#mule lives in a cave

[nerves-nebula]

dunno if i ever posted these here but i made these book covers last year during wintersession based on a story ive been developing on and off for years. the basic situation was that every next entry in the series had to share one color with the previous cover, and all the fonts and general placement of the type had to be similar. also each book cover had to start with the name of one of the characters.

this was before i'd taken any type classes so it's kind of rough but! i like it.

[brucewaynehater101]

Hear me out for something Silly. Jack is not Tim's biological parent. Jack, Janet, and Tim all know this. So does Tim's biological parent. Tim does have contact with his Biodad and they do get along wonderfully. When he has time off from his very busy job and thinks it's safe, he will 100% drop by Gothem to see his son. Even if they can't see eachother a lot, Tim and his dad are still very close.

As for how this happened, Janet and Jack had a three way with a *very* interesting stranger about the time Tim would have been conceived. Since he didn't exactly look like Jack, they did a DNA test and then called the guy and asked him to do a DNA test. He told them he would but only if he got his DNA back after the test. Just one of his weird quirks that worked as Rizz on the pair.

Honestly though, it's nothing short of a miracle that they got The Question of all heroes to do a paternity test, but then again. He has always wanted to be a dad and this is an opportunity that just fell into his lap! And the day he walked into his son of 7 years old standing infront of a corkboard covered in pictures and string? It was the proudest day of his life. He had little Tim talk him through all of the strings and explain his theory and Tim started by smacking his little hand on the board and saying in the most manic voice, "BATMAN IS BRUCE WAYNE."

By the end, Question was pacing around the room as Tim also paced around the room, both rambling at eachother as they used Bruce's connections to uncover who well over half the leauge are. Does Question feel a little guilty about finding out his coworkers identities? Maybe. But he doesn't care, he's bonding with his son! His son is brilliant!! Not even he knew who Batman was!!! He could never have been prouder and it nearly made him cry.

Years later when Tim became Robin, he freely told Question about it and while Question didn't approve fully, he knew there was nothing he could do to stop his brilliant, wonderful, adorable, *stubborn* son. Tim could out stubborn a hundred mules, just like both his mother and his father. Maybe he could even out stubborn the both of them, as evidence by Question being the one to cave first. He caved on the condition that Tim get *proper* training and go to a few people of his choosing after he trains under the people that Bruce wants him to train under. Tim agrees and gets a few extra teachers in his time away.

Tim does not tell the Bats that Question is his Dad, simply assuming that if he could figure out who they were at 7 years old, they can figure out something as simple as who his parent is. Turns out, all of the Bats think that Jack Drake is his father and he doesn't find this out until Jack dies. When he does so, Bruce asks where Tim is going to stay and he replies, "with my Dad and his wife, obviously." To which there is quite a bit of confusion until Tim scoffs and crosses his arms as he states, "Jack Drake was never my father. He and Mother were very open about the fact that they had a 3 way and the other guy there is my biological father. I've been in contact with him regularly since I was 3. Sure he's not there all the time but he makes sure to visit minimum once a month. Usually at least twice a week. He's a good person and I'll be fine living with him and his wife. Hell, he's been trying to get me to move in with him for years anyways! Honestly, I thought you already knew this Bruce. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to see my Dad." And simply walked out if the cave.

The Bats. Don't know who his father is. Nor for lack of trying though. His dad is The Question that man leaves no evidence of anywhere he has been and never walks into cameras. He leaves just enough that they know he's real. Jason has seen the man with his own two eyes and swears he is a red head, but the man vanished before Jason could say a word to him. However Damian saw Tim talking to someone with black hair and and blue coat on patrol, but didn't get a look at his face. The guy was gone before Damian could get there and Tim tells him that it was his dad doing a mid patrol check in, which he does sometimes.

There is nearly a very big fight about civilians and identity hiding until Tim snaps, "HE KNEW FROM THE DAY I KNEW. HE HELPED ME WITH MY FUCKING EVIDENCE BOARD AND ENCOURAGED ME. BESIDES, HES NOT EVEN A CIVILIAN ANYWAYS!" And before anyone can question it, he goes on a long rant about how it can't be that hard to piece together who his dad is because they haven't been hiding it from them At All and how disappointed he is in them. As he does so, he is texting someone and when asked who, Tim snaps, "my Dad! I'm telling him to come to the Batcave because you're all idiots who couldn't find the link between us!" This leads to Bruce getting angry about inviting strangers to the Batcave and Tim scoffs about Bruce having invited his dad there before.

30 minuets later, when The Question walks in and says, "Hello Batman." Bruce turns to him to ask why he's there but Tim cuts in and says, "finally! Dad, can you believe that none of these idiots put it together?! They have no idea were related!" And Question just says, "but. We've been living together for nearly a year. I've known you all your life and you are the greatest thing I've ever helped to create." And Tim blushes a bit at the last part but plays it off by insulting The Bats, "right? And they call themselves Detectives!"

They spend the next hour roasting the Bats together and also mentioning off the walls crazy theories that are actually true.

Years later when Tim goes on the Brucequest, he doesn't go alone. He shows his evidence to his dad and Question and Huntress both come with him to help. Tim doesn't loose his spleen thanks to them but they do have to team up with the LOA because they have Tam held hostage. They also blow up the leauge but all credit goes to Tim and when they get Bruce back, they try to give credit to Tim but the Leauge just points at Question and Huntress and says, "those two did it."

Holy shit. This AU is fantastic.

I do not know nearly enough about Question, and you've pointed out the errors in my ways. I should know more about him because you are absolutely correct (also, AUs that speculate who can be Tim's bio parents are hilarious to me).

Fuck. I just binged some of his content (a very small amount), and I swear to gods this man is hilarious. His dry wit, conspiracy theories, humor, and overall demeanor is grand. I should find more.

Anyways, I absolutely love how Jack, Janet, and Question are peacefully coparenting. There's no drama or tension. Jack isn't jealous or mad. They just raise Tim together.

Tim and Question bonding over theories, research, stalker tendencies (referencing when Question said he goes through everyone's trash), and pin boards is adorable. This is a friendship/mentor bond I didn't know I needed in my life until now.

I'm also vibing with Question messing with the Bats while Tim us legitimately confused how they haven't figured anything out yet.

I'm also imagining post Jack's funeral (if this is a good dad Bruce AU), that Bruce turns to the newly orphaned Tim. He has adoption papers metaphorically behind his back and does a blue screen at realizing that Tim has been hiding even more parents all this time. It seems his adoption addictions were stopped this time, dagnabbit.

[certainlynotasimp]

I had a thought seeing as how whipped Miguel is for sunny what if sunny has Miguel get them like a puppy or kitten because I know he would eventually cave in

To Love and Hold.

((Miguel O’ Hara X Female! Reader))

A/N: This man is whipped more than cream😭😭. Thank you for the request and I’m sorry if it sounds muddled because I literally fell asleep writing it and I just finished it this morning.

A/N: If you guys wanna read more about Sunny and Miggy then come on to the Masterlist! And if you wanna be added to the taglist, then please leave a comment here>><<. And thank you all for reading💕✨

Warnings: Grumpy x Sunshine, Barely any use of (Y/N) ((Sunny is their nickname, not there name)), Female Pronouns, Fluff, Comparing Babies to Pets ((please do not have a baby if you want a pet lol)), Baby talk, breeding kink? (This isn’t a smut, but I love giving Miggy ideas), slight nudity, and Google Translated Spanish (It was 3am by the time I wrote this and I felt bad for messaging people to double check this so please forgive any mistakes and correct me the in comments.)😭

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are some things that always remain the same for every dimension. No matter how small or advanced that dimension may be, there were three things that Miguel can think of that always remains the same.

There’s always a Spiderman or Spiderwoman.

New York is still a cesspool for crime

….

“Miggy, come look at the kitties!” an excited shrill breaks the man out of his thoughts. He scowls at the unwanted attention around him as he readjusts the baseball hat on his dark locks. Not having his spider suit engaged was an odd feeling, especially since they were in an unknown dimension looking for an anomaly that not even Lyla can find.

“Come on, Guapito!” She urges as Miguel glares at her for yelling out in a public place. He tugs at the collar of his crew neck as he saunters over to the bouncing woman. Her pink sundress makes her standout like a sore thumb as she gawks at the group of kittens in the window.

There were three orange tabbies exploring their surroundings and tussling amongst their glass prison. He can agree that all of them looked adorable, but seeing as he was never an animal person, he doesn’t understand the cooing his companion does towards the cats.

“We can’t keep wasting time window shopping, mi amor.” He quietly scolds her as he gently leads her away from the pet shop and starts walking her down the sidewalk. His eyes burned as he looked at the pavement beside him until he felt a small tug to his shirt.

Already running though all the things that might come out of her pretty glossed mouth, Miguel sighs and looks at her. “What is it, shortie?” He tries to tease, hoping she would get annoyed enough to just give him the silent treatment.

“Miggy,” She sings sweetly, already the itching feeling started in Miguel’s brain.

‘What does she want?’

“I was thinking…” Her voice hesitated as he feels her arm slither it’s way around his waist. The hand on the small of her back tenses up as her touch ignited tingles down his back. “Since I’m the only person who lives at the Lobby and I can’t live with you…

Here it comes,

“Can I have a cat?” She flutters her eyelashes up at him as she presses herself into his side. Miguel tugs down his baseball cap as he rolls his eyes.

“No.” He answers sternly as he tries to avoid eye contact by looking around them. Miguel is as stubborn as a mule. If he decided on something, then there’s barely enough room for anyone to even breathe a different way about it.

He admits that when it comes to his little spider, he lets some things slide that he knew he shouldn’t have, but normally her requests were doable. Not this one.

“But, Miggy, why not?” She whines as she glares up at him.

“Can we talk about this later, Cariño?” He growls as he notices the atmosphere around them changing. Before she could protest anymore, her Spidey senses hit her like a shotgun.

“Watch out!” She warns as a cat gets throw over a row of buildings, heading right towards them. Miguel grabs her waist and leaps on top the nearest building as the car takes out the sidewalk.

Both put a pin in their conversation as they suit up and go detain the anomaly villain.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Another sticky note falls onto the floor beside his feet as Peter looks up to his colleague, amused by the antics he’s enduring.

For the past week, Sunny hasn’t let go of the idea of having a cat. Miguel tried envading her pleas at first, trying to distract her with other topics and missions to worry about. When she caught onto that, she confronted him about it. Much to his misery, he had to be brutally honest with her about why she can’t just bring a cat to come live with her in The Lobby.

“Taking something from another dimension is already risky enough, but to take a living animal could cause serious anomalies that will cause a crash.” He tried to explain with a stern stare as his love looks at him.

“Do you know for certain that it will happen?” She quips with her head tilting slightly. Miguel raises an eyebrow before replying, “I mean, considering if we are just talking about a normal cat, then no I’m not certain, but…”

“So let’s try it!” “Oh santa madre de Cristo... Mi amor, por favor sé razonable…”

Now her tactic has been subliminally suggesting him with hidden messages. He wasn’t surprise when Peter picked up the sticky note and sees a little doodle of a cat playing with a ball of yarn.

“Aww that’s cute.” Peter admires as he examines the note. “I can’t wait for Mayday to get old enough so she can draw me little doodles like this.”

Miguel snatches the sticky not from him and throws it on the small pile he’s accumulated. This might be Mr. kitty 11 or 12 that his Sunny has hidden in his suit today.

“(Y/N) has been hiding them on me hoping I would get her a cat.” He admits as he slumps into his office chair. Normally, he would act like it wasn’t bothering if it was anyone else making a stupid request. But it wasn’t just anyone. It was his beloved. His beloved who was so tired of spending nights here alone that she desperately wanted a companion.

“Why can’t you get her one?” Peter nonchalantly says as he leans against the monitor’s desk. “There’s plenty of strays around my apartment that she can have a full range to pick out of.”

Miguel scowls at Peter’s ignorance as leans back in his chair. “Any small change to a dimension can cause it to implode on itself. I’m not risking an entire universe just for one cat.”

Miguel digs his finger into his eyes as he groans in frustration. He hated making her upset, but she should understand just as well as he does what the possible consequences they would face if he did go pick up a random cat.

Peter watches at him in amusement before commenting. “Why not go get one from one of those dying universes? Certainly it wouldn’t cause too much damage if it’s already going to shit there.”

Miguel rolls his eyes as he looks at Peter in annoyance. “There’s still risk of-“

Peter claps his hands as an idea sparks in his mind. “Oh, I know, you two can have a baby!”

Miguel freezes in place as a look of pure horror goes over his face. His skin turned pale at the thought about having a child.

“Can’t risk the universe being brought to the end if you make a baby. Besides it would help her deal with her loneliness by constantly having someone to take care of and it would be a more fun to-“ Peter’s reasoning gets interrupted by the sound of Miguel opening a portal and jumping through as Peter smirks victoriously.

“Worked like a charm.” He chuckles as he knows he just made his friend one happy lady.

~~~~~~~~~

“Cariño?” A soft knock interrupts the deep slumber of the curled up spider as she stirs awake. She yawns as she looks over towards the clock and realizes it was the equivalent of 3am in Miguel’s home world.

Another knock draws her attention back to the visitor as she slips out of bed. Her body shivers as she exposed to the cold air of the room. The old college shirt only stopping at mid thighs as she shuffled to the door.

“Miggy?” She calls through the door.

“Déjame entrar, mi amor. Tengo un regalo para ti.” He pleas lovingly at her which causes her lips to curl into a soft smile as she realizes what he must have.

Opening the door, she gasps at the sight before her. In his spider suit, Miguel had several scratch marks along his face along with pieces of rubble in his dark locks. His dark eyes shined in exhaustion as the furious little ball of fur battled to be free from his hold.

Her concern briefly switches to awe as she sees a small, filthy kitten hissing and wiggling in Miguel’s large hands. Its long fur stuck out in clumps due to the debris covering it as its black and white fur looked gray. Its yellow eyes glares up at Miguel as it cries for its mother.

With a wide grin, the woman takes the small kitten from Miguel and holds it to her chest. The kitten stopped it’s hissing for a moment as it push itself off of her chest to look at her. A curious tilt of its head along with a soft hello causes a tear to roll down her cheek. The bundle of fur relaxes into her chest with soft purs emitting from its fragile body.

“Mi amor…” She whispers as she looks up at him, “Thank you so much…can I really keep it?”

“He doesn’t really have any other option. His world was dying due to some invasion caused by the Talokians and since the universe was crashing away, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to let you have the only survivor.” Miguel says nonchalantly as the conversation with Peter plays in his head again.

The idea of his little sunshine bare foot with swollen ankles as she roams around the Lobby and his apartment certainly was a conflicted vision. His clothing being the only thing that would fit over her body as she created their child in her body. Their child. Their family.

His thoughts get interrupted by the feeling of small hands dusting off debris off his shoulders. His eyes meet hers as he realizes that he’s been silent for a while. The kitten was now curled up on a soft looking blanket on the floor while his little spider tried to clean him up a little. Her soft lips connect several times to his jawline causing him to chuckle.

“You’re welcome, Cariño.” He mutters before leaning down and meeting her excited lips with his own. She giggles when he wraps his arms around her waist and picks her up as he closes the door behind him.

“Now then.” Miguel muses as his mouth curls into a warm grin while walking them to the bed. “You can show your gratitude by…” He pauses as his lips brush against hers again before a surprise squeal erupts from his love as she was tossed on the bed.

“Acostado ahí…” He mutters as he removes his gizmo, causing his suit to disintegrate, leaving him in only a tight pair of boxers. A blush forms on her cheek as she admires his muscular physique, despite the nasty bruises that mare his tanned skin. He smirks when he sees the effect hr has on her before crawling onto the bed. Her breath shudders as his broad shoulders slither up between her legs as his hips cause her legs to part.

Before she could react, Miguel lays his full body weight down on her as his head rests on her chest. His arms wrap around her waist as he buries his nose into her shirt as he yawns. His exhausted red eyes look up at her warm ones as he mutters against her clothed breast, “Y déjame dormir escuchando mi lindo corazoncito…¿Sería eso aceptable para ti, mi amor?”

Smiling softly down at him, his love’s arms wrap around his shoulders as a hand finds itself tangled in his thick locks of hair. “Of course, my love. It’s yours to listen to forever.”

With a soft kiss to his crown, the couple falls asleep in each other’s arms as their new kitten climbs up and curls up on Miguel’s back.

~~~~~~~

Translations:

ah maldita sea... mi vida, por favor se razonable…-ah fucking hell... my life, please be reasonable…

Déjame entrar, mi amor. Tengo un regalo para ti. -Let me in, mi amor. I have a gift for you.

Acostado ahí…-Laying there…

Y déjame dormir escuchando mi lindo corazoncito. - And let me sleep listening to my pretty little heart.

¿Sería eso aceptable para ti, mi amor? -would that be acceptable to you, my love?

~~~~~~~

Taglist:

@ameliadraws

@tojisrightnut

@whyareyoubored

@silly-lovestruck-em

@luvil1y

@chims-kookies

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@mintellaine

[matan4il]

Kibbutz menara in the north has been half demolished by hezbollah

Nonnie, I hope it's okay to add to this ask, another one on the same subject, kibbutz Menara:

Can you write about the huge damage to kibbutz menara in your next update post? Tysm for them

And just in case both are from you, I'm so sorry I hadn't posted about this before, I did think of adding it to one of my daily update posts, but then I thought this deserves a post of its own, so I hope this ask reply dedicated to the subject will do it some justice.

(also, thank you for the kind words about my daily update posts! That means so, so very much! *hearts*)

Hezbollah has been targeting civilian communities along Israel's northern border. Kibbutz Menara is situated incredibly close to the border. I heard one journalist, who described the distance as, "There's the border fence, a narrow road running along it, and on the road's other side, the kibbutz fence," but looking up Menara on the map, sometimes it's not even that. Here's the map:

The kibbutz is also high up the mountain, making it very easy for Hezbollah to target this community, and very difficult for Israeli forces to defend. This image can give you an idea of what we're talking about:

I heard on the news that when fire broke out at one point, firefighters couldn't even approach the kibbutz, because Hezbollah's rockets made it too dangerous, and they just had to sit back, and watch the fire rage uncontrolled.

On Dec 24, Orly Yitzchak, a senior member of the kibbutz, said that 86 out of 155 apartments at Menara have been damaged, so we're talking about over half of the homes in this community at that point. And that's about two weeks ago, when Hezbollah's terrorist activity on Israel's border has only increased since.

Just to give everyone some context regarding this kibbutz... It was founded in 1943, as a community for Jewish youths from Germany and Poland, meaning young Holocaust survivors. The land for it was purchased a short while before the kibbutz was established. The conditions were very rough at first, for example supplies had to be brought there on mules, and at the beginning, the kibbutz members slept in tents and caves. A proper road was only completed in 1947. The first water pipe took longer, it was only inaugurated in 1953. During Israel's Independence War, the kibbutz was besieged from March to May 1948, and food had to be smuggled in at night, while some of the younger kids had to be secretly smuggled out (if you read the novel Exodus or watched its movie version, there's a fictional account of this real event). The kibbutz continued to be under attack even after the end of the war, including its water pipe being blown up in 1965, and community members being murdered along the years.

That's some of what the elders of the kibbutz had been through, the same people who now, at their old age, are forced to evacuate their community, live as refugees in their own country, and no one knows yet if they'll have any homes to return to. Roni, one kibbutz member, said in an interview that it's the community's elders who are strengthening the rest, and asking the younger generation to return to it no matter what.

There aren't a lot of photos taken there since the start of the war, but here are a few, just to give you an idea... The first pic is taken out of a family's living room.

I hope this does the kibbutz some justice. My heart goes out to the community's members. Thank you for caring about them, Nonnie! I hope you're well, and taking care of yourself! Sending you lots and lots of love. xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[inoankin]

My Bones Are Caving In

A week into their arrangement. Vincent doesn't sleep. (Ao3)

Vincent’s a liar, by nature. Or, by nurture, depending on who you ask. It doesn’t really matter. Everyone in his family was a liar, and so is he, and that’s just the truth. It’s one of the only things he’s actually good at. He’s so good, in fact, that he made a career out of it. He’s so good that he gets people to believe he’s good. He’s so good that he can convince himself of his lies, most of the time.

Vincent’s spent a lot of time in a lot of unsavory environments, doing what he does. He’s shaken hands with dealers and traffickers of anything which can be bought and sold. Drugs, weapons, people. And he knew a man, a few years ago. Well. ‘Knew’. He only met him once, but he’s known him many times. A flighty, fidgety fellow. The man was a mule, and a heroin addict. What little cash they gave him for smuggling drugs across the border always ended up in the hands of his dealer. And, it’s not like the people circulating the drugs were going to offer him any support, so the poor bastard always came crawling back. This man told Vincent he wasn’t an addict. That he could stop, if and when he wanted to. He’s fairly sure this man is no longer alive.

Vincent can pretend he doesn’t see the signs. He can lie to himself all the live-long day, but he’s not stupid. He’s shaken hands with career liars. And now his hands are shaking.

Leo’s been more restless recently, more irritable. Drastically so. It’s difficult to recognize him as the same man, sometimes. Especially when he hungers. There’s a part of him, the part of him that’s an esteemed federal agent, that wants to condescend, but he knows he has no place. He’s no fucking better. And, more than anything, he’s really just worried. Maybe he shouldn’t worry about the man who’s killing him slowly. But he does. It’s one of the only things he thinks about anymore. 

That, and… blood. Vincent doesn’t know which one of them thinks about his blood more, and he really doesn’t want to. Jesus Christ, he does not want to know.

It’s not necessarily his own blood that he thinks about, rather the general act of bloodletting. And how it affects the subject, the prey. And being prey. He thinks about being prey a lot. Which is worse, probably. It’s not like he can help it, though, not when Leo stares at him like a starved dog every hour of the day, salivating at just the sight of him. Vincent suppresses a shiver.

The engine drones on in the silence, and it’s still dark out. He’s pretty sure Leo doesn’t know he’s awake. It’s been difficult to stay asleep the past few nights; he can’t pretend he hasn’t connected those dots, as well. But this is a rare respite. An hour or two where he doesn’t have to squirrel away his thoughts. Which is good. This is good. He still feels drowsy, still warm and heavy-limbed, yet not entirely bound to the Earth by gravity.

One would think that a moderate dose of heroin would calm his mind for a little while. And yet.

That’s one of the things he hadn’t remembered, the first morning he’d woken up covered in his own blood. The toxin a vampire transmits into its prey’s bloodstream mimics morphine the same way heroin does. He’s not quite sure how, exactly. But even if he hadn’t recalled the information later, he can’t exactly ignore the fact that he’s high out of his mind right now.

Vincent’s an addict, by nature. One of the many things that runs in his family. It’s a miracle he hasn’t picked up anything but nicotine until now. But Gary hadn’t always been so lucky. His early twenties were a shit-show, and he could hardly hold onto a paycheck. He was good at hiding it, too. His captain had no clue. Vincent wouldn’t have known, either, if he hadn’t shrouded himself in deception his whole life. One day, he got a call from the PDFL — Gary hadn’t shown up to work for six days, no hide nor hair hinting at where he could have gone. Vincent just about had a heart attack. He told James not to investigate, he’d handle it and bring him back on his own. Not that he could promise that. But at that point, he had the billet and the respect to pull this one favor. 

After 77 hours of worrying himself physically sick, he found his brother in an honest-to-God crackhouse, and he decided enough was enough. Brought him home and spent the next few months working on sending him to Quantico. If anything was going to straighten him out, it was a step into the big leagues. A few outstanding recommendations and they took him. And, amazingly, it worked. Gary did his ten weeks and came back clean. From there, he thrived. A month before the sting, he was six years sober. Vincent had never been so proud.

Now, here he is. Decomposing.

The moon shines in on him, maybe his only friend right now. He wants a cigarette. He hasn’t had a cigarette since he started this mission, he realizes. Next stop, he could probably swipe a pack. 

It’s easy to fall into substance abuse after experiencing a tragedy like this. Two days after the funeral, his supervisor made him see a counselor. He’d lit up in the man’s office, and that’s what he said to him. It’s easy to fall into substance abuse after experiencing a tragedy like this. Like he didn’t already know that. Like he hadn’t seen it first-hand when his mother died. His whole family was alcoholics and junkies. The counselor was lucky a puff was all he wanted. 

Then again, hubris always had been Vincent’s undoing.

He wonders: if he dies out here, will anyone ever find him? Leo wouldn’t spare him the decency of a burial, and he wouldn’t deserve it anyway. Would he just dump him? Or stuff him in the trunk? He supposes it doesn’t matter. 

He blinks slowly at the stars as they blink back at him, his body a strange blend of dead tired and wide awake. His eyes fail to focus in the dark. That itch is back.

[spotsupstuff]

Is Tarrows still in the respawn cycle? Why did she want to bring a apology gift?

she is! i've been muling over some things with her and her relationship with living n the cycles n i'm considering that maybe she won't age anymore n therefore never really leave the respawn cycle. as a result of her presence being Gods-granted with the goal to help these toasters build a society. but also a twist to her respawning- she will wake up in the last place she fell asleep and felt Safe in. so anytime after Boreas turns up? each time she does manage to fall asleep with him nearby, she doesn't actually "save her progress" and if she dies she will probably wake up in Fish's chamber

the apology gift is an impulse from Tinkerer. she left the tribe to take a dip in the Void Pools! the Void Pools are located in underwater caves that are a Bitch to traverse when u can't breathe underwater, so she left them... pretty early to be able to make the journey. she didn't live her life to the fullest with them and for that she's sorry

[marvel-and-dc-geek]

The Labours of Alcides

The Lernaean Hydra

The next task was given to him by the one-eyed boss of the ravens. The gods had been impressed when they saw the cat’s skin, (Tho Shiva got in trouble with his wife Durga, as she was fond of lions)and a bit more by the carving the youth had made of it on his new weapon, so the Nordic chief gave him a harder task: to slay the hydra that was pestering Lerna.

She was the aunt of the lion, being a daughter of Typhon and Equidna.

Mortals would then start to say Hera was her adoptive mother, but how they conclude this is a story we shall save for later .

This creature was even more lethal than the lion: it had six heads instead of just one, and she was huge. Her breath was so deadly, that everything around her would die, which forced the people of Lerna to flee from their homes.

This, even tho it was a tragedy, helped our hero to find her, as Alcides found a caravan of women and children that were running away from the creature. He tried to ask for directions, but the women refused to tell him.

“Don’t even try it, my child. Here you see the widows and orphans from Lerna” an old women tried to warn him “our men gathered together to slay the beast, but not even a single one made it back alive. Not even our king was rival for such a beast “

“That is exactly why we should tell him where it is!” A young, twelve year old boy, who’s mom had died while she was washing clothes due to the creature’s breath, and his dad had gone to slay the creature, wanted someone who could put an end of that thing. He was riding his family’s chariot, which was carried by the the only mule he had been able to save “I shall you myself, mister, if you willing to help us”

“Enough of that, Iolaus. You know that is suicide “ one of the old women tried to argue, but he refused to hear any arguments.

“This is my chariot and I decide what to do with it “ he remained stubborn

“I appreciate your offer, Iolaus, but I would rather not have you come. Just with telling me where I can find the creature is more than enough “ Alcides didn’t want to risk anyone else.

“Oh enough of that, if I die, I shall see my parents again anyways. Hop on, mister ! Penelope is strong enough to carry us both!”he wasn’t going to take no for an answer, and wanted to avenge the rest. The young hero understood that he wouldn’t change the boy’s mind, and hoped into the chariot.

The closer they got, the more horrible the places would get, and they would see less living things. Even the trees and the birds got more scarce, until Alcides saw a couple of familiar creatures

“Huggin, Munin!” He called the crows as he spotted them. Their job was to watch over him, so usually they would leave him alone until he find the place near the creature’s lair (which, in the case he had to track it down, might be a telltale sign.

“What took you so long?” Asked the white raven

“Who is that ?”asked the black raven

“Did the crows just speak?”asked the puzzled boy.

“Ah yes, they serve the gods, and they’re nice “ the explained to his companion.

“Why did you bring a mortal?” Both of them asked

“He guided me “ that wasn’t forbidden, right ? He didn’t want any trouble.

“Bah, I guess there aren’t any rules against this “ pointed out the black one.

“Seeing you both here means we are in the right path “ observed the hero.

“Well of course, but we have no spot to stand on near the hydra’s lair” complained the white raven.

“Except its hideous cave “ complained the black raven.

“You are free to stay in my chariot “ offered the boy “hope on, a couple of ravens are nothing for Penelope “ both crows immediately got in it and the five of them (counting the mule, of course) continued their way until a place where there was absolutely nothing growing in there. As it was swamp, that shouldn’t have even been possible.

As they went on, they saw a weird snake’s head in the floor, but it was bigger than any the hero had ever seen.

“Maybe the poor thing was slayed by the hydra “ thought Alcides, tho that must have been some other monster. And if the beast could slay one of its own, it was certainly fearful.

The boy shook his head “this is a head of the hydra. I only saw it from far away, but nothing could compare to it “ tho there was a detail “ this isn’t the only one she was has, maybe the damn things is still alive with its other five horrible heads “

“They cut it with a sword “ observed the white raven

“It isn’t as resistant as the lion back in Nemea then “observed the black raven.

“You killed the Nemean lion?” Asked an astonished Iolaus.

“Yes, the gods told me to do so “ Alcides answered

“Wow mister, you are very strong!” The surprised boy smiled, tho it quickly faded as he saw something next to the head: he recognized the sword next to it the head, or at least what remained of it’s handle. “Father…” the boy said sadly. He wanted to cry as he picked it up, but refrained himself.

The handle had engraved its late owners name: Ificles, who had managed to cut off one head at the cost of his own life. There was no sight of his body anywhere: it was most likely that he had been a snack for the rest of the creature’s heads.

“His death won’t be in vain “ the hero promised “none of theirs will “ there were several weapons laying in the floor, right where the husbands, sons, uncles, fathers, grandfathers, cousins, nephews and brothers of the women and children of Lerna.

As they reached the top of a hill, they were able to see the cave. It was impossible to miss it, as the creature’s horrible, green-like breath surrounded the whole area. It was right next to a swamp that had once been full of life.

“You stay right here, I don’t want any of you to get hurt” Alcides asked them, he would try to slay the beast as quick as possible. He left his bow and arrows to the kid, along with some other torchers, so he could use them in case he had to defend themselves of any danger (tho, in the opinion of both the crows and even Iolaous himself, it wouldn’t be of much help if the hydra went against them ) and brought his club, along with a torch to lighten the entrance.

Alcides made something very dangerous, that he had only done against the Nemean lion before; he went into the lair of a pissed for creature. He heard a horrible hissing as soon as he lay a step in the cave: a horrible being with seven snake-like head, and a strange dragon-like boy came out quite pissed off: it’s body had some arrows of the last poor idiots who has attempted to slay it.

Alcides didn’t waste any time thinking as he started to hit the heads with his maze and all of his strength, making them fly out while tearing them off. At the end, where there was only one left, the hero stomped it to make sure it was completely dead. One he was done, he turned around to go meet his companions, that place was horrible he preferred not to stay for long.

“Wow, that was quick “ the white raven told the black raven

“Well, the faster we get out of here the better” answered the black one.

But Iolaus, the only human watching (or that’s what he thought at least) wasn’t celebrating: quite the opposite, as his face had turned white “MISTER ALCIDES, LOOK BACK!” Even the calm mule Penelope was aware of the issue, and the ravens turned around to see what was scaring them so much: as they did, there were suddenly two white ravens, as one of them had lost his color out of terror alone.

Alcides turned back as well Now, you human would use the expression that he saw everything in slow motion, which, between us, is the best way to describe how the hero felt he watched as the heads grow back. Except there weren’t seven anymore, now there were fourteen.

See, a detail that all of our heroes has forgotten, is that instead of showing up with five heads, the beast had seven. This is because hydras, as some of you might know, grow back two heads when they lose one. Of course, when a beast so large charges against you, you don’t stop to count its heads, which was exactly what happened to Alcides.

“Oh sh-“ he was barely able to dodge an upcoming attack. The ambrosia at least made him immune to the poison, but he didn’t know if the hydra could slay him in some other way, and it would definitely charge against the quartet that right now could simply serve as witness of the fight.

“Can that thing slay us?” Asked the white raven

“I have no idea” answered the raven that had turned whjte

Cutting heads just made things worse, but unfortunately, he couldn’t go against the body as the hydra defended it fiercely, sacrificing as many of its heads as needed. He had to climb on top of them to get to the body, as he couldn’t simply go around. Alcides had to make sure they wouldn’t bite him, but that was not exactly an easy task. His only option was to slice them off, but even then, it at times became too dark to see, forcing him to grab both his club and the torch. The first one, for some reason, seemed to scare the heads quite a bit.

“Don’t you know to do anything else but cut off their heads?” One of the crows complained.

At some point, the hydra made the worst mistake of her life: one of the heads bit Alcides with such strength that he left his torch fall, just at the exact moment as one of the heads was growing back. As soon as the flame came into contact with the maimed area, it cauterized the wound, which made the heads unable to grow back.

“FIRE, I NEED FIRE !” The hero hadn’t been slow at all, but alas, he didn’t have a way to get fire in that swamp.

Or so he thought: his young companion didn’t know how the gods’ trial worked, and wanted to get revenge against that hideous creature.

“Help me light them up !” Iolaus told the crows

“We cant help, you brat!” Exclaimed the black raven

“You will get us to three in trouble!” complained the white one

“Mister Alcides is the only one who has given it trouble, and I’m not going to let that thing win!”ugh, maybe he should give the hero the arrows by himself.

The crows sighed, but decided to cooperate. They didn’t want to be mocked if a mortal boy was braver than them. The boy put some of the same substance from the torches into the arrows to set them on fire.

Iolaus was about to use the bow, but then he saw something weird coming out of the swamp, it was…

“A crab??!?!” Exclaimed the crows, Alcides, the boy.Even the hydra and the mule seemed to have been taken a back by the appearance of such a thing

The crab, who was later believed to have been send by Hera herself, was simply just angry as, thanks to the other monster, it couldn’t sleep, eat (all his usual preys bad died thanks to the hydra) and it had even stolen his favorite cave. It wanted to get revenge against that thing, and maybe grab something to eat. He charged against the hydra and began to cut some of its heads, make things harder for the hero.

“I will distract that thing, you give the arrows to mister Alcides !” The boy ordered the crows as he lit a torch. Before going, he set his mule free so it could run in case anything happened.

“You aren’t our boss!” But they decided to do it anyways so the brat wouldn’t look braver than them.

As Alcides tried to avoid the crab’s claws and the hydra’s bites, Iolaus held his breath and hit the crab with the torch, who, angrily, began to pursue him away from the hydra: hey, maybe he could eat the daring brat.

“Get out of here !” Alcides shouted to the boy, but he was busy making the crab angry.

“Hey, lad!” The crows called for the hero so he would know they were coming up with the flaming arrows. Alcides took the chance and hit off as many heads as he could before passing them through the fire. As it lost around half its heads, the hydra began to have issues maintaining its balance, making it easier to repeat the same action with the next round of arrows that one of the crows threw. There was only one head left, and Alcides decided to dedicate it to the man who raised the brave boy who had helped him.

“FOR IPHICLES !”he shouted before smashing the head and cauterizing the wound.

The crab stopped as it realized his annoying usurper had suddenly gone quiet: he stopped his persecution to inspect the body.

“If you leave Iolaous alone, it’s all yours “ offered the tired hero. The crab gratefully accepted, a tasty hydra meat meal was worth more than a skinny Greek boy. Plus with so many heads, he could feast for days until more creatures came back to the swamp.

“You made it, mister Alcides!” Iolaous went to congratulate him.

“I wouldn’t have made it without you four “ the hero was honest, and he even gave credit to Penelope, who had carried them and all the weapons all the way there.

“I wonder what mister Odin will say about this…” mumbled the black crow to his partner

“We should started looking for news jobs…” mumbled the white one back.

With the crab’s permission, Alcides took off one of the hydra’s fangs and gave it to Iolaous, who was almost the same size as it. This would be proof that the monster was gone.

“I hope we meet again some day, mister Alcides !” The boy said as he tied Penelope again. Alcides pet the mule and the boy’s hair as well, before going to present himself to the gods.

Iolaous, on the other hand, went back with the women and children of his city, who didn’t think they’d see him alive again. They decided to go back to Lerna, to remake their lives thanks to the bravery of the two youths (and also the crows and the mule). Strangely several visitors seemed to think he was the nephew of Alcides: Iolaous decided not to correct them, seeing they’d bring gifts to his people, which helped them to prosper once again.

Now, there was another human who was in that swamp: a young man who was searching for tales to tell and sing about, who, maybe quite stupidly, thought the hydra would be a good source for horror stories. He was well hidden, and could see the hero’s fight. As he didn’t have the context, he assumed that Alcides and Iolaous were uncle and nephew, which Iphicles being the brother and father to each. He concluded this seeing that the boy didn’t resemble the hero, of course. And he left the crowd aside, as no one would believe his story if he included their role…but of course, he included the crab’s intervention.

[whatwewrotepodcast]

The Baker

               In the mountains above Zugang there was a tiny cottage, nestled amongst the craggy foothills, its rough stone walls blending in amongst the tumbled boulders. The thatched roof grew moss and strange mushrooms, unbothered by the cold climes, and a rickety post and rail fence encircled a small, rough pasture for a herd of sheep and a shaggy mule. Above the door hung a huge great axe, a truly mighty weapon. For all the years it had hung there the weather had made no mark on it, and no spot of rust dared sully its razor-sharp blade. In the cottage lived an old man. How old he truly was, no one could say – at least a hundred, some said, though he walked upright still as though even the weight of his years couldn’t subdue him. And yet even so he was human only, and everyone expected each passing year to be his last. But he lived alone, accepted no aid and refused to come down from the hills to the city where he would be safe from the ravages of the cold mountain storms and the beasts that came hunting down the slopes in winter.

               Once a month, when the moon was waning, and the cold winds blew off the mountain sides, he saddled his old mule with large wicker panniers and made his way down the steep, rough paths to the town. Both he and his mule were sure footed as mountain goats on those rocky, narrow trails, never so much as turning their heads towards the endless falls into jagged ravines below. And as dawn broke over the mountains’ sharp unruly crowns, there they would find him in the market square, painstakingly unpacking the panniers onto the little table set aside for him. The city would wake to find him there, as the markets came to life around him, and people came to marvel at his wares.

               For the hermit was famed throughout Zugang for his baking, and as the moon grew slim children started to clamour to their parents, begging to be allowed to visit his stall. And always he produced the most incredible array of baked goods, the pastries light and crisp, the muffins soft and fluffy. Danishes with rich, fruity filling and custard centres, biscuits with the perfect amount of crunch and a savoury centre. Custard tarts with pastry so fine it melted in the mouth, cakes dense and gooey and bread with the most perfect ratio of crusty outside to soft and light inside. The people of Zugang marvelled at the perfection of his goods, and he traded them for flour, and sugar and jars of pickled fruit – the ingredients for next month’s baking. And as he sold his cakes and tarts and beautiful pasties, he told stories – stories that kept the children rapt and breathless, the adults leaning closer to listen in despite themselves, rapt and distracted from their shopping. Stories of far off places and great adventures, of amazing and terrible monsters and beautiful forests and tumultuous oceans. Of mountain peaks and deep, dark caves, of treasure and loss and victory. And in the evenings sleepy children asked their parents as they were tucked into bed

               Mama did the baker really fight a dragon do you think? Do you think he really knew a giant?

               And smiling parents would pull the blankets up to their chins and smile and kiss their brows

               Of course not, darling, they’re only stories, and he’s just an old man. Now go to sleep.

               But a child’s curiosity is stronger than their propriety, and one afternoon in late winter, as the weak and watery sun sank from the sky and the shadows crept out from the mountains’ feet, as the baker packed his bags of flour and sugar and jugs of butter carefully into the mule’s panniers, a girl lingered by the stall. A dwarf girl caught somewhere between the bright vivacity of childhood and the awkward shyness of adolescence, she hovered, her thumbnail clenched between her teeth as she summoned her courage. He caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, turned towards her with a small and friendly smile, held fast in a web of wrinkles.

               “Well hello there. I’m sorry, all the pastries are gone,” he said, looking across the square, where the last of the market folk were packing up, hurrying home before the night’s chill crept in, searching instinctively for friends or family who might have sent her. The girl shook her head, her eyes wide at being addressed so. The baker tilted his head, then slowly bent his aching knees to crouch down on the hard cold stones, to be on her level. He was tall despite his years, and his eyes as clear and bright as a summer morn. She blinked owlishly for a moment, then extracted her thumb from her mouth.

               “Who are you?” she blurted, then her cheeks flushed rosy red at her own words. For a moment, the baker looked startled, and then he smiled and lent a little closer.

               “It’s a secret,” he replied in a low whisper. The girl’s eyes widened, and she leant towards him further, the mystery only deepened by her probing.

               “Are all your stories true? Did they really happen? Was it you in them all? Why do you live alone up there?” the questions tumbled out fast and furious, tripping over each other, head over heels. A flicker of something dark crossed the baker’s features, a glimmer of a cold and bleak loneliness, a shadow of memory usually hidden behind simple smiles and guileless tales of wonder and adventure, the dark parts filed away, the sharp edges worn soft by time. Memories taken out and handled so often they had lost their bite.

               “All stories are true,” he said as the moment passed, and the girl stared at him as if his every word were vital air and she couldn’t get enough. The baker looked across the square again, into the deepening shadows, and a door once locked deep within his soul creaked open, pried asunder by a child’s innocent question. Behind the door were all the stories he didn’t tell. The ones too dark and cold and scary, the ones that hurt too much. The ones with edges still as sharp as the axe that hung above the cottage door. He looked back at her, “These stories are mine. They really happened, once upon a time, when I was a young man, when my friends and I travelled the land, seeking adventure and glory and to make the world a better place. We fought monsters and evil people. But one of us . . . one . . .” his voice faltered for a moment, and the grief was too raw to articulate, even after all these years. “One day we met a monster we couldn’t defeat, and She . . . well.” A smile as brittle as winter’s first frost. The baker placed his hand on the girl’s shoulder. She was too young to understand. To appreciate the pain of seeing someone who held your soul in their hands lose their own. To know that death was not the worst fate that could greet a person. For a moment his secrets hung in the balance, years of holding this truth close to his chest. Perhaps this little dwarf girl reminded him of someone, someone long ago. Someone he would always share his secrets with. “Would you like the secret?”

               The girl, eyes so wide, her mind racing to all the things she could tell her friends, the impossible edge she’d gained through being brave enough to ask, the superiority she had in her extra knowledge, nodded eagerly, hungry for more.

               “You mustn’t tell anyone, do you understand? It is the biggest secret I have,” the baker said. “The secret is this. My name is Araedi Harsong, Breaker of Chains,” he paused as the weight of those words fell around his neck like stones. An identity long left behind. “Now run along, and keep that secret always.” A squeeze of the shoulder and he was on his feet, stepping to his mule and turning towards the path back into the hills, never once looking back.

               And the girl stood and gaped at the weight of the secret she had been granted, the context for the stories she had listened to since she was a small child. The stories of the great son of the Harsong family, who had freed slaves and fought for equality, who had brought freedom to the oppressed, a fearsome warrior with a kind heart, renowned for his bravery and goodness. The man who had stood against the most powerful families in the land without fear. The man who, one day, at the height of his fame, had simply vanished, never to be seen again.

               Perhaps one day, when the girl was older, she would understand what had happened. Perhaps once day she would recognise the flicker of pain she had seen that day. Piece together the puzzle, the oft-discussed mystery of where the great Araedi Harsong had gone, why he had one day walked away from everything he had achieved. Perhaps.

               But for now, she was young, and filled with the bubbling excitement of a weighty secret, and she turned and ran home, and didn’t look back into the fading dusk, where the shape of a tall man slowly vanished into the darkness, head bowed into the night.

[thessalian]

Astrid vs The Gribblies

We were heading for the goblin camp, but got waylaid

Astrid: Are you sure we're going the right way? I'm not sure we're going the right way.

Astarion: You are the only one of us who knows anything about wilderness survival. You tell us.

Astrid: Well, we were headed this way because you kept looking this way! Why--? Oh.

Hyena Corpses: *bleeding everywhere*

Astrid: Are you sure you want to snack on these? You don't know where they've been.

Hyena: I'mma become OTHER now!

Astrid: Wait. What? How? Also why?

Gale: She just lives on Speak With Animals potions, doesn't she?

Hyena: *basically explodes*

Entire party: GAAAAH WHAT THE FUCK?!?

Hyena: *starts turning into a gnoll*

Astrid: *very quickly stabs proto-gnoll*

Other nearby hyenas: *start looking like they're about to follow suit*

Astrid: Gale?

Gale: ...yes?

Astrid: Does this mean I owe Wyll an apology about saying how ... exploded gnoll corpses everywhere meaning it was okay to kill that tiefling?

Gale: A fascinating philosophical conundrum for when we aren't fighting for our lives.

Astrid: Oh. Right.

Astarion: How do you reckon she'll insult these? I think they like being foul, so--

Astrid: *Vicious Mockery voice* BAD DOG!

Nearby hyenas: *whimper*

Astrid: Surprised that worked. Hyenas are feliform, so--

Astarion: Do all bards just know everything?

Astrid: We pick up bits and pieces; it's a thing.

Back in Moonhaven

Shadowheart: What are we doing back here? Aren't we pushing our luck a little?

Astrid: Maybe but we need healing potions so I'm going to raid the apothecary and-- Oh. Hello, trapdoor in the floor.

Astarion: We're going on another adventure, aren't we. I am not cleaning it up, either way.

Some looting and a secret lever later

Astrid: Why are their coffins down here?

Coffins: *randomly explode*

The Zombies: *are coming*

The Zombies: *are actually skeletons*

Controller Person: *just wanted to make the Plants vs Zombies joke*

Astrid: Shadowheaaaaaart...

Shadowheart: I think I'll take a leaf from your book, Astrid. *Turn Undead resonance* FUCK OFF, YOU WALKING XYLOPHONES.

Undead: *turned*

Astarion: Well, you have those handled. Do we really need to loot these things? Their weapons are crap, so you're aware.

Astrid: If I have to carry any more, I am turning one of the local bugbears into a pack mule, so not really.

Astarion: Very well; I may not have your resources for it, but here's something I've wanted to try. *ahem* Yeet. *shoves skeleton off a cliff*

Astrid: From the diaphragm, Astarion!

Astarion: *fangy grin* There's just no pleasing you, is there?

Stabnation: *ensues*

Later, past a somewhat mouthy mirror

Shadowheart: This man was obsessed with necromancy.

Astarion: Oh, joy. More digging, one assumes.

Astrid: Less digging, more ... lockpicking and traps.

Shadowheart: Or we could just use this key that matches that door.

Astrid: ...So ... just traps, then?

Astarion: You only want me for my clever fingers, you naughty thing.

Astrid: You know the sexual innuendo's supposed to be my whole thing, right?

A fair bit later

Gale: So we need some kind of stone to open that book and-- Um. Why are you investigating a well? The last one we found was full of corpses, and we have enough water.

Astrid: Which is good, because there's no water in this. *peeks* Looks like there's something down there *deep breath* Really wish I'd learned Feather Fall... *starts climbing down the bucket rope*

Gale, Shadowheart, Astarion: *exchange looks*

Gale: Oh, come on. How bad could it possibly be?

A largeish cave, containing the Grandmother of All Phase Spiders

Gale: ...Ah. That's how bad it could possibly be. Though I am curious as to how she's going to insult these things--

Astrid: *Vicious Mockery resonance, still oddly cheerful* YOU'RE ADORABLE!

Grandmother of All Phase Spiders: *screeeeeeech of pain*

Grandmother of All Phase Spiders: *hatches minions*

Astrid: *still Vicious Mockery resonance, still oddly cheerful* BABIES! I JUST WANT TO HUG ALL OF YOU!

Astarion: Does that... How does that actually work?

Gale: Let's just be glad it does. IGNIS! *torches a spider hatchling*

A lot of poison- and acid-related bullshit later, back in the sun

Astrid: So ... this amethyst looks like it goes into this mouth here...

Book: *opens*

Astrid: *reads*

Gale; Astarion: *both disapprove* WHAT IN THE HELLS ARE YOU DOING?!?

Shadowheart: Relax. It'll be fine.

Gale: I can assure you from near-personal experience that it is not--

Astrid: *closes book* Ew. No, you probably shouldn't read this. It's kind of manky. Right. Onward to goblin camps and herosim!

Gale: Are ... you alright?

Astrid: Should ... I ... not be?

Shadowheart: I doubt there's much that could get rid of her cheerfulness.

Astarion: I think that turning into a mind flayer might do it.

Gale: ...Wouldn't it be funny if it didn't, though? A sweet, kind, and cheerful illithid would be a thing to see--

Astarion, Shadowheart: *both slap Gale upside the head*

Gale: It is academic interest! Probably less serious than you and Astrid discussing what our respective bloods might taste like.

Shadowheart: ...You what.

Astarion: She was very complimentary about yours, actually. But said she'd prefer Gale's. A refined palate or a particularly subtle bit of innuendo, I couldn't say.

Astrid: Hello? Goblins? Goblins need to be splat?

Gale: ...Thank you for saving me from having to respond to that.

[whim-prone-pirate]

TOH FOR THE FUTURE LIVE POSTING!! EDITING AS I WATCH

KING AND LUZ GOODBYE RIGHT OUT OF THE GATE ???☹️

RAEDA THEME SONG WHAG THE FUCK !!!!!

THE OWL HOUSE JS BACK ON DISNEH CHANNEL😏

HUNTER THE LOVE !!

YAYAYAY YHEYRE IN THR BOILING ISLES AGAIN!!!!

huntlow .....

THROUGH THE FACE🤞

YHEY GET TO HAVE THEIR POWERS AGAIN EVERYONE STFU !!

weirdmaggedon ass planet😭😭

CALEB😦

no actually i don't think you deserve a new body

THE OWL HOUSE !!!! LITERALLY !!!!!!!

WELCOME TO THE OWL HOUSE OH MY HOF😭😭

camilla noceda i love you so so so much

i ran off to live in a cave in the most dramatic way possible☺️🫶

they have to chain up their homework😦

GUS ANGST !! NO !!!

willow....... my love..,,,......

god she's got to stop OH GOD THE PLANT TRAILS☹️☹️

LUZ IM SO SORRY AEUGH EUGAH AUGHEHGF [cry]

hehe ghost

it's going to hatch this episode it HAS to

oh my god what if it hatched when she lets herself live in the boiling isles

EIGHTIES PORTRAIT .... FORHEAD KISS..,.,, IM NOT STRONG RNOIGH

EDAKING THEYRE BACK !!!!

CAMILLA DONT CRY OH MY GKD😭

camilla the silly .. i need edits of her immediately

"CLOSED

forever :)"

oh my god the collectors making dolls out of them

HARPEDA NO☹️☹️

oh my god they just wanna be a hero oh my god oh my god THEY WANT TO BE LIKE LUZ OH MY GOD OH MY GDODD

collector! buddy! u gotta stop doing that😄

collector you make me wild tbh

fist bump🙁❤️

CAMILLA LOVES KING OH MY GOD☹️

"do you think everyone who gets turned into a puppet gets locked in the archives" ARCHIVES ?? MA?? MAGNUS ARCHIV???????

disney channel commercials i hate you HELP

back to the magic the owl house is back on disney xd🫶

"the golden guard— i mean, hunter" yay🙁🫶

THOSE EYE SHITS ARE SO COOL

matt holy mule i love you i'm so glad to see you again💔💔

gus don't make that face at your bf😭

new hexside is so COOL I WANNA GO

IS BUMP DEAD OH MY GOD⁉️⁉️

WILLOWVINEY AHHHEEGHEHFH !!!!

BLIGHT SIBLINGS OH MY GOD

EDRIC⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️⁉️

there were ROCKS at the bottom😜

HIS LAST NAME IS THOLOMULR I CANT ICC CD ANT😭😭😭

oh boy !😄

the collectors kingdom looks like a tiara

i do in fact eat gravity yeah

MAMADALIA ?????

is her hair lighter or something she looks wild

WHOOF😦

THERE ARE MORE COLLECTORS ???

i love how short the commercials are this is fantastic

boscha looks GORGEOUS

amity canonically tried organizing a student council .. if that's not a fucking lmp reference idk what is that's actually insane

EDRIC NOOOOO

i'm shocked they're allowed to say the word suicide on disney tbh

yeah fuck you miki

color pallets going wild

RAEDA ARE STANDING ENCT TO EACH OTHER [most normal shipper reaction]

EDAS HAIR ??? "I JUST LIKE VIDITING RAINE?????? GOD AHEHEHD LILITHS HAIR TOO AHEHEIEIRHR !!!1!1!5!72););

LULU HOOTSIPHER REUNITE !!!

i just noticed eda's arm she's so .. design.

LOVING ginger curly haired lilith rn i cant stop thinking about them

"keep it in keep it in" elsa era [i am begging her to stop]

GUSTHOLOMULE INTERACTIONS FR

willow what are you going to do to her😄

is it absolutrly morbid if i say i need a willow breakdown in this ep

BELOS!RAINE WHAT☹️☹️☹️☹️

i forgot that's how they get memories tbh

WAAAAA FLAPJACK

god hunter i love you

WILLOW NO☹️☹️

Camilla Go After Her Go Go Go

her little tail i can't dobthis

willow kill her please

OOOOO SHE'S KILLING HER

hey willow hey what are you looking at. hey willow. hey w

GOD I FUCKING KNEW IT FUCK YOU KIKI

i do not want an ad for pretzels rn.

belos is OOZING OUT IF THEM jesus

little red kitten so true

AMI ??? FUCKING AMI ????? JESUS CHRIST

boscha you have such a crush on amity it's embarassing

oh my gif thehre playing grudgby

boscha you're in LOVE [cry]

willow😦😦😦😦😦😦😦

oh god oh god willow oh my god

AEUGH EUEGH UFHEAGG☹️☹️

i know they're not going to use they/them for the collector in canon but i definitrly want them to

pyramid scheme camilla😭😭

astral oath ?? AWW ITS A REFERENCE STOP IT

YAYAYAYAYAY WHAT USBUT

she wants to be understood.

luz noceda you're so me

OH FUCK TOU GUYS WHAT IS IT

WE CUT THUS IFF FIR WILLIW ANGST STOP IT WVERYOBE STOP

HUNTER I LIVE YOU SI FUCKING MUCH

WILLOW MY ABSOLUTR DEAREST YOU WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUS

MAGIC HUBTER MAGIC HUNTER MAGIC HUBTER

IS HE A SPEEDSTER AHHHHDHE

girlie is your palisman an orb

why r u hitting hrself

[huntlow interaction] I MISSED A LOT😠😠 /j

maybe huntlow is cute. maybe.

PLEAASDEADE PLEASE WHAT IS IT WHAT IS IT LUZ

luz's gliphs look like gallifreyan

BEMA US UP BEAM US UP

WHAT IS IT

A BAT !!!!!!!!!!! IT WAS A BAT FIR A SEC

STRINGBEAN THE SNAKE SHIFTER☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️☹️

PINKIE HOLD CINEMATIC UNIVERSE WHAT THE FUCK

guys i'm tearing up like actually

how did dana make me care about huntlow deeply in the span of an hour

ok. ok.

ok.

bye.

[rebel-at-heart713]

Rebel Plays D&D Part 1

I just started playing a Dungeons and Dragons Campaign, and thought I’d share what, happens.  I’ll do my best to relay the story as it happens.  It’s a long one so here we go. 

Players:

Me:  Ravawenys. A Half-Elf (Wood Elf) Rogue who has been living in the woods for her whole life.  Her elf mother was kicked out of her village for loving a human. Her father died when she was young, as he was human and didn’t live long.  Her mother died when a group of elves burned down her first hut.  Stats: Strength +1, Dex +3, Con +1, Int +1, Wis +2, Charisma +3,  (I got super lucky with my roles)

GM; (also playing a character as it’s the 2 of us) Taegen, a HighElf Cleric. (he never told me much of his background )Stats: Strength +1, Dex +1, Con +3, Int +1, Wisdom +3, Charisma -1.  (Yeah, he wasn’t as lucky, and as you read on, you’ll see he continues to roll horribly.  

He starts the scene as this.

Ravawenys is alone in her cabin, when 3 men approach and surround her house.  They think she’s a witch and one starts trying to barge in.  Rolling an acrobatics to try to time it so when he goes to slam into the door, he gets knocked off balance.  Able to kill him in one blow with her rapier with a advantage and sneak attack.  She fights the second man and it goes fairly well.  The third one who came in through the back who has already started using a torch to burn the home down.  She kills the second but the third one being stronger causes more problems.  He misses a lot (I don’t know if I’m just lucky or if the GM is fudging the numbers so I don’t die 5 minutes into my first campaign.) Anyways, after several failed attempts at trying to hit this man, or just not doing much damage,

 I ask the GM 

Me: “How far has the fire spread”

GM: “Its fairly spread through the two rooms” Me: “Can I attempt to knock him into the fire?”

GM: “If you are going to trying to kick him to knock him off balance roll Dex”

I do so and that’s how I kill him.  

Ravawenys leaves her burning hut with the basic supplies and hides in the bushes with her boosted Stealth.  After traveling a bit she heals herself by doing a Nature and Medicine check to use some herbs to heal herself (Being a hermit background).  It’s a good thing she did, because very soon after she is attacked by a bear.  

I fail an animal handling and the bear attacks, doing some damage as I do some back.  This is when Taegen shows up and helps (?).  All Taegen actually does is get the bears attention so Ravawenys no longer gets attacked and can get occasion sneak attacks, but he never lands a hit, he absolutely rolls horribly.  After we (read I) kill the bear he tries talking to me. 

 Me: “I pretend I don’t speak common and only speak Elvish: (Completely forgetting he’s playing an Elf.)

GM: “Well I can speak Elvish, as I am an Elf.”

When suddenly more men show up.  I role acrobatics and stealth to climb and hide in a tree. Taegen lies (SOME HOW PASSING THE BLUFF with his -1 to Charisma) to them when they say they’re looking for a witch, saying the bear was dead when he got there, and they move on. 

 She hops down and mention to him very shortly that those men burned her house down, after he confirms she’s not a witch, he offers for her to join his quest so she can get some gold to get myself on her feet.  Ravawenys decide to join him on his werewolf hunt. Taegen heals her up as she had gotten damage from the bear.

 They walk until they find a cart with a mangled mule.  We both role Survival to try to find the trail to track the werewolf.  I role high (like a 19 or something so 20+ after a modifier) and he rolls like a 5, so Ravawenys lead the way until they find a cave.  We engage the werewolf, after somehow stealthing inside with him having a bad modifier due to heavy armor, with Ravawenys starting off with a bow attack. They fight until she is bitten, I roll Constitution and pass, but as the battle continues, she’s bitten again, and this time I fail the constitution save. 

 After the werewolf is killed Taegen heals Ravawenys injuries with heal wounds, not realizing she had gotten that badly bitten.  He has her cut off the head, as proof of the kill, and its to, brutal?, for him.  They go on back towards the town.  Sleeping for the night, I fail another Constitution, so her fever progresses.  Once they get to town and get paid, they head to a tavern, and she splits off to find a temple with a higher level cleric (Taegen is only level 1 So he doesn’t have remove curse).  

She finds the priest and he wants 800 gold to remove the curse, but she only has around 300.  She tries to convince him to do it for less but he won’t budge.     

(If anyone knows Dingo Doddle’s “Fool’s Gold”, it was literally that scene “fix.’ “That will be 12000 gold” “Fix for less”)  

Ravawenys finds Taegen again finally tells him that she needs more gold, about 500 more, because she needs a curse removal. Taegen finally realizes that she was bit and says that they can do another job, but they will have to wait until morning when Town Hall will open back up for notices.  

That night I fail another Constitution check, so her fever progresses more.  (I’m not sure how lycanthropy works in D&D or if he’s fudging it a little bit so, like early, my character is just dead in my first session ever.)      

The next morning they go to town hall and see a job to deal with a rat problem in a different tavern, along with 2 other’s he mentions. They decided to take it, thinking it will be the better paying quick job, as  they aren’t sure how long she has   After arriving at the tavern, they learn something is odd….

Ravawenys: “We’re here to deal with your rats.  Where are they so we can get rid of them”

Tavern owner: “No, no you give rats?” 

Ravawenys: “What?”

Tavern Owner: “You take rats, give to other tavern.”

Ravawenys: “What.  Wouldn’t you rather me just get rid of them?”

Tavern Owner: “They just come back.  You give rats to other tavern.”

Taegen: “I’m not doing that.”

Ravawenys: sighs “fine I need the gold”               

 Taegen goes waits outside, as he’s disappointed in her, as Ravawenys goes down to the basement and catches 6 rats.  After bringing them back upstairs, she tries to convince the tavern owner one last time to let her try to get rid of his rats. 

Tavern Owner: “No good protein.”

Ravawenys: “I, I’m sure you can find something else to eat.”

Tavern Owner: “No, I don’t eat them.”

Ravawenys: “I uh,”

Tavern Owner: “You have enough rats?”

Ravawenys: “I think 6 will be plenty to infect the other tavern.  They’ll breed.”

Tavern Owner: nods breed fast, why good protein.               

 Ravawenys leaves and lets Taegen know that she never planed on giving the other tavern rats, but releasing them in the woods. She also lets him know that the tavern owner was feeding his customers rats. They release the rats and go back. She convinces the tavern owner that she gave the rats to the other tavern, (Tavern Owner rolled a Nat 1 in his opposition to my bluff).  The Tavern Owner pays her 100 gold and says that she’ll get the rest of the payment in a few weeks once he’s sure that the rats have infested the other tavern and he starts getting some of those customers (which is why he wanted it infected).  

Now having 400 gold Ravawenys borrows 400 more from Taegen, as he had that much, and she gets her curse removed.  Taegen then offers her to join him adventuring and doing quests.  Having nothing else to do, but also feeling obligated to pay him back for the borrowed gold, she agrees.  

And that is how we ended the first session. 

Notable points:  I roll great this game, only failing animal handling, a couple hit fails in battle, and my constitution; while he rolls absolutely ridiculously bad, only ever passing the stealth on the werewolf and the bluff against the men, somehow, since he had a disadvantage on both,  

I hope you enjoyed the story as much as I enjoyed playing it and I hope to update more as I play more.

[fablesuntold]

@musingmemories sent: "I've had worse injuries..."— From Katniss Everdeen to Peeta Mellark ✨

‘Attention all tributes. Commencing at sunrise, there will be a feast tomorrow at The Cornucopia.’ A feast open to all remaining tributes who were welcome to gamble their lives away.. a feast that would end in more bloodshed for those who got too desperately needy. Feasts were pretty illusions— something the game makers used to lure the more brazen tributes together to fight it out for items crucial to their survival. Food, water, matches.. medicine. The latter in which Peeta was in dire need of if he was in with a chance of saving his leg before it got any worse. But wasn’t it already too late? The pain had dulled down to nothing, limb completely numb to the touch and oozing gangrene until the skin around the deep gash had turned greenish-black— sepsis bringing on a mean fever that had Peeta on the brink of unconsciousness. He wouldn’t last much longer in this state. He knew that. Katniss knew it too, if the way she’d jumped up with the intention of risking her life to retrieve that medicine for him was anything to go by.

But Peeta wasn't about to let her throw her life away for his, a plea ready on his lips and a hand reaching out to pull her back to him in her attempted escape. ‘Please, stay. Promise me you won’t go.’

Silence. Exchanged glances that lingered in the darkness of their cave, and then.. ‘..I promise.’

Oh what a fool he’d been to believe her, allowing himself to fall for her trick the second she curled up against him as if she’d completely forgotten about the idea. But Peeta should’ve known better than to take her word for it, because the second his eyelids closed and he eventually gave in to the exhaustion blurring his vision? Katniss was gone. Requesting her not to do something was the equivalent of double daring her to do it. Katniss was as stubborn as a mule. Once an idea was in her head, there was no stopping her. Something Peeta would soon come to learn the hard way when the faint rustling of materials sounded from the cave’s entrance, causing the blonde to stir awake in a cold sweat.

The first thing he noticed was the lack of weight against his chest where Katniss had been resting prior to him falling asleep. She wasn’t there. Dread quickly setting in, Peeta’s eyelids flew open in concern, delirium doing little to settle his nerves. “Katniss?” Scrambling his way up onto his elbows to get a better look at his surroundings, the pit of his stomach may as well have knotted with the sight he was met with. Katniss stumbling her way back beside him.. forehead bruised and bloody with a nasty laceration stretching from her hairline down to her eyebrow. “..Katniss.” Mouth falling agape and eyes wide with confusion, Peeta was quick to cup her face the second she was close enough to touch.

‘I’ve had worse injuries..’ was she serious? And even if that were so, that was beside the point.

“You told me you weren’t gonna go. You could’ve been killed out there. What were you thinking?” Lightly scolding, Peeta’s eyebrows furrowed together as he studied the wound closer. It was deep.. probably needed stitches, which unfortunately wasn’t an option right now with their limited resources. “That was reckless, Katniss. Really reckless.” Tone lighter this time, Peeta’s gaze dropped down to the small tin in her hand— no doubt housing the ointment she’d gone through all of that trouble to retrieve for him. Why..? They weren’t the star-crossed lovers everybody thought them to be.. not even close. In fact, Peeta wasn’t entirely sure Katniss even tolerated him. She didn’t own him anything either. If anything, Peeta was a burden to her with his injury and she’d do better leaving him behind to die.

Yet.. here she was. Still protecting him. Keeping him alive. Shaking his head to himself, Peeta averted his gaze back up to her face and offered out his hand expectantly. “You need some of that too.” If she thought she was using it all on him, she was mistaken. “You first. I don’t want that getting infected.” There was still a fighting chance for her. The quicker they got her cleaned up, the less chance of germs entering the bloodstream. If one of them deserved to make it back home to their family.. if one of them deserved to be a Victor and live the rest of their lives in peace without the worry of the games nagging away at them.. then it should be Katniss Everdeen. There was simply no changing his mind on that.

[angelojamal]

“And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. For so it was, while Jezebel massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my Lord Elijah?” And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ ” So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here” ’! And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. Was it not reported to my Lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.” ’ He will kill me!” Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.””

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭1‬-‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah. Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.” So all the people answered and said, “It is well spoken.” Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.” So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they leaped about the altar which they had made. And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention. Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water. And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!” And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭16‬-‭40‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.” Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.”

‭‭I Kings‬ ‭18‬:‭41‬-‭46‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

[lordgodjehovahsway]

1 Kings 18: God Gives Elijah A Message To Deliver To Ahab

1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 

2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.

Now the famine was severe in Samaria, 

3 and Ahab had summoned Obadiah, his palace administrator. (Obadiah was a devout believer in the Lord. 

4 While Jezebel was killing off the Lord’s prophets, Obadiah had taken a hundred prophets and hidden them in two caves, fifty in each, and had supplied them with food and water.) 

5 Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.” 

6 So they divided the land they were to cover, Ahab going in one direction and Obadiah in another.

7 As Obadiah was walking along, Elijah met him. Obadiah recognized him, bowed down to the ground, and said, “Is it really you, my lord Elijah?”

8 “Yes,” he replied. “Go tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’”

9 “What have I done wrong,” asked Obadiah, “that you are handing your servant over to Ahab to be put to death? 

10 As surely as the Lord your God lives, there is not a nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to look for you. And whenever a nation or kingdom claimed you were not there, he made them swear they could not find you. 

11 But now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ 

12 I don’t know where the Spirit of the Lord may carry you when I leave you. If I go and tell Ahab and he doesn’t find you, he will kill me. Yet I your servant have worshiped the Lord since my youth. 

13 Haven’t you heard, my lord, what I did while Jezebel was killing the prophets of the Lord? I hid a hundred of the Lord’s prophets in two caves, fifty in each, and supplied them with food and water. 

14 And now you tell me to go to my master and say, ‘Elijah is here.’ He will kill me!”

15 Elijah said, “As the Lord Almighty lives, whom I serve, I will surely present myself to Ahab today.”

Elijah on Mount Carmel

16 So Obadiah went to meet Ahab and told him, and Ahab went to meet Elijah. 

17 When he saw Elijah, he said to him, “Is that you, you troubler of Israel?”

18 “I have not made trouble for Israel,” Elijah replied. “But you and your father’s family have. You have abandoned the Lord’s commands and have followed the Baals. 

19 Now summon the people from all over Israel to meet me on Mount Carmel. And bring the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.”

20 So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. 

21 Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

22 Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. 

23 Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. 

24 Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

25 Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” 

26 So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

27 At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 

28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. 

29 Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. 

31 Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” 

32 With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 

33 He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

34 “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. 

35 The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

36 At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. 

37 Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

39 When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

40 Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

41 And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” 

42 So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

45 Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. 

46 The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

[lennart11412]

1And it came to pass after many days that the word of the Lord came to Elijah, in the third year, saying, “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.”

2So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab; and there was a severe famine in Samaria. 3And Ahab had called Obadiah, who was [a]in charge of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the Lord greatly. 4For so it was, while Jezebel [b]massacred the prophets of the Lord, that Obadiah had taken one hundred prophets and hidden them, fifty to a cave, and had fed them with bread and water.) 5And Ahab had said to Obadiah, “Go into the land to all the springs of water and to all the brooks; perhaps we may find grass to keep the horses and mules alive, so that we will not have to kill any livestock.” 6So they divided the land between them to explore it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.

7Now as Obadiah was on his way, suddenly Elijah met him; and he recognized him, and fell on his face, and said, “Is that you, my lord Elijah?”

8And he answered him, “It is I. Go, tell your master, ‘Elijah is here.’ ”

9So he said, “How have I sinned, that you are delivering your servant into the hand of Ahab, to kill me? 10As the Lord your God lives, there is no nation or kingdom where my master has not sent someone to hunt for you; and when they said, ‘He is not here,’ he took an oath from the kingdom or nation that they could not find you. 11And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here” ’! 12And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from you, that the Spirit of the Lord will carry you to a place I do not know; so when I go and tell Ahab, and he cannot find you, he will kill me. But I your servant have feared the Lord from my youth. 13Was it not reported to my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord, how I hid one hundred men of the Lord’s prophets, fifty to a cave, and fed them with bread and water? 14And now you say, ‘Go, tell your master, “Elijah is here.” ’ He will kill me!”

15Then Elijah said, “As the Lord of hosts lives, before whom I stand, I will surely present myself to him today.”

16So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.

17Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?”

18And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. 19Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of [c]Asherah, who [d]eat at Jezebel’s table.”

Elijah’s Mount Carmel Victory

20So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. 22Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. 24Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”

So all the people answered and said, [e]“It is well spoken.”

25Now Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one bull for yourselves and prepare it first, for you are many; and call on the name of your god, but put no fire under it.”

26So they took the bull which was given them, and they prepared it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even till noon, saying, “O Baal, [f]hear us!” But there was no voice; no one answered. Then they [g]leaped about the altar which they had made.

27And so it was, at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Cry [h]aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28So they cried aloud, and cut themselves, as was their custom, with [i]knives and lances, until the blood gushed out on them. 29And when midday was past, they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice. But there was no voice; no one answered, no one paid attention.

30Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” So all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood, and said, “Fill four waterpots with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice and on the wood.” 34Then he said, “Do it a second time,” and they did it a second time; and he said, “Do it a third time,” and they did it a third time. 35So the water ran all around the altar; and he also filled the trench with water.

36And it came to pass, at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near and said, “Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that You are God in Israel and I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. 37Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that You are the Lord God, and that You have turned their hearts back to You again.”

38Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”

40And Elijah said to them, “Seize the prophets of Baal! Do not let one of them escape!” So they seized them; and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Kishon and executed them there.

The Drought Ends

41Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” 42So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees, 43and said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.”

So he went up and looked, and said, “There is nothing.” And seven times he said, “Go again.”

44Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, [j]‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ”

45Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. 46Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah; and he girded[k] up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.

[orthodoxydaily]

Saints&Reading: Monday, December 18, 2023

december 5_december 18

VENERABLE SABBAS THE SANCTIFIED (532)

The unknown village of Mutalaska, in the province of Cappadocia, became famous through this great luminary of the Orthodox Church. Sava was born there of his parents John and Sophia. At the age of eight, he left the home of his parents and was tonsured a monk in a nearby monastic community called Flavian's. After ten years, he moved to the monasteries of Palestine and remained longest in the Monastery of St. Euthymius the Great (January 20) and Theoctistus. The clairvoyant Euthymius prophesied of Sava that he would become a famous monk and a teacher of monks and that he would establish a lavra greater than all the lavras of that time. After the death of Euthymius, Sava withdrew to the desert, where he lived for five years as a hermit in a cave shown to him by an angel of God.

Afterward, when he had been perfected in the monastic life, he began by divine providence to gather around him many who were desirous of the spiritual life. Soon, such a large number gathered that Sava had to build a church and many cells. Some Armenians also came to him, and for them he provided a cave where they would be able to celebrate services in the Armenian language. When his father died, his aged mother Sophia came to him, and he tonsured her a nun. He gave her a cell located at a distance from his monastery, where she lived a life of asceticism until her death. This holy father endured many assaults from all sides: from those who were close to him, from heretics, and from demons. But he triumphed over them all: those close to him, by kindness and indulgence; the heretics, by his unwavering confession of the Orthodox Faith; the demons, by the sign of the Cross and calling upon God for help. He had a particularly great struggle with demons on Mount Castellium, where he established his second monastery. In all, Sava established seven monasteries. He and Theodosius the Great, his neighbor, are considered to be the greatest lights and pillars of Orthodoxy in the East. They corrected emperors and patriarchs in matters of the Faith, and to everyone they served as an example of saintly humility and the miraculous power of God. After a toilsome and very fruitful life, St. Sava entered into rest in the year 532, at the age of ninety-four. Among his many wondrous and good works, let it at least be mentioned that he was the first to compile the Order of Services for use in monasteries, now known as the Jerusalem Typicon.

Reflection

A man may be great in some skill, as a statesman or a military leader, but no one among men is greater than a man who is great in faith, hope and love. How great St. Sava the Sanctified was in faith and hope in God is best shown by the following incident: One day, the steward of the monastery came to Sava and informed him that the following Saturday and Sunday he would be unable to strike the semantron, according to tradition, to summon the brethren to the communal service and meal because there was not a trace of flour in the monastery nor anything at all to eat or drink. For this same reason, even the Divine Liturgy was not possible. The saint replied without hesitation: "I shall not cancel the Divine Liturgy because of the lack of flour; faithful is He Who commanded us not to be concerned about bodily things, and mighty is He to feed us in time of hunger." And he placed all his hope in God. In this extremity, he was prepared to send some of the ecclesiastical vessels or vestments to be sold in the city so that neither the divine services nor the brother's customary meal would be omitted. However, before Saturday some men, moved by divine providence, brought thirty mules laden with wheat, wine and oil to the monastery. "What do you say now, Brother?" Sava asked the steward. "Shall we not strike the semantron and assemble the fathers?" The steward was ashamed because of his lack of faith and begged the abbot for forgiveness. Sava's biographer describes this saint as "severe with demons but mild toward men." Once, some monks rebelled against St. Sava, and for this they were driven from the monastery by order of Patriarch Elias. They built themselves huts by the river Thekoa, where they endured privation in all things. Hearing that they were starving, St. Sava loaded mules with flour and brought it to them personally. Seeing that they had no church, he built one for them. At first, the monks received him with hatred, but afterward they responded to his love with love and repented of their former misdeeds toward him.

Prologue from Ohrid

SAINT GURIAS, ARCHBISHOP OF KAZAN (156)

Saint Gurias, Archbishop of Kazan, (in the world Gregory Rugotin), was the first archbishop of the Kazan diocese, established in 1555. He was born in the town of Radonezh outside Moscow into the family of a courtier. His parents were not wealthy, and so from his early years he had to serve Prince Ivan Penkov as steward of his estates.

From his youth, Gregory was pious, humble and gentle, and he preserved his chastity. Accused of improprieties with the prince’s wife, Gregory was locked up in an underground dungeon for two years. This undermined his health, but it also intensified and deepened his religious fervor. In prison, he wrote a small booklet to teach children how to read and write. He donated the proceeds from his primer to the needy.

Released from prison, Gregory was tonsured with the name Gurias at the Saint Joseph of Volokolamsk monastery, known for its strict monastic rule. In 1543, he was chosen by the brethren as igumen of this monastery. He administered it for almost nine years, and then he resigned as igumen and lived for two years as a simple monk.

Before becoming bishop, Saint Gurias directed the Trinity Selizharov monastery in Tver diocese for one year. He was chosen by lot to the See of Kazan. Assisted by Saint Barsanuphius (April 11), Saint Gurias devoted himself to missionary activity. In his eight years as bishop there, four monasteries were organized, and the Annunciation cathedral church and ten more city churches were built.

In 1561 the saint fell grievously ill and could no longer perform the divine services himself. On feastdays they carried him into the church, and he either sat or lay down, since he did not have the strength to walk or even stand.

Shortly before his death (1563), he received the great schema from Saint Barsanuphius, and he was buried in the Savior-Transfiguration monastery. On October 4, 1595, the incorrupt relics of the holy hierarchs Gurias and Barsanuphius were uncovered. Saint Hermogenes, Metropolitan of Kazan (May 12), was present at the uncovering of their relics, and he described this event in the lives of these saints.

On June 20, 1613, the relics of Saint Gurias were transferred from the Savior-Transfiguration monastery to the Annunciation cathedral church. At present, the relics rest in Kazan in a cemetery church named for the holy Princes Theodore of Murom and his sons David and Constantine (May 21).

Source: orthodox Church in America_OCA

HEBREWS 3:5-11, 17-19

5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end. 7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, In the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 Where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, And saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.' 11 So I swore in My wrath, 'They shall not enter My rest.' " 17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

MATTHEW 11:27-30

27 All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. 28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.