#ok what if they did accomplish everything that was in the prophecy but it changed nothing because merlin’s immortal

[pendragonsclotpole]

Merlin Season 5 AU! See end for inspo!

They arrive in Camelot to the news of Mordred’s death. For the first three days of their return, Merlin fixates on the demise of Arthur’s bane more than he does on the significance of Mordred’s death. Mordred’s absence lifts the heavy burden of destiny off of Merlin’s shoulders for the first time in years. He can rest easy, breathe better, live contentedly in the realization that while Morgana remains, Arthur is now free from the curse of his bane.

It takes him weeks to wonder what this might mean for the decision made by Arthur. He is rightfully taken by surprise when one morning, Arthur awakes long before him and presents him with an even longer scroll over breakfast. It is an act to repeal the ban on magic. It legalizes certain forms of magic automatically, presents a drafted proposal for a hierarchical system to police wayward sorcerers, and provides a place on the Council for a Court Sorcerer. The details are so meticulously outlined that Merlin knows deep in his heart Gaius helped Arthur write them. Merlin’s hardly realized he’s crying when Arthur’s arms wrap around and he’s blowing snot into the King’s doublet. He mouths his apologies even as Arthur rubs a comforting hand on his back and whispers back reassuring I knows, and it’s alrights.

In the end, they fulfill the prophecy. Camelot’s golden age lasts for decades. Arthur’s territories grow, and his people thrive, and Merlin stands by his side throughout it all. Magic flourishes. Camelot thrives. Arthur lives and ages. Merlin lives and ages. Arthur dies.

It takes decades. Their bodies grow weak their knees get knobby, (Merlin grows a beard of respectable length much to Arthur’s dismay and annoyance) but eventually Merlin finds Arthur’s body the morning after Arthur’s 96th birthday. It is early enough that none of the servants have arrived to tend to their fire. Merlin, with hands now nearly as wrinkled and gnarled as Arthur’s face, uncorks the vial he’s carried around his waist since the day of Arthur’s first collapse, and swallows whole the concoction within it. The poison takes a few minutes to activate, but by the time he hears footsteps down the hall, Merlin can feel the poison painlessly traveling up his veins and clouding his vision. He smiles, content and sure in the thought that when he awoke next it would be to Arthur’s smiling visage.

He wakes up hours later to Arthur’s cold, sightless blue eyes in the crypts of Camelot. They are alone, about to be placed in stone. For a moment, Merlin thinks he’s merely in the in-between or perhaps brought back as a ghost. He closes his eyes and wills his soul to venture elsewhere. He wills it so much he says nothing as he’s lifted into the walls and entombed beside Arthur. There is something insidiously macabre in seeing your soulmate rot beside you as you desperately attempt to force death to take you. Throughout the process, Merlin absentmindedly thinks if Arthur’s eyes were not cursed to be sightless forevermore the former King would be staring at him with disappointment. I’m sorry, Merlin tells Arthur repeatedly. The apologies peter out when Merlin attempts to die by gouging out his own eyes. He hypothesizes for a few days that the more pain he can elicit, the closer he gets to Arthur. He stops increasing the pain after escalating his to disembowelment and then ceases his attempts to bring about his own death completely after blowing up his body only succeeds in speeding up the decomposition of Arthur’s body. The explosion is both a blessing and a curse. The instant incineration is painless and removes the horrible byproducts and odors of a rotting corpse, but it also leads to Merlin’s eventual resignation. Try as he might, he cannot join Arthur—not even in the presence of their shared crypt.

When he finally pulls himself away from the skeletal remains of Arthur’s frozen and once gnarled hands and musters the force to blast out from the crypt, two months have passed. The body he leaves behind sealed in the crypts is no longer Arthur Pendragon. Arthur Pendragon has left this world. Merlin should have left it with him and now he must find out why he remains, perniciously. There is only one person he can turn that will have this knowledge. Merlin runs to the nearest field and screams out for Kilgharrah. The dragon’s arrival shakes the entire earth around them, but even Merlin can see the weakness in the creature’s movements as he lands.

“So even you are not immune to old age, old friend.” Merlin says. Kilgharrah’s golden eyes look muted in the daylight, and pieces of his scales flake off into the ground.

“You will find only one of us is immune to death by old age, Emrys. And it is not I.”

“What do you mean?” Merlin’s anger gets the best of him. He is confused and hurt and humiliated and alone and deprived of his last wish. He has no room for ambiguities or cruelties. “Have I not fulfilled my destiny? Have I not earned my place of rest?”

“You cannot rest. You are Magic itself. For as long as there is magic in this realm, you will exist in this realm.”

Merlin lets the words rest on the wind for a few seconds before letting them stew and fuel his anger.

“So that’s it then? Years of toiling under the weight of prophecy, decades of laboring to maintain the Golden Age I sacrificed my very being for, and this is how it ends?” Merlin takes a shuddering breath. “You said we were meant to be two sides of the same coin, that are destinies are intertwined. Why is he gone and why am I still here?”

“Arthur is the Once and Future King, Merlin. When the need of Albion is at its greatest, he will return. You are the very essence of Magic. For as long as this realm needs magic, you must remain as magic’s stalwart defender and guardian.” Perhaps realizing the cruelty of his words, Kilgharrah issues one last prophecy. “Do not despair, Merlin. In truth, you achieved the best of all possible outcomes. In another life, Mordred might have lived for longer and Arthur’s death fulfilled decades earlier in place of your true destiny. You received a temporary peace instead. When Arthur returns, he will bring about the end of magic and your death with it.” Then, with a weariness Merlin recognized only in himself, Kilgharrah pulled back his wings and departed.

Merlin never sees him again. It is for the better. It takes Merlin three centuries to forgive the dragon for never pointing out what Merlin himself should have seen. It takes another five before he stops trying to die.

They had achieved everything. Two sides of the same coin, and yet when the story ended, it amounted to nothing.

Arthur died because Arthur was mortal.

Merlin is Magic. Merlin is immortal. Merlin cannot die.

@sneakyboymerlin I blame you for this. Inspired by this amazing post:

[warriorprincesstramp]

ok enough time has passed. short n sweet song rating

taste - I like it! it's kinda of overproduced and ditzy (like, sonically? I don't know how to describe it. hollow ig) but it's fun petty a little bit gay it helps that the mv is really good 8/10

please please please - like. whatever. I'm honestly over it. 5/10

good graces - 2/10 I do not like this song as soon as I heard this song I knew it was over for us I'm serious. melody is good but the lyrics and vibe is garbage and it DOES NOTTTTT FIT ON THIS FUCKING ALBUMMMMMM

sharpest tool - this is the closest song we have that could be an eics song. but crucially it's not so it's not as good. but I still like it <3 the "we never talk about it" end to the chorus and its repetition is really lame and underwhelming though idk. 7/10

coincidence - I really like this one I like the aggressive guitar I like the whispery adlibs. doesn't feel like it fits the album much (though truly what does fit the album the album is nothing!) and it NEEDS a better longer bridge.... why are these songs so fucking shortttt SABRINA. ANSWER MY CALLS. 8/10

bed chem - I kinda like this one sorry beth... in a sense this is everything wrong with new sabrina but well I think we'd have really good come right on me I mean camaraderie said you're not in my time zone but you wanna be where art thou why not uponeth me see it in my mind let's fulfil the prophecy. bridge is ass though 6/10

espresso - I am still not sick of that's that me espresso... that's literally that me espresso. 10/10 yes it ushered in a horrible era but it's a banger I'm sorry. I'm sorry you can't accept when a song is catchy and fun. what I hate though is it should have been an individual single song like honeymoon fades. the vintage beach vibes stand out so heavily against the production of literally every other song I know I already said loads of songs don't fit (BECAUSE. NOTHING FITS IT'S REALLY BAD GUYS) but it's true of this song most of all. you're literally listening to an entirely different sound and album for three minutes... 10/10 but she shouldn't even be here. or alternatively maybe if the whole album gave this sound and energy it would've been good 🤷

dumb and poetic - I LOVED this on first listen now I don't really care. her voice on "jack off to lyrics by leonard cohen" and the kinda reverb is so good as well as you're so empathetic you'd make a great wife and I promise the mushrooms aren't changing your life... also this seriously happened to rachel mcguire I can't emphasise that enough! 6/10

slim pickins - god. YAWN. I liked this when I saw the live version before the album drop but the production sucked all the life out of it lol. it's repetitive and the gay awakening line pisses me off. that one tiktok voice I'll break your heart just as bad!!!! but I do love the line lord knows he isn't living large... 4/10

juno - I literally switch between loving and hating this. "you make me wanna make you fall in love" is SO fun... but wowie it does not resonate... and using juno as the vehicle to describing wanting to get pregnant is so weird idk she was a teen and she should've aborted that thing... whatever. it's definitely one of the best sounding on the album 6/10

lie to girls - boring but pretty good. the how many things of short n sweet perhaps. 5/10 ok actually I'm listening now and I'm not fucking with it at all. 3/10

don't smile - I tune out by this point. sounds nice 5/10 but makes no sense as a closer for an album that's ENTIRE deal is I'm confident and sexy and silly!!! like girl where is the silly. this is such an abrupt serious end to a bunch of nonsense. excuse my phrasing. juno should've been the last song DUH end on a HIGH not a phony moment of emotion

AS AN ALBUM. literally none of this coheres it's all over the place even though all of the songs are also kinda about the same things and it gets really repetitive? I don't know how she did that but she did. that's some sort of accomplishment. it's so bad. sorry I really hate it. 2/10

[askfallenroyalty]

im getting really off-track here and am sorry to disturb from the main storyline but im very curious what fate ralsei holds in your universe because i think? this is one of the most unique endings i saw him getting? not that ive seen much besides all of the fountains closing or rals being a villain/someone from ut partially i just wanna know how he's doing. he seemed so disappointed when leaving

oh! i can actually show it. i WANT to clean up and make the drawn comic panels i did on the dark world stream publicly available but i just never find the time for it KLFLSf it'd be a bit of an effort because i didn't know to use the webtoon feature so everything is by a LARGE folder instead of separate canvases... wild i used to work that way. hell on earth.

ok so. I WILL transcribe this comic when i do the above ^ so apologies to those who need it for now. under the cut is Ralsei's ending, minus most of the context. i want to emphasizes, THIS IS A TEMPORARY POSTING LMAO. it will be accessible and fully contextualized later

Uh. Spoilers for Darkworld Arc (the Sam's Biggest Mistake in AFR History Arc). Does it count as a spoiler if i'm a lazy ass who hasn't gotten around to cleaning this story up?

again transcript will be added in the actual release. alongside the unfinished "music" video (the audio was never composed as the vid wasn't finshed.) it has SOME merit tho.

After the Big Battle with Gaster the knight returns (is anyone surprised? no) and posseses Lancer to help give an epilogue to the kids.

(skipping ahead a little because i DO want this scene to mostly be unspoiled, even after all this time)

...apparently this is where either my tablet died again or i was burnt out after drawing for like, idk, 12 hours on stream SKFJSLDF. this is the last panel.

mwuah. a master piece.

ANYWAY. Ralsie (at this point he's been reunited with the kids at the end of the battle. i DO have art for that but i'm just going to show the aftermath)

anyway with Tazetta being crowned princess and given a fresh new life, (again, details vauge cause it's a cute scene that works best with full context) she and ralsei are set up to be new siblings -a brother and a sister!

Kris and Susie got the chance to be proper heroes to defeat Gaster (saving Ralsie in the process) so everyone's on good terms -Susie feels redeemed for attacking Feylow and Knight-Kris (Knis???), Kris got a big Hero Moment and feels validated in their ability to choose their destiny, Ralsei gets to feel the prophecy wasn't a total lie, and he's been given a full chance to live his own life now without the Knight being a turd about it

anyway with the Knight

(AGAIN trying my best not to spoil the scene (fine with talking story beats but not in detail) so deal with being out of context as possible) the knight literally ends the fight by putting gaster in a time out and deciding to become a better person for the darkner's benefit.

yeah. jeeze. really wild how chapter 2 completely recontextualized things huh.

Also, since it's been a year :grimace emoji: i can saftely say the knight is WAY out of character and way to nice and "forgivable" in this dark world. back then I was thinking: "hm, maybe the Knight can be more redeemed and once in Darkworld, they could have a change of heart :)"

yeah thats. that's WAY off the table for Angel's Lullaby as it is now. the "will they or won't they redeem themself" is still on the table but its a WAY bigger fight to accomplish (or fail) than what was depicted here, sharing Kris' SOUL or not.

I think i was just toying with the idea of the Knight's redemption to foreshadow Asriel being flowey and not believing their SOUL was real. I felt this would help justify/foreshadow why Asriel was wrong ahead of time. or something. now i just think it hurts the story by having the knight involved, it undermines that story's intentional confusion if Asriel was right or not a ton!

yeah a big reason why the DW arc was Bad was because 1) outdated for both Angel's AND deltarune LMAO 2) bad in context of Asriel's arc 3) Feylow is kinda a big mess and overly ambitious of a writing metaphor for my skill level at the time 4) litearllyyyy hate the narrative i built for frisk and ralsei and i couldn't really salvage that x-x

ANYWAY sorry for the mean tangent. hopefully this gave you some insight to Ralsei's story arc even if I didn't show the full extent of it

[shirophantomvox]

First Date with Chrollo (Human Diary)

Hello everyone! I am back with another “First Date” post featuring the Prince of Darkness. This was an anon post but I can't find the ask anywhere! I have been watching JoJo’s Bizarre Adventures lately and it is a very interesting show. Dio turned into a zombie and he’s so mean to Joseph. Anyway, let’s get into the post. The end is a bit angst-y but I did that to take a slight turn from all Fluff. I hope you enjoy! Part 2 coming sometime this week.m

It is common knowledge that Chrollo loves to read many books. When he was a child, he had time to read and that provided a great source of comfort. Although he seems to be ruthless, every human has the ability to seek compatibility and compassion. Both Hisoka and Chrollo enjoy the romance genre except Hisoka prefers to watch movies while Chrollo loves to read stories. You've known Chrollo since elementary school. You were fortunate enough to be able to move out of Meteor City and attend a better elementary school. As a child, you were an outcast and made few friends but on occasion, Chrollo would see you at a local arcade. Of course, your mother paid for the both of you to have fun but once it was over, it broke your heart because you knew about the conditions he’d return to once he left.

As time went on, you entered college and decided to invite Chrollo on campus so he could be something like a driving force for future success. You’ve been accepted into Yorknew University planning on majoring in Computer Science with a minor in Digital Art. Reaching Chrollo posed a challenge. He never responded to a few messages but on the third try, he answered with an excited response.

“Please forgive me y/n for not responding soon enough. I am more than happy to visit you. I am proud of you and your accomplishments. I do not see myself as a college man but, hey, don’t knock it until you’ve tried it right? I’ll be in touch.”

-Chrollo

At exactly 7 PM on a calm Fall night, standing outside of the campus’ most prominent book store, you began to sweat and your makeup began to drip. Just as you were about to wipe it off, you heard a voice call your name.

“Y/n? Is that you?” He chuckled as he questioned your appearance.

Turning around, you jumped a little at the sight before you. This wasn’t the same Chrollo you remember, of course. He had grown several feet, his face was much sharper, his arms were much bigger, had a bandana tied on his forehead, and he had a few rings on. He was dressed in a white polo shirt, black pressed slacks and black dress shoes. It’s weird. It felt like an arrow was shot through your heart.

“Are you ok? You act as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I’m fine! I’m just---You--look…”

“Ah, I see. There’s no need to be flustered. I am the same as when we were kids.”

The Yorknew Sailor Store was designed something exactly like a Barnes and Noble except the walls were painted to match the school’s colors.

The bookstore had a perfectly designed Starbucks, with a wooden finish, black and brown metal tables, beige tile floor, and glass doors.

Chrollo immediately noticed the change in behavior, one he wasn’t used to.

The students were snooty according to him and reminded him of how the city council would act towards him, his family, and those who were like him.

First, you offered to buy him a drink. The good thing about Chrollo is that if you or anyone else offers to buy something, He will not reject it. There is no such thing as having too much pride regarding him.

“Do you drink coffee?”

“Of course I do,” he replied. “But I don’t think I’ve had any of these drinks. A Caramel Macchiato? That sounds good.”

“Order it then! That will give you just the right amount of energy for today’s reading!”

To you, this was just two friends reuniting with each other but something else told you that Chrollo thought it was something more. He only dressed up like this if he was going out with someone special and even then it wasn’t an expensive Polo Short, It was his best t-shirt and jeans.

It boggles your mind how Chrollo acquired his expensive clothing but maybe he obtained a great job and is able to make a living for himself.

“I’d like to order a Caramel Macchiato.”

“What’s the name for this drink?”

“Chrollo,” you responded.

“And for you?”

“I would like a caramel Frappuccino with soy milk and no whip cream.”

“Alright. That’ll be $15.00.”

Chrollo glanced at you wide-eyed.

“It’s ok. I got it.”

You take out your card to pay and as you move out of line you bend over to whisper in his ear. “Maybe you can pay for dinner though.”

He laughed and smiled. “Of course, y/n.”

The bookstore was full of comfortable furniture ranging from light blue, dark blue, white in the lounge area. Both of you decided to sit across from each other on the blue chairs that swallowed you both as you sat.

As he read, he’d point out any interesting points in the book. He got tired of yelling across the table, so he decided to share a chair with you. He could feel the heat radiating from your body.

It was almost obvious that you all were involuntarily flirting with each other. The school was full of couples but occasionally seeing the goofy couple was the highlight of everyone’s day.

“This man was so devoted to a woman that does not know that he exists.”

“Sounds pointless,” you say, still trying to read your book.

“Well, she knows he exists but she is ignoring him and making him look like a fool in front of everyone. He says that there is something about her that he has never seen in any woman.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s her eyes, smile, intelligence, the shape of her lips, and her perfume powder aroma. Those are things that drive men wild.”

You smiled and laughed but came to a quick halt when you felt something along the ridge of your neck made you still. The hair on your neck stood up still as the invading force came in contact with your skin. It was Chrollo grazing his nose against your skin, slightly sniffing in your aroma; slowly breathing in and out.

Closing your eyes couldn’t make your sudden arousal fade. At this point, nearly everybody was looking at you both and looked away. This behavior was innocent for college culture, but it was taken as a cute gesture rather than naughty.

You blush. It was quite surprising that your childhood friend viewed you as something of the sort. It was both flattering and scary.

There’s no denying that Chrollo is handsome but if you dated him and the relationship didn't last, it could ruin your friendship.

At this point, Chrollo had his right arm resting lazily behind your back as his head and next aimed in a position that would allow his nose to lay carelessly on your neck.

“You smell delightful. I didn’t know you wore such expensive perfume. Is it….,” He sniffs again, “Flower Rose?”

“Yes! How did you know? Does your mother wear it?”

“She does now. I bought it for her a week ago and now the guys in the city can’t stay off her.”

Wow. The City. Even though it was a hell hole, it was your hell hole. How is everything? How is your mother? How did you manage to have such an expensive taste in clothing and fragrance?

Chrollo enjoys making others flustered. It's amusing to see them stutter when they’re either aroused or nervous.

On the flip side, seeing Chrollo flustered was the highlight of the century! The bad guys are used to being “bad” but expressing softer emotions makes it amazing and a reminder that they can experience them too.

Grabbing Chrollo’s left hand, you gently kiss it a few times and wink at him. He smiled, hiding his dumbfounded expression, and blushed slightly.

“I see you catch on quick.”

“I was raised in Meteor City. Just because I’m here doesn't mean I have forgotten where I come from. But I didn’t know you liked me.”

“You were the only one that trusted me and played with me when no one would.”

It felt like two magnets were pulling you closer. If he kissed you right here right now, you could just melt into a puddle but before anything happened, Chrollo’s phone rang loud and echoed throughout the bookstore.

Glancing at his phone, you saw an unknown number call, and judging from his actions he stood quickly to his feet.

“I’ll only be gone for a second.”

Hmm. That was odd. During this short intermission, you continue to read your book. Ironic enough, you weren’t into romance novels per se, you enjoyed action and comedy books!

Once Chrollo returned, his face was flushed and his soft demeanor had suddenly disappeared. He looked as if he was going to punch a wall.

“What’s wrong, Chrollo?”

He glanced at you with a somber smile, hoping to convince you that he was alright. “I am fine, y/n.”

“Are you sure?”

“Well, if you count my mother being seriously injured, then yes.”

“Oh no! We can leave now, it’s fine.”

“No, it's ok. She wouldn’t want me to leave you all by yourself at this time of day.” He pointed to the night sky.

Wow! That was quick!

“What do you mean?”

“My mother predicted that I could end up with you...she also predicted that someone would be hurt or in danger if that prophecy was fulfilled. It’s sort of like give or take. In order to make someone happy, someone has to surrender their happiness and I guess it was her.”

A single tear dropped down his cheek and nothing more. He didn’t care if other men singled out his “weakness” because he’d destroy them all and he didn’t want y/n to know about his abilities until later.

The comfort of your warmth against his head provided more than comfort. He felt safe, welcomed, not judged, and vulnerable. He knew that you wouldn’t make him out to be a bad person but instead welcome him home with open arms. You were his human diary.

[psychologyserviceannoucement]

I've Done Therapy Before and It Didn't Work

Therapy is a hard thing to go through. It’s success is dependent upon both the participation of a professional and the individual. It requires discussing and evaluating a lot of personal information that can be hard to tolerate, let alone put active work into. While therapy is a proven effective treatment for a variety of mental health conditions, the reality is that it often takes people multiple attempts to actually reap the benefit of it. That may seem like an oxymoron, but there are a few reasons why someone’s first go at therapy may not work out and why it’s still worth giving a second shot.

If you’ve ever gone through therapy before then I wanna give you props for putting yourself out there to begin with. It’s uncomfortable and vulnerable, but I appreciate that you gave it a shot. Moreover, I extend my sympathies that your efforts didn’t end up being rewarded. I can understand if that experience has kind of turned you off to the idea of therapy or if it’s made you doubt the effectiveness of it all together. After all, there aren’t many other medical procedures that have this same problem. If you go to a doctor to get a bone set, you generally expect it to work without a second attempt. It’s not a very flattering look to say the least. Even still, despite how negative those experiences may be, I believe it is important to consider why things didn't work out before. Because when I say that people often need more than one attempt at therapy, that doesn’t just mean that it didn’t work. It also means that it did work later on. So it naturally brings us to question about what made the difference between the first try and the third.

One of the biggest reasons people give up on therapy is because of the timing. When people are struggling, they can become desperate for any sort of relief. However, therapy as a treatment takes time. Without going into too much detail about how therapy works (see here for a longer discussion), the process is essentially attempting to work with a part of your health that cannot be observed through traditional methods. Instead of conducting tests or making measurements, therapists have to rely on a far slower way to gather information, talking about symptoms a lot. Even after they are able to identify potential factors contributing to the problem at hand, enacting solutions can also take time. Correcting maladaptive thinking patterns, for instance, can be an extended process of convincing a patient that the pattern exists, that it should be changed, and helping them make that change. That’s already going to take a few sessions to accomplish. Lifestyle changes similarly take some weeks to show the effects of. And that’s assuming the first attempted solution proves correct. As such, the typically recommended period of time suggested before you may start to see results from therapy is 3-4 months or 12-18 sessions. And that’s a long period of time, especially for some more severe conditions. It’s very common for people to get frustrated with the process because they are being asked to do a lot of work even though they aren’t feeling better yet. In fact, a large percentage of patients quit therapy well before it has the chance to show it’s effectiveness. So although the effort you put into treatment before was likely difficult and shouldn’t be diminished, it’s possible that things simply needed more time before they could work. On the other hand, by the second or third attempt people are more likely to stick with therapy longer. They also have the benefit of their previous experiences helping them to progress more quickly. So if you’re willing to try therapy again it might be a little easier than the first time.

Another obstacle people encounter is finding a therapist that fits. I often describe individual therapists as akin to a primary care physician, a general knowledge health professional that’s able to tackle a wide diversity of problems. However, while they may have a surface level understanding on many topics, any specific therapist is not going to have a deep knowledge of all of them. Just like other kinds of doctors, individual therapists specialize in different fields and are going to have gaps in their information. These gaps sometimes prove problematic if a therapist is attempting to treat someone with a condition they are not familiar with or cannot relate to. They have a lot of skills and tools that are universally applicable to any problem, but they may not always use them effectively. And that barrier to understanding can appear for a number of reasons. Sometimes it’s a lack of personal, academic, or professional experience. Sometimes it’s a difference in cultural background: religion, race, sexuality, gender, or so one. Sometimes they have certain core beliefs that are in contrast with yours. Some therapists are very strict and direct. Some prefer a more patient-focused approach where they have a more passive role. Not every therapist is a good fit for everyone. It’s entirely possible that the first person you saw just wasn’t the right person for the job. If you were dissatisfied with your previous therapist, I would encourage you to seek out one that specializes in the specific issues you are struggling with. Alternatively, you can seek someone with a similar background to you. I would go so far as to recommend interviewing them to see if they have views and personality traits that would compliment your treatment.

The last obstacle I would like to discuss is a bit more personal. I’d like not to come across as if I am blaming anyone for their negative experiences or accusing them of not trying hard enough. However, it is sometimes the case that someone may attend therapy sessions without truly giving treatment a shot. The thing about therapy is that it looks silly from the outside and there are still a lot of people who are hesitant to accept it’s validity. That is perfectly understandable. I do not expect everyone to put the same value in therapeutic techniques that I do. Unfortunately though, therapy depends on patient participation. Therapists can help you identify necessary changes in thinking patterns and lifestyle, but only if you allow them access to the information they need to understand you. Moreover, it is entirely up to the individual to actually enact the changes recommended. As such, entering treatment without an open mind that is ready and willing to adhere to the treatment can often become a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you go to treatment, fully believing that it won’t work and letting that belief drive your actions, then it certainly will not. And that’s not to say that everything will work perfectly if you try hard enough. It will still be a process. Sometimes you will put your best effort into something and it still won’t work out. However, the only way to know one way or another is to try it thoroughly. I understand that those who are seeking mental health treatment are oftentimes not in a place where they are able to be very hopeful or optimistic. That’s ok. I’m not asking you to believe with all your heart that you certainly will get better soon. But I am asking you to consider if you really did give it your best shot the first time around.

At least those are some of the bigger reasons why people have trouble with their first attempt at therapy. It’s possible they apply to you, but I don’t know much about your specific experience. I can provide as many explanations as possible, but I can’t account for everything because sometimes things just happen. The truth of recovery is that it’s work, but it’s not like climbing up a mountain. Recovery is more like being lost in a forest. It can take a lot of persistence.  You can’t take three steps in one direction and decide that you’ll never find your way out.. You have to walk pretty far in one direction before you can really find out whether something is there or not. If that attempt didn’t work out, you’ll need to change directions and try a different way. It would be much easier if there was a simple path to follow, but it's simply something you’ll have to work on for a bit. Granted, things aren’t always a struggle. There is a way out. The forest doesn’t go on forever. It does stop eventually and there might be signs to help along the way to point to where that might be. You have your therapist as a guide to help you along and the longer you walk, the better you’ll get at navigating. I’m sorry if you feel stuck, or you’re tired of fighting, or you’re frustrated that nothing seems to be working. But hope is not lost. Statistically, you can still and likely will get better. Perhaps it shouldn’t take this much for you to get to that point, but it is still within your reach. Recovery is very much worth the work that it takes to get to it. So despite the obstacles, I hope that you continue to pursue treatment and put as much as you can into it so that you can find what’s effective and make therapy work for you, even if it takes a few tries.

For more information on mental health topics, check out our Index

[kendrixtermina]

Sigh. Chibnall.

Jodie Whittaker and demographic realism

So I want to make clear that I have no problems whatsoever with Jodie Whittaker’s performance - the character seamlessly kept walking across the screen, she has great energy, love the steampunk goggles. 

Honestly I’ve always believed that giving existing characters a demographic change is not really as revolutionary or helpful as ppl think; New characters and stories (esp. told by writers of those samedemographics) solve the problem much better. Keeping specificity is often better than losing it, and the character still has a background (from an “advanced” civilization that used to do dirty deeds and is still kind of uppity attitudes, a character who’s decided to be against that attitude but still needs to be knocked own from the occasional uppity moment; It makes sense for them to look like a british dude, and they have the freedom to go wherever problems like sexism and racism don’t exist so... ), and will be linked to its origin.  But at worst something that will look dated in a few years like the 80s outfits, the show’s done dated and crowdpleasing before; There’s no hard reason not to do it and I expected no quality dip. 

It certainly worked as as attention grab, the premiere drew a lot of attention but that only lasted as long as it took for the reviews to go sour. But one of the main good things its proponents said could come of it was to help the lack of female anti heroes. So far she really didn’t get to anti hero much; It’s not Whittaker, it’s the scripts. 

I want to make this clear: Varied demograpics are good; 

This is why I kind of hate the term “diversity” is one of those vague euphemisms if you mean “demographic representation”, “social equity” or “demographic realism” just say that. 

In a way this is a good thing, it used to be only the best boldest writers who could get away, noadays it has become acceptable to have varied casts. And that’s how it should be artshouldn’t have to have to pass some arbitrary quality standard to simply reflect reality. But as the rebootverse and star trek discovery should’ve proved realistic demographics can’t replace good writing. Sometimes lack of realistic demographis is associated with bad writing because both come from play-it-safe more-of-the-same consummerism focussed sameyness, often someone who goes against the formulas has a solid vision which makes them good, and focussing on ignored topics and perspectives can yield new ideas (consider stuff like Wonder Woman, Get Out, Black Panther... which were just good, novel movies) but you could have a super interesting memorable story where everyone is a medieval european monk, but the characters are differentiated by personality, attitude, beliefs, or something where the cast ticks all sort of all demographic boxes but the characters are 1D and the story trite and predictable

On the one hand you get those gamergate adjacent fanboys who make “diversity” and “good writing” out to be enimical opposites and then you have the purists/antis who treat any critique of writing to be founded in having something against realistic demographics. You need both! 

Series 11

There were good things about it: An attempt at leastto do more of your classic thought provoking space operas or going back to the shows’ pulp fiction roots, covering some historic periods/topics other than the classic historical fiction tropes (they got a pakistani writer, had Yaz and Ryan discuss social topics among themselves etc.), the emotional story centered around this family coping with a loss, having Ryan sort of be the “main” companion and the one the rest of the team is protective of

But overall the reason I didn’t rush to watch s12 as soon as it came out is that it was a bit... bland. The team interacted mostly with each other; The Doctor had more charge with one shot characters like King James or the Solitract than she really did with the companions. Graham was such a missed opportunity. Remember how everyone loved the dynamic with Wilfred? No attempt to strike a bond over how they’re the older party members, or the professional xenophile trying to nudge the bilbo baggins like reluctant hero? We’re told the Doctor really likes Yaz, and I believe it cause she always liked people like that, but are we shown?

For all that Moffat and RTD were very different writers with different strenghts and weaknesses, both were very character-driven writers, and that was really missing here a bit. 

Some ppl said they didn’t give Yaz enough screentime or personality - but the thing is, they did try. They just failed. They let her make little remarks here and there about her homelife, they just never really assembled into a whole beyond buzzwords and inspirational platitudes and the Standard Companion Traits. I didn’t get a read on what she’s about or who she’s like until the pakisan episode where she unlike Barbara, Donna etc. immediately accepted that the past can’t be changed. Ah, I finally thought, she’s a very responsible dutiful person.

Everything lacks edges and defining moments. 

So far, I didn’t sweat it. I though, ok, not everything can be the high-concept character driven spec fic epic type of story that is my personal favorite. Every time there was some addition to the mythos in any way someone cried ruined forever. When the time lords first appeared. When the time war was introduced. 

The classics too were lower on the character driven ness; Still good pulp fiction content. (imho the character concepts themselves were often pretty good, just not used to the fullest and some of the actresses were treated crappy backstage)

I thought “okey, it wouldn’t be good to break with the tradition of making the sussequent incarnations contrasting”

I did think that there was much liberty with the additions which the others did do only towards the end when it feltmore earned, but, the addition of say, sisters, isn’t too disruptive

Series 12 and the Timeless Child Nonsense

The frustrating thing about this is that it COULD have been good. 

The Master teaming up with the cybermen to try and take over Gallifrey is precisely the sort of story the classics would’ve done. 

“Your society is founded on a shady secret and exploitation of the innocent” is a good plot twist especially in these times. The Master finding that secret and using it to his advantage - also very him. 

Imagine what it could have been like if it had been approached from the perspective of someone who, for all that they were a rebel, still sort of profited from being part of that society, someone who wants to take responsibility for that past and would maybe have to make some tough choice to let the exploitation victim go because it’s right even if it has cosequences for themselves and their civilization. 

but then you ruin that by immediately taking the protagonist out of that society. They and they alone are the victim. 

like this plot could have been good except for the twist that the Doctor and the timeless child are the same. 

Not connecting it to existing lore about the earlier war game days, everything with Omega and Rassilon, that bit about the Time Lord becoming what they were through exposure to the untempered schism... that might be forgiven. Even if it does stretch the suspension of disbelief that every single piece of sci fi scanning equipment in the show didn’t pick anything up; Not to mention that it destroys the stake on every heroic sacrifice or death prophecy plot, every time a companion or oneshot character took the bullet, the whole “out of regens” plot...

This is not me being mad about things being added or changed, but this being done in such a way that undermines the philosophy, the whole flavor... 

Yes, the MC is mysterious, the 7th Doctor arcs did a lot with this etc. but doesn’t spelling something out this clear not deplete rather than add to that? It#s a definite answer even if the final origin isn’t clear. 

But they’re so much else.

The trickster hero accomplishing great deeds with planning, guile, improvisation and duct tape, the implicit value that ressourcefulness trumps raw power. 

The rebel, different because they chose to be or made themselves to be such through their adventures, sticking to their own values in a close-minded society - who embodies & encourages thinking for yourself in every situation and universal plot, who battles enemies like the Daleks and Cybermen that represent comformity

Yeah they have many names yeah they take out gods... but all this was the result of their actions & path in pursuit of knowledge, and also, as Moffat once stated, the funny part is that behind all the fearsome reputation is wit and duct tape. 

The fish in a small pond who started out a misfit, failed their tardis driving exam... etc. and often made a point that they didn’t want immortality or endless godlike power. That’s meaningless if they had it to begin with. 

The explorer who wanted to see more than their corner of the world. 

The ANTI HERO that’s made alltogether too tragic here, too absolved from their uppity civilization

All that is wiped away if they were this special creature to begin with.

Where WAS the philosophy, rly? The big humanist speeches that made me love the show. 

Going Forward

So I think - I HOPE - that this in particular will be treated like the “half human” thing from the TV movie or the now josses additional origin stories from the audios, or be handwaved under the “you cant get it wrong cause everything is in flux” carpet

It’s the Master effing with her to pay her back for the half broken chameleon arch thing. 

It’s possible the Child actually existed, long dead or trapped somewhere - again, dirty mystery at the bottom of a stck-up society is a good twist. but this shouldn’t be more than another maybe in the multiple choice past not a definite answer. 

Also, i hate this line of thought but I can’t stave it off: Why is is now that the MC looks female that we get this vulnerable, passively victimized tomato surprise rather than something with an ugly but definite choice in it. 

I will probably ignore it - parts of me resents this cause “your civilization is based on a lie” could be such a good plot twist (then again the existing twists to that end from the classics and End of Time do enough rly) but if i have to choose between that and the basic meaning of the character....

[hey-hey-chan]

Gryffindor!Jeongin

...So I chose to do HP cuz I am better at writing action than fluff... sorry i’ll make Soulmate another time lmao

Ugh this was kinda bad lmao. sorry

Written Jeongin’s POV

The first time I saw her, I was only 11. 

“Zhong Chenle.” The name was called. It echoed throughout the halls as everyone was celebrating at the new year, and the first year for some, at Hogwarts. Food and goodies filled the tables along with the loud chatter that resonated around the banquet. 

We were currently choosing what houses so be sorta into. I could feel my heart beating and my palms sweating, nervous about the house I was to be sorted into. 

“Hey, better get into Hufflepuff like me.” Another first year said. I smiled, though I knew what my goal was.

“Slytherin is way better, you scrub!” Another first year who was placed into Slytherin. I could see the houses already breaking relationships and to be honest, that frightened me and also excited me. To be so loyal to a group that nothing could get in the way of that bond. 

“Psh, we all know Jeongin is going to be Gryffindor, I mean, both his parents are. And you know, his powers are rumored to be special.” They whispered the last sentence, but I still heard it, which added more weight to my burdens. 

“Yang Jeongin!” Now my name was echoing throughout the halls. I froze, but then felt people ushering me towards the front. 

“Go Jeongin!” I saw everyone’s eyes on me, curious as to what I was going to be placed into. 

I felt anxiety wash over me as I set myself in the chair. Even the teachers were giving me curious glances, and when teachers judge you, you know it’s bad. 

The hat was placed on my head before I knew what was happening. It immediately yelped and laughed, making me flinch. 

“Oh boy! A very interesting one, yes.” It barked in laughter again. “Yang Jeongin. Son to Yang Junho and Hyemi. Powerful wizards they are, powerful indeed.” I didn’t know whether he was referring to me or my parents anymore. 

“I can tell you have a lot of worries, I feel everything inside of you.” I cringed at his words and I was curious as to my my selection was taking so long. 

“Not Slytherin, not Slytherin,” I mumbled to myself, hoping no one could hear. 

“NOT SLYTHERIN!? My boy, you’re not even close to evil.” I blushed, knowing the whole hall just heard. “But of course, it would make you closer to the girl you are bound to.” The hat whispered. 

“No, you’re a Gryffindor boy.” Once the hat announced it’s choice, it was quickly taken off my head.

The Gryffindor section cheered loudly, celebrating my membership. An older Gryffindor took my hand to shake and smiled widely.

“Congratulations and welcome to Gryffindor! I’m Chan, tell me if you need anything around here, I’m sort of like the dad.” The rest of them cheered and I was pulled into hugs and pas on the back. I felt like I finally had a family again.

“Ugh, not Slytherin? Can you get anymore childish than that!?” I noticed a tall girl walking towards us, looking around Chan’s age. I was assuming she was the same age as Chan. Chan straightened his body, appearing taller than before.

“Joy-” 

“No not interrupt me!” She then changed her glare to face my eyes, I shrunk back at her intensity. 

“You.” She pointed at me. “The only reason you don’t want to be in Slytherin is because of the prophecy.” Everyone gasped at the announcement. 

“Park Sooyoung, please sit-” The girl wouldn’t let anyone stop her, even one of the headmasters. 

“We all heard it, right?” She smirked, evil truly shining in her eyes. “The boy born in the month of love will fall deeply and passionately in love with a forbidden, evil girl born of the snake. Who do you think that’s talking about? Someone in Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw?” Joy smirked and sunk to my level but Chan stood in front of me before she could get too close. 

“Move away Joy, he’s one of ours now. Don’t worry, I won’t let him near any of your slippery serpents.” Joy hissed, her haw tight and hands clenched. 

“Enough!” The headmaster called out. The voice boomed and the fighting stopped. “We need to continue with the sorting.” 

Everyone silenced, Joy and Chan glared one more time before settling down to their tables. 

“Y/n.” The name was called. I watched as a girl walked confidently onto the stage, flashing a smirk to the crowd. The Slytherin table cheered, already feeling charisma and swagger radiating from her. 

Her hair was jet black and was short on one side and long on another, I hoped that was a fashion choice. 

Before the hat was set on her head, we made sudden eye contact. I blushed at her intense gaze that I assumed she gave everyone else. She tilted her head to one side and smirked. 

“Ew, another youngin being converted to evil.” Chan whispered. Before I could help myself, I wished she made it into my house. 

The hat was placed on her head, making the hat bark out in laughter. 

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat called out, the hall erupting into loud yells once again.

The girl walked to the Slytherin table and gave me one final glance before staring into the eyes of my sworn enemies. 

Five years later, I acknowledged her as the most annoying girl on the planet. 

“Jeongin, can you tell me what spell I could use to open a door that was locked shut?” My professor asked me. I looked up from my notes and smiled.

“Yes, that would be alohamora.” I answered. She nodded.

“Good job, Jeongin.” I blushed and went back to writing notes.

I heard a scoff from behind me. I almost snapped my pencil at the voice. 

“Professor Kim, no offense or anything, but a fucking baby could answer that question.” The girl barked. Professor Kim closed her eyes. Everyone could tell the teachers were constantly annoyed at Y/n’s side comments. 

“Ms. y/n, I would like it if you kept these comments to yourself.” I smirked at the bitterness in the professor’s tone. Y/n didn’t say anything, but huffed again. 

“Ok I will, but only because I’ve been to detention 5 times this week, and it’s Friday.” I could almost feel the smile on y/n’s face, feeling proud her “accomplishment.” Prof Kim sighed and continued on with the lesson.

I didn’t often talk with y/n, but the times I did, I wanted to lose my mind. She was constantly making fun of what I said during the sorting ceremony and also just making the basic Gryffindor jokes at me. 

I tried to stay away from every Slytherin girl because of the prophecy that was set and stone when I was younger. I used to pray every night for the prophecy to change, but it never did, and what sucked is everyone knew about it. 

It left me to get alienated by a few Gryffindors, but most of them thought it was a joke and would never happen. 

“Ok class, I know you’re going to hate me, but it’s time for that time of year back from winter break when you’re going to be bombarded with projects.” The whole class groaned. “I know, I know, but suck it up, it’s happening.” The class stopped whining, but no one was happy. 

Honestly, I didn’t hate group projects. Surprisingly, I’d never been paired with a Slytherin girl for my time at Hogwarts. I think the teachers took pity on me and avoided battles in class over my prophecy, plus most Slytherin girls feel uncomfortable around me. 

“Jeongin, and Minhee.” I was paired with a Hufflepuff girl. I smiled and nodded to her, where she blushed and smiled back. 

“And finally, y/n and Midam.” Before class could end, I heard y/n cough and I felt the wind from her hand shoot up. 

“Professor Kim?” She asked. I could see the professor’s eyebrow twitch, but called on her anyways. 

“Yes, y/n?” The Slytherin girl pretended to look shy and uncomfortable, but we all knew that was an act. 

“Um, I just wanted to tell you that I feel uncomfortable being partners with Midam because he slept with my friend last week and then dumped her when she really liked him.” The whole class know about this matter, but everyone still gasped and looked very uncomfortable, including me. 

And Prof Kim especially. 

“Y/n, you need to put your differences aside for just maybe 2 hours of work and-”

“But, I’m supposed to feel comfortable with my partner, right?” Slytherins knew how to make an argument and strike a teacher where it hit them head on. 

The professor sighed and rubbed her face. 

“Ok, fine. Is there anyone-”

“I’d like to be paired with Yang Jeongin.” The whole class gasped for the second time today, even me. I froze in my seat, refusing to make eye contact, yet I felt my blood boiling at the prospect of spending time with the girl. 

“Um, Jeongin, is that-”

“No. I’m uncomfortable being partners with you.” I stated quickly, clearly uncomfortable with the offer. The Gryffindor next to me patted me on the back. 

“But Professor Kim, I just named the first person in the classroom who I thought of, clearly as Jeongin is sitting in front of me. And we all know that the only reason he feels uncomfortable with being partners with me is because of this prophecy that is most likely untrue since he does avoid Slytherin girls like the plague.” My cheeks flared and turned bright pink at her blunt words. 

“That’s like discriminating against me because of my race, and do you promote racism in this classroom?” Everyone went silent, while Prof Kim looked clearly distraught. 

“Ugh, fine. Jeongin with y/n and Minhee with Midam. Ok? I’m sorry.” She looked at me. I couldn’t meet her stare and felt myself wanting to through my body off of a cliff. 

“Class dismissed.” The bell rang after her words, making us pack up our bags and leave. I tried to quickly leave and avoid y/n, but she jumped right next to me as soon as I exited the classroom.

“Jeongin-”

“I really don’t want to talk to you right now.” I growled. I heard her bark out laughter, which made my blood boil.

“Oh, I didn’t ask you what your opinion was on this matter.” She said, swinging her body in front of me which stopped me in my path. I sighed, wanting to just shove her out of the way. 

“Can you move please, I need to get to my next class.” She raised a brow. 

“You can’t avoid me forever, just know that. And when I saw me, I speak for the rest of the Slytherin girls. There’s nothing wrong with us.” Her words struck a nerve in me, I didn’t have anything against Slytherin girls in particular, but the prophecy terrified me. The love was supposed to be forbidden and evil, and born of the snake, probably meaning she’s my age and also a Slytherin. 

“Why did you even choose right now to do this to me?” I sighed, my voice coming out whinier than I expected. She crossed her arms, leaning back on her left leg. 

“Because, you fascinate me.” At those words, she walked away, making an exit as she always does. I rushed to my next class, but I couldn’t forget her words. 

The whole day, I was constantly thinking about her words. All of them. I don’t hate Slytherin girls, is that what everyone thinks? I mean, I’m Gryffindor, I just hate Slytherins in general. 

“You fascinate me.” He voice echoed through my mind as I left my last class.

And they haunted me until I went to bed, making me unable to fall asleep.

“Ugh she’s so annoying!” I groaned 

She didn’t talk to me for the next few days, making my anxiety seep in slowly. 

But that ended Friday after my very last class. 

I turned the corner, almost bumping into someone. I yelped and jumped back.

“Sorry-” I started, then saw who it was. She raised a brow. 

“Wow, good job. I know I’m scary but you don’t have to react like that.” I scoffed, blushing at her words.

“What do you want?” I growled, starting to walk again, but she kept up with my pace. 

“Let’s go work on the project.” I raised a brow. 

“Now?” She nodded. I sighed, wanting to say no. But I knew we would have to work on it eventually. 

“Fine.”

She led me to a staircase I’d never seen before.

“Where are you taking us?” I asked, watching how the stairs moved. She smiled. 

“The rooftop.” 

“What-” She grabbed my hand, pulling me off a staircase that was going to move. She laughed as I blushed at our proximity.

“Woah, be careful there.” She giggled at her joke while I was still wondering why I was blushing around her. 

“Aha, we’re here.” I saw the scenery and I forgot all of my worries. The sky was bright, as it was still 3PM and the space was wide and completely empty besides a few tables, unoccupied and a couple of chairs. 

“How did you find this place?” I wondered out loud. She smiled, showing me her sincere side. 

“I don’t know, Hogwarts just leads you to places you need. It’s quite spectacular like that.” We stood and stared at the beautiful view of the trees and mountains with birds flying by and magical creatures swimming in the lake. 

Until I remembered the prophecy again. 

“Ok y/n, we are just working. No small talk, only talk about the project, nothing else, ok? Seriously.” I stated, hoping she would comply to my words, but almost 100% sure she wouldn’t.

“Ok fine.” Her words made me jump, raising a brow. 

“Wait, did you say fine?” She glared at me.

“Don’t push it, Gry-” 

“Ok, ok, sorry.” We sat down in silence, the most silent I’ve ever heard y/n before. It somehow made me uncomfortable, but I couldn’t speak now that I suggested it. 

While doing the project, we kept out interactions short and to the point, but of course, calculated since it was a school project.

“Do you think I should add this section here or here? I personally think we should add it before paragraph 2 so we can smoothly transition between the ideas.” 

“Let me see.” I stated, taking a seat next to her. I don’t know if it was because I didn’t talk to many girls, but I was blushing like mad and felt my body go warm. I cleared my throat, taking a look at her laptop over her shoulder. 

I was supposed to be reading what she wrote, but I just kept taking in her scent, her aura, and her coldness. She turned back to me, making our faces very close. 

“Are you done? Is it too confusing to read?” She asked, concern laced in her voice. I felt my heart thump at her soft voice and smell of crisp apple. She snapped her fingers in front of my face, returning me to reality. 

“Hello? Wakey wakey Jeongin.” She sighed. I gulped.

“Sorry, just was too into reading, um, yeah I think you’re right.” She raised a brow but ignored me, like I told her to. But it hurt, and I didn’t know why. 

Soon, the bright blue sky turned into a dim pink one. Y/n picked up the can of coke she had brought with her and sighed.

“You ready to stop, or do you wanna just bang this out?” She asked, making me laugh with her word choice I immediately covered my mouth. She gasped, feigning shock. 

“Oh my gosh, did Yang Jeongin, most liked boy in this school, but laugh at my joke?” She fanned herself, even though I needed her to fan me more. 

“Stop.” I grumbled, but I couldn’t fight the laugh and blush that was rising on my face. She barked out laughter again. 

She pressed save and closed her laptop. I suddenly felt disappointed at the short time we spent together. I guess she sensed my disappointment because she turned to face me, lifting a brow.

“What? Do you wanna pull an allnighter doing this project?” She asked. I thought about it, knowing I rarely stay up late. 

“Yeah, I’m already in working mode.” I lied, knowing I would regret this 30 minutes later. She shrugged and opened her laptop again. 

Soon, the sounds of the clicking laptop lulled me to sleep and I fall on top of something as I hit dreamland. 

“Jeongin!” She yelled, waking me up instantly. I shot up and met her laughing eyes, contrasting her angry tone. She let out loud laughter. I sighed. 

“Why didn’t you just say you were tired? I was going to leave anyways.” I blushed and ruffled my hair that I knew was messy. I yawned. She laughed.

“Ok, well, I finished it while you were having an internal fight with yourself.” She showed me the laptop. “Just read it and we’ll be done.” I tried to focus on the words, but like before, all I could focus on was the beautiful girl in front of me.

At that moment, I realized what I thought. 

“Oh shit.” I said out loud. She raised a brow, looking confused, something she never was. 

“What? Did I forget something?” She then snorted. “No, can’t be. I never forget anything.” Suddenly her cockiness seemed attractive. I groaned and stood up.

“No, no no!” I exclaimed, pacing back and forth, far away from her. 

“Ok, Jeongin. Now you’re confusing me, what is wrong?” She asked. I jumped back when she took a step towards me. 

“Wait, no! I’m fine.” She looked puzzled, and I felt bad because of my behavior. She soon snapped out of it and took fast steps towards me and I didn’t have time to move.

She moved until she was centimeters away from my face. I gulped, fighting the compulsion to brush away the hair that blocked her eyes. She moved them herself. 

In that moment, when I was gazing into her eyes, she did something unexpected. 

She learned in and planet a kiss on my lips, making me freeze. Her lips were cold and the smell of apples filled my nose from her strong shampoo. Soon, I snapped out of it, feeling the hunger take over me. I tangled my fingers through her silky hair, not knowing what feeling came over me. 

The prophecy then entered my brain. “A forbidden, evil girl.” A voice whispered in the back of my mind. I jumped back, cutting off the feeling I so desperately wanted back. 

Her eyes were dazed, but I assumed mine looked the same. Our heavy breaths were the only noise that echoed through the empty rooftop. 

“What the hell was that?” I sighed in pure happiness, still feeling the warmth of our kiss. She laughed. 

“I don’t know, you just kinda looked like you wanted to kiss me, and since Gryfs are scaredy-cats, I just did you a favor. See? All of us Slytherins aren’t so bad.” She sauntered away, making me laugh at her words. 

“I never said you guys were bad.” She scoffed and crossed her arms, though her eyes were playful. 

“Yeah, just evil.” She finished. But in this moment, I didn’t think so. 

Right as she was about to leave, I called out to her.

“Hey wait,” I started. She stopped, giving me a curious glance. 

“If you’re the Slytherin girl I fall deeply and passionately in love with... um, I wouldn’t be very upset.” I heard her snort and even I cringed at my words. 

“Oh wow, be still my beating heart.” She laughed and left me there alone.

“I’ll turn in the project later, good night Jeongin.” 

“Good night.” I whispered back. 

As I walked back to my dorms that night, I felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, but another weight put back on. 

I opened the door to my dorm room that I shared and saw my roommates still up and looking at me funny.

“So, did you fall in love?” One of them asked. 

“Deeply and passionately?” The others barked out, laughing at their joke. Usually, I would get upset, but I really couldn’t this time. 

“Not in love. And not deeply and passionately.” I answered, they said their “aws” and “dammits” and I laughed, but lifted my head off of my pillow for one last comment.

“But honestly I think that’s where it’s headed.”

[thinkingthedivide-blog]

A Rational Case For Optimism

Those who know me will know that I have generally not been an optimist about most things. I wouldn’t categorically call myself a pessimist, but when it comes to macro issues such as industry, government, and organized religion, it has seemed as though the powerful bodies that be are always a disappointment. Given the assumption that the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior, it seemed logical to surmise that large groups of people (except for the ones I belonged to of course) would generally not act in a manner that benefits the greater good. This rationality, however, is flawed on many counts.

Now in some sense, the pessimist is correct: negative and painful things will most definitely occur. But by that logic, the optimist is also correct. People will always find things to be happy about. We always have. If we did not find moments of joy, even in dark times, then I’m not sure our species would have gotten this far. Given this fluctuation between subjectively good and bad experiences, both the pessimist and the optimist have ample “objective” evidence to support their claims. This makes building an argument based on fact and historical evidence a futile exercise, as both sides will be more than able to render a case that demonstrates the virtue of their worldview. So if easily manipulated facts cannot get us to the ideal schema, then we must depend on a bit of rationality.

Knowing that death is inevitable, it is highly improbable that I will escape pain (both physical and emotional). When people close to us die, it is an intensely painful experience. If everyone dies eventually, then this pain is ineluctable. Worrying about pain only causes me to suffer more now (when there is no apparent need for suffering). Drawing conclusions about the future that predict an adverse outcome (as pessimism dictates) seems only to cause worry in the present. Is such cynicism objectively incorrect? As previously established, no many “bad” things happen all the time. Yet by focusing on the potential for future “bad” (which is a given), pessimism only serves to provoke anxiety in the now.

Why are worry and anxiety in the now unfavorable? Here I will invoke some objective facts and subjective experiences as this is a verifiable point. While our acceptance of the importance of mental health is still in its nascency, we generally tend to agree that physical suffering is “bad.” Well, it turns out that anxiety is implicated in a range of physical maladies such as heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and respiratory disorders. If we are in agreement that physical suffering is bad, then logically we must conclude that anxiety (a potential cause of physical suffering) is also bad. (To my fellow anxious folk who are now spiraling at the thought of their anxiety causing a multitude of physical maladies, please read the italicized postscript at the bottom of this page, the point of which is: everything is ok.)

Speaking as someone who has lived something of an anxiety-ridden life, I can tell you that it is indeed physically uncomfortable. My partner and I lovingly refer to my amygdala as “Big Myg.” (The amygdala is associated with regulating emotion and anxiety is linked to large amygdalas.) This makes sense right? The brain generates emotions and is also responsible for coordinating muscle movements. If the brain is creating anxiety (regardless of whether or not there is an external cause), then fight-or-flight instincts would dictate that the brain must tell the body to tense and prepare for whatever threat is on the horizon. As no actual threat can be assessed and subsequently countered or dismissed, the body and mind remain tense. I can attest to the muscular tension, nausea, clicking jaw, and marinara-esque body odor (anyone else? no?)  that are attributable to anxiety. I consider these states to be less-than-optimal.

You might posit that my physical anxiety is a “first-world problem” and not something worth this magnitude of verbiage. This is a valid point. Is my physical discomfort resulting from anxiety such a terrible thing? Perhaps my anxiety comes as a natural cost to creating a more technologically developed world. Perhaps that technologically developed world, in turn, alleviates the more severe physical suffering of people in objectively more dire conditions. That is a fair position and one I would wholeheartedly agree with. But does that mean that I and my anxious brethren must live in an anxiety vortex (because it is one hell of a vortex) indefinitely for the sake of alleviating more severe physical suffering?

As a human, I am programmed to desire the most efficient course of action. We would not use tools or depend on agriculture if this were not the case. With this premise in mind, I ask whether anxious thoughts, not spurred by the present context, are efficient? Modern science is pretty clear on the fact that multitasking is a myth. The brain can only focus on one thing at a time. If you’re anything like me, worrying involves obsessing over scenarios yet-to-come (or ruminating on outcomes that were not to taste). If waking hours are limited, and if we can only focus on one thing at a time, then cycling through a series of possible adverse outcomes reduces the quantity of time that can be spent thinking about other things.

If pessimism induces worry and anxiety, then it must reduce the time and brain-space for potentially more constructive thought processes. The neuronal circuits devoted to worrying could instead be put to use creating strategies to empower the developing world. They could be used to invent technologies to address issues of climate change and sea level rise. They could be used to identify a neighbor’s needs and what resources you might possess to help them. They could be used to better understand a point of view you disagree with. There are infinite positive possibilities, big and small, for the use of those neurological networks. Remaining in a pessimistic state eliminates these possibilities by virtue of limited time, and must inherently create a less ideal world. Pessimism, at best, is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Optimism, on the other hand, is not anxiety-inducing. It may help now to clarify what I am not arguing for. I am not arguing for an optimistic view in which we ignore the present situation and simply believe against all odds that things will work out with no positive inputs from us. I am not arguing that people daydream of specific positive scenarios that may or may not come to fruition. That is akin to worrying about specific negative events the future may hold and is a similarly useless application of brain cells in the context of progress. Rather, I am suggesting that in our efforts to combat the ills of our society we take a more general optimistic view. This view is something to the tune of “If I do good, the world will be ok” or whatever mantra works for you. This leaves headspace to address specific strategies and present-day facts with a clarity that pessimism does not allow.

In order for me to take action, I must believe that my effort will yield a positive result, and action is undoubtedly needed in the face of our current political toxicity. Remembering that even the largest groups are comprised of individuals, we can rightly assume that individual actions and speech contribute to zeitgeists at large. If, like me, you need the promise of a result to inspire your own efforts, then keep that simple premise in mind. Poof! That, my friends, is optimism. Our actions and speech, positive and negative, do not exist in a vacuum. We may never know the impact of our deeds or ideas, but an impact will most definitely be felt. The question is, which way do we want to move the needle?

Activism is essential and an undeniable component of widespread change. But marches, elections, and phone-banks take but a small fraction of the time we have available to us every day. In each moment of our day-to-day lives, we have a choice about how to approach the tasks at hand. We can choose to be friendly or distant. We can choose to pick up the trash on the road or to leave it be. We can choose to check in on our neighbors or bunker down in our households. We can choose to be kind or harsh. But make no mistake, every action and inaction is a choice and has a consequence.

Imagine what the world would look like if every single individual were optimistic about what they could accomplish with a friendly smile and a conversation. Imagine the needs that could be met, the information that could be shared, and the human connections that would undoubtedly ensue. I think we would agree that that would be a positive thing in and of itself. Optimism, too, is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

*To my fellow anxiety tornadoes: I alluded to several physical ailments that can be the result of anxiety. Try to remember that we do not know what the future holds. If you are presently cycling through the "what-ifs" of those diseases, take a moment to think about it this way: if you are able to think about what might happen in the future, is there anything right now that is a threat to your safety or life? If you are reading this, then you are likely not in imminent danger.

I suggest the following only because it is the course I have taken, there are infinite paths you can choose to deal with anxiety (and it can be dealt with - that's the good news). If anything in this post made your stomach drop and sent your mind spinning on an "I am going to die/suffer because of___" spiral, then I recommend that you talk to a friend or therapist. My anxiety reducing cocktail consists of the following: therapy, friend-dates, exercise (any flavor), an SSRI, and an educated/conscious understanding of each of these ingredients. Your cocktail might look different. Ask yourself this: do you have anything to lose by tackling your anxiety head-on? What is the worst that could happen? If you are dying of one of these anxiety-induced diseases (which you are likely not), wouldn't it be more pleasant to not be anxious in the process?

[sayruq]

what character arcs and plot points don't you like

character arcs

daenerys 

her storyline, the setting, the supporting cast, her antagonists, her goals, the major plot points in her story, all of this is wrapped in racism, imperialism and colonialism. her character is actually very boring because sometimes i feel like grrm isn’t writing her like a person. her external and internal conflicts don’t hold any weight because the writing is very poor. her villains are mostly evil brown men who don’t have a personality. if all your villains are exceptionally evil in varying degrees it’s boring because your protagonist is always right and never challenged. 

i can understand why so many people turned on her after adwd because that book exposed the problems in her arc that were ignored before. plus her inability to rule was irritating to read because unlike jon, i felt like she was mostly reacting to what her opponents did and when she took the initiative, it backfired on her. plus she refused to listen to what she didn’t like to hear meaning her problems don’t get solved and we have to read about brown people suffering because of this. speaking of that grrm loves to use that trope so so much in her story. the worst thing is he refuses to make them more than a swarming of abused, starving and enslaved people that dany must save or a horde of relentlessly wild, greedy and evil people that dany must tame. 

it’s very hard for me to separate dany from the racism and like her as she is because she’s not compelling. grrm due to the fact that he’s a racist has taken from her everything that could make her a good character. seriously think of your favourite characters and make a list of what you like about them. i guarantee that a lot of it has to do with their relationships with their family (good or bad), their antagonists, their inner conflict, their supporting cast, etc. dany’s story needs a rewrite.

jon 

i find him very boring. he’s so boring that i gave up trying to remember the parts of his story i liked least.

tyrion 

his story is well done except for the way grrm writes sex workers. i feel like tyrion’s story with shae was supposed to be less rapey than it was. in acok tyrion has sex with shae while she was asleep. i feel like grrm intended that scene to be consensual but it wasn’t. 

i didn’t like tyrion’s adwd storyline. i was ok with the fact that he had ptsd and depression which led him to a very dark place but i didn’t like how grrm used women as props to show that.

sansa

i talk about why i don’t like her arc here

plot points

the others

- i find this very boring and makes everything feel worthless imo. like why does it matter that the characters worked so hard to accomplish something if an undead army is going to undo it all? plus the whole ‘it’s a metaphor for climate change’ doesn’t work for me. climate change was caused by capitalism and specifically the top corporations in the world. i don’t like that the peasants are kind of being held accountable for what is coming with the whole ‘humans have forgotten’. yeah of course they have, the last other invasion happened 8,000 years ago. idk he should compare the others to the black plague or something. then after it ends, feudalism dies with it.

the valonqar prophecy

- i love the evil queen trope personally but if you’re going to deconstruct and reconstruct fantasy tropes, why this trope of one the few that’s played very, very straight? plus the fact that the whole thing is going to end with cersei’s partner killing her in a very personal way in a jealous rage or to stop her from doing something evil, leaves a bad taste in my mouth. i like cersei, she’s one of my favourite characters but i really don’t like this prophecy.

[focusontheeasternlightning-blog]

Parable of Jesus—Meaning of the Parable of New Cloth on Old Garment

One day, after a meeting, a sister asked me, “Brother, the Lord Jesus said, ‘No man puts a piece of a new garment on an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old’ (Luke 5:36). Do you know what this parable means? What does the Lord want to tell us through it?”

Hearing the sister’s questions, I thought that I happened to have some understanding of this parable of the Lord Jesus, so I replied without thinking, “In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required to fast on the day of atonement every year. But as the salvation of the Lord Jesus had come, the old practices were no longer applicable, and people should abide by the new requirements proposed by the Lord. By telling this parable, the Lord Jesus warns us that in our faith in Him, we cannot cling only to the laws of the Old Testament like the Pharisees did, but instead should accept and follow the Lord’s words and act in accordance with His teachings.” Upon hearing my answer, the sister nodded her head, and I also felt gratified for my ability to understand the Lord’s will.

Just then, Co-worker Zhang, who had recently returned from another place, said, “Brother Wang, I used to think like you. But God’s words are the truth and contain deep meaning. A couple of days ago, I had a fellowship with a brother from another church on this verse. Through reading a book of truth, I gained some deeper understanding about the Lord’s will behind this parable. How about we fellowship together?”

Hearing that Brother Zhang had a deeper understanding and knowledge about this verse, I said happily, “That would be great!”

“Brother Zhang,” the sister anxiously cut in, “since you have a deeper understanding, please tell us about it!”

Brother Zhang smiled and said, “OK. Let me first read a passage that we read that day.” As he said this, he took a tablet out of his bag and read, “‘Because there are always new developments in God’s work, thus there is new work, and thus there is also work that is obsolete and old. This old and new work is not contradictory, but complementary; each step follows on from the last. Because there is new work, the old things must, of course, be eliminated. … The work of God is always new and never old, and it never forms doctrine and is, instead, continually changing and renewing to a greater or lesser extent. This work is the expression of the inherent disposition of God Himself. It is also the inherent principle of God’s work, and one of the means by which God accomplishes His management. If God did not work in this way, man would not change or be able to know God, and Satan would not be defeated. Thus, in His work there continually occur changes that appear erratic, but which are actually periodic. … God’s intention has always been for His work to be new and alive, not old and dead, and that which He makes man hold firm to varies with the age and period, and is not everlasting and immutable. That is because He is a God who causes man to live and be new’ (‘Only Those Who Know the Work of God Today Can Serve God’).

“From this passage we can see that God’s work does not follow rules, and that He performs new work in accordance with His plan for mankind’s salvation as well as according to the degree of mankind’s corruption by Satan. God’s work varies with the age and period, and is not everlasting and immutable, and He always does newer and higher work. When the new work begins, the previous work becomes out of date, and God embarks on another plan and carries out new work. For example, Jehovah God did the work of issuing laws and guiding the lives of people. Under the guidance of Jehovah God, the Israelites of the time learned how to conduct their lives and how to worship God, and understood what sin was. But in the later period of the Age of Law, as man was becoming more and more corrupted by Satan, no one was able to keep the laws and commandments any longer, and all were in constant danger of being sentenced to death by the law. In order to save mankind, God incarnated into the image of Jesus and, on the basis of the work of the Age of Law, did a stage of work of redeeming mankind through crucifixion. The Lord Jesus brought a new age, fulfilled the laws and commandments, gave people a new way to practice and proposed new requirements for them, such as being tolerant and patient, loving their enemies, being the light of the world and salt of the earth, and so on. From the outside, these two stages of work appear different, but they actually complement each other, through which God saves mankind from the influence of Satan step by step. From this we can see that God’s work does not remain unchanged, but rather is always moving forward, and that God’s requirements of mankind are becoming ever higher.

“The Pharisees back then, however, didn’t know God’s work. They abided by religious notions and used the laws of the Old Testament to examine the Lord Jesus’ new work and words. They said that the Lord Jesus sat at the table with tax collectors, and that He and His disciples had violated the laws by not keeping the Sabbath day and not fasting, thereby denying that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah. So when the Lord Jesus said, ‘No man puts a piece of a new garment on an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old’ (Luke 5:36), He was telling people that God’s work is ever new and never old, that the work of redemption God ushered in was new, and that God wouldn’t do the new work and the old one simultaneously, for that would make it impossible for the new work to be carried out.”

After listening to the brother’s fellowship, my heart brightened considerably. I had read many spiritual books, but none of them explained God’s work so clearly. I said to Brother Zhang, “What you fellowshiped is truly something I have never understood. Do you have any other new understanding? Please share more with us.” After saying this, I anxiously waited for Brother Zhang to continue his fellowship.

Brother Zhang took a sip of water and continued, “We humans love to cling to the old, so when God performs new work, we are apt to be eliminated by the Holy Spirit for holding on to the old work. Therefore, we must understand that God only works on and leads those who are willing to let go of their old notions and who obey God’s new work. The book says, ‘People love to cling to the old. They cling to the notions of the past, to things from the past. This is a great obstacle to their service.’ ‘As of today, God will formally perfect those who have no religious notions, who are ready to set aside their old selves, and who obey God in a simple-hearted way, and He will perfect those who long for the word of God. These people should stand up and serve God. In God there is endless abundance and boundless wisdom. His amazing work and precious words are awaiting even greater numbers of people to enjoy them’ (‘Religious Way of Service Must Be Banned’). These passages tell us that, because we humans have no truth or knowledge of God, we love to cling to the old and to God’s past work. This is especially true for those who have followed God and served Him for many years. When they have some experience in preaching and master some biblical knowledge and theological theories, they treat these things as capital and thus believe that they have known God’s work. However, once they cling to these things, it will be hard for them to accept God’s new work. Meanwhile, those who do not have old religious notions, who are able to obey in a simple-hearted way, and who can accept God’s new work and new words will obtain God’s salvation. Just like when the Lord Jesus came to do new work, those Pharisees, who had served God in the temple for many years and clung to old religious notions, thought that the Lord Jesus was not the Messiah foretold in the Bible because He looked very ordinary and came from a humble background. Especially when they saw that the work performed by the Lord Jesus was not recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible, they condemned and blasphemed Him, and in the end even nailed Him to the cross, thus suffering the pain of national subjugation. By contrast, those fishermen, publicans, harlots and sinners, when seeing that the Lord Jesus’ words were not things that people could express and that His work contained power and authority, were able to believe in and follow Him. Take Peter, Jacob, John and Matthew for example. When the Lord Jesus called out to them, they immediately gave up everything and followed Him, during which time they heard the truth expressed by the Lord Jesus, witnessed His authority and wonderful deeds, and recognized that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the coming Messiah, and in the end attained God’s salvation.”

After listening to the words that Brother Zhang read as well as his fellowship, the sister kept nodding her head, and I also felt that these were entirely new ideas. I said, “Brother Zhang, what you fellowshiped today really gave me a deeper understanding of this parable. Through this parable, the Lord Jesus tells us that God’s work is always new and never old, and that it is carried out based on the degree of mankind’s corruption. When people at the end of the age of the Old Testament could no longer uphold the laws, God performed a new work to save mankind based on this situation. If God begins new work but we cling to our old notions and use His previous work to measure the new one, then it will be hard for us to accept God’s new work.”

Brother Zhang said, “It’s true. We are now in the last days, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, and the Lord is about to return at any time. According to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, God will perform the work of opening the little scroll, loosing the seven seals, separating the goats from the sheep, the wheat from the tares, and the good servants from the wicked servants, and perfecting a group of overcomers. However, this is just briefly mentioned in the Book of Revelation but is not recorded in detail, so none of us know how God will specifically fulfill and accomplish all this. In light of this, when the Lord Jesus returns to work in the last days, we should be like the wise virgins and open the door to actively welcome Him, be someone who thirsts for and seeks the truth, and investigate any message about the new work done by the returned Lord to see whether it is from God. Only in this way can we have the opportunity to welcome the Lord and gain God’s salvation of the last days.”

Hearing what the brother said, my heartfelt very bright and I said, “Yes, you’re right. The Book of Revelation only prophesies that the Lord will come to work and save mankind in the last days, but none of us can perceive how the Lord will do this work when He returns. This is because God’s work is too wise and unfathomable. But no matter what, as long as the Lord comes back to do new work, we must go out to welcome Him just like Peter, Matthew and the others walked out of the temple to investigate the Lord’s work. This is the only way we can attain the Lord’s salvation. After listening to your fellowship today, I understand a lot more about the parable told by the Lord Jesus. Thanks be to the Lord! Brother Zhang, this book is very good because it can help us know God’s work and understand His will. Could I borrow it to read?”

Brother Zhang agreed right away …

[fear-god-shun-evil]

What Is the Meaning of the Parable Told by Jesus Christ in Luke 5:36?

One day, after a meeting, a sister asked me, “Brother, the Lord Jesus said, ‘No man puts a piece of a new garment on an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old’ (Luke 5:36). Do you know what this parable means? What does the Lord want to tell us through it?”

Hearing the sister’s questions, I thought that I happened to have some understanding of this parable of the Lord Jesus, so I replied without thinking, “In the Old Testament, the Israelites were required to fast on the day of atonement every year. But as the salvation of the Lord Jesus had come, the old practices were no longer applicable, and people should abide by the new requirements proposed by the Lord. By telling this parable, the Lord Jesus warns us that in our faith in Him, we cannot cling only to the laws of the Old Testament like the Pharisees did, but instead should accept and follow the Lord’s words and act in accordance with His teachings.” Upon hearing my answer, the sister nodded her head, and I also felt gratified for my ability to understand the Lord’s will.

Just then, Co-worker Zhang, who had recently returned from another place, said, “Brother Wang, I used to think like you. But God’s words are the truth and contain deep meaning. A couple of days ago, I had a fellowship with a brother from another church on this verse. Through reading a book of truth, I gained some deeper understanding about the Lord’s will behind this parable. How about we fellowship together?”

Hearing that Brother Zhang had a deeper understanding and knowledge about this verse, I said happily, “That would be great!”

“Brother Zhang,” the sister anxiously cut in, “since you have a deeper understanding, please tell us about it!”

Brother Zhang smiled and said, “OK. Let me first read a passage that we read that day.” As he said this, he took a tablet out of his bag and read, “‘Because there are always new developments in God’s work, thus there is new work, and thus there is also work that is obsolete and old. This old and new work is not contradictory, but complementary; each step follows on from the last. Because there is new work, the old things must, of course, be eliminated. … The work of God is always new and never old, and it never forms doctrine and is, instead, continually changing and renewing to a greater or lesser extent. This work is the expression of the inherent disposition of God Himself. It is also the inherent principle of God’s work, and one of the means by which God accomplishes His management. If God did not work in this way, man would not change or be able to know God, and Satan would not be defeated. Thus, in His work there continually occur changes that appear erratic, but which are actually periodic. … God’s intention has always been for His work to be new and alive, not old and dead, and that which He makes man hold firm to varies with the age and period, and is not everlasting and immutable. That is because He is a God who causes man to live and be new’ (‘Only Those Who Know the Work of God Today Can Serve God’).

“From this passage we can see that God’s work does not follow rules, and that He performs new work in accordance with His plan for mankind’s salvation as well as according to the degree of mankind’s corruption by Satan. God’s work varies with the age and period, and is not everlasting and immutable, and He always does newer and higher work. When the new work begins, the previous work becomes out of date, and God embarks on another plan and carries out new work. For example, Jehovah God did the work of issuing laws and guiding the lives of people. Under the guidance of Jehovah God, the Israelites of the time learned how to conduct their lives and how to worship God, and understood what sin was. But in the later period of the Age of Law, as man was becoming more and more corrupted by Satan, no one was able to keep the laws and commandments any longer, and all were in constant danger of being sentenced to death by the law. In order to save mankind, God incarnated into the image of Jesus and, on the basis of the work of the Age of Law, did a stage of work of redeeming mankind through crucifixion. The Lord Jesus brought a new age, fulfilled the laws and commandments, gave people a new way to practice and proposed new requirements for them, such as being tolerant and patient, loving their enemies, being the light of the world and salt of the earth, and so on. From the outside, these two stages of work appear different, but they actually complement each other, through which God saves mankind from the influence of Satan step by step. From this we can see that God’s work does not remain unchanged, but rather is always moving forward, and that God’s requirements of mankind are becoming ever higher.

“The Pharisees back then, however, didn’t know God’s work. They abided by religious notions and used the laws of the Old Testament to examine the Lord Jesus’ new work and words. They said that the Lord Jesus sat at the table with tax collectors, and that He and His disciples had violated the laws by not keeping the Sabbath day and not fasting, thereby denying that the Lord Jesus was the Messiah. So when the Lord Jesus said, ‘No man puts a piece of a new garment on an old; if otherwise, then both the new makes a rent, and the piece that was taken out of the new agrees not with the old’ (Luke 5:36), He was telling people that God’s work is ever new and never old, that the work of redemption God ushered in was new, and that God wouldn’t do the new work and the old one simultaneously, for that would make it impossible for the new work to be carried out.”

After listening to the brother’s fellowship, my heart brightened considerably. I had read many spiritual books, but none of them explained God’s work so clearly. I said to Brother Zhang, “What you fellowshiped is truly something I have never understood. Do you have any other new understanding? Please share more with us.” After saying this, I anxiously waited for Brother Zhang to continue his fellowship.

Brother Zhang took a sip of water and continued, “We humans love to cling to the old, so when God performs new work, we are apt to be eliminated by the Holy Spirit for holding on to the old work. Therefore, we must understand that God only works on and leads those who are willing to let go of their old notions and who obey God’s new work. The book says, ‘People love to cling to the old. They cling to the notions of the past, to things from the past. This is a great obstacle to their service.’ ‘As of today, God will formally perfect those who have no religious notions, who are ready to set aside their old selves, and who obey God in a simple-hearted way, and He will perfect those who long for the word of God. These people should stand up and serve God. In God there is endless abundance and boundless wisdom. His amazing work and precious words are awaiting even greater numbers of people to enjoy them’ (‘Religious Way of Service Must Be Banned’). These passages tell us that, because we humans have no truth or knowledge of God, we love to cling to the old and to God’s past work. This is especially true for those who have followed God and served Him for many years. When they have some experience in preaching and master some biblical knowledge and theological theories, they treat these things as capital and thus believe that they have known God’s work. However, once they cling to these things, it will be hard for them to accept God’s new work. Meanwhile, those who do not have old religious notions, who are able to obey in a simple-hearted way, and who can accept God’s new work and new words will obtain God’s salvation. Just like when the Lord Jesus came to do new work, those Pharisees, who had served God in the temple for many years and clung to old religious notions, thought that the Lord Jesus was not the Messiah foretold in the Bible because He looked very ordinary and came from a humble background. Especially when they saw that the work performed by the Lord Jesus was not recorded in the Old Testament of the Bible, they condemned and blasphemed Him, and in the end even nailed Him to the cross, thus suffering the pain of national subjugation. By contrast, those fishermen, publicans, harlots and sinners, when seeing that the Lord Jesus’ words were not things that people could express and that His work contained power and authority, were able to believe in and follow Him. Take Peter, Jacob, John and Matthew for example. When the Lord Jesus called out to them, they immediately gave up everything and followed Him, during which time they heard the truth expressed by the Lord Jesus, witnessed His authority and wonderful deeds, and recognized that the Lord Jesus was Christ, the coming Messiah, and in the end attained God’s salvation.”

After listening to the words that Brother Zhang read as well as his fellowship, the sister kept nodding her head, and I also felt that these were entirely new ideas. I said, “Brother Zhang, what you fellowshiped today really gave me a deeper understanding of this parable. Through this parable, the Lord Jesus tells us that God’s work is always new and never old, and that it is carried out based on the degree of mankind’s corruption. When people at the end of the age of the Old Testament could no longer uphold the laws, God performed a new work to save mankind based on this situation. If God begins new work but we cling to our old notions and use His previous work to measure the new one, then it will be hard for us to accept God’s new work.”

Brother Zhang said, “It’s true. We are now in the last days, the prophecies of the Lord’s return have basically been fulfilled, and the Lord is about to return at any time. According to the prophecies in the Book of Revelation, God will perform the work of opening the little scroll, loosing the seven seals, separating the goats from the sheep, the wheat from the tares, and the good servants from the wicked servants, and perfecting a group of overcomers. However, this is just briefly mentioned in the Book of Revelation but is not recorded in detail, so none of us know how God will specifically fulfill and accomplish all this. In light of this, when the Lord Jesus returns to work in the last days, we should be like the wise virgins and open the door to actively welcome Him, be someone who thirsts for and seeks the truth, and investigate any message about the new work done by the returned Lord to see whether it is from God. Only in this way can we have the opportunity to welcome the Lord and gain God’s salvation of the last days.”

Hearing what the brother said, my heart felt very bright and I said, “Yes, you’re right. The Book of Revelation only prophesies that the Lord will come to work and save mankind in the last days, but none of us can perceive how the Lord will do this work when He returns. This is because God’s work is too wise and unfathomable. But no matter what, as long as the Lord comes back to do new work, we must go out to welcome Him just like Peter, Matthew and the others walked out of the temple to investigate the Lord’s work. This is the only way we can attain the Lord’s salvation. After listening to your fellowship today, I understand a lot more about the parable told by the Lord Jesus. Thanks be to the Lord! Brother Zhang, this book is very good because it can help us know God’s work and understand His will. Could I borrow it to read?”

Brother Zhang agreed right away …

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Hal Lindsey Report ✞ Two prominent Swedish politicians wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. They said that there is, indeed, a crisis in Sweden caused by the constantly increasing number of Muslim immigrants

Hal Lindsey – Hoax and change

Sweden – The Rape Capital of the WORLD!

March 10th, 2017

In a speech in Florida last month, President Trump referred to the problems Sweden is experiencing because of its lax immigration policies.

As usual, there was an immediate mainstream media and social media response. Both ridiculed the President and his supposed lack of information. One reporter at the Huffington Post asked what the President was smoking to make such a claim.

Even the Swedish government responded. Their spokespeople tried to make it seem that the President was ill-informed about Sweden. The overwhelming stream of immigrants from the Middle East was having no ill impact on Sweden.

Then the truth began to emerge. Again.

Two prominent Swedish politicians wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. They said that there is, indeed, a crisis in Sweden caused by the constantly increasing number of Muslim immigrants who refused to assimilate into Swedish society. They said that, in fact, President Trump had understated the problem.

The Swedish Minister of Integration — who had publicly ridiculed the implication of President Trump’s simple statement — had to publicly apologize for her own overreach. She had misspoken and, indeed, sex crimes in Sweden are on the rise. She is now the one guilty of understatement.

Since the Muslim invasion of Sweden began in 1975, sex crimes have not only “risen,” they have exploded! In fact, between 1975, when Sweden began accepting large numbers of Muslim immigrants, incidents of rape have increased 1,472%! From a national total of 421 rapes in 1975 to 6,620 in 2014. And I’m sure 2015 and 2016 will add to that number appreciably.

For years, Sweden accepted about 50,000 Muslim immigrants per year. In the last few years, that number has skyrocketed. Some reports now estimate that from August to December, 2016, Sweden took in about 160,000 immigrants. Mostly young, military-aged men.

Though I have not discussed this on the program, I have seen e-mail from Swedish residents who describe the conditions under which they now live. Many of the elderly are now afraid to leave their homes at night. Women, who once freely shopped and dined alone, now only go to the stores with others. And only in the daytime.

They all say that they don’t recognize some parts of Swedish cities. One older gentleman said that some historic parts of once-pristine Sweden now look like third-world ghettos.

But you will never hear this in the mainstream media. Why? Because the globalist-elites who control the media do not want you to know. Their basic goal is to so weaken independent Western societies that they must join forces with other weakened nations to survive. That’s what the international trade associations like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) are ultimately all about.

Each nation cedes its individual sovereignty to a higher, unelected authority. We then trust the globalist bureaucrats to keep us safe and make everything okay.

To accomplish that they must break down nations that possess strong Judeo-Christian moral values. So they constantly attack the family, traditional sexual roles, race relations, democratic government institutions, and free-market capitalist economies.

And the quickest way to do this is by promoting open-border immigration policies to overwhelm the ability of the state to cope with the added expense. Especially those policies which favor major influxes of Muslims. Large numbers of Muslims flooding into a free, democratic society inevitably destroys it. Islam is not compatible with democracy or individual freedom.

That’s precisely why Donald Trump, Geert Wilders, Marine La Pen, the Brexit movement, and others are so vehemently opposed by George Soros, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Mark Cuban, Carlos Slim, Jorge Ramos, Barack Obama, and other globalist-elite types. Trump, Wilders, La Pen, and Brexit-inspired movements promote a return to national pride and sovereignty.

And that’s precisely what Satan does not need to prepare the way for the rise of his Antichrist. The Antichrist will need to control the world by controlling the nations. He will also need a strong and cohesive European superstate. And, currently, the European Union appears to be falling apart. On March 1st, Forbes headlined a story: “An Investor’s Guide to the Collapse of the European Union.”

The globalists’ plan to subvert individual free European states by promoting the Muslim immigrant invasion hit a snag with the rise of the nationalist movements in several of the nations. But Vladimir Putin may have stepped in at the last moment to save the day.

The one thing that may trump the rise of European national pride (no pun intended) is the emergence of a serious common enemy. Putin’s Russia just may fill the bill.

Russia’s increasingly aggressive behavior within its sphere of influence has alarmed many European leaders. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and theft of Crimea, his harassment of NATO and European military ships and planes, his placement of nuclear-tipped missiles in Kaliningrad, and his alliance with Iran and support of Bashar al-Assad have all contributed to a state of unease among European leaders.

In fact, Sweden and Finland are cooperating militarily to prepare for a confrontation with Russia!

A strong defense against a common threat may become more important to Europeans than the ability to control their own borders and actually be autonomous. Already, EU bureaucrats are proposing that all individual European armies should be abolished and a single, large, and powerful European Army be established. Under Brussels’ control, of course.

I think it’s undeniable that all of this is leading to the emergence of the Antichrist. We are clearly in the gap period between the first 483 years and the final seven years that Daniel describes in chapter 9 of his book.

The potentially imminent economic and demographic collapse of the EU and the rise of a possibly coalescing influence from Russia to drive them back together, points to the emergence of a ���revived Roman Empire” from which the prophet predicts the Antichrist will arise.

Wow! This is prophecy come to life! And it promises only to get more exciting! And scarier!

So now would be a good time for you to make certain that you’re ready to leave this boiling cauldron of a world when Jesus suddenly returns to snatch away all of His true believers in the Rapture.

If you have never accepted the free gift of pardon from your sins that Jesus purchased for you with his death on Calvary, do it now. It’s simple.

Just honestly confess to God that you realize you are a sinner and cannot live up to His holy standards. Believe in your heart that Jesus is the Son of God and took upon Himself the guilt for your sins. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins and cover you with His own righteousness. Then accept the pardon from those sins that Jesus purchased for you when He personally paid your death penalty with His life. It’s a free gift! You cannot earn it or ever deserve it. All you must do is accept it! Then thank Him for His unbelievable mercy and grace!

If you did this with sincerity and humility toward God, you have just joined God’s forever-family. You are now ready to enjoy an eternity of happiness with God Himself after your life here ends or you are snatched away when He returns for His bride.

Congratulations on making the most important decision of your life! You will never ever regret it!

Don’t miss this week’s Report on TBN, Daystar, CPM Network, The Word Network, various local stations, www.hallindsey.com or www.hischannel.com. Check your local listings.

A NOTE FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WATCH “THE HAL LINDSEY REPORT” ON TBN:Remember, the Report is now seen 30 minutes later, beginning at 6:00 pm Pacific/9:00 pm Eastern each Friday.God Bless,

Hal Lindsey

mail: HLMM, P.O. Box 470470, Tulsa, OK 74147 email: comments@hallindsey.com

web: http://www.hallindsey.com

Hal Lindsey Report ✞ Two prominent Swedish politicians wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. They said that there is, indeed, a crisis in Sweden caused by the constantly increasing number of Muslim immigrants Hal Lindsey Report ✞ Two prominent Swedish politicians wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. They said that there is, indeed, a crisis in Sweden caused by the constantly increasing number of Muslim immigrants…