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irene-sadler · 3 years

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Sir Reynard and the Red Knight

1. my usual due diligence b/c some deeply programmed part of my brain can't not cite my sources::

are you interested in reading some secondary source material about the civic government of a medieval city?* or a primary source document listing the personal expenses of Henry VIII between 1529-1532, a line item of which i copied and modified for this chapter? well now u can i guess, go for it.

*(there's like no easily accessible canon info about what Rivia (the city, not the kingdom or the castle) is like, but after some side reading about other medieval cities it seemed like it should be roughly the size of York vs the size of London or Paris, which were the capitols of much more important kingdoms to irl western Europe than Lyria and Rivia seem to have been to northern Fake Europe. i mean, before Meve more or less single handedly fucked up an entire invasion force and yeeted herself into international fame obviously.)

2. i posted a short scene i cut from this chapter here.

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In the days leading up to the fair, a veritable army of men in armor descended on the castle and town surrounding it, spending a mint of money and tearing up the grass of the green outside the wall with ceaseless practices and a few very real fights. The Baroness, who had graciously accepted the Queen’s invitation, became a semi-permanent fixture beside the hastily erected fence surrounding the field. Despite the cold, she spent the short daylight hours observing and offering opinions and guidance. Gascon arrived with a retinue of familiar-looking rogues that drew a dark frown from Reynard and threw himself happily into the endless clashes. The Baroness watched him for most of an afternoon, then in the evening delivered a detailed lecture indicating how and where his technique could be improved, which he cheerily took to heart. The result, according to his tutor, was that he progressed, somewhat, from a reasonable amateur to something like a professional.

Meve managed to keep her company often enough to hear many of her opinions. She noted bad habits and technical errors in almost all of Meve’s serving knights, with few exceptions; of Sir Odo, she only remarked casually that he yet showed no sign of losing a step, age or prior injuries be damned. She made the unusually enthusiastic comment within earshot of its subject as he offered advice to a young knight he’d unseated; he appeared slightly surprised and rode over, eyebrows raised.

“Was that a compliment, my lady?” he asked, looming over the two women where they stood by the fence.

“Would you like it to be?” the Baroness replied, giving no sign either way.

“Why not?” he said, matching her tone, bowed courteously in his saddle, slammed his visor down, and rode away. Meve stared distractedly after him.

“He’ll be an early contender for the prize, I believe,” the Baroness remarked.

“Well, he’s certainly my favorite,” she replied, airily.

“And doesn’t he know it,” the older woman muttered, then added, “That man has a target on his back.”

Meve returned to earth and turned an inquiring frown on her.

“Look,” the older woman explained, waving a hand to indicate the field at large. “There’s not less than two dozen knights here, and squires besides, as well as more than a few fighters who are neither. Some are no doubt here for the prizes, and some for th’ entertainment value, and others to catch a woman’s eye, but, no matter what their reasons, every man among them would very much like to defeat the Queen’s champion, make no mistake.”

The Baroness paused significantly, clearly waiting for her to see a point. Meve, aware that even Reynard lost a match, on occasion, failed to arrive at whatever it was; she shrugged dismissively and said, “Yes, and?”

“And, therefore, don’t leave his equipment unguarded overnight, or his horse,” she explained impatiently, with a slight eye roll; she added, as an afterthought, “Your Grace.”

“Oh.”

After dinner she stared contemplatively into the fire, paying no attention to Reynard and Gascon’s idle chatter nearby. The Baroness’s suggestion - or was it a warning? - weighed on her thoughts. So did the fact that she had yet to find a third judge; a difficult prospect, as whoever she picked might not suit, or, worse, might be inclined to see political significance where there was none. Further, she hadn’t seen the black knight, or even heard anything of him, in well over a week; it was arguably the least of her problems, but bothered her nevertheless. She was jolted out of her reverie only when Reynard shook her suddenly by the shoulder; she frowned distractedly at him, realized he had asked her something, and said, “What?”

“What are you thinking about?” he repeated, patiently. Gascon stared glassily at her, an expectant smile on his face. She explained about the judge, in brief, expecting their conversation to then go on without concerning itself with the matter.

“But why d’ you need three judges?” Gascon wondered, instead, slurring his words somewhat.

“Because there are always three judges,” Reynard replied stiffly, evidently less than perfectly sober himself.

“The third judge is necessary, I’m afraid,” Meve explained. “A tiebreaker.”

“Oh,” said Gascon, “I see. Well, what I would do is just get Gaspar or someone t’ do it, and say good enough; I suppose it doesn’t truly matter who does the job, in th’ end.”

“The joust is serious business,” Reynard said, growing somewhat haughty, “You can’t just appoint some ruffian who can’t talk as an official.”

“No,” Meve said, soothingly, before Gascon could react, “I don’t think he would do, at all, not to worry. However, Gascon’s drunken rambling has given me a thought - I don’t really have to choose the third judge myself.”

“What do you mean by that?” Reynard asked, suspiciously.

“Never you mind,” she said, casually, “You’ll find out soon enough. Anyway - I meant to ask you, Gascon, for a favor.”

“By all means,” he replied, cheerily.

“I need you to assign some of your more reliable and sober men to keep an eye on Reynard’s harness, weapons, and above all his horse, until the fair.”

“Why?” Reynard asked; Meve ignored him, temporarily. Gascon, on the other hand, seemed to immediately understand, and nodded his agreement.

“Oh, yes, naturally, you do,” he said. “I’ll put my best people on it, not t’ worry.”

“Thank you,” she said, and then explained herself to Reynard after Gascon departed to see to the matter. He frowned doubtfully and began, “I really don’t think it’s necessary to -”

“I know you don’t,” she interrupted, a little curtly, “It’s why I didn’t ask you.”

He fell into a slightly disgruntled silence, obviously offended; she immediately regretted her tone, blamed it on the late hour, and delivered a genuine apology, which he graciously accepted, as he always did.

At ten the next morning, she attended a meeting with the bailiff, aldermen, and Mayor of the city outside her castle walls. The Mayor was an ancient man who’d been installed in his position some years before she was born, and would not be hurried as he explained, at length, the procedures and trials of the next few days. She half-listened to his speech, delivered in the same didactic voice as always, and to the discourse that followed, well aware of the various topics that would be covered, as they were exactly the same each year for each fair - roadblocks, fire brigades, the necessity to have extra guards at night, the necessity to have yet further guards to keep the visitors out of the stockyard and away from the docks, the vanishingly small probability of snow. The Queen sat, patiently chiming in on the usual occasions to promise a detachment of soldiers from the castle and to offer the use of the stables in the courtyard, if needed, but otherwise waiting in silence for the meeting to wind to a close. There was, she knew from experience, no speeding up the unvarying process, and it was easiest to try; at the end, however, when the Mayor, as always, asked for any final remarks, she said, “I’ve one, gentlemen.”

The room turned as one to stare at her in collective astonishment; she had never shown the slightest desire to lengthen any meeting in the past, and the atmosphere grew wary and uncertain at the irregularity. She smiled at them, professionally, and continued, “I have a small request only: the jousting event that’s bringing you so much custom this year requires three judges, but I find myself with only two; I thought perhaps you could select the last yourselves and then send ‘em along to the castle this afternoon.”

She was assured that the thing was in their power to grant and departed in secret amusement, leaving the disturbed city government in full knowledge that, so long as she ruled in Lyria and Rivia, the troubling moment would never be forgotten.

The city council sent along their choice - a round, dark-haired young woman - some hours later. She received a very dubious look from Reynard when Ethan brought her into his little office, where he sat in consultation with the Queen. Her name was Giselle, she said, and she knew nothing whatsoever about jousting - although, of course, she’d seen many a brawl, because she was a barmaid at the largest public house in the town square; she was just lately seventeen, but had been employed there since she was ten, and fights were expected and even wagered on should the combatants be interesting enough. Meve was, for once, grateful for Reynard’s unyielding sense of propriety; he grew steadily more unapproachable, but said absolutely nothing as the girl finished her introduction and subsided into silence, casting an uneasy glance at his remote frown.

“Well,” Meve said, pleasantly, “It’s no matter; the finer details of the sport are easy enough to learn. I’m not going to force you, if you’d rather not, but should you like to be a judge tomorrow along with myself and the Baroness, you’re quite welcome.”

Giselle’s face lit up; she replied quickly, “Oh, yes, I’d love to, my lady.” Meve nodded, satisfied.

“Well, then, Ethan there will explain the rules and answer any questions you have; you may go along with him,” she said. Ethan promptly turned a brilliant shade of red as Giselle turned a broad smile on him. Meve drew on decades of diplomatic experience and managed to maintain a straight face as the pair attempted to make their escape from the overcrowded office, briefly became jammed together in the doorway, and awkwardly negotiated their way out, one after the other.

“Gods preserve us,” Reynard muttered, rubbing his forehead painfully, the moment the door finally shut behind them. Meve snorted a laugh at last, perched on the edge of his desk, and said, “She’ll do nicely, I think; seems game enough, given the circumstances.”

He shook his head at her and asked, wearily, “Is it too early to start drinking?”

“It is a holiday. However, those guard patrols for the town must be arranged, and I still have to review my steward’s reports -”

“I’ll bring the reports as well as a bottle, then,” Reynard decided, making for the door; she caught his arm as he passed, kissed him, and pulled away a long moment later to stare into his eyes. He blinked down at her, apparently struck as speechless as his squire, until she released him and said, “Go on, then; I’ll be here.”

“Actually, I’m not thirsty after all,” he said, not moving away. She flashed a smile, slid her arms around his neck, and didn’t argue.

Reynard did arrange the patrols, eventually, but Meve was forced to put the paperwork off; there was a feast to attend, and she had no time to read accounts before it began. It had to be held in the courtyard under the moonlight, because the entire city was invited and most of it’s more upstanding citizens had actually turned up, and, on top of them, all the knights and their horde of attendants; the resulting crowd would never fit inside the great hall. Even her usual courtiers had trouble maintaining stiff decorum in the open air, by blazing fires and with an astonishing amount of food and drink in them. The Queen herself sat at a table with the Baroness and Count Odo; the Count was companionably silent as usual, and so Meve passed the time chatting mainly with the Baroness. The women waved off occasional requests to dance in favor of a detailed discussion of feats of arms they’d witnessed during tournaments and battles, until, unexpectedly, Sir Holt advanced on them out of the crowd. The Baroness immediately paused, mid-sentence, and stared him down; he did not appear to notice her pointed, but wordless, dismissal. Reynard stiffened slightly in his seat, eyes narrowing. Meve sighed quietly; she of course knew the red knight was in attendance, because she’d spotted Gaheris out in the lists the previous afternoon, but had thought he’d have had the sense to avoid her.

However, all the red knight said to her was a polite greeting and a remark on the success of the evening, so far. She nodded at him in acknowledgment; he then turned to Reynard and said, “Count Odo - I look forward to our rematch, tomorrow.”

“Do you, now?” the Count replied, coldly; then, his conscience apparently made uneasy by his own rudeness, added, “As do I, Sir Holt; best of luck to you, when the time comes.”

“And to you, my lord,” the red knight said, glanced uncertainly at the condescending Baroness, and retreated without further comment. Meve glanced sideways at the Count’s distant frown and nodded to him resignedly. He needed no further invitation to quit the field, and, for some reason, the remainder of the event seemed to go on with a shade of awkwardness in his absence; her renewed conversation with the Baroness felt somewhat stilted, and the din of the crowd around them oppressive. The feast eventually ended with an inevitable speech by the Mayor, which not a soul attended to; the locals had heard it before and the visitors seemed to be unsure who it was that was lecturing them. The Queen then delivered some much briefer remarks, as expected, which received the crowd’s full concentration, dismissed them to their own devices, and departed.

An hour later, she was safely in her own private office, puzzling over a line item in her steward’s report: paied to Sir Roger Eres knight upon a bille of Sir John Kimborne knight 153 g., when someone came thundering up the stairs and burst suddenly through the door. Reynard jerked awake in his chair by the fire, alarmed at the noise, saw what had made it, and settled again with a quiet, relieved, sigh. She herself had turned a savage glare on the intruder, but subsided when it only proved to be Gascon, reeking of liquor and panting slightly.

“It’s late, Brossard. What do you want?” Meve asked, looking back down at her papers. She sat back with a quick, irritated, frown as the Duke strode over, slapped a wide leather strap down on top of them, and demanded, “Look at this.”

“It’s a girth, from a saddle,” she said, glancing from it to him with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” Gascon agreed, despite her warning expression. Reynard stood with a faint groan, walked over, glanced at it, and said, “Isn’t that one of mine? What’s this about?”

“Look there, by the buckle,” Gascon said, impatiently, pointing. Meve eyed the area and spotted what appeared to be a wrinkle or crack in the leather; she picked it up to study it more closely, and finally looked back up at the Duke, scowling.

“It looks as if someone cut it most of the way through,” she said. “And then, what? Glued it back together? A damn good job, too; would never have noticed it, myself, if you didn’t point it out.”

“It would likely snap th’ instant it took a hard shock,” Reynard added, taking the girth and turning it over thoughtfully. “But when someone might’ve done it, I don’t know. I used this just yesterday, practicing against Roland Orlac; you were there, Meve.”

“Perhaps they did it days ago, and it was just luck that kept it from breaking, then,” Gascon suggested, shrugging. “Or it could have been yesterday afternoon, before Pug and Gaspar started looking after your things.”

Meve swore angrily, already forming a long list of suspects: disgruntled barons, unscrupulous competitors, foreign saboteurs, domestic anarchists. Reynard sighed in weary agreement with her.

“Well, annoying as this is, it’s not my first overly bitter rival, I suppose. I’ve survived th’ others; this will be no different,” he said, pragmatically.

“Yes, well, regardless, it’ll be your last. Find out who did this, Gascon,” the Queen said. “I take attempts to sabotage my General’s equipment very personally.”

“I’ll do what I can,” he assured, grimly.

#thronebreaker #witcher #action #romance #sports

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fullpeanutobject · 3 years

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vinylexams · 4 years

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A very special fireside interview with XUXA SANTAMARIA

Check Insta for our thoughts on this landmark album from Oakland duo XUXA SANTAMARIA. Stay right where you are to read a really fun interview I scored with the band this week. They’ve just released Chancletas D’Oro on Ratskin Records out of Oakland and Michael blessed me with my very own copy. It was so good I knew I needed to tell you all about it and I wanted to pick their brains a little bit, too. Without further ado, please enjoy:

//INTERVIEW

You’re still breaking into indie world at large, but you’ve already got a huge following back in California and your home-base in Oakland. What has it been like to be featured in major outlets like The Fader?

SC: We are a funny project; we ebb and flow from being total hermits to having periods of relatively high visibility (relative to aforementioned hermit state). I wouldn’t say we have a huuuge following in CA but I do think that the ‘fandom’ we’ve developed here is really genuine because we don’t play shows out of an obligation to remain visible but instead do so because we feel super passionate about the work and the audience and I think people respond to that energy. I for one, and perhaps this is because of my background in performance, have a hard time performing the same stuff over and over without change which accounts for us being selective with our playing live. That’s also why videos are such an important part of what we’re about. The piece in The Fader was important to the launch of this album because it established some of the themes and, to an extent, the aesthetics of this album in a way that can be experienced outside of a live setting. None of this is to say we don’t like playing live, in fact we love it, we just like to make our sets pleasurable to ourselves and to our audience by constantly reworking it. We strike a weird balance for sure but we’ve made peace with it. If we ever ‘make it’ (lol) it’ll be on these terms.

Chancletas D'Oro is a pretty incredible record and while it reminds me of a few bands here or there, it’s got a really fresh and unique style that merges dance with all sorts of flavors. How would you describe your music to someone who is curious to listen?

MGK: Haha, we generally struggle to describe our music in a short, neat way (not because we make some kind of impossible-to-categorize music, but just because it’s the synthesis of a ton of different influences and it’s hard for US to perceive clearly). But with that caveat in mind - IDK, bilingual art-punk influenced dance/electronic music?

SC: Thank you for saying so, we’re pretty into it :) Like Matt says, we struggle to pin it down which I think is in part to what he says – our particular taste being all over the place, from Drexciya to The Kinks to Hector Lavoe- but I think this slipperiness has a relationship to our concept making and world building. As creative people we make and intake culture like sharks, always moving, never staying in one place too long. Maybe it’s because we’re both so severely ADHD (a boon in this instance tbh) that we don’t sit still in terms of what we consume and I think naturally that results in an output that is similarly traveling. Point is, the instance a set of words - ‘electronic’, ‘dance’, ‘punk’- feel right for the music is the same instance they are not sufficient. I propose something like: the sound of a rainforest on the edge of a city, breathy but bombastic, music made by machines to dance to, pleasurably, while also feeling some of the sensual pathos of late capitalism as seen from the bottom of the hill.

The internet tells me you’ve been making music as Xuxa Santamaria for a decade now. What has the evolution and development of your songwriting been like over those ten years?

MGK: Well, when we first started out as a band we were so new to making electronic music (Sofia’s background was in the art world and mine was in more guitar-based ‘indie rock’ I guess - lots of smoking weed and making 4 track tapes haha), so we legit forgot to put bass parts on like half the songs on our first album LOL. We’ve learned a lot since then! But in seriousness, we’ve definitely gotten better at bouncing ideas back and forth, at putting in a ton of different parts and then pulling stuff back, and the process is really dynamic and entertaining for both of us.

SC: This project started out somewhat unusually: I was in graduate school and beginning what would become a performance practice. I had hit a creative roadblock working with photography - the medium I was in school to develop- and after reading Frank Kogan’s Real Punks Don’t Wear Black felt this urge to make music as a document of experience following Kogan’s excellent essay on how punk and disco served as spatial receptacles for a wealth of experiences not present in the mainstream of the time. I extrapolated from this notion the idea that popular dance genres like Salsa, early Hip Hop, and Latin Freestyle among many others, had served a similar purpose for protagonists of a myriad Caribbean diasporas. These genres in turn served as sonic spaces to record, even if indirectly, the lived experiences of the coming and going from one’s native island to the mainland US wherein new colonial identities are placed upon you. From this I decided to create an alter ego (ChuCha Santamaria, where our band name originally stems from) to narrate a fantastical version of the history of Puerto Rico post 1492 via dance music. We had absolutely no idea what we were doing but I look back on that album (ChuCha Santamaria y Usted - on vinyl from Young Cubs Records) fondly. It’s rough and strange and we’ve come so far from that sound but it’s a key part of our trajectory. Though my songwriting has evolved to move beyond the subjective scope of this first album - I want to be more inclusive of other marginalized spaces- , it was key that we cut our teeth making it. We are proud to be in the grand tradition of making an album with limited resources and no experience :P

We’re a big community of vinyl enthusiasts and record collectors so first and foremost, thanks for making this available on vinyl. What does the vinyl medium mean to you as individuals and/or as a band?

MGK: I think for us, it’s the combination of the following: A. The experience of listening in a more considered way, a side at a time. B. Tons of real estate for graphics and design and details. C. The sound, duh!

SC: In addition to Matt’s list, I would just say that I approach making an album that will exist in record form as though we were honing a talisman. Its objecthood is very important. It contains a lot of possibility and energy meant to zap you the moment you see it/ hold it. I imagine the encounter with it as having a sequence: first, the graphics - given ample space unlike any other musical medium/substrate- begin to tell a story, vaguely at first. Then, the experience of the music being segmented into Side A and Side B dictate a use of time that is impervious to - at the risk of sounding like an oldie - our contemporary habit of hitting ‘shuffle’ or ‘skip’. Sequencing is thus super important to us (this album has very distinct dynamics at play between sides a/b ). We rarely work outside of a concept so while I take no issue with the current mode of music dissemination, that of prioritizing singles, it doesn’t really work for how we write music.

MGK: We definitely both remain in love with the ‘album as art object/cohesive work’ ideal, so I would say definitely - we care a lot about track sequencing, always think in terms of “Side A/Side B” (each one should be a distinct experience), and details like album art/inserts/LP labels etc matter a lot to us.

What records or albums were most important to you growing up? Which ones do you feel influenced your music the most?

SC: I know they’re canceled cus of that one guy but I listened to Ace of Base’s The Sign a lot as a kid and I think that sorta stuff has a way of sticking with you. I always point to the slippery role language plays in them being a Swedish band singing in English being consumed by a not-yet-English speaking Sofía in Puerto Rico in the mid 90s. Other influences from childhood include Garbage, Spice Girls, Brandy + Monica’s The Boy is Mine, Aaliyah, Gloria Trevi, Olga Tañon etc etc. In terms of who influences me now, that’s a moving target but I’d say for this album I thought a lot about the sound and style of Kate Bush, Technotronic, Black Box, Steely Dan, ‘Ray of Light’-era Madonna plus a million things I’m forgetting.

MGK: Idk, probably a mix of 70-80s art rock/punk/postpunk (Stooges, Roxy Music, John Cale, Eno, Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Wire, Buzzcocks, etc etc), disco/post-disco R&B and dance music (Prince, George Clinton, Chic, Kid Creole), 90s pop + R&B + hip hop (Missy & Timbaland, Outkast/Dungeon Family production-wise are obviously awe-inspiring, So So Def comps, Jock Jams comps, Garbage & Hole & Massive Attack & so on), and unloved pop trash of all eras and styles.

Do you have any “white whale” records that you’ve yet to find?

MGK: Ha - the truth is that we’re both much more of a “what weird shit that we’ve never heard of can we find in the bargain bin” type of record buyer than “I have a custom list of $50 plus records on my discogs account that I lust over”.

SC: Not really, I’m wary of collectorship. That sort of ownership might have an appeal in the hunt, once you have it do you really use it, enjoy it? Funnily, I have a massive collection of salsa records that has entries a lot of music nerds would cry over (though they’re far from good condition, the spines were destroyed by my Abuela’s cat, Misita lol, but some are first pressings in small runs). For me its value however, comes from its link to family, as documents from another time and as an amazing capsule of some of the best music out of the Caribbean. I’m glad I am their guardian (a lot of this stuff is hard to find elsewhere, even digitally) but I live with those records, they’re not hidden away in archival sleeves, in fact, I use some of that music in my other work. Other than that, the records I covet are either those of friends or copies of albums that hold significance but which are likely readily available, Kate Bush’s The Dreaming or Love’s Forever Changes, or The Byrds Sweetheart of The Rodeo as random examples

Finally, is there a piece of interesting band trivia you’ve never shared in another interview?

SC: haha, not really? Maybe that we just had a baby together?

Congrats on your new baby, and also for this wonderful new album. It was a pleasure chatting with you and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you and your music!

#xuxasantamaria #interview #oakland #music #electronic #electronicmusic #ratskin #ratskinrecords

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personalcoachingcenter · 2 years

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Coaching Model: THE FIVE D’s

New Post has been published on https://personalcoachingcenter.com/coaching-model-the-five-ds/

Coaching Model: THE FIVE D’s

A Coaching Model Created by Bret Perko (Life Coach, UNITED STATES)

A Coaching Model to Achieve Life Balance and Personal Change

Define

Decide

Devise

Design

Drive

It could be argued that finding the desired balance in one’s life has never been more complicated. Before the COVID pandemic, technology had already blurred the lines between work and personal time; between the workplace, the commute, and home. Now in 2021 after having spent over a year dealing with the pandemic, those lines are almost completely gone.

Many try to juggle working remotely, raising school-age children, starting a new business or side hustle, exercising, preparing meals, taking care of the home and aged parents, while trying to figure out how to pursue the things in life they are passionate about.

What is the answer? How does one meet the obligations and responsibilities in life, while making time to pursue the things that really bring purpose, happiness, and fulfillment? How does a person find the balance to do everything that one “has” to do and still find the capacity to pursue what one “wants” to do? Obviously, the answer or solution is different for everyone.

However, a common approach or process can be applied to almost every personal situation to arrive at a roadmap leading to greater personal balance and fulfillment – The 5 D’s Coaching Model.

DEFINE

The first step is to DEFINE want is truly desired. To achieve this awareness is much more difficult than one might think. Many times, individuals are pursuing things, or want to pursue things, they genuinely believe will bring them more personal fulfillment, but in fact, are only leading to more frustration and disappointment.

The coach must help the client realize that the DEFINE step is crucial to success, and that the client must commit to spending the required time to come to as much awareness as possible around what kind of life is desired. What the client truly wants to seek in life may very well shift during the coaching engagement, but the client must get as solid a grip as possible on it upfront to take meaningful steps forward.

DECIDE

Not every situation can be changed. Not every obligation can be off-loaded. Nor do we want them to be. That would be side-stepping a large part of life. That is why the second step, DECIDE, is vitally important. The coach must work with the client so that the client can make clear DECISIONS around what can realistically be changed to pursue the DEFINED goals and targets. Those DECISIONS must come with a clear resolve so that the client feels compelled to seek and pursue the ways to make the needed and desired changes. That leads to the third step in the coaching model.

DEVISE

What must be done to make the DECIDED upon changes that will lead to achieving the DEFINED goals and outcomes? To DEVISE is to form a plan, to invent the means or methods to accomplish something. Therefore, the coach partners with the client to formulate “what” the client must do to complete the transformation. The coach must help the client gain deep clarity around what they will do to mentally, emotionally, and structurally approach the changes.

DESIGN

The DESIGN step differs from the DEVISE step in that now the coach assists the client to take their plan or DEVISED methods, and develop a process or roadmap to implement the plan. This is the “how” step in the 5 D’s model. The client purposefully lays out a course of action. The DESIGN step can be revisited and adjusted as often as necessary to serve the client. The life circumstances of the client will change. Challenges will arise. The roadmap must be adaptable and flexible. The coach must work with the client to help them see that a momentary detour or re-routing does not signal failure. Adaptability in life is vital, and it is an important aspect of achieving lasting change.

What mental roadblocks will the client encounter? What has been tried before?

What has been successful and what has been unsuccessful? How will the client stay mentally focused despite the challenges?

What stories will the client tell themselves that will derail the process?

What will the client do to cope emotionally with the inevitable setbacks that accompany any major change?

What structures and support systems need to be in place to ensure the client makes progress and stays on course?

DRIVE

Finally, the client must feel compelled to DRIVE toward their DECIDED upon changes. It is normal for the commitment level of the client to vary during the transformation journey. However, the coach must partner with the client to continually reinforce why dedication to the goal is so influential. The coach needs to help the client regularly review the previous D’s in the process so that the client keeps the compelling reasons for the change front and center. Strong desire on the part of the client, combined with a good plan and roadmap, will lead to increased success in finding the desired life balance or making the desired change.

Summary

Define – understand and establish the desired change or life balance and goals. Become aware of what is truly desired.

Decide – come to a decision and resolve with clarity what can or must be changed.

Devise – carefully investigate through deep and careful thought what to do to pursue what has been defined and decided upon.

Design – create and develop the roadmap to achieve the desired goals and objectives.

Drive – commit to the journey; feel compelled and dedicated to follow the roadmap and stay the course to the destination.

Learn How to Create Your Own Coaching Model

Your Coaching Model reflects your values, philosophies and beliefs and must communicate who you will coach and the problems you will solve. Read more about creating your own coaching model

Original source: https://coachcampus.com/coach-portfolios/coaching-models/bret-perko-the-five-ds/

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hrspot · 2 years

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Small business owners face eight hiring challenges

Learn how to overcome hiring roadblocks so you can add the best people to your team.

Small firms have experienced a slew of issues in the last year and a half, particularly in managing their human capital. While the coronavirus epidemic drove many firms to lay off or furlough workers, business has picked up, and employers are looking for fresh personnel once again. However, many small firms have faced personnel challenges as a result of the recent labour shortage, dubbed the "Great Resignation" by some. Here are a few reasons why acquiring top talent can be difficult for small businesses in today's market, as well as some tips on how to make your company stand out throughout the hiring process.

1. The market is extremely competitive

The pool of unemployed job hopefuls has shrunk now that the unemployment rate has plummeted to 5.2 percent. Your ideal candidate might be employed elsewhere, which means they'll need a compelling reason to leave their current position and work for you. When a bright talent isn't seeking for work, it's up to you to find them and entice them to join your organisation.

Employees have a choice of where they wish to work because there are more open opportunities than qualified individuals. The first step is to develop a clear message that will attract talented individuals. If your team can't respond to the question "why should I quit my job and work for you?" you need to rethink your messaging.

2. Other businesses have established inclusive cultures For many job searchers, working for a company that values diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) has become a top priority. Similarly, several businesses have prioritised DEI efforts. Expect your pool of job applications to shrink dramatically if your organisation does not cultivate a diverse and inclusive atmosphere.

Create a diverse and inclusive environment that values all types of employees as individuals. It is critical that you do so in a thoughtful and genuine manner that appears genuine.

3. Other companies are putting mental health first Many professionals are addressing their mental health in addition to diversity and inclusion. They want to work for companies that are concerned about (and help with) their mental health. When it comes to providing a comprehensive benefits package that promotes mental health, large organisations generally have an advantage.

Solution: Provide employee benefits that demonstrate to potential employers that you care about the mental health of your employees. Flexible work schedules, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), and unrestricted paid time off are examples of such perks.

4. The competencies you need live in large companies

In the past, small businesses may want to appeal to skills from large companies with the aid of using emphasizing paintings flexibility and a family-like atmosphere. But over the years, maximum big businesses have invested a fortune in paintings-lifestyles stability options in addition to different bells and whistles. Don't assume a candidate to take a pay reduce to paintings at a smaller corporation simply due to the fact you may not cause them to use a holiday day for a kid's health practitioner visit. Realistically, is that worth $10,000 much less in revenue and a reduce to their 401(k) match?

Solution: If large businesses are stealing away the skills you're seeking, get innovative approximately what you offer. In addition to providing wellknown worker blessings and aggressive pay, don't forget providing specific fringe blessings to make your employer stand out. You also can emphasize what your employer challenge is and the way your commercial enterprise isn't the same as the rest.

5. Candidates have a variety of possibilities

Traditionally, a candidate applies for a job, essentially requesting an employer to consider them. In actuality, the power balance has shifted. The candidate is asked to join the company by the employer. Many small businesses have allowed their egos to stand in the way of this newly discovered discipline. They believe the candidate must demonstrate a desire for the work by making some sort of sacrifice. This is a self-defeating mindset, especially when a prospect is interviewing with many companies. It is not a decision between a candidate's current employment and yours. It's a choice between your current employer and one of two, three, or five new enterprises that will materialise in the next months.

Solution: Accept that the candidates you're looking for may not require you as much as you require them. Employers are at the mercy of job searchers due to the labour shortage. Make a point of emphasising how you can assist your employees during the recruitment process.

6. Employing people might be pricey

Employees are the most costly component of any business. Large companies frequently have more money to spend, allowing them to offer more competitive pay and benefits to their employees. Smaller businesses may find it harder to compete for top talent as a result of this.

Solution: You are limited in how much you can spend when establishing employee remuneration for an open position. However, you can make your offer more competitive by complementing employee wages with less expensive benefits.

7. You're publishing job descriptions that aren't accurate

A job description is frequently a candidate's initial point of contact with your company. It informs the job seeker about your firm and the position for which they are applying. Many firms, however, get it wrong when it comes to writing accurate and helpful job descriptions. This could result in qualified candidates passing you up or, even worse, the wrong candidates applying for (and getting) the position. A poor hire might cost your company 30% of the employee's first-year salary.

Solution: Determine the scope of the function and the type of individual you want to hire for the position before publishing a job description. Consider things like your level of experience, your job title and purpose, your education, your income, your talents, and your competencies. Choose and describe the factors that are most essential to your company, then write a job description that reflects them.

8. You have a shoddy hiring process.

Many companies struggle to develop a fun and efficient recruitment process. This can have a significant impact on the kind of employees who pass the screening and interview process. You risk alienating the very employees you want to hire if you don't have a well-thought-out recruitment procedure.

Solution: Make your hiring process as candidate-friendly as possible. Don't make a candidate leave work for a half-hour screening interview in the middle of the day. Don't hire an interviewer that believes it is their responsibility to ask but not answer questions. Engage the candidate in conversation. If you don't, they'll project any aloofness onto their possible future as your employee, thereby ending the employment process before it even begins.

If you're looking for a means to streamline your hiring process, high-powered HR software may be the answer. If you're looking for HR software that can help with recruiting and performance management, read our BambooHR review, or look at our GoCo review for software that can help you create bespoke workflows.

#online hr training courses india #Best online HR training in India #HR courses in bhubaneswar #HR training institute in bhubaneswar

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gutterdreams · 6 years

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In A Little While PT 2 [Billy Hargrove]

PART ONE

Disclaimer: I do not own Stranger Things or the GIF used below. Word Count: 1.7 k Masterlist

Not sure what to make of this*

She still had the light green crayon clutched in her drool soaked hand. Billy noticed the color poking out of Eve’s grip as she laid like a broken starfish on the Berber carpet in Marshall’s basement, sniffling her way out of a temper tantrum. In her defense, this was her first weekend away from her bedroom and with him in his makeshift place. Eve hadn’t slept well the night before, Friday, waking up constantly on the pull out couch and looking around in the dark tentatively. Billy had a feeling his thunder snores kept her up as well and it only motivated him to find his own place where she could have her own room and he would be the only one on the pull-out. At first, Billy figured he would spend his nights in Marshall’s basement for about a month or so while you worked through whatever emotional roadblock you were sitting in front of. If there was a possibility of this separation being permanent, Billy hadn’t realized it yet. Billy swallowed his unimpressed sigh with a last sip from a warm beer. His eyes glanced away from his upset two year old on the floor, one of her bare while the other still donned a red and yellow sock. He had no idea where in the last few hours the left sock had gone. Billy studied the mess they had made on the small oak table that Marshall and him had carried down in preparation of his weekend with Eve. A pack of twenty four crayons was split open, wax utensils everywhere. Eve’s paper was colored with a reckless scribble of different primary colors. She was just about to move onto secondary shades when she flipped out. Billy’s beer can was sitting finished beside the pink sip cup that you had packed for her in an overnight bag. Eve had lifted the plastic drink cup up to her Dad’s face while he was halfheartedly drawing spiders on his loose-leaf, silently asking for more milk with her eyes. When he said that she could have water instead, Eve erupted.

That was four minutes ago and Billy had just sat in the grey fold out chair and pretended to ignore her. This was all part of the age, he had to tell himself, it was not personal. “Are you ready to come back and talk?” Billy kept his voice straight and asked between her hiccuped sniffles. He couldn’t make out much of her face from where he was sitting, but he could tell it was stained with tears and run away snot. He hated the conversation part after, explaining to her the situation and it’s resolution. It came naturally to you where as he always felt like he was guessing and accidentally fucking her up somehow. It wasn’t as if Billy’s childhood had equipped him with a guide for parenting success. “No.” Stubborn, just like her father who gave her her curly hair that made her ponytails look like they belonged on a cartoon pig’s bottom, Eve grumbled to the speckled ceiling. “Do you want to go on a time out?” Truthfully, he thought that was what her freak out was. Billy suggested the break thinking it would help her large emotions pass. It wasn’t meant as punishment. As an adult, Billy had to out himself on time outside frequently. “No.” Again, she said perfectly coherently from the ground. “Well, you let me know when you’re ready to play nice.” With a soft groan, Billy told her and pushed himself off from the uncomfortable chair. He left the crayons everywhere on the table for them to both to clean up after and carried his beer can with him, planning to throw it out in exchange for a new, colder one. “I miss mom.” Leaning her face into the carpet, Eve whined, saliva bubbling from her small heart shaped lips. This was the longest she could recall ever being away from you. Of course, there had been the week you and Billy drove to San Diego for a friend’s wedding, but Eve was only eight months then. That time, you were the blubbering mess. Billy felt like he would drive five miles and you would be asking him to stop at the next pay phone to call your mom and make sure everything was fine. “You’ll see her tomorrow.” From across the room, he assured her. “I want her now!” Eve demanded, throwing her crayon holding fist down into her overall clad tummy. “Well, you have one more sleep.” The can crushed easily in his hand and he dropped it down in the formerly empty black can. “I want her now! I want mom!” “Eve…” His voice let off one warning, making her given name sound as if it was many letters longer than it actually was. “Daddy, I want mom!” She was a few more whines away from round two of the temper tantrum that he thought he had already survived. They always tugged on his heart even when they were at the peak annoying. “Well, too bad.” Billy grumbled childishly and walked over to where she was tossing her head from side to side. He sat down slowly beside her, legs extended in front of him under his grey sweatpants. Billy placed a hand under each of her arms to pick her up, planning to change his approach and comfort her in a tight, long hug against his chest instead of sitting it out. This was a big change for both of them and, if he required some sensitive care, he had to give her the same. Instead of giving into her father’s touch, Eve began to kick out her legs and made her body a wiggling brick - impossible to pick up. It frustrated Billy instantly and he stopped even trying to pick her up. “Eve, you’re really hurting my fucking feelings!” His temper was lost and emotions that he hadn’t even processed in his brain were released over top of her protests. In under a nanosecond, Billy felt like an idiot and wished that he could punch himself all the way through the face. The last time he swore around her she was still just a diaper clad potato, yawning against your shoulder on the porch while you watched him stubbornly fiddle with the BBQ that you had inherited second hand. “I miss mom!” The little girl wailed, proving her lungs were bigger than anyone would have imagined. “I know. Me too.” Soft as a feather filled pillow, Billy cooed to her and met her frustration with his own. He fixed one hand behind her head and pat her frizzy hair lightly until she curled into his touch and was using his thigh like a security blanket. Eve wiped her sticky face against the comfortable material of his pants and whimpered into it, releasing the crayon in order to hold the material of his clothes closer to her face. Billy just kept patting her head down to her back, offering some support as he silently wished you were here with him. He missed when it was the two of you on the floor, watching Eve find interest in every little fleck of for around her. When she was first born, Billy freaked out over how expensive everything was, but he quickly found that you two didn’t need to go on date nights to the movies and Eve didn’t require fancy toys. You two sat up on the couch with one another, entertained by how genuinely fascinated the little girl was with how the corner of coffee tables tasted and the way bubble wrap popped under her small feet. Billy wished he could go back in time and tell himself relax, tell himself to breathe, that nothing would ever be that perfect again. Once Eve calmed down, Billy decided to take the road less active. He helped her out of her overalls and an old Henley that had once been Max’s and let her drown in the same white undershirt of his that she wore to bed the night before. Eve snuggled up on the pull out mattress with her stuffed rabbit, one grey floppy ears perpetually crusty from being sucked on nightly, while Billy wrestled with the VCR and TV. They would watch a movie instead of task themselves with anything more stimulating. Mentally, Billy thought they would have the best weekend together. They didn’t need you. He would feed her throughout the day (nothing microwaved), go to the park every day, and laugh every other minute. Instead, it had been hard on both his and Eve’s hearts. They needed to just veg. He found Milo & Otis in Marshall’s movie selection that mostly consisted of R rated comedies. Yawning before it even came on, Billy headed over to the bed they shared and climbed in, still clothed, behind Eve. Right away, she leaned into his chest while popping a red grape into her both from the plastic dish Marshall’s girlfriend had supplied her from the upstairs kitchen. Billy kissed the top of her head and made room under his arm for her to cuddle closer. He took in the first two minutes of the movie, but naturally drifted off to another place mentally. At first, his brain went through an upcoming project at work on Monday. Having his own company was a twenty-four seven job, but in a way, being a single parent at the moment helped him to slow down. He couldn’t work every weekend now or else he would never see Eve. When he contemplated the silver lining of the separation, Billy just thought of you. A small smile curled into his face as Eve giggled at the puppy on the screen, but he went right back to wondering what you were doing, where you were, and if you were wondering about him as well. “Daddy?” Eve’s small voice, fresh from swallowing a cold grape, shook him out of his daydreams. He looked down and saw her head leaning back and her big blue eyes waiting for his attention. “Hmm?” “Lay down now?” She asked, looking to use his long legs and firm torso as her own play structure to fumble over. “Please?” Right at the end, Eve remembered to throw in. Slowly, Billy relaxed and agreed to her request as he wanted to whenever he could. He scooted behind her and pressed her shoulders into the couch’s back. Eve wasted no time making herself comfortable. She crawled between his knees, eyes never leaving the movie playing, and then laid down flat against his chest as if he was her very own personal chair. The grape dish was by his feet, forgotten by the little girl. Her sticky fingers gripped his knee while the other played in the grape dish mindlessly. This wasn’t what Billy wanted. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be, but as he felt Eve’s head push into his stomach, he knew it could have been worse. If she was okay, he could be okay too.

@daddyslittlemunster @4-a-m @stephaniecats @embraceyoface @kaliforniacoastalteens @hilda-lolz @duck-mother-1999

@ineedacureforme @characterobsessed@characterobsessed

@stevesharrlngtons @can-youmoveyourseatup @penguinlover15 @mistressofmanyfandoms

@desertsivan1995

@princessnancy

#billy hargrove #billy hargrove fic #billy hargrove imagine #billy hargrove au #dacre montgomery #billy hargrove x reader #stranger things au #billy hargrove fluff #billy hargrove oneshot #billy hargrove one shot #billy hargrove x you

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patriotsnet · 3 years

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What Happens If Republicans Win Midterms

New Post has been published on https://www.patriotsnet.com/what-happens-if-republicans-win-midterms/

What Happens If Republicans Win Midterms

Gop Lawmakers Threaten To Punish Democrats If They Win Back Control Of Congress

‘When we take the majority back in 2022, I’ll make sure consequences are doled out,’ said Rep. Madison Cawthorn.

Republicans are outraged that Democrats are governing by majority rule in the House. In retaliation, they are vowing to do the same things they now decry as unprecedented and wrong.

“Never in the history of our country has a Speaker acted like such an authoritarian,” House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Thursday.

He was upset that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had his request to appoint Republican Reps. Jim Banks and Jim Jordan to the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol. Both men voted to overturn the 2020 election results and pushed the lie that President Joe Biden only won because the election was stolen.

“Never in the history of Congress and the select committee I checked with the historian has this ever taken place, where the one party decides who’s all on the committee,” McCarthy told Fox News in a video he with his tweet. McCarthy in fact to give Republican then-Speaker John Boehner the exact same unilateral appointment power in 2014 for the Select Committee on the Events Surrounding the 2012 Terrorist Attack in Benghazi.

But while House Republicans claim they are being mistreated because the majority won’t let them have their way, they are also promising to retaliate by turning the same actions they criticize now against Democrats in 2023.

TAGS

‘the Beast Is Growing’: Republicans Follow A Winning At All Costs Strategy Into The Midterms

Much remains uncertain about the midterm elections more than a year away including the congressional districts themselves, thanks to the delayed redistricting process. The Senate, meanwhile, looks like more of a toss-up.

House Democrats think voters will reward them for advancing President Joe Biden’s generally popular , which involves showering infrastructure money on virtually every district in the country and sending checks directly to millions of parents. And they think voters will punish Republicans for their rhetoric about the Covid-19 pandemic and the 2020 election.

“Democrats are delivering results, bringing back the economy, getting people back to work, passing the largest middle-class tax cut in history, while Republicans are engaged in frankly violent conspiracy theory rhetoric around lies in service of Donald Trump,” said Tim Persico, executive director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

But the challenges Democrats face are real and numerous.

They knew they would face a tough 2022 immediately after 2020, when massive, unexpected GOP gains whittled the Democratic majority to just a handful of seats.

“House Republicans are in a great position to retake the majority,” said Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., who chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee, “but we are taking nothing for granted.”

His rural district had been trending Republican for years. Kind won re-election last year by just about 10,000 votes.

What If The Republicans Win Everything Again

Total victory for the G.O.P. would mean Trump unleashed.

Opinion Columnist

The end of Robert Muellers investigation. The loss of health insurance for several million people. New laws that make it harder to vote. More tax cuts for the rich. More damage to the environment. A Republican Party molded even more in the image of President Trump.

These are among the plausible consequences if the Republicans sweep the midterm elections and keep control of both the House and Senate. And dont fool yourself. That outcome, although not the most likely one, remains possible. The last couple of weeks of polling have shown how it could happen.

Voters who lean Republican including whites across the South could set aside their disappointment with Trump and vote for Republican congressional candidates. Voters who lean left including Latinos and younger adults could turn out in low numbers, as they usually do in midterm elections. The Republicans continuing efforts to suppress turnout could also swing a few close elections.

No matter what, Democrats will probably win the popular vote in the House elections, for the first time since 2012. Trump, after all, remains unpopular. But the combination of gerrymandering and the concentration of Democratic voters in major cities means that a popular-vote win wont automatically translate into a House majority.

I Do Not Buy That A Social Media Ban Hurts Trumps 2024 Aspirations: Nate Silver

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sarah: Yeah, Democrats might not have their worst Senate map in 2022, but it will by no means be easy, and how they fare will have a lot to do with the national environment. And as we touched on earlier, Bidens overall approval rating will also make a big difference in Democrats midterm chances.

nrakich: Yeah, if the national environment is even a bit Republican-leaning, that could be enough to allow solid Republican recruits to flip even Nevada and New Hampshire. And then it wouldnt even matter if Democrats win Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

One thing is for sure, though whichever party wins the Senate will have only a narrow majority, so I think were stuck in this era of moderates like Sens. Joe Manchin and Lisa Murkowski controlling every bills fate for at least a while longer.

sarah: Lets talk about big picture strategy, then, and where that leaves us moving forward. Its still early and far too easy to prescribe election narratives that arent grounded in anything, but one gambit the Republican Party seems to be making at this point is that attacking the Democratic Party for being too progressive or woke will help them win.

What do we make of that playbook headed into 2022? Likewise, as the party in charge, what are Democrats planning for?

With that being said, the GOPs strategies could still gin up turnout among its base, in particular, but its hard to separate that from general dissatisfaction with Biden.

The 2024 Presidential Election Will Be Close Even If Trump Is The Gop Nominee

One very important thing we should have all taken away from both the 2016 and 2020 presidential contests is that the two major parties are in virtual equipose . The ideological sorting-out of the two parties since the 1960s has in turn led to extreme partisan polarization, a decline in ticket-splitting and and in number of genuine swing voters. Among other things, this has led to an atmosphere where Republicans have paid little or no price for the extremism theyve disproportionately exhibited, or for the bad conduct of their leaders, most notably the 45th president.

Indeed, the polarized climate encourages outlandish and immoral base mobilization efforts of the sort Trump deployed so regularly. Some Republicans partisans shook their heads sadly and voted the straight GOP ticket anyway, And to the extent there were swing voters they tended strongly to believe that both parties were equally guilty of excessive partisanship, and/or that all politicians are worthless scum, so why not vote for the worthless scum under whom the economy hummed?

The bottom line is that anyone who assumes Republicans are in irreversible decline in presidential elections really hasnt been paying attention.

Republicans Set To Rebound Big In 2022 Midterms Unless

We are just 600 short days away from the 2022 midterm elections, which means it is the perfect time to handicap the Republicans chances to win back the House, Senate and prepare a serious challenge to President Biden

Patrick Joseph ToomeyBlack women look to build upon gains in coming electionsWatch live: GOP senators present new infrastructure proposalSasse rebuked by Nebraska Republican Party over impeachment vote already have Democrats scrambling to flip those seats in much easier electoral terrain.

As I noted in The Hill last month, Republicans are on the hook to defend 20 of their seats in 2022, while Team Blue has just 14 seats to hold, all in states won by Joe Biden in 2020. Since March is a perfect month for sports analogies, a good defense provides for a strong offense when the status quo is Democrats retaining control of the upper chamber. While there is clearly a power in incumbency, FiveThirtyEight suggests that senate vacancies are actually more of a mixed bag. In election cycles since 1974, the party with the most Senate retirements has actually gained seats just as often as it has lost them. For every year like 2008, when more Republicans than Democrats retired and Republicans lost seats accordingly, theres a year like 2012, when a whopping seven Democrats retired yet the party picked up two Senate seats.

How these various Rs play out in the next few months will determine if the Rs are successful in 2022.

Rising Violent Crime Is Likely To Present A Political Challenge For Democrats In 2022

But there are roadblocks to fully enacting Democrats’ agenda. Their thin majorities in both chambers of Congress mean nearly all Democrats have to get on board with every agenda item in order to push through major legislative priorities. And without adjusting or eliminating the legislative filibuster in the Senate, Democrats need 10 Republicans to join them for various legislation a near-impossible task.

Renewable Energy And Health Care Among The Sectors That Could Get Shakeup Due To Midterms

The 2022 midterm elections are already affecting Washington, and the results could shake up sectors such as renewable energy, health care and finance.

As Democrats in Washington work to deliver on infrastructure spending and other priorities, theyre trying to make progress in large part because of a key event thats still more than a year away.

That event is the midterm elections on Nov. 8, 2022, when Republicans will aim to take back control of the House and Senate and become a more powerful check on the priorities of President Joe Biden and his fellow Democrats.

What leaders are thinking about, particularly since we have unified party control, is that these midterm elections are inevitably a referendum on the governing party, said Sarah Binder, a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution and a professor of political science at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

In that sense, shrinking time coupled with What is it that Democrats want to run on? it adds pressure on Democrats to get their priorities through the door.

Time is growing short, Binder said, because party leaders often avoid making their members vote on tough issues in the same calendar year as an election, since that can hurt incumbents in tight races. Party leaders often think primarily about what they can get done in the first year of a Congress, as opposed to counting on the second year, she said.

Sectors that could win or lose

Year

Races worth watching

Can Democrats Avoid A Wipeout In 2022

Bidens plan: Go big or go home.

The good news for Democrats who watched Joe Biden unveil a historically ambitious agenda last night is that newly elected presidents have almost always passed some version of their core economic planparticularly when their party controls both congressional chambers, as Bidens does now.

The bad news: Voters have almost always punished the presidents party in the next midterm election anyway. The last two times Democrats had unified controlwith Bill Clinton in 199394 and Barack Obama in 200910they endured especially resounding repudiations in the midterms, which cost Clinton his majority in both chambers and Obama the loss of the House.

Theres a very different strategy this time, David Price, a Democratic representative from North Carolina and a former political scientist, told me. Theres an openness now to the sense that a bolder plan, ironically, might have greater appeal for independents and others we need to attract than trying to trim and split the difference with Republicans.

Read: The GOP cheat code to winning back the House

There is this recognition of this moment and how fleeting it is, and an evaluation that, absent the trifecta of control, it is very hard to move big policy, said a senior official at one of the partys leading outside advocacy groups, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal strategizing. So you have to take your shot. I think thats part of what undergirds Go big.

What If Republicans Win The Midterms

March 3, 2018

WASHINGTON A sizable portion of the American population has been convulsing with outrage at President Trump for more than a year. Millions of people who previously took only mild interest in politics have participated in protests, fumed as they stayed riveted to news out of Washington and filled social media accounts once devoted to family updates and funny videos with furious political commentary.

Yet public life on the whole has remained surprisingly calm. A significant factor in keeping the peace has surely been anticipatory catharsis: The widespread expectations of a big Democratic wave in the coming midterm elections are containing and channeling that indignation, helping to maintain order.

What will happen if no such wave materializes and that pressure-relief valve jams shut?

The country was already badly polarized before the plot twist of election night in 2016, of course, but since then liberals and much of what remains of Americas moderate center have been seething in a way that dwarfs the usual disgruntlement of whichever faction is out of power. While nobody can know for sure whether Mr. Trump would have lost but for Russias meddling, many of his critics clearly choose to believe he is in the White House because Vladimir Putin tricked the United States into making him its leader.

This November, if the wave turns out to be a mere trickle, we could see the accomplishment of that goal take hold.

Poll: Republicans Set To Win House Back In Massive Landslide

Republicans are set to win back the House in a historic landslide in 2022, according to a poll conducted by NBC News.

Based on all factors, youd have to consider Republicans the early favorites for the House majority in 2022, poll tracker David Wasserman NBC.

Democrats best hope is that Bidens approval rating stays above 50 percent and that Republicans have a tougher time turning out their voters without Trump on the ballot.

reports: The NBC report cites the all-too-predictable trend of the presidents party losing House seats in midterm elections, Democrats choosing not to run for reelection in some cases, and Republicans reaping the benefits of increased online donations, which are now on par with those of Democrats.

It is early, too early, to guarantee the Democrats loss of their slim 220-212 House majority. Voters wont hit the polls for almost 15 months, and things often have a way of changing on a dime in the world of politics. But the early signs certainly arent encouraging for the Democrats, especially as President Joe Bidens approval rating has taken a hit in recent weeks. American voters are being bombarded with images of a completely bungled withdrawal of Afghanistan and headlines about increased COVID hospitalizations and deaths. Inflation is also becoming a growing concern each month, contrary to the hopes of the Federal Reserve, and the crisis at the southern border shows no signs of abating.

Colwell: Republicans Are Likely To Win Control Of The House Next Year But

Three reasons why Republicans are very likely to take control of the House next year involve things over which Democrats have little or no control.

There is, however, one reason why Democrats might be able somehow to hang on to their slim majority. And they do have better prospects of at least holding on to the 50-50 Senate tie.

Reasons for Republicans winning control of the House:

FIRST: History is on their side. The party out of the White House almost always makes big gains in the first midterm election in a new presidency. In those midterm elections since the end of World War II, the average loss for the presidents party has been 29 seats. Democrats lost 63 seats in the 2010 midterm after election of President Barack Obama. Republicans lost 40 seats in the 2018 midterm after election of Donald Trump.

Because Democrats already lost seats in 2020, even as Joe Biden won the presidency, Republicans need only a net of five seats to win the majority. Democrats cant go back to 2020 to win more seats.

Factors in midterm losses for the presidents party include voters wanting a check on the president and disillusionment over any presidents inability to bring about everything voters hoped for.

SECOND: Redistricting after the census will result in many more safe Republican seats. Thats because Republicans control state legislatures in far more states than do Democrats. Both parties gerrymander. But it is the GOP controlling district drawing in many more states.

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Republicans In Decent Shape To Win House Majority In 2022

Washington Examiner

It is never preferable to be in the minority party in a legislative body. But as far as minorities go, House Republicans are in a pretty good spot.

Between the trend of midterm elections usually the party that is not in the White House, a closely divided House, and a party apparatus ready to continue their expectations-exceeding 2020 strategy while Democrats rework theirs, Republicans are on track to winning back the House in 2022.

“It has the makings of what could be a good year for the Republicans when it comes to the House,” said J. Miles Coleman, associate editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.

President Bidens approval rating is around 53%, and while he is not underwater, history indicates he would need to bump that rating up by at least 10 points in order to have a shot at gaining seats. Gallup analysis found that even presidents with approval ratings of 50% during the midterm elections averaged a loss of about 14 House seats from their own party.

That would be enough to bump Republicans back into the majority. Democrats have the slimmest House majority since 1930, currently 221 seats to 210 GOP seats .

Republicans in the 2020 cycle shattered the expectations of analysts who forecasted Democrats to gain House seats in 2020. Not a single Republican incumbent lost the election, and they picked off 13 incumbent Democrats.

But it is not all smooth sailing for Republicans.

Why We Arent Going To Panic

We should all have our eyes wide open as we inch closer to the 2022 Midterms, but by no means should we give up hope. There are plenty of reasons why we can win the midterms.

For starters, Democrats appear to be quite awake to how dangerous the Republican party has become in just the past few years. And since the Republicans dont appear to be any less radicalized with Trump out of the party, I dont think Democrats are going to go back to sleep.

At this point in the election cycle, we dont have a full picture of who is retiring from Congress or who the candidates will be for these seats. Getting great candidates for crucial, must-win seats can energize voters and donors.

Presidential approval seems to have an important effect on midterms and at this point, Bidens approval rating is 15 points higher than his disapproval. If he continues to do good things for Americans and keep his approval rating high, that will help the Democrats a lot.

So, lets approach this midterm as clearly as possible: Our democracy is still on the line, and as awful as the Republicans are, they are in striking position to win back some power in Congress. Each of us needs to do everything we can to ensure that does not happen. If you arent already, consider subscribing to Political Charge as Ill be delving into specific actions we can take every month!

If you want to win the midterms, please share this post with others who want to win, too!

Republicans Will Likely Take Control Of The Senate By 2024

The usual midterm House losses by the White House party dont always extend to the Senate because only a third of that chamber is up for election every two years and the landscape sometimes strongly favors the presidential party . But there a still generally an out-party wave that can matter, which is why Republicans may have a better than average chance of winning in at least some of the many battleground states that will hold Senate elections next year . If they win four of the six youll probably be looking at a Republican Senate.

But its the 2024 Senate landscape that looks really promising for the GOP. Democrats will be defending 23 seats and Republicans just 10. Three Democratic seats, and all the Republican seats, are in states Trump carried twice. Four other Democratic seats are in states Trump won once. It should be a banner year for Senate Republicans.

Balance Of Power: 2022 Senate Races

If Democrats want to win the again, they need to win the four competitive seats they currently hold Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire. That or augment any loss with a gain in any of their three competitive targets Pennsylvania, , or North Carolina.

This Senate preview still holds up, but the shorter version is Democrats are easily favored in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada. They should also win New Hampshire if Chris Sununu doesnt run .

The thing is, theyre also favored to win in Pennsylvania, where they have a strong field of primary candidates and where Joe Biden won.

They have to be no worse than, and admittedly probably better than, a tossup in Wisconsin, where Republicans have candidate issues and Democrats have a strong likely nominee.

So even if New Hampshire goes Republican because of some local candidate factors, Democrats are in a good spot to win the Senate again.

That means if youre trying to make a bet, you can essentially box out two of four combinations where the GOP wins the Senate, and focus your attention on the two remaining options, if youre looking for the values.

The 1858 Midterm Election

November 2, 1858

There is always a lull after a tempest, and so the political world has subsided into an unwonted calm since the election, commented a reporter for The New York Times. The Republicans are naturally . . . exultant over their sweeping victories. Such a commentary might apply to any number of elections, but this reporter described the outcome of a particularly historic electionthe midterm election of 1858. The Republican success that year was especially remarkable because the Republican Party was only four years old.

Almost by spontaneous combustion, the Republican Party burst forth in 1854 in response to the controversial Kansas-Nebraska Act. For decades, Americas political battles had been fought between the Democrats and the Whigs. By the early 1850s, however, the issue of slavery had splintered the Whigs into warring factions and divided Democrats between north and south. When Democratic senator Stephen Douglas pushed his Kansas-Nebraska bill to passage, including its proposal to settle the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty, the uproar among northern abolitionists and anti-slavery activists was too fierce to be contained by the ailing Whig Party. As one person commented, The Whigs were simply not angry enough.

The Future Could Actually Be Bright For Republicans

Ed Kilgore

The most common political narrative outside MAGA-land is that the Republican Party is screwed, and richly deserves the ignominious future it faces.

Until recently the GOP was a reasonably normal and intermittently successful center-right political party, not wildly different from its counterparts in other countries with a two-party system, despite some racist and militarist habits that burst into view in times of stress. But then America elected a Black president, and Republicans went a little crazy, according to those outside their circles. First they abetted a destructively antediluvian Tea Party Movement and then lurched into the arms of an evil charlatan who somehow got elected president and spent four years trashing hallowed conservative principles and losing both Congress and the White House before his disgraceful and violence-inflected departure.

Worse yet, in the face of huge demographic challenges that beg for a new approach, the Republican Party has now lashed itself to a Trumpian mast going forward, following the most consistently unpopular president in American history in his bizarre crusade to deny he has ever lost anything. Meanwhile a shockingly united Democratic Party is whipping a few decades worth of liberal legislation through Congress as Republicans whine about cancel culture and try to sell the idea that Joe Biden is actually Che Guevara.

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indischen · 3 years

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Women Movers and Shakers of the Gems & Jewelry Industry

Representation of women in the gems and jewelry industry has advanced in recent years, but there is still a long way to go. Like many other spheres, this industry has largely been seen as a “man’s world,” where women have had to overcome significant barriers in working in the sector.

There has been, admittedly, some progress with books and exhibitions about past and present women jewelry designers. The focus is primarily on the downstream retail and design sector. Women’s representation is almost absent in the upstream supply chain – the mining, sourcing, manufacturing to gem cutting, and gemological research.

According to most estimates, women drive demand for more than 90 percent of the world’s jewelry. Their tastes and preferences shape the jewelry market and influence decisions at every step of the supply chain.

The Women’s interview series is a monthly column that aims to celebrate and amplify women’s voices in all facets and levels of the industry. We all have the responsibility to change the narrative into an inclusive and inspirational one. This is a platform that focuses on today’s trail-blazing female practitioners.

Jewelry is more than just an accessory for Burmese Toronto-based Karen Pyu, the creative force behind the brand Mondselle. “It is an everyday art form, one to be expressed in the most beautiful ways.” Karen has made a name for herself with creations that beautifully combine her Burmese heritage with the urban, fashion-forward city of Singapore. Her jewels have already won the attention of Myanmar and Canadian celebrities, including MYA and Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counsellor of Myanmar. Her passion for fine art began during her childhood and continued to grow through the years in high school. Karen moved to Toronto for her jewelry design and metalsmith training at Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) before launching her brand in 2015. Applying her honed sense of style and creativity to the realm of jewelry design, Karen Pyu puts wearability at the heart of her creations.

She tells us more about her design philosophy and the female icons that inspire her work in our exclusive interview below.

Can you give me some background into your journey before launching Mondselle? I was born in Myanmar and lived there until I was fourteen. As a kid, I remember coloring with crayons and enjoyed working and layering colors to create different effects. My mother saw how much I loved to draw and put me into art class every summer, but it wasn’t until we moved to Singapore, when I was given the opportunity to take a large variety of art classes and really pursue it as a passion. In high school, there was a design competition for SIGG water bottles, and my submission was selected as the best. It was amazing to see students carrying around the water bottles with my design on them. This really kick-started my passion for pursuing it as a career.

I moved to Canada for my jewelry design and metalsmith training. After graduating from Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD), I started Mondselle, which consists of fine and fashion jewelry.

Could you explain how the name Mondselle came about? The name Mondselle is derived from the French word “mondaine,” meaning a woman belonging to fashionable society, and the word “Elle” meaning she. The brand is catered towards many sides to today’s modern women. Through my creative work, I hope to make women look and feel fashionable.

How would you define your brand aesthetic and style? I gravitate towards ornate and sculptural aesthetics, and I’m also highly attracted to floral motifs. I design jewels that I genuinely believe in, and I would wear every day. My focus is also on wearability, which’s suitable for both the classical and fashion-conscious woman. You can pair one of my rings with a cocktail dress just as easily as you can with jeans. With a fine art training background, I also create visuals for my work. In an industry saturated with mass-produced fashion jewelry, it is crucial to set yourself apart through talent, quality, and craftsmanship.

What inspires your work? Having lived away from Myanmar since the age of 14, I learned to harmoniously integrate with other cultures. When I travel, I always pay attention to what’s around me, the people, and incredible art and architecture. I often like to look at the history and traditional elements of a culture, especially Burmese, to derive a theme, making it relevant to current times and telling a story with every piece.

What gemstones do you like working with? I love working with colors, so naturally, colored stones are my playground, and I especially love all shades of blue. Sapphire and tanzanite are my favorite stones, along with Burmese rubies and emeralds.

What kind of woman wears Mondselle? What do you want women to feel when they wear your pieces? I want Mondselle to be a place where customers come to create or purchase something that will be memorable. Whether it is a gift for yourself, a friend, or someone you love, we want to create new, meaningful relationships and stories to be shared. We cherish the moment a special piece of jewelry was given to us, and it’s a memory that lasts a lifetime. There is tremendous satisfaction and a great honor to have the opportunity to be a small part of something so special. In my eyes, jewelry is an everyday art form, one to be expressed in the most beautiful ways. I found Mondselle in line with this philosophy to create jewelry that will enhance the day-to-day lives of modern women. Much care and love have been put into each piece, so I want women to feel confident when wearing them.

How did the covid 19 pandemics affect your creative process? 2020 was a tough year for many of us. Personally, the pandemic lockdown has been a blessing in disguise. As an introvert, it has given me a lot of time to create without all the noise of regular day-to-day activities. My sketchbook is now full of ideas that I hope to slowly materialize over the years.

Can you tell us about the women who inspire you the most and why? Art is a way of life, and Frida Khalo is my deity. As a woman and an artist, Frida broke a lot of barriers. She not only defied society’s beauty standards, but she also gave us a lesson in resilience when she continued to persevere after the terrible accident that paralyzed her when she was 18. Instead of her trauma and pain being an obstacle, she used it to drive her self-exploration and art. Being a young woman in a male-dominated industry, resilience and standing firm are the virtues Frida had shown, which I admire and embrace.

Closer to home Aung San Suu Kyi, the State Counsellor of Myanmar, is the living inspiration. During difficult times, I look up to her resilience and perseverance for inspiration in her twenty years of house arrest. Never did I imagine she would one day be wearing a necklace from my collection. It’s truly an honor to see it on her.

I didn’t come from a family of jewelers, so I started Mondselle from the ground up, and with that came a lot of difficulties that I had to face alone. I learned from her the courage to deal with any roadblocks that may come my way and continue marching on.

#fashion jewelry for women #women's fashion jewellery

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digitalconvo · 3 years

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Flame Retardants Chemical Market Growth And Restrain Factors Analysis – 2025

Global Flame Retardants Chemical Market: Snapshot

Flame retardant chemicals are very compelling in anticipating and checking the advancement of residential flames. Be that as it may, examines have shown that the presence of halogenated flame retardant chemicals makes the emanations more lethal and breathing in those discharges could prompt a genuine wellbeing hazard. Flame retardant chemicals don’t change the properties of the parent part however defers the consumption of the material to a large extent.

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Flame retardants have been utilized since Roman period for applications, for example, materials and wood. The flame retardant market sees a gargantuan growth in the 1970s when engineered materials ended up well known in the production of products. The interest for and the utilization of these combustible manufactured based products prompted governments around the globe requiring organizations delivering these engineered products to make them more secure from flame. In this way, in many regions, consumers in the flame retardant chemicals market are highly driven by government controls.

Recently, The Fire Retardant Additives specialty unit, some portion of the Huber Engineered Materials division of J.M. Huber Corporation, reported a significant capital venture to expand the generation limit with regards to Martinal LEO encouraged alumina trihydrate at its Martinswerk Plant in Bergheim, Germany. Execution of trend setting innovation as appeared by this illustration is required to fuel the global flame retardants chemical market in the approaching years.

In the meantime, the global flame retardant chemicals market may see solid development in construction applications. Extensive use of plastic and plastic-derived car production on account developing fuel proficiency demand and constraining carbon discharges may support flame retardant chemicals market. Moreover, increased demand from electrical and electronic applications such as cellular phones, laptops, and other consumer goods may boost the growth of the global flame retardants chemical market.

Global Flame Retardants Chemical Market: Overview

Flame retardant chemicals are basically added to consumer goods, namely clothing, furniture, coverings for electronic products, and for baby products to lessen their flammability. They do not alter the flammable property of the parent material but they do thwart the quickness of the burning of the material. Take for example polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs which are organobromine compounds used as flame retardant. Akin to various other brominated flame retardants, PBDEs find application in a range of products such as electronics, building marterials, motor vehicles, furnishings, airplanes, polyurethane foams, and textiles. The other kinds of flame retardant chemicals available in the market are be broadly classified as antimony oxide, chlorinated, and phosphorus.

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Global Flame Retardants Chemical Market: Drivers and Restraints

At the forefront of driving demand in the market for flame retardants chemicals are the increasing regulations pertaining to fire safety. Further, flourishing end use industries such as electrical and electronics, and construction has also stoked the market big time. Flame retardant chemicals serve to lower the flammability of combustible surfaces and components. As a result, they find usage in making automobile parts and home furnishings. Both of these end use segments are seeing rapid growth because of the rising disposable incomes of people, particularly in nations of India and China.

Despite such a promising outlook on account of the aforementioned drivers, the global market for flame retardants is not being able to achieve its full potential because of the rising prices of raw materials, which in turn, is because of their shortage. Another factor posing a major challenge to the market growth is the toxicity issues with the product which can cause harm to human health. For example, the brominated flame retardants, including the PBDEs, which are a widely used class of chemicals can cause thyroid and cancer, and even interfere with the brain development of children. As a result, commercial usage of such chemicals are being phased out. This is one crucial roadblock the market needs to overcome.

Global Flame Retardants Chemical Market: Trends and Opportunities

A noticeable trend in the global market for flame retardants chemical is companies pouring money into research and development to come up with products that comply with strict rules pertaining to their chemical compositions. Realizing the harm it can cause to the environment, and more importantly to human health, governments of various nations have framed stringent regulations regarding their production and usage. As a result, savvy manufacturers are seen working on improved production processes for bio-based flame retardant chemicals which might provide a much needed fillip to the market in the near future.

In order to overcome the various challenges in the market, players are also seen developing substitutes for traditional raw materials that are cost effective and available easily. They are also banking upon different promotional activities to tap into the relatively underpenetrated markets of the Middle East and Africa.

Global Flame Retardants Chemical Market: Regional Analysis

From a geographical perspective, Asia Pacific is an attractive market owing to the burgeoning electronics and construction industry in the region. This is mainly account of the large developing and populous economies of India and China. Europe and North America are other key markets that are responsible for substantial sales.

Global Flame Retardants Chemical Market: Competitive Landscape

Some of the key participants in the global market for flame retardants that have been profiled in the report are Dow Chemical Company, Clariant AG, Lanxess AG, BASF SE, Du Pont, Albemarle Corp., and Akzo Nobel N.V.

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strainingfororiginality · 6 years

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Chapter 11.7 - Sacrifice

Note from Author: Apologies, but there WILL be a part 8 to Chapter 11. It was going to be just ONE big section, but it was already more than 12k words and I wasn’t even done writing it yet. Normal sections are 3-6k words.

Wings - Hurts

Say you'll catch me when I fall

Wrap your wings around my body

When I'm lost in the storm

And I'm calling

"Oz …" Mike huffed from behind, but she made no indication in her flight that she heard him.

Oz. Please. I need to … I can’t …

He tried through voice and then he tried through their connection, but again, she was distracted. She did not hear him. What the hell was she doing? Her head was tilted at a strange angle and she was staring up into the night sky. Wait … was she stargazing?!

"Oz!" He screamed again before his body gave out fully and he began to free fall towards the Earth, plummeting through the rain clouds like a rocket. He closed his eyes when he expected to slam against the ocean’s surface, but she had him, catching him and grabbing his right wrist with both of her hands.

"Michael! What on Earth happened?!" Her wings took large swallows of air as she kept them in no more than ten feet from the water’s surface. “Are you alright?!?”

"I was calling to you ..." He tried not to be emotional, but he had never felt so weak and helpless in his life. “I CALLED TO YOU! What were you doing?!”

"I was … preparing." She was curt with her answer and he knew something else was up. She was usually never so short with any response. “Can you fly or not?”

"I …" He wanted to say yes, but he didn’t know if he could, and there was no point in lying to her. She would know. “I just need to take a short break …”

"Nope. No more breaks. No more charging. I apologize, but we haven’t the time." She scooped him up into her arms like a child, holding him tight and close to her heart. “You will rest within my arms, brother.”

"No, Oz! I don’t need you to carry me!" He was more embarrassed now than he has ever been, but he was unable to fight her. “Please, don’t … please ...”

"Your ego will have to take a backseat today, I’m afraid." She held him tighter and resumed the flight, heading back above the ominous clouds and rain. “Don’t worry, Golden One … I won’t tell anyone.”

"Thank you." Michael felt as if this was some kind of karmic punishment suddenly, as they had threatened Quintus with this same fate, had they not? He could not believe he was being carried to Siberia … like a baby.

"Well … Ok. Ok. Ok. I gotta be honest here … " She grinned madly. “I’m definitely telling Raphael.”

"Signore, è molto bello vederti." Antonio greeted him with a firm and uncharacteristic hand shake, his voice flush with genuine relief as Quinlan walked down the ramp to the black, armoured SUVs. George and Fet followed him per his instructions, and the rest stayed with the plane while it was being refueled and the pilot made the necessary arrangements for the next leg of their trip, much to the Hacker’s dismay..

Diverting from their planned destination, the plane had landed in a small unmanned airfield on the outskirts of Rome; one which Quinlan had often used as a backup option. The military, no doubt, was waiting for them across Rome at their original destination and now they had at least an hour to kill until the journey could continue.

The storm had provided ultimate coverage for them to sneak across the ocean undetected and now it was in its last throes of existence. Though the rain and lightning ceased half an hour ago, the wind and the dark clouds had not retreated and he did not expect they would. At least not the wind ...

Dutch’s jamming equipment had not just masked them, but it had also ceased all communication to and from the plane, and while Quinlan would have preferred to have Ferraro bring weapons to the airfield, landing in one piece was well worth the cost. He hoped the man would be waiting here and he was, with two SUVs and enough room for ten individuals. Well trained. Still reliable and trustworthy. Quinlan was proud of him. He watched the boy grow before him and he never expected that Antonio would make a viable replacement for his father as Quinlan’s emissary, but he had been pleasantly surprised by him, time and time again.

"Antonio. It is good to see you as well." He acknowledged his friend as he removed his harness and sword, sliding into the backseat. “Take me home.”

"Sir …" The Italian man pointing to the plane and specifically at the woman who hung her body out of the door, glaring at him still. “I was expecting ten?”

"We are not staying …" Quinlan explained and the other people piled into the car, Ferraro taking the front seat. “We only require … supplies.”

The drive into the city was nearly uneventful, save one roadblock on the main freeway. As the SUV slowed for examination, the driver rolled his privacy-tinted window down and spoke with the soldier with familiarity. "Ciao Edoardo!"

"Ciao!" The military man smiled back.

"Cosa sta succedendo?" The driver poked.

"C'è un avvertimento su una possibile minaccia terroristica. Ci è stato chiesto di verificare la presenza di sospetti nei veicoli." The soldier warned. “Dovresti stare attento guidando. Consiglierei di rimanere dentro per il giorno successivo o due, Alessandro.”

"Ah, grazie per l'avvertimento."

The soldier nodded and leaned slightly into the car as Mr. Fet attempted to melt lower into his seat. "Uh oh." There was no doubt that the clipboard the soldier carried had pictures of the giant Ukrainian in it.

The soldier caught a glimpse of the dhampir in the back seat and apologized immediately for such an intrusion. "Scusa per l'inconveniente, signor Sertorius." Quinlan nodded once back to the soldier and he stepped away from the car, waving them through without any scrutiny.

"What da hell?" Fet sat back up straight. “Dey just lettin’ us through?” He eyed the other cars as they drove past. Every vehicle was being stopped and searched, their occupants forced to exit and watch.

"New York maybe be your city, Mr. Fet, but this one is mine." Quinlan chuckled lowly. “Welcome to Rome.”

An Ending, a Beginning - Dustin O’Halloran

He left George and Fet downstairs, instructing his men to take them to the sub-basement ‘supply room’ and take as much as they could carry and more. He instructed his men to give the Ukrainian anything he wished from the vast stash of weapons and explosives and then he made his way upstairs. As he walked through the lobby, half destroyed and half in the process of being rebuilt, he stopped for a moment and marvelled at the current state of his elevator, or lack thereof.

"It will be fixed next week." Antonio apologized. “It took extra time to get the permits for the crane use. It is very …” He looked around. “Impressive.”

"What is?" Quinlan asked for clarification.

"How much destruction such a tiny thing is capable of." Antonio actually grinned at his words and Quinlan fought the urge to do the same.

"Indeed."

"If you are curious, Sir, I can have the video footage of that day played back for you."

He actually was curious, but there was no time now. "It is fine, Antonio. I will watch it later." Quinlan assured him. Taking the stairs, he found himself proceeding slowly up to his home. He wasn’t entirely sure what was driving this reluctance, but once he was before the front door, he paused once again. The last time he left his home, he assumed he would never return. He had looked forward to his end, but now, an incredible relief rushed across his heart as he reached for the handle and he was so very thankful to be back ...

He entered his home and he found it very much the same he left it, albeit somewhat messier. Specifically, there was human food strewn across his counter and dirty glasses in his sink. Grumbling, he cringed as the rings of dried blood in their bottoms only hinted at one person leaving them there. Damn Lap Dog.

His eyes crawled over the human food and he inhaled their smells. A half finished cappuccino, containing milk now rancid and pungent to his sensitive nose, and a half eaten croissant. He could still make out the tiny bite mark on its edge … such a tiny bite mark.

Focus, Quintus.

Resisting the urge to clean it all, he moved up the stairs. He needed to get his weapons and get back to the plane. The road block had eaten considerable time and now he just needed to … hurry.

He stopped at the top of the stairs as her smell hit him squarely in the face. It danced all around the area and he stared at the object from which it emanated: his unmade bed. Only half of it had been used and it was the half upon which he had normally slept.

Focus, Quintus.

He approached the closet and punched in his code, 0618, but the door responded with a disagreeable beep accompanied with a flashing red light upon the keypad. What? He tried his number again and it refused him … again. He pinched his eyes shut and took a deep breath. She had changed his code. 0618 had been Tasa’s birthday. It had been the day her and Sura were taken from him. The day he burned down Rome. Given the circumstances, he fully accepted that if the scenarios were reversed, he probably would have changed it as well.

In any case, he already knew what she had changed it to. He typed in the four numbers, the same code she had used on her phone, and the door unlocked with a click.

These numbers represented the date of his death.

Two of his guns, some ammunition, and his gladius were missing, as well as some of the other clothing items, but what he came for was still here. He felt whole again as he pulled the under-arm holsters across his back and nestled two of his micro-uzi’s into their holsters.

Lag Fyrir Ömmu - Ólafur Arnalds

Grabbing a duffel, he shoved the extra guns and ammo into it before heading back towards the stairs, but the bed caught his eye one more time, and the smell wafting off of the sheets distracted him fully.

As the bag slid from his shoulder, he approached it wearily, assuring himself he was just going to make the bed quickly to stifle the aroma that floated off of it, but as he pulled the top sheet across, her smell hit him hard and he found himself powerless against it. He melted into the embrace of the covers laden with her rich, angelic scent. Quinlan clenched the blankets in tight fists and pulled them against his body as he curled into a tight ball.

In this moment of utter weakness, he buried his face into his pillow … into her bouquet … and he struggled to remain composed.

Just a moment here, while he broke. What would it hurt?

Just one more moment here ...

Orphan - Vaults

Thrown into the fire like a widow’s charm

I step into the role as the veil it burns

I just wanted to believe in something beautiful

Hunger by a streetlight I’ll see no more

The apple of your eye was a falling star

I just wanted to believe in something beautiful

"So, you’re saying they’re soulmates?" Uriel asked for qualification, interrupting Sandalphon’s meandering tale.

"No. No. Absolutely not." She shook her head. “Well … They weren't exactly soulmates. At least not in the strictest sense of that word. You see, they weren't MADE for each other. They weren’t born without the freedom to love whomever they wish. But rather, they just wholly complement what the other one has always lacked.”

"What do you mean lacked?" He squinted at the word.

"An other." She explained. “That bitter emptiness, that insatiable ache, of being a Hayyoth without an other. You see, this left each of them with matching holes carved into their very souls. And it was beautiful that each other’s voids were just precisely the shape of the other. One spotted and one striped. One gold and one silver. One made from the Left and one made from the Right.”

"So you set up this game for them to find each other?"

"No. That description is too simplistic. It lacks the nuance necessary to understand what occurred." She sighed at his overly practical nature. “You see, brother, it had to be a push and pull between them. It had to be a give and take.”

"Not a game then." He interpreted her words perfectly, as she already knew he would. “You set up a dance.”

"Like you have always said, everything is a dance. Fighting is a dance. Love is a dance. Life itself. Existence." She smiled. “I had to find a partner who would both challenge and surrender … to her.” She spun her cup. “I had to find a partner who would could both defeat and be defeated … by her.” She closed her eyes, struggling to embrace hope rather than fear. The Gladiator was so much better at hope than she was … than anyone was. “I had to find a partner that she would deem worthy of her love. Someone that could prove worthy of it, regardless of the personal cost.”

"She sounds … demanding?" Uriel quipped.

"No more so than Honoria, I suppose." The statement was made to sting him and he responded with an uncharacteristic glare. “I had to find her an equal. Equal in strength. Equal in determination and … most importantly … equal in defiance. And let me tell you, it did not prove an easy task. I had to search for him across time. Countless futures. Countless possibilities.”

"But what about him, Andy?" Uriel asked. “You said personal cost … What about what Quintus wanted? Or what he deserved? I’ve met him. I ... “ He hesitated as he didn’t wish to actually admit what he would say next and she understood why. He was Honoria’s son, but he was also Sempronius’. “I like him. I like him a lot actually. He doesn’t deserve this. He doesn’t deserves your meddling--”

"Uriel …" She shook her head and closed her eyes, seeming to remember something bothersome, something disgusting, something painful. Her face contorted with these memories, with these visions. “I have seen … I have witnessed such unsatisfying and tortuously unwarranted fates which awaited him without her. Countless timelines, over and over and over. Endings with agony and sadness and … worthlessness and loneliness. I have seen him without her, without even the promise of her, without the fate of her. Each time, it ends the same. He gives his life for mankind, over and over and over. Fearlessly, courageously, vengefully, and entirely without LOVE, brother. Every fate without her was … lacking fundamental purpose. It was almost mechanical in natural. I watched as the Seventh shard of Ozryel took his head or corrupted his body and mind or crushed every ounce of strength from him like he was nothing more than a god damn cockroach. No, brother. No. In fact, he deserves better than that. Never doubt that this story … this timeline … this choice I make for them … this respect that I afford him … is anything less than a chance at the happiness I feel he truly deserves.”

"I didn’t mean to imply …" He could see the passion that inflamed in her eyes and his words trailed off.

"Neither one would have or could have been happy with anyone less … extraordinary." She chuckled. “And do not assume him completely innocent. Do not assume that he did not rush into this without begging for it first. He is just as much at fault for his own fate as I am, brother. Even Michael tried for months to dissuade him in fact, did he not?”

"Heh. He is like his mother in that way." He smiled slightly before clearing his throat as he forced the twinkle in his eye away. “Defiant, I mean … that is ...”

"Yes! And that was the challenge in and of itself, my brother. How does one manipulate the most defiant of souls?"

It was a rhetorical question, but he shrugged and offered a comical answer regardless. "Blackmail? Extortion?"

"The simple answer is … you don’t. You don’t control them. You can’t. They are free souls. So instead, you change the world around them so that their defiance in turn drives their actions. Their pain, their loss, their love, and their determination is what you have to use to guide them."

"See …" He shook his head and bit into his lower lip in dismay. “You talk about control as if it were freedom. You use words like guide, but really you are just shaping the outcome you want. That is the opposite of freedom, Andy.”

"No. You are missing the point. Freedom …" She spun her cup. “... is why any of this was even possible. Freedom, Uriel. I know you understand this need.”

"Don’t make assumptions about--"

She interrupted him, as she knew he had already chose to fall a long time ago, the moment he chose love over duty. "Freedom to live … to want … to choose … to feel and, of course, to love … whomever we wish. And …" She reached for his hand and he sat in silence as she took it, looking up into his eyes. She beamed as she waited for him to finish her sentence as she already knew he would. “And?”

"And the freedom to Fall."

Creep - Kina Grannis

You're just like an angel

Your skin makes me cry

You float like a feather

In a beautiful world

And I wish I was special

You're so fuckin' special

But I'm a creep

The plane was already on its way to their Siberian destination and Quinlan sat in silence, alone again. He held his new blade in his hand and stared at the bone handle as he remembered taking his friend’s head.

"Have you given it a name yet?" Barqan stood in the aisle and asked.

"In fact I have." Quinlan had actually given the sword’s name quite a bit of thought on the flight to Rome. “Her name is Devoratrix.” Devourer.

"Fitting name. I hope it pleased you?" The marid slipped into the aisle seat on the other side of the row and stared at his creation. “Did it meet your expectations?”

"You could have warned me of its … ability." Quinlan was pleased, but he still did not feel in a charitable mood towards the Djinn.

"I thought you knew, Prince of Snakes!" Barqan laughed. “You said you were familiar with the Celestial Blade. Was this an exaggeration?”

"I …" Quinlan glared at him. Yes. He had implied that. “I have held the Celestial Blade but … Fine.” He had held the blade, but thinking back on it, he had never actually used it. The Djinn waited and Quinlan rolled his head in annoyance at his presence. “Yes. It did please me. Thank you.”

"Good. Good." Barqan shifted in his seat and Quinlan could read the body language easily. The Black King wished to discuss something he was assuming would be unpleasant.

"What do you want?"

"Prince …" Barqan looked at him and his brows pinched with seriousness. “I …”

"Just out with it … or leave me be. I am currently not the mood for smalltalk." Quinlan sighed.

"I want to make sure you are prepared to do what you must." Barqan said rapidly and confidently, tilting his jaw towards the blade as he spoke. “To do what is … necessary.”

"Necessary?" Quinlan was not in the mood for another lecture this soon, especially not from someone who had yet to re-proven his loyalty. “I do not follow.”

Barqan pointed across the aisle, at the metal part of the sword. "What will be necessary for … survival. For … victory."

"I do not plan to lose." Quinlan tilted his head as he fully understood the implication behind the marid’s word, but he sneered and simply asked the Djinn to be direct with it. “But if there is something else on your mind, I challenge you to actually speak it, rather than dance around your actual intention.”

"Very well." Barqan took a deep breath. “I question your reserve to do what will be required of you next, Prince.”

"Required?" Quinlan laughed off the statement. “You make assumptions that hope is gone--”

"Little Bear told me what you found at that cabin." Barqan looked into his eyes as he shook his head. “We both know what … who … awaits us in Siberia, Pri--”

"No. No." Quinlan’s jaw clenched and his lip curled up as he interrupted, moving to put the sword away. “We know nothing yet.”

"Quintus." Barqan tried a fatherly tone with him, but the dhampir refused still. “We know--”

"WE KNOW NOTHING YET. Return to your seat. Leave me in peace now." He was done with this conversation as he faced forward, opting to try and ignore the marid, who continued to pry still.

"You are not an irrational child. As much as you wish to refuse it." Barqan sighed again. “You are more practical than that … and you have understood the very need for this … many times in your long life ...”

"The need for ‘this’?" Quinlan found it impossible to ignore his words and what he was implying. “And what exactly is … ‘this’?!”

"The need for sacrifice, my lord." Barqan’s voice cracked slightly. “The need to do what is necessary … for the greater good. For the survival of this world--”

"Greater good?" Quinlan laughed and this time met the Djinn’s eyes. “I have done what is for the greater good my entire life. I have given and given … and given. I am sorry, but I will give no more.”

"You were chosen to give, because you have the strength for it. You have always been destined--"

"Your words are horseshit." Quinlan cut him off with rash vulgarity. “Do not spout nonsense to me about destiny, coward. I doubt you even understand the meaning of ... sacrifice.”

There was silence and Barqan picked at his fingers nervously. Assuming he had won the discussion, Quinlan turned to finish sheathing the blade when the Djinn spoke again.

"I understand sacrifice, my lord. Better than most, in fact." The marid’s voice was monotone. “Her name was Sathariel.”

"What? Another lover?" Quinlan scoffed at his attempt. “Please do not attempt to belittle--”

"My daughter." Barqan stated. “Her soul was purged from existence before my very eyes, using the very shard you now hold in your grip.”

"I am …" The content of the Djinn’s words struck Quinlan hard. “Apologies.” There was a moment of lingering silence and the dhampir waited as the Djinn breathed deeply.

"I am not as strong as you, Prince." He confessed as he looked up, shame painted across his dark face. “I could not stop them. They took her from me so that others would live … so that I would survive and thrive ... for my people. I … I understand sacrifice, my lord.”

"Perhaps …but be honest with me now, Black King." Quinlan leaned forward, squinting into the Djinn’s eyes to read any possible reaction. “If it had been in your power to stop them. If you had been strong enough … Would you have? Or would you have done what you are asking me to do now?”

"My lord, sometimes the real show of strength is to accept that you are the chosen one who must proceed … who must live … alone. I know you may not wish to hear it, but you can find love again. This situation only lends itself to that fact even more. Do you not see? You have lost before and you have been given again--"

"Do not trivialise what she means to me." Quinlan sneered. “This situation … her … there will never be another like her again … not to me. Of this, I am more certain than I have ever been.”

"Quintus …"

"Leave me."

"If hope for her is already gone, then all that is left now is vengeance for her loss and the subsequent and bitter necessity of this_ sacrifice_ that must follow it. I beg that you consider giving the rest of the world a fighting chance."

Hope … Vengeance … Sacrifice ...

"Do not worry." Thomas was standing before them, seemingly on his way to the bathroom located in the back of the plane. The strigoi looked much better after Quinlan had delivered nutrients to him. “He will do whatever is necessary, whatever it takes, as he always has. Isn’t that right, Invictus …” As the Nazi spoke, Quinlan detected a hint of animosity, judgement, and disgust in the German’s voice. Its presence caused Quinlan to tilt his head at the strigoi. “Unfortunately for her.” Did this creature really care for her?

No further words were exchanged and as Thomas continued to the restroom, Barqan returned to his seat, and Quinlan looked solemnly at the partially sheathed sword, gingerly touching the edge of the exposed part of the blade’s edge as he felt the plane angling down for their final descent ...

Sacrifice? The Greater Good?

Why was this always his responsibility? The cost for it was always the same. His life. His love. His happiness. Him.

And now, the Djinn’s words echoed within him and he considered everything that he had been forced to give up … for the greater good. Nothing made sense. The Wheel had lied if it was his fate to … sacrifice, yet again, as he had always done before.

No. Absolutely not. Not again. In fact …

Never again.

Blackout - Charlotte OC

Can you reach to me now? 'cause I've fallen in

And I'm caught in your wake, it's so hard to swim

"Father should have never made that thing! It has corrupted you just like that bitch corrupted Lucifer!"

Gabriel pushed Raphael’s button and that was the moment the fight was over. Raphael was done playing. He needed to get to Earth, with or without Gabriel, and as he drew upon the very depths of his divine well, he cringed when his brother screamed in agony over the divinity that coursed through both of them. The massive angel fought it, but Raphael did not stop and his brother fell to his knees, his body shaking violently. Raphael did not wish it to have to go this far and he was shameful for the pain he inflicted.

"I am so sorry, Rael." The indigo child’s voice cracked. “You cannot win. You simply … cannot.” Gabriel clenched, but his sword fell from his grip. Control was lost and victory was granted. The Indigo Child began to pull his brother’s armour away and as the bronze metal evaporated into the air, Gabriel slouched on the ground, naked and raw and the staff reformed before Raphael. He took it in his grasp. “It is over now. It is done. I am sorry.”

As The Messenger looked up into his solemn face, Raphael’s chest ached at the sight of Gabriel’s eyes. He had never before seen them full of such despair and defeat. Oh God. What had he done? What had he been forced to do? What had she forced him to do? He hadn’t wanted it to happen this way.

His amber eyes were the first things Raphael saw when he first cracked through the wall of his shell and pushed into the world. The divinity illuminated his vision into this bitter existence and Gabriel was the first thing he saw.

Unlike the other four, Raphael didn’t have to break through into this world on his own and nor did he even have to stand by himself the first time. For once he had kicked his shell, pressing on it with all of his strength from within, it had cracked along the side and Gabriel curled his hands into it and pulled it apart for him, freeing him. His other had peeled away this cell and then bowed down to him, offering a hand so that Raphael could stand … beside him.

"Stand with me. Please." Gabriel, defeated and naked, wrapped his massive arms around his knees and pulled himself tight, as if he were back in his egg again. It was now Raphael’s turn to offer a hand to his brother, speaking softly as he did. “Rael … stand beside me.”

"You of ALL people, Phael." Gabriel choked the words free from his throat painfully and ignored his brother’s hand as he began to rock back and forth. “I never thought you would fall. You have always been the best of all of us, but now … I am the only one who stood strong. I am the only one left ...”

"Does that even make sense?" Raphael asked calmly. “Consider it carefully. Does it make more sense that everyone has fallen ... except you?” He crouched down, resting his arms on his knees as he gazed upon his other with understanding, bringing them both back to eye level with one another. “Or does it not make more sense that you are the only one that hasn’t leapt with us yet?”

There was a militia of several hundred men waiting for them when they touched down. Part of them mercenaries, part of them ex-military, part of them surviving Sun Hunters from the old world Ancients who lived here. Regardless of their background, they were all skilled, trained, and well armed. Quinlan stepped down from the plane, adjusting his gloves and pulling his hood down as he addressed them all quickly, loudly, and succinctly.

"Сегодня вы увидите вещи, которые заставят вас подвергнуть сомнению ваше здравомыслие.." He shouted. “Оставайтесь сосредоточенными и помните ... даже боги могут кровоточить!”

The pep talk was accepted with enthusiasm. The soldiers thrust their various weapons into the air before the crowd dissipating and people fell back to their respective transportations.

"Everyone with me." The dhampir moved towards the armoured ATV. “Now.”

"Hey!" George jogged up beside Fet. “Do you speak Russian? What’d he say?”

Quinlan grinned, hearing the question from behind as he hoisted himself up to sit in the front row of seats of the tracked tank and Fet answered with a crazed smile, raising his eyebrows enthusiastically. "Dat even da gods bleed."

Until We Go Down - Ruelle

And I feel it running through my veins

And I need that fire just to know that I'm awake

Erased, I missed till the break of day

And I need that fire just to know that I'm awake

Until we go down

The massive ATV bounced savagely back and forth and Dutch balanced her laptop on her knees, cursing as she tried to type on it while they moved.

"You are absolutely certain?" Quinlan asked again.

"Yeah, love. I am." She spun the device and pointed to the ellipses on the map, next to the western-most bank of the massive lake. “She’s on, right now … In fact, I’ve never seen her on this much. The signal is so strong, I’m having a hard time picking up anything else. The amount of power that she’s emanating--”

Quinlan spun the computer in her lap and spoke to the driver on the other side of her, instructing him to proceed to that very location.

As they did, the vehicle bounced over the snowy, rugged terrain, ambling its way towards the lake and everyone sat in uncharacteristic, nervous silence. The full moon illuminated much of the land before them, as the armoured mini-tank climbed the final hill between them and the massive body of water, they glimpsed the shine of its surface on the horizon and Thomas spoke from the middle row of seats.

"Baikal." The Nazi explained. “It is the world’s largest, deepest, and oldest freshwater lake. It is known as a rift lake, for below its surface, rests the deepest continental rift on the planet. Though it is quite unique in many ways, the only one that matters right now is that there lies seven kilometers, or for you Americans, four point three miles of organic sediment at its bottom.”

"Is there a purpose to this history lesson?" Quinlan sneered. He wasn’t in the mood for a lesson right now. He was nervous and … uneasy.

"Oh yes, my lord. Important purpose. Purpose that you should take note of." Thomas did not skip a beat, undeterred from Quinlan’s sour tone. “My Master spoke of it often. He told me many stories of its history … and purpose. He told me that it is not just the Gate to Hell but it also serves as a warning, for it is also a tomb.”

"A tomb?" Dutch bit. “Is it … Lucifer’s tomb?”

"Oh no. No. Not his tomb." Thomas laughed, but there was no detectable amusement in his tone. “What do you think caused that four point three miles of sediment, my dear? And when the Gate of Hell opens, and those damned souls flood in this world … where do you think they will go? Do you think he would open the gate to simply allow them to become lost?”

Oh gods.

Oh … gods ...

"The sediment … “ Quinlan gulped. Organic waste. Decomposed organic waste. It was bodies. It was a mass grave. “It is …" Quinlan felt vastly underprepared suddenly, as the history lesson became clear, its importance running along his spine. “The remnants of his army.”

"Yes." The response was a hiss. “It is where the Indigo Child laid The Morning Star’s monstrous legions to rest, after he fled to the safety of Hell. It is the resting place of his hordes, those millions left after his nearly-successful destruction of Earth.”

"Do I even want to know why this matters?" Dutch stammered.

"Lavoisier, Mrs. Fet." Thomas quipped and Quinlan actually spun around, to look at lapdog in his smug eyes. “Matter cannot simply vanish. It had to go somewhere … Raphael left it here as a warning.”

"What did you say?" That name. That name. The Wheel had spoken it … Oh gods. It had been warning. “Who is that?”

"Antoine Lavoisier, my lord." Thomas sat straight up, as Quinlan’s stare intimated him. “He was the french chemist who discovered the Conservation of Mass.”

"Conservation of what now?" Gus spoke for the first time since landing.

Thomas chuckled at the Boxer’s ignorance, though Quinlan was certain none there, save perhaps the Hacker, knew what it meant, though the dhampir had a growing suspicion. "That the total mass of matter is the same at the end as at the beginning of every chemical change."

"Uhhhh … Yeah, but dey’re all dead though, yeah?" Fet hoped loudly from behind. “Dey are dead.”

"So was I." Quinlan cringed as he knew it didn’t matter. In fact, it was how Quinlan himself had reincarnated. All the Morning Star required was the matter itself. He could form it to his wishes. This was The Power of Creation. “So was I, Mr. Fet.”

4.3 miles …

4.3 miles of decomposed corpses.

Millions upon millions of wicked creations.

He played the number again and again in his mind as they approached the lake and he made out a familiar silhouette standing at its distant shore.

#the strain fanfic #quinlan fanfic #mr. quinlan fanfic #quintus sertorius fanfic #quintus densus #an insatiable ache #chapter 11 #part 7

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