Sum’:Once again trouble fall upon the peaceful coven, spreading its darkness on each Hook. Only this time only one will remain and with the help of the Savior, will decide the fate of the rest of their secret family…
Note:HOLLYCRAPPYSHIT. Only One, chapter left and I’m not prepared to stop posting new chapters :( Well, all good things must end one day so… A little soft and funny chapter before the conclusion of that adventure! Got to thanks @thesschesthair for the fantastic idea of the voicemail ;)
On that, happy reading mates!
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Emma was happy when Killian told her he had resolved his problem with the cricket’s help. Or at least, that he now knew what needed to be done in order to put everything behind him and start again. His part-time work prescription ended at the end of the week, leaving Killian just enough time to sort things out with the coven. But first, he needed to see Rogers and make sure everything would go smoothly if he showed up at the huge mansion the next day. Unfortunately, all the calls he had made to the detective ended up on his voicemail, leaving Killian uneasy.
At the Sanctuary of Divine Mercy in Łagiewniki, the Jordan Park and St. Mary’s Basilica will be located zones of Reconciliation. WYD participants will be able to confess to more than 100 additional confessionals.
Tell us what you think about them! Beautiful right? Let’s not forget to prepare ourselves to this holy sacrament.
Next week is the week of reconciliation and peace. For as St Paul says, “in Christ all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things… making peace by the blood of his cross.” (Col 1:19-20) We stand now, then, at the threshold of atonement, of becoming at one with God and with one another through the grace and charity of Christ. For as St John says, Christ would die on the Cross “to gather together in unity the scattered children of God.”
How? For we have all been scattered, divided, rent asunder by sin. Sin destroys the integrity of Man, so that he is at war with himself, his emotions and passions having become disorderly and uncontrolled by reason. As St Paul testifies: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate”. (Rom 7:15) Hence “I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members.” (Rom 7:23)
Such a man, then, is also separated by sin from the graced union with God that had been part of God’s plan for Mankind from the beginning. But Adam and all we his descendants rejected that union, and so we found ourselves born into a state of estrangement from God. As the prophet Ezekiel says in the first reading, duped by sin, Man has fallen into “betrayals” and “filthy practices” and idolatry, notably by trying to secure happiness and completeness without God, separating oneself from God’s sovereignty, and not acknowledging our creaturely absolute need of God. Thus St Paul laments: “They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.”
And sin also divides us from our fellow men and women, leading us from the fraternal peace and harmony we desire into the strife that, as Genesis observes, comes first from sibling rivalry but develops into the rivalry of nations and communities, the senseless quest for dominance at all costs which still shatters lands and scatters peoples at this very moment in history.
But next week we focus again on God’s peace plan, on the way out of the sin and strife and selfishness that divides and conquers us. We stand on the cusp of that week when, as the Lord God declares through the prophet Ezekiel: “I shall rescue them from all the betrayals they have been guilty of; I shall cleanse them; they shall be my people and I will be their God.” (Eze 37:23). God himself, raised up in the flesh on the Cross, shedding his blood to atone for all our sins, shall draw all to himself. He shall gathered together in unity all we who have been scattered by sin; he shall gather us into the communion of God’s forgiveness, God’s mercy, God’s undying love. Thus St Paul says: “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who has made us both one, and has broken down the dividing wall of hostility… reconcil[ing] us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby bringing the hostility to an end.” (Eph 2:14, 16)
Where are we united, reconciled, at peace with God and ourselves in one body? Where are we united under the Cross of Christ? Here within Christ’s Body, the Church, and especially here in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, gathered together as one community, one parish, one holy people at the foot of the Cross, receiving the One Bread and the One Chalice that unites us in one holy communion in Christ.
It is necessary, therefore, that if are separated from God and one another by sin, if we are guilty of those betrayals and idolatries that divide us from God and the communion of the Church that we should go quickly to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. So, next week, be sure to go to Confession, and experience the reconciliation and peace that Christ has won for us. For we call this coming week Holy Week because in this week we recount the means by which Christ secures our holiness: he reconciles us to God, making peace by the blood of his Cross, and he pours out his grace upon his Church, upon us.
Hence the Lord promises: “I shall cleanse them; they shall be my people and I will be their God.” How beautiful is the Church’s sacramental work of grace in our souls, cleansing us of sin, and uniting us to God in a loving act of mutual belonging. Christ has given his life for us on the Cross for this: to gather us back to God through grace, through the Sacraments of the Church, and indeed, through our membership in the Church herself, which is his Mystical Body, “a holy nation, God’s own people”. (cf 1 Pt 2:9) So Ezekiel prophesied: “I [God] shall make them into one nation… and one king is to be king of them all”. Our king rules the nations from a Tree, for from the Cross we shall be reconciled to God, with our fellow Man, and in ourselves. So, by dying “for the people” as Caiaphas says, our Crucified King and God indeed saves us all from destruction. Thus we hasten towards the festival, the week of salvation!
Geralt rolls over to the other side and grunts. Ciri’s scream is still vibrating through his body, an echo of dread flooding it. He should sleep, but he can’t. Even for a man like him—used to fights, used to losing his brothers to monsters—this day has been a lot.
He should sleep, but every time he closes his eyes, his vision drenches in blood.
He held it together for Ciri pretty well, but now he thinks of his dead brothers lying in the laboratory, to be prepared for their funerals the next day. Vesemir keeps vigil by their bodies through the night. Geralt is grateful for that. He just can’t.
Geralt isn’t a fearful person. No witcher is. But he had feared for Ciri today, innocent and sweet as she is (too powerful for her own good and stubborn as hell, too), for Yennefer who had no magic to defend herself and still fought with everything she had, and for Jaskier, the stupid bard, running right into their battle, armed with nothing but wit and a stupid leather coat.
Seeing him safe and sound catching Yennefer after they returned from the other sphere had been a relief. The colour of Jaskier’s coat moving through the periphery of Geralt’s vision had calmed him somewhat in the after-battle adrenaline crash. Jaskier has this effect on him after two decades of travelling together, even if he isn’t tending to him but others who are harmed.
Geralt can’t remember when the bard’s constant chatter and string plucking had turned from annoying to some kind of comfortable white noise soothing the fraying edges of his being, especially after hunts and other fights.
He had missed him. He’s only now realising how much. But knowing that he’s safe in the keep just like Ciri and Yen is comforting. Witchers shouldn’t need comfort, but here he is.
Maybe he should get up and check on him, take away the booze Jaskier is surely numbing himself with or the notebook he’s frantically scribbling a new song into. But Geralt dismisses the idea. Jaskier is probably already asleep. He must be exhausted after the long journey and little sleep last night, not to mention the disaster that befell them.
Ciri fell asleep as soon as he had guided her to her chamber. She didn’t even light a candle. Geralt prays to any deity that might be willing to listen to send the girl a good night’s sleep for once. She’d deserve it.
He groans and turns once more. They’ll have to leave soon before the winter swallows Kaer Morhen whole.
He wishes they had more time. Ciri needs to learn to control her powers, how to defend herself. Granted, her progress in the little time they’ve been together has been impressive, but will it be enough for the road when mages and royals are after her?
Geralt’s eyes sting, a useless remnant of his past humanity. He won’t cry. He can’t. But for the first time since the Trial of the Dreams, he wishes he could. He remembers the catharsis of tears running down his skin. Tears didn’t solve anything, but they used to make his heart a little lighter.
Some humans might argue that witchers don’t have a heart. Oh, how wrong they are. Just like when they claim witchers don’t have emotions. Just because they don’t react to every impulse, reflect instead, and try to see beyond the surface. And because their bodies react differently.
Geralt’s heart beats slowly in his chest, heavy, filled with regret and the memories of people he lost along the way. He can never shake them because he cannot forget. He gets by. He survives. He always did. And now that he accepted destiny, accepted his child surprise, it’s necessary to push back the emotions that threaten to flood him as they often do at the brink of sleep even further and concentrate on the next steps.
He needs potions, he needs provisions for the journey and coin. They need garments for the harsh winter ahead. But most of all, he needs a plan.
A party of four is hard to keep hidden, but if Yen and Jask change their colourful garments to more moderate ones and their little group stays away from the big towns and roads, they should be able to make it.
The question is just, where to? Everyone will want to get their hands on Ciri. Fucking everyone!
Being on the move. Maybe that’ll be the sole goal. Not staying anywhere long enough to leave an imprint on people or the area.
Geralt isn’t sure why he’s dreading it so much. This has been his sole life since the trials. He’s probably the best-equipped person on the Continent for this task. Jaskier has been long enough at his side to be used to the hardship the open road can bring. Yennefer can use her magic to disguise them if need be, and Ciri is the centre all of them will spin and navigate around—teaching and protecting.
Geralt tries to envision it. Long miles on the road, Jaskier singing a song soothing everybody’s nerves, Yennefer explaining the intricacies of spells to Ciri, who has her serious ‘I’m listening’ face on (or is chuckling about a verse in Jaskier’s skit). His own senses are focused on their surroundings so that they can go off track if anyone comes near them or he can pull out his sword and defend them. It’s a strangely comforting scene.
But there’s still so much work waiting before they can leave, and while it’s still autumn in the lowlands, winter can arrive up here any day. They need to hurry if they don’t want to be snowed in.
Geralt catches himself with the wish nature would take this decision out of his hands. He just wants to rest. Yes, he meant what he told the girl earlier. Destiny shouldn’t be avoided. But postponing destiny sounds like a tempting option.
We could head to the coast.
Geralt closes his eyes, imagining it. The bloody red dissolves, gives way to white cliffs and dark blue waves, seagulls screeching above them. Jaskier sits in the lush grass plucking the strings of his lute, Ciri leaning against his back, humming along, the wind tousling their hair.
Geralt’s lips curl into a tender smile, and he hums lowly, his muscles relaxing for the first time in hours. No, days.
Finally, he drifts into sleep. He needs the rest. Tomorrow will be time enough.
Atthe residential school memorial downtown, a speaker encouraged everyone present to take photos and share stories of the tributes and of what they had seen that evening. The memorial commemorated the recent discovery of 215 bodies at a Kamloops state institution that separated Indigenous children from their families and culture in an attempt to indoctrinate them into a western, Christian way of living. So I am doing as she asked.
I try to learn about and be mindful of Indigenous cultures in Canada and feel that, even as an immigrant, I still have more rights, freedoms and safety than people who were born here and who can trace ancestry back to before anyone like me ever arrived. I know, as many do, that the last residential school closed as recently as the 90s and that they were hugely harmful, abusive institutions with little to no accountability (thousands of other children remain unaccounted for to this day). I’m also well aware of the lack of access to healthcare, mental health resources and sometimes even clean water that affects many of this country’s Indigenous communities.
I have a complicated relationship with online activism and I feel I’ve known too many people who are performative or disingenuous, using it as a front and a facade in lieu of real action, and this includes much of the current Canadian administration. I also feel that what we care about and what we feel inside of us goes so much further than what we share on the internet.
I don’t know how to make other people care, but if you live anywhere in North America I would encourage you to use the internet to find out about the Indigenous Peoples who do, or once did, live in the spaces you move through, and what they are like. Education is one of the first ways that we can combat cultural erasure, ignorance and prejudice, and it’s also something that enriches all of us. If you’re in Canada and you can help financially, I’d suggest donating to the Residential School Survivors Society, or otherwise consider writing to your representatives to ask how they are working toward reconciliation, supporting and uplifting cultures and peoples who have been abused and oppressed for so long.
What does it mean to have peace? Some say that it means that we should not fall out with one another because of disagreements over the law. But it seems to me that [to be at peace truly] means… that we should stop sinning and not go back to the way we used to live, for that is to make war with God. How is this possible? [Believe that] not only is it possible, it is also reasonable. For if God reconciled us to Himself [through Christ] when we were in open warfare with Him, it is surely reasonable that we should be able to remain in [such] a state of reconciliation [by remaining also in Christ].
Faith is greater than the law because the law is our work, whereas faith belongs to God. Furthermore, the law is concerned with our present life, whereas faith is concerned with eternal life. [Therefore,] faith gives us peace with God, not the law. [Only faith] reconciles us to God by taking away those sins which [the law revealed in us and which] had made us God’s enemies. And because the Lord Jesus is the [sole] minister of this grace [of reconciliation], it is through [faith in] Him that we have peace with God.
Fresh off the Bad Blood high, Taylor Swift decided to push her dominatrix look into the real world by wearing a leather harness to lunch with Selena Gomez. Taylor also is avidly browsing #s of her on tumblr as we speak. Taylor, if you are reading this please bake us cookies and invite us to your mother’s house so we can help you make peace with Katy Perry.
First — ever — encounter with the term “communism” appears in Hölderlin’s late 18th c. text the “Communism of Spirits”…. I’m convinced with Albernaz’ account above… and the details and history of the whole rigmarole with German idealism and what is confusingly called “spirits” is fleshed out in a careful and very interesting way… But, as a historical materialist, there is nothing airy or nebulous about the possibility of communism…
Today I cried at exactly 10:53am. Interestingly enough, the sun shined but the rain poured to show consolation; reminding me that I wasn’t alone. I woke up filled with joy amidst this blazing heat that wouldn’t even introduce the slightest breeze my way. Still yet, I still sipped on my water and carried through the early morning until I read a text message. You see, I received this text message…
This isn’t mcr related but it’s very important information to spread awareness about. In Canada residential schools operated from the 1800’s until 1996. Indigenous children were stolen from their homes and stripped of their culture and identity. Many of these children faced physical and sexual abuse. An estimate of 150,000 children were forced to go to these schools. Of this number of children, an estimated 6,000 died as a result. For years indigenous people have been sharing their stories and experiences of their time in residential schools but went ignored by our country. Recently 215 bodies of children were found on the grounds of a previous residential school. This sparked demand for other grounds to be searched. Since then, 1,505 bodies of children have been found. This number will continue to rise as we locate more unmarked graves of these children. As an indigenous person, I will not stop spreading awareness and amplifying the voices of our community and demanding change in this country to bring our children home.
Important links:
What were Residential Schools? Plus additional information:
Even though I’ve listened to it so many times it is so jarring to hear billy talk like That with the y'alls every 3 words and the use of prollyand it’s probably more jarring for me bc that’s how I talk and text but like wow to take it farther what if this is how this line went
Duck: hey why didn’t you do anything when you guys caused a million wars
Billy: yeah I was kinda part of a hivemind so thinking for myself was kinda difficult but uh go off I guess
Something that anyone who has ever been involved in a situation of infidelity will over and over again is a one word question, why?
In general the first thing that any cheater will come up with will be the rationalizations they used to give themselves permission. The most surface shallow things. Relationship issues, not enough sex, not enough emotional connection, not feeling appreciated valued, the thrill, the ego boost so and so on.
But that is not what the betrayed is asking. No we’re not asking for something so shallow and surface, we’re not asking what stresses in your life lead you to the point where you decided cheating was an option. What we are looking for is why cheating was ever an option in the first place.
Every relationship has issues, every relationship has stress and difficulty. Yet not everyone reacts to such stresses by cheating.
After all, there are always other, better, honest, honorable, ethical and effective options available. Talking, counseling, divorce /separation. All of those are valid options and reactions to any excuse that any cheater can dream up.
That’s the real question that is being asked when a betrayed partner asks why. That’s the question that any cheater who wants to change and re-earn trust. What was it about your thinking, psychology, background, philosophy etc that put such a destructive choice on the table.
Once again, not what temporary thing in your life lead you to consider it as a choice, but how was it ever a choice to begin with, and what are you willing and able to do to remove that option from your mental toolbox so that we can have some confidence that the next time life throws stress or temptation your way you will choose one of those healthy ethical options and not cheat again.
That’s why addressing “relationship” issues in the wake of infidelity is pointless when it comes to addressing the trauma caused by it. Even bringing relationship problems up while discussing the matter validates cheating as an option.
This does not mean that relationship issues don’t matter or aren’t important, but ultimately when it comes to the question of infidelity they are irrelevant because the choice to cheat is separate from whatever motivated them to the place where they made that choice.
Think about it this way, if someone is driving and someone else cuts them off in traffic there are any number of ways that they could react, some are more healthy than others and some are much worse.
If someone reacts to being cut off by pulling a gun and shooting at the person who cut them off the problem isn’t the person who cut them off, the problem is whatever it is about them that made them think that shooting someone was a reasonable reaction to the situation.
That’s exactly what the cheater did, they may have had a justification to react in some way to whatever it was, but they chose something that was not an appropriate response.
So that is what is meant when we ask you to find your why’s.
