they took one look at the capaldi era and said how much religious imagery can we possibly fit inside it. and then they did

Supernatural season 5 review (part 2)

Link to part 1:

Irene and I had finished season 5 and, as I already imagined, I loved it. I'm not quite sure if I like it more than the previous one, I think they're kind of in the same level of greatness.

It starts with Lucifer rising again and Sam and Dean being miraculously saved. They immediately meet Chuck to know what happened with the angels and the prophet tells them Castiel has been killed by them. With Lucifer out of the cage Zacharia (who fortunately gets killed at the end by the older Winchester) wants Dean to be Michael's vessel, since he's the only one who can beat the devil: the only problem is that Dean has to say "yes" to Michael. He obviously doesn't want to, so the angels trying to convince him will be a recurrent thing throughout the season. Dean tries to not change his opinion, because becoming Micheal's vessel would mean the two archangels would fight and with their power they would destroy half the planet, but the more time passes the more Dean's hopes vanish, and towards the end he decides to accept Zacharia's proposal. At the last moment, however, to Sam, Castiel and Bobby's relief and delight, he opposes it and Adam, brought back to life only to replace his brother, accepts to be Michael's vessel. This whole mess will eventually end with Lucifer (in Sam's vessel) back in the cage, along with Michael (in Adam's), Castiel miraculously brought back (again, after returning at the beginning of the season) and a desperate Dean trying to keep living a life with Lisa and Ben after losing his brother and promising him to try a new life without hunts.

The main focus of the season is obviously trying to defeat Lucifer, who we meet in the first episode. It is already an interesting character, because he feels misunderstood by God and believes he didn't deserve what he got from his father. It is almost impossible not to empathise at least a little bit with him. He also hides his evil side pretty well at first, making him seem almost like the actual good guy of the situation and the victim of a cruel God. I like the fact that he shows up to the people he wants to convince as their loved one (like he did with Nick when he showed as his wife). He tries to convince Sam to be his vessel (because he's actually the only one who would truly contain him) showing up as Jessica. Sam obviously doesn't want to help Lucifer with the Apocalypse, although both Sam and us don't even really know what his true intentions are. We quickly learn that he obviously, as he hated humanity before, still does it now, so his plan is actually mostly a revenge. He really seems like the final big bad guy, probably because he was supposed to be, and because every other villain ultimately leads to him. I believe he is my favourite one: he is a way more rounded character than the others, having his own motivations (that go beyond wanting to do bad and win over the others). As much as he's wrong for doing what he's doing, at least he got his reasons. He is the first angel who has rebelled against God and he was punished for it, but he's not the only one who did it. At the end of the last season we saw Castiel, persuaded by Dean, rebelling against the angels and their plan to bring Lucifer back. So what makes the difference between them? I think it is the reasons and the intentions behind their actions: Lucifer rebelled because he hated humans and now wants to end them, Castiel rebelled because he loves humanity and wants to defend it. So there's no surprise when Castiel refuses to join Lucifer when he tries to get his brother to come to the dark side in episode 05x10.

Lucifer is not the only new villain, we also meet two demons with opposite purposes: Meg and Crowley. Meg isn't actually new, as we know her since season one, but she has a new body. Her character doesn't change much in season five, she's still a loyal servant, in this case to Lucifer, but we'll see what I will think about her in the next seasons, as I know, as much as I can remember, she will improve. Crowley on the other hand is a lone wolf and wants Lucifer dead as much as the two protagonists want him. I have loved Crowley since the first episode I saw him (05x10) for several reasons. I adore his personality: he's funny and sassy and the perfect villain who's not really a villain (because at the end of the day neither Dean or Sam want him dead, and neither he wants them to be dead as well). I like the fact that he just minds his own business: he doesn't want to start apocalypses or whatsoever, he just wants to keep living, and he knows being against Lucifer is an immediate suicide for a demon, so he helps the Winchesters to kill him. He gives them the Colt at first, believing they could kill him with that, and so they attempt to, ending up with Jo and Ellen dead and the certainty that the Colt couldn't kill the devil. On a side note, I liked seeing Jo and Ellen back, but I hated watching them dying, as much as I loved the episode thanks to its intensity and melancholy (especially in the scenes between Jo and Ellen and between Jo and Dean, although I'm not totally convinced that he should have kissed her, even if I think he did it mainly to make her understand how much he cared about her, rather than for romantic love). I don't appreciate Supernatural not having a female main character who stays alongside the boys for more than a few seasons. I don't expect a woman to become a main character like Castiel but it would have been nice to see a woman appear at least as much as Bobby. This side of Supernatural shows how far behind it is in some ways and that it needed to improve on many aspects (such as veiled, but not too much, misogyny). Returning to Crowley, the demon proves to be essential as thanks to him Sam and Dean understand how to stop Lucifer: not killing him but sending him back where he came from. To do this they need to open a portal that leads Lucifer into his cage, and the portal can only be opened by the rings of the four knights of the apocalypse. They are characters brought to earth, thanks to Lucifer, that Sam and Dean have the pleasure of meeting (and defeating most of the time). The most interesting character is certainly Death, with whom Dean talks (episode 05x21) and who has no intention of fighting the brothers, indeed he voluntarily gives them his ring. The only problem left is to find Lucifer and to push him into the cage. Sam, who has been thinking for days that he has to accept Lucifer's request in order to try to jump into the portal, manages to convince Dean, who obviously would never want Sam to be locked in Lucifer's cage with the devil himself inside him.

Sam and Dean, mainly because of everything that happened last season, have to try to rebuild their now inevitably changed relationship (whose antagonism is exasperated in the parallelism of the two protagonists with the archangels Lucifer, the rebellious son, and Michael, the devoted son). Dean, as much as he doesn't want to, can't keep pretending everything's okay between them and thinks it's best to take different paths. The two brothers remain divided until Dean realizes they can win against the angels and Lucifer only if they are together. From then on their relationship strengthens more and more, until Dean, I think for the first time, decides to completely trust Sam, reject Zacharia's proposal and find another way to defeat Lucifer (05x18). The final step forward is surely Dean accepting Sam's idea of becoming Lucifer's vessel, while knowing what it entails. The difference in their relationship between the end of this season and last season lies in several factors: Sam opens up to Dean and tries to be as honest as possible, while Dean accepts that his brother is now grown up and must make his choices, even if these involve his sacrifice to save humanity. Their relationship ends with one last touching scene in which Dean manages to reach Sam, despite being controlled by Lucifer, and give him enough strength to jump into the portal that will lead him to the cage. I think this season potrais their relationship in a way never seen before, with a rollercoaster of emotions that shows how much they care about each other and how much they have grown in the recent years.

There's another relationship that I'd like to talk about and that I think has evolved over the course of the season, Dean and Castiel's. The two certainly make giant strides towards the end of season four, when Castiel decides to rebel and side with Dean, but they are not yet in the best of relationships. Dean finally seems to trust Castiel, but is still not entirely comfortable with him and his personality ("Cas, we've talked about the personal space", 05x03), while Castiel, after being brought back to life, is convinced, in the early episodes of the season, that he can find God, which Dean is very skeptical of. The thing that may come as a surprise, however, is that Dean supports Castiel and comforts him when the angel seems to have lost hope. I don't think it's really shocking, considering Dean sees himself in Castiel, who seems to be just a confused son looking for an absent father, which Dean is by now an expert of (and the funny thing is that in the emotional episode 05x13, where Sam and Dean go back in time and meet their parents, John, once he knows the lives of the two brothers, he wonders how a father can behave that way with their children, obviously not being aware of the hard truth). When, in episode 05x16, in which Dean and Sam die and go to heaven (which I think is quite original, divided into personal heavens formed by memories of each of the dead people), they discover that God is somewhere, but that he has no intention of intervening in any way, giving relatively little importance to humanity and angels, Castiel is completely destroyed by the news and copes getting drunk (another parallelism with Dean I would say) and in this episode (05x17), confident they can't get help from God, Dean calls the formed trio "team free will" (emphasizing the fact that they are now free to make their own choices). I feel like Dean and Cas start to bond especially when Dean is alone (so in episode 05x03) and he understands Castiel's value in episode 05x04, when Zacharia sends him to a future where he has not accepted to be Michael's vessel, Sam is Lucifer vessel and the world is infected by the Croatoan virus. Dean meets his future self (a way worse and more desperate version of him) who trusts past Dean after he tells his future self an anecdote (that he never revealed to anyone) about wearing pink panties and liking it. I'll admit I completely forgot about that particular (probably because I was 15 when I first watched it and this information seemed extremely irrelevant to me) and I'm still amazed that such a scene really exists. Anyway Dean realizes that, despite everything that has been going on and the way he's become, Castiel has never abandoned him. He also understands, noticing how much the future Castiel has changed and how hopeless he gets, he should appreciate his Castiel more (and that is something Castiel will eventually tell him directly too in episode 05x18, in which after Dean decides to agree to Michael Castiel beats him up telling him he rebelled for him and so he shouldn't repay him like that).

Chuck compares in episode too, showing he's still on Dean's side as well. I honestly quite like him in this season: he's awkward, confused and out of place most of the time, but I think that's what makes it likeable, at least for me. We see more of him in episode 05x09, where there's a Supernatural convention and Sam and Dean have to deal with both their fans (without them knowing who they really are) and a case, and are forced to work with a couple of fans who fortunately save everyone. At the end of the episode Dean discovers that the two fans, both male, are a real couple (making it the first homosexual couple in the series). I don't quite know how to interpret this moment (which writers probably didn't even give too much thought to), but the fact that in the next scene we see Dean thinking next to the car with a little smile makes me believe that that the step forward to acceptance was not only made by the series.

There's another character who's not totally new but seems to be at the same time: Gabriel. We have known him since season two by the name of "Trickster", but thanks to Castiel we find out, along with the brothers, that he was an archangel all along (who gave us some of the funniest episodes, and especially Dean thirsting over Dr. Sexy in episode 05x08). They ask him to join their side, but quickly understand he doesn't want to be on anyone's side. He fortunately changes his mind on episode 05x19 and sides with Sam and Dean, only to be killed by Lucifer at the end of the episode. Gabriel is my favourite angel besides Castiel, for obvious reasons, so I was very happy he decided to risk it all and go against his brother to be on the Winchesters' squad.

To conclude, as much as I think there are some parts of the season they could have done better (for example the scene with Lucifer and Michael in the last episode), I believe this is one of the best seasons of the show, so we'll see if after rewatching the other ten seasons I will have the same opinion.

- Carly 💚

STAR WARS 9 ! TROS SPOILERS !

In case this is not obvious enough, this post will contain SPOILERS for the last Star Wars movie, which I’m just now coming home from. These are my first thoughts. I have tried to tag as best I could so that people who mute the tags don’t see my post. Do not proceed f you don’t want to read any spoilers.

You have been warned. Long (and I mean LONG) post ahead.

First of all, I’m happy to be back y’all! Just with TLJ, I come from months (or has it been years already ?) of inactivity to jump right back into the fandom, as obsessed as I was back when I came home from TFA. Which is funny because at the time TFA came out, I had lost all interest in Star Wars and heard so many critics from people who’d seen it and said it was horrible and that Disney basically sold the franchise to the devil that I didn’t even want to see it, to keep the good memories closer to my heart. One night, one month after its theatrical release, I thought “aw fuck I might as well see it, at least for Carrie, Mark and Harrisson” so I went to the cheap theater that was near my home... I had zero expectation, and really I think it’s the reason why I loved the movie so much. I didn’t chose to ship Reylo, this ship whacked me like Harley Quinn’s oversized hammer with the Hades and Persephone aesthetics. When I came out, completely mesmerized with what I had just seen, I jumped on Tumblr as soon as I got home, and I ended up creating this blog just days later. I wanted more and more, fics, metas, fanarts, headcannons, theories, cracks, I could never get enough. For TLJ and TROS, I had lost most interest in the fanfics and the fandom (because as much as I love the movies and some people in the fandom, most of it can eat shit as far as I’m concerned). I heard so many critics of TROS already, I was afraid I was going to be disappointed. But I loved it. Only Star Wars can make me go from utterly uninterested to “Wow I can’t wait to see this new Star Wars in theater, what a time to be alive”, to a stage of total obsession that lasts for months. And that is the reason why I don’t give two shits about anyone disliking the movies. It’s sad you didn’t like them, but it made me feel the same way I felt right back when I was a child watching the original movies with my father. It feels like home. And that is the best thing I could ask for.

Like in TLJ, I cried as soon as I heard the first note of the opening. The last Skywalker story, the last time I ever see my Space Mommy on the big screen...

I know the Reylo community is about to be nuts. The whole movie, like TLJ before it, is basically a series of things we’ve already done in fics and theories. I am 100% positive I have read a fic where Rey and Ren try to hold back a ship with the Force and Rey ends up involuntarily shooting lightning. Whichever one of you did it is probably going to have a stroke in the theater. I nearly did.

And really, I wish I could see the look on the Antis’ faces when they see the movie. I’m sure it is a sight to behold. I wanted to scream “TAKE THAT, BITCHES” more than once. As in TLJ.

My biggest fear was what they would do with Leia. I knew Disney said they wouldn’t use CGI and chose to stick with the scenes Carrie had already shot, and I was afraid it wouldn’t honor Leia’s legacy. Well I... have mixed feelings. While the way they used Carrie’s scenes and made it look like she really is here is to be lauded, it sometimes feels like Leia had nothing interesting to say but they tried to put her in a dialogue anyway, because she needed to be seen doing (or rather, saying) something in the Resistance. And about her death... I still can’t put my finger on what exactly I didn’t like about it but I felt like something was missing. Watching the scene, at first I didn’t know if she was having a heart attack or if she stabbed herself or chose to give up her life because she somehow felt it was the moment, I’m still not sure just why she did what she did. I wish they put something more to motivate her decision and explain what exactly she does. I don’t know, a flashback of Leia holding baby Ben, a little more dialogue, something. Not just Leia suddenly getting up and going to bed whispering her son’s name. 

I knew I was going to be disappointed. Among all the celebrities’ deaths, Carrie’s is the one that affected me the most, and believe me I was a wreck when Bowie passed. I miss her, I think about her every single day. And Leia deserved more, much more. When I saw TFA, part of the reason why I loved the movie was that, even though it pained my heart that Han and Leia’s son turned out this way, I thought they would make it right. I spent hours imagining a scene in the 9th movie where Ren would defeat Rey (incapacitate her the Skywalker style cutting her hand or something) and approach to give the killing blow, and Leia would enter the scene, pick up Rey’s lightsaber, look her son dead in the eye and say “Over my dead body, son”. Because Leia would never give up without a fight, even with her son. And she would get her son back, and her story arc would have been completed. I would have paid good money to see this. 

Episode 9 was supposed to be Leia’s movie, just like ep. 7 was Han’s and ep. 8 was Luke’s. When Carrie died, I knew it would be compromised and it broke my heart, because Leia deserved better. She lost everything. Her parents, her planet, her father, her husband, her son, her brother, the Rebellion, the Resistance, everything. She fought all the way, all her life even faced with the worst odds she never gave up hope, she inspired hundreds of people to keep fighting for what is right, and she would never have a satisfactory ending. What a fucking heartbreak. She didn’t even get to see Lando. Leia deserved more. Every little girl in this world who grew up with her as a role model deserved more. But c’est la vie, as we say in French... My only solace is that I know fanfics and fanarts are going to make me feel a little better about it.

Of course I cried every time I saw her on screen, and especially when they honored her body, as we all honored Carrie when she passed away. This was one of the many fanservice moments, and surely the one I liked the most, although there was some concurrence (more to it later).

Another thing I didn’t like is what they did to Poe’s character. Many people disliked TLJ because of it, which they attributed to a political agenda of hate on men. This is so ridiculous and has already been debated enough that I won’t get into it. I did like the evolution of his character in TLJ, because for me it was an interesting character development as well as a good message: wartime is not only about barging in fights head first, shoot first think later, as is, let’s be honest, everything Anakin ever does. At one point, the narrative of the reckless hero who saves the day when a situation seems impossible and everyone begs him not to do it gets old. Sometimes in war, you have to think ahead, to plot, and yes, listen to what your allies have to say. And it actually was a good critic of toxic masculinity. Could the conflict between Poe and Holdo have been avoided with minimally sane conversation ? YES. But the message was here (as were Holdo’s hair and dress and WOW gurl) and I thought that was it, and Poe would evolve into a wiser person.

But this Poe is, at least in the first half of the movie, not very likable. Hear me, I never really liked Han Solo (never been into macho men) but I really loved Poe in TFA because he was genuinely nice and brave. Here, he’s bitter and annoying. I told myself that he was jealous of Rey because he heard of Finn’s crush on her and he wanted to keep Finn all for himself, which I know is just a crack headcannon, but hey, anything to make it better I guess.

Of course, I’ll never forgive Disney for not making FinnPoe a thing, when even Oscar Isaac ships them hard. And trying to make Poe flirt with the other girl (whose name I even forgot and whose face we didn’t even see, now tell me again how Star Wars has been corrupted by feminists... sigh)  Speaking of, it is me or did two women kiss at the end ? 

I liked the new droid, it reminded me of my puppy. But at the end, it was just another fanservice moment, it didn’t really do anything useful onscreen apart from being cute and funny.

When Rey was finally revealed to be a Palpatine as I hoped, I giggled like a wee girl. Watching TFA, I begged the old gods and the new that they wouldn’t make her another Skywalker, because it would’ve spoiled the Star Wars spirit for me. The whole franchise, in my opinion, is a story about fighting for what you believe is right, no matter who you or your parents are or where you come from. Even though Luke and Leia’s ended up being Vader’s children, they weren’t the only meaningful characters. Anakin was basically a Space Jesus and went from a total nobody to the Chosen One. I didn’t want Rey to be a Skywalker because it would mean that your importance would only ever lay in your bloodline, and that is depressing and totally against the spirit of the Rebellion/Resistance: no matter who you are, you can fight for what is right. For this reason, I wished for Rey to be either a real nobody or Palpatine’s granddaughter, which is also why I liked the fact that Han and Leia’s son turned out bad, even though it made me sad for them (Leia didn’t deserve this). No matter your bloodline, you can always make things right, or fuck up badly if you let yourself be taken away. And, of course, the reveal that Rey and Kylo Ren are two sides of the same coin (aka one of the many times where I picture us Reylos screaming CALLED IT in our seats) was exactly what I hoped for, a beautiful balance. I didn’t share Palpatine’s implication that a Palpatine and a Skywalker are meant to work together, though. That is not how I choose to interpret this duality. That is not what they end up doing, anyway.

Speaking of that old pal Patine, seeing the trailers I feared I would feel nauseated that they chose to reanimate the Big Old Villain, just like they reanimated the Even Bigger Death Star in TFA (how lazy can you be ?). But I enjoyed it. What saved it was Palpatine’s will to be killed by Rey to perpetuate the Sith rite of passage. I don’t even care if it’s cannon or not. I was afraid they would recreate Vader’s dilemma in ROTJ with Rey, but I liked the choices she made. And the throne scene worked for me. Like the rest of the movie it was flawed, for instance we don’t even get an explanation on how he survived. Just like we don’t even get what Finn wanted to tell Rey, even though it was emphasized several times. Was it a love declaration ? What happened to the rushed romance with Rose in TLJ ? (What happened to Rose, actually). While we’re at it, why did Palpatine want Ren to kill Rey ? So many questions. So many flaws.

And, of course I cannot comment this film without mentioning my sweet star-crossed lovers, Rey and Ben. First, I’m really eager to see your reactions. We did it, Reylos! Years of hate and slander and we were right all along. Let’s rejoice.

I like Rey’s evolution. For the moment, I don’t feel like I have too much to say about it (which is fine because this post is way too long already). I like the way she handles her emotions, I like her choices and her character evolution. 

And Ben. Oh, sweet Ben. Although I think the part where he gets his old mask fixed wasn’t necessary, I kinda like what they did with him as well. I must say though that I liked his hair in TFA better.  Oh boy, I loved Kylo Ren but I absolutely adore Ben Solo. And I think the way the movie depicts him even surpasses some fics. The moment when Rey gives him the lightsaber and he gets up and does the Han shrug  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  I almost lost my mind. This ties with the hommage to Leia’s body as my favorite fanservice moment.

And their relationship... Look, I know I wet my pants really enjoyed myself in TLJ when they held hands, but that scene felt rushed even for me who ships them with the force of a thousand suns. Like many things in TLJ (and, as I said, also in TROS) it felt like things I had already seen in fanfics, but in the fics I enjoyed the most Rey had tried to kill him at least 5 mores times before even agreeing to have a one-on-one conversation with him. Their romance in TLJ felt like it was hormone-driven, but I get Johnson couldn’t really do a slow burn in 2 hours. When Leia died and they both felt it in the Force, I could feel that Rey wanted to touch him, to confort him, to grieve with him. I’m glad she didn’t. It wasn’t time. And I really like that she told him she wanted to hold Ben’s hand, not his. And Ben, the Dork Knight, finally realized that if he wanted The Girl, he shouldn’t, you know, threaten her and chase her but get back to the Light Side like she begged him multiple times. Because he really isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, this is apparently what makes him choose to tip over. That or the fact she saved his life. I was still frustrated by Leia’s death so I don’t know if I’m not entirely convinced because it happened just after, I’d have to watch it again. I liked Han’s moment, though.

And in my opinion, Rey and Ren’s fight on the wreck of the Death Star is as good as Anakin and Obi-Wan’s. My Reylo heart will always have a special place for their couple fight in TLJ (aka the best non-sex sex scene in cinema, don’t @ me) but I also liked this fight in light of their relation. Surprisingly, it reminded me more of their fight at the end of TFA, when we see Ren holding his blows and Rey barging in. I thought it was endearing.

The end. Oh my god, the end. I can’t wait to see the first gifs and I really really can’t wait for the HD gifs, because oh boy, I now only live for Ben Solo’s smile. That’s it, I found my will to live, my depression is cured. And the way he handles Rey’s body with the utmost care (while Finn apparently watches it and does or says nothing). And that kiss... And the SMILE. And the KISS. 

Oh, dear gods. Oh dear.

I can’t wait for the first fics in which Ben doesn’t die and they live happily ever after on Tatooine or Naboo or wherever they damn want. Or the fics where he is indeed dead and they still share a beautiful relationship (if Force Ghost Luke could get his X-Wing out of the water, I’m eager to imagine what Ben would do with his Force dick, tongue and fingers. Forgive me, it’s getting late and I’m still flustered thinking of their kiss)

And the fact that she declares herself a Skywalker ? I know a lot of people are disappointed in this, but apart from the fact that she completely deserves the title in my opinion when she inherited the will of both Luke and Leia, which is reason enough, she is absolutely married to Ben and deserves her place in that family. Also, it’s again a beautiful way to remind you that bloodlines don’t matter as much as what we choose to do with our lives. And while I’m glad they showed Leia’s Force ghost (I would’ve been really mad if they didn’t) I’m super frustrated they didn’t show Ben’s. What am I to believe, that he gave his life for her, became one with the Force and vanished into litteral nothingness for him to never be seen again ? Like hell I don’t. Again, counting on the fics and arts to right this wrong.

The movie sure has its flaws, and I still have many unanswered questions, like what the fuck is the badge Maz gives Chewie, or how Rey does her lightsaber staff at the end, and I wish they explained some things better. I wasn’t sure if the saber Leia wanted Rey to have was hers or her mother’s. Most of those questions will be answered by bigger geeks than me in this fandom, so I really can’t wait to read from y’all.

I know a whole lot of people are going to hate the movie. The antis, the gatekeeping trve fans (already I’ve seen people say that those who enjoyed the movies are not Real Star Wars Fans and welp, we’re going to see a lot of shit). The manbabies who genuinely believe in a feminist takeover and see equality as a direct threat. I’m specifically happy they will be disappointed while I got the privilege of enjoying Star Wars as much as I did. It’s not my fault, or Disney’s fault even, that they turned out to be on the Empire’s side. And the day has not come when I defend a megacorporation. 

Leia was the first SJW. The Resistance lives on. People will always fight against evil, like it or not. I know the world is a shitty place and we don’t have much hope nowadays for things to get better, and Star Wars has always motivated me to keep going and stick to my values and my convictions. I felt chills several times in the movie, like at the end where everyone comes to fight, and now I’m more willing to keep fighting than ever. For Leia.

Godspeed, Rebels! 

But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.

Amos 5:24 KJV

https://bible.com/bible/1/amo.5.24.KJV

Matthew 21:9

9 The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”

You Are the Object of God’s Love

By Rick Warren

For God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 TLB).

God loves you so much that he sent Jesus on a mission of love with a message of love. The Bible doesn’t say God has love; it says God is love. Love is his nature; God is love.

God created the entire universe. He created this planet; he created the human race. And he created you because he loves you.

It could be said the reason you’re alive is because God created you as an object of his love. God made you so he could love you and so that you could love him. God’s love for you is the reason your heart’s beating right now; it’s the reason you’re breathing.

God’s amazing news is that he loves you on your good days as much as he loves you on your bad days. He loves you when you can feel his love, and he loves you when you can’t seem to feel his love. He loves you whether or not you think you deserve his love.

Nothing you can do will make God stop loving you. You could try, but you simply couldn’t do it because his love for you is based upon his character and not on anything you do or say or feel.

God loves you so much that he sent his only Son, Jesus, into this world, “so that anyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 TLB).

When Jesus stretched his arms out as wide as the cross, he was saying, “I love you this much! I love you so much it hurts. I love you so much I’ll die for you so that I won’t have to live without you.”

God’s love surpasses all human knowledge—and as Ephesians 3:17-19 tells us, it is impossible for any of us to fully grasp the width and length and height and depth of God’s love for each one of us. That’s how much God loves you!PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>

Talk About It

How do you express God’s love in your relationships?

What have you done that you believe makes it tough for God to love you? How do you need God’s help to see things differently?

How important do you think it is to feel God’s love, especially on your bad or rough days?

And you [He made alive when you] were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of your transgressions and sins.

— Ephesians 2:1 (AMP)

I Want a Mind Change”

Adapted from the resource Battlefield of the Mind Devotional - by Joyce Meyer

I find a great deal of comfort in thinking about who I used to be and who I have become. It helps me not to be discouraged when I make mistakes or find that I still struggle over some issues. I’m greatly encouraged when I consider where I started and where I am now.

In Ephesians 2, Paul described those outside of Christ. He wrote that unbelievers follow the prince of the power of the air, who is Satan, and they follow the way their master leads. In verse 1, he pointed out that all were once dead through their sins, but believers are now alive in Jesus Christ. He tells us we’re not governed or led by our lower nature—the impulses of the flesh.

Many Christians have trouble in this area because they haven’t learned to control their thoughts. A lady once told me, “It simply didn’t occur to me that I needed to direct my mind and keep it healthy and positive. If ministers preached or taught about the control of our thoughts, I never heard it. One day, however, I read an article about the power of thoughts, and God convicted me. That’s when I knew I needed to change my thinking.”

This lady said she drove down the street of a busy city and she spotted a sign, a cartoon of a car with big eyes for the front lights and tears flowing, and the words, “Please help me! I need an oil change.”

As she passed by, she thought, I need a mind change. I don’t like being the way I am, letting my mind go wherever it wants. Part of my responsibility as a child of God is to keep my thoughts healthy and strong.

“I want to make it clear that I went to church,” she said, “and I had been active for years. I knew a lot of Scripture, and I even did some volunteer work at the church. But I didn’t control my thoughts. Even when I sang in church, my mind jumped from subject to subject. We’d be singing about joy and grace, and I’d think about the dishes still in the sink, the unfinished laundry, or what I wanted to eat for lunch.

“I attended church and I was faithful, but I was not faithful in attending to the Word. I listened when the preachers quoted Scripture. I usually followed along with my own Bible, but I didn’t really think about what I was hearing or what my eyes were reading. I was doing the right things outwardly, but I wasn’t thinking the right things. My mind was a mess, and I didn’t know what to do about it.”

“I need a mind change,” she suddenly said aloud to herself. Just then, she actually pondered the words she had spoken. She was like the car on the sign—she needed a change—a mind change. She needed to let the Holy Spirit direct her thoughts, instead of the devil. As she prayed, she felt confident there would be a positive change.

She thought to herself, Is there anything I am supposed to do? She realized that if she didn’t make lifestyle changes, the devil would soon make the new thinking as muddy and gunky as the old thinking was.

For the next several days, she looked up all the scriptures she could find that used the word "study" or "meditate". She also looked up scriptures that talked about the mind or thoughts. She read those verses, wrote them on slips of paper, and pondered them.

Here are three of them:

For as he thinks in his heart, so is he... (Proverbs 23:7 NKJV).

And be constantly renewed in the spirit of your mind [having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude] (Ephesians 4:23 AMPC).

My hands also will I lift up [in fervent supplication] to Your commandments, which I love, and I will meditate on Your statutes (Psalm 119:48 AMPC).

The more she meditated on the right things, the less trouble she had with Satan trying to control her thoughts. That’s how it works with all of us: The more we focus on God, the less often the devil can defeat us.

Prayer Starter: Father, thank You for the power in Your Word to renew my mind. Please help me to stay focused on You and choose positive, faith-filled thoughts that will propel my life in the right direction. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Terry David “Butch/Butch Naked” Silvercloud

"Step aside!  I shall perform the necessary heroics"  Comic Book Guy/The Simpsons

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go." - T. S. Eliot

....... The DAILY GRIND.....  what's up today.

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Wednesday, 29 Nov. 2017.  Grey and some showers.  A bit cool.  I wuz up early and had a regular kind of day... painting, TV, coffee, T3's, exercise, lots of selfies.

I have doctor appointments the next two days.  My eye doctor tomorrow, and my Family Physician on Friday for a Hormone Shot and some Rx renewals.

One of the most serious consequences of the Donald Trump Presidency is that he is changing the face of the Judicial System... nominating 59 new appointments of, mostly under 50 year old, extremely Conservative lawyers, one of whom has never tried a case in his entire life and who was declared to be unqualified by the committee who oversees these nominations.

That particular appointee believes in ghosts and is a paranormal investigator... among the most stupid of the stupid humans upon the planet.

Fentanyl is destroying the Western World and the police and government are completely, totally, undeniably responsible for this horror and, to make things worse, are reluctant to make any changes.  Personally, I no longer support ANY politician of ANY party.  I am of the belief that all serving politicians should be immediately arrested, thrown in jail for this offence... and all police chiefs should also be arrested and thrown in jail while we sort out this issue.

Police forces and government need a complete and total change starting with the arrest and detention of all politicians and police chiefs, everywhere.  The problem is at the top of government and police.  Our governments and police are so totally corrupt you are not safe.  Really, you are not safe and have no rights unless you are stinking rich... and that might not work either, anymore.  I said it, I mean it.  Democracy is a delusion and has failed.  

Speaking of horrors... EGYPT is working overtime to arrest anyone deemed to be Homosexual.  Any display of Gay Rights can get you arrested and tortured.  WHY?

The issue is a direct result of an Islamic government... Islam.  There is no more evil nor horrific religion upon the planet.  Islam is as close as you get to worshipping Satan and the so-called Devil.  There is no Satan, nor Devil.  They exist only in Islam.  Those words are, entirely, mistranslations of the Aramaic words for "adversary" or, simply, someone who is not in agreement with your ideas... an opponent to your thought, as it were.  Neither are proper names, but descriptions of a person.  The greatest evil on the planet is Islam, followed closely by that other horror show, the Roman Catholic Church.  Pure, pure, pure evil... both religions.  They cleverly fool the idiots of the planet and continue to do so.

I despise religions... all of them.  I demand the arrest and jailing of all religious leaders, the immediate seizure of all properties owned by various religions,  and massive education programs, publicly funded, to teach people the history of religions.  Once you know where they came from and how you will see how horrific and evil all religions are.

Religions MUST NEVER BE EXEMPT FROM CRITICISM. The Trojan Horse of Religious Freedom.

There is NOTHING eviler than religion.  It must be ridiculed and criticized constantly to defeat the horrific evils placed upon the planet by the superstitions and fears presented by religion.  Religions are evil and are not exempt from being criticized.

Arrest and imprison all religious leaders, seize all religious properties, and begin massive education of the public about the history of religions and their horrific deeds and past.

Throw every religious leader into jail or slave labour camps for life.  If they are released and begin preaching again, they must be executed.  I said it, I mean it.

Nothing, absolutely NOTHING, is eviler than religion. It's time to END stupidity and ignorance and superstitious fears.

THIS IS THE END OF THE DAILY GRIND.

IF YOU HAVEN'T BEEN HERE, BEFORE, HERE IS MORE STUFF TO READ...

I'm a bit OCD and ADHD and go on like a dripping tap.  Think Sheldon Cooper, if that rings some kind of bell.  I quite simply assume everyone around me is a complete idiot.

http://DavidSilvercloud.com (Blog)    (http://David_Silvercloud.Tumblr.com)

http://ButchNews.com (Video)     (http://YouTube.com/ButchNews)

http://ButchNaked.com (Photo Stream)    (http://Flickr.com/David_Silvercloud)

http://SeriousThunder.com (Art)

http://ElectronSpeed.Tumblr.com (Physics... The Speed of Light, Grand Unified Theory, Gravity, Dark Matter, Dark Energy... how the physical size of the Electron is the clock that sets the speed of light.  Gravity is motion and a product of the fact that nothing ever sits still, combined with the magnetic properties of Dark Matter/Energy.  Nothing can ever move in an absolute circle and rest is a relativity illusion.

Absolute rest is not possible... ever.  The universe can not end.  Time is change and is an illusion.  It is always now, everywhere, all at once, all of the time. Proof of that is that ANY object MUST be HERE and THERE at the SAME time, no matter how large... even a Galaxy.  It is always NOW on both sides... here and there, in space,  of the Galaxy... all galaxies, everywhere.  Waves can be either physical or electronic.  The duality of the universe keeps it ongoing.  DNA is the battery of life.  When the chains can no longer co-operate, life ceases in the body.  Life, itself, is a duality.  Time measurement is a relativity convenience.)  Time travel is impossible because time is not a place and nothing stays where it was.  One year from now the Solar System will have moved about seven BILLION kilometres through space and will NEVER return to where it was... ever.

Earth travels through space like a long wave... it has NEVER, ever made an actual circle, nor ellipse, in space.  The circle/ellipse is an illusion of relativity.  Nothing can ever travel in an actual circle in space... NOTHING.  Nothing can ever go backward.  Backwards motion is an illusion of relativity.  Time is a repercussion of change and has no fixed rate... things explode or move like a glacier.  At best we can only compare rates of change.  Our rate of change is called the second/minute/hour/day/month/year system.

WATCH VIDEO FOR EXPLANATION OF THE PATH OF EARTH THROUGH SPACE.  Earth moves about 7 billion kilometers through space, each year... in a long wave.  Earth NEVER returns to where it was before.  Earth is NOT an island in space... one of the reasons why time travel is impossible.  If you take a trip through space, outside the Solar System, Earth will NOT be there when you return... it will be far, far away.  You will have to return to where it will BE when you arrive... remember, it's moving very, very, very fast through space in a long wave... never a circle, or ellipse.

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

http://The-Shape-Of-God.Tumbler.com   Manuscript of my book... The Shape of God.

Butch, himself.  Visual Artist, Photographer, Physicist (Particle, Sub/Atomic Physics/Relativity)

Inhibitions are just so inhibiting, I avoid them.

I'm a friendly, but pretty blunt, kind of guy.  No time for beating around the bush.  I like to say what I mean and mean what I say.  I'm 73 years old.  Time is not on my side.  You don't have to like me.  I'm a social recluse, anyway.  I share my life, in photos, video, and words, to let you into my life and hope to inspire you to be a productive and useful human.  I have old age issues but will continue to post, here, while I'm well and able.  I talk a lot... I'm told it's part of my OCD and ADHD.  Come direct at http://ButchNaked.com  Sign in if you wish to see me naked.

If you don't know me, the following might help you get to know what kind of person I am.  I don't expect you to understand me.  I can be a bit OCD and ADHD.

"They've already got more blowjobs than we'll ever get"  Steve Smith (American Dad), talking about college jocks.

"Now let us touch testicles and mate for life"  Alien on The Simpsons

"It never hurts to have a second set of prints on a gun"  Nelson Muntz, The Simpsons.

I'm here to teach you things.  While I appreciate other people's opinions, I really don't much give a crap what anyone thinks.  Until you prove your worth, I will be nice but you have to earn my respect. The moment you say a word, I'll be figuring you out really, really fast.  You should assume that I don't trust anyone.  I've not met a single trustworthy person in my entire life.  I've met lots of nice people who aren't too bright... well-intentioned folk who know little about anything, people who are nice, most of the time until you say something that offends them.  Honourable people agree to disagree.

Look up the phrase "CRITICAL THINKING" then learn to practice it.  Most people leap before they look and judge before they listen to the facts.  Most don't have enough knowledge, nor experience, to be experts in much of anything.  You don't know what you don't know.  I like to remind you of that, often.

The only other REALLY IMPORTANT thing to know about me is that I, totally, despise all religions, the teaching of religion, and religious institutions... I despise them as the evilest things on the planet.  If you follow a religion, you CAN NOT BE MY FRIEND.   THAT'S THAT.  You are an ignorant idiot who is an ever-present danger to yourself and everyone and everything around you.  Nothing, absolutely NOTHING, is eviler than religion.  I don't stand for, nor sing, our National Anthem because it praises a fictitious and superstitious being called 'God'.  Only a brain dead moron bonehead ignorant idiot would believe such a thing.

If you have a religion, I will not associate with you... period.  You are a danger to be around.  Yes, I insult religions... they are extraordinarily evil.  I said it, I mean it.  You have a right to be an idiot, but not around me.  I have a right to defend myself against the horrors of religion and I will.  Religion is evil.  I can't say it enough times.

http://The-Shape-Of-God.Tumblr.com

I keep a homepage at http://ButchBoard.com

You may come directly to my photostream at http://ButchNaked.com

You must sign in to see me naked.  You may download and share nude photos of me... go nuts.

GOOGLE my name (Terry David Silvercloud or David Silvercloud) for more information.

FoZ Notes 19

We’re hitting the end-game stretch!

Does that mean the series is impr-hhahaahaha I can’t type it with a straight face.

No.

-----------------------

There are no magic air conditioners, and we're given a bunch of reasons why... which apply to the magic ceiling fan we're promptly introduced to.

If I were reading this for pleasure, this would be the point at which I put the book down and indulged in vivid fantasies of murdering the fuck out of the author. As-is, I'm still having a hard time forcing myself to soldier on. I know, it’s a tiny thing, sort of ridiculous to be my breakpoint, but something about how the author is not actually trying to make sense but is still going to try to pretend like this makes sense just provokes me like nothing else. Before I could sort of imagine the magic lamps and so on were some kind of worldbuilding, even if in practice they seemed to serve the purpose of having a medieval aesthetic while having modern functionality (eg the Academy is a Japanese high school, but magic), but this nonsense about trying to explain why we have a rotating ceiling fan but not magic air conditioners (By which we mean we do have magic air conditioners, they’re just unpopular aaaargh) is just... no.

Assertion that Lightning is a high level spell because it can “hit anything." (ie including the caster, if they’re not careful) More typically mages uses Lightning Cloud, which spawns a cloud a short distance away to spit lightning.

Oh, remember that ominous foreshadowing with the Elves last volume? Yeah, fuck that, time to be attacked by the Elemental Siblings again.

Who apparently can all do Ancient Magic? The FUCK?

Tabitha was apparently number seven in the hierarchy of the blah blah Northern Spyknights. So who were the other two?

Something I probably ought to have mentioned eons ago: BIG FEELS make regular magic stronger too. I've... tended to ignore it because it's blatant Protagonist Power rather than an integral part of the setting, though.

Elves apparently live about twice as long as humans. Really? That's all?

Oh, the Elves are here, watching the fight with the Elemental Siblings and spewing racist bullshit. Also, asserting that 'barbarian' mages don't use weapons, which is so hilariously wrong I would applaud it as a nice bit of Ignorant Elves if it weren't for the fact that the author is so incapable of consistency it seems far more likely this is just one more piece of his own canon he's forgotten.

Oh, and elves have magic heat-seeing goggles, which has caused humans to think Elves can see in the dark. I fucking hate this setting's magitechnology. It's stupid nonsense that in no way fits to the setting's barebones magic rules -which is quite the feat of incompetent writing, given that the setting's rules ARE so barebones!

It's really sad watching how FoZ's artist gets better and more ambitious while the author descends into inane drivel. I really hope the artist does other work for something actually deserving of such craft.

The Elves have set up a base camp surrounded by a "barrier of Ancient Magic." We later learn this barrier makes it impossible to even realize the camp is there, with someone approaching it directly ending up going around it without realizing it. Basically? Fuck you, Elves can do ANYTHING, so long as it's conveniently in line with the author's current intentions. You know, just like regular magic! Aaaargh. [And no, they don’t use this craziness to protect their homeland or anything of the sort. This is a one-off piece of nonsense to justify the Elves sneaking into Halkeginia successfully]

Oh, and they're kidnapping Saito, when all their prior dialogue indicated they were here to capture one of the Void SPELLCASTERS, not one of their goddamn familiars. Because of course everything is about Saito, even when it EXPLICITLY ISN’T.

Aaand here's Louis appearing in a teleport and instantly casting Explosion before Ali has even noticed she arrived. So remember all that crap about Void spells taking forever to chant?... 'cause the author sure as hell doesn't!

Okay, something I haven't been mentioning: the story CONSTANTLY shitting on Louise by saying her body isn't attractive and her personality is outright repellent. Why am I mentioning this? Well, Ali sees her, and his first thought is that she's extraordinarily beautiful, even by Elven standards. aaaaaaa

And now Louise rapid-casts Explosion to nuke a bunch of arrow-branches. I hate. So. Much.

Oh, and the Elves have been hanging out nearby for SEVERAL DAYS before this stupid kidnapping plot went off. Why? How are they already here? What the fuck is even going on??

Where humans hate half-Elves because of their paranoid fears about evil cannibal Elf blood showing true, Elves hate half-Elves because their existence "brings shame on Elfkind". Except Luctiania, who is all about SCIENCE!!!!

We keep getting bizarre assertions that Ancient Magic gets weaker the further you are from the ground. No caveat for wind-based spells or anything, and so far no explanation as to why Halkeginian airships haven't tilted things more toward humans. This is dumb. [Future note: Next volume we learn that Elven airships are much better than human airships, for inadequately explained/outright nonsensical reasons. This doesn’t explain shit unless you accept the author’s nonsensical convention that mages don’t cast spells in airship combat, never mind that the scale of spell damage in personal combat from Dot mages is such that they should be very much relevant. This story is awful, is what I’m saying]

Even Luctiana turns green with nausea at the idea of taking on a human appearance. (Oh, and of course Elves have a spell for changing their appearance that has had no practical impact on their culture or daily methodology, because I'm reading FoZ)

Elves have a sleep spell that can keep someone asleep for more than a week, because of course the magic is always convenient for the story-of-the-moment. Don't think too hard on, you know, basic physiological functions and how the Elves avoided having Saito and Tiffania die of dehydration or soil themselves during the trip, because the author sure as hell didn't.

Elves have vertical slit pupils like a snake?! What the fuck, why is this the first we've heard of it??

Elven country is called "Neftes".

Elves consider the "Holy Land" to have always been their territory, and believe humans just arbitrarily declared it to be the Holy Land.

Luctiana's house has some standing enchantment she claims will reduce Saito and Tiffania to ash if they attack her. How? What does this have to do with anything we’ve heard about how Ancient Magic works?

Tiffania is willing to die to pass on her Void magic to someone else. Why? Because she thinks nobody cares about her, and that she's just a burden on others. sigh

The Elves would've used Crazy Poison on Saito and Tiffania if Bidashal hadn't vigorously argued against it because for some fucking retarded reason Bidashal thinks Saito is "different" from most 'barbarians'.

Elven tradition holds that Shaitan's Gate was opened six thousand years ago and a devil came out and killed half of all Elves. So they don't want it being messed with.

Adyl is the name of the Elven capitol. It's a city that extends far out into the ocean.

Apparently the Elves DO have their own language. Which they never use except this one time, for some fucking reason. And they all know the Halkeginian language, even though Halkeginians are filthy dirt-grubbing barbarians and imitating them on any level disgusts them. Yeah, that makes sense.

Elves have super-clean buildings. Um. How?

Tentacle porn scene with Tiffania because of course. Oh my god.

We finally come back to that Anubis/Gandalfr connection. Bidashal is fairly certain they actually are the same thing. Anubis is a saint in Elven culture because he supposedly defeated the devil.

Fouquet and Wardes are being instructed by Vittoria to rescue Saito and Tiffania... or kill them if that's too hard. Goddammit.

Turns out this "device in the Holy Land" story is a lie! lol noobs you trusted Romalia lol. (Seriously, why did these morons give them an inch of trust?) In actuality Vittorio just intends to cast a big spell using all the Void folk and their familiars. It also involves the four "treasures" somehow. You know, those things that don't matter except when they do?

"Lifsrasil," the heart of God, the last Familiar. Brimir's Elf familiar was this one, in addition to being Gandalfr. No, we're not getting an explanation on what this familiar's thing is, or what the fuck is up with this doublefamiliar thing.

Holy shit TIFFANIA is capable of intelligible moral calculus? What?? [Reader note:... dammit, I forget what this was in reference to]

Holy shit Tiffania with the sick burns. "You bring shame to all Elves." "Yeah well YOU bring shame to EVERY LIVING CREATURE ON THE PLANET" And the asshole Elf has no good response to that. Damn, why couldn’t we have had this Tiffania this whole time instead of the “lol big breasts” Tiffania?

Luctiana objects strongly enough to using the Crazy Poison to rescue our hero and her idiot friend... on some conditions.

Elven aesthetic with boats involves imitating nature: fish, birds... and lightning?

Bafflingly, the Elves have dragon-drawn vehicles running through roads like a modern city's cars, with sidewalks and glass windows for storefronts. Everything about the Elves is retarded.

Sort of surprised at Luctuania casually guessing an Elf stole her boat, with all this utopian society bullshit.

Passing reference to the idea that a given individual exerts dominance over the local spirits/Ancient Magic. As in, Caster B can't do anything if Caster A has dominance over the area. If this weren’t Familiar of Zero we’re talking about here, I’d wonder if maybe this was a hint as to why Ancient Magic was abandoned by the ancient Halkeginians in favor of wand-based magic. As-is it is, in grand FoZ tradition, a one-off reference unsupported/actively contradicted by any other part of the text that sounds logical and interesting.

Water Dragons finally showing up in the plot. They're the biggest and 'strongest' of all dragons, can't fly, seem to spray water instead of fire.

Aaaand Derflinger has come back by possessing the katana Saito has been carting around. Oh and he can catch lightning and hold the charge to enhance his next attack. What is this, Dark Sector?

Allusion to willpower limits applying to Ancient Magic. Since when? Oh, duh, since just now. Because FoZ.

Elves use dolphins to pull sea carriages. Fucked-up.

I hate this author. Write Luctiana being naked without giving it any thought because lol titillation, then later have Tiffania show off her breasts and have Luctiana act like it's obvious that getting naked is a big deal. Fuck you and your shitty, blatantly inconsistent writing.

Apparently Elves routinely give swords some degree of intelligence...and only Elves do this. So why is it back in Volume One nobody was wanting to melt Derflinger down as an obvious Elf artifact?...

Brimir's familiar stabbed him through the heart with Derflinger. Derflinger corroborates.

End volume 19.

---------------

In which Saito and Tiffania spend a lot of time in elfland and depressingly little actual plot happens, somehow.

Instead, the story just seems to be getting shittier and shittier. I actually miss the no-notes-taken-about-it-because-goddammit-FoZ crap with Scarron’s “Dancing Fairies Inn”, by comparison.