#so i only really began reading them around 10-12 when we got access to the science centre library

[hansols-yoda-boxers]

Camping Trip - July 30th

AFAB!Reader x Jeon Wonwoo

Word Count: 2814

Contents: mentions of drinking, breast play, oral (reader giving), fingering (reader recieving), protected sex

[12:10] 

You giggled as you stumbled into the tent with Wonwoo. Both of you were tipsy but neither all that drunk. A dare for one hickie turned into many hickies through giggles and chuckles and as the group dissolved, some people going to bed, others off to make a bit more fun for themselves, You and Wonwoo had headed back to your tent.

Wonwoo held onto you while he giggled, forehead pressed to yours. At the moment all of your worries or pesky thoughts had gone away. All you had on your mind was a little bit of fun. You let your hands trail up his chest and he took your hips in his hands. You pulled each other closer as your giggles died down.

Wonwoo gazed at you for a moment. You swore you felt your heart skip a beat at the look in his eyes, something intense that you couldn’t quite read. His gaze flickered to your lips, hesitating instead of making a move. You felt your lips part in a quiet breath. So many thoughts. So many people had so many opinions. So many ideas of what you were doing or what you wanted or what he wanted and none of them were in it. None of them could see it from where you stood so maybe they didn’t get that you knew this was just fun. Maybe no one else got that.

Around you things seemed to get increasingly complicated.

But one thing could be easy.

You closed the distance between you and Wonwoo. He tensed a bit, for a moment unsure, but he soon relaxed and pulled you against his body.

As you melted into his kisses, fingers tangling into his hair, it occurred to you that you never kissed Wonwoo. It felt strangely off limits, but it wasn’t. In fact, it was good. You had to question why you didn’t kiss him like this any sooner.

Wonwoo’s fingers pulled up the edge of your shirt. You pulled back enough to let him pull it off, lifting his off before he had a chance to come back in.

“You’re a good kisser,” you murmured.

Wonwoo smiled, his cheeks flushing slightly. “So are you.”

“We should do this more often,” you hummed.

“Agreed,” he breathed, kissing you again. This time, his tongue pressed past your lips. You sighed into the kisses, loving the feeling of each one. Wonwoo’s hands pulled you closer and undid your bra. You let him slide it off and ran your fingers down his chest as he brought his up to play with your breasts.

You let out a quiet moan as he started to run his thumbs over your nipples, teasing you gently. Sparks of arousal ignited in your core, each motion giving a little bit of pleasure that had you pressing your chest into his touch.

Your own hands slid into his lap. He’d changed into sweats as the sun went down and it gave you easy access to just what you wanted. You started to palm his cock through his sweats, feeling him spread his legs a little wider for you as he sighed against your lips. His kisses grew a little more passionate, a little less gentle and it only turned you on more.

You returned each kiss, getting a little messier, pressing into them a little more. Your moans were a little louder as he pinched your nipples between his fingers, not too roughly, and rolled them. You felt the rush of pleasure down your spin and the heat that was pooling in your core and it spurred you on, wanting more.

You pushed a hand into his boxers, wrapping it around his half hard cock and pumping it at a steady pace. Wonwoo let out a low moan against your lips, kisses a little bit sloppier in reaction. You pressed your tongue into his mouth as you pressed your body closer to him for more. His moans only added to your mounting pleasure.

“So good,” you hummed against his lips.

“Really good,” he agreed before kissing you again. His hands began to squeeze at your chest and his thumbs rubbed over your nipples a little more quickly. You let out moans against his lips, feeling him in your hand getting harder and harder until he was fully hard in your hand and pressing his hips into your touch.

You pushed Wonwoo back to sit, giving him a smirk as you kissed down his chest. His breaths came out heavy and you took in the way he bit his lip and the need in his eyes as you pulled his sweat pants off.

Wonwoo let out a shaky breath, cursing under it as you settled between his legs and trailed your lips along his cock. His hand quickly found your hair as you wrapped your fingers around the base of his cock.

Your lips teased along his length, leaving kisses and kitten licks. You felt it twitch in your hand, grinning up at him as you sucked the head between your lips. Wonwoo let out another shaky breath as you did so, fingers tightening in your hair.

“Please,” he moaned.

You obliged, taking him into your mouth. Your hand moved, pumping the base of his cock and coming up to meet your lips each time you came down on him, quickly settling into a good pace. Each time you pulled back you hollowed your cheeks and your tongue teased the underside of his cock inside your mouth.

“Oh god,” he moaned. “G-God you’re so g-good at that.”

You moaned around his cock in answer. His words always boosted your confidence. Making you feel so much better. You liked knowing him, knowing what he liked and how he wanted to be touched. New people were fun but this was comfortable. This was something you knew and liked and brought you pleasure as well.

Speaking of which.

Wonwoo was letting out a series of moans, only made worse each time he looked down and met your heated gaze. His beautiful sounds turned you on more as you sucked him off. Each one he let out curled through your body and you felt the heat that was now in your core. You were getting wetter by the moment.

Your free hand gripped his thigh. It gave you stability as you moved your hand a little faster and tried to pick up your pace. Wonwoo’s moans got a little louder in response, clearly filled with even more pleasure every second. You could taste his precum on your tongue now when you pulled back.

You pressed your own thighs together, shifting them back and forth hoping that you panties caught between your legs would give you any of what you needed, but it was frustratingly ineffective. You heard your own muffled moans growing whinier as you longed to be touched. For something to be inside of you.

“J-Just like that,” he moaned. His hand was guiding your movements now, urging you to go a little more quickly. You did just that, moaning around his cock for good measure. Wonwoo trembled a little, you felt his thighs under your hand shake and you squeezed his cock a little tighter in your hand.

Louder moans fell off his lips now as you took him as deeply into your mouth as you could each time. Each loud moan sent another thrill of arousal through you. You were sure by now that you were positively drenched and it just made you want to get off that much more.

Wonwoo let out a curse as his hips bucked up into your mouth. You held them down with your free hand as best you could while his hand tightened even more in you hair until he pulled you back off his cock.

“Okay,” he breathed. “I want to do more with you.”

You smiled at him, sitting up. “And what would that be?”

“This,” he grinned, pressing a kiss to your lips and pushing you back against the air mattress. He kissed you deeply while his fingers pulled at your leggings. You lifted your hips and he tried his best to keep kissing you while pulling off your leggings. You giggled at him as he had to pull away.

“I feel like we never kiss,” he hummed, throwing your leggings and panties aside. “And I really like kissing you.”

You felt heat on your skin as he kissed you again, smiling a little from his words. You let your hands roam over his shoulders and chest while his fingertips trailed up your inner thigh. You wiggled your hips impatient and he chuckled against your lips, but obliged, running his fingers through your folds.

“Fuck, you’re so wet.”

His voice was strained and needy and it had you clenching around nothing.

“That’s because I need you,” you murmured.

Wonwoo hid his face in your neck and you felt his skin burning against yours. Before you could giggle at him or ask him about it he pushed two fingers into your dripping cunt.

You let out a moan, back arching off the mattress a little at the feeling. You gripped his shoulders tightly, holding him close as his lips kissed at your neck messily. His fingers started to move at a steady pace, moving easily inside you already.

“God I want to be inside you so badly,” he moaned. “It’s all I can think about.”

“Fuck,” you moaned, clenching around his fingers. “I need that, please.”

Wonwoo took up a quick pace with his fingers. Moans cascaded off your lips at the feeling of finally having something inside you. Wonwoo knew just what angel to use and just how to curl his fingers and it felt like heaven on earth.

Each thrust or curl of his fingers sent a wave of pleasure through your body. You let your head fall back and didn’t stop the moans as they fell off your lips. Slowly you felt the build of tension starting in your core, riding off the back of the wonderful pleasure he fingers gave you each time they moved into you.

“This is so good,” you moaned. Your hands grabbed for Wonwoo’s face and pulled him in for more kisses that left a funny feeling in your stomach but a warm pleasant one in your chest. You didn't dwell on it long but you enjoyed the warm, cozy, safe feeling as you held him close.

Wonwoo slowed his fingers only enough to press a third into your heat. He was careful, gentle, even though he didn’t need to be.

“You take my fingers so well,” he groaned. You felt shyness bubbling up in you again and pulled him in for more kisses pushing the feeling from your mind and focusing on the sensations in your cunt instead.

 You rolled your hips to meet the movement of his fingers, trying to get more from them. Moans were muffled against Wonwoo’s lips but that didn’t stop them from sounding. You felt yourself clenching around his fingers, the lewd sounds as he moved his fingers in your heat only making them that much stronger.

“Wonwoo,” you hummed.

“Yes?” He pulled back to look at you and you nearly lost your words. The desire was unmistakable but his gaze was also filled with, kindness? Fondness? You couldn’t think of the word to express the emotion that you saw but it made you feel warm and shy and desperate all at the same time.

“I-I- I need your cock.”

A blush dusted his cheeks as he pressed down to kiss you. You reached out next to your mattress where your bag was, finding a condom and pressing it into his chest.

Wonwoo sat up and ripped the package open. You bit your lip, admiring the sight of his toned chest, the shape and lines of his body, the handsome features of his face. He rolled the condom on before meeting your eye again.

He shifted back over top of you. One hand aligned his cock with your entrance while the other idly found your hand. As he pushed into you he laced his fingers with yours and he gently pressed your hand back against the mattress.

Neither of you could contain your moans at the feeling. The way you stretched around his cock felt sublime and his forehead pressed against yours as he scrunched his eyes shut. His free hand found your hip, holding onto you securely as he adjusted to the feeling. As he caught his breath he peppered kisses to your lips that made you giggle.

“You’re such a dork,” you hummed.

“I am. I’m…” He gave you a funny look. “I’m glad you let a dork inside you.”

You snorted and pulled him in for another kiss. It didn't last all that long though as he pulled nearly all the way out before thrusting back into you.

His movements weren’t rough, he kept them nice and smooth. But each thrust pulled nearly fully out before going deep again. His pace wasn’t fast but as you both got used to the feeling he took on a steady pace, hips moving in waves, rolling into you deeply and pulling back like the tide coming in to kiss the shore. 

Gasps and moans cascaded off your lips between feverish kisses. It felt like making up for lost time. You couldn’t get enough of his lips, nor could he get enough of yours. Each time one of you pulled back the other chased, not satisfied, wanting more.

Pleasure washed through your body in waves coming off the tide of his thrusts. You squeezed your eyes shut as you focused on the pleasure that was building higher and higher inside of you, twisting tighter and tighter towards release. Wonwoo pulled back for a breath of air, but when he didn’t meet you in another kiss you opened your eyes to find him looking down at you.

“God you look so b-beautiful,” he breathed, voice strained, He kept his movements smooth but started to go a little faster, chasing his own high now. “You a-always do- but-”

You felt more heat find its way to your face. “Wonwoo,” you mumbled.

“I mean it,” he pressed his nose to yours. “I-I never tell you. B-But- you’re so beautiful. Seeing you l-like this, feeling good b-because of me.”

You felt shyness well up inside you from his compliments, even though they made you feel good they were so intimate. You tried to look away but he caught you in a kiss and coaxed you to face him again. His hand pulled away from yours and caressed your cheek as he looked at you again. 

“I’m sorry,” he hummed, his voice very breathy now. His grip on your hip tightened as he thrust into you a little faster, a little harder. You dug your fingers into his shoulders, gasping at the sensation.

“I-I just wanted to tell you,” he said. “I d-don’t have to say that.”

You couldn’t keep your mind straight as you pulled him down for another kiss, thighs squeezing tightly around him. 

“It’s o-okay,” you managed between moans. “It just- oh fuck-”

All ability to speak left you as Wonwoo brought his fingers to your clit and started to rub it quickly, sending you over your edge.

You cried out, pressing your body up against him as you came on his cock. His smooth thrusts helped you ride through it as the wave crashed over your and every inch of your body released, quickly starting to shake as Wonwoo followed you over his edge, moaning out loudly as his hips stuttered to a stop and he held close to you.

As you caught your breath he leaned up to give you a tender kiss.

“You’re so sweet to me,” You hummed against his lips.

“Of course I am.” He replied. “Be… cause…”

You opened your eyes as he pulled back a little. Confusion knit your brows at the look of realization of… something? Seemed to happen across Wonwoo’s face. What he realized was a mystery to you.

“Because?”

Wonwoo blinked a few times, giving you a funny look. “B-Because you really deserve it.” He said. “You’re really great.”

You opened your mouth to speak but the way Wonwoo bit his lip and looked away nervously made you think better of it. Whatever was going on in his head, you were sure he’d tell you when he finished processing it.

“I think you’re great too,” you said warmly. Wonwoo seemed relieved by that answer. He pulled out of you. The two of you threw on something to sleep in before you pulled his head back to your chest. Wonwoo wrapped his arms around you as you ran your fingers through his hair, trying to ignore the nagging questions at the back of your mind.

[tiramisiyu]

【未定事件簿】  Tears of Themis: Xia Yan Personal Story 4-5 Translation

Translation Masterlist | Xia Yan Masterlist | Video

Chapter 4: 4-1 / 4-2 / 4-4 / 4-5 / 4-6 / 4-7 / 4-9 / 4-10 / 4-11 / 4-12 / 4-13 / 4-14 / 4-16

Xia Yan’s Home, Second Floor

After Xia Yan and I returned home, carrying the cardboard boxes full of Ji Xiaoqing’s items, we immediately started inspecting them.

In Ji Xiaoqing’s two boxes, one was filled with work-related items, while the other was for her personal items.

I first opened the box with Ji Xiaoqing’s personal items and flipped through the journal that we hadn’t finished reading.

One record in had a symbol indicating importance drawn on it.

MC: This record is of the day of Ji Xiaoqing’s birthday.

“Xiaoyu gave me a very expensive business suit. Where did this kid get so much money? She must have cut her spending on essentials.”

“But since these are Xiaoyu’s kind intentions, she’ll be very sad if I reject her.”

“I’ll do my best at work and aim to buy that camera that Xiaoyu likes for her as soon as possible!”

Xia Yan: According to Ji Xiaoyu’s confession to the police, she first borrowed a sum of money from Bedo Loan company before Ji Xiaoqing’s birthday.

MC: She just wanted to surprise her sister…

MC: But Ji Xiaoyu deliberately hid this from us when telling us about her reasons for borrowing the money.

MC: She made it sound like she just wanted to shop around out of vanity.

Xia Yan: As expected, Ji Xiaoyu blamed herself too much about her sister, so she deliberately belittled herself, hoping for everyone to condemn her.

I sighed quietly and continued to flip through that diary.

After Ji Xiaoqing’s birthday, she gradually came to notice how down-spirited her little sister was, but Ji Xiaoyu explained it by saying that she was under a lot of recent academic pressure.

At the end, the journal suddenly stopped on the day that Bedo Loan Company arrived to seize the house.

Xia Yan: Let’s take a look at her work items.

Xia Yan opened the other box. Ji Xiaoqing had left her job in a rush – she had wrapped up a lot of things but not taken them away.

After Ji Xiaoqing died, the company sent these to the police as evidence, which was then handed to Ji Xiaoyu.

Most of what was in there were randomly scribbled handwritten papers, professional work content books, as well as a library card stuck in a book as a bookmark.

Xia Yan looked at these, his brow wrinkling slightly.

MC: Xia Yan, did you notice something?

Xia Yan spread out the papers that Ji Xiaoqing had scribbled on.

Xia Yan: Look at the handwriting.

Xia Yan: The papers that Ji Xiaoqing used as draft paper were the useless documents that she had printed wrongly.

Xia Yan: According to the time that these documents were printed, these ones were from the days after Ji Xiaoqing found out about her sister becoming scammed by the trap loan.

I looked towards the writing on those draft papers, which were unusually messy.

MC: I remember that Ji Xiaoqing took the initiative to resign due to an increase in frequency of mistakes at work.

MC: We can deduce from this writing that Ji Xiaoqing’s emotions were very chaotic then, to the point where she could not work normally.

Xia Yan nodded pensively.

Xia Yan: At the beginning, her writing was extremely messy.

Xia Yan: But on the papers after, her writing began to slowly return to normal.

MC: This means that she had already shaken off or restrained her anxiety and panic.

MC: If so, why would her work mistakes increase in frequency, and why did she actively resign?

MC: The sisters must have been penniless and desperate because of the trap loan, so she must have needed money.

Xia Yan: So, I think that she might have had something even more important to do.

MC: Something more important? What would’ve been more important to Ji Xiaoqing back then…

MC: Ah! Could she have found clues on Qian Yi or Bedo Loan Company’s illegal actions?

MC: Ji Xiaoyu was afraid to call the police because Bedo Loan Company had leverage against her.

MC: So for her sister, Ji Xiaoqing might have investigated on her own to collect evidence.

MC: She didn’t tell Ji Xiaoyu because Ji Xiaoyu had sunken into sorrow and self-blame during that period.

Xia Yan: That’s very likely.

Xia Yan: If my deduction is true, then Ji Xiaoqing has no motive to commit suicide.

Xia Yan: And she definitely wouldn’t have been driven to get dead drunk, then get into a traffic accident while drunk…

MC: So you’re suspecting… Ji Xiaoqing didn’t die by accident. Instead, she was murdered.

MC: If Ji Xiaoqing was murdered… she must have found out about something.

Xia Yan: According to Ji Xiaoyu, Ji Xiaoqing kept writing something in a black leather notebook, but this notebook wasn’t included among the things she left behind.

MC: Could it have been taken by Ji Xiaoqing’s murderer?

Xia Yan: Another possibility is that Ji Xiaoqing hid it.

Xia Yan: Look at this.

Xia Yan took out that library card placed between the professional work content book as a bookmark. “Stellis Library” was stamped on it in gold.

Due to the widespread use of electronic devices, many places no longer gave out physical membership cards.

But the Stellis Library always considered that, like bound books, physical cards had meaning to them that electronic items could not replace.

Thus, Stellis Library gave every member a physical card, and they would even have commemorative cards at irregular times that members could redeem for.

Xia Yan: This library card design is the newest anniversary version that the Stellis Library just came out with.

Xia Yan: I checked when they came out – it was after Ji Xiaoqing found out about the trap loan.

MC: Around that time, Ji Xiaoqing couldn’t have gotten a library card just because she wanted to focus on reading!

MC: Then let’s go investigate the library tomorrow morning. We’ll probably find something out!

Xia Yan: We don’t need to do it tomorrow. Now is fine.

MC: Now?

Xia Yan: There are still several hours until the library opens.

Xia Yan: And since we’re not the police, it won’t be easy for us to directly ask library staff for Ji Xiaoqing’s information.

Xia Yan: It’ll take too long to leave it to the police. I might as well just get access into the library’s internal network and check myself.

Xia Yan opened his computer, rapidly tapping lines of code.

Soon, he entered the library’s library card application records and found the day that Ji Xiaoqing applied for her card.

Right after, Xia Yan viewed the surveillance videos from that day and found that Ji Xiaoqing had used a storage locker at the library that day.

That just happened to be the day before Ji Xiaoqing’s accident.

--

Stellis Library

Early morning, Xia Yan and I rushed to the Stellis Library. Xia Yan easily cracked the storage locker’s password.

There was only one package in the locker, with a mailing destination written on – “To Stellis Public Safety Bureau”. There was cash and a note on the package.

“Hello, library staff members. Due to reasons I cannot help, I cannot take this package myself.”

“Additionally, as I have moved homes, I no longer live at my original address.”

“I am genuinely sorry for occupying the library’s public resources, but I really have no way to take this myself. Please send this to the police station.”

“The postage payment has been added. Please and thank you so much. – Ji Xiaoqing”

Xia Yan: The Stellis Library management system is very strict and has a good reputation. There has never been an incident where patrons’ valuables were stolen.

Xia Yan: If no one has come to take the things in the locker three months later, it will be delivered to the member’s home, according to the address they left.

Xia Yan: If the items are expensive, the police will handle them.

MC: The clues that Ji Xiaoqing found are probably in here…

Xia Yan: The police would have kept the source of the clues secret, so the person who sends these clues wouldn’t receive suspicion or vengeance from the criminals.

Xia Yan: She thought things through.

Xia Yan took that package.

Xia Yan: Miss Ji Xiaoqing, I am a member of the Ministry of Security, which can be considered a policing unit.

Xia Yan: Right now, I will open your package.

After Xia Yan spoke quietly, he opened the package. There were three things in it – a letter, a black leather notebook, and a recording pen.

We opened that letter first.

MC: This is a letter for Ji Xiaoyu…

The letter said why Ji Xiaoqing did not give this evidence to Ji Xiaoyu, and instead opted to report it to the police.

If something happened to her, the criminals would fix their attention of Ji Xiaoyu. Giving her the evidence would instead harm her.

After, Xia Yan pressed the recording pen’s play button.

???: You’re Qian Yi? Where’s the stuff?

Qian Yi: Of course I placed it in a safe spot – it’s as safe as your event hall, boss.

???: That is not what we agreed on.

Qian Yi: This is something very important to you – of course I’ve got to be a bit cautious.

Qian Yi: Boss, you’re a top name in society – your reputation’s worth a lot more than mine.

Qian Yi: I’m just a little guy in society – of course I know where my place is.

Qian Yi: Don’t worry, all I want is just money.

The recording ended quickly.

MC: Was Qian Yi extorting someone? It sounds like that person has to do with Bedo Loan Company.

Xia Yan: Yeah. Look at these.

Xia Yan flipped open Ji Xiaoqing’s black leather notebook, where Ji Xiaoqing had recorded all her investigations after finding out about the trap loan.

Xia Yan: The last record was on the day before Ji Xiaoqing passed away.

“Those things are still in Qian Yi’s hands. If I call the police, he might retaliate and cause us trouble, which will be bad for Xiaoyu…”

“I will… confront him, and have him never pester me or Xiaoyu again.”

Xia Yan: After Ji Xiaoqing got evidence that Qian Yi was blackmailing others, she wanted to threaten him and have him let of her and her sister.

Xia Yan: If so… her cause of death definitely couldn’t have been a traffic accident. It must have to do with Qian Yi.

MC: Qian Yi died suddenly one week after Ji Xiaoqing’s death due to “cardiac failure”… which likely wasn’t a sudden onset illness.

MC: Instead, it probably has to do with the “boss” in here.

Xia Yan: That’s right.

Xia Yan: I suspect that this “boss” is Oedipus…

Xia Yan: After Qian Yi’s death, he noticed that Sphinx was also investigating Qian Yi. Thus, he thought that Sphinx was like Ji Xiaoqing and had found out about this matter.

Xia Yan: Thinking that he would rather kill wrongly than let anyone slip past, he decided that he had to find Sphinx.

MC: How do we find this “boss”?

Xia Yan: If this “boss” that Qian Yi was talking about really is a top name in society, he’ll probably have appeared in the society news interviews.

Xia Yan: I’ll compare this recording to the online news sound sources.

Xia Yan worked on the sound comparisons, and soon found matching sound sources.

Xia Yan: There are six similar sound sources. If I limit it into Stellis… found it!

Xia Yan: Song Heng, founder and board chairman of Hengda Financial Corporation.

MC: Have there been financial transactions between the Hengda Financial Corporation he founded and Bedo Loans?

Xia Yan: Let’s investigate that after with Sphinx. We should go find Ji Xiaoyu first.

MC: … Okay.

[katherinewilliams221b]

For A Greater Good 13/18

not my gif. just the text- Threats

Summary: Kate Williams, young healer and member of the Order, joins Durmstrang’s staff at Dumbledore’s request. Her mission? Find a   Death Eater and survive long enough to tell the story. Set in 1996.

Pairing: Charlie Weasley x ofc/mc

Masterlist

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5]

[Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10]

[Part 11] [Part 12]

Warnings: mentions of drug abuse

--

The first storm of May left the school in a darkness Kate never saw before. The temperature had abruptly dropped; the exams were getting closer and the Quidditch game that week had been cancelled as a result of an avalanche that had reached the castle grounds.

Ranunculus glacialis; Draba lactea; Dryas octopetala; Cicerbita alpina... she was reading the different plants stuck together with Spello-tape and correctly classified that she had hung on the walls of the classroom. The herbarium project had been successful even among the most reluctant students; so much they begged to go to the lake and expand their works of art with aquatic plants.

With a proud smile, Kate looked out the window of the herbology class, following the comings and goings of the students who passed by and lamented their lost quidditch match.

In the distance, Mer Yankelevich was coming from the lake, wearing a large hood to protect herself from the rain.

Her gaze turned to the column. Astrid Rhode and Libor Marek were talking beside it. The teacher must have felt eyes resting on him, for he scanned his surroundings. Realising that it was Kate who was watching him, he turned his attention back to Rhode, who glanced at her as well. “In my experience,” the curse-breaker from Iceland than Rhode had hired had said, “someone has tried to break a curse that does not exist.”

In another time and in another school, all eyes would have been on Kate. Now, free of that burden, she turned to see if her students had finished copying on their scrolls the Herbivicus charm used to make plants grow at high speed.

“I know that the attempt to make the umbrella flowers germinate has not turned out as we expected. They are very obstinate flowers, but we must be even more stubborn. This Friday, we will change the fertiliser we have been using for a more refined one”.

Thunder rumbled on the castle walls and some children began to get restless.

“Perhaps they don’t like this weather,” she joked before climbing onto the platform where her desk was placed. “When we get the optimal conditions for their germination, we’ll practice the spell until they come into bloom. However, and this is very important, we must not let the flowers open yet. We want to prevent them from pollinating naturally before we select them.”

Micael Angelov raised his hand. “What about the fanged geraniums?”

“I’ve been doing several tests and they germinate properly. They are easy to control and that is why we will be working on them after getting at least ten healthy umbrella flowers...”

The classroom door blasted open, revealing a hooded figure. All the sheets and scrolls in the class were scattered with the gust of wind that came in with the stranger. Thinking that it was Mer Yankelevich, she went to the door to ask for explanations, but Corentin’s face stopped her. Surprised, Kate aired her wand to close the door and stop the cold coming in.

The librarian lowered his hood and immediately apologised to the students, who began to whisper.

“I must talk to you,” he murmured.

“Can it wait until the end of the class?”

Corentin nodded and headed for the end of the classroom where he stood on a corner without looking away from the window.  He kept looking outside until the bells indicated the end of the lesson.

“Let me know if you want to go to the greenhouse before Friday and I’ll open the door for you. Jon, you must give me the list of your inventory, ah! Wait! I have your works on the mandrakes corrected, on Wednesday we will comment on it... Be careful outside!”

When the class was free of students, Kate approached Corentin, who was looking at her with a sly smile.

“You are getting more comfortable here.”

“What’s going on?”

“Last night someone went through my desk. Don’t worry, they were unsuccessful. I have the plans well in hand, but that shows that someone has the same goal as us.”

“And also that they have been spying on us.” She waited a moment and added, “This is not a good sign, Corentin.”

“I advise we continue with our... project.” With one hand, he gestured to the windows, and the curtains closed, leaving them in almost total darkness, except for the candlesticks on the ceiling.

He shook his sleeve, and from a black smoke the different scrolls that made up Nerida Vulchanova’s maps appeared.

Kate had some candles levitated, providing light and some warmth around them. From her desk, she took out seven books on magic walls, curses, portals and doors, and as every day since the discovery of Nerida’s painting, they began their study session.

After a couple of hours, Kate dropped her head on the desk with a thud.

“I have superposed all the rooms, corners and nooks of these plans, and they are all dead ends.”

“And there is nothing in these books that works... There are spells, incantations, words and words that say wonderful things and nothing at the same time. It’s like reading a blank page...”

“Did you wake up poetic today?”

“What do you think is inside?” Her voice sounded a little nasal, as she had her entire face smashed against a book, “One of the Deathly Hallows?”

“I doubt it, it’s not known if Grindelwald got any in his time at school and I don’t think, in case he had the elder wand, he came here to hide it.”

She raised her head and scanned the desk “Let me see the room behind the portrait again.”

Corentin gave her the plans,  forming the rectangle that represented the secret room.

“If you look closely, there is no passageway connecting the trophy room to this place, and I have been trying to match it to one of these, but nothing convinces me.”

“We lack information.”

“That’s obvious. But there are no other documents than the ones we have here. There is a possibility that Vulchanova destroyed them.”

“No...” she trailed off. She checked several sheets and held one that was blank. Only a triangle adorned one corner. “My grandmother was a Muggle...”

Corentin raised an eyebrow. “I don’t want you to take this as a lack of interest, but what does it have to do with this?”

“When I was a child, I was not allowed to see my grandparents. One of the conditions for allowing my parents to marry was to cut off contact with that branch of the family, and in return, the Williams offered my grandmother protection from anti-Muggle politics.”

“I’m sure this is going somewhere...”

“Of course my mother didn’t cut off contact. I was very young, but I remember the distinctive smell of...” she sniffed the parchment and a hint of a smirk appeared on her face, “lemonade.”

“I really try to follow you.”

“My mother wrote letters that, in the eyes of wizards, were empty. Muggles have a technique for making invisible ink.”

She extended her arm to one candle and held the paper so close to the flame that Corentin leaned over in his seat for fear that she would burn it.

As Kate moved the parchment, several lines appeared in a copper colour, which Kate recognised perfectly.

“Fascinating.”

Kate chuckled and left the parchment on the table. “I don’t think Vulchanova intended you to live in a controlling regime in order to decipher her map. Just that you knew a little about alchemy.” She pointed to the triangle in the lower corner. Corentin’s eyes shone with excitement.

He grabbed the missing piece of the map and spent long minutes trying to fit the lines over the fragment they already had. Meanwhile, Kate was trying out different pieces of parchment and new lines appeared on the existing maps as she drew them closer to the fire.

“Look,” said Corentin, “it can be accessed in several ways.” From where Nerida’s painting was, two paths branched out showing two tunnels leading to the room.

Kate gasped. By turning one of the sheets of paper, she made the newly discovered lines coincide with others drawn in ink.

Corentin imitated the procedure of heating the scrolls and, as if in a perfectly synchronised dance, they fitted each parchment with the previous one, forming a map of the ground floor that occupied the whole desk.

When Kate placed the last paper, a golden light emanated from one corner. The light moved through the junction between the papers, forking and coming together until it disappeared. Corentin raised a corner, noting with fascination and surprise that they now had a single plan of the castle.

“Wait! It’s disappearing!”

Corentin brought the map closer to the candles and the rooms and passages reappeared, making both of them sigh in relief. “With the Muggle trick that doesn’t happen.”

“Maybe she thought she had to give it a magic twist.”

 After tidying up the room, Corentin left Kate thinking about their more-than-suspicious meetings.. They had to be more careful from that moment on; if someone was watching them, they could get into trouble.

The storm had subsided, and instead of the sky it was Kate’s stomach that was roaring.

Corentin had taken her students’ books back to the library, so she exhaled happily that she could go directly to the dining hall. As she opened the curtains, she came face to face with Libor Marek, sitting on the outside stone wall.

“Good afternoon,” she greeted as she closed the door behind her.

“I thought you’d never get out.”

“Have you... been waiting for me?”

“No. There are rumours that Karkarov has returned to the grounds... I’m here on Rhode’s orders. When the students are eating, the guards reinforce the doors and this area is left empty...”

“I don’t see you too worried.”

Marek huffed and began a thorough inspection of his wand. “I will not hunt down the man who gave me a job.”

“Igor Karkarov...?”

“Yes.” He did not look up. Kate waited for him to say something else, but concluded that she would have to force him.

“Who else did he hire?”

“And how would I know that? I was the last to arrive. Well, Hodges came later, but that was Rhode’s doing.” He shook his head and put his wand up his sleeve before looking around. “I’m going to eat.”

“Didn’t she tell you to stand guard?”

Marek walked up to her and in a raspy voice said, “I would stop whatever it is that you’re doing .”

The difference in height gave Kate some security, but she chose not to adjust her stance to one of defiance; the last thing she wanted was to duel that man again. “Watch your back.”

Marek squinted and left her standing in the cold, wondering if he was referring to himself or someone else.

The rest of the week proved uneventful. After the discovery of Nerida’s complete map, Kate avoided the library as part of an unspoken agreement with Corentin. The librarian, for his part, did not contact her until Thursday afternoon when they enjoyed each other’s company with some tea and biscuits.

Only one sentence was exchanged about their research and that was Corentin commenting nothing out of the ordinary had happened and that only Sheyi Mawut approached the library to borrow a book on batting techniques.

Friday’s class in the greenhouse was fruitful; Kate’s students managed to germinate seven umbrella flowers with the new fertiliser, eight according to the children, who took the flower grew in such a way that it shot up into the air, opening a gap in the greenhouse roof, as a success.

Kate proposed a prize for whoever found the flower when it fell.

The path to her room after the class was full of obstacles; the students, motivated by the proximity of the competition, practiced their spells and incantations in the corridor or moved in groups to see the lists of participants.

Amidst robes and hats, Kate spotted Leron Angelov’s head in the distance. She had no intention of worrying about him until she saw him stagger down the hall. He rested both hands on a door and dropped his head forward.

There were students everywhere, but Kate could perfectly see Cassandra Steiner make her way through to Leron. She opened the door and pushed him into the room.

With firm steps she advanced to the classroom at the end of the corridor and without waiting a second more, she muttered Alohomora, and burst inside.

Like a niffler caught in the middle of a robbery, Cassandra looked up with big eyes. Her expression hardened instantly. She waved her wand to where Kate was and she heard the click of the door closing.

Without her eyes off Leron Angelov, she moved closer to get a better look.

He seemed to be standing in a strange position. His eyelids were not fully closed, his arms hung like two dead weights on either side of his torso and his legs... his legs did not touch the ground.

He floated in the air, without a broom, without a spell. His posture was grotesque, and Kate looked at him in horror because even though she saw no rope, he seemed to be hanging.

“Is... is he dead?” she asked with a trembling voice. She sought the healer’s gaze, but she was busy airing out the desks in the centre to create a larger table. “Steiner, is he dead?”

“No. Shut up. Help me with him.”

Both healers grabbed Angelov’s body and turned it in the air until it was in a horizontal position.

“Hold him against the table.” Kate obeyed and put her hands on Leron’s chest. She had to use a lot of strength as the body insisted on levitating.

Meanwhile, Cassandra moved around the makeshift table, uttering a spell repeatedly. Angelov’s hands and ankles were quickly anchored to the wood.

“You can let go.” She informed, before heading for the windows and starting to close the curtains.

Kate watched his eyes move behind the eyelids, and small wrinkles appeared on his forehead from time to time. As a good healer, she followed the inspection, looking for symptoms that could explain the teacher’s unusual situation.

The buttons on his left sleeve were open, revealing a red and bruised arm.  By removing the sleeve completely, she discovered what Leron Angelov had been hiding.

Puncture marks covered the inside of his elbow, made so fiercely that a wound had begun to form.

Kate let go of a slow breath and reached into the pockets of his tunic.

“You won’t find anything,” announced Cassandra, “I’ve already taken care of it.”

“What is it that makes him be like this?”

“Something called Billywig.” Kate exhaled at the news. She should have deduced that before. She watched as Cassandra opened a small chest, containing several rows of vials, and grabbed one. “Although you already knew…”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t try to fool me. Didn’t Rhode ask you to spy on him? To catch him in the act?”

“I’m pretty sure that Rhode doesn’t know about this.” Steiner stared at her.

“Does he sting himself in the greenhouse?”

“Not since you started using it. Thanks for that, by the way, since you started playing teacher, it has been impossible for us to keep track of him.”

Kate frowned. “Us? Who is ‘us’?”

“You’d better get out of here, things are going to get ugly.” As if on cue, Angelov’s body moved. He opened his eyes, injected with blood, and tried to get rid of his bonds with a force that did not seem like his body.

Cassandra forced the contents of a vial into his mouth until it was empty. In a few moments, Leron fell asleep.

“Calming draught?”

“Do me a favour and stop meddling in matters that don’t concern you.” Kate ignored Cassandra’s attempts to keep her in the dark.

“Steiner, who else knows about this?” she asked with a solemnity unbecoming of the situation. “I need you to trust me.”

She wasn’t entirely convinced, but gave her an answer, anyway.

 “Jorgensen. No one else can know about this, understood? If you tell anyone, I will make sure you never set foot in this school again.”

“I wasn’t planning to do that anyway...” she replied, referring to the part about revealing his secret, but also valid for the latter statement. “May I ask... why do you keep the vials... locked up?”

“Because these potions are not part of the school’s inventory. When Igor Karkarov was here, there was no problem; Rhode implemented a budget for ingredients that Jorgensen has to meet.”

“Don’t you grow your own ingredients?”

“I thought you’d noticed that you’re the first person to use the greenhouse in a decade. Kent sometimes picks some herbs from the forest, but it’s not usual.”

“But why do you have them at the hospital wing?”

“Kent and I buy what we need for the potions, he brews them, and we used to keep them in my room until Rhode started bringing in people from the British ministry, guards, inspectors... so we moved them to a place where they wouldn’t ask questions.”

Kate looked at Leron, who was becoming agitated again. “Kent hasn’t found a formula that won’t make us waste so many potions. For now, this is what we can do.”

“Beats his son, you know?” Kate accused.

“When he’s under the influence of the Billywig liquid, he’s not aware of his actions. Giving him so much calming draught doesn’t help his memory either. Micael went into his room. I hadn’t had time to tie him up and his hand slipped out. He went after him for a while, to make sure he said nothing. Most of the time he doesn’t even go near him.”

“That doesn’t speak in his favour either.”

“I didn’t say he was going to win an award for being father of the year.”

“Why are you doing this? Isn’t it better that he’s in a hospital and not teaching?”

“Look where we are, Williams. Many of us have known each other forever. We take care of each other here.”

“And Micael? Do you take care of him too?”

“Of course we do.”

“What about the sticky box that was with the bottles?” Cassandra rolled her eyes, irritated by the interrogation.

“I pick up the billywigs that Leron leaves all over the place and give them to Jorgensen. What’s left of them is useful in some potions.”

Leron awoke with a start, and the mediwizard came to his aid immediately. When he saw Kate, he gripped Cassandra’s wrist.

“Don’t worry. She knows.” Cassandra got rid of the magical bonds and he stood up slowly. He groped the ground and after a while managed to stand up without floating. He eyed Kate as she aired her wand at the tables, making them return to their original place. She felt his mind on her, and she purposely avoided his stare.

“My wife passed away some years ago.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She still didn’t look at him.

“I have the feeling that you’re not” at that she raised her head.

“Why is that?”

“Because of the way you looked at me at the staff meeting. With utter...disgust. You have a very expressive face, even when you think you are concealing it.”

“Your perception of me is based on your own experiences.”

“No. No, I know when a person doesn’t like me. And I could say the same thing to you.” A heavy silence fell over them. Kate watched as Cassandra organised her things.

“My son has good grades in Herbology. I didn’t think that could happen.”

“I am not giving him special treatment just because he’s a professor’s son.”

“I meant nothing of the sort. Just implying that you are.... You know how to connect with children. You... talk with them. Right?”

“Yeah, that’s...how you often interact.”

“I’m not sure if you have a wicked sense of humour or you just really despise me.”

“Everyone, at one time or another, loses a loved one. Sometimes prematurely. That doesn’t give us the right to compromise the safety of those who are still alive.”

“Who are you?”

“Excuse me?”

“You appeared out of nowhere. In the middle of the school year, and in a few months you became a teacher and the talk of the town. I hear your name everywhere, from everyone’s lips. And every time I turn around, you are there. One might think... you are up to something.”

“What exactly are you accusing me of?”

“Just an observation. But let me give you a piece of advice...”

“No. I won’t tell anyone about your condition if that’s what you’re worried about. But If you hit Micael again I swear....”

“You shouldn’t be threatening me.”

Kate found herself positively conflicted. She meant it when she said she didn’t want to betray their trust, and as a healer she wanted to help him in any way she could. However, the need to protect the boy was competing with her compassion for his father.

Abstracted by her own thoughts, Cassandra’s voice went unnoticed and only caught the last few sentences.

“We’ll get out first. Rhode will be coming to give the Dark Arts lesson now. Don’t tell her about this.” With one last look, they disappeared out the door, leaving Kate alone with her conscience.

She took a few steps towards the wall and exhaled as she let herself fall back slightly. She rested her head on the stone and closed her eyes, seeking the only thing that could comfort her at that moment.

Charlie.

Perhaps if she concentrated enough, she could connect with his mind as she had done the night they spoke through the flu net. She visualised his freckles when the sun hit them, the movement of his fingers when he drew. She tried to remember his laughter...

Kate?

She opened her eyes suddenly. Astrid Rhode looked at her with concern.

“Williams, are you all right?”

No, she hadn’t said her name before. A little upset at her cowardice preventing her from talking to Charlie in a way she would never have imagined. She peeled off the wall and nodded fervently.

“Yes! Yes... “

“Is there anything you should tell me?”

“Nothing at the moment, no. Although... I wanted to ask you: why did you send Professor Marek to stand guard at the back of the castle?”

Rhode raised her eyebrows. “I have done no such thing. Why would I?”

--

[Part 14]

Tag List: @eldritchscreech @meteora-fc @cazreadsstuff @the-navistar-carol

@am-i-space​

[dailyaudiobible]

10/04/2021 DAB Transcript

Jeremiah 2:31-4:18, Colossians 1:1-17, Psalm 76:1-12, Proverbs 24:21-22

Today is October 4th, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I am Brian, it is great to be here with you today, it’s great to be with you every day. But today is today and it's great to be here with you today. As we come around the Global Campfire and let it all go, whatever that thing is that snagging at us that are those things, these pressures, these obligations and responsibilities. These fears, these uncertainties, we are allowed to carry them around as much as we want. That's not necessarily a healthy thing to do and we are also given permission to not carry them around. But let's at least give ourselves permission to not carry them around right now, like we’re around the Global Campfire now, we’re safe right now. And, what’s gonna happen now is we’re just going to read the Scriptures and let them wash into our lives and so often something that we need is there and so often when we leave this place, the things that we have to pick up and carry, they don't have the same weight. Things shift and so let’s just let it all go as we move forward in our journey and take the next step forward. Which leads us back into the book of Jeremiah, which we just began yesterday. So, we’re just getting going in Jeremiah. When we get to the New Testament, we have new territory there as well. But first Jeremiah chapter 2, verse 31 through 4, verse 18.

Introduction to the Book of Colossians:

Okay, so we concluded the letter. Paul's letter to the Philippians yesterday. Which brings us to the 12th book in the New Testament, which is another letter from the apostle Paul, this one to the Colossians and the Colossians were people who lived in the city of Colossae which was not a place unfamiliar to Paul. It’s about 100 miles from where he spent a lot of his time in Ephesus and Colossae is, I don't know that it’s an archaeological ruins or site, at this point it’s been identified, but not really excavated. It sits in modern-day Turkey. But during Paul's life, Colossae wasn't an archaeological ruin at all. It was a bustling city and it had everything that you can imagine that bustling city in the Roman Empire would have, a lot of mingling of culture, a lot of mingling of philosophical ideas, a lot of mingling of spirituality and some of this mingling had made its way into the Colossian church. And so, Paul writes this letter as a response and similar to Ephesians and Philippians, Colossians is generally considered to be a prison epistle, so another letter that Paul wrote while he was awaiting trial before the emperor and the letter generally has two sections, to two themes. The first is a doctrinal issue. There had been people coming into the church and we’ve seen this before. This is a little different though, people would come into the church, they were fellowshipping in the church, but also teaching things like Angel worship, and some just other rituals that were not part of what Paul was teaching. And so, Paul addresses this in this letter by showing us once again this high, high Christology, this awareness that Christ is supreme over all creation, over all angelic beings, over everything. He writes in his letter that the universe, the very universe is created by and through Jesus and is…is sustained through the Lordship of Christ. And then Paul also addresses something we’ve seen before this, circumcised versus uncircumcised controversy that was dominant in the early church. We’ve seen it in other letters where people come in and I like no you got obey the Jewish customs, you’ve got to essentially become Jewish, then follow the Jewish Messiah, follow those customs, which Paul was very, very much against. We've had lots of conversations about that, in Colossians Paul is still against that teaching and so we’ll once again hear him make corrections and once again we have a letter that was sent to actual people in an actual congregation giving us insight into what was happening in their congregation. And since we have a collection of letters from Paul, we see the themes, the commonalities, the different things that the early churches were facing and for that matter, their distinctions and the different cities. But we get a really good glimpse at the struggles that were going on among our brothers and sisters that are our spiritual ancestors. And as we read these letters, we find that maybe context changes a little. The cities definitely change, the regions definitely change but the things that we find ourselves wrestling with, in dealing with, within ourselves and with…with in our fellowships, within our communities of faith, we still have this kind of stuff going on and so these letters, Colossians being the one that were about to read, serve as opportunities to be corrected, to find a path again, to get our NorthStar back and walk in a direction that is profitable for the kingdom of God. And so, we begin Colossians chapter 1 verses 1 through 17 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for this new territory into this letter to the Colossians that we are entering into, we ask that You lead and guide our hearts and we might understand what we need to understand, plant the seeds of the Scriptures in our lives. And may they yield the fruit of the Spirit, that we may have a bountiful harvest not only for our own hearts, may it spill out into our marriages and our families, may it spill over into our faith communities, may it spill out into this world that we may be that city on a hill, that we may be a light in the darkness, that we may illuminate the narrow path that leads to life. Come, Holy Spirit into all of this we pray. In the name of Jesus, we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base and that's the website, it’s where you can find out what's going on around here, how to get connected around here, how to pray for one another. I mean there's all kinds of resources in the Daily Audio Bible website. You can access all this using the Daily Audio Bible app as well. There is little drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner. So, things like the Daily Audio Bible Shop where there are resources for the journey that we find ourselves on. Now that we’re moving into the final quarter of the year there are a number of resources there in the Daily Audio Bible Shop. Also, the Community section, that is, that is how to get connected. The different social media channels that you can follow Daily Audio Bible on and that is that's, if you taking the journey, that's a good thing to do because that allows us to make announcements, etc. etc. and so check that out. The links are all in the Community section.

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

Prayer and Encouragements:

Hi, Daily Audio Bible family, this is God’s Life Speaker. I am calling on behalf of my son, Joshua, who you all have prayed for, for years now. He's 21 and at graduate school and he has been in a state if not well for quite a while and last night I was talking to him and it just broke out into prayer with him and we just need whatever is taking him down, fighting for his soul, to go, to be cast as far as the east is from the west. Family, please let’s stand together for these mental health issues these young people are having in the name of Jesus. We ask that Your mighty hand come over Joshua and anyone that is in need of being delivered from this spiritual realm that is of darkness and they feel they're in a pit and cannot come above. But You’re there and we love You Lord and you're allowing this to go through Your hands. In the name of Jesus, we ask that You would deliver these people, bring them up, may they long to love You. May they overcome these things, may they be refined and may they be magnifying Your name. I ask it in Your son's precious name. Amen.

Good morning DABer family this is the Burning Bush That Will Not Be Devoured for the Glory of our God and our King. I am calling for our sister Alyssa from Montana. Sister, I am praying for you. I prayed for you when I heard your prayer request and for those that didn’t hear, she is legally blind. She had COVID recently and lost her senses of taste and smell, and that is definitely hitting her a hard. My sister, I want you to know that I prayed for you and I believe that the same God who raised the dead can restore your senses. And so, Father God, I pray Oh Lord, that you restore her senses and…and give her just divine healing of her body that she will be whole, Father. And God, I thank You Oh Lord, because you love Alyssa and I pray that you just guide her as she awaits Your miracle. Thank You God for miracle after miracle in the name of Jesus I pray, Amen. We love you, my sister. May God bless and keep you and cause His face to shine upon you and give you peace and giver you your sense of smell and give you your sense of taste. God Bless, bye.

Hello there, DAB family. I love this community. Thank you so much. This is my first time. I just wanted to reach out to my Aussie friend there, in Canada. But my Aussie friend there that just requested prayer for his, I believe it’s his brother or friend. I know about mental illness. My mother had schizophrenia so, it is very difficult to have a loved one with this illness and just pray protection over him, bring him home Lord Jesus. Bring him to his place of peace, Lord and just comfort him right now, in his grief Oh Lord. The grief, can sometimes overwhelm but you have given us peace, so bring him to that place. Lord Jesus, and I also want to pray for the mom that reached out from Wyoming. I pray for wisdom and strength for your daughter to make the right decision. That she will just know from your wisdom as a mother, that she would listen to you and open her heart to take Godly advice. I pray Father that she will make the right decision. I also would love prayer for my…my daughter in Australia and my son, who are now not talking to me. They’re just going through, they’re adult children, they’re going through hard time with this pandemic. Just please pray that God would touch their hearts and they would come back to Him. Bless you all. I love you all.

Hello Daily Audio Bible family. This is Becky in Orlando and I would like for all of our Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors to come and circle around our new sister in the Daily Audio Bible family. Her name is Myra, she’s from New Jersey and I just met her in one of our hotels. Myra has been dealing with some horrible things that have happened to her where she just got attacked while she was in New Jersey. And she’s dealing now with PTSD. And if we could just pray for Myra. Anyway, I’ll start us off, Dear God, if you could please send the Blessed Comforter, the Holy Spirit, to tend to Myra, to give her comfort that only Jesus can give to her, to mend her wounds, both psychologically and spiritually. And, we know that this can be done because You are just the most amazing God and I pray that she listens to the Daily Audio Bible everyday and that it brings her comfort. And I pray that anybody else that’s listening to this would be able to get just the word that Jesus knows and God’s knows, the Holy Spirit knows all the plans that we have that He has for our lives. Sometimes the picture, we can’t see the big picture but He has such big plans and we don’t understand what His plans are for us at the time. So, please allow God’s plans to you know to unfold in her life and I pray that she just keeps on listening. So, Myra, from New Jersey, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible family and God Bless you, my sister. Alright, thanks Daily Audio Bible prayer warriors around the world. Alright, bye.

Hello, this is Nelly. I just want to let you all know that I’m praying for you all. And it’s such an encouragement to be part of this Community. I just pray that you also pray for me as I’m struggling with very dark and depressing thoughts. It’s been such a struggle. I haven’t been able to sleep. I’m just asking for prayer, thank you. I love you all.

[fimawari]

Thoughts on the comic and Skully's Identity. [Slight Spoiler Warning? Not really any plot spoilers just details and characters.]

So a lot of people accept that Jay is probably Skully, either surviving or something else. However there's also speculation that it could be Alex, Jessica, or even Seth Wilson, a few thinking about Tim. (Though I would rule him out as the artist drew what he looked like in the Comic on another post) So I raked out every detail I can. Of course it can all just be a stylistic choice but whatever - make of it what you will.

It could just be some new random asshole, but It's a given they know Jessica, so it is very likely to be Jay. He presumed she was gone, unless he watched the last Entry. That would also explain "It's you" sort of "oh shit" moment. Jay was also set on looking for Jessica, so if he did survive, you could assume that would still be one of his motives. Tim wouldn't likely have that "it's you" moment because he knows Jessica is alive. Alex might have that reaction though. I believe he presumed that she was gone.

It also takes two things from Brian and Tim. The hoodie and the plastic mask. So this person has likely seen both of them and came to imitate their appearance.

Coat Buttons

The Jacket appears to have snap on metal buttons. It's typical for this style of jacket (similar to a utility jacket, which would be useful and warm to run all over the goddamn woods at night) to have the buttons placed on top of the left side for a men's jacket. (Of course it could just be any person in a men's styled jacket, but still.)

I picked this out because it's paid attention to very carefully as a detail. Of course that's good for continuity, but I know for filming Marble Hornets they were very careful with detail and hinting at things.

2. Height

They're only seen crouching up to a door with Jessica on the other side, but if they both stood straight, they'd come to be about the same height, which was true for Jay and Jessica in the series.

3. You are broken but you CAN be fixed

This is what the masked figure says to Jessica. Similar to ToTheArks video saying Alex was broken, but couldn't be fixed. That might line up with Jay's motives because he continued to think he could solve the situation. It could be argued he also believed Alex could be saved from the Operator. It it were Alex, it could be his own changed perspective in whatever "form" this is now. That would be quite interesting to see why he would go from wanting to destroy the tapes to actively giving someone the tapes.

4. Not a point but something I noticed.

On the Rosswood bulletin, there is a blurry poster that looks like it could be a "Missing" sign. Who for - I don't know, but it does kind of appear they have glasses, so it could be Alex? This could also just be meaningless background illustration.

In the same frame, Adam also talks about people getting lost in the woods and says, "The Majority of them were recovered safely but," and he stops. That's a pretty cliffhanger "but" there Adam.

Closer inspection of the Rosswood Map shows Rosswood Rd, mentioned in the series, and was supposed to be the road off the usual parking lot they stopped in when meeting up, and an X location to hard to read atm, but it is off the beaten path.

5. In a silly doodle drawing in the comic files, I did notice this poster with a skull on it. It may just be nothing but could also be implying that whoever is in the skull mask died and came back.

Also I appreciate that the soda is Conk.

6. It's Fall about 10 years later after the first incidents in Rosswood began, in the timeline 2019 ish, but that is apparent from the trees outside and the time the comic was created at.

7. Jessica has a "Sarah" in her phone. Could he literally the millions of Sarah's but I'll point it out anyway. But more interesting barely covered is Tim's contact.

8. I was thinking about why their seems to be Blue Lenses in Skully's mask, they're even visible from a distance. Now this is really digging at the bottom of barrel but when Jessica grabs the pipe to defend herself, it's highlighted by red for emphasis. Red and Blue have often been a scheme for duelity and such.

This repeats again in the second title page:

A lot could be discerned from it. Maybe she is Skully, like a second half of her, as one of her nightmares is fighting against herself. May also not mean that and be another symbol of duelity, red vs blue.

I don't think the blue is styling choice because you can quite clearly see eyes in Masky's drawing. I believe there is definitely something covering their eyes - like lenses. Their "fashion choices" are also leaning towards the expensive side I noticed. Unless they just stole it went to a goodwill and got lucky. A utility jacket like that would cost somewhere beyond a $100 unless you're lucky. I'd pay to see a cryptid running around in Gucci in butt-fuck-nowhere Alabama in the middle of the night. Or who knows maybe Alex got some prescription lenses put in that shit.

9. Do I even have to explain the symbolism of a Jay.

10. I can say with good certainty this probably symbolises Jessica's memory of Alex.

11. Some damning evidence, whoever is in the mask has access to the original entry files, not just downloaded YouTube stuff. Jay, Tim, Totheark would likely have access to that. Alex was pretty dead-set on having all the traces deleted, I'd doubt he'd have them all uploaded to a computer.

12. No idea what this might represent besides some metaphor for life being a merry go round, but in the postcard Skully is chilling on a horse lmao. "Stuck in a loop of unhappiness." Ring a bell?

13. Can't attach another photo but the abandoned house Jessica goes to has "Bones" written on it, much like the Hospital did. In the original series they said that graffiti was just there, so maybe they decided to work with it? Who knows maybe it's some kind of new group? Maybe ToTheArk vs "Bones?" You CAN'T be fixed vs You CAN be fixed.

14. I also can't speculate what it exactly means, but it's obvious Skully can talk, not seen previously with the others. Whether out of an inability or just not wanting to. Could be argued it's a person behind the mask by choice, not volition. We also don't really know if Brian chose his path or became that. But he became a masked cryptid after supposedly "dying". We also never see people "die" just assume they have died or are dead and they disappear. Tim implies that it's just feeding off them, physically or mentally. They always die off camera or get fucked off somewhere by the egg head. They appear dead afterwords, with Jay and Brian, but still missing. All of their bodies were taken by the monster and are god knows where in some seperate dimension. This is borderline r/im14andthisisdeep but what is "death" in this series. Does it mean gone permanently or just "gone" ... For an unknown amount of time. People die, but do they stay that way? Or do they die ... In one sense, but not the other, Losing something of themselves from before, and becoming something new. That would awfully explain Brian's behavior after Alex "killed" him. It's also implied there are others apart of ToTheArk that were never shown in the series, suspected to be other members of the original cast who maybe had "died" and come back as someone else. Something broken.

Tim seems to be an outlier. It's presumed he has avoided death, and essentially kept his mentality. But still slips into another form out of his control, usually in response to the monster or the hooded man being near and stealing his pills and shit. Is he between death? Is that why doucheslender follows him? "The one that got away." Istg I don't take drugs.

That was Michael from Vsauce thank you for coming to my Ted talk.

[inkribbon796]

Radioactive Ch 3: The Bird and the Worm

Summary: The heroes try and find Logan as they receive help from an unlikely source.

A/N: Title comes from “the Bird and the Worm” by the Used.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

“Where is he?” Abe demanded.

“I don’t know!” Ranboo started to sob from the stress, the instant the tears hit his face they burned his skin, steam visibly coming from his cheeks.

“Abe, stop, out,” Silver ordered.

Still in a fury, Abe left and Silver stayed in the interrogation room with several other heroes.

After Abe had come to and found Logan and Tubbo were gone, the heroes had gone back to talk to Ranboo who agreed to be questioned without an arrest. During that time, the city was rocked by a brief explosion. It was clear to everyone that Ranboo was nowhere near as calculating as his husband.

Outside, in the lobby Patton was trying to look after Michael, who was still in his little pajamas with his chicken plushie and crying.

“Hey, come on, your daddy will be back soon,” Patton tried to promise.

“Hey there Michael,” Ghostbur walked up and Michael hiccuped and stared at Ghostbur with relief.

“Bur!” Michael got up and raced for Ghostbur.

“Oh, don’t cry,” Ghostbur picked Michael up as the young child kept crying. “Boo’ll be back, promise.”

Ghostbur sat down as Michael started snuffling but he seemed to be calming down.

Tommy walked over and just stared at Michael.

“You’re really good with kids,” Patton complimented him.

“I’m really not,” Ghostbur frowned sadly.

“Yeah you’re shit with kids,” Tommy agreed. “You always were.”

“Hey come on, we can’t curse in front of a kid this young,” Patton admonished them.

“This is supposed ta[1] be Tubbo’s kid right?” Tommy was staring at Michael with an expression of loathing and a snarl in his tone.

“Y-Yeah?” Patton braced to get in-between Tommy and Michael.

“Then the little fooker’s[2] already heard it all then, ain’t[3] he?” Tommy decided.

Michael was still hiding in Ghostbur’s jumper, cuddling his little chicken close to his chest.

“Isn’t he just the cutest little thing, Big Man?” Ghostbur smiled.

“Thing? Yeah. Cute? I don’t think so, half its face looks melted off.” Tommy huffed.

“Ehh, like you looked any different, mate. I’m pretty sure Phil just vomited inta[4] trash can an’[5] you popped out.”

The heroes and the cops turned to see Jack Manifold appearing out of thin air as his invisibility potion fizzled out.

“You!” Tommy summoned his axe and got in front of Ghostbur and Michael. “The fook[6] do you want?”

Jack took out a card with a radioactive symbol on it, “I’ve got some hot shit ta[1] tell you.”

At that instant, Jack was jumped by three officers, the card disappearing into thin air in a puff of magic. Ranboo was walking out at the same time and rushed over to Michael to take him back into his arms.

“Boo! Boo!” Michael sobbed, patting Ranboo’s face with a hand.

“I’m back, buddy,” Ranboo buried his face into Michael’s short hair. “Da’s here. We’re going home.”

The instant Jack Manifold was brought into an interrogation room he began talking. He didn’t get into specifics, but he admitted that he was part of Dream’s gang, and that Tubbo was a weapon’s expert. But Tubbo kept all information of how he was building things very close to his chest.

“But,” Jack summoned the card back into his hands, making it disappear when Abe tried to snatch it away. “Tubbo made a mistake, little fooker’s[2] absolutely mad but he made me his back up. Tubbo can’t detonate his new toys without a second keycard.”

“How big a detonation are we e’en[7] talkin’[8] here?” Jackie asked.

Jack shrugged, “Well, don’t know how many ‘a yer demon friends felt that earthquake but Tubbo an’ I detonated one ‘a Tubbo’s new toys way north in Egoton’s haunted forest. Crater’s still there if you wanna check.”[9]

“That was an explosion?” Silver demanded. Bing had already left to check out the northeast forest, finding the cameras and speakers but it took him a couple seconds longer to find the crater. His readings could still detect the fading radioactive isotopes being leached from the air by magic.

“Yeah, we all did,” Jackie answered as Bing was searching. “That was you?”

“Me an’[5] Tubbo,” Jack corrected. “We didn’t e’en expect it ta work an’ I think Tubbo lost his mind. ‘Cause he was just standin’ there laughin’ his arse off like a madman.”[10]

“Where is Tubbo right now?” Abe demanded.

“I reckon he’d be back at the Server, probably still cacklin’[11] like a madman,” Jack sighed.

“Where’s the Server?” Jackie asked.

“I saw the crater,” Bing told them as his nanites reconstructed back into the room. “How big was the payload?”

Jack held up his hands, to show a disc about the length of his hand, “Bout[12] this big.”

“How big was the crater?” Silver asked.

“The size of a house,” Bing reported, showing the images to the others. “I think the bomb was meant ta[1] prioritize damage o’er[13] distance because it was deeper than it was big. Yeh[14] had a lot ‘a[15] pitchblende, what happened ta[1] the rest ‘a[15] it.”

“Used all ‘a[15] it,” Jack shrugged. “Some fer experiments, an’ others fer makin’ the payloads.”[16]

The atmosphere was so thick and heavy one could cut it with a knife.

“How many do you have?” Abe asked.

“We used a good bit ‘a[15] it in tests,,” Jack explained. “Tubbo was already conducted experiments on his own aura before he got his hands on the stuff. After Tubbo got done with those tests we only had about a dinner plate sized amount left an’ a lot ‘a waste we had ta dispose ‘a. But Tubbo took the other two cores we made. Was really paranoid ‘bout someone else havin’ or e’en seeing ‘em.”[17]

“So he can just make two more bombs,” Bing demanded.

“Make ‘em[18]?” Jack chuckled nervously. “He’s already got the cases fer ‘em, an’ the cores. But that fooker can’t detonate ‘em without me.”[19]

Jack summoned the keycard again. “Those two nukes aren’t worth a thing except a scare tactic without my aura. Someone else can take the card an’[5] try ta[1] use it, but unless I’m there it won’t do shit.”

“Okay, so we’ve got time ta[1] find the kid,” Jackie felt a touch of relief. “Yeh[14] said he was at the Server. Where is it? Is it like a safehouse or some kinda[20] base?”

“It’s Dream’s little nightclub,” Jack explained. “He controls who’s allowed inta the Server. He’s got our aura marked with somethin’. No one can physically go inta the place without Dream’s say-so. E’en if I told you all the address: 5485 NE Ralph St. You all couldn’t e’en get in the door without Dream’s permission.”[21]

“You guys took one of our heroes,” Abe commented. “Would he be at the Server too?”

“The thrall in the blue?” Jack asked.

“He’s not a thrall,” Silver defended.

“Sure, whate’er makes it easier fer you ta work with that freak ‘a nature,”[22] Jack shrugged. “I’m not sure, but he might be, Dream wants the legate in his back pocket so he’s probably tryin’[23] ta[1] cut some kinda[20] deal.”

“Well, he took the wrong Side for that,” Abe decided. “We can try and get contact with Logic again, you’ll be in holding until we sort things out.”

“You don’t understand, I want out ‘a[15] the Server, they’re all crazy maniacs.” Jack scoffed. “The worst thing that happens ta[1] me if I go back is I get yelled at by the Captains, an’[5] then Dream slaps me on the wrist with a discorporation.”

“We’ll talk about deals after we get Logic back,” Silver told him. “For now just stay put.”

“That’s better,” Jack scoffed, then chuckled to himself. “So how’s that blowhard Tommy?”

“I fail ta see how that’s any ‘a yer fookin’ concern,”[24] Jackie warned.

“So he’s doin’[25] well then,” Jack chuckled. “So he workin’ with yeh until he can get those discs back, or is he tryin’ ta be subtle fer once in his life?”[26]

“We’re not at liberty to use one of the Coalition’s real names, even if the individual were talking to knows it as well,” Silver warned.

“Geez, sure, whate’er[27], just be careful around Tommy, yeh[14] hear?” Jack warned.

“Why?” Silver ordered.

Jack let out an amused chuckle, “I get it, you heroes love a good sob story. But Tommy’s a fookin’[28] menace. Dream kicked him out fer[29] a reason, mate. You see there’s only one thing Tommy cares about: his dics. Dream has them under lock an’[5] key with some ‘a[5] the rest ‘a[5] our stuff he’s holdin’[30] hostage. Tommy will betray anyone ta[1] get ‘em[18] back: me, Tubbo, Ghostbur, Nikki. He’ll e’en[7] break Phil’s heart.”

“What’s on these dics?” Jackie asked.

“Far as I can tell?” Jack scoffed. “Some fookin’ shite sample music. I think Wilbur an’ Tommy made ‘em together. Tommy’s nuts o’er ‘em. An’ glitches are already territorial as shite. You should have seen Tommy after he figured out Ranboo an’ Tubbo were married, he just about set Ranboo on fire.”[31]

“We figured after the interaction at the warehouse that you and Tubbo had met Big Man and Ghostbur before,” Silver commented.

“Oh yeah, me an’[5],” Jack scoffed, “well, I knew Wilbur. Ghostbur’s a joke. I can’t tell how much ‘a Wilbur is e’en left in there. But I hope it’s nothin’ ‘cause if I e’er see a sliver ‘a him again it’ll be too soon.”[32]

“What do you mean?” Silver asked.

“Ghostbur used to be an empath by the name ‘a[15] Wilbur, you seen the winged demon that’s been goin’[33] around town, Phil?” Jack asked and Silver nodded. “Phil didn’t just split off some tough pieces ‘a[15] shit, he also split off two fookin’[28] maniacs. Wilbur died mad, Tommy is mad. Their whole family’s nuts, so keep yer[34] eyes on ‘em[18].”

Jack kept talking a little bit more before Jackie and Bing went off to the address to see if they would find Logan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. to

2. fucker’s

3. hasn’t

4. into

5. and

6. fuck

7. even

8. talking

9. Well, don’t know how many of your demon friends felt that earthquake but Tubbo and I detonated one of Tubbo’s new toys way north in Egoton’s haunted forest. Crater’s still there if you wanna check.

10. We didn’t even expect it to work and I think Tubbo lost his mind. Because he was just standing there laughing his ass off like a madman.

11. cackling

12. About

13. over

14. You

15. of

16. Some for experiments, and others for making the payloads.

17. Tubbo was already conducted experiments on his own aura before he got his hands on the stuff. After Tubbo got done with those tests we only had about a dinner plate sized amount left and a lot of waste we had to dispose of. But Tubbo took the other two cores we made. Was really paranoid about someone else having or even seeing them.

18. them

19. He’s already got the cases for them, and the cores. But that fucker can’t detonate them without me.

20. kind of

21. He controls who’s allowed into the Server. He’s got our aura marked with something. No one can physically go into the place without Dream’s say-so. Even if I told you all the address: 5485 NE Ralph St. You all couldn’t even get in the door without Dream’s permission.

22. Sure, whatever makes it easier for you to work with that freak of nature

23. trying

24. I fail to see how that’s any of your fucking concern

25. doing

26. So he working with you until he can get those discs back, or is he trying to be subtle for once in his life?

27. whatever

28. fucking

29. for

30. holding

31. Some fucking shit sample music. I think Wilbur and Tommy made them together. Tommy’s nuts over them. And glitches are already territorial as shit. You should have seen Tommy after he figured out Ranboo and Tubbo were married, he just about set Ranboo on fire.

32. well, I knew Wilbur. Ghostbur’s a joke. I can’t tell how much of Wilbur is even left in there. But I hope it’s nothing because if I ever see a sliver of him again it’ll be too soon.

33. going

34. your

[monotonous-minutia]

what was your theater experience growing up like? I know you have mentioned it before, but I’d love to hear more!

answering this depends on if you want the long version or the short version. But because I feel like telling it, we're gonna go with the long version.

(also I should preface this by saying I was home schooled and so I did not have any access to theatrical things through school.)

It starts on what seems like an unrelated note.

When I was a little kid (like really little, like 5 or so) my parents would always play lullaby CDs for us (my three brothers and I) when we went to bed. I've had issues with sleep for as long as I can remember, so I continued to listen to music every night until I was maybe 12 or 13 to try and get to sleep.

When I was around 10 I think, my mom's parents sent us a CD for Christmas or someone's birthday that was a lullaby CD, but it was all classical music. I loved it so it became my every night CD. The problem was, I got so into the music, it wouldn't actually put me to sleep. I wanted to stay up and listen to the music and read the sleeve of the CD case to see what all the songs were and who wrote them, and to feel the stories that the music was telling me. It was more than just a series of moms singing essentially “go to sleep” over and over. The music in this CD was interspersed with bits of dialogue that went along with the feeling of the music, and that just fascinated me; how someone could be telling a story with music that didn’t have any words.

So I started getting classical music CDs from the library to listen to during the day, so I could get into it when I wasn’t trying to fall asleep. I was primarily obsessed with Mozart, Vivaldi, and Handel, though I had a lot of other favorites too. There was also this really cool series of CDs that took the music of various composers and used them as a soundtrack for stories about the actual composers (the Classical Kids series) and I just ate them all up. I couldn't get enough.

People started to figure out classical music was just becoming My Thing, so I got a bunch of CDs for my various birthdays/Christmas and from the library. And one day my mom grabbed a CD of Die Zauberflote.

I got obsessed with it and once finished it, I kept listening to it over and over again. Then I wanted to see if there was a video recording of a performance that we could watch, because I loved the story and wanted to see how it would be acted out. The one copy our entire library system had was the Drottingholm Court Theater (1989) one, which to this day remains my favorite.

So now I was on the opera train, and I wanted to hear more. We listened to Nozze (though our mom wouldn't let us watch a video of this one; she said it was inappropriate. Also she hated the idea of a woman dressing up as a boy, so anything Cherubino-related was out); we listened to Barbiere, Carmen, and La boheme (these three we were allowed to watch videos of). After that my brothers got bored, but I didn't. I'd found my new obsession.

I continued to listen to operas on my own (and did occasionally manage to get a video or two in the house to watch). Then, because I am A Nerd, I started reading about them--summaries of ones I couldn't find; researching source material; reading about various performers and opera houses...pretty much anything I could get my hands on. All of this continued up until I went to college, which then took up the majority of my life (although I was able to take advantage of the university’s extensive library which had, among other things, DVDs of the ROH Zauberflote with Diana Damrau and Simon Keenlyside and the Met Hansel and Gretel with Frederica von Stade).

Now there's another aspect of this that contributes. I wrote a lot when I was a kid. Like a LOT. If I wasn't doing school or playing outside or listening to music, I was writing stories. Pretty much all of my old stories are dead now for reasons I won't get into. But one thing that stuck around was the desire to write plays. First I wanted to write an opera; the past few years obsessing over them made me want to write my own. But I couldn’t (and still can’t) read music, or write music, or even play an instrument. In my research, though, I'd found a lot of operas were based on plays, so I figured I could write one, and maybe later on down the line I’d find someone who could put it to music.

The only problem was I'd never seen a play. Not even a recording of one. it’s hard to write a play if you’ve never seen one and don’t understand how theater works.

I tried to remedy this by just reading a lot of plays. Our library had an entire section dedicated to drama, about three shelves big. I spent a lot of time there. I tried to figure out what made a good play, but you know, you just can't get the same experience without seeing one.

Then, when I was around 15 I think, I got my first "babysitting" gig, which was just me watching my little brother play video games with a kid a little younger than him. While I watched them play, I talked to the kid's mom (who was there so it really wasn't a gig), and I found out she was an actress that worked and volunteered at some local theaters.

I'd found my way in.

When I encountered her again, I asked if she knew of any ways I could get involved in the theater scene in town (there were a surprising amount of theaters nearby). There were two in particular that needed volunteers, so she connected me to some people. I got to know the staff at the theaters, help out in the box office, do some backstage stuff, usher, and occasionally help the actors with their lines and blocking. But the best part was I got to see a ton of shows for free by virtue of being a volunteer. During the next two summers, I was seeing a show almost every week, sometimes multiple times a week. It was glorious.

I also got to be involved in some of their youth shows; I actually got a few acting parts despite the fact that I'm a pretty bad actor and horrible at memorizing lines. More fun than that, I got to help out as a sort of assistant director for some children's theater workshops put on by local actors. Every Saturday for a summer, I went to one of the theaters to help guide a group of kids (it changed every week) in theater activities and act out a Roald Dahl story that they then performed for their parents. I absolutely loved doing this; I loved working alongside professional performers; I loved being able to participate in theater on a level I was comfortable with; I loved that I could get out of my freaking house; and I loved working with the kids. (Incidentally this is also what got me interested in working with kids, which has been my profession for the past six years.) So that, plus the volunteering, was the biggest part of my theater experience growing up.

Side note, it was through the magic of theater (and one enormous crush on a fellow volunteer) that made me realize I was gay. Of course, because the managers of one of the theaters ALSO happened to be gay (and married), my parents figured I'd been Converted(tm), and that's where the positivity about theater in my house ended. But once I got to college, I had fewer restraints, so I was free to get involved in theater (though I quickly realized a theater major was not for me). I did a bit of acting (never in mainstage shows), but mostly I participated in playwright groups and events. This is where I began writing plays in earnest and actually became good at it. It helped me get over the whole not-being-able-to-act thing. Plus I got to see a lot of shows because they were either a) free or b) severely discounted for students.

I almost got to go to a Big City to participate in a regional college theater festival by virtue of participating in a classmate’s theater project, but for reasons I also don’t need to go into, I was literally the only one who ended up not being able to go.

Aside from that though (an the ill-fated class I mentioned to you a while back), most of my theater experiences have been really positive, and I’m really grateful for that because it helped me get through some tough times at home. Plus there’s nothing like the joy of being involved in live performance. Once COVID winds down and I’m done with school, I want to see if I can get involved in some of the local theater groups in my city. I do still have a connection with one theater group from my old hometown (the one that did the readings of my plays), but the pandemic really put a nix on that. They’re still doing some virtual stuff though.

So anyway that’s probably way more information than you wanted but yeah. That’s my story.

[grailfinders]

Fate and Phantasms #31: Medea

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re building the Witch of Deceit Medea in DnD 5e! In this build, Medea’s going to be an Abjuration Wizard to power up her counterspells to act in the place of Rule Breaker. You can restrict your counterspells and dispel magics to melee range if you really want to play to character, but I don’t think I can overstate how much harder you’ll be making it for yourself. 

As always, a spreadsheet for the build can be found here, and a level-by-level breakdown can be found below the cut.

Race and Background

As the daughter of King Aeetes, calling Medea a Noble is actually a bit of an understatement. Regardless, she has proficiency in History and Persuasion because of this, which works out great for you. It’s also nice that Medea’s background was so easy to pin down, because her race certainly wasn’t. She’s a human, but with gods in her direct ancestry which would make her an Aasimar, and of course, just look at those ears. In this case, we’re going to make her a High Elf, giving her 60′ of Darkvision, proficiency with Perception, advantage against being charmed with your Fey Ancestry, the ability to Trance instead of sleep, and an extra Cantrip from the wizard spell list. Grab Fire Bolt for some firepower early on. High elves also get +2 to Dexterity and +1  to Intelligence.

 Ability Scores

Put your highest score in Intelligence; Medea’s been trained by the best witch in  the game, and she’s a quick study. After that is Charisma; she’s the witch of deceit for a reason. Butter up your enemies and sink that dagger into their back. Speaking of daggers, Rule Breaker is a pretty good one, and to make sure it can actually hit its mark, she’ll need some Dexterity. After that is Constitution; she’s not that tough, but she has spent a long time on that dumb boat, so at least she’s learned not to get seasick. Put your second lowest score into Wisdom (she did trust Jason, of all people), and dump Strength Because Wizard. Strength is for fools who can’t throw lightning around.

Class Levels

1. We’re starting this build with a level in Wizard. We’re also ending this build with Wizard. It’s Wizard all the way down, is what I’m saying. First level wizards have an Arcane Recovery, letting Medea regain spell slots of fifth level or lower with a combined level of half her level on a short rest, and now that I’ve said level so many times its stopped looking like a word. Wizards also get two skill proficiencies, and Medea’s are Arcana and Religion, because those were the same thing during the age of gods. She also has proficiency in Intelligence and Wisdom saves. 

Finally, Wizards get spells. A lot of spells. At first level, they get three Cantrips and six first level spells, and then they get two more spells each level. Because Medea is an actual caster, unlike most of the other servants up to this point, we can get a little freeform with her spell list. I’ll mention all the spells I’d personally give her, but I’ll only be putting the very useful or very in character spells in bold from here on out. For cantrips, grab Lightning Lure, Minor Illusion, and Message. For first level spells, grab Absorb Elements, Mage Armor, Witch Bolt, Magic Missile, Disguise Self, and Burning Hands.

2. At second level, Medea becomes a member of the School of Abjuration, making her an Abjuration Savant (reducing the cost and time to copy abjuration spells by half), and she learns how to make an Arcane Ward, a magical barrier that is created when casting an abjuration spell that will take some hits for her, like some kind of shiny yellow sweater. Medea also learns Alarm and Cause Fear, because sometimes you just don’t want to be bothered.

3. At third level, Medea unlocks second level spells, including Arcane Lock and Detect Thoughts. It’s much easier to scheme when you literally know what everyone’s thinking, so of course that’s what she’ll do. 

4. Use Medea’s first ASI to make her into a War Caster. This feat will give her advantage on concentration saves (not useful yet), the ability to perform somatic spells while holding a weapon (very useful for RP reasons in a level), and cast spells as an attack of opportunity instead of hitting the fleeing creature. Magic is Medea’s weapon of choice, and now that’s just a bit more literal.

For spells, grab Dancing Lights, Maximillian’s Earthen Grasp (it’s not quite skeletons bursting out of the ground, but we’re getting there), and Nystul’s Magic Aura. This spell is just really useful for someone who needs to hide out while plotting their revenge. You can hide magical items, prevent your own mind from being read, or even trick paladins into thinking Jason is secretly a fiend. The possibilities are endless.

5. A fifth level, Medea finally gets access to third level spells, including the vaunted Counterspell and Dispel Magic. Technically these two have further ranges than 5′, but if you want to stay in character you better make Medea stab whatever she’s countering first. No guarantees that she’ll survive staying in character, though.

6. Sixth level Abjuration wizards get a Projected Ward, letting Medea throw her fancy yellow sweater to other party members to protect them as well. Medea can’t target the golden fleece in FGO, but I’d like to think she’s mellowed out in the three years since the game began and got a bit more generous.

She also gets Nondetection for more sneakiness and Animate Dead for some skeletons to throw into the meat grinder that is frontline combat.

7. Seventh level wizards have fourth level spells, and Medea’s grabbing Polymorph (her aunt’s freaking Circe, after all) and Tiny Servant. Miniatures are her passion, and bringing them to life to enact her fantasies of torturing Jason is a totally healthy hobby, don’t worry about it.

8. Medea’s second ASI can get thrown towards her Intelligence for more spells and a stronger fleece. It turns out smarts are important for a wizard, wild huh?

Grab Banishment and Bestow Curse this level, and have fun coming up with effects to throw at people.

9. Ninth level wizards get fifth level spells. Medea gets Animate Objects for more fun with dolls and Danse Macabre. The danse doesn’t last as long as Animate dead, but you can pull it off mid combat, bringing it closer in line with Medea’s battle animations.

10. At tenth level, abjuration wizards Improve their Abjuration, so now Medea adds her proficiency bonus to ability checks caused by abjuration spells like counterspell. Rule Breaker still isn’t at its full potential yet, but it’s getting stronger.

11. Eleventh level wizards gain sixth level spells, and Medea gets Guards and Wards to set up your ultimate workshop and True Seeing.

12. Use Medea’s next ASI to turn her into a Mage Slayer. She can now use her reaction to make a melee attack against creatures casting spells, so if you somehow got your hands on a Rule Breaker in game, she can now use it for its intended purpose. Also, when Medea damages a creature it has disadvantage on its concentration save, and Medea has advantage on saves against spells cast within 5′ of her.

For spells, Medea picks up Chain Lightning, adding electricity to her repetoire, and Fabricate to make figure sculpting a snap.

13. At 13th level, Medea gains access to seventh level spells and grabs Symbol and Teleport.

14. As an abjuration wizard, Medea gets her final subclass bonus at fourteenth level, granting her Spell Resistance. Medea now has advantage on saves against spells, and resists damage from spells as well.

For spells this level, Medea grabs Locate Creature and Dimension Door.

15. At this level Medea accesses eighth level spells and grabs Antipathy/Sympathy and Antimagic Field. Flavorwise, this is Medea going absolutely ham with Rule Breaker, breaking down all magic in 10 feet of her. This is what peak performance looks like. Spells? Gone. Enchantments? Suppressed. Summons? Sayonara.

16. Medea’s next ASI is going to max out her Intelligence for extra spell damage, spell saves, and a fluffier golden fleece. For spells, she grabs Clone and Dominate Person.

17. Medea finally has access to ninth level spells, giving her plenty of magic to play with. At this level she grabs Imprisonment (for when she finally gets a hold of Jason) and Invulnerability.

18. Eighteenth level wizards gain Spell Mastery, letting her cast a 1st and 2nd level spell for free as long as they’re prepared. I’d pick Disguise Self and Nystul’s Magic Aura for extra scheming, but your pick isn’t set in stone, so go with whatever fits your campaign the best. Medea also grabs two new spells, Wish and Create Undead. The latter may be stepping on the toes of Animate Undead a bit, but the added variety may be useful. Or it might not be; again, that’s why the spell’s name isn’t in bold.

19. Medea’s last ASI will make her a Piercer, adding 1 to her dexterity, and giving her extra abilities when using piercing weapons. Once per turn, you can reroll one die if the attack deals piercing damage, and critical hits that deal piercing damage add an extra die.

For spells, grab Forcecage and Power Word Pain.

20. Medea’s capstone level gives her Signature Spells, two 3rd level spells that she can cast once per short rest for free. Of course in this build we’re going with Counterspell and Dispel Magic to maximize Rule Breaker’s uptime. For her final spells, grab Soul Cage and Aganazzar’s Scorcher.

Pros: Medea may be a squishy caster, but thanks to her ward her effective HP pool is bumped up from Wizard to the lofty heights of Bards, and she more or less heals herself with each counterspell she casts. Her focus on abjuration makes her the bane of other wizards’ existences, and because she’s a caster, her spell list is a lot more flexible than previous builds.

Cons: I can’t overstate how badly melee weapons and wizards mix. Also, while you’re terrifying for casters to deal with, counterspell does nothing against barbarians, so pick your fights wisely. Just stay away from any adventuring groups led by Jason, and you should be fine.

[argylemnwrites]

Get To Know... Riley Liu

Thanks for the tag @mskaneko​! I may have gone into way more detail than anyone could possibly care about, hahaha!

1. Name (+ bonus  why did you choose that name?)

Riley Liu, or Riley Walker after the wedding

I almost never change first names (I don’t particularly like coming up with names, and I’m always afraid I’m going to give my MC another character’s name, but Brooks just didn’t feel like a realistic surname for a Chinese-American woman)

2. Faceclaim

Kaman Kong

3. Nicknames

Liu, Walker in canon universe after her wedding

4. Birthday

June 17th

5. Height

5′7″

6. Eye color

Dark brown

7. Hair color

Black

8. Love interest (why did she choose this person?)

Drake Walker

No one had ever understood her and made her feel seen like he did, and he flirted with her by teasing/bantering, which is how she flirts as well. She never felt like she had to watch what she said or how she acted around him, and he still wanted to spend time with her and really get to know her. Plus, she thought he was good looking.

9. Best friend

Hana Lee

10. Personality traits

Snarky, goofy, competitive, fierce, protective

11. Family background

Her mother (Mei) was 19 years old when she had Riley and had been dating her father (Henry, age 23) for 7 months when she found out she was pregnant. Her mother thought that they would settle down and be a nice little family, but Henry had little interest in starting a family. Her parents were a volatile on-again, off-again couple until Riley was 3 years old, at which point they broke up for good. Riley saw him only a handful of times before he moved back to Beijing when she was 6 years old. Her paternal grandparents never even knew she existed, and she hasn’t spoken to her father since then.

Mei struggled with depression and anxiety and turned to heroin to cope. Her addiction made it difficult for her to hold down a job, and she frequently stole from her parents to pay for her next hit. Not knowing how to help their daughter, and not having the money to get her treatment, Riley’s grandparents kicked them out when Riley was 2 years old. They thought that this tough love approach would force Mei to get clean in order to care for her daughter, but it didn’t work as they’d hoped. Instead, Mei and Riley had very unstable housing, often sleeping on the floor of apartments of Mei’s friends, boyfriends, or dealers. When Riley was 10, Mei was arrested for the first time, and thus began a cycle of Riley being placed with a foster family while her mother served time, Mei getting clean and regaining custody, but eventually relapsing and forcing Riley back into the system.

Mei died from an OD when Riley was in her final year of college. In order to pay off her outstanding debts and give her a minimal funeral, Riley was forced to drop out of college. 

12. Hometown

NYC (Manhattan, primarily Chinatown or the surrounding neighborhoods)

13. Education

Completed 6 semesters of college through a combination of loans, scholarships, and service industry jobs before dropping out after her mother’s debt. Riley only applied to college because it allowed her access to subsidized housing away from her mother.

In the It Couldn’t Wait Another Moment universe, Riley does eventually complete those last two semesters.

14. What languages does she know?

English, and she can understand conversational Mandarin (and can speak a little bit, but cannot read or write it) from time spent with her maternal grandparents when she was very young. She’s picked up some basic Spanish over the years as well through friends, coworkers, and a good foster family.

15. Occupation

Duchess in canon, which will never stop feeling ridiculous to her. In the ICWAM universe, she gets a job doing image management for public figures with a PR firm after she completes her college education, at least for a while...

16. Dream job

When she was little, she wanted to be a rock star. Now that she’s older, she’s very much a work to live, not live to work person, so she counts a job that pays her well that she doesn’t hate as a win.

17. Hidden talent

Darts. She’s insanely good, even when drunk.

18. Her strengths

Resiliency, flexibility, adaptability

19. Her weaknesses

Fears of abandonment, avoidance of needed negative conversations, impulsivity, impatience

20. Pet peeves

Passive aggressiveness, bad tippers

21. Guilty pleasure

Soap operas

22. Ideal outfit

Skinny jeans, black leather boots, a bright colored top, and her trusty leather jacket

23. Favorite season

Summer

24. Favorite vacation spot

Anywhere with good beaches. In all honesty, she’d only been on one trip before Cordonia (with her first foster family, the Veras), so any vacation feels like a real treat to her.

25. Celebrity crush

Matt Rodriguez

26. Who is her inspiration

The two sets of good foster parents she had, Hana

27. Whats is the craziest thing she has ever done?

She got on a plane to a country she’d never heard of with a guy she met less than 24 hours earlier

28. Describe her dream date

A casual meal and drinks over some sort of competitive activity (pool, darts, poker, giant jenga, you name it) Teasing, banter, and competition are all flirting/foreplay for her.

29. What’s more important for her in a relationship: physical attraction or emotional connection?

She always thought physical attraction prior to Drake, because she never thought she would be in a long-term committed relationship. But her emotional connection to Drake is something she never could have thought would be something she would experience, and she treasures it.

30. Three things she would take to a desert island

A pocket knife, a lighter, a flask

31. What is one thing she could never forgive?

A partner who stormed out in a fight without letting her know where he was going

32. What gets her out of bed in the morning?

Like, what motivates her? When things are good, a general sense of wanting to enjoy what she currently has. When things are bad, the belief that it will pass and things will get better.

Or, if we are talking what physically gets her out of bed? Her annoyance with her alarm.

33. What does she use more often: her intuition or logical reasoning?

She thinks she is very logical, but if she isn’t careful, her panic response that she built up throughout her childhood masks itself as logic.

34.  Would she rather be alone doing something she enjoy, or doing something she doesn’t like with her best friends?

Definitely doing something she doesn’t like with her best friends

35. What's her biggest regret?

In canon, accepting the duchy. In ICWAM, she comes to be at peace with her life choices through therapy.

Bonus: three random facts about your MC

- She loves New York style bagels, to the point that her social media handles often make some reference to being a “bagel bitch.”

- Her favorite animals are penguins. She can’t explain it.

- She uses a peach body wash, lotion, and body mist from Bath and Body works, even in the canon universe where she could afford nice perfume. Drake likes the way she smells, so she sees no point pretending to have richer tastes than she does.

[dailyaudiobible]

08/19/2021 DAB Transcript

Esther 4:1-7:10, 1 Corinthians 12:1-26, Psalm 36:1-12, Proverbs 21:21-22

Today is the 19th day of August, welcome to the Daily Audio Bible, I’m Brian it is wonderful, truly wonderful to be here with you today, as we come together around the Global Campfire to take the next step forward together and that next step will lead us back into the book of Esther which we began yesterday and will conclude tomorrow so it's, it's a short story but it's a powerful story with a ton of drama in it. As we saw sort of shaping up yesterday. So, we saw how Esther became Queen. We learned that her actual Hebrew name is Hadassah and she has not revealed her ethnicity that she is a Jewes and the Queen. And, we also met Hayman who intends to absolutely kill every Jew in the Persian Empire. We also learned of Esther's uncle who raised her and his name is Mordechai and he spared the king's life once, he uncovered a conspiracy against the king and he is an official but he will not bow down and pay reverence to Haman. And so, the king, under Haman's influences, has issued an edict that the Jews on a certain day will be purged and Mordecai is just finding out about this. And that's where we pick up the story. Esther chapters 4 through 7 today.

Commentary:

Okay, so obviously the drama continues in the book of Esther and so the antagonist Haman now everything's kind of come into the light and well, he's no more, and we will conclude the book of Esther tomorrow because even though Haman is…is no more the directive that was sent throughout the Empire and sealed with the royal seal well there’s still a day of doom in front of the Jewish people where they're supposed to be annihilated and that can't be undone. It was a royal edict. And so, that's gotta get sorted out and we’ll work through that in tomorrow's reading.

And then today we read from first Corinthians chapter 12, which obviously precedes 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 is a very famous chapter in the Scriptures, known as the love chapter where Paul describes what love is and what love does and how it behaves and so we’ll get to that. But setting that up is what Paul is doing right now and he is answering some questions. So, 1 Corinthians 12 begins, “now concerning what you wrote about the gifts from the Holy Spirit.” So, that one sentence we know that they had written to the apostle Paul for instruction on how the Holy Spirit works and what the Holy Spirit does. And that's…that's still a question among a lot of people until today kind of depending on the type of congregation you worship at, a primary of prominence is given to certain aspects of the Holy Spirit, or were told to seek as many of them as we can get our hands on, I guess, as many as we can achieve or as many as we can ask for that God might use us or certain gifting's put people in front of other people and so kind of in the natural order of our culture elevates them as it may be more than we who are less than, who don't have that particular gifting that is super noticeable and so we look at the super noticeable gifts as something more important or something more desirable. Paul kinda dives into that and we just read the 12th chapter 1 Corinthians, and go back and re-read and kind of digest the essence of what Paul is saying is let's talk about the Holy Spirit. For starters, the Holy Spirit could never curse Jesus and somebody without the Spirit could never confess that Jesus is Lord. That's just like a little rule of thumb that’s like this little thing to carry around that he's giving them so that they have this initial, just observations, little tool to start with. And then he goes further by explaining there are different kinds of spiritual gifts and they all come from the same Holy Spirit. There are different ways to serve the Lord. There are different ways to serve his people. But however, his people serve the Lord, there is only one Lord to serve so, the Lord is being served. I quote Paul, “the Spirit's presence is shown in some way in each person, for the good of all.” So, in other words, there are plenty of gifts that the spirit brings to serve the Lord, to serve God's people and to facilitate the body. Some are more visible than others, but all are necessary and none are more important than any other one. And that's when Paul then starts describing what we know as the body of Christ and the reason that he's using that analogy is that there are many gifting's from the Spirit because there are many parts of the same body, and using the analogy of the body makes it really clear. Some parts are more visible than other parts. Some need modesty. And I can't say to an ear, I don't need you, a hand can't say because I'm not a foot I’m not part of the body; none of these things are true. The body is made up of all kinds of parts, all of them are needed to make all whole body and if one part is hurting every part suffers. So, as we are being led into the love chapter, we are being told nobody's more important than anybody else. We are all in this together. In fact, if we aren't all in this together, then that's a humongous problem because we are all part of one body empowered by one Spirit. This is a really, really wonderful to move through this territory and it’s stuff that we might feel as if we kind of already know, like, cause this isn't something that's obscure in the Scriptures. These concepts are, you know, fundamental Christianity. And yet, let's just take one step back and now let's take another step back and another and another, so that we can back away from this for a second and ask ourselves, just because I know this does not mean that this is how I live or am I constantly in a game of comparison with somebody else's gifting's or somebody else's part of the body and collectively are we doing this, like, are we all always dissatisfied with the part of the body that we are, so that we have to constantly look at another part and wish that that could be our story. Or, are we lucky to be here? Are we fortunate? Has God given us grace and mercy to include us in what he's doing? So much so that we are a part of his body, part of God's body upon this earth, we are the flesh and bone. We are the Jesus with skin on. We are very fortunate to be here at all. Paul's going after stuff that goes, that was going on in the church in Corinth, but it's always been going on this game of comparison. Whose more gifted than somebody else and whose more visible than somebody else and what do I got to do to have that many followers. What’s the magic? I cannot literally, cannot tell you how many times that question has been asked to me. And I, for 16 years have been scratching my head to answer that question because I don't know. I feel lucky or fortunate or blessed to be here at all. And so, every day is a day of wow, wow we get to do this together. But I cannot tell you how many times I've taken meetings from people who’ve even flown to Nashville, I’ve stopped taking these kinds of meetings long ago, but at the end of the day, it wasn't really the Daily Audio Bible stories that people wanted to know, it was “what was the secret sauce?” What was the secret, what was the magic? What was the thing? How can that be replicated? How can I get a following? How can I build a platform? And to those questions, I have to say well, I mean, there's ways to do it with…with the methods of our culture. Start building something. This is what we do, we start building platforms so that we can get higher and higher and higher above the noise. And so, we can be seen in so that we can have a platform from which to say things. And I'm not so sure that's how it works in God's kingdom. Seems like the first place to start is wow, wow I'm invited to be included in this body. Wow, what did I do? How did this happen?  I get to be a part and partner with God on anything. How did that happen? I'm so fortunate. Like, that's the place to start. And Paul’s giving language, spiritual language to those concepts in the book of 1 Corinthians chapter 12 today. As we move toward the 13th chapter, tomorrow.

Prayer:

And so, Father, let's, we just want to stay in that place of wow, You even know who we are, You even know how many hairs are on our head. You actually know about us more than we know about ourselves and You have loved us despite the things that we have gotten ourselves into, and have included us. And so, often we are a part of something but we want to be a different part, we want to be, we want to be more visible or we want to be over here. We want to be that or we want to have that gifting. Father, we’re sorry, we’re sorry like, that's acting kind of like a selfish little kid and sometimes we get glimpses of this and how we behave toward You. Sometimes it comes upon us that maybe it's time to grow in this area. Maybe we should grow up and that seems to be the invitation here. We don't need to be compared and we don't need to compare ourselves because we are uniquely placed in Your body. There is no one else that can fill this space. Thank You for letting us be here at all. Help us Holy Spirit to focus on the good that is being done collectively, rather than us trying to carve out some place where we can be seen and celebrated and worshiped for doing what all of us are doing, which is simply serving and loving You and by extension, loving the world around us, so the light can shine into the darkness. Come Holy Spirit into this we pray, in the name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

dailyaudiobible.com is home base, it is the website. It’s where you find out what’s happening around here in the Community. So, check it out. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can just press the drawer icon in the upper left-hand corner and access the Community section where the Prayer Wall lives or the Daily Audio Bible Shop where there are a number of categories of resources. So, indeed, check them out.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible as we continue to navigate through summertime. Thank you, thank you for your partnership. If life and light and good news are making their way from the rolling hills of Tennessee here, where I'm standing, through the internet, through modern technology to the far reaches of the earth wherever you might be, if that is good news that's coming through the Internet into your ears, then thank you for your partnership. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the app you can press the give button in the upper right hand corner. Or the mailing address is P.O. Box 1996 Springhill, Tennessee 37174.

And as always if you have a prayer request or encouragement, you can hit the Hotline button in the Daily Audio Bible app from wherever you are in the world. But there are a number of numbers that you can call depending on where you are in the world as well. If you are in the Americas 877-942-4253 is the number to call. In the UK or Europe 44 2036 088078 is the number to dial. And if you are in Australia or the Lands Down Under 61 3 8820 5459 is the number to dial.

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

Prayers and Encouragements:

Good morning family this is Pathfinder and I’m calling for prayer for a family member. We call him Uncle Jean. Uncle Jean has been a deacon for 35 years and he’s certainly been in the valley a lot over the last 5 or 6. He lost his wife to ALS, he lost his son to ALS, he lost another daughter to ALS, he has a daughter who has tested positive for the ALS gene and he has two other children that are not getting tested. He, being a deacon for bode the services for his wife and his two children. Recently, he fell, he’s 88 years old, broke a hip, was in rehab. And then they found this huge tumor in his arm. Actually, they found it back when COVID started and they just didn’t do anything about it because they didn’t want him in the hospital because of his age, his frailty. But they finally did an MRI last week and they had to amputate his arm. Him and his family need your prayers. His remaining children are strong and are helping him. I’m praying but as I pray, I still got these questions in my mind as why is this happening to this poor family. And so, I figured I’d turned to the experts in prayer to help me with this. Thank you DABers, I love you all, I pray for you all the time. Thank you.

Hello everyone this is Lualan in China just calling in, outside of my comfort zone to pray for people with mental illness. There’s been a lot of requests like that recently specifically for Quiet Confidence and for LJ Lavender Dream. Lord, we come to You and we lift these people up to You. Please be with Quiet Confidence give her peace, give her assurance of her salvation. So that she can come to You. Be with Lavender Dreams son, it’s hard when you’re in a mental hospital and you don’t’ want to be there. You feel like people have betrayed you, abandoned you. Help her son to know that she isn’t doing that, she’s doing it because she loves him, to protect him. Be with her, give her strength and peace.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family. This is Renzo in Florida and I just want to pray that I heard for, I just want to pray for Jonathan in Denver. Father God, just please pray for Jonathan in the name of Jesus that Jonathan would just be healed on this pornography addiction God. And please help him to remember that there’s no competition on who’s a better believer, we’re all saved by grace. And I was addicted to pornography one time myself. But God completely healed me of that. I’ve been healed from that for two years now and I just thank God for everything. One thing I always remember is no matter your age God can heal you of anything. Don’t…don’t feel, don’t get down on yourself, don’t discourage yourself. Keep walking the word, keep engrossing yourself in Scripture. Keep, like you said, bathing in the Scripture, that’s so important. And God, just please let him to just keep having that fire for You God. Even if the progression is slow, it’s the same thing for me too, it was slow at first. But God, You healed me. And, like it says Joy will come in the morning. And God, we just thank you for everything you do. In Jesus name we pray, Amen. Have a blessed rest of your day guys, Jesus loves you.

Hey, this is Jerry calling from Duluth, Minnesota. With a heavy heart today. Last time I called, I think, called regarding our third daughter who is bipolar, drunken and suicidal in the middle of the night. Well, now she’s pregnant with an abusive alcoholic partner. Who, once he found out that she’s pregnant, he took off out of town. So, she’s alone, pregnant, broke, barefoot as they say. Alone. And hurting and has seemingly messed up her life now for the rest of her life. As a parent you don’t know what to do. She, five years ago, was doing very well. She was getting her masters degree, teaching. Then bipolar started to manifest itself. Four years ago, her husband abused their oldest daughter so she left them and started living a incredibly promiscuous lifestyle. Now, is reaping the consequences of it. Appreciate your prayers for a situation that has no easy answers. Thanks. Bye.

Happy Sunday DAB family. It’s August 15th my name is Michael and I’m a first time call in, so to speak. I want to thank you all for responding to prayer requests, it has been so uplifting these last few weeks. As the Lord has brought me back to the DAB app to have that constant word, thank you Brian. And the constant prayers and answers to prayers that are coming through with your responses. I’m asking for prayer for my family. Again, my name is Michael and my child Kirin is 17, biological male and yet struggling with gender dysphoria, depression, anxiety and recently diagnosed with autism. DAB family, I implore you to pray for my child. That he would turn back to the Lord of his upbringing. To embrace Christ as he is walking down a path that we don’t agree with and don’t understand fully. Pray for my child DAB family. Thank you.

[inkribbon796]

The Marvelous Misadventures of One: S. Marvin Argentum Ch. 2: The Desert Sucks, So Says Marvin

Summary: Marvin comes with a plan, and trips over an adventure along the way.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4

Marvin and Ghostbur went into Marvin’s childhood home and spent longer than he wanted to talking to his mom and promising to come back after the whole mess was over because he was already tired and just wanted a nap but it looked like he wasn’t going to get one.

She did insist Ghostbur come back with him because he’d already endeared himself and Friend to her.

With those promises and some tea, Marvin left the house with Ghostbur and they got back into the car and Marvin took it out of the driveway and about a mile away so he could pull over onto the road and the trio could plan.

“If I can win a duel against the Guildmaster, then I could take over and pull the Guild out of the alliance. If I time it right it will catch them off guard,” Taylor told him.

“Well that’s all good, but are the other hunters gonna[1] just let yeh[2] do that?” Marvin asked.

“No, unfortunately,” the hunter hummed in thought.

“Didn’t think so,” Marvin scoffed. “So we’ve got a group ‘a[3] mages that have had months ta[4] lick their wounds from the beat down Spade an’[5] Clubs gave ‘em[6]. We’re what? Two on several dozen?”

“Two? There’s three of us?” The hunter was clearly getting frustrated.

“Nah, he’s not gettin’ anywhere near ‘em,”[7] Marvin told them before Ghost could say a world, but he noticed that Ghostbur looked relieved. “Yeh[2] move the base yet?”

“No,” the hunter told him.

“Good, it’ll make ‘em[6] easier ta[4] find” Marvin grumbled in frustration, his messages weren’t getting through because when you live in the middle of nowhere cell service doesn’t exist. “I’ll try an’[5] get in contact with Chase when we pass through Egoton ta[4] get ta[4] Arizona. Maybe we can get back in time.”

“Why Egoton specifically?” The hunter demanded.

“Cause it’s a magical fookin’ town. We can wait until Egoton’s position shifts inta California an’ cut the drive in half.”[8] Marvin brought up a map of Egoton on his phone to show them.

“Yeah,” Taylor agreed. “When would that be?”

“Anywhere from right now ta[4] next month,” Marvin sighed.

“That’s too long,” Taylor told him.

“Would Marvin and his allies like to take a shortcut?”

Marvin actually jumped and Taylor was whipping out a staff to attack the Host but the Seer used his narrations to knock it to the side.

Ghostbur flickered back into visibility, smiling as he recognized the Host. “Oh, hello Host.”

“Fook, kid, are yeh tryin’ ta kill me?”[9] Marvin grabbed at his chest.

“The Host sensed that he was needed,” the seer grinned, Taylor was unsettled by the sharp smile but they didn’t say anything. “Would Marvin and his company like assistance? The Host could open up a portal right into Arizona.”

“Really?” Marvin looked back at him. “That’d be great actually.”

“If Marvin and his companions will get into their car, the Host will open up a portal for them,” the Host said and was already opening up a huge Void portal that visibly showed the “Entering Page” sign that was the trio’s destination.

Marvin sighed as he got into the car. “An’[5] here I wanted a break.”

The car started and Marvin drove them through the portal, the portal swirling shut in an instant as Marvin was racing towards the unfamiliar city. Ghostbur let out a delighted gasp, materializing halfway outside the roof of the car. “Shermy lives here.”

“Who’s that?” Marvin demanded

“Shermy! He can help us!” Ghostbur peeked back into the car. “He’s plenty strong.”

“Okay, neat, where does he live?” Marvin demanded.

“Let me—” Ghost said and possessed the car, taking it off in a terrifying way. With little regard for speed or other cars on the road.

“Ghostbur! Yer gonna kill us!”[10]

Marvin was able to get control of the car and Ghost helped with shouting directions and the blinker to warn Marvin when to turn. They stopped outside of a police station, Ghostbur an excited, jittery mess. While Marvin and Taylor were trying to calm their racing hearts.

“So, who are we here fer[11]?” Marvin groaned. “Not sure some police precinct I’ve ne’er[12] worked with are gonna[13] work with us.”

“Sherman,” Ghostbur smiled. “He’s Techno’s big brother.”

“Techno,” Marvin repeated. “The big pig brute has a big brother?”

Ghostbur nodded, still smiling. “I don’t remember him that well because I met him when I was Wilbur and younger. But I think he was nice.”

“You sure he’s not going to instantly attack us?” Taylor asked.

“I could go in and ask him?” Ghostbur offered.

“I don’t like the idea ‘a yeh walkin’ in there alone,”[14] Marvin protested.

Ghostbur frowned, but looked over and brightened up, “I don’t have to, he’s right there.”

And before Marvin could determine who Ghostbur was talking about, the young ghost demon shot out of the car and flew over to someone who had just stepped out of the police station. He was tall and built like a brick wall. And Marvin knew that was who Ghostbur had been looking for. He looked like Techno but had a nasty looking scar over his left eye and huge tusks jutting out of his mouth.

“Fook![15] Fook!” Marvin raced to get out of his car.

“Sherman!” Ghostbur smiled.

“Wilbur! Fuckin’[16] hell kid!” Sherman shouted. “Where the hell did yah[2] come from?”

“Oh, I’m with my friends,” Ghostbur smiled as Marvin raced over.

“You too, huh?” Sherman crossed his arms in front of himself.

“Hey, Shermy,” Ghostbur floated up a little bit.

“Nah, don’t think so,” the huge demon scoffed and pushed Ghostbur away. “It’s still Sheriff Thompson to you. An’[5] who the Sam-hell are you?”

Sheriff Thompson turned to glare at Marvin and the hunter.

“We’re with Ghostbur,” Marvin jabbed his thumb at Ghostbur.

“Ghost—” Sheriff Thompson scoffed. “Ain’t that hilarious. So I’m guessin’ yer join’ the Ol’ Man?”[17]

Ghostbur’s excitement seemed to, impossibly, go through the roof. “Phil’s here? He can help too.”

“Oh great,” Marvin hissed under his breath.

“Yeah, come on, junior, the Ol’[18] Man’s over at Church’s,” Thompson grabbed Ghostbur, seemingly, by the scruff of his jumper and dropped him away from him.

Thompson began walking away, his uniform changing into one that was a simple button-up and suspenders outfit.

“Where yeh goin’?”[19] Marvin asked.

“Over at Church’s there’s a club of sorts that may or may not be participatin’[20] in less than legal dealin’s.” Sheriff Thompson told them. “Tech an’[5] Philza are always there whenever they’re in town.”

“Aren’tcha[21] a cop?” Marvin glared at him.

“All the books check out,” Thompson shrugged. “Besides, humans aren’t allowed into the basement. USA loopholes only include humans. Besides, Techno needs an outlet when he comes to town. So we have the pit an’[5] any demon that wants a shot at his crown can get discorporated tryin’[22] to take it.”

“Laws about demons are always fooked,” Marvin hissed.

“Well that’s what happens when demons get to write state laws,” Thompson dismissed.

“So yer[23] Techno’s brother, how does that work?” Marvin asked.

“Look, normally Techno doesn’t talk ‘bout[24] his past, but I like ta[4] embarrass him so it’s fair game,” Thompson shrugged, Ghostbur floating next to him. The spectral demon was a good couple feet off the ground so he was at Thompson’s head height, almost scrunched up in a ball. “Tech an[5] I are a good fifty years apart. We come from another demon I killed a couple decades back ‘cause[25] he was causin’[26] too much trouble.”

“He had a name?” Taylor asked.

“Billiam,” Thompson answered. “He was obsessed with legates, you two know what those demons are?”

“I do,” Marvin said, the hunter giving them both odd looks.

“Right, so,” Sheriff Thompson. “I don’t quite know if he met one, or read about one, but he was obsessed with power and figured if he could get a legate reliant on him, then he could rule the world. At first he was experimenting on people lower class than him, but then he started working with his own when that failed. He only made two spawnlings by the time I got rid of him an’[5] his accomplice. The instant he realized I was just a normal demon he tossed me out on the street an[5] started trying to make a second one. Which was his mistake ‘cause[25] that was Techno.”

“So what type ‘a[3] demon is Techno?” Marvin asked.

“Don’t know, don’t really care,” Thompson shrugged as they reached a building that looked like some kind of library or a bar. There were people milling about.

All the patrons gave the Sheriff a quick nod or a brisk hello as Thompson led the trio down to a metal stairwell. Marvin could already hear the shouts and the loud cheers.

What Marvin saw as he came out to a spectator’s platform was a massive two-story hole in the ground where Techno was in there, fighting five other demons with an axe. All of them had various weapons.

With a slice of his axe one of the demons exploded into a puff of magic and the crowd screamed. The other four demons were discorporated just as quickly.

Marvin looked up to see a VIP stage where a young girl with long pink hair and a pink mask, standing next to the glass, pressing her face close to the glass as she bounced on her tiptoes. Philza was sitting in a huge armchair, watching the fight like a king watching knights in a jousting match. His fingers swirling and bobbing with some music in the room that he was listening to.

Marvin felt his magic coil around himself protectively, and that maybe stepping into this place was a mistake.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Accessibility Translations:

1. going to

2. you

3. of

4. to

5. and

6. them

7. Nah, he’s not getting anywhere near them

8. Because it’s a magical fucking town. We can wait until Egoton’s position shifts into California and cut the drive in half.

9. Fuck, kid, are you trying to kill me?

10. Ghostbur! You’re going to kill us!

11. for

12. never

13. gonna

14. I don’t like the idea of you walking in there alone

15. Fuck!

16. fucking

17. Isn’t that hilarious. So I’m guessing you’re joining the Old Man?

18. Old

19. Where are you going?

20. participating

21. Aren’t you

22. trying

23. you’re

24. about

25. Because

26. causing

[chiefnooniensingh]

I Won’t Hesitate (for you) Chapter 12

Chapter 12: What is lost will be found (when the truth hunts you down)

In this chapter: The truth.

A/n:  Oh my god guys. Here we are. I'm so nervous about this chapter because I am equally excited and nervous about your reaction to it! After this, there's only an epilogue left. Enjoy, and please let me know what you thought of it!

As always, a special thanks to Aileen (@acomebackstory), Callie (@callieramics), @hm-arn, @royalshadowhunter, @ladymajavader and May (@merlinss) over on Tumblr for their continued support and cheerleading. I don't know if I would've finished it without you guys!

@hmd23 guessed it, last week's chapter title was from Third Eye Blind again. Congratulations!

Can anyone guess this week's?

Also on: ao3

other chapters: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

January, 1934

Liz Ortecho, now 23 and wise beyond her years, entered the little cabin she had rented, a newspaper clutched in her hand. They were living just outside of New York, trailing a ghost that refused to be found.

They’d travelled all across the country; starting from New Mexico, they went to San Diego, Sacramento and Seattle, travelling north past the Canadian border, even going so far as Calgary, before returning to the States to follow even the smallest hints of Rosa’s killed.

Five years they’d searched. Five years of barely any food, finding work wherever they could, and constant disappointment. They’d built up a steady network of informants, through a mix of bribery, good Samaritanism and flirting, but apparently Rosa’s murderer instilled fear in the hearts of men. Not many were willing to sell him out. Those who were, quickly dropped off the radar after that.

Liz knew she was being watched. She’d seen the shadows in the corner of her eye, the unremarkable cars in her rear-view mirror. She knew, if she ever got truly close, she’d probably end up dead. But she was determined and so were her travel companions. Rosa’s killer needed to be unmasked, taken off the board, or he’d kill again.

“I have news and you’re not going to like it!” Liz announced as she entered the tiny living room. The other two women immediately joined her at the table. Liz smacked down the paper, pointing at a small article, accompanied by a picture.

The immigrant man Sheriff Valenti had had to let go because of lack of proof. Looking fancy and happy, standing next to an absolutely gorgeous blonde young woman. “That’s him,” her friend said, her voice shaking, “that’s Rosa’s killer.”

“I’m pretty sure, too, yes. Sheriff Valenti was never able to get any proof, but…he’s the only suspect we have. Either we cross him off the list or we get the bastard. Either way, we need to find him.” Liz looked at the picture, her face hardening. “And he just made it extremely easy.”

The headline read:  Oil Mogul Noah Bracken (33) and noted event planner Isobel Evans (25) tie the knot in Malibu.

Liz looked up at her companions, who looked back with the same determination on their face. “Alright, call everybody. Michael, Kyle, my dad…” She felt her lips pull into a sardonic smile. “We’re going to plan a murder.”

Maria and Mimi DeLuca nodded, heading off to pack up their stuff and call the cavalry. Maria had grown up with Rosa, had been her best friend for as long as she could remember. Mimi had taken care of Rosa, and Liz when she came along, for years. When news reached them of Rosa’s disappearance, Mimi had wanted to return immediately. Mr DeLuca’s illness prevented that. When Michael called another few weeks later to tell them Rosa’s body had been found, just days after Mr DeLuca’s own passing…something broke in Mrs DeLuca, and she was never the same again.

Both were extremely determined to hunt down and kill the monster who killed that little girl.

Present day, 22nd of October, 9PM

Alex was standing in front of the passengers that had occupied so much of his mind for the past three days. He looked over all of them, and he wondered why he hadn’t seen it before, why he’d missed all the little things that could’ve tipped him off. He wondered if he was getting rusty.

They were all sitting in the dining carriage, their chairs moved to face Alex, who was standing with his back to door. He had always been able to command a room with just his silence, and now, too, people were waiting for him to speak.

“Thank you for coming,” Alex began, his eyes locking with each of them in turn. Isobel Evans, Max Evans, Beth and Arthur Otto, Kyle Vale, Maria and Mimi DeLuca and…Michael Guerin. All of them liars. All of them trying to hide themselves from him. But the jig was up, the curtain had fallen, and Alex could see clearly now. He continued. “I have a decision to make. I need to decide what to tell the police when we arrive in Paris tomorrow. And I was hoping you all could help me.” He saw the surprise on Michael’s face, and most of them exchanged worried and confused looks.

“We all know there was a murder here on this train. I have been working relentlessly to find out who did it, and after three days of hard searching I have narrowed it down to two theories. I will lay out these two theories before you now.”

Several people shifted in their seats, others smoothed down their clothes. Alex couldn’t help a small, half-smile that played around his lips. “My first theory is as follows. In 1920, Noah Bracken kidnapped and killed Rosa Ortecho in revenge over a workplace dispute with her father, Arturo Ortecho.” Alex let his gaze fall on Mr Otto, who blushed and lowered his eyes. “Rosa was loved by many, and her death instilled a rage in the hearts of those who loved her, none more than in the heart of her sister, Liz Ortecho.” His eyes moved over to Beth, whose eyes were already filled with tears. “So, presumably when she turns 18, Liz sets out to find her sister’s murderer, aided by her sister’s best friend Maria, and the latter’s mother and the Ortechos’ former house maid Mimi DeLuca.” Beth, Maria and Mimi all looked at each other uneasily. “Somehow they find out who Rosa’s killer is. Maybe they saw him on a train. Maybe they read about him in a newspaper. It doesn’t really matter how; they find him anyway. So they bring in the cavalry; Rosa’s father, still grieving for his eldest daughter; Kyle Valenti – ” Kyle shifted in his seat but kept his eyes steadily on Alex, though Alex could see the tears forming in them. “ – the son of the Sheriff who tried to find Rosa’s killer and failed, killing himself with shame of it – ”

Alex took a deep breath and turned his eyes on Michael, who looked at him with clear eyes and an expression of love and acceptance on his face. “ – and finally, Michael Guerin, the boy who took care of the Ortecho sisters when he couldn’t take care of himself. Six people, who all loved and adored Rosa, who all wanted to see justice for her death, a justice the system would never give them.”

“Rosa was the brightest star on this planet,” Liz burst out, tears falling freely down her face now. “She was happy when things got tough, when dad had to work long hours, when mom died. She loved and laughed and lived and that monster took her away from this world.”

Alex merely acknowledged this outbreak with a simple bow of his head, then continued. “So they devise a plan. A plan that would bring them justice for Rosa, that would – if carried out properly – help them get away with murder. It soon becomes clear they can’t get close to him. Noah Bracken has transformed himself from illegal immigrant to an oil mogul; rich, powerful and, in almost every sense of the word, untouchable. So they approach his wife. Isobel Bracken, née Evans, who may have already figured out who her husband really is…”

“He had a box,” Isobel whispered, her voice hoarse, her eyes hard and filled with disgust. “A box filled with newspaper clippings and writing. He boasted about killing that poor girl. Kept track of what the police knew. Disappeared when he needed to. I had unknowingly married a monster.” Max put a hand on hers, and she trailed off again.

Alex continued again, as if he had never been interrupted. “Isobel, having figured out who her husband really is, realizes nobody will believe her. Noah Bracken is rich and powerful, surely he would never harm a child? So when Rosa Ortecho’s loved ones show up with half a plan, she knows the only way out is through; she has to kill her husband. She knows someone in the police department of Roswell, someone with access and credibility and skills. Her own brother Max. This is also presumably how the two siblings find their long, lost brother; by planning a murder.”

“I couldn’t believe it when we suddenly were face to face,” Max muttered, glancing towards his brother. “After searching for so long, to find him in the middle of this awful tragedy.”

“So now the group is 8, and they need a plan. A plan that can help them get away with murder. A plan so intricate that even the most brilliant minds would have a hard time finding the truth.”

“Such modesty,” Michael muttered with a small smile, and despite everything, the group chuckled.

Alex smiled, too, but continued. “And then, a window of opportunity. Noah Bracken has a meeting in Istanbul with other big oil companies, and Isobel manages to convince him that they should make this a little holiday. Fly to Istanbul, spend a few days there, and taking the scenic route back; the Orient Express. A little…second honeymoon, as it were. What reason would Noah Bracken have to doubt his loving wife? She’s an exceptional actress and has not once slipped up in her façade of loving him, though she has known, at that point, for a long time. So, they come together to plan the perfect murder.”

Alex started pacing slowly up and down the dining carriage, his leg already twinging, but biting through the pain, nonetheless. He needed to get through it, he needed to know their reactions to his theory. “Isobel has her own income from her business, so she buys out an entire car on the Orient Express, two for her and her husband, and 6 for the remaining group. Michael gets a job at the Compagnie, getting himself stationed aboard the Istanbul-Paris line. There needs to be a minimum appearance of foul play. Coincidences is where they hope to confuse and befuddle anyone who tries to look closer. Simply coincidence that Isobel’s brother is on the train. Simply coincidence that the Ortechos’ house maid and her daughter are on board. Coincidences hide facts more completely than people think. This group of avengers realize this.” Alex looked at all of them in turn. Liz was still silently crying, with her head on her father’s shoulder, who in his turn looked stricken, almost sick. Mimi and Maria were sitting straight-backed, staring right at him, almost challenging him to continue. Kyle stared at his hands. Michael merely looked at Alex, an expression of pure wonder and awe on his face.

It almost made Alex falter.

“They needed a weapon that would also be a coincidence. The knife Michael always carried with him, because it reminded him of his first great love.” They locked eyes and for the first time, a single tear escaped Michael’s eyes. Alex’s heart ached. “And so they plan, first finding the perfect time to commit the murder. Kyle has medical training, and he knows that cold decreases body temperature faster than usual. So the time of death needs to be when the train passes through the coldest regions; the Alps. The decreased body temperature will not only throw off the time of death to a time that coincides with a brief stop and will provide alibis for them all. For who is awake at 3 the morning? Isobel starts taking sleep medication, weeks, maybe even months in advance, complaining of insomnia to her doctor who is fooled – again, she is a terrific actress – so that she cannot be the murderer; she was asleep, heavily medicated, so how could she possibly have killed her husband?”

Alex stopped for a moment to prop himself up on a table, unable to take the twinge in his leg any longer. “And so, on the morning of the 19th of October, 6 seemingly random people board the Orient Express, pretending not to know each other, knowing they are stepping into a closed environment with a murderer. In the evening, either Isobel or Michael put a sedative in Noah Bracken’s evening tea.”

“I did that,” Isobel said, her voice strong. She looked hardened and sure of herself, a stark comparison to the shocked and traumatized girl Alex had seen that first morning. “Michael brought the tea, but I put the Barbital in his drink. I knew if he woke up at any point, he would be able to fight back and win. He was a terrifying man, Mr Manes.”

Alex inclined his head. “At 4AM that night, everybody sneaks towards the Brackens’ cabin. Every one of these people has a reason to want Noah Bracken dead. So instead of just one person committing this murder, the knife Michael brought exchanges hands. This has the added benefit of thoroughly confusing any coroner examining the body, because not one of the stab wounds has the same depth and patterns. So every single one of the hurt and grieving people takes a stab at Noah Bracken’s chest, ending his life like he ended Rosa’s, justice finally done, Rosa’s spirit finally at peace.” Alex took a breath, examining the faces of the people in front of him. Liz and Arturo were quietly sobbing, Max holding Liz’s hand tightly. Michael’s face was wet as well, but a small smile played around his lips, too. Kyle was white as a sheet, his face taut with emotion. Maria and Mimi were holding each other’s hands tightly, their knuckles turning white. Isobel just stared at Alex, an open challenge. Alex let them all absorb the information he had laid out so far.

After a minute or two, he cleared his throat. “Now there was one thing none of them counted on. Passenger number nine. The unknown variable. I believe they tried to fill it with someone they trusted, a Miss Cameron. But she never showed up, so the cabin was given to a man who had already tried to get a ticket to Paris, but failed. Me. When the group realized a renowned private detective had somehow gotten aboard the train and straight into their meticulously planned out murder, I believe they panicked. Maybe they tried to blow the whole plan off, to try again at a later date. But they knew this was their one shot. So they went through with the plan. I think Michael was supposed to be my distraction, an actual coincidence that we had known each other in a previous life. He’d always been rather good at that, and maybe he was supposed to be that again. And it worked. For a while.”

“In the end, it was you who distracted me,” Michael said, with a shrug. “Long enough to understand that you are more important to me than anything in this world.”

Alex’s heart twisted in the best way, but he ignored it and continued on. “The group tried everything to throw sand in my face. The fake identification papers were a stroke of brilliance. The broken timeclock. Even stabbing Liz. I presume that was your doing, doctor Valenti.” Kyle inclined his head. “I still don’t understand the placement of the half-burned newspaper clipping, though – ”

“ – that was Noah’s doing,” Isobel interrupted, shrugging. “When he realized you were on board, he burned all his memorabilia he always carried with him, so you couldn’t inadvertently catch him. You scared him, Mr Manes. And my husband didn’t scare easy.” She gave him an impressed smile.

Alex inclined his head towards her slightly. “In the end, I realized I should’ve seen it before. Should’ve realized who each and every one of you was. I think Michael’s distraction worked beautifully. If only it had worked a little longer.” He let a silence fall, the group digesting Alex’s words slowly. Michael reached over and squeezed Alex’s hand. Alex squeezed back.

The silence stretched between them all, as each tried to compose themselves. After a few minutes, when even Kyle had lifted his head to look Alex in the eye again, Alex pushed himself off the table and went back to the middle of the room, facing all of them. “It’s the most plausible theory I have, it is true. But it is not bulletproof. While I have uncovered every identity, I have not a single shred of proof.”

“You said you had another theory?” Michael said, sharpest of them all, the love of his life, and Alex smiled.

“I do. After I lay out this theory, each and every one of us is going to have to make a choice. A choice that we will have to live with, one way or another.”

“Share it with us, Alex,’ Liz said, wiping her nose on her sleeve and looking up at him, trust in her eyes. She trusted him still, after all this.

Alex inclined his head. “Noah Bracken was murdered at 3AM when we were stopped in Vinkovci. An unknown assassin slipped on board this train while the conductor was making his scheduled telephone call, killed Noah Bracken in his sleep and locked the door to incriminate his sleeping wife. Then he slipped out through the window, which he left open, and disappeared into the night.”

A stunned silence fell in the dining carriage. Everyone was staring at Alex, then at each other and then back at Alex. Alex knew it was the simplest theory of all the ones he’d run through his head, and the one that had the least chance of ever being proven wrong. “Are you…are you serious?” Isobel said, leaning forward and staring up at Alex. “That’s…that’s your other theory? After you spend 20 minutes explaining your first one?”

“The simplest theories are often the truest, Ms Evans,” Alex said with a small smile that made Michael chuckle. “Every investigator knows this.”

“But in this case…” Liz started, but Alex held up a hand.

“In this case, I am faced with a choice. A choice of what I will tell the French police that will be waiting for me in Paris. If I choose option 1, you will all go to trial for murder. You may get off, since the theory I have is merely a theory. But your lives as you know it will be over. I will have to live with putting the man I love and good people to whom bad things have happened, behind bars.” Alex swallowed thickly. “If I choose option 2, you all walk away from this, and we will all have to live the rest of our lives knowing the truth. You will have to live with blood on your hands. And I will have to live with letting murderers walk free.”

Alex put his hands in his pockets as he looked at all of them. They were all looking at him, scared, afraid of his judgement, of his choice. But Alex shook his head. “I cannot make this decision alone. This is going to affect all of us. So we are all going to make a choice. And whatever we decide, that decision will haunt us for the rest of our lives.”

A stunned silence followed that. Alex looked at them all in turn, ending on Michael’s face which was filled with love and hurt and fear, mixed with just a tiny hint of pride.

“So,” Alex said, “what’s it going to be?”

[ladylillianrose]

Seasons of Love a Max Richman/Zoey Clarke Fanfiction

A/N: So how about that episode last night?!!  I have been unable to think about anything else, and I'm an emotional wreck!

Thank you all for reading this, we're heading into the happy fluffy stuff now!

Thanks to aubreyrichman for the read through and edits!

As always the characters are not mine but belong to the amazing genius that is Austin Winsberg.

Summary: Max’s Birthday Celebration

This month’s song is “Lovesong” by The Cure (Listen to it here https://youtu.be/hXCKLJGLENs)

September 23 Max’s Birthday

August 12 Perseids Meteor Shower

July 4 Independence Day

June 21 Father’s Day

May 10 Mother’s Day

April 12 Easter

March 17 St. Patrick’s Day

February 14 Valentine’s Day

December 31-January 1 New Year’s Eve/New Year’s Day

Zoey grinned as she led a blindfolded Max into the backyard.

“Zo, what is this?” Max asked, confused.

“You’ll see,” she teased.

“Kind of hard to do with a blindfold on,” he chuckled.

Zoey stuck her tongue out at him, forgetting that he couldn’t see her.

They came to a stop. “Okay you can look now!”

Max pulled the blindfold off.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!” Everyone yelled.

He looked around the backyard in shock. Zoey and her family were there, Mo was over towards the back with his DJ setup. Even Leif, Joan and Tobin were there.

“Wha? What is this?” he looked at Zoey confused.

Zoey couldn’t keep the grin off her face. “It’s your birthday party, silly! I know we usually do a low-key party with just us, but I thought we might try something different this year.”

Max was speechless, she had put all this together for him!

Zoey bit her lip nervously, “I mean if that’s okay with you….cause if not I can send everyone home...and then we can….”

Max pulled her into a hug stopping her babbling. “Zoey, this is amazing. No one has ever done anything like this for me before.”

Zoey smiled, “Happy Birthday, Max.”

Max kissed her forehead and grinned, waving at everyone around them.

“Okay, it’s time somebody got this party started!” Mo announced from his booth. “Happy Birthday, Max. his one’s for you!” Mo winked his way and began playing “Sucker.”

Max looked at Zoey confused, she was bright red and making the “cut” signal at Mo who pretended not to see her.

“Why is this song for me?” Max asked Zoey.

“Is it warm, or is it just you...I mean me?” Zoey blurted out fanning herself with her hands.

Max looked at her concerned, “Let’s get you a drink.” He steered her towards the coolers and grabbed a water for her.

She took a large drink and sighing in relief.

“You good?” Max asked.

Zoey let out an awkward laugh, “Yeah, yeah totally.”

Max looked like he wasn’t convinced, but before he could press her further Maggie, David and Emily came over to join them.

“Happy Birthday, sweetie,” Maggie said, giving him a hug.

“Thanks Maggie. This is amazing!”

“Well it’s all thanks to Zoey,” David said slapping him on the back. “She did all the arranging and planning, we just had to show up.”

Max looked at Zoey as she blushed, “Mom helped with the decorations,” she mumbled.

Emily gave him a one armed hug, holding Peter on her hip.

“Can you tell Max Happy Birthday?” she asked Peter.

He looked at Max with wide eyes and smiled.

Max smiled back, “A smile for me? Best birthday present ever buddy!” He leaned over and gave Peter a kiss on the head.

David bumped Zoey’s shoulder and raised his eyebrows at her.

“Shut up,” she said through clenched teeth.

Emily grabbed David’s arm, “Come on hon, I think Peter needs to be changed.”

“I just changed him a few minutes…” David started to say when he caught Emily’s significant look. “Right new diaper, sure, whatever you say.”

Maggie shook her head as she watched them walk towards the house.

“Well come on birthday boy, let's get you something to eat!” Zoey said. The three of them headed towards the buffet table that was set up.

Tobin was already there loading up his plate. “Hey bro, happy birthday!” he greeted Max.

Max grinned, “Thanks man, glad you’re here.”

“And miss this food? You must be joking.” Tobin teased.

Maggie raised her eyebrows at his plate, “Are you really going to be able to eat all of that?” she asked, morbid curiosity getting the better of her.

“What, all this?” Tobin gestured to his plate. “This is nothing.”

Maggie looked at Zoey and Max who nodded their heads in agreement. “By Tobin standards that’s a fairly small portion.”

“Come on I’ll show you the good stuff,” Tobin took Maggie’s arm and guided her down the table.

Max and Zoey grabbed their plates and went to find a table to sit at.

"I can't believe you did all of this for me," Max said looking at her in awe.

"Are you kidding of course I did! You're my best friend, and you are amazing and wonderful and deserve all the good things!" Zoey exclaimed.

Max grinned at her. "Well this is definitely the best surprise birthday party I've ever had."

Zoey rolled her eyes "It's the only one you've ever had."

"And it will always be the best because you did it for me," he said sincerely.

Zoey blushed. "Max there's something I want to talk to you about," she started.

"Sure Zo, you can talk to me about anything," he looked at her earnestly.

Zoey fiddled with the paper napkin in her hands. "So you see….the thing is...lately I've been thinking…"

"Okay everyone! Let's get the birthday boy on the floor to start some dancing!" Mo interrupted.

Zoey let out a huff of annoyance.

"What do you say Zoey? Dance with me?" Max asked, holding out his hand.

Zoey smiled, and placed her hand in his as he led her to the dance floor.

They spent hours dancing, chatting with everyone and having a great time.

Zoey carried out his birthday cake, the candles giving her face a soft glow.

Everyone loudly and obnoxiously sang "Happy Birthday," to his chagrin.

"Go on Max, make a wish," Zoey said, holding the cake for him to blow out the candles.

He looked at her smiling, and he knew exactly what he would wish for. He took a deep breath and blew out the candles.

As evening fell, the party began to wind down and their guests began to take their leave.

Soon only Mo, Zoey and Max were the only ones left.

Mo looked at Zoey and gesturing with his head towards Max.

Zoey smiled and nodded.

"One more dance birthday boy?" Zoey asked.

Max grinned tiredly, "With you, of course."

Zoey wrapped her arms around Max's neck and began to sway side to side with him.

Mo cued the music. It wasn't a song one would normally slow dance to, but Zoey and Max stood there on the floor alone slowly dancing with one another.

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am home again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am whole again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am young again

Whenever I'm alone with you

You make me feel like I am fun again

Zoey sighed contentedly and lay her head on Max's shoulder.

However far away

I will always love you

However long I stay

I will always love you

Whatever words I say

I will always love you

I will always love you

"So what was it you wanted to tell me earlier?" Max murmured.

Zoey lifted her head to look at him and smiled.

"What?" Max asked.

"I'm just happy," she replied, her eyes sparkling with joy.

"You are?" Max said.

She nodded. "I am, because I finally realized something."

"And what's that?"

"How much I love you," she replied.

Max stopped dancing and stared at her.

"You what?" He whispered.

"I lo…" Zoey was cut off as his lips descended on hers. She smiled as she kissed him back, wrapping her arms around his neck pulling him closer to her. His lips moved softly against hers, savoring the feeling and taste of her. She moaned against his mouth allowing his tongue access.

Max felt a chair bump against his legs. He didn't even stop to think how a chair had gotten onto the dance floor. Not breaking the kiss he sat, pulling her with him down onto his lap.

They broke apart breathing heavily. Neither noticing Mo walking away from them with a grin on his face.

Zoey smiled at him, running her hand through his hair as she looked at the man she loved.

"Tell me again," he whispered, staring at her as though she was the answer to everything in the universe

Zoey giggled, "I love you, Max."

Max let out a shuddering breath, "God, I love you so much Zoey."

She grinned giving him a soft peck on the lips. "So best birthday ever?"

Max chuckled, "Far and beyond." He grinned at her, "Do you know what I wished for when I blew out the candles?"

Zoey shook her head.

"This," he said, pulling her into another kiss.

[craftedincarhartt]

Shop Small with these Women Owned Businesses

It's that time of year again, when we're all looking to support the small businesses our communities hold dear. Purchasing goods and services from the pillars of your favorite neighborhood is the best way to show your support.

Below you'll find a list of 15 Women Owned Small Businesses. If you shop online this holiday season, don't forget these incredibly hard working folks.

1.) Messner Bee Farm

Rachael Messner of Messner Bee Farm in Kansas City spun her hobby into a flourishing business. Her operations began as a 900 square foot urban farm. Over years of never giving up despite what different seasons showered upon her, Rachael and her family now live on a full-fledged bee farm. You can even stop by for a tour if you'd like to know more about where your honey comes from.  

“Honeybees pollinate over one-third of all the fruits and vegetables we eat. Of course they also make honey! The best way people can help bees is by minimizing their use of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and supporting other organizations that do the same. Buy local honey, support your local beekeeper.” –Rachael Messner

Shop some of Rachael's products here. Read more about Rachael's story here.

2.) Woodward Throwbacks

Bo Shepherd and her partner Kyle started Woodward Throwbacks in 2013 as a means to repurpose much of the discarded lumber and abandoned antiques that plagued Detroit's streets. Their shop has moved from location to location, each time scaling up and offering even more goods and services.  

I started re-purposing found wood back in college but it became a serious hobby once I met Kyle. We used to bike around the city exploring different neighborhoods and during our excursions we noticed an abundance of wood from illegal dumping sites. We combined our love for the city and the idea that taking materials found in the street would also help clean our neighborhoods." -Bo Shepherd

Through their website you can shop salvaged doors, custom made and reclaimed furniture, and handmade goods. Read more about Bo's story here.

3.) Seattle Urban Farm Co.

Hilary Dahl is co-owner of Seattle Urban Farm Co. and host of the Encyclopedia Botanica podcast. The podcasts are quick lessons in farming, each one is easy to access—you can listen to them online and read the highlights.

Seattle Urban Farm Co. offers many services, and they differ from customer to customer. Their knowledgeable team can plan, build, and maintain the urban farm you always wanted but never thought you could personally manage—perfect for those of us who may not have a green thumb, but love the idea of homegrown tomatoes.

If you are an aspiring farmer or gardener, browse the different webinars Seattle Urban Farm Co has to offer on their website, ranging from soil health to harvesting techniques. These online lessons are a great gift (for yourself or loved ones).

Read more about Hilary's story here.

4.) Homestead Wisconsin

Brit McCoy is a woman of many talents. She’s a full time farmer, runs her own flower business, and works at her family's business, The Wood Cycle. Making strides in her career alongside her family is the most challenging and most fulfilling part of the job

Brit majored in Landscape Architecture at Iowa State University. Upon returning to Wisconsin, she and her husband Matt founded their own farm, first selling their ethically raised meat, eventually expanding their reach.

“My business started just like my father’s, to make our hobby our career. I started raising livestock as soon as I could afford to feed them." -Brit McCoy

You can order a box of their fine grass-fed beef and lamb here. Read more about Brit's story here.

5.) Blue Marble Ice Cream

Ten years ago, Jennie Dundas and Alexis Gallivan, opened Blue Marble Ice Cream in Brooklyn. Their products are entirely organic, made from only high quality ingredients, and absolutely no hormones, antibiotics, harmful pesticides or artificial additives. Manufacturing in New York with ethical and sustainable practices is crucial to this woman-run company.

“Nobody can really be sad eating ice cream, can they?” -Susan Jo, Ice Cream Chef

Ship Blue Marble Ice Cream straight to your front door here.

6.) Sustainable Crafted Wooden Goods by Alexandra Climent

Meet woodworker Alexandra Climent. She operates out of her own shop in Brooklyn. Her passion for the extraordinary wood she found in the jungle lead her to teach herself the trade.

All of the products Alexandra makes are set apart from other wooden goods. She sustainably sources her materials from the jungle, befriending locals and working with each regions’ governments along the way. The wood she harvests and brings back to her shop is ancient, packed tightly over years and years.

“The wood I use is some of the most dense in the world. When you put it in the water it sinks and termites can’t even penetrate it. It’s like working with steel, and it breaks pretty much any blade.” -Alexandra Climent

Shop Alexandra's one-of-a-kind creations here. Read more about Alexandra here.

7.) Sculptures by Amber Jean

From giant sculptures made from entire trees to carvings that fit in your hand, the interplay between humans and nature is the driving force behind Amber’s work. She put herself through college, finding work in the great outdoors that fueled her passion for earth and art.

Amber helped build the Continental Divide Trail, was part of the first all female crew at the Forest Service in Bozeman, fought forest fires in West Yellowstone, and was the first female wilderness ranger based out of the West Yellowstone District.

Amber was the first woman to carve in the country of Bhutan for the Prime Minister. She's created many large scale works that have earned her great recognition in the art community. And she even gave a Ted Talk about her work.

"I never wasted energy grumbling at, whining about or looking for prejudices. I just got to work, stayed curious, made lots of mistakes, and kept after it.” –Amber Jean

Shop Amber's sculptures here.

8.) Circa Ceramics

Nancy Witt and her husband Andy have been making their wares in the Chicago neighborhood of Ravenswood since 2001. Their signature style is iconic in the windy city, with their Chicago flag items constantly flying off the shelves.

Browse their online shop here. See behind the scenes into their studio here.

9.) Greta de Parry Design

Greta is a classically trained woodworker and sculptor in the Chicago area. She's been designing and making furniture since 2007. Her collection consists of clean lines and minimalist touches.  

Shop Greta's furniture here. Read more about her story here.

10.) The Little Flower Soap Co.

Michigan florist, Holly Rutt, started making soaps as a hobby. Combining her love for nature and interest in healing plant extractions and essential oils, she and her husband created a line of body care products. After realizing how much steam her side gig was gaining, Holly decided to devote the majority of her time to The Little Flower Soap Co.



“The maker movement is in full swing there has never been a better time to start your own small business. If you think your life would be better as your own boss in a creative field than get started and stick with it.” —Holly Rutt

Shop Holly's body care products here. Read more about Holly's story here.

11.) The Elk Coffee Shop

This charming coffee shop in the West Village of New York is owned by Claire Chan. Five years ago, she took over the space, renovated, and reopened with her grand vision in mind.

“I feel so proud of the all women-run businesses I see popping up, especially right now. At a time where women’s rights and female empowerment is more relevant than ever, it is important to express your ideas and exercise your values so that others will be encouraged to do the same. There’s strength in numbers, and it feels amazing to surround yourself with like-minded and strong women!” -Claire Chan

If you're in NYC, you can order The Elk's offerings straight to your door here. Read more about The Elk here.

12.) Amaltheia Dairy Farm

Amaltheia Dairy Farm in Montana is a family run operation.

“We have had our farm for over 20 years. We love the Bozeman area and our goats get to enjoy beautiful scenery and seasons we have here. It’s beautiful every day. The best thing about what we do is to provide nutritious, delicious organic goat cheeses, pork, and vegetables to people. Those people appreciate being able to get great food and are thankful. It is a symbiotic relationship.

We have been making cheese for 17 years, certified organic for 12 years. We are sustainable farmers and try to utilize all of our resources and byproducts responsibly. We use the whey from the cheese to feed organic hogs and compost and use all of our manure for fields and gardens." -Co Owner, Sue Brown

Ship some some of the famous Amaltheia Dairy Farm goat cheese straight to your front door here. Read more about the family here.

13.) Pewabic Pottery

Pewabic Pottery in Detroit was founded in 1903 by Mary Chase Perry Stratton. Her ceramics were nationally renowned, landing her a spot in the Michigan’s Women Hall of Fame. Mary went on to win several awards and established the ceramics department at the University of Michigan. The touch she had on Michigan and the arts and crafts community will always be remembered. The shop is still operating to this day and is now a National Historic Landmark.

Shop some of their trademark Pewabic blue pieces here.

14.) Live Edge Detroit

In 2016, Jenny, her brother Joe, and her dad Mike founded Live Edge. They now salvage the trees that Mike’s company removes. Once the wood has been cut and taken back to their warehouse, the crew mills them into new usable material.

“Our vision for Live Edge Detroit was to develop a branch of Mike’s Tree Surgeons, Inc. that focused on salvaging our local resources and making them available for the community to enjoy for many more years to come. Our long term goals are to uphold that initial vision and to see it bloom into a more sustainable and profitable branch of the family business. We aren’t planning to take over the world, but we want to make a difference within the community, and we feel that starts right here in our own backyard.” -Jenny Barger

Shop Live Edge's offerings here. Read more about the family business here.

15.) Five Marys Farms

A few years ago, Mary and her husband Brian were high-powered Silicon Valley lawyers/entrepreneurs who traded it all away to live the Carhartt way of life. Armed with a strong work ethic and the fearlessness to ask lots of questions, the couple and their four daughters who all share the first name of Mary – but who go by their middle name to keep things “simple” – have proudly become a fully-functioning ranch that sells its meats all over the country.

“I am so proud of the life we get to give our girls living and working together on the ranch,” Mary beams when talking about being the mother of four young farm girls. “I don’t think I gave my girls enough credit before we moved here,” she continues, “I made their lunches and filled their water bottles and did all of their laundry, not really expecting them to do too much. By necessity, when we moved to the ranch the girls had to step up to the plate and start helping more, and they are so much more capable because of it.”

Shop Five Mary's here. Read more about this amazing family here.

[studyinspirationz]

Advice for the New School Year

As many of us are close (or possibly have already begun) the new school year I’d like to offer advice/words of wisdom. I’m a senior in university now, so I’ve learned a lot over the years. 

1. If you can, invest in a good backpack. I tried sticking with this old ass backpack that I’d had since early high school, and let me tell you that thing broke and all my shit fell out in public on the third day of freshman year. I then bought a High Sierra backpack which I had for 3 years. Homegirl and I went to South America and back together. Also, she was water-resistant and had a ton of pockets. I did just buy a new backpack though because my High Sierra was weathered down :( Don’t try and be cute with those bags as backpacks because your shoulder will die. Comfort > style in this case

2. If you can, buy an agenda and write down EVERY SINGLE DUE DATE found in all of your syllabi. This is legitimately the first thing I do as soon as my uni’s portal opens and I can access my class syllabi. 

3. Read your syllabi right away and make sure you can handle the class. I don’t know about your school, but mine doesn’t release syllabi until the morning of the first day of class. Unless I know someone who’s taken the class, I have to wait until the morning of the first day of class and sometimes I end up dropping a class right then and there. 

4. Don’t be afraid to shop around for classes. For example, I’m currently signed up for more classes than I need. This is because I want to physically go to every class and get a feel for it myself. 

5. So you realize you hate your major. I changed mine 4 times and I’m doing just fine. It happens. It really hurts (trust me, I know), but your future isn’t over if the major you were set on doesn’t work out. I was crushed when I realized pre-med wasn’t going to happen, but my life went in a different and more beautiful direction than it would have been had I stayed in pre-med. 

6. Don’t stay in a major that you hate. I know this is cliche, but you’d be surprised how many people don’t follow this. I understand wanting to be practical and realistic, but if you are in a major that makes you dread even going to class, what is the point? 

7. Always carry a water bottle. Plastic? Our environment is DYING people. 

8. Always carry a strong umbrella. Let me tell you. One time, I was walking to class in a storm. My weak ass umbrella broke and I showed up to class dripping like I’d just come out of the pool. After that class, I bought a wind-resistant umbrella and my life has changed for the better. Where I live we have bad storms, and my wind-resistant umbrella and I have survived them all. 

9. If you can afford this, try to invest in a good laptop. I know it’s a lot of money and it’s the reason I put off buying a good laptop until very recently. You don’t need a freaking MacBook okay. To be honest, they aren’t all that. I’ve used them enough to say that. Just get a good laptop that won’t crash all the time or freeze in the middle of an online quiz or basically ruin your life. And get insurance on the laptop too! 

10. Always have some snacks in your bag. Buying food every day? In this economy? Not me. I pack my lunch anyways, but I always have additional snacks. Especially since I’m on campus for most of the day and can’t easily get home. The only thing I miss about dorm life is the convenience. 

11. You really don’t need to show up to your professor’s office on day one. Personally, I don’t see a point. Truthfully, there are some classes that are easy and that you can walk away with an A without issues. If there’s a small issue, an email will suffice. 

12. On the other hand, if you do have issues, don’t be afraid to talk to your professors! There was a professor that I had who I got to know because of some concerns I had in my class. Now they’re writing my graduate school letters of recommendation. Another professor ended up boosting my final exam score because he knew who I was and how hard I had worked for him. 

13. Don’t lock yourself in the library and don’t lock yourself in your dorm. My first year of college was miserable because I spent it either in the library or my dorm. It really will drain you and hurt your health. 

14. All-nighters are not cute. They suck. A lot. Shit happens and sometimes an all-nighter has to happen. But if you can, please don’t do it willingly. It really fucks with your sleep schedule. When I have to pull an all-nighter to turn in an assignment (because I procrastinate), I usually have to skip my earlier classes to catch up on sleep because I simply cannot focus. 

15. Find a support system. Sometimes, they come to you by accident. Sometimes, you have to seek them out. I hated my university my first year, and it was only when I began developing a support system (along with some other changes) that I began to enjoy my time. 

16. If you’re going to college in the US like I do, you probably won’t enter old enough to drink. You’re probably going to want to drink which is fine. I mean, I’ve done it. I don’t know anyone who hasn’t. But listen to me: don’t be stupid and don’t get caught. At my school, they take it seriously and you’ll get into a ton of trouble. I’ve heard too many horror stories about the consequences.

17. On the flip side, don’t feel pressured to drink. I’ve avoided gatherings with friends when I know they’re going to drink because I just don’t want to. 

18. Stay safe fam. Follow your gut. If your friends are going out or going to do something and you have a bad feeling about it, don’t go with them. I had a bad feeling about going to a party with friends so I stayed in my dorm, and I found out the next morning that the police raided the party and a bunch of people were arrested. 

19. Buy some rain boots and wear them if it says it’s going to rain. The number of shoes that have been destroyed because of the rain is actually kind of heartbreaking. 

20. You got this fam!!! 

I hope this helps. It’s all stuff that I would have liked to know when I was entering my first year in college. 

[hiddendreamer67]

The Sanders Games- Part 1 (The Reaping)

District 12- Coal Miners

“Welcome to the 75th annual Hunger Games!” The announcer looked so out of place, a bright kaleidoscope of patterns in the dreary gray of district twelve. Instead of the usual two podiums up in front of her, only one stood in its place. This was due to the fact that every 25 years, a Quarter Quell game was held- one with a special twist. This year, the twist was only one male from each district could compete. Virgil heard there were riots amongst the females in the career districts, but out here people could only sigh in relief. At least half as many kids would die this year.

Of course, because there was only one name being pulled, the announcer seemed to take twice as long. She seemed to be under the impression that this was her ‘moment to shine’, as if any of the tired camera men surrounding the area could give a crap.

Virgil shifted from foot to foot, hunching over to try and hide in the crowd. Just one more year. One more year of this crap and he would be safe, content to live out the rest of his life as just another capital slave in the mines waiting until the day the tunnels inevitably collapsed on him.

The announcer swirled her hand around, pretending to grab a few papers before pulling out a tiny slip. She squinted at the name, pulling out her reading glasses.

Just one more year-

“Virgil Storm?”

-…shit.

District 11- Agriculture

“As you all know, being a tribute is a great honor, a way for all you little districts to give back to the Capital and bring honor back to your home.” The way the announcer’s voice emphasized the idea of this being a reward made Patton feel ill. There was a whimper next to him, and Patton looked to his right to see a younger kid shaking, hardly thirteen.

“Oh, hey, it’s alright.” Patton spoke softly, rubbing his hand down the child’s back. “It’s going to be okay.”

“How do you know?” The kid sniffled.

“I- well…” Patton frowned, for a moment, unsure how to comfort him. “Sometimes you just know things. And you’re not gonna get picked. There’s such an infinitesimal chance of any of our names getting picked, really.”

Patton continued to rub circles into the child’s back, feeling his shaky breaths get more relaxed. Of course, Patton knew it would be impossible for any of them to relax until this horrible moment was over. An unpleasant buzzing feeling filled him as he watched the announcer dig through the papers that represented children’s lives.

The announcer looked out at the crowd, holding the paper high as he read the name: “Patton Berry!”

Instantly the kid at his side looked relieved, while Patton felt himself suddenly tense. 

“…I told you it would be alright.” Patton joked, watching the kid’s face fell as he stepped forwards instead. At least with Patton going, no one else in this district would have to die in his place.

District 10- Livestock

“Alright, let’s go, move it.”

“Ow.” Emile let out a quiet noise, feeling his side already beginning to bruise from the Peacemaker’s prod. It felt like they were being corralled like cattle, which wasn’t exactly an incorrect statement. Being from the livestock district, Emile knew a lot about that. He had watched wave after wave of animals led to their deaths, and every year a wave of children were led to do the same.

The announcer didn’t even hesitate, looking eager to get out of their ‘dirtier’ district. The streets had been cleaned for the camera’s sake, but there was still a strong smell of manure in the air. “Emile Picani!”

Emile grimaced, watching the crowd part around him to give easy access to the stage. His peers, some once enemies, all looked upon him with pity as he slowly trudged his way up the stairs, feeling like a cow taking itself to the slaughterhouse. He looked out at the sea of familiar faces, trying to commit them to memory one last time. He wondered if any of them would even remember him.

District 9- Grain/Salts

“Alright, ladies and gents of district nine, let me hear you make some noise!” The announcer waited, his arms outstretched as if expecting some sort of round of applause. The only audio response given was Remy loudly slurping on his drink, which he considered quite symbolic for the occasion. The announcer was not as amused, but Remy could give less of a crap what he thought. There was only one thing that would make Remy ever care what those capitalistic pricks thought, and it was floating amongst several thousand other slips of paper.

“Jeez, tough crowd.” The announcer whistled through his teeth. “Very well, I suppose you’re all just excited for the main event. Let’s dive right into it, shall we?” He dove his hand into the bowl, fishing around until his pulled out the ‘lucky’ contestant. “Remy…. Aladdin?”

Remy took a moment to take a deep breath, tossing his drink to the side.

“It’s pronounced Aldaine, actually.” Remy threw on a dazzling smile, strutting up the steps to shake the announcers hand. “And the pleasure is all mine.”

The announcer grinned back, and Remy winked at the camera, wondering how many sponsors he just earned.

District 8- Textiles

“I’m fine, mom.” Magenta whined, pushing away from his mother as she attempted to tease his hair.

“But what if, heaven forbid, you were chosen?” She shuddered, her fingers once again finding his head. “We need to make you presentable, give you a chance, show off those beautiful golden locks of yours…”

“I’m not gonna get chosen.” Magenta had said, like a fool. Now, in the midst of the crowd, Magenta felt uncertain again. It was only his first year, but he began to feel nervous that he might be reaped anyways. It was possible. He wouldn’t be the first twelve-year-old marched to an early death.

Magenta took a glance to his left, spotting his mother wringing her hands. He understood her concern. After an incident at the textile mill, Magenta was all she had left. They had each other, and it was enough. Barely.

“Ooooh, this is a fun name~” The announcer cooed, building suspense. “Do I spy a Magenta Meadows in the crowd?”

Magenta froze, barely aware of the sensation of being pushed up onto the stage. Distantly he could hear his mother sobbing, but he couldn’t bear to look.

District 7- Lumber

It was a running joke in Peter’s gang of friends to declare each other tribute. If somebody acted particularly dumb, they’d get called out: “You’re so stupid. You’re definitely the next tribute.”

Of course, the closer reaping day got, those jokes tended to dwindle down. It felt disrespectful, knowing they were mocking the dead early. Even worse, their dead peers. It was sick, that’s what it was. Peter felt his fists tighten at his sides, frustrated at this hellish system and the fact he could do nothing about it. He had siblings to feed, a life to live. He was done with this crap and couldn’t wait to get out of the reaping forever.

But despite being done with the system, it seemed the system wasn’t done with him. “Peter Graham!” The announcer’s voice grated against his skull.

Somehow, Peter wasn’t surprised to hear his own name. It was just one more thing in a long line of messed-up crap to happen in his life. In fact, despite knowing he might die, Peter was fearless as he stomped up onto the stage. Already he was thinking about knocking out the teeth of whatever smug careers ended up in the ring with him. No matter what happened, Peter knew he wasn’t going down without a fight.

District 6- Transportation

“Boys, this way.” The Peacekeeper instructed, herding Elliot in with the rest of them. Elliot bit their tongue, knowing that talking back would only bring pain. It was stupid the way they gendered the group even when only one half of the children were susceptible to murder this time around.

Not to mention, Elliot couldn’t help but feel bitter about the gender binary system of choosing tributes. Elliot wasn’t a ‘he’ at all- long ago they had come out as nonbinary, to the delight of their family.

Of course, when Elliot tried to explain this in a politely worded letter to the Capital, indicating their concerns about the boy and girl tributes (kindly leaving out their opinions about the murder system being literal overkill), it did not go over so well. To put it frankly…well, let’s just say the Capital wasn’t quite as accepting of the change. Frankly any change was seen as a rebellious attitude, and for their strife Elliot’s ballots had been doubled in the sphere on stage.

“Ethan Moore!” The announcer called out, the grin on her face making Elliot sick.

That’s not my name. Elliot thought bitterly, trudging forwards.

“Aww, look at you, such a handsome young man.” The announcer pinched Elliot’s cheek, and they reeled away from the touch. “Your district six tribute, everyone!”

District 5- Power

Thomas looked over, spotting his brother Shea in the crowd. The two shared an anxious glance, listening to the announcer drone on and on. For them, the reaping felt more real than most. Five years ago, their older brother Patrick had been reaped. He had done admittingly well, a surprising achievement for someone of District 5. Thomas almost resented him for it; Patrick’s resilience had made Thomas root for the murder of kids, hoping their sacrifice would bring his brother home. It was disgusting.

“Thomas Sanders.” The announcer sounded almost bored as he tore Thomas’ life apart. He saw Shea perk up, worried, but Thomas quickly shook his head. He couldn’t let Shea volunteer for him. It was one thing to lose his own life; it would be a whole other to lose a younger brother.

“I recognize that name, actually.” The announcer tilted his head, looking at the paper another time as Thomas joined him on stage. “Relative of yours?”

Thomas gave a stiff nod. “Brother.”

“Little sibling rivalry there, eh?” The announcer teased, elbowing Thomas nearly off the stage.

Thomas didn’t see it as a rivalry at all. He’d give anything to have Patrick working by his side, helping advise him on how to survive. Patrick had lasted so long, how did he do it? How did he withstand the harsh elements and the gnawing hunger? How did he stomach the atrocities he committed and the nightmares that must follow?

Of course, Thomas couldn’t ask him for advice. Ghosts don’t talk.

District 4- Fishing

Deceit appeared to the outside eye a bored teen, picking idly at his nails as the announcer continued their flouncy speech filled with far too many allegories. In reality, Deceit was paying astute attention to the crowd around him. District four was one of three common Career districts, the others being District two and District 1. Here Deceit had been training in secret for the games his entire life, just as many of the calloused children around him had been doing as well. He knew more ways to gut a human than to gut a fish, which was quite an achievement coming from the fishing district.

Deceit gave a bored yawn, using his eyes to trail his chosen route up to the stage. It would be a race, the fastest male to volunteer in this case. Deceit knew his competition would be fierce, but he did not fear these peers. They were mere obstacles on his way to victory, a tripping hazard before his true goal.

When the name was announced, Deceit didn’t even wait for the last name to be heard before he was darting through the crowd. His slim figure was perfectly crafted to slither through the gaps not unlike a snake after its prey. A few hands were reaching up to the stage, but Deceit crushed their stray fingers as he hoisted himself up to the place of honor.

“I volunteer.” Deceit purred, looking very pleased as the crowd glared back at him.

District 3- Technology/Electronics

“The games are a long-standing tradition, quite ‘on fleek’ if you will in the eyes of the Capital…”

“Good lord, could she stop trying to relate to us?” A boy next to Logan moaned. Many in the crowd seemed to share in his sentiment, including Logan himself.

However, Logan remained determined to hang on the announcer’s every word. District three was never known for its champions, but for once Logan found himself almost hoping to be chosen. This year, only twelve tributes would compete. That meant outliving a mere eleven children. At the rate of accidents in the electronics lab, Logan achieved that yearly.

“And, the district three champion shall be….” The announcer did a little drum roll on their knees, reaching in to pull out the name. “… Terrence Williams!”

Logan was shocked to find himself deflating. Was he really upset about not being sent to his death? But, then again, he still had two years left in the reaping. It was a slim chance of being chosen then, but if he did get ‘lucky’, his chances of survival would be much slimmer. This year, at least Logan stood a chance. A fairly good one at that, considering his intellect. 

His mind made up, Logan Ward confidently raised his hand, feeling the eyes of the nation on him. “I volunteer.”

District 2- Masonry/Defense

Nate grunted, already feeling his peers trying to push him forwards and out of their way so they could reach the stage. He knew everyone thought he was slow, but Nate wasn’t as dumb as they might think. He procrastinated to make sure they all underestimated him, building up muscle in his spare time to become one huge killing machine. It was his last year in the reaping, and Nate was ready to deal some damage.

“Bill Drill!” The name didn’t even matter. As soon as it passed the announcer’s lips there was a surge forward, every eligible male desperate to make it to the stage. Of course, Nate out-powered them all. He stormed forwards, throwing his nimbler contenders to the ground before they could even think about taking his spotlight.

“Wo-ho-ho, you’re a big fella!” The announcer had to crane his neck back to meet Nate’s gaze. Of course, it helped that the announcer was quite short himself. Nate was surprised he had been sent to the strongest district, as it looked like the announcer could easily be trampled. “And just what is the name of this strong tribute?”

“Nate Cooper.” He said in a gruff voice, hoping to intimidate his fellow careers when he leaned down into the mic. It was never too early to make enemies.

District 1- Luxury/Jewelry

Roman stretched, casually creating more space around himself and irritating his peers. It didn’t matter. None of them would dare touch him. It was an unspoken rule that this year was Roman’s time to shine. He knew there would be some competition to the stage, of course, the little underlings who dared to try to take his throne. No matter- Roman was more daring and dazzling than all of them combined. He had enough talent to destroy anyone that dared block his path to victory, and enough charm to do it with a smile.

“Brian Hart!” The moment the name left her lips Roman was off like a shot, pushing past the hesitators and elbowing those who almost stood a chance. He valiantly strode up on stage, blowing a kiss towards the crowd to flaunt his victory further. The female half who stood outside the ring looked extra jealous, and honestly Roman couldn’t blame them. He too had been looking forward to a real challenge. Less than a dozen scrawny nobody’s would have to be child’s play, right?

“My name is Roman Prince.” Roman announced, taking the mic. “And I will be the 75th Hunger Games Victor!”

Taglist: @why-should-i-tell-youu2