#i survived thanksgiving i am not going to be a hero and try to be normal the next day

[quicktimeeventfull]

thank you all for joining me in the bpd L agenda, my most beloved niche headcanon

[thotsforvillainrights]

~Masterlist~

-Shie Hassaikai-

(Overhaul Scares his S/O with sexy times)

(Kai asks Hari for Advice)

(Rappa Falling in Love)

(Wedding Day for the Hassaikai)

(Kai accidentally High)

(Random Hassaikai Headcanons)

(Zoo Date with Tabe)

(Setsuno is a new Dad)

(Kai/Hari/Toya/Joi/Shin Assassin S/O)

(Toya/Shin S/O with PCOS)

(Kai Conservative Dressing S/O)

(Rikiya getting handsy with Kai’s Sibling)

(Rappa/Rikiya dating Kai’s Sibling)

(Jealous Overhaul)

(First Argument with Hari)

(Walk a Mile in Tengai’s Shoes)

(Tabe Seeks your Attention)

(Kai with a badass S/O)

(Jealous Hojo)

(Hojo and a Civilian S/O)

(Best to Worst Huggers in Yakuza)

(Deidoro Getting Kids)

(Hungover Deidoro Fluff)

(Kai/Hari/Shin/Joi/Toya with 4 Kids)

(Tainted: Chronostasis Smut)

(Submission: Overhaul Smut)

(Jealous Nemouto)

(Pacify: Chronostasis Smut)

(Consummation: Overhaul Smut)

(Possibility: Setsuno Smut)

(Yearn: Overhaul Smut)

(Tengai/Rappa Fluffy Smut Headcanons)

(Moving in with Hari)

(Gardening: Overhaul Smut)

(Valentine’s Day with Nemouto)

(Kai Spars with his S/O)

(Deliverance: Setsuno Smut)

(Tabe Breakup)

(Hari/Toya Cuddling Fluff)

(Deidoro’s supportive S/O Fluff)

(Kai vs. his Mother In-Law)

(Rappa/Deidoro Bring your Child to Gang Day)

(Setsuno’s S/O comes to work for the Hassaikai)

(Tabe/Deidoro Poly Relationship)

(Tabe/Rappa/Hojo/Deidoro/Joi Angst)

(Hari Fluff)

(Kai/Hari Trans Male S/O)

(Shin/Hojo/Rappa/Tabe/Deidoro Smol Sassy S/O)

(More Hari Fluff)

(Tengai/Shin Mute S/O)

(Mimic’s S/O with Cyclothmia)

(Hari’s J-Pop Idol S/O)

(Kai’s S/O and the Precepts)

(Joi/Rappa/Rikiya S/O survives Bulimia)

(Hari’s ex-hero S/O)

(Tengai’s Protective S/O)

(Yandere Tabe and his Crush)

(Little Disagreement with Kai)

(Tabe/Hojo Falling in Love fast)

(Kai S/O overworking)

(A Demon and Angel: Overhaul angst)

(Tengai/Rappa have the same Crush)

(Deidoro/Shin scenario with S/O)

(Deidoro Fluff Headcanons)

(Deidoro Relationship Headcanons)

(Tabe/Deidoro/Kai/Shin more Dominate S/O)

(Hari/Joi/Shin/Kai seeking S/O’s affection)

(Hari Relationship Headcanons)

(Work Less, Love More: Shin Fluff)

(Hari/Toya loving a child that isn’t theirs)

(Hari’s Vision Damaged S/O)

(Setsuno’s Dominatrix S/O)

(Kai/Tabe Fluff Angst)

(Toya’s S/O is not close with his ex Anymore)

(Tengai’s S/O singing to Him)

(Who am I to You: Overhaul fluff *mentions r!pe)

(Fancy Date with Tabe/Kai)

(Kai gets his S/O a mask)

(Setsuno’s S/O hurt in Combat)

(Setsuno Seeking Praise)

(Toya’s celebrity S/O secretly a villain)

(Hari/Kai/Joi Blunt S/O)

(How Kai/Hari show Affection)

(Someone Flirting with their S/O Kai/Hari/Shin)

(Calm to Crackhead S/O Deidoro/Tengai)

(Dad Kai/Tabe)

(Kai’s Thick Thighed S/O)

(Kai/Hari Childhood Friend turned S/O)

(Shin’s brutally honest S/O)

(Kai is in the Dog House!)

(Hojo Relationship Headcanons)

(Hari/Kai Sassy S/O)

(Tabe’s Tall Flirty S/O)

(Protective Overhaul)

(Just some Tabe Fluff)

(Tengai’s mom-like S/O)

(Shin thinks his S/O is cheating on him!)

(Kai’s insecure S/O)

(Tabe’s Daily Routine)

(Setsuno Sees his Ex)

(Hari/Kai has a crush on Tomura’s S/O)

(Kai/Hari Spoiled S/O)

(Tengai Relationship Headcanons)

(Hari’s Tough Smol S/O)

(Hari’s Lovey Dovey S/O)

(Kai/Hari Shy S/O)

(Christmas with Overhaul)

(Setsuno’s Pregnant S/O)

(Rappa/Joi/Tengai Bipolar S/O)

(First Bad Argument with Kai)

(Falling Asleep on Tengai/Rappa)

(Kai’s S/O with Dark Magic/Purple Flames)

(Tabe’s S/O loves to Cook)

(More Hari Relationship Headcanons)

(Mimic’s Smol Wife)

(Dancing to Creed with Toya)

(Accidental Fusion with Toya)

(Uno with the Precepts)

(First Argument with Toya)

(I was Afraid: Setsuno Fluff)

(Helping Setsuno Cope)

(Setsuno Relationship Headcanons)

(Nemouto Relationship Headcanons)

(Overhaul Relationship Headcanons)

(Setsuno and his Daughter)

(Overhaul’s shy S/O joins him for a meeting)

(Overhaul’s S/O soothes his PTSD)

(Overhaul falls for another Yakuza)

(”Change”-A better Kai Chisaki)

(Kai/Hari/Joi/Toya/Shin Ginger Hair/Blue Eyes S/O)

(Kai/Hari’s S/O listens to music to keep voices away)

(”Second Chances, Homeward Bound”-Overhaul fluff/angst)

(Hari/Joi S/O family Mafia)

(Let me Try Something: Overhaul Smut)

(Yandere Shin Nemoto and his Crush)

(Life’s Sweetest Moments: Setsuno Fluff)

(Katsukame’s S/O and body pillows)

(Toya’s Affectionate S/O)

(Impulse: Overhaul Smut)

(Kai gets teased by the Precepts)

(Hari’s over-worked S/O)

(Roommates with Hari/Toya)

(Tabe’s Yandere S/O)

(Overhaul’s S/O in a Cat-maid Outfit)

(Kai/Shin S/O with a Plague Dr. Kink)

(A changed man...Overhaul)

(Kai’s more masculine S/O)

(Teen Chisaki)

(Dads Mimic/Tengai)

(Mimic’s Flirty little thing)

(Baby Chisaki)

(Kai’s S/O and Baseball)

(Celebrate: Chronostasis Smut)

(Kai’s S/O and Dating Sims)

(Overhaul’s famous S/O)

(Overhaul Fluff)

(The Curious Case of Chisaki and the Red Bike)

(Rappa’s Bunny S/O)

(Nemoto hates Needles)

(Hassaikai Kinks)

(Househunting with Shin)

(Kai and your Birthday disaster)

(Joi’s little Crush)

(Cleansed: Overhaul Smut)

(Kai’s S/O has baby fever)

(Retribution: Chronostasis Smut)

(Hari’s S/O exotic dancer)

(Toya’s S/O with a wolf quirk)

(Rappa’s Little Death Machine)

(Nemoto Smut Headcanons)

(Kai’s S/O with Glasses)

(Hari falls for a rival yakuza)

(Setsuno Smut Headcanons)

(Hari is dating Kai’s sibling)

(Hari with a Crush)

(Tengai/Joi/Deidoro/Shin accidentally see S/O naked)

(Hide and Seek with Kai/Hari)

(Setsuno Soothes You)

(Rappa Treats your Wounds)

(Kai/Hari Ticklish S/O)

(Star Gazing- Chisaki Fluff)

(Tengai Smut Headcanons)

(Shin joins the Hassaikai)

(Comforting Hari during a break down)

(S/O walks in naked on Kai/Hari)

(Only One Person I can Think of-Hari)

(Kai’s S/O gets scared easily)

(Hojo and Toya’s Stake-out)

(I am your Sanctuary-Kai fluff)

(Kai’s S/O with D.I.D)

(Weak When You’re around me-Kai Song Fic)

(Fool For You-Setsuno Song Fic)

(Tabe’s S/O is a precept)

(Tengai’s Overly Affectionate S/O)

(Baby’s Object Permanence: Hari/Mimic/Rappa/Shin)

(Tengai has a Praise Kink)

(Cuddly Kai)

(Shie Hassaikai S/O with cat quirk)

(Kai’s S/O dresses like him)

(S/O doesn’t want kids: Overhaul)

(Compromise: Chronostasis Smut)

(Toya’s baby won’t drink milk)

(Playful S/O: Setsuno)

(Tabe/Hojo Smut Headcanons)

(Thanksgiving with the Hassaikai 2020)

(Pops/Shin’s touch starved S/O)

(Hojo/Toya/Tabe S/O is an ex-hero)

(Tabe’s S/O Kitty Quirk and cat Cafe)

(What gets the Hassaikai going during/before sex)

(Tabe Smutty Headcanons)

(Tabe’s S/O aversion to food)

(Kai’s S/O is just like Him)

(Being roommates with Kai)

(Rappa/Shin’s S/O has a Cryptid Quirk)

(Gratitude: Setsuno Smut)

(The Newlywed Nemotos)

(Setsuno’s S/O used Strap-Ons)

(Mimic is Jealous of Kai with his S/O)

(Surprise BJ for Nemoto)

(Kai helps his S/O with Panic attacks)

(Caught Red Handed)

(Hassaikai S/O sings Metal to unwind)

(Fluffy Smut Headcanons with Shin/Tengai)

(Kai/Chrono S/O with Pyrokinesis quirk)

(Hassaikai and the S/O with braces)

(S/O sending nudes to Tabe/Rappa/Kai)

(Sugar Baby!Chisaki)

(Chisaki’s 2021 Birthday Smut)

(S/O taking care of a sick Kai)

(Choosing Moonfish over Chisaki)

(Body switching with Kai)

(Rappa adopts an alleycat)

(Insecure Kai and his Hairline)

(Riding in the car with Hari: A literal nightmare)

(Protective dad Hari)

(Tabe’s harmful yandere S/O)

(Risky: Setsuno Smut)

(Pegging Kai in a Maid Dress)

(Tengai and the butt smack attack)

(Teasing: Joi Irinaka Smut)

(Tabe’s Soft Dom S/O)

(Being Friends with Hari)

(Yandere! Kai/Hari with Pregnant S/O)

(Kai and the Goldfish)

(Yandere! Setsuno and His Pregnant S/O)

(Reunited: A Jailbreak Kai)

(Impatient: Hojo Smut)

(New Style with Toya/Kai)

(Adoration: Chubby!Kai Smut)

(Yandere! Toya/Kai/Joi/Hari and their S/O’s first time drunk)

(Loving Unconditionally: Toya Setsuno)

(Kai’s Yandere S/O)

(Tabe’s Yandere S/O)

(Setsuno’s S/O looks like his Ex)

(Hojo/Katsukame/Pops as Dads)

(Kai and the Titan S/O)

(Deidoro’s Dom S/O)

(Pops S/O being Hit on)

(Reciprocate: Setsuno Smut)

(Toya/Hari/Kai’s Himedere S/O)

(Because I love you: Kai Chisaki)

(Friends with Irinaka)

(Kai, Joi, and Hari are battling for your Heart)

(Setsuno’s Mommy Kink)

(Yandere!Setsuno)

(Kai’s Teen Daughter sneaks out to meet a Boy)

(Toya’s Yandere S/O)

(Deidoro/Nemoto Clumsy S/O)

(Chrono Smut Headcanons)

(Christmas With You)

(Desire: Overhaul Smut)

(Joi the Secret Admirer)

(5 Course Meal: Tabe Smut)

(Toya/Hari/Joi/Kai Clumsy S/O)

(The Hassaikai Fighting for your Love)

[tainted-wine]

Just a Demonstration

Present Mic x Reader (NSFW)

(Honestly, I just wanted to write Hizashi with some bi energy. I apologize for the other 90% of this small fic)

Words: 1.9k

Warnings: More slang words for ‘penis’ than you can shake a dick stick at. Reader’s thirst levels are highly advanced.

———————————————–

Hizashi’s cock was a sacred rod that deserved to be worshiped for every minute of the day. The very sight of it never fails to make your pussy pulse as rapidly as your excited heartbeat. It didn’t even matter whether he was still tucked in beneath the wrinkles of his foreskin, or if he was already proudly hanging and swinging about—that meaty sausage should always be ready for the market that is your mouth.

So the moment you saw him strut out of the shower and make the mistake of displaying his bare crotch, you knew that you only had one option: cancel your hangout with your dear friend and charm this man’s snake. Your friend was thankfully understanding through her texts.

BFF: Hey gurl! Ready for our shopping trip at the plaza?

You: Sorry, but I won’t be able to go today. I need to suck my boyfriend’s dick for a really long time.

BFF: Alright, that’s ok. See ya!

Hizashi was stammering in confusion when you forcefully guided him onto the bed, shushing him with a finger over his lips once he was on his back. You immediately went to work by kissing the fresh and clean member, coaxing its head to slowly peek out from the slow strokes of your hand. The downside to blowing him right after a shower was that his distinctive musky scent was mostly absent, but you’ll survive without it.

The voice hero watched you with a nervous smile, his body still damp since you didn’t even give him a chance to properly dry off. “Baby, I ain’t complaining, but your undying love for my dick kinda scares me sometimes,” he admitted.

You just looked up at him with a small grin of your own, hand continuing to jerk him. Scared or not, his growing length betrayed his arousal. Besides, it wasn’t your fault that his throbber was a specimen of perfection.

Your tongue moves smoothly across the skin, his veins becoming more prominent with every hardening twitch. So badly did you just want to take it all and suck him up right away, but this precious shaft should be cherished like a gourmet popsicle, not wolfed down like an unsavory snack. You went down to give firm licks to the sensitive space between his cock and balls, earning a shaky moan from the man. You make out with that small area as your hand lubricates him with his own gushes of precum.

“Fuck, baby. I wasn’t ready for you to go to town on me like this,” you hear him groan.

‘And I wasn’t ready for you to present your cock like it’s fuckin’ Christmas. I guess we’re both getting surprises today.’ Your answer doesn’t leave your head, your mouth too busy for silly quips at the moment. With his dick now standing proudly at its full height, you journey back to the top with a long lick, giving his swollen tip a modest peck.

You couldn’t wait any longer. This premium meat deserved more care and attention, but you felt like a starving barbarian with little time to spare.

You felt his thighs tense under your palm when you begin to take him in. Inch by inch he disappears behind your lips, the weight of him on your tongue prompting you to press your thighs together from the growing heat in your core. Hizashi never holds back his moans, always expressing his pleasure and approval with no shame. You listen to the loud yet pleasing vocals as you welcome more of him into your mouth.

Yes…this is where you belong. This is where you were happiest: giving his divine dangler free real estate in your mouth, like a humid cave that also served as a shrine. Every centimeter should be taken into your warm cavern, to use your tongue as a damp bed…

A gag and coughing fit are triggered by the sting of his cock hitting the back of your throat. You’re forced to pull away as your body convulses, feeling a soothing hand rubbing circles on your back while your coughs slow down.

Dammit…goddammit. Why must your sensitive throat fail you each time?

“Easy there, baby. Don’t hurt yourself,” you heard Hizashi comfort you as you held your face in shame and frustration.

“I just…” You sobbed. “I just want your dick down my throat.”

“I know, sweetie. No one is as dedicated to playing the flesh flute as you are,” he laughed.

You were very dedicated, but deepthroating was a method of willy worship that you just couldn’t master, and it enraged you. Tears were streaming down your face before you could even think of stopping them.

“Hey hey!” Hizashi panicked and wiped your tears with a careful thumb. “Don’t stress! Trust me, I love everything your mouth does, if my hard buddy here is anything to go by.”

You turned away from his gentle hand. “You don’t understand, Hizashi! You don’t understand the pressure that your 5-star schlong puts me under! The lengths I have to go to give it the proper treatment!” You cried harder from the mental weight given by his statuesque piece of phallic beauty.

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. “Well, I guess not. Didn’t know my junk was putting you through so much pressure.” He glanced down at his shrinking erection. Fuck, look what you’ve done—all you did was waste the mighty one-eyed serpent’s time, and now it was retreating back into its fleshy sanctum. Shame on you.

But the blonde wasn’t done. “If it’ll perk you up, maybe I can help you out? Ya know, a couple of tips from one mouth-meister to another?”

You sniffed and looked up at him in confusion, his sweet smile still bright and clear through your watery eyes. “You…?”

“What, did you forget who I am, baby? I’m a licensed professional in handling the love pistol! I’ll teach you everything you need to know about gobblin’ like it’s Thanksgiving!”

You agreed to his help and watched him search through your shared drawers until he found your private toy. A dildo—splendidly crafted by sculptors who clearly take pride in their work—but you’ve had little need for it lately. Ever since this man came into your life, you’ve realized just how much of an imposter that piece of silicone is, and it was hard to feel any pleasure now that you know of its lies.

Still, you pushed aside your bitter memories as Hizashi settled back down on the bed with your dildo in hand.

He began his lecture. “I know dick is awesome and you wanna get that baby in your mouth right away, but you gotta take it slow, alright? Especially with a tonsil tickler like this one! Keep that throat relaxed and one day you’ll be gag reflex-free like me!”

He goes on. Your frustration is still strong as you try to listen to his advice, but those woeful feelings fizzed out the moment the toy’s head slipped past Hizashi’s lips. His eyes drift close while the shaft smoothly moves into his mouth, his breaths audibly blowing through his nose. Your old companion is a pretty long boy—eight inches long—but Hizashi was taking it easily and calmly, and his bulging throat was possibly the second most enticing thing to look at, topped only by the returning stiffy between his legs.

With a satisfied moan, the entirety of the length rested in his gullet, the textured balls acting like a cork to his lips.

What a fucking sight to behold, one that makes you gush from below.

He pulls the cock out just as slowly, the fake flesh glistening with his saliva. Once it was only the tip still sitting behind his lips, he pushed it all back in. Rinse and repeat, with a slowly increasing pace. You watched in awe at the skill you imagined having in your dreams, the ones where you stuff your windpipe with his firm lovetube without the worry of any limitations.

The wet sloshes and glugs sound ridiculously lewd, and he only adds to the vulgar medley with his deep moans. It’s when his free hand moves to start stroking himself that you begin to wonder if he forgot that you were here.

There’s no way you’re going to make him pleasure himself in your presence. You move his hand aside and apply your softer ones to his twitching manhood, moving at the same pace that he left off. Hizashi gave a loud moan of gratitude as he continued his enthusiastic sucking. You wanted so badly to put your own mouth to work, to put his advice to the test, but you couldn’t tear your eyes away from the erotic spectacle. It was insane; you didn’t think that anything could possibly distract you from his divine cockcalibur, but here you were discovering something more amazing than even that.

It should have been obvious, really. His mouth and golden tongue have sent you to heights you never would have reached on your own, whether it be from tangling with your own pink muscle, tasting every inch of your skin, or gorging himself on your womanly juices. Of course he also knew how to take a dick with skill that would make a pornstar green with envy.

You feel him tensing again. He’s getting close, and his noises were only getting louder and dirtier. You tried to match the speed of your pumps with the ones in his mouth, cocking his cum gun in preparation for the incoming eruption. The hero’s pleasure has you too excited; your other fingers begin to rub frantic circles around your clit.

Your sharp breaths join his moans as you work to bring both of you to your climaxes. For you, it’s the drool leaking down his chin that does you in. For him, it’s your dreamy wails of pleasure and the tightened grip on his cock.

The two of you tremble from your intense orgasms, Hizashi plunging the dildo balls deep into his throat again, as if it had its own seed to release into his body. Hot waves of bliss wash over you while Hizashi’s essence spurts onto your hand.

The sex toy is yanked out of his mouth with a loud raunchy sound that was both a moan and a choked gasp, several strands of saliva connecting his lips to the ends of the lucky pleasuring device. Strong shoulders lifted with each heavy breath as he regained his focus and turned to you.

“Fuck, I miss that,” he rasped while wiping at his mouth.

You answered with a shaky breath, watching him lick his reddened lips. “You’re…you’re amazing at that.”

He gave a laugh that devolved into a cough. Sounds like the rough deepthroating didn’t leave him as unscathed as he was letting on. “Thanks, babe. Sorry that I got a little lost in the moment. Just realized how long it’s been since someone’s gone wild with my mouth.”

Even after cumming, your face heats up at his comment. You couldn’t exactly provide him with that, not without a wanky wanger wienerschnitzel of your own.

“Say, you ever considered a strap-on, sweetheart?”

Oh?

“I’m just sayin’, the reason I was so into it...” He leans in to give you a wet kiss before moving right next to your ear. “...is because I was imagining it was you fucking my face.”

Your insatiable pussy throbs again as you smile.

Perhaps Hizashi’s cock isn’t the most blessed part of his body.

[infinitegalahad]

I’ll Make A Man Out Of You (Ch.2)

Summary: You drop into Normandy and get injured during the jump. You run into an unarmed Eugene, and a Kraut.

Warnings: Minor mentions of blood and stabbing.

A/N: The rest of the story will be posted both on tumblr and ao3!  I wrote this during exam week and with my ADHD kicking in, it was a little rough to write this! But I did it for you guys. plus Thanksgiving break starts for me soon so I hope to release the whole story by then! Hope you guys enjoy!

Normandy couldn’t have been real. It seemed like an over-exaggerated plot. You and thousands of men dropped into Normandy. It seemed like the sky was on fire. Instead of landing at your destination, you landed right into a tree. You were being choked by a cord and cut it, landing right into a thorn bush. Not only were you scared but injured. Your hand grabbed a fist full of thorns. It was tempting to scream, but you had to be a man. The only weapon you had was a swiss knife from your ankle holster. That jump was a nightmare,, and you assumed you lost all your supplies. So not only were you scared and injured but alone.

Ripping a piece of your sleeve, you wrapped it around your bloody hand. With a swiss knife, you were prepared to defend yourself and most likely die. The sky still sparkled with bombs. It was calmer than it was before, but the flashes and explosions made your body tremble.

To add to your stress, you had no idea where you had dropped. You continued to walk forward with a bloody trail. You began to stumble on your own feet through the dark woods.

“Come on…” You mumbled, looking down at your hand. The fabric was wet and warm,soaking with blood. The wound reminded you of Eugene. He had been right behind you on the plane. As you prepared to jump, he patted you on the back. You turned to him and softly smiled. Eugene responded with a smile. You were worried about him. Did he survive the jump or die in the crossfire?

The distant screams of German made you jump. Grabbing your knife, you hid behind a tree and looked in both directions. The german was coming closer to your location, along with a panting noise. It was low and gruff. You noticed two silhouettes; one of them running as the other tracked behind them. Your curiosity caused you to (foolishly) move from tree to tree to get closer.

It was Eugene and a Kraut. He still wore his dark facepaint from the jump. The Kraut swung his gun around, using the bayonet. Looking at your knife, you furrowed your eyebrows. Eugene fell behind a tree as the Kraut tumbled backward. Seeing it as an opportunity, you ran behind the Kraut and grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back and stabbing him in his hip. The fabric he wore was so thick that your small blade didn’t fully enter. Enraged, he screamed and grabbed your tinier frame, throwing your down.

It took Eugene a second to realize that it, was you. You fell with a gentle grunt. Your eyes met each other. He was relieved by your presence. Even though Eugene knew that you were capable, the thought of you getting hurt stung him with guilt. He deeply cared about you, even if he wasn’t the best at showing it. After finding out about your true identity, you told Eugene that nothing was to change between you two. Eugene swore and attempted, but it was getting harder each day to do so.

Your stare was disrupted by the Kraut you had just stabbed. He ran ontop as he forced a bayonet into your throat. Your hands had grabbed it in time, pushing it up. The Kraut was stronger than you. His face was scrunched up as he yelled curses into your face. The blade was getting closer to your neck. Was this going to be your fate? Would you die a hero?

The Kraut was knocked off of you. He flew to the side as his weapon fell from his hands. Your eyes once again met with Eugene’s. He had kicked the soldier off, saving your life. There wasn’t enough time to thank him. Rolling to the side, you pushed yourself up and ran to the bayonet. The Kraut attempted to get up,, but you kicked him back down. Stepping on his chest, you forced the bayonet in this throat. His big hands painfully squeezed your ankles as he choked on his blood. But his widened eyes knew it was all over. His tight grasp began to soften as his eyes rolled into his head, his arms falling as the blood still trailed from his mouth.

“Flash?”

You looked over and saw Eugene slowly walking towards you.

“Thunder,” You said as you walked over to Eugene, “Thank god your here.”

Eugene’s hands began to pat down your body frantically. You stood there, not knowing what to do. He was muttering small words in French as you raised your hands. “Doc! What the hell are you doing?”

“You feelin’ good, right y/n? You didn’t get hurt or anythin’,” Eugene mumbled as his hands patted your shoulders. A red tint glowed on your cheeks as he looked away. Ever since finding out you were a woman, Eugene became even softer in front of you. You didn’t want him to think of you any differently for being a woman.

You sighed, “Yes, I’m fine, says the guy who almost got killed.”

“Y/n, that Kraut could’ve killed you!” Eugene exclaimed as his hands remained on his shoulder, “He was twice your size!”

You threw his hands off your shoulders and walked over to his body, searching for any ammunition or bare necessitates. “Did you even have a weapon to fight him?”

“No, but…” Eugene said, tripping on his words. If you hadn’t been there, then he most likely would’ve died. It had been such a crazy night. Eugene began to wonder if y/n was a guardian angel.

A luger had been in the Kraut’s holster. It was loaded, and yet he hadn’t used it once. His blank eyes burned into your soul. Shaking it off, you stood up and walked back towards Eugene with a luger. You opened up his jacket and safely placed in it his pocket, gently patting it.

“There, you got a weapon now.” You reassured. Eugene and your faces were so close to eachothers. Even in the night, you could still remember those beautiful blue eyes. Your hand lingered on his chest, just like when his big hands rested on his shoulders.

Eugene grabbed your hand that was wrapped in a bloodied cloth. Taking the ripped piece off, he examined your hand and saw the injury. “You said you weren’t injured.”

“It’s just a scratch, Doc.”

“Sit down, now.” He commanded. You refused,, and he carefully grabbed your wrist, leading you to a rock. The two of you sat down as he scavenged his jacket for any supplies. With a thin wrap of bandages and gauze pads, he began to work at your hand. You attempted to help by removing the blood, but he insisted that he was the one that did all the work.

“Why’d you lie to me?” He broke the silence. You looked up at him as he wrapped your hand. “You were hurt”.

“It was a small scratch. I fell from some trees during the landing. I have a few bruises, I think,” You continued, “But trust me, I’m fine.”

Eugene grunted as he finished wrapping your hand. The method you taught him over a year ago stuck with him. It always worked like a charm.

“Eugene,” You said, your voice soft. You didn’t even notice that you stopped faking your voice. He looked up at you as he tied the bandages, “You use the shoelace method still?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” He said as he put the spare supplies in his jacket pocket. “It works. Well.”

Eugene finished gathering his supplies as you took the Kraut’s bayonet. It wasn’t a lot, but it worked. Eugene and you had no idea where you were going. You watched the shells explode in the sky as you walked in the dark forest, trying to stay alive. Eugene was quieter than he usually was. He refused to make eye contact with you as he held the luger in his hands.

“Listen, Gene…” You looked over at him, keeping your voice low. Eugene looked at you, all ears and eyes on you. “I know we’ve talked about this, but you gotta stop treatin’ me like I’m helpless. I just feel like your,, my mother!”

“I know, I just…” He stuttered, looking at you, “I don’t know.”

You were frustrated, unable to respond. You did love Eugene as a friend, but sometimes he never knew how to communicate. He would either mumble in French or mutter quietly, constantly repeating himself. “It’s nice that you wanna help, but I can take care of myself. Do you think of me any differently because I am a girl?”

Eugene, seeing you were offended, shook his head. “What? No? Not at all. It’s just...you don’t see a girl like yourself every day.”

You quirked an eyebrow at him to explain.

“I’ve never met a strong girl, or woman ever. At least a one who...you know….” Eugene tilted his head as the two of you continued to walk, “wants to do their own thing. Not saying I don’t mind it. You don’t stumble across someone like you every day,, y’know.”

Did Eugene just call you strong? Eugene sometimes didn’t make sense. Hearing him call you a woman made your knees weak. His words still confused you; regardless, it made your cheeks grow red again. You felt like he was subtly praising you.

“Um, well, thanks,” You thanked. He nodded his head in response, tipping his helmet. “But please, just treat me like I’m a man. Let me take care of myself, and...you”.

You looked forward as your cheeks began to grow pink. What the hell had you just done? Your thoughts were starting to become word vomit. You could feel Eugene look at you. Knowing him, you knew Eugene’s movements. His face was trying to process the words you had just spoken.

Hearing footsteps, you stopped in place and signaled to Eugene to keep low. The footsteps got louder as the two of you hunched on the ground, waiting to see who was lurking. It wasn’t a german soldier, but Winters and Hall. You were relieved, not wanting to kill another man again. The vivid image of a warm, crimson liquid spewing out of the Kraut’s mouth made you shiver. Like you, he was just a soldier fighting for his life in a war-torn world. He was just a human that you had slaughtered, like a lamb in a pen. The Kraut fought until his last seconds. Your ankles ached with pain as you could already feel the bruises forming on your ankles. If you hadn’t been there, Eugene would’ve died. He wasn’t armed with anything but his medical kit.

It was a strange sensation. Whenever you saw Eugene, a smile would curve on your lips. It would happen without you even knowing. You began to notice the small occurrence at the beginning of your friendship. Liebgott had questioned (and teased) you about it at first. Even walking back to the checkpoint in the dark night, Winters had asked you why you were smiling? It was because you were thinking of Eugene-relieved that he was alive because of your quick thinking. Not only did you save a life, but you in cold blood took one as well.

-----

There was a little peace at the checkpoint. After an unpleasant night of killing more Krauts, Bill going on a killing rampage with Winters reprimanding him, and almost being choked by your parachute; being in a field in the open air was so refreshing. You were in the eye of the storm. Peace was tempapory, but you would savour every minute of it. There were no more shells or dark skies, just silence for the time being. Who knew what was in store. You could be alive or dead in the next twenty four hours. Upon arriving, you headed to the medics since Eugene insisted that you could’ve been more injured than you were. He dragged you to the medic as you repeated that you were okay. It reminded me of your mother, dragging you into a department store for clothes shopping.

To say you were lucky was an understatement—most of the men who landed in trees ending up dying from shells or their own gear. The nurses, upon hearing your story of falling from a tree into poison ivy, were shocked that you had made it out alive (and killed a Kraut with a little blade). They discovered you had a few bruises and cuts around your body. Apparently you even had a gash on your thigh. Another medic said that due to your adrenaline rush, it was porbalry the reason you didn’t feel that much pain from the gash. Your leg had hurt but you weren’t concerned with it; you were concerned with keeping Eugene alive.

A medic who’s name baffled you. He had been telling you a story and all you thought about was Eugene. Where had he gone to? The other medic had almost disappeared to deal with another solider who was severely wounded. All you saw was a flash of blood with panicked voices following along. It was tempting to look, but all you could do was look down at your feet that dangled off of the bed. It had been your first day of combat and you had already seen enough.

A small knock made you look up, revealing Eugene. He saw your leg and walked up. You had claimed you weren’t injured besides your arm, but he had proven you wrong.

“Hey,” You mumbled softly.

“Y/n, your leg,” He responded with a kit prepared to treat your leg. He didn’t even need to say, his eyes had already given you a disapproving stare.

“I know, I know,” You sighed as his hands began to clean the remaining blood, “It’s just a small scartch.”

“Scratch? You fell outta’ tree and your actin’ like it was nothin’!”

“I was too worried about not choking or getting killed by a Kraut,” You played with your fingers as Eugene began to softly wrap a bandage around your leg. His large, warm hands were gentle on your ripped leg, “I killed someone…”

Even though he was a Kraut, his face never left yout mind. The bruises werw a grim reminder of his death. The way he held on and stared at you sent shivers down your spine. Once he finished tying your wound, you pushed yoruseld up and walked past him. Before you could walk on, Eugene stopped you. You sighed as your eyes darted away; your fingers playing with the cloth of your jacket.

“He was gonna kill you, y/n. You did the right thing-”

“No I didn’t! I killed a man!” You hushed whispered. “Is that what I am? A killing machine? I know there bad, but there people as well.”

Eugene saw your distress. You had been the one person he had been able to confide in for the past two years. Unknown to you, you had been on Eugene’s mind lately. His job was a medic. He preferred to keep to his own since he refused to deal with his emotions. It was too risque to build friendships. But when y/n had stumbled into his gloomy world, it felt like the clouds had drifted away and a peak of sun had shined through. Eugene had known there was something off about you for years. The men in easy company were to distracted to see, but you weren’t a man. You were a woman and a strong one with that.

But each day, Eugene couldn’t contain it. He cared for you. He knew it from the minute he had met you. In Eugene dreams, his mémé had said you were a good person. Was y/n a guardian angel his mémé had sent for him? She had you were a true warrior. He was the only one taht knew of your true identity. Eugene hadn’t ever meet a dame such as y/n. You were a kind person, full of emotion and calm. The best parts of Toccoa were being around y/n. You were a fresh breath of air at Toccoa. Seeing you rise above the ranks made him smile. But the thought of you, his guardian angel, getting hurt made him panic.

Instead of bringing up death, Eugene placed his hands on your shoulder. Your shaking had stopped as you let out a sign, looking into his big blue eyes. He was going to comfort you in his own way.

“Remember ‘da lake? You punched me because, y’know,” Eugene said. You looked up and shook your head. The night that Eugene found out. His hand was awkalredy placed on your nude breast as you hid from Sobel. Taking it the wrong way, you threw him back with a mean punch.

“Listen. You’re not a killing machine, your…” Eugene looked down before looking back at you, “A guardian angel. You’re such a brave wom-man. Man. Not a lot of people could do what you did. You saved me. Thank you…”

You looked down and blushed, shaking your head. “Eugene, damnit. I did noth-”

“You sacrificed your life for your family and me. You would do it for the whole company. Your kind and brave.” He explained with a firm grasp on your shoulders, “Your a guardian angel, y/n. Remember ‘dat, okay?”

“Ok, I will.” You smiled back. Eugene patted your shoulders and looked down at your wrapped leg and hand. He had caught news that Winters had picked you and a few other men to stop a Kraut assault at Brécourt. He was going to be the sole medic in this death misson. In his opinon, Eugene thought you were not fit for the mission. Not because you cpuldn’t handle killing a few more Krauts (much to your dismay), but that you were injured. But then again, Winters had full trust in Toccoa’s prodigy.

Eugene and you walked out of the medical center. You ran a hand through your growing hair. It was short on the sides but starting to get long on top. Liebgott had cut your hair before the jump, but had done a poor job. He did say he was a barber. Placing the oversized helmet on your head, you tipped it upwards to clearly see. Eugene was on your mind, and so was the “guardian angel” business. Did he believe you were one? The war had been certianelt been taking a toll on everyone.

“Y/n?”

“Hrm?”

“You sure you can handle this?”

“The other medic cleared me. I told Winters I could go.” You replied, showing your hand. It was still banaged, but it felt better. Sure it stung, but you could deal with it. It wasn’t the worst thing in the world. “I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.”

“Jus’ stay close to me, if you can y/n. Please.” Eugene quietly requested. There he was again, quiet and full of worry. It was so sweet to have someone actually care about you in such a horrible time.

You and Eugene had a secret language, full of little quirks. All you did was chuckle back and bump into his shoulder.

It was a promise.

[poppibranchlover]

Nine Lives, One Fight - Part 15

The story: Deep in the forest of Troll Town, there lies a mysterious tiny purple mushroom that has a secret magical ability. King Peppy calls this mushroom forbidden for all Trolls to go near it. One day, while Branch is out in the woods doing his survival research studying, he encounters it and, not knowing it is a regular mushroom, decides to harvest it and bring it home. But in the next morning, its magic effects transform him into a small blue cat! After being sent to the animal pound, his girlfriend, Poppy, finds him and decides to adopt him, although not recognizing it is Branch. Desperate to finish his research project due for a special event invented by Poppy, Branch is forced to learn how to behave like a pet cat and must figure out what caused him to become one.

You already seen what had happened in Part 14. Now get ready for Part 15!:

By the time Poppy and Branch got into the queen’s pod, it was already nighttime. They cleaned themselves up and then get ready for bed.

Not wanting to feel left out and having completed his main objective, Branch wanted to sleep beside Poppy rather than sleeping in isolation on the shelf near the window. She saw him on his bed feeling proud of himself and gently petted his head.

“Goodnight, Mr. Tickle,” said Poppy. “You’re the best little kitten I’ve ever adopted!”

After kissing Branch’s forehead, she immediately went to sleep. Branch scooted closer to her and snuggled beside her, smiling and somehow enjoying his life as a cat.

Halfway during his slumber, Branch started to wake up. He cautiously scanned the room and stared at Poppy, who was still sleeping. He knows he couldn’t waste any hour right now and he needs his Show-and-Tell project to be finished before morning.

Branch stared at Poppy’s clock, trying to figure out what time it is now. Okay, I don’t have much time left, he thought to himself. I have to get to work before sunrise!

Then he jumped out of the bed and sprinted to the dining table, where a giant red cloth is covering something underneath it.

Branch carefully pulled out the cloth, revealing his construction equipment he had gathered from his bunker earlier this afternoon.

Satisfied at his choice of duty, Branch crept under the table to admire his tools he needs to make his project. He was so eager to win the contest tomorrow that he wanted to get started right away.

“All right!” he said triumphantly, cracking his knuckles and pulling out a neat-detailed blueprint. “In these clear well-written equational documents, I’m gonna know how to construct some stuff!”

Wiggles peeked from behind Branch’s trusty toolbox, holding up an eaten carrot. “How are you gonna do that?” he asked. “You’re just an ordinary tiny kitten!”

Branch couldn’t believe Wiggles was asking some questions on how a cat can build inventions. He sighed with exasperation and told him “It’s going to be fine, Wiggles. I can really build a great invention of mine that easily. I have four arms, just like Cooper!” He held up a paw, showing five of his pads sticking under it.

Wiggles chomped on his carrot. “But each time you pick up a tool with your teeth, you’re gonna lose some momentum!” he warned.

Branch eventually saw what the tiny rabbit was doing just now. He pointed at the carrot and demanded “What are you even eating?”

Wiggles stopped nibbling and examined his meal for a moment. It took him some time to remember where did he get it. “I think I just found it in a giant bowl of ‘white flowers’ on your owner’s pantry,” he answered meekly, trying not to be ashamed.

Branch was stunned. He can’t believe that that little bunny was stealing something from Poppy! “No, Wiggles. Those are cauliflowers,” he protested. “And you know where cauliflowers come from?”

“A flower garden?” asked Wiggles absentmindedly.

“Vegetables!” Branch corrected him firmly. “Cauliflowers are vegetables like that carrot you stole!”

“Okay, so what’s the difference between flowers or ‘cotton flowers’?” Wiggles wondered. “I didn’t even think-”

Branch tilted his head down to the floor and groaned with frustration. This rabbit is very dumb and doesn’t seem to know the world of Trolls very well. “Can’t you just get it right, little bunny?!” he insisted. “Don’t you remember the rule of staying here?”

“I did!” Wiggles said with a reassuring nod. “You said I follow exactly what you said!”

“Then why should I bring you here for a reason?” Branch asked, folding his tail between his back legs.

“Then what about your plan for that “so-called” Show-and-Tell party?” Wiggles snapped back. Branch just stepped back quietly. “You’re gonna waste some time when you keep talking to me and comment about my Thanksgiving dinner!” Then he paused for a second, seething. Branch was too startled to reply. The little bunny stared at his half-eaten carrot and shook his head with a sigh. “I shouldn’t be stealing that from Queen Poppy. I’m very sorry.”

“Uh, that’s alright,” Branch told him, trying not to offend him even more. “She didn’t even eat any carrot like that, and I think you can deserve it.”

Wiggles was grateful for his words. He stared at Branch’s blueprint, and then at the night sky through a window. “It seems like time is flying so fast,” he said.

Branch immediately knew what Wiggles was trying to tell him. He looked at the same window and realized what that meant. It is getting closer to the next morning. “I think you’re right, man,” he said. “I don’t have much time left before sunrise! I gotta get started!”

Wiggles was shocked. “Yes, but how are you gonna build a good structure like a—?”

But the plan is already happening very quick. Branch whipped out his tools and his wooden planks from his toolbox and got ready to work.

Surprised that he was carrying a large saw despite his small cat size, Wiggles’ jaw dropped. “Oh….uh, well….that is fine,” he muttered nervously.

In a flash, Branch was already hammering and sawing some wood. He spent a few minutes of using his constructing tools and adjusting to his cat form at the same time. He exhausted himself from carrying his heavy tools for a little while and drank some cups of milk to energize himself...if it’s for the best that he needed some coffee.

Later, Branch put on his hard builder’s hat and began painting the wood. Holding a paintbrush in his mouth, he carefully painted the plank with a neat dark brown color. From a corner during his work, Wiggles nibbled his carrot along the way.

Branch hammered, painted and drank tons of glasses of milk. He stayed up all night at work long putting the finishing touches to his latest invention. Despite being a cat, he can still think like a Troll. No longer bothered by the sheer excited swaying of his tail, he put on a welding mask and held up a blowtorch in his paw.

When he was sure to have almost finished, Branch lifted up his welding mask to admire his work. He smiled with satisfaction, feeling like he was ready for Poppy’s newest party tomorrow.

I can totally win this! he thought. Those Trolls out there will think I will be the best hero when they see what I make! Hopefully I’ll earn a medal and be on first place!

“Tomorrow is another day,” Branch told himself.

The next day, Poppy’s Show-and-Tell Festival has already begun. Trolls everywhere gathered around the giant mushroom stage, where Poppy is addressing everyone else who were invited for the party. DJ Suki, the village’s resident disk jockey, played some thumping music that got everyone grooving, dancing and celebrating the occasion.

The Show-and-Tell festival was jam-packed with fun activities. Some Trolls who signed up to show their projects on stage proudly present them to Poppy, who is observing every single one of them. The party was a great success. The Trolls finished it off with a banquet filled with cupcakes, berries, flavored punch and cookies and a special oversized scrapbook they made together to remember the occasion.

Poppy proudly went up on stage, holding a pink glittery microphone in one hand. She held up her arms wide and greeted her fellow crowd of excited Trolls. “Hello, Troll Village!” she proclaimed. “Ready to set your brains aflame?! Then I hope you are all as excited as I am! Welcome to my party of Show-and-Tell, where you’ll be able to show your opinions and tell us about them in order to get promoted as future leaders of the kingdom!”

“YAAAAAAAAAY!!!” all the Trolls cheered. “Hurray for Show-and-Tell Day!”

“And just you wait, there are some of the best contestants that will bring us a load of Troll-riffic inventions that they come up with!” Poppy added. “Sit back and relax as they will come up on stage to present their creativity to the rest of the world!”

Then Poppy jumped out of the stage to check on her best friends, who have their brilliant Show-and-Tell inventions ready to be submitted.

“Okay, guys,” she reminded them proudly. “I hope you’re ready. Got your thingamabobs needed for this special day?”

The rest of the Trolls agreed with her reassuring words.

Deep down, Biggie was feeling scared. “I’m so nervous I felt so many Mr. Dinkleses in my stomach,” he said, his voice quaking with fear.

Guy Diamond put his arm to the big Troll’s shoulder to comfort him. “It’s alright, big fella,” he told him in his shimmery voice. “Y’all won’t be so jealous ‘cause my masterpiece will be a great hiiiiit!” He nodded to his shining glitter globe that was required to present to the rest of the crowd.

Cooper kicked his colorful ball with his front legs enthusiastically. “I’m SOOOO excited to show my favorite ball to everyone!” he exclaimed with utter excitement. “I’ll make a great king!”

Smidge was not sure of this idea. Not all Trolls wanted to be declared as winners because Poppy needs to select one Troll with the best invention. “I think you’ll be the king someday,” she said.

“Oh, come on, Smidge!” said Cooper. “I wonder what an actual king can do?”

“You’ll have to wait, Cooper,” Poppy told him. “When a Troll has the best project ever built, they would soon earn a medal.” Humming to herself, she went off to find Satin and Chenille, whose presentation about shampoo and hair conditioner were coming to fruition.

When Poppy saw them, she greeted them happily “Hey, girls! You’re gonna be fine! Just present your projects and I’ll qualify each of them as top prize!”

“Yes, Queen Poppy,” Satin answered politely. “We’ll do our best. No arguing!”

“Sis, keep it together! We use the shampoo first!” Chenille protested.

Meanwhile, Branch was watching the festivities coming on. He knew the big celebration had begun. A tiny, secret part of him was to be still in Poppy’s contestant list despite still stuck in cat form. He jumped off the big mushroom that he, Poppy and the twins were standing on and ran over to his brand new creation, covered with a red tarp.

Wiggles hopped closer to him, admiring his fantastic work. “Ooooh, now I wonder what you come up for this party?” he asked happily. “How well you are doing?”

“I’ll do great progress!” Branch said enthusiastically. “Besides, I worked so hard on this baby.”

He pulled off the red tarp. Underneath it was a wooden machine that looked like an old-fashioned coffee grinder.

Branch introduced his latest invention. “Behold...my homemade Berry-Presser!”

Wiggles was impressed. “Whoa, dude! It looks totally awesome!” he cooed. “But...what does it really do?”

Branch had spent lots of time all night inventing this mechanical grinder. He enthusiastically bounded back and forth in front of his invention and pulled out another basket of berries he had harvested yesterday as he explained the purpose of how it works. If Branch could get the rest of the Trolls to agree to this brilliant idea, it would ensure that he is able to be declared first prize.

“Based on my precise calculation, I built this thing to ensure proper nutrition for the Trolls,” Branch explained. “It’s very simple. Harvest a berry or more, compress them inside and turn them into healthy drinks; the perfect combination of integrity and a touch of love!”

“Cool! What a great combo!” Wiggles cheered, hopping up and down. “Everyone will love your berry-making gizmo when they see it in action!”

“Yep!” said Branch. “When I come out on stage, Poppy is going to qualify me as a new leader. Isn’t it great? It’s like I’m going to rule with her!”

Wiggles gave a serious look on his face that said “Are you kidding me?”

“Time for me to hit the spotlight!” Branch said proudly. He started to leave with his Berry-Presser, but Wiggles grabbed his tail and pulled him back. Branch yelped in pain upon having his tail bitten by the rabbit’s teeth. “Ouch! What is your problem?” he asked.

“Before you go, one BIG problem…you’re just a cat, not a Troll,” Wiggles reminded him. “The entire village won’t notice or accept you and your project! You know what I mean? Animals don’t get qualified by Trolls!”

Branch chuckled and pressed down Wiggles’ forehead with his paw, forming a frown on the bunny’s face. “Awww, Wigs. Don’t be so pessimistic,” he told him, smiling proudly. “You'll give yourself worry lines with all that nagging. They’ll know I made this little toy and Poppy will definitely promote me for sure!”

But Wiggles was getting worried that Branch’s plan is going to fail. He knew if he showed up on stage, Poppy and the Trolls will never understand him when he was about to present his invention. He tried to stop him before he can move on. “I’m being serious here! I told you Queen Poppy never recognizes you as a small animal!”

It was too late. Branch pushed his Berry-Presser and made his way to the backstage with the rest of Poppy’s friends.

“Ugh, he’s gonna take low price,” Wiggles said sarcastically, exasperated as he watched Branch go into the party anyway.

A few minutes later, the Show-and-Tell presentation has finally begun. Poppy introduced Biggie and Mr. Dinkles on stage. “Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Biggie and Mr. Dinkles’ performance of the world’s most powerful “Mew” of the universe!”

The crowd cheered as Biggie and his pet worm arrived on the stage. Mr. Dinkles was sitting on a chair, ready to play a piano. Biggie acted like a conductor and he waved his baton to cue his worm to start singing. While pressing the piano keys, Mr. Dinkles sang in a big, operatic voice as the rest of the Trolls watched the performance in awe.

“Now that’s what I call the world’s most powerful ‘Mew!’“ Biggie clarified, admiring at his beloved pet’s extraordinary talent.

When the performance finished, the Trolls cheered and Mr. Dinkles took a bow before hopping into Biggie’s arms. The big blue Troll hugged his worm tightly and bowed before the crowd as well before he left the stage.

Next, Guy Diamond appeared on stage with a poof of glitter showering all over the audience. Poppy made his introduction. “Brace yourself for the world’s most glittery Troll in the whole wide world! Guy Diamond!”

When Guy landed gracefully on stage, he pulled out his glitter globe and shook it. Glitter showered around the plastic unicorn inside. “This wonderfully-glittertastic snowglobe SHIIIIIINES like a DIAMOND!!!” Guy explained with his iconic shimmering tone. “With this, you can SHIIIIIINE your whole world with LOTS OF GLIIIIIIITER!!!” 

The entire crowd cooed, impressed at the glitter Troll’s brilliant work. “Ooooooooooh!!!”

“I wish I can keep that! It’s got a tiny unicorn in it!” a Troll child said excitedly, pointing at the glitter globe.

“That’s some good stuff, Guy!” Poppy said as the glittery Troll left the stage, carrying his globe. “Next up, we have Cooper and his fantastic rainbow bouncy ball!”

Cooper waddled his way to the stage, with his ball balancing on his head. “Hey, guys!” he said enthusiastically. “Let me show you my favorite super duper bouncy-douncy ball! Look what it can do!”

Then he started doing some tricks while playing with his soccer ball. Almost as fast as Cooper moved his four legs each time while getting the ball to balance on his back, all of the Trolls were amazed.

After ending his trick with a big finale, Cooper bowed at the cheering audience and gracefully danced away from the stage.

“This is gonna be a cinch. Two sisters, one mind,” Poppy announced on stage. “Put your hair together for the fashion sisters and their hair gel experiment!”

Satin and Chenille appeared on the stage, pulling out their whiteboard depicting the shampoo and hair conditioner pictures. They held up two bottles of hair lotion as they challenged the Trolls to a quiz about where the shampoo originated in and how different is the hair conditioner, just like how they challenged Poppy to the same quiz yesterday.

“I know these answers,” Poppy whispered to Biggie, watching from the backstage.

Finally, the fashion twins come to the conclusion of their explanation. “In direct conclusion, we know that both shampoo and conditioner...” Satin began.

“...count like good HAIR GEL!!!” the girls said the last sentence in unison.

The Trolls roared with thousands of applause, and the twins bowed. “Thank you for seeing our presentation!” Chenille squealed. “Have a hair-tastic day!”

Later, during Smidge’s turn on presenting her Muscle Spirit treadmill on the stage, Branch curled up in a corner, watching the other contestants perform. Soon it will be his turn to be on stage, he will present his berry grinder invention to everyone, and finally he’ll be awarded first place. He can feel his destiny coming towards him.

Branch looked at his invention and then at the stage, feeling quite ready to embrace his inner Troll. “Oh yeah,” he said with determination. “I’m ready to rule the world with you, Poppy.”

After Smidge completed her presentation, Poppy announced to her people “And for our very last contestant of the season, you may know him as the former village grump...let’s hear it for BRANCH!!!”

“Oh, that’s me!” Almost immediately, Branch can hear the loud cheering. He couldn’t believe it. All of the Trolls were now cheering for him, and now it is the time for him to show his face to everyone. He smiled with confidence as he pushed the berry grinder to the stage.

“Come on up there, Branch!” Poppy said, just as Branch and his berry grinder finally showed up on the stage. Once he stopped pushing his invention, he greeted the audience. “Meow!”

Instead of cheering for Branch, the crowd gasped. Even Poppy gasped as well. “Mr. Tickle, what are you doing here?” she asked, staring at Branch.

Everyone stared at the blue-haired cat in confusion. Then they all started talking at once.

“Wait a minute. It’s just a cat,” a glitter Troll said, scratching his head.

“Who’d put a cat on stage?” a Troll asked, looking genuinely confused.

“Where is Branch? He’s supposed to be here!”

“Yeah, where is he?”

“Where is the last Troll?”

“We need him!”

“Branch! Branch!”

Branch looked at the confused crowd. Is it working? he thought. Am I getting through them? Am I gonna win first place? He hadn’t much luck getting their attention lately. But his face fell when he realized what is going on. “What’s happening?” he asked himself. “I thought they all liked my invention!”

Poppy tried to shoo him away from the stage. “Get back in the backstage. You’re not supposed to be here,” she told the cat. “I need Branch to show up and present his project.”

“Meeeow! Meow! Meow!” Branch insisted, attempting to tell her that he is here to show his berry grinder to the crowd. “Meeeeeoooowww!!”

But it didn’t seem to work. This made Poppy think Branch is absent. She looked around while he tried getting her attention. “Where’s Branch?” she asked. “I swore that he should’ve arrived on time! Branch!” Then she fled off the stage and ran to search for him. Branch helplessly watched her leave.

Behind Poppy, her friends watched her running away from the party. Biggie asked her “Poppy, what’s wrong?”

“We’re calling this party a hiatus!” she announced before disappearing into the distance. “There’s been a serious mistake here!” 

“What mistake?” Guy asked, not until the rest of the Snack Pack saw Branch on stage, meowing for Poppy to come back.

“Awwwww!” Cooper cooed. “Cute kitty!”

Branch felt hurt and defeated. Why didn’t Poppy recognize him, and what is wrong with being a cat? He glanced at the audience, who were still murmuring questions about him.

“What should we do about this cat?” a Troll demanded.

“I wish Queen Poppy would cancel him off from the list in the first place!”

“I can’t believe she halted the party with a hiatus because of his absence!”

Branch watched in horror as the Trolls continued ranting about the disaster. He couldn’t watch this anymore, so he sprinted after Poppy.

“Poppy, come back!” he yelled, jumping off the stage and making a run for it to follow her, leaving the Trolls surprised at his departure.

From backstage, Wiggles watched him go after Poppy, finally knowing that Branch’s attempt to show his project had failed.

                                              To Be Continued...

                                          Stay tuned for Part 16!

[fly-pow-bye]

What’s Airing On Cartoon Network (November 2019)

The Futon Critic updated with Cartoon Network’s listings for November, featuring the return of Apple & Onion, the return of Total Dramarama, a Craig of the Creek special, and more! See it after the break!

Apple & Onion

November 2nd:

Apple's Focus - Apple helps Onion achieve his dream of competing on a baking show. Includes special guest Sue Perkins (Great British Bake Off). (9:30 AM)

Lil Noodle - Apple and Onion must remain legit enough to be in their favorite rapper's music video. Includes special guest Timothy DeLaGhetto. (9:45 AM)

Gyranoid of the Future - Apple and Onion struggle to ride Gyranoid of the Future, the craziest roller coaster at the carnival. (10:00 AM)

Fun Proof - Apple and Onion want to become this week's "Most Fun People". (10:15 AM)

November 9th:

Whale Spotting - Apple and Onion need to join an exclusive club to see a rare whale. (9:30 AM)

Heatwave - Apple and Onion try to spread cheer during a city-wide heatwave. (9:45 AM)

Apple's in Charge - Apple is put in charge of the Dollar Store for the very first time. (10:00 AM)

Burger's Trampoline - Apple and Onion must find a way to use Burger's trampoline without making him feel used. (10:15 AM)

November 16th:

Baby Boi TP - Apple needs to acquire a lifetime supply of toilet paper to finish his modern art sculpture. (9:30 AM)

Not Funny - With their 6 month friend anniversary approaching, Apple has to find a way not to lose his best friend. (9:45 AM)

November 23rd:

Onionless - Apple tries to survive a weekend alone while taking care of Onion's plant. (9:30 AM)

Party Popper - Apple and Onion's party plans are interrupted by a grumpy guest. (9:45 AM)

November 30th:

Face Your Fears - Apple and Onion must face their fears while trapped in a pet shop, so they can save French Fry from facing hers. (9:30 AM)

Apple's Short - Apple needs to be tall so that he can be in love. (9:45 AM)

Bakugan: Battle Planet

November 3rd:

Happy/One Way or Another - Happy: The AO expect a fight in Brakistan, but soon discover that old enemies Lord Brakken, Magnus, and Nillious are unnaturally happy to see them./One Way or Another: In the heat of emotions, Shun convinces Lord Brakken that his usual enemies are the best allies he has to sequester a renegade Core Cell. (7:00 AM)

November 10th:

Stormy Weather/Who Can it Be Now - Stormy Weather: On a flight to their next Core Cell mission, the AO's plane falls under attack by Pyravian, who strangely believes the team to be Bakuzon./Who Can It Be Now: The AO find themselves in a battle against the Bakuzon forces of Tiko that upends everything they thought they knew about Core Cells. (7:00 AM)

November 17th:

In My Room/An Army of Their Own - In My Room: When the AO report that they've been fighting the wrong fight, they discover that Benton has been corrupted by the villainous Tiko./An Army of Their Own: The AO are forced to turn to Philomena Dusk for help, only to realize that they have led Benton/Tiko right to the AAAnimus Campus. (7:00 AM)

November 24th:

Calling All Parents/Nowhere to Turn - Calling All Parents: When the parents of the world are turned against their children and confiscate their Bakugan, the AO must seek out the Rowdy Reds./Nowhere to Turn: While the AO attempt to gain allies and warn other children, Wynton is confronted by Armstrong Tripp, who now works for Benton Dusk. (7:00 AM)

Ben 10 (2016)

November 2nd:

My Bodyguard - When Zombozo hypnotizes Grandpa Max's entire baking class it is up to Ben and Gwen to clean up the mess, but it gets even messier when Zombozo unveils his new bodyguard: Kevin 11! (12:00 PM)

Wheels of Fortune - Team Tennyson's thrift store shopping is ruined by the latest high-speed heist of LaGrange - who is now aided by a super-fast electromagnetic racing car - and Ben must convince Kevin 11 to help stop the speed demon's globetrotting robbing spree. (12:15 PM)

November 9th:

Heat of the Moment - After Ben easily dispatches the Weatherheads, Team Tennyson travels to a ski resort for some fun in the snow but when Ben runs into the Weatherheads yet again, this time they are a force to reckon with. (12:00 PM)

Vin Diagram - When Ben sees Vin Ethanol impressed with Kevin's automotive know-how, Ben's jealousy has him convinced that he has to out-do Kevin before the older boy influences Vin to embrace his bad-guy side at a charity race. (12:15 PM)

November 16th:

A Sticky Situation - All Ben wants to do is stop Queen Bee from robbing a bank, but when Kevin shows up to try and be the hero and take all the glory himself, Ben will need to save the day twice or end up in hot honey. (12:00 PM)

What Rhymes with Omnitrix? - At a poetry slam event, Charmcaster's reading of Kevin's poetry causes magical trouble for Ben and Gwen, causing mind swaps that have everyone confused as to who's fighting who. (12:15 PM)

November 23rd:

You Remind Me of Someone - Ben and Gwen look for the infamous Bojamboo (the Bigfoot of the South) and discover that it's actually the Forgeti, at the same time as Kevin 11, but when Ben and Kevin are blasted with the Forgeti's forgetfulness mist, they reverse roles and it's up to Gwen and Max to restore them back to normal. (12:00 PM)

Adrenaland Jr. - Team Tennyson visits the safety-neutered version of Adrenaland known as "Adrenaland Jr.", only to end up facing off against a bitter Kevin 11, out to destroy everyone else's good, and safe, time. (12:15 PM)

November 30th:

Steam Fight at the OK Corral - When Kevin convinces Steam Smythe to adopt a modern approach in fighting Ben, our young hero must resort to old-fashioned thinking to save the day. (12:00 PM)

I Don't Like You - Ben and Gwen's social media battle with Kevin 11 quickly escalates into an all-out war in real life. (12:15 PM)

Craig of the Creek

November 23rd:

Craig and the Kid's Table (Half-Hour Special) - It's a Williams Family Thanksgiving, which means it's time to reunite The Kid's Table! But when Bernard accidentally destroys dessert, Craig uses the power of the Kids Table to help save his brother from certain grounding. (10:00 AM, half hour)

Teen Titans Go!

November 9th:

Teen Titans Vroom (Half-Hour Special) - In this episode of "Turbo Titans Go Force" the Titans gain the ability to transform into cars. Then, in the exciting conclusion of "Turbo Titans Go Force" the Titans must learn to work together to stop Dr. Military. (10:30 AM, half hour)

November 27th:

Beast Boy's That's What's Up - Beast Boy goes to visit the Doom Patrol. Beast Boy, Negative Girl, and Robotman discover some crabs are up to no good. Cyborg becomes inseparable from Robotman. It's time for Beast Boy to leave, but the Doom Patrol try to get him to stay. (6:00 PM)

Total Dramarama

November 2nd:

Mutt Ado About Owen - After accidentally hypnotizing Owen into being a dog, Harold thinks he must reverse the hypnosis to avoid going to jail. (9:00 AM)

Simons Are Forever - Duncan and Leshawna try to take advantage of Izzy's love for the game of Simon Says. (9:15 AM)

November 9th:

Stop! Hamster Time - Owen takes over the job of caring for the class hamster and learns that he's evil. (9:00 AM)

Driving Miss Crazy - Duncan leads Beth to believe she's broken his battery-powered bike and makes her chauffeur him around in a wagon for the day as punishment. (9:15 AM)

November 16th:

Weiner Takes All - After forgetting to book a Hot Diggity Doggity Dog mascot on National Hotdog Day, Chef tries to pass off an Australian man dressed as a kangaroo as a substitute. (9:00 AM)

Apoca-lice Now - When Chef brokers a truce with lice by selecting three kids to "host" them on their heads, Courtney instigates a kid vs. lice war. (9:15 AM)

November 23rd:

Gnome More Mister Nice Guy - When the daycare gets taken over by evil gnomes, Duncan finds himself on the wrong team. (9:00 AM)

Look Who's Clocking - When Harold's warnings not to mess with the clock go ignored, the kids are forced to save themselves when Duncan tears a hole in the fabric of time. (9:15 AM)

November 30th:

Harold Swatter and the Goblet of Flies - After finding what he believes to be a magic wand, Owen accidentally turns Harold into a housefly. (9:00 AM)

Stink. Stank. Stunk. - When a skunk comes seeking its annual revenge on Chef, Duncan sees it as an opportunity to get a vacation from daycare. (9:15 AM)

Transformers Cyberverse

November 2nd:

Spotted - As the Autobots prepare for an attack, Cheetor struggles to find his place amongst the tight-knit group. (6:30 AM)

November 9th:

Secret Science - Shockwave kidnaps Wheeljack to help the Decepticons find Starscream, but he underestimates the wily Autobot inventor. (6:30 AM)

November 16th:

Infinite Vendetta - The Autobots and Decepticons are surprised by the sudden arrival of two bots locked in a millennia long feud. (6:30 AM)

November 23rd:

I Am the Allspark - Starscream unleashes the ultimate attack on the Autobots and Decepticons. (6:30 AM)

November 30th:

Escape from Earth - The Autobots have the Allspark! Now they just have to get it off Earth. (6:30 AM)

[snowfall-fanfictions]

Beware the Frozen Heart Ch. 4- The Offer

Ao3 link

ff.net link

Finally, the queen and the assassin meet. Happy Thanksgiving!

Minor blood mention ahead

“Your majesty, are you and Princess Anna alright?” a guard asked Elsa as her and Anna made it to the courtyard. Elsa was panting heavily, gasping for air from the intense running she did. She never knew she could run that fast. She never had to. The young queen took a moment to regain her composure before responding.

“Yes, we’re both fine. Has the assassin been apprehended?”

“Some of the guards have reported that a commoner took the assailant’s life.”

“Any idea who it is?”

“Not yet, ma’am. We’ve found what we believe to be his horse near the market and we’re investigating it now.”

“Where is this mystery person?” “He’s been taken to the infirmary. He went unconscious as he was being brought in.”

“Unconscious?” “It appears that this man took a bullet to the chest. The medical staff claim it’s a miracle that he survived the ordeal.”

“Notify me when he wakes. Until then, double the patrols around the castle. Make sure no one enters the castle until further notice.”

“Should we close the gates ma’am?” Elsa glanced over at Anna. She was pacing back and forth with a scowl on her face, muttering that she could have taken whoever decided to shoot at them.

“No,” Elsa replied, “I made a promise to never close the gates again. Doubled patrols will suffice for now.”

“Very well, your majesty.” With that, the guard ran off to spread the orders from the queen.

Elsa walked over to Anna, cradling herself in her arms. Anna was still pacing and muttering furiously.

“Whoever shot at me and my sister is lucky that I didn’t come after them! I could’ve- Oh!” The princess stopped her rant when she saw her sister step towards her with a worried look on her face. “Elsa, is everything okay?”

“Y-yes,” Elsa said nervously, “Just a little startled is all.”

“At least we’re safe. But oooooh, whoever did that better have been ready for a fight if he thinks he can just shoot at us. If I-”

“You won’t have to worry about that, Anna. I’ve just been told someone took care of the assassin for us.”

“Then why do you look so shaken?”

“How are you not? We could’ve died today!”

“You have your powers, you could have easily-”

“But you don’t have powers, Anna! What would you have done?”

Anna hesitated for a second. “Well- I- uh, hmmm…”

Before Anna could think of what to say next, she was interrupted by the sound of someone sprinting towards them. The two sisters turned and saw Kristoff running as fast as he could, the same shock and fear that shrouded Elsa’s face covering his own. He slowed down as he reached Anna, gasping for air. “The guards just told me what happened,” Kristoff panted, “I should’ve been there with you guys. If you had gotten hurt or worse-”

“Hey, don’t think about that,” Anna reassured him as she placed a hand on his shoulder, “We’re fine, neither of us are hurt.” Kristoff placed his hands around his fiance’s waist and drew her into a loving embrace. Elsa smiled at the two, happy that her sister found someone who actually loves and cares for her. Her thoughts soon drifted to the assassination attempt. It made her realize how vulnerable she had made not only herself, but Anna as well. Leaving the castle on lockdown wasn’t going to solve anything. She knew she had to come up with a more permanent solution.

Just as she was thinking about what to do next, a guard had approached her from behind.

“Your majesty,” she began, “the mystery man has awoken. I was told to inform you when he did. Would you like me to take you to him?”

Elsa looked back at her sister and soon to be brother-in-law. She turned back to the guard and said, “Yes, let’s go.” With that, she followed the guard through the castle to the infirmary.

XXXXXX

Eryn groaned as he regained consciousness. His head felt like it was submerged in water. He opened his eyes, one by one, expecting to be greeted with the ceiling of a dungeon or a prison. Instead, he found a rather old and weathered man hovering over him. Eryn quickly shot up, only stopping when a sharp pain spiked through his chest. The old man gingerly placed a hand on Eryn’s chest, goading him to lie back down.

“Easy now, son,” the old man said in a thick german accent, “You’ve taken quite ze beating out zere. It’s a miracle you survived in ze first place.”

Eryn looked down at his chest. His torso was wrapped in bandages, with a faint red stain over the left side of his breastplate.

“W-What happened?” Eryn asked, shocked.

“Vat happened? You vere shot, zat’s vat happened!” the doctor laughed. “Und you are a very lucky man. Had zat bullet been only a few centimeters to ze right, it vould have gone through your heart.”

Eryn sat there, processing the doctor’s information. He’s had a few close calls in his life, but this was about as close as he could imagine.

“Where am I? What is this place?”

“Vhy, You’re in ze Arendelle Castle infirmary, mein friend. Ze guards tried to throw you into ze dungeons until you collapsed in ze courtyard.”

The memories of the events that transpired had come flooding back to Eryn. He remembered the young woman, the fight with the old man, and the guards grabbing him. Eryn darted his eyes around the room. It was a fairly large area, filled with similar looking cots. Some of these cots had men and women laying in them, each plagued with different injuries and ailments. Scanning the room once again, he noticed something was missing.

“Where are my things? My satchel, my horse, anything?”

“Zose are being taken care of by ze guards. Zey couldn’t find anyzing to identify you, so zey are looking through your belongings.”

Eryn was caught off guard by the doctor’s response. His mind began to race with worst case scenarios. He searched his mind for anything that could help him if the guards tried to wrestle information out of him. If they found out who he really was, he was done for!

Just then, a door swung open. Eryn tried to twist himself to see who it was, but the pain in his midsection kept the door out of his sight. All he could really do is listen to the conversation.

“Is this him?” someone asked.  It sounded like a guard to Eryn. Woman by the tone.

“Ja, is she here?” the doctor responded. “Indeed, I’ll send her in right away.”

With that, the woman guard marched back to the door, spoke a few words to an unseen accomplice, and marched back to the doctor. This time, however, he heard the clicking of heels on stone accompanying the heavy stomps of the guard’s boots. He lazily turned his head to find a rather interesting sight. The white haired woman from the square, the old man’s target, was beside his bed. He was stunned by her beauty from afar, but now that she was this close to him, he was absolutely stunned by her looks.

“Well,” Eryn smirked, “Fancy meeting you here.”

“I take it you’re the one who stopped that gunman in the square earlier?” the woman asked. Her voice was as smooth as silk.

“What can I say, I would hate for looks such as yours to go to waste.”

The woman rolled her eyes as Eryn winked at her. She then turned to the doctor and the guard. “Can I discuss something in private with him? It’ll be just for a moment.”

Eryn studied the woman for a moment, combing over her figure with his eyes. He was mesmerized and puzzled by the creature before him.

Looks rich to me, Eryn thought, Maybe she’s here to give me a handsome reward.

“Very vell, your majesty,” the doctor replied.

I mean it’ll help with the jo- 

“What did you just say?” Eryn asked in a hurried voice. He had to have misheard the doctor. Afterall, he was old and there was no way he’d-

“My queen, are you sure you wish to be left alone with this… complete stranger?” the guard asked. Eryn’s eyes grew to the size of dinner plates as his jaw dropped.

There was no denying it now: Eryn had unknowingly saved the Queen of Arendelle, his target.

“I’m certain,” the queen said, “now if you’ll excuse us.” She motioned them away

Eryn propped himself up on his arms as the doctor and guard began to walk away. A thousand thoughts raced through Eryn’s mind, most of which were a variety of curse words directed at himself. He was baffled at the sight. Ever since he was young, he had the idea that queens were all old miserable hags with more wrinkles on them than a pig. But here in front of him was a young woman who looked like a gift from the old gods! Damn this kingdom and damn myself he thought.

Once the two were out of sight, the queen set her sights on Eryn, a gentle smile on her face. “Arendelle thanks you,” she began, “Your brave deed saved the lives of both me and my sister. Is there any way we can repay you?” Well, you can start by offing yourself, Eryn thought bitterly.

“Don’t mention it,” he replied, “Anyone would have done the same.”

“Can I at least have your name?”

“Excuse me?”

The queen giggled, “Well, if I’m to properly thank my hero, I should at least know his name.”

Eryn racked his brain, desperately trying to remember his alias. After a moment, he finally pieced his memory back together. “Name’s Derrik,” he answered confidently, “Derrik Ormiester, your majesty.”

“Now what brings you to Arendelle, Mr. Ormiester?”

“Oh, the normal things, sightseeing, fortune making, monarch saving.” Eryn subtly gritted his teeth when he said “monarch saving.” Luckily the queen didn’t pick up on the disdain in his voice.

“Speaking of monarch saving,” she chuckled, “I have something I would like to ask you.”

As if this couldn’t get any worse, Eryn thought. Not even five minutes into their conversation and he had thought of  at least a dozen different ways to kill her.

“And what would that be?” He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

Before she could deliver her question, the door to the infirmary swung open. Eryn slightly turned his head to see a burly guard approach the queen. In his hand, he held several papers and two familiar sacks. The queen looked at the guard with an annoyed expression. Eryn’s heart sank into his stomach.

“My queen,” the guard said as he saluted the monarch, “I do apologize for the intrusion. We’ve finished the investigation of the steed left in the square. It seems that it belonged to a ‘Derrik Ormiester,’ but we haven’t found him yet.”

“You’re looking at him,” Eryn interrupted coldly, “And what happened to the other sack? There were three!” The guard scowled at Eryn before continuing, “It appears that someone made off with one of the bags. But, that should be the least of your concerns.” The guard untied one of the bags and drew out a small gold coin. “These coins,” he explained, “are from Weselton. Both of these bags are filled with them.”

The queen took the coin from the guard and studied it. She turned back to Eryn, a puzzled look plastered across her face. Eyrn was silently cursing the guard for losing part of his fortune.

“Why do you have all this money? And from Weselton of all places?” she asked.

“Uh- well…” Eryn racked his mind for an excuse at a feverish pace. “The truth is, I’m… the son of a minor noble in Weselton.”

“Really?”

“Yes, yes. You see, my father had power over a small tract of land in Weselton, Unfortunately, he passed unexpectedly from… a hunting accident.” The queen let out a small gasp. “At his funeral the duke claimed the land and estate as his, leaving me with only four sacks of gold to my name. So, I set my sights on Arendelle to rebuild my family fortune.”

The queen placed a hand on his shoulder. “I understand,” she replied sympathetically, “The Duke has caused his own share of problems here.”

Eryn feigned a look of sympathy. In reality, he was thinking of a way to actually finish his mission. He didn’t care about some political disputes, he just wanted to kill the whore and be done with it. No amount of praise and ‘heroic duty’ would make him any richer, nor would it solidify his place in history. Only the blood of the woman in front of him would do that.

“However,” the queen continued, “I can offer you a way to rebuild your fortune, if you wish.” 

To say Eryn was intrigued would be an understatement. “I’m listening…” he said, slightly turning his head.

“This attempt on the lives of me and my sister have made me realize how sparse our security is. I’m looking for someone who is able to provide that security. Someone… like you.”

Eryn did a double take at the queen’s words. “You want me… to be your bodyguard?”

“If you are willing. I won’t force you.”

Eryn’s face lit up like a candle. Here he was, feeling stupid for accidentally saving his intended target. Now, she’s here offering him the chance to be as close as he can possibly get to her. It’s perfect! “I humbly accept the position, your majesty,”  he said.

“Excellent!” the queen returned the coin to the guard. “Have these sent to the guest room, the large one.”

“Yes, Queen Elsa,” the guard answered, a sense of uncertainty in his voice. With that, the guard exited the infirmary, leaving Eryn and Elsa alone.

“Once you’re fully healed, report to me in my office,” she said, “For now, just rest and let your wounds heal.”

“As you wish,” Eryn responded, faking a smile. He held his smile until she was out of eyesight. When he heard the door shut, his smile turned into a devious grin.

“Eryn, you crafty bastard,” he muttered to himself as he placed his hands behind his head, “Even when you fuck up royally, things always tend to work out...”

[pittstick]

In Observance of Suicide Prevention

Trigger warning for anyone who struggles with depression or self-harm. 

Background - I was diagnosed with depression in June of 2015. I also have anxiety. My depression diagnosis changed in early 2018 to dysthymia - which is persistent mild depression. 

Since October 2018 I have been struggling with my mental health. In October I knew the medication I had been on since June 2016 was no longer working. I was actively going to therapy, but things just didn’t feel right. I just felt blah all the time, and if I did have any joy it was very short lived. But I had a moment of hope/happiness at the end of September early October. I thought I had found the next guy I was going to date. I had an amazing first weekend with this guy (before this we had talked for a month) – and he too felt this way, or so he said. He eventually ghosted me. I was heartbroken. This guy was everything I wanted. Everything I had been looking for. I cried to my best friend, as many of us do. My best friend told me if she ever saw him, she’d tell him off. When she got her chance, she backed down. She instead played nice with him and his new girlfriend…. I didn’t find out from her but through snapchat. So, on top of my medication not working, the guy I fell hard for ghosted me and was dating someone I knew was not a nice person, and my best friend betrayed me (she broke all her promises of standing up for me). It was the perfect storm. I fell apart. By this time it was early November. I came home every day and curled up on my couch and cried. Or I went to bed. I felt like I had lost everything. I was unhappy at work, I was unhappy with my life, and I no longer had my best friend. I thought my life would be very different than what it was. Things that normally brought me joy no longer did. This is a huge red flag for those with depression. My life was, wake up, go to work, go home and maybe eat, then straight to bed. I stopped meditating. I stopped watching tv. At lunch I’d take a nap instead of eat. I was a shell of myself. I didn’t talk to anyone at work.

I know it probably sounds silly to let a boy and a betrayal ruin my life. But it was more than that. I was already depressed – I was already feeling low, and struggling with getting together with my friends. I was already isolating myself. I was already not wanting to participate in conversations. But then to have these huge life hits was more than my already fragile psyche could handle. It felt like the only person I could turn to was my mom. My mom is the hero of my story. She would come over and do my dishes – when you have depression doing anything is hard. I couldn’t clean my house, and then when your house gets messy, you feel more depressed because the house is disgusting and you feel worthless for not doing the littlest thing. So my mom would come over. She’d clean my house. She’d wash my dishes. And she would sit with me and watch movies or shows while I cried. I know it killed her.

On November 22nd, Thanksgiving, also my mom’s birthday was the first day I thought seriously about killing myself. The only reason I didn’t was I knew it was my mom’s birthday. And I knew my parents would pick me up to go to dinner. I held on for a little bit longer. Then my nurse practitioner who specialized in psych meds changed my medication. It was not a good fit, to say it plainly. December 8th, was the next time I was going to kill myself. I got home from work and just started crying. I cried telling my mom I didn’t want to go to the hockey game that night. I was exhausted and felt hopeless. I looked up how to kill myself with my medication. I knew I had extra from my previous medication. And I knew what I currently was on. I thought it would be so easy �� so peaceful. That no one would care but my mom and dad. That my friends would get over it – that I didn’t see them often since they lived in other states. Work wouldn’t care – they could get another designer. I was sobbing and texting my mom. After looking it up I knew I needed help. I told my mom I needed to be admitted into a hospital. My mom (she is a social worker and my dad is a psychologist so are capable of handling this) decided that no I’d stay at their house until I wasn’t suicidal. I felt awful and said no I’d just go to bed. She didn’t believe me. And drove to my house, where I was now sobbing on the couch instead of bed. And grabbed my clothes, my cat, and me. I stayed at their house for 4 days, and she and my dad monitored me. They also took all my extra medication so I couldn’t commit suicide. I told my doctor the medication wasn’t working – but you have to give it 6 weeks before you can change. This was the first Christmas I couldn’t be happy about.

On December 27th, two days before my birthday, I almost killed myself again – it wasn’t as strong as an urge as December 8th. But definitely not good either. I decided to leave my parents house and go home. I felt too much family pressure to be okay. I didn’t celebrate my birthday last year.

Since this happened, I’ve changed medication and I am doing much better. Since then I’ve met Taylor Swift. I got a puppy, I am doing my hobbies again, and I am talking to my friends and trying to be active in social situations. None of the positives would have happened if I had killed myself. I wouldn’t have met Taylor. I wouldn’t have met my puppy Moe. I still have moments of real sadness but I’ve survived the hardest time of my life. When I wanted to give up. Podcasts, audio books, and Taylor helped me. They helped me focus on something else. But I also am so glad I reached out to my mom and she was strong enough to disagree with me and make me be monitored. I am so thankful I didn’t do it. 

If you don’t want to do what you love. You want to sleep all the time. If picking something to watch on tv is too hard and sleep is a better alternative, you might need help. If you don’t eat because you’ve lost all appetite. If you’ve thought life would be better if you died. Or if you just feel a heavy cloud all the time you might be depressed. You might need help. If you are struggling reach out! Talk to someone. Go to therapy. Its cliché but there it will get better. Things won’t always be so dark. You are not alone - even though it feels like it, and feels like no one could understand. 

National Suicide Prevention Number  1-800-273-8255

[mabel-but-slytherin]

Christmas Truce 2018

I know this is so very late, but like Danny I too can forget to prepare all of my Christmas gifts in time. I hope this is still on time for the Truce.

First a thank you to @monocheshaa for her wonderful gift for me, and a thank you/apology to @letswonderspirit for their patience! Based on the specific scene they asked for I think they were expecting art, but as I am a writer and cannot produce pictures with a fraction the beauty they can, you get this 3700 word fic instead. Enjoy!

Letswonderspirit asked for “Danny and Dani opening a present with Cujo inside. (If this is too specific than you can just do something with Cujo, I just really like dogs. thank you.)“

December 1st,

Danny Fenton walked through the Amity Park mall with a smile on his face for the first time in the month of December. He’d always hated the holiday spirit (spirits in general tended to haunt him or set his parents off, and Christmastime was no exception), but after being shown the Christmas Truce by Ghostwriter last year, Danny was determined to learn his lesson.

That wasn’t to say he didn’t come around to having a good holiday last year, but this time he was determined to get a head start on the season and do all the things he didn’t have the time and preparation to do. Namely, this year he wanted to be sure to get presents.

Being a first-time Christmas shopper, Danny was worried he’d have a hard time finding the time to sneak away from everyone and buy fitting gifts behind their backs. Yet it was not even 3pm on the first of the month and Danny already had half of his shopping done. New steel-toed black boots for Sam, a kit to build the first custom PDA-compatible laptop for Tucker, and most recently a memoir by the head of Harvard’s psychology department for Jazz. 

Even making time wasn’t so hard. All Danny had to do was tell his friends that he wanted to catch up on homework before the next ghost attack and they gave him pleased but dubious looks and sent him home. Once there, Danny had no problem: he was a pro at sneaking out of the house under his parents’ noses. Slip one small hint of a Santa sighting at the mall two towns over and Maddie was dashing to her bazooka awhile Jack ran for his Fenton™ Wish List.

Speaking of lists, Danny pulled out his list of people left to shop for and crossed Jazz’s name off. Looking down he knocked off Mom and Dad while he was at it. Mom did most of the family shopping and would definitely prefer something home-made and deadlier than what he could buy at 16 years old, so he’d just spend some time in the lab putting together some gadget throughout the month. Dad was probably the easiest of all: he’d pulled his mom aside last week while he helped serve Thanksgiving dinner and asked if they could work together to make double fudge this year. The squeal and hug his mom gave was almost another gift itself.

That just left some of his other classmates, and honestly, although Danny was trying to make up for years of missing the Christmas spirit even he admitted they were probably optional. Dash definitely wasn’t getting anything from Fenton, as the only thing Danny could think he’d like is 20 minutes to wail on Fenturd with no chance of Lancer catching him (and telling him to save his arm strength for the big game Friday).

Sam told Danny that under no circumstances should he buy a present for Paulina, but Danny couldn’t help himself, and felt pretty proud to have found a Danny Phantom compact mirror in the makeup section of the mall and then transformed briefly in the changing room to autograph it in green sharpie. (He later told Sam he found the present while looking in the make-up section for an eyeliner for Sam’s Goth look. He still doesn’t understand why Sam tested her new steel toes on his shins when he told her his first thought was that Paulina would love it.)

And of course getting a gift for Paulina meant he had to pull something together for at least a couple other people or else risk coming across as creepy. Star just needed something fashionable and shiny, and given that Danny knew nothing about fashion he just went for shiny earrings and hoped she wouldn’t hit him. He probably didn’t need to get anything for Wes, but let’s just say a whole day walking through Amity Park mall revealed so many potential gag t-shirts that Danny couldn’t resist.

Valerie would be both the easiest and hardest to shop for. She was extremely practical ever since her dad lost her job, and would happily accept any homecooked treat or mall store gift card, but Danny also wanted to give her something more meaningful without being frivolous. Danny wanted to give her a box of tree-shaped sugar cookies and a matching Christmas tree sweater, but when the ecto-oven brought the cookies to life and Danny took them out with the closed Fenton™ pistol, the teen settled for giving her the sweater and the pistol instead.

A bead of sweat ran down Danny’s face as he imagined what her reaction would be to that…

With all the humans crossed off his list, Danny was ready to call it a day. Over a year of being a halfa had taught him better than to guess at ghost traditions, so his plan was to fly over to Ghostwriter’s next week to ask for advice on presents for the Truce before the scribe was too deep into the holiday rush. There were a bunch of things Danny wanted to ask, from prospective gifts to whether he should be getting something for just his allies or his nemeses, and how a good hit or faux pas might impact his survival in the coming year. No matter what, Danny had already swore he would take a hard pass on getting a gift for Vlad. Half-ghost he may be, that man was a full-blooded fruitloop and would inevitably read way into anything from Danny.

The young hero already started to fold the list to put in his pocket when his eyes froze on one last name scrawled at the bottom of his list with a question mark. It was no question that Danny cared about the last name and wanted to give her a nice Christmas, the only question was whether she would be there to receive it.

After all, Dani had stopped by every couple of months ever since she was stabilized and free to travel the world, but it was purposefully near-impossible to contact the young girl on the run, and Danny had no clue if she even knew of the holiday. Even if she did, there was the question of whether she would come visit him or celebrate abroad.

Either way, it was Dani’s first Christmas and she was Danny’s clone, which meant it was Danny’s responsibility to find her the perfect present just in case she stopped by, right? Well, ghost etiquette was one thing, but Danny had no idea who to ask on clone etiquette so as the older clone/brother in this situation he was going to call himself the expert and go with that. 

That just left one major problem: what could a sixteen-year-old teenager from the Midwest who already burned half his allowance on other presents get for a half-ghost pickpocket whose already flown halfway around the world?

Two laps around the mall later and Danny was still stumped. Flashy clothes from most of the girly stores were flimsy and would only make her stand out. Anything bigger than a bag was too bulky to carry, any electronic device Danny would have to make sure she could use and charge it, and also pray there was no tracking to put her on someone’s radar. Money or gift cards was impractical and would probably look to her like a moral lecture, and while Danny briefly considered a souvenir from Amity Park as a good gag, the teen was embarrassed by how they probably paled in comparison to all the ones she’s probably seen.

Danny sighed and just decided to make his way home. The homework/mall Santa distractions would only buy him so much time and he still had a few weeks to finalize ideas, so there was no need to rush.

A piercing scream burst out throughout the mall and the cry of “GHOST!” made Danny groan and wonder where he could possibly stash his latest purchases before the next fight, as he highly doubted the Truce extended all the way to early bird shopping. Then a bark followed and Danny gave a sigh of relief. “Cujo! Get out of there!”

Maybe there wouldn’t be a fight after all.

December 24th,

Danny had been wondering how far the Christmas Truce stretched. Apparently, the answer was not until the stroke of midnight Christmas Day.

Or at least that’s what Skulker thought, coming after Danny shouting that his pelt would make such a nice gift to Ember that she’d have to accept his proposal. Danny wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, and was currently trying to either wrestle him into the Thermos or run out the clock.

Of course, Danny also didn’t want to risk getting on the bad side of the entire Ghost Zone by violating the Truce and continuing to fight on Christmas morning. Skulker had the advantage of a mechanical exoskeleton featuring a timepiece, but Danny had to try to keep him somewhere that he had a view of the Amity Times clocktower.

That and the desire to minimize property damage on Christmas Eve left Danny stuck in the wide open space of the park. Which makes hiding and dodging Skulker’s myriad of bombs and nets a challenge.

“Seriously Skulker, you haven’t been able to catch me in over two years! Did you really think you would be able to capture me in under an hour?” Danny taunted as he evaded yet another cannon blast that expanded into a taser net shortly after passing over his shoulder.

“Quiet, welp! The best hunter knows how to claim victory under pressure!”

Danny paused before firing an ectoblast at Skulkers torso. “I thought the saying was ‘a great hunter knows how to bide his time…’”

“…And seize an opportunity.” Skulker finished as he took advantage of Danny’s distraction to pull out a small pistol and shoot the Fenton thermos out of his left hand. Danny cursed and rubbed his burnt hand as he watched the thermos fly halfway across the park.

“Yes, I quite like the saying.” Skulker continued. “Speaking of like, I also must admit I am enjoying this new pistol! You see, Ember and I have started this family tradition where we open one small present each on Christmas Eve, and I just happened to get this little thing. I can’t wait until tomorrow to open the other present under the tree, it’s shaped like a blaster and bigger than the tree itself!”

Danny shivered. “Okay, first off, I guess that explains the sudden Christmas Eve manhunt. Second, please never talk to me about you and Ember’s ‘family traditions’ ever again. Already imagined one messed up ghost couple future, don’t need another one.

“Third,” Danny said as he glanced between where his thermos went flying and Skulker preparing another round from the net launcher, “I don’t really want to be Christmas dinner. Let’s go back to the original plan of Christmas duck-duck-goose!”

Danny made a break in the direction of the thermos, then banked into a sharp curve as Skulker fired the net right behind him. The net again sailed past him as Skulker fell for the feint and carried on in the direction of the open field near the thermos.

Until a small green blur dashed across the grass towards where the thermos was lying.

Recognizing the ghostly green glow but too far to see the shape, Danny could only wonder either who would show up in the human world this close to Christmas Day or when Skulker got a hunting partner.

The figure’s identity was made apparent when it finished trotting over to the thermos, picked it up in its mouth, and let out a happy bark.

“Cujo!” Danny called. The small ghost dog wagged his tail and looked over in Danny’s direction.

“Oh wow, you must want to play fetch. Good boy, Cujo, bring the thermos over here!” Danny turned his spectral tail back into human (ghostly?) legs and patted them to further call Cujo over. The dog started trotting happily until it yelped as a third net flew by and tangled it in the grass.

“Phantom has a puppy?” Skulker wondered aloud. “And one that is fearless in the face of battle? You will make the finest gift to Ember this holiday! She will cement you as one of her cutest fans and I will train you into the Ghost Zone’s Greatest Hunting Dog! Skulker shouted as he flew over towards Cujo.

Cujo just ignored Skulker and started trying to drag the net towards where Danny was running to him. Skulker shook his head at the sight and reached towards his controls for the taser net. “First, to teach you some obedience.”

As soon as he turned the dial to its lowest setting, the net turned on and started to zap Cujo lightly. This caused the dog to yelp, and then grow angry.

And then to just grow.

Within seconds, Cujo stood tall in his full, monstrous height. The net snapped off of the dog now twice its size, and the freed prey turned his eyes directly onto Skulker.

“Oh no.” The hunter muttered.

Cujo charged towards Skulker as the mechanical ghost tried to fly away, and managed to close the distance in time to grab on to one of Skulker’s jet boots and pull it off like a 20-foot puppy stealing a stranger’s shoe. The ghost dog had just finished shaking the lone boot and turned to the sky to growl and the figure trying to balance with one-sided rocket propulsion when the clocktower struck midnight.

In a flash, Cujo shrunk back down to his puppy size and panted up at Skulker, tossing the boot around for a second before lying down and gnawing it like the advanced ghostly technology was his latest chew toy.

Skulker, realizing it was safe to land, crashed back down to the grass and tried to approach Cujo to retrieve his boot. Cujo remained in puppy form, but instantly grabbed the shoe and backed away, growling menacingly that the shoe was his.

“Oh, come now!” Skulker shouted. “It’s Christmas.”

“And that is his toy your trying to take, Grinch.” Danny smiled as he walked over and scratched Cujo behind the ears. Seeing Skulker’s frown, Danny sighed and slowly pulled the metal boot out of Cujo’s mouth before throwing the thermos to distract him. The dog happily ran after the thermos, leaving Danny to shake the pool of saliva off the boot before handing it back to Skulker.

“Just this once, because it’s Christmas.” Danny said.

Skulker grabbed the boot and shoved it on his foot before grimacing and the squelching sound it made. “Ugh. Fine, I accept your gift and will be prepared to make an honorable exchange for this gift at the Truce this evening. Merry Christmas, Whel- I mean, Danny.”

Danny smiled. “You’re welcome Skulker.” The teen nodded before grimacing himself. “Wait… gift exchange… Danny… I totally forgot to get a present for Dani!”

Skulker tilted his head. “You exchange presents between your two halves? That is… an odd halfa tradition I was not aware of.”

“No!” Danny shouted. “Not for me, other Dani! Man, I was planning on getting her something all month, but time totally flies.”

Danny turned around to see that Skulker had already flew back towards FentonWorks and the Ghost Portal while his back was turned. “Guess that’s not the only thing that flew by. And I gotta fly home myself.”

“Woof!” Danny looked down to see Cujo triumphantly wagging his tail over the Fenton Thermos lying at Danny’s feet. Looking around and seeing no other ghosts to take him back to the Ghost Zone, Danny scooped the little dog into his arms and start flying back towards home.

“You travel all over the place, Cujo, maybe you can help me? What present can I get for my clone/cousin who’s been all around the world and just grabs whatever she wants?”

December 25th,

Danny woke up the next morning to see a pair of nearly identical blue eyes perched over him, shining with a burst of holiday joy that Danny himself had never felt until this month.

“Good morning, Danny!” Dani cried out, “Guess what day it is?!”

“I don’t know,” Danny bit out teasingly as he laughed at her excitement, “Christmas?”

“Yeah!” Dani shouted, causing her original to just laugh at her even more. “Hey, I have a right to be excited, this is my first one!”

Danny just smiled. “In a way, this is my first one too.

“I’m glad you’re here and all, but what are you doing in my room?” Danny asked his clone.

Dani shrugged. “Well, everywhere I’ve been people are saying Christmas is time to spend with your family. And given that the rest of my family doesn’t know I exist, I can’t really go downstairs.”

Danny frowned at that, before seeing the matching expression on his younger clone’s face and realizing that his job for today is to make her smile. “I guess that just means we have to do the present exchange up here then before Mom and Dad wake up, and you can hang around the rest of the day invisibly. Let me go get Jazz so she can join us.”

That worked, and Dani’s face stretched into a grin for a moment before she paused. “Wait,” Dani said, “present exchange?”

At Danny’s nod she groaned. “Oh no! I forgot to get you guys anything!”

To her surprise, Danny just laughed. “Don’t sweat it!” He consoled her, “this is actually the first year I’ve been able to get everyone a present. We’ll just have you open your presents, and then you can tell Jazz and I all the cool stories about places you’ve been!”

Dani smiled again at this, missing Danny reaching under his bed to grab her present box before he slipped out the door to wake Jazz. He had just a couple finishing touches to put on her gift before he returned.

The three teens sat tightly together on Danny’s bed as both Fentons passed their wrapped presents over to Dani.

“Oooh, ooh, open mine first!” Jazz exclaimed, still able to get childishly excited about every holiday.

Dani obliged and started ripping the tape off of the elaborately wrapped package, before watching Jazz wince at the destruction of her wrapping perfection and attempting to pry to tape open without damaging the paper. A second later had the young clone groaning in frustration before slapping her head and phasing the paper right off.

Once the paper was gone, Dani awed over the beautiful ribbon in her hand. It perfectly matched the one Jazz wore in her hair with the exception of its dark red color that was the exact shade of Dani’s sweatshirt. Dani held it up to her hair and giggled and Jazz leaned across her lap to tie it, the young clone’s arms reaching out to pull Jazz into a hug when the older girl was done.

“Thank you so much Jazz! I love it!” Dani squealed as she squeezed tighter.

“You’re welcome!” Jazz replied. “I’m so glad you love it! I figured it would fit under your hood when you wanted to hide away somewhere, and that no matter where you are in this world or the Ghost Zone, we’ll match!”

Dani reached up to feel the ribbon and her grin stretched even wider. “I’ll just have to figure out a way to get it to stay on in my ghost form.”

Jazz smiled, and then let her expression shift into a smirk. “Or… you could just wear this one.” She said coyly, reaching into her pajama pocket to pull out another ribbon, this one ghostly green.

The two girls squealed and hugged yet again, and Danny hoped his gift would be just as well received. “Well Dani,” he said, passing over a wrapped box. 

“Here’s your gift from me. I would just untie the bow and open the box rather than phase it out.”

Dani took that as permission to rip right into it and within seconds was raising the lid and getting ready to look inside. She was interrupted by a small yip.

“Danny!” Jazz shouted, aghast. “There were no air holes on there!”

Danny smirked, “Her gift doesn’t need it.”

Dani froze as she looked down into the box, further deepening Jazz’s puzzled expression. A second later Dani reached both hands into the box and pulled out a playfully panting Cujo.

“Oh my god Danny, this is amazing!”

“His name’s Cujo,” Danny told his clone as she cuddled Cujo up to her face and laughed when Cujo licked her. “He’s run through Amity Park a couple of times looking to play, but is always just going from place to place. I figured with each other you both might be less lonely.”

Cujo seemed to take that cue to look up and down Danielle, see the big red bow tied in her hair, and happily bark like he had just received his own half-human for Christmas.

Dani smiled so wide she nearly cried and had to place Cujo on the floor in order to make room for the giant hug she gave her clone/cousin. Cujo of course objected to the sudden lack of warmth and made it known by growing to his full size, prompting Dani to shout “Awesome!” and hug Danny even harder.

Danny just grinned and basked in Dani’s happiness. Yeah, sometimes the only thing to give someone who has the world is someone to share it with, and he was so glad that the two looked like they would be happy together.

They were so happy, that that very afternoon the Red Huntress came out chasing complaints of a giant green ghost dog roaming Amity Park, hoping to finally get revenge on the ghost boy for ruining her life. She was stunned to instead find Danielle riding in the ghost dog’s fur, laughing and hollering and shouting that this was the best Christmas ever. 

For once in her career Valerie decided to let a ghost go, figuring that out of everyone, the ghost girl deserved to be happy on Christmas day. She was sure Mayor Masters would forgive her for taking a day off to spend with the her family. Even if the ghost dog pooped on his front lawn.

That was the moment Dani swore she and Cujo would be friends for life. The had a whole world to travel together, and a whole afterlifetime of Christmases to do it.

[makemyskinyoursanctuary]

I hope you take the time to read this. Her story deserves to be heard. For months now, people have been telling me that I am so strong, but my mother was the definition of strength. She was also humble, generous, brave, funny, beautiful, stubborn, selfless and my hero. I'm not sure she ever understood the impact she left on people, especially me. Her story is heavy, from beginning to end. She never let me feel any of the weight. This isn't a read for the light hearted, but I want people to know what a warrior she truly was. My mom was born in Saigon, Vietnam. She was one of six children- the rebellious one at that. She was the socialite, the troublemaker, and very independent. She was the most unique of the sisters, as she was not analytical- she thrived in all forms of art. From early on, my mom was determined to follow her passions even though my grandparents were not able support it while living under the communist reign. She saved up all of her money, bought a classical guitar & sheet music, and taught herself how to play. She used to tell me about how she had a band with her friends and they would get together to sing pop music. Late one night, when my mom was playing, communist officers stood outside and listened for hours. After she finished, they came in and destroyed her instruments and music books.They tried to arrest her for playing songs from "the old country". My grandpa had to beg and pleaded until they agreed not to take her away. My mom was always fearless. She tried to escape the country 9 times, with a few of the attempts leading to jail time. But, even in jail, she made the best of it and made friends. The tenth and final attempt was made with her sister. She was in a group of 71 with 200 people overall that were trying to escape the shore. Her group hid beneath the deck of a disguised cargo ship. Between the captin not making it aboard and the storms that blew them far into the ocean, the two day trip turned into surviving 3 days and 4 nights in the terrifying waters. When they came into the sights of the pirates, they were luckily left alone and not pillaged like many ships before them because of the direction they were coming to shore from. They landed and began their chapter in refugee camps. There they stayed in camps in Thailand and the Philippines for two very difficult years, sometimes not having any food or water. My mom told me stories about sleeping on the ground under trees and collecting rain in plastic bags just to have water to drink. In 1983 the United Nations sponsored my mom and aunt and they moved to Utica. Her fight for the American dream was never easy. She had her heart set on going to college but had to take a job to provide for her and her sister. My mom ALWAYS had the strongest work ethic. She eventually married my father, got the chance to complete a degree in the Science of Photography and then opened our family legacy of Aversa Photography. My parents were a power house. Their business was undeniably one of the best studios of its time. They poured everything into the business and worked around the clock. My mom’s one regret was that she felt like she worked too much when I was young. When my parents eventually divorced, she became the sole owner and continued to keep the business going in case I ever wanted to take it over. Although I had worked in the studio for over a decade and also went to college for a Photo degree, she never pressured me into taking over the business. She always wanted me to create my own legacy and chase my own dreams. She took me to cheerleading practice, piano and violin lessons, theatre and drama club, art classes, voice lessons, choir rehearsals, and even ballet for the couple months I tried it. She actually did ballet herself for a while, which I don't think very many people knew. She was always my number one supporter. She even let me have house shows when venues would back out last minute, knowing how import the local music scene was to me. She also was a huge supporter of my friends. She put so much effort into going to their shows, galleries, and events. She treated so many of my friends as her own children. She just had a natural way of making everyone feel welcome and safe. Last May, my mom found out she might have cervical cancer. Wanting to protect me, she kept me in the dark. She wanted to get everything under control then tell me she was going to be fine. She never got the chance. In June she was forced to tell me about her diagnosis, as she was having trouble with scheduling her hysterectomy and needed me to be on call to take her, something she didn't want me to be a witness to. After a few weeks after her surgery, I took her to her follow up appointment, where the Doctor told her she was in the clear. He looked at me and said she didn't need any further treatment. It would be the same as me getting radiation or chemo because nothing was showing signs of possible cancer. I remember getting in the car after and my mom questioning it and I just tried to reassure her because I heard news that I wanted to hear. Still keeping very quiet about her health. She started to have pain in her leg and side and followed up with the original surgeon. He completely wrote her off and told her that she must be sleeping funny and to follow up with her primary doctor. They scanned and found no cause for the pain, no blood clot, nothing, but during her yearly appointment, her GYN reviewed all the reports and discovered that it stated that there were large fragments of mass remaining in her cervix all along. She fought with her insurance again to get a biopsy. Once again, she kept this from me because she never wanted me to worry. I'm very grateful for her friends that helped her through these times. When she got the biopsy finally scheduled after weeks and weeks, she broke the news that she may not be ok. I took her to get the biopsy and wanting to protect me as always, she waited until after Thanksgiving to tell me the news. My mom was a stage 4 with pelvic cancer. The months that followed were hard and painful. We went in and out of the emergency rooms dealing with the side effects of chemo. She suffered from multiple blood clots, a failing kidney, hallucinations, and hearing that she didn't have options left, but she didn't give up. My mom didn't want to give up for me. She agreed to go to the Roswell Cancer Center in Buffalo and keep fighting. She went through six full rounds of chemo and we hit a dead end. The doctor said we could try to do surgery to alleviate some of her discomfort and maybe eventually try other treatments. In late April, my mom went into surgery and two hours later the doctor came out to speak to me. I'm pretty sure my heart and time stopped completely. I thought he was going to tell me he lost her, as the surgery was so complex, however, he gave us news of a miracle. They were able to remove almost all off the mass and said that she should be able to have many good years ahead, with a few precautionary treatments. The day after the surgery, my mom stood up and walked on her own for the first time in so long. I remember her looking over to Sean and I with tears in her eyes thanking us as she processed everything that had happened to her. This was the first time in so long we felt real hope. She was released, and we took her home to Syracuse. She walked up and down stairs, cooked once in a while and started to have a little bit of life again. Within a few weeks her stomach swelled, and we found out the mass returned. Along with that came the pains in her leg and she once again lost most of the ability to walk. The doctor performed another surgery and placed a drain from the mass in hopes to shrink it to possibly do radiation. I took her to her radiation consultation in June, a year after she told me about her original diagnosis. They said radiation was absolutely not an option. They were going to try a different type of chemo and the chances of it working were below 30%, but if she wanted to they would try. I promise you there is only one worse feeling than explaining to your mother that we've reached the end of the rope. With the little bit of her that was left she decided to try the chemo knowing the chances. Because life wasn't tough enough as is, we lost my grandma the weekend before her scheduled chemo session. My mom was so tough. She wanted to see my grandma off and pay respects and come with us the long, grueling, 4-hour drive to Massachusetts. I think in her heart of hearts she knew it was the last chance to see the whole family at once. We came back that Sunday and Sean took her to chemo on that Tuesday. She really loved Sean and had a special bond with him the entire time she lived with us. When they got home, everything seemed fine. She didn't seem to have any really bad side effects this time around and then Friday came. We called an ambulance and she spent the next two weeks in emergency rooms fighting off sepsis. She spent her last Birthday in the hospital. That's something I'll always hate. Over the two weeks she was in the hospital Sean and I talked and decided we were going to move back to Utica. We didn't know if she had years left, but either way we were willing to commute everyday so that she could be with her community again. She had so many friends from all over, many of which didn't know the gravity of the situation (which I think is why I feel the need to write all of this). When we told her, she tried to fight us, because once again she was looking out for me. She often told me she hated that she was a burden. To this day, I still feel like going through this whole year or so was an honor, but we aren't getting into that yet. When she was finally released, we brought her back to her home. Within an hour people were at our door waiting to see her. My mom was such a special person. We had her next appointment for chemo and as we were driving to Buffalo I could feel something in the Universe shift. I knew this was going to be our last visit. I knew what they were going to say. She was too weak for any treatment. She was angry at the news. She didn't want to stay for her remaining appointments, she just wanted to go home. I had to sit there and plan out Hospice and watch my mom's heart shatter. The ride home however was not as grim as I expected. My mom seemed like there was a weight lifted off of her suddenly and she was in good spirits. The next day we began Hospice and things seemed relatively calm. Last Friday my aunt called me at work, she was visiting my mom for the week, and said something changed. Things didn't seem right. I rushed home and she told me my mom was doing a little bit better than when she called, but my mom wouldn't eat. Saturday morning my mom got up by herself and walked a couple feet, but by the time the night came around she was barely responsive. Sunday my mom was in incredible pain and spoke maybe 3 words. By this time all my aunts were either there, flying in, or in the car driving. I went to get some groceries to make dinner and said I'd be right back. This was the last time my mom kissed me on the cheek. She could barely lift her head or pucker her lips. I came home 15 minutes later to my aunt in the kitchen. We talked for a bit and then I went over to my mom. The time had come, it was beginning. She stopped responding. She was breathing but wouldn't wake up. The next couple days and nights were spent by her bedside. I slept in a chair at night holding her hand. I left to go see the funeral director as we knew it was a matter of time and got the call that it was starting. I rushed home trying to make it in time, but when I walked through the door she was gone. Everyone believes she waited until I wouldn't see, protecting me yet again. I have something inside me that's pushing me to tell these hard parts of her story. She would want anyone to keep fighting. She would want them to not believe the first doctor and to get a second and third opinion. She would want her story to help someone else. My mom's faith through the entire journey was remarkable. She believed that god had a plan and that was why she forgave the original doctor. It's true she was curable at one point, but she said that if God wanted her to live she would. She didn't believe people were meant to be bitter even through all of her hardships. I remember asking her if she was afraid of dying and her concern was that I wasn't ready for her to leave. My mom is undeniably irreplaceable. She is the Queen B. She is the reason I cherish art. She is the reason why I do everything to support the music scene. She is the reason I try to find grace in all situations and only find the best in people. She is the reason I try to be selfless like her and why I will constantly fight to be a better person than the day I was before. I'll spend the rest of my life trying to be half the woman she was. I just hope I make her proud. Her struggle is over and even in her passing she continues to teach me how to find strength. There's a void in my heavy heart that will never be filled. I love you forever lady. Thank you for everything, always. I hope that wherever you may be, there are NO peppers on your pizza.

[threeletterslife]

CHANA I sent an ask earlier on my laptop but it wOuLd not send (at least I think it didn’t??) so houhee try 2 on mobile :,) anyways I WILL NOT HESITATE TO SAY I SCREAMED WHEN YOU POSTED IGNIS FATUUS OMG I WAS SO EXCITED FOR THAT FIC JKFLDJH and I am a sucker for gigantic fics too so when I saw the whopping 26K I was like yes these are the things I live for 😎 but anyways I like how you made the apocalypse more mellow at first, which was an interesting take on zombie apocalypse fics as most of

them are all like oMG *fight pow die* in the first paragraph shjkfjdlsk :,) but also I am vEry scared for the next chapter because if the bus broke then they’re going to have to wALk to the hospital and the city’s going to be like all zombie infested ahhh although they may possibly meet more survivors at the hospital hMm honestly though I feel like the angst is really going to be strong in the second half because Ignis Fatuus means like a deceptive hope I think so why do I feel like the ending

may be like the eight of them realize they’re stuck in this zombie apocalypse world forever or something shklfjldk because I felt like most of the first part all the characters were all pretty dang hopeful that things would get better since they’ve already survived this long and for the most part stuff was running smoothly?? Jjklfdjk I feel like my theory is so small-brain though but I sWEAR this Ignis Fatuus thing must come in play somehow/be related to the tHeMe of the fic because this is

a ChAna fic and they have like 84902390490 layers of meaning sigh sigh :,) but also since JK and Y/N were alike yEah things will get better and we’ll eventually be able to play baseball again and stuff huhuhurjlkgjls I don’t know sigh I feel like the ending is going to be depressing self realization of the fact that even though they’re alive they’re going to die sooner or later/be stuck in misEry forever >:(( also quick question, for your hiatus later on, will you be active but not posting for

the time period, or will it be a complete hiatus where you won’t be active on Tumblr at all? Anyways I’m sorrY for this giant four part ask (and most of it was just me trying to express a single theory on the plot of Ignis Fatuus but rambLing about it very not - concisely lkfjklds) but I hope you have a good day/rest of the day :3 **also your HPxBTS house sorting was so accurate omg Chana sometimes I’m scared at how sharp you are for details and analysis :O

SMFH tumblr blocking asks a saga, part 69, take 420 🙄🙄 thank you for sending your message again in this amazing (monstrous-size) ask!! i LOVE rambles (i ramble all the time) so ALL TYPES OF RAMBLERS ARE WELCOME HERE

i like to think that i took a very,,, quarantine-esque take on a zombie apocalypse, which i actually find more realistic... not that it’s realistic that a zombie apocalypse will happen any time soon (but i mean, 2020 sucked this much and we still got about a month left, so we’ll have to see for sure)

aNYWAYS,, i just feel like most of the human population WOULDN’T try to butt heads with mf ZOMBIES. it would probably be more common for them to HIDE. not everyone in the world has main character syndrome 🧍🏻‍♀️🧍🏻‍♀️ (especially not me. forget being a hero/protagonist, i’m getting my ass up and RUNNING AWAY.) so i thought it would be interesting to take a less action-based route and also compensate for the grim situation with cRACK/weirdly distinctive characters)

you’re absolutely right tho! the next part is devastatingly angsty,,, like it’s the angstiest thing i’ve ever written 😀 and yes! the ignis fatuus thing rlly does play into the story in part 2. i will neither confirm nor deny your theory tho 👀👀 (#no spoilers) i WILL say that the ending is actually bittersweet, even though without context, it sounds pretty brutal. part 2′s gonna feel like a trainwreck, not gonna lie. but it’s gonna be so horrific that you’re not gonna be able to look away 😀 (i think? lol idk) it would be very VERY interesting to hear your reaction after you read part 2 and reread this ask you sent in LMAO

also! i’ll be active on tumblr (to answer asks and stalk my favorite authors) during my hiatus, but i just won’t be posting new stories. (gotta start stocking up lol.) somewhere along the lines, i’ll post a text fic that i was saving for emergencies and i’ll be updating my wips list with a NEW schedule. i’m so excited for the fics i have in store fjdskfjsdlf

AND THANK YOU!! i’ve been thinking about bangtan’s hp houses for literally like three years now. all those pent up arguments/thoughts finally got released LMAO

i did have a good day too (: thanksgiving break was a blaST!!! i wish you have an amazing day/afternoon/night! AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR THEORY W ME! I ENJOY READING COMMENTARIES OF MY FICS SM— ESPECIALLY IF THEY’RE UNFILTERED RAMBLES *CHEF’S KISS*

(omg after part 2 is posted, i’ll be able to explore more of my intentions in the story, jk & yn’s ambiguous relationship, the purpose of the ending, etc. i’m so excited fjslfjlsd)

[archerwindsor]

Trader Joe’s Holiday Must Haves

best trader joes food

How could you even pick the best Trader Joe’s food? There are SO MANY OPTIONS. Seriously, sometimes when I feel like I need some recipe inspo I just go to Trader Joe’s. I spend a lot less and come home with tons of delicious food! I built a bunch of the recipes in the Holiday Survival Guide & Recipe Book off of Trader Joe’s favorites and my list of their best foods and holiday must haves just keeps growing!

Plus, Trader Joe’s is great when you’re in a hurry — something that seems to be a thing, for sure, during the holidays — and want something healthy. Their grab-and-go salads are really solid. I’ll even get one on the way to a holiday party where I know there will be lots of food temptation. Eating before I head in helps me keep myself in check. I can still have a few bites of my favorite indulgence foods without feeling like total junk later. 

Okay, salads aside, let’s talk about the things that have been catching my eye at Trader Joe’s this weekend. Ps – if you want my regular Trader Joe’s haul you can watch it here!

The best Trader Joe’s foods and seasonal items

Best Coffee

Gingerbread Coffee

Speaking of energy, this gingerbread coffee is such a fun way to get in your morning dose of caffeine. And because the coffee itself is already flavored, you don’t need to add sugar to feel like you’re really treating yourself. 

Almond Nog

Almond milk nog is the hero we all need. It gives you all the creaminess of a regular eggnog without the digestive issues, insane amounts of sugar, and . And this Almond Nog kicks it up a notch with some great holiday flavor and less than half of the sugar of the regular or light eggnog. I love eggnog in my coffee and this one is amazing in the gingerbread coffee. Or if you’re feeling wild make it a traditional nog and add a little bourbon with nutmeg on top! Basically, it’s a perfect way to enjoy the holiday feels and none of the guilt. 

Best Trader Joe’s Snacks

Nuts About Rosemary Mix

We all know Trader Joe’s does seasoned nuts like non other… I mean, the Everything But the Bagel one’s are ridiculous, but these are NEXT LEVEL! You’ll want to portion these out because one you open them, it’s going to be hard to stop! The Nuts About Rosemary Mix is a combo of roasted almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, and pecans, blended with a rosemary-sea-salt blend. They do have a touch of sugar, but it’s not bad at all (less than 1g per serving) and believe me, WORTH IT!

Thanksgiving Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips

These chips are just dumb. Chips are my weakness, but I am not typically a potato chip person at all! Tortilla chips or bust! That said, I could eat this entire bag in one sitting if I didn’t want to save some room for cocktails and pie. The Thanksgiving Stuffing Seasoned Kettle Chips are the salt crunchy equivalent of mixing everything together on your plate. Sounds gross, but is stupidly delicious!

Oven-Baked Cheese Bites with Truffle

Have you guys tried these oven-baked cheese bites? Oh man. They’re seriously decadent! 

Honestly, that’s part of why I love them so much. They have a super strong truffle flavor, so much so that they’re delicious but I’m usually satisfied with just a few. And since a whole package contains just over 300 calories, you don’t have to feel too bad even if you do overdo it. 

Technically, a serving size is a half bag, and that gets you 12 grams of protein. Just make sure you choose this snack in moderation. There’s quite a bit of saturated fat in these little guys. 

Cranberry Chevre Fresh Goat Cheese

Speaking of creamy, delicious options with less tummy trouble, let’s hear it for goat cheese. I’m such a fan because it totally scratches the cheese itch but goat’s milk is generally much easier for your body to process.

And for the holidays, I think one of the best Trader Joe’s food options has to be their Cranberry Chevre. Serve this with some gluten-free crackers and a glass of wine for a perfect holiday happy hour. 

Best Sides

Mashed Cauliflower 

You’ll literally never care about missing out regular potatoes again. This mashed cauliflower brings all the texture and creaminess of real mashed potatoes with different cuts of cauliflower to mimic the classics. It’s a perfect alternative if you’re trying to save time or just want to reduce the insane amount of carbs you’ll eat on Thanksgiving. 

Riced Cauliflower Stuffing

I’ve been making a similar side dish for years, but I have to be honest, this is WAY easier and just as good! The new riced cauliflower stuffing is the perfect alternative to traditional stuffing, plus vegan! It’s made with riced cauliflower, sweet carrots, and dried cranberries, leeks, onions, celery, and savory seasonings that don’t disappoint – we’ll leave that for Aunt Karen’s pumpkin pie.

Creamed greens

Looking for a sorta healthy, fast side dish to bring to a holiday gathering? TJ’s new creamed greens are definitely worth putting on your radar. They do contain gluten and a good amount of dairy, so go easy on them, but they also have fiber and protein to balance them out. 

This dish is sort of like creamed spinach, but spinach gets swapped for a combo of much tastier and more texturally complex Brussel sprouts and kale. Would definitely recommend. 

Let’s be honest, the list of the best Trader Joe’s food for the holidays could go on and on. Just make sure you’re checking labels as you shop and steering clear of trans fats, saturated fats, and excess sugar. 

Get more delicious guilt-free recipes here and don’t forget to download your Holiday Survival Guide & Recipe Book!

What’s your favorite holiday TJ’s pickup? Let me know in the comments!

The post Trader Joe’s Holiday Must Haves appeared first on Love Sweat Fitness.

Trader Joe’s Holiday Must Haves published first on https://olimpsportnutritionuk.tumblr.com/

[fairygal11]

The Fate of America Rests in our Hands

Today is the big day America. The day that determines the fate of our country. It determines the future of America. Our dreams, our futures, our generation. It will determine the timeline of our entire lives upon the results of the Election. My name is Megan....Megan Ryan and I speak from my heart. I am a 32 year old with Mild Autism (Aspergers). An otaku, introvert, a hardworker with a big heart who cares about her family, friends and loved ones out there. I've never voted before-NOT A SINGLE ONCE in my entire life, but this year I voted because I can't stand to see what our Country has become under this....this Tyrant of a President this year. Before this crisis started with COVID, everything seemed normal for January and February, just the usual normal life and enjoying the best Anime Milwaukee Convention weekend of my life despite having a small ear infection and seeing My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising in theaters. It was normal until....March when COVID struck and was a menance at a mild level. We thought it might go away, but we were wrong-Due to the rise in cases, everything began to shut down including jobs over time even my library. We were temporarily laid off until late Summer when we got COVID guidelines and services were returning to normal with some major changes to how we did things at the library, but we adapted and worked together to help the community and keep the patrons safe-we even ensured that the books were quarantined and purified before they were checked in and shelved. But before going back to work, you cannot imagine how hard it was on me during those long 5-6 months being off temporarily because of the virus. A lot of reflecting, refocusing and rediscovery of myself: Physically and Spiritually. You know this was my 5th year at my library, a major milestone for me and I had plans in mind to celebrate it: Anime Milwaukee 2020 and My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising were the only celebratory I was able to do and go to. The others I had in mind: Midwest Gaming Classic, participating in Independence First's walkathon again, go to the Maker Space Festival, the usual festivals like Summerfest, Germanfest, State Fair, seeing Lupin the 3rd the first in theaters, kickstarting the Anime Club at my library with Alex and Courtney, getting the PS5 (Accomplished to get-when I celebrated my first year of working I bought a PS4 with my anniversary money so the PS5 reflects that kinda thing in a way). But my biggest milestone and greatest thing I wanted to do.....was asking my best friends like Nadia, Cory, Alex and a few others if they wanted to hang out, grab a star bucks or play a video game at a geeky bar or tavern like the Sword and Shield Tavern (Which sadly closed down due to COVID and I never got a chance to see it or be there). I'm not much of a talker in reality, but I try my best to improve my conversation skills and form proper sentences then having it juggle about because sometimes I see the lines in my head, but they don't come out the way I want them, but I take my time to get them out the best I can. I guess at times it also depends on the environment: At home I'm normal speaking, at a convention or a place of interest I can speak like an extrovert. I guess it kinda varies-like I'm an omnivert. Anyway during those months I kept busy like watching shows (even those to catch up on), baking calzones and different pastry recipes that were easy and simple to make, exercising and recovering when I accidentally got Runner's Knee from overexerting myself, reading as many books as I can even getting a lot of kindle books due to libraries being closed for the time being and did a lot of writing-even took some zoom classes like SOcial Skills, Mindfulness and Creative Writing. I had to keep myself busy somehow and figure out how to get some normalcy-some balance back into my life. Try to figure out a way to keep to my routine or rebuild my routine when you don't know what to do when your locked down in your own home and dealing with your inner demons and struggles, when you feel like you have not much energy then you always did...when you feel isolated even if your home with your family. So many emotions swirled around, so many different thoughts-It felt as though for awhile...I was in the abyss, but I always had a rope of light to help me out. A Light of Hope that I kept in my heart so I didn't fall into despair....telling me to not give up and keep going forward and keep fighting. Keep finding a way to keep your light glowing. Don't let the darkness gets to you...don't let the world and the COVID monster get the best of you because your a survivor. I even began to apply for self-care to myself both physically and mentally-For there were times I worried about what would happen if the libraries don't open or if they start cutting people if things got very worse? There were so much that filled my head at the time even worried about the safety and well being of my loved ones out there if they were alright. There was a lot I went through, but I survived and grew during those Lockdown times and you wouldn't imagine how happy when I learned the library was opening back up and letting people come back even myself. I returned in August and started learning the new procedures in the back room, at first it was a little tricky, but then I got the hang of it-course I kept the instruction sheet to keep on hand in case in my notebook. I feel as though I've grown a lot through this crisis: Physically and Mentally. I learned that it's okay to take my time and I shouldn't rush, it's okay to feel how you feel and let it be known, that you shouldn't be afraid to let people know how your feeling. I had that fear of having people worry about me-I know when I wear a mask on my face as I follow the guidelines to protect those around me, underneath the mask, there is a smile, but at times it can be sad. Sure, I can get overwhelm, but I have to give myself a breather to calm down and clench my Tourmaline stone I keep with me in my pocket to remind me to calm myself from whatever unsettling thought is trying to invade my mind-even when it comes to all of this.....So I want to apologize if I ever had a slight puffy red eye or ever worried anyone out there when I felt a little overwhelm at time and needed to take a breather. I do my best to be strong for those around me, I do my best to be there for those I love, I do my best to help in anyway I can and I do my best at what I do at home and at work. Doing my best is all I can do, but I put all my best into what I do and making sure I don't overdo it. Anyway, I've chosen to vote because this is very important for not just me, but for everyone out there....I chose to vote so I can help make a better future for us. I cannot stand to see anymore lives taken from this world-The young and the old, 200,000+ in the USA and growing and many across the world? Do you know how many dreams that is? TOO MANY that were taken too soon and unfulfilled due to that MONSTER OF A virus! And what about the people who couldn't see their loved ones when they were infected? How many people were unable to see them for one last time? How many were unable to see the birth of a new life brought into the world? How many have been unable to see their loved ones or grandparents, but only through zoom or a video chat program? How many milestones and celebrations were stolen? How many events were cancelled because of the virus? How many jobs were taken and the cut offs that ruined the lives of the employees that worked at those jobs for so many years only to be laid off completely? How many holidays were ruined? How many trick or treaters missed the chance to trick or treat this year? How many will not be able to celebrate Thanksgiving or Christmas together this year? HOW MUCH MORE IS TO BE TAKEN FROM US!? HOW MUCH MORE YOU ORANGE DEMON!? YOU DEMON IN A FAKE HUMAN SKIN! Because of that TYRANT in office who did nothing to curb it back in January or did anything to keep it under control and look where its got us......He believes fiction then Scientific Facts. He thought it would go away...AND HE SAID RECENTLY TO IGNORE COVID. You can't ignore Covid-because its like a broken pipe, you can't just duck tape it up and leave it be-CAUSE sooner or later it'll burst and flood the basement of a foundation and cause it to sink. That's what TRUMP did to America-HE PUT DUCK TAPE on the COVID pipe, only for it to blow up and flood our very country.....You can't ignore a problem and expect it to fix itself, it'll only get worse. And I don't care what anyone says: I DON'T CARE WHAT THE TROLLS SAY! I don't care what TRUMP'S BRAINWASHED minions say! I DON'T CARE WHAT THOSE SHEEPLE SAY! I have a RIGHT TO SPEAK MY MIND because I'M NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK MY MIND OR LET YOU KNOW WHAT I feel in my heart! I know what's right or wrong and I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT IS HAPPENING in politics and I don't like politics very much or never got involved with them, but what I've seen and heard from A PIG-MOUTHED man is a pile of fertilizer-WHAT HE IS DOING with his court of corruption of Republicans is wrong! HE DIDN'T DO nothing, he didn't solve problems, he didn't help anyone out there, he's all talk and no bark! He's a bully! And if there's one thing I can't stand above else is a bully....AND I am taking a STAND AGAINST THIS BULLY by voting for the RIGHT PRESIDENT who'll clean up his mess. If your like me, America, please think carefully when you vote today. Your future along with the future of your loved ones, children, grandparents, yourselves and family.....THEY REST in your very hands. Do you wish to have a president who will do all he can to restore our country or do you want a president who'll continue to destroy our land until its nothing like a Mad Max wasteland and were fighting over supplies? This is our home, our country. WERE THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, NOT THE DIVIDED States of America. We shouldn't fight each other, we should stand together and take back our country from COrruption and chaos that Trump has sparked over these months. Were all human beings, no matter where were from-This isn't the time to be divided, but united to do what's right. For the future of AmericaFor the future of our childrenFor the future of our generations to come before usFor our dreamsFor our freedomFor ourselves Election Day 2020 is very important for us all. Look in your hearts-Do you want a bright future for yourselves with Biden or a dystopian future under a Dictator like Trump?..... Thank you for reading this and I apologize, but I really needed to say this to let you all know how I feel deep down about this whole Election Mess.

[man-i-dont-know]

BNHA Chapter 161: Thoughts and Spoilers

Alright, sorry for the late post. Thanksgiving was hectic am I am still fairly busy so I’ll try to be as coherent as possible while still keeping it short. So, good chapter, let’s get into it.

Nejire was helping with the post operation and the remaining heroes and police officers went about checking for civilian injuries and the story was so thoroughly thought out that Horikoshi took into account that it was the morning on a weekday so most people were not there when the raid occurred. A brilliant and totally realistic move that minimizes civilian interference.

Deku did not get his arms healed despite Eri’s quirk (which would have been fantastic but I suppose that would have undid too much of previous arcs and their consequences) but he does have a mark on his arm that was not there before. I think it might just be some bruising, but honestly, the mark surprised me, bruising typically isn’t something you see in anime. Broken bones and cuts sure, but bruising is a little rarer.

Now we get to see the other heroes and how they are doing. Aizawa has 10 stitches which he is just walking off, Kirishima is a “mummy,” Amajiki has a scar on his face that will supposedly face but I think it will be there for awhile, Fatgum has fractured some bones and is hungry and Lockrock is fine, his family is visiting him which is sweet. Eri is still unconscious and feverish and currently quarantined, which is understandable but I want Eri to be around people and to be happy and accepted. It makes sense that Aizawa is kinda the backup man to keep Eri in check in case she loses control again. But this all ends with Aizawa saying, fairly ominously and filled with foreshadowing, that Eri can’t be relied upon. Which leads into a very somber hospital room with All Might and Recovery Girl present, as well as Nighteye’s sidekicks.

It starts off bad because Bubblegirl refers to Sir in past tense then immediately breaks down into tears. A doctor or nurse comes in and says that he is amazed Sir has survived this long and Recovery Girl is saying she can’t help either. Then we actually see him, missing an arm and a ton of wires and tubes going into his stomach. There was so much going on in this single panel that I feel it accurately portrays some themes of hospitals, hectic doctors and visitors coming and going with the patients who may seem detached to the whole situation though they are the ones who need to be there the most. So Sir is now in this position.

All Might is the first to talk to him, and immediately Sir cracks a morbid joke “so you’ve come to meet me on my deathbed?” Which is less of a joke and more of a teasing. But Sir then goes into a speech that I think is pretty interesting. He is saying that he just wanted him to be happy, which is odd. Someone saying they want the best of someone is typical of close friends, but wanting the best of someone when they are a hero seems different, because it is in there nature to not do what is int their best interest. Something to think about, wanting the best of a hero may not actually be what they want.

Then Sir makes a speech about the sheer tenacity of Deku. His complete and total focus, along with all the other heroes focus is what changed the future. It is their complete faith and total focus is what managed to actually twist the future that seemingly was unchangeable. “It is all about energy.” (Which is a great message to send to the audience and characters)

At this point, Mirio barges into the hospital room screaming (which ain’t the best bedside etiquette but he’s distraught so I’ll let it slide). Sit has a very touching moment here, and I am glad it is with Mirio and not Deku, cause being too focused on the protagonist can make the story feel forced. Sir uses his quirk on Mirio, saying to himself that Mirio is his favorite disciple, then tells Mirio that “you are becoming an outstanding hero.” I love that. Just so much. Not only does Sir say that Mirio is a hero, but with his quirk, Mirio can find solace in the fact that, in a sense, Sir will always be there watching over him.

As Sir is starting to weaken, he smiles. Mirio reaches back and grabs Deku and All Might for support. Everyone besides Sir is crying at this point. Sir then leaves them with a tad of wisdom, that society needs laughs and smiles and energy. This dialogue so perfectly wraps up everything that Sir stood for, along with a lesson of hope that Deku bestowed upon him during the last raid. Then, Sir flat lines, and even though this is read of a page or a screen, I could hear with perfect clarity that sound. I could not hear the crying, but the monitor is what I could hear.

I see this as a major event that will shape who Deku is as a person and as a hero. Deku will focus more on how he presents himself in bad scenarios, and not just keeping himself intact and saving the civilians. I feel bad saying that Sir was essential for Deku’s growth, but I can not help but feel that that is the truth.

I suppose that is it. Again, sorry for such a late post, but the holiday was a little hectic. One last parting thought, who the hell gave the person who writes those little end note the right to say “His day ends with a peaceful smile on his face... Goodnight, Nighteye.” Like I was going through all the emotions before that then this last little bit  really freaking got to me. Completely uncalled for. Anyways, thank you for reading this long post even though I said it would be short, I’m a tad too tired to go back and shorten it up so I suppose I’ll leave it. Thanks for reading and have a great day.

[dailyaudiobible]

01/03/2018 DAB Transcript

Genesis 5:1-7:24, Matthew 3:7-4:11, Psalms 3:1-8, Proverbs 1:10-19

Today is the 3rd day of January. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian and it's, of course, wonderful to be here with you today from the rolling hills of Tennessee, where it is a cold. Not as cold as many of you further up in the north. I get it. I know that. But cold for us nonetheless. But, thankfully, we have a nice, warm, global campfire burning that is this community and we can all come in out of the cold and warm ourselves with some time in God's word as it opens up its stories and wisdom and inspiration to us. So, today we’ll do what we do every day, pick up where we left off yesterday and continue the story forward. So, we’re reading from the New International version this week. Genesis chapter 5 through chapter 7.

Psalms:

Okay. So, we have talked about the book of Genesis as we began this year. And then the next day, which was yesterday, we talked about the book of Matthew. Now let’s talk about the book of Psalms. So, the Hebrew word for Psalms is Tehillim, which means, praises. And that's what this book is. It's a collection of 150 songs, hymns, congregational and responsive singings, and individual songs and poems of worship. It’s basically five books in one. And they’re classified by who wrote them or there theme or purpose. Some of them give praise to God, others speak of his character or actions. Some are songs of lament or repentance, while others are songs of thanksgiving. In other words, they’re songs about life and the life of faith. And no matter the circumstances of life, the book of Psalms is meant to bring praise, glory, adoration, reverence, and honor to God in all circumstances and for all purposes. Psalms is a beautiful book containing some of the most heartfelt musical poetry ever written. And every conceivable human emotion is explored in the Psalms. There are heart cries that are so passionate and broken that you can feel them across the boundaries of time. And yet, there are also some exalted mountaintop experiences where the glory of the Lord is tangible and present. David, who we haven't met yet, but we will, he was the second king of Israel and he was a master musician and he composed most of the Psalms. And, although we have a large amount of information about David throughout the rest of the Bible, the Psalms reveal his heart. And what we find is that he is completely human and the ebb and flow of his humanity is ever present in his compositions. But David didn’t write all the Psalms. Other writers include Solomon, who is David's son, the sons of Cora- Asaph, Ethan - and then there are a number of them whose authors unknown or they were anonymously written. But ultimately, the purpose of this Psalms was to rally the people and to enrich the worship experience of Israel. And the songs would have been sung in public and private homes as people went about their daily lives. And these songs have stood the test of time because we sing and quote them now. Their power and enduring beauty is unmatched and they’re absolutely unrivaled in terms of literary and spiritual value. Scholars believe that the Psalms were written over a long period of time, between roughly 950 BC until about 165 maybe 170 BC. Three major periods in Israel are covered in the Psalms. The first would be during the reign of David and Solomon. The second would contain songs written when the children of Israel were taken into exile in Babylon, a story that we’ll get to later. The third would contain writings from when they were freed to go back and re-create their land after the exile. Also, a story that we’ll get to later. We have a long time span and various culture points that are represented here in the Psalms, but the Psalms are very cohesive in their purpose of bringing glory and honor to God in a very authentic and beautiful way. And today we’ll read Psalm 3, a Psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.

Commentary:

Okay, so in the book of Genesis we’ve traveled many generations from Adam and Eve and we've begun to see the wickedness that is happening in the world because humanity was separated from divinity. And all of that is leading us to the man, Noah, and an ark, and a flood. But just before we got to Noah and basically right in between some genealogy and Noah, we come across this strange passage. ‘The sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose.’ Then we were told the Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, ‘when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.’ And we reach passages like this throughout the Bible where you go, wait, what is going…what is being said, what is happening? And every year as we go through the Bible, we dive into some of these. So, who are the sons of God that saw the daughters of Eve were beautiful and took them? And who were the Nephilim, who were apparently their children? Well believe it or not, we’re not the first people to ask this question on the face of the earth. This has been being pondered for millennia. So, from a biblical scholarship perspective there’s basically three interpretations here, three ways of looking at this. The first would be that the sons of God or the Nephilim, these are angelic beings but they’re part of the spiritual realm. The second way of looking at it is that these were the rulers, they were tyrannical people, but kind of smaller kings of clans that would roam about trying to conquer and build up their kingdom. And then the third way of interpreting this would be that these are the descendants of Adam and Eve's son, Seth. So, two of these ideas are humanly based and one of them is rooted in the supernatural. And they each have their own challenges to overcome, which is why there's different ways of looking at this. So, let's look at the Seth idea first. Basically, the thought is, Adam and Eve had three sons - Cain, Abel and later Seth. Cain killed his brother Abel and then was cursed and sent away by God. Abel had died. He had been murdered by his brother. And then Adam any of had Seth. So, when we get to today's reading and we’re moving ourselves through how the world became more and more wicked, leading to a massive flood, we read of Adams family line. But it's Adams family line through Seth. So, the idea here then, is that Seth's offspring would've been similar to Abel's offspring. They weren’t murderous and tyrannical people, they weren’t cursed and sent away, and they weren't supposed to mix in with those who were. So, the Sethites weren't supposed to be mixing in with the Caneites, but they found them beautiful and did. And we’ll find that later on as we get further into the Bible that this idea of mixture is kind of a big deal. It causes massive amounts of problems for the Israelites. And, so with that explanation, then the Nephilim are the offspring between Seth's family line and Cane’s line and then being heroes of old and men of renown is just ancient memory, legend, and myth that everybody knew at the time of this writing. The problem is that the Nephilim get referenced later, when the 12 spies go to spy out the promised land, which would mean that they survived the flood. So, those following, then, this Seth model would say that that was just a reference, when the 12 spies spied out the land. The legend of the Nephilim as a species of Giants was still well-established in the culture. And, so, they weren’t really the Nephilim, they were just being referred to that way because the spies likened themselves to grasshoppers in in their midst, which is figurative language. Okay, the other human option here is that these were the judges and rulers and kind of kings of the time that they just attacked each other and were trying to build kingdoms and they would rape and pillage and do what they did. So, they were referred to as sons of God because they were part of the human family. And their bloodline was thought of as powerful because they came from powerful people even though they were evil. And a lot of that thought comes from the fact that what Genesis is doing is leading us toward the flood. So, it’s going through some genealogy, showing generations have passed, with the intent of showing how each generation became more and more evil. So, immediately following the passage about the sons of God and the daughters of man and the Nephilim, we read, ‘the Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time’, which led God to regret that he had made people and the earth was flooded. So, in light of that, these were just powerful but evil people who became legendary. And then the third way is to look at them as spiritual beings, which would make us become acutely aware that there is much more going on in the cosmos than what we can perceive with our five physical human senses. And this would've been the common worldview of ancient readers. This is how they would've understood their existence. And it is, in fact, how we as believers view our existence, that we are, in fact, spiritual beings wrapped in human flesh. But we have a much more difficult time absorbing that a spiritual being, an angelic being of some sort, could take on human form, or even human flesh, and participate in the world. But from this way of thinking we would have to acknowledge the incarnation, we would have to acknowledge that God came in human flesh in the person of Jesus and transformed the world by participating in the world. So, the idea here is that God has a spiritual family and although not tethered to physicality, is nonetheless at work in the world or wherever it is that God's work needs to be done. And they can interact with humanity. So, for example, a little later in the book of Genesis when we meet Abraham, we’ll see that he interacts with two divine beings in the physical flesh and they eat a meal together. And then they go down to Sodom and Gomorrah and they physically rescue Lott, Abraham's nephew. And even later, when we meet Jacob, he's going to have a wrestling match. And it appears that he's a wrestling with a spiritual being, or even God. It's after this wrestling match that Jacob gets a name change, and his name changes to Israel. So, this is a divine experience that affects the world after this. Or Jesus, when he’s tempted by the devil in the wilderness, once those 40 days are over angels come and minister to Him, which probably means more than just floating around Him invisibly. And the apostle Peter escapes from jail because an angel comes and unlocks the door, setting him free. So, then, if you’re following along with this, then these are spiritual, angelic beings that have become infatuated with the beauty of the women of earth. So, the extrabiblical book of Enoch talks some about this. So, we read about Enoch, I think it was yesterday. Enoch was one of people that didn't live to be like most of thousand years old. He lived like less than 400 years and then he was no more, because God took him. And the only other person mentioned in this way is the prophet Elijah who was taken up in a whirlwind and chariots of fire, which is just another example of the divine realm interacting with the physical realm here on earth. So, the book of Enoch isn't in the Bible but it is ancient and it’s within the context of the Bible. And, so, in it, Enoch talks about, after his translation, going to some of these angels, warning these angels, and even angels that are under God's judgment and restrained. So, that's not like, hey, run out and find the book of Enoch and start digesting that, although it's very interesting. It’s just that through ancient writings you can begin to tell what people were thinking in a certain period of time, how it was they understood their existence. And if this kind of stuff intrigues you, another good resource would be to read The Unseen Realm by Michael Heiser, who is a very decorated scholar. And he moves through the Bible and the ancient cultures showing how the spiritual realm is very, very much at work in our existence. So, there's some thoughts on the sons of God and the daughters of Eve and the Nephilim. But one thing that we can say for certain is that the book of Genesis is leading us toward Noah. And we see that after Eden, as things spread out upon the earth, it became more and more and more wicked. Mankind was trying to use the knowledge of good and evil to achieve what it had lost. But what it had lost was true penetrating intimacy with God and that could not be restored by the power of human ingenuity. And mankind became like animals. But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord, and a redemptive thread emerges, one that we’ll be seen throughout the entirety of the Bible.

Prayer:

Father, we thank You for Your word. And here we are at day three and already it is opening up to us, awakening our spirits, awakening our minds. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue that work throughout every single day of this year. We want to be awake and aware. We want to partner with You and participate in Your work in this world. So, we invite the transformation, the transformative power of Your word to wash over us. And we invite Your Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Amen.  

Announcements:

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

So, a few things to talk about today.

January 14th, which is a week from this Sunday, we’ll be back out on the road and will be speaking in Louisville, Kentucky. So, if you are in the area, we would love to meet you, shake your hand, hug your neck, hear a little bit of your story. I’ll be speaking at new song Christian Fellowship, Louisville and you can get the information for that at dailyaudiobible.com. Just go to the events section and you can get all the details, even a map, websites, phone numbers, all of that. So, if you are in the area, come say hello. We’ll look forward to seeing you.

We’re also talking a little bit each day about how the Daily Audio Bible works. So, we’ve talked about the website. One of the things that you will notice at the website is the Daily Bible Shop. There are a number of resources there that kind of let you wear your colors as you go through the year, but also resources to help you move your way through the year and not forget the year. We have Daily Audio Bible journals in the Daily Audio Bible shop as well as a lot of writing utensils that can accompany you through. I mean, if God's speaking to you, take notes. Journal your way through this year. One of the themes that we’ll find emerging through the Bible is not forgetting where you have come from. So, as you take the journey through the Bible and as you Journal your life as your interacting with the Bible and are able to talk about the things that are going on in your life, those will become invaluable as you go back to previous years and are able to read through what was going on and how God was faithful. And then this emerging theme of redemption that we find in the Bible, we begin to see it in our own lives. So, we’re big on journaling around here, which is why we’ve put a journal in the new Daily Audio Bible app, so you can just kind of write some thoughts down as you think of them, things you don't want to forget. But if you want to kind of Journal your way through your life, then we have a perfectly…I mean we worked really hard to come up with the perfect pairing, the perfect things to take you through that journey and you can find them in the Daily Audio Bible Shop.

Another thing to point out is our Tumblr account. Every day, the things that are said on the Daily Audio Bible are transcribed and uploaded there. So, you can go back and read what was said. And you can find that link by going to dailyaudiobible.com and you'll see some tabs up at the top to help you navigate, like a lot of websites. One of those tabs is called Community, and in the Community tab you'll see Social Media, which will show you all the social media channels that we’re on, but one of those is Tumblr, and that will take you to the transcripts.

If you want to partner with the Daily Audio Bible, you can do that at dailyaudiobible.com. There's a link that’s right on the homepage. If you're using the new Daily Audio Bible app, you can press the Give button in the upper right-hand corner or, if you prefer, the mailing address is PO Box 1996 Spring Hill Tennessee 37174.

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

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

Community Prayer and Praise:

Well hello from beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio, and happy New Year. This Daniel J. Jr. and I want to give a special shout out to all of my fellow Cincinnatians and those that live around the greater Cincinnati, northern Kentucky area. We need to meet up in the new year some time. Reach out to me on social media, just look for Daniel Johnson Jr. But that’s not why I'm calling. I want to wish everybody in the Daily Audio Bible community a Happy new year, especially those of you that are listening for the first time. What a trip this is going to be for you as it has been for me. I’ve been listening for quite a number of years now and I never wind up being the same at the end of the year as I was at the beginning of the year. And I'm so grateful that we have this new Daily Audio Bible app, the new Daily Audio Bible mobile app, and great functionality. I can Journal right there, to read along with the passages there, even mark that I've been or started an episode. What a phenomenal thing and I’m just really excited about the new year. My word…my new three words for the new year for me it's, joy, write, I’m going to do a lot more writing in the coming year, and dream. And that kind of correlates to the word for the Daily Audio Bible, a community of hope. So, I praise God for all the work he’s been able to do in 2017, but I'm excited about what's going to happen in 2018. Come, let’s celebrate all that God has done and let’s celebrate all that God is about to do. From beautiful Cincinnati, Ohio. This is Daniel J. Jr. Make it a great day.

Hi. My name is Derek from Vancouver, BC. This is my third time calling. And I just want to ask you, my DAB friends, to pray along with me and agree with me on this request. Heavenly father, I want to start a new year by surrendering to You completely. I have procrastinated so much in the past and I have lived in regret. I’ve complained and moaned about everything and I want to just start fresh. I’ve been tied up with doing so much stuff, getting busy doing things that do not matter, and I want to give those up. Father, I ask for Your help. There are addictions in my life that I want to break free from and just the guilt and shame that then goes along with it. So, Father, I ask you in Jesus's name to help me to recover what the locusts have taken from me. I ask You this Father in the name of Jesus. My brothers and sisters, I ask you to pray and agree with me on this. Okay. Thank you so much. And the Lord bless you. Happy new year to you all. Bye-bye.

Happy New Year Daily Audio Bible family. It’s Jubilant Perseverance from Indonesia. Today, I am blessed and really happy to be calling you from Thailand. I have left Indonesia for my winter break and spent the last few days in a healing center shedding 2017 and preparing to walk into 2018 with clear vision, clear sight, and ready to see what God is up to and how I can be a part of it. So, I just wanted to call in and pray for that to be a part of all of our perspectives as we cross over into a new year and ask that the Father give us wisdom, and that He continue to guide us as we surrender ourselves to Him. And just pray for the blood of Jesus to cover all of His people who have just surrendered to Him and given our lives over to Him and confessed that He is Lord. It’s been a really, really difficult year, but I am excited about what’s to come as the old passes away and the new is finally here, literally a brand-new year. Thank you all so much for continuing to be a part of this and support one another and Brian and your family, thank you for your work that the team is doing there to make this community possible. I’ve been very blessed listening to the word and listening to your commentary on it as well as the prayers. Have a wonderful 2018 everyone. By-bye.

God Your so faithful that I’m forced to confess That I’m wonderfully made and abundantly blessed And as we draw closer to the end of another year Some things in my blindness have become abundantly clear Two months ago I had anguish every single day Blisters and excruciating pain that never went away Now two months later I’m sending up praise Halleluiah, thank you Jesus and my spirit just stays and replays Over and over I can't thank him enough Things seemed so hopeless excruciatingly tough Now I’m ebullient like a bottle of uncorked Champaign Free from anxiety free from all pain We can endure for a moment, a minute, a night But when that joy comes in the morning it's an incredibly welcome wonderful sight Halleluiah, thank you Jesus I have to say it again Like I told you before his praises within me don’t end I know there’ll be other problems other ailments and fights Other days filled with anxiety as well as other sleepless nights But I know that the Father has given me the power to win Jesus and the Holy Spirit advocate, healer, and friend blindtony1016@gmail.com. Happy New Year's everybody. I’d like to give a shout out to Walter. Hope everything’s going good with your mother. Keep burning girl. Keep burning. Haven’t heard from Blessed Like Me. You still there brother? And Shannon, with the spiritual nuggets. Where you all at? And Gigi, haven’t heard from you either. And, also like to give a shout out to Slave of Jesus. Alright, love you all. You’re in my prayers every day. And, once again, Brian, thank you for this won…

[bad-beats]

Bad Beets Ch. 4 (12/2-12/15)

How many bad beets does it take to get to the center of Jonah’s sanity? The world may soon know. Welcome back to another episode of the Bad Beets Blog! For returning readers, you know the drill. If this is your first time stumbling along the Bad Beets Blog: Hello! My name is Jonah and this is a blog about my luck (or lack thereof) when making sports bets. Let’s jump right into it! 

12/2/19

League: NCAAB

Bet: Furman vs South Florida 1H Over 61.5 (-110)

Units: 1.25 to win 1.15

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein on Twitter) often uses the word ‘anarchy’ to describe college hoops, especially during this 2019-2020 season. When betting college basketball, you better have a defibrillator near you because it can be one of the most exhilarating, heart-stopping sports to gamble on. College teams can score 15 points in two-minutes by hitting 5 straight threes, or they can go on 8-minute scoring droughts. Furman and South Florida played a clean 18 minutes of basketball, scoring 61 points with 1:41 left in the first half. Needing just a half of a point with two minutes to go, this bet could, and should, have cashed in my sleep. Instead...

You have got to be freakin’ kidding me! Four missed field goals and two missed free throws and the total sat silently at 61 to close the half. As Jon Rothstein says, Bad Beet #1 of the week was ‘the epitome of brutality.’

Bonus: Bad Beets Hall of Fame

I want to quickly bring up one of the worst beets of all time (that I happened to be on the Hero Win side of). Take a look...

I had about 1 unit on the under in this game, but I can’t imagine how many things I would have punched if I was on the over. This might be a nominee for one of the worst over/under beets of all time, not just 2019. Scoring only 3 total points in five minutes of basketball is unfathomable. Oh, and to top things off, there was a missed free throw with one second left that would have sent the game to overtime and basically guaranteed the over. Thoughts and prayers to anyone who was on the wrong side of that bet.

12/7/19

League: NCAAB

Bet: Illinois ML (+433)

Units: 0.75 to win 3.25

For those of you who don’t know, I graduated from the University of Illinois in May 2019. I’ve been a fan of the Illini my entire life and come from a family of Orange and Blue. When I was a student, Illinois went to 0 bowl games and had 0 NCAA tournament appearances (though we did come in 2nd in the country in Women’s Volleyball when I was a senior). Illinois basketball is finally exciting again. With a backcourt of Ayo Dosunmu and Trent Frazier, and freshman phenom Kofi Cockburn in the middle, Illinois is a force to be reckoned with this season. We were 10-point underdogs heading into Maryland on a fine Saturday afternoon. This spread seemed wildly too big (so, of course, I hammered it) but I also had to sprinkle the Illinois ML +433. Illinois dominated the entire game - leading by double digits for most of it. The score was 57-48 in favor of the Illini with 4:33 left in the game. 

Maryland closed the game on an 11-1 run to comeback and stun the Illini. As an Illinois fan, this loss hurt a lot. But as a gambler who took Illinois ML, this obliterated me. How the fuck do you only score 1 point over the last five minutes of a conference game? **Keep this Illinois scoring drought at the top of your mind while you continue reading because unfortunately, an incredibly similar situation happened just one week later.

12/8/19

League: Serie A

Bet: Sassuolo PK (-124) 

Units: 1.3 to win 1.1

This brutal push had everything. I was already winning this bet after just 420 seconds (nice). Sassuolo jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead in the 36th minute of the contest. After conceding in the 51st minute, they had an opportunity to redeem themselves with a penalty kick just 15 minutes later. Berardi confidently stepped up to the spot. And confidently missed the penalty. 

No worries though, Mr. Berardi; the bet was still winning with a 2-1 Sassuolo lead. It stayed that way until Sassuolo conceded AGAIN in the 90th minute and the game finished in a draw. Fuck me. BRUTAL PUSH!

12/8/19

League: NFL

Bet: Redskins vs Packers 1H over 21 (-120)

Units: 2.5 to win 2.1

Note to self: never bet an over in a game with Dwayne Haskins as one of the quarterbacks. I was kind of banking on the Packers to score all three TDs in the first half to hit the over by themselves, so I was pleasantly surprised when the Skins found the endzone with just over 5 minutes to play in the first half. The score at that time was 14-0 Packers, so all I needed was a Dustin Hopkins extra point to guarantee a push at the very least.

Notice how the Redskins score only increased by 6 on their touchdown drive? Fucking Dustin Hopkins pulled the XP wide left. 

There is very little that is more fun than betting an over on a whole number and sitting at that number, hoping for one more point to win the bet but not being upset with a push if there are no more scores. Unfortunately, I was now in boom or bust territory. Aaron Rodgers quickly drove into field goal range and was trying to get Mason Crosby into a better FG position, but he instead got sacked and lost the ball. Fucking fuck. My bet was riding on Dwayne Haskins to drive into field goal range with one minute left. As I said before, your bet is as dead as a turkey on Thanksgiving when it relies on Dwayne Haskins in crunch time. To my surprise, Dwayne actually drove the ball over midfield, and then unsurprisingly threw an interception. Baaaaaaaaad Beat #3.

12/9/19

League: NHL

Bet: Blue Jackets vs Capitals 1P over 1.5 (-150)

Units: 3.75 to win 2.5

May I introduce to you another type of bet in which you can have a bad beet. The first period over/under 1.5 goals in an NHL game is a thrilling thing to bet. If you read this blog regularly, you know I love betting overs, and 1P overs generally have better value than 2P or 3P (the latter periods’ over 1.5 goals are generally around -180). For some reason, Vegas thinks fewer goals are scored in the first period of a hockey game than the other two (and I am sure there are statistics to back that up), but it is always enticing to bet that 2 or more goals will be scored in the first 20 minutes of a game. 

The Blue Jackets scored the first goal of the game with 16:33 left in the 1st period. Amazing fucking start. Nothing like getting that first goal out of the way just minutes into the period.

This was a sick fucking joke. The Blue Jackets put up 20 (!!) shots in the first period alone, the Caps tacked on 6, but only one of them found the net. Absolutely abysmal. Bad Beet #4 of the week made me want to slit my femoral artery with a hockey blade. 

Life is too short to bet the under! Say it louder for the people in the back!

The curse of the “Under 2.5 stoppage-time third goal of the game to ruin your bet” strikes again, in classic Europa league fashion. 

12/14/19

League: NCAAB

Bet: Illinois team total over 71.5 (-115)

Units: 1.75 to win 1.5

Very surprised that I survived Friday the 13th without any bad beets. I guess Friday the 13th was hungover because the bad luck struck the next afternoon. Illinois was coming off a massive, program-defining win for Coach Brad Underwood at home against #5 Michigan just three days prior to hosting Old Dominion. I bet on Illinois in every way and their mother. I had Illinois 1H -8, the 1H over 65, Illinois 1H team total of 34.5, Illinois -13.5, and finally Illinois team total over 71.5. Illinois played a fantastic first half, jumping out to a 40-25 lead at the end of the twenty minutes (hitting all 3 of my first half bets in the process). They were well on pace to hit their team total of 71.5, along with covering the -13.5. Illinois scored 29 points in the first 15+ minutes of the 2nd half, needing only 3 points in the remaining 4:14 to hit their team total over.

What if I told you that Alan Griffin would hit that jumper that made the lead 25 with four minutes left, and Illinois wouldn’t score another point the rest of the game? Remember that scoring drought that the Illini had just one week earlier against Maryland at the end of the game? Well, this one was nearly identical. ODU went on an 11-0 run to end the game and nearly came up with a backdoor cover for the ages.

Illinois ended up holding on to win by 14, but my goodness was this a Bad Beet. #5 of the week to be exact. At least the Illini are 8-3 and look like they could cause a shakeup in the B1G this year. 

Bad Beet Count: 5 (with one Brutal Push)

Unit Swing: 9.5 to win 10.5 (20 unit swing)

That is all for this chapter of the Bad Beets Blog! Please feel free to comment, share with your degenerate gambling friends, or like my page on Facebook here: facebook.com/badbeetsblog 

Thanks for reading and see you next week. Happy Holidays and good luck with your College Football Bowl Game betting!