#lent 2021

[tawneybel]

St. Vee Day

Song of the day: “Cute Aggression” by Nicole Dollanganger. 

Hope everyone had a decent Valentine’s! I was supposed to go out on the 13th, because Shrove Tuesday, but the weather interrupted that plan. (At least I got Ferrero Rocher.) Lately I’ve been keeping track of local events so I can plan cute non-work outfits.

Blog-related goals: 

Post more longer imagines. 500+ words, like school essay length. 

Post more imagines for characters played by celebrity crushes. David Dastmalchian keeps accidentally popping up in movies I’m watching. The Boogeyman, Last Voyage of the Demeter, Dune rewatch… For some reason Piter didn’t stand out to me the first time?? (Probably because Leto Atreides. ) His matter of fact way of speaking is so attractive. 

More would involves and N/SFW alphabets? 

Just get through the inbox. XD

Post ranked 2023 movie list. It would have been posted back in January, but I keep watching new ones. 

[thedreadvampy]

everything around this housing shit basically boils down to: what I said would be fine 2+ years ago isn't necessarily what's fine now

[poisondartlesbian]

13 and 47!!

13.

heaven is not fit to house a love like you and i

47.

we're no good for one another, no, no, no

give me a number between 1 and 100 and I'll give you a song from my Spotify Wrapped!

[mademoiselle-red]

I’ve finished my Yingdu ep 1-4 rewatch: more timely-wimey speculation:

“10 years ago” Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents disappeared and Qiao Ling’s parents lent him 10 years of rent on the photo studio, which he is supposed to start repaying once he grows up and reopens the shop for business

In 2019, Cheng Xiaoshi renovated the studio and reopened it for business with the help of Qiao Ling and Lu Guang (who “happens” to be walking by). Their first customer is the university anime club.

Since his official character profile says he is 21 years old in 2021 (during seasons 1 & 2) then we can assume he was 19 in 2019 and 9 in 2009, when his parents disappeared.

Lu Guang’s age is blurred out in his official character profile but Qiao Ling says he is younger than Cheng Xiaoshi in S1E1, and they are both university freshmen when they meet, so I’m going to assume Lu Guang’s body is 18 years old in 2019.

In the leaked clips from Yingdu Ep5, Lu Guang says that his dad noticed his special abilities when he was 7 years old, which is 11 years ago.

What if Lu Guang awakening his powers is somehow related to the disappearance of Cheng Xiaoshi’s parents?

Maybe Cheng Weimin also had special abilities related to photos and used them to help his customers at the photo studio. And Lu Guang’s dad walked in one day and was like: can you help my son?

Not sure why that would have led to Cheng Weimin going to Yingdu though…

[coochiequeens]

Another sex offender TIM released into the public.........and given a laptop

Daughter's fury as paedophile father who abused and shared images of her with other sick perverts online before changing gender in prison is quietly released (...and given a laptop by an offender's charity)

By ROSS SLATER

PUBLISHED: 10:47 EDT, 16 July 2023 | UPDATED: 10:49 EDT, 16 July 2023

A paedophile who changed gender while in prison for sexually abusing her own daughter as a child and sending explicit photos of her to perverts online has been quietly released back into the community - and given a laptop by a do-gooding charity.

Claire Fox, 61, who was previously known as Clive Bundy, a father of six, served just seven years of a 15-year jail sentence, before being settled into a tiny market town on the Welsh borders.

Fox, who wears a black wig and floral dresses told neighbours, who knew nothing of her sordid past, that she was an electrician from Bangor as they helped her get settled into her new surroundings and helped her furnish her flat.

Fox's release from prison has appalled her daughter Ceri-Lee Galvin, who bravely waived her right to anonymity, having been abused by her father for nine years from the age of eight.

Revealing her astonishment, Ceri-Lee, 24, told MailOnline: 'My father is not a woman and I refuse to recognise him as such. He changed his gender in prison to make his life there easier.

But now he is out and already up to his usual tricks – conning everyone he meets. 

'The fact he is now dressed as a woman makes him more dangerous as young girls are his thing and he has never shown any remorse.

'My father is a highly manipulative man who has attended no sexual offender rehabilitation programmes, shown no remorse for what he has done and openly admits finding children attractive.

'There have been no meetings I'm aware of to tell local schools about his presence, he has no tag and no curfew. He has just been put into this community and given all he could wish for – food, furniture, a home and a laptop.'

Ceri-Lee, now a student paramedic, added: 'I am in no way transphobic and I feel incredibly sorry for people who genuinely need to transition. They face stigma and worse because of cases like this.

'But it should just not be an option for those convicted of sexual offences against children to suddenly say that they want to be a woman.

'This only arose at the end of 2021 when he was due to be moved to an open prison but then had a fight with a fellow prisoner that was serious enough to stop the move.

'That is when he went for the gender change – when he was almost 60, having been a macho man all his life and having had eight children and having never mentioned gender dysphoria before.

'Now he is being indulged by everyone. The prison service gave him make-up and women's clothes and now a charity for the armed forces have provided him with so much stuff when all he did was a short stint in the Territorial Army in his 20s.

He has conned them. He was never a soldier. The whole thing is outrageous.'

Fox arrived in a sheltered accommodation block for older people in a tiny town at the start of June.

She was given new furniture, a television, printer, washing machine, crockery and a laptop by the armed forces charity SSAFA because she had once been in the Territorial Army.

Fox's neighbour Lyn Robinson, 74, said: 'My first impression was that this person was very cheerful and amenable, assuring all us older people that they'd be no trouble. They seemed very confident despite the outlandish appearance.

'I thought she might find it difficult fitting in so I really took care of her. I gave her clothes and even lent her £70, which is a lot for a pensioner.

'I took her to the food bank at the Baptist Church where she was given loads of stuff including vouchers for a butcher in town and for a coffee shop.

'And we went to a concert at St Edward's Church where I introduced her to the vicar. I had no idea of her history.

Fox's decision to change gender before being released from prison, provoked a storm of protest when it was revealed in April.

She chose the same name as gender-critical campaigner and media pundit Claire Fox, now sitting in the House of Lords as Baroness Fox of Buckley.

Campaign groups fear that by changing their gender, sex offenders can effectively whitewash their past and could avoid detection under the Home Office's Disclosure and Barring Service, set up to protect children from abusers.

DBS uses official paperwork such as a passport or driving licence to carry out their checks, both of which can prove difficult to check after choosing a new name and gender.

The potential loophole is provided by the Gender Recognition Act (2004), which created a 'sensitive applications route' for trans people.

Ceri-Lee added: 'The victim liaison officer told me the only reason I was being informed about the name and gender change was because he had given permission for this to happen.

'It's allowing him to say that Clive Bundy never existed, that my abuse never existed and it is clearly a danger to children which is why I decided to speak out.' 

Fox is not the first sex offender to change gender while in prison

A rapist who carried out sexual attacks as a man named Adam Graham in 2016 and 2019 sparked a heated debate earlier this year after changing gender and name to Isla Bryson while waiting to stand trial at the High Court in Glasgow.

And in 2018, convicted rapist 'Karen White' – branded a 'highly manipulative' predator by a judge – was moved to HMP New Hall in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, and sexually assaulted two women inmates.

Fox was arrested after police discovered images of Ceri-Lee online that the abuser had been trading with other pedophiles.

She was later charged with and admitted to several counts of sexual activity with Ceri-Lee, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and distributing indecent images.

In 2016 she was sentenced to 15 years in prison. It was not until the end of 2021 that she told the authorities she wanted to change gender.

A SSAFA spokesperson, said: 'SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity provides practical, emotional and financial assistance to serving personnel, reservists, veterans and their families in their time of need. Due to data protection laws and our need to protect our beneficiaries' and employees' confidentiality, we cannot comment on individuals or their circumstances.'

A spokesperson for Dyfed-Powys Police said: 'In line with national guidelines we can neither confirm nor deny the information you have provided.

'However, we can confirm that Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements are utilised throughout the entire force area to manage appropriate offenders living in the community and they will be closely supervised by local officers to minimise any risk.'

[upsettingandunfortunateclasshate]

A Danish artist who pocketed large sums of money lent to him by a museum – and submitted empty frames as his artwork – has been ordered by a court to repay the funds.

Jens Haaning, a conceptual artist whose work focuses on power and inequality, was commissioned in 2021 by the Kunsten Museum of Modern Art in Aalborg, northern Denmark, to recreate two earlier works that used scores of banknotes to represent average incomes.

Haaning’s 2007 work, An Average Danish Annual Income, displayed krone notes fixed to canvas in a frame, and a second 2011 work about Austrian incomes used euro bills.

The museum provided about 532,000 krone (£61,500) from its reserves to recreate artworks as well as an artist’s fee of about 40,000 krone. But when staff unpacked the newly delivered works, they found two empty frames with the title Take the Money and Run.

He's done a right old job on them 😂😂

[palmeryyz]

January, culturally, environmentally and sometimes politically can be the cruelest month. I was reminded of this on the 15th day of 2025 when David Lynch, the creator of some of the most remarkable, strange and breathtaking cinema, passed away at the age of 78.

His passing was just five days after the anniversary of the death of another man who fell to Earth, David Bowie - who left us nine years ago.

The sadness from the passing of these two great people has been compounded by the frigid temperatures experienced lately (January 15-21 is historically the coldest week of winter) and positively numbing events happening in the United States.

My posts about Bowie's death anniversary prompted a friend to lend me a book entitled Andrew Potter on Decline - Stagnation, Nostalgia and Why Every Year is the Worst One Ever.

My friend lent me the book because it whimsically ties the beginning of this decline to Bowie's death in 2016. Through chapters on Progress, Stagnation, Politics, Reason and the Pandemic, Potter convincingly connects the dots showing the degrading effects of populism, isolationism, totalitarianism and other toxic isms.

The book was published in 2021, before Trump's second term and the exponential rise of artificial intelligence, but its message is just as profound.

The loss of David Lynch in 2025 just days before Trump's second inauguration left me feeling doubly lost.

Not only had Lynch pulled me into the sometimes strange and wonderful world of cinema with films like Blue Velvet and Wild at Heart, which I had enjoyed immensely in their early days at the New Yorker repetory theatre in London, Ontario. But he also helped through a difficult read when I saw Dune, and was lulled back into Frank Herbert's science fiction masterpiece.

Like Bowie's music (and film work for that matter), Lynch's films were a treasure to me. On a grander scale, after reading Potter's book, I worried that Lynch's passing is marking an even steeper decline for the future.

But I was buoyed by a clip of an interview with musician/spoken word artist Henry Rollins that speaks to this challenging time.

"This is not a time to be dismayed. This is punk rock time. This is what Joe Strummer trained you for. It is now time to go. You're a good person, that means more now than ever," Rollins said. "You can be thunderous in your own life and being cool to the eight people around you. And it rubs off...goodness is viral."

[fermercadal]

Rupert - 2021

Cámara: Nikon D5600 Lente: Nikkor 50mm f/1.8

[ryanlowrie]

Since January 2021 my lovely friend @secretagentsunshine has lent her likeness to recreational sketchibitionism in a project I have titled The Diamondrea Dossier, an incredible show where the audience glow while the watermelon grow in the dirt soil of my avant- garden Paper Stage Art journal

[the-gershomite]

Conan and the People of the Black Circle and Other Stories -2021- Dark Horse Comics

Conan and the People of the Black Circle: part 2

script: Fred Van Lente

art: Ariel Olivetti

letters: Richard Starkings & Comicraft

based on the work of Conan creator Robert E. Howard

[accio-victuuri]

(candy vault) : alexander mcqueen shoes, nike off white and yibo’s missing mole 🤍

this fandom has lots of candies in the past years and there are ones that fall through the cracks or things that i simply wanna talk about. also for the benefit of new turtles who probably missed it & a good trip down memory lane for those who’ve been here for a while. i made other posts similar to this before and i haven’t done a good old mini compilation so here ya go. ^^

2/23/2021 WYB was in Beijing, participating in the recording of CCTV’s Lantern Festival program in the evening. The actual broadcast was 2/26/2021.

In the materials initially sent out by YBO, for the photos, you couldn’t see AM shoes. Maybe the shoot was better off focusing on his face, which I totally agree, but it was like they didn’t want to focus on it that much. We only saw the shoes when they released the BTS video where it would be tricky to crop it out.

During the actual performance he changed into a more comfortable looking Jimmy Choo shoes. He was wearing AM outfit so it made sense that the shoes should match too. This should’t really be a big deal or even a CPN, only because changing shoes is sort of normal at events like this. Maybe he was more comfortable with the Jimmy Choo, although the choreography for this performance is not that complicated like his other routines. The way I remember it, WYB usually sticks to the shoes he has on.

The CPN alarm bells started going off tho when ZZ flew from Beijing to Shanghai wearing the same style McQueen shoes. He had shooting back in 2/24 and there were some talk that he was more than a half hour late as planned on set. So going by our collective galaxy brain, they could have spent some time together during late 2/23 and some time on 2/24 which is after the CCTV shoot. WYB probably lent the shoe to him or he just got it from their shared closet lol. This is why ZZ was sort of late, because he was with WYB. The pattern of ZZ being later than usual on set when he is with WYB is something that still happens this year. I’m not implying that he is slacking off when he is with WYB but more of just adjusting his schedule so he can accommodate the love of his life. they both deserve that in between their busy schedules.

maybe this is why YBO didn’t want to highlight that on the materials they released 2/26 ; because they knew where the shoe went 😂😂😂

While we’re in the subject of shoes, let’s take it further back with their matching nike off white in 2018. It’s one CPN that is often given as an example but I haven’t discussed on here.

AAAAAHHHHH! I miss the days when they could still wear Nike shoes. Oh well….

Looking through the airport pictures of ZZ before joining the CQL group from 2016 to 2018, there are no pair of Nikes that could often be seen in pictures of him. There are 2 back in 2017. Before CQL, ZZ had quite a variety of shoes, including a few pairs from Adidas. Like WYB, it is obvious that he likes to buy Nike co-branded products, likes to grab the latest models, and even buys more for collection.

Now let’s focus first on the shoes, it’s a collab of Nike air vapormax X off white. There are two shoes of the same style but in different colors. The black model will be available at 3/30/2018 and the white will be available at 4/18/2018. We know that at the time, WYB will surely have what’s new when it comes to NIKE. It’s either it will be sent to him cause he has a relationship with the brand or he will buy it himself. He is known to always wear the latest designs released. He is also a collector, so he most likely bought the black and white version.

WYB wore the white version on 4/28 and ZZ wore the black model on 5/8 based on photos.

As for ZZ, he was recording an episode for a show and he also used this shoe for the rehearsal. It is the same show where he had to dance and the choreography was taught by WYB. We’ve seen this in the BTS and ZZ talked about it himself.

WYB was seen again with the pair during PD101 on 5/10. It’s funny cause this is the same day where XZ was filmed candidly behind the scenes and he said he hasn’t seen LWJ all day.

These two. Honestly. They only formally “met” and then started shoot 4/16 and it hasn’t even been a month but they already have a couple shoe and ZZ was out there emoting about missing LWJ/WYB? It’s a common discussion that leads to alternative timelines like DT or 2017 or it could just be that it’s one of those rare instance where you connect with someone so quickly.

I have 3 possible explanations:

1. It’s totally unrelated. They bought their pairs separately since they like the style and collab.

2. WYB gave the shoe to XZ. I am a fan of both of them giving gifts to each other. And if you are someone who believed XZ gave him a lego set even before they started filming as a gesture of goodwill then this should make more sense to you. Also WYB is known to give gifts and that includes shoes ( for example SDC 3, he gave out multiple pairs ). This reasoning is not necessarily a CPN of them being boyfriends, but more of being close enough to give each other gifts. and not just the usual one you would give to a colleague cause if WYB only has the white and XZ has the black, it’s a couple shoe. WYB low key hinting at the prospect if them being a pair and XZ accepting it.

3. They bought it together, as you would when you’re with a friend and are scrolling through shopping apps together. I think there are fake rumors of that, the two, in between takes scroll through their phones and buy each other stuff or same style clothes. Again, it doesn’t necessarily mean boyfriend behavior, but more of being close enough to do that.

A clue for that is WYB was seen with the black pair during CQL filming around early 6/2018. You can clown that he is wearing ZZ’s shoes or he did buy the 2 kinds for his own and ZZ got the black only.

Lastly is the stolen mole!!!!! ♥️

Since cpfs are obsessing over WYB’s very visible mole from the Bazaar shoot.

It’s one of my favorite fake and it basically says, The reason why WYB cares so much about ZZ’s mole under the lip, is because WYB also had one like this when he was little. The elders in the family said it’s something good and it means he will have a happy life. However the mole disappeared. Or i guess in his case it’s not as prominent and has faded instead.

While filming, GG has scenes where he didn’t have make up or it gets taken off because of the heat. WYB looks at him closely and points out his lip mole, saying that he had something like that before but it disappeared. GG then added that his mom told him that his mole appeared only after a while when he was young.

That’s when WYB said GG stole his mole. When it disappeared, the mole transferred to GG 😂😂😂

Maybe this is why WYB is so fixated with his mole that he even includes it in his drawing of XZ/WWX.

-END.

[sgiandubh]

Ooh, looks like Sam is in Austria with Audi, not sent there by Starz as speculated. Hope your Saturday is great!!

Dear Audi Anon,

Not just Audi, even if you are correct: that snow test drive was sponsored by Audi and can you blame him for doing his promo job? After all, they graciously lent him not one, but several cars. Totally normal business thing.

But also Burton Snowboards, a very ambitious Vermont-based company (and part of a bigger group) which is, currently, the second largest snowboard manufacturer in the US, right after Utah's Backcountry:

The most interesting and positive part of it is that Burton has a worldwide behemoth sales network, with more than 4,300 owned or partner stores (in 2021: https://www.thomasnet.com/articles/top-suppliers/snowboard-manufacturers-suppliers/). Probably a fair bit more than Barbour, who keeps its own network very discreet, communicating only about its presence in 55 countries.

Not the same crowd. But still a very interesting move, despite the 2022 controversy, when Burton was accused of promoting Xinjiang as a Chinese winter sports destination (in the wake of the OGs) and completely ignoring what is pudically named by some 'the Uyghur Problem'. Just noting this in passing, before the others do it with an agenda.

[charlotte-of-wales]

Happy 4th wedding anniversary to Princess Beatrice of York and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi!

The couple tied the knot privately on 17 July 2020 at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, Windsor. The couple are believed to have begun dating in September 2018, and their engagement was announced on 26 September 2019.

Beatrice's wedding dress was a remodelled Norman Hartnell dress that was lent by the Queen, and she wore the Queen Mary Fringe Tiara that was also worn by the Queen at her own wedding.

The couple has a daughter Sienna Elizabeth Mapelli Mozzi, born on 18 September 2021. Edoardo has a son - Christopher Woolf - from a previous relationship.

[gvtted-ratz]

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Will Graham x M!Reader

Last Edited: March 24, 2021 9:30 PM

TW: anxiety

Requested: no

Word Count: 1,060

AO3 LINK -> HERE

You have been under stress from Jack for a week now. He kept pushing and pushing and pushing. It was just too much. He was always rushing you to finish up your notes on cases which led to mistakes. This, in turn, led to you being yelled at by him all the time. It not only embarrassed you, but it also made you feel both dumb and inferior to everyone else around you. Jack had told you that if you were to make any more mistakes, I’d be taken off the case you are on now. That scared you more than anything. Your job is to review the cases, profile the killer, and take notes on it all. The moment Jack yelled that at you, you could feel everything crashing down around you.

You hid away in the lab with Bev. Brian and Jimmy were out getting everyone lunch. Bev had lent her lab coat to you since you were pretty cold. Bev seemed fine with the entire thing since she was the one to offer you her coat. The coat was warm thanks to Bev’s body heat and warmed you right up. You and Bev had been talking about the workload you’ve been getting and the stress you’ve been facing. You weren’t ready for her to suddenly bring up Will Graham though.

“So, you got the hots for the unstable man… I see how it is,” Bev says, her lips curled up in a smirk.

“I… No! You be quiet!” You tell her, your face flushing at the sudden change in subject. Bev’s eyes twinkle with mischief.

“You know I can’t do that. Now that I know about you having the hots for him and all,” Her smirk doesn’t disappear, it seems to grow bigger. “I’m just surprised the man hasn’t noticed.”

“You’re surprised? I’m surprised! He knows what people think and, yeah it is kinda scary, but it’s also really cool. Maybe he does know but doesn’t feel the same way,” Your tone goes from joyful to slightly sorrowful at the thought of rejection. Before you and Bev can say anymore, Will walks in, holding a file in his hands. “Oh, is that for me?” You ask, reaching your hand out to take the file, already knowing it’s for you. Will hands you the file, observing you the entire time.

“You seem to be nervous, very nervous,” He says, staring at you. You give him a shaky smile, feeling your nerves slowly getting the better of you.

“Yeah, well, I’ve just been stressed lately. I mean, have you heard Jack yelling at me? I’m sure everyone has by now,” You end your sentence with a nervous, shaky laugh.

“Yeah. I heard it. Sorry you had to go through that… I’ve been yelled at by him so many times that I’ve not fazed anymore,” Will tells you, giving you a small smile, trying to comfort you. You try your best to keep your face from flushing at the simple smile. You look towards Bev quickly, seeing her mouth the words ‘Yeah, you got the hots for him’. You give her a small glare before looking down at the file in your hands.

“I guess it’s time to get to work. Bev, be a dear get me a chair, Darling,” You say dramatically, trying to get rid of the sick feeling in your stomach. You hear Bev let out a chuckle as she goes to get you a chair. Faintly, you hear Will let out a small snort of amusement. You feel that nervousness slowly coming back. Who knew that a simple sound from Will would get to you like that? Bev pushes the desk chair towards you, its wheels rolling silently. You grab it and place it by the desk and sit down. You open up the case file and start to analyze the pictures.

“Well, I’ll be on my way. I’ve done all I came to do,” He says as he starts to walk out. He stops suddenly and looks towards you. You don’t notice with your face close to one of the crime scene photos, your eyes squinting slightly as you looked at all the details. “[Redacted], you can come to my house if you need to talk about the cases or just want to chat, You’re Welcome Anytime .” He leaves after saying those words, leaving you no time to process them before he’s gone.

“Seems like Mr. Will Graham may have to hots for you too. Please tell me you’ll go to his house. Two nervous people like you and Will go great for one another, I swear,” Bev says, leaning over you.

“I might, but you never know. Maybe I’ll disappear off the face of the Earth for a while. Being alone with Will would be a nightmare,” You say, sighing. You hear her chuckle as she pats your shoulder.

“Yeah. You two would just sit there awkwardly in silence, not knowing how to start a conversation. Maybe you two would make eye contact and then look away, all blushing like they do in books and movies,” She teases, her tone light.

“We won’t do what the movies and books do. That’s too cliche. Think a little bit higher of us, will ya’?” You laugh, sounds both happy and amused by her words.

“Don’t come crying to me when you do exactly what they do in those books.”

“You’re a hopeless romantic, how sweet.” You hit her shoulder lightly, your nervousness now gone thanks to her teasing.

“Look, all I’m saying is, you two would be cute. Two cute dudes dating each other and having each other’s backs. Sounds like a dream right there. And my friends would be boyfriends! I get to be the one who sets up your dates because you both would suck at it. I can see it now!” Bev exclaims, shaking the chair gently in excitement.

“Alright, calm down. Don’t let your imagination get the best of you. You don’t even know if it’ll happen,” You tell her, your smile wide on your face.

“Oh shush! I do to know. It’s destined to happen and you know it. For now, let’s get this case looked at. Hate to have Jack yell at you again,” She says, calming down enough to finally work with.

“Yeah, alright. Let’s get this case started.”

[francesderwent]

discovered that my fiancé didn’t actually watch all of over the garden wall when I lent it to him back in 2021, because apparently he watched the first few episodes and texted me about it and I didn’t text back, and he was like “what’s the point if I don’t get to talk to her about it” and immediately gave up in a fit of lovelorn pique

[iguessitsjustme]

I want to talk about hope.

In June of 2021, my house burned down. I was living with my parents and my two younger siblings at the time. My younger sister was set to move out in a few days, and I had just put my two weeks’ notice in at my previous job and was working my final day (I worked remotely). Around midday, I smelled burning followed by the smoke alarms going off. Only my siblings and I were home at the time. As I came out of my room, one of my siblings ran up stating the house was on fire. All three of us fled as quickly as we could. We all made it out with plenty of time and none of us were hurt. But because we fled so quickly, none of us were wearing shoes.

My siblings and I tried desperately to reach the rest of my family. My mother was about an hour away visiting her father as she did every week. My dad was at work in a different city. And my older brother lived across the country from us. The area we lived in was rural and we all had very poor cell reception without the use of internet. It was incredibly hard to reach anybody. It felt like the three of us against a giant monster that consumed everything we had. But as we struggled to use our useless phones (luckily all of us had our phones on us when it happened) and as we watched our house become consumed by flames, the most miraculous thing happened. People showed up.

These were not people that the three of us knew. They were all people from the community that came to see what was going on. They saw the three of us trying to call our parents and lent us their phones. They sat and watched with us as the flames engulfed our home and as the pops and bangs of the house being torn apart hurt us to hear. And the thing that I remember the most is the family that looked down at our feet, saw that we had no shoes, and took off their own shoes and gave them to us. They did not think about it for a second. They simply removed their shoes and gave them to us. They did not fit perfectly, but they were a comfort that we did not have that was given back to us during an incredibly difficult time.

I know right now is tough. I know things look bleak. I know it looks like there is a monster consuming our home. But there are people out there that will sit with you. There are people that will offer you their phones. There are people that will offer you their shoes. There are people that will return to you a piece of comfort that was stolen. They are there. And you will not have to look very far to find them. Hope will be found in those people. In the little moments and the little acts that they do. Even when you feel so alone and like you're watching your house burn down, hope can still be found.