#i think poof would like that meme religiously

[megatron-is-a-mattereel-gurl]

Tw for little flash and fast switching colors

A little gif drawing of timmy and poof

Higher quality video version with audio under the cut

[imustbenuts]

*asks about the aureole* keep talking I like hearing you talk /gen

!!! Thank u for the ask LOL I'm super flattered you think so.

Okay, so for this post I'm going into religion iconography today and then loop that back into FE. Just bear with me, and you might find something interesting in here.

As a warning: I'm not going to be very thorough with each part because simply, there are so much branches and meanings and intermixing of this simple halo thing. While I'm going to talk about it in a general manner, take note that there are always nuance in branch of religion, culture, and history where the halo has been used.

So if you're interested, it's worth digging into each part on your own.

To begin:

Aureole, or more commonly known as the halo, is commonly found in a lot of religious depictions. Picture an angel as they are typically depicted in modern culture in your mind and chances are it'll be a humanoid with wings and a halo on their head. Something like Mercy from Overwatch would be a good starting point:

But halos aren't just limited to angels. They are found in soooo much more things all over the world. Though, since an angels are rooted in western theology, specifically Christianity, I'm going to start with that.

In old Christian religious art, the Halo is a symbol you'd see on important religious figures such as the representations of Christ, angels, and the saints throughout the middle ages. Not so much today, though.

The halo is typically used to symbolize holiness. Without going into too much detail, there are a few different types of halos which means different things. This symbology seems to have been incorporated into early Christian art around 400 CE, but it saw gradual decline as western art began to shift into realism.

So much that by High Renaissance period, the halos more or less just went poof altogether. Artists would find other ways to depict it through use of more subtle lighting or some floating mirrors, but it just wasn't as explicit as it once was.

Still, the idea of halos associated with angels stayed. And hence here we are, still playing with the ideas of halo'd humanoids with white wings as angels.

But now let's go eastwards. Let's look at the religion there and we'll find something very similar too.

The Buddha... has a halo as well.

In fact, this halo thing has been around since the First Century in India. During the Gupta period (320-647CE), there has already been depictions of Buddha with a halo behind him to signify enlightenment in this case:

Buddhism of course spread further eastwards and south-eastwards to the rest of Asia. If we pause and take a look in each of the region from this point onward, there's a strange change to the aureole/halo gradually emerging. Basically, it isn't strictly a circular halo all the time. Sometimes, it looks like an aura of fire around the figure.

Below are depictions of Buddhas, Boddhisattvas, and Celestial Beings/Gods in Buddhism:

And sometimes, it's just rays of light around a figure. Check out the depiction of Amaterasu, the Goddess of the Sun of Japan creation myth here, she has one.

Heck, how about Egypt? There's the Sun god, Ra with something very similar too!

So, this halo is actually really common. But it takes a lot of different forms, doesn't it? In my understanding, there's 4 main types of halos. And given the examples above, they all in some part symbolizes one thing: light.

Part of the reason why this is the case is because the sun just... looks like that. Bring up a shiny, transparent or translucent material and it refracts off it. Have a guy stand between yourself and the sun, look at him, and suddenly the dude has an aureole.

The other more serious reason from a culture standpoint is simply put, the spread of an idea. As Metal Gear Solid Kojima puts it, a meme.

...Okay, I was only being half serious there. Back to being serious. /coughs

I alluded to this, but there is a clear distinction between West and East. The middle of it -- the Middle East, sometimes called the cradle of civilization, is a big reason why the halo is such a big icon all over the world. The halo seems to be a result of people being really taken with a certain coinage in that sphere. A certain god was depicted on its coin, and it was a god named Mithra. He is an Iranian deity of covenant, light, oath, justice and the Sun. So a super light based deity of truth.

The roots extend further beyond Mithra, and there was likely a few other influences stretching even as far back as the Indus Valley civilization, but I won't get into it for this post. BBC has published an article going more in depth about the spread of it here if you'd like to read it.

The halo: A symbol that spread around the world

But anyway, fascinating stuff. Lots of common theme, and it's clear all these are ideas spreading back and forth, changing a little each time it touches a different sphere.

It's such a strong iconography that some Roman emperors appropriated it for themselves, becoming in what's known as a Radiant Crown. It has some association with the cult of Sol Invictus (also associated with the sun), but I'm not going to detour there.

Rome was, of course, extremely influential to later civilizations, contributing to a lot of governmental ruling framework to European Christian monarchs who came after. Long story short, this association with the divine eventually morphed and influenced the idea of the divine right of kings. IE, God decides a ruler before they are born, thereby making certain the world is as God intended, which seals the legitimacy of their rule and therefore the average folk should just accept it.

The Chinese had its own spin on this, which was the Mandate of Heaven. The Heavens, (i.e Celestial beings/Buddhist gods) bestows their chosen, just ruler, their mandate. If this ruler acted in a way they disliked, Heavens will cause flood, famine and natural disasters to signify their displeasure. Successful revolt of the people just meant the Heavens have revoked their mandate.

Apples and oranges, but both are fruits of the governmenting variety, really.

Side Detour: Possibly alternate aureoles in Chinese/Japanese Buddhism

There's also a group of dieties found in Japanese/Chinese Buddhism known as Tennin (天人). Tennin and Devas are the same thing, just one is in Japanese and the other Sanskrit. The females are known as the Tennyos (天女), celestial maidens, and they're depicted like this:

Those silks of ribbons are known as Tenne, and their coloured, feathered kimono are called hagoromo (羽衣, lit. feather dress). Without their hagoromos, these Devas cannot fly without them and so cannot return to heaven.

But see how the silk scarf is framed? Kind of like a halo? It's not a piece locked to the female tennin/devas, it's common to see male tennin/devas with them too.

OKAY now about Fire Emblem I swear.

So now with all this knowledge, let's take a look at some Fire Emblem characters, and see what clicks.

Veronica

Veronica bears design elements of both an angel and the Radiant Crown, but he crown also stands out in how it seems to be a halo. I'm not entirely why she's designed this way, but it could be that her character arc was about overcoming her ignorance, hatred, and the greed of wanting more time with Letizia to become a better person. She ticks the boxes of the overcoming the Three Poisons in Buddhism, which Alfonse actually doesn't go through. (Kind... of. Not as obvious as her arc, at least.)

Kiran

Kiran's design here also has that subtlety of the aureole. If you took their coat and just spread it out, fanned it out, it kind of looks like they have a halo on their forehead, and another circle around their body. It also doesn't help that the chest area is another circle.

(This is why I think Kiran is really fucking sus for the past 6 years. Seeing Buddha statues with that aureole growing up and then looking at Kiran, it feels like I'm just being toyed with by intsys >_>)

Seidr

Remember what I said about the silk scarf shawl thing and the Aureole? Seidr here has a tenne!

As a bonus, she does fit the conditions of being a Buddhist deva/tennin too. I think most people might have picked up on that Eastern spin the shawl gives but not really know why. But well, now you do ;)

Askr and Embla

These two do in fact, have the halo. Right up there, on both their heads.

It's an easy way to portray how these two are gods, but it might be a bit puzzling why they are seemingly portrayed as 'lower gods' if you just viewed it from a western religious lens.

But these two aren't lower gods, at least, not if you viewed it from a more Eastern lens.

--And there are probably a lot more little examples I'm missing! Take this knowledge and try applying it against other Fire Emblem character designs or even to things outside and see what you get. Chances are, a lot, actually.

Anyway, that's about it for this post! (Tumblr says I've used up all 30 photo slots ;;) Thanks for reading and sending the ask! ❤️❤️❤️

[simping-on-the-daily]

Get to know Chelsea uncomfortably well! I just hope I can give credit to the person who wrote out the questions. XD

1. What is you middle name? “Not for me!” 2. How old are you? “Well, Thomas is twenty-nine and I was created when he was five, so........twenty-four?” 3. What is your birthday? September 25th!” 4. What is your zodiac sign? “Libra!” 5. What is your favorite color? Pink! Or black! Depends.” 6. What's your lucky number? “19th of December!” 7. Do you have any pets? “Oh, I wish!” 8. Where are you from? “The Mindscape.” 9. How tall are you? “6′1!” 10. What shoe size are you? “I think I mentioned this in another post?” 11. How many pairs of shoes do you own? “As many as I want! We don’t need to ‘buy’ stuff.” 12. What was your last dream about? “Virgil and me were riding on a giant carrot. Don’t ask. XD” 13. What talents do you have? ”Really good at Origami!” 14. Are you psychic in any way? “I can sense when people are feeling sad, so sorta?” 15. Favorite song? ”It’s All Love from Trolls: World Tour.” 16. Favorite movie? “The BNHA/MHA movies!” 17. Who would be your ideal partner? “I already have my ideal partner.” 18. Do you want children? “WE CAN HAVE KIDS?!?!” 19. Do you want a church wedding? “I’d prefer a garden wedding!” 20. Are you religious? “Not me personally, but Thomas was raised with a Catholic view.” 21. Have you ever been to the hospital? ”My boyfriend makes sure that never happens. Virgil truly lives up to his name as the protector!” 22. Have you ever got in trouble with the law? “Nah. We don’t even have laws here! Just basic human decency.” 23. Have you ever met any celebrities? “I was literally created by a celebrity. Of course!” 24. Baths or showers? “Baths! They’re so relaxing!” 25. What color socks are you wearing? “Same as before; black and white striped socks.” 26. Have you ever been famous? “Probably! I am part of a famous YouTube program, so maybe. XD” 27. Would you like to be a big celebrity? “I think I already am.” 28. What type of music do you like? “Inspirational Songs! Virgil’s gotten me into Panic! At The Disco.” 29. Have you ever been skinny dipping? “This question better fits Remus. :p” 30. How many pillows do you sleep with? “Already answered this!” 31. What position do you usually sleep in? “I’m always hugging something! Whether it’s Virgil or a pillow, nothing can escape my cuddles. >:3″ 32. How big is your house? “It’s always changing because of Roman.” 33. What do you typically have for breakfast? “Usually a pop tart or some pancakes.” 34. Have you ever fired a gun? “Noooooooooooo........” 35. Have you ever tried archery? “Saw Roman try it, did it, broke my foot, cried, and got cuddled.” 36. Favorite clean word? So......just a word?” 37. Favorite swear word? “None!” 38. What's the longest you've ever gone without sleep? “Thirty-one hours, I think?” 39. Do you have any scars? “If I had, they would’ve healed.” 40. Have you ever had a secret admirer? “Nah. Virgil was more like a non-subtle piner.” 41. Are you a good liar? “Not really? I don’t lie a whole lot, so I’m a little rusty.” 42. Are you a good judge of character? “I’ll leave that one in the air.” 43. Can you do any other accents other than your own? “My ability to make my voice more relaxing does instinctively change to people’s preferences. If some people think a British accent is calming, I get a British accent.” 44. Do you have a strong accent? “Nah!” 45. What is your favorite accent? “This is a question?” 46. What is your personality type? “?????????” 47. What is your most expensive piece of clothing? “I don’t it’s ‘expensive’ when you didn’t even buy it in the first place. :p” 48. Can you curl your tongue? “Yep!” 49. Are you an innie or an outie? “Insert the “I AM CONFUSION MEME” right now, please.” 50. Left or right handed? “Men to the left, because woman are always right. :D Quotes aside though, I’m a leftie!” 51. Are you scared of spiders? “Unless they’re watching me in the shower like a perv, then no.” 52. Favorite food? *insert a starry eyed Chelsea rambling about junk food* 53. Favorite foreign food? “Pizza counts, right?” 54. Are you a clean or messy person? “Depends.” 55. Most used phrased? ”I’m here for you.” 56. Most used word? “Love.” 57. How long does it take for you to get ready? “Not long! We can just snap our fingers and poof, we’re camera ready.” 58. Do you have much of an ego? “I’d like to think I’m pretty modest!” 59. Do you suck or bite lollipops? “Who. Bites. Lollipops?” 60. Do you talk to yourself? “It’s instinctive. I don’t know I do it until someone points it out. ;p” 61. Do you sing to yourself? “More like I hum to myself!” 62. Are you a good singer? “I’d like to think so!” 63. Biggest Fear? “Letting people down.” 64. Are you a gossip? “.........No?” 65. Best dramatic movie you've seen? “Thinking face: activate.” 66. Do you like long or short hair? “Hair’s hair!” 67. Can you name all 50 states of America? “Nope-” 68. Favorite school subject? “Art was always fun! Even if you technically never went to class....” 69. Extrovert or Introvert? “Extrovert!” 70. Have you ever been scuba diving? ”I think Thomas has, but not me myself.” 71. What makes you nervous? “Not helping others. ‘We need to talk’ is also pretty nerve wracking.” 72. Are you scared of the dark? “I’m not scared of the dark, I’m scared of what's in the dark.........YES I AM-” 73. Do you correct people when they make mistakes? “Only if it’s like ‘hey, you used that word wrong and it’s actually really offensive.’“ 74. Are you ticklish? “Please don’t let Virgil know-” 75. Have you ever started a rumor? “It was a very minor rumor that never hurt anyone!” 76. Have you ever been in a position of authority? “Does being part of the jury in the courtroom count?” 77. Have you ever drank underage? “I was a very good rule following child!” 78. Have you ever done drugs? ”NO-” 79. Who was your first real crush? “Virgil. By extension, he’s my first boyfriend! Hopefully my only.” 80. How many piercings do you have? ”Nippity nopeity none!” 81. Can you roll your R’s? “Bold of you to assume I can even roll my R’s.” 82. How fast can you type? “Pretty fast!” 83. How fast can you run? “Pretty slow!” 84. What color is your hair? “Already answered this, but it’s sorta like a light salmon? Lightish reddish pink?” 85. What color is your eyes? “Magenta and pink! It’s got a sorta effect to it.” 86. What are you allergic to? “I feel really bad for the people who are allergic!” 87. Do you keep a journal? “Used to, and I still have it!” 88. What do your parents do? “I don’t have parents, try again.” 89. Do you like your age? ”Not sure on how to answer this?” 90. What makes you angry? “Like Mr. Rogers said, people hurting other people.” 91. Do you like your own name? “Why do people like this question so much-” 92. Have you already thought of baby names, and if so what are they? “I have! For a boy, I think I said Aiden, Connor and Jacob. For a girl I went with Faith, Hope and Harmony.” 93. Do you want a boy a girl for a child? “My child is my child, and I’ll love them regardless of their gender!” 94. What are you strengths? “I’m upbeat, optimistic, and comforting! At least, that’s what I think.” 95. What are your weaknesses? “I don’t like these kind of questions? I don’t wanna dwaddle on the bad bits of myself.....” 96. How did you get your name? ”We all came up with our names during high school! Aisha came up with her name and since we both imaginary friends created in the same year, I stuck with the ‘ending with a’ pattern and got Chelsea!” 97. Were your ancestors royalty? “I don’t even have ancestors-” 98. Do you have any scars? “I’m pretty sure we had this question already-” 99. Color of your bedspread? ”Black and pink!” 100. Color of your room? “My bedroom walls? Well, it’s white.”

[yeahgen]

♢❸♫✱

headcanon symbol meme

♢: In what situation would your muse feel most out of their comfort zone?

fancy, formal settings. like an audience with a member of royalty, a stiff and proper tea party, ceremonial rituals and religious rites…

he’s smart and neat, but he’s said himself that he’s no good with uh, elegant things. unlike most of his brothers, who lived their lives either displayed or somewhere “safe,” he’s had a lifetime thriving on the battlefield. he’ll be obsessed with the idea of making a mistake at a court setting or royally screwing things up.

don’t do that to the poor tantou, just let him do stabby things like he does best.

❸: Name three things your muse considers themselves to be very good at, and three things they consider themselves to be very bad at.

the good:

1) wound treatment2) leadership skills3) emotional detachment (it’s an on/off switch kinda thing for him)

the bad:

1) cooking2) court etiquette3) resisting fudou’s charms 

♫: What is one thing that your muse thinks they are talented at, but actually aren’t?

he thinks he’s a pro at time management and efficiency but that only lasts as long as he doesn’t get obsessed with his latest project/work duties/insert-task-here, at which rate his sense of time and basic personal needs devolves to the perception level of a two-year old harboring a constant stubborn streak against going to bed and eating regular meals.

so yeah, keep an eye on him then.

✱: What is your favourite ‘happily ever after’ for your muse? And what’s your most unconventional ‘ever after’ headcanon for them (happily or otherwise)?

if fudou and yagen can’t stay swords together forever (the war has to end sometime right, and then yagen will probably poof), then let their souls reincarnate into another life, meet up, and fall in love al over again. peace.

unconventional? it’s just AUs i guess. alright fudou reincarnates but yagen doesn’t until he gets summoned as some sort of protective spirit deity/boyfriend or whatever. fudou as the uninspired pianist student who ends up being the accompanist for the stubborn and distant violinist yagen as they conquer the classical music world together; nobunaga never dies and rules over japan with fudou and yagen proudly by his side; yagen the merman prince of the sea who comes on land to find his missing half-human brother fudou while hiding his royal identity, only to discover halfway thru the plot hat he’s the sham and fudou the actual royal instead; fudou and yagen start working at mcdonald’s and revolutionizing the fast food world; yagen, the lone awataguchi brother not in show business who spends his days in the library studying for a medical degree while a bored fudou watches during his part time job stint between playing rock guitar on the side in memory of his deceased mentor oda rock & roll nobunaga; actual time travel shenanigans where fudou tries to fix the past and accidentally erases yagen instead; listen don’t get me started i can write anything with these two and i will if you push me hard enough–

[thegrazingblacksheep]

Road Trip to Isle of Skye – Day 5 of 6

And we reached our last full day in the lovely Isle of Skye. I can't believe how time passes so slow until having a week off; and then the holiday week itself is just going so fast... We blink, and poof! Work, duties, boring stuff again. I tell you, it is not fair, what so ever.

First we had a little walk around Portree to get some gifts for colleagues and family. We were after nothing fancy, especially for colleagues who usually act like inksinkerators when it comes to anything edible. They will get fudge. Will be okay. Everyone need carbs, really...

Our weather was okayish in Portree, but later I promised myself that if we plan any trips after this, that will be in a WARM place somewhere a little bit closer to the Equator. Particularly a road trip in Italy I mean. Or Hawaii. Or simply, Hell. Hell must be good anyway, because there are lot of friends, music seems nice, and the climate, yeah...

The Fairy Pools

The parking actually changed since our last visit. There was a nicely surfaced proper little car park built, and guess what! Toilets! I was impressed that in this end of the world finally someone thought about tourists' basic dignity.

The wind was unbearable as we were walking along the waters. It was that kind of annoying wind which gets you from one side only, making you completely deaf to one ear, and also stroking your eyeball on the same side so you will look like a rabbit after 10 minutes. No darlings, no. I was wearing proper wind and waterproof clothing, but even still - I had to breath / see somewhere!?

Walking back to the car park turned out that the toilet was closed for now... No comment.

Sheep are not religious

Moo?

We knew that we will find some lovely highland cattle along the road to Elgol. We were waiting for this moment so much! Last time they were grazing 20-30 meters from the road, and Mr. could take a quite nice portrait of one of them.

This time the group was almost in the same spot, except one big cow was standing on the road, and looked a bit concerned when it saw us stopping with the car. These animals are not smol. I mean they are HUGE. Okay, a regular cow is not small either, but have you seen those horns that the highland coos are wearing? 

This big boy was even started mooing, and slowly approaching. We really didn't want any trouble or scare them, or make them feel threatened or something, so we decided to not to park long and rather leave. They are beautiful, beautiful and beautiful. Look!

Elgol

When we first visited Elgol, we took the trip to Skye from Cardiff with a normal Ford Fiesta, which was doing such an excellent job, no complaints. But there were some descents here and there which looked a bit hairy sometimes, and maybe we would have felt better in a 4x4. And the time had come, because now we had one. And this time we were standing like John Travolta in that meme, waiting for any hairy situations, and no! Nothing! Niente! Amazing little things are these.

And I think those sheep we couldn't find at the church, were grazing around here instead.

Traditional Scottish sushi for dinner

After a windy, cold day you want a warm place and hot food. We were both quite hungry when arrived back at Portree, and to continue our food experiments, choosing one from the 5 options; we were going for Tomita Sushi.

I didn't expect such a screaming colourful and eclectic interior. Vibrant colours, patterns, cheerful and strange ornaments everywhere, we found it funny and nice. But it was around 15 degrees inside. Metal chairs everywhere, windows open, I'm pretty sure that the food would have gone cold in 2 minutes if we chose to stay, but we asked the superkind lady if we can go with take away instead. 

Their menu is a bit pricey, but man... The quality is simply amazing. I really recommend it to everyone to try, because both the chicken bento and tofu teriyaki were really tasty, and they give quite a nice amount.

After dinner, unfortunately it was time to pack and do some tidying in the bnb. Next day we need to set off early if we want to see Hadrian's Wall before sunset, because that is the plan.

[filthymemerofeorzea]

Interview with Fae

Tagged by @sagewindfeather What is your full name? “Fae Ava Anwel! My name actually means confidence and trust. My mom picked out my name and I think she did a fairly good job. I wear it as a badge of honor.”

What do your friends call you? “My free company members call me a “Filthy Memer” and it’s a title I wear proudly. Other than that, they just call me Fae.” 

What is your favorite animal? “Chocobos are nice. They’re very pretty and I like to ride them. Chocobo races were something I always looked forward to as a child during our vacations.” 

Where were you born? “I was born in Gradania among the trees during the summer.” *She takes a long drag of her drink* “I miss the trees. They’re mysterious and welcoming.”

Do you have children? “I am a child, I am not responsible enough to take care of one. Heck, I’m not even married yet.”

Is there a person/people you love? “There’s this one girl... she’s very nice. I think about her a lot...Her name is Kali... I love her.” *She twiddles her thumbs and starts to blush* “Other than that, I do love all of my FC members from the bottom of my heart.”

What is your favorite color? “I really love celeste green. Void blue is working it’s way into my heart though as well.”

What is your full occupation? *her expression goes blank as she stands up from the chair she’s sitting in and begins to /blackrangerposeb* “A filthy memer, obviously.”  *she sits back down* “Honestly though, I cook a little bit, I raid a little bit, I’m kind of a jack of all trades.”

Are you good at physical fighting? “I actually would like to think that I am, but I’m honestly loving ranged fighting at the moment.”

Which form are you best at? “UHH, I do like using a sword and a shield, but also bows and shit.” 

What about magic? “Have you met me? I’m the most magical one of them all! ...I joke, I use a little bit of it of magic for healing and cooking.”

Which type are you best at? “Paladin fighting is definitely my strong suit. I also White Mage a lot as well. I enjoy both equally, it just depends if I wanna be healin’ or dealin’ depending on the day.”

Craftsmanship? “I cook! I love to cook! Making food for other people is the best!”  *she rubs her tummy and poofs it out* “Also I’d like to think that I’m a good cook.” 

Any other skills? “...I’m really popular on the internet.”

Are you an only child? “I have a sister, but we don’t really talk much. She’s okay. We haven’t talked much in a while, actually.”

Where do you see yourself in five years? “I hope married, but we’ve been moving pretty slow. I also would like to vacation to the Ruby Sea eventually. Maybe when the time is right, I’ll find myself out there.” 

Have you ever almost died? “Well there was this one time, but I don’t wanna talk about it.” 

Do you have a secret, not just a secret, but like a really big secret hardly anyone knows? “...I see what you did there. And no, I’m not that easy. But if I had to give you a secret, I like girls. But everyone knows that.”

Salty or sweet? “Salt, because memes.”

Do you like yourself? “I kind of do, but it depends on the day for sure. I have days where I don’t want to get out of bed, but my friends keep me going. If they like me, then that’s okay.”

Do you believe in the Twelve? “...who?”

Are you religious? “Praise the beer, praise the bread, I’m gonna get some fantastic head.”

Do you carry prejudice with you? “No? I don’t think so.”

What do you consider entertainment? “Literally anything Sage does. She’s always interesting to watch.” *her eyes become wistful as she stares off into the fire* “...or late nights with Kali, ya know, if we wanna go there.”

Favorite drink? “I like to drink tea in the evenings, but if we’re talking intoxifying ones, a nutty beer is a good way to go.” *she sips her drink*

Do you have any family traditions? “Other than going to the chocobo races, we would go to the beach. God, it was fun over there. I honestly miss those days. That was before...” *her head bows as she sniffs. a single tear rolls down her cheek* “Can we please move on to the next question?”

Are you a good person?   “Um, I’d like to think so. I’ve never really done anything I’ve regretted. Isn’t this a relative question?”

Thank you for answering my questions. “You’re welcome! Thank you for having me, now gitthefukoutofmyhause.” 

[rebelmeg]

65 Questions You Aren't Used To

(I know, it’s an ask meme, but... I just kinda want to do them all.  I LOVE this kinda stuff, it’s like writing a nifty journal entry for people that suck at journals, like me.)

1. Do you ever doubt the existence of others than you?  Um, no... they’re right there.

2. On a scale of 1-5, how afraid of the dark are you?  1.  I’m very comfortable in the dark.

3. The person you would never want to meet?  Donald Trump was the first to spring to mind.

4. What is your favorite word?  Popcorn.  (Because it visually appeals to me, and it feels nice to say.  I know, that made literally zero sense.  I know.)

5. If you were a type of tree, what would you be?  I always fancied myself a weeping willow, but there is literally nothing willowy about me.  Ooh, ooh, can I be a fruitless pear tree?!  They turn every color from yellow to purple in autumn and they’re so pretty!

6. When you looked in the mirror this morning what was the first thing you thought?  Probably something like, “Ew,” or “I need to shower,”.

7. What shirt are you wearing?  It’s cute!  It’s a gray tunic with a deep V in the front with lacing, and the words, “I’d Rather Not.”

8. What do you label yourself as?  Writer.

9. Bright room or dark room?  Bright when I’m working, dim when things are winding down, dark as sin when sleeping.

10. What were you doing at midnight last night?  Same thing I’m doing now, screwing around on Tumblr when I should be finishing up and going to bed.

11. Favorite age you’ve been so far? 17 was a good year for me, I found the other half of my heart.  Everything before and after was basically a crap shoot.

12. Who told you they loved you last?  My daughters.

13. Your worst enemy?  Probably myself.

14. What is your current desktop picture?  It’s doing a slideshow through my saved file of New Years pictures.

15. Do you like someone?  Romantically, just my hubby.  He’s awfully cute.

16. The last song you listened to?  Listening to “U and Ur Hand” by P!nk right now.

17. You can press a button that will make any one person explode. Who would you blow up?  No one wants me to have this responsibility.

18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face? I could prepare a list...

19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?  Oh geez, I have no idea.  Who wants to be my slave and clean my house?

20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)  My eyes!  I have pretty eyes.

21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?  I’ve got no idea what I’d look like, I’ve got too much boob and hip going on.  I’ll be honest, I’d have to have at least one orgasm, because I’ve always wondered what the difference is.  

22. Do you have a secret talent? If yes, what is it?  Secret?  Not really, I’m pretty open with all my talents.  

23. What is one unique thing you’re afraid of?  Family members dying.  I’ve never had a close family member die, and I’m like... ridiculously afraid of that (especially my husband and kids), especially since I’m deeply religious.

24. You can only have one kind of sandwich. Every sandwich ingredient known to humankind is at your disposal.  The #11 at Jimmy Johns, plus bacon.

25. You just found $100! How are you going to spend it?  Probably on something stupid.  Discount Christmas shirts (I only have one), stuff on my wish.com list and Amazon list, that kind of thing.  Takeout from Arby’s.

26. You just got a free plane ticket to anywhere in the world, but you have to leave immediately. Where are you going to go?  Europe!

27. An angel appears out of Heaven and offers you a lifetime supply of the alcoholic beverage of your choice. “Be brand-specific” it says. Man! What are you gonna say about that? Even if you don’t drink booze there’s something you can figure out… so what’s it gonna be?  Um... yeah, I don’t drink so... maybe the rarest, most expensive liquor known to man.  I’ll sell it and be rich.

28. You discover a beautiful island upon which you may build your own society. You make the rules. What is the first rule you put into place?  No littering.

29. What is your favorite expletive?  I can’t say, I’m trying to quit.  (And it’s a bad one.)  If we’re doing PG rated expletives, I’ve taken to using “son of a nutcracker” and “oh my honk” pretty frequently...

30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?  LAPTOP.

31. You can erase any horrible experience from your past. What will it be?  I know what it is.  But I’m not telling all y’all because it’s horrifically embarrassing.

32. You got kicked out of the country for being a time-traveling heathen who sleeps with celebrities and has super-powers. But check out this cool shit… you can move to anywhere else in the world!  SCOTLAND.  It only gets, like, into the 70′s there in the summer.  I can dig that.  I’m a freaking polar bear.  (Do I get to pick the celebrities I get to fictionally sleep with, because I’ve prepared a list...)

33. The Celestial Gates Of Beyond have opened, much to your surprise because you didn’t think such a thing existed. Death appears. As it turns out, Death is actually a pretty cool entity, and happens to be in a fantastic mood. Death offers to return the friend/family-member/person/etc. of your choice to the living world. Who will you bring back?  Like, for a visit, or for permanent?  Because that’s different.  If it was for a visit, I’d bring back one of my two grandparents that have died.  I have QUESTIONS.  If it was for permanent... if an early term, miscarried baby counts, I’d bring back mine.

34. What was your last dream about?  I only get dreams when I’m in that weird “not 100% sleep” state, and man are they bizarre.... and I rarely remember them, but you can trust me that it was weird.

35. Are you a good….[insert anything you’d like here]?  Yes.  Yes I am.  Exceptionally.

36. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital?  Several times, yeah.  Most of them for baby things.  (I had the baby, I was not the baby.)

37. Have you ever built a snowman?  Oh yes.  Not yet this year though, not a really awesome snowfall yet, just a few inches.

38. What is the color of your socks?  I’m wearing neon pink and navy blue Black Widow socks that I got from my hubby for Christmas!

39. What type of music do you like?  Most of it.  Seriously.  Country, rock, pop, oldies, alternative, instrumental, show tunes, classical, movie scores, Disney, Celtic and Irish.... seriously.  Most of it.

40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?  Sunsets, sunrises are full of tiredness.

41. What is your favorite milkshake flavor?  Depends on my mood, really.

42. What football team do you support? (I will answer in terms of American football as well as soccer)  I... don’t.  I’m not a sports person unless the Olympics are involved.

43. Do you have any scars?  Lots, yeah.  Biggest is my c-section scar(s), my favorite is the one on my middle finger from when I sliced it open trying to set up a trampoline.  Pro tip, wear gloves, because those springs can slice your finger open when pulled back and loosed.

44. What do you want to be when you graduate?  I’ve already graduated (high school, never went to college and I don’t regret it), I wanted to be married and happy.  I’ve mostly succeeded.  Still chasing happiness, but I get the golden moments enough that I can call it successful.

45. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?  Probably body size, mostly because they don’t have a lot of cute clothes in my size and I have no power to change that sad standard.

46. Are you reliable?  Almost 100%, yes.

47. If you could ask your future self one question, what would it be?  How does Infinity War and Avengers 4 end?

48. Do you hold grudges?  Big ones, yes.  Little ones, not so much.

49. If you could breed two animals together to defy the laws of nature, what new animal would you create?  Panda peacock.  Because a cute, cuddly panda with peacock colors?  Best.

50. What is the most unusual conversation you’ve ever had?  Someone trying to goad me into participating in one of their infantilization fantasies that made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

51. Are you a good liar?  I’m an excellent liar.  I shouldn’t be proud of that.  I am.

52. How long could you go without talking?  Does talking to myself count, because I do that a lot...

53. What has been you worst haircut/style?  The awkward between-phase after I did a shoulder-length bob and needed to grow it out again after my perm started to lose strength too.  Poof.

54. Have you ever baked your own cake?  Tons of times.  I made my own birthday cake this year.

55. Can you do any accents other than your own?  I do a pretty decent British (a few dialects), I can pull of Australian, Irish, Scottish, New Zealand, French, and occasionally Russian or German, as long as I get a good audio clip first to jump off of.

56. What do you like on your toast?  Butter, or butter with jam/jelly or cinnamon sugar.

57. What is the last thing you drew a picture of?  A terrible sketch of Marty the zebra from Madagascar for my three year old.

58. What would be you dream car?  A big honking pick-up truck with the full backseat and excellent gas mileage and fuel efficiency.

59. Do you sing in the shower? Or do anything unusual in the shower? Explain.  Okay, the way that is worded is hilarious.  I do sing sometimes, when I’ve got music going, but I am pretty quiet since neighbors.  I don’t usually do anything unusual, except sticking my loose hairs to the wall so I can wad them up and throw it all away rather than it going down the drain and clogging it.

60. Do you believe in aliens?  Not in the traditional sense, but I know we’re not alone.  It’s based in religion.

61. Do you often read your horoscope?  Rarely.  When it pops up in magazines from last year or whatever.

62. What is your favorite letter of the alphabet?  M, probably, for my name.  And, fun trivia, M is the 13th letter of the alphabet, which puts it smack in the middle.

63. Which is cooler: dinosaurs or dragons?  DRAGONS.  I’d have a dragon as a pet if I could.  Hagrid and Charlie Weasley would be over all the time.

64. What do you think about babies?  They’re cuuuute.  Most of the time.  Mine were cutest.

65. Freebie! Ask anything interesting you can think of.  If anyone thinks of something, do ask me.  I seriously love this stuff!

[nebris]

Paraniod America: Birthers vs Truthers [2010 edit]

Aug. 5th, 2010 at 8:12 PM 

...reposted from Sep. 28th, 2009 at 4:49 AM... ~I have managed to scrape together some Wisdom in the fifty odd years of my adulthood and that has led me to realize that the most Essential Spiritual Lesson is how one takes Responsibility for one's Powerlessness. That may seem a bit contraindicative, so let me say it again with more emphasis: the most Essential Spiritual Lesson is how one takes Responsibility for one's Powerlessness. Okay, hold on to that thought, we'll get back to it. There is a man who has demonstrably saved more souls than Jesus Christ ever did or ever will and most of you have never heard of him. His name is Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov. He is a former lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Force. "On September 26th, 1983, Colonel Petrov was watch officer on duty at the Serpukhov-15 bunker near Moscow, monitoring for a US missile attack on the Soviet Union. Suddenly, the computer-based warning systems reported several US Nuclear Missiles approaching Soviet territory. Colonel Petrov believed the information to be false and did not alert the Kremlin to the data he was receiving. Given Cold War tensions at the time, such information would likely have convinced the Soviet leadership that the US had launched a first strike attempting to "cut off the head" and they would have launched their forces in the belief it was a "counter-strike", not a first-strike." In other words, he prevented a global thermonuclear holocaust provoked by a computer glitch. [Source] That could certainly be a good example of 'taking Responsibility for one's Powerlessness' -Petrov certainly would seemed have been utterly Powerless in that moment, but choose to take on a terrible Responsibility - but that is actually not my point in relating the incident. I relate this because I believe this event was the key, the turning point, to what has happened globally in the years since. Clearly, this would have scared the crap out of the Soviet leadership and then their American counterparts once they found out about it. But most importantly, I believe it laid the psycho-political ground work that caused the Soviet leadership to reject the Cold War paradigm and that led to the ascension of Mikhail Gorbachev. And his efforts to reform the unreformable led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. “Hold on a minute,” you're thinking, “What does this have to do with the title?” Trust me, I'll get to that. Many had predicted the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union, most notably Zbigniew Brzezinski, but all those predictions largely cited Muslim demographics as the principal cause and estimated the collapse would take place, well, right about now. That it came two decades 'too early' badly disrupted American planning on several levels. The key areas of disruption were economic and domestic politics. The American Economy has been – and largely still is – centered around War Production since World War Two. Having a war that we had been planning to continue for another twenty years or more suddenly just stop threw the war planners and manufacturers into great confusion...and distress. A lot of money was at stake and there was all this talk about a 'post-war dividend'. The problem for domestic politics was less obvious, but actually more acute. In the later  course of The Cold War, The Powers That Be had made alliances with two volatile groups, the Neo-Conservatives and The Religious Right, in order to maintain political control. With the end of The Cold War, these alliances now become problematic, something that was clearly demonstrated in 1992 with the defeat of George Bush Senior for a second term in the White House and then underscored with the ongoing troubles of the Clinton presidency. These groups needed to be neutralized and how better than to give them a president they could love who would turn out to be a total dud: Dubya. Remember pre-9/11 2001? Remember his numbers were in the crappier? Remember “That's My Bush”? He was well on his way to a single term, watched over by a loyal courtier of The Powers That Be: Richard M Cheney. But Evil Dick was a very resentful man and he had plans of his own. The vigilance of the Clinton White House regarding Jihadis was defused into wild goose chases after suicide doctors in Oregon and hookers in New Orleans, all in the hope that 'something would happen', maybe on an Oklahoma City scale, and then Dick and Rummy, backed by one faction of The Powers That Be, could proceed with their agenda regardless of what most of the rest of The Powers That Be wished. We now see how that turned out; two unwinnable wars, the Patriot Act, a global financial meltdown, and finally the most marketed president in our history. Some days it seems like we've been living out an alternative history scenario. This was not The Future that most of you envisioned ten years ago. In the context of 'taking Responsibility for one's Powerlessness,' we've done a pretty lousy job, being terrorized and bullied by madmen, ours and 'theirs', into coming very close to destroying our entire country and possibly the rest of global society, as well. It is out of this decade of madness that both Truthers and Birthers have been born, mirror images of each other, both driven by an existential paranoia and deep seated feelings of impotence, and seeking some reason for that solely outside of themselves. Of course, this type of paranoid thinking is an American tradition, going back to the Masonic Conspiracies of the 1820's. A key metaphor to explain how this works is the FEMA Concentration Camp meme. Under Bu$hCo, it came from The Far Left. Under Obama, it's now coming from The Far Right. And each is saying exactly what the other said, only the focus has changed, the paranoia simply shifting with 'the party in power'. That the so-called 'camps' are abandoned military bases 'converted' by KRB, an old Cheney company, is the giveaway; it's a corporate boondoggle. Billions were allocated for “National Security”. KBR ran up some new concertina wire and slapped on a few coats of paint, and 'poof!' new Detention Facilities. If they spent even ten cents on the dollar I'd be surprised. And these joints probably could not keep my cats detained. But they make a great excuse for freaking out and ranting endlessly about THEM [The Hosts of Evil Motives] and, in the final analysis, really just giving up. “How can I prevail in the face of such concerted evil?” That is NOT 'taking Responsibility for one's Powerlessness.' This brings us to Shit Happens. Remember Colonel Petrov? In that situation, there were vast amounts of War Panning and Command Structure in place, set up over decades and costing trillions, and in spite of all that is was only the action of a single, and highly ethical, military professional that saved the world from a disaster of obscene proportions. I don't know about you, but that turns my bowels to water. So, yes, I abuse the metaphor, but Shit Does Happen. Most of us cannot face such a random form of terror. A sociopath games his way into power and randomly allows nineteen lunatics to kill three thousand of his fellow citizens so he can implement his personal political agenda. A mass marketing blitz propels a highly charismatic member of a traditional underclass onto the presidency, something that tens of millions of the so-called 'Superior Race' will never, ever have a chance at doing. No, that is a Loss of Control that is utterly intolerable for all too many people. Even if an Evil Cabal is controlling things, well, shit, at least somebody is In Charge! Funny thing is, the Birthers have a far better case than the Truthers. Over four or five years all the various documents could have been switched out. That would be an easy low key operation and in venues where no one was really paying attention at the time. As opposed to running miles of wire and planting tons of explosives in three of the most heavily trafficked buildings in the world, all in utter secrecy and with not a single one of the large crew of highly skilled technicians ever saying a single word about it. I'll let y'all 'do the math' on those. But both are just delusions used to avoid the far more frightening reality that no one is really in control, that all too often Shit Just Happens. That certainly does generate "existential paranoia and deep seated feelings of impotence.” To deal with that level of discomfort, one that makes you want to claw your skin off, that requires a lot of Spiritual Work, which brings us full circle: the most Essential Spiritual Lesson is how one takes Responsibility for one's Powerlessness. Most do not have either the Patience nor the Willingness to do that kind of Work. They're much 'happier' indulging in the above types of paranoia. Those have a comfortable structure, much like porn does, and to surrender that would cause both embarrassment and a form of withdrawal, as well. Like the addict confronted with recovery, an 'old self' would have to 'die'. One can change nothing in the thrall of such delusions. To change the world, one needs Power. To understand your own Power, one must acknowledge one's own Powerlessness. That is a relative, not an absolute, state. When you see what you are Powerless over, then you see where you do have Power. Then, and only then, can you take Responsibility for your own life and begin to change what can be changed...and being in that place is both terrifying and invigorating.