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6 yrs ago
Desktop profile login won't work. Coincidence that Windows 7 is no longer supported on same day? Consider me doubtful.
7 yrs ago
I wonder why I have no notifications, then I realize I forgot to sub to my own threads. Whoops!
5 likes
8 yrs ago
I'm having way too much fun with my Legend of Zelda Encylopedia. This is the game that got me into roleplaying so have a lot invested in it's lore and stories. Too bad can't have all the games too.
4 likes
8 yrs ago
It's begining to look a lot like Christmas...too bad it was already looking this way back in October...
2 likes
8 yrs ago
Whew, looks like only 5 days, stupid thing showed me six just to try and scare my pants off...

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Oh the Greeks! Have you ever read The Symposium by Plato? A popular theory that arose is described by Aristophanes-- essentially each of us is half of a whole being; some of us are men/women, some of us are women/women, and some of us are men/men. In the beginning Zeus cut each of us in half, which is why we spend our lives looking for our other half to make ourselves whole. It didn't matter whether or not the pairing was homosexual or not when it came to finding Éros.


The Greeks had many popular theories such as the one described; however, even if the Greeks are a 'classical' civilization they were hardly the first. In any event this does not get in the way of the original point at all being that not every kind of love is Éros.

Wow I've never met someone who had zero exposure to modern medicine before.

Humans are biologically programmed to be male and female, sure things can get messed up because of various factors but no one can argue that humans are sexual beings, as opposed to asexual or whatever. But I digress, as someone who has grown up around doctors and the medical field your statement is completely faulty. Yes some people are born with both sets or whatever but as far as medical science is concerned that is a mutation or the result of faulty DNA. In any case everyone has choice to decide what to do with their own circumstances.

Even if Civil Unions were equal in every way to Marriage, this would still need to happen. 'Civil Unions' were like telling people 'Oh, you can get married, but you can't call yourself married! That's our word. You are Civil Union-ed, you are not actually allowed to participate in this historical institution of love between two people!' The very concept of Civil Unions are a petty and childish political move.


Maybe, yet the concept would take care of many of the issues that cause problems. Everyone is so worried about equality that they forget the fundamental fact that there is inequality in the world. Everyone is different but instead people try to ignore that fact by saying we're all the same. We are all children of God and are equally precious in His eyes but the plain fact of this world is that equality is a myth. No matter how hard they try it will never be the same even if it is called the same.

Except marriage is a Pagan institution appropriated by the Church.
Like most things about Christianity.


There was marriage long before Christianity was around so I find much at fault with your statement; however, you are right in that fact that many pagan influences have effected and entered Christianity. The Catholic Church in particular was adept at incorporating the culture of an area to make the transition from the natives old lives toward their Christian ones easier to do. Still there is no evidence that marriage has pagan roots, especially since the Jews practiced marriage from way before hand. Also if you consider Adam and Eve as being marriage, even from the beginning of human existence.
A slight nudge because I can.
Joshua instantly regretted his decision when it was very easy to see that his question had put her on the spot. It had not been his intention to make her uncomfortable but that seemed to be what he had managed. He was also very much aware of the fountain they had found themselves next to, its bubbling adding a strange texture to the situation, which Joshua now recognized as awkwardness or at least had become such. First day and he had already made her uncomfortable, a real smooth job.

The girl called Erin decided to avoid the question for the moment and Joshua felt like he needed to apologize but then she continued and thanked him for talking with her. It was quite a turn around for Joshua but Erin still seemed a bit out of it and could only glance at him. Joshua scratched the top of his head for a moment in embarrassment. "It was nothing, really glad I could help. Well don't worry about the other thing, you can tell me whenever, no rush."

Joshua stopped for a moment as things decided to just stall for a moment. What should he do now? Things were not exactly on the best of notes so he needed to do something to keep the new relationship going. Huh, to think he was already thinking of their encounter in terms of a relationship, at least a new friendship anyway. Well it is starting to get late, I'm sure you want to settle in. Still, do you want to meet up again soon? Maybe even tomorrow? Course if that's too soon you can choose another time."

Well that was that, the invitation was out and now he just hoped she would say yes. This had indeed turned into a very interesting day.
The summer house of the Kazahana Clan had been chosen as the location for the training of the branch family members. It was smaller than the main household but to the average person it was like visiting a Japanese castle. With classic wooden buildings, sliding paper doors, mini gardens along walkways, it was a fairly impressive place. Though for Amaya, it was nothing too special as she had spend many summers there. The young Shinto maiden gazed with little emotion at a pond of Koi, their brilliant colors flashing whenever the sun hit their scales.

Today was a very important day for the Kazahana Clan, it was the introduction of members of the branch family into the main family's training regiment. The summer house had been chosen because of its size, also because it was away in the mountains far from prying eyes so it would be easier for the main house to keep things secret. Amaya turned to look at a sundial by the pond, 10:00am. The branch members were to arrive any minute now by van, well the first batch of them that had enough spiritual power to be useful anyway.

"Well Amaya, today is a very important day. Make sure you greet our new additions properly." The voice came from across the garden, it was her grandfather, dressed in a rather plain yukata and looking quite stern as usual with his neatly trimmed, white beard.

"Yes Grandfather." She responded instantly and stood up, her figure instantly becoming one of a proud and proper Shinto priestess. She gave a deep bow of respect to the elderly man, who was also a very powerful exorcist though his power had been on the decline recently, still he was stronger than most. "I will greet them at the front door." With that said, Amaya walked through the corridors and found her way toward the front of the summer house.

She was only there about 3 minutes before the large van, loaded with branch family members to be inducted into the Clan's service as licensed Shikigami wielders and exorcists. The van rolled up a fair distance from the front entrance so Amaya walked out to greet them. That was when Kamimusu decided to pop into existence beside her, floating at head height.

"Kya, so they're finally here, oh the excitement! The adventure! There might even be a cutey among the newbies. Fufu." Amaya stopped to raise an eyebrow at her Shikigami, the ever talkative paper folder.

"They are hardly 'newbies' they have just not received the main houses formal training which will be given to them here."

"Ha, avoiding the subject I see, you're so cute." The shikigami said in a teasing tone.

"Oh hush and disappear for now, I need to properly welcome them." Kamimusu grinned and faded out of existence. Amaya gave a quick sigh of relief and composed herself as the newcomers filed out of the van. They were a very, diverse group of about six branch family members, plus the driver who was a servant of the main house. They number four men and two women, three of them were middle aged, two looked somewhere close to her own, and what appeared to be an elementary schooler.

It did not look like the power gaps in the main house were going to be filled anytime soon. "Greetings, my name is Amaya Kazahana, heir to the Kazahana family lineage." She gave a quick bow, "it is my pleasure to welcome you all to the main family's summer home. While you aquire your belongs I will be more than happy to show you to your accommodations. I hope to get along with you all as we train together."
Alright, character looks good. Everything is in place.
Joshua reacted quickly when Erin started to accuse him of trying something, "What? Heck no I wouldn't try something like that!" Then she giggled a bit making him feel a bit embarrassed once she explained it was a joke. "Ah, umm right I'm glad you understand." He then shut up and let her finish, thankfully they moved quickly from that topic.

It appeared that he was now her tour guide.

"Well I'm sure we'll both figure out what we want to do in the near future. Now then, shall we be off, Erin?" Joshua gave a reassuring smile and started the grand tour.

There was of course the obvious, such as the general layout of the campus, making sure to point out the most important buildings such as the library, cafeteria which of course most students abhored, what kind of classes were in the different classroom buildings, etc. Of course anyone could do that so Joshua made sure to include the lesser known things such as the best spot on campus to find some peace and quiet, locations to avoid because of disreputable students making it their 'lairs', what food was actually worth a buck around the small, but tightly packed, community, and where one could go to explore the nearby area without their own form of transportation.

As Joshua talked and showed her around he found himself still unsure of why he was going so far beyond his normal nice guy routine. Well at least it wasn't a bad mystery to have so he made sure to complete the tour as best he could. Along the way he made sure to briefly greet anyone he knew as a courtesy before continuing on. As they talked, though Joshua did most of the talking since he was the tour guide he found his interest growing and so it came to the point where he felt he could finally ask her a certain question.

"So forgive me in advance Erin but I just wanted to ask, but when I first saw you in the lounge I saw wipe away a tear. Feeling a bit lonely starting college?" Joshua honestly wanted to know but he prepared himself for her to deflect the question. Admittedly he felt a little out of line asking but had decided to risk the question anyway.
His greeting had obviously come as a bit of a shock to her since her first response had a bit of a stammer to it. Joshua had to fight the urge to let out a small laugh but his social skills allowed him to keep in control. If there was one thing he was good at it was keeping a 'good guy' front and it was how there were very few people that disliked him so far.

After her initial awkwardness she managed say her name 'Erin'. It was a good name, though admittedly most names were good, after all few parents would name their child something bad. It was then that he noticed her sapphire eyes. The eyes of a person told a lot about them, or so it was suppose to but Joshua felt he had a hard time reading her which only increased his curiosity. Her eyes were like gems, but Joshua pushed that toward the back of his mind as she asked him a question.

"Well no, this is my second year here actually. I'm a sophomore, undecided major at the moment but I'll make the leap soon enough." Joshua was having a hard time deciding his future profession and so his first quarter would just be knocking out core classes. He hoped he would make a decision before he got through them all since he wanted some easier classes for later in his educational career.

"Well don't worry about it, so this is your first time here eh?" Joshua grinned a little and started to stretch his arms right there and then, his athletic training kicking in. He made it quick so as not to make too much of a scene, not that anybody really thought much of it.

Joshua got up out of his seat and turned to her. "Well if you have any questions you can talk to me. Also if you are done moving, I can show you around if you want." As Joshua said this in his mind he was wondering why he was being so forward with this girl, it really was not like himself offer his services, especially toward someone he just met. For some reason he just felt like he should and for once it seemed like he actually wanted to get to know someone better.

"Aside from the general layout I can show you some of the more interesting places around as well."
Name: Amaya Kazahana

Age: 18

Main or Branch Family: Main

Personality: Amaya is a girl who takes her job quite seriously but that does not mean she has a cold personality, although she can be harsh at times. Amaya wants what is best for everyone and likes to make people feel comfortable, so she tries to nice to everyone. When she sees someone lazing around when they have work to do or are just doing it poorly, she can turn sour and may berate that person for not doing their job. She is very loyal to the Kazahana Household and will rarely have a dissenting opinion.

Appearance:


Bio: Born as a pure-blood Kazahana, great expectations were placed upon her from birth. This pressure made her always want to try the very best in order to make her parents and the clan proud. Her parents were allowed to raise her for about 3 years together and then they had to start working again in their own area. The two would switch places every month or so, letting them stay with her for as long as they could. When Amaya turned 11, increased activity in their area forced them to leave altogether. Every once in a while she gets to see them, but very infrequently. She knows how important their jobs are and wants to be able to help them in the future, or at least make them proud.

At age 15 she was able to make the Shikigami pact and brought Kamimusu into the real world. She was very surprised when she learned that Kamimusu was a Unique class Shikigami who had a seemingly weak power. At first she was frustrated a bit but then Asuka showed her the versatility of Kami’s power. With this knowledge, she has been bonding with her exuberant little shikigami ever since.

Though still in training, she has shown to be quite capable of handling herself and is given her own missions to complete. She keeps wanting to learn more and grow more powerful, so that she can help out in even more ways then she can now. Currently her duties include: yokai extermination, seal strengthening, and her studies. At the moment she is a little unsure about the branch-members who are arriving to be trained but she is grateful for their help and hopes to become good friends with them.

Powers:

Spirit Power/Reishi - As befitting a member of the Kazahana main household her Reishi is quite high and can be used for a variety of purposes. She can channel her power for an attack, empower a held weapon or item, and use it to sense threats and other people.

Talisman – Through the use of many different talisman she can do a great many of effects. However the tailsman tend to take some time in order to be used, the catalyst usually being a short chant which leaves her open to attack.

Destructive Talisman – She is able to do attacks based on the element of the talisman, fire is often used. She also has in her possession pure spirit talismans, which tend to be quite powerful, of course all depending on the chant and the amount of talisman.

Defensive Talisman – These can help strength her own spirit barriers or can be used in conjunction with the wood element to create her own natural barriers from vines and trees. At times can be used to immobilize a target by springing up plants from the ground under the enemies feet.

Barriers – She also has the ability to create strong barriers to protect herself and others. However the concentration level is high making it hard for her to anything besides using her barrier. Thankfully she can still use her Talisman to fight while putting up a weak barrier, high-level barriers make it harder for her to get the chants right, making defense her only option while she relies on her Shikigami to fight for her.

Shikigami

Name: Kamimusu

Type: Unique

Age: 3

Personality: Kamimusu is a fairly obedient shikigami however Kamimusu has a bit of a mischiefious side and will go off on their own at times. Kamimusu tends to be very lively and will talk excessively when given the chance, which can lead to some rather interesting side-topics. Usually cheerful, Kamimusu will at times randomly greet other people with a smile and then fly somewhere else to talk to someone else or just to look around. Even in battle Kamimusu does not loose its cheerfulness and tends to take pride in its origami skills it uses in battle, or just for fun.

Appearance:



Powers:
Origami – Has the power to create masterful works of origami which can be used for many purposes and is quite versatile. Cranes, boats, and even complex pieces like ladders, and swords can be fashioned for use. Kamimusu can even make its own shikigami from the origami. However paper is needed in order for Kami to use the Origami technique so Amaya has to make every little bit count when in battle.
Story


The world has been protected by the Kazahana Clan since before there were even accounts of history. They have been protecting the world from the supernatural for as long as they can remember, exterminating yokai, demons, shoki/yoki deposits, ethereal beings, anything considered out of this world or just a part of some fairy tale and they intend to keep those things as fairy tales to the rest of the world. The Kazahana Clan has always had a very high level of spiritual power and they used their vast abilities to protect the world. To help the Kazahana Clan are Shikigami or familiars to help in their line of work. Shikigami are created as the result of the ability to reach inside oneself and manifest a connection to the Shikigami destined for them. Once the connection was established the person’s spiritual power and a part of their soul would fuse together, then the Shikigami’s form would manifest around the soul and combine into one. The shikigami would always be a part of their creator; however a Shikigami itself comes with its own mind and personality and is not just a simple servant. This is believed to occur because the Shikigami itself is pulled from its own Shikigami dimension and attaches to a compatible soul to manifest itself in the real world. Once the Shikigami became a regular in the clan’s battle against unnatural forces they managed to force the enemy into a sort of confinement in their own dimension, leaving humanity to go on without worry, except for a few stragglers and monsters that managed to sneak back into the real world. Thanks to the powers of the Kazahana Clan and its barriers, peace reigned in Japan for a time.

Over the course of time the Kazahanas grew wealthy, gaining high status in the world and managed to fix fairly well in society, perhaps too well. To ensure spiritual purity and for the clan’s powers to remain intact, marriage was to be between clan members only, hoping to keep the clan at peak integrity to protect the land, however, in roughly 1884, Tachibana Kazahana fell in love with a woman outside the clan and married her. Other members followed soon after or much later, wanting to have the freedom to do whatever they wanted, as suspected, with those clan members their children had reduced powers, the pure blood of their ancestors being diminished with the blood of those with little or no power at all. They considered banning them but it appeared that such a motion would be bad for the clan, destroying morale and alienating their own members, however they still couldn’t deny the fact that they were thinning the blood of the clan, so the Kazahana-branch family was formed for those who married outside of the clan. Although technically still a part of the clan they were not given as many benefits as the main house. The clan never fully recovered from its losses due to the result of the branch family forming.

As of right now the Kazahana clan is lead by Asuka Kazahana, who fears that their decline in power will eventually incite ayashi and other beings to attempt to cross the dimension barrier and enter into the real world. Even worse is the apparent creation of Yokai ‘Pocket Zones’, special dimensions set up in the real world like forts so that the supernatural creatures can hid in them and avoid detection. If they don’t manage to stop the creation of such zones and exterminate them, they could soon have a major crisis on their hands. Asuka decided that in order to protect their future it was needed to start training all possible Kazahanas in order to ensure their future; this included allowing branch members to call upon their own shikigami as well, as it is hard for branch-members to call upon them without the head family’s help. The Kazahana family is in need of members and shikigami to help the world remain in balance.
The one thing I absolutely hate about this whole issue is the fact that love is often confused with sexuality and often it is economics that gets in the way of the issue.

So on to my first point, I feel that so often it seems that love gets confused with sex. There is a reason that the Greek language has several different versions of love while the poor English language just has one. Greek has at least 4 versions of love Agápe [Brotherly love, wanting the best for that person], Éros [Sexual love/Romantic], Philia [Essentially friendship], and Storge [Mostly family relationship type love]. People often get upset with each other because unfortunately most people instantly jump to Éros version of love when they think about relationships between two women or two men which does not have to be the case. Society is so preoccupied with sex they forget what 'real' relationships are.

Well this is coming from someone who thinks that homosexual sex is a bad idea as our biology is not made to work that way plus there is often a higher risk of certain diseases or just tissue damage from such acts. Well I am also a Christian so there is that, though in that case I think God knew such activity could easily damage the body and therefore knew we should keep away from it. God does not delight in suffering and unlike a lot of mainstream Christians I do not believe in a Hell that burns sinners for all eternity, instead it is merely an absolute end like an eternal, dark sleep.

Well on to my second point. Frankly one of the biggest reasons for this debate is the whole issue of economics and property rights. The US system set itself up for this by giving married heterosexual couples more financial support, hospital visit rights, etc, than homosexual couples in 'civil unions'. So instead of trying to get 'civil unions' up to par with marriage they just decided to expand marriage to include homosexuals as well. This would not have been such a mess if the government had separated 'civil unions' to be the financial way for partners to support themselves and left 'marriage' as a religious affirmation of the union between the two partners. But the US never did that and instead left 'civil unions' as an inferior type of marriage so this is the result, making both sides feel that the other is trying to destroy them.

People need to remember that we can love all without Éros which is only one form of love.

Eh, hope that made sense to people. This is one of those topics that are hard to formulate an answer to properly.

Original Question

Oh and I am a firm believer that while having homosexual feelings are not always a choice for people, engaging in any sexual activity is certainly a choice. Let people have the choice to make their own decisions, which is what God did for humanity, though I wish marriage had not been caught up in the issue which I do believe is a Man and Woman only institution. *Sigh* if only we could have avoided this mess with government based 'civil unions' and religious based 'marriages'.
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