#but my passionate hatred towards those people prevails

[vehder]

Goodnight to everyone except “outdoor cat” owners. You are a bitch

[themadamespod]

The Great White Gripe

A lot has been said about the “social commentary” within The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. 

“Since when is Marvel a bunch of SJWs? I don’t need this shit.”

“All this race stuff feels SUPER forced.”

“Oh here we go Marvel tryin to be all woke to get the libs on board.”

If you personally know anyone who spews this brand of ignorance, we’re sorry. 

Let’s make one thing perfectly clear: there is no social commentary on TFATWS. Showrunner Malcolm Spellman and director Kari Skogland simply show the reality of life in America. It’s not their fault that so many (white) people (men) don’t like looking in the mirror.

And some people claim they have no problem with film and television addressing politics and social change.

“Just keep it out of my comic book movies. It doesn’t belong there.”

They could not be anymore wrong, even if Chandler Bing himself was lecturing them. 

If you asked 100 people to name the top ten movies of all time, you’d get 100 different lists. But one thing we can all agree on is that film has power. It has the power to move us, to divide us, to unite us. Entertainment can lead to the kind of discourse that prompts action and positive change.

And that’s why The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the conversations it’s sparking are so important.

One World, One Reality

“Marvel has always been and always will be a reflection of the world right outside our window.” - Stan Lee

There are two takeaways from that statement:

One: Stan Lee didn’t say that in the 1960s, 1970s, or even the 1980s. He said it in 2017.

Two: Our window, not your window, is a subtle but important distinction, particularly as it relates to TFATWS. The Flag Smashers, led by Karli Morgenthau, live by a simple creed: “One world, One people.” The core message of the show is that white Americans and Black Americans experience the world very differently, but there’s still only one world, one reality. 

It’s just a matter of people opening their eyes and seeing it.

TFATWS is an extension of Marvel’s early support of the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Stan Lee created the X-Men as an allegory for the ongoing struggles of the African-American community. Though he didn’t explicitly base Professor X and Magneto on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, there are ideological similarities.

Five years later, following the assassinations of Dr. King and Robert Kennedy, Stan wrote the following:

“Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today. It’s totally irrational, patently insane to condemn an entire race—to despise an entire nation—to vilify an entire religion. Sooner or later, we must learn to judge each other on our own merits. Sooner or later, if a man is ever to be worthy of his destiny, we must fill our hearts with tolerance.”

In 2021, Stan’s words still resonate. Racism in the United States is as virulent and damaging as it’s ever been. Black Americans are facing deadly policing, Jim Crow 2.0 voting laws, mass incarceration, and countless other roadblocks to mobility that most white people have never encountered.

Through the journeys of Sam and Sarah Wilson, Lemar Hoskins, and the heartbreaking Isaiah Bradley, TFATWS shows the unvarnished truth of what Ira Glass might call Black American Life. And through John Walker, the writers nail home the message that’s really making certain people squirm:

White men are the greatest threat not just to Black Americans, but all Americans, because TFATWS is as much an indictment of toxic masculinity as it is of bigotry. 

As aggressive racism has spread like wildfire since 2016, so has hostile sexism towards women of all colors. John Walker is the embodiment of the hyper aggression that the Proud Boys applaud. The clearest example of this comes when Walker dares to clap the shoulder of Ayo, one of Wakanda’s Dora Milaje.

Her swift and, ahem, pointed response had women the world over screaming like they’d just won the lottery. 

One could also argue that Walker’s dogged pursuit of Karli and displaced peoples supporting the Flag Smasher cause mirrors the Trump administration’s war on immigrants. 

There are plenty of parallels to draw. The point is, none of them are forced or manufactured or exaggerated. And whether we’re talking about a fictional road in Latvia or a real street in Minnesota, white Americans need to stop avoiding conversations that make them uncomfortable.

The Politics of Comics 

In 1938, Americans were still reeling from the Great Depression. Enter Superman, the everyman hero, who made his comic debut while the nation was facing widespread unemployment, rampant poverty, and blatant corruption at every level of government.

Superman could have faced off against any number of supernatural villains. But Siegel and Shuster went a different route, setting a precedent for comic books that has prevailed to this day:

They got political. 

Throughout Superman’s earliest adventures, he fought against evil politicians, apathetic bureaucrats, aggressive police officers, greedy businessmen, and even a Washington lobbyist. 

Then in 1941, Joe Simon & Jack Kirby introduced Captain America just in time to fight the nazis and free the world from fascism. A couple decades later, Kirby and Stan Lee would tell the tale of the aforementioned Erik Lehnsherr, who survived the horrors of Auschwitz. These comics endured because their passion and nuance transcended entertainment. So what was the secret sauce?

Like Siegel and Shuster, Simon, Kirby, and Stan Lee were Jewish. Representation matters, folks. 

Later on, the X-Men weren’t the only conduit through which Marvel supported Civil Rights. In 1966, on the heels of the “March Against Fear” from Memphis, TN to Jackson, MS, Stan Lee & Jack Kirby unveiled Black Panther. When African-Americans were fighting harder than ever, Black children could suddenly read a comic book about T’Challa, the noble warrior king of a highly advanced African nation. 

Marvel has never been shy about critiquing foreign policy either. Tony Stark and Iron Man debuted in 1968 as the conflict in Vietnam was escalating. And let’s not forget, Tony made his MCU debut in a film that is a clear indictment of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

We could do this all day, but you get the idea. 

Comic books have always reflected the politics of our times, and so has the MCU. Fanboys can’t start crying now just because they’re on the wrong side of history. And when they do, we defer to the great Jon Bernthal when asked about alt-righters appropriating the Punisher symbol:

“Fuck them.”

Life Imitates Art

In 1986, American men felt the need for speed. After Top Gun was released, applications to U.S. aviation forces increased by a staggering 500%. 

Two years later, Errol Morris exposed police corruption in his film The Thin Blue Line. The documentary prompted a new investigation that eventually exonerated death row inmate Randall Adams for the murder of a police officer.

That same year, the Polish government ceased all executions after leaders were swayed to do so by A Short Film about Killing.

Following the release of Michael Moore’s Bowling for Columbine in 1999, Kmart bowed to public pressure and stopped selling handgun ammunition. 

And 5 years ago, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif changed the law on honor killings in response to the critically-acclaimed film A Girl in the River. 

Like we said earlier, film has the power to spur social change. Even if the effects aren’t always so direct and immediate, television and movies have always contributed to the process in America. 

Seeing the Ricardos sharing a bed allowed some Americans to start relaxing their prudish ways. 

The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Maude empowered women as they fought for reproductive rights.

The Jeffersons and Good Times facilitated calmer discussions about race relations.

And The Ellen Show led to greater representation of queer people on screen and greater acceptance of queer people in society. Though Ellen herself has become a problematic figure in the last year, that legacy still remains.

The Falcon and the Winter Soldier is hardly the first show of its kind. And given the impact film has on society, we believe Hollywood has a moral obligation to produce content that exposes society’s ills and fosters productive debate. 

Stan Lee would be very proud of the team behind TFATWS for bringing the stark reality of American life into people’s living rooms. The next time you see someone bitching about it, remind them what Stan himself said just a few years ago: 

“Those stories have room for everyone, regardless of their race, gender, religion, or color of their skin. The only things we don't have room for are hatred, intolerance, and bigotry.”

[alison-anonymous]

♡ i want you back ♡ t.l. pt 1

I Want You Back ♡ Tom Lucitor

Requested: nope, I came up with this one on my own! SEND IN TOM LUCITOR REQUESTS PEOPLE! LET’S GIVE THIS DEMON THE ATTENTION HE DESERVES! Guys I even proofread this to make sure it was good💖

Warnings: haha ANGST/sexual tension

Summary: sort of a continuation of Miss Understood in which Tom and the reader are undeniably, unconditionally in love, but when he begins to show her the true side of himself with his anger issues, the reader’s parents force her to break up with him. But Tom is not willing to give up that easily ;) 

♡♡♡

Life had recently became hell for you.

The one person, or demon, that you loved more than anything in life was the one that your parents were forcing you to say goodbye to. They thought that having their human daughter date a demon prince with three eyes, fire powers, and an extreme anger issue was completely dangerous and something to be stopped immediately. The day that they chose to break the news to you was when you had Marco and Star over...

“Mom, please,” you had cried out, choking on you tears as Star and Marco hid in your room, silently listening to every word with tears in their eyes as well. “I love him!”

“You can’t love a demon, Y/n,” your mother threw her hands up. “You either end it now or you are no longer welcome in this household.” 

You gasped, as did Star and Marco, feeling as if though a knife had been stabbed straight into your chest. “Y-you wouldn’t seriously-”

“I would,” your mother snapped, crossing her arms over her chest as your father stared daggers at you. “End it or get out.”

Tears of frustration and heartbreak streamed down your face and dripped onto the carpet as you stared in disbelief at your parents. They wanted you to break up with the person you loved more than anything. Tom was your everything, and you loved him even though he had problems - at least he was trying to get better! And you knew he would never dream of doing anything to hurt you! Your parents, unfortunately, thought otherwise. You drew in a shaky breath as you ran a hand through your hair, stifling another sob. What choice did you have? Leave home? Where would you go? You loved Star and Marco, but there was no way you would impose on the Diazes with another mouth to feed. 

“Fine,” you muttered, feeling your heart shatter in your chest. “I’ll break up with him tomorrow.”

And with that, you raced up to your room as fast as you could, but the second you shut the door and saw the sorrowful faces of your two best friends, you crumbled to the floor in a heap of sobs as they wrapped their arms around you and held you tight enough so you wouldn’t fall entirely apart...

♡♡♡

This was it.

You had set up to meet Tom at the spot where he took you on your first date, by the Deadman's Cliffs where you could see the sunset perfectly as long as you didn't stand too close to the drop. You told him you had something to tell him and your heart shattered a little more at the thought of how he might react. You were staring in silence at the view when you heard the familiar sound of the dimension ripping, and the love of your life stepped out. The second he laid his eyes on you, all three lit up.

He levitated himself over to you through the fire from his boots and landed gracefully on the grass, holding out a flaming rose to you with a smile on his face. "Hey there, cupcake!"

Even just his mere presence made your insides soften as you tenderly took the rose out of his hand, watching with mesmerized eyes as the flames continued to flicker. It reminded you of the flame you carried for him... the one you had to extinguish. You turned back to him, only to find him staring lovingly at you and felt the tears begin to well in your eyes as you held the rose back out to him.

"I... I can't accept this," you choked out, staring at the ground out of fear your eyes might give it away.

"What? Why? Darling," he tenderly reached under your chin and lifted your head to meet his eyes. The second you laid your e/c orbs on his three ruby ones, you could almost feel yourself about to swoon. But instead, only tears welled up. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

"T-Tom," you stuttered, trying desperately to work up the courage but it was near impossible with his hand lingering on your cheek. You gently grabbed it and pushed it down. "I t-think that we n-need to..." You couldn't finish. You just couldn't. The floodgates began to crack as a tear slipped out of your eye, rolling down you cheek, causing Tom to panic, quickly wiping it away with concerned eyes.

"I think w-we need to- SHIT!" You suddenly snapped in frustration at your incompetence and stepped back from him, trying your best to ignore the hurt and confusion on his face as you broke his heart with your words.

"I think we should break up."

Shock and heartbreak flashed across his face as the flaming rose was extinguished and slipped through his lavender fingers, falling onto the ground, forgotten. "W-what? Y/n, you can't be serious. I thought things were going well, I-" he suddenly stopped with his hands thrown up midair. It was as if though a light bulb lit up atop his head as he turned his gaze back to you. "Wait... this is your parents, isn't it? They don't want you with me?"

He got it right on the head. He knew you too well... you tried your hardest to comply with your parents wishes and make it seem believable, but the shattering heart in your chest and the tears streaming down your cheeks and the sobs coming from your throat made it impossible to utter any words at all as you stumbled slightly, knees weak. He rushed to catch you, his hands warm to the touch. Even though you loved feeling his warmth, you forced yourself to push him away and wrapped your arms tightly around yourself as the tears dripped onto the grass.

"I-I'm sorr-" you couldn't even get out the last syllable as another sob ran through you. Tom reached out to you once more, only wanting to comfort the love of his life as she stood there, crumbling before him. But you couldn't let him.

"Y/n, please don't do this," his words came out tattered as tears welled up in his own eyes too. You had only ever seen him cry once before, and you most certainly weren't expecting the next words that came out of his mouth.

"I... I love you."

You froze. Wide eyed and completely in shock as even the tears had stopped at those three words. You had been dating for months, and this was the first time either of you had said it, you had agreed that you weren't quite ready yet.

He... he loved you. And as you looked over his adorable horns, lavender skin, dry palms, pointy teeth, and three gorgeous ruby red eyes, you knew that you were completely and utterly in love with him too.

"I love yo-" but... You couldn't say it back. "I... I can't, Tom."

His eyes practically showed you how you shattered his heart as he tried one last time, stepping closer to you and gently cupping your cheek, staring you deep in the eyes.

"Y/n," he whispered with half-lidded eyes. "Please."

Your insides felt as if they were on fire with his closeness. And no matter how much you wanted to pull him tight, kiss him passionately, and tell him you loved him, you knew you couldn't. So, you did what you had to do. You forced yourself to push out of his grasp, and ran off in the direction of Marco's house, trying not to let the tears blurring your vision cause you to trip and fall as Tom's shouts soon faded away.

♡♡♡

Needless to say, you and Tom both took your breakup very hard. While you stayed in bed most days with Star and Marco lying down next to you, trying to get you to say something (anything!) as they gabbed on endlessly about everything and nothing, Tom was taking his anger out on his people and then sobbing into his pillow before punching a wall and then sobbing into his bunny and the cycle of hatred and sadness only continued from there.

It took you a full 3 weeks with Star and Marco bringing you homework and such for you to finally leave your bed. Of course, your room was where your best friends spent most of their time because if you were down, they all were down. Unfortunately, you had only made it to the living room before you collapsed onto the floor and refused to get up, so Star conjured up a unicorn to carry you back to your bed. This process continued until after a full month you were finally able to leave the house. Sure, your eyes may now be dry and you may not look like a Raggedy Anne doll anymore, but your heart was still shattered. You heart belonged to Tom, and no matter what your parents did or said, he would always have it.

As the weeks drawled painfully on without you ever seeing Tom, you began going back to school with Marco and Star and you did your best to concentrate, to move on. But... You knew deep down that you couldn't. Marco and Star did the best they could to soften the blow, always sweeping you away to concerts or parties or get togethers with Pony Head (who threatened to kill your parents once you broke down after telling her about your breakup). But none of it mattered because he wasn't there.

But while you were desperately prevailing to move on, Tom was the exact opposite. After getting over his angry-sad fits and going through a hell of a lot of soul searching, he came to the conclusion that you were the only one he would ever love, he wanted to marry you someday, and he was willing to do whatever it took to get you back.

Little did you know how persistent a heartbroken Tom could be.

♡♡♡

His attempts to win you back first started after you, Marco, and Star had just gotten back from school. You and Star were chilling in her room, listening intently as she whispered in your ear her budding feelings towards Marco, who had escaped to the kitchen to make you all some nachos.

"I just... I don't know, N/n. I've never felt this way towards him before... I know he likes Jackie, and I just want him to be happy but," she bit her lip hard, her eyes beginning to swell. You quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her into a warm hug.

"It's okay," you mumbled into her hair. "Feelings can be... perplexing sometimes. I think that it's a bit too early now to start jumping the gun by saying you have a crush on him. You have been under a lot of stress lately."

She gently pulled back and offered you a warm smile, wrapping her arm around your waist and leaning her head on your shoulder as you both stared at her mirror. "How do you do it?" She asked.

"Do what?"

"Just... it!" She cried, switching so she was kneeling before you, eyes wide with her hands in the air. "I mean, you were just forced to break up with the love of your life, and you're still up and moving? If I had to leave Marco... I don't know what I would do." She tapped her chin, glancing off in the other direction. "I would probably just die!"

A grin spread on her lips at her conclusion, but it soon faded when she realized how dejected you looked at the mention of Tom. "Oh, I'm so sorry, N/n, I shouldn't have brought it up..."

"No, it's okay," you replied sincerely. "I'm going to have to get used to it."

Just then, Star's mirror began blaring with an incoming call. You both turned to see who it was and the name on the screen nearly sent you into shock. It was Tom. Why on earth would he be calling Star? Was he trying to make her his rebound girl? The very thought of it made your shattered heart sink even more into the pit of depression you were in. With just one look at your face, Star could instantly tell what was going through your head. She gently rested her hand on your shoulder.

"Don't worry," she said. "I'll just let it ring."

You sat there for a moment before you suddenly realized how much you missed seeing his face. It wouldn't hurt to have her pick it up just this one time would it? Besides, then you could see how loyal he truly was to you.

"N-no," you slowly shook your head. "It's okay. Answer it."

"Are you sure?" She raised an eyebrow in shock, but you nodded your head. She cautiously walked towards the mirror phone, and gave you one last glance before answering it with you safely out of view. The second Tom's image filled the screen, you and Star both let out a gasp. His ruby red eyes that were once flaming were now bloodshot with deep circles from lack of sleep. His lavender skin was now abnormally pale, and his spiky hair was messy. He looked like a mess, to say the least. Almost as bad as you had looked after all those days spent under the covers.

...was this what you had done to him?

"Star!" A grin spread across his lips as soon as he saw your best friend. She let a sigh escape through your lips as you stared at the screen. He couldn't see you, but you were pretty sure your eyes had tiny little hearts in them, as they always did every time you saw him. It didn't matter if he was a flaming ball of rage or all dressed up in a tuxedo, even just his image made you fall even more in love. And that was what scared you most.

"What do you want, Tom?" Star asked, rolling her eyes a bit. Even though they were now friends ever since the two of you had gotten together, Star made a pact with you that if you couldn't be friends or anything more with Tom, then she couldn't either. Marco tried to get in on it too, but you both knew his best bromance was better living than dead.

You turned your attention back to the screen, watching as he scratched the back of his neck, something he only did when he was nervous. He averted his gaze for a moment before raising it back to Star's image.

"Listen, I know things have been a bit tense lately, but..." here it comes, you thought, preparing your heart for the worst. This was it. He was going to ask Star out, he was going to choose her over you...

"I need your help. I want to win Y/n back."

There it was. He wanted St- wait, WHAT?

It was then that Star suddenly smushed her cheeks together and let out a fangirling squeal so shrill it caused Glossaryck to plug his ears. You slowly stood up with mouth agape, feeling your heart begin to pound as you attempted to make sense of his words. Star giggled, her irises turning into comical baby pink hearts as she came closer to the mirror.

"YES!" She screamed, causing Tom to jump back a bit. "You have to do it! You have to-"

Your feet moved before your brain could comprehend what was going on and before you knew it, you were in the frame too, staring with wide eyes at Tom's picture. The moment he saw you, his eyes softened and then perked up with excitement.

"Y/n, darling!" He smiled with those adorably pointed teeth. "I want you back ♡"

The butterflies went crazy inside your stomach and you were almost certain you were turning into a tomato from the flushing in your cheeks, but Star's wand was lying on her bed. Star wrapped her arms excitedly around you as she squealed again.

"Yes, yes, yes!!! Come on, N/n, he wants you and you still want him! Your parents don't have to know!" Star pleaded, looking you deep in the eyes with a pouty lip.

No matter how badly you wanted to say yes, you knew that you couldn't. Your parents would find out eventually. They always did. "I- I'm sorry," you whispered, slowly shaking your head. "I broke up with you, Tom. I can't."

But Tom wasn't ready to give up anytime soon. Instead of frowning, his smile only broadened, which brought confusion to Star's face and fear onto yours. Because the smile he wore meant only one thing - he was plotting.

And you knew that he was now plotting his greatest, most diabolical plan he had ever dared to plot before.

His plan to get you back.

Before he could utter another word, you swiftly ended the call before turning to Star. "Star, I love you, but please, you know I don't have a choice."

"But that's just it," she argued. "You could! He wants you back too! He clearly still loves you! Why won't you take him back?"

You let out a sigh in melancholy as you began heading towards the bathroom, throwing your response over your shoulder before shutting her bedroom door.

"Because he's safer without me."

♡♡♡

His first attempt at winning you back involved collaboration. Even though Star and Marco loved you with all of their hearts, they climbed aboard Tom's ship to win you back, telling themselves that they were doing what was best for you. They hated seeing you so miserable, as it was obvious you had been faking happiness.

For what Tom definitely had in charms and charisma, he definitely lacked in strategy. The whole "winning someone back" and being, well, desperate and crazy for you was completely new to him. He had never felt this way before. So, unfortunately, his ideas to get you back were pretty crappy. But thanks to your two BFFs, they were able to help him form a very solid Plan A.

Plan A was to start with the basics again, which was mostly just getting you and him in the same place at the same time so you had to acknowledge each other's presence. Parties were too overcrowded, and they knew there was no way they could get you to go to the Lucitors' kingdom out of your own free will, so Star and Marco did what any rational person would do.

They followed you around until they were able to form a table of your whereabouts down to the minute. This way, Tom could appear at the place you were heading and try to start a conversation. What Star and Marco didn't plan on was Tom's ironic klutziness. When it came to being around you, he would always get red in the face and have these butterflies that made him feel sick. It ruined his entire game. But they made him push through it anyway.

The first place he went to was the dog park...

You had offered to walk Star and Marco's laser puppies while Star was off practicing her magic with the assistance of Marco (though really you were just leaving some room for Starco to begin). While you knew that you main job was to just make sure the puppies didn’t hurt anyone else and got in some exercise, you also thought that you could stand some of the fresh air too. You had just settled down in a little spot under one of the big oak trees to shelter yourself from the sun beating down on the untrimmed grass. The puppies ran excitedly around your ankles, shooting their red lasers at whatever they looked at. You shortened the leash a bit and watched as they roamed around for a bit, sniffing dog butts and freaking out some of the other pedestrians. It only took about a minute or so for you to realize how lonely you were.

Shit, you thought. Dog walking was supposed to be fun and now all you could think about was wishing someone were here for you to talk to...

As soon as the thought left your mind, a rustling noise suddenly came from directly above you. Confusion riddled your mind as some stray leaves fell from the tree, one of them landing delicately on your nose before sliding onto the grass. You furrowed your brows. Was there some really obese squirrel up there? 

You craned your head to look up into the cloud of green, definitely not expecting to see a person clinging onto the skinny branch for dear life as they looked down fearfully at you, as if though they had been caught doing something horrible.

“Tom?” You cried out. He let out a nervous chuckle, lifting his one hand off of the branch to give you a slight wave while his other continued to grip onto the branch with a death-grip.

“Hey, beautiful.”

God, how you melted whenever he called you that... But you knew you had a promise to stay true to. “Please don’t call me that,” you sighed, stepping a little closer to the tree so you wouldn’t have to strain your neck as much. “What are you doing up there?”

You weren’t expecting his face to turn bright red at the question. After Star and Marco had dropped him off, he WAS going to talk to you as soon as he saw you standing a couple feet away from him. But fear got the best of him, what if he screwed up? What if he said something that insulted you? What if he ruined the last chance he ever had of winning you back? So, rather than just walking away, he decided to climb up a tree so he could watch you from a distance. It couldn’t hurt, right? But when a squirrel fell on his back, things got a bit complicated and you were smart.

It was one of the things he loved about you...

He opened his mouth, then shut it again, his three eyes scouring the horizon as he tried to come up with an excuse. You cocked an eyebrow as you waited, you running through your mind all of the possible things he could have been up to. Then it clicked. 

“Tom...” now it was your turn to blush as your cheeks turned a slight shade of crimson. “Were you... spying on me?”

“Damnit,” he cursed a bit too loud than he meant to. You forced yourself to look away, feeling the butterflies float into your stomach at just the thought. He really did want you back, didn’t he? Why else would he be spying on you? 

But then your mother’s words rang through your ears... 

“You can never love a demon.”

You sighed. She made it sound so easy. Like you can just pick and choose who you fall in love with. And even though you knew there was no way your parents could ever approve of it, your heart still rested in his hands. But he was better off without you. You had already hurt him enough. 

You sighed, raking your free hand through your hair. “Look, Tom, this is sweet and everything, but I need to get going.” You pivoted on your feet, and felt the all too familiar treading-through-knives feeling as you walked away from the love of your life... again.

“Wait!” Tom cried. “Y/n, AHH!” He was about to hop down off of the branch to follow after you when an angry brown squirrel attacked his face. And even though you wanted more than anything to run back to him and to climb up into that tree with him, you forced yourself to keep walking.

But even though that spot didn’t work, Star, Marco, and Tom weren’t ready to give up just yet. So, they sent him to the next place on your list. They planned to keep doing this until they ran out of places, because one of them had to spark something… right?

So next, he went to the market...

You were off on your weekly trip to the market since your parents were often too busy at their jobs to do it. Not that you minded, because this way you could get the brands of food you wanted without having to argue Tyson over Banquet for thirty minutes straight with your father. 

Shopping list gripped loosely between your fingers, you stood before the fruits section, trying desperately to remember how Marco had taught you know how a grapefruit is ripe just by smelling it. Picking up one of the citrus fruits, you turned it over in your hands carefully before raising it cautiously to your nose. It smelt just like all the other ones smelt, like a grapefruit. You were about to pull your phone out of your pocket to call him when a strange noise suddenly came from the barrel of oranges next to you. 

I should just ignore it, you told yourself. Last time I investigated, it was Tom spying on me. In a tree.

You turned to continue down the aisle, but when the noise came again, you felt that familiar pull to investigate once again. You threw your head back in frustration at yourself, but backtracked until you were in front of the oranges. This was what being best friends with a magical princess from Mewni had done to you. 

You slowly lowered your head towards the rustling noise inside the barrel, wondering if some animal had gotten inside of it somehow. Turning you head to the side, you tried to listen for whatever it was just as a head suddenly popped through the surface, causing you to jump back in shock. Stray oranges toppled down onto the ground, one bouncing off of your foot. You raised your eyes to see who thought it would be a good idea to go swimming in a barrel of oranges, and as soon as you saw Tom (again), with his guilty smile, nothing but disbelief filled your mind. Only his head had managed to break through the surface, as his spiky hair was a bit messed up and his ruby eyes were a bit watery from the fruits. But the thing that actually brought a slight smile to your face was the two oranges that had been impaled onto his horns.

You quickly wiped the smile away, and glowered down at him. “Tom!” You groaned. “Again? Seriously? What are you doing this time, spying on me in the oranges?”

He offered you a sly smile, which sent your stomach into somersaults. God, why did he have to be so cute... 

“Not quite, cupcake,” he smirked. “This time I actually came to talk to you about something, but the portal got a bit messy...” He shuffled a bit in the pit of oranges, causing a few more to bounce on the floor as you stared at him with a raised eyebrow.

You could sense the stares of strangers as they passed by, wondering why on earth a girl was talking to a purple-skinned, three-eyed, horned head in the oranges. It didn’t phase you however, as being Tom’s girlfriend for so long, you had gotten used to the staring. You also knew that he wasn’t the one to give up so quick, so you decided to just hear him out on this one. Besides, if it was something stupid, you could just leave and he wouldn’t be able to follow you right away. Not with ten pounds of oranges to slow him down.

“Fine,” you sighed, crossing your arms over your chest. “What is it?”

Tom cleared his throat, and wiggled around a bit before setting his eyes on you, giving you The Look. Your eyebrows raised, already knowing that whatever he wanted to say couldn’t be good.

“Well, as you know, I am in the process of doing everything I can to win you back. And to start, Marco said a good way to get a girl back is to begin by listing your positive attributes. Firstly, I am exceedingly-” you quickly plucked an orange off of his horn and stuck it his mouth before he could say anything else. Wiping off the excess orange juice on your pants, you pinched the bridge of your nose in frustration as he struggled to spit the orange out of his mouth without his hands.

“Tom, look, this all really flattering and everything, but we are done. I’m sorry,” you wrapped your hands around the shopping cart and began walking away from him. Of course, knowing you, you still had to look behind you one last time just to catch him successfully spitting out the orange as it hit a chubby kid riding in a shopping cart. He turned his head to you, and even though you were doing your best to run away from him, he still shouted loud enough for you hear:

“You can try to silence me as much as you like, darling, but I’m still going to be in love with you!”

Once you were out of sight, he shuffled around in the orange barrel before turning to the chubby kid he had spit an orange at, who was staring at him in disgust.

"Hey, kid, think you could help me out?

And when that place didn’t work, he went to more... and more... and more... and got pecked on by birds at the pier, got attacked by a bunch of cats in a back alley, and almost got mugged by a guy in the fucking bookstore before you slapped the dude across the face with your wallet. But Tom still persisted.

He finally went to the last place on the list: the gift shop.

You were out shopping a week in advance for your mother's birthday, and to be frank, you had no idea what to get her. Figuring that you might be able to get some inspiration from the gift shop downtown, you soon realized that even with a bunch of glittering jewels around you, you still had nothing. You ran your hand along the rack of hideously designed dresses, and wondered if you would have better luck in Mewni. 

While Star’s world may be completely different than yours, it did have a knack for giving you inspiration. So, you pulled out your cell and asked Star if she could give you a lift. On her end, it meant ditching her post with Marco to help Tom out with Plan A, Attempt 24, but she couldn’t say no to her best girlfriend! 

So there the two of you were, your eyes scouring the tons of racks of clothing for something that might scream your mother’s name while Star drooled over a bunch of stuffed animals. 

“This blows,” you sighed, until your eyes finally landed on a top that your mom may not instantly return. Funny, you thought. I’m buying the lady who ripped away the one thing I really loved a present.

You really did make yourself miserable...

Heaving a sigh, you were about to reach for the top when a head suddenly popped up from the other side, causing you to let out a scream in surprise. You would think that after being surprised so many times by Tom that you would eventually begin to suspect it was him, but time after time, he still caught you off guard. Tripping on your own too feet, you began falling to the ground before Star’s hands pressed gently against your back, pushing you back up before she got into battle position.

“What’s wrong?” She cried out. “Is it a burglar? WHERE ARE THEY?!” 

“No, Star, it’s just…” You finally took a good look at the figure who had appeared and your suspicions were instantly confirmed. “Tom.”

You let out a huff, crossing your arms over your chest as he grinned deviously at you, crossing his arms over the top of the clothes rack. “Hey there, beautiful.”

“I thought I told you to stop calling me that,” you narrowed your brows in feign annoyance.

“Oh really? Well, I thought I told you to stop wearing so much makeup - you don’t need it, cupcake.” He winked at you, and even though every logical brain cell was telling you to ignore it, your cheeks heated up a bright shade of red. You did your best to hide it, but from the soft smile that still lingered on his lips and glistening in his eyes every time he looked at you, you knew he saw it.

Star suddenly pressed her cheek against yours as you both stared at the demon prince, and began to let out a very scary, very deep giggle. With just one side glance, you could already tell she was fangirling. You let out a groan in frustration and turned your attention back to Tom, who was still staring in complete adoration at you.

“Tom. You need to leave.”

Star let out a gasp, grabbing you by the shoulders and staring you deep in the eyes with her sparkling blue orbs. “Y/n! I am surprised by you! The love of your life is literally trying to win you back and you tell him to go home?”

Damn… You bit down on your lip. Hard. But before you could even muster out a word to explain your feelings once again, Tom had already stepped out from behind the clothing rack and was holding his hands up in the air in mock-surrender.

“No, no, I get it, she’s just not ready toda-”

“Hey, you!” An unfamiliar voice cut off Tom, making all three of you jump a foot in the air. You all whipped around to see who dared to interrupt you, laying your eyes on a slightly obese man with angry, onyx eyes and a plume hat that looked too small for his head. He stabbed his chubby finger in the direction of… Tom. “You there, monster! I don’t allow monsters in my store!”

Wait a minute… he thought Tom was a monster? 

Shock washed over Star’s face as Tom’s fists began to curl into fiery balls. You, however, were feeling an emotion you had been trying to suppress for a while. Protectiveness. NO ONE got to call your Tom a monster. Sure, he may be a bit different, but he was NOT a monster. Before your brain even had a chance to stop yourself, you were already walking past a very angry Tom (whose features contorted from anger to shock the second you walked past him) and stood directly in front of the obese man.

“Alright, you listen here, asshat,” you snarled, stabbing your finger into his puffy chest. Star and Tom exchanged awestruck glances behind you. “Tom may be a lot of things, but he is NOT a monster. Do you hear me? HE IS NOT A MONSTER.” By now, you had the dude sweating and shaking in fear as it almost seemed like you were towering over him, a flare set to your eyes that only Tom ever had. “And if I ever hear you call him a monster again, I will hunt you down myself, and when I do find you?” You let out a slow, maniacal laugh that eventually escalated into a full blown evil laugh. Little did you know, that while Star was watching the exchange with fearful eyes, you had made Tom fall in love with you all over again. 

Before you could continue to scar the scared shitless guy, Star gently pulled you away from him, uttering a sorry to the man on your behalf. You shook your head once to clear away the craziness, only for once, you had no regrets. 

“Wow,” Tom’s voice broke through your thoughts. You quickly raised your gaze to see him walking dangerously close to you. Before you could make a move to stop him, he had already wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you closer to him, so close you had to rest your hands against his chest to distance yourself. You looked into his eyes, and the second you saw the adoration and love in his ruby irises, you knew you were in trouble. “You haven’t done anything like that since we first got together. You still care, don’t you?” 

You could feel your face getting hot and your stomach twist in knots, and that was just from his closeness. His words sent your brain into spirals and your heart pound harder than a sledgehammer. You felt that all too familiar, undeniable urge to wrap your arms around his neck and press your lips against his, but… 

Remember, Y/n. He is safer without you. 

“T-Tom…” you stuttered, softly grabbing his arms and lowering them to his sides. You took a few steps back even though it felt like pulling yourself through knives, once again. It was uncanny how you and Tom didn’t even have the Blood Moon Curse, but you felt such a strong connection to him that you had never experienced with anyone else. “I… I…” 

Star was fighting back a huge fangirling squeal as she bit her lip and crouched down, staring at you with wide, expectant eyes. 

“I… have to go…” Tom’s eyes fell, but only for a second before they perked back up with that insanely persistent look. 

“Alright,” he shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets. “But keep in mind, darling,” he swiftly stepped closer to you, so close you could feel the warmth radiating off of him. “I’m in this for the long run.” 

And then, in a flash of fire, he was gone, leaving a very flustered you and a ship-angry Star. 

♡♡♡ 

GO FIND THE SECOND PART FOR MORE💖

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Darth Vader

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

Here he is. The big one. The world’s most famous villain of all time, and this is no exaggeration; even people with only a fleeting knowledge of Star Wars, even people who have never seen it before in their lives, probably know who Darth Vader is. The dedicated an entire trilogy to showing how he ended up this way, and an entire trilogy to defeating him, and even after he’s dead his shadow looms over the new trilogy.

It’s really not hard to see why, either; everything about him just screams cool. He’s an intergalactic dictator wizard monk cyborg with a laser sword who has a castle on a lava planet and a space station the size of the moon that blows up planets, and that’s not even getting into the fact that he has the voice of Mufasa. Darth Vader is an icon, plain and simple, and if you think his status is all surface-level, well, this will hopefully show you there’s more to him.

Actor: There are a lot of people who put in the time to bring Vader to life, but let’s just go over the most notable actors. A lot must be said of David Prowse, the man in the suit during the original trilogy; while James Earl Jones’ voice certainly did a lot of work towards making Vader as intimidating and cool as he is, Prowse’s physical presence should absolutely not be understated. He’s the one who does the movements, who walks into the scenes, he was the one physically there, and it really cannot be said enough that he is a key aspect of why the original Vader worked, even if his voice was nowhere near intimidating enough.

Jones, of course, had a voice that was intimidating enough, and while Prowse brought the physical intimidation, Jones brought the vocal brilliance. Vader’s voice is so oft-arodied and iconic, and it’s all thanks to James Earl Jones’ stellar performance. IT’s just absolutely legendary no matter which way you cut it, to the point where even when he’s portraying a freshly-christened Vader who is still in the mindset of a whiny Anakin and screaming a massive NO to the heavens, he’s still awesome.

Of course, that does bring us to Anakin Skywalker, portrayed by Hayden Christensen, and who is the most divisive actor who played Vader, albeit in his pre-cyborg form. I think a lot of the problems Christensen was criticized for while portraying Vader in the prequels was due to Lucas and his poor direction, and not due to any inherent fault on his part, as Christensen is a good actor otherwise. Case in point: any scene in Revenge of the Sith where Christensen does not have to speak and instead has to rely on giving evil glares or just looking intimidating works. I think he does a great job in Revenge of the Sith overall, and his portrayal of Anakin definitely works best in that prequel due to him really selling the frustration of his superiors not taking him seriously or trusting him, which makes his eventual slide into villainy after putting his trust in Palpatine a lot easier to swallow.

Motivation/Goals: Vader’s motivations and goals are not exactly where he shines, as it is pretty standard evil overlord stuff: he wants to crush the rebels, serve his master, and do whatever needs to be done to ensure that the power he has does not get taken away. It’s standard stuff, and even at the time it likely wasn’t a wholly original idea, but part of the reason it probably feels so generic nowadays is that so many people in every art form imaginable – books, TV, video games, and other movies – have ripped Vader off to the point where he almost appears to be a generic doomsday villain if you only look at a summary of his goals. Thankfully, this is far from the case.

Personality: Vader’s personality is where he really shines. Revenge of the Sith paints the portrait of a brilliant, talented young man who is constantly looked down upon and ignored by his peers despite his numerous successes and who is unable to openly be with the woman he loves and who carries his children due to ridiculous rules; is it any wonder he was taken advantage of by a predatory elder and groomed into a psychopath, only realizing far too late what had been done to him? This aspect of his personality has often been criticized by those who hate the prequels, but I think it is important to show that Vader was once a normal, frustrated young man who honestly had good intentions and wanted to protect others, because it helps make his eventual turn away from the Dark Side and redemption at least be a little believable.

Once he truly becomes the Vader we all know and love, he loses sight of who he was and buries himself in the Vader persona. What happened on Mustafar with Padme and Obi-Wan broke Anakin, and so he truly throws himself into the Darth Vader identity. He becomes cold, ruthless, and downright terrifying, with only brief glimpses to the cornier, kinder persona that the man who hates sandf with a passion once had, the moment where he makes a lame pun in Rogue One being the perfect example of the cheesy Anakin of the prequels shining through if only for a brief moment before Vader’s final scene in Rogue One shows that Anakin has once more been suppressed and the terrifying Vader persona is out in full force, with the real Anakin only breaking through in the end to restore balance to the Force.

Final Fate: Vader, in a final act of heroism, picks up Palpatine and tosses him down into a pit to save the life of his son Luke. Ultimately, this means that Vader fulfilled that prophecy from so long ago and restored balance to the Force, redeeming him in the eyes of his son and allowing him to become one with the Force itself and stand beside his former mentors Obi-Wan and Yoda in the final scene. It is a bit cheesy and even a little hard to swallow if you think too hard, but come on, it’s a fun space opera where good triumphs over evil and true love prevails, so just let Anakin have his little redemption.

Best Scene: The scene in which he emerges from the pitch black hallway in Rogue One and mercilessly slaughters a group of rebels with absolutely no effort, washing away decades of diminishing returns and undermining of his threat level in under a minute as the franchise reestablishes Vader as the horrifying threat he originally was.

Best Quote: Can it really be anything other than the (at the time) mind-blowing reveal he drops on Luke in The Empire Strikes Back after Luke accuses him of killing his dad? Say it with me now:

“No, I am your father.”

Some of you probably said it wrong, but I can assure you the line written above is exactly as it was said in the movie.

Final Thoughts & Score: There’s honestly no denying the level of impact Darth Vader has had; I’d say he’s up there with characters like Mickey Mouse and Mario, just an instantly identifiable character anyone off the top of their heads can name. George Lucas struck gold when he came up with this guy, that’s for sure. Is it any wonder that there are so many characters all across fiction who draw inspiration from Vader?

Vader stands tall as one of the greatest creations in pop culture, and though characters that copy him tend to offer diminishing returns – with a few notable exceptions, of course – he definitely is a wonderful source of inspiration, especially when it comes to designing a character who is still interesting and absorbing despite having seemingly simple, cliched motives. And while it is true Vader comes off as a bit cliched these days because he pretty much wrote the book on a lot of the cliches attributed to him and his ripoffs, my point still stands, because even in modern times you’d be hard pressed to hear anyone call Vader a poor villain despite his main goal basically being “kill rebels.”

Vader is a rare breed, and so deserves a rare score. He is the only villain as of now I think truly deserves an 11/10. He is the villain other villains wish they could be. He is the most striking character in the entire cast. He’s so downright cool, is it any wonder his own grandson decided to emulate him by becoming his biggest fanboy?

While Vader does ultimately redeem himself in the end, it serves as a culmination of one of the most profoundly tragic character arcs in cinema, as a wide-eyed idealistic boy full of love, hope, and a sense of righteousness is slowly and surely broken down by the world around him and the very heroes he idolized to the point where he is preyed upon by a predatory authority figure who whispers everything he wants to hear in his ear and offers him something he never got before: respect… and then from there, his life spirals downward ever further, until he ends up being utterly consumed by hatred as he burns alive on an alien planet before the man he considered a friend and a brother, the knowledge that his wife feared him in his mind as he was fried to a crisp; and when he is finally brought back as a cyborg, his first moments awake again are shaken by the revelation his wife is now dead, and he is responsible. And then from his lowest point, we see Vader climb again into the light, extremely slowly, until that final choice he makes where he can either do the right thing as he was always meant to or continue subjugating the galaxy that beat him down and abused him.

The fact he chose to be good in the end despite everything in his life prior, despite all of the crimes he committed, really makes him a far more interesting character than if he had been straight-up evil to the core. Instead, he is the ultimate darkly tragic fallen hero given one last shot of redemption in the arms of death. It’s beautiful in the cheesy, dramatic way only Star Wars can be, and I think that more than anything is why Vader has endured as a cultural icon, because at his core he is everything beautiful, tragic, and cheesy about Star Wars rolled into one awesome, black-clad Sith Lord.

[marlutterianae]

Personal thought about Superheroes.

You know people are quite contradictory regarding superhero media.

A lot of people I knew was feeling tired of superheroes by the end Endgame, but then Marvel put out Spider Man: Far From Home and everyone is happy and praising it. 

I feel that a lot of the hate towards superheroes was... All Zack Snyder's  fault. 

Because he practically ruined the image of two of the most influential figures in superhero media, wounding the medium so badly everyone felt hatred towards superheroes for a long time.

Until Marvel and even other DC directors reminded everyone with fun and competent movies that superheroes can be done right. Movies loved by the public like Wonder Woman, Shazam, Spiderman; animated and MCU. Love or hate superhero movies, they are successful for a reason, and they have their passion and heart. I truly believe they can and have been more than action with no depth. The characters in those stories mean a lot to tons of people. Ever since they discovered in the comics, grew up with them, and still inspire them to this day. 

One of my favorite things to find on tumblr is finding those scenes from Superman comics where he is written fantastically and people share it to remind others that Superman is a far better character than what the recent movies have presented. And that’s just one example. 

People think they are done with superheroes, but I believe their spirit and messages are timeless. Ethics and the ideal good prevails as an endless topic. 

Snyder with his obsession to make everything unnecessarily gritty, dark and serious, justifying it as “realism” wounded the superhero image so badly, and worst, the image of two of the most recognizable and influential characters of the medium: Batman and Superman. 

It's the same like those memes about "I hate cliches except this very specific one that hits my sensitivities". People are quick to generalization because the trope has been done so badly before they feel its unfixable, until someone with actual skill, talent and understanding of the source material and its themes makes something competent.

Something I wanted to get out of my chest. I personally didn’t have a lot of engagement with the most classic of superhero stories growing up, since my love for comics was in other types of characters and worlds (Hellboy and Spawn were my first introductions to comicbook media), but lately I’ve come to appreciate them more, and discuss them with dear friends and family members. 

[momma-mogai-sphinx]

hi! i’m a 15 y/o lesbian who’s really struggling with her identity. my dad and siblings both disagree with the idea of gay marriage and i feel pretty rejected. i keep wondering if i’m just faking my sexuality for attention, even though i know i’m not. i feel weird and abnormal, and worst of all, my friends think it’s trendy and funny to be apart of the lgbtqia community when it comes with a lot of struggles. could i possibly get some positivity or kind words? or a way to feel better? ty. 💞

I have a few things I could share, actually…

I definitely understand how it is you might be feeling right now, so let me tell you—as someone who grew up in quite the inhospitable home, in a wildly homophobic town, who continues to live happily in said town despite all the odds—it can get better.

I know that can be hard to believe sometimes. I know there are things in your life which are far out of your control; systems that you might not understand, but which have a powerful effect, not only on how much you’re allowed to do and say before your identity is called into question, but also on the very course and structure of life itself. I know it can be suffocating and feel like there’s no escape. I know following the axiom “work hard and have good morals” to a t will never be enough to grant you your personhood in the face of blind bigotry.

But let me tell you why holding on is worth it.

It can be exhausting to be endlessly scrutinized by “normal” society. A single slip up could have you mercilessly questioned on the basis of whichever marginalized identity they decide is going to be society’s downfall today (one that could be and often is largely irrelevant to whatever situation led you to such a discussion to begin with). One false move might see you kicked to the curb (or worse) by your so-called “allies,” your friends and family when they deem you too low in the social hierarchy to risk their image. When you try to argue for or against something, they will see you as nothing more than your marginalized identity, see you as a spokesperson for others who share this identity. And they will use this not only as a way to dismiss you as foolish and “backwards,” but as a means to bully and harass you into complete silence.

It can be frustrating to be erased. When you find a character in a work of fiction that you see a lot of yourself in and headcanon them as sharing an identity with you, they’ll ask, “Why does everything have to be about you?” “Why do you have to make it political?” “Quit sexualizing them, they’re a child!” They ignore the fact that your group has gotten next to no representation in the past (and that you can’t influence the text just by having a headcanon); they fail to see the problem in politicizing someone else’s identity when they’re just trying to be; while they get to flaunt their sexuality around and have it catered to wherever they go, you can’t even mention the fact that you’re of a marginalized orientation without being demonized for it. And when you try to bring any of these things up and discuss how and why they should be changed to give people of all marginalized orientations and gender identities a fair share of the “privilege?” They say, “You have marriage equality and can identify as whatever gender you claim to be. What more could you possibly want? Why are you asking for all these special privileges?”

And, because of all of this, it can be infuriating to be right. It can be maddening to know that, no matter where you go, there will be people with their “hot takes,” prepared to tell you (or, rather, other bigots who already share their opinion of you) why your identity is “a phase”; why it’s sinful or perverse; or even why it can be reasonably commodified for the consumption of another group that doesn’t understand your struggle one bit (and largely doesn’t care to). And their audience will nod along, taking notes on how to “debate” those nasty SJWs and secretly feeling validated in their sheer contempt for those fellow human beings who don’t fit their preconceived notions of what is good and natural. They’ll be told that, when you speak up and point out how there are many examples of people happily identifying as non-straight and/or non-cis for most of their lives (and that it really shouldn’t matter to them whether or not some teen they’ve never met is questioning their identity), they can make leaps in logic to show how “gay marriage is just a ploy to destroy the family and western ideals! We have to stamp the gay out of these kids before they get indoctrinated!” and then show you some bunk statistics about cis people who detransitioned or something (something that really doesn’t matter, given the fact that plenty of trans people are much happier living as their actual gender). When you explain that they shouldn’t be using their religion to justify hatred of an entire group of people, and that calling someone’s identity sinful isn’t much of an argument since you (likely) don’t share the same principles of morality, they’ll gaslight you and say you’re against freedom of speech and freedom of religion (ignoring how such notions have historically been used to enact physical violence against groups whose very existence they disagree with, without ever asking, “Who’s silencing whom?”). When you try to explain how homosexuality is perfectly normal and the existence of trans and nonbinary people is just a side effect of building a complex society that puts value in both emphasizing personal identity and categorizing patterns… When you try to explain why consuming queer media without having at least a semblance of understanding of queer struggles… When you try to explain why all of this can make being queer dreadful at times–not because of anything inherently wrong with us, but because of the way society alienates, silences, and enables violence toward us–and that our “pride” comes from a place of resistance against it all and not because being queer is “cool” and fun… They will not listen.

But there is relief. From all of this.

There is solace in knowledge, comfort in history. When you find yourself in times of despair; when you wonder whether or not it’s worth it pressing onward, knowing how much suffering there is to come…

Remember where you are. You are a young branch atop an oak tree that is both vast and timeless. The tree needs you to survive. As you stretch your wanting leaves toward sun, you may forget that, far below you, there are roots, ever-boring their way deeper into the earth. For as long as this tree has tasted the sunlight, it has been anchoring itself into the soils of time. The roots refuse to be forgotten. When the sun feels like a lifetime away, remember the roots. Remember where you came from.

You come from fire, an untamable flood. You’re descended of wild spirits, unrelenting.

Their Excellence is in you.

Before you is a legacy of roaring lions. After you? That’s for you to decide.

Let your exhaustion be a name. When society tries to dictate who you’re allowed to be, be uncompromising. Refuse to be silent about who you really are.

Let your frustration be a voice. Make art, make music. Tell your story. Refuse to have your struggles erased.

As fury entwines itself with passion, you will become unbreakable as you are unsilenceable.

Emboldened. Empassioned. Empowered.

And when you tire, come to the fountain of knowledge and drink. Know their names, know their stories. Know your roots.

Know Marsha P. Johnson.

Know Silvia Rivera.

Know Harvey Milk.

Know Gilbert Baker.

Know Karl Heinrich Ulrichs.

Know Michael Dillon.

Know Lili Elbe.

Know Lucy Hicks Anderson.

Know Christine Jorgensen.

Know Bayard Rustin.

Know Magnus Hirschfeld.

Know Simon Nkoli.

Know Ifti Nasim.

Know Jason Jones.

Know Barbara Gittings.

Know Audre Lorde.

Know Angelica Ross.

Know Emil Wilbekin.

Know Frida Kahlo.

Know Nancy Cárdenas.

Know Your History. Know how Far we’ve Come.

-

And, look. No one expects you to be passionate at every stage of the game. You don’t have to be the paradigm of the perfect activist every second of the day. You’re allowed to just be exhausted and need a break to recharge. You’re allowed to just be frustrated when people treat you like you’re a representative of the entire LGBTQ community and expect you to know everything about our history and be able to recite all of our “policies.” Never forget that just being you is powerful enough.

Hell, you’re even allowed to feel sometimes that it’s hopeless and wonder if there’s even a point to all this work we’ve done if bigotry still prevails. But what’s important to understand is that is that how you feel and what is true—while both very real and very important to your lived experience and absolutely worth taking seriously—are not one in the same. You may feel that there is no purpose in continuing on with what seems to be a never-ending fight; but know that there is a community, all around you. There are ears to listen, hearts to sympathize, words to encourage, and hands to guide. It may get dark, may become hard to see the way forward. But it’s okay to cry out into the darkness and watch it illuminate with love and compassion and understanding. We are here.

-

There’s a GSA at the school at which I work, and one thing I always try to tell the students who attend about is (what I like to call) “The Breath of Absolute Clarity.” Unlearning the lies we’ve been taught from birth and learning ourselves is a long and arduous process, one that may take even a lifetime. But in every story I’ve ever heard about a queer person accepting themselves (including my own), there is always described this moment; this one instance (or perhaps several) of perfect understanding of oneself. For some, it can be a spiritual experience, tied to their religious beliefs. For others, it can be seen as a moment of self-actualization—where the turmoil of human existence ceases its chaotic chorus, if only for a second, leaving nothing but the sound of a beating heart. Whenever and wherever this moment comes to you, whatever you see, however it must happen… You will know. In this moment, you will know, beyond any feasible shadow of a doubt, Who You Are.

This moment will not last. It is not unquestionable. You may forget it in your darkest times. But if you really try to hold onto it, it will come back to you. Like a towering tsunami, it will invade your senses so completely, you will know as intimately and as viscerally as the human mind can comprehend anything what it is to be unapologetically you.

This moment is not the be-all-end-all of understanding yourself, but it is a start. It’s the moment where questioning and certainty are no longer mutually exclusive; where not having all the answers doesn’t equate to a dizzying network of what-ifs; where you understand just being is enough. Maybe you’ll wake up one morning, years in the future, and your partner will be laying in bed next to you, and you’ll think to yourself, “They know me.” And in a single breath, you will feel absolute clarity.

-

So, with all of that said, I hope your takeaway here can be this:

You are more than the lies and the misunderstandings about your identity.

More than a cog in a monstrous machine.

More than the exhaustion and frustration you feel in the face of unyielding bigotry.

More than the questions you have about yourself.

More than even the history and the legacies that precede you.

You are a human being

You are not broken

You are not worthless

You are not a disappointment just for being you.

But above all this, the one thing I want you to know is that

***TL;DR***

You Are Not Alone.

Just keep holding on. Things can change if you just keep holding on.

[miraimisu]

Hii can I request number 42 from the prompt list? Love your writing! : )

Well, to be honest, I didn’t really know what to do with this one, which made me take so long to finish it. It was a bit of a handful to work with, and I’m not really convinced? But all’s good what ends good, right? ♥ And thank you so much for the kudos, I’m so blessed!

“That man’s ego, dude.” spoke Kaminari, who stood right beside an observing Uraraka. “I can see it growing the more hits he lands on poor Mineta. “Man, the nerve of that guy.”

Uraraka spared sideways glance at Kaminari, who seemed to be stiffling in some laughter from seeing Mineta run for his life. It was a pretty hilarious display indeed, but his words had sparked something inside Uraraka.

“It’s not like he is so egocentric.” spoke she, flinching as Bakugou hit the little guy square in his head. “I’d say he is working on it.”

“Working on it?”

Kaminari turned to look at Uraraka in awe. What had gotten into her? She had always been on Bakugou’s back to make him realize how much of a dick he was towards everyone, mostly Deku. Besides, she was always saying those weird things that clearly showed she knew Bakugou more than she appeared to. Was this another one of her wise assumptions?

“Look at him.” ordered she, and Kaminari complied easily to her command. The brunette frowned. “I want you to try to remember what old Bakugou would have done against an opponent like Mineta.”

And the blonde easily saw the old him. Younger Bakugou was a brash, rude guy with no consideration for others’ lives– well, not like that had changed much, but this Bakugou was a slightly softer version of the same person. He was not going easy on Mineta, but he sure wasn’t fixing to have him killed on the spot, like he would have done before.

Uraraka leant on the railing that separated the training field from the spectator’s side. “He doesn’t wanna win, like he was obsessed with before– he just wants to fight, as in training. He has respect for who he’s fighting with.”

Kaminari eyed her warily. Her face was constricted in a rather uncharacteristic grimace of concentration. Her eyes were fixated on Bakugou’s rampaging form, who was dodging Mineta’s spheres with ease. They twinkled with passion and interest, a glint so mesmerazing that he could only wonder what had changed.

“You know,” started he, looking from Uraraka to Bakugou. “you two are full or surprises, sometimes.”

Uraraka blinked at her classmate and laughed sheepishly. “Well, I just like to think he’s more than a pair of hands. He sure is a handful, though.”

As in cue, Bakugou landed another mortal blow on Mineta at the rythm of his characteristic death penalties. Kaminari sighed. “Roger that.” his frown just got deeper despite the lighthearted conversation. “But what made you feel so sure about him? I mean, I know that he is a bit of all bark but no bite, and that he’s pretty decent to Kirishima–”

“DIE, YOU LITTLE BITCH!”

A big explosion made the teenagers grasp the bars tighter, unfazed, and their hair moved along to the ripple. “–but I would have never had so much hope on an egocentric bastard like him.” continued he after the embers had died down. “It’s not like he had given many signs of social improvement these months.”

“Well, you may not notice!” exclaimed Uraraka, a faint blush adorning her cheeks. She had no real reason to be defending Bakugou, but in the same was as she always tried to sympathise with him, she had the urge to jump to defend him and she had no clue as to why, really. “But just look at him again. Mineta is still alive!”

Kaminari stared at the limping form of Mineta and sighed. “At this rate, he might not be.”

“It’s not about Mineta.” retorted Uraraka, pointing at how Bakugou was taking his time to think about strategy, and how to avoid the sphere barier that Mineta had built. There were some splooches of blood near the teen and she couldn’t believe that Kaminari didn’t see the situation as she did. “The fact that he’s being so meticulous shows that he wants to fight, not necessarily win.”

There was a light silence between the spectators as the fighters shared some words among them.

“… just as he did with you, right?”

Uraraka’s head spun to his and her neck almost snapped in shock. Her mind straight ran all the way to their fight at the Sports Festival and inmediately understood a few things. Kaminari still seemed to wanna prove his point. “He didn’t dismiss you either. He actually defended you.”

This prompted her to cross her arms and fully face him, a curious trimmed eyebrow arched in curiosity. “Care to elaborate?”

Kaminari leaned back from the railing to fully face her, too– the nuclear fight was reaching its climax on the background. He was about to say something when, suddenly, a chill got the best of him and successfully shut his mouth.

“It’s not my right to say. I wouldn’t do justice to his words, honestly.” now, with that kind of phrasing he sure sounded more ominous than necessary. He only let out a little hum, then leaned back on the railing. “Just know that he defended you back then, and I’m sure he still would.”

Uraraka was left a bit in the cold with such anticlimatic words. However, the point still prevailed. “Well, then he has grown as I said, huh.”

Both watched Bakugou start spitting on Mineta’s family thombstone– Mineta was having tons of fun biting the dust. “Yeah… I guess you are right.”

Then, the blonde turned to the pair of watchers, starting a tantrum at the glimpse and startling both of them. He sure had energy for his emotional rampage. “Hey you two! What the hell you doin’ there!”

Kaminari instantly grabbed the towel he had brought with him and jumped to the field, making his way to Bakugou with a troubled smile. “Dude, you sure beat the shit out of Mineta…”

The boy in question only moaned behind them, and it was impossible to know who Bakugou’s next words were referred to. “Shut it!” yet his next ones were hissed at Uraraka. “Oi, and what are you doing standing there like a moron?”

She only let her cheek land on her right hand, smiling– some things would never change. “Just watching the kids play.”

He was quick to step nearer her and look up with a piercing glare only she could dismiss as non-menacing. “WHO THE FUCK YOU CALLING A KID, URARAKA!”

She giggled as he was strained and taken away from anything easily flamable. Uraraka jumped to the field as well with a towel in hand, approaching the boys. “Kaminari, wanna go give Mineta a hand?”

“Sure thing!” as Uraraka gave Bakugou the towel for him to dry off the sweat, Kaminari happily padded to Mineta, and easily swung him on his shoulder. “C'mon, lil’ buddy – you could use some good healing!”

As the purple dressed boy was taken away, Bakugou cleaned some sweat off his forehead. “‘The hell is wrong with that guy?”

She shrugged. “Kaminari’s happy-go-lucky charm, let him be.” her eyelashes fluttered at him when there were no injuries on his skin. “You sure did a number on Mineta.”

Bakugou gritted his teeth. “Shut it. What a loss of fucking time.” and she chuckled, because of course he’d be pissed at an easy win and all he wanted now was to tear her chords off her throat, because that laugh was annoying and made his heart do things.

Things he… couldn’t bear. He stared down at her as she looked up the sky, probably to ignore the awkward silence that had fell on them. Bakugou only brushed some mild injuries with the towel. “I still don’t know why I didn’t fight you instead of that pisshead.”

Uraraka openly giggled at his impatience and held out her bandaged hand to prove her point, all before Bakugou set himself on fire– he couldn’t stand people laughing at him. “I don’t think it’d be fair for me to fight a powerhouse like you with these buddies in this condition.

He put the dirty towel on her shoulder – to which she flinched, since no one liked to be treated as a hanger – and took her wrists. Bakugou analysed them warily, looking at them in absolute hatred– they had robbed him of a good fight. Her covered skin tingled in delight with his touch. Gentle touch because worsening the condition of her little hands would delay his desired fight– and also, because it was her and he would always be a bit of a softie with her in privacy.

“We could have sparred without using quirks.” he threw them off afterwards, all traces of gentleness gone and all switched with renewed determination, his ignited orbs burning in hers, and licking the flames of her chocolate irises. “You still owe me a rematch, bubblehead.”

Uraraka was torn between slapping him for being impatient or squealing at his endearing impatience. He was so double edged that she was left smiling, wondering what made her feel so attracted to him in the first place. Still, there were leftovers of his touch that made her heart flutter– it always fluttered in his presence. “You want some martial ass-kicking, don’t you?”

He grabbed her wrists again, his fingers subtly rubbing her injured hands– it all to prove his point. She sighed at his wicked smirk. Yeah, those little things were what showed that he was more than an ego nebula floating around her, more than the shell of a shallow man.

“I don’t know if these guys here can actually punch.” one of his hands teasingly grabbed her waist while the other held one of her hands up– it all to intimidate her, and drew her close, prompting a healthy blush from her. His voice was a bit loud, clear, deep, and slightly mocking and subtly concerned all in one brash package. “But I know you can do some badass throws and tackles, ain’t that right?”

Uraraka’s blush only spread when glancing at his bloodlust, hellfire eyes, and withdrew from his arms with an effortless wiggle. Her arms crossed and her head turned a bit to hide the redness of her eyes. Bakugou seemed a bit heated too. “Wait ‘till I recover and I’ll show you, Bakugou.”

She darted out of his presence with him trailing behind like a fly attracted to a dim, faint and flickering light. “Oi, you’re taking my damn towel!”

The mentioned towel was thrown to his face from the exit of the hallway, and he smirked at the faint smell of her orange shampoo, then basked in its familiarity, wrapping around him like a shield. Everytime they touched, everytime he held her minimally close, that damn perfume would come chasing at him and knock his senses off for a while.

Yeah, he was a good winner, damn stubborn, extremely hot-headed and short-tempered. But when it came to Uraraka… man, wasn’t he a sucker.

Because he fell like he did all things in life: fell hard, intensely, passionately, and fast, and was intoxicated hook, line and sinker.

Too much for an egocentric man like him– he became much more when she was around.

[antemortem-rp-blog]

WELCOME, Ness !! You’ve been accepted for the role of Faye Chamberlain. We’re so excited to have you join the ante mortem family. Please look over the checklist and make sure to send in your account within 48 hours. We look forward to seeing you on our dash.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Name / Alias: Ness.

Age: twenty.

Pronouns: she/her.

Timezone: GMT.

Anything Else?: just that I want to worship the ground you walk on for making this roleplay.

IN CHARACTER

Desired Character: Faye Chamberlain.

Why?:  I’m gonna preface this by saying the second I stumbled this roleplay I screeched. I love every single show incorporated in the plot and I’m in awe at how you’ve managed to merge all the shows and the characters so seamlessly. I actually don’t even know where to begin expressing my love for Faye. Honestly I hadn’t heard of TSC until about 2 years after it aired. My main reason for watching it was because I had a character with a Phoebe FC at the time and I kept stumbling upon gifs from the show. I remember watching the very first episode and I’m not gonna lie at first I hated Faye with a passion. But as the season progressed, my adoration for her blossomed. With her mischievous nature and offhanded one-liners, she easily became one of my favorite characters. Faye is such an intriguing character in the sense that there’s so much more to her beneath the steely glareand sharp tongue—she’s not the one-dimensional bitch character we’ve seen portrayed so many times. There are so many layers and complexities to her with so much potential for development to the point where I simply couldn’t dream of applying for anyone else. It would be an honour to undertake Faye’s role and bring her character back to life.

Character Pronouns: she/her.

Sexuality & Ships: Bisexual. I’d be absolutely honored to plot with anyone in regards to ships whether it be as a friendship, a romantic setting, pure unadulterated hatred or anything else in-between. I’m a huge advocate for ships based on chemistry. I never want to rule out any ships because from my experience it’s always the ships I don’t expect that I have the fondest memories of.

Occupation: After dropping out of college, Faye is focusing on herself and trying to get back into a positive headspace before even thinking about enrolling again. Although her mother supports her financially, Faye works as a nanny a few days a week. She has a soft spot for kids and she’s a child at heart so I can easily see her keeping the kids entertained with her exuberant nature.

Headcanons:

Faye has always been someone who fails to be described in few words. She is the definition of a free spirit—she’s super adventurous and audacious but also soooo reckless to the point where you’d think she constantly has a death wish. She has a mindset of ‘what’s the worst that could happen?’. This is the main excuse for her reckless behavior because the repercussions of her actions never cross her mind. She’s one of those people who would do literally anything for someone she cares about and wouldn’t give it a second thought. Even if it meant running into a burning building with a survival rate of 0%, she would do it.  And when everyone is saying ‘Faye no’, her brain would be screaming ‘FAYE YES’.

What most people fail to notice is that Faye has a softness within her, a brokenness that does not prevail outwardly—one she deals with alone. Consequently, she is possibly one of the most guarded people you could find on the planet. There is a void in her heart, one filled with pain, grief, and trauma. It is a void so profound it that remains with her every single day of her life, no matter how much she would prefer to disregard it. She views emotions as a form of weakness and has developed an ability to mask her feelings so nobody can look past the facade and see how truly broken she is. She’s a walking contradiction: a girl who feels everything so intensely so she pretends not to have any feelings at all. It’s her defence mechanism. Peel back those layers, however, and you’ll find a scared, insecure little girl who wants nothing but to feel loved. Not that she would ever admit it, though.

Faye and her grandfather shared a bond like no other. Both a father figure and best friend rolled into one, he played a vital role in his granddaughter’s life and Faye loved him dearly. Some of her fondest childhood memories were spent at her grandfather’s lake house. But Pine Lake was also the setting of two traumatic events Faye can only dream of permanently eradicating from the crevices of her mind. The first being her near drowning incident. And the second was gazing into the darkened eyes of her grandfather in that very same spot. She often finds herself awakening in the middle of the night, screaming, reliving the memories in her subconscious. To the extent where it’s a rare occurrence for her not wake up to nightmares stricken by these memories.

Powerlessness is one of her greatest fears. When the circle was bound, Faye was left to her own devices which landed her in multiple life-threatening situations where she was left defenceless. So, she decided to take matters into her own hands by learning how to protect herself. She enrolled in martial arts and self-defence classes so she’d be able to hold her own in a fight without her magic.

Although she isn’t psychic per say, I see Faye having some kind of precognitive ability. On more than one occasion, she has made jokes or assumptions that have turned out to be true. For instance when she had her suspicions about Jake when he returned to Chance Falls and that Eva was lying about Lee skipping town. She also guessed that John Blackwell was really evil, and that the curse on the Conant and Blake families wasn’t real. Long before Faye discovered her magic, I can imagine her blurting out random things and making predictions which ended up really freaking people out, including herself. But at the time, she blamed it on intuition or a simple coincidence.

‘Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive’ sums Faye up. All of the events throughout her life; all of the trauma and heartache, has hardened her and made her resilient. She has learned the true value of independence and how the only person she can truly rely on in any situation is herself. Pair that with her determination and her magical abilities. She’s a force to be reckoned with and is one of the last people you’d want as an enemy.

Para Sample:

The last few days had been torturous for Faye. Nothing could have prepared her for her grandfather’s passing. It was a concept she couldn’t seem to comprehend—her grandfather was dead. Just like that. The person she had known since she was born was gone and she would never see him again. There were so many things she didn’t have the chance to tell him—things she will never be able to tell him. She would give anything to see him again, even for a fleeting moment. Just so she could say goodbye.

Sleep had become a foreign notion. The vivid memory of seeing her grandfather’s body still remained deeply ingrained in Faye’s subconscious thoughts. No matter how hard she tried, the girl just couldn’t seem to forget. Images of that night never faltered to flash in her mind, over and over again, on a seemingly never-ending loop. She would awaken in the middle of the night so many times—to the point where she could no longer she remember what it felt like to have a full night’s sleep. Sometimes she would even reach a point where she could no longer distinguish her dreams from reality. She felt broken—beyond broken. All Faye could feel was the numbness swarming around her heart and the unbearable guilt whenever she remembered she lost the chance to tell her grandfather just how much she loved him before his death. The smile on her face had long since faded and she just wanted to forget. Forget about being a witch. Forget about all of the drama in Chance Falls. Forget everything. She didn’t just want to—she had to. It hurt too much. But, much to her dismay, it was easier said than done.

Now even the image of her grandfather’s face was slowly erasing itself from her mind, as if he was gradually becoming nothing but a distant memory. Sunken eyes and a tear-stained face had seemed to become permanent features of Faye Chamberlain. Everything was taking its toll on her and it was becoming increasingly difficult to keep herself together. She had grown weary of all the apologetic glances and supposed words of ‘comfort’. With each passing day, more and more texts and phone calls from her friends and family went unanswered. For a girl who spent a fair chunk of her life glued to her phone, it was completely out of character. But she didn’t even have the energy to care anymore. She had shut herself off entirely from the world, even from her own mother. Probably one of the most baffling things was that Faye never saw her mother grieve. It was as if she was entirely devoid of emotion. As if she didn’t even care about Faye’s grandfather at all. All she could feel was this overwhelming sensation of rage towards her mother that only seemed to heighten as the days went by. She was the reason her grandfather rarely ventured away from his home to Chance Falls. The reason Faye and her grandfather’s relationship suffered throughout her teenage years. And Faye would never forgive her mother for that.

Her fingertips drummed on the porcelain of the bathtub to the beat of the music that was playing faintly in the background. Though she wasn’t really listening, certainly not amidst the seemingly never-ending array of thoughts that were circulating around her mind. She descended into the water, feeling the warm liquid cling to every inch of her skin. Faye’s throat felt dry and chest felt heavy, as if boulders had been squeezed through the small little bronchial tubes and straight into her lungs. A shiver travelled down her spine and she felt her breath catching in the back of her throat. Breathe, she told herself. But it was easier said than done. It was something so simple yet so difficult—but it felt as if she couldn’t quite remember how. Faye finally emitted a tremulous breath as she diverted her gaze to the ceiling. All she could feel was the dull, nauseating ache resonating in her chest and the quickened thrum of her throat. So, she screwed her eyes shut.

Then the memories came flooding back.

A bolt of lightning crackled across the blackened sky and the sound thunder boomed through the air. Sky-fallen trickles were plummeting downward relentlessly and the wind battered through the late autumn air. The brunette’s entire frame was drenched, the coldness seeping through her clothes onto her skin. But Faye hardly took any notice. The weather was the last thing on her mind.

Panic ripped through her as she scrambled towards Cassie. Her chest had tightened until it felt as if she wasn’t even breathing—which she was, rather laboriously, in fact. Her feet skidded to a halt as she reached the edge of the wooden dock. And that’s when she saw him. Her grandpa. At that very moment, Faye could have sworn she felt her heart disintegrating into tiny fragments. She remained entirely motionless as her mind attempted to process the sight that beheld her.  

“That’s my grandpa,” she rasped out, the words not quite registering in her mind. She felt her legs collapsing beneath her body and instantly clung onto Cassie in an attempt to stabilise herself. “No” was the only word she could muster the inner strength to say. “No, no, no—” she repeated as her normally pleasant demeanor gradually altered and her face crumbled, consuming nothing else but heartbreak. Faye could hear her own voice crack as every wall of composure collapsed and tears began cascading down her cheeks. Her breath hitched and her entire body convulsed as a sequence of sobs wracked through her frame. She inhaled deeply, attempting to regain her composure to some extent, but only seemed to fail. She screwed her eyes shut as she remained enveloped in Cassie’s embrace.

Faye’s eyes snapped open, her vision blurred by the fogginess of the water surrounding her. She shot upwards almost instantly,  gasping for air, as her hands clutched the edges of the bathtub. Her forehead crinkled in desperation and she strained her eyes, frantically analysing her surroundings. A breathy exhale fell from her lips just then. Her hazel orbs lifted upward for a few moments and she pursed her lips into a line, as the liquid clinging to her eyelashes began to glide along her skin. “I love you, grandpa,” she muttered in a barely audible tone. Those few words brought her an instant sense of relief, knowing that in a world that can be so bleak and cruel, she could find solace in speaking to her grandfather. But that still didn’t change the harsh reality that he was gone and was never coming back.

Now all Faye had left was an unbearable ache in her chest, tearing her to shreds every single time her thoughts lingered on her grandfather. She would have to learn how to live in a world without him by her side—a world without him there to hold her afloat.

Anything Else?: I threw together a pinterest board HERE and I have an old account HERE I’ve repurposed over the years for an original character who is very reminiscent of Faye personality-wise.

[dfroza]

An act of freedom from the past (tense)

where in Love the Spirit seeks to unite hearts & minds (in truth)

which is what we read about in Today’s chapter of the ancient Letter of Galatians:

[A Life of Freedom]

Let me be clear, the Anointed One has set us free—not partially, but completely and wonderfully free! We must always cherish this truth and stubbornly refuse to go back into the bondage of our past.

I, Paul, tell you: If you think there is benefit in circumcision and Jewish regulations, then you’re acting as though Jesus the Anointed One is not enough. I say it again emphatically: If you let yourselves be circumcised you are obliged to fulfill every single one of the commandments and regulations of the law!

If you want to be made holy by fulfilling the obligations of the law, you have cut off more than your flesh—you have cut yourselves off from the Anointed One and have fallen away from the revelation of grace!

But the Holy Spirit convinces us that we have received by faith the glorious righteousness of the Anointed One. When you’re placed into the Anointed One and joined to him, circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.

Before you were led astray, you were so faithful to Messiah. Why have you now turned away from what is right and true? Who has deceived you?

The One who enfolded you into his grace is not behind this false teaching that you’ve embraced. Not at all! Don’t you know that when you allow even a little lie into your heart, it can permeate your entire belief system?

Deep in my heart I have faith that the Lord Jesus the Anointed One, who lives in you, will bring you back around to the truth. And I’m convinced that those who agitate you, whoever they think they are, will be brought under God’s judgment!

Dear friends, why do you think the religious system persecutes me? Is it because I preach the message of being circumcised and keeping all the laws of Judaism? Not at all! Is there no longer any offense over the cross? To tell you the truth, I am so disgusted with all your agitators—I wish they would go even further and cut off their legalistic influence from your lives!

Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.

For love completes the laws of God. All of the law can be summarized in one grand statement:

“Demonstrate love to your neighbor, even as you care for and love yourself.”

But if you continue to criticize and come against each other over minor issues, you’re acting like wild beasts trying to destroy one another!

[The Holy Spirit, Our Victory]

As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self - life. For your self - life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self - life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self - life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.

But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law, but soaring above it!

The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior.

Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!

But the fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions:

joy that overflows,

peace that subdues,

patience that endures,

kindness in action,

a life full of virtue,

faith that prevails,

gentleness of heart, and

strength of spirit.

Never set the law above these qualities, for they are meant to be limitless.

Keep in mind that we who belong to Jesus, the Anointed One, have already experienced crucifixion. For everything connected with our self - life was put to death on the cross and crucified with Messiah. We must live in the Holy Spirit and follow after him. So may we never be arrogant, or look down on another, for each of us is an original. We must forsake all jealousy that diminishes the value of others.

The Letter of Galatians, Chapter 5 (The Passion Translation)

A chapter accompanied by chapter 37 of the book of Isaiah where we read of the end of a bullying threat made toward King Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem:

[The Only God There Is]

When King Hezekiah heard the report, he also tore his clothes and dressed in rough, penitential burlap gunnysacks, and went into the sanctuary of God. He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the senior priests, all of them also dressed in penitential burlap, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz.

They said to him, “Hezekiah says, ‘This is a black day. We’re in crisis. We’re like pregnant women without even the strength to have a baby! Do you think your God heard what the Rabshekah said, sent by his master the king of Assyria to mock the living God? And do you think your God will do anything about it? Pray for us, Isaiah. Pray for those of us left here holding the fort!’”

Then King Hezekiah’s servants came to Isaiah. Isaiah said, “Tell your master this, ‘God’s Message: Don’t be upset by what you’ve heard, all those words the servants of the Assyrian king have used to mock me. I personally will take care of him. I’ll arrange it so that he’ll get a rumor of bad news back home and rush home to take care of it. And he’ll die there. Killed—a violent death.’”

The Rabshekah left and found the king of Assyria fighting against Libnah. (He had gotten word that the king had left Lachish.)

Just then the Assyrian king received an intelligence report on King Tirhakah of Ethiopia: “He is on his way to make war on you.”

On hearing that, he sent messengers to Hezekiah with instructions to deliver this message: “Don’t let your God, on whom you so naively lean, deceive you, promising that Jerusalem won’t fall to the king of Assyria. Use your head! Look around at what the kings of Assyria have done all over the world—one country after another devastated! And do you think you’re going to get off? Have any of the gods of any of these countries ever stepped in and saved them, even one of these nations my predecessors destroyed—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the people of Eden who lived in Telassar? Look around. Do you see anything left of the king of Hamath, the king of Arpad, the king of the city of Sepharvaim, the king of Hena, the king of Ivvah?”

Hezekiah took the letter from the hands of the messengers and read it. Then he went into the sanctuary of God and spread the letter out before God.

Then Hezekiah prayed to God: “God-of-the-Angel-Armies, enthroned over the cherubim-angels, you are God, the only God there is, God of all kingdoms on earth. You made heaven and earth. Listen, O God, and hear. Look, O God, and see. Mark all these words of Sennacherib that he sent to mock the living God. It’s quite true, O God, that the kings of Assyria have devastated all the nations and their lands. They’ve thrown their gods into the trash and burned them—no great achievement since they were no-gods anyway, gods made in workshops, carved from wood and chiseled from rock. An end to the no-gods! But now step in, O God, our God. Save us from him. Let all the kingdoms of earth know that you and you alone are God.”

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent this word to Hezekiah: “God’s Message, the God of Israel: Because you brought King Sennacherib of Assyria to me in prayer, here is my answer, God’s answer:

“‘She has no use for you, Sennacherib, nothing but contempt,

this virgin daughter Zion.

She spits at you and turns on her heel,

this daughter Jerusalem.

“‘Who do you think you’ve been mocking and reviling

all these years?

Who do you think you’ve been jeering

and treating with such utter contempt

All these years?

The Holy of Israel!

You’ve used your servants to mock the Master.

You’ve bragged, “With my fleet of chariots

I’ve gone to the highest mountain ranges,

penetrated the far reaches of Lebanon,

Chopped down its giant cedars,

its finest cypresses.

I conquered its highest peak,

explored its deepest forest.

I dug wells

and drank my fill.

I emptied the famous rivers of Egypt

with one kick of my foot.

“‘Haven’t you gotten the news

that I’ve been behind this all along?

This is a longstanding plan of mine

and I’m just now making it happen,

using you to devastate strong cities,

turning them into piles of rubble

and leaving their citizens helpless,

bewildered, and confused,

drooping like unwatered plants,

stunted like withered seedlings.

“‘I know all about your pretentious poses,

your officious comings and goings,

and, yes, the tantrums you throw against me.

Because of all your wild raging against me,

your unbridled arrogance that I keep hearing of,

I’ll put my hook in your nose

and my bit in your mouth.

I’ll show you who’s boss. I’ll turn you around

and take you back to where you came from.

“‘And this, Hezekiah, will be your confirming sign: This year’s crops will be slim pickings, and next year it won’t be much better. But in three years, farming will be back to normal, with regular sowing and reaping, planting and harvesting. What’s left of the people of Judah will put down roots and make a new start. The people left in Jerusalem will get moving again. Mount Zion survivors will take hold again. The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies will do all this.’

“Finally, this is God’s verdict on the king of Assyria:

“‘Don’t worry, he won’t enter this city,

won’t let loose a single arrow,

Won’t brandish so much as one shield,

let alone build a siege ramp against it.

He’ll go back the same way he came.

He won’t set a foot in this city.

God’s Decree.

I’ve got my hand on this city

to save it,

Save it for my very own sake,

but also for the sake of my David dynasty.’”

Then the Angel of God arrived and struck the Assyrian camp—185,000 Assyrians died. By the time the sun came up, they were all dead—an army of corpses! Sennacherib, king of Assyria, got out of there fast, back home to Nineveh. As he was worshiping in the sanctuary of his god Nisroch, he was murdered by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer. They escaped to the land of Ararat. His son Esar-haddon became the next king.

The Scroll of Isaiah, Chapter 37 (The Message)

to be concluded with the lines of Psalm 8 for the 8th day of Summer:

God’s Splendor

For the Pure and Shining One

Set to the melody of “For the Feast of Harvest,” by King David

Lord, your name is so great and powerful!

People everywhere see your splendor.

Your glorious majesty streams from the heavens,

filling the earth with the fame of your name!

You have built a stronghold by the songs of babies.

Strength rises up with the chorus of singing children.

This kind of praise has the power to shut Satan’s mouth.

Childlike worship will silence

the madness of those who oppose you.

Look at the splendor of your skies,

your creative genius glowing in the heavens.

When I gaze at your moon and your stars,

mounted like jewels in their settings,

I know you are the fascinating artist who fashioned it all!

But when I look up and see

such wonder and workmanship above,

I have to ask you this question:

Compared to all this cosmic glory,

why would you bother with puny, mortal man

or be infatuated with Adam’s sons?

Yet what honor you have given to men,

created only a little lower than Elohim,

crowned like kings and queens with glory and magnificence.

You have delegated to them

mastery over all you have made,

making everything subservient to their authority,

placing earth itself under the feet of your image-bearers.

All the created order and every living thing

of the earth, sky, and sea—

the wildest beasts and all the sea creatures—

everything is in submission to Adam’s sons.

Lord, your name is so great and powerful.

People everywhere see your majesty!

What glory streams from the heavens,

filling the earth with the fame of your name!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 8 (The Passion Translation)

my reading from the Scriptures for june 28, day 8 of Summer and day 179 of the year:

[upshotre]

Freestyling with Iconic BAF @ 56

By Segun Dipe "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."_ _-Mark Twain_ So many authorities would be writing about Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi on her 56th Birthday anniversary that I cannot risk competing with them. She has been well-compensated for her meritorious life, and still will be, that whatever I write will only be like a needle in a haystack or pouring a glass cup of water in the Atlantic Ocean. BAF is made, my article can neither make nor unmake her. There are however three caveats to this article. One is that it has neither a title nor a tilt. It only has a working headline, and it has a subject in Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi (BAF) as the "Birthday Gal." Two, Everything in it is my personal view, and does not represent anything I have read about the subject. Three, in all intents and purposes, the article is unsolicited, and I hope BAF, the persona, will allow me to get away with all my assumptions. So many revelations will be rolled out about the iconic roles of Erelu Bisi Adeleye Fayemi by those who know her so well. They will write about her activism, both gender-based and political, her revolutionary role, her simplicity, good naturedness, women development, writing prowess, comely nature, interest in popular culture, passion for dancing, her never-say-die spirit, her respect for the high and low and her comportment in all situations, to mention but few. I can only freestyle. Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi is the wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, CON, who is also the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors' Forum. BAF turns 56 on 11th June 2019. I dare say that while she fits perfectly into the First Lady role, it is not what makes her a great woman. Rather she compliments the role so well, that you would think she had all the years been preparing herself towards it. Unlike so many others, my encounter with BAF is not plenty, but each encounter leaves me with a new discovery. Like the onion, the more you peel the uniqueness of this lady, the more there is left to peel. In the words of Nancy Rathburn, equally a feminist, a strong woman understands that the gifts such as logic, decisiveness, and strength are just as feminine as intuition and emotional connection. BAF values and uses all of her gifts well. She has an arresting personality, which she has combined her thinking, behaviour, character, attitude and feelings to build. Everyone who comes across her likes and describes her as a good personality and that they want to be like her. In the course of my few interactions with BAF, I discover a lot about her. I discover that she is passionate about feminism, and she is unapologetic about it. She is such a strong personality with strong conviction that you can trust her with any assignment under the sun, yet be sure she will deliver, even beyond your expectation. My first discovery is that BAF is south-paw, and I wondered how she sailed through with that as a young girl of her generation, when parents would insist that being a "leftie" is being non-compliant. To insist is to be a deviant and that may earn you serious bashing, until sanity prevails on you to start using your right hand. Very few girls of her age would have dared to get away with being left-handed, which is called _owo itamba_ in my culture. But According to the research published in the American Journal of Psychology, lefties appear to be better at divergent thinking. Other studies find them scoring higher when it comes to creativity, imagination, daydreaming and intuition. They are also believed to be better at rhythm and visualisation. BAF, as leftie, is in good company with the likes of Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford. Four of the last five U.S. presidents also are. England's Prince Williams is also a lefty. In the world of arts, you can count the likes of  Michaelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci and Renoir as Lefties. Left-handed people are said to be good at complex reasoning, resulting in a high number of lefty Nobel Prize winners, writers, artists, musicians, architects and mathematicians. This, in part, may explain why BAF is a multiple award winner. I see BAF playing lead character in some feminist-laced movies. I see her as *Ana* in *Real Women have Curves.* Ana is a first-generation Mexican American teenager on the verge of becoming a woman. She lives in the  predominantly Latino community of East Los Angeles. Fresh graduate from high school, Ana receives a full scholarship to Columbia University. Her very traditional, old-world parents feel that now is the time for Ana to help provide for the family, not the time for college. She accepted at first, and was working at her mother's sewing factory where she learnt solidarity and teamwork. But Ana found her mainstream ambition irresistible and decided to leave home to continue her education as an essential to finding her place proudly in the world. I see BAF as the *Wonder Woman,* a superhero that appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character is a well-known figure in popular culture that has been adapted to various media. I see BAF as *Charlize Theron* in *Atomic Blonde.* Quoting Theron in the movie: (Usually) we need a reason to become a warrior. And I have a problem with that because we really are warriors, and it's time for us to be shown that way. I see BAF as *Fa Zhou* in *Mulan,* a 1998 American animated musical action adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation for Walt Disney Pictures. It is based on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, and was Disney's 36th animated feature and the ninth animated film produced and released during the Disney Renaissance. The film's plot takes place in China during the Han dynasty, where Fa Mulan, daughter of aged warrior Fa Zhou, impersonates a man to take her father's place during a general conscription to counter a Hun invasion. I also see her as the heroin *Furiosa* in *Mad Max: Furry Road.* All these films keep coming back to me as I think of what to write about Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi. BAF is a phenomenon. She is a born star. The zodiac sign of people born on 11 June is Gemini and it says that much. The ruling planet of these individuals is the Moon, which guarantees and influences an innate appreciation for art and beauty and hatred for clutter. The people born under the influence of the Moon are believed to act quickly in all circumstances and they are also able to think quickly on complicated issues of life. They are greatly instinctive and maintain their originality despite all odds. The natives of June 11 are touched with a sense of egotistical behavior and are highly ambitious in their motives. They possess the quality of becoming great leader. Their leadership qualities are prominent in their individuality and character. June 11 Birthday natives are imaginative, sensible and idealistic. They are likeable people and they are capable of making quick decisions as they listen to their gut instinct. Their personality appreciates art, nature and is turned off by stife. They can be neatness freak as well. If she is not a First Lady, BAF would have been in the league of Jeannette Rankin, her Birthday mate, born on June 11, 1880. Rankin, like BAF, was a Women's Rights Activist. She was the first woman to ever get elected to the U.S. Congress and the only member of the House of Representatives to vote "No" to U.S. entry into both World War I and World War II. She worked for women's suffrage and for peace. She was quoted as saying: "There can be no compromise with war; it cannot be reformed or controlled; cannot be disciplined into decency or codified into common sense; for war is the slaughter of human beings, temporarily regarded as enemies, on as large a scale as possible." (1929) Another of her very popular statement while at the congress is that: "Men and women are like right and left hands; it doesn't make sense not to use both. We're half the people; we should be half the Congress." I have also heard BAF using the same right and left hands analogy while advocating for women's rights. As a gender-based activist, I see BAF taking after Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, MON (1900–1978), otherwise known as Francis Abigail Olufunmilayo Thomas. She was an educator, politician and women's rights activist. Her activism was pronounced during the Nigerian women’s anti-colonial struggles. She founded the Abeokuta Women’s Union, one of the most impressive women’s organisations of the twentieth century, with a membership estimated to have reached up to 20,000 women, which fought to protect and further the rights of women. Funmilayo was the biological mother of Olikoye Ransome Kuti, Fela Anikulapo Kuti and Beko Ransome Kuti, all human rights activists too. Despite all these, the Erelu that I know has no airs. She mixes freely and she is highly expressive. One moment, you take her for an _ajebota_, in another moment she comes to you as _ajepaki_. Yet in those two moments, she is a delight to interact with. But when the discussion comes to  feminism, then perish the thought that she would be your friend if you are not on the same page with her. That is her true world, where she takes no prisoners and gives no hoot to whose ox is gored. Mind you, all these remain figments of my imagination. I write off the cuff. Read, digest, but don't quote me on any of the points. After all, it is the Birthday of our own Erelu Bam Bam. _Odun lo de ta nse..._ Happy Birthday to you, Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Ochiora 1, Iyalode...Age with grace, Your Excellency. Segun Dipe wrote from Are Ekiti, Ekiti State Read the full article

[worldwideopinionnetworkllc-blog]

Money floods in for Market Deeping Model Railway Club - BBC News

New Post has been published on https://worldwideopinionnetwork.com/money-floods-in-for-market-deeping-model-railway-club-bbc-news/

Money floods in for Market Deeping Model Railway Club - BBC News

Money floods in for Market Deeping Model Railway Club – BBC News

Sir Rod Stewart donates to Market Deeping Model Railway Club 20 May 2019 These are external links and will open in a new window Close share panel Image copyright Market Deeping Model Railway Club Image caption The vandals ransacked the hall, smashing years of work Sir Rod Stewart says he is donating £10,000 to a model railway club whose exhibition was destroyed by vandals. Market Deeping Model Railway Club lost years of work in the raid in Stamford, Lincolnshire, on Saturday. The 74-year-old singer – and model railway enthusiast – said he was “absolutely devastated” by the attack. A fundraising page which was originally set up to raise £500 for the club has now raised more than £70,000 in just over a day. Four youths were arrested on suspicion of burglary and criminal damage and have been released on police bail. Image caption Sir Rod Stewart said he “felt the pain” of the club’s collectors Sir Rod, who had a hit with Downtown Train in 1990, said in a statement: “I was absolutely devastated to hear that vandals had destroyed what was to be a lovely show.” The singer said: “It took me 23 years to build my model railway so I feel their pain. “The collection was priceless and I am donating £10,000 to help compensate those affected and asking fellow enthusiasts Jools Holland, Roger Daltrey and others to do the same.” Latest news from Lincolnshire The club had set up the exhibition at Welland Academy for viewing on Sunday when the display was ransacked. Peter Davies, 70, the club’s chairman, said: “We are just bowled over by people’s generosity, we are yet to come to terms with what it all means. “We have no idea what we are going to do, we’ve had offers of layouts, stock, it’s just been unbelievable, it’s totally overwhelming.” Grown men and women had been “reduced to tears” by what happened, he said. Image copyright Market Deeping Model Railway Club Image caption Some of the exhibits had been worth thousands of pounds A meeting of the club, that has 43 members, is to be held on Monday evening. “Until then we have no idea what we are going to do,” Mr Davies said, adding the club had also received about 600 emails from people around the world offering help. “Those involved know how long it takes to build, there’s a lot of love out there for the skill and dedication,” he said. “I’m sure things will be possible that have not been. Thanks to everybody, nothing will be wasted,” he added. Image copyright Market Deeping Model Railway Club Image caption The club had set up an exhibition in the school for viewing on Sunday Michael H, from America, who left a £95 donation, said: “As a fellow model railroader here in Washington State, I can only express my horror and sympathies for your losses. “But do not let this deter you. Your passion for the hobby must prevail. Good luck.” Amy, from New Zealand, said: “Just so incredibly sorry you’ve had to endure this. Please know that your dedication and talent and painstaking efforts are enormously admired.” You may also be interested in:

Transgender woman shot dead month after brutal videoed beating

Booker was attacked outside an apartment complex last month after a minor traffic accident. Police made one arrest in that case. Edward Thomas was charged with aggravated assault. Police said Sunday they didn’t know of any connections between Booker’s death and the assault. During the news conference, police officials addressed the violent month the city appears to be experiencing. They said there have been 23 homicides in May and 18 have been solved. “It is the DPD policy that we actively pursue murder suspects. We as a department hold human life dearly and precious as should everybody but we recognize not everybody does,” Assistant Chief Avery Moore said. “So speaking directly to them – I want you to know that the DPD has never tolerated murder and we never will so understand that we will actively, aggressively pursue you. We need the help of the community and that will be our directive.” Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings tweeted about the latest shooting, saying he is “deeply saddened to learn of the murder of Muhlaysia Booker. I call on anyone with information on this homicide to please contact the Dallas Police Department.” First published on May 20, 2019 / 2:44 AM © 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. U.S.

John Wick Chapter 4 Announced, 2021 Release Date Confirmed

20 May 2019 4:58 PM PDT John Wick Chapter 4 Announced, 2021 Release Date Confirmed John Wick: Chapter 4 has been announced in a very interesting way, as Lionsgate sent out a text to fans of the series stating that the next chapter in the John Wick saga will be released in theaters on May 21, 2021. As reported by Polygon, the text message simply said: “You have served. You will be of service. John Wick: Chapter 4 is coming – May 21, 2021.” No further information was given, and IGN has reached out to Lionsgate for further clarification. Exit Theatre Mode John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum was released in theaters on May 17, 2019. In our review, we said “it remains a lot of fun to watch John Wick get himself into and out of trouble,” and we gave the film a score of 8.5 out of 10. John Wick’s latest adventure won the North America box office in its opening weekend with $57 million, beating out Avengers: Endgame’s $30 million in its fourth weekend run. Exit Theatre Mode Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who can’t wait to see how much crazier John Wick: Chapter 4 can be. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst. IN THIS ARTICLE

NBI charges 21 cops in killing of Glenn Chong’s aide News

MANILA, Philippines — The National Bureau of Investigation has asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to charge 21 police officers with two counts of murder for the ambush of the aide of former Biliran representative and senatorial candidate Glenn Chong and his companion last Dec. 9 in Cainta, Rizal. The NBI also asked the DOJ to prosecute the chiefs of the Philippine National Police in Calabarzon, Rizal and Cainta for covering up the murder of Richard Santillan, who was Chong’s aide, and Gessamyn Casing. ADVERTISEMENT In a complaint filed on Friday, the NBI said its monthslong investigation showed that Santillan and Casing were killed defenselessly by the police. Victims were unarmed FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO HOW IT WORKS: Party-list seat allocation in the House NEWSINFO With 97% COCs tallied, Villar and Poe still leading Senate race NEWSINFO Palace denies Duterte was hospitalized at Cardinal Santos in San Juan Contrary to the police claim that there was a shootout, the victims were unarmed, said the NBI. It said the police officers should be charged with murder because there was treachery in the killing. The victims “were continuously fired upon by surrounding heavily armed police officers resulting in multiple gunshot wounds to the different parts of their bodies, which caused their deaths,” read the NBI complaint signed by Deputy Director for Investigation Vicente de Guzman III. Santillan was in Cainta that day for his annual gift-giving activity for poor children. The NBI asked for the indictment of seven Cainta policemen led by Police Lt. Sandro Ortega, four officers from the PNP Highway Patrol Group in Rizal led by Police Capt. John Russel Barnacha and 10 operatives of the Regional Special Operations Unit led by Police Master Sergeant Rene Eufracio. Obstruction of justice The 21 police officers were also liable for “planting” evidence, according to the NBI. ADVERTISEMENT The NBI also said Calabarzon police regional director Brig. Gen. Edward Carranza, Rizal police provincial director Col. Lou Evangelista and Cainta police chief Lt. Col. Pablito Naganag should be charged with obstruction of justice. Carranza and the rest of the implicated officials and officers claimed the shooting was in line with police operations against the so-called “Highway Boys” syndicate that was involved in drug trafficking, carnapping, robbery and killings in the Cainta floodway area. The police claimed Santillan fired at the chasing operatives, who apparently mistook his Toyota Fortuner SUV for a vehicle used by the syndicate. But according to the NBI, witnesses “did not see the occupants of the SUV fire any shot towards the police officers because the windows of the SUV were closed the entire time.” It said a witness heard a woman from inside the vehicle crying innocence but the police continued to shoot at the SUV. When examined by the NBI, the victims’ clothes and hands tested negative for gunpowder, contrary to the PNP’s report. Read Next ‘Minority leader must not be an ally’ LATEST STORIES Goat Lucy Torres Gomez not joining House speakership race MOST DoJ , Gessamyn Casing , Glenn Chong , murder case , NBI , Richard Santillan

Birmingham head teacher threatened over LGBT lessons – BBC News

Image caption Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson described protests over lessons at her school as aggressive A head teacher at a primary school giving lessons on LGBT equality has received threatening emails and phone calls. Police are investigating messages sent to Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson at Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham. There have been seven weeks of protests outside the site from which “hundreds” of pupils were kept away on Monday. Birmingham MP Jess Phillips has called for an exclusion zone at the school to limit where people can demonstrate. Ms Hewitt-Clarkson has branded the protests aggressive. The city council is looking into Ms Phillips’ request, with the authority’s leader saying some outside the school are “peddling hatred”. The complaints at Anderton Park, mainly from Muslim protesters, focus on lessons for which pupils have been given books featuring cross-dressing children and gay families. The protests’ leader says that amounts to “social engineering”. Similar teaching has been opposed in letters sent predominantly by conservative Muslims to schools across England, BBC Newsnight reported last week . Image caption Railings at Anderton Park Primary School have been adorned with heart-shaped messages of support LGBT school protests spread nationwide Drag queens read LGBT row books to kids School staff distraught Ms Hewitt-Clarkson said of the protests: “There’s a whole variety of emotions: embarrassment for lots of our community and our parents who think this is just awful what’s happening; frustration that it’s going on so long; frustration that great British laws like ‘you can protest peacefully’ actually are causing us a problem. “It’s interesting what a normal person on the street would think peaceful means and what actually is peaceful outside here.” She described the scene in the Sparkhill area of the city as “very loud, it’s very aggressive, it’s tiresome”. Ms Hewitt-Clarkson said she was “meeting lots of parents”, with a series of 12 meetings set up between now and the end of June. Latest news from the West Midlands She also denied a claim from some parents that she is Islamophobic, saying she believed in “equality for everybody”. In England, relationships education will be compulsory for all primary pupils from September 2020. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Parents and campaigners have been protesting for seven weeks. Shakeel Afsar is the leader of the Anderton Park protests, although he has no children at the school. He said the school had pulled “the shutters down” on parental engagement and was promoting LGBT lifestyles to children. He said 600 pupils were kept from school on Monday “to make it crystal clear we will not have our children indoctrinated or participating in any social engineering programmes which undermine our family values by promoting child sexualisation”. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption What is in the books that parents are protesting about? Anderton Park said more than half of the 700-strong student body had attended school. The council has been contacted to confirm attendance figures. Overnight, counter-protesters adorned the site with heart-shaped messages featuring the words “love is the answer”. West Midlands Police, which is investigating the threats against Ms Hewitt-Clarkson, said officers were also looking into “disorder” outside the school in which eggs were thrown at the counter-protesters. The force said it was investigating three reports of assault and two of criminal damage. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption MP Jess Phillips wants exclusion zone at LGBT row school Outside the school earlier, Mr Afsar was involved in a stand-up disagreement with Ms Phillips, Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley. She said protesters could not “pick and choose” which equality they could and could not have. Saying the worst thing about the protests was damage “to the reputation of a peaceful” community, she called for an exclusion area “to protect the 700 children in this school”. Ian Ward, leader of Birmingham City Council, said he had asked authority officers to see whether they could use a Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) to counter the protests. He said: “If a PSPO is not appropriate, then we will look at alternative options, because the children and staff at Anderton Park have a right to attend school without this daily disruption. “It’s one thing for parents to ask questions about elements of a school curriculum, it’s quite another for others to pounce on the situation as an excuse to peddle hatred and misinformation.” A council spokesperson said PSPO proposals would normally go out to public consultation and, based on response, a decision made by the authority and “police leads”.

[araitsume]

Prophets and Kings, pp. 155-166: Chapter (12) From Jezreel to Horeb

This chapter is based on 1 Kings 18:41-46; 19:1-8.

With the slaying of the prophets of Baal, the way was opened for carrying forward a mighty spiritual reformation among the ten tribes of the northern kingdom. Elijah had set before the people their apostasy; he had called upon them to humble their hearts and turn to the Lord. The judgments of Heaven had been executed; the people had confessed their sins, and had acknowledged the God of their fathers as the living God; and now the curse of Heaven was to be withdrawn, and the temporal blessings of life renewed. The land was to be refreshed with rain. “Get thee up, eat and drink,” Elijah said to Ahab; “for there is a sound of abundance of rain.” Then the prophet went to the top of the mount to pray.

It was not because of any outward evidence that the showers were about to fall, that Elijah could so confidently bid Ahab prepare for rain. The prophet saw no clouds in the heavens; he heard no thunder. He simply spoke the word that the Spirit of the Lord had moved him to speak in response to his own strong faith. Throughout the day he had unflinchingly performed the will of God and had revealed his implicit confidence in the prophecies of God's word; and now, having done all that was in his power to do, he knew that Heaven would freely bestow the blessings foretold. The same God who had sent the drought had promised an abundance of rain as the reward of rightdoing; and now Elijah waited for the promised outpouring. In an attitude of humility, “his face between his knees,” he interceded with God in behalf of penitent Israel.

Again and again Elijah sent his servant to a point overlooking the Mediterranean, to learn whether there were any visible token that God had heard his prayer. Each time the servant returned with the word, “There is nothing.” The prophet did not become impatient or lose faith, but continued his earnest pleading. Six times the servant returned with the word that there was no sign of rain in the brassy heavens. Undaunted, Elijah sent him forth once more; and this time the servant returned with the word, “Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea like a man's hand.”

This was enough. Elijah did not wait for the heavens to gather blackness. In that small cloud he beheld by faith an abundance of rain; and he acted in harmony with his faith, sending his servant quickly to Ahab with the message, “Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not.”

It was because Elijah was a man of large faith that God could use him in this grave crisis in the history of Israel. As he prayed, his faith reached out and grasped the promises of Heaven, and he persevered in prayer until his petitions were answered. He did not wait for the full evidence that God had heard him, but was willing to venture all on the slightest token of divine favor. And yet what he was enabled to do under God, all may do in their sphere of activity in God's service; for of the prophet from the mountains of Gilead it is written: “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.” James 5:17.

Faith such as this is needed in the world today—faith that will lay hold on the promises of God's word and refuse to let go until Heaven hears. Faith such as this connects us closely with Heaven, and brings us strength for coping with the powers of darkness. Through faith God's children have “subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Hebrews 11:33, 34. And through faith we today are to reach the heights of God's purpose for us. “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Mark 9:23.

Faith is an essential element of prevailing prayer. “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” “If we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us: and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him.” Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 5:14, 15. With the persevering faith of Jacob, with the unyielding persistence of Elijah, we may present our petitions to the Father, claiming all that He has promised. The honor of His throne is staked for the fulfillment of His word.

The shades of night were gathering about Mount Carmel as Ahab prepared for the descent. “It came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel.” As he journeyed toward the royal city through the darkness and the blinding rain, Ahab was unable to see his way before him. Elijah, who, as the prophet of God, had that day humiliated Ahab before his subjects and slain his idolatrous priests, still acknowledged him as Israel's king; and now, as an act of homage, and strengthened by the power of God, he ran before the royal chariot, guiding the king to the entrance of the city.

In this gracious act of God's messenger shown to a wicked king is a lesson for all who claim to be servants of God, but who are exalted in their own estimation. There are those who feel above performing duties that to them appear menial. They hesitate to perform even needful service, fearing that they will be found doing the work of a servant. These have much to learn from the example of Elijah. By his word the treasures of heaven had been for three years withheld from the earth; he had been signally honored of God as, in answer to his prayer on Carmel, fire had flashed from heaven and consumed the sacrifice; his hand had executed the judgment of God in slaying the idolatrous prophets; his petition for rain had been granted. And yet, after the signal triumphs with which God had been pleased to honor his public ministry, he was willing to perform the service of a menial.

At the gate of Jezreel, Elijah and Ahab separated. The prophet, choosing to remain outside the walls, wrapped himself in his mantle, and lay down upon the bare earth to sleep. The king, passing within, soon reached the shelter of his palace and there related to his wife the wonderful events of the day and the marvelous revelation of divine power that had proved to Israel that Jehovah is the true God and Elijah His chosen messenger. As Ahab told the queen of the slaying of the idolatrous prophets, Jezebel, hardened and impenitent, became infuriated. She refused to recognize in the events on Carmel the overruling providence of God, and, still defiant, she boldly declared that Elijah should die.

That night a messenger aroused the weary prophet and delivered to him the word of Jezebel: “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.”

It would seem that after showing courage so undaunted, after triumphing so completely over king and priests and people, Elijah could never afterward have given way to despondency nor been awed into timidity. But he who had been blessed with so many evidences of God's loving care was not above the frailties of mankind, and in this dark hour his faith and courage forsook him. Bewildered, he started from his slumber. The rain was pouring from the heavens, and darkness was on every side. Forgetting that three years before, God had directed his course to a place of refuge from the hatred of Jezebel and the search of Ahab, the prophet now fled for his life. Reaching Beersheba, he “left his servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness.”

Elijah should not have fled from his post of duty. He should have met the threat of Jezebel with an appeal for protection to the One who had commissioned him to vindicate the honor of Jehovah. He should have told the messenger that the God in whom he trusted would protect him against the hatred of the queen. Only a few hours had passed since he had witnessed a wonderful manifestation of divine power, and this should have given him assurance that he would not now be forsaken. Had he remained where he was, had he made God his refuge and strength, standing steadfast for the truth, he would have been shielded from harm. The Lord would have given him another signal victory by sending His judgments on Jezebel; and the impression made on the king and the people would have wrought a great reformation.

Elijah had expected much from the miracle wrought on Carmel. He had hoped that after this display of God's power, Jezebel would no longer have influence over the mind of Ahab, and that there would be a speedy reform throughout Israel. All day on Carmel's height he had toiled without food. Yet when he guided the chariot of Ahab to the gate of Jezreel, his courage was strong, despite the physical strain under which he had labored.

But a reaction such as frequently follows high faith and glorious success was pressing upon Elijah. He feared that the reformation begun on Carmel might not be lasting; and depression seized him. He had been exalted to Pisgah's top; now he was in the valley. While under the inspiration of the Almighty, he had stood the severest trial of faith; but in this time of discouragement, with Jezebel's threat sounding in his ears, and Satan still apparently prevailing through the plotting of this wicked woman, he lost his hold on God. He had been exalted above measure, and the reaction was tremendous. Forgetting God, Elijah fled on and on, until he found himself in a dreary waste, alone. Utterly wearied, he sat down to rest under a juniper tree. And sitting there, he requested for himself that he might die. “It is enough; now, O Lord,” he said, “take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” A fugitive, far from the dwelling places of men, his spirits crushed by bitter disappointment, he desired never again to look upon the face of man. At last, utterly exhausted, he fell asleep.

Into the experience of all there come times of keen disappointment and utter discouragement—days when sorrow is the portion, and it is hard to believe that God is still the kind benefactor of His earthborn children; days when troubles harass the soul, till death seems preferable to life. It is then that many lose their hold on God and are brought into the slavery of doubt, the bondage of unbelief. Could we at such times discern with spiritual insight the meaning of God's providences we should see angels seeking to save us from ourselves, striving to plant our feet upon a foundation more firm than the everlasting hills, and new faith, new life, would spring into being.

The faithful Job, in the day of his affliction and darkness, declared:

“Let the day perish wherein I was born.” “O that my grief were throughly weighed, And my calamity laid in the balances together!” “O that I might have my request; And that God would grant me the thing that I long for! Even that it would please God to destroy me; That He would let loose His hand, and cut me off! Then should I yet have comfort.”“I will not refrain my mouth; I will speak in the anguish of my spirit; I will complain in the bitterness of my soul.”“My soul chooseth ... death rather than my life. I loathe it; I would not live alway: Let me alone; For my days are vanity.”Job 3:3; 6:2, 8-10; Job 7:11, 15, 16.

But though weary of life, Job was not allowed to die. To him were pointed out the possibilities of the future, and there was given him the message of hope:

“Thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear: Because thou shalt forget thy misery, And remember it as waters that pass away: And thine age shall be clearer than the noonday; Thou shalt shine forth, thou shalt be as the morning. And thou shalt be secure, Because there is hope.... Thou shalt lie down, And none shall make thee afraid; Yea, many shall make suit unto thee. But the eyes of the wicked shall fail, And they shall not escape, And their hope shall be as the giving up of the ghost.”

Job 11:15-20.

From the depths of discouragement and despondency Job rose to the heights of implicit trust in the mercy and the saving power of God. Triumphantly he declared:

“Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him: ... He also shall be my salvation.” “I know that my Redeemer liveth, And that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, Yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, And mine eyes shall behold, and not another.”

Job 13:15, 16; 19:25-27.

“The Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind” (Job 38:1), and revealed to His servant the might of His power. When Job caught a glimpse of his Creator, he abhorred himself and repented in dust and ashes. Then the Lord was able to bless him abundantly and to make his last years the best of his life.

Hope and courage are essential to perfect service for God. These are the fruit of faith. Despondency is sinful and unreasonable. God is able and willing “more abundantly” (Hebrews 6:17) to bestow upon His servants the strength they need for test and trial. The plans of the enemies of His work may seem to be well laid and firmly established, but God can overthrow the strongest of these. And this He does in His own time and way, when He sees that the faith of His servants has been sufficiently tested.

For the disheartened there is a sure remedy—faith, prayer, work. Faith and activity will impart assurance and satisfaction that will increase day by day. Are you tempted to give way to feelings of anxious foreboding or utter despondency? In the darkest days, when appearances seem most forbidding, fear not. Have faith in God. He knows your need. He has all power. His infinite love and compassion never weary. Fear not that He will fail of fulfilling His promise. He is eternal truth. Never will He change the covenant He has made with those who love Him. And He will bestow upon His faithful servants the measure of efficiency that their need demands. The apostle Paul has testified: “He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness.... Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.” 2 Corinthians 12:9, 10.

Did God forsake Elijah in his hour of trial? Oh, no! He loved His servant no less when Elijah felt himself forsaken of God and man than when, in answer to his prayer, fire flashed from heaven and illuminated the mountaintop. And now, as Elijah slept, a soft touch and a pleasant voice awoke him. He started up in terror, as if to flee, fearing that the enemy had discovered him. But the pitying face bending over him was not the face of an enemy, but of a friend. God had sent an angel from heaven with food for His servant. “Arise and eat,” the angel said. “And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head.”

After Elijah had partaken of the refreshment prepared for him, he slept again. A second time the angel came. Touching the exhausted man, he said with pitying tenderness, “Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.” “And he arose, and did eat and drink;” and in the strength of that food he was able to journey “forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God,” where he found refuge in a cave.

[openour3rdeye]

I Was Raised To Fail... But Instead Of That I Prevailed. Plenty Doubters In My Life Growing Up. I Used Their Hatred Towards Me As Fuel To The Fire 🔥 Passion I Have Burning Inside Of Me. To The People That Have Tried To Put Me Down In The Past I Say Thank You. I Wouldn't Be Living The Way I Live Now Without You. @openour3rdeye Was Created Because Of You. Consciously I Am At Peace And All I Want To Do Is Help Those Who Still Have Poison In Their Minds. Which Is About 75% Of Earth 🌏 I Will Continue This Quest To Enlightened The World. Someday Everyone Will Wake Up. Whether It's Me Rhyming 🎵 My Way Through Your Heart 🖤 Or A Giant Meteor On Its Way To Crash Down Onto Our Mother Earth. Be Kind To One Another. It Goes A Long Way. #openour3rdeye #3rdeyeopen #thirdeyethirst #fullerton #spiritualgrowth #devine #consciousness #higherself #higherconsciousness #thirdeye #dreams #earth #everythingconnects #hightimes #increase #energy #woke #trippyart #highlife #420 #mind #body #soul #enter #hiphop #meteor #love #peace (at Fullerton, California)

[dfroza]

Today’s reading from the ancient book of Proverbs and book of Psalms

for may 13 of 2021 with Proverbs 13 and Psalm 13, accompanied by Psalm 55 for the 55th day of Spring and Psalm 133 for day 133 of the year

[Proverbs 13]

[Living Wisely]

A wise son or daughter desires a father’s discipline,

but the know-it-all never listens to correction.

The words of the wise are kind and easy to swallow,

but the unbeliever just wants to pick a fight and argue.

Guard your words and you’ll guard your life,

but if you don’t control your tongue,

it will ruin everything.

The slacker wants it all and ends up with nothing,

but the hard worker ends up with all that he longed for.

Lovers of God hate what is phony and false,

but the wicked are full of shame and behave shamefully.

Righteousness is like a shield of protection,

guarding those who keep their integrity,

but sin is the downfall of the wicked.

One pretends to be rich but is poor.

Another pretends to be poor but is quite rich.

The self-assurance of the rich is their money,

but people don’t kidnap and extort the poor!

The virtues of God’s lovers shine brightly in the darkness,

but the flickering lamp of the ungodly will be extinguished.

Wisdom opens your heart to receive wise counsel,

but pride closes your ears to advice

and gives birth only to quarrels and strife.

Wealth quickly gained is quickly wasted—

easy come, easy go!

But if you gradually gain wealth,

you will watch it grow.

When hope’s dream seems to drag on and on,

the delay can be depressing.

But when at last your dream comes true,

life’s sweetness will satisfy your soul.

Despise the word, will you?

Then you’ll pay the price and it won’t be pretty!

But the one who honors the Father’s holy instructions

will be rewarded.

When the lovers of God teach you truth,

a fountain of life opens up within you,

and their wise instruction will deliver you from the ways of death.

Everyone admires a wise, sensible person,

but the treacherous walk on the path of ruin.

Everything a wise and shrewd man does

comes from a source of revelation-knowledge,

but the behavior of a fool puts foolishness on parade!

An undependable messenger causes a lot of trouble,

but the trustworthy and wise messengers

release healing wherever they go.

Poverty and disgrace come to the one

who refuses to hear criticism.

But the one who is easy to correct is on the path of honor.

When God fulfills your longings,

sweetness fills your soul.

But the wicked refuse to turn from darkness

to see their desires come to pass.

If you want to grow in wisdom,

spend time with the wise.

Walk with the wicked

and you’ll eventually become just like them.

Calamity chases the sin-chaser,

but prosperity pursues the God-lover.

The benevolent man leaves an inheritance

that endures to his children’s children,

but the wealth of the wicked is treasured up for the righteous.

The lovers of God will live a long life and get to enjoy their wealth,

but the ungodly will suddenly perish.

If you withhold correction and punishment from your children,

you demonstrate a lack of true love.

So prove your love and be prompt to punish them.

The lovers of God will have more than enough,

but the wicked will always lack what they crave.

The Book of Proverbs, Chapter 13 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 13]

Prayer Turns Depression into Delight

For the Pure and Shining One

A Psalm of David

[Depression]

I’m hurting, Lord—will you forget me forever?

How much longer, Lord?

Will you look the other way when I’m in need?

How much longer must I cling to this constant grief?

I’ve endured this shaking of my soul.

So how much longer will my enemy have the upper hand?

[Intercession]

Take a good look at me, Yahweh, my God, and answer me!

Breathe your life into my spirit.

Bring light to my eyes in this pitch-black darkness

or I will sleep the sleep of death.

Don’t let my enemy proclaim, “I’ve prevailed over him.”

For all my adversaries will celebrate when I fall.

I have always trusted in your kindness, so answer me.

I will spin in a circle of joy

when your salvation lifts me up.

I will sing my song of joy to you, Yahweh,

for in all of this you have strengthened my soul.

My enemies say that I have no Savior,

but I know that I have one in you!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 13 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 55]

Betrayed

To the Pure and Shining One

King David’s song of derision for instruction

God, listen to my prayer!

Don’t hide your heart from me when I cry out to you!

Come close to me and give me your answer.

Here I am, moaning and restless.

I’m preoccupied with the threats of my enemies

and crushed by the pressure of their opposition.

They surround me with trouble and terror.

In their fury they rise up against me in an angry uproar.

My heart is trembling inside my chest

as the terror of death seizes me.

Fear and dread overwhelm me. I shudder before the horror I face.

I say to myself, “If only I could fly away from all of this!

If only I could run away to the place of rest and peace.

I would run far away where no one could find me,

escaping to a wilderness retreat.”

Pause in his presence

I will hurry off to hide in the higher place,

into my shelter, safe from this raging storm and tempest.

God, confuse them until they quarrel with themselves.

Destroy them with their own violent strife and slander.

They have divided the city with their discord.

Though they patrol the walls night and day against invaders,

the real danger is within the city—

the misery and strife in the hearts of its people.

Murder is in their midst.

Wherever you turn, you find trouble and ruin.

It wasn’t an enemy who taunted me.

If it was my enemy, filled with pride and hatred,

then I could have endured it. I would have just run away.

But it was you, my intimate friend—one like a brother to me.

It was you, my adviser, the companion

I walked with and worked with!

We once had sweet fellowship with each other.

We worshiped in unity as one,

celebrating together with God’s people.

Now desolation and darkness has come upon you.

May you and all those like you descend into the pit of destruction!

Since evil has been your home, may evil now bury you alive!

But as for me, I will call upon the Lord to save me, and I know he will!

Every evening I will explain my need to him.

Every morning I will move my soul toward him.

Every waking hour I will worship only him,

and he will hear and respond to my cry.

Though many wish to fight and the tide of battle turns against me,

by your power I will be safe and secure;

peace will be my portion.

God himself will hear me!

God-Enthroned through everlasting ages,

the God of unchanging faithfulness—

he will put them in their place,

all those who refuse to love and revere him!

Pause in his presence

I was betrayed by my friend, though I lived in peace with him.

While he was stretching out his hand of friendship,

he was secretly breaking every promise he had ever made to me!

His words were smooth and charming.

Yet his heart was disloyal and full of hatred—

his words soft as silk while all the time scheming my demise.

So here’s what I’ve learned through it all:

Leave all your cares and anxieties at the feet of the Lord,

and measureless grace will strengthen you.

He will watch over his devoted lovers,

never letting them slip or be overthrown.

He will send all my enemies to the pit of destruction.

Murderers, liars, and betrayers will face an untimely death.

My life’s hope and trust is in you, and you’ll never fail to rescue me!

The Book of Psalms, Poem 55 (The Passion Translation)

[Psalm 133]

A song of David for those journeying to worship.

How good and pleasant it is

when brothers and sisters live together in peace!

It is like the finest oils poured on the head,

sweet-smelling oils flowing down to cover the beard,

Flowing down the beard of Aaron,

flowing down the collar of his robe.

It is like the gentle rain of Mount Hermon

that falls on the hills of Zion.

Yes, from this place, the Eternal spoke the command,

from there He gave His blessing—life forever.

The Book of Psalms, Poem 133 (The Voice)