#I guess this is why religion is popular it brings something symbolic and tries to create something out of destruction

[bootwearingfairy]

I understand shit now. I'm this kinky cause i'm not just dangerously horny, I'm dangerous and horny. There is a fine line between it being good and fun and it being way too much and no longer fun and I'm so afraid of crossing that line with how much raging feral rage that's in my skin so I need someone who is either A) into that or B) significantly stronger than I am and not only able to handle me but stop me. I see so much shit on here about the person being topped is so small and so frail and just so easy to throw around like a rag doll but no no no no I have to fight. I gotta use my teeth. I gotta use my nails. My rule of thumb when it comes to this shit is "nothing that'll land me or you in the hospital cause I can't afford the hospital bill and I can't afford a funeral and I'm not leaving it to my family to pay." Thing is I'm squeamish, kinda. It's weird and situational but like I know if I obviously get past a specific point My brain will not like it and Their body would suffer and I want neither of those things to happen. If I'm fucking around with a partner, I want it to be fun. That's why the horny's there, y'know? If we're both sadomasochists and we both do shit that we consent to and we both feel good then that's the winner right there. That's why this is kink and not like plotting murder. But like that's it tho, like if I'm going to fight someone, I want them to win. I will lose, and that will make me more competitive, sure. But there are ways to settle that. I feel like this is a Something Something Honor thing, which feels very gender, but also at the bottom of it, I feel like it's also proof to myself that I'm not as bad and dangerous as I think I am and that I'm not going to magically wake up in a pool of someone else's blood and then have to figure out the rest of it from there. I have no idea what the fuck I'm rambling about at this point but like uhhhhthanks for coming to my bathtub

[whumping-whumpees]

Introducing: Loch!

AN: I hope you all enjoy this! This is mostly an intro/set-up, I plan for it to get MUCH more whumpy, don’t worry ;)

Warnings: magical based discrimination, insults, use of “it” as a derogatory word, harassment, threats

Lochlan sighed as he faced down the owner of the local tavern, who was staring at him with hatred in her eyes.

“I told you,” Loch spoke, trying to hide his lisp and demonic accent as much as he could. “I’m meeting a group here.”

“And I told you,” The woman sneered, hefting her large sword. “We don’t serve your kind in here! We are a reputable institution!” Loch decided not to point out that he was only half-demon, and more importantly, he had been invited. Most people didn’t care, they took one look at horns, tail, eyes, or teeth and decided that he was automatically one of them. Which was ironic, sense most full demons hated him anyway. It wasn’t his fault. Unlike full demons, he couldn’t hide his true nature, he didn’t have that power.

“Pleathe,” He said, his fangs causing his lisp. He tried again, making an effort to enunciate. “Can you at least tell Rosemary that Loch is waiting outside?” The woman, he thought her name might be Iris, just continued to glare at him.

“You have no business here, devil.” Ah. It was going to be like that, huh? Loch couldn’t bring himself to be mad at Iris, he knew she was just scared of him, of what his kind could do. Rightfully so, he knew he was just a harbinger of death and destruction, even though he really didn’t want to hurt anyone. He held his hands up in submission. He knew he could fight his way through, but that’s not exactly the kind of impression he wanted to make on his new... coworkers.

“Fine, it’th no problem.” It was a problem. He was supposed to meet them in the tavern, now what? Thankfully, he didn’t have to ruminate on that question for too long, as the commotion had gathered a crowd, and Rosemary was behind Iris in the tavern. She stepping in front of her, looking at Loch with an unreadable expression.

“Don’t worry, Iris, he’s with me.” Rosemary didn’t sound happy about that, and Loch couldn’t blame her. Being associated with demons didn’t exactly win popularity. “You’re Loch, yeah? We’ll meet you out by the woods, near the northern road, we have to finish up in here first.” Loch nodded, then shrugged. Straight to business. That was fine. Rosemary went back inside and he turned around, walking quickly past the jeers and the calls of the townsfolk.

Demon, Freak, Get out of our town, you don’t belong here, leave or else,

Loch hurried past to the edge of town, where he sat against a tree. He shifted, his leathery wings, hidden under a cloak, feeling stiff. He sorted through his bag to pass the time. There wasn’t much in it, a few clothes, some food, a couple of tools. He tended to travel light, he was often robbed. He made sure his daggers were secure, and he hoped he wouldn’t have to use them. Loch heard his possibly new team whispering as they approached, and using his sensitive hearing he tuned into what they were saying.

“Rosie, I don’t see why we have to work with a fuckin’ demon!”

“I’m actually with Andraz on this one, who knows what he’ll do to us! We can’t trust him!”

“Jayr, Andraz, please. I can handle it, ok? Now shut up. I bet he can hear us.”

Loch took that as his cue to stand. He brushed the dirt from his cloak and extended his left hand for them to shake. He tried to exude an air of confidence he really didn’t feel. He had to make this work.

“I’ve already met Rosemary,” Loch spoke, taking care to say her name correctly. “You can call me Loch.” None of them moved to take his hand. In fact, the taller one, Andraz, he guessed, only seemed to glare at him more. Loch tried to quell his disappointment, pulling his hand back. He thought humans who were willing to work with him might be... better. But that was foolish.

“I’m Jayr,” The shorter one spoke, and Loch could tell they were nervous at his presence, based on how they seemed to avoid looking directly at him. They fingered an amulet on their neck, and Loch knew enough about human religions to know it was in the shape of a protection symbol.

“What kind of a demon is named Loch?” Andraz interjected, his thick arms folded. Loch sighed.

“It’s a nickname. My true name... is hard for humans to pronounthe.” Also, he hated that name, it just reminded him of how much of a failure he was to other demons. But he wasn’t about to tell these people that. “Now... you have a job for me?” He wanted to steer the conversation to something he knew. Rosemary nodded.

“Yeah, absolutely. See, we have to rob this place, steal back these jewels and this guy’ll pay us lots of gold.” That didn’t sound sketchy at all. Whatever. Loch had done worse for less.

“And where do I come in?”

“That’s what I’m about to tell you, don’t interrupt.” Rosemary continued, “Problem is, we don’t have an in. But, you’re a demon, so you can use your mind control to get in the door, right?” Loch shifted his feet, uncomfortable.

“It’th not... really mind control, uh, it’th more like-” Rosemary waved him off.

“You can use it to convince guards to let us in during a party, right?” Loch thought about it for a moment. He really didn’t like using that power. It felt... malicious. Too hurtful. But... he needed money. And more than that, he needed... to be part of something. To be useful.

“...Yeah, I can.” Rosemary grinned, and Loch couldn’t help but feel happy at making another person smile, even if it was about robbing someone.

“Perfect. I knew a demon would be up for the job!” She laughed. “We’re going to leave first thing in the morning, alright? We’ll travel together.” Andraz groaned, and Loch couldn’t help but feel trepidation as well.

“He has to travel with us?” Andraz said, seeming to not care that Loch was right there. Rosemary rolled her eyes. 

“How else will he know where to go, Andraz?” She responded. Jayr looked uncomfortable, but Loch noticed they looked uncomfortable during the entire exchange. Loch was also hesitant about traveling with these antagonistic humans, but he convinced himself it would be fine. He grabbed his bag.

“Where are all of you thaying the night?” Loch asked, hoping to be able to bunk with them. Rosemary glanced at her companions.

“We’re staying at the tavern... so...” Loch felt his stomach clench. “You can’t stay there. But, you know, you’re a demon, you can figure something out, right? Meet us here tomorrow, ok?” Rosemary turned, leading the rest away, before Loch could respond.

“Yeah... that’s fine...” He mumbled to their retreating backs. And it was fine. He would spend the night alone, like he always was.

[starwarshyperdrive]

My opinions after reading fan theories about ‘The Rise of Skywalker’

Let me start off once again by saying that I think Star Wars cannot be compared to Comic Book movies and predictions and speculations based on ‘it’s like in [insert random MCU movie]’ are therefor destined to fail. I wouldn’t normally post my prediction but I’ve seen sooo many wild speculations and unlikely predictions that I thought I should post it somewhere for the sake of ‘told you so’ later this year.

Apart from the Comic adaptations and to some extent the animated series Star Wars always stuck to a certain style of storytelling rooted in classical mythology. Joseph Campbell and all that ..blabla.. So even if books or episodes of Rebels ventured outside of this story structure, the movies always followed a certain style. 

The Last Jedi got a lot of hate, some justified, some completely out of place, but mostly for the wrong reasons. I have repeatedly spoken up about how I think that in some instances the dialogue doesn’t fit and shows too much of the writers handwriting. Same goes for the humor, much loathed by a lot of fans. Humor has always been a part of Star Wars and nothing will ever top the humor used in the prequels (battle droid humor is the worst), but the handwriting clearly shows and feels out of character. In a story like Star Wars the rules are pretty much set and you have to follow the flow of the characters and not the writers. And while we’re at it.. Maybe I got Aspergers or something but it bothers me a tiny bit that The Last Jedi doesn’t adhere to the established form of Star Wars titles. First part of the trilogy is 3 words (The Phantom Menace, A New Hope, The Force Awakens) , Third is 4 words that was pretty similar which is why I LOVE the EP9 title (Return of the Jedi, Revenge of the Sith, The Rise of Skywalker) and Second was supposed to be the same (The Empire Strikes Back, Attack of the Clones,..). So The Last Jedi feels even more like one writer/director doing his own thing. Don’t get me wrong. I love the movie, but so much could’ve been done more elegantly. The title feels more like the end or beginning of a trilogy. Back to the titles; now if we look at the abbreviations there is a beautiful rhyme to it: TPM-ANH-TFA, ROTS-ROTJ-TROS.. and AOTC-TESB- and .. TLJ which sounds much more like the set up of a trilogy. OK, I can see how someone might think ‘Is he seriously obsessing about that?’ Yes I am, and it’s one of the reasons I’m very happy with TROS restoring order in the galaxy far, far away..

POTENTIAL SPOILERS?

A lot of people seem to think Skywalker is the new title for Jedi and I’m just loosely quoting Collider here, which I usually wouldn’t do as their speculations have been a bit too wild for me in the past and their track record is not as high as they think themselves (no hard feelings though, they are doing a great job): ‘that makes no sense from a branding perspective, why would you change an established part of popular culture. everyone knows what a Jedi is’. I couldn’t agree more. I think we have to look more towards mythology once again. As much as they tried to retcon the name in recent books Skywalker is Shmiis last name. Take Buddhists or Christians for example. They are not followers of the religion of John Buddha or Joe Christ. Both were titles given to the respective prophets or gurus or whatever term for regions leader you prefer. So using that logic the term Jedi - from Jedi master or Jedi knight - makes a lot of sense. You could of course create some lengthy explanation and fashion something in the vain of ‘Lutheranism’ based on the name of the person who reformed the existing religion, but this has not happened in the movies. Not even in canon, so I think it’s highly unlikely. You always have to think of the general public and casual fans. JJ Abrams stated it himself. It has to appeal to everyone and work as a standalone movie. If too much exposition is needed, it’s not gonna work. And that’s not something you can put in an opening scroll. So...nope. 

Can Rey still be a Skywalker? Why not? After the BS Obi Wan told Luke we never can take anything at face value. I mean by now it’s kinda clear that there weren’t anything planned out properly but there are hints here and there that could or could not be used. Everyone was much too interested in ‘the girl’ all the time? why would Leia hug her, a complete stranger? why is Luke so curious who she is and then there is the ship in the trailer that seems to be the same that dropped her off on Jakku. The dark side cave showed her what she needed to see. Vader didn’t have Lukes face either. Symbolism, people! I really don’t wanna come up with my own fan theories now, but there are so many ways this could pan out and would work.

Can Kylo Ren be the Skywalker and have his redemption moment? I always said Kylo can not be redeemed and I’m still maintaining this position, but I’m willing to admit, there is ONE WAY this could work and I have read some rumors recently that seem to go in that direction. There is no way there is a happy ending of him and we see him frolicking around with a blue lightsaber and brown robes, but he could follow his grandfather and have a last minute sacrifice-himself-for-the-good moment, followed by his immediate demise. George Lucas is known for saying ‘it’s like poetry, it rhymes’, so there is that. as for him being the Skywalker, he has been introduced as Ben Solo. I don’t know a lot of people who take their uncles name after their parents get a divorce, so that makes no sense to me.

Reylo - I will not even dignify this with a response. She shut the door, what else do you need.

Who is rising? Luke Skywalker is obviously still in the picture and we’ve seen Anakin in his force ghost form. They were supposed to bring balance to the force. I don’t expect that we see the literal rise of Skywalker. ‘We’ve passed on all we know’.. My guess is, that it’s ‘just a title that sounds cool’ and refers to them becoming one with the force once the balance is finally restored.

UPDATE: The newly revealed German translation which can be retranslated as ‘the ascension of Skywalker’ backs my claim.

How is the emperor still alive? That’s easy. He isn’t. We see the ruins of the Death Star and Luke says ‘no one’s ever really gone’. There is all this Darth Plagueis talk about keeping someone from dying and the emperor was powerful. I think Ian McDiarmid was saying the truth when he quoted George Lucas saying ‘he is dead’. At the same time I think his spirit or essence is alive and was maybe even influencing Snoke. I don’t expect to see him in flesh, but he’ll probably be haunting them and might still have be pulling strings from the beyond. Some say ‘why would he wait so long’, but I don’t think time is relevant when you’re dead. Or he waited for a good vessel, or someone who is receptive for his low level radar signal of dark side force and Kylo was a good receptor.

What’s up with the TIE-fighter? I think it’s cut to deceive. Yes we see Kylos gloves. But is it from the same scene? A lot of fans argue that it’s a training sequence. We see Poe and Finn at the same location and as we all know both know how to fly a TIE-fighter, so it could be a stolen one - after all it’s to be expected the Resistance is short on equipment - so I’m taking a bet that it’s Poe or Finn and it’s just the magic of editing making it look as if it’s Kylo flying. We’ve seen similar in the The Last Jedi trailer. So, training sequence or something. Yeah, I can see that. Might as well be part of the fight, but why is he not shooting.

Can't wait for another trailer and more theories. Just remember: The higher the expectations the more likely the disappointment. Not everything will be explained, solved, make sense. Take it for what it is.

[ask-aph-nyo-france-deactiva-blog]

Heya, Saoirse here!! I have been assigned to ask you a question for the aph Ask event!🌟 Okay, so I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about Bread culture in France and just *how* seriously you guys take it? (Cuz from what I know, it seems pretty *serious* lol)🌟 Thank you!! :^))

Hi there ! Thank for your question ! Oh there is so much to talk about, so let’s start with the beginning, shall we ?

Where does it come from ? :

Most civilisations had been using cereals to make some kind of bread early on in Antiquity (and even before that), but they didn’t have a leavening agent so it looked more like a cake or a gruel. The first hints of leavened bread using yeast, closer to what we know today, could date back to aroud 4000 BC in Egypt. From there, it progresively spread around the Mediterranean, to Greece and then Rome. Some gaulish tribes, who were using flat unleavened bread, learnt leavening techniques through commerce with the Romans, and this knowledge later spread through the entire gallo-roman territory after Julius Cesar’s conquest in 52 BC. Bread has remained a basis of people’s diet in France ever since, especially thanks to the importance of agriculture in the country. (So thank you Rome I guess !)

Religion :

France was a catholic country from the early Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Catholicism is still the main religion in the country and has had an undeniable influence on french culture over the centuries. Therefore bread was also very important as a symbol, as it represents the body of the Christ in the Bible. 

Worth a revolution ? :

Though it’s far from being the only one, bread is on of the reasons for the French Revolution in 1789. Back then, the nobles ate white bread made from the finest flour and much more expensive, while the rest of the population ate brown bread made from whole flour and sometimes using other cereals than wheat, and the poorest usually could not afford an entire loaf. The situation already wasn’t great, but in 1788 and 1789, harvests were spoiled by harsh winters. Because of an important tax on windmills productin and cereals entering a city, prices went up, bread became unaffordable and some people started using unusual ingredients to make bread like… sawdust ! In the meantime, nobles in Versailles didn’t lack anything and had access to as much bread as they wanted. On the 5th of October 1789, 7000 to 8000 parisians, mainly women, marched to Versailles demanding bread for their families. This eventually led to the king being brought back to Paris and signing the Declaration of the Rights of Men and of the Citizen. (PS : Marie-Antoinette never said “Let’s give them cake !”)

And today ? :

Though bread consumption has decreased a lot in the last hundred years, it is still a main ingredient of french diet. It is served with every meal, from breakfast to dinner. When travelling, we are often surprised to have to pay for it in restaurants in other countries because, in France, bread is served for free !

Boulangerie and Boulangers :

La boulangerie is the place where you can buy bread. Nowadays all supermarkets also sell bread for it has a reputation of being of a lesser quality so many people still go to the traditional shop. There is a boulangerie in almost every city, town and village in France and there can be a fiece competition between shops close to each other. Nearly every boulangerie is also a bakery, where you can find pâtisseries and viennoiseries such as croissants, pain au chocolats and many other delicious things. A boulangerie, in Vannes :

Le boulanger (fem: la boulangère) is the person who makes the bread. People in France tend to have respect for this job since it is a hard one. Boulangers have to wake up very early to prepare fresh bread for the morning, it can be very physical and not always very profitable. Yet we couldn’t do without them. Bread is typically made three times a day, around 7am, midday and 6pm, basically once for every meal. But it can be less or more depending on the number of clients.

Boule or Baguette ? :

What ?! The famous stereotype of the french baguette is fake ? Well, not really. Actually the word baguette refers to a shape and not a recipe, so there are many different ones ! The other popular shape is la boule, which is in fact the traditional round loaf of bread. Both shapes can be made from various different flours though it’s usually a white wheat flour. Add to it water, salt and leavening made from yeast and you’ve got the basic ingredients for any bread.

There are different theories as to why the baguette was created. One of them is that it was invented for Napoleon’s army as it was easier for the soldiers to carry it. Another says it was invented during the creation of the parisian metro. Workers often got into fights with each other and since they carried a knife with them to cut their loaf of bread, the man in charge of the construction ordered the creation of a bread people could break with their bare hands so they wouldn’t bring potential weapons in the galleries.

As I said before, there can be many recipes of baguette. The cheapest one is called the classique, which you can find anywhere but it’s not very good in my opinion. The others are called traditional baguette, and they usually taste better. Some boulangers have their own recipe but others use approved or pattented recipes such as la tradition, la croquise,etc. 

Look what I got this morning ! A tradition, and a croissant :

Even on TV ! :

I think we’ve already established that bread is a pretty serious subject in France. But did you know we even have a tv show about it ? No of course you didn’t ! There are many competitions that reward the best boulangers of the country and one of them is a televised competition between 64 candidates called La Meilleure Boulangerie de France. It airs one one of the main tv channels, and just begun its fifth season this september.

Sayings and expression : 

Here are a few common expressions using the word for bread, pain, as further proof of its cultural importance.

Avoir du pain sur la planche - To have bread on the board/table : To have a lot of work ahead. Comes from the fact that making bread takes a lot of time and work.

Gagner son pain - Earning one’s bread : Earning enough to live / having a salary. Simply comes from the fact that bread is a daily food and considered a bare minimum.

Mettre un pain à quelqu’un - To put a bread to someone : Punching someone. I guess it comes from the shape of a loaf of bread resembling the shape of a fist… I can’t really explain that one. Just try to visualise hitting someone with a loaf of bread.

Did you know ?

In France, you’re not supposed to bite directly in the bread when eating. Most people don’t follow that rule in their daily life, but in a formal environment, you’re supposed to break it into small bits with your hands, it’s more refined.

I’ve heard you’re supposed to bite the end of the baguette, called le croûton, when you buy it before getting home. I’ve nerver seen people actually doing that when growing up but apparently it’s a thing… in Paris at least.

France isn’t the country with the largest variety of bread, that’s actually Germany.

For more information : 

On the history of bread in France, from Antiquity to the 17th century : (I only put the link to the first page)

http://leslefts.blogspot.fr/2015/01/french-bread-history-bread-of-gauls.html

On french daily habbits, a video of the mini-series “What the Fuck France” by Paul Taylor : 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOl3EWowQ_c

I hope this wasn’t too long ! I tried to cover everything but if you see something missing, don’t hesitate to add it ! (I may or may not edit this with drawings when I have more time !)

@aphaskevent​

[the-irken-moonwalker]

Ivan; G1, H2, H7// Zyra; D1, D3, C2, K5// Rain; B9, A6, J6

AYYYYY!

read under the cut cause i got pretty out of control 

Ivan

G1: Is your OC close to their family?

Ivan’s got a somewhat complicated relationship with his immediate family. His parents have a history of giving him the shaft in favor of his brother Kevin. Examples include better Christmas gifts, more leniency when he gets in trouble, and overall just more positive attention than Ivan, all because Kevin was better at athletic sports. When Kevin finally moved out focus shifted to Ivan, but by then Ivan was already pretty sore. He doesn’t hate his parents, in fact he tries his hardest to impress them, he just feels sort of distant and finds more comfort in friends and other family members like his grandfather.

H2: Is your OC a thoughtful partner, in whatever aspect of that you want to cover?

It changes as he gets older, but Ivan has always kept the interests of Angel in mind ever since they started dating. Obviously when he’s still a kid he’s still got some selfish traits like pressuring Angel to do fun stuff he enjoys rather than she does, but as he ages he listens to her more and keeps her desires in mind when they’re together. Ivan’s change of character gets kickstarted when Rain warns him about possibly losing Angel is he doesn’t fix his petty feuds and nasty behaviors. Ever since then Ivan becomes much more conscious of his actions and more empathetic of his partner’s feelings. Zyra’s however.....he’s keeping an eye on them.

H7: What do they look for in partners? (Emotionally, mentally, physically..)

Before Ivan had any partners, his idea of romance was pretty typical of a horny adolescent boy. He adored pop stars and supermodels with perfect bodies and lots of money despite having pretty low self-esteem himself. By high school and Ivan’s complete overhaul of his appearance, his taste in women was still the same, except now it seemed more achievable to him. Now hoards of pretty girls adored him and the popular elite considered him one of their own. In fact his reasons for getting roped up with Sydney was because he considered her “kinda cute” at first, a deadly mistake. After breaking up with her his taste in women completely changed, and for a little while he was terrified of girls. But after his encounter with Angel, his taste changed to, well...Angel. Ever since then Ivan enjoys a strong quiet woman who keeps to herself, takes care of herself, and can without a doubt can kick his ass.

Zyra

D1: How religious is your OC? What do they practice, if anything? If they don’t associate with any religion, what do they think of religion in general?

The Djragoni people as a whole believe in a sisterhood of mother deities known as The Goddesses, four celestial beings who are responsible for the creation and fostering of the four main races and their respective habitats. Zyra is Ician, part of a race of snow nomads who’s patron Goddess is Icia (or something the names change every time I mention them), the Goddess of Ice. In Djragoni society your patron Goddess is meant to be your guardian and in a way your cosmic mother figure, which in their culture is both the life-giver and the fierce protector. Zyra cherishes his connection to his patron Goddess since she’s the one thing that keeps him tied to his original heritage since most of his tribe is Ulecian and worship the Goddess Ulecia, the Goddess of Water. On Earth Zyra still prays to his patron Goddess and holds her close as a symbol of home and a way of comforting himself. Djragoni don’t often leave their homeworld, but when confronted with the question of whether a Goddess can still protect someone on another planet, many say her reach is infinite and can protect no matter how far from home you are.

D3: How comfortable are they with the idea of death?

In Djragoni society, death is a very open subject since the race is primarily made of hunters. They kill, they eat, they’re killed, they’re eaten. That said they still value the concept of life and believe every living creature has wants and needs and that spark of energy that gives them the will to survive. Death, being the extinguishing of that spark, is opportunity for that creature to begin anew in another form. Long story short the Djragoni are avid believers in reincarnation. Zyra feels differently about these beliefs, tho. For one he chooses to be a vegetarian and a pacifist because the idea of killing deeply disturbs him. He feels very guilty witnessing the death of other things because he sees death as a terrifying end rather than a new beginning. If they move to another form, what’s the form? What of their old life? Isn’t death painful for everyone involved? I don’t want to cause that kind of pain by dying! Zyra wishes he could be more comfortable with the idea of death, but when thrown in a situation like the one on Earth, he’s never been more scared of death in his life.

C2: Would your OC feel bad if they acted against their morals? If not, would they find a way to excuse themselves for it?

Since Zyra has some PRETTY STRONG morals, he would be mortified if he ever acted against them. His moral code is rooted in values he was raised on, which emphasize kindness, forgiveness, and empathy. Basically he can’t ever bring himself to be a jerk. However his strong adhesion to his moral code doesn’t give him much room to express many negative emotions or stick up for himself. And after a near lifetime of being walked on, bullied, and pushed over the edge, one particularly bad encounter with someone willingly trying to anger him would result in him not only breaking his anti-jerk code, but exploding years of bottled-up emotions pretty damn violently. But since he’s still Zyra, he would apologize profusely after he cooled down.

K5: Does your OC feel isolated or unrelatable due to the experience their Paranormal Aspect brings with it? If so, how do they deal with it?

HELL YEA, DUDE. Ever since day one Zyra felt like his presence on Earth was a burden (maybe or maybe not because of Rain’s exaggerations). By the time Zyra is disguised and walking among the humans, he’s constantly afraid he’s gonna be found out and thrown in the back of a government van. It takes some time for him to chill out a bit and realize the humans don’t care. But it’s his relationships with his human friends that make him feel the most insecure. He’s aware Angel isn’t going to find out he’s not human, but he’s incredibly guilty because he’s basically lying daily to one of his dearest friends. Every time one of his human friends say something relatable for a HUMAN, be feels left out and can’t even say why. Many times he considers outing himself just so he can stop feeling so “alienated”, but has to stop and tell himself his safety matters much more than his feelings right now.

Rain

B9: What kind of humor does your OC like the most? Slapstick, ironic, funny sounds, scare pranks, xD sO rAnDoM…

Rain’s got an attraction to more dry or absurdist humor. Some examples of stuff she likes includes Eric Andre, meme humor, old school YouTube Poops, and just stuff like “my pengy???” However she still gets laughs out of blue stuff like toilet humor and can enjoy a good sex joke if it’s tasteful. But any well-structured joke will always be overshadowed by something like “succ”.

A6: Does your OC tend to assume their interpretation of events and reality is correct, or do they question it? I.e., “I’m sure that’s what you said” versus “It’s possible I misheard you.”

Typically Rain will assume she’s correct because she thinks she’s pretty good at interpreting things, but there are still many times she has had to second-guess herself because of anxiety. She’s willing to argue that she’s correct if it’s with someone she knows is wrong, but if she’s with someone who could possibly get angry with her or out-debate her, she will always assume she’s wrong, even if there’s proof she’s not.

J6: How do they react to people whose political viewpoints are very opposite of theirs?

Rain’s personal political standing leans towards the liberal left. Her parents are self-sustaining freedom fighters from Southern California, so it’s no surprise Rain shares their liberal views. Rain feels very strongly about her beliefs about social issues, the environment, and especially the government, so she WILL speak up if she hears someone spouting hate or ignorance. Now Rain is still just a young teenager so she’s still shaping her personal beliefs and how to properly debate them, but her current feelings on issues like gender politics and industrial pollution WILL earn someone a few missing teeth if they’re aggressively opposite to hers. 

[trewhitttesean1992]

Youtube Reiki Chakra Healing Marvelous Cool Tips

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Red Crystal Reiki

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Reiki Dallas

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[johnhardinsawyer]

The Politics of the Kingdom

John Sawyer

Bedford Presbyterian Church

3 / 25 / 18 – Palm/Passion Sunday

 Mark 11:1-11

Isaiah 50:4-9a

Philippians 2:5-11

 “The Politics of the Kingdom” (Using Jesus, and Other Mistakes)

 A little over a week from now will mark the fiftieth anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination in Memphis.  Over the past five decades, Dr. King has achieved an almost saint-like status for some. In a 2011 poll that was taken by the Gallup organization, 94% of respondents had a favorable view of Dr. King.[1]  I was surprised to learn, though, that Dr. King was not nearly this popular when he was alive.  

In the years leading up to his assassination, the preacher and civil rights activist was less popular than ever. A 1966 Gallup poll found that almost two-thirds of Americans had an unfavorable opinion of Dr. King and a third had a positive opinion.[2]

If you learn about some of the things that Dr. King said and did that didn’t involve the beautiful phrase “I have a dream,” you might start to understand why he wasn’t all that popular.  When he started talking about racism, segregation, and housing in the North, and poverty and economic justice, and the war in Vietnam, and “restructuring American society,”[3] it was clear that King’s dream of a different kind of Kingdom was ruffling the feathers of all kinds of people and his popularity dropped – both in the white community and the black community.  “I Have a Dream is so nice,” people thought, “but all that other stuff is too political.”

Hmmmm. . . political.  This is a word that really gets people going, isn’t it?  I don’t know how many times in recent months I have heard one person or another talking about how they don’t want politics in their football or their food choices, their hobbies or their habits, their awards shows or their gun shows, the rhetoric they hear or the religion they espouse.  If you take the word “politics” back to its root in the Greek, you get the word polis, which means city or state[4] or nation.  Anyone who lives in a polis tends to have opinions about what would make that polis a better place to live.  The only trouble is, all those who are seeking the well-being of their polis rarely agree on what would make that polis better.  I guess this is where politics – the process of “making decisions that apply to members of a group”[5] – becomes partisan.  People choose sides, thinking that that their opinions about the polis are the only ones that make sense to them.  And they don’t want to recognize that what’s best for everyone in the polis might look different from how they feel things should be.

Jesus lived in politically divided times.  Around the time of Jesus’ birth, the Romans moved in to stay and became the main governing and occupying force.[6]  By the time Jesus was an adult, the Roman empire had been involved in the politics of Judea for decades.  This was not the first time the descendants of Abraham had been conquered by one group or another.  Empire after empire had invaded the land, laying waste and laying claim.  The Assyrians, the Babylonians, the Persians, and the Greeks, had all left their mark over the centuries – and sometimes that mark was quite bloody.  Now the Romans were in charge.  They put puppet rulers on the throne – the Herodians – but it was clear that Rome held all the real power.  And the people who lived in the land had to choose:  would they go along with the empire who had conquered them, or would they resist?

In Jesus’ day, even though Rome held almost all of the power, there were different groups squabbling over whatever little power was left.  This was especially true in the Jewish religion.  As shocking as it may sound, there are times when the politics of power are mixed with religion, and vice-versa.  As we learned in our Wednesday night Bible Study a few weeks ago, in the Jewish religion, the Pharisees were concerned with following the Law of Moses, the Sadducees were concerned with sacrificing things in the Temple, the Essenes thought that the Pharisees and Sadducees were impure, so they went out to the desert to get away from it all.  To top it all off, there was a growing number of people who were thinking revolutionary thoughts of somehow rising up against the Romans.  Things were quite complicated and volatile.

And then, Jesus came onto the scene.  And everywhere he went, he was interacting with people of different religious backgrounds, and different political leanings, different levels of purity and different races.  He didn’t make things easy for himself when he healed a Roman Centurion’s servant, and talked with women and men who were not Jewish, and mixed it up with the Pharisees and Sadducees.[7]  Different groups tried to test him to see whose side he was on.  The scribes and Pharisees were especially persistent, asking Jesus why he was eating with sinners, and tax collectors, and other undesirables.  It seemed, that if Jesus sided with anyone at all, it was with the people who had no power at all – the poor, the outcast, the sick, the sinners, and the children. In the Kingdom of God, the lowest and the least and the last are the ones God prefers.  Answers like these didn’t satisfy the Pharisees so they went out, pretty early on, and conspired with the Herodians – the Jews who were allied with the Romans – to destroy Jesus.  This is just one example of how political things were for Jesus.  But, when he rode into the city of Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, things got really political.

In Mark’s version of the Palm Sunday story, the people use “cloaks” and “leafy branches”  (Mark 11:8)  instead of palm branches, but this scene of Jesus riding a colt into the city of Jerusalem with people laying down their cloaks and waving branches was a symbolic recreation of triumphant parades from the past.  Symbols like this can carry a lot of emotional and historical weight.  

There was this one time – a couple of hundred years before Jesus – when the city of Jerusalem had been conquered by the Greeks and was being held by the Seleucids – a group of people who had burned all of the copies of the Hebrew scriptures that they could find.  Times were tough for the children of Israel.  But then, the Maccabees, a Jewish family, led a revolt that made it all the way to Jerusalem. They took most of the city from the Seleucids and laid siege to a fortress where the last of their enemies were hiding.  Finally, when the fortress fell, they went in “. . .with praise and palm branches, and with harps and cymbals and stringed instruments, and with hymns and songs, because a great enemy had been crushed and removed from Israel.”  (1 Maccabees 13:51)  Years later, when people saw Jesus – someone from the household of King David, someone who had been talking about the “Kingdom of God,” someone who had enough of a following to actually do something dramatic – riding into the city, in full view of all of the parties and groups who wanted a piece of him, there were likely some in that crowd who knew their history, and thought about the “great enemy,” the Romans, and waved their palm branches with revolution on their minds. A palm branch is a symbol loaded with meaning.  Perhaps, you might be able to think of other symbols like this – both positive and negative.

You see how political things were for Jesus?  He had some influence with the people who followed him and could have claimed power with that influence.  But he didn’t. . .  at least not like everyone else wanted him to.

Many of the people who waved branches and cheered for Jesus could only guess what was on his mind as he rode down the steep slope of the Mount of Olives and up into the city of Jerusalem.  Just so you know the road down the Mount of Olives is very steep and I don’t think we give Jesus enough credit on his colt-riding skills, especially since he was riding a “colt that [had] never been ridden.” (Mark 11:2)  Reading Mark’s account, we don’t know if Jesus was happy about all of the cheering, we just know that he rode into the city, went into the temple, looked around at everything and went back out to Bethany (probably to return the colt that he borrowed).  Nowhere do we read that Jesus met with this group or that group – that he tried to curry favor or play politics.  There were those who had revolution, or the Law, or the Romans, or human political power on their minds, but Jesus had the Kingdom of God on his mind.

It should be noted that in the Bible, the word polis is used to talk about human cities and nations, but it is also used to talk about the heavenly city, the New Jerusalem.  At the end of the Book of Revelation, we see this Holy Polis[8] “coming down out of heaven from God.” (Revelation 21:2)  The holy city of the Kingdom of God is a place where every tear will be wiped away, where death and mourning and pain will be no more, a place where wholeness and peace and praise will be known by all, and where everyone will dwell fully in the presence of God.  In his earthly ministry – in the ways that he taught and preached and healed – with his very presence among all those who needed him, Jesus sought to create this Kingdom and bring it near.  And in his dying and rising, Jesus brings this Kingdom into full view.  This Kingdom is unlike any other.  It is a Kingdom of grace, made perfect in weakness and vulnerability.[9]

The prophet Isaiah writes about a suffering servant who listens to God, is not rebellious, and doesn’t turn back.  This servant is one who is struck on the face and is insulted and spat upon, and yet he keeps going.  Isaiah uses the image of a “face like flint” (Isaiah 50:7), the face of someone who appears hard and determined.  But if flint is struck in just the right place, the stone will chip, revealing just how vulnerable it can be.  The same can be said of Jesus, who had warned his disciples that the “Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, [rejected by all of the parties and power-brokers in the polis] and be killed, and after three days rise again.” (Mark 8:31)

Jesus Christ “humbled himself and become obedient to the point of death – even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)  The cross is a symbol full of meaning because it is the place where the life of God brings an end to death, where God’s love is shown in all of its fullness, where a vulnerable God – a crucified God – shows true and gracious power.  It would seem that Jesus has an agenda all his own – one that so many did not understand, but one that applies to everyone in the human family.  And throughout the gospels, Jesus calls his followers to take up their crosses and follow him.

To follow Jesus does not mean that we will always join a joyous parade.  Sometimes, the march is full of hardship and tears.  But if we are striving for the Kingdom of God, the way is blessed because we have One who goes before us – One who has shown us the way, the truth, and the life.

The way of Jesus is one of non-violence – putting down our swords – of humility and healing, of peace and wholeness.  The truth of Jesus is that he came as a teacher and shows us – in his life and example – how to love and forgive.  The life of Jesus is abundant and full and everlasting.  It is a life that is always seeking, striving, and working for the Kingdom of God, both in the here-and-now and in the yet-to-come.

This is a Kingdom, that we see in the presence and person and humble power of Jesus Christ.  May we seek this Kingdom above all others.

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

------

[1] http://news.gallup.com/poll/149201/Americans-Divided-Whether-King-Dream-Realized.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=syndication&utm_content=plaintextlink&utm_term=Politics.

[2] http://www.newsweek.com/martin-luther-king-jr-was-not-always-popular-back-day-780387.

[3] Trailer for King in the Wilderness, documentary – 0:30.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVGRg89DbyM.

[4] Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon (Chicago:  University of Chicago Press, 1979) 685.

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics.

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judea_(Roman_province).

[7] Luke 7:1-10 (also Matthew 8:5-13), Mark 7:24-30, John 4, Mark 12:18.

[8] Nestle-Aland, ed. Novum Testamentum Graece (Stuttgart:  Deutsche Bibelgesellshaft, 1993) 675 – “hagian polin”.

[9] 2 Corinthians 12:8-10.