#Here Are the 15 New Books You Should Read in October

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Andrew Doyle

Published: Mar 8, 2024

Today is the fifth anniversary of the publication of Titania McGrath’s acclaimed book Woke: A Guide to Social Justice. I created this intersectional activist and slam poet in order to satirise this new intolerant and authoritarian identity-obsessed religion and its stranglehold on society. Having seen so many posh and entitled activists berating working-class straight white people for their privilege, I could think of no more appropriate reaction than mockery. Even Harry Windsor was at it. And he’s an actual prince. 

Five years on, and I cannot decide whether I find it funny or depressing that so many of Titania’s ideas in that book ended up becoming reality. Nothing that Titania was ever able to suggest has not eventually been outdone by real-life activists. It is as though they were reading her book for inspiration. 

For instance, in a chapter from Woke entitled “Towards an Intersectional Socialist Utopia”, Titania makes the following observation:

“Capitalism, after all, is a singularly male phenomenon. The ultimate symbol of capitalism, the skyscraper, is nothing more than a giant cock on the horizon, fucking the heavens.”

Sixteen months after the book was published, this article appeared in the Guardian:

Or what about this passage from a chapter in Woke called “White Death”? Here, Titania calls out Hellen Keller for her white privilege:

“Consider, if you will, the example of white American author Helen Keller (1880–1968). Even though she was left deaf and blind following an illness as a baby, she still managed to study for a degree, write twelve books and travel the world to give lectures. This kind of privilege is staggering.”

Compare this with an article that appeared in Time magazine over a year later, in which the author writes:

“However, to some Black disability rights activists, like Anita Cameron, Helen Keller is not radical at all, ‘just another, despite disabilities, privileged white person,’ and yet another example of history telling the story of privileged white Americans.”

And how about this tweet from October 2019, in which Titania had some advice for dog owners:

The subsequent outrage ensured that the tweet went viral. And just a couple of months ago, a leading pet talent agency in the UK called Urban Paws was asking owners whether their cats or dogs identified as “gender neutral” or “non-binary”. 

After the backlash, the company claimed that it was a mistake. But the specific addition of a “gender identity” category on an application is hardly the equivalent of a typo. 

And what about this article on the website of Vet Help Direct?

And then of course we have PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), the world’s leading animal rights organisation, which posted the following call to arms on Twitter to “end speciesism”:

“Evolve your language. Unlearn how we’ve been taught to think of other animals. They’re NOT an ‘it’ and should never be talked about like objects.”

It’s about time that somebody took a stand for non-binary pigeons.

This is by no means the only example of Titania’s ideas being enacted by woke activists. Here are my top ten examples of when her absurd demands became reality…

On 22 December 2018, Titania called for biological sex to be removed from birth certificates.  

On 17 December 2020, the New England Journal of Medicine concurred.

On 1 October 2019, Titania suggested that young women should be encouraged to travel alone in rural Pakistan.

On 12 October 2019, Forbes Magazine concurred.

On 15 October 2018, Titania argued that Winston Churchill was worse than the Nazis.

On 11 February 2021, Churchill College at Cambridge University concurred.

On 19 September 2018, Titania criticised Julie Andrews (aka Mary Poppins) for chimney soot blackface.

On 28 January 2019, the New York Times concurred.

On 29 April 2019, Titania pointed out that scientists have yet to discover the difference between men and women.

On 24 March 2022, USA Today concurred.

On 22 January 2019, Titania called for the Oscars to prioritise diversity.

On 12 June 2020, the Academy concurred.

On 30 January 2019, Titania accused Laurence Olivier of a hate crime for his performance as Othello.

On 9 October 2021, the University of Michigan concurred.

On 2 May 2020, Titania criticised the NHS for appropriating the LGBTQ rainbow flag.

On 6 May 2020, Forbes Magazine concurred.

On 6 June 2019, Titania demanded an option on social media to mute white males.

On 14 July 2020, Instagram concurred.

On 12 September 2019, Titania argued that scientists cannot possibly know whether ancient skeletons are male or female.

On 18 July 2022, gender activists concurred.

Titania McGrath’s Woke: A Guide to Social Justice is available to buy here. It’s also available on audio book and Kindle.

==

This ideology has become so deranged that it's not possible not parody it anymore. Anything you propose in jest today, they'll take up in sincerity tomorrow. Which shows how performative, directionless and unserious they are.

The Civil Rights and Gay Rights movements had specific aims: eliminate segregation, ensure all laws are race-neutral, that opportunities and resources are available regardless of race, decriminalization of homosexuality, recognition of same-sex partnerships the same as opposite-sex partnerships, including marriage. They were specific, measurable and could be ticked off as they fell.

Woke idiots have no damn clue what they're after. And all they can show us is the stupidest, most petty, most insane non-issues that telegraph to the world they have no real problems to complain about. Elimination of all skyscrapers? A lawsuit over who owns the rainbow? (Fundamentalist Xians would like to get in on that.)

They're just making this crap up as they go along, fighting for who can be the most offended and screaming about their imaginary hurt feelings to garner attention and control.

Why did we ever pay attention to this lunatics?

[javerend]

2022 Japanese Wrap-up + 2023 goals

In 2022, I went from having a lot of disconnected vocabulary and grammar knowledge in japanese to having a real baseline of literacy! 2022 started out with me doing several months of wanikani, before really starting to burn out on doing flashcards around April. In April and May, I took mostly a break from adding new cards on wanikani to do my first real sustained attempt at immersion: playing どうぶつの森 e+ on the gamecube. I really enjoyed it, but decided I still needed to do some more work before I'd be able to play it comfortably. I was spending about 30 minutes a day on average, just running around doing normal animal crossing things and also making sure to talk to villagers. A lot of them talk in non standard japanese (guliver only talking in katakana was the *worst*, lots of villagers use オイラ, etc), I will go back to this game eventually because it is my favorite animal crossing game.

After that, I decided to go back to doing wanikani more seriously until I hit level 20. By the time I hit 20 in mid september, I was really really burning out on doing flashcards. I felt that a lot of the new vocabulary I was learning was useless to me without context (not sure if I still entirely think this, but wk vocabulary is.... strange sometimes since it is for reinforcing kanji readings and not necessarily by how common words actually are). So, I decided to completely drop wanikani **and** anki sentence mining to focus entirely on doing extensive reading. I joined the wk community forums challenge for "Read Every Day Fall 2022" and really really really enjoyed it.

I read 30 volumes in japanese, 29 manga + one short story, totaling 5583 pages! Word/character count in manga is super high variance, so I wouldn't try to put a hard number on this, but going from literal 0 real reading in 2021 to this in 2022 was a huge huge huge jump. I read: よつばと！ volumes 1-15 耳をすませば 赤い手袋 (short story) ホリミヤ volumes 1-6 ハピネス volumes 1-2 からかい上手の高木さん volumes 1-5 and change, I also read some chapters of komi, nagatoro, and call of the night in japanese here and there. I also re-read the Tae Kim Grammar guide in October, to see if having more reading experience would make any of the stuff in the later chapter stick any better, and it absolutely did! Definitely was a good year for my japanese. Now, as we're getting closer to 2 years (and god knows how many hours) of me learning, I am actually starting to finally feel like I can *use* the language! Still many areas to improve on, and a lot more time to invest, but the time I spend feels less like grinding now, and more like just doing things I enjoy that happen to be in japanese. Towards the end of December, I decided to buy a year membership for wanikani again, since it was on sale. I would eventually like to get to level 60 here, because I have noticed the kanji I learned through wanikani I am **way** more comfortable reading than ones I've slowly picked up, but I really don't want that to be my primary goal. Eventually, it will happen, and I've spent the last few weeks cleaning up the lingering reviews that skipping 3.5 months of SRS gives you.

2023 Goals:

For 2023, my main goals are (surprise surprise) reading related!

Finish every volume of manga I currently physically own: This is the main one, I have built up a considerable backlog of reading material while the yen was weak, and I'd like to really work on thinning this out so things don't end up never getting read as I buy more stuff. I have 66 unread volumes of varying difficulty on my shelf, so this should give plenty of reading variety!

Read more things which are pure text: eventually, the goal is to be able to read things at the level I tend to enjoy reading things english (maybe slower, but still), and a lot of that happens to be really dense, academic non-fiction stuff. Manga is great, but it is not that. So this year, I'd like to get into reading children's books, light novels, short stories, and maaaaybe an actual novel, plus get more comfortable reading stuff like wikipedia. I'm starting with the magic tree house series and 夜カフェ, which I've already purchased digitally and done some test readings for. Harder to predict what I'll read like this, but as long as I make some noticeable progress here I'll be happy.

Be prepared to take the JLPT N2 test by December 2023. Maybe this is a bit ambitious, but I think it’s probably doable. Whether I actually decide to sit for the test or not, I’d like to be at a level where I would feel comfortable doing it. Taking N3 and below always felt kind of pointless to me, but N2 and N1 would actually be a cool achievement, even if it doesn't "mean" anything in terms of real proficiency. I have simple goblin brain that sees tangible reward for intangible progress and goes "ooooo shiney"

I probably won't be doing the daily updates here (they do actually take quite a bit of time to write out), but I will be posting my readings and vocabulary I pick up every day on the Wani-Kani Read every day challenge Winter 2023 forum topic!

[jaiafilyani]

I posted 155 times in 2022

20 posts created (13%)

135 posts reblogged (87%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@daughterofthesettingsun

@fierysword

@venusinkatabasis

@immoderateheart

@heavenly2008

I tagged 23 of my posts in 2022

#filianism - 22 posts

#deanism - 21 posts

#dea - 18 posts

#spirituality - 17 posts

#goddess - 16 posts

#god - 15 posts

#filianic - 12 posts

#religion - 11 posts

#deanic - 11 posts

#god the mother - 11 posts

Longest Tag: 47 characters

#the divine feminine is real and it's everything

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I don’t say things like this often, but this is a book I think everyone should read!

It has inspired me to make my first (authentic to me) altar. Women have created our own seperate space vía home altars for millennia…In pre-historical times we see evidence of this, we see it all over the world stretching back into the inky depths of time…Whether in highly patriarchal Ancient Greece making their hestia the center of their home, Mexican mothers passing their devotion to Mother Mary / Mary of Guadalupe via home altars, Hindu women creating gorgeous home altars for Durga or Kali or any of the numerous Hindu deities, whether she be a devotee of Guan Yin, or of Yoruba…Women create true religious life by blending the religious with the mundane, by creating sacred womens cultures formed around home altars, by creating power denied via patriarchal religion through home altars…It’s divine.

Quotes:

“I ventured to ask Virginia why she kept an altar at home, she simply replied that it was a “beautiful necessity.”

“…historically it has always been women who are more likely to keep or reinvigorate old practices alongside the new, which are usually a result of male-determined war, conquest, or ideological transformations.”

“the altar is…The meeting place of the sacred and the mundane, the parenthesis between the two worlds…where communication with the ineffable is possible…altars are very important tools used for facilitating the interweaving of the two worlds.”

“For a woman, keeping an altar is a distinctly personal assumption of relationship with divine ally’s in whatever form they take for her.”

“For Wiccans, the altar is foremost a setting for the tools that are ritually used to invoke blessing and change…For many, the women’s altar is itself a sign of religious immanence by virtue of its ancient emergence from the natural world [explanation of first altars being piles of stones, etc]…Other women adopt the altar as a source of their own self-nurturance…As a mirror of self-reflection, growth, and change, the altar becomes a site where women claim and exercise an unencumbered sense of their own spiritual effectiveness.”

25 notes - Posted September 20, 2022

#4

❤️🌸More memes…Amadea! 🌸❤️

See the full post

25 notes - Posted October 22, 2022

#3

In light of the filianicstudies website going down, I’m posting download links Dea called me to put on zLibrary awhile ago…I didn’t get why it mattered because the site was up then but now I’m so thankful. Praise Dea. Here are the PDFs to the Clear Recital and the Madrian Orders 1 + 2

And here’s a pdf to the critical apparatus provided a lovely friend of mine.

29 notes - Posted June 6, 2022

#2

New daily ritual dropped! 🌹 If you connect strongly to Green Tara like me, this is a great practice. If you don’t it can pretty easily be adapted.

💗 I associate Her with the quote ‘She will save every being, down to the last blade of grass’.

💗 I pick up a piece of grass early in the day (if I have to pluck it I say thank you to Sister Earth)

💗 When I see the blade of grass I carry around, I say her mantra of Om Ture Tutarre Ture Soha in my head or aloud if I can. Im reminded of how she is so caring and will save every living creature and gain comfort from it. I also try to embody that attitude as I can (usually just basic kindness to others, you don’t gotta save the world here)

💗 I do this throughout the day. I find that it puts me in a meditative mood and has made me spontaneously sit down outside to say Her mantra

💗keep doing it. I’m thinking of getting a glass jar and every day putting my piece of grass in, perhaps as I pray then reflect on the day. Might add journaling.

My counselor helped me come up with this but it makes for great devotional practice (that’s what I use it for, as well as to keep myself calm). Enjoy 😌 If you adapt it for a Janya, Dea, or goddess then please reblog with your addition! 👀

43 notes - Posted March 1, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I’m a bit obsessed with this goddess I just discovered! She covers the domain of sewers, drains, and purification - a goddess explicitly connected to feces and everything nasty & helping society thrive by diverting it. She was later assimilated into VENUS! It feels very raw. We can sometimes make goddesses so pure, I feel like the symbolism in such a down to earth goddess is so incredible! In an odd way, she reminds me of a nastier version of Mary, Untier of Knots!

I also feel She’s an excellent representation of the Daughter, helping us all in her role as savioress. As well as Her role as Priestess, in transmuting energy and changing situations.

47 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[theuniversitychallengereview]

UC 52.2 - Open vs Newcastle

If you haven't already you can watch the episode here before reading this review (spoilers follow): https://youtu.be/uyFrq06pvyg

I took a load of notes when I was watching this episode on Monday, with the hope that whenever I got round to writing the review they would be of great assistance. However, the greater the distance between the note-taking and the note-using, the less useful the notes become - especially when the notes are of the calibre ‘taking notes to be more professional with my fancy new website. This is one of the notes’.

None of my notes are about the two teams who were competing on this episode, meaning that I’ll have to do my research (research here should really be in air quotes since all I mean by that is that I am going to look up the historic performances of the two teams on Blanchflower) now anyway. Starting to think there wasn’t any point to my note taking at all.

Open reached the final in 1997, and won the trophy in 1999, but in the twenty three years since then they have only made four appearances, failing to make it beyond the second round in any of those. When they won in 1999 there was a bit of a hullabaloo about their older students effectively ‘cheating’ because two of their members had been on other quiz shows beforehand. This stemmed from an off-the-cuff remark from Paxman which then snowballed into a vague conspiracy theory about a plan to waste time while conferring. This article written by Sue Mitchell, a member of the winning team, sums up the whole imbroglio quite nicely - I’d recommend reading for those interested in diving headlong into University Challenge lore.

As far as I’m aware, Newcastle haven’t been involved in any similar imbroglios, though perhaps they wouldn’t mind that if it meant they would win a title. This is their twelfth appearance of the Paxman era and they’ve made the at least the quarter-finals on six of the previous eleven occasions, with their best run, to the semi finals, coming on their last tilt in 2017/18.

Anyway, that’s enough about imbroglios, let’s get on with this - here’s your first starter for ten…

Paxman kicks things off by telling us that the rules are unchanged and unchangeable, which is an incredibly metal way of telling us its business as usual. But it is good to know that the rules can’t be altered. I was very upset when they changed the scoring system in F1 to 25 points for a win, going so far as to make a Facebook page called something like ‘The new 25-18-15-12-10-8-6-4-2-1 scoring system in F1 is stupid. Like if you agree’. And yes, I did include every single one of the numbers. So who knows how I’d react if they made it a starter for nine, or replaced the buzzers with interpretive dance.

The opening starter goes to Newcastle, and they take two bonuses on composers. Open Myles then opens Open’s account with the first of six he would take in the match (by the end of the match I was writing ‘yet again’ next to his name in my notes because it felt like he was getting them all). Two bonuses on the Nobel Prize for Medicine followed, with Baker rightly pointing out that there was no vaccine for malaria. (There actually is now - I just googled to check and saw that the WHO approved one in October 2021, but this would have been after the episode was recorded, so Baker had been correct at the time, meaning that they were able to give the right answer, which was yellow fever)

Another from Myles gave Open the lead, but Newcastle quickly hit back with the first picture round, on museum groups. The Geordies were then able to go on a good run and opened up a sixty point lead.

Ten of these points came from a starter on the pike species of fish. I answered this really quickly and with incredible certainty despite not really knowing why. I thought about it some more, and reckoned I had managed to link the Latin name of the fish, which contained the word Aesop, with pike, because of some half-remembered story in a book of Aesop’s fables. I had planned to do some digging into this fact to confirm the logic of it, and then write a bit about the random nature of information recall (the story in question being The River Fish and the Sea Fish). But I just rewatched that question and Paxman doesn’t say Aesop at all, he says Esox, so it turns out that I’d totally fluked my answer, and would have been incredibly lucky if I’d buzzed in with it.

The music round was on Beyonce’s Lemonade album, and the songs she sampled thereon. I do like that album a lot, but I think I would have fared better if the questions had been about her newest album, which my gf is obsessed with and which she played on repeat for an entire weekend recently.

Another for Myles got Open going again, and they took two bonuses on the European Cup, although skipper MacGregor was kicking himself at missing Leeds United as the answer to the third. He made up for this later on with a football-based starter, buzzing in quickest with the knowledge that Senegal had beaten Egypt in the final of the African Cup of Nations.

But Newcastle quickly hit back and extended their lead further - they were in the groove at this point, while Open looked beaten. They get bonuses on platonic solids, which included a reference to a Klein bottle, a plushie version of which was famously used as a mascot by Bobby Seagull’s Emmanuel team of 2016/17 as well as subsequent Emma teams. I’ve written in my notes to ‘do a bit about platonic solids and platonic friends’, but I’m not sure what on earth I was hoping that would look like, so I’m going to give it a miss. If anyone is really desperate to see what they’re missing, send me a message and I’ll try to workshop something for next week.

A few more in quick succession for Myles brings Open into three digits, but his teammates aren’t giving him much help on the buzzer, and they are unable to capitalise on the bonuses when he does get the starters, dooming their chances from the get go.

Final Score: Newcastle 195 - 115 Open

The curse continues for Open, who haven’t made it past the second round in their past five appearances now. Paxman says they might come back as high scoring losers, but they won’t, I’m afraid. But congratulations to Newcastle, who looked stronger as the episode went on and will be very tough opponents in the second round if they can carry that confidence through.

[starlightyellow]

Starlight's Weekly Finds 3/20-3/27

Hi! My name is Starlight and I want to push myself more to post more of what I like on my account, so what better way to do that then to throw all my niche interests in a post to encourage others to talk about them too! This newsletter will consists of a read, a music wrap, and a movie of the week. As this goes, I'll add more or less depending. thanks for tuning in this week and I hope you come back for the next.

Read of The Month

This week I'd finally gotten around to getting a digital library card from @queerliblib ! The Queer Liberation Library is a free digital library the is entirely comprised of books created by LGBT+ BIPOC authors. They have such a ride variety of audiobooks and scanned copies that I feel there's something for everyone. To apply for a library card is free, however please be mindful it may be a bit of a wait for your library card depending on when you apply. I was lucky and received mine within like a few days of applying. All info to learn more and to apply will be on the @queerliblib socials.

I'm currently reading Between Perfect and Real by Ray Stoeve. It follows a trans guy named Dean who is recently cast as a major male lead in a school play. The story follows how Dean navigates his transition while also juggling graduating school and making it to an acting school in New York. I'm about halfway through and I highly recommend.

Music Wrap of the Week.

Okay so this section alone will probably turn into it's own individual post at some point considering I finally am getting into KPOP. I'm focusing on girl groups right now and I've listened to ALOT this week. Here's only a few of my favorites from the week.

QWER: Secret Diary

Okay, I give. This first song is technically a band as opposed to a girl group. However, their music is so good I have to let it slide. Debuting on October 18 2023, QWER is a South Korean girl band consisting of 4 members(shown below). QWER is such an interesting Kpop group to me with the members pulling inspo and influence from American bands like Slipknot and Red Hot Chilli Peppers. They bring something a little different that I really love.

Pictured left to right: Magenta(24), Hina(23), Chodan(25), and Siyeon(23).

XG: Winter Without You

The next on the list came as a pleasent surprise, because I didn't know I had heard a song from them before. You may know this 7 member group from their song Shooting Star, which is a great song, but just a little played out after the sped up version went viral on TikTok. Winter Without You leans more into the RNB aspect of the group's concept, and it makes me feel like Christmas should be here again. If you like modern holiday songs or were a big fan of Ariana Grande's album Christmas and Chill, this song was made for you.

Pictured left to right from top row to bottom: MAYA(18), Hinata(21), Juria(19), Harvey(21), Cocona(18), Jurin(21), and Chisa(22).

Loossemble- Real World

LOOSSEMBLE is a group that caught my eye from their single Sensitive, but Real World I feel is an underrated song on their debut album. Debuting September 15, 2023 LOOSEMBLE consists of 5 members(PICTURED BELOW). This is a new subdivision of the girl group LOONA, with some members also being from LOONA 1/3 respectively. Just like with my other recs this week, the whole debut album is a bop tbh. Honorable mention for Strawberry Soda track as well. I haven't really gotten in my LOONA bag just yet, but if it's anything like LOOSSEMBLE, I'm fully sat.

PICTURED LEFT TO RIGHT: Go Won(23) ,Hyeju(22),Hyunjin(23) ,VIVI(27), and Yeojin(21).

Movie of the Week : TMNT (2007 Film)

To say I'm a TMNT fanatic would be an understatment. No matter what gen TMNT is in, I can always find something to cherish about every form of content that been pumped out ofer the years. More praise should be given to this film as a whole. Yes at points the animation of the turltes can be a little.... jarring to say the least.

However, the storyline is so good I can overlook the jumpscare that is having to look at them during certain scenes. This is one of this first instances on screen prior to the Michael Bay films that I felt really allowed Leo to be more than just a leader to his brothers.

Leonardo in most depictions up until recent years was always shown as the levelheaded leader who rarely has a genuine spat with his team and if he does, it usually has to do with the stress from being a leader and not neccesarily with having to be a brother.

This film follows the turtles after Leo returns from what was supposed to be a few months' mission that turned into a year and him trying to recollect his team. You have Mickey and Donnie who are elated the Leo is home, while Raph carries on as though nothing has changed, almost mad that Leo had the gull to come back.

This boils over into a moving fight scene between Raph and Leo, but the difference from this onscreen arguments between the two than the ones at the time were that they allowed Leo to argue, even physically fight Raph but not as his leader. It was a his genuine brother. They allow Leo to get fed up and tired of Raph's attitude enough to give into the preconceived notion that Raph thinks Leo has about him. If you haven't seen it, I would make it a point to. Especially for this scene alone. Def a 5/5 in my book.

And that's a wrap! Thank you so much for reading my first put together blog post!

[ryttu3k]

End of year meme! Check out last year's version here!

1. Song of the year?

Måneskin - Honey! (Are U Coming?), although Fifteen's theme from Doctor Who has grasped me over the last few days. More music-specific stuff here!

2. Album of the year?

Strictly speaking the only full album I heard was Måneskin - Rush, and that had… some issues even though I love most of it, haha.

3. Favourite musical artist / group you started listening to this year?

Can we count the BG3 soundtrack as a new artist?

4. Movie of the year?

I rewatched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory last night and that was... it, so that, I guess!

5. TV show of the year?

I still haven't recovered from Good Omens season 2.

6. Episode of TV or webisode that defined the year for you?

Episode 2.06 of Good Omens, Doctor Who - all four specials.

7. Favourite actor of the year?

Honestly it's gotta be David Tennant. Like, between Good Omens and Doctor Who? Yeah. Neil Newbon comes in a very close second, though!

8. Game of the year?

It's a. It's actually a tie which is goddamn unheard of in a Zelda release year, but Baldur's Gate 3 genuinely nearly kicked Tears of the Kingdom aside??

9. Best month for you this year?

Oh man tricky. Do I say October because I went on my first actual proper holiday in eight and a half years? November for the Maneskin concert? Or do they lose points because I had COVID in late Oct/early Nov? Let's skip both and go with June (Vivid down in Sydney and the single greatest sorbet I've ever tried, a super fun VtM tabletop session, and got Operation YEETerus more or less confirmed)!

10. Something that made you cry this year?

Cried pretty much the whole way through the end of Tears of the Kingdom, does that count?

11. Something you want to do again next year?

Ooh I'd love to go back down to Sydney for Vivid!

12. Talk about a new friend you made this year

Shrug emoji. You're all cool.

13. How was your birthday this year?

Super chill. Ordered pizza and ate ice cream, and a few days earlier when my brother came up, we went to one of our favourite Lebanese restaurants.

14. Favourite book you read this year?

A top three - Hell Followed With Us, Space Opera, and Camp Damascus! You can check my book-specific stuff here!

15. What's a bad habit you picked up this year?

Not sure I picked any up? Still haven't ditched the finger-chewing, alas.

16. Post a picture from the beginning of the year

A haul from Sydney in January. Hell Followed With Us and Legends and Lattes were bought new, as were most of the CDs. The other three books and the Sigur Ros CD were second-hand.

17. Post a picture from the end of the year

Okay so on the cruise (late October, I'm gonna say it counts) each floor on the stairwell nearest our cabin had these like, sailing/ships/cruising-type collages, right? Golden Age of Sail, 50s cruising, all that stuff. Which is fine! Great! Except one of them was this!

For the love of god, why would you think an image of the Titanic sinking would be appropriate for a cruise ship?!

18. A memorable meal this year?

The hazelnut sorbet of the gods. Listen. Sydneysiders, listen, if Rivareno Gelato is doing the hazelnut that week you have to try it.

19. What're you excited about for next year?

Australian Literature Festival at Sea! Not until December, but it should be fun as hell!

20. What's something you learned this year?

I did a course on how to make an author site! I should. Do that.

21. What's something new about your place of residence (room, home, or general location) now vs the start of the year?

We started fixing up the old, kinda leaking upstairs bathroom! Gonna be moving back upstairs once it's done!

22. Favourite place you visited this year?

Eden in southern NSW, and Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary in Hobart <3 Both on the cruise. Eden was absolutely gorgeous and Bonorong had critters.

23. If you could send a message to yourself back on the first day of the year, what would it be?

You're gonna get COVID on the cruise. Yes, even wearing your mask and sanitising every five seconds. Bring decongestants because you'll also pick up sinusitis at the same time.

24. Did you keep any New Year's Resolutions?

Didn't make any :D

25. Did you create any characters (in games, art, or writing) this year? Describe one

Probably the two main ones are my first two BG3 characters? A custom Tav, Ta'varin 'Tae' Arkenval, and my beloved Durge baby, Tavias. I'm probably most attached to Tavias, he is going through The Horrors while being the pureblooded child of the God of Murder and also just trying to be a nice person. Wish him luck as I enter act 3!

[roman-catholic-mass-readings]

24th October >> Mass Readings (Except USA)

Tuesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time 

or

Saint Antony Mary Claret, Bishop.

Tuesday, Twenty Ninth Week in Ordinary Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green: A (1))

First Reading Romans 5:12,15,17-21 Divine grace, coming through Jesus Christ, came as an abundant free gift.

Sin entered the world through one man, and through sin death, and thus death has spread through the whole human race because everyone has sinned; but the gift itself considerably outweighed the fall. If it is certain that through one man’s fall so many died, it is even more certain that divine grace, coming through the one man, Jesus Christ, came to so many as an abundant free gift. If it is certain that death reigned over everyone as the consequence of one man’s fall, it is even more certain that one man, Jesus Christ, will cause everyone to reign in life who receives the free gift that he does not deserve, of being made righteous. Again, as one man’s fall brought condemnation on everyone, so the good act of one man brings everyone life and makes them justified. As by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man’s obedience many will be made righteous. When law came, it was to multiply the opportunities of failing, but however great the number of sins committed, grace was even greater; and so, just as sin reigned wherever there was death, so grace will reign to bring eternal life thanks to the righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 39(40):7-10,17

R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

You do not ask for sacrifice and offerings, but an open ear. You do not ask for holocaust and victim. Instead, here am I.

R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

In the scroll of the book it stands written that I should do your will. My God, I delight in your law in the depth of my heart.

R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Your justice I have proclaimed in the great assembly. My lips I have not sealed; you know it, O Lord.

R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

O let there be rejoicing and gladness for all who seek you. Let them ever say: ‘The Lord is great’, who love your saving help.

R/ Here I am, Lord! I come to do your will.

Gospel Acclamation cf. Luke 8:15

Alleluia, alleluia! Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Alleluia!

Or: Luke 21:36

Alleluia, alleluia! Stay awake, praying at all times for the strength to stand with confidence before the Son of Man. Alleluia!

Gospel Luke 12:35-38 Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit.

Jesus said to his disciples: ‘See that you are dressed for action and have your lamps lit. Be like men waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, ready to open the door as soon as he comes and knocks. Happy those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes. I tell you solemnly, he will put on an apron, sit them down at table and wait on them. It may be in the second watch he comes, or in the third, but happy those servants if he finds them ready.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

-----------------------------

Saint Antony Mary Claret, Bishop 

(Liturgical Colour: White: A (1))

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Tuesday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading Isaiah 52:7-10 Rejoice, for the Lord is consoling his people.

How beautiful on the mountains, are the feet of one who brings good news, who heralds peace, brings happiness, proclaims salvation, and tells Zion, ‘Your God is king!’

Listen! Your watchmen raise their voices, they shout for joy together, for they see the Lord face to face, as he returns to Zion.

Break into shouts of joy together, you ruins of Jerusalem; for the Lord is consoling his people, redeeming Jerusalem.

The Lord bares his holy arm in the sight of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm Psalm 95(96):1-3,7-8,10

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

O sing a new song to the Lord, sing to the Lord all the earth. O sing to the Lord, bless his name.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim his help day by day, tell among the nations his glory and his wonders among all the peoples.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Give the Lord, you families of peoples, give the Lord glory and power; give the Lord the glory of his name.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Proclaim to the nations: ‘God is king.’ The world he made firm in its place; he will judge the peoples in fairness.

R/ Proclaim the wonders of the Lord among all the peoples.

Gospel Acclamation Mark 1:17

Alleluia, alleluia! Follow me, says the Lord, and I will make you into fishers of men. Alleluia!

Gospel Mark 1:14-20 I will make you into fishers of men.

After John had been arrested, Jesus went into Galilee. There he proclaimed the Good News from God. ‘The time has come’ he said ‘and the kingdom of God is close at hand. Repent, and believe the Good News.’

As he was walking along by the Sea of Galilee he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net in the lake – for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, ‘Follow me and I will make you into fishers of men.’ And at once they left their nets and followed him.

Going on a little further, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John; they too were in their boat, mending their nets. He called them at once and, leaving their father Zebedee in the boat with the men he employed, they went after him.

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

[eunbii]

Tips that I got from my Uber ride

Recently, last October 19, while on an Uber ride going home from work, the driver shared how he was already a resident and he was certain that I'd also get mine. I mentioned I'm also starting my journey but still a long way to go. He mentioned that he was a Literature teacher back home (I assume India) and gave me tips to improve my English. Of course, these are now non-verbatim but here it goes.

1. Read out loud

Spend 10 minutes of your morning reading a book out loud and try to understand the words while you utter them out loud. Look into the mirror and observe your flow when reading. Do the same thing in the evening, read out loud for 10 minutes. He says if you do this consistently, you'll notice an improvement as early as 15 days. At least that's how the students do it back in their home country.

2. Memorize one new word per day

In my case, since we were talking about English, he suggested I should write down one English word per day and memorize the meaning of those words. I should go along and by the end of the year, I've already widened my vocabulary and been more well-versed in communicating and writing.

3. Write in English

A simple way of practicing your English skills is through writing. The driver suggested that we write a journal or simple diary entry of how our day went. Just like what we're doing here on Tumblr.

4. Speak in English

This is a challenge especially if you're still very much in company with your kalahi. After all, it really still is more comfortable to talk in your native/mother language than the second language. But in able to improve your skills in any language, you have to practice using it or else, it would get hard to build up your confidence and fluency in speaking another language.

Most of these blabbers are my interpretation of what he said. The trip was really short. It only took us less than 5 minutes to get to my place so what he said was more concise -- something that I'm not good at. But to summarize, what's certain was that he told me to read 10 minutes daily day n nite out loud, learn a new word per day and know the meaning, write a diary in English, practice speaking English more often than your native language just so these words can make more sense charz kbye 4:11am na

[aspiring-interpreter]

Medium-term goal 1: June

I've been in contact with the university about the translating and interpreting course, and it's clarified a few things. Sorting through my thoughts, a few key points have come up:

We're talking at least a high school level of Chinese reading ability for the translation side of things. This means between 3500 and 4500 characters in vocabulary. I'm not sure how many words it means, but if we take the TOCFL's Band C as a reference point, it means at least 8000 words (this would be more than HSK 6). I used hsklevel.com to check my current known words - It placed me firmly at HSK 3, or 2300 words, 400 characters.

If I want to start in 2025, I need to get in touch in October or November 2024, which is 15-16 months from now. Then they'll send something for me to translate. Alternatively, October/November 2025 is 27-28 months from now

According to 'Learn Chinese the Hard Way' if you learn 5 words a day, in 3 years you'll learn ~5500 words (equivalent to 2000-3000 characters). If you learn 10 words a day, you learn ~12000 words in 3 years. In order to have a vocab base of 8000 words, hypothetically that would mean about 13 words a day, which is still doable, I think. Of course this will vary. Maybe at first it'll be easier to pick up more words, and then I'll need to be more active about reinforcing vocabulary.

Chinese Made Easy books 1-4 take about 100 hours to complete each, and 5-7 take longer, but by the end you should have 1800 characters under your belt. I've completed 3 chapters of CME 2, and there are 9 remaining. I would say the main difficulty has been assimilating written vocabulary into my memory, rather than particular new sentence structures.

Intermediate Written Chinese claims to teach 823 characters and 2600+ words, and is 12 chapters long (each chapter containing 4 parts). Its discussions of grammar and usage are far more thorough than Chinese Made Easy.

Once I do the interpreting and translating course, I can sit the NAATI exams for ANY language. So I want to keep going slowly but surely at German too. Later, that might become more of a priority.

With this in mind, 2025 seems like a stretch goal, while 2026 sounds like a realistic starting point. I still want to aim for 2025, but I'll build that flexibility in. My main ambitions are to:

Be able to read and comprehend a range of texts in Chinese, predominantly those dealing with the arts and social sciences, as well as novels (e.g. Waiting) and games (e.g. OMORI)

Be able to write persuasively and argue points about interpretations of texts

Speak both formally and informally about a range of matters both related to immediate needs as well as abstract emotions. Understand the nuances of what different words mean and imply.

Now for the goal part of this. I'll try to measure my progress objectively against resources, for the most part. And the goal should adapt to when I get a job too.

Reading and writing: Complete up to chapter 9 of CME 2. Stretch goal is to finish the book entirely!

Finish chapters 11-13 of IWC, and then set another goal sometime later in June.

Have played 500 words in Clozemaster (currently at 110).

Understand one new grammar point from Chinese Grammar Wiki per week. Here is a list of points I'm not too sure about yet from the B1 segment of the Wiki. Eventually I want to learn all of them so here are all the links for self-reference. https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22all_the_way_until%22_with_%22zhidao%22 https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Aspect_particle_%22zhe%22 https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22to_come_from%22_with_%22laizi%22 https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22one_of%22_with_%22zhiyi%22 https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Direction_complement https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22multiples%22_with_%22bei%22 https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Expressing_%22double_negation%22

Sign up for Chinese classes in June, for July.

How well I do at all of these will give me an idea for the next goal in July. I'm going to China for 2 weeks in September, so it would be cool to have reached a milestone by then.

Some more ideas (not goals):

Learn grammar and integrate it through searching up sample sentences and writing them.

Engage with Dot (iOS app that lets you read Chinese according to the HSK 3.0) at least once per week.

Read more on the HSK Reading website.

Watch more of Detention. Maybe finish it by the end of June? I want to finish Severance too, that's unrelated but I don't like the feeling of having just started these shows and taking ages to get through them.

Look for opportunities to use Chinese in the community.

That's all for now. Weekly check-ins will continue, and I might reference this post from time to time. But I want to avoid obsessing over progress, something I've been guilty of lately.

[shipaholic]

2022 Books Read

Happy New Year all! This is my end-of-year reading round-up.

I started 2022 intending to do the 52 books a year challenge. ...Annnd that didn’t happen. Here’s what I managed - still a huge improvement on the last few years.

1. Strangers on a Train - Patricia Highsmith

2. Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury

3. Grave of the Fireflies, and other short stories (bit of a cheat, but I’m bundling these together as a single entry bc I think I should get a point for it)

4. The Convenient Marriage - Georgette Heyer

5. Us - David Nicholls

6. Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov

7. Troubled Blood - Robert Galbraith

8. Composite Creatures - Caroline Hardacre

9. It Devours! - Joseph Fink & Jeffrey Cranor

10. Thirteen Storeys - Jonathan Sims

11. We Have Always Lived In The Castle - Shirley Jackson

12. Wanderers - Chuck Wendig

13. The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling

14. Mother Courage And Her Children - Bertolt Brecht

15. The Ocean at the End of the Lane - Neil Gaiman

16. The Anatomy of Story - John Truby

17. Generation X - Douglas Coupland

18. Gaudy Night - Dorothy L. Sayers

19. Whose Body? - Dorothy L. Sayers

20. Clouds of Witness - Dorothy L. Sayers

21. Unnatural Death - Dorothy L. Sayers

22. The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club - Dorothy L. Sayers

23. Strong Poison - Dorothy L. Sayers

---

As you might guess, I began with a scattershot approach to authors/titles; then, around October, decided instead to read the whole Lord Peter Wimsey series, only to get stuck on The Five Red Herrings. It’s a good book. It just has a lot of trains.

I think I’ll set myself a 25 books a year challenge for 2023 and see how it goes.

[dailyaudiobible]

12/20/2022 DAB Transcript

Haggai 1:1-2:23, Revelation 11:1-19, Psalms 139:1-24, Proverbs 30:15-16

Today is the 20th day of December welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian it is wonderful to be here with you today as we gather around the Global Campfire this little oasis in all of the festivities, this little calm serene place for our souls to rest, a safe place, a quiet place to allow the Scriptures to just wash over us and into us together in community. It is fantastic to be in that place with you today as we take the next step forward. And our next step forward….we’ve kind of got a trend going now…is to read another complete book in the Old Testament. This book is called Haggai.

Introduction to the book of Haggai:

Like a lot of the other minor prophets, we don't know a lot about who Haggai was. We know that he was among those that were able to come back from the Babylonian exile after the destruction of Jerusalem and probably he was one of the first wave of exiles to be able to come back to the ancestral homeland. We know that he had access to the people that were in leadership because the opening verse of the book of Haggai tells us that the message was delivered to Zerubbabel, the governor of Judah. And that name Zerubbabel should sound familiar, because we got to know Zerubbabel when we read through the book of Ezra and the book of Nehemiah. And Haggai’s message was also delivered to Joshua the high priest. And what Haggai’s doing with this message or maybe better said, what God is doing through Haggai through this message is to motivate, to get the people off there behind and off themselves, as it related to the reconstruction of the temple. And, so, Babylon, we went through all of the Babylonian conquest during our journey through the Scriptures this year. So, when Babylon conquered Jerusalem and…and took the people into exile this was about 586 BC. And then Babylon was conquered by the Persian Empire in 539 BC. And, so, the new king, the Persian king Cyrus allowed the exiles to begin to return to Jerusalem under Zerubbabel's leadership around 538 BC. And then comes Haggai 18 years later in 520 BC. And we have good authority from the book of Haggai. Haggai actually dates some things more precisely than anything else in the Bible - August 29th through December 18th 520 BC. 18 years later Haggai comes with this message, because during the 18 years the temple was still incomplete. All the kinds of things that we read about in Ezra and Nehemiah were going on. There was political opposition. There was intimidation and the people had begun to rebuild their lives in their homes. And the temple was supposed to be the centerpiece, like the place where God would come and dwell among the people and would be among His people and the exiles are rebuilding their lives without the centerpiece which is not going to lead them in a good direction and God is displeased with that. And, so, Haggai reports that this is why they've been working so hard and getting so little, because they're focused upon themselves and not God. And, so, construction began again on the temple - September 21st 520 BC. And then on October 17th of that year, God spoke again, that the people should get to work because God had some specific plans, that being to consolidate the prosperity of other nations and bring that prosperity flooding into the temple, bringing prosperity to the people. Instead, the people had been ignoring the temple and focusing on themselves and netting significantly less for their toil, which is a profoundly valuable lesson for our own lives. What are we focused on? What are we self-absorbed about? How are we ignoring what actually matters? And, so, with that, let's begin and in its entirety read the two chapters in the book of Haggai.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for yet another day and another step forward. We thank You that these steps may be indicated by years or months or days or weeks but the step forward every day, this is a never-ending thing. We have found ourselves in a relationship with Your word now. It's a part of our everyday lives. It speaks to us in different ways all of the time and we are grateful for that. We are thankful for what we've learned from Haggai today, that if You aren't in the center, then our toil will be far less fruitful, and we will be far more selfish. And we can find ourselves exhausting ourselves to try to get ahead, when had You been in the center things would've flown in our direction. Forgive us. We are guilty, every one of us. Forgive us for losing sight of what we already know. We know this to be true in our lives. And, so, we are grateful yet again for the Scriptures to come washing into our lives, reminding us of what is true and surprising ourselves and how easily we forget what is true and go our own way. And, so, we thank You that the Scriptures are a part of the rhythm that continue to call us back every single day. We love You, Lord. You are the center of our lives. There is nothing more valuable or more important than You in our lives. And, so, lead us on the pathways that we should go, that we can walk together with You, not so that we can get somewhere that's prosperous, but so that we can go there with You so that being with You is the center of our lives. We pray this in the mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base and that is where you can find out what is going on around here. The Daily Audio Bible app does that, puts it right in the palm of your hand. You can download the Daily Audio Bible app free from whatever app store is connected to your smart device. And, so, just search for Daily Audio Bible and check that out.

This is Christmas week. I cannot believe it. We are here and just kinda navigating through these days, final preparations, all of that. All of the different emotions whipped together that go through the Christmas week. Let's enjoy this together. Let's celebrate deeply. Let's also remember our brothers and sisters, who have to navigate through this season, and it can be a difficult season because of loss. There’s been some loss near to us this year that is…it is just so hard to move through some of that while you're trying to rejoice at the same time. And, so, we acknowledge that, that that is true in any community. But we are rejoicing as this season of Advent, this season of preparation for the arrival of the Savior, this season where we long and understand that they were longing for a Messiah to come and that we are longing for His return, that all might be made new, may we continue that for through this weekend, rejoice as we celebrate the arrival of the Savior into the world. Something truly worth celebrating from the depths of our soul and the bottoms of our hearts.

I've mentioned on a number of occasions there are a number of musical projects that you can a place into your playlists as you move through the Christmas season that are a part of the Global Campfire community here. Family Christmas, the Christmas Time album from Max and looking up Jill's songs. She's got a number of Christmas songs out as well. And, so, just check those out and incorporate those into your Christmas listening playlists.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, if being around the Global Campfire has been a comfort and has provided a place to hear God's word and receive direction and clarity from the Lord, if that has been in your story and this has been a life-giving season for you than thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner, or the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement you can hit the Hotline button in the app. That's the little red button up at the top, or you can dial 877-942-4253.

And that's it for today. I'm Brian. I love you and I'll be waiting for you here tomorrow.

Community Prayer and Praise:

Good morning DABbers this is Duncan the Piano Man in Fredericksburg TX. I heard the prayer, the unanimous gentleman who…I heard the request by the way of the man who had to commit his…his son to the state for care…autistic son. Let me pray right now. Abba Father, I bring this broken-hearted man to You. I don't know what it's like. I can't imagine but You know what it's like. Father, I just ask you to watch over him and his family, watch over his son, grant that he'll get the proper care even though he's in the…the state will have to do it for now. Just take care of him Lord and in a good way. Shield him with Your protection. And we pray dear God that You'd walk through this with this gentleman and his son. And I thank you Jesus that You will walk through with him. Thank You Lord. Amen. Prayer request for me. It's been three years since my Sharon passed away, October 2019 and these are the holidays. And so far, I'm fine. I will be with family in South Carolina, my flesh and blood kin between Christmas and new year and I'll be spending Christmas Day with friends. But I'm asking, let's pray for each other, those of us who have lost loved ones, especially more recently. God bless you. Blessed the rest of Advent. Blessed Christmas and a better year ahead.

December 15th. Thank you DAB family. Thank you, Brian. Thank you for bringing me into this world. I love listening every day to everyone. I love listening and growing my relationship with the Lord. I was in an accident on 11/29 and I can't tell you how many blessings and miracles and lives have been touched. I believe the Lord is using me to get wonderful things done in the people that surround me. I've lost my left eye and now have mononucle…mono…monocular vision. It's unbelievable that I enter my 60s with one eye. I have my life. God spared my life. I'm saying prayers for everyone I listen to on DAB. There are folks going through so much more and I'm grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this family. Merry Merry Christmas to everyone. I love you. I love Brian. Thank you so much for this journey that you've got us all on, that Lord has us all on. Thank you to a special friend in Illinois that started me on the DAB family four years ago. I'm just grateful and looking forward to 2023. It's going to be a wonderful year. I can't think of any particulars right…

Hello this is Laurie from Iowa, and I am calling in from my first time. I’m a first-time reader this year and I've made it so far. So, I’m gonna make it through the year and it's been a blessing. Thank you to my friend who suggested this app for me. I'm calling in for the gentleman who left the message who has an autistic adult child that he had to place into a facility. I know he is heartbroken. I know how hard this is. I have a child that has down syndrome and I kept her at home until she was thirty and had to put her into a condo with two other ladies. So, it was a little bit easier maybe, but I don't really think so. It was still heartbreaking. She did not wanna go. She wanted to be with me. But I was getting to the point that I knew I needed to get her set up somewhere. I remember crying all the time and her crying all the time and how very sad and hard it was. She is doing much better, and I know it was a good move, but I do know how heartbreaking that is. So, I will definitely be praying for you and for your son that he gets the care that he needs, that the caregivers are patient and kind to him. And I hope things go well. Just keep contact as much as you can, and I know you will as there are things that sometimes they miss that us as parents will know. So, I am thinking of you, and you are in my prayers. Thank you.

Hi, this is my first time calling. I pray for all of you, and I just pray that you will pray for my family. My name is God is with Me. My son is a high schooler. He's in the 12th grade and he's been having a lot of problems mentally that we were not aware of. He recently shared with me over this past summer that he’d been abused by a family member that we never see and that we haven't seen in years, and we've recently seen him, and son had a breakdown and said it was ten years ago. And ever since he's told me my son has not loved himself. He got in a car accident recently and the car was totaled. He recently went to work and left work and wanted to end his life on a bridge and the work and the police found him and now he's in mental health. I am so afraid, and I need prayer. Please pray for my family and pray for him to recover from this being traumatized by things we didn't know happened to him. And people are denying it. I kept trying to do…help him for myself and try to do it on my own but it just was escalating and he said he just can't take the memory and it bothers him. And Christmas is a time where whatever had happened to him happened and he's having a hard time and I'm just depressed about it. Please pray for us and pray for my son. Jesus, Thank you.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible team. Good morning Daily Audio Bible friends. Goodness. I need coffee I think. Good morning. This is a Girl After God's heart. I am calling for Susan from Canada. Oh, my sister, my friend, praise God for Keith's remission. Seriously? This is so cool. You know what? I have been listening to the Daily Audio Bible for over a decade and I always pray when we have serious illnesses. I pray with all of you every time, but whenever we have serious illnesses and people need healing, I'm always praying that the Lord will be glorified and miracles what happened so everybody will have…will see His glory clearly and can praise Him. And here we are. What a miracle and what a brood of beautiful thing. I am praising God today for you and I am jumping up and down with joy for Keith and for you, his momma. So, I'm sure this has just been a very difficult road. And I'm so grateful for this time of season celebration for you. Merry Christmas. Merry, Merry Christmas. Have a good one. Bye.

[bystreetlight]

Here we go again!

1. What did you do in 2022 that you hadn’t done before? Lived in a house that I owned, bought a car…I genuinely can’t think of anything else.

2. Did anyone close to you give birth? Not this year.

3. Did anyone close to you die? Thankfully, no.

4. Did you travel? Where did you go? Best holiday memory? Hahahaha! Travel?! Holidays!? What are those? The only time I left Melbourne this year was to go to Mildura in March for my nephews’ birthdays. It was lovely but my god I’d kill a man for an actual holiday in the near future.

5. Best thing you bought? A Ring doorbell. And our new couch.

6. Where did most of your money go? To the bank to cover the neverending interest rate increases! Yay!!!!!!!

7. What do you wish you had done more of? Reading books? I really gave up on reading in the second half of this year which makes me sad 😥

8. What do you wish you had done less of? Thinking about money and worrying about the cost of living.

9. What kept you sane? Probably listmaking, as in many previous years of my life hahahah.

10. What drove you mad? The fucking awful weather. I feel like it rained for about 95% of the year and it really sucked my will to live.

11. What made you celebrate? When Novak Djokovic got deported from Australia for being an anti-vaxxer/general dickhead, and then Rafa won the AO and it was the best tournament of all time. When the Queen died and we got an extra long weekend.

12. What made you sad? When our house got broken into, and all our jewellery and our car got stolen in October. I don’t think I will ever really get over it 😔. Also when Shane Warne died, for reasons that I still can’t quite explain.

13. How was your birthday this year and how old did you turn? I went into the office for the first time in months, but no one knew it was my birthday and I didn’t bother to tell anyone, so it was very lowkey! Went for lunch the weekend before and had a beautiful meal at Riso Diner (RIP!!!). I turned 38.

14. What political issue stirred you the most this year? SAVE THE PRESTON MARKET. And when SloMo got the boot in May.

15. Were you in love in 2022? Always!

16. What would you like to have in 2023 that you didn’t have this year? A HOLIDAY PLEASE DEAR GOD LET ME HAVE A FEW DAYS OFF WORK TO GO ON A PLANE SOMEWHERE AND HAVE A NICE TIME.

17. What date(s) from 2022 will be etched in your memory and why? 18 October, when we got burgled 😭

18. What song will remind you of 2022? Anything from the Lizzo album, which I listened to excessively. And Miles From Nowhere because #ofmd.

19. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I did!!!! FINALLY made a will after having it on my to do list for about 4 years!! Next year…I want to look after myself a bit more. Two years of lockdowns and overindulging because there was nothing else to do has left me with some bad habits.

20. Did you suffer illness or injury? I was so stressed earlier in the year from moving house and changing jobs and a repeated water leak situation at home that a chunk of my hair fell out and I had a bald spot for several months hahaha!!!! Great times! Then I had COVID in July which FUCKED. ME. UP. I had surgery in September which also fucked me up, but it was elective, and has improved my quality of life considerably so I don’t know if that counts.

21. Compared to this time last year, are you: i. happier or sadder? I wouldn’t say I’m sadder but my anxiety has definitely gotten worse this year so I want to work on that for next year! ii. thinner or fatter? Fatter probably, given that I stopped exercising in July when I got COVID and then didn’t start again 🙈. iii. richer or poorer? Ugh, richer on paper maybe, but I feel very poor every time I look at my mortgage account hahahah.

22. How will you be spending Christmas? Christmas Day at my inlaws for lunch, which should be lovely. And then a few days off to chill out and try to relax after a fairly intense year.

24. What was your favourite TV program? Our Flag Means Death, The Bear, the final season of Atlanta, What We Do in the Shadows, Reservation Dogs, the final season of Derry Girls…it was a very good year of TV.

25. What was the best book you read? Devotion by Hannah Kent DESTROYED me. And against my better judgement I read and enjoyed Beautiful World, Where Are You by Sally Rooney. I have also been attempting to read To Paradise but the fact that it’s taken me 6 months and I’m only halfway through says it all really.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery? Orville Peck.

27. What did you want and get? A new couch, some beautiful custom cabinets, a great new job for next year.

28. What did you want and not get? Time off/away.

29. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2022? It was a bit all over the shop this year, but the most important thing I learned is that any shoe can be a work shoe if you’re wearing it to work.

30. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Taika Waititi (sorry), Bad Bunny (again).

31. Biggest achievement this year? I started out the year feeling sad about having to leave my last job but I ended up smashing it on the career front this year! Worked on an amazing project for most of the year and then was offered a role I’ve always wanted to do as soon as the project started wrapping up 💪🏼💪🏼

32. Biggest disappointment this year? When some of the gardenias we planted in the front yard died. And when Chan vs Chan (the most amazing local restaurant) closed down.

33. What is the one thing that would have made you more satisfied? If a pilates studio had opened within walking distance of my house.

34. Best new person you met this year? Our lawn mowing man 😂

35. A valuable life lesson you learnt this year? See question 29.

[the-teddy-bear-butch]

Пчелка, if i can forgive you for a little late response then you'll have to forgive me for completely forgetting this blog exist. (I feel like me joking about being a dumb of ass has never been truer)

Here's where you're wrong though because chocolate that is just a little bit bitter is the best. (opinions on pickles?)

it is pretty old! I got it from my favourite little book store. I have a bit of a thing for buying old books and they have such a good selection (second hand book stores wooo!) I have to keep myself from coming home with the whole store!

aye me too! same with Legally Blonde and Scream being on the list. I think i'm gonna watch scream soon with it being spooky season, I might even use it for my Ronancetober prompt (which means i'd be watching it in like 1-2 days so i'll probably stick to my original plan)

do you have a favourite horror movie? or just movie in genera?

You're always welcome to send me more songs for me to put the random ass colour/place association my brain gives me into words. I do gotta share one song i've been obsessed with for the last couple days or else i'll explode. Two Weeks by Grizzly Bear which sounds like a very clean but not empty (which probably makes no sense but bare with me i'll give picture reference) anyway it's a mix between a clean but not empty black, white, and gray. and even though it's not a Christmas song it reminds me of one, thus the immediate memories of me, all my siblings driving around at night looking at the crazy Christmas light decorations, it was always so peaceful and very pretty I wish I could just like... take the memory out of my head show you Giver style. Disclaimer: the only photo I took out of all of the one's i'm about to show you is the sunbeam one.

MAY I PRESENT TO YOU! CLEAN BUT FULL COLOURS

is that last one the floor is Costco? Possibly.

goat milk ice cream sounds so good? Even though i'm lactose intolerant i'd risk it all for ice cream.

I laughed a little when you said you only get a little snow because winter last from November until March which I don't really mind until March since I was Not Built For The Sun, it only get annoying in March then i'm over all the snow that's still sitting around.

wait dude congradulations (or however you spell it) on doing something about your crush very cool of you! like a week ago I seen a cute girl, tripped in front of her then hid in the bathroom for 15 mins. nothing weird or awkward friendly flirting only *thumbs up emoji except i've already mentioned my computer is old as fuck and doesn't work properly so no emoji's for me unless i'm using mobile* I love talking to you too! you can be my weird american internet friend. Not to sure about the dm thing maybe eventually (not that I don't comfortable i'm just hella shy and scared of rejection (though I don't even know how'd since you're the one always replying lol)

i'm feeling a lot better even enough to actually bake cookies!

cookie pictures as a thank you for being so nice when I was sick <333

your weird Canadian friend who's totally not freaking out about Alvvay's new album being released tomorrow

-el

HELLO

Let me start off with I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY FOR NEVER ANSWERING

I had every intention of doing so and then October put me through the RINGER and my brain decided my inbox was a cursed place and ignored it so bad. I did NOT mean to just never reply, I swear <33

I’ll give you that! A little bitter is good! I like mine more sweet, but there is such a thing as too sweet! Also, I feel like this is the wrong answer, but I really do not like pickles 💔

That’s such a cool hobby!!! The only used bookstore we have local is… Well it’s a religious bookstore and I’ve not felt like checking it out 😅 But I love old books! My dad has given me a few of his own. I love my yellowed, falling apart, old book smell LOTR trilogy so much. I should sit and read them sometime

I still need to watch Scream!!! I did, however, finally watch Legally Blonde, and that was an EXCELLENT decision, 11/10, highly recommend. We love intelligent, badass women in this household.

Admittedly, I’m kind of a big baby when it comes to horror, less so in a blood and gore way and more in an I have anxiety and jump scares might send me into cardiac arrest ajdkdkdkksks. That said! The best horror adjacent thing I’ve watched is probably Ginger Snaps!! I have a feeling Scream might top it, just a vibe, but I have to watch it first lol. How about you?? Do you have a favorite horror movie? 👀

OH OH OH I LOVE THAT SONG!!! You are so so so right, I can see it!! If you’re interested, here’s a trio for you: “Sports Car” by Valley (became a recent favorite!), “Infinitely Ordinary” by The Wrecks, and “The View Between Villages” by Noah Kahan (I love this man!!!). Also!! That sunbeam photo is so lovely!!! That belongs as the photo on someone’s playlist for sure

It is! I am also lactose intolerant, so goddamn worth it dude 😋

That’s wild!! I honestly wish we got snow more often, I just wish it didn’t come with ice ajskdkkdkd. We have… Winter? It’s like Christmas through mid February. We get ice storms and sleet and MAYBE like three snow days 😭

Thank you so much! It’s very exciting. I have discovered I am in fact hopeless when not behind a screen. It’s easy to flirt when you’re not stuttering and red in the face. I am SO MUCH MORE CONFIDENT here, it’s wild. But I guess I’m doing something right ahdkdkkddk.

Weird American friend is fun! You can be my cool as fuck Canadian friend!! I know nobody there, though oddly enough my grandparents lived in Alberta for several years! No worries/no pressure as far as DMing, this is fun too! <333 Also!!! I’m still 100% down to watch LOTR with you, and I promise not to be obnoxious and spout off facts that everyone already knows (did you know the riders of Rohan were all women in beards—[GUNSHOT])

Those cookies look delicious!!! Perfectly chewy, by the looks of it! I’m guessing you enjoy baking?? <33

THE ALBUM I NEED TO GO BINGE RIGHT THE FUCK NOW SHIT I GOT TOO WRAPPED UP IN NOAH KAHAN

- your very, very sorry, weird American friend Max/Lo

[wildwood-reader]

OCTOBER 2022 BOOK WRAP-UP

I finished a total of 3 novels, 1 novella (+ a shorter novelette in the same book) and 1 graphic novel this month. 👻 Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful reading month, despite my struggles with trying to find something good in my ebook library. I did read some pretty good books. 💪🏻

The books will be in the order that I finished them. My favorite book¹ of the month will be marked with a 🌟.

The Spiritglass Charade by Colleen Gleason

◇ Book 2 in the Stoker & Holmes series

◇ Finished on October 15

◇ First Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌑🌑

◆ What I disliked: I enjoy a good rivalry like any other girl, just not the "not like other girls" type. Yes, Mina and Evaline are pretty much polar opposites and have different interests and strengths, but that should be cause for celebration in their line of work, not disdain for the other. Mina especially gets a bit on my nerves sometimes with her superiority complex over Evaline, though Evaline's POV can be a bit frustrating to read sometimes, too. They both bring useful skills to the table and I really hope they start to realize that in the next book. That plot twist in the end certainly added an interesting new puzzle piece.

I also still find the whole Dylan-from-the-future thing a bit odd, but I assume the connection of his circumstances and the red thread throughout the series will make sense by the fifth and last book at the latest, so for now I'm just going to be patient.

◆ What I liked: The setting is really fun. I really like that this version of the late 19th century has a lot of cool technology and I look forward to finding out who had it developed. Something tells me it might have something to do with how Dylan ended up here.

Despite my qualms with Mina's and Evaline's rivalry and better-than-you behavior, I do think they're both interesting characters. Evaline's connection to my favorite series of Colleen Gleason's, The Gardella Vampire Chronicles, is fun and I really hope she gets to meet Sebastian at some point. Her relation to Bram Stoker as his sister is also fun, but doesn't feel very relevant aside from its existence. I kind of wish we could see them interact a bit, to really get a feeling for what they're like as siblings.

Same thing with Mina and her family. We have seen her interact with her uncle Sherlock a couple of times, but I kind of wish we saw more of her relationship with Mycroft, her father. As for her progressively romantic relationship with Dylan, it's fine, but I actually prefer them as friends. Inspector Grayling feels a bit of a more fitting partner for her, but as of yet I don't really feel a whole lot of chemistry, either, but that might change in the future.

The case in this book was alright, nothing mindblowing, but I enjoyed it.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

🌟 If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

◇ Standalone

◇ Finished on October 21

◇ First Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑

◆ What I disliked: It took me a long while (over 50 pages) to really get a feeling for who the individual main characters are; at first they were just one mixed mesh of names I couldn't really distinguish between. Due to that, it also took me a while to really get into the story.

◆ What I liked: I absolutely loved the atmosphere of the book and the slow unraveling of what happened when the characters were in college. The sequences of them rehearsing and performing their Shakespeare plays was also really fun and less dry than I would have thought, so yay.

Once I had a feeling for who the characters are, I practically flew through the book because I wanted to know the whole story. Dark Academia is still a rather new genre for me to read, but I can totally see why If We Were Villains is considered one of the staples of it, it really fits the vibe and criteria perfectly.

One of the things I ended up very surprised at enjoying was the tragedy between two of the characters, and the sad but also somehow bittersweet end of it. It fits in well with the other themes in the book, and while I would have wished them a happy end together, it did make sense for it to end the way it did.

Fall isn't over yet, guys, so there's still time to pick it up and give it a read if you're intrigued. 😉 Since I read it as an ebook, I'm probably going to pick up a physical copy of it at some point, because I'd really like to have it on my shelf.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu

◇ Volume 2

◇ Finished on October 25

◇ First Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌗🌑

◆ What I disliked: I felt like this one was a bit slower and harder to get through than Volume 1. I originally started reading it back in August, but not far from the end found myself a bit unmotivated to finish it, so I put it down for a few months until I finally finished it in October.

◆ What I liked: The characters are still the most enjoyable part of the story, especially Shen Qingqiu's commentary about everything. The System is also often very hilarious, especially in moments where Shen Qingqiu could really use a helping hand. Now that Shen Qingiu knows how Luo Binghe feels about him, I look forward to watching their relationship develop over the last two volumes (though I still very much have a softer spot for Shen Qingiu x Liu Qingge 😋).

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

◇ Standalone; edition also included the story The Bottle Imp

◇ Finished on October 27

◇ First Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌖🌑

◆ What I disliked: I think the story could have had great potential to be a longer novel and I'm a little disappointed that it was so short.

As for The Bottle Imp, it felt to me like a very white-centric view of wealth. I am not indigenous to Hawai'i, so I can not speak to how well the representation of the indigenous characters was handled, but some of Keawe's decisions, especially in the beginning, felt a bit odd to me.

◆ What I liked: Robert Louis Stevenson's writing is really pleasant to read, I really enjoyed it.

What I also liked was that we only got a perspective of the title characters through other people's eyes in the beginning before we got Dr Jekyll's perspective of the whole events at the end.

I was only familiar with various film versions of Mr Hyde before, so it was a surprise to me how differently he is actually described in the book. If there's ever another film iteration of the character in the future I'd love to see a more accurate portrayal of him. He definitely is a very fascinating character.

Despite my sadness over the shortness of the story, I liked the fast pace which allowed for a very quick and breezy read-through.

◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇◇

Pumpkinheads by Rainbow Rowell, illustrated by Faith Erin Hicks

◇ Standalone

◇ Finished on October 31

◇ Re-Read

◇ Rating: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕

◆ What I disliked: Honestly? Nothing really.

◆ What I liked: This is one of my most favorite fall reads. 🍂🎃 It's so cute and beautifully illustrated and just the perfect cozy story for an autumn day, especially Halloween. I love the characters, I love the adventure and I wish I could go to the pumpkin patch in the story. I recently went to a farm with a similar theme, which was very fun, but the one in this book just seems even more magical, and much larger.

And there you have it, these are all the books I read this month! 👻

What are your favorite fall reads? Let me know if you'd like! 🍂

¹ Only first reads are eligible for this, re-reads don't count

[mell-eight]

The End of Reprints and Transitioning to New Books

10/15/22 For the past three years, it feels as if all I've been releasing are reprint after reprint after reprint.  I know I've peppered in some new material here and there, but it really felt like the process of re-releasing older books would never end.  I have loved revisiting beloved characters and worlds, particularly my earliest works that helped me grow into the writer I am today.  However, I have missed the process of crafting new things.  That is why I am very happy to say that with the release of The Oracle's Prophecy (renamed from The Sentinel's Prophesy) on October 11th (buy here), I am done with reprinting old material!  It is an incredibly exciting milestone! I really appreciate everyone who stuck with me through what has been a very long road. Re-editing and getting 29 reprints available again for you all to enjoy took a lot out of me (and out of my wonderful editor!), and greatly reduced my writing time for new material.  Thankfully, I had written some new stories prior to starting the reprinting process, so you were able to enjoy brand new material like Wounded Alpha, Ground of Resurrection, and the new fairy tales included in A Little Fairy Dust while you were waiting.  Still, I know there is a hankering for more new books from me. Which brings me to what's next.  I was able to finish writing the sixth and final book in The Oracle series, The Oracle's Current, in between all the editing.  Current has since been waiting for the rest of The Oracle series to be reprinted.  When Current is released on October 25th, it will officially mark the start of my only publishing new material from here on out.  You can already pre-order from NSP! As the reprinting process slowed throughout 2022, I have been able to spend more and more time focused on writing.  I recently completed a trilogy of books called Witch's Circle about a witch, his familiars, a werewolf, and the difficulties they encounter while navigating the supernatural world.  The first book, Coven, could potentially be released at the very end of this year, but certainly no later than very early 2023.  The latter two books in the trilogy, Hunter and Witch, will definitely come out next year.  Plus, I completed a short story called Water's Price about some mermaids, which you should also see in 2023. But wait, there's more!  Lol  While that is everything NSP has currently contracted with me to publish, I have a few other things I've been working on that I hope to submit for NSP's consideration within the next few months.  I have finished writing and am editing a stand alone fantasy story with the (very tentative) title of Fire and Water. As soon as I come up with a better title, I plan to submit it to NSP.  I have also passed the halfway point in writing another stand alone fantasy/sci-fi crossover story called You Can't Sell A Dragon's Heart. I still need to write the major climax scene and tie the HEA off with a pretty bow, so there's still a lot to do, but I definitely think I'll have this story completed soon. Plus, now that I'm done with reprints, I should have more time to focus on my oversized to-do list, upon which I hope to begin making progress again very soon!  I look forward to keeping everyone in the loop as I continue to work on more of my new stories and get them ready for you to read. 

[ilyasorokinn]

DANDELIONS , andrei svechnikov (chapter one)

note, this is part of the waves series which is part of the heartbreak season series. here's the masterlist if you're interested. if you’re confused as to who kat is, check out the waves series, whose story is linked in the masterlist above. another note, i don't know the players girlfriend's names. i don't care to. so i'm making up names. they won't be characters in any story, i just don't want to know, so please don't send it in. also, sorry there are so many time jumps. pair, andrei svechnikov x oc (aurora darling) summary, the epic love story of aurora darling and andrei svechnikov. warnings, none word count, 1141 words

"(gif not mine)

"All right, and what do we say to our friends?"

"Thank you." All the kids spoke in sync.

"Your welcome, we hope to see you at games." They all waved and exited your classroom.

"All right, I know we're all excited, but it's quiet time, so get out your books or your pictures or whatever you want to do in quiet for the next 15 minutes."

They all got into the spots and started entertaining themselves. Aurora sighed, making her way over to her desk where a post-it was stuck on her computer.

Her brows furrowed together as she read the note 'If you change your mind, give me a call (xxx-xxx-xxxx) - A'

She smiled, shaking her head but setting the post-it to the side as she got to work on the next thing.

-

Early October 2020

Instead of telling Kat about her new friend, Aurora decided to keep it to herself. She paced around her apartment, wracking her brain, trying to decide if she should call the number.

"What do you think?" She asked, looking down at the stuffed bear sitting in the chair, "Should I call him?"

The bear was only a bear, so he couldn't respond, "Ugh!" She ran a hand through her hair. She stared at the little piece of paper in front of her before picking up her phone and dialing.

She let out a slight scream when she realized what she was doing. It was too late to hang up because he picked up, "I was wondering when you'd call." His smooth voice came through the other end.

"Oh, God, I'm already regretting this." She murmered.

"What? Am I really that bad?"

"No, I just... I kind of swore off all men because of a bad experience and I'm breaking my rule. Why? Because you're pretty and you have a nice voice."

"I'm pretty and I have a nice voice. Is that all I have to offer?"

"Well, I saw you play and you were pretty good."

"Well, I'm glad my hockey abilities and my face are what drew you in." He laughed, which did cause Aurora to smile, "So, what do I owe the pleasure of this call, princess?"

"Princess?" Aurora scoffed.

"Yeah, you know, like the princess from that Disney movie."

"Right." Aurora nodded, "I don't really know, to be honest. I wasn't looking for a date or a hookup, I guess I was looking for a friend."

"A friend?"

"Yeah, I just moved here."

"Well, I can be a friend." He offered

Aurora's brows furrowed together, "Are you gonna stop calling me princess?"

"Nope."

"Darn." She joked, "And just so you know, this phone call wasn't because I was desperate for a friend. This phone call was me living in the moment."

"Right, living in the moment." Aurora could feel his smile.

"Oh, shut up." She rolled her eyes, "I'll see you around, I guess."

"Yeah, see you around, princess."

-

A few weeks later

andrei: You doing anything tonight?

Princess Aurora: nope why?

andrei: You wanna come out with a few of my friends and I?

Princess Aurora: i don't know are they your pro hockey friends? not really my crowd

andrei: Come on. Please? We'll leave whenever you want to.

Princess Aurora: fine only a few hours

Andrei: Great!

Princess Aurora: i'll send you my address

-

Andrei led Aurora into the bar and over to the booth where a few players and their girlfriends were sitting, "There he is!"

"And he brought a friend." One of them smirked.

"Yeah, this is Aurora."

"Right, the teacher, right? We read books for your class."

"Yeah, that was me." Aurora nodded, feeling very out of place.

"Ah, so you're the girl Andrei's been talking about non-stop." One of the girls smirked.

"Let's get introductions out of the way, then we can get you a drink." Aurora was introduced to Brady and his girlfriend, Gracia, Sebastian, and his girlfriend Sarah, Martin, and his girlfriend Sophia, Brady's sister Morgan and Dougie.

"Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get you a drink." Sarah smiled, scooting out of the booth and linking arms with Aurora, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.

Once at the bar, they ordered their drinks. Aurora went to start a tab, but Sarah beat her to it and put it under Sebastian's, "Thanks."

"No problem." Sarah smiled, "So, how'd you and Andrei meet?"

"At a bar, of all places. He tried hitting on me, but I'm not really looking for a relationship." She shrugged.

"So, you friendzoned him?" She laughed.

"Yeah, pretty much." Aurora nodded.

"Never thought I’d see the day when a girl friendzones Andrei.” She chuckled, “So, where’re you from?”

“Colorado,” Aurora answered.

"Are you a hockey fan?"

"Yeah, yeah, my best friend's boyfriend plays, so I've been dragged to a few other hockey games."

"Really? Who's her boyfriend?" Sarah asked.

"Erik Johnson," Aurora answered, taking a sip of her drink and watching Sarah's face.

"Like from the Avs?"

"Yep, that's one." Aurora nodded.

"Wow," Sarah looked stunned.

"Yeah," She nodded.

"How'd you get into teaching? I mean, I love kids, but I don't think my patience could take it."

Aurora laughed, "My mom worked at a preschool and I would help out, and that's when I knew teaching was something I wanted to do. Kind of a basic story," She shrugged.

"I think what you do is pretty amazing." Sarah complimented, "You're kind of a saint."

"I wouldn't say that." Aurora shook her head bashfully.

"Well you are," Sarah stated.

"You know, if you're up for it and not doing anything, I was thinking of having some friends, who I haven't made, come in and read my class some books. Would you want to do it? I don't know if it's weird but if you want to."

"I'd love to." Sarah smiled at the offer.

"Okay, cool. I'll send you the details."

"I'm so excited. Thank you." Sarah clapped, then hugged Aurora.

"Oh." Aurora let out a noise in surprise but hugged her back.

"Sorry, I'm a hugger."

"No, it's fine. Just a little surprised."

"Is it okay if I invite some of the other girls?"

"No, of course not. The more the merrier."

"Great, all right, come on, let's get back to the table."

-

Andrei stopped in front of Aurora's apartment complex. Aurora smiled at him as she gathered her stuff, "Thanks for the ride, and thanks for inviting me."

"Yeah, it's no problem. I'm glad you had fun."

"You have a pretty cool group of friends."

"Yeah, they're pretty cool."

"Well, I gotta go. Have an early day tomorrow." She smiled, pushing open the car door.

"So, when will I see you again?" He asked.

"I don't know." She shrugged, "You'll just have to wait and see."

"Bye, princess."

She rolled her eyes at the nickname, "Bye, Andrei."

-

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i know this is like 2 weeks in the making, but i was just really unmotivated.