#forgivengrace

I was tagged by crazyotaku13! :3 Bless you for tagging me, my dear! <33 You're lovely. *snuggles*

Alright, things that make me happy:

God, first and foremost.

My family and my best friend. :3

Watching any of my favorite films/seeing a new movie in theaters.

Tom Hiddleston. ;3

Now, I do understand that this week has been very stressful and exhausting for many of us (beautiful and lovely forgiven-grace is always powering through and going through every hardship with the greatest courage, and sweet fireandicewillsuffice has certainly been enduring and working so hard, the brave dear), so I want to let you all know that I'm here if you need me. It's been quite difficult, and we all need some luvvin' and some relaxin'. I am so proud for every person who struggles through these trials and still comes out with a smile, even if it's a tired one, or even a frown, which still has you standing.

And if your week's been great and beautiful and filled with opportunity, I am sooooo happy for you and proud of you for the work you've done to get where you are! ;3 We all have our good days and our bad, but the sun's always there to scare away the darkness, you know? So, if you've reached that sunshine and are so incandescently glad, then I am so incandescently glad that you are. Because you deserve it. All of you do!

I am absolutely ecstatic and downright privileged to announce that today is the 24th birthday of my best friend in the world, Jessie (forgiven-grace), who has had such a gentle and forgiving hand in my life from the moment she sent me a message on here four months ago about an edit I made. Not only is she a beautiful author with a brilliant mind for imagination and a phenomenal talent in creating organically emotional works of literature, she is one of God's special creations that is perfectly imperfect with all of her aging scars, wonderful passions, past pains, and happy wishes that make my life in particular all the more enjoyable.

Our relationship as Christians, friends, and sisters, as well as our complete knowledge that our friendship was planned from the beginning of our lives, develops more and more each day. She has experienced my exact trials and hardships, our minds seem to be literally connected even from across the country, we share nearly every single passion and adoration, we understand each other's aches and sorrows, we accept every quirk and flaw in each other. Sometimes I become completely shocked at the insanity of us being so alike. It's amazing. And despite each of us living on the completely opposite ends of the country, we have grown into the exact people we both needed in broken times, and we have done so through texting throughout every day, speaking on the phone at least once every afternoon, and webcamming when our circumstances allow us to. I am so proud to sit here and live as proof that meeting someone online could be the greatest moment of your entire life, and that sometimes, God's plans are not restricted to the people already in your life.

God molded her with an entirely unique and meaningful purpose in this world, and it shines brightly through every 'good morning' and 'goodnight' text I receive from her. Her heart is blatantly swollen with love for His people, her devotion to her goals is unable to be matched by most, her intelligence is beyond the limits of someone without the determination to pursue their dreams, her depth in personality and passion never seems to meet an end, and her charming, sweet, adorable, and loving life is a testimony that there are people who still care about others. Who want to help the world become a better place while welcoming in new generations, rather than growing darker by all of the shadows that try to cover it.

It would be an understatement to simply say that she 'changed my life', because she has done so much more than that. She has aided me in becoming the follower of Christ that He meant me to be, the passionate dreamer that He gave me the heart to be, and the best friend that He always planned me to be. She has helped me shape my life in the way that it was intended, and I cannot ever express with words just how thankful I am. Without her, I would be an entirely different person, and that's one of the most obvious things to me. She has urged my life onto the right path, and even when she believes she isn't helping me with a simple word of encouragement or jovial smile on the webcam, she is helping my heart grow even larger for God's people and for the things I love. There is a lesson learned from her with every new day; one that always stays with me until I learn how to apply it to my own life.

There was a time when I never believed that there would be a best friend intended for me and me specifically. Not one single friend I could call 'my own best friend'. One that I could always run to with a silly problem, have both intellectual conversations and incomprehensible ramblings with, share every single one of my passions with, be completely comfortable in the presence of, and be entirely accepted and loved by. One that God reminds me about by showing us just how special we are and how He planned our friendship from the very beginning. And even though it makes me emotional enough to experience happy tears, realizing every day that I have my best friend is something I could never put a price on. And I could never thank God enough.

My greatest ally, my beautiful sister, my amazing influence, my brilliant inspiration, and my very best friend Jessie... I love you more than I could ever say. Ever. I grow to love you more and more through every issue, every trial, every morning, afternoon, and night. You're perfect, and I am just to thankful for you. I'm so grateful. And one day, we'll get to see each other from across an airport or even in one our driveways, and we'll hug each other after wanting to for so so long. God's blessed me with one of the greatest people in my life in you. Have the most beautiful and perfect birthday you've ever had, Jessie.

Love,

Your Izzybee. <333

-

Far away, long ago Glowing dim as an ember Things my heart used to know Things it yearns to remember

And a song someone sings Once upon a December...

With such incredibly beautiful imagery and a premise of deliciously brilliant complexity, Malenkaya has crawled up my list of favorite (not only Avengers fictions, but all) fictions with the greatest of ease. Each individual scene carries its own tune and bears its own aches that create a haven in the deepest parts of you, and the words and movements of every character bring such wonderful justice to the films/comics themselves.

Building such a glorious and promising adventure atop a famed fragment of history and a wonderful corner of Norse Mythology is one of the cleverest ideas I have seen, both in published novels and in fanfiction. An ambiance of complete bewilderment, anticipation, and heroism bleeds from each statement, despite that the two main characters have blood smeared on their pasts. It shifts your views on both the people and the situations, and it tinkers with your abilities to harbor anything but love for them.

As readers, we are engulfed by waves of familiarity from the films/comics and from the Romanova legend that impact you in such a wild abundance of ways, provoking aches, tears, joy, laughter, and determination that is rarely experienced from such stories. And yet, this one manages it so skillfully and gracefully, nearly scooping a reader up with every single layer of emotion laced into its fantastic complexities and abnormalities.

Malenkaya possesses moments; not a simple chapter or an overseen building of plot. I witnessed moments that remained with me, echoing in the back of my mind in the most beautiful, enlightening ways. Moments of anger, happiness, pain, frustration, sorrow, and pleasure that fuel your entire spirit, plucking at your every drive to write, solve, ponder, and feel. You witness an experience that knocks the breath from your lungs and the beats from your heart, because in some unfathomable way, it moves you.

This novella - this masterpiece of such phenomenal intricacy and enrapturing emotions that deserves the mightiest applause for its greatness - has my sincerest adoration, respect, and love, not only because it was written by my best friend, but because it is deserving of more than even the highest amounts of praise.

This was made for my beautiful friend Jessie, who really is more of a sister to me than a friend. But, at the same time, she's one of the greatest friends God could bless someone with. She's the perfect Natasha to my Loki, and she deserves way more love than only I can give to her.