Two Crows Watch from the Gallows Tree (part 9)

(omg so I think for the RP with lehmanf I'm going to bring in my main character for Jerica's story, 'cause I need to develop him and I feel like it fits. Problem is that in canon he's an evil spirit named 'Biryn' who has possessed a body. And he has 'Lord' as an honorific. So his name is literally Lord Biryn. Clearly I need to manufacture a last name for this. So I was using a name generator and it suggested Biryn Brady which I definitely read as Biryn Baby and that is not a mental image I was prepared for lmao)

Ky sighed, rubbing her face. "Yeah... I really should be used to being a disappointment by now... and yet it always hits me right in the ego."

(Aw heck yeah I love it though XD Maybe he is a proud father of a Biryn Baby and is named Biryn Brady.)

"Good that you still have an ego, though," she pointed out. "And he'll get over it quickly, I'm sure."

(pls no xD imagine there being a little demon baby running around)

"He already has," she muttered. "You saw how he was acting; he probably doesn't remember I exist, much less remember insulting me."

(Just a little antichrist terrorizing these conservative white townsfolk)

"He will tomorrow," Ada assured her. "And he has a great memory."

(haha omg -- yeah it should be fun turning Biryn loose lol trying to figure out if I want my townsperson to be decent or also bring in another asshole lol lowkey contemplating the villain from one of the other sisters' novels... would have to scale him back a bit, though. He's a cannibal in canon lol)

"Mm." Ky sighed. "Honestly, at this point, I feel like he and I should just stop interacting. He's either insulting me or I'm pissing him off, or both at once."

(Would be great to have someone for Reverend Nicholas to bitch with or to be rivals with XD I planned on making him evil but as I thought about it he's mostly just sad and lonely and brainwashed)

"Then just don't interact with him."

(hahah yeah that's fair -- getting very loose Gaius vibes from him lol grumpy old man -- that's a good point, though. Could be interesting to have an actual Lutheran instead of just the cult for poor reverend xD)

Ky nodded. "He probably wouldn't even notice."

(I wish I had some experience as a Lutheran; I have a feeling I'll be asking my mom a lot of questions since her family used to be Swedish Lutheran)

"I bet he would. But if he makes you uncomfortable then just avoid him."

(They seem like an interesting bunch! I grew up evangelical baptist and am now aggressively anti-all that bullshit lol but a Lutheran preacher recently started chatting me up in a bar and was actually chill? And said that god is chill with being queer? And he didn’t judge me for being shitfaced when I was talking to him? It was a very new experience from the pearl clutching I grew up around you know?)

“Meh.” Ky shrugged, closing her eyes again. “I wish I could blink and it’d be 7 months from now.”

(Oh nice!!! That sounds like a good Lutheran, then.)

"In seven months the gods might be awake," she pointed out.

(yeah! ngl I still have his business card and I eye it here and there contemplating going to check out one of his services, but I have so much religious trauma the thought of stepping into a church feels icky... we shall see. I'm not gonna push anything)

Ky was glad her eyes were closed because they instantly filled with tears. Everything was so bad. She pressed her palms against her eyes and didn't respond, staying completely silent. She wasn't allowed to make noise if she wanted to cry.

(Have you looked at any Unitarian Universalist congregations in your area? They're generally very welcome and have a lot of different beliefs mixed in. Very queer-friendly too.)

Ada watched her, brow furrowed. "Hopefully that doesn't happen, though, right? It's only an 'if'."

(ooh no! I don't think I even knew that denomination existed lol I recently joined The Church of the Prismatic Light -- which was established this month exclusively for the purpose of their religious tenants being pro-woman and pro-queer so religious liberties would protect those rights... dunno how it's gonna go, but I'm here for it haha)

Ky took a deep breath that wavered as she inhaled and swallowed hard, but they were the only things that betrayed her. She wiped the tears away with a single motion and settled with a heavy sigh. She glared straight at the side of the bed. "I wish one of them would have succeeded."

(That's so cool and wonderful!! I'd never heard of that before!)

"Who?"

(It's brand new! They just did like last week I think get 401c non-profit status and are filing to become a recognized religion. But yeah! I'm excited to be a part of it haha)

"Take your pick," she said bitterly. "Borrond... Aleth... Jaerek... I shouldn't have run. I'm always running. I should have just..." She rubbed her face in frustration.