#convinced that the reason present day solomon had to follow us to the past is literally just

[inhuman-obey-me]

Lesson 12 has confirmed we’re not just sent back to the past but in a different timeline from the original obey me game

Yes! Glad it's basically confirming that this is a whole other "world"/timeline, because anyway basically from the moment we landed in this time, everything would have necessarily branched, because MC obviously did not exist in this time originally! And it's not like MC's presence is a minor little thing; we are SO involved in everyone's lives from there. We were already kind of eye-rolling at Solomon's warning about time paradoxes and not telling anyone we're from the future, especially since he himself is totally fucking around in the past with stuff like that Asmo pact, so it's nice to have somewhat of a counter-confirmation that no, this is just a separate thing.

Then again, the time travel stuff was handled so messily in the first game as is and just clearly is not Solmare's strength, writing-wise! Why they decided to make it the premise of a whole new game is way beyond us. For our part, we're just going to sit here yelling "no take-backs!!" about the different world thing even if they change their minds again later on 🙄

[timelessish]

[text: “I didn’t know where else to go.”] source: mine

Keenler Week Day 1: why I love them/the moment they became my OTP

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So, some backstory first: this is a show I only saw bits and pieces of on TV during season one but what I saw intrigued me. I remember seeing the Judge, Ivan, and Mako Tanido episodes in their entirety with my parents (they were hooked on the show during its first season) and being enthralled. The scenes I remember most from watching live were the Liz/Tom shower scene with blood on his hands (so sick but so compelling) and the Tom/Jolene scene while the song Jolene is played. That song just got to me, and I remember thinking, “Oh my god, this is perfect.” So that summer when The Blacklist got put on Netflix, I watched the full first season and loved it. I’d really never loved a procedural so much (or at all) before. I think it was a mix of the Liz/Red connection, Red’s mystery past, the Tom intrigue, creepy Apple Man, Liz being a badass, rootable-for heroine, and the unique, crazy Blacklisters in each episode that drew me in. I could and have watched season one over and over again without growing tired.

As for Keenler: while watching the show originally, shipping wasn’t on my mind. I just loved the story and plotting that was going on. I loved Tom’s story season one and all the second-guessing that went on between him and Liz, the questions of his connections to Red, Gina, and Victor Fokin, and just his being an awesome villain/spy/double agent. I loved his and Liz’s dynamic portraying the illusion of a perfect, happy marriage, but I loved it even more when it came shattering down around them. I thought Tom’s story season one was resolved perfectly with his death by Liz’s hands, and I was so thrilled to have writers who weren’t afraid to kill their darlings when it was time. Though I was more saddened by Meera’s death, I was more shocked by Tom’s. He’d had more of a main role, so I thought it was such a brave move by the writers and it reaffirmed my love of the show.

… but little did I know, the writers weren’t actually that brave. I rolled my eyes and sighed at the “Tom’s alive!!” reveal in season 2. I wasn’t surprised, but it did made me think a little less of the show. I think all the questions surrounding Tom could have been better answered after his death, because at this point, the answers haven’t been satisfactorily explained to me, and I still have so many questions. So while I loved their dynamic season one, I didn’t ship them, giving me no problem jumping onto the Keenler ship once they reeled me in.

Honestly, I saw something there from episode one. “Who the hell is Elizabeth Keen?” is such an iconic line, and it sets up so much of the story. Just who is Elizabeth Keen? Lizzie, Liz, Masha Rostova; adoptee, daughter, wife, profiler, agent, criminal, killer, fugitive, asset, mother, survivor. Her story keeps unfolding and I don’t think we’re done figuring her out yet. But beyond that, just who is she to Donald Ressler, and who will she become?

Then he shows up at her doorstep with helicopters and an army of SUVs. I mean. That’s such an amazing first meeting. You really can’t top that. Also, okay, the cinematography of the Pilot is just incredible. The way the focus shifts to Ressler watching Liz as she speaks to Cooper? That shot of him watching her, framed by golden light? It’s absolutely stunning and you can’t convince me that wasn’t the show setting the basis for a power couple. And the Pilot also gave us Ressler breaking the rules for Liz for the first time when he let her see Red in his hospital room, though it’s certainly not the last time he breaks the rules for her. It becomes such a recurring theme for him: he always follows the rules, except when it comes to Liz.

The tense banter Liz and Ress share in the next few episodes is amazing. It’s a dance of learning to trust each other and work together despite their misgivings, and I love every bit of it. There’s that shot of them squaring off after he busted in with the Canadian police to Red’s dinner with Liz, which pisses her off, and the way the camera circles around them and the way they play off each other there is insane. Can I just say: HOLY CHEMISTRY. HOLY SEXUAL TENSION.

Then comes the Stewmaker (my favorite episode of all time) and that infamous hug. Seeing that was my first, “… hmm.” I saw something there between them from the beginning, but this was the first moment I really felt it.

A highlight from the Courier: “That was hot.” “You know he can hear you, right?“ When Meera says that (oh, how I miss Meera!), Liz gives her this great side-eye and I’ll be honest, my first thought was - is someone a little jealous? Also there’s a lovely moment later when Liz asks Ressler about what he said about having nothing in the world, recognizing that on some level, he did mean it despite his denial. In that moment, she sees his vulnerability like he saw hers post-Stewmaker, and she knows not to push him, but I think she sees a bit of herself in him - in putting up a facade against the world to hide insecurities and loss. The way she described herself as being called a bitch, the way Ressler gets called an ass. There’s more alike there than there is different.

So they’re finally getting past their rocky start when Sam dies and then Anslo Garrick happens. Liz is such a brave badass, fighting instead of running away until she gets caught and brought to the box where Red and Ressler are. Her face and Ressler’s kill me there. Her expression, so sad and scared but determined, shaking her head no, don’t do it, don’t give him the code. Him in clear physical pain and indecision as Cooper tells him no. Agent Ressler, no. That’s an order. and all the while Red has a gun in his face. And Ressler gives up the code.

That’s a pivotal moment. I don’t think he gives up the code because he’s afraid of dying. I think it’s because he’s afraid of Liz dying. The Agent Ressler who’d been presented to us before would have followed his commanding officer’s orders. He would have followed protocol and protected the asset no matter the personal cost. He’s a by-the-book guy, not an emotional decision-maker. And with the career he chose, you have to figure he’s not afraid of dying in the line of duty. So he’s okay with his own death, but when it comes down to it, not Liz’s.

On top of everything, the code is Romeo. Liz loves Shakespeare, as stated by Aram at her funeral. Romeo and Juliet is a tragic romance. The connotation of Romeo in that moment draws the possibility of romance between Liz and Ress.

To go on a side tangent here, you could choose to find more connections. Romeo (Ressler) is enamored with Rosalind (Audrey), though she isn’t interested (left him), until he meets Juliet (Liz), who’s engaged (married) to Paris (Tom), who was chosen for her by her parents (inserted into her life by Red/Berlin). Romeo and Juliet fall in love but can’t be together. They get separated (she shoots the AG and goes on the run with Red) and Juliet, with the help of the Friar (Mr. Kaplan), fakes her death (she does this twice: once in Arioch Cain, once in Mr. Solomon: Conclusion). Romeo doesn’t receive the message that Juliet is actually alive (this fits slightly more for the Arioch Cain death, when all of the team was in on the plan except him), so he buys poison from the Apothecary (interestingly, they had a Blacklister by this name in the last episode) and travels back to see her body. Paris comes and they duel, Romeo killing him. Romeo then drinks the poison. When Juliet awakes, finding Romeo to be dead, she uses his dagger to kill herself. After their mutual deaths, there’s finally peace in Verona. Obviously, I don’t think all of these parallels are exact, but I do think that there are a lot of connections to be drawn between Shakespeare and the Blacklist. At any rate, it’s interesting to see some of the groundwork laid. Okay, end of side tangent.

Ressler and Liz keep growing stronger as partners and friends. He trusts her enough to talk about Audrey and Tassles, and she trusts him enough to talk about Tom. He offers to rough Tom up for her.

Another big moment: he chooses Liz over Audrey in Madeline Pratt. She’s distraught, saying she thinks Tom is going to leave her. Ressler is on his way out, but sits down at that. She tells him to leave. He says no, ditching his dinner date with Audrey, choosing to stay and be with her instead.

Then comes the Kingmaker, and this is the episode that did it for me. This is when I went … crap. I have an actual ship in this procedural crime show. First it was their moment on the bridge when he tells her it’s not over. The way they look at each other there, with the beautiful blue sky behind them… it’s breathtaking. And then he saves her life, killing the Kingmaker while he’s strangling her. I have a thing for Liz and Ress saving each other, okay? Don’t judge. And then comes the crowning moment (haha, Kingmaker, crown, get it?) : she shows up at his apartment. “I didn’t know where else to go.” No questions asked, he lets her in. For whatever reason, that’s when they got me. That wordless communication, those beautiful mooneyes. And then they cut the scene at the close of his door, which I both love and hate because yay, I get to come up with my own headcanons about what happened, but boo, I want to know what happened.

So. There’s that. And then the next day, they go to Liz’s house (now a crime scene) where she tells him, “I should have let you rough him up,” with this sad smile that he returns, and her body language is so relaxed around him in her home, where you’d think she’d feel more defensive and self-conscious. But there he is, standing in the ruins of her married life, and she seems okay with it. Alright with being vulnerable and real around him, and that’s what I love the most about them: when they can be wholly themselves with each other.

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Anyways, that’s about all from season one that sums up the development of my Keenler ship. Sorry for the long post, it sort of got away from me! I’ll be back tomorrow with my Day 2 post :)

[desperatemenministry]

Demolishing Strongholds – One Proven Key to Success

Demolishing Strongholds – One Proven Key to Success

“Secret Sins” Series  (Part Three)

Most editors and directors think it ill-advised to give the answer or reveal “whodunit” in the first chapter of a book or scene of a TV show.  To do so risks losing reader or viewer interest.   I run the same risk because, as men, we are known for our “sound bite men-tality”.  Nevertheless, I felt strongly led to share the answer in the first few lines.  The key to demolishing strongholds brought upon us through secret sins in our lives (assuming we choose to do so):

ACCOUNTABILITY

A Sad Story. Hard to believe it has been twenty-plus years since that awkwardly, sad time.  Our accountability group was composed of a few men from church—friends and golfing buddies.  One was an associate pastor—a terrific man with a great family.  At that point in the life of our group, I seem to recall we were not drilling down very deeply into our personal lives.

The first troubling key was our pastor friend began to join us less frequently. When we did see him, his countenance was not the same.  He looked troubled in his spirit.  Sadly, as happens all too often among church men, including pastors, his affair was uncovered and the “hell” began—perhaps more so for his sweet family.  Even more tragic is that was the second moral failure of a staff pastor at our church within a few years.  Where was the accountability of and from the church leadership?

Accountability is perhaps the most overused/under-applied word in “Christian-speak”. 

Most men avoid biblical accountability as much as eating liver!  Interesting that we yield to being held accountable at work for attitudes and actions, but not spiritually for being the men God expects based on His Word and the many examples of Christ.

The Accountability Caveat. I have learned over many years of doing (or attempting) life with men in AGs, it is impossible to hold men accountable who really do not want to go there.  Most of us are pretty good at keeping things buried—to a point.  Lesson learned:

Men must want accountability and surrender to the process—both of which create stumbling blocks for many churched men, even for some who are solid Christians. 

The Accountability Mandate.  I do not recall a specific point in my walk with the Lord when the Holy Spirit burned this desperate need in my spirit, but I am so thankful He did.  Perhaps it was early on when I was being discipled by an older Christian man.  While that really does not matter, what does is being true to this passionate concern for the spiritual health and well-being of men who say they belong to Christ.

On several occasions when writing or teaching on this subject, I searched the Scripture for specific use of the word(s) accountability or accountable in the present context—man to man.  I found none.  Does that mean we consider this an extra-biblical concept and excuse for not engaging?  Hardly.

Following are three of many verses that point to the need for men to engage—holding one another accountable to biblical living and representing well our Savior.

 1. Most men know this verse:

“Iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” (Proverbs 27: 17 NASB)

Having had a strong background in metallurgy and metal working early in my career, I like to add when “iron sharpens iron” friction generates heat, sharp edges are honed, and sparks often fly. It was never intended as an easy process.  As with metal, sometimes you have to hammer things out.

2. These verses provide some of Solomon’s wisest words of advice for men. I am particularly fond of the last line because accountability groups of three men make great sense and can work well.

 “Two are better than one…For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up...if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.  (Ecclesiastes 4: 9-12 NASB)

3. On numerous occasions in Scripture, Jesus and the Apostle Paul tell us we will give an account for our actions on the day of judgement. Here is one example from Jesus (Matthew 12: 46 ESV):

“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.”

This side of Heaven, why not get in the habit of being accountable to one another so we help each other become “sharper” images of Jesus—encouraging, exhorting, and speaking hard truth when necessary?

Let's close this lesson and 'Secret Sins' series offering three reasons men avoid accountability and ask three questions that just might save your life, marriage, relationship with kids, and job.

Three reasons men avoid accountability:

Too many men do not want to admit we have issues—especially “those” issues.  Prideful men always think they can work themselves out of any situation or problem.  Just ask the men in my Desperate Men small groups at the mission and prison! “Pride goes before a fall.”

While fear of failure may top the list of men��s fears, this one comes in second: fear of getting caught AND suffering the consequences.  We prefer to hide our secret sins from men, hoping God is not paying attention or we slipped something past Him.  Little boys and immature young men do that—not men of God.

Perhaps the opposite of pride or a subset, shame keeps men from owning and confessing sin.  We are embarrassed to admit we struggle with things “real” Christian men should not. The truth is all men of God in the Bible also did.  The Holy Spirit wrote their stories so we could learn from them.

Three questions that could save your life, marriage, relationship with your kids, and your job.

 1. Who is holding you accountable? If the answer is “no one”, keep reading, but you might want to insert a cup in your boxer briefs before you do.  This is serious business.  Jesus did not mince words so neither will I in such an area of great need for men of His church. What is your excuse (and do not suggest time)?  Pick one or more of the reasons above, and tell God you are doing fine on your own and working through your issues.  You do not need other men in the process who may have more issues than you.  Bad answer.  Trust me, you should not walk alone.

2. What areas of your life are you allowing yourself to be held accountable? It is easy to allow ourselves to be held accountable for things we do not do or areas in which we do not struggle.  Man up and allow the Holy Spirit to bring to mind those things that you do struggle with and open those doors.  Here are three blank spaces for you to write down just a few to start the process.

_____________________        ________________________      _________________________

3. Are you willing to commit to the process? Be mindful that accountability groups can default to bull sessions and your own sports talk shows.  Early in the process, there is nothing wrong with that.  It takes time to build trust and convince other men you love them in the Lord—no matter what.  But do not stop there.

As I said before, I have been in an AG with a pastor steeped in adultery and known several others who had similar issues.  Drill down even if you occasionally hit rock.  Remember it is a process, and we are not professional counselors, so these are not counseling sessions.   The sooner you start, the sooner you will being to find peace in the process, more joy in your journey, and help another brother as well!

Committed to the Holy Spirit’s sharpening process—even when friction increases the heat or sparks fly,

Your desperate brother in Christ,