#cause the best kind of ship is friendship can i get an amen??????

[kagedbird]

Taliesin: Hm… Allora?

Allora: *calling out from the other room* Yes?

Taliesin: I could have sworn I had a bundle of apples stashed away in your kitchen for safe keeping, but I don’t see it anywhere. Have you gone and stolen them all?

Allora: Oh! *rustling noises before the sound of hurried footsteps come closer; Allora’s head popping into the open doorway to the kitchen* They’re all chopped and peeled for you, I put them away in separate containers so you can munch on them whenever you wanted. Sorry! I forgot to tell you.

Taliesin: *watches her rummage around near where his feet were at a new storage cubby he’d glanced over, blinking in confusion* I? You… peeled them for me?

Allora: Well, I mean, I remembered some fun cutting techniques for apples from home and figured you might not mind so much so long as you still got to eat them. Here! *pulls out a hand made container, opening it to reveal fresh apples on top of a little paper charm attached to the base of the container, with all the apples shaped like bunnies*

Taliesin: *stares at them before slowly taking the container in hand, mouth popping open ever so slightly as his eyes grew wide* …

Allora: *smiles up at him but it quickly drops as he continues to just stare seemingly incredulously at the apples, wringing her hands together in front of her chest* Um… uh, but I absolutely should have asked for— for permission first, I’m… I’m sorry. I’ll get you more apples—

Taliesin: *tilts the container slightly towards her, gesturing to the paper charm on the base* What is this? It looks like there’s a ward on it of some kind.

Allora: *closes her mouth shut from being interrupted before slowly beginning to speak once more* …That’s… it’s a ward, yes. I, um… I still don’t really understand how people just keep food fresh as it sits out on its own for days, so, I just… w–well, back home we have things like mini coolers and fridges, freezers— th–things that keep food cold and fresh, so I… experimented. *scratches the back of her scalp, eyes flickering between him and the container*

Taliesin: *glances down to where the other containers were, all hand made, all likely having the same paper charms, knowing that it likely took at least a good day for the apples alone, shaking his head* …I don’t understand.

Allora: Sorry?

Taliesin: Why do this? Any of this?

Allora: *squeezes her hands together before shrugging* I dunno? You said you liked apples a lot. I do too. And I know that… we don’t really get a chance to just be people, with what I’m forced to do here in this world. And neither of us have had a great upbringing… I figured you might not have had the opportunity to get a present like this, so… I wanted to.

Taliesin: And the bunnies?

Allora: You like those too, right? I–I maybe… shouldn’t have made it into that— it’s not to mock you for being vegetarian! Shit, I didn’t even think about that until now…. Sorry…

Taliesin: *takes a bunny apple and looks at it, trying to will himself to get past its cuteness to eat it; tearing up instead at the levels of thoughtfulness from someone who hated his guts when they first met* …

Allora: *sees his tears and feels alarm bells going off in her head* O–oh! Taliesin! Please, you don’t— you don’t have to—!

Taliesin: [voice wracked with tears just barely kept at bay] If you attempt to take these from me, I will be forced to bite you in a way that is not my usual standards of foreplay.

Allora: *blinks, snorting, feeling too many conflicting emotions at once with this interaction* Uh… okay?...

Taliesin: *takes a deep breath and eats the bunny apple, relishing the sweet juices that flooded in his mouth and over his tongue, sending him straight back to his youth when he ate too many apples and got a stomach ache for it* …

Allora: *holding onto her wrist as she waits, unsure if she can just dismiss herself at this point or if he needs some weird emotional support* …

Taliesin: *closes the container with a thick swallow of the apple, clearing his throat, and nodding* …Acceptable.

Allora: You’re crying.

Taliesin: [choked up] That’s besides the point. *clears his throat again, not looking at her* Thank you… for your gift— gifts. I… *clutches onto the container tightly, unsure how to make a joke out of this to levy the air, too emotionally overwhelmed*

Allora: *smiles softly, knowing that chest straining sensation trying to hold everything back felt like and gently touched his arm* Hey. Wanna learn how to cut the apples into bunnies? It’s pretty relaxing.

Taliesin: *sees the out for what it is and shakes his head, “casually” sniffling* Oh, absolutely not. I wouldn’t dare to think to take this skill away from you so I would be made to do this for myself instead. But… I wouldn’t mind watching you do it, in the future.

Allora: *huffs at his attempt at covering up, stepping back as she just let him have it with an eye roll* Sure bud, it’s a date. We’ll go have a picnic and do it. *turns and waves her hand over her shoulder in departure, leaving him be*

Taliesin: *watches her go, blinking, before looking back down at the container— surprised to see small burnished etchings around the edges of the top reading: “Property of Taliesin, only allowed to be opened by Allora for refills. No touch!”* …Hah. That girl…

[joesbbqandfootmassage]

We need to talk about Jane and Carlos…

So if someone had to ask me what one of the most underrated things in the world was, I would definitely say dcoms. (Disney Channel Original Movies)

They’re cheesy and dumb and not a single one lacks their flaws.

But they are still just so fun to watch and you just get a whole new experience from watching dcoms than you do any other movie.

Now among all those dcoms is a sub genre of musicals, being made popular by the one and only High School Musical trilogy. But we also have the Cheetah Girls, Teen Beach Movie, ZOMBIES, and the Descendants.

Now while all of those movie series are amazing in their own right, I’m gonna zero in on Descendants.

Kenny Ortega’s big return to Disney Channel and oh my gosh was it hyped up.

You couldn’t go two minutes watching Suite Life on Deck reruns without having this shoved in your face.

And you’d be dang right if you thought I was excited to see it. The children of iconic Disney characters all in one shared universe? Sign me the heck up!

Of course we got rid of cable before it came out and it would be maybe two years later until i finally considered watching it with my sister.

Needless to say our reaction could be boiled down to, “Oh. Oh no.”

Love it or hate it, as a movie lover I can say that D1 is a fundamentally broken movie on every level.

Nothing is developed enough and it relies way too heavily on you loving Mal as a character. Spoiler alert, I don’t.

But regardless of that, D1 also introduced me to a guy named Carlos De Vil.

Now i will never be able to comprehend WHY on Earth, puppy-skinning, vampire bat, inhumane beast, Cruella De Vil would EVER do the do with anyone and then still keep the baby after not killing it during pregnancy.

But she did and there he was.

Canonically physically and mentally abused by his mother to such a degree that he wakes up at night screaming.

Something Disney had never really had the guts to do before.

And immediately he charmed the heck out of me because regardless of how awful he had it on the Isle, it didn’t take a genius to see that he was a genuinely a good person at heart.

He was so clearly different and that was shown through maybe a culmination of like five minutes of screen time and Cameron’s incredible acting abilities.

And he deserved so much more in those movies than what was given to him but I won’t complain.

Because we still need to talk about another sweetheart.

Jane gets even less development than Carlos which is to be expected since she isn’t a main character, but you can still figure out and understand her if you read between the lines.

In D1 you not only get the fact that she likes to hide in her own little bubble, but she’s also incredibly insecure. So much so that Mal is quickly able to see it and take advantage of it.

Spending her whole life having to repeat that it’s not the outside that matters, it’s the inside, even though she doesn’t completely believe.

And then someone comes forward and basically validates her in her belief that she isn’t pretty, but she could be if she stopped focusing on the inside.

That’s what leads to her downward spiral throughout the movie as she lets her newfound “beauty” (seriously bobbed hair is cute and Disney needs to calm down) go to her head and she turns on Mal and the rest of the VKs.

Now while I find Mal to be completely irrational, her reversing Jane’s spell makes sense.

It’s Jane’s actions that follow.

Her, so desperate to be beautiful (literally she is so gorgeous how?) deciding to steal her mother’s wand isn’t paced very well and doesn’t make a lot of sense in the plot. But they just wanted to avoid Mal being the cause of the barrier being brought down so her redemption would be easier.

A classic Kylo Ren of avoiding direct contact and having it all be indirect so they can easily be forgiven later.

Now by all means after her actions that day, I’m surprised Jane herself isn’t sent to jail.

But I guess in D3 they show that they have an AK bias so whatever.

Now the important thing about this is that Carlos is there for all of Jane’s worst moments.

The moments where she is not at her best emotionally and it’s manifesting in bad ways. He knows that Mal had planned to use her to get to the wand in the first place before dumping her when that wasn’t going anywhere.

He knows that’s she’s afraid of them by the way she reacts to them in her first scene in Goodness Class.

He knows all of that.

And he still drags her onto a dance floor, refusing to let her be alone.

You could argue that Jay was there too, but her immediately ditched to jump on the Audrey train so…

This small moment, Carlos’ selfless act of kindness, plants a seed that most people laughed at or rolled their eyes - but all the same it was there.

And that little seed began to grow until two years later (six months in the actual movies) we get a beautiful Janelos flower.

Now D2 Janelos is some quality stuff and never have I seen so many people hate a ship that hasn’t done anything wrong.

And I think it’s fitting that Carlos’ arc for D2 is all centered around Jane.

In the first movie, he conquered his fear of dogs.

Now in this movie, he conquers his fear of being rejected by her.

Now if you’re an over analyzer by nature and a Carlos stan by choice, you tend to pick up on subtleties that Disney doesn’t have the guts to cover. Most notably, Carlos being touch/affection starved

You can see it in the ways his mother doesn’t show him love outside of threats and total, emotional reliance. In the way the VKs don’t particularly reciprocate his touches unless absolutely necessary. Or unless you’re Jay and you need to pull and alpha male moment and start wrastling.

And you can definitely see it in the way he thrives off of contact with Dude, and later, Jane.

Now somehow you people don’t think it is absolutely incredible that Carlos De Vil, physically and emotionally abused since birth, grew up on the Isle where love and dating were not a common place thing, fell in love.

And with the girl that was afraid of him in the first movie.

And omg I could talk about Carlos “Heart Eyes” De Vil forever and ever. Amen.

But instead I’m gonna talk about the three most major Janelos scenes in the film.

First one is gonna be the truth gummy scene.

First of all, Carlos’ puppy dog eyes when he’s thinking about Jane restore my life to the full one million years I am supposed to live.

People you are not allowed to overlook what Carlos was going to do in this short and beautiful scene.

Because he’s never really lived a life where he can speak his mind and share his feelings, the whole movie he’s struggling to even figure out how he can open up to Jane.

Not change his personality to get her attention.

Not making a love potion that’ll force her to love him.

No, he decides that the only way to approach it is honesty - by that I mean he agrees to sacrifice lying for the rest of his mortal life. And Mal gives him plenty of reasons to back out, most of them being about her but still, and he simply replies, “I’ll take my chances.”

Ugh.

The world did not do anything good enough to earn Carlos De Vil.

But the thing is, the truth gummy is his only hope to help him spit out how he feels about Jane. Because whenever he’s in her presence all he can do is freeze up and stutter. Simply due to the fact that when he’s faced with the chance, Carlos has no clue how to describe what he feels and what he wants.

But he knows that his heart does.

It’s in there somewhere and dang he’s gonna get it out because he cares about her so much and just wants to TELL her how he feels when he looks at her.

Of course then Dude eats it and all those years Carlos’ heart eyes had given me instantly went away again.

And then the whole Janelos plot line takes a bit of a nap until the third act of the movie when Carlos decides that Mal alienating herself from the Core Four ain’t helping her mental health and their friendship.

That’s when he drops the absolute BARS of knowledge, “Then don’t.”

He tells her that she never should change herself just to make someone else happy, you’ll never know if they really love you that way.

And I just wanna take a moment to wonder where Carlos got all these strong good person energies, because being raised on an Isle where love and dating aren’t even concepts should show in all the VKs.

Yet in D2 and D3 we can see that Carlos and Evie both seem to approach love with an impressive maturity that I can’t even fathom how they figured it out.

His advice is a comfort to Mal as well as Jay’s protective big brother move, and then we get to see the way his own advice affects him.

His Lovecraftian horror paraphrases what he said in the earlier conversation, “If she doesn’t love you for who you are than she isn’t the one.”

But this applies differently than in the Ben/Mal situation.

Carlos doesn’t try to change who he is or how he acts (unless you count the sacrificing lying thing but that wasn’t really used to earn her love so) but he gets the general idea.

And so, Carlos offers himself to her.

Just him, and a date and his love because that’s all he has to give her.

And she can either say yes and accept him and he can finally begin to understand what he’s feeling.

Or, she can turn him away - not wanting anything to do with what he has for her.

Which leads to such a beautiful scene, ugh I could write songs about the Janelos confession scene it’s that good.

First you see Carlos running at the speed of sound just to catch her, and he was definitely running around the whole campus because he absolutely needed to do this before he chickened out like every other time in the movie.

And at first it doesn’t seem to click in Jane’s head, because she’s only ever been just Jane.

Not pretty like Audrey or athletic like Lonnie.

Boys didn’t flirt with her or ask her out on dates, certainly not the boys she liked.

So of course, like the other times he had tried, she just wasn’t getting it. Too preoccupied with party planning and not getting her hopes up to let it sink in.  And that’s when Carlos does something that he didn’t even need a truth gummy to do.

He gives her a list of all that he can give her, looking into her eyes and waiting for her to take or leave it

And not only does she take it, but she fully adds all the things on the list that she’s always wanted to do with him, giving herself right back to him in the process.

Leaving Carlos absolutely shocked and overwhelmed and happy.

He just figured she’d either say yes or no.

Her giving herself to him wasn’t even a consideration in his mind.

And then she throws him for a loop once again, by throwing her arms around him and holding him tight.

And honestly, Carlos’ reaction says it all.

The first time somebody initiated legitimate affection towards him, and it’s from the girl he loves no less.

He’s at a loss for words and can’t even fathom what he’s feeling, but finally, Carlos is the one hugging back. Clinging onto her for dear life because it’s almost like he can’t believe this is real.

The next time we see them, they’re both looking super fine at cotillion; and let me tell you that seeing touch starved Carlos finally getting to hold hands and cuddle with his girlfriend makes me weak every time. You can see that for now, they’re figuring it out, they’ve both been super far away from the whole love thing so now they’ve just gotta go at a healthy pace for them.

Regardless of that, you can really see how much they not only love but need each other.

And then it was gonna be another two years until we’d get to figure what the writers were gonna do with Janelos, if anything at all.

During that time I had gotten well acquainted with the horrifying wall of Janelos hate you had to walk along before getting occasional content. So obviously, I chose to have nothing to do with the fandom and then Janelos fell off my radar again until I found the nerve to watch the third movie.

And oh my goodness remember just a few lines ago when I said that Jane and Carlos needed each other?

That was the key point of their story in D3.

While I think it’s poorly shown, Carlos’ character arc from a quiet abuse victim with a good heart to an honest to goodness hero (I’m talking the kinds they write songs about) is just amazingly beautiful and deserved so much more screen time than it actually got.

In D3, Carlos finally has something to lose.

Or, more accurately, something he needs to protect.

I really wish they had zeroed in on him worrying about Jane more, because while it was still there it wasn’t very focused on.

Not that I can be mad because their reuniting scene was something that made me immediately sit up in my chair and go, “Oh my fluffing gosh they have a thing.”

Like I’m sorry, what?

You’re telling me that whenever they cling to each other like that Carlos has that same look of just, pure happiness.

“She loves me and I love her, I’m never letting her go.”

Carlos De Vil went from someone who had never known or felt love in his life, to loving a girl so much it made me fall out of my chair.

D3 just wanted to remind us that the VKs have come very far, and now they’re happy and loved and we don’t need to worry about them.

All I can say is that Jane and Carlos are just an amazing couple if you step back and just look at what it means for them to be together.

A touch starved abuse victim and an insecure cheerleader fell in love and surrendered their hearts completely. And you don’t see that anywhere near Disney as a franchise, much less dcoms.

Bottom line, I know I went off for a hot minute but if we’re being honest I still have about a trillion things I could say about “Jarlos.”

But I’m pretty sure I’ve elaborated enough  to get my point across.

I just wanna say that Carlos would literally never let his mother come anywhere near the light of his life and that was some total BS.

[writingismyhappytime]

Haunted

This is the second chapter from my published book Haunted. It can be found here.

Description:

Amelia Hale's college is all fun and games until she dies and comes back. Now her life is filled with disgruntled ex boyfriends, her dead best friend haunting her, and demon ghost hunters. Needless to say, Amelia's life gets complicated very quickly. Especially when the lead demon takes an interest in her that's more than just professional.

The first chapter is here.

I'm going crazy, or my best friend is haunting me.

I pretend not to notice, I continue writing, my pen a little shaky in my hand. I hunch over my desk, biting my lip. I know she's there, perched on the edge of her bed, staring at me.

It's not Laura, at least, I mean, I don't know. It sort of looks like her, but... not her? Is that as crazy as it sounds? It's got her high cheekbones, her blonde hair, the clothes she wore when she died. It even has the childish friendship bracelet around her wrist, the same one I still wear as well.

But she looks... flat. A washed out version of herself, with hollowed out eyes that are nothing but blackness. It scares me to look at her, so I try not too, I try to pretend she's not there. She never moves, she just sits there every night, like she has since I've returned to the dorm.

At first, I thought I was dreaming, just a figment of my imagination. I'd roll over and see a glimpse of her in the corner of my eye, but that's what you do when you lose someone, right? You think you can still see them, that they're still there --- it's denial, it's how your brain handles grief.

And yet.... I don't think this is normal.

I chew my lip until it's sore, my fingers tightening around the blue pen. Okay brain, the freaky hallucinations can stop now. This isn't cool. I'm not into the whole horror genre thing! I hate horror movies, I don't even like the cheesy ones.

I don't like feeling scared and uneasy, I spent my entire childhood that way. Living in foster care isn't all milk and cookies, it's awful, and I'd spent every day wondering if I was going to get shipped to a new home, a worse home.

At least now I have control over my life.

Or so I thought.

Considering my dead friend is watching me from across the room, I'm starting to have second thoughts. My pen eventually stills against the paper, just leaving a blue blot against the white. I don't want to turn around, but I know she's still there, I can feel her looking at me.

It's like the hair on the back of my neck stands on end, and I get this choking feeling, this inability to move. I know it's fear, it's a familiar feeling, and the tightness in my chest is nothing new. I take meds for anxiety, which has been tripled since the accident, but they don't stop me from seeing her.

I'm afraid to say anything to anyone, I'm afraid that I'm going crazy. Do people know when they are?

I bite my lip, my teeth digging deeper into my skin until it begins to hurt. I need to get up, I need to do something! I can't just keep sitting here pretending she isn't there!

What if she needs help moving on? Isn't that a thing?

I feel stupid thinking it, but as much weird shit goes on in the world, is it really any surprise ghosts exist? Am I accepting that they do over the fact that I could be going bonkers? I know who my biological parents are, I know the horror of their lives. I know what genes they've passed down to me and I definitely don't want to be them.

So, okay, I'm going with ghosts are real.

Step one, acknowledged and done.

Step two, find out what Laura wants from me. She's obviously stuck here, as much as I don't want to admit it. I keep telling myself that she's moved on, but I'm growing more and more to think she hasn't.

But why is she haunting me?

What did I do?

Was the accident my fault? Did I cause it somehow?

Why is she still here?

I lean up in my chair slowly, hearing it creak with my weight. I glance at the clock nervously, seeing that it's nearly midnight. I don't hear her move, but I know Laura is standing up now, just like she is every night. She wavers back and forth on her feet, then finally turns, going towards the open door of my room.

Every night, at the same time, she does this. When I'd wake up from a fitful sleep, I'd see her leaving, or I'd see her standing --- I'd told myself I was having nightmares.

But, they're not nightmares.

Is this really reality for me now? Am I seeing her ghost? If I help her pass, will she go away? Even if she's not real, if I at least do something, will she stop showing up? Will I stop...?

I don't want to be crazy.

I don't want that kind of life, not when I have half a chance of being normal.

I curl my fingers tightly, knowing she's moving to the door, her pace slow. She takes her time as she walks out of our dorm room, turning right. I've never followed her, I don't know where she goes or if she disappears as soon as she's out of sight.

I turn in my chair, glancing around my now empty living space. The sheets on her bed are still perfect, not a single wrinkle --- it's as if she was never sitting on them.

I can't keep doing this, I can't keep pretending like everything is fine. Maybe if I follow her, she'll stop appearing. Maybe she's trying to show me something.

Maybe I'm just losing my mind and this is a one way trip on the crazy train to some asylum like my mother.

I stand, hearing my chair roll with a creak as I slowly making my way to the door. I grab my jacket off the hook behind the open door and shrug it on, peering around the edge of the doorway. I can still see her, she's moving down the hallway in the same pace.

This is so weird!

Why am I going to follow her?

Isn't this how people die in freaking horror movies!? Usually I'm the one yelling at them for having no sense at all, following the ghost down the hallway to some unknown location --- and yet here I am!

Curiosity killed the cat.

I leave my room behind, nervously keeping a big distance between the two of us. I don't know what's going to happen, and I don't want her turning around and staring at me, I don't know if I can handle that.

The lights don't flicker above her, although they do give her a not so solid form. She's not transparent, I can't really see through her, but she's not solid either --- it's like she's on a completely different level than me. The faded old carpet hides my steps as I creep after her, and I'm relieved that nothing ghostly is happening.

No flickering lights, no thunder in the distance --- it's not even cold.

I mean, I'm wearing a jacket because going outside is cold, but it's not cold because my dead friend is in the room.

Never thought I'd use that sentence.

Okay, keep it together!

Laura passes through the outside doors of the dormitories, and I hesitantly step to them. I watch her move through the glass of the door, the exit sign above buzzing. She's keeping on the concrete pathway, as if taking some kind of evening stroll. She's heading for the woods though, back where the old campus buildings are.

The new campus is nice and modern, indoor plumbing and WiFi and all the first world amenities one could ask for. It had been built in the eighties, covering much more ground. The old campus buildings are nearly forgotten about, and I'd never seen them. Laura and I had talked about sneaking out one night and taking a casual stroll through the woods just to see what they looked like, but we always backed out at the last second.

But now it looks like that's where she wants to go.

I swallow, absently chewing on my nails.

The old campus is just a few tall buildings, it had been built a hundred years ago. It's nothing impressive, so even it's historical age hadn't kept it from being abandoned. It's probably just mold and broken windows at this point --- I'm sure some frats had had parties there, though, so maybe a lot of beer cans and graffiti.

Okay, I should get going --- Laura apparently isn't going to wait on me, she's already on the grass. I push on the bar, the door opening for me silently. I hastily hurry along the concrete path, feeling the chill of the air hit my bare legs --- my basketball shorts suddenly aren't comfortable anymore. I tighten my jacket around me, in a jog to reach where Laura is.

She really could have picked a warmer night!

Or, well, I could have, considering this is just the night I decided to follow her.

Nice going on my part!

I huff, finally reaching the woodline. You only go a little ways to the old buildings, there's not a road to get there anymore, it's grown up.

Wait, why do I know that? Have I heard that somewhere?

Weird.

I start forward, feeling nervously for the phone in my pocket. There's no lights, so I hastily use the one on my phone, letting it light up the ground so I don't fall and break something else I need.

Yes, Amelia, let's go for a midnight stroll in the freaking woods, no big deal! Don't tell anyone where you're going, just go for it and get eaten by a bear!

Whoo!

I know how to have a fun time!

Aggravated, I side step some briers, muttering under my breath. I'd twisted my hair back into a ponytail, so I can feel it brush my neck occasionally as I walk, only making my nerves worse. I can't see Laura now, so either she took another path or she'd abandoned me out here in these woods to get eaten by a wild animal.

Why is she even heading for the old campus?

Why do I even know that's where she's going? Maybe I'm just assuming, like I always do, that I know everything --- she'd accused me of that all the time.

I can see the brick buildings through the trees now, the sky is cloudless, so even though the moon isn't full it's bright enough. I finally step out of the woods, sticks and leaves crunching beneath my converse. I give it a moment, staring.

There's only three buildings, set in a half circle with a small, open space between them all. One served as a lecture building, I'm sure, another the dormitory and the other --- well, I don't know what it would have been for. I begin walking, the grass is high and brushing my waist as I attempt to find some kind of path; I guess no one mows out here, after all.

Finally, I find some concrete, and I step onto it, seeing chalk markings glowing in the night. Oh, nice, a little bunny rabbit sucking a dick, how lovely. Someone has such great art skills.

I glance around, and I just barely see her, standing on the cracked and crumbling steps of the building straight in front of me. The sidewalks are almost nonexistent now, the grass and moss growing over them. The brick building has vines growing up it, through some of the windows and across the roof. I'm right, some windows are missing, but honestly the buildings aren't in as bad of shape as I would have thought.

Laura is hovering on the steps, looking like she's listening to someone. Her hand rises, pressing against her lips as she giggles, a habit she always had because she was embarrassed of her teeth. They were just a little crooked, I thought they were fine, but she never did.

I watch as she turns back to the entrance of the building. There's not a door, there probably hasn't been one in years. It's just... empty. She walks inside of it, swatting behind her as if beckoning me to come.

I hesitate, feeling a sense of deja vu sweep over me, as if I've already done this. Why do I feel like I've been here before, in this exact situation?

I take a hesitant step forward, a bad feeling settling over me. I shouldn't go inside that building, something bad happened there. I know this, I feel this, and yet --- well, Laura is going inside! If I wait too long, I'll lose her trail, and I want to find out what's going on!

I should go after her, but I don't want too. I want to turn around, go back to my dorm, and pretend this never happened. I'd pretend until tomorrow night, when she returns and sits on her bed, staring at me with those black, soulless eyes.

As she will for the rest of my college experience until I do something about it! I take in a deep breath, then charge forward, determined. I'm going to end this haunt or whatever it is tonight! I'm done with this, I just want everything to go back to normal again!

My shoes are loud as they hit the concrete steps, as if announcing to the buildings inhabitants that I'm coming. I hesitate just on the threshold of the stone porch, but I can't exactly stop now. I can still see Laura, looking from room to room, not too far ahead of me. My eyes flick nervously around the interior, seeing the hole in the ceiling to the second floor, the fallen light in the middle of the highway. Everything is dark, webs cover the walls and dangle from the ceiling, and there's dirt and other unmentionables on the floor. Beer cans, yes, and other trash that let's me know very quickly I was right about the frat parties.

Why is Laura here? What's the point of this?

I travel forward nervously, chills running up my spine the second I enter the building. I feel sick, this is definitely the last place I want to be. I stop walking, my cell phone light pointing at the floor as I watch Laura. She's stopped in the middle of the long hall, looking off into one of the rooms. My eyes flick to either side of me, but this building is long void of any furniture, so I can't tell what it once housed.

It sort of looks like dorms, at least from the size of the rooms, but I'm not sure.

I want to call out to her, I want to ask what she's looking at. But I'm afraid to speak, I don't want to disturb the eerie silence with words. I feel like if I do, something else will know I'm here. I can't explain what, it doesn't even make sense to me why I'm doing this!

Again, brain, what the hell?

Where are my self preservation instincts?

Did they jump ship when I died?

I hold my breath, and I force one step in front of the other. I'm freaking out on the inside, my right hand is actually shaking, making the light twitch back and forth. Why am I doing this? Why am I following a ghost? What if she's not real and I'm losing my mind?

How many times am I going to think that?

I can hear my breathing, and it sounds so loud, so living. Laura is completely silent, even when I'd known she was laughing earlier, I couldn't hear it. She's still just standing at that one door, her expression blank now, as if the earlier emotions had just drained out of her and returned her to that hollowed form.

The one that scares me.

I shuffle forward, doing my best not to trip over the collapsed light in the floor, wires trailing out of the ceiling. It's a good thing there's no electricity here anymore.

I edge closer to Laura, rubbing the goosebumps rising on my arms. I haven't been this close to her before, at least not by choice, and it's unsettling. It does feel a little colder, but that could just be my imagination. My jacket suddenly isn't helping, either.

I finally make it within an arm's length of her, but she doesn't seem to notice me. She just stares into the doorway, and I make sure to focus on the lower half of her face, not her missing eyes. Her skin looks like it's made of paper, and she's just --- I can't even describe it!

She's not vibrant, she's just flat. Her skin is nearly gray, her lips have no color, her hair lays limp against her head. Her clothes just hang on her, where I know they're supposed to cling in certain places; she only wore clothes that accentuated her kick ass figure. Her earrings dangle, but they don't glimmer with the light, they don't even move!

She's so still, her chest doesn't even shift for a breath.

Not that she needs any, I guess, but still.

My head turns, following her line of sight.

[princesstadashi]

For the Fandom questions Fandom: Big Hero 6 Ship: Fredashi Character: Tadashi (I can already guess most of your answers but I want you to answer them anyways. Pretty please)

Aw!!! You just asked something I will happily go on about for eternity, thank you!!! Let me take a crack at this! ^^

Big Hero 6:

Favorite character: Tadashi, honestly!

Least Favorite character: Oh man… Y’know, until recently I would have said Alistair Krei, but then my friend @dragonfangirl92801 got me started on this ADORABLE AU where Cass, Callaghan, and Krei were best friends in high school and pretty much the Marauders of the BH 6 universe (they even have nicknames for each other: Catwoman, Einstein, and Beethoven) and they end up all having happy endings (Callaghan and Cass eventually get married after Callaghan’s first wife dies and they raise Tadashi, Hiro, and Abi together as well as their own son, Harry, and there IS NO PORTAL INCIDENT so no revenge plot, no Tadashi dying in the fire, and Alistair is Best Uncle^TM) and IT. IS. PRECIOUS. So now I can’t really hate Alistair anymore… XD So I’d say–Yama. Yep, sorry Yama, you have no real redeeming qualities so throwing you under the bus! XD

5 Favorite ships (canon or non-canon):

Fredashi

Hezra (Hiro/Ezra Bridger)

HoneyGoGo

Cassaghan

Uh… Kind of ran out of characters…. IDK, Mochi/Baymax if we want a crack ship? XD

Character I find most attractive: Tadashi. I’m gay, but still. DAMN.

Character I would marry: Also Tadashi.

Character I would be best friends with: I think you guys know this by now… XD

A random thought: Well, today I was listening to an old 80′s radio station and the song “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” came on and as much as I love the idea of Tadashi being a dork and singing “I Need a Hiro/Hero” to Hiro, I totally imagined Tadashi busting out into this song for GoGo in the middle of the Nerd Lab. Yes, there were a few bruised ribs created in the aftermath. It was worth it. XD (Honey Lemon has the whole thing on video and Hiro backed it up online where GoGo could never delete it.)

An unpopular opinion: I see Tadashi as more… feminine than most people are comfortable with? I mean, part of it’s just me projecting myself on the character because I RP him, but I also take a lot of my eldest brother (who’s a lot like my own Tadashi) and put it into him and my bro’s a total nerd and still unashamedly loves stuff like My Little Pony so I think Tadashi could totally love ponies and maybe even crossplaying and still be the character we see in the movie!

My canon OTP: Uh… Fred’s dad and mom? XD (Not a lot of options there, but I tried!)

Non-canon OTP: FREDASHI!!!!!

Most badass character: First person who came to mind was GoGo, but honestly? I think Aunt Cass is TOTALLY underappreciated and deserves the title! She raised two nephews all on her own even though she had no clue what she was doing, survived losing at least two family members (whichever one of Hiro and Tadashi’s parents was her sibling and then Tadashi), ran a Cafe all on her own while still being extremely involved in her nephews’ lives, AND put up with all of Hiro and Tadashi’s crazy inventions and schemes? BADASS.

Pairing I am not a fan of: Uh… CallaDashi? No hate to other shippers, but just not my thing. Also maybe TadaGoGo? Also not hate, I just–I don’t really see it? But hey, what I love about BH 6 is that there are no canon relationships and there’s kind of evidence for any ship if you really look for it (PLEASE BH 6 show don’t ruin this!) So feel free to ship whoever you choose, I love all of you even if we don’t have the same favorite ships! 

Character I feel the writers screwed up (in one way or another): Uh… Hm. Maybe Fred? Like, he was mainly played off as just the comic relief, but if you look into his backstory (canon Disney material!) he volunteered for countless charity organizations and audited classes at SFIT just for the sake of learning, even if it wasn’t a part of his degree plan! He somehow managed to do all of that, PLUS work on his own English degree, PLUS be a university mascot, PLUS keep up with all his nerd fandoms that we can only assume he’s in, PLUS being there for all of his friends when they needed him?? DUDE. FRED. IS. AMAZING. And seriously one of the most underrated characters in the movie!!!!

Favourite friendship: I love all of them!!! //

Fredashi:

when or if I started shipping it. Not gonna lie, my original ship was TadaHoney (that’s what got me into the fandom) but then my best friend @kingdomheartsloversstuff somehow got me started on Fredashi and, well, the rest is history!!! XD (Shipping Fredashi honestly helped me actually come out so yeah, they’re pretty important to me.)

my thoughts: PRECIOUS CINNAMON ROLLS TO PURE FOR THIS WORLD>

What makes me happy about them: Nerdy best friends who go from reading comics together at Fred’s house while doing superhero movie marathons and going to conventions in extremely detailed cosplays to being precious boyfriends who do the same things? YES PLEASE!

What makes me sad about them: The Fire NOPE DON’T REMEMBER IT DIDN’T HAPPEN

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Um… Probably that of the very few Fredashi fics that are out there that aren’t written by me (*hint**hint*Plz check out my FF or AO3 accounts for fluffy fanfics Plz and Thankies? XD) a lot of them are hardcore smut. Like, I can handle some heavy fluff, but when pretty much the entire premise of the fic is just Fred and Tadashi having sex with no real character or relationship building? I just… Sorry, I can’t do it. I’ve tried because I’m desperate for content, but I just can’t.

Things I look for in fanfic: Good relationship building, lots of sweet/awkward/nerdy moments! Slowburns hurt but they hurt so good so I guess those are okay too? XD

My kinks: Fred and Tadashi being happy together for forever, no fire happening or Tadashi surviving the fire, and no one touches the cinnamon rolls ever again, AMEN.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Well… I mean, TadaHoney is okay, I guess? Not my ship anymore, but there’s some pretty cute stuff for it. As for Fred? I remember seeing some cute stuff for GoGozilla, and for Fredsabi, too, so either of those would be alright, I think. (BUT I AM STILL DIEHARD FREDASHI ‘TIL THE END, YOU CAN PRY IT FROM MY COLD DEAD FINGERS!)

My happily ever after for them: Tadashi somehow survives the fire (I love the idea that maybe Fred’s dad rescued him!) and them being reunited and after graduation getting married! Hiro and Tadashi start their dream company, Hamada Bros Inc, and Fred becomes a sci-fi/fantasy writer! Eventually Tadashi creates technology so that he and Fred can have biological kids and they have two precious children, a little boy named Danny and little girl named Rose and are amazing uncles to Hiro and Ezra’s babies, Pypey (adopted), Hope, and Dev!

[dailyaudiobible]

11/25/2018 DAB Transcript

Daniel 1:1-2:23, 1 Peter 3:8-4:6, Psalms 119:65-80, Proverbs 28:14

Today is the 25th day of November. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I’m Brian. It's great to be here with you as we turn the knob and walk through into a fresh, sparkly, shiny, new week. And we’re at the one month mark, one month from today will be Christmas day. And that being the reality, this is the last week of November. Before we end this week we will be in the final month of the year. So, let's take the next step forward. And the next step forward actually leads us into a brand-new book, we concluded the book of Ezekiel yesterday. And, so, now…well…we’re going to enter into one of the most interesting books in the Old Testament, the book of Daniel.

Introduction to the book of Daniel:

Daniel is a prized book for it’s historical account, but it's not just the book of history, it’s a book of prophecy and it's prized for its sweeping prophetic visions. In fact, Daniel's visions have been consulted over millennia in the studies of the end times. But in his life, Daniel was a contemporary of Ezekiel, right, the book and we spent a lot of time in cause it’s a lengthy book and concluded yesterday. So, Daniel and Ezekiel were contemporaries writing in the same time period. And Daniel was taken into exile when Jerusalem fell to Babylon, which was in 597 BC. So, we have a pretty good understanding of how difficult that season, that time of exile, that time of conquest when Jerusalem fell was from other stories that we’ve heard in the Bible. So, we know that the circumstances weren’t the best for Daniel and all those who had been exiled from Jerusalem. But, kind of like Joseph, through the struggle Daniel was favored by God. He was gifted. And he was a smart young man who rose to become an influential advisor and authority in the Babylonian kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar and then beyond. So, here's the interesting thing. Even though Daniel was in exile and he was most certainly the Hebrew and he was a prophet, he wasn't a prophet for or against Israel. Like, the visions that we’ll encounter when we go through the book of Daniel are not particularly Jewish, which gives Daniel unique voice. But before we get to those visions there's some stories that we’ll have to cover. And, so, during the first half of our time in Daniel we’ll read the story of Daniel's life. And as we’re doing that we going to encounter some of the richest stories in the Bible. Some of the most popular stories in the Bible, like the story of Shadrach Meshack and Abednego were thrown into a fiery furnace or the story of Daniel himself being thrown into the lion's den. But then as we move more into the back half of the book the focus will shift to Daniel's prophetic visions of four great world empires. And like some of the other prophetic utterances in the Bible, the imagery from Daniel is almost cinematic and highly symbolic. And this is the portion of the book that has been and continues to be scrutinized by those who are scholars of the end times, eschatological scholars. So, if that's your thing or, if that's your discipline of study, or you’re just curious, then the book of Daniel is certain to be a centerpiece of that study. But whether or not the end times is your passion, Daniel's portrayal of God's sovereignty over all the kingdoms of man is powerfully revealed. And, as I said at the beginning, you know, before we’re out of this week. we’re gonna be in the final month of the year. And, so, Daniel's gonna carry us into the final month of the year. And let’s jst settle in and enjoy the rhythm, one day forward, step-by-step. And we’ll enjoy the rich heritage of God's faithfulness and this striking prophetic imagery that's found here in the 27th  book of the Old Testament, the book of Daniel. And, so, we begin. We’ll read from the Contemporary English Version this week. Daniel, chapter 1 verse 1 through 2 verse 23 today.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. We thank You for a brand-new, shiny, sparkly week. And we thank You that it's all out in front of us. And although we may have many things and appointments and obligations that are scheduled for this coming week, we haven't lived into it yet, and we choose at the outset, at this threshold that we will walk with You in all of our ways. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to not only plant the word of God in our lives and hearts so that it provides the guidance that we need for the days ahead but we also invite Your Holy Spirit, we want intimacy with You God. We want to walk with You in fellowship, in friendship, in every meal, in every decision, in every conversation, in every activity. Come, Holy Spirit. Help us this week to end this month well and strong as we seek to move into the final month of the year, strong and focused on all that You have to speak to us in the remaining days. Come Holy Spirit we pray. In the mighty name of Jesus we ask. Amen.

Announcements:

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

And it's Christmas time around here. The Daily Audio Bible family Christmas Box for 2018 is now available and now shipping while supplies last. So, be sure to check that out in the Daily Audio Bible shop. The Daily Audio Bible Christmas cards are all available…in fact all of our resources for the season are available in the Christmas section in the Daily Audio Bible shop. So, be sure to stop by and check that out.

I want to remind those of you who are international, who are outside of the United States what I’ve been saying. This Wednesday, this coming Wednesday is the cut off for international shipping. That's the safe date that we think that we can still get things to arrive for Christmas. Of course, you can certainly order as long as you want, as long as we have them, and we’ll ship them, but if you're hoping for the Christmas Box arrive in time for Christmas then, if you're outside the United States, it needs to be ordered by Wednesday. If you're inside the United States we got a couple weeks, although, I don't think they’ll be around a couple weeks, but we’ll see. So, you can find all that in the Daily Audio Bible shop at dailyaudiobible.com in Christmas section and you can get all of that from the Daily Audio Bible app as well.

If you want to partner the Daily Audio Bible here as we begin to approach the end of the year then I thank you profoundly. I thank you with all of my heart. There is a link on the homepage at dailyaudiobible.com. If you’re using the Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

And, as always, if you have a prayer request or comment, 877-942-4253 is the number to dial.

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Hi everybody, it’s Lisa the Encourager, I mean neighbors. How y’all doing? I’ve really missed you but I really have been right here by your side. I’ve been listening and praying and crying and loving on each and every one of you from the distance. But I wanted to call tonight after getting encouragement from Mary saying that I was missed and just telling me that, you know, she was just really encouraging me tpo call back again. And I definitely wanted too. I love each and every one of you. So, tonight I just wanted to call and encourage those and pray for the DAB family who have lost loved ones this year, especially as we approach the holidays, and especially for Asia. And I just want all of us that have, including myself, I lost my father-in-law this year, my husband’s dad, Jerry Starling, and I just want us to find a greater purpose and loving on the ones who are still with us and just help us to push through and show our loved ones you know what we are still capable of while we’re on this earth and while we hear and just shower them with our love. And let’s just do all we can to please our Savior and remember that we are never alone when God is right by our side. So, I’m going to pray for each and every one of you lost of what one is here. Dear God, I pray for my Daily Audio Bible family and friends and neighbors. And I just pray for each one of them that lost a loved one this year and they have that deep sorrow and pit and emptiness inside of them. God, I just pray that you would help them push through and just try to work on a loved ones that are here and their friends and just do everything in their power Lord God to use what they have, what You have given them…

Hello, this is Anne from Charlotte North Carolina. I just wanted to say how thankful I am up for Daily Audio Bible. I’m winding up my 10th year listening. It’s hard to believe it’s gone by so quickly. And I’m so thankful to Brian and his family that he didn’t decide after one year to quit. And I just pray that God leads Brian and his family to continue this for a long time because I know my life is dependent on the daily listening to the word and the community that helps me not to feel alone every day. And listening for 10 years I am always hearing things I’ve never heard before. And when Brian was introducing the book of James as the half-brother of Jesus, I thought, I wonder if people that knew James would say, boy you look like your brother. I never thought of that before, but these were real people just like us, sinners in need of the Savior and the power of his blood in their lives and in ours. And I’m thankful that we have the blood of Jesus to cleanse us from sin, to give us newness of life every day. That’s our hope in this life and the next. So, thank you Daily Audio Bible, just for being there. I love you all. God, bless.

Hi, this is Diane calling from northern Minnesota. This is my second call in 10 years of listening to the DAB. I’m asking for prayer. Monday the 26th, I’m having surgery. They liken it to a shark bite. They’ll be removing a chunk of my thigh and lymph nodes because the melanoma and I’m scared. I’ve worked in health care for 44 years and only see the bad things, the worst. You never get to see the good because they don’t come back to us. So, please pray that it has not spread to the lymphatic system. I covet your prayers. God bless you family.

Hi Daily Audio Bible family, this is your sister Julie in Southern California. I haven’t called for quite some time but I have been praying for you and praying with you. And I just envision all of us right now sitting, right now, in front of the global campfire with Brian and holding our hands…holding each other’s hands sitting around the campfire…and just being thankful and grateful for each other and I just want you all know how grateful and thankful I am for all of you. This Daily Audio Bible has saved my life. It’s helped save my life. I’ve come out seven years ago…it’s been almost 8 years now…from an affair. And it was my doing. And my husband has since then…we have been restored. It’s just so amazing…there’s no way…I was suicidal and everything just because of my shame and guilt. But you guys helped me get through it just by listening to you. I never contested to all of you but I am now and I just want to thank you. That is a miracle. And this Thanksgiving I am grateful for Daily Audio Bible, each and every one of you and there’s too many of your name that have impacted my life in such a valuable way. Brian, thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, and I love you. And I love your family. And for all of you, may the Lord bless you and keep you, may the Lord lift up His face and shine on you. May He lift up his countenance on all of you and give you all His peace. Happy Thanksgiving family.

[humss1215-blog]

(My) TOP 5 Korean Dramas that I've watched  — and that left a meaningful realization, close to my heart.

South Korea — have my salute, as they got my respect in producing a drama. I was on my tenth grade when I started to get admired with k-drama (short for Korean drama). Now, it has a great significance with my life as it helps me to lighten up my mood, whenever I am getting bored or downcast. It helps as my way of removing stress and of skipping with problems (for a while). It plays as a home, whenever I try to find peace and something that can understand what I feel/ relates to my situation. Korean Drama, also not just taught me toward lessons in life yet also realizations.

So, here's my top 5 Korean dramas that I've watched  — and that left a meaningful realization, close to my heart.

1.) Fight for way

I've been cried many times with this drama. Particularly when Choi Ae-ra, (craving for success for the career she's under-qualified) got rejected and humiliated multiple times.

This was one of the best k-dramas that I've watched and I can assure you that this won't only make your eyes in tears yet this also make your heart pound, as it was full of romantic excitement scenes and twist.

This story made me realize how really hard it is, to reach and follow your dreams particularly when you are a less powerful person. But then you just have to continue fighting for your way, striving for your dreams and you must not give up because still, in the end, "dreams" are worth to fight for.

2.) Legend of the Blue Sea

One of the legendary k-drama that I've been watched. The collaboration of Lee Min-ho (my bias) plus Jun Ji-Hyun, were perfect here!!! I can't help myself to stop with the romantic excitement whenever they both having a scene. This drama was absolutely good, all the cast gave justice for their role. It was also full of twist, that will make your head surprise.

I've realized that "waiting" is the best thing you can do to find love. But also do not just let your faith work for your future. Always give importance with your present 'cause whatever you do today, will affect your tomorrow.

Makes me believe that love is magical, it is powerful.

3.) Hospital Ship

This was really heavy in heart. There are a lot of things that I've realized after I have done watching this series.

Realizations:

• Nobody's perfect, so neither you just try to be. It is still ok to make mistakes and to go wrong at some point in our life. Forgive yourself & give your self a chance. You won't learn how to forgive others if you won't learn how to forgive yourself.

• Every second, minute & hours are precious. So, why don't we just live in happiness? Why don't we love and feel to be loved?

• Just like the time our parents are precious. No matter who they are, no one can replace them.

• Always be good to anyone because every person has their own story we know nothing about. Be kind and be understanding to everyone we meet.

• I realized that being selfless is doing things without conditions, it is toward helping others without taking advantage, exerting love in every action you are doing and soaring a happiness that is full of passion.

• There's a time, we will feel the burden of doing things that we spiritually do, we become worn out in terms of some circumstances that make us stop. But I've realized that it all happens and it will because that is one of our purposes. (the reason why we live in this world.)

• If we sincerely do good things, greater things would come our way. ("you will surely reap what you sow")

4.) Scarlet Heart (Ryeo)

The most heartbreaking series that I've watched. Until now I can't be moved on this finale. Even its ending was annoying, I could say that this series was awesome. Aside from all the romantic excitement scenes, I've also cried a lot with this story.

I've realized that sometimes being too much kind, can lead you in trouble. Being greedy could surely lead you in distress.

This also taught me, how love can be dangerous sometimes.  But still magical & the best weapon that you can bring wherever place you are.

5.)  Go-Back Couple

This series gives me numerous realizations about my perspective towards family, love & marriage. This sweetly narrated how the power of love can only happen when the couple is amenable to convey & forgive.

Each episode has its own lesson, something that could help you realize how love, family & career should be and can be balanced.

Realizations:

• You can't see thing exactly unless you're in that position.

• Communication is really important in our daily lives ( it able us to understand, and to be able to express yourself).

• Communication must be expressed rightly so that it won't cause misunderstanding.  

• This series is an eye-opener for everyone. Especially for me which might not see daily, the struggle of my mother and father that they are going through just to give me happiness and make my life comfortable. They are really sacrificing as much for us.

• This made me understand why my parents did this and that because they really care for us. Every time is precious, so you just have to a appreciate your time with them a lot, because we don't know how long they will be with us around.

(There's more a lot, it is highly recommendable for me, [you should also watch this])

PS* each photo above has its own caption.

blog by Michael Dominguez