#I can't believe I saw the northern lights at home

[sagitttarius]

Auroras in England, 10 May 2024

[sincerelyang3l]

Noah Kahan Lyrics that Reverberate with Me on a Different Level 🙏💕

I’m not depressed I just rly like noah Kahan guys and I might do this for all my favorite singers? (Maybe. Who knows)

Northern Attitude

“If I get too close, And I'm not how you hoped, Forgive my northern attitude. Oh, I was raised out in the cold.”

Stick Season

“No, I am no longer funny, 'cause I miss the way you laugh. You once called me forever, now you still can't call me back.”

“And I love Vermont, but it's the season of the sticks. And I saw your mom, she forgot that I existed.”

All My Love

“I still recall how the leather in your car feels. And at the end of it all, I just hope that your scars healed”

New Perspective

“Ooh, this town is for the record now. The intersection got a Target, and they're calling it downtown. You and all of your new perspective now, Wish I could shut it in a closet, And drag you back down.”

Everywhere, Everything

“Everywhere, everything. I wanna love you 'til we're food for the worms to eat. ‘Til our fingers decompose, Keep my hand in yours.”

Orange Juice

“There's orange juice in the kitchen, bought for the children. It's yours if you want it, We're just glad you could visit. Feels like I've been ready for you, To come home for so long, That I didn't think to ask you. Where you'd gone, why'd you go?”

“Are we all just crows to you now? Are we all just pulling you down? You didn't put those bones in the ground.”

Growing Sideways

“But I ignore things, and I move sideways, Until I forget what I felt in the first place. At the end of the day I know there are worse ways, To stay alive. 'Cause everyone's growing and everyone's healthy, I'm terrified that I might never have met me”

Halloween

“There's a murder of crows in the low light off Boston, And I see your face in each one. I'm losin' myself in the tiniest objects.”

Homesick

“Well, I'm tired of dirt roads, Named after high school friends' grandfathers. And motherfuckers here still don't know they caught, The Boston bombers. Time moves so damn slow, I swear I feel my organs failing. I stopped caring 'bout a month ago, Since then, it's been smooth sailing.”

“I would leave if only I could find a reason. I'm mean because I grew up in New England. I got dreams but I can't make myself believe them. Spend the rest of my life with what could have been, And I will die in the house that I grew up in. I'm homesick”

Mess

“I'll move back home forever. I'll feed the dogs, And I'll put all my pieces back together where they belong. And I'll say, "I'm a mess, I'm a mess, oh God, I'm a mess".”

The View Between Villages

“Feel the rush of my blood, I'm seventeen again, I am not scared of death. I’ve got dreams again.”

“Passed Alger Brook Road, I'm over the bridge. A minute from home but I feel so far from it.”

Your Needs, My Needs

“To spiral out, to try and float, To see a friend, to see a ghost. Bitter-brained, always drunk. Rail-thin, Zoloft. Subtle change, shorter days. Dead-eyed, dead weight. Your life, your dreams. Your mind, your needs. My needs.”

Paul Revere

“One day I'm gonna cut it clear. Ride like Paul Revere, And when they ask me who I am. I'll just pretend I didn't hear.”

You’re Gonna Go Far

“So, pack up your car, put a hand on your heart, Say whatever you feel, be wherever you are. We ain't angry at you, love. You're the greatest thing we've lost. The birds will still sing, your folks will still fight, The boards will still creak, the leaves will still die. We ain't angry at you, love. We'll be waitin' for you, love.”

Forever

“And I'll tell her so she knows. That I'm broke, but I'm real rich in my head, That I broke a bone that never healed in my hand. So, when I hold her close, I might loosen my grip, But I won't ever let her go.”

Part of Me

“Even through the pain, I can't recall your face. Just the ache of knowing everything was gonna change. I got so close to love with you, my dear, But I don't miss you. I miss the way you made me feel.”

Hurt Somebody

“One day before you know it, you will see, All of the pain and all the irony, yeah. You'll feel the stinging and you'll think of me. ‘Cause it hurts when you hurt.”

[lovesongbracket]

Reminder: Vote based on the song, not the artist or specific recording! The tracks referenced are the original artist, aside from a few rare cases where a cover is the most widely known.

Lyrics, videos, info, and notable covers under the cut. (Spotify playlist available in pinned post)

A Thousand Years

Written By: Christina Perri & David Hodges

Artist: Christina Perri

Released: 2011

Alternate version included: A Thousand Years Pt. II feat. Steve Kazee, 2012

“A Thousand Years” is about an eternal love. It was written by Christina Perri, specifically for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 soundtrack. Christina Perri explained her inspiration for writing the song in a 2012 interview. She said “The producers came to me in 2011 and said, ‘can you write a song for Breaking Dawn – Part 1?’ So I went and saw the film six months before it came out, and wrote ‘A Thousand Years’ for Edward and Bella. I’m not a vampire, even though I wish I was, but I tried to step into their love story.”

[Verse 1] Heart beats fast Colors and promises How to be brave? How can I love when I'm Afraid to fall? But watching you stand alone All of my doubt Suddenly goes away somehow [Pre-Chorus] One step closer [Chorus] I have died every day waiting for you Darling, don't be afraid, I have loved you For a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more [Verse 2] Time stands still Beauty in all she is I will be brave I will not let anything Take away What's standing in front of me Every breath Every hour has come to this [Pre-Chorus] One step closer [Chorus] I have died every day waiting for you Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more And all along I believed I would find you Time has brought your heart to me I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more [Bridge] One step closer One step closer [Chorus] I have died every day waiting for you Darling, don't be afraid I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more And all along I believed I would find you Time has brought your heart to me I have loved you for a thousand years I'll love you for a thousand more

Tainted Love

Written By: Ed Cobb

Artist: Soft Cell

Released: 1981

Originally recorded by: Gloria Jones, 1965

Soft Cell’s 1981 synth-pop hit “Tainted Love” is a remake of a 1964 Gloria Jones song. Jones’ song was a B-side to “My Bad Boy’s Comin’ Home,” a Motown single that flopped. Jones’ “Tainted Love” blew up in the UK’s Northern soul scene in the ’70s after British club DJ Richard Searling bought a used copy on a trip to the US. After “Tainted Love” got a boost from the Northern soul scene, Gloria Jones recorded a new version in 1974, but it failed to chart. When Soft Cell decided to give the song a go in 1981, they changed the key and slowed the tempo. They worked with producer Mike Thorne to create the electronic arrangement for the song. Thorne told Sound on Sound: “You could smell the coke on that second, Northern soul version, it was really so over-ramped and so frantic. It was good for the dance floor, but I didn’t like the record…when Soft Cell performed the song I heard a very novel sound and a very nice voice, so off we went.”

[Intro] [Verse 1] Sometimes I feel I've got to Run away I've got to Get away From the pain you drive into the heart of me The love we share Seems to go nowhere And I've lost my light For I toss and turn I can't sleep at night [Chorus] Once I ran to you (I ran) Now, I'll run from you This tainted love you've given I give you all a boy could give you Take my tears and that's not nearly all Oh, tainted love Tainted love [Verse 2] Now, I know I've got to Run away, I've got to Get away You don't really want any more from me To make things right You need someone to hold you tight And you think love is to pray But I'm sorry, I don't pray that way [Chorus] Once I ran to you (I ran) Now, I'll run from you This tainted love you've given I give you all a boy could give you Take my tears and that's not nearly all Oh, tainted love Tainted love [Bridge] Don't touch me please I cannot stand the way you tease I love you, though you hurt me so Now, I'm gonna pack my things and go [Chorus] Tainted love, oh, tainted love, oh Tainted love, oh, tainted love, oh [Outro] Touch me, baby, tainted love Touch me, baby, tainted love Tainted love, oh Tainted love, oh Tainted love

[shadow-dracat]

well, I see people in the notes saying stuff like "would love to hear what a Russian or Chinese person loves about their home/culture", so, as a Russian, let's go!

(Disclaimer: I do believe that a lot of land that currently is a part of "Russia" should instead be under control of the native nations living there. Russia falling apart or at least becoming way more decentralised will benefit a lot of people imo. + I myself am from the European part of Russia. So I won't be talking about Siberian tigers or Kamchatka's geysers. Obv people who live there and consider themselves Russian are free to feel proud of their land's wonders, but it feels wrong to me to assign that to Russians as a nation, because a lot of it is basically colonised land. Although can't ignore the fact many people living there do, in fact, identify as Russians. Overall a topic I am in no position to preach about. And yeah, Russian imperialism can go fuck itself. Also some of the things I'll mention can be common to other slavic (and not) nations, idk. Anyway, let me actually start xD)

I love the vastness that spreads between cities and towns. Forests, swamps and fields that pass by while you have breakfast on a train, maybe even chatting with some strangers, with a glass in a metal holder in your hand. Little villages with wooden homes, a lot old or in bad condition, but others still standing and providing their owners with coziness, their windows covered with traditional blinds. Backyard flowers, and apple trees, and berry bushes, and greens, and cabbages, and greenhouses with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. And big, big potato fields.

I love babushkas, that help the family as much as they can and cook all kinds of delicious meals. And knit, and solve their weekly crosswords. And make jam for you.

I love all kinds of potato dishes. Mashed potatoes, fried potatoes, baked potatoes. Different kinds of soups and porriges. Oatmeal porrige, semolina porrige, millet porrige, herculean porrige. You hate it when you're five and having the breakfast at the daycare, but you know... it's actually tasty. The culture of frying kebabs and sausages over the fire. The flames give them black spots and a bit of a bitter taste, but it's so delicious after a long day spent around nature. The culture of making dumplings. The culture of going to pick some mushrooms from the forest with your grandpa.

I love the birch trees, and the pine trees, and the oak, maple, ash, willow trees. Blackberries, and blueberries, and wild strawberries you just pick and eat. The coolness and freshness of the forest early in the morning. And oh, do I love birds. I'm a bit of an amateur bird watcher, and the flying creatures surely sing for more nations than one, but this land is home to some of them too. House and field sparrows, pigeons and crows that dwell the cities. Rooks, jackdaws, magpies, starlings and tailwags you sometimes come by. In any park in my city you're sure to witness finches and thrushes. You may not see them, but a finch's song is a memorable one. I know it, and I always get excited to pick it up in the air around trees.

I love suddenly spotting a frog that hops away swiftly. Snails sitting on grass and tree trunks. Ants scurrying around, searching for treats. I know wolves and bears live here somewhere, but I've never seen them myself. A hedgehog visited my uncle's dacha (countryhouse) once. I think he gave the creature some meat and milk, but my memories aren't sharp on that one. My mom saw a fox once when taking out the trash at a summer camp she worked at. She also heard a nightingale sing at dawn. I wasn't there, but I love all the beings that make their homes here.

I love cities that spread so north they call their nights "white nights" in summer. I think you can even see northern lights in Murmansk. I love the cities and towns that spread south and grow delicious fruits and vedgetables. Average winter temperatures in Sochi are in positive degrees Celsius, and I love that too. I love when the snow coats the streets of my city. When parents pull the sleigh their children sit in. When it's spring or autumn, and the icy puddles are brittle and crack with such satisfying noise. You would often think of the weather here as depressing, but... it's home. You get used to coating yourself from the cold, and summer hoodies (and even coats) are usual. But you know, the temperatures of 18-24 °C in summers are actually perfect, if you think about it.

I love all the many lakes and rivers. Where I live, summers are often chill, so I grew to cherish the moments I could actually go swimming. I would get so excited every time it got warm enough.

I love the culture of sitting in a heated banya (sauna) as long as you can only to jump into the cold of night's water pool, or river, or lake. Some brave hearted even jump into snow in winters.

I love celebrating New Year on the night from 31st to 1st. Oliv'ye (a kind of salad) and tangerines. Grandpa Frost with his granddaughter. He's kinda like Santa, but wears blue sometimes. I love Maslenitsa's bliny (pancakes). I don't follow its traditions much, but isn't it nice to burn an effigy to signify the arrival of spring and the end of winter. The great lent that means there's a lot more vegan products for me to grab. The colorful and sweet easter cakes. Love the culture of preparing a big table full of dishes whenever it's a celebration or anyone comes to visit. And you know, they say them British are big on tea, but I'm actually used to drinking some after almost every meal.

I love cities that bear history. Novgorod, that served as one of the earliest trading points. Old orthodox churches and cathedrals. Moscow, that started out as a village, but grew into a megapolis. Saint Petersburg, founded just a bit more than 300 years ago, starting out with straight planned streets, being Russia's main city, now called the "cultural" or "northern" capital. Pskov, Tver', Kaluga, Oryol, Kursk, Bryansk, Belgorod, Yaroslavl', Vladimir, Voronezh, Krasnodar. I am not big on history and know criminally little about them, but would be happy to visit. Tula with its gingerbread and samovars (big traditional teapots). My mom's roots are from around there.

The big cities have grown some greyish blocks of flats during soviet times. The walls don't always isolate the sound well, and homes often feel crammed. Wooden floors creak with age. My grandma lives in one of those, and I have lived there too. I've also lived in newer buildings. They're neater, but bigger too, surrounding wide prospects full of fast cars, like a giant maze. They make me feel small and lazy to walk around, but... as much as I feel joy traversing orderly, narrower streets with 4-5 storey houses... I would always miss my bricky giant mazes. And messy courtyards, full of overly colorful chuldren's playgrounds and shaggy trees and bushes. It's where I grew up at. It's kinda depressing, but it's home.

I love the traditional stories and fairytales. About hares, foxes, wolfs, bears, farm animals. About old men and old women and their bread ball son.

I love the artists and scientists that called this land their home. Lots of them became famous. Lots not thanks to it, but in spite of it. But lots also carried it close to their hearts.

Love the workers and farmers that kept the cities and towns alive. Built the houses. Decorated them. All the people calling it home. And making it home. Activists, that fight for justice. Revolutionists, feminists, workers' rights defenders. Queer people, quiet and not.

I love the depressed hearts Russians often have. Melancholy is dangerous, but... isn't it badass to be considered a nation that wrote about meaningless deaths and hardships?.. maybe not, and I love it when happiness and love triumph, but there's something romantic about sharing your sadness with others. Looking cold from the outside, but being tender and welcoming on the inside. They say Americans are like peaches, whereas Russians are like coconuts.

I love the Russian language. How it omits the "to be". How we don't use the word "have" most of the time. How there isn't a single word for "go". Love the well articulated consonants and rolled R's. Love cyrilic letters. Love the "ё", and "ы", and "ш", and "ж" and "ъ". And others. And so many swear words. Love making it mine by inventing ways to be gender neutral.

I love the relatively cheap Wi-Fi and easy piracy. Love all the obscure and weird memes. Broken translations, tales of which linger even now in the form of screenshots. Absurd anecdotes about the bear and the car, and the man and the hat. Unusual and beautiful names like mine. Soviet comedies my stepfather often played on TV. Relatively cheap Chinese smartphones.

I know my experiences are not unique. And not universal either. I am quite priviledged to have been born in a big city in north-west part of Russia, and this writing has been rather subjective.

I might flee this country in the future. I'm not sure if or when this land becomes just to others. It would be cowardly or hypocritical, considering I don't find the strength in myself to fight this system that hurts many.

But I guess I will always love the bits and pieces of this land and culture.

anyways (I say this as someone who is deeply critical of the united states government, military, unchecked capitalism, police, etc) I am SICK of people treating america as if it has no cultural value or positives so….. I love u 85 million acres (bigger than italy) of national parks. I love u harlem renaissance. I love u groundhogs day. I love u sweet tea and fried chicken and jambalaya. I love u apple cider donuts and maizes on crisp autumn days. I love u 95k miles of coastlines and new england fisherman and hand knitted sweaters. I love u halloween where millions of people dress up and give candy to strangers and carve jack o’lanterns. I love u small talk and small towns and potlucks and bringing over casseroles to your struggling neighbors. I love u cowboys and ranch hands and arizonian cactus. I love u appalachian trail and dirtbikes and divebars. I love u sparklers and fireflies. I love u mark twain and toni morrison and emily dickinson and henry david thoreau. I love u rock n roll i love u bluegrass and hippies i love u jimi hendrix and nirvana and CCR and janis joplin. I love u victorian houses and jonny appleseed and john henry and mothman and bigfoot. I love u foggy days in the pacific northwest and neon signs and roadside attractions. I love u baseball and 1950s diners and soft serve. I love u native american art and pop art and poptarts. I love u blue jeans and barbecues and jazz musicians 

[k4l3idosc0pe]

My first fanfic! Basically, it's about this amnesiac who meets two elves.

I desperately pedal my bike, trying to distance myself and my troubles as much as possible. I fumble with my phone, searching for a GPS to guide me to safety. Suddenly, a deafening roar interrupts my frantic search. A massive red pickup truck barrels down the road, careening straight toward me. When I finally look up, I see the truck only a few yards away. Panicking, I swerve and lose control, tumbling headlong into a deep ditch. Everything fades to black. I open my eyes and start to panic, I can't remember what happened. I can't breathe. I feel swelling in my right leg. I notice the odd bend of my leg. Despite this, I try to get up. I feel a sharp pain shoot through my leg. I feel faint. My head feels like it's being split in half. I smell the sweet smell of fresh snow mixed with the putrid scent of exhaust fumes, and oddly metal. This smell… It smells oddly familiar… as if it's important to me somehow. The memory feels… distant. I start to remember why. 5 years ago… I was a… BoyScout. I remember learning about this smell. It means… blood! I remember now. I remember what it meant.

Loss of memory plus blood equals… Concussion! But what can I do? Other than sitting here waiting for death. My backpack… I have a first-aid kit! It's lodged between my bike. I need to get over there. I start to feel my vision blurring. NO! I can’t blackout again! I have to endure! I grab at the snow-covered grass and drag myself to the bike, staining the white snow red with my blood. My leg hurts worse than anything I've ever experienced, but I keep going. I see the backpack. It's lodged between a rock and the mangled heap that used to be my bike. I reach in and try to grab it. I get cut all over my hand but I finally got the bag. I rummage through and find a granola bar. I just now realise how hungry I am. I unwrap it and shove the granola into my mouth. It tastes amazing. I see my phone in the bag. I excitedly pull it out and try to turn it on. It’s dead. I pull out the first-aid kit, which I went through all that trouble for. My dizziness intensifies. I start pulling out the bandages but I'm too weak to do it. vision begins to fray. I try to fight it, but I've lost too much blood. As I lay there on the brink of death I tried to remember how and why this happened. What was I running from that was worth this!?

“...How dare you bring one of them into our home!” I hear a voice say as I wake up.

“How can you say this?! He would have died without us!!” A second, younger voice says. I kept my eyes shut as I heard the first voice yell, “Remember what happened the last time we let one of them in here!” The first voice says “They are completely untrustworthy! He’s even listening in on our conversation!” They’re arguing about me! My fear begins to grow. How do they know I’m listening? Who are they? What do they want from me? Panicking, I scream for help. Both of my captors stopped arguing and turned to look at him.

I opened his eyes and saw his kidnappers for the first time. The older one on the left looked relatively young. He had long blonde hair. He wore a light beige suit. The younger one looked about 12, he was wearing an ACDC shirt, had a guitar strapped to his back, and a pair of ripped jeans. His hair was a dark brown But the one thing they shared was a pair of pointed ears. “Y-your e-e-ears!” Charlie stammered.

“We may as well tell you, after all, we’ll wipe your memory after we interrogate you,” The younger one said “We’re Elves.”

“That’s insane,” Charlie said, chuckling “Where’s Santa?”

“Does this look like the North Pole to you?!” The adult said, angrily “We aren't even nearly as short as Northern elves.”

“Calm down,” The younger one said “How can you expect him to understand right away, he’s handling it pretty”

right now

“He still doesn’t believe us,” The young one said

“Well, why don’t you fix his leg first? I can’t imagine his pain,” the older man said. Charlie felt a sharp pain in his leg and heard a loud pop. He screamed and turned to see his leg. It was fixed! “H-how d-did y-you d-do t-that?” I stammered. “Can you fix my head like that?”

“Your head,” The young one says, confused, “What's wrong with your he-”

The younger one suddenly falls to the floor. His eyes glow a bright white. He shrieks in agony while his body violently convulses. I am frozen with fear. The older man ran to the boy, scooping him into his arms. “What have you done!” He yelled. “I-I didn’t d-do it.” I stammered. The boy starts coughing up blood. I feel something hard hit me in the back of the head. I'm beaten until I pass out again

I wake up to a blinding light. I hear an EKG. Panicked, I look around. I see rows of beds similar to mine. Instead of the blue jeans and faded T-shirt I was wearing before, I'm in a blue gown. I’ve got a splitting headache. I feel the back of my head. I feel stitches across it. A nurse walks in. I notice her ears immediately. They’re pointed.

“It looks like you’ve finally woken up,” she says, "We had to give you stitches,”

“Stitches?!” I say, surprised.

“With your injuries, it was the only option,” She replies "The guards shouldn't have been so violent with you."

"What happened anyways?" I ask "I why was everyone so panicked."

"Honestly, it's super boring, but if you want to know I'll tell you," She says uninterested "After the last human we let in started a literal war, a prophet prophecised that the next one we let in will stop it and unite the humans and elves." the initial shock of all this has worn off but after this revelation it's all back. "Don't worry, your not special, at least I don't think so. The elven community is split over who believes the prophecy and who thinks its fake." Right as I get ready to ask another question she is pushed out of the way. It's the boy from earlier.

"Why are you here, Ivy," He tells the girl "You don't even work here, or believe in the prophecy. Don't tell me you're doing it again."

"Doing what?" The girl, Ivy, says with false innocence,

"HITTING ON HIM!" He yells, "Every time I meet someone, who might be able to become my friend, they become your boyfriend in like a day!" By now I'm really uncomfortable.

"That is not fair! Most times they're not twelve year olds! I have standards," She says.

"Anyways," I say to the boy "Do you believe in the prophecy thing?"

"Yeah, duh," He says as if it's obvious, "It's about me! And even if it wasn't father wouldn't allow me not to. Can you imagine the prince of an entire nation not believing in the thing that gives most of them hope."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, he's in it. I don't know why it couldn't be someone more mature, like yours truly," Ivy tells me.

"Are you better yet?" The boy asks.

"Yeah I guess," I reply.

"Then we can finally start our quest!" He is super enthusiastic.

"Quest!?!" I say shocked, "I didn't sign up for a quest! I don't even know your name!"

"Micah Barlowe, at your service," He says enthusiastically, shaking my hand "Now that you know who I am we can go!"

End of Chapter 1

[luxmaeastra]

Orion stared at the ship, at Bryce. The lighting in him burning him up. He was going to die here, he -

How could Lidia be good? How could she be anything but Pollux's fucktoy and Sandriel's Hind. Why would she help them? Why -

He barely heard anyone, Bryce, Ruhn they all blurred in his mind. He remembered battles and wars he knew he'd never been to. What was happening, why -

"Orion."

Sebastian knelt before him, forcing his mind to focus on him. His grandson stared at him, confusion giving way to despair. Sebastian held him as he broke down. It had been a long time since his magic had gotten like this, like he couldn't think beyond it.

He waited till he calmed down, till he could focus on him.

Orion blinked at him, gripping his wrist.

"Grandpapa? Where - my parents, Mama -"

"They've been searching for you, I volunteered to get to you -"

"It's not like he was fucking hiding. Where have you been?"

Sebastian glared at Bryce, she glared back crossing her arms.

"Look thanks for the help, but we don't know now get away from my fucking mate."

Sebastian mentally winced, Orion stiffened. His grip tightening, he acted like he hadn't heard Bryce.

"Shahar she's -"

"I know. Look, we need to get you and Creon and -"

"Bryce is at risk too she can't - I can't leave her behind."

Sebastian sighed and nodded, gently helping him stand. He gave them space, let Orion be lead away to rest. Bryce of course found him easily enough, Ruhn close behind her.

"Who the fuck are you? What the fuck just happened?"

Sebastian exhaled and looked to them, so young.

"Midgard was made on a dream of equality, the dream soured quickly under the reality. Orion and Shahar's war was done to stop the Asteri from encroaching into their home across the Northern Sea. The last anyone heard from them, they'd been captured. Orion is a Prince of the Valg - I suppose you call the demons yes? His parents rule that land. I suspect Orion's memories were tampered with, made into their tool. I need to get him home. As for where I've been - who do you think started Ophion? It took time to get it up and running without my help."

He looked to Ruhn who simply crossed his arms. Sebastian sighed and clasped his hands behind his back.

"I'm happy to take you out with us Bryce. But -"

"What? Don't think a half-breed is good enough for your grandson?"

His lips twitched, Ruhn teeth grindined it looked like a pitying smile. If Bryce didn't insist on listening to this old man he'd kill him.

"I think I've never heard of a male or anyone having two mates, even if we say Shahar is dead, I've never seen it happen unless they're a Reborn. Which you are not, no I'm not explaining what that means. Shahar is alive and I find it hard to believe you both could be mates considering...."

He looked like he didn't want to finish it. Ruhn stepped closer, his magic spiking.

"Finish your fucking story Old Man."

Sebastian's eyes narrowed but he slid to Bryce. There was definitely pity there.

"I attended Shahar and Orion's mating ceremony before they went to war. I took their child in when it was smuggled out of Midgard after they were both captured."

Sebastian rubbed at his wrists, Ruhn saw lightning flicker in his veins.

"I need to tell him that Bryce. I need to tell him everything and we need to get Shahar....if you're coming to Hel I need to let you know what you're getting into -"

Everything was unraveling, everything was being torn apart from what she knew. She had built this life here, with him. They built a life on what they knew, what they had discovered as they had gone along the way. Now he was advising that it was all wrong? That Hunt of all people -

Orion, he was calling him Orion. She had heard enough about his life to know that was his real name, but that didn't make this any easier to deal with.

The story that was being laid out by this laid, the truth she didn't expect. Her hand tightened at her side, her nails digging into her palm as her gaze turned to her brother. She watched him, taking in what she could see. How he was watching the other, how he was reacting.

She was thankful she had him of all people, she was glad he was there to help her through this. She felt as if she was frowning, she felt as if she was losing control and she couldn't see a way out of this.

Bryce looked back to Sebastian, she raised her chin slightly. "Fine, but it is his choice. He has had his freedom taken away before now, he can't have anyone else dictate his life or what he must do."

[carolmunson]

vacation diaries - entry four

eddie keeps a journal while at the inn with you in northern indiana. a blurb series starting from the first morning after ’before there was a before’.

entries: one,two,three read steve's journal: here.

warnings: minors dni, 18+, adult themes, mentions of sex

what a fuckin minx.

jesus, i forgot for a minute what a solid fuck she is. i know that sounds gross but i am fucking reeling right now. she's in the shower and i just got the life fucked out of me. holy shit. i thought i came hard last night but holy god almighty. i'm never gonna get over this.

we didn't mean to fuck. i didn't mean to let it go that far, i didn't want this trip to be about that. but when she gave me that face when we got back upstairs how could i not? she's such a little tease. she was a little tease all day. the cutest tease i ever met.

she wanted to go to the dunes even though it's snowy and out to the piers and the light house. she swears she packed a warm enough coat but i can guarantee you that she's gonna have a cold tomorrow and then i'm gonna get a cold two days later. i can't even be mad at her about it though, her little frost bitten nose? i don't think i've ever met anyone i want to marry more than her.

we brought some kodak cameras with us to take pictures of everything, went to some tourist spots since we haven't been getting around as much as we want. gas is cheap out here which is nice. we saw some more christmas lights and went back to the diner. the waitress knows my name now so now i feel like i have to come here every couple of months so i don't lose the friendship. her name's marge. she reminds me of my grandma. she has a friend that lives at the women's shelter by the record store named sara-lynn but i don't think i've met her. i'll have to ask around and send marge's regards. she thinks it's cool that i play in a band and her nephew wants to learn how to play guitar but doesn't want him to get any tattoos.

but anyway, we got home after seeing the sights (she called them 'the seven wonders of northern indiana' because she's annoying) and dropping the cameras off to get the film developed, we were sitting in the common area again and she starts tracing my tatts on my arm and she knows how i love that. she's all 'don't listen to marge, your tattoos are unique' and i would obviously never listen to marge because my tattoos are metal as fuck but she can't be tracing them on my arm like that in front of the nice old people we played checkers with two nights ago. so i ask if she's tired and she wants to go upstairs and she basically runs so fast that the lady who runs the inn had to come yell at us for being too loud.

we weren't too loud when we fooled around but if i had it my way, they would've been able to hear her in canada.

i haven't really had her solo in a long time. solo like, not playing a game or a roleplay. just me as eddie and her as her. she tried to slip into calling me daddy at first and any other day i would've went along with it, especially since steve wouldn't hear, but i just wanted it to be us tonight. i told her i wanted to give it to her nice. i don't even think either of us could breathe while we were going at it. i hadn't felt more connected to her in my life. i kept telling her how much i loved her and it kept making her cry so we had to keep stopping and starting which is fine because i kept almost busting way too quick for it to be okay.

we came at the same time and both had to shove our faces in the pillows so we wouldn't get in trouble again. can't believe we didn't break the bed.

she just got out of the shower and came out with my t-shirt on. i think she wants to go again and i'm gonna fuck her brains out. she already fucked my brains out.

sorry i didn't talk about anything legit today but i'm only a man, diary. i'm only a dumb fucking man who loves his girl.

-ed

[windblooms]

heyy ^_^ so I saw your requests were open and I hope this isn’t too specific or anything but what if you did the fake dating trope with the genshin girls? we don’t have enough content for genshin girls HSSKEHDJ /hj

genshin girls × reader; reader's gender isn't specified.

blurbs of beidou, eula, hu tao, and rosaria in a fake/pretend relationship.

warnings for light angst.

✧ ⁠— beidou's presence is anything but subtle by your side. the fleeting glances you steal are snatched without a second wasted, trophied in her palm, and flaunted for all to witness. she's good at this, really – this pretense of boasting, of showing off her significant other as if the two of you together is the most natural occurrence in the world. her ease prompts you to wonder if she gets any joy out of this: of strolling down the shore with her arm linked through yours but never lingering, eating dinner by your side yet never conversing, or even wishing you a good morning. a "good morning" in routine, devoid of deeper caring, and regrettably hollow. beidou holds your name like a bouquet of flowers on the precipice of wilting. she's thankful for the display of affection – but the gratitude is cursory, with attachments short-lived, just as the remaining lifespan of the blossoms.

✧ ⁠— eula has her own methods that you dare not question, lest you suffer from her vengeance. she treats you just as she treats anyone else, albeit with the promise of company that extends past the required favonius hours and into the shared home. you have to look the part, she briskly elaborates. after all, no one will believe that a descendant of the lawrence clan would settle for mediocrity or modesty. her logic is sound enough; you eat your meals together, accompany one another to your offices for the day, and speak with the utmost pride about your union. there is nothing to hide, except for the reality of what is transpiring between the two of you: the prettiest dance, with all of the enchanted fabrics and humble curtsies one can display. eula is awe-inspiring, just as the northern breeze that carries dandelion seeds afar. but no more, she can't be any more than that to you, unless you want to be swept away for good.

✧ ⁠— hu tao never relents with her scheming. if you hadn't known better, then you'd probably believe that her meddling travels too far, too insensitively. but there's a charm about her: she enjoys every breathing moment, every day, and all that it holds. and that includes you, even if you're also apart of one of her . . . wilder pranks. but live it, she pats you on the shoulder, peaking her head from around you. so you do, welcoming each hand-squeeze she requests, each tangled hug in the presence of onlookers. she's absolutely burning, an inferno that's barely contained in your arms. it's a fire that you admit to her, one day, that you've grown attached to. your limbs are light, submerged in a stream of giddiness; and she swims with you, still alight, still bright. hold out a bit longer, she punches your cheeks, a smile of all teeth on her visage. a big surprise is coming up. you need to enjoy it, too!

✧ ⁠— rosaria treats you like you're a lost puppy. a very cute, lost puppy. one with big, pleading eyes, and an open heart to a fault. while she grumbles and mumbles and complains under her breath, she'd never outwardly admit that she's fond of your company. if her companionship to you severs the . . . other's attachment towards you, keeps you safe from their unwanted attention, then she's more than willing to ward them off – despite, of course, her curt verbiage and monotonous glances in response to whatever you tell her about your day. she listens to you – as if you're a melody that isn't imposed upon her by the church, one that solace nests in with a gentle sigh. although her keen intellect shudders at the thought of anything further than basic associates, rosaira doesn't mind the idea of you being an exception. this is her fondness: swathed in scarves and blankets, tucked safely inside, and never to be exposed to the outside. she thinks that, even if you don't consciously notice, you're somewhat aware of her sentiments . . . even if they are the most roundabout in the land.

[colour-outside-the-liness]

Hey, I'm doing good too. Just normal amounts of stressful stuff right now. Just moved to a country I've never been to before but can't complain, things are not as hard as the last time I did this so. Thanks for asking! Yeah, I saw you posting about some pretty scary health issues before, I'm glad you came out of that alive and hope you're healthier now!

The nerve some people have! Haha I know I would be pissed if people were questioning my intelligence like that especially after a couple of drinks in haha. Though I do like taunting people when I play group games, I'll be like "don't need to try that hard guys, you're gonna lose anyway" just to mess with them or just call people sore losers if they accuse me of cheating haha (they're probably right on the accusations tho). People get real mad sometimes it's kinda funny. 😂

Omg literally laughed out loud reading this! Hahaha, how did you manage to fall over a road sign then end up in a ditch? lol omg hope you didn't get hurt too bad 😂 I was trying to downplay my drunken escapades but since you shared yours I should tell you my worst one:

I was at this summer street party at night and got drunk on something made out of tropical herbs and cachaça (which is about 48% alcohol), drank 3 and a half bottles of that like it was apple juice, made friends with a bunch of strangers in a bathroom queue (who tried to talk to me weeks later but I had no idea who they were), had to be held by my best friend while I peed (mostly missing the toilet), fell in the middle of the street and scraped my knee, threatened this boy who was helping me walk and told him not to try anything funny or I would beat him up, then dragged my friends to the beach and left them shortly after to go make out with my ex, came back with lipstick all over my mouth and chin and when my friends asked what I was doing I said I was just talking to my ex and they were like NO YOU WERE NOT, hahaha then I kissed all my girl friends on a dare and we danced under the full moon, then I told my best friend I had to puke so she took me to the ocean but I changed my mind and happened to step on a dead turtle on the way back and started crying bc of it, but last month my best friend told me it was a rock I had stepped on (I believed it was a dead turtle for 7 years!). Had the worst hangover of my life the next day. ✌️✨

Ah I'm happy you liked it! I've never listened to Six musical before but it sounds fun! I can see why you like it haha made me want to dance around my apartment 💃. And hey if liking musicals is your thing then it's great, I'm sure Hozier will understand if he's not your top artist of the year. 😋 Here's my "damie" Pinterest board if you or anyone else wants to check it out, totally recommend making one if you're a visual person like me!

https://pin.it/UcHVlkq

Oh I could talk about Dani and Jamie forever I think. I love the beast in the jungle speech too and it's so painful to watch, VP delivered that beautifully, but I have to admit I'm always a crying mess from episode 1 when older Jamie starts reciting that song about being sad while waiting for her lover to return, this show is fucking cruel I hate it and love it at the same time hahaha. Omg your mom 😂 but I mean it's truly an honor to be compared to someone like Dani, no? She's really great even if she needs a little help haha (don't we all).

Aaah you're amazing! Thank you so much, I'll read this pirate AU soon!

I used to draw a lot, really loved doing it when I was a kid as I said before, and all throughout adulthood too but I haven't done that in almost a year now bc I've got a bit of a case of burnout I guess, it just takes a lot of effort to do it when it shouldn't be like that at all. I used to do fanart too, for other fandoms. Even made one for Dani x Jamie but ended up not liking how it turned out haha. I've got a lot of respect for writers and fanfic writers also! Yall can make words make sense in really interesting and beautiful ways, build worlds so enthralling I can see them vividly in my head. Writing is such an incredibly fascinating skill to have! And I guess the most important thing is that we enjoy doing these things right? Even if we think we're not particularly good at it.

Anyway, have a lovely weekend! 👋✨

Good I'm glad you're doing great but sorry you're dealing with stressful stuff!! Hope living in a new country goes well for you I'm so jealous that you've lived in different countries I'd love to live somewhere else even if just for s few years!! Awwh thank you so much I definitely came out of it alive and am feeling so much better now thank you I mean I do some pretty ditzy things so when people say it to me it's pretty deserved sometimes, I'm secretly smart and people just don't expect it so I never mind too much haha I might have to start saying the things that you do and just taunting them over it I mean, I usually do win even when they make me answer different questions so I will definitely have to start saying things like that to them Haha I love that you're just like "yeah they're probably right in their accusations" I agree seeing how mad some people get over games and stuff is funny (it's me I'm people I hate loosing games depending on what it is and I am very competitive) So it was very dark and all we had for light was my roommates flashlight on her phone but while we were walking home a friend of ours that lived else where kept texting her to make sure we were still safe (my phone as dead at this point) so while she was texting him her flashlight was facing down and someone had moved this road sign to the footpath and it was on that sits on the floor so while I couldn't see it I walked into it and fell over it but while I feel I grabbed hold of it and flipped with it and fell in a ditch with it on top of me... I was fine and was just laid laughing while my friend looked down at me and in the most northern accent ever just said "get up you dickhead." and helped me off of the floor and then asked if I was okay... and I was so it was all good!! Haha 😂 I love this drunken story that sounds like one hell of a night and is a roller coaster from start to finish!! I'm sorry you thought you had stood on a dead turtle for 7 years though, someone really should've told you that it was just a rock!! But that sounds like my kind of night!! I love nights like that... stories that will last a life time... the only down side is the hangover... luckily I have only ever had one hang over in my life and it wasn't the morning after the road sign fiasco... I felt surprisingly good the morning after that haha 😂 It's such a good musical it's about Henry VIII wives and I just love everything to do with his wives and that musical is so much fun and actually gives a little insight to the lives the six Tudor queens had away from Henry and with him because at school we're mainly just taught about him which sucks!! I loved the Hozier song and am definitely gonna have to listen to more of his stuff!! I love musicals so much I mainly listen to musical soundtracks at the minute- usually, Legally Blonde and Six on repeat haha 😂 Ooo thank you I will definitely check out this Pinterest board thanks for sending it to me!! I could talk about them forever too... since watching Bly Manor my niece has been asking me so many questions about it and I am more than happy to talk to her about it haha!! The beast in the jungle speech just breaks my heart every time I relate to it so much and VP just delivers it so beautifully!! Oh yeah now I know at the beginning that it's older Jamie I am just a wreck the whole show is just so beautiful and heart breaking at the same time I LOVE IT!! Even though it makes me sob- I keep putting myself through it!! I mean, yeah I was happy that she said it Dani is great but it was the way she said it... my mum can be something else sometimes... she said she thought Dani was like me the first time she does the accent when she says "I've fallen quite in love with London" because I just randomly do accents a lot too but it was the way she was like "She needs help... but I like her she reminds me of you" I was just like... "Should I go get help?" I still don't know the answer to my question about if I need help or not but I mean I probably do need it You're welcome I really hope you like it!! It's a

great fic I love it!! Yeah I get that if stuff starts taking too much effort and burns you out you're not gonna wanna keep doing it so it's understandable that you stopped!! I think fan art is great and I really would love to be able to do it myself but I just don't have the skill it takes!! Awwh it's a shame you didn't like the Dani x Jamie one you did I would've loved to have seen it!! Honestly there are so many talented writers out there and when I read their fics I am just in awe of the worlds they have built and the stories they have created we are so blessed in this fandom to have so many amazing writers and so many amazing fics out there Oh yeah definitely its important to enjoy what you do!! I know I love writing and love writing fics for Dani and Jamie so I think I'll be doing it for a while even if I'm not great at it haha Awwh thank you very much I hope you have a great weekend too!! ☺️

[aassumida]

GIARDINO BLU

A / N: before I started everything I wanted to warn you that I don't speak English very well, forgive me if the story sucks

Things bloom

In unexpected moments

"But I know

This can't go on forever

I have to let you go

But I want you so much "

15th century: March 21st Italy

POV Author

It was a scorching summer day in a quiet northern Italian city in which it was not well known except for the fact that it was surrounded by fine grains of areas that covered the streets, mountains and houses, its residents were mostly humble people who lived their lives calmly, and without a lot of worries just having to stay in the same village day by day, there lived a man he was not a high class nobleman who lavished wealth and money wherever he went he was a simple homeless person nor a he was certainly not the most humble person in terms of money but he had an inherent and pure beauty that was easily hidden by his "rags" and dirt

An orphan since his birth with the disappearance or death of his parents he doesn't even know without knowing the world trapped walking in circles he steals to survive not that he really had much choice

ー hey little thief come back here with this

But an escape really was getting difficult to escape almost the whole city knew his face and knew him very well that was what they called him "little thief" even though he knew his name Naruto Uzumaki this time was a simple bakery that had the displeasure of being in touch with the blond but it wasn't his fault after all in this village street people only have one end to starve or steal to survive what would you choose?

He ran for a while until the lord of the bakery got tired of running after him giving up on leaving him with bubbling anger in his eyes Naruto took advantage of it and started eating the piece of bread with such speed that he realized where he was only after savoring "his "food in a lost forest was all he needed. The forest was full of trees it was even surprising compared to the hot climate of the village that no water was so dry wasting nature would appreciate everything since it was his first time there in his 21 years but the desperation to leave and go to the place who called it home was bigger

He walked on confusing trails up and down up there and without even knowing if he was close to leaving that place, it didn't make sense to sigh loudly with tiredness "My back is killing me and my legs are stuck in a stream" I thought with every step I took I didn't know little where he was going had left by the city gates they said that the forest was haunted they had already seen monsters there that they had tails and fierce looks stories to prevent their children from leaving home or disobeying their parents "If you don't behave I will leave you in the forest "but the most" scary "" The Monster of the Castle "the monster of the castle say he was the son of a lord who was the fruit of a love that could not even exist he was born with a few lines on his face that was thing for an ox to sleep Naruto always thought of the orphanage where he lived always told him these stories he didn’t understand yes he knew that there was indeed a man who lived in a huge old castle like the grains of sand in the city is that he was in fact the son, not of a lord, but of nothing but nothing less, the Duke of Florence, the youngest son in which he was sent is expelled for his appearance to this castle, the residents who saw him said that they said he it was ugly disgusting it’s even horrendous the blond with beautiful eyes blue sky didn’t understand didn’t understand why they didn’t even really know the man

Surprised sighs mixed with euphoria came out of his mouth as he witnessed a huge castle in front of him, it looked like it was made up of unanswered questions, he was in fact lost, but now what he was going to do to face the monster or remain lost without even being good at it. forest

He did the obvious right back to the forest not five minutes after turning around he started trying to climb the huge walls several and several attempts most fail well all until he finally managed to get over the huge walls "My God what a hell wall "

His surprise was such a huge garden composed of the most diverse and beautiful flowers ever seen, each one more beautiful than the other yellow red white pink and many more flowers never seen was right in front of him his eyes shone but he never observed everything with the greatest fascination the most beautiful thing he has witnessed in all these years but at the back of him he saw a man with short medium-length reddish hair is a thin physique watering is cultivating these flowers he seemed so serene cultivating his flowers he was so beautiful indeed there were thousands of lines and some black dots marking his face it only made him more beautiful Naruto barely noticed the hours seconds transformed into minutes gardem gave way to hours when he realized the man had already entered his castle is left his jrdim there lit only by the dim light of the moon

Naruto looked at those beautiful flowers

"Only a few will not hurt anyone"

He thought with a careful leap he looked like a cat just on the tip of his feet he was admiring for a while or a lot he lost his hours touching the flowers with delicacy they were so soft then after a few minutes he tore some flowers with care, right, carefully wrapped them in his little cloth when coming back to the forest it seemed that going back to his village was much easier maybe because of his wandering mind that only thought about the day he saw "The monster of the castle" that of a monster only had names he didn't look like a monster people really invent each thing he went to his little hiding place it was nothing too much to tell the truth just a bed is a table it could be worse was sleeping on his straw bed because we don't have any improvised money not soon after putting the flowers in a glass of water I could hardly sleep that's a thousand because just to throw himself in bed if he sleeps there like a cannonball the truth was that he only thought about the garden and the castle he wanted so much to talk to the man when you saw earlier your hunger took away everything when you fell asleep due to tiredness your thoughts were gone for an instant

Naruto POV

Italy June 22

Waking up with the hot sun hitting me in the face again was an ass every day the mana thing didn’t make a day that this village doesn’t get a miserable heat and honestly I didn’t want to wake up I looked to the side lazily but the sleep soon passed me I got up hurriedly and went to the flowers I took them in my hand shock

ー It wasn't a dream, I walk so exhausted I'm even daydreaming it can only be that

My belly is asking for urgent food I give a loud sigh but one day

ー Sometimes I just wanted to be rich

With the flowers I went walking through the streets, vast streets of the city simple houses mostly humble surrounded me small markets but a common day for everyone as always people looked at me unwanted this is what I am but I couldn't blame them in the end one a thief who steals them almost daily would be funny if it weren't tragic an old woman approached me with a smile on her face different from most people around me, how strange people usually ignore me or pretend I'm not even here or even stop to curse me I looked at him suspiciously "not a good thing"

ー What beautiful flowers my young man how much they cost

She spoke with a gentle smile I raised an eyebrow what the hell is she talking about I dared to ask

ー What?

She looked at me confused we both looked at each other in confusion it was even funny the scene two idiots not understanding anything they were talking about we were on different pages it would never work

ー You are not selling your flowers

I looked at the makeshift bouquet in my hands. Sell ​​? Flowers ? Money….

ー Ehhh yes ... I am selling it I mean they are mine… .. lady

Trying to sound as good as possible as someone who really knows what he is doing as well as I thought it sucked the old woman laughed outrageously she took some coins and handed it to me I took it firmly let her decide not to give it to me anymore

ー Well I want these roses here

She pointed it out and gave it to me quickly and right after its withdrawal I still didn't understand anything in one hand flowers in the other money

ー Money….

A whirlwind of thoughts prowled my head. I could sell flowers to get what to eat and live, maybe get out of this crappy village and thus be able to live, but these flowers are not even mine, how can I sell them?

I approached a guy who sold Shikamaru muffins I think he looked at me ugly with a mixture of tiredness he looked like he hadn't slept in ages with his black hair the Nara family one of the families but humble is respected at the same time I remembered I had assaulted him last week he just doesn't get me because of the laziness that has to be moved a putz muscle it had to be him my stomach rumbled loudly I apparently gave a boring smile and my discomfort didn't show

ー Will try to rob me again Naruto

He said suspiciously but soon after yawned his eyes slowly closed I scratched my head

ー Not this time… .I mean I'll pay myself Naruto Uzumaki I'll pay

I said hurriedly I handed him the money anyway he still looked at me suspiciously not believing in a word my look at him was judging me looking into my soul

ー HMM ... you didn't steal it from anyone is it

I looked at you offended

ー OF COURSE NO! I managed with my own money I… .. am selling flowers

I showed him the flowers with a proud look they were fascinated with them I was feeling so good that everything in me screamed "you are too convinced for someone who won 10 silvers"

ー Didn't know you grew flowers

I don't cultivate!

ー I will change of life

Said firmly

ー As long as you stop stealing my cookies I don't care little thief

ー I have a name Shikamaru

He just looked at me and gave a lazy smile I gave a smile too I left that tent and left as quickly as possible pretending dementia listening to Shikamaru's laugh behind this Shikamaru invents everything

Somewhere else

Gaara POV

Another day in this huge castle alone with my beautiful garden one of the only things that doesn't keep me lonely in this scum of life I let out loud sighs staring at the wall in disbelief how long it will last how long

I hear the door slam that made my thoughts change a little bit. Who is it that I hurry up sitting on the bed looking for my mask?

ー Master you should have been getting up ...

I sighed loud relief stamped across my entire being my right arm and the only person besides me who lives in that stupid castle came through the door with a coffee tray in addition to my cook's right arm and basically mine does everything I feel that without him I would go to freak out

Lee Rock Lee you don't need so much formality is your day off you shouldn't be doing anything but fun like I don't know dating you are young

ー The 70 year old man talks more fun than cooking is helping you in your impossible Giardino

ー Lee formality the formality reminds

He gives a small laugh Lee always manages to get laughs and smiles from me

ー yes yes you don't think you should go out a bit but Gaara meeting new people a boy or girl who knows

ー Who would want to know me or my father wants to see me my brothers for them I hardly exist because I have to be so horrendous

I said throwing myself on the bed again running my hands over the marks on my face

ー You have to stop calling yourself that not everyone cares about how you look, besides that you are very beautiful I'm sure you just didn't find the right person and your brothers love you I know NOW go take a shower to eat for the love o sunny day perfect for farming don't you think

He put the tray on top of the table, which was always full of books about flowers. I loved creating flowers and taking care of them. My mother liked it. I felt sorry for not having met him. Lee left quickly. I was already preparing for monotonous days. to the bathroom

Somewhere else

POV Author

The young Uzumaki sold "his" flowers surprisingly they made successes who saw fell in love with his old "friend" Sakura Haruno appeared all euphoric as always a woman from high society nor was it known why loads of water she was in that peaceful village

ㅡ NARUTO UZUMAKI WHO YOU STOLE THIS TIME

she said already giving him slaps and sermons as always

ㅡ AINN Sakura-Chan how long I thought until you had already fled this city

I teased her, she rolled her eyes and gave me another shit making me bewildered it hurt so much it looks like I'm going to pass out sure there will be a cock

ㅡ SHUT UP THE MOUTH BAKA You know why I'm here I need to see my lady

She smiled smugly but with a look of malice I wanted to laugh but I am respectful

ㅡ first stop screaming the scandalous it's me second came to see Hinata again

her look fell I gave a look of I KNOW YOU

ㅡ Know that the Hyuuga are enemies of the Haruno

ㅡ nonsense nobody will stop our love now give me one of these wonderful flowers

I gave her the rest of the flowers with rest I say a flower she gave me the money and I quickly denied it

ㅡ Go right before I change my mind I don't deny money

She ran quickly with the flower she knows me well the flower in her hand she swayed with the speed of her steps more obvious without first giving me another punch mommy I just don't fight with her because I don't want to be beaten to death

Watching the sunset I didn't know where I was going the streets are still busy as if the joy of the city really started I could just go away and wait one day I had money for at least tomorrow but I followed the forest when I entered it all it looked so scary but also so comforting in a short time unlike yesterday the moon was bright i didn't know where i was going i was going back to that place to that garden for that man AI Naruto your idiot is going crazy

Upon seeing the castle even with the huge trees I could clearly see flashing flames and attractive drugs

I tried school again the walls were easier than the last time when I jumped I could see those beauties this beautiful Giardino I approached without wanting to steal know how much closer I saw a body A BODY was the red-haired man I got closer her every time but my heart was beating the more I got close until I saw him sleeping he was so serene in the middle of several sunflowers

ㅡ Who are you… ..

I ran my hand over his face my fingers were delighted by his lines his shadow on his face his little dots the man opened his eyes eyes sea green beautiful as the owner grandma tell you he looked bewildered but when he noticed our approach he quickly got up and walked away

ㅡ Who are you…. why are you here

[dalyunministry]

TOPIC : BARGAINING WITH GOD

Bro. Calvin Nii Bannerman

DATE : 2nd OCTOBER, 2020

🌼

Heavenly Father we thank you for another opportunity to minister, Father forgive us our sins and let the blood of Jesus cleanse us from all unrighteousness and let your presence cover us in Jesus name. Amen

We have all tried to bargain with God one way or another , I have tried before even though I know it won't work I did. I'm talking about BARGAINING WITH GOD.

We have all done it "God if you do this for me , I will do that." Have you ever noticed if you ever bargain with God you try and cut a deal with God and God doesn't come through and then you start debating God.

Then you give God all sort of reasons why didn't you do it this way. That's where we find a man named Habakkuk.

Let me give you a background of Habakkuk prayer, he was living in Israel known as the Southern Kingdom, Israel at one time was a one kingdom , when David and Solomon were kings they hit their zenith or their peak, when Solomon died the kingdom split into two, Israel to the north and Judah to the south. Israel the northern Kingdom had been taken captive, the Syrians had invaded the nation because they had lived in idolatry and open paganism and God had warned them time and time again through the prophets , so the Syrians came in ,conquered them and took them captives.

Unfortunately the southern kingdom, Judah didn't learn from the northern kingdom Israel and they were repeating everything Israel were doing , they were into paganism, idolatry and they didn't read God's word , they were not praying to God they were not worshipping God and they were going contrary to His word.

Habakkuk, who was the prophet at that time , he began to pray , God please bring revival to your people , he starts praying for days, days turn into months, months into years but God doesn't do anything.

After years, God answers Habakkuk, the God news is God finally answers Habakkuk but the bad news is not the way he wanted it.

God says, I'm going to fix this problem, I'm going to take care of this rebellious people of mine, let me tell you Habakkuk, I'm going to raise up a nation known as Babylon and I'm going to let the invade your country and mine people and they're going destroy the people and take my people captive.

Habakkuk thought times were tough but now times are about to get more tougher,the more he thought about it the more tough it got.

He wasn't happy about God's answer now in chapter 1 of Habakkuk he's doubting God , he start debating God. Basically what he's trying to do now is to convince God, "God you don't really want to do this "

Habakkuk 1:12-13 Art thou not from everlasting, O LORD my God, mine Holy One? we shall not die. O LORD, thou hast ordained them for judgment; and, O mighty God, thou hast established them for correction.

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he?.

Habakkuk thinks he has played the trump card, he appeals to God's number attribute, HOLINESS. I want to give the prophet props, Habakkuk starts with, God You are a Holy God , You are a pure God , You are the one that never made a mistake. Habakkuk was right, he was telling the truth and so Habakkuk lays out his case and says to God , a question that we all say at one time in our life.

Are you going to choose this Pagan nation over us? This wicked and treacherous nation over us?

I'm supposed to believe You're a good God

I'm supposed to believe You're a Holy God

I'm supposed to believe You're a loving God.

I want to ask You a question, "Why do you let the bad guys win?

Why is it that so many times the good guys lose?

We have all been there, we see our neighbors who are not righteous but we see them making it in life, getting more money they can spend and here you are, you're faithful in your marriage , you love God , you play by the rules ,you go to church, you serve in the church ,you're a good husband and a good father , but the company fires you and the bad guy keeps their job. And you seat at home and you say I don't get this, I love you God but he doesn't, I trust you he doesn't ,I live for you he doesn't . He keeps his job and I lose mine. That's exactly where Habakkuk is at this point dealing with God, he says I don't get it . I know You need to punish us but surely You are not using them to punish us. And then the problem Habakkuk is not asking is God is asking a complete different question, Habakkuk is asking.

What God is asking is this, Habakkuk, SHOULD I EXPECT MORE OUT OF PEOPLE WHO SAID THEY KNOW ME AND LOVE ME AND FEAR ME AND TRUST ME AND WORSHIP ME OR SHOULD I EXPECT FROM PEOPLE WHO DON'T?

And before Habakkuk could answer the question, God said let me answer the question for you , I expect more of Judah than I expect more than I expect out of the people of Babylon,I expect more from people who say they love me than the people who don't

Remember Habakkuk is trying to find God in tough times , friends we are in tough times , this is the toughest times in our generation.

That was exactly where Habakkuk was,he can't simply find God because in his mind because God is too pure to look upon even and God doesn't condone evil. He doesn't understand why God will use this wicked nation Babylon to solve our problem.

Now how to deal with when you think God doesn't listen.

WHEN IT APPEARS ALL IS LOST, REMEMBER, IN THE END, GOD ALWAYS WINS.

When you think God doesn't care about you, God doesn't love you , God is not involved ,you're on your own and God has abandoned you, remember, in the end God wins.

How do you handle it when it seems the bad guy with the bad attitude who doesn't love God keep his job?

1. WAIT ON GOD- HE KEEPS HIS WORD

When you are in the middle of a situation and you don't hear from God and you think it's worse , but you know what's worst, it's when you hear from God and you don't like what He said. You see God and you don't like what you saw and like Habakkuk, you don't like what God said.

Habakkuk 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved.

In this verse, God teaches us that we should go up and look up to Him and wait unto Him , first thing you have to do is get above your problems and wait upon the one who can solve your problems. We are living in a technological age where people can't wait, in the last 2000 years we have accelerated our sense of time , 1000 years ago how do people measure time?

Days and nights. And then we invented clocks, and then we measure time with hours and minutes.

Now we are in a digital age , now we measure time in micro seconds, that's the reason for us to be so hard for us to be patient. Now look at what He says in verse 3

Habakkuk 2:3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

We can be patient and we can be expectant and God is telling Habakkuk this, I'm going to tell you what I'm going to do ,I'm going to tell you what my answer is, and in fact I want you to write it down. Because I'm going to put it in a book called BIBLE, I asked myself why should this particular story be in the bible, Do you know what the Bible is?

The Bible is God's light for Dark days , I promise you no matter how dark your situation is ,if you stay in God's time and be faithful to His word, in His time, God will turn on the light , in His time He won't leave you in the dark. Here's the problem; the problem is that not we don't get answers from God that's not our real problem, our real problem is either we don't get them when we ought to get them or even worse when we get them we don't like them. That's the bigger problem , so look what God said in verse 3,"For the vision is yet for an appointed time" , this is what God told Habakkuk, when you think you are on your own and you have no one is there, don't give up . LOOK UP

2. WATCH FOR GOD - HE WILL BRING JUSTICE

Habakkuk doesn't wait for God to bring His answer, God says I'm going to bring more wicked nation to punish a less wicked nation

Wait on me and I will keep my word. I'm going to do things pastors and prophets won't understand . I'm the reason why I'm God and they're not. I know what they don't know and I see what they don't see and I know how things work out best and when I do those things you don't like. There's one way you can handle it. This is the chapter that is quoted in Romans, Galatians and Hebrews , this is the best answer you'll get when you are waiting on the Lord. Because the relationship with God from the beginning of time is Faith.

There are only 2 ways to approach God, believe and faith. You can only come to God through Faith through Jesus Christ or you don't come to God at all. Watch for God, He will bring Justice.

3. WORSHIP GOD- HE IS IN CONTROL

The last verse of this chapter is what shatters every argument or objections of Habakkuk or Job or Me or you can ever bring against God

Habakkuk 2:20 But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

The God who made heaven and earth and every creature has a throne of dominion over every parcel of this universe, what Habakkuk finally understands now is,God is in His Holy temple calling the shots.

God is saying every piece of the puzzle is falling into place, God is saying all the history of the world is going into the direction He wants it to go.

I have a lot of questions about the end times

Earthquakes

Tsunamis

Civil Wars

All most every week we hear about countries marching into the streets rebels against the government, government against the rebels , when is this going to end that's what people have been asking? God has put the pieces together, in His sovereignty God uses evil to accomplish good, God can use a more wicked nation than another nation to get attention of a less wicked nation, but the buttom line is when things are the toughest and days are the darkest the only thing that will matter in your life and my life is to remember there's a God in His Holy temple that I can trust. There's a God in His Holy temple Who is in control , the Babylon people destroyed the Jerusalem temple but they couldn't destroy the heavenly temple and when You understand that God is in Holy temple and He's Sovereign, all Powerful, Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent and what God basically says to Habakkuk is ,you understand that I'm in my Holy temple, you understand I got control of the universe, you understand I got my hands on the wheel and I'm driving to your destination, can I tell you gently, shut up!

"Let all the earth keep silence before Him "

With all due respect God doesn't want us to tell Him what he needs to be doing, we need to listen to what He is doing so that we trust Him for the results.

Let me tell you one thing that never changes, it hasn't changed from the beginning of time, it will not change at the end of time. "God is in His Holy temple "

God is not worried or panicking, He got everything on this planet under His control and authority, so if you ever wondered where is all this heading?

Where is our world heading, where's our nation heading ,where are we heading? It's all this verse

Habakkuk 2:14, 20 For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him.

In the end its all about God's glory, God wants His fame, His name to be all around the Earth as the waters covers the land so that everybody will eventually know that Jesus Christ is Lord. He's the one that died for our sins , He came back from the dead and if we respond by Faith , we will not face judgment , we will not face death, we will be saved.

Hallelujah

Instead of mourning why me? instead of groaning to God , why don't you do what Habakkuk did, when you're confused, wait on God , He gives Joy, when you're frustrated, seems like the bad guys are winning and the good guys are losing, and your good has been for nothing, Wait upon God and He will bring Justice

When you think all hope is lost, no way out , WORSHIP GOD- He's in control.

If you think this is all theory, hypothesis or stories ? I want you to think about one thing, I want you to think about the CROSS and the empty tomb , because when Jesus Christ was crucified, there were 11 disciples that were saying I don't get it, and then on Sunday Mary went to the tomb and the rock was rolled away, God said , you remember what I said in the Old Testament that I will send the Messiah and He will be bruised for your iniquities and lay on Him the sins of everyone of you,I told you to wait because I keep My word.

Thank you and God bless you all.

[wildstrandsblog]

Thunder, The Perfect Mind

7.16.20

I couldn’t know the story I’d set out writing almost two years ago just by letting the force of my heart dance across my desk and settle into my voice and art. After two chapters of a memoir, a clear vision came to my mind peering into a part of my story I hadn’t seen, yet. It was that of an unconscious man being carried out by a valiant horse, mane blazing, through a valley filled with poison and shadows. It was so powerful that I pressed pause on my writing to paint the picture I saw in my mind.

Little did I know a painting I started in March 2019 and later titled, “Though I Walk,” would become a prophetic telling by June into July getting expressed into life. It was a frightening time. The sky felt like it was falling. I had unconsciously entered a war zone. There were new troubles every day. Voices of loved ones rang out in terrifying discord that spelled betrayal. There was only one way out of the propelling hell, toward a light I could make out in the distance—a magnetic thunderstorm. I knew I couldn’t turn back on my journey. The place from where I came only held more treachery and could only cause more pain for me. It’d be insane. However, the uncertainty of moving forward was so great, being funneled toward a storm through a valley of snakes and shadows.

I’m so glad I survived those days that are now a year behind me, recently pulling out the sutures still wincing from the pain. Every day within this year I have been chewing on a source of spiritual food found in books, movies, art, sacred texts, music, and more. Only since a recent trip I took with my husband and three boys to the Northern Neck of Virginia along the Potomac River have things become more clear. I find when the fragments of ideas begin to coalesce into a bigger picture, I’ve gotten myself back onto a better path, picking up my confidence a little to know a truth I hold inside is not confusing me. And when a full moon lights up the night sky perfectly aligned with the water source you’re pulling from, I’ve got to tell you—it’s telling you something.

Putting the kids to bed on our last night of vacation, my husband and I watched as a thick blanket of storm clouds stretched out across the West, blacker than night, blocking out the radiant sunset that greeted us our first night. To the East, the sky remained clear aside from a dusting of clouds surrounding the perfectly, full moon with lunar eclipse like one might find on an All Hallow’s Eve when the Seven Virtues are at their highest. The lightning struck like I had never seen before, rather than branched, it looked like a tree trunk hit by Thor’s hammer, thick and dense. We heard the echo of thunder from our neighbor’s voices the next night when we returned home. They told us how they had never experienced a storm like that before. I hadn’t either. Not from that perspective. It was electric.

It was just a week later when I finished reading Elaine Pagel’s recent autobiography, “Why Religion?,” and was thunderstruck one more time. The seventy-seven year old Harvard PhD and professor of religion at Princeton opened up to tell her story of grief, losing her young son and husband a year apart from each other, decades earlier, and how she survived the tragedy. She ended her story with a passage from one of the Gnostic Gospels uncovered at Nag Hammadi, Egypt in 1947 titled, “Thunder, the Perfect Mind.” It was a sacred text believed to be buried by a gnostic order protecting it from the overarching power of the early Catholic Church devouring texts portraying a different version of God. The passage deeply touched the abyss of my feminine heart in the same way reading the heart magic held in the Song of Solomon did for me the first time many years ago. That teenage feeling with a life of its own came back to me after not knowing it could be achieved again after all these years. Reading “Thunder,” my heart leapt from my chest like a ballerina with both legs splayed, arms back, chest faced upward painting the sky. It was palpable.

It made me think...big...like things of that nature usually do for me. My mind began playing with the idea of what the future would look like if “Thunder” were adopted into all major religions, having no spiritual home to call Her own just yet. I understood that feeling. Why would it matter if “Thunder” were adopted into religious order? And why would it matter these days when we have the ability to uncover truth through science? Channeling my best John Lennon, my lucid mind began saying, imagine if all the world religions agreed on an understanding and centered themselves on one document, adopting it, making it one universal canon. Imagine the bridges that might be built and crossed eventually in the hearts and minds of all those people. Imagine how collective our psychology might be and the real possibility for healing from the illusory walls we’ve built between us. Imagine if we found a place where we could all cross into the invisible plane together, safely, where science can never go when humans are deeper and more vast than the seven oceans that are really just one. Just imagine. Earth might feel like the magical place it is in the not-so distant future, gently raining from the heavens rather than a sky that’s perpetually falling all around us.

My idea may never materialize into much but there’s always the possibility of starting a fire. However, I think it’s cool to see how other storytellers are working on a similar psychedelic wavelength these days without a need for drugs or alcohol, just the spirit of feeling high from being Me and feeling the We. I think it’s something humans have wanted to express for a really long time but have been too scared to do it fully, fearing the hate, pain, and isolation you get from disrupting the flow of the status quo. It takes some getting used to, believe me, but I know I’m not the only one feeling it. And I like seeing the developing fact that we’re entering a new way of how to head home and it’s super, super groovy.

A big thank you to my husband and children, as always, for traveling into the dark with me and keeping me grounded. I’m so thankful we’ve gotten a better view of where the light is coming from and it’s beautiful. I can't leave this post without sharing a short passage of “Thunder, the Perfect Mind” and will also include a link to the full English translation for those who are interested. It is worth the meditation. Here it goes...

THUNDER, THE PERFECT MIND

I was sent out from the power and have come to you who study me and am found by you who seek me.

Look at me, you who study me, and you who hear, hear me.

You waiting for me, take me into yourselves.

Don’t banish me from your vision.

Don’t let hatred enter your voice against me or let anger enter your hearing.

In no place, in no time, be unknowing of me.

Be alert.

Don’t be ignorant of me.

I am the first and the last.

I am the honored and scorned.

I am the whore and the holy one.

I am the wife and the virgin.

I am the mother and daughter.

I am the barren one with many sons.

I have had a grand wedding and have not found a husband.

I am a midwife and do not give birth.

I am the solace of my labor pains...

I am a silence incomprehensible and an idea remembered often.

I am the voice whose sound is manifold and word whose appearance is multiple.

I am the utterance of my name...

Be careful.

Don’t hate my obedience or love my self-control.

When I am weak, don’t forsake me or fear my power.

Why do you despise my fear and curse my pride?

I am a woman existing in every fear and in my strength when I tremble.

I am a woman, weak, and carefree in a pleasant place.

I am senseless and wise…

You can read more at Thunder, The Perfect Mind

[thequeensofmemes]

Beauty and the Beast Lyrics

Belle:

Little town, it's a quiet village, very day like the one before

Little town, full of little people

There goes the baker with his tray, like always

Every morning just the same, since the morning that we came to this poor, provincial town

ave you lost something again?

Problem is, I've—I can't remember what

Oh well, I'm sure it'll come to me

Where are you off to?

It's about two lovers in fair Verona

Sounds boring

Look there she goes, that girl is strange, no question

Dazed and distracted, can't you tell?

Never part of any crowd,'cause her head's up on some cloud

No denying she's a funny girl

Bonjour! Good day! How is your family?

Bonjour! Good day! How is your wife?

I need six eggs!

That's too expensive!

There must be more than this provincial life!

Ahh, if it isn't the only bookworm in town!

So, where did you run off to this week?

Two cities in Northern Italy

I didn't want to come back

Have you got any new places to go?

You may re-read any of the old ones that you'd like

Your library makes our small corner of the world feel big

Bon voyage!

Look there she goes, the girl is so peculiar

I wonder if she's feeling well, with a dreamy, far-off look and her nose stuck in a book

Oh, isn't this amazing?

It's my favorite part because

Here's where she meets Prince Charming

She won't discover that it's him 'til Chapter Three!

Her looks have got no parallel

Behind that fair facade, I'm afraid she's rather odd

She's nothing like the rest of us

Look at her, my future wife

But she's so... well-read!

Ever since the war, I've felt like I've been missing something.

I don't know what that means

Right from the moment when I met her, saw her, I said she's gorgeous and I fell

Here in town, there's only she, Who is beautiful as me

Be still, my heart, I'm hardly breathing

He's such a tall, dark, strong and handsome brute!

It's a pity and a sin

She doesn't quite fit in

A beauty but a funny girl

How does a moment last forever:

How does a moment last forever?

How can a story never die?

It is love we must hold onto

Sometimes our happiness is captured, somehow, a time and place stand still

Love lives on inside our hearts and always will

Belle Reprise:

Can you imagine? Me, the wife of that boorish, brainless...

Can't you just see it?

His little wife, ugh

No, sir! Not me! I guarantee it

I want much more than this provincial life!

I want adventure in the great wide somewhere

I want it more than I can tell

And for once it might be gran, to have someone understand

I want so much more than they've got planned...

Gaston:

Gosh, it disturbs me to see you, looking so down in the dumps

Every guy here'd love to be you, even when taking your lumps

There's no man in town as admired as you

You're everyone's favorite guy

Everyone's awed and inspired by you and it's not very hard to see why

Perfect, a pure paragon!

As a specimen, yes, I'm intimidating!

Well, there's no one as easy to bolster as you!

Too much?

When I hunt, I sneak up with my quiver and beasts of the field say a prayer

First, I carefully aim for the liver, then I shoot from behind

Is that fair?

I don't care

I'm especially good at expectorating!

When I was a lad, I ate four dozen eggs, every morning to help me get large

I'm roughly the size of a barge!

Be our guest:

Now we invite you to relax,

Be our guest!

Put our service to the test

Tie your napkin 'round your neck, cherie and we'll provide the rest

It's delicious

After all, Miss, this is France

And a dinner here is never second best

Go on, unfold your menu

Come on and lift your glass

Ah, those good old days when we were useful...

Ten years we've been rusting

Most days we just lay around the castle

Days in the sun:

When my life has barely begun

Not until my whole life is done, will I ever leave you

Will you now forever remain, out of reach of my arms?

All those days in the sun, qhat I'd give to relive just one

Undo what's done and bring back the light

Oh, I could sing of the pain these dark days bring, still it's the wonder of us I sing of tonight

How in the midst of all this sorrow, can so much hope and love endure

I was innocent and certain, now I'm wiser but unsure

I can't go back into my childhood

I can feel a change in me

I'm stronger now but still not free

Days in the sun, will return, we must believe

That days in the sun will come shining through

Something there:

There's something sweet, and almost kind

He was mean and he was coarse and unrefined and now he's dear, and so unsure

I wonder why I didn't see it there before

No, it can't be, I'll just ignore, but then she's never looked at me that way before

Who'd have ever thought that this could be?

True, that he's no Prince Charming, but there's something in him that I simply didn't see

Well, who'd have thought?

Well, bless my soul

Well, who'd have known?

Well, who indeed? And who'd have guessed they'd come together on their own?

It's so peculiar, wait and see, we'll wait and see a few days more, there may be something there that wasn't there before

What is it, what's there?

I'll tell you when you're older

How does a moment last forever montmarte:

This is the Paris of my childhood

These were the borders of my life

In this crumbling, dusty attic, where an artist loved his wife

Easy to remember, harder to move on, knowing the Paris of my childhood is gone

Beauty and the beast:

Tale as old as time, true as it can be

Barely even friends, then somebody bends

Just a little change

Both a little scared

Neither one prepared

Learning you were wrong

Evermore:

I was the one who had it all

I was the master of my fate

I never needed anybody in my life

I learned the truth too late

I'll never shake away the pain

I close my eyes but she's still there

I let her steal into my melancholy heart

It's more than I can bear

Now I know she'll never leave me, even as she runs away

She will still torment me, calm me, hurt me, move me, come what may

Wasting in my lonely tower, waiting by an open door

I'll fool myself, she'll walk right in and be with me for evermore

I rage against the trials of love, I curse the fating of the light, though she's already flown so far beyond my reach

She's never out of sight

Now I know she'll never leave me, even as she fades from view

She will still inspire me, be a part of everything I do

The mob song:

We're not safe until he's dead

He'll come stalking us at night

Sacrifice our children to his monstrous appetite

He'll wreak havoc on our village if we let him wander free

So it's time to take some actio, it's time to follow me

It's a nightmare, but it's one exciting ride

Say a prayer, then we're there

There's something truly terrible inside

It's a beast he's got fangs, razor sharp ones, massive paws, killer claws for the feast

Hear him roar see him foam

We're not coming home 'til he's dead

Light your torch mount your horse

Screw your courage to the sticking place

Call it war call it threat

Iin times like this, they'll do just as I say

There's a beast running wild, there's no question, but I fear there are monsters in the mist

Grab your sword grab your bow

Praise the Lord and here we go

We don't like what we don't understand in fact it scares us

Bring your guns bring your knives

Save your children and your wives

We'll save our village and our lives

We go marching into battle

Unafraid although the danger's just increased

Here we come, we're fifty strong