#just that hes decided its a means to an end situation where he cannot abide by his preferences | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ddaeng-danvers · 3 years

Text

lake house

pairing: anakin skywalker x reader

genre: fluff

summary: in which anakin doesn’t turn to the dark side and padme gives you a lake house

warnings: canon-typical violence, death, pregnancy

word count: 2610

a/n: i literally did this in one sitting bc i’m stupid and it’s so bad, so please do not expect a masterpiece,, for reference this is the nightgown i refer to at the end ----,, also this was slightly inspired by an ask i sent to @etherealsanakin the other day so here is that -----

masterlist

Anakin had been staring out the window of the Council room for what felt like hours, but you were sure was only a few minutes. His gaze was strong and hard. It wouldn’t take a force-wielder to understand something was on his mind. You knew he’d been agitated since his placement on the Council without becoming a master, but you knew there was more to this story. You held your tongue until you saw a single tear roll down the side of his face.

“Ani, my love what is bothering you?” You crouched down next to his seat and wrapped his hand in your own. He squeezed your hand.

“The Chancellor, he’s,” He closed his eyes and took in a shaky breath. “He’s the Sith Lord.” You let silence fill the room, before placing a chaste kiss on your and Anakin’s entwined hands.

“Have you told anyone? Anyone on the Council?” Anakin nodded ever so slightly.

“I informed Master Windu, and he told me to stay behind. That he would handle it.” He closed his eyes for a moment as if to better gather his thoughts. “I’m feeling, confused. I’m not sure of my place in all this.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean, Ani. Are you talking about the Order?” Anakin pulled his hand away from yours and pressed his palms to his face.

“The Chancellor promised me powers. Powers greater than any Jedi has ever possessed. The power to save you, from whatever it is I keep dreaming about.” Everything slowly started to click into place. Asking Anakin to be his representative on the Council. The nightmares and visions. Why no Jedi could sense a Sith Lord right under their noses. It was all the Chancellor’s manipulation. All of it. You stood up from your crouched position and stood in front of Anakin. You brought your hands to either side of his face and touched your foreheads together.

“My love, I need you to listen to me right now. And I need you to trust me. Can you do that?” Anakin smiled and his eyes curled up, sending a few stray tears down his face

“I always trust you.” Your heart warmed at his confession.

“I know you feel conflicted right now. You aren’t sure where your alliances truly lie.” Anakin nodded as if answering the question. “But if the Chancellor is a Sith Lord like you’ve said, he’s been manipulating you. Anakin, he wants you to join the dark side, and I know that’s not what you want. I know that’s not who you are.” Anakin stays silent, waiting for you to continue. “I have my criticisms of the Order, just as you do, but they want the best for you, I promise.” You place a kiss on the top of Anakin’s head. “I love you. I love you so much that I won’t let the Chancellor make you the man you’re not.” Anakin stands up from his seat and turns to look out the window.

“I love you too, Y/N. I-I just don’t want to lose you. I can’t”

“And you won’t. I’m right here.” You bring his hands to your cheeks. “I’m not leaving you.”

“I want to aid Master Windu,” Anakin admits.

“Then let’s go.” Anakin smiles up at you and grabs your hand. You both run from the Council room to the hanger, and grab a ship to fit both of you. The journey is short. As soon as you land, you both jump out and begin running towards the Chancellor’s office. While running, your each out for Anakin’s hand and grab it. “I’m not gonna lose you Ani.” Anakin looks at you, his expression still serious.

He simply says, “You won’t.” Before you knew it, you ran into the Chancellor’s office. The window had been shattered and blown out. Master Windu held his lightsaber to the Chancellor’s throat. The Chancellor was laying in front of Master Windu, his hands up in “peace”.

“You are under arrest, my lord.” Master Windu proclaimed. You and Anakin have released hands since entering the room but chose to remain close.

“Anakin, I told you it would come to this.” Anakin looked down at the Chancellor. A man he thought he could rely on, a man he thought he could trust. A man that turned out to be a liar. “I was right. The Jedi are taking over.”

“You are mistaken, Chancellor!” You exclaim.

“The oppression of the Sith will never return. You have lost.” Master Windu adds.

“No, no. You have lost!” The Chancellor yells as he shoots force lightning towards you and Master Windu. The lightning strikes you before you have a chance to ignite your lightsaber. You fall to the ground, and attempt to hold out. Anakin stands there, confused and conflicted yet again. All of his senses are overwhelming him. He trusts you, with his life. But the Chancellor had promised him the power to save you, and he couldn’t afford to lose you.

“Anakin!” You yell over the noise. You cannot hold out much longer, the Chancellor is too powerful. “He is lying to you, Anakin. He can’t help you!” Moments later, the Chancellor shouts out a response, still shooting out lightning. You are writhing on the floor.

“I have the power to save the one you love!” Ironic, Anakin thinks, as he’s shocking you with lightning. “You must choose!”

“Don’t listen to him Anakin!” Master Windu shouts out. You can barely hear what’s going on, too focused on keeping yourself conscious. The pain suddenly stops, and you try to pull yourself off the ground. Anakin leans down and helps you to your feet. You pull away from him as he pulls out his lightsaber.

“I trusted you, Chancellor! I trusted you, and all you did was lie!” Master Windu stepped aside slightly as if he knew what was to come. “You’ve done nothing but lie. And you hurt the one I love.” With that, Anakin swung his lightsaber and struck the Chancellor. And the Clone War was over.

---

Immediately following the Chancellor’s death, Master Windu sent you and Anakin to the med bay to treat your injuries. They were relatively minimal, considering the nature of the attack. Anakin stayed with you the whole time, he refused to leave your side. You suspected he blamed himself for waiting so long to step in.

“My love I know what you’re thinking. This isn’t your fault.” Anakin looked at the floor and shook his head.

“I let it go on for far too long, love. I shouldn’t have just let you lay there on the-”

“Anakin.” You interrupted. “You killed the Chancellor, you resisted his manipulation. The war is practically over.” Anakin squeezed your hand.

“You flatter me, Y/N.” The medical droid spoke up, reminding you of its presence.

“Y/N suffered minor burns and will make a full recovery.

“Thank you, 2-1B.” The droid held up its hand as if it had more to say.

“However, during the scan, I have found the Y/N is pregnant.” You feel your heart sink to your stomach. Was the baby okay? Had anything happened to it when you were attacked?

“Is the baby alright” Anakin spoke up.

“Yes, the baby is healthy.” 2-1B responded. You stood off of the bed and moved next to Anakin. He looked at your face before moving his gaze down to your stomach.

“My love, this, this is wonderful.” Anakin envelops you in a hug, squeezing you ever-so-slightly. “And the war is ending, this is perfect timing.” Anakin’s smile seems to increase tenfold with every passing second.

“Anakin, we’re still Jedi. What’re we gonna do?” Anakin smooths down the back of your hair and runs it between his fingers. “We’re not gonna worry about anything right now. All right?” You nod. “This is a happy moment. The happiest moment of my life.”

---

In the weeks that followed, Jedi and their platoons were sent to resolve any remaining conflicts. Luckily, the Council, recognizing your and Anakin’s efforts that ended the war, were absolved from duty.

Padme visited after the final negotiations concluded, and the treaty was signed. At this point, you were only a month or so along, and still found it easy to hide it from others. However, you’d spoken with Anakin the other night about plans for the future. What were you going to do when you couldn’t hide it. And clearly, you’d both broken the Code. You both came to the conclusion that your best bet would be asking Padme, a trusted friend if you could use her planet as a refuge.

“Padme!” You exclaimed as you opened the door to your quarters. You both gathered each other in a hug, having not seen each other since the Chancellor’s death. As you separated, you invited her in. You took a seat on your bed, as she gave Anakin a brief hug before sitting down.

“How have you both been?” Padme asked. She looked concerned. It’s clear she’d been worried since hearing about the nature of the Chancellor’s death.

“We’ve been doing well. Actually-”

“Y/N’s pregnant.” Anakin blurted out. As much as you were annoyed that he spoiled the announcement, you couldn’t be mad at the lovestruck expression on his face.

“Congratulations!” Padme stood up to give you another hug. Anakin stood up as well and placed a comforting hand on your back as you and Padme separated. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Yes, actually.” Padme looks at you, ready to listen. “The Order prohibits attachments, which clearly we have not abided by.” Anakin laughs softly. “So, as things become more obvious, we’re going to need somewhere to stay. We wondering if-”

“Of course you can come to Naboo!” Padme interrupts. “You two are always welcome. You can stay in one of my family’s lake houses, we don’t have much use for them anyway.”

“Thank you, Padme, truly.”

---

Eventually, it was time to present your situation to the Council. You and Anakin had decided to leave the Order so you could raise your family in peace. You had had enough fighting for a lifetime. You never wanted to become a General in the first place, but the war threw many of your plans out the window.

The only Council member who knew of your situation was Obi-Wan, who was incredibly accepting (and also very excited to be an Uncle). He promised to do as much as possible to lessen any consequences given by the Council.

Anakin grabbed your hand and pressed a kiss to your knuckles before you entered the room. “Everything will be okay, my love.” As you stepped into the room, you were met with the many faces of the Council. The Masters that raised you, trained you. You owed your life to these individuals, and it would be difficult to part with them.

“Master Skywalker, Master Y/L/N,” Master Yoda begins. “A request for us, you have?”

“Yes Master Yoda,” Anakin begins. “If I may be blunt, Y/N is with a child.” Several Council members made audible expressions of surprise, but many also looked as if Anakin had made the most obvious statement in the galaxy.

“You really think we weren’t aware of your attachment?” Master Windu chuckled. “The pregnancy, however, is a surprise.” Master Windu looks around at the members, who all nod their heads. “But we are willing to excuse this ignorance of the Code because of all you two have done for the order.”

“Thank you, Master Windu, but Anakin and I were planning on leaving the order to raise the child.” Many members begin to whisper among themselves.

“Many we ask why?” Shakk Ti, your former master asks.

“Master Ti, I think we’ve all had enough fighting for a lifetime.” Many members smile and chuckle at your comment. “I own the Jedi Order my life. But I am ready for another chapter of my life.”

“Granted, your request is.” Master Yoda replies.

---

You, Anakin, and Padme head to Naboo only a few days later, and Obi-Wan is there to send you off.

“You must send me holo-vids once the baby is born. I’m not sure how often I will be able to visit.”

“Of course, Master. We wouldn’t let you miss anything.” Anakin smiles.

Obi-Wan pulls you into a hug. “I wish you the best of luck, Y/N. I remember when you

were just a youngling, and look at you now.” Obi-Wan’s memory makes you smile. Some of your earliest memories were of the older padawans playing with you and your youngling clan in the Creche. It’s sweet to know Obi-Wan was one of those padawans.

“Thank you, Master Kenobi.” You look up to Anakin. “I’ll be with Padme, I’ll let you two say goodbye.” Anakin looks at his former master for but a moment before wrapping him up in a hug.

“Thank you, master. I’ve never thanked you enough for putting up with me all these years.” Obi-Wan chuckles.

“It was a pleasure, Anakin. It was a pleasure and an honor to train you. And I wish you well. Take care of her.”

“I plan on it.” With that, Anakin boards the ship to Naboo with you and Padme.

Upon landing, Padme excitedly shows you around the house her family is gifting you. The house is modest. A few bedrooms, a couple of refreshers, the perfect home for the (growing) family moving in.

“We can’t thank you enough, Padme.”

“It’s really no problem, let me know if there is anything else you need. I’m just a holo-call away.” With that, Padme left you two alone. You continued to move about the house. With what little possession you and Anakin had, there wasn’t much to decorate, you hoped that would change over time. You eventually ended up in your and Anakin’s room. It wasn’t much, but it was yours, and that’s all that mattered. However, when you opened the closet, you found it fully stocked. You’d always admired Padme’s gowns, and it seems she left you some of your own. One, in particular, struck your eye. A blue silk nightgown with pearls at the neckline. You slip in on, thankful to be out of your Jedi robes for one of the first times in your life.

You make your way out onto the balcony overlooking the lake. Anakin is already there watching the sunset. He senses your presence and turns around.

“Love, what are you wearing?” He asks, a smirk rising on his face. Anakin holds out his hand and pulls you to him. He looks from your eyes to your lips and kisses you.

“Padme left all kinds of things in the closet. I thought I’d try one on.” Anakin smiles.

“I’ll be sure to give Padme my thanks.” Anakin pulls you in closer and kisses you harder. He eventually pulls away to breathe. The happiness on his face is contagious.

“You look happy, my love.” Anakin lays his forehead against yours.

“It’s because I am, love. Maker, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. We’re here, together, and the baby will be able to grow up here.” Anakin places his hands on your stomach, and his expression changes quickly.

“What is it love, is something wrong?” His expression of surprise changes to one of content.

“Nothing it wrong, Y/N. I’m not a med droid but I think I sense two force presences in there.”

“Two? Two as in-”

“Twins, yes, twins! Twins Y/N!” Anakin picks you up and practically spins you before setting you down and embracing you again. “I love you so much, Y/N.”

“I love you too, Anakin.”

#anakin skywalker #anakin skywalker imagine #anakin skywalker fluff #anakin skywalker x reader #anakin imagine #anakin fluff #anakin x reader #star wars #star wars imagine #star wars fluff #star wars prequels

222 notes · View notes

doomstypewriter · 4 years

Note

ok so this is kinda out there so i totally understand if you decline this short request but: angsty, hurt no comfort, major character death moceit where janus is like 5 minutes away from being executed (i was thinking by hanging) and this is their last goodbye. it probably wouldnt come into play at all but just to be thorough: in my mind its like a vaguely fantasy 18th century setting

Hello, Anon. Thanks for the request.

I normally do not enjoy reading major character death fics, but I surely am most willing to write them.

I was sold-out on the whole fantasy18th century setting.

Did I get carried away? Well, yes.

I hope you don’t mind the piece of subversion I decided to incorporate. Also, I did indeed get carried away and wrote 1808 words for this. I have no self-control.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy it!

AO3 For other requests

TW: Major character death, swearing, HEAVY angst. Really, this will not end up nicely.

Words: 1808

It is one’s duty to abide by the laws

Tap.

The tireless dripping of the filtrations in the stone cell did not stop, a repetition akin to a clock. It followed along the rhythm of the passage of each second he had left.

As expected, the dungeons stunk of humidity and other things he did not wish to dwell on. They hadn’t even allowed him the comfort of a pile of hay to lay onto. All the dirt on his left cheek stuck to his skin disgustingly, god knows how scruffy his appearance would be after a week imprisoned.

Far away, carried by the reverberation of the undergrounds, the sound of steps from upstairs reached his ears. There was a scuffle between who he deduced were four people. Two guards, and two...

“I said let me IN!”

Ah.

Two idiots. His two idiots.

“I needn’t remind you that challenging His Royal authority will wind you up where you are so adamant to give us pass to. I can begin reciting all set laws you’d be violating”.

The loudness in Logan’s voice surprised him. It was almost as if he intended for him to listen too.

A heavy door opened with a low creak. Then steps rushing down the irregular stone stairs.

“Janus!”

Oh. His heart jumped and wailed at the shadows turning the corridor. A sweetness missing from his cheery, silly, and endearing voice. His idiot.

A cloaked figure fell on his knees in front of him, yet the bars rendered him so far away. He removed his hood, and, there he was. With his curly blond hair, the freckles he’d counted so many nights and the round wire glasses he only wore in private. Patton, his lover, but, most importantly, the Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Ulidorean. Right behind him, as always, the royal advisor, also, his very good friend Logan Abinie.

“What are you doing here? Does His Highness fancy tainting his reputation even more? I did deny our relationship, and anything that may have involved you with this mess, dear. Skillfully so. Have you any understanding of how hard that was? Well, of course not, because here you are, definitely not ruining all of my very light efforts on keeping your reputation untarnished. Lovely”.

A pained smile graced Patton’s face, cutting him in half. He reached for the inside of the cell through the bars, to at least be able to touch him.

“I’m sure those pants are not expensive at all. Thank goodness the guards bother to keep the floors spotless” Janus said as he gave in and got closer.

Patton cupped his cheek, brushing some of the dirt away in a caress. Just as he always did.

Not this time though.

There was so much shit on Janus that not even a thousand caresses could unbury him out of the schemes that had brought him where he was. And, where was he? Oh, right, in a filthy cell, a night away from being executed. By hanging no less, and, oh, what a shame, for his windpipe looked so lovely whenever Patton pressed kisses alongside its column; but would, regardless, end up broken.

All honey in his glance dripped on Janus leaving him with a bitter aftertaste. The brightest light in the world could not afford to be drowned in such sadness.

“I’m going to save you” the whisper was so tiny he’d barely heard it.

It felt like a love confession. ‘I’ll save you, he says, when he should rather save himself from me’.

The half-born reptile looked up at the other person witnessing the prince’s lunacy.

“You, get him out of here”.

“No”.

“Great”.

His scales popped, disentangling themselves from the glamour he had cast with blood magic, costing him a cut on his fingertips. At this point, he should be able to control his emotions. But no, apparently, there was no chance that the kingdom would not see his true visage. Dignity and death did not fit in fate’s plans for him.

“How are you planning to do that exactly? Getting out of tricky situations was never your strong suit, my dear. That’s my job. And just look where it has led me. Where it has led us! You cannot ruin your chances with the crown when Earl Heeldwing and his supporters are threatening your father’s authority like they are”.

“Roman is searching for the Dragon witch” he tried to argue.

“So what? He may be your best knight, but he’s not your brightest one. Virgil is still wounded, and, without his help, he may never find the Dragon witch”.

“You are not the only draconid descendant within the kingdom, the council knows this. If we manage to apprehend the Dragon witch and get her testimony we may be able to persuade the Circle of Elders to reconsider the nature of your penalty and earn the time needed in order to prove your innocence, but first, you must--”

“Logan, goodness, I was not aware of the fact that there are many draconids in Ulidorean. Well, not that you mention that I’m sure it changes the circumstances. The Elders could not have possibly considered that! You are truly the genius everyone pegs you as”.

“Jan, trust me. Everything will be fine, just let me help you”.

“No!” he pulled apart and stood up. “Do you think I have not considered this? I made my appeal to them! I did try to persuade them and show them that I was framed! But nobody in the council believes me anymore. If the Circle of Elders are set on having my head, me, their main consul, then whichever meager testimony you find, will not make it through to a hearing! I am to be hanged by tomorrow morning. So I advise you to leave me alone and save yourselves the heartbreak!”

“I am doing my best!”

“Yes, because surely doing your best is all it takes to change the world! This ridiculous willingness to believe in the good in others. People will condemn an innocent and the world shall not move a finger to stop it. Patton, your naivety is what brought us into this situation!”

Patton struggled to keep his breath steady after that, managing only a nod in response.

“I did not mean that” Janus said as he pushed his body against the bars.

“You said it still” he stood up. “Believing that there is good in others is what brought me to believe in you”.

His chest twisted in pain when Patton pressed a kiss on his forehead and made a move to leave. Janus caught the soft hand before he never had a chance to again.

“Please”.

“Don’t be afraid, I will find a way to keep you safe, okay?”

The hand squeezed back and then let go.

Seeing the dawn one last time. Maybe, if they moved him to the carriage early enough he could watch the sunrise before it got dark for good.

The cell door opened.

A pair of handcuffs were quickly snapped closed on his wrists.

Walking through the corridors he realised. ‘I don’t want to die’.

He disentangled himself from the grip of the guards and he ran. Away, anywhere.

‘I don’t want Patton to marry a noblewoman for heirs, I want him to marry me. I don’t care about what the court thinks anymore, I could not manipulate them. I want to wake up with him. I want to still be the Elders’ consul, I want to write law, I want my books, my house, my friends… I want to live’.

One of the guards caught him. Janus was immobilised in the blink of an eye, the other guard hit him in the head and everything went black.

Not for what seemed long enough.

He woke up to the jolting of a carriage. Unexpectedly, a very nice looking carriage, rather than the disgusting ones which took the prisoners to the gallows.

What?

Impossible. Patton had made it. There was no other explanation. He… he did manage to save him! God. To hell with his views on the nonsense of the institution of marriage, he was going through that wedding Patton had always wished for.

His vision finally focused. The concussion would not heal immediately, but he would have Patton by his side.

By his side, he found Remus instead.

“Remus?”

“Hey, dragon penis. Long time no see. You got pretty roughed up in the dungeons”.

Remus by his side, and in front of him…

“Logan?”

“Ah, you’re finally awake. You might be suffering from a concussion. It would be best if you rested for now. We will wake you once we get to the border”.

“To the border?” Janus asked as he tried to sit up.

A wave of nausea filled his esophagus.

No. Not a good idea.

“Rest. We will explain in time”.

“What is going on?”

“...”

“Logan, you never keep quiet when someone asks a question, what mess…”

“I can hit him in the head again, if you want” offered Remus, not sounding as joyful as usual,

“Where’s Patton?”

With that question, the world for everybody withing the carriage suddenly stopped. Logan tensed within seconds, even Remus held his breath back. They looked at each other in a way that conveyed far too much sympathy, especially considering their personalities. An unspoken message went between the two. Janus could almost hear it. It was a ‘we have to tell him’ kind of look, was it not?

“He pleaded the principle of exchange using his royal power”.

“No”.

The principle of exchange was one of the laws introduced during the reign of Patton’s grandfather, it allowed for a person to exchange the penalty of a crime with that of a relative’s. It was intended as a way to prevent the most vulnerable members of a family to endure the hardness of a punishment they might not be able to withstand, while ensuring they received the impact of said punishment through the bond with their family.

But, for that to happen… Patton must have recognised him as his spouse. Members of the crown could not be executed for a crime, only exiled.

Then…

Oh no.

Patton walked up the wooden planks that made the stairs of the gallows. It was worth it, he told himself. He even kept on telling that to himself when the Circle of Elders encouraged him to reconsider. Janus was convicted before he had made him his husband, which means that the veto on punishment by execution on the royal family did not stand for him. His grandfather had not thought this far ahead when he wrote down the law. One may stand in the place of a relative for a crime. That applied to everybody.

Including him.

Logan and Remus would watch over Janus.

Patton smiled in spite of it all.

He did keep him safe.

...

I AM SO SORRY.

18 notes · View notes

phantom-le6 · 3 years

Text

Episode Reviews - Star Trek: The Next Generation Season 5 (4 of 6)

Time for another round of episode reviews from season 5 of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Episode 16: Ethics

Plot (as given by me):

During an inspection in the cargo bay, Lt. Worf is hit from above by a falling cargo container, and he awakens later in sick bay to learn he has been paralysed by the accident. With no cure for the condition immediately to hand, Worf asks Commander Riker to assist him in a ritual suicide known as the Hegh’bat something all Klingons do when faced with such injuries. Riker is appalled by the idea, and Dr Crusher likewise refuses to give up on the idea of Worf recovering, bringing aboard neurologist Dr Toby Russell to consult on the matter.

Riker seeks advice from Captain Picard, who asks him to consider the matter from Worf’s perspective; as a Klingon, Worf is part of a warrior culture that, by its very nature, would disdain physical infirmity and cannot abide life with a disability as humans can. Eventually, Riker finds a way out of assisting Worf by noting that the ritual should be performed by a family member, namely Alexander, and when Worf tries to use Alexander’s age and part-human heritage as excuses, Riker calls him on it, accusing him of being afraid to fight for his life as many of their fallen comrades have done.

Meanwhile, Dr Russell notes that Klingon anatomy is heavily over-designed, possessing a redundancy for every vital physical function to ensure that if a primary organ is damaged, a secondary one can always compensate. She suggests using a genetics-based replication therapy that could create a new spinal column for Worf, but it is still experimental and Russell has only a 37% success rate in holographic simulations. Dr Crusher suggests they’ll stick to conventional methods, but when these prove insufficient for Worf, Russell offers him her experimental treatment. Later, the Enterprise assists survivors from the transport ship USS Denver, which has been damaged by a Cardassian mine. When Crusher learns Russell tried an experimental treatment on a patient who subsequently died without considering the use of conventional medicine, she has Russell relieved of duty.

Worf ultimately opts to undergo Russell’s procedure against Dr Crusher’s advice, and Picard has to convince Crusher that while normally her normal medical philosophy would be the more valid option, in Worf’s case a high-risk operation is better than either a life being disabled or ritual suicide. The operation initially appears successful, but Worf goes into cardiac arrest moments after his vital functions are taken off life support, and he apparently dies. A heart-broken Dr Crusher has to break the news to Alexander and to Counsellor Troi, who Worf named as Alexander’s guardian if he should die during the operation. Alexander insists on seeing his father, but when he does, Worf shows signs of life. It turns out Worf’s brain has a back-up for his synaptic functions in the same way that his body has multiple back-up organs.

While Dr Crusher is thrilled that Worf will recover, she condemns Dr Russell for putting her research efforts ahead of the lives her patients, pointing out that proper medical research takes time and intensive study, and that Russell is ‘taking short-cuts, right through living tissue’. Meanwhile, Worf begins his recovery and allows Alexander to help him, having previously tried to keep the boy away during his paralysis.

Review:

This episode is one with a very apt title, as there’s actually not one but two issues of ethics being tackled. The first is around the idea of euthanasia of the permanently disabled or terminally ill. For me, this is the least well-handled of the two because it’s being tackled via a character from a warrior society, and those tend to be the most barbaric around the differently abled. Consider the film 300, and what that showed us of how the ancient Spartans would kill at birth any child who was not physically ‘perfect’. For all that it makes sense from a strictly tactical and militaristic perspective, assuming you’re only looking for physical prowess on the battlefield, the idea of trying to get anyone to kill themselves over a bum leg or deformed arm or anything like that is discrimination and murder, pure and simple. To put someone out of their misery when facing a painful degenerative illness with no chance of a cure before the end whatsoever, that is one thing, but to euthanise the disabled just for being disabled? That is simply barbaric and inhuman, and frankly an attitude no one on the Enterprise should have been trying to endorse. Frankly, I lost some respect for Picard and gained a lot for Riker looking at how they acted; Picard is all but giving an all-clear to his tactical officer topping himself, and Riker is the only one trying to make Worf fight for his life like a real warrior.

The other ethical debate revolves around the question of medical ethics, and whether the end justifies the means when it comes to short-cuts and other unsound research methods. In this, it’s clear Crusher is the one in the right, because the validity of Russell’s argument is founded on the idea that Worf is from a culture where the high-risk experimental operation beats the immediate alternatives. If, like me, you see Worf’s attitude as typical of the regularly abled acting like spoiled, whining babies because they’ve been made part of the differently abled community, then Russell’s arguments cease to carry weight. Research should take time where it needs to, especially in case you’re proceeding from a false supposition that the research actually disproves. The biased results of improper research into vaccines and autism resulting in autistics being vilified as a result of vaccine science when they’re actually nothing of the sort is by itself reason enough that improper research should not only be banned, but treated as a criminal offence.

Perhaps the biggest undermining element of this episode, however, is that it centres on something happening to a main character of the show and not a guest character. Anytime issue exploration on an issue like this involves a main character, especially on a show like Next Generation which doesn’t really do overall story arcs even by this stage, you know the character will somehow recover and all will return to status quo. Had the show done this with a guest character, they could have gone a different way and perhaps avoided potential advocacy of some very, very morally questionable stances on these issues. It’s great drama and good issue exploration, but I think the show should have been more opposed the idea of killing off the disabled just for being disabled than it appeared to me. For me, the episode only gets 6 out of 10, and it’s lucky I don’t mark it down more than that.

Episode 17: The Outcast

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The Enterprise is contacted by a humanoid race called the J'naii, who as a species have no gender. They ask the crew for help in finding a shuttle which has gone missing. It is theorized that the shuttle disappeared into a pocket of null space, a type of space which drains energy rapidly. In short order, a rescue mission is planned, for which Riker volunteers to pilot a shuttle to retrieve the shuttle crew. A member of the J'naii named Soren insists on accompanying Riker, acting as a co-pilot. Soren proves to be a good pilot. Riker and Soren share a meal and become more comfortable with each other. They are interrupted by another J'naii, and Soren leaves quickly.

While the pair is charting the null space, the shuttle is damaged, and Soren is injured. While being treated by Dr Crusher, Soren asks her several questions about female gender identification. While Soren and Riker work on the shuttle, Soren confesses that she is attracted to Riker and states that she has a female gender identity. Soren explains that the J'naii are an androgynous species that view the expression of any sort of male or female gender, and especially sexual liaisons, as a psychological perversion. According to their official doctrine, the J'naii had “evolved” beyond gender and thus view the idea of male/female sexuality as primitive. Those among the J'naii who view themselves as possessing gender are ridiculed, outcast, and forced to undergo "psychotectic therapy". This is a form of conversion therapy meant to remove any desire for gender-specificity and allow acceptance back into J'naii society.

The affair between Riker and Soren grows and eventually is discovered. Soren is put on trial, but before she answers to the charges, Riker bursts in and attempts to take the blame for the situation. Soren foils his attempt and proceeds to passionately defend herself and express her outrage at what their society does to those who express male or female identities. J'naii diplomats force Soren to undergo psychotectic therapy, citing reformed citizens' newfound happiness and desire to be normal. Riker's emotions and love for Soren grow and he decides that he cannot leave Soren to this fate. He tries to explain the situation to Picard, who is sympathetic to Riker but says that he cannot sanction a rescue mission as it violates the Prime Directive, not to mention Riker throwing away his career. Worf visits Riker in his quarters and offers to go with him on an "unannounced visit" to rescue Soren, since he is unwilling to let Riker face the task alone. When Riker and Worf beam down to the planet to rescue Soren, he realizes that the therapy has already been performed. Soren refuses to go with him, claiming that she is now happy and was “sick” during her affair with Riker. Soren apologizes to Riker, who returns dejectedly to the Enterprise with Worf.

Review:

‘The Outcast’ is one of those episodes where Trek aims to represent one thing, misses by miles and hits something else issue-wise instead. The idea of the episode was to finally remedy the fact that homophobia and same-sex relations had never been dealt with by the franchise. Apparently, this is something Roddenberry had very much been in favour of, as he was a big believer that 24th century humanity wouldn’t have the same kind of prejudices we have now around non-heterosexual relationships. As such, the intended premise of this episode was to tackle the issue through the metaphor of an alien race.

However, the race in question is one that abstains gender, and for whom picking a gender such as male or female is seen as a kind of deviancy by the wider society. As a result of this, and the alien Riker falls in love with choosing a female identity, the homosexuality metaphor is very much weakened. Instead, the episode becomes of an allegory about transsexuality and transphobia, which is even less well-tackled by the entertainment industry than concepts of homosexuality. As such, Trek inadvertently went a bit ahead of its time.

It’s great seeing Riker honestly try to get his head around the language issues that can be brought up dealing with someone who doesn’t apparently identify with a binary model of gender, but at the same time apparently lacks easily understandable substitutes. In many ways, that’s probably one of the key reasons why it’s so hard for film and television to effectively deal with gender identity concepts. How do you right about the many genders that apparently exist beyond male and female when they’re often not fully defined and perpetually being redefined? Physical sex and the societal construct that is gender get over-simplified and baked into the mainstream of our society at a very young age, and we’re leaving the wider scope of both out of the picture until too late in the lives of many people. If we are to make society more inclusive to people from the LGTBQ+ community, I think that over-simplification needs to be reversed and the simplification process adapted so that all gender constructs can easily be taught at an early age and then built upon. Unlike some, I don’t believe that gender itself is a problem, but how we let it be defined and taught is.

This episode apparently got a lot of LGBT criticism back when it initially aired, mostly around the belief that the show was somehow condoning the conversion “therapy” Soren was being subjected to. Looking at it from the objective perspective of an LGBTQ+ ally who knows his TNG, that’s not what the show was doing at all; otherwise, Riker would never have tried to rescue Soren from that fate. The fact is that in any exploration of how the LGBT community was treated back then, and still is now in many parts of the world, you can’t always paint a rosy picture of how things should be and be done. Sometimes you also have to show the reality, and the reality is that conversion therapy was still something that was forced on people back in the 1990’s. The fact that this practice is now going to be banned in the UK makes this episode now a cautionary tale of what we could revert to if we’re not careful. For me, this episode is a good episode, worth about 8 out of 10. It would have got higher had it actually tackled the issue it aimed for, or dealt more directly with transgenderism.

Episode 18: Cause and Effect

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

The viewer is shown through the episode that Enterprise is caught in a time loop (referred to in-universe as a "temporal causality loop"). The loop begins with the senior members of the crew playing poker and continues for about a day when they discover a spatial anomaly. While studying the anomaly, a ship suddenly emerges from it. Commander Riker suggests decompressing the main shuttlebay to move the Enterprise out of danger, while Lt. Commander Data advocates using a tractor beam to push the other ship out of the way. Captain Picard chooses Data's option, although the tactic does not succeed and the other ship strikes one of the Enterprise warp nacelles, causing a critical warp core containment failure and the destruction of the Enterprise moments later, at which point the loop restarts.

Initially, crew members are unaware of the loop. However, Dr Crusher begins to hear noises before she goes to bed following the poker game. Having a sense of déjà vu during the poker game and able to predict the cards Data will deal during a subsequent loop, Crusher takes a tricorder with her to her room, records the voices, and later Data analyses them to discover they are the panicked commands and broadcasts of the crew. The senior staff work out that they are stuck in the loop; the voices they are hearing are those of themselves from the previous loop just prior to the destruction of the ship. They evaluate the voices to determine that the loop is restarted due to the collision of the two ships but do not know how to avoid that collision in the first place. Data suggests that his positronic brain can be used to send a short message to himself in the next loop which may help them to avoid the collision. When they arrive at the anomaly, and after the collision, Data sends the message.

On the following loop, Crusher again has a feeling of déjà vu during the poker game, but when Data deals the next hand, all the cards are threes, followed by a hand where all players have three of a kind. The number 3 begins appearing throughout other parts of the ship's operations while, again, they determine they are stuck in a time loop. When they reach the anomaly and the ship appears from it, Data suddenly realizes that the 3 stands for the number of command pips on Riker's uniform, and realizes that Riker's original tactic (decompressing the main shuttlebay) will work. This allows Enterprise to safely clear the oncoming ship. The anomaly disappears and the time loop ends, and the crew realizes they have been trapped in the loop for over 17 days, while the other ship, the USS Bozeman, has been missing for over 90 years. Picard welcomes the Bozeman's crew to the 24th century.

Review:

While the concept of the loop in time would be made famous more generally through the Bill Murray movie Groundhog Day, this episode of TNG was written, produced and aired well before that, and if the TNG staff are right in believing such an approach to time travel hadn’t been done before, then this episode is quite ground-breaking. It’s certainly not one that would have been easy to make, as Riker actor Jonathan Frakes directed the episode and was under orders to direct each pass through the time loop differently. In essence, the episode uses a combination of alternate camera angles and changes in the events of each loop to try and avoid any appearance that you’re watching the same act multiple times. Now I say try because apparently when the episode first aired in the US, a lot of viewers phoned in to report a possible broadcast problem.

Watching with the benefit of advance knowledge of what the episode is about, it’s much easier to appreciate that you’re not just watching the opening act multiple times, and it gets more interesting on the later loops due to the crew’s growing awareness of what is happening. However, I think we could have done with just three loops, as by the fourth one, we’ve worked out what’s happened and I think an extra loop at that stage is almost redundant. It’s also a shame that Ensign Ro has so little to do in her recurring guest role this time round, as does Kelsey Grammer right at the end. It would have been a much better idea if they could have saved a guest appearance by Grammer for something with more substance and less of a techno-babble problem episode. Still, all in all it’s a good episode; I give it 8 out of 10.

Episode 19: The First Duty

Plot (as given by me):

As the Enterprise returns to Earth for Captain Picard to give the year’s commencement address at Star Fleet Academy, the Academy Superintendent Admiral Brand informs Picard that an accident involving Wesley Crusher has occurred. Picard subsequently relates the news to Wesley’s mother Dr Beverley Crusher; apparently, Wesley has by now become a member of Nova Squadron, a much-revered part of the Academy flight team on campus lead by cadet Nicholas Locarno. The squad had been practicing a flight demonstration for the commencement event at the Saturn flight range when a collision occurred, resulting in the death of squad member Joshua Albert.

Picard puts the Enterprise at Admiral Brand’s disposal if it should help the subsequent investigation, and while visiting the Academy Picard also looks up the groundskeeper Boothby, who once gave Picard some hard advice as a cadet that helped him out of a problem of his own. Picard tries to thank Boothby, but he notes that Picard having turned his life around well enough to become captain of the Enterprise is thanks enough. At the investigation hearings, Locarno claims the crash resulted from Joshua panicking due to his being a nervous flyer, but satellite footage of Nova Squadron’s flyers reveals a discrepancy between the squad’s account and what actually occurred. Picard later talks further with Boothby about the squad, who reveals what a high image they’ve established for themselves and the influence their leader Locarno has over them.

An analysis carried out by Lt. Commanders Data and La Forge suggests the squadron were trying to ignite their plasma trails; combined with the squad formation depicted by the surveillance satellite, Picard deduces that Nova Squadron was attempting a different manoeuvre to the one they claimed; specifically, a Kolvoord Starburst, which involves the ships passing within metres of each other at a central point before igniting their plasma trails. The manoeuvre has not been performed at the Academy in over a century because the last time it was, an accident occurred that killed the entire squad trying to perform it. Picard confronts Wesley with his deductions, and when Wesley refuses to answer, the captain tells him that a lie of omission is still a lie, and the ‘first duty’ of every Star Fleet officer is to the truth.

Faced with an ultimatum by Picard to either admit the truth himself or be turned in by the captain, Wesley goes to Locarno, who refuses to even consider joining Wesley in abandoning their cover-up. To him, the team comes above everything, and tells Wesley he should resign from the Academy if he can’t live with getting away with the accident via cover-up. As Admiral Brand brings the investigation to a close, noting that she cannot prove any dishonesty on Nova Squadron’s part and preparing to give them a minor punishment, Wesley speaks up and admits the truth. Initially, Locarno says nothing, but it is later revealed to Wesley by Picard that Locarno makes a plea to take full responsibility, noting that he abused his position as squad leader to not only make the squad attempt the prohibited stunt, but also to cover it up. As a result, Locarno is expelled while the rest of the squad will have all of their academy credits for the past year suspended, preventing them from advancing with the rest of their class.

Picard warns Wesley he will have a hard time ahead now the whole Academy knows the truth, and Wesley thanks Picard for his advice as the pair bid each other farewell.

Review:

While Data episodes tend to be my favourites among TNG episodes, I honestly believe this is probably one of the show’s most iconic episodes, if not the most iconic Trek episode ever. It’s Wesley’s second guest appearance since actor Wil Wheaton left TNG, and to date it’s his best appearance, but it’s also the episode where we get to meet Boothby, who is a remarkably influential and iconic character for the series despite his relative lack of appearances. Through in future Voyager cast member Robert Duncan McNeil playing Nick Locarno, and it’s well on its way to be being a very good episode before you factor in Patrick Stewart delivering some truly iconic acting as Captain Picard, especially the Ready Room scene with Wesley that makes the episode so iconic.

Now apparently, executive producer Michael Piller had to do some pushing back against the original intentions of this episode’s writers to get us the episode in its final format. Apparently, the original idea was that the incident was far more serious, and by not owning up the whole squad would have been kicked out of the Academy, with Wesley remaining silent to honour his word to his friends. However, Piller didn’t like the idea of Wesley doing something that severe, and as a parent he wanted to push for Wesley to be responsible and eventually admit the truth, to correct his mistake in the end by owning up even if it meant making things worse for himself and his friends.

In both versions, the character conflict remains the same; to stand by one’s friends or by one’s duty to be truthful. Now granted, there will be other occasions where the circumstances require discretion and loyalty to one’s friends simply because most people would misunderstand the truth. However, in most cases I think admitting the truth is the best thing to do, even if it does mean you and others close to you may get in a bit of trouble, and this is for two reasons. First, true friendship means being willing to call your friends out if their behaviour is morally wrong, and making sure they do the right thing.

Second, we’re all human and we all make mistakes; that is a simple, irrefutable fact of life, and most of the time if we do make mistakes, we can stop ourselves from repeating them by learning from them. However, in some cases people can’t learn from their mistakes if they avoid taking responsibility for them, and some people may not take that responsibility alone. Sometimes they need help, whether through being called on it like Picard did for Wesley, or owning up on behalf of those involved like Wesley did for his squad-mates. Moreover, a ‘friends before authority’ attitude backfires in other areas; it’s how bullying gets to be so prevalent in schools and work places, and it is why concepts of ‘playground’/’locker room’ honour codes should be systematically obliterated from our society.

Friendship, true friendship, is not based on secret codes of silence that enable bullying, encourage lying and that are dishonourable and despicable to say the least. It is based on honesty and trust, including the trust that your friends will hold you to account if you betray yourself and that you will do the same for them if they need it. True friendship means sometimes being a bit harsh, a bit tough, and any friendship that can’t stand such tempering probably isn’t really friendship to start with. Overall, I give this episode 10 out of 10.

Episode 20: Cost of Living

Plot (as adapted from Wikipedia):

Lwaxana Troi arrives on the Enterprise, announcing that she will be holding her wedding there with a man that shares many interests with her, as judged by a computerized matchmaking system. Captain Picard, initially wary of Lwaxana's plans, is relieved that all she wants from him is to give her away as the bride. Privately, Counsellor Deanna Troi talks to Lwaxana about the marriage, and while she is happy that her mother is marrying again, she is surprised and concerned that she will not follow the Betazoid custom of being a naked bride at the wedding. Lwaxana informs her that such customs offend the groom and his people. Deanna notes her decision to abandon her own custom is strange given the pride she normally takes in her Betazoid heritage and the high rank that she holds in their society.

Meanwhile, Lt. Worf is having difficulties in getting his son Alexander to complete his obligations such as homework and chores. Deanna offers the idea of creating a contract that would allow Alexander to have time to play after completing his tasks. While this initially seems to be acceptable to Alexander, Lwaxana arrives and downplays the idea. Lwaxana makes friends with Alexander, taking him to a holodeck simulation of the Parallax colony despite Worf's orders. Lwaxana encourages Alexander to be a free spirit, but Deanna believes that Lwaxana's message is confusing Alexander.

Eventually, Campio, Lwaxana's husband-to-be, arrives at the Enterprise, and Lwaxana finds that he is not as perfect a fit for her as the computer match suggested, being stricter and more demanding than she was led to believe. She evades Campio by taking Alexander to the holodeck. There, Alexander reiterates some of the advice she had previously given him. Taking it to heart, Lwaxana arrives at the wedding naked as per Betazoid custom, and Campio, offended, leaves her at the altar. Lwaxana winks at Alexander, who smiles in turn.

During these events, the Enterprise becomes infected with an undetectable parasite that feeds off nitrium, a component used in most of the starship's materials. Though initial system failures are attributed to normal wear, they become concerned when warp and life support systems begin to fail. The crew is able to identify the parasite, and as life systems fail and cause the crew to pass out due to lack of air, Lt. Commander Data, who is able to function without oxygen, navigates the starship to a nearby asteroid field rich in nitrium and coerces the parasite to move there. Ship systems are quickly restored to normal before the wedding.

The episode ends on an amusing note with Lwaxana relaxing in the Holodeck simulated Parallax colony mud-baths with Deanna, Alexander, and Worf. Lwaxana admits she made a mistake with Campio and thanks Alexander for helping her out. Meanwhile, a confused and irritated Worf asks, "You're just supposed to sit here?"

Review:

As ever, throwing Lwaxana Troi into an episode proves to give us a rather poor showing, because the character is so over-the-top in her supposedly comedic antics that you end up feeling as annoyed by her as most of the Enterprise crew. It’s only when she’s forced to drop that façade that you get anything of worth out of the episode’s main plot. Basically, Lwaxana is trying to re-marry out of a desire to avoid loneliness, and ends up trying to live vicariously through Alexander because her intended husband is the total opposite to her. It’s not the best approach to the situation, nor does the B-plot about parasites endangering the ship fit in well with that, or with Worf trying to teach Alexander about responsibility. A better use of these elements would have been to have the intended couple each having trouble accepting the other’s perspective on life, and so they’d each take sides in the Worf-Alexander dispute to try and indirectly keep the argument going. Worf might then be convinced to give his duties a rest for a bit to see things more from Alexander’s point of view, only for said dereliction of duty to endanger the Enterprise. Getting through the danger, father and son would see the value of compromise and balance, and in so doing demonstrate the idea to Lwaxana and Campo, who would follow suit. As it is, the episode is just another cringe-worthy instalment more worthy of the show’s earlier seasons, and I can only give it 4 out of 10.

1 note · View note

aion-rsa · 3 years

Text

High-Rise Invasion Season 1 Explained: Who Are The Masks?

https://ift.tt/2N0s0pf

This article contains spoilers for High-Rise Invasion season 1.

Television currently exists in a place where there’s a constant stream of new shows and it becomes incredibly easy for some series to sink and get lost at sea. This can be even more prevalent when it comes to anime since it’s sometimes quite difficult to determine which series really strive to be innovative and challenging.

At first glance, High-Rise Invasion looks like an indulgent excuse for sadistic killers to act out Hostel-like slasher fantasies. But it’s in fact a much deeper series about humanity, free will, and the quest to become a literal God. Yuri Honjo has a seemingly simple goal to reunite with her brother, Rika, and escape their circumstances, but there’s a rich tapestry of mysteries that surround both the “realm” and the individuals within it that are easy to confuse. Here are some questions that arise from High-Rise Invasion season 1’s conclusion.

What Is The Realm?

One of the biggest mysteries in High-Rise Invasion involves this new world that Yuri and everyone else wake up in. This environment consists entirely of a series of interconnected skyscrapers where it’s impossible to descend and the primary means of travel are rope bridges that link together the apartment buildings. It’s made clear that these aren’t just normal skyscrapers that everyone has been trapped upon and that this is an entirely new “realm.” Everyone that wakes up in the realm is forced to abide by the different rules that apply to all of them, which makes it clear that this world is more like a gameboard or training ground than anything else.

There’s a sole helicopter that patrols the realm and lands in a different location each day that’s able to help people escape from this reality. However, it begins to look like escaping the realm isn’t the ultimate plan and that there’s a lot more to experience and manipulate in this world, which to some is more appealing than what lies back outside in reality.

Who Are The Mask-Wearing Individuals?

One of the first rude awakenings that Yuri experiences after she wakes up in this high-rise nightmare is the wealth of mask-wearing, weapon-wielding individuals that seem to want her dead. Initially it seems like the different Masks are villains, but the situation is much more complicated than that and they’re their own kind of prisoners in this scenario.

How to Watch Anime Online: The Best Legal Anime Streaming Options

By Daniel Kurland

Upcoming Anime 2021: New and Returning Series to Watch

By Daniel Kurland

Known as Angels, these masks are actually advanced pieces of technology that hack into the wearer’s brain in order to reprogram them and install new “software.” The majority of Masks that Yuri encounters have a smiling expression on them, but it turns out that there are actually a variety of Masks, each with their own specific functions.

What Are The Different Types Of Masks And What Do They Mean?

There are four basic Mask designs that have been featured so far in High-Rise Invasion. The Smiling Masks are the most common and they’re worn by characters like Sniper Mask, Chef Mask, Maid Mask, Baseball Mask, and many more. Yuri at first assumes that the Smiling Masks want to murder her and the other individuals, but their programming is more morbid than that. The Smiling Masks operate off of a Despair, Murder, and Suicide command protocol. First they try to make a human so miserable and filled with despair that they’ll lose all hope and commit suicide by jumping off of the skyscrapers. If Despair cannot be initiated, only then will the Mask turn to murder to finish the job, but only as a last resort. Finally, if a mask is removed for too long, becomes broken, or somehow otherwise compromised then it will push the directive that the mask wearer should kill themselves and eliminate any loose ends.

The Angry Masks, which have a sad expression on them, have only been seen on Dealer Mask, Soldier Mask, and Miko Mask. These individuals are also known as Guardian Angels due to their increased level of consciousness. These Masks are still able to talk, have a level of self-awareness, and know the locations of vital items within the realm. The purpose of the Guardian Angels is to explicitly prevent the destruction of the realm and those that try to interfere with the larger mission. They’ll only kill humans when they’re threatened or they sense hostility in individuals, which triggers their Protect directive.

The Emotionless Masks have a neutral expression on them and they appear to be even rarer and operate like some strange support system. Emotionless Masks can also freely speak and are used to provide supplies to the realm and are not supposed to incite violence or conflict. The biggest example of an Emotionless Mask so far is when one ominously approaches Sniper Mask and Kuon, only to wish them both good luck and limited information on the realm’s God Candidate purpose.

Lastly, there’s also a fourth variety of mask known as the Faceless Mask, but it’s designed to self-destruct after its use is fulfilled, which means they’re rarely actually seen being worn by anyone. It eventually becomes clear that the realm’s true purpose is to find the Perfect God and that a certain mask is vital to this process. The Faceless Masks contain the code to turn humans into God Candidates. The Faceless Mask’s installation process takes ten minutes to complete, at which point it shatters and the wearer has a wealth of new powers at their access, while also all of their original personality intact.

What Is The Mask’s Hibernation Mode?

There’s a moment in High-Rise Invasion where the programming from Mayuko’s mask forces her to enter hibernation mode. This appears to be an uncommon process and it only happens the one time to Mayuko, but it’s a precautionary protocol that kicks in when a mask becomes defective or faulty due to multiple directives running at once or severe resistance from the individual. This is a time-sensitive procedure that is designed to eliminate compromised Angels, but it’s able to be reversed by a God Candidate

What Are The God Candidates?

The main goal within High-Rise Invasion’s realm is to build a new God and that individual is culled from a number of potential God Candidates, also known as Those Who Have Become Closer to God. The Faceless Masks install programming to help these humans evolve and become prepared for the next stage of the realm.

High-Rise Invasion has shown off a number of the perks and abilities that God Candidates receive, such as the ability to manipulate and control other Masks, to suspend an Angel’s hibernation, to gain control of the epic railgun that’s within the realm, and have a better intuition towards the strength and location of others. One of the biggest advantages of God Candidates is that Angels are specifically programmed to not do them any harm. Kuon Shinzaki, Mamoru Aikawa, and eventually Yuri herself, are the major God Candidates that have currently been introduced.

What Does The Perfect God Achieve?

The High-Rise Invasion realm sets out to create multiple God Candidates with the hopes that one of them will best the others and that all of this is the necessary means to an end in order to create a Perfect God. The Perfect God will rule over this realm and be able to decide the rules and structure that will govern the world. It’s said that this God will be able to have any of their desires fulfilled as they have limitless power over the creation and plan regarding their new dominion. It’s unclear if this process has been done before and why exactly the Administrator has willed all of this together, but its end goal is at least clear.

Who Is The Administrator?

The Administrator is the one who calls the shots in High-Rise Invasion and the one that’s put this macabre competition together. At this point the Administrator remains a faceless mystery and remains a foreboding title. It’s unclear if they are also a God and looking to abandon their responsibilities once they find a suitable replacement, but it’s clear that more with the Administrator is coming. If he’s the one responsible for all of this advanced technology then he’s also likely someone that can’t be fully trusted and will lead to some conflicting moral territory for Yuri in the future.

What Is Rika’s Connection To Sniper Mask?

Many of the Masks in High-Rise Invasion are affected by some form of memory loss due to the programming that’s invaded and overwritten their brains. Sniper Mask slowly gains access to his sense of self when his mask becomes cracked and it causes him to become fixated on Rika. Sniper Mask is convinced that he and Rika share a connection and the truth doesn’t come to light in season one, but there’s definitely a link between them that’s deeper than just a friendship. It’s possible that Sniper Mask and Rika have some kind of familial connection, just like how the anime reveals over time that Uzuki is the Mask Yayoi Kusakabe’s son.

Does Yuri Reunite With Her Brother And Escape?

So much of High-Rise Invasion’s first season deals with the characters’ attempts to simply get a decent grasp on their new environment. Larger missions like escape and becoming the Perfect God are crucial, but underneath all of this is Yuri’s desire to find her brother, Rika. Yuri accomplishes a lot through this season, but she and Rika are still apart when the episodes end.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

Mamoru, a malevolent God Candidate, has captured and brainwashed Rika, judging by the code that he forces upon him in the post-credit sequence. Mamoru has a cabal of Masks that he’s able to control and it’s very possible that Rika has just been added to his collection. Yuri builds a strong team of Masks and God Candidates alike that are all ready to storm the Administrator, become Perfect God, and rewrite the rules so that they can all survive and escape.

The first season of High-Rise Invasion is currently available to stream on Netflix.

The post High-Rise Invasion Season 1 Explained: Who Are The Masks? appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3q4A8TE

#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

2 notes · View notes

keepcalmcozidk · 3 years

Text

Nobody is going to see this. Had a dream. I cannot tell anyone about it so ... I'm going to write about it here.

We were returning from somewhere we had partied. I was on my own. I had friends T&T but they were obviously very invested in themselves. B was there with A and a lot of others. He was drunk. He couldn't even walk straight.

(A little backstory. He had been crushing on y/n for the longest time, y/n liked him too to a but there were a lot of issues that stopped her from dating him. He is a nice guy. Sweet , the type who wears glasses. )

(Y/n is in a relationship with D. He's perfect. The kind your parents will approve. Doesn't drink or smoke. Is polite, really really good at academics. Gives everything he has to protect y/n and keep her happy. Tries really hard to keep her entertained. Y/n likes him too. How can she not? They've been dating for 2 years now. Y/n slipped once with B. She was heavily intoxicated then and the mood in the sleeper bus triggered her feelings for B and nothing else mattered. Although this happened when y/n and D were 3 months into their relationship.)

Her eyes met B's eyes. She couldn't even look at him. She felt guilty, like she wronged him as well as D. She knew if something were to be initiated by B, she'll probably give in.

(She had this whole strong exterior she showed people but really that was just a front for how weak she was when tempted.)

B's arm lightly brushed against y/n's thigh while moving towards the back end of the bus. She felt a strange feeling but decided not to acknowledge it. T1 saw how flushed y/n's face was. (He had taken a lot of efforts in the past 3 years to get B and y/n to date. He was the fiercest shipper y/n and B ever had. But B was too polite to use T1's extravagant ways to ask y/n out. He didn't want to put y/n in a position where she'd look bad for not accepting his "proposal". You see why y/n would be attracted to him.)

T1 had already put a scheme in motion to get y/n and B to interact with each other. T1 was a natural leader so it wasn't hard for him to implement his play. He curated pairs to exit the bus for a smoother transfer from one bus to the other. At this point y/n had downed 360ml of vodka. She had lost her inhibitions and was enjoying her ride with nothing but music and the scenic view on her mind.

She was informed about this decision and had no other option but to abide by it. Some part of her was thrilled to have to interact with B. But some part of her knew it was wrong on so many levels. B made his way to the front of the Bus and sat on the platform opposite to y/ns seat. He was drunk out of his mind, so was she. He took her hands in his and just looked at her for a while. It didn't take long for him to jump from that stare of admiration to a hug filled with warmth. Y/n hesitated at first but gave in once he stretched his arms out to slightly pull her off the seat and get a hold of her waist to pull her in closer to his body. He rested his head on her chest. Her heart was beating faster than usual for a while but stabilized once she was comfortable in his embrace. She felt loved. She felt like she could melt in his arms and it wouldn't be an issue.

T1 had a satisfied grin on his face.

B kissed y/n on her cheek. He held her like there was no tomorrow. He didn't know when he'll get to hold her like this again. He knew she belonged to someone else. Someone he has already wronged before. But she just meant so much to him. It was hard to let go. He had never felt this way about anyone.

---skip---

They alighted the bus. D was waiting to meet y/n. His y/n. His face instantly dropped when he saw who was not very far behind her. B. B and D disliked each other for obvious reasons but they were adults and knew it would be inappropriate to greet each other. They shook hands and greeted eachother and with that B left the scene. D was disappointed. Very disappointed and hurt. He had recieved a couple photos anonymously which he didn't open. He did now. In front of y/n. He saw them. Hugging eachother. B kissing y/n on the cheek. Y/n not protesting. Now although this wasn't cheating, he still knew how they felt about each other. He simply left. Y/n cried and begged for him to stop and to let her explain her self. He didn't budge. He just said, " I forgave you th first timw but this... its just not fair to me. I don't like how it feels".

With that he made his way into the elevator. Y/n was sobbing. She knew she fucked up. Big time. But she didn't know how could she make it better. So she decided to go to her room and just forget about it. She made her way to the elevator to the fourth floor and in her room. She locked the door and made her way to the bathroom sitting in the shower contemplating what she should do. D was the one and B isn't a back up option. She decided she was too much of a coward to face this situation, so she left. She moved out and shifted to another city ? (I'm not sure what happened in this part. I don't really remember.) She deleted her social media, changed her no. All that. It wasn't difficult for her to make new friends.

(this was a dream I had, so this next part doesn't make sense at all. Im not sure why did I dream of this)

She found herself living in a castle? The castle was huge with decor from all her favourite places from different eras , right from the Egyptian pyramids to the interior of palace of Versailles. She found herself in a maids costume(???) She enjoyed this place thoroughly but had to serve the king in order to survive. The king was an ugly lazy fellow who treated her like shit. But she was ok with it because when she wasn't serving the king she was dreaming of what her life would've been like as a Pharoah or Marie Antoinettes friend.

She tried to seduce her way into the kings heart to get more benefits but instead only got abused physically. He was clearly not impressed with her sexual prowess.

Moral : She learnt she is probably never gonna get what she wanted in life, so she has to be satisfied with what she has.

Ps: if anyone could please explain what this entire dream means , it would be great. I'm very confused. And I really cannot talk to anyone about it.

#dream #gemini #y/n #sleep #army #bts #smut #bored hmu #diary #journal #dream diary #sleep journal

1 note · View note

themodernvedic · 4 years

Text

What is the essence of Hinduism

Hinduism literally speaking is the religion of Hindus. Hindu is one who is a believer in any form of Brahmanism (one of the religions of India). In his lecture, delivered at the Parliament of Religions, at Chicago in Sept. 1893 Swami Vivekananda said, "Three religions stand in the world, which have come down to us from prehistoric times, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. They have all received tremendous shocks, and all of them can be proven by their survival, their inner strength. Sects after sects arose in India and unwillingly tried to shake and shatter the religion of the Vedas to its very foundation but like the waters of the seashore in a tremendous earthquake it receded only for a while, only to return in an all-absorbing flood - a thousand times more vigorous and when the tumult rush was over these sects were all sucked in, absorbed and assimilated into the immense body of the mother faith." http://youtube.com/watch?v=hi8g2h7mvMA Essence of true religion consists of nothing but the eternal truths and laws of the spiritual world. These principles have been discovered by the sages of ancient India. The degradation of Hindus took place because the life-giving principles of religion or Hinduism were applied in the practical life to solve social and national problems. Caste tyranny, loss of faith in their inherent powers and social neglect, reduced poor masses to mere cogs in the wheels of the exploitative machine, which was run by a few, powerful people. In reality if religion of the Vedas i.e. Hinduism was spread among the poor masses, it would awaken the dormant powers in them and they would be able to solve their own problems without any assistance.

Hindus were a philosophical race, whose conflicts were intellectual conflicts. Fortunately, India then was a country where the people had no lack of wealth, food and security. Having the Himalayas in the north and ocean on three sides, the country was free from the danger of foreign invasion. Nature was also favorable in such a place, in the Ashrams and Tapovans, the Indian rishis absorbed themselves in deeper truths of life which gave birth to the Indian philosophy. Dr. Radhakrishnan writes "The native utterances of the Vedic poets, the wondrous suggestiveness of the Upanishads, the marvelous psychological analysis of the Buddhists and the stupendous system of Shankara are quite as interesting and instinctive from the cultural point of view of the system of Plato, Aristotle, Kant and Hegel, if only we study them in true scientific frame of mind, without disrespect for the past or contempt for the alien" which is interesting and instructive from a cultural point of view Philosophy had a great impact and importance in India especially to Hinduism from the earliest times. "Darshan" as philosophy is called, etymologically means, "Seeing". This seeing is possible by perceptual observation direct experience, inference or self-realization. Indian philosophy recognizes that truth can never be self-contradictory. Therefore, in order to realize the distinction and relation of philosophy and religion i.e. Hinduism in the present context, we must first know what religion is. The word religion includes two Latin terms "Religio and Onis". Re-means again, ligio means to bind. Literally speaking religion binds a man to his source. Philosophers have emphasized one or the other aspect of it. Some important approaches in this connection are as follows: Intellectual Approach: Religion is clearly a state of mind. Moral Approach: Religion is nothing but morality touched with emotion Axiological Approach: God cannot be called the highest value because there is no un-valued phenomenon with which God can be contrasted.

Various definitions of Hinduism as a religion. Hinduism is a complex phenomenon in which one finds attitudes and feelings towards ultimate reality or God. From the definition of religion given by Sri Aurobindo, Hinduism appears to be highly comprehensive. To quote him "in most, essence of religion... is the search for God and finding of God. Its work is sincere giving out of the true and ultimate relation between man and God, relation of unity, relation of difference, relation of an illuminated knowledge and ecstatic love and delight, and absolute surrender and service, casting of every part of our existence of its normal status into up rush of man towards the Divine and descent of divine into man". This is true even today when we talk of Modern Hinduism. Our age is known as the atomic age. By controlling atomic energy man has achieved things which were formerly beyond his imagination. In the form of atom bombs he has developed an instrument of destruction whose after effects can be seen years after its use. Many nations, developed or even underdeveloped, of the world are busy in piling up such destructive weapons and many other nations are trying to copy them. This has made the thinkers of the world to worry about the future of man because an atomic war will not only lead to destruction and death but also deformities of crores of people and poisoning of the atmosphere and water to the extent of making human life practically impossible on this planet. But international peace and cooperation cannot be achieved through science alone because science is unable to do anything in this situation. This on the other hand is a moral and spiritual problem. For example, the philosophy of the Gita and the Upanishads may be found to be the most useful to a man at the present juncture. Hence it can be said that in this atomic age, science is more in need of philosophy than it has ever been. Ancient Indian thinkers of Hinduism have suggested different paths for reaching God or Truth, which is relevant in modern times also. These are classified into three chief paths of action, knowledge and devotion. In fact, these are the phases or the three different layers of every human mind.

Here we shall take the path of action. This is just like the choice between what is right and what is wrong, the good and the evil. One has to follow the right way and give up the wrong way. Gradually the evil will be eliminated and the good will be established which will ultimately lead one to godliness/ divinity. The question that now arises is, how to ascertain which action is good and which is evil Mahavir's advice is to walk carefully so that we do not tread over, even an ant. On the other hand, Lord Krishna advises Arjuna to fight the evil forces because no one dies, as the soul is immortal In ancient times Sri Rama accepted and abided by all limitations and restrictions of the society, and that is why he is called "Maryada Purshotam" while Shri Krishna who disregarded all social limitations and restrictions is still called "Yogeshwara Krishna". On the one hand Sita is adored as she never even saw the face of another man except her husband Rama but on the other hand Draupadi who was the wife of five Pandavas is regarded as a virtuous lady. Yudhisthira had staked his wife in a game of dice and yet he is called Dharam Raj. Bhishma was a witness to the disrobing of Draupadi and did nothing to avoid that incident, yet he is called an apostle of morality and righteousness. Parashurama killed his mother at the behest of his father and is yet called a great rishi. Therefore, no universal standard can be set for deciding what is good and what is evil. It deals with doing, not with being. As long as one does not know his inner self all his actions are cravings of the mind for the fulfillment of desires. That is why Indra says "in the very first instance try and realize what the Atman is so that all your doubts are answered. Socrates has said, "know thy self". Modern vision of Hinduism warrants us to rededicate ourselves to the pursuit of knowing the Self, because we possess spiritual wealth that can end all our woes. Secondly, we must inculcate a sense of unity and identity. Self-realization is the real definition of Hinduism. Taittiriya Upanishad declares in Tantra III-1 यतो वा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते येन जातानि जीवन्ति । यं प्रयन्ति अभिसंविशान्ति तज्जिज्ञासस्व तदेव ब्रह्म ॥ "That from which all those beings come into existence, that by which they live, that into which they are finally absorbed, know that be the eternal verity - the Absolute" Once in the Ashram of Ramana Maharshi a visitor made display of his knowledge by enumerating the various paths described by various masters along with quoting the western philosophers. He inquired "one says one thing and the other says something else, which way should I go?" Ramana Maharshi rose to leave the hall, he replied curtly "Go back the way you came". Speaking about the intellectual persons, Shri Ramana Maharshi has said, "They have made themselves like a gramophone. What else are they, Oh Arunachala? It is the unlearned who are saved, rather those whose ego has not subsided despite their learning. It is sincerity that is required and not brilliance or understanding of theory, humility, and not mental pride". Read the full article

#dharma #god #gods #hindu #hinduism #religion #religions #shaivism

2 notes · View notes

vixthefantheorist · 5 years

Text

Is Anti the Shadow of the Egos pt. 2

Or an add on really. But an important one that I did touch on in my previous post - right here - that I didn’t go into detail yet. Or I was planning too but forgot the words at the time since I was writing that at like... midnight or something.

Anyway, the bit that I wanted to focus on now is this little tidbit.

Again its just theory I have. That Anti is/was a Shadow self of Jack but evolved into something more. Hell maybe Anti is the shadow of all the egos, absorbing their fears and darkness that they refuse to face… with the exception of Chase to a degree. Chase is a ball of negativity and acknowledges it, but likely refuses to face the reason of why or do anything about it; and Anti finds it funny or hell thinks of him as a battery to drain energy from. Who knows.

The reason I point that out is.. because it is true each ego has their own set of fears. Fears that Anti would be all to happy to latch onto and needle at them with. But the biggest fear they all collectively *share* - is the fear of being forgotten and replaced.

Which of course is a valid reason. Seán had stated before that all the egos are each their own person, not fragments of Jack or anything. At least in the Lore. But the thing is it doesn’t matter if they are or not. Every human in the world has their own fears. Spiders, darkness, oceans, etc. But again, the biggest fear nearly everyone has... is being forgotten and replaced. We are creatures that desire to be remembered in some shape or form. Thus, we leave behind pieces of ourselves in creativity. Art, music, literature, architecture and of course important points in history. We all want to be remembered.

The thing is that Egos thrive and exist on the attention and memory of the creator and the community. If the community forgets, they exist to the creator. If the creator forgets but the community remembers, they exist to them. But if both forget... they vanish. Fade into nothing. And that’s the problem. People are easily swayed by the next new thing, creators and community shift ideas often but as long as they love the creations, the Egos in this case, then they don’t need to worry for a while. But eventually they would fade like all things do. Back on track, sorry, Egos fear being forgotten and/or replaced by whatever new thing pops up. Anti has that fear as well despite how he rants about attention, which is likely fear disguised as rage.Anyway, that is ONE fear they all share... even with Anti... perhaps that fear... one they know is there but do not want to think about... not want to face... is where Anti came from.

Maybe. I don’t know for certain.

But if that is one fear that links them all together than its that one fear Anti is anchored to, his link to the egos, his way to possess them and interfere with any chances they try to use to rescue Jack or each other from his influence. A link that he uses to read their other fears, invade their dreams and twist them into nightmares. And a root to draw in their hidden negativity.

Because, come on, we all know no one is innocent here. Each one has a skeleton in their closet and we don’t know those yet because we haven’t gotten to those points yet. But they do have a certain... anger to the community. Or at least I think so. After all, this is just my theory and observation, so take it with a grain salt.

Each ego may or may not have an bone to pick with the Community. Again, just *My* thoughts. JJ: Hardly seen as anything but innocent with no real way to defend himself. Either he’s good or evil that’s all really anyone thinks of him. Nothing more than that.

Marvin: Again, good or evil, a magician with magic... nothing else. Much like JJ and gets pity.

Henrik: No one really talks about his family troubles. Either he’s a good friend or a crack job doctor, but again no one really speaks about how his wife cheated on him and took his children away to run off with some tennis instructor.

Jackie: A loved superhero... that gets dumped extremely quickly for a new or better version of him. I mean there was that time that everyone started drawing Seán in spiderman outfits and Jackie was shoved into the backburner for a while. Then people started to change Jackie to be less Jackieboy Man to... JSE version of Spiderman.

Chase: Barely gets anything written or drawn of him with a happy ending. Everything is very depressing and people seem to not want to see that change. So... his life is constantly in a state of depression. And who decided that was his life until spoken otherwise? Seán - or Jack, depending on how you see it.

Again, these are just probabilities, and bits I of info I got from a couple of other theorists I spoke to in the JSE discord server, so its second hand knowledge and *NOT* 100% correct or accurate. (Kinda hard to with 22 + million fans running around) Everyone has their own ideas of the Egos, so this is *not* a blast at anyone. So please don’t think of it as such.

Anyway, each Ego has a sore spot and a bit of anger they may not want to face and acknowledge out of fear. And as I said in the previous post, that negative emotions that are rejected break away into shadows. If this was a case of Anti being a shadow like the shadow selves from Persona.

If Anti absorbs that, then he knows their darkness, their fears and can use it against them in various ways. To corrupt them to join him, to have them turn on the community and Jack. Or slowly drive them insane. Take your pick.

Its like Anti is the major shadow in this show. Because if you remember Dr. Jacksepticeye, the one ‘ego’ that was trying to pass off as the good doctor and we all knew it was Henrik Von Schneeplestein that is our good doctor ego. We were all suspicious. And Henrik kicked in the door and wanted this person out of his chair and out of his spot as the doctor. That was fear. Henrik’s fear of being replaced by someone new... a shadow of himself in a way. And from then, we do not know what happened to Dr. Jack or Henrik.

And in Chase’s case, he was completely abandoned and forgotten by Stacy and the kids. Was it by choice? Who knows? Did she remarry? Who knows? But its hurting Chase deeply since he cannot for the life of him somehow get them to take him back or prove he is a good husband and father. Honestly, being the one with the most fleshed out story, we still don’t know much of Chase or his situation. Just that he’s depressed and lonely and struggling to move on. Jack and Henrik seemed to be helping him with that, until Anti drop kicked Jack into a coma and can’t talk to him as he used to.

Do you think Anti is a shadow of them? Or just a shadow of Jack but linked to their central fear of being replaced? Or an amalgamation of their fears but sentient and wants revenge? Or something else? I’m curious.

---------

Though there is another way to see Anti. Not really a Shadow to Jack or the egos... but a Shadow; a dark mirror to -

Us. The community.

If you look at his behavior, its very similar to that of a community of fans, but in a negative light no one really wants to see or acknowledge.

Anti craves attention, very much like fans do when we crave attention from Seán, to get him to talk to us... *acknowledge us* as much as Anti wants acknowledgement. And if we don’t get it, we scream and rant... much like Anti.

We want control of the channel, to have him play this... or that... go here or there. Do this or that... like a puppet dancing for our entertainment. Exactly how Anti wishes control of others, making them cower and dance in fear for his entertainment.

Anti reflects how we are like a dark mirror. And I mean it, that we refuse to look at own darkness but we swoon and fawn over another's. We scream when we don't feel acknowledged or if the youtuber refuses to pay attention to what we want. Anti rants about acknowledgement.

Anti rages at not being paid attention to. Just as many fans of the community rage at not having anyone pay attention to what we do or make.

We want something done our way. Anti wants things his way.

We try at times to control something that wasn't ours... just as Anti does...

We yank on the strings to try to get what we want; then hate and threaten if we don't get it. And Anti does the same, hate and threaten the other Egos, Jack because he doesn’t get what he wants.

All fandoms have an ugly side that we often at times refuse to acknowledge exists. Perhaps Anti is our own Shadow... our mirror of ourselves as a community.

Now I say that, not out of arrogance or hate or anything. Hell no. I love this community, I love the people in it because I met people, completely strangers to me but all share the same love of the funny shit in Jacksepticeye. I get to geek out with them and come up with theories and AUs and all kids of fun things because of this community. I love Seán as friend I never met and the content he provides because it brightens my days. But I do acknowledge there is a darker side to all fandoms. We all know it and we all try to ignore it for good reasons.

I just wanted to point this out as a possibility, not a bash to the community or any side. Anti was created by the fans, by US, the community, and should be cherished as something fun. And that’s what it is. Anti is fun, I just really think it would blow my mind if Anti was a fun dark reflection to the community as a way to be linked to the story, the Lore that Seán is making.

Also remember the Lore he’s making isn’t a set in stone story that we all have to abide in writing or drawing the egos. Its just a story he wanted to do for and with us. He even stated himself that He has his own ideas of what Anti is, but its not included in the Lore to keep Anti flexible and fun for everyone to still come up with their own designs and origins of Anti.

But how is that? What do you think? Is Anti a dark reflection of our own darkness~?

#jacksepticeye #jse theories #Chase Brody #dr. schneeplestein #antisepticeye #marvin magnificent #jackieboyman #jameson jackson #vixtheories #Is Anti a shadow of the egos?#Or a shadow of ourselves?

20 notes · View notes

pilgrimbenham · 4 years

Text

Drive By Evangelism

One of my worst experiences I can remember as a teenager was when a group of Christians once tried to share the Gospel with me. I now call what they were trying to do: “drive-by evangelism”.

One late night some friends and I were hanging out in a mall parking lot--most likely about to be up to no good. Suddenly a minivan full of Christian kids came flying up to us aggressively in the parking lot, and we assumed we were going to be struck by a water balloon or worse. Without warning, they rolled the window down and threw a bunch of Gospel tracts out the window at us and kept driving, yelling out the window as they peeled off: “Jesus loves you!!!” Picture that: the most important message ever given to man...the greatest news we can ever share with someone else was just tossed out the window at our feet as if we were catching beads at a parade.

This is the essence of 'drive-by evangelism'.

The late Billy Graham said,

“The evangelistic harvest is always urgent. The destiny of men and of nations is always being decided. Every generation is strategic. We are not responsible for the past generation, and we cannot bear the responsibility for the next one; but we do have our generation. God will hold us responsible as to how well we fulfill our responsibilities to this age and take advantage of our opportunities."

It has been said that the best evangelism tool is not tracts nor crusades nor apologetic arguments nor even servant evangelism, but simply being a faithful witness, (and I would add that we need to be a witness with both our lives and our lips).

So why is drive-by evangelism truly a problem? Here are 3 reasons:

1. Many people have demonstrated a poor Gospel witness with their lives.

Most of us have seen the spiritual damage that a poor witness can do for the Gospel. Using Google’s 'predictive search', if you go and type this in: “Why are Christians so” look what pops up. These results are based on historical searches that real people have looked up. But I warn you: don’t do so with liquid in your mouth, because it is bound to be spit out! These searches occurred because somewhere in the past someone who purported to represent Jesus actually misrepresented Him. Many restaurant servers have admitted that Sunday afternoons are the worst days to work because the tips are so bad. That is usually when Christians have left their morning worship services and are going to be “salt and light” and “cheap” to the world. And that’s just stinginess and a lack of generosity. What about more grievous sins, like when a pastor falls into sexual sin? How does a local community see our message when the shepherd of a faith community is not even practicing what he preaches? Or when the guy at your workplace tells everyone he’s a Christian but he curses and is pugnacious and dishonest and displays lust and wickedness and not godliness?

The Gospel message is offensive enough without us helping make it more offensive with our sinful behavior! The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing--but it is also the power of God for salvation to all who believe. Men will get tripped up over the offensiveness of the Christian message, so why would we want to add a few more hurdles in there with our sinful behavior?

2. Drive-by evangelism doesn’t show genuine care for the person receiving the good news.

The “victims” of drive-by evangelism feel very little vested interest on the part of the professor, like my friends and I in that mall parking lot. There is little risk, little involvement, no relationship nor vulnerability on our part when we toss tracts at people we don’t know. The person who is on the receiving end of this poor method of evangelism feels almost violated or punched randomly in the gut by the gospel.

Certainly the Lord can and does use random encounters and if we don’t have the means to serve and live among certain people we must resort to “faster” means to get the word out. But this should be a concession, not a normative practice. When Philip encountered the Egyptian eunuch in Acts 8, he spent enough time to share Christ and see the man won to faith, but as soon as the man was baptized, Philip was “caught away” (v.39), and the man “went on his way rejoicing”. These situations will happen, undoubtedly.

However, most of us will have more contact with people then just thirty seconds to give them a drive-by gospel. My rule of thumb is that if I have more than five minutes together talking with a stranger, perhaps the Lord wants me to simply come right out and ask, "Do you know Jesus?"...or saying something like, "The world seems crazy right now! It makes you really contemplate life and death and the future. So what are your spiritual beliefs?"

3. Jesus demonstrates incarnation at its best.

We’ve just spend the last month or so celebrating the birth of Jesus during the Christmas season, but it is important in the midst of the eggnog and ugly sweater parties not to miss perhaps the most important doctrine about Jesus: His incarnation. Jesus, according to Isaiah 7:14, is “Immanuel, God with us”. Jesus demonstrates to us how we are to live a faithful Gospel witness in the very action of how He came from heaven to earth.

Jesus Christ was born of a woman. He was born to parents. He had uncles and aunts, and cousins. He hungered. He thirsted. He got tired. He fell asleep. He yawned. He had internal organs and hands and feet and hair. His family was a part of a tribe of people in Israel. His family had traditions and beliefs. They celebrated holidays. They celebrated birthdays and traditions and sat around and had conversations. They laughed and cried and talked together.

The application of this is powerful: God wanted to identify with us! Whenever I read the genealogy of Jesus I am just so blown away that there are actually people listed! The Father loves us enough to send His Son to become one of us. He certainly could have broadcast His love and truth and nature from afar for all the world to see. But He sent Jesus to become one of us, to exegete the Father to mankind.

Augustine of Hippo said "Man’s maker was made man that He, Ruler of the stars, might nurse at His mother’s breast; that the Bread might hunger, the Fountain thirst, the Light sleep, the Way be tired on its journey; that Truth might be accused of false witnesses, the Teacher be beaten with whips, the Foundation be suspended on wood; that Strength might grow weak; that the Healer might be wounded; that Life might die.”

Jesus, the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. He tabernacled among us. The tabernacle is of course the location where God’s glory met man’s need, which was was fully realized in Jesus. However, you and I are a temple of the Holy Spirit, where His presence abides (1 Corinthians 6:19). We are to be “Christ incarnate” to the world, and that means willful, intentional, relational community that is purposeful and prayerful. We must be “in” the world and display with our lives the Gospel message we affirm with our lips.

Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2:8 "So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us.” As we have opportunity, let us consider how we may live the Gospel with incarnational intention, not merely in drive-by encounters.

Thankfully in my life I had great examples of Christ-followers who shared Jesus and loved Jesus, and their message resonated with me until one day I too trusted my life to Jesus. If not for their faithful witness, I may have never found Christ. I’d still be in darkness wondering what happened years ago in a mall parking lot with some church kids who had the right intentions but a missed opportunity to truly help some hurting, lost teens. When we do this faithfully, people will begin to take notice and will ask us “the reason for the hope that we have”. Are we ready to answer?

You are writing a gospel, A chapter each day, By the deeds that you do, By the words that you say; Men read what you write, Whether faithless or true, Say—what is the gospel, According to you? -Paul Gilbert

Pastor Pilgrim Benham

#gospel #drive by #witnessing #witness #evangelism #Christ #incarnation

1 note · View note

mayacatmaster · 5 years

Photo

Only at a certain stage I was told that this (form) had been born and this is "me." .. But to whom???

If I don't pick up it... as 'me; mine; myself' & "real; true'.

*** *** ***

Give up the idea of being what you think yourself to be and there will be no gap.

By imagining yourself as separate you have created the gap.

You need not cross it.

There is nobody else.

All is you and yours.

Just don't create it.

This is a fact.

-I Am That, Ch. 37. ~Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

*** *** ***

There are umpteen methods but I give only one method. I am telling you -you know you are -to the exclusion of everything. Just be. That is the only method. Why do you want to start this practice or that practice? ~Nisargadatta Maharaj *** *** *** Why do you still consider the phenomena? See who the Seer is. BE HERE NOW. *** *** *** Now, self-inquiry…: Who-see-who identify with any kind of “I am this or that!” as “me; mine; myself” &”real; true”, now??? Who-see-who identify with any kind of “I am this dreamer or that!” as “me; mine; myself” &”real; true”, now??? Who-see-who identify with any kind of “I am in this dream or that!” as “me; mine; myself” &”real; true”, now??? Remember you are the seer beyond any kind of “I am in this dream or that!” And this seer can check out old-time-space-reality-room, suddenly …. if you don’t want it. And this seer can check in New-time-space-reality-room, suddenly …. if you really want it. 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😍😘😗😙 As a 3d-life-movie-phenomenon. You are the only witness of it. How can you lose this understanding, this insight? *** *** *** This Place Is A Dream. Only A Sleeper Considers It Real. Then Death Games Like Dawn And You Wake Up Laughing At What You Thought Was Your Grief. -Rumi *** *** ***

See the mind.

You stand aloof from it. You are not the mind 'and the Self will remain over. ~Sri Ramana Maharshi

*** *** ***

If You Want To Make Something A Fast Reality, Write It Down. ~ABRAHAM If You Want To Make your belief system as if it belong to another, Write It Down. ~ Seth If You Want To examine and self inquiry your belief system as if it belong to another, Write It Down. ~ Seth

*** *** ***

Via and thanks "Maurice Frydman":

As long as you pay attention to ideas, your own or of others, you will be in trouble.

But if you disregard all teachings, all books, anything out into words and dive deeply within yourself and find yourself, this alone will solve all your problems and leave you in full mastery of every situation, because you will not be dominated by your ideas about the situation.

- Nisargadatta, I AM THAT ch 50

*** *** ***

Note to the empathy: Observe, don't absorb. *** *** *** The world painted on your screen of consciousness and is entirely your private world. Once you realize that the world is your own Projection, you are free of it. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj *** *** *** Life is the movie you see through your own unique eyes. It makes little difference what is happening out there. It’s how you take it that counts. ~Denis Waitley *** *** *** Experience is determined by yourself--- not the circumstances of your life. ~Gita Bellin *** *** *** In this 3d-life-movie, usually you consider it ‘ ‘true; real” & ‘me; mine; myself”,… specially your belief system about yourself, another people and world. *** *** *** A reflection of the watcher in the mind creates the sense of "I" and the person acquires an apparently independent existence. In reality there is no person, only the watcher identifying himself with the "I" and the "mine". The teacher tells the watcher: you are not this, there is nothing of yours in this, except the little point of "I am", which is the bridge between the watcher and his dream. "I am this, I am that" is dream, while pure "I am" has the stamp of reality on it. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj *** *** *** Losing the false ego is awareness and abiding firmly as awareness is true clarity. ~Sri Ramana Maharshi *** *** *** Unless you identify correctly who you are, how can you identify others correctly? Recognize your real Self - Nisargadatta Maharaj *** *** *** Who or what-really-you are??? You cannot transcend what you do not know. To beyond yourself you must know yourself. *** *** *** When you believe yourself to be a person, you see persons everywhere. In reality there are no persons, only threads of memories and habits. At the moment of realization the person ceases. ~ Nisargadata Maharaj *** *** *** The jnani is the supreme and also the witness. He is both being and awareness. In relation to consciousness he is awareness. In relation to the universe he is pure being. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj. *** *** *** In this 3d-life-movie, usually you consider it ‘ ‘true; real” & ‘me; mine; myself”,… specially your belief system about yourself, another people and world. *** *** *** Write all your belief system down, make list about your belief system. Examine, self inquiry your belief system as if it belong to another people’s. *** *** *** Don't go off to sleep as a slave to the mind; be its master. Form this habit, become absolutely detached and master of your mind. *** *** *** So…: Leave others alone for some time and examine yourself. There are so many things you do not know about yourself – what are you, who are you, how did you come to be born, what are you doing now and why, where are you going, what is the meaning and purpose of your life, your death, your future? Have you a past, have you a future? How did you come to live turmoil and sorrow, while your being strives for happiness and peace? These are weighty matters and have to be attended to first. ~Nisargadatta Maharaj *** *** *** In this 3d-life-movie. The moment we stop pick up our thoughts about our world are ‘true; real” & ‘me; mine; myself”, we stop being attached to our past and we find the space to let go of ideas that no longer serve us. *** *** *** Many of your problems now result from spiritual ignorance. ~Seth *** *** *** If you are really a little alert, scientifically observant, methodical, systematic study, then sooner or later you will come out of it -- because how can you go on repeating? *** *** *** Remove all titles.. no matter of what kind of holy scriptures/gurus/religion/moral And their preach/teachers can help me and mankind as an alignment-deliberate-creator??? *** *** *** Spirituality does not come from moral/religion. *** *** *** You're gonna piss off a lot of people when you start doing what's best for you. *** *** *** Never put someone or me in a egoism-standard-box, said kiss ass is most high duty, saint, good deeds replace another's Source. *** *** *** Real beautiful/saints/virtue/moral/religion is one heart don’t kiss any kind of dark tyrant ruler’s ass, no matter of who or what. *** *** *** Rare is moral/religion not use egoism-standard-box, said kiss ass is most high duty, saint, good deeds replace another's Source. *** *** *** Spirituality does not come from moral/religion. It comes from our soul. We must stop confusing moral/religion and spirituality. Moral/religion is a set of rules, regulations, and rituals created by humans, which were supposed to help people spiritually. Due to human imperfection religion has become corrupt, political, divisive and a tool for power struggle. Spirituality is not theology or ideology. is simply a way of life, pure and original as given by the Most High. Spirituality is a network linking us to the Most High, the universe, and each other. *** *** *** Seth: You create your own reality according to your beliefs and expectations, and you do so individually and en masse. Until you learn this, you learn little. You are a multidimensional personality, and within you lies all the knowledge about yourself, your challenges and problems, that you will ever need to know. Others can help you in their own way...but my mission is to remind you of the incredible power within your own being, and to encourage you to recognize and use it. - Seth, The Nature of Personal Reality *** *** ** You are walking into the future of whatever you do with your mind. So where is your mind? *** *** ** If I have a little bit wisdom, I'll assume everything I've learned from my childhood is “wrong”(Maya; illusion; fake; false), Never pick up it as 'me; mine; myself' & 'real; true', unless them can Pass through myself self inquiry~~~^^ *** *** ** Why do you still consider the phenomena? See who the Seer is. BE HERE NOW. *** *** *** As a 3d-life-movie-phenomenon. You are the only witness of it. How can you lose this understanding, this insight? *** *** *** This Place Is A Dream. Only A Sleeper Considers It Real. Then Death Games Like Dawn And You Wake Up Laughing At What You Thought Was Your Grief. -Rumi *** *** *** Physical pain is not about something being wrong with your body. Pain is about Energy Alignment or mis-Alignment. Pain is just exaggerated negative emotion. It means there is some conflict between your desire and your belief. It means there is some conflict between what you are wanting and what you are actively and often thinking. ~ Abraham-Hicks ~ *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Via and thanks “Veronica Deshler”: *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** You are walking into the future of whatever you do with your mind. So where is your mind? *** *** *** The best indicator of your level of consciousness is how you deal with life's challenges when they come. Through those challenges, an already unconscious person tends to become more deeply unconscious, and a conscious person mere intensely conscious. You can use a challenge to awaken you, or you can allow it to pull you into even deeper sleep. The dream of ordinary unconsciousness then turns into a nightmare. ~Eckhart Tolle *** *** *** Seeing unhealthy patterns in your family/social and deciding that those patterns end with you and will not be passed down to future generations is an extremely brave and powerful decision. *** *** *** So…: I deleted all the perfect repeat the work-eat-entertainment-sleep-kiss ass-cycle people yesterday. Good morning my friend! ~~^^ *** *** *** Because…: Connection doesn’t care about the laws of the land. Your soul/heart will be pulled to the place it belongs. *** *** *** Why do you still consider the phenomena? See who the Seer is. BE HERE NOW. *** *** *** As a 3d-life-movie-phenomenon. You are the only witness of it. How can you lose this understanding, this insight? *** *** *** This Place Is A Dream. Only A Sleeper Considers It Real. Then Death Games Like Dawn And You Wake Up Laughing At What You Thought Was Your Grief. -Rumi *** *** *** Via and thanks "Sangha of Love": The most you can know is "I am that." But the more you know that—if someone asks you, "What is that that you are?" You don’t know what that is. You can’t say what that is. You just know that it’s what you are. You can call it emptiness, or consciousness, or God, or spirit, but still there’s a certain mystery to it all. What can you know about nothing? When you realize you’re the great emptiness, the great nothingness, the great pregnant nothingness from which everything comes and to which everything goes—what can you really know about nothing? We can only know something about something. Like, when nothing becomes a flower: now you can know something, or you can pretend like you know something. It’s a flower, it’s orange, it’s red, it’s beautiful, it’s ugly, it’s fresh, it’s dying. You can know, or think you know, something as soon as something comes into form. You can know the texture, or the feel, or the taste, the touch, the sense of the thing. But you can’t know anything, ultimately, about the unknown, about your true nature. All you can know is that you are that. 💙 Adyashanti *** *** ** I want mastermind with Source. I want to come into alignment with other humans who also want to align with Source! ~AH *** *** ** Socrate's Way： Mirror the most simplest “Cosmic Principle”(Tao; Source; Ma at; Brahma) in every area ….^^ *** *** **

2 notes · View notes

accio-ambition · 5 years

Text

No Good Deed (7/15)

Summary: Killian Jones is a gentleman. He and his brother pride themselves on the matter, even if it ends with harm to them. So when an angry ex of Killian’s client bites him, he tends to the wound, watches it heal, and thinks no more of it.Until he wakes up in a closet on his ship with no memory of what happened the night of the full moon.

Fleeing from the unknown, the brothers Jones find Storybrooke, and with it, Emma Swan, who is a lot more familiar with their situation than anyone could expect. And when an old foe comes to their new home, Killian has to rely on new talents to keep those he loves safe.

Rating: M for language, violence, some sexual content. (better safe than sorry)

Content warnings: violence

hello friends. here we are again. i wish i could tell you what i promise in this chapter. just kidding, i can, it's captain swan. and i particularly like this chapter for shenanigans. :) as always, thank you thank you thank you to @killiarious for beta-ing this mess, @wellhellotragic for the ever beautiful art, and @captainswanbigbang for putting this whole thing together. and @the-corsair-and-her-quill because she's always tagging me and i feel like its only fair.

Ao3

Chapter Seven

Swan moves in the following weekend, all her belongings brought from car to house in a matter of two trips. She’ll need a mattress, a dresser, and other sorts of furniture, but for the time being, she’s staying in Killian’s bed, though not without putting up a fight.

“Guys, I can sleep on the couch,” she says, hanging out in the doorway of Killian’s room as he and Liam remake the bed. “I’m the one who hasn’t found a mattress yet, you guys don’t have to suffer.”

“Nonsense, Emma,” Liam replies. “Us Jones men abide by good form.”

“And good form wouldn’t have a lady such as yourself sleeping on the couch when we can share a bed,” Killian adds. He glances over to see her rolling her eyes and huffing. “Swan, take the offer. You may be stubborn, but you’ll quickly learn that we can be just as obstinate.”

She grumbles under her breath, nothing that either of them can truly understand, but Liam winks at him as they pull the sheets tight. They’ve won for tonight.

As Emma settles in and their days without problems increase in number, the transition from coworkers and competitors goes...well, it’s a transition to be sure. Killian’s pleasantly surprised how often his brother and Swan don’t get into fights. Having your superior as a roommate, in his mind, is a recipe for disaster. But they must get along swimmingly at work or save all their disputes for the station.

The last time Killian had a roommate that wasn’t his brother was at 15. He and two other boys shared a room in a foster home on the occasions Killian didn’t run away. For some reason, he had expected Swan moving in to be quite similar to that - fighting for the bathroom, cold showers, a constantly empty fridge.

It’s quite the opposite: Swan is nothing if not the ideal roommate. She takes quick showers, cleans up her messes, and occasionally bakes a superb dessert. Plus, he doesn’t have to share a room with her like he did with the other boys. They all have their own personal spaces.

(Though bed...well, he wouldn’t mind sharing his personal space for that. But that’s not a thought that he should, nor would, share with anyone, least of all Swan herself.)

And as the days go on, he has the privilege of watching her relax. She’s doesn’t look skittish, like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. She’s cracking jokes, joining them at the dinner table, suggesting a rousing game of poker where she sweeps them without so much as blinking.

Emma Swan at home is quickly becoming Killian’s favorite version of Emma Swan.

As such an integral part of both Jones men’s lives, it’s not unusual for Elsa to stop by for some reason or another. It happens one night shortly after Emma moves in: Elsa comes over for dinner and, at the end of dinner, Elsa asks Emma if she’s like to attend their next girls’ night. Emma excuses herself to go upstairs to her room, a slight blush in her cheeks grabbing his attention before she goes.

(Wonder what that’s about, he thinks idly.)

“You like her.”

Those words out of Elsa’s mouth don’t really make sense. Individually, they all make sense, but Killian cannot figure what his brother’s girlfriend means.

“Excuse me?” he clarifies, but she only smiles before walking into the kitchen and leaving him to flounder.

He, naturally, follows her. “Hold on, you can’t say something like that and then leave the room,” he complains.

She remains silent as she joins Liam at the sink. Bumping her hip against his gets his attention: Liam startles, glances at her, and grins softly. Feeling like he’s interrupting a moment when he desperately needs an response from Elsa, Killian clears his throat.

“Brother, I can take your shift of dishes tonight,” Liam says.

“No, not yet,” Killian shushes him. Elsa’s still smiling, and continues to do so as he points a finger at her. “What do you mean?”

Shrugging, Elsa dunks a dirty plate into the soapy water. Liam looks at her. “What is he on about?”

“I told him he likes her,” she replies.

“Her who?”

“Emma,” Elsa tsks, the plate coming down in the water with a splash. “Don’t you see it?”

“Emma Swan?” Liam asks. “The sheriff of Storybrooke? Our new roommate, Emma?”

Elsa pouts, crossing her arms. “How many Emmas do you know?”

Liam turns on Killian. There’s fire in his eyes and Killian isn’t quite sure why. His brother stares at him, hard and judgmental, while Elsa hums behind him nonchalantly. When his gaze eases up, a small grin grows on Liam’s lips.

And goes back to doing the dishes,

“What was that?” Killian asks incredulously. “What the bloody fuck was that, Liam?”

His brother shrugs, and bumps Elsa’s hip back.

(It must be some secret signal. It has to be.)

“Nothing important, little brother,” he responds. “Just judging the credibility of Elsa’s accusations.”

“And?” Killian’s never liked it when Liam eggs him on like this.It’s goading and rude, in his opinion, the exact opposite of good form.

But two can play at that game. “Has she finally lied to you to protect your ego?”

Liam glares at him, and Killian knows the scores have evened out. “She never would,” he says with conviction and another stupid smile. “and she hasn’t.” Placing the dish he’s currently cleaning in the sink, Liam takes the time to turn and face Killian. “Don’t do anything stupid, Killian. Remember, she’s paying rent.”

Killian shakes his head in denial. It’s his mind they’re trying to analyze: he should know best what goes on inside it. “It’s not true.”

“What’s not true?” Emma asks, bounding back into the kitchen. Her blush has calmed down, but there’s still an air of happiness and amazement around her. “What’d I miss?”

Wrapping an arm around her shoulder, Killian begins to gently guide her away from his troublesome brother and his girlfriend. “Don’t worry about it, Swan,” he says. “Can I interest you in some strip poker instead?”

“Only if the stripping is me taking all of your money.”

From the kitchen, Killian can hear Elsa and Liam laugh, but they let him be.

And maybe, just maybe, Liam and Elsa might be a little right in their assessment of affection.

So he decides to test their deductions and see how he feels about it. He’ll ask her out, on a date-esque outing. They’ve spent a lot of time together at home, at her place of work, and out of the woods as wolves. None of those situations are especially conducive to romance. Or potential romance.

(The more he thinks on it, the more he hates how right his brother and his girlfriend are.)

(He dares someone, anyone in the world, to tell him they find Emma Swan anything less than beguiling.)

“Would you like to do something this weekend?” he asks casually while cleaning the dishes one evening. “I can ask one of the lads down at the docks if I can borrow their vessel and we can sail out.”

Emma hesitates, her circles on the plate she’s drying slowing. “That sounds great, Killian, but...”

In his mind, her voice goes wobbly as he zones out. He’s reeling, because there are only a few things she could be doing. She’s only been living with them for about a month, but every weekend, she’s either stayed to herself or tagged along with whatever they were doing. Sometimes it was running errands, other times doing sorely needed housework, but Emma’s yet to really venture outside of her comfort zone.

Killian rules out working, because he knows Leroy’s been grumping about it the whole week. The unwelcome thought of her going out with someone else is...well, she’s living her own life and Killian just has to live with whatever happens. Even if he doesn’t like the idea of Swan schmoozing and hanging out with another man.

“Elsa.”

Shaking his head, Killian realizes she’s expecting a response to a comment only heard the last word of. “Pardon?”

Rolling her eyes, Emma puts the dried plate back in the cupboard and repeats herself. “I’d love to, but I’m actually going to have a girls’ day with Elsa and some of her friends.”

“Really?” he asks with a raise of his brow.

She squints at him, reaching for another drying dish. “Why do you sound surprised?”

“Not surprised, per se.” The last time he’d seen his brother’s girlfriend, she hadn’t mentioned a budding friendship with Swan. “Impressed,” he clarifies. “You’re off making your own friends.”

“Well, I have an actual house with an actual bed and Elsa made a very compelling offer,” she says. Tsking, she continues, “Besides, I can’t hang out with you two for the rest of my life.”

“I don’t know,” he says with a shrug, looking down into the sudsy water. “I’ve been in that head of yours and I think Liam and I can satisfy all of your needs.” His tongue comes out from the corner of his mouth as he looks over to see her less-than-impressed expression. “Socially, of course.”

“Right,” She drawls. “I’m still going to Elsa’s. For some girl time.”

“All right.”

“But can we go sailing next weekend? Or Sunday?” Emma asks, turning pleading eyes on him and catching him completely off guard.

(In the little time they’ve been a pack and the even shorter time they’ve been living together, Killian has learned he cannot, under any circumstances, say no to Swan.)

“Of course, Swan,” he murmurs, still a bit disappointed at his lack of plans. “So kind of you to fit me into your busy schedule.”

She hums, a satisfied little grin crossing her lips. “I think jealousy suits you well.”

Killian’s jaw nearly drops into the dirty sink water. He whirls to her, flabbergasted. “I am not jealous,” he protests.

“I think you are,” Emma says, her voice melodic and smug. “With that pout of yours and grumpy set of your brow.” She sets down the towel in her hand and leans into him. In his ear, she whispers, “Just remember, you’re the one I always come home to.” Then she presses her lips to his cheek and exits the kitchen, leaving Killian to finish the rest of the dishes by his stunned self.

0000

Swan’s girls’ day Saturday ends up being a washout, making Killian feel a little better. He wouldn’t have gone out in this weather regardless, and with Liam on duty this weekend, it’s nice that one of the three of them is having a nice weekend.

With the house to himself, Killian is taking full advantage. No shirt, boxers, a cold beer in hand, and mindless television on the screen in front of him. It’s relaxing, a sort of peace he doesn’t often have a chance to experience. And in the nick of time, too: lately, his head’s been hurting him. Migraines and weird allergic-type itching have plagued him for the better part of the week. Usually, he’d attribute it to something about the transformation, but they couldn’t be any further away from the full moon if they tried. Emma’s even on one of her two weeks of freedom, something she’s relishing in.

Scratching behind his ear as it pains him again, Killian shuts his eyes at a commercial, hoping darkness could calm his senses down.

Instead, it strengthens a particular sensation: his communications with Emma. It starts off as a humming in the back of his brain. He attributes it to the TV at first, but then he hears her familiar voice, which he knows wouldn’t be on the television. Opening his eyes slightly, he checks over his shoulders just to make sure he’s not missing something, but it keeps going with no one behind him.

He knows that Emma isn’t in the house. He watched her walk out the front door an hour, hour and a half ago, smile wide beneath the hood of her jacket as she headed to Ruby’s. The rational part of his brain tells him she’s off with Ruby, Elsa, and a few of their friends. But that doesn’t explain why he can hear Ruby say, “So tell us about you and Killian” clear as day.

Emma scoffs, choking on whatever beverage she’s chosen today. “Excuse me?” she asks, a shot of panic dosing their bond.

There are giggles and another woman’s voice, one he isn’t too familiar with, says, “You can tell us. We won’t judge you or anything.”

“Speak for yourself.” That’s Ruby, he would know that instigator’s voice in his sleep.

Killian can feel Emma take a huge swig of her drink, making him swallow himself.

“Nope,” she says, taking a deep breath. “No, you’re either going to have to waterboard me or pump me full of the good stuff.”

There’s some sort of scuffle that interrupts Killian’s little broadcast, but he can hear Ruby agree in typical salacious Ruby fashion: “That can be arranged.”

Killian opens his eyes, knowing that the conversation can only get more private and intrusive from here. Swan left for her girl time, to be away from him and his brother because she’s right, she needs more than the two of them as her friends. He shouldn’t be listening in on this. He knows that.

His brain, however, seems to think otherwise. His migraine, though not completely gone, has waned, and though it’s not the worst he’s ever experienced, Killian would really like to not have a migraine right now.

It’s very weird, because he’s seeing a commercial for Hot Pockets, can hear the light strains of the music and lines associated with it, but he overwhelmingly hears Emma, almost like she’s talking directly to him at a loud and crowded party or something. Except it’s a party where their emotions and thoughts are already a connected, even if neither of them were invited, but they still showed up anyways.

(He was never very good at metaphors.)

The apprehension that Emma feels, though, he’s good at identifying that, at knowing that there isn’t really anything to spill about other than they’re roommates.

Not that he wants that to be the case.

He understands her mush of feelings quite well because he’s feeling the same way, regardless of her emotions influencing him at the moment.

“Come on,” Ruby scoffs. “He hangs on your every word.”

“He does not,” Emma insists, pushing everything deeper into a corner of her mind.

“How do you say no to those puppy dog eyes of his?” the other woman asks. Emma’s laughter reverberates through their bond and manifests physical in him, chuckling away at a soap opera at how accurate the choice of words is. It warms him up in a pleasant manner for such a dreary day.

Before Emma can respond, Killian barely hears Elsa say, “It’s difficult.” They must share a look, a sense of intrigue bubbling up. Killian can imagine Elsa ever so casually shrugging. “What, Liam’s got them too. You figure Killian had to learn it from somewhere.”

“Yeah, let’s talk about that more,” Emma says, swallowing a healthy gulp of whatever her drink may be. There’s the clink of glass, something like setting a glass on the table, that makes Killian think it’s probably of the vino variety. The conversation around her - them - fades out of focus, relief flooding the bond as Swan relaxes physically. She sighs at the distraction, no matter how weak it might be. “Elsa and Liam. Yeah, focus on them.”

Chuckling to himself, Killian has to admit Emma’s got denial down to a tee. Getting her to admit that she’s wrong in any argument is a huge victory. Whether it’s who left the dishes in the sink overnight to what the correct ending line of Clueless is, Emma Swan has to be the winner. Or she has to believe she is.

Emma starts at Ruby’s voice, loud even to Killian. He assumes she must be closer now, perhaps talking straight into Swan’s ear so as not to be pushed away like last time. She wants an answer, and if she needs to invade Emma’s thoughts - and thus, unknowingly, Killian’s - then she will.

“Just tell me one thing and I’ll leave you alone,” Ruby says, though there’s something in her voice that makes Killian think her words are for Emma alone. “I’ll pretend that your distraction was sufficient enough for me and you can continue swimming the length of De-Nile.”

“Ha,” Swan grants her drolly. “It fooled them.”

“I know deflection when I see it,” Ruby scoffs. “The younger Jones puts out a lot of sexual swagger. I want to makes sure he lives up to the image.”

Emma doesn’t say anything for a minute, confusing Killian even further. He knows that he oftens puts on that pirate swagger act, but the more he thinks about it, the tougher he finds it to remember the last time he consciously did it, or even wanted to do it. Ever since Swan moved in, he hasn’t really gone out to the bars or even out of his way to woo a woman in that manner.

Huh.

“What?” Emma finally asks.

Ruby laughs. “Are you kidding? Broody, works basically alone at the harbor, eyebrows with a mind of their own, a body built for sin?” She clicks her tongue. “I haven’t seen much of that Killian, and I can only assume it’s because of you. I want to make sure he’s putting it to good use.”

Embarrassment bleeds through their bond now, leading Killian to imagine that blush Emma’s got to color her cheeks. She’s got to be shaking her head, just like the character on the television is doing right now in front of his eyes, as if movement will remove the conversation from her brain. “No,” she says. “Nuh uh, nope, we’re not having this conversation.” There’s a pause where Ruby cackles before he feels the need to escape and hears Emma do so by asking, “Where’s the bottle? I need more.”

The surrounding noise and voices disappear in time, leaving Emma alone with her feelings and thoughts.

And him.

He can hear the thunk and thump of cabinet doors opening and the telltale stick of the refrigerator opening. When he hears the whump of it closing, Killian deduces that his Swan’s run away to the kitchen, on the prowl for more alcohol to wash away Ruby’s invasive question. There’s a discomfort, an agitation, that consumes her thoughts. Something about high school or her youth, the awkwardness associated with it and how it hardened her into the woman she is today.

“What’s this now, Swan? Are you embarrassed by how easily you fall for my charms?” he says aloud.

It must echo, though, into her mind, because Killian hears her spit out her drink, the liquid pinging off the sink, followed by a “Jesus, fuck.” Her sense of humiliation skyrockets, so forceful that his own cheeks start to redden with warmth. “Dear God, if you’re there, please tell me he didn’t hear any of that,” she prays.

“I don’t know about any almighty being that might have listened in on such a raunchy conversation, but I was certainly privy to it.” Emma groans. Killian tsks. “Don’t be ashamed. You’re hardly the first one to succumb to my better nature.”

Emma growls, “Stop talking or else your better nature isn’t getting any better any time soon.”

Staring at the TV, Killian tilts his head. “I’m afraid I don’t quite understand that retort, love.”

“Shut up.” She sighs, then taking another drink of her wine. “It’s not the full moon, why are you in my head?”

“Haven’t the foggiest,” he replies. Killian reaches up to scratch at the spot behind his ear. “There wasn’t much on the television and I had a bit of a headache, so I closed my eyes and then I heard you.” He shrugs to himself. “I guess I tuned in to you.”

When Emma awws, it confounds Killian. Something along the lines of curiosity must come through on her end of the bond, because she answers his unasked question. “You were thinking of me because you miss me even if I’m a five minute drive away.”

“I’m always missing you,” he responds with a chuckle, hoping she doesn’t perceive the strength in which he means it.

“How’s the headache now?” she asks.

“Gone.” He smiles. “You’re the only medicine I’ll ever need.”

She scoffs, “Gross.” A faint voice comes from her side of the bond, getting minutely louder. Urgency accompanies it. “Okay, you’ve got to tune out now. For the rest of the time I’m here,” Emma says.

“Wait: who’s there with you?” he asks quickly.

“Ruby, Elsa, and Ruby’s friend Mary Margaret.”

Killian breathes deeply in understanding. Now that he’s been told, he can totally recognize one of the local school teacher as the mystery voice. “Thank you, love. That would have bothered me all night.”

“Right, you’ve got to go away now.”

“Spoilsport.”

Moaning in frustration, Emma says, “Look, I don’t want to talk about the size of your brother’s dick as much as you don’t want to hear about it, but it’s going to happen whether we like it or not and I’d really like to keep one of us innocent.”

“My savior.”

“You’re welcome.”

The voices of her friends getting louder, Killian knows his time is short, if not already used up. Swiftly, he relaxes his body, hoping that it will calm her down. “Be safe, Swan. I’ll be here if you need me,” he says. All the talk of his missing swagger makes him add, “And be sure to hint at how gifted I am proportionately in comparison to Liam.”

“And now I can only think about that and I’m going to make sure it’s the only thing you can think about all night for being…” He can pick out each of the women’s individual voices now, meaning they must have found Swan’s hiding place. The end of her sentence gets drowned out and Killian’s left with the overdramatic tones of a soap opera once more.

#csbb #captain swan big bang #cs ff #csbb fic #csbb art #storytime #no good deed #captain swan #shenanigans ensue #and ilams being a big brother #and teasing #and SOMEBODYs got a crush #im not telling who #just kidding you all know #my words

25 notes · View notes

patriotsnet · 3 years

Text

Who Are Republicans For The Rule Of Law

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-are-republicans-for-the-rule-of-law/

Who Are Republicans For The Rule Of Law

Other Conservatives Are Starting To Make Noise

Republicans for the Rule of Law Ad Featured on Shepard Smith

Republicans for the Rule of Law is not the only group of conservatives mobilizing against the presidents efforts to politicize the DOJ. On Wednesday, the New York Times profiled a new group organized by George Conway husband of White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway called Checks and Balances.

We believe in the rule of law, the power of truth, the independence of the criminal justice system, the imperative of individual rights and the necessity of civil discourse, the group said in a statement. We believe these principles apply regardless of the party or persons in power.

The Times reports that the group is meant to encourage debate about some of the Trump administrations policies and actions among legal organizations that usually support him, like the Federalist Society.

Despite his wifes central role in the administration, Conway has emerged as an outspoken critic of Trump especially on Twitter.

This is flabbergasting.

George Conway

Conway has also been critical of Trumps decision to appoint Whitaker. Asked about Conways criticisms during a question-and-answer session with reporters last week, Trump dismissed him as a selfish attention-seeker.

Hes just trying to get publicity for himself, Trump said.

In Relation To Economics

One important aspect of the rule-of-law initiatives is the study and analysis of the rule of law’s impact on economic development. The rule-of-law movement cannot be fully successful in transitional and developing countries without an answer to the question: does the rule of law matter to economic development or not?Constitutional economics is the study of the compatibility of economic and financial decisions within existing constitutional law frameworks, and such a framework includes government spending on the judiciary, which, in many transitional and developing countries, is completely controlled by the executive. It is useful to distinguish between the two methods of corruption of the judiciary: corruption by the executive branch, in contrast to corruption by private actors.

The standards of constitutional economics can be used during annual budget process, and if that budget planning is transparent then the rule of law may benefit. The availability of an effective court system, to be used by the civil society in situations of unfair government spending and executive impoundment of previously authorized appropriations, is a key element for the success of the rule-of-law endeavor.

Studies have shown that weak rule of law discourages investment. Economists have found, for example, that a rise in discretionary regulatory enforcement caused US firms to abandon international investments.

Theyve Been Jabbing At Mike Lee & Praising Maryland Governor Larry Hogan On Social Media

The women of Utah have questions for Senator Lee, including: Do you mean you already fully understood his utter disregard for the rule of law, and just dont care?

Republicans for the Rule of Law

Republicans for the Rule of Law recently reposted a letter to the editor that appeared in the Salt Lake Tribune, slamming Utah Senator Mike Lee. The letter, written by the Utah chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, asked Lee why he continues to stand by the president. The letter reads:

When you state that nothing in this report changes your view of this president, do you mean that you already fully understood that President Trump was doing whatever he could to obstruct justice and was saved only because his staff refused to follow his orders? Do you mean that you support the president despite this unethical and self-serving behavior?

Republicans for the Rule of Law has also been showering praise on Maryland governor Larry Hogan. Hogan is the son of the late Maryland representative Lawrence Hogan, who was the only Republican representative to vote for all three articles of impeachment against Nixon. More recently, Larry Hogan made headlines when he called the Mueller Report disturbing and said it didnt exonerate the president.

Also Check: What Is Republicanism And What Does It Value

A Loyalist Runs The Justice Department

Trump made no secret that his antipathy to former Attorney General Jeff Sessions was rooted in Sessionss decision to recuse himself from the Russia investigation a move that ultimately resulted in Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointing Mueller as special counsel.

The ad that Republicans for the Rule of Law ran on Fox & Friends highlights comments Whitaker made during TV appearances before his stratospheric rise to the top of the DOJ, such as the appointment of Bob Mueller I dont think was necessary or appropriate and what I see is a president that is starting to figure out that if I want to I can terminate you legally there is certainly a way for that to happen.

Perhaps the most prominent member of the group, Bill Kristol, shared video of the ad on Twitter.

Republicans for the Rule of Law is running this ad on Fox and Friends this morning.

Bill Kristol

Whitaker thus far has given no indications that he plans to recuse himself from overseeing Muellers investigation. Trump reportedly became a fan of his thanks to TV appearances where Whitaker suggested Muellers work could be brought to an end by slashing his budget, and characterized his appointment as ridiculous and a little fishy.

The many scandals of Trumps new acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, explained

Status In Various Jurisdictions

2005 map of Worldwide Governance Indicators, which attempts to measure the extent to which agents have confidence in and abide by the rules of society. Â;Â;90â100th percentile* Â;Â;0â10th percentile *Percentile rank indicates the percentage of countries worldwide that rate below the selected country.

The rule of law has been considered one of the key dimensions that determine the quality and good governance of a country. Research, like the Worldwide Governance Indicators, defines the rule of law as: “the extent to which agents have confidence and abide by the rules of society, and in particular the quality of contract enforcement, the police and the courts, as well as the likelihood of crime or violence.” Based on this definition the Worldwide Governance Indicators project has developed aggregate measurements for the rule of law in more than 200 countries, as seen in the map at right.

Recommended Reading: What Do Republicans Stand For Today

Republicans For The Rule Of Law Ad Targets Johnson Over Covid

Republicans for the Rule of Law have announced an ad campaign targeting GOP U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson for pushing ahead with efforts to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court while opposing a new COVID-19 relief bill.

A group spokeswoman said it is spending more than $250,000 on TV in the Madison and Milwaukee markets on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. The buy runs today through Sunday with a digital component as well.

The group describes itself as life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law. Its also targeting: U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas; Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa; Bob Portman, R-Ohio; and Marco Rubio, R-Fla.; as part of an overall $1 million ad campaign.

Johnson hasnt said if he plans to run for re-election in 2022 or if he will stick to his pledge to serve two terms in the Senate.

The narrator in the ad says Johnson blocked a confirmation vote in 2016 before playing a clip of him saying, Eight months before the election, why not let the American people decide the direction of the Supreme Court?

Now, the narrator adds, Johnson supports rushing through a new judge, but refuses to pass COVID relief.

Call Ron Johnson and tell him to pass COVID relief now and let the peoples voice be heard on the Supreme Court, the narrator says to close the ad. Sen. Ron Johnson is letting Wisconsin down.

The Rule Of Law In The United States

The Constitution serves as the foundation for the rule of law in American justice. It establishes a system of rights, freedoms, and checks and balances that ensure a fair and just society for all without government overreach and tyranny. This includes separation of power between three distinct branches of government .

Ultimately, no person, whether individual or policymaker, has the right to subvert the rule of law. Amendments are possible if and when societal shifts make them necessary, but the process is challenging for a reason. Not only does it prevent rulers from changing the law to suit their needs, but it also helps to maintain a more stable government and freedom for all Americans.

Also Check: Which Region In General Supported The Democratic Republicans

About Republicans For Voting Rights

Republicans for Voting Rights is an initiative of the Republican Accountability Project with the purpose of defending the accessibility, integrity, and competitiveness of American elections.

Voting is a sacred American right. But after the 2020 election, some Republicans began pushing for more restrictive voting laws designed to support unfounded accusations that the election was stolen and the results were illegitimate. Some even believe that voting is harmful to their electoral prospects. More still believe our electoral system is rife with fraud and security failures.

Republicans for Voting Rights rejects the false choice between voting access and election integrity. We believe that Republicans in federal, state, and local government should protect the right to vote, protect our election systems from partisan or foreign interference, and help build trust in our democracy.

What Happened To Bill Kristol And Republicans For The Rule Of Law

Did you ever imagine the President could act like this?

In 2013, American Conservative Union head David Keene took a direct shot at then Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, while;addressing;a crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

Some political operatives think we lost because of our ideas and valuesand what we really ought to do is change them, said Keene, attacking Republican strategists concerned over electoral defeat, including Kristol.

A lot has changed in seven yearsin terms of political players and issuesbut Keenes warning still holds true.

In an act of appeasement toward the political left, many self-professed limited government conservativesonce heralded as firebrands by their supportershave abandoned the conservative tradition.

Theres no doubt that the recent death of George Floyd raises questions about the state of the current justice system. Any conservative or libertarian-minded individual truly concerned about big government should fight to hold everyone accountable to the law.

But establishment GOP leaders and consultants have shifted their reform efforts. Instead of standing up for traditional conservative valuesgovernment accountability, the rule of lawtheyve pinned the blame on those stubborn conservatives.

Take for example, Max Boot, one of President Donald Trumps strongest critics.;According to;Boot, The president is pouring gasoline on the flames of racial division, and the Republican Party is holding the jerrycan for him.

Also Check: How Many Registered Democrats And Republicans In The Us

About The Rule Of Law

Rule of law is an ancient philosophy first outlined by Aristotle in ancient Rome. It purports that all people and entities, including the government, must be bound to the same system of laws and regulations. This prevents rulers from abusing their powers or engaging in tyranny while also setting guidelines under which all people pursue happiness without harming others.

This does not necessarily mean that all governments who adopt the rule of law are forced to follow the same exact system. For example, both Canada and the US believe in the rule of law, but the justice system adopted by each contains very different laws. The term rule of law is more about the government and the people agreeing to the same system as a whole.

Republicans For The Rule Of Law Is Financed By A Democrat

Just hours after Jeff Sessions resigned as attorney general last Wednesday at the presidents behest, #TheResistance found its newest target for destruction: Sessions interim replacement, Matthew Whitaker….NeverTrump conservatives are aiding Schiff and the media in their campaign to paralyze if not remove Whitaker. Commercials attacking the acting attorney general were aired on several Sunday morning political shows. The ads were sponsored by Republicans for the Rule of Law, a group founded earlier this year by Bill Kristol, the editor-at-large of The Weekly Standard. The groups primary role so far appears to be pimping for the Mueller probe, a political witch-hunt that Kristol and his fellow NeverTrumpers pray will lead to the impeachment and removal of the president. The Left and their NeverTrump footsoldiers fear Whitaker will thwart the special counsels investigation instead of rubber stamping Muellers ever-expanding investigation as Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein has done over the past 18 months.

Recommended Reading: Why Do Republicans Hate Ted Cruz

The Council Of Europe

The Statute of the Council of Europe characterizes the rule of law as one of the core principles which the establishment of the organization based on. The paragraph 3 of the preamble of the Statute of the Council of Europe states: “Reaffirming their devotion to the spiritual and moral values which are the common heritage of their peoples and the true source of individual freedom, political liberty and the rule of law, principles which form the basis of all genuine democracy.” The Statute lays the compliance with the rule of law principles as a condition for the European states to be a full member of the organization.

In Relation To Culture

The Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments or Roerich Pact is an inter-American treaty. The most important idea of the Roerich Pact is the legal recognition that the defense of cultural objects is more important than the use or destruction of that culture for military purposes, and the protection of culture always has precedence over any military necessity.The Roerich Pact signed on April 15, 1935, by the representatives of 21 American states in the Oval Office of the White House . It was the first international treaty signed in the Oval Office.The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict is the first international treaty that focuses on the protection of cultural property in armed conflict. It was signed at The Hague, Netherlands on 14 May 1954 and entered into force on 7 August 1956. As of June 2017, it has been ratified by 128 states.

Don’t Miss: How Many Republicans Voted For Daca

A Viral Ad Released By The Group Says Republican Silence On The Mueller Report Is Deafening

Republicans, your silence is deafening. Stand up for the rule of law.

Republicans for the Rule of Law

A new ad from the Republicans for the Rule of Law has been going viral on social media; you can see it above. Many people are retweeting it and adding instructions to listen with your sound turned all the way up, because this video is supposed to be all about silence. The spot, shot in black and white, features close-ups of Republican Ben senators Sasse, Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, John Kennedy, Tim Scott. Theyre all looking straight ahead and saying nothing. You can hear a bit of static and the faint sound of a ticking clock.

A caption at the end reads, Republicans: Your silence is deafening. Our president attempted to obstruct justice. Stand up for the rule of law.

Some Trumpists Turn Against Cheneys Successor

Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, who entered the House as a centrist in 2014 but has recast her as a Trumpist with support of Trumps disinformation, has been endorsed by House GOP leader McCarthy as Cheneys successor.

But some Trumpists are already jabbing at Stefanik as a moderate in disguise. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas sent a memo to every Republican representative that Stefanik had cast a series of votes opposed to Trumpism.

We must avoid putting in charge Republicans who campaign as Republicans but then vote for and advance the Democrats agenda once sworn in that is, that we do not make the same mistakes that we did in 2017.

With all due respect to my friend, Elise Stefanik, let us contemplate the message Republican leadership is about to send by rushing to coronate a spokesperson whose voting record embodies much of what led to the 2018 ass-kicking we received by Democrats.

Members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus have privately expressed reluctance, if not opposition, about Stefaniks ascendancy.

The New York representative has sought to appease critics by promising that she would resign as Conference chair before casting a vote that differs from the majority of House Republicans. She told reporters on Tuesday, We have a great deal of support from the Freedom Caucus and others.

Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Trump have backed Stefanik.

Read Also: Why Do Democrats And Republicans Disagree

International Commission Of Jurists

In 1959, an event took place in New Delhi and speaking as the International Commission of Jurists, made a declaration as to the fundamental principle of the rule of law. The event consisted of over 185 judges, lawyers, and law professors from 53 countries. This later became known as the . During the declaration they declared what the rule of law implied. They included certain rights and freedoms, an independent judiciary and social, economic and cultural conditions conducive to human dignity. The one aspect not included in The Declaration of Delhi, was for rule of law requiring legislative power to be subject to judicial review.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations defines the rule of law as:

a principle of governance in which all persons, institutions and entities, public and private, including the State itself, are accountable to laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced and independently adjudicated, and which are consistent with international human rights norms and standards. It requires, as well, measures to ensure adherence to the principles of supremacy of law, equality before the law, accountability to the law, fairness in the application of the law, separation of powers, participation in decision-making, legal certainty, avoidance of arbitrariness and procedural and legal transparency.

1 note · View note

statetalks · 3 years

Text

Who Are Republicans For The Rule Of Law

Other Conservatives Are Starting To Make Noise

Republicans for the Rule of Law Ad Featured on Shepard Smith

Despite his wifes central role in the administration, Conway has emerged as an outspoken critic of Trump especially on Twitter.

This is flabbergasting.

George Conway

Hes just trying to get publicity for himself, Trump said.

In Relation To Economics

Theyve Been Jabbing At Mike Lee & Praising Maryland Governor Larry Hogan On Social Media

The women of Utah have questions for Senator Lee, including: Do you mean you already fully understood his utter disregard for the rule of law, and just dont care?

Republicans for the Rule of Law

Also Check: What Is Republicanism And What Does It Value

A Loyalist Runs The Justice Department

Perhaps the most prominent member of the group, Bill Kristol, shared video of the ad on Twitter.

Republicans for the Rule of Law is running this ad on Fox and Friends this morning.

Bill Kristol

The many scandals of Trumps new acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker, explained

Status In Various Jurisdictions

Recommended Reading: What Do Republicans Stand For Today

Republicans For The Rule Of Law Ad Targets Johnson Over Covid

A group spokeswoman said it is spending more than $250,000 on TV in the Madison and Milwaukee markets on Fox News, MSNBC and CNN. The buy runs today through Sunday with a digital component as well.

Johnson hasnt said if he plans to run for re-election in 2022 or if he will stick to his pledge to serve two terms in the Senate.

Now, the narrator adds, Johnson supports rushing through a new judge, but refuses to pass COVID relief.

Call Ron Johnson and tell him to pass COVID relief now and let the peoples voice be heard on the Supreme Court, the narrator says to close the ad. Sen. Ron Johnson is letting Wisconsin down.

The Rule Of Law In The United States

Also Check: Which Region In General Supported The Democratic Republicans

About Republicans For Voting Rights

Republicans for Voting Rights is an initiative of the Republican Accountability Project with the purpose of defending the accessibility, integrity, and competitiveness of American elections.

What Happened To Bill Kristol And Republicans For The Rule Of Law

Did you ever imagine the President could act like this?

In 2013, American Conservative Union head David Keene took a direct shot at then Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol, while;addressing;a crowd at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

A lot has changed in seven yearsin terms of political players and issuesbut Keenes warning still holds true.

In an act of appeasement toward the political left, many self-professed limited government conservativesonce heralded as firebrands by their supportershave abandoned the conservative tradition.

Also Check: How Many Registered Democrats And Republicans In The Us

About The Rule Of Law

Republicans For The Rule Of Law Is Financed By A Democrat

Recommended Reading: Why Do Republicans Hate Ted Cruz

The Council Of Europe

In Relation To Culture

Don’t Miss: How Many Republicans Voted For Daca

A Viral Ad Released By The Group Says Republican Silence On The Mueller Report Is Deafening

Republicans, your silence is deafening. Stand up for the rule of law.

Republicans for the Rule of Law

A caption at the end reads, Republicans: Your silence is deafening. Our president attempted to obstruct justice. Stand up for the rule of law.

Some Trumpists Turn Against Cheneys Successor

Members of the hard-right Freedom Caucus have privately expressed reluctance, if not opposition, about Stefaniks ascendancy.

Freedom Caucus co-founder Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Trump have backed Stefanik.

Read Also: Why Do Democrats And Republicans Disagree

International Commission Of Jurists

The Secretary-General of the United Nations defines the rule of law as:

source https://www.patriotsnet.com/who-are-republicans-for-the-rule-of-law/

1 note · View note

flipsideds · 6 years

Text

“ — oh, uhm... i hope you don’t mind, but i was actually saving that last sugar cube for a pal of mine. RANDY. yeah, i... i’m sure there’s more oranges at the store? if you’d maybe want to check there? ”

alternatively: i have z e r o p e r c e n t self-control & am ready to introduce you to my little honeysuckle dewdrop, ollie smith !!

* ━ ━ have you met brattleboro's very own BOTANY STUDENT / HORTICULTURAL APPRENTICE yet ? if you haven’t, let me introduce you to OLEANDER “OLLIE” MICHAEL SMITH — a TWENTY - TWO year old CISMALE, he was last seen ARTFULLY PLATING SUGAR CUBES & ORANGE SLICES FOR HIS DAILY BREAKFAST WITH THE BEES whilst listening to HERE COMES THE SUN. oft described as soft-spoken, mild, breezy & acquiescent, he won't ever tell you that A FINE SELECTION OF BRATTLEBORO’S BEES HAVE TAKEN UP RESIDENCE IN HIS HAIR, A RESULT OF HIS LONG-STANDING PROTECTION PACT WITH THEM: IF THE BEES ARE THREATENED IN ANY WAY, HE WILL NOT HESITATE, BITCH ! ; at least that's what the rumour is around town. // TARJEI SANDVIK MOE.

here’s the buzz concerning oleander smith :

randy is a bee. he is ollie’s very best bee friend. he takes the cake when it comes to loyalty and priority, and if you cannot handle that, then ollie concludes your presence can probably be best made useful elsewhere.

if his bees don’t trust you, game over. sorry, ollie doesn’t make the rules !!

he’s studying botany, looking to get his masters! so in the meantime, he’s also working a paid apprenticeship with brattleboro parks & rec, maintaining the local butterfly gardens in the town center. catch him watering the plants daily, taking very frequent breaks to smell the flowers and whisper to them about how pretty & special they are!!!

he has mfing bees?? living in his hair?? like a boss tbh. and when they’re really happy and/or he’s asleep, they form a lil halo around his head and it’s 2 cute to handle. basically, the bees and ollie have a mutual protection pact, the details of which i’ll briefly outline below.

adores children, so whenever little kids come to the gardens for field trips or whatever he’s always stooped in the dirt with them, introducing them to butterflies that casually perch on his fingertips. i swear, this kid is the friggin’ flower/insect whisperer.

how the arrangement came to bee :

so a young 5 y/o ollie got stung by a bee one day. he cried a lot, not about the sting but rather about the bee dying?? so baby ollie held a full funeral service for it near its hive and then began bringing bereavement meals (sugar cubes, etc.) to the bees in the wake of their loved one’s absence, as is obviously customary when one mourns the loss of a fallen bee. he started visiting the bees more frequently, having his breakfasts outdoors in his family’s back yard just to chat with them.

in elementary school, ollie got bullied pretty badly because kids caught him talking to ‘no one’ (aka his bees). he’d always been picked on for his size and for having two moms, but this one awful kid decided to continue this teasing further than small comments and jeers. so one day, cute lil fetus ollie tries to play kickball with the other kids and is instead kicked in the shins. his balance was awful so he toppled to the ground, scraping his knee and his left cheek in the process. the other kids found this hilarious -- ollie’s walk home featured slumped shoulders and an abundance of sniffles.

his moms didn’t really do much about it tbh?? beatrice and debbie don’t believe in aggravating others; they’re pacifists at heart. so they encourage ollie to “talk it out” with his aggressor.

a similar physical teasing happens the next day. instead of telling his moms about it, ollie returns home and goes straight to the hive to tell his bees. they are BUZZING with anger.

ollie goes to school the next morning. same shit, different day. this trend continues for about two weeks before the bees finally decide enough is enough. one of ollie’s bestest bee buddies, randy, tags along to school without making himself known. he hides away in the hood of ollie’s sweater. the bully kid tries his usual teasing at recess and manages to shove ollie onto the blacktop when ollie tries to reason with him. he’s about to do more damage with his freakin’ buzz lightyear light-up sneakers when wham!! he’s stung! by a bee! right on his nose!

the kicker is this kid was like... hella allergic to bee stings? so he nearly died and never messed with ollie again. and from then on, the bees have vowed to protect ollie because they don’t buy into humankind’s capacity for kindness.

they casually alternate shifts living in his hair, y’know? casual. and they ADORE his current line of work, so it’s a winning situation for everyone involved.

personality ? more like personali-bee, am i right ladies ?? :

honestly people around town probably think he's got some marbles loose because more often than not he will converse with the bees out loud?? but they've got this ~ emotional bond ~ too, which makes communicating non-verbally just as effective?

he's such a nerd, adores everything about botany and flowers and biology.

lil sunshine gumdrop. but his bees WILL attack people who wrong him, or threaten him, or give off the vibe of being capable of hurting him.

ollie is such a pacifist but he doesn't force his bees to abide by the same moral code.

you can routinely find him outside the local grocery store asking for donations to save the bees !!

also catch him lecturing the locals on how bees have pure hearts, therefore humans should not be afraid, nor should they deem killing them the answer !!!

lavender macaroons are his favorite.

any sweets, also.

he takes his tea with milk and honey, and a dollop of sunshine.

he has a habit of humming to himself when he’s gardening.

will routinely pose questions with an unironic “huh?” at the end.

christopher robin in another life, probably.

he’s always wearing some form of gentle color. baby blues, lavenders, etc.

he has an adorable little gardening hat. and probably always has dainty little gardening gloves tucked into the back pocket of his jeans because you just... never know when you might encounter a plant in need, ok??

very not used to being the center of anyone’s attention, so he’s very softspoken. like, even the silent evening air is like, could you pls speak up, lil gumdrop?

blushes like, all the time?

his best trait is def his smile. it just blossoms across his features and lowkey some people think the town gardens are flourishing so much just because of his sheer capacity for peace, luv, & joy.

* BLACK EYED P E A S BEES VC * hive got a feeling ( whoo hoo ) that tonight’s gonna bee a good night :

pals! he’s such a Soft Boi

people who wholeheartedly despise bees, even if it’s just in an effort to make ollie squirm.

fellow nature enthusiasts!

his mail carrier? because i have this headcanon where they’ll have the most basic conversations in the morning, but they’re always so uplifting and cute?

someone who anticipates his tendency to forego a grocery basket and then spill everything as he tries to juggle it all toward the register.

bad influence!! he’s so innocent? someone attempt to lure him to the dark side?

“ excuse me miss, pls stop stepping on the flowers... if you can? if it’s not too difficult? it’s just -- they’re not exactly privy to moving out of your path, and they prefer to be alive and not be crushed. so if at all possible..... it would mean a lot to them.”

someone who calls him to take care of spiders/caterpillars/other insects that are in their home. they’re all freaked and ready to kill, but ollie just rolls in and gingerly picks up the lil guys, coos a bit. maybe asks them how their day was, what got them into this house to begin with. turns to his friend, informs them that their spider pal here came inside because they really wanted to get a better look at their interior design -- they embroidered pillows in the living room are so tasteful.

this is a M E S S but i owed it to myself to get it up! so pls hit me up on here or discord 2 plot! xoxo gossip linc

#suburbs.intro #❀ don't be a buzzkill ! interactions.#❀ in full bloom ! reflection.#❀ milk & honey ! isms.#ignore the tag dump i'm just accessing all dem life hacks

6 notes · View notes

pooma-bible · 3 years

Text

Sister. Savita Manwani

Praise the Lord! Greetings to you in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Welcome to this time of word ministration.

Let us Pray: Gracious heavenly Father, we come boldly to thy throne of Grace thanking you for this day and this opportunity you gave us to hear from your word. I pray Lord that you give us an understanding mind, a receptive heart and enable us to receive your word with gladness and be changed and renewed for thy Glory. In Jesus Name… AMEN

TOPIC - INTIMACY WITH GOD

SCRIPTURE TEXT - Revelation 3:14-20

Throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament times, the Bible has presented God as one who desires with all his heart to have an intimate relationship with his creation. But time and again the creation has stiff armed Him and refuses to go to the level of intimacy God desires and wants us to have. We simply maintain a polite, casual and respectful relation but are not intimate in our relationship to God.

The Bible presents God as the loving Father who waits for His son to return to Him just like the story in the Prodigal son. The Father waits and waits for his son to come back. He never gives up. God is also presented in the Bible as a Shepherd whose sheep have decided to go and do their own things and it breaks the Shepherd’s heart. God is seen in the Garden of Eden wandering and wondering where His created ones are.

Our Heavenly Father desires a relationship with us. Not a relationship that is casual, distant and respectful, not based on situations and circumstances. God wants a relationship that is characterized by intimacy.

Revelation 3:15 – “I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot, I could wish you were cold or hot”

Now these are the church people whom God says that I have seen what you have and you are pretty good but not great. And you believe but you are not really living out your beliefs but rather you have abandoned your beliefs.

He says, I wish you were either one or the other. I wish you were either red hot, passionately in love with me, more fervent in spirit, zealously serving God’s kingdom with their whole hearts; or I wish you were “cold,” that is, abandoned the faith altogether, showing themselves to be what they really are—unbelievers.

Laodicea was the wealthiest of the seven cities known for its banking industry, textile industry that manufactured wool, and a medical school that produced eye salve. The city’s major weakness was lack of adequate water. At one time, an aqueduct was built to bring water to the city from hot springs. But by the time the water reached the city, it was neither hot nor refreshingly cool – it was only lukewarm. The church was neither hot nor cold: neither out and out for God, nor out and out for the Devil. The church had become as bland as the tepid water that came into the city.

Rev. 3:16 – “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth”.

Something cold is always refreshing and something hot refers to hot medicinal waters of near Heirapolis hot springs. The church of Laodicea supplied to neither the healing of the spiritually sick nor provided refreshment to the spiritually weary. The church had become distasteful and repugnant similar to a lukewarm drink that makes a disgustful drink. The believers did not take a stand for anything. Indifference had led to idleness. By neglecting to do anything for Christ, the church had become hardened and self-satisfied and was destroying itself. Do not settle for following God halfway. Let Christ fire up your faith and get you into action.

God is saying, and because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. And God says to them…You are good people, a good church but it is not what I originally desired and it’s not what I longed for.

Remember a lukewarm life is a displeasure to God. If they are not hot or cold, of course, He says that He will spit them out of His mouth (v. 16). This is a warning. God will not abide a lukewarm Christianity or a heart that is only partially His. No, God demands our whole lives. Why shouldn’t He? He is the God of the universe, the very Creator of our hearts. But more than that, He gave us His whole life in Jesus Christ. So, yes, lukewarmness is bad, and Christ wants us to be wholeheartedly dedicated to Him and His kingdom.

Rev. 3:17 – Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy and have need of nothing and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind and naked’

Some believers assume that numerous material possessions are a sign of God’s spiritual blessings. Laodicea was a wealthy city and the church also was wealthy. But what the Laodiceans could see and buy had become more valuable to them than what is unseen and eternal. Wealth, luxury and ease can make people feel confident, satisfied and complacent. But no matter how much you possess or how much money you make you have nothing if you don’t have a vital relationship with Christ. Instead of centering your life primarily on comfort and luxury, find your true riches in Christ.

Rev. 3:18 – I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich, and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see.

The Laodiceans took pride in 3 things: Financial wealth, an extensive textile industry and a famous eye salve.

The city has its pride in its wealth and Christ told them to buy gold from him (the real spiritual treasures). The city was proud of its cloth and dyeing industries, Christ told them to buy white garments from him (the garments of righteousness). Laodicea prided itself on its precious eye salve that healed many eye problems. Christ told them to buy salve for their eyes so that they could see the truth.

Christ was showing them that true value was not in material possessions but in a right relationship with God. Their possessions and achievements were valueless compared with the everlasting future of Christ’s Kingdom.

Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, never put your trust in earthly riches but heavenly.

Rev. 3:19 – As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

As God’s redeemed children we are disciplined. Just as a human father disciplines his child, heavenly Father also disciplines us so that we might repent of our sins and grow in grace.

God would discipline this lukewarm church unless it turned from its indifference towards him. God’s purpose in discipline is not to punish us but to bring us back to him. God uses only loving discipline to help us out of our uncaring attitude. We can draw near to him again through confession, service, worship and by studying his word. Just allow the Holy Spirit re-ignite our zeal for God. Allow Him to work in our hearts.

Rev.3:20 – Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come into him and dine with him, and he with Me.

And then he says, Here I am! Here I am!

In other words, you are church people, you are religious people, you got some good deeds and some bad deeds, some church activities are going on but I want you to know contrast – Here I am!

I know you are busy, I know you are religious but Here I am! And I stand at the door of you group of Christian people. I stand outside the door and I knock. Now, if he is God, He can just get inside or huff and puff and blow the house down. If he is God, then, why is he knocking? I mean just go in. It’s your church. These are your people – just go in and have your way with them. And Jesus says, No! I am just going to knock.

And throughout scripture we find God searching but he is not searching like you know where did they go? where did they go?. He is searching for the very thing He paid such a huge price to provide for us. He is searching for the nature of relationship we had in the beginning and that He will have in the end and it’s a relationship characterized by intimacy.

Here is Jesus pictured outside a church of religious people saying, I want in. I don’t want you to just talk about me, believe in me, I want a relationship that only you can allow me to have with you because I can’t force you to love me and so we sometimes as Christians and like other world religions, instead of an intimate relationship we opt for religion. You see, religion is a response to God that allows you to treat God respectfully but not intimately. Religion makes God a kind of formula or it’s a deal you make with God. Religion teaches you to get God do things for you. It makes you self-centered. It’s all about me, my and myself.

Religion makes you judgmental, it kills you, alienates you from people and ultimately religion will make God a stranger to you and you to Him. And one day God will say, “I don’t Know You”.

To be intimate with God

1. We need to give Him time – unrushed and unstructured. Give God private time. Without giving anybody time we cannot have intimacy. Therefore, spend quality time with God – praising, worshipping, praying, reading His word, studying and meditating His word and hearing from Him.

2. It requires transparency – If there is not going to be transparency, there is no intimacy which means you need to be honest with god. If you are tired, frustrated, a little mad at something, tell it to God. Even when your heart is full of jealousy or lust you go and tell him. When there is intimacy there is transparency. You get all of me, the good and the bad. If you accept the good and bad in me and I accept the good and the bad in you, then we got a relationship that is enviable. And that is intimacy.

Learn to pour out your heart. God doesn’t want you to be polite but honest. He sent His son to die for you and me so that He may have intimacy with us.

3. There has to be submission: Submission is the most powerful relational dynamic in the world. It says this, I am going to harness all my abilities and talents and you are going to harness all your abilities and talents in love or whatever in my best interest. When both are in mutual submission, there is intimacy - whether it is a relation between you and God, husband and wife, or between you and your parents or between employer and employee.

The Laodiceans were self- satisfied. They didn’t have Christ’s presence among them. Christ knocked at the door of their hearts but they were so busy enjoying worldly pleasures that they didn’t notice that He was trying to enter. The pleasure of this world – money, security, material possessions can be dangerous because their temporary satisfaction makes us indifferent to God’s offer of lasting satisfaction.

If you find yourself feeling indifferent to church, to God or to the Bible, you have begun to shut God out of your life. Leave the door of your heart constantly open to God and you won’t need to worry about hearing His knock. Letting Him in is your only hope for lasting fulfillment.

Jesus knocks at the door of your heart because he wants to save you, have fellowship with you. He is patient and persistent in trying to get through to us, not breaking and entering but knocking. He allows us to decide whether or not to open our life to Him.

Do you intentionally keep His life changing presence and power on the other side of the door?

Jesus says, “Here I am!” It’s our move now to say, Yes Lord, I want intimacy with you. When you will do this, it will change your life. You will be unreligiously freed up person. Your life will never be the same and when that relationship becomes intimate, God will never leave you and you will never leave God.

Allow me to end here. Hope you are all blessed by this message.

0 notes