The Lord casts off the calves of heretics, ... and wonders that people should prefer heretical filth before the cleanliness of the Church." S. Jer.

Ver. 7. Whirlwind. They shall be punished for their folly, nor shall they reap any advantage from idols. --- In it, or in Israel. The seed which I have sown yields no fruit. If any come up, the mildew destroys it. Yea, though any should come to perfection, which is impossible, it should be given to strangers. My people perform no acts of religion; or at least they render them useless, by adoring idols. C. --- He speaks in general terms, as few continued faithful. Yet even in the worst of times, seven thousand were found. 3 K. xix. 18. H.

Ver. 8. Vessel. The nations around despised them, after they had applied to the Assyrians, who were looked upon as enemies of all independent states. Israel was not yet in captivity: but this event may be spoken of as if already past.

Ver. 9. Wild ass. It is very jealous of liberty, (Job xi. 12.) and of its females, so that it prevents the young males from becoming its rivals. Pliny viii. 30. Solin xxx. --- If this were true, the species would soon perish. H. --- The Israelites disdained subjection to strangers. They even rejected God, their king; for which reason he abandons them to servitude, in a foreign land. They had run furiously after idols, and had given presents to such lovers.

Ver. 10. Princes. Heb. "king of kings." This proud title was afterwards taken by the monarchs of Babylon and Persia. Israel ceased to pay taxes, having nothing left. They shall cease to be a people. C. --- Sept. "I will receive them, and they shall cease a little to anoint a king and princes." H. --- They had none during the captivity, as they would not consult God before in their appointment. v. 4. He speaks ironically. I will conduct them beyond the Euphrates, where they shall have nothing to pay for some time. C. --- This wretched condition was of long continuance; (Tournemine) though short, if compared with their crimes. H.

Ver. 12. Foreign. Shall I give them laws again to despise? Sept. "I shall write down their number." It will be an easy task, they shall be so diminished. "His laws," &c. (C.) or, "I will describe to him a multitude, and his regulations: The beloved altars have been deemed foreign. S. Jerom's and Grabe's edit. H.

Ver. 13. Egypt, to escape the Assyrian. C. ix. 3. C. --- They have imitated the Egyptian idols. S. Jer. --- Osee had applied to their king for aid. 4 K. xvii. 4.

Ver. 14. Temples, or "palaces." C. --- Cities. The two tribes, witnessing the calamities of their brethren, will not avoid a similar conduct, but trust in their fortifications. W. --- Fire of war destroys both kingdoms. --- Thereof. Sept. of S. Jerom adds, "and among the Assyrians they have eaten unclean things," which may be taken from C. ix. 3. H. - It is not found in the present Heb. or Gr. copies. C.

#prophecy of osee

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dailyaudiobible · 6 years

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11/26/2017 DAB Transcript

Daniel 2:24-3:30, 1 Peter 4:7-5:14, Psalms 119:81-96, Proverbs 28:15-16

Today is the 26th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is wonderful to be here with you today at the threshold of a shiny, sparkly, new week. And we’ve got some territory to cover. We began the book of Daniel yesterday, which we’ll be spending some time in. Today we will finish Peter's first letter. So, first Peter. And then work our way through second Peter and get ourselves into first John before this week is out. And, of course, we’ll be in a new month before this week is out. We will enter the 12th month of the year. So, buckle up. Here we go. We’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week. Daniel chapter 2 verse 24 through 3 verse 30.

Commentary

Okay. So, we finished first Peter today. And Peter carries the theme of suffering and endurance all the way through this letter and he applies it to all kinds of situations because a lot of situations apply. Peter was writing this to a lot of people who had been dispersed from their homeland for various reasons over a long period of time. And as they’ve come to faith in Jesus, they’ve begun to be marginalized and even persecuted and blamed for all kinds of things that they hadn’t done. And all kinds of assumptions were made about these Christians. And there were reasons for this. And all of these reasons go back to why Peter is writing a letter of endurance in spite of injustice and suffering. So, in the Roman Empire it was not illegal to be a Christian at this time, but it was expected that, like, the gods of the Empire would be worshiped. And most Romans were polytheistic. So, in other words, they believed in many, many gods. God was everywhere in all kinds of things. There were many gods. So, you could worship whatever God you wanted to but you were expected that the gods of the Empire, you know, the ones making the Empire great, they were to be worshiped. And Christians wouldn't do this. And, so, that immediately made them stand out. Now Hebrew people, Jewish people didn't do this either, but this was permitted because the Jewish people were coming out of a very, very ancient tradition, a very ancient religion. So, this was acknowledged for the Jewish people who were definitely disassociating themselves from the Christians. And, so, the Christians were singled out. And there’s all kinds of weird thought about them. So, to round out this context that we’ve been looking at, because as we understand this context, every time we pass through the territory of the New Testament, and we see people suffering and we see endurance being spoken of, and we see instructions about behaviors to avoid and behaviors to embrace, we begin to understand that there's a back story. Yes, we should live a certain way. Yes, we should avoid certain things, no matter what time we live in, but in this particular time, the formation of the church, a lot of these instructions and behaviors were two combat the stereotype that was being formed around them, to resist by rising up and simply being better and being nothing like what was being said. Which begs the question, what exactly was being said about these early believers by people who did not understand the faith at all, who had no reference point for Jesus in a faraway land, who had no grid at all for this singular God and his son, and the saving…of the…like…who had no idea? Right? So, who were just living in a world with many gods going about their lives in their culture and looking at these strange people. What, exactly, were they saying? Well, thankfully there are many, many writings from many, many cultures that are very, very ancient and some of this thought is captured, which gives us the opportunity for a very interesting exercise. I am going to read you a passage. And this is from the late second century. So, the late 100s. So, maybe about 80 years after the gospel of John was composed. And in the thick of the development of the Christian faith. And this description was captured by a man named Minucius Felix in a book he wrote called Octavius. So, Minucius Felix was a believer. And he attributes this description of Christians to a person named Fronto. And I’m going to read this. And the exercise is to imagine that this is what is being said about you and your faith. What would your response be? What would your reaction be? Because this puts us squarely in the shoes of the people that are being written to, not only in first Peter, but in much of the New Testament. So, when you think of Paul being dragged out and stoned outside of the city or, you know, an idol maker causing a riot against Paul, like, all of this swirling tension going around that we find in the New Testament. So, imagine this is being said about you.

And now as wickeder things advance more fruitfully and abandoned manners creep on day by day, those abominable shrines of an impious assembly are maturing themselves throughout the whole world. Assuredly, this confederacy ought to be rooted out and execrated they know one another by secret marks and insignia and they love one another almost before they know one another everywhere. Also, there is mingled among them a certain religion of lust and to call one another, promiscuously, brothers and sisters that even a not unusual debauchery made by the intervention of that sacred name become incestuous. It is thus that there vain and senseless superstition glories in crimes. Nor, concerning these things, would intelligent reports speak of things so great in various and requiring to be prefaced by an apology unless truth were at the bottom of it. I hear that they adore the head of an ass, that basest of creatures, consecrated by I know not what silly persuasion. A worthy and appropriate religion for such manners. Some say that they worship the virilia of their pontiff and priest and adore the nature, as it were, of their common parent. I know not whether these things are false. Certainly, suspicion is applicable to secret and nocturnal rights. And he explains their ceremonies by reference to a man punished by extreme suffering for his wickedness and to the deadly wood of the cross appropriates fitting altars for reprobate and wicked men, that they may worship what they deserve. Now, the story about the initiation of young novices is as much to be detested as it is well-known. An infant covered over with a meal, that it may deceive the unwary, is placed before him who is to be stained with their rights. This infant is slain by the young pupil who has been urged on as if to harmless blows on the surface of the meal with dark and secret wounds. Thirstily, oh horror, they lick up its blood. Eagerly, they divide its limbs. By this victim they are pledged together. With this consciousness of wickedness they are covenanted to mutual silence. Such sacred rights as those are more foul than any sacrileges. And of their banqueting, it is well-known. All men speak of it everywhere. Even the speech of our Cirtensian testifies to it. On a solemn day they assemble at the feast with all their children, sisters, mothers, people of every sex and of every age. There, after much feasting, when the fellowship has grown warm, and the fervor of incestuous lust has grown hot with drunkenness, a dog that has been tied to the chandelier is provoked by throwing a small piece of offal beyond the length of the line by which he is bound to rush in spring. And thus, the conscious light being overturned and extinguished in the shameless darkness, the connections of abominable lust involve them in the uncertainty of fate. Although not all, in fact, yet in consciousness all are alike incestuous. Since by the desire of all of them everything is sought for which can happen in the act of each individual.

Okay, so how you feel about that? If these are the kinds of things your culture was saying about a group of people, would you be racing to sign up? And if you had put your faith in Christ and you heard these things and you knew they were absolutely not true at all but rather gross distortions and mischaracterizations and flat out fabrications, how do you respond? How do you respond when your entire culture is set against you? So, it makes a whole lot of sense then when you read this letter from Peter and most of the New Testament, for that matter. But since were in first Peter specifically, like when Peter says, for you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do, living in debauchery, lost drunkenness, orgies, carousing, and detestable idolatry. Right? The very things they are being accused of. Peter is saying, that was the old days. That stuff is not what we do. That is not who we are. And those who are accusing you of it will stand before the judge one day - the one who judges the living and the dead. Or when Peter says something like, who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. Do not fear their threats. Do not be frightened, but in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do it with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. So, now we have a pretty good picture of what is really going on here and what is being, like, what these people are going through. These are our spiritual ancestors. Were it not for their faith and steadfastness and endurance in this time, we wouldn't be here today. This is what they were going through. And it's a lot more challenging than what most of us are going through. Although, I know, many of you live in countries that are not Western or Christian, and you feel this kind of assumption and degradation going on around you toward faith in Jesus. But for most of us, this is more challenging than anything we've ever faced. And, so, the council in the New Testament in all of these letters, the postures of ways in which we are to live that we still struggle with every day. We begin to realize that we have that much of an excuse. Those early to the faith faced all kinds of oppositions that we…we can't even imagine. And yet they stayed true to the death. If we really want to embrace this new life, if we really want to believe that we can be made new creatures and renewed every single day then we’re going to have to follow the advice that we find in the Scriptures. Like James said, you can't just hear this stuff, you have to do with this, you have to live into this, it has to become you. And we’ll have to find the resolve of those who went before us, the conviction of those who went before us, and faced injustice by simply aiming higher, being better, being nothing like the stereotype. And there are plenty of stereotypes about people who have put their faith in Jesus all over the world still in existence today. For example, in our own lifetimes, we’ve watched things go from, like, if you said you were a Christian then you were thought to be trustworthy. I mean, people would say they were Christian at their businesses even if they weren't to get the trust of their patrons. It’s gone from that to the stereotype of hypocrisy, that Christians aren’t really what they're presenting. And unfortunately, there's truth in that. And we find ourselves in the Scriptures every day being counseled forward into a life and a set of ethics and behaviors that will lead us into new life and all truth and we have to listen because we have to rise above it all. We can and we must aim higher. We are better than that and the name of Jesus that we carry around is more valuable than that.

Prayer:

Father, this is a moment of repentance. We’re seeing what the faith that was handed down to us so freely cost our brothers and sisters earlier on in the story. We see the ways that we've trivialized our faith. We see the ways that we've used You in this relationship. We see all kinds of things and we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to bring these things up in us because this is a moment of change. We invite Your Holy Spirit to indwell us and be within us and change us from the inside out. We see that this is an all or nothing proposition and we’ve been trying to make it work in all kinds of other ways besides that. And in so many ways it's allowed us to become a stereotype of ourselves. And yet, Your love, your love propels us forward. We come running to You because, in spite of our failings and shortcomings and flat out rebellions, You have been unwilling to surrender us. And we see so clearly now. You have been holding onto us when we were unwilling to hold onto You. And what can we do will but fall down before You in repentance and apology and lament. But even then, You scoop us into Your arms and Father us. You tell us we’re better than this. And so often we don't believe that and just move back into the old patterns, but we believe You. We’re better than this. We must rise above this and show the world why we are compelled to serve You, why we have fallen in love with You, and given our lives to You, and given our lives for You. Come Holy Spirit, we pray, as we reach with all of our hearts toward You. In Jesus name. Amen.

Song: Reckless Love Bethel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJJYKOpFnkA

Before I spoke a word

You were singing over me

You have been so, so

Good to me

Before I took a breath

You breathed Your life in me

You have been so, so

Kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

When I was your foe, still Your love fought for me

You have been so, so

Good to me

When I felt no worth

You paid it all for me

You have been so, so

Kind to me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

There's no shadow You won't light up

Mountain You won't climb up

Coming after me

There's no wall You won't kick down

No lie You won't tear down

Coming after me

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

Oh, it chases me down, fights 'til I'm found, leaves the ninety-nine

I couldn't earn it

I don't deserve it

Still You give yourself away

Oh, the overwhelming, never-ending, reckless love of God

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smallblanketfort · 7 years

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What's your opinion on the bible?

it’s the word of God.

my opinion is that i do not read it enough.

my opinion is that people have got. to stop. highlighting. their. bibles. by this, i mean christians simply cannot continue embracing some verses to live by and proclaim. we have to study the whole story, and understand messages. this does not mean they can call out verses such as “man may not lie with man”, but ignore “thou shalt not murder” or “clothe the poor.” the discrepancies between christians, republicans, and the bible are horrifying and breaks my fucking heart. if i fall away from God, it is not because of the Bible. understand this. as a pansexual girl, if i fall away, it is because of the people who have abused their voices and power in God’s name.

my opinion is that esther kicks some serious ass i love her. i also love peter. i am peter, i feel like. i want to hug peter some day.

that the New Testament reveals God to be a generous, kind, loving God that only gets angry in the name of justice.

the bible’s hard to swallow sometimes, but jesus. jesus is. fucking incredible. this guy. is such a revolutionary. his best friends were society’s deplorables, the prostitutes, the poor, the tax collectors. he liked to party. he was a homeless middle eastern man, focused on loving the unlovable, born from a young unmarried girl, and if that’s not the most feminist, radical thing you’ve ever heard i dont know what is, holy heck.

ultimately, the bible is about love, generosity, and forgiveness. that’s my opinion.

yall. theology is fucking brilliant.

i also have the opinion that we should have a meme translation of the bible, but i cant decide if God just rolled his eyes, giggled, or is tempted to strike me down for this opinion so *shrug* he has a sense of humor tho i lov that guy he wrecked my life.

#anon #answers

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kpopgerapitico · 7 years

Text

Song of the Week

It’s a new week, and another week of a crap ton of new songs. Like the list is so long? And I don’t understand why all these people decided to put out music all at once. I’m only a little bit complaining (because it makes choices hard to make, and also it takes so much time to listen to everything); it’s mostly great. This one is really long, so enjoy the cut.

Honorable Mentions:

I love Kyuhyun’s voice so much, but for some reason I never like his ballads? Like the only one I’m sort of okay with is At Gwanghwanmun, and even that is iffy. Anyways, he has another one, Goodbye For Now, where he sounds amazing, because of course he does. And I’m still not a fan of it . . .

I was prepared to like the song or graphics or something in Nostalgia, but for the most part it felt like an extended music break from a classic rock band, mixed with an anime theme song. The breakdown was cool, but the graphics never really got there for me, and the song went from boring, to confusing, back to boring.

I’m going to keep track of how songs have beat drops this week. Here is number one, in Be.A’s debut(?) track Magical. I like it, but it is a little too simple to really grab me. I’m rarely a proponent for complexity in a track, but this one just needs . . . something.

A much dirtier and subtler beat drop is in Changmo’s One More Rollie (this is 2). I like how this song builds so much. It is almost perfectly in my rap sweet spot (in that I love Changmo’s parts, but not all of the features quite hit the spot for me). Inkigayo is also good, with another really really dirty beat (and puts us at 3, with another more subtle bass drop).

San E is his usual great self in Mohae. I’m not a huge fan of Bolbbalgan4 in it, but otherwise, solid early summer track.

I really want to like A.C.E’s retro debut. But my ear is just not a fan of the ideas in Cactus. They are not necessarily bad, just not my thing (also, sort of a beat drop? Not a dubstep one, but definitely a dance track one, so I’m gonna count it for 4 (nevermind, I just had to wait for it)).

If Jessi is on a track, there is a damn good chance I’m going to like it. And Dumbfoundead just proves it more with Send Me To War. I cannot wait to blast this chorus almost painfully loud in my car. But, as per my rules (that I absolutely made up and break regularly), this song is fully in English, so it isn’t up for the win this week. It just gets to go one my phone ASAP.

I sort of adore the sound of Kim Lip’s Eclipse. Like a lot of the stuff coming out of the members of Loona, Eclipse is just enough different to still be really interesting. And I’m hooked.

I have yet to like a iKON release (except maybe Dumb and Dumber), though they are trying their damnedest this week to change that. B-Day (with number 5), has the addicting chorus I expect from iKON, but they combined it with a verse that I actually like quite a bit, and some lovely vocals in the hook. Bling Bling (6) is more of the sound I would expect, and more of the sound I’m not particularly a fan of.

I wasn’t expecting anything from Marmello. Instead I got the pleasure of a girl band, with just enough cute that I’m not totally turned off. Puppet is a pleasure to listen to.

After the hard beats of their earlier releases, 24K’s newest track comes as a bit of a surprise. Only You (#7) has a beat that hist just as hard, but is happier, brighter and sweeter than their previous stuff. And it maybe my favorite thing I have heard so far. Also, using offbeats is extra credit, always.

KNK technically has 8 with Sun, Moon, Star.

Kriesha Chu has debuted pretty quick after her season of K-Pop star. And while I don’t love Trouble, it’s producer can be heard (I’m talking about my current fav, Yong Jun Hyung) in the beats that fit her surprisingly well. And the vocals are unsurprisingly on point. (maybe 9?)

Another producer nod goes to the members of resently disbanded History, who worked on Yezi’s newest rap track, Anck Su Namum (which is a horrible romanization btw). I don’t feel anywhere cool enough to listen to this song. The beat takes obvious Indian influences and runs with it, adding enough difference to pull this song from a caricature to a bad ass bitch song. (definitely 10)

Yong Yong raps like a bamf in her track Scribbling. My only complaint? It’s too short! (also 11).

Loco had 4 FUCKING TRACKS THIS WEEK!!!! How am I supposed to survive that?

Let’s go one by one, shall we?

First is Movie Shoot. Which I knew within the first 10 seconds would be good, with a feature like DPR Live on it. It is slow and even and everything I want out of Loco as a singer. And then he kills his raps like always, and DPR Live kills it. Also, his abs should not be a thing that surprises me so much, but I feel personality attacked during a song that had me feeling so chill. (12)

Next is Da Da Da, which has another dependable feature on it with Hoody. And once the warping beat hits (idk what instrument it is or what it is called), I’m into it. Maybe not as much with Movie Shoot, but another solid entry.

Oh, and as if the features weren’t good enough, he had to add Too Much to the mix with DEAN on the vocals, and Gray on the beats. Unsurprisingly the results are the calmest rap track of the year mixed with an insatiable beat, insane vocals, and Loco’s on point rap. Some of the music choices are really really cool in this, a testament to why I love Gray so much.

Loco finishes on his own, with Brighten Your Night, my least favorite of the new releases. It is still slid, but after listening to all the previous tracks before it, I can’t help being a little bit disappointed. The rapping is still impressive, and the beat still cool, just not quite as insanely good as the previous 3.

Choosing a single winner is impossible. Choosing just two is still really hard. Not giving Loco any of those two hurts me inside, even though all of his new songs are already on playlists.

Hey, guess what? B.I.G deserves more fans, especially with the range of music they are putting out this year. 1.2.3 from earlier this year has been all over my playlists. And it seems like Hello Hello is right behind it. There is jazzy brass, there are interesting beats, there are on point harmonies. What more do you want. (Also Benji’s hair is INSANE)(also 13 I think). I’m glad to give it a win.

I had a pretty clear idea of what I was expecting from Seventeen’s new track. Don’t Wanna Cry is in no way that song (14). It feels like the whole group collectively decided not to go for the cute concept, and move just a little more serious and just a little bit more adult. But they did it while still staying well within the realm of k-pop, and following some of my favorite trends in pop (the trends originally in Korea with people like AXODUS, Planet Shiver, and even Changmin’s solo before going to the army). Also, I love it (if the giant paragraph hadn’t clued you in yet).

#sotw #big #hello hello #seventeen #don't wanna cry

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