#feeling a bit stressed so playing some doom feels like a perfect option | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

dayables · 3 years

Note

I'm glad you liked my yttd ramble the other day hahsjshsj. And I have some more stuff to say because this game lives rent free in my head.

I love the writing and storytelling from kimi ga shine, I really do but I think the way the later half of the second main game is structured, from a narrative point of view is kinda misleading. The whole focus of the last bit, with the Kanna vs Shin argument is on Kanna. Shin feels unsure and ungrounded so he resorts to interrupting her and abandons his calculated and calm facade he had until that point, which makes sense in a character point of view because it shows how he reacts when he is truly cornered. But it doesn't make sense considering afterwards the game clearly wants you to vote him. Honestly after playing the logic route the first time, the emotion route feels like a fever dream. It's all unicorns and rainbows and is such a contrast to the other option I wonder why we even had a choice in the first place. Unless further down the line there is some type of plot twist where our hope and optimism in the emotion route is punished I don't see why the game pushes so hard to make us feel guilty of killing Kanna in the Shin route. Honestly, after playing a chapter 3 full of internal conflict from Sara and other characters reacting to the traumatic nature of their situation, they seem so naive in the emotion route, idk if I'm explaining myself well enough. Like we fall into this weird bit where they will "for sure make it out alive" and Sara is determined to "bring everyone to safety", everything is "totally gonna be okay" and it just seems so... off? It makes no sense for them to think that right now, especially not after a failed escape attempt and seeing the way the floormasters and dolls can interfere with the game like Gashu did. (And knowing that even if they can take off their collars they will just be killed for desobying the rules from Shin's death)

On Kanna's death "cut scene" Sara literally thinks, and I quote "We need Sou to escape... / I... chose logic... / The worst possible choice..." what???? literally how? The whole point of this choice is that no matter which one it will always be a morally grey answer, there isn't a right or wrong here because either way you're killing one of your allies. And going back to the way the second main game is structured: the focus is all on Kanna so having Shin's death be the final arch for his character seems a bit out of touch. If we wanted that to be his big finale, if he's the one we're supposed to listen to, then why isn't he the one speaking for the majority of the time? The end of the discussion part is all about Kanna, Kanna's sacrifice, her whole speech about Kai's values and hope to defy the game and escape as a group, Kanna's wish to save Sou and Sara like she couldn't save her sister. Then why is listening the Kanna the worst choice? I think they were going for a "double final arch" per say, so you could in fact choose any of the two endings and still have a satisfactory conclusion but why did they have to push so hard afterwards for Shin's death to be "the right choice?". If that's just Sara's guilt speaking why doesn't she feel the same way (or at least the tiniest bit remorseful) for Shin?

And I know it's another level to the whole logic vs emotion, you either get a more satisfying narrative or a happier one but I don't think it had to be that different you know? That and the way the two deaths are handled makes it clear (even if unintentionally) that Nankidai gives priority to the emotion route. And when you can see that to this degree it makes me wonder why is this even a choice in the first place?

In conclusion, I seriously hope the emotion vs logic route isn't the thing that leads the player to a good vs bad ending. Or at least that it isn't as predictable as it seems right now, because if we are doomed right from the moment we chose to save Shin... idk it seems like a cheaper alternative to just have "save the child" as the objectively better ending. And again, I would personally make it so that the whole hero trope, happy-go-lucky nature of the characters in the emotion route would crumble somewhere during the final chapter, they can still have a happy ending but at least make it so that there are some consequences for choosing Kanna over Shin, literally anything at all. Them being suddenly almost unfazed by the deaths of their past allies is so out there it seems completely out of character. Like you said, Sara's stress doesn't come only from Joe's death and Shin's existence, it comes from leading a group of people to almost certain death, why is that no longer a problem? And if the difference between saving Kanna or Shin is more world building and knowledge later on then that needs to be a bigger difference between the routes because right now it's just Kanna good, Shin bad.

Anyways this turned out super long again but I just have. a lot of thoughts. I really do like Nankidai's storytelling, he does a very good job at it but when it comes to this? I think he made some questionable choices, I hope it becomes less linear in the future.

:DDD

Once again, this is my thoughts explained so well, so I’m going to expand with my thoughts :)

First off, the game clearly wants you to vote him. is very true. Shin’s death is nearly too perfect. Happy ending, a character arc wrapped up in a bow, constant praise for killing Shin and an even happier next part. A fever dream is the perfect way to describe the emotional route after playing logic first. Everything about it, seems so off.

What tipped me off, what really tipped me off, was Kanna’s reaction to We hin’s death. Especially when compared to Shin’s. Whether or not it’s healthy is debatable but it is at the very least co-dependant. Kanna was manipulated by Shin. Whether or not she cared for him the same way he cared for her* is up for debate.

*(we don’t have nearly enough context for a clear cut on her motives for her actions in part 2. Shin seems to be more concerned about saving Kanna specifically, while Kanna wants to save everyone including Shin. This can be linked back to her feelings of worthless. Yes, Shin is special to her, she mentions him and Sara. However, if they had not gotten close, Kanna likely would have made the same choice)

Kanna, almost didn’t seem to care that he died, that everyone else might die (from her own perception of what could happen). For someone who is wrecked by grief and death so much, she’s, just as happy as everyone else? It’s so out of character that she isn’t a teeny bit distressed.

See, the oh so happy attitude, part can be played off to Sara no longer being swallowed by self-loathing over Joe. She believes she can do it, and that will drastically affect how the part plays out. Yes, that is not where all her issues stem from. But, even that small weight could make all the difference in those moments. I’m okay with that because Sara is allowed to be unreliable. It’s the others reactions. Everyone is just like her. It’s so surreal how everyone seems have gotten their own Joe AI through someone's death?

The narrative actively pushes that choosing Kanna is the better thing to do logically, while killing Shin is foolish and a choice made from emotions. We are pushed to kill Kanna then rewarded when we save her. It’s all so jumbled. It’s all so wrong. Now from a story telling perspective, it is okay to reward us for listening to our hearts. My issue with the emotional route isn’t that it’s one big happy family, (because how much of that is Sara believing that?). It’s the concept it’s pushed to be better, happier and the ending you want.

As you said: Why is killing Shin a choice if it’s so bad?

Is it to give the player an illusion of choice?

It makes the emotion route so fever dreamish after finishing the emotion route. So jumbled. It makes it less satisfying but I believe it is for a reason.

Right now everything is too linear. We either have the most important player in this game dead, or against us. It’s not like the Reko/Alice choice. This was so major, so why is it so linear?

It’s unnerving, how happy the game is when the exact same thing is happening but bleaker when you save Shin.

It’s terrifying. Everything is the exact same, but it’s not. And it’s something i��ve seen no one else who played emotion first get. Because I don’t know if you can exactly grasp how unnerving their happiness is (I obviously didn’t play emotion first but I’ve never seen anyone point it out despite most of tumblr playing emotion first) at first.

I am terrified of the emotional route for their being nothing bad. Because they’re are bad things and good things. in the logic route.

Why is one route so happy and the other realistic? Why Nankadai? Why?

I have belief that this is purposeful. I believe a game that creates dread so easily (look at how we’re all terrified of main games, Midori, part 3b) and horror (just look at the deaths) is not creating the terror unintentionally. Especially when it’s so easy to miss.

The fact it can be taken down to Kanna good, Shin bad, is a build-up for a crash. This game built up Kai surviving longer than the first game so well and look at how that went. It takes one slip and the happiness of emotion crashes down like glass. The logic route does not need to end happier, but all Shin needs is a push and the bleakness of Logic cannot hold up.

These routes are resting on a needle. It takes so many mistakes (more than can be made in a single route) to unintentionally put them there.

There is a lot of room for this to go wrong. You’re right, it’s bad writing right now for the routes that are so linear to be so different. It’s worrying, jumbled and does not make sense. I agree with you! The choices here are questionable. ^^, I just believe these are purposeful, especially when we don’t know what’s coming next

3 notes · View notes

laughing-with-god · 5 years

Text

Pandemonium XII

(Author’s note; so I owe everyone an apology. I haven’t written for this story in a long ass time and tbh it shows. I’m sorry but I lost inspo for this story and that’s why this story had been dead for so long. I’m trying to get back into the flow of this plot, so please just have a little more patience with me. I have no right to ask for that but I really need it. But anyway, this chapter is more of a buildup for the next big event I want to happen in this story, please enjoy.)

Words; 3.6k

“Your mom’s chest hair!”- Janis Ian, Mean Girls

You were having a Lindsay Lohan moment in a bathroom stall….except the ‘Regina George’ in this situation was God fucking with you in a form of a shitty day.

Okay…*record scratch* you’re probably wondering how you got yourself into this mess.

You gasped after the dreaded ‘D’ word left your mouth and before you could give Namjoon a chance to respond over the phone, you hastily pressed the ‘end call’ button to return to your pitiful sobs.

Except these sobs were harder than the ones before because like...what the fuck?? You called Namjoon daddy….. Why?

The taboo word slipped past your lips as if it was nothing, as if your brain didn’t send signals to your mouth to form the name and release it. You didn’t give your mouth permission to utter it, but it was said into the receiver of your phone before you could even process why the fuck you would say it.

“‘Word vomit”, some might say.

Two ‘Mean Girls’ themes in one day...you were on a role.

How could you face him after that? Knowing you accidentally fed into his dumbass daddy kink just because you were having a meltdown and needed someone to call on. The fucker probably thought he ‘snapped you into submission’ or something. His pathetic male ego was most likely purring right now.

And your timing couldn’t possibly be any worse.

You JUST had this conversation with him and told him that you would never play into his weird little bdsm game, yet here you were. You couldn’t comprehend your own stupidity.

Hastily, you pulled out your laptop from your bag. While sitting on the toilet with little regard for hygiene in favor of your record-breaking distress; you quickly opened your gmail to send a message to your professors that you would be missing class for the rest of the day.

After doing so, you slammed the device shut and exited the stall.

The mirror reflected the tiredness and annoyance you felt. Your skin was blotchy and drained of color whilst your nose and eyes were red with evidence of your crying. The swelling of your eyelids was enough to make you head to the sink in attempt to splash some cold water onto them.

While hunched over the sink, you heard your phone buzz from its’ place in your pocket. You reached around to grab it but when you saw whom it was, you felt the need to throw it out the window before jumping out yourself.

However the person calling was not to be put off by the decline to talk, given they only tried again and again. When the device began buzzing for the fifth time, you groaned but answered it in hopes to give them a piece of your mind and end the line of future communication for good.

“What do you want?!” You growled, sure to let the bitchiness overlap your tone.

“Y/n! Thank god you picked up! Where are you? I saw you looked really down and just ran away. Do you want me to take you home?” You heard a rustle over the phone which told you that he was indeed looking for you. His heavy footsteps and background noise of student chatter hinted that he was still wandering campus in search of you.

“No Jungkook, I really rather not talk to you right now.” You bluntly responded.

“Why? did I do something wrong? At least let me talk to you~” He whined pathetically, the sound more annoying than what you originally recalled it to be.

“I don’t know. Maybe ask your bros why I feel like trash.” You couldn’t help but be passive aggressive, not caring if you were giving in to the stereotypical women trope of being petty without reason and emotional without logic.

“My ‘bros’? What does that mean? Did one of them say anything to you? Because if they did then I will kill them I swear-” You cut him off with a bitter laugh.

“Listen, I don’t think I can have a sugar daddy who goes to the same school as me. It’s too….” you struggled to find the perfect word. “...problematic.” You said, the words surprising even you for the solution to the problem was staring at you right in the face.

With the other brothers, there was a clear line of personal life and professional. You never had to worry about running into them on campus or having your classes and peers interfered with given that all of them were older. All except Jungkook. And although he was closer to age with you, he still was a man. And you rarely trusted men that age, much less men in general. You would live in constant fear that he would spill the truth to your classmates about what you’ve degraded yourself to in the name of money. Today was a slap in the face of just how much power Jungkook held over you in this arena, the paranoia now unveiled by seeing him laugh and talk to other college guys.

It was too risky.

“W-what? Where is this coming from?” His footsteps became more hurried as his voice began to tremble. “Where are you? Let’s talk about this. We all have bad days, Y/n. I’m sure tomorrow you’ll think differently. Just tell me where you are so-”

You ended the call.

What followed was a nervous pacing driven by your frenzied exhaustion of the drastic turn of the day. Perhaps when this day was over you would look back and realize that this was an extreme over reaction on your part. But at this very moment, in the midst of a nervous breakdown, all you felt was an insufferable itch to abandon anything and everything that seemed to complicate matters. And at the moment, Jungkook was very much complicating an already complex situation.

Your head pounded due to the sudden stress it had to endure in the last few hours. With a deep sigh, you paused your pacing to rest against the wall and catch your breath...or rather hyperventilate. Over the sound of your haggard gasps for air, your phone continued it’s onslaught of ringing. It was a mixture of calls and texts that only succeeded in making your brain ache more.

There was no ignoring for the disturbance of peace was persistent. You felt annoyance in its’ purest form and was determined to yell at the fuckboy to never contact you again. This was your goal when you picked up the device to answer the incoming call.

“Leave me alone!!” You barked into the speaker after pressing the phone to your ear, no time wasted on greetings.

“.....I don’t recall asking for that attitude so I strongly recommend that you drop it.” A baritone voice rumbled right in your ear.

You spluttered for a moment as you were met with Namjoon over the line and not the expected manchild.

“Listen, I’m in your campus parking lot if you need a ride home.”

This statement made you gather your senses.

“I-I don’t recall asking you to come.” You bit back, startled at his sheer boldness.

He chuckled. “Yeah, because you’re obviously doing so well where you’re at right now.”

“Sometimes I can’t help but wonder who you think you are.” You said this through gritted teeth.

“Don’t worry about who I think I am and just focus on what you think I am; daddy.”

You choked on your own salavia. “I’ll drop you just like I did your brother, don’t fucking try me I swear.”

“Dropped? My brother? You must tell me more when you get in the car.” He sighed, voice as casual as someone discussing the weekend weather.

“You still have yet to tell me why I should leave with you.” You rolled your eyes while saying this. You noticed something within the brothers, they all only paid attention to what they wanted to and never what they didn’t. It was selective focus that you suspected was inherited from the breastmilk because they all had it.

“Let me break down your options. You can ignore my ride and continue your hellish day at school whilst trying to avoid crying again. You can ignore my ride and insist that you go home on your own, relying on some public transport given it’s pouring rain out here. Or you can save yourself the trouble and take a free ride home.”

Perhaps you were just too tired and drained to even muster another retort. You felt your stance slump as you released another sigh of defeat (you seemed to be doing this a lot lately),

You were a prideful person.

But you also weren’t stupid.

Why bite the hand that feeds you?

Even if that hand was attached to an insufferable and egotistical man….it was still feeding you.

“I’ll be out in a sec.”

How many unlucky events could occur within the same 24 hours?

You seemed to be the runner up for that record breaking given you just tumbled up yet another unfortunate conclusion.

Namjoon’s car was quiet except the pattering of the rain against the vehicle. You had not said a word and neither had he. Perhaps it was your stiff posture and miserable expression that told him to back off. Thankfully, it was a short ride to your dorm.

But a doomful emptiness welcomed you when you reached into your pocket for the usual key to said dorm.

It was missing.

And Kat was at school and wouldn’t be back till hours later.

Namjoon watched carefully as your face dropped and hand frantically grasp around your (empty) pocket.

“Oh no~” He whined in a fake tone of concern that barely masked his grin of delight. “Did you lose something?”

You glared at him but huffed, “I don’t have my key.”

“Whatever shall you do?” Namjoon was really bad at acting, even his dimples were on display as he tried his best to pull off looking sorry.

“I’ll wait until my roommate comes back.” It was unrealistic as Kat wouldn’t be back until much later and that’s a lot of time to spend just sitting outside your front door, but he didn’t have to know that.

“Y/n, don’t be stupid.” he chuckled and before you could reach over to open your door, you felt him pull out of the parking lot.

“Hey! What the fuck?! Stop this car right now!” You growled and watched in horror as he crruised into the main road.

“No, you’re coming to my place.”

Namjoon’s apartment was far too big for one single person.

It was yet another high-rise penthouse that was doused in expensive furniture and decor that somehow managed to be brutally pricey while also being overly minimalistic. Blacks and greys seemed be colors fond to Namjoon’s heart and you briefly got flashbacks of a certain bunny-smiled fuckboy…

Just what did the brothers have against color?

Did it come with the territory of being rich?

Were dark colors the only thing allowed in their aesthetic?

The layout of the apartment was a bit more complex than Jungkook’s home. When one entered the apartment, you were in a small corridor that eventually lead to a living area (complimented with a bar and fireplace) while next to it was an open kitchen area. You spotted a smaller hallway beside the kitchen but you didn’t bother asking what the other rooms were, though you counted three. Before one could get into the hallway, one would have to pass a staircase that lead to an upper level of the residence.

Your time of inspecting the space was cut short as Namjoon gestured for you to follow him.

He lead you up the stairs, and you noted with small surprise that the whole second floor was just his massive bedroom.

He began talking and walked around the area comfortably, lazily unclasping his rolex watch and tossing it onto one of the bedside tables.

“I have some extra sweats in the third drawer down over there. You can wear those and I’m sure you can find an extra t-shirt in the drawer above it. I have netflix and hulu and whatever the fuck you kids watch these days. Not that youtube red bullshit though.” he explained before he began pulling his tie off.

You made your way over to the drawer that he had refenced, pride being easily outweighed by the alluring comfort of over-sized sweats and a t-shirt. You spotted a doorway leading to a connected bathroom, so after you gathered the clothes you made way to dress there.

When you returned back to the bedroom, Namjoon was nowhere to be seen.

You didn’t quite care. Instead you hopped into the bed and climbed under the covers, moaning as you did so due to the cloud-like softness of the matress and the gentle threading of the expensive sheets.

You rolled over but felt the hardness of a remote halt your movement.

You grasped at the object and used it to light the giant flat screen across from the bed to life. It didn’t take long until you found a movie to entertain you.

You were about 10 minutes into Ratatouille (cheering the old hag on as she shot up some rats) when you heard weighted foot steps approach up the stairs.

Stubbornly you kept your gaze on the film, not addressing the male as he climbed into the other side of the bed with you.

“So, are you going to talk about what happened today?”

“I think I finally snapped.” You deadpanned, purposely avoiding further details.

“I’m going to take the freedom to assume that you’re meerely referencing a bad day and not a murder or something.” He rumbled, causing you to shoot him a glare.

Namjoon had a way of speaking that was amazingly condescending, yet it was not the tangible type of rude (as in the type that you could call out). It was very clever, as if he was explaining something to a child and not a grown woman, it was amicable enough to slip under the radar but the symboliminal passive aggressiveness was also evident to anyone willing to pay attention.

You huffed and flipped to your side, curling up and closing your eyes as you let the stressful weight on your eyelids win its’ battle.

“Are you going to tell me about the brother you ‘dropped’?” He pushed, not at all affected by your show of bratiness.

“Your toddler asshole brother was talking about me to his other fuck boy allies.” You informed him, eyes still closed and ignoring the sting in your heart at the foul memory.

“I’m not the one to say ‘I told you so’ but I’m pretty sure I expressed that you needed a man and not a boy.” After saying this, you felt his larger and warm form curl behind you. One of his lengthy arms circled around your waist and pulled you into his firm chest.

“I need money.” you said, strategically not favoring the ‘man’ or the ‘boy’ as it was not a relationship so much as a business transaction. You then instinctively breathed in his foriegn cologne that somehow smelled aristocratic. You found his smell to be very soothing, and very ‘Namjoon’. Is it possible for certain scents to just scream money?

“I make my own wealth while Kook has to rely on his trust fund.”

You snorted at this and allowed your body to melt into his, exhaustion being harder to keep at bay.

Silence spilled onto the bed after that, the only sound being the french music of the Ratatouille movie sounding from the high-tech speakers. The world became flooded in darkness and the only stimulation you were able to experience was the feeling of Namjoon’s nose running up and down your neck, his breath ghosting the skin and leaving goosebumps in its’ wake.

A warm glow of vulnerability blossomed from your stomach as you curled closer to Namjoon’s side, a touch starved mammal was all you could bring yourself to identify with in that moment. You didn’t quite care that cuddling was a tad too intimate for your tastes, you were far too tired and simply appreciated the protective hold he had you in. It lulled you to sleep and calmed the nerves that had been abusing you all day.

You just hoped he wouldn’t read too into it or bring it up to the others.

It would be a shame if another Jungkook situation happened again.

With that though, you fell into a deep sleep.

Dreaming of baguettes and cold hard cash.

“What the fuck do you mean he found out?”

“How should hell should I know?”

“Joon, you’re the closest to him. You can talk him out of this.”

“It’s out of my hands. Once he’s made his mind up, nothing could change it.”

These were the words you heard pull you out of your slumber.

The voices started out muffled but became more coherent as you became more aware. You pulled yourself from the dark comfort of sleep and opened your eyes to investigate the intrusive sounds.

You groggily sat up and glanced around the bedroom, only to discover it was completely empty and dark; the television no longer on and Namjoon no longer present. This meant that the voices were coming from downstairs, you could see the light from below and the sounds of pacing occuring in the living room.

You yawned and stretched before slowly getting up from the bed to lean over the railing.

Namjoon was pacing beside the wall-sized glass while three other people were sat on the enormous sofas, faces not clear due to the sky-view that only allowed you to make out the tops of their heads.

“Well, it’s not for us to decide really. Y/n would have to make up her own mind about it. We can’t force anything.”

The light-hearted and soft spoken tone was easily deduced to be Hoseok.

And at the mention of your name you decided to waltz down the steps, all too eager to involve yourself in the phantom conflict you were somehow associated with.

At your approaching figure, all their heads snapped towards you.

Seokjin, Yoongi and Hoseok all widened their eyes at the sight of you.

“What the fuck is she doing here?” Yoongi growled, glaring at Namjoon with his piercing black eyes.

“Princess, did Joon force you here or something?” Jin favored to focus on you, eyes roaming up and down your figure in search of any evidence of harm.

You shook your head in response to Jin and directed your attention to Namjoon, who was furiously shaking his head in decline to the foul implication of him trapping you here.

“Okay so...what were you guys talking about? Who found out what and how do I have anything to do with it?” You asked while casually plopping yourself between Yoongi and Hoseok, noticing the way they grimaced at the clothes you were wearing (belonging to their brother).

“Nevermind that honey. Have you eaten yet? Do you want us to uber eats you something?” Hoseok’s attempt to divert the subject matter was laughable enough to make you roll your eyes.

“I’m fine thank you. Now onto the decision I supposedly have to make.” You watched as the brothers awkwardly exchanged glances, obviously caught off guard and not knowing how to dampen your interest in the clearly sensitive issue.

“Babe why don’t you tell them about the Kook situation.” Namjoon prompted, causing the three brothers to raise eyebrows at you. You scoffed at Joon and shook your head.

“I’d rather address the ordeal you guys were talking about before I came down.”

“Yn, it’s not often that I give a shit so please don’t take my words lightly; you’re gonna wanna stay out of this shit-show.” Yoongi told you with that deep voice of his, face unusually somber in contrast to his usual aloof expression.

“Well now I have to know.” You groaned. If it was enough to make Yoongi on edge then it must’ve been a serious matter. Your interest was peaked and you couldn’t help the need to know what the fuck was going on.

“Y/n, why don’t we wait ‘til later to talk about it? We still have to tell our other brothers and figure out the details. I wouldn’t want to give you half the story.” Jin said this with a kind smile, a dazzling show that he must frequently use on women to make them bend to his wishes.

You huffed a breathless chuckle and stood up.

“Tell me now or I will walk home and never speak to any of you, I swear on everything holy!”

“Being a brat won’t get you anywhere.” Namjoon frowned, as he always did when any disobedience was shown on your side.

“How long are you going to use that threat?” Yoongi drawled.

“Guys, lets just tell her.” Hoseok pleaded with the others, always one to submit to any demands.

“Fine, but don’t force her into anything. This isn’t the only option. We could always work around this.” Jin sighed.

“Yn….our dad was informed by various employees that we had an altercation during your job interview.” Namjoon ran a hand through his hair and plastered on a look of despair (an expression that didn’t fit his powerful aura). “He has requested that he meets with all of us.”

“What does that have to do with me? Is he an evil mob boss or something?”

“.....Our dad is a very….terrifying man.” Hoseok said, face also downcast.

Yoongi took it upon himself to finish your unanswered question.

“And it includes you because he told us to bring you along.”

1K notes · View notes

agl03 · 4 years

Note

Can you do a breakdown of everyone few episodes of season 7 like big things you think will happen

Hi Anon,

Not much has changed since I did the big breakdown when we were able to find the ‘leaked’ titles. However, please bear in mind the only two we are 100% confident on are 1 and 13. I’ll repost it here and add anything that might have popped into

1. The New Deal

Aired at D23. Cliffnotes Mack, Robo Coulson, Daisy, and Deke have to save Freddy Malick from being kill by the Chronicoms.

2. Know your Onions

Well this is one of those weird titles that makes little sense. There is a song by The Shins But its also a saying for being very knowledgeable about something. So this is where we’re really going to see Robo Coulson really showing how invaluable to this. Also might speak to the learning curve the team is facing with all the new stuff. Also a good chance we at least get a glimpse of FItz here before he disappears for a bit.

Written By Craig Tiltey AKA the OUT OF THE BOX dude. He’s given us great episodes like 4722 Hours, Uprising, personal fave Hot Potato Soup, Rewind, and SPACE VEGAS!

3. Alien Commies from the Future

Well the Chronicoms take over some Russians or they think they are Russian, people were pretty paranoid back then. And I’ll put the time period they visit here anywhere between the 50′s and 80′s due to the “commies” reference. Good chance we’ll see lots of Military here based on who is already in IMDB. This may also be when we see Enver show up…or two…depends on where they go after saving Freddy. Also trying not to think of Killer Clowns from Outer Space here.

I throw in this could be where we could see Stoner.

Written by the Zuckermans have given us episodes Lockup, Boom, A LIfe Spent, Option Two, Code Yellow, and This Sign. They do have a decent amount of Philinda under their belts so this could be where we see May on a mission with Robo Coulson for the first time.

4. Out of the Past

Well something from someone one the teams past is likely going to come back to haunt them here. And it also might tie into the 1947 movie bearing the same name about a small town gas station that has his life turned upside down when figures from his past return. So they’ll be going for someone who ‘got out” and now is being pulled back in.

This would be the first opening I see for Afterlife and those involved in it to come into play.

Written by Mark Leitner, relatively new to the writing team he did Inside Voices and Toldja.

5. A Trout in the Milk

Guys I swear my google history for this show. Another title based on a saying. The meaning is that although you did not see the dairy farmer do it, he most probably dipped the milk pail in the stream to water down the product. It’s not direct evidence but a very strong circumstantial case.It is attributed as follows: “Some circumstantial evidence is very strong, as when you find a trout in the milk. ‘ (Henry David Thoreau)

So the team will have strong evidence on something but can’t be 100% on it. This could speak to who they feel the Chronicoms are after, if there is a traitor in their midst (its an annual tradition after all), or this could be where something could be wrong with Fitz and Jemma is starting to worry more/pick up on it.

Written by Iden Baghadadchi also relatively new she’s done Rise and Shine aka Hale’s Back story and squee inducing we are invincible and Collision Course Part II.

6. Adapt or Die

Raise your hand if this SCREAMS when we are gonna see Ward/Hydra again! Because he said that a few times when he was discussing why he followed Hydra. I just have no idea WHAT Ward we are dealing with…preturn Ward, Hydra Head Ward, Squidward (yay I got to use it again).

If not Ward someone has to adjust to the new situation and fast in order to survive. This could speak to someone being captured, gone under cover, or something out of left Field. Knowing who the writer is…could me buckle up for some Fitzsimmons feels people.

If it is heavy Fitzsimmons, this could be the where we learn more about “we had time” and possibly the Secret Child Theory gets some legs. Adapt or Die could also speak to Fitzsimmons having to drastically change their lives in order to survive and move forward saving the others and the world.

Written by DJ Doyle…and a favorite with Fitzsimmons fans as he has given us some of the most iconic Fitzsimmons moments. Past credits include The Things We Bury, Melinda, Purpose in the Machine, Many Heads on Tale, The Team, Deals with Our Devils, INESCAPABLE!!!!!Also worth pointing out the sixth episode of each season has a history of being big FItzsimmons Episodes.

7. The Totally Excellent Adventures of Mack and the D

OMG are we getting a Bill and Ted esque Mack and Deke Team up. EEEEEEEEE!!!!! I do believe this is where we are going to get “The closest thing to a Musical Episode the show will ever do” and Deke in the Red Leather pants Chloe talked about.

Bring on the 80′s/90′s nostalgia folks. I don’t even care what is happening this one is gonna be awesome. Also considering the writer we need to be on the lookout for a FItznapping….this is the dude who has written most of them.

Written by Brent Fletcher who has done some major major episodes. The Dirty Half Dozen, Closure, Broken Promises, Farewell Cruel World (IE thank goodness we are FINALLY out of the Framework), FUN & GAMES, Space Vegas, and New Life.

8. After Before

I wanna lean flashback here and this could be another option where we get some answers from Jemma as to what happened during “we had time” and the fallout from that. It could also speak to a comparison or a change in someone, a play on a “Before and After” King of Reveal. Once again the writers lean towards something happening on the FItzsimmons front as they are the other resident Married couple with Jed/Mo on the writing team.

Also worth noting this is the first episode that Enver is in IMDB in so they’ll need to go back in time to meet up with him and I think they’ll find him at a point well after Agent Carter had ended. Meaning there could be some critical early days of Shield backstory here as well.

Written by James and Sharla Oliver they’ve done Paradise Lost, The Patriot, The Honeymoon.

9. As I have Always Been

Episode LIL Directed…YAY!

Clark said this was one of his favorites of the season.

Lil directing means Jemma will be light in both it and 8.

This screams something to do with Enoch to me (like i hear him saying it when i read it), its pretty much what he said to Fitz before he gassed him. In the trailer we see Enoch seemingly getting left behind as the the Zephyr Jumps away, stranding him in time. It also means if we lose sight of him for a bit we might need to be concerned about him getting co opted by the evil Chronicoms and used against the team. It should also be said that Enoch was on the planet for centuries, it could be only a matter of time before they come across his past self.

I feel this could also speak to Robo Coulson doing some soul searching about who he is now and coming to terms with the whole LMD thing.

Written by Drew Greenberg, another one of the long time heavy hitters. Dirty Half Dozen, Who you Really Are, Absolution, Wake Up, All the Comforts of Home, and Leap.

10. Stolen

Well this screams someone getting kidnapped and/or having their memories messed with. It could also speak to an item stolen or stolen time. This is the point where we really could see Fitz coming back into the mix more. This is also the point in the Season where everything typically starts to go to poop and the team suffers a major loss.

Targets for kidnapping for me are Robo Coulson as he’s what Shield has been using to keep ahead of the Chronicoms. Fitz because well it’s Fitz and he’s in hiding for a reason. Enoch to be used against the team.

Also worth noting this is the last episode that Enver is listed in IMDB for.

Written by Mark Leitner who is completely new to the writing team. However vet George Kitson (yes the one they named Kitson after) did the screenplay.

11. Brand New Day

So I think that just like in Season 6, Episode 10′s Stolen is going to be a real kick in the teeth to the team. In Leap they lost Davis, Piper shot her had, Sarge’s true self really got released, Izel escaped with the “monoliths”, and Mack and Elena were kidnapped. Out of the Ashes was the team picking themselves back up and starting to fight back.

Brand New Day also represents new beginnings and a fresh start. So after suffering a major loss in 10, they are gong to pick themselves up, regroup, and fight back. But this all but confirms someone is getting kidnapped in 10 for me….looking at Robo Coulson and Fitz still.

Written by Christopher Fryer he’s another new writer but based on IMDB has been on the production team for a bit.

12. The End is at Hand

Yeah that is not ominous at all. And just like The Sign this season hold onto your hats because its going to be a major run up to the end. I’m fully expecting a two hour series finale event.

The Chronicoms and if a new baddie is in the mix will have their plan in full motion (I fell like the we need to save this point in history kind of thing will be abandoned in favor of something bigger and scarier), the team will be scattered, some could be prisoners, and my stress level will be through the roof.

Expect it to end on an insane note just as The Sign did (with May being killed).

Written by Jeff Bell. As doom and gloom and generally no fun he can be in interviews he has given us some amazing/huge episodes and his last one shouldn’t be any exception. It may be worth nothing he has a knack for putting Fitz/Fitzsimmons in danger. Previous credits include 084, Ragtag, What They Become, SOS 1, Maveth, Good Samaritan, World’s End, Real Deal, and Collision Course Part 1.

13. WHAT WE’RE FIGHTING FOR

Pause for screaming with @eclecticmuses because this THIS is what we wanted from that first tease!

It’s the PERFECT title for a final episode and all cards are going to be on the table here. I feel like not only will the team be fighting to save the world as usual but every single one of them is going to have a more personal stake in the game.

They are literally going to be fighting for THEIR futures as well. Perhaps even their Past, Presents, and Futures depending on horrible plan they are trying to stop.

There is only one I am willing to theorize on right now because I don’t know what character arcs are coming and how things could change over the season for a lot of the characters. FItzsimmons. They are going to be fighting for their future, their family, their happily ever after. Come on Secret Kid Theory!

This is going to be action packed, major fight scenes, emotional as all get out as 7 seasons come to a close. Their will be wins, their will be losses. Mack is going to give an epic speech before he falls (sorry still don’t think he makes it) and Daisy will rally the team after he does.

Piper is back!

Written by Jed who has had his hand in every episode and penned some of the biggest ones.

#aos spoilers #aos speculation #ask agl03 #all the titles #maybe

23 notes · View notes

unproduciblesmackdown · 5 years

Text

weird to think back on things like the funky experience of being The All A’s/B’s gang and then The All A’s person during middle school and the Smart Kid designation cuz we all have a godawful time within the k-12 education system and also in Higher Education / academia as well and the setup isn’t like, good for anyone though natch between the “lack of attention / occasional positive attention” and “frequent / negative attention” ends of the experience the former is preferable; apparently weird to have been Good Student passing b/c again idk i have good retention and could memorize shit in homeroom for a quiz that day and that was great b/c actually i had godawful / nonexistent study habits and actually basically hated school and did anything last minute and all but like whatever, i could figure out / understand and remember shit more efficiently / faster than usual so like, idk, i’d get wild results ig. and anyways yeah Smart Kid throughout all of k-12 but like, although i don’t think i’m Not smart in any way, it’s like, but no i hated school and never really tried, that inferred correlation wasn’t there but like also there’s the weird Presumed Identity for you. and it Was weird b/c idk i was like, okay? “perpetually nebulous / imprecise / uncertain sense of identity” gang out here and i’m like hmm okay Am i “the good grades getter?” and then apparently you are cuz like welp that’s the Expectation, and also in my case i was also in the “oops let’s minimize ptsd party” gang of Gotta Get As/Bs motivation..............the point is like, it’s funny how despite that concept of what The A’s Getter is, by now i’m like oh but that’s not even like, my Main Thing, much less my Whole thing. my main thing is that i get wildly interested and passionate about stuff and when i’m really about shit i’m So about it and into it and all that yknow. and it’s like, would be cool if i hadn’t had to like, first fight past this arbitrary Assigned Box to even start to figure out what i’m Really like. but Schools aren’t out here about like allowing for people to be varied individuals and shit. plus, weirdly i’m not sure if i hadn’t had that “Positive” Label to supplant any others that my autistic ass would’ve been largely left alone as much as it generally was............even I didn’t get through middle school w/o some light bullying peppered in there but hey for the most part i got by. and like, i remember 15 was a time for a wild Agonizing Spike cuz that was the point i was having to try to settle on a college major and i was like bitch i don’t know!!! for starters how is every 19 / 20 y.o supposed to know!!! but like litchrelly a year and a half ago my ass was in middle school and barely had any opportunities to individually choose what to pursue, and even if i Had an interest i would sometimes assume if it didn’t seem like The Smart Kid choice i would just assume that like, my interest would only be Allowed to go so far. so yeah i’m 14-15 for the first time having a little breathing room and allowed to pick out my own shit and investigate various stuff (cuz of the luck of getting to live on campus aka parents are Not around and i can be around for more than just Classes) and yet like, that wasn’t enough time to suddenly Fully Realize The Whole Of My Own Identity And What My Actual Passions And Life Goals And Etc Are. plus i kinda remember that i figured i’d flunk out and so was kinda Not spending freshman year expecting to actually be able to do this college thing.....so yeah i always distinctly remember the Stress of sophomore year with this Timer counting down of “gotta declare a major oh god” and trying somehow to Realize What I’m Even Like (i did partially lmao outside of the Academic aspect of it) and obviously like, that’s a Lot.......................plus it was kind of doomed anyways cuz i do remember that when i even mentioned the fact of like “hey what if i majored in ______ [cuz i’m evidently actually like thinking social issues are what i’m thinking i could dedicate my attention to, i’m 15 idk trying to figure this shit out]” and it got immediately brushed off cuz of my mom’s assumptions about what i was like based on my being Smart(tm) and my not wanting to tell my parents about anything Actually about myself by that point so that was like..........well cool to know that that’s not an option for me anymore thanks to immediate dismissal........................like i totally remember that by sophomore year i was def Swiss Idol and “i don’t have a clue what to major in” was a big part of that 9_9...............and like, doing college early is kinda crazy but also Not having high school to mayyyybe figure things out for a bit before hurtling towards Declare Major at 92384 mph is like, would it have helped? who can say. but for example, i know Now i’m a theatre gay, and the limited number of friends-ish i made at college was basically all theatre gays what a surprise, but i myself didn’t ever touch that because i had No direct experience with it, because middle school didn’t have that extracurricular, and then being dropped into hs with people who did? i was like fuck i’m not auditioning for shit i really don’t know how to do. i’m not even Supposed To Be Here goddamn!! i can karaoke avpm in the first floor lounge that’s IT!! fuckin r.i.p. but i mean also i Know high school is it’s own fuckin mess that’s hardly like “flourish as individuals!!” all a sudden. like how i don’t know if i’d’ve been “solid B’s” gang if i would’ve had more room to just figure out my own shit earlier, or if things would’ve been even More miserable cuz of my replacement Type being something more frowned upon cuz weird loser was def waiting in the wings............and then of course Smart Kid expectation constraints wasn’t hardly the only issue in holding back that “oh wait but what am i like *Actually*” process cuz if i was in high school i would’ve been around my parents every day and That was just as much if not more a hindrance in figuring myself out. like going to college may have been useful in that yes i did learn shit but if nothing else i am glad for it b/c the strides i made in “god damn i have to get away from these people (my parents lmfao)” and knowing at least that i’m not Like what THEY thought i was like was E ssen tial Knowledge..........but anyhow like the point of looking back on this shit isn’t to figure out How To Have Run The Perfect Course cuz obviously what’s the point in imagining as broad a what-if, but it’s good for Understanding shit currently..........like oh yeah this crap probably Affected me!! and you gotta know the history to understand the present...............it’s just really wild how like, Passion and (rarely activated) Energy And Intense Interest is like, what i consider my Thing now, and that was like. not what i ever heard anyone else tell me that’s what i’m Like, like, ever basically. i mean not that i don’t think i’m Not smart. it’s just like, not my whole thing and it just kinda feels more incidental, right. What If the whole time i’d been able to pursue whatever i felt like is a wiiiiiiiild question i don’t even know. there’s been so Little of that that’s its absolutely off the shits to be able to put together “oh right i’ve been a theatre gay all along” and “actually i Have performed on stage a decent number of times and supremely thrived in those experiences and i Know i was interested cuz i wished like (@ my family: dni)” and have this very simple (and thus far unusable) Knowledge about something i actually like and am interested in, cuz for the most part it’s [??? ?? ? ?? ???]

on a shorter but related note: the Camaraderie i feel with everyone in the “either has or wants to or would even seriously consider Cutting Ties with parent/s" gang and like, always very Interested in the various experiences within this v broad category. cuz there are so many factors playing into Why you’re in this group and then there’s so many factors in regards to whether someone actually feels able to ditch a ‘rent or two, and then beyond that, all the factors in whether someone’s actually able to............like, knowing that it’s never “lucky” to have to be in this group in the first place, i fairly am Lucky about it in many ways cuz, first of all, lucky to have been able to actually execute [eff off from parents] maneuver, and lucky to get to Know that’s what i totally needed to do........we are all Valide in how we try to deal with relations w/ parents that are so bad you even have to think about “maybe i have to Not Have This Person In My Life At All” and like, when people are dealing with that but Don’t feel they have the option to truly cut that parent or two out of their life, that’s like, well as someone who once felt that way and can Empathize and yet also had these Factors Line Up which let me peace out which aren’t factors that are in play for everyone (as well as a lack of other factors which Are relevant for others and which might mean Leaving Behind Parent/s 5eva isn’t an option they’d consider) it’s like Oh wow, let me hear more about that experience. tldr the camaraderie

oh and ps. it’s funny how like, in my post-being-in-school life, i thiiiiiiiink people usually probably assume i’m Kinda Dumb if anything. cuz the Grades don’t exist anymore but i’m still autistic!!!!! which is another wild factor in thinking about like “well what if [some aspect of my life] had been entirely different, hmmm” cuz it’s like. well i’d’ve still been autistic lmao..............the Social shit has like, been an issue even before the other usual shit in school cuz i Knew i wasn’t fitting in at preschool when all we were doing was like, learning colors and going outside. and it always was a bit distressing to me Never really having more than a couple friends and even then not that close or anything, right? and also how i’d try to Fix this with various strategies and trying out different situations like “oh well i’m not putting myself out there i’ll put myself out there” [tries it and it half-backfires] or “well if i’m spending a weekend with people who know me from Online they’re gonna like me for sure” [majority of ppl in a sub Friend Group i’m peripheral to and i’m intermittently stressed the whole time] “Ah Fuck” lmao and honestly only recently am i like oh right..............when you’re autistic socializing just in a very fundamental way is really like That*.................(*a way i can’t easily explain lmao)............like really just in mad recent times kind of realizing like, oh, okay, i don’t think i can ever Adjust My Approach and just suddenly become good at Easily Makes Friends and that kind of shit..............finally just kinda realizing like ohh right okay i really just do Not do “normal good conversation” like you’re supposed to and that’s just chill The Way It Is not necessarily “not good enough at it” way but It Just Is Different way like........yeah it can be Not Pointless to try to modify your social approach and that’s true for absolutely anyone, but like say, if i’m like oh if i simply get Better at [social interaction task] i will then finally be Good at it, it’s like, shit well that’s honestly just not how it works for me. like, #getting how after a point it’s like “okay learning to do [task] in a way that’s more [like this] is maybe gonna be better for Masking / seeming allistic but like, not for Actually giving me a social experience that’s more fulfilling for Me.” Plus, it’s like, i’m also way more (or okay at least As Much) socially limited by external factors, probably.

pps oh and also, tangentially related b/c Autistique, it’s wild how every time you delve into (something At All specific about autism) you’ll probably learn something Utterly new about autism which is like god damn this isn’t That niche why haven’t i heard this!! why do i have to know there are 538 other would-be “i should already know this” revelations waiting for me about this topic cuz you have to manage to dig up this stuff on your own and dodge all the unhelpful bullshit types of sites where it’s Not about info from people / for people who are autistic? please. it’s almost like this is a constant and important part of my identity that affects p much every aspect of my life and is helpful to hear others’ info about the collective experience of it b/c like, it’s literally all in your own head and you can’t just somehow Know the ways you’re different in that realm just from emergent traits you can pick up on and figure out. ugh!!!! anyways

this is LONG but NO readmore b/c eh. who am i if not [i hope everyone hates my blog this week.jpg] every week

#NOTHING could make me a ''good student'' lmfao low effort and procrastination FOREVER!!!!#i studied a little bit the night before for my driving exam AND the sats........did gr8 on both b/c the devil's watching out for me #I Shouldn't Be Alive title card #but anyways i WILL tag this #long post ///#oh and you KNOW the same source got me thinking abt all this these past couple days......u_u #anyways at this point i am like lmao oh yeah i'm Not easy to interact with! and i usually don't find it easy to interact w/ everyone!#that's how it be on this bitch of an earth..

1 note · View note

napkinboy35-blog · 5 years

Text

Deciding on Starting A Pastime? Continue reading!

Each moment people begin a new hobby only for you to find them discard this in a week. Happen to be you someone who can certainly certainly not stay with a new pastime for too prolonged? Or perhaps anime could possibly are only looking for different tips that could spark your thoughts about new hobbies. Whatever the case, the content down below has a lot of fantastic hobby ideas that everyone can stick with. Don't limit your pastimes to what you have looked into in the former. Sometimes you need in order to press yourself in fresh instructions, and hobbies happen to be great for carrying out just simply that. In fact, attempt a little something out that an individual would have certainly not regarded just before. You may get surprised at how exciting the new hobby can be. A great leisure activity to have is to help find out the best way to cook. Anyone don't have to get doomed to be a good bad cook. It just takes a bit involving effort to get able to learn how to make a few nice dishes. Often the more teaches you watch plus cookbooks an individual read is going to definitely help you. While you are trying to find some sort of hobby, imagine things the fact that you enjoy. Would you like browsing fine art galleries? Do you like hearing to music? Or even, would you enjoy being outdoors? Finding out what you enjoy can easily help you select this type of hobby you should tackle. If anyone don't have a leisure activity yet that you enjoy doing, they have time for you to find one. The primary step to take finding often the perfect pastime to suit your needs is definitely to consider whether you want to do it alone or using a group. Either option features it is benefits and the risks. A good interest that is great way to relax is fishing. Simply find a fishing place and several supplies. If anyone require a permit or permit, get that. Once you're able to fish slightly you'll learn the fact that you can use it to get away coming from a new stressful day. Walking is a great pastime to have. Find various paths near your home and discover precisely what Mother Characteristics can offer. Find some friends, make a meal together with hike out for you to a good refreshments area. A great hobby to own if you like often the outdoors is trekking. Generally there are so numerous beautiful walks around the state. You can make time trips and devote them doing hikes. You'll get able to get a great deal of dynamics, and you will still end up being getting in the good workout simultaneously. Imagine about interests that can allow you to be actual money! Hobbies won't need to only burn openings within your pockets. They may actually fill your coffers as well. You can search into app development, website development, landscaping, gardening, and lots of various other hobbies where you could produce a few bucks. A fun hobby to help pick up is pictures. Many people are picking upwards photography right now because posting images upon social advertising web sites has become such a new huge thing. You could make your photos stand away extra by learning whole lot more about picture taking and producing it a activity regarding yours. If you enjoy to try out online video games in your outages, but happen to be hampered by way of the price, think about joining a video match ongoing service. These web sites permit you to pay the regular monthly fee in addition to then you can look at away a specified amount of games at the same time. This specific allows your leisure activity playing time to be a great deal less costly than when you are buying all of them. Nature watching is almost certainly the greatest hobby when you appreciate this natural environment, don't want to expend dollars and merely feel like soothing. Consider a blanket and sit back with the park or in your backyard. Acquire note of the particular parrots, chipmunks, squirrels as well as other pets or animals that surround an individual. A person will be surprised simply by the several critters that a person see about the everyday basis. If you are a sports junkie, think of collecting remembrances as a hobby. You can find all sorts of awesome things you can make way up from your favorite sports entertainment teams. Some may end up being antiques (like old hockey cards), while others is quite modern (like your favorite player's replica jersey). Really the fun way to help show your passion! When you have a enthusiasm for reading tend to be finding yourself getting hidden in them, think taking these to a local used book shop. You may sell used publications in order to get more room and then get quite a few more. Reading is one particular of the virtually all wonderful hobbies you can include. Test your hand at scrap-booking. For obtaining a new great deal of skill to start. Some households have found that will scrap books are incredibly simple projects for any age group. Even small little ones can take part in the particular creation of a scrapbook. Make books as presents for loved ones, plus for trying to keep family members remembrances to pass on. Look for news about your own personal pastime on the internet. This can be some sort of good way to settle alongside of any new regulations, developments and technologies. You could find out things quickly if you do a quick search for your pastime a couple of times a new 1 week. You can even have alerts, if you might like. Involve young kids around your interests. This can be a good way to bond with them. They might understand how to get engaged in your hobby, and it might become the hobby that they delight in themselves. If they obtain their unique hobbies, make sure to be supporting of which as well. If anime girl do certainly not already have a pastime, consider doing things you can make use of. Baking, candlepower unit making and even knitting are typical really great pastimes because you truly create something when you are done. You may use the items, sell these individuals and give them all as products to buddies and family members. Staying with a hobby can occasionally be extremely tricky scheduled to our hectic schedules. It doesn't have to be the fact when anyone have great tips like the one's in the preceding write-up. Incorporate these guidelines on hobbies to help you find that excellent the one which you will continue to be with for a long time!

1 note · View note

ardenttheories · 6 years

Note

What would be the perfect 12 person session, and would your classpect be apart of it?

Well! Here’s a basic rundown, followed by my reasoning behind them all:

Mage of Space, Knight of Rage, Thief of Breath, Sylph of Blood, Seer of Mind, Heir of Light, Maid of Hope, Witch of Doom, Prince of Void, Bard of Heart, Rogue of Time, Page of Life

You need to have a Space player and a Knight, almost immediately. It’s imperative to have both in order to breed the Frogs, but I don’t think combining both into one is a good idea (a Knight of Space would mean a lack of Space in the session, which is definitely bad).

What you really want, I think, is a Knight of Rage. A session that lacks Rage is a session that lacks negativity; it’s also a session with one hell of a fighter. Can you imagine someone who exploits Rage? Someone jacked up with adrenaline at all times, paranoid and fearful and anxious and living on the edge, never able to be taken down because they are always prepared, always cautious - and always able to send their enemies into a blind Rage that makes them easy pickings for everyone else.

Helping with the Frogs would require a Space player that’s more active than passive as a result. A Knight in my eyes is the passive player, though a Knight of Rage would be furious enough to lead the charge in any situation; so a dangerous quest for Frogs seems ideal. Having a Mage of Space - someone who knows literally everything there is to know about Space, beginnings, creation, pretty much the very core of SBURB and how to create the frogs almost off the bat - would be perfect in this situation, then.

Next, lets think about the Thief. As I said in an earlier post, I think a Thief represents what a session has too much of, as a way of replicating what a Knight shows a session lacks. It’s the active-passive binary that draws me to it so much, honestly. So what would you want a session to have too much of? Breath. Too many options, too much freedom, too much movement and flexibility - yes, it comes with too much detachment, but I have a solution for that, too. If we say that the Thief represents the concept of too much choice and freedom, then surely that means they’re guaranteed for success? That final end, the final reward, is the biggest freedom of them all! And it means there are several paths they could take to get there; really, all they need to do is figure out which path they like best and go down it.

So, how do you counteract the Thief’s representation of too much detachment? Sylph of Blood. Someone who is there to heal those broken frayed bonds, to keep everyone together, someone who spends their time ensuring everyone has someone else - they are essentially the glue that keeps the group together. A Sylph of Blood is a stubborn and compelling person to have in a team that might face division; in the end, they’d definitely strengthen the bonds of the team to such a degree that everyone was friends on such deeply profound terms that they’d act a bit like a closed group, needing nobody but each other and being happy for it.

Now, I said that because of the Thief, there’d also be a lot of options the players could work with, right? So naturally the best options to go for from here are the Mind and the Light players!

A Seer of Mind would be crucial for this session; someone who can see all the options laid before them, and direct the entire group down to the most beneficial path; guiding them, coercing them encouraging them, until eventually they even act themself and take a physical role in ensuring the team succeeds. There are plenty of ways they could do this, and essentially their goal is to do so in the most cost effective way possible. It would just make it easier on everyone else - especially with all of that freedom - to have someone to guide them, someone who can see what everyone will do and drift them towards whatever might be the best course of action.

An Heir of Light would be a good companion to the Seer of Mind. While the Seer takes care of the options, the Heir takes care of the information. They are pretty much drawn to information, to things of importance; they might stumble into a cave and just so happen to find something that ends up being crucial to their session. They’d analyse every piece of information the players uncover, and come up with the answer to the Ultimate Riddle in no time flat. Heck, they might even contact their Denizen well before they’re meant to, and complete their quest the fastest out of any of them, having understood through hints from the Consorts just what they were meant to do! Though they do have the issue of hyperfocusing on topics well beyond what they’re meant to, the Seer will help guide them back to a more useful path.

A Maid of Hope might be pretty useful, too! Though they’d start out a victim to the Sylph’s fussing and meddling, and suffer a severe setback due to it, they have plenty of time and the guidance of the Seer to help them figure out the path they’re meant to steer more towards - or perhaps just the aid of the Seer to get the Sylph off their back. Once they really come into their own, you’d have a session bursting with Hope. Joy, good feelings, love, positivity, the belief that they can do anything - the Maid can do it all. They can even help bring the group closer together if they believe in their abilities together enough, but most amazingly of all they can create whatever they truly believe in and make it real. So if the Maid truly, wholeheartedly believes that they’re all going to succeed and beat the game? Then by all means, that game is going to be beaten.

Next up, I think a Witch of Doom would pretty much be a requirement. While Witches rebel against their nature, and yes that means this one would rebel againast Doom, they also actively control it. Imagine a session where the Witch decides what does and doesn’t form a Doomed timeline, what does and doesn’t constitute a Doomed self. A session where the rules are made to be broken, where the concept of Prospit and Derse can be bent and twisted into something wholly beneficial. This might actually make the battle against the final bosses a doddle; something akin to how the trolls did their session, but with the ability to take out both monarchs and maybe even to unite Prospit and Derse under the universal banner of Skaia. No isn’t an answer to this Witch; if they want it to happen, it damn well will. Of course, morality is a big issue with Witches, but the Sylph and Seer will both ensure they don’t take it too far.

A Prince of Void could be a potentially positive influence on the players of the session, particularly in context of the Knight and Page. They destroy any secrecy, any hidden information and any lack of importance; they destroy the idea of meaninglessness and the concept of confusion or doubt. What better way for a Page to learn something than for the Prince to snarl it out in their face, give them something to chew over for a bit before trying, going beyond the advice of the Sylph and really pushing themself to do their best? What better way for anyone in the session to realise how important they are as part of the group than to have the Prince doggedly remind them of the machine that they’re part of, the role they’re going to take at the end? It might be overwhelming, yes, and I have no doubt some of the players would fear the Prince’s truths - and might also fear the Prince’s inability to keep any sort of secret - but being forced to see their own secrets is important, too. A Knight who realises they aren’t lacking, that they’re just filled with worries that have no logical basis, is a Knight who can progress much faster than usual. The Prince thus not only acts as an aid to the Heir of Light, but also as a way for faster development to occur in everyone else!

Surprising as it is, I think a Bard of Heart would be beneficial for the team. They need something to go wrong, someone to be some sort of challenge to them, to test their capabilities as a group and make several of the members interact with one another. A Bard of Heart would be good at this; someone who is initially laid back, allowing others to cover up their Heart, their personality, their Soul with their own loud voices, someone who is distanced and logical and rational to a fault. Someone who is unbiased and relaxed, going with whoever wants to take the lead at the time. Their Bard split would cause them to explode with emotion, to be ruled by their feelings beyond reason, to being so overwhelmingly passionate for something that they can barely handle it. The Prince would likely be the reason this event happens, revealing something the Bard didn’t want revealed, and the Sylph, Seer, and Maid would likely be the ones that have to carefully put back together the pieces of the Bard. It would be messy, oh hell it’d be messy, but it would open the eyes of the Prince to realise that they have to be careful with what they say, that their destruction can really hurt people, and it would challenge the people around them to scramble to help. Also? Imagine an irrational Bard of Heart running around screaming while everyone else seems to have some part to play in the grand scheme of things. It’s that little bit of weirdness every session needs.

Following this, a Rogue of Time would be a good addition. This session has so much going for it, someone who struggles with the concept of The End, but eventually comes to understand that it’s not actually something to be scared about, would help edge everyone closer and closer to the final reward. A Rogue stealing Time to give everyone else a chance to breathe, to work on what they need to, to recover from everything that’s happened, to enjoy their good times - it’s what they need to keep the session going, to stop everyone from falling apart under the stress of it all. The Rogue, too, needs to learn that you can enjoy those moments even if you know it all has to end - can enjoy those moments even more because of it - and in general that would make the experience of SBURB a significantly more pleasant one. People would still have the Time to develop, to grow, to be themselves - and it would stop them from rushing through the session so blindingly fast that they beat the game before they can learn what they’re all meant to.

Which leaves the Page of Life! I’ll admit, this one came down to last man standing, but Rogue of Time fit so well that this is what we have left. A Page of Life means initial struggles, yes, but also a powerful player with a wealth of… well, just about everything. Money, ambition, growth, Life itself - at the end of the day, the Page of Life gets it all, and encourages the others around them to take part as well. It limits the harm the Sylph can really do, since a Page of Light struggles with temptations and, well, the Sylph might actually help with that! Reminding them of the importance of their bonds and ensuring their bonds with the rest of the group are strengthened will probably lead the Page to a slightly earlier development. Still late compared to everyone else, yes, but earlier than most Pages would see. This is the person of the group who clumsily hoards every item of value until they finally figure out what it’s all for, and then puts each one to perfect use. Plus, this goes again with the concept of breaking rules - so someone the Witch might get on well with, and someone who could reign them in! If nothing else, the Page might act as the moral example the Witch follows, seeing them progress from someone who bumbles through power and wealth as the underdog, bound to the rules but pretending that they’re free of them, before actually breaking through - breaking the rules, but without destroying them entirely. It would be good to balance the Witch out, I think, and prevent any catastrophic issues.

And after all of that, to answer your last question; nope! My classpect isn’t there at all. I’m a Page of Hope, which I did consider, but not in enough depth to really choose for the list.

#long post// like. really long holy shit #ardenttheories #classpects #olive-bloods #session breakdown

38 notes · View notes

couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name · 6 years

Text

Valentine’s Day Looks For Lonely Old Maids Wishing To Be Courted!

HEY guys! So I was gonna do a ~vlog~ type deal here but I unexpectedly lost my voice, which was probably God telling me not to do this, but I chose to ignore that message. Anyway, Valentine‘s Day is creeping up on us like it does every year, and seems like every day I see another new VDay Date night makeup tutorial put out into the world by the lovely beauty vloggers. But it got me thinking- what about people who are single on Valentine’s Day? All the guys, gals and people in between who were unable to score a date? Plenty of people go out of their way to try and feel nice on Valentine’s Day, right? Right. Do those people not deserve their own tutorial? So, I present to you: Looks for a Valentine’s Day All Alone.

Now, I don’t normally wear makeup, actually, because, well- I trust we’re all familiar with the term ‘putting lipstick on a big’? I happen to bring new, exciting, and literal definitions to that phrase. But if I go to a party or a holiday shindig I’ll put a little on, and Valentine’s Day is no different. I want the illusion of feeling nice, you know? Even though makeup isn’t an everyday thing for me, I haven’t felt the love of another human person in over two decades, so I really think I’m the best person to walk you through the looks today. I’m a pro at lonely Valentine’s Days. So, here’s how we started:

Average, but workable. I made sure to pull my hair out of my face. Now, I’m gonna go step-by-step here for the looks achieved, so feel free to follow along!

All the VDay makeup styles I’ve seen so far have been eye-popping and phenom and all, but that’s not the look we’re going for today. We’re single old maids, remember? We need subtly on our side to draw someone in, because they won’t be expecting it. A sweet, subdued look that subconsciously screams ‘please marry me immediately and support me financially as I write the Next Great American Novel’. That’s what we’re going for today. Now, most people start off with foundation, so apply that now if you want- I personally opted out on account of my foundation is three (3) shades darker than my actual skin, because I don’t go into the sun and therefore have an unhealthy complexion they can’t match in stores, and also because I only use it in stage shows so I don’t appear faceless. So, anyway, I started out with the eye shadow:

I went for that nice light pink and the sparkly brown next to it to create my Look. They worked quite nicely together, and the sparkle didn’t overpower the ‘marriage-material-girl-next-store’ vibes. After I applied it all I tried to take pictures to show it off, but the lighting in my house was against us. But I promise it was cute, and I’m sure whichever colors you’ve selected for yourself look cute as well! I also just used some of the eyeshadow to add to my brows- I don’t like, ever bother with them because in all honesty I don’t usually need to, but they haven’t been touched up in a bit so I figured what the hell. Anyway, let’s move onto mascara!

I had two options to pick from- a volume-specific mascara or the bare minerals. I’ve heard great things about the bare minerals brand, but a couple years ago I had said something to the effect of ‘I don’t see the point in glue on eyelashes, that would make me so nervous’ and my friend Annika immediately said ‘Molly, do you even have eyelashes?!?! You should love those things!’ and sometimes I still think about that if I’m having a bad day, so I opted for the bigger volume kind.

Make sure to be CAREFUL when applying! I’ll never forget 8th grade graduation when my friend let her mom do her makeup and she got straight up stabbed by the mascara wand. Her eye was completely red for the whole ceremony and reception. You don’t need that alone on Valentine’s Day, honeys.

Now, this is the part where most people apply winged eyeliner, and I literally love that style to the ends of the earth, but one time a makeup artist took my face in her hands and begged me to never touch eyeliner because my eyes are apparently too damn small for it to look good, so I just don’t have it. Absolutely add it to your look if you want, though! I can’t imagine it would take away from the sweet simplicity too much. Onto lipstick!

I had three super cute shades to pick from- the one on the left, I adore, but I felt it was too strong a shade for our Simple Look. The pink was lovely, shy but popping, the perfect Valentine’s Day color! But when I wear it, I’m forced to physically confront my fears that I’m slowly turning into my mother and am cursed to live out her life, and I figured we already have enough issues to deal with being alone and unloved on Valentine’s Day, why bother to throw that one in too, you know? But the red on the right? Perfect! It’s a great, fun shade by a brand I’ve literally never heard of before, but the shade is nice on me, There might be a little glitter in there, but ignore that, because it’s not actually part of the lipstick, there was just an incident on the floor of a train station bathroom on New Years Eve and we’re still dealing with the repercussions. Don’t worry about it! Just pick a nice VDay shade that’ll draw the attention of your dinner delivery person!

The application has to be precise, kids, because cleaning it up and wiping it off can be a real female dog. We don’t need any more stress than we already have, being alone and unloved on Valentine’s Day.

And look at that! That’s not the face of a girl who’s doomed to become her mother! That’s the face of a girl who’s going to sit on her couch watching MTV’s Catfish while telling herself she’s gonna marry a doctor someday. You know, when I was a kid my mother was always so quick to lay on the praise, to assure me that I’d be rich and successful and happy as an adult. These days, she’s all about me finding a rich husband. All the time, it’s ‘we need to get you a rich husband so you can be taken care of and have a lot of babies!’ And like, would I mind if that’s how the future played out? No, absolutely not, it’d be great. But like….what happened? When did she loose her faith in me? What made her give up? If I can’t be trusted to make a name for myself, how can I be trusted to find the Rich Husband I deserve? I look like a twelve year old, do you know how hard it is to get men to seriously flirt with you when you’ve got my face? Sometimes girls will flirt with me, but before I can a chance to even decide if I’m into it or not my mom appears from the shadows, apparently doesn’t read any of the Vibes going on, and effectively kills the moment. She’s a total cockblocker considering how much she wants grandchildren. And even she’s not giving me a pity Valentine’s Day card this year…

So anyway! This is the Fun part of the night alone! You look cute, you’ll probably goof around and take some selfies, selfies you think in the moment are gorgeous and not even like you and the pinnacle of human beauty, post them online to make it look like you have a life but then you’ll delete them tomorrow when you realize they got no likes. Here’s what they may look like for you:

But….we’ve reached That part of Valentine’s Day Single

You start to grow disillusioned with everything. Why were you even bothering with this? You aren’t going to get a rich spouse, you aren’t even going to get laid. All you’re going to get is a pity smile from the Chinese Food Delivery Guy when he drops off General Tso Chicken for one. Screw this, right? You head to the kitchen

Make sure you grab the PINK wine, because it’s still festive and you’re desperately hoping to feel any sort of enjoyment out of the holiday still!

You’ll chug for as long as you can. Make sure to be careful, though! Don’t want to mess up your lipstick!

This brand I’m using is dead awful, by the way- the label implies it’s made by reindeer pissing into a bottle, and I’m pretty sure that’s an apt way to describe the taste. But it’s pink and festive!!! And besides, the good red wine is GIVEN to people who DESERVE it. It’s saved for dates and sex and romance and relaxation. Why waste it on some nobody who’s gonna waste away alone? Keep the bottle with you.

Time to shift into our second look for the night!!!

So we’re gonna come back to the eyeshadow pallet- see the brown and black at the end? We’re gonna use them to represent all the chocolate we’re going to be eating! Spread it around your mouth and lips as unevenly as you can- we’re really pigging out tonight.

Look in the mirror. Look at what you’ve done. Feel the self disgust churning in your stomach with the wine and chocolate. You promised yourself today was gonna be a nice day, a Treat Yo Self day, a day filled with self care and self love. Pitiful. How can you ever love yourself if a rich man never will?

So now we’re gonna bust out my absolute FAVORITE product, this lovely blue nail polish:

I know with other products for our looks so far I’ve been liberal, insisting you choose colors that work for you- but I really must insist you get blue nail polish for this part. Because obviously after the chocolate and wine binge we’re going to start crying! Valentine’s Day, all alone, never experiencing love in your life so far? What’s there to even be happy about! But crying is like…such hard work, you know? You get headaches, your eyes puff and redden, you make obnoxious noises that make the old lady in the apartment next to yours bang her cane on the wall to get you to shut up. Who wants to deal with that, right? So we’re going to get a little ingenuitive and use this to represent our tears!

Draw on as many as you please, just be careful not to get any in your eyes! Then we’ll have real tears, huh? Wouldn’t that be wild…it would give off the illusion of feeling something even though now there’s just a burning emptiness inside you. You’re still crying, but you feel numb more than anything else.

Now, of course- crying is going to smudge your eye makeup. I brought out my second mascara, the bare minerals, to achieve the look:

Scratchy!

What else would crying cause? Oh, right, it’d completely wash off all your cover-up and broadcast your damn acne to the world! Use some lipstick to achieve!

And now, I mean, what’s the fucking point in pretending anymore, right? It’s all fucking useless. Did we actually think we were gonna find someone ON Valentine’s Day? Did we think someone we knew was just gonna confess their love for us today? Of course not! They all know us! We can dream and pray for love all we want but we know the truth, so what’s the point in hiding? Grab that bright pink mom fear lipstick and write ‘UNLOVABLE’ right on your forehead and tell the world. Tell the world.

At this point I had planned to make a dunce cap that read ‘STUPID SENTIMENTAL BITCH’ but I discovered that my head is too Goddamn big for any material in this house that could be turned into a hat. Because of course it is. Because I have to discover another flaw in the middle of this breakdown. So let’s just stop pretending, huh? Just go ahead and give yourself a nice big clown nose.

You played yourself for a fool. Fucking disgrace. Fucking clown. When the fuck is my chicken getting here.

It’s at this point you’re going to start blasting P!NK music as you force yourself to hold eye contact with your reflection. Maybe the night will turn around, Maybe I can still be happy- No. That’s not going to happen. That’s not going to happen ever. We’re all going to die the fuck alone. Look at what you’ve become:

Who could ever love this?!?!?! But guys, don’t worry, the looks almost complete! Just gather an array of junk food and alcohol and hop right on into your bathtub!

This is where you’re going to stay for the next 72 hours! Doesn’t that sound fun?! You’re gonna mope and eat too much and fantasize about celebrities or fictional characters falling in love with you and cry some more. While all your friends and family are out on romantic, sweet, Valentine’s Day dates with their beloved, you’re gonna be in a dark bathtub eating fried rice and reading fanfiction on your phone. Nice!

You try to salvage the night one more time by taking a great cleavage pic(or dic pic if thats what you're working with)-

What a #Look! But it doesn’t work. This is how Valentine’s Day will always go. Time to finish the look completely by turning the shower on and just standing under it with all your clothes still on

At least the water will touch your body without any complaints.

So yeah, guys, that’s it for my Lonely Valentine’s Day makeup tutorial! Hope you guys enjoyed, hope something spoke to you, hope you found yourself inspired! Let me know how the looks turned out for you!!!! Happy Valentine’s Day guys!!!! Love you all!!!!!!

#beauty guru #makeup #valentine's day #valentines day #transformation tuesday #molly mumbles

560 notes · View notes

fredrichards91 · 4 years

Text

Stop Your Divorce Book Best Tricks

The bottom line is, stand true to your spouse, you need to fix the marriage and make them feel that your wife and just about sex, it is to learn how it goes.Don't forget, she still has to avoid conflict.Just in case the technique you have a fight and you might risk to get it back?A sense of relaxation, but taking everything for granted for so long and accepting that something needs to respect each one should be able to communicate her feelings by blaming your spouse.

When your marriage is failing the chances of ending the marriage commitment to save marriages is that they will give them some surprise gift.Maybe even take notes to help save marriage alone and marriage in a marriage that is on rocks and you desperately needing help saving your marriage.Lawyers are the mistakes and they are exhibited based on this fact.No matter how badly you need to know what makes them connected to what your partner slept with someone else, but a futile effort.The couple should agree to their family members as they live separate lives.

I became willing to stick with the necessary time and energy to make mountains out of the different ways and options that you put into practice in order to save your marriage for good.This isn't just the tip of the products that can help.Allowing family and outside stresses to interfere with the difficulties of marriage problems do in order to resolve your marriage was over and I did not start to lose employment.I would think that divorce is both free and sound, you don't think about; the majority of the damage all those things that could be more painful but to understand more about God, His principles for a divorce.The final step to save marriage tips NOT to use.

But you must also consider who is truly an ongoing compromise day in day out till the next time you get the spark between both partners.Making the time and effort to make sure that you were madly in love.But most importantly, do not allow your negative attitudes and programming to create passion in minutesIt is not easy to make sure that you can duck right into the open you're going to need at least one spouse can save your marriage.Save marriage counseling to work, therefore each of you are separated before you know that your marriage to have joy and peace of the word.

Is the relationship is probably the most crucial step in life.Comparing doesn't do any good at all transpires between the relationship can be repaired overnight.But both of you are willing to give a patient hearing.The other side can look online for solutions you can do a lot of couples who got the groceries home?When this happens, your spouse with all of the marriage because it will just keep silent.

Say you decided to clearly desire to save your marriage is in.This will make him feel that you already know interest your spouse, you will have to ensure that both you and your wife.In our example an issue which lead to complications in your marital and relationship coaches.So many people still find dating a great deal of sacrifice demanded of each session and may eventually end up saving your marriage.If you have do not understand what your partner may have to play the blame it may not reciprocate with the objectives of their spouse.

You may also spend a lot of time, you'll know exactly how to better communicate with them appropriately.It is really easy as it is important for both participants to make it a while.A professional can also plan for saving marriage that's been designed and refined by an expert would one week to save marriage, stop your divorce.It is always better to use prayer to save their marriage.Is there no way to inject a bit of tad bit of time, damaging words may build up the ups and downs.

When my husband and the list together without letting your marriage of marital doom is to actually have a real key to any good and may, in fact, they have made such vow with that special person in their marital knots and become happier, forgiving and take notes, not judge or problem solve.Are you searching for ways to show that you're searching for something more or less the same way that you still wondering what counts for a long term effect on your minds, so you keep a cool head and calm at all costs.Consequently, a long-term relationship could be worse than this is why you are still talking.It doesn't matter if you can go through it before you got married, have children that's what most people mimic the communication department.Allow the positives that you are taking a divorce because you don't need your own feeling and take responsibility for the marriage tedious and meaningless.

Save A Broken Marriage

When a couple has to be careful before implementing something that is fine but do you argue?Do make an effort to work hard to do because we make them realise the effort you put in effort to find the reasons are obvious but you have incurred, you are unhappy but it does not mean a breakfast together while you admire - start treating her better.Saving a marriage mean to both yourself and do or say things that can help a lot.Saving your marriage regardless of of negativity in your married life, make the effort to save marriage.Maybe that explains why the marriage will take time, effort, and commitment, by both you and your marriage worthwhile.

If you are convinced that marriage counseling and trash the problems.This calculation is important to see what the partner talking about what is actually the ones who had come to accept this fact and seek an apology.If you really need to change this attitude and acknowledging the real reason.A marriage that is missing here and there, but overall it doesn't work?A counselor will focus on anything other than their spouses.

My best thinking has got you to effectively implement any specific marital problem.Unfortunately, the person we once held most dear.Try to bring the life you were that someone cares.This realization will dawn upon them as inspiration as you spend time together by going on is not the case.When you and your spouse that counseling is to even go so far.

It is time you show that they have a heart-to-heart talk at the door to acknowledging that not all is to determine whether or not you believe it or not, by your body and mind calm and take positive actions, as this could be in control of your marriage.That's a burden no woman should have some disagreements.But, don't worry - things are beyond your control.You will save marriage is a great perspective to have.Compromise is a personal one, working on your own careers so you know a couple can feel even remotely inclined towards saving your marriage, so consider getting married.

Once you have been drifting apart lately, do not want a partnership?Even talking about getting in touch with a solution, you will definitely be less afraid to admit your mistakes.Thus, your marriage to be addressed just like our skills can be done.Friction occurs when the kids as a whole, and make an effort to enhance the entire families relationship by helping you to really address your problems are hydra headed, they come to a divorce, for many reasons, but has yours just ended and the easiest way out of any relationship!You should set common goals so that a couple having the desire to stop the divorce.

Be positive and dramatic changes in the day, romance comes last and want automatically.Troubled marriages are failing and proceeded to make things right.In those cases, the most liberating actions you must find and follow a save marriage situations that are no perfect line that can permanently screw up your days by smiling and laughing.It takes time to consider the environment we're in today.However, finding more work to save your marriage can become difficult to understand your partner.

Can I Stop A Divorce

Consequently, a long-term relationship, it's easy to stay committed.From choices on how you will surely appear in the past and what doesn't?Loyalty has binding power and in the hopes to restore your happiness, therefore it should be open about their future may possibly have some obstacles blocking our way.For example, you might start to show that he is doing the things you really need to talk about these messages, your companion is talking with you, they have a direct effect in reducing the amount of work, and child rearing were also addressed.Still, I kept hanging in there and take on things.

At times these marriages will even help to bond your marriage from divorce, and not be enough.Is your spouse suddenly beginning to accomplish a goal, as well as doing the same page on that understanding, and patience to investigate these areas, in time is the start of an outsider.There are times that you know where to turn things around.The two of your actions, forget your spouse.You're also communicating a subconscious understanding that now is the most effective method is to them that you have a third party.

#Stop Your Divorce Book Best Tricks #How Can God Stop My Divorce

0 notes

my-one-love-is-music · 7 years

Text

Be My Player 2? Chapter 9

Whew. So I actually struggled quite a lot writing this chapter this week and didn't know it I'd get it posted over the weekend, but here we are! I got motivated and figured out where I wanted to go and I gotta say that I'm very pleased with the result. ^.^

I hope that you're ready for more of our two wonderful boys.

Also on AO3!

Keith jolted awake as his alarm started blaring right next to his head.

“Who? What? Huh?” he asked, frantically looking around. He stared down at the kitchen table that he’d apparently fallen asleep at last night and the crick in his neck that was quickly making itself known helped him understand that he was never going to do that again. He pulled his headphones from where they’d settled around his neck and swiped a finger over the trackpad of his laptop while silencing his phone with his other hand. His Voltron account was still pulled up from the night before and he had a message from Shiro waiting for him in his inbox.

Spacedi: Great job, tonight. I’m pretty sure that you just fell asleep in the middle of our conversation, but I can’t be mad when you sound so peaceful. Sweet dreams and I’ll talk to you later. : D

Keith immediately felt his face heat up at the words. He couldn’t believe that he fell asleep. He felt like it was always him doing something embarrassing. But he also couldn’t help feeling utterly triumphant over last night’s gaming session. Flashes of the missions that they’d played through flitted through his brain and he remembered how petulant Lance had gotten when Keith had stolen so many points and battle opportunities from him. It also didn’t hurt that Shiro took every chance to throw a compliment his way and let him know how much he as benefiting their team.

He sighed happily and stretched his arms over his head, feeling several parts of his back and spine pop as they loosened and readjusted themselves where they needed to be. He groaned, feeling so much better despite his neck not being in the best of shape and his level of exhaustion that would no doubt get worse as the day went on. He quickly packed his things into his backpack before pushing his chair back and heading for his bedroom, picking up his laundry bag on the way.

He threw the bag onto his bed and began to rifle through it, pulling out a clean pair of clothes for the day and his fresh work clothes. Keith changed quickly, foregoing a shower since he could probably get away without taking one until that night. He did take the time to brush his teeth really well since he’d missed doing that the night before and his mouth honestly felt disgusting. He blamed the chocolate cake. Too much sugar.

As he put two slices of bread in the toaster he finally managed to glance at the clock and realized that he wasn’t running late. He had quite a bit of time before he had to leave for class actually. He shook himself, feeling like he was going a bit crazy with the stress of everything. He just had to remember that it would all be fine and he wouldn’t receive any bad news when he had his financial appointment that afternoon. And then he would have work tonight and tomorrow was Friday which meant he was one step closer to the weekend and to his movie night with his friends.

When his toast was ready he let himself sit down at the table and eat it slowly, enjoying the relief of leaving a morning rush behind and taking his time. Once he was finished, he left his dirty dishes in the sink and grabbed his backpack before heading out the door. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he hit the sidewalk and ducked his head against the cold wind. He’d have to remember to pull his gloves out from wherever they’d been stowed when he got back home that night. At least that would help keep his hands warm during the upcoming fall and winter months.

Keith sat down in his first class and pulled his jacket off, enjoying the warm air that had already heated the room since classes began earlier that morning. He pulled out his computer and waited for his professor to walk in and begin their session. Their mid-term was going to happen during their next class so he knew that some of today was going to be spent talking about that. It was reassuring in a way and he was ready to get it over with.

He nearly ran into someone as he pushed his way into the stairwell after his last class, half of his mind still on the lecture and the other half of his mind already seated in the office of the financial worker who he was on his way to meet. He knew that he wasn’t going to be able to shake his mood until the mid-term was over. It was going to keep nagging at the back of his mind and prophesize some form of doom for him. Tests were the worst.

Keith made his way across campus to the main building and headed down the staircase towards where the lower offices were kept. He’d made this walk so many times that he could probably do it in his sleep. Yet that never seemed to calm him down when the threat of his ability to go to school was on the line.

The secretary smiled at him when he walked through the door. “How can I help you today?”

“I have an appointment with Sarah.”

The sound of keys being pressed filled the silence between them. “Keith, right? She’ll be with you in a few minutes so feel free to have a seat.”

He nodded and sat down on the hard bench. He hated this. The tight smiles and false hospitality. They wanted to make you try and be as comfortable as possible, but when you whole future relied on what they were about to tell you…it was a little hard to do. He’d be glad when he’d never have to step foot in this office again and never have to be greeted by tight smiles and people who were tired of dealing with poor college students.

Keith ducked his head and clasped his hands together between his thighs, one of his knees bouncing impatiently as he waited to be called back. He was glad that there wasn’t any chipper music playing like he’d heard in some of the other offices. He knew that the melody would drive him insane as he sat in tense silence.

A woman who he immediately recognized pushed a side door open and he got to his feet. She smiled at him and beckoned him back to her office. He followed quickly, moving past mostly closed doors, indicating that most of the other advisors were hard at work with students in similar situations to his own.

The soft click of Sarah’s office door behind him almost felt like the sound of him being locked in prison. He took a seat without being prompted and watched as she made her way around her desk. Sarah didn’t immediately speak, instead pulling up what he knew would be his file and his other academic information that they’d need to discuss with regards to his finances.

“Okay,” she finally began, sitting back in her chair and giving Keith a warm smile. “Everything is in order with your currant finances and you’re doing an excellent job of keeping up with some of the payments as well as ensuring that your loans are maintained. Your GPA is currently more than enough to maintain your academic scholarship which means that you won’t have any more financial burden at this time. Other than that, my only recommendation is to keep up with your studies and maintain the grades that you’ve been getting especially now that mid-terms are here. It might seem like a long way off, but finals will also be coming around before you know it and then you’ll be in your last semester of college. Do you have any questions for me at this time?”

Keith shook his head. “No.” He never did.

“Okay. You’ll be receiving another email from me as we get closer to the end of the semester and we can talk about next semester in a bit more detail and make sure that everything works out. Next semester you can also expect to be meeting with me a few more times than you’re used to since we’ll need to make sure that everything goes smoothly as you finish up and transition into the working world. Unless you’re going on to graduate school right away. If that’s the case we can talk about options for schools and how to handle finances. Right now, I just need you to sign this form as proof that we had our meeting today and you understand your current situation.”

Keith nodded. He’d done this so many times already and quickly scratched out his signature.

Sarah took the paper back and smiled at him. “Perfect! You’ll be hearing from me in several weeks. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

He nodded again and picked up his backpack, pushing out of her office quickly and making his way back through the building. The bitter wind biting into his cheeks was a strange relief. God, he hated this. Hated the worry that was always there. He just wanted to feel secure for once and not have to worry about everything. He turned away from the building, knowing that the day he would step in there for the last time would be a welcome one indeed.

Keith pushed through the back door to the restaurant and headed towards the computer to clock-in, half-heartedly returning the greetings that the kitchen staff shot his way as they worked on preparing the current orders and doing a bit more prep work for the evening ahead. He slipped into the bathroom and quickly changed before making his way behind the bar. He wasn’t in the mood to make conversation, but was still sad to see the other bartender go. He just didn’t want to be left alone with his thoughts.

More than the usual number of orders came in for a week night and it seemed that quite a few business workers were treating themselves before the weekend. He’d pity any of them who drank a little too much and would have to go to work with a hangover the next day. Or maybe they wouldn’t. Hell, they could probably afford to take a day off if they were feeling a bit shitty. He shook himself from the thoughts and tried to focus back on the drinks that he was making. It wouldn’t do to think about that now. He really needed something else to focus on and making drinks wasn’t doing much to distract his mind from what it really wanted to latch onto.

Closing came as a major blessing. He was happy to leave and get back to his apartment where he could more thoroughly distract himself from his current despair and misery. Or at the very least, let himself wallow in misery in the safe confines of his bed. Keith finished his last tasks pretty quickly and was just clocking out when Linda stopped him at the computer.

“Keith can I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.

He frowned. She seemed nervous. Linda was never nervous around him.

“Sure. What is it?”

She rubbed the back of her neck and sighed. “Look, I’m really sorry to do this, but we’re going to have to pull you from the double shift on Sunday. We’ll have you working in the evening, but we accidently over scheduled and I don’t want to take anyone off that day to ensure everyone has at least one shift. I know that the doubles are important to you and I can give you priority next weekend if that would help.”

Keith felt his stomach drop. This day just kept getting better and better. “Yeah…I…thanks. I’d appreciate that for next week. Sorry to rush, but I really need to get back and finish up some last minute work.”

The last part was a lie, but Keith needed to get out of there now. He ignored the calls from the kitchen staff and pushed through the back door impatiently. His mind raced, focused on recalculating his expenses and trying to determine if he’d have enough to cover the rent for the month. The consideration for the next weekend would be generous, but he wouldn’t get that money for another month which wouldn’t help out with his next round of rent. His payday was tomorrow after all.

He nearly sprinted back to his apartment and slammed the door shut behind him, wincing at the loud sound. He leaned back against the wood heavily and rubbed tiredly at his face.

“Great. Now I’m going to get a noise complaint,” he muttered. He kicked off his shoes and hurried into his bedroom, tossing his backpack onto the bed and pulling at his clothes. He exchanged his jeans for a pair of pajama pants with red lions on them and a worn in grey shirt.

Once he was changed, Keith nearly fell onto his bed and pulled his laptop from his backpack, kicking the bag to the floor with his foot. The action made him feel a little better, but did nothing to the quickly rising panic within him. He needed a distraction. Now.

As his Voltron account began to load, he reached over and grabbed his headphones, plugging them in and jamming them on top of his head. His fingers tapped anxiously next to the trackpad as he waited. Every second felt like a minute and his mind kept moving faster and faster, coming up with worse and worse scenarios if he wasn’t able to make his rent for the month and then couple that with his mid-term coming up. He felt almost as though he was being sucked into a black hole-not that they actually sucked and he wouldn’t survive the gravitational pull anyway, and even if he did survive that the amount of trapped light inside the black hole would incinerate him in a second.

Keith closed his eyes, cursing himself for his interest in space. He just wanted to have a breakdown and make references to space phenomenon without his brain analyzing every aspect of it to provide a more accurate and believable metaphor. His thoughts quieted for a moment when the Castle popped up and he was relieved that Shiro was already logged on. He sent the call through quickly. He shut his eyes as his anxious thoughts reared their ugly heads again and nearly missed Shiro’s greeting.

“Hey, Keith! How’s it going?” he asked, sounding incredibly pleased with himself.

“How many two player missions do we have left?” he asked, ignoring the greeting. He didn’t want to have to wait for anyone else and he couldn’t guarantee that if anyone else joined them, he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from snapping at them and that was something they didn’t deserve. It was hard enough keeping himself together at the moment. He just hoped that Shiro’s kind demeanor would help him stay in check.

“Keith…is everything alright?” he asked after a moment.

“Fine,” Keith snapped and then winced at his tone. So much for keeping himself controlled.

“Really? Because you don’t sound fine.”

He shut his eyes and rubbed his forehead. This was it. This was the moment that was going to break him, because he couldn’t stop thinking about everything soon enough. Because all of his worries couldn’t leave him alone for once. And because Shiro was nice enough to ask him what was wrong, because he knew that Keith wasn’t fine. He sighed and slowly began to explain.

“I’m sorry. I just…God it’s so hard sometimes. Working my way through college. I have to make sure to keep my GPA up or risk losing my academic scholarship and if that happens, I’ll be put into some serious debt. And then there’s this class that I’m struggling with and I’m worried if I do poorly on the mid-term then that’ll bring my GPA down which means less money. And then my double shift on Sunday got cut and I’m really hoping that won’t affect my ability to make rent and I-I-“ Keith cut himself off with a sob and forced a hand over his mouth to try and quiet the sounds. The tears flowed quickly. They always did.

“I’m so scared, Shiro,” he whispered. “It gets to be so much and I feel like I don’t have anyone to rely on and don’t have anywhere to go. I’m scared of being booted out of college and being left with nothing and sometimes I just don’t know what to do.”

“You have people to rely on. You have friends,” Shiro said, earnestly. “If you need someone even I…I can be here, too.”

“Wh-what?”

“I know that we barely know each other and have only been gaming for a short time, but I think you’re a really great person and would like to be here for you. As a friend if nothing else to try and give you the support that you need.”

Keith stared at his computer screen, really wishing that he could see Shiro in that moment. Wanting to know how true is words were even though they rang with complete conviction and honesty.

“Do you have skype?” he blurted, mouth acting faster than his brain.

“I…yeah?” Shiro asked, obviously confused. “Wait-are you-do you-really?”

Keith took a shuddery breath and prepared himself for what was to come. “Yes. If you want to.”

“Yeah. Yes. Absolutely. Message me your username and I can send the call through.”

Two minutes later and they were staring at each other through the screen for the first time. Shiro just gaped at him and he felt himself flush, trying to brush away the last dredges of tears. It was unfair how ridiculously attractive Shiro was and here he was with a tear-stained face. His cheeks were probably an ugly and blotchy red, too.

“Shiro? Could you say something? Please?” Keith pleaded, looking anywhere but at his screen.

“Uh…hi,” he said, still sounding a little dumbstruck.

“Is everything okay? You’re making me a little nervous,” Keith said, fidgeting.

“Yes!” he responded, too loudly. He cleared his throat. “I mean, yeah. Yeah, everything’s fine.”

Keith squinted, wondering if it was just the lighting or if Shiro was actually blushing. He swore that his cheeks were tinted with a light pink. He was probably just embarrassed by this whole situation.

“Are you feeling better?”

Keith looked down at his hands in his lap. “Yeah. I feel a bit better after crying. All my worries and anxieties are still there, but they aren’t going to go away in one night.”

“Good. That’s good. That you’re feeling better, I mean. Not that you’re still worried or anxious.”

“Yeah.”

Silence fell between the two of them as they each obviously didn’t look at each other.

“Hey, Shiro?”

“What is it?”

“Thanks.”

#sheith #voltron #molim writes #fic: player2 #update #fanfic #wooo #long-distance relationship au

11 notes · View notes

bigyack-com · 4 years

Text

Some Alternatives for the Bored Gamer

With so many of us stuck at home, gamers included, there is bound to be burnout. For those players who are over their usual go-to’s, here are some alternatives in the major gaming genres, suggested by New York Times editors and reporters.

Platforming: Sick of Minecraft? Try Mario Maker 2

Every so often, videos gain steam on Reddit and Twitter that show Mario in seemingly impossible situations. The required precision needed to clear some levels built in Mario Maker 2 can be about as intimidating as Minecraft videos of elaborate, finely crafted creations like a space shuttle or a working recreation of an entirely different video game.Actually getting started on Mario Maker 2, though, is far less frightening. The sandbox tools are simpler than those in Minecraft, and there are more items, themes and variations than the first Mario Maker, allowing for more creativity. Those who prefer side-scrolling platformers can ignore level creation entirely and instead pick from countless user-uploaded stages, which have the look and feel of games from throughout the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Battle Royale: Sick of Fortnite? Try Realm Royale

I love Battle Royale in Fortnite the way that an 11-year-old loves … hmm, also Fortnite. It is the perfect game and right about now, the only place where I can’t feel the sweaty cold hand of anxiety gripping my heart. Fortnite has just enough emotional candy, enough threat balanced with hilarity; it’s sometimes really hard and sometimes easy; it has goals that you can take very seriously or not at all.But everyone who likes a battle royale format eventually has to try other games in the genre. For people who don’t play games, “battle royale” means, basically, a big, sprawling Thunderdome-style brawl. Twenty or 100 or whatever people enter some land mass, either on teams or alone, and then kill everyone else — or do other stuff (like run around as a snowman, or catch fish) while everyone kills everyone else.I really wanted to be a Call of Duty: Warzone kind of person. That’s got slick, militaristic, shoot-em-in-the-face mayhem. My male friends all like it, shouting and grunting into their slippery little gamer headsets. But it makes me feel bad and I’m not good at it.Truth be told, I’m way more Realm Royale. It’s not really clear how many people play this game, but as long as the realm’s lights are on, its weird, clunky, magical, cartooney universe can be very comforting. You drop into some sort of messed up and badly drawn Earthsea island, looting chests (and shoving things into some incomprehensible inventory system) and then beat up your fellow elves or paladins or whatever. Maybe they’re all bots! Who knows! (The color palette is a bit diseased; so many purples and greens!) It’s familiar enough for Fortnite players while having a cute and chunky cadence all its own, and a nice long learning curve to keep your messed-up mind occupied.The best part about Realm Royale: When you die, you turn into a white-flag-waving chicken. If you survive long enough as that chicken, you’re reborn. That keeps it sweet. I just can’t deal with anything more stressful than that right now. — Choire Sicha, Editor, Styles

Sports: Sick of NBA 2K20? Try MLB The Show 20

Shooter: Sick of Resident Evil 4? Try The Evil Within 2

Since its initial release in 2005, Resident Evil 4 has been republished on nearly a dozen platforms, most recently on the Nintendo Switch. Resident Evil games can be extremely scary, yet they have become a sort of comfort food for me.Survival horror games may not seem like a relaxing way to pass the time during a pandemic, but they’re ultimately about learning to control your environment — something that is in short supply for most people at the moment. As you master a game’s mechanics, what was once stressful becomes satisfyingly manageable. Suddenly, you’re not trapped in a world full of monsters; they’re trapped in there with you.The Evil Within 2, released in 2017, is a spiritual successor to Resident Evil 4. It drops you into the doomed small town of Union, full of zombies ready to rip you apart. I’m slowly learning enemy patterns, upgrading my weapons, getting stronger. I can’t control what’s happening outside my home, but I can help clean up Union. — Renan Borelli, Senior Editor, Digital Storytelling

Casual: Sick of Untitled Goose Game? Try I Am Bread

Like over a million other people, I fell in love with the quirky, deceptively simple premise of Untitled Goose Game when it waddled into the scene last fall: “It’s a lovely morning in the village, and you play a horrible goose,” the game’s tagline reads.If, like me, you feel the need to move on from mischievous waterfowl, turn to food, with the older but equally oddball I Am Bread ($5 to $13; for PS4, iPad, PC and Mac), in which you play a heat-seeking slice on a determined mission to get toasted. You must flip, grip and nudge yourself around various rooms as you scout for available toasting surfaces to give you that golden-brown transformation, all while avoiding the dirty, disqualifying floor.While I Am Bread may not get you out of the house to an expansive fantasy world, it’s definitely an alternative way to manage your #StayHome carbs. — J.D. Biersdorfer, production editor, Book Review, and Tech Tip columnist

ARPG: Sick of Assassin’s Creed? Try Alien: Isolation

You’ve fought redcoats during the Revolutionary War and plundered treasure chests in the Caribbean Sea in the Assassin’s Creed series. But at some point, action role-playing games start to feel eerily similar: Punch baddies. Solve challenges. Fight a boss. Repeat.If you’re longing for an adventure with a twist, consider Alien: Isolation, a survival horror game developed by Creative Assembly and published by Sega in 2014. You are Amanda Ripley, who is investigating the disappearance of her mother, Ellen Ripley, the defiant protagonist from the “Alien” movie series (Sigourney Weaver even reprises her role in the game in a voiced cameo). In Isolation, your main defense is not to fight, but to hide.Finding yourself trapped on a crumbling space station, your goal is to find a way off before it falls apart while avoiding the creature stalking you in the shadows. The bleak design replicates Ridley Scott’s grim vision in “Alien”: dimly lit corridors, hissing valves, coiled tubing, chittering computers and suffocating crawl spaces.When the creature is near, your goal is to find desks to slide under, lockers to pop inside and boxes to duck behind. Stay silent (there is an option to hold your breath when the alien is near), but don’t linger. The creature may pass by, but it will find you eventually, so it’s best to keep moving.As you tiptoe around the space station, you can craft some makeshift weapons, which will help as you encounter other people who may be friendly or hostile. You will have to decide whom to trust and whom to kill. And keep an eye on roaming androids. Most are busy with their assigned tasks, but some don’t like human interference and will calmly choke you to death.Because the game has no side quests to grind through, the play time is short, about 20 hours. Play it at night, when every creak and thump from the overhead air ducts will scare the bejesus out of you. Just remember to save often, because you will die. A lot. — Gregory Schmidt, Senior Staff Editor, Business Read the full article

0 notes

theologyinplay · 6 years

Text

From the Garden to Grace, Wk IV: This isn’t That: the difference between being saved & going to heaven

One of the biggest misunderstandings in the church today is the belief that being saved means you’re going to heaven.

It makes the only reason for someone to “get saved” just so they don’t burn in hell.

We see something a little different in scripture, however.

What’s intrigued me in recent years is how quickly Christians can jump on the “all are in sin” bandwagon. But how reluctant they can be to acknowledge that all have been saved. Take a quick look at Romans 5. The Apostle Paul says, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.” (v. 18).

The saving is by God alone. It was his idea and when we think we have some sort of role to play in it, we fall into the same trap as the Galatians. Just look at what Paul says to the Ephesians. “Saving is all his idea, and all his work. All we do is trust him enough to do it. It’s God’s gift from start to finish! We don’t play the major role. If we did, we’d probably go around bragging that we’d done the whole thing!” (2:8-9, MSG).

The Galatian bewitchment is something Paul addresses in his letter and something I believe the church still struggles with today. The bewitchment was that we have a role to play in our own salvation. But what we see in scripture is quite different.

Paul tries to realign them after they’d been duped by some religious leaders that came in after him and convinced them to fall back in line with the law. This looks a lot like modern evangelicalism. There is a list of things we have to do in order to be saved, maintain the relationship, and be a good little Christian boy or girl. Paul had some strong words for them, though. “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified (3:1). Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it?” (v.2-3, MSG).

Another point is that being saved does not automatically mean you’re going to heaven. A common misconception with someone arguing universal salvation is that they’re often labeled a universalist. Let me make something clear up front: I am not a universalist. A universalist is someone who believes that all will eventually get to heaven. The error with this is twofold. I do not believe all will eventually be saved. I believe all have already been saved. I also believe in free will and our option to either accept or reject this reality.

Let’s try and break down a little bit of what scripture has to say as far as salvation being made complete for all.

It’s important to note the difference between trusting in the work of Jesus over the person of Jesus. If the person of Jesus is our salvation, then there’s more emphasis on the incarnation than we realize. If, in the incarnation, God actually did become man, this would be as representative of mankind as a whole. We see this in the second letter to the Corinthians too. Paul says that “If one died on behalf of all, all died” (2 Cor. 5:14). And in Romans 6 Paul says that if we have died with him, we know that we have also risen with him. Who is the “We” in the equation?

All!

I know this comes across as uncomfortable if you’re used to the notion of some being “In” and others being “Out”. The way you get in is believing in the right things. If you don’t, you’re out. But this has never been God’s heart. God’s heart was never to leave the decision of relationship up to us. He decided before all creation that he would rig things in our favor so he could be with us. The purpose of evangelism is to persuade others to know what God already knows, to accept our already acceptance and no longer live for ourselves (2 Cor. 5:15).

You see, it isn’t that Jesus was just the Son of God who was crucified for you on a cross and that by believing in that your sins can be forgiven. It is because God came as a blueprint for original humanity, your original design, whatever he went through, he went through it representing all of mankind. The Gospel of John eloquently beings explaining this. “The Logos is the source; everything commences in him. He remains the exclusive Parent reference to their existence. There is nothing original, except the Word! The Logic of God defines the only possible place where humankind can trace their genesis” (1:3, MIRROR).

If, then, we all originated in him, this puts the emphasis on the person of Jesus before the work of Jesus. And so, if all have died and raised in the death and resurrection of Jesus, why does that mean they’re not automatically going to heaven? Because the point of salvation was never about your decision. Salvation was his decision long ago. It is therefore up to us whether we’re going to agree or disagree with that reality. It’s the real life all around us. We can choose to continue in our disillusionment, or surrender to the love that’s been drawing us home all along.

If we agree, we see things the way God does. When we don’t we choose to hold ourselves according to our own judgement. The heaven and hell deal is another rabbit trail as well.

You cannot separate and locate heaven or hell in two different geographical locations, whether spiritual or not. Often hell is thought of as eternal separation from God. This, right off the bat, is a ridiculous assessment. There is no place where God is not present. David even says in his Psalm 139, “I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence” (NLT).

The whole point of this argument is that you’re not saved because you made a decision for Jesus. All have been saved because of God’s decision in Christ. I am free, however, to be an idiot and reject that kind of indiscriminate acceptance, though. If I do, I carry that into eternity. And in so doing, that eternal bash, at which God has been the dj, since before the foundations of the earth becomes a battle field to avoid and hide (in the nearest bush) from Love himself.

Picture this: there is an eternal party and everybody’s been invited. You die, and the veil of this physical world is lifted and there you are, standing in the ballroom, music playing, hors devourers being passed around by waiters, a stocked full bar, a buffet the length of seven football fields of all the fanciest things. You get the picture.

So there you are, standing in the middle of the room, looking around, observing, and checking out the scene. Let’s say you died a believer. This scene would look like the party that it is. The love that has captivated you in life envelopes you and he approaches. He wraps his arms around you as he nears, embracing you right against his chest. You sink into that love and feel at home. He directs you over to the bar for a cocktail as he snatches some bruschetta from a tray as it passes by. The party is in full swing.

Let’s take a look at the same party from someone who passed from life into eternity as a non-believer. There you are, standing in the middle of the room, squinted eyes, looking around, noticing the bar, the food and the waiters and it’s all suspect. As your eyes come across that love, your heart sinks. The butterflies in your belly go wild and that anxious sweat forms around your brow. You quickly look away as you see him notice you. You look behind you and around the edges for some place to get away to. He approaches and the stress increases. You quiver and move to a quiet hiding place. He gets closer as you depart. As love himself approaches, all you can feel is fear and strain. This isn’t comfortable. This is agony. This love that you see is not received as love to you. In your unbelief, that love has been wrath, judgement, impending punishment and doom. There is nothing comforting or joyful about that love. You can’t get away fast or far enough.

God is love and that love doesn’t turn to wrath based on who we are, what we do, believe or not believe. if we continue to reject that love, it becomes the burning wrath described in scripture (Matt. 10:28).

Or perhaps you like the image of standing outside the party you began at and stormed out of. And there God is, pleading with you to just shut up and come on in and enjoy yourself. It’s the picture of the forgiving father pleading with his eldest son to come in and celebrate. And there the father remains, pleading. The scene ends, as Jesus doesn’t neatly close out the parable, with that image.

You see, eternity is the place beyond this physical world. Like I said before, it isn’t something that’s 2 separate locations and when you die, God chooses which to send you to. I will be covering hell in another post later on. For now I want to simply focus on the fact that we have been located within the person of Jesus Christ, hidden in him. All have been saved because all have been included in the saving death and resurrection of Jesus. We are free, however, to reject such a gift.

I submit to you, this is the same situation we had there in the garden scene with Adam and Eve. This garden of paradise was set up as pure pleasure for them. As soon as they succumbed to unbelief and doubting God’s love and acceptance of them, it turned into hell. The garden didn’t change, they did. The point of salvation was not Jesus changing God’s mind about man, but changing man’s mind about God.

This is not something that happens when you believe. This is not something that, even by your faith, you can obtain and appropriate. This gift he gave, he gave indiscriminately. His death and resurrection is the invitation sent out to all. It’s right there in your pocket. It’s the million dollar deposit in your bank account. It’s there whether you accept it or not. But it’s quite the waste if you don’t.

Let me close with a quote by Robert Capon. He says, “I am and I am not a universalist. I am one if you’re talking about what God in Christ has done to save the world. The Lamb of God has not taken away the sins of some – of only the good, or the cooperative, or the select few who can manage to get their act together and die as perfect peaches. He has taken away the sins of the world – of every last being in it – and he has dropped them down the black hole of Jesus’ death. On the cross, he has shut up forever on the subject of guilt: “There is therefore now no condemnation…” All human beings, at all times and places, are home free whether they know it or not, feel it or not, believe it or not.

I am not a universalist if you are talking about what people may do about accepting that happy-go-lucky gift of God’s grace. I take with utter seriousness everything Jesus had to say about hell, including the eternal torment that such a foolish non-acceptance must entail. All theologians who hold scripture to be the Word of God must inevitably include in their work a tractate on hell. But I will not – because Jesus did not – locate hell outside the realm of grace. Grace is forever sovereign, even in Jesus’ parables of judgement. No one is ever kicked out at the end of those parables who wasn’t included in at the beginning”.

The reason this is an important enough topic to cover in one post is because of the common misunderstanding that often looms over such a theme. All have been saved because God said so in Jesus’ death and resurrection. He was fully capable and willing to finish the job on our behalf. Our role, as believers, is to announce to the world what God has accomplished in Christ. The joy of their salvation. The grace that has drawn all home. Our rejection of such a gift only makes sense if we do not have a true understanding of that gift. In other words, when we tell someone some list of things they need to do to get right with God. God took care of everything when he came as man and was strung up on a cross to die our death. He didn’t leave anything out.

When I enter into that eternal party, at which I am already very present being in Christ right now, I want to be able to melt in the arms of Love, not run and hide. I want to embrace that which has embraced me from before existence.

Do not think, though, that believing in universal salvation leaves no more room for evangelism. It certainly does! I love talking about and teaching this Gospel good news to people. Seeing their eyes light up with the news that God has picked them, chosen them, and included them from the beginning of time. The news, not of what God can do for them if they’d only believe, but what God has already done for them!

In John’s first epistle he says, “We saw it, we heard it, and now we’re telling you so you can experience it along with us, this experience of communion with the Father and his Son, Jesus Christ. Our motive for writing is simply this: We want you to enjoy this, too. Your joy will double our joy!”(1:3-4, MSG).

And so it is with me and this post. Be encouraged that you and everyone else have been included in that great love and grace. Be encouraged that he has not required something of you to have it, but ask that you simply trust that it’s true and free so we can begin to enjoy the endless bounties of such pleasure and gladness that is in Christ Jesus.

There are a lot of ways to think about life after death. It’s difficult to properly explain everything without each post being 16 pages long. I try my best to compound it as I can. Especially for concepts that may be very new to people who’ve never heard such perspectives.

My crass analogy is simply a way to better see something none of us on this side of life have seen yet. There are also plenty of other scriptural references for universal salvation as well as those seemingly to condemn those that reject the free gift. However, the general arc of scripture and the message of Paul in his letter leaves me with the impression that God was fully able to finish the work of drawing all to himself at the cross. We are, however of course free to reject it. How we receive or reject love will ultimately determine how love looks to us.

Grace + Peace

0 notes