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howboutadancebonnie · 1 year

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Gettin’ Married

Yikes it's been three years lol okay absolutely wild to think it has been so long since I have updated.

Big news: Getting married in August! August 25th, 2023. To Patrick Lindros (in case that wasn't clear) Life is really freakin good. Working for the Park still, last year we did Skyrim for adventure camp, it rocked. This year I am planning Lord of the Rings! Very excited about props and costumes for this one.Life at the park is unstable, new boss Serge is freaking weird. Susanne and Dave still have their dick measuring contests. I am just floating along. Always hoping for a promotion.

Wedding planning is pretty much complete. Just have to figure out centerpieces, shoes, and a cake. We are also honeymooning in Ireland for 2 weeks following the wedding! Excited beyond belief to marry Pat. He is the most wonderful partner I could imagine. the growth i have seen in him in just 4 1/2 years is insane. He was becoming more open-minded through college but since I have met him it’s skyrocketed. I love his passion toward everything in life, there's never a problem he can't solve. His love language is solving my problems I think lol He is patient with me, far more than other other person in my life. He listens to understand never to just respond. And best of all he is truly my best friend. there's nothing on this planet I could do that wouldn't be improved with his company. He makes me a better person everyday I am with him. We have gone through hard times, when we aren't on the same page of understanding but nothing so far has proven too hard to work out, and I have faith that nothing will. We have been discussing a lot lately in preparation for our life together. What our values are, opinions on how to raise our children, how to navigate our families and holidays, how to navigate emotional relationships with others. Bringing me to my next point:

I feel a surge in personal growth this past year unlike any time in my life. I feel like my mind has expanded to new ideas and possibilities. Something has clicked with how short life is and wasting time worrying about insignificant things. Also questioning societal norms more and dissecting what is personally important and what I truly do not care about. I've had a war with the people pleasing side of my all my life, and lately I feel I have gained much more ammo. A stronger will and idea of who I am and what I stand for. Also maintaining the line of consideration and kindness but not letting people bully me into their opinions therefore changing the way I act and feel. Honestly I have a clear vision of who I want to be, my goal, and I feel I am finally on the right track. My anxiety is under control mostly, I have started taking care of myself mentally as well as physically. I garden, I grow, I work out, I keep an open mind and a level head. Those are the things I am focusing on most.

Social life is flourishing, through the larp (oh yeah I larp now) I have made some terrific connections and wonderful new friends. Notably Matt, Jimmy and Harrison who we now have a DnD campaign going with. Matt is our DM, Jimmy is an old cowboy bard, Dave is a young roguish warlock, Harrison is a dwarf tinkerer, and I'm a sorcerer princess centaur. It has been an absolute blast, my first campaign, with such theatrical nerdy people. And the larps themselves have been a terrific chance to spread my wings, work on social skills, and just escape for a weekend. As close as I am to Pat it is great to have that ability to separate from him (distance makes the heart stronger) and do something that is totally mine, an interest we don't share. Dave, Dylan, Patrick and I started larping on Hallowtide in November of 2021, I wasn't sure about it at first. It definitely tested my confidence, but really since I clicked with Matt it has been so rewarding.I talk yo Lili and Jess everyday through an app called Cappucino where we record daily beans. thats been great as a way to stay involved in each others lives on our own time.I don't see much of Gab and Grace, since were so busy working but when I do it's a blast. My bachelorette party is next weekend WOOOO, I cant wait to see all my best friends in one place.

Family life is unstable, putting it nicely. Jesse and Melissa unfortunately are going through a divorce. A messy one. Arya is 6 and Ozzy is 3. It's been hard on everyone involved. I wish I could do more to help, especially with Arya. But its hard with them living 45 minutes away. Arya did come to one of my nature eaglet classes and she was adorable, she had such a good time. I'm excited for her to come to my camp this summer! Just trying to be a stable influence in her life, I know shes little but I always want her to know I am in her corner. No matter what life throws at her.

And that's pretty much all for now? Hope I don't wait this long to post again. My life is always eventful.

5/16/2023

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delicatetheoristpainter · 1 year

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7 Best Practices for Building Client Relationships

A more intimate relationship tends to be more understanding, but that's not something you should take for granted. We asked Campbell to expand on ways to practice reciprocity and things to keep in mind when facing anyone from a sibling to an intimate partner to your boss. נערות ליווי בצפון I guess it depends on what he's saying. I guess we'll find out! I don't know, whenever he wants, I guess. I think it depends on the rule. That depends. Are they cool people? Men and women are attracted to various physical features, and some of them include large muscles, a radiant smile and shiny hair. I'll always be there to make someone smile. Then we have Lucy, who is kind of cranky a lot of the time, but who still manages to be loveable, and of course, there is Linus, one of the most sensitive souls in the history of cartoons, and there are many more characters that we haven't even touched on yet.

And there is a good reason for this. For example, Sims with high Friendship levels may be "Friends" or "Good Friends," whereas Sims with maxed Friendship and Romance are "Soulmates." Sims that the active Sim has met but has negligible relationship levels with are "Acquaintances." If the Friendship level is negative but the Romance level is high, you get a relationship label called "Enemies with Benefits". Amidst all the Tindering, Bumbling and obligatory coffee dates with your friend's brother's newly-single BFF, you stop and wonder: what kind of romance is meant for you? A therapist can also work with the child to help them form a healthier bond with their parent or caregiver. You don’t have to be an expert, but this will help you speak the same language as the client, understand what keeps them up at night, and cater your interaction and offerings accordingly. Before you wonder if you have picked the right person, you first need to find a reliable platform. But while someone's personality is super important in a relationship, most people tend to rely on looks as the first impression. I'm super fun to be around. Sure, that sounds fun!

That sounds silly. I love it! Ugh, that sounds awful. Ugh, that is so weird. Whether you're single or taken, we all have that Mr. Perfect guy that makes us swoon in our dreams. Somewhere in the middle would be perfect. I never could grasp the meaning of "perfect"-until I met you. Since Riri and the rapper made their relationship public, they've been spotted at several lavish industry events together - most notably they walked the red carpet hand in hand at the MET Gala. Zac met Ness earlier in the summer. Nothing, let the guy be with his friends. My dream guy doesn't work out. These are helpful dating profile examples, to aid you in figuring out a way to make it inviting. The issue derives its name from the way the model looks when it's drawn in an entity-relationship diagram: the linked tables 'fan out' from the master table. I'm a master of ignoring text messages. Often, a couple can settle into a pattern, even when it turns out that pattern doesn't work particularly well for one or both partners. Hang out with him and his friends! Hanging out with each other's friends.

We were better as friends. Have conversations to explain your boundaries to each other, but also pay attention and ask questions to understand them better. Dating detox was the best thing I could have ever done to turn my love life around. It may seem correct to think that Gideon deserved a reward for his faithful service, but when Gideon used the gold to make a statue he did a very foolish thing. Maybe he's passionate about animals and the arts, or perhaps he doesn't care about what other people think of him. As long as he's kind, I don't care. What Does the Bible Say About Christian Relationships? Thoughtfulness, consideration, and kindness is the recipe for healthy relationships. People working in Te Puna Aonui lead and champion change in systems, behaviours and attitudes to improve the wellbeing of people impacted by family violence and sexual violence. Relationships, and people, change over time. Unfortunately, by the time people realize they're in a relationship with a narcissistic partner, they're often far too deep and have already internalized what their partner's manipulated them into believing about themselves. I don't know. I have never thought about it.

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tibli · 2 years

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Ok BIIIIIG tin foil hat time here we go (spoiler alert for both undertale AND deltarune)

In all the years I’ve known of Undertale/Deltarune, it NEVER occurred to me (until LITERALLY just now) that Gaster’s (presumed for the sake of argument) sprite has stigmata. considering both games’ extensive references to christianity/catholicism, this is no doubt intentional.

Taking it a step further, if we’re operating under the assumption that the mystery man sprite IS Gaster, and also the ‘strange person’ that spoke to both Jevil and Spamton, then it’s no wonder he’s given a sort of higher status as someone who knows more than anyone else. That also explains Spamton’s religious fervor pretty well. Dude basically met Deltarune’s version of Jesus. (also this is neither here nor there, but Gaster’s fate of being scattered across dimensions and implied to be in some kind of void gives me big Everyone Is Jesus In Purgatory vibes lmao. also gaster has Followers. you know who ELSE has followers? MY MOM! JESUS BITCHES)

Moving on, there are seven souls, each with their own trait (though I don’t believe the red soul is ever explicitly given a trait in-text). You can probably see where I’m going with this, but there are also Seven Capital Virtues/Sins. I know that this connection has been made numerous times, but I want to put my own two cents in.

However, I don’t actually think the capital virtues mesh as well with the soul descriptions (and there’s a LOT of overlap that makes it confusing and hard to draw actual conclusions from since the interconnect so much), so instead I’m going to go with something similar, but of two different sources: The Four Cardinal Virtues, and the Three Theological Virtues, which the Seven Capital Virtues took inspiration from. I’m ignoring the fact that the Cardinal virtues can be achieved by humans alone, while theological virtues require god’s assistance. I’m treating them all equally here. Also keep in mind that the corresponding virtues are just my opinion. I don’t really have any concrete evidence for them

Red: Determination(?)- corresponding virtue: Fortitude. The ability to overcome obstacles and difficulties

Orange: Bravery- corresponding virtue: Faith. a bit more tenuous, but i think they can be conflated. Bravery is having the internal strength to face challenges, which i think is due in part to one’s faith in themselves.

Yellow: Justice: corresponding virtue: same thing. pretty self explanatory.

Green: Kindness: corresponding virtue: Charity, also called LOVE (hmmmm). a willingness to help others

Cyan: Patience: corresponding virtue: Prudence? Also a bit tenuous, but when I think of prudence I think of “waiting” for the right moment to make a decision, and not acting hastily.

Blue: Integrity: corresponding virtue: Temperence. Integrity is sticking to ones moral code, which i think goes hand-in-hand with self-restraint.

Purple: Perseverance: corresponding virtue: Hope. this one kind of threw everything out of whack for me tbh, but this was the closest connection I could make: people push on (persevere) because they ultimately have hope that their situation will be better for it.

In the context of deltarune, the idea that a monster can shatter the barrier with seven human souls brings to mind the concept of Unity of Virtues, and that all virtues should be strived for, in order to reach true salvation.

also, in another jesus allegory (of course), Chara essentially kills themself, so that asriel can use their soul to bypass the barrier (earthly sins), gather six other human souls (virtues), and free the monsters, in essence “saving” their people and allowing them to reach the surface (the kingdom of heaven). (not even going to get into the concept of “SAVEing” right now lmao)

Now, how does this tie into deltarune?

Well, taking ALL of this into consideration, here’s my theory:

Gaster, in creating the vessel and giving it a soul (or trying to before being foiled by something), is attempting to free the Darkners of their status as assistants to Lightners. Hear me out.

The first secret boss, Jevil, is fought with the red soul, which is standard. this is the first step in the process of one single human soul gaining every virtue (soul color) possible in order to bring about the Roaring, because each virtue is contained in a different dark world. (on that note: roaring sound = horns of rapture perhaps? im really tinfoil hatting this one guys lmao) The roaring, in theory, will allow the darkners to ascend to a higher plane of existence with the lightners instead of being subservient to them. With each secret battle, the soul is a different color, indicating a new virtue to be gained from defeating the boss. (Jevil, determination/fortitude, because he’s difficult as shit, and Spamton being justice bc he’s trying to reach his own freedom in a way that’s detrimental to others. also he’s a conman like cmon).

Moving to a different character for a minute, I believe Ralsei’s title as a “Prince from the Dark” (aka prince of darkness aka LUCIFER lmao) is fully intentional. Now, I don’t think that means Ralsei is evil, but I do think it’s meant to highlight his importance as a character. In my interpretation, his goals are DIRECTLY in opposition to Gaster’s, if we’re going off the idea that he wants to free the darkners. Ralsei wants to stick to the status quo to avoid the Roaring. But here’s the thing:

We only know of the Roaring because RALSEI HIMSELF tells us about it. he could be leaving important details out or straight up lying to further his own ideas of what Darkners should be (father of lies anyone??? lol). He is very fixated on sticking to the mentality that darkners are meant to serve and lightners are meant to be served. honestly, how would he know what the Roaring even is if he’s never experienced it?

To add to that, if we’re still going off the Ralsei = prince of darkness = Lucifer, then that would make him An Angel, right? now, here’s where it starts to get flip-flopped. in the bible, Lucifer was cast down for a rebellion because he didn’t believe that he, an angel, should have to serve god. He wanted to be equal to, or greater than, his creator. this is basically the reverse of ralsei’s implied goal- to KEEP the status quo, rather than fight against it.

Still going off the Gaster is Jesus Christ in Purgatory thing or whatever, Gaster wants to free the Darkners, who in this allegory are more like humans than angels, as opposed to Ralsei’s allegory. He wants them to reach “Salvation” (the light world) through the actions of the Holy Ghost (the vessel, but now kris unintentionally. the holy ghost refers to the “power” of god, and kris/ the player is the one going through the storyline and beating the bosses. and is ALSO the one who opens a dark fountain at the end of ch. 2). so far we have The son (Gaster), and the Holy Spirit (originally supposed to be the vessel but is now Kris). so who is The Father?

I think it’s the player. Now, technically, the father, son, and holy spirit are a bit more complex of a concept than “the creator, the son, and the power”, but thats how im using it here. The player (father) and Gaster (son), are working together through Kris (the holy spirit, or if you want to put it another way, the one possessed by the holy ghost) in order to bring about the salvation of darkners. Ralsei, unknowingly the adversary, is attempting to thwart this.

Also worth mentioning is that the father is considered the creator of the universe. the world of deltarune theoretically doesn’t exist until YOU, the PLAYER, start to play it.

Anyway this got waaaaaaay longer and more rambly than I originally intended, but I genuinely think I might be onto something at least, so I want to put it out there for others to see. There’s definitely holes in this theory, and not everything adds up 100% perfectly, but I don’t think it’s necessarily outlandish either, considering just how many biblical references toby put into his two games.

aw FUCK i forgot to mention "everyman" and how that's literally the title of a christian morality play. and also how the river person is essentially charon, who, along with being a figure in greek mythology, is present in the Divine Comedy as a figure who ferries souls into hell. if we consider the underground to be the "Hell" to the surface's "Heaven", then there's another biblical connection.

#undertale #deltarune #undertale spoilers #deltarune spoilers #deltarune theory #undertale theory #gaster #kris #chara #asriel #jevil #spamton #tibtalks #i've always been fascinated by catholicism even though im an atheist #also Do Not ask me how i think noelle fits into this because the answer is I Have No Fucking Clue

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ironwoman359 · 3 years

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This is probably not the best place to ask, but you’re also a Christian woman too. I was wondering what you thought about what the Bible says about women and how we must submit to husbands and some other stuff that has me (a potential ace) Christain woman kind of terrified. I would go to my church but social anxiety and my church is pretty conservative. I don’t want to think that we’re just second rate citizens with this. Um…that’s all. You don’t have to answer. Love your Tumblr. It’s one of the main ones I look at. Thanks for countless enjoyment!

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(I’m responding on the submission and not the ask because the ask refused to post properly, I think it was too long for Tumblr’s fancy)

So I know you just asked for my thoughts and not a biblical interpretation lesson, but I didn’t spend 3 months writing an exegesis in college for me to never use those skills again, so buckle up for something of a long answer! (literally, this is almost 3 thousand words, so....sorry about that) *rubs hands together* The thing we need to take into consideration when reading the bible is Interpretation; any truly honest biblical scholar would tell you it is a mistake to take every word in the bible at its literal face value, ESPECIALLY since most of us are reading translations of scripture, not the original ancient hebrew/greek/aramaic/whatever else. So when interpreting scripture, we must consider these things:

Author (Who wrote it?)

Audience (Who was it written for?)

Context (What is written around it?)

So the verses you’re referencing are Ephesians 5:22-23, and in the NIV, they read as follows:

22 Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

Isolated from author, audience, and context, they sound pretty sexist, don’t they? And male authority figures have used these verses as justification for the oppression of women for centuries, just as white men used the passage only a few verses away, Ephesians 6:5, as justification for the oppression and ownership of black people (Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ). So let’s look at each of the points above in regards to Ephesians 5 and 6. First, who wrote it? Sometimes that can be a tricky question to answer, but in this case, it’s actually very easy (though there is still a bit of fuzziness/debate). Traditionally, Ephesians is one of the Apostle Paul’s letters to the early church. Specifically, to the body of believers in Ephesus, a Greek city that was a part of the Roman Empire at the time. According to two different study bibles I have, the letter of Ephesians was not addressing any particular problem that the church in Ephesus had (as was often the case with Paul’s letters), but was meant as an encouragement of faith and to increase his readers’ understanding of what it meant to be a follower of Christ. So now what about the Context? Why are the verses at the end of chapter 5 and beginning of chapter 6 so damning to our modern sensibilities? To answer that, we must look at the passages both in context to the verses around them, and in historical and cultural context (which is where 1 & 2 come into play again). Going back to the beginning of chapter 4, which is subtitled “Unity in the Body of Christ” (and remember, these subtitles and groupings were come up with LONG after they were written; we grouped sections together in a way we thought was most logical, which honestly for a book as short as Ephesians I would argue is barely even necessary), we can see that the letter from chapter 4 onward is about living a Holy and Godly life. Chapter 4 urges us to be “completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love” and warns us against living “as the Gentiles* do, in the futility of their thinking.” *Gentiles in this case meaning not neccesarily all non-Jews, but non-believers. AKA, we should live like Jesus lived, WWJD and all that jazz. If the Holy Spirit is in our hearts and our relationship with God is at the forefront of our lives, then that should show clearly in our actions. The very first verse of chapter 5 reads “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Chapters 5 and 6 especially are meant to act as a sort of guide for how a follower of Christ should act. There’s some stuff about obscenity, greed, sexual impurity, 5:15 sums it up pretty well basically, “Be very careful, then, how you live- not as unwise but as wise,” and then we reach the all important verse. Ephesians 5:21, “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.” That’s a full sentence, just that there. Submit to one another. The following three sections are all subsections of this point: one for Wives submitting to Husbands, one for Children submitting to Parents, and one for Slaves submitting to Masters. But when looking at all of these, bad shepherds (ie, racist, sexist assholes) like to ignore that first bit, submit to one another, just as they like to ignore 5:28, which says “husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself;” or they ignore 6:4 which says “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord;” and they ignore 6:9, “Masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.” I do highly encourage you to read chapters 4, 5, and 6 in full, or at least start at 4:17, which is where Paul starts talking about “Living as Children of Light,” because it makes the intent of these apparently damning verses much more clear. Paul is stating that as Christians, we should treat everyone around us with honor and respect. According to one of my study bibles, the grammar of the original Greek suggests that the “submission” involved in all three sections is intended to be mutual submission, and is to come from a filling of the Holy Spirit. However, to be quite frank, Paul still Lived In A Society. A highly structured, patriarchal society, in which all members of a household (women, children, slaves) were expected to submit to the patriarchal head of that household. Male children until they reached adulthood, Slaves until they were freed (remember that, while by no means a purely morally good thing, the system of Roman Slavery was VASTLY DIFFERENT from the Atlantic Slave Trade that men later used this passage to justify existing), and women, unfortunately, for their whole lives. In another one of his letters, what is now the book of Galatians, Paul says in chapter 3 verse 27-29 that “You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” This would have been radical at the time. Paul is promising all people of all genders and classes that, in the eyes of God, they are Equal, One, and all “sons,” meaning that they all have a right to the Inheritance of the Father (remember, at this time and in this culture women did not get any inheritance, and younger sons got significantly less than the firstborn. Paul assures the believers that they ALL are equal receivers of the Promises of God). But this equality that Paul speaks of was, in his eyes, a spiritual equality. He was not particularly concerned with overthrowing the earthly patriarchal society that subjugated women and lower classes, but rather instructed all members of that society who also were Believers to submit equally to one another out of love and respect, for they were all Equal in God’s eyes and would be Equal in heaven. This is why he both tells women to submit to and obey their husbands, but also husbands to love, cherish, and care for their wives. Children, obey your parents, but Fathers, don’t be dicks to your kids. Slaves should obey their masters (slavery was much more like a job that you weren’t allowed to quit until your boss said so) but Masters shouldn’t abuse their slaves. There are Societal Authorities, and Paul is telling his readers “look you can’t just go around not respecting those Authorities, but also hey, if you’re the Authority? That’s not a free pass to be an asshole.” As one of my study bibles puts it, “Paul counseled all believers to submit to one another by choice…this kind of mutual submission preserves order and harmony in the family while it increases love and respect among family members.” Paul is basically saying “it’s better for everyone if we all get along, and remember that Christ had a servant’s heart, and intentionally lowered himself for us, so we should do the same for each other.” And while a patriarchal class system is still super sucky for like 80% of the people involved, at least it’s a whole lot more bearable if everyone involved is being a Nice, Good Member of that Society. You mentioned being worried about being treated like a “second rate citizen.” The fact of the matter is that when this was written, women were second rate citizens; that is the context in which Paul is writing. And while I firmly believe that that was wrong, in every sense of the word, Paul wasn’t especially concerned about challenging that aspect of society. Priority one was “Spread the Gospel” and Priority two was “Don’t Get Killed while Spreading the Gospel.” Speaking of Paul, let’s talk a little more about Saul of Tarsus, shall we? In all literary analysis, it is important to examine the author’s beliefs and what biases may have made their way into the work. And while we believe the bible to be a Holy Book, it can and should be subject to the same rules of literary analysis as non-religious texts. First, you must ask yourself, what do you believe about the bible? There are four general ways of looking at it (which are called Theories of Inspiration).

The bible is the Divine Word of God, dictated word for word across centuries directly to its human authors by God Himself.

The bible is the Divine Word of God, written across centuries by men Inspired by the Holy Spirit. While they are writing in their own words, this Inspiration means that the bible is Wholly Perfect with no errors.

The bible is the Divine Word of God, written across centuries by men Inspired by the Holy Spirit. However, because they are imperfect, fallible men, there is a possibility of errors in the text, both in the account of events that happened and in the teaching therein.

The bible is a collection of accounts written by men, with no Divine Intervention from God. It is not Holy, God’s Word, or Infallible.

I was raised to believe theory 2, but now I personally believe theory 3. And since I’m the author of this analysis, it is through the lens and bias of theory 3 that I now present my next point: Paul was sexist. I don’t think he was maliciously so (see again, Galatians 3, and the statement in Ephesians 5 that men should honor, cherish, and care for their wives), but he was a product of his time who had ingrained ideas about women and their place in society. This does not A) mean he was right about how women should act OR B) mean that we should toss out everything he had to say, about women or otherwise, because he was Problematic. Most biblical authors were, in fact, Problematic. Either by our modern standards, due to the time in which they lived, OR by the standards of their own time, because God liked to use Imperfect People (we’re all imperfect, but He liked particularly imperfect people) in His plans. David was an adulterer and murderer. Paul happily sent dozens of Christians to their deaths. Peter was hotheaded and super prejudiced against Gentiles and Samaritans. And most of them were, in one way or another, sexist, racist, and homophobic. These biases then found their way, intentionally or not, into their writings, and then other racist, sexist, homophobic men used those writings to justify systemic oppression of anyone who was not like them. Oppression that is not Christlike. So where does that leave us, in our 21st century application of scripture to our daily lives? We must examine how it was to be read at the time (which we have done), and then see what we can apply from it to our own lives. For myself in my marriage, I look again to the original grammar of Ephesians 5, that indicates the submission is to be mutual. I “submit” to my husband, and he “submits” to me. In other words, our relationship is built on Trust, Clear Communication, and Respect for one another. Sometimes we have to compromise, and I have to put aside my own desires for his sake, or he must set aside his own desires for my sake. It is a willingness to listen to one another, to approach conflicts with an open mind, to consider each other’s feelings before we speak. It is an equal, mutual submission based on love for each other, which doesn’t contradict what Paul says at all. God created all people to be equal. Humans are stupid sometimes and try to insist that we know better, try to create hierarchies and use the bible to try and justify that, but that doesn’t mean those humans are right. If your church is trying to make you feel less than because of your gender, or if you date somebody who pushes TradWife rhetoric and tries to use Ephesians as their justification, then you Run, and feel justified in doing so. (Especially if they also try to use Paul’s words to tell you why you owe your partner sex; see again, Paul was not only sexist but also lived in a patriarchal time when women were second class citizens that had very specific expectations placed on them AND he wasn’t even in a relationship himself, forgive me if I take his advice on my sex life with a grain of salt. Without doing this whole process again, a good modern reading of “don’t deprive one another” is “don’t use sex as a weapon in your relationship/withhold it for bs reasons when you’re mad at each other, etc. Like all other relationship things, sex (or a lack thereof) with your spouse should be based on mutual trust, communication, and love, not petty arguments or the standards of others.)

Trust me, as an ace woman myself, I totally get the fear. I’ve felt it myself, in the past. But God’s intentions for you are not that you become a doormat or servant to a man. If a romantic relationship (or any other partnership) is part of His plan for you, then the bible clearly states, both in Ephesians and elsewhere, that it should be one built on Love and Trust, not Subjugation and Servitude.

I hope this helped you, and again, sorry it was so long XD. Have an amazing day! <3

#christianity #biblical analysis #religion #anti trad wife #ephesians 5 #ace things #taylor talks #for a loooong time

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masterthespianduchovny · 3 years

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I’m going to be honest before I get to the Sam/Rebecca subplot: if they drop plots threads indicating that this continue into the next season and uplift this pairing, I’m out.

This storyline is gross and I can see why some people quit the show when the revealed happened.

When I say I’m repulsed by age gap relationships of this nature, this isn’t a shipping thing or a race thing. This is a moral and ethical thing. Because it’s not just an age gap, it’s also that Rebecca is Sam’s boss. I legitimately don’t see how people can overlook this and ship how “cute” this is. I’m not judging anyone, it just genuinely doesn’t make sense to me.

And for people who think I’m a hypocrite, Ted/Rebecca is not the same. Sam and Rebecca is like a principal dating a student. If you want to age Sam up, because people love to accuse others of infantilizing Sam, it’s like the president of a college dating a student. In both cases, there would be backlash, and have been, to these types of relationships.

Which would make Ted’s position that of a teacher/professor or someone higher. In most cases, there aren’t objections, however, both parties have to be transparent about their relationship and careful about how and if that influences their professional relationship with each other and others.

Last week, I mentioned a friend of mine who was 18 and dated someone who was 28. Both are white for reference. When I found out their ages and respective positions, I became concerned and doubly concerned.

Oh, they had chemistry and he made her so happy, but he was also controlling as fuck and emotionally abusive. During the duration of their relationship, he became her boss and would monitor her interactions via cameras in the back office. She was stressed out as fuck and would go to the bathroom to cry. You know, where cameras weren’t and where he couldn’t enter.

And it was a secret relationship because he could get in trouble. I didn’t say anything because she was with her boyfriend before she knew me. Me telling someone could’ve gotten him in trouble or fired, but that wouldn’t have ended the relationship. It would’ve made her end our friendship and cling closer to him. Instead, after I quit for other reasons, I sporadically checked on her to see how she was doing and give her advice and resources.

As far as the actual episode itself goes, I struggled to enjoy it due to the Sam/Rebecca situation. It should’ve ended at dinner at most.

The only emotional beat that landed, imo, was Jamie and Roy’s hug. I do think Ted’s confession was strong, but the flow was kinda weird for me. By itself it works.

Two things working for me that wasn’t at the forefront of the episode was 1. How Ted’s problem is fucking over the team. 2. That Nate is in over his head.

Even if AFC Richmond had lost with Ted being in his A game, it wouldn’t have been that made and the team would’ve been more competitive. They were sloppy and making baffling errors. Their head was not in the game and it showed. Man City wasn’t that good, Richmond was just that ill prepared.

And who led training?

Nate.

Nate has great instincts, but he isn’t ready to lead a team and he still has a lot of work to do before growing into coaching a team as head coach.

But let me stress, this falls completely on Ted and even Beard to an extent. Yes, Ted is having emotional issues, however, many people rely on him and he wasn’t there. I don’t mean literally because teams should be able to function without their head coach for stretches of time. He hasn’t been there mentally and emotionally for most of the season. Because AFC Richmond’s competition isn’t as premier as Man City, it’s easier to appear more dominant that you are, esp if you’re coach isn’t on his A game. However, when you’re up against actual Goliath’s in the league, you’ll get your ass handed to you like Richmond did.

As I mentioned earlier, if they do go through with supporting and uplifting Sam/Rebecca, my time with this fandom ends with the season 2 finale.

But if we take Ted’s dark forest into consideration, there is another way this could play out. Actually many.

The one I can see happening that can get her somewhat redeemed, because some will never get over this happening in the first place, is her hitting rock bottom via her relationship with Sam. Something will happen or make her have unflattering thoughts about herself and her actions that will drive her into a tailspin.

And I’m unsure if it’ll be just a personal crisis or if it’ll also be a professional crisis.

Some may disagree with me, but I do want this affair to come to light. Because if it doesn’t, it sets up this fucked up precedent that Rebecca can do fucked up shit and get away with it in private.

Rebecca fucked over her club, uprooted a man’s life in bad faith, and almost ruined several people’s careers due to her bullshit in the first season. The fact that she didn’t have to answer for any of this is a God damn mercy on Ted’s part even though she didn’t ask for it.

Now for her to date/fuck a player because “she just has to know.” Because she doesn’t want to let something pass her by?

Yeah…no.

Rebecca’s fear of loneliness is leading her to make very bad decisions and I fear what this means for Sam’s career and relationships if this breaks. There were people who allegedly care for Sam, yet cheered for this relationship to happen. What do you think happens with his locker room relationships? I’ve already explained in another post that either this sours those relationships OR they want favors from him because he’s dating/fucking the boss.

He’ll get crucified in the media. He may even have trouble getting employed. Why? Because that’s how racism works.

“But, masterthespianduchovny, if Sam may receive hate and racist acts committed against him, why do you want the affair exposed?”

Because this shit show of a relationship isn’t about just Sam. It’s about Rebecca’s fear of loneliness leading her to make bad decisions that effects everyone not just her and Sam. It’s the fact that a white woman isn’t thinking about how her actions could have major consequences for a young black man.

Rebecca is so obsessed with not being lonely and being loved that 1. She never sought help or productive ways to deal with the fall out and humiliation of her marriage. 2. She dated a man because he was “fine” and not because she was actually invested in him and the relationship 3. She’s getting involved with a player on her team without thinking of any of the consequences. 4. She’s not considering the other players, the coaches, or anyone else she’s responsible for.

Oh, and considering we got that call from Sam’s dad…his relationship with his father will most likely suffer as a result. AND now that Dubai Air thing looks suspect, esp because she was talking to him around that time unknowingly.

Oop! And isn’t she getting her relationship with Nora back on track? Even though Nora and Sam can’t legally date and I’m not saying every decision should be swayed by a teenage girl, however, Rebecca is literally sabotaging every relationship just because she’s afraid of being alone (I agree with another poster who said we really didn’t need to explore this storyline, but alas…)

Although Ted forgave Rebecca for her scheming in season one, I honestly don’t think he’d be so forgiving for this. It’s his job to protect players and look out for their well being and how can he one his boss is involved with one of his players, which again, affects others players. This relationship has major consequences for other people who are not in it.

Also, Sam…for someone who people love to say is mature enough to date an older woman, not once did even be consider the ramifications of getting involved with the boss.

Not once.

And that looks bad because a mature person his age would be mindful of such a thing. This isn’t considered or, at least, isn’t said onscreen. Sam os either thinking with his dick, his heart, or both, but he isn’t thinking with his head. Because there is no way you’re thinking with your head and don’t stop to say, “hey, this thing could jeopardize my relationship with my teammates and the other people I work with. Maybe I should think some more of this before pursuing a relationship with my boss.” Sam was all in from the moment he decided he wanted to have dinner with Rebecca. There was no thinking on his end.

But Sam’s super mature, right?

Another poster mentioned that there might be a screaming match between Rebecca and ted and I’m so here for that. No, I don’t think this argument will be romantic. They’ll have legitimate gripes with each other, but yeah…this is an argument that needs to happen. Which will most likely be before Rebecca gets help.

That’s all assuming this happens. Like I said, they could have Sam and Rebecca being a power couple (🤮), or handle this some other way. But if this is going to be framed as a good thing, others can enjoy it, but the show will have one less viewer from me.

#ted lasso #Rebecca welton #sam obisanya #ted lasso spoilers

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abiggaynerd · 3 years

Text

What made me ship maxwil. Sorry this is really just a jumbled mess JKNKJN but hope u enjoy reading it anyway. Under a cut because its too fucking long

Wilson and Maxwell are don’t starve’s main characters. They show up in the original game’s intro movie together.

Maxwell speaks to Wilson on the radio, offers him a deal, and Wilson takes it.

Now, think about that- Wilson, with no hesitation, takes a stranger’s dubious offer from a radio that is NOT supposed to be two-ways. He ruins his life without even thinking about it.

This shows us how DESPERATE Wilson is for human contact.

Wilson lives alone in a house, far away from his family who hates him, and not a single friend. Some might say Wilson doesn’t like people. But what i see is a person who ADORES people, being forced to be apart from them (exactly like maxwell) because no one will take him seriously. Wilson is working this hard because he is convinced if he just makes one good invention, has one big break, then people will finally respect and like him. It’s not just that he wants knowledge for knowledge’s sake.

He has someone offering him exactly what he wants, and it’s not just the offer, it’s the fact someone is talking to him. Wilson wants someone to listen to him, and believe in him, and that is JUST as important as the knowledge, if not more so. Maxwell has complete faith in Wilson’s ability to make this portal. Wilson trusts maxwell more than anyone else, simply because he’s gotten the smallest bit of positive attention.

That makes his betrayal absolutely crushing for Wilson. Wilson is the only person who explicitly says he hates maxwell in the first game. He feels betrayed much more personally than maxwell intended, he’s furious, and he finds out maxwell didn’t actually believe in him the way he thought. Wilson is forced once again to completely rely on himself. Wilson likes himself and believes in himself a lot, but he sort of has to. No one else will. And that’s a hard thing to deal with.

Wilson goes through the worlds, because he wants out, obviously. He is the only one to canonly reach the end of adventure mode. Wickerbottom may think he’s an idiot, but he’s the one who made it to the end of the line, not her.

Wilson is likely expecting a boss fight here, or something, but what he gets is a sad, frail old man who is suicidal and has nothing. Maxwell has completely given up. When you free max, it says “take pity?” Wilson does. Wilson KNOWS this will end badly for him. Wilson KNOWS he’s not going to get anything in return. But Wilson frees him, because Wilson is unequivocally GOOD. Wilson cares about people, deeply, and would do anything for them. Wilson does not like to see people suffer, and Wilson will take on the pain for himself if he can. Maxwell has hurt him more than anyone, but Wilson still takes his place.

Now if we look at this from Maxwell’s perspective: Wilson is just another person to trick into coming here. Maxwell is putting on a show, using all his charisma, doing what They brought him here for. It’s the same as everyone else.

Something interesting about adventure mode is that maxwell does NOT want you to continue. He does his absolute best to keep you from getting to the end. Scaring you, killing you, bribing you. You think it’s cruelty or fear of you at first glance, but really: maxwell does NOT want you to suffer the way he does.

Maxwell brings you here, puts you in a terrible world, but in his mind, NOTHING is worse than the throne. Look at him on the throne and look at him as a survivor- on the throne he has nothing but despair and the desire to die. As a survivor, he’s extremely peppy in comparison. The throne has ruined maxwell, and even though he’s past the point of caring if you come to the constant, he does NOT want to be the reason someone else is on the throne.

But is the door itself a cry for help? Was that a subconscious thing maxwell did? Charlie doesn’t have an adventure mode. She seems quite happy on the throne. Or is it because the Them are tired of maxwell? Compare Charlie’s world to Maxwell’s: considerably harder. Charlie’s world may allow you to revive yourself, but Maxwell’s is objectively easier. Less bosses, less danger, more resources. Maxwell also tries to give you a world you can have everything you need in in adventure mode, which is THE BEST he can do for you- something probably only allowed because the Them know the survivors won’t take his offer.

When you get to the throne, despite being in absolute mental agony, maxwell cannot make himself trick you into freeing him. Which he COULD. He could pretend the key will let you out, he could pretend it’s something he REALLLY doesn’t want you to do because oooooo its gonna free youuuu and send you to earthhhh. But he cannot allow himself to do that, because this is the last bit of kindness and humanity he has- giving you the knowledge that the throne is the worst fate possible here. He clearly doesn’t think you are going to do it until you do- he’s shocked and thrilled when he stands up.

Wilson frees him, knowing everything, after everything, and that SHOCKS him. Maxwell considers Wilson his savior. He owes everything to him.

They don’t see each other again until cyclum. Wilson attacks maxwell, and while some people may think it’s because he’s angry, i think it’s because he SAW maxwell die and assume it’s either an insanity hallucination come to kill him or a new monster come to trick him. When max doesn’t attack when Wilson stops, he stops.

Now, there are a lot of things Wilson could do. He could leave, he could kill him, he could ignore him. But Wilson feeds him. Maxwell is TOTALLY FINE. Max can get food himself. And food is a valuable resource. Wilson chooses to feed maxwell, because Wilson is good. They camp together, another thing Wilson doesn’t have to do. Wilson then decides to WORK WITH MAXWELL ON A PORTAL. AGAIN. Wilson makes the ACTIVE CHOICE to trust maxwell, with NO REASON TO.

Now, we don’t know exactly what happens when the other survivors get there, but it stands to reason Wilson protects and defends max against the other survivors. Even though the portal failed AGAIN, and its possible max was fucking with him AGAIN. Wilson CHOSES to trust Max, even with evidence that could imply otherwise.

If we look at the quotes, Wilson banters with max a lot, and can be annoyed with him. But when max is dead, Wilson explicitly reassures him he’s already working on reviving him.

Maxwell, like Wilson, thrives on attention. He needs it, even if its negative. It’s easier for him to be someone to hate than just a sad man to pity. His persona- where he misses the throne and being king, is a lazy asshole, and hates everyone- is just that, a persona. Max is an actor, after all. He and wigfrid have this in common: he cannot handle being HIMSELF because being himself is terrifying. He doesn’t have anything as himself. He’s nothing as himself. I don’t think mentally he would be able to handle it! And Wilson knows this.

Maxwell also, when Wilson dies, asks if he really wants to come back. I think this is the only way he can think of to try to make up for bringing him here. It’s not much, but Wilson wouldn’t feel pain any more. Of course Wilson wouldn’t accept that, but maxwell offers because it’s the only thing he can think of.

Wilson is someone maxwell is nervous and shy around, when greeting. He’s the only one max shows explicit affection for. Like i said before, max sees Wilson as an angel, as his savior, but maxwell cannot handle it. It’s easier for him to be a huge asshole. But Wilson does not let him drive him away.

I think the banter is something Wilson enjoys! Wilson is a sarcastic person, and he and max are intellectually equals. I think max is someone he really enjoys spending time with, as well as someone he would do anything for.

Now if we look at one of the more recent videos, with charlie, Winona, Wilson, and Max, maxwell sees charlie for the first time in a long, long time. He is frozen, but when Wilson calls him, he immediately follows him out. This shows me he puts Wilson on the same level as CHARLIE now, if not HIGHER.

But something else that isn’t technically canon that made me ship it is this: when i played adventure mode for the first time, i got all the way to the end cutscene and died during it. I didn’t unlock max so i had to do it again.

I restarted, and it made me think of Wilson KNOWING adventure mode was not a way out. KNOWING the end was not going to go well for him. But going through all five worlds, AGAIN, JUST to free maxwell. And that really got me to love the ship jknkjn

In conclusion maxwell and Wilson have an absolutely beautiful relationship, and it’s good.

#maxwil #long post #ds #bluh bluh

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metvmorqhoses · 3 years

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i have a headcannon that voldemort never really “punishes” bella when she does something wrong, but his punishments to other death eaters are way way worse & so she’s obligated to act as if vold has given her a worse punishment than he actually has. not that she does a lot of things wrong as his “most faithful” though. i’m talking about the occasional slip up like the department of mysteries thing. had that been someone else, he probably would’ve harmed them more, let alone wouldn’t save then from some witch statue holding them down.

this is very true, anon. so true, in fact, i actually consider this much more a canon fact than mere speculation.

sorry if this is very long, but for every thousand of anti-bellamort idiots there must be a very precise bellamort’s defense attorney lol

correct me if i am wrong, but to my knowledge not once in the books a physical punishment coming from voldemort is ever mentioned in relation to bellatrix - and even if, let's be real, after his "rebirth" she became involved in literally the majority of the most crucial errors, the worst happenings ever, that ultimately brought to no less than his very downfall.

and yet, still, she came out of it all not only unscathed, but treated very specially.

even to a lazy reader, this should at least come across as peculiar.

let’s take the primary example of what i am saying, the battle of the department of mysteries.

just freed from azkaban and after being showered in honors and recognition, the first pivotal mission bellatrix was entrusted with was a damning fiasco.

true, it was not entirely her fault, lucius was in fact “in charge” of it, but let’s be real, do you really think voldemort sent his literal general with that malfoy dandy, his pupil, his most trusted and powerful lieutenant, just for company? just as a henchman? as i have always interpreted it, bellatrix was there to keep an eye on lucius, whose silver tongue was famously more apt to political plotting than to field missions.

voldemort wasn’t trusting lucius with the prophecy that had literally already meant almost death to him once, it would have been madness to. you can say anything about voldemort, but certainly not that he was an idiot.

i actually don’t think he ever trusted lucius at all. lucius had renounced him after his fall and didn’t manage to paint the fact as pragmatically as snape did, the cowardly aftertaste of his betrayal blatant and thoroughly disgusting on voldemort’s tongue. lucius’ status, family name, relations and wealth were just very useful for the movement and likely the only things that kept him in the high ranks of the regime (or alive at all) even before the fiasco, along with his marriage to bellatrix’s sister.

i am positive voldemort was in fact trusting bella to see the prophecy retrieved.

he probably didn’t officially put her in charge because she was still recovering from azkaban and therefore not completely stable or/and already with child (even if i tend to exclude the latter option, since she would have been still entirely too weak for a pregnancy to even take).

still, she was the one with the highest military rank there, not to mention the highest degree of closeness to voldemort, so you can bet she was the one that bore also the highest degree of moral obligation in that delicate situation. and she failed.

knowing voldemort, you would have expected to see killing curses flying left and right. had bellatrix been literally anyone else, she could have easily returned home to a murdered family and a pending death penalty.

instead, you see a voldemort that walks into the ministry of magic. you see a voldemort that, even already knowing the prophecy lost forever, renounces his every advantage and reveals himself once again to the wizarding world, moreover having to fight at the same time his very nemesis (nemesis that the mission should have helped him understand better and therefore defeat), dumbledore (the greatest wizard alive besides him) and soon the entirety of the aurors of britain.

what was exactly the reason that compelled him to enter such a nest of vipers, when he had been unwilling to do so in secrecy and surely in a highest degree of safety before and to retrieve the prophecy himself? to kill harry potter?

the very reason of the mission tells us he wasn’t sure about what to do with his potter dilemma and had therefore decided to have a more cautious, academical approach regarding the matter. he wanted to know the whole prophecy before trying again. he was frustrated and puzzled about harry’s absurd invincibility and insolent luck. do you really think he had decided to go for the hardest battle of his life unprepared and with dumbledore present of all people (whom he didn’t even directly kill afterwards) and possibly hundreds more on the way?

had voldemort suddenly turned from cold strategist to hotheaded kamikaze?

the only plausible answer is that voldemort had purposefully entered the ministry, risking capture and possibly his very life (or at least his newly created body, since at this point the horcruxes are still intact and a secret) and not knowing what exactly was there waiting for him, as a rather valiant rescue attempt and quite an unexpected one too.

bellatrix herself just moments before had laughed at the absurdity of the possibility of voldemort ever entering the place in response to harry’s questioning:

“Get it himself?” shrieked Bellatrix on a cackle of mad laughter. “The Dark Lord, walk into the Ministry of Magic, when they are so sweetly ignoring his return? The Dark Lord, reveal himself to the Aurors, when at the moment they are wasting their time on my dear cousin?”

bellatrix herself believed it an impossible and ludicrous thought and yet, less than half an hour later and her life in jeopardy, there voldemort surely appeared.

you could speculate he wanted to save his most valuable, just freed death eaters and then couldn’t, but there’s no evidence of it in the chapter whatsoever. the only evidence points out to the fact he was focused only on saving bellatrix.

this is in fact what lucius tells his hunting party while harry and co are trying to escape the ambush:

Harry put his ear close to the door to listen and heard Lucius Malfoy roar: “Leave Nott, leave him, I say, the Dark Lord will not care for Nott’s injuries as much as losing that prophecy — Jugson, come back here, we need to organize! We’ll split into pairs and search, and don’t forget, be gentle with Potter until we’ve got the prophecy, you can kill the others if necessary — Bellatrix, Rodolphus, you take the left, Crabbe, Rabastan, go right — Jugson, Dolohov, the door straight ahead — Macnair and Avery, through here — Rookwood, over there — Mulciber, come with me!”

so, la crème de la crème of his high ranks is there and everyone is positive the only thing that voldemort would care about is the prophecy, even above captures and fatalities.

rabastan and rodolphus are also there and yet he doesn’t go for them.

he appeared when harry told bellatrix the prophecy was gone, specifically when bellatrix began to have a manic fit because of it, alone in the ministry’s atrium with harry.

“Potter, I am going to give you one chance!” shouted Bellatrix. “Give me the prophecy — roll it out toward me now — and I may spare your life!”

“Well, you’re going to have to kill me, because it’s gone!” Harry roared — and as he shouted it, pain seared across his forehead. His scar was on fire again, and he felt a surge of fury that was quite unconnected with his own rage.

“And he knows!” said Harry with a mad laugh to match Bellatrix’s own. “Your dear old mate Voldemort knows it’s gone! He’s not going to be happy with you, is he?”

“What? What do you mean?” she cried, and for the first time there was fear in her voice.

“The prophecy smashed when I was trying to get Neville up the steps! What do you think Voldemort’ll say about that, then?”

His scar seared and burned. . . . The pain of it was making his eyes stream. . . .

“LIAR!” she shrieked, but he could hear the terror behind the anger now. “YOU’VE GOT IT, POTTER, AND YOU WILL GIVE IT TO ME — Accio Prophecy! ACCIO PROPHECY !”

Harry laughed again because he knew it would incense her, the pain building in his head so badly he thought his skull might burst. He waved his empty hand from behind the one-eared goblin and withdrew it quickly as she sent another jet of green light flying at him. “Nothing there!” he shouted. “Nothing to summon! It smashed and nobody heard what it said, tell your boss that —”

“No!” she screamed. “It isn’t true, you’re lying — MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED — DO NOT PUNISH ME —”

“Don’t waste your breath!” yelled Harry, his eyes screwed up against the pain in his scar, now more terrible than ever.

“He can’t hear you from here!”

“Can’t I, Potter?” said a high, cold voice.

specifically, he appears behind bella when she starts to maniacally invoke him, almost as if they had a special mean of communication with each other even from considerable distance.

(here bella is afraid voldemort would punish her and i find the manner of it very interesting, we will come back to it later on)

voldemort was obviously furious the prophecy was lost, but again why risking his own life on top of it? was he perhaps concerned of bella’s mental state now that she knew she had failed and therefore her ability to flee/fight his very nemesis, dumbledore and the aurors?

normally, we would have expected voldemort to stay away and deal with the surviving death eaters later, leaving them to their deserved destiny (as he did with literally everyone else who was there).

instead we have:

“So you smashed my prophecy?” said Voldemort softly, staring at Harry with those pitiless red eyes. “No, Bella, he is not lying. . . . I see the truth looking at me from within his worthless mind. . . . Months of preparation, months of effort . . . and my Death Eaters have let Harry Potter thwart me again. . . .”

“Master, I am sorry, I knew not, I was fighting the Animagus Black!” sobbed Bellatrix, flinging herself down at Voldemort’s feet as he paced slowly nearer.

“Master, you should know —”

“Be quiet, Bella,” said Voldemort dangerously. “I shall deal with you in a moment. Do you think I have entered the Ministry of Magic to hear your sniveling apologies?”

“But Master — he is here — he is below —”

Voldemort paid no attention.

“I have nothing more to say to you, Potter,” he said quietly. “You have irked me too often, for too long. AVADA KEDAVRA!”

even when she literally has just lost his one mean to achieve his every goal of a lifetime, she is “bella”. even when we would expect him to tear her to pieces then and there, he had come to stand between her and harry.

the only reprimand she receives is a scowling “be quiet bella, i shall deal with you in a moment”, as you would speak in public with someone who is very close to you and you are very mad at, who shouldn’t let that closeness slip in public, especially now that she’s making you risk a lot to save her sorry ass.

i find this scene very comic, on top of everything else. voldemort is clearly so done and yet there he is, come to save his sobbing mess nevertheless.

the scene proceeds with dumbledore’s arrival, the duel and bellatrix trapped under the statue. during the duel and just after having trapped bella, we see a really curious exchange:

“You do not seek to kill me, Dumbledore?” called Voldemort, his scarlet eyes narrowed over the top of the shield. “Above such brutality, are you?”

“We both know that there are other ways of destroying a man, Tom,”

Dumbledore said calmly, continuing to walk toward Voldemort as though he had not a fear in the world, as though nothing had happened to interrupt his stroll up the hall. “Merely taking your life would not satisfy me, I admit —”

“There is nothing worse than death, Dumbledore!” snarled Voldemort.

“You are quite wrong,” said Dumbledore, still closing in upon Voldemort and speaking as lightly as though they were discussing the matter over drinks.

(...)

"Indeed, your failure to understand that there are things much worse than death has always been your greatest weakness —”

what is this fate “worse than death”, these “other ways to destroy a man” that dumbledore wants for voldemort? we know how it all ended - with voldemort’s literal death, his very disintegration (after bellatrix’s very own). what was this all about then? this one i’ll let you decide for yourself. it’s certainly peculiar, considered the context.

voldemort doesn’t respond to this, he in fact seems very provoked and sends a killing curse at him.

at the end of the duel he disappears and everyone thinks he fled, bellatrix included, who cries out his name sobbing from under the statue.

he in fact, at that, goes straight to possess harry.

And then Harry’s scar burst open. He knew he was dead: it was pain beyond imagining, pain past endurance —

He was gone from the hall, he was locked in the coils of a creature with red eyes, so tightly bound that Harry did not know where his body ended and the creature’s began. They were fused together, bound by pain, and there was no escape — And when the creature spoke, it used Harry’s mouth, so that in his agony he felt his jaw move. . . .

“Kill me now, Dumbledore. . . .” Blinded and dying, every part of him screaming for release, Harry felt the creature use him again. . . .

“If death is nothing, Dumbledore, kill the boy. . . .”

Let the pain stop, thought Harry.

Let him kill us. . . . End it, Dumbledore. . . . Death is nothing compared to this. . . .

And as Harry’s heart filled with emotion, the creature’s coils loosened, the pain was gone, Harry was lying facedown on the floor, his glasses gone, shivering as though he lay upon ice, not wood. . . .

And there were voices echoing through the hall, more voices than there should have been (...)

“...where’s Voldemort, where — who are all these — what’s —”

The Atrium was full of people. The floor was reflecting emerald- green flames that had burst into life in all the fireplaces along one wall, and a stream of witches and wizards was emerging from them. As Dumbledore pulled him back to his feet, Harry saw the tiny gold statues of the house-elf and the goblin leading a stunned-looking Cornelius Fudge forward.

“He was there!” shouted a scarlet-robed man with a ponytail, who was pointing at a pile of golden rubble on the other side of the hall, where Bellatrix had lain trapped moments before. “I saw him, Mr. Fudge, I swear, it was You-Know-Who, he grabbed a woman and Disapparated!”

“I know, Williamson, I know, I saw him too!”

this passage is ever so interesting to me, because dumbledore’s words appear to have somehow made voldemort “emotional”. they provoked him somehow. he didn’t laugh at them. he linked them to the worst pain imaginable and almost killed harry with it, posing a philosophical dilemma - if such pain is worse than death, if my life is worse than death, why don’t you put this boy out of his misery?

there’s no doubt in my mind “that pain” is voldemort’s pain. a pain intrinsically love-related. voldemort’s problems to accept/understand/feel love are the crux of the saga, his every villainy and pain. it’s so interesting that in this whole scene the train of events and thought have ultimately reached this topic (even in the movie love is mentioned here, harry literally fights the possession telling him he shall never have it).

voldemort was furious with bellatrix, feared for his plans and life and went to save her anyway. he is enraged beyond belief but puts himself between her and harry and dumbledore. while they duel, dumbledore traps bellatrix and lectures him about “other ways to destroy a man” and “worse things than death”. he absolutely hits a nerve. voldemort completely feels what he’s meaning, so much he wants to retaliate and mercilessly - he never wants to be forced to face such things, such emotions. i don’t think he’s trying to kill harry there, he’s trying to prove a point, to make them both understand how it feels to be him, how the whole concept of love feels to him. and the matter is addressed in a scene entirely built around bellatrix. in fact, finally he then grabs her, leaving everyone else to fend for themselves, and flees. he effectively saves her and her only.

to me this whole passage is directly linked to the famous scream at bellatrix’s death, and to the way the events leading to voldemort’s own death unfolded. that scream might very well be that “fate worse than death”. jkr loves parallels and to me this one is perhaps the most beautiful of the series.

this really proves, in my opinion, at what depth their relationship stands, absurdly perhaps much more abysmal on voldemort’s part than on bella’s.

anyways, i took the time to analyze this particular episode because it’s emblematic of their relationship and his way to deal with her disasters.

lucius would carry on his face the signs of this fiasco literally for the rest of the entire series. the malfoys would fall from grace because of it, probably alive only because of bella’s intercession. half of the death eaters who were present at the ministry would end up back in azkaban.

voldemort would end up defeated, furious and destined to die.

bellatrix would come out of it not only physically unscathed, but with voldemort’s child.

even when she again loses the trio at malfoy’s manor (along with the sword), everyone ends up physically tortured but her. she says she fears for her life if voldemort was to know she lost the sword, but it seems more a metaphor than an actual possibility. when the cup is stolen from her vault, he makes her leave the room before murdering everyone in it. she’s not present at dumbledore’s assasination, and that’s because she wasn’t disposable.

i don’t think physical punishments are involved in their relationship, or if they are they are very rare, and i don’t think voldemort’s reactions to her transgressions/wrongdoings are in tune with the way he reacts to everyone else’s.

bella can more than anyone with him and never really loses this status of utter closeness, no matter what she does.

this obviously doesn’t mean that voldemort is a saint with her or that he doesn’t occasionally punish her. this doesn’t mean she isn’t rightfully afraid of him.

yet, the main way i see him actually hurting bella is psychological torture and silent treatment.

and here we come back at what bella was sobbing at the ministry, her desperate “MASTER, I TRIED, I TRIED — DO NOT PUNISH ME —”.

i don’t think a warrior, a general, a woman who remarkably survived 14 years at azkaban, would ever react this way to the mere fear of physical punishment, no matter how cruciatus curses hurt. i think she would have taken it as stoically as possible. thought she deserved it, even.

no, voldemort’s punishments must be unbearable to her, impossible to even fathom, because they involve falling from his graces, from the closeness she lives for. voldemort can serve bellatrix the cold, silent, disappointed treatment of a mentor and a lover, and have bellatrix literally rotting away because of it.

this is truly the worst thing he can do to her and the thing that had her sobbing and having a fit before harry at the mere idea of it.

this is also somehow confirmed when hermione, transformed in bellatrix, meets a death eater (i don’t remember who he was) before entering the gringott. he wasn’t surprised to see bella, well, alive and physically well, he was surprised to see her out of malfoy manor, where she was supposed to be confined.

so yes, definitely the way voldemort deals with bellatrix regarding punishments is special. everything regarding his way of treating bellatrix is, to be honest.

their relationship is written in such a subtle, beautifully twisted way. i adore it. the only problem is that because of it virtually no one ever connects the dots.

#i'm sorry for yet another essay #it just... happened lol #bellamort is based on hints and symbols so here i am in the dead of night psychoanalysing my client to the bone lol #bellamort #lord voldemort #bellatrix black #bellatrix lestrange #asks/replies #hp #one and one thousand stories lis told #anon

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kill-your-authors · 3 years

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I’ve thought a lot about The Guard and their immortality. They don’t know why they have immortality and they don’t know why they lose it, but there is the underlying implication that there ARE answers even if The Guard doesn’t know them. I’m going to attempt to offer a theory that would answer these questions.

We know because of the script reveal that there is nothing biologically different between them and the rest of humanity. There’s also this implication of destiny, that they are meant to find each other because of their dreams, and if we are to believe that destiny is such a thing within this world, then that means EVERYTHING that happens is destined. We know Lykon lost his immortality even though he became immortal after Andy, so what determines when they lose their immortality has nothing to do with being the oldest. We also know Andy lost her immortality after she learned that Quynh is still drowning. Obviously, I am choosing not to consider the script here, because the script would suggest she lost it when Nile became immortal, not after Nile’s dream. (And I’m choosing to take into consideration parts of the screenplay and not others for a reason even though it could make my theory less credible.)

That being said, my theory is this means that all of them are “chosen” by destiny to be immortal because of their capacity for goodness and faith in humanity. When they lose one of these two things, the capacity for goodness or more likely their faith in humanity, they lose their immortality. This is why Andy outlived Lykon, despite having been alive long before him, and why she loses her immortality now. Her faith in humanity was already on its way out, and then Nile has that dream, confirming that Quynh has not escaped, and has not died, and is still drowning over and over drowning, 500 years later. This drains her of any remaining faith, and she loses her immortality.

This brings me to why Joe and Nicky become immortal at the same time rather than centuries apart like all the others.

First, there’s Nicky, who was not good when he died. But if we believe destiny exists in this world, then it doesn’t matter that he wasn’t good when he died - all that matters is that he would BECOME good.

And the reason they come into immortality is not just because they died at the same time, but because individually neither of them fulfill the requirements for immortality, but together they both do. Nicky would not have become good if it weren’t for Joe and Joe would not have the faith in humanity that he does if not for witnessing Nicky change. They both together had the capacity to fulfill the requirements eventually, but apart wouldn’t have, so they became immortal together.

This is why I believe they will lose their immortality together. This fandom likes to headcanon about what will happen when one loses it before the other, when one dies before the other, and that can be interesting to theorize about, but I really believe that won’t happen. If one were to lose what makes them good, or what gives them faith in humanity, the other would immediately lose it too. They are both good people who have faith in humanity directly BECAUSE the other is also good and also has faith in humanity. They can’t fulfill both requirements without the other doing so too.

That brings me to Booker, Quynh and Nile.

With Booker, it’s obvious he doesn’t want to live, but I don’t think that means he’s lost his capacity to do good or that he has no faith in humanity. He betrayed the guard in the movie, but he believed he was doing good and he believed millions of people would benefit from it. Plus, he immediately acknowledges his mistake. When Andy tells him how long his exile is, he says, “Hoped for less, expected more” and when Andy tells him Nile wanted to let him off with an apology, he says, “Give her time,” as if to suggest she will one day understand, just as he does, why an apology isn’t enough. This means that his capacity for good is completely unbiased, even for himself. He is not even his own exception to doing the right thing. So, whether you like Booker or not, it is clear that, at heart, he is still good and still has faith in humanity.

Then there’s Quynh, who we don’t know a lot about yet, from the movie. In the comics, when she resurfaces she believes that The Guard exists to make humanity suffer. I think it’s safe to say that if the sequel, assuming there is one, goes in that direction, Quynh isn’t good and doesn’t have faith in humanity. If she immediately lost her immortality in the sequel, that would lend credence to my theory, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. So if she believes it’s her purpose to make humanity suffer, and she doesn’t lose her humanity, then my theory is arguably wrong. But I feel the need to bring up destiny again, and the fact that when Nicky became immortal he was also a bad person doing harm to humanity. Since that’s true, I think it stands to reason that if Quynh both intends to make humanity suffer AND keeps her immortality in the sequel, it is because that is destined to change, just like Nicky was destined to change. Also, the fact that when Nicky was doing harm to humanity, he honestly BELIEVED he was doing what he had to do, was meant to do, was right to do - and the same thing would be true for Quynh, I think it’s possible beliefs play a role in their ability to gain/maintain immortality too. Even misguided beliefs. They are allowed to make mistakes and lose their way as long as it’s destined they make up for those mistakes and find their way back.

That leaves Nile. When Nile dies, Andy says something along the lines of, “Why now? It’s been over 200 years.” (This has always stuck out to me. Why would she say it’s been “over 200 years” like that’s an exceptionally long time to go without a new immortal? There was 700 years between Joe and Nicky and Booker. It’s implied there were hundreds, if not THOUSANDS of years between Andy and Quynh, and then Quynh and Lykon. What she really should be saying is, “Why now? It’s ONLY been 200 years.” But either way, this line helps make my case, so…)

I bring this up because it makes it clear that when new immortals show up is completely random. There is no way to predict when a new one will arrive or why or IF there’s a why, though it’s overtly implied there is at this exact moment because Nicky answers Andy with, “Everything happens for a reason, Boss.”.

But if it really is determined by capacity for goodness and faith in humanity, then that’s obviously why it’s random. It will only happen when someone who is born destined to be good and believe in humanity dies. Even if when they become good and find faith in humanity is well after initially gaining their immortality, and whether it’s been 200 or 5000 years since the last. So the reason it’s Nile when it’s Nile is because Nile has that capacity for goodness and faith in humanity and she died when she was destined to die.

But why was she destined to die then? Like I said, if one thing in this universe is destined, then EVERYTHING in this universe is also destined because that’s how destiny works.

Andy tells Nile, “I think I lost my immortality when you showed up,” and then explains to Nile she thinks that was so she could be “reminded of what it’s like.” I believe Andy believes that, but I don’t agree. I think the real reason Nile died when Nile died, and not earlier or much later, is because Nile is the one who revived Andy’s faith in humanity. She tells Andy as she’s rescuing her, “I’ve seen it, Andy” in reference to Copley’s board, and she says to her later, “Maybe this is ‘the why’ Andy,” meaning, the reason they don’t die is because they are the only ones good enough to help humanity for millennia, even when it’s not obvious they’re helping for literal centuries, and even when it appears that humanity doesn’t deserve it, or isn’t getting better. They are the ones who have this great capacity for good and who have enough faith in humanity to DO good FOR humanity even when there’s no obvious proof they SHOULD have faith in humanity and they are the only ones who would not do nothing with their immortality, or worse, consciously harm humanity with their immortality.

Which brings me to one last thing: why does it matter if Nile revives Andy’s faith in humanity after she already lost her immortality?

Because…maybe…if she’s still good…and rediscovers faith in humanity…she can get her immortality back.

I hope there’s the tiniest possibility my theory is right for this reason alone.

#the old guard #joe x nicky #andromache of scythia #yusuf al kaysani #nicolò di genova #Booker #nile freeman #meta #long post

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phoenotopia · 3 years

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The Last Phoenotopia Blog Update

(Date 2021 MAR 01)

I debated how to open this blog post, but perhaps the main crux of this blog post is the best place to start. The blog is being retired.

The purpose of this blog was to be a "development" blog for Phoenotopia, and well, Phoenotopia's development is done. I'll still be doing bug fixes and maintenance on the PC and Switch versions, and playstation and xbox ports are underway (by a publisher). But I'm not going to be making any more major changes to the game. At some point, you put the paintbrush down and say it's done. Blemishes and all.

Recent Events

The game launched on Steam last month, and like any launch, it was hectic. Bugs Galore. This is our first commercial PC launch, so it was a real baptism by fire. Unlike Switch's one configuration, the PC has multiple configurations and factors to account for. The game needed to be able to handle multiple control schemes, screen resolutions, refresh rates, and more! I had a 60Hz monitor going into launch and didn't know anything about Hz (I do now). There was a troublesome stutter that some players were sensitive to that my whole team didn't notice since our eyes compensated it away. There were a few times where in fixing something at one party's behest, it introduced problems for another party. A few times, due to disorganization, I unwittingly rolled back a fix that was meant to be applied. For some, the game couldn't play at all (really glad Steam allows refunds).

It was messy. It was tiring. I.AM.BEAT.

I think the worst of it is over... I'll still be around to do the last updates and bug fixes, but I'm ultimately ready for what's next.

SO what is next?

What isn't next... is Phoenotopia 2. As you may have heard down the grapevine, the game couldn't be what you call successful. No one's earned even minimum wage on it.

Maybe there's hope in the game's long tail. A year or two down the line... maybe. I won't hold my breath though. At some point in the past few months, I finished processing (or grieving) and it's time to move on.

The game has at least earned enough for us to continue our modest operations. As long as we don't expand the team, and we don't take another monster six-year dev cycle like what Phoenotopia took, we can continue. We'll have to be smarter and faster. Perhaps the most valuable thing we gained from all this is experience.

The Experience

It is a dev blog. Here are some of the lessons I've accumulated from this game's development.

- Have a good menu design. Menus aren't just that in-between fluff before you get to the good stuff. Menus are KEY. Your menus need to be robust, expandable, and *understandable* (to you, the developer). Because once the game's out, you will invariably be asked to add more options. And if your menu design is bad, every time you have to add a new menu option, it becomes a whole new pain all over again. Support mouse from the get-go, etc.

- Focus on features that people will actually care about. For instance, I've never seen anyone praise the camera's zoom feature. In practice, people try that feature a few times and then never use it again. But that feature was a constant consideration factor for every level. Run through it multiple times to make sure the level didn't break, think about which zoom levels made sense, resize rooms because they worked at one zoom level but not the other, and so on.

- Don't do boxes that you can move around. Other 2D platformers avoid movable boxes because they're a huge headache to program and they really complicate the game space. Enemies need to respond to boxes you throw in their path and either navigate around or attack it. When you're moving the box, you have to worry about constantly changing your collision size and reconciling when the box gets snagged on the environment. The boxes were also a constant source of bugs because people can manipulate them to soft-lock themselves and more.

- More focused script. Phoenotopia's 100,000+ word script was panned more for being bloated than it was praised for being lengthy. Long scripts take a long time to write and make the game more unwieldy, increasing the costs of translation and upkeep. Every update we're addressing some textual error or mistranslation. There are some highly renowned games (e.g. Hyper Light Drifter) that do without a script at all!

- Be flashy! A bat and a lightsaber take the same amount of work to program, but the lightsaber will draw a lot more attention and interest.

- Slopes, surprisingly! Six years ago when I started, Unity was ill-equipped for 2D games. If you used the physics that Unity provided you'd have a really floaty character that wouldn't adhere to the slope when going downhill. There were a hundred different tutorials saying different things (use forces, use move position, use translation, etc). You can get rectangular collisions done in a day, but to do slopes took weeks. Meanwhile, games can actually get by fine without slopes. Most people won't even notice. Did you know the Phoenotopia flash game didn't have slopes? Neither does Hollow Knight or Rogue Legacy. You can save yourself a lot of work by avoiding slopes.

(big entities look weird on slopes. Bad slope!)

I could write enough little knowledge nuggets like this to fill a book! But I'd rather just make the next game.

So… what IS next?

As mentioned previously, it's not Phoenotopia 2. Pirate and I are mostly just tossing some ideas back and forth right now. We'll go silent for a year (or two). Our next game's scope will be more modest in some ways, more ambitious in others. It will definitely be more smartly designed. (There will be a map!)

We'll announce it when it's ready for the public. It might be necessary for us to do a kickstarter. I've tried to avoid kickstarters having been burnt on quite a few myself and also because I worry that mismanaging a kickstarter would earn the ire of backers.

But I did keep this blog regularly updated for six years. So I've gained some confidence in my abilities to at least manage a kickstarter well.

Is it really the last Phoenotopia Blog update though?

Okay, not really. There is some news that I'll need to announce, and this blog is one of the game's main outreach channels. Here are the events that will cause me to update the blog:

Announcing the launch of the xbox/playstation ports when they're ready

If a physical edition of the game happens

If a new language is getting introduced into the game (Korean is a high possibility)

When we're ready to talk about our next game

If (BIG IF) we begin development on a Phoenotopia sequel. I do want to do a sequel one day if we have the means and the demand is there.

Those updates will be more on a "when they happen" basis, rather than me reporting in every couple months.

Fan Art

As always, I'm very happy to see fanart of Phoenotopia. Major thanks again to Pimez for collecting all the artwork from the corners of the internet! Since this is the "last" blogpost, Sir Pimez can finally take a rest from collecting the fanart :P

ÆV made a series of pictures that tell a story. A Pooki is humanely sheared of its wool to create a hat. The Pooki is unharmed. Nice! Gotta love Gail’s expressions.

Amagoo Mazeru makes a stunning landscape shot of a full moon and shooting stars. It’s a sharp and clear vector art. I like the faint glow of the moon and the fire and the subtle gradient in the night sky. Very skillfully done!

Hah hah. I got a chuckle out of this one. I imagine this is how Gail's enemies see her by the end of the game. CaESar made this image based on TerminalMontage's famous youtube videos. Nailed it!

CrownStar drew two pictures of Gail. I'm a big player of JRPGs, so the first shot instantly reminded me of Persona 4's art style. (Hmmm... Phoeonotopia as a JRPG... there’s potential there...) Next, Birdy is shown carried off after her defeat. I really like Birdy's expression here - she just seems mildly uncomfortable.

There's a bit of a story behind the first image. As Firanka shares it, she wasn't able to defeat the Big Eye monster at the end of the flash game, so she believed a tall tale that what awaited after was a 6 armed Kobold boss. Hilarious! The second is a rendition of the lonely Anuri elder. A rare subject. The loneliness is portrayed well here. I feel lonely just looking at it!

Koo_chop draws the clash between Gail and Katash at the top of the towers. I really like this interpretation of the game's art style. It’s faithful to the in-game graphics. And the lighting, from the glow of Gail's bat, to Katash's sword, and the lightning in the background... Amazing!

Lime Hazard shows Gail with a salute pose. Very appropriate for this occasion. I also like how there's a slight tilt in the angle that Gail is portrayed. Those dynamic angles are always hard to get right, and Lime Hazard pulled it off very skillfully. See you next mission!

Lyoung0J with a digital painting of Gail posed sitting on a rock. I like how it almost seems like she was caught in a candid moment - she’s smiling, but also feeling self-conscious. Cute! The art style really pops, and I like how Gail is sporting what I call the old anime style nose.

MyUesrNameIsSh*t with a sketch of Gail performing a skillful slingshot. I like how Gail is depicted with her tongue out in a mischievous manner, the way all mischievous people with slingshots do.

Niitsu Kentaro returns with a 2021 Happy New Year picture. That happened didn't it? A New Year... Gail's pose gave me a chuckle with how she seems to be waving the bat around as casually as one would wave hello. And "Phoenotopiyear"... Well said! One day we'll have our Phoenotopiyear...

Ochan Nu breaks all records with a stunning NINE pictures in one session :O

There's so many goodies here. My favorite would be the one with Gail staring intently at the screen - it's like she's looking directly at you. You almost feel uncomfortable.

Next, there's an Animal Crossing villager dressed as Gail and sporting her pink hair. It even looks like a house Gail would live in. Gail is a connoisseur of the arts and likes Mona Lisa. Yes :)

There are various comics of Gail pointing out Gail's weird food habits. A picture of Fran looking really cool, and even Gail rocking a bathing suit. (bathing suit image linked here in case NSFW). Wow!

Pimez didn't just collect the arts, he creates them as well! This one, which he aptly named 'The Year 175' is a depiction of when the dragons invaded the towers as told by an elderly Daean woman. Great pixeling skills! I got a good chuckle from the ice dragon leaving with its stuff slung over its shoulder.

Quo made a stunning picture of Gail playing the flute surrounded by the 5 musical notes and the Phoenix logo behind her. The theme seems to be "fire" and it works really well. Gail herself looks awesome depicted in her red suit - it's like she's leading a marching band!

Rai Asuha depicts Gail in the late game with her red suit, and night star bat, and holding a lamp. She looks ready for adventure! I really like the white outline here and Gail's poofy shoulders here - the art style feels reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics.

Seri also draws Gail bearing her late game equipment. Unique to Seri's drawing is how all of Gail's equipment is accessible from a pocket on her shirt. I also like how Gail is depicted with her lucky earrings - that accessory is often forgotten.

Treedude depicts Gail with a bat and wearing a funny smirk. She looks like she's ready to hurt someone!

Warotar returns with everyone's favorite Great Drake, Bubbles! It seems so happy to be featured!

I'm really grateful for all the fanart this game has received. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Closing Notes

Pirate drew a picture to mark the occasion. It shows Gail enjoying a hot chocolate with marshmallows and a pumpkin muffin. A rest well-earned...

Goodbye! Until next time!

#phoenotopia

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kyndaris · 3 years

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Braving Tried and True JRPG Tropes

When Bravely Default II was released, one of the first reviews I stumbled upon spoke about the person’s disappointment. Some of it came down to personal taste: the art style. Others were a bit more valid: the weak narrative and carbon copies of protagonists from other games. While the fan in me wanted to contest many of their claims, the more I played of the latest Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) from Square-Enix, I could not deny that there was a lot of tropes being used to prop up the strong gameplay loop and to give players the chance to try out the different jobs on offer. Still, many of these grips failed to deter me too much from my playing of the game. After sinking a hefty amount of time into it, I was able to push my way through the multiple endings and give Seth, Gloria, Elvis and Adelle the happy ending that they deserved.

As the faithful readers of my blog, you should know that I bought Bravely Default II while on a road trip with family. Though I should have been luxuriating in the February sun, I was much too engrossed in my Nintendo Switch to pay much mind to my surroundings. And even if Zac Efron or Chris Hemsworth had walked past, I’d probably barely bat an eyelid.

The first few hours of Bravely Default II had me busy reengaging with the mechanics that I knew from the first two games on the Nintendo DS and Octopath Traveler. Considering my familiarity with old-school JRPGs, it came as no surprise that I quickly managed to level up Freelancer as I cut a swathe through the grass surrounding the starting city of Halyconia. In fact, I realised quite quickly that the best way to get good items without paying a cent for them was to play the game like Link, eager to find rupees in the bushes. By the time I fought Dag and Selene and Horten, they went down like flies even though I hadn’t even bothered to change from my default jobs.

Truth be told, when I read about the difficulties many people supposedly had with these earlier battles, I was scratching my head. Perhaps it was simply the method I play the games - grinding out each job to my satisfaction that had simplified what should have been difficult. On a side note, I thought that the job levelling was much better balanced than Yakuza: Like a Dragon and an infinitely more fun experience because of it. It allowed me to experiment with my team and find the best balance for taking on the various mobs in a given area.

The only time I actually prepared properly for a fight was when I took down Adam and the last few bosses. But even they were a considerable breeze when one had access to so many abilities. Paralysing everyone that stood in my way, inflicting poison and contagion, then having a maxed out Freelancer with Thief skills using Godspeed Strike? Child’s play.

Now, onto the weaker elements of Bravely Default II. The various plot-holes and unexplored characterisation of the heroes and villains. While Elvis and Lonsdale stood out to me, many of the others could have been interchanged with someone else and I would have barely been able to tell the difference were it not for their individual Asterisk attire.

Let’s start with Seth, shall we? Our main protagonist despite the ensemble set-up could have been ripped from any Japanese role-playing game. The ones he reminded me strongly of were Tidus and Vaan. Tidus, because he was a fish-out-of-water that had fallen in love with the woman that would have to sacrifice her life to bring peace back to the world. Vaan due to the fact that he never truly stood out and was simply part of the story just because of Wind Crystal shenanigans. Later on, he was made a bit more special due to his status as someone that had come from the Outer Seas.

In a way, it was a clever voice direction for Seth to be the only character with an American accent. This helped paint the fact that he was different from the others. Still, it would have been much better if we could have seen what his life had been like prior to the events that brought him to waking up on a beach in Halyconia. And while there are scenes in several sidequests that explore a little of Seth’s backstory, there’s little to sink one’s teeth into.

Gloria, on the other hand, is very much a stereotypical princess of a mystical kingdom. Though the voice actress is very good at expressing the pain she has gone through as one of the sole survivors of Musa’s destruction, I feel like it would have connected better with players to have seen the invasion and perhaps played a small part in controlling her escape. Though these things are just little nitpicks, it adds to the characters and allows people to emotionally invest in the happenings of the world.

That, in and of itself, is probably Bravely Default II’s key problem. The fact that it tells rather than shows.

Elvis, of course, is the star of the show. His quirky traits, affable nature make him a clear favourite and much more human than his other counterparts. The narrative around Wiswald was also great example of fleshing out his past and the people he knows. It is much more personal, pulling on our heartstrings to learn about the death of a young child, and thus carries more weight than the water shortage in Savalon or the fairy hunting in Rimedhal, which was clearly meant to mirror witch trials.

While Folie, the main antagonist behind the happenings in Wiswald, could have been better written and with a more tangible tie to the people of Wiswald, the fact that she manipulated Roddy, Lily and poor Galahad with visions of the dead Mona meant that a bit of pathos was achieved when she was finally brought down.

Adelle, a little cliche, was still an intriguing character that rounded out the team (I still can’t place her accent). The reveal that she was actually a fairy was a delight. It was also nice that her goals also aligned with the main narrative of stopping the Night’s Nexus, instead of being as superfluous as Elvis trying to solve the riddle of a book he had in his possession or Seth just tagging along for the ride.

As for the foes that we faced? Most of them seemed like excuses to dress up how players obtained their Asterisks. Many of them seemed like caricatures. And honestly, Martha’s excuse to fight the Heroes of Light was abysmal. But, of course, the developers needed a way for players to experience what it might be like fighting a foe that had the Dragoon Asterisk before they could use it for their own.

I will admit, the story just felt like a vehicle to pick up each Asterisk along the way. Oft times, I had to wonder why so many of these people felt compelled to stand in the way of the Heroes of Light. And while it would have been much better to have a more personal reason for why we fought these enemies besides the fact that ‘Oh, they have an Asterisk and something, something Crystal!’ I still managed to push my way through.

Still, the fact that Dag and Selene managed to snag more character development in the sidequests was great. Gladys’s attempt at atonement and her brother’s grief was also good ways to delve into topics that might have been a little too dark for a title that had such gorgeous backdrops and adorable character models.

Now, to the meat of the matter. The plot holes and the things that were never truly explained. Edna’s descent into madness though Adelle often insisted her sister had always loved humans. How and where Lady Emma found the book that actually contained the memories of the Night’s Nexus? Where does Seth actually come from? How did he die? Why was he chosen by the Wind Crystal? Why was Adam so invested in trying to conquer the world? Did he experience something bad in his past that informed his current need to stop war by starting it? Where did Folie come from? Who is she and why did she feel the need to torment the people of Wiswald for her art?

So many mysteries. So little explanation.

Overall, Bravely Default II has quite a few flaws and missteps. Yet, despite that, it’s a sum greater than its parts. The narrative might not have been captivating, but it managed to keep pulling me through until I saw the true ending. Anticlimactic as the final boss battle might have been, I still felt a certain satisfaction in seeing Gloria tackle Seth to the ground. And honestly, who doesn’t want to Godspeed Strike their way to victory?

P.S. I will say that after witnessing Adelle save Martha, I had hoped for a blossoming romance, but the dialogue between her and Elvis during the second bad ending got to me. It may not be my one true pairing, but Elvis x Adelle was an arrow to my heart. My only question is: how old is Adelle? She looks like a child and yet, because she’s a fairy, she could be like a century older. Maybe better not to think too hard, eh? After all, why sweat the details?

#bravely default II #video games

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dear-mrs-otome · 5 years

Text

Johann Georg Faust - Story Event Summary

Please be aware I’m NO EXPERT HERE. TAKE THIS WITH A GRAIN OF SALT...I am but a newbie still learning Japanese <3 That said, I hope you enjoy, and see my rambling thoughts at the end because I found this event fascinating.

~~~~

At a cemetery, Leonardo and MC are visiting the grave of one of Leonardo's old friends and reminiscing a bit, when they overhear a priest offering words of comfort to a crying woman and a teenage boy nearby. MC realizes they must have lost a family member, and she makes eye contact with the priest, finding him a bit odd as they stare at each other before the priest returns to his ministrations.

As she and Leonardo begin to leave, the teenage boy approaches them and asks if they've seen his little brother around - the boy seems to have gotten lost. Leonardo and MC assure him they'll look for him so that the youth can go back to their distraught mother. He thanks them and tells them his name is Kevin, and his little brother is Paul.

They find the boy outside the cemetery sitting on a park bench reading, and he says he doesn't want to go back inside and deal with his father's death so they tell him they'll hang out with him for a bit. He asks them about a picture in his book which turns out to be a vampire and she and Leonardo try to explain to him what one is, but they barely start when they're interrupted.

"It's a monster that lives off the blood of people," a voice says. It's the priest from inside, who introduces himself as Father Faust, and he and Leonardo have a back and forth with the boy and each other over what a vampire is exactly - Leonardo saying it's not something to be envied, and that humanity has its merits, while Faust says that eternal life free from suffering and death wouldn't be such a bad thing after all.

They're at an impasse and Faust asks MC what her opinion is, but she can't choose. Both sides have good points, she thinks. Faust laughs off dragging her into a pointless argument and takes the child back inside, leaving Leonardo a bit uneasy in his wake.

In a small church, the youth Kevin is asking for absolution from Faust for his sins, committed out of desperation to feed and support his sick mother and little brother. A cold, dispassionate Faust looks down on the emotional boy and grants it, to his surprise.

After shopping in town, her arms full of apples, MC is walking past the same small church and bumps into someone leaving, spilling her apples everywhere. She and the person she ran into apologize and she recognizes them as Kevin, the youth from the cemetery, but he seems dejected. As she's about to go after him, Faust appears and helps her pick up the apples and takes her inside. She introduces herself properly this time, and asks if its his church, but he says he's just filling in for the sick priest who usually is there.

They have a chat about Kevin and she tries to praise his efforts as a priest, being a relief to so many people, but it only ends up unsettling her a bit with how icy and collected Faust seems, and how he seems to have a lack of compassion for those suffering. He admits that while he carries out the duties of a priest, he has never seen God himself, and she's stunned by his lack of faith but Faust seems to find her surprise amusing. He says that she is something unexpected and worth of studying.

He lifts her chin with his hand. "Would you like to be my guinea pig?" he asks, and she's frozen, her heart thundering...

But just then Leonardo comes in, scolding Faust and pulling her away, clearly unhappy. They go back and forth a bit, with Faust insisting he was only inviting her to church as she seemed interested (a blatant lie). As the two men stare each other down, Faust pushes his glasses up innocently and proclaims he seems to have upset her overprotective guardian.

Outside Leonardo apologizes for overreacting and says maybe Faust was right, maybe he is too protective. Then he's approached by a random townsperson who asks for his help, and he agrees, heading off after them. Just as he's left though, she hears someone screaming about a thief and looks up to see Kevin barreling towards her, cursing and carrying a knife, pursued by a man. She can't get out of the way or stop him, and as Leonardo cries out her name, she braces for impact...and then feels strong arms around her, pulling her safely out of the way.

"As I thought, God saves no one," Faust says, as she's protected in his solid embrace.

Kevin recognizes Father Faust, and Faust pushes her behind himself to shield her but then the youth is tackled by Leonardo and disarmed. Faust compliments Leonardo on the speed he took down his quarry with, and Leonardo takes Kevin off towards the police station.

MC is upset at the turn of events regarding Kevin, but she's interrupted by Faust demanding to see her arms - and only after he's forced her to take a seat on the side of the road does she realize she's been cut and is bleeding. She's about to start looking for a handkerchief when -

"It looks delicious," Faust says, and she doesn't have a chance to react before he's licking the blood off her arm, the feel of his lips and hot tongue and teeth grazing her skin causing her face to flame. He keeps at it until she can't help sighing, and she thinks how he seems just like a vampire when he stops and asks her to forgive him, saying that he didn't have any disinfectant to clean her with. He tears her ruined shirtsleeve and bandages her properly with it, just as Leonardo shows back up fretting over her.

She tries to thank Faust but before she can he's turned her back over to Leonardo with another quip about her guardian and walked away.

After everything had settled, MC enters a beautiful cathedral on the outskirts of town, and inside is Faust. He seems startled to see her again, and she's pleased he remembers her name when he asks what she is doing there.

She says she found out where he was and wanted to come by to thank him properly - offering him a basket of baked treats from Sebastian that he finally takes, albeit less than graciously - grumbling that she must have a lot of free time to come around on an errand like that.

She says she also came to tell him how things are going with Kevin, but notes that Faust seems indifferent as she relays the now-happier fate of the family. She pushes him on why he didn't do something to intervene, if he knew from Kevin's confession that they were struggling, and Faust says that helping one person would barely touch the misery that everyone suffers from. His attitude seems so jaded and accepting of harsh realities, as if he doesn't even believe in miracles anymore, she thinks.

Then Faust remarks on how, if a person were a vampire the way that little boy had wished, they'd be free of those sorts of concerns, and she blurts out that he seems to know a lot about vampires.

"And if I said they were real?" Strong arms pull her close and she falls against Faust's chest, and his hands on her clothes makes her think of the sensation of his tongue on her skin.

"The taste of your blood...I haven't forgotten it," Faust says to her in a low, breathtaking voice. He asks if she has something special running through her veins - her blood smells so intriguing.

Stunned, she asks if he is a vampire, and he offers to study vampires - his fangs and her blood - then he laughs and says he was only joking and that vampires aren't real, angering her. She pushes him away, feeling gullible, and he warns her of the dangers of even human men...and warns her to be careful on her way home as she leaves in a huff, still hyper-aware of the way her skin burned where he'd touched.

The evening of her visit, Vlad comes to the church and says he saw that Faust had a young lady visiting. "You let her go, didn't you?" Vlad asks. Faust scolds him for spying, as Charles is excited at the prospect of a girl coming around, and Vlad points out that she was very cute and even left Faust goodies.

Vlad seems surprised that Faust would let someone like her escape, but Faust only says that catching prey can be a hassle. Then says that he wants her to be a guinea pig anyways, to study carefully, and that she seems to have piqued his interest...

FINIS

~~~~~

OK SO MY THOUGHTS HERE, AKA: WHY THIS WAS SO COOL and how I now have only more questions than answers:

1. I think my main takeaway from this event was the sense that while Faust may be an atheist, or lack faith, it’s less of a true atheism and more the feeling of ‘I am pissed off at God’. The way he mentions that God saves no one, and his jaded sense that there’s no point to helping the suffering of others, it all just felt personal. I was left reading this and wondering...what the heck did God do to you, Faust?

2. Also, this boy is has cajones that would make any prize steer proud. I can’t believe he made a lollipop of MC right out there, in the open on the side of the danged road ESPECIALLY RIGHT AFTER he’d just seen Leonardo come in and clearly stake his claim to her. He also has no qualms about calling Leonardo out for his over-protectiveness more than once, and basically says he’s made Daddy mad right to his face.

3. He’s going to be a dirty filthy boy and I love it. He pretty much made mouth-love to MC’s arm there, to the point where she was half-moaning, and made plenty of double entendre-style insinuations and passes at her, zero fucks given about her relationship status.

4. He doesn’t seem to be very subordinate to Vlad, despite Vlad clearly being their leader. He scolds his boss for spying and his body language is far from deferential, and the brief glimpse of the trio I got they seem very close-knit and almost more like peers.

5. Letting her go clearly surprised Vlad as being very out of character for Faust. It seems as if the trio have few qualms about feeding off humans, etc, and for Faust to show her any special consideration definitely seems to have caught Vlad’s interest as well.

#ikemen vampire #ikevamp #ikevamp faust #spoiler #spoilers #ikemen vampire spoilers #ikevamp spoilers #ikemen vampire story event #ikemen vampire summary #my translation #if anyone wants to discuss or dispute any of this #please do!#I'm really keen to hear other people's takes on this!#long post

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nodynasty4us · 3 years

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The January 11, 2021 article in full:

The 127 Republican lawmakers who voted to overthrow president-elect Joe Biden’s electoral victory are facing fierce backlash from donors, constituents, and even some GOP colleagues following the attempted coup at the US Capitol by a pro-Trump mob on Wednesday.

Some have even been called upon to resign.

Membership in this so-called “Sedition Caucus” runs the gamut from congressional backbenchers such as Congressman Mo Brooks (the face of the movement to decertify the election) to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California.

It also includes six senators — most notably Josh Hawley of Missouri and Ted Cruz of Texas.

Many observers and lawmakers have credited Mr Cruz’ and Mr Hawley’s intense, falsehood-riddled rhetoric leading up to the vote with fueling the anger of the mob that stormed the Capitol and led to the deaths of five people, including a Capitol police officer.

Mr Cruz has since tried telling local media he disagreed with the president’s speech and statements on Wednesday shortly before the rioters descended on the Capitol.

But the senator’s denunciation of Mr Trump was so unaligned with the truth of what actually happened — and so lacking in fundamental good faith — that his own former spokeswoman told CNN she could hardly “recognise” her former boss.

“He has to come to terms with the fact that he, through his actions, directly played into the hands of the mob. End stop,” said Amanda Carpenter, the Texas Republican’s former communications director.

“That is what happened, and it is so horrifying to watch someone descend into this, and not be able to admit what happened, when you worked for him and you believed in him. It's just, it's really hard to watch,” Ms Carpenter said.

The condemnation has been equally brutal for Mr Hawley, who raised a fist in solidarity with the demonstrators at the Capitol shortly before they stormed the building and forced him and hundreds of other lawmakers to find hiding places.

Former Missouri GOP Senator Jack Danforth, Mr Hawley’s mentor, told the St Louis Post-Dispatch that backing Mr Hawley’s political ascent was “the worst mistake I ever made in my life.”

Mr Danforth said: “What he's doing to his party is one thing. What he's doing to the country is much worse.”

Mr Hawley has been defiant in the face of calls for him to resign.

“I will never apologize for giving voice to the millions of Missourians and Americans who have concerns about the integrity of our elections. That's my job, and I will keep doing it,” he told Newsweek in a statement.

By Sunday, scores of Democratic lawmakers had called upon Mr Cruz, Mr Hawley, and the 125 other Republicans who voted to toss out Mr Biden’s victory to resign.

“Both [Mr Hawley] and [Mr Cruz] have betrayed their oaths of office and abetted a violent insurrection on our democracy. I am calling for their immediate resignations. If they do not resign, the Senate must expel them,” Senator Sherrod Brown tweeted on Sunday.

Freshman Democratic Congresswoman Cori Bush of Missouri has introduced a measure in the House to censure and remove anyone who voted to throw out the 2020 presidential election results, a step that would oust the top two Republicans in the chamber — Mr McCarthy and House Minority Whip Steve Scalise.

That’s in addition to House Democrats’ apparent plans to impeach Mr Trump next week for his sluggish reaction to the massive security breach at the Capitol that he himself helped incite.

The GOP lawmakers who voted against Mr Biden’s victory last week could also see their campaign donations wane.

Marriott International Inc., the largest chain of hotels in the world, and the US health insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have suspended donations to such lawmakers, Reuters reported on Sunday.

“We have taken the destructive events at the Capitol to undermine a legitimate and fair election into consideration and will be pausing political giving from our Political Action Committee to those who voted against certification of the election,” Marriott spokeswoman Connie Kim said in a statement.

While it is unlikely Mr Cruz, Mr Hawley or any others will be kicked out of office — two-thirds of their colleagues would have to vote to boot them — a handful of other Republican lawmakers have pinned blame on them for the destruction and violence at the Capitol on Wednesday.

Republican Senator Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who has called on Mr Trump to resign, did not explicitly say Mr Cruz and Mr Hawley should do the same. But he did have choice words for his Senate colleagues.

Mr Cruz and Mr Hawley are “going to have a lot of soul searching to do,” Mr Toomey said in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday.

“And the problem is they were complicit in the big lie, this lie that Donald Trump won the election in a landslide and it was all stolen,” Mr Toomey said, echoing a speech from President-elect Joe Biden in which he termed Republicans’ 2020 stolen election conspiracy theory “the Big Lie.”

Mr Toomey added that Mr Cruz and Mr Hawley “compounded that with this notion that somehow this could all be reversed in the final moments of the congressional proceedings. So that’s… going to haunt them for a very long time.”

Mr Toomey predicted that Mr Cruz and Mr Hawley would “pay a big price” for their false promises to block the electoral results.

“I think their reputations have been affected. You’ve seen the kind of reaction in the media back in their home states, so their constituents will decide the final way to adjudicate this,” Mr Toomey said.

The Pennsylvania senator was referring to a scathing piece from Houston Chronicle’s editorial board published on Friday blaming Mr Cruz for his role in encouraging the pro-Trump riots at the Capitol on 6 January.

“Cruz had helped spin that web of deception [about the election being stolen] and now he was feigning concern that millions of Americans had gotten caught up in it,” the editorial read.

“Those terrorists wouldn’t have been at the Capitol if you hadn’t staged this absurd challenge,” the Chronicle’s editorial board wrote, referring to Mr Cruz.

#josh hawley #ted cruz #mo brooks #kevin mccarthy #steve scalise

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