#he's newer to his high rank than she is and yet she's a baby by time lord standards

[natequarter]

#I’m never not thinking about just how young she is to have gone through everything she has #she’s either not even or barely 200 when she first regenerates #and she’s probably only around 400 when she becomes president #she’s so so young #and she has to deal with the weight of an entire planet on her shoulders #and everything with etra prime #and I wonder how much of this is public knowledge #do the time lords know their president is that young #when they find out are they just a little bit horrified #especially with the fact that they probably did very little to relook for her after she got captured by the daleks #people were probably like oh well #at least she went somewhere in life and then they learn that she barely lived any of her life to begin with

romana is so young in comparison to most time lords in power and regenerates so quickly. like. imagine their faces when she gives her age (idk, 300 years or something) and they go hah! why should i listen to you? you've never even regenerated! and she's like well actually, and horrifies everyone around her

[chaoticpuff17]

When the Chips are Down

part 18

masterlist

here it is, my darlings, the much awaited next chapter of WTCAD. I’ve been super busy lately, and will probably continue to be busy, so updates are going to be few and far between, but I’ll do what I can when I can.---- chaotic puff

Something was off. Y/n could feel it, see it in the way Namjoon was acting. There was a perfectly pleasant facade, but something was boiling just under the surface. She had a horrible feeling that Namjoon knew. She didn’t know how, but somehow he knew about Mark’s visit. But why shouldn’t he? He knew everything that went on within the confines of his domain. He just hadn’t said anything yet, at least not to her, the wise choice given her track record. But it was making her antsy, the not knowing.

Moving her and Nara to Jeju had been the first and clearest indicator that he knew. Jin had fought him on it, reminding Namjoon that she wasn’t ready for a trip like that yet, but Namjoon would not be moved on the matter. 

The trip had been hard on her, wiping her out almost completely, but that didn’t seem to concern Namjoon. He seemed to enjoy relaxing with her and Nara. Neither of them did much, and he was content to do nothing with them while keeping to the strict rules put forth by Jin before he had  begrudgingly allowed Namjoon to take her away from the estate. One of those rules was that the doctor that had accompanied them had to look her over in a cursory exam at least once a day. She disliked the poking and prodding, but the young doctor Jin had sent along was much more easily swayed than Jin himself. Soobin had allowed her off bed rest after only a week in Jeju. She was only allowed limited activity, but it was a start. 

She was up and about, searching through the nursery in the villa for the blanket she’d made for Nara, but she couldn’t find it. In fact, she hadn’t seen it since they’d arrived at the villa. She kept searching though. It might not have been as high quality as the blankets and swaddles Namjoon provided, but it was special. She’d spent countless hours in her rocking chair back in Italy making it. 

“Ma’am, please.” the nanny hovered a few steps away, Nara in her arms. “Let me look. I’m sure it’s here somewhere.” 

Rose was a newer addition to the staff. Namjoon didn’t want her straining herself, and she didn’t want to hand over care of Nara to a stranger. Namjoon had won the argument as he so often did when it came to the running of the estate as well as the running of her life. 

Rose, Yeon-a by birth but she preferred to be called Rose, was a nice enough girl. She was eager to please and good with children and understandably terrified of Namjoon. The poor thing was the daughter of a low ranking member of the organization and had no wish to upset the man that held sway over all their lives. All things considered, the nervous hovering was understandable. 

“I’m fine.” Y/N waved her off. “I just can’t find that darn blanket. Did we leave it at the estate?” 

“I’m sure, Miss In packed it, ma’am. She knows that it’s your favorite.” 

“But where is it?” she huffed in frustration. 

“Can you use a different blanket, ma’am? You seemed eager to take that walk.” There was already a different blanket ready to go, slung over the back of the rocking chair. Rose had rescued it during Y/N’s rather haphazard search for the other blanket. 

Y/N sighed in vexation, straightening up and accepting the different blanket when Rose handed it to her. “I guess we’ll have to.” 

“I’ll get the pram ready.” Rose cheered excitedly, handing Nara back to her mother.

 This was Y/N’s first day fully off bedrest, and Rose was eager to please as ever, probably even more eager to be doing something other than hovering to the side while Namjoon fussed over Y/N and the baby. It had been a boring first week for poor Rose. 

“Are you ready to go for a walk, baby?” she cooed, bouncing Nara in her arms. “We can see the ocean here. I’ve never been to the ocean before, but you get to have this big house right on the seaside. We can make sandcastles, and play in the waves. But we have to wait till you get bigger first.” 

“Everything’s ready, ma’am.” Rose appeared back in the room with a bright smile. 

“Let’s go then.” 

The ladies took a leisurely stroll around the yard there, enjoying the afternoon sunshine and the breeze coming in off the ocean. It wasn’t as pretty as the gardens back at the estate, but the change of scenery was nice. They could even look out over the beach, though Namjoon, Soobin, and Rose had all agreed that that was still a little too much for mom and baby. Y/N was just happy to be allowed out of bed. She could argue to go down to the beach another day. 

“Ma’am.” Rose began hesitantly. “Are you sure you shouldn’t be doing this with sajangnim?” 

“Why?” she asked, turning an inquisitive eye to the young woman. 

“He doesn’t like to be far from you.” she pointed out, still hesitant as though she wasn’t sure she should be saying what she was. 

Y/N sighed, stopping in her tracks as she stared down at Nara who was drifting off in the pram. “He thinks we’ll disappear again, but I doubt we’d get far even if we tried. He has my sister under his control as well. There’s no escape for us.” she looked back to Rose. “There is one for you though. You’re too young to spend the rest of your life here.” Rose stared at her with wide owlish eyes. “What do you actually want to do? You can’t actually want to be here. You nearly jump out of your skin every time Namjoon enters the room.” 

Rose blushed. “I don’t mean to be disrespectful.” 

“You aren’t.” Y/N chuckled. “No one can blame you for being scared of him.” she shrugged as they began moving again. “So what do you want to do? If you weren’t here, what would you be doing?” 

“I wanted…” she hesitated. “I wanted to study...in America. To get away from here.” 

Y/N’s heart softened a little bit. She knew exactly how the poor girl felt. “You still could. I doubt Namjoon would stop you. I like you, but he could probably find another nanny.” 

“I don’t have the money.” she admitted, staring down at her toes. “And my father would never let me. He’s hoping I catch the eye of one of his superiors or that working here will help him move up the ranks.” 

“You’re not a pawn, Rose.” 

“I don’t have anywhere to go if he kicks me out. It’s not so bad though!” she hurried to add. “At the big house, I have free time, and you’re very kind, Ma’am, and the baby is very sweet. Miss In has been welcoming. It’s really not a bad place to be.” 

Y/N smiled at her fondly. “I’m glad you’re settling in well.” Rose smiled back at her. “Why don’t we head back in?” Y/N suggested. “I shouldn’t push too hard on my first day out. Soobin will  have me back in bed if I do.” 

Rose chuckled, and they headed back to the house. Nara was nodding off anyway, and it would be better to get her into her bassinet for a nap before she truly fell asleep so they didn’t risk waking her and making one very grumpy baby.

“Is something burning?” Y/N asked as they entered the house, exchanging their shoes for house slippers.

Rose sniffed the air, eyes widening. “I think so.” 

“Oh dear.” the women exchanged an apprehensive look, cautiously venturing further into the house to investigate. 

The burning smell only got worse the closer they got to the kitchen. 

“Can Namjoon cook?” Y/N asked. There was no way any of Namjoon’s scarily efficient staff would have burned something. It had to be the man himself. 

“Not that I know of, ma’am. I don’t think he’s ever had to.” 

They entered the kitchen to see Namjoon waving a towel over a pan of something charred and black and a little gooey by the looks of it.

“What the hell did you do?” she asked more exasperated and confused than anything else.

He turned to face her, eyes wide and a little guilty. He looked like a child who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

“I was… jagi, I…” 

She sighed, marching over and plopping Nara into his arms as she pushed him away from the mess on the stove, not that the rest of the kitchen was in much better condition. It looked like a toddler had been trying to cook, maybe one had. 

“What were you even trying to do?” she looked at him in complete bewilderment as she placed the ruined pan into the sink. 

“I was trying to cook dinner.” he admitted sheepishly, settling Nara against his shoulder as she continued to nod off, completely contented in her father’s arms. Nara preferred to be held when she was sleeping, something Y/N didn’t want her to get into the habit of, but it would be fine for now. She just didn’t want a six month old that didn’t sleep without being in someone’s arms. 

“Where’s the staff?” They didn’t have as extensive a staff at the Jeju house, but there was still a maid and a cook. She didn’t see a sign of either one of them. 

“I gave them the night off. I wanted to cook for you.” 

“When have you ever cooked?” she scoffed, beginning to straighten out the mess he’d made on the counters. Rose had retreated tactfully, leaving the couple to themselves. 

“I thought I’d try.” 

He sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island. 

“What were you even trying to make?” her gaze drifted to the mess in the sink. 

“Dakbokkeumtang.” 

“That doesn’t look like spicy chicken. That’s a hot mess and a half.” he moved to get up again, but she was quick to wave him back down. “No, just sit there. I’ll cook.” 

She waited until he and Nara had settled back on the stool before slipping an apron over her head, tying it around her waist. 

There were still chicken and potatoes and spices along with various other ingredients scattered around the counters. She could whip something up from this along with what was in the fridge and the cupboards. Baked chicken with some mashed potatoes and green beans wouldn’t be hard to do. It wouldn’t be fancy, but it would do. It also wouldn’t take terribly long. 

She set to work, not even noticing Namjoon’s eyes following her every movement. 

Namjoon had never seen her cook before. He remembered her making banana bread in the kitchen at the estate before, but she’d never cooked a meal there to his knowledge, and she’d certainly never cooked for him. She moved around the kitchen with a practiced ease. She knew exactly what she was doing, humming to herself as she went. 

She was more at ease here, domestic in a way he wasn’t used to seeing her. It made him wonder how often she had done this before they had met. Had she cooked for Iyla and Jackson? Had she cooked for Mark when they were in Italy? It ruffled him in a way he didn’t quite like to think of her cooking for other people, especially for other men, but the idea of her cooking like this for him, for their children, filled his chest with warmth. There would be other children, eventually, but he was in no rush to get her pregnant again after Nara’s rather traumatizing birth. He didn’t think she was eager to repeat it either. 

He was so lost in thought he didn’t even notice when she set a plate down in front of him. It was a western meal, but it was warm, homey, and she had made it for him. 

Rose had snuck down when Y/N was cooking to take Nara away to sleep in her own bed, and it was just the two of them again. 

“It looks wonderful, jagi.” 

“It’s just chicken and potatoes.” her tone and look suggested that this wasn’t a big deal, but it was the very first meal she had ever made for him.

“You’ve never cooked for me before.” 

“You banned me from the kitchen at the estate.” she grumbled, sitting down next to him at the counter. “Something about me hurting myself or some such nonsense.” 

“I like your cooking.” he mused, taking a bite of his chicken. It wasn’t the culinary excellence he was used to, but the knowledge she had made this for him, made it without any coaxing was the best birthday present he could have asked for. “We should do this more often.” 

“Are you telling me that I’m allowed in the kitchen again?” 

“If you’d like.” 

They ate in a companionable silence. It was the most amiable they’d been with each other since her return. 

After they were done, she got up to collect the dishes, but he stopped her. The staff could clean up in the morning. 

“I have something for you.” 

Gently, Namjoon led her to the living room, settling her onto the coach before he pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket.

“What is this?” she asked, hesitantly taking the box from his hand.

“Open it.” he encouraged, uncharacteristically nervous about her reaction. 

She was puzzled, but she didn’t seem displeased much to his relief. 

“What is this for?” she asked, taking the necklace out of the box. It was an elegant little piece made up of a sapphire surrounded in a halo of smaller diamonds all connected to a delicate silver chain. 

“It’s for you, a push present I think they call it in America?” 

“Oh.” 

He smiled seeing how adorably confused she was. “It’s Nara’s birthstone.” and his, but she didn’t need to know that. He had other gifts for her back home, but those could wait until they returned.“So you can always have a piece of her close to your heart.” 

“It’s beautiful.” 

He smiled again, his dimples popping. “You must be tired. We can head up to bed if you’d like.” 

“Nara’s going to need to eat soon.” she hummed, slumping back against the sofa. 

“You can rest for a little bit at least.” she nodded, allowing him to help her up and back upstairs to their bedroom. 

Nara would be up in less than an hour for a feeding, but he was right. She could at least rest for a little bit, and the idea of lying down was very appealing even if Namjoon was going to lie down with her. He’d been behaving himself though, and him taking a short nap with her was better than him trying to burn down the kitchen again. 

They made it back to the bedroom, both of them ready to lie down, but froze, seeing what was laid out on the bed. 

There, torn up and bloody, was Nara’s blanket.

Part 19

[honeymoonjin]

Please note, these works are mine. I won’t accept any translations (sorry, foreign language army) or cross-posting on accounts that aren’t mine. If you see a work of mine on Wattpad, it is not me. Please let me know so I can get it taken down. If you see a work of mine on AO3 under any account that isn’t honeymoonjin, it is not me and please let me know. The banners are not made by me, they are made by the incredibly talented @jamaisjoons​. Please do not read works marked with the crown ♔ for smut if you are a minor. These are intended for audiences 18 or above.

These fics are the b-side, my older works which I’m not as happy with as my newer stuff. I don’t want to delete them since some may still enjoy them, but I wanna start fresh with works I’m personally proud of on my main masterlist from now on, so these are the ones that didn’t make the cut.

♔ smut || ➴ angst || ✭ crack || ☯ fluff

〚 darlin’ 〛✭

❝ you’re an actress that needs to learn to ride a horse for your next role. jin’s the cowboy tasked with teaching you. ❞

〚 pine 〛☯

❝ you’ve been hiding your crush on your best friend jin for far too long now, but it turns out he feels the same. ❞

〚 transition 〛✭

❝ seokjin’s job as a grim reaper is to guide souls after they die, but you’re not interested in moving on just yet. ❞

〚 pasta la vista 〛✭

❝ in which you, a food critic, wonders how kim seokjin manages to stay in business, considering how terrible his food seems to be. alternatively, kim seokjin does not know how to flirt. ❞

〚 come dine with me 〛♔

❝ yoonji eating you out in the kitchen that is literally it. ❞

〚 daegu hold ‘em 〛☯

❝ yoongi loves spoiling his girl. you love having a sugar daddy. that’s called synergy. ❞

〚 baby fever 〛♔

❝ doctor min yoongi is your fertility specialist, but during the artificial insemination procedure he has some…unorthodox methods. ❞

〚 mi casa 〛☯

❝ when yoongi brings you home to spend the holiday season with his family, he finally realizes he’s in love with you. ❞

〚 curious ft kth 〛♔

❝ taehyung is unsure of his sexuality, and you and your boyfriend yoongi are only too happy to let him experiment with you. ❞

〚 땡 / ddaeng 〛✭

❝ when blackmailed by a sasaeng, you and yoongi decide to instead release a diss-track featuring audio from an illegally obtained video of the two of you having sex. ❞

〚 unravel 〛➴ ∙ ☯

❝ you just want yoongi to see himself the way you see him. ❞

〚 heavy 〛♔

❝ mafia leader hoseok is having problems with loyalty in his ranks. luckily, you’ll always be there for him to relieve a little stress when he needs it. ❞

〚 close enough 〛➴

❝ hoseok thinks you’re getting a little too close to the other members, and he’s sick of it. part two now available here! ❞

〚 us 〛☯

❝ amongst the publicity of being an idol, hoseok wants his proposal to be a private affair. ❞

〚 unwind 〛♔

❝ your boyfriend is about to give an important speech at the United Nations but isn’t handling pre-speech nerves too well. luckily, you know some ways to help him relax. ❞

〚 keyed up ft kth〛♔

❝ when your mutual roommate namjoon gets a little too strung out, you and taehyung offer to help relieve some tension. ❞

〚 hey mama 〛☯

❝ one-shot for mother’s day. you spend an evening in with namjoon and your two boys. ❞

〚 going up? 〛✭ ∙ ☯

❝ you didn’t expect to be trapped in a faulty elevator with the president of south korea, but it’s still preferable to having to take the stairs. ❞

〚 sick day 〛♔

❝ namjoon gets a week off work, but you don’t, and he’s starting to get a little frustrated. ❞

〚 tumble dry 〛♔

❝ when jimin overhears you confessing to jungkook that you want to ride his thighs, jimin allows you…on one condition. ❞

〚 radio silence 〛♔

❝ jimin wants to indulge in his exhibitionism kink on the grandest scale: while at the grammys. ❞

〚 appa 〛☯

❝ jimin comes home from tour to visit his newborn son for the first time. ❞

〚 breaking point 〛➴

❝ you don’t think you can continue being in a relationship with jimin anymore. ❞

〚 arrivals 〛➴

❝ things go wrong at the airport when jimin’s wife and daughter accompany bts on a flight. ❞

〚 keyed up ft knj〛♔

❝ when your mutual roommate namjoon gets a little too strung out, you and taehyung offer to help relieve some tension. ❞

〚 roomie 〛✭

❝ falling in love with your cell mate isn’t generally advisable. ❞

〚 confessions of love are best done sober 〛➴ ∙ ☯

❝ kim taehyung used to be your best friend in primary school, but he’s changed into a completely different person. while you drink yourself into oblivion at a party, he has something to tell you. ❞

〚 itty-bitty 〛☯

❝ after finally moving in with your just-married husband, you have some more exciting news to tell him. ❞

〚 curious ft myg 〛♔

❝ taehyung is unsure of his sexuality, and you and your boyfriend yoongi are only too happy to let him experiment with you. ❞

〚 green room 〛♔

❝ jungkook isn’t happy with how you acted while he was on stage. ❞

〚 high-rise 〛☯

❝ getting locked out on a rooftop when you’re meant to be going on stage in five minutes is less than ideal, but luckily Jungkook has his girlfriend to keep him company. ❞

〚 shark week 〛✭ ∙ ☯

❝ when you get your period while at a restaurant with your boyfriend and the rest of bts, you just want to grin and bear it, but jungkook seems determined to show off to his hyungs how supportive he is. ❞

〚 the name game 〛✭ ∙ ☯

❝ jungkook likes to think he’s a genius at coming up with baby names. you, his heavily pregnant girlfriend, would have to disagree. ❞

〚 roll credits 〛☯

❝ after a string of misfortunes and troubles, you find yourself crying your eyes out in a movie theater. luckily, the cute usher wants to make sure you didn’t miss the film. ❞

〚 the daily grind 〛☯

❝ jeon jungkook has a crush on the girl that comes to the coffee shop he works at, but she’s too invested in her studying to even give him a second glance. ❞

〚 makin’ monet 〛✭

❝ jungkook’s attention is caught by his roommate taehyung’s odd collection of fake paintings, and he’s determined to find the painter. part two available here. ❞

〚 love yourself: the collab 〛✐ ∙ ♔ ∙ ➴ ∙ ☯

❝ twenty-six authors, twenty-six songs. a collab me and @/jeonau created to celebrate the one year anniversary of lya. each song (plus four bonus tracks) has its own fic. ❞

⇥ masterlist here

⇥ pairings: several, at least one of every member x reader

〚 roll deep 〛✐ ∙ ♔

❝ six one-shots, pornstar au. ❞

⇥ masterlist here

⇥ pairings: one of each member x reader, yoonji x reader

〚 wouldst thou like to live deliciously? 〛✐ ∙ ♔ ∙ ➴

❝ jimin is sick of being a virgin, and the pressure of the first time with a girl, so he decides to summon a sex demon to get it over with. ❞

⇥ masterlist here

⇥ pairings: jimin x reader, namjoon x reader, yoongi x reader

〚 cum!bts 〛♔ ∙ ✭

❝ in the newest run! episode, the members compete to see which of them can make you orgasm the fastest. ❞

⇥ masterlist here

⇥ pairings: one of each member x reader

〚 sovereign 〛✐ ∙ ♔ ∙ ➴

❝ when you hear that your recently deceased grandmother left you her property in her will, at first you think that a dinky old cottage in the middle of nowhere isn’t going to mean much for you. but after spending a night there, you discover something far more valuable than the house itself: a hidden door that leads to another time, the same place but over 200 years in the past. in the late 18th century, there is a king who will die before his 21st birthday unless you can save him. will you help him, even if it means leaving your own life behind? ❞

⇥ masterlist here

⇥ pairings: jimin x reader, jungkook x reader

〚 lost in translation 〛✐ ∙ ➴ ∙ ☯

❝ you decide to uproot your life completely and move to korea to help teach english at a primary school. ❞

⇥ season one masterlist here

⇥ pairings: none so far

〚 seven 〛➴ ∙ ☯

❝ life with seven boyfriends isn’t always a walk in the park, but you wouldn’t have it any other way. ❞

⇥ part one || part two || part three

⇥ pairings: ot7 x reader

〚 dul, set 〛☯

❝ work can be tough. at least you have two boyfriends to come home to. ❞

⇥ part one || part two

⇥ pairings: hoseok x reader x yoongi

〚 spotlights 〛✭ ∙ ☯

❝ a fully interactive (~50 parts, 21 different endings) bts fic. you’ve been seated next to bts at a televised award show. will you end the night with a boyfriend or with a disaster? each member has 1 positive ending and 2 negative ones. ❞

⇥ entry post here

⇥ pairings: one of each member x reader

〚 enjoy your stay 〛 ♔ ∙ ➴

❝ working the graveyard shift at a hotel isn’t the most exciting job in the world, but your coworkers are certainly happy to have you here. ❞

⇥ masterlist here

⇥ pairings: jin x reader, jungkook x reader

〚 런닝맨 방탄 - running man bangtan 〛 ♔

❝ you and the other seven members of the popular variety show running man celebrate your 100th episode by completing various missions. ❞

⇥ part one || part two || part three

⇥ pairings: taehyung x reader, hoseok x reader x yoongi

[thethreemages]

P h e w, after a looong bit of cleaning up the portrait pic of Embyr’s mom, tweaking bits of her design, and putting it all together nicely... Queen Vira is finally ready to be properly introduced~! 💜🦇 DA Link~

Feel free to read her bio below, to get to learn more about her character~ 

Vira Von Nykras (45) is the current reigning queen of Nydor, and the mother of her only child, Princess Embyr. Growing up, Vira was surrounded by the strictest traditions of Nydor... to stay poised, quiet, and uphold the strongest Nydorian ettiquette as much as possible. On the outside, she was a typical smiling and peaceful lil princess... but inside, she was screaming for a chance to be herself for once without worry of scrutinizing the royal family image. 

The main breaks she had to escape this suffocating life was her school days at St. Ravilda’s, in which she befriended a fellow Dark mage by the name of “Luka” over their own shared hardships. Their bond became much like that of a brother and sister... even as the two eventually graduated and went their separate ways, they tried to keep in contact as much as possible as they grew up and it came time for Vira to take the throne.

Sometime during her early 20′s, it became announced that Vira was to be wed to a high-ranking nobleman via-arranged marriage. He was about as poised and respectable as Vira’s royal court hoped in a potential king... and yet, behind the grand royal balls and public appearances, he did little to actually care for his wife. Even if she was the main reigning monarch, it didn’t stop him from trying to control and belittle her for every little thing... as if nothing she did was ever “good enough”. Once more, the gothic queen was at a loss of what to do... she didn’t wish to go through anymore suffocating treatment in her current position, yet she didn’t wish to upset the public opinion by simply divorcing him herself. She had to resort to something... different, as she was beginning to discover one fateful night... 

You see... Vira was a woman who liked to be particularly scholarly and curious in libraries, even playfully jested by Luka to be a “bookworm”-type when they were kids. In one of her discoveries, she located a book dedicated to the Nydorian history of Daemons; the underworld counterpart to Faes who were said to rule many of the undiscovered outskirts of Nydor with an iron fist. And so, with a newfound sense of determination, the queen gathered her things to take a trip out to these outskirts... not telling a soul where she was headed. Her husband, as critical as he was, seemed much too occupied with some noble affairs to care much for this “silly vacation” of hers... and so, Vira journeyed out to find some “assistance” in one of these ancient figures of darkness... 

While the details of her actual trip have yet to be fully explained by the queen (for privacy’s sake), she returned to her kingdom with a newfound vigor in her step... enough to expose her husband for the cold-hearted man he was, and influencing him enough to finally annul their marriage and getting the public back more on her side. No one knew what became of this man after this... as he simply disappeared into the night without another word. Seemingly convenient to this, was when a few weeks later came the announcement of Vira’s pregnancy... to many speculated might not have been her husband’s after all when the child was born and she showed some traits that... really didn’t match the traditional Nydor look... 

But yet, among all these whispers and questions... it didn’t matter to Vira anymore. All in all, she was happy... and more than grateful to the “help” she gathered out on her journey so long ago... as now, she can rule in peace with her precious baby girl at her side. The years would soon pass, and more would gain to her favor as Vira’s gentle confidence was impressing many of the public... including the newer generation of goth-inclined children. An image Vira hopes to pass down to her daughter now that she’s grown into such a spirited young lady... to change the face of Nydor from a land of cold, barren tradition... to a vibrant, open land of beautiful, enchanting darkness~

[eurosong]

My ESC ‘20 ranking

Good morning folks, on this rather melancholy “Eurovision day.” Whilst this year may be cancelled and its songs pretty callously binned by the EBU, 2020 was a diverse year that deserves taking a close look at too, so here goes my customary full ranking of the year. I express some candid opinions, but they are just my take on things, no shade intended if you disagree.

41. Estonia - What love is It’s always most difficult to pick a last place because, no matter how sleek Eurovision gets, there are still a few abject horrors that sneak into the contest. With a score that would have been dated 30 years back, and lyrics that manage the peculiar double act of being both pompous and anodyne, this is horrid enough before Uku’s dubious xenophobic comments and his prevailing over a field of much more compelling songs get taken into account.

40. Macedonia - You The Macedonians, having achieved their best result ever last year (I’m happy for them, but also, Kaliopi deserved that), decided that they soared too close to the sun with Proud and decided to crash land this year to build their energy to soar again. That’s the only reasonable explanation I have for this effort which deeply repels me, doubling down on Luca Hänni’s “cocky guy in a sleazy bar” æsthetics and adds to it even worse lyrics, castrato singing and the unintended levity of the interpreter being far more interested in the bartender. Also one of a maddening number of duplicate titles that were nowhere near as good as the originals.

39. Cyprus - Running What is this void in the space of a song? I’ve listened to it dozens of times to do ratings over the past months. I’m still left with an icy emptiness because it does nothing to me, says nothing to me. The only thing that I can say in its favour is that it’s not a replay of replay aka Fuego 3. That’s it. It’s like it’s designed to leave little impression and hope to cruise by on diaspora and friendly votes alone.

38. Austria - Alive Austria have been on an interesting Eurovision journey, going from winning with Conchita to serving up this chirpy homophobe doing his best impression of Timberlake. A monumental step back from the singular tenderness of Pænda.

37. France - Mon alliée (The best in me) La déception de l’année sans doute. France, one of Europe’s cultural powerhouses, really said “forget Destination Eurovision, which showcased our music scene’s diversity and was one of the fandom’s favourite newer NFs. Let’s abolish it all and bring in the guys who made Bigger than us, because we really want a piece of that Big 5 bottom place action! Let’s throw away our cultural caché and get something about as French as flatpack furniture!”

This is like going to a pricey restaurant in Paris, expecting haute cuisine and instead getting some microwave-reheated IKEA köttbullar. And can we talk about how Amir of J’ai cherché fame is partly to “thank” for this in one of the biggest heel turns of the year? It’s like he wanted to ensure that France TV beg him to return by safeguarding his excellent score from being equalled. I also have to say, Tom Leeb seems like a nice guy with a good voice. He did his best to salvage this with the acoustic version, which lifts it up a few places. But not so many given that that Westlife reject b-side ending with a key change remains.

36. Germany - Violent thing Speaking of major cultural players dumping their national finals for no good reason, guten Tag, Deutschland! Germany once had one of the best and certainly most diverse NFs going. Instead of dumping Barbara Schönenberger as hostess - every year she’s presented, Germany have had calamity, and the one year they did well, 2018, she wasn’t host - they decided to pin all their hopes on a bewildered looking gossoon from Slovenia with yet another Timberclone song and some rather dubious live vox. As his countrywoman Lea Sirk said, it’s a hvala ne from me.

35. Spain - Universo Yes, it’s another year of the Big 5 not living up to its automatic qualification rights (except you, Italy, thank you for being the exception to the rule.) So here we’ve got a bland effort from Spain to avoid being bottom 5, except that ain’t how ESC works - you need something to get people to waste their money on voting for your song. And for me, this surely is not it. This was a bit higher on my ranking before because there are more objectively objectionable songs out there. But the nonsensical, repetitive lyrics, the painful attempt at a high note on perdónameeee, and getting stuck on a bus where I had to put up said screeching being played 5+ times means #35 is about right for where it deserves.

34. Armenia - Chains on you Armenia, usually a reliable mainstay in the top half of my listings at least, instead served up one of the most bewilderingly impalatable NFs of the season where every song sounded imported from the ESC anni horribili of the 00s. This has grown on me a little bit - I like tin drums and I like her weird accent - but the lyrics are amongst the year’s most pitiful (“ya wanna take me to a party, because you’re naughty”) and it just feels cheep to me. 33. Bulgaria - Tears getting sober I don’t see the appeal in this bewildering merger of dirge and Disney, and this is coming from someone who likes melancholic music more times than not. I find this one straight up unpleasant to listen to. The lyrics are of someone passive-aggressively glorying in the pain they wallow in to return the hurt, in “look how much you’re making me hurt myself” style. The syrupy score replete with key change is a bizarre, ghoulish accompaniment. Only this high because I recognise some artistic merit in its production.

32. Azerbaijan - Cleopatra Are Azerbaijan now at the stage where they’ve decided to pastiche themselves? The country with the worst LGBT rights of all contesting ESC having the monumental neck to send a song about “gay or straight or in between”? The country who have almost religiously avoided sending anything with any actual Azeri national character or heritage sending a song written by a Canadian, an American and a Frisian about a Greek-Egyptian ruler with a Japanese mantra and Latin affectations, so sending us around the world to pretty much everywhere except Azerbaijan? What can I say in favour of it? It’s a little bit catchy. So are venereal diseases.

31. Poland - Empires How can a country who started their ESC journey with aplomb - and experimental gems like Sama and Chcę znać swój grzech - and who continue to serve in the junior contest, how can they be so almost studiedly bland in ESC these days? This is our 564th knockoff Bond tune, sung a little awkwardly and with lyrics written by a Year 8 who’s been given a creätive writing assignment where they have to use metaphors. “We’re gasoline and a match!” Wow. If it passed to the final, it would only because of loyal Poles abroad.

30. Greece - Superg!rl We leave the territory of complete dirges and enter that of songs I can sort of live with. This one’s a huge step back for the Hellenes though after the gorgeous Better love. Its odd chorus is memorable, but not for the best reasons. Its saving grace is its unintentionally humorous promotional video. A better use of those superpowers would have been to come up with a better song.

29. Moldova - Prison Remember the fun Moldova that used to bring songs like Hora din Moldova and Lautar, with some actual national flavour and flair? That’s long gone. Even the Moldova that brought terrible songs but fun stagings, like that of My lucky day, seems far lost into the fogs of time too. Another wholly unremarkable and mediocre production of the Scream Team that would be lucky to scrape into the finals.  28. Belgium - Release me Has Belgium learnt absolutely nothing in the years Blanche where the wheels of their ESC renaissance have fallen decidedly off? My feeling is no. I have to salute them to some degree for creating nice, very musical compositions, but just like in the past two years, they have forgotten to add a few key elements: some sense of progression or dynamism. This plods along repetitively on one track, one note, and that note is nice enough as background music, but my hunch is that track would have led them to another unsurprising “surprise” NQ.

27. Serbia - Hasta la vista It’s an earworm, but some earworms leave you wanting to get an aural exorcism. Somehow, some sort of collective insanity overcame Serbia and they decided to dump on their beautiful oeuvre of songs, go completely against their trend for qualitative, classical, brooding, orchestral music by instead picking a bunch of time travellers who had been a third rate girl band in Transnistria. How enough Serbians thought they’d win over Europe by going for a sound that was dated even when they made their début bemuses me. 26. UK - My last breath The UK are really soaring high in my rankings as... the last amongst the 26 songs that would make up my notional perfect final. Baby steps. I still think it’s pretty lame how the BBC tanked their own national final for this. It’s not so adventurous. It has so little to say that it’s half a minute shorter than the ESC standard and yet still consists of repetition. It has one of the most annoying chorus quirks with that beat in “my last... breath.” How did this get up this high again?

25. Albania - Fall from the sky It absolutely pains my heart to put Albania out of the top 20 after two thunderous years in which they captured my gold and bronze respectively. What makes it worse is that they could have had a perfect hat-trick, because the original, Albanian language version “Shaj” was my #1 song from December up until mid-March when they released this thin gruel of a revamp with all the things that gave Shaj some authenticity and flavour gone, and with beautiful, heart-rending lyrics replaced with cliché. Only this high because there are plenty of worse songs.

24. Czechia - Kemama I have a soft spot for poor Benny, the interpreter of this song. Ok, so it beat a field containing some vastly superior songs, but it’s nice to have a Czech song without weird lyrics about women for the first time in a while, and the way the kid was put through the ringer for his more Afrobeat-influenced revamp made me sad. For me, it gained a bit of flavour with that change. The lyrics are still poor but I like the colourful musical backdrop.

23. Israël - Feker libi 🇮🇱 Sometimes, you don’t think much of a song but the artist elevates it enormously. Such is the case with Feker libi, a bizarre pot pourri of styles with a very discordant tropical verse (which I like), mid-90s dance track chorus (which I don’t), middle eastern post-chorus and African-sounding outro (jury’s out on both.) Yet Eden Alene is so full of natural charm and exudes “I want to be your friend” that I can’t help but rewatch just because of how joyous she makes it.

22. San Marino - Freaky 🇸🇲 Speaking of atypical countries flying high in my ranking, all was set for San Marrano to take non-pride of place at the bottom of my ranks yet again, but somehow, I ended up quite enjoying their track this year. Yes, San Marino is still a weird zone where, when you descend to Rimini in Italy, you enter the new millennium, but returning up the tiny nation’s steep slopes, you head back to a time in the 70s when disko was king. This disco is fun though. In part thanks to Senhit, a sympathetic performer who deserved more in 2011, in part the lyrics - who doesn’t want to rip up the rules, write new ones and then destroy them too?

22. Switzerland - Répondez-moi It’s nice to have the Swiss singing in a national language for the first time in ages. It’s also nice that they didn’t fall back on their success with Hänni by going with a similar so-called bOp. I also really love some of the artist’s other tracks, like Babi. And I liked this a fair bit more upon first listen, but the combination of less than stellar lyrics - just a succession of somewhat emoïsh rhetorical questions; just because they’re in French, doesn’t make them deep - and a wailing falsetto have made my will to relisten to this often take a serious hit for me. A shame, as musically, it has some undoubted quality. 20. Denmark - Yes 🇩🇰 Denmark seems to be doubling down on 2019 to develop its new niche - catchy, sweet but ultimately a little overly gooey love songs. There’s always something a little bit imperfect about them though: last year it was Leonora’s serial killer-esque nervous gaze; this year, it’s the “I’m not going to even try to make pretend we’re an item” lack of energy from Tan. It’s a little bit too reheated “Little talks” but it’s decent enough.

19. Russia - Uno 🇷🇺 When this first was released, days after the deadline for submitting songs, I was pretty peeved at what seemed like a pisstake against the contest, a bizarre rehash of Aqua for the meme age. And yet.. maybe it’s the quarantine slowly driving me insane, maybe it’s the sheer infectiousness of this that just makes you want to dance, maybe it’s the epic energy of the backing singer (Rosa from Brooklyn 99’s twin) who looks like she wants to kill everyone else... but I’ve actually grown to like this enough to put it top 20. I’m not always entirely predictable!

18. Norway - Attention 🇳🇴 There’s a lot of things that tick my yes boxes with this song, like the beautiful orchestral music laid out by the famed Mørland or the simple but sincere performance. There are also things that take a Sharpie and scrawl in my no boxes too, like the somewhat whiny tone of the vocals or the adolescent and lyrics which, with their “oy’d change anyffink abaat moyself fur a boi” tone, don’t flatter the singer, and from Mørland, I expect better. There’s more good than bad here though, and it has been an earworm since the day it was selected.

17. Belarus - Da widna 🇧🇾 I don’t know what was in the water this year, but we got a bunch of great Slavic language songs, including from countries that don’t typically send songs except in English. I like the chilled out vibe and the curious lyrics. Their live version for Eurovision Home Concerts with just an acoustic guitar sounded a whole lot better, I must say.

16. Australia - Don’t break me 🇦🇺 I’m finally overcoming the horror of the bizarre clown mise-en-scène complete with ropey lyrics at Australia decides and judging this on its potential. Hands down Australia’s best entry at the contest for me. Musically, it’s strong, and lyrically, it’s compelling and very saudadic. I’m sad we won’t see what a glow-up their final staging could have provided. I really hope it wouldn’t have involved clowns, which seriously tanked the song in my ranking for months, no joke.

15. Portugal - Medo de sentir 🇵🇹 A Portuguese entry outside of my top ten? Given their form with me since 2015, this might seem like a harbinger of the apocalypse. I still like it quite a bit, but there are stronger songs this time. It’s heartfelt, the lyrics are powerful (about being afraid to feel again after being hurt) and the melody is pretty. The live was a bit cagey especially because of the not particularly well synchronised voices of Elisa and the pianist, who composed the song. Still a very nice song and it is great to see Portugal staying faithful to its language, but I can’t help but feel sad that songs more in line with its riskier, more trailblazing previous few years. Passe-partout or Gerbera amarela do sul would have been in my top 3 like last year.

14. Latvia - Still breathing 🇱🇻 If you told me in January that not only would this song not be disliked, it’d also end up in my top 15 of the year, I’m sure incredulous laughter would have been the most polite response you’d have probably gotten. And yet - the song I couldn’t stand in Supernova has won me over and I do want to see Samanta Tina return for 2021 since she evidently cares so deeply about ESC so is pretty much one of us. I’ve come to love the weirdness of the track - real meat and gravy given the number of anodyne tracks - the iconic pre-corona hygienic leitmotif of its staging. ST’s joie de vivre and command of the stage. It’d be a guilty pleasure except I don’t feel guilty for it.

13. Georgia - Take me as I am 🇬🇪 Georgia once again are dancing to the beats of their very anarchic drummer and I love them for that. This thinly veiled swipe at both the Big 5 coasting in mediocrity and at narrow-minded fans’ reäctions to Georgia’s extremely varied oeuvre just hits the spot for me. I love the musicality of it, the dark electro-rock vibes, Tornike’s voice and how it blends perfectly with his captivating backing singers. I always vote with my feet for something different in an era where people are aiming to qualify with safe and bland rather than taking risks.

12. Romania - Alcohol you 🇷🇴 Roxen provided one of the most iconic moments of the season by deliberately tanking the ordained bop amongst her national final songs. Her eventual song is one of the most emotional of the year, and also one of the most surprisingly literary: there are tonnes of nuances, allusions, wordplays and so forth in this text, most of which are a lot more graceful than the titular terrible pun. I humbly put it to folk who thinks that this romanticises alcohol that they are missing the point - it’s instead being used as a metaphor for toxic relations which, by the end of the song, Roxen has broken away from. I love her voice, I love the music. It fell briefly out of my affections because of the weird mini-revamp, but it’s risen again.

11. Ukraine - Solowej 🇺🇦 It’s fabulous to see Ukraine singing a song entirely in their language and I hope this trend continues across the Slavic nations like was notable this year. The timeless folksy elements mixing with modern beats makes a curious and entrancing blend, delivered with aplomb. It takes where Poland 2019 went wrong and puts it right. I could have done without the unnecessary revamp, but it’s still one of the year’s freshest cuts. Well done, Widbir!

10. Slovenia - Voda 🇸🇮 In an age where the likes of Albania is stripping away all the beautiful orchestral flourishes of its entry to make a pared and muted revamp, Slovenia went full throttle in the opposite - and in my mind, right - direction and made one of the very few good revamps of the season. Performing with the Budapest philharmonic orchestra, Ana Soklič, who, for my money, has one of the best female voices of the year, unleashed the cinematic, sweeping beauty of Voda. I think this would have surprised many people by doing quite well. On musical and vocal merit alone, and adding to that the subdued saudade of its lyrics, it deserved a lot more love.

09 Malta - All of my love 🇲🇹 In 2018, I would have sooner said that it was more probable for me to have become Grand-Duke of Luxembourg than it was for me to have loved a Maltese song, let alone two i n a r o w. I didn’t expect much of this at all, because I expected we’d get a wailing vocal exhibition, as Ian used to say, focused on exhibiting Destiny’s range rather than giving her a genuinely good song. But this is a genuinely good song. Once again, I love for the gospel edge it has, and Destiny’s vocals soar to impressive heights, without feeling unnatural or ostentatious. I should have known to expect good things with the regal Cesár Sampson on board.

08 Lithuania - On fire 🇱🇹 Prior to this year, few people had any hopes for Lithuania’s long-winded national final selection process. The idea of it being must-watch viewing when there were many other more compelling choices on offer was hilarious. In 2020, that changed. They changed the name to the hilarious but hopeful “Let’s try again”, had a number of fantastic songs, and became one of the most diverse and qualitative highlights of the NF season. The eventual winners, The Roop, deserved the accolade with this cool, super contemporary track with a brilliant dance routine and a genuinely important message about not giving up on yourself.

07. Sweden - Move 🇸🇪 At MF this year, the Swedes put a match to its protracted ‘cocky fuckboi with polished, soulless overproduced pop song’ era, hopefully for good, with an all-female top 4. I will always lament Dotter missing out narrowly, but I’ve still been brought plenty of joy by the radiant Mamas with their fabulous hand-choreography and genuine warmth, and this song of resilience through the tough times. I love gospel-tinged music and this really makes me smile.

06 Ireland - The story of my life 🇮🇪 Before this was announced, I heard Ireland’s track being compared to the oeuvre of pretty much every major 00s female pop star. I was quizzical, but upon hearing it, could see why. In a year with a lot of beige, this is just one big orange and yellow blast of colourful late 90s/early 00s nostalgia, hope, resilience. The kind of anthem I never knew I needed but came right on time. I can’t listen to its wry, conversational lyrics without wanting to dance along. And Lesley Roy herself is an icon. My favourite effort from Ireland since Playing by numbers, and I really hope she returns in 2021.

05 Finland - Looking back 🇫🇮 I’ll never forget a mural in the part of València where I used to live that said “we’re not different for the sake of being different”, and that could sum up my attitudes to Eurovision. Whilst it seemed almost everyone was behind Cicciolina in Finland, I had scant hope for my favourite, and was blown away when it actually did win. This melancholy meditation on the passing of time and people - “we never know what we have until it’s over and we’re looking back” - became emblematic of this year for me and added to what was already a really poignant and moving track. I love the musical style too and the smoothness of Aksel’s voice and how it contrasts with his evident awkward shyness. It has moved me so much that it had to end up top 5.

04 Croatia - Divlji vjetre 🇭🇷 I always will represent and bring love for the Balkans and their adhesion to their musical traditions. This was one of the most pleasant surprises of the NF season for me - I was expecting very little from Croatia, and instead, it greeted me with this beauty. You have the understated classic grace of the music, the exquisite melancholy and poeticism of the lyrics, and one of the finest male vocals of the season. My favourite Croatian track in almost 15 years.

03 Italy - Fai rumore 🇮🇹 Sanremo isn’t just a national final, it’s a cultural experience that digs into your heart over the course of a whole week. This was one of the most memorable I have followed yet - and what a truly deserving winner. It’s just another example of the seemingly endless supply of heartfelt tunes by classy, sincere performers that Italy has on tap, with one of the best lyrics of the contest and the extra level of poignancy from how the lyrical theme of isolation would come to represent us all.

02 Iceland - Think about things 🇮🇸 One of my nerviest and happiest moments of the entire NF season was seeing Daði Freyr and friends win Söngvakeppnin in Iceland. As much as I loved Svala’s Paper, I had also adored his song three years prior - the delightfully awkward and similarly irrepressably earwormy Is this love. And now he was back with a groovy, fun, heartwarming tune about fatherhood that has only continued to grow in my estimations. The bridge still full on gives me goosebumps. It’s the kind of song that just makes me marvel at being human and being on this earth.

01 Netherlands - Grow 🇳🇱 My top few songs are all very closely entwined so much so that they could be considered joint winners, but I’ve been pretty unequivocal ever since Shaj got torpedoed by its revampire: silver turned to gold and my previous 2nd place, Grow, became my new favourite. I love the heartfelt, sparsely poëtic, bravely confessional lyrics. I love the way that it goes from something minimalist and intimate with just organ and voice and slowly builds upon the hints of gospel to something truly anthemic. Such a meticulous arrangement where there’s not a single sound out of place. This song is pure art and, like Soldi, Mall, APD and all those preceding songs which had the magic of being my personal favourite, it moves me upon every listen.

[what-even-is-thiss]

Fic, Off of Land, Out of Water, Part 5, After.

Warning for injury and implied homophobia and questionable relationships.

First Previous Next

Abstract: Dangerous games are afoot. Logan. Is involved.

5. After

Roman looked out at the ocean, wondering silently how exactly he got here. It’s not like he hadn’t earned this after all. He had gotten himself a lawyer, and not a bad one at that. He had worked his way up the ranks, written his book, leaked his makeup routine.

But still. Here, in a condo overlooking the ocean? Now that was just ridiculous. And his boyfriend did seem to take a lot more business trips since they moved in together. He wondered about his brother’s safety slightly if a certain fact were revealed. Or that other fact. Or the third, slightly newer fact with glasses and weird freckles.

No, that was crazy talk. Crazy talk. Listen to him. He’s starting to sound like Virgil. If Virgil were into anyone enough to date them, that is. Paranoid. He’s just paranoid. He earned this. He earned this view. He deserved a little time to himself while John was on his trip.

He took another shot of tequila as the buzzer rang by his door. Who the hell was visiting at one am?

He hit the button by the intercom.

“Hello?”

“Roman, let me in. Right now.”

“Virgil?”

“Let me up, moron!”

Virgil’s voice sounded deeper than usual, like it was being damaged by something. Roman hit the button to unlock the front door of the building and went to put on a shirt. The frantic knocking started when he got back to the entryway.

Virgil grabbed him so fast that he didn’t comprehend that his brother was completely naked and dripping wet until after he grabbed Roman so hard he felt he might break and said

“Where’s Logan?”

……….

There’s a game that mer children play with brine lakes. Pools of water under the water that rest there due to their high salt content. 

Like with many games that unsupervised children play, there’s a level of danger to it. Like human children playing crack the whip on thin ice or putting dimes on railroad tracks, mer children kiss danger by luring blooms of jellyfish into brine lakes.

The nearest equivalent to the name of this game in English would be pop the bubble in the central to south Atlantic and hug of death in most other places. Logan of course, growing up in the central Atlantic, would have called it pop the bubble, and despite what he will tell you he played it quite a few times growing up with his classmates and with his best friend Virgil. Everyone did, and all parents know that no matter how many times they warn children against this game they will end up playing it anyways.

………

Virgil angrily ran the towel through his hair. The pink t-shirt that said “baby queen” on it sticking to his wet skin did nothing to improve his mood.

“How do you know he’s in danger? We’re hours away from the central coast. How could you know?”

Virgil threw the towel at him.

“I told you already! The ocean is angry!”

Virgil went into another coughing fit and Roman led him over to the sink where he promptly coughed up a disturbing amount of black sludge.

“Fucking black gold.” Virgil said.

Roman hit his back. “Come on, chemical bromance. Hack it up.”

With a few more coughs and a bit of vomiting all the black sludge found its way out of Virgil’s body. Or at least, no more came out.

“I’m no expert, but should I take you to the doctor?”

“No time! Get me your leather jacket.” Virgil said. “We need to get to Tampa.”

“Why Tampa?”

“Because Logan’s in Tampa.”

“How do you know that?”

“I just do, okay? We don’t have much time!”

……….

Pop the bubble has no winners or losers. It’s done just for the thrill of it, and quite honestly the rush of adrenaline that comes with it is very addictive.

The magical scaled parts of mer people’s bodies are highly resistant to most forms of damage, including mild hacking, biting, and jellyfish stings. The same can not be said for the human portions of skin, however. Although the human half of the body provides warmth and the ability to breathe in almost any environment and eat almost anything, it’s also open to being stung. It’s this danger that having two types of skin on one intelligent creature provides that makes this game even possible in the first place.

……….

As they drove down the road a little too fast and Virgil changed into the emergency clothes in the backseat, Roman kept trying to change the subject.

“But the bigger problem here is Logan. How do we really know he’s there?”

“Logan and I are connected by the primal ancient force which is the petty bitch fight between the land and sea.” Virgil said. “Now tell me why you haven’t gone back to- ow!”

Virgil fell off the seat as he tried to pull his boots back on.

“If mother were here I think she’d say something about seatbelts.” Roman said.

Virgil awkwardly made his way into the front seat.

“Yeah well if mom were here that would mean she accepts us all now wouldn’t it?” he said, putting his seatbelt on. “Now shut up and tell me why you’re still living in Miami with that idiot.”

………

Jellyfish can’t sense in the way most creatures would, but they do have senses and they can become agitated. Mer children often make noise or bat at blooms with their tails to get them away from the unpleasant stimuli and towards the brine lakes. Many times children will come very close to being stung before they lure the jellyfish into the lake and watch them die.

Every time they come close to being stung they tell themselves “Well I haven’t been stung yet.”

And it’s all fun and games until it’s not.

……….

“...and it was just one time. I’m sure he didn’t mean it. It’s not like he got physical, okay? He’s a perfect gentleman most of the time. Like me.”

Virgil sighed and whistled high pitched first and then made a sound in the back of his throat almost like a mating whale.

“What does that mean?” Roman asked.

Virgil rolled his eyes. “It’s a saying. A man doesn’t realize that water pressure is killing him until he’s almost dead.”

They went for most of the way to Tampa in silence. Or, Roman’s version of silence. Which meant he only spoke about half the ride. Thankfully, highway patrol didn’t notice how fast they were going. Once in Tampa, Virgil seemed to know exactly where to go, even though Roman had no memory of ever visiting that place.

“No, moron. The other left. Okay, it’s up here.”

They were in a residential neighborhood with private woods behind it that led to the bay. It was pitch black out except for the occasional street light and as they got out of the car Roman couldn’t help but think that this was exactly the type of environment he could chip a nail in.

“He’s here.” Virgil said.

“Honestly I can’t believe you would… did you hear that?”

It was a masculine yell, and one that sounded very familiar. Not one that would wake someone from a deep sleep, but one that you would learn to pinpoint from a mile away after hearing it being afraid of their mother for the first time.

“Patton.” they both whispered together before jumping the fence and running towards it.

……….

Virgil was too squeamish to actually touch the jellyfish with his tail.

“They are so disgusting.” he clicked.

“I am starting to believe what you told me about the witch not letting you go anywhere.” Logan said, tying his hair back. “It’ll be slightly more difficult for you given your…” he gestured to Virgil’s mostly blank torso, “...condition, but I think you’ll be fine. Just resist the urge to let them touch the scaleless areas of your skin.”

“And why would I be tempted to do that?” Virgil asked, pulling his hands close to his torso in a very human show of disgust.

“They are very squishy looking.” Logan said in a very serious tone.

Virgil let one small laugh escape. Logan showed him the right way to swirl the water around and swim away really fast when it became too dangerous. If either of them were ones for laughing they would’ve laughed. As it was even the two most somber looking young mermen in the city with reputations for looking like they were always attending a funeral together, grinned from ear to ear.

As the jellyfish started to almost melt in the brine lake Virgil held onto Logan’s much smaller shoulders to anchor himself. At first Logan thought it was silent laughter. Then he noticed the heavy breathing.

Logan turned Virgil over and saw an angry red mark on his chest. And others on his side. They were slowly growing.

“Oh, gods and sacred tides. Virgil, can you hear me? Virgil, I can see that you’re still breathing. Virgil? I need you to answer me.”

……….

“Logan, answer me!” Patton called out.

Logan looked carefully over the waves for the first time since he had changed. The bay was much calmer than the open ocean, but not enough to quiet the screaming in his mind.

He had to be ready. He had to be, right? That’s what this must be. The call of the ocean that Virgil keeps talking about. It must be. It’s only logical. Why else would he hijack Patton’s car? If he’s doing it then there must be as reason behind it. That’s who he is. That’s what he is. If he goes in he can return to what he really is. That must be it.

Voices and footsteps mixed with Patton’s. They were almost there. All he had to do was go in. Find is way home. Finish his test. Pretend like none of this ever happened.

“He can’t swim!” Virgil called out. “I can’t swim! Not like this!”

“What do you mean you can’t swim, fishy edgelord?”

“I mean, I can’t change back right now and nobody ever taught me how to swim with a human body! Logan! No! Pop the bubble!”

The last thing that crossed Logan’s mind before the water engulfed him was “Wait. What? Oh. Oh no.”

[dawggcs]

all american twilight rejects

pippa, member @ the red council:

usually chill but going through a rebellious phase (probably a mid life crisis but being immortal u know)

she’s turned by kamala centuries ago bc she was about to die after being beaten to near death yikes

very calm and peaceful, also very curious about everything

kinda snobbish so she likes keeping traditions and whatever

tends to coddle everyone in the clan and it 10/10 makes them sick but they all secretly love it (just bc i said so aight u can fite me on this)

she’s not too social outside her clan, doesn’t trust other vamps and prefers to stay quiet if they ever have any visitors

hayoung, member @ clan 3:

a youngster, she’s just recently come out of her immortality depression after seeing his late husband die probably lmfao

she’s one of those that got turned against her wishes and was bitter about it. she focused on watching over her family to avoid thinking about it and now has to deal with it, albeit slowly. she probably avoids the topic by watching her children now that her former husband died.

after her ‘awakening’ she didn’t try to get in contact with her human family. she saw them mourn her enough and kept a safe distance.

she’s a lil scaredy cat so she just follows whatever orders ppl give her lmao

tries to cling to her humanity somewhat, she’s one of the vamps that avoids feedings and stretches them out as much as she can.

she’s got a thing for crystal work so her house is probably filled with it :/

jaehwa, member @ clan 3:

he actually asked to be turned. his family has a history of it and he’s one of the oldest, most influential members in it.

used to be ruthless and messy during his first 200 yrs but then he collected himself lmao

he keeps tabs on his family line, constantly checking in on ppl. he turns a few people on his bloodline, though not many. junseo (he refers to her by that name only) included.

he’s also big on tradition but is trying real hard at updating himself with the times

he used to be a notorious leader in his family’s clan but decided to take a break. he’s now enjoying life as a member in a different clan instead of being the one in charge.

he still advises the newer leaders of his family clan, though. keeps scrutiny on who wanna turn there after he had to disposed of 60 or so members after a riot a decade ago.

atticus, member @ clan 3:

not that old. he was an experiment of sorts since a young vamp wanted to see if he could build an army and started turning ppl at random. atticus was among them.

however, this bitch just straight up turned his back and searched for other vamps that vibed with him more, didn’t care about being turned either.

as a human he was struggling to make ends meet and didn’t have a family of his own, instead staying with his parents. in a way, being turned felt like a huge weight was off his shoulders.

he’s really just trying to survive, has probably contemplated how he could die but doesn’t actively pursuing that. it’s an idea he toys with in case he ever gets tired of ‘living’.

aggressive, he just kinda likes fighting and is good at it. he’s a brute force kind of guy who has been learning about tactics and strategy now.

the thing he misses the most about being human is eating. he’s particularly wistful whenever he sees plums (unless these vamps can eat in which case i’ll take this off lmao).

yer a wizard

lester, member @ the pentacle:

comes from a respected fam of witches but he lowkey a mess. his family is well versed within dark magic and they keep high standards as to what a member ought to be like. in a way, he’s the shamed kid in his family tree.

honestly he’s terrible at incantations and spells, but is an a+ summoner. very few people know this, however, as he’s tried to keep it hushed as his own little vengeance against his family.

the neighbourhood guy tbfh, friendly and chatty with everyone he crosses paths with

he’s book smarts, if anyone ever needs to know about any spells, potions, ingredients, whatever --- they consult with him. the witchcraft walking encyclopedia for any questions or research. if he doesn’t know the answer himself, he always knows where to search for it.

he likes cats, has 2 and they’re his life.

ritual sacrifice though no one except his sisters know. he’s somewhere among the living and death, which is the reason he’s so good at summonings. 

lulu, member @ the pentacle:

older identical twin of lola, their parents have a thing with names with ‘l’ bc they supposedly bring good luck to the family.

she’s really embarrassed of lester all the time.

the twins share a close bond and are usually seen together, they’re talented and help upheld the fam reputation lmfao

lulu specializes in potions and projections.

she’s the kinder twin, more polite. she’s also the one who likes to think things through.

has a thing for anything with turtles in it and owns about 5 tortoises that all roam wild in the house.

though she doesn’t have anything against other species, she doesn’t go out of her way to mingle with them. in a way, she’s the one who keeps up with the family’s snobbish ways of considering witches a scale above the rest.

lola, member @ the pentacle:

younger identical twin of lulu.

she actually enjoys spending time with his brother. he kinda teaches her how to be more patient and less confrontational.

her speciality are curses lmfao and talismans

she’s a risk taker, gets in trouble all the time, though doesn’t typically face any repercussions bc she’s that good. it also helps that her sis and her bro help her out always asldjfadsf

she loves iguanas, has 3 and they all roam around with lulu’s tortoise lmfao

she loves milkshakes, 15/10 times you’ll see her stopping by to get one.

she loves, loves hanging out with other species. the more diversity, the more trouble there can be.

sasha, member @ the coven of the moon:

athena’s older sis. they’re the first two people to show signs of magic in their family after a looooong time. they’re kinda exploring and rolling with it.

the sisters decide to join different covens in their search for answers and guidance. they share information constantly.

she’s decent at any topic, doesn’t really stand out in any as she has a avarage control over them all. (will develop an affinity for light magic and healing in particular, aided by water).

she loves singing, probably does it all the time and people are sick of her bc of it

loves to have fun, will definitely jump at any given opportunity to spice things up

kinda mischievous, though she tries to keep in mind the rules so as not to cross them

puppies (liza, 2020)

amaia, member @ the boldclaw pack:

older sister to kiseon, she baby that kid always and it probably embarrasses him

she’s right hand and tends to be more patient than other ‘alphas’. if anything rub her the wrong way though, she gonna snap in no time

really, she just wants everyone to feel safe like that’s her main goal in life

used to be very weak and sickly as a child so when she matured ppl were surprised, esp when she started making her way onto the higher ranks in the pack

although pack life consumes most of her energy, amaia tries hard to figure how to keep up a life outside of it. she’s the one who encourages people to try out different things and paths.

arthur, member @ clan 6:

loves working out, spends a lot of time with his bro bc of it. they have a thing against shirts, aimee and i already established this for everyone’s benefit bYE

he’s actually very touchy, so he’s always finding ways to be in physical contact with people

he a lil dumb but it ok bc he has a good heart. u know what, i really want u all to think seth clearwater when u see this man lmfao

he likes betting, probs always plays for dumb things like who’s going to get yelled at first or whatever

he likes exploring on his own, probably spends a lot of time outside because of it. it sometimes gives his pack a headache, though he’s always there when they need him to.

zane, member @ clan 6:

appearances fooling ppl bc he out there looking like he gonna be in charge but really zane the biggest softie out there lmao

he’s the one trying to avoid conflict and looking at alternatives for solutions

shy and quiet, he just keep silent to let things unfold as they should

despite hating physical altercation, he still keeps up training so as to not be dead weight. he’s good at it and even teaches the younger members.

he’d 10/10 die for anyone he cared about, stupid loyal puppy

he used to keep away from anything related to his species. possibly avoided any type of relationship in that regard bc he really wanted to be normal. when he found out that there’s a whole world of species out there, he started working on coming to terms with. at times he still struggles and wishes he could live independently but he also knows that he likes being in a group.

chonglin, member @ the boldclaw pack:

unlike his meme-y name LMAO he’s very serious

he’s an action kinda guy, though. always the first to jump in, albeit a lil recklessly. ppl sometimes have to hold him by the neck or he’ll get into trouble lmao

he finds the notion of a werewolf adopting a dog fascinating but has not yet found The One for him. he’s not giving up and is still looking.

he likes clever people and is always reading up on some new topic for more fun conversations

he’s very open to species mingling and enjoys being friendly with others. he’s a lil bit more careful around humans, though around other supernaturals he’s v. chill and doesn’t hide his nature ja feel

[isitgintimeyet]

The Ties That Bind

AO3

Previous

Thanks for reading!

Thanks to @mo-nighean-rouge for the beta and support

Chapter 23: A Meddling Matriach

I have more than once observed to Lady Catherine that her charming daughter seemed born to be a duchess, and that the most elevated rank, instead of giving her consequence, would be adorned by her. — These are the kind of little things which please her ladyship, and it is a sort of attention which I conceive myself peculiarly bound to pay. - Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

The Glasgow office of Fraser and Sons Distillery was located in a solid nineteenth century building, originally designed to showcase the wealth of some Victorian industrialist. There was still an old-fashioned feel to the rooms, even with the state-of-the-art technology housed within.

Jamie’s office was no different. The generous proportions of the room were accentuated by the large pieces of furniture. Dark wooden bookshelves lined one wall. The enormous desk was of the same wood, commanding the centre of the room and two large bottle-green leather chairs were against another wall next to a tall cupboard and side table. The furniture had obviously been in place for many years but it didn’t look old or battered, merely as though it belonged. There were newer additions to the office: a coffee machine in the corner, a large screen on the desk, wireless speaker on the windowsill, but to John, as he looked around waiting for Jamie to return, it always reminded him of an Edwardian gentleman’s club or, at least how he imagined one to be. John knew that in the cupboard next to him there would be several bottles of whisky and Edinburgh crystal glasses. The only things missing from the picture were a haze of cigar smoke and the quiet murmur of elderly gentlemen.

John moved over to the shelves behind Jamie’s desk. He recognised many of the photos, the collection built up over the past couple of years since Jamie took up his current position in the company. There were a few new photos that he had not seen before. A black and white posed portrait of Ian and Jenny with the two children and a formal photo of Jamie and Claire dressed up for Angus’ wedding.

The third photo was a candid close up of Claire, obviously surprised by a sudden gust of wind, laughing as her curls flew around her face, her hands ineffectually trying to calm her hair. John was struck by her sheer...no, not beauty… Claire was beautiful, no doubt, but then so was Geneva… it was, John realised, her vitality, her warmth, her charm. Hard as it was for John to admit, he could see why Jamie was so in love.

“That’s a grand picture, is it no’?”

John had been concentrating so intently on the picture of Claire that he hadn’t heard Jamie enter the office.

“‘Twas taken at Lallybroch the other week. She had been chasin’ Wee Jamie round the garden and I jes’ snapped her.”

John returned the photo to the shelf and joined Jamie on the leather seats, declining the whisky that was offered.

“So,” Jamie continued. “Now ye’ve met Claire, what do ye think? Ye can see why she’s the one?”

“She is pretty special. It was great to meet her.”

“Ye must come round for dinner some night soon.”

“That’d be great… wait, you’re not planning to cook are you? Hopefully, Claire can cook?”

Jamie laughed at his perceived shortcomings. “Aye, weel, a wee bit more than me. She does a mean lasagne.”

“Sounds like she's a keeper.”

“She definitely is and, er, the thing is...er…” Jamie appeared flustered. “John, ye mustna tell anyone this, naybody at all. I want tae marry her. I mean it. This is no’ some fancy. I want tae be wi’ her all the time.”

John was not surprised at this pronouncement, but was unsure of the reason for Jamie’s hesitancy. Based on his observation of Claire and Jamie together, he did not, for one minute, believe that Jamie’s feelings were not returned in full.

“So, have you decided how you’re going to pop the question? Great romantic gesture planned?”

“That’s the thing.” Jamie ran his hands through his ginger curls, forcing them on end. John longed to reach out and straighten them but common sense prevailed and he focussed on the topic in hand.

“I’m no’ goin’ tae propose. No’ jes’ yet anyways. I want tae, but wi’ all that’s goin’ on at the moment, the engagement would get lost in all the other noise. Nah, when I do it, I want the focus tae be on Claire. And I dinna want her tae think I’m doing it tae make meself feel less guilty about the bairn. I want her to ken that I’m doin’ it for the right reasons. Plus there is one more thing…”

“Geneva, I’m guessing.” John knew where this conversation was heading.

Jamie forced a weak smile. Unconsciously, his fingers tapped against his leg. “Aye, Geneva. I do need tae think about how it’d look. Geneva could play the part o’ the wee wronged woman. She’d be all over it, with me as the bastard who dumped a pregnant woman and Claire as a homewrecker. The fact there never was a home tae wreck, she wouldna even consider.”

Having known Geneva for several years, John had no doubt at all. However, he did have deeper concerns than this potential movie-of-the-week scenario. “Jamie,” he began tentatively. “Please, think about this, I’m not an expert in family law, but I can give you the name of a good lawyer who is. Is it not worth consulting him now, find out exactly where you stand, get it all sorted?”

“John, I ken ye’re tryin’ to help but I dinna think we need that. Geneva has her faults, but she wouldna deprive a bairn of its father, if that’s what ye’re thinkin’. And if I have tae tread careful round her for the next few months, that’s what I’ll do. It’ll all work out, ye’ll see. And who knows, mebbe this time next year we’ll be planning a wedding at Lallybroch.”

*************

This time, Jamie made sure there were no last-minute problems. He gave himself extra time for the journey to the hospital, the drinks holder in the car was full of change. Claire, he knew, was in theatre, so there would be no chance of an unscheduled meeting with Geneva.

He actually arrived at the ultrasound reception before Geneva with plenty of time to spare. The selection of waiting room magazines and leaflets didn’t exactly inspire him. He bypassed the ‘Postnatal care of your Perineum’ leaflet, although he did pocket a couple of breastfeeding leaflets for Geneva. He settled down with his phone to wait. A message appeared from Claire wishing him luck. For the scan, he presumed, although, of course, it may have been luck in handling Geneva.

Finally, Geneva arrived. She was still not giving in to pregnancy comfort, dressed today in black spike high-heeled shoes and a figure-hugging dress. Jamie was conscious of eyes, both judging and admiring, following her as she made her way over to him. He wasn't quite sure how that dress would work with the scan - she would perhaps have to take it off, or was that what she had planned?

She kissed him briefly on the cheek and sat beside him, crossing her long, tanned legs. The toe of her patent shoe lightly nudged his shin.

“Are you excited?” she asked, resting her hand on his jacket sleeve. “About finding out the sex, I mean?”

“Are we findin’ out, then?” Jamie shifted in his seat, dislodging her hand. “We havena talked about it. Can we no’ discuss it? Do ye no’ want a surprise?”

“We’re talking about it now, aren’t we?”

“Nah, we’re no’ talkin’ about it… we’re talkin’ about the fact that ye already made the decision. And ye dinna even ask fer ma opinion at all.” Jamie spoke in a whisper, aware that other people in the waiting room were bored and keen for some entertainment.

Geneva lowered her voice a fraction. “My body, my baby, my choice. Besides I need to know to decide on a colour palette for the nursery, and then there’s the printing for the baby shower invitations that Isobel is sorting out... and do you think we should have a gender reveal for family and friends?”

Jamie folded his arms across his chest. “No’ sure why ye ask me. Ye do what ye want. But, let me be clear, I will no’ be hostin’ any parties wi’ ye, gender reveal or no’, nor attendin’ and neither will my family.  I’ve already told ye plainly that there is no ‘we’ and never will be…dinna be thinkin’ I will change ma mind on this.”

“Geneva Dunsany, room three please.”

Silently they gathered their belongings and headed into the ultrasound.

*************

Jamie sat in his car, breathing deeply, trying to stop trembling. Leaning over, he fumbled in the glovebox, pulled out a tissue and ran it across his eyes, trying to process calmly the events of the last thirty minutes.

The first realisation was that Geneva, despite the conversation they had when they last met, hadn’t given up trying to create a ‘Jamie and Geneva’ relationship. She wasn’t stupid but obviously thought that if she pushed hard enough she would get her own way… again. And her own way did not consider his opinions at all.

The second was that she would use any opportunity, including an antenatal appointment, to achieve it. Her knowing glance to Jamie as she pulled her dress up, briefly revealing her black lace panties before the sonographer modestly placed a sheet across her hips confirmed as much.

So far, so predictable.

But the third realisation struck him like a thunderbolt. When he heard the whooshing heartbeat and then the sonographer saying “Good positioning, I can see… it’s a boy,” Jamie absolutely realised that he was going to be a father and he felt a sudden rush of love for that little, blurry, slightly alien image on the screen. And, as much as he smiled at Geneva and offered celebratory words, there was only one person he wanted to share it with.

Jamie checked the time as he pressed the redial button on his phone. Hopefully, the theatre session would not have overrun.

“Claire, Sassenach, are ye around? Can I come and see ye? It’s a boy, Claire. I’m havin’ a son.”

***********

Jamie had a quiet evening in ahead of him. Claire had decreed tonight to be a girls’ night, which meant the opportunity to catch up with Geillis and a couple of other friends. With Frank, she had felt herself slowly becoming alienated from them all. Fortunately the friendships were strong enough to withstand Frank’s isolationist tactics, but Claire was not going to let history repeat itself, no matter how wonderful the man.

And by now, Jamie thought as he idly flicked through the television channels, they would probably be on their second bottle of wine and comparing notes about their respective partners’ faults. Weel, they'll have plenty tae talk about there wi’ me!

The sound of the doorbell roused him from his contemplations, its frequent buzzing conveying a sense of urgency, if not panic. Jamie rushed to open the front door, expecting some emergency to be awaiting him in the door step. It was much worse.

Geneva's mother stood on the doorstep. She had, in her youth, been considered pretty, if not beautiful. Qualities which had attracted and held onto the wealthy landowner William Dunsany. Her prettiness had, over the years, transformed into a hard, majestic facade. Her only link to her glorious youth was the beauty of her much beloved daughter Geneva, who greatly resembled her and who she had always indulged without question. Isobel, who took after her father, had been more of a disappointment.

“Good evening, Louisa. Do ye want tae come in then?” Jamie was taken aback by her appearance at his door but chose to remain polite to minimise the unpleasantness that he presumed was about to head his way.

Without a word, Louisa brushed past Jamie and made her way into the living room.

Settling herself in the middle of the sofa, she began her speech. “You can be at no loss, James, to understand why I’ve come here this evening. Your own conscience must tell you. I believe in frankness, so I’m not going to beat about the bush.”

Jamie’s face assumed a passive air. He decided to let Geneva’s mother have her say without interruption.

“I’m here to remind you of your responsibility towards my daughter. You can’t think to leave her to do everything on her own.”

Jamie’s hands curled into fists, his nails digging into the palms, but still he remained silent.

“Geneva deserves a partner in this, you have an obligation to her. And what about the baby, my grandson? He deserves two parents, needs to be brought up in a normal family. Now...” Her tone softened, as if she was offering him a gift, a solution to his predicament. “Now, I’ve heard you have started a new relationship, and I’m sure she is very nice but you’ve not known her that long and  it would be easier to make the break now than let it run on and hurt her more with a messy split. And remember, you have a history with Geneva.”

Louisa looked round the room. ”At least you’ve had the sense not to let her move in with you. That makes it easier.”

“Her name is Claire, and I’ll thank ye not tae bring her into this. I dinna mean tae upset ye but even if Claire wasna around, Geneva and I wouldna be together, bairn or no’. I agree, this laddie needs two parents and that he will have. I will do my share and when he is a wee bit older and able tae leave his mam, I will look after him here too. We can sort out the arrangements.”

Jamie’s voice was calm and level, in direct contrast to the feelings building up inside him. He was trying to remain fair to Louisa, who, he assumed, was doing what she had always done - made sure Geneva got what Geneva wanted, whether it be the latest toy, another pet… or him.

“I’m no’ goin’ tae explain the reasons why Geneva and I are no’ and willna be together. That’s between her and me. I have said I will support her and I will, I promise ye that, but only as the father of the bairn. And I willna be giving Claire up, I can assure ye. If ye think ye can come here into ma home and make me change ma mind on this, well ye will have had yerself a wasted journey.”

Louisa stood up and moved closer to Jamie. “You have no regard, then, for the

feelings of my daughter? What she must be going through?”

“Louisa, I have nothing further tae sa tae ye. I have told ye the truth. I will not be moved on this. And I resent the fact that ye think ye can tell me what I should or shouldna do. This is no’ all ma fault, so dinna be acting like I’m some sort of … of...”Jamie felt his self control start to slip, his voice beginning to rise in anger. “... evil seducer. I willna change ma mind, no matter what ye say. And ye can go and tell that tae yer daughter too.” “Very well.” Louisa headed to the door, not waiting for Jamie to stand up. “I just hope this woman of yours is worth it.”

And with that she flounced out of his house, slamming the front door behind her.

[rinistop]

IF YOU LOVE SOMETHING, SET IT FREE - PART 6

Summary: With Rin leaving for Australia once again, Rin and Sousuke spend their last night together making memories. But all actions have consequences. Written for the Free Kink!meme

Rating: M

Contains: A/B/O, mating, knotting, mpreg, Alpha!Rin, Omega!Sousuke

The baby came in the winter, a month before Sousuke was due to sit his entrance exams. A little girl who took an entire night to birth and when they finally laid the sleeping infant into his arms for him to look at, Sousuke's second thought was to wish Rin was there to see her too. So real now, a wrinkled little face still red from birth, soft and delicate and so, so tiny. He was enamoured.

Pressing his nose to the baby's head, he wondered if he did the right thing. To deny her a father. He wondered if he would ever stop questioning it. But he couldn't go back on that now, he had to stick by it.

He named the baby 'Kei'. A blessing.

~~~

Parenthood was a difficult thing, he soon learned. Harder still to juggle his studies on top of it. He was thankful for his father's help and experience, felt in turns overwhelmed and more focused than he'd ever been in his life, like his whole world had narrowed to revolve around catering to the needs of this helpless creature who needed him for everything, like he'd never been needed by anyone before.

Pregnancy had changed his perception of his own body - he had never really had any particular awareness of what it's capabilities as an Omega were before, just that he was taller and broader and held a power that the other genders didn't. When he'd been younger, it hadn't even meant much that his body would go through Heat - most Omegas started taking suppressants as soon as they hit puberty and never experienced their first heat until they were mated and started trying for a baby. After he'd hurt his shoulder, he'd resented his body immensely - it hadn't been able to take the strain of his training as he grew, had broken under the pressure he'd put it under instead of getting stronger. And then it changed in pregnancy, his broader waist and hips accommodating the baby's growth inside him easily, his broader chest plumping so he could feed it. He'd spent entire afternoons, fascinated by the feeling of it kicking inside him, amazed by his body's capabilities and learning to love it again. Then, after the baby was born, he found his perception of self strengthened, found a resilience in his spirit that he had been digging for for years, that he hadn't quite managed to find for himself, but had managed to find for Kei. It was as if she was a well of strength he could draw on, even as he slowly adjusted to the responsibilities of his new role as a parent.

The first few months felt the most difficult, when all Kei seemed to do was cry and eat and poop and sleep. It was exhausting, to be up at all hours and to fall into fitfull sleep, hair-trigger ready to wake at the slightest indication that Kei might need him. He got a lot better at multi-tasking, learnt to do everything he needed in the times that she was sleeping, and to do it with one eye on her always too.

But slowly, a distinct sort of personality started to make itself known. Kei was a little quick to cry (and of course she would inherit that trait, Sousuke thought with a sigh), but just as quick to cheer up again, to giggle sweetly at her father and grandfather pulling faces and making silly noises at her. By and large, a sweet-natured child, if easily excitable. As her features plumped out he could see they shared the colour of his eyes, but the shape of them was Rin's. Her nose too like her sire's, and something of Gou in her chin. No hair yet, but the soft fuzz covering her head was indeterminably dark.

The start of the academic year was his first day away from her, as exhilarating as it was distressing. Leaving her was like a strange sort of grieving, being apart even worse. His father sympathetically told him that separation anxiety was something a lot of new bearers went through, except most of the time it happened after a period of parental leave longer than the handful of months Sousuke had had. He was thankful that there were only introductory lectures for the first week, because his mind was too occupied by thoughts of Kei at home with her grandfather, missing her, to be able to concentrate on what he was being told or to appreciate fully adult conversation that wasn't interspersed with cooing or didn't revolve around baby needs.

He wasn't so open with the fact that he was a parent, and a single-parent at that. Being unmated and having a child just wasn't the done thing and if he had to tell anyone, he would stick with the lie that the sire was at away at university elsewhere. When he was with Kisumi, people often assumed they were together and then he didn't say anything. Perhaps for his grandparent's generation it would have been more common to have settled with a mate and start having children by his age, but nowadays people tended to leave it later. Mid-twenties at least, certainly not nineteen.

Already being a year behind most of his classmates - people who would have been his juniors up to then - made him feel like he needed to work harder, like he had more to prove. He wasn't behind because he was a dropout or something. And where his classmates would go out to socialise after lectures, all Sousuke wanted to do was go home to his baby, already feeling anxious from being away from her for so long. So he kept mostly to himself - it wasn't hard to stay busy with studies and a newborn to stay on top of. It could be a little lonely, but time would decide which new acquaintances would become friends.

He managed to hear through the grapevine that both Samezuka and Iwatobi had made it to Regionals, then  Nationals; that Nitori had managed to put in a solidly improved performance that had netted him a fourth in the 200m breaststroke (which made Sousuke feel rather proud of him) and had gone on to apply to university in Tottori. Momo had managed a bronze in the 100m backstroke and the Samezuka swimming club was once again under the leadership of a Mikoshiba in his final year, which meant the kid had upped his game and wasn't messing around so much. They hadn't had much contact though - Nitori had invited him  to come and watch the Nationals, which always took place in Tokyo, but Sousuke had been rather obviously pregnant by then and reluctant about it being public knowledge for his former club mates to gossip over and so had declined with an excuse about rehab sessions.

Gou, on the other hand, had managed to get into university in Tokyo - to study something related to sports and management because muscles had apparently transformed from an obsession into a lifestyle choice - though she was on the other side of the city from him. She messaged him fairly regularly - more regularly than Rin nowadays anyway - and was quite tenaciously keeping in touch. Sousuke was grateful for it - Gou was like a sister to him too and he missed her.

~~~

She came over with Kisumi one day, not long after moving to Tokyo, wanting to both meet Kei and tell him off for being bad at keeping in touch, and then tried to make it a point to meet once a month. To that end, she'd taken his phone and programmed it into his calendar with alarms to remind him too. He remembered that first visit though, the way she'd been quiet as she watched him with the baby as if she was having trouble relating the way she knew him to what she was seeing. He could understand that - he'd never been that parental, not like that Tachibana guy from Iwatobi who seemed like the sort of Omega who had been born ready to have kids. It must have been strange for her to see him being so tender, with a baby in his arms.

She'd been absolutely delighted by Kei, who had also taken well to her (possibly partly due to bribery with yoghurt lollies) and play-dates with Aunty Gou became as regular as Uncle Kisumi, rattling colourful toys just out of reach as she told him about all the gossip she was in know about.

That summer, Rin made the rankings that allowed him to compete in the Pan-Pacific Championships that were being held in Canada, in both butterfly and free sprint distances. Both Kisumi and Gou decided to congregate at his house (with snacks!) to watch because Gou had needed to stay at university for an assignment instead of going to Canada with her mother, but fortunately, the aquatic finals fell on the weekend. He managed to feed Kei and while the diving was on, none of them paying too much attention to the graceful lines and arcs the divers made as they fell into the water while they waited for the races in the next hour or so. Gou was talking about the National competitions she had taken Iwatobi to in her final year of high school, critically dissecting various performances with newer insight as he did so.

"You were right to make Nitori-kun focus on the longer distances, of course. If he'd tried to take on Nagisa-kun in the shorter distances, he definitely wouldn't have placed so highly."

Sousuke shrugged, tipping the bottle to a better angle for Kei's mouth, "He always had a lot of stamina, but he got discouraged because his technique and focus were on the sprints. We worked to correct that and it seems like he kept it up."

"And Momo-kun did really well - his style is quite different to Makoto-senpai, but it's also a little lighter."

Well, Tachibana could be surprisingly aggressive in the water, completely at odds with his usual nature. But it was a style that worked for him and made him a ferocious contender to compete against - the few times he'd actually bothered to watch him had showed him that immediately. Sousuke wiped at a little dribble on Kei's chin, then sat her up to burp as Kisumi pulled faces at her.

"It's good Momo didn't have to race him, but I think he could give him a run for his money the way he swims now. Tachibana was good enough to be scouted, just unlucky that he was sharing a pool with Rin and Nanase. You have to be in the right time and place for these things."

"Yeah. But Makoto-senpai didn't want a career in competitive swimming - he loves it, but he doesn't thrive on competition the onii-chan does. He's going to be a great teacher though, it's perfect for him. Hey, you know he and Haruka-senpai are dating now?"

Beside him, Kisumi muttered 'finally' with a roll of his eyes, but Sousuke quirked a brow at her, drawn in despite himself: "Weren't they already?"

"No! It only happened like a month ago! And there was drama!" Sousuke didn't really care - they were more Rin's friends than his - but she carried on anyway. "They're at different universities with different schedules and they've made friend groups that don't really cross over as much, I guess, but apparently Makoto-senpai was under the impression that Haruka-senpai liked my brother."

Well, that was news to Sousuke, though he'd be lying if the thought hadn't crossed his mind. Rin had been fascinated by Nanase from the moment he'd first seen him swim, had moved to Iwatobi to figure out what made it so special. Sousuke had wondered, briefly when they were younger, if Rin liked other Alphas. But he'd also wondered if maybe Rin liked a certain type of Omega, given the way he'd been around Tachibana  - oddly protective and gentle, in the same way he was to Gou, though he was a little like that with Hazuki too. Absent-mindedly, he sniffed Kei's bum, then laid her down in his lap to settle her.

"So, he was trying to move on or something, but Makoto-senpai being how he is -"

She titled her head towards Kisumi, who smiled wryly and added, "That guy doesn't know he's popular, so of course a lot of people like him. I went to his student union for a party last year, you should have seen how many people wanted to get him stuff. A lot of Alphas, but not just them."

"Exactly, so Haru-senpai was getting really jealous -"

"It doesn't actually take that much to get Haru jealous where Makoto is concerned - I used to tease him all the time back in middle school. I tried to do the same to Makoto once, but he just got all sad and I felt like I kicked a puppy, so I didn't do that again."

"-right, and apparently it was disrupting his swimming. But then onii-chan yelled at him - I know because he called me to rant after and said I should yell at them too. He told Haru-senpai: 'you need to take the chance while you have it, otherwise someone else will come along and make Mako happy and you'll have lost your chance from being blind and stupid! You don't have to pick between the water and Mako, so don't!' And it worked! Isn't that great?"

Sousuke watched Kei sleeping and wondered if those words had anything to do with how Rin felt about him, then told himself that they didn't mean anything at all. Gou sighed and put her hand to her cheek, her gaze turned inward.

"It's silly, really - they've never had eyes for anyone but each other. They were just being, ugh, dumb. But…it says something, doesn't it? The things we take for granted, without bothering to do anything to actually make them happen - we just…expect them to. But things don't just magically happen by themselves."

Her eyes shifted to him then, something sad and rueful in them as she looked at him and at Kei. "You know, I used to think that you and onii-chan would get married. I think I even planned your wedding out in my head once." She laughed, softly.

Sousuke shrugged uncomfortably, not knowing how to respond. "…It wasn't the right time or place."

Kisumi managed to change the topic to something lighter then, livening the atmosphere until the races started, freestyle first. Rin stepped into the screen with Nanase behind him, both of them looking in the best physical condition they had ever been in. Sousuke couldn't help but stare as Rin took his position on the starting block, at the chiselled musculature that looked even more defined, at the determined jut of his chin and the cocky grin he sent to the camera. He looked…good. The starting horn blared and they dived, fast-paced commentary accompanying every stroke.

"And it's Australia's Campbell in Lane 3 and Japan's Nanase and Matsuoka in Lane 5 and 6 taking the lead early with smooth entrances there. Some explosive energy from Matsuoka there. These two are up and coming, but they've had solid performances since they've entered the international arena and already the favourites for Japan's Olympic team! But they've quickly become infamous for the way they swim when they're in the pool together, you can see the way they're pushing each other, they've already posted times that are so close to National records and they are nipping on Campbell's heels - a lot of talk on which of these is going to be breaking records first.

"They're bouncing off the walls now, beautifully smooth turn from Nanase - there's no way he could have timed that better - but Campbell's still in the lead. But he can see them, with every turn of his head, they're right there, it's looking incredibly close, they could pip him at the last second - but Campbell's just managed to touch the wall first, Nanase then Matsuoka a fraction of a second behind! It's Australia's gold and Japan take a silver and bronze! They're going to show the replay, it honestly looks so close, there's practically no difference in those times, what a race! Some beautiful swimming there and we'll be seeing more from Matsuoka later in the Butterfly too. What a race!"

None of them had been able to watch without sitting forward, each of them shouting when Rin and Haruka had touched the wall, loud enough to startle Kei awake and then frantically shushing each other though the damage had been done. Gou, who had shot up to pump her fists in the air knelt by her to try and soothe her and stop her startled cries. When Kei finally quieted down, suckling on a soother, Gou giggled and they all followed. After that, there was no getting her back to sleep.

"Ah, Aunty Gou was making a lot of noise while Kei-chan was sleeping! Silly Aunty, very silly, ne? But your Uncle RinRin is swimming and we're all going to cheer for him to win - Kei-chan can cheer too, ne?" she pressed a rattler into her fist and clapped her hands excitedly. When Rin came back onto the screen for the butterfly race, she pointed him out, "Lookie, there's RinRin! Kei-chan, cheer loudly for RinRin, ok?"

And Kei did, waving her chubby little hands and feet and the rattler, caught up in the excitement of the adults around her. The commentator's rapid-fire chatter rang over the crowd's hooting to highlight the swimmers' performances:

"…Men's 100m butterfly, the ones to watch out for in this race are Gonzales, Kaling and Matsuoka. Gonzales really took the World Championships last year and rumour has it that he was making fifty point seven in practice, so if it's a good day for him, we'll see. Kaling can be notoriously inconsistent on his starts, but he's been doing really well in these games and his first fifty is how we'll guage it. Matsuoka, honestly, consistently better every performance - look at that entrance!

" Immediately, Gonzales pulls ahead, but Matsuoka is right there, just a hand-span behind and not letting go. It'll be the turn that judges it - and Kaling is just a little too near on the twist, not a good turn. Matsuoka has fantastic turns, really wrings that extra boost of power out. It's between Gonzales and Matsuoka and you can see Matsuoka has his head down, he's turning it up and Gonzales is feeling the heat. Will he make it? He's getting level, just the last bit - and Gonzales just makes it first! Ohoho, there was a hair's breadth between, honestly, it is so exciting to watch promising newcomers like this - Matsuoka is really going places and I can't wait to see what he'll do - a bronze and a silver on the same day and maybe gold in the future! But there you go, USA, Japan and Singapore on the podium for this one! Wow!"

None of them had managed to stay seated the entire race, all of them on their feet by the first leg and cheering at the touch. Gou was jumping up and down with baby toys in her hands and Sousuke raised Kei up over his head, where the baby spat out the dummy in her mouth and started screaming and laughing in delight.

"RinRin won! RinRin won!" Kisumi started the chant and they all took it up, dancing around the living room together.

Sousuke felt giddy with the sensation of his heart racing, as if it would burst out of his chest - Rin was realising his dream of standing at the top of the world stage. And, by proxy, it felt like he was realising Sousuke's too.

[ayearofpike]

Thirst No. 4: The Shadow of Death

Simon Pulse, 2011 492 pages, 28 chapters + epilogue ISBN 978-1-4424-1319-1 LOC: PZ7.P626 Th 2011 OCLC: 731720997 Released August 9, 2011 (per B&N)

The immortal Sita has died. Only not — her soul still lives, in the body of her descendant. How did this happen? In seeking the answer, Sita will learn the secret to defeating the ancient race that imperils humanity. The search won’t be easy, though. Sita must traverse time and space, heaven and hell, the physical and the spiritual, and what the hell is even going on my head hurts.

Honestly, I’m not sure what Pike is going for in this book. Is it trying to be smarter than other authors of the era and genre by bending the rules of continuity? Is it striving for a narrative that is just beyond his reach? Is it just pounding out Another Damn Sita Book against deadline to get that green? It could be any of those. At least it ties up the story of the Telar and the IIC relatively well, although there’s still enough loose ends to keep our vampire going if necessary (and of course it is; Thirst 5 is still on the horizon).

One thing Pike has totally bought into is the arbitrary capitalization of the names of things to make them Important Artifacts. You remember this: probably the impetus was Suzanne Collins, naming specific elements of the Hunger Games to showcase why they were relevant and how the country had accepted them as elements of the competition. But then every single friggin’ YA book about a post-apocalyptic dystopia started adopting the shit. At least Collins tried to come up with catchy names for her Artifacts. The other authors just come up with a word to call something and throw an initial cap on it, and Pike leaps happily aboard the Proper Name Train. And every time you think he’s drilled down to the smallest level of a Category, he names a smaller subgroup that needs its own Capital. Eventually it makes me want to put the Book down and kick the Ass.

Is it obvious I’m teaching again? Not just because I’m going all loco on repetitive cliches, but also because it’s taken me like three weeks to write this. 

Let’s just bore down into the summary. We start with Sita in her descendant Teri’s body, awakening to that fact at her own funeral. Apparently she had a couple of days that are just blank or at best hazy, but then Miracle Baby Teen took Teri’s hands and looked into her eyes, and crystallized Sita’s presence. Nobody is sure what this means, exactly, but Sita is feeling blood hunger for the first time in years. The new body doesn’t have the five thousand years of experience and transfusions from multiple vampires and gods and saviors to abate it, after all. So when she gets back to her hotel, she orders room service — only they don’t offer blood. But the delivery boy has some, and dude does she drink it ALL. So then there’s some wacky hijinks as she has to clumsily get the body out of the hotel and dispose of it.

She’s not ready to reveal herself to Immortal Boyfriend yet, though. He was against her turning Teri into a vampire in the first place, remember, and in her weak state she figures he’d kill her. So she carefully and strategically reveals some info like Sita told Teri as they try to figure out what to do about the bigger threats of the virus wielded by the immortals and the crippling mental focus of the monster corporation. The Telar-ites want to focus on mass producing the cure to the virus and getting it distributed, but Sita thinks the only way they can do that is to involve IIC. Someone’s research has turned up that all of the main members were students of the same parapsychology professor at Berkeley(?), and so Sita, Seymour, Miracle Teen’s mom, and the young Indian girl who has been sucked into this life all drive out to meet him.

But before they go, Sita/Teri has to clean up her mess. Apparently she’s not as stealthy as she used to be either, because some dumbass kid saw her taking the room service cart with a body stuffed under it down to the garage, and his mom reported this Olympic champion to the police. So she has to try to wipe out any trace of suspicion from the cops’ minds, as well as finding a safe source of blood to feed on. Turns out one of them has a wife who is a doctor, and after an overreaching act of hypnotism, Sita gets into the hospital blood bank and takes all of it, then goes back home with the doctor and wipes out her memory as well as her husband’s. So it’s cool that she still has her vampire hypnosis, but it’s super clumsy, just like everything else in this new body. And what happened to Teri? Miracle Teen seems to think she’s dead, but that can’t be right. But why not? And if not, how come Sita is so in control?

The professor is quite a font of information, and he sure is scared of the IIC boss. He suggests they go talk to her ex from school, who was one of the major catalysts in the discovery of group-focused mind control via ESP. This dude and his girlfriend are still living in Santa Cruz, and they aren’t at all surprised to find four random diverse strangers at their door. Sita is confused, though, that the math doesn’t add up in regard to how old these people are. According to the research, their studies happened in the ’60s, but there’s no way this dude can be older than 40 when he ought to be knocking on 70. It gets late quickly, and so the couple offers our ramshackle group a couple of rooms for the night. Sita takes the opportunity to decode some more of Original Vampire’s book, and learn more about the deep and true love between him and the Telar he married. She also calls Teri’s parents to check in, and learns that the cops are still looking for her in connection with the missing room service dude, so that sucks.

In the morning, the CEO’s ex tells them more about his research and how IIC stole it to find exactly the right sociopaths to use in its mind-control device. Basically it was an astrological predictor, so that you could tell with a high degree of accuracy what someone would be like and how their extrasensory facility would manifest based on where and when they were born. Sita realizes, all of a sudden, that the creepy kid she ran into at the CEO’s house is actually conceived with this ex, because of his own predilection for ESP and his familiarity with the needs of the astrological predictor. He talks about having been targeted by the device himself, and his girlfriend says that she managed to shake him free by pushing him down the well on the property. They’ve mentioned this well before, and how it provides such amazing water, so now Sita is curious.

She ends up climbing down the bucket rope in the middle of the night, into a vast cavern with a faint glow at one end. Following the light leads her to: her own body. Sita’s body, that is, the one that was supposed to have been buried in Denver. Sitting by it is the astrological researcher’s girlfriend, who Sita immediately realizes is more than she’s revealed herself to be. Yep: it’s Original Vampire’s wife, Immortal Boyfriend’s mom, and one of the oldest and most ancient Telar still in existence. But it’s not like that. She took the body to protect what it holds, not just to keep it from these creepy evils that are trying to get more power but also because — check this shit out — it’s healing.

Sita can get back into her body, Ancient Telar says. All she has to do is let Teri finish dying.

Obviously when he finds out, Immortal Boyfriend is pissed. He is totally ready to murder Sita, without actually ritualizing it so she returns to her body. And Sita knows she deserves it, sort of. She’s as much to blame as anyone for the mess they’re all in, and she loved Teri as much as any of them, maybe even more. So she’s not going to fight back if Immortal Boyfriend exacts his rage. But he can’t do it, and he does realize that having a full-strength Sita will help their cause. So they all end up back down in the cave, where they reconnect the appropriate bodies by ripping Teri’s femoral artery and allowing Sita’s corpse to drink the blood. The transfer happens fast, and lucky for Immortal Boyfriend Teri has just enough consciousness to say goodbye.

I have to step out of summary for a minute to flat-out state how GROSSLY DISSATISFYING this is. Like, for seven books now we’ve known Sita as this inhuman giant, capable of defeating everyone and anything. Now she’s in a newer body, with a younger brain and less experienced reflexes even if it has all her consciousness, and she’s supposed to start figuring out how to overcome that. To just un-write the whole thing and stick her back in her old body not even half a book later strikes me as Pike didn’t want to commit to a decision he’d already made, rather than any kind of grand plan that this was always gonna happen. And yeah, I get it, Sita’s body has all kinds of implications, but why did it have to come back almost immediately? I’d go so far as to say that this makes Teri Raine practically irrelevant to the grander scheme of the story. And it sticks the whole personality quirk we’ve just learned about Sita — where she has followed and cared about her line of descendency, one that never actually seemed believable having read the first six — even deeper into the grave.

So now the gang is all together and ready to carry out their plan. Sita waltzes into the IIC office, releasing the deadly virus as she does so, and makes her demand: use the mind control group to destroy all of the high-ranking Telar or die painfully and frightened today. This is where the Arbitrary Capitalization makes its most insidious entrance. The top Telar, the Source, can meld to form the Link, which makes them unbeatable. But IIC can focus its Array through the Cradle, powered by a smaller group known as the Lens, and at least find where they are. So once she learns a Location, Sita can use her Knowledge to open up a Can of Whoop-Ass. But to join the Lens, she’s required to offer up a sacrifice, and she figures the best candidate is the mole who keeps feeding up information on where the group is, and not least the DNA of Immortal Boyfriend so he could get possessed. Who is it? Probably the math teacher who conveniently keeps not being with the group every time they get attacked. Only as the Lens forces her to climb to the top of Truman College’s bell tower and hurl herself off it, Sita sees inside her mind and knows she was innocent the whole time. 

As it happens, she feels claws on her shoulders. Ancient Telar warned her that this would probably happen: in order to tap into the powers of the extrasensory, one has to connect to a Familiar. Sita can see the ones clinging to the kids in the room, but is not permitted to look back at her own, which makes her suspect that it’s probably the most powerful demon of all — a demon that was never actually a demon, but an angel that refused to accept its grace in being less than God and ended up falling into the deepest of despair. Yeah, that one.

She calls back to base and lets her crew know what’s going on, then tries to use her newly replenished powers to fix the police detective whose brain she screwed. Only he starts feeling scared and disturbed, and she realizes that this Familiar that is now attached to her is having a negative effect on her powers. IIC Boss comes in and they talk about the computer game that everyone’s playing, the one about being saved and moving to higher planes of heavenly ability, which is (not coincidentally) being constantly written and updated by the kids in the Lens when they’re not out brain-murdering. 

Have I talked about this game before? It feels like I did, but maybe I’m thinking of Alosha. Miracle Teen loves it, and he said his presence in game was literally just to make himself known. But there are obvious creepy levels behind it, and IIC Boss reveals that there is no possible way to delete or destroy the code because of how it’s been embedded into the Internet. What’s it for? We don’t know yet! We do know that there’s significant backmasking and subliminal messages which echo the invocations the Lens uses to get into its power state. So maybe this game somehow charges telepathic batteries? I’m pretty sure this is the last time Pike mentions it in this book.

But now they’re getting ready to attack the major players in the Telar, so they have to work fast and without many breaks. They get two by melting them with too much chlorine in a hot tub, and then there are four in an LA hotel that they attack by forcing one of the guards to disrupt them and break their Link. But before they can kill all the Telar, one invokes a name that throws the psychic connection into the garbage. Sita knows where they are, though, and attacks in person. We get some more Matrix shit as she leaps from a helicopter and uses stairs like trampolines, and she ends up leaving the last Telar alive with a command that he use his high-ranking government contacts to launch a missile strike on a location that she will psychically contact him with in a few hours. That is, once she figures out where the rest of the Source is hiding.

The rest of Team Vampire shows up (well, not Miracle Teen, who is smart enough to keep the hell away from the demon-summoning corporation that would love all of his power) to help Sita fight the final battle. Seymour and Immortal Boyfriend are going to vaccinate the IIC against the virus, which is dormant but not totally gone as Sita’s bargaining chip. Only not the kids in the Cradle and the Lens: Sita has arranged for them to get a full dose of the virus instead, so the company can’t wield its devilish mind-control device with impunity once its primary antagonists are all dead. Yeah, we’re murdering children now. Sweet. Oh, and also, Ancient Telar is also the mother of the leader of the Source, and Sita has learned that you can control someone who is related to the person with the blood (or DNA, or whatever the fuck marker it is they’re actually using) and so attacking the dude might kill her too. It’s a risk Ancient Telar is willing to take.

She joins the Lens, and her sacrifice is the creepy teenager who leads it. Like, she literally breaks his arm and allows his brain to murder himself. Shit, if Sita knew she could do that! They find the Source and realize it’s impenetrable; their shield is too strong and all the kids will break before they can get through. (Like, I’ll murder kids, but not before I’m done using them to murder immortals.) Ancient Telar tells Sita there is a way — she just has to remember what happened after she died. Like it’s that easy.

But she does. Suddenly, we’re back on the mountain, where Sita has just been lasered in the heart. She finds a cave and follows it down forever, until she sees others and decides she needs to follow them. The path leads to a giant river teeming with inhumanity, all sorts of dead people who are trying to answer a question about their lives in order to take a boat across. Only thing is, if you answer it wrong you’re forced to forget it. We get to remember them, though, because this is a book and not some crazy spiritual encounter. 

Sita answers the first question wrong (”what is the most useless human emotion?”), and then finds a beautiful and familiar-looking young woman who tells her not to despair, because she has plenty of time to think about the answer. She’s already gotten her question right, and is waiting for Sita so they can ride together with another woman. After a second missed question (”what quality is both great and dangerous in humans?”), she meets the other woman, who also looks familiar. Weird! She tells Sita that all of the questions may be different, but the answers are all important, and they should come back to us when we need them. So I guess we can yell at the book like it’s Dora the Explorer later on. The third question is “what is the greatest mystery in the universe?” Sita knows this one: it’s that God and his names are all the same, so by invoking the name you are bringing God to you. It does take her a second, because she has to argue with the boat driver over misleading info he’s given her, but in the end she gets to cross the river with her new friends.

On the other side is a mountain full of caves. They each have to go through their own cave, and Sita ends up at an abyss, where she can see the tunnel on the other side but doesn’t know how to get there. A woman with some grotesque facial scars shows up and walks across the space, offering to help Sita do it, for a kiss. She knows about Sita’s final sin, showing a blood-stained syringe like she’s predicting kid-virus-murder, and with a kiss they will bond and the woman will protect her when it comes to final judgment. After all, she did miss the second question. And suddenly it comes flooding back to Sita, with a realization of what the correct answer is: faith. She doesn’t need to get across, necessarily; she just has to take a leap of faith.

She passes out for a minute after jumping, then comes to in a pathway with the syringe on the ground next to her. She makes her way to the obvious judgment house and sees how it works. You state your name and age, put your hands over a scale, and one of them makes diamonds and the other black pearls. Whichever side is heavier determines where you go in the afterlife, and the younger you are the less the scale expects, I guess. The young woman that Sita rode in the boat with offers to go first, and OH HOLY MOTHER OF FUCK IT’S TERI. Because this is happening in the past, remember, Sita doesn’t think Teri is dead, but the other woman says time doesn’t matter here, you can encounter people who are dead from all periods, including apparently the future. But Teri was good, duh, and she goes up. And now we learn just how old Sita is exactly: 5152 years old. Naturally someone with this long of a life and this complicated of a history produces enough gems to bury the scale entirely. Her hands drop with the exhaustion of producing so much junk, and ultimately the dark side of the scale prevails. The devil himself shows up to make a deal with Sita, though: if she destroys the light bearer, he’ll go easy on her.

And now Sita is back in her living  body, still channeling into the room that observes the Source, with a bitter realization of what she has to do. Ancient Telar has described their initial Link, the one that granted her people immortality, as one that filled them with light. So she needs to kill this lady in order to make the current Source vulnerable. Which, duh, Ancient Telar knew it the whole time, and is ready to make peace with her twelve thousand years. Her soul’s absence weakens the Link, and Sita makes herself visible through multiple ancient magics to let them know of their fate. Of course they try to reason and bargain with Sita, but as she’s already been tortured nearly to death by the leader she doesn’t think it’s necessary to make a deal, and sticks around long enough to make sure they’re all still present when the last dude she left alive sends in the missile strike.

So now obviously the kids are sick and dying and Team Vampire has to get out of this building. They’re stopped by the CEO and her husband, who insist that they heal all the kids, only Sita refuses and the CEO knows why: this Cradle business has gotten out of their control and the only way out is to let it die. When her husband argues in favor of the kids, she shoots him in the fucking head and then asks Sita for one kid: her daughter. They get in the van, Seymour screaming and protesting the whole time, and they’re only maybe a mile away when the shit blows up. See, while Sita was planning for her child murder to be slow and painful, Immortal Boyfriend laced the whole place with powerful explosives so that they’d just die instantly. 

Almost immediately, they get pulled over. Why? There’s no connection between this van and the building they just left, or any of their identities. But CEO confirms that the Internet program just kicked on, which means maybe there’s one person still connected to the Cradle who could make it go. Who the hell could it be? For now, Sita hypnotizes the cops away from the van and they figure out how to make it to a middle-of-nowhere hellhole hotel, where she shares a room with the young Indian girl who had been a part of the Array but has had some unusual powers against it, who had also been scarred in the face before Sita found her, who somehow had the original copy of Original Vampire’s book even though Sita KNOWS she made a copy of it to send back with her. Weird!

And suddenly Sita realizes who is the mole, the rat, the link, the answer to all of the problems. And the young Indian girl slowly drops her facade and reveals that yes, she’s been the human connection for the devil the whole time, and that she was dark and evil even before her arranged fiance threw acid in her face. And just as suddenly, Sita is talking with the devil himself, in a luxury hotel room overlooking ... I dunno, Hell City? He’s kind of pissed that she wiped out the Cradle, and counts himself lucky that the Internet program was able to be started up. Still, he offers her another deal so that his connection to the human realm won’t be lost. Sita wants the answer to the ferryman’s first question in return, but he won’t give it up. But she’s figured something else out: the light bearer is actually this first fallen angel, Lucifer. And now she’s back in the nasty hotel room, where she doesn’t hesitate to rip of the Indian girl’s head and throw it out the window.

And suddenly AGAIN, Sita is back in front of the scale, where she knows the answer to the riddle and realizes just what is holding her down: guilt. It’s her guilt that has caused her hand to rest on the dark side of the scale and pull it down. She releases it and immediately the light side takes over. She is led to a long tunnel, which leads to an intoxicating blue light, and a man with a long braid and a flute. Finally, Krishna has come for Sita. Only he didn’t have to, because he’s always been there for her, and will be even if she chooses to go back to her body.

And that’s the end of Thirst No. 4! It seems like this would have been a satisfying enough ending for this whole series, right? We got some closure, we know that the monsters have been dealt with, we are ready to be done. But we can’t, because we know there’s still a fifth book coming. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I’ve never read that one, after two attempts by Pike to end this series. Maybe it won’t suck? Let’s find out.

[seraphinnas-blog]

⟡⌜⇴ ABIGAIL SPENCER ⌠ 36 & she/her ⌡: have you seen SERAPHINA SELWYN ? SHE is an ESTATE MANAGER & WIZARD ART TEACHER who’s apparently also A DEATH EATER. When you see her walking around, be careful, because while she can be DUTIFUL and ARDENT, I heard she can also be pretty SADISTIC and DOGMATIC. ( cami & 18 & she/her & gmt )

↠ boi, get ready for a far too long wild ride as i try to do my best to attempt to write an evil character

THE SELWYNS:

↠ inter lutum duro mundus. i will stay clean in the mud. this sentence will greet you in every gate into a property of the old and noble selwyn family, and you can find it in the marble stones around the houses, in the ancient wooden framing of portraits, in the archives, filled with letters to loved ones with the gentle reminder that the selwyns will rise above any perils. it’s a message of comfort that even seraphina sometimes writes in such tempestuous times to her relatives. 

↠ the selwyns are the symbol of old money. and i do mean old. their records, with some alterations to the spelling of the family name, go back centuries, but some books claim them to be amongst those taught personally by hogwarts’ founders. the selwyns are very meticulous about history, especially THEIR history, what they can hide in it, what they can boast about, and how to keep careful records of everything. their archives are precious for wizard historians, and can often be found as references in books.

↠ the selwyns are also, or even, above all, symbols of tradition. while they’ve always kept building newer better houses, they’ve protected their oldest estates, and use some of them as museums of wizard history, just like we’d visit old castles and palaces. they turn good profit from all their estates, in which many find work, especially but not limited to house elves, and all sorts of countryside things you can imagine create money? they do it. farming, honey, wood, cattle, wine, cheese, horse and the raising of other more magical animals. the selwyns have quite the empire in the united kingdom and even some spots abroad.

↠ one specific tradition that has kept the family very relevant has always been the annual hunting celebration. started in the 1740s, it has evolved and changed but kept some traditional aspects: only purebloods are invited; it happens at the selwyn country house in north yorkshire (the first major estate of the family to survive till today); it’s a must-go october event, pouring rain or not, with large feasts set outside and inside; children run around with pretend wands and sticks, playing hunter; those old enough ( read: about seven or so and allowed by the parents ) leave into the woods with bloodhounds and return with all sorts of death. deer; gnomes; bore; doxys; nifflers; ducks; red caps; even misbehaved house elves; killed, skinned, and (most of them anyway) cooked in the same event.

↠ the selwyns are just so deeply embedded in wizard traditions and wizard history, even with very very very few of them ever having ministry related jobs. in fact, seraphina can only trace a few more distant cousins working at the ministry in the last 50 years, and there’s only ever been one selwyn minister in all british history. that is because their estates, their museums, the art pieces they collect in them and all the products of their country side holdings already provide all the power and money they could need. their parties, be it for hunting or not, are monumental events. everything they hold is a powerful part of the tourism industry in magical britain and everything they produce fills half the pantries of purebloods in the nation. the selwyns are simply a fundamental part of wizarding britain.

CHILDHOOD

↠ it was this simple: alma and octavio selwyn couldn’t have any biological children. after years of trying, it became obvious that there was some sort of problem. for a few generations, the once rather fruitful selwyns were having smaller and smaller batches of children, and many less important branches of the family were dying out - alma always blamed it on the classical pureblood inbreeding from both families.

↠ this is the part where i make shit up about wizard society and we run with it. adoption is very real in pureblood society, some cases fully hidden, others an open thing, but no one really properly talks about it. especially not when it comes to such an important and well respected family. it wouldn’t be the first time the selwyns or other wizards would have adopted a baby. it’s just tabu because in most cases, it’s not possible to fully confirm if the child is, in fact, a pureblood. the selwyns were assured by the orphanage for magical children in vancouver that the little girl, less than three years old, was a pureblood. their meticulous research lead to the same vague conclusion, but it was pointless, really. after all, the couple was in love with her big brown eyes from the moment they saw her in a photograph. “i just knew you were my daughter,” explained her mother once, in the rare occasion that the whole ordeal was mentioned. one change of name ( hannah, she’s been told, but it’s forbidden now ) and all of a sudden she was the long awaited HEIR to the fast aging couple. they were head over heels with the little girl and soon, despite the hints of controversy, so was most of pureblood society.

↠ there are questions in her mind that she’s yet to have the courage to ask. especially those concerning the legitimacy of her blood status. she’s the heiress of the selwyn throne, there is no space for doubts and self reflection in that. seraphina was always told to not show weakness, for others could taste it in the air and come in with wands raised. what could be weaker than doubting yourself?

↠  despite the occasional transgressions ( she remembers the way her mother slapped a cousin who dared to question her princess’ very pure blood, how the relatives from zurich were not allowed to visit anymore ) seraphina grew up rather sheltered and happy. in a family that highly values education and tradition, she was tutored by many, including some of her father’s old tutors, learning many languages, types of art, magical theory and, above all, the legacy of the selwyns and how to manage it in the future. she also learned all the fine skills of a high ranking lady, being sent for short periods of time to those small wizard finishing schools abroad - that all changed when her hogwarts letter came.

↠  suddenly, she wasn’t sharing her environment with other rich, powerful and mostly pure blooded little heirs. but she would stay clean in the mud. sorted into ravenclaw, it was an easy fit ( curious, competitive, a hub of knowledge, in everything for herself no matter how many backs she must stab ) but even her generation was too liberal. too many mudbloods complaining about being beaten by other students. too many blood traitors around her. seraphina was never the overly violent type ( despite having throw some jinxes at some people occasionally, and some other minor actions ), but her real accomplishments were the ↠  she started many groups and clubs while at hogwarts, in defense of a return to tradition, to the good old society in which muggle borns were ostracised, werewolves done away with eugenics, all the things that even in her time could be considered somewhat radical. and she got some following. the headmaster kept shutting them down, calling the groups hateful, and she’d calmly reply that they were simply trying to spread out some important philosophies. that didn’t stop complaints from flooding in, especially from concerned parents.

↠ seraphina, or sera for the close ones, didn’t need high grades. she had been groomed to run the many family businesses, starting with small sections when she was still at hogwarts and in the future to inherit it all, but she CRAVED learning, especially the sort of learning that could feed her views. she was very interested in history of magic and magical theory, and after some time caring for the family business, she returned to hogwarts. not quite full term ( damn binns taking up the position of teacher of history of magic ) but as the professor for one extracurricular - art. or rather, wizard art.

THE GREAT WIZARD WAR

↠ in the same year seraphina graduated from hogwarts, she was approached by voldemort. her views were so interesting and strong, and her family lineage so powerful that voldemort took it upon branding her with the dark mark and keeping her in his close circle almost immediately. her techniques are curiously vicious, and she truly approaches missions like fox hunting, loves letting some targets lose in forests and running after them. brings in dogs and other animals to scare them off. is very methodical and very cruel without a care - after all, they are an infestation. they are stealing places that belong to the truly worthy of magic, the purebloods such as her. they are ruining what’s meant to be a sacred and secret gift and destroying the great society wizards once were. how can she not be cruel to such sub-human kinds?

↠ that’s why she does what she does. she believes, with her whole heart, that she’s restoring the world by ridding it of all those impurities. and she’s so hellbent in her beliefs, so dogmatic.

↠ the selwyns have been associated with dark wizards before, but rarely ones this important, as they always feared they’d try to overrule them, overthrow the mighty family. their houses, however, were always safe harbours for dark wizards and those running from aurors - it is rumoured that grindelwald hid with the selwyns for quite some time as he organised his army. but seraphina always wanted to do something more, to leave her particular mark in the long family trees, especially given the little voice in her head that told her she did not belong there.

↠ not being a selwyn makes her want to be the most remarkable selwyn that has ever been.

↠ while she definitely had her hands full with high society living, being one of the managers of her family empire. and a devoted death eater, seraphina craved more. as such, at the age of 22, she earned the position of wizard art professor.

↠ she’s been teaching ever since ( despite the suspicions everyone, including staff, has about her off duty activities ), taking some time off and returning again, never fully committed as her responsibilities to the selwyn name are far more relevant. her knowledge of wizard art history, given how many pieces her family owns, secured the position for her, and she does genuinely enjoy having something to call her own, not just a family thing. it’s HER classroom. she also investigates the blood status of each of her students and after strings of terrible marks and rudeness to muggleborns, tells them she believes they’d find a better fit at the muggle art classes. her agenda is VERY much pushed in the classroom.

↠ while she does have a passion and skill with art, let’s be real. she mostly just teaches wizard art history and interpretation. field trips to one of the selwyn owned museums? every term. field trips to unseen works of art stored in off-public sites at a selwyn property? every term.

↠ her love for history is a bit twisted because while she does adore archives and all that stuff, she mostly just picks and chooses what goes along with her rhetoric. history revisionist? very much. go buy ‘the witch hunt for grindelwald’, ‘squibs and the charges of witchcraft against their own families - the horror of the spanish inquisition (1560-1710)’ and ‘tales from the resistance: interviews to death eaters active in the 1970s’. more books to come, definitely. all just as controversial.

↠ her second biggest passion, after history, is hunting. she was brought on the annual hunts ever since she was just a little kid and she grew a love for the rush of searching for something she wanted and getting it, even with blood on her gloves.

↠ the war has been dragging on, with some low points for the death eaters but more, especially lately, for their enemies. she’s been an unshakable supporter of the cause ever since the second she joined, having spilled much blood for it, her own and others’. does part of her wish it could finally end? ye. she wants to get on with her life properly without having to rush to missions all the time. but it can’t end until their goals are fulfilled and merlin, they’re still so far from it. so, dutiful as she is, seraphina doesn’t whisper a word, but she’s tired. they all are. if only she could lower her guard once more, just for one day, for one peaceful moment in which the world is right and all she and her partners have suffered and even died for can be real.

↠ she just wants some goddamned peace and quiet but also, she’d miss human hunting. because remember, awful person.

↠ has killed muggles who have somehow wandered into or near selwyn grounds despite all the spells around it. has thrown them to the dogs.

↠ currently mostly lives in one of the smallest estates, a country house in wales, just because it was always her favourite. her parents, both still alive, live in other estates, always moving around, and the three ( along with a few cousins, especially in the abroad businesses ) work together a lot but it’s very obvious that sera is very much in charge of most things. her parents are old, tired, and more than ready to let their very well prepared jewel do as she pleases.

↠ can often be found reading or writing. especially letters. sends the LONGEST letters with a meticulous elegant handwriting. the selwyn family seal is always in them as is the family motto.

↠ still tries to start shit with hate groups !! still founds them, supports them, is very open about her beliefs and about her support of the death eaters ( even if she never tells anyone she’s one ). sends letters to the ministry to ask for social measures considered by many archaic and purist. writes op-eds. also, buy her books !! they’re full of ideology, history revisionism and currently on sale in your local bookstore.

↠ that’s the thing, you can’t quiet seraphina. her name means fiery and for good reason - she’s calm and collected and beyond well educated, but if she explodes, her rage is a wildfire. and when she feels something, she feels is so damn much. and can’t really cope with most of those feelings so she just hides away where there’s some pretty art or where she can hold an animal’s corpse.

↠ what is emotional stability? what is healthy coping? what is feeling anything but the very extreme?

↠ always wears robes. expensive, custom made, gold thread and that sort of shit in it, but always wizard robes, even if they’re just over a beautiful outfit. looks very traditional and very regal at all times.

↠ also wears gloves very often. good for not staining her hands, and also because has a bit of a thing with germes.

↠ the mental image of her grinning has me so confused because she is DEEPLY passionate about things and people and life, but she can as easily be grinning while looking at a 16th century painting, at a lover, or at the tortured pleading nearly-dead body of a muggle.

↠ she’s a terrible person. fight her.

character parallells: ramsay bolton ( game of thrones ), serena waterford ( handmaid’s tale ), the argents ( teen wolf ), katherine pierce ( the vampire diaries ), jessica huang ( fresh off the boat ), lucy preston ( timeless ), jessica pearson ( suits), arya stark ( game of thrones ), veronica lodge ( riverdale ), cristina yang ( grey’s anatomy ), idk pals i’m bad at this bit

pinterest board ; timeline ; stats

[seraselwyn-blog]

SERAPHINA SELWYN is A DEATH EATER in the war, even though HER official job is as A WIZARD ART TEACHER AND BUSINESS OWNER. the THIRTY-TWO year old PUREBLOOD is known to be DUTIFUL and ARDENT but also SADISTIC and DOGMATIC. some might label them as THE HUNTRESS. fc: abigail spencer 

THE SELWYNS:

inter lutum duro mundus. i will stay clean in the mud. this sentence shall greet you in every gate into a property of the old and noble selwyn family, and you can find it in stone work by the houses, in the ancient wooden framing of portraits, in the archives, filled with letters to loved ones with the gentle reminder that the selwyns will rise above any perils. it’s a message of comfort that even seraphina sometimes writes in such tempestuous times to her relatives.

the selwyns are the symbol of old money. and i do mean old. their records, with some alterations to the spelling of the family name, go back centuries, but some books claim them to be amongst those taught personally by hogwarts’ founders. the selwyns are very meticulous about history, especially THEIR history, what they can hide in it, what they can boast about, and how to keep careful records of everything. their archives are precious for wizard historians, and can often be found as references in books.

the selwyns are also, or even, above all, symbols of tradition. while they’ve always kept building newer better houses, they’ve protected their oldest estates, and use some of them as museums of wizard history, just like we’d visit old castles and palaces. they turn good profit from all their estates, in which many people work, especially but not limited to house elves, and all sorts of countryside things you can imagine create money. farming, honey, wood, cattle, wine, cheese, horse raising and the raising of other more magical animals. the selwyns have quite the empire in the united kingdom and even some spots abroad.

one specific tradition that has kept the family very relevant has always been the annual hunting celebration. started in the 1680s, it has evolved but rather stagnated in the last century or so - only purebloods are invited; it happens at, since the 19th century, at the selwyn country house in north yorkshire; it’s a must-go october event, pouring rain or not, with large feasts set outside and inside; children run around with pretend wands and sticks, playing hunter; those old enough ( read: about seven or so and allowed by the parents ) leave into the woods with bloodhounds and return with all sorts of death. deer, bore, magical animals, killed, skinned, and cooked in the same event. women tend to be divided, some families keeping them at the houses, gossiping away, others letting their powerful heiresses and matriarchs hold out their wands for tradition. there’s always one selwyn woman left behind to keep order.

the selwyns are just so deeply embedded in wizard traditions and wizard history, even with very very very few of them ever having ministry related jobs. in fact, seraphina can only trace a few more distant cousins working at the ministry in the last 50 years, and there’s only ever been a selwyn minister. that is because their estates, their museums, the art pieces they collect in them and all the products of their country side holdings already provide all the power and money they could need.

CHILDHOOD:

it was this simple: alma and octavio selwyn couldn’t have any biological children. after years of trying, it became obvious that there was some sort of problem. for a few generations, the before rather fruitful selwyns were having smaller and smaller batches of children, and many less important branches of the family were dying out - alma always blamed it on the classical pureblood inbreeding from both families.

this is the part when i make shit up about wizard society and we run with it. adoption is very real in pureblood society, some cases fully hidden, others an open thing, but no one really talks about it. especially not when it comes to such an important and well respected family. it wouldn’t be the first time the selwyns or other wizards would have adopted a baby. it’s just tabu because in most cases, it’s not possible to fully confirm if the child is, in fact, a pureblood. the selwyns were assured by the orphanage for wizard children in toronto that the little girl, less than three years old, was a pureblood. their meticulous research lead to the same vague conclusion. one change of name ( robin, she’s been told, but it’s forbidden now ) and all of a sudden she was the long awaited heir to the fast aging couple. they were head over heels with the little girl and soon, despite the hints of controversy, so was most of pureblood society.

there are questions in her mind that she’s yet to have the courage to ask. especially those concerning the legitimacy of her blood status. she’s the heiress of the selwyn throne, there is no space for doubts and self reflection in that.

despite the occasional transgressions ( she remembers the way her mother slapped a cousin who dared to question her princess’ very pure blood, how never again did the cousins from switzerland visit again ) seraphina grew up rather sheltered and happy. in a family that highly values education and tradition, she was tutored by many, including some of her father’s old tutors, learning many languages, types of art, magical theory and, above all, the legacy of the selwyns and how to manage it in the future. she also learned all the fine skills of a high ranking lady, being sent for short periods of time to wizard finishing schools abroad - that all changed when her hogwarts letter came.

suddenly she wasn’t sharing her environment with other rich, powerful and mostly pure blooded little heirs. but she would stay clean in the mud. sorted into ravenclaw, it was an easy fit ( curious, competitive, a hub of knowledge, in everything for herself no matter how many backs she must stab ) but even her generation was too liberal. too many mudbloods complaining about being beaten by other students. too many blood traitors around her. seraphina was never the overly violent type ( despite having throw some jinxes at some people occasionally, and even slapped a muggleborn girl who’d dared insult her ), but her real accomplishments were the many groups she started while at hogwarts in defense of a return to tradition, to the good old society in which muggle borns were ostracised, werewolves done away with eugenics, all the things that even in her time could be considered somewhat radical. and she got some following. dumbledore kept shutting them down, calling the groups hateful, and she’d calmly reply that they were simply trying to spread out some important philosophies.

seraphina, or sera for the close ones, didn’t need high grades. she had been groomed to run the many family businesses, starting with small sections when she was still at hogwarts and in the future to inherit it all, but she CRAVED learning, especially the sort of learning that could feed her views. she was very interested in history of magic and magical theory, and after some time caring for the family business, she returned to hogwarts. not quite full term ( damn binns taking up the position of teacher of history of magic ) but as the professor for one extracurricular - art. or rather, wizard art.

PRESENT:

she’s been teaching for a handful of years now, taking some off and returning again, never fully committed as her responsibilities to the selwyn name are far more relevant. her knowledge of wizard art history given how many pieces her family owns secured the position for her, and she does genuinely enjoy having something to call her own, not just a family thing. it’s HER classroom. she also investigates the blood status of each of her students and after strings of terrible marks and rudeness to muggleborns, tells them she believes they’d find a better fit at the muggle art classes. her agenda is VERY much pushed in the classroom.

her love for history is a bit twisted because while she does adore archives and all that stuff, she mostly just picks and chooses what goes along with her rhetoric. history revisionist? very much. will probably write a few books on it soon. is writing one right now. and will DEFINITELY write one about the first wizarding war, a very controversial one.

her second biggest passion, after history, is hunting. she was brought on the annual hunts ever since she was just a little kid and she grew a love for the rush of searching for something she wanted and getting it, even with blood on her gloves. i guess this, mixed with her very strong views on tradition ( in which muggles do not belong in society ), really made her an easy catch for voldemort.

the selwyns have been associated with dark wizards before, but rarely ones this important, as they always feared they’d try to overrule them, overthrow the mighty family. their houses, however, were always safe harbours for dark wizards and those running from aurors - it is rumoured that grindelwald hid with the selwyns for quite some time as he organised his army. but seraphina always wanted to do something more, to leave her particular mark in the long family trees, especially given the little voice in her head that told her she did not belong there.

not being a selwyn makes her want to be the most remarkable selwyn that has ever been.

she was twenty five when she joined the cause officially, her views so interesting and strong that voldemort took it upon branding her with the dark mark and keeping her in his close circle almost immediately. her techniques are curiously vicious, and she truly approaches missions like fox hunting, loves letting some targets lose in forests and running after them. brings in dogs and other animals to scare them off. is very methodical and very cruel without a care - after all, they are an infestation. they are stealing places that belong to the truly worthy of magic, the purebloods such as her. they are ruining what’s meant to be a sacred and secret gift and destroying the great society wizards once were. how can she not be cruel to such sub-human kinds?

that’s why she does what she does. she believes, with her whole heart, that she’s restoring the world by ridding it of all those impurities. and she’s so hellbent in her beliefs, so dogmatic.

has killed muggles who have somehow wandered into or near selwyn grounds despite all the spells around it. has thrown them to the dogs.

currently mostly lives in one of the smallest estates, a country house in wales, just because it was always her favourite. her parents, both still alive, live in other estates, always moving around, and the three ( along with a few cousins, especially in the abroad businesses ) work together a lot but it’s very obvious that sera is very much in charge of most things. her parents are old, tired, and more than ready to let their very well prepared jewel do as she pleases.

can often be found reading or writing. especially letters. sends the LONGEST letters with a meticulous elegant handwriting. the selwyn family seal is always in them.

still tries to start shit with hate groups !! still founds them, supports them, is very open about her beliefs and about her support of the death eaters ( even if she never tells anyone she’s one ). sends letters to the ministry to ask for social measures considered by many archaic and purist. writes op-eds.

that’s the thing, you can’t quiet seraphina. her name means fiery and for good reason - she’s calm and collected and beyond well educated, but if she explodes, her rage is a wildfire. and when she feels something, she feels is so damn much. and can’t really cope with most of those feelings so she just hides away where there’s some pretty art or where she can hold an animal’s corpse.

always wears robes. expensive, custom made, gold thread and that sort of shit in it, but always wizard robes. looks very traditional and very regal at all times.

also wears gloves very often. good for not staining her hands, and also because has a bit of a thing with germs.

the mental image of her grinning has me so confused because she is DEEPLY passionate about things and people and life, but she can as easily be grinning while looking at a 16th century painting, at a lover, or at the tortured pleading nearly-dead body of a muggle

character parallells: ramsay bolton ( game of thrones ), serena waterford ( handmaid’s tale ), the argents ( teen wolf ), tba

[the-master-of-fear]

♛ Biography ♛

Jonathan Lee Crane was born in the secrecy of Keeny Manor to Karen Crane, who fled from her husband, Gerald, in the vain attempt to keep the child hidden from him to preserve. The original occupant of the house, Mary Keeny--Karen's Grandmother--openly detested the baby but was required to care for it when Karen left in the light without her knowledge.

Jonathan grew up in a physically and psychologically strenuous environment, receiving torture from both Keeny's religious doctrine and his peer's taunts and attacks for his thin frame and bookish personality.

[Rest under the cut]

His great-grandmother's punishments were far more painful than those of his peers', however. He frequently underwent physical labor in the Georgian heat and was denied meals (which further accentuated his natural thinness), but Keeny's favorite was locking Jonathan in the decrepit aviary, keeping him until morning at the mercy of the crows that nested there.

Keeny's excuse for Jonathan's treatment was that his very existence was sinful, and it was just God's will for his misfortune.

Jonathan's only solace was in the dry pages of books which his school's library offered; however, he was forced to keep them hidden from his guardian from fear of her wrath.

The punishments from his classmates, though not as severe as the ones he suffered at home, still affected Jonathan. They would frequently deprive him of what small amount of lunch money he possessed, thus mostly ridding him of what food he did have. Additoinally, he endured a serious of physical attacks which always ended unfavorably for him.  

A major turning point in Jonathan's life was when he withnessed Keeny in the kitchen, mixing chemicals with the birdseed she used to feed the crows. It provided a shift in perspective for him, as he realized the pure cruelty of his great-grandmother, and it also cast aspirations on whether or not her religious teachings were real.

Additionally, since he had lived his life in immense dread from those who hurt him, the incident made him truely question if he had anything to fear at all. Jonathan soon realized that it was simply Keeny using his ignorance against him, and that the greatest forces in the world were fear and control.

Through high school, Jonathan worked various jobs to obtain additonal funds, saving it for when he left Georgia. He maintained a high academic standing, believing it was the only way to escape the hell that was Arlen.

During his senior year, he applied to a handful of colleges, including Gotham University.

After graduating, he realized he would have to dispose of his greatest tormentor to leave. That morning, he lured Great-Granny Keeny into the aviary, colliding a shovel to her skull after he shut and locked the door. He poured the same birdseed she used over her frail body. The crows had a feast that morning.

Jonathan experienced what he believed to be true freedom with his guardian removed from the equation, using the time to make preparations to depart Georgia. He received the acceptance letters form most of the colleges he applied to, but he selected Gotham University for the extensive psychology program the school offered.

Crane worked diligently during college, obtaining his Doctorate in Psychiatry and Bachelor's in Biochemistry, with a concentration on behavioral psychology, by the age of 26.

He stole Keeny's mailed disability check and her car, making his destination Gotham City, New Jersey.

     ---

With the unfortunate passing of his psychology instructor, Professor Pidgeon, a new slot was open, and Jonathan greatly accepted the extended offer, having served as a Teacher's Assistant for him prior.

However, his stint as professor did not last but two semesters, as his hands-on approach did not sit well with others. In a particularly notable instance--the case which got him fired--he shot a blank from a pistol at one of the lackadaisical students to reinforce what he had been teaching.

He was promptly fired, especially since he did not have tenure, yet the University kept the case under wraps to prevent the negative impact on the school's status.

Although, not all bad was Gotham University, as his resources there enabled him to create a very base compound that would later be improved upon and labeled his Fear Toxin.

Having heard of Crane's impressive credentials, Arkham Asylum extended an invitation to him to work as a doctor. Jonathan, sensing an opportunity to explore what he had barely touched upon at the University, accepted the offer without a glance backward. He quickly moved up the ranks until he became Chief Psychiatrist, and he was granted an entirely new set of powers.

He utilized his new authority to establish a Fear Aversion therapy program, which would eventually be a cover for his testing on various patients within the Asylum. With the program's creation, his "Scarecrow" persona--a character derived from his childhood--emerged as a tool to inspire fear in his patients, and he used a crude plague doctor mask to do so. The opportunity also allowed him to develop his toxin from and unrefined anxiety-inducing chemical to a compound which invokkes faint hallucinations and a strong sense of fear.

The program proved to be his downfall, however, as a botched drug deal caused his underworld handlings to be brought to light. He went to trial, where all of his other crimes were uncovered, and he pleaded and was deemed clinically insane. Jonathan was also stripped of his licenses and degrees and sent to his own Asylum for rehabilitation.

With his criminal career as The Scarecrow launched, he continued his work to expand on the science of fear, as he now had more freedom and liberty to do so. In the earlier phases, however, funds were an issue and he was forced to work as a murder-for-hire, which paved the way for early experiementation and advancement as he gained his footing in the criminal sphere.

Crane escaped few weeks into his incarceration, and Gotham caught a glimpse of the emergence of The Scarecrow a couple of weeks after when he enacted his revent on the Asylum for moving him from doctor to patient. He infiltrated Arkham and crashed an occurring party, releasing a newer, more refined version of his toxin to the guests.

 ---

---

During the more primitive stages when creating his toxin, he utilized unsafe narcotics to create the hallucinatory effect. This caused his addiction to the Fear Toxin due to self-experiementation. The dependency would permanently alter the chemical composition in his brain and damage his amygdala. thus, he rendered himself unable to experience fear and terror (only light anxiety in dire situations) and he was inoculated against the effects of his toxin. He believes it's the greatest gift he's ever been bestowed.

After the event, Jonathan perceived fear in an entirely new manner and althered the course of his study to not only include the effects of fear but how it manifests itself in an individual and whether or not it can be entirely conquered.

Optional/Verse-Dependent Canon: Batman: Arkham Series ; Batman: Hush ; Batman: As the Crow Flies ; Batman: The Long Halloween & Dark Victory ; Scarecrow: Mistress of Fear ; Etc

[thisdaynews]

Can the Republican Party Save One of Its Last Latina Congresswomen?

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/can-the-republican-party-save-one-of-its-last-latina-congresswomen/

Can the Republican Party Save One of Its Last Latina Congresswomen?

JHB near Cathlamet, WA on November 8, 2019. | Chona Kasinger for POLITICO Magazine

Rishika Dugyala is a digital producer at POLITICO.

Melanie Zanona is a congressional reporter at POLITICO.

VANCOUVER, Wash. — One of the last Republican congresswomen of color sat pensively, notepad out, coffee half-finished, thinking about how to avoid a political minefield.

It was a Friday in early November, the back end of Congress’ Veterans Day recess, and Jaime Herrera Beutler was huddled in a conference room at the Vancouver Clinic, the largest private clinic in that part of southwest Washington state. She had gathered a dozen health care professionals — doctors, licensed midwives, state health department officials and others — for a roundtable to discuss why so many women of color and their babies were dying.

This subject is personal for Herrera Beutler. Her oldest child, Abigail, was born without kidneys in 2013 and survived thanks to a transplant from her father. News clips of Abigail’s birth are framed on the congresswoman’s Washington, D.C., office wall, notched next to a Bible verse (Psalm 46:5: “God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.”). Herrera Beutler leaned on her extended family and friends to get through Abigail’s four-month stay in the intensive care unit, but she knows many families don’t have the same resources. So, she posed this question to the group of experts: Would extending Medicaid to cover a full year after delivery significantly help more women?

Their unanimous answer: Yes. Seventy percent of new moms will have at least one health complication within a year of giving birth, but most women lose Medicaid coverage after 60 days, leaving them without access to affordable care.

Herrera Beutler nodded in agreement, but she was also concerned about the politics. “How am I going to talk about this? Extending Medicaid,” Herrera Beutler thought out loud, knowing that for her party any proposal that sounds like it promotes Obamacare would be considered heretical. “We are notexpandingMedicaid, we are justextendingit.”

Then she added sarcastically, “I’ll just go do that.”

The resounding laughter from her audience masked a very real bind for the five-term lawmaker. Moderate and publicity-deflecting by nature, Herrera Beutler is an outlier in a party dominated by a president whose combative style and divisive policies have alienated Hispanics and suburban women. For that very reason, Herrera Beutler’s profile — female, Hispanic and one of a dwindling number of Republican representatives from the West Coast — makes her a precious asset for the GOP, which has seen its female ranks in the House slashed by almost half since 2011. She is such a rare specimen within her caucus that party leadership has essentially given her permissionto diverge where necessary from the party line. That explains why, less than a week after the roundtable, Herrera Beutler co-sponsored The Helping MOMS Act, a bipartisan bill that would encourage states to extend coverage for new moms by increasing the share of Medicaid funding paid for by the federal government. The Trump administration is receptive, she said, adding with understatement, it will be “a little bit of a road.”

As she gears up for another reelection battle, Herrera Beutler is confronting the political challenges of being a kind of Republican who doesn’t always match neatly with her party. She’s facing the same opponent — and two other Democratic hopefuls — who came within 5 percentage points of unseating her in 2018. And Democrats, who note with relish that her margin of victory has shrunk by roughly 18 points over the past two cycles, have already established a ground game in her district. The Cook Political Report rates the district as likely Republican for 2020, but some consider her race the most competitive west of Texas.

Republicans say they are committed to protecting her; conservative groups dedicated to electing women and the National Republican Congressional Committee are rallying around her already. There is also pressure for her to take a more prominent role in party messaging, which would raise her profile and could draw more women of color into the party at a time when suburban educated women are fleeing the GOP in droves.

But as the daily war machine hits overdrive with the impeachment proceedings, Herrera Beutler is wary of what message she is expected to deliver. Yes, she voted against the impeachment inquiry in October, but she is far from an unquestioning supporter of President Donald Trump. In fact, she is open about the fact she wrote in former House Speaker Paul Ryan’s name on her ballot in 2016. And yes, she subscribes to the party’s beliefs on Obamacare repeal and a barrier on the southern border. But she voted against the GOP’s health care bill to replace much of Obamacare, which would have left millions uncovered. And she was one of 13 Republicans who rebuked Trump for his national wall emergency, saying it set a “dangerous” precedent to circumvent Congress. Matt Gaetz, she is not.

Herrera Beutler’s district, a mix of rural and urban communities nestled between Seattle and Portland, went for Trump by almost 8 points in 2016. Since then, there’s been an influx of newer and younger families and with it a rising disapproval of Trump in parts — though not all — of the 85 percent white district. Herrera Beutler says she is “open to supporting” Trump out of deference to voters’ preferences. But she is reluctant to do anything that might risk damaging a brand she has built over the past decade as the kind of bipartisan deal-maker that has almost been expunged from the GOP since Trump took office. Accordingly, the congresswoman scheduled policy-only events during her early November recess — addressing issues like veterans benefits, timber revenue and maternal mortality.

“My goal is not to be (Trump’s) foil, but it’s not to be his loyal servant,” Herrera Beutler told POLITICO Magazine. “To the degree that he is serving the people I represent, I’m there, I’m with him. To the degree that there’s a problem, I’ll oppose him.”

When Herrera Beutler was first electedto Congress in 2010, she rode a conservative tea party wave that swept the GOP back to power in the House. She was one of a near record 24 Republican women.

Even in a sea of fresh faces, Herrera Beutler was seen as a rising star because she ticked so many boxes for the party: young, Latina, from a key district on the West Coast. The party was eager to build its diversity and shore up its support among Hispanics, a key demographic that was growing disenchanted with the GOP’s hard-line immigration policies. A few months after being sworn-in, the 32-year-old was named to MSNBC’s “10 Hispanic politicians to watch” list.

Herrera Beutler, who was born in California to a white mother and a Mexican American father, already had experience navigating the political world. She served in the Washington state Legislature for four years after working as a senior aide on Capitol Hill for Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), now her colleague and mentor.

Yet despite a profile that could have easily put her on the inside track in Washington, Herrera Beutler chose not to seek the limelight — or a leadership path. She has mostly avoided the national media and cable TV interviews, even though her candid demeanor and memorable sound bites —like recently comparing Democrats’ impeachment inquiry to a “goat rodeo” —make her one of the more quotable lawmakers.

Unlike McMorris Rodgers, who served on the GOP leadership team, Herrera Beutler says she doesn’t like the idea of having to always be a team player or stick to talking points. And she takes more pleasure in bridge building than in the bomb throwing that has defined many of the Republicans in her freshman class, like Mick Mulvaney and Mike Pompeo, who both serve in the Trump administration.

“My class had a ton of opportunity to do national media. … Everybody wanted to hear from us,” she said in an interview with POLITICO Magazine in her Capitol Hill office. “And I specifically made the decision: That’s not my route here.”

Being a partisan foot soldier foreitherparty, she says, damages your credibility. “She’s not interested in throwing fits and making scenes,” said Caleb Heimlich, chairman of the Washington state GOP. Herrera Beutler has instead kept a laserlike focus on the constituents in her southwest Washington district — or “the bosses at home,” as she likes to call them.

Her colleagues describe Herrera Beutler as a workhorse who would rather project the image of a “hometown girl” than a “Washington insider.” Herrera Beutler talks about how she played basketball at Prairie High School, showed her horse at the county fair and spent weekends fishing with her family at Battle Ground Lake. All three of her children were born while she was in office, and she has routinely brought her children into the Capitol.

“My whole family’s involved in this. I’m not going to leave my babies on the other coast,” she said. “I had to nurse my newest on the floor this year. Was not trying to make waves, but it was a long vote series in the middle of the night.”

Herrera Beutler has shown an occasional independent streak in the Republican Conference, voting with Trump 82 percent of the time, which — in this loyalty-above-all climate — puts her at the bottom of the pack. For the most part, Herrera Beutler has had a long leash from Republican leadership and her constituents to do as she sees fit.

“It’s OK to disagree,” said Representative Tom Emmer, chairman of the House GOP’s campaign arm. The Minnesotan emphasized that Herrera Beutler knows her district better than anyone. “And I think that’s why she has been successful,” added Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the chairwoman of the GOP conference.

But that hyper-local strategy is on a potentially fatal collision course with the president’s chest-thumping brand of tribal politics. With Trump at the top of the ticket next year, national politics — and a bitter fight over impeachment —are threatening to consume congressional races up and down the ballot.

There were already signs of that in the midterm elections. Herrera Beutler defeated her Democratic challenger Carolyn Long by her slimmest margin of victory to date. And she blames it, at least in part, on how tough it has been to keep her brand separate from the president’s.

Herrera Beutler survived the suburban revolt over Trump in 2018 that put House Democrats back in power after eight years, but it decimated the ranks of GOP women. In Herrera Beutler’s district, an influx of young families has fueled suburban growth and increased the volume of anti-Trump criticism. Even for a legislator who has broken with the president on notable occasions and who has prioritized health care, there is a growing sense of guilt by association.

“Wow, I’m the enemy?” Herrera Beutler lamented to a group of female reporters at a recent lunch in Washington, D.C. “I didn’t even vote for him for crying out loud.”

Republican women, especially those of color, say they often feel more pressure than their male colleagues to serve as a voice for their entire community or answer for Trump. Herrera Beutler bears that burden especially as the only GOP congresswoman of color, though she does have some company in Republican resident commissioners Jenniffer González-Colón of Puerto Rico and Amata Radewagen of American Samoa, both of whom are nonvoting members.

“The standards were a lot higher” for Republican women, recalled former Representative Mia Love of Utah, an African American Republican who narrowly lost reelection last year. “You always have to rise to the occasion. It’s infuriating.”

The GOP is acutely aware it has a major woman and diversity problem, one that is getting worse by the day. An onslaught of key retirements this year — from Representative Susan Brooks, the NRCC’s recruitment chief, to Texas Representative Will Hurd, the House’s only black Republican — has left advocates reeling.

Outside GOP groups like Winning for Women, which hosted the lunch for female reporters, are pouring more resources into electing and recruiting more women and encouraging candidates to speak to local problems. It’s the strategy Democrats used to win the House in 2018, and it’s the strategy these conservative groups hope will increase the number of the GOP’s female members in 2020. Showcasing Herrera Beutler helps the GOP’s campaign arm recruit other Republican women who are wary ofrunning for office.

“Often, women have questions about, ‘How do you manage this?’ I use Jaime as a role model and hold her up,” Brooks said. “Jaime is a role model, whether she’s in leadership or not.”

Being a role model is one thing. Being asked to become a spokeswoman is another. “I get it a lot now,” Herrera Beutler said. She acknowledged that there could be an opening for her to become a bigger voice for the party on issues like health care. But, she added, “I’m not going to be an attack dog.”

Representing a district three time zonesfrom the Capitol has made it easier at times for Herrera Beutler to keep her focus local. She points to her bipartisan work on the bread-and-butter issues: Helping salmon (key to the health of the fishing industry) and hydropower dams coexist. Saving a couple of hundred thousand forestry-related jobs under President Barack Obama. Co-founding the congressional Maternity Care Caucus and, now, working to address child care deserts.

Still, national politics has a way of affecting hometown priorities. As far from Washington, D.C., as Herrera Beutler’s district may feel and as independent-minded as its residents may be, impeachment is a topic people can’t let go. It’s frustrating for the congresswoman, who believes the inquiry is diverting resources and attention that could be turned toward passing legislation. She has hedged on her own stance, voting against the inquiry after calling for a formal vote and now saying she’ll withhold judgment until the process concludes. But House GOP leaders are expecting few, if any, defections.

Carolyn Long hasn’t made impeachment or Trump the main thrust of her campaign against Herrera Beutler, but outside groups are doing that for her. After diplomat Gordon Sondland testified in the Ukraine investigation, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee sent an email noting, “Rep. Herrera Beutler wouldn’t comment on the bombshell news, instead mounting the age-old defense of the dog ate her homework saying she hadn’t reviewed the testimony because it was too many pages to read.”

Unlike in 2018, when Democrats were trying to flip three Washington congressional districts, all the fundraising and advertising resources are concentrated here. The DCCC was on the ground as early as this summer, having placed Herrera Beutler on its“2020 Retirement Watch List” just months after the close midterm election. Democratic operatives have been painting Herrera Beutler as absent in the district — because of her preference for telephone-only town halls — and caving to Trump when it really matters.

It’s too early for race-specific polling. But a few weeks before the formal House vote on opening an impeachment inquiry in October, a Democratic pollster found 44 percent of likely general election district voters supported impeachment — 43 percent opposed and 13 percent were unsure. Also ahead of the vote, Public Policy Polling conducted research for the liberal think tank Northwest Progressive Institute: 59 percent of voters in southwest Washington and the Olympic Peninsula supported impeachment, versus 38 percent who opposed it. That region includes most of Herrera Beutler’s district, plus five other counties.

In third-quarter fundraising, Long raked in more than $597,000 to Herrera Beutler’s roughly $454,000. Most contributions — on both sides — came from within the state. The congresswoman isn’t struggling, though: Overall, Herrera Beutler has raised $1,113,404 with almost $764,000 cash on hand. The two women have a history of bringing in big money. In 2018, they raised more than $6.5 million combined. With national groups already getting involved, the 2020 money total is likely to be much higher.

Kelly Dittmar, a researcher with the Center for American Women in Politics, said staying out of the fray will become almost impossible as the race grows more competitive.

“If Democrats can find a way to paint Jaime as a ‘Trump Republican,’ they will. Just as Republicans will paint the Democratic opponents as ‘Pelosi liberals,’” Dittmar said. In this district, neither side thinks those top-ticket ties will be particularly helpful.

Despite the creeping nationalization, Herrera Beutler isn’t as worried about being unfairly boxed in with Trump as she was in the midterms. The suburbs might be pulling away, but Heimlich, the state GOP chairman, said he sees a rising conservatism among blue-collar working communities along the coast. “I’m the right fit for this district,” Herrera Beutler said of the Democrats’ campaign against her. “And I’m a woman of color with young children. Like what? What is your beef with me anyway? Because this is exactly what you say you want in these districts.”

House Democratic strategists are aware of the messaging problems inherent in taking on Herrera Beutler. It doesn’t need to be personal, it doesn’t need to be “icky politics,” one strategist said, acknowledging that fighting to replace one moderate woman with another one doesn’t bring out people’s killer instincts. “It’s hard to push as hard as we would do for … [a] generic, white Republican male.”

But if Democrats aren’t eager to highlight Herrera Beutler’s demographic profile, Republicans aren’t rushing to do it either. The congresswoman doesn’t shy from talking about giving birth to her kids while in office, bringing her newborn onto the House floor to nurse during votes or being Hispanic. That doesn’t mean it’s part of the campaign push by national operatives, who are much more keen to focus on her record.

“This gets to the much deeper debate of, if you want to preserve the very limited representation of women of color, does that necessitate that you do more?” Dittmar said. The Republican Party “has said many times they’re not playing identity politics.”

Emmer, the NRCC chief, said this “is a very important district to us” because of Herrera Beutler’s background. The NRCC is going to fight hard to protect “one of the shining stars in our conference,” he added.

On Herrera Beutler’s part, she’s working on talking about her time on the Hill. She’s experimenting with social media. In one video on Facebook, she stands near the House Intelligence Committee meeting room, explaining that much of the impeachment inquiry has happened behind closed doors. In another video, she’s standing outside, the Capitol in the background, explaining why she voted against the inquiry.

“You feel a bit like a total dork, you’re sitting there, like, filming yourself,” she told POLITICO Magazine. “But what I’m finding is people follow that because they know you’re actually doing it and it’s authentic. And that’s all they care about.”

On her last day of her November visit home — a cold and rainy, typically Washington morning — Herrera Beutler arrived in the outdoor seating area for the district’s pre-Veterans Day parade. It was a Saturday, so she brought her family. She had baby Isana, 6 months, in a carrier; Abigail, 6, and Ethan, 3, holding on to either hand; and her husband, Daniel, in tow with the bags. A few folks stopped by to say hello or hand one of her kids a goody. Halfway through the event, Herrera Beutler stepped away. Time for a video. Angling her phone so she could get Isana and the parade street in the shot, Herrera Beutler began:

“May we never take for granted what makes the United States so exceptional, and there’s no better day to remember our rights and our freedoms than Veterans Day,” she said. When she finished, she handed the phone back to her staff with instructions to post the clip on the upcoming Monday. Then, surveying her family, she decided not to go to any other events after the parade. “I don’t think the kids are going to make it.”

They had a long flight back to D.C. the next day.

“You are joining a live telephone town hallmeeting with Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler,” a male staffer said. “Please press star three to get into the question queue.”

Herrera Beutler and her team kept repeating that line during the roughly one-hour telephone town hall. It was 8:30 on a Thursday night in Washington, D.C., and 5:30 in Washington state. During these town halls, of which she has done 30,Herrera Beutler says people are often driving home from work or giving their kids baths or keeping one ear on the phone as they do some menial task. Her opponents deride these telephone town halls as impersonal conference calls that indicate she’s scared of actually facing the voters.

Herrera Beutler swats that criticism away. Telephone calls, she said, just work better. One call can reach 4,000 people at a time, across suburban and rural areas. And people are more comfortable asking questions over the phone, Herrera Beutler said, since some of the face-to-face town halls she used to hold were — in the words of one constituent — like “The Jerry Springer Show.”

This call came on Nov. 14, one day after the first public impeachment hearings. It was Herrera Beutler’s first town hall with the general public since she had voted against the inquiry. After summarizing the legislation she passed and events she held while home, the lawmaker confronted the issue she knew was coming.

No one is above the law, she said, including the president. She hasn’t really supported Trump’s foreign policy, and it’s important for military aid to go to Ukraine. However, she said, this inquiry is very one-sided — far from the bipartisan effort launched against Presidents Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton — with House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff deciding what information is leaked and who can be called on to testify.

“Let me put it in context,” she said. “Say you give one lawyer unrestricted access to the members of the jury for a month before the trial begins. That’s called tainting the jury, which no court of law in our country would allow.”

Susan from Onalaska was going to ask about health care but changed her mind. She had been following Fox News analyst Andrew Napolitano, who has been critical of the president’s defense, and needed Herrera Beutler to clarify a few points: Aren’t Democrats following rules Republicans enacted in 2015? Aren’t depositions always taken in secret? Isn’t Trump’s ask of Ukraine an abuse of power?

“Let me take a whack at this,” Herrera Beutler said before ticking off a quick list of answers: The rules were never used for an investigation into a president, Obama’s counsel had been present for secret depositions, and it’s only a crime if Trump withheld money under the threat of coercion for a leg up in 2020.

Fran from Vancouver had a different view, asking how to persuade Democrats to “get on with the business of running the country.” Actually, Herrera Beutler said, rank-and-file Republicans and Democrats are equally frustrated. No one wants to have to tell voters that they’ve been working a lot, but not accomplishing a lot.

The congresswoman perked up when residents asked about endangered salmon fisheries (“Oh, my goodness, yes!”), reducing homelessness and her position against creating a light-rail system (a rapid-bus transit system would be easier to upgrade). For the most part, district voters appreciate that she hasn’t been a leading, divisive GOP voice. Earlier, Fran thanked her: “I feel like you look at everything from as many views as you can and as fair as you can.”

“I try not to be rude and condescending and provoking,” Herrera Beutler saidon the call. “I think that’s one way to earn some goodwill on the other side. … If you spend all your time sowing discord, that’s what you’re going to reap.”

But again, this is an era of national politics coloring local contests, especially for those rising through the ranks. As party operatives encourage Herrera Beutler to take a more public role, she’s trying to figure out whether a path for her to do that — the way she wants to do it — even exists.

“If I’m going to enter into this, I want to have something positive to bring that would be more unifying for people,” she told POLITICO Magazine. “I don’t know if there’s a role or not.”

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[networkingdefinition]

Eagles Quotes

Official Website: Eagles Quotes

• A believer is a bird in a cage, a freethinker is an eagle parting the clouds with tireless wing. – Robert Green Ingersoll • A lover’s eyes will gaze an eagle blind. – William Shakespeare • A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat. Can we call a crow an eagle (garuda) simply because he sits on the top of a tall building.- Chanakya • A powerful combination to ensure success is having the vision of an eagle and the heart of a lion. – Robert G. Allen • A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that gave it wings. Alone must it seek the ether. And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun. – Khalil Gibran • According to the conventions of the genre, Augustus Waters kept his sense of humor till the end, did not for a moment waiver in his courage, and his spirit soared like an indomitable eagle until the world itself could not contain his joyous soul. – John Green • after listening to people gripe and complain just smile and remember, Crows can’t hang with eagles. – Joel Osteen • After the battle in Pharsalia, when Pompey was fled, one Nonius said they had seven eagles left still, and advised to try what they would do. “Your advice,” said Cicero, “were good if we were to fight jackdaws. – Plutarch All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds. Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference!!! – Abdul Kalam • All right.” Shimmering droplets on her eyelashes, stars caught in transition. “But will you replace it with something for me?” “Anything.” His body was hers. Brushing her fingers over his lips, she said, “You gave me an eagle. I want to give you one, too.” A tender kiss pressed to the scar. “I want us to fly together. – Nalini Singh • American Eagle can be a selling point for other young, cutting-edge companies to come to Pittsburgh – Ed Rendell • American Eagle clothing is stylish, flattering and all about embracing your individuality. – Shay Mitchell • Among my activities was membership in the Boy Scouts; I rose each year through the ranks, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and undertaking leadership roles in the organization.- Frederick Reines • An Eagle Scout deserves a letter of congratulations, but not a proclamation, … That’s a normal process. It’s not a heroic process. – Frank Bruno • An eagle uses the negative energy of a storm to fly even higher. – Eric Thomas • An oak tree and a rosebush grew, Young and green together, Talking the talk of growing things- Wind and water and weather. And while the rosebush sweetly bloomed The oak tree grew so high That now it spoke of newer things- Eagles, mountain peaks and sky. “I guess you think you’re pretty great,” The rose was heard to cry, Screaming as loud as it possibly could To the treetop in the sky. “And now you have no time for flower talk, Now that you’ve grown so tall.” “It’s not so much that I’ve grown,” said the tree, “It’s just that you’ve stayed so small. – Shel Silverstein • And alone and without his nest shall the Eagle fly across the sun. – Khalil Gibran • And little eagles wave their wings in gold. – Alexander Pope • Anon from the castle walls The crescent banner falls, And the crowd beholds instead, Like a portent in the sky, Iskander’s banner fly, The Black Eagle with double head. And shouts ascend on high …..” Long live Scanderbeg. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • As a human being it is just my nature to enjoy and share philosophy. I do this in the same way that some birds are eagles and some doves, some flowers lilies and some roses. – Alan Watts • As much as I love heavy riffs, I like The Eagles, Neil Young, Elton John, Crowded House. – Zakk Wylde • As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill. – Helen Keller • At lunch Francis [Crick] winged into the Eagle to tell everyone within hearing distance that we had found the secret of life. – James D. Watson • At the rate America is decaying morally, we shall have to change our national symbol from an eagle to a vulture. – Vance Havner • Auguries of innocence “The emmet’s inch and eagle’s mile Make lame philosophy to smile. He who doubts from what he sees Will ne’er believe, do what you please. – William Blake

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  • Baby eagles can never soar under their family’s wing. – Liu Yang • Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope Because I do not hope to turn Desiring this man’s gift and that man’s scope I no longer strive to strive towards such things (Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?) Why should I mourn The vanished power of the usual reign? – T. S. Eliot • Being a writer in Hollywood is like going to Hitler’s Eagle Nest with a great idea for a bar mitzvah. – David Mamet • Belief? What do I believe in? I believe in sun. In rock. In the dogma of the sun and the doctrine of the rock. I believe in blood, fire, woman, rivers, eagles, storm, drums, flutes, banjos, and broom-tailed horses. – Edward Abbey • But flies an eagle flight, bold and forth on, Leaving no tract behind. – William Shakespeare • But of course, what the eagle does not realize is that it is participating in a very crude form of natural selection.One day a tortoise will learn how to fly. – Terry Pratchett • Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover. – Napoleon Hill • Chris Eagles flew in on Shaun Wright-Phillips, so hard he almost broke the hyphen. – Henry Winter • Compared to the typical Zim/Chomsky-spouting grad school clown, a trucker with a screaming eagle hat is a paragon of political nuance. – David Burge • Did you ever know that you’re my hero, you’re everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle with you as the wind beneath my wings. – Gary Morris • Do you know who taught the eagles to find their prey? Well, that same God teaches His hungry children to find their Father in His Word. – William Tyndale • Don’t be a pigeon if you were born to be an eagle. Experience God’s altitude for your life. – Myles Munroe • Don’t look down, it’s an impossible view; Fly like an eagle whatever you do.- Mos Def • Don’t quack like a duck, soar like an eagle. – Ken Blanchard • Don’t waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagles. Hire people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar. – Jim Rohn • Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning. She didn’t know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. That’s what gave her such power over us. The doctor took her into a room with a desk at the end of the hall, and from under the closed door a slab of brilliance radiated as if, by some stupendous process, diamonds were being incinerated in there. What a pair of lungs! She shrieked as I imagined an eagle would shriek. It felt wonderful to be alive to hear it! I’ve gone looking for that feeling everywhere. – Denis Johnson • Each man is good in His sight. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. – Sitting Bull • Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. Now we are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die, we die defending our rights. – Sitting Bull • Eagle of flowers! I see thee stand, And on the sun’s noon-glory gaze; With eye like his, thy lids expand, And fringe their disk with golden rays: Though fix’d on earth, in darkness rooted there, Light is thy element, thy dwelling air, Thy prospect heaven. – James Montgomery • Eagle rises to the top of the precipice with its wings; man, to the top of the honour, with his morals! – Mehmet Murat Ildan • Eagles are seagulls with a good hairdo. – Douglas Coupland • Eagles are very tolerant and very adaptable, but they have to get established first. When birds are setting up their breeding territory, they are the most susceptible to being discouraged. – Jim Elliot • Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes. – E. F. Schumacher • Eagles don’t catch flies. – Desiderius Erasmus • Eagles fly where lesser birds cannot fly, so eagles can do what lesser birds cannot do. – T. D. Jakes • Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines. – Steven Wright • Ensure that no Marine who honorably wore the eagle, globe and anchor is lost to the Marine Corps family. – James L. Jones • Even if death were to fall upon you today like lightning, you must be ready to die without sadness and regret, without any residue of clinging for what is left behind. Remaining in the recognition of the absolute view, you should leave this life like an eagle soaring up into the blue sky. – Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche • Every culture from the Egyptians to the Mayans to the American Indians to the Bedouins created bestiaries that enabled them to express their relationship with nature. Ashes and Snow is a 21st-century bestiary filled with species from around the world. Nature’s orchestra includes not just Homo sapiens but elephants, whales, manatees, eagles, cheetahs, orangutans, and many others.- Gregory Colbert • Every house was festooned with flowers and with lanterns. On the national day, the whole country went wild with joy, But on that very day, I was placed in chains and transferred: The wind remains contrary to the flight of the eagle. – Ho Chi Minh • Eyesight for an eagle is what thought is to a man. – Dejan Stojanovic • Farewell,” they cried, “Wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey’s end!” That is the polite thing to say among eagles. “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks,” answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply. – J. R. R. Tolkien • Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat. – Elizabeth Bowen • Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight.” Piper leaned over the console. “Are you sure they’re Roman?” Leo rolled his eyes. “No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they’re Roman! – Rick Riordan • Flutter like a hummingbird, Dive like an eagle, Ain’t no bird that’s my equal. – Twilight – Kathryn Lasky • Fly, on your way, like an eagle / Fly as high as the Sun.- Bruce Dickinson • Fool that I was, upon my eagle’s wings I bore this wren, till I was tired with soaring, and now he mounts above me. – John Dryden • For Nature is love, and finds haunts for true love, Where nothing can hear or intrude; It hides from the eagle and joins with the dove, In beautiful green solitude. – John Clare • Fortune is said to be blind, but her favorites never are. Ambition has the eye of the eagle, prudence that of the lynx; the first looks through the air, the last along the ground.- Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton • From a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white. From a distance the ocean meets the stream, and the eagle takes to flight. From a distance, there is harmony, and it echoes through the land. It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace, it’s the voice of every man. – Bette Midler • From the oyster to the eagle, from the swine to the tiger, all animals are to be found in men and each of them exists in some man, sometimes several at the time. Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls. God displays them to us to give us food for thought. – Victor Hugo • God created us with an overwhelming desire to soar. Our desire to develop and use every ounce of potential He’s placed in us is not egotistical. He designed us to be tremendously productive and “to mount up with wings like eagles,” realistically dreaming of what He can do with our potential. – Carol Kent • God is not an employer looking for employees. He is an Eagle looking for people who will take refuge under his wings. – John Piper • God is not an employer looking for employees. He is an Eagle looking for people who will take refuge under his wings. He is looking for people who will leave father and mother and homeland or anything else that may hold them back from a life of love under the wings of Jesus. – John Piper • Golden eagles don`t mate with bald eagles, deer don`t mate with antelope, gray wolves don`t mate with red wolves. Just look at domesticated animals, at mongrel dogs, and mixed breed horses, and you`ll know the Great Mystery didn`t intend them to be that way. We weakened the species and introduced disease by mixing what should be kept seperate. Among humans, intermarriage weakens the respect people have for themselves and for their traditions. It undermines clarity of spirit and mind. – Russell Means • Golden eagles have an interesting way of mating, where they connect in the air while flying at eighty miles an hour and then they start dropping and they don’t stop dropping until the act is completed. So it’s not uncommon that they both fall all the way to the ground, hit the ground and both of them die. That’s how committed they are to this. I thought to myself, ‘Boy, don’t we feel like wimps for stopping to answer the phone.’ I don’t know about you, but if I’m one of these two birds, you’re getting close to the ground… I would serioulsy consider fakin’ it. – Ellen DeGeneres • Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude. – Arthur Schopenhauer • He worked night and day. He made a coat that would transform him; he would be more than a man; a winged creature, beautiful as light. All the birds brought him feathers. Even the eagle. Even the swan. – Catherine Fisher • Heaven begun is the living proof that makes the heaven to come credible. Christ in you is “the hope of glory.” It is the eagle eye of faith which penetrates the grave, and sees far into the tranquil things of death. He alone can believe in immortality who feels the resurrection in him already. – Frederick William Robertson • High in the air rises the forest of oaks, high over the oaks soar the eagle, high over the eagle sweep the clouds, high over the clouds gleam the stars… high over the stars sweep the angels. – Heinrich Heine • Hippogriff, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full of surprises. – Ambrose Bierce • Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed. – Neil Armstrong • How can you say that love is blind? Keener than a young eagle’s is its sight. – Franz Grillparzer • How sublime Upon a time-blanch’d cliff to muse, and, while The eagle glories in a sea of air, To mingle with the scene around! – Survey The sun-warm heaven. – Robert Montgomery • I am also the product of a place called Paint Creek. Doesn’t have a zip code. It’s too small to be called a town along the rolling plains of Texas. We grew dryland cotton and wheat, and when I wasn’t farming or attending Paint Creek Rural School, I was generally over at Troop 48 working on my Eagle Scout award. – Rick Perry • I am delighted, one more time, by the daring of my species and the audacity of our flying machines. There is poetry and music in our technology, a beauty as touching as that of eagle, moss campion, raven or yonder limestone boulder shining under the Arctic sun. – Edward Abbey • I believe in reincarnation. In my last life I was a peasant. Next time around, I’d like to be an eagle. Who hasn’t dreamed they could fly? They’re a protected species, too. – Lee Trevino • I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen. I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider. – J. R. R. Tolkien • I did a filmstrip on pollution in the Davison area as my Eagle Scout project and showed it around town. Businesses who were the polluters were mad at me. – Michael Moore • I didn’t live in the world of disco or the world of the Eagles. – George Thorogood • I do not see a delegation for the four-footed. I see no seat for the eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior, but we are after all a mere part of the Creation. And we must continue to understand where we are. And we stand between the mountain and the ant, somewhere and there only, as part of the Creation. – Oren Lyons • I do not see a delegation for the four-footed. I see no seat for the eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior. – Oren Lyons • I don’t have to play for the Eagles. – Terrell Owens • I don’t mind doing two or three Eagles songs and playing the drums. I’m not one of those artists who’s going to sit here and deny the past. – Don Henley • I dream of eagles and bring forth sparrows. – Truman Capote • I enjoy my solo career because I get to play smaller places like clubs and theaters, and the interaction with the audience is much higher quality. It also sounds better than a baseball stadium. Everybody has a good seat, and I don’t have to play a specific part like I do in the Eagles. – Joe Walsh • I have never forgotten my days as an Eagle Scout. I didn’t know it at the time, but what really came out of my Scouting was learning how to lead and serve the community. It has come in handy in my career in government. – Lloyd Bentsen • I have no will, unless it be the will never to decide. I have been so overwhelmed by the many storms that have broken over my head, that I am become passive in the hands of the Almighty, like a sparrow in the talons of an eagle. I live, because it is not ordained for me to die. – Alexandre Dumas • I have often been reminded of the wild duck that came down on migration into a barnyard and liked it so well that he stayed there. In the fall his erstwhile companions passed overhead and his first impulse was to rise and join them, but he had fed too well and could rise no higher than the eaves of the barn. The day came when his old fellow travelers could pass overhead without his even hearing their call. I have seen men and women who once mounted up with wings like eagles but are now content to live in the barnyard of this world.- Vance Havner • I knew Glenn Frey. He called me up in 1977 and told me The Eagles were looking for a bass player, preferably someone who could write and had a high voice. That was me. – Timothy B. Schmit • I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly. – John Denver • I know that there are some people who are perpetually negative. I sincerely believe that if you want to fly with the eagles you cannot afford to walk with the turkeys. I will walk away from those people when they start to attack the vision. – Phil Pringle • I sometimes think we ought to bring a bill before Congress changing our national symbol from the eagle to the buffalo, because we are more like the buffalo than the eagle. The eagle is a powerful bird. It flies alone. It rises up into the sky with authority. It is master of all it surveys. The eagle is an individualist and was selected from among the rest of the birds to be our symbol. But the buffalo was never alone. It always ran in a herd with other buffaloes. And, friends, I call your attention that the buffaloes are gone from the open range, but the eagles are still soaring. – Norman Vincent Peale • I think I did enough to make it. I think I made it as hard as possible for them to cut me by showing them what I can do. I think it’s going to come down to numbers. I’m just going to wait, pray and hope it’s God’s will that I’m going to be on the Eagles. My first goal was to make this squad but if not, hopefully another team saw what I did and will want me. – Jeremy Thornburg • I think the Jets came in with a legitimate offer. At that point, I hadn’t had one from the Eagles. I had to think, ‘I’ve really got to work up here [in New York]? Do you really want to deal with that on a weekly basis? – Jon Runyan • I was born by God’s dear grace, in an extraordinary place. Where the stars and stripes, and the eagle fly. – Aaron Tippin • I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. – Benjamin Franklin • I would like to deny all allegations by Bob Hope that during my last game of golf, I hit an eagle, a birdie, an elk and a moose. – Gerald R. Ford • I’d rather have my teeth drilled than listen to that awful song, ‘Fly, Eagles Fly.’ – Chris Christie • If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. – Andy Andrews • If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me? – Isak Dinesen • If I were an animal, I would be an eagle. – Jamie Foxx • If I were an animal, I’d probably be a bald eagle, since I’m already bald and I love to fish. But I’d probably be a shaky-ass eagle because I’m afraid of flying. – Steve Harvey • If the Eagles were to get back together, it would have to be for the right reasons. I think it would look awful if it were just for the money. – Glenn Frey • If the Police could do a reunion… One of the biggest jerks I ever met was Sting. If he can do it, then anyone can do it. It’s not that big a deal. And the Eagles! They did it! They severely hated each other. It’s just rock and roll – Steven Adler • If we will only surrender ourselves utterly to the Lord, and will trust Him perfectly, we shall find our souls “mounting up with wings as eagles” to the “heavenly places” in Christ Jesus, where earthly annoyances or sorrows have no power to disturb us. – Hannah Whitall Smith • If we would reach a degree of civilization higher and grander than any yet attained, we should welcome to our ample continent all the nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, and as fast as they learn our language and comprehend the duties of citizenship, we should incorporate them into the American body politic. The outspread wings of the American eagle are broad enough to shelter all who are likely to come. – Frederick Douglass • If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles. – Brian Tracy • If you want to fly with eagles, stop swimming with ducks. – T. Harv Eker • If you want to fly with the eagles you can’t hang out with the crows. – Brock Lesnar • If you want to fly with the eagles, don’t swim with the ducks! – T. Harv Eker • If you want to soar like an eagle in life, you can’t be flocking with the turkeys. – Warren Buffett • I’ll always be a Golden Eagle – Dwyane Wade • I’m a longtime fan of American Eagle, so when they approached me about joining their ‘Live Your Life’ campaign, it already felt like an organic fit. – Shay Mitchell • I’m certainly not thrilled with everything the Eagles did, but there are some things I’m quite proud of. – Don Henley • I’m gonna say it one more time. We are Georgia Southern. Our colors are blue and white. We call ourselves the Bald Eagles. We call our offense the Georgia Power Companyand that’s a terrific name for an offense. Our snap count is ‘rate, hike.’ We practice on the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek and that’s in Statesboro, Georgia-the gnat capital of America. Our weekends begin on Thursday. The co-eds outnumber the men 3 to 2. They’re all good looking and they’re all rich. And folks, you just can’t beat that and you just can’t beat Georgia Southern. And you ain’t seen nothin yet! – Erk Russell • I’m not going to mortgage the Eagles’ future for Marcus Mariota. – Chip Kelly • In days of yore, the poet’s pen From wing of bird was plunder’d, Perhaps of goose, but now and then, From Jove’s own eagle sunder’d. But now, metallic pens disclose Alone the poet’s numbers; In iron inspiration glows, Or with the poet slumbers. – John Adams • In leadership we teach we teach;Don’t send your ducks to eagle school because it wont help.Ducks finishes eagle school,sees his first rabbit, makes him a friend. – Jim Rohn • Institutions may crumble and governments fall, but it is only that they may renew a better youth, and mount upwards like the eagle. – George Bancroft • It is God that accomplishes all term to hopes, God, who overtakes the flying eagle, outpasses the dolphin in the sea; who bends under his strength the man with thoughts too high. – Pindar • It is not the bigness of anything in this kind that can hinder its motion, if the motive faculty be answerable thereunto. We see a great ship swims as well as a small cork, and an eagle flies in the air as well as a little gnat. ‘Tis likely enough that there may be means invented of journeying to the Moon; and how happy they shall be that are first successful in this attempt. – John Wilkins • It was quite an insignificant looking sheet, but no sooner did the American eagle catch sight of it, than he swooned and fell off his perch.- Jane Swisshelm • It’s a great event to get outside and enjoy nature. I find it very exciting no matter how many times I see bald eagles. – Karen Armstrong • It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys. – Adam Sandler • I’ve always thought the American eagle needed a left wing and a right wing. The right wing would see to it that economic interests had their legitimate concerns addressed. The left wing would see to it that ordinary people were included in the bargain. Both would keep the great bird on course. But with two right wings or two left wings, it’s no longer an eagle and it’s going to crash. – Bill Moyers • I’ve got my old favorites like The Eagles and Bon Jovi.- Niall Horan • Just as eagles soar through the vast expanse of the sky without meeting any obstructions, needing only minimal effort to maintain their flight, so advanced meditators concentrating on emptiness can meditate on emptiness for a long time with little effort. Their minds soar through space-like emptiness, undistracted by any other phenomenon. When we meditate on emptiness we should try to emulate these meditators. – Geshe Kelsang Gyatso • Larry Flynt, running for governor of California. His goal – change our state bird to the spread eagle.- Craig Kilborn • Lately I’ve heard rumors that the eagle may be lame. Just because I’ve been idle, don’t mean that I’m tame. – Waylon Jennings • Leaders are like eagles… they don’t flock. You’ll find them one at a time. – Knute Rockne • Leaders take eagles and teach them to fly in formation. – D. Wayne Calloway • Let them make their war. Whence come night and day? Whence will the eagle become gray? Whence is it that night is dark? Whence is it that the linnet is green? The ebullition of the sea, – How is it not seen? – Taliesin • Life consists in molting our illusions. We form creeds today only to throw them away tomorrow. The eagle molts a feather because he is growing a better one. – Elbert Hubbard • Like the eagle, we (artists) must be able to see clearly. – Jack White • Like two eagles soar as one upon the river of the wind with the promise of forever, we will take the past and learn how to begin. – Pocahontas • My feet will tread soft as a deer in the forest. My mind will be clear as water from the sacred well. My heart will be strong as a great oak. My spirit will spread an eagle’s wings, and fly forth. – Juliet Marillier • My first figure was a SLAYER eagle. And the dragons and the tribals are all I have got. – Kerry King • My free drift Halts not particularly, but moves itself In a wide sea of wax; no levelled malice Infects one comma in the course I hold, But flies an eagle flight, bold and forth on, Leaving no tract behind. – William Shakespeare • My grandfather would have loved to have met you,” he told her huskily. “He would have called you ‘She Moves Trees Out of His Path.’ ” She looked lost, but his da laughed. He’d known the old man, too. “He called me ‘He Who Must Run into Trees,'” Charles explained, and in a spirit of honesty, a need for his mate to know who he was, he continued, “or sometimes ‘Running Eagle.’ ” ” ‘Running Eagle’?” Anna puzzled it over, frowning at him. “What’s wrong with that?” “Too stupid to fly,” murmured his father with a little smile.- Patricia Briggs • My jaw dropped open. Holy crows…There’s a couple of eagles mixed in there, Luke commented.And a few hawks, Aiden added.I rolled my eyes. Okay. Holy birds of prey! Is that better?Much, Aiden murmured. – J. Lynn • My name ain’t Steve Miller, but I fly like an Eagle. – Coolio • My spirit is too weak–mortality Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep, And each imagin’d pinnacle and steep Of godlike hardship tells me I must die Like a sick Eagle looking at the sky. – John Keats • News is history shot on the wing. The huntsmen from the Fourth Estate seek to bag only the peacock or the eagle of the swifting day.- Gene Fowler • Not half so swift the trembling doves can fly, When the fierce eagle cleaves the liquid sky; Not half so swiftly the fierce eagle moves, When thro’ the clouds he drives the trembling doves. – Alexander Pope • Om rubed his head. This wasn’t god-like thinking. It seemed simpler when you were up here. It was all a game. You forgot that it wasn’t a game down there. People died. Bits got chopped off. We’re like eagles up here, he thought. Sometimes we show tortoise how to fly. Then we let go. – Terry Pratchett • Once when I looked up, I happened to see a sea eagle poised on magesterial wings above the knurled summit of the mountain behind my tent. It was a scene of peerless tranquility, tossed out in Nautre’s devil-may-care way, which says: Just open your eyes, my friend, and I’ll astonish you every minute of your life. – Lawrence Millman • One cannot bring up boys to be eagles and then expect them to be sparrows. – Edith Roosevelt • One hundred sparrow does not make one eagle. – Mehmet Murat Ildan • Percy and Reyna occupied matching praeters’ chairs on the dais, which made Percy self-conscious. It wasn’t easy looking dignified wearing a bedsheet and a purple cape. “The camp is safe,” Octavian continued. ” I’ll be the first to congragulate our heroes for bringing back the legion’s eagle and so much Imperial gold! Truly we have been blessed with good fortune. But why do more? Why tempt fate?” “I’m glad you asked.” Percy stood, taking the question as an opening. Octavian stammered, ” I wasn’t–” “–Part of the quest,” Percy said. “Yes I know. And your’e wise to let me explain, since I was. – Rick Riordan • Religion Caesar never knew Thy posterity shall sway, Where his eagles never flew, None as invincible as they. – William Cowper • September 11, 2001: Citizens of the U.S., besieged by terror’s sting, rose up, weeping glory, as if on eagles’ wings.–from the poem Angel of Remembrance: Candles for September 11, 2001 – Aberjhani • Shall eagles not be eagles? wrens be wrens? If all the world were falcons, what of that? The wonder of the eagle were the less, But he not less the eagle. – Alfred Lord Tennyson • She gazed toward the marsh that grew thicker, deeper, greener with approaching summer. Mosquitoes whined in there, breeding in the dark water. Alligators slid through it, silent death. It was a place where snakes could slither and bogs could suck the shoe right off your foot. And it was a place, she thought, that went bright and beautiful with the twinkling of fireflies, where wildflowers thrived in the shade and the stingy light. Where an eagle could soar like a king. There was no beauty without risk. No life without it. – Nora Roberts • So in the Libyan fable it is told That once an eagle, stricken with a dart, Said, when he saw the fashion of the shaft: With our own feathers, not by others’ hands, Are we now smitten.- Aeschylus • So it ends as I guessed it would,’ his thoughts said, even as it fluttered away; and it laughed a little within him ere it fled, almost gay it seemed to be casting off all doubt and care and fear. And even as it winged away into forgetfulness it heard voices, and they seemed to be crying in some forgotten world far above: ‘The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!’ For one moment more Pippin’s thought hovered. “Bilbo! But no! That came in his tale, long long ago. This is my tale, and it ended now. Good-bye!’ And his thought fled far away and his eyes saw no more. – J. R. R. Tolkien • So long as one’s just dreaming about what to do, one can soar like an eagle and move mountains, it seems, but as soon as one starts doing it one gets worn out and tired. – Ivan Turgenev • So she became impulsive, scared by her inaction into perpetual action. When the Eagle confronted her with the expulsion, maybe she blurted out Marya’s name because it was the first that came to mind, because in that moment she didn’t want to get expelled and she couldn’t think past that moment. She was scared, sure. But more importantly, maybe she’d been scared of being paralyzed by fear again. ~Miles/Pudge on Alaska, pg 120-121 – John Green • So the struck eagle, stretch’d upon the plain, No more through rolling clouds to soar again, View’d his own feather on the fatal dart, And wing’d the shaft that quiver’d in his heart. – Lord Byron • Some relate . . . that the eagle tries the eyes of her young by turning them to the sun; which if they cannot look steadily on, she rejects them as spurious. We may truly try our faith by immediate intuitions of the Sun of Righteousness. Direct faith to act itself, immediately and directly on the incarnation of Christ and His mediation; and if it be not the right kind and race, it will turn its eyes aside to anything else. – John Owen • Somebody asked my friend Bob Seger, Why do you think the Eagles broke up? He said, Hotel California. – Glenn Frey • Somebody has to go polish the stars, They’re looking a little bit dull. Somebody has to go polish the stars, For the eagles and starlings and gulls Have all been complaining they’re tarnished and worn, They say they want new ones we cannot afford. So please get your rags And your polishing jars, Somebody has to go polish the stars. – Shel Silverstein • Sometimes I fly like an eagle but with the wings of a wren – Anne Sexton • Spring One. Spring One. I am Eagle. I am Eagle. I can hear you very well. I feel excellent. My feeling is excellent.- Gherman Titov • Take the road where the eagle flies, man follows where his fortune lies. – Billy Squier • That eagle’s fate and mine are one, Which, on the shaft that made him die, Espied a feather of his own, Wherewith he wont to soar so high.- Edmund Waller • That just shows you their type of class and integrity. They claim to be first class and the best organization. It’s an embarrassment and it shows the lack of class that they really have…..The Eagles would be undefeated right now with Green Bay’s quarterback. We’d probably be in a much better position with him on the team (instead of present Eagles quarterback Donavon McNabb). – Terrell Owens • That kind of tenderness couldn’t be permitted to last. You only got a taste, enough to know what perfection meant, and then you paid for it the rest of your life. Like the guy chained to a rock, who stole fire. The gods made an eagle eat his liver for all eternity. You paid for every second of beauty you managed to steal. – Janet Fitch • The beaver, which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy rodent known to bite off it’s own testicles or to stand under its own falling trees.- June Callwood • The bottom half of the page had descended into a doodle of a tiny man giving the middle finger to a giant, angry eagle with razor-sharp talons. Beneath it, the caption: To Mock a Killing Bird. – Seth Grahame-Smith • The brave are born from the brave and good. In steers and in horses is to be found the excellence of their sire; nor do savage eagles produce a peaceful dove. – Horace • The correct answer is the University Titans, the West Valley Eagles, the Central Valley Bears, the East Valley Knights, the Riverside Rams. The fact you don’t even know an answer to the question like [naming all the Spokane Valley High School Mascots] means you don’t even know the district. How can you represent the district if you don’t even know it? – Matt Shea • The ‘Crue’ is not the hardest band to cover. There are no harmonies like the Eagles.- Brian Miller • The day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward From an eagle in his flight. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • The Democrats talked about putting people first. Well, they put people first unless you happen to be a spotted owl or a giant garter snake or some other endangered species and then that seems to have priority. Obviously, you take the bald eagle and things of that sort, of course you’re going to make sure that they are saved and that they can live and you’re going to take every precaution that you can. But others – we just need a little flexibility. – Dan Quayle • The Eagle does not escape the storm. The Eagle simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It spreads its mighty wings and rises on the winds that bring the storm. – Jack White • The eagle had two natural enemies: storms and serpents. He embraced the storm, waiting on the rock for the right thermal current and then using that to carry him higher. While other birds were taking cover, the eagle was soaring. An eagle would never fight against the storms of life. – Karen Kingsbury • The Eagle has landed. – Neil Armstrong • The eagle has no fear of adversity. We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror! – Joyce Meyer • The eagle has no liberty; he only has loneliness. – Gilbert K. Chesterton • The eagle may soar; beavers build dams. – Bill Vaughan • The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn of the crow – William Blake • The eagle suffers little birds to sing, And is not careful what they mean thereby, Knowing that with the shadow of his wings He can at pleasure stint their melody: Even so mayest thou the giddy men of Rome. – William – Shakespeare • The eagle suffers little birds to sing.- William Shakespeare • The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself how it is to cross rivers. – Gladys Aylward • The Eagle, he was lord above – William Wordsworth • The Eagles and the critics were not the best of friends. – Don Henley • The Eagles ended on a rather abrupt note, although in retrospect I realize now that it had been ending for quite some time. – Don Henley • The first thing was to get down to Addie Richardson’s henhouse, and that was a goodish way, four or five miles. She found herself wondering if the Lord was going to send her an eagle to fly her those four miles, or send Elijah in his fiery chariot to give her a lift. Blasphemy,” she told herself complacently. “The Lord provides strength, not taxicabs. – Stephen King • The foolish think the Eagle weak, and easy to bring to heel. The Eagle’s wings are silken, but its claws are made of steel. – Sidney Sheldon • The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagle’s own Lures. We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction. – Aesop • The Justice Department ruled that Native American tribes are allowed to grow and sell marijuana on reservations. This decision was hailed as a victory by Native American leader Giggling Eagle. – Conan O’Brien • The last two years with the Eagles were pretty intense times. There was a lot of drinking and we were all getting high a lot. My parents were relieved when I got off the Eagles treadmill. – Glenn Frey • The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out. – Benito Mussolini • The little and the great are joined in one By God’s great force. The wondrous golden sun Is linked unto the glow-worm’s tiny spark; The eagle soars to heaven in his flight; And in those realms of space, all bathed in light, Soar none except the eagle and the lark. – Emma Lazarus • The mother eagle teachers her little ones to fly by making their nest so uncomfortable that they are forced to leave it and commit themselves to the unknown world of air outside. An just so does our God to us. – Hannah Whitall Smith • The plainest print cannot be read through a gold eagle. – Abraham Lincoln • The sharp knife of dawn glitters in my hand but how bare is everything-tall tall tree infinite air, the unrelaxing tension of the world and only hope, hope only, the kind eagle soars and wheels in flight. – Martin Carter • The sun is a huntress young, The sun is a red, red joy, The sun is an Indian girl, Of the tribe of the Illinois. The sun is a smouldering fire, That creeps through the high gray plain, And leaves not a bush of cloud.To blossom with flowers of rain. The sun is a wounded deer, That treads pale grass in the skies, Shaking his golden horns, Flashing his baleful eyes. The sun is an eagle old, There in the windless west. Atop of the spirit-cliffs He builds him a crimson nest. – Vachel Lindsay • The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me. Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild’s fondness?- Chief Dan George • The world is grown so bad, That wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch. – William Shakespeare • There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar. – Herman Melville • There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud. – Carl Sandburg • There is an eagle in me that wants to soar. – Carl Sandburg • There were bars that began to have acoustic musicians play, it was 1970: Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, America, The Eagles, all that kind of stuff was popular. It was very easy for me to just kind of move in and be noticed. – Shawn Colvin • They say, ‘The coward dies many times’; so does the beloved. Didn’t the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined? – C. S. Lewis • Thought paceth like a hoary sage, but imagination hath wings as an eagle. – Martin Farquhar Tupper • Thy spirit, Independence, let me share! Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye thy steps I follow with my bosom bare, nor heed the storm that howls along the sky. – Tobias Smollett • To an eagle or to an owl or to a rabbit, man must seem a masterful and yet a forlorn animal; he has but two friends. In his almost universal unpopularity he points out, with pride, that these two are the dog and the horse. He believes, with an innocence peculiar to himself, that they are equally proud of this alleged confraternity. He says, ‘Look at my two noble friends — they are dumb, but they are loyal.’ I have for years suspected that they are only tolerant. – Beryl Markham • To object that the facts about human nature set limits on our ability to change the world and ourselves makes about as much sense as the lament that our lack of wings sets limits on our ability to ‘fly’ as far as eagles under our own power. – Noam Chomsky • We are faithful not to the triumphant golden eagle (ironically, also an imperial symbol of power in Rome) but to the slaughtered Lamb. – Shane Claiborne • We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumes flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle: these are our brothers. All things are connected like the blood which unites one’s family. – Chief Seattle • We gotta be free – The eagle and me. see Amelia Jenks Bloomer, Emancipation of Women – Yip Harburg • We know there is a sun in heaven, yet we cannot see what matter it is made of, but perceive it only by the beams, light and heat. Election is a sun, the eyes of eagles cannot see it, yet we may find it in the heat of vocation, in the light of illumination, in the beams of good works. – Thomas Adams • We may talk what we please, he cries in his enthusiasm for the oldest of the arts, “of lilies, and lions rampant, and spread eagles, in fields d’or or d’argent; but, if heraldry were guided by reason, a plough in a field arable would be the most noble and ancient arms.” – Abraham Cowley • We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests. – Franklin D. Roosevelt • We need a good strong opposition and I don’t know whether it’s any coincidence that we need Angela Eagle in Labour and we need Theresa May to lead the Conservative party, both of whom of course are women. – Anna Soubry • We’re definitely a hodgepodge of influences. Mine, most heavily, would be Southern rock – the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and stuff like that. Hillary is more from the country side – her mom is Linda Davis, a country singer. Dave, he’s a big fan of the Eagles and like that.- Charles Kelley • What makes a genius? The ability to see. To see what? The butterfly in a caterpillar, the eagle in an egg, the saint in a selfish person, life in death, unity in separation, God in the human and human in God and suffering as the form in which the incomprehensibility of God himself appears. – Brennan Manning • When day begins to break I count my blessings, good and bad, Being wakeful for your sake, Remembering the covenant we’ve always had, What eagle look your face still shows, While up from my heart’s root So great a sweetness flows I shake from head to foot. – P. C. Cast • When the Eagle landed on the moon, I was speechless—overwhelmed, like most of the world. Couldn’t say a word. I think all I said was, ‘Wow! Jeez!’ Not exactly immortal. Well, I was nothing if not human. – Walter Cronkite • When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber. – Winston Churchill • Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of a sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given him – Kenneth Wapnick • Why fly like a hen when you can soar like an eagle? – Pio of Pietrelcina • Wine transforms moles into eagles. – Charles Baudelaire • Without a reunion, the Eagles are forever young, like James Dean. – Glenn Frey • Yeah, I had it all mapped out actually. Seriously. I wrote it down. I said, ‘When I’m the head coach of the Eagles, I’m going to make sure I get that guy on my team.’ And then guy next to me was like, ‘You’re only the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Minor details. But it’s going to work.’ – Chip Kelly • Yes, I am sad, sad as a circus-lioness, sad as an eagle without wings, sad as a violin with only one string and that one broken, sad as a woman who is growing old. Sad, sad, sad. – Jean Rhys • You are surprised that the world is losing its grip? That the world is grown old? Don’t hold onto the old man, the world; don’t refuse to regain your youth in Christ, who says to you: ‘The world is passing away; the world is losing its grip; the world is short of breath. Don’t fear, your youth shall be renewed as an eagle.’ – Saint Augustine • You are the mountain, you are the rock You are the cord and you’re the spark You are the eagle, you are the lark You are the world and you’re remarkable You’re the ocean eating the shore You are the calm inside the storm You’re every emotion, you can endure You are the world and the world is yours. ((The World as I See It)) – Jason Mraz • You can put wings on a pig, but you don’t make it an eagle. – William J. Clinton • You can’t cage an eagle for long without destroying it. – Patricia Briggs • You can’t criticize Bob Dylan’s singing. You have to respect Billy Joel as a brilliant poet. You can’t tell me there’s a better rock band ever than Led Zeppelin. And if you speak during the Eagles’ “Last Resort,” we’re done. I’m just asking for seven minutes. This stuff really matters, you know. – Charlie Sheen • You can’t hoot with the owls and then soar with the eagles – Hubert H. Humphrey • You can’t soar like an eagle and crap like a canary. – Ed Sabol • You know, I’m an eagle, flying around in the mountains. – Link Wray • You need eagles wings to get over things that make no sense in this world. – Tom Petty • You ought not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit, and are up in hid eyrie at night! – J. R. R. Tolkien • Your choice of people to associate with, both personally and business-wise, is one of the most important choices you make. If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles. – Brian Tracy

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[equitiesstocks]

Eagles Quotes

Official Website: Eagles Quotes

• A believer is a bird in a cage, a freethinker is an eagle parting the clouds with tireless wing. – Robert Green Ingersoll • A lover’s eyes will gaze an eagle blind. – William Shakespeare • A man attains greatness by his merits, not simply by occupying an exalted seat. Can we call a crow an eagle (garuda) simply because he sits on the top of a tall building.- Chanakya • A powerful combination to ensure success is having the vision of an eagle and the heart of a lion. – Robert G. Allen • A voice cannot carry the tongue and the lips that gave it wings. Alone must it seek the ether. And alone and without his nest shall the eagle fly across the sun. – Khalil Gibran • According to the conventions of the genre, Augustus Waters kept his sense of humor till the end, did not for a moment waiver in his courage, and his spirit soared like an indomitable eagle until the world itself could not contain his joyous soul. – John Green • after listening to people gripe and complain just smile and remember, Crows can’t hang with eagles. – Joel Osteen • After the battle in Pharsalia, when Pompey was fled, one Nonius said they had seven eagles left still, and advised to try what they would do. “Your advice,” said Cicero, “were good if we were to fight jackdaws. – Plutarch All Birds find shelter during a rain. But Eagle avoids rain by flying above the Clouds. Problems are common, but attitude makes the difference!!! – Abdul Kalam • All right.” Shimmering droplets on her eyelashes, stars caught in transition. “But will you replace it with something for me?” “Anything.” His body was hers. Brushing her fingers over his lips, she said, “You gave me an eagle. I want to give you one, too.” A tender kiss pressed to the scar. “I want us to fly together. – Nalini Singh • American Eagle can be a selling point for other young, cutting-edge companies to come to Pittsburgh – Ed Rendell • American Eagle clothing is stylish, flattering and all about embracing your individuality. – Shay Mitchell • Among my activities was membership in the Boy Scouts; I rose each year through the ranks, eventually achieving the rank of Eagle Scout and undertaking leadership roles in the organization.- Frederick Reines • An Eagle Scout deserves a letter of congratulations, but not a proclamation, … That’s a normal process. It’s not a heroic process. – Frank Bruno • An eagle uses the negative energy of a storm to fly even higher. – Eric Thomas • An oak tree and a rosebush grew, Young and green together, Talking the talk of growing things- Wind and water and weather. And while the rosebush sweetly bloomed The oak tree grew so high That now it spoke of newer things- Eagles, mountain peaks and sky. “I guess you think you’re pretty great,” The rose was heard to cry, Screaming as loud as it possibly could To the treetop in the sky. “And now you have no time for flower talk, Now that you’ve grown so tall.” “It’s not so much that I’ve grown,” said the tree, “It’s just that you’ve stayed so small. – Shel Silverstein • And alone and without his nest shall the Eagle fly across the sun. – Khalil Gibran • And little eagles wave their wings in gold. – Alexander Pope • Anon from the castle walls The crescent banner falls, And the crowd beholds instead, Like a portent in the sky, Iskander’s banner fly, The Black Eagle with double head. And shouts ascend on high …..” Long live Scanderbeg. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • As a human being it is just my nature to enjoy and share philosophy. I do this in the same way that some birds are eagles and some doves, some flowers lilies and some roses. – Alan Watts • As much as I love heavy riffs, I like The Eagles, Neil Young, Elton John, Crowded House. – Zakk Wylde • As the eagle was killed by the arrow winged with his own feather, so the hand of the world is wounded by its own skill. – Helen Keller • At lunch Francis [Crick] winged into the Eagle to tell everyone within hearing distance that we had found the secret of life. – James D. Watson • At the rate America is decaying morally, we shall have to change our national symbol from an eagle to a vulture. – Vance Havner • Auguries of innocence “The emmet’s inch and eagle’s mile Make lame philosophy to smile. He who doubts from what he sees Will ne’er believe, do what you please. – William Blake

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  • Baby eagles can never soar under their family’s wing. – Liu Yang • Because I do not hope to turn again Because I do not hope Because I do not hope to turn Desiring this man’s gift and that man’s scope I no longer strive to strive towards such things (Why should the aged eagle stretch its wings?) Why should I mourn The vanished power of the usual reign? – T. S. Eliot • Being a writer in Hollywood is like going to Hitler’s Eagle Nest with a great idea for a bar mitzvah. – David Mamet • Belief? What do I believe in? I believe in sun. In rock. In the dogma of the sun and the doctrine of the rock. I believe in blood, fire, woman, rivers, eagles, storm, drums, flutes, banjos, and broom-tailed horses. – Edward Abbey • But flies an eagle flight, bold and forth on, Leaving no tract behind. – William Shakespeare • But of course, what the eagle does not realize is that it is participating in a very crude form of natural selection.One day a tortoise will learn how to fly. – Terry Pratchett • Celebrate your success and stand strong when adversity hits, for when the storm clouds come in, the eagles soar while the small birds take cover. – Napoleon Hill • Chris Eagles flew in on Shaun Wright-Phillips, so hard he almost broke the hyphen. – Henry Winter • Compared to the typical Zim/Chomsky-spouting grad school clown, a trucker with a screaming eagle hat is a paragon of political nuance. – David Burge • Did you ever know that you’re my hero, you’re everything I wish I could be. I could fly higher than an eagle with you as the wind beneath my wings. – Gary Morris • Do you know who taught the eagles to find their prey? Well, that same God teaches His hungry children to find their Father in His Word. – William Tyndale • Don’t be a pigeon if you were born to be an eagle. Experience God’s altitude for your life. – Myles Munroe • Don’t look down, it’s an impossible view; Fly like an eagle whatever you do.- Mos Def • Don’t quack like a duck, soar like an eagle. – Ken Blanchard • Don’t waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagles. Hire people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar. – Jim Rohn • Down the hall came the wife. She was glorious, burning. She didn’t know yet that her husband was dead. We knew. That’s what gave her such power over us. The doctor took her into a room with a desk at the end of the hall, and from under the closed door a slab of brilliance radiated as if, by some stupendous process, diamonds were being incinerated in there. What a pair of lungs! She shrieked as I imagined an eagle would shriek. It felt wonderful to be alive to hear it! I’ve gone looking for that feeling everywhere. – Denis Johnson • Each man is good in His sight. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. – Sitting Bull • Each man is good in the sight of the Great Spirit. It is not necessary for eagles to be crows. Now we are poor but we are free. No white man controls our footsteps. If we must die, we die defending our rights. – Sitting Bull • Eagle of flowers! I see thee stand, And on the sun’s noon-glory gaze; With eye like his, thy lids expand, And fringe their disk with golden rays: Though fix’d on earth, in darkness rooted there, Light is thy element, thy dwelling air, Thy prospect heaven. – James Montgomery • Eagle rises to the top of the precipice with its wings; man, to the top of the honour, with his morals! – Mehmet Murat Ildan • Eagles are seagulls with a good hairdo. – Douglas Coupland • Eagles are very tolerant and very adaptable, but they have to get established first. When birds are setting up their breeding territory, they are the most susceptible to being discouraged. – Jim Elliot • Eagles come in all shapes and sizes, but you will recognize them chiefly by their attitudes. – E. F. Schumacher • Eagles don’t catch flies. – Desiderius Erasmus • Eagles fly where lesser birds cannot fly, so eagles can do what lesser birds cannot do. – T. D. Jakes • Eagles may soar, but weasels don’t get sucked into jet engines. – Steven Wright • Ensure that no Marine who honorably wore the eagle, globe and anchor is lost to the Marine Corps family. – James L. Jones • Even if death were to fall upon you today like lightning, you must be ready to die without sadness and regret, without any residue of clinging for what is left behind. Remaining in the recognition of the absolute view, you should leave this life like an eagle soaring up into the blue sky. – Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche • Every culture from the Egyptians to the Mayans to the American Indians to the Bedouins created bestiaries that enabled them to express their relationship with nature. Ashes and Snow is a 21st-century bestiary filled with species from around the world. Nature’s orchestra includes not just Homo sapiens but elephants, whales, manatees, eagles, cheetahs, orangutans, and many others.- Gregory Colbert • Every house was festooned with flowers and with lanterns. On the national day, the whole country went wild with joy, But on that very day, I was placed in chains and transferred: The wind remains contrary to the flight of the eagle. – Ho Chi Minh • Eyesight for an eagle is what thought is to a man. – Dejan Stojanovic • Farewell,” they cried, “Wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey’s end!” That is the polite thing to say among eagles. “May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks,” answered Gandalf, who knew the correct reply. – J. R. R. Tolkien • Fate is not an eagle, it creeps like a rat. – Elizabeth Bowen • Festus just detected a large group of eagles behind us—long-range radar, still not in sight.” Piper leaned over the console. “Are you sure they’re Roman?” Leo rolled his eyes. “No, Pipes. It could be a random group of giant eagles flying in perfect formation. Of course they’re Roman! – Rick Riordan • Flutter like a hummingbird, Dive like an eagle, Ain’t no bird that’s my equal. – Twilight – Kathryn Lasky • Fly, on your way, like an eagle / Fly as high as the Sun.- Bruce Dickinson • Fool that I was, upon my eagle’s wings I bore this wren, till I was tired with soaring, and now he mounts above me. – John Dryden • For Nature is love, and finds haunts for true love, Where nothing can hear or intrude; It hides from the eagle and joins with the dove, In beautiful green solitude. – John Clare • Fortune is said to be blind, but her favorites never are. Ambition has the eye of the eagle, prudence that of the lynx; the first looks through the air, the last along the ground.- Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton • From a distance the world looks blue and green, and the snow-capped mountains white. From a distance the ocean meets the stream, and the eagle takes to flight. From a distance, there is harmony, and it echoes through the land. It’s the voice of hope, it’s the voice of peace, it’s the voice of every man. – Bette Midler • From the oyster to the eagle, from the swine to the tiger, all animals are to be found in men and each of them exists in some man, sometimes several at the time. Animals are nothing but the portrayal of our virtues and vices made manifest to our eyes, the visible reflections of our souls. God displays them to us to give us food for thought. – Victor Hugo • God created us with an overwhelming desire to soar. Our desire to develop and use every ounce of potential He’s placed in us is not egotistical. He designed us to be tremendously productive and “to mount up with wings like eagles,” realistically dreaming of what He can do with our potential. – Carol Kent • God is not an employer looking for employees. He is an Eagle looking for people who will take refuge under his wings. – John Piper • God is not an employer looking for employees. He is an Eagle looking for people who will take refuge under his wings. He is looking for people who will leave father and mother and homeland or anything else that may hold them back from a life of love under the wings of Jesus. – John Piper • Golden eagles don`t mate with bald eagles, deer don`t mate with antelope, gray wolves don`t mate with red wolves. Just look at domesticated animals, at mongrel dogs, and mixed breed horses, and you`ll know the Great Mystery didn`t intend them to be that way. We weakened the species and introduced disease by mixing what should be kept seperate. Among humans, intermarriage weakens the respect people have for themselves and for their traditions. It undermines clarity of spirit and mind. – Russell Means • Golden eagles have an interesting way of mating, where they connect in the air while flying at eighty miles an hour and then they start dropping and they don’t stop dropping until the act is completed. So it’s not uncommon that they both fall all the way to the ground, hit the ground and both of them die. That’s how committed they are to this. I thought to myself, ‘Boy, don’t we feel like wimps for stopping to answer the phone.’ I don’t know about you, but if I’m one of these two birds, you’re getting close to the ground… I would serioulsy consider fakin’ it. – Ellen DeGeneres • Great men are like eagles, and build their nest on some lofty solitude. – Arthur Schopenhauer • He worked night and day. He made a coat that would transform him; he would be more than a man; a winged creature, beautiful as light. All the birds brought him feathers. Even the eagle. Even the swan. – Catherine Fisher • Heaven begun is the living proof that makes the heaven to come credible. Christ in you is “the hope of glory.” It is the eagle eye of faith which penetrates the grave, and sees far into the tranquil things of death. He alone can believe in immortality who feels the resurrection in him already. – Frederick William Robertson • High in the air rises the forest of oaks, high over the oaks soar the eagle, high over the eagle sweep the clouds, high over the clouds gleam the stars… high over the stars sweep the angels. – Heinrich Heine • Hippogriff, n. An animal (now extinct) which was half horse and half griffin. The griffin was itself a compound creature, half lion and half eagle. The hippogriff was actually, therefore, only one-quarter eagle, which is two dollars and fifty cents in gold. The study of zoology is full of surprises. – Ambrose Bierce • Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed. – Neil Armstrong • How can you say that love is blind? Keener than a young eagle’s is its sight. – Franz Grillparzer • How sublime Upon a time-blanch’d cliff to muse, and, while The eagle glories in a sea of air, To mingle with the scene around! – Survey The sun-warm heaven. – Robert Montgomery • I am also the product of a place called Paint Creek. Doesn’t have a zip code. It’s too small to be called a town along the rolling plains of Texas. We grew dryland cotton and wheat, and when I wasn’t farming or attending Paint Creek Rural School, I was generally over at Troop 48 working on my Eagle Scout award. – Rick Perry • I am delighted, one more time, by the daring of my species and the audacity of our flying machines. There is poetry and music in our technology, a beauty as touching as that of eagle, moss campion, raven or yonder limestone boulder shining under the Arctic sun. – Edward Abbey • I believe in reincarnation. In my last life I was a peasant. Next time around, I’d like to be an eagle. Who hasn’t dreamed they could fly? They’re a protected species, too. – Lee Trevino • I come from under the hill, and under the hills and over the hills my paths led. And through the air. I am he that walks unseen. I am the clue-finder, the web-cutter, the stinging fly. I was chosen for the lucky number. I am he that buries his friends alive and drowns them and draws them alive again from the water. I came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over me. I am the friend of bears and the guest of eagles. I am Ringwinner and Luckwearer; and I am Barrel-rider. – J. R. R. Tolkien • I did a filmstrip on pollution in the Davison area as my Eagle Scout project and showed it around town. Businesses who were the polluters were mad at me. – Michael Moore • I didn’t live in the world of disco or the world of the Eagles. – George Thorogood • I do not see a delegation for the four-footed. I see no seat for the eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior, but we are after all a mere part of the Creation. And we must continue to understand where we are. And we stand between the mountain and the ant, somewhere and there only, as part of the Creation. – Oren Lyons • I do not see a delegation for the four-footed. I see no seat for the eagles. We forget and we consider ourselves superior. – Oren Lyons • I don’t have to play for the Eagles. – Terrell Owens • I don’t mind doing two or three Eagles songs and playing the drums. I’m not one of those artists who’s going to sit here and deny the past. – Don Henley • I dream of eagles and bring forth sparrows. – Truman Capote • I enjoy my solo career because I get to play smaller places like clubs and theaters, and the interaction with the audience is much higher quality. It also sounds better than a baseball stadium. Everybody has a good seat, and I don’t have to play a specific part like I do in the Eagles. – Joe Walsh • I have never forgotten my days as an Eagle Scout. I didn’t know it at the time, but what really came out of my Scouting was learning how to lead and serve the community. It has come in handy in my career in government. – Lloyd Bentsen • I have no will, unless it be the will never to decide. I have been so overwhelmed by the many storms that have broken over my head, that I am become passive in the hands of the Almighty, like a sparrow in the talons of an eagle. I live, because it is not ordained for me to die. – Alexandre Dumas • I have often been reminded of the wild duck that came down on migration into a barnyard and liked it so well that he stayed there. In the fall his erstwhile companions passed overhead and his first impulse was to rise and join them, but he had fed too well and could rise no higher than the eaves of the barn. The day came when his old fellow travelers could pass overhead without his even hearing their call. I have seen men and women who once mounted up with wings like eagles but are now content to live in the barnyard of this world.- Vance Havner • I knew Glenn Frey. He called me up in 1977 and told me The Eagles were looking for a bass player, preferably someone who could write and had a high voice. That was me. – Timothy B. Schmit • I know he’d be a poorer man if he never saw an eagle fly. – John Denver • I know that there are some people who are perpetually negative. I sincerely believe that if you want to fly with the eagles you cannot afford to walk with the turkeys. I will walk away from those people when they start to attack the vision. – Phil Pringle • I sometimes think we ought to bring a bill before Congress changing our national symbol from the eagle to the buffalo, because we are more like the buffalo than the eagle. The eagle is a powerful bird. It flies alone. It rises up into the sky with authority. It is master of all it surveys. The eagle is an individualist and was selected from among the rest of the birds to be our symbol. But the buffalo was never alone. It always ran in a herd with other buffaloes. And, friends, I call your attention that the buffaloes are gone from the open range, but the eagles are still soaring. – Norman Vincent Peale • I think I did enough to make it. I think I made it as hard as possible for them to cut me by showing them what I can do. I think it’s going to come down to numbers. I’m just going to wait, pray and hope it’s God’s will that I’m going to be on the Eagles. My first goal was to make this squad but if not, hopefully another team saw what I did and will want me. – Jeremy Thornburg • I think the Jets came in with a legitimate offer. At that point, I hadn’t had one from the Eagles. I had to think, ‘I’ve really got to work up here [in New York]? Do you really want to deal with that on a weekly basis? – Jon Runyan • I was born by God’s dear grace, in an extraordinary place. Where the stars and stripes, and the eagle fly. – Aaron Tippin • I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country; he is a bird of bad moral character; like those among men who live by sharping and robbing, he is generally poor, and often very lousy. The turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America. – Benjamin Franklin • I would like to deny all allegations by Bob Hope that during my last game of golf, I hit an eagle, a birdie, an elk and a moose. – Gerald R. Ford • I’d rather have my teeth drilled than listen to that awful song, ‘Fly, Eagles Fly.’ – Chris Christie • If I associate with chickens, I will learn to scratch at the ground and squabble over crumbs. If I associate with eagles, I will learn to soar to great heights. – Andy Andrews • If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me? – Isak Dinesen • If I were an animal, I would be an eagle. – Jamie Foxx • If I were an animal, I’d probably be a bald eagle, since I’m already bald and I love to fish. But I’d probably be a shaky-ass eagle because I’m afraid of flying. – Steve Harvey • If the Eagles were to get back together, it would have to be for the right reasons. I think it would look awful if it were just for the money. – Glenn Frey • If the Police could do a reunion… One of the biggest jerks I ever met was Sting. If he can do it, then anyone can do it. It’s not that big a deal. And the Eagles! They did it! They severely hated each other. It’s just rock and roll – Steven Adler • If we will only surrender ourselves utterly to the Lord, and will trust Him perfectly, we shall find our souls “mounting up with wings as eagles” to the “heavenly places” in Christ Jesus, where earthly annoyances or sorrows have no power to disturb us. – Hannah Whitall Smith • If we would reach a degree of civilization higher and grander than any yet attained, we should welcome to our ample continent all the nations, kindreds, tongues and peoples, and as fast as they learn our language and comprehend the duties of citizenship, we should incorporate them into the American body politic. The outspread wings of the American eagle are broad enough to shelter all who are likely to come. – Frederick Douglass • If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles. – Brian Tracy • If you want to fly with eagles, stop swimming with ducks. – T. Harv Eker • If you want to fly with the eagles you can’t hang out with the crows. – Brock Lesnar • If you want to fly with the eagles, don’t swim with the ducks! – T. Harv Eker • If you want to soar like an eagle in life, you can’t be flocking with the turkeys. – Warren Buffett • I’ll always be a Golden Eagle – Dwyane Wade • I’m a longtime fan of American Eagle, so when they approached me about joining their ‘Live Your Life’ campaign, it already felt like an organic fit. – Shay Mitchell • I’m certainly not thrilled with everything the Eagles did, but there are some things I’m quite proud of. – Don Henley • I’m gonna say it one more time. We are Georgia Southern. Our colors are blue and white. We call ourselves the Bald Eagles. We call our offense the Georgia Power Companyand that’s a terrific name for an offense. Our snap count is ‘rate, hike.’ We practice on the banks of Beautiful Eagle Creek and that’s in Statesboro, Georgia-the gnat capital of America. Our weekends begin on Thursday. The co-eds outnumber the men 3 to 2. They’re all good looking and they’re all rich. And folks, you just can’t beat that and you just can’t beat Georgia Southern. And you ain’t seen nothin yet! – Erk Russell • I’m not going to mortgage the Eagles’ future for Marcus Mariota. – Chip Kelly • In days of yore, the poet’s pen From wing of bird was plunder’d, Perhaps of goose, but now and then, From Jove’s own eagle sunder’d. But now, metallic pens disclose Alone the poet’s numbers; In iron inspiration glows, Or with the poet slumbers. – John Adams • In leadership we teach we teach;Don’t send your ducks to eagle school because it wont help.Ducks finishes eagle school,sees his first rabbit, makes him a friend. – Jim Rohn • Institutions may crumble and governments fall, but it is only that they may renew a better youth, and mount upwards like the eagle. – George Bancroft • It is God that accomplishes all term to hopes, God, who overtakes the flying eagle, outpasses the dolphin in the sea; who bends under his strength the man with thoughts too high. – Pindar • It is not the bigness of anything in this kind that can hinder its motion, if the motive faculty be answerable thereunto. We see a great ship swims as well as a small cork, and an eagle flies in the air as well as a little gnat. ‘Tis likely enough that there may be means invented of journeying to the Moon; and how happy they shall be that are first successful in this attempt. – John Wilkins • It was quite an insignificant looking sheet, but no sooner did the American eagle catch sight of it, than he swooned and fell off his perch.- Jane Swisshelm • It’s a great event to get outside and enjoy nature. I find it very exciting no matter how many times I see bald eagles. – Karen Armstrong • It’s hard to soar with the eagles when you’re surrounded by turkeys. – Adam Sandler • I’ve always thought the American eagle needed a left wing and a right wing. The right wing would see to it that economic interests had their legitimate concerns addressed. The left wing would see to it that ordinary people were included in the bargain. Both would keep the great bird on course. But with two right wings or two left wings, it’s no longer an eagle and it’s going to crash. – Bill Moyers • I’ve got my old favorites like The Eagles and Bon Jovi.- Niall Horan • Just as eagles soar through the vast expanse of the sky without meeting any obstructions, needing only minimal effort to maintain their flight, so advanced meditators concentrating on emptiness can meditate on emptiness for a long time with little effort. Their minds soar through space-like emptiness, undistracted by any other phenomenon. When we meditate on emptiness we should try to emulate these meditators. – Geshe Kelsang Gyatso • Larry Flynt, running for governor of California. His goal – change our state bird to the spread eagle.- Craig Kilborn • Lately I’ve heard rumors that the eagle may be lame. Just because I’ve been idle, don’t mean that I’m tame. – Waylon Jennings • Leaders are like eagles… they don’t flock. You’ll find them one at a time. – Knute Rockne • Leaders take eagles and teach them to fly in formation. – D. Wayne Calloway • Let them make their war. Whence come night and day? Whence will the eagle become gray? Whence is it that night is dark? Whence is it that the linnet is green? The ebullition of the sea, – How is it not seen? – Taliesin • Life consists in molting our illusions. We form creeds today only to throw them away tomorrow. The eagle molts a feather because he is growing a better one. – Elbert Hubbard • Like the eagle, we (artists) must be able to see clearly. – Jack White • Like two eagles soar as one upon the river of the wind with the promise of forever, we will take the past and learn how to begin. – Pocahontas • My feet will tread soft as a deer in the forest. My mind will be clear as water from the sacred well. My heart will be strong as a great oak. My spirit will spread an eagle’s wings, and fly forth. – Juliet Marillier • My first figure was a SLAYER eagle. And the dragons and the tribals are all I have got. – Kerry King • My free drift Halts not particularly, but moves itself In a wide sea of wax; no levelled malice Infects one comma in the course I hold, But flies an eagle flight, bold and forth on, Leaving no tract behind. – William Shakespeare • My grandfather would have loved to have met you,” he told her huskily. “He would have called you ‘She Moves Trees Out of His Path.’ ” She looked lost, but his da laughed. He’d known the old man, too. “He called me ‘He Who Must Run into Trees,'” Charles explained, and in a spirit of honesty, a need for his mate to know who he was, he continued, “or sometimes ‘Running Eagle.’ ” ” ‘Running Eagle’?” Anna puzzled it over, frowning at him. “What’s wrong with that?” “Too stupid to fly,” murmured his father with a little smile.- Patricia Briggs • My jaw dropped open. Holy crows…There’s a couple of eagles mixed in there, Luke commented.And a few hawks, Aiden added.I rolled my eyes. Okay. Holy birds of prey! Is that better?Much, Aiden murmured. – J. Lynn • My name ain’t Steve Miller, but I fly like an Eagle. – Coolio • My spirit is too weak–mortality Weighs heavily on me like unwilling sleep, And each imagin’d pinnacle and steep Of godlike hardship tells me I must die Like a sick Eagle looking at the sky. – John Keats • News is history shot on the wing. The huntsmen from the Fourth Estate seek to bag only the peacock or the eagle of the swifting day.- Gene Fowler • Not half so swift the trembling doves can fly, When the fierce eagle cleaves the liquid sky; Not half so swiftly the fierce eagle moves, When thro’ the clouds he drives the trembling doves. – Alexander Pope • Om rubed his head. This wasn’t god-like thinking. It seemed simpler when you were up here. It was all a game. You forgot that it wasn’t a game down there. People died. Bits got chopped off. We’re like eagles up here, he thought. Sometimes we show tortoise how to fly. Then we let go. – Terry Pratchett • Once when I looked up, I happened to see a sea eagle poised on magesterial wings above the knurled summit of the mountain behind my tent. It was a scene of peerless tranquility, tossed out in Nautre’s devil-may-care way, which says: Just open your eyes, my friend, and I’ll astonish you every minute of your life. – Lawrence Millman • One cannot bring up boys to be eagles and then expect them to be sparrows. – Edith Roosevelt • One hundred sparrow does not make one eagle. – Mehmet Murat Ildan • Percy and Reyna occupied matching praeters’ chairs on the dais, which made Percy self-conscious. It wasn’t easy looking dignified wearing a bedsheet and a purple cape. “The camp is safe,” Octavian continued. ” I’ll be the first to congragulate our heroes for bringing back the legion’s eagle and so much Imperial gold! Truly we have been blessed with good fortune. But why do more? Why tempt fate?” “I’m glad you asked.” Percy stood, taking the question as an opening. Octavian stammered, ” I wasn’t–” “–Part of the quest,” Percy said. “Yes I know. And your’e wise to let me explain, since I was. – Rick Riordan • Religion Caesar never knew Thy posterity shall sway, Where his eagles never flew, None as invincible as they. – William Cowper • September 11, 2001: Citizens of the U.S., besieged by terror’s sting, rose up, weeping glory, as if on eagles’ wings.–from the poem Angel of Remembrance: Candles for September 11, 2001 – Aberjhani • Shall eagles not be eagles? wrens be wrens? If all the world were falcons, what of that? The wonder of the eagle were the less, But he not less the eagle. – Alfred Lord Tennyson • She gazed toward the marsh that grew thicker, deeper, greener with approaching summer. Mosquitoes whined in there, breeding in the dark water. Alligators slid through it, silent death. It was a place where snakes could slither and bogs could suck the shoe right off your foot. And it was a place, she thought, that went bright and beautiful with the twinkling of fireflies, where wildflowers thrived in the shade and the stingy light. Where an eagle could soar like a king. There was no beauty without risk. No life without it. – Nora Roberts • So in the Libyan fable it is told That once an eagle, stricken with a dart, Said, when he saw the fashion of the shaft: With our own feathers, not by others’ hands, Are we now smitten.- Aeschylus • So it ends as I guessed it would,’ his thoughts said, even as it fluttered away; and it laughed a little within him ere it fled, almost gay it seemed to be casting off all doubt and care and fear. And even as it winged away into forgetfulness it heard voices, and they seemed to be crying in some forgotten world far above: ‘The eagles are coming! The eagles are coming!’ For one moment more Pippin’s thought hovered. “Bilbo! But no! That came in his tale, long long ago. This is my tale, and it ended now. Good-bye!’ And his thought fled far away and his eyes saw no more. – J. R. R. Tolkien • So long as one’s just dreaming about what to do, one can soar like an eagle and move mountains, it seems, but as soon as one starts doing it one gets worn out and tired. – Ivan Turgenev • So she became impulsive, scared by her inaction into perpetual action. When the Eagle confronted her with the expulsion, maybe she blurted out Marya’s name because it was the first that came to mind, because in that moment she didn’t want to get expelled and she couldn’t think past that moment. She was scared, sure. But more importantly, maybe she’d been scared of being paralyzed by fear again. ~Miles/Pudge on Alaska, pg 120-121 – John Green • So the struck eagle, stretch’d upon the plain, No more through rolling clouds to soar again, View’d his own feather on the fatal dart, And wing’d the shaft that quiver’d in his heart. – Lord Byron • Some relate . . . that the eagle tries the eyes of her young by turning them to the sun; which if they cannot look steadily on, she rejects them as spurious. We may truly try our faith by immediate intuitions of the Sun of Righteousness. Direct faith to act itself, immediately and directly on the incarnation of Christ and His mediation; and if it be not the right kind and race, it will turn its eyes aside to anything else. – John Owen • Somebody asked my friend Bob Seger, Why do you think the Eagles broke up? He said, Hotel California. – Glenn Frey • Somebody has to go polish the stars, They’re looking a little bit dull. Somebody has to go polish the stars, For the eagles and starlings and gulls Have all been complaining they’re tarnished and worn, They say they want new ones we cannot afford. So please get your rags And your polishing jars, Somebody has to go polish the stars. – Shel Silverstein • Sometimes I fly like an eagle but with the wings of a wren – Anne Sexton • Spring One. Spring One. I am Eagle. I am Eagle. I can hear you very well. I feel excellent. My feeling is excellent.- Gherman Titov • Take the road where the eagle flies, man follows where his fortune lies. – Billy Squier • That eagle’s fate and mine are one, Which, on the shaft that made him die, Espied a feather of his own, Wherewith he wont to soar so high.- Edmund Waller • That just shows you their type of class and integrity. They claim to be first class and the best organization. It’s an embarrassment and it shows the lack of class that they really have…..The Eagles would be undefeated right now with Green Bay’s quarterback. We’d probably be in a much better position with him on the team (instead of present Eagles quarterback Donavon McNabb). – Terrell Owens • That kind of tenderness couldn’t be permitted to last. You only got a taste, enough to know what perfection meant, and then you paid for it the rest of your life. Like the guy chained to a rock, who stole fire. The gods made an eagle eat his liver for all eternity. You paid for every second of beauty you managed to steal. – Janet Fitch • The beaver, which has come to represent Canada as the eagle does the United States and the lion Britain, is a flat-tailed, slow-witted, toothy rodent known to bite off it’s own testicles or to stand under its own falling trees.- June Callwood • The bottom half of the page had descended into a doodle of a tiny man giving the middle finger to a giant, angry eagle with razor-sharp talons. Beneath it, the caption: To Mock a Killing Bird. – Seth Grahame-Smith • The brave are born from the brave and good. In steers and in horses is to be found the excellence of their sire; nor do savage eagles produce a peaceful dove. – Horace • The correct answer is the University Titans, the West Valley Eagles, the Central Valley Bears, the East Valley Knights, the Riverside Rams. The fact you don’t even know an answer to the question like [naming all the Spokane Valley High School Mascots] means you don’t even know the district. How can you represent the district if you don’t even know it? – Matt Shea • The ‘Crue’ is not the hardest band to cover. There are no harmonies like the Eagles.- Brian Miller • The day is done, and the darkness Falls from the wings of Night, As a feather is wafted downward From an eagle in his flight. – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow • The Democrats talked about putting people first. Well, they put people first unless you happen to be a spotted owl or a giant garter snake or some other endangered species and then that seems to have priority. Obviously, you take the bald eagle and things of that sort, of course you’re going to make sure that they are saved and that they can live and you’re going to take every precaution that you can. But others – we just need a little flexibility. – Dan Quayle • The Eagle does not escape the storm. The Eagle simply uses the storm to lift it higher. It spreads its mighty wings and rises on the winds that bring the storm. – Jack White • The eagle had two natural enemies: storms and serpents. He embraced the storm, waiting on the rock for the right thermal current and then using that to carry him higher. While other birds were taking cover, the eagle was soaring. An eagle would never fight against the storms of life. – Karen Kingsbury • The Eagle has landed. – Neil Armstrong • The eagle has no fear of adversity. We need to be like the eagle and have a fearless spirit of a conqueror! – Joyce Meyer • The eagle has no liberty; he only has loneliness. – Gilbert K. Chesterton • The eagle may soar; beavers build dams. – Bill Vaughan • The eagle never lost so much time as when he submitted to learn of the crow – William Blake • The eagle suffers little birds to sing, And is not careful what they mean thereby, Knowing that with the shadow of his wings He can at pleasure stint their melody: Even so mayest thou the giddy men of Rome. – William – Shakespeare • The eagle suffers little birds to sing.- William Shakespeare • The eagle that soars in the upper air does not worry itself how it is to cross rivers. – Gladys Aylward • The Eagle, he was lord above – William Wordsworth • The Eagles and the critics were not the best of friends. – Don Henley • The Eagles ended on a rather abrupt note, although in retrospect I realize now that it had been ending for quite some time. – Don Henley • The first thing was to get down to Addie Richardson’s henhouse, and that was a goodish way, four or five miles. She found herself wondering if the Lord was going to send her an eagle to fly her those four miles, or send Elijah in his fiery chariot to give her a lift. Blasphemy,” she told herself complacently. “The Lord provides strength, not taxicabs. – Stephen King • The foolish think the Eagle weak, and easy to bring to heel. The Eagle’s wings are silken, but its claws are made of steel. – Sidney Sheldon • The haft of the arrow had been feathered with one of the eagle’s own Lures. We often give our enemies the means of our own destruction. – Aesop • The Justice Department ruled that Native American tribes are allowed to grow and sell marijuana on reservations. This decision was hailed as a victory by Native American leader Giggling Eagle. – Conan O’Brien • The last two years with the Eagles were pretty intense times. There was a lot of drinking and we were all getting high a lot. My parents were relieved when I got off the Eagles treadmill. – Glenn Frey • The League is very well when sparrows shout, but no good at all when eagles fall out. – Benito Mussolini • The little and the great are joined in one By God’s great force. The wondrous golden sun Is linked unto the glow-worm’s tiny spark; The eagle soars to heaven in his flight; And in those realms of space, all bathed in light, Soar none except the eagle and the lark. – Emma Lazarus • The mother eagle teachers her little ones to fly by making their nest so uncomfortable that they are forced to leave it and commit themselves to the unknown world of air outside. An just so does our God to us. – Hannah Whitall Smith • The plainest print cannot be read through a gold eagle. – Abraham Lincoln • The sharp knife of dawn glitters in my hand but how bare is everything-tall tall tree infinite air, the unrelaxing tension of the world and only hope, hope only, the kind eagle soars and wheels in flight. – Martin Carter • The sun is a huntress young, The sun is a red, red joy, The sun is an Indian girl, Of the tribe of the Illinois. The sun is a smouldering fire, That creeps through the high gray plain, And leaves not a bush of cloud.To blossom with flowers of rain. The sun is a wounded deer, That treads pale grass in the skies, Shaking his golden horns, Flashing his baleful eyes. The sun is an eagle old, There in the windless west. Atop of the spirit-cliffs He builds him a crimson nest. – Vachel Lindsay • The time will soon be here when my grandchild will long for the cry of a loon, the flash of a salmon, the whisper of spruce needles, or the screech of an eagle. But he will not make friends with any of these creatures and when his heart aches with longing, he will curse me. Have I done all to keep the air fresh? Have I cared enough about the water? Have I left the eagle to soar in freedom? Have I done everything I could to earn my grandchild’s fondness?- Chief Dan George • The world is grown so bad, That wrens make prey where eagles dare not perch. – William Shakespeare • There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. And there is a Catskill eagle in some souls that can alike dive down into the blackest gorges, and soar out of them again and become invisible in the sunny spaces. And even if he for ever flies within the gorge, that gorge is in the mountains; so that even in his lowest swoop the mountain eagle is still higher than other birds upon the plain, even though they soar. – Herman Melville • There is an eagle in me that wants to soar, and there is a hippopotamus in me that wants to wallow in the mud. – Carl Sandburg • There is an eagle in me that wants to soar. – Carl Sandburg • There were bars that began to have acoustic musicians play, it was 1970: Joni Mitchell, Jackson Browne, America, The Eagles, all that kind of stuff was popular. It was very easy for me to just kind of move in and be noticed. – Shawn Colvin • They say, ‘The coward dies many times’; so does the beloved. Didn’t the eagle find a fresh liver to tear in Prometheus every time it dined? – C. S. Lewis • Thought paceth like a hoary sage, but imagination hath wings as an eagle. – Martin Farquhar Tupper • Thy spirit, Independence, let me share! Lord of the lion-heart and eagle-eye thy steps I follow with my bosom bare, nor heed the storm that howls along the sky. – Tobias Smollett • To an eagle or to an owl or to a rabbit, man must seem a masterful and yet a forlorn animal; he has but two friends. In his almost universal unpopularity he points out, with pride, that these two are the dog and the horse. He believes, with an innocence peculiar to himself, that they are equally proud of this alleged confraternity. He says, ‘Look at my two noble friends — they are dumb, but they are loyal.’ I have for years suspected that they are only tolerant. – Beryl Markham • To object that the facts about human nature set limits on our ability to change the world and ourselves makes about as much sense as the lament that our lack of wings sets limits on our ability to ‘fly’ as far as eagles under our own power. – Noam Chomsky • We are faithful not to the triumphant golden eagle (ironically, also an imperial symbol of power in Rome) but to the slaughtered Lamb. – Shane Claiborne • We are part of the earth and it is part of us. The perfumes flowers are our sisters; the deer, the horse, the great eagle: these are our brothers. All things are connected like the blood which unites one’s family. – Chief Seattle • We gotta be free – The eagle and me. see Amelia Jenks Bloomer, Emancipation of Women – Yip Harburg • We know there is a sun in heaven, yet we cannot see what matter it is made of, but perceive it only by the beams, light and heat. Election is a sun, the eyes of eagles cannot see it, yet we may find it in the heat of vocation, in the light of illumination, in the beams of good works. – Thomas Adams • We may talk what we please, he cries in his enthusiasm for the oldest of the arts, “of lilies, and lions rampant, and spread eagles, in fields d’or or d’argent; but, if heraldry were guided by reason, a plough in a field arable would be the most noble and ancient arms.” – Abraham Cowley • We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American Eagle in order to feather their own nests. – Franklin D. Roosevelt • We need a good strong opposition and I don’t know whether it’s any coincidence that we need Angela Eagle in Labour and we need Theresa May to lead the Conservative party, both of whom of course are women. – Anna Soubry • We’re definitely a hodgepodge of influences. Mine, most heavily, would be Southern rock – the Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd and stuff like that. Hillary is more from the country side – her mom is Linda Davis, a country singer. Dave, he’s a big fan of the Eagles and like that.- Charles Kelley • What makes a genius? The ability to see. To see what? The butterfly in a caterpillar, the eagle in an egg, the saint in a selfish person, life in death, unity in separation, God in the human and human in God and suffering as the form in which the incomprehensibility of God himself appears. – Brennan Manning • When day begins to break I count my blessings, good and bad, Being wakeful for your sake, Remembering the covenant we’ve always had, What eagle look your face still shows, While up from my heart’s root So great a sweetness flows I shake from head to foot. – P. C. Cast • When the Eagle landed on the moon, I was speechless—overwhelmed, like most of the world. Couldn’t say a word. I think all I said was, ‘Wow! Jeez!’ Not exactly immortal. Well, I was nothing if not human. – Walter Cronkite • When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber. – Winston Churchill • Who would attempt to fly with the tiny wings of a sparrow when the mighty power of an eagle has been given him – Kenneth Wapnick • Why fly like a hen when you can soar like an eagle? – Pio of Pietrelcina • Wine transforms moles into eagles. – Charles Baudelaire • Without a reunion, the Eagles are forever young, like James Dean. – Glenn Frey • Yeah, I had it all mapped out actually. Seriously. I wrote it down. I said, ‘When I’m the head coach of the Eagles, I’m going to make sure I get that guy on my team.’ And then guy next to me was like, ‘You’re only the offensive coordinator at New Hampshire.’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about it. Minor details. But it’s going to work.’ – Chip Kelly • Yes, I am sad, sad as a circus-lioness, sad as an eagle without wings, sad as a violin with only one string and that one broken, sad as a woman who is growing old. Sad, sad, sad. – Jean Rhys • You are surprised that the world is losing its grip? That the world is grown old? Don’t hold onto the old man, the world; don’t refuse to regain your youth in Christ, who says to you: ‘The world is passing away; the world is losing its grip; the world is short of breath. Don’t fear, your youth shall be renewed as an eagle.’ – Saint Augustine • You are the mountain, you are the rock You are the cord and you’re the spark You are the eagle, you are the lark You are the world and you’re remarkable You’re the ocean eating the shore You are the calm inside the storm You’re every emotion, you can endure You are the world and the world is yours. ((The World as I See It)) – Jason Mraz • You can put wings on a pig, but you don’t make it an eagle. – William J. Clinton • You can’t cage an eagle for long without destroying it. – Patricia Briggs • You can’t criticize Bob Dylan’s singing. You have to respect Billy Joel as a brilliant poet. You can’t tell me there’s a better rock band ever than Led Zeppelin. And if you speak during the Eagles’ “Last Resort,” we’re done. I’m just asking for seven minutes. This stuff really matters, you know. – Charlie Sheen • You can’t hoot with the owls and then soar with the eagles – Hubert H. Humphrey • You can’t soar like an eagle and crap like a canary. – Ed Sabol • You know, I’m an eagle, flying around in the mountains. – Link Wray • You need eagles wings to get over things that make no sense in this world. – Tom Petty • You ought not to be rude to an eagle, when you are only the size of a hobbit, and are up in hid eyrie at night! – J. R. R. Tolkien • Your choice of people to associate with, both personally and business-wise, is one of the most important choices you make. If you associate with turkeys, you will never fly with the eagles. – Brian Tracy

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