#screw the masses

[icekingnicekingville]

where are my present tense lovers at? sorry i just enjoy fun and whimsy

[rejectingrepublicans]

[starscreamingg]

Detroit Become Human and why does this game decide that the problem in society is individual people treating androids poorly because those androids are choking them out of the workforce and NOT the corporations and governments who deliberately designed the androids to do this

[momentsbeforemass]

How can I screw this up?

Nobody works against themselves.

Seriously, when was the last time you said to yourself, “How can I screw this up?”

Never. It’s absurd.

That’s why Jesus mocks the Pharisees for accusing Him of doing that in today’s Gospel.

Because no one does that. At least not intentionally.

But, if we’re honest, all of us do exactly that. At different points, all of us do things that work against us. Without meaning to, you and I drift into habits that in fact work against our peace, our growth, our relationship with God.

What makes this hard is that when we start that drift into a habit that’s going to work against us, there’s almost never a clue that we’re headed off in the wrong direction. Or if there is one, it’s too subtle for us to notice.

And there are almost never signposts along the way that tell us we’re headed in the wrong direction. At least not that we notice.

Until one day, often during a crisis, we suddenly realize how far we’ve drifted. And then wonder how we got there.

Whether it’s big things or small things, for a lot of us, it’s a cycle that we’ll repeat over and over.

If you’re not where you want to be. If you’re missing something you used to have. If you don’t have the peace that comes from a healthy, loving relationship with God.

Then today, take the time to make an inventory of what you’re doing.

For everything that you’re doing (whether it’s intentional or something you just kind of do without thinking) ask this question, “Is this bringing me peace, is this bringing me closer to God?”

You don’t have to tell anyone about it, this is just for you. So you can be brutally honest with yourself. And you should.

Because if you are, you’ll discover things that you’re doing that are holding you back that you don’t even know about. Things that are coming between you and God.

Once you do, take the first step to rob them of their power to hold you back. But don’t do it alone. Recognize them for what they are. Then take them to God in prayer.

And be ready for a gentle, patient response. From the One who will be overjoyed to tackle them with you.

Today’s Readings

[partylikemajima]

I told myself I'm going to romance Liam for sure, was all for him even when some things he said was a bit weird, and then Jaal arrived, his his voice and accent (bless the voice actor omg) and personality, I folded and now pursuing him 😂😂 I wonder what'll happen once I get to Kadara cause that is the next mission and I initially wanted to play this just for Reyes. I haven't heard him speak yet so we'll see 😂

[gemsbokk]

he has that sadness in his eyes that you only see in eastern european gay porn

some reyes studies because i can't exactly figure him out. not exactly proud of it yet but hey that's what studies are for (also my camera fucking whitewashed the shit out of it wtf)

[clericofshadows]

CLERIC'S MODEL SWAPS REGIS SHEPARD/ZAEED MASSANI WHAT IF: Zaeed had a romance scene...? PART 1 (X) | PART 2 (X) | PART 3

[skeletondanc3r]

Bro, I wanna talk about the implications of Kirby Mass Attack so bad... I will go down with the take that it's the darkest Kirby game of all time; a MINIMUM of 45 Kirbys end up dead and lore implications (like the cycle of matter/mitosis) make it so much worse! 😭

Imagine, as a child, having to guide/care for infant versions of yourself that can barely defend themselves and at least 45 of them end up dying.

This shit was so bad the ending had Kirby actually do some self reflection. Straight up looking out at the void of space and acknowledging that darkness had to exist IN NARRATIVE TEXT!

Kirby may not be phased by too much at his current age, but oh my god the stuff he's gonna have to reflect on when he's older...

[autumnhobbit]

y’all pray for me tomorrow

[hfcooney]

Ted Lasso writers make all of your characters happy at the same time challenge: level impossible

[ghduck]

So the mass deportations have started in the USA.

Oh dear

[funnydbdnames]

[kitoblob]

I've struggled a lot in life but you'd be damned if you think I'll let Joanne outlive me

[woafofbread]

It’s crazy that I remember yj Wally’s death day every but I still do. I never watched season 4 because I wanted him to be brought back but now the show is pretty much canceled again lmao.

[momentsbeforemass]

Just done

How many times can I screw this up?

How badly can I screw this up? Before you’re just done with me.

Questions like this can really haunt us in a relationship. Because everyone has their breaking point. And because, if we’re honest with ourselves, you and I have within us the (all too often realized) capacity to screw up any relationship.

I’m not talking about intentional stuff. Our problem is more subtle. Whether it’s through what we do or say without thinking. Or what we fail to do. You and I have some serious skills in this area.

If we’ve ever wondered why someone has abandoned us, why they’re just done with us? The odds are that you and I are at least part of the reason why.

It’s something we don’t like to think about. Because it makes us wonder which relationship we’re going to screw up next. And who’s going to be just done with us.

Which is why today’s Gospel is so important. After all Peter has done. Denying Jesus on Good Friday. Abandoning his ministry and going back to his old job.

After giving Jesus every reason to be done with him – to treat Peter just like Peter treated Him – Jesus doesn’t throw away their relationship. Jesus invites Peter to come back, to come home.

The simple truth? Our capacity to screw up any relationship is a tiny, feeble thing – when compared to the love of God for us.

Because God has no interest in throwing away His relationship with you.

There is nothing that you can do to change that. Nothing that will make God say, “I’m just done with you.”

No matter what you’ve done, God will not abandon you.

No matter how far you’ve gone, God is inviting you to come back, to come home.

Today’s Readings

[thelediz]

Hi LeDiz, lately I've been reading your fanfic and I'm really loving it! I would like to ask you a question: there are times when I have a negative impression about Manic, despite his kindness, but when I watched Sonic Underground, it seemed like he was planning to betray his brothers sometimes, which "happened" in quotes, I don't know if you've ever felt this

The question I want to ask is: do you think Manic had villain potential? Does he have the potential to become a villain? I don't say villain like Mephiles, Infinite, or any villain in the series whose only objective is to be evil and powerful

Let's face it, his power is extremely dangerous and it's certainly not for everyone, if a person, regardless of whether they were a good person to begin with, perhaps the powers would go to that person's head and they would easily become a villain

Of course, that wasn't the case with Manic, which is great, but Manic is a boy with, let's say... strong emotions? I have a small thought that feelings (I include anger and sadness) can greatly influence his powers

So I wanted to know your opinion on this

Thank you for reading! I think I know what you're trying to ask, but apologies if I misunderstand!

Do I think he had villain potential? No.

Do I think he could have made poor choices and caused significant damage to the heroes? YES.

In my watch-a-long, I pointed out quite a few times that Manic could have had a pretty significant arc. His power over the earth is ridiculously damaging, and as you say, his emotions are... big. He was a VERY jealous character, he had a lot of resentment, he was often disrespected, and he got punched in the feels multiple times. These things could have compounded into some very reactionary decisions with devastating consequences.

There were even a couple of episodes that played with it. Bug! is obviously the biggest example, but even when he's not at fault, Manic's choices are often... problematic. It's why he's usually the damsel in need of rescue. He screws up and the other two need to deal with the consequences.

So yeah, I absolutely think, in my hypothetical reboot, Manic's arc would be about his resentment building up until it exploded.

In fact, let's have a dot-point episode of it (sorry, I know no one wants this, but I NEED IT):

There's a plan the Underground have been discussing to attack a target of some description. An important factor (that Manic is not paying attention to but Sonic is low-key stressing about) is that the target is in a flood-zone, but Cyrus assures them it won't be an issue because they won't be going anywhere near the underground reservoirs.

The plan is pretty simple, in fact. Sonia is on overwatch, Sonic is planting the explosives. Manic is the getaway van (hence why he's annoyed, because this is really a two-person plan and they're a three-person team, so it's obvious they're just making a job for him.). He argues that he could just bring the whole facility down with his drums.

Everyone points out that it's too dangerous because of the reservoirs - he could flood the whole region. He insists he'd have it under control. Sonia points out it's not about him, it's about the region's eco-system. He says she just doesn't trust him. She's never trusted him. She doesn't even think he's a full member of the team. When Sonic tries to interject, Manic rounds on him, saying Sonic's never respected him either, and it continues to escalate until Manic ultimately runs away.

Exasperated but busy, Sonic, Sonia, and Cyrus go back to their planning. But Manic talks himself in circles and decides that he'll just do his version of the plan anyway, screw his siblings.

But by the time he gets there, the actual plan is already going ahead. Sonic is already half-way into the facility and has a couple of bombs planted. On the comms, he and Sonia are talking about Manic and how they could have handled things with him better, and resolving to - wait.

On overwatch, Sonia sees Manic setting up his drums. He begins to play. He begins to play HARD. It cracks the foundation of the facility. It cracks the reservoir. It starts causing the whole place to crumble.

Sonic is still on the comms with Sonia, and has gotten distracted by her screaming "Manic, NO!" ("Sonia? Sonia! What's going on? Talk to me, Sonia!") so he doesn't see the crumbling ceiling coming down on his head. He's knocked out, and then falls through the floor into the basement. Which is now enclosed, and is quickly filling with water...!

So, depending on how long you wanted to spend on it, you could either have the rest of the episode being about getting their now very injured and quickly-becoming-claustrophobic-on-top-of-aquaphobic muscle out of danger, OR Sonic gets himself out, very, very injured, and Sonia makes things with Manic even worse by yelling at him, and lead on to another episode where Manic proceeds to get himself in danger, with Sonic and Sonia too wrapped up in Sonic's injuries to notice.

Second version I'd have Aleena show up to help Manic, and the two of them working together to get out of a bad situation. I have -gestures wildly- IDEAS about a more compelling arc for Aleena-as-mother too, but that's neither here nor there.

If you wanted to take it even further, you could have an even bigger, worse episode, where he accidentally causes a natural disaster (flood or avalanche, depending on what B-plot you want to run through it) that takes out an entire town...

THE POINT IS, in my hypothetical reboot, Manic would be forced to confront the damage he's done. He would be forced to think about how negative responses, made even in emotional moments, can hurt others. And he would learn The Power Of Empathy (🌈⭐).

...anyway. Back to the actual series.

The thing is, for all its darkness, Sonic Underground never really interrogated the flaws of its main trio very deeply. Most conflicts are actually resolved in five minutes or less, and any attempt to properly address them is waved off by all three characters.

So in the series as it was, I don't think even the people who cared about the show wanted to make Manic all that problematic.

To your question, however, about whether I think he would be a villain? Still no.

But I think it's very important to understand the difference between a villain and someone making bad choices. I'm not sure a lot of shows ACTUALLY do this very often these days - they often have villains being waved off as 'acting out' or 'being pushed into it', and the expectation being that the Power Of Love (TM) will redeem them.

...I have OPINIONS about that.

Whereas people making bad choices because they think they're the right thing to do? People choosing to do something against the protagonist because THEY THINK the protagonist is wrong? People trying to help and only making things worse because they aren't taking everything into account? Growing up and realising oh wow you were an atrocious person fifteen years ago, you wish you hadn't given that 'constructive criticism' or fought for that 'obviously right' thing that you now realise might not have been totally right?

That's important. And I haven't seen it for a while.

And NO, that isn't the same as "yes. I shall create a weapon of mass destruction and/or knowingly ruin my best friend's life because they went and got engaged to someone that wasn't me".

It also isn't the same as someone turning evil upon evil, okay, so don't even get me started on -

These are such important lessons, and these are such important characters. And that is what I think Manic could and SHOULD have been.

And yes that is what I'm doing with both him and Aleena in the Lost Prince, thank you for noticing.

Anyway, that was a ramble, I'm sorry. I hope I provided the hoped for thoughts!

And for those who are keeping track, I am planning to spend next Saturday (after submitting a report on operational strategy) writing a whole damn chapter so if I randomly post celebration gifs to this blog you know I'm successful. Thanks and bye.