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Private Money & Self-Storage Investing with Scott Meyers and Jay Conner

https://www.jayconner.com/private-money-self-storage-investing-with-scott-meyers-and-jay-conner/

Scott Meyers shares the world of Self-Storage Investing

Scott and his affiliated companies focus on the acquisition, development, and syndicating of self-storage facilities nationwide. He currently owns and operates over 2,200,000 square feet and over 13,000 units nationwide.

His education organization www.SelfStorageInvesting.com provides courses, tools, life events, and mentoring to help others launch self-storage businesses to enjoy a lifestyle, as his saying goes “free from tenant, toilets & trash!”

His various companies are also very mission-focused and funded the construction of 12 houses in Mexico and the Dominican Republic by taking his staff, partners & other associates on their all-expense-paid short-term mission trips.

Timestamps:

0:01 – Get Ready To Be Plugged Into The Money

1:38 – Jay’s New Book: “Where To Get The Money Now”- https://www.JayConner.com/Book

2:58 – Today’s guest: Scott Meyers

5:44 – How Scott Meyers got started in the real estate business

8:31 – Scott Meyers’ very first storage facility

10:15 – Scott Meyers’ lesson learned on his first storage facility deal

11:04 – What is syndication?

13:29 – Does the storage investing business also offer multiple exit strategies?

17:09 – Get connected with Scott Meyers – https://www.SelfStorageInvesting.com

18:34 – How does the pandemic affect the Self-Storage industry?

22:09 – No business strives unless it’s solving a lot of people’s problems

23:10 – Scott Meyers’ recent projects

25:19 – Best way on starting with Self-Storage Investing business

27:43 – Common mistakes that new self-storage investors make

30:17 – Scott Meyers’ parting comments – “It’s when everybody is running out that you should be, not just running in but understanding what it means to be in the real estate business.”

Private Money Academy Conference:

https://jaysliveevent.com/live/?oprid=&ref=42135

Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now? It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book

Free Webinar: http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.

What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference

https://youtu.be/QyeBbDOF4wo

YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner

iTunes:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/private-money-academy-real-estate-investing-jay-conner/id1377723034

Listen to our Podcast:

https://realestateinvestingdeals.mypodcastworld.com/11241/private-money-self-storage-investing-with-scott-meyers-and-jay-conner

Private Money & Self-Storage Investing with Scott Meyers and Jay Conner

Jay Conner:

Stir. And you are still struggling to do your first deal because you don’t have the funding and you can’t find the money for your deals, or are you a wholesaler? And you’ve received some assignment fees, but there’s some deals you want to stay in, but you said probably haven’t been able to stay in the deals because you don’t have the money or the funding, or are you a seasoned real estate investor? And you’ve done a ton of deals, but you’re sick and tired of paying high interest rates and you want to be in control of your business and you just want to get some more cheap money really, really fast. Well, if you answered yes to any of those three questions, don’t go anywhere because I’m getting ready to plug you into the money right now.

Well, hello and welcome to another episode of the private money academy podcast. I’m Jay Conner, the private money authority. I’m the host of the show. And I want to welcome you here to the show here on the private money academy podcast. We obviously always talk about private money and getting deals funded, getting money for your deals. But in addition to that, I typically have an amazing guest and expert to join me here on the show. And today is no exception, but before I introduce you to my good friend and expert in this area of self storage, that you’re going to find amazing. I’ve got a free gift for you for just being here on the show. And that is, I just recently released my new book, which is titled where to get the money now, subtitle, how and where to get money for your real estate deals without relying on traditional or hard money lenders.

So here’s the deal folks. I just released this book hit number one on Amazon. And this book was show you. Step-by-step how I went from having no funding from ideals to over $2 million in less than 90 days and how you can get plugged into money as well. We’re not talking about traditional money. We’re not talking about institutional lenders, how to get money very, very fast at super cheap, low interest rates. And I’m glad to send this book to you for free, just cover delivery. You can get the book for free at www dot Jay Conner, J a y C o n n er.com forward slash book. Again, you can get the book, we’ll ship it right out to [email protected] forward slash book. And we’ll get you plugged into the funding for your deals right away. What, as I mentioned, I’ve got an amazing guest and a very, very close personal friend of mine on the show with me today, a little bit about him before I bring him on he and his affiliated companies, they focus in this area on the acquisition, the development and the syndicating of self storage facilities nationwide.

Now, my guests currently owns any operates over check this out 2 million, 200,000, my land’s square feet and over 13,000 units that is gotten nationwide. Well, not only does he do the business, but he also teaches and coaches other real estate investors that want to learn about self storage and how that works. His education company is self storage, investing.com, and it provides courses and tools and live events, coaching, and mentoring to help others launch like you self storage businesses to enjoy the lifestyle. And, you know, as my guest, a good friend is known to say many, many times, get in this business and you’ll be free from tenants free from toilets free from trash. Well, you know, one thing that he and I talk about, and he and I are in a high end mastermind group together, his various companies are also very mission focused. He’s got a heart of gold, he’s got a servant’s heart and he is so far to date. He’s funded the construction of 12 houses, and I’m very, very familiar with this project. 12 houses down in Mexico and the Dominican Republic by taking his staff, his partners, his friends, his business associates on their all expense paid mission trip to do houses for these people. Wow. What a service heart, where that my good friend, Scott Myers, welcome to the podcast.

Scott Meyer:

Hey Jay, it is a good to see you again, my friend, how are you?

Jay Conner:

I am doing fantastic. I know we’ve got a mastermind meeting coming up pretty soon out there in Scottsdale. Are you going to make that one or you don’t know?

Scott Meyer:

I am looking forward to it and I will attend to any, and all of those that will be held in Arizona because now I have a two kiddos that are going to grand canyon university in Phoenix. And so we’re going to be spending a lot of time out in Arizona.

Jay Conner:

Oh, that’s great. Well, Carol joy and I we’ve already got our plane tickets. We’ve got our hotel reservations. So I look forward to seeing you in Scottsdale in just a few short weeks, right around the corner.

Scott Meyer:

Likewise can’t wait. Absolutely.

Jay Conner:

Well, Scott, as I told everybody in the introduction, I mean your expertise, your wheelhouses self storage and self storage facilities, but before we get into that world and your arena, first of all, just tell everybody how you got into real estate.

Scott Meyer:

Yeah. Wow. I think probably like most people out there started with the single family house and I learned from, and many folks on here will this name and a whole lot won’t Carleton sheets, who was one of the grandfathers along with Ron Legrand and some of the others that taught people how to get into real estate. So I followed this program to buy houses, rehab them refund, and some rent them out and then replicate and do that over and over again. So the burn method before it was called the bird method. And so that’s how we got started bought a single family house. This was back in 1993 was the first one that I ever bought. It had an assumable VA mortgage on it, which I don’t think there’s any of those left out there any longer and allowed me to get in and just assume that mortgage with very little experience in the way of even credit history at the time, it was a pretty young guy at the time, as you can tell by my age now and doing the math.

So that’s how it started. And then we moved on to buying up more. We refinanced about two more houses than we need to fix them up refinance and buy more. So we had about 75 in 76 houses and didn’t really have the cashflow and the, the, you know, the freedom that we wanted that Carlton sheets had mentioned in the home study system. So we thought, well, economies of scale will fix this. So we started getting into apartments and buying several complexes around central Indiana, but same thing and just kind of bought us more tenants, toilets, trash headaches, and the business model just wasn’t right for us. We wanted to have time. We wanted the freedom that real estate brings. And so to do that in real estate, that means no tenants, no toilets. So that’s either parking lots or self storage, and you can’t really build a lot of value in, in parking lots.

And then we found, but once I dug into self storage, I realized that, ah, this is, this is a place I need to be. People don’t pay rent. You lock them out and you sell their stuff off and get paid. You turn it around by taking a blower and you blow the unit out with no paint, no carpet, no extensive clean-out or repairs. And once I more, the more I looked into the business, I really saw the light and decided that this is the path I wanted to take. So sold their houses, our apartments, and now we’ve gone just, you know, 100% into self storage made that transition about 2005 to where we are now, today, which is where you mentioned Jay, we, we buy existing facilities. Still. That same model is in place. We also convert industrial buildings, grocery stores, anything that is, can be repurposed into so storage, we’ll buy it and convert it. And then we build from the ground up and we do a lot of this on by partnering and doing joint ventures and then syndicating the private equity, which is where you come in, Jay and you know, all too well, what that looks like and how we can leverage other people’s money and bring them along as limited partners to enjoy in the growth in this incredible business. So I hope that wasn’t longer than what you were looking for, but that’s, that’s my story.

Jay Conner:

No, that was perfect. Well, tell us the story about your very first self storage facility that you got into and, and what lessons did you learn from that first deal?

Scott Meyer:

Yeah, so the F the very first facility that I got into was a, that we were sending out mailers to facility owners, just like we all do in real estate to the asset class that we’re in. And we ran across some business owners and they were getting a business, a divorce. They were partners in a concrete business and things weren’t going so well. And they wanted, they were parting ways. And this facility, they owned together as well. Well, they, as what happens, unfortunately in the worst is the other one, one side wants to hurt the other. And the other one definitely wants to destroy the other one. And so that’s what they were doing. And they were destroying the value of the facility in the meantime. And so what that meant is we were able to get into this a facility for it, was it appraised for $800,000 more than what the selling price was?

And they just had to get out from under the note, because those two had done such a good job of fighting each other, that the bank was about ready to take the facility back. So I partnered, I partnered up with a gentleman. We came in at 50, 50 cash and both on the balance sheet and excuse me, on the loan request and ended up moving forward on this first property, by taking the existing tenants and raising the rates, which they hadn’t been raised in 10 years, we let them manage, well, let me see. We didn’t let her, we freed up her future to pursue other career opportunities and put a kiosk in place because we don’t have to manage these facilities with a person on site. And then we bought the land next door and expanded and built that up and leased that up as well.

So I sold off to my partner eventually. And that leads to, I guess, the second part of your question, Jay, which is what did I learn from this? Well, first of all, I, I understood the power of leveraging and bringing partners in to projects. But I also, the lesson I learned is that I, I really want to be in that manager position. I wanted to have that control rather than 50 50, and it’s not a control issue. It’s just that, you know, once I learned about syndication and moving on to other projects, that I can be the syndicator, the promoter, and the person who is calling the shots, and I can bring in limited partners for sometimes their balance sheets to sign on the loan as well. But mostly for the equity that is, that is required to get into a facility. So that was probably the biggest lesson. And I also learned, sometimes you shouldn’t bring people that are close to you or friends into a business as well. Sometimes it doesn’t always turn out well. Yeah. Yes.

Jay Conner:

I’ve been, I’ve been down that road myself as well. So to make sure everybody understands what you’re talking about, what do you mean by syndication? What’s that look like? And what’s the benefits of it.

Scott Meyer:

Yeah. So in the true sec definition, and I am paraphrasing, anytime you bring two or more people together into a project, and in this instance, a real estate investment where one person is, is active, doing all the heavy lifting, doing all the work, and the other person is bringing money and they’re passive. They don’t have a hand in making decisions or doing any of the project management in a project. Then, then you’ve created a security and then it’s governed by the securities and exchange commission. And so they state that you have to file that, and you have to register with the, depending on the fund or the entity that you set up that has to be registered. So for us, that is a true, so for us, there was one person, as I just mentioned me that I am the promoter. I am the active person on the investment.

Whereas I bring in then a lot of private equity, a lot of limited partners that come into the project. They don’t lend a hand. They’re not involved in the decision making process. And what they’re lending is money into the project. They’re investing into the project with me. And so their role and responsibility is to wire, the funds to close the project. And my responsibility is to do everything else, report back to them, the progress show, the projections and how we are exceeding, hopefully meeting, or if we are underperforming on our projections and then send out to our K ones at the end of the year, because they do become owners of this entity. And they get to participate in the upside as well as in the depreciation as well. So that’s, and I guess a limited sense without getting too far in the weeds, Jay, is, is the definition of a syndication and how we go about approaching the market. Yeah.

Jay Conner:

So, you know, in the world of single family houses, there’s multiple exit strategies. There’s multiple strategies of what someone’s going to do with that property after they invest in it, you know, you can, you can buy a single family house, you can fix it up, you can flip it, you can wholesale houses and, you know, wholesale houses out through other real estate investors. You can buy houses and you can fix them up and you can hold them, you know, for the longterm. So compare self storage to what I just did with single family houses. Are there all these different strategies as to how you can go about the self storage business. And second part of that question is if there are different strategies, how do you decide which one you’re going to do?

Scott Meyer:

Yeah, I’d say property is property. And, you know, in a general sense, and you can do all of the above. You know, we buy them and wholesale them, or sometimes a wholesale without us ever taking ownership or taking deed to the property. You can buy them, you can fix them up, turn around and flip them. You can buy them and turn them around partially, and then sell them off and call it a flip or non you sell them to the next person down the road. That’s going to take it the rest of the way, the way that we do it is typically we’re a longer-term hold three to five years. That gives us time to in an existing facility, really turn it around, raise rates, make the improvements, and reduce the expenses as much as possible to maximize the net operating income and then sell it for maximum dollar, our conversions and development.

You know, those projects take roughly four to five years to either buy a building, say a vacant grocery store and convert it to self storage, and then start from ground zero. And at least it up to 80, 85% occupancy and bring in our limited partners and allow them to have a payday and an exit that is comparable to if they were to invest in any other type of entity, a business over that time, and really focusing on the internal rate of return and the same goes for development. So in terms of an exit strategy, it’s a little more difficult in, in the way that we head into those larger projects with our partners in that we can’t do a 10 31, unless everybody decides to go along with us into the next project, which obviously they’re not going to. So at that point we will sell and that we will take our profits off the table.

And then we will move into the next project for our limited partners. For the most part, they are investing through a retirement vehicle like a self-directed IRA or a solo or a real estate 401k. So they don’t really have those tax consequences at, at, at the exit. We also are looking at in terms of an exit strategy. And I guess to back up a step, you know, Jay, I think you, and hopefully everybody on this call recognizes that you, you should always look at the exit strategy or determine what your exit strategy is before you get into a project. It’s not a good plan to just don’t say, well, there’s a good deal. I’m just going to buy it and figure it out later. You can find yourself, maybe a do not, you know, don’t want her later on down the road, or you sit back and take a look at your empire and you realize what a mess.

I can’t even manage this because I never paid any attention to what I was doing. So every time we hit into a project, you know, we identify if it’s a good deal, are we going to keep it? You know, if we’re going to flip this thing in a year, then we’ve got some, you know, capital short-term capital gains taxes. That’s a consideration. If we own it solely, then we can do a 10 31 into something else on. Do we want to do that three years from now? And I’m saying at any point in time, do we want to do that two or three years from now? Where, what are the interest rates going to be and what our cap rates going to be, and how do we expect the market and the economy? What’s it gonna look like? So we’re, we’re always looking six months a year down the road, five years down the road and anticipating what’s going on with the market, meaning interest rates and our capitalization rates, which is how we value these facilities.

And then overall, does this really fit in our business plan? I suffer like everybody from shiny object itis, and I want to buy them all, you know, if somebody else buys a self-storage facility and develop those one, and I’m going down the road, I was just like, that should have been mine. I should have built that. I should have bought that. And it’s a, it’s a real struggle. But if we get into that, you know, we can paint ourselves into a corner if we get into that situation where we just, you know, every once in a while we have to say no. Yeah, for sure.

Jay Conner:

So just to make sure everybody knows before, anybody’s got to jump off a listing here to the podcast. How can people get in contact with you and your companies, Scott, to learn more about what you do and how you can help them in this area of self storage?

Scott Meyer:

Sure. So we go into self storage, investing.com. That is the mothership, and there’s a links to our other websites that focus on the passive investing side of the business. But self-storage investing.com is really the mothership. And, and this is where we’ve been at this longer than anybody in the business and teaching people the right way to go about investing in self storage. I’m just in hopes that once again, you know, a rising tide raises all ships and so that we want everybody to be as educated as possible to go out into the marketplace before they do this to avoid any mistakes. And then also, you know, that just kind of makes it more difficult for the rest of us, that there are a lot of gunslingers out there that aren’t really doing their due diligence and doing things the right way. So that is our, our main purpose in educating people in the business. Cause it just makes it easier for all of us to conduct business in this incredible niche. Exactly.

Jay Conner:

So if you’re remotely interested folks and connecting them with Scott and his team, that website again is www dot self storage, investing.com, self storage, investing.com. We’re coming out here, hopefully on the other side of COVID and the pandemic and all that stuff. What are you seeing in the self storage industry? I mean, overall nationwide is the industry growing, how has COVID affected self storage?

Scott Meyer:

Yeah. Self storage is on a tear right now. I mean, if you look at the asset classes in real estate, no matter what stat you look at in terms of, you know, which asset class has done well, of course I’m biased, but the stats don’t lie, self storage and industrial are right up at the top. I think data centers may be up there as well. Industrial has done really well with Amazon expanding and, and the supporters of the Amazon and the distribution centers that are now coming down to the smaller market size. And, and as we see, unfortunately, the slow death of retail, the, the industrial side and the industrial sector has benefited greatly and self storage because we are heading into a time where we’re heading into a recession. Again, we also have seen now people come home from work and they had to clear out the dining room, the spare bedroom, the spare of family room, or living room and create a workspace for one of the income earners.

And sometimes too, they also last year during the lockdown, you know, when everybody was sent home from school, the colleges shut down and, and the kids had to put all their stuff into storage again, until they were able to go back. The kids that were in K through 12 came home, and we also had to make room in our homes to do school at home as well. So clearing out more furniture to make all of that happen. And then unfortunately there’s a whole lot of businesses that immediately when, when the lockdown started, it just went under because you know, customers are go figure on the lifeblood of their business. And if they couldn’t do it online, they went under. And so their inventory machinery and furniture, business furniture went into storage. And so, you know, we see this was somewhat of a microcosm of what we see during a recession and self storage really benefits during a recession because businesses downsize and put their things in storage, individuals downsized during a recession, they may have to move in with somebody else, a friend or move back home.

And so their extra stuff goes into storage. And so we, we, we spritz traditionally has always done better. You know, we go up to the right during times people buy more stuff and they store more stuff. That’s the nature of what we do here in this country. And if that’s you on behalf of the industry, I thank you for that mentality in this country. But during a recession, you know, we get the hockey stick effect. And then that’s when banks slow down development slows down of all sorts and then demand for self storage goes up. And so that’s what we saw during the pandemic last year. And 2020 was an absolute banner year for our industry. We have been, we have been contactless and touchless since before it was cool to be contactless and touchless using kiosks to rent a unit, much like a kiosk because self storage, you know, renting a unit is a very low labor intensive transaction that can be done over the internet.

And it can be done by way of a cell phone access to our facility, our software, getting a gate code and even a key fob and access on the phone to access a unit can all be done by way of a smartphone as well. So J we don’t, we don’t celebrate recessions personally, nor my company. We don’t celebrate pandemics for now shakes, but our, our industry, I’m, I’m thankful for the industry that we’re in because we have benefited with a huge wind in our sail, not only during a recession as we’re going to pet into again, but then the pandemic, which kind of accelerated that has really benefited our industry. Well, you know,

Jay Conner:

No business thrives, unless it’s solving a lot of people’s problems. And that’s what, and that’s what you and your company and the industry is doing. I mean, due to the pandemic, you got all this and increased demand for people needing to put their stuff somewhere. And unless your industry comes along and provides a place to put their stuff, then you know, you’re not a, you’re not solving that problem. So it’s what is, so let’s say someone is, and I’ll tell you, it’s the same thing as going on around here. It’s like here in my little area where Carol joy and I live total, total area of only 40,000 people, I know of four brand new self storage facilities that are under construction right now, four of them. And we already got them everywhere. It’s like my lands, people must have a whole, much more stuff. It’s just like, it’s crazy. It’s crazy. How are you? Are you doing new construction these days? Are you still focusing on existing facilities?

Scott Meyer:

Well, a little bit of both, we are, we were really focused on in 2020 on construction. We had some projects already in the pipeline and then also picked up some others from some folks that while we’re just kind of taking the ball the rest the way down the field, some folks that had some stalls due to due to COVID and some funding issues. And so absolutely we’ve been known developing for a number of years. Now, we’ve got the team, we’ve got the experience. We’re in several markets where we know where the demand is, and we just know it’s a business model that we can replicate over and over again, that allows us to look at a market. And, and Jay, if I could, just the reason why we see so many opportunities and why you’re seeing the say, four facilities going up in your town is a lot of folks will think, well, wait, I see these things everywhere.

Isn’t the market saturated. And you know, how can we possibly, you know, have enough demand for this, but, you know, when we go into a market and we’re looking at it in a place that potentially maybe good for developing a self storage facility, there’s a lot of research that goes into that. First of all, our market is really five mile radius. That’s all the further people are going to travel to a self storage facility from their home is about five miles. And so within that five miles, if the facility is the 1, 2, 3, 4 facilities are full, have a waiting list. And the raising rates every three or four months, then we know what equilibrium is in a market. And it’s, you know, anywhere from five and a half to six and a half, you know, five and a half to six and a half square foot per person.

And anytime that we’re below that if there’s only three or four square foot per person, we know that there’s a lot of demand in that market. So that, and rental rates will dictate when we’re going to go in and build. So it’s not a build it and they will come or hope that they will come and just, you know, hope is not a strategy. And we spend millions of dollars on these facilities. And so that is the reason why we’re seeing a lot about construction. And so we absolutely are bullish because of all the factors that I just mentioned that are, that are occurring in the market right now, which is creating a huge surge in demand for storage.

Jay Conner:

If someone is brand new to self storage, and they’re really interested in exploring it and, you know, really want to see if this makes sense for them, what’s the best way for a brand new person to even get started? Where do they start looking?

Scott Meyer:

Well, I think it starts with, with learning so that they know what they are looking for. And so no shameless plug, but we just got a lot of free resources on our website. Again, just to help people, you don’t have to spend a dime on it, just so you know, what you’re looking at and looking for, then begin to seek out if you’re a part of a real estate investor group in your city and there’s people that are in stores and then strike up a conversation. I I’d asked you to ask them to go out to lunch, to pick their brain, but we know that there’s a whole lot of folks that maybe aren’t interested in doing that these days, but if you can strike up a friendship, get into a conversation or even a subgroup, and some of these other real estate investor circles, or online with several meetups around at your area, then that’s the best way to get plugged in and just sit back and be a consumer of the information and to be a student of the industry to know what’s going on.

There’s I was in single family homes for a number of years. I was in commercial real estate being multifamily. And although a lot of that skillset applies and I’m looking at leverage and cap rates and underwriting, it’s a different business. And so to understand the nuances is really key before you take a take that next and first step, and we’ve seen, as you can imagine in our, on the education side of our business, we’ve seen a lot of folks that have taken that first step and they, and they stepped in a lot of do-do and create a lot of mistakes and messes for themselves. And men have come to us to help them unwind it and get out of it or to survive that one, you know, lose the battle, but win the war by understanding what it takes to succeed on the next one.

So, and then temper that with, you know, don’t, don’t analyze too much or, you know, analysis paralysis by analysis and analysis that causes paralysis. You, you, you know, the saying that to spend too much time researching before you do actually pull the trigger. So learn about the business, get some good advisors and mentors around you before, you know, to put some eyeballs on your underwriting and your offers, and obviously the good legal team or, or a, an attorney to look at your contracts before moving forward. Those are probably the best ways to Intuit, to avoid getting into a catastrophe. My

Jay Conner:

Good friend and guest today is Scott Myers, founder of self storage, investing.com. Be sure and check out his website for the free training and resources that he has there. One last question for you, Scott. And that is what are the most common mistakes or some of the most common mistakes that new real estate investors in self storage makes.

Scott Meyer:

Yeah, I’m writing a book on it as we speak, that’s going to be out before long. So I got 101 of them because that’s the title of the book. So I’ll, I’ll focus on how about the overarching one. And that is I think, and perhaps I’m guilty of this, you know, we’ve been teaching and training people how to do this for 16 years. And, you know, we, we, we state that it is a very simple and predictable business model because it’s compared to other businesses. It is, it’s a simpler and predictable business model. You know, we know the numbers, we know the equilibriums and we can go into a, an existing facility or a development project and make our projections and darn near hit our marks and, and beat them almost every time. But so I, I say that I’m, I’m a product of that.

And that is, I think people have heard that enough. And they’ve heard that, you know, this is a simple, less moving parts. You know, you don’t have the rehabs, you know, lock them out. They don’t pay their money and then you just blow it out and you’re done. You move on to the next and all that’s true, but it’s not a hobby. I mean, this is a business and you have to treat it as such and you have to walk the four corners of your business, and you have to understand it before you get in you. As most people know that are in commercial real estate, you make a $10,000 mistake in your underwriting, meaning you miss some expenses by 5,000 and you missed them. You know, they overstated the income for late fees and other things that shouldn’t have been counted. Well, a $10,000 mistake and underwriting is a hundred to $120,000 in value that you would over pay for a facility.

So you need to understand the nuances, how to value them, how to underwrite them before putting offers, in understanding how to analyze the market. And then for gosh sakes, I’m you don’t take your hands off the wheel and assume that this is a mailbox business because no rental businesses, I don’t care who you said listen to, or, or who says it. It’s not, it’s a business and a business needs to be tended. So a long-winded answer to your question, Jay. But the mistake that people make is that they think, and they hear and assume that it is a simple business because it’s simpler than what they were doing before, but it, it means that they have to understand it and they have to tend it. And, and you do have to farm the business once you own it. And constantly be working, looking at ways to grow occupancy, to grow rates and reduce expenses. And that is perpetual, and that is on a regular basis.

Jay Conner:

In other words, folks, don’t start doing this business without joining hips with somebody that knows what they’re doing, right. And of course, Scott Myers is the expert in this arena. Scott final comments and advice.

Scott Meyer:

Final comments change is good to see again, my friend, I can’t wait to, to see each other. I can’t hold that back. And so you always make me smile and I’m looking forward to hopefully getting together and having dinner together as well with you and Carol joy. And maybe we can get that old gray hair gentlemen, to pay our bill next time again, too, that might be nice and fight from that gang. It’s an exciting time to be in a, in real estate. There’s certainly a lot of changes and there’s some potential threats that are out there, but it’s when everybody’s running out that you should be not just running in again and shooting from the hip, but understanding, you know, what it means to be in the real estate asset class and investing the way and where you should be investing. But now it’s absolutely an exciting time to be doing so. So with that, just great to be here. I’m thankful for the industry of the real estate industry and self storage and a happy to help and assist anyone anywhere along the way that we can. And just be kind, just, just choose to be kind how’s that after a long weekend, so far, and it’s only Tuesday, I’ve had some difficult conversations. So how about I leave it with, let’s just choose to be kind to one another.

Jay Conner:

I love it. There you have it. Folks. My good friend and expert in self storage, Scott Meyers, visit him at www dot self storage, investing.com. Well, so glad to have everyone here on the show. I’m Jay Conner, the private money authority wishing you all the best here’s to taking your business to the next level. And we’ll see you right here on the next private money academy podcast.

#Jay Conner #Private Money Lender #Real Estate Business #Real Estate #Real Estate Investing #Real Estate Investor #Real Estate Profit #The Private Money Authority #Flip Your House

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cassianus · 3 years

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Asceticism and Philokalic Spirituality: The Way of Beauty, Freedom and Love - -

As mentioned in previous posts, the word asceticism in modern times often has a negative connotation for people and conjures images of extreme mortification that is an affront modern sensibilities. Even for the faithful Christian, an understanding of asceticism as a way of life and expression of Christian identity may be amorphous at best and such practices may only be embraced episodically and minimally during penitential seasons. This is a strange state given the fact that asceticism is not solely and exclusively a religious reality but a human one. To invest oneself in anything of value, indeed to grow in any way physically or intellectually, requires ascesis; that is, it requires an exercise of the faculties of the mind and the regular use of the body. No one questions or doubts the value of the discipline of study embraced by the academic, the regular and intense training of the athlete, or the long hours of practice of the accomplished musician. Such asceticism is seen as natural and essential for growth and development.

Part of the value of reading the Philokalia is that it helps us begin to see more clearly the value and importance of ascetic practice as an integral part of our Christian life and identity. Christianity in part can be described as the life of ascesis; heeding Christ’s call to die to self and sin and live for God, to order the passions, resist temptations, to strive (agona - struggle) to enter by the narrow gate. St. John Chrysostom said: “we are baptized in order to struggle.” Asceticism is a whole way of life.

Anthony Coniaris has a wonderful chapter on asceticism in his work “Philokalia: The Bible of Orthodox Spirituality.” He offers much to ponder in the chapter, but what I found most intriguing was how he stresses the ascetical nature of Christian life and spirituality and why we should not see it as a burden but rather a blessing to be fostered. It is a gift through which we are drawn into the life of our Lord and open ourselves to be, as St. Paul says, transformed by the grace of God and move from glory to glory until the image of Christ comes to perfection in us.

For example, Coniaris tells us that asceticism is the means to a very precious end: restoring the original beauty of the image of God in which we have all been created. “Askesis is Philokalia, love for the beauty of God’s darkened image in man which it strives to restore to its original beauty. Askesis is the struggle to renounce my ego which looks at the world as existing only to satisfy my needs and desires. Askesis is described by St. Paul as ‘pressing on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 3:14)” (p. 115)

Thus, asceticism in religious practice, is not about developing talents and abilities. Indeed, it not about the self at all, not an end but a means. It is the way of love. “The real aim of the monk’s lives was not asceticism but God Himself, and the way to God was the way of love. For God is love. Though they practiced austerity themselves, when they received guests, they received them as if they were Christ, hiding their austerity, and welcoming them with great charity. Archimandrite Sophrony wrote, ‘Acquiring . . . love is the ultimate purpose of Christian asceticism. . . The ascetic ideal is to cultivate love for God in man’s mind, heart and soul. . . The Church Fathers keep warning us that if ascetic discipline is devoid of love in the Lord, it turns into a source of depression and pride on account of self-righteousness. “No asceticism deprived of love comes near to God” (Ibid., 125).

While such ascetic practice may seem constraining and limiting what it leads to is a deep and personal liberty; a liberty that many of us perhaps have never really tasted and so have a hard time valuing. Simply put, ascesis sets us free. “The body is enslaved by the flesh. Attached to so many things, the body lusts after many unattainable prizes that ultimately it becomes enslaved. Askesis helps liberate the body from its compulsions. If we overeat, askesis seeks to help us overcome that enslavement. If we continually crave power and approval, askesis seeks to help us grow beyond this craving. If we are enslaved by lust, askesis seeks to help us shatter its shackles. Far from being stultifying and burdensome, the true goal of askesis is to set us free in spirit that we may commit ourselves totally to Christ our God. . . .Someone said, “In asceticism there are many thorns, but, oh, what roses!” (Ibid., 125).

This way of asceticism - the way of beauty, love and freedom - is meant for all. While Philokalic spirituality arises out of monastic life, all alike (monks and laity) are invited to the practice of asceticism. St. Nikodemus call us: “come and eat the the bread of knowledge and wisdom, and drink the wine which spiritually delights the heart . . .and become inebriated with the truly alert inebriation. Come all . . .together, lay people and monastics, all of you who seek to find the kingdom of God which is within you, as well as the treasure which is hidden in the field of your heart. And this is the sweet Christ!” (Ibid., 126)

For those living in the world, “‘askesis should not be identified with the extreme external disciplines associated with the word ‘ascetic’ - harsh fasts, long vigils, and strict self-denial regarding every earthly blessing. Rather the essence of askesis involves the struggle in our hearts between good and evil, God and Satan, the Kingdom and the world. Its goal is the new life in Christ. Its principles are the teachings of Christ. Its power is the grace of Christ experienced especially in the Eucharist and personal prayer. Askesis is for all, not only monastics. Each Christian is called to be a spiritual athlete who with his whole mind, heart and actions contends, within himself, family, and community for the supreme priority of the Kingdom, believing that all the other necessary things will be given to us as well by God’” (Ibid., 127).

While each of us has a different station in life depending on our particular vocation, each is called to the perfection of love demanded by and in imitation of our Lord. “There are not two separate spiritualities, one for the monks and another for lay people. There is only one spirituality for all. St. John Chrysostom wrote: ‘When Christ orders us to follow the narrow path, he addresses himself to all. The monastics and lay persons must attain the same heights. . . . they will have the same account to render’” (Ibid., 127).

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litafficionado · 3 years

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Four Questions with Garielle Lutz:

I’m extremely beholden to Garielle who took the time to respond to my silly, garbled, childish, intrusive questions. You can purchase her latest book Worsted here and here, among many other sites. --------- Q. You've attributed the resuscitation of your literary career in quite considerable measure to your teacher and editor Gordon Lish. It seems like you guys are particularly close, even as you seem to have largely confined yourself to Pittsburgh(mostly driven by your erstwhile teaching career but also by your liking the city over time). How does it feel to hear someone like Gordon speak so highly of you, “I think there’s more truth in one sentence of my student [Lutz] than in all of [Philip] Roth. Lutz gives [herself] away. “The speaking subject gives herself away,” says Julia Kristeva. I thoroughly believe that. What you see in Lutz, [her] lavish gift, is [her] refusal to relax [her] determination to uncover and uncover. It is, by my lights, quite wonderful, quite terrific.[…]Lutz is entirely the real thing?” Does one feel vindicated? How do you navigate the waters of self-effacement and self-indulgence as a writer and as a person? A. I haven’t had a literary career before or after studying with Gordon Lish. I don’t think one finds one’s way to him in hopes of launching a career. Anyone with vulgar ambition along those lines would have been shown the door pretty quick. I would never presume to be close to Gordon or to feel that I am part of his life other than in my role as a student. He dwells in another realm entirely. I attended his classes and tried to grasp, to the best of my abilities, the things he was saying about how to get from one word to the next. He also talked about how to free a word from the constricting range of its permissible behaviors, how to drain it of every sepsis of received meaning, until there is nothing left of the word but the skeleton of its former self, just the lank, gawky letters sticking out this way and that, and then how to fill the thing up again, to the point of overspilling, but this time with something that would never have been allowed to belong in there before, and then see whether the word, now close to bursting, can hold up and maybe have a new kind of say. I’m always surprised and relieved whenever Gordon says anything approving about anything I write. I think that for a lot of his students, his opinion is the only one that counts.

Q. You've said, "A typical day goes like this: noon, afternoon, evening, night, additional night, even more night, furtherest night, then bedtime, though I don’t have a bed or furniture of any kind.” Have you always been a lychnobite, sensing the overwhelming superabundance of life after the sunset or is it a relatively recent development facilitated by your retirement from teaching? Do you consider yourself in any way to be a minimalist? Does your room bear any resemblance with a sparsely lit opium den where all exchanges happen at the floor level?

A. I think the pandemic has had a lot to do with it. Lately I’ve been up until five, sometimes six. But I’ve always found mornings the harshest and ugliest part of the day (maybe it’s just because of the place where I live, but I never open the blinds anyway). There can be something awfully scolding about a sunrise the older you get Evening seems to extend every form of leniency, and in the dead of night, expectations go way down, which is where they maybe ought to stay. I do spend all of my time on the floor, but my apartment doesn’t bear any resemblance to an opium den. It’s more like a crawlspace or the back of a dollar-store stockroom.

Q. Even with your reputation of being a page-hugger than a typical page-turner, how do you decide which books to read apart from your line of work? Do you try to keep it largely in the familiar territory, like exploring the oeuvre of a time-tested writer? How does one unshackle oneself from this constant niggling that one ought to read so many books? Here's Ben Marcus: “When I was in graduate school, there was this sort of cautionary adage going around by the poet Francis Ponge that we can only write what we’ve already read and one way to hear that is you’re just sort of doomed to kind of regurgitate everything you’ve read and so if you’re just reading all the popular books, the books everyone else is reading, in some sense you’re maybe unwittingly confining yourself to a particular literary practice that’s gonna look pretty familiar. I remember at the time thinking, okay well if that’s true, if I’m just fated to that, then I’m gonna read things that no one else is reading. I loved to just go to the library and pretty randomly grab books, because I think for a little while, and I’m kinda glad this passed, but I really just had this feeling that a writer just consumes language and just sort of spits it out. So it didn’t matter. Like it didn’t have to be a great novel for it to be worth-reading. And I still read very little fiction in the end compared to non-fiction, essays, works of philosophy, science. And the other sort of dirty secret is: I don’t finish a lot of books. I just don’t care enough. I only finish a book if I have to or if I really want to. And, often, I’ll stop reading a book three pages from the end. I think that as writers, we probably feel a lot of pressure about what kind of a reader to be, what kind of a writer to be in, and we feel this shame, like “I haven’t read DH Lawrence, I’m such an asshole.” You begin to feel like you’ve these deficiencies and you gotta make them up and you never will and a lot of it is just kinda tyrannical. Of course, obviously, we must be naturally motivated to read and read and read and read but I guess I just started to notice that…I got a lot of my ideas by just reading…e.g. a gardening book…like the weird way a sentence was structured.” Then there's Moyra Davey: “Woolf famously said of reading: “The only advice … is to take no advice, … follow your instincts, … use your reason.” A similar thought was voiced by her elder contemporary Oscar Wilde, who did not believe in recommending books, only in de-recommending them. Later, Jorge Luis Borges echoed the same sentiment by discouraging “systematic bibliographies” in favor of “adulterous” reading. More recently, Gregg Bordowitz has promoted “promiscuous” reading in which you impulsively allow an “imposter” book to overrule any reading trajectory you might have set for yourself, simply because, for instance, a friend tells you in conversation that he is reading it and is excited by it. This evokes for me that most potent kind of reading — reading as flirtation with or eavesdropping on someone you love or desire, someone who figures in your fantasy life.”“What to read?” is a recurring dilemma in my life. The question always conjures up an image: a woman at home, half-dressed, moving restlessly from room to room, picking up a book, reading a page or two and no sooner feeling her mind drift, telling herself, “You should be reading something else, you should be doing something else.” The image also has a mise-en-scène: overstuffed, disorderly shelves of dusty and yellowing books, many of them unread; books in piles around the bed or faced down on a table; work prints of photographs, also with a faint covering of dust, taped to the walls of the studio; a pile of bills; a sink full of dishes. She is trying to concentrate on the page in front of her but a distracting blip in her head travels from one desultory scene to the next, each one competing for her attention. It is not just a question of which book will absorb her, for there are plenty that will do that, but rather, which book, in a nearly cosmic sense, will choose her, redeem her. Often what is at stake, should she want to spell it out, is the idea that something is missing, as in: what is the crucial bit of urgently needed knowledge that will save her, at least for this day? She has the idea that if she can simply plug into the right book then all will be calm, still, and right with the world. […] Must reading be tied to productivity to be truly satisfying […] Or is it the opposite, that it can only really gratify if it is a total escape? What is it that gives us a sense of sustenance and completion? Are we on some level always striving to attain that blissful state of un-agendaed reading remembered from childhood? What does it mean to spend a good part of one’s life absorbed in books? Given that our time is limited, the problem of reading becomes one of exclusion. Why pick one book over the hundreds, perhaps thousands on our bookshelves, the further millions in libraries and stores? For in settling on any book we are implicitly saying no to countless others. This conflict is aptly conjured up by essayist Lynne Sharon Schwartz as she reflects on “the many books (the many acts) I cannot in all decency leave unread (undone) — or can I?”” What way out do you suggest? Do you deem it worthwhile to eschew any shred of obligation and be propelled in any direction naturally? Like you said you found grammar books and lexicons more engaging and enjoyable than the novels.

A. I seem to remember that in some magazine or another, James Wolcott once said “Read at whim.” That has always sounded like the best advice. And I assume it means to feel free to ditch any book that disappoints. Like Ben Marcus, I’ve had experiences of abandoning a book just a few pages from the end, but I often don’t make it that far in most things anymore. I came from a long line of nonreaders, so I’ve never felt any guilt about passing up books or writers that so many people seem to talk about a lot, and I don’t expect other people to like what I like. Some books I’ll start about halfway in and then see whether I might want to work my way back to the beginning. Others I’ll start at the very end and inch my way toward the front, one sentence at a time, and see how far I can go that way. I seem to remember that in The Pleasure of the Text, Roland Barthes recommends “cruising” a text, and maybe something like that is what I’m doing at least some of the time, if I understand what he means. And every now and then I’ll read a book straightforwardly for an hour and afterward wonder whether the time might have been better spent staring off into space. Too many books these days seem ungiving. It’s the ungivingness that disappoints the most. A lot of contemporary fiction has the gleam and sparkle of a trend feature in a glossy magazine, and I can appreciate the craft and the savvy that go into something like that, but I am drawn more toward stories and books that demand being read slowly and closely, pulse by pulse, the kind of fiction where everything--what little might be left of an entire blighted life--can pivot on the peal of a single syllable. Q. I'd like to ask you so many questions. But let this be the last one for matters of convenience. Also, in a capitalistic world, one's enshrouded with guilt for taking one's time without being remunerative in any way. Among the books and films that you recently encountered, which ones do you think deserve rereads/rewatches? A. I used to feel like the woman you’ve described so movingly above, someone who questions her choice of books almost to the brink of despair. At my age, though, I no longer have a program for reading, a syllabus or a checklist, and I’m okay with knowing there’s a lot I’ll never get around to. I’m happy being a rereader of a few inexhaustible books and chancing upon occasional fresh treasure. The one book that has shaken me the most in the longest time is Anna DeForest’s A History of Present Illness, which will be out next August. It’s a blisteringly truthful novel written with moral grace and unsettling brilliance and an awing mastery of language. A couple of recent books I have read in manuscript, books that totally knocked me out with their originality and uncanny command of the word, are Greg Gerke’s In the Suavity of the Rock (a novel) and David Nutt’s Summertime in the Emergency Room (a short-story collection). I haven’t watched many movies in the past few months, and the ones I watched aren’t ones I’ll probably be rewatching anytime soon.

#Garielle Lutz #lit #Worsted #Moyra Davey #Ben Marcus #Gordon Lish #Anna DeForest #A History of Present Illness #Greg Gerke #In the Suavity of the Rock #David Nutt #Summertime in the Emergency Room

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officialyourdailyinspiration · 2 years

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Devotional Hours Within the Bible

by J.R. Miller

The Child in the Midst (Matthew 8:1-14)

Jesus' interest in children appears throughout all the Gospels.

It was a strange question which the disciples brought to Jesus, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" These men, although occupying so sacred a place in their Lord's family, were still very human, and had their natural human ambitions. They even seem not to have been free from the passion for official or political positions which afflicts so many people, sometimes even very good people. They had only the earthly idea of the kingdom which Christ was to set up. They probably had been discussing the question as to which of them would occupy the highest place in this kingdom.

One remarkable feature of biography writing in the Bible, is that it takes no pains to hide the faults of the saints. There is encouragement in this for us; it shows that even the holiest people have their faults and often do foolish things. Of course, this makes no excuse for us, however, for we ought to be very much better than even the apostles were, since we have more light, greater privileges, and better opportunities than they had; and so we should understand better the teachings of Christ.

There is one proper way, however, of wishing to be great in Christ's kingdom. It is right that we should long to be great Christians. It was said of a certain Christian man, that his daily prayer was, "Lord, make me an uncommon Christian." That was a good prayer. There are plenty of common Christians. It is right to pray always, and to strive to meet the level of our praying, "Nearer, my God, to You."

The answer of Jesus to the disciples' question, was beautiful and very suggestive. "He called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them." He answered their question by an illustration. "This is greatness," His act said to them. A little child in the midst is often used to teach great lessons to older people. When a new baby comes into a home, God sets it in the midst of a family as a teacher. Parents suppose they are training their child, and so they are, if they are faithful; but the child also teaches and trains them. Thoughtful and reverent parents learn more of the meaning of fatherhood of God, and the way God feels toward His children, in one week after their first baby comes - than they had learned from teachers and books, perhaps even from the Bible, in all the preceding years of their lives.

Every child's life is a book, a new page of which is turned every day. Children are not angels, and yet they bring from heaven to earth, many fragments of loveliness. Their influence in a home is a constant blessing. They change the center of life in their parents - it is no more self ; they begin now to live for their child. They train their parents in patience, in gentleness, in thoughtfulness, in love. While a young child is in a home - a school of heaven is set up there.

After Jesus had set the child in the midst, He spoke to the disciples, putting His lesson into words, rebuking their ambition and startling them with most serious words. He said to them, "Except you be converted, and become as little children - you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." His words implied that they were not now as little children, that their grasping after high places was anything but beautiful. They must be changed in spirit - before they could even enter into the kingdom of heaven.

But the lesson was not for the first disciples only - it is for us also. What do these words say to us? What is it to become a little child?

There is a legend of a man whom the angels loved and wished to have honored. They asked God that some remarkable gift might be bestowed upon him. But he would make no choice. Urged to name something which should be given to him, he said he would like to do a great deal of good in the world - without even knowing it. So it came about that whenever his shadow fell behind him, where he could not see it, it had healing power; but when it fell before his face it had not this power.

That is childlikeness - goodness, humility, power to do good, helpfulness; without being conscious of the possession of these qualities. Ambition to win distinction, craving for human praise, consciousness of being good or smart or useful or great - all are marks of a worldly spirit which is neither childlike nor Christ like. Moses knew not, that his face shone.

Jesus went on to speak other words about the children, while the little child still stood in the midst. He said, "Whoever shall receive one such little child in My name, receives Me." Many wrongs are done to children. Very grave, therefore, is our Lord's word to those who hurt a little one. "But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin - it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea!" There are many ways of causing little ones to sin. He does it who sets a child a wrong example, thus influencing him to go in the wrong way. He does it who tempts a child to do anything that is not right. It is a fearful thing to offer a boy the first glass of alcohol; or to whisper in a child's ear a doubt or a sneer at sacred things; or to put a bad book or paper in the hands of a young person.

#Devotional Hours Within the Bible #J.R. Miller #The Child in the Midst #Matthew 8:1-14 #November 20 #2021

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nerdygaymormon · 4 years

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My son is bisexual. I love him. This is a given. He wants me to approve his choice to be with a man. Being an adult means approving your own choices. I may love several women, but I choose one because that's what is authorized. Anything else is a sin. Any marriage should be legal. Scripturally, sex is subject to boundaries. What should the Church's, or God's, position be? Any combination of consenting adults? Any 2 committed people? Thanks. Alternative resources/opinions are scarce.

You mentioned that you “may love several women, but I choose one because that’s what is authorized.” You made a commitment to a person when you married them. To go around starting additional loving relationships with others is violating the marriage commitment you already made. I think this is not a fair parallel to what your son is doing.

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Is your son’s relationship bringing him happiness? Is it fulfilling? Do they make each other better? Have you asked him how this relationship makes him feel?

What does your son mean by “approve?” Does he simply want you to acknowledge his choice? Does he want you to say the man he chose is a good person? Can he visit your home with the person he shares his life with? Will they get invited to family events?

Must your son fit into a straight lifestyle in order to be worthy of love and affirmation, even though he’s not straight? What if he were gay instead of bi, would that change how you feel about this, and if so, why?

I know you love your son. Do you strive to be the parent that he needs?

Do you want a good relationship with your son? What will that take?

The Church doesn’t ask us to reject children who don’t live up to Church standards. They can go inactive and we still love them. They can stop believing, marry a non-member, not follow the Word of Wisdom, and we’re to still love them.

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I recently was talking with a Seventy about why I don’t attend the temple, and that’s because of things in the temple that are hard for me, including the part where it says that it’s not good for man to be alone. God teaches us that in Genesis yet the Church denies this for LGBT people.

The Seventy thanked me for helping him understand my perspective. He acknowledged my feelings and didn’t tell me I needed to start going to the temple. Once he understood, he accepted that my choice is a good choice for me.

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I once had a woman write to me upset that her gay son who was about to get married was requiring her to either leave the Church or be cut out of his life. She told me how unfair it is. I pointed out that her son was requiring of her the same choice that was required of him--church or love. Maybe that’s how this feels to you.

Your son’s relationship is uncomfortable because it’s requiring you to examine how you really feel about some beliefs of our church. Can you accept that people, including your children, will make choices counter to Church beliefs, choices which will bring them happiness & meaning in this life?

This is a good time for a reminder that in 2015, Elder Todd Christofferson said that members of the Church can support gay marriage “without consequence to their church membership,” and that includes being worthy for a temple recommend.

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If Christ were here, would He reject your son? I mean this as a serious question. Of all the people Christ accepted, wouldn’t your son & his boyfriend be among them? And if you’re not certain, try reading Matthew 8:5-13 about the centurion and his love servant.

In fact, the scriptures several times suggest what God thinks about love between two people of the same gender.

Ruth & Naomi : 2 women who made vows to each other, lived together for life, loved each other deeply, adopted each other’s extended families as their own, and relied on each other for sustenance. Together with Boaz they made an unusual family.

Jonathan & David : The text suggests this is more than two men who became friends. The possibility this is a same-sex relationship blessed by God is why the story of Jonathan and David has been a favorite of queer Christians.

Daniel : In my opinion, the best example in the Old Testament to suggest God supports same-gender loving relationships. Who brought Daniel into favor with Ashpenaz?

Matthew 19:5-12 – Marriage & Eunuchs : Jesus is discussing marriage and he mentions eunuchs (which, in context, seems clear he’s speaking of men who don’t have a desire or attraction for women) being an exemption from male-female marriage.

1 Corinthians 7 : If you don’t have the “gift of celibacy,” then channel your sexual desires within marriage. Paul is adamant that celibacy should NOT be forced on people. To do so endangers their spiritual well being! Is there a better argument than Paul’s for why Christians should accept and celebrate same-sex marriage?

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letmetellyouaboutmyfeels · 5 years

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#if you ask I will write a whole goddamn essay on Boromir #and why his death means more to us as we get older *whispers* babe I want the essay

Why must you always enable me I love it never stop. So. Wow. Where to even start. I rant through my tears about how much I love Boromir every time I watch Lord of the Rings, which I do about once a year with @captainofthefallen. Every time I watch it, his death means more to me, hits me harder, and I think that’s because the older we get, the more we identify with Boromir.

Here’s the thing. In all honesty, as a kid (I first read LotR when I was eleven, first watched the films at that age as well), I wasn’t too fond of Boromir. Oh I liked him all right, he was fine I suppose, but I didn’t connect with him. I was angry when he tried to take the One Ring from Frodo, and I cried a little at his death because death is sad and I was a kid, but it didn’t devastate me.

Because as a kid? I wanted to be Aragorn. The reluctant king who rises up and does the right thing, always. The guy who gets the amazing (be still my bi heart) Arwen, the Evenstar, fairest of the elves. The guy who literally kicks ass. The man who is noble, honorable, thoughtful, good with his words, humble, knows the burdens of leadership, who stands up and says there will be a day when the courage of men fails, but this is not that day.

I wanted to be the hero.

I noticed this trend among my peers growing up. We all loved Aragorn and wanted to be him. Boromir was sort of dismissed.

But then a funny thing happened, called getting older.

I got older, and I fucked up.

I got older, and depression hit.

I got older, and the weight of societal expectations, of being an older sibling, of adult responsibilities, of legacy, of family secrets, of family history, all settled on my shoulders.

I got older, and I learned that men are not always honorable, or kind, or humble, or the leaders they should be. And I learned how hard and desperate it is to continue to believe in the strength of men.

I got older, and I learned how temptation comes for us all, in different forms, and how we hurt people without meaning to, and how sometimes for all our regret and tears and apologies, we cannot mend what we broke.

I got older, and I leaned what it is to be forced into a role I didn’t want, to feel I’d hit a dead end, to struggle against those who had different views, to feel like people could look into my heart and see the anger and fear that I tried so hard to hide.

I got older, and I realized: I’m Boromir.

We’re all Boromir.

Tolkien was very deliberate with his characters. They aren’t just characters, flawed and wonderful though they might be. They also each represent something very specific. Aragorn represents the Ideal. The hero that we all can be, the hero that we should strive to be, the vision of mankind as we are supposed to be, if only we can let ourselves shed our hubris and our doubts. Aragorn represents who we should be.

Boromir represents who we are.

Flawed, frustrated, burdened, tempted, struggling, setback, good intentioned, afraid, angry, kindhearted, noble, loyal, and painfully, beautifully human.

Boromir went to the Council of Elrond reluctantly. He shouldn’t have gone. Boromir is a war leader, as we learn after his death. He successfully fought for and defended Gondor from Mordor for years. That’s where he belongs. Faramir is the quiet one, the diplomat, the “wizard’s pupil,” the soft-spoken and patient one. Note that even in the film version, which shows a differently characterized Faramir than in the books (Tolkien heavily based Faramir on himself), Faramir only wants the One Ring in order to give it to his father and win his father’s pride and affection–he doesn’t want it for himself.

If Faramir had been at the Council and Boromir had stayed in Gondor, everything would have gone differently, and possibly for the better.

But the Steward of Fuckwits aka Boromir and Faramir’s father decides he wants Boromir to go, to represent their family, because Boromir is the son he values and is the “face” of Gondor. So Boromir sets aside what he wants, and he goes. And the whole time he feels out of place, feels like a fish out of water, feels second to Aragorn, feels lost, feels terrified his city will fall while he is gone, feels like the race of Men is being mocked and looked down on as weak.

How many of us as we grow up are stuck like that? We can’t fix our family (although we try), we can’t fix our broken country (although we try), we can’t get rid of the doubts and fears that whisper to us (although we try), and we can’t stop feeling like we’re constantly second best, constantly failing, looked down on, especially the millennial generation.

(Given what’s happening in the world right now, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tolkien found himself surprisingly similar in outlook and feeling to our generation. But that’s another topic.)

And of course that’s the key. Boromir–darling, frustrated, stuck, fatally flawed Boromir–is so very relatable because he tries. He tries to teach Merry and Pippin to protect themselves and then tries to save them and dies for it. He tries to convince Aragorn (who at that point is more elf than man in his outlook) that there is no reason to give up on his people, their people–and he succeeds in that, although he dies before he gets to see it. He tries to make his father proud. He tries to apologize when he fucks up. He tries and he fails, and he tries and he succeeds. And the most important things he does, the biggest seeds he plants, he never sees them flower.

Like my God, the man’s last words are I failed. I failed you, I failed Frodo, I tried to take the Ring. I’m sorry, I failed. That hits me so goddamn hard in my mid20s and it’ll hit me even harder when I’m older, I’m sure. How many times have we said that to people? “I tried to help him.” “I tried to reach out.” “I tried to apologize.” “I tried to stop them.” “I tried so hard.” I tried, I tried, I tried. For the job, for the friend, for everything, I tried.

And I failed.

I have a laundry list of things I tried and failed at, and God, do they hurt. Sometimes it was something out of my control, sometimes it was my own behavior. And that scene with Boromir, the flawed man, staring up at Aragorn, the ideal hero, and begging him, begging him, “save them, they took the little ones, find Frodo,” begging him for forgiveness, apologizing for his failures?

Talk about a fucking metaphor.

We make our ideals in literature so that we have something to look up to and strive for, for others to strive for. Boromir falls prey to the ring, but Aragorn does not. You did what I could not. Of course Aragorn did. He’s the ideal. And we beg our ideals to be better so they can show us the way and hopefully, maybe, someday, we can be like them.

I had so many heroes growing up, real and literary. Sara from A Little Princess. Aragorn. Lucy from Narnia. Nancy Drew. Harry Potter. And so many times I would look at myself in the mirror and cry because I knew, I knew if I stood in front of them they would be disappointed in me. I knew I wasn’t being the person I could be. I tried, I failed, I tried, I failed, but my God I swear, I tried.

As a kid or even a teenager, we still see mainly who we want to be. Our ideal. And I hope that we never lose sight of that. I love Aragorn and my God am I going to keep trying to be like him, and like all of my other literary heroes. We need those heroes, we need them so badly, and the darker the world gets the brighter we have to make them shine.

As an adult, though–as an adult, we start to see not only who we want to be, but who we are, and who we could’ve been, and how we failed to be, and the paths not taken and the paths that were lost. And that’s important too. Because Boromir died convinced he was a failure. Convinced he was, truly, the weakness we find in men.

And he was… but he wasn’t.

Without Boromir, Aragorn wouldn’t know what happened to Merry and Pippin or where they went. Without Boromir, Aragorn would’ve had no hope in the race of men. Without Boromir, who would have carried the hobbits up the cold mountain, or taught them how to fight, or said give them a moment, for pity’s sake! Who would have defended Gondor for so long, or loved his brother with a ferocity that Denethor’s abuse couldn’t knock loose, and inspired that brother to keep fighting even as the light faded and the night grew cold and long?

Aragorn carries Boromir’s bracers throughout the rest of the trilogy, right up to his coronation, where he is still wearing them as he is made King. Because Boromir might not have seen it–we might not see it–but we tried and we failed but we didn’t fail at everything. Lives are made brighter for our presence. The world is better for our gifts and our convictions. And no fight, even a fight lost, is done in vain.

The remains of the Fellowship ride to Gondor not just because it’s the Right Thing to Do, but because it is the city of their fallen brother, it’s Boromir’s home, the home that above all he gave everything to defend. Boromir doesn’t want the Ring for power, he wants it so his home will be safe, his family will be safe, and God who can’t relate to that, as we grow older and we see our families and friends attacked and scarred, as we have children and want them out of harm’s way. Who wouldn’t be tempted to seize the chance to keep them safe?

I see so much of myself in Boromir. And I take hope. I take inspiration. I cheer through my tears as he is hit again and again with arrows and each time he gets back up on his feet and grits his teeth and you can see him thinking not today. As a child I thought Boromir was selfish but as an adult I hear him use his last breath to apologize to Aragorn and call him his brother and his king and I see he’s more selfless than he ever gave himself credit for being. Boromir sees only his faults, but we can see what he doesn’t, we see his positive impact and we see his virtues, too.

Because as an adult I’ve failed, and I want to believe that like Boromir, I’ve also succeeded, I’ve also been more than just my faults–even if I can’t see that yet.

Aragorn is who we should be. But Boromir is who we are.

And my God, we should be proud of that. Because Boromir is a damn good person to be.

#mads answers things #Lord of the Rings #LotR Meta #Boromir #Boromir meta #I cried just thinking about Boromir while writing this #Boromir is a goddamn hero #a tragic one but a hero all the same #and I will hear no different #extasiswings #I'M A FUCKING IDIOT WHO SAID MORIA INSTEAD OF MORDER #FUCKING FUCK #I FUCKED UP I FUCKED UP

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tamoria · 3 years

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Tamore Chapter One, part one. “Not like this.” Tadg states through gritted teeth, jaw clenched and eyes piercing. He is growing frustrated with their disagreements. I know this expression well. It is the same as the face he wore often during our first 10 years - stubborn and difficult as I was. I see it less now, I’ve learnt when to push and when to placate him. “The battle of Cill Rogha only resulted in gales, this is more and we must face it. He will let them bicker back and forth a while. I keep myself aside from the raucous conversation, the three other draoi speaking over one another, each sure they themselves are the observant and clear minded amongst fools.

Muireann turns away from The other two men, Cathasach and Eogan and speaks to Tadg, “It is possible the fields have shifted, as they did in Damhin once before.” Immediately Cathasach rebuts her, he has been a loyal follower of Tadg’s for many years, truthful and honest with his voice. “Muireann, think a moment. The fields take many cycles to move any noticeable distance. We ourselves have shifting fields constantly but never have they caused this.” Eogan, who trains under Muireann, speaks loud and fumbling in her defense, leading the conversation back into chaos as insults start being thrown. Muireann is much younger than Tadg and believes herself sharper of mind for it. She revels in the idea of him being batty with old age and thus no longer suitable as the high druid - she would be a much better leader for our people, of course. She thinks this mainly because she is the batty one. She wears her dark hair wild and unbraided, like a storm cloud floating around her head. She has only one tunic, coloured yellow with bright dandelion dye, always ripped and mended. Even during Beltane, when we gather in droves to make our pilgrimages to the wells amongst the hills. All of us in our pure whites, billowing in the wind - there she is, in her yellow tunic with her hair as wild as the mountains. Her young apprentice, Eoghan has suffered under her teaching, leaving him years behind in his training. I do not envy him, it will be a long time before he can take a title. It matters little to him, he still looks and acts like a boy, so eager and taken up with being one of the great sorcerers that he has not yet realised he never will be. He agrees with everything she said, as I might have expected. “Muireann is right, in Damhin the storms battered villages as far as half a day’s walking. It was months before they regained control and learnt the new field.” Eoghan speaks quickly, determined to make his voice count. He truly believes what he is saying is worth listening to. Muireann nods along, only encouraging him Muireann speaks again, continuing on from his point, “The fields have shifted and Feada losing control of the breeze merely tipped the scales. It is unlucky for her but easily avoidable for the more capable among us.” She shoots a pointed look at me and I stare back, teeth gritted to stop myself putting her in her place. She must be further from sanity than I had thought if she considers herself more ‘capable’ than I. The hours she spends breathing in the fumes over her putrid health potions must be going to her head. Tadg has been warning of this for many cycles and they know he is right but refuse to acknowledge it for fear of what will happen next. I know him, I trust his judgement and I have spent my training preparing for this very situation. There will be a reckoning and I will be called to lead, there is an evil lurking in the new sect and they want to see the old ways - the people in this room, destroyed. I will force them across the sea, back to where they came from by my own hand if no one else will stand. They have displeased the Mother Goddess and they have displeased me. Tadg stands and clears his throat, the group suddenly silent. “You will listen.” he says, his voice quiet and firm, he knows they will listen. “The new sect has landed on our shores as I saw they would. They travel by tall boat from far across the Grey Sea. They bring magic as dark as the night and a vow to destroy our ways.” There is a distinct murmuring from Muireann’s corner accompanied by a shuffle of discomfort. Tadg continues regardless. “They do not follow Danu or her children and strive only for her blood, the storms that draw waves hard onto our shores and batter our villages are the Mother Goddess fighting back. Denying them a place on our land. Across our island our ancestors are fighting, but they can no longer walk amongst us so we must stand for them, we must raise our hands and our voices to these savages lest they trample us into the dirt. We will bring down the wrath from above, the arrows from our bows and the strength of our voices. We will make them flee. They will turn, tails between their legs and scamper back to their boats. We will uphold our values and be merciful as they run like scared field mice.” The quiet whispers, fidgeting and overall disrespect for Tadg’s leadership has faded somewhat. They are unsure still but they respect him and know he is set on a course. “Feada will lead as she has been trained to. Eoghan will accompany her.” Muireann looks up in shock. “The rest of us will stay at our posts, we need strength and consistency here at home, our people cannot fear for us. I have spoken, it is so.” ———————————————————————————————————– I walk through the village, smiling brightly at anyone who passes me. The farmers are making their way in from the fields, aching and looking forward to hot meals, their horses and donkeys just as tired. Their wives and mothers squatting low beside fires, making simple stews, enriched with the warmth and comfort the men need.. There are occasional traders from Corlea passing through with fine new tools and knick knacks. The trees above me sway with the sound of my heartbeat and footsteps, whispering my name in triumph. The long grass yields to me, bent at the knee. The river cheers me on as it gushes past. There have been days like this before - where belonging breathes in me and I can see ahead. Today I am a leader, I can bring peace and balance in my own name. I do not stand behind powerful men. The sky is bright blue, the clouds respectfully avoiding coming too close to the sun and blocking her. All around I can see my land bow before me. I come to the small hut, bright and warm from the central fire, I shut the door quickly to keep the heat in and make my way to a free log space near the fire. “Feada!” A familiar voice shouts from behind me, I turn to see Bridget. She motions her daughter, Saoirse to the cooking pot she has been attending and walks to me, smiling warmly as she starts chattering away. “How was your day, love? I heard a rumour of a meeting of the drui, true?” Bridget is my mother’s eldest sister, she is head of our home and likes to know all of our goings on. I nod in answer to her question, “Yes, we gathered today. I am to meet with the king. Tadg requested I take a trip to the near villages, I’ll be gone till the new moon, maybe longer.” She looks concerned and checks over her shoulder for anyone standing too near or looking particularly interested in our conversation. Her voice drops down, still a regular speaking volume but quiet relative to before. “The near villages? As far as Cullahill then?” These are homely people, they do not long for violence the way some do. Rather, many of them, Bridget included, fear it. Our clan has always been a peaceful one, We have rarely been the ones to light the torch fire. “There has been no word of fighting - do not fret. I have been sent to help rebuild after the storms, to discover if they need any additional aid from the king, that is all” She looks at me closely, suspicious that I am withholding something, and displeased she will not know the whole truth. I say, “You’re getting paranoid in your old age.” Mostly to change the subject, take her mind of the seemingly impending doom. She observes me a minute longer, eyes narrowed slightly, my words not shaking her resolve. Then she seems to consciously put it aside and with a small shrug she breaks into a smile. “Let’s get you sorted then. You can hardly stand before the king as you are!” She chuckles and I follow her to my small section of the hut, my bed and chest lined up against the wall, my half-staff leaning where I left it - they all know touching it could cost them a broken nose if I found out. I open the dark chest at the base of my small bed, a gift from my mother when she learned I was to be Tadg’s student. She had smiled so sweetly, a hand on my cheek, “Soon you will know the forests better than I.” She had said, a small sadness in her voice, the weight of a pebble sitting between us. I smooth my hands along it, feeling the familiar knots and corners of it. It has more corners than most chests. The heavy lid creaks as I lift it and I think once again that I should get some fat to quieten it. Bridget echoes my thoughts aloud, “your box is squeaking, love, I’ll gather you some fat after we eat. I know your mother would be tutting” I chuckle and thank her as I reach in, pushing everyday tunics aside to find my ceremony wear that sits at the bottom. I need to look my best tonight. I need the high king’s approval and he leads more with his eyes than his head. I pull my long whites out, turning to Bridget for her approval. “Pass them here,” she says, hand outstretched. She looks them over, checking seems.The long white robes drip from her arms, they are heavy and at times impractical but they have always been soft against my skin. The light from the fire dances over them. Eventually she decides they’ll do, or maybe she just knows that I don’t have anything else. ———————————————————————————————————– A guard pushes the tall wooden door open and I walk through, feeling as though I am floating .. Dropping into a low curtsy before the king, I smile broadly; I am where I should be and I will be listened to. There are only a few people in the room and as I rise he waves all but his closest counsel, Uallas, out of the room. I stand confident, straight-backed. . The young king greets me, “Good Evening Feada.” “Good Evening,” I say, my chin high It has not been long since he took the throne from his father. The battle at Clontarin had left him one-eyed. An unfit man is an unfit king so the honour was passed to his son, Daire. “I have read the letter sent by Tadg mac Nuadat. Do you have anything of your own to add?” He is revered as a kind and fair king, and though young, he makes sound choices. Much unlike his father before him. “I do. As you know I have spent much of my training preparing for the very situation we now find ourselves facing. I am not afraid of them, I know what is to be done and will not hesitate to stand before them. I am the thing they must fear.” His eyes move from my face and slowly down my body, taking me in, sizing me up. They dart quickly back to my face. With a small smile and a nod he says, “You need not try to convince me Feada. My name and my men are behind you in your endeavours.” I breathe deeply and thank him, relieved I did not have to fight for his approval. “You are right,” he continues, “this is necessary. I have my conditions though Feada, we will be cautious, visit Fourcuil and Reen first to collect information. We will keep this from our people, you will travel with three trained soldiers of your choosing as well as your fellow druid. No one else may know the breadth of our endeavors. We cannot allow word to get to them before we do. Once you have visited the villages you will return and report directly to me before you venture further.” He looks at me, right at me, with eyebrows raised. I lower my head slowly, head bent as I say, “Yes, I understand. I thank you again, humbly.” His face has softened when I sneak a glance. “That is all then.” He says, turning back to his fire. “Uallas, see Feada out.” ———————————————————————————————————– I dress quickly, practical and warm today rather than the frivolities of yesterday. My brown bratt, though older and much more worn than it’s red russet sibling, it is also thick and much warmer. It lies better across my shoulders, probably given I am rarely seen without it. It will serve me well today, the wind starting to rattle at the door. The training fields stretch out over a few hundred paces around the king’s buildings. Flat and well drained they are used for training year round with pauses for festival weeks. They are kept free of livestock and as much as possible - from too much mud or flooding. It’s well known that Daire enjoys watching training from the high windows. Today there is a double line of men and women, hands at their sides, awaiting instruction. They are all kinds, young, old, tall and wide. I walk slowly along, taking them in. I will spend the majority of the day watching them and try to decide on three by evening meal. I dismiss them with a hand wave, watching them disperse to archery targets, swords and horses. Their master, Fiachra, stands with me adding small comments, pointing out the particularly talented and most importantly - keeping notes for me. He knows each of their skills and weaknesses and will prove indispensable. It doesn’t rain solidly all day, mercifully there are breaks every once in a while to allow some hope to return. The men perform well despite, they are well used to training in downpours and blizzards. I, however, do not fare as well and find myself cold to the bone after the first hour. Stand outs were two young men, brothers, who worked much better together than they did apart. They play off one another, fluid in their movement and confident; laughing as they shoot their arrows and touch swords. The third warrior catches my eye for a different reason. She was tall and slim, her hair pulled out of her face and plaited down her back. She is studied and purposeful, carefully planning the smallest movement of her fingers on the bow string. She is unaware of me watching her, unlike most of the others that look over their shoulder to check I am paying attention before they attempt anything vaguely impressive. She is even more utterly unaware of what I am thinking as I do. I wonder what it would take for me to distract her, to make her eyes divert from their target. Small kisses along her neck perhaps? A whisper of my breath in her ear? How much to make her strong bow arm weak? I pretend. For the next few hours, to be uncertain about who to choose. I hum and haw, asking Fiachra questions I know the answer to. Eventually I ‘settle’ on my three choices.

#writing #writer #writing fantasy #writers on tumblr #writeblr #new writer #writing advice #my writing #tamore

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ariparri · 3 years

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MC Patronus

I was tagged by @carewyncromwell on a post for MC patronuses! I, sadly, don't really talk about most of my characters because I'm hyperfixacted on mostly one character 😅

I'll only do this for my Hogwarts Legacy and Hogwarts Mystery MCs. Anyways, let's get to it!

I can't find the original docs I made for my MCs' patronus so majority of this was a copy paste from the site I use to figure out their patronus.

What's My Spirit Animal?

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McQuaid/Mac Uaid

I mentioned in the Mac Uaid family crest that the wolf is part of the emblem and how every McQuaid's patronus is a wolf.

As a spirit animal, the wolf comes to support and teach us about matters of personal power, balance, self-control, and our animal instincts.

Wolves are misunderstood by many to be aggressive, vicious animals who attack with no provocation. Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, wolves go out of their way to avoid fights. However, when they want to be heard, when they want to stave off or deter an attacker, they will stand their ground.

Wolves are incredible examples of standing in the seat of your own power. They let predators know that they can fight to the death and are prepared to do so but they rarely initiate combat.

The wolf sometimes appears when we face challenges for which we feel less than prepared. The wolf reminds you that you have all the tools in your spiritual treasure chest to handle this effectively.

For seekers who feel afraid or threatened, the wolf reminds us of how those feelings put our entire psyche off balance. Yes, fear plays an important role in personal safety unless it becomes all-consuming or is baseless. Don’t let the darkness consume your spirit.

Sometimes the wolf calls on us to become the Lone Wolf, who breaks away from the pack to discover the Sacred Self. During times of aloneness, you rediscover your dreams and passions. You also start uncovering the true self and voice that howls at the moon with abandonment!

Humans are animals, and sometimes we overlook the gifts from nature that are already within us. Life has an order and rhythm. When you run with a pack, there is a sense of community, and when you’re alone – liberation.

Those who walk with the wolf sometimes don’t trust themselves as much as they should. When you find yourself falling into that emotional pattern, rely on your keen mind and logic to renew balance.

The key caution for wolf people is your predatory nature. Now, here’s the thing about a wolf’s “predatory” nature – they mostly focus on taking down the weak, sick, and elderly.

Rarely will a Wolf prey on a strong, mature adult. Surely nature has a reason for this, but in terms of symbolism for humans, the lesson here is to make sure that you do not choose to prey on those who are not able to stand against you.

Rohan Mac Uaid (Hogwarts Legacy)

The Gray Wolf is Rohan's patronus. As his patronus is the gray wolf, he is constantly transforming himself, improving himself as he encounters the lessons and challenges of life.

The gray wolf is the wolf who stands at the Western Door. The winds of change will gently flow through the life of the gray wolf soul, stirring him to greet the change with the knowledge of the lessons that such transitional times will herald. The gray wolf soul understands that change is merely growth, an essential part of life, and thus, embraces change easily.

McQuaids with the gray wolf patronus doesn't strain to see what is not yet visible on the other side, merely acknowledges that the changes will surely take place and that the choices he/she makes, will fashion the path they take.

The individual with the totem of the gray wolf understands the importance of protecting and nurturing life in all of its varied and brilliant forms. He is the soul that desires to be of service to others and thus enters a profession which will be in alignment with these principles. She is the soul who desires to nurture the spark of soul awareness in the other members of her society, so as to ensure the survival of the species. In whatever form this urge of guardianship manifests itself, the gray wolf totem will always strive to be of benefit to the whole.

The wolf soul is one who understands the depth of connection with another, be it mate, friend or family member. These individuals will tend to be monogamous in nature. If a mate is not found that shares this same sense of loyalty, then the wolf totem will choose to live as a solitary wolf yet will still have deep and abiding bonds with friends and/or family.

The gray wolf totem is drawn to individuals who possess the ability to employ rational thought coupled with intuitive understanding. As he walks through life, wolf soul uses his keen intelligence to assess issues and situations which demand resolution. He then follows the prompts he receives from his own higher sense of knowing to achieve necessary growth and learning.

Rohan has quite a fierce temper and often scolds others for their incompetence. After meeting Avis, her gentle nature melting his heart of ice, Rohan shows more self restraint in terms of his emotions. He cares little about status or tradition, and merely judges others solely based on their knowledge, skill and loyalty.

Coby McQuaid (Hogwarts Mystery)

Coby's patronus is the Arctic Wolf. It is said that at the door of each of the Four Winds, a wolf keeps silent vigil, each bringing change to the life of those who walk the good Red Road and with the change, a lesson unique to that wind.

The arctic wolf is the Wolf of the North Winds. He stands quietly in rigid determination, unyielding at times, much as the barren landscapes of his home appear to resist the beginning of Spring. She is a soul that is comfortable with her surroundings and therefore sees no “reason” to change.

Yet the promise of the North Wind is wisdom unfolding through gratitude and acknowledgment. This is the direction in which wisdom is sifted from the sands of experience and then fashioned into a red staff of manifestation that wields personal potential. Therefore, if the white wolf soul can accept change when it appears, yet remain true to his/her values, then the higher vibration of wisdom and truth can emerge from beneath stubborn resistance like shoots of sweet summer grass bursting forth from a blanket of winter’s snow. Thus, personal power can be embraced, understood and ultimately, the soul’s individual potential manifested.

The individual with the arctic wolf as their power totem is one who is capable of withstanding numerous challenges and setbacks, only to emerge stronger than before. It is little wonder that these souls will often face adversity in their lives in order to build the resilience with which to overcome obstacles? Paradoxically, they are also gentle souls with a great deal of emotional sensitivity . . . and this is the area in which they are likely to encounter their greatest lessons. Yet by calling upon the inner strength and resilience of the arctic wolf, they can triumph and raise their heads with gratitude to the loving rays of the sun.

The arctic wolf soul is an individual who is capable of performing nearly miraculous bouts of stamina that would weary other souls as he travels the good Red Road. He possesses within him the ability to push his body and mind to the limits, and in fact, can appear to even derive pleasure from doing so.

With each new goal that has been met, the arctic wolf individual will then set his/her sights on the next task at hand. Preferably the new goal will be even more challenging than the one just completed, as this engenders the acknowledgment within their own reasoning that they are worthy of that which has been given to them, yet the truth of the matter is that anything they have received, has been honestly won.

Veruca McQuaid (Hogwarts Mystery)

The Arctic Wolf is Veruca's patronus. Although she shares the same patronus as her brother, the patronus takes on a different meaning. The Arctic Wolf patronus Veruca has, is the shadow to the alpha Arctic Wolf. So even with her patronus, Veruca is still in Coby's shadow.

When manifesting as a shadow totem, the arctic wolf brings lessons in life experience that will tend to build up a defensive wall around the shadow wolf soul. These individuals enter onto the Red Road with a good deal of vulnerability, in many instances a higher degree of sensitivity to their environments than most. Yet, as time goes by, extremely painful circumstances are met that will either construct a fortress of solitude or a friendly barrier that keeps others at a “safe” distance, thereby decreasing the chances that the individual may once again be hurt.

McQuaids who have the arctic wolf patronus are stoic and resolute individuals who appear to bear any storm with a spirit of strength and perseverance. And indeed, they are quite capable of enduring many hardships, yet the true lesson for the arctic wolf is the act of maintaining a certain measure of vulnerability in the face of the brutal lessons they encounter.

Though those with the arctic wolf patronus are naturally geared toward a mostly solitary existence, they will have a couple, to a few close & trusted friends that will be more like family members than their own biological family. The reason for this is due to the fact that the shadow arctic wolf soul will often grow up in a family that is either highly dysfunctional, or in circumstances where one or both parents are absent, be this as in the sense that the parental figures are deceased, or where the mother and father are emotionally unavailable.

Veruca isn't as close to her mother as she is with her father. Though she loves her just as much, she can't help but feel like a second thought compared to Coby. Carson is a close friend to Veruca that they consider each other siblings. Veruca even refers to the Iveys as her second family and addresses Mr. and Mrs. Ivey as mom and dad.

Again, trust is hard to earn from those who own an arctic wolf patronus, and bonds once forged in trust will rarely be broken unless there is an extreme betrayal on the part of their loved one. The ultimate challenge of these individuals is to learn to be open, vulnerable and trusting in the face of a lifetime of lessons in rejection, disillusionment, and betrayal. Yet it is interesting that these people will often be the ones to break off relationships, and are seldom the one to be “left behind.”

Right after graduation, Veruca leaves everyone behind to find her own peace and come to terms with everything that has happened. After finding her peace, she comes back to reconcile and reunite with everyone else. While on her own journey, her patronus ends up changing to match Diego's patronus.

Carson Ivey (Hogwarts Mystery)

Carson's patronus is the owl, specifically the Brown Owl. The owl cannot be deceived, which is why this spirit animal reminds us to remain true to ourselves, our voice, and our vision. The owl spirit does not tolerate illusion or secrets.

Being Veruca's best friend, it's a given Carson knows what's truly going on with her. Though it's pretty easy for him to read the moods of someone, he's not one to pry into someone's personal affairs.

The owl is a symbol of being able to navigate any darkness in our life; this spirit brings clarity, prophetic inklings, and a strong connection with the mystical world.

Those with the owl patronus have the opportunity to become far more observant. Being able to notice a lot of important details that previously eluded you. The world is filled with layers of symbolism and meaning, and the owl gives you “new” eyes with which to see those.

As a spirit animal, the owl often calls on us to release the past and put down burdens that hold us back. You have to face your shadows and fears, then move beyond them to find true happiness.

Owls don’t just honor us with the ability of “Second Sight." These majestic birds have hearing that is quite literally “perfect stereo." The owl as a spirit animal guide can aid you in hearing what is really being said despite the words and emotions coming from the messenger.

The owl spirit can help support you when the time to speak your truth has arrived. Remember, owls are birds of prey, and little stops them when they set their sites on “the prize.” What or whom do you have your heart set on? Focus, patience, and stillness can win the day.

Invoke owl energy when you need to see all the details of what or who is coming toward you and what is right in front of you.

Carson may be chaotic with his personality, but he can be patient to analyze and assess a situation. He's quite stubborn, might be because his childhood friend is Veruca and he picked up on her own stubbornness, but he will continue to push for what he stands for.

In Celtic mythology, owls knew the way to the underworld and were fierce defenders of truth and honor. The owl has no tolerance for deception, even when we are deceiving ourselves.

The Celtic Owl was tied closely to the ancient Goddess of fertility. It frequently appears in knotwork and bestiaries, being revered for its ability to see in the dark and acting as a messenger between humans and the Divine.

Avis Ni Conraoi (Hogwarts Legacy)

Avis' patronus is the butterfly. Those with the butterfly patronus means it's time for personal growth and greater awareness of mental, physical, and spiritual rhythms. Change can sometimes be challenging and daunting because it moves us out of our comfort zone.

You cannot embrace a “new you” until you release the old. With the butterfly spirit, you’ll find that you can fly gracefully above the barriers that would otherwise hold you back.

The Conraois are quite a spiritually oriented family one can say. They don't appear to worry over minor things that can cause someone to stress out to the point of exhaustion. Avis, herself, lives her life freely with no worries. Life is too short for her to take a slow path and be cautious of everything. She simply goes with the flow, following where the wind takes her on a new journey.

The butterfly as a teacher puts great emphasis on movement: Be it blossom-to-blossom, home-to-home, or one state in our spiritual exploration to another.

An old Irish blessing says,

“May the wings of the butterfly kiss the sun, and find your shoulder to light on.

To bring you luck, happiness, and riches today, tomorrow and beyond.”

Throughout Celtic regions, the butterfly represents prosperity, joy, good fortune, and honor. Butterflies also symbolizes the soul. So much was the case that harming a white butterfly was against the law in Ireland because of the belief it bore a dead child’s spirit.

The butterfly often turns our thoughts inward to review elements of our character, morals, and habits that weigh us down, keeping us stuck in a mire of negative energy.

The goal of the winged ally is restoring lightness in your being so you can dance life’s dance with unbridled joy!

People with a butterfly as their patronus have a natural lightness of spirit! They love the beauty of nature and are guided by the greatest good when it comes to maintaining balance with the environment.

Avis is normally against violence, opting to be an advocate of peace. Though if that peace has been disturbed, she will take on a more passive aggressive attitude to protect that peace.

With the butterfly patronus, you’ll find that you’re better equipped to look at difficult situations from another angle. As you fly on her wings, your perspective becomes more global and hopeful.

Butterfly people are naturally social, colorful, and vibrant. They endeavor to live each moment to the fullest.

#veruca mcquaid #carson ivey #coby mcquaid #rohan mac uaid #avis ni conraoi #mc patronus #patronus challenge #hogwarts mystery #hphm #harry potter hogwarts mystery #hphm mc #hogwarts mystery mc #harry potter hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy #hphl #hogwarts legacy mc #hphl mc

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maribatshipper · 3 years

Text

Trollhunting Lantern Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Scarlett walks into Bracha’s house the next day with Crystal and Oriel behind her.

“It did something awesome, Bracha!” Scarlett smiles.

Bracha pulls the girls into her bedroom, which oddly enough, had a bed that looked like a sandwich.

“First, I’ve never heard of a Trollhunter. Second, what happened?” Bracha asks.

Crystal frowns, “She hasn’t shown us yet.”

Oriel smiles, “But you need to see something else!”

Scarlett pulls out her phone and plays the video of what happened to Nicholas. Bracha stares, unable to peel her eyes away.

“You did that?” Bracha asks Crystal.

Crystal nods.

“He had it coming to him after what he did to you.” Bracha sighs.

The three sisters sigh, remembering their innocence being taken away.

“Anyway, that’s not what we came here to show you.” Scarlett smirks.

She pulls out the glowing Amulet, excitement in her veins.

She smirks, “For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is-”

*CRASH!*

Everyone runs downstairs to see a cat pushed down a vase, smashing it apart.

“Chaos! Bad Chaos! Bad Cat!” Bracha yells.

Crystal is already picking up the pieces and cutting herself.

“There she goes again.” Scarlett mumbles.

The girls have already gotten used to seeing Crystal act before she thinks.

“Leave it, Crystal.” Scarlett tells her.

Crystal gives Scarlett a strange look. Oriel grabs gloves which she always has on her for some reason and picks the pieces up and puts them in a bag.

“In case you want to put them back together.” Oriel smiles.

“Anyway… watch!” Scarlett exclaims. “For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is Mine to Command!”

She floats, and a few other things float alongside her as the armour appears on her body.

“WOAH!” Everyone gasps.

Scarlett smirks, “I know, right?”

“You got to use this against Nicholas!” Crystal exclaims.

Scarlett facepalms, “Not happening.”

Suddenly, Chaos hisses towards the back door. Scarlett sees a familiar figure outside the window. She rolls her eyes and puts her finger to her mouth. She sneaks over to the back door and stays perfectly quiet. She looks at the other 3 and mimes, “Talk.”

Crystal exclaims, “Why do you guys get all the cool stuff?!”

Everyone stops and looks at her in shock. When Scarlett said “Talk”, she didn’t mean throw a tantrum.

“Crystal, you’ll get something good later. I’m sure.” Oriel smiles, eyes full of hope for her sister.

Scarlett thumbs up the girls and opens the door, causing a familiar blue troll to crash into the floor, and a girl with a white stripe in her hair falling on top of the troll.

“It’s impolite to spy on people.” Scarlett smirks.

Bracha stares at the Troll, and immediately prepares her ring.

“Bracha, no need to go Greeny on them. I’m sure Blinky has an explanation to why he was spying on us with this girl.” Scarlett smirks.

Blinky blinks his six eyes and asks, “Why did you tell her about the amulet?”

Scarlett sighs, “A, she’s my best friend. B, she can possibly teach me important things I may need. And C, she also has something that chose her to be its wielder. Is there a problem with telling Bracha?”

Blinky sighs, “Lady Scarlett, we Trolls have gone to great lengths to keep our existence hidden from humans, lest there be panic.”

Scarlett nods, “I understand that. The government is full of idiots dissecting things they don’t understand. Or so TV tells us. And this girl is one of the few that do know because she’s not gonna kill you.”

Bracha frowns, “So, you know who they are, Scarlett?”

Scarlett sighs, “I know Blinky. He... visited my house last night. Which is when Crystal beat up Nicholas.”

Crystal starts grumbling.

Bracha asks, “So why have you been spying on Scarlett again?”

“Your friend is the Trollhunter. Her sacred obligation is to protect.” The girl smirks as she gets up.

Bracha stares at Scarlett. Scarlett shrugs, as if she knows what is ahead and isn’t scared.

“You are protecting things now, Scarlett? Great. Now you’ll be boring. Here’s a better question. Who would Scarlett be protecting?” Oriel frowns.

Blinky simply answers, “Trolls and Mankind.”

Scarlett sighs, “Let me guess. From evil trolls?”

Blinky nods, “As well as Goblins, Gruesomes, and the occasional rogue gnome. The mantle of the Trollhunter is a sacred responsibility. You are the second human to inherit it.”

Scarlett nods in thought, then asks, “And who’s she?”

The girl smiles, “I’m Claire. I was the previous Trollhunter’s girlfriend.”

Scarlett asks, “So, what was he? A human, or Troll, or what?”

Blinky smiles, “He was a Human/Troll hybrid.”

Oriel asks, “How does that work? Was his Mum a human and his Dad a troll?”

Claire giggles, “It’s not like that. He was actually spelled into being a troll.”

Crystal frowns, “Typical. What happened to the previous Trollhunter?”

Claire looks away for a moment.

“He was slain, by a vicious troll called Venjo. His name was James Lake Jr.” Blinky fills in for Claire.

Scarlett groans, “This is one of those “Till death” kind of deals, isn’t it?”

Claire nods. Bracha stares in shock.

“Great! At least Bracha can be fired from the Green Lantern Corps. I’ll just write up my will early. Bracha, you get my strange object collection.” Scarlett jokes.

Crystal grumbles, “I wanted your strange object collection.”

Claire goes to say something about Crystal not caring about Scarlett going to die when Scarlett puts her hand on her mouth.

Oriel sighs, “Don’t worry, she’s like this all the time.”

“Please tell me Venjo got lucky.” Bracha frowns in concern.

Claire frowns, “I wish he did. But he isn’t one to take lightly.”

Oriel asks, “Was the last Trollhunter off his game or having a bad day or something?”

Claire shakes her head, “If only. He defeated 2 Trolls that no other Trollhunter could.”

Scarlett groans and bangs her head on a wall.

Bracha whispers, “Ignore it. She does odd things when stressed. You can tell the girls are related.”

Crystal frowns, “If James-”

“We actually called him Jim.” Claire interrupts.

Crystal retries, “If Jim couldn’t defeat Venjo, then… What’s gonna happen to Scarlett?”

Scarlett groans, “Didn’t you get it? Unless I get really good training in less than two days, I’m gonna die. It’s pretty obvious.”

Blinky smiles, “We’d never expect Lady Scarlett to engage in battle without any proper training.”

Oriel asks, “How long does the training last?”

Blinky hesitates, “Decades.”

Scarlett groans, “And let me guess. I only have a few days. JUST GREAT! Just perfect! Yippie Ki Aye! I’m gonna die before I hit twenty!”

She bangs her head more on the wall.

“Hey, you’re gonna break the wall!” Bracha exclaims.

She’s already gotten used to Scarlett’s family’s strange impulses.

“Besides, Scarlett, it’s not that bad. Jim didn’t have a day’s training before the first time he met Bular.” Claire smiles.

Scarlett gives Claire a glare that made Crystal, Oriel, and even Bracha duck behind a couch. And everyone who knows Bracha knows that Bracha doesn’t scare easily. Scarlett takes a deep breath, and collapses into a big lump of flesh and armour.

***

“We should start your training immediately, Lady Scarlett.” Blinky frowns.

Scarlett sighs, “Yeah, yeah. With great power comes great responsibility. But I have a life I have to keep up if I want to keep trolls secret and that sort of stuff. Besides, I’m only sixteen. I suppose I can’t give this amulet back, though, can I?”

Scarlett pulls the amulet off, getting rid of the armour.

“You cannot give it back. It called to you. It is your sacred obligation. You cannot refuse it. It is yours until you die. Lady Scarlett, You are now responsible for the safety of two worlds, human and troll alike. If you do not keep the balance, evil trolls like Venjo will come into yours and wreak havoc.” Blinky sighs.

“Great. So Venjo is gonna basically kill my family if I don’t do this?” Scarlett sighs as she gets up off the floor.

Crystal asks, “If she doesn’t want the amulet, can I have it?”

Scarlett facepalms, “We just established I can’t get rid of it!”

Crystal asks, “When did we establish this?”

Scarlett scoffs, “Just two seconds ago!”

Crystal mumbles, “Oh, I wasn’t listening, I was thinking about something else.”

Scarlett sighs, “Anyway... What’s the catch?”

Claire sighs, “Well, with the amulet in your possession, Venjo will seek you out, and... You’ll have to face him. One way or another.”

“Great. Just great. I need to process this. It’s still morning. Only nine o’clock. Come back later. I have a midday shift. I will think about this really hard while I’m at Maccas.” Scarlett sighs.

Claire smiles, “Sure. We’ll come back tonight to begin your training.”

Scarlett nods and looks at the Amulet in her hand, wondering if it could choose someone who doesn’t live in a crazy family.

“Lady Scarlett, if I may,” Blinky smiles. “Destiny is a gift. Some go their entire lives living existences of quiet desperation, never learning the truth, that what feels as though a burden pushing down upon our shoulders is actually a sense of purpose that lifts us to greater heights. Never forget that fear is but the precursor to valour, that to strive and triumph in the face of fear is what it means to be a hero. Don’t think, Lady Scarlett. Become.”

Crystal, Oriel and Bracha look at Blinky in admiration at his words. Scarlett looks him up and down.

Scarlett smirks, “You’ve rehearsed that speech, haven’t you?”

Everyone looks at Scarlett in shock.

“He said that same thing to Jim. So, I assume he did.” Claire smirks.

Scarlett sighs, “Okay, time for you to go. Hurry, before someone sees you.”

Blinky and Claire leave, with Claire holding an umbrella over Blinky for some unknown reason.

***

Scarlett takes someone’s order on the Kiosk because they are very confused about how to use it.

“Which Coke? Diet Coke, Vanilla Coke or regular Coke?” Scarlett asks.

The man replies, “Diet Coke.”

Scarlett nods and finishes his order.

“Cash or card?”

“Card.”

“Eat in or Take Away?”

“Take Away.”

Scarlett smiles as he pays for it and takes his receipt.

“Have a great day, sir!” Scarlett smiles.

Scarlett sees her sisters and Bracha standing nearby.

“Where did you put it?” Crystal asks.

Scarlett answers, “My locker. It’s the only place where I can put it. You don’t get pockets with the uniform. Unless you guys wanna hold it?”

Oriel frowns, “No way, sis. It’s your responsibility.”

Scarlett mumbles, “I don’t even know how Wonder Woman can keep her identity secret. Could you possibly ask the other human Lanterns that are part of the Justice League to give you some tips for me, Bracha?”

Bracha rolls her eyes. “Last time Batman came, we ended up having to clean up the biggest mess in the history of Batman messes. I’m not asking him or his team for any favours.”

Scarlett sighs, “Well, when they find some “Activity” around here, they’re gonna come knocking anyway.”

Crystal and Oriel exchange glances.

“Will that be necessary?” Oriel asks.

Scarlett sighs, “From all I’ve gathered, the League won’t care that there are already people taking care of evil. As soon as they find out children are doing the work, Batman will quite possibly go crazy. I got more work to do. Talk more later.”

Scarlett walks away, feeling really weird around the place. She is glad she only started talking near the end of the shift.

“You okay, Scarlett?” Caillou asks.

Scarlett looks into his brown eyes and shrugs, “Yeah. Just got a weird feeling. Like something’s gonna happen that shouldn’t happen. Like if I take the normal route home, something bad might happen. That kind of feeling. But as long as I’m walking home with Bracha, I’ll be safe as possible.”

Caillou asks, “Why do you think that?”

Scarlett rolls her eyes, while mentally coming up with a good lie.

“She’s been learning Karate. She can take out a guy with a knife. I’m pretty sure that was part of her training.”

Scarlett mentally fist bumps herself, glad it came out without any hesitation and sounded completely honest.

“Alright. If you’re sure.” Caillou shrugs.

Scarlett clocks out of her shift, like yesterday, and throws on her jumper. She grabs her bag and looks at the amulet glowing in the bag. She ignores it and walks out to her sisters and friend.

“Okay, let’s go, guys. I have one of those feelings.” Scarlett smiles.

Oriel looks around and nods. All four girls walk out.

***

“I know we don’t need to worry, but I am seriously worried girls. My gut’s going nuts. It’s as if the Joker’s around!” Scarlett frowns.

Oriel nods, “Yeah, ever since we left, I’ve been worried too.”

Crystal scoffs, “We got Scarlett and Bracha with us. What could happen?”

Bracha facepalms, “Haven’t you ever watched TV? Whenever someone asks that, something bad happens.”

Suddenly, they see a monster in front of them.

“Trollhunter! Merlin’s creation!” The monster exclaims.

Scarlett groans, “I suppose you are Venjo?”

The monster nods.

“Bracha, can you take this?” Scarlett mumbles.

Bracha exclaims, “NO! My ring needs charging!”

Scarlett feels her heart fall to her feet. Oriel already knows what Bracha means. The girls know that the sun is an important role in keeping trolls away from humans.

“Surrender, and I will give you a speedy death!” Venjo yells.

Scarlett deadpans, “And if we don’t, you’ll give us a slow and painful death? Is there an offer where we don’t die?”

Venjo just snarls.

“RUN!” Oriel exclaims.

Everyone runs away as fast as they can, with Scarlett saying the incantation like it would make her grow magic hair. For some reason, Crystal has Scarlett’s phone in her hands and is looking for something.

“This is where Rapunzel’s moonstone hair would come in handy, guys!” Scarlett exclaims.

Crystal asks, “You mean the “Wither and decay, end this destiny, break these earthly chains and set the spirit free” hair?”

Scarlett yells, “No, I mean the one that gives her Pizza! OF COURSE I MEAN THAT ONE!”

Oriel yells, “Well, we better do something good soon!”

Scarlett pulls out some pepper-spray.

“I have an idea.” She smiles.

She ducks and rolls, causing Venjo to fly over her in surprise. She sprays the two glowing orbs called his eyes. He screams in pain as the other three girls hide. Scarlett sees a familiar green light. She runs to a different hiding place, behind a truck.

“Come on, you stupid Amulet! For the Glory of Merlin, Daylight is mine to command! I’m literally commanding you!” Scarlett whispers to the amulet.

Venjo pulls the truck away, and his yellow eyes are now red in pain.

He hisses, “You’ll pay for that with-”

Scarlett lands her fist in his armoured face.

“No Klingons, please! I’m still learning how to use a Bat’leth!” Scarlett exclaims.

Suddenly, she sees Bracha with the suit on.

“Although, I think you should be more worried about what’s behind you.” Scarlett smirks.

Bracha grabs Venjo with her green construct of a hand and throws him away.

“Okay, let’s go.” Bracha exclaims.

Scarlett grabs her sisters from their hiding place and runs, with Bracha flying behind, ready to attack whatever comes out.

***

The girls finally stop to breathe.

“We’re alive!” Crystal almost yells.

“Lady Scarlett!” Blinky calls out.

Bracha holds her hand out to punch, then relaxes, floating down to the ground. Claire and Blinky are near the bushes.

“You didn’t tell us he looked so scary! He almost killed us! If it wasn’t for Bracha, we’d be dead!” Oriel yells at Blinky.

“And you survived! I knew you had potential!” Blinky smiles.

Scarlett just giggles. Everyone looks at her in shock. She ends up laughing so hard her sides hurt.

“You’re laughing? Dios mio! We really did get a mad one, Blinky.” Claire exclaims.

Scarlett smirks, “Claire, anyone even mildly interesting is mad in some way or another.”

Bracha rolls her eyes, a slight smile on her face. A roar is heard. The girls and Troll run.

“The amulet’s being stubborn, Blinky! Was it stubborn for Jim?” Scarlett exclaims.

Blinky hesitates, “Well, yes, at first! You’re only the second human to possess the amulet.”

Crystal exclaims, “I got it!” as she plays some chase music from Scarlett’s phone.

Claire asks, “Seriamente?! You’re playing music now?”

Oriel smirks, “When a Dubois plays chasing music, you know you’re in trouble.”

They run through a cemetery, jumping over gravestones.

“I hate cemeteries.” Crystal frowns.

Scarlett bumps into a statue of an angel and her fear spikes. The armour FINALLY appears around her.

“Are you alright, Lady Scarlett?” Blinky asks.

Oriel sighs, “She’s fine. She just hates statues that look like people. Especially ones with wings and are covering their eyes.”

Crystal asks, “You mean Weeping Angels?”

Scarlett scowls, “It’s not my fault that I fear blinking when I look at them, and I have to count my shadows when in a forest or library!”

Venjo jumps in front of the group.

“You really thought you could escape me, Trollhunter?” He asks.

Crystal frowns, “We were hoping!”

Scarlett mumbles something.

“What was that, Trollhunter?” Venjo snarls.

Scarlett says, “One word.”

“Harvey Wallbanger!” Crystal exclaims.

Everyone stares at her, then Scarlett exclaims, “How is Harvey Wallbanger one word?!”

Even Venjo is confused by this exchange.

“I don’t know! You’re the crazy chosen one!” Crystal yells.

Oriel just groans, “If you two don’t stop acting like the Doctor and Donna, I’m dragging you both home by the ear! Now, that one word, Scarlett?”

Scarlett sighs, “Loser.”

Venjo stares blankly at Scarlett, confused.

Scarlett rolls her eyes and says in an English accent, “You are a loser. Now, I want to run. I love the running. Gets my blood pumping. I could run now, or I could ask my sisters to get me a Bat’leth.”

Everyone stares at Scarlett’s lack of the fear.

“Then again, I could fight you, totally acting fearless with the sword, or I could get Bracha to throw you into space, but then you’d be a problem for everyone in space, and no one likes someone who hands their responsibilities to someone else just because they didn’t feel like it. Especially if it’s a villain trying to kill them. No one likes that. Am I funny? Well, judging by the evidence, I certainly have a gob.” Scarlett continues to rant.

Oriel slams her hand over Scarlett’s mouth. Scarlett sighs and pulls the hand away.

“Thank you. Now, back to business.” Scarlett smirks.

youtube

She pulls the sword out and puts it in her left hand. Her sisters and Bracha know this trick. Crystal plays “Bad Reputation” from Scarlett’s phone. Venjo pulls out his own sword. Scarlett frowns, slightly disappointed he didn’t use his left hand. She shakes her head, clearing her thoughts, before she lunges, keeping her slight fear up, the fear of her sisters getting hurt. Venjo dodges easily.

“That was fast.” Scarlett mumbles.

“You’re going to be dead soon!” Venjo snarls.

Scarlett frowns, “You really think a little swordfight will kill me?”

The fight continues very energetically.

“A girl can do what she wants to do, and that’s what I’m gonna do! And I don’t give a damn ‘bout my bad reputation!” Scarlett sings.

The battle seems to go in Venjo’s favour, with Scarlett’s fear seeping through a little more, but she sticks a smile on her face, and sings with the song.

“Why is she smiling?” Blinky asks from afar.

Bracha smirks, knowing to only stay out of the fight until Scarlett gives the signal.

“We watch this movie every now and then which has many of the moves she’s using. The movie has fencing, fighting, torture, miracles, giants, and more. Just watch. It’s entertaining.” Oriel smiles.

“Keep still! I’ll drink your blood from a goblet made out of your skull!” Venjo snarls.

He pushes Scarlett to the ground, her holding her sword above her head as a shield.

Scarlett smirks, “Not possible. But your form is wonderful! I’ll admit it. You are much better than I am.”

Venjo hisses, “Then why are you smiling?”

Scarlett smirks, “Because I know something that you do not know.”

Venjo asks, “What is that?”

“I am not left-handed!”

Scarlett throws her sword up, confusing Venjo, slips out from underneath him, catches the sword with her right hand, then smacks his butt.

“Did she just-?” Claire trails off.

“Yes, she did.” Crystal smirks.

Blinky grabs a glowing crystal and draws an arc on the mountain they are near.

“Go through the portal!” He exclaims to the girls.

Bracha doesn’t move, watching Scarlett intensely for the signal.

“Lady Scarlett! Come on!” Blinky yells.

“I’m a little busy right now!” Scarlett exclaims.

“You’re not fit to wield the amulet! I’ll tear the armour off your bones.” Venjo yells.

Scarlett yells, “Not listening to idiot warrior, lalalalalalala!”

She runs towards the portal, which is slowly closing with her sisters behind it. The music is ending.

“You can make it, Scar!” Bracha yells.

Scarlett crashes onto the ground with a weight on her back.

“Any last words?” Venjo asks.

Scarlett groans, “Yeah. Volcano Wonderpants!”

Venjo pauses, then frowns, “That doesn’t-”

Bracha runs towards him and slams a giant anvil into his face, interrupting him.

“Run!” Bracha exclaims.

They both crash into the mountain wall where the portal was and groan. The armour disappears from Scarlett’s body. Bracha puts a forcefield around the two of them, making sure Venjo can’t touch them. The portal opens again, and a hand goes through and pulls both of them through.

“Are you okay, Scarlett?” Bracha asks.

Scarlett goes down on her back, breathing heavily.

“I almost… I didn’t… I’m not…” Scarlett gasps.

“Not what, Lady Scarlett?” Blinky asks.

Scarlett laughs, “I almost died!”

“Almost! A very important word. A life of almost is a life of never.”

Claire asks, “Why are you laughing? Why is she laughing?”

Crystal smirks, “Well, it’s pretty simple. Nothing makes you feel more alive than almost getting killed.”

Bracha nods, “True. You haven’t had a moment where you were just laughed after a battle?”

Scarlett giggles, “Just like Movie World. By the way, Volcano Wonderpants would have been the weirdest and worst last words ever.”

“You didn’t seem scared while battling Venjo.” Claire frowns.

“Well, “Do the scary thing first, get scared later.” Plus, I gotta tell Mum I’m gonna be home late.” Scarlett smiles.

She gets up off her butt and sends her Mum a quick text, then walks with them down a hallway.

“Blinky, can I talk to you, alone?” Scarlett asks.

Bracha knows this talk and smiles, “We’ll go on ahead, you catch up.”

Scarlett smiles, grateful for her friend’s understanding. The girls walk away and Scarlett grabs Blinky’s arm, roughly.

“Be VERY careful about what you say around Crystal. She has a… mental disorder. She has something called Autism. It isn’t as rare as it used to be, but you could research it to understand it better. Joshua has it too, which is why he wasn’t surprised about you in our basement. It takes different forms. It makes it so much harder for them to... understand things that normal people can understand. So, be very careful and patient. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to rip off your arm if you insult her.” Scarlett explains.

“What about your friend?” Blinky asks.

Scarlett scoffs, “She’s a Green Lantern. Chosen by an Alien ring to keep the Galaxy safe or something. I didn’t read the whole bio. There are many more rings, so many more can be chosen, but as far as I know, there are only 3 other human Green Lanterns. One’s a jerk, the other’s fun, and I’m not sure about the black one.”

Blinky nods in odd understanding.

***

“So, what’s your story? Scarlett and Bracha are chosen ones, Oriel and I are the sisters of a chosen one, and Blinky seems to be the ancient trainer. Where do you come in?” Crystal asks.

Bracha exclaims, “Crystal!”

Crystal asks, “What? You’re a Green Lantern! I’ve got “problems”, and Oriel had-”

“Crystal!” Oriel frowns.

Crystal grumbles and stays silent.

“Will I ever know how you manage to do that, Oriel?” Bracha wonders.

Oriel shrugs.

“Well, Jim and I met at school. We were auditioning for Romeo and Juliet. He came to the audition, wearing the armour that Scarlett wore while fighting Venjo. He seemed like he didn’t want to be there until he saw me. Then he dazzled the audience with a speech, much like the one Blinky told you. He got picked to be Romeo, and I was Juliet.” Claire smiles.

Crystal mumbles, “I see where this is going.”

Bracha wills a green piece of tape around Crystal’s mouth.

“Continue.”

Claire continues, “Anyway, he started acting weird, I got suspicious, and long story short, I joined him and his friend Toby in being Trollhunters. What about you girls?” Claire asks.

Bracha sighs, “I’m a Green Lantern, chosen by a ring which comes from space, and there’s a bunch of them. There are a few human Lanterns.”

Crystal groans, “Hmmm, hmm mmm hmm mmm hmm mmm.”

Bracha takes off the will tape.

Crystal grumbles, “Yeah, and you get all the fun.”

Oriel points out, “She didn’t join in Scarlett’s fight. She just watched.”

Bracha sighs, “She didn’t want me to join. I could tell by the smile on her face. Until she was slammed into the ground and yelled Volcano Wonderpants.”

Oriel laughs, “Like in Sonic Boom?”

Bracha nods.

“Well, here we are. The Gyre.” Claire smiles.

***

Blinky and Scarlett walk up to the girls at the Gyre.

“That’s one strange ball.” Scarlett shrugs.

“We use it to travel to places, much faster than a plane or train.” Claire smiles.

Bracha mumbles, “I wonder if it’s faster than a spaceship.”

Everyone climbs into the Gyre.

“Be warned, we are going to go to New Jersey in very little time. You may want to puke later.” Claire warns.

Scarlett pulls out sick bags and hands them to every girl and keeps one herself.

“Let’s get rolling, then.” Scarlett jokes.

The girls brace themselves while Blinky pushes strange symbols. They suddenly speed off, and stop what seems almost immediately, and Oriel and Crystal are already puking into the bags, Scarlett’s hair is a mess, and Bracha has terror plastered on her face.

Scarlett gasps, “That was the most terrifying thing I’ve done in my life. Let’s do it again!”

Her sisters glare at her and Scarlett falls out, giggling.

“Just like the Superman ride.” Scarlett’s still giggling.

The girls wobble out of the Gyre.

“Will we be doing that again on our way home?” Oriel asks, still sick.

Scarlett checks her phone and sees the location.

“Holy cow! We really are in New Jersey!” Scarlett gasps.

Claire and Blinky share a look and walk towards another hallway.

“This way, girls!” Claire smiles.

They walk through the hallway to see stones glowing, and one giant one right in the middle.

“This is the world you are bound to protect, Lady Scarlett. Welcome to New Jersey Heartstone Trollmarket!” Blinky smiles.

#Trollhunting Lantern #Trollhunters #Green Lantern #DC #Tales of Arcadia #crossover #OC insert

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