#born from chaos‚ walking the world to bring order. → modern gods

[cheshiresartblog]

Demon/Angel Thing

Alright. Due to popular demand I’ll start with this one.  Also, straight up, I literally do refer to it as “the demon/angel thing” cause I don’t come up with titles until the end.  Also I started this entire thing when I was 14 years old. I’m 24. So this is my longest running world I guess. I have a lot of worlds I’ve made over the years. I will admit my dirty little secret here, but what jump started this for me was watching Black Butler for the first time as a kid. Got me interested in the whole demons and angels thing. That’s where the similarities end, though. 

Also, I will not be going really deep into the plot simply because Spoilers since I def wanna make something out of this. 

Stuff below the cut cause it’s  l o n g 

The World

Basically, there are three interconnected realms; Earth, the Heavens and Hell. Also, the Heavens and Hell are not related to the afterlife. That’s a whole other can of worms here that ya’ll already got a bit of a taste of with my BNHA Reapers Au a while back. But yeah. They’re three interconnected realms. The Heavens was made by the God of Order and Hell the Goddess of Chaos. Earth was made by the missing Goddess of Life. Angels are being of Order and Demons are beings of Chaos and Humans fall in between the two. Also I’ve been at a loss for names for the Deities here but I do have two for sure. The Goddess of Life was named Gaia and the Goddess of Chaos was named Lilith. 

Basically Heaven and Hell had always been at odd with each other and Earth was a common battle ground. The earliest I can go with the timeline that’s relevant would be what I call the Princes Era. 

Prince Era (World Statuses) 

Earth: Humanity is young, they are mostly just coming out of their hunter-gatherer stage of things. The planet is mainly used as a battle ground for the warring Angels and Demons, inspiring myths of old to come. Magic is wild and free in this time on the planet. When Lucifer fell it disrupted the ley lines of the planet resulting in a steady decline of the magical on earth for years to come.

Hell: Hell is in chaos itself. While dealing with the war with the Angels they are dealing with heavy infighting between the demon variations and Lilith being unable to completely control her creations. After much thought Lilith decided to choose seven(eight) demons with blood from the seven ruling families to become the first seven Princes of Hell and unite Hell into one unified force to defend themselves properly from the greater threat that are the Angels. 

The first seven(eight) Princes are the following: 

Baphomet of the Superbia family, the Prince of Pride and the next chosen King of Hell whenever Lilith decides to step down. 

Beelzebub of the Grykësi family, the Prince of Gluttony. 

Leviathan (Identical twins Via and Anthel) of the Invidia family, the twin Princes of Envy who both share the identity of Leviathan in the public.

Asmodeus of the Libidine family, the Prince of Lust.

Mammon of the Avaritia family, the Prince of Greed. 

Sathanas of the Ira family, the Prince of Wrath. 

Belphegor of the Tristitia family, the Prince of Sloth.

Notes 1: Prince is just a title here. Sathanas and Beelzebub are women Notes 2: The Princes were all granted the ability to use Hell Fire by Lilith personally after she assessed deemed them all worthy in one way or another. 

Heavens: A world ruled by the God of Order through the chosen King. At the time it’s extremely militaristic. Working under the King and God of Order are the four Archangels; Michael, Lucifer, Gabriel and Raphael. Though, under the surface there’s a rebellion brewing. (I will be honest, I always focused a bit more on the Hell as a world when thinking about this Era.) 

Notes: What sets the Archangels apart here from regular angels besides rank is that they were blessed with the ability to harness the power of Holy Fire, which is something more explained story wise. Just know it would kill the average angel if they tried to use it.

Modern Era

The Modern Era is marked by the a huge event. The destruction of Hell. In their ever going war, 100 years before present time, an attack by the Angels lead to Hell being rendered unstable, which resulted almost half of the population being killed and the other half escaping to Earth. Some kind of peace treaty was made and it allowed the Demons to stay on Earth but with conditions. Also, with this event the Angels too more charge on Earth than they were before and humanity was now pulled fully into the know about Angels and Demons existing. 

This also established something very important to the story itself. The Zones. Most high population areas were split into Human Zones and Demons Zones, with a few cities gaining a third Zone due to the humans refusing to move and/or being sypathetic to the demons. This is the Neutral Zone. Aka, a home for society’s misfits. The main setting of the story is one of these three zoned cities. Right now it’s called Half-Light City but that name is subject to change most likely lol. 

The Zones 

The Human Zone is fairly well maintained for the most part. It has it’s occasional bad section, but those are closer to the Neutral Zone’s border fence. All and all it is the most upkept part of the city and is home to Humans, Angels and Half-Angels. It is heavily guarded and you need an ID to get in from the Neutral Zone, along with the requirement of being human. Demons and Half Demons are not allowed unless summoned. The Human Zone is protected by the Hunters, a group that is somewhat a cross between the police and the military. This section of the city is run by a chosen Council which answers to the Angelic Council of the Heavens. The occupants seem rather ignorant to the going ons of the other parts of the city and seem to go on with life without a second thought. Most of them at least.

The Demons Zone has a surprisingly decent upkeep, but then again they usually have to do it themselves because the money given to them by the city is not that much. The zone is mostly populated with full Demons, with the occasional Half-Demon or Demon with a Human partner scattered about. The fence between them and the Neutral Zone is actually quite open and in a state of disrepair, though Demon Zone residents and Neutral Zone residents alike guard it, it is usually quite easier to pass between these two Zones than it is for either of them to pass into the Neutral Zone. The Demon Zone was formerly run by a Demon Council made of Noble family survivors or descendants but was recently overthrown by a shady organization that needs a new name so bad. I’m so embarrassed of the old name I will not mention it but I will say I abused Google Translate as a teen so bad.

The Neutral Zone is basically the slums with a few nicer parts of town. It's a dreary and gray place at first glance honestly, but underneath that is a sense of unity between its people. Humans, Demons, Half-Breeds of both sorts and Fallen mix fairly well. The Neutral Zone is home to swindlers, mercenaries and all sorts of illegal activity giving it and it’s residents a negative reputation in the Human Zone. The Zone is co-lead by the two leaders of the two biggest Mercenary groups in the zone; the Triad and the Freelancers.

A more detailed description of the Heavens and Hell 

Heavens 

The Heavens are a set of floating islands that float around each other similar to a solar system might. The middle Island is The Capital City, and the roads are literally paved with gold and as well as some buildings being made of gold as well. It’s where the wealthy and powerful often live and is the center of their government. It is the largest single island whereas each other section of the Heavens is more of a string of islands.

The closer a set of islands are to the Capital the more privileged and wealthy the citizens are, and the higher the rank. There are a total of six rings of islands around the Capital. The outermost two hold the most farmland, forests, orchards, etc. Those two rings are the most populated and are where the lesser angels live.

Most Lesser Angels will never see Earth unless they join the military or join missionary work.

There are two islands floating above the Capital. One is the prison and trial area of soon to be Fallen Angels, and the other larger one is for military training. They never move from their fixed positions above the Capital.

While there are trains and such, most Angels get around via walking or flying, though flying is more common.

Angels higher up either dress like royalty or business men/women. Depends on the family. Lower class Angels dress in things like tunics and kinda, you know, greek-type of shit unless their employer gives them a more modern uniform. 

Angels use portals that appear like a glowing mass of light to get around Earth.   Hell

Hell is a Realm that exists solely in an underground location. It is said that the surface is way too hot to even walk upon, let alone live. There are Seven Circles of Hell and each Circle is responsible for a different area of their government, with Pride being the most powerful of them all.

The First Circle is the closest to the Surface and the most resistant to the heat found there. That would be the Wrath Circle. Physically they are the most capable of the variations of Demons and their Noble Family is the one in charge of the Military.

The Second Circle is Lust. Lust demons are the ones in charge of the Magical Regulations in Hell. That being said, they have the most Mages born to them, and some of the most powerful Magic users. They also are in charge of any and all Seers born in Hell.

The Third Circle is Greed. Greed demons are the ones in charge of the economics of Hell.They honestly have the most boring job, but it brings in the most money. They simply don’t mind because hey, the like to hoard riches anyways. They are said to have the biggest hand in the slave trade in Hell though.

The Fourth Circle is Envy. Envy demons are the ones in charge of the Judicial branch of Hell, handling criminals, legal matters, and prisoners. The latest raining families of Envy Demon Nobles have been well known for being cold and unbiased.

The Fifth Circle is Sloth. Sloth demons are the ones in charge of the Health care in Hell to put it simply. Someone has to be in charge of it. It also helps that Sloth demons have the largest amount of natural Healers born in their variation.

The Sixth Circle is Gluttony. Gluttony demons are surprisingly the second in charge after the Pride demons. The Noble Family of the Gluttony Circle has a deep history with the Pride royal family. Other than being the second in command the Gluttony demons are the ones in charge of Education and History keeping.

The Seventh and most powerful Circle is Pride. The Pride demons are the ones that run things, they are in charge of all the other Noble Families, and contain the Royal Family and the current ruling King or Queen of Hell. They have the final say in everything, but normally let most of the Noble Families run their domain as they see fit to.

Demons have technology based around magic, so magic teleporters, communication orbs, shit like that, is pretty common place.

The Slave trade is common and highly accepted by older demons though the newer generations are beginning to be against it. The slave trade in Hell often consists of captured humans, half demons, Fallen and rarely half angels and extremely rarely angels.

They have a potion that can make a Demon appear like a human for 24 hours meant for spies but a lot of teenagers use it to sneak to earth to party.  

Jewelry is huge in their culture. Like, seriously, so much jewelry.

A lot of Circles are mixed with the type of demons that live there but they usually have a slightly higher population of the type of demon the ring is named after.

I will probably make a separate post going more into detail about the species of angels and demons themselves. Demons, btw, consists of 7 different races of demons separated by sin type. They all have different traits. 

Magic Stuff I guess

Angel Magics (From common to rarest)- Healing, Aura Sight, Defensive and Protective, Weaponry Enchantment, Runic, Elemental, Precognition, Holy Fire (this one is literally the rarest thing for an angel to have).

Demon Magics (From common to rarest)- Illusions, Elemental, Contract Magic, Enchantment, Energy Draining/Aura Draining, Binding Magics, Witchery (Jinxes, charms, etc), Healing Magic, Possession, Shadow Magics, Shapeshifting (Rare for non Gluttony Demons only), Hellfire (Super Rare, actually marks the next Heir of a Ring of Hell to have it.), Precognition.

Human Magics (All human Magics are considered rare)- Witchery (Gained naturally or through demonic contract), Healing, Aura Sight, Runic, Elemental, Precognition.

Everyone can brew things such as potions.

Demons have more magic energy than Humans or Angels tbh and mages are way more common with them, though Healers are more common with Angels, and less common with demons.

Technology is advanced and exists and is built to work alongside magic.

Weaponry such as swords are still used though with Angels and Demons.

--

Alright folks. This is basically a world info dump. I will do a species info dump like I said once I got some decent pictures or I’ll do it in relevant chunks. 

[arcticdementor]

Hindsight may very well be 20/20, but with that caveat out of the way, some events truly come across as historical in their importance even as they play out in realtime. We might not know what the results will be, but we can feel that something quite big is happening. Watching the fall of the Berlin wall was one such moment in recent history, and watching the twin towers fall was another one.

The retreat from Afghanistan should not have made the list, or least not the top of it. Yet, it has clearly already made its way there, being widely seen as something truly momentous by most if not all the people observing it. The reason it shouldn’t have had those same connotations as the fall of the Berlin wall is because it was not only planned in advance and decided upon by the 45th president, not the 46th, but because almost everyone at this point wished for the war to just end. But it is how it has ended that has really thrown back the curtain and shown the world the rot festering beneath. The Soviet Union was dying in 1989, when it completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan. It still managed to do so in an orderly fashion, with a symbolic column of russian APCs crossing the bridge over to Uzbekistan. The leader of the war effort, one Colonel-General Gromov, symbolically rode in the very last BTR, and then proclaimed to the gathered journalists that there wasn’t a single russian soldier behind his back.

The American withdrawal, by contrast, is a grotesque spectacle, laid bare to the eyes of the world in realtime thanks to the wonders of modern technology. The Soviet attempt at braving the graveyard of empires could, if one was charitably inclined, at least be construed as some form of tragedy (”we tried to help, but in the end, we accomplished nothing”), and the russians did their best to make the entire thing appear somewhat dignified and solemn. Thirty years later, the scene is closer to a black form of comedy. The American consulate was evacuated by helicopter, about one month after president Biden referred to just such an evacuation from Saigon as an example of how Afghanistan and Vietnam were not comparable. The entire government collapsed within a matter of hours, not months. Throngs of people gathered around the airports, desperate to escape; American authorities had no more guidance to offer american citizens stuck in Afghanistan than to ”shelter in place” and then presumably ask the Taliban for a visa once regular flight traffic resumes. Desperate people even clung to the airframes of departing cargo planes before falling to their deaths, like a grim re-enactment of frozen and starving german soldiers trying to escape by clinging to the last planes leaving Stalingrad.

…

There may be a deeper aspect to this than a lot of people might perceive at present. On the level of pure geopolitics, the utterly embarrassing debacle of America’s withdrawal from Afghanistan can only serve to make China more bold in any future confrontation over Taiwan. The American eagle is faltering, and its rivals will not sit idly by for long. But this is probably the lesser of the big consequences of Afghanistan. There is another, much more significant implication of the collapse of the American project here, one with much more acute bearing on the immediate future of American society itself. To understand why, it’s useful to reflect on a certain political and historical point made by Carl Schmitt in his by now nearly hundred year old essay, whose english name is often rendered as The Crisis of Parliamentary Democracy. The essay is well worth a read in full today, and the reader might be surprised (or maybe not) at how relevant many of the descriptions of the ongoing political crisis in 1923 may seem to us today, nearly a hundred years later. The most relevant passage, however, deserves to be quoted in full:

”In the history of political ideas, there are epochs of great energy and times becalmed, times of motionless status quo. Thus the epoch of monarchy is at an end when a sense of the principle of kingship, of honor, has been lost, if bourgeois kings appear who seek to prove their usefulness and utility instead of their devotion and honor. The external apparatus of monarchical institutions can remain standing very much longer after that. But in spite of it monarchy’s hour has tolled. The convictions inherent in this and no other institution then appear antiquated; practical justifications for it will not be lacking, but it is only an empirical question whether men or organizations come forward who can prove themselves just as useful or even more so than these kings and through this simple fact brush aside monarchy.”

What Schmitt is saying here is very important, and it might very well end up being the true cost of the Afghanistan debacle. Every ruling class throughout history advances various claims about its own legitimacy, without which a stable political order is impossible. Legitimating claims can take many different forms and may change over time, but once they become exhausted or lose their credibility, that is pretty much it.

…

What Schmitt is saying is that when the legitimating claim for a particular form of elite is used up, when people no longer believe in the concepts or claims that underpin a particular system or claim to rule, the extinction of that particular elite becomes a foregone conclusion. Once Napoleon came along, it became increasingly impossible to actually believe (or at least effect a suspension of disbelief) that kings were born to rule and had a right to rule. As such, the only argument kings were left with in order to be tolerated by their own subjects became practical in nature: look at how useful this king is, look at how well his administration runs, look at how much stuff you’re getting out of letting him sit on the throne. But once you are merely left with practical arguments of that kind, as Schmitt rightly points out, your replacement becomes a question of simple empiricism. The moment someone more useful is found – like, say, a president – out you go, never to return. The replacement of Louis XVI with a republic was a world-shattering event. The fall of his nephew, Louis Philippe I, in favor of another republic, was a mere formality by comparison. By the time of his fall, not even Louis Philippe himself believed in kings being some sort of semi-divine beings. Certainly almost none of his subjects did.

…

Moreover, on a more practical level, the war in Afghanistan became another sort of crucible. In very real terms, Afghanistan turned into a testbed for every single innovation in technocratic PMC governance, and each innovation was sold as the next big thing that would make previous, profane understandings of politics obsolete. In Afghanistan ”big data” and the utilization of ever expanding sets of technical and statistical metrics was allowed to topple old stodgy ideas of dead white thinkers such as Sun Tzu or Machiavelli, as ”modern” or ”scientific” approaches to war could have little to learn from the primitive insights of a pre-rational order. In Afghanistan, military sociology in the form of Human Terrain Teams and other innovative creations were unleashed to bring order to chaos. Here, the full force of the entire NGO world, the brightest minds of that international government-in-waiting without a people to be beholden to, were given a playground with nearly infinite resources at their disposal. There was so much money sloshing around at the fingertips of these educated technocrats that it became nearly impossible to spend it all fast enough; they simply took all of those countless billions of dollars straight from the hands of ordinary americans, because they believed they had a right to do so.

…

Put plainly: managers, through the power of managerialism, were once believed to be able to mobilize science and reason and progress to accomplish what everyone else could not, and so only they could secure a just and functional society for their subjects, just as only the rightful kings of yore could count on Providence and God to do the same thing. At their core, both of these claims are truly metaphysical, because all claims to legitimate rulership are metaphysical. It is when that metaphysical power of persuasion is lost that kings or socialists become ”bourgeois”, in Schmitt’s terms. They have to desperately turn toward providing proof, because the genuine belief is gone. But once a spouse starts demanding that the other spouse constantly prove that he or she hasn’t been cheating, the marriage is already over, and the divorce is merely a matter of time, if you’ll pardon the metaphor.

I suspect we are currently witnessing the catastrophic end of this metaphysical power of legitimacy that has shielded the managerial ruling class for decades. Anyone even briefly familiar with the historical record knows just how much of a Pandora’s box such a loss of legitimacy represents. The signs have obviously been multiplying over many years, but it is only now that the picture is becoming clear to everyone. When Michael Gove said ”I think the people in this country have had enough of experts” in a debate about the merits of Brexit, he probably traced the contours of something much bigger than anyone really knew at the time. Back then, the acute phase of the delegitimization of the managerial class was only just beginning. Now, with Afghanistan, it is impossible to miss.

It is not just that the elite class is incompetent – even kings could be incompetent without undermining belief in monarchy as a system – it is that they are so grossly, spectacularly incompetent that they walk around among us as living rebuttals of meritocracy itself. It is that their application of managerial logic to whatever field they get their grubby mitts on – from homelessness in California to industrial policy to running a war – makes that thing ten times more expensive and a hundred times more dysfunctional. To make the situation worse, the current elites seem almost serene in their willful destruction of the very fields they rely on for legitimacy. When the ”experts” go out of their way to write public letters about how covid supposedly only infects people who hold demonstrations in support of ”structural white supremacy”, while saying that Black Lives Matter demonstrations pose no risk of spreading the virus further, this amounts to the farmer gleefully salting his own fields to make sure nothing can grow there in the future. How can anyone expect the putative peasants of our social order to ”trust the science”, when the elites themselves are going out of their way, against all reason and the tenets of basic self-preservation, to make such a belief completely impossible even for those who really, genuinely, still want to believe?

…

I find it very likely that most future historians will put the date of the real beginning of the collapse of the current political and geopolitical order right here, right now, at the US withdrawal from Afghanistan. Just as with any other big historical process, however, many others will point out that the seeds of the collapse were sown much farther back, and that a case can be made for several other dates, or perhaps no specific date at all. This is how we modern people look at the fall of the french ancien regime, after all. Still, it is quite obvious that the epoch of the liberal technocrat is now over. The bell has well and truly tolled for mankind’s belief in their ability to do anything else than enrich themselves and ruin things for everyone else.

How long it will take for their institutions to disappear, or before they end up toppled by popular discontent and revolution, no one can know. But at this point, I think most people on some level now understand that it really is only a matter of time.

[weirdletter]

London Lovecraft Festival: A Teatrichal Celebration of the Works and Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. February 3-9, 2019 at The Old Red Lion Theatre, 418 St. John Street, London, UK. Info: oldredliontheatre.co.uk; londonlovecraft.com.

Taking place over seven nights, the festival will have original and gently-loved productions presented to London audiences deep in the depths of darkest pub theatredom. With world premieres as well as tried and true creations, both Lovecraft novices and deeper initiates should find their palates tickled and their brains disturbed.

6:00pm Sunday, February 3rd Pickman’s Model Meet Richard Upton Pickman, an artist shunned by the establishment because of his horrifying paintings. But what kind of company has Pickman been keeping? And who — or what — pays a visit to his studio on one terrifying evening? The story is perfect material for Nunkie Theatre — one-man performances by Robert Lloyd Parry, who is best known for his adaptations of the work of PD James. He’s an amazing actor, with a real talent for bringing a story to life and sending a shiver down your spine. Although this is a rehearsed reading, the fright factor should be very high as the original story is one of Lovecraft’s best and Parry is an expert at filling intimate spaces with lurking horror.

7:30pm Sunday 3rd Night of 1000 Tentacles Clocktopus Cabaret presents: Night of 1000 Tentacles! On their second expedition,  Captain Bang Bang and her trustworthy first mate, Stormina Teacup, set out for eldritch realms. Join them and a host of London burlesque and cabaret favorites, including Dolly Trolly with a brand new Lovecraft themed act, and necromantic sorcerer – er, magician – Chris Benkin with his sleight of tentacle, for an outstanding steampunk/transdimensional night of wonders. You will gasp, you will gibber, you will wonder … where did they hide those eyeballs?

9:15 PM Sunday 3rd Cool Air Dr. Muñoz has spent their life battling the forces of death. When Miskatonic University student Natalie Peaslee comes looking for help for her heart, she has no idea how far Muñoz will go to win that fight. As summer rages, they’ll both need to keep a cool head to make it out of Arkham alive. This staged reading directed by Emma Muir Smith marks the European debut of Ron Sandahl’s stage adaptation, originally presented at Seattle’s Open Circle Theatre in 2005.

7:00pm Monday 4th Lovecraft Shivers Do you like stories that make the hairs stand up at the back of your neck? Sam Enthoven’s Shivers nights have been giving aficionados that sensation of spiders down the spine for more than a year now. Sam picks and adapts the finest frightening literature and finds great performers to read it. The twist with Shivers is that these tales are then paired with live sounds from his uniquely uncanny instrument, the theremin, and some of the best up-and-coming artists from London’s experimental music scene. The result is a kind of cinema for the ears and imagination, with storytelling and sound combining to draw you irresistibly in, to reach cold fingers into your mind, to give you Shivers. The stories of H.P. Lovecraft have, naturally, featured at previous Shivers nights. We’ve performed From Beyond in the chapel of Abney Park Cemetery and Dagon in the hold of Spanish galleon The Golden Hinde. The opportunity, however, to put together a new all-Lovecraft Shivers for the festival that celebrates Horror’s dark prince himself is, like his legacy, irresistible. We look forward to scaring you.

7:00pm Monday 4th Albertina West: Reanimator Schoolmates Albertina West and Carla Milburn are scientists in  pursuit of knowledge – about reanimating the dead. But when the formula only seems to work on the freshest of bodies, it’s a small step to take from robbing graves to murder. And for some reason, the awakened dead don’t seem very happy about it… In this work commissioned especially for the London Lovecraft Festival, TL Wiswell extends her suite of genderswitched Lovecraft tales to this perennial favorite. Come and see a play Borne and Walk (but not come back for revenge).

7:00pm Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th Providence “Life is a hideous thing.” Prepare to be amazed, terrified, and driven insane! Great Cthulhu may be sleeping beneath the sea, but in Providence, Rhode Island, Lovecraft can’t get a wink. Join the morose and miserable Howard Phillips Lovecraft, author of ‘The Call of Cthulhu’, ‘Shadow Over Innsmouth’ and other incredibly weird tales, as he contemplates the many mistakes that make up his life. His father went mad when he was four. He suffered a mental breakdown when he was eighteen. He lived with his overprotective mother until he was thirty. He loathed seafood, loved coffee and hated immigrants. Indeed he despised anyone who wasn’t an 18th century English Gentleman.  But he hated himself most of all. Lovecraft’s losses were fortunately our gains as his enigmatic, tortured mind gave birth to a body of work we now consider as the foundations of the modern horror genre. Using physical comedy, live music and all the classic horror tropes you can rattle a chain at, Dominic Allen (Belt-Up, A Common Man) and Simon Maeder (Superbolt Theatre) explore a wretched life and ask a haunting question: can any love be salvaged from one so filled with hate? Winner of Vaults Festival ‘Pick of the Week’ award.

9:00pm Tuesday 5th and Wednesday 6th The Lurking Fear and other stories Nestled in amongst the Catskills, sits Tempest Mountain. Far from a vacation destination. This mountain is shrouded in death and destruction. At the heart of all the horror, sitting empty and imposing atop the mountain, is the legendary House of Martense. No-one from the town below, that lies quivering in the shadow of the Martense mansion, ever dares venture up there. Especially when there’s a storm brewing. That is until an inquisitive young journalist, with a self-confessed ‘Love of the grotesque and horrible’, finds herself alone, following the trail of what the locals will only call “The Lurking Fear”. Broken Word Productions Presents The Lurking Fear and Other Stories, an adaptation of H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Lurking Fear”, as well as an introduction to some of his shorter stories. With the aid of puppetry and storytelling, follow our Hero as she faces one of Lovecraft’s deadliest monsters. This is Broken Word’s second theatre production, following it’s 4 star debut with Train Journey at the Camden Fringe earlier this year. They are excited to be taking, somewhat of a darker turn in presenting the World Premiere of (in their opinion) not one, but two of Lovecraft’s finest horrors.

9:00pm Thursday 7th The Witching Hour Montague Rhodes James returns with another selection of unsettling tales of antiquarian terror! Brave the horrors lying in wait within “An Episode of Cathedral History”! Witness the spectral malevolent seeking revenge in “A Warning to the Curious”! One-man show and follow-up to our successful touring production of “Old Haunts”. Jonathan Goodwin plays M.R. James in a show scripted by himself, and directed by Gary Archer.

7:00pm Thursday 7th Lovecraft After Dark Allow the cosmic horror of Howard Philip Lovecraft to envelop your senses and blast your imagination! At any moment, the terrors of the Ancient Ones may be unleashed upon the world. The Elder Gods scrutinise our every deed, awaiting their opportunity to reclaim what was once theirs. Madness will be a blessing to those mere mortals who witness the crawling chaos soon to be released upon mankind! Jonathan Goodwin plays Cornelius Pike in Lovecraft After Dark. The show is scripted by Goodwin, and co-directed by Goodwin and Gary Archer.

7:00pm Friday 8th & Saturday 9th 3:00pm Saturday 9th Late Night with Cthuhlu It’s been a few hundred years since the Great Old Ones awoke from their ancient slumber and enslaved humanity. Yet somehow, against all the odds, life has gone back to normal…ish. Thankfully, the people of London now have something to look forward to at the end of a long day of suffering and toiling. A being known only as THE PRODUCER has ordered the city’s best Television Station (or maybe the city’s *only* television station) be reopened, and for the broadcast of a new state-approved talk show “Late Night With Cthulhu” to stretch its tendrils onto the airwaves. Join your hosts Arabella Fenneck Reid and Sebastian Baxter Thompson for the newest instalment of your new favourite (and mandatory) evening of post-apocalyptic light entertainment. Late Night With Cthulhu is a heart-shuddering romp through a world after the return of the Great Ones. So come along and tune in for an evening of all stars, guest stars, and things beyond the stars! If you’re lucky, you might just go insane…” Trigger warnings: Strobe Lights, Loud Noises, Creeping Dread.

5:00pm Saturday 9th Writing Lovecraft A rehearsed reading of the winning play written for the London Lovecraft Festival.

9:00pm Friday 8th and Saturday 9th The Colour Out of Space With their signature live-Foley treatment, Shedload bring the already potent storytelling of Lovecraft to life through a carefully structured mix of live readings by highly-trained and experienced actors, and sound effects, performed by our very own Foley experts. For this, we rely on a whole ‘shed’s’ worth of sound makers, including every day items such as gardening tools, coal scuttles and salad spinners, as well as more niche instruments such as the ‘sea hoops’, grapefruit (and other choice fruit & veg items), and our prized possession: the Waterphone; an instrument that will no doubt be familiar to every horror film fan. So picture the scene – a dimly-lit stage, with a set comprising Arkham’s town sign and boundaries; a lone narrator, centre stage, using to great effect Lovecraft’s faithfully-adapted writing to describe the horror of the disintegrating farm animals before him – but hang on! – not only are you picturing this, you’re hearing it too: A pig barks out its last rattling breath as its skull collapses – its rotting flesh spills out onto the ground… – voice actor, red pepper, grapefruit, and a hammer – The RØDE mic does the rest. Chilling screams from the attic, complete with nails scratching on wooden floorboard, and the palpable wail of the strange celestial matter plaguing the farm… namely, The Colour out of Space.

12:00pm through 10:00pm, Sunday 3rd through Saturday 9th Patient 4620 Gretel Sauerbrot: a once famous artist, admitted to the Raventhorne Institution and then never heard from again. You are invited to the Royal Museum of Contemporary Art, and through a series of audio guides you explore and uncover clues to Gretel’s past. This unique theatre show is a blend of immersive theatre, auditory storytelling, and art installation; resulting in a rich and sensory experience that won’t be easily forgotten. To experience the show at its fullest, audiences should bring a Smartphone or WiFi enabled device, along with a headset. In the event you cannot provide your own device and/or headset, you will be loaned items on entering the show.

[kingdomofthelogos]

The Two Paths

Adventure of Holiness No.1

The Two Paths

Christians have historically held to a teaching that there are two modes of existing on this earth: the path of life and the path of death. Those that are separated from God through the fallen state of sin are on the path of death, but those that have found Christ are on the path of life. The consequences of these two modes of being are deep, and the church must be instrumental in reconciling people to Christ and the true life found in Christ.

These two ways are part of the opening of an ancient Christian document known as the “Didache,”or alternately titled as “The Lord’s Teachings Through the 12 Apostles.” The Didache is an ancient document that was the early Church’s first handbook with instructions concerning order, ethics, and practices for Christians.  It is not a part of our canon of Scriptures, but it is still a powerful text that is extremely useful and shapes our modern theology.  The opening statement in Didache 1:1 reads as follows: “there are two ways, one of life and one of death, and there is a great difference between the two ways.”

The grace of God is ever present in the world. It is calling people to walk the path of light. This way of life is an adventure of holiness that calls all of us to leave behind the corrupting bend towards sin that leads to death. The way of death is the default state of life in fallen creation, it invites people to reject holy transformation and look anywhere but towards God for fulfillment.

The Gospel of Saint Matthew is an excellent source to see the juxtaposition, or comparison, between these two paths. In the opening chapters of Matthew’s Gospel, we can see an example of a family that is accepting the grace of God to go on the adventure of holiness that takes them on the way of life. In contrast, we can see an example of someone who has rejected the way of life and chose to live on the path of death instead. Joseph and Mary embark on the way of life, and King Herod is set on the way of death.

As one reads through Matthew 1:18-2:16, one is able to see how Mary and Joseph are accepting the grace of God to walk the way of life. In there case, life is transformed for them on many levels. Not only are they tasked with being the earthly parents to the Messiah, who is begotten by God, but also they have little understanding of how this adventure will pan out. Nonetheless, they pursue the way of life.  

On the other hand, Herod the Great lives a seriously contrasting life. His life is on the way of death, and his example reminds us of the potency of sin. The way of death disorders life, and it is not a mere personal shortcoming. Sin brings chaos, suffering and death to those near the way of death. Even bystanders are affected by sinful decisions. As you read through the Scriptures pay attention to these two ways.

Matthew 1:18-2:16

18 Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 

23 “Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which means, “God is with us.” 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.

1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 

6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;

for from you shall come a ruler

    who is to shepherd my people Israel.’” 

7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road. 

13 Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” 14 Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, 15 and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, “Out of Egypt I have called my son.” 

16 When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. (NRSV)

Upon reading Matthew 1:18 to 2:16, it becomes clear that there are two modes of existence that one can espouse on this earth: the way of life and the way of death. These are the paths emphasized by the Didache, and understanding the trajectory of these paths has been fundamental to Christian thinking all throughout our history.

In the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, we find vivid examples of these two modes of existence: the way of life and the way of death. Mary and Joseph follow the call of God and go on a holy quest in their lives, while Herod chose to be an instrument of death to all who stand in his way.

Jesus' earthly parents embody the way of life. Mary and Joseph are two humble Jewish commoners who have been visited by God with a great message revealing that Mary, as a virgin, will give birth to the Messiah. She and Joseph will have the honorable responsibility of raising God’s anointed.  This is an enormous task, and they are not equipped to raise such a magnificent child in a place of royalty. However, having a royal palace for this divine child is not a requirement set before them. They are not instructed to raise the child in a palace, for this King will be different than any king that the world has ever known. They are simply instructed to be an upstanding family that fears God as they raise the child. 

Mary and Joseph are simply commanded to be a righteous family, and in this we are reminded of the great adventure of family that God calls His people to embrace. The Christ is to be raised in a normal Jewish custom, and He does not demand the extravagant commodities of worldly royalty. The way of life is humble. Mary and Joseph recognize that they are not the power or authority setting the path for this life. He does not need to be brought up with great people of wealth, power, or authority. Instead, He needs to be raised by a humble Jewish family that fears God.

 Great responsibility is given to those on the way of life.  As one answers the call to the pursuit of holiness and the way of life, it requires a total commitment of life that often makes one a target of the world. Mary and Joseph found that Herod would make a target of any child in his way, and thus the family had to flee.

Herod embodies the other mode of existence: the way of death. Herod is corrupted by sin. He does not know how to value life properly, and he does not know what things he should love.  It is appropriate to understand that God calls people to serve in positions over others, so let us not think that it is inherently sinful to have a position of authority and responsibility. Yet, when that authority and responsibility is abused or neglected then it becomes a divergence from the path of life collapsing down to that of death. Herod finds himself ruthlessly addicted to the way of death due to the nature of his twisted soul. His soul is misshapen and is so sharply bent towards sin and wickedness that he is a tyrant even to his own family. Furthermore, history tells us that Herod was incredibly tyrannical to all around him, and he sparred no one of his wrath.  

Early in the Old Testament, we find the instruction that people in authority of others should fear God, be righteous and uphold the laws of God, and hate dishonest gain. Herod wants others to fear him, he wants his unpredictable and self-driven word to be absolute law, and he is more than happy to accept dishonest gain if it benefits him. 

Herod’s improper pursuit of power and authority has taken him down the pathway of death. His demand for the life of royalty turned into destruction for him and those around him. This Herod wore the title of the "King of Judea," the King of the Jews. This is odd because he was not really a king; but rather he was given his position by Rome. The fact that he sought out the title of "King of Judea" shows just how much his life is bent towards the self-gratifying nature of the way of death. In the years leading up to his reign, Herod led an assault against his uncle, who was governor over Judea. Herod went to Rome and appealed to the authorities that he could be made governor with the title of a king. This was very unusual by Roman standards, but Herod was permitted. For years Jerusalem was turned into a bloodbath of death and chaos while Herod claimed power. Death was everywhere as Herod sought power.

Moving forwards in time to Herod’s later years, we can find in the Gospel of Matthew, that Herod is still an instrument of death as he murders the innocent children. The way of death is destructive, and it brings chaos and tragedy to all of those around it.

In conclusion, there is an obvious contrast between the way of life and the way of death.  Joseph and Mary are humbled by the responsibility given to them. The new life that will come from the works of Jesus is beyond what the world expected of the Messiah. Furthermore, the grace of God that is found on this way of life is active even in the early stages of the Gospel. 

The church is to be an institution of true life. This is life as God intended when he breathed the first breath of life into our most ancient ancestors. The Church is not called to be stagnant, but rather it is to be an institution that brings people into the true life modeled and purchased for us through the perfect love of Christ Jesus. To enter in the true life of the church, is to enter into the body of saints who have had their lives reordered by the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit.  The way of death disorders life, but the way of life humbles people before a God of order. As believers, let us forever pray that we can be instruments leading people to the way of life and away from the way of death.

[tearsofwinter]

DnD Kirkwall Crew

@dovabunny challenged me to do an AU of the entire kirkwall crew, so I chose Dnd! It’s a bit based off a prompt I wrote: “ Fenris, Anders, and the rest of the gang play DnD. Their characters get into a duel because they are dead set on killing each other off. Many missed rolls later, their characters end up married with kids.”

Varric: 

Modern: A successful author, of course. I’m thinking he would be the type of person that wants to write 10 multiple endings and have it printed, and watch his fans go crazy while they argue which is the canon ending. He also writes his own fanfiction of his own series. 

DnD Role: Who better than Varric to be the GM? Master story teller. He enjoys putting all his friends through harrowing experiences and keeping them on their toes on whether they will or won’t survive. But Varric is also tenderhearted. He actually can’t kill off any of his friends, so they always make it to the end. NPCs though, they always die. 

Hawke:

Modern: A fitness trainer/body builder. Hawke is proud of her body and tries to show it off every chance she gets. She isn’t exactly a health nut, but she’s all on the latest trends on how to make herself buff in a safe manner. She’s cheerful and always cracking a joke. Most people peg her as an extrovert, but I’m thinking her being this way is compensation for something in the past? When she was younger, she was scrawny. Her family was poor. They lived off food stamp. Leandra had to get a job at a sweatshop in order to help with the family income. To battle with the helplessness Hawke felt as a child, she physically made her body stronger. 

DnD Role: Gold Dragonborn Warrior. “ Born of dragons, as their name proclaims, the dragonborn walk proudly through a world that greets them with fearful incomprehension. Shaped by draconic gods or the dragons themselves, dragonborn originally hatched from dragon eggs as a unique race, combining the best attributes of dragons and humanoids. Some dragonborn are faithful servants to true dragons, others form the ranks of soldiers in great wars, and still others find themselves adrift, with no clear calling in life.” Hawke didn’t care about the trait or abilities, or anything else. She saw dragon, she took it. 

Rest under the cut

Bethany

Modern: College student. Is studying education and child care. Beth wants to work with children. Carver often teases her, saying she lacks the temperament. He keeps bringing up the story when they were little and he got her so mad, that she pushed him out of the treehouse. He still has a scar on his head to prove it. He likes to call her Ms. Crunchem from Matilda. In response, Bethany goes to where Carver works, and chats up Merrill, telling her all the embarrassing stories of Carver’s childhood.

DnD Role: Like Carver, Bethany only plays on occasion. She actually can’t make it every Satuday, as she works at a volunteer group. When she does play, she plays the wandering Orc, a reoccurring boss the crew has to beat. “Orcs live a life that has no place for weakness, and every warrior must be strong enough to take what is needed by force.” Bethany may look sweet and humble, but she’s a beast at the game. She takes great joy almost killing off everyone with her awesome rolls. The gang has repeatedly ask Hawke to stop bringing her lol.

Carver:

Modern: Also college student. He has a part time job at an aromatherapy shop. He tries to use the money he earns to help with the family, but Hawke never allows him to pay for the bills, and instead tells him to use it for school. Carver can’t wait to be older, graduate, and find a well paying job so Hawke can stop shouldering all of the responsibility.

DnD Role: N/A. Carver refuses to play DnD. He thinks it’s a silly game, but somehow he always gets suckered into playing when Hawke manages to drag him over to game night. Since Carver’s appearance is rare, he tends to play the NPCs that Varric eventually kills off lol. The gang love ribbing on Carver.

In alphabetical order:

Anders

Modern: An ex-doctor. Used to work for the Red Cross. When he came back to Kirkwall, he worked at the hospital for a while, but when a surgery got botched due to the negligence of the head surgeon, they needed a fall guy. Anders unfairly got his license revoked. Now Anders works at a Big Cat sanctuary as a volunteer, and on his spare time, he goes to protests. 

DnD Role: A priest Tabaxi. “Hailing from a strange and distant land, wandering tabaxi are catlike humanoids driven by curiosity to collect interesting artifacts, gather tales and stories, and lay eyes on all the world’s wonders.” Fenris and Anders met because of Hawke and Varric. Hawke sometimes works at the sanctuary and invited Anders and Justice to game night. Fenris is a friend she made after a murder case Fenris helped solve and cleared her name. At first, neither Anders or Fenris were really into the game, until Fenris made an off handed comment about mages. After that, Anders kept trying to sabotage and kill Fenris’ character off. Since then, every single DnD night, Varric has to do one game for the Hawke and co, and a separate game for Anders and Fenris, who’s busying dueling each other. 

Aveline

Modern: Police officer. Slowly, she’s working her way up the ranks in order to become a detective. As much as she enjoys patrolling Kirkwall, she wants conduct investigations and solve criminal cases. Donnic has been asking her if she wouldn’t prefer working as a prosecutor instead. 

DnD Role:  Warrior Aasimar. “Aasimar are placed in the world to serve as guardians of law and good. Their patrons expect them to strike at evil, lead by example, and further the cause of justice.” Everyone was quite shocked when Aveline picked this role. Most of them assumed she would’ve picked human. But when Aveline read this role, she knew it was the perfect fit for her. Isabela rolled her eyes and said of course, manly hand chose the most justicey of justicey roles. 

Fenris

Modern: Works as a translator and a museum curator. In his spare time, Fenris writes. It’s how he met Varric. Both of them work for the same publishing company. Hawke was involved in an odd case where a word written in old Tevene was scratch into the wooden floor of the victim. Varric dragged Fenris in so he could translate it. They broke a few rules, but anything for writing material! What’s the most interesting detail is that Fenris is the author of Anders’ most favorite series. It’s a children’s book about cats, and it actually isn’t selling to well. But hearing Anders gush about it, kind of makes Fenris feel warm inside. All the money he makes from the books, he donates to the Big Cat Sanctuary Anders and Justice runs.

DnD Role: Goliath. “Strong and reclusive, every day brings a new challenge to a goliath.” Anders makes fun of Fenris for choosing this role. He says it must be because Fenris is trying to compensate for something. To which Fenris replied, “Why don’t you come and find out?” and then proceeded to try and roll for an instant KO on Anders’ character. However, he rolled a 1. Instead of smacking Anders’ character with a club, Fenris’ character ends up seducing Anders’ lol. 

Isabela

Modern: Sex therapist. It wasn’t her first choice of job. When Izzy got kicked out of her home at a young age, she worked as a thief, then later joined a gang. However, when a gang war broke out, and she almost died during a shooting, Izzy left that life behind. Her current job is because she was able to blackmail a former lover. He helped her forge some papers. The Ph.D hanging on her wall? Fake. However, her advice is always sound. Maybe it’s because of the hard life she had, but Izzy is always able to see the truth of the matter, and say what needs to be said. Her patients always values her blunt wisdom.

DND Role: Chaotic Good Human Rogue. “Humans are the most adaptable and ambitious people among the common races. Whatever drives them, humans are the innovators, the achievers, and the pioneers of the worlds.” It was a toss up between the human or Triton race ( Long-established guardians of the deep ocean floor, in recent years the noble tritons have become increasingly active in the world above), but the triton just seemed so stuffy, so she went with the regular ol’ human. Having Izzy play is always unpredictable. While she’s good the first 30 minutes and make smart decisions, after her 4th can of beer, she’s chaos unleashed. She is especially fond of teasing Aveline and Carver. 

Justice

Modern: The founder of Big Cat Sanctuary. Was knighted by the Queen of Ferelden. Like, he’s a legit knight. No one knows his complete backstory, it’s as if he appeared out of thin air one day. All they know is that his background is heavily guarded by the government. 

DND Role: Does not play. He keeps telling Anders he has no time to join their frivolous games. So since Justice won’t drive to Varric’s, sometimes Anders has the gang come to THEIR apartment for game night. Even though Justice refuses to play, he keeps coming in and out of his room to watch how the game progresses. He makes sure everyone has something to drink, and that there’s plenty of snacks going around. He’s a bit of a mother hen. 

Merrill

Modern: The owner of an aromatherapy/herablist shop. Everything is organic and hand crafted by Merrill. Diffusers, essential oils, bath bombs, homeopathic medicine, vitamins, plants etc can be found here. Hawke walked by this shop everyday to and fro from work, and the shop always smelled so nice that she finally decided to visit. Who knew that the shop also provided tea and yummy biscuits? It became her favorite place to go during lunch break. It’s thanks to Hawke that Carver got introduced to the job. It’s a bit funny. The shop barely ever has any customers, but not only does it manage to stay afloat, but also pays Carver very well. Carver wants to ask where Merrill gets the money, but he’s also afraid of the answer. What if she already has a lover and Merrill is actually a sugar baby? Carver will be devastated! ((Merrill actually runs an underground business of buying and selling artifacts. She’s taking back what belongs to her people, things that Orlais and Tevinter wrongly stole. Her shop is actually just a front)). 

DnD Role: Elf mage. Merrill cannot imagine being anything else. She’s proud of her heritage. She is a bit absent minded while playing the game though, and often forgets the rules. At first Varric and Isabela looked out for Merrill, and tried to help her get the hang of the game, but then one night they noticed when Merrill “rolled” the dice, she distracted everyone by accidentally kicking the table. By the time everyone righted everything, Merrill’s dice went from a 3 to an 18. Sneaky, sneaky. 

Sebastian

Modern: A foreign prince currently studying abroad. He ran into Bethany and Hawke during one of their volunteer sessions. Both of the sisters can’t get enough of his accent, so invited him to hang out with them. Rumor at the school is that he’s an exiled prince that got banned from court because of his frivolous and wanton attitude. Other rumors is, is that he saw the “Kirkwall Girls Gone Wild” TV ad, and wanted a piece of that action. Some hopefuls hope that they can snag the prince and become princess. They’ll be said to find out, Sebastian’s true goal at coming to Kirkwall was to study to become a clergyman. 

DnD Role: Human warrior. As a child, Sebastian never got a chance to play DnD, so when Hawke dragged him to play, he was quite overwhelmed by all the races, classes, and rules. So he chose the most simple and easiest one to understand. Seb is quite a newb though, and for some reason, Varric seems to dislike him. While the rest of the crew seem to always scrape by unscathed, Seb’s character is always down to 1 HP. 

This took me 2 hours to write. I hope you’re happy @dovabunny LOL

[earthandseaprovideformyhearth]

The Gods Today: Loki

Next installment of reflections on the Norse Gods in the modern world inspired by @tricksterinthehedges

The easiest rule to remember when looking for Loki is that if there are children or those ostracized he’s not far behind. The hardest rule to remember when looking for Loki is that he refuses to be boxed into predictable patterns that aren’t his own making.

Loki can be found living on the streets with those abandoned, shunned, and forgotten. They’ve been lost to the world and are beginning to lose themselves. They’re all on the streets for an array of reasons, but it all comes down to being viewed as inhuman to others. They are LGBTQ+ kids kicked out of their home and disowned by family. They are the mentally and physically disabled - some born and others created from wars - that the world has determine do not offer a valuable place in society. They have been left to rot.

He scavenges alongside them, bracing the fierce uncaring of the world. He sits on street corners in the high heat of summer, fighting sunstroke and heat exhaustion. He curls up under bridges and in alleys during the low chill of winter, fighting frostbite and gnawing hunger. Sometimes he fills a truck full of food, water, clothes, and toiletries. He’s stuffed the necessities in hiking backpacks that he hands out to everyone he sees. He returns the spit and hatred sent their way. He protests for them. He fights in the government, demanding funding for shelters, demanding respect, demanding that they be seen as the victims of the society around them assigning a low value to their existence and NOT their intrinsic worth.

For young men of color, he walks the streets with them. Keeping their mind sharp and tongue quick. They shouldn’t need it, but they do. He’s seen one too many cops charge forward bull-headed, believing the man in front of him is a savage beast that poses a threat. Fire licks his skin as he once again has to help a child resort to smooth talking and keeping to the shadows to simply survive in his neighborhood from those meant to protect him.

Lawyers like to think he’s on their side. But in truth, he likes working against them. Tripping them up, throwing curveballs, testing their wit, humbling their god-complex. He knows manipulation of truth; it is his craft. But something rubs him the wrong way about humans using it to obstruct rather than elucidate. Though, he has seen Legally Blonde, and he thinks that if more were like Elle Woods and Emmett he would happily be their patron.

Loki’s a favored substitute teacher. The classroom rules that enforce organization are scrapped. Chaos reigns. More than a few teachers passing in the hall have expressed worry and skepticism about his efficiency and efficacy. He laughs and waves a hand. “Kids learn in chaos and experience.” It’s how they make sense of the world. It’s how they learn to survive, to create, to thrive. All required assignments are always done in record time, and then more is accomplished. Perhaps they spent the day dissecting the field mouse someone found a recess, but they made more connections to the inner workings of the world than they had before. Students walk away with wild tales of what they learned - in truth most of them are new ways to prank siblings, parents, and other such pesky figures of authority. Some seemingly throwaway comment he made in passing returns to them 15 years later in life and helps them make sense of the swirling storm of adulthood and the world. More than a couple of his young students have gone on to become teachers in their own right who respect the chaos and creation of the learning experience.

He’s the bane of college students’ existence, though. He exists as the one professor you want to strangle because he refuses to give you a straight answer. He pokes. He prods. He flips the question back on you. He argues any side with ease. He is fond of being deemed “The Devil’s Advocate” because it means he’s got you engaged and thinking. His students struggle to get his approval. They struggle to see his way. But that’s the thing. He doesn’t have one way to see something. He sees through, around, above, and under. He pushes you to do the same.

At the end of the day, he knows all destruction and upheavel he’s accomplished has to be done. It’s the natural order and makes way for creation. He is the raging forest and brush fires from both natural and man-made causes. Everyone happily gives him blame and credit for those, but they fail to still find him in the smoldering ashes rejuvenating the soil, letting the new generation take root in fertile soil. They fail to still find him in the raging social action that sweeps through local government to ensure protections and preventions against such devastation happening again. They see seem him in the natural disasters and fall-out, but fail to see him helping with the construction of the foundations for a new city with higher dreams as they work to overcome and build on this pain. They fail to see him in the innovation that follows.

He spends time with his daughter in children’s hospitals, watching them fight for life against their body’s self-destruction. He sees his children in them. He sees the pain and anguish and strength in the face death. He works to bring laughter and joy, however momentary it is. He doesn’t leave until he’s visited every child and brought a smile to each face.

He spends time in the prisons and jails. He volunteers to teach classes. He keeps addicts honest. Sometimes he becomes a probation officer and the odd counselor. More than once he’s gotten in trouble for questionable methods, but he gets results. He forces people to address the darkest parts of themselves. They embrace or run away. They give in or strive against. Whichever they chose, he doesn’t necessarily care either way. He just cares that they know and acknowledge it. Things still fall apart in the darkness. It’s best to shine a light on them and be aware of where the breaks and holes are. Frequently, it’s those on the outside of the bars who need this lesson more.

He wanders with those lost in the wilds, those who hiked too far or whose car broke down. He keeps them vigilant and aware of the threats surrounding them. He inspires their resourcefulness. This is new terrain. This is wild terrain. Civility won’t bring survival. He encourages the animalistic instincts to come out.

He helps people fight for what they want.

He helps acceptance of selfishness. Sometimes it’s what you need to survive. Sometimes you need it to live. Sometimes it’s just fun.

The only constant he has is with one-to-one relationships. He never presents or acts just the same to two people. But he’ll stay true to who he is to you. He’s fluid, but always who he is. The moon goes through phases but is still the moon. Elements change states of matter but still remain as their element, such as water to ice to vapor. No one has managed to catch his core self, but it settles in the center of his bones and thrums in his veins. Many have ideas. Many have found commonalities. Many believe they do, but they are too quick to judge and pick and choose and force the pieces. Sometimes you may catch a glimpse flicker in his eye; an ember of the doused fire inside.

Angrboda accepts his core, but has never quite understood it. She’s been known to turn a blind eye to the extent of his creative powers. Sigyn loves and understands his changing nature and his part of bringing rebirth through death, but every now and then a haze crosses his eyes, the corner of his lips crinkles, and a new dynamic she has never witness comes through. She has found that to understand she must know that he’ll never be stagnant.

But, when the world sleeps and monsters prowl, he takes time to be still. He watches the stars turn in the sky around him. He listens to the wind curl and embrace the world; it stops to say hi and play with his hair for a moment, offering a caress before it carries on. He feels the earth thrum underneath his soles and thinks on the future he is fated to live. He’s never cared for predictability, and if they think it will end the way they say, they clearly have never met him. He vows as the night fades to mingle with day that he will take charge of himself. That’s what he centers around.

[shannaraisles]

Set In Darkness

Chapter: 67 Author name: ShannaraIsles Rating: M Warnings: Canon-typical violence Summary: She’s a Modern Girl in Thedas, but it isn’t what she wanted. There’s a scary dose of reality as soon as she arrives. It isn’t her story. People get hurt here; people die here, and there’s no option to reload if you make a bad decision. So what’s stopping her from plunging head first into the Void at the drop of a hat?

A Moment of Truth

Skyhold loomed over the mountains, a dark welcome against the twilight sky. It would be another day, at least, before they were really home, but just the sight of the fortress standing proud over the plateau, the sound of the bustling city in the distance, was enough to ease the tension Rory had been carrying for the last three weeks.

Their journey from the Ferelden coast had been a good deal slower than she would have liked. She was sure they could have made it back here in ten days or less, but everyone had been insistent on not traveling any further each day than was absolutely necessary. Everyone had been hovering over her - every time she looked a little pale, or hinted that she might need to avail herself of a handy bush, they'd stopped for a rest that often lasted an hour or more. Dorian had reveled in the easy-going journey, as had Vivienne. Sera had ended up going on ahead, too antsy for the slow going enforced because of everyone else's concern for the healer who kept losing the argument for one more mile. Cassandra, Bull, and Cole had appointed themselves protection for the little gig and its passenger; Cullen had refused to allow anyone else to drive but him. So Rory had spent three weeks getting steadily bigger, aching for home. Now it was just out of reach ... but she had other things on her mind.

Bull had drawn her off to one side, his expression pensive.

"Look, little red," he said, seemingly almost uncomfortable as he glanced toward the camp being set up behind them. "I heard what the kid said in that temple. He's not often wrong. So what does it mean?"

She didn't need a mirror to know that her face had become a mask of horror. This wasn't a conversation she wanted to have; she wanted the Ben-Hassrath agent to go on pretending that she was absolutely harmless and exactly what she appeared to be, but it seemed as though he couldn't. That need to know was shining through. He must have been struggling with this all the way here, she realized. This is his last chance to ask away from Leliana's little birds and their nosy ears.

"Uh, I ..." She swallowed, tipping her own wary glance back toward the camp. "I don't know how to explain it," she said quietly. "I promise you, Bull, I am no threat. I'm not a spy, I'm not a mage, I'm just me. I'm what you see, but ... there are things about me that even I don't know. I really don't know how to tell you what Cole meant, and -" She hesitated, a frown painting her expression firm for a moment. "And it isn't something you can tell the Qun."

His concerned expression formed into a deeper frown of his own. "Can't promise I won't tell them, little red," he reminded her, reluctance coloring his words. "The triumvirate ... none of them trust me so much these days. I'm not giving them what they want, and they know it."

She bit her lip, glancing nervously back at the camp setting up. At least no one would worry about her if she was with the Iron Bull, but ... how was he going to react to this? He could see the thoughts flickering through her mind, laying a large hand on her arm.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't change you," he pointed out quietly. "I believe you when you say you're no threat, little red. But I need to know. Your tells, the kid's riddles ... it's a distraction I can't have right now."

"I haven't told anyone about this," she murmured, hoping like hell none of Leliana's little birds was near enough to hear her speak. "Not even Cullen. Bull, I don't even know where to start."

The Qunari mercenary considered her for a moment, then raised his head. "Hey, Cullen," he called. "Just taking the healer to the stream. Perimeter's secure."

There was a pause, and Cullen answered. "Bring her back in one piece, Bull."

Just one sentence, but everyone heard the unspoken threat. If Rory had even a hair out of place when she came back, Cullen would be having words with the Iron Bull. That definitely wasn't something anyone wanted to be witness to. Bull nodded solemnly, offering Rory his arm like a gentleman. Already shaking with the effort of putting her strangeness into words, she took the offered arm with both hands, letting the big Qunari lead her away from the camp. Away from other ears.

They were still within sight of the camp when they reached the stream, the area free from cover and shadows beneath the rising moon. They must have made an interesting sight to those who kept looking over to them - the pregnant healer sat on the smooth roundness of a swept boulder, the enormous horned mercenary crouching easily beside her. But at least no one would hear what she had to say.

"All right, little red," Bull said softly, his voice inviting her to let go of all those worries in one go. "Talk to me."

So she did. She told him about Earth, about the fact that she wasn't aware of who she was in this world or why her mind was here in a body that might not be her own. She told him about the advanced technologies she had grown up with; the games that meant she knew enough about Thedas to pass muster. She told him how little she knew of the person this world believed her to be.

She didn't know why she suddenly needed to share the reasons behind her strangeness, or why it was Bull she trusted with the information, of all people. But she needed to tell someone. Weeks of being a prisoner had brought home once and for all that this was not a game; that there was no guarantee she was coming out of this alive. For the first time, she really truly believed everything around her was really happening, and she was terrified. She couldn't tell Cullen; he knew her too well not to know that there was more she wasn't telling. More than that, he would dig and dig for what she didn't dare share, and the moment he had it all ... she didn't know what he would do. It would break him. Yet Bull, who had more reason to be suspicious than most, who knew she must not be telling him everything, did not even blink.

"That isn't all of it, is it?" he asked gently.

She shook her head, raising a shaking hand to wipe her face. When did I start crying? "I-I can't tell you all of it, Bull," she told him unhappily. "I wish I could, but ... it's hard enough to believe this much. I don't dare share any more."

And what was it she hadn't shared? Of all the unbelievable facts, the one thing she hadn't told him was the foreknowledge her strangeness gave her. That, of everything she had to hide, was the one thing she knew she couldn't be forgiven for. All those lives lost at the Conclave, at Haven, in the chaos spread across the world; they would all believe she could have prevented it. They would all hate her for holding it so close to her chest as around them their friends and allies died.

"I don't even know who I am," she added in frustration. "Granthis knows me; hell, even Cullen has known me longer than I remember knowing him. All I remember starts at the avalanche outside Haven, just a few months before the Conclave."

The Iron Bull offered her a gentle smile. "You want to know you, little red?" he asked, inching just a little closer, despite the detached story she had just told him. "Your name is Aurelia Dupuis; parents, Marcus and Judith; younger brother, Lorcan. Born in Val Chevin on Guardian 18th, 15 Dragon. Pretty unremarkable kid, devout family. Brother died in 28 Dragon, you disappeared in 29 Dragon. Parents tore Orlais apart trying to find you. Then some kid called Rory and her friend, Ria, showed up in Denerim couple of years later, handing out healing skills in exchange for food and shelter. Been all over Ferelden, but I heard you were recruited into the Inquisition in Amaranthine by Cullen himself, about a month and a half before the avalanche you woke up in."

She groaned softly, rubbing her fingers hard over her forehead. "Even you know more about me than I do."

"Don't think you need all the detail to be the person you are, little red," he pointed out. "You're doing just fine without."

"But Cullen -"

"Had his eye on you from the start," Bull informed her, the corner of his mouth threatening to pull into a smile. "One of the things I was sent to you guys to investigate. Cullen would thrive under the Qun, but you're his weak point. They break you, they lose him." He leaned back a little. "Told you once I'd kick the ass off anything that came after you. That still holds, little red."

Rory stared at him, torn between gratitude and horror. Cullen has known me longer than I've known him? Why doesn't he ever mention it? Does he think I have amnesia or something? "So ... what happens now?" she asked warily.

Bull nodded slowly, a pensive frown on his usually open face. "I should tell my superiors," he commented, forestalling her immediate protest with a gentle touch of his big hand over her own. "But there's nothing they can do with this information. They'd want you brought back to Par Vollen, and that is something I will not do. Inquisition needs you. Cullen needs you." He sighed heavily. "And I don't want your breaking on my conscience."

"You really think they'd break me for ... this?" she asked in an uncertain tone. Whatever this is. Gods, how the hell would they even begin to understand something not even I can explain properly?

He nodded. "The viddathlok would want to convert you, but your mind wouldn't bend," he predicted. "The quamek would probably kill you. No, I won't give you up to them." He snarled to himself, rubbing a hand along his horn in frustration. "I'm walking a line these days, little red. Order's going to come soon, and I don't know if I'll follow it."

Rory hesitated. She knew what that order would be; she knew the outcome of either decision he could make. One hand reached out to touch his bare shoulder. "Do what you need to do," she suggested. "But you have friends here, Bull, real friends who would rather die at your side than see you fall. Their own choice, rather than a duty that has to be performed. I don't know how the Qunari stand up when compared with our loyal lack of order."

Bull sighed heavily once more, patting the hand she'd laid on his shoulder. "I don't want to make that choice, red," he growled softly. "That isn't the life I was born to live."

"Sometimes the right decision isn't the easiest to see," Rory mused, raising her head to look up at the sky, the two moons rising above them. Well, you told him. So why doesn't it feel like you did something right? "Sometimes the only thing you can do is ask someone you trust to decide for you."

The look he gave her was sharp, but on this, at least, she felt on solid ground. Let Kaaras decide for you, she willed him to hear the unspoken advice. He won't let you lose yourself to the Qun. As much as they've given you, the Chargers give you more. There was an addition from the inner fangirl - If you let the Chargers die, I will go off you and never play your romance ever, ever again. And despite herself, Rory felt her lips twitch toward a smile. Bull's eye narrowed, but he smiled with her, squeezing her hand gently.

"Might be something in that," he conceded thoughtfully. "Try and take it yourself once in a while. You're terrible at making decisions about your own safety."

She snorted with laughter, shaking her head at him. "If I let everyone else make the decisions for me, I would never go anywhere," she pointed out as he helped her to her feet.

"Red, every time you've gone somewhere, you've gotten beat up or kidnapped," the big Qunari pointed out easily. "Stop making those decisions."

"I ..." Her mouth shut. He was right. She deflated. "Fine, I'll talk to people about going places before I do it," she offered. "Happy with that?"

Bull laughed. "Very," he assured her. But as they turned back to the camp, he laid a warm hand on her back, lowering his voice. "Just ... don't go back where you came from. World won't be the same without the little red we know."

It was a pensive Rory he delivered back to Cullen, who flicked a curious glance between the pair of them before drawing her down and handing her a bowl of soup to eat. He didn't press to know what had been said, or try to pry into something that had clearly given her a great deal to think about. But she didn't think he missed the fact that the way the Iron Bull looked at her had changed. Surely sharing secrets was supposed to make you feel better? But she didn't feel better. She'd shared one of her deepest secrets, and instead of feeling freed by it, she felt more isolated. It was awful. And there wasn't a damned thing she could do about it.

One more thing I'm going to have to learn to live with.

[rulesearth]

🐍 // @w-whitefang

❛ usually, ❜ the god started as he closed the door behind him, ❛ this is when people say that it's not what it looks like. however --- i'd never insult you like this. so yes, this is indeed arden’s quiver. ❜

[creativeashproductions]

Innocent [Part 7]

Summary: Blake Ainsley’s always had a rule that she wouldn’t getting into a relationship with someone outside of SHIELD, the problem came in the form of a tall brunette hunter trying to be normal. Blake and Sam believe each other to be too innocent for the world they both know, one that involved chaos, death, blood and pain. Will they ever know about each others ‘real life’?    

Characters: Blake Ainsley/OC x Sam Winchester, Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanoff

Words: 3277

Warnings: Swearing, blood, a little fluff, and a little angst.

Part One  Part Two Part Three Part Four Part Five Part Six

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They parked in the woods a good distance away. They were about to leave Sam out of possible harms way when he grasped onto Blake arm with determination. He was a light sleeper so it wasn’t unexpected. “We here?”

“The file came from these coordinates.” Nat informed him as he climbed out the truck to his full six foot four height. He towered over Steve and that reminded him of the days he was tiny.

“So did I.” Steve mumbled as they walked around the camp as Nat raised her device in the air looking for anything, “This camp is where I was trained.”

“Changed much?” Sam rolled his eyes not believing this deserted training camp was where this man came from. How could Blake blindly put her faith in this guy.

“A little.” Steve said his eyes trained on one area as if something was there that the rest of them couldn’t see. What they didn’t hear was a familiar voice calling out to Steve’s former self who had stopped to watch the present man. The voice called Rogers back to the group and into formation.

“You okay?” Blake softly asked the older man.

“Brings some back emotions. It is stupid that I actually miss the days when I was barely 100 pounds soaking wet?”

“Not really. You went into the line of duty to help your country in the days we were at our worst. You didn’t get to see the win through.”

“This is a dead end. Zero heat signature, zero waves, not even radio. Whoever wrote the file must have used a router to throw people off.” Nat sighed barely noticing as Steve was staring at the building in front of them.

“What’s wrong Steve?” Blake questioned softly as Sam looked around.

“Army regulations forbid storing ammunition within five hundred yards from the barracks. This building is in the wrong place.”

Blake watched as Steve grasped the lock in his hand before gripping his shield and slamming it down. The lock dropped to the ground before opening the door for everyone. He placed his hand on Sam’s chest as the females went inside.

“You sure you want to step into mess we have on our hands?” Steve asked, “You still go back to California and forget this all happened.”

“I’m sure. You don’t know the life I had growing up, and I would never give up on that woman in there. I love her.”

“Okay.” Steve sighed letting Sam walk past. Glancing around he pulled the store shut before catching up with everyone.

Blake flicked the lights on allowing them to see what they had walked into, specifically they noticed that they had stepped into an old SHIELD office. They all stood in shock at what was around them.

“This is SHIELD.” Nat said looking all around.

“Maybe where it all started.” Steve said as they continued into a room holding old photographs of Howard Stark, Peggy, and Colonel Chester Phillips. Blake had read up on the history of SHIELD when she officially joined.

“There’s Stark’s father. You can tell they shared the same personality.” Blake whispered thinking of the brainiac in charging of supplying money for the Avengers needs.

“Howard.” Steve muttered.

“Who’s the girl?” Sam asked noticing the sadness on Steve’s face.

There’s no reply as Steve continued walking farther into the room where a bookshelf was resting on a wall. Taking up a lot of the room.

“If you already working in a secret office… “ Steve trailed off as Sam helped him move the bookshelf away revealing a pair of silver elevator doors.

“Then why do you need to hide the elevator?” Blake finished rather surprised at the revelation. It was slightly a tight fit riding down to the further into the earth. The doors opened to show an even larger room with a large amount of old computers.

“This can’t be the data point, this technology is ancient.” Nat says looking around the room in shock. “Nat. We’re in the right place. There’s a flash drive port, this definitely not originally here.” Blake said in shock also. Sam glanced around in wonder.

“Well let’s see what happens.” Nat genuinely smiles at her female…friend. She could consider Blake a friend. She quickly places the flash drive into the port activating the computers in the room.

“Initiate system?” The robotic voice of the computer said. “Y-E-S, spells yes.”

Sharing a look with the people in the room with her, as Nat carefully typed yes. Everyone but Steve watched in amazement of being with something so old. Steve was more comfortable with these computers opposed to the modern day ones.

“Shall we play a game?” Nat chuckles darkly before turning to Steve, “It’s from a movie that…”

“Yeah, I saw it.” Steve muttered rolling his eyes.

“I made him watch it with Thor and I.” Blake chuckled remembering the unimpressed and frightened appearance of both the men that night. She always found it amazing that they were big men that fought real life bad people and a little movie scared them.

“Good job.” Nat said appreciative.

“Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born 1984. Ainsley, Blake James. Born 1982. Winchester, Samuel. Born 1983.” A heavy accented voice says coming from the computer. There on the screen is a green figure with glasses, it was like a prehistoric version of FaceTime or Skyping.

“What the hell…” Sam trailed off freaking out internally. This was something he had never though possible especially with such old technology.

“It’s some kind of recording.” Natasha says.

“How the hell does it know Sam?!” Blake exclaimed shocked. He had nothing to do with SHIELD or HYDRA. He didn’t even have social media for god sake and he never explained why.

“I am not a recording Fräulein. I amy not be the man I was when the Captain took me prisoner in 1945, but I am…” The computer trails off. A black and white photo is brought up of a man Blake can’t put her finger on.

“Do you know this thing?” Blake whispers over to Steve. Sam goes to pat his pocket looking for his phone only to discover it missing.

“Shit. Guys can you do what you have to do? I lost my phone. It has my families number on it and some important information about law schools.” Sam questioned wincing at the possibility of losing everything.

“Uh. Yeah, we’ll be out as soon as possible. Go to the truck I guess.” Blake said. Sam swiftly kissed her on the cheek before returning to the elevator.

“Arnim Zola was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He’s been dead for years.” Steve muttered not taking his eyes off the screen. The familiarity of the name came back to Blake with ease, it was something that Steve had only mentioned in passing after a couple times they had found.

“First correction, I am Swiss. Second, look around you. I have never been more alive. In 1972 I received a terminal diagnosis. Science could not save my body, my mind however, that was worth saving on two thousand feet of data banks. You are standing in my brain.” Zola replied only showing the slightly emotion when correct his nationality.

“That’s just beyond creepy.” Blake shivered.

“How did you get here?”

“Invited.” “It was Operation Paperclip after World War II. SHIELD recruited German scientists with strategic values.” Natasha began.

“Swiss. Don’t want him putting up some unfriendly photos on Facebook…oh wait you can’t with his junk!” Blake cackled feeling Steve shove his elbow into her ribs.

“They thought I could help their cause. I also helped my own.” Zola stated, “I am no mere computer program Fräulein, I am a genius without a physical body.”

“Still creepy you freak.”

“HYDRA died with the Red Skull.” Steve hissed giving Blake another glare.

“Cut off one head, two more shall take its place.” Zola continued. 
 “Prove it.”

“Accessing archive.” Zola said as old footage popped up showing Red Skull before Blake started to wonder if Sam was waiting at the truck as asked, “HYDRA was founded on the belief that humanity could not be trusted with its own freedom. What we did not realize, was that if you try to take that freedom they resist. The war taught us much. Humanity needed to surrender its freedom willingly. After the war, SHIELD was founded and I was recruited. The new HYDRA grew. A beautiful parasite inside SHIELD. For seventy years HYDRA has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did no cooperate, history was changed.”

Blake’s eyes widened in horror as the information, the mere genius of how HYRDA had been hiding so well over the years. She shared a mixture of horror, shock and disgust with Nat and Steve before she turned back to Zola.

“That’s an absolutely stunning way to hide. Nobody would have thought to even think about that.” Blake whispered.

“That’s impossible, SHIELD would have stopped you.” Nat said pissed off and unwillingly to believe the garbage she was hearing.

“Accident will happen.” Zola says creating shivers on Blake’s arms.

Suddenly on the computer screen is footage of Howard and Maria Stark’s car accident that was apparently a set up. The real cause of death was murder by HYDRA. Next is footage about the death of Director Fury. Blake’s hand raised to her mouth barely able to comprehend the depth of betrayal of working for HYDRA even when she didn’t have clue.

“HYDRA created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. Once the purification process is complete, HYDRA’s new world order will arise. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your life; a zero sum.” Zola provides more information but Steve can’t take it any longer so he breaks the computer, “As I was saying…What’s on this drive? Project Insight requires insight. So I wrote an algorithm.”

“What kind.” Blake harshly says pushing herself in front Nat and Steve, “What does this shitty thing do?”

“Blake.” Nat whispers putting her hand back on her arm.

“The answer to your question is fascinating. Unfortunately, you shall be too dead to hear it.” Zola’s voice if possible takes on a type of evil. At the sound of slight grinding they spin around to see the doors to their only way out are closing and they wouldn’t be able to make it in time by running. Without hesitation Steve throws his shield trying to jam it in the doors but it ricochets off into the wall and back into Steve’s hand. “Guys. We’ve got a bogey. Short range ballistic with thirty seconds tops.” Nat says looking down at her phone. “Who the fuck fired it?” Blake exclaimed.

“SHIELD.”

“I’m afraid I have been stalling, Captain. Admit it, it’s better this way. We are both out of time.” Zola finished his little spiel.

He hadn’t even finished his sentence when Steve’s sees a small opening from his frantic searching. He yanks the grate off and throwing it out of the way to throw Blake, Nat and himself in with the hope it would be enough to save their lives. Pulling themselves into a tight little ball the shield barely covers them all. It’s a fiery hell as he pulls himself out to scope out danger before scooping Nat into his arms.

Five Minutes Earlier

Sam is antsy waiting by the truck for the group to join him, he had been waiting for nearly five minutes. There was no sign of them and it was making his skin crawl. All he could think about was how that thing had known everyone’s names and birthdates. How he knew Sam’s birthdate.

Better yet apparently Steve Rogers, wait no Captain fucking America, is actually from a different era. How the hell was he still so young looking? Jesus did he find the fountain of youth because with hunting monsters he wouldn’t be surprised. Actually he didn’t know why he was surprised that it was possible. It could be witchcraft but there wasn’t anyway…plus he seemed too righteous and pure to bother with that stuff. Not to mention that the group definitely didn’t know about the hunting life.

“Come on guys.” Sam sighed leaning back onto the truck.

They should have gotten all the information they had and should have been out here already given how easy they seemed to be able to both hide in plain sight and hack. Not even his family were that good at hacking and that was saying something. Sam did most of the hacking when his Dad tried to keep him out of the hunting fray.

He had just leaned his head against the truck when he saw something going straight for the building Blake and her friends were in. He dropped to his knees in anguish as he watched the building explode and go into flames. He couldn’t help the sobs leaving his body because there was no way anyone could survive that.

“NO!” Sam screamed sobbing. He couldn’t get himself together because he didn’t know what he could even do now.

Everywhere he turned he saw red high flames and he wondered why he had bothered leaving them. He shouldn’t have left them. He should have known it was going to happen because what ever goes right in his life? He didn’t know how long he cried on the cold ground not caring about anything at that moment.

“Can you help me?”

“H-how?” Sam gasped looking up to see Steve standing there with Blake thrown over his shoulder and Nat in his arms, both unconscious.

“We don’t have time! Open the doors.” Steve demanded causing Sam to scrambled into the back seat.

Blake and Nat were carefully placed in the back seat with Sam holding Blake in his arms. He kept kissing her head muttering thanks to whoever decided to cause a miracle.

“What happened?” “Zola was stalling. We didn’t know what was happening until he let us know that we were going to be dead. Nat caught information that a bogey was headed straight towards us with not even a minute.” Steve said as he peeled out of the area, “The reason we’re not dead is because of my shield.”

“How?”

“It’s made of a metal called Vibranium. It was given to me by Howard Stark and it’s been with me ever since. The material is extremely strong and nearly unbreakable. It’s a special and highly wanted metal that only comes from on area in the world.”

“How are you even alive and look this old?” “Seventy years ago I lost my best friend when he fall out of a train to his death. A short while later we learnt that Red Skull was going to bomb countless cities. The problem was that those bombs were actually aircrafts. In the end right before my life ended in that era I was trying to turn one of the planes around but it was going too fast. I called HYDRA headquarters where my team was. The plane was going towards New York and instead of letting millions of people die I crashed it. I crashed it into the Arctic ocean with my last words being with the love of my life.” Steve said not wanting to really get into the matter anymore. He could already feel the tears building up in his eyes.

“You should definitely be dead.”

“I very much should be.” Steve agreed

It was mere minutes after the truck had left from the hiding place when the STRIKE team showed up to roam the area. As per usual the head of the team Rumlow was searching more than the others, he wanted them dead. In his opinion he was better than them and he would find them easily and he would kill them. Even that damn tag along that was apart of Viper’s personal life.

“You find anything. A piece of clothing or a goddamn fingernail I want to be the first to know. If I find out one of you took mere minutes to tell me I will have your head on a stick. Blake Widow, Viper and Cap are dangerous to the live of HYDRA.” Rumlow growled.

“Of course Sir.” One of the agents said before leaving to check another part of the area.

“Rumlow!” One of his men called.

“What is it?” Rumlow asked as he joined three of his members looking into a small area just large enough for three people. There was a footprint that was a match to Captain’s shoe size.

“If they survived this would be the place as long as the shield was above.”

“They survived. It’s Captain America.” Rumlow growled not liking it, “They will have injuries, get camera feeds to look for four people with injuries.”

“Of course.”

Rumlow got back on his feet as he surveyed the area for anything that wasn’t upturned. Looking over he noticed there was tracks specifically from a vehicle. His eyes narrowed figuring out that the Captain had stolen a truck.

There was only one person that would have the greatest chance of finding these people and it was time to put him to test against a part of his now very forgotten past.

“Call in the Asset.”

Alexander Pierce was on his way to his kitchen to get a drink giving thought on how he would continue on bringing in Captain America and his followers. He had to make it perfect so he wouldn’t be suspected because he had to have his announcement as part of HYDRA timed right. He had opened his fridge and turned to put the milk on the counter when he noticed a very familiar figure sitting at his table, a gun within reach on the table. He slowly closed the fridge without turning away.

“I’m going to go, Mr. Pierce. Do you need anything before I leave?” Renata, his housekeeper, asked as she placed her bag on her shoulder. She was in the other room.

“N. Uh…it’s fine, Renata, you can go home.” Pierce said not taking his eyes off his guest. “Okay, night-night.”

“Good night. Want some milk?” Pierce asked the man sitting in the dark. The Asset had come to him and not on visiting terms. Alexander walked over to a cupboard to pull out a glass. Unsurprisingly he didn’t receive an answer, “The timetable has moved. Our window is limited. Three targets, level six.”

Pierce poured himself a glass of milk not moving until he took a sip of his drink. Walked over to the table he said down in front of the man many called the Winter Soldier. The Asset, as HYDRA had always called him said silent and motionless as the man he was most in contact with continued to talk.

“They already cost me Zola.” Pierce nearly spat, “I want confide death in ten hours.”

The noise of someone coming into the kitchen unannounced causing the Asset and Pierce to look behind them. Standing there was his housekeeper Renata not noticing the secret meeting going on.

“Sorry, Mr. Pierce, I…I forgot my phone.” She trails off finally noticing the Asset with the atmosphere dangerous and unapologetic.

“Oh, Renata. I wish you would have knocked.” Pierce said almost saddened by the event that had to happen with her now. Picking up the gun with ease and familiarity he aims it towards her. Quickly he shoots her once causing a scream before he does it once more as she falls down.

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Episode II: Age of empire

The world as we know it wasn’t always sunshine and rainbows, once upon a time it was an age of massive power across the world, and the lives of many innocent people were taken away by the cold and sharp scythe belonging to the grim reaper...

Our story begins with Senaka of the Assyrians, a horrible brute that ruled with an iron fist, terrifying to even his own children. He reeked havoc amongst innocent villages, either taking them away as slaves or slaughtered them in cold blood. Eventually the evil tyrant was murdered by one of his sons and as a hundred years went by, the empire had fallen for terror alone was not enough to rule the vast empire. They left into the world offering very little except for one huge component that would be used even up until this day, the alphabet. Developed by the Phoenicians, the alphabet was quickly spread throughout the world, wherever these people sailed to they always left it behind. Soon many great civilizations would pick the alphabet up and develop it into their own language. The Greeks developed it and the Romans later created the basis of Latin and as for other civilizations such as the Jews, they created Hebrew and the Arabs invented Arabic. Thanks to the vast lengths the Phoenicians went to spreading the alphabet. The world would become what it is today, a civilized and educated place, all thanks to the Phoenicians.

Though the invention of the alphabet might’ve brought upon a new world of intelligence, it did not stop the age of empire, so says the Persians. A new ruthless tyrant emerged, his name was Cyrus and he would make it clear that his name would be heard across the land, and feared just like Senaka’s name once was. Cyrus would turn his attention on the capital of Lydia due to the fact that they had once attacked the Persians, he sought out revenge and was on the verge of obtaining it. Croesus, the king of Lydia was once said to have all the gold in the world, however all that wealth was far from helping him now. He was on the verge of being burned to death until his life was spared by rain, to which he prayed for to the god Apollo. Impressed, Cyrus took Croesus under him as his advisor and eventually the Persians would develop a new way of currency, the golden coin. This ingenious idea that was eventually adopted by kingdoms across the land made Cyrus seen as a wise man with great ideas. A ruthless brute turned wise ruler by listening and showing respect towards other cultures and religions. He created and enduring empire known for its progress and prosperity all throughout the land and as far as his name could reach.

Around the same time somewhere hidden in the Himalaya’s, a new way of living was about to begin and it would all start with the guidance of one man, Siddhartha Gautama. Raised with a whole lot of wealth he began to notice that life wasn’t always going to be the way it was, money wasn’t the answer to everything. He left his old life and sought out a new one, becoming a man set to find inner peace through a simple life, spending his days walking through the forrest’s of India and meditating for long periods of time. His meditation lead him to finding inner peace and eventually became known as the enlightened one A.K.A the Buddha. Though like everyone else who walks this earth, his life went by however his teachings and his wisdom were kept alive through his students. The monks he taught would spread his knowledge of peace throughout the lands, still to this day in fact. The age of empire brought upon chaos and anarchy to our world whilst the Buddha sought peace and prosperity with no violence or hierarchy, open to everyone.

While Buddha was seeking a better way to live in peace, a new way to rule was set upon us and on its way to Europe...

Athens, a place where much of our world today has gotten its influence from. Before diving into all of that we must take a stroll down memory lane, to one of the greatest battles of all time, with democracy hanging in the balance. The Greeks faced off against the Persian empire, the number one ruling power of the world at the time, going up against a tiny little army produced by Athens, soldiers of which were mere fine folk of honest jobs such as farming, store clerks, etc. The great tactic of making their army weak in the middle and strong on the sides helped push them towards a glorious victory over the Persians. The tired army of Athens were now on their way home, racing against time to be there before the rest of the Persian armada reached the capital. After the glorious victory, The Greek society would erupt into its golden age of confidence, the finest literature and culture produced in the ancient world. The great Parthenon was erected in honor of the Athenian win over the Persian empire, and most of it still stands today, proudly reminding its citizens of the heroics their lineage had brought upon them.

While democracy was happening, something was brewing far far away out in the east. 500 B.C, modern day China was ruled by the Zhou dynasty and a series of small conflicts between clans were erupting across the vast land of China. A man brought into this world with a clear vision to restore order to society and its conflicts, a civil servant by the name we know as Confucius. His ways did not do much in the higher powers of China, instead they outed him and so he sought a new way of spreading his knowledge, through small villages he came across. Eventually he passed away at the ripe old age of 72, he might’ve died believing he was a failure but his students kept his legacy alive and carried on his teachings. In time, Confucius’s ideas were finally appreciated by the rulers of China. His philosophy finally took root in Chinese society and became deeply embedded in state institutions. 

As father times clock went ticking on, the age of empire was soon to meet a man of great significance in all of history itself. 356 B.C, the son of the king of Macedonia was born and would grow up to be known as the greatest empire builder in history, his name was Alexander the Great. At the young age of twenty, he became the king of Macedonia and set his young self out on to the world, conquering the Persian empire. Though Alexander was a conquerer, he was no tyrant, in fact he was the complete opposite. Past all the battles and wars, Alexander’s true goal was to bring him and his people together along side the Persians, even if it meant some backlash was received. A true union of the east and the west, through one man and his brilliance in battle. Though Alexander’s life was short, his legacy lived on and the democratic ways of the Greeks were carried on, spreading across the middle east, to N. Africa and eventually even Asia. 

In many ways the Greek society brought upon much of what we needed in order to have a proper civilization, though without one crucial thing that was so important, we might’ve never been the civilization we are today. Socrates, a philosopher who brought on the idea to question all in ones path formed the basis of what would be known to day as freedom of speech. His philosophy was thought to be poisoning the minds of the youth, and of course the government would not have his dangerous wisdom to come knocking on their doors, for it was seen as a threat to potentially ending democracy. So, with that he was sentenced to death but even so he stuck through with his words, never once resenting them. His ideas were eventually accepted throughout time, expressing oneself and ones opinion went on to be a well respected idea. Future users of the democratic way would see that Socrates had a point, that there needed to be a freedom of speech in this world for in that way the leaders would respect the citizens words and their opinions, as a sign of respect and mutual understanding towards each other. 

In many ways the age of empire brought upon mass chaos and an abundance of trouble to our world. Death was more common than the common cold, however in life you must break a few eggs before you can get an omelette. I think that in all aspects of life throughout all of human time, no matter what humans will always make mistakes, we will run into problems, trouble, a vast wasteland of struggle. However, we strive through thick and thin, eventually coming upon a brighter tomorrow. 

- Marko Mladenovik  

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Dance Quotes

Official Website: Dance Quotes

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• A dancer, if she is great, can give to the people something that they can carry with them forever. They can never forget it, and it has changed them, though they may never know it. – Isadora Duncan • A good dancer is one who listens to the musicWe dance the music not the steps. Anyone who aspires to dance never thinks about what he is going to do. What he cares about is that he follows the music. You see, we are painters. We paint the music with our feet. – Carlos Gavito • A good education is usually harmful to a dancer. A good calf is better than a good head. – Agnes de Mille • A sense of humor is just common sense dancing. – William James • All night have the roses heard The flute, violin, bassoon; All night has the casement jessamine stirr’d To the dancers dancing in tune; Till a silence fell with the waking bird, And a hush with the setting moon. – Alfred Lord Tennyson • Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own. – Erica Jong • At the still point, there the dance is. – T. S. Eliot

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Dance', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_dance').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_dance img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Dance as though no one is watching. Love as though you’ve never been hurt. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth. – John Philip Sousa • Dance is a song of the body. Either of joy or pain. – Martha Graham • Dance is bigger than the physical body. When you extend your arm, it doesn’t stop at the end of your fingers, because you’re dancing bigger than that; you’re dancing spirit. – Judith Jamison • Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully and with inevitability. – Martha Graham • Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully, and with inevitability. Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! – Constanze Mozart • Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people. – Alvin Ailey • Dance is music made visible – George Balanchine • Dance is not an exercise. Dance is an art. – Alicia Alonso • Dance is so important in the world. It needs no language. Our bodies speak a language of its own. – Ibrahim Farah • Dance is the hidden langauge of the soul, of the body. – Martha Graham • Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. – Ted Shawn • Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythm of your life. It’s the expression in time and movement,in happiness, joy, sadness and envy. – Jacques d’Amboise • Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythym of your life. – Jacques d’Amboise • Dance till the stars come down from the rafters Dance, Dance, Dance ’till you drop. – W. H. Auden • Dance to the light that is your soul. – Jendayi Frazer • Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. – Mary Schmich • Dancers are allowed, indeed encouraged, to remain children forever. – Twyla Tharp • Dancers are instruments, like a piano the choreographer plays. – George Balanchine • Dancers are the messengers of the gods. – Martha Graham • Dancers work and live from the inside. They drive themselves constantly producing a glow that lights not only themselves but audience after audience. – Murray Louis • Dancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals. – Charles Baudelaire • Dancing insists we take up space, and though it has no set direction, we go there together. Dance is dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive, and contagious and it breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere, at anytime, with anyone and everyone, and it’s free. Dance joins us and pushes us to go further and that is why it’s at the center of ONE BILLION RISING. – Eve Ensler • Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire. – George Bernard Shaw • Dancing is a very living art. It is essentially of the moment, although a very old art. A dancer’s art is lived while he is dancing. Nothing is left of his art except the pictures and the memories–when his dancing days are over. – Martha Graham • Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery – what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor for a perfect stance, a perfect plie. – Martha Graham • Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! – Constanze Mozart • Dancing is moving to the music without stepping on anyone’s toes, pretty much the same as life. – Robert Breault • Dancing is the last word in life. In dancing one draws nearer to oneself. – Jean Dubuffet • Dancing: The Highest Intelligence in the Freest Body. – Isadora Duncan • Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart. – Martha Graham • Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance. – Oprah Winfrey • Every day I count wasted in which there has been no dancing. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances. – Maya Angelou • Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. – Martha Graham • He capers, he dances, he has eyes of youth, he writes verses, he speaks holiday, he smells April and May. – William Shakespeare • He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Hence it is from the representation of things spoken by means of posture and gesture that the whole of the art of dance has been elaborated. – Plato • How can we know the dancer from the dance? – William Butler Yeats • I believe that dance communicates man’s deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written. – Ted Shawn • I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. – Mikhail Baryshnikov • I don’t try to dance better than anybody but myself. – Mikhail Baryshnikov • I don’t want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance. – George Balanchine • I have no desire to prove anything by my work. I have never used it as an outlet or as a means of expressing myself. I just dance. – Fred Astaire • I see dance being used as communication between body and soul, to express what it too deep to find for words. – Ruth St. Denis • I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance. – Friedrich Nietzsche • If you dance with your heart, your body will follow. – Mia Michaels • In dance, even the weakest can do wonders. – Curt Sachs • In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art. – Rumi • Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music. – William Stafford • Let that day be lost to us on which we did not dance once! – Friedrich Nietzsche • Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair. – Susan Polis Schutz • Let us read, and let us dance — these two amusements will never do any harm to the world. – Voltaire • Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf. – Rabindranath Tagore • My mother told me I was dancing before I was born. She could feel my toes tapping wildly inside her for months. -Ginger Rogers • Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself. – Annie Leibovitz • Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance. – Confucius • No sane man will dance. – Marcus Tullius Cicero • Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion. – Martha Graham • On with the dance! let joy be unconfin’d No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet To chase the Glowing Hours with Flying feet – Lord Byron • One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr. • Part of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can’t talk and dance at the same time. – Ginger Rogers • Rock ’n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm. It’s the rhythm that gets to the kids – they’re starved of music they can dance to, after all those years of crooners. – Alan Freed • So, I think I would say, enjoy the process of learning to dance. The process of our profession, and not its final achievement, is the heart and soul of dance. – Jacques d’Amboise • Some things were worth the dance with danger. – Nalini Singh • The dance is the mother of the arts. Music and poetry exist in time; painting and architecture in space. But the dance lives at once in time and space. – Curt Sachs • The dancer’s body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul. – Isadora Duncan • The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. – Muhammad Ali • The Gods have meant That I should dance And by the Gods I will! – Ruth St. Denis • The human animal dances wildest on the edge of the grave. – Rita Mae Brown • The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing. – James Brown • The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. – Alan Watts • The secret of tango is in this moment of improvisation that happens between step and step. It is to make the impossible thing possible: to dance silence. – Carlos Gavito • There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. – Vicki Baum • There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish. – Warren G. Bennis • Those move easiest who have learn’d to dance. – Alexander Pope • Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music. – George Carlin • Though talent is wonderful, dance is 80% work and 20% talent. – Tad Williams • To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it. – Rajneesh • To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love. – Jane Austen • To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking. – Agnes de Mille • To dance, put your hand on your heart and listen to the sound of your soul. – Eugene Louis Faccuito • To live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music? – Michael Jackson • To understand the culture, study the dance. To understand the dance, study the people. – Charles Davis • We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams. – Albert Einstein • We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. – Martha Graham • We ought to dance with rapture that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos. – D. H. Lawrence • We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. -Friedrich Nietzsche • When I discovered dancing, I learned to dream. – Diana Vreeland • When we give ourselves over completely to the spirit of the dance, it becomes a prayer – Gabrielle Roth • When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way. – Wayne Dyer • When you do dance, I wish you a wave o’ the sea, that you might ever do nothing but that. – William Shakespeare • When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. – Lee Ann Womack • Whosoever knoweth the power of the dance, dwelleth in God. – Rumi • Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance? – Lewis Carroll • You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you. – Rumi • You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life. – Jiddu Krishnamurti

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'y', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_y').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_y img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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Dance Quotes

Official Website: Dance Quotes

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• A dancer, if she is great, can give to the people something that they can carry with them forever. They can never forget it, and it has changed them, though they may never know it. – Isadora Duncan • A good dancer is one who listens to the musicWe dance the music not the steps. Anyone who aspires to dance never thinks about what he is going to do. What he cares about is that he follows the music. You see, we are painters. We paint the music with our feet. – Carlos Gavito • A good education is usually harmful to a dancer. A good calf is better than a good head. – Agnes de Mille • A sense of humor is just common sense dancing. – William James • All night have the roses heard The flute, violin, bassoon; All night has the casement jessamine stirr’d To the dancers dancing in tune; Till a silence fell with the waking bird, And a hush with the setting moon. – Alfred Lord Tennyson • Ambivalence is a wonderful tune to dance to. It has a rhythm all its own. – Erica Jong • At the still point, there the dance is. – T. S. Eliot

jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'Dance', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '68', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_dance').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_dance img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); ); • Dance as though no one is watching. Love as though you’ve never been hurt. Sing as though no one can hear you. Live as though heaven is on earth. – John Philip Sousa • Dance is a song of the body. Either of joy or pain. – Martha Graham • Dance is bigger than the physical body. When you extend your arm, it doesn’t stop at the end of your fingers, because you’re dancing bigger than that; you’re dancing spirit. – Judith Jamison • Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully and with inevitability. – Martha Graham • Dance is communication, and so the great challenge is to speak clearly, beautifully, and with inevitability. Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! – Constanze Mozart • Dance is for everybody. I believe that the dance came from the people and that it should always be delivered back to the people. – Alvin Ailey • Dance is music made visible – George Balanchine • Dance is not an exercise. Dance is an art. – Alicia Alonso • Dance is so important in the world. It needs no language. Our bodies speak a language of its own. – Ibrahim Farah • Dance is the hidden langauge of the soul, of the body. – Martha Graham • Dance is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made. – Ted Shawn • Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythm of your life. It’s the expression in time and movement,in happiness, joy, sadness and envy. – Jacques d’Amboise • Dance is your pulse, your heartbeat, your breathing. It’s the rhythym of your life. – Jacques d’Amboise • Dance till the stars come down from the rafters Dance, Dance, Dance ’till you drop. – W. H. Auden • Dance to the light that is your soul. – Jendayi Frazer • Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but your living room. – Mary Schmich • Dancers are allowed, indeed encouraged, to remain children forever. – Twyla Tharp • Dancers are instruments, like a piano the choreographer plays. – George Balanchine • Dancers are the messengers of the gods. – Martha Graham • Dancers work and live from the inside. They drive themselves constantly producing a glow that lights not only themselves but audience after audience. – Murray Louis • Dancing can reveal all the mystery that music conceals. – Charles Baudelaire • Dancing insists we take up space, and though it has no set direction, we go there together. Dance is dangerous, joyous, sexual, holy, disruptive, and contagious and it breaks the rules. It can happen anywhere, at anytime, with anyone and everyone, and it’s free. Dance joins us and pushes us to go further and that is why it’s at the center of ONE BILLION RISING. – Eve Ensler • Dancing is a perpendicular expression of a horizontal desire. – George Bernard Shaw • Dancing is a very living art. It is essentially of the moment, although a very old art. A dancer’s art is lived while he is dancing. Nothing is left of his art except the pictures and the memories–when his dancing days are over. – Martha Graham • Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery – what it all means, the way the little bone near the ankle relates itself to the floor for a perfect stance, a perfect plie. – Martha Graham • Dancing is like dreaming with your feet! – Constanze Mozart • Dancing is moving to the music without stepping on anyone’s toes, pretty much the same as life. – Robert Breault • Dancing is the last word in life. In dancing one draws nearer to oneself. – Jean Dubuffet • Dancing: The Highest Intelligence in the Freest Body. – Isadora Duncan • Every dance is a kind of fever chart, a graph of the heart. – Martha Graham • Every day brings a chance for you to draw in a breath, kick off your shoes, and dance. – Oprah Winfrey • Every day I count wasted in which there has been no dancing. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Everything in the universe has a rhythm, everything dances. – Maya Angelou • Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion. – Martha Graham • He capers, he dances, he has eyes of youth, he writes verses, he speaks holiday, he smells April and May. – William Shakespeare • He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Hence it is from the representation of things spoken by means of posture and gesture that the whole of the art of dance has been elaborated. – Plato • How can we know the dancer from the dance? – William Butler Yeats • I believe that dance communicates man’s deepest, highest and most truly spiritual thoughts and emotions far better than words, spoken or written. – Ted Shawn • I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself. – Mikhail Baryshnikov • I don’t try to dance better than anybody but myself. – Mikhail Baryshnikov • I don’t want people who want to dance; I want people who have to dance. – George Balanchine • I have no desire to prove anything by my work. I have never used it as an outlet or as a means of expressing myself. I just dance. – Fred Astaire • I see dance being used as communication between body and soul, to express what it too deep to find for words. – Ruth St. Denis • I would believe only in a God that knows how to Dance. – Friedrich Nietzsche • If you dance with your heart, your body will follow. – Mia Michaels • In dance, even the weakest can do wonders. – Curt Sachs • In your light I learn how to love. In your beauty, how to make poems. You dance inside my chest where no-one sees you, but sometimes I do, and that sight becomes this art. – Rumi • Kids: they dance before they learn there is anything that isn’t music. – William Stafford • Let that day be lost to us on which we did not dance once! – Friedrich Nietzsche • Let us dance in the sun, wearing wild flowers in our hair. – Susan Polis Schutz • Let us read, and let us dance — these two amusements will never do any harm to the world. – Voltaire • Let your life lightly dance on the edges of Time like dew on the tip of a leaf. – Rabindranath Tagore • My mother told me I was dancing before I was born. She could feel my toes tapping wildly inside her for months. -Ginger Rogers • Nature is so powerful, so strong. Capturing its essence is not easy – your work becomes a dance with light and the weather. It takes you to a place within yourself. – Annie Leibovitz • Never give a sword to a man who can’t dance. – Confucius • No sane man will dance. – Marcus Tullius Cicero • Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. Just get up and dance. Great dancers are great because of their passion. – Martha Graham • On with the dance! let joy be unconfin’d No sleep till morn, when Youth and Pleasure meet To chase the Glowing Hours with Flying feet – Lord Byron • One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star. – Friedrich Nietzsche • Opportunity dances with those already on the dance floor. – H. Jackson Brown, Jr. • Part of the joy of dancing is conversation. Trouble is, some men can’t talk and dance at the same time. – Ginger Rogers • Rock ’n roll is really swing with a modern name. It began on the levees and plantations, took in folk songs, and features blues and rhythm. It’s the rhythm that gets to the kids – they’re starved of music they can dance to, after all those years of crooners. – Alan Freed • So, I think I would say, enjoy the process of learning to dance. The process of our profession, and not its final achievement, is the heart and soul of dance. – Jacques d’Amboise • Some things were worth the dance with danger. – Nalini Singh • The dance is the mother of the arts. Music and poetry exist in time; painting and architecture in space. But the dance lives at once in time and space. – Curt Sachs • The dancer’s body is simply the luminous manifestation of the soul. – Isadora Duncan • The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights. – Muhammad Ali • The Gods have meant That I should dance And by the Gods I will! – Ruth St. Denis • The human animal dances wildest on the edge of the grave. – Rita Mae Brown • The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing. – James Brown • The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. – Alan Watts • The secret of tango is in this moment of improvisation that happens between step and step. It is to make the impossible thing possible: to dance silence. – Carlos Gavito • There are shortcuts to happiness, and dancing is one of them. – Vicki Baum • There are two ways of being creative. One can sing and dance. Or one can create an environment in which singers and dancers flourish. – Warren G. Bennis • Those move easiest who have learn’d to dance. – Alexander Pope • Those who dance are considered insane by those who cannot hear the music. – George Carlin • Though talent is wonderful, dance is 80% work and 20% talent. – Tad Williams • To be creative means to be in love with life. You can be creative only if you love life enough that you want to enhance its beauty, you want to bring a little more music to it, a little more poetry to it, a little more dance to it. – Rajneesh • To be fond of dancing was a certain step towards falling in love. – Jane Austen • To dance is to be out of yourself. Larger, more beautiful, more powerful. This is power, it is glory on earth and it is yours for the taking. – Agnes de Mille • To dance, put your hand on your heart and listen to the sound of your soul. – Eugene Louis Faccuito • To live is to be musical, starting with the blood dancing in your veins. Everything living has a rhythm. Do you feel your music? – Michael Jackson • To understand the culture, study the dance. To understand the dance, study the people. – Charles Davis • We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams. – Albert Einstein • We learn by practice. Whether it means to learn to dance by practicing dancing or to learn to live by practicing living, the principles are the same. One becomes in some area an athlete of God. – Martha Graham • We ought to dance with rapture that we should be alive and in the flesh, and part of the living, incarnate cosmos. – D. H. Lawrence • We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. -Friedrich Nietzsche • When I discovered dancing, I learned to dream. – Diana Vreeland • When we give ourselves over completely to the spirit of the dance, it becomes a prayer – Gabrielle Roth • When you dance, your purpose is not to get to a certain place on the floor. It’s to enjoy each step along the way. – Wayne Dyer • When you do dance, I wish you a wave o’ the sea, that you might ever do nothing but that. – William Shakespeare • When you get the choice to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance. – Lee Ann Womack • Whosoever knoweth the power of the dance, dwelleth in God. – Rumi • Will you, won’t you, will you, won’t you, will you join the dance? – Lewis Carroll • You dance inside my chest, where no one sees you. – Rumi • You must understand the whole of life, not just one little part of it. That is why you must read, that is why you must look at the skies, that is why you must sing and dance, and write poems and suffer and understand, for all that is life. – Jiddu Krishnamurti

[clickbank-storefront-bestselling]

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'e', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_e').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_e img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

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jQuery(document).ready(function($) var data = action: 'polyxgo_products_search', type: 'Product', keywords: 'y', orderby: 'rand', order: 'DESC', template: '1', limit: '4', columns: '4', viewall:'Shop All', ; jQuery.post(spyr_params.ajaxurl,data, function(response) var obj = jQuery.parseJSON(response); jQuery('#thelovesof_y').html(obj); jQuery('#thelovesof_y img.swiper-lazy:not(.swiper-lazy-loaded)' ).each(function () var img = jQuery(this); img.attr("src",img.data('src')); img.addClass( 'swiper-lazy-loaded' ); img.removeAttr('data-src'); ); ); );

[rulesearth]

🐍 // @deceitfulheart

❛ xavia. ❜ the older god nodded at the other, a sigh escaping him before he remembered that the odds of  her  talking to her mother about having seen him were tragically slim. ❛ i didn't expect anyone else to be in this city ... have you been here long? ❜

[itsfarmerphil]

I remember that morning driving into work and a song came on the radio that spoke just that…

Nothing is impossible with God! With God all things are possible! Do you have faith to believe? Do you have the faith to get back up when you fall? Do you have the faith to press on beyond and not give up? Do you have the faith to look for the silver lining? Do you have the faith to dream big? Do you have the faith to move mountains?

I am so glad that I had an encounter with God and received Jesus into my heart and had the revelation that it is beyond rituals and routines but that it is all about having a relationship with Jesus! There we so many times I felt drawn to God but it wasn’t till I realized it was about the relationship that my life was transformed as I am now able to talk with Him and hear from Him at the mountain tops and in the lowest valleys. I can hear Him speaking through His Word, through music, through people talking and know He is speaking to me. God is so good and so faithful! God is still in the business of doing miracles! Consider how many you may be missing because you aren’t looking for them! Consider how many you have had because you weren’t looking for them! Consider how times God showed up to accomplish something and realize you have experienced a miracle!

I know my children are miracles from God! I know that the fact that my kids have gotten to grow up knowing God is a miracle! I know that God has incredible plans for each of us! I know God has great plans for you and for me – they are good – they are to help us – they are to give us a hope and a future!

So if you haven’t started your relationship with Jesus, why not start today! Until you do, life can seem to make no sense and there will seem to be a void in your heart.

It’s Possible With God — Day 134: Bible In One Year 2017

Devotional, Psalms 60:5-12, John 8:12-30, Judges 18, Judges 19

1. Gain the victory … Psalm 60:5-12

To gain victory, we need God! So today ask Jesus into your very situation! So today ask Jesus into your life! Start the journey with a relationship with Jesus!

Today’s devotional speaks to today’s Word from Psalm as follows…

Compared with God’s help, human help is worthless. ‘With God’, David says, ‘we shall gain the victory’ (v.12). He was speaking about physical battles. The apostle Paul writes that our main battles are not physical. They are not ‘against flesh and blood, but… against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ (Ephesians 6:12).

David prays, ‘Save us and help us with your right hand, that those you love may be delivered… Give us aid against the enemy, for human help is worthless. With God we shall gain the victory’ (Psalm 60:5,11–12a).

–from Day 134: Bible In One Year 2017

  2. Give God pleasure … John 8:12-30

Let’s live out our lives in the light of Jesus! Let’s live out our lives under the cover of Jesus’ blood! Let’s live out our lives in ways that will please God! Let’s trust Him and walk in alignment with His Word and His Will so that we can bring joy and pleasure to God the Father!

Today’s devotional speaks to today’s Word from John as follows…

Do you realise that you can give God pleasure? Jesus says, ‘I always do what pleases him’ (v.29). This should be our aim in life – to please God.

Jesus models for us a life with God. He says, ‘I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me’ (v.16). He says, ‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone’ (v.29a). Throughout this passage, we discover something about Jesus’ relationship with his Father.

Jesus says, ‘I know where I came from and where I am going’ (v.14). So many people struggle in life because they don’t know where they came from or where they are heading. They struggle with a lack of purpose and direction in their lives. In a close relationship with God, you can know where you came from and ultimately where you are heading.

Jesus’ relationship with the Father was also the source of his purpose and direction day by day. He says, ‘I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me’ (v.28). He says, ‘The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone’ (v.29a).

This is the model for us. God was with Jesus. Jesus knew he was never alone. There was not a single thing he did without God. At every moment his desire is to please God: ‘I always do what pleases him’ (v.29b). This is what gave his life such power and effectiveness. ‘Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him’ (v.30).

Not only was Jesus with God, he was God.

Twice in today’s passage Jesus says, ‘I am he’ (8:24,28). The words translated ‘I am he’ are the same words that are used in the Greek translation of Exodus 3:14–16. There, God revealed himself to Moses as ‘I AM WHO I AM’. This name came to express both the identity of God and the closeness of God to his people.

Jesus uses this name himself. We do not possess existence. We are born and we die. We receive our existence. Jesus is existence. He is telling the people that God has once again come near to them in him. Jesus is Immanuel, God with us.

It is as we look to the cross that Jesus says we have the clearest demonstration of his identity: ‘So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be.”’ (John 8:28).

Jesus had complete confidence in his own identity. The key to Jesus’ confidence and identity lay in his relationship with the Father. The same will also be true for you. As you spend time with the Father in prayer, in worship, or in reading the Scriptures, your sense of identity and confidence in who you are in God will grow. You can know where you have come from and where you are heading.

No matter what people say about you, you can walk confidently with head held high. Your identity is in Christ. It is rooted in what he says about you and his presence with you.

–from Day 134: Bible In One Year 2017

  3. Shine God’s light … Judges 18:1-19:30

With a relationship with God we can turn to Him for wisdom and discernment! We can turn to Him and ask Him what and how we should live! Let’s live out life His way so that God’s light will shine into the lives of the people around you and you can point others to Him so that in all you think, say, and do will bring God the praise, the honor, and the glory in Jesus’ name! Will you choose today to allow the God to lead you and guide you! We need to do what is good, what is right, what is just in love! We can’t go thru life silent! What comes to mind is the quote about all it takes for evil to win is for good men to do nothing…

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Today’s devotional speaks to today’s Word from Judges as follows…

The shocking atrocities committed by Daesh – beheading and crucifixion of innocent victims, widespread abuse of children, the terrible evil of human trafficking and modern day slavery – we live in a dark world. But we are not without hope. With God, light can drive out darkness.

Israel was in a dark period of its history. The people were called to walk in a close relationship with God – under the direct rule and reign of God as their King. Had they lived like this they would not have needed a human king.

However, they were now living in the worst possible scenario. They were not living under the kingship of the Lord, and did not even have a human king to keep order and restrain the chaos.

These were bleak days. ‘In those days Israel had no king’ (18:1; 19:1). They turned to idol worship (Chapter 18). We read a terrible and distressing account of the evil excesses of a lawless land. The appalling rape and abuse and dissection of a woman caused everyone who saw it to say, ‘Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Think about it! Consider it! Tell us what to do!’ (19:30). This was a time of utter darkness, of life without God.

Terrible as this atrocity was, it is not unique in the history of the world. Appalling atrocities can happen when a society rejects God and his laws: it sometimes descends into utter chaos.

Lt Gen Romeo Dallaire, who was part of the UN mission to Rwanda and witnessed the genocide, was asked how he could still believe in God. He replied: ‘I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. I have seen him, I have smelled him and I have touched him. I know the devil exists, and therefore I know that there is a God.’

In Biblical language, ‘darkness’ is not only the night but also the forces of evil that can seduce us and lead us away from walking in the right direction, towards the light of life – Jesus who brings light into this dark world.

In a staggering claim, Jesus naturally puts himself in the place of God, and says that he is ‘the light of the world’ (John 8:12). A world without God is a world of darkness. Yet Jesus said, ‘Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life’ (v.12).

When you turn to Jesus you come out of the darkness of life without God into the light of life with him. He leads us out of darkness, conflict and death into the light of life and love. He gives meaning and direction to your life. Not only that, but as we live with God, seeking to please him, we embody together the ‘light of life’ to bring light into our dark world.

You really can make a difference to the world around you. Your life, in Christ, can shine like light in the spiritual darkness in the world around you. As Martin Luther King put it, ‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.’

–from Day 134: Bible In One Year 2017

  Impossible isn’t a word, it’s an excuse not to try! I remember that morning driving into work and a song came on the radio that spoke just that...

[trendingnewsb]

A Philosophical Concept That Will Make You Live a More Peaceful and Fulfilling Life

I’m sure you’re all more than familiar with the common clichés, “mind over matter,” and “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” But what you may not have known, is that these familiar turns of phrase are actually the paving stones of an ancient ideology: Stoicism. A disciplined system of living where you never sweat the small stuff, and keep all of your priorities in check.

Stoicism is meant to be practiced, not discussed.

Stoicism is the endurance of pain or hardship without a display of feelings and without complaint. It is a unique philosophy in the respect that it is meant to be practiced, and not just pontificated and debated upon. You must find your true passion, your true calling, and nurture it. The practice also emphasizes the importance of virtue, and a distinct separation between emotion and reaction.

Practiced by historical and modern men alike, the ideology is finding it’s way back into the mainstream.

The word Stoic is derived from the Greek term Stoa Poikile meaning literally, “the painted porch.” It is influenced by an open market in Athens where the Stoics would famously gather to discuss important matters and teach philosophy to young, eager minds.

The philosophy itself was founded as a Hellenistic [1](the time period between the death of Alexander the Great who was himself a Stoic, and the beginning of the Roman Empire) philosophy circa 300 B.C.E. by Zeno of Citium.

Stoicism is not the practice of avoiding issues, but rather transforming them into opportunities.

Incredibly misunderstood, the belief system has been given a negative stigma [2], as well as those who choose to practice it. It has been said that those who choose to lead a Stoic life choose to lead a life of avoidance and denial. A bleak existence where nothing is faced head on. Hardships are tolerated and accepted instead of challenging and overcoming the obstacles.

Perhaps for some Stoics this may be true. Acceptance is a virtue of high regard, and must be mastered to truly achieve mental strength. But the premise of stoicism is not the avoidance of obstacles; it’s the transformation of the obstacle. Turning every obstacle into a new opportunity. Instead of mindlessly running into the same dead end, creating a way around it. That is the Stoic way of thinking.

Core Values of Stoicism

As you might imagine, after centuries of discussion by the most intellectual minds throughout history, the complexity of Stoicism has developed many facets. As mentioned, many intellectuals, artists, writers and entrepreneurs live their life by these guidelines to inspire creativity and install discipline [3].

• This system is built for action, not debate.

• The source of our discontent is derived from our impulsive need to act on emotion rather than reason. I.e. many of us don’t think before we act.

• Stoicism reminds us how short life is, and how unpredictable it can be.

• Always be in control of yourself, unwavering in your solidarity.

• It helps us to overcome toxic emotions, training ourselves not to get upset over things which we cannot control.

• All emotions come within ourselves. No one can make you feel any emotion, no matter how strong. How you feel and how you react is all entirely mental.

Example: A stranger is rude to you during your commute. You have the choice to be upset, to feel sorry for them for being miserable, or to disregard it and feel absolutely nothing at all. Whether or not you feel justified with your reactive emotions is irrelevant. You are in charge of the reactive emotion. It is too easy to place the blame on external objects.

• Find a mentor or model- use them to inspire and encourage yourself to do better and do more.

“Without a ruler to do it against, you can’t make the crooked straight.” – Seneca

• Realize that if you fail, you will survive. You will learn, you will adjust, and you will overcome. Failure it not the enemy. It feeds fuel to the fire.

• Read books that inspire you and expand your knowledge in the areas that you want to grow in. Apply that knowledge to further yourself.

• Stop candy coating things – speak honestly and with conviction. People will respect you for your bluntness. Everyone needs a friend who will tell them the truth when they need to hear it.

• Consider what you spend the most time on. Is it beneficial to your growth? Unless your goal in life is to become a social media super star, browsing Instagram probably isn’t going to advance any opportunities for you. Pick up a book. Listen to a seminar. Do. Something. Productive.

• Fight procrastination. This one I particularly struggle with. But it’s true, get your obligations sorted out in a timely manner, leaving time for leisure and your personal goals.

• Time is your most precious resource. Don’t waste it.

• Engulf yourself in your passion and what you love. Don’t waste your time being lazy and taking it easy. Push yourself.

“You don’t love yourself enough. Or you’d love your nature too, and what it demands of you. People who love what they do wear themselves down doing it, they even forget to wash or eat.” – Seneca

Three Men famously set the standard for what it truly means to be a Stoic.

Although many powerful individuals throughout history have famously practiced and helped to shape the foundation of Stoicism, three men in particular brought Stoicism to a new platform, creating a place for it among the scholars.

Marcus Aurelius

The Emperor of the Roman Empire, the most powerful man in existence at the time, ordained by the Gods and with wealth beyond comprehension, preached words of humility, compassion, and restraint. Each day he would write in his journal, notes about what it truly means to be a Stoic. Although that was not his intention at the time. He was merely just trying to better himself.

“Run down the list of those who felt intense anger at something: the most famous, the most unfortunate, the most hated, the most whatever: Where is all that now? Smoke, dust, legend…or not even a legend. Think of all the examples. And how trivial the things we want so passionately are.” – Marcus Aurelius

Epictetus

Born as a slave, he managed to gain his freedom as a teenager. After years of enduring the horrors of slavery, he learned how to channel his emotions and overcome his circumstances by maintaining psychological control. He studied Stoicism as a slave, and went on to open his own school to pass on his teachings after having been freed from slavery.

“It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” – Epictetus

Seneca

A man of noble and wealthy upbringing, a Philosopher who was a close consultant of the emperor Claudius. Claudius exiled Seneca for eight years for supposed adultery. During his exile, he wrote to his family to comfort them, taking no pity on himself or his circumstances. He was released from exile to tutor Nero, son of Claudius who would later rise into power. Seneca stayed a loyal consultant until his suicide was ordered by Nero. Even then he took no pity on himself, just the people who would mourn over his death.

“We are more often frightened than hurt; and we suffer more from imagination than from reality.” – Seneca

How can you practice Stoicism in your everyday life? It’s quite simple, really.

Separate Yourself from Your Comforts

As Seneca suggests, we need to take the time to practice poverty to realize how little we really need. [4] He meant quite literally to go sleep on the streets with nothing but the clothes on your back and what little food and water you need to get by. You can practice this by actually spending a night living on the street, it would be shockingly humbling for sure. A less extreme option would be to go for a trip with a very small bag of limited items. You are not allowed to buy anything else, only bring what you actually need. By the end of the trip, you’ll probably have a few items that you didn’t even touch.

Turn The Obstacle Upside Down

Train your perception to look at things from a broader perspective. Not every occurrence is either cut and dry negative or positive. Perhaps you are faced with an issue, and it can be a bit deterring and it feels like everything is falling apart. Not too quick. Take a moment to walk away and refresh for a moment. Look at it through a new light. There is an opportunity here, you just have to find it. Use it as momentum to better yourself and your goals.

Everything is Temporary

Do not dwell. If something didn’t work out, get over it. Everything is fleeting, especially passion. Think of the things that you so passionately wanted that are bland to you now. A shirt, a new phone, a love interest. It all becomes old and dull at some point. Those things are all pointless on the grand scheme, because you yourself have such a small part in this world that we live in.

Most importantly, don’t get caught up in your passionate emotions. They eat away at your well being and distract you from your goals. Sure, someone may have done you wrong and for that they bite the big them. Maybe they’re horrible, but let them be. Someone else’ shortcomings won’t dull your shine unless you let them. So don’t sweat it.

Related Articles Recommended To Live A Stoic Life

A Really Strong Predictor of Success: Self Awareness (with Ways to Boost It) by Craig J Todd

Why Our Personal Values Matter More Than Ever Today by Heather Poole

Reference

[1]^Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy: Stoicism[2]^aeon.co: Indifference is a power[3]^99U: The Stoic: 9 Principles to Help You Keep Calm in Chaos[4]^Daily Stoic: What Is Stoicism? A Definition & 3 Stoic Exercises To Get You Started

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❛ hes--- no, it is hisui, these days, right? ❜ the god corrected himself, an easy and fond smile resting upon his features as he looked at the smaller goddess before he briefly looked down on his phone and made a face. ❛ it’s been a very long time. how have you been? ❜ he asked, as soon as he returned his attention to the goddess.