#and hey! Christmas just passed :) wow what a journey this post has already been on

[upwards-descent]

Vik's parents: *mildly concerned that their son is dating a killer android ONLY BECAUSE they just found out he was built the year they were born and that's weird to think about*

Vik, realizing he regularly gets his guts rearranged by a robot built before The Moon Landing:

[cptnsantiago]

take me home

2/?

~ all i want for christmas is your name

read on ao3

Everyone expects baby Peralta-Santiago to arrive early. It’s a Santiago child, they’re all early. Amy had expected, or  hoped, that early meant after Christmas but before the new year. That’s not the case. 

She instead decides to begin her journey into the world on the coldest night of the year, only four days from Christmas. Amy feels the first contractions at 4am, after spending the whole night attempting to find a comfortable position. All the while Jake snores next to her,  taunting her. 

She can’t bring herself to be genuinely angry at him - not yet. Jake had been nothing but supportive and excited for their baby, he had been since they decided to start trying. They were having a  girl. It had shocked everyone but Amy and she had been three hundred dollars richer for it. He had cried with her at the ultrasound when they found out were having a girl. Jake also stayed up late with her, gave her massages at her demand, provided her with every craving she had. He may not be carrying a 10-pound human (maybe an exaggeration, Amy couldn’t tell) inside him, but he deserved his rest as much as she did. 

So she lets him sleep until the contractions are close enough to worry, but it doesn’t take long until they hurt bad enough to dig her nails into his arm. “Ames?”

“B-baby.” Amy winces again before sucking in a deep breath as the contraction slowly subsides. 

“Is something wrong?” Amy shakes her head, “Is… Is she coming, Ames? Was that a contraction?”

“Yep.” Amy laughs, finally smiling at Jake’s concerned features. “Nine days early, she’s really outdoing the rest of the Santiago’s.”

“David couldn’t beat you at this if he  tried .” Jake encourages with a teasing grin. “We’re having our baby?”

“We’re having our baby.” Amy cries happily, shifting closer to him so he can wrap his arms around her, “I love you.”

The next 15 hours are a blur. Jake is a lot calmer than she expected - not like in every movie or TV show ever where the dad freaks out and faints at the sight of anything gooey - but he stays calm, he guides her through her breathing exercises and offers physical support when she needs it. Jake gets the nurse to back off when she congratulates them on a Christmas baby, because he knew how stressed she was about the dessert she definitely wasn’t bringing for Christmas. He’s really the perfect partner. 

Amy remembers the days of feelings simmering just under the surface and thinking to herself,  Jake is way too immature. It would never work  . Before Jake, Amy thought that being right was everything. Against David, Amy always had to be right and could never lose an argument without lowkey being the end of the world for her. She had never liked being wrong, but she wears this misconception with a badge of pride because there is  no one  else Amy could imagine or  want  to do all this with. 

Jake Peralta was her person. And they had a baby girl together. 

A baby girl born at 7:37pm on December 21st. Seven pounds, twenty inches. A baby girl whom they keep calling Baby Girl Peralta-Santiago because she had been cursed with decisive cops as parents who were apparently indecisive in every other way. 

It’s not really at the top of their priorities - they’re busting adoring every inch of her wriggling in her mother’s arms. Amy traces with her finger the dark hair that peaks from under her hospital issued beanie, over her eyebrows and past her blinking and confused eyes down to her cheeks, nose, lips and chin. “She’s actually your twin, you’re just born many years apart. This is a scientific discovery, babe!” 

Amy rolls her eyes at his quiet enthusiasm, her fingers moving back to stroke their daughters cheeks. “Santiago’s just have strong genes.”

“That’s why you’re all so gorgeous of course. Thanks Victor and Camila!” Jake slides closer behind Amy so she can rest her head against him, and both of them are able to watch their daughter attempt to focus on something. “What’s your name, mija?”

The post baby hormones are almost more of a bitch than her pregnancy, so she has to take a moment to pull herself together at Jake saying  mija to their daughter . “Por favor, no te pongas de acuerdo con Naomi. He just wants to name you after Nakatomi plaza and we have to stick together so he can’t trick us!” 

“Oh  please  , Ames. You were the one trying to name her Hermione.” Jake scoffs, “She’s gonna end up being Baby Girl forever. We can’t even make that work! People will think we’re trying to copy Friends!”

“Her name is definitely not baby girl. We’re going to figure it out, let’s just enjoy her and fall asleep.”

~ 

They leave the hospital without a name. The nurse informs them that they have two weeks to decide and get the paperwork in. But the time restriction somehow stresses her out more than picking the perfect name, combined with Christmas being in two days and not having any presents or an outfit for her to wear. 

Jake holds her hand the whole time she rants, just as he always did, his eyes shifting occasionally to the tiny newborn sleeping in the bassinet next to their bed. “Ames, take a deep breath. I’m almost certain she’ll forgive us if she doesn’t have any presents at four days old, and Charles already told me he found four potential Christmas outfits.”

“What would I do without Charles?” Amy sighs happily, turning to run a hand through Jake’s sleepy curls. “What would I do without you?” 

Jake leans forward so their foreheads were touching, both leaning into the quiet moment with only their breathing and tiny baby snores and grunts in the background. He kisses the side of her mouth, his heart warming as a small but tired smile creeps on her face. “We should probably sleep while she’s sleeping.”

“I still have so much to prepare.” Amy whines, her head falling down to his shoulder. 

“Just a little nap, Ames. I’m sure she’ll be screaming at us soon enough for the boob.”

~

It’s a lot of the same for them. Sleep, feed baby girl with no name, change diaper, attempt to think about Christmas, sleep more, eat when Charles comes over with food, brainstorm baby names, and sometimes even more sleep. 

A tradition of their own since they had moved in together was to stay in on Christmas Eve, watching  Harry Potter  and stay up till midnight so they could open each other’s presents - it was a little harder this year. Jake was holding a milk drunk, almost four day old baby in one arm while his other was wrapped around his half asleep wife, trying himself not to fall asleep while Harry fought off Voldemort for the first time. 

Even when he wasn’t nodding off himself, his eyes were usually on the baby in his arms. Charles had gone all out in the baby Christmas outfit department. She had on a thick red headband with a bow on the side, snowflakes printed all over with matching pants, a onesie that read ‘My 1st Christmas!’ and a knitted cardigan over the top to keep her warm. Jake was afraid of the parents he and Amy were becoming, because they both  loved  it. She looked so  cheesy  but it was the cutest thing in the world, and they even did their own mini photoshoot before she started screaming to be fed. 

So here Jake was, surrounded by his family - a milk drunk baby and his wife fast asleep on his shoulder. The baby in his arm begins to squirm, grunting and opening her eyes. “Cómo te llamas, mija?” Jake’s heart warms as she meets his eyes, “Angelica? Eliza? Peggy? Or no Schyler sister names?”

“Absolutely not.” Amy mumbles next to him, eyes still closed. 

“Eliza isn’t a bad name.” Jake replies with a frown. 

Amy opens her eyes, stretching and looking at their baby. “She doesn’t look like an Eliza.”

At that, she grunts and her face contorts in a grimace. 

“Gotcha, no Eliza.” Jake snorts, both him and Amy watched in amazement as she continues to grimace before closing her eyes again and smiling. “Ames! She smiled, definitely not Eliza! She must have hated Eliza.”

“That, or she passed gas.” Amy giggles, pinching her nose. “Hey, look at the time.”

“Midnight! Happy Christmas!” Jake whispers, stroking her cheek lightly before turning to peck Amy on the lips. “Merry Christmas, I love you.”

“Merry Christmas…” Amy sighs happily, closing her eyes again for a moment. “Already four days old and she’s about to face the most chaotic day of the year.”

“We can just skip it?” Jake questions, his voice squeaking as he tries to believe his own words. “I know it’s crazy, but who expects us to go out with a four day old for more than half an hour?”

“My parents is who.” She shakes her head, “Maybe we can be late?”

“Wow you  are  sleep deprived.” Jake laughs softly, “What if we’re late  and we leave early?”

“You’re talking crazy talk now!” Amy snorts, biting her lip as to not disturb the sleeping baby. “I’m getting sick of calling her baby girl, seriously.”

Jake nods in agreement and they fall into a peaceful silence, with only the sounds of the city and Harry Potter in the background. She never thought it would be  this impossible to choose a name for their baby. The baby wrapped up in Jake’s arms was too perfect to have their name rushed. 

The time they spent  trying  , and waiting for results and keeping it a secret from Boyle - it all lead to this moment. Not so much her being born, even though that was a  huge  deal, but being given her name. She had to live with it for whole life (unless she  wanted to change it  - they had both been very adamant in supporting this potential for their daughters future). Maybe they were overthinking it, and the fact that they’ve had a combined thirteen hours sleep in the last two days wasn’t helping them make a choice. 

“Maybe we should revisit some names?” Jake offers, and Amy’s certain he’s read her mind.

“Okay, yeah. Good idea.” Amy agrees, “But no Naomi.”

“Yeah! I get it! Naomi’s out of the picture!” Jake tips his head back in laughter, which wakes the infant in his arms. They’re lucky she doesn’t cry, but just stares up at her father again. “Good you’re awake, we need your help.”

“Now should we go over the suggestions from the squad?” Amy looks to her phone, which has an extensive list. 

“I mean, Rosa’s suggestion is Kid and Charles insists on Charlotte, so no?” Jake shifts the baby so she’s resting on his bent knees. This way she’s able to attempt to look at the both of them while fighting off sleep again. “I think I have an idea…”

“Do tell.” Amy’s not looking at him but looping her pointer finger so she can grip tightly onto it. 

“So I thought Luna-”

“Jake we agreed no character names!” Amy groans, pouting up at him.

“I  know but hear me out, Ames. I’ve thought about this.” Jake’s eyes begin to shimmer, either from tiredness or pure affection, she can’t tell but she knows he’s sincere. “So I thought Luna Rey, for a few reasons. So first, they both have a meaning in Spanish, right?”

“Moon King?” Amy snorts, “That barely makes sense.”

“Ah, but they have meaning. Rey has more of a meaning of Captain Holt to me, and he’s your mentor and best friend after- nevermind he’s your best friend. But also Captain Holt is basically king of the precinct, so it totally works.” Amy can’t really fight that, so she nods and waits for him to continue. “ And Luna, because, well you probably don’t remember because you were deliriously tired but there was a full moon the night she was born. And I stood with her in my arms by the window and just thought about how beautiful they both were. Our baby, and the moon - except she’s prettier. So Spanish meaning, boom!

Okay... So, uh, reason one was basically all my reasons meshed together, and I’m too tired to put up a proper argument for you right now  however  , my final statement. Luna Rey Santiago-Peralta, has both personal and cultural meaning while also happening to be named after two  badass characters that we both love. Rey and Luna Lovegood. Debate over.”

Amy’s lack of sleep is the only reason she’s unable to keep the tears at bay as she laughs at her husband. The first time she had heard the name Luna, she had been so vehemently against it but now after hearing Jake’s case, she can’t remember those protests. 

“Luna? Es ese es tu nombre?” Amy whispers, her heart expanding five sizes as she says it out loud. She doesn’t react like the last time, but she does attempt to pull Amy’s finger into her mouth. “Luna Rey Santiago-Peralta.”

“We’d like to formally apologise for giving you too long of a name.” Jake chuckes, “Do you really like it?”

“Yes, I do.” Amy sniffles, smiling at him brightly. “I’ve really turned you into a debate genius.”

“Only for Luna. It’s what she deserves.” Jake teases with a kiss to Amy’s nose before his eyes drift back to Luna. “It’s really her first Christmas, I’m too tired to process any of this.”

“Happy Christmas, Luna.” 

“The happiest of Christmases, to both of you.”

[dailyaudiobible]

07/18/2020 DAB Transcript

1 Chronicles 26:12-27:34, Romans 4:13-5:5, Psalms 14:1-7, Proverbs 19:17

Today is the 18th day of July welcome to the Daily Audio Bible I am Brian and it is an honor and a joy to just kind of walk and sit down around this Global Campfire and open up the Scriptures and just relax, exhale…ahh…and enjoy the word of God being spoken today. And, so, let’s get to that. We are continuing our journey through the book of first Chronicles as well as our journey through Paul's letter to the Romans. And we’ve been reading from the Lexham English Bible this week, which is what we'll do today since it's the last day of the week. So, let’s dive in. First Chronicles chapter 26 verse 12 through 27 verse 34 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for another day. We thank You for another week. We thank You for Your faithfulness. We thank You that You are ever present if we are even remotely aware. You are with us and we are still here walking forward, and You are still willing to guide and direct our steps as we surrender ourselves in faith and believe and receive the gift. So, come Holy Spirit. This is such a relief, and yet…and yet we so rarely partake. To consider that it is already done, that we aren't earning anything, that You love us period and that You are leading us as a Father would into the truth so that we might…so that we might shine the light into this world and so that we might live as we were created to live. This isn’t fencing us in this is setting us free. And, so as we release this week and it becomes a part of history, we look forward to living into this in the days ahead. Come lead us Holy Spirit. Show us what this looks like for us. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailaudiobible.com is home base, it’s the website, it’s where you find out what is up around here. So, be sure to stay tuned and stay connected.

Check out the Community section of the website. That's where you find the different links to connect on social media, that’s where with a Prayer Wall lives and there's prayer happening on a continual basis there so be aware of it. Check it out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, thank you, thank you, first of all, thank you humbly. We wouldn't…we wouldn't be…we wouldn't be taking this journey if we weren't in it together. And, so, thank you for your partnership in the summertime here. There is a link on the homepage. If you're using the Daily Audio Bible app you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or encouragement 877-942-4253 is the number to dial or you can just hit the Hotline button, the little red button at the top in the app and share from there.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hey DAB family this is the other Melanie from Georgia. I’m calling today because I saw on Facebook last night, Harold that you posted about the fact that the Chicago Marathon that you’ve been training for all these many months has officially been canceled. And it just reminded me of that first day that I heard you call in, just a guy from St. Louis who was not a believer but was listening to the podcast and really feeling encouragement. And just this journey that you’ve been on and all of us have been with you is just interesting to me that ultimately it turned out that that did not get to happen. But what a greater thing God is doing in your life and has done and will do just by your faithfulness and I just wanted to call in today and just rejoice with you that you are here and you’re a part of this community. And now you may not be running in the Chicago Marathon and you may not ever run in a marathon but you are running the race that’s really and truly important and you’ve been such an inspiration and I just wanted to call in and just recognize that and thank you for what you’ve meant to this community. And I just wanted to also just quickly pray this prayer from the book of common prayer. Oh, Holy Spirit beloved of my soul, I adore You. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do, give me Your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that You desire of me and to accept all that You permit that happen to me. Let me only know Your will. Amen. I pray that for all of us.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family it’s been so long since I’ve left anything on this prayer line. I think the last time I popped in was for the Christmas last year. So much has changed in my life and it’s hard to find the time dedicate to the prayers of all my brothers and sisters. So, I have decided to make sure that I listen to this month and not worry about the months that have gone on before and make sure that I’m current with July and then as the Lord helps me find the time I will go back to previous ones. But on July 6th Trusting Father confessed to the sin of arrogance and that prayer pierced my heart because I too have been thinking I have been better than someone else and I have shown it in my speech and it’s just gotten nasty. And, so I confess that I have been arrogant. And I want to be humble because O Lord I am a daughter of yours and there’s nothing in me, no wisdom, no skill, no anything that does not come from You. And, so, God I just want to shine Your light in the world and not worry whether I’m in shadow or not. Thank You, God. Amen.

Good morning this is Fenney from London I’m calling in response to GG from Gainesville message. My heart is so heavy for you. I am so connected to your spirit. I know that you are going through a lot now with the loss of your father. Wow. It’s only God Almighty that can strengthen you and I pray that the Spirit of the Lord will comfort you, the Spirit of comfort will overwhelm you and the rest of your family, that the strength…God’s strength will be made perfect in this time of your need, of your weakness. I pray that you will feel the embrace of the Lord God Almighty. Be assured that He never leaves you nor forsake you. The Lord is always with you and He’ll always be with you. Stay strong in the Lord and He will help you through this difficult period. Rest assured upon Him He never fails. It doesn’t matter what the situation might be, it doesn’t matter what we are going through, God is always there. You just need to continue to call upon Him …

Hey, my sweet DAB fam this is Kingdom Seeker Daniel from Chicago I apologize for calling again. Today is the 14th and I just heard GG from Gainesville’s call. My dear, I am so sorry, so sorry for your loss. I am praying for you and my wife and I will be standing in the gap for you. You sound like such an incredible young lady that God’s hand is on mightily and I want to pray for you, and we will continue to pray for you. As you said, your DAB family will be praying for you. Father, I ask You to please wrap GG, her four siblings, sisters and brother and mom in Your arm. Will You strengthen them and give them the ability to move forward? Help GG in her physics and her chemistry and prokaryotic diversity classes. Give her the strength to finish strong. I ask Father that Your grace will see her through this and the family as a whole. And I pray for Your peace to completely surround them and help them to take one step at a time. Let them know that You are a very present help in their very difficult time right now. Thank You for this precious Young lady GG and her family in Jesus’ name. Love you sis.

Hello DAB family this is Emily in Seattle I wanted to pray for everyone today who is affected by the COVID-19 virus, if you’ve been unemployed or if you came down with a virus or if you know of someone who has I want to pray for you. Dear heavenly Father, I lift up everyone affected by the COVID-19 virus right now and I pray Lord that You will show Yourself strong on their behalf and that You will help them in every way possible and I pray Lord that You will bring health to their body and prosperity to their life and that You will comfort them and be near to them. And also, that You will always be their comforter and their deliverer. I pray Lord You will deliver them and honor them in every way possible in Jesus’ name. Amen. God bless you guys. Hang in there. We love you. Bye-bye.

Hello, my beloved DAB family I can’t let the sun go down on this day July 13th 2020 without acknowledging that today is my 10th DAB birthday thanks to my beautiful daughter leading be here with my life was broken. Because of her love and Brian’s obedience my life will never be the same. Through nearly a year of unemployment followed by the best job ever, a trail of broken relationships, and a remarriage to an amazing man of God, praying my children through very difficult times and seeing them absolutely flourish today, moving to my moms hometown and feeling her presence all around me despite her passing in 1983, one family gathering, three trips to Israel, one more gathering, finding the most amazing church, many new friends and so many more countless blessings all while Brian washed the living breathing word of God over my life every morning without fail. As sure as the sun rises, the word is there, feeding, guiding, correcting, directing. Brian, you and your family’s obedience have saved my life and the lives of thousands. I humbly thank you and ask God in Jesus’ name by the power of the Holy Spirit to continue to bless you, your family, and your anointed work. This is Cathleen from the beautiful rolling hills of Taska Minnesota.

[deadmandairyland]

I wrote this for the Chisakuraoi Week blog, just in time for the late submission deadline!

While this blog inspired me to write some one-shots for my Danganronpa OT4 lately, I didn’t really want to submit them. They’re on AO3 and I didn’t want to link to every single one. (I plan on posting a link to the series I made for them someday, but I don’t know if all of them are going to fit the rules and prompts of the blog, so I didn’t want to submit the link for that reason.) Plus the ones I’ve written so far are very Naegi-centric, so I figured they wouldn’t fit anyway.

So that’s why I threw this one together. Plus, I wanted to write something Halloween-related. I mean, that was one of the prompts, so... yeah. I don’t care if it’s not Halloween yet. I have an excuse!

I will probably post it on AO3 around Halloween.

"Wow, Chihiro! I didn't think you'd be such a huge fan of Halloween," Aoi said as she looked at all of the decorations hung up in Chihiro's house.

"W-well, it helps that Halloween doesn't have to be scary," Chihiro pointed out bashfully, gesturing toward the most child-friendly depiction of a ghost ever conceived by mankind that was pasted on the wall. "Without the scary stuff, it's just an excuse for families and friends to hang out and have fun. So of course I love it!" he added with a burst of excitement.

"But to have a Halloween party at your house... Aren't you worried people won't like it because it's not scary?" Aoi asked.

That made Chihiro nervous. "Ah! You... don't think people will get mad if it isn't scary, d-do you?" he asked, his face starting to sweat.

"N-no, that's not what I meant!" Aoi said, waving her hands in front of her. "I just figured... some of them might be expecting a scare or something. Uh... forget I said anything." She clenched her eyes shut. She didn't want Chihiro to be hurt by her concerns. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Are... are you sure?" Chihiro asked.

"Yeah," Aoi said. "Our friends will love it because you threw it. I'm sure of that," she added with a smile.

"O-okay." Chihiro's smile returned, and Aoi was happy to see it.

"Alright, I'm going to go prepare for the party," Aoi said as she walked to the door. "See you tonight?"

"Yeah! See ya!" Chihiro waved Aoi goodbye as she walked out the door.

When she came back to Chihiro's house, Aoi was surprised to find that Mondo had greeted her at the door. She was somehow less surprised to see him wearing a tiger costume.

"Hey, Mondo! Where's Chihiro?" Aoi asked.

"He and Sakura are getting their costumes ready," Mondo told her as Aoi stepped inside. "So, who are you supposed to be?" he asked, looking at her brown leather jacket and gray cap.

"Lee Christmas," Aoi said with a shrug. "You know how I am when it comes to Jason Statham. Plus I couldn't pass up the joke, since... y'know... it's Halloween, not Christmas."

"...Right."

Aoi removed her shoes and entered the living room. There she ran into Makoto and Komaru, dressed as Raggedy Ann and Andy.

"Hey, Hina!" Makoto greeted. "Cool outfit!"

"Thanks!" Aoi looked around the room. "So, are Chihiro and Sakura still getting ready or something?"

"I heard they were planning something," Makoto said.

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what they're planning!" Komaru added excitedly. "I'm getting goosebumps."

"Wait, they planned something without me?" Aoi asked with a pout, disappointed that she was left out of the fun.

"Aw, don't worry about it, Hina! I'm sure they just wanted you to be surprised like the rest of us," Makoto assured her.

"Yeah, they wouldn't just leave you out for no reason," Komaru agreed.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Aoi said, though she was still bummed out about it.

But before she could dwell on it any longer, the light in the room went out. In the darkness she heard the voices of several of her friends.

"What the heck?!"

"What's going on?"

"Oooh, I hope this is that surprise I heard about!"

"What is it?"

Then, from somewhere in the darkness, a flashlight turned on, and like a spotlight it landed... on Aoi's brother Yuta, wearing 19th century European-style clothes. Yuta cleared his throat.

"I am Robert Wilson--" he began. After some barely audible whispers behind him, he corrected himself. "--Walton. Robert Walton. And I will cement my name in history as the first explorer to reach the South Pole--" More whispers. "--North Pole, I mean. I will share all that I learn on my journey with my sister, Margaret." He walked over to Aoi and handed her an envelope. "That's you," he whispered, before walking back to where he was before.

Aoi looked at the envelope and found nothing in it. Confused, she turned her attention back to her brother.

"Oh, but what is this!" Yuta announced in an overly dramatic fashion. He moved to the side as Sakura rushed from one room to another in the hallway behind him, too fast for anyone to see her costume. "Why, it appears to be some kind of large person. That is awfully strange. Oh, but what is this again!"

The door Sakura had run out of opened, and Chihiro fell out of the room to the floor. At first the party-goers were shocked, but Chihiro waved an arm to let everyone know he was alright and that this was part of the show. Chihiro was also wearing 19th century European-style clothing.

Yuta ran up to Chihiro. "Tell me, my good man, what is your name?"

"I am Victor Frankenstein," Chihiro said meekly, and immediately everyone watching the scene finally understood what was going on, judging by everyone's collective noises of acknowledgement. "And I am now going to tell you my life story, which you will then write in full to your sister for some reason." He handed Yuta a stack of letters and Yuta ran over to Aoi to hand them to her, which earned some laughter from the crowd.

"I had made a terrible mistake, Mr. Walton," Chihiro began. "You see, in my youth I was obsessed with the idea of creating life. And through means that I will not explain, which will eventually be a headache for filmmakers later, I succeeded!"

The flashlight went out, and after a few seconds of darkness someone flickered the light on and off to give a lightning effect, revealing Sakura dressed as the Creature at the back of the hallway. Everyone in the room cheered, and Sakura gave them a bow.

After the humorous little abridged version of Frankenstein was finished, Aoi ran over to the three performers and joined them in a group hug. "That was amazing, guys! I never knew you guys could act!"

"In all honesty, I'm not sure if that would be considered 'acting,'" Sakura admitted in a tongue-in-cheek manner. "But it was fun."

"Honestly, I was super nervous at first," Chihiro admitted, "but Yuta fumbling over his lines actually helped me feel a lot better. Thanks, Yuta!"

Yuta laughed nervously. "Ha, yeah... I definitely messed up on purpose to help build up your confidence, Chihiro... Totally on purpose, yup." Yuta then broke out of the group hug and went to the kitchen to get something to eat.

Aoi chuckled, but then her face dropped and hardened, surprising Sakura and Chihiro. "Okay, but next time you do something like this, you're going to include me, right?"

Chihiro laughed nervously. "Heh, sorry... We actually did this mostly for you. We thought it'd be fun, since Sakura and I already agreed to dress up as Victor Frankenstein and the Creature."

Sakura nodded. "Don't blame Chihiro either. It was my idea to make it a surprise."

Aoi's face softened. "Aw, don't feel bad. I'm just messing with you guys. But yeah, definitely add me to the fun next time, 'kay? I mean, you didn't even have, uh... Elizabeth, I think? I could have been Elizabeth, you know." She winked at Chihiro. "Could've been your wife for a night."

Chihiro blushed, but he laughed as well. "I guess I'd be married longer than Victor then, yeah?"

Aoi and Sakura looked at Chihiro in shock, and Chihiro shrunk in on himself.

"U-uh, did I say something wrong?" Chihiro asked.

"No, that was just... dark," Aoi said bluntly.

Chihiro began to sweat again, but he managed to smile. "Uh... well, 'tis the season, yeah? Happy Halloween?"

The awkward silence that followed forced Chihiro to switch gears. "You know what? I'm hungry. Let's eat something," Chihiro offered.

"Now that's the Halloween spirit," Aoi said in agreement, and the three friends laughed.

[tcalchemist]

Down The Rabbit Hole And Back Again. Wow. I haven't posted anything on here in over a year. Crazy, ain't it? So much has happened. For starters, I have dreads now. Started my loc journey back in April. If nothing else teaches me patience, this will. I fell out of love, fell back in love, and fell out of love again. I also came out to my family. But obviously, everyone knew of course. And they took it very well. My stepmom, Kim, who I've "hated" since day one, is probably the best stepmom ever now. She's more caring, more patient, still crazy of course, but much more loving now. She had a conversation w/ my older sister not too long ago and told her that she's very overprotective of me. That she believes there isn't a woman in this world that's good enough for me. Never in a million years did I ever see us being as close as we are now. It's insane. My best friend got married back in September. Unfortunately I couldn't be there because my job, that I am no longer working at, was on complete bullshit. I still feel bad for not being there for her. On the bright side she came back home in January and has been here since. This is the longest she's been here since she left for school back in 2011. I'm going to miss her so much when she leaves for Cali in a couple of weeks. I'm always missing her. Now we can get to the good stuff. The woman I fell in love with. After things fell through btwn the DJ that I was dating early last year, I convinced myself that I was good on love. I said fuck feelings and focused on performing and avoiding my feelings as much as possible. Until I went to my friend's studio session back in October. I'm sitting upstairs (I lowkey call it Bird's Eye View) writing my verse that I'm getting ready to lay down, and a girl comes walking upstairs w/ one of her friends and sits next to me, as they continue their prior conversation. I'm obviously red in the face and staring this gorgeous woman down, as if I've never seen anyone more beautiful. She was light-skinned w/ long, turquoise and blue locs, pretty light-brown eyes w/ an outfit on that I'd wear. The fact that I can still remember what she had on that day is crazy. She had on blue jeans, gold gym shoes, a white crew neck sweater that was set up like a bible verse that said, "Thou shalt not cometh for me unless I sendeth for thee." She also had on a black skull cap that said "ill" on it. All of this from one look. I had to introduce myself. And sure enough, I did. "Hey! My name is Crimson! Nice to meet you!" My dumbass introduced myself to this girl using my stage name. How. Stupid. 🤦🏾‍♀️ Sure enough, we end up talking and got really cool really REALLY fast. We just, clicked. She was funny, awkward, and super enlightened. I don't think I've ever connected with someone so smoothly other than Kelsey. In a way, things moved a bit fast. But, at the time, it seemed like we had known each other much, much longer. Unfortunately, things got complicated. The girl that she was previously in a relationship with, wanted her back. What's worse is she claimed the two kids her ex had w/ her ex husband. Sure enough, they ended up back together. I was glad that she was honest with me about it, but at the same time sad that whatever was going on btwn us had to end. I was fine being just friends with her, and I was willing to try to be just that, just as long as she was. So we tried. That lasted for about an hour. 🙄🤦🏾‍♀️😂 So, here I am, hanging with this girl and going out, spending all of my spare time with her, and she's in a full-fledge relationship with her ex, who didn't deserve to be with her at all. After a while, she noticed and realized that her ex didn't change her ways, that she blatantly didn't give a fuck about her issues, and was overly insecure about everything. What her gf lacked in, I had to make up for all of it. If she needed a ride, I had her. She wanted to relieve some stress, I was there for her. When she had to go to the doctor and she was afraid to go alone, I was right by her side. I was in love with her, way before my mind even could conjure up such a thought. A feeling. Something that I told myself I never wanted to feel for someone again. The day after Christmas, she broke up with her gf. In a way, I was happy because I knew she deserved way better. But I was also sad, because I knew she wanted things to work out with her girl, yet her gf didn't even realize the amazing woman that she had. And of course, I was there for her through all of it. Trying to mend a broken heart, and at the same time trying to keep my feelings in check. A few weeks later, things got rocky btwn her and I. After I got back from visiting California in early December, I got let go from my job. I honestly hated the job, but it was the worst time for me to start losing shit. My grandmother ended up losing our house because it became too much to try to keep it. I took it really hard, only because I know how much she loved her house, and I felt weak for not being able to do more to help her keep it. So my attitude started to change. We got into it about the smallest shit. Unnecessary shit that could've been simply discussed. She was helping me out as far as gas money, and whatever else I needed. For anyone that knows me, knows that I hate asking other ppl for help and relying on others. I felt weak that I couldn't provide at the time, and I took it out on her. All she wanted to do was help me, and I acted like a jackass towards her. And then, the icing on the cake. She's an artist, so she was getting ready for an art show that she was doing all by herself. I wanted to help in any way I could, so I told her that I'd take care of the DJ part for the show. What I didn't tell her is that the DJ and the girl that I was talking to before her were the same person. Bad, terrible fucking move, I know. I just knew that if I told her, she wouldn't have wanted her to do it. She cussed me out, said she could never trust me, and said that she was done with me and hung up on me. I never felt so terrible in my life. For days I was just trying to figure out how I could make things right with her. How I could get back one of the best things that ever happened to be part of my life? I had to be patient. She ended up calling me about two weeks later. And said she wanted to start ovr. As friends. A month passes and her art show comes up. She's nervous and anxy, trying to make sure everything goes right. I take up the responsibility to help in whatever way that I can, all because I knew how important her first solo art show was to her. The fucking DJ comes late, and when she does come, she sets up the speakers, leaves a playlist on, and leaves. If it's any mistake I've ever made it was talking to that careless, nonchalant piece of shit. Fuck her. Anywho the show was a success. Everything was perfect. At the end, she made a speech thanking everyone for coming out. She also gave a special thank you to her best friend, and my homeboy, Calvin; her mother, whom she dedicated her art show to; and lastly, to myself. I was beyond shocked. I wasn't even expecting it due to the fact that she lowkey hated my guts still. On Valentine's Day, I decided to call her and let her know how I really felt about the "just friends" situation. As I'm trying to talk to her, I notice someone saying something to her in her background. As if someone was whispering something in her ear. She was obviously with some chick and said that she'd call me later. I was so crushed in that moment. How could she move on so fast as if all that had happened btwn us didn't even exist? Later that night she called me back and I told her what it was. That I couldn't just be friends with her. I tried and tried but I knew that I wanted her to be in my life as more than that. "So that's it?" she says. I respond with a dry "Yeah." She says ok and hangs up on me. Immediately right after, she blocked me on all social media and my phone number. *Fast Forward Months Later* May. My birthday month. I threw an event with a few friends of mine. I'm good, I was working two jobs, and doing shows back to back. I also started talking to an older woman who had been crushing on me for years. My life is finally getting back to where it needed to be. Until I ran into her at my event. And sure enough, she's with her girl. All my emotions crashed down in that one moment. She said hey to me in an excitedly, fake way, and gave me a hug. So I played along. *quick reverse* She cut all of her hair off before her show. *back to the story* She starts to comment on my hair and the fact that I started my locs after she cut hers off. As I'm telling her how I had already made my mind up to start them a year later but instead I said to hell with it and just started them this year, someone else she knew walked up and started talking to her. So I did the most logical thing at he moment, and walked away. All of the feelings I had for her rushed back down. She looked so good, I couldn't stand it. So here I am, back in my feelings about the girl I could've been with for the rest of my life. I feel as if I just might need closure. If I can talk to her face to face, maybe I could fully move on, and actually give this new girl a chance. I don't know. All I know is that I've developed an unconditional love for a woman who probably wouldn't even bat an eye if I were to get killed tomorrow. Okay that might be a bit extra but, you never know. The only thing I know is that I love her. I'll always love her, no matter what. If I had a chance to go back in time to change my selfish ass actions, I would. I just pray that she's happy and becoming more and more amazing, and being shown the love that I could not give her. I love and miss you, Asia.