#and the blind veterans were treated with a lot of respect

[werewolfpurfect]

Finally finishing the first Elric of Melniboné book, and I have made some notes on how disability is treated in it. Surprisingly, not as bad as I would have expected, which is cool.

[imthepunchlord]

I'm curious since you mentioned trollhunters, but if you ever feel like it, would you change the movie? I myself didn’t really watch the series after b3llow season 1, but everyone said that it sucks.

I actually haven't checked out the movie yet. It's on my list but I'm just not in the mood for it.

And personally, I feel like the whole series went downhill starting with s3 of Trollhunters. It wasn't a satisfying season to me. They didn't take advantage of possible scenarios, and did characterizations I didn't care for, and went in a route I didn't like.

Like, you have Angor's revival, and you got Claire stuck serving Morgana unconsciously. This could set up her and Angor stuck serving Morgana and that could've been so interesting as not only were they enemies that had personal clashes, but Claire was all for Jim wearing Angor's ring. And in a nice little touch of irony, she's now in similar shoes to Angor and they're being forced to serve Morgana together. And the only thing keeping them from going at each other is that they both hate Morgana more, but she holds all the cards and they're stuck in this tension and develop a grudging respect for each other. Maybe something similar to a friendship develops but not exactly.

And s2 made me think I was going to see Claire and Angor interactions and just so ready for that tension. Just like Jim and Walt had a unique relationship, I was ready to see this.

Only I didn't.

And Angor for some reason was ready to be all loyal to Morgana?

Also Gunmar who has been the long built up villain, THE BIG BAD, is now not the big bad and the recently built up Morgana is, to a point that Gunmar is like her servant? And follows her with blind devotion?

I don't know about you guys, but I didn't get that impression the first two seasons...

I'm putting the rest under cut cause I am going off. I don't know what's going on with me today.

I didn't like Merlin. He came out very differently than what I had perceived of Merlin at the end of s2. Yes, he did sound like an arrogant character, but not unkind. And based on what was built up, he was possibly the first and only human that trolls had a lot of respect for and vice versa as he made an amulet for this race to use.

Well, if he was planned like this, I got the wrong impression. He came out to be very obnoxious and creepy. And brought about one of the worst narrative choices I've seen at that time. Troll Jim wound up to be pretty pointless, and it had more cons than pros. He was made to face off against Morgana and guess what? He was out for most of that fight.

So we had gotten pretty pointless angst of Jim losing that normalcy he really wanted to go back to, for a plot reason that he wasn't even all that involved in. I could've rolled with half changeling Jim, but Troll Jim was pointless to me.

I also didn't care for s3's hammering in "your humanity's a weakness" and I'm over here like, wasn't the first two seasons more about his humanity being a strength??

Also missed opportunity of seeing Blinky and Walt butt heads as mentors. Side note, screw you Jim saying that Walt's like a father figure when Blinky is right there. It was only done to feed into the Walt and Barbara agenda which was going to happen anyway so it was a cheap move and a disservice to your dad.

Lastly, Douxie was a very pointless cameo to give attention to.

And then there's what comes after, 3 Below and Wizards.

3 Below I didn't enjoy at all, but I'll admit bias as I never liked space and aliens. This is why if ever asked, I'll say Dragon Age over Mass Effect easily. So 3 Below I personally wish I just skipped. There was nothing in there for me. They didn't even do Toby justice! He should be treated as more of a veteran character who has a unique wisdom to offer but nope! Just gotta still be a joke... it's also pretty dicey that one of the major villains of 3 Below is a black woman, which black characters are rare in this show.

And Wizards, I almost stopped watching at the first episode because Douxie annoyed me so much. At most, I kept watching for Claire and thankfully he got a lot better. And ultimately, I enjoyed Wizards far more than 3 Below, but not as much as the first two seasons of Trollhunters. Wizards was probably more confusing.

I still couldn't say why they had to travel to the past outside time travel convivence for unknown narrative reason.

I still didn't know who these new villains are and where did they come from? Why are they here now? Was I supposed to read a novel I didn't know the existence of?

The Morgana redemption was jarring as s3 was swearing up and down that she's the TRUE big bad. And King Arthur as a villain I didn't mind, but man I didn't like how they went about it.

And that could've been fitting as the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot's adoptive mother, is often thought to be a powerful fairy. And trolls should be of the fae folk, 1, I was suspecting that a lot of these characters were possibly reincarnations of famous characters from the Arthurian Legends. Jim for Lancelot, Claire for Morgana, possibly Steve for King Arthur, ect.

And that could've been fitting as the Lady of the Lake, Lancelot's adoptive mother, is often thought to be a powerful fairy. And trolls should be of the feyfolk, which could make sense as to why Jim Lake would be more easily accepted by races of magic if his ancestor was raised by a powerful fairy.

Oh, and Lady of the Lake, I am so sorry they made you an ugly giant one eyed kraken. Which to me is the most uninspired design that you could do. I'm all for her not being a human figure, but not this.

Last thing I want to rant about is Douxie. Thankfully, he did get better and became more likable. But knowing his set up and getting to see his character, I was so tempted to just turn off the tv. This character who is immortal and has been amongst humanity and "training" for years, well he's having a big tantrum like he's 4 yo. 3 Below already put me off majorly for Tales of Arcadia, and seeing this characterization, I wasn't in the mood for it.

So, that movie, yeah I'm not interested to see it. Mildly curious at most. But Tales of Arcadia, by s3 of Trollhunters, it was going downhill for me. They were making choices and changes I didn't like and it was clearly becoming a show that wasn't for me anymore. I don't know how the fanbase responded to ToA over all as I wasn't deep in it, so I'm going to presume I'm an odd one out fan wise. I'll probably see it sometime, but not anytime soon.

And sorry for going off, you probably got a lot more than you were expecting. I don't know what's going on but I guess I got a lot to let off these days.

[smokeymountaingal]

Prince Harry will return to New York to present valor awards to veterans | Daily Mail Online

WTAF? This man is NOT a US citizen. This man was NEVER a hero. His nickname in Afghanistan was Bunker Harry, because he never left the tent and played video games instead of fighting. He went to the premiere of Lion King to pitch his wife a job to the Chairman of Disney, instead of attending a Marine Memorial he was Patronage of. Last Veterans' Day he and his Skank wife CLOSED DOWN THE VETERAN'S CEMETARY IN L.A. FOR A PHOTO SHOOT AND SO FILMMAKERS FROM NETFLIX COULD FILM THEM TREADING ON AMERICAN SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN'S GRAVES. WHAT WAS EVEN WORSE WAS THOSE DEAD SERVICEMEN AND WOMEN'S FAMILIES WERE OUTSIDE WAITING AT THE GATES TO VISIT THEIR LOVED ONES, BECAUSE BUNKER HARRY AND HIS WIFE WOULD NOT ALLOW THEM IN!

There is so much more wrong with allowing this COWARD, to honor ANY OF MY AMERICAN SOILDERS. THIS IS EXTREMELY OFFENSIVE TO ME AND MY MILITARY FAMILY. ALL I can say is INTREPID YOU ARE DISGUSTING FOR EVEN ALLOWING THIS FAKE SOILDER TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR OUR HEROES. HOW MUCH MONEY DID YOU TAKE / PROMISE TO ALLOW THIS IDIOT TO HAND OUT AWARDS?

Well I guess my family will spend more time tomorrow calling our Representatives and our Military connections and Senators. This decision is disgusting. Intrepid were you so blinded by the bribe they gave you that you didn't notice that he and his wife had a photo shoot with recording equipment on during their visit to our 9/11 Memorial this weekend? Did you fail to see they hocked their clothes, their cars, and even their jewelry while standing on our SACRED GROUND WHERE 2,000 OF US MEN AND WOMEN DIED?? Do you know after that horrendous lack of respect and dignity they proceeded to the UN again WITH HIDDEN MICROPHONES AND CAMERAS?? THAT IS OKAY WITH YOU Intrepid? Really?? GTH you hypocrites! I hope my family will not be the only ones to make it PERFECTLY CLEAR that this was an inexcusable mistake. The tiniest bit of research would have told you everything horrid about fake Bunker Harry. He isn't good enough to shine my father's shoes, let alone be present in front of TRUE AMERICAN HEREOS.

I know I don't have a lot of followers, but if there are any other military families or veterans that see this could you please take timeout and let your reps, officers, even your Congressmen and Senators know that BUNKER HARRY should not be allowed anywhere near our heroes. It may seem insignificant but it honestly isn't. Everyday our heroes put their lives on the lines in an increasingly dangerous world. They are not being treated as well as they should be by our Military Brass as it stands right now. They can't give our heroes a living wage, they have stranded our bomb dogs,our translators, our protectors in Afghanistan. Yet somehow our brass now has enough money to pay for this cowardly, non US citizen to fly in a private plane round trip from California to New York AND cover a hotel stay in an expensive five star hotel for him as well? All so he can pass out awards to men and women who deserve so much better? No I don't think so Brass. Don't bother lying to us either. We saw Bunker Harry's rider. We know what you agreed to and you should be ashamed.

Please spread the word if you can.

[hardtchill]

An interesting point is in World War II an overwhelmingly number of black soldiers fought alongside white soldiers for the US. After the war the ones that survived came home and the white soldiers were treated like hero’s and the black soldiers overwhelmingly were treated horrible as if they didn’t go just fight for their country. The same country they fought for alongside white soldiers is the same country they came back to that hated them and wanted nothing to do with them. They fought for an anthem that blatantly lied to them. So what about all the black veterans that were segregated against when they came home after fighting for the flag? This country has never represented what that anthem is supposed to represent. Never. All kneeling does is so innocently highlight that in today’s society we still are seeing many of these same injustices. The problem is there are a lot of veterans who think America is a flawless perfect nation (obviously there are many who completely understand and support the kneeling) just like there are a lot of regular civilians that believe that American is this flawless perfect nation. It’s this pride thing that they teach you in the military as well that the US is the greatest nation in the world and so often this mentality causes blindness and ignorance post military.

The military is also the biggest employer of poor people. America doesn’t need mandatory military service, systematic racism and the finance gap are already making sure that the young, the poor and the non-white die for the freedom of the people who are the exact opposite.

Anyone who ever comes at me saying that the anthem needs to be respected will get a firecracker up their ass. The anthem was literally written by a slave owner, he put “land of the free” in there. It isn’t an ‘anthem’ it’s a cruel joke aimed at the people that died in chains.

[duker42]

💜The Promise of Love💜Chapter 16

Erwin x Reader x Levi: Part 16 of 20

Today was a gardening day. Y/N looked up from a particularly stubborn weed that she had been trying to rip from the dry ground to survey her work. Her large hat shading most of the sun off of her, she smiled as she saw the large area that had been cleared and looking like it did a year ago.

~~~~~1 Year Prior

“Squad Leader! Captain Levi ordered you and I to clear the weeds since Hanji is experimenting with Eren today!” Petra called out, running over to where Y/N was sitting.

She looked up from the report that she had been reading during breakfast to roll her eyes. “His grumpiness does understand that I have my own work to accomplish, right?”

Petra’s amber eyes widened as her face displayed her shock at the respected Captain being referred to in that manner. “Ummmm...” She trailed off, uncomfortable with the possibility of having to badmouth her superior to another officer.

Sighing, Y/N gets to her feet. “I guess I can spare an hour or so. Besides, I thought I told you to just call me Y/N.” She follows Petra out into the bright sunshine. Opting for a large straw hat and gloves, Y/N kneels down on a thick horse blanket and begins attacking the weeds in the courtyard.

Giggling with Petra over different issues, mainly idle gossip, the time passed quickly. The basket of weeds was emptied several times as the space began to look neat again. Knowing how particular Levi was, Y/N made sure the show Petra how to pull the weeds out by the base using a small trowel to insure that the roots were pulled.

“Y/N....I know that you are with the Commander. Ummm..do you mind me asking how it affects your work relationship?” Petra didn’t make eye contact as she asked shyly.

Stopping her work, she sat back on her heels to observe the ginger haired girl for a moment. “Are you asking because of Sir Sulks a Lot?” She teasingly asks.

Petra gasps and blushes furiously. “No....I mean, I have the upmost respect for the Captain but I...I....”

Laughing lightly, Y/N cuts off the embarrassed protest. “I was teasing Petra. Although I wouldn’t blame you if you had an interest in Levi. The man’s attractive as sin.” She laughs a bit harder at the younger girl’s shocked face. “What? Just because I’m with Erwin doesn’t mean I’m blind. I’d be the first to admit he’s appealing. But to answer your question, we don’t allow it to affect our working relationship. Unless we are in private quarters, he is the Commander and I am his Squad Leader. If it were Levi you were interested in I would say that it would be much the same. However, if it’s a squad member.....you would just need to be careful that personal feelings don’t affect the mission.”

Petra seems to mull it over in her mind before hesitantly offering. “I have feelings for Oulo, buffoon that he might sometimes be. Should I tell him before the upcoming expedition?”

Y/N thought about the overly arrogant young man. A true soldier in his own sense, he seemed to idol worship his Captain a little too much by over exaggerating how he perceived the older man acting. While the squads were unaware of the true purpose of the upcoming Expedition, Y/N and the other veterans were fully aware of the danger and stress that will be facing the Special Operations Squad. The bloom of new love could only distract and change the dynamic.

“While I would normally tell anyone to live in the moment and to grasp whatever happiness they can when they can, I believe it might be best to wait until after the expedition. There is a far greater pressure to produce positive results this time with Yeager in tow. I’m afraid Oulo may not be as focused as he would normally be knowing that the object of his desire returns his affections.” She tactfully answered. “What I would say is to show him how you feel the moment you are back inside the Walls.”

The girl smiled happily as she returned to her work, thoughts centered on proclaiming her love to her comrade. Y/N looked around to find Levi watching their interaction from a distance, his arms crossed as his impassive face gave nothing away. When her eyes caught his, he turned and walked away, leaving her to wonder if he had heard them talking or if he was just making sure they were on task.

~~~~~

Her smile faded. Petra never got to tell Oulo her feelings, opting to listen to Y/N’s advice. The Female Titan had killed them both along with the rest of the squad in her determination to capture Eren.

That night after returning to base, she had told Levi of the conversation between her and his squad member. Through her tears, she had poured out her guilt at having prevented the two from spending what little time they had left together. His relief at not having been the object of the younger woman’s affections was obvious even as he grieved the loss of his team. He had inelegantly thumped her on the back as they sat on his couch.

The baby kicked her ribs hard. She grimaced as she rubbed her sore side. Becoming far more active, the almost eight month old baby bump was taxing when it came to her schedule. More kicks were sure to come if she didn’t give him or her the food they were demanding. Deciding she was at a good stopping point since the sun was lowering in the sky, she discarded the pulled weeds and shuffled into the stone structure.

After sorting out a light meal and some tea, Y/N made her way back to her acquired rooms. She had pushed the desk into a far corner and moved the couch in front of the fireplace, making the outer office seem more homey. Lighting the fire as she came through the room, she entered the bathroom to clean up from the day. Tidying up as she went, she changed into the nightgown she had to purchase the day before in the village.

The townspeople had been nice. Not voicing the questions she could see swimming in their glances, they had treated her with the same respect the rest of the Survey Corps would have received if they were here. Still, she had kept her trips short, and the conversation to a minimum when she had to leave the safety of the castle.

Settling back in front of the now warm fire, she picks up the sewing that she had put down the previous night. She had always been handy with a needle. A carryover from her proper childhood of being raised to be some rich man’s chattel. The hours of sewing and embroidery lessons had paid off when she was able to mend her own uniforms and gear, even her own flesh, not having to wait on the slow official services. She grinned as she thought of the look of horror her father would give if he had seen her stitch her leg back up the day a Cadet’s blade had slashed through it. She was better off where she was now than to be in the interior, a practical slave to some boorish noble.

As she set the tiny stitches in the white gown she was making for the baby, her mind wandered. Life in the Trost HQ had been busy. The kids in Levi Squad would come and chat with her, or she would venture into Hanji’s office to help with paperwork to pass the time during the day. But the nights she had enjoyed the most. With Levi. Talking, playing chess or cards, even reading together in companionable silence. The nights were the worst now, when the loneliness settled in. Where she missed having someone to talk to, even if the reply was just a hum of acknowledgement. Here, the silence of the castle was stifling, a reminder of the situation she found herself in.

Her sigh was heavy. Lately it seemed all her thoughts revolved around the taciturn raven. She needed to stop that habit. She needed to find a place inside her that did not care what Levi thought of her, it was going to be the only way she would be able to return to Trost. She needed to figure out how to fall out of love with Levi.

MasterList for The Promise of Love

@fandom-rpblog

@guijh103

@super-peace-fangirl

[theragingsea-rpg]

Nya Mog Ruith is a soldier on the Deck Department of the warship The Sound Design. She is a 30 year old from small village in the Mining District.

> Before boarding

Nya was born the first and only surviving daughter of a famous foreman within the biggest mine in the District. What she did not know until years after he had died in a mysterious accident, was that he had been taking bribes from the company that got their winnings. The man had been allowing for workers to make unpaid over-time, or dig into unstable sections of the tunnels just so he could fill his own pockets. Her mother had been unwilling to tell her of the shame, and the real reason why she no longer had a father. But when it was Nya’s time to go down the mines, she finally learned of the secret.

Two of her brothers, both from a different mother, who she had not known to even exist, had gotten into a mining accident that wouldn’t have happened if her father hadn’t ignored safety protocol. he had then taken his own life as a result. Nya had been pointed out the very spot where his body had hung from the wooden beams, dangling for all the workers of the next shift to see. The one to point it out to her had known of her connection to the foreman too, yet he recalled the events without little sympathy. From then on, Nya was forced to hear the many tales of her father, who had been intelligent and extremely charming, yet was known to turn men blind, deaf, or make them end up dead. To speak his name was a curse in the mines. Yet, whenever Nya entered the immense cave system, she prayed for him to watch over her, perhaps just to spite the people who had such an opinion of him.

She didn’t stay in the Mines for long, instead Nya found herself being coaxed towards the rebels on the island. She wasn’t sure who had come to introduce her, but she had taken to hanging out with the wrong crowd - or that was how her mother put it, and they most certainly loved to talk about the unfairness that was taking place on their island. She wasn’t that righteous herself back then, instead she very much enjoyed the attention and the feeling of belonging somewhere, which she was starting to get bothered by more and more in the mines. They offered her a kind of job, which wasn’t much in terms of pay, and she left the mines.

Years went by, filled with chaos and at times murder and rampage, as the rebels tried to fight the guards and soldiers from the Tech District. It wasn’t all fair, because nothing is in War, as Nya came to understand. She had her first taste of blood at a young age, participating in murder as was expected of her. But it felt easy to do, albeit her heart grew heavy with each life she took, she tried to remind herself of the lives her dad had taken in the name of the Tech District. How he had done so without feeling sorry until it had been his own son that had died. She felt like in part, she was taking vengeance on him as well. By twenty-five, Nya had a pretty stable position within the rebels that had begun to be known as the Organization. A large group of people all fighting for the same cause, most of them were from the Mining District, but they had contacts in all other Districts too. Especially veterans from earlier Cultural Wars came from the Salmon District to help the Miners revolt.

But when the finally felt like they were going to win, or at least make a big change, the President of Dane fought back. A police force much better prepared and equipped than anything else they’d fought so far, came to the mines and the villages and searched every house. The President would have his follower believe that very few lives were lost in the process, but rebels had been killed by the hundreds, houses burned down, people treated like trash and garbage. Only the mines and the mils were left unaffected.

Nya made it out, barely, with a few others, and they sailed to the Tech District, living in the belly of the beast. Despite the huge loss, the Organization continued to exist, but they would need a new goal now. Which was when her little crew heard of the expedition. The president had been re-elected while they were fleeing from the Police force, and he had finally gotten his fleet. Gradually, the small crew started to work for a matter of sailing companies, waiting patiently while the boats were being build, and the plans for the fleet and the expedition was being drawn up. Nya started to help with the building of the ships, she talked her way into it, like much else she had managed to do for her little crew since then, and the builders were mostly people from the Mining District anyway.

Eventually, Nya applied to sail the ships too, and like she had done with the building company, she talked her way into that job as well. With a smirk and tears in her eyes - for things were finally working out - she put down the deposit, and celebrated with a few from her crew as they were all accepted on the fleet. The Organization still lived, and when they heard about the success of this small crew, they handed them everything they might need to start a revolution elsewhere.

> Onboard

Nya has a job, she’s aware of this job, but she is also aware that her standing with the crew might not be as great yet to be partaking in it. She has learned the art of waiting patiently, and will continue to do so on board, until it is time to strike. So will her crew of rebels.

She’s very charming and spiritual, although often she can come off as rather intense, but it is mostly meant for show. The other soldiers seem to respect her, since her time with the rebels has made her very handy with a sword. Nobody but her fellow rebels know about their mission, but she keeps it a huge secret, even going against her own beliefs just to keep everyone’s eyes of their backs. Although, in the right company, she is prone to express her opinions.

> Personality

Nya is intense, she believes in action over consequence. She had always focused on getting the job done, rather than knowing before how to do it. She’s righteous, loyal, and above all someone to be followed. Her leadership skills lay not in how she relays orders, or even how she treats those under her lead, but in her quick intentions and clear goals. The rebels under her care follow her because she tells them what to do, and it usually works out. When the Cultural Wars raged on, Nya made the decision to flee, and they still look up to her because of it. It if hadn’t been for her quick thinking skills, they wouldn’t have survived.

She is prone to talking, and telling stories and tales. She loves the legends of the island and the history of their deities. Her charming laughter and genuine interest in other people, has given her a kind of motherly attitude that is hard to deny. But it is because she cares very much about people, especially with what she has seen. She doesn’t care about most of the people from the Tech District however, or those who, like her father, have turned their backs to their fellow people. Those should watch out.

> Among their fellow Sailors

The Detective: Nya knows of this one’s history, and it is a good reason for her to hate them with all their might. Someone as prone as the Detective to betray their people, is someone who is on her list as a potential disaster.

The Self-Righteous: She knows this one can be a potential ally, although they don’t seem to be focussed much on actually bringing change, and more on making chaos.

The Survivor: Somehow, although Nya doesn’t know why, she feels drawn to the mysterious figure that is the Survivor, wanting to know what their backstory is, who they are, what they can be.

> Additional Information

She still uses a lot of gestures, which come natural to her because she’s from the Mining District, and she takes special care in noticing the others from the same District, as if their shared grief might help her mission.

FC: Hannah John Kamen TAKEN

[notwritinganyflufftoday]

OC tober writing challenge: Day 6

Bitter | Dr. Micha “Moo” Pollock | 1622 words

@oc-growth-and-development @baeyungmin

Everyone was well aware that on Monday mornings, one was best to stay out of the way of Head Nurse Gretchen, with her greying hair and permanent scowl. And if you did encounter her, you would best be polite and obedient and then she usually went easy on you. Unless your name was Doctor Micha Pollock.

Doctor Micha, or Dr. Moo as most of the colleagues had started calling them, was taking a well-deserved tea break after a fearful patient had begged and pleaded with them to stay here, instead of bracing the terrors of the skies. It wouldn't have been much of a problem if it were a simple patient, but it was a bloody seasoned war veteran turned sky-captain. The man had cried like a baby, loud and obnoxious. And while Dr. Moo knew crying could be liberating and healing, from their studies and experiences working at Magdalene's, it was pitiful. Moo let the session go on for an extra twenty minutes, free of charge, even knowing that it could get them into trouble. After the captain had taken control of his sniffles. He had straightened up, his face stony and unreadable and thanked Moo with a firm handshake. No trace left of the fearful man who had sat before them moments earlier.

While Moo was slowly drinking their tea and nibbling on one of the biscuits on the plate in the middle of the coffee table, the purple curtain dividing the staff room from the rest of the House opened and closed. Head Nurse Gretchen and Nurse Lucy walked in, probably also on break.

Gretchen looked disgruntled, but not shocked to see them here.

"Tell me, Pollock, how come you're on break when no one else is?" Out of all the nurses and doctors in Magdalene's, Moo was among the most hardworking of the bunch, not that Head Nurse Gretchen would ever praise them for it.

Dr. Moo was out of their seat in an instant and lowered their head, focusing their gaze on the tiled floor. They apologized, "I'm very sorry, ma'am. It won't happen again."

"It better not." Head Nurse Gretchen spoke up in a commandeering tone and added, "There's a new patient waiting for care in the entry hall, see to him pronto." And when Dr. Moo hesitated too much to her liking, she barked, "Get moving, Pollock."

"Yes, ma'am." Dr. Moo figured the best way to deal with Head Nurse Gretchen was to keep their head low and respect her even if they didn't get respect in return.

It took approximately five minutes to walk from the break room to the reception, where the receptionist Clement waved them over. "I thought you were on your break, Moo?" With only one look, Clement knew what had happened, "Gretchen, eh? Bloody tyrant she is."

"But er..." He continued, "What are you doing here?"

"The new patient?"

"Gretchen can't put him under your care, you're... and no offence to you, a rookie." Clement sighed, "And this patient has been trouble from the second he was brought in. I've already been busy preparing a file for him." He handed the file over to Moo, who read through the information diagonally.

Last name: Brewer Name: Jonah Brought in at 9:51 Monday morning, 6th of September 1907, by Spencer Tollemache, who found him afloat in the sky. Violent and physically aggressive behaviour towards staff and himself, incessant rambling, partial blindness

Diagnosis: Sky-madness

"What's the recommended treatment?" Dr. Moo asked after not finding that mentioned in the file. When Clement frowned behind his thick glasses, Moo rephrased their question, "Which person has he requested to be treated by?"

"That-that's the thing..." Clement pursed his lips, "He hasn't."

Moo stood frozen at the reception desk for a while, eventually they spoke, "Well, so be it. I need to take care of this patient, Clement."

"Moo, please, at least discuss it with your mentor first." Clement pleaded and if he could, he probably would've taken the file out of their hands, but Moo was already approaching the treatment rooms, ignoring their friend's protests behind them.

When Dr. Moo entered the room, the first thing they noticed was that the man, sat in the corner of the room on a less than comfortable chair, didn't even look up at their arrival. His gaze was fixed to a single point on the floor, he was clawing at his arms and he had a sickly pale complexion. Moo sat down in a chair opposite of him and grabbed a pen out of their lab coat.

Without a different personality to inhabit or a script to follow, Moo was a bit out of their depth, but began the session regardless in a professional manner. "Mr. Brewer, I am Dr. Micha Pollock and I'm here to alleviate your distress."

The man didn't respond, which eased Moo's worries that he might become violent towards them, but a violent patient was something they could work with. An unresponsive patient was a bit more tricky.

"What brought you here, Mr. Brewer?" Dr. Moo asked and when that question went unanswered and the man still acted like he didn't hear a word of what they had said, Moo changed tactics.

"If I may be blunt, Jonah... is it okay if I call you Jonah?" Moo tested and inwardly celebrated a small victory when the man grunted. A grunt was better than nothing. "Okay, Jonah, why didn't you request for someone to comfort you? This is after all the House of Small Comfort."

"All your small comfort  is good for is lying to people and giving them a fake sense of security." The man replied darkly, "Darkness is growing stronger every day and I'm... I'm scared, I'm scared, scared, scared-" The man trailed off, muttering to himself and scratched higher up his arms, drawing blood.

Moo had to put a stop to it, but how?

They spoke loud and clear to reach Jonah's ears even through his murmurs. "Jonah, isn't this even more of a reason to seek help? You're scared and that's understandable-"

"You don't understand anything!" He shouted and looked up. For a second their eyes met and Moo saw a frightened and tired young man. He continued a lot more subdued, "No matter who you are or who you pretend to be Dr. Pollock-"

"Please, call me Moo." They interrupted before they could think twice over what they've done. It was against the rules to give your name to a patient, but if they wanted to be real with Jonah, then there was no other option.

Jonah looked taken aback, but resumed where he had left off, "Dr. Moo, you will never understand what I've been through. No one can, thus no one can offer me comfort."

"That is a bleak outlook on life." Moo commented, getting a pained grimace as a reply. "And a lonely one." They continued.

Moo wanted to approach him, give him a hug, caress his face, all the things they had learned to do in the treatment for loneliness, a treatment this man certainly needed. Failing that, they decided on giving him comforting words, "Loneliness is something we all suffer from, especially in this day and age where people no longer care for one another."

"I don't need you to lecture me on loneliness." Jonah spat the words out between gritted teeth and Moo shrank back in horror as the man started sobbing, but he didn't look sad, he looked enraged. "I was part of a crew, on the Rising Xanthium. We were like brothers, but the bloody bastards threw me overboard at the first sign of..." At this, he pointed to his temple, "madness. I drifted longer than a week, in the bitter, cold, endless sky. I thought that was the end."

Moo trembled unconsciously.

"So, Dr. Moo, I don't think an adorable, innocent, little thing like you can comfort me." Jonah snarled and Moo shot up from their seat and ran out of the room as fast as they could. They passed by Clement, who asked them what happened in concern.

Moo arrived at their mentor, Dr. Roland's office and knocked twice before coming in.

"Micha, welcome... oh dear, sit down and have some tea." Dr. Roland said from behind his desk, busying himself with preparing tea for the both of them.

Moo slumped down in the plush chair and put their head in their hands. "I'm a rubbish doctor." They groaned from behind their hands.

"Nonsense. You are one of the most qualified doctors we've had in years." Roland answered, "I've heard from Clement you decided to treat a patient who didn't make a request."

"I did." Moo lowered their hands and said, "I got orders from Head Nurse Gretchen to deal with him."

They heard Roland cuss under his breath and he shook his head, "That woman is incorrigibly bitter. Promise me, you'll never end up like her."

"And stay adorable and innocent?" Moo scowled, "Maybe Nurse Gretchen is right."

Dr. Roland's thick eyebrows raised higher towards his hairline and he commented, "Those were words I never expected to come out of anyone's mouth, least of all you."

"She uses bitterness as her strength and she thrives on misery, maybe in our line of work that's the only way."

"I had hoped I taught you better than that." Roland sighed and Moo felt a pang of shame. They were supposed to make their mentor proud, not do whatever this was. "In our line of work, you need a strong, courageous heart. Bitterness only weakens it. Utilise your kindness and compassion as your sword and shield and don't give up on your patient."

Moo nodded and accepted the advice and the hot cup of tea.

[redrighthanded-blog1]

19, 26, 27, 42 !!

What were your character’s deepest disillusions? In life? What are they now?

ETA: as per usual, turns out I can't fucking read and spent about an hour putting this reply together thinking the question said delusions and not disillusions. I'm too lazy to change it now, so I'm keeping the original reply. Plus, I guess it kinda still answers the original question regardless.

This is going to sound so emo, but the only proper answer I can come up with is: Levi’s deepest delusion is that he can handle everything, life, himself, etc., on his own.

It isn’t that it’s that grand a delusion as much as Levi is, for the most part, fiercely practical and realistic; has to be as a means of survival; so whatever delusions he does have are fairly insignificant ones that he can certainly live with, even if they do get in his way sometimes.

I’ve gotten to discuss his relationship with his sister with @asilverjackal these past few days and I’m really feeling the way their shared experiences have affected them so differently. While Rachel tends to put family and a sense of community above all, trying to make up for the family she lacked as a child and young adult; Levi, on the other hand, has had the exact opposite reaction. He’s not standoffish nor does he go out of his way to try to push people away from him, and he does feel intense love and loyalty to those who are a part of his life – but that circle is fairly small and he has every intention of keeping it that way. He hates being dependent and/or vulnerable and he’d rather keep people at arm’s length rather than allow them any closer.

In a big sort of way, it is working for him. It isn’t that he doesn’t miss companionship as much as he’s been able to find it in people he knows he can trust, even if in slightly unusual ways. This, for one, can be seen in his relationship with Eden, which allows for both physical and emotional intimacy on the one hand while, on the other, still doesn’t confine them within a romantic relationship; they’re close and know everything there is to know about one another but, at the same time, they’re not constantly up in each other’s business.

Another good example of this is his relationship with Marco which, on the one hand, is entirely familial but, on the other, at the same time is strictly a business arrangement. Marco treats him like a son and Levi views him, in a way, as a parental figure but, at the same time, this relationship stemming from Levi’s involvement in Marco’s business makes it so that it isn’t as personal as it might have been otherwise. It allows him to get what he needs out of those relationships without feeling as though he’s putting himself too far out there (which is another way of saying: it’s a good way for him to deny needing similar relationships, a real parental relationship or a real romantic relationship, because he has these arrangements and they work better for him than he thinks anything else would).

What does your character’s home look like? Personal taste? Clothing? Hair? Appearance?

I would call Levi’s taste in anything middle-class-casual? He isn’t rich, but economically-speaking, he is pretty cushy and though Levi isn’t a showoff, he does like to enjoy the comforts that come with being a mob boss’ right hand man, if only because he’s never had this kind of luxury before. He went straight from living in poverty to serving in the military, which meant he hardly had any use for whatever wealth he did accumulate (which wasn’t much, considering most of it was funneled back to Rachel), considering he was hardly ever let out on leave during those six years; then, it was alcoholism and depression and not being able to keep a steady job, meaning he was living part at Rachel’s expense and part off his discharge grant; did get a small taste of the good life at Marco’s expense before he were sent to prison (where, again, whatever relative wealth he might have accumulated wasn’t anything he could’ve put to use) – and then, only after his discharge, did he finally get to actually… err, run his life properly, if that makes sense.

Unprompted and unnecessary foreword aside, Levi’s taste is simple but elegant. He doesn’t need much and his taste is fairly minimalistic, but whatever he does own is usually of good quality and taste. His apartment is fairly large and was fully furnished when he rented it so, on the one hand, not a lot of stuff that are in there are his but, on the other – he made sure to rent something that accommodated to his taste. There’s wooden floors, the living room is lavish with a large L shaped couch and a black cast-iron coffee table, all fairly neutrally-colored and distantly Japanese-inspired; the kitchen is wide enough to accommodate a small isle in the middle fit for two people; the main bedroom features large floor-to-ceiling windows. Bear has his own corner in the living room with his bed and toys but even that is usually kept tidy. There is one spare bedroom/office that’s largely out of use (naturally, Levi doesn’t entertain often, let alone let anybody spend the night) and has become Levi’s dumping place for all his military crap that he doesn’t want to unpack and go through – but even those few boxes are neatly stored in that room’s closet; out of sight, out of mind.

Regarding clothing and appearance, as mentioned above, he likes to keep it casual and elegant. Everything plain, no interesting patterns or designs or whatever, all muted colors, not a lot of layers if he can help it (though this is Chicago we’re talking about). It’s a compromise between looking respectable and being comfortable, seeing as to how he does most of Marco’s legwork. Same goes for his personal appearance – it’s the first time in a long while he’s been able to grow out his hair and beard and he’s kind of digging the patches of grey that are slowly coming in in both (thinks it gives him an air of respectability) but, on the other hand, still keeps them short and sharp looking – because what kind of long-haired buffoon expects to be taken seriously?

Long story short: minimalistic, casual elegance.

How do they relate to their appearance? How do they wear their clothing? Style? Quality?

For clothing, see the above answer.

To answer the first bit of this question: on the one hand, as previously mentioned in this ask reply, Levi isn’t entirely comfortable with his own body. Understandably: a significant portion of it is taut scar tissue which, other than being ugly on its own, often constricts his movements (i.e. the limp) and, under certain circumstances of physical labor, can induce hyperventilation and a general inability to bend at the stomach or the knee of his injured leg – all in all, a very embarrassing experience to occur when he’s being intimate with anyone.

That being said, on the other hand: Levi isn’t entirely blind nor is he too self-deprecating to recognize that he does have some sort of… I want to say boyish charm? Though that isn’t exactly the term I’m looking for. He recognizes that he is, to some extent, handsome, at least in the face, and that the ~*~dangerous criminal~*~ and/or ~*~seasoned veteran~*~ aura and certain gruffness of his look certainly helps, and he will use it in his favor if he thinks he can, both for work and on the rare occasion that he’s trying to pick someone up.

What does your character want most? What do they need really badly, compulsively? What are they willing to do, to sacrifice, to obtain?

Loss of control, dependency and helplessness have been reoccurring themes in Levi’s life (his childhood, his military service, his pursuant PTSD, depression and and alcoholism, his jail sentence) and as a result of that, his need to maintain control over both himself and his surroundings at any given moment has continuously increased to the point that he’s somewhat alienated himself from most personal relationships (see answer to question no. 19 at the top of this post) and developed unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with certain situations. This, naturally, always brings him to the point in which the pressure becomes too great and he needs to lose control in a supervised and controlled environment (oh, the irony) – hence his excessive vaping habit and occasional relapse with alcohol.

It isn’t that Levi is entirely unaware of this. He’s old enough and has observed his own behavior on enough occasions to know very well that he has both trust and control issues. Rather, the way he sees it, this is more of a means to an end: he needs to keep his head above water, needs never to go back to the same awful place he were in after his discharge (it absolutely terrifies him to be that needy and that utterly depressed ever again) and maintaining control is simply a means of assuring that. Short of his loved ones (and, yes, this also includes Marco and his family), he’s willing to sacrifice anything and everything to ensure his own happiness, no questions asked. Don’t get me wrong: on a personal level, he’s a nice guy; clever, funny, kind; but don’t let his charm fool you. The switch will flip and he will become selfishly ruthless in a matter of seconds if need be.

@holyrots / character solidifying questions.

[aspen-arts]

Price of Freedom Ch 8

Here it is! Another chapter of “Price of Freedom”! Once again thank you so much for all the support and love you guys are giving this fanfic! I really cannot express how much this means to me! ^^

Here we go!

P.S: Ugh, writing Werner was so hard!

CH 8

It was fairly easy to find where Werner Werman lived after the visit to Rumor Honeybottoms. It was she who pointed out the way to his living area and Specter was surprised to find it very close, just a block away. Going up the front steps of the front door of the house, Specter knocked on the door and waited for someone to answer. After waiting a few minutes with no answer, Specter raised a fist to knock again when he heard a crash coming from the backyard.

Curious, Specter floated down the steps and headed over towards the direction of the noise which was coming from the backyard. Going over the fence Spec saw a rat with his back turned against him, leaning down and picking up several mechanical parts from the ground while simultaneously grumbling to himself. What caught Specter’s eye was the rat’s outfit of lederhosen and a metal helmet. This must be the rat.

Specter floated in closer and cleared his throat. “Mr. Werman?”

The rat suddenly flung himself on the ground and covered his head, yelling, “I VAS NEVER INSIDE ZE DEVIL’S CASINO!”  

Specter stopped in his tracks as the rat continued on a frenzied gibbering.

“I don’t even know anysink about a contract! I never signed anysink!”

Specter didn’t even know what to say. He remained floating just staring at the terrified rat. Eventually Werner looked up cautiously at the ghost. Seeing that he was doing nothing the rat scrambled to his feet and glared at the ghost.

“WHO ARE YOU?!!”

“Relax, relax!” Specter grinned nervously as he held up his hands. “I’m not from the casino…I just came here because I heard you knew stuff about Nathan Nightshade.”

Werner blinked at this. “Nathan Nightshade?”

Specter nodded.

“Ach!” Werner hissed in dismay. “Vy vould you vant to know anything about zat arschloch?”

Specter had no idea what an “arschloch” was but by the way Werner made it sound it was probably something bad. “Personal reasons. I have a friend who is currently living with Nathan and…well I think he’s in a bad situation at the moment.”

“Ach!” Werner hissed again. “Not surprisink. Nothink good vill come from zat nightshade.” The rat looked around and immediately scurried towards the house, motioning Specter to come with him. “Follow me! It’s not safe out here!”

Specter had no idea why the rat was being so fidgety but he followed him anyway. Inside the house, Werner motioned Specter to sit before closing the window blinds and scurrying from room to room as if making sure nobody was hiding in order to overhear their conversation. As Werner did this, Specter looked around the room and noticed the war medals hanging up on the wall. So this rat was a veteran of the Great War? Was that the reason why he was so fidgety? That would make sense.

Finally Werner came back to the living room and seated himself in the armchair across from Specter. Clasping his hands together, he narrowed his eyes at Specter.

“So…you vould like to know more about zee nightshade, eh?”

Specter nodded.

“Ach, vat is zere to tell?” Werner shrugged. “I know he came from a fery powerful family. Huge bigshots in some sort of Nectar Company and because of zis, they treated smaller fellows like dreck.”

“Really?”

“Yah!” Werner nodded furiously. “Zey have no concern over zeir employers, believe zey are better zan zem, and zink zose below zem do not deserve any respect!”

“And how do you know all this, Mr. Werman?”

“I’ve encountered zem one time!” Werner gave an indignant squeak. “You see, it isn’t easy shtartink a new life in an unknown city. I’ve tried to sell some metal scraps to others ven I first came here. Vell, I tried to sell two mechanical gears to two of the nightshades and mein gott, you vouldn’t believe vat zey did!”

“What? What did they do?”

“Ach! They laughed! Laughed at how pathetic I vas! Zey also called me a…a…”

Werner clenched his fists and was trembling with rage.

“A what?” Specter asked.

“A KRAUT!” Werner snapped. “Zey called me a Kraut!”

“And…that’s bad?”

“Ach, yah!”

There was an awkward silence between the ghost and the rat before Specter cleared his throat. He wasn’t here to learn more about the nightshade family history. He would rather learn more about one particular nightshade.

“OK, so let me see if I have this correctly … basically Nathan came from a very higher up class of flowers…and so he believes he can get away with just about anything?”

“Yah,” Werner grumbled. “Zose nightshades are extremely vealthy. If one gets in trouble with the law, zey have big shot lawyers to get zem out. They zink they are the best type of flowers out zere because of zeir success and vealth, but zey are poison!”

“I don’t doubt that,” Specter frowned. “Have you’ve ever encountered Nathan Nightshade before?”

“Nein, not personally.” Werner shook his head. “I have seen him around before. Him and zis yellow flower, not sure who he is…”

Specter immediately straightened up. “Tell me more about this.”

“Eh?”

“Nathan and the yellow flower. Have you’ve seen how they interact or what Nathan does to this flower?”

“Oh yah,” Werner sat back and lit up a cigar. After taking a few puffs he answered, “Once I vas on one of my usual patrols around the city. I passed by one of zose American beer halls and from the alleyway next to it I heard shouting. Vell I sought zis vas fery odd and decided to investigate. Around the corner I saw the nightshade yelling at zee smaller yellow flower, fists raised and shaking. Ach, the yellow one looked absolutely terrified, shrinking to a small size as zee nightshade grew bigger. Vell zey spotted me and zee nightshade began to act as if nothing had happened. Claimed it vas a lover’s quarrel, nothing more.”

Lover’s Quarrel. Specter growled at this excuse. “What else happened?”

Werner shrugged. “Nightshade grabbed the flower by the arm and zey left immediately. I hafen’t seen either of zem since zen.”

“Oh…well do you know where he lives?” Specter saw the expression on Werner’s face and he sighed. “It’s for my friend. I want to help him.”

The rat then stood up and went over to his window, lifting the curtains up a tiny bit and his eyes darted around, scanning what was going on outside. “Yah,” he spoke, “I haff been keeping an eye on zat apartment of zeirs. All is quiet so far.”

Specter immediately went over to him and glanced out the window. Werner pointed at a red building that was slightly taller than the rest of the building. “Zat is where Nightshade lives. You vill find him zere.”

“Thanks,” Specter nodded. “I really appreciate the help.”

The ghost started towards the door when suddenly Werner yelled, “HALT!”

Specter stopped dead in his tracks and turned to stare at the rat.

“I forgot to tell you,” Werner’s voice was low and grave. “Since the Nightshades are fery powerful, zey have eyes everywhere. I vouldn’t be surprised if zis one has spies all over the place.”

“Good to know,” Specter tried not to sound nervous about that. “Well, I’ll just make sure not to get caught then. See you around.”

Stepping outside Specter climbed down the front steps of the house and went out to the street. At that moment a car drove past and Specter thought he saw the driver glance back at him, narrowing his eyes in suspicion before driving off. Werner’s warnings about spies everywhere caused Specter to shudder.

 It took awhile for Specter to get to the apartment building Werner had indicated. He had to duck down a lot of alleyways whenever a car passed by which was every so often. Despite the rat’s eccentric personality, Specter believed what he said was genuine. Eventually he walked around a block and a few buildings down as the red apartment building. Specter narrowed his eye and started to head over there. So Nathan thinks he can get away with anything? Well he’s about to find out wrong.

Specter was just a few feet away from the building when suddenly a car pulled up in front of the building. Yelping, the ghost immediately flew through the building’s walls and hid there. He slowly peeked out from the wall to see when the coast was clear and the black car was still standing there. The door of the building opened and out came a familiar flower that made Specter seethe with anger. Nathan headed straight towards the black car and opened the driver’s seat to get in.

“What took ya’ so long, Nathan?” A voice came from the car. “Usually you’re already outside and waiting for us!”

“Had to take care of business inside.” Specter heard Nathan say. “But it’s taken care of now. C’mon, we better not keep the boss waiting any longer.”

Specter cursed to himself as the black car drove off. Damnit, now he won’t be able to face the nightshade face to face. He could always fly after the car, but Specter had no idea how many of Nathan’s pals were inside the black car.

A thought suddenly came to Specter. Nathan had said he took care of business inside. What kind of business would he take care of unless it was…?

Specter gasped in realization. “Cagney!”

[dfroza]

Our courage in this life originates in grace

which is where our freedom is found. because this world tries to restrain the True nature of eternal things, yet in Today’s reading of the Scriptures we see from Paul that “the Word of God can never be chained!”

Today’s reading is chapter #2 of 2nd Timothy:

[Grace to Overcome]

Timothy, my dear son, live your life empowered by God’s free-flowing grace, which is your true strength, found in the anointing of Jesus and your union with him! And all that you’ve learned from me, confirmed by the integrity of my life, pass on to faithful leaders who are competent to teach the congregations the same revelation.

Overcome every form of evil as a victorious soldier of Jesus the Anointed One. For every soldier called to active duty must divorce himself from the distractions of this world so that he may fully satisfy the one who chose him.

An athlete who doesn’t play by the rules will never receive the trophy, so remain faithful to God!

The farmer who labors to produce a crop should be the first one to be fed from its harvest.

Carefully consider all that I’ve taught you, and may our Lord inspire you with wisdom and revelation in everything you say and do. But make Jesus, the Anointed One, your focus in life and ministry. For he came to earth as the descendant of David and rose from the dead, according to the revelation of the gospel that God has given me. This is the reason I am persecuted and imprisoned by evildoers, enduring the suffering of these chains—but the Word of God can never be chained! I endure all these hardships for the benefit of the chosen ones in Christ so that they may also discover the overcoming life that is in Jesus Christ, and experience a glory that lasts forever!

You can trust these words:

If we were joined with him in his death, then we are joined with him in his life! If we are joined with him in his sufferings, then we will reign together with him in his triumph. But if we disregard him, then he will also disregard us. But even if we are faithless, he will still be full of faith, for he never wavers in his faithfulness to us!

Be committed to teach the believers all these things when you are with them in the presence of the Lord. Instruct them to never be drawn into meaningless arguments, or tear each other down with useless words that only harm others.

Always be eager to present yourself before God as a perfect and mature minister, without shame, as one who correctly explains the Word of Truth.

And avoid empty chatter and worthless words, for they simply add to the irreverence of those who converse in that manner. For the words of Hymenaeus and Philetus are like gangrene, they have already spread their poison to many. They are lost to the truth and teach gross error when they teach that the resurrection of the dead has already passed. They are guilty of subverting the faith of some believers.

But the firm foundation of God has written upon it these two inscriptions: “The Lord God recognizes those who are truly his!” and, “Everyone who worships the name of the Lord Jesus must forsake wickedness!”

In a palace you find many kinds of containers and tableware for many different uses. Some are beautifully inlaid with gold or silver, but some are made of wood or earthenware; some of them are used for banquets and special occasions, and some for everyday use. But you, Timothy, must not see your life and ministry this way. Your life and ministry must not be disgraced, for you are to be a pure container of Christ and dedicated to the honorable purposes of your Master, prepared for every good work that he gives you to do.

Run as fast as you can from all the ambitions and lusts of youth; and chase after all that is pure. Whatever builds up your faith and deepens your love must become your holy pursuit. And live in peace with all those who worship our Lord Jesus with pure hearts.

Stay away from all the foolish arguments of the immature, for these disputes will only generate more conflict. For a true servant of our Lord Jesus will not be argumentative but gentle toward all and skilled in helping others see the truth, having great patience toward the immature. Then with meekness you’ll be able to carefully enlighten those who argue with you so they can see God’s gracious gift of repentance and be brought to the truth. This will cause them to rediscover themselves and escape from the snare of Satan who caught them in his trap so that they would carry out his purposes.

The Letter of 2nd Timothy, Chapter 2 (The Passion Translation)

Today’s paired chapter of the Testaments is the closing chapter of the book of 2nd Kings that documents the seige of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar:

[Chapter 25]

The revolt dates from the ninth year and tenth month of Zedekiah’s reign. Nebuchadnezzar set out for Jerusalem immediately with a full army. He set up camp and sealed off the city by building siege mounds around it. The city was under siege for nineteen months (until the eleventh year of Zedekiah). By the fourth month of Zedekiah’s eleventh year, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was so bad that there wasn’t so much as a crumb of bread for anyone. Then there was a breakthrough. At night, under cover of darkness, the entire army escaped through an opening in the wall (it was the gate between the two walls above the King’s Garden). They slipped through the lines of the Babylonians who surrounded the city and headed for the Jordan on the Arabah Valley road. But the Babylonians were in pursuit of the king and they caught up with him in the Plains of Jericho. By then Zedekiah’s army had deserted and was scattered. The Babylonians took Zedekiah prisoner and marched him off to the king of Babylon at Riblah, then tried and sentenced him on the spot. Zedekiah’s sons were executed right before his eyes; the summary murder of his sons was the last thing he saw, for they then blinded him. Securely handcuffed, he was hauled off to Babylon.

In the nineteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, on the seventh day of the fifth month, Nebuzaradan, the king of Babylon’s chief deputy, arrived in Jerusalem. He burned The Temple of God to the ground, went on to the royal palace, and then finished off the city—burned the whole place down. He put the Babylonian troops he had with him to work knocking down the city walls. Finally, he rounded up everyone left in the city, including those who had earlier deserted to the king of Babylon, and took them off into exile. He left a few poor dirt farmers behind to tend the vineyards and what was left of the fields.

The Babylonians broke up the bronze pillars, the bronze washstands, and the huge bronze basin (the Sea) that were in The Temple of God and hauled the bronze off to Babylon. They also took the various bronze-crafted liturgical accessories used in the services of Temple worship, as well as the gold and silver censers and sprinkling bowls. The king’s deputy didn’t miss a thing—he took every scrap of precious metal he could find.

The amount of bronze they got from the two pillars, the Sea, and all the washstands that Solomon had made for The Temple of God was enormous—they couldn’t weigh it all! Each pillar stood twenty-seven feet high, plus another four and a half feet for an ornate capital of bronze filigree and decorative fruit.

The king’s deputy took a number of special prisoners: Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the associate priest, three wardens, the chief remaining army officer, five of the king’s counselors, the accountant, the chief recruiting officer for the army, and sixty men of standing from among the people. Nebuzaradan the king’s deputy marched them all off to the king of Babylon at Riblah. And there at Riblah, in the land of Hamath, the king of Babylon killed the lot of them in cold blood.

Judah went into exile, orphaned from her land.

Regarding the common people who were left behind in Judah, this: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, as their governor. When veteran army officers among the people heard that the king of Babylon had appointed Gedaliah, they came to Gedaliah at Mizpah. Among them were Ishmael son of Nethaniah, Johanan son of Kareah, Seraiah son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, Jaazaniah the son of the Maacathite, and some of their followers.

Gedaliah assured the officers and their men, giving them his word, “Don’t be afraid of the Babylonian officials. Go back to your farms and families and respect the king of Babylon. Trust me, everything is going to be all right.”

Some time later—it was in the seventh month—Ishmael son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama (he had royal blood in him), came back with ten men and killed Gedaliah, the traitor Jews, and the Babylonian officials who were stationed at Mizpah—a bloody massacre.

But then, afraid of what the Babylonians would do, they all took off for Egypt, leaders and people, small and great.

When Jehoiachin king of Judah had been in exile for thirty-seven years, Evil-Merodach became king in Babylon and let Jehoiachin out of prison. This release took place on the twenty-seventh day of the twelfth month. The king treated him most courteously and gave him preferential treatment beyond anything experienced by the other political prisoners held in Babylon. Jehoiachin took off his prison garb and for the rest of his life ate his meals in company with the king. The king provided everything he needed to live comfortably.

The Book of 2nd Kings, Chapter 25 (The Message)

my personal reading of the Scriptures for Wednesday, december 30 of 2020 with a paired chapter from each Testament of the Bible, along with Today’s Psalms and Proverbs

A post by John Parsons that illuminates our human condition in Light of the eternal:

There is a gap between the “real” and the “ideal,” between our present sense of exile and our hope that one day we will be in our heavenly home; there is an inherent and ongoing dualism we experience as we sojourn through our days. On the one hand, if we make time to reflect on what is "real," we will eventually encounter the "Parmenidean" realm of "being," that is, the totality of sheer existence, the inescapable presence that surrounds and pervades any "thing" whatsoever: the "ground" of existence; the timeless sense of unity, perfection, and so on. The heart's response to this awareness is humble acceptance - to surrender to all that is -- in wonder over the miracle of consciousness and the sheer gift of life itself. The "real" is what "is" and that is a monolithic mystery...

On the other hand we encounter the everyday "Heraclitean" flux of life, the experience that all things flow (πάντα ῥεῖ ), and that we are all part of the endless river. The only “universal” is change itself, or the inscrutable process of becoming. The heart's response is to engage life, to learn to swim, and to go with the flow, however, since everything is in process, fighting injustice and seeking good outcomes are essential, and therefore there is a duty to refuse to passively be carried away in the drift, indifferent to the suffering and needs of others. We seek stability within the ongoing flux by identifying "universals" or principles, and it becomes our responsibility to improve the world, to lessen suffering, and to hold to whatever ultimately "is" -- the substance (or substratum) of everything, is good and worthy of our struggle...

As a matter of practical living, this dualism shows up in our hearts as a disposition or temperament that arises when we encounter seemingly pointless suffering in our lives (or in the lives of others). Even if our theology encourages us to "see through" the dark cloud of suffering and accept its ultimate resolution, misery and chronic pain defy our best explanations, often leaving us speechless, in the whirlwind of mystery and confusion, hoping to find the will to believe despite our inner fracture or the crucifixion of our world...

Friedrich Nietzsche once said that he could accept any "what" of suffering if he had a "why," though that dialectic is never really finished, since the faith to regard suffering as purposive or pointless is an ongoing, and ultimately terminal, struggle... Of course having a sense of meaning, a "story" that accounts for your suffering is important, yet it is a story being told as you live it, and you will have days of fortitude as well as days of weakness... As Kierkegaard once said: “Truth is not something you can appropriate easily and quickly. You certainly cannot sleep or dream yourself to the truth. No, you must be tried, do battle, and suffer if you are to acquire the truth for yourself. It is a sheer illusion to think that in relation to the truth there is an abridgment, a short cut that dispenses with the necessity for struggling for it.”

The question as to whether suffering and death are "essential" to what is real or merely "accidental" is an academic one, but when the issue comes up-close and personal through intimate afflictions, the question becomes a matter of the heart answered by how we choose to respond, especially when our best explanations (or rationalizations) fail us... For most people this “answer” to the problem of suffering is to deny there is any problem at all, as Blaise Pascal once ironically noted: "Being unable to cure death, wretchedness, and ignorance, men have decided, in order to be happy, not to think about such things" (Pensees). Such collusion to deny the reality of suffering is ironically exposed in our addictions, our obsessions, and in our constant use of various “tools of distraction.” Denying the reality of death is ultimately foolish, however, since it makes a deal with the devil to become "comfortably numb" at the expense of our very souls... “This your last chance. After this there is no turning back. You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes. Remember, all I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more” (The Matrix: 1999). The ancient sage Socrates would unhesitatingly have swallowed the red pill: "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, is of a different opinion, it is only because they only know their own side of the question" (J.S. Mill: Utilitarianism, 1861).

Another response to the problem of mortal suffering is to try to "fix" or circumvent it through various medical technologies. Instead of accepting the age-old struggle of learning to suffer (and to die) well, the modern world creates another layer of denial - pretending that death and disease are a problem that can be resolved by palliative technology and science. At the very least, medical technologies supply "end of life" care that is engineered to hide the truth from the culture at large... The rise of "trans-humanism" is a romantic idealization of this view.

A characteristically spiritual approach seeks to transform suffering and death to be the means of sanctification - a sorrowful yet necessary prelude to deliverance and ultimately to salvation. Suffering is the price we pay for the blessing of existence, and God uses it to educate or rectify the soul for the perfections of heaven. Now while such a "soul building" theodicy may rationalize some of the common hardships of life in this world, it rings a bit hollow when we consider certain forms of suffering, such as the death of a very young child or the unjust and senseless murder of a bystander in a bad neighborhood... It makes a mockery of the pain we feel in grief, by acts of terrorism, through political tyranny, and so on.

Often enough these different approaches to suffering are intermixed within the heart, as, for example, when a person receives a terminal medical diagnosis but then wrestles through accepting what is happening yet also doing whatever is possible to fight for life. This struggle arises when the intellectual "problem of evil" becomes a mystery of the heart, and the person both surrenders and yet wrestles over God's role in the darkness of their unknown. This is a sacred place , the "garden of pain," where we face the essential truth of our own vulnerability and mortality, our suffering and our fear, and yet it is precisely there that we cry out to God for the strength to accept his will without hatred and despair...

Intellectually we may be tempted to regard our suffering as the way to reconcile our sins with God's justice (karma), but this is not the message of the gospel, of course, which proclaims Yeshua was made "sin for us" to bring us forgiveness and life (Rom. 4:5; 1 Pet. 3:18; 2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:1). Indeed Yeshua sacrificed on our behalf "reconciles" God's justice with the truth of his love (Psalm 85:10; 89:14). That said, we return again to the realm of paradox, since though we are not forensically punished so that we are made good, we are "corrected" by our Heavenly Father as we partake of suffering to be conformed to the image of Messiah (Heb. 12:5; Col. 1:24; Rom. 8:17; 8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49, etc.). The divine exchange given at the cross is the miracle of substitutionary atonement - and yet we still suffer in this life, we still might wonder if there be a hidden message of rebuke -- even while we are assured that all things (including our afflictions) work together for our ultimate good and for the glory of God.

It is an "already-not-yet" mode of existing, friend, as we partake of the heavenly gift and promise and yet await its consummation in the future... Meanwhile while God does not take away those pains and fears common to all men in this fallen world, he does impart courage produced by the Holy Spirit that yields conviction of His love and presence. Even if the world totters and shakes we find comfort because the LORD is near.

There is always a gap between what we are and what we could be, between the "is" and the "ought," and between the real and the ideal in our lives... Our conversion imparts to us a new spiritual nature, but we still must struggle through our deep inadequacies so that we might learn to truly love God and others (Shema). God graciously saves us by faith, and he sanctifies us the selfsame way, though in the latter case this means learning to keep focus, to persevere, and persist in hope - despite the shortfall of our lives. So where are you going today? Are you keeping faith in God's promises for your life? Are you catching up with the miracle of what God has done for you?

This dualism of life shows up within our hearts as we wrestle with our faith and with our "double-mindedness," that is, the ambivalence that results from not having our minds made up. On the one hand, we need to confess the truth of our radical sinfulness, our depravity, our brokenness, and so on, while on the other we must learn to know ourselves as the "beloved" and to find faith that God’s blessing indeed belongs to us -- that Yeshua gave his life for us -- despite ourselves. We have to be willing to take God’s new name for us and believe that God has transformed our deepest nature for eternal good. We have to be renamed from “Jacob” to “Israel,” and yet we know ourselves as both... In other words, we must learn to “put on” the new nature and to “put off” the carnal reasoning of our former life. The answer for us is found in the word "miracle," as God in great mercy and compassion regenerates us, comforts us, and then guides our way back to the truth of his salvation.

Often the only prayer we have is "Help, LORD!" (עזור לי יהוה). I use this one on a daily basis, that is, whenever I am confronted with the truth of my condition... Living in the "already-not-yet" state of redemption is a soul-building venture that helps us to acquire the precious middah (quality) of patience: "In your patience possess ye your souls" (Luke 21:19). Testing produces endurance (Rom. 5:3), but God surely is faithful "to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 1:24). May He come speedily, and in our day. Amen. [Hebrew for Christians]

https://hebrew4christians.com/

12.29.20 • Facebook

Today’s message from the Institute for Creation Research

December 30, 2020

Wonder at the Word

“Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.” (Psalm 119:129)

Josiah was eight years old when he became king of Judah. His grandfather was Manassah and his father Amon, both evil kings. While it seemed Josiah would follow the same path, he didn’t. “He did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left” (2 Chronicles 34:2). What made such a difference?

As the text above testifies, Josiah found wonder in God’s Word. When Josiah was a young man (age 26), a godly leader read to him the law (torah), which engaged his soul.

And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandments, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. (2 Chronicles 34:31)

Such was the case of the psalmist. The earlier portions of Psalm 119 declare the good that he had done, but now his soul was motivated. He longed (v. 131) and cried for direction and help from the Lord: “Look thou upon me, and...Order my steps in thy word....Deliver me from the oppression of man....Make thy face to shine upon thy servant” (vv. 132-135).

These unselfish prayers were each coupled with a promise to obey. With his heart and correct behavior involved, the psalmist wept for those who “keep not thy law” (v. 136). When the hearts of God’s people break because of sin, revival comes (2 Chronicles 7:14). HMM III

[waiting-among-the-stars]

Among the Stars: Chapter One, Part Two

A small gasp from Indie, and the smaller man was whirling about, the flashlight’s beam flailing about wildly. Quickly, Rusty moved behind him and settled his hands on his shoulders.

“Easy, Indie. Easy.. It’s gone for now.” Giving his shoulders a reassuring squeeze, he then took his hand and nudged him toward the door. “How ‘bout I walk you back to the barracks, yeah?” Indie nodded, taking a deep breath and trying to calm his panic. He had no reason to be afraid, Rusty was right here with him. However, the thought did cross the captain’s mind that.. Well, with Indie here, he didn’t actually have a real witness if he did end up dead. If the imposters were quiet enough killers, which he had known them to be in the past, then Indie wouldn’t notice a damn thing.

“Sorry..”

“What for?” Indie shook his head, and was silent, leaving Rusty just genuinely confused, despite repeated attempts at getting an answer. Had he imagined the apology then? No, he knew he’d heard him.. Right? The trip to the barracks was easy, and relatively short compared to the trip from navigation, but.. He couldn’t help but find himself still glancing around at the vents, and peeking around every dark corner.

“You’re nervous.”

“What? No. No, I’m just making sure we aren’t being followed.”

“With all due respect, Captain. I’m blind, not stupid.” He could feel the captain’s pulse vibrating against his palm, and felt every minute shift in movement and behavior. If there was one thing that Indie’s loss of sight had truly blessed him with, it was an incredible tactile sense of the world. Touch was his best asset, alongside his hearing. Couple that with an intelligent mind, and maybe that was why Indie had been allowed on this mission in the first place.

“I didn’t say that.”

“No, but everyone treats me like it.” A sigh, and Indie turned towards the barracks’ doors, reaching a hand out to feel his way. “I may be bad at visual tasks, but that doesn’t mean I don’t pick up on other things. Good night, Rusty.” A few careful taps on the keypad, and the door to Shade’s room slid open, Shade himself standing by the bed, half-dressed and looking like he’d been ready to run all throughout the ship in search of Indie. He regained his composure quickly, however, putting his hand on his shoulder, and giving a nod to Rusty.

“Captain.” And then the door closed again, leaving Rusty by himself in the halls. With a sigh, a mildly furrowed brow, and a shake of his head, the captain too made his way to bed for now, though not without a while of restless shifting back and forth, and the setting of a few traps around his room. Soon though, sleep claimed him too, and all was quiet for the time being aboard their ship.

“Gooood morning, everybody! This is your ship’s cook Honey Aurel here! The time is o-seven-hundred hours, and breakfast is served in the mess hall! Today’s menu is omelettes, sausage, bacon, and some eggless french toast and banana pancakes for the vegetarians! Enjoy your meal, and let’s make this a productive day!” Indigo was slow to rouse himself from slumber as Honey’s voice rang out over the PA system, and he sluggishly wormed his way out of Shade’s protective hold, blinking blearily at nothing. Shade took a moment to pull himself out of bed too, stretching a bit and yawning. It wasn’t long though before they were both dressed and joining everyone in the mess hall. Indie only paused for a moment or two before he made his way to the table, feeling his way along, and feeling Shade’s hand gently guiding him.

Indie settled himself in his seat, Shade slumping down at his left, and finally the hand left him, leaving him to guess at the world mostly alone. The distinctive, uneven tap-clank, tap-clank alerted him to Honey’s approach, as well as the tapping scrape of a plate being set down, to indicate the cook had put food in front of him.

“Cheese omelette with red peppers, chives, and tomatoes, along with a solid helping of sausage and bacon.” Honey’s voice was steady and even, with a laugh held just barely at the back of his throat. Indie lifted his head to acknowledge- He didn’t make it far before his head made fairly distinct contact with the cook’s chest. Paled eyes widened, and his eyebrows raised, before Indie ducked his head down again, choosing instead to occupy himself with the long, still somewhat tangled, ponytail that cascaded across his shoulder. He tried to focus himself on attempting to braid it, but with of course no success. A chuckle from Honey, and a hand pat his shoulder.

“My bad, Indie. Got a little too close again, didn’t I.” Tap-clank, tap-clank, tap-clank. His footsteps moved away, and Indie turned his attention instead to locating his plate and utensils, and the omelette was his first victim.

“Mm! You’ve really outdone yourself this time, Honey!” Rose, alerting Indie to be seated at his right, always one to offer praise and never afraid to lend a hand if he needed it. “I don’t think I’ve ever had better pancakes!”

“Aw, Rosie-girl, you’re making me blush!”

“I’m serious! You’ve gotta tell me what’s your secret!”

“‘ey, c’mon, girl. Let ‘im have his mysteries.” And that was Buck, seated across the table from him. “You ladies get to have all your little secrets and clever mysteries, not a wink to askin’ ‘bout ‘em, but the minute a man’s got ‘em, you’re dying to know.” Indie blinked a moment, considering it, but.. No. No, that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Did it?

“Shove it, Buck, no one gives two shits about your rock collection.” Silver, three seats down from Buck at the right. He wasn’t much taller than Indie himself, but he was certainly a lot more aggressive and moody. Perhaps he was a perfect example of why some people liked to joke that short people were closer to hell. The sound of mild shuffling on the other side of Rose, then something wet hitting against skin.

“Hey! Try that again, River, I fucking dare you!”

“Oh, yeah? And what are you gonna do about it, Shortstop?”

“Don’t call me that!”

“Don’t call you what? Shortstop?”

“Fuck you!”

“Oh, you just wish you could, little man, but you don’t measure up.” Indie was content to just tune it all out at this point. Arguments between Silver and River were pretty much expected by now. She liked to tease, and he had a short fuse. Sure, they all could tell him just to stop giving her the reactions she was after, and often Skylar did try to advise him to do just that, but it never seemed to last long. Silver Blanche was like a time bomb ready to explode at any minute, and River Lochland was always there to set him off.

“All right, alright, that’s enough of that. You gotta stop aggravating him, Riv.” Honey’s even temper and charming optimism was honestly a gift. “One of these days he’s going to get even.”

“He just makes it too easy.”

“Easy’s boring, though. Pick a better target than the yapping dog. He’ll wear himself out chasing his own tail anyway.”

“The fuck did you just call me?!”

“Oooh~ Indie’s packing heat this morning, and Silver just got burned!”

“Indie, I will not hesitate to punch out a blind man!” A shift of a chair at his left, and Indie knew Shade was on his feet now, no doubt towering over Silver as was his way of things. Before anyone else could make a move, however, it was Rusty who spoke next. 

“I’m calling for a meeting..” It was with a grave solemnity that he spoke, and everyone at the table fell silent. Any arguments already forgotten, Shade settling himself back in his seat as the captain continued. “At thirteen-hundred hours, I expect everyone back here to deal with an important matter at hand. Anyone who doesn’t show, had better either be dead, or have a damn good excuse why not.” A shuffling of a plate and utensils, and the small slide of a chair, and Rusty’s footsteps departed from the mess hall. Still silence lingered.

They all understood what it meant when Rusty was serious about a meeting like that. He was their veteran on board, and as such, he was the most trusted to take any possible threats seriously. Their silence seemed to stretch on forever, before finally it was Skylar who spoke.

“Was there an attack? From one of those things?”

“Can’t be. We’re all here and accounted for.” Rose shifted just a bit closer, gently taking Indie’s hand in hers. “So.. it can’t be that someone was killed..”

“Could be about the boilers..” Forest now.

“What about the boilers?”

“Talked to him last night. Indie heard something in the boiler room, and he reported it to Rusty. Dunno what happened from there. I’d already gone to bed when I got told about it.”

“Yeah, I ain’t likin’ the sound of that..” It was as if the air around them had turned heavy and cold, just Rusty’s words leaving them all chilled.

Next

Previous

[rachelyse]

I wrote this at 3am: I can't sleep because my brain will not turn off. I'm honestly just really heated and disappointed with a lot of people right now. Scrolling through Facebook and I can't stop shaking my head. I decided I needed to get this all off my chest. I'm angry because the people who are so outraged over a peaceful protest are the same people who didn't bat an eye when a young black boy got shot down by a cop in the park like an animal. The same people that support Trump, a man who called a peacefully protesting football player a "son of a bitch" and called Nazis "very fine people". The same people who boo and yell insults at people kneeling literally WHILE the anthem is playing. This is actually happening I can't make this shit up. The irony is incredible. The same people who preach about respecting the flag while hanging the confederate flag on their front porch or on their raised F-150. The confederate flag; the very symbol of disrespect towards the United States flag. The same people who use the Fourth of July as an excuse to get trashed, wear the flag all over their beer-stained clothes and bikinis, and scream "MURICA!" at anything moving. The same military members who run to their cars or inside a building before colors comes on so they don't have to stand at attention and salute for two minutes. The same people who decide they can speak for veterans all while never serving a day in their lives. The same people who post ignorant things on Facebook and dismiss the upset or angry comments by people of color. But when I (a white person) comment basically repeating what the POC said, they get so flustered that they delete their entire status altogether. Because apparently opinions only matter when it's coming from a white person. The same people who criticize me for being so opinionated about racial inequality. White people who try to discourage me from speaking out by saying, "you know you're white, right?" Omg really? I had no idea holy shit. The same people who tell me that "if I hate my country so much, I should just leave". Newsflash: I live in Spain, dumbass. Also, I can criticize bad things happening in my country. It doesn't mean I hate it. Actually, quite the opposite. I love my country. That's why I want it to progress and be better than what it has been. The same people who are faking outrage over a peaceful protest in attempt to deflect because seeing a bunch of black men speak out about racism in this country makes them uncomfortable. The same people who threaten to boycott the NFL because of players kneeling, but when other players were charged with beating their wives or raping women, they turned a blind eye. The same people who constantly preach about freedom of speech being an American right, but get pissed when others are practicing their rights because their opinion is different. To put it plainly, these players kneeling during the national anthem is the perfect picture of what this country represents. They are practicing their rights as Americans by peacefully protesting. It literally does not get more American than that. Personally, I would be kneeling right there beside them if I could. But guess what? You don't have to kneel. That's what's so great about it. That's your right as an American! So don't condemn them for also practicing their rights as Americans! Let them protest. They're not hurting anyone by doing it, so let them do it. If this post is describing you, please keep reading. Instead of complaining and throwing insults at the protesters, how about listening to them? Listen to why they're protesting? Sure, it's an uncomfortable topic to speak about. But try. It's so easy to dismiss other people's pain when you don't feel it yourself. It's easy to brush this off and make it about football when its NEVER been about football. It's so easy to be angry at a bunch of black men for ruining your Sunday routine of watching the game when all they want is to be treated equally. And that's a perfect definition of privilege.

[zombies-with-radios]

Why I cannot do that.

I’m reading a lot of posts about Donald Trump and how Americans should support him because of his presidency. Let me just calmly tell you WHY I CANNOT DO THAT.

Donald Trump is not an ordinary president. He is not an ordinary Republican. I personally might have voted Republican had there been another candidate that was opposing Hillary just for the time being(in an extreme situation only) But that wasn’t the case.

Donald Trump is not a Politician. He has absolutely no experience for the job that he has won. He bought his presidency with his billions because be did not win the popular vote. But people ignore this.

They blatantly ignore the fact that he has sexually assaulted multiple women, degraded women, been openly racist to Americans of color, openly mocked a handicapped man at his rally, called wounded veterans “weak” and has removed our healthcare because of his vendetta against Obama.

Donald Trump spends so much time stroking his own ego and having immature Twitter battles online. Why do you all ignore these things? How can you respect a man who hasn’t shown respect in return? I don’t respect that man simply because his position..That would be called Blind Nationalism which is absolutely anti American.

Donald Trump pretends to be a Christian, but what sort of Christian sexually assaults people? What sort of Christian promotes violence and then promises to pay the legal fees for people who do? Is that what your Jesus wanted? No, absolutely not. He is not a Christian, he is not a man of God. He is a man for himself and his bank account.

You people sound like a broken record. You fear Muslims but you fail to realize that the extremists are just a drop in the bucket. They’re are MILLIONS of Muslims in the world who are just regular people. You are terrified of an entire religion because of hate mongering and racism preached by people like Trump. Yes. There are the extremists, but do not assume that ALL Muslims are terrorists. Do not assume that because then the same could be said for white people all being KKK, or Nazis. You cannot generalize like that because you are the one who looks stupid.

Gay marriage is legal because your religion is NOT IN CHARGE OF AMERICA. We are a country of many religions and we are under no orders to abide by a god we do not believe in. If YOU personally don’t want to get gay married, then DON’T. But you have no place telling other human beings what is wrong or right in their own life. It doesn’t matter what you feel about it because it has no effect on you. You shouldn't try to ruin other people’s lives simply because your own religion doesn’t like it. That’s not how a free country works. You don’t get to do that.

Illegal immigration needs to stop, but building a wall is not the way to handle it. How about making the immigration process more straightforward and cheaper so that families in need of refuge can actually move here legally. How about reforming immigration process to accommodate people that aren’t rich? Why do we need to build another Berlin Wall? That only preaches hatred and otherness. It tells our children that Mexicans are to be feared. It teaches the wrong message. Yes, illegal immigration needs to stop, but it will never stop unless we reform out policies rather than building a plastic bubble around our country.

I don’t hate Republicans. When I talk about Trump I’m not talking about hating everyone. I’m talking g about one man, one man who is about to make things really dangerous for a lot of people.

And I say this to you… If you are a white , straight middle to upper class person, Trump might not seem so bad.you want to know why? Because it won’t effect you personally. You will be fine because you are his target audience. But your friends, colleagues, acquaintances, neighbors etc…They don’t have that luxury. My Muslim and Mexican friends have expressed their absolute terror for what is to come and they were born here. People who aren’t in Trump’s ideal demographic are going to be hurt.

He has already started by taking away healthcare without a suitable replacement. I can understand repealing Obamacare..But if there is no backup..Lots of sick people are going to die. And for some reason, Trump supporters are just okay with this.

You think this man is going to “make America great again”… Tell me, at what point was it so great that we want to return to? We are still striving every day to reach that greatness. We have made tremendous strides with civil rights and gaining our freedoms..But now we might take giant leaps backwards. We are going to lose rights rather than gaining them.

So I ask you, how can you support this man? How can you wake up and support such a monster? Are you that uncaring for your fellow Americans? This isn’t a liberal versus conservative thing. We are way passed that. This is a freedom versus tyrant thing.

When Hitler first came to pow, he was popular, he was joked about and media outlets mocked liberals for being afraid of him. They told people that they were babies for fearing mean words. They treated him as a mockery but many supported those mean words. And that how it starts. It starts with words and then grows to actions. Trump already proposed tagging Muslims even if they were born here, and entering them I to a database…That was one of the first things Hitler did to the Jews when he rose to power. This is not some liberal conspiracy. Tyrants never begin as a fearsome monster..They start as a boisterous, radical leader who commands the attention of the rich and powerful. And you are blind to it.

I am just so utterly baffled by the fact that his followers seem oblivious to all of these things. I am so angry that this country sank so low.

You tell me to give him a Chance, innocent until proven guilty…..He is already guilty. Before he even took office he already did unspeakable things. He has no chances left. You have him chance after chance but your hatred for the left made you blind . You. Ant see passed your own pride. He is a bad man. He is a cancer on this nation.

I don’t condone violence and riots. I don’t agree with vandalism. But I can understand the anger behind them. Protests aren’t supposed to be sanctioned and ask nicely..Thats not what a protest is. And not to mention that the rioters are only a tiny portion of the protests that you for some reason choose to link together with everyone else. There are thousands of peaceful protests going on but you ignore that and only point out the small riots instead.

I think a lot of people need to take a minute to really think about why it is that they are alright with ignoring Trump’s racism, homophobia, sexism and just general nastiness. Why are you okay with this? Why am I labeled as some liberal hippie tree hugger because I happen to care about people outside of my own demographic? I dont intend to feel bad anymore. I’m tired of tiptoeing around the feelings of everyone else. We need to remove this man from office , even if another Republican comes to power I could welcome he or she with open arms for now. This is urgent and incredibly important and I seriously can’t stress that enough. You want me to respect a tyrant? I just gave you more than enough reasons why I cannot do that.

[ecotone99]

[MF] Uber Driver Testimonial

I signed up to be an Uber driver after I heard Jimmy H––– speak about an opportunity for people unemployed, underemployed and between careers. What’s great about Jimmy’s program is that when I hit my 500 rides he gets a payout. What’s also great is that for every person I sign up, coach, and track on the Partner Dashboard, I get a payout when that person hits their 500 rides. I don’t take a portion of my protege’s money so it’s not a pyramid scheme. I encourage all new Uber drivers part of Jimmy’s system to journal their experience driving for Uber. Email your testimonial to me for a chance to win a nice prize and be featured on Jimmy’s website.

I used to be self-conscious when driving college students. When you drive Uber you are either a driver who drives nights and weekends (you might have a day job) or you are a driver who drives during weekdays (you probably do not have a day job). When I drove college students during the weekday I often imagined saying to them “don’t be like me kids” or “I have a degree but you never know where life will take you”. It occurred to me I should be able to express a good and noble reason for driving Uber to myself and students or young professionals that press me. I settled on telling the truth: I was a disabled veteran who drove to get out of the house.

One time I drove a couple to a hip-hop concert at the Great Park. While we were in the car the guy said I was the best Uber driver he ever rode with because I checked my blind spots. Since I started driving for Uber I have greatly improved my driving skills, reinforced good driving habits, and developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). These are driving rules that I follow by default and only alter if there is a special circumstance like an emergency. Some basic examples of my SOPs are: 1) stopping at yellow lights unless the abrupt stop would jar my passengers, 2) making a full stop at every stop sign, 3) checking both ways twice, 4) using owl vision through intersections, 5) driving a bit slower than normal, 6) knowing the exit before getting on the highway, 7) driving with the windows up and the A/C on, 8) driving with no radio on, 9) only talking when spoken to or when asking follow up questions.

I’m wondering if I will still be able to drive for Uber after December 31st because of these new laws California passed. I don’t know about you, but I’m taxed like a contractor and not an employee!

Like an airplane pilot going through their pre-flight checklist, I have SOPs that I go through before I start driving, when I pull up to the pickup point, after I drop someone off, etc. First I make sure I can stop somewhere close to the pickup point out of the way of traffic. I park the car and turn on my blinkers. Next I unlock the doors. I make sure the dome light turns on when the doors open. I roll the windows up and turn the air conditioner on. Last I text the passenger using the app telling them that I have arrived. While I wait I keep an eye out for hazards and the passenger. If I notice the passenger has bags I pop the trunk, get out, and help them.

On the road I’ve noticed an increase in a phenomenon I call Honk Backs. Let’s say that one driver lingers after a light turns green and the car behind them honks. A Honk Back would be that first driver honking back in indignation (after they were honked at). I have yet to do a Honk Back and feel it is beneath the dignity of most drivers.

Not too late one night I drove an inebriated Korean man home. I had the strange desire to convince this guy that I had Korean friends and that I liked Korean food, which are both true. We talked about some Korean dish being real good and the best place in South Korea to get it. Later in the conversation I named my three Korean friends. I even got into how I liked Korean women a lot. He asked me to clarify. That’s when I knew I had talked too much. He then went on a polite tirade about how stupid the Chinese were and how they were buying up all the land and making prices go up.

When I started driving for Uber I believed I needed to get to the pick up point as fast as possible and that people wanted me to drive as fast as possible. Neither beliefs were true. People want to be driven safely. People appreciate slower, defensive driving when they have never driven with you before. I tend to show up earlier than expected at the pick up point and I often arrive safely at the destination ahead of time.

My father brought up to me today that the founders of Uber did something lavish with the money they got from their IPO. He said that it wasn’t fair while the average Uber driver struggles to make minimum wage. I told him that if it wasn’t for Uber I would be unable to pay my bills and it was great it was so easy to be legally employed by them.

I always thought the best drivers on the road (aside from racer drivers, stunt drivers, etc.) were truck drivers. Truck drivers are the titan sentinels of the road. Their driving skill is a testament to the number of hours they have behind a wheel. The legends of the Uber road are drivers with over 10 thousand rides. Can you imagine someone who has driven more in the last 3 months than you have in the last 3 years?

One night I drove a big Indian guy from one house to another. The whole ride he was on the phone talking in a low, deep voice, very slowly, in that Barry White style, but in Hindi. I imagined he was talking to the woman I was driving towards though I never saw who was in the house. I thought this dude had some game and was good at talking to the ladies. A few days later it occurred to me that what made this guy sound so smooth was talking slowly in a deep voice. Now I speak in a deep low voice to people that ride with me and I have received more pats than average.

Uber sent me a message in the App saying that I am covered by insurance as soon as I turn the App on. I’m sure it’s just for car insurance and not health insurance. I doubt they would cover me in a crash but it’s nice of them to cover damage to my car. It’s likely just liability coverage in case I maim or mangle.

One day I took a Black woman to the train station. She was older than me, but gracefully aged, and she wore a long dark dress with a floral print. She was the talkative type, which seems to be about 1 out of 25 people. By this I mean she was the type of rider that talks the entire drive. I’m happy to oblige and make smart conversation with people like this. She told me a story about how Condoleezza Rice lived back in the day when racism was really bad and her dad had to protect his family from attack by Klan members with his shotgun. My passenger said that she liked the idea that people in a country should have to serve in the military, that way they could learn to use guns and know more about what it means to send citizens off to war. She lamented that people in the government were tying to takeover the presidency. She also told a story about how her older relative was welcomed into the home of a family that wound up showing them an emerald green cloak and hood worn by certain leaders of the Klan. When we got to the train station she thanked me for the ride and I told her I would share her Condoleezza Rice story.

Tips make up about 10% of my Uber wages. Keeping my car washed and vacuumed, dressed in slacks, dress shoes, and a button shirt, freshly showered and shaved, helps increase my tips. It seems that people treat me based on the quality of my clothing. I would guess that tipping is done out of a sense of obligation (I tip you because you have earned my respect), and secondarily out of genuine thankfulness.

I don’t understand why gas prices are high in California even though we are energy independent thanks to Donald Trump.

I noticed some passengers give directions and make requests of me, and some passengers are quiet as a mouse though I drive miles off route in the wrong direction. I noticed the former tend to be from affluent neighborhoods and the later from poor neighborhoods. Meekness and humility seem to be more prevalent in Santa Ana while assertiveness and disagreeableness are more prevalent in Newport Beach. This reminds me of an article I read saying there were two types of parents that took their kids for a checkup: 1) parents that encourage their children to ask the doctor questions, 2) parents that tell their children to be quiet in the presence of the doctor.

I picked up a Muslim family and dropped them off in a nice gated community. There were two women wearing hijabs and an elderly man who had a speaking impairment. He seemed to make grunts of varying range and timbre to communicate. It was an unfortunate ride because along the route I made a left turn when I should have gone straight (it was a bizarre intersection foreign to me). The elderly man began grunting, confirming my mistake. I needed to make a U-turn at the next intersection to get back on track. It turned out it was illegal to make a U-turn at this intersection. I was already in the left turning lane though. I felt I owed it to this family to risk the illegal U-turn even though getting pulled over would be the absolute worse thing that could happen to me or my passengers, aside from a crash. Sometimes we succumb to the rush of the moment. After scanning for cops I made the U-turn when the light turned green. The truck behind me honked. When we got to the guard house at the entrance to the community I rolled down the windows and presumed to talk to the gate guard and give the guard the home number that the app had as the destination address. It turned out the house number I gave was not correct. The female passenger behind me told the gate guard the correct house number and had to give a name repeatedly. That day I learned to just roll down the windows and let the passengers talk to the gate house security.

It’s January 2nd and I am still able to drive for Uber. I guess they satisfied whatever requirements they needed with the state. I know that the future of Uber will be driver-less cars. I know that when I drive I am helping program Uber’s AI. I know that my function as a driver for Uber will be obsolete one day and that I am helping to expedite that goal. I do hope to drive for Uber in my old age when I’m retired so that I can get out of the house and stave off Alzheimer’s.

​

https://chasedmandes.com/uber-driver-testimonial/

submitted by /u/ChaseDMandes [link] [comments] via Blogger https://ift.tt/2ZNGHhW

[sheminecrafts]

Polite Fortnite Society

My parents are approaching 60. When they were young, they hung out at diners, or drove around in their cars. My generation hung out in the parking lot after school, or at the mall. My colleague John Biggs often talks of hanging out with his nerd buddies in his basement, playing games and making crank calls.

Today, young people are hanging out on a virtual island plagued by an ever-closing fatal storm. It’s called Fortnite .

They hang out in Fortnite the way we used to hang out in basements or back yards. We played games or kicked a ball around, but it was all a pretense for the social aspect.

— Anoop Ranganath (@anoopr) December 10, 2018

The thread above describes exactly what I’m talking about. Yes, people most certainly log on and play the game. Some play it very seriously. But many, especially young folks, hop on to Fortnite to socialize.

The phenomenon of “hanging out” on a game is not new.

I was in a 50 person clan in World of Warcraft in 2004 and we all hung out on a Ventrilo for hours every day for years and years. I saw real romantic relationships begin, grow and die on there. So “x is a place” is a fine observation, but it’s not a new phenomenon.

— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) December 24, 2018

Almost any popular game results in a community of players who connect not only through the common interest of the game itself, but as real friends who discuss their lives, thoughts, dreams, etc. But something else is afoot on Fortnite that may be far more effectual.

Gaming culture has long had a reputation for being highly toxic. To be clear, there is a difference between talking about someone’s skills in the game and making a personal attack:

“You are bad at this game.” = Fine by me “You should kill yourself.” = Not fine at all

But many streamers and pro gamers make offensive jokes, talk shit about each other and rage when they lose. It’s not shocking, then, that the broader gaming community that tries to emulate them, especially the young men growing up in a world where e-sports are real, tend to do many of the same things.

A new type of community

But Fortnite doesn’t have the same type of community. Sure, as with any game, there are bad apples. But on the whole, there isn’t the same toxicity permeating every single part of the game.

For what it’s worth, I’ve played hundreds of hours of both Fortnite and Call of Duty over the past few years. The difference between the way I’m treated on Fortnite and Call of Duty, particularly once my game-matched teammates discover I’m a woman, is truly staggering. I’ve actually been legitimately scared by my interactions with people on Call of Duty. I’ve met some of my closest friends on Fortnite.

One such relationship is with a young man named Luke, who is set to graduate from college this spring.

During the course of our now year-long friendship, Luke revealed to me that he is gay and was having trouble coming out to his parents and peers at school. As an older gay, I tried to provide him with as much guidance and advice as possible. Being there for him, answering his phone calls when he was struggling and reminding him that he’s a unique, strong individual, has perhaps been one of the most rewarding parts of my life this past year.

I’ve also made friends with young men who, once they realize that I’m older and a woman and have a perspective that they might not, casually ask me for advice. They’ve asked me why the girl they like doesn’t seem to like them back — “don’t try to make her jealous, just treat her with kindness,” I advised, and then added “OK, make her a little jealous” — or vented to me about how their parents “are idiots” — “they don’t understand you, and you don’t understand them, but they’re doing their best for you and no one loves you like they do” — or expressed insecurity about who they are — “you’re great at Fortnite, why wouldn’t you be great at a bunch of other things?” and “have more confidence in yourself.”

(Though paraphrased, these are real conversations I’ve had with random players on Fortnite.)

There is perhaps no other setting where I might meet these young people, nor one where they might meet me. And even if we did meet, out in the real world, would we open up and discuss our lives? No. But we have this place in common, and as we multitask playing the game and having a conversation, suddenly our little hearts open up to one another in the safety of the island.

But that’s just me. I see this mentorship all the time in Fortnite, in both small and big ways.

Gaming culture is often seen as a vile thing, and there are a wide array of examples to support that conclusion. Though this perception is slowly changing, and not always fair, gamers are usually either perceived as lonely people bathed in the blue glow of the monitor light, or toxic brats who cuss, and throw out slurs, and degrade women.

So why is Fortnite any different from other games? Why does it seem to foster a community that, at the very least, doesn’t actively hate on one another?

One map, a million colors

First, it’s the game itself. Even though Fortnite includes weapons, it’s not a “violent” game. There is no blood or gore. When someone is eliminated, their character simply evaporates into a pile of brightly colored loot. The game feels whimsical and cartoonish and fun, full of dances and fun outfits. This musical, colorful world most certainly affects the mood of its players.

Logging on to Fortnite feels good, like hearing the opening music to the Harry Potter movies. Logging on to a game like, say, Call of Duty: WWII feels sad and scary, like watching the opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan.

Moreover, Fortnite Battle Royale takes place on a single large map. That map may change and evolve from time to time, but it’s even more “common ground” between players. Veterans of the game show noobs new spots to find loot or ways to get around. As my colleague Greg Kumparak said to me, “Every time you go in, you’re going to the same place. Maybe it’s skinned a little different or there’s suddenly a viking ship, but it’s home.”

Of course, there are other colorful, bubbly games that still have a huge toxicity problem. Overwatch is a great example. So what’s the difference?

Managing expectations

Battle Royale has introduced a brand new dynamic to the world of gaming. Instead of facing off in a one-versus-one or a five-versus-five scenario as with Starcraft or Overwatch respectively, Battle Royale is either 1 versus 99, 2 versus 98 or 4 versus 96.

“It isn’t as binary as winning or losing,” said Rod “Slasher” Breslau, longtime gaming and e-sports journalist formerly of ESPN and CBS Interactive’s GameSpot. “You could place fifth and still feel satisfied about how you played.”

Breslau played Overwatch at the highest levels for a few seasons and said that it was the most frustrating game he’s ever played in 20 years of gaming. It may be colorful and bubbly, but it is built in a way that gives an individual player a very limited ability to sway the outcome of the game.

“You have all the normal problems of playing in a team, relying on your teammates to play their best and communicate and to simply have the skill to compete, but multiply that because of the way the game works,” said Breslau. “It’s very reliant on heroes, the meta is pretty stale because it’s a relatively new game, and the meta has been figured out.”

All that, combined with the fact that success in Overwatch is based on teamwork, make it easy to get frustrated and unleash on teammates.

With Fortnite, a number of factors relieve that stress. In an ideal scenario, you match up with three other players in a Squads match and they are all cooperative. Everyone lands together, they share shield potions and weapons, communicate about nearby enemies and literally pick each other up when one gets knocked down. This type of teamwork, even among randos, fosters kindness.

In a worst-case scenario, you are matched up with players who aren’t cooperative, who use toxic language, who steal your loot or simply run off and die, leaving you alone to fight off teams of four. Even in the latter scenario, there are ways to play more cautiously — play passive and hide, or third-party fights that are underway and pick players off, or lure teams intro trapped up houses.

Sure, it’s helpful to have skilled, communicative teammates, but being matched with not-so-great teammates doesn’t send most people into a blind rage.

And because the odds are against you — 1 versus 99 in Solos or 4 versus 96 in Squads — the high of winning is nearly euphoric.

“The lows are the problem,” says Breslau. “Winning a close game of Overwatch, when the team is working together and communicating, feels great. But when you’re depending on your team to win, the lows are so low. The lows aren’t like that in Fortnite.”

The more the merrier

The popularity of Fortnite as a cultural phenomenon, not just a game, means that plenty of non-gamers have found their way onto the island. Young people, a brand new generation of gamers, are obsessed with the game. But folks who might have fallen away from gaming as they got older are still downloading it on their phone, or installing it on the Nintendo Switch, and giving Battle Royale a try. Outsiders, who haven’t been steeped in the all-too-common hatred found in the usual gaming community, are bringing a sense of perspective to Fortnite. There is simply more diversity that comes with a larger pool of players, and diversity fosters understanding.

Plus, Fortnite has solid age distribution among players. The majority (63 percent) of players on Fortnite are between the ages of 18 and 24, according to Verto Analytics. Twenty-three percent of players are ages 24 to 35, and thirteen percent are 35 to 44 years old. However, this data doesn’t take into account players under the age of 18, which represent 28 percent of overall gamers, according to Verto. One way Fortnite is like other games is that 70 percent of players are male.

There aren’t many scenarios where four people, from different backgrounds and age groups, join up under a common goal in the type of mood-lifting setting that Fortnite provides. More often than not, the youngest little guy tries to make some sort of offensive joke to find his social place in the group. But surprisingly, for a shoot and loot game played by a lot of people, that’s rarely tolerated by the older members of a Fortnite squad.

All eyes on Fortnite

The popularity of the game also means that more eyes are on Fortnite than any other game. Super-popular streamer Ninja’s live stream with Drake had more than 600,000 concurrent viewers, setting a record. The more people watching, the more streamers are forced to watch their behavior.

Fortnite streamers are setting a new example for gamers everywhere.

One such streamer is Nick “NickMercs” Kolcheff. Nick has been streaming Fortnite since it first came out and has a huge community of mostly male viewers. I consider myself a part of, albeit a minority in, that community — I’ve subscribed to his channel and cheered for him with bits and participated in the chat. In short, I’ve spent plenty of time watching Nick and have seen him offer a place of support and friendship for his viewers.

I’ve seen Nick’s audience ask him, in so many words, how to lose weight (Nick’s a big fitness guy), or share that they’re dealing with an illness in the family, or share that they’re heartbroken because their girlfriend cheated on them.

In large part, Nick says he learned how to be a mentor from his own dad.

“I remember being in those kinds of positions, but I have a great father that always sat me down and let me vent and then shared his opinion, and reminded me that it isn’t supposed to be easy,” said Kolcheff. “It feels good to bounce things off other people and hard things always feel much easier when you know you’re not alone, and I can relate to my chat the way my dad relates to me.”

Nick always has something positive to say. He reminds his audience that even if they feel alone IRL, they have a community right there in his Twitch channel to talk to. He sets an example in the way he talks about his girlfriend Emu, and the way he treats her on screen. When Nick loses a game and his chat explodes with anger, he reminds them to be cool and to not talk shit about other players.

And it’s easy to see his example followed in the chat, where young people are treating each other with respect and answering each other’s questions.

Nick wasn’t always like this. In fact, the first time that NickMercs and Ninja played together on stream, they brought up the time that Nick challenged Ninja to a fight at a LAN tournament years ago. But both Nick and Ninja have matured into something that you rarely find in online gaming: a role model — and it’s had an effect.

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, far and away the most successful Twitch streamer ever, decided to stop swearing and using degrading language as his influence in the community and his viewership grew. When his audience said they missed the old Ninja, he had this to say:

I’m the same person, you guys. 2018 can’t handle old Ninja and… guess what, I can’t handle old Ninja because the words that I used to say and the gaming terms I used to say… they weren’t ok, alright? I’ve matured.

Jack “Courage” Dunlop is another Fortnite streamer who uses his influence in the community to mentor young people. He has befriended a young fellow named Connor. Courage helped Connor get his first win and has since continued playing with him and talking to him.

Not only is he being kind to Connor, but he’s setting an example for his viewers.

“In comparison to games like Call of Duty and Gears of War and Halo, the top content creators like Ninja, Sypher PK, Timthetatman, are a little older now,” said Kolcheff. “They’ve come from other games where they already had a following. If you look at me five or six years ago, or any of us, we’ve all chilled out. We were more combative and crazy and had a lot more words to say, but I think we just grew up, and it bleeds through to the community.”

These guys are the exception in the wider world of gaming and streaming. But they represent the future of gaming in general. As e-sports explode with growth, pro players will undoubtedly be held to the same behavioral standards as pro players in traditional sports. That’s not to say that pro athletes are angels, and that’s not to say that bad actors won’t have a following. Just look at PewDiePie.

A matter of time

The e-sports world is realizing that they can’t let their professionals run their mouth without consequences. As the industry grows, highly dependent on advertisers and brand endorsements, with a young audience hanging on every word, it will become increasingly important for leagues, e-sports organizations and game makers to start paying closer attention to the behavior of their top players.

We’re already seeing this type of policing happening on Overwatch, both for pro players and amateurs alike.

There is plenty more work to do. But the problem of removing toxicity from any platform is incredibly difficult. Just ask Facebook and Twitter. Still, it’s only a matter of time before e-sports decision-makers raise the stakes on what they’ll allow from their representatives, which are pro players and streamers.

Toxic behavior is being rejected in most polite society anywhere (except Twitter, because Twitter), and it surely can’t be tolerated much longer in the gaming world. But Fortnite maker Epic Games hasn’t had to put too much effort forth to steer clear of toxic behavior. The community seems to be doing a pretty good job holding itself accountable.

Winning where it counts

Believe you me, Fortnite is not some magical place filled with unicorns and rainbows. There are still players on the game who behave badly, cheat, use toxic language and are downright mean. But compared to other shooters, Fortnite is a breath of fresh air.

No one thing makes Fortnite less toxic. A beautiful, mood-lifting game can’t make much of a difference on its own. A huge, relatively diverse player base certainly makes a dent. And yes, the game limits frustration by simply managing expectations. But with leaders that have prioritized their position as role models, and all the other factors above working in harmony, Fortnite is not only the most popular game in the world, but perhaps one of the most polite.

We reached out to Epic Games, Courage and Ninja for this story, but didn’t hear back at the time of publication.

from iraidajzsmmwtv http://bit.ly/2TpXjYI via IFTTT

[technicalsolutions88]

My parents are approaching 60. When they were young, they hung out at diners, or drove around in their cars. My generation hung out in the parking lot after school, or at the mall. My colleague John Biggs often talks of hanging out with his nerd buddies in his basement, playing games and making crank calls.

Today, young people are hanging out on a virtual island plagued by an ever-closing fatal storm. It’s called Fortnite.

They hang out in Fortnite the way we used to hang out in basements or back yards. We played games or kicked a ball around, but it was all a pretense for the social aspect.

— Anoop Ranganath (@anoopr) December 10, 2018

The thread above describes exactly what I’m talking about. Yes, people most certainly log on and play the game. Some play it very seriously. But many, especially young folks, hop on to Fortnite to socialize.

The phenomenon of ‘hanging out’ on a game is not new.

I was in a 50 person clan in World of Warcraft in 2004 and we all hung out on a Ventrilo for hours every day for years and years. I saw real romantic relationships begin, grow and die on there. So “x is a place” is a fine observation, but it’s not a new phenomenon.

— Matthew Panzarino (@panzer) December 24, 2018

Almost any popular game results in a community of players who connect not only through the common interest of the game itself, but as real friends who discuss their lives, thoughts, dreams, etc. But something else is afoot on Fortnite that may be far more effectual.

Gaming culture has long had a reputation for being highly toxic. To be clear, there is a difference between talking about someone’s skills in the game and making a personal attack:

“You are bad at this game.” = Fine by me “You should kill yourself.” = Not fine at all

But many streamers and pro gamers make offensive jokes, talk shit about each other, and rage when they lose. It’s not shocking, then, that the broader gaming community that tries to emulate them, especially the young men growing up in a world where esports are real, tend to do many of the same things.

A new type of community

But Fortnite doesn’t have the same type of community. Sure, as with any game, there are bad apples. But on the whole, there isn’t the same toxicity permeating every single part of the game.

For what it’s worth, I’ve played hundreds of hours of both Fortnite and Call of Duty over the past few years. The difference between the way I’m treated on Fortnite and Call of Duty, particularly once my game-matched teammates discover I’m a woman, is truly staggering. I’ve actually been legitimately scared by my interactions with people on Call of Duty. I’ve met some of my closest friends on Fortnite.

One such relationship is with a young man named Luke, who is set to graduate from college this spring.

During the course of our now year-long friendship, Luke revealed to me that he is gay and was having trouble coming out to his parents and peers at school. As an older gay, I tried to provide him with as much guidance and advice as possible. Being there for him, answering his phone calls when he was struggling and reminding him that he’s a unique, strong individual has perhaps been one of the most rewarding parts of my life this past year.

I’ve also made friends with young men who, once they realize that I’m older and a woman and have a perspective that they might not, casually ask me for advice. They’ve asked me why the girl they like doesn’t seem to like them back — “don’t try to make her jealous, just treat her with kindness,” I advised, and then added “ok, make her a little jealous” — or vented to me about how their parents “are idiots” — “they don’t understand you, and you don’t understand them, but they’re doing their best for you and no one loves you like they do” — or expressed insecurity about who they are — “you’re great at Fortnite, why wouldn’t you be great at a bunch of other things?” and “have more confidence in yourself.”

(Though paraphrased, these are real conversations I’ve had with random players on Fortnite.)

There is perhaps no other setting where I might meet these young people, nor one where they might meet me. And even if we did meet, out in the real world, would we open up and discuss our lives? No. But we have this place in common, and as we multitask playing the game and having a conversation, suddenly our little hearts open up to one another in the safety of the island.

But that’s just me. I see this mentorship all the time in Fortnite, in both small and big ways.

Gaming culture is often seen as a vile thing, and there are a wide array of examples to support that conclusion. Though this perception is slowly changing, and not always fair, gamers are usually either perceived as lonely people bathed in the blue glow of the monitor light, or toxic brats who cuss, and throw out slurs, and degrade women.

So why is Fortnite any different from other games? Why does it seem to foster a community that, at the very least, doesn’t actively hate on one another?

One map, a million colors

First, it’s the game itself. Even though Fortnite includes weapons, it’s not a ‘violent’ game. There is no blood or gore. When someone is eliminated, their character simply evaporates into a pile of brightly colored loot. The game feels whimsical and cartoonish and fun, full of dances and fun outfits. This musical, colorful world most certainly affects the mood of its players.

Logging on to Fortnite feels good, like hearing the opening music to the Harry Potter movies. Logging on to a game like, say, Call of Duty: WWII feels sad and scary, like watching the opening sequence to Saving Private Ryan.

Moreover, Fortnite Battle Royale takes place on a single large map. That map may change and evolve from time to time, but it’s even more “common ground” between players. Veterans of the game show noobs new spots to find loot or ways to get around. As my colleague Greg Kumparak said to me, “every time you go in, you’re going to the same place. Maybe it’s skinned a little different or there’s suddenly a viking ship, but it’s home.”

Of course, there are other colorful, bubbly games that still have a huge toxicity problem. Overwatch is a great example. So what’s the difference?

Managing expectations

Battle Royale has introduced a brand new dynamic to the world of gaming. Instead of facing off in a one-vs-one or a five-vs-five scenario as with Starcraft or Overwatch respectively, Battle Royale is either 1-vs-99, 2-vs-98 or 4-vs-96.

“It isn’t as binary as winning or losing,” said Rod “Slasher” Breslau, longtime gaming and esports journalist formerly of ESPN and CBS Interactive’s GameSpot. “You could place fifth and still feel satisfied about how you played.”

Breslau played Overwatch at the highest levels for a few seasons and said that it was the most frustrating game he’s ever played in 20 years of gaming. It may be colorful and bubbly, but it is built in a way that gives an individual player a very limited ability to sway the outcome of the game.

“You have all the normal problems of playing in a team, relying on your teammates to play their best and communicate and to simply have the skill to compete, but multiply that because of the way the game works,” said Breslau. “It’s very reliant on heroes, the meta is pretty stale because it’s a relatively new game, and the meta has been figured out.”

All that, combined with the fact that success in Overwatch is based on teamwork, make it easy to get frustrated and unleash on teammates.

With Fortnite, a number of factors relieve that stress. In an ideal scenario, you match up with three other players in a Squads match and they are all cooperative. Everyone lands together, they share shield potions and weapons, communicate about nearby enemies, and literally pick each other up when one gets knocked down. This type of teamwork, even among randos, fosters kindness.

In a worst case scenario, you are matched up with players who aren’t cooperative, who use toxic language, who steal your loot or simply run off and die, leaving you alone to fight off teams of four. Even in the latter scenario, there are ways to play more cautiously — play passive and hide, or third-party fights that are underway and pick players off, or lure teams intro trapped up houses.

Sure, it’s helpful to have skilled, communicative teammates, but being matched with not-so-great teammates doesn’t send most people into a blind rage.

And because the odds are against you — 1 vs 99 in Solos or 4 vs 96 in Squads — the high of winning is nearly euphoric.

“The lows are the problem,” says Breslau. “Winning a close game of Overwatch, when the team is working together and communicating, feels great. But when you’re depending on your team to win, the lows are so low. The lows aren’t like that in Fortnite.”

The more the merrier

The popularity of Fortnite as a cultural phenomenon, not just a game, means that plenty of non-gamers have found their way onto the island. Young people, a brand new generation of gamers, are obsessed with the game. But folks who might have fallen away from gaming as they got older are still downloading it on their phone, or installing it on the Nintendo Switch, and giving Battle Royale a try. Outsiders, who haven’t been steeped in the all-too-common hatred found in the usual gaming community, are bringing a sense of perspective to Fortnite. There is simply more diversity that comes with a larger pool of players, and diversity fosters understanding.

Plus, Fortnite has solid age distribution among players. The majority (63 percent) of players on Fortnite are between the ages of 18 and 24, according to Verto Analytics. Twenty-three percent of players are ages 24 to 35, and thirteen percent are 35 to 44 years old. However, this data doesn’t take into account players under the age of 18, which represent 28 percent of overall gamers, according to Verto. One way Fortnite is like other games is that 70 percent of players are male.

There aren’t many scenarios where four people, from different backgrounds and age groups, join up under a common goal in the type of mood-lifting setting that Fortnite provides. More often than not, the youngest little guy tries to make some sort of offensive joke to find his social place in the group. But surprisingly, for a shoot and loot game played by a lot of people, that’s rarely tolerated by the older members of a Fortnite squad.

All eyes on Fortnite

The popularity of the game also means that more eyes are on Fortnite than any other game. Super popular streamer Ninja’s live stream with Drake had more than 600,000 concurrent viewers, setting a record. The more people watching, the more streamers are forced to watch their behavior.

Fortnite streamers are setting a new example for gamers everywhere.

One such streamer is Nick “NickMercs” Kolcheff. Nick has been streaming Fortnite since it first came out and has a huge community of mostly male viewers. I consider myself a part of, albeit a minority in, that community — I’ve subscribed to his channel and cheered for him with bits and participated in the chat. In short, I’ve spent plenty of time watching Nick and have seen him offer a place of support and friendship for his viewers.

I’ve seen Nick’s audience ask him, in so many words, how to lose weight (Nick’s a big fitness guy), or share that they’re dealing with an illness in the family, or share that they’re heartbroken because their girlfriend cheated on them.

In large part, Nick says he learned how to be a mentor from his own dad.

“I remember being in those kinds of positions, but I have a great father that always sat me down and let me vent and then shared his opinion, and reminded me that it isn’t supposed to be easy,” said Kolcheff. “It feels good to bounce things off other people and hard things always feel much easier when you know you’re not alone, and I can relate to my chat the way my dad relates to me.”

Nick always has something positive to say. He reminds his audience that even if they feel alone IRL, they have a community right there in his Twitch channel to talk to. He sets an example in the way he talks about his girlfriend Emu, and the way he treats her on screen. When Nick loses a game and his chat explodes with anger, he reminds them to be cool and to not talk shit about other players.

And it’s easy to see his example followed in the chat, where young people are treating each other with respect and answering each other’s questions.

Nick wasn’t always like this. In fact, the first time that NickMercs and Ninja played together on stream, they brought up the time that Nick challenged Ninja to a fight at a LAN tournament years ago. But both Nick and Ninja have matured into something that you rarely find in online gaming: a role model — and it’s had an effect.

Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, far and away the most successful Twitch streamer ever, decided to stop swearing and using degrading language as his influence in the community and his viewership grew. When his audience said they missed the old Ninja, he had this to say:

I’m the same person, you guys. 2018 can’t handle old Ninja and… guess what, I can’t handle old Ninja because the words that I used to say and the gaming terms I used to say… they weren’t ok, alright? I’ve matured.

Jack “Courage” Dunlop is another Fortnite streamer who uses his influence in the community to mentor young people. He has befriended a young fellow named Connor. Courage helped Connor get his first win and has since continued playing with him and talking to him.

Not only is he being kind to Connor, but he’s setting an example for his viewers.

“In comparison to games like Call of Duty and Gears of War and Halo, the top content creators like Ninja, Sypher PK, Timthetatman, are a little older now,” said Kolcheff. “They’ve come from other games where they already had a following. If you look at me five or six years ago, or any of us, we’ve all chilled out. We were more combative and crazy and had a lot more words to say, but I think we just grew up, and it bleeds through to the community.”

These guys are the exception in the wider world of gaming and streaming. But they represent the future of gaming in general. As esports explode with growth, pro players will undoubtedly be held to the same behavioral standards as pro players in traditional sports. That’s not to say that pro athletes are angels, and that’s not to say that bad actors won’t have a following. Just look at PewDiePie.

A matter of time

The esports world is realizing that they can’t let their professionals run their mouth without consequences. As the industry grows, highly dependent on advertisers and brand endorsements, with a young audience hanging on every word, it will become increasingly important for leagues, esports organizations and game makers to start paying closer attention to the behavior of their top players.

We’re already seeing this type of policing happening on Overwatch, both for pro players and amateurs alike.

There is plenty more work to do. But the problem of removing toxicity from any platform is incredibly difficult. Just ask Facebook and Twitter. Still, it’s only a matter of time before esports decision-makers raise the stakes on what they’ll allow from their representatives, which are pro players and streamers.

Toxic behavior is being rejected in most polite society anywhere (except Twitter, because Twitter), and it surely can’t be tolerated much longer in the gaming world. But Fortnite maker Epic Games hasn’t had to put too much effort forth to steer clear of toxic behavior. The community seems to be doing a pretty good job holding itself accountable.

Winning where it counts

Believe you me, Fortnite is not some magical place filled with unicorns and rainbows. There are still players on the game who behave badly, cheat, use toxic language and are downright mean. But compared to other shooters, Fortnite is a breath of fresh air.

No one thing makes Fortnite less toxic. A beautiful, mood-lifting game can’t make much of a difference on its own. A huge, relatively diverse player base certainly makes a dent. And yes, the game limits frustration by simply managing expectations. But with leaders that have prioritized their position as role models, and all the other factors above working in harmony, Fortnite is not only the most popular game in the world, but perhaps one of the most polite.

We reached out to Epic Games, Courage, and Ninja for this story, but didn’t hear back at the time of publication.

from Social – TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2LL8kkU Original Content From: https://techcrunch.com