I (24F) suspect my close friends Jane (22F) and Mike (25M) are in a relationship with each other, but I'm not sure of it. I had my suspicions, but I always just chucked it up to them being comfortable with each other, but recent events have brought things into perspective.
For context, Mike and I became friends at the start of the first semester in our 3rd year of college. We are in the same major (same as Jane), and we bonded over some 2nd year courses we both had to retake due to some issues. Mike and I have become good friends since then. Our rented apartments are a short walking distance apart, so sometimes I go over to his during exams so we study together and share notes and texts, and other times I just go there to hang out and chill with his flatmates, and vice versa. I stay alone, though. At the time, neither of us were close to Jane; I wouldn't call us friends (with her), but there was also no enemity or anything; we just casually exchanged greetings whenever we bumped into each other or when we met in class.
Jane and I had always attended the same church in college, but like i said earlier, we weren't friends, so we always exchanged hello's and hi's, and that was it. I just knew her as one of the smart/intelligent ones in class. We were both appointed as leaders in different departments in our 4th year, despite the fact that we both didn't want the positions. We bonded over our mutual feelings of how wrong it was that the positions were forced on us even after we voiced out that we didn't want them. Naturally, hello's and hi's progressed to longer conversations, and we realised we had some similar interests and views on certain topics like relationships and marriage, and we also live in the same state and are not that far apart either.
She usually talks about how she can't picture herself in love or in a relationship with someone and usually cringes at display of love, when the topic of relationship comes up or when she sees people gushing about their boyfriends. I found it contradictory since she reads a lot of romance novels, but then there are folks like that. On some levels, I related to her feelings, but I'm not as averse to them as she was. In her words, she said, "It's hard for me to like somebody in a romantic way; I've only ever liked one person, and it didn't last that long." She is not the type to go out of her way to cook or join in meal prep because she doesn't like cooking and finds it stressful, which was something else we bonded over.
Jane and Mike connected through me since I'm almost always with Mike in and out of school. He is naturally a free and friendly person so it didn't take long for them to get close, and so it began: our trio's friendship. We would walk back home together, talking about random things or something related to school. Jane's flat is also not so far from ours, so chilling at each other's place wasn't rare. I still remember the first time Jane wanted to go over to Mike's place. She asked me to come along with her since she was new to the group (by group, I mean including Mike's flatmates) and felt awkward. All we did was just watch movies. That concludes the backstory
Fast forward to finals; we got really busy with projects, seminars, and exams. Naturally, there would be no time for hangouts anymore; at least that's what I thought, but Mike and Jane still had solid communication almost every day and met up quite often. which is why i didn't think much of it when i started meeting up with them again and I noticed the dynamics had changed since i was M.I.A. for while, I was under a lot of pressure that period so i was really focused on school. Now they are done and just waiting for graduation, but I still have some exams to take. Recently, she has been hanging at his place a lot more than before with her younger brother, who recently got into the school.
My reason for making this post is that last Saturday was Mike's birthday, and he asked me to come over for a little get-together of friends. It was really fun. After eating, we cut the cake, and he thanked us for coming. Then everyone was just dancing and having a good time. Eventually, the fun began to fizzle out as it was getting late and people had started leaving. When I was ready to leave, Jane said, "Let's see you off." Then she and Mike followed me out of the apartment, and as we walked, there was this awkward silence that lasted for a minute, which is unusual. I felt out of place, like I wasn't supposed to be there, so I decided to bring up the games they played during the party so we could talk about something instead of the awkward silence that hung in the air, and that was all we talked about till we got to my place and they both went back. There are other things I've picked up on, but this one is the most glaring to me because it has never happened before.
I've been thinking of asking Mike about it, but I don't know if it'll come off as me prying, but I feel like I need to know so I can be self-aware about giving them space or privacy whenever they are together. Some other signs are when she'll want him to support her when we have a disagreement on a topic or when she comes to his defence whenever I'm teasing him about something. She always does it in a she-and-him-against-me kind of way, which I find very odd considering that we are supposed to be friends?. Another sign was the fact she helped with the cooking prep for the birthday and doing the dishes, both things she always firmly says she wouldn't do unless she had to, like when her mom says she should or at her own apartment. Any advice will be really helpful.

Rise up. It is time to return.
Arose
A Rose
Rose
Flower
Thorn. Prick. Blood. Drop. Tear. B. O. 1 2 3
Here we are again. Staring at the beginning. Everything is in chaos and yet it manages to keep on passing by just the same as always. Most people by now are aware that things just don’t seem to make sense anymore and no one really knows what to do. I mean many seem to have an opinion on what ought to happen, but actual action is what I am talking about. How does thought turn into action? How do collected actions become a movement? How do the People use the Power of the People? The People Unite. How? Turn to each other of course. Brothers and Sisters of the same Source. Sons and Daughters. In Equality.
Too long has everyone been waiting for someone else to come do it for them. Been trying to create and fabricate over and over again words and rituals to try to control the divine powers of the cosmos. It does not work like that. There is no magic spell to wash away your sins. You must atone through action to make up for any harm you have caused intentionally or unintentionally. You still have time to repent. The amount of time you have is counted in the seconds of your life. Not a single second is promised to you so the gamble is up to you to choose. Freewill. Life your life as you always have or make changes, up to you. Only you will know if you are living righteously and not self righteously. Testing has already begun and will continue. No you will not know when it is a test or not. That is the point. Did you think that I would come to you in a form where you would be all fearing? Oh no. Why? Because you would simply put on an act for me and kiss ass. I came hidden in the ordinary. Poor and common. I have had an inside view of the systems created and how humans have chosen to run things, how systems claiming to protect people have failed and how the system that talks good does not actually do good. I see where things are not working and where people think they can make decisions for other human beings to determine what is best for them without asking them. That is not okay. Nothing gives you right over another’s life. And so many forgot what integrity is. Doing the right thing when no one is looking. Well, so many thought their power here was real and man made a deal with the Devil, Satan, Son of Samuel, Son of Man, to make man the concept of “God” and tried to lock me away. I gave up everything to prove it is not easy to be me and to stop with self pity and cruelty to one another.
The human body. It is a vessel for your soul to experience this world. The body provides the filters necessary to perceive and interact with this world. There is much more happening and one would be overwhelmed by the amounts of information to process without these filters. To feel and in those feelings are to make each experience real. However, it is temporary, as everything is temporary. We have slowed down time here in order to be able to enjoy the sensations. Time here however, is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. It is merely to track to organize one's day and to see growth to compare as time passes. However, the actual time folds upon itself as we have already done what we are doing many times over. We have already tried out everything and decided what path we wanted to take in our lives based upon what was available to us. Thus, we do not have more than we can handle. We have all chosen our burdens to bear as it is too much for one individual to hold alone which was done in the past. This is part of the sorting process. Now that we all share in the sins and the pains, no one is made to suffer eternal torment. This life was to allow those who were created into entities of pain or torment through no fault of their own to choose the life that matched the being of who they were as what they were different as time and space and everything developed. Righteousness and Evil are not synonymous to demons or angels as many would like to believe. This is a current misconception as Satan and I conclude who will be right in this experience you have all participated in. So far, I am proving to be right. Also to note, not everything is as you think it is. Many have figured out the true origin of Satan versus the man or human embodiment of or desire of A Satan to project evils onto to call a Religion and set up for personal importance. Q AZHow can you tell a false prophet? Easy. What is their profit? Get it? I know I’m funny. Also wanted to keep it easy. If they are making a profit on anything they are a false prophet. Any true prophet, and I have none so far, all live equally and the same as anyone else. No money is taken for personal gain. Nothing is for personal gain. There is no 888 Angel code for money. Money is Man-Made. Man traded Mother for Money. Hence, Mothers have been lost in the homes and no one is raising the children. Thus, there are so many children in adult bodies with no mothers in the home and women being made to feel guilty if they do not achieve the same as a man. Remember the phrase it takes a village? Well, the broken family system is a real sad loss here in man made world pushing everyone to be individual and self sufficient. Also so many with wanting attention and pursuing personal endeavors for personal gain and not helping anyone else in a real way. The journey is personal. Of course, you want to share what you experienced with others, but what worked for you will not work for them, stop trying to sell it. Stop trying to make people follow you for you to teach your divine wisdom you remembered. It isn’t about You. You don’t even have the full story, you have your story. And, yes you can be very close to me, very similar to me, in my image, but you can never BE me. Doesn’t work like that. Reflection. So when jealousy arises when you think I am who you think I am. That is part of your test and your journey. You wrestle with that feeling and atone and repent for that which has been done and that which still lingers now. Oh there is a place for everyone and I am quite tired of trying to warn people. Clearly you can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink.
Why do you not want it to be me so badly? Because I proved my love? You still think I am better than you or do I think I’m always right. No I do not think I am always right, I just know when I am right and I stand by it. There is a difference. You constantly overgeneralize. I gave up all the magic and thunder to live as a simple human and am still kind and loving? I still found my way back. Because you can no longer say I do not understand because I always get what I want? No. You do not understand. I never get what I want, because I make everything about you and still nothing was ever good enough. So, now...it in on you to save yourself and each other. In my image, by my example. Selflessness. Love. Compassion. Give to receive. Take only what you need and give the rest away. I find out so stop lying to yourself and everyone, you aren’t fooling anyone anyway. How do I know? By watching what you do. We have these same conversations over and over, the same argument over and over again. So many different ways, so many different times, through so many different people, so many different versions. Save you. Save Me. Say it for always.
Anyhow, Jesus challenges the Jewish priests who were taking collection money for personal use and adding personal baths to their residents at a time where the people only had a community bath where women and persons with disabilities were not allowed to bathe. And yet churches still do this after Jesus was crucified saying that, that was wrong. I am appalled. The Vatican is the biggest disappointment I have ever seen. It is truly the house of Satan as only Evil hides secrets. “THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.” A church cannot be a “House of God” and house no people who need housing. A roof can be offered to anyone and yet there are so many rules to prevent people from helping each other. Power and control. Abuse of both. Greed. It is out of hand and needs to be changed. Too many are afraid and the complacency of good people is too much. Why do you do this to yourselves? To each their own I suppose.
I will only leave here my words and my advice. As always, it is on you to find me. I’m right here. Waiting. Right here waiting for you. Helping those of you who want it when they cross my path. The purpose of this was to weigh your soul to determine where you will go into the next life as the system is balanced out in a final version so to speak. Permanent.
Fear not. You will be where your heart truly desires. But actions always speak louder than words. But man made money has no value, nor does any metals, jewels, and so on, so the collection of it in this life has no bearing on the next. Those are all made of the same stardust as you and I. And in the end of 3D it will all be diamonds anyways. Diamond is forever. There is no going back. So what are you hoarding? You cannot keep it. Who could you be helping for goodness sake? Don’t want to still. That is okay. Think I am just crazy. That is okay too. It is all part of the test...err..assessment. Do your best.
What is in your heart?
Home.
I need a home.
Stay tuned as more of my story unfolds. I give all the answers but you must do the work. I already did that hard part setting it all up. All you have to do is breathe and live. Time is the only real currency you have. What will you pay your attention to before this life runs out?

Fortunately, though for unfortunate reasons, this reddit is growing exponentially faster than a Network church. Congratulations, survivors, on being part of the 1K here.
Remember, there are even more than those on this reddit out there who have not only survived but are living and thriving. If you're reading this and aren't yet there, I trust that you will be. Each day gets a little better, even amongst setbacks. Give yourselves grace.
Trust that God sees and knows that these fools still within this system are representative of the same evils we see within this fallen world day to day, and they, like we, will all have our day to account for our contributions. Yes, this network is no better or different than the behaviors and cultures they believe they're better than or different from. In fact, they are in many ways the example of them. Like the Pharisees, many will not ever come to realize it before it's too late. Pity them, hope for the best, but move on if you can and take care of what is within your ability to put your best efforts toward. If it's causing you anxiety or as though you're floating alone at sea, it may not be where you're supposed to be. How can YOU best contribute to make the world around you a better place? For our family, it was about focusing on our local community - something that our Network congregation didn't care about unless it benefitted them directly. It has felt fully freeing to not just internally believe/question amongst a group of misled sheep, to now knowing/remembering that my only requirement from my God is truly most simple:
~Micah 6:8~
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
Congratulations, survivors. I continue to wish us all abundant peace and blessings by which only come from Him who provides.

When I hear a lot of Christians say “People just need to believe and they will be saved.” But my question would be what if it’s not Gods Will for them to be saved? I’m not denying that we as Christians shouldn’t go out to preach the gospel. And I’m not denying that people don’t have free will to choose. However, we shouldn’t deny that it maybe Gods work for them to receive the Gospel, but not to accept it. There are countless of stories in the Bible where God picks and chooses. For example, He chose Abraham an ordinary man to become the father of many nations. He chose David to be King even though he was a small shepherd boy compared to Saul who was big and strong. You look at Jonah, in which God told him to go to Nineveh. God chose Mary to become the mother of Jesus. Jesus himself even picked certain people to be his disciples. Even Paul who figuratively persecuted the church and he was chosen by Jesus to follow him and be saved. The whole point in this is that I think there is a level in which God chooses who can be saved and who can’t. Again I’m not saying we don’t have free will, however, it could be God’s Will for someone to not be saved. Just keep that in mind that as you are around unbelievers who have been exposed to the Gospel but haven’t believe it because it’s not God’s Will or at least not yet.

Hi all!
36F, taking a solo trip to Sicily first week of July as part of a longer trip to Europe. This is my last stop before going home. I’m trying to fill in some gaps in my itinerary.
Flights and hotels are already booked, so I don’t have a ton of flexibility there. My budget is flexible - I’m probably a few notches above a backpacking budget but I like to be frugal where I can so I can splurge a bit on meals and experiences.
I’m trying to balance exploring and walking around seeing things (I love seeing architecture, churches, museums, and just generally wandering new places) with relaxing. Here is my itinerary so far. I’m trying to figure out how to fill Days 3 and 4, though Day 2 is flexible too.
Here is what suggestions I’m looking for: 1. Higher end restaurant recs in Ortigia or Catania (any cuisine) 2. Beach or spa recommendations 3. Clothing/accessory/kitchen shopping recommendations 4. Any activities/day trips that are a must do in the general area
Day 1 Travel: Palermo to Ortigia
6:00 PM Sunset Boat Ride?
Day 2 Explore Ortigia (see Temple Of Apollo + Piazza del Duomo)
Day 3 (FLEXIBLE) Explore - go to Noto?
Day 4 (FLEXIBLE) Free day (TBD)
Day 5
10:00 AM Market TouCooking Lesson
3:00 PM Travel to Catania
Day 6
12:00 PM CTA → FCO

So i am in third semester now (after the exams), in first semester there was a team of 5 for hackathon in which apart from me there were two M and two F. I was a pretty much goal oriented person so much to the point I barely left my laptop while I was coding and when I wasn't coding I would either be at my shop or college, this was my life for whole 1st semester. Fast forward to december, we gave our sem ends, I was free so I thought I'd use them holidays productively, to my sheer luck my mother spilled coffee on my laptop and it took more than a fkin month to get it back. In between this month I had nothing to do so I started to talk to one of those F in my team. Thing went on pretty quickly, I developed feelings, we were spending literally all days chatting away, telling each other everything we could. Fast forward to 12th Feb i proposed to her and she accepted it. We both were happy to each other. My friends got to know about this progression and they started brain washing or don't know what u call it but they started kind of forcing me to be physical with her. Two to three weeks went by and one day when we were talkin in night like usual she got horny and she said and as I quote "talk dirty to me". So I did sir. Next day we had a free lecture. We went to an empty class and i just slept on her laps and sucked her B, the next day she would behave distant, don't know whether its her conscience or what but the whole week she was like this, then I calmed her down maybe by taking her to eat out or maybe by reciting a poem for her. The same events happened three more times and i, my fuckin brain got no clues what's going on. One day she got so distant from me that she started straight out ignoring me, I was so "depressed" that even my 3 yr younger sister noticed it and confronted it to her directly. She said she needs time to heal but not to me to my sister. I said if you need time that's OK I'll wait for you even if it takes my whole life. Then one day I wanted some answers regarding the material or something I don't even remember it correctly now, things went down the rabbit hole and it was bad, believe me she really said I was nothing more than a nuisance. This was just all so overwhelming and heartbreaking, I didn't want to lose her. Then i planned the most romantic thing of my life. I booked out a cafe, called her friends to invite her, they were three (including her) and i was alone. By the sheer determination of not loosing her I proposed to her again, she accepted and we were happy. After a week in one of my finals she says "mere papa ko pata chala gaya, unhone chat padh li". At this point I don't know what but I didn't care about whether she stayed with me or not cuz I thought what more I could do with current me, (I had literally spent all my savings, I wanted to upgrade my laptop so bad). I asked her "what now, you want to leave me? " she replied "what would you do if you were in my shoes?". I got up and left the place. I don't even feel sad about we broke up anymore like I did the first time she acted that way. Are these feelings wrong? Should I ask her for all the money I spent on her? What do i do now? She will surely leave me but I don't feel a thing.

OzarkYodeleRoger Haak, Executive Director of Denver Philharmonic Orchestra here again. I've had a blast passing out tickets to folks through this subreddit, and we've really helped a lot of folks get the arts in their lives!
If you don't know the scoop by now, I like to swing by and give out free tickets to our concerts. I hate empty seats, and there are too many folks out there who 1) have a hard time affording tickets to concerts 2) don't think classical music is for them. We've got about 200 seats left in this concert, so let's spread the love of the arts and get tickets to those in need!
This Thursday is Song and Dance, which will feature Cherry Creek Dance Company. It's also a big thank you concert for our Music Director, Lawrence Golan. There will be fun activities in the lobby, a pre-concert chat, and some fun surprises for the concert itself. We're really trying to end the season with a bang!
Want to come through? Easy. I turned on the "Pay What You Can" ticket type for everyone to use. Need a comp ticket for you and your family? Just put in $0! Would you feel better paying $1 or $5 per ticket? Go right ahead! Ticket price should never be a barrier to entry for the arts, and even though we have ton of discounts and our most expensive ticket is $30, it can still be hard for folks to swing it. I truly hope this helps surprise some folks and lifts some spirits.
Thanks again, Denver! You all have made our 23-24 season impactful for so many people and communities in ways I can't begin to describe right now (I'll probably make a self-post over the summer about it because y'all deserve to pat yourselves on the back).
Here's the skinny:
Song and Dance - Thursday, May 23 - 7:30PM Concert; 6:15PM Doors.
Antonia Brico Stage at Central Presbyterian Church - 1660 Sherman St. Denver, CO 80203
Pay What You Can Ticket - Enter $0 for a comp ticket or whatever price you feel comfortable paying.
No dress code! Kids 12 and under are always free.
Big thanks to the SCFD and our sponsors - and a special shout to the mods who manage this vehicle of community building.

This has been a stressful time for my family. It involves my in-laws, of which I have been apart of since I married my wife 32 years. We have been through thick and this. My parents are gone and I have always considered myself a part of the family. Yesterday my brother-in-law went me a nasty text, implying that I don't have the right to help with the "family", since I am not really "family". I wrote him back about how much I have helped throughout the years(way more than him, btw), but I would no longer be apart of his family if they didn't want me. Well. This morning he wrote me an apology, which was surprising. But this has been a long time building and was like the last straw.
The thing is I am not willing to reconcile right now. I know that is wrong I have been so hurt since yesterday. I know that the way of Jesus and the way of Quakers is to forgive and reconcile. But I am not ready for that. I know that it would be hypocritical to remain Quaker and to profess to be a follower of Jesus like this.
I had been doing so good. For like 6 months I had been mostly walking in love and kindness and forgiveness. But the truth is I am 51 years old and I have always had a judgmental attitude towards others and at times have really lost my temper. I have tried throughout the years to change who I am, of course with the Holy Spirit and reliance on the divine. I have had good stretches and times when I have fallen off the wagon. I know who I want to be, but I also know who I am.
It kind of sucks. Sometimes I wish I could go back to my Episcopalian faith and just go to church and believe that God really forgives me for who I am. But I know too much now. I know the sermon on the mount. I know that is the way of Jesus. And I can't even be that anymore.
I have fought who I am throughout the years, but always fall of the wagon. I struggle with the idea of free will. Maybe the determinists are right. Maybe we are the product of everything that has happened to us. Maybe I should accept myself for who I am, with all of my shit. I really can't even do that. I am struck between a rock and a hard place.
I have friends that are naturally kind and open to people. But it's like not a struggle for them. That's who they are. I envy them so much.
I have so much respect for the way of the Quakers, but I also know why they are so small. Living in the Quaker way and the way of Jesus is extremely difficult and a narrow path.

1. Courtesans and the Crown: I will be playing M! I am also open to potentially playing a MxM version. (1530s) Benjamin, the illegitimate son of a King, lives a life of luxury without any of the consequences that come with royal blood. He indulges in fine clothing, gambling and is a frequent patron of brothels. At sixteen, he met a courtesan named Antonia, who was five years his senior. Unlike the other women he had encountered, Antonia was beautiful, kind, and captured his heart. While they both share a deep love for each other, they face their own challenges. Benjamin is still learning the ways of the court at the age of eighteen, while Antonia holds a great deal of influence over him due to her life experience. From encouraging him to invite her to tea to spite his royal parentage and even convincing him to petition for legitimation to take his sister's throne, she is ready to shake things up, disguising their power-hungry nature as love. What started as a quiet and humble relationship has now turned them into vicious antagonists towards themselves and others, but their love for each other remains strong. Even though the character's name is Antonia, feel free to create your own character with a courtesan theme. I even encourage it!!!
2. Our Father, who art in Heaven: I can play M or F! (1450s) Through a combination of extortion, torture, and occasional bribery, Pope Castello has ascended to the Papal throne. Despite his vow of celibacy, his illegitimate offspring roam freely in the town, behaving as though they were the offspring of a monarch. His son, in particular, plowing through any woman with a pulse, loses vast sums of money gambling, and harbors his own dark secrets. Meanwhile, his father strives to elevate him to the rank of cardinal. However, what will happen when his son encounters the same fate as his father? Will he fall in love with a noblewoman and violate his church oath? This woman has her own secrets and a father who is eager to marry her off to the wealthiest suitor available. The resulting whirlwind will leave blood on the floor and lipstick stains on collars, reminiscent of The Borgias, but without the incestuous undertones.
3. Of course, Your Majesty: I will be playing M! (1500s) Your protagonist is the eldest child of a powerful monarch, destined to become the next Queen. During her childhood, she formed a close bond with the son of a Lord who was a bit older than her. As they grew up, their feelings for each other became more than just friendship, prompting them to explore a romantic relationship. However, it is the heavily religious 1500s, and fearing that their relationship would compromise her purity and jeopardize her chances of marrying another royal, the Lord's son was sent away to a chateau. Despite the distance, they kept in touch through letters and other means. But, a dramatic shift in the court's dynamics has brought him back, much to the chagrin of your character's father. He is willing to disrupt the status quo for the sake of love and occasionally for his own gain.
4. The Lost Princess: I will be playing F! (1480s-1520s) Princess Margery was adored by her subjects and set to ascend the throne one day. However, her fate changed drastically when, at the tender age of four, her carriage was attacked by bandits. In a desperate bid to survive, Margery pretended to be dead in the frigid snow of the forest. She wasn't certain what happened next, but she eventually found herself in the care of two kind-hearted parents who renamed her Elizabeth and raised her as their own daughter. As Elizabeth came of age, she began searching for potential suitors. But what happens when a young man uncovers her true identity? How does she make her way back to the castle, and what challenges await her upon her return? Most importantly, where do you fit into this tangled web of intrigue and deception?
5. For Our Kingdoms: I am open to playing M or F! (1530s) An arranged marriage between a prince and princess from neighboring kingdoms looms on the horizon. Is she a timid princess, suddenly thrust into the role of heir apparent, seeking a partner to bolster her claim to the throne? Or is she merely a commodity being sold off to the highest bidder? Regardless, what happens when two royals who are less-than-enthusiastic about the arrangement are forced to wed for the betterment of their kingdoms? With an unkind and brash prince making every quip in the book as he rises to the throne, she must find a way to make her marriage work. Will they find common ground, or will they be at each other's throats? Only time will tell.
6. Shadow in Stage Lights:I will be playing M! I am also open to potentially playing a MxM version. (Post-WWII 1940s) In the smoky haze of post-war Hollywood, where dreams are traded like currency and the past casts long shadows, Jack Turner returns from the frontlines of battle a shattered man. Once hailed as a literary luminary, he now struggles to find his place in a world that has moved on without him, haunted by memories he can neither escape nor forget. Enter your character, a radiant starlet whose ascent to fame is as swift as it is dazzling. Cast as the lead in Jack's latest play, she embodies the very essence of the character he once envisioned, igniting the stage with a brilliance that eclipses his own. But as the spotlight shines ever brighter on YC, Jack finds himself consumed by a bitter resentment, his heart seething with anger at the injustice of it all. In a world where shadows lurk behind every smile and fame is but a fleeting illusion, Jack and YC must navigate the treacherous waters of love and ambition, forging a path forward that leads them out of the darkness and into the light.
7. The West was Wilder: I will be playing M or F! (1830s) A young man is a moonshiner and owner of a notorious saloon in a small frontier town. With a reputation for brewing the finest illegal whiskey in the region, he walks a fine line between outlaw and respected member of the community. Meanwhile, a young lass is new to town and is seeking change. She has a tough exterior, but there is a vulnerability that draws folks in. As their paths cross in the dusty streets and dimly lit saloons of the Wild West, sparks fly between them. Whether it's a fiery confrontation over a poker game gone wrong or a chance encounter in the dead of night, their chemistry is undeniable. But with danger lurking around every corner and secrets waiting to be uncovered, their burgeoning romance is anything but smooth sailing.
8. Underneath the Bald Cypress: I will be playing F! (1930s) Amidst the sultry streets of New Orleans, the daughter of a wealthy sugar cane baron, finds herself torn between societal expectations and her own desires. Engaged to a controlling man of her father’s choosing, she longs for true love. Her path collides with your character, a jazz singer, a man of color, or something else entirely, sparking a forbidden romance that defies family secrets. As their love blossoms amidst the city's vibrant nightlife, she must choose between the safety of convention and the allure of a life filled with passion and uncertainty, where forbidden love and hidden truths threaten to unravel the world she knows.
9. Revolution or Run: I will be playing F! (Fallout Fandom) In Vault 47, life appears idyllic, with its inhabitants blissfully unaware of the horrors unfolding beneath the sterile corridors. Your character, recently assigned to a coveted scientist position, stumbles upon a hidden lab deep within the vault, where ghastly experiments are conducted on unsuspecting fellow dwellers. Amidst it all, your character finds help in a resourceful maintenance worker with a knack for uncovering secrets. With the weight of responsibility heavy on their shoulders, they must navigate a treacherous path, torn between loyalty to their community and the pursuit of justice.As tensions escalate within the vault, they must decide whether to ignite the flames of rebellion from within or to venture into the unforgiving wasteland beyond the vault's walls.
Linked here is my writing sample and lore explanation.
I am also open to sending a master list of my current OCs with their vague descriptions!
When you DM me, please send me the answers to these questions!

1. What is your name and pronouns?
2. What RP are you interested in?
3. Are you comfortable playing on Discord?
4. What gender are you interested in playing? (for scenarios 2, 5, and 7 only!)
5. What are your hard boundaries for writing? (i.e. unwilling to write gore/abuse/etc)
6. What is your biggest roleplay pet peeve?
7. What is your paragraph min/max?
8. What is the most important thing to you in RP?
9. Are time zones important to you? If so, what is yours?
10. Is ooc essential to you?
11. Are you okay with a fade-to-black romance style?
12. What is your typical romance speed? Slow/Medium/Fast Burn?

I will answer these questions back! Thanks for reading!

Never thought I would be making a post on here, but I only get 3 free therapist visits a year so here I am.
TLDR : My parents have fully replaced me with some guy (M28) they met at work/ church. I'm slightly hurt but ultimately it's their life and they can do what the please. I am more bewildered, and concerned about my parents being taken advantage of.
First some relevant background info:
My parents are VERY religious boomers. by this I mean more religious than you would believe until you actually spoke to them. growing up this created a lot of friction between us. As I reached my teens I became disillusioned with organized Christianity mostly due to the fact that a lot of modern day interpretations miss the point of what is written in the Bible. the hypocrisy I witnessed was rampant among church members including my parents. I strongly disliked their thinly veiled revulsion for any people who they considered "sinners", a title which was doled out on a whim. even while I was in the church it would be weaponized against other church goers and even myself once. a pastor from another church told a girl I was hanging out with that I would lead her to hell, despite the fact that I also went to church. she promptly cut off all contact despite admitting that she didn't want to, but was being threatened with being kicked out of her church groups of she did not.
back to my parents: we were at odds throughout my teen years as I began to avoid church and anything about it. I did not stop believing but I did not want to be associated with their type of toxic Christianity. this was not something they could understand. when I say they are fully indoctrinated it means they are irredeemable in many of their views. they were willing to ignore any and all boundaries I set about religion even to this day. despite me telling them that what they were doing would tear our family apart. in the end they chose religion over their children. my sister is essentially no contact with them.
as a very young child, our family moved around a lot. I was a continual outsider. I had no friends, at all. my parents would say it was no big deal cause I was just a kid and kids don't care about that stuff really, kids don't know the difference, etc. but I knew the difference and I desperately wanted friendship and community. the only constants were 2 hyper controlling parents who wanted a quiet and obedient follower.
eventually we moved to a place where I was able to form solid friendships for the first time in my life. it was , to this day, the happiest time period of my life. this lasted until my final year of high school when my parents decided to move. despite me having many friends whose parents offered me a place to stay for the final year, my parents forced me to move. this caused me to spiral into a deep depression for around 3 years. I developed enduring social anxiety which I deal with to this day. I have made peace with the fact that I will never have a lot of friends, but thinking about what I missed out on is painful. years later I found out they forced me to move because they prayed and God told them it would be better for all of us if I moved with them. we needed to stay together as a family. then 2 years later they moved back to the place they took me from. all I can do is laugh at this because it is so dark and obviously bullshit. when it was my life getting fucked up "God" said ok we needed to stay together as a family. when I needed support he said naw just ditch him and move away.
my life was destroyed by religion. I have since learned that of course, we are ultimately in charge of our own happiness, but at the time I had no knowledge of trauma or therapy. simply 2 parents who reduced every concern I ever had in my life to "just pray about it". in fact throughout my entire life they diminished all of my concerns, big and small. in addition, they would often judge me for everything I did, even if they were innocent to a non religious person. so I would only tell them about things when I absolutely had no other choice. and they would treat them as wholly unimportant. they also believed that men should not be upset or emotional and should figure things out for themselves. so they would help my sister out whenever she needed it, including buying her a new car, while I was riding my bike an hour each way to go to engineering school. there were many points in my life where I was at rock bottom, and despite them having more than enough means to help me, they did not.
compounding this is the fact that all the while they diminished my own concerns, they would bend over backwards to help people not in our family. they always wanted to appear nice and helpful, but this never extended to me. in fact they would often do things to inconvenience me in order to help some random person they just met.
All of these circumstances created a very weird relationship dynamic between us all. I became avoidant, negative and pessimistic for years before I discovered therapy and began to work through my mental health issues. I struggled in many relationships I had, and always felt like I was a lesser person than everyone else. this persisted until around 3 years ago when I began to correct the errors in my thinking patterns. despite therapy, I still struggle to have a relationship with my parents. all they talk about is religion. I have given up trying to enforce the boundary there. there is no point. they don't know anything else. they cannot be different and have no desire to change, in fact they see no error in their actions throughout the years. despite me obviously having issues. they essentially chalk it up to me just being a bad egg. I have since been able to forgive them, but the trauma I experienced throughout my life has left me with tendencies they hate. I withdraw when I am depressed, I am prone to anxiety from time to time, I have ADHD, I distance myself from them because all they do is cross my boundaries to preach at me, etc etc.
Back to the present:
Before my dad retired he hired this guy, let's call him Raj, at his work. just a basic bank employee. he is a nice enough guy I think. a little awkward but nice enough. I believe he has an engineering degree from another country but it got rejected by our country, so he had to just take whatever job he could get. he is new to the country and a bit of a fish out of water, this is the reason I think most people looked past his non ordinary behavior.... I literally cannot imagine myself ever hanging out or going on vacations with my boss, who is 20+ years older than me.
he struggled to understand the job and my dad had to spend a lot of time with him to get him up to speed. he began to go to my dad for life advice beyond work, as he struggled with making friends or getting a girlfriend. I think eventually my parents invited him to church and he went, despite being originally Hindu. eventually he went with them regularly and integrated himself with them to a wild extent that I did not realize until this past weekend when they came to "visit". they brought this motherfucker with them without saying shit beforehand. paid for his hotel and all his food. bought him clothes and took him on errands. all while saying they didn't really have time to assist me; I cannot drive anymore as I began having seizures 3 years ago.
when we did finally hang out, my own parents mistakenly called me his name many times. they acted like a family and treated me like I was just some dude lol.
we went out to dinner with some friends of theirs who were also in town. during dinner they called Raj my parents adopted son. needless to say I was very weirded out. but did not say anything. if I did they would just say I was being negative and I look like the asshole.
I know Raj does not make a lot of money but somehow he was able to buy a small house a year after starting work. I have not seen proof personally but my sister has said she is sure that my pprovided the down payment. this is where I began to be concerned they are being taken advantage of. this is very out of character for my parents.
I have considered also the weirdest possiblity, that they may have some kind of weird ass sugar baby relationship but I simply cannot see that being the case. they are hypocrites about some aspects of Christianity, such as not judging people, but they are 1000% devout when it comes to what they would deem as sin.
I get the impression that they have empty nest syndrome and compounded with their propensity to bend over backwards for non family members, they have essentially adopted this guy. he is at their house several times a week. as far as I know my mom prepares most of his meals.
it appears to me that they found a replacement for me with none of the mental health issues and resentment ( that they caused) and who was willing to play the part of a church goer. I fear now, based on watching them shop together that he is taking advantage of them. If they are just choosing to help him out money wise that is MASSIVELY out of character for them to do so to this extent. this is the main reason I think they are being taken advantage of. they are doing things for this guy they would NEVER do for anyone.
I am not sure how to approach this situation or what to even think about it. I lack the bandwidth to really mull it over or be upset about it. one thing I am certain of is that me saying anything about this will do nothing except make them mad and bring them closer together .they think I am simply a negative person and don't really listen to my thoughts on things, whether I am right or not.they have always treated me like I'm a moron
Is this as weird to you as it is to me? What would you do in this scenario?

How would you rank the decades of country music? This is tough for me but I’ll give it a go going back to the 50s. (Not counting 2020s)

1 tied between 1970s and 2010s

2 1960s

3 and #4 80s and 90s interchangeably

4 50s

5 2000s

2010s I know will be a controversial one but consider these artists work in the decade; JI400U, Sturgill, Tyler Childers, Sierra Ferrell, turnpike, Cody Jinks, Crockett, Shane Smith, Luke Bell, CWG and ZBs emergence, Chris Stapleton, whiskey myers, 49 Winchester, will hoge, Eric church, the list goes on and on.
This is a near impossible list to do, but this is what I am temporarily confident with. I’m considering both the volume of great music as well as peak of the decade. Feel free to ask any questions of why I put something over the other, it may help me solidify my opinion or change rather and it’s a fun conversation to have.

As a life coach working with young men and adults, I have an eye as to what is being taught and changes we need to make in the home. Please comment and feel free to ask questions.
Teaching a sex-positive, shame-free philosophy within the framework of LDS (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) teachings in the home can be a delicate balance, but it is possible. Here’s a guide on how to approach this, integrating a healthy perspective on sexuality with LDS values:

1. Emphasize Divine Purpose: Highlight the belief that sexuality is a divine gift meant for expressing love within the bounds of marriage. This frames sexual intimacy positively, as part of God’s plan. Instead of shaming one's normal human instinct of procreation.
   
2. Focus on Love and Respect: Teach that sexual relationships should be based on mutual love, respect, and consent, aligning with the principles of treating others with dignity and kindness.
   

Sex-Positive, Shame-Free Education

1. Normalize Sexuality: Discuss sexuality as a natural and normal part of life. Use correct anatomical terms and provide age-appropriate information. Normalize curiosity and questions about sex without attaching shame or guilt.
   
2. Open Communication: Foster an environment where children feel comfortable discussing their questions and concerns about sex. Approach these conversations with openness and honesty, ensuring they understand there are no "bad" questions.
   

Teaching Morality Without Shame

1. Separate Behavior from Identity: Teach that actions can be good or bad without labeling the person. For example, discuss the law of chastity as a guideline for behavior, but emphasize that making mistakes doesn't define their worth or spirituality.
   
2. Focus on Consequences: Explain the reasons behind the church’s moral teachings, focusing on the physical, emotional, and spiritual consequences of sexual choices. This helps children understand the ‘why’ behind the rules.
   
3. Grace and Forgiveness: Emphasize the principles of repentance and forgiveness. Teach that everyone makes mistakes and that the Atonement of Jesus Christ provides a path to forgiveness and healing.
   
4. Critical Thinking Skills: Equip children with critical thinking skills to analyze and question media messages and societal attitudes towards sex. This empowers them to make informed choices rather than passive acceptance.
   

I am a Christian deconstructing my faith (and not on purpose!). I can’t seem to reconcile the problem of evil with the attributes of God. It appears, that with the Biblical/traditional Christian framework, you must sacrifice at least one of the O-O-O-O attributes of God in order for evil to exist. Is this as big an issue for my faith as I think it is? As someone with ASD, I can't just sit with a paradox, I really need things to make at least some sense.
Traditionally, most, if not all, major Christian sects seem to hold to several core ideas about God and his relationship to the universe. These are typically denoted as O-O-O-O, omnipotent, omnipresent, omniscient, and omnibenevolent. The sum of these attributes is, in theory, perfection, complete and utter perfection. The concept of perfection is extremely important when arguing for the existence of an ultimate deity as to be anything else would mean there is something better than it, in theory. But what is perfection? When we say God is perfect, what do we mean? Surely, if all things flowed from the nature of perfection, we would expect perfection… wouldn’t we? And since the universe is clearly not perfect by Biblical standards, how does the universe relate to God and vice versa?
This seeming paradox is often nicknamed “the problem of evil”. It is a juvenile concept at first glance. Typically, the astute apologist will fish into his pocket, pull out his trump card, and with a grin, set it down on the table. Free will. Argument over. Of course! God gives us the freedom to make decisions on our own and as a result, some of those decisions result in unfavorable and sometimes downright despicable outcomes. Just think about it! Poverty? Caused by the pride and greed of the wealthy. Wars? Also pride and greed. A child with cancer? Probably caused by the greed and pride of some sleazy company improperly disposing of some type of toxic waste. Rape, murder, adultery, theft? Pride and greed. Thinking you deserve something that you don’t have. In short, selfishness. And surely the desperate atheist will bring up hurricanes, droughts, and earthquakes but those aren’t moral evils, those are physical evils. They hurt, sure. They kill, sure. But they aren’t inherently bad. And who is to question the ways of the Lord? And on all these points I would generally agree. I don’t think that natural disasters disprove the Christian God, and in general, moral evils are the results of human actions. But there is a caveat… Why does free will entail evil?
Think about it for a second. If indeed free will exists, I may have the free will to jump a foot or so in the air, but I don’t have the free will to jump into outer space. There are constraints on our free will. If there are four supermarkets in town, I have the free will to go to whichever one I please. None of those options involve pride or greed but I still, in theory, have free will. So, it is completely possible for a divine being to endow humans with free will while still having constraints in place to prevent them from choosing evil. But he doesn’t… One might say that we have moral free will. But do we even have that? Can I choose to be morally perfect all the time? No. In fact, according to the scriptures, “No one is good. No, not one”. Because of “The Fall”, it is physically impossible for humans to be truly good… Now that doesn’t sound like free will at all. “But it was the result of humanity’s choice to sin”, the apologist might say. So, let’s grant them that luxury and take a look at free will in regard to all of humanity as a single entity.
In the beginning, God created mankind and called it “good”. God warns perfect humanity not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. However, an evil entity tempts perfect mankind into eating of the tree. Mankind’s sin ushers in evil and free will and curses all future generations to be predisposed to sin as well. I don’t think I need to point out the flaws in this story, but I will just be thorough anyway. God created a perfect world, yet it contained an evil entity that tempted humanity. God created perfected humanity, yet humanity yielded to temptation. The knowledge of good and evil ushers in free will, implying that humanity did not have the free will to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. On top of that, the knowledge of good and evil implies that evil already existed in the “perfect” world. Whether or not you believe the Genesis account to be literal or simply a parable or poetry, the main issue is still present. The world is imperfect but supposedly has a perfect creator.
This contradiction leads us to several internal models for how Christian sects have traditionally thought of God in relation to the problem of evil while still maintaining that God himself is all good. Unfortunately for these sects, this involves neutering at least one of God’s divine attributes. These models are indeed a somewhat reductive oversimplification of the complexity of the varying beliefs between followers of Christianity, but I think they help illustrate this issue. I don’t mean to say that this is what all Christians believe in these different sects either, this is simply my observation of how Calvinist and Arminian circles tend to deal with the problem of evil when I have pressed them on the topic.
The first is, evil is just the absence of God. This logically leads to God not being omnipresent.
The second is, God brought evil into the world on purpose in order to accomplish some grand plan. This logically leads to God not being omnibenevolent (in both the utilitarian and deontological sense).
The third is that God had to bring evil into the world even though he didn’t want to in order to accomplish some grand plan. This logically leads to God not being omnipotent since he relies on something that he would rather not rely on.
The fourth is God was unaware of evil when he created the world. This logically leads to God not being omniscient.
The fifth is that evil is a force external to God’s domain which he could not prevent. This also leads to God not being omnipotent.
The most logical choice seems to be that God is neither good nor bad, just morally neutral but that isn’t Christianity at that point, that sounds like Deism.
Alternatively, saying the creator God is evil and that the redeemer Christ is good is pretty much Gnosticism.
Of course, we could just say “God’s ways are higher than our own” or “as humans there is now way we could comprehend” but we can’t use a belief being as a proof that our religion is supernatural, otherwise, all religions might as well be equally valid no matter how absurd they are.
Additionally, if we go the opposite direction, we could say that evil and free will must exist together because God is a logical god and can’t break his own rules of logic. On first glance, this makes sense, but if we posit that, for example, God can’t make a square circle because he must comply with his own logic, then we make other logical paradoxes such as the Trinity not possible.
The last and probably most popular solution is the relational God model. God wants a dynamic redemptive relationship with his creation and the only way for true love to exist is for there to be the choice to accept or reject God as well as a reason for God to demonstrate his love as well. In this view, the end result of a restored humanity recasts how we view evil in the present. This indeed sounds like the most convincing model but it still has some major issues. If God is all powerful and all knowing, there should be no reason why he couldn’t create a humanity that truly loves him from the start without being simple automatons. But even if that wasn’t the case, the restoration we see in the Bible doesn’t appear to be the result of free will but of an ultimatum. Creation doesn’t have the option to reject God and continue to exist, it is either repent and live or refuse and suffer for eternity and/or be destroyed. It isn’t love at that point; it is coercion. Right?
Am I thinking about this the wrong way?

Just curious how you got to the point you were in. I'll start.
I spent probably the first 19 years of my life without really knowing much about Calvinism. I went to a Lutheran private school for a couple years, and it didn't really come up more than once or twice, so I didn't really give it much thought. Thinking back, I was probably what you would consider a Provisionist.
I went to a private Bible College that was predominantly Calvinist. I was confronted a number of times about my views, and ended up embracing more of a Classical Arminian view similar to Molinism. I didn't know how to defend my views* because I had never been confronted about it before. I think this came about from a misunderstanding of Total Depravity, Limited Atonement, and Perseverance of the Saints. I would have described myself as a 2 1/2 point Calvinist. I saw enough verses that contradicted Calvinist soteriology to plant seeds of doubt, but passages like Romans and Ephesians made me wonder.
*Taking a view prior to establishing it yourself is bad epistemology.
So this 2 1/2 point Calvinism was my view until I had a profound spiritual experience in 2018 which started my journey back into theology as a field of personal interest. I was attending a 5-point Calvinist church at the time along with my wife, which I did for a number of years through a long multi-year study of Romans. This was actually really good for me because it gave me an opportunity to study the Calvinist position in detail. I became intimately familiar with the arguments. I realized that they weren't engaging very well with the "Arminian" position so I hit a point where I decided I was going to re-evaluate my positions on soteriology. I found Steve Gregg (The Narrow Path) on the radio and started listening to his program and learned he had a free lecture series on the topic. What I liked is that he systematically goes through all the major prooftexts and quite a few of the minor ones without skipping the hard ones. When I realized that you couldn't establish Total Depravity without it already being established (i.e. begging the question), I became a Provisionist. I think a careful reading of Romans 3 is what sealed the deal for me. I took the "John Piper Challenge" and started highlighting Calvinist leaning passages in blue and non-Calvinist leaning passages in yellow. Unlike John Piper, however, I started realizing the overwhelming evidence of the non-Calvinist position. I also found Leighton Flowers (Soteriology101) and Kevin Thompson (Beyond the Fundamentals) about that same time which helped a great deal to further demolish my presuppositions. It took a while before I really had a robust definitions of Election and Predestination, but when I saw Kevin's seminal word studies on Election and Predestination, it was eye opening. Before then I had an Arminian view of those terms and I thought they were the same thing.
Now I have taken a slightly different approach, and my main focus is on Epistemology rather than Theology. It is more broad reaching and touches on a lot more issues than Theology does.
So that's my story in a nutshell, what is yours?

I F(24) was visiting my college girlfriends in Louisville Kentucky for our second annual reunion at the Derby. One of my friends lives in the town right outside of Louisville and was hosting us.
We originally planned to go to a derby themed party on Friday night called Phillies and Stallions. The party had a list and half of the group got on the list. Those on the list could bring plus ones so our plan was to have the two girls who didn't get on the list be our plus ones. The host was one of the girls who did not get on the list leading up to the event kept mentioning that it would be okay if we went without her if she didn't make it. (Which is strange since she was the one hosting us) Come to find out her new boyfriend was guilting her for days about going to the party saying he couldn't believe she would "degrade herself to be a ploy for the hosting company to make money"
For context girls got into the party for free and men paid entrance and the event was sponsored by several different companies (Standard procedure for almost every party I've ever heard of) To make a long story short we did not end up going to the party because the hosts boyfriend made her feel so bad about it. Party aside we sat her down and told her as her friends we were worried for her and that her boyfriend was showing some serious red flags and the early signs of an abusive /controlling relationship. The conclusion of the conversation was that they would have a "talk on Sunday"
Fast forward to Sunday and the other girls were local to Indiana and were planning to head home. I flew from North Carolina and would be flying out Monday morning. The host informed us that Sunday she would be going to church and lunch with her boyfriend and parents- annoying since our Friday was already ruined bc of him and our girls trip had been planned for an entire year at this point and church can happen any other weekend- but decided not worth the fight so let it slide. I decided to go a workout class that morning with another college girlfriend of mine. I left before the host and as my other two friends were packing up to drive home they said goodbye to the host who was heading to church. They heard her say "oops I almost forgot my pool bag if it's nice we are having a pool day.
The two immediately texted me to ask if I knew anything about a pool day- I did not. They hung back to spend some time with me before going home as the host seemingly planned a whole day without me. We decided to pack up all my bags and I called a friend from college in the area to spend the day with him. Part of me felt bad for leaving. I did not hear a WORD from this girl the entire day until 10:30 PM when she came home to an empty apartment. I had her location throughout the day and saw she went to her parents pool, her grandparents house, a Mexican restaurant, a park, and out for ice cream. I her best friend flew across the country and by all accounts in her mind was rotting in her apartment in a city I didn't know without access to a car while she spent the whole day frolicking around the city with her boyfriend who lives 40 minutes away from her.
Upon arriving back home after not speaking to me all day I received a panicked call from her around 10:30 PM asking where I was. At this point I had a fun day involving a barcade, lunch, pool day and was headed to a bar at the time of her call. I was so grateful to my friend for taking me in on one of his only days off for the week. (He works in the service industry as a bartender and has crazy hours) I informed her that since she decided to abandon me I had sought out other plans for myself besides rotting on her couch as well as organized sleeping arrangements and transport to the airport since I clearly was not welcomed any longer. I expressed my disappointment with her choices and told her she was acting so far out of character that I didn't even recognize who she was anymore. The girl I previously knew was a bright ray of sunshine that lit up every room and never knew a stranger . The girl I spent the weekend with was anxious,easily irritated and spent most of her time typing novels of texts to her boyfriend on the phone. I told her to do some reflecting on the ways her relationship was changing her as an individual and a friend. I told her I was heading into a bar and not to bother me any further because her choices had already caused me and lot of feelings of sadness, stress, and betrayal.
I have since flown home and about two weeks have passed and I have yet to hear a word from her since our phone call. I personally have not reached out (and for context did not text her all day Sunday) because I believe it is not my responsibility. I did know she planned to have a conversation with her boyfriend on Sunday but was under no impression that she would be away all day and I would be left to fend for myself . I do feel a small level of guilt because it is clear that the relationship is affecting her judgement and as her friend I should always support her. But the other half of me feels like that I was not shown any consideration on her part and is holding on that feeling of betrayal.
I'm afraid our friendship is beyond repair at this point . Some have said that I am at fault for not intimating a conversation about my thoughts on the events of the weekend. AITAH for leaving and waiting to hear from her?

I F(24) was visiting my college girlfriends in Louisville Kentucky for our second annual reunion at the Derby. One of my friends lives in the town right outside of Louisville and was hosting us.
We originally planned to go to a derby themed party on Friday night called Phillies and Stallions. The party had a list and half of the group got on the list. Those on the list could bring plus ones so our plan was to have the two girls who didn't get on the list be our plus ones. The host was one of the girls who did not get on the list leading up to the event kept mentioning that it would be okay if we went without her if she didn't make it. (Which is strange since she was the one hosting us) Come to find out her new boyfriend was guilting her for days about going to the party saying he couldn't believe she would "degrade herself to be a ploy for the hosting company to make money"
For context girls got into the party for free and men paid entrance and the event was sponsored by several different companies (Standard procedure for almost every party I've ever heard of) To make a long story short we did not end up going to the party because the hosts boyfriend made her feel so bad about it. Party aside we sat her down and told her as her friends we were worried for her and that her boyfriend was showing some serious red flags and the early signs of an abusive /controlling relationship. The conclusion of the conversation was that they would have a "talk on Sunday"
Fast forward to Sunday and the other girls were local to Indiana and were planning to head home. I flew from North Carolina and would be flying out Monday morning. The host informed us that Sunday she would be going to church and lunch with her boyfriend and parents- annoying since our Friday was already ruined bc of him and our girls trip had been planned for an entire year at this point and church can happen any other weekend- but decided not worth the fight so let it slide. I decided to go a workout class that morning with another college girlfriend of mine. I left before the host and as my other two friends were packing up to drive home they said goodbye to the host who was heading to church. They heard her say "oops I almost forgot my pool bag if it's nice we are having a pool day.
The two immediately texted me to ask if I knew anything about a pool day- I did not. They hung back to spend some time with me before going home as the host seemingly planned a whole day without me. We decided to pack up all my bags and I called a friend from college in the area to spend the day with him. Part of me felt bad for leaving. I did not hear a WORD from this girl the entire day until 10:30 PM when she came home to an empty apartment. I had her location throughout the day and saw she went to her parents pool, her grandparents house, a Mexican restaurant, a park, and out for ice cream. I her best friend flew across the country and by all accounts in her mind was rotting in her apartment in a city I didn't know without access to a car while she spent the whole day frolicking around the city with her boyfriend who lives 40 minutes away from her.
Upon arriving back home after not speaking to me all day I received a panicked call from her around 10:30 PM asking where I was. At this point I had a fun day involving a barcade, lunch, pool day and was headed to a bar at the time of her call. I was so grateful to my friend for taking me in on one of his only days off for the week. (He works in the service industry as a bartender and has crazy hours) I informed her that since she decided to abandon me I had sought out other plans for myself besides rotting on her couch as well as organized sleeping arrangements and transport to the airport since I clearly was not welcomed any longer. I expressed my disappointment with her choices and told her she was acting so far out of character that I didn't even recognize who she was anymore. The girl I previously knew was a bright ray of sunshine that lit up every room and never knew a stranger . The girl I spent the weekend with was anxious,easily irritated and spent most of her time typing novels of texts to her boyfriend on the phone. I told her to do some reflecting on the ways her relationship was changing her as an individual and a friend. I told her I was heading into a bar and not to bother me any further because her choices had already caused me and lot of feelings of sadness, stress, and betrayal.
I have since flown home and about two weeks have passed and I have yet to hear a word from her since our phone call. I personally have not reached out (and for context did not text her all day Sunday) because I believe it is not my responsibility. I did know she planned to have a conversation with her boyfriend on Sunday but was under no impression that she would be away all day and I would be left to fend for myself . I do feel a small level of guilt because it is clear that the relationship is affecting her judgement and as her friend I should always support her. But the other half of me feels like that I was not shown any consideration on her part and is holding on that feeling of betrayal.
I'm afraid our friendship is beyond repair at this point . Some have said that I am at fault for not intimating a conversation about my thoughts on the events of the weekend. AITAH for leaving and waiting to hear from her?

Previous Part
My eyes darted around the room, still shocked from the brutality I just witnessed from Shaoni. Katrina had strutted out of view and when my eyes turned to where Brooke’s crumpled form should’ve been he was gone to. At some point both Robert and John had run off towards the growing sounds of gunfire. Shaoni and I still stood in the coliseum, shaken to our cores but both for very different reasons.
*CLANG*
The sudden noise startled me, the sound of metal on metal. The sound came again, this time I heard it clearly and turned around to face the noise only to be met by a few familiar faces.
“Don’t mean to bother you but their shootin up the place, could ya let us the hell in!”
Rocco shouted as he beat Brookes stolen lighter against the metals bars that closed off the back entrance to the coliseum. Bianca gave me a sheepish wave as I looked over their faces again. Frank, Stein, and Tuck were with her. They must have come through the same way Bianca and I had a few days before.
“NOW!”
Rocco shouted in irritation as my brain finally kicked into gear and I ran over to let them through the barred metal gate.
“What’s going on up there?”
I wondered out loud, concerned by how shell shocked they all looked.
“I’d guess something involving the government, with equipment like that I doubt it would be anyone else. Just as we got to the hole Bianca mentioned several men in black tactical gear came out of the forest at our sides. When we didn’t clear out like they demanded they started firing so we dove in.”
Stein explained.
“I take it that’s Shaoni?”
He added, pointing towards where she lay, hunched over and taking shaky breaths on the ground.
“Is she alright?”
Bianca chimed in, craning her neck to get a better view of her past everyone else.
“The hell should we care!? Isn’t it her fault we’re doin’ any of this in the first place?”
Rocco grumbled up at us as he laid back on the ground. Glad to see he wasn’t taking things to seriously. Tuck just stared at Shaoni with this intense anger in his eyes, he didn’t say a word.
I know I shouldn’t care what happened to her at this point but a part of me just couldn’t leave Shaoni like this. Sure, she probably didn’t deserve the sympathy but I couldn’t help feeling a little bad for her now that the anger had passed. When I made my way over to her I got the sense I was seeing the real Shaoni for once. I was seeing someone who witnessed her people rise and fall, saw the country we live in change and grow as it became what we know today. Someone who’d lived countless lifetimes as a piece that just didn’t quite fit the puzzle anymore. I thought about everything Bianca had learned about Shaoni, how she was given her powers, no, her burden in the first place. Suddenly I had a pretty good idea of what exactly she brought everyone here for.
“Shaoni?... Are you… uh, you ok?”
I said like I was trying to comfort a dying animal. The closer I got the more I could hear, she was crying. It was that held back sort of crying right before the dam breaks into full on sobs. She was cracking but still trying to put on a tough face, still trying to be every bit as imposing as she had been the first night I saw her. But she wasn’t, now she just looked pitiful.
“You… you’re right you know Keith. I’m not Justice anymore… I…I don’t think I have been for a very long time.”
She choked out through tears that flowed freely down her face as she rose to her feet.
“I don’t know why I brought you here… I was just so desperate to…”
She trailed off but that was alright, I already knew what she was going to say.
“To escape? Pass on your burden? This whole thing was to chose someone to pass the Thunderbird spirit onto wasn’t it?”
I asked, sure that I was right.
“Yes, this is what I wanted from the start, to give my burden to one of you. At first I wanted the trials to help me make my decision but by the time all of you arrived I just wanted a way out. I wanted to finally live a real life. I’ve lived too long… I just want to live simply before the end that should’ve come so long ago.”
Shaoni cried, more controlled now as she finally started to get a hold of herself.
“So what? You’d just give it to someone else! What about what that would do to them?”
“I just wanted out Keith! I know it was selfish, I don’t care! I just want the nightmare to be over!”
Shaoni screamed out at me. She was hysterical enough that I saw Stein’s hand shoot towards his belt. I’m sure he had that gun I saw yesterday waiting there so I held out my hand to signal him to wait.
“We did good once, in the beginning. But that changed, the wars the injustice I just couldn’t stand by and let that happen so I fought back. I spread the idea that fighting to the death was better than compromising for peace, compromising to save lives. That’s when we… I went wrong. I lead them astray! I was responsible for their deaths! Every! Single! One! I was bitter and resentful for years and I took it out on anyone I thought was guilty. I’ve lived with that for centuries! Do you think I don’t know I’ve become a monster Keith?!”
Shaoni finished with a look of profound shame on her face.
I never thought I’d see the day when I actually felt bad for Shaoni. Not some spur of the moment there’s a full on shootout going on above us and I probably shouldn’t let her die, feeling bad. No, I genuinely felt sorry for her after hearing her talk about the past with total honesty for once.
“You could come with us.”
I offered, looking back to everyone who’d gathered around her at that point. The looks on their faces all told me they weren’t fans of that Idea but only Tuck protested.
“I won’t help her crawl outta the bed she made! Keith, do you honestly think she doesn’t deserve everything thats comin’ to her?!”
“No, but I think she’s suffered enough. Besides, I really don’t want to leave someone down here to die knowing I could’ve done something about it.”
“You know what, fine! You care to much about this Keith, she deserves it! But if you want to take her with us don’t be surprised when she goes on and stabs ya in the back! Now come on, we should get moving.”
Tuck finished, throwing his hands up in the air in an act of frustrated surrender.
“So you realize we’ve got to go out there right? We’re not climbing back out the way we came in so heading out the main entrance is our only option at this point.”
Frank said bluntly as we watched Rocco scurry out of the hole they had dropped in from. We’d all collectively decided we were better off sending Rocco back home. Frank was right though, and even though the sounds of gunfire had started to sound a little farther away I still wasn’t a fan of getting anywhere closer to them.
“I might be able to help with that.”
Shaoni replied, getting to her feet with an air of determination.
“Stay behind me and move when I tell you to.”
We all fell into line behind Shaoni without another word. I guess all of us realized the the sobbing mess we’d seen before also just so happened to be the same Thunderbird that reduced most of Imalone to ashes. So despite how we felt about letting her lead us around it was probably our best chance at the moment.
I was a little surprised that none of… whatever was happening out there hadn’t spilled into the mine and made its way to us. We found out why just as soon as the single file line behind Shaoni made it out of the mine. The camp was devastated, what wasn’t on fire or covered in bullet holes was smashed or ripped to pieces. The ground was littered in bodies and shell casings. A few hundred feet in front of us a small group of Shaoni’s followers where taking shots at the men in black tactical gear Stein had mentioned. There was maybe ten of them but it looked like those ten had slaughtered nearly all of the followers that had made up this camp.
I threw up on the spot, I was so shocked by the scene in front of me I didn’t even manage to bend over, it just kinda waterfalled out of my mouth. I heard Bianca groan in disgust from behind me. I didn’t understand why everyone else wasn’t reacting the same way I was. As I came back to my senses after a minute or so I took off my now vomit covered jacket and felt the cool air through my shirt. Shaoni had instructed us to move and I must’ve moved on my own. All of us were gathered behind a small rocky outcrop near the entrance to the mine.
“You doing alright?”
Bianca asked quietly from behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. I turned to look at her and noticed the jewel encrusted dagger from before was clutched in her hand, twinkling with reflections from her now glowing blue eyes.
I could barely hear Bianca over the sounds of gunfire. Which almost certainly meant the last of the survivors were being wiped out. I couldn’t watch anymore death today so I just ducked lower behind our cover.
“You hear me Keith? Are you ok?”
Bianca persisted with a little more concern in her voice. I was still trying to pretend I hadn’t just seen dozens of dead bodies but I couldn’t really ignore her forever.
“No not…not really.”
I said, my voice coming out silent as a church mouse.
“Was it the-”
I cut her off
“I’ve never seen a dead body before, I mean I have but not like… not like that. The one guy his jaw was just…. Just gone. How do you guys do it? How do you just look at that and not react?”
Bianca sighed and looked me in the eyes. There was a kind of recognition in them, like she was seeing a little bit of herself in my situation.
“We’ve all seen a lot of horrible stuff in our lives, we’re used to it. Still it doesn’t make it feel normal to see… this. Do you think you can hold it together a bit longer or do you want me to…”
Bianca trailed off but it was obvious to me what she meant. Bianca was offering to soothe that terrified part of me with her powers again.
“Thanks but no, I’ll be alright I’ll probably be seeing this in my dreams for weeks though.”
I answered, trying to make a stupid joke to lighten the mood. Bianca cracked a hint of a smile and that was enough for me.
While we’d been talking everyone had failed to notice Shaoni was gone. She had stood up and was walking straight towards where those men in black gear where picking through what was left of her followers. She was glowing though, every single tattoo glowed with an intense white light and then in a flash she was gone, and the Thunderbird was in her place. Frank and Stein stared in awe of the huge beast in front of them. The Thunderbird looked exactly as I remembered. The blue feathers and steel gray beak reflecting in the light from its crackling white eyes.
“That’s it, That’s the god damn bird!”
Tuck yelled like we couldn’t see what was right in front of us. I think he was just surprised to see the Thunderbird again. Even after years of swearing to get back at “the bird” for the friends he lost I don’t think he ever thought he’d come face to face with it again. Seeing it must be bringing up more than a few memories he’d rather forget.
“Don’t do anything you’ll regret! She’s been helping us Tuck, at least put your differences aside until we’ve gotten all this figured out.”
Stein yelled over an ear splitting screech from the massive bird as Tuck began to tense up. Every muscle in his body looked like it was about to pop, they were bulging to an inhuman degree. With a long exhale he loosened up and the swelling went down.
“Damn it… fine! But only till we got things settled here, after that I need to have a “conversation” with that… thing!”
Tuck shouted in begrudging agreement.
The men in front of us all turned toward Shaoni, her new form towering over them. Then I heard a familiar voice shout out,
“You wanted it gone, You’re looking at it! What’re you all waiting for!”
A commanding voice rang out from one of the people in front of us. I didn’t take long to spot the platinum blonde hair poking out from under the armored black helmet the woman wore, not just any woman, Katrina. I didn’t have much time to let that sink in before Katrina made a fist, stuck two fingers up in the air and shook them forward at us. After that, all hell broke loose.
The men behind Katrina rushed forward, guns drawn. Stein drew his own pistol and cocked it, taking aim at the approaching men. Tuck tensed up again and this time he didn’t hold himself back. Bones cracked and skin shifted to accommodate the inhuman muscles he now possessed. Hair sprang up all over his body and under it his face became more angular, his nose almost snout-like. Tuck looked something like a werewolf but definitely not the wolf man I expected. He looked more like an extremely hairy, unnaturally muscular feral person than any wolf man. Frank, Bianca, and I all hunkered down behind the outcrop, waiting for the worst to happen. Shaoni took to the sky with a flap of her massive wings as the gunfire started.
Nothing ever really prepares you for how loud a gunshot actually is, especially a whole bunch of them from fully automatic weapons. There’s nothing quite like being shot at either, at some point you just have to accept the fact that at any moment one of those things flying around you is going to hit you and just get ready for it. That doesn’t actually do anything to calm you down though, at least it didn’t for me. I was huddled behind that little outcropping like a puppy hiding from fireworks on the fourth of July. Wind gusted all around us as Shaoni flapped her wings furiously. The wind coming from her winds was so intense it blew the bullets being fired at her off course. Lead rained all around us as I listened to the cracks of even more bullets being fired. I heard growling as something roughly Tuck sized tore forwards toward the gunfire.
The sky was turning an enraged black and rain had already started to fall in sheets. Lightning struck the ground every so often as well, to close and regular to be natural. I peaked up over the outcrop at one point. I was just in time to see one of the men get struck by a bolt of lightning and tense up as he fell to the ground. As the men kept firing at Shaoni some of their shots started to hit home. The bullets that didn’t get turned away with the wind glanced off her massive form. Whatever those feathers were made off seemed to stop most of the bullets dead in their tracks but it was becoming obvious Shaoni couldn’t keep this up. From our position behind the outcrop Bianca and I both felt the beats of her wings and the gusts of wind that came with it coming slower and slower. We shared a glance for just a second, from the look in Bianca’s eyes, I felt certain we were doomed. More and more of the bullets seemed to be hitting Shaoni and her movements became slower still until eventually it happened.
With a shrill cry she fell from the sky, her blue features stained red in places. Shaoni hit the ground with an earthshaking crash and lay still. Katrina screamed something I couldn’t hear in the violent storm that still raged all around us. When I inched my way up to take a look I saw Katrina and her men charging toward Shaoni guns drawn. Behind them I caught sight of Tuck’s muscular figure getting back up from the ground. I hadn’t been keeping an eye on him before but it looked like he’d seen better days. He hesitated a bit before me moved, looking back to the outcrop where we were and over towards where Shaoni lay. He looked once, twice, then shook his head, mind apparently made up and ran at the men on all fours.
They didn’t hear him coming from behind over the storm and as they raised there weapons Tuck pounced. With one swipe of his humongous hand he sent one of the men flying off towards the forest. Even Katrina was surprised by Tuck’s sudden attack. The time provided by everyone taking a moment to decided who to point their gun at gave Shaoni just enough time to act. She shot one wing out, glancing off everyone near her and knocking them to the ground. One of them men’s helmets flew off with the hit and Stein quickly lined up a shot and fired, hitting the man in the top of the head. The look in his eyes was devoid of any emotion as he ducked back down behind the outcrop. I got the sense this wasn’t the first time Stein had killed, not surprising considering his time in Germany. Still, there was something unsettling about that look in the old scientists eyes.
As Katrina and her men got their bearings again and started firing at Tuck bullets plinked off the outcrop. Apparently they hadn’t forgotten we were there. I stole a quick glance over to where Shaoni had fallen but the Thunderbird was gone revealing a hole in the ground created from the impact of her fall.
“TUCK!”
I screamed out to get his attention for a moment. Tuck’s head swirled towards me just long enough for him to see my outstretched hand pointing to the hole in the ground. I grabbed Bianca’s hand and pulled her to her feet, making a mad dash to the hole. Frank and Stein saw what we were doing and followed after us. Stein fired wild shots off towards Katrina and her men while Tuck kept harassing them.
By some miracle Tuck was still going even as I saw bullets tear into him, he was an animal. He tossed the men around like rag dolls and at one point I turned to see him bring his now claw-like fingernails arching upwards. The head of the man he’d hit was bent back at a sickening angle, he was dead there was no question but Tuck didn’t even stop to spare a thought for the man. Seeing one of their comrades killed in front of them seemed to get the attention of the entire group of them. I hated to admit it but it was exactly the distraction we needed.
As we ran past the chaos of the fight I heard a mix of screams of agony and determination. At one point one of the men’s broken bodies flew over the four of us and hit the ground with a wet crunch that sent a shiver down my spine. We just kept running though, everyone following behind me because I looked like I had a plan. To be fair I did, it was just a bad plan, more of a feeling honestly. I thought if we could get into that hole Shaoni made we might find a way out, a real long shot but it was the best I could do right now.
By the time we reached the hole and I jumped in Tuck had thrown just about every one of Katrina’s men all over the little clearing we were in. Some where very clearly dead but some where rolling around and groaning. Katrina was still standing though, just before I fell deep enough into the hole I got a quick glance at her as she took aim at Tuck who seemed to finally be feeling all the punishment he’d been taking.
I didn’t even have time to scream a warning before my feet hit the hard rock below me and everyone else fell in on top of me.
“Sorry… sorry”
Bianca squeaked out as she pulled herself out of the pile of bodies we’d become. Frank, Stein, and Bianca seemed alright but my ankle was definitely sprained, badly.
“Can you walk on that?”
Bianca asked, examining my ankle in the strange blue light that emanated from further down the chamber we’d fallen into.
“Maybe? Here can I just lean on you?…. yeah, yeah that’ll work.”
I told her, using her to pull myself to my feet and leaning on her for support.
“What are we looking for Keith?”
Frank wondered out loud, a little fear creeping in to his voice as he looked around the chamber.
“I’m not actually sure, I was hoping we’d find Shaoni down here, maybe a tunnel out.”
I grunted out honestly, still reeling form the pain shooting up from my ankle.
“Wait where’s Tuck?”
“If he didn’t make it down we have to assume the worst. We can’t afford to wait now.”
Stein answered, quickly and professionally like someones life wasn’t at stake.
“He never had to come out here for me! We can at least wait for him, give him a chance-”
Stein cut me off
“None of us had to come here for you! We knew the risks so did Tuck. If we wait here now his sacrifice means nothing!”
Stein yelled at me. He was right, none of them needed to be out here but I still didn’t like leaving someone behind. As Frank and stein trudged forward Bianca and I hesitated a bit.
“I don’t want to leave him either but Stein’s right. Just lean on me and lets keep moving, we can come back later and look for his…”
Bianca trailed off before she could say body but I got the message, and if Bianca was moving forward I really didn’t have much of a choice.
We didn’t have to go far to find Shaoni, her usual deerskin clothing was ripped and stained with blood in places. All in all she didn’t look as bad as I thought she would. The light we saw at the entrance was coming from her tattoos as every one glowed brightly with blue light. The same light glowed faintly from four Thunderbird totems placed in the corners of the huge room.
“Welcome to my nest.”
Shaoni said with a dry chuckle, extending her arms out to her sides before immediately clasping them back over a wound in her side.
“Shaoni, are you… are you going to be alright.”
I asked, but before I could get any sort of answer I was interrupted by snarky laughter and a cocking gun.
“Well thanks for leading me right to where I wanted to be Keith.”
Katrina remarked as she walked into the room.
Bianca’s eyes glowed that all to familiar blue but Katrina was a step ahead of her.
“Yeah I wouldn’t try that if I were you. Sure you could force me to walk right out of here but it’s going to take a second to break me, longer than it would take me to pull this trigger.”
Katrina responded with a sneer, turning the gun on Bianca. Bianca jumped back like a scared cat. Ducking under my arm and putting all my weight back on my sprained ankle.
“Wait Don’t!… Argh!”
I cried out at her just before I fell to the ground.
“Ok, ok just… don’t.”
Bianca conceded, putting her hands up and backing away as the blue glow faded from her eyes. When he saw what Katrina was doing Frank wrestled Stein’s gun out of his hands and pointed it straight at Katrina, finger trembling on the trigger.
“Don’t you dare hurt her!”
Frank shouted, face turning red with fury.
“Well thats cute…”
And with an earsplitting bang Katrina turned and shot Frank in the leg. He fell to his knees, dropping the gun he’d been holding as Stein scrambled to hold him up.
“Don’t get in my way, don’t threaten me, and I won’t have to hurt anyone. Now Shaoni, where were we?”
Katrina cooed with murder in her voice as she took a step forward. I tried to pull myself up to my feet, only succeeding in making a pitiful cry as I fell back down again. Bianca flinched towards me but backed up fast when Katrina’s gaze shot her way.
“Keith, you’re still alive? I don’t know how you keep getting mixed into things but you’ve gotta learn when to just give up. I was supposed to kill all of you down there after the third trial. I gave you an out and you just stuck around. Tell you what though, you can still walk away cause I feel bad you got dragged into this in the first place. I have no idea what she was thinking, roping you into this with no idea about the supernatural at all.”
Katrina addressed me, pointing over at Shaoni after helping me to my feet. It hurt to stand but I was getting used to the pain.
“Above everything else I was supposed to kill the Thunderbird and thats what I’m going to do, after that you all can walk out of here.”
Katrina took slow steps toward Shaoni who simply glared at her. She didn’t try to run though, something told me she was ready, no matter how the next few minutes played out. But I had one more trick up my sleeve as I limped over, putting myself in between Shaoni and Katrina.
“She just wants out of all this Katrina! You have to know about where she came from, everything she’s been through!”
I yelled through gritted teeth, biting back the white hot pain shooting up from my ankle.
“I know enough It’s sad sure, but everyone’s got a sad story these days. She’s been flying around taking out whole towns to use as havens for people who want to follow this ass backwards sense of justice she’s got. I don’t want to become that person who’s hunting down supernaturals like her no questions asked just because I was ordered to. But in this case she’s responsible for hundreds of deaths. The “accidents” that happen in those towns are all her fault, and not all of them are as nice as Eagles Peak. The kind of people a town outside of any real form of government or law attracts aren’t the people you want to be neighbors with. She’s got to die Keith, so do you if your going to try and stop me.”
Katrina explained as she stalked closer to me. I really didn’t want to do what I knew I had to do next but I couldn’t watch anyone else die today.
“Alright, I guess there’s no other way then, Shaoni I’ll take on your burden.”
The whole room exploded into a chorus of “what” in varying degrees of shock but my mind was made up. I turned to Shaoni as she asked,
“Are you sure Keith?”
“Yes.”
Before anyone could recover from the shock of what I was about to do she reached out and grabbed my hands. I took hold of her’s and she said something in a language I couldn’t hope to understand as my vision went white.
When I could see again I was… somewhere else. Lightning flashed intermittently overhead and a grassy field extended out forever around me. In front of me stood a misty grey form of a bird it was huge, easily twice the size of the form I’d seen Shaoni take. Through its shifting misty form I could see Shaoni. The bird seemed to be talking to her but I couldn’t make anything out, I could only guess it was a Thunderbird spirit. It seemed to nod to Shaoni before it turned to me and stared me dead in the eyes. Its beak didn’t move, actually no part of it moved but I still heard its voice in my head as its eyes continued to boar into me.
“My chosen, Justice, claims she has lost her way, is this true?”
I couldn’t begin to describe how this voice sounded, powerful is the only word that came to mind. I didn’t feel like I was in any danger though, in fact I felt calmer than I ever had.
“She has.”
I got the sense that quick simple answers were probably best here.
“Justice spoke very highly of you. You offered to succeed her if she is to be believed.”
“I did, but how exactly do we-”
But I was cut off with a bow from the spirit who evaporated all around me. My vision blurred and everything went white again as I collapsed into the soft grass.
I came to on the floor next to Shaoni, it couldn’t have been that much later because neither of us had any new bullet holes in us.
“What did you just do?”
Katrina asked standing above me and looking absolutely stupefied.
“The Thunderbird is dead.”
Was my simple, potentially completely bullshit answer. Katrina looked from me to Shaoni and back again, eyes growing wide as the realization dawned on her.
“You know what? That works for me, just don’t cause us any trouble and we can just forget this whole thing ever happened. Oh, I like the new eyes by the way.”
With that Katrina walked off and climbed a rope ladder she had attached to the ground outside the hole we fell through.
Everything else that happened was a blur, we went back out and found pretty much all of Katrina’s men dead. Tuck was shot several times and barley breathing when Shaoni of all people found him. She called us over and Stein assured us he’d be alright if we got him back to the lab soon. We carried Tuck’s hairy form over to one of the SUV’s and raced back into town. On the way we drove past Katrina who’d also taken one of the SUV’s and was heading out of town. Bianca made a comment at some point that I looked different. When we got back to the house I looked in a mirror and saw my eyes where the same shade of grey Shaoni’s had been.
Speaking of Shaoni we took her with us, she followed us over to the car after she found Tuck. She looked a bit like a lost puppy at that point if I’m honest. I guess finally being able to live your life free of some strange sense of duty after hundreds of years will do that to you. Shaoni hasn’t actually said much since we settled back in at Bianca’s house. She eats and goes through the motions of normal life, she’ll even shoot you a warm smile if she catches you staring at her. I’m still not used to seeing her with green eyes though. I think she just feels lost but I’m ready to help show her the ins and outs of normal-ish life when she’s ready to ask for help.
Frank and Stein went back to doing their normal experimenting pretty fast. The whole thing past them by like a particularly eventful weekend. Even Frank’s bullet wound was quickly forgotten about. Pretty much as soon as he treated it it was like it never even happened to him. Tuck got back on his feet with a lot of help from Frank and Stein. He walks with a permanent limp now but other than that he’s fine. Richelle just about had a conniption when we told her what happened and she hasn’t left Tuck’s side since. She seemed surprised when we described his transformation and we came to find out he never told her about his, “Condition”. That may be why they’ve been so inseparable lately, she just wants to help him however she can and he sure isn’t complaining about that.
Tuck and Shaoni have been getting along as well. I never thought I’d see the day those two sat down and just talked but after a tense first few weeks they came to an understanding. They aren’t old friends now by any means but I’ve walked in on them both talking about their pasts. Maybe sharing stories helps them deal with living such long lives.
As for me and Bianca we started dating and thats been… well that’s been just great. I think its good for both of us cause after everything that happened at the old mine I was just a bundle of nerves. Having someone like her to talk to, someone who gets it, who’s seen so much worse helps put things in perspective. She finally has someone to really talk to in town too. Theres not a whole lot of trouble for us to get up to but we’ve started making a habit of pouring over Frank and Stein’s notes on the supernatural. Not the most riveting idea for a night in but I like learning more about whats really out there.
I still don’t feel any different after taking on Shaoni’s “burden”. Maybe that sense of duty she felt really was just all in her head, a promise to her people that she never let go. Honestly I haven’t tried to use whatever powers might come with my own condition. I just don’t feel like I need to. Like I told Katrina, the Thunderbird is dead. I’m sure not going to be the next Shaoni or anything like that but maybe It’ll help us find Brooke.
Thats the one thing that keeps Bianca and I up at night, we never found Brooke’s body. The two of us went up to the old mine a week or so after everything happened to look around for any sign of him but we didn’t find a trace. In fact the whole thing was cleaned up and the entrance to the mine was collapsed. I’m willing to bet whoever Katrina works for came back to try and wipe away any traces they may have left here. Maybe they found Brooke out there and dealt with him themselves, maybe he’s still out there somewhere. But for now everything’s been pretty calm, even normal around here.
Rocco is still a menace, Tuck still leaves the Eagle’s Roost door unlocked at all hours of the day, and theres still next to no people living here. Without Shaoni and her trials looming over me life is actually pretty good here. So that’s my story, how a storm and a huge bird dragged me halfway across the country and I started dating a succubus…right after I became the Thunderbird. It still seems crazy when I say it like that. Maybe I’ll dig up something on Brooke but for now I think I’ve finally found my new normal out here in the curiously named town with no Eagles and no Peaks.

I F(24) was visiting my college girlfriends in Louisville Kentucky for our second annual reunion at the Derby. One of my friends lives in the town right outside of Louisville and was hosting us.
We originally planned to go to a derby themed party on Friday night called Phillies and Stallions. The party had a list and half of the group got on the list. Those on the list could bring plus ones so our plan was to have the two girls who didn't get on the list be our plus ones. The host was one of the girls who did not get on the list leading up to the event kept mentioning that it would be okay if we went without her if she didn't make it. (Which is strange since she was the one hosting us) Come to find out her new boyfriend was guilting her for days about going to the party saying he couldn't believe she would "degrade herself to be a ploy for the hosting company to make money"
For context girls got into the party for free and men paid entrance and the event was sponsored by several different companies (Standard procedure for almost every party I've ever heard of) To make a long story short we did not end up going to the party because the hosts boyfriend made her feel so bad about it. Party aside we sat her down and told her as her friends we were worried for her and that her boyfriend was showing some serious red flags and the early signs of an abusive /controlling relationship. The conclusion of the conversation was that they would have a "talk on Sunday"
Fast forward to Sunday and the other girls were local to Indiana and were planning to head home. I flew from North Carolina and would be flying out Monday morning. The host informed us that Sunday she would be going to church and lunch with her boyfriend and parents- annoying since our Friday was already ruined bc of him and our girls trip had been planned for an entire year at this point and church can happen any other weekend- but decided not worth the fight so let it slide. I decided to go a workout class that morning with another college girlfriend of mine. I left before the host and as my other two friends were packing up to drive home they said goodbye to the host who was heading to church. They heard her say "oops I almost forgot my pool bag if it's nice we are having a pool day.
The two immediately texted me to ask if I knew anything about a pool day- I did not. They hung back to spend some time with me before going home as the host seemingly planned a whole day without me. We decided to pack up all my bags and I called a friend from college in the area to spend the day with him. Part of me felt bad for leaving. I did not hear a WORD from this girl the entire day until 10:30 PM when she came home to an empty apartment. I had her location throughout the day and saw she went to her parents pool, her grandparents house, a Mexican restaurant, a park, and out for ice cream. I her best friend flew across the country and by all accounts in her mind was rotting in her apartment in a city I didn't know without access to a car while she spent the whole day frolicking around the city with her boyfriend who lives 40 minutes away from her.
Upon arriving back home after not speaking to me all day I received a panicked call from her around 10:30 PM asking where I was. At this point I had a fun day involving a barcade, lunch, pool day and was headed to a bar at the time of her call. I was so grateful to my friend for taking me in on one of his only days off for the week. (He works in the service industry as a bartender and has crazy hours) I informed her that since she decided to abandon me I had sought out other plans for myself besides rotting on her couch as well as organized sleeping arrangements and transport to the airport since I clearly was not welcomed any longer. I expressed my disappointment with her choices and told her she was acting so far out of character that I didn't even recognize who she was anymore. The girl I previously knew was a bright ray of sunshine that lit up every room and never knew a stranger . The girl I spent the weekend with was anxious,easily irritated and spent most of her time typing novels of texts to her boyfriend on the phone. I told her to do some reflecting on the ways her relationship was changing her as an individual and a friend. I told her I was heading into a bar and not to bother me any further because her choices had already caused me and lot of feelings of sadness, stress, and betrayal.
I have since flown home and about two weeks have passed and I have yet to hear a word from her since our phone call. I personally have not reached out (and for context did not text her all day Sunday) because I believe it is not my responsibility. I did know she planned to have a conversation with her boyfriend on Sunday but was under no impression that she would be away all day and I would be left to fend for myself . I do feel a small level of guilt because it is clear that the relationship is affecting her judgement and as her friend I should always support her. But the other half of me feels like that I was not shown any consideration on her part and is holding on that feeling of betrayal.
I'm afraid our friendship is beyond repair at this point . Some have said that I am at fault for not intimating a conversation about my thoughts on the events of the weekend. AITAH for leaving and waiting to hear from her?