#I am looking forward to learning more about Erin's backstory

[miscmagpie]

Theory.

Erin wasn't born the Elemental Magus.

Erin oiginally went through all the effort and danger of learning magic specifically so he could try and Spark Tess.

Why become the Magus, though?

Well, could be because he's Erin and hubris is his personality.

Or it could be the excuse he needed to get them to agree in the first place.

[fatedreamsend]

The journal of Anise Greenleaf, Entries #39 and #40

[Note from Anise's player: I started this as a writing experiment waaay back near the start of the campaign as a way to try to explore Anise's character a little and give her some backstory from before the started. I hand wrote it in an actual journal because I thought it would be fun. These are scans of the journal.]

Back to Entries #36, #37 and #38

Transcription below the cut:

6/20/2004

I know my mother means well, but

Okay let me start over

6/22/2004

So that wasn't very fun.

What I was trying to write about earlier was about how mother managed to coerce me into going out on another date with Connor. A second chance, if you will. And I'll get to that. It has been a very hectic couple of days. Mother and Cypress and my darling siblings are still here in London, they haven't left yet. I've sequestered myself up in the attic. I need time to just process. It's a miracle I'm even calm enough to write. Ignatius is helping.

I guess I'll start at the beginning of this whole fiasco. I wasn't going to even mention Zephyr. After how much mother fussed over me and babied me during the winter holidays when I told her about Joe -- I didn't want any more pity or coddling. Beech of all people brought Zephyr up. So I had to tell everyone all about how I completely botched a relationship with a wonderful, talented, beautiful Genasi lady that I "stole" from Buck. His words. They wanted to know why we broke up, I told them I wasn't ready for marriage and Zephyr didn't like that.

Well, after that it was fine for a couple of days, we went shopping and went to the beach again, fun times as usual. But then Connor came into the shop looking for Buck. When he saw me he did apologize for last time, and told me if I was in the mood for second chances he'd make sure to do better.

And mother of course saw that little exchange and coerced me into not only giving him a second chance but doing so immediately. At least we were both caught off-guard by that. We ended up going for coffee and pastries at a café in the neighborhood. Connor actually isn't that bad of a guy when he's not being too forward. I guess he learned something after all.

But, this isn't the end of things here of course. That was two days ago. I got back from the date, we all had dinner as a family, and I went to my room to write about it. First Holly interrupted me, and -- I am not mad at Holly, let me stress this -- she I guess told mother about this journal. And Buck. Someone told Buck, who I am never speaking to again, because that absolute wanker stole it, and either he read it and told mother what was in it or she read it too. All I know is that they both confronted me about how I still have feelings for Freddie and that's the real reason I broke up with Zephyr.

I know mother is just concerned and Buck is just being a jerk but that was not what I needed.

(Erin is officially my favorite sibling now. He told me he misses Freddie too.)

6/25/2004

I didn't think it was possible, but I got two sincere apologies from my mother and Buck. They fully admitted they were wrong for reading te journal and for confronting me about it. Mother also told me about how she never thought she would get over Roman until she met Cypress and I just needed to hold out for the "right one". I think I'm just done for a while. Now that mother and everyone else are back in Sherwood I have time to focus on the potion shop again. I think I'll just go visit them next summer. It's always way too chaotic when they come here.

I understand Grandpap more and more every day. I swear if I have to tell one more horny teenager that no, love potions aren't real, I'm going to pull out my hair.

On to Entries #41, #42 and #43

[kellyinboston]

WHAT Wednesday

Sorry for being inconsistent with this blog lately, I am still trying to adjust and figure out my new schedule and my new job is keeping me very busy. We will figure it out, don't worry!

Since we last spoke life has pretty much been the same. Not a lot to report. But isn't that life!

WHAT am I reading?

Still reading Chronicles of Narnia, on page 181 (23% of the way through) and I am enjoying it. I am on the "second book" of five, which is called "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - so probably the most well-known book of the series, but I actually liked the first book better. I still like this one, but "The Magician's Nephew" (first book) I enjoyed a bit more.

Also, when it rains it pours people. I have 3 books ready at the library. All of which have people in the queue, so when I check them out I have 3 weeks to read them - no renewing them. I can do this and I will do this. This will be my greatest accomplishment. I am actually flying a lot in the next week and a half so I will have a lot of time to read on the plane. Wish me luck!

The books are:

 Columbine by Dave Cullen (published in 2010), description:

"The tragedies keep coming. As we reel from the latest horror . . . " So begins a new epilogue, illustrating how Columbine became the template for nearly two decades of "spectacle murders." It is a false script, seized upon by a generation of new killers. In the wake of Newtown, Aurora, and Virginia Tech, the imperative to understand the crime that sparked this plague grows more urgent every year. What really happened April 20, 1999? The horror left an indelible stamp on the American psyche, but most of what we "know" is wrong. It wasn't about jocks, Goths, or the Trench Coat Mafia. Dave Cullen was one of the first reporters on scene, and spent ten years on this book-widely recognized as the definitive account. With a keen investigative eye and psychological acumen, he draws on mountains of evidence, insight from the world's leading forensic psychologists, and the killers' own words and drawings-several reproduced in a new appendix. Cullen paints raw portraits of two polar opposite killers. They contrast starkly with the flashes of resilience and redemption among the survivors.

Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (published 2016), description:

In this brilliant, heartbreaking book, Matthew Desmond takes us into the poorest neighborhoods of Milwaukee to tell the story of eight families on the edge. Arleen is a single mother trying to raise her two sons on the $20 a month she has left after paying for their rundown apartment. Scott is a gentle nurse consumed by a heroin addiction. Lamar, a man with no legs and a neighborhood full of boys to look after, tries to work his way out of debt. Vanetta participates in a botched stickup after her hours are cut. All are spending almost everything they have on rent, and all have fallen behind. The fates of these families are in the hands of two landlords: Sherrena Tarver, a former schoolteacher turned inner-city entrepreneur, and Tobin Charney, who runs one of the worst trailer parks in Milwaukee. They loathe some of their tenants and are fond of others, but as Sherrena puts it, “Love don’t pay the bills.” She moves to evict Arleen and her boys a few days before Christmas. Even in the most desolate areas of American cities, evictions used to be rare. But today, most poor renting families are spending more than half of their income on housing, and eviction has become ordinary, especially for single mothers. In vivid, intimate prose, Desmond provides a ground-level view of one of the most urgent issues facing America today. As we see families forced  into shelters, squalid apartments, or more dangerous neighborhoods, we bear witness to the human cost of America’s vast inequality—and to people’s determination and intelligence in the face of hardship.

Before the Fall by Noah Hawley (published 2016), description:

On a foggy summer night, eleven people--ten privileged, one down-on-his-luck painter--depart Martha's Vineyard on a private jet headed for New York. Sixteen minutes later, the unthinkable happens: the plane plunges into the ocean. The only survivors are Scott Burroughs--the painter--and a four-year-old boy, who is now the last remaining member of an immensely wealthy and powerful media mogul's family. With chapters weaving between the aftermath of the crash and the backstories of the passengers and crew members--including a Wall Street titan and his wife, a Texan-born party boy just in from London, a young woman questioning her path in life, and a career pilot--the mystery surrounding the tragedy heightens. As the passengers' intrigues unravel, odd coincidences point to a conspiracy. Was it merely by dumb chance that so many influential people perished? Or was something far more sinister at work? Events soon threaten to spiral out of control in an escalating storm of media outrage and accusations. And while Scott struggles to cope with fame that borders on notoriety, the authorities scramble to salvage the truth from the wreckage. Amid pulse-quickening suspense, the fragile relationship between Scott and the young boy glows at the heart of this stunning novel, raising questions of fate, human nature, and the inextricable ties that bind us together.

That was probably more than you wanted to know about books, but what else do you expect? I love books!

WHAT are we watching?

Still making our way through The Wire (again), a few episodes into season 2.

Family Feud has been on at 8pm on Channel 7 lately…so Neil and I will watch that. I like that show! But some of the questions they ask are a little disrespectful (for lack of a better word), for example, yesterday they said “we surveyed 100 people, name the top five places where you see boobs” – or something like that and I thought “well this is ridiculous” – so that kind of annoys me. I am no prude, but it is just stupid. Did I just talk about Family Feud for 5 minutes? I’m sorry!I am almost through season 1 of Parenthood, I enjoy it very much.

Watched the college football championship the other night (well I watch the first half and went to bed – Neil watched the whole thing) I am just happy Alabama didn’t win. I heard it was a good game!

WHAT am I looking forward to?

So I have a lot of trips on the horizon. (sorry Neil – he will be holding own the fort with the beast).

I leave for London on Saturday night for a work trip. I am in London for 2 days then go to Denmark for 4 days, so I am going Saturday-Saturday, so long trip. It will be super interesting and I am excited to learn a ton.

At the beginning of February Erin and I go to Nashville!

Then Terri, Melissa and I booked our girls trip the other night. We will be going at the end of March/beginning of April. We go on an annual girl trip but last year we were not able to go. We have been doing this for 8 years now (this year will be our 9th). We have been to the following:2009: San Francisco and Napa

2010 Denver

2011: Boston

2012: Florida

2013: San Francisco and Sonoma

2014: New York

2015: Chicago

2016: Nada

2017: GEORGIA (flying into Atlanta but going to Savannah and exploring the south!)

It is crazy to look back and see…how fun. I am so happy we do this, we hope to continue for as long as possible!

Now Neil and I need to book a trip together! He plans to join me on my next work trip.

WHAT is going on with Snoop?

We got some snow this past weekend and she loved it! She was more bouncy than usual.

 Elmer and Matilda are back in town (her corgi friends) and she is very happy about that. On Monday we walked with them after work and then they invited us up for some wine (wine for me, not Snoop!) and we hung out up there for like 1.5 hours, Snoop played with Elmer and Karen and Bob gave me wine and dinner – I think me and Snoop got the better end of the bargain! Personally, I am very happy they are back as well; Karen and Bob are great people!

Last night we went around the park with Charlie twice and they just played in the snow, fought over sticks (well Snoop did – she has stick aggression issues) and wore each other out.

WHAT are my goals for the next week?

Well, I will be traveling all next week, but I do have a couple things I want to get done before I leave.

I NEED to clean the floors. They are dirty. It is hard with this weather, but a good floor scrub is needed.

I want Neil to find a new place for our wireless router. I should probably remind him!

I would like to clean out the fridge/discard old stuff – but that may not happen…

Alright, that’s all I’ve got!

Thanks for reading!