#i know they wont be a line long term but theyre fun while we have them <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[tiger-balm]

rookie line has themselves a 5 point night and a discount gordie howe | panthers @ leafs | april 1st 2024

[adhdsix]

HI I FORGTO TO POST THIS UM ANWA S i am thinking about the besties (six mono rk and rcg obviously) and i wanted to write down a little. a little thing abt their relationships idk what to call this i am just thinking (this is all my personal thoughts btw u dont have to agree with anything i say but feel free 2 give some of ur own input :] )

OK SO this is sort of long(?) so haha 

starting with six; six’s closest buddy is (obviously) mono; they’re basically inseperable and may as well be attached at the side at this point. if you see one and not the other then Run because the other is behind you probably /j because six has never felt as though she has a safe space, she often considers mono her home, whether she realises it or not, and mono feels a similar way they go to each other for help and can communicate sometimes without words, theyre both happy to tolerate each other and theres clearly a bond between them you could see from a mile away. they rarely get seriously upset with each other and when they do they find a comfortable way to work it out. six would probably kill for mono, and he’d gladly die for her in return, even when none of them outright admit it. mono is one of the only people six actually talks to, and the only person allowed to touch her. on top of just being great friends that do truly care for each other in their own ways, they’re also an amazing duo that are great alone but are close to unstoppable together; they both have their own strengths that almost perfectly balance each other out, even when their differences sometimes get in the way, and theres really no situation they cant get out of as a team

next in line is rcg (i will refer 2 her as sandy to make this easier and because i think that is a cute name for her); sandy is like six’s older sister (tbh she is everyones older sister) and theyre both on pretty good terms with each other, shes pretty comfortable with sandy and trusts her a decent amount, if mono isnt around six wont hesitate to come to sandy for help and sandy will happily oblige :] six doesnt say it much but she appreciates that sandy is there to help and puts up with sixs sometimes unruly behavior and overall shenanigans, while sandys glad she can be a sort of guardian figure for six (and most of the other kids) and she finds the trust that the two of them are carefully forming is a great reward (six let her braid parts of her hair once and sandy was so honored, it has never happened again but sandy is determined that it will) last but not least is six’s relationship with rk; they don’t get along the best, and it probably would take a while to get them to really interact, and they definitely like to bicker or poke fun at each other from across the room but eventually, overall they tend to really just stay out of each others business. this proves 2 be hard sometimes though as they are kind of now in the same friend group (playable characters gang!!!!! *partying face emoji*) 

despite this theres still quite a few things they can bond over, and theyre both pretty comfortable in the sort of “frenemy” spot. most of the time they really dont mind situations where they have to team up together and just get along for a while, even if they still bully each other throughout  nowwww time for mono!!!!!!!!!!!  right away six is his best friend, like i said before theyre basically the same person except for the fact that theyre sort of total opposites he just adores her, thinks she is the absolute coolest and is always willing to give her his undivided attention. will obviously tell her off when needed but he’s always gentle and patient with her, and is always on her side, and six lets him know in her own way that she appreciates him greatly he loves to drag her into his activities and make sure shes included like i said before hes always patient with her, and makes sure she’s comfortable, for example when he goes to hug her (or just touch her at all) he’ll wait for a sign from her saying its okay; and if she’d rather be left alone he just sits with her and waits, ready for whenever she needs him for basically anything, and six always does the same for him

next is rcg/sandy!!!! like basically everyone else, he sees her sort of as an older sister, and appreciates her helping out with six’s shenanigans and being there for six when he isnt able to, even for a little bit. they actually make a pretty good team as well, and have tons in common. both of them love trying out new things and usually make plans together, and sandys happy to let him talk whenever he wants; whether he’s ranting, infodumping, or just bored and looking to strike up conversation, shes there to chat with!! also he loves her hugs because she always picks him up and spins him around  and again rk!!!! the two of them arent very close but still pretty friendly with each other and always manage to find things to talk about whenever theyre together, mono is always ecstatic to learn more about the nomes and rk happily shares his knowledge mono is also always trying to find ways to bring rk and six closer together, but always respects their boundaries, and rk appreciates it all tons now for sandy/rcg *evilly rubs my paws together*  starting with rk! dead buddies ahaha anyways like ive pointed out multiple times rcg sees the others as siblings, and rk is no exception! the two of them spend tons of time together, playing games usually with their nome friends!! sandy often drags him into doing things with her especially when shes trying out something new shes always happy to be there for him whenever he gets nervous about something (which. kinda happens a lot) and rk is there to comfort her in return when needed they share things with each other a lot, whether its information or physical objects or literally anything, they always feel the need to share it with the other  now six!! sandy is absolutely stoked to have a younger sister and six enjoys having an older sister as well sandy is always there for six whenever she needs something, and is working hard to gain her trust; she always gets excited whenever six wants to do something together, which in turn often makes six feel appreciated   i@dont even know what else to put here she just?? takes care of her very well ! she loves to tease six but always makes sure not to go over the line (kinda applies 2 everyone else aswell) mono!!! sandy adores his attitude and loves chatting with him, theres always something new to talk abt with him! they also have an unspoken “must protect six” code n chat about her a lot (all good things obviously)  even if they dont hang out too much she always has fun hangin out w him or getting together to plan stuff !!  i probably shouldve formatted this better bc ivre kind of already written rks relationship with everyone else but here we go anyways

rk and sandy!! rk is probably closest to her (and the nomes ofc) and just overall spends a lot of time around her, no matter what he’s doing he loves crafts, and sandy is always glad to join in making things, sometimes they make stuff for eachother  they also help out the nomes a lot together!! they make lil shelters/forts for them, sometimes for fun out of pillows and blankets and other times theyre more stable things, or, more often, they help clean out holes in the walls to make them liveable now mono!! rk loves to share his knowledge of the nomes with him, and they bond over other things too; for example both of them are interested in bugs :] actually they both adore most animals and rk is sure to let mono know whenever he finds a cool creature! rk also appreciates that mono tries to help six and rk become a little closer, as usually his schemes are harmless, whether they work or not  aaaand six! like i said before theyre not the best of friends and poke fun at eachother a lot, but when they need to team up they’ll somewhat tolerate each other. as much as he wants to, rk finds it hard to forgive six for yknow. eating him. six refuses to be very open about her side of the story, or atleast parts, which makes it a little harder, but theyre working on it and eventually they can atleast tolerate each other on top of that though, theyre also sort of opposites; rk thinks six is just mean and unruly, meanwhile six thinks rk is too soft and somewhat of a doormat  but again. overall they learn to put up with each other (barely)

[creacherkeeper]

Do you have any tips on worldbuilding for dnd 5e? I want to create my own homebrew world with various aesthetics and I don't know how to include them all!! I want the middle ages monster hunt and then a mob boss encounter then the party fighting some frat boys with the help of dragons.

i do have some tips! hopefully some of these can help or at least inspire you :) 

you dont want your players to feel like things can come out of nowhere. a good “plot twist” has seeds in the story beforehand, it shouldnt feel random and misplaced. you want to reward your players for paying attention and thinking critically about the things that you do. so you do want some sort of unifying factor that ties all these ideas into a cohesive world. maybe its forgotten realms fantasy but all the aesthetics are based on the american 50s. maybe there are different cultural groups in this world that are all based on different time periods - each new land they explore has a different aesthetic. maybe your players are unstuck in time, and are seeing the same society at a bunch of different points in history (you can do some fun stuff here with location and family lines). maybe theyre being teleported to different dimensions by a force they dont understand 

(in my campaign, i had a bunch of episodic sessions where - unbeknownst to the players - they were being zapped into various god’s realms and were in a new one each game. they would “wake up” in a situation unsure how they got there, and each game would feature a different god. so they came to expect the different settings and tones for the games, and started trying to figure things out like who the gods were and what was going on) 

one thing to keep in mind, is that the tone of the game definitely matters. your players wont necessarily stick with it, but its good for you to have a concept going in. is this meant to be a serious or tragic game? or are you going to lean into the comedy? having an eclectic world definitely works a lot better if its meant to be funny. people will let a lot slide if its funny 

you can also disguise a lot in fantasy terms. i played a one shot where we were monster hunters taking down this huge monster who was like a local myth. and the guy who gave us the quest had like. these weird monster heads (an orange dragon, a giant bull, a weird plant monster) and then we got attacked by mutant rats, and we had to do puzzles (pushing rocks into holes, color combos on a wheel) and when we found the monster it was in a lab with these weird glass spheres everywhere. and then the monster went “PI .... KA ...” and we realized we got GOT and everything was fucking pokemon. and the guy who had the super long convoluted fantasy name was just old man!ash ketchum. but the clues were there for us to figure out!! so the twist was incredibly exciting 

so basically - having a cohesive idea, even if that idea is that these separate parts are very disparate, will go a long way when it comes to engaging players. if you teach them to expect this strange blend of aesthetics and ideas, it’ll go down a lot more smoothly than just throwing stuff at them. if you like podcasts and haven’t listened to taz balance, griffin does a really good job imo of doing a lot of cool, unique ideas while keeping them coherent by having pod arcs and centering it around a group of objects. similarly, dungeons and daddies (not a bdsm podcast) is much more chaotic, but it finds a style of chaos and humor that keeps the show unified 

hope that helps!!! best of luck! 

[neo-shitty]

toffee!

no dont apologise! i didnt check until just then so np :)

mmm yeah it is a bit trippy. hehe ITS TRUE THO. yeah sadly i think ur right, and tag blocking is probably a good idea. sometimes smut written well or not in excess is okay but goddamn when its abt 01 line and thats the whole fic... *silently blocks tags*

hehe i do that all the time lol this conversation is carrying on threads from a month ago :) mmm yeah ur probably right sadly, same. HA HE DIDNT HAVE A CHOICE and now i have someone to talk to abt them, so thats good! I KNOW felix was actually the one who got me into skz with his iconique gods menu line so i guess i have a soft spot for him. i always tell myself my bias is chan but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ guess im more whipped than id like to admit. mmm yeah that does make sense dw i hope they do that as well. YES king seungmin hIMSELF. GODDAMNIT DONT GET ME STARTED ON MINHO IN GODS MENU I DIDNT EVEN KNOW HE WAS PART OF THE GROUP UNTIL I STARTED GETTING MORE INTO THEM. BITCH (affectionate) THE LINE DISTRIBUTION HAS BEEN UTTER DOG SHIT but *deep breath* its better now so were moving on adn hoping it stays that way. sis same but i may or may not have gone thru a rlly depressed phase and actively sought out the elimination episodes so i could actually force some tears out of my emotionless shell of a heart but what cna you do? lmaoo i feel that irl, binnie deserves more vocal lines. yesss channies accent is rlly prominent then, i think also the way he structures his phrasing? is more english speaking than korean? but yeah i totally get what ur saying. AJKSAL lmao

okay then! im excited for whenever it gets done! (maybe tag me?) ahh the cold shrivelled heart of a dark au writer beats again at the thought of torturing another poor characters very soul (/j) :(( yeah that would suck not being able to see them. ohhh ur on the other hemisphere to me! were just going into spring rn. mmm smth to look forward to! YES you put it into words. they rlly are pretty independent from the company (remember how jyp rejected that other dudes songs after like 3 seconds and then how he was apparently nervous to show the song hed written to chan cos chan was so good at writing hits ahhh sweet revenge) mmmYES we rlly need a mute and remove notifications button for our brains dont we?

YES CORRECT i totally agree. some people jsut dont give it a try, adn assume its bad cos its korean smh racist assholes. yes! im coming up to my 6 month anniv actually! sis sAME, i feel like theyre being tugged into appealing to the western american market and theyre not staying as true to their artistic flair as a group, especially with only writing english songs atm. *sigh* ah well, at least theyre bringing recognition to the kpop world. AHUH dead on, theyre going to be discarded pretty soon and then where will bp be? theyll prob go solo paths which is rlly sad but what can you do when the company is run by a prideful asshole? yg is not going to last much longer in the big four if they keep this up.

hehe you get it. oooh very cool! whos ur ult? (sorry if youve said this before) mmmm yeah good decision, i feel liek thats probably a wise decision. this is my first album release as a kpop stan (not counting mixtape oh) so i think ill get it for sentiments sake. yeah! im excited for the new music! mingi was the one who got me into them, but atm my bias is seonghwa followed by san, wooyoung and ateez but jonghos high notes man *swoon* he, yeah atm ive got jake, jay, nikki, jungwon and sunoo down so just trying to get the rest :) heh, yeah kard i rlly only got into cos of bm, ive seen him like interacting with a lot of idols and he seemed nice so i decided to check out the group. ikr gunshot man *another swoon*

no noe! i didnt know what it was until i got it lol. thx toffee ill try and take that to mind :) yeah lol im on a waiting list thats not going to be free until late september so hopefully i can hold on until then. hope ur okay, that sounds like it sucks, hope you can find someone. maybe ill just take you along on my phone and the therapist can get a two for one patient deal lmaooo. mmm, sorry no i havent mentioned it before, i dont rlly talk abt it much. uhhh basically hypermobility? if you google it, it doesnt seem bad, jsut joint flexibility but ive got the severe end of the stick, leaning towards ehlers danlos syndrome so thats fun. basically it just makes it hard for me to exercise, run, jump, stand or just walk for long periods of time and gives me a lot of joint and muscle pain so... thats fun! but obviously so many other people have it worse than me, so i try not to complain. normally in young people it will improve as they get older, but my doctor said bc its severe in me, its unlikely to get much better. but again, i dont have the worst lot in the bunch, so its all g.

oh its good that its not the bad type of rain, a light sprinkling can be relaxing sometimes. aww thx darl, the concern is appreciated but it went pretty well and i managed not to cough too much on stage or kill myself trying to run around to the other side of the stage in the pouring rain so thats good! oooh tea buddies! my dogs a labradoodle, but shes a bit more of a feral poodle lol not much labrador in her at all, unless its her relentless urge to hunt down every bird that has ever walked this earth smh :((( hopefully they can come back on soon, does uni have dances?

ahhh a mood if i ever heard one. hopefully things will get better for you soon, ik anxiety sucks ass. ooh thats always good! when its sunny here, its always melt ur thongs to the pavement hot so the nicely cool sunny days are a lovely change. hehe impatience is not so good for you, but good for us that get to see ur beautiful theme early. ahh no worries, itll come eventually hopefully. and if not, then just things that make you not anxious are good. it doesnt have to be black or white, sometimes gray is good. mmmmm sames i have midterms this week to catch up on and then two weeks of end of terms so thats fun! i hope u can overcome that a little, heres some channie to be ur motivation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8LWyNjzOww. hah! i hear that all the time, he seems to be everywhere. did you see that tiktok of hans slowed back door rap, i stg it sounded EXACTLY like namjoon, it kinda scared me. also teh beginning of another day, sounds so much like joon i swear.

that reminds me! idk ur biases! i feel like this should be smth i should know so please! feel free to elaborate!

ahh im glad, i was worried it is. mmm same, so no hard feelings if either of us misses a day or smth. ill start worrying if weeks/months have gone by, but if its just a little while thats more than fine. ill just picture you studiously completing notes and i wont worry lol

<3 w.a. 🐺

at some point i really think i'm going to start blocking accounts because blocking tags won't be enough. i saw ask tags the other day and it just made me want to bleach my eyeballs.

i could talk about god's menu felix for hours man. the teaser for god's menu that featured his part on the bridge made me look forward to the mv release. you: biases chan, also you: lixiesbabyhands. yes you are more whipped than you think. i can't believe orange haired minho was given NOTHING during that era but they kind of made up for it in the b-sides. i also hope it stays that way. the distribution for this era was pretty fair.

"torturing another poor character's soul" in all honesty, i used to live for this. 2017 me leading up to early 2020 wrote nothing but angst. i have another aussie friend on twt and tbh i'm still really (O.o) about the seasons! jyp should be terrified skz could easily take over that company. heck if skz grow old and start their own company, they'd probably do a great job at running it. PLEASE. i have issues on muting/notifications both mentally and in real life. sometimes, i just wish to disappear.

some people in my country are just disgusting tbh. not only racist but homophobic too. they label kpop as 'gay' and it DISGUSTS me. it's a problematic behavior/mindset people in my country need to fucking get rid of. anyway, HELP ME 6 MONTHS??? and i've been in this shit for like a decade eye. tbh, i’m not fond of kpop groups trying to appeal to the western audience :// it feels like they’re losing their identity in a way. yes recognition but at what cost? yg has my favorite groups but that’s one shitty company when it comes to promoting.

okay my ult! it’s haechan from nct but i consider chan an ult too. like a close second above my whopping list of kpop boys. oh yes! you should get the album just for like a keepsake? remembrance? how did mingi appeal to you? omg did you start getting interested in ateez back when he was still on hiatus? NOT YOU BIASING THE SAME PEOPLE I DID WHEN I FIRST STARTED STANNING. the infamous ateez thot-line. jongho is easily one of the best fourth gen vocalists out here, no one can change my mind :( good luck with memorizing the rest of enhypen! just in time for the comeback too. i hope i’ll get into kard soon but i’m pretty content (and a tad bit overwhelmed) with the amount of groups i stan right now.

please hold on though, feel free to vent here if you like. thanks for the offer tho HAHA but like i’ll try to get checked here too when the cases die down a bit. i’m sorry to hear about your condition though :( please don’t ever overwork yourself to the point that your joints/muscles would ache. it’s completely valid to complain about it tho. i get that you have others in mind but keeping that mindset really doesn’t do you (like you internally) any better? so if you need to, vent your frustrations out and don’t keep it in.

oh my god, about your performance last sunday. was the stage out in the open? glad you didn’t cough too much and did well on your concert. i’m proud of you! i can never understand dogs and poor birds T_T uni doesn’t have dances unfortunately. i think there’s just one party at the end like a graduation ball. what year are you in anyway? if it’s something that you’re fine with sharing. if not, it’s cool.

good luck with your exams! and thanks for the link! AHA what a cutie. i think he does this motivation thing once in a while during his lives and it’s just comforting. yeah joon and han my irl just freaked when we made that discovery. ult crumbs for her. oh god not me forgetting about every biases when you asked. you can ask for my biases in a few groups just list down the one’s you’re interested in knowing. 

i missed yesterday because i was grinding and finishing what if we stay + school work. finally did it today. i’m sure i’ll reply in like a day or two, definitely not a month unless i state otherwise. if i ever decide to abandon this blog, i’ll let you know.

[8circles]

i finally got to see the national live!!

so after 6 years of falling in love with the national, i finally got to see them live yesterday!! this is gonna be super long lmao

since the national never come to my home country during tour, when they announced their tour i booked the tickets without even knowing whether i was returning to manchester or even the uk. so when i got my offer to return i was relieved af lmao. a once in a lifetime opportunity was worth the risk and anxious waiting LOL

anyway

seeing them live was like a whole new world for me. when bryce came out to perform with the opening act (who were very good!) i was so overwhelmed. this guy, part of the band i love so much, was right in front of my face!

(like literally, cause i ran in after getting my merch and managed to snag a place right at the barrier!)

ive watched tonnes of their live performances on video, but nothing prepared me for how great they were. since bryce was right in front of me i ended up paying most attention to him.. but then when hed play the piano aaron took his place and id end up paying attention to aaron... sorry matt, scott and bryan!!!!

of course matt is such a character that hed command your attention some way or another. i did make myself look at scott and bryan at points in time bc i love all of them! i found it super cute how scott and bryan (and at one point bryce) would hold like a shaker instrument and use it when theyre not playing their own instrument. its like theyre always gonna be involved somehow lmao.

at the beginning it felt a little detached compared to the bastille show i went to last year. but i dont blame them or think its bad, cause at bastille’s dan would stand close to the stage while matt prefers to hang about with the band. its just two different performers. it kind of made me think that i was watching the national perform in their own world.. until matt stopped midway through empire line and asked security to help someone.

at that point it kind of hit me that wow, actually we're in the same space! like im not actually watching them in their own world, like im there too! and theyre not in their own space either, theyre watching us too! and of course, how nice of matt to stop because someone wasnt okay 😭 he started all over again once he made sure they were okay. by the end he said "just some problems with dehydration. stay cool!"

and he threw a plastic pint across the theatre and i got some white wine on me. LOL. at another point he threw a red solo cup so hard i think it hit the opposite wall cause there was a super loud sound. then he went on to say "...one day..." during the last song he brought out a bottle of white wine or prosecco on stage but said he said couldn’t open it because it was corked and it was hard to open those on stage with his teeth(!!!) he asked for another bottle and smashed the corked one on the ground. i love drunk matt so much.

bryce is so interesting to watch tbh. he keeps changing guitars lmao. i got so excited every time he brought out the blue one, bc i had a super clear view of his bow hanging from his mic stand and i was like "vanderlyle?????"

in the end they didnt play it, but no matter! they played so many good songs that i cant complain. my jaw hit the floor when they played hard to find cause i wasnt expecting that at all! i kept saying "oh my god" when i heard the chords lmao. it was so beautiful. i remembered the interview where one of the twins said they think hard to find is one of the most beautiful songs theyve ever written. i felt so honoured that i could listen to it live! they also played this is the last time - my favourite off twfm! i think a lot of people in the theatre love that song too! we were all shouting “it takes a lot of pain to pick me up” together. 

of course they played standard classics too. it felt so good to sing along to bloodbuzz and i need my girl. i kind of expected they were gonna play england since it was their first show in england for this tour so when aaron started playing the chords i was super happy. mr november was the best in terms of crowd involvement, you could hear everyone shouting I WONT FUCK US OVER together. conversation 16, too.. everyone screaming "CAUSE IIIIMM EEEVILLLL" was so much fun. slow show and apartment story were so great live as well. singing “SO WORRY NOT ALL THINGS ARE WELL” was so wonderful. during fake empire the twins did the guitar thing as they always do. i was so happy! 

tbh when i was there i mostly felt out of place since most of the people there were white hipsters and they came with their friends/partners so i barely talked to anyone, but singing all the classics live made me forget all of that awkwardness.

the new album was good live too. carin at the liquor store is my fave off the album and it sounded so beautiful live. matt went one octave higher during turtleneck and he sounded so clear. i was actually so surprised at how clear and almost rasp-free he sounded! we shouted “great uncle valentine jester” during day i die, it was so great!  they dedicated apartment story and born to beg to a lady who took care of them while they were in manchester. the opening act luluc came out and sang with them during born to beg. it was beautiful and perfect! ive been falling in love more and more with born to beg with each listen, and the live performance really sealed the deal with how much i love it.

terrible love was the last song off the setlist and it’s my first favourite song from the national so listening to it live was like coming full circle of some sort. during that song (and mr. november) matt went out and leaned over the barriers so that people could reach out and hug him. during terrible love he was super close to me, but i was too scared to touch him cause so many people were clinging onto him already but he was literally right there! he also stood at the edge pretending to fall from the other side. a member of the audience hugged his knees to stop him from falling!

bryce kind of smiled at my general direction at one point when he was setting up his guitar. the girl next to me blew kisses at him, i wish i did or said something too, but honestly i just stood there and melted into a puddle. during fake empire bryce went to play the piano so aaron was on my side of the stage and he waved at my general direction when they finished. a double whammy! matt came over to our side of the stage during turtleneck and screamed the chorus at us. it was so surreal. waiting for two hours outside in the cold and rain was definitely worth the place right in the front.

of course i have a soft spot for the twins, so seeing them live was the best part of my night. bryce (and at some points aaron) being in front of me was a dream come true. it’s no doubt that bryce is fantastic at guitar, but hearing him live and actually picking up the way he plays with my own ears was really something else. not only his playing, but also how he was using all the different guitars and using the mics on them and all the different pedals - it was all like a work of genius. i didn’t really get to see aaron’s artistry since his stuff was on the opposite side of the stage and he played more piano (which was on his side of the stage) but i could clearly see him playing when matt stepped back and let the twins perform guitar together. i caught him smirking at bryce on multiple occasions. i ascended each time. 

it was obvious that bryce was the more shimmery, flashy player when it came to guitar, so i tried to distinguish their styles of piano too! maybe it’s just me, but i think aaron has a deeper sound and bryce has a sharper sound! maybe that’s why they take turns for specific songs. regardless, they were so great, playing together and separately. i admire them greatly since they have so many projects and interests and even though their musical interests differ, they end up intertwining. seeing them live really showed that tbh!

it was the best night of my life. i wish i could be going to today’s show as well, but unfortunately i don’t have the money for that! anyway, everything ive always dreamed of already came true when i managed to stand right in the front and watch the national in all their glory perform live. i never expected to be right in the front - literally at the barrier - but i was! and it was worth the two hour wait in the cold without any food (this was my fault for forgetting to eat before coming, but it was worth it tbh!). hopefully i’ll be able to go for another concert if possible because that was probably the best experience ive ever had.

[isaacathom]

god im thinking about so many stories now... tdoc could be pretty fun, especially if the soul loss ‘mechanic’ is clearly established. youd get the one by accident (the mentor at the beginning who had previously killed a demon lord), then probably one of the protags later deliberately, because the reaction of a soul being spent would distract The Fuck out of the demon lord, and they were willing to pay the price if it meant the demon lord would die.

third time would presumably be the team up on the demon king where a group decide to all go together, hoping their combined soul will be enough to weather the impact killing such a powerful demon would cause. it does stand to reason that the impact of killing a demon king would be far stronger than killing a mere lord. so i feel like on the one hand, the team up should work, but kill all the participants, who get maybe a few moments in the aftermath to look at each other and the reinforcements and know they did it. like. demon lord saps more than half, right. lets say... 60, for sake of example. hence why tryig to kill a second one a) doesnt work and b) causes such a powerful reaction - you burn through your soul and it fucking explodes, almost.

so, say theres... 4 demon lords. and 3 heroes (as the 4th hero expended their soul to ensure the death of one of the lords, having killed either #1 or #2). each expending 60, they have 120. or if its 75, they have 75 of a soul. so either the king takes double, or the king just takes a full 1. if the former, the trio are dead no matter what. the reason they’re still able to kill the king is because of the soul reactions, which still deal damage, which means that the amount expended is... less? sort of? like, trio stabs, they get 30% in, n1 explodes and takes it to 40, they get 65 and then n2 takes it to 80, and n3 takes it home and their explosion seals the deal. all roughly simultaneously, but you get the idwa, right.

however, if we assume it only requires 1 full soul to take a demon king down, then the 120 version has a chance to make it if their souls are weighed as 1. which is also neat! thats the other hand! i like the idea of the trio surviving with the barest sliver of a soul each, dazed and in pain on the floor of this kings throne room, victorious and alive. unable to really appreciate what theyve done because theyre convinced its the end, that with each flutter of the eyelids the void approaches. passing out exhausted together at the foot of the throne, content in the knowledge that they won, and waking up confused some days later with no understand of how or why they were allowed to live. itd be guilt inducing a little, to know that if theyd teamed up with that 4th hero to attack the dragon, they wouldnt have died there, in that city that wasnt their home. but how would they have known that it would work? the choice to team up with pure desperation, the decision to injured warriors trying to gain something out of their seemingly inevitable defeat. their friend would not begrudge them the knowledge they had gained.

and idk! i guess it would depend on what kind of vibe the ending should have as to how fatal the attack should be. the worst ending, emotionally, is the one where only one of the trio makes it out, because while that makes sense if the final attack is viewed sequentially, like with the dodgy math above, it doesnt FEEL like that in the moment. so the survivor would feel like something is deeply unfair. and that stuffs interesting, but i feel like the survivors guilt-y angle can be explored just fine with the ‘trio survives and feels guilty about h4′ and its less... depressing overall. since killing the demon king shouldnt really be depressing. i feel like survivors guilt on that kind of scale is fucking depressing, if you catch me. it sort of sours that victory even more. if all three live, they can at least console each other. if only one lives, theyre alone in that experience. that fucking blows. i dont wanna write about. and while the ‘they all die’ ending is sad too, thats less depressing and more bittersweet. pyrrhic, etc. that feels like a sacrifice, done knowingly and with intent. not... by accident, or intentionally except one of you fucks up (sort of). right?

the two endings of ‘everyone lives’ or ‘everyone dies’ are good, i think. theres strength in both. itd be a matter of the tone of the rest of the story. and i feel like i gravitate towards sorta... lighthearted? not like joyous, at least two people are straight up dead here, but like... aware of joy. seeking joy. and that could go both ways for the ending! because there is a joy in victory, even if you don’t get to benefit from it. and the trio wouldnt, if they die there in an exhausted heap. but they won. and thats enough. and theres joy in that! theres a joy in knowing youve done well, and others are free. but the thing is that even if the trio live, they are convinced they wont. they all pass out on those stairs. i could even fucking fake out the audience by having the nex chapter from another character (preferably one who has been introduced previously as a friend or some such) a day after the kings death, where the trio arent mentioned until near the end when that friend goes to visit them. or something. it could be a fun fake out, but not purely for the sake of fucking with the audience, since it would mirror the assumptions the trio made when they committed to killing the king. they committed to dying together, successful or not, and they fully expected that they would never see the free world they made. they almost certainly imagined that freedom many times throughout the story, and especially at the end. the surprise is theirs as well. i think thats neat! though the fact the trio survived is probably telegraphed by the fact there is a chapter after their sacrifice at all? since ending on them collapsed at the throne feels like a fitting place to end it if they didnt make it. or even if they did! leave that idea hovering in the air. i dont know! i like the idea of exploring some of the immediate consequences of their success (such as the fact that island is almost certainly gonna vanish beneath the waves now) regardless of their fates. the destruction of the building they were in. all these bits. how everyone else finds out the demon king is dead, that sort of thing. that stuff is interesting, even if the long term effects arent going to be explored. the aftermath is interesting.

idk! i guess i just wanna explore what victory means? to both those who achieved it themselves, and those they did it for. so their ‘death’ would cover what they felt about their victory, their weariness and their elation, etc. and the chapter thereafter (essentially the last one) would be what the victory meant to their loved ones, regardless of whether they made it out. if the 4th heroes family/friends remain involved, including them would be especially important for highlighting the loss in winning, and even the friends/etc of the trio who did it, because even IF the trio made it out, theyre still out cold, souls and bodies drained. yknow? thered still be that threat in the air of will they die anyway? will all the soothing tonics and gentle hands in the world be enough? noone knows. everyones probably convinced that if they survive still, theyre at deaths door, hanging on out of stubborn desire to see their victory just once, but lacking the energy to make that happen. futilely trying to wake up. yknow? since many of those people would be familiar with the soul depletion thing, given the death of the mentor at the start of the story and the death of the 4th hero during its middle. noone has any reason to believe theyll survive, even if they really want them to. so if the chapter ends with that friends going to visit them where they lie in the hospital, sitting by the bedside of one and stroking their cheek and telling them gently of all the light theyve brought, and then that quiet soul stirs and gazes wearily at that friend, thats a surprise for everyone. it still means something. that the story would end very shortly thereafter, probably with a final line from the friend with some ~gravitas~ (like, yknow “you won. we’re so proud of you”, which i think works on a couple of levels) still leaves things open, its not unambiguously positive, but there joy there. theres satisfaction. theres a sense that no matter what happens to the trio, they Won.

god idk im just feeling gay as fuck thinking about the ending even though the friend is almost certainly not dating any of the trio, its just. the vibe. of adoration and respect. of that tenderness. god. its 1am it hits different at 1am to think about that kind of thing. god.

i gotta stop but this shit fucks

[themoneybuff-blog]

Questions About Checking Accounts, Nintendo Switch, iPods, TSP, and More!

Whats inside? Here are the questions answered in todays reader mailbag, boiled down to summaries of five or fewer words. Click on the number to jump straight down to the question. 1. Great advice for job seekers 2. Old hometown checking account 3. Making your own seasoning mixes 4. Inexpensive Nintendo Switch games 5. Partner has extreme debt 6. TSP contribution questions 7. Uses for old iPod? 8. Job search not that simple 9. Value of authenticating sports cards 10. Financial independence and career plans 11. Advice for selling books 12. True hourly discretionary income question I wanted to offer a little update on my switch to a standing desk for professional purposes. About two weeks ago, I moved my main workstation to a standing desk. The purpose for doing this was to significantly reduce the amount of time I spend sitting in a given day, because sitting for your job all the time has some negative long term health consequences. I did recognize that doing this fully cold turkey is a bad idea, and so I planned from the start to do it in stages. My plan was and still is to use the desk until I felt noticeable discomfort, then switch to a laptop in a chair for a while, then maybe alternate back later in the day. My goal was to simply raise my average time at the standing desk a little each week as I strengthen different muscle groups. After a couple of weeks of doing this, Ive found that the big impact has been on my lower back, with a smaller impact on my feet. Im able to work for about four to five hours a day at the standing desk, with other work time spent sitting in a comfortable chair with a laptop. What generally happens is that my lower back starts to get sore, not in a something is broken way but in a this is a muscle thats getting taxed due to exertion and needs a break way. Ill sit down for a while and itll feel much better. However, its constantly experiencing a low-grade soreness, the kind of soreness that happens when you exercise a muscle group. Theres nothing wrong here if I felt something wrong, I would stop using the standing desk for a while. However, it can be a little uncomfortable. Ive had some very minor foot discomfort, mostly on my heels, but nothing significant and it honestly seems to be fading over the last few days. Its hard to tell yet whether or not the standing desk is improving my health in any notable way. I certainly dont think its been bad, but I havent noticed a big health improvement. I do exercise most days, so thats definitely a positive factor, but its hard to extract the benefits of standing with the other benefits of exercise. I think its very likely that there have been some minor benefits, and I likely would have noticed more if I didnt already exercise. Its all about feeling healthy for as long as possible. On with the questions. Q1: Great advice for job seekers I wanted to share some advice from my own experience as an interviewer [in a large corporate HR department]. The big thing is that you shouldnt be hard on yourself if you interview for a job and dont get it. Often, there is already a candidate that is pre-selected and the interview process is a mere formality. Someone thought you were a good candidate and brought you in, but you didnt actually have a real chance at the job no matter how you interviewed. In fact, you should treat all interviews like that. Dont get stressed about them, because theres a good chance that theres already an anointed candidate. I would say that 75-80% of the time, we already have our minds made up regarding which candidate to hire before the interview process begins and interviews virtually never change our minds. Sometimes we will interview someone great and put them on a list of people to call in the future but almost without fail those people already have a job when we call them back. So please dont be hard on yourself if you dont succeed at an interview! And dont get overly stressed about it because theres a good chance that theres already an anointed candidate anyway. Just go in there and answer the questions and learn about the company and let the chips fall where they may. Alison This is great advice, and in line with some of my own hiring experiences in the past. I have been on all sides of this coin at various points. I have been the anointed candidate in a hiring process. I have also been one of the other candidates in a hiring process (where I knew someone else was anointed for an absolute fact). Ive also been involved with several hirings, some of which had strongly preferred candidates and some of which did not. The thing is, you never really know which kind of situation it is when youre interviewing. It may be a more open position where you actually have a good chance, or it may be a situation where you are one of the other candidates in an open process engineered to bring in the vastly preferred candidate with minimal questions. I think the mantra of dont worry about it is the right one here. Just go in there, answer the questions, ask some questions about the company, and move on and keep looking for the next interview or opportunity. If youre the right candidate, theyll call. Often, you wont be, and it wont be due to a fault of your own. Q2: Old hometown checking account I have left a checking account open at my old hometown bank for the last 20 years. It pays a very small interest rate 0.05%. I have a balance of about $1,200 in there. I have always looked at it as a last ditch emergency fund. If anything seriously goes wrong, Ill go there and use that money. But its just sitting there. Isnt there something better I could be doing with it? Dana I dont think theres anything wrong with having a last ditch emergency fund in a bank thats not easy to access. That idea is fine by me. However, its probably just going to sit there for a long time, so you might want to consider doing something with it that earns a better return. The next time youre in your hometown, stop by that bank and see what other options they have. Simply explain that this is an emergency fund for you and you want it in a place where it earns a little more, doesnt lose value, and could be withdrawn in an emergency but isnt likely to be withdrawn. Its very likely that theyll suggest a certificate of deposit, which is akin to a savings account except that it earns a bit higher interest rate and theres a small penalty for withdrawing it early. It wont take very long at all for the CD to earn more than the penalty for early withdrawal and then, after that, its onwards and upwards. Make sure that the bank allows you to automatically roll over the CD when it matures. Right now, with interest rates a bit higher than they were but still fairly low, Id choose a medium term CD, something in the range of one to two years. That will give you a higher interest rate than a short term CD but wont lock you in to these relatively low historical rates forever. Set it to automatically roll over, then forget about it until that last ditch emergency occurs. Q3: Making your own seasoning mixes Have you ever written an article about making your own seasoning mixes instead of buying mixes at the store? You can buy the component spices and mix them yourself and save a lot of money if you use seasonings a lot. I make an Italian seasoning and a chili seasoning and a toast seasoning myself. Margaret Toast seasoning? Youre going to have to send me that one. I have a bagel seasoning mix that I like to use on buttered toast sometimes I wonder if theyre similar. Although Ive mentioned seasoning mixes before and noted how its cheaper to make your own, I dont think Ive ever written a listing of the various spice mixes we have and how we store them. I store most of my spice mixes in large baby food jars that we still have from when our children were babies. I usually make them by mixing other spices by the teaspoon into a bowl and then stirring them thoroughly so theyre mixed, then I fill up the jar with the spice mix. I use masking tape for labeling. Using a mix is a learning experience. Over time, you start figuring out how much to put in stuff. Our chili mix, for example, usually takes a tablespoon and a half per batch, and a batch fills up our slow cooker about halfway. I could write a full post about this if theres interest, including some of my recipes. Just send me a message on Facebook if youd like to see that. Q4: Inexpensive Nintendo Switch games My husband and I bought our son a Nintendo Switch for Christmas. It is his first video game console and he had been asking for it all year so it was really fun to see him open it. Both sets of grandparents got him a game for it so he has had two games to play. His birthday is coming up soon and we asked him what he wanted and of course he wanted a Switch game. We asked him for a list of the ones he wanted and it has 15 or so games on it. The problem is that they are all $50 or more. Why are Switch games so expensive? Our full birthday gift budget for him is $50. Can you help? Anna This is a consistent challenge with Nintendos consoles, and it has been since the 1980s. Nintendo makes very high quality exclusive titles for their consoles those are usually the ones that wind up filling wish lists for console owners but they rarely go down in price until later in the consoles production cycle and the Switch is a pretty young system. Trust me your son isnt being greedy here. Hes probably listing most of the best games for the console, but they all happen to be expensive ones. I would guess that in a year or two, Nintendo will have a line of some of their top titles from a few years prior as Platinum titles for a much lower price point around $20 but were not there yet. So what can you do now? My recommendation is to visit a video game store that sells used games, like Gamestop, and see what they have available for the Switch thats used. Switch games, as you know, come on small cartridges, so its very easy to test a game to make sure it works you can ask them to test it before you buy. Getting a game used in the original packaging will still cost 50% to 75% of the sticker price and the selection may be a bit limited, but this is probably a fairly safe bet for getting one of the games he wants within your price point. A used Switch game is just as good as a new one in terms of someone focused on actually playing the games, so Id look there. Another approach would be to give him a gift card to the Nintendo eShop. There are a lot of very good downloadable titles for the Switch, and you use those gift cards to buy those downloadable titles. While this wouldnt give him any of the games he specifically wants, it would enable him to get a couple of games at least, and there are some very good games for $9.99 or less on the eShop. Q5: Partner has extreme debt I recently discovered that my bride-to-be (June) has about $140K in student loan debt. She had said that she had some student loans in the past but I did not have any idea how much. I am very uncomfortable with being saddled with that much debt. This has caused a great deal of conflict between us over the last few months and I found this out during the holidays. I am not sure what to do. Daniel The biggest factor Id look at is her day to day behavior right now. Is she a frugal person? Does she watch her nickels and dimes? Is she committed not in words but in actions to getting that debt paid off? Is she making extra payments on that debt? If you see that, then I wouldnt fret about it. On the other hand, if she seems to think that such a big debt isnt a big deal, she spends money frivolously all the time, and she isnt making much progress on that debt I would think very, very carefully about this relationship, because thats a value mismatch thats going to chafe for years and years. Beyond that, I would also consider what kind of field that her degree is in. Was the degree she earned in a field with a high income potential, or was it something that will never earn a substantial income? Also, Id look at other factors, like whether or not parental support was promised and then denied. If shes aiming for a high paying career, such as medicine or law or some types of engineering, I wouldnt worry too much about it. If she took out that much debt for a career path that has a very low likelihood of earning a high salary, I would be really concerned. I would also be concerned with that level of debt if there was also significant financial support from her parents where did all of that money go? The challenge with marriage is that you are financially tied to each other in a very deep way and her choices regarding the debt she took out for her education are indicative of the decision making process she will likely employ going forward except now youll be financially liable for them. Having that much debt unless you are both high income earners will significantly affect your life decisions for a very long time, likely for the rest of your life. It will delay your ability to have children that you can support financially, for starters. It will alter both of your career choices and possibilities. It will delay your ability to have a home of your own. I guess, in this situation, what I would really look for are signs of financial maturity beyond that of the student loans. Is she focused on repaying that debt with or without you? Is she making the most of her degree? Does she spend frivolously? I cant answer for you whether this woman is worth it to you. She may be perfect for you in every other way, in which case youll be happier with her. However, having that much student loan debt, and given the alarm bells it sets off in your head, is a sign of likely incompatibility over financial issues, and thats not a recipe for a great marriage. As always, conversation is key, as is paying attention to her actions. What kind of steps is she taking (not just talking about, but taking) in her life knowing that huge debt is sitting there? If youre struggling to answer that and this debt makes you this uncomfortable, this may not be the best situation for you. Q6: TSP contribution questions I am 36 years old, single, no children, no plans to ever marry. I just got a government job that I hope to keep for the rest of my life. Knowing that I am receiving FERS and Social Security already in retirement, how much should I contribute to my TSP to be able to have a comfortable retirement?Want to retire at 65 and have about the same amount of disposable income when I retire. Janine For those unfamiliar, FERS is the pension plan for US federal government employees. TSP is an optional 401(k)-like plan for additional retirement savings. Based on this, FERS should provide about 33% of your final salary when you retire. Social Security, depending on your income level, will provide somewhere around 30% of your income. That means you need to make up about 37% of your income from TSP. If you contribute 5% of your salary to TSP, the federal government matches another 4%. Above that, theres no matching. Given all of that information, I ran some back of the envelope calculations and conclude that given your age and your aim to retire at age 65 with your full salary intact from your various retirement sources and that you want to be able to draw from TSP for the rest of your life, you should contribute 15% of your salary to TSP. This should enable you to withdraw enough from TSP each year to make up your salary shortfall when you retire at age 65 and the TSP balance should last for the rest of your life. Youll want to invest TSP fairly aggressively the target retirement options should work. While I cant guarantee that 15% will get you there, I can certainly say that it is extremely likely that it will either get you there or get you very close to your goal. Q7: Uses for old iPod? Found an old iPod in a desk drawer along with charging cable. Is there any use for this or should I just junk it? I powered it up and it turns on just fine. Adam I dont own an original iPod (I had one way back in the day but I sold it off circa 2007-2008), but a friend of mine keeps one in her car and listens to music with it every day using a cassette tape adapter. You could do the same thing with an auxiliary cable if your car has an AUX port. Just load it up with mp3s of a bunch of music and/or podcasts that you like, keep it in your car, and listen to it during commutes. If you have a charger that hooks into the cigarette lighting receptacle in your car, then you can plug into that and keep it permanently charged. My friend has hundreds of albums that she loved in her teens and twenties. If you like alternative or indie rock from about 1990 to about 2007, theres a good chance youll find a ton to love on her iPod. Just fill yours up to the brim with stuff you like and youll always have something to listen to. You can fill it up with the full archives of a podcast and listen to the entire run of a podcast, too. Old iPods are great for these kinds of things. In other words, use it for what it was intended for. Load it up with audio. Q8: Job search not that simple While I appreciate your regular encouragement to go find a new job if your current one is sapping you, its not always that simple. I have been working as a legacy systems programmer for the same company for 16 years. Most of my day is maintaining old code, migrating it to new machines, and dealing with corporate [nonsense]. I literally hate going into work each day. There arent any available jobs nearby that match my skill set. Trust me, Ive looked. I cant move because my daughter has particular health care needs and needs to be near a top notch medical facility. That also means I need good insurance. I cant just go into work and say, Well, time to find a new job today! Thats just a pipe dream. Terry All right, so what jobs are available in your area that are close to your skill set? Youre obviously in a metro area of some kind. I guarantee there are programming jobs in that area. Whats actually available? What things are most similar to your skillset? Once you know that, start honing your skillset at work so that you can make that leap. Learn how to write tools that will help you with the legacy coding you already do. Start trying to port your legacy code over to a new language for modern systems during your downtime. Use this as an opportunity to learn new languages and paradigms. Get involved with any and all local software development groups. Try to go to their face to face meetings and get heavily involved in any online spaces they have, being as helpful as you possibly can there. Build up some good relationships in your field, then just casually ask about positions that match your refurbished skill set. Also, keep your resume honed on LinkedIn so you can be discovered by people who might be looking for folks in your area. Dont aim for hopelessness. Aim for a light at the end of the tunnel. You can do this at any job. I had a job where I was literally shoveling dirt for hours and hours during the middle of the night by myself and yet I found ways to aim that toward my next step. Q9: Value of authenticating sports cards I have a bunch of sports cards mostly baseball and basketball from the 1960s. I have looked at selling some of them individually but when I look online almost all sales are authenticated cards in a special holder. I looked into this and it looks like you send your cards to an authentication service and pay them a fee and they put them in a special plastic holder with a tag that says its authentic and gives it a grade for its condition. Is this worth it for selling trading cards? Are there ways to sell cards without this kind of service? Marvin You basically described the sports card authentication world pretty well. It exists because there was rampant fraud in older sports cards and other trading cards for a while, so some reputable dealers popped up and started offering authentication and grading services so that people would know exactly what they were buying. Its become the de facto standard for any sports cards of significant value. Basically, if the card is older than about 1975 or so, the player has any name recognition at all, and the card is in reasonably good shape, youre going to make more money selling it after authentication than before, even including the cost of authentication. If its a no-name player or its beat up, youre not going to make a whole lot for it anyway, as people will just want those to help complete sets and they wont sell for more than pennies. What Id do is look for Hall of Fame caliber player cards from your collection (or, as a friend of mine said, Hall of Famers plus Pete Rose) and get those authenticated to sell individually. The rest, Id just divide out by set and sell in bulk. (I have an almost complete 1965 Topps set missing just a few commons that Ive worked on for literally decades, so Im fairly familiar with all of this.) Q10: Financial independence and career plans So how much financial independence would a person need to be able to have full career independence where you still want to have a career but you just feel empowered to make whatever choice seems exciting to you without really worrying about salary but still assuming youre earning a decent salary to live on? I make about $80K and think I can live well on about $40K so my savings rate is about 30% after taxes. How many years would I have to do this before money exits the equation as a career consideration? Barney I think the real question youre asking is how much do I need to save so that retirement is fully covered? This calculator is probably my preferred one. Youll want to play around with different settings to see how long youll need to save to hit your goals. The further you are from retirement, the lower your total savings goal will be. Also, if you assume Social Security benefits will come to you at rates similar to whats available today, the lower your total savings goal will be. You may even be at your target in several years. However, Id still recommend that you save for retirement after you hit your goal number if youre earning a good salary. This allows you to walk away even earlier if you just get tired of the rat race before a typical retirement age. Q11: Advice for selling books I have a collection of hardback books I want to sell. What is the best way to get maximum value for them? Tracy First of all, it depends a lot on what books youre exactly trying to sell. Are they novels? Cookbooks? Old Dungeons and Dragons books? Encyclopedias? Youll want to go to eBay and try to get a sense as to what theyre actually worth. You will probably get the maximum value from them by selling them individually. However, that is exponentially more work for only a fairly modest rate of return. You might be able to sell a lot of ten books for $20 or sell them each individually for $3, for example. Is that extra effort in packaging and shipping and tracking and communication for nine additional packages worth the $10 to you? Another note: if youre selling books, USPS Media Mail is your friend. Its a highly discounted shipping rate that applies to sending books through the mail, and it comes with a tracking number. (Its cheap because its slow and USPS knows a book can sit in a warehouse for a day with zero problems.) You should always use this when shipping books and magazines. Q12: True hourly discretionary income question I understand how this perspective helps to highlight the high cost of non-necessary spending now in terms of lost leisure in the future. But I think it overstates the cost of non-necessities in terms of hours worked. In your example where your annual net wage is $34,000 and your annual work hours is 2,740 (so you net $12.41 per hour worked) and your necessities cost $24,600/year, you should account for 1,982 work hours (= $24,600/$12.41 per hour) as covering necessities, leaving 2,740 1982 = 758 hours for non-necessities. In each of those 758 hours, you net $12.41/hour, and that is the cost of your necessities in terms of hour worked. So a $50 board game costs you $50/$12.41 per hour = 4 hours, not 10.5 hours. The key is to see that you still actually net $12.41/hour, regardless of whether those earnings go to necessities or non-necessities. One way to see this is to realize that the approach in the post can lead to unrealistic implications for the hours of work required to purchase non-necessities. For example, suppose in your example above, necessities are only $10,000 year, and non-necessary spending is then $34,000 $10,000 = $24,000. If your hourly wage for non-necessities is really $4.96/hour like the post says, then it would take $24,000/$4.96 per hour = 4,838 hours to earn that $24,000. But you earned the $34,000 with only 2,740 hours, so something is wrong. Max Max is referring to this article from last week, Using Your True Hourly Discretionary Income to Make Smarter Purchases. Youre just looking at the same issue in a different way. Rather than looking at each hour as being subdivided between essential expenses and non-essential expenses, youre doing the same thing with the total hours over a year. In that example, then, 1,741 of the hours you work essentially earn you nothing in terms of spending money, because all of it goes to essentials. So, frugality in essence just means that youre migrating some of the hours you work from your pool of hours spent on essential expenses to the hours you work for spending money. My angle was different. I divided the income from each hour into essential expenses and spending money. The essential expenses gobble up $7.45 of the $12.41 you earn each hour, while your spending money makes up only $4.96 of the $12.41 you earn each hour. So, then, you judge whether an expense is worth it using just the $4.96, since its the only portion you can actually freely spend. In this case, frugality moves a little bit of money from the $7.45 essential expenses per hour pile to the $4.96 spending money per hour pile. Got any questions? The best way to ask is to follow me on Facebook and ask questions directly there. Ill attempt to answer them in a future mailbag (which, by way of full disclosure, may also get re-posted on other websites that pick up my blog). However, I do receive many, many questions per week, so I may not necessarily be able to answer yours. https://www.thesimpledollar.com/questions-about-checking-accounts-nintendo-switch-ipods-tsp-and-more/

[morningpages-louise]

august 28, 2018

good morning greetings from sunny cebu city it is currently august 28, 2018 at 9:41 am and i have just finished eating my grilled sandwich which serves as my breakfast for the day today i dont have much planned out for me except the reclaiming your center at home retreat hehe i think it will be an in house day for me ( a bit sad,  i hope i dont go cray like i usually do lol i kinda want some milk tea to accompany me, maybe then i wont feel so sad but no i must lose weight today is the very first day of my summer break and working towards mym goals and objectives for the term break. i am feeling slightly on edge at the fact that i am bored i really dont want to slip into a downward spiral or a lonely spiral or a nostalgia spiral where i end up missing the people who left me and are in no way good for me so i have to really watch myself. i have to view it from a different perspective , one of positivity at all the free time i have for reinvention and such idk lol other than that, there's nothing really going on with myself here oh shit the phone just rang and i do not want to pick it up. i become such an introvert when im in cebu, not even me becoming an introvert but whenever i go to my hometown i have no one to see because all my friends are basically in manila na. all my.closest friends are the ones who moved from cebu to manila and currently they are not here the only people that are here are alliyah, but i havent seen her in a while tbh and its weird that i just kinda went up to her and said lets hang lol not that weird but in our context, when we last saw each other, i was a bit pissed at her lol so yeah it might be weird and kirsten but the thing with kirsten is she's like never allowed to go out or its either she doesnt want to go out to start with and i cant really hang out with her because her friends and blockmates will be coming to cebu so theyre gonna have some fun on their own, its ayt tho i might be op or make them uncomfortable if i go lol so nvm but yeah thats whats been eating at me, hopefully the at home retreat can refresh my mind and enlighten it with positive thoughts i swear emotions are slippery slopes talaga. at one point im on an ecstatic high, but that high can quickly downward spiral if not treated right so i just have to be careful.. but yeah these 2 weeks will hopefully be insightful and transformative hehe its actually such a short break but like it feels horribly long when you aint doing shit lol i am not gonna go na talaga home lol after this, im not going home for more than a week. a week is my maximum. sorry, not really sorry. so yeah its been a while since ive morrning pages. the last time i spoke with you, i was talking about kimmy and how cool it was that she was achieving all these things and were basically the same age, actually shes younger than me by like a few weeks. it is motivating me to try harder, be fearless. easier said than done i know but i will get there eventually, we all will. i need to stop comparing myself to others talaga. one of my toxic traits. that and my lack of empathy at times. i wish i could just magically fix myself and treat these things but it is our fault as humans and we are constantly working towards our best selves dba? so yun hehe i dont know what else much to say. i got a full 9 hours of sleep? damn impressive im hoping to fix that fix my eyebags and my skin lol im honestly excited for next term because hello no morning classes i can finally goddamn enjoy my weekends hehe so yun that was my life recap nothing else is really going on with me i hope to accomplish all my goals and objectives im also unnaturally ocd or atleast i think its unnatural lol like yesterday i literally spent 3 papers or wasted them trying to come up with a front page format for my journal the other pages were bothering me cause the lines werent straight or the wording wasnt so i had to use yellow pad to make sure my words were aligned and such cge goodbye my friends and kaibigan see ya soon.

[jess-oh]

Reflection

i just hardcore vented to emily and im usually pretty weary and careful of bringing up my relationship with God and the church to her bc i know she isnt religious but i was just so furious and on a role that i didnt really care

but yeah JKBHFDLKNF,AMDFJKSHL

im just so frickin MAD

first, i was mad with andrew and sofia bc they dont see the point in giving bobby(sofia’s ex) closure and theres nothing that i can say to change their mind but i cant believe how unbelievably selfish theyre being in not letting him know that the reason sofia and he broke up was not because of anything that he did wrong but bc she had her own personal things to deal with and their argument is why should they open up an old wound and just bring back the hurt? and theyre assuming hes moved on bc hes dated other people since sofia but doesnt mean it doesnt bother him and that hes gotten over it. and andrew kept rushing to sofia’s aid and saying why should she have to tell him if she doesnt want to and that mindset is just so selfish. it’s not about you. it’s not just about how you feel or what you want to do. this is about him and what you did to hurt him, whether or not it was intentional. and i think it’s valid to still address the problem and get it over with and leave it behind. time means nothing. you can spend your whole life wondering what you did wrong bc you never got closure. and im just so frustrated bc i know that no matter what i say, they wont change their minds and see that theyre wrong.

and with p josh, i was walking home with angela today and i realized that he has so many flaws but his heart is too offendable and always takes criticism really poorly which is a big issue and im the most frustrated bc his whole thing is serving others and being like Jesus and the disciples but he plays the power card all too frequently and it doesnt feel like hes actually trying to serve us. and he cant be so ambitious with his vision and goals and expect everyone else to play along. we have our own things to deal with and just because he can do something doesnt mean everyone else can be expected to follow at the same level. they might not be used to it and everyone reacts to things differently. just bc jason is a great server doesnt mean i will be. i freaking suck at being a server and i could never do it. i dont do well in stressful, spontaneous situations. but i am good at planning long term events but that doesnt mean he can. 

i think more importantly, we’re getting away from the vision. a church is a hospital for the broken and not a place to put saints on display. and i think we’ve started to become too into our own vision instead of God’s vision and we need to get back to basics and build up from there. we are being too ambitious with everything right now and there is a lot of transition happening and p josh cannot expect us to keep up with him when we have our own things in our lives to deal with. i am still so impacted by that one line from “Kuya Derek” that said, “I am a Christian but I am more defined by Jesus than I am by the doctrine.” God is love. Everything that the Ecclessia is is rooted in love. And by saying, “if you feel uncomfortable or have a problem with something, you can leave.” P Josh words things really poorly a lot and I dont think we should attack him with all of his flaws at once on Sunday. This is an ongoing process and he’s only human and we cant expect him to immediately change. But I do really think we need to address his offendable heart and his power cards. How can he preach about wanting to make MAST something where students are serving others when he cant even do that for us? He’s being open about his issues and I respect that but he is still so blind. I almost feel like he’s telling us part of his struggles and flaws and just turning a blind eye to the real issues at hand in an effort to make himself look better. and now that i type that, i dont believe it to be true. but he HAS to be aware of these things. how can he hope that anyone will follow him when hes being such a hypocrite? And this is definitely something that I need to calm down about and pray about but asdfghjkl;

i definitely want to make a list and have it ready to address during our meeting on sunday.

also, i feel like angela has disliked me as a person for a while so i am really glad we’re getting along so well now but i also dont want our friendship to be rooted in hate. i dont want to just bond with her bc we gossip about other people. i want to really be her friend but i do think bc we’re both so straightforward and blunt, we have the potential to become really close. 

and i should address this in the future but i didnt today but she talked about how shes really passionate about the LGBTQ+ community today but the church finds that a really taboo topic to address and she doesnt want it to be like that but shes made fun of the politically correct culture at Columbia on more than a handful of occassions and that actually really turned me off and discouraged to bring up the topic in the past.

and another thing for p josh, i know that he wants lakeview to be a more multicultural place again and i wasnt there for that and i just feel like hes so in love with how things used to be but he needs to recognize that this isnt the past. this is now. we can try to be a more multicultural place again and think about what we can do now but he cant expect it to be like how it once was bc it will never be the same again. it will change and it will be different. 

im also surprised he didnt tell angela about when i called him out on his decision making bc that was lowkey one of my fears that he vented to jason and angela so im surprised she was surprised about it.

but yeah, im gonna finish watching new girl, shower, pack a little, and start to pray about this.

im sad today was the last life group but im also glad i got to pray for everyone bc i really wanted to. and today was actually so nice and felt so comfortable. we’re usually so tense and awkward but today was so much fun and i feel like everyone felt like they were free to be themselves and i really really enjoyed it. i just wish we couldve had this time sooner on. 

im starting to calm down and just imagine different scenarios and what i would say to him and how he would react.

i think the transition with the life groups and people leaving is a blessing in disguise. i think it’s been easy to get caught up in the details and logistics but we are now so far from the vision of it all. we’ve gotten so caught up with planning and thinking about how to benefit the most people that we have strayed so far away from what it means to love. to accept, and care, and invest, and love. and that’s what the church should be rooted in. out with the racism and cultural biases. what do we have if God is not at the center of it all. we shouldnt be thinking about how to benefit the most people. we should be thinking about how to save that one lost sheep. 

and i will not leave lakeview. i refuse. God called me here for a reason and I intend to carry out His Will. and to combat Rachel’s argument of if you dont feel comfortable being around other Koreans, then you should leave, to that i say this—

we are the church and should be appealing to EVERYONE. regardless of their race. and dont get me wrong, i totally see the appeal in having a predominantly Korean American church. I grew up in a white dominated neighborhood and was never really around Korean culture. my parents never spoke korean to me. there were always barely any Asians at my school. The cousins near my age lived on the other side of the country and my cousins that lived in California are wayyyy older than me and i didnt start talking to them until Robbin passed away. And I am still so hurt and saddened by him bc i still do not fully understand why God had to take him away from this Earth. And I know that so much good has come from it but it still hurts and pains me so much to this day but I am choosing to trust in God’s reasoning and plan and will and just trust that there was a reason why he took Robbin from this Earth. So yes, I see the appeal. But we really should not be preaching to each other and other Koreans. We should be preaching to ANYONE that can hear the Word.