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zenibaa05 · 1 year

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BO KATAN & DIN DJARIN

Bo's first night belonging to the Din Djarin creed, might not be the most peaceful. [3k]

“The last thing I want is for you to leave.”

Author's note [This is a small fic that some have been asking me for so here it is, no, there is no smut but for the simple fact that I didn't see it as necessary… this time. if you liked it let me know!]

The blazing sun was shining brightly on the spectacle.

That morning in the Peace Park it was particularly hot, the wind was dry and the arrival of the hottest days of the year was more than imminent. Bo had noticed it right away as he climbed on the stage, the tempered glass panels of the tallest skyscrapers were burning against the relentless rays of the sun.

The turnout was considerable this time, and he could feel them getting a bit excited. Her father had been absent for a couple of months, and his subjects were in an uproar. They wanted to see the princess again with her father reciting the vows like every year, to start the festivities at the end of the semester. But Bo Katan knew that things had changed, they were no longer the same. He felt neither that illusion nor the desire to put on a fake smile in front of everyone. But he had to do it, all for him, for his father.

It was a great day, and the vast flags waved directed.

The helmets of hundreds of Mandalorians gleamed. They stood tall, imposing before one of their most loyal dukes, unrelentingly showing their clear respect and loyalty.

“I swear by my name, and by those of my ancestors, that I will walk the path of the Mandalorian and that the words of the creed will be engraved in my heart.”

Baptized by the noonday light, the youngest of the Kryze held her back firm and gazed impassively ahead. Adonai, her father, wearing his beskcar armor of his characteristic indigo blue colors, stood before her, holding in his hands the new helmet that would now belong to his youngest daughter.

He placed it on her head of silky long scarlet hair, repeating the vows and looking down at her with pride.

Bo couldn't help but stare at her father through the helmet, his clean-shaven mustache and his blue eyes shown brightly. A great man, her father and the one she trusted the most. He would give his life for Mandalore, for his own. But would he give it for her?

“This is the way.” —Her father told her then, not loud enough for the others to hear, looking into her eyes through the helmet. A promise. — "This is the way." —he repeated this time loudly and firmly, now looking at her captions, raising his arm through the sun's rays through the wind.

"This is the way," they all repeated, thus echoing the words through the air and giving himself a firm punch in the armor of over his chest.

The crowd then burst forth in praise and commendation and the new cycle of the new year was initiated.

“Bo” —His father called out to him, his eyes straight ahead and his arms folded behind his back, his cloak billowing lightly.

“Yes, father?”

“You did very well today.”

The young princess nodded, silently.

She was tired of setting expectations, she always expected more, he could always look at her with pride but never affirmed his words. Which was different when it came to her sister. Satine.

Jealousy rose in her throat then, it tasted bitter in her mouth and she tried to swallow them all, one by one. She hated herself on many occasions for feeling such feelings towards one of the people she loved the most. But she had been fighting for a long time, not to remain in the shadow...Satine's shadow. That's what everyone in the palace said, but she had no choice but to turn a deaf, foolish ear.

She didn't know at what point in her life she had begun to swear to herself; that someday, she would make every one of them swallow her damned words.

Single one of them...

It was then that the warm air stopped flowing, the flags stopped fluttering in the wind, and the sun disappeared leaving in its wake a gray, heavy atmosphere...something was happening.

“You are wicked, my weak sister.”

Bo's back tightened at the sound of her older sister's voice, her words searing into her mind, sounding in a whisper of death almost making her vomit.

Her blood froze in her veins.

She had been pinned to the spot, and could only hear her heart pounding against her eardrums. She felt like she was drowning, like she couldn't breathe...god no, it wasn't true, nothing she had thought was true.

She wasn't able to look to his left, she couldn't. Her was weak.

But it was then when she thought she had gathered enough courage to look her sister in the face, someone grabbed her hard enough to break the bones in her arms, ripping a howl of pain from her throat, which left her pinned face to face with her sister.

Satine's hair looked strangely loose, long and straight, not shining in its characteristic straw blonde, it was dull. Dead.

“Can you really believe that father could believe in you as he does in me? You, you filthy, snake-like child? Can you?”

Terror welled up in her stomach and she stopped feeling her legs when she realized that indeed, the one speaking to her was not her sister, but her mere corpse.

Bo let out a scream overflowing from the abyss of terror as Satine's lifeless blue eyes stared straight into her face, grabbing her by the neck with inhuman strength cutting off her breath, he lifted her up before her. Her very eyes, the portrait of her sister, the ones they both shared, but lifeless.

“You are as dead and rotten as I am, sister.”

The Mandalorian stood guard that long night, Grogu was already asleep. He walked in absolute silence through the labyrinthine passages of the cavern in which his people were now hiding, keeping himself hidden in the shadows. For a moment she thought then, that now Bo Katan was also part of her clan, for her the first night spent with her own after a long time. She wondered if Bo really wanted to be there, he hadn't spoken to her after the welcome approach. She simply nodded and returned to her ship. He didn't have her take off at any point, of course, but it wasn't until well after dark that he saw her come out of the hatches. He didn't go after her, what she did or didn't do wasn't his concern, not until they worked out a plan. So he decided to give her her space.

He might have been suspicious of her, but things had changed, she had been homeless anyway and maybe she had been a little overwhelmed with the whole situation, not that her cult was the most loving or close but she had decided she would keep a distance anyway. He understood her in a way.

Din had been watching her, most of them were already resting in their rooms, or going down to his chamber on the second level of the cavern, when she decided to return.

She didn't want to feel that now Bo had become part of her responsibility, but it was he who had brought her there after all. And no matter how much he alluded to it,, he was now also the one running the show among his own, he carried the dark saber and they all knew it.

The silence of the starry night crept through the entrance as he saw his silhouette appear crossing the entrance silently, he carried his helmet, good.

Din couldn't help but think of an owl, moving in the night keeping silent, lethal and solitary, ready to strike and be clean in its execution. But always maintaining its elegance. This is how Bo Katan moved.

The Armourer worked in silence, and it was nothing but the light of the blowtorches strong torches that illuminated the room. He was casting ingots.

“Long day, Bo Katan?” —His voice sounded neutral, echoing in the empty cave.

Din did not turn his attention away from the young Kryze, leaning against the cold rock he kept he hidden in the shadows.

“That's right.” —She answered him after a few seconds of silence.

The Mandalorian immediately noticed the tiredness in his savior's voice. She was not lying.

“We all have a place to rest here, under the second level is your chamber. It used to belong to one of our own, frankly deceased, he died in a recent attack.” —A sincere but measured proposal.

The Armera skillfully removed the molten remains of some ingots, unhurriedly.

“Thank you.” —She said goodbye.

That was all from Bo Katan. After that, she had gone down to the lower levels and into what were now her new quarters. Din was sure she would not be entirely content after having been living under the roofs of a palace.

He had followed her, just to make sure nothing happened to her or she simply got lost...but he didn't even know why he had done so, it was clear that she had a much better sense of direction than he did, she had known her way around a planet in complete rubble coming out unscathed.

Maybe the fact of being in charge of a child and having become a father was softening him in a way. A few years ago he wouldn't have even bothered.

After that he had continued on his watch.

It was a groan that escaped from between her lips as she awoke in the middle of the night, bringing a hand to her neck and sitting up on her cot abruptly, cold beads of sweat sliding down Bo's face, down her neck, her short hair clinging to her dripping skin. The total gloom of the room was absolutely overwhelming to her, she could see nothing but a faint light sneaking under the heavy doorway to her chamber.

It took her a few long seconds to realize that it had all been part of a nightmare, her heart was still pounding hard in her chest and her mouth felt dry. All a nightmare...just that. Nothing was real, nothing was real.

He closed his eyes tightly taking a deep breath, trying to calm himself, holding a hand to his chest.

Bo Katan could count the exact days he hadn't dreamt about his sister. They were those kinds of nights when he was more and more aware that he was not completely over her death...it was then that he wondered if the death of a sibling is ever really overcome in life. Or that of a father...If she would ever really learn to stand alone.

This was not her place. If she was sleeping there with Din's clan it was because she had nowhere else to go, not that she had tried to form a plan with him in the last few hours, she just didn't have the strength to do it or to assimilate anything.

He got up in complete silence moving to the small table on the other side of the room, picked up the glass of water from on top of it and drank every last damn drop. He had to get out of there, get some air.

He put on his armor and before he walked through the door, of course, he put on his damn helmet...not that he didn't like it, but he wasn't in the mood to wear it, not when he was still short of breath. But she had to.

She closed the door behind her. Nothing, absolutely nothing on either side of the long sandstone corridor, her chamber was the last of all and to her right the cavern wall, only the subtle sound of the soft sand falling through some of the holes in it accompanied her.

The light of the moons did not reach there, so she took out her illuminating sphere to see through the gloom of the passages.

She intended to leave through the main door through which everyone entered and left, but halfway, in the corner of one of those long passages, she noticed the bluish nocturnal luminescence sneaking somewhere in that irregular sandstone wall. She turned off the sphere, and driven by curiosity walked cautiously towards the light. She heard the wind whistling through the rock...a way out.

She didn't know if any of the clan knew of the existence of that crevice wide enough to exit through. But he didn't think twice about going through it.

Bathed in the light of the moons Bo felt his boots sink lightly into the slippery sand. The place overlooked the outside yes, but it was not what her had expected beforehand.

The cosmos was unfolding in the sky like an infinite sea of stars losing itself in the vast dunes beyond. A small esplanade surrounded by sandstone walls between passages, that's what the crevice looked like.

He pulled his helmet upwards, leaving his face uncovered, letting the night wind caress his face once and for all, taking a deep breath and letting his lungs fill with fresh air.

Yes... that was all he needed.

“What had we agreed on?”

Not even a blink and his blaster was already aimed at the owner of that fortuitous voice.

Bo's heart had accelerated so much that now he could only hear it beating against his ears, at what point had he become so defensive?

He could have recognized that silver armor of pure beskar in any of his scenerys.

“Din.” —his name escaped her lips in relief, lowering the weapon and bringing it back to its holster.

The Mandalorian stood impassively leaning against the uneven sandstone wall, illuminated by the midnight light, he watched her silently with his hands folded in front of his hips, he remained calm.

Then she noticed how his gaze slowly shifted to the helmet clutched in his other hand.

“I needed to get some air.” —She excused herself at once, keeping her gaze on him. —”I'm not used to wearing it for such a long period of time like you and yours. I don't know how you do it.”

“You're lucky this is a secluded place.” —He replied, gracefully moving away from the wall, shortening the distance that separated them.

Bo followed him with his gaze at all times...with a fleeting thought, he would never admit that he found her way of moving somewhat attractive. Perhaps it was because of the armor...in a way it intimidated him. And he still wasn't quite clear if he was doing it on purpose.

"Since when do you stay so defensive?"

A question she didn't even want to ask herself, she supposed she had more than a single reason to be.

“The odd thing would be if she wasn't.” —Din had closed the distance between them, but without either of them losing their personal space.

“There was a time when I behaved like that too.” —A small confession from the bounty hunter.

It was then that a somewhat dense silence broke through. Bo was looking at him as if he could see through his helmet. She had seen him from the back, but never from the front...she could only see his brown hair worn in a classic cut.

She cleared her throat and looked down slightly for a few seconds. He too seemed to notice her certain discomfort.

“So you're not going to follow the creed.”

Those words elicited a small smirk in Krtze, snapping her out of that little trance.

“Did you think I was going to do it?” —she sounded somewhat incredulous —”You see Din...when you haven't been raised as that belief since you were a child it's...weird, complicated. You know why I did it.”

“To keep you safe, I understand you.” —He was surprisingly flexible, shrugged his shoulders slightly and began to take small steps around the room, now with his hands folded behind his back.— “Leave whenever you want.”

Those last words made her stiffen, she found herself holding the helmet tighter than she had estimated. Her gaze hardened, now Din had his back to her again.

“Wow, you say that as if you had already made up your mind.” —Bo's tonality had changed completely, now she was colder. As if any wall that could have been destroyed between them had been in vain.

“Understand that if you want to stay, so that we can all fight together again, you must follow the creed. You're putting me in a bind if you go about taking off your helmet without rhyme or reason, they're not like other Mandalorians you've met. So do me the favor of putting on your helmet for once, at least for as long as we stay here.” —Bo was surprised at how harsh he was with his words. Was he making a plan? To fight together? —”If you're caught without your helmet I'll be forced to throw you out and I'm afraid you won't be able to come back.

His jaw tightened. What, in an engagement, huh? Asshole.

Driven by anger, she threw her helmet to the sandy ground without a second thought, making the sound of the beskar sound hollow and bouncing off the sandstone walls, caused Din to turn around immediately.

The ostracized princess of her own planet was facing her only and last hope. This time she had been the one to close the gap between them, but now with the difference that she had left no personal space between them.

Little more and her nose would brush against the cold armor of the Mandalorian.

“In a compromise? Dare to repeat it.” —His words carried the characteristic bittersweet taste of threat. —”Who are you supposed to be here now? The damn boss?” —She accused him with her finger on his chest armor. Din was silent, she knew he was staring at him through the helmet. She could feel it. —”Do you think they respect you for who you are? The only reason they all follow you is because of that damn saber you have wrapped on your belt. Without it, you're nobody to them.” —Bo knew what he was talking about, he knew it all too well. —”As soon as you no longer belong to them, they'll cast you aside like they did me.”

A queen without a throne.

They spent a few seconds in silence staring at each other. But there was nothing that bothered Bo more than the damn helmet that kept covering Din's face. He couldn't see his damn expression or the sparkle in his eyes. It was when he thought of that that he noticed her reflection in the shining beskar of his armor, tears falling silently down her cheeks.

Then he gently grabbed her by the arms, pulling her apart little by little in a controlled manner.

“Deep breaths Bo.”

It was then that she realized how rapid and irregular her breathing had become, as if she had again just woken up from a bad dream.

He felt himself getting dizzy, his legs were shaking and he was losing his balance.

She clung tightly to Din's arms, closing her eyes tightly and digging her nails in, trying to follow his words.

“That's it, it's over...inhale...exhale, come on, again.”

Inhale and exhale, just as he told her, she immediately felt strong enough to open her eyes again. And when she looked up, there he was looking at her through the helmet, just like seconds before.

“Bo?”

His name being spoken again through his lips brought her back to herself.

“Forgive me. I'm...I'm fine.” —She pulled her grip off Din almost immediately, he did the same with her

“Are you sure?” —Bo interrupted him immediately.

“Very sure. I apologize again.” —She was ready to get out of there, she was feeling so embarrassed that I couldn't even look him in the face again. It had been a long time since she had suffered one of those episodes.

It was as she was turning in her footsteps that someone grabbed her arm firmly.

Din.

“It is I who owe you an apology.” —A short pause. —”The mistake was mine...I should have been more careful with my words. I…”—Another silence. —”The last thing I want is for you to leave.” —Bo was catatonic at his confession. —”I just...I don't see anyone else helping me in this Bo. I need you by my side to win this war. I guess...I got scared.”

Bo Katan could not believe the Mandalorian's honest confessions.

Still feeling the slight grip on his arm he slowly turned to face him again. And although that helmet still covered his features, he knew Din wasn't lying.

#din djarin #the mandalorian #bo katan kryze #star wars #pedro pascal #the mandalorian season 3 #dinbo #the mandalorian season three spoilers #the mandalorian spoilers #fanfic

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sporadicarbitergardener · 6 months

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October 24 , 2023

Listening to Kevin Gates while also reading the Bible as well. Keeping my mind studying as well.

Also was baptized and well that was November 16, 2008 a week before I turned 10 as well. In front of My father Glenn Ray Seymour and , my two little brothers as well as my step mom and as well as my step brother as well. The verse Psalms 10: Oppression of the Poor.

Psalms 10:2

" The wicked in "his" pride doth persecute the poor,. Let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined."

Now reading this the bible states women are to "marry" its hard to marry when women feel a sense of entitlement to credibility and being thief of a man's pride . A man's pride is anything he actually pours his energy and time into as well as mind.

Men will looks at all women the same because we are always counting on a hand on how fast we can mess them over or manipulate them.

The devices they are talking about is the phones and devices and how we use them. I use mine for research, google translation and communication to people that I promised to always be here for no matter how bad things get.

A few people is about to see me as a joke because I don't hold any vengeance from anyone who hurts me or betrays me. I look at myself and having spiritual warfare in my soul because my father's obituary did not have to be exposed, nor did my face-book need to be tapped in my old foster brother from him hacking me back in March of 2015 to April really, actually April 20 of that year in 2015 and that hurts to know because he was tapped into my information and was having access to all my conversations as well. This life is getting scary being able to see it at a distance as well.

Reading this and realizing what dcfs meant by I am blessed. My daughter could be in the same position as I was as well. My spirit in my shell is feeling growth in more ways than one. I am learning the knowledge everyone is wanting and trying to manifest from the Devil, they are trying to learn take over.

That knowledge was not meant to be used for destruction it is meant for knowing the power you hold in yourself as a person as a human being. I will not be looked at like my father as a liar or a addict .

Life is a choice.

I have to much life meaning my spirit.

Women give the names you are called by the first name.

Seeing someone go by a middle name is Red flag, also after learning the truth behind my father's biological father I had already stated my last name needs to be changed to Barker because well truth came out fast and I see why my grand mother wrote that message of her red bible.

She knows how I am with my faith and knows i will do whatever means necessary's to keep my bloodline safe and as well as always reach out to talk to family because as life goes on and people block and do things as if I am here to make anyone feel bad about themselves. Nope sometimes as life goes on its better to let go , write , if there is something you want to keep with you but you don't want to carry it with you in your mind you can actually write it down and keep it , write down your mental rights with a note and keep that information personal close as well.

Family will play like they love you and trade or speak information to others that was it there business to do because now it takes away truth behind what I say or do. My past will not dictate or conflicts my faith as I am typing this. Women are always called crazy no women are tired of our voices being covered, Hint my drawings has the mouth as well muscled as well.

I like the fact that Porn Hub asks for a license or a number to upload things as well. Its amazing because well. I am from Louisiana and well, I am sorry I love music, I speak truth. One main focus I am hunting for and doing is writing or saying lyrics that doesn't look like a gateway to a bad path. The path hand and hand with Allah, God . The Alpha and Omega and understanding even as an artist that has more talents than one, I will never be perfect, right now is not the time to dive into my dream with my music because truth is , being seen as if I am noone. Lies , everyone sees what is going on. Money holds no real value when you learn the place of a women as life goes on. I don't want to be looked up to as I promote self harm, verbal abuse, mental abuse, or physical violence. My body is my body , We are all part of the problem of todays society. Women on twitter one specific is talking about things on twitter well, formerly twitter and is debating and speaking of topics she's trying to speak to women and say to be quiet and submits to every word a man says , But leaving out other factors that she wants our daughters to learn to listen and elt a man take advantage and mentally abuse you, I was once beatened by her father and we made peace and moved on from it, but his family got in the way and as life goes on we are all learning how to ehal because well. Now its feels like whose going through worse and feels like it is Karma as well for speaking up as well. I refuse toever be looked at as if I did wrong in my past when speaking up. I don't trust a person walking because everyone just wants something from you just so that way they can take your photos, data, and stories adn use them for themselves, shit even seeing my mom betray me its okay. I am greatful she is alive but she was my momma and she is protecting someone that did alot of harm to other kids as well and my baby daddy's sister thought I was wrong when I told Him that I wanted to beat my brothers ass for doing something to a kid as well my child said that she was touched by him as well and my mom is acting like she forgot who I was as a person. I know my rights as a mother and as a person I am influencing women to speak up and always keep diaries because even when I was on drugs I am still able to remember everything that has ever happened. Maya Angellou felt that she had to keep mute because she felt as well the same thing , stay quiet becasue she felt her voice played a hand in getting a man killed when facts are that is a false because murder is a choice, all humans feels a evil instinct in us but its about how we chose to pass it down and demonstrate it. I was raped 3 times and State of Louisiana through Celeste White dropped my case becasue she was intimidated by Thomas Vincent to drop the case as well, so I did allow her father to visit with her and see her under the supervision of some family from the Hebert side and May 19, 2023 my daughter came to me saying that she was touched by him as well then I got my mothers dumbass boyfriend saying and trying to message me aying that he is my dad when my father is deceased and what makes it even more sick for me is that well being honest in my life he is part of the problem as well having sex with every one he does air conditioner work as well for my mother. Church is through your way of worship. I just find it funny ebcause I was even wrong back in September 16 , 2014 when I spoke up on cocain as well about the accusations as well.

Makes it amazing for me because I even left 26 Old sandy hook road in July or August of 2017 because my mother brought him back around my daughter after I gave birth to her as wel.

I will always love her father but in truth I do believe her, but also on top of that Chris Cuevas even made a mistake and said " Why didn't you fill out a Police report."

Sir common sense is The courts does not hold anything that a child says at 6 years old accountable to be used, this is facts because on honesty It was as easy as just leave and not speak to any of them again. Do I wish them bad? Never I am staying near my home front because well. Its home.

Tired of the judgement oh wait Thomas Vincent father of three wont name because they are family but he even screamed at me saying infront of 410 edwards street that I deserved to be raped and I am not mad because they rather see me home less and not care. I asked for even a ride from Misty Portier to help me to get to court from Lafayette and she was told me no as well.

Manipulated me threatening me saying I remember you calling the police from 2021 because her father didn't let me talk to her because of his emotions. I am so sorry that I felt played because he said " I will teach her how to please a man."

So Louisiana did fail that. Speaking that as well. My bad.

But in truth I never did anything to harm my child, when you remove a child from a mother's custody we will lose our mind and find hobbies to fill the void, so me leaving a man was wrong ? No matter what we are always serving the devil without knowing it and well I have the right to type as I am losing my mind watching how this crap really goes, I am keeping my silence as I am healing mentally right now so I am greatful because we could all be killed in America like the Genocide that is going on across the borders.

And noone will ever really get promoted or paid correct as honesty goes. So yeah, some artist play behind a screen because even right now I am looked at like an attention seeker , no , I am a woman who has alot in her mind and also alot of pain supressed, but I hold no threats.

#folk magic #traditional witchcraft #eclectic witch #spellcraft #witch stuff #book of shadows #paganblr #witchcraft community #witches of tumblr #pagan wicca

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firstumcschenectady · 3 years

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“Rainbows and Rain” based on Genesis 9:8-17 and Mark 1:9-15

When do you look for rainbows? After it rains, right? The Genesis story connects the rainbow with God's promise not to flood the earth – again. It is an oddly timed symbol for such a promise, because by the time it stops raining and the rainbow shows up … it has stopped raining and the fear of flooding is likely already relieved.

Or, maybe that's the beauty of it.

Because during a rainstorm we can anticipate it. “When this is over, we can look for a rainbow!” So, even during the storm, we anticipate it's ending and the reminder that all will be well.

Of course, in these days of climate changed by humans, rain can be rather scary at times. Floods come more often, and more destructive than usual. But that actually fits. The ancient Israelites were desert people and deserts have weird relationships with rain. That is, they need water for life, and have less of it than most, but because the earth is so parched most of the time, and water tends to come in deluges rather than sprinkles, heavy rainstorms quickly lead to flash flooding.

The ancient Israelites may have had some of our current misgivings about torrential rain, and this story may have been a way to center in the midst of their fears. While it rains, you can anticipate God's promise. When it is pouring, you start preparing for God's sign of hope.

While I believe that the rainbow became a symbol for LGBTQIA pride because of the diversity of colors representing celebrating the diverse ways of being, I have always appreciated this anticipatory hope aspect of it as well. The choice of the rainbow symbol, to those aware of this Genesis story, is a choice to say, “things aren't good now, but they're gonna be.”

Or, in the language of the African American church tradition, “God is the one who makes a way out of no way.” (I'm so thankful for the creation of pride flags that intentionally include people of color as well as the trans community in the beauty of human diversity.)

Dear ones, the rainbow feels like a good symbol in the midst of our current “Rainstorm”, doesn't it? Or perhaps you want to call it a monsoon. Your choice. ;)

Which, come to think of it, is also the Jesus narrative, and our gospel lesson today. So much of what happens in the story assumes a greater knowledge of the time of Mark and Jesus than we generally have, so let me retell the story with some context put in:

“In those days, Jesus came from Nazareth (Nowhereville) of Galilee (sketchy!) - leaving behind his family, friends, and village – everything he knew, everything he was. He was baptized by John – a rural Holy Man, in the River Jordan, the traditional waters for the Ancient Jewish People. Baptism marked Jesus as a student of John's, it also symbolized his choice to leave behind his society and culture and obligations, and follow only the Divine.

As he was coming out of the water, he had a God-experience, a rather beautiful one. It was as if the heavens were torn open and God was more accessible, and the Spirit came right there to be with him. Jesus heard a voice offering a blessing, claiming him! "You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased." In such a way, he who had left his kin was adopted into God's family.

After such a profound blessing though, the Spirit of God send Jesus into the wilderness. Jesus did not choose it, the wilderness is the place where it is hard to sustain life, and he was alone, and he struggled, and he was tempted, and he had to figure out what it would mean for his life to be a Holy Man too. He was there for 40 days, like Moses was awaiting an audience with God. With God's help – again proving Jesus as God's kin – Jesus made it through.

When he came back out of the wilderness, his teacher John had been arrested. He was on his own as a Holy Man. He went back to Galilee, that suspicious place he was from, and started speaking God's 'good news.' Which didn't sound exactly like people expected it to. He said, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.'”1

That “good news” seems to require a little bit more examination. One scholar points out, “'Gospel' was most commonly used in antiquity to announce benefits to the populace.”2 Another summarizes what Jesus says with, “He boldly announces that the reign of God – with its dreams of justice and love, equality and abundance, wholeness and unity- is dawning.”3

Jesus is a rainbow.

He is a sign of hope, in the midst of the storm. He comes out of nowhere, is claimed by God, and offers a message of hope and promise. The world with its power hierarchies, the world that counts some people as “disposable”, the world where economies exist to let rich people get richer on the labor of the poor, the world that wants to appropriate religion to support the powerful, the world that tells the 99% to fight each other for the scraps left over after the 1% have been fed, the world which says to take care of yourself and your own first and let other's fend for themselves – the WORLD's powers are at an end. A new reign is coming, and it will look entirely different.

In God's kindom, there is no hierarchy, everyone is working toward for the common good. In God's kindom there are no disposable people, all are treated as beloved children of God. In God's kindom, there are neither rich nor poor. Instead, each person offers their gifts and labor for the betterment of the whole, and resources are distributed according to need. In God's kindom, we all treat each other as “insiders” and work for each other's well-being as well as our own.

To repent is to let go of the fear, the competitiveness, and the judgements of the WORLD, and allow the love, the hope, and the compassion of the kindom to take root.

This isn't easy. It never has been. Nor is it now. Judgements are hard to let go of, including judgements of ourselves. They're extra hard in matters of life and death, like vaccines, and access to health care, and decisions about masking and distancing and schooling and childcare and caution vs. risk these days. Right? The issue is that these judgments slip far too easily into shame, including self-shame from people who have gotten COVID, which IS blaming victims.

I don't claim the authority to know about the best vaccine distribution plan, but I do think it is useful to take a kindom look at our pandemic lives. What does it look like when we look from love, hope, and compassion?

From that angle, I see a lot of gratitude: for the ways people have adapted to make all of us healthier, for creativity and hard work in trying to keep things going as they need to, for those offering care or services even when there is risk to self involved.

I also see more clearly the injustices of the moment: that not all “frontline workers” have had a choice about if they want to be in the frontlines at all, and that far too many people are forced by economic circumstances to take risks they don't want to take. That people of color have been impacted in a multiplicity of ways: with less access to adequate housing, with more people doing “essential work”, with less access to protective gear, with higher poverty rates that require taking greater risks, with less access to health care, and with less responsive health care when it is accessed. (To name a few.) Each of these systemic pieces of racism in our society are highlighted by the higher infection rates and higher death rates among people of color, and show us yet again the impact of disparity on people's very lives. Lack of equity kills, and movements from the world-as-it-is to the World-as-God-would-have-it-be are movements from death to life.

Looking at the pandemic from the kindom view, mostly, I'm overwhelmed with compassion: for the impossible decisions everyone is making to the best of their ability; for the dehumanizing isolation so many are living with; to the life-draining balancing acts being asked of mothers, fathers, and caregivers. From this view, judgements lighten, and love grows.

Finally, the kindom view reminds us that we are no stronger than our “weakest link.” That is, we are unable to be healthy in isolation. Until the WORLD is vaccinated, all of us are at risk. And that's always been true, but now we can see it clearly.

We're all in this together. We're all in this storm together (although it impacts us differently.) And from the midst of this storm, we're all reminded that at the end of the storm, the rainbow comes. God doesn't abandon us in the storm, hope doesn't die, the kindom is at hand, repent and believe. Entering into the kindom's values will help kindom come. Remembering the rainbow helps us live through the storm. Thanks be to God. Amen

1Summary influenced by:

Ched Myers, Binding the Strong Man (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998 and 2008, ~128.

Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh Social-Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2003) 146-7.

Debie Thomas, “Beasts and Angels” https://www.journeywithjesus.net/essays/2924-beasts-and-angels 2-14-21, accessed 2-18-21.

2Malina and Rohrbaugh, 148.

3Myers, 91.

February 21, 2021

Rev. Sara E. Baron First United Methodist Church of Schenectady 603 State St. Schenectady, NY 12305 Pronouns: she/her/hers http://fumcschenectady.org/ https://www.facebook.com/FUMCSchenectady

#Thinking Church #Progressive Christianity #FUMC Schenectady #Schenectady #UMC #The United Methodist Church #Sorry about the homophobic UMC world #Rev Sara E Baron #Lent #Rainbows #Baptism of Jesus #Jesus is a rainbow #Signs of Hope #A Lent of Hope #Pandemic from a kindom view #Compassion

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mbtizone · 7 years

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Offred/June (The Handmaid's Tale): ISFJ

Dominant Introverted Sensing [Si]: Offred deals with her misery by remembering the details of her life prior to becoming a handmaid. She draws parallels between the blue she sees in the present and the blue of her car, which spelled like maple syrup and was purchased on Craig’s List. She missed the smell once they got rid of it, but she and her daughter missed it. Hannah had said that it “smelled like Saturdays.” She finds comfort in remembering the past. The church that is being torn down was her father’s parish and was where her daughter was baptized. Offred tries to keep her head down and get by without challenging authority. She’s often praised for being an “obedient” handmaid. She typically does what she is told without much fuss and takes orders much better than other handmaid’s, such as Ofwarren, who she chastises for biting Mrs. Putnam. You cannot be biting people, Janine! She doesn’t want Ofglen to look into her commander because it’s dangerous. She tells Moira not to write a message on the wall of the bathroom. It’s not worth losing your hand! When Offred recounts what she’s learned after 37 games of Scrabble with the Commander, she says that he likes it when she flirts with him and she enjoys it when he allows her to win, which reminds her of a poem she once read: “”You fit into me like a hook into an eye a fish hook an open eye.” Offred just wants things to go back to the way they used to be, and uses this as her tactic for talking Janine off the ledge. She uses imagery of how the world once was, and how it will be again to try to stop her from taking her own life. She wants to know and memorize Nick, and expresses her regret at not doing the same with Luke. When Offred begins to adopt a more rebellious spirit and begins to take risks, she engages in a sexual relationship with Nick, despite the consequences, because it’s important that someone remembers her. She wants someone to miss her when she’s gone.

Auxiliary Extroverted Feeling [Fe]: June tries to have a gentle, delicate touch. When Moira berates Luke when he talks about “taking care” of June once they found out that the men are now responsible for their wives bank funds, Luke doesn’t understand what he said that was so wrong. June explains, in a much more tender tone, that he came across as a little patronizing. Offred is very good at putting on a good face in front of the Waterfords (most of the time), and is able to swallow her pride and do what they ask without complaint. She’ll do anything to survive, even if she has to compromise each and every one of her morals to do so. ” I’ll do anything. Resign my body freely to the uses of others. I’ll sacrifice. I’ll repent. I’ll abdicate. I’ll renounce.” Offred apologizes to Mrs. Waterford in an attempt to be released from the room, taking full responsibility for not being pregnant. She insists that she’s learned her lesson and uses kindness in an attempt to be freed from her punishment. Offred rarely stands up for herself the way that Moira does. Offred is empathetic and kind. She is a shoulder to cry on for her friends, particularly Janine, and tries to help them whenever she can. Offred is capable of being emotionally manipulative, and uses the Commander’s interest in her to get him to bring her to the bar. When he questions her about this, she tells him that she likes the way other people look at him and how impressive he is in an attempt to feed his ego and get her way.

Tertiary Introverted Thinking [Ti]: Although she seems quite docile, Offred’s inner monologues are biting and sarcastic. Every now and then, this slips out into her actual conversations. “You don’t just feel pregnant 30 seconds after a man cums. I’m sorry, forgive me. Offred is good at assessing situations accurately. She refers to a guide in order to tell how the Commander feels about her (Si) and observes his behavior to see if it fits (Ti). He brings her small gifts and finds ways to run into her. She is able to be blunt and honest with herself. She’s not with Nick as an act of rebellion. She’s there because it feels good. Offred regularly analyzes her experiences in order to determine what they mean. She wants to know what the significance is and why she does what she does.

Inferior Extroverted Intuition [Ne]: When Offred is kept in solitude, she tries to make the best of the situation by pretending she is an explorer. She searches the room and tries to make discoveries. “That’s better than a lunatic, lost in her memories.” June isn’t usually the idea type. In their plan to escape, Moira is the one calling the shots. June just goes along with what Moira says. June isn’t very good when it comes to thinking on her feet. When the guardian at the train station begins to question her, she completely freezes instead of trying to come up with a story. As a result, Moira escapes and June is sent back to Aunt Lydia and is physically abused for her insubordination. When she thinks of Moira and how willful she is, June becomes inspired to find her own way out of the room she was held in as punishment for not conceiving a child. As time passes, she becomes more open to taking risks, generating ideas, and improvising in the moment in order to push back against the oppression she faces.

Enneagram: 6w5 9w1 2w1 Sp/Sx

Quotes:

Offred: Blue. I let it take me. Blue Moon. Rhapsody in Blue. Tangled Up in Blue. Blue Oyster Cult. Blue Monday. Our car was that color. We bought it off Craigslist. It smelled like maple syrup. Luke said it was a leak in the radiator, it was probably bad for kids. After we got it fixed, I missed that smell. And so did Hannah. She said it smelled like Saturdays.

Ofglen: It’s okay. To be relieved it wasn’t you. Offred: It was someone. Ofglen: I know. There’s a way to help them. You can join us. Offred: What do you mean “us”? Ofglen: There’s a network. Offred: I don’t know. I’m not that kind of person. Ofglen: No one is until they have to be.

Offred: There is an “us”? It seems imagined, like secrets in the fifth grade. People with mysterious histories and dark linkages. It doesn’t seem as if it should be the true shape of the world. That’s a hangover from an extinct reality. Now, the Guardians of the Faithful and American soldiers still fight with tanks in the remains of Chicago. Now, Anchorage is the capital of what’s left of the United States, and the flag that flies over that city has only two stars. Now, darkness and secrets are everywhere. Now, there has to be an “us.” Because now, there is a “them.”

Offred: It’s forbidden for us to be alone with the Commanders. We aren’t concubines. We’re two-legged wombs. Maybe he knows about Ofglen. Have I been invited to my own ending? No. ‘Cause it isn’t an invitation. I can’t send my regrets.

Ofglen: You okay? Offred: He wants to see me, alone. Ofglen: Your commander? Shit. Ofglen: You don’t know why? Offred: No. Ofglen: Maybe he did this with the one before you. Maybe she told someone about it. Let me see what I can find out. Offred: It’s too dangerous. Ofglen: It’ll be okay. I’m sneaky.

Offred: A rose is a rose, except here. Here it has to mean something.

Offred: Janine, did you bite Mrs. Putnam? You can’t do that. Ofwarren: Well, she is a cunt. Offred: Well, you can’t. Ofwarren: No, you don’t understand. She is always grabbing Charlotte. She’s always just grabbing at her. And I told her I was still feeding her, she wasn’t done eating, and she just grabbed her from me. Offred: Charlotte? Ofwarren: Oh, yeah. That’s her real name. Offred: Janine, you cannot bite people.

June: Hey, you have all my money now. So, congratulations. Luke: Come on. You know I’ll take care of you. Moira: Christ. June: Well, that’s not what he’s saying. Luke: What? What’s wrong? June: Nothing. It’s just- Luke: What? June: It sounds a little patronizing. Moira: It is so fucking patronizing.

Offred: Please, God, I don’t want pain. I don’t want to be a doll, hung on the wall. I want to keep on living. I’ll do anything. Resign my body freely to the uses of others. I’ll sacrifice. I’ll repent. I’ll abdicate. I’ll renounce.

Offred: There are things in this room to discover. I am like an explorer, a traveler to undiscovered countries. That’s better than a lunatic, lost in her memories.

Offred: What are you doing? Moira: You spell “Aunt Lydia” with a “y,” right? Offred: Oh, God, don’t do that. Moira: What? I like to read when I take a dump. Offred: If they catch you writing, you will lose a hand. You know that. It’s not worth it. Moira: Yeah, it is. And once we get out of here, there’s gonna be a girl that comes in here and reads it. It will let her know she’s not alone.

Offred: Mrs. Waterford, I know I failed you. I disappointed you and myself. And I will do my best to not let it happen again. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m so sorry. Please, let me out.

Guardian: Blessed day, miss. Do you need some help? Offred: Yes, thank you. Do you know which train goes to Boston? Guardian: It’s coming in now. It’s hard without the signs, right? They’re going to replace them soon, I think. Where’s your partner? You shouldn’t be out alone. Can I see your ID card? Where are you posted? [Offred remains silent and is taken back to Aunt Lydia while Moira escapes]

Offred: [to herself] Moira, you wouldn’t stand for this shit. You wouldn’t let them keep you in this room for two weeks. You’d find a way out. You’d escape. Get up. Get your crazy ass up.

Offred: What have I learned, after 34 games? I’ve learned that he likes it when I flirt. And I like it when he lets me win. We’re a match made in heaven. It reminds me of a poem I read once. “You fit into me like a hook into an eye a fish hook an open eye.”

Offred: Ten ways to tell how he feels about you. Number one, he brings you small gifts. Check.

Offred: Ten ways to tell how he feels about you. Number two. He keeps finding ways to accidentally run into you. Number three. What was number three?

Serena Joy: How do you feel? Do you feel any different? Offred: You don’t just feel pregnant 30 seconds after a man cums. I’m sorry, forgive me.

Nick: Hey, what’s going on? Offred: I should’ve said something. I should’ve said something. I should’ve – I should’ve told her. I should’ve told her what they do to us. Nick: You’re being too hard on yourself. You were in a room full of Commanders. Offred: No, I should’ve – I said I was happy. I said I was happy. Nick: What choice did you have? Offred: I can’t be here. I can’t be here. Nick: Sit down for a second. Offred: I can’t. No, I can’t. Nick: Talk to me. Hey. Offred: If they find us here. If they find us. If they find us together, I’m gonna get sent to the colonies. You’re an Eye. You’re untouchable. Nick: That’s not true. Offred: Fuck you, Nick. Fuck you! They don’t rape you, do they? He doesn’t come in here once a month and read you a little scripture and stick his cock up your ass? I said I was happy! Nick: Offred. Offred: Don’t call me that! It’s not my name. Nick: Can I get you a glass of water? Offred: It’s June.

Offred: Luke is alive. I stretch out my arms to him, but he slips away. Like a ghost at daybreak. And I am left here. I wish this story were different. I wish it showed me in a better light. In a different story, maybe I wouldn’t be such a fucking weakling. So I’ve gone back to Nick. Time after time, on my own. I want to know him, memorize him, so I can live on the image later. I should have done that with Luke because he’s fading. Day by day and night by night he recedes. And I become more faithless. I could say these are acts of rebellion, a “fuck you” to the patriarchy, but those are excuses. I’m here because it feels good and because I don’t want to be alone.

Nick: We can’t do this anymore. Offred: Nick. You know I had to go with him last night, right? You know I didn’t have a choice. I don’t have any choice. Why? You’re not gonna talk to me? Talk to me. Talk-Talk to me, Nick. I don’t know anything about you, you know. Nick, you won’t tell me anything. So, I don’t know anything. I don’t know who you are. Jesus, Nick. Fuck, is this it? Is this it? Is this enough for you, this bullshit life? Is this what you want? You want to polish his car and once in a while just try to get a Handmaid pregnant? Is that enough for you? Nick: We’re being stupid. You know we’re being stupid. It’s too dangerous. Offred: No, it isn’t. Nick: You could end up on the wall. Offred: But at least- at least someone will remember me. In this place At least someone will care when I’m gone. That’s something. That is something.

Offred: So, can we stay for a while? Maybe have that drink? Fred Waterford: It’s all about the bar tonight. Why? Offred: I like the way that people treat you. They’re all so impressed.

Offred/June (The Handmaid’s Tale): ISFJ was originally published on MBTI Zone

#6w5 9w1 2w1 #June #Offred #Sp/Sx #The Handmaid's Tale #ISFJ #Type 6 #enneagram 6 #mbti #mbti types #mbti personality types #fictionalcharactermbti #fictionmbti #tv mbti #enneagram #enneatypes #enneagram type

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