What is it like to be correct you predicted callum and arravos meeting

Super great at first terrible later realizing they might actually make their relationship sour and had Callum murder Aaravos's crazy ass....Since the writers have a history of making characters with no chemistry whatsoever suddenly like each other out of no where(cough if you know you know cough) So...the opposite has an overwhelming chance of happening - where two characters with so much chemistry just dislike each other because---plot....?(again if you know you know ;;m;;) Still gotta hold my breath until I see it myself I guess 😭😭😭 Personally though... You already know how I feel about them. (Ramble underneath you can skip if reading is not your passion)

I will literally cry tears of joy the day Callum fight for what he personally believe in and not what the world imposed on him. Dark magic bad human can't do magic elves and dragons are innocent, his master is evil etc. We've all seen proves of this not being true - Like HE HAS SEEN the unfair system that can LITERALLY just cast a spell and found out that rayla's parents didn't run away but didn't and instead just decided to condemn them anyway. SHOULD THAT HAVE WOKE HIM UP TO THE TRUTH that mayyybeee their system is not that great....and um the fact that he had to protect the dragon that literally sent people to kill his dad um yea... Callum pleaseeeeee--- Will they ever make him defile all of that and find out that his own happiness doesn't necessarily has to be related to something romantic??? Someone who came into contact and swore his loyalty to "the source of all evil" and yet is the very definition of 'incorruptible' is subjectively an interesting plot twist---

The elementals

Thinking about the upcoming movie of Frozen II, I noticed we have ALL THE FOUR ELEMENTS where Elsa’s party is going. We have that purple fire, the water horse, a giant which I bet is made of rocks according to how its steps sounds, and the naughty magic wind.

Let’s put aside the question of how Elsa fits in all that group (I think it’s a group given all the stuff about four types of symbols everywhere) since she is Winter (air and water), what I was wondering about is... how this people... or creatures... or whatever... would be?

The purple wildfire

Let’s say it, it’s one of the most worrying ones. It’s the only one which has proved openly agressive. We don’t even know if there is a person or something behind the fire, its natural form could be the one we saw. Like a thinking purple wildfire from Game of Thrones. Can you imagine? The personality, well... I imagine something/somebody with anger issues. It’s like the main thing on fire beings.

The giant/troll/whatever they are going to call it

We only saw the shape and size on the trailer. We didn’t even get to know if it’s agressive. I think it’s the Earth one, basing myself on the sound of the steps that creature/being/no idea made, which sounded like a stone colossus. Maybe it’s kind of friendly. MAYBE. Or it could be a little like Elsa’s former goon.

The Nokk

This one worries me as well as the purple wildfire. According to the norse mythology, nokks or nokkens are manipulative and vengative, and attract people to drown them, which sounds very creepy and ominous (that appears on every version of acuatic horses, appart of the shape-shifting thing to attract the people to drown them), but on the other hand, the information leaked about what it is, says that is a creature that lives on the water and protects the forest and its secrets and that it sends people on nearly impossible tasks to prove they are worthy of its respect. I don’t know guys, but that can go by the hand of “manipulative and vengative”.

This one has a high chance of being as important to the plot as dangerous.

The Magic Wind

We watched it send someone flying, but at the same time there was a little girl who acted like it was something normal, like, whaever o whoever (we don’t know if there is a person or creature behind this magic wind either) made it was a friend. It made think of Aang, from Avatar: the last airbender, on the firsts chapters, cheerful, reckless, carefree... It could become a friend of the party, since it appears that much on the tittle of the movie. 

Physical Character Chart

General Identity

Character’s full name:  Koyol Bessmertnyy

Reason or meaning of name:  in his culture, people are named for purpose. "Koyol" is his identifier to separate him from other "Bessmer", which means King, and a Bessmer "tnyy" is an "immortal king", denoting hes A, outlived his kingdom, B, has slain a large number of foes or an extremely powerful force and C, has lived an exceeding number of years, as well as D, lived through something that certainly should have been fatal- any of these would earn the tittle tnyy but koyol has achieved all of them (some of which a few times), so instead of "bessmer-tnyy" or 'king who is immortal, hes "bessmertnyy" which is "Immortal King" or "King of Immortals", detonating hes a legendary person before the death of the culture. Koyol means Snake, denoting his affiliation with the serpents as his Personal Identifier.

Character’s nicknames:  Kyle, Kyle Haru, Kyle Moritaka, Kyle Kirishi, Kyle Serifine, Kyle (etc), Green #008000

Reason for nickname: Kyle is a nickname given to him primarily for those who cant pronounce Koyol easily, or a name used in English speaking worlds or modern worlds to blend in better than Koyol. the name was given to him by a long dead friend, and hes used ever since. last names vary, with the above being a few common ones hes used as of recently. #008000 is the hex code for "green" or "true green" and is his color identifier in the Color Squad. the title "Green" is also a nickname used by color squad or rainbow squad associates to refer to him as a coworker or in code rather than use his name or refer to him as their boss. hes refered to as Green or "eight" primarily by people in either of the color companies mostly by senior members or fresh recruits, especially by those who are aware that using actual names causes him some discomfort.

Birth date:  koyol has no birth date. theres a variety of dates or holidays in which hes celebrated, though.

Physical appearance

Age:  who knows. hes at least a couple eons old.

How does he/she appear: scary, usually. hes tall, thin, green, and has ominous eyes and no expression. hes known for looking... civil... but something is off about it. like something untamed with an air of knowing how to look tame, and trying to decieve you into thinking it is civilized. creepy, ominous, in most bodies- some seem far less scary or intimidating, but they all have a sort of air to them that whisper a caution that maybe its more feral than it appears.

Weight:  varying by body, his usual one is described as weighty and heavy because of the double muscle system in his body. other times hes described as unusually light in a different body- attributed to the double bone structure. in his original body he clocks on at a good 200pds or more, despite his disturbingly skinny body.

Height:  Your average koyol, including his original body, tops at an even 11ft. some bodies are much smaller- as short as 6ft- and sometimes taller, stretching to an even more ominous 13 ft 4 inches in one body.

Body build:  skinny is the usual. hes commonly of a wirey, unhealthy looking thin-ness, particularly because of the proportion compared to his height. his version of carying extra weight is odd- he carries extra weight in his shoulders, or in his legs. the storage of fat on his mutant body is unproportional and poorly evolved, do koyol keeps off high fat diets in order to avoid the inhibitor of his legs carying the fat. most of the fat he carries as usual is stored on the shoulders and gives the trick appearance that they are broader than they appear when hes well fed. otherwise hes very stringy, with thicker arms and legs, due to the nature of the double bone structure.

sex/genitalia, body dimorphism, and associated gender: koyols society and people followed a 4 sex system rather than a binary. some people were born to carry, some people were born to give, some people born to receive, and other people could do all three or some combination. givers and receivers are similar to the idea of men and women respectively- not exactly sperm and egg, but close. the givers gave their equivalent of sperm to receivers in acts of sex with a penis, receivers kept it and genetically mixed it with their version of an egg. receivers found a carrier they liked and in a second act of sex, passed zygotes to carriers who had womb like organs, where the zygote could grow into an infant before birth. these children developed into the fourth kind of person who biologically could do all 3 other jobs in the breeding process, but rarely were children born that way. most often it was givers impregnating half zygotes directly into carriers/3jobs, which would make more givers; or receivers impregnating carriers/3jobs, who would make more receivers. these roles didnt actively have titles, although those who could do all three jobs of reproduction were venerated as "perfect". the people of his day were archaic and didnt understand that single job people were mutations from "half breeding", and attributed it to gods and kings and queens blessing unborn children.  now, all of that said: koyol is the 4th archetype of sex to his people, capable of all "3 jobs", and thats what his concept of gender or sex is as apposed to male or female. biologically speaking in terms of what most societies believe of the binary system, though, koyol is considered intersex. in binary systems, though, koyol prefers the term "hermaphrodite" despite the average person using the term intersex- for selfish reasons. he likes that the phrase hermaphrodite contains "Aphrodite" which was a goddess of beauty and love in multiple universes hes been to. he doesn't mind the phrase intersex, though, despite the feeling that its misdirective in meaning, and considers himself of both sexes rather than in-between them. all that talk on gender and binaries aside- in terms of genitalia, koyol has both male and female, and then some; he can both fuck and be fucked, and is biologically capable of holding a child in pregnancy and impregnating another person who is capable of pregnancy in the average binary sex system. he is also capable of crossing his "egg" or "sperm" with another person's, and inseminating that child into a third party, in am inner outside of binary sexes. when blending into a system of binary sexes, if asked, koyol identifies as a man, in terms of gender; using he/him pronouns. of other dissimilarities, he also has developed mammary glands- which has been noted of oddity, as less than 30% of his genetic material is mammalian, and any milk he would produce following a pregnancy would be radioactive and poisonous as his mammary glands have direct connection to both the gland in his body that produces poison, and the part of his body that handles his own energy and radioactivity. Put shortly, it's a useless bodily function, and a crux of his mutated evolution.

Shape of face:  fairly square jaw. he's known, particularly, for a lack of nose in his original body- instead having a very sensitive patch of skin that operates as the olfactory. other bodies come with wide, short noses. his eyes are almost always a little bit larger than one would expect to fit the face properly, and a bit rounder and wide set than a human’s usual almond shape. studies done on his eyes show that koyol also has a nictitating membrane-- a third, transparent eyelid. Koyol himself was unaware of this, and does not have active control over it; the only time its ever actively moved was on subconscious accord in response to a reflex to certain pollens. these pollens have shown not to harm him or his eyes, so why the reflex occurs, the purpose of the third eyelid, and much else about why he has it is unknown. do to the nature of the Second skin, his face cannot emote, but when the second skin is shed, the scaled First skin can emote just fine any expression. his teeth have been known to change from white to a deep purple when poison is active and pushed through small vein-like networks in his teeth to their tips, and in his original body, all his teeth were as sharp as canines. most bodies instead have one, two, or four sets of fangs, instead, that can turn from white to purple and inflict venom

Eye color: Koyol’s irises, sclera, and pupils are all a black color thats nearly identical. the pupil (which are far larger than one would expect), of course, processes light; but his irises contain specialized nerves that process heat and ultraviolet, alongside his olfactory sense which does the same. when experiencing stress or strong stimuli, his pupil produces what's theorized to be a ‘protective’ Calcium Disk; a bone-like layer- this looks like a thin, white, slitted pupil appearing over the actual pupil of his eye. the pupil is similar in build to bone, and up close, one can watch it raise from the depth of the black pupil like a bone coming closer to the surface. with more stress or stimuli, the calcium will build more so, and the pupil slit appears to expand until it engulfs the entire eye. at maximum stress levels, something similar to marrow or blood and red in color develops from strain. cause yet another, small, thin red pupil slit to appear. when the calcium eye has spread to a certain point, koyol cannot see at all aside from a vague heat signature processed from his olfactory organ. which is note reliable. the calcium eye is hard, and aside from scratching the surface of his eye, cannot be penetrated any easier than bone. the marrow eye, red pupil, is much easier to penetrate and theoretically could be lethal to do so. some human or animal forms will have green eyes. rarely, they have brown.

Skin tone:  koyols second skin, top layer, is a pale, slightly greyed green shade, and the blood that circulates it is a darker, thicker red that borders approaching a brownish color do to the heavy oxidation of the second skin as a disposable, sheddable layer. blushing darkens this pale green to a darker earthen green. when under damage, or around damaged formations like around scars, the blood ceases flow to the area and the skin attaches less strongly to the scales underneath it, giving it an as described "ugly, sickly yellow" color tone. the same yellow tone effects the whole body when koyol is ill, or the second skin looses a lot of blood. this second skin is mostly deadened or numb in feeling, due to its extremely minimal use of nerve endings, and has a large lack of muscle to it, thus rendering facial emotion and some other minor movements null and non visible, such as inability to move ears or flair nostrils, or twitch visibly in areas of the back or legs or feet. the first skin, or "real" skin, is a layer of skin and scales underneath the second skin. his scales are a smooth obsidian like black with the slightest purple tone to their sharper edges. the first skin can be flexed to point outward, or tighten up together flat; exposing sharp edges or tightening into protective armour, respectively. when the scales flext outward, if the second skin is present, they will shred it- in what is considered a frothy, bloody, messy and gorey shedding process. the skin underneath the scales is a deeper black with no purple shading, and the blood that runs under his scales and in this skin is a bright cherry red- when injured, however, it appears a deeper purplish color as the skin is laced with a seperate pulsing network of his innate purple poison. this gives the blush of the first skin a more purple appearance, and gives scars a dulled purple color where the scales wont grow back. where the first skin has been damaged bad enough for scale deformation or to damage the under skin, the Second Skin wont grow back properly, leaving ugly yellow scars to grow over them. these loose edges must be stitched with black cord to keep the ends together. in more human bodies, koyol exhibits an olive skin tone!

Distinguishing marks: koyol exhibits many scars on most of his varying bodies that, as mentioned, are notoriously stitched with thick black stitch cords to hold the second skin together. these include a ring around one arm where he ince list and had it reattached, two thick scars through his stomach and back where he was once pierced, and an ugly lagged mark about one leg where it was almost shredded and completely lost. another distinguishing feature, known to one of his favored bodies, are marks known as the "Marks of Ownership." these are small circular seal tattoos, each meant for a specific person or group, denoting his loyalty to those specific people. other features of note come and go with the bodies hes inhabiting, most often mutant forms. they often include a piercing or tattoo or some other detail or change to the body itself.

Hair color:  his hair almost always is a deep earthen green. there are some human forms where this may change, and is usually a very yellowed, straw blonde color. there are some cases, even, where the bodies natural hair color is yellow, but the hair appears to by dyed green, and the color will fade the longer koyol inhabits the body.

Hairstyle:  his hair is thick, and usually kept short for the ease of it, given his busy lifestyle. some bodies do have longer hair when he inhabits them, and koyol will normally leave it that way or keep it trimmed to that length. his hair is usually of small waves or curls, and fairly unruly. koyol doesn't like to brush his hair outside of keeping out tangles, but you will never catch him with greasy hair- he can't stand the texture of oily or dirty hair. his hair style is of known as wild and untamed, but clean. in bodies like animal forms where there is fur, it's also usually very short, and either green or blond.

Voice: his voice is known for the unchanging monotone associated from the restraint of the second skin, but when its shed, his voice emotes as normal. its kniwn for being graveled with what is thought to be age, in many forms, but in others is smooth. in most bodies it is fairly deep and rasped, but others kighter in pitch or tone. he is known for speaking in two different patterns; on being overly polite, but associated with being at ease in a situation, speaking with few conjunctions and with longer words, and quickly. in tenser or uncertain situations he talks slower and purposely drawn out to negate his fast speech, and with more conjunctions and slang he thinks appropriate to who hes speaking with. he speaks more so only when necessary, and speaks in shorter and simpler sentences. he rarely says the names of other people while they're in his company, and even often then doesn't use names unless necessary, preferring nicknames, coded names, or even pet names. one very notable thing about Koyol is that his people did not laugh. the people he grew up with and around did not make the sound at all. and while he is capable of it, it was thought by the people of his day to be an animalistic noise, and he was taught and punished not to make that sound (the impulse to laugh is, in fact, not at all related to any sort of human-related genetic, or even an an actual instinct to laugh. the impulse is a deep breathy pant and a surge of energy, something many common animals experience, and koyols impulse his to push some of that energy into his pant, and thus makes a noise. when exhausted, but still impulsed to ‘laugh’, the sound is completely silent, merely an exhale.) because his laugh impulse was suppressed, often with traumatic event punishments, the noise is often strangles, and sounds more like- to quote a friend, once- like a “panting dog that's being choked, with the odd sound of grinding glass underneath.” the grinding sound, actually, is a pair of vertebrae from the double skeletal systems that click and grind together when the impulse occurs- the occurrence is, apparently, painless.

Physical disabilities:  koyol is inflexible to a nearly debilitating level do to the nature and structure of his double skeleton system. with a lot of training, hes able to bend as much as his body will physically allow him, although its still not much and it does cause pain. for example, hunching forward at a 90 degree angle or close to it sends incredible pain up the length of his spine as several nerves are pinched by the “spinal ribs” even after years of training and endurance. the most he can do comfortably, with no pain, is about 20 degrees in the forward direction. he cannot bend backward from a straight angle at all, no matter what training occurs, and can only just barely put any arch into his back while laying flat.

Usual fashion of dress: koyol has an almost extreme preference for button up shirts. frankly, just because he likes them. its a minor obsession. usually this is couples with jeans and sneakers or boots. his shirts are usually long sleeve, and if short, are long enough to conceal the scar on his upper arm. he wears a variety of colors with a preference to wear specific colors for specific moods: if he wears darker colors its usually because hes not feeling particularly social or not very at ease today. good friends and colleagues are familiar with the patterns of what he wears and why. bright neon greens are the biggest warnings: hes feeling v e r y bad, and its dangerous. more thank likely this'll be the last time you see him for a few weeks. wearing all black means hes close to hibernation. wearing pinks means he's feeling better than usual and is good to touch and be hugged, but darker purples means hes not feeling up to a lot of contact today. this communicative dress pattern is more or less subconscious in Koyol’s behavior, actually.

Jewelry or accessories:  koyol has a habit of wearing 6 metal, simple grey earrings; three in each ear. this is put on most bodies he uses frequently, and each ring in his ear is for one of his 5 children, and his grandchild. Koyol has a great distaste for body modifications that are meaningless, but a great respect for ones that have important meanings or symbolisms.  one accessory koyol is known for is a large black bag that seems to change shape and form almost as much as he does in body. it has a variety of straps, randomly, and often carries his beloved partner Katrina Bessmer, a snake of incredible length. other than the bag, other accessories hes found with are usually various writing utensils and something to take notes in, often carried in a black satchel version of his “mysterious, endless black bag”.

Lucky Luke

Watching an episode of the latest season of Rosewood this evening brought back some memories of my sister and I’s kidney transplant operation.  

SPOILER ALERT: If you intend watching it wherever you are (season 2 episode 19) then read no further. Anyway, the police captain – Capt. Ryan Slade (Eddie Cibrian) - had decided to donate one of his kidneys to Dr. Beaumont Rosewood Jr., effortlessly played by Morris Chestnut.  This of course was the culmination of their solid relationship built up throughout the brief time he’s been captain of the East Miami Police Department (from episode 1 of this second season).  Right before the show ends, panic ensues as one of the operating doctors informs Detective Annalise Villa (Jaina Lee Ortiz) that there were complications during the transplant operation.  The scene shows flashes of hurried activity and closes with Rosewood waking up to Det. Villa by his side, she looking quite distraught.  They then cut to the final image of Capt. Slade lying lifeless on the operating table with the familiar flat-line beep playing in the background alluding to his demise.

Without a whiff of an explanation, the episode ends there.

I suppose we’ll get more next week.  

It’s hectic to think that the captain is gone.  I was just beginning to like the bra, sherbet man.  That’s a bietjie sad.  It’s a bit ominous that ending and frightening to those possibly thinking of donating an organ or who are in the final stages about to donate.  That could very well have happened to my sister or myself, something could easily have gone wrong, but to those thinking of donating: there are thousands of successful operations that go buttery smooth every day in South Africa and around the globe.  My elder sister and I are living examples of this.  Also: the fact that we were both in our 20s with pretty decent health otherwise, the excellent nephrologists, urologists, doctors and nurses working on us, the hands of our Father in heaven under us and the support of a flood of prayers backing us up: we were blessed indeed.  

We are blessed and still strong and healthy 5 years down the line.

This was supposed to be a sad post (supposed to be?), but I feel like it’s gone the other way which is good, right?

I was going to talk of how I secretly hoped I wouldn’t make it and would die on that operating table, but no such luck – I wouldn’t get to be a hero so easy, lol.  The man upstairs clearly wants to teach me a few hard lessons first, I know he loves me though.  My flesh was even weaker then, I even wrote some flow (as in ‘not concentrated’ relating to a diluted cordial drink that consists of more water than flavour or ‘lame’ in layman’s terms, for those not familiar with the taal) poetry before the time to make sense of this hectic experience I was going to go through.  A part of me was excited that I might die – which is messed up I know.  Another part of me was genuinely nervous because, guess what: I might die! Or worse was that my sister was at risk too! It was a hectic time, but I must say there was a peace that came over me after praying about the decision to donate initially - and all the way leading up to the day - that things would turn out great. I don’t recall debilitating nerves at all (striking up a conversation with strangers or attending work meetings is WAY MORE STRESSFUL) – it just felt all along like the right way to go and the timing was excellent: the minimum age to donate is 25, I had done all the tests and was good to go and turned 25 in June of that year – we had the operation on the 6th of July.  The preparation for the operation and the op itself was stressful, more so for our family than anything, my sister’s op took a few hours longer than mine, naturally as they had to connect my goodie up to her thing-a-ma-bobs (insert astute technical terms here), but we both came out strong.  She is taking her meds diligently every day to keep her body from kicking out my organ and I’m making sure she remembers whose turn it is to make coffee…indefinitely.  Haha, nah just joking, but there are days when I just don’t have the energy to flip that translucent switch and pull out those ceramic happiness containers out from their resting nooks: those days I have to call in the VIP pass.  Forgive me Lord.  But no, truthfully dear reader: I am treated like a king even when I feel like a fool, which is most days.

 I suppose my job is not done, Jeremiah 29:11 again.  Ai, I want to complain, but deep down inside I know I’m pretty darn lucky.  I hope to be more useful than what I am right now, my head says it’s impossible for someone with as little drive and ambition as what I possess, someone who is so terrible at planning and believing in himself to succeed at anything.  For someone who is so incredibly afraid of being open and honest with other human beings in the flesh, for someone who is so afraid of asking dumb questions and of the embarrassment of feeling uninformed or ignorant even though it would be beneficial in the long run, for someone who stubbornly holds on to the foolish pride of appearing to know better by remaining silent even when truthfully knowing very little: for someone like this, doing anything right seems impossible…possessing any inherent value to society seems like a fairy tale to me, a probable reality only for the real hustlers of this world – the gritty brawlers who never stay down despite mud flung in their faces countless times, the movers and shakers who don’t have time to overthink things.

Despite the overwhelming evidence: there’s a tittle of hope.  A little sliver and a slice, a glimpse of joy and confidence every so often finds me…a kind word here: unexpected, a feeling of peace and unexplained joy over there: unsolicited, a specific scripture or Bible story popping up more than once in a day, seeking me out: unscripted.

The true evidence points to hope: “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalm 139:13-14), “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them,” (Genesis 1:27).  “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (Hebrews 10:23)  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)  I’ll take whatever I can right now and give back wherever I’m called to, I cannot argue with truth even when it seems contrary to reality – albeit the ‘reality’ that’s in my head.

Thank you Lord for never letting go no matter what.  Your mercy endures forever.

Jesus ended his Sermon on the Mount with an ominous warning: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one who does the will of my Father.” Many will defend themselves before him and claim, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons, and in your name do many works of power?” Yet Jesus will declare, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness!” (Matthew 7:21-27).      Why will some men who performed miracles and great works in the name of Jesus be rejected? They are not depicted in this passage as pagans or egregious sinners.      The ones who are rejected before Christ's judgment seat called Jesus “Lord,” acknowledged his position and his authority. They prophesied and cast out demons in his name. They did many mighty works based on his authority, with an emphasis in this text on the word “many.”      Jesus does not claim that their exorcisms and miracles were counterfeit. The problem, it seems, is something deeper than just doing good works or doing the miraculous even in the name of the Lord. According to Jesus, “everyone who hears my words and does them shall be likened to a prudent man who built his house upon the rock;” whereas, “everyone who hears these my words and does them not shall be likened to a foolish man who built his house upon the sand.” Herein is the key:  those who wish to enter the kingdom must hear and do the words of Jesus. But which words?      In his preface to the Sermon on the Mount Jesus warned his audience, “Do not presume that I came to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill…Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no way pass away from the law, till all things are accomplished… except your righteousness shall exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no way enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:17-20).      The Pharisees were renowned for their scrupulous observation of the Mosaic Law or Torah, going well beyond its minimal purity requirements. But that was insufficient for entrance into God’s kingdom. Jesus came to fulfill all the law AND the prophets; he had not come just to reiterate or renew the Torah with its Levitical regulations.  Something more was required. The passage recorded in Matthew 7:21-27 is the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount. In context, the words that must be heeded are the words of Jesus in the Sermon. Anyone who desires to follow Jesus are called to live lives characterized by humility, hunger for righteousness, mercy to others, pure hearts, avoidance of retaliation, peacemaking and a willingness to endure unjust suffering for the sake of the kingdom (5:3-12).      Disciples are called to be lights in a dark world (5:13-16). Not only are they forbidden to kill, but they also must not harbor any anger toward a brother. They are to make reconciliation a priority (5:21-26).      A disciple must not lust after someone who is not his.  Instead, he or she is to uphold a lifelong commitment to his or her spouse (5:27-32). Rather than swear oaths, the disciple must speak plain and true words, to let his “Yea be yea, and nay, nay” (5:33-37). The man or woman who wishes to inherit the kingdom of God must eschew retaliation and violence and is even required to love and pray for enemies. In doing good to one’s enemies, even those that persecute him or her, the believer emulates the heavenly Father on the earth and thus becomes “perfect” or “complete.”      Contrary to one popular interpretation, Jesus did not distinguish between “private” vengeance and collective retaliation. Nowhere did he include exception clauses for violence and retaliation carried out at the behest of the State or society (5:38-48). His disciples are called to something higher than the world’s way of doing things or the imperfect law-keeping of the Pharisees.      Believers must not do their works of righteousness in order to be seen by men or for the applause of others. Hypocrisy is to be avoided (6:1-18).      A disciple of Jesus is to focus like a laser beam on the kingdom of God, to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on the earth. Heirs of the kingdom cannot effectively serve two masters (6:19-24).      A disciple need not be anxious about his or her daily needs. God will provide all that is necessary. Instead of seeking the things that the world values, the follower of Christ is to “seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness” (6:25-34).      A disciple of Jesus is admonished not to judge or condemn others (7:1-6). Judgment is the prerogative of God alone. He or she is to continually seek after the things of God. Treating others as we wish to be treated is how we fulfill the law and the prophets. The follower of Christ is to stay on the narrow path and not travel on the popular broad ways of this age. At all times the believer is to beware of false prophets who can be discerned by their fruits (7:7-20).      Much is at stake in how we respond to these words of Jesus.  Those who do not hear and do them will be cast off by Jesus. Presumably, they will not enter the kingdom of God. Considering such a dire potential fate, it would be unwise to ignore the teachings of Jesus or to pick and choose which ones we obey or not.      The Sermon on the Mount is often written off as unrealistic, an idealistic dream that simply does not work in real life. Such attitudes stem from misunderstanding the purpose of the Sermon. The Sermon is not an agenda for reforming the existing world order.      Instead, it is a guide for how disciples of Jesus are to live their lives in the midst of a lost world regardless of the values, demands and expectations of the surrounding society or the circumstances in which one finds himself or herself. Loyalty to God’s kingdom must take precedence over all other allegiances whether to friends, family, society or the State.      In the subsequent chapters of Matthew, Jesus himself lived out this very pattern in his ministry, and above all through his trial and execution, a pattern of self-sacrificial service all Christians are called to emulate.      When Jesus claimed that only those “who hear these words of mine and do them” will enter the Kingdom of his Father, he vested his words with ultimate authority. We ignore them at our everlasting peril.

http://finishedword.blogspot.com/2019/07/sobering-conclusion-to-the-sermon-on-the-mount.html

Witty Angels and the humour of religion

Kevin Smith

Dogma 1999

Beginning with a warning about the contents of the film in the hopes of not offending anyone didn’t work out too well.

Kevin Smith’s Dogma is extremely difficult to buy at least for any reputable retailer; and not available at all in an online digital copy.

In a general sense Kevin Smith’s films are very different to most you will ever see. They have realistic characters, in a manner of speaking, with large vocabularies and witty comments. His films are told through jokes, sarcasm and other forms of sometimes crude humour.

Although still with the usual drugs and sexual references of his films, Dogma changes the focus to religion.

The Characters in Dogma are realistic in the flawed kind of way, but they also include fallen angels, demons, the last scions, an apostle, prophets (also drug dealers), a muse, and the voice of god all being thrown into a holy crusade.

So not as realistic as other Kevin Smith films.

Dogma is not just a reflection on Catholicism but also of religion in pop culture, and as most films tackling these huge topics, there is much to talk about.

Hence, just the introduction up to the title will be looked at.

The opening sequence is spread over three scenes, only one is specifically distinct, the other two are woven together to set up the events of the film.

Opening with the beach and the soon to become John Doe doesn’t make much sense during the first viewing but does foreshadow the film, because of this it becomes essential.

This first opening scene also sets up the themes around the ‘evil’ characters, the ominous music and the sound of flies buzzing. The violence and grimace displayed by the three demon kids as they beat John Doe senseless provides the base line of violence to be portrayed through the film. Not bloody, but violence nonetheless.

The final camera angle from this scene is used to transition to the next.

A low angle shot, John Doe looking up at the three demon kids fades to a low angle shot of a church, thus bringing the next scene in.

A press conference, meaning characters within the film can introduce each other, themes and other aspects to the story without appearing odd.

The introduction of the Cardinal and his campaign Catholicism Wow begins to bring the layers of story into the film and also the almost insanity that is Dogma.

Catholicism Wow in a campaign to make religion relevant to a younger generation and a wider audience. Part if this is Buddy Christ, an animated looking statue of Jesus Christ, pointing with one had, thumbs up with the other and winking.

The transition between scenes from here gets a little less cut and dry, the intertwining of two seperate places, characters and other story elements into a cohesive semi-liner film.

Through the magic of TV we the audience go from a ‘live’ press conference to a TV in an airport in a completely different city.

Pan out and slightly down, now we have Loki (former angel of death) trying to convince a Nun that God isn’t real using Through the Looking Glass to make his point, one of the many pop culture references. Once that is taken care of, Bartleby (another fallen angel) is introduced.

In a matter of a minute the personalities of these two character are displayed, Loki and his cruelty, convincing the Nun that God isn’t real even though he as a former angel knew he was.

Bartleby and his desire to see good in people, sitting in an airport and watching people reuniting and being so happy to see each other.

Moving on, as the dialogue does in a quick manner; a solution to the two fallen angels problem is presented in the form of an article that someone sent to Bartleby.

As Loki begins to read the article out loud, we are suddenly watching the news again; the same reporter finishing the explanation and Loki’s sentence.

The Catholicism Wow campaign givens them a chance to get back into heaven by simply passing through the church archway on the date of it centenary.

This transitions back to Loki and Bartleby traveling through the airport discussing the previously provided information as they go. How church decrees are fallible, but because of dogma what is held true on earth will be held true in heaven.

In the background the Nun that Loki was talking to is getting very, very intoxicated. The background characters and other extras are used in humorous and almost comical ways to cement the main characters within that world. This can be done via interaction of in the case of the Nun reactions from interactions.

Continuing their walk through the airport the topic of mass murder is brought up, to as Loki put it ‘get back on Gods good side’. Bartleby isn’t so sure about this but is reassured by Loki, reminding him that even if God doesn’t like it after that pass through the archway they will have a morally clean slate anyway.

Loki’s desired target Mooby’s is in the background, two guys wearing the Mooby’s shirt, hat, as well as holding a Mooby’s mascots toy. This again is not very subtlety foreshadowing the events of the film.

This trip through the airport concludes at the elevator.

Still chatting between each other, the conversation ‘Last three days on Earth, well we cant get laid so lets do the next best thing’. The answer to this was murder, this caused an extra to spit out her coffee. Loki responded to this by saying ‘Oh, not you’. Once agin the background characters help these two insane characters fit into the world around them.

As the elevator doors close, the screen turns black and the films tittle is displayed.

This opening sequence may not be the entire introduction to the film and it’s main characters, but it does set up the films themes and events as well as humour.

The arrogance of the Cardinal, the events of the past that lead Loki and Bartleby to be stranded on earth. The current goals and personalities of Loki and Bartleby, the sinister foreshadowing of the demon kids, the level of violence, the type of humour and how religion will be viewed through the film. With many a witty comment, paying close attention to the dialogue is imperative.

The density of the film means that it is a great rewatch.