#i do wonder why luke's voice was the only one to change for the uk version

[basil-touche]

Question for Professor Layton fans!

I'm surprised I haven't come across a poll for this already (or perhaps I've just missed it), but since I have had polls for a while now I thought I'd throw one out there...

[imagine-loki]

What About Trust, Chapter 1

TITLE: What About Trust CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 1 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki owns a bookshop on Midgard. He had to do something there to try and avoid getting any attention. But he’s not fond of having customers, is rather grumpy and guarded. But then he meets a bright, bubbly and trusting young woman who doesn’t recognise him. To his dismay, he finds himself becoming rather fond of the mortal.  RATING: M NOTES/WARNINGS: Fluff ahoy in this fic! Lots of fluff.

Cleo was just strolling along the streets in the Northern Quarter of Manchester. It was her favourite place to be and since she had a day off, she was going to make the most of it.

As she worked in an independent record shop on Oxford street, she knew the importance of supporting small local businesses instead of the larger ones. And there was plenty of quirky shops in the area, including other record shops.

But suddenly the heavens decided to open and started dumping a load of rain on top of her.

‘Shit, shit, shit!’ She had forgotten to take an umbrella. And her jacket wasn’t exactly waterproof either.

She pulled her jacket up over her head in an attempt to try and at least keep her hair from getting utterly soaked and she sprinted along the street. Then she ducked into a small doorway that had a small overhang, enough to save her from the sudden downpour anyway.

Sighing, she looked round to see what she was outside of. Her eyebrows shot upwards when she saw it was a bookshop. It didn’t look very brightly lit inside, but there was a very small sign that said open.

Unable to resist looking around a bookshop, she pushed the door open and stepped inside. There was a small bell above the door that announced her arrival. But the shop was empty, aside from books.

‘Oh wow.’ She gasped as she looked around, it was quite a small place but the owner had managed to stack hundreds and hundreds of books in, with really tall shelves on every wall and a few aisles on front of her.

There was a beautiful wooden spiral staircase just off the centre of the shop, leading to an upper floor that came out halfway, where she saw even more books.

A lit fireplace was to the left of her, in a space amongst the book shelves. It kept the place cosy and was one of the few light sources in the shop. As well as a large lamp to her right.

Cleo breathed in deeply, revelling in the book smell that surrounded her.

How she had never noticed this place before was beyond her. Considering she frequented the area all the time, pretty much every week. But she decided she was certainly going to make up for lost time now.

‘Hello?’ She called out, wondering if there was even anyone here manning the place.

There was no response. But she didn’t notice the green eyes watching her from the back corner, hidden in the shadows.

Not caring much, she started to the right and looked at some of the book titles. She felt giddy when she realised this was no normal bookshop, these were rare books. Some were foreign, a language she didn’t even recognise. But some of the books were decorated in beautiful and intricate patterns, capturing her attention.

She pulled a few books out from the shelves and went to the fireplace, where it was warmest. There was a lone green arm chair on front of it, she took a seat with the books on her lap and she started looking through the first one.

It was a William Shakespeare play that was said to have been lost many years ago, she couldn’t actually believe it was in her hands as she carefully turned the pages.

‘What are you doing?’ Came a rather cold voice from beside her.

She jumped, having not heard anyone approach. When she looked round, her eyes widened when she saw a really tall man… A really tall and rather handsome man, at that. With long black hair, nice cheekbones. He was wearing a dark green shirt and leather trousers with boots. He didn’t look like an ordinary book shop owner, but who was she to judge?

He had his arms folded across his chest and didn’t look overly pleased at her presence.

‘Oh, sorry. I did shout when I came in but no one answered… I’m reading, that’s not illegal, is it?’ She smirked up at him.

‘No, it is not.’ He drawled. ‘But this is not a library.’

‘I can see that. It’s way better than a library.’

Loki had no idea why this mortal was in his shop, reading a book and sitting on his chair. Sure, it was a book shop, but barely anyone ever came in. Never mind stayed for this long.

‘Are you going to buy that book or just put your grubby hands all over it?’ He grumbled.

Cleo narrowed her eyes at him. ‘You’re not very friendly for a shop owner. No, I am not going to be buying it, I suspect this would be well out of my price range. Do you not like to share with a fellow book lover? I was going to leave some money on my way out, I know it can be difficult for small businesses to keep afloat.’

Loki was a little surprised at her answer. And the fact she was still there, sitting on his chair. Normally when a mortal came in and stayed to look through his books, they soon scarpered when he made his presence known. Either because they recognised him, or were just put off by his coldness towards them.

‘Fine. Whatever. Just… don’t rip any of my books.’ He huffed and walked away again, leaving her to it.

Cleo was rather confused at what the hell had just happened.

‘Wait.’ She carefully placed the books down on the small coffee table on front of her and rushed after him to the back of the shop. ‘What’s your name? I’m guessing you are the owner?’

Loki rolled his eyes before turning around to face her. ‘I am… My name is Luke.’

‘Nice to meet you, Luke. I’m Cleo.’ She put her hand out towards him. He eyed her suspiciously for a moment, then shook her hand when he decided she didn’t seem much of a threat.

‘I’ve never seen your shop before, it’s quite hidden. But it’s incredible. I can actually see why you wouldn’t want it to get too busy, it would ruin the atmosphere. But it’s quite the wee gem.’ She said as she looked around, still taking it all in.

‘Thank you… You’re not from here, are you?’ He quirked an eyebrow up.

‘Nope. I’m from Inverness, but I’ve lived here for the past eight months. Much more exciting than back home.’ She smiled.

Loki nodded once. ‘Well, I shall leave you to your reading… If there areany books you’re interested in buying, let me know.’

Cleo’s face brightened. ‘I will, thanks.’

She watched as Loki disappeared through a door at the very back of the shop, it said staff only on it. She shrugged the encounter off and went back to the few books she had taken out to look at. After flicking through them, she carefully placed them back in their place and went upstairs to look some more.

As she carefully pulled a book out from its shelf, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Loki suddenly spoke next to her.

‘Are you still here?’

She held the book she had in her hands close to her chest in fright, her heart was racing but soon calmed down when she realised it was just the owner.

‘Jesus Christ. Do you always sneak up on your customers?’

‘Are you always so jumpy?’ Loki countered, raising an eyebrow. A ghost of a smirk on his lips.

Cleo rolled her eyes and looked down at the book in her hands. ‘How did you even get hold of most these? They’re so rare and expensive.’

‘You could say I’ve travelled a lot.’ Loki said as he started walking down the aisle, she followed him, curious.

‘Really? That’s cool. I’ve never been out of the UK before. But I would love to visit some countries like Iceland, Finland and Norway, for the culture and history. Those places fascinate me.’ Cleo rambled a bit.

Loki suddenly turned on his heels, going back right past her. Cleo was a little stunned but turned and followed him again.

‘How long have you had the shop?’ She asked as Loki stopped and started skimming through the shelves, looking for something.

‘A year.’ He said simply as his long fingers tapped gently along the spines of the books on the upper shelf.

‘I can’t believe I’ve only just found it. I’ve been living in the city for the last eight months, I’m around this area every week.’ She said as Loki plucked a book out, he briefly turned his back to her so she didn’t see the slight shimmer of green that surrounded the book before he quickly turned around to face her, holding the book out towards her.

‘What’s this?’ She asked, tucking the other book under her arm.

‘Nordic tales. Since you seem interested in the Nordic countries, perhaps you might find that of interest.’ Loki hummed.

Cleo’s eyes widened as she looked at the book. She looked up at Loki in disbelief. ‘I’ve been looking for an English edition of this for… years! I didn’t think one existed. I thought I was going to have to give in and google translate every single word.’

Loki scoffed. ‘Google translate is not reliable at all, believe me.’ He turned on his heels again and started heading back towards the stairs.

Cleo was too busy looking at the blurb of the book, by the time she looked up Loki was back downstairs. She hurried after him, putting the other book back in its rightful place first.

As she was rushing down the stairs, she held the Nordic Tales book out. ‘How much is this? Please, God. Let it be within my budget!’ She said as she rushed over to him by the fireplace.

Loki folded his arms over his chest and sighed, narrowing his eyes at her for a moment. Then he smiled, just a little bit. ‘Call it a gift, for a fellow book lover.’

Cleo’s mouth opened wide in shock. ‘What? Seriously? But the originals are like at least fifty quid anyway. This English version must be worth a shit load more than’  

‘Do you want the book or not?’ Loki interrupted.

She nodded sheepishly. ‘I do…’

‘Well then, like I said. Consider it a gift. Before I change my mind and decide to charge you triple what it’s actually worth.’

Cleo grinned and slipped the book safely into her handbag. ‘Maybe I did get you wrong, you’re an alright shop owner.’

Loki chuckled. ‘What is it they say? Don’t judge a book by its cover.’

‘Never a truer word spoken.’ Cleo agreed. ‘Well, it was really nice meeting you. Thank you so much for the book, I really appreciate it. I’ll be back before you know it, I want to read that Shakespeare play through properly.’ She said as she started to head towards the door.

‘I look forward to your return.’ Loki said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Cleo turned back to face him and grinned widely. ‘Ohh, I bet you do.’ She laughed.

As Cleo left the shop, Loki shook his head. But he smiled.

‘What a curious mortal.’

[lee-scribbles-and-doodles]

My Top Ten Overlooked Movies With Female Leads In No Particular Order

Note: When you see this emoji (⚠️) I will be talking about things people may find triggering, which are spoilery more often then not. I mention things that I think may count as triggers so that people with them will be aware before going in to watch any of these.

Edited: 3/16/21

Hanna (2011)

So, before I get into why you should watch this movie, I just want to take a moment to say why it's near and dear to my heart. Growing up as a queer kid in the early 2000s, seeing portrayals of people like or similar to myself on anything was rare at best. It was mostly in more "adult" movies or shows that my parents would occasionally let me watch with them that I'd see any lgbtq+ rep at all. Often times they were either walking stereotypes, designed to be buried, evil, or all three.

Then here comes this PG-13 action thriller with a wonderfully written main female lead who, at the time, was close to my age, and who got to kiss another girl (her very first friend, Sophie) on screen in an extremely tender and heartwarming scene. To say the least, it was a life changing moment for me personally.

Now that I've gotten that out of the way, Hanna is a suspenseful movie about a child super-soldier named, you guessed it, Hanna (played by Saoirse Ronan) and her adoptive (?) father Erik Heller (played by Eric Bana) exiting the snowy and isolated wilderness of their home and taking on the shadowy CIA operative, Marissa Wiegler (played by Cate Blanchette) who wants Erik dead and Hanna for herself for mysterious reasons.

It also has an amazing soundtrack by the Chemical Brothers, great action scenes, and it has an over arching fairytale motif, which I'm always a sucker for.

⚠️ Mild blood effects, some painful looking strikes, various character deaths, and child endangerment all feature in this film. However, given its PG-13 rating, a majority of viewers are presumably able to handle this one. Still, be aware of these going in.

Sidenote: It's recently gotten a TV adaptation on Amazon TV, although I have not watched it, and do not know if Hanna and Sophie's romantic/semi-romantic relationship has transferred over.

A Simple Favor

A Simple Favor is a "black-comedy mystery thriller" centered entirely around the relationship between two mothers, the reclusive, rich, mysterious, and regal Emily (played by Blake Lively), and the local recently widowed but plucky mommy blogger, Stephanie (played by Anna Kendrick). When Emily suddenly goes missing, Stephanie takes it upon herself to find out what happened to her new best friend.

It's a fantastic and entertaining movie throughout, with fun, flawed and interesting characters. The relationship between the two female leads is also implied to be at least somewhat romantic in nature, and they even share a kiss.

⚠️ The only major warnings I can think of is that the movie contains an instance of incest and one of the main plotlines revolves around child abuse, although both of these potentially triggering topics are not connected to each other, so there is thankfully no csa going on.

Edit: I legitimately forgot there was drug use in this movie until now. So, yeah, if that's a trigger, be careful of that.

I Am Mother

I became mildly obsessed with this movie when it came out. I Am Mother is a sci-fi film that centers entirely around a cast of two woman, and a female-adjacent robot who is brought to life on screen with absolutely amazing practical effects.

The plot is such, after an extinction-level event, a lone robot known only as Mother tasks herself with replenishing the human race via artifical means. She begins with the film's main protagonist, Daughter. Years go by as Mother raises her human child and the two prepare for Daughter's first sibling (a brother) to be born. However, on Daughter's 16th birthday, the arrival of an outsider known only as Woman shakes Daughter's entire world view. She begins to question Mother's very nature, as well as what's really going on outside the bunker she and her caretaker call home.

⚠️ This movie features child endangerment and reference to child death.

Lilo and Stitch

When I decided to add a single Disney film to this list I initially thought it was going to be hard but almost immediately my brain went to Lilo and Stitch, and specifically about the relationship between Lilo and Nani.

On the surface, this film is about a lonely little girl accidentally adopting a fugitive alien creature as a "dog," but underneath that the story is also about two orphaned sisters and the older sister's attempts to not let social services tear them apart by stepping up as the younger sister's primary guardian. Despite its seemingly goofy premise, Lilo and Stitch has a very emotional and thoughtful center. It's little wonder how this movie managed to spawn an entire franchise.

Despite the franchise it spawned (or possibly because of it), I often find that Lilo and Stitch is overlooked and many people only remember it for the "little girl adopts an alien as a pet" portion of its plot, and I very rarely see it on people's top 10 Disney lists.

⚠️ This movie could be potentially triggering to people who were separated from their siblings or other family members due to social service intervention. There's also a bit of child endangerment, including a scene where Lilo and Stitch both almost drown.

Nausicaä and the Valley of the Wind

Unlike the above entry, I did struggle a little bit with picking a single Studio Ghibli film. Most media of the Ghibli catalogue have strong, well-written, unique, and interesting female leads so selecting just one seemed like quite the task.

However, I eventually settled on this particular film. In recent months, Princess Nausicaä has become my absolute favorite Ghibli protagonist and I'm absolutely enchanted by the world she lives in.

Set in a post-apocalyptic world overun by giant insects and under threat of a toxic forest and its poisoness spores, Nausicaä must try to protect the Valley of the Wind from invaders as she also tries to understand the science behind the toxic forest and attempts to bridge the gap between the insects and the humans.

For those who have never seen the film, I think Nausicaä's personality can best be described as being similar to OT Luke Skywalker. Both are caring, compassionate, and gentle souls who are able to see the best in nearly anyone or anything. She's an absolutely enthralling protagonist and after rewatching the film again for the first time in well over a decade she has easily become one of my all time favorite protagonists.

Whenever I see people talk about Ghibli films, they rarely mention this one, and when they do mention it, it's often in passing. In my opinion it's a must watch.

⚠️ This movie contains some blood, and the folks who either don't like insects or who have entomophobia may not appreciate the giant bugs running about throughout the movie. (Although most insects do not directly relate to real life bugs, and are fantasy creatures).

A Silent Voice

A Silent Voice is an animated movie adaptation of a manga of the same name. While I've never had the pleasure to read the manga, the movie is phenomenal. It covers topics such a bullying, living in the world with a disability, the desire for atonement, social anxiety, and depression in a well thought out manner that ties itself together through the progression of the relationship between its two leads, Shoya and Shouko. It's also beautifully animated. Although very popular among anime viewers, I've noticed that it's often overlooked by people who watch little to no anime. So I suppose this is me urging non-anime viewers to give this film a chance.

⚠️ As mentioned above, the movie deals with bullying, anxiety, and depression (with this last one including suicidal thoughts and behaviour). If discussion of those topics are triggering to you, than you may want to proceed with caution or skip this movie all together.

In This Corner of The World

Another manga adaptation, this one taking place during WWII-era Japan. In This Corner of The World follows the life of a civilian Japanese woman, Suzu Urano, as she navigates simply living and her new marriage as the wartime invades nearly all aspects of everyday life. I think this movie is a good representation of what it must be like to be living as civilian in a country at war where the fight is sometimes fought on one's own soil. It was also an interesting look into pre-50s Japanese culture in my opinion. It's also beautifully animated featuring an art style I don't see often.

Despite it being well known among anime fans, I never really see it be brought up, even among said anime fans themselves.

Side note: I've seen many WWII dramas centering around civilians but they've almost always been about American or UK civilians. This was the first movie I'd seen that features the perspective of a Japanese civilain.

⚠️ Features the death of a child and limb loss. There's also a disturbing scene featuring a victim of one of the atomic bombs near the end.

Wolf Children: Ame and Yuki

This film follows Hana, a Japan-native woman who fell in love with a magical shape-shifting wolf-man, and her trials with raising their children, who can also magically shape-shift into wolves, on her own. It's a very heartfelt movie about a mother's love and the struggles of doing right by your children when you have limited resources to actively guide and care for them. All the characters feel unique and alive in my opinion. Also, the animation is so good that my sister and I initially mistook it for a Ghibli film.

Again, like the previous two anime entries, I don't see it ever brought up outside of anime circles.

⚠️ There's some child endangerment present in the film, although none of it is the fault of Hana as far as I can remember.

Roman Holiday

Roman Holiday is about the fictional Princess Ann (played by Audrey Hepburn), who while on a whirlwind tour of Europe, finally reaches her breaking point over having her entire life be one big schedule and all her words and actions being rehearsed. In the spur of the moment, she runs away in hopes of experiencing what life is like for other women. Unfortunately, she was previously given a sedative, meaning she doesn't get too far before it takes effect. Fortunately, she is found by the kind reporter Joe Bradley (played by Gregory Peck). Believing her to be drunk and unable to get an address from her (because she has none) he ends up taking her home for safety's sake and allows her to sleep off her suppose drunken stupor. The next day, he realizes who she is, and decides to take her on a fun sight seeing trip across Rome in hopes of getting the big scoop. Along the way, they begin to fall for each other.

This is my favorite black and white, old romance film. I think the relationship between the main characters is absolutely beautiful and I have a lot of fun watching it.

⚠️ I'm not entirely sure what kind of warning this film would need. However, it was released in 1953, so values dissonance will probably be at play for many viewers to at least some extent. For example, early in the film Ann is given sedation drugs by her doctor for her behavior, something that is very unlikely to happen today. Also, Mr Bradley deciding to take Ann home to keep her safe rather than call the police or an ambulance is a very pre-90s decision in my opinion.

[pinkpetalwaterimagine]

Three cute ghosts

First imagine ever, I accidentally deleted my previous account, so I’m starting a new one here. Anyway, hope you like it, and don’t hesitate to point any mistake. (I’m French, so sorry in advance)

Summary : Luke is mean to you, but not for long. 

Word count :  2,5 k 

You’ve lived forever in the same neighborhood and easily created a bond with the neighbors. Your neighbors are Julie Molina and her family. You were good friends, and you helped her during through everything. From the death of her mom, to her discovery of three cute ghosts friends. You heard her scream one night and the next morning you were asking her what happened. Even though you considered you were friends you still respected the social boundaries. 

« What happened last night ? I heard you scream. » you asked when you saw her at school. 

« Oh it was nothing, I mean it was a … spider. Yeah, right, those spiders always here when you don’t want to. » she answered unsure of herself. 

You doubted what she said, nevertheless, you let it slide, if she wanted to talk about it she would come your way. 

The day passed without a hitch and Julie and you decided to go study to her house. 

« Go ahead, I’m just going to make some snacks for while we study » said Julie while you climbed the stairs to her room. 

You opened the door and saw three cute guys roaming around her room. The four of you stared as each other, not a word coming from neither one of you. 

Then, the brunette one finally said something : « I think she can see us » he said in a whisper. 

« Oh really ? And what gave it away ? » sarcasm dripping from the blond guy. 

« Uhhhhh Julie, could you come here for a sec ? Like real quick ? » you yelled towards the door without leaving out of sight the three guys. 

They were in circle, whispering between them. Julie alerted by your yelling was in her room in no time. « Why is there three cute guys in your room? » you asked. « She thinks we’re cute. » you blushed at those words, but damn right they were cute. Julie gave a disapproving look to the boy who just talked. « You can see them?! » She exclaimed. 

You thought that she was really becoming weird, why wouldn’t you be able to see them ? 

« Yeah, i don’t understand what’s the issue here ? » 

« Well, we’re ghosts. » said the boy that hadn’t talk until now. 

Silence in the room, no one was talking, or breathing for a matter of fact. 

« Yeah, right, okay I’m out of here. » you took your stuff, ready to go back to your place. You looked at Julie for any confirmation or whatever. You didn’t even knew what you were looking for, but it was definitely not this kind of explanation. 

« Wait Y/N ! - she stopped for a second- it’s the truth, they are ghosts »  

You couldn’t believe what she was saying right now ! You stepped towards the door. 

« I’m serious, please come here ! Just let me show you or prove it to you ! » she said, a pleading look in her eyes. 

You decided to hear her until the end of her demonstration. « just try to touch one of them, you’ll see ! » she encouraged you. 

You went to grab the blonde’s shoulder, but your hand went through. « What the hell is happening here ?! » you started to freak out. « Why can’t I, why is he ? What …? » 

« I think she’s panicking » said the one that you supposed was the funny guy of the group. 

« Y/N meet Reggie, Alex and Luke. » they all gave you nod as Julie said their names. 

———————————————

As time flew, it has already been two months since you have met the boys, and this discovery that only you and Julie could see the boys has brought you closer with Julie but not only. You were spending all your free time in the garage wether it was doing your homework or just chilling in « Luke’s couch » with the boys. You started to really be like family to them and they were just as much for you. 

Your relationship with Luke, though, was different than with the other boys, you felt like he was always trying to not tell too much, to not let you enter into his world (even if it was impossible for some obvious reasons). He seemed to not want your company. You were sad about it because you knew that it could be really fun to be around, you saw how he interacted with the boys and Julie, how much of a sunshine he could be, but sadly not to you.

You thought that he didn’t like you and he did not wanted you as a friend. You stopped trying to get his attention, or paying attention to him. It was painful for you, but if he didn’t care you weren’t one to wallow in self-pity because a guy wasn’t friendly. You didn’t look into his (beautiful, big, dead) eyes from now on. When he was around you didn’t want to annoy him more than he seemed to already be. When he was around your persona changed a bit and everyone could see that.  

As you were lying on the floor, you felt someone laying by your side. You opened your eyes to find Alex joining you on the floor of the garage. You were really closed to Alex, he was the one with the « softer touch » and you could tell him everything. 

« So what is happening to you right now ? You don’t seem like yourself nowadays » he started off. 

You were a bit taken a back, you did not know that they noticed the change when Luke was around. You did not wanted them to know that it was affecting you. 

« Nothing, everything is … great » you said the last part in a whisper. 

« Yeah because you seem like it. », you could never lie to Alex, he always has seen right through you. 

« It is just that … » you were interrupted by the whole gang walking in the studio. Saving you from things you didn’t wanted to admit, even to Alex. 

You got up and packed your things : « I have to back, bye guys » you waved and kiss Julie on the cheek before leaving. 

Because of the tense atmosphere you tried spending less time at the Molina’s house, mostly to avoid a certain beanie’s fan ghost. You stayed more in school and actually tried new club because why not. It is in writing class that you actually met Peter. He was really cute and nice to you, you hang together and started to become really close friends. Julie saw that this new friend made you really happy and she was absolutely and unconditionally supportive of the two of you. 

You were still hanging around the studio to support your friends, and Luke being cold to you was not such an issue anymore. You knew that you had great friends and if he did not wanted to be a part of it then suit him. 

As you were sitting on the couch listening to the band rehearse, you were smiling down at your phone because of Peter’s text. He was such a great friend, always sending you gif or cute pictures. 

« C’mon Y/N ! Be a little more focused, we need your truthful opinion, and here you are smiling at this little box ! » exclaimed Alex. 

«  We could have played Home is Where my horse is you wouldn’t even have noticed » added Reggie. The three other members gave him a dirty look. 

« You know I would love to hear the song » you said trying to change the topic of the conversation. 

« That’s besides the point, Y/N, and you know it. Was it Peter ? » asked Julie. She knew you too well. 

« Who’s Peter ? »

You couldn’t believe it, Luke did not ever cared about your life or what you were doing, but there he was asking about the only boy in your life. And Peter is a friend nothing more you knew that. 

« He’s a good friend » you answered shortly. «  okay, I have to run, bye guys. You killed it one more time. » 

You left quickly. As you were standing in the Molina’s driveway you realized you forgot your bag. You went back to the studio to pick it up. You heard the guys talked, you did not mean to eavesdrop but you were a little bit curious of what they were talking about when it’s just the three of them. 

« I know what this is about. You’re jealous of all the attention Peter is getting. » you recognized Alex voice. But to who was he talking ? Who could be jealous about your friendship with Peter ? They don’t even know the guy for crying out loud. 

« Especially from Y/N. » added Reggie. 

Oh. So they were talking to Luke. About you. What in the world is happening now. 

« Please. You think I care if Y/N gives another guy a little attention? How insecure do you think I am ? » you heard Luke’s voice, a little bit higher than ordinary. 

The three boys stayed in silence for a few seconds. 

« Seriously, how insecure do you think I am ? » exclaimed Luke in annoyance. 

« Bro, dont get mad. It’s just that we know you and we don’t understand why you are acting like she is yours when you have never said more than five sentences in a row to her. Just imagine how she is feeling, if we don’t understand, how could she ? » Wise words spoken by Alex. 

You thought it was the best moment to enter the room like you did not hear what they said. You did not even know what was that all about. Luke is jealous ? And like Alex said, he never spoke to you and yet he pulled the jealous card. 

You picked up the bag from the floor as they stared at you with wide eyes and left without saying anything left. 

« Do you think she heard us ? » asked Reggie. 

« Nah. Nahhhh… she would have said something right ? » enquires Luke. 

« I think you should ask Julie, I mean they are friends, she knows probably more than we do. » 

A week later you found the strength to go support the band during rehearsals. As you stepped in the garage, you were faced with Luke adorning a bright smile. 

« Hi Y/N ! » he said with a cheerful voice. 

Once again, you were gobsmacked. What happened during the week you didn’t see them ? 

« Uhh, hi ? » 

Luke saw the bewilderment on Y/N’s face and thought about his conversation earlier this week with Julie. He didn’t know how to approach her and ask questions about Y/N. 

« Uhm, Julie. I was wondering, if by any luck, you know why Y/N is coming less to the studio ? » he just finished his sentence and Julie was already looking at him like she was ready to jump on him and hit him. 

« Are you kidding me ? She’s coming less and less because you are not really the most welcoming person around here. She feels like when she’s here and you are as well, like she is a burden because you never talked to her and you just brush under the carpet everything she tries to say. » she said without taking a breath. 

It hit Luke, since the first day in Julie’s room when he saw her, he knew that if he let enter his world they would be both hurt. But by rejecting her he did the same, even worse. 

« So we wanted to play to you our new song and then we could do movie night ? » Luke suggested with his puppy dog’s eyes. 

You were a bit taken aback to say the least but nonetheless you smiled at him and nodded to his proposition. 

« We’re Julie and the phantoms and this is bright » Luke begin as if he was at a real gig. 

« Tell your friends !» Added Reggie.           

The performance was on fire. They all played their hearts out and it was just breathtaking. They let go of their instruments and all of them piled up on the couch for love night. You were at the far end of the couch, squeezed between the armrest and Luke’s huge biceps. They decided to watch high school musical 3, aka the best movie in the whole world. You sang every song so does Julie. And Luke kept watching you as you were dancing and singing. 

« What ? » you asked him a little embarrassed, cheeks red and a small smile on your face. 

« Nothing, you’re just cute » he blurred out. Everyone suddenly stayed still, and your cheeks reddened at his words. 

You just took your spot on the couch and try to forget he said that. 

Movie night definitely was the turnaround in Luke and your’s relationship. He was more friendly, always trying to make you laugh, always trying to see your smile. But what he enjoyed the most was seeing you blush. He would always make a comment about how cute you were, about how nice and pretty you were and so on. The other members could not take it anymore. 

« When are you going to tell her that you liked her ?! We are sick of seeing you flirt with each other. » complained Alex. Luke didn’t even respond, he just smiled looking down at his shoes with a soft blush. 

« I don’t know man, I mean it all seems complicated. I mean she’s her and I’m, well a ghost »

« I did not take you for a quitter. » Julie chimed in. « Luke you like her and she obviously feel something for you ! You just have to tell her » 

You were at your house working on your calculus homework when you just received a text from Julie : « 911, need you asap, meet me in the garage. » 

You let your calculus book on your desk and almost run to the house next to yours. As you enter the garage you did’t see anyone. Was it a joke ?

And then, you saw Luke, in his famous tank top, his arms popping out, his hair under the orange beanie that you liked so much. 

« Julie sent me a text, is there an emergency ? » you asked after having finish drooling over Luke. 

« Y/N, umm, I need to say something to you, and it’s not simple, and I’m really nervous. I mean what if the others were wrong and what if it changes everything ? » 

« Luke, calm down, you’re rambling, I don’t understand a word you say. »

«  I just wanted to say that I like you Y/N. Like like you like you. I know it might be a little complicated between us ». 

You didn’t let him finish and took him in your arms. Wait ? In your arms. 

« You, you can touch me, what is that ? » 

The shock pass and you decided to make him more shocked. You pushed your lips to his. They felt warm against yours (who would’ve thought). Your lips and his moved in sync seeming to not having enough of each other. 

« Ewwww, you guys could do that somewhere private » 

You snapped out of your trance and saw Alex, Reggie and Julie looking at you shocked. 

« Wait you can touch him? » Julie exclaimed. 

She extended her hand to Alex and she did not go through him. Almost instantly everyone formed a group hug so happy to be able to add this « power » to their relationships. 

The group tumbled on the floor. You were crushed by Reggie bod, yourself crushed on luke’s body. 

« Hey there » he said in a whisper, looking in your eyes. 

You tilted your head and kissed him what’s again. 

« O C’mon guys ! Please! » 

You laughed, burying your head in the scruff of his neck.  

[bigmafluff]

My Story Chapt.1 & 2

My

Story!

The Ultimate Fan fiction/Love story! Tom Hiddleston,

This is fiction it is not real I'm not this lucky! 

family!Courage ! Faith! And Kids! This book is a new life after parenthood. It is my new journey. And a not so guilty obsession. Thanks for reading!

Summary.

What happens When a Single Mom Who Has devoted her Soul to her Family. receives her Empty nest papers . That the world said she would never have. Hi I'm Shannon ! I'm a writer  well I want to be . Need a Publisher first.  Where are the Best . In the U.K. Didn't count on Love too. Come find out what happened. It's a great adventure.

Chapter 1

A shocking encounter.

{I want to break free. By Queen, Hello By Lionel Richie, and I can't feel my my face. By the weekend}

FREEDOM!

A new Beginning ! Yup something I thought this would never have. You see I'm a Autism Mom and helped my sis raise her 2 kid when she couldn't by herself. I was One of those mom's that where told That .I was gonna be Raising my Son Lucas all my life. Well God and Lucas had other plans. I'm So Dang Proud!!!!!! So Kids grown. Lucas has an Aide, A Job as a Mechanic/Car dealer back Home . I think the mechanic stuff is his hobbies cause My Lucas Love's to tinker. My Nephew is working for NASA/ and Microsoft which I also think

NASA thing is the hobbies . As I said Tinker Just smaller. Now My Niece Katrina . She Is my Butterfly . Totally out side the box, 4 tour's In the Navy. She's A Young Mama and A News Caster In Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. Here's the twist Her and Her kids do Video's on YouTube for fun.

Enough about My Babies. Writing was not the only reason to Go across the Pond to America's Father land. I had recently gone through several Surgeries to fix my body after losing a extreme amount of weight from a Lifetime of Issues with my weight. 2 charities offer to help me finish that Journey but the only Plastic Surgeon willing to touch me Is at Oxford University Hospital. So Here I Go A Strange women in a strange land .

So When I was all of sudden a Empty nest . I was struck with something I haven't thought bout sense childhood . What do I do when I grow up! LOL !! So I hit my bucket List and started @ the 2 Largest and hardest things to accomplish on that list . Fix my body and Write! . So College to get my literary degree. While Extreme Yoga, Running , lil' bit of Martial art's and Lessons In all form's of skating! [Skating Hobby AKA on DA list!] God, family, and Music Made it all worth it and surprisingly easy! Dream's come when your are working hard and not Looking for it. These are one of those.

Now I'm in a UK/London Airport bundled up with 3 List's and a map on my phone .Braving the unknown, Trying to find DA Baggage claim and Customs in the rather Large Heathrow Airport . Dang!!!! it was noisy! Honestly I wasn't even paying no attention to were I was going. I was just Focused on Trying hard to get out of this busy packed Building ,Stress &Anxiety times 10!!!!!

while heading to Customs Dragging 2 rolling cases and Large tote on my shoulder. I'm walking past a group of screaming women and teens along with flashing lights from camera's Butt I was determined to stay focused on Why I'm in a hurry. I hit something head on and drop to the ground my tote spill and it was like hitting a wall and all of a sudden all the noise stopped. I don't care who says other wise, British and Aussie Ascent's are smooth and sexy and butter! The are several men in the U.K. That send my fan girl hormones into Overload. But only 3 are Single Tom Hiddleston, Henry Cavill, and Luke Evan's.

Now Tom Hiddleston is epic. Stage, screen, voice, He is it. He is melt worthy . Hint's the screamers! 6/2 160 Stormy blue eyes , He's strutting the Black dye job for a movie he just finished he is a naturally curly blonde. I'm a sucker For men's curls no Joke. Pure Killer Eye Candy !!!!!

As I try to pick my things up and apologize I see a hand also picking up my things . He touched my hand and I look up and see those wonderful blue's I start to shake to nervous to talk . I shake my head and Just finish picking up my things . I don't have time for this and I don't want to have a fainting spell from nerves it this Airport. So keeping my head down I stand . Say Thank you and Apologize again for slamming into the man and Leave before he says anything.

One hour Later!!!!!

I made it to my hotel via Uber. I changed , called family especially Lucas my Captain America. I ordered pizza {Yes ! there is Pizza in the U.K."} And was going thru everything and found my Chromebook! But my Ticket receipt and my Night Manager Novel is missing . Well that sucks 'I'm hoping I can get home on the stub. I wasn't as mad about the receipt as I was about my Book. I Just bought it. Before I left I had watched the series With my sister. She said that I had to read

the book to get the full experience. I only just got past the 2nd chapter when I landed. Anyways I was laying down and working on the next book in my children's book arsenal. When I must of passed out . Cause I woke to The ringing of my phone.

I go to answer it .Noticing it was already morning. A very groggy Lucas Wishes Mama a good morning and goodnight due to the time difference. After 45minutes for trying to tell my son I am OK and he needed to go to bed. I was finally able to shower and get ready for my day. I decided to stay and write today so my body can adjust before I go rampaging thru London looking for a publisher. I got half way thru Luca 's day in wonderland when I git a knock at My room door.

I open The door and there he is again invading my Life and charging hormones I thought long dead. Thomas William Hiddleston and he was holding my book with the receipt sticking out of it and a white rose . I'm thinking DA rose was a sign of peace. I'm standing there speechless. I think He realized I was a little Star struck so he helped me Back in to my room . Sat me down and brought me the water bottle I had on my Nightstand . I took a sip and Shook My self out of the fog I was in.

I begin to stutter and When he put His Finger over my lips. He then Said " Calm yourself Girl then we have Us a chat Yes? Where is the Tea around here ,or do you drink it" . All I could do is point to the Mini fridge. Curiously He Looks in the fridge . Then I remembered The English drink it hot . Then I said Finally calmed enough to be clear.

" Stop ! Look above it next to the coffee pot. I drink my Tea cold. I'm sorry! I think the stuff you want is in the Lil' treasure box next to The pot Sir. After a Little while Mr. Hiddleston And I Had interesting Chat . Yes we did. Basically This very conceded ,Arrogant , But Knock-out Gorgeous Man. Basically Had to find me Just because I didn't ask his name or for selfie or any thing. Honestly I think he was Just messing with me cause He Saw My Funko babies on the coffee table . Yes! There were a couple of His there.

He asked what I was doing here In his Home Across the pond. I showed him my stories on my Chromebook. Hey I was thinking he might be able to help me. I told him I was looking for a publisher . I also told him I was Do to have surgery I a couple of weeks, while I was here at the University Hospital. Hey When I get nervous thing's just spew I can't help it. So I told Him all of It Right down to my sudden empty nest. All while he read one of my Stories and nodding. He is in the middle of, Luca and The Golden Lion.

Thomas asked me some Questions about the story. I asked him some to. We bantered and I was surprisingly calm and comfy just chatting along. No longer nervous or anxious . We had been talking for hours . Tom was getting ready to leave . He handed me my book then held my hand there then whispered in my ear making me shiver." Still no selfie , no autograph, or Scream, Well Mrs. Jones. I would say You weren't a fan except for your greeting. So what is a Guy to do to get your attention. We will find out won't we, Till I see you again my Lady." I closed the door behind him as he left. Then promptly passed out right therein front of the door. Life just got interesting !

Chapter 2

Career Change Wow!

[Walking on Sunshine by Katrina and the waves, Hay YA by OutKast, High hopes By Panic at the disco.]

I woke the next morning to sunshine and birdsong. It must be a sign I am on the right track. So Coffee a Shower and breakfast burrito's at McDonald's, and I'm out in London . I'm Publisher hunting. I had a call from the Hospital about my per-opp appointment for surgery. That is in a few day's. So Little nervous about that . As I walk into my first office building then I Stop in the lobby when my phone rings.

It was a local # so I answered . It was a Guy named Luke Parsons He is a free lance publisher that heard about my stories. I was shocked how did he hear about me. He asked if we could meet at his office at 3pm. I agreed,he gave me the address and hung up. I went in to the build kinda stoked . I figure I try all my options. So through out the day I went to many publishing companies all saying the same which pissed me off to no end. But did I show it NO. Just because I'm American they won't even Look at them. I couldn't even eat . I grabbed a Juice @ a convenience store, then went back to my hotel to change. I needed time to find this place for my 3:00 meeting with Mr. parsons and I want to make a good impression since I was rejected so many other times today.

So I decided to call a Uber because I felt I had been walking all day and needed a small break . When we Pulled up to the Building and guess who was standing there with a smart ass smile on his face! Yup! Tom was opening my door after paying the driver , which I didn't expect. He grabs My hand and kisses my palm. Honestly why is a guy like him even paying me any attention . I'm not the tiny,skinny little thing that he is normally with and I don't act or sing. It's frustrating and exhilarating at the same time. GOD HELP ME!!! I told my self.

I asked Tom what he was doing here and then everything clicked. He told Mr. Parson's about me. When I asked how he knew Mr. Parsons. Tom told me that Luke was a Publicist by trade but had a small publishing company on the side as a hobby. So not letting go of my hand Thomas took me inside to meet Luke. Tom stayed in the waiting room as I went into Luke's office. He didn't have a huge office, but it was still dark and intimidating. The tall blonde man in the gray suit, stood and shook my hand . And I sat in the chair across from his desk. when I was going to speak. But he straight shut mt up with a finger. He started Hounding me about Tom. Ii became Anxious and when that happens I Babble and stutter badly. I spilled everything from my weight to the confrontation @ my hotel. By that point I am crying and Thomas came in and took one look at me and Was about to give Luke the business when Luke stopped him Saying He needed to Gage my character. Do to the fact that Thomas was one of his most prominent Clients. I relaxed cause Tom did. And Luke apologized .

When all was calmed. Tom pulled a chair next to me. He told me to go ahead and give Luke my flash drive with my book copies on it . All while holding my hand and rubbing my back . I have to admit I had a small smile on my face cause I was feeling @ peace with TWH sitting and pampering me. It was nice. Mr. Parsons plugged my flash drive into his desk top. While telling me to call him Luke. He said regardless if he likes mysteries or not He is probably gonna see a lot of me because he was Tom's Publicist. I am not giving any weight to that remark not yet .AHAHAH!!!! As Luke was reading Tommy and I were talking and Honestly I needed to get a lot of my frustration's off my chest .Unfortunately Thomas was my victim , willing I might add considering he was grinning the whole time.

Once I was done giving the 3rd degree to Tommy. He squeezed my hand then answered." Well Shannon. I have been in this business for a while now and out of all my so called fans. I never had one Ignore me! They'll always wanted something from me. A picture, to Kneel,autograph,selfie,hug,any attention I would give they sucked it from me. But when you ran into me at the airport. The funko toy's spilling from your bag told me your were a fan and I saw your face you recognized me, I heard you breath hitch. Yet you said sorry and left. No selfie, No nothing. It intrigued me so much I had Luke here who was with me that day check you out using the stub and book with your name and address in America in it . Which also gave me more proof you were a fan." as he continues to explain I look at him in awe he has no clue how bad I want to fan girl and ask for all those things but my heart may be with him but my mind is on what Luke is doing because Luke has my future in his hands.

Back to Tom's explanation." Shannon I came to your room Just to give a fan a gift. On my way to my Mother's for lunch. I ended up canceling lunch when you froze on me. Then I was so humbled by your nervousness. Dearling ." He says as he caresses my face ,raising Luke's eyebrows he is reading. Tom finally finishes with," As I was leaving your room I knew I had to know you more and since you were Looking for someone to help you get your stories read I talked to Luke about it and he was happy to get a new client especially one not for the public business but for His hobby. Now that I explained everything Love turn and listen to Luke I think he has something to say."

That caught my attention. I shook off the haze from listening to Tom . Turned my head to see a smiling almost ecstatic Luke. Looking at us. Then retold me he loved my stories. He said the fan-fix he even might know someone who might want to turn it into a play with the right circumstances. The other 2 he wanted to know if this is a story arc Like the old Harry Potter Series going on cause he could make it happen if there was gonna be more. He also asked about the Illustration in the stories.

I answered him promptly,about Luca and his daydreams and how they relate to my son who is Autistic and who also did the pictures for my stories Neither of them realized I was a mother . Which took both by surprise. Luke asked if I was married . OMG ! Would I have let Tom flirt with me if I was. Yes ! I would have, But I told Luke the truth I have been separated and divorced. For many years. And my Son is almost 30. that floored Tom ! I guess he thought is was younger Ha! Wait till he finds out I'm 2 years older than him. Dang straight! Cougar Power !

Now I get excited when Luke pulls a rather large group of paper's out of his desk. And writes on them. The put's them in front of me and explains. "Now Shannon can I call you that . Of course I can!" I just nod quietly." Well Shannon this is a contact for exclusivity. So anything you write is published through our Publishing company. So any fan based Fiction, Lucas stories all of it Go through us. Do you understand that Shannon?" I nod in understanding. He continues, "I am going to pay you up front for the 3 stories you have now plus signing bonus. Although only 2 are guaranteed to hit book shelves very Quickly.

Also I am Also going out of my way and despite conflict of interest with Tom I going to take you on to navigate your public appearance as well. You will need that for book signing's and such. I will also make sure Lucas gets paid for all his pictures and any future picture's for your book's. Now one last thing that may help ease your mind a bit Shannon. Tom Has nothing to do with this contract or the merit of your stories. It was just a lucky shot for both of us that He was the one you ran into in the Airport and that he knew what Me and a few friends do in our spare time. Helping Storytellers get their stories read when no one else would is what we at Parsonage publishing are here to do most the commissions I'll receive for your book go to the Literacy foundation here in the U.K. Which is 5% but I also am taking10% for my Public work. But you won't even need to worry Shannon. I'm prepared to make you a very Popular and rich woman."

Honestly I am froze I did not think Lucas's and My stories would be this popular. Especially on there own merit. I'm speechless! Until Thomas starts shaking me to get my attention. I Turn, Tom point's to Luke. I turn and Luke asks? " Shannon Darling did you get all of it or do I need to repeat any of it?" I tell Luke as I take a look at the contraction front of me. Tom still holding my hand and I am thankful for the support. I got it surprisingly knew what the whole Author gig entails so to have Luke help me with both sides of that is a life saver, but I still have one or two questions.

" OK Luke ! I got most of it I am just got a couple questions? 1st Are you sure about the Public side I can find another if it helps your piece of mind. Also Are you sure my little stories are gonna get that popular and Last if so who has a pen. To my shock and tears. He answered all my question reassuring me of his sincerity and excitement .He also gave me a pen to sign my first almost million $Contract. I was so giddy . Luke asked for my main info like email ,cell, direct deposit > I just realized I'm not a disabled parent anymore. I am A writer/Author ,gainfully employed . I am crying Laughing and falling off my chair taking Tom with me.

While Luke gets me copy of my contract I had just signed . Tom Kisses my palm then he was kissing the my forehead. Then He shocks me by looking me straight in the eyes , Blue on Blue then asking out to Dinner tonight. WAS THIS A DATE!!!!!!????????????????

[between-two-fandoms]

I wanted to ask for a fic set before the guys died where maybe Luke and Alex realized that Reggie has some sort of PTSD maybe?? (If possible, I'd like Reggie and Luke to be together 👉🏼👈🏼) 💜

Oof. 

This ask has been staring at me for weeks and I’ve been staring back at it, then ignoring it exists because for the life of me I couldn’t figure out what the hell to write. I’m so sorry it took me this long to figure it out! Hopefully you like it! The fic’ll be under the cut, it got away from me... as do most of my prompted works, lmao.

Is This Real Life?

Summary:

Luke knew something was going on with Reggie, but it wasn’t until the bassist broke down during rehearsal did he realize how bad Reggie was really getting. Luckily Julie and Alex were there to help, because Luke didn’t know Reggie’s flashbacks could still happen since they became ghosts, and he definitely wouldn’t have been able to help Reggie through this one alone.

Luke didn’t notice it until after they were all dead and playing with Julie in the studio one day. They were running through a few newer songs he and Julie had written over the weekend. The songs were all set up to be anthems, upbeat and energetic. Luke was positive they’d get their audience dancing on their feet by the end of the first verse. It happened just as he strummed the last chord of the song though… Reggie’s thing. The bassist flinched when Alex slammed his drumsticks onto the cymbals with a tad more aggression than necessary. When Luke met Reggie’s eyes he could tell something was off. He couldn’t pinpoint it, the exact moment the usual light in Reggie’s eyes dimmed, but it happened. “Reggie, everything okay?” Luke asked as Julie switched her sheet music for a different song. He took note of Reggie’s right hand shaking as he tried to re-tune the bass. Reggie nodded and plastered on a painfully fake smile.

“Of course I’m okay Luke!” Reggie exclaimed with a bit too much excitement. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Luke frowned as Reggie started looking around the studio, like he was confused about where he was. It was painfully similar to how they all looked when they first appeared at Caleb’s club the night of the Orpheum performance. Reggie was getting jittery… and anxious… something was very clearly not right. Alex stopped drumming his slow beat and glanced at Luke in concern.

“Reggie,” Luke said, taking a slow step forward. He took off his guitar and rested it against it’s stand. Reggie winced and took a tripped backwards, foot catching on a loose amp chord. We really should tape those down, Luke reminded himself, before turning his attention back to his now-terrified friend. Reggie hit the ground with a thunk and instantly curled into himself. He was shivering like it was freezing in the room, even though the sun was up and shining through the windows.

“‘M sorry,” Reggie mumbled, trying to reel in whatever composure he thought passed as normal. “‘M not a fag, not a fag,” Reggie said, and it sounded like he was pleading with someone. Luke’s heart clenched when Reggie flinched back, as though he was expecting to get hit by something. Julie let out a gasp of surprise, and Luke looked to Alex for help. Alex poofed next to Luke and the two of them sat close enough to their bandmate so he’d know they were there, and that they weren’t trying to hurt them. Luke’s heart ached at the sight of his friend, Reggie was the youngest out of the three of them, even if it was only by a few months.

“Luke,” Julie said quietly, not wanting to scare Reggie anymore than he already was. “What’s going on?” She stayed by the piano, but he could tell she was concerned. Luke just looked at her helplessly as Alex tried to calm Reggie down.

“‘M sorry!” Reggie yelled suddenly, then threw himself backwards like he got slapped across the face. Luke tensed as he realized what was happening. Reggie’s parents fought constantly when they were alive, about every little thing that could possibly be fought about. He remembered when Alex had come out to everyone, and to their parents. “Not sick, ‘m not sick,” Reggie muttered as Alex failed to get through to him. Emily and Mitch were supportive and understanding, but Reggie’s parents… from what little Luke actually remembered about them… they seemed indifferent about the whole Alex-being-gay thing. It was like they were fine with it as long as if their own son wasn’t gay… Realization dawning on Luke he knelt down and reached forward with his hand hesitantly, but he inevitably rested it on Reggie’s shoulder. Reggie tried to get away from his touch, thrashing around on the floor. Luke held his own though as he shifted so Reggie could see him.

“Reggie it’s Luke,” Luke said, trying to stay as calm as he could. Alex backed away to give them space, which he appreciated. Reggie’s hitched and the terrifying, shuddering breaths started to slow down. “Yeah, there you go. You’re safe remember? You’re here with me and Alex, in the studio.” He continued on, comforting, grounding words that were safe. Words that he knew reminded Reggie of times where he felt safe.

“Luke?” Reggie asked, a hint of doubt in his voice. Luke shifted his hand from Reggie’s shoulder to cupping the bassist’s cheek. Reggie was too exhausted to fight back, instead leaning into the palm of his hand. Luke eyed him carefully, watching for any signs of any sort of panic or anxiety attack. Reggie’s hands were still shaking slightly, but other than that he seemed to be doing a million times better than he was before. Luke let out a shaky laugh as he rested his forehead against Reggie’s.

“Yeah bud,” Luke said as he ran a hair through Reggie’s hair. “Hey,” Luke said, trying to keep Reggie talking. “Remember that time when we swapped Bobby’s guitar with a uke?” He asked, causing Julie to snort from across the room. Reggie gave him a wobbly smile in response, and Luke knew he was going in the right direction.

“He was -” Reggie coughed, “he was so bad at it.” Luke nodded as Alex somehow managed to dig out Reggie’s flannel from whatever pile of crap it was hiding under. Alex draped it over Reggie’s shoulders and he pulled it around him tightly.

“He had to play all of his solos on it during the gig, remember? His face got so red during the performance. I thought he was going to turn into a tomato,” Alex recalled with a light chuckle. Luke looked at Julie then nodded, and she bolted across the studio to where they were sitting. She knelt behind Reggie then said,

“Reggie, it’s Julie.” Reggie sagged, like a heavyweight was just lifted from them. She hummed, “You’re going to be okay. Can I play with your hair?” To Luke’s surprise, Reggie answered verbally with a whispered,

“Yes.” Taking her position, Julie settled in as she started running her hands through Reggie’s hair. The effect was imminent, and Reggie fell into her arms as she continued to murmur hushed words of comfort into his ears. Luke smiled gratefully at her and she smiled back at him. When five minutes passed and Reggie was obviously passed out in Julie’s lap she kept her hand in his hair.

“You don’t have to tell me anything…” Julie assured both Luke and Alex, who were both trying to figure out how to explain the situation without outing Reggie to her. Luke watched as Reggie slept peacefully, more relaxed than he ever did before they died. Sighing Luke nodded and ran a hand through his hair,

“Yeah. We do…” He exchanged a look with Alex, who nodded in support. They fell into a sort of uncomfortable silence as Luke tried to compile a comprehensive story to explain how shitty Reggie’s parents were. Alex took the lead,

“His parents used to fight… a lot. We knew it was bad, but he never let us go to his house or even be in the same room as his parents for longer than ten minutes. They barely went to our gigs… unless you count the one we accidentally booked in the bar his dad drank in.” Reggie made a soft noise of content when Julie resumed petting his hair. Luke couldn’t help but let a smile curve at the corners of his lips. Julie really was their saving grace... He picked up the story where Reggie left off,

“They weren’t the best but they were supportive when the could be… until Alex came out.” A look of guilt crossed Alex’s face. Luke quickly glared at him, “it’s not your fault and you know that Alex. They were shit parents, it would’ve happened even if you hadn’t.” Alex looked slightly less guilty, and Luke took it as a win. He could only handle one crisis at a time. Julie cleared her throat,

“So Reggie’s parents were homophobic?” Luke winced at the word,

“Not exactly. They were fine with Alex being gay, as long as he didn’t spread his ‘disease’ to their son.” An angry look crossed Julie’s face and Luke set a mental reminder to never make her pissed of at him.

“They what?” She asked, hissing the words. Luke nodded as Reggie shifted in his feet. His flannel fell slightly off him so Luke pulled it back over his shoulders.

“He didn’t want you to find out like this… but he’s bisexual. We both are… we’re exes,” Luke said tripping over his words as he did so. Julie’s eyebrows furrowed together in brief confusion, then her eyes widened.

“Oh… oh, you know I was wondering what those angsty-pondering looks were about.” Luke frowned,

“You don’t care?” He asked, confusion evident in his voice. Julie’s soft grin made Luke feel warm again, like he did back when she gave them her hug of life.

“I’m glad you told me, but it doesn’t change who you are.” She glanced at Alex then said, “just like how being gay doesn’t change who Alex is. You’re you and well… there’s always going to be assholes out there but as long as you remember who you are, then that’s enough.” A melody started working it’s way into Luke’s head. He started to hum it and Alex lounged on the floor next to Julie, he joined the three of them and curled into her other side. Reggie was sandwiched between them all, and Luke wrapped him and Julie up in his arms.

“You three really love each other, don’t you?” Julie asked as Alex’s soft snores filled the air. Luke hummed in response, then combed a hand through his hair instead of Reggie’s.

“We love you too Jules,” Luke promised, basking in her soft touches. Julie let out a soft chuckle,

“I know Luke. I love you guys too.” She started humming a song, he caught the words perfect harmony here and there and realized it was the same song that he thought of earlier. Luke didn’t want to think much of it though, he just wanted to hold his boys and his girl in his arms and keep them safe for a few hours longer.

[niall-is-my-dream]

Something Beautiful - Part Five

So I'm not 100% happy with this but here it is anyway.

Sorry I've been such a shit with updating this, lockdown has meant no time for myself. Let me know what you think!

catch up below

https://niall-is-my-dream.tumblr.com/post/615170836129808384/something-beautiful-masterlist

2815 words

Summer had passed in a blur of pure contentment. However Niall was in L.A. again and you were missing him. Since he began writing his second album, he had been bouncing between London and L.A. All the main writing had happened for it but he still needed to do a lot of work. He had been trying to do as much of it in London so that he could see family and friends more frequently especially over the summer, but it wasn't always possible.

Work at the publishing company had been busy and you'd had a lot of deadlines to adhere to. This was what was keeping you busy and stopping you from thinking about Niall too much. You hated the fact that you felt a little lost without him. You had spent a lot of time together in London and in that time you'd met his family and he yours, you'd had dinners together, late afternoon walks with Monty. And it was on one of those walks that you had been spotted together for the first time.

It had happened quite unexpectedly on a cool August evening, Niall had been walking around Wandsworth Common with you and Monty. Because of the heat you'd taken Monty out in the evening when it was cooler and still light. You'd been trying to avoid the lake in case Monty chased the ducks again, when a couple of girls aged around eighteen approached him. He had spotted them early on as soon as you had crossed over the bridge, it was like he had a weird ability to sense when he was being watched by someone, you guessed it came with experience.

The first you realised it was when they were right in front of you, although it did explain why Niall had distanced himself from you. You hadn't given it a second thought when he had moved his arm from around your shoulders. But it was because he knew someone was watching him and it was his way of protecting you from whoever that person was.

They eyed you up as they approached him, Monty came running over and dropped his ball at Niall's feet as if taking ownership of him. You loved the fact that Monty even as a young pup could show his protective side. The girls cooed over Monty as well as Niall and you found yourself being incredibly jealous.

Niall was such a sweetheart to the girls, they asked for a photo each and took interest in how his album was coming along. After initially scoping you out they paid no attention to you and you were thankful for it.

It was later that evening that Niall saw the initial speculation about who you were. Twitter had erupted with "who is the girl with the cute dog?" That phrase was fine by you, it could've been worse. There wasn't really any bad comments from what you could both see.

But the girls had managed to catch a sneaky picture of Niall with his arm around your shoulders. One where he was pulling you close to him and kissing your temple. It definitely looked a bit more than just friends apparently to his army of fans.

Luckily you didn't have your own Twitter or even Facebook. You did have an Instagram account but that was private and Niall didn't follow you anyway. Hopefully you could remain anonymous for as long as possible.

And now with Niall being back in L.A. the speculation about who you were was dying down. Niall had been monitoring it via Tara his PA, she was his eyes and ears when it came to gossip about him. She would make sure that if he was being talked about somewhere online then she was in the loop about it.

The beginning of September remained warm and you'd got the patio doors of your flat open to the garden. Monty was chilling out of the grass with a toy, your music blaring through your old record player. You were in the kitchen area prepping some dinner when a FaceTime call from Niall came through.

Upon hearing Nialls voice, Monty came bounding into the kitchen and jumped up at you.

"Woah Monty, wait your turn!" You said smiling.

Monty was circling your legs and wanting to be a part of whatever was going on, you knew he had heard Niall and was obviously missing him.

"Monty!" Niall called and Monty let out a little bark.

You slowly turned the phone around to face Monty, he nudged his face at the screen as Niall talked to him.

"You being good for your Mum?" He asked him.

You laughed a little at his conversation and at Monty who was staring at Niall with fascination.

"Right Monty, it's my turn. You go chill in your bed. Go on." You said and Monty wandered off to his bed that was by the end of the sofa. He sat in it but didn't take his eyes off you or your phone.

"I swear he loves you more than me." You muttered.

"He only loves me because I give him lots of treats."

"I'm aware!" You replied. "He's due his check up next week at the Vets so they will weigh him. He better not be piling on the pounds Horan!"

"Sorry." Niall replied laughing.

It was then that you saw he was sprawled out in bed, the crisp white sheets barely covering his torso.

"Did you just wake up?" You said seeing the clock said 6:45pm meaning it was 10:45am in L.A.

"Yeah, was at the studio till late. Just trying to decide what to do today, need to go to the gym at some point."

"I've only just finished work so am grabbing some dinner before I take Monty for a walk. It's been warm again today."

"Work busy?"

"Mmm have finally finished the edit that I've been working on for like three weeks. More assignments coming my way tomorrow."

"Any chance you could take some holiday or maybe work from a different location?"

"Possibly why?"

"I know I said I was probably coming back next week but I've got some interviews and stuff booked in now and they want to bring the single release forward by two weeks."

"That's amazing that they want to bring it forward and have got so much promo booked in for you. But won't that mean you'll be busy, why are talking about holiday time?"

"Because I wondered if you wanted to come over here for a bit?"

He wanted you to stay at his place in L.A?

Your mind was running a million miles an hour at how this would work. Would your boss allow you holiday or to work in a different time zone? Did you have any UK meetings booked in soon? What would you do with Monty?

"Niall...." You said carefully.

"I'm sorry I know it's a big ask. I just don't want to be apart anymore, I'll be here for at least another month."

"I would love to come and stay with you but.... "

"But?" He said looking slightly heartbroken.

"I can't leave Monty here, I have no one to have him for that amount of time. I can't ask Charlotte and Luke, they have a lot on with the wedding and everything."

"Alex, I meant Monty to."

You looked at him then as the realisation of what he was saying set in.

"I can't put him in a hold on the plane, I'm sorry." You said reluctantly. You knew animals were well cared for on flights but you couldn't even bare to think about leaving him alone like that in a strange place. He might have been two years old but he was still your baby.

"You won't need to. Tara is coming out in 10 days time and I can arrange a private plane for you, her and Monty. Rules aren't the same on a private chartered flight, he can sit with you for the entire time. Just need to get a letter from the Vets to confirm he's had all relevant vaccinations and is in good health."

"He could?"

"Yeah, look I know it's incredibly selfish of me to ask you to travel like that. I know your work and stuff is important to you.... I just miss you both so much. Can you have a think about it for a day or two and let me know?"

"It's so expensive to hire a plane...."

"Its not that bad."

"Small change for you hey?!" You smirked.

"Shut up, you make me sound like a right flash bastard." He smirked back.

There was silence for a moment while you took in the view in front of you, a topless Niall lying in bed. You missed him like crazy and you were sure you were due some holiday. You'd worked the last three months non stop. Would Monty be ok on the plane? He would probably love it and when he saw Niall straight after and he would know why he had taken the journey.

"Email me the details and I'll speak to my boss."

And that was how you found yourself sitting on a private plane with Niall's Assistant Tara and Monty on the way to L.A.

You hadn't had to organise anything for the journey apart from Monty's documents from the vets. Your boss has been so pleased with your work that she had said yes to some holiday straight away. Agreeing to take a week off work two weeks via L.A. And then have another week off before you returned home. She hasn't asked why you were going to L.A, and you hadn't disclosed it. Keeping this private was what you'd agreed to when Niall and you had decided to make things official, and you were fine with that. 

*****

The sunrise across Hollywood was beautiful, you could see why Niall chose to split some of his time here and London. Since arriving in L.A. a week ago you'd begun taking Monty out in the mornings.

You and Niall had dragged your bums out of bed early to avoid walking Monty later in the heat of the day. Monty needed walking early today not only because of the weather but because Niall had planned a bbq at his with some of his friends for you to meet. This was a big deal to you, as you really wanted them to like and accept you.

So here you were watching the sunrise with Monty sitting at your feet and Nialls arms wrapped around you. His face snuggled into your neck and the tender kisses he was giving you were giving you all sorts of feels. You didn't think anything to swipe that smile off your face, that was until Niall tensed behind you.

"You ok?" You whispered gently.

"Mmmm, just feel like we are being watched." He replied as he lowered his arms, he had been right the last time he had felt like that.

You turned to face him as he casually looked around the area where you had chosen to stop.

"For fucks sake." He mumbled.

Turning himself back to you, his body was flush with yours but his arms didn't wrap themselves back around you.

"Is someone watching us then?" You asked quietly.

"Yep, bloke with a fucking massive camera sitting in his car across the road. What the fuck is he doing out this bloody early?"

"Don't worry about it." You said reaching to stroke his arm to calm him. You may not be able to see his face but his body against yours was still tense.

"Come on, let's head home." He said as he turned and took your hand in his.

"Should we be holding hands?" You whispered.

"I feel like he's been watching us long enough, no point hiding it now." Niall replied sounding deflated.

You walked back to Niall's making small talk, but you could tell that the photographer seeing you both had rattled him. He had mentioned about wanting to keep things private, you had no intention on posting photos of him on your social media which actually only consisted of Instagram. And even then you really only posted pictures of your trips away and of Monty being cute. You couldn't imagine any of his fans remotely finding that interesting or using it to find a reason to hate you. Monty was cute.

Back in the safety of Niall's house, he let Monty off his lead and he scurried off towards the other end of the house where Mully's room was.

"Off to sleep at the end of Uncle Mully's bed again I see?!" Niall commented as Monty went out of sight.

"I know I feel slightly offended that he prefers Mully and you to me at the moment."

"What can I say Man is a dog's best friend!" He smirked back.

"Yeah whatever!" You smirked back.

"Well since we are all alone now, how about we go shower and I make you feel good?" He said as he pulled you close to his body. You loved it when he snuggled into your neck, his breath sending chills down your body.

"Do we have time?" You said, aware that his friends were coming over in a few hours and you both still needed to go to the supermarket and get some things sorted.

"We always have time for nakedness love." He whispered before whisking you upstairs.

*********

Monty was passed out at your feet while you chopped some salad for lunch, seems he did love his Mum still. He might have been an outgoing and lively dog, but he did get shy around lots of new people all at once. You were joined in the kitchen by Courtney who was a friend of Niall's, she was really sweet and had asked about your job and stuff. She got married a few months ago and so you talked about that and Charlotte and Luke's wedding that was happening in the next few month's.

"Hey Monty, what's up with you boy?" Niall asked as he came in from the terrace into the kitchen and crouched beside you.

"Think he's a little tired from messing around earlier with Mully in the garden and probably a bit shy from all the new people. No offense Courtney!" You replied.

"None taken." She said smiling genuinely.

"You want to come and sit in the shade with your Da?" Niall asked him and you paused, looking across at Courtney who's eyes were wide like yours. "I'll take him outside." Niall said to you. "I'm in the shade by the BBQ getting it warmed up."

You nodded a reply and carried on chopping the tomatoes, knowing that Courtney was going to say something as soon as Niall was out of earshot.

Niall reached down and beckoned Monty to follow him which he did and he walked happily with Niall back out onto the terrace.

"So....." Courtney said looking at you with a massive smile on your face.

"Sooo?!" You replied.

"You two are the sweetest! Did he really just refer to himself as Monty's Dad?! I love that! I have never seen him this happy." She said and she gave your arm a tender squeeze.

"He's never said it before, he always calls him his boy and stuff." You replied blushing.

"I tell you my heart right now is racing at how much I love this!"

"Do you think it's moving too fast? We've only known each other since January."

"Have you met each other's parents?"

"Yes."

"Has he told you he loves you?"

"Yes." You replied trusting her with the information you were giving her.

"Have you talked about moving in together?"

"No."

"I think you're fine. I knew after about four months of dating Sam that I was going to marry him. Everything is just exciting but comfortable and relaxed at the same time."

"Yeah that's exactly it." You said, amazed that she had read your situation so easily.

"Niall and I have spoken about you a bit while he's been here. Nothing personal! " She added quickly when she saw a look of horror on your face. "Just that he thinks things are so easy with you, in a good way. You seem to know when you both need your own time but also that when you're together it's fun, exciting and you're so normal it's refreshing. Honestly his last girlfriend was hard work!"

You laughed then.

"Thanks for saying that, I really hope everyone likes me today."

"I think everyone already does, we've never seen him this happy. Thank You for giving him back his spark."

You felt choked up at her words, the enormity of your relationship and how much he meant to you was really hitting home. And what made you feel the shivers right down to your toes was that you weren't scared of it.

Tag list

@ihearthemcallingforyou​

@mariamorris913​

[pagesuponstpages]

through the seasons

ofc: mallory jacobs

warnings: some curse words scattered about, a slight mention of cheating, & a teeny bit of alcohol

word count: +3.2k

synposis: snapshots of calum & mallory through a year, from their fateful meeting to falling in love, deeper than either of them expected.

a/n: so at 1 am on calum’s birthday, I decided to write a fic in celebration for the one and only c-dizzle thomas hood’s 23rd birthday (happy belated birthday cal). also purposely writing in lowercase, it being an artistic choice. also also welp meant to finish and post this on the day of, but this weekend was unusually busy. :( but hope you enjoy.

w i n t e r

the first time they met, it was at a party. to be specific, calum’s birthday party.

mallory was freezing her arse off, while waiting for ashton to buzz her and katie into his apartment building. ash was hosting said party at his place, which was something along the lines of being big enough to have all their friends come over (katie thinks that it might have been better if they rented out a club or something).

“irwin! hurry the bloody hell up!” katie yelled, standing right below the open window of his apartment.

“geez, i might as well not let you in,” he said through the intercom. 

katie rolled her eyes. “yeah, say that to the people that has all of your drinks,” she said, smirking, as if he was standing in front of them. mallory pushed katie to the side, so she could talk into the intercom.

“oi, stop fighting and let us in. it’s bloody cold out and i’d rather not freeze my toes off.” and the door buzzed, notifying them that it was unlocked.

although both mallory and katie hailed from the uk with their blindingly cold winters, they got used to the la weather too quickly. and now, if it even reached in the 30-degree-range, the both of them would gripe and complain to all of their friends’ dismay.

“you didn’t have to do that, he would’ve let us in.” 

mallory looked at her best friend with a raised eyebrow. “yeah, sure but with the both of us having nearly frozen off our fingers and toes.” 

katie shrugged, both walking into the elevator. “it’s all irwin, not me.” 

mallory scoffed, but didn’t push any further.

despite only knowing ashton through katie, mallory guessed that there was this unidentified thing in their friendship that had them both snarky and biting towards each other, which seemed to start when they both moved to la. mallory thinks they need to either have a sit-down chat or fuck with their feelings (either might not end well, to be honest).

once they both got to ashton’s floor, mallory knocked on the door, while katie rambled on about some guy that bumped into her right after she got her usual iced coffee in the morning (don’t ask her why she gets iced coffee in the middle of winter, both mallory and ash have tried and failed).

“look who showed up!” 

mallory grinned at luke who answered the door, while katie just walked right past him.

“thanks,” she said, as luke took two out of the four bags that she was holding, each full of different types of alcohol and soda.

“no problem,” he said, as they walked into ash’s kitchen. “put some of the drinks in the ice bucket and the rest in the fridge.” 

mallory nodded, dividing the various beers, soda cans, and bottle waters into their respective buckets on the floor by the counter.

“jacobs!” 

she turned, to see ash with a wide grin and his arms spread out, about to tackle her in a hug.

“when’s the birthday boy coming?” she said, her speech muffled into ashton’s shoulder.

“soon,” luke said, who was standing by the kitchen counter with an amused expression at her and ash’s exchange.

“is it really that cold outside?” ash asked. 

mallory raised her eyebrows, waiting for the rant that was about to come.

“fuck yeah!” katie yelled from her spot on the couch. “it’s below freezing!” 

mallory had to stifle a laugh, as katie and ashton continued back and forth.

“so do you think that they’ll ever fuck?” luke said, leaning on the counter next to her.

“don’t know. at this point, it looks promising,” she said with a wry look. 

luke chuckled.

there was a buzzing sound, one that was barely heard over ash and katie’s arguing.

“i’ll get it,” he said, standing straight.

“i’ll go too, i don’t want to be a witness to whatever this leads to,” mallory said, directing her hand to the two in front of them. she trailed luke to the door, watching him as he pressed the intercom button.

“whooo is it?”

“it’s us you fucks! let us in; it’s freezing out here,” michael said, his voice cracking through the small speaker by the door. luke and mallory shared a look, both trying not to burst out laughing.

“some people beg to differ the temperature outside,” she said, pressing the button to talk.

“i think it’s pretty obvious. i can’t feel my knees,” michael said. 

luke giggled, then pressed the button to let them in. “alright, but only because we kinda need you to have your legs for the band.” they heard unintelligible voices, followed by the familiar buzz of the door unlocking.

a few moments later, the door knocked, signaling their arrival.

“they’re here!” mallory yelled, swinging the door open. the argument in the living room stopped suddenly, while there were babbles of ‘happy birthday’ along with shouts of greetings as each guest walked into ash’s apartment.

“mal, you’ve met everyone in the band except for the man of the hour,” michael said, directing her attention to the curly-haired, gold-skinned boy standing tall over her head. mallory chuckled, shaking her head at mikey’s words.

“hi, i’m calum,” he said, his dark brown eyes meeting hers.

“mallory. pleasure to meet you.”

s p r i n g

mallory thinks that she spends too much time with calum. or at least, more time than friends usually spend together.

“do you think this goes?” 

mallory was sat on the couch, slouched to the point of her long-sleeve shirt riding up to the middle of her back. calum requested her help in sorting through his wardrobe, figuring out what would stay and what would have to go.

“i think so,” she said, looking up from her phone. he was clad in black slim-cut trousers with a white printed dress shirt on top.

“c’mon mal, this is serious,” he frowned. 

mallory sighed, sitting up on the couch. “but isn’t that ash’s top?” 

calum looked down at the shirt, the red poppies staring back at him. “probably. after touring together for so long, i think our wardrobes started mixing together.”

“do you think he needs it anytime soon?”

calum shrugged, putting his hands into the pockets.

“looks good. keep it,” she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. mallory wondered why she got herself into this mess, watching calum try on different outfits, matter of fact that all of them looked good on him. he nodded, walking back to his room to change.

“what do you want to eat?” he said.

“don’t know,” she said, raising her voice just enough that he could still hear her.

“you say that all the time.” calum sat on the couch next to her, now wearing grey sweats and a white t-shirt.

“can’t help it. i’m fine with anything.” 

he gave her a look, a dark eyebrow raised. 

“okay fine, maybe not everything,” she frowned.

“i’m ordering chinese,” he said, pulling up the website menu on his phone.

“done with wardrobe cleaning?” 

he shrugged. “we got through most of the things that i wanted you to look at, but i did some the other day by myself.” 

mallory nodded, focusing back on the tv, which was playing an episode of chopped.

“oh! can we get the eggplant dish and the salt and pepper squid?” she asked, suddenly remembering.

“i thought you said you didn’t care?” he said, staring at her with a hint of a smirk.

“shut up,” mallory said, pushing his shoulder.

calum called the restaurant, his voice being the background of the four chefs cooking on the tv. their food arrived about forty minutes later; calum went to the door downstairs, picking up the bags of takeout and tipping the delivery person. mallory told him to tip a little extra because they had to drive about three kilometers from the restaurant along with the rain coming down quick outside.

“for you,” calum said, giving her one plastic bag as he set his on the coffee table. they unpacked and opened their boxes, before digging into their food.

“hey! eat your own food!” mallory exclaimed, swiping away at his hovering chopsticks.

“i thought we were eating the food together?” calum said, his voice raising higher.

“dude, we’re eating next to each other, not sharing food,” she grumbled, turning her back to calum. he reached over her shoulder, snatching a rather big piece of salt and pepper squid and popped it into his mouth before she could react.

“it’s family style, ‘cause we ordered at the same time.” 

mallory huffed, turning back to facing calum and extended the box of fried squid to calum.

“you sound like my uncle,” she said, taking a piece of his kung pao chicken.

“how?” he was happily munching on the sauteed eggplant, to her frustration.

“whenever my family would go out to eat, we would normally order dishes with the intentions of having it family style. but this one time we went to a thai restaurant, where we ordered our own dishes. my uncle practically asked everyone at the table if he could have a bite of their food, and my aunt was so mad at him for doing that. but all he replied was ‘if your food looks good, it’s family style,’” mallory said, shaking her head at the memory.

“did you give him some of your food?” calum asked.

“yeah,” she sighed, “but at least he was considerate enough to offer his food first before taking a bite of mine, unlike somebody i know.” mallory was looking straight at calum, her eyes narrowing.

“hmm, wonder who that could be,” he mused, with a smile creeping onto his face.

she punched him in the shoulder. which she didn’t realize, was that her chopsticks were in the hand that she threw the punch, thus the chopsticks flew in the air, past the other end of the couch.

“oops,” she said, her eyes widening to his now narrowing eyes. “oh look at the time, have to go!” she said, dropping the takeout box in hand to the coffee table and ran to the door.

“you’re not gonna get away with that!” and then calum took off after her, running around his apartment to avoid capture. at one point, duke jumped in the chase, which distracted mallory enough for calum to tackle her to the ground. “gotcha,” he said, his face inches from hers.

she was staring at his eyes, them not breaking eye contact for a few moments. then he leaned in, meeting his lips with hers, before she could even realize it.

s u m m e r

when the weather gets warmer, people usually take out their swimwear and jump into a nearby pool. but calum and mallory were laying on the ground in front of the fan and sharing a bowl of ice cream. duke was content with his own doggie ice cream above their heads.

“here,” calum said, tapping the spoon to mallory’s lip.

“thanks love,” she said, swallowing the cool and creamy flavors in her mouth.

“why can’t we go to the pool?” he said, taking a spoonful for himself.

“coz ash wanted to come too.”

“where is he?” 

mallory sat up, looking down at calum, who was taking another bite of ice cream, before giving her another spoonful. “shouldn’t you know more about your bandmates than me?” 

calum raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. “you did know him before meeting me.”

“that was because of katie.” she laid back down, which duke then took the opportunity to lay his head on her forehead.

“oh right.” calum gave her another spoon, barely avoiding duke from taking a lick. “did they fuck yet?” 

mallory snorted.

after calum’s birthday, the two girls started spending more time with the guys, thus leading to katie and ashton having more tension than she’s ever seen. to make it even worse, katie would complain about ashton to her, when they would drive back to their shared apartment.

“i’m 75% sure that they already are. but no.” 

calum chuckled. “i wouldn’t be surprised if they are, but also that they’re both dealing with different things, before that would even start.” and mallory had to agree.

katie and her previous boyfriend broke up due to him ‘being jealous of her with other guys,’ despite finding out that he’d been cheating on her with multiple girls. ashton also had a rough breakup, the facts not being clear, except for the few tidbits that calum tells her here and there.

“i just hope that they figure it out,” she finally said. calum was silent, not even moving to eat more ice cream. mallory turned her head, to fully see calum. his eyes were closed, but his eyebrows were scrunched with tension. she schooched closer to him, until her chin touched his shoulder. duke got up after mallory moved, and he settled in between them, laying down right by their ankles.

“i can’t tell if you’re asleep or not,” she whispered, reaching up a hand to stroke his cheek. “but by me touching you right now, i’m assuming not.” the fan continued to whirr in the background.

“fuckin’ hell, why are we doing this? we should be in a pool right now.” despite the heat, her hands were cooler than the rest of her body (some phenomenon that she’s always had, ever since she was a child.

“but nooo, we have to wait for ash and probably the other boys.” it felt calming, her cooler hands touching his skin which was nearly blazing in the summer heat.

“we don’t technically have to wait for them,” calum suddenly said, opening one eye to her.

“jesus!” she jumped, dropping her hand back down from his cheek.

“don’t stop, like that,” he mumbled. so mallory raised her hand back, stroking his cheek, with her now slightly less cool hands.

“don’t stop, doing what you’re doing,” she hummed under her breath. calum groaned, instantly recognizing the song she was humming.

“i don’t even know why you’re my girlfriend.” mallory stopped, freezing at his words.

“girlfriend?” he turned his head, his nose barely touching hers.

“guess i did that to myself,” he mumbled. she continued to stare at him, while she heard the faint noise of a car door slamming and voices coming closer.

“so whaddya say, do you wanna be my girl?” his lips spread into a lazy grin, with his eyes crinkling at the corners.

“hmm,” she bemused, leaning closer so their noses were now touching.

“i think yes.”

a u t u m n

as soon as the leaves changed into the lightest shade of red and orange, mallory dragged everyone to the nearest pumpkin patch. which happened to be about an hour drive to a city between thousand oaks and santa clarita.

“are we almost there yet?”

“didn’t you ask that ten minutes ago?” katie said, turning from her seat to ashton who was squeezed in the third row with luke and luke’s girlfriend.

“so?” mallory pushed katie so that she was looking forward at the road ahead of them.

“calm down children, google says we have a couple more minutes until we get there.” katie and mallory’s neighbor graciously let them borrow her minivan for their little road trip, as long as they returned it with a full tank (katie and mallory were gonna make the boys pay for it). due to mallory not fully trusting any of the guys driving the borrowed minivan and katie was no good with bigger cars (when she was practicing for her driver’s test with her mum’s suv, she didn’t make the turn and rammed into a tree. thankfully no one was hurt and the car didn’t have significant damage, but mallory would try to be the only one driving in their friendship).

“we’re not children, we’re grown men,” she heard luke say, with a gruff tone. she snorted.

“yeah, keep telling yourself that, mate.” and all the girls in the car burst out laughing.

“calllum, your girl’s being mean to me,” he whined, tapping on the bassist’s shoulder in front of him.

“lukey, ‘ya brought that one on yourself,” he said, laughing.

“i don’t know how you can survive on one tour bus for months on end, if you lot are like this,” mallory said. “by the way, we’re here.”

once they found a parking spot, everyone hopped out and took off in their own groups.

“guess it’s just you and me.” mallory looked up from her phone, replying to her neighbor’s text about the drive, to calum, clad in his green hoodie and grey beanie.

“how unfortunate,” she said, clicking the key fob twice, to make sure it was locked.

“fine then. i’m gonna find ash and luke then,” he huffed dramatically and stomped towards the entrance of the patch. mallory rolled her eyes, but then quickly stuffed the keys in her pocket and after calum, grabbing his hand.

“alright, alright, calm your tits,” she said, tugging at his hand. “you’re not unfortunate, you’re just alright.” he looked down at her, side-eyeing mallory

“just alright?”

“eh,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. calum scoffed, pulling her closer to him.

“wow, this is the kind of treatment i get from my girl.”

“only the best for the bassist of 5sos,” she quipped. calum laughed, shaking his head.  they walked through the pumpkin patch that was behind the store, with their enclasped hands swinging back and forth.

“see anything worth picking up?” calum said, his eyes sweeping the pumpkins that they walked past.

“don’t know. has to be the right one. like, the one.” every year once autumn would just hit, mallory would pick the perfect pumpkins for carving, plain decoration, and even pumpkin pies that she fell in love with once she moved to the states.

“the one, you say?” calum said, looking at her with an incredulous look.

“yep,” she said, nodding her head. “i need nice round ones for simple decoration and carving, and ripe ones for cooking and stuff.” calum nodded, his eyes still scanning for mallory’s “perfect pumpkins.”

“this one any good?” they both stopped walking as calum picked up a decently size one that was mostly round. mallory still held onto his hand, while studying the pumpkin, from what seemed to be at every angle.

“it seems like a good contender.” he nodded, placing the pumpkin in the little wagon that he had been dragging. mallory tugged at his hand, already moving on to another pumpkin that caught her eye. after a few tugs, he let go, seeing her walk faster to a pumpkin towards the end of this row that they were walking by. she squat in front of it, carefully rolling it to check for any patches or dark-colored bumps. he caught up to her, standing a few feet away with his phone out to capture the moment. calum laughed, seeing her eyes continue to scrutinize at the pumpkin while clicking her tongue in satisfaction.

“what?” she said, looking at him with wide eyes. he shook his head, the smile still spread on his face.

“nothing. just love you.” mallory stood up with the pumpkin in her hands. she stepped towards him, putting the pumpkin in the wagon next to the other one.

she held onto his sweatshirt, tiptoeing to meet his lips.

“i love you too.”

© 2019 pagesuponstpages All Rights Reserved

[dailyaudiobible]

03/27/2019 DAB Transcript

Deuteronomy 7:1-8:20, Luke 7:36-8:3, Psalms 69:1-18, Proverbs 12:1

Today is the 27th day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It’s great to be here with you today as we move through the center of our week together and take the next step forward in the Scriptures. In the Old Testament in the book of Deuteronomy we’ve been listening to Moses give his second of three talks to the entire camp of the children of Israel before they move forward without him. So. We’re reading from the Good News Translation this week. Deuteronomy chapter 7 and 8 today.

Commentary:

Okay. So, Moses continues to speak to the entire congregation of Israel and I don't like, want to be so redundant that we get boring, but this is kind of important because as we end the book of Deuteronomy we are ending an era, we are ending the Torah, or the Pentateuch and an entire culture was formed under the leadership of Moses. So, he has some things to say and gave a dire warning to the people that were about to cross into the promised land. Mixing, right? Mixture would destroy them. When they enter the land, they were to destroy all the worship of lesser gods. If they didn't then they would be eventually seduced away from God, which would have devastating repercussions. And then he reminded them just how special that they were. So, quoting Moses here, “from all the peoples on earth He chose you to be His own special people. The Lord did not love you and choose you because you outnumbered other peoples. You were the smallest nation on earth, but the Lord loved you and wanted to keep the promise that He made to your ancestors. That is why He saved you by his great might and set you free from slavery to the king of Egypt.” Right? So, Moses is reminding the people of God's on ending faithfulness and loyalty. He told them that there's no ceiling on the blessings that awaited them if they would listen to and obey the Lord. And then Moses began to warn them that, effectively, once they cross into the promised land and they begin to establish themselves and begin to feel the prosperity that has been promised after a long season in the wilderness that they're going to be tempted to forget how they got to the promised land and start to think that it was in their own strength that they got to the promised land and it was their own strength that they have what they have. It's a warning that we’re going to be able to see in vivid color play out. However, it's probably a warning that we have already experienced in our lives in vivid color, right? So, when the fires are burning around us and it feels like our lives are upside down and we have no way to get out, when we're in the wilderness, in other words, it becomes pretty clear pretty quickly that our only hope is in God, but honestly for most of us the wilderness is just like a season we may pass through between times of plenty and it's in the times of plenty that we tend to forget who we are, how we got here, and God's hand in all of it. And this is what Moses is warning the children of Israel about. He told him that if they forgot the wilderness and God's mighty hand of provision and began to believe that they had achieved all that they are seeing and experiencing in their own strength they would be doing nothing but dooming themselves. In fact, Moses, he gave context of their whole wilderness experience, “God had used the wilderness to mature his children. He used the starkness of the desert to show them that in everything, they were utterly dependent on him for life. And if you've ever been in a desert then you kinda know the drill but if you've never been in the wilderness that we’re describing here, the wilderness that we were in about a month ago, you do begin to realize there's no way, not a million people, not a horde of people, there's no way in their own strength they could survive out here like this. And, so, Moses is saying, you've got to remember ultimately whose you are and why you are here or quoting Moses here, “in the desert gave He gave you manna to eat, food that your ancestors had never eaten. He sent hardships on you to test you so that in the end he could bless you with good things. So, then you must never think that you have made yourselves wealthy by your own power and strength. Remember that it is the Lord your God who gives you the power to become rich. He does this because He is still faithful today to the covenant that he made with your ancestors.” So, yeah, thousands of years have passed since Moses story was lived out and the children of Israel were contemplating crossing the Jordan River into the promised land, but the truth here and the warning here is absolutely as relevant to our lives today as it ever was. Our only hope, whether we’re in the wilderness or whether we’re in a season of plenty, our only hope is in our utter dependence on God and the sooner that we realize that in our lives the fewer times we’ll need to go back into the wilderness to be reminded because if we are utterly dependent upon God and we actually get that into the core of our being then whether we’re in the wilderness or whether we’re in a season of plenty really makes no difference. Like, what the circumstances are make no difference because the God of the universe who owns everything is our Father and He’ll provide. If we can live into then we will stop experiencing those kinds of seasons and actually settle into a state of being that is constant. God is my Father, He will father me, He will not abandon me. The circumstances that I may be experiencing, I am the one giving them the place in my life. I am allowing the anxiety to rise. I'm choosing a reality other than the one that tells me that God is my Father and He will provide. Rather, I'm believing that He will not show up and I am on my own and have to figure this out. Thus, the anxiety.

Prayer:

Father, we invite Your Holy Spirit into that because that probably touches all of us on some level. It's something that we can all understand. And, so, we invite Your Holy Spirit. Show us how. And You do. You actually answer that prayer and sometimes that answer includes going back into the wilderness to once again be reminded that You have always sustained and brought us through. How can we hold onto this Lord without having the back-and-forth seasons? How can we live into the fact that You have us and the only time that's not true is when we disentangle, when we run away or walk away, when we step away from You? But if we could settle into the reality that You are our Father, You will provide, we can experience life, the adventure of life together in collaboration with You. The quicker these things will become core truths and realities that we are living out the quicker so many of the distractions that slow us down would be eliminated. So, we’re turning toward You and we’re reaching toward You. Come Holy Spirit, You are only provider, You are only hope. Father, You are the only one who could ever save us. And, so, we apologize for the times of arrogance when we thought, “ahhh…in my own strength I did all this”   when the truth is that every day since the moment of our birth You’ve been chasing after us and providing for us. So, we acknowledge You in all things and humble ourselves before You. Lead us forward into all truth we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it's we’re you find out what's going on around here. So, be sure to stay connected as we…yeah I mean just a few days and we’ll be starting the second quarter of the year and the changing of the seasons will be upon us pretty quickly. So, stay connected as we prepare to take the next leg of the journey.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link. It lives on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. Thank you for those of you who have been willing to click that link. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, humbly. 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 comment, there are a number of numbers that you can use. If you are in the Americas, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial if you are in the UK or Europe 44-20-3608-8078 and if you are in Australia 6-13-8820-5459 is the number to dial.

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:

If foundation isn’t solid then the structure will not stand the stresses and the tolerances that the storms of life demand it’s hard to build on granite on any kind of rock even with the proper tools and work around the clock drilling boring shaping pouring bracing propping up and shoring and lots more stuff that I’m ignoring but there is one rock that’s worth exploring Jesus is that rock the rock on which I stand forget about the storms of life and all that they demand the winds may blow the waters rise on earth may die you’ll still be safe in Jesus the rock that’s very high

blindtony1016@gmail.com. Like to give a shout out to Michelle from LA. Love you. And Tito from Maryland, it’s good to hear your voice again brother. And once again Brian thank you, oh yeah, and congratulations to Joe the Protector on being a grandpop. That’s great. And once again Brian I want to thank you and your family, the Hardin family for this wonderful podcast for God’s Holy Spirit to flow. Keep it flowin’ y’all. All right. Bye-bye.

Good morning Daily Audio Bible people, my name is Heidi Daniels and I am a new Daily Audio Bible member. I started this month, March. I have so much to be thankful for. I have all three of my kids living nearby. They are adults and I have two of my grandkids who have moved in. That is an answer to desperate prayer of mine and my husbands. We have…we are just beyond grateful. Today we are going to walk across the Goldengate bridge together, laugh, and chat and just…this is for my birthday. He said what you want for my birthday mom and I said I want everyone together as a family happy, whole, loving Jesus. Huge story, just beyond grateful. Just want to give a shout to Jesus and thank You so much for being a part of our lives. Oh my gosh, __ You are our lives. Thank you so much for my kids having a relationship with You.

Hello everyone, this is Doug from Alabama. I don’t believe I’ve called in for maybe, it’s been about a couple months, a month and half. I meant to call in…and I guess I want to call and I don’t quite…kinda now how to word like what I’m gonna say, but I was listening to March 23rds episode…to March 23rds episode and today’s the 24th, yesterday, I didn’t really feel well and so on I’m a couple days behind but…and I don’t think she ever…she said her name today, but the lady…you had moved…it was a relationship that you had moved away and you were feeling a lot of hurt and betrayal. I feel that. I had a relationship in the past several years ago where I dated somebody from California and they moved here, and they asked me to pick up everything and move out to California with them to San Diego and I did. So, I picked up everything I had, everything I’d ever owned because I lived here all my life and I went out there and a little under two years into the thing in California it failed. There were a few things I did that in my shortcomings that led to it, but I was extremely hurt. It ended with me essentially like kicked out of the apartment and I really had no place to barely stay and it was hurtful, but your call just spoke to me. So, I did want to let you know that I am praying for you and I understand that hurt you feel when there’s somebody you care about and you trust and then they hurt you. So, just know you’ll be in my thoughts and prayers. I also wanted to say Brian, thank you so much for doing what you do. When you do say at the end, “I love you”, like for me that’s the only time I do here it throughout the day. So, it means the world. Small praise report, this morning cause this is Sunday, March 23rd, I almost text cause I volunteer at my church…I almost texted the guy I work for in parking…I almost told him, you know, I’m tired but I didn’t. I went, and I see why Satan wanted to keep me out of church…

I’m calling…this is __ from Chicago. I’ve called in a few times before over the last year asking for prayer for my adult son who…I don’t know exactly what’s going on but he just really seems to be in a really negative and bad place and consistently just acts out in ways that are unhealthy or makes decisions that are not productive and today we had a huge blowout that ended in him yelling and screaming and using all kinds of profanity towards me and in front of his 10 month old baby. He left the house and I told him he couldn’t come back until he could get his act together because I didn’t want to be living in that kind of situation and he’s 23 years old and I certainly can’t control his day-to-day actions, but I don’t even know what I’m praying for. I guess I’m just praying for peace and protection over him and that whatever is going on with him like getting in the way of him being able to be happy and productive where he is freed from that and gets whatever support __ out there he needs so that he can get back to a better place in our relationship, but I don’t know when that’s gonna happen, but I also…just…I can’t continue to live with the tension and the verbal abuse and the stress of just worrying about every day about what’s going on with him. So, until we can get back to a better place, I guess my prayer is just for peace and faith and patience. I’m sure all the parents listening understand how heartbreaking it is to have to separate yourself from your child, but I also feel like that…

I stand in awe before my faithful Lord. Good morning everybody this is Christy from Kentucky and I am…it’s taken a few days to even make this call because every time I do I start to cry again because my heart is so blessed. Brother Sean, I believe that’s what you said your name was, you said at the end your name was John 316. So, I’m thinking that your name is Sean and if I’m not I’m sorry, but I just want you to know how much I appreciate your obedience. When the Holy Spirit spoke my name into your heart there was a reason brother. This past week was a hard week. But you know sometimes we try to mask our pain and then you know God just calls us out on it and that’s what He was doing. And I’m humbled and broken and blessed at all at the same time because I know that God is sending His word through you my friend. And Sean that was such a blessing for me that you just can’t even imagine how much it touch my heart. So, thank you. Friends, your calls matter and your prayers matter and when we feel impressed to call and pray for someone you need to do that because it could change their day and it did mine. Thank you, Sean. I appreciate it. I love you guys so very much, and I pray each of you are having a blessed and lovely day today.

[stoweboyd]

Work Futures Daily - Retreating to the Restroom

People are doing their work in the restroom, to get away from the noise and lack of privacy in open offices

2018-04-09 Beacon NY - The Pew Research Center for Internet and Technology have published a new report on The Future of Well-Being in a Tech-Saturated World, by Janna Anderson and Lee Rainie.

The report is a must read.

I am one of the several dozen respondents they polled in the report. One of my concerns is the negative impacts of overwork:

Stowe Boyd, futurist, publisher and editor-in-chief of Work Futures, said, “Well-being and digital life seem so intertangled because of the breakdown between personal and public life … that digital tools have amplified. One significant aspect of public life is our relationship to work. … We need to wake up to the proximate cause of the drive for well-being, which is the trap of overwork and the forced march away from living private lives.”

I have been working on a long post on well-being and overwork, which develops these ideas.

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On Automation in Europe

Liz Alderman reports on the growing density of robots in Eastern Europe, as rising employment and deep resistance to immigration leads to growing labor shortages:

Eastern Europe’s factories are already well automated. New robot installations in the Czech Republic rose 40 percent between 2010 and 2015, according to the International Federation of Robotics. Today there are around 101 robots for every 10,000 workers. And more machines are coming as companies try to improve productivity, tilting them toward levels in countries like Germany, which averages 309 robots per 10,000 workers, the most in Europe.

[...]

Businesses say letting in more foreign workers would help. But the conservative government has pledged to limit immigration, and recently set strict caps on foreign work visas. There are longer-term trends at play, as well. Families aren’t having children fast enough to replace people heading into retirement. Automation, one argument goes, could compensate. Skoda, the nation’s biggest automaker, said last month that it would “significantly accelerate” automation to face demographic changes and wage pressures.

When business is booming and companies can't hire fast enough to keep up with demand automation is seen as a necessary means to keep pace, but if there's a downturn they won't turn off the machines and go back to human labor. That's why I maintain that robot density is one element of the work uncertainty index.

Quote of the Day

Save your old ideas. Don’t let them die. | Dave Linabury, Why do most ideas die at brainstorming?

Education Bots

Jeffrey Young discusses the use of chatbots as teaching assistants at Georgia Tech:

Ashok K. Goel, a professor of computer science and cognitive science, and his team have refined perhaps the first robot teaching assistant, dubbed Jill Watson. Here’s the scenario: Last year in an online course on artificial intelligence with 400 students, two chatbots joined 13 human TAs to answer student questions about the course and its content. Students were told that software robots were in the mix, and they were challenged to identify which of the voices they were interacting with were human and which were machine.

The robot TAs were given the names Stacy Sisko and Ian Braun. One bot was designed to be a bit more personable than the other: if a student mentioned she was from Chicago, Stacy Sisko would make a comment about the city. Ian Braun was all business, and weighed in on fewer student questions (he was an older version of the software that the researchers keep refining).

At the end of the semester about half of the students correctly guessed that Stacy was merely computer code. Only ten percent correctly identified Ian as a bot. And ten percent mistakenly thought that two of the human TAs were chatbots.

I wonder what humans have to do to seem bottish?

On Restrooms in the Workplace

A departure for me, but I agree with the central premise of Why Restrooms Matter In The Workplace by Jonah Bleckner and Melissa Marsh of PLASTARC:

In contrast to the lofty declarations of mission statements that are both easy to craft and then to ignore, investments in spaces are seen as more transparent reflections of managers’ actual perspective. In this sense, the design and upkeep of a restroom plays a crucial role in shaping the kind of professional relationship that is formed between managers, employees, and clients.

One study shows that the organization that provides a bathroom that is thoughtfully designed and features materials that wear well will be more positively evaluated than those that don’t. In this light, poorly designed and managed spaces reflect poorly on the individuals and larger organization that provide them. Perhaps the most salient example of this is in the restaurant industry, where customers invoke the state of the restroom as evidence to substantiate their good or bad experience. This realization has reemphasized the importance of designing and managing a space like the restroom from the perspective of the user.

And here's a seldom-mentioned factoid:

Studies have shown that many employees are actually retreating to toilet stalls to work. In these private restroom refuges, people are free of the distractions of open offices and feel secure enough to let their minds wander. It is therefore important that bathrooms have good Wi-Fi access and that shelves are available for idle laptops or phones.

Oh, man. That's the harshest condemnation of open offices I've heard this year.

On Thinking

Duncan Simester confronts a painful truth:

Many executives in big companies attained their positions by excelling at getting things done. Unfortunately, a bias for doing rather than thinking can leave these executives ill-equipped for their new roles.

The secret to making time to think: delegation. And a bias for action leads us away from delegation, too. So, we need to make too difficult changes in our behavior to make serioius time for thinking.

On Universal Basic Income

Luke Martinelli of the University of Bath in the UK, characterizes the state of opposition to UBI like so:

Rather than claiming UBI is unaffordable per se, a more apt characterisation of opposition is that an affordable UBI would be inadequate, and an adequate UBI would be unaffordable.

His research paper digs into the many policy collisions with existing economic supports for the UK population:

We conclude that basic income policy design is subject to a three-way trade-off between the important goals of meeting need, controlling cost, and reducing the negative effects of means-testing; partial schemes are better equipped to ensure acceptable distributional outcomes, but fail to achieve many of UBI’s broader goals – including drastic reductions in bureaucratic complexity and the minimisation of poverty and unemployment traps – as effectively as full schemes.

But there are huge challenges to political implementation, as has always been the case in welfare reform, and while there are some similarities between UK and US labor markets and welfare systems, it is not the case that a close reading of Martinelli leads to a deep understanding of US and EU policies, although he does spend some time discussing the difference with Europeans approaches.

At the core, there is a fundamental divergence in the attitudes of workers and non-workers toward welfare systems, and he points out that public support for welfare in the UK has declined in recent decades, which is also true in the US. And therefore,

These factors suggests that, to the extent that any form of basic income is politically feasible in the UK, residual schemes aimed at reducing poverty and unemployment traps and supporting the working poor – as opposed to more generous redistributive schemes – are more likely to achieve political traction.

It seems that UBI is a long way off. We may need to have a long list of other societal changes before it becomes feasible, if ever.

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[devoutconfidence]

☯ + uke telling everyone allie had tried to steal the election

Send me ‘☯ + a scene from my characters canon’ and I will drabble it from my character’s POV.

Everything was fine, and going well.

Until it wasn’t.

Until the doors of the church opened, and Luke walked in. But that wasn’t the part that terrified her.

The fact that he was being flanked by Lexie and Harry was. The only thing that would make this scenario worse would be if Campbell was with him.

Not only that, but his handsome face was darkened and looked completely different from how she was used to it. She knew he hadn’t been happy with what she’d said about him running for mayor, but was he mad enough to do something like this?

What was he doing?

She decided to forego greeting Luke in favour of getting to the bottom of all of this. “What’s going on?”

“It’s all right.” He said in response, which was not what she had asked. At all.

That wasn’t good enough for her. Not by a long shot. “Luke, what’s happening?” She asked, slightly more insistent.

“Trust me.” Helena had never needed to be told to trust him before. She just did. 

But right now, she didn’t.

He was a complete stranger. And that terrified her.

“I’m right in the middle of-” She started, but he cut her off.

“It’s all right.” He said again, and Helena wanted to scream Stop saying that! Everything was clearly not all right. Why couldn’t he see that? “It’s all right.”

Helena was never one to indulge in  ridiculous theories. But she was really beginning to wonder if her boyfriend had been body snatched, and his replacement was incapable of saying anything except meaningless phrases meant to placate her.

Well it wasn’t working. Not even a little bit. In fact, his strange, muted behaviour was having the exact opposite effect on her. Talk about irony. 

Helena had been called a bulldog on more than one occasion. By her parents, by her friends, even by Luke himself. Because she was relentless in her pursuit for answers and the truth. It would take more than his meaningless platitudes to calm her down, and he should’ve known that. His words from the other night came back to her mind: Maybe it is too soon for us to get married. And the thought occurred to her that he was right. Was this the kind of man she wanted to be marrying? “What are you doing with Lexie?”

This time he didn’t answer, just walked up the steps and approached her. and for the first time in all the years she’d known him, even before they started dating, she wanted to run for the hills. Just straight out the doors of the church and away from this madness.

Luke was trying to hold her. She wouldn’t let him. “Luke, what-why are they here?” He seemed to be moving her away from the center of the altar area, his hands on her hips like they had been so many times before. But this time it felt different. And not the good kind of different.

“It’s all right. Trust me.” He whispered in her ear. Usually she loved it when he whispered in her ear, but right now, it only served to further unsettle her. He could tell her to trust him until he was blue in the face, but that wouldn’t make her do such a thing. 

Especially not given the current situation she was in.

He was trying to hold her, and she tried to get across that she didn’t want him to. She crossed her arms over her chest in a protective gesture, trying to keep as much distance between them as possible. Lexie took the center of the altar area-her usual place, she noticed.

Why would Luke do this? Bring these people he knew she didn’t like or trust into this place, the one place in New Ham that she actually felt safe in?

“I’m sorry to do this, this way.” Lexie said, and Helena doubted very much that she was sorry for anything at all. But she held her tongue. Luke moved her further away, and she stepped backwards to let him do so, if only so she didn’t tumble backwards. 

This was the most insistent she’d ever seen him about anything, which only further destabilized her. It was taking every ounce of self control she still possessed not to lash out, to demand answers.

“But…” Lexie continued. “there isn’t going to be an election.”

“What?!” Helena snapped, eyes narrowed. This was definitely not good. This wasn’t a democracy, it was quickly going the way of a dictatorship.

“Allie and Will have been arrested by the Guard.” Lexie said. Luke was trying to talk to her, but Helena couldn’t hear what he was saying-she was too laser focused on Lexie’s words. “They’re under house arrest right now for trying to steal the election.”

“I don’t believe that.” Helena said firmly. And she didn’t. How could she, when she had just been there, talking to Allie, maybe an hour ago? Allie would never, Will would never. They weren’t those kinds of people.

“Luke.” Lexie said, and Helena looked at him. Truly, he was unrecognizable. Oh sure, nothing about his face, his voice or his looks had changed at all. But rather, the way he carried himself, the way he spoke, had changed.

“Look, I heard them talking about it when they didn’t realize I was in the room.” Luke said, and her legs shook. But thankfully, they didn’t give out on her. She didn’t take her eyes off him. None of this made any sense. “But they control the ballots. They weren’t gonna lose.” She didn’t agree with this at all, didn’t believe what he was saying and, judging from the groans within the crowd, she wasn’t alone in that feeling. 

She’d never had any reason whatsoever to doubt him or think what he was saying wasn’t true. Until now.

“It’s true.” He said. “No matter what happened with the vote, they were gonna win.” There were more groans of disbelief, but Helena herself was just speechless. Why was it so bad if Allie and Will won? “I know. I didn’t wanna believe it either.” Helena still didn’t, if she was being honest. This just didn’t make sense, any of it.

As Lexie continued speaking, talking about her plans for New Ham, Helena continued to stare at Luke’s face, trying to find any ounce of the young man she’d fallen in love with when they were little more than children.

But she didn’t see him anywhere.

[furederiko]

Sheeesh!!! It's happening again. All these huge news came out just a day after I posted the last Random-News-Digest. I could've included them in that post instead!!! Personal ranting aside, let's get right through the news then... PS: Yeah, this one arrives a little early than usual, because I have to go off the grid for a while. At least until I return from embarking another exploration to the far off galaxy this week... ;D

Disney Live Action

Guy Ritchie is doing the live action adaptation for "Aladdin"? I'm sure you've already heard about that. The movie is going to be an action musical with Middle Eastern leads who have natural talents in singing and dancing? You've heard this before early last month? Well, it's a first for me, but of course... hell yes! That's GREAT news. But did you know which actor Ritchie is currently approaching to play the magical Genie? The answer is... much to everyone's surprise: Will Smith!

Okay, this casting? I'm not too sure about. The last time we had an African-American as a geenie was Shaquille O'Neal in "Kazaam", and that was... uhm, how do I put it? ODD? Not saying I don't like the idea, or that Smith's a bad actor, nor that I'm being racist or anything. I guess I just can't see the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" in this role. And if we're indeed going about race, why couldn't we get another Middle Eastern actor, or at least an Indian for the job? Someone who's more 'racially appropriate'. Of course Smith's appeal is understandable. He's an actual singer so he'll nail the musical part nicely, a natural Oscar-darling for dramatic moments, and has comedic chops that might rival the late Robin Williams. Even if I feel Williams is pretty much irreplacable in this role.

The problem with Smith however, is that he has turned down Tim Burton's "Dumbo" before. That was due to scheduling issue with "Bad Boys 3". That Michael Bay movie had just lost its director, thus putting it on an uncertain delay, yet Smith hasn't walked back to "Dumbo". Thus suggesting that he's probably just not 'keen on' the project. If that's any indication, could we even expect Smith to take a higher coveted role like the Genie instead? Many seems to doubt it. Beside, the current situation is, he's just in "early talks" for this role, and we know that in Hollywood, that means 'nothing is yet set in stone'. Or legal papers, if you prefer to be more modernly accurate. LOL.

If I have a voice in this movie's production, I say just let Genie become a fully CG character. You know, like those household members in "Beauty and the Beast"? Thus they can get practically anyone who's NOT Will Smith to voice the role. Someone who has strong comedic timing, and is equally masterful at singing. Hmmm... why am I suddenly reminded of Seth McFarlane? Perhaps, because he was a standout in Illumination's "Sing!" last year? He can even be a prolific Broadway actor. What about Jamie Fox, Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane, or... LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA? I think those names are much better choices than Smith. Here's a completely random suggestion though: Timothy Omundson, or Ben Presley from "Galavant"!!! They live in UK, have worked with Alan Menken before, for a Disney's ABC series, and CAN totally sing. Anyway, we can expect confirmation to this pretty soon, because apparently the casting call explicitly stated that: "Rehearsals begin April 2017. Shooting July 2017-January 2018 in the UK.". And April is about to end pretty soon! LOL.

DC Films

Here's a quick one from Warner Bros and DC! Because as we all should understand by now, they won't ever let Marvel take the whole week of spotlight onto themselves, right? They just need to sneak a completely random news of development here and there. This time, it's from Joss Whedon, whose name has been kindly talked about recently thanks to Kevin Feige kindly mentioning him during Marvel Studios' open house. And this news came from a very ironic place too: The red carpet premiere of the new Guardians movie! LOL to that.

The news was, well, Whedon is NOT looking for a big name to fill in her lead actress for "Batgirl". He said clearly, "I don’t have my eye on anyone. I’m creating this character, I’m in a dialogue with her, and then we’ll see who joins that later on. I doubt it’ll be a name.", which means she can be anyone. Whedon had a soft spot for Oscar-nominee Saoirse Ronan before ended up going with Elizabeth Olsen for Wanda Maximoff in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". And his TV works have always involved a strong female lead, like Sarah Michelle-Gellar in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer". So he can practically choose any actress for the character, including a relatively unknown. The big question though, how does WB feel about this? And considering the studio's really BAD habbit of pointlessly putting reference, will this actress debuted in "The Batman" before her solo movie? Which means she needs to be cast right away. We'll have to wait and see how this develops.

Wait a sec... turns out this news didn't really come from WB after all. But due to Variety asking Whedon about the project, when they bumped into him at the premiere. So not WB's intentional spotlight-hogging trick this time around. LOL. Sorry WB, my bad. This is why you shouldn't do that to other studios, as people would easily assume you're doing it again and again eventhough you're guilty of charge. Ahahahaha... *sigh*.

Fast and Furious

"The Fate of the Furious", which is a dumb title albeit a nice little twist on 'F8', raced through the box office and conquered the winning lane ever since it debuted. It has even amassed a record breaking global opening of all time, beating 2015's "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"! But with the franchise started getting a little... tiring, the question is, for how much longer it has the engine to keep on running? If the latest statement by producer Neal Moritz is to be believed, we're going to see this drug race-inspired movie - at least - up to "Fast and Furious 10". Which might be dumbly named "Fasten Your Seatbelt". Get it? LOL. That's already one more than the previously reported "Fast and Furious 9" by the way. Remember when Lucas Black was approached to do it until 9, but ended up a no-show in 8?

It certainly ain't stopping anytime soon though. Why? Because already, a plan is in motion for a... spinoff. Yikes! Yes, because apparently, due to the much publicized rift (is it real or fake? That has been settled though, I think... *sigh*) between lead actor Vin Diesel, and new regular Dwayne Johnson, it seems fans are now shipping Johnson's Luke Hobbs with Jason Statham's Deckard Shaw. Yep, the bad guy who killed Sung Kang's Han Seoul-Oh. Seriously, will Han's death ever be avenged? I haven't seen the eighth movie yet, but it sounded like Hobbs and big bro Shaw (while lil bro Shaw was singing his way in "Beauty and the Beast") actually had... great chemistry together?

It's currently 'in talks' stage for now, but I can already see it happening. Particularly considering The Rock would do any film, while Statham is in need of another franchise after his participation in "The Expendables 4" is put into question. Chris Morgan is expected to write, and the timeline would put it between the 8th and 9th movie. I'm not too sure about this idea, but perhaps, somewhere along the line we might be seeing a Han and Gal Gadot's Giselle "Mr & Mrs Smith"-esque movie along the way? Especially after Gadot's profile will get another significant boost following this year's "Wonder Woman". I'd certainly would watch that.

X-Men Universe

Now here's what I consider a rather 'dumb' report serving the headlines for "Deadpool 2". Actress Leslie Uggams is set to reprise her role as Blind Al in the sequel. Why is that dumb? Duh... because she's an important element of the first movie, stealing scene every single time she showed up. It would be a crime to not have her back! Not to mention, he's Wade's roommate. What I'm curious to know however, is whether Morena Baccarin will indeed reprise her role as Vanessa as well. I sure hope she will, otherwise it would mess up continuity... not that FOX have actually cared about it. Then again, Deadpool could've gotten away with it by turning it as a mockery excuse towards FOX. While at the same time, punching jabs towards Marvel Studios' case of Pepper Potts and Jane Foster. Ain't that a good idea, right?

Oh yeah, by the way, FOX has announced the official release date for the movie! Eventhough the first movie opened in February, its success has apparently warranted this sequel to change gears into a Summer movie. Yes, it will now open in June 1st, 2018. Which is a rather crowded spot, since Disney has "Han Solo: A Star Wars Movie" to open in the previous week, and the following week has WB's all-female "Ocean's 8" and Paramount's "Bumblebee" movie. Is this a wise move, then? I doubt. That's the way it is with FOX though, they don't give a damn about things like this. They've also set up Josh Boone's "New Mutants" to arrive on April 13th, 2018. Which is, a few months... AHEAD. Huh?

And a little movie called "X-Men: Dark Phoenix" that will arrive in November 2nd, 2018. Squaring off directly against Disney's "Mulan" live action revisit, this news just came in several hours ago (thank Jesus I can add it before this post goes up *sigh*)! Nope, don't be mistaken, it's not "X-Men: The Last Stand" that practically ruined the franchise the first time. It's a... reboot of said movie? Meaning it has the ultimate potential (same story, same WRITER) to do the same? LOL. Need I remind you, these are 3 different movies, set in an entirely 3 different timeline/universe, right? Once again, LOL to that.

Aaaaanyway. With the uncertainty of WB to produce any DC Films earlier than December's "Aquaman", looks like FOX is snatching all the empty superhero slots, eh? The only empty space is in January, March, and August to October, with SONY's "Venom" already dated in the last one. So NICE move to FOX....!!! I guess? *sigh*

Avatar

This is a direct follow up to the above paragraph. Remember the James Cameron's sequel that was supposed to open on December 2018, but got delayed and thus became occupied by "Aquaman"? Yep, I know what you're thinking. This whole release date business already sounds like a confusing game of chess! Well, brace yourself, because "Avatar 2", the sequel we never even asked, will now open on December 18th, 2020. Eeeeh? Not kidding. But what took Cameron so long to get one done? The answer is, because he's doing all FOUR sequels altogether. Yes, "Avatar 3" has been scheduled to open on December 17th, 2021, while "Avatar 4" and "Avatar 5" are coming in December 20th, 2024 and December 19th, 2025 respectively. Ain't that a mouthful to write! Those, if there's any among you, who are waiting for these... sequels, should be really happy to hear this news. You have 5 years of Avatar-time! You've got to hand it to Cameron though. This here is risky business. VERY risky. I can't even imagine what would happen if the 2nd movie is a bomb.

Marvel Studios

Let's start with the juiciest part! Just last week, I speculated that Marvel Studios will announce the female director for "Captain Marvel" when they return to Hall H of this year's San Diego Comic Con. Well, this is Marvel Studios, a studio known for catching people off guard, and they've done it again. Not just for one, but a double surprise at the same time.

Yes, the director for their first female-led female-centric movie has indeed been selected. And it's not one, but TWO of them! Marvel Studios officially announced (first reported by Variety) that Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck have been assigned to helm the project. So to you who wanted a female director, you get one. And those who prefer a male director, also get one. Fair and square!!! Intriguingly, their names weren't even part of the frontrunners list, so it certainly caught almost everyone by surprise. According to The Hollywood Reporter, apparently Marvel Studios met with several female directors since last summer; from Niki Caro (who has been hired to do "Mulan" instead), Lesli Linka Glatter, Lorene Scafaria, to Lucia Aniello, and Quicksilver's real life wife Sam Taylor-Johnson, with Jennifer Kent and Jennifer Yuh also in the early mix; before ultimately settling in on this "Mississippi Grind" duo. Turns out, they've managed to impress the studio with their vision for the movie, which put focus on elevating character's journey beneath all the spectacle. Sounds like something right up on Marvel Studios' alley, huh?

Just like the Russo Brothers, Boden and Fleck have done more TV based project, instead of big features. Does the similarity to Anthony and Joe feels more than mere coincidence? Clearly Marvel is taking their first female-led superhero VERY seriously. I wouldn't be surprised if Carol Danvers will be taking Steve Rogers' important role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe going forward. To be honest, I'm not at all familiar with the duo's work, not on movies ("It's Kind of a Funny Story", "Sugar", "Half Nelson"), nor TV ("The Affair", "Billions"). But I'm hearing good things about them, and considering Marvel Studios has a powerful knack in choosing who they partnered with (particularly ever since they no longer serve under Ike Perlmutter), I've completely put my trust in their decision. Lest we forget, people doubted that Joss Whedon, James Gunn, and also the Russos would deliver before. And now their movies are considered among MCU's best. With the smart and loveable Oscar-winner Brie Larson more than excited to front, a script currently in progress by Nicole Perlman and Meg LeFauve, and an official production targetting a February 2018 start, "Captain Marvel" will arrive on March 8th, 2019.

After debuting their first worldwide tour in Tokyo, Japan, the Los Angeles Red Carpet Premiere for "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" has been held on Friday. As always, the glamorous event took place at the El Capitan Theatre. Unlike previous movies, I couldn't catch the live stream of this premiere, because I'm running out of data charge on my internet! After all, when you're saving up money to watch the movie (tickets' pre-ordered by the way, yaaaay! XD), you have no choice but to wait until early next month to get it reinvigorated. Whoops, let's get back on track. Most of the cast attended the celebration. Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, co-president Louis D'Esposito, VFX producer Victoria Alonso, and director James Gunn were obviously leading the pack. They were joined by returning actors Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldana, Dave Bautista, Vin Diesel, Karen Gillan, Michael Rooker, and Sean Gunn, as well as new cast members Pom Klementieff, Chris Sullivan, Elizabeth Debicki, and Tommy Flanagan. Veteran actors Kurt Russel and Sylvester Stallone were also in attendance, with a surprise appearance of one David Hasselfhoff! Okay, I didn't even know he has a part in this movie. I thought his name in the recently released Original Soundtrack was just pure coincidence. By the way, said album's tracklist could potentially be considered spoilerish, so you might want to avoid it the way I do.

Another press junket was held following the premiere, and the folks behind this movie has been spilling additional details here and there. The kind of information that you would want to steer away and avoid, if like me, you don't want to be spoiled ahead of the game. This could range from the simplest bit like: - Various critics' reviews as well as the first accumulated RottenTomatoes score can be expected to arrive very soon. So check your favorite entertainment sites in the next 24 hours or more, to see what their journalists have to say about this movie. I'm personally avoiding the internet after this to avoid spoilers, and will get back once I've seen the movie. 3 days from now! YAAASSS!!! \(^o^)/ - The fact that the movie's core theme is about family. Sean Gerber of Modern Myth Media, even said that the movie was "pure love", and something that should be watched together with their family. Gunn even dedicated this movie to his parents during the LA premiere. - That baby Groot is the star of the movie! Even fellow Marvel Studios director Peyton Reed thought he could win an Oscar! - New official images released on Entertainment Weekly that hinted towards various plot points. - A supposed Nathan Fillion's cameo that got edited out. Complete with proof by the actor himself, that turned out to nothing but a... prank? LOL. Though it's possible he's indeed the actor that Gunn openly admitted had to cut during post production. - About "the collector’s museum"-level Easter-Eggs-filled scene that went out in the cutting room... and might not be available as the Deleted Scenes. - About a surprise pop star cameo. - To the more complex one, like the removal of one character by the name of... *drumrolls* Adam Warlock!

Yes, turns out the Warlock was originally a major part of "Vol. 2"! Confirming that it was indeed his cocoon we saw in the first movie, but was decided to be saved for later movies. Once again, Gunn has been pretty open about this before, as he said that the script originally had 'one other' member of the team that he unfortunately had to let go. Yes, he WAS talking about Warlock, as the decision to omit him was because "it was one character too many and I didn’t want to lose Mantis and Mantis was more organically part of the movie anyway. So I decided to save him for later.". Gunn expressed his love for him though, eventhough we also shouldn't expect to see Warlock in "Avengers: Infinity War" as well, much to fans dismay. Nevertheless, Feige gave assurance that we will definitely see this important cosmic being in future movies.

By future, I believe we can expect this important character to show up later in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3", or even earlier in the UNTITLED 2019's Avengers movie. As I've always said, Adam Warlock is an amazing character because he's basically serving as both protagonist and antagonist due to his alter-ego Magus. And the prospect of having him playing a crucial role in future Marvel cosmic universe is enough as an excuse for me. Gunn stated to EW, that the "the three movies work together as a whole, they’re going to tell one story,". Which is exactly the reason why he agreed and excited to continue with "Vol. 3". Don't forget, we're getting Warlock's comic-book's 'sister' Ayesha and her golden-skinned race in this second movie. It would be very obvious, if Warlock will indeed take the follow up spotlight on "Vol. 3". One more thing, Gunn's collaboration with Marvel Studios won't be stopping after "Vol. 3". Birth.Movies.Death speculated, that Gunn is basically the architect of Marvel Studios' future cosmic universe, and I'm inclined to agree on that. Which his role important going forward. After all, Feige himself stated that Gunn "could easily oversee additional stories beyond Vol. 3.". I honestly can't wait to see what we can expect next in the massive galactic side of MCU, considering some of its more popular properties like Galactus, or Silver Surfer, are owned by FOX.

With one movie of 2017 out of the way, when can we expect the 2nd one then? The Los Angeles premiere for "Spider-Man: Homecoming" has been set for June 28th, 2017. Similar to the case of "Vol. 2", we can expect first screening reactions, critics reviews, and all the information dump related to Tom Holland's solo movie, beginning on early June. Or perhaps, much earlier? Yep, L.A. Times shared a new official photo of Spidey inside a pipe, accompanied by a breakdown of what his VERY convenient suit can do. After all, it's Tony Stark's creation! LOL. There's another one from EW, included in an article that focused on director Jon Watts' and Holland's experience with the production, considering the two "were in the same boat". In case you forget, "Homecoming" is the only MCU movie this year that takes place on Earth! So in that sense, it could be considered an important movie, because it's one of two that will directly lead up towards "Infinity War".

The other one is of course, Ryan Coogler's "Black Panther" that will arrive February 16th next year. A movie that had just wrapped production in Atlanta, but already sounds stunningly promising in many delicate ways: first female cinematographer in Rachel Morrison, dashing 'tribal-modern fusion' costumes by Oscar nominee Ruth E. Carter, fully imaginative high-tech metropolitan Wakanda, and stellar supporting cast, among others. Both Holland's Peter Parker and Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa debuted in "Captain America: Civil War" to critical acclaimed last year. We know that the two has officially joined the MCU's shirtless club, that even the bigwigs at Marvel Studios thought as something brag-worthy (LOL!!!). Yet the biggest question for them, is whether their stand-alone features will perform as good, or even better as the hype. Whether the directorial visions of Watts and Coogler are the right ones to catapult each solo title into their own franchises. Because if they are, then they will be joining the likes of Peyton Reed and Scott Derrickson who are moving forward with their second MCU movie.

Meanwhile, production for "Infinity War" is still ongoing in Scotland. And the latest sighting will make fans of the comics glee with joy. Why? Actor Paul Bettany was seen filming a romantic scene with Elizabeth Olsen, confirming that the relationship of his Victor Sha... I mean Vision and her Wanda Maximoff actually have progressed significantly since their encounter in "Avengers: Age of Ultron". There's something more to the scene though, because Bettany is NOT in his thick Vision makeup! Thus many have been assuming this could be either a dream-scene, or an alternate reality caused by one of the Infinity Stones. In fact, it makes sense to be the movie's happy ending too.

Speaking of 'happy ending', don't assume that this scene is part of the 2019's UNTITLED Avengers movie. Why? Eventhough the Russos DID plan to film both movies concurrently, apparently what might have sounded possible in theory, didn't work out so well in practice. Feige revealed to Collider, that the studio has decided to change course, and film both movies as back-to-back but entirely separate productions. "It became too complicated to cross-board them like that, and we found ourselves—again, something would always pay the price", he admitted, which might point out various issues like technical requirements of making sure both movie would be different from one another, actor's scheduling, and others. Which means, every behind the scenes candid images we've seen so far, are all part of "Infinity War". Feige then confirmed that they expect filming for the first movie to wrap in July, before moving on with the next one in August. Think of it like how Peter Jackson worked on his "The Lord of the Rings" or "The Hobbit" trilogies.

Last but not least, Feige also teased that while they are focusing on the seven ongoing tasks at hand, the MCU might be 'evolving' into a different form/route beginning in Phase 4. If... it can even be called that way, of course. "Certainly as we get to Infinity War there is a sense of a climax if not a conclusion to, by the time we’re at untitled Avengers 4, the 22 movies that will have encompassed the first three phases of the MCU. And what happens after that will be very different. I don’t know if it’s Phase 4, it might be a new thing.", he openly said to Collider. Intriguing, because if we observe closer, two of the confirmed titles ("Vol. 3" and "Homecoming 2") have their own separate and unique timelines; one probably mere months apart, while the other taking the "Harry Potter" yearly approach. A third that has been unofficially confirmed, the next chapter to "Doctor Strange", isn't likely to be bound by time and space either. Feige summed up that after 2019's Avengers movie, the MCU is "gonna be very, very different.". Hmmm... let's just say, I won't be at all surprised if the official title for Avengers 4 is called... "AVENGERS: SECRET WARS"! *wink*

Marvel TV

As Marvel's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." closing in on its 4th season finale, the fate of this ABC network series remains a huge question. Will it be renewed for a 5th year? And will it serve as the final season, as Entertainment Weekly has predicted before? Fans of the show, however small and numbered it might be, are anxious to find out. But while we're waiting for the answer, Marvel TV isn't stopping anytime soon. Instead, they are moving forward with their two Freeform projects.

The first one is Marvel's "New Warriors", as the former ABC family network officially announced its main roster! As speculated, it's a combination of actual "New Warriors" members from the comics, as well as ones from "Great Lake Avengers". The characters were revealed last week, complete with a catchy comic book art to accompany the announcement. They are (in list, because I love one): - Doreen Green, or Squirrel Girl. Well, duh? Obviously she's part of the show! Because it's the character that Freeform has always wanted to get from the beginning. According to Freeform, Doreen is an empowered girl, and a natural leader. Fitting to her power of acrobatic, and as such, she is bouncy and energetic. She will be accompanied by her pet squirrel Tippy Toe, everywhere she goes. - Craig Hollis, or Mister Immortal. True to his superhero alias, he's practically unable to die. Problem is, the lazy guy hasn't made use of this ability at all, and tends to be cocky and grumpy instead. Freeform calls him as the team's troublemaker. Or as I would see it... the jerk whom I would easily hate. - Dwayne Taylor, or Night Thrasher. He doesn't have any super ability, but he's a... Youtube artist? Huh? Ain't that something that the millenials would dig, right? He's rich kid who's pretending he's not, because he's a local celebrity 'hero' who is... shamelessly full of himself. Wow, our first two guys both sound annoying already. - Robbie Baldwin, or Speedball. His ability is to launch kinetic balls of energy, which of course would require CG work. His character description is kind of important, because it confirms that the show takes place in the MCU. Yes, because he's a fan of the Avengers Tower. Unfortunately, he's "impulsive and immature people-pleaser with a misplaced sense of confidence". My oh my, why do all the guys are characterized like this? - Zack Smith, or Microbe. This guy might already be my favorite, because he's a shy and sweet big guy who... talks to germs? Huh? Yep, his ability practically turns him into some kind of telepath, as he can tell everything from the millions germs scattering in the planet. Considering the MCU has very few people who can be categorized as an actual telepath (Scarlet Witch, and Mantis?), this is a good excuse to make Zack be another one. Judging from the character design, it seems like an Asian-American is going to be cast for this character. - Deborah Fields, or Debrii. This lesbian African-American is proud, and has a sharp tongue. Always unafraid to say what she thinks, and calls out people on their BS. Sounds like an amazing frenemy to either Craig, Dwayne, or Robbie, right? She has the power of telekinesis, and also acts as some sort of trickster.

If you ask me, I think these characters are good, and also wise choices because they represent diversity. No actor has been announced just yet because the casting process is said to commence very soon. But considering how fast this show is moving forward since it was greenlit, I wouldn't be surprised if we're getting cast announcement next week! I'm still not sure if I can see this show, considering it's airing on Freeform, but the idea of a 30-minutes 10-episodes only live-action comedy is too good for me to miss out. Obviously, if there's one main concern I have for it, is whether they can nail the VFX for show or not. And how much practical effects that will be utilized. Like the case of Tippy Toe, will an actual squirrel plays the rodent? Or a completely CG character? Of course, having characters like Mister Immortal, Night Thrasher, and Microbe is a beneficial cheat, considering their abilities can all be done practically. Even Debrii's power can also be done through simple camera tricks. The biggest challenge would be Speedball's, and the appearance of Squirrel Girl. Let's hope showrunner Kevin Biegel, and Marvel TV can work these out. Marvel's "New Warriors" is expected to arrive in 2018, which means, plenty of time to get the VFX done.

The first trailer for Marvel's "Cloak and Dagger" has been released! I did NOT see this coming. After all, the series won't premiere until Winter 2018, right? Unless, that literally means January or February, since both months are still regarded as winter. Hmmmm. Anyway, as soon as I'm done with the trailer, I'm 100% certain that this show is NOT for me. Not saying it's bad, because the whole teenage romance thing is, well, certainly new for Marvel. So a 'good job' for them is at hand? I don't know why, it just doesn't work for me. The lack of special effects, perhaps (that practical one looks... weak, and fake)? Too soap-opera for my taste, probably? Or is it because a conservative soul like me and some others just couldn't get the charm of it. Maaaaan, I feel old *sigh*. As I said before, as much as I liked the characters in the comics, I'm going to give this series a pass. It's definitely a no go for me. The only thing I liked about this is the logo... and that's saying much.

I can't help but wonder if these lovers would somehow, in some way, have a crossover with the "New Warriors". Both are running in the same network, and the age gap between their characters aren't too big. Of course, we must not forget that "Cloak and Dagger" takes place in New Orleans, while "New Warriors" will be in... hold on, they haven't mentioned where the setting will be, huh? Character description for Speedball mentioned 'Avengers Tower' though, so it likely takes place in New York. If that's the case, now I'm wondering if Squirrel Girl and her friends will bump into any of the Defenders, or Doctor Strange, or even Spider-Man? Aaargh.... this whole #itsallconnected thing is confusing.

Netflix

Would you look at that! Marvel's "Luke Cage" has... begun production for its 2nd season? Wowzers... Marvel is certainly firing on all cylinders, attacking on all front last week, huh? However, just like Marvel's "Jessica Jones", this report didn't arrive from Marvel, who usually posted an official announcement for a start of production. Instead, this silently came into public's attention through some keen-eyed fans who spotted the working title of "Luke Cage" being set up in Port Washington, New York. Add to that, Simone Missick's tweet about her training for the new season, and many can easily come into the same deduction.

Intriguingly, assuming this report IS true, "Luke Cage" going into production at the same time as "Jessica Jones" feels a little suspicious, eh? If I recall correctly, "Jessica Jones" showrunner Melissa Rosenberg did teased about Mike Colter's Luke's appearance in the series. So I'm secretly wishing this is the case, because his presence did wonder in the 1st season. Don't forget, Colter was cast due to his chemistry with Krysten Ritter! As for "Luke Cage", we need to remember that showrunner Cheo Hodari Coker actually wanted to do a "Heroes for Hire" show. But we all know how it turned out right? He was hired to do the solo series instead. With Scott Buck being occupied with Marvel's "The Inhumans", and the uncertainty of his Marvel's "Iron Fist" getting another season (sad to say, it's Netflix and Marvel TV's worst-reviewed show so far), could we be seeing Finn Jones' Danny Rand and Jessica Henwick's Colleen Wing entering the world of Luke Cage instead? I certainly hope so, because that would be the WISEST decision for both series. Coker would get what he have always wanted, and Marvel fans can finally see these two lead characters turning into that charming best buddies we've always seen in various other medias. Not to mention, Missick's Misty Knight can pair up with Henwick's Colleen as well. Once again, just like in the comics! To be honest, I don't have any interest to see new season for both series at this moment, but a pleasant twist like that would totally alter said plan completely... XD

Of course, that's merely a random speculation on my part. And a wishful thinking too. If the recent exclusive on MCU Exchange is also true, then well, such fantastic crossover already sounds unlikely. Which means, there goes my excitement level...

As for Marvel's "The Punisher", Tyler Bates who has done work for James Gunn's MCU movies, will be lending his hand to score the series. Possibly hinting towards a more rock and roll, or heavy metal vibe to the music. One more thing, actress Rosario Dawson had openly stated that she won't be showing in the series. Not really a surprise, because her Claire Temple never really interacted with Jon Bernthal's Frank Castle before. I think her role will specifically be taken over by Deborah Ann Woll's Karen Page this time. She did remark that she would love to be in it, but scheduling conflict somehow prevented her from doing so. Marvel's "The Punisher" is expected to premiere this Fall.

Kamen Rider Shally

Tokusatsu scooper Dukemon, posted some reports regarding the next Kamen Rider season following "Kamen Rider Ex-Aid". According to him, the rumored title will be "Kamen Rider Shally", and as previously hinted before, is a SUSHI-themed. Shally will be using the Shally Driver, and Neta Units to transform. He added that Shally will have three forms, obtained through the Neta units: Maguro, Ika, and Tamago. These are all obviously named after variants of Sushi that uses tuna, squid, and roll-egg respectively. For now, we need to consider this rumor with a huge grain of salt. But Dukemon is reliable, as many report he posted ended up becoming a fact. So I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Persona

"Persona 5" is still taking the main attention of many Persona-fans until now, but it seems Atlus is already moving forward with new projects for the franchise. According to Gematsu, Ryu's Office, the company who worked with Atlus to register domain names, has submited several Persona-related ones on April 18th. These names include: P3D, P5AG, P5D, P5R, P5U, Persona-Dance, PQ2. Three more were submitted on April 4: Persona8, Persona9, and Persona10.

Since they have created a crossover title between "Persona 4" and "Persona 3" before in form of "Persona 4 Arena", it seems likely that one of said domain might be a continuation to said title. Perhaps, the P5U one stands for "Persona 5 Ultimax/Arena"? I hope that's the case, because the possibility of the Phantom Thieves of Heart crossing path with the Inaba Investigation Team is too good to ignore. The notion of a Persona title from 8 to 10 is also intriguing. I don't recall we have heard any rumble of a "Persona 6" just yet, but they already book the spot up to 10! That's... WOW, right? Nevertheless, if Atlus can continue building better and better game like what they have done with P5, I don't see why there can't be a "Persona 10" somewhere in the franchise's bright future...

[limejuicer1862]

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews

I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me. I gave the writers two options: an emailed list of questions or a more fluid interview via messenger. The usual ground is covered about motivation, daily routines and work ethic, but some surprises too. Some of these poets you may know, others may be new to you. I hope you enjoy the experience as much as I do.

Karen Jane Cannon

is a UK poet and author. Her poetry has been published widely in literary journals and anthologies in the UK and USA, including Acumen, Envoi, Mslexia, Orbis, Obsessed with Pipework, The Interpreter’s House, Ink, Sweat & Tears, and Popshot. She was a 2017 finalist in the Mslexia Poetry Competition and was commended for the Flambard Poetry Prize in 2014. Emergency Mints, her debut poetry pamphlet, was published in Spring 2018, by Paper Swans Press

Her novel Powder Monkey (as Karen Sainsbury) was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2002 and Phoenix in 2003.

Karen is also an award-winning radio playwright. She has an MA with distinction in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University, where she lectured for three years. She is a PhD Candidate at the University of Southampton. Karen is creator of Silent Voices: found poetry of lost women

https://karenjanecannon.com/

The Interview

1. What inspired you to write poetry?

I started writing poetry when I was very small and was encouraged enormously by various teachers. I entered competitions and read lots of poetry ‘how to’ guides. When I was studying English as an undergraduate, I suddenly became frustrated and frightened by poetry, lost the unselfconscious way of writing I’d had as a teenager—for two decades I didn’t have anything to do with poetry, became totally poetry-phobic. After having several articles published, I started writing radio plays and then a novel, but I felt I wasn’t really a storyteller—fiction seemed too contrived and unreal. I entered quite a bad depression. Felt I had lost my way as a writer and the only way out for me was through rediscovering poetry. I remember picking up Ted Hughes’ Moortown Diary and thinking poetry could be real and earthy and alive. I decided to try and be the thing that terrified me most—a poet! Or at least conquer my fear of it. Orbis published my first poem a year later. In 2017 I was delighted at being a finalist in the Mslexia Poetry Competition. This has really boosted my confidence.

2. Who introduced you to poetry?

I’m not sure. Maybe, I found out by myself, at the library when I was at primary school searching out Walter de la Mare and Kipling. Taking my MA in Creative Writing I was inspired by the work of Philip Gross who taught me for a semester—I really connected with The Wasting Game, but was still suspicious of poetry. Another tutor, Tracy Brain reintroduced me to Sylvia Plath via The Bell Jar, and her love for all things Plath was very contagious.

3. How aware were you of the dominating presence of older poets?

Writing poetry, you are always aware of walking in the footsteps of others. It’s normal for a poet to think, how do I get my voice heard? Why is my voice relevant? I think it’s either huge ego or that persuasive fluttering muse that makes you think your contribution is worthy. As a writer, you have to develop a thick skin and learn to do what makes you happy. Rejection is a healthy part of the writing process—the biggest thing that will make you stop and re-evaluate your work and seek to improve it. The Poetry World is hugely competitive.

Studying English at degree level, I became frustrated by the study of poetry—not being able to get a poem to immediately yield all its secrets. I remember very simplistically thinking, for example, why can’t a poem be just about blackberries?! Why does there have to be a whole subtext behind it?  I was too immature to understand that this is the challenge of any piece of art. Every time you re-examine a text, you read something new into it—that’s what makes a reader return to it years later, why it stays in the head. Every text means something different to every reader. That’s the power and joy of poetry.

4. What is your daily writing routine?

I write daily, every morning, either on new work, editing or submitting. Creativity isn’t something you can control—new poems can magically pop up at any time and need writing down before they vanish. I am very organised when it comes to writing or studying. The rest of my life is somewhat haphazard.

5. What motivates you to write?

Above anything, I am a writer of place. From my first articles, to my plays, novel and poetry, I write landscape, both physical and emotional. That is what motivates me to write. I have always chosen to live in strange and fascinating places, from the second highest village in Scotland, to a village on the edge of Longleat Safari park, going to sleep each night to the sound of roaring lions and howling wolves. I was brought up a mile from the sea in Worthing, West Sussex, and spent much of my childhood either on the beach or on the beautiful South Downs. The sea, its dynamic movement and power, is a great source of inspiration for me. My first pamphlet, Emergency Mints (Paper Swans Press, 2017), is set on the south coast. Now I live in the magical New Forest National Park, a surprising wilderness in the heart of the south of England. The main themes running through my work are loss and motherhood—the two ends of the circle. I am fascinated by maps and boundaries—both real and imaginary—and the industrial footprint left in the landscape. These things all motivate me creatively, but I am motivated also by success and becoming a better poet.

6. What is your work ethic?

I have a hugely strong work ethic when it comes to creativity. I am a perpetual student—it’s important to me to improve and grow as a writer, to hopefully reach my potential. I am in the 2nd year of a part time PhD at the University of Southampton, researching poetry and place. It is a very stretching and rewarding experience. I am very focused. I don’t go on holidays—I go on research trips! My husband is very supportive—on our last ‘holiday’ we ended up down a stone quarry, because I wanted to write about it!

7. How do the writers you read when you were young influence you today?

That’s difficult to gauge. I write about the effects of industry on the landscape and its inhabitants and I wonder if Blake’s Songs of Experience—and the whole Romantic movement— influenced this. I remember being moved by these poems when I was a young teenager, the hopelessness and inevitability of change. Even childhood reading like Enid Blyton has shaped my connection to the countryside. I was obsessed with the War Poets when I was sixteen—maybe they influenced the themes of loss that always run through my work, the long connection between war and poetry is fascinating and paradoxical.

In reality, it was growing up in the 1970s that has influenced my writing more than anything else. The Seventies were a dismal decade to be a child—a time of dissatisfaction and misery. This was represented across popular culture—even sitcoms such as The Likely Lads and Butterflies portrayed an adult world of frustration and yearning. The lingering after-effects of the war, sexual revolution and political turmoil were frightening and unsettling. Nothing was stable—not even the concept of family—no one was happy. Everyone trapped by something—sex, class, respectability.  But, ironically, it was all these things that made me become a writer. I rejected the restraints and limitations of the previous generation and chose my own path.

8. Who of today’s writers do you admire the most and why?

I have spent the last twelve months immersing myself in books on place—from Dorothy Wordsworth’s wonderfully rich journals and Nan Shepherd’s beautiful The Living Mountain, to Roger Deakin’s Waterlog and Wildwood. And of course, Alexandra Harris, Luke Turner, Richard Mabey, Philip Hoare and everything Robert MacFarlane writes! Groundwork, edited by Tim Dee, is an excellent introduction to the genre. These writers share the ability to conjure a place from the page with their knowledge and love for it. They create value.  ‘Local’ doesn’t mean parochial, it reflects the whole. I am also interested in how different genders approach the writing of place.

I have also been reading a lot of ecopoetry—one approach to ecopoetry is of the close observation of place proposed by Linda Russo. This genre needs careful handling as it involves writing with intent, which is problematic. The Ground Aslant, edited by Harriet Tarlo, is an excellent example of how to get it right.

9. Why do you write, as opposed to doing anything else?

I have had ideas about doing other things, but I am only driven to write. I have other useable skills—ones that would pay better—but I have no heart for them. I think I may be quite lazy. As I said above, I have had plays produced and a book published. Poetry uses the least words! What I love about poetry is the journey it takes you on. I read a lot of fiction and I find so many authors only have the one brilliant book in them. Poets by contrast keep growing and expanding.  That’s a huge draw to me. It’s rewarding.

10. What would you say to someone who asked you “How do you become a writer?”

I would say, to be a good writer, you have to be a good reader. To paraphrase Reynolds on art, you gather the pollen to create your own honey. Experiment. Be flexible—you may start off thinking you want to be a poet, but may discover you are an amazing playwright. See where writing takes you. Write with your heart and not with your head. And if you want to improve, get critical feedback. You are unlikely to get this from friends or family. They will either tell you your work is brilliant, or that it’s not their cup of tea! Constructive criticism is invaluable. The Poetry School offers fantastic courses for all levels. And, really importantly, read contemporary work if you want to see your work published—styles change!

11. Tell me about the writing projects you have on at the moment.

I am just finishing my second pamphlet, based around my experience of living 1400 feet up in the Lowther hills of Southern Scotland without electricity in an old leadminer’s cottage. I am working on two full collections—one set on the South coast and its industrial footprint, and a second more experimental work centred around the New Forest, which is part of my PhD. I am loving the writing of all of these book

Wombwell Rainbow Interviews: Karen Jane Cannon Wombwell Rainbow Interviews I am honoured and privileged that the following writers local, national and international have agreed to be interviewed by me.

[dailyaudiobible]

02/15/2019 DAB Transcript

Exodus 39:1-40:38, Mark 1:1-28, Psalms 35:1-16, Proverbs 9:11-12

Today is the 15th day of February. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian, it is wonderful to be here with you today. Hope you had a nice Valentine's Day yesterday. We concluded the book of Matthew. So, the first gospel, the first book of the New Testament yesterday. So, when we get to the New Testament today we’ll be beginning the book of Mark and we'll talk about that. And today we will be concluding the second book of the Old Testament, the book of Exodus and we’ll move on from there tomorrow. So, we’re reading from the Contemporary English Version this week and we’ll conclude the book of Exodus with chapters 39 and 40 today.

Introduction to the book of Mark:

Okay. So, that concluded the book of Exodus and like we said a minute ago, we finished the book of Matthew yesterday, which brings us to the gospel of Mark. And, so, we should know right off the bat that Mark was not a disciple of Jesus, he wasn't one of the 12 and he wasn't an apostle. Actually he was more of a long-term disciple of Peter and we first see him show up in the book of Acts. We also know him as John Mark and he lived in Jerusalem and came from a fairly wealthy family. His mother's name was Mary and she had a big house and she had a servant named Rhoda. I mean we learn all of this from the book of Acts. She was an early believer and opened her home to other early believers and our church tradition tells us that her home may have been the place of the upper room where the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early believers after Jesus ascension. Obviously, that's not explicit in the Bible, it's tradition but totally plausible. So, Mark was around all this all his life, like even as a boy and would've been part of the first generation of children that were raised up to know Jesus was. So, we’ll get to the story soon enough, once we finish the Gospels a little bit more towards the summertime, but the apostle Peter was captured by Herod and was gonna be executed by Herod because Herod had put some other Christians to death and this was pleasing the religious leaders and so on and so forth and so he planned to execute Peter but an angel came and sprung Peter from jail. And, so, it was to John Mark's house, right, to Mary's large home that that Peter went first. And all the believers there were praying for Peter earnestly, that God would deliver him, and God answered that prayer by sending an angel to lead Peter out of jail. And, so, Peter comes to John Mark's house and Rhoda the servant girl comes to answer the door and she sees him, and she slams the door in his face, basically because she can't believe it's Peter. And, so, we’ll get to that story soon enough but that gives a little bit about who Mark is. And Mark had a cousin and his name is Barnabas and Barnabas was a dear friend of the apostle Paul. So, Mark actually goes with Barnabas and Paul on Paul's first missionary journey. So, this there’s a pedigree here and church tradition tells us that he went all over the place as an interpreter even for the apostle Peter in Italy and even in Rome and everywhere that they go Peter shares the gospel of Jesus Christ. So, Mark has heard the story told by Peter over and over and over everywhere that they go as Peter is doing his evangelistic work and then Mark remembers all of this and recalls it and maybe even at some point was asked to write it down so people could remember all of Peter’s story and eventually does. And, so, in a lot of ways we can consider Mark to be somewhat the gospel according to Peter. And, I mean, nearly all biblical scholars agree that the gospel of Mark was the first gospel written and definitely the earliest gospel found in the New Testament. And it's from the gospel of Mark that Matthew and Luke draw a lot of their material and that is why Matthew, Mark, and Luke are known as the synoptic Gospels because they share a lot of the same material. Although Mark's gospel is the earliest most rudimentary of the Gospels. And even Greek scholars look at the gospel of Mark which was written in Greek and would say like, you know, it's like an elementary school level language, it's written really roughly, like its not written beautifully, as nice prose, it's actually clunky, which actually kind of makes it beautiful because it's like what were about to do is read the first written account of Jesus life and ministry. So, let's settle into that and just let it speak to us, let it wash into our lives. And, so, we begin. Mark chapter 1 verses 1 through 28.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word and we heed the voice of wisdom today. “If You follow me”, She tells us, “we’ll live a long time.” And if we have good sense that's good for us but if You don't and we fall into arrogance then we’re just hurting ourselves. So, Holy Spirit, plant that in our lives. We learned yesterday from the book of Proverbs that we begin by honoring You Lord, this is the beginning of wisdom, but not the end. It's just the beginning when we honor You. We've taken the first step toward being wise, toward living a wise life; however, if we will follow Your Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives and we continue to honor You and continue to listen to the voice of wisdom and obey then we're going to be the ones to benefit. Help us to do that Lord because so often we listen to the counsel of the scoffer or the mocker and we’re anywhere but next to wisdom. But we want to string together a series of days and weeks and months where every day we are honoring You and every day we are listening to the voice of wisdom. And if we can string these days together, then it won't be too long before we realize that we are living within wisdom, we are living wise lives, and we are becoming wise. We need this. As we just stand here and look back over the seasons of our live it is so starkly apparent which seasons we didn't practice wisdom at all and which seasons did. Now we want the rest of our lives to be one long continuous season of wisdom where we continue to grow not only in wisdom but in awareness and vigilance so that we are wise, so that we have grown up, so that we become a mature son or daughter of the king. Help us Holy Spirit, come lead us in the way of wisdom we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is the website, its home base, it’s where you find out what’s going on around here.

So, my wife, my Valentine, she came in yesterday and shared with us about the More Gathering for women coming up this April. Registration is open, and we are excited. I mean, a new season is coming, and we don't have all of the answers, but we know that the Lord has told us that this season in Georgia on Sharp Top mountain, this is the last year we’re supposed to do this, at least for now, there. So, it's kind of a real celebration because the More Gathering was birthed and has only ever been there. So, it's gonna be quite an amazing time and we have a sense of deep anticipation as we pray into this spring. So, you can get all the details at moregathering.com or go to dailyaudiobible.com and just scroll down to the Initiatives section and you'll find what you're looking for. All the details are there. All the questions are answered and hope to see you, as here in the northern hemisphere, as the seasons change and new life begins to come back to the earth, as winter begins to dissipate, this is when this happens and it is lovely. So, hope to see you there.

The other thing that we are praying into and praying over is the pilgrimage that we’re about to take to the land of the Bible in just a couple of days. So, thank you for your prayers.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that dailyaudiobible.com. There is a link, it lives on the homepage. I am profoundly humbled and deeply grateful for every brother and sister who has ever clicked that link. We would not be here if we did not do what we’re doing together. So, thank you for your partnership. So, there's 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 comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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:

Hi Daily Audio Bible family, it’s James hear from the UK. Just really wanted to pray this morning for, I think it’s T or maybe D from Salt Lake City but you were sharing…you were sharing about feeling the absence of God this morning when I was listening to the DAB. And it’s just a coincidence I think that this morning I’ve just been feeling really flat as well. I’m kind of wondering kind of what is this sensation? And, you know, I have a real connection with God I __ in a really visceral way and it just doesn’t seem to be there at the moment. It’s been absent for a couple days. And I think, you know, sometimes we just become a little bit more…we just become a little bit more immune and we just need to kind of refresh ourselves constantly in that moment with Him. And maybe D, maybe it’s just about taking some time out, maybe it’s about making some time just to be alone, be in the quiet, just be in a place where you can receive. I’m sure…I’m sure you’re considering trying out already but I just really want to pray His grace and favor of you this morning and that there would be a refreshment and a reawakening in your heart and your mind and in mine is well to just remember just pray for __  just remember how much He loves us and how much He wants to be a part and parcel of our everyday walk with Him. I just pray in Jesus’ name that you would feel close to Him and the Holy Spirit would come real close to you today and this week, that you might be able to come back with a praise report and just talks of the love of God and the unrelenting passion and love that He has for us. In his name. Amen.

Hi, I’ll be brief because I’m not sure if this message will take. I tried another time and I think maybe my mouth was not straight on the phone. So, sorry, there won’t be a lot of details to help you when your praying, but yes, my name is Much Afraid, it should be Overcomer. I’m in Asia. Where we are is a Buddhist country with strong spiritual powers. My husband and I are missionaries. We’re in a province but in the capital of the province, not in the country, countryside and we’ve been here for about 15 years. We fairly isolated from the support of the greater Christian body for a number of reasons. Okay. My request is related to this, I never was healthy enough emotionally to be doing this kind of work but I did feel called. I thought I was working on myself inwardly. Well, now I’m not fully functioning and everything is…our circumstances are bringing things to head. I’m and 60 now. So, I really __ to be safe in trying to walk through anything. There’s about to be a crisis, I believe, and I can’t let go and let God walk me through this...

Hello, my name is Christine with the bumpy dog. The reason I use that is, I, up until September, had a beautiful old Italian Greyhound, her name was Lola, and she would have been 18 in December and she, like all old people, had different bumps and I loved her dearly. So, most of the time when I listened to the DAB I always had her by my side. But I was calling mainly to thank Judge from New York. Here’s someone who I don’t know miles away and she said this beautiful prayer and talked about the self and my body and bringing my body back to wholeness. It was such a beautiful prayer and I wanted to thank her and am looking to try and find encouragement in every day because I think that’s the way the Lord reaches out to all of us and if we don’t watch will miss it. So, this message is instead of a message I said before because I really didn’t get my words out. So, God bless all of you and be encouraged and I say all of these words in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

Hi DAB family, my name is Timothy and I’m calling from a long way in Asia, from Taiwan. I’m a longtime follower of DAB family and listen to Brian’s Bible reading almost daily. Today I’m calling for the first time for a first-time caller who called the DAB on January 10th, a woman in her late 50s from New Jersey who has been a nurse I will pray for your job search, which she mentioned it was difficult to find, but you have to know that God is an omnipotent God. There’s nothing impossible for Him. So, I will pray for you job search, it will be very smooth, and it will be a success. I’m sure it will be a big success and I will also pray for your two daughters who don’t communicate to each other. I know with your families love they will start communicating with each other. And I will pray for Karen from Pennsylvania, pray for your strength to overcome a relationship. Loneliness is not an issue for God. He will come into your heart and support you to give you the strength to overcome any kind of relationship problems and I will pray for your son, his sexual identity. And I will pray for Christopher’s community, that we be the salt and light of this world, that in a time of chaos and turmoil we are the salt and light of this world and we are the stability of this world. Thank you DAB family. We love you. Bye-bye.