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@theducktator @koshka @keilah-h
Brace adjustments XDXD They put in these rubber bands two days ago and now I can’t chew.
āEverything is a mountainā
Ugh, braces are the worst. š
Communist jokes arenāt funny unless everyone gets them.
Oooof, those are such a pain. I think I basically starved myself for a day and a half after one set.
First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
@whalekeeper ooof.
I have braces, but they’re the clear plastic ones that come on and off. I think I made the right choice with that instead of the metal ones.
Where'd I get ya this time? The liver? The kidney? I'm runnin' outta places to put holes in ya.
š«£
I may have to get braces…that sounds horrible
Now I really don’t want themš but I also want straight teeth; such conflicting feelings.
I wanted Invisalign, but apparently my mouth isn’t big enough for all of my teeth to even fit in my head, so I’ll probably have to get braces and spacers š I meannn, I had a dentist tell me that the molars that were supposed to come in when I was 12 never came in bc there isn’t enough room in my mouth š¤·š»āāļø
seriously though, I hope you feel better soon <3
What is strength?
Strength, my son, is being who God has called you to be.@keilah-h ikr? About timeš
heh
heh
heh
y’all don’t wanna know what I have planned for Riker AND Leon
hehehe
š
@koshka Indeed!Yess, indeed, the poor man still needs a lot of help <3
Ty for reading and your kind thoughts!! šš
ME TOOOOO šššš *hugs Riker tight*
Awww, girl, I’m so glad you’re doing better now *hug* I’ve felt that way before too. You are not alone, and whenever you need someone to talk to, pls reach outš„°š I will get to you as soon as I can <3
What is strength?
Strength, my son, is being who God has called you to be.@freedomwriter76
Aww thanks!!!!! That means a lot <3
Are the rubber bands the things that connect to your top bracket and your bottom band? because that’s what I have (though i can take mine out for eating and stuff). They hurt so bad and I hate them!
Braces just suck :/
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333ohhh haha after all this time I am still tagging you by your old tag…oops
Lukas&Livia
#Lalbert
Sef&Chase
#HOTTOLINE
LEFSE FOREVER!!!!!! <333@rae @koshka @smiley @esther-c @keilah-h @savannah_grace2009 @anyone-else-lol
Now I have the full Riker scene š„°šāØ
anyone wanna read??? šš
His arms ached beneath the weight of the hefty wooden box; his fingers strained to keep a steady grip on the material.
Riker lifted the container onto a sturdy metal shelf; he pushed the large box back, creating room for whatever else needed to be stored within the warehouse.
He wiped his dirt-flecked hands on his tan trousers and stepped into a room adjoining the warehouse where meetings were usually held but where a friendly conversation instead took place. āHerr Kotler?ā
The stout, pudgy man turned his head to face Riker, cigarette smoke forming a thin trail from his lips. He raised a single eyebrow and leaned back in his seat. āAre you finished?ā
āYessir.ā
Kotler gave a slow nod. He ran a single, plump, and pale finger across his black lampshade moustache, his gray-blue eyes twinkling with an ounce of delight. āI see. Well, since I know how much you need and how little you have to do, I request that you work the front counter for a few hours and give Frau Kotler a break.ā
He was requestedāneededāat the hospital. Heād promised Lina he would visit her since he hadnāt yet done so all week long. āSirāā
āIām sure you have plenty of time, Herr Schind, and I know how much money is hard to come by these days. Iām sure you couldnāt complain about extra money in your paycheck, Riker, and Iām certain neither would your father.ā The man mused, nodding to his guest, his longtime friend, that heād held a conversation with for an hour or longer.
Franz nodded, taking a sip of his alcoholic beverage. āI couldnāt complain. Herr Kotler has been a friend for years, Rikerā¦his son Otto and you were once friends,ā Franzās coal eyes narrowed, āso would you want his business, so short staffed, to fail because you couldnāt work a few extra hours?ā
Friends was far from the correct word, but the look in his fatherās eyes left Rikerās lips powerless to voice such a fact. So, merely, he shook his head.
Franz nodded in faintāthough not at all completeāapproval and raised his own cigarette to his lips. āGood. Now go work the counter.ā
Riker ducked out of the room and into the main foyer of the warehouse that also operated as a small storefront. Kotlerās wife showed where the money was kept, where certain things not held in the warehouse were stored and departed the moment she finished.
He ran his hands against his face, through his hair, and groaned. Heād break a promise to Lina, again. He hated to do itā¦he hated it so much.
The small silver bell above the door rang; the shrill alarm blared inside Rikerās ears. Boots echoed across the polished wooden floor; Riker raised his head. He met familiar bright blue eyes; his breath hitched. āE-Erich?ā
The blonde, former Schutzstaffel officerās eyes widened, and his eyebrows raised. Slowly, a smile registered on his face. āā¦Riker?ā
Erich Braunā¦Riker hadnāt seen him sinceā¦sinceā¦since he had helped rescue Erich from Hans, who wished to kill the officer for lying on his enlistment papers.
āRiker, it is you! Howā¦how are you?ā
āI-Iām fine,ā Riker drummed his fingers on the wooden counter, āhow are you?ā
Erich smiled, the arrogance Riker once witnessed in Erichās eyes no longer present, his demeanor lacking what it used to be, altogether new. āAmazing. Iāve never felt this way before.ā
āDo you need something?ā
āNo, not exactly,ā Erich shrugged, āIām looking for something for Ellie. The MP is just outsideāā
āMP?ā
āMilitary Police. I turned myself in to the Americans; I thought it was the right thing to do.ā
Riker merely nodded. It didnāt truly matter why Erich came, or what he neededāāEverything has changed, Riker. Iāve found everything Iāve ever craved. And Iām sorry, Riker.ā
āErichāā
āNo, listen. I treated you horribly, Riker, and Iām sorry. I treated you with anger, hatred, envy, contempt, and treated you as if you were worth less than Iām worth. I treated you unfairly and saw you as nothing more than an obstacle in my way of achieving what I once wanted more than anything else, and Iām sorry. Iāll never be able to undo what I did, and Iāll regret the way I treated youā¦the way I helped kill Finā¦for the rest of my life. I canāt make up for what Iāve done, and I-Iāve learned that I donāt have to.ā
Riker chewed on his bottom lip, tapping a simple pen against the counter, in time with the polished clock upon the wall. He wanted to speak up, to ask Erich who hit him in the head, ask him why he was acting like he was the polar opposite of the man Riker had once known him to be, but he couldnāt seem to force his mouth to move.
āI found the love Iāve always cravedā¦the value I could never see in myselfā¦the attention I always soughtā¦and forgiveness I could never give to myself. I almost lost everything, Riker. I almost lost my wifeā¦my sonā¦the baby girl that was in my wifeās stomach all those months ago and is now out in this world. I lost myself. But when I couldnāt find myself, God found me. It hasnāt been easy, but he did find meā¦even in all of my sin, knowing all of the things Iāve done, the people Iāve used, the innocent lives Iāve endedā¦he chose to find me. I saw his love demonstrated through Esther, through Ellieāā
āEsther is your friend and Ellie is your wife, Erich. Of course they wouldāā
āAnd through you.ā
The pen hit the floor with a quiet, muffled click. Rikerās lips moved; he whispered slowly, shakily, āā¦What?ā
Erich sighed, ran a hand through his blonde waves, and faced Riker again, his round bright blue eyes brimmed with tears. āHans was going to kill me. I lied on my enlistment formsā¦I lied about my lineage that I couldnāt know anything aboutā¦and I was going to die for it. But then you came, to save me from Hansā¦to save me from the execution I knew I deserved, knowing how harsh I was, knowing how horribly I had treated you, knowing that my actions led to Finās much too soon death, but you saved me anyway. You forgave me for everything I did even when I didnāt apologize. That was Godās love, Riker, demonstrated through you.ā
He couldnāt speak. He couldnāt move. His lips felt sticky. His legs felt leaden.
āHeās saved me, Rikerā¦heās forgiven me for everything Iāve ever done. I donāt have to make up for what I did, for the wrongs I committed, for the lives I endedā¦because Christ already paid the punishment for all of it in full. I donāt have to make up for what Iāve done, because heās already paid the price of atonement.ā
āNoā¦no, Erich. It-itās not for men like me.ā Riker whispered, voice hoarse, every word quivering.
āBut it is, Riker. If itās not for men like you, then itās not for men like me.ā
His head reeled; his heart pounded against his ribcage. But it wasnātāit wasnāt for mistakes. It wasnāt for murders. It couldnāt be. It couldnāt be true, butā¦butāāHold yourself together, Riker, of course itās not for men like youā.
āYou know what Iāve doneā¦the man I once was. If God can redeem me, then do you really think his grace isnāt for Riker Schind too?ā
It-it wasnāt. It couldnāt be! It was impossible, even absurd. If he felt like laughing, heād laugh at the insanity of it. āN-no, Erich. It-Itā¦ā
Erichās eyes dimmed with understanding, even sympathy. Slowly, softly, he whispered, āWhat if God does want you, and what if youāre the one thatās been pushing him away?ā
Erich soon departed on orders of the American officer; Rikerās head didnāt stop the relentless throbbing; his mind didnāt ease off on the incessant reeling. He battled through almost two and a half hours, helping customers when needed, keeping everything sorted, everything in its proper place, pretending to be fine when he was anything but.
He left as soon as dismissed, stepping out into a gentle rain; he plodded down the streets, every step threatening to spin his head once again.
What if Erich was right? What if grace was available? What if God did have love for men like Riker Schind? What if God did have mercy for murderers?
Would Isaiah, Fin, and Jennie lie? Would Isaiah lie about the fact that God was merciful? Would Fin lie about his past and how God had changed him entirely? And would Jennie, sweet, beloved, wonderful Jennie, his Mama, lie about the fact that Riker was loved and deemed precious by both her and God himself?
He knew they deserved his respect and his kindness, even his trust.
So, could he trust that what they said about himself and about Godā¦was true?
Franz never kept his promises. His father hardly remembered what heād said only moments before. His father had backed out of his word time and time again. His father had lied, countless times, to Jennie, to Angelina, and to Riker. So, if he liedā¦if he never kept his promisesā¦if he backed out of his word time and time againā¦were his words, his belief that Riker was a mistakeā¦a lie all along?
Had Riker believed a lie his entire life? Had Riker built his every beliefā¦his life itselfā¦on a lie?
Did God love him just as so many said? Did God want Riker Schind, despite his flaws? Did God want to forgive him, no matter how many sins Riker had committed?
People said he only had to believe, repent, and surrender himself to the creator of the universe. God was holy, yes, but was it possible that he was also loving, forgiving, and merciful as so many claimed?
Was God not the cruel, distant, unforgiving God Riker always believed him to be? What if God was loving? What if God wasnāt waiting to strike sinners down with lightning? What if Riker could walk into a church without the roof caving in above him? What if everything heād believedā¦everything heād trusted to be cruel yet trueā¦everything he thought he knew about Godā¦was also a lie all along?
What if redemption wasnāt impossible? What if he wasnāt too far gone for mercy? What if there was hope? What if he was wrong and so many others wereā¦right?
Something inside told him it was impossible; another part of him said it was true. But all of himā¦all of him hoped that he was wrong all along, that there was indeed still hope of redemption for the likes of Riker Schind.
Maybe he hoped against hope; maybe he wished for what was never to be. But what was the harm in trying? Could Riker come to God? Would God welcome him, or would he turn his back? Had the price of atonement truly already been paid?
It seemed impossible, maybe even absurd, to think that a man as sinful as him could be redeemed.
But Erichā¦Erich also believed that heād been redeemed. And the way he walked inā¦the difference in his gazeā¦it was hard for Riker to deny that something was so vastly different from the man he once knew.
So, who was right?
Riker and his father? Or Isaiah, Fin, Jennie, Ezekiel, Aadelheide, Angelina, Louisa, Erich, and so many others?
Was it possible for God to be a God of holiness and love?
Had Riker judged Godās character on how others acted? Had he decided he knew how God was based on how some people had treated him?
What if others were right?
What if God was nothing like Franz? What if God did love him, like a father should?
His own four children, since Iris must have had the baby, were safe in the United States with his beloved wifeā¦would Riker not do anything in his power to protect them, to let them know that he loved them?
Sweat dripped from his chin; his fingers clammed. Riker pulled off his coat and rolled up his shirtsleeves, despite the cold October wind, despite the falling rain. He wiped perspiration from his forehead.
Heād seen fathers that protected their children and would do anything for them. Heād seen fathers that saw their children as something precious, children they loved dearly. Not all fathers were like Franz.
Not all fathers were cruel.
Not all fathers had to be drug home drunk.
Not all fathers stormed out of the house and left broken things and broken people in their wake.
Was God nothing like Franz?
Was there still hope yet?
What is strength?
Strength, my son, is being who God has called you to be.@savannah_grace2009 TYSM!!!!
I had so much fun writing itš„°š„°šš
What is strength?
Strength, my son, is being who God has called you to be.@smiley TYSM!!!
I guess y’all should also have a Leon update, but I will have to work on a good scene firstš
idk if you saw the scene with Leon/Isaiah and the bar fightš
What is strength?
Strength, my son, is being who God has called you to be.*Sniffle*
I think I love Erich now.
First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Same
He becomes absolutely wonderful after he gets redeemed; I really wanted him to be an example of how powerful God’s redemption can be, and how it can change someone completely around š
because, trust me, he will be an absolute JERK in Freedom’s Fire and even his own book, Out of Love
What is strength?
Strength, my son, is being who God has called you to be.
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