#After a certain point i just gave up and used a slew of name generators.

[grey-eyed-menace]

Pokémon GO Project - Important Members [And Team Rocket Associates]

Professor Luther Willow

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Blissey - Aeris

Sableye - Rin

Wobuffet - Luffy

Hitmonchan - Baki

Electabuzz - Volkner

Dusknoir - Elizabeth

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Personal Assistant Altair Crawford

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Eevee - Loki

Fennekin - Puck

Nickit - Hermes

Vulpix - Eris

Zorua - Fey

Lillipup - Laika

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Valor Leader Candela Anias Flint

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Flareon - Arthur

Houndoom - Guinevere

Arcanine - Elaine

Typhlosion - Gawain

Mighteyena - Ector

Greninja - Mordred

[Moltres]

__________________

Valor Vice Leader Asher Fiona Hassenfeld

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Arcanine - Rider

Aegislash - Assassin

Delphox - Caster

Falinks - Lancer, Avenger, Pretender, Shielder, Healer, Masker

Pangoroth - Berserker

Lucario - Saber

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Valor Elite Four Hawthorne

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Xatu - Sier

Accelgor - Roxanna

Rampardos - Vardi

Whimsicott - Niva

Druddigon - Jameson

Meowstic - Mixtape

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Valor Elite Four Cedric Uvall

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Clefable - Nema

Zangoose - Limosis

Yanmega - Nexation

Meganium - Xerasia

Gastrodon - Reglet

Mamoswine - Cruset

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Valor Elite Four Everild Nairn

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Tyranitar - Synastry

Mightyena - Jura

Eelektross - Natsu

Glalie - Lucy

Altaria - Grey

Umbreon - Ferrer

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Valor Elite Four Priscilla Dougherty

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Beautifly - Yulma

Gigaleth - Timow

Magnezone - Santa

Crawdaunt - Virtuous

Granbull - Carrot

Simipour - Irenic

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Valor Secretary Iracebeth Lewis

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Cubchoo - Wasabi

Gorebyss - Beaut

Tropius - Pecha

Pachirisu - Morling

Ralts - Delight

Swellow - Cyanic

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Valor Intern Urisha Matthews

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Whimsur - Snout

Decidueye - Sioux

Illumise - Amok

Shiinotic - Echard

Flygon - Forte

Torkoal - Camelot

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Valor Intern Verrill Cloutier

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Kirila - Kiaa

Bellsprout - Tardis

Girafarig - Harvey

Milcery - Allira

Farfetch'd - Chiral

Cloyster - Zing

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Nexus Leader Aaron Brodeur

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Espeon - Adam

Dragonair - Esmeray

Primplup - Neptune

Togekiss - Jack The Potential Killer

Staraptor - Zephyr

Serperior - Erika

[Lugia]

[Audino - Ayato]

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Nexus Vice-Leader Yarrow Cael

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Gothitelle - Vesper

Medicham - Mikaela

Gallade - Mirai

Liligant - Daffodil

Lieperd - Mina

Weavile - Eburnean

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Nexus Elite Four Serafina Aldebrand

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Breloom - Bellini

Starmie - Gibson

Simisage - Lemon-Drop

Leafeon - Daiquiri

Banette - Zombie

Sandslash - Hurricane

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Nexus Elite Four Moira Harper

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Floatzel - Orchesis

Heracross - Greaves

Bisharp - Kitana

Boltund - Esperanto

Beartic - Rooks

Swampert - Kitt

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Nexus Elite Four Gaius Birindelli

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Wigglytuff - Ullagone

Florges - Peracute

Chandelure - Nebulous

Grumpig - Darcy

Aromatisse - Stormy

Absol - Icy

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Nexus Elite Four Zachariah Morgenstern

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Raichu - Mana

Sawk - Chroma

Escavalier - Sunshine

Primarina - Moonbeam

Ariados - Peter

Simisear - Danish

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Nexus Secretary Aven Viktor

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Salandit - Revomp

Pansear - Wardin

Roselia - Valbur

Seviper - Siccar

Natu - Terce

Mime Jr. - Pepper

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Nexus Intern Maxine Davenport

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Gothita - Aimeè

Pupitar - Era

Seel - Winston

Roggenrola - Megan

Flaffy - Lord Business

Lumineon - Jason

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Nexus Intern Nathaniel Knight

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Grubbin - Rosella

Yamper - Fido

Baltoy - Zaler

Pawniard - Gucci

Mudbray - Clayton

Shinx - Jenkins

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Instinct Leader Spark Audra

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Jolteon - Joanna (Sosipatra)

Infernape - Diotima

Pidgeot - Descartes

Reuniclus - Euclid

Honchkrow - Nietzsche

Emolga - Wittgenstein

[Zapdos]

[Igglybuff]

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Instinct Vice Leader Yanagi Sakuya

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Cinderace - Emberella

Gallade - Sora

Gardevoir - Freya (Seii)

Drapion - Yoru

Indeedee - Kise

Watchog - Akira

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Instinct Elite Four Lucília Vales

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Linoone - Zigs

Carracosta - Devance

Chimecho - Historia

Delibird - Nicholas

Dustox - Martim

Shiftry - Yvette

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Instinct Elite Four Athanasia Aldebrand

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Braviary - Winger

Pyroar - Karma

Vivillion - Mariposa

Rhyperior - Sphinx

Armaldo - Nova

Weavile - Azure

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Instinct Elite Four Vlastimir Gajević

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Octillery - Vallum

Throh - Welkin

Nidoqueen - Quinn

Nidoking - Badder

Mismagius - Vicenary

Bouffalant - Osso

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Instinct Elite Four Zephyr Licht

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Sableye - Sulfur

Leavanny - Penelope

Golduck - Bernard

Musharna - Fantasia

Bastiodon - Daniel

Furret - Scarf

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Instinct Secretary Zevthon McKay

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Horsea - Dree

Pinsir - Scalpel

Lunatone - Livia

Solrock - Ceres

Marill - Chevaline

Blipbug - Champagne

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Instinct Intern Yamamoto Maki

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Wurmple - Nanette

Lombre - Mystique

Frillish - Overlord

Stufful - Fluff

Cutiefly - Sikon

Magmar - Davenport

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Instinct Intern Sybil Edwards

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Chespin - Arturia

Clobbopus - Jacqueline

Elekid - Sparky

Taillow - Steria

Maractus - Ohio

Darumaka - Aina

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Mystic Leader Blanche Laverre

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Vaporeon - Nerima

Empoleon - Sol

Froslass - Enzò

Slowking - Regis

Aurorus - Quinnton

Weavile - Corrin

[Articuno]

[Popoillo - Dulcie]

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Mystic Vice Leader Gabrielle Morgendy

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Gengar - Teddie

Tangrowth - Sweets

Golisopod - Adorna

Wobuffet - Mena

Walrein - Opal

Zebstrika - Henry the Great

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Mystic Elite Four Bernard Payne

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Watchog - Andersen

Ambipom - Grimm

Vanilluxe - DeQuille

Ampharos - Austen

Abomasnow - Tolstoy

Venomoth - Stokwr

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Mystic Elite Four Xerxes Griffyn

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Passimian - Tartaglia

Salamance - Mandrake

Exeggutor - Sunny

Quagsire - Esda

Seismitoad - Barbatos

Malamar - Sophie

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Mystic Elite Four Sorrel Aldebrand

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Delcatty - Marble

Vikavolt - Pichi

Meinshao - Whiz

Vileplume - Grandios

Swanna - Razia

Cacturne - Anemone

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Mystic Elite Four Hariel Avant

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Hariyama - Marlette

Crabominable - Petra

Serperior - Anneal

Cherrim - Caryatid

Jynx - Nentian

Lycanroc - Piem

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Mystic Secretary Dietrich Albrecht

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Smeargle - Xue

Lantern - Misa

Rotom - Rhythm

Comfey - Krys

Sentret - Zeta

Trubbish - Maroon

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Mystic Intern Kimisawa Gou

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Manetric - Ikazuchi

Charmeleon - Rekka

Glaceon - Ame

Auzmarill - Kiriko

Rockruff - Iwao

Eevee - Hinata

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Mystic Intern Takanashi Kouya

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Slurpuff - Amai

Plusle - Ichiro

Minun - Jiro

Slowbro - Niiko

Scrafty - Satsuki

Ratatta - Kaida

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Rocket Boss Giovanni Marchetti

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Persian - Celeste

Rhyhorn - Selina

Nidoking - Inessa

Nidoqueen - Stone

Dugtrio - Riven

Steelix - Overton

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Rocket Executive Arlo Laurier

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Scizor - Garnet

Riolu - Sapphire

Salamance - Agate

Gardevoir - Onyx

Dragonite - Carnelian

Blastoise - Moonstone

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Rocket Executive Sierra Wheeler

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Blaziken - Flashlight

Lapras - Waverider

Houndoom - Bells

Alakazam - Nari

Absol - Lawrence

Shiftry - Eldin

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Rocket Executive Clifford 'Cliff' Holloway

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Luxray - Otis

Charizard - Bernard

Tyranitar - Frederick

Swampert - Edinburgh

Electivire - Rexford

Torterra - Spokeshave

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Rocket Executive Charlotte Vivas

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Banette - Tessellate

Beartic - Tala

Corviknight - Mottle

Kecleon - Aeon

Cinccino - Ria

Hitmonlee - Bruce

[lailoken]

‘Dark and Demon Dogs’

“Haunting the coastline from the Wash to the Deben and beyond, and inland along the Peddars Way into the Brecklands, on marshland roads and mudflats, through the Fens and into the Broads, pads the ancient terror known as Black Shuck. For many hundreds of years the legend of the ghostly black hound has been kept alive and is probably the best known of all East Anglian spectres, still appearing to people today. He is typically seen as a huge, great, black shaggy hound, with blazing red eyes and dragging rattling chains behind him, instilling terror into all he comes upon and considered a portent of impending death or doom by most. Although generally called Black Shuck, he is known by many other names too; the Galleytrot, Old Scarfe, Owd Rugman, Shug Monkey and the Hateful Thing being some, although some form of Shuck or Shuggy is most common. Nor is he always a large black hound, appearing as anything from the size of a Labrador (shrinking into a cat!), a white rabbit in Thetford, to a calf or a donkey and even a monkey on a few occasions. Sometimes he was invisible, only his fierce breath, padding feet, fearful howls or the clanking of his chains giving evidence of his presence. Sometimes he could be seen without his head, but always with his glowing eyes appearing in the middle of where his head should be. One tale from Garveston in Norfolk goes;

‘They du speak of a dog that walks regular. They call him Skeff and his eyes are as big as saucers and blaze wi' fire. He is fair as big as a small wee pony and his coat is all skeffy-like, shaggy coat across, like an old sheep. He has a lane, and a place out of which he come, and he vanish when be bev gone far enough.’

Another informant from the village of Clopton, Suffolk, reported, 'a thing with two saucer eyes', on the road to Woolpit. It would not move out of his way but grew larger and larger as it breathed: 'I shall want you within a week'. The man died the next day.

One Christmas day in the middle of the 19th. Century, Black Shuck pushed against a small, blind boy who was standing on Thetford Bridge with his older sister. The little boy plaintively asked his sister to send the big dog away, but his sister assured him that there was no dog anywhere near them. However, the terrified boy insisted that there was, and that it was trying to push him into the water to drown him. The sister then felt the poor boy being carried away from her; she realised then that what he could feel, and she could not see, must be the terrible Black Shuck that she had heard so much about. Just as her little brother was about to be pushed into the water, she dragged him back from the edge and, hand- in-hand, they rushed off back to their waiting parents at home.

Villagers in the Waveney Valley round about Geldeston call it the ‘Hateful Thing', or the 'Churchyard or Hell-beast'. One old village woman claimed that she saw it one night on the road between Gillingham and Geldeston. She tells the story in the following words;

'It was after I bad been promised to Josh that I saw the Hateful Thing. We met Mrs S. and she started to walk with us. I beard something like a dog running pit-pat-pit- pat-pit-pat. "I wonder what that dog wants", I said to Mrs S. I was walking between Josh and Mrs S. and I lay hold on Mrs S's. arm and she say "It's in front of us; look, there it be." Just in front was what looked like a big, black dog; but it wasn't a dog at all; it was the Hateful Thing and it betokened some great misfortune. It kept on until we came to the churchyard, when it went right through the wall and we saw it no more'.

In Norfolk, Neatishead Lane, near Barton Broad, is a favourite walk of Shuck, as is the cliff path from Beeston, near Sheringham to Overstrand. This recalls the old adjuration in the legend of St. Margaret;

‘Still be though still,

Poorest of all, stern one,

Nor shalt thou, Old Shuck,

Moot with me no more.

But fly, sorrowful thing,

Out of mine eyesight,

And dive thither where thou man

May damage no more.’

A more humorous tale involves the grounding of Noah's Ark on Mulbarton Common, south of Norwich. Scoffers had better not go to Mulbarton. When one village elder was heckled on the point, he replied with some heat;

‘Thass trew! Trew as I stand bere. Where else could it ba' grounded? Aren't this the highest bit o' ground for miles around? When Ole Nick see the Ark be got inter a poont (punt), an' curled his tail up under the thwart and come rowin' around jest as Noah had opened the winder to let the dove in. And Nick sings out: "Mornin' Cap'n Noah. Nice mornin'arter the rain". But ole Noah he sees Nick's tail a-curled up under the thwart an' be sings out: “I know you. You're Owd Shuck! You goo to Hell". And bangs the winder down'.

However, perhaps the most famous accounts of the legend are to be found in Holinshed's Chronicle', an ambitious history of England which was updated to include contemporary events, and a pamphlet entitled A Straunge and Terrible Wunder' written by the Rev. Abraham Fleming, Rector of St. Pancras Church. Both accounts were published in 1577, shortly after the events recorded therein. According to Holinshed's Chronicle;

‘On Sundaie the fourth of August (1577), belween the houres of none and ten of the clocke in the forenone whilest the minister was reading the second lesson in the Parish church of Bliborough (Blythburgh), a towne in Suffolke, a strange and terrible tempest of lightening and thunder strake through the wall of the same church into the ground almost a yard deepe, drave downe all the people on that side above twentie persons, then venting the wall up to the venstre, cleft the doore, and returning to the steeple, rent the timber, brake the chimes, and fled towards Bongie (Bungay), a towne six miles off. The people that were stricken downe were found groueling more than balfe an boure after.......". At Bungay the storm "wroong in sunder the wiers and wheels of the clocks, slue two men which sat in the belfrie, when the other were at the procession or suffrages and scorched an other which hardlie escaped.'

However, Fleming gives the account as starting in Bungay church and includes the infamous Black Shuck;

‘Sunday, being the fourth of this August, in ye yeer of our Lord 1577, to the amazing and singular astonishment of the present bebolders, and abhsent bearers, at a certain towne called Bungay, not past tenne miles distant from the citie of Norwiche, there fell from heaven an exceeding great and terrible tempest sodein and violent..... There were assembled at the same season, to hear divine service and common prayer, according to order, in the parish church (St. Mary's) of the said towne of Bungay, the people thereabouts inhabiting, who were witnesses of the straungeness, the rarenesse and sodenesse of the storm, consisting of rain violently falling, fearful flashes of lightning and terrible cracks of thunder, which came with such unwonted force and power, that to the perceiving of the people...the church did as it were quake and stagger, which struck into the hearts of those that were present, such a sore and sodain feare, that they were in a manner robbed of their right wits.

Immediately hereupon, there appeared in a most horrible similitude and likenesse to the congregation then and there present, a dog as they might discern it, of a black colour; at the sight whereof, together with the feareful flashes of fire which then were seene, moved such admiration in the minds of the assemblie that they thought doomes day was already come.

This black dog, or the divel in such a likenesse (God he knoweth al who worketh all), running all along down the body of the church with great swiftnesse, and incredible haste, among the people, in a visible fourm and shape, passed between two persons, as they were kneeling upon their knees, and occupied in prayer as it seemed, wrung the necks of them bothe in one instant clene backward, in somuch that even at a moment where they kneeled, they strangely died.'

After reflecting somewhat on the wrath of God, he continues;

‘There was at ye same time another wonder wrought; for the same black dog, still continuing and remaining in one and the selfsame shape, passing by another man of the congregation in the church, gave bim such a gripe on the back, that therewith all he was presently withdrawen together and strunk up, as it were a piece of lither scorched in a hot fire; or as the mouth of a purse or bag, drawen together with a string. The man albeit he was in so straunge a taking, dyed not, but as it is thonght is yet alive; whiche thing is mervalous in the eyes of men, und offereth much matter of amasing the minde.

Meanwhile, the Clerk of the church, who had gone outside to clean the guttering, was thrown to the ground during a violent clap of thunder; and at the same time, the wires and wheels of the church clock were 'wrung in sunder and broken in pieces.' Inside the church, the Curate exhorted to prayer and 'comforted the people' until the frightening manifestation of the black hound had passed away, leaving behind it marks on the stones and church door 'which are marvellously renten and torne, ye marks as it were of his clawes or talans.'

According to Fleming, next, on the same morning, in the church of Blythburgh, about twelve miles from Bungay;

'the like thing entred, in the same shape and similitude, where, placing himself upon a maine balke or beum, whereon same ye Rood did stand, sodainly he gave a swinge downe throngh ye church, and there also, as before, slew two men and a lad & burned the hand of another person that was there amang the rest of the company, of whom divers wus blustled. This mischief thus wrought, he flew with wonderful force to no litule feare of the assembly, out of the church in a hideons and bellish likeness.'

The marks of his talons, burned into the inside of the north door of the church, can still be seen today.

Interestingly, archaeologists have recently discovered the skeleton of a massive dog that would have stood 7 feet tall on its hind legs, in the ruins of Leiston Abbey in Suffolk, close to both Bungay and Blythburgh. The remains of the massive dog, which is estimated to have weighed 200 pounds, were found just a few miles from the two churches where Black Shuck killed the worshippers. It appears to have been buried in a shallow grave at precisely the same time as Shuck is said to have been on the loose in this instance.

Coming forward in time, there is a legend of a black dog too, at Blickling Hall, Norfolk. In the 19th century, alterations on the Hall were being made by Lord and Lady Lothian, by the demolition of some partitions in order to form a dining-room;

‘I wish these young people would not pull down the partitions', said an old woman in the village to the local clergyman. Why so?' 'Oh, because of the dog. Don't you know that when A. was fishing in the lake, he caught an enormous fish and that, when it was landed, a great black dog came out of its mouth? They never could get rid of that dog, who kept going round and round in circles inside the house, till they sent for a wise man from London, who opposed the straight lines of the partitions to the lines of the circles and so quieted the dog. But if these young people pull down the partitions, they will let the dog loose again, and there's not a wise man in all London could lay that dog now'.’

This tale is interesting in that it links the occurrence or appearance of the hound with a practical knowledge of geomantic function and is the only tale told of its kind, as far as I am aware. It also links the Black Dog with the liminal area of the lake, which, as we have seen earlier in the chapter, is a gateway to the Other/Underworlds, guarded by supernatural beings; it is possible that the Black Dog may be another one of these guardian entities.

The common name for the black hound, Shuck, is generally considered to derive from the Old English scucca or sceocca, which means a devil/the Devil, a demon or a goblin (the 'sc' in OE being pronounced as 'sh'). There is also the likelihood that it comes from the East Anglian dialect word 'Shucky', meaning shaggy or hairy, a marked characteristic of most descriptions of the Hound. The first known use of the term comes from the Norfolk Chronicle or Gazette, in 1805, in an account by the Rev. E.S. Taylor of Martham as follows;

‘Shuck the Dog-fiend: This phantom I have heard many persons in East Norfolk, and even Cambridgeshire, describe as having seen as a black shaggy dog, with fiery eyes, and of immense size, and who visits churchyards at midnight.’

However, the term was obviously already in use beforehand, but for how long beforehand, no one knows. In regards to the appearance of the phantom in, at or near to churchyards and graveyards, there is another old tradition that is worth noting here. It was customry in years gone by, to bury a black dog in any new graveyard, before any other burials took place. The dog was intended to act as a guardian for the dead who were laid to rest there, and to protect the entrance to the Otherworld, ensuring that none came out – or went in – that were not supposed to. This practice goes back many millennia and is still rumoured to continue today in some areas; the dog is said to be buried in the North, or North-East of the graveyard, the traditional direction of the Dead and the Underworld.

Attempts to explain the origins and nature of the Black Hound have been many, some prosaic and some fantastical. He is said to be the memory of one of Odin's battle hounds, brought over by the Viking raiders in the 9th century. Whilst this may sound appealing, Odin did not have any war or battle hounds, but was accompanied by two wolves, a description never applied to Shuck. It is possible that he is the remains of a 'fetch beast', conjured by the Norse shamans to clear the pathways for their invasions, but there is no remaining evidence for this, however attractive; but the pathways theme is pertinent and I will come back to that in a moment. In the Anglo- Saxon classic, 'Beowulf', previously referred to in the case of Grendel's Dam and the Merewives, the monster Grendel himself is termed a 'scucca' and referred to as master of the fens and moors, some of the very places said to be haunted by Black Shuck in more modern times. He is also linked in popular imagination with the Devil and witchcraft, considered to be the Devil in animal form. Whilst there are recorded cases of the Devil appearing in dog or hound form in Suffolk, the descriptions of Shuck's appearances does not seem to fit any of these. He is often linked with Churches and graveyards, as we have seen, as well as crossroads, being described as coming from, passing over or into, or finishing his perambulations at one or the other; this also links in with the fact that the most recorded instances of sightings/encounters of the hound are on paths, roads, trackways, etc. as mentioned above.

It is these latter aspects of the Black Hound that I think give us the biggest clue to his nature and function; this is either as a guardian of the 'ghost roads' - the energetic and spectral pathways across the Land that guide the spirits of the dead on their way, or lead the spirits of living witches and magical practitioners to locations of power or gatherings of their kind or as a 'psychopomp', guiding the deceased on their last journeys to the Otherworld. It has often been remarked that Black Shuck is nearly always seen walking/padding along or beside a path or trackway and that his presence either heralds or initiates a death or near death experience (sometimes also averting disaster if it is not the person's time to die). It seems highly likely that this Hound is a product of the Living Landscape, given form and function, and imbued with the energy to guard/ guide those souls in need over the liminal point between life and death that we all must pass at some point. That he is given such a form by tradition and local culture only goes to show a living tradition stretching back hundreds, if not thousands, of years, as dogs and hounds have been seen as guardians of the gates of the Underworld for millennia, particularly and especially by the succeeding cultures that have inhabited East Anglia and the rest of these Isles. That he is feared, seen as a/the Devil, shunned and reviled, is only indicative of the lack of understanding of most people of the natural Laws and Ways of the Land and their separation from them.”

—

The Devil’s Plantation:

East Anglian Lore, Witchcraft & Folk-Magic

Chapter 2: ‘Mermaids, Giants and Spectral Hounds’

by Nigel G. Pearson

[tonystarkhasaheart]

You Know Who I am

Tony Stark X Reader

Word Count: 2,741

Summary: Y/N a stripper who has a day job at Stark Industries and her boss pays her a pretty generous visit

Author's Note: Even though this is my first fanfic it will have 4 parts, hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Part 2 is on it's way soon.

I look up at myself in the mirror, eyes heavy from the weight of my lashes, dark, smokey.. yet sensual. Lips plump and red, a deep red nothing too bright.

I take a moment to glance at the room around me, girls in and out the velvet curtain, changing clothes, spraying perfume and adding last-minute glitter. I look at my phone to check the time 12:46am.

“Hot date tonight?” I hear from my left, I don’t need to turn to see who it is, most of the girls here don’t talk to me, except for Siren. Not her real name of course, but I guess when you have a real-life outside of this you don’t want anyone to know it. I don’t blame her.

I set my phone down and look at her with a gentle smile and turn to the bag I keep under my station between rounds, pulling out my book to read. I can feel Siren’s breathe over my shoulder. “Just some light reading?” She asks.

I laugh lightly “The lightest I’ve read in a while actually.” I smile to myself as I run my fingers over the title on the cover of Quantum Physics and Theories of the Mind.

“Don’t want to spoil it for you” she said scooting back a bit with her hands up feigning surrender.

I smile again, I forgot I actually like her sense of humor “It’s okay,” I look up from the cover, “I already know the ending.”

Before any more words can be exchanged, I hear my stage name being called by the house mom. “Bambi, you’re up sweets!”

“Thank you, Cassandra!” I place my book back in its place and grab my money bag turning to Siren one last time, “Why don’t we ever hang out, outside of here?”

“Because you’re too busy being a smart ass in the real world,” Siren says with a smile.

I wink at her before walking through the velvet curtains where it is almost pitch black, except for the neon lights circulating the room and spotlights on the main stage. I scan the crowd as I listen to my heels click on my way up to the DJ booth. A number of regulars and just as many new faces but the back of one man’s head stood out. I couldn’t quite place it at the quick glance that I got, but he was sitting front and center so it wouldn’t be long before I figured it out.

A dancer by the name of Scarlett was finishing up and I gave the DJ my song. He looked and me and shook his head laughing “You never fail to surprise me” I smile and look back at the stage to see Scarlett doing her best and receiving money from plenty of customers, but she was focused on one, and he looked like he couldn’t care less. Front and center with a profile that could kill, elbow on the arm of his seat with his head in his hand and his sunglasses pointlessly resting on the bridge of his nose. And then it hit me, not only was he like the richest man alive; he was also, indirectly speaking, my boss. Tony Stark.

I had only briefly met him once after my orientation at Stark Industries, so I wasn’t worried about being recognized. It was the fact that he was the man I wanted to wake up to every morning to study his brilliant brain. Now that, that did the trick. I felt heat spread through my body starting at my core and working its way to my neck. I rubbed the back of my neck as I shook off the nerves. I got this, just another customer, just one with a lot more money than most.

As the music faded from Scarlett’s song, I watched her pick up her money and try and shove it in her bag. The DJ started talking to the crowd and hyping up Scarlett as she walked around collecting some final tips. She got on her knees in front of Mr. Stark and leaned in real close. Without a single change in his demeanor, he pulled a single bill from the inside of his suit jacket and handed it to her between his middle and index finger, as if he was trying to shoo her away. But even I could see it was a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill. She looked at the bill offended and snatched it from his fingers before finishing her way around the stage. Once she was done, she passed me with a huff, practically cussing the billionaire out as she exited the stage to the back with her bag overflowing with money from the other customers. Something about being a ‘cheap micropenis douche who wouldn’t be able to appreciate a good dance if it hit him in the face. I shook my head pushing the waves of my hair over my shoulder as the DJ started to introduce me.

“If you thought Scarlett was good let the bar know and you might be able to get a private dance before she leaves tonight. But you might not want to leave just yet because next, we have our very best. A woman who can turn any type of music into your new favorite song. Here to prove it once again, the seductress herself, Bambi!”

I laugh to myself at the length of his introduction, but it’s true I like a challenge and today I picked a song that I normally wouldn’t have. “Back in Black” by AC/DC started playing and I couldn’t help but notice a certain man in the front’s ears begin to perk up at the first couple of notes. Maybe it was my eyes playing tricks on me but I swear I even saw him sit up a little straighter.

I took confident, sexy strides towards the front of the stage and swayed my hips in a circle once I got in front of the pole. I held it as I circled it scanning the crowd. I dropped my hips and rose sensual making my ass bounce to the beat before turning my back to the pole and rolling my hips. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Mr. Stark lean forward in his chair hands clasped, elbows on his knees. He was invested and I wanted to give him a show.

I started to climb the pole and as I did, he slid his sunglasses off his face, looking directly into my eyes, staring deep into my soul with the kindest eyes I’ve ever seen in my life. But I knew tonight I wouldn’t get to see the pain or trauma he’s overcome through his eyes because tonight, they were filled with lust.

Lust, passion..Possession.

As I slid down the pole his eyes never left my body. I gracefully landed on the floor and crawled to the edge of the stage. I turned to lay on my back letting the waves of my hair cascade off the edge, I arched my back looking straight at him. In a swift motion, almost a blur, my view was clouded by the storm of papers falling from the sky. Now standing directly over me with his hands firmly pressed against the stage on either side of my face. As lay there on my back I realized what just happened. I just made a billionaire rain hundreds upon my body and his face hovering over mine, was him making his claim on me for the night.

I sensually brought myself back to my knees slightly rolling in the thick layer of money that covered the stage. I twirled my ass in a way I know would make anyone weak and I didn’t have to look back to know he was all in. Crawling my way back to the pole using it to stabilize myself as I try to stand, simultaneously trying not to trip on the stage that I couldn’t see anymore. Now this wasn’t my first time getting rained on at the club, however when I looked down, the most notable difference between now and any other time it’s happened was that it was normally a slew of ones, maybe some fives, occasionally a couple stray twenties. But this... was all hundreds. Strictly Benjamin’s scattered across the whole stage to the point you couldn’t see anyone else’s money that was thrown during my set. I’m definitely going to need a bigger money bag.

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Three trash bags, four security guards and five songs later, I just about collected all the money Mr. Stark threw for me. Now usually, we don’t get help picking up our money, unless it’s a VIP room shared by three or more dancers. However, because of the sheer amount of money and the fact that I was the club’s best dancer, they played favorites tonight. Not to mention girls from the back started to pick up bills that had overflowed from the stage onto the floor. Even some of the customers started pocketing some of the cash and honestly, could you blame them?

I immediately gave the bags of money to our house mom so she could cash me out for the night, but as I handed her my bags she told me I had a VIP room and she would put the bags in her safe until I was done. My heart sped up a bit as I hoped it was the very generous billionaire, but what are the odds that he would get a VIP room with me right after throwing a million dollars at me, literally. Technically I could’ve turned it down, I mean I definitely made more than enough money tonight, but part of me wanted to see who it was.

I touched up my makeup, ran a brush through my hair and freshened up a bit before changing my heels to a more comfortable black pair. As I walked through the curtains to the main floor, I could see Siren on stage dancing to “Body Party” by Ciara. I took note that the front row seat was occupied by another man. My heartbeat quickened as I turned towards the VIP rooms down the hall.

The closer I got I could hear the voice I dreamed of waking up next to. I took a deep breath primped my hair and opened the door to the room. His back was turned to me as he talked into his phone. He seemed unamused and inconvenienced. I took the moment to admire his figure as he hung up, not noticing my presence yet. He ran his hand over his face and through his hair, oh how I’d love to lace my fingers through those tresses, before throwing his phone at the coach.

“I heard you were looking for a private dance,” I say as I entering the room further making my presence known.

Unfazed by this discovery, he turned around with that signature smirk. All doubt and suspicions placed aside I was standing in front of the Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist himself, Tony Stark.

“And I heard you were the best,” taking a step closer to me.

“Depends on who you ask,” mimicking his actions.

“I trust my sources,” he said looking me up and down “, they’ve never failed me before.”

“Once or twice is not never,” I scoffed remembering the time my team had to cover a minuscule mistake in one of the details for a new clean air prototype we were working on that could have cost the company millions because one of his “sources” said it looked good enough.

“What are you-” I cut him off, closing the distance between us and reach for his tie to play with between my fingers. The way the fabric felt between my fingers let me know it was no clip-on, job interview tie. It was probably custom-made and imported from France or something ridiculous like that.

“So are we going stand here and banter or did you want that dance. Or was that an excuse to get me alone?”

“You better watch yourself, princess”

“Oh,” I tilted my head to the side challenging his very existence “, or what?”

“You know who I am.”

“Hmm, so maybe I do, but we have rules here,” I push him back on the couch “, Sir.” I smirk before climbing on him and straddling his lap placing my hands on his chest on either side of his arc reactor. I feel him tense slightly as I touched his chest, maybe an insecurity. I scanned his eyes, easily reading everything that fed into my suspicions. He looked as if I would turn and run in fear that he was some sort of monster, at any second just because it was there. I bring one of my hands to his cheek and stroked it in reassurance, silently letting him know I wasn’t going anywhere and not just because he was paying me to be here. He let go of the breath he didn’t know he was holding and regained his cockiness. All traces of the vulnerable moment we shared gone as I slid my hand down his neck to rest on his shoulder.

“So, it looks like I’m getting my dance after all,” he said running his hands up my thighs and resting them on my hips.

I started to roll my hips in circles, biting my lip so I wouldn’t enjoy the touch of his hands on my bare skin too much, “It would appear so.”

“What does a girl like you know about AC/DC?”

“I’m offended Mr. Stark, a girl like me?” I grabbed the hair at the base of his neck pulling lightly, tilting his head back. He groaned as I rolled my hips harder for emphasis.

“That’s not what I—fuck.”

I smiled as he squeezed his eyes shut, admiring the twisted expression his face held. I took the hand that was resting on his chest up his neck to his face running my fingers over his lips, they parted instinctively, before cupping his cheek and leaning in close to his ear whispering, “Mr. Stark I’m afraid you know nothing about me and the type of girl I am.”

His hands slid further up my waist gripping me tightly. At least I’d have a couple bruises to remember him by. He opened his eyes and for the split second I saw them, they were pitch black. He growled slightly pulling me into the most animalistic, passionate kiss I have ever shared with anyone. Quick to reciprocate, I wrapped both my arms around his neck, lacing my fingers in his hair, desperately trying to grasp on to any bit of sanity I had left. He bit my lip asking me for the permission that I granted him oh so quickly and without hesitation. He moved swiftly and his presence was so strong I was intoxicated by his scent, he was everywhere and nowhere at once, flooding my senses with everything that was him. I pulled away reluctantly needing to catch my breath. It came out in gasps, but he didn’t miss a beat sliding down to my neck feverishly, desperate to have my flesh between his lips.

“Mr. Stark,” I moaned.

“Call me Tony,” he said.

“I-I can’t,” I gasped, fighting another moan.

“Why not, princess?” barely letting his lips leave my neck even for a second, not seeming fazed by my answer. I could feel the smile on his lips, I couldn’t give in.

“I just, I can’t tell you.” Whatever spell he had me under was about to have me sleep with my boss without him even knowing he was my boss. Not that it wouldn’t be consensual but I still wouldn’t want to raise any problems at work.

He hummed against my neck and licked from the base of my throat to my ear then peppered kisses back to my lips before saying, “You’re trying to hide something from me, but I’ll figure it out.” He started to stand and I slid off of his lap still in his tight embrace. He leaned down kissing the corner of my mouth and whispered in my ear, “You know who I am,” and with that, he straightened his jacket grabbed his phone and left the room.

There I stood lipstick smudged, high off the intoxicating drug that was Anthony Edward Stark.

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

A Grave Life Part Fifty Eight

Previous Part | Next Part | Masterlist Notes: I hope everyone has a good week 💖 Warnings: Uhhh none Summary: Percival said that I was worrying far too much, but Eugenia admired my attempts to be prepared.

For the most part, besides the occasional tea, Eugenia stopped prodding me to join the presence of her society counterparts. I was grateful for this reprise, but I did know that a time would come when I would be expected to make a showing in earnest at her social events.

Her Christmas festivities were no different.

Having only previously attended her Christmas ‘party’ (that was the term she preferred; the scale was, in my estimation, much nearer to a gala) once before, I had some idea of the pleasantries I would be expected to make. I made it a point to drill names with Percival and Eugenia when I had the chance— occupations, relations, jobs (if any).

Percival said that I was worrying far too much, but Eugenia admired my attempts to be prepared.

“She’s as focused as she was prior to the Owen case,” Eugenia told Percival one evening, after he’d walked in on her quizzing me for party attendant names and relations.

“Perhaps,” He conceded, lowering himself into the seat beside mine, a nervous furrow in his brow, “But this is not a case, Mother.”

Pressure-wise, it felt like one. There were so many facts to remember, so many ways I could slip up. --

“You’re worrying me,” Percival muttered against my hairline later.

“What’d I do?”

“You’re studying for a party.”

“Just to be on the safe side.”

“My mother was quizzing you.”

“I asked her to.”

Percival sighed, tipping his head down and brushing his lips over my forehead.

“I don’t want these events to feel daunting.”

“Didn’t they to you, ever?”

“Yes. When I was younger.”

“As you were being introduced to them?”

“Yes, but--”

“I’m only just being introduced to them, Perce. I went to one, but it was a long time ago. I’m...Out of practice,” I grumbled, tipping my head up to peer at him in the darkness. He was quiet for a moment, fingertips brushing along my jaw.

“I want you to enjoy yourself.”

“I will,” I reassured him, “I’m certain it’ll be different when I'm there but… But I’m not there yet. Besides,” I leaned up, pecking his lips, “I know you will not leave my side.”

Percival hummed, leaning down and capturing my lips in a gentle kiss.

“Not for a moment,” He swore.

-- I was considerably more tense at the party, it turned out— afraid to say the wrong thing, call someone by the wrong name. The tension did do wonders for my posture, though: I was terrified of slouching.

The people that Percival and I spoke to were polite, spoke about their New Year’s Eve plans and asked us about our own. We had none, frankly— it was possible that we would spend it with Eugenia and her set. But, revealing that we had yet to set anything in stone opened the door to a slew of invitations.

Maybe Eugenia was right: a lack of planning was ruining our generation. --

“Are you awake down there?” I heard. I grunted in turn, and heard Percival chuckle as he lifted the covers away from my head. I turned away from the light coming in through his curtains as he set the covers back. I heard the sound of something being set on the nightstand and cracked an eye open to see a cup of coffee.

“Bless you,” I sighed, pushing myself to sit up. Percival chuckled, taking hold of my hand.

“Did you sleep alright?”

“Mhm. Did you?”

“Yes,” He nodded, leaning in and pecking my lips gently, “Merry Christmas.”

I smiled, murmuring, “Merry Christmas,” In turn before I reached for my cup of coffee.

“When shall we open gifts?” He asked. I shrugged. We had Christmas dinner to attend with his mother, but that wasn’t for hours yet.

“Whenever you like.”

Percival nodded before he reached into the pocket of his dressing gown and produced a small wrapped gift.

“Would you like to start, then?”

I raised a brow at the mischievous look in his eye.

“If you’re insisting,” I teased, setting my mug aside and taking the gift from him. It was immaculately wrapped.

“Should I bother shaking it?” I asked, “Or is it, indeed, a puppy?”

“A very small one.”

I chuckled, unwrapping the box with the same care it had been wrapped with. The flimsy paper gave way to reveal a small velvet box. I arched a brow at Percival before I opened it.

My heart stuttered in its beating.

There, nestled in the box’s plush lining, was an oblong platinum ring. There were three stones: two diamonds, one above and one below a twilight sapphire, the shade very near to the scarf I had given Percival all those Christmases before. The larger stones were flanked by single round diamonds along the band on either side.

I lifted my eyes to his, stunned and silent. He reached out, gently cradling my hand with his.

“I know that we have...Discussed this, and this question has been on both our minds for some time,” He said softly, “And I know that my life and work and...And family can deter you at times, but--” He shook his head as I opened my mouth to argue, “Dearheart, please,” He implored softly, “It is alright, I am not blaming or upset, I do understand. But when I tell you that I will do everything in my power to make you happy, I mean just that. I have spent many days and nights without you by my side, and while it is possible for me to go on that way, I would prefer not to. So,” He reached into the box, carefully prying the ring from its satin perch, “Would you do me the honor of allowing me to be your husband?”

I let my eyes drift down to the ring again, to where it was clutched carefully between his thumb and forefinger.

Were there things about our future that made me nervous? Of course there were. But— but at every turn, since he and I had gotten back together, Percival had made an effort to communicate, and to ensure that I knew how important I was to him. Things had changed since our first go at this.

I reached out, sliding my hand over Percival’s as I met his eyes, nodding, as I did not trust my voice yet.

Percival’s grin prompted my own, and as he murmured, “Are you sure?” I scoffed.

“Of course, I’m— Perce, don’t be ridiculous, honestly! Yes, yes, I will marry you--”

I’d hardly gotten the words out before Percival was drawing me in for a kiss. I slipped my hand up to cup his jaw, fingers skating over the stubble that was beginning to grow there. He would shave before we went to his mother’s, but I would savor the sight and feeling for as long as I could.

My pulse was pounding in my ears as Percival slipped the ring onto my finger. I peered down at it as he peppered the side of my face and neck with kisses.

“...I didn’t get you anything near as nice,” I mumbled. Percival shook his head, slipping an arm around me and drawing me into his chest.

“This is exactly what I wanted," He murmured. Tag list: @myplaceofheavenorhell​​​  ; @britishfajita​​​ ; @terrainhead​​​ ; @thatkidofwarandpeace​​​ ; @rvgrsbrns​​​ ; @maaaaryx​​​  ; @remmyswritings​​​  ; @flostvs1508​​​ ; @fantasticcopeaglepasta​​​ ; @mylittlelonelyappreciationtoo​​​ ; @paintballkid711​​​​ ; @knightsimp​​​​; @hypnobananaangelfish​​​

[waveypedia]

omg a video about animal jam would be so interesting!! i played it like a lot back in those years and man the game changed so much these days and i also remember when all the new features like parties or diamonds were introduced and a new animal would come out it was a wild time and my first ever account got hacked and the hacker deleted everything haha anyways yeah animal jam is pretty interesting to talk about haha

yeah!!! oh man you were around for the introduction of parties and diamonds? that was before even my time :0 i remember new animals and parties coming out though! oh shit you got hacked? that sucks :( i got scammed a whole bunch, but never outright hacked. that's one of the things i would probably research and talk about in my hypothetical video essay.

what really interests me is the way influencer culture and a fully functional economy naturally spawned in a kid's game, to the best of my knowledge. everything seemed to stem from a furious desire for clout - the economy revolved around coveted items like spikes, which were just status symbols at the end of the day. they don't get you any money or anything, so... more obviously, the rise of youtube around that time also saw the formation of many animal jam youtubers, many of whom became very famous very quickly in animal jam circles. people would literally send them all their rare items that they would open in glorified unboxing videos where they would read an obviously rehearsed thank-you and the gifter's name, which i guess gave people the illusion of clout, even though i highly doubt anything ever actually came to the gifters. (my brother and i watched them for a time, since we were like "hey, new aparri upload" or whatever, but even back then we mutually agreed they were boring as fuck and stopped watching!) people would flock to their dens and around them in the hopes of getting their tag in a video. on the flip side, there were, of course, a bunch of small youtubers vying to hit it big and a bunch of people who pretended to be filming in certain situations. people would say they were filming to get clout from the players around them or to scare off potential scammers/hackers. and then there were scammers themselves only looking for clout! aside from trying to get good items, which ties back to clout, my brother did have a yt channel for a bit to very little success (which, looking back, was probably a good thing) where he exposed a scammer. the only audience engagement was the scammer themself commenting frustratedly on the video. since the chance of them finding this video naturally is extremely low, they probably searched their username in hopes of clout.

my brother and i went back and looked at some of the old animal jam youtubers we used to watch back in the day and see what they've gotten up to in the seven-odd years it's been since we checked up on them last. wisteriamoon, who's now in her mid-to-late twenties from what i could discern, became a regular influencer/vlogger. julian2, who was involved in a ridiculous amount of youtube drama (which is fairly par for the course for influencers but not so much for the animal jam community, especially the animal jam community of that time. i think it got worse after that.), no longer uploads videos, but his channel and more notably his merch store are still up. he also is active on a second instagram account to keep in touch with his fans. (this is worrying to me because he is a university student and most of his fans are much younger than him. besides they have no reason to be fans anymore since he's not actually uploading content?? it's very suspect.) that brings me to another interesting point - most of the majorly successful youtubers were older teenagers, which is much older than animal jam's target audience. it got to the point where animal jam created an entire spinoff game, fer.al (which is actually kinda fun), aimed at an older userbase. the majority of their fans were probably mostly preteens.

then there's the economy system, and the strictness with which the players upheld it. people would go to such great lengths to game the system and cheat other players out of good items, such as scamming and even hacking. although other games like this had items you could buy and even trading systems (iirc), i cannot recall any other game with an economy and culture of this significance and scale. (of course if this were a real video essay i'd need to do a lot more research on this claim.) it consumed most players to the extent where almost no one played the game for its intended purpose - learning about animals and nature, hence the partnership with national geographic that eventually got terminated because kids weren't engaging correctly (i'm guessing). after that, it mostly went downhill, with ajhq trying to varying degrees of success to mine money through memberships and diamonds off of their userbase. it went to the extent where animal jam went through a real-life equivalent of inflation when ajhq reintroduced spikes to circulation in adventure prizes. that sparked a massive negative reaction. it's kind of crazy how passionate we all were about it.

there are also other things, like the really extravagant and serious warrior cats and general anthro roleplays (that seem to have died off in recent years for some reason) and all the notorious hackings, like fman122. there's also probably a whole slew of recent (as in, the past five years) stuff i have no idea about. it's just fascinating. and this is literally all from memory. god an entire, fully-researched video essay has so much potential.

sorry for rambling haha

[fuchsiagrasshopper]

Contending the Flame VII

Author's Note: Not much to say here, but the story's content will start to go up in rating after this, so prepare yourself for some wild changes coming! Thanks as always for being such a fantastic audience :)

Masterlist

Pairing: Ivar x Reader

Word count: 2336

Warnings: language, mentions of blood, master/servant dynamic

Victory had been claimed for the sons of Ragnar. They managed to secure their hold over York, banishing the idea from the Saxons' minds that they could ever again rule the city. Hostages had been taken, and through the blood and the rain, they had seen themselves suffer their share of wounds. All battles came with a price.

Ivar had acquired his injuries, most being from arrows. After he had been tended to by healers and cleansed of blood, the damage had taken its toll and the pain had set in. He was carried to his chambers by Ubbe and another warrior. Hvitserk had not been able to lend a hand as he had sustained a spear to the leg. When first brought the news of his brother's injury, Ivar had felt a stirring of worry, and hatred towards the dead Saxon soldier. For a moment he had wished for Hel to raise the dead once more if it meant he could feed the Christian his axe. He did not want to lose another member of his family, not after his mother or even Sigurd.

The pains of war felt like a bizarre punishment after the glorious charge he had led. His body betrayed him, reminding him of his humility as a cripple once the agony of his legs joined with the burning of his battle wounds. He remembered little of the healers prodding at him and had fallen into a restless sleep, halfway between consciousness and oblivion. 

When he came around again, he was roused by the smell of flowers in the dead of night. A fire was burning low in the hearth, and as he turned his head towards the table at his side, a clay vase had been filled with those familiar purple blooms. They had a delicate, sweet smell, the likes of which he had never seen around Kattegat. The harsh winters of home were something he doubted they could have withstood. 

Ivar shifted carefully, trying to sit up when he took notice of the dip in the bed beside him. You were above the furs, sitting upright with your back against the wall at the head of the bed. Ólaug, or Catherine; he wasn't certain what to call you. You must have meant to sit down only for a moment but had fallen asleep instead. His eyes traced over the restful look on your face, a pleasant change from the terror that had been there the last time.

Remembering everything Hvitserk had told him, he was brought back to a state of frustration. He didn't want your fear, he wanted your admiration. You had passion when you spoke with him, something that had been driven out by this treacherous spy.

Ivar brought his attention back to his sleeping nun, taking in the rest of you. His gaze was drawn to the particular detail of your exposed calf. Your frock had ridden up to your knee, leaving your lower leg open to the air. He often found himself mesmerized by the beauty of women's legs, admitting only to himself that it was because of his disgust for his own. The smooth curve of your calf met a delicate ankle, that extended to a long, narrow foot. 

He wanted to feel the heat of your soft skin, and there was no battle with temptation as he brought his hand towards the exposed flesh. His rough knuckles dragged down on your smooth skin like hail against a silk sheet. The sensation was heady, and the walls of the room felt closer from the rush of lust. Ivar was emboldened. He wrapped his hand around your ankle, forgetting from your time as his thrall that you were a light sleeper.

Your head that had been tucked into your chest jerked up, and you lurched forward, startled awake by his hand. Your eyes met and Ivar could see the same fear there that took hold of an animal before it was about to bolt away. He wasn't going to tolerate that. In no mood or condition to chase you, Ivar tightened his hold on your ankle and tugged you down on the bed with harsh force. You let out a sharp gasp, unable to collect yourself before he had you trapped below him. Everything hurt, but he struggled through the discomfort as he held himself up by his arms above you.

"I did not invite you to share my bed, Christian."

"My apologies," You sputtered. "I'm only here because your brothers do not know which slaves they can trust."

Ivar let out a huff of annoyance, unadjusted to his brothers' concerns for his well-being. It was behaviour he had come to expect from his mother, and maybe Floki. "Right, a spy who is a threat to my life, and whispers in your ear."

Your eyes that had been downcast returned to his face. "Hvitserk told you?"

"My brothers tell me everything. You were mistaken to think otherwise."

He reached for your arm between them, the one covered with the cloth bandage. You were quick to snatch it away, your face coloured in shame. Ivar brought his hand up to your cheek instead, stroking below the bruise that he had yet to get a full explanation. "Stop that, please," You whispered. 

"You believe I'll hurt you, even after I've shown to be generous towards you."

"But I am only a slave, and I mean nothing to you. If you killed your brother, what chance do I have of being spared?"

Ivar frowned. It seemed the spy had filled you in on more than just the Bishop. "You know about Sigurd?"

 You nodded. "I know you murdered him, like Cain slew Abel."

He did not know of these men for whom you spoke of, but he had the unfortunate feeling that the comparison was not of flattery. Now that you knew things about him that he would not have shared likely, he felt at a disadvantage. He eased away from you, only for you to let out a cry of surprise as he pulled back.

"Ivar," You exclaimed, shoving your palm at the center of his chest so he would lie back down.

He spotted or rather felt what you had seen. It seemed one of his wounds had opened up on his side, the blood leaving a cold, damp stain on his tunic. You leapt up and over him, setting to work on filling a bowl with water. Your fast pace that you had set was dizzying. Ivar watched as you opened up the leather pouch that had been abandoned on the table until now. It contained healing supplies. Your lack of hesitation for what you grabbed proved you were capable, and you were back at his side without pause.

"Off with this, please," You instructed him to shed his tunic, and you had water touching skin the moment he had discarded the soiled clothing. "Look what you've done."

Ivar had never seen you look so disapproving. It was endearing. That you had scolded him by name had not slipped past his notice. "Ivar?"

You paused long enough in your work for your eyes to widen with understanding. "Oh, forgive me. I should not have been so bold."

He turned more towards you while you continued to work, giving a small shrug in response. "It is my name, and I am no longer your master. Perhaps you should cease with formalities."

"No, it wouldn't be proper. You are still a Prince, and leader of an army."

"Then I must insist on calling you Ólaug." 

He let out a hiss as you took the needle to his skin, halting only a moment to let him adjust to the discomfort before moving to close the wound. You shot him a small smile, and he grunted from time to time with each passing of the point through his flesh. 

"But that's not my name," You insisted as you tied off the end of the stitch, cutting away the remainder of the loose thread with a small knife.

"And it isn't Catharine," Ivar shot back. "So tell me, who are you?"

You sat back on your chair, resting your hands in your lap. They were pink and red from his blood, with dark grime under your short nails. A healer's hands. His own were rough and stained with blood, but from taking lives, not saving them.

"Why is my old name so important? This is the second time you've asked it from me."

"I've never known someone to abandon their name. Your God asks strange things of you."

"As I'm sure yours do as well," You said with no unkindness in your tone. "May I ask about the markings on your back?"

"Your men do not have tattoos?"

You shook your head, eyes wide and full of curiosity. "The body is meant to be untainted, and we should be satisfied with what God gave us."

And yet they made women cut their hair before entering a nunnery. Ivar did not say as much. You were finally allowing your guard to slip, falling back into another one of your conversations that he'd missed. 

"We do not read or write in books as you do, but we preserve our stories in runes and symbols. Tattoos are just another way to honour the Gods."

"Did they hurt?"

Ivar let out a gruff laugh. "I was born into suffering. I hardly remember what it felt like to have the colours bleed under my skin. But any sacrifice to the Gods is a privilege, be it in pain, or a life."

"I don't understand how your gods could demand the life of their people," You said, a distraught look falling over you.

"And I don't understand why you Christians nail your people up on crosses."

"It is an act of punishment and humiliation for the criminal. It should dissuade others from committing the same sins."

Ivar smirked. "But we're the savages?"

"I don't claim to be a delegate for all Christians, but I don't believe you are savages. I sometimes think we are similar."

Viking and Christian alike; impossible. "You are naive to think that."

"Maybe so," You said, coming to a stand as you started to clean up your supplies. "But this fighting for York could have been prevented if the King had settled on negotiations with you and your brothers. Our holy Father blessed us all with free will, and we chose to fight and kill, just as your people have."

"A war is a strange place to search for peace," He retorted.

You let a chuckle escape, turning to him with a face flooded in pink. It was beautiful. "Indeed."

There was a prolonged stretch of silence, neither one of them filling it until you returned to sit at the foot of the bed. Ivar liked to think you were comfortable enough in his presence for the moment that you had not felt the need to fill it with empty words.

"Is peace what you want for your people?" He prodded while shifting underneath the furs.

"I'm not in a position to speak on such matters as this is the most exposure I've seen of battle. I suppose peace is better than tending to bloody men, and women waiting at home for husbands and sons who will never return."

"And what about you? If you could wish for anything in this world, what would it be?"

Your face turned to weariness, and for a moment he suspected he had offended you. He would have offered to take the words back if it would have helped, but you chose to answer.

"I wish I was happy," You said in a voice so low that Ivar had almost missed what you had said. But he had heard, to which he frowned in confusion. "You thought I would ask for freedom?"

"Isn't that what all those in enslavement hope for?" He rebuked. 

"Before I was captured by you heathens, I was still a prisoner. This is just a different cage."

"I thought being a nun was an honour?" He couldn't help but sneer the words, but you did not appear dismayed.

"When I joined the convent, it was for a sense of duty. It brought me contentment, but there was no joy in my days." 

You brought your legs up onto the furs, settling in without regard of whom you were close to. Ivar was pleased by your unintentional behaviour, mesmerized by your fingers as you trailed them through the thick pelted covers.

"I don't understand," He spoke up eventually, long enough to break his concentration on your stroking of the furs.

"Of course you don't. You are a man, a Viking, and a prince. Your life was marked with freedom of choice the moment you drew breath. If I was granted freedom this very moment, where would I go?"

'With me', he thought but did not say the petulant thought aloud. If it was happiness you desired, then he would give it to you.

"I've intruded on you long enough. Would you like me to leave?" You enquired,  moving to stand.

"No, stay," he commanded without thinking, and the harshness of his voice caused you to flinch. Taking a quick breath through his nose, he tried again. "Tell me about Cain and Abel."

You eased back onto the bed, choosing to stay out of arm's reach as you delved into your tale. Ivar listened, enraptured by the passion that took over you in the telling. His own heart was beating with a different excitement, and he wondered how much longer he could keep his adoration from you. You were a Christian disguised in heavy frocks and gaudy crosses, but beneath all of that lurked a free woman longing to burst forth, and Ivar was going to draw her out.

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[otaku-mama73]

Scattered thoughts on Toumyu Tokyo Kokoro Oboe

This written mess isn’t intended to be a guide as others have so helpfully done, but instead a loose (and possibly misguided?) interpretation of certain scenes and themes that struck me while trying to make sense of Tokyo Kokoro Oboe. 

Much of my focus will be on THE GIRL, Ota Dokan and yamabuki. Toumyu’s been a feast of testosterone, and still will continue to be so, but to finally have a feminine presence not only appear, but make such a HUGE impression is just wonderful.

(Spoilers beyond this point!)

TOUMYU X NOH

This isn’t the first time Toumyu has framed their play in traditional Japanese theatre. SOGA was stylized as a neo-kabuki retelling. Tokyo Kokoro Oboe is essentially a Noh play, namely a “Mugen,” or phantasmal category of Noh plays. A quick wiki search describes it as such:

Mugen Noh (夢幻能, "supernatural Noh") involves supernatural worlds, featuring gods, spirits, ghosts, or phantasms in the shite role. Time is often depicted as passing in a non-linear fashion, and action may switch between two or more timeframes from moment to moment, including flashbacks.

That's basically TKO in a nutshell, right?

Within the first few minutes of the play and the girl’s appearance, we get a sense that something is off and we’re definitely in for a wild ride. We are faced with an otherworldly sight of this girl in a Noh mask walking toward a thin stream of sand silently falling into a pile from the dark moon-filled sky. One can tell that this girl is young, as she is dressed in a simple muted pink traditional kimono. She is wearing a non-menacing Noh mask consistent with that of a common young girl. There are numerous tales of young females in Noh plays and perhaps there might be a connection to one of these many stories. However, a consistent theme throughout these Noh plays is that the character in the Noh mask is a spirit trying to convey something to a traveler, or in this case, to Suishinshi.

I looked into the roles of females in Noh plays and found that women roles belong in a specific category of plays known as “kazura mono,” or (wig plays):

“The woman category is also known as kazura mono (wig noh). It is the central noh in the gohbandate and is usually about the ghost of a woman and the themes center around love and suffering. Often the ghost is condemned to wander the earth trapped somehow by the love that she feels.” 

(https://www.the-noh.com/en/world/forms.html)

Going by these descriptions, I can’t help but wonder if there are parallels between the Girl and Mikazuki now. Yes, she’s a feminine character, while Mika is obviously not, but it’s like the role she has may be similar to the role or whatever burden of love that Mikazuki has taken upon himself. Mikazuki has been meddling and trying to manipulate history by saving or affecting the lives of those significant to history or not. The idea of “history as a flowing river with streams running to the side” mentioned is really telling here. The Girl is like a guide also showing to us and to Suishinshi the lives and moments of those might be lesser known. Ota Dokan being one (which I’ll get to later). Not to mention perhaps trying to address the forgotten souls of the abandoned timeline.

I also can’t ignore that moment where the Girl suddenly appears in place of the projected image of Mikazuki for that brief moment after his confrontation with Suishinshi. There is a connection that Toumyu wants us to make. Just exactly what is completely up to interpretation.

THE GIRL and OTA DOKAN and YAMABUKI

The Girl only appears to interact with only Suishinshi and Ota Dokan in Myu8. Everyone else seems to be unaware of her presence when she appears. While she appears as an otherworldly spirit, she also plays an actual role in an incident that is documented in anecdotes in Dokan’s life. In the scene, the Girl is dancing in the background waving a branch of yamabuki flowers. At the end of the scene, she wordlessly offers that branch to Dokan, who takes it, looks at it questionably without acknowledging the GIRL, and walks away. The GIRL then looks at Suishinshi and skips away. 

In actual history, there is an account that follows: 

“Here is also very famous episode about Ota Dokan 太田道灌(1432-1486), popular general in the Muromachi Period.　

One day, he made a hunting trip and was caught in a sudden shower.

He rushed into a shabby dwelling and shouted to lend him a straw raincoat.

A young girl appeared and gave him a branch of yamabuki without saying anything.

Dokan got angry and returned home in the rain.

In that night, he told the story to his follower.

Then, he explained the story of the poetry of Prince Kaneakira and inferred that the girl compared poverty to the blossom of yamabuki and wanted to say

"I am so sorry, but I am poor and doesn't have any raincoat."

Dokan was shocked to hear that and ashamed lack of wit.

After that he started to learn waka poetry.”

(http://kikuko-nagoya.com/html/yamabuki.html)

The poetry of Prince Kanekira mentioned is also recited later by Dokan towards the end of the play during his last scene in a conversation with Buzen and Samidare where Suishinshi asks who and why Dokan built Edo Castle for:

“Nanae Yae Hana wa Sakedomo Yamabuki no Mi no (Mino) Hitotsu dani Naki zo Kanashiki”

Translated to:

“Yamabuki blooms with a wealth of petals; However yet in spite of this,

Sad to say, bears no fruits (straw raincoat)”

The source explains that this poem contains a double entendre:

“[Mi in "Mi no" means fruits] [no in "Mi no" is particle] [Mino means a straw raincoat]”

There is SO much to unpack here. Yamabuki, as a flower, is said to be fruitless. Yet it is also a flower mentioned in numerous instances of Japanese poetry to describe spring scenery and the concept of beauty found in imperfections. Is Dokan implying here that he built Edo castle as a homage to the common girl who presented him with that branch? For the common people? For the forgotten? We also learn that Kuwana took Murokumo’s idea and planted yamabuki in the abandoned world in another scene and wonders if the seeds will grow. Kumo initially wanted to abandon that idea, thinking that flowers aren’t very useful, but Kuwana, ever so in tune with the earth, apparently liked the idea of planting a so-called useless, fruitless flower in an abandoned world. We later see the Girl dancing in a field of yamabuki blooms to great effect, so I’d like to believe that Kuwana was successful in getting those seeds to grow.

Here, the idea that the importance of even the forgotten, minor characters, the “side streams” of life are just as significant, or beautiful, is highlighted. It’s related to the burden that Mikazuki is carrying, bringing to light or saving those that might seem less important or forgotten.

Also of note is Samidare’s scenes with Dokan, which is actually very deliberate and just delightful. Remember the origin story mentioned before about Dokan being caught in the RAIN (Amesan- ha, ha) and asking for a raincoat but being offered a yamabuki branch by a common girl? I’d love a full translation of their duet, but I have a feeling it’s just going to be poetry sung back and forth by these two bards. Samidare also was present when Buzen killed Dokan in order to preserve history. The GIRL returns to lay a yamabuki branch on Dokan’s body and Samidare recites a haiku from his favorite Matsuo Bashuo:

“Horo horo to Yamabuki chiru ka Taki no oto” Or “Quietly, quietly Yellow mountain roses (yamabuki) fall Sound of the rapids”

(https://basho-yamadera.com/en/yamadera/horohoro/)

The source explains that the haiku is a travel narrative written by Bashuo upon view of the Nishiko waterfall, seeing yellow petals scattered despite it being a calm, windless day. Perhaps Samidare thought to recite this haiku because he was struck by how sudden Dokan’s death was, both in the way Buzen slew him and also in true history where Dokan was falsely accused of disloyalty and assassinated. No matter the interpretation, the imagery of yamabuki and Dokan will forever be linked.

I’m still trying to parse out how all of this affects the Myu storyline as a whole, but this Toumyu, more than any other, was heavy with imagery and wanted to challenge viewers with making those connections. What’s really special is that every interpretation is valid and there is always something new to discover upon each rewatch. TKO truly focuses on little forgotten or unrealized details and literally makes them shine. 

If you made it to this point here, I’m really sorry! And also thanks for reading through! 

[beeprblog]

Beepr Goes To Shows: Governor’s Ball 2021.

In this first installment of Beepr Goes To Shows, I spent all 3-days at this years Governor’s Ball to give you crowd coverage you deserve and concert recaps/reviews you want. Stay tuned for more show write-ups and other updates!

Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist

What happens when you put two legends on the same stage? You get one hell of a fucking show. Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist were on another level that Friday afternoon, delivering classics from Madlib collaborative albums (Crime Pays, Fake Names, Palm Olive, Thuggin), recent singles from Freddie (Big Boss Rabbit, Gang Signs), and all your favorite offerings from Alfredo (Baby $Hit, Scottie Beam, Something To Rap About). The braggadocious swagger Freddie brings to the stage is tempered by Alchemist’s suave production and generally reserved demeanor, making them a very balanced performance. Despite being an acclaimed producer, you get the sense that The Alchemist is there to support Freddie rather than make the performance about himself. Freddie’s natural humor shines through in between songs, cracking jokes while taking tokes and hitting a bottle of Hennessy. Chants of “Fuck police,” cheers for the Alchemist, and concert-goers belting choruses created a deafening atmosphere, rivaling some sold out indoor venues I’ve visited. To call Freddie a cult artist would be disrespectful of all the mainstream achievements (Grammy nominations, cracking Billboard Top 25s, etc), and yet for some reason, he remains on the fringes of superstardom. Part of what people love about Freddie Gibbs is his larger than life personality, as he has an authenticity about him that’s naturally charismatic. If there’s anything I can be certain about after that set, it’s that Freddie Gibbs and The Alchemist have undeniable chemistry and I hope they have more on the way.

Phoebe Bridgers

In January of 2018, a report from Nielsen Music identified that rap had surpassed rock in terms of overall music consumption. But Phoebe Bridgers will not allow her genre to go quietly into the night. She very well may be the next iteration of a rockstar. From her band all being in uniform, to the stage production, and most importantly, her diehard fans: Phoebe Bridgers is killing it in all aspects of the game. Apparently, I had been living under rock for quite some time as I only did a deep dive into her music when I saw her on the Governor’s Ball lineup announcement. How foolish was I? Phoebe has an incredible catalogue despite being only 27 (bolstered by her work with groups like Boygenius and Better Oblivion Community Center). Songs like Motion Sickness, Garden Song, and ICU feel more like Phoebe hosting a singalong, as the entire crowd is belting back each and every lyric at the top of their lungs with emphatic energy. Tracks like Kyoto also fall into that category, but there’s an immense rush of excitement as the brilliance of Bridger’s music blares through over the speakers for the chorus. Ballads like I Know The End are blissful moments of serenity, as I found myself swaying with my eyes closed in my little spot in the crowd. Her nonchalance in between songs is intoxicating, as it’s a beautiful contrast to her immensely emotive and personal performance. It’s so endearing to see past what’s on the outside and find an individual who profoundly cares about their work. What perhaps is most endearing about Phoebe’s performance is how she’s unabashedly herself: quips like “Fuck nihilism, too” are interjected in between songs, her outfit a glamorized rendition of the classic skeleton t-shirts. While I might have been late to the party in terms of the Phoebe Bridgers hype train, you can bet I’m going to be early to every one of her shows from here on out.  

A$AP Rocky

As Saturday night of Governor’s Ball was drawing near to an end, there were millions of individual conversations buzzing around in the crowd. But almost all of them were centered around one question: When will A$AP Rocky start? At 9:12pm EST, our question was answered, with a bang. Crowd surfing around in an inflatable car, bullhorn in hand, Rocky showed off some new sounds as unreleased tracks (Grim Freestyle amongst the slew of unreleased tracks) boomed over speakers. Mosh pits opened up left and right as the concert slowly evolved into a beautiful, New York block party-esque chaos. Hearing recent work like his features on Slowthai’s MAZZA and Famous Dex’s PICK IT UP were unexpected yet gratifying moments. But what really amplified the crowd was hearing some of the “older” radio hits. I can’t remember a time in recent memory when I’ve been as excited as when the first synths on LPFJ2 and Telephone Calls hit. Classics like Praise Da Lord and Yamborghini High ensured that there were no lapses in energy or excitement. Babushka Boi set the crowd ablaze, as the off-key notes intermingled in the beat acted as cues for the rowdy meter to kick it up a notch. Rocky even gave up some of his set to ensure the rest of the Mob was represented, as he had the DJ play Plane Jane by A$AP Ferg. The softer side of Rocky’s discography was met with equal anticipation as Sundress and A$AP Forever were met with exuberant cheers. Fully embracing his trippy side, after asking us if we liked hallucinogens, Rocky performed L$D to a roaring crowd (he also teased us with the unreleased Mushroom Clouds after asking us if we fucked with mushrooms too). During what felt like a showcase of the Harlem rappers’ ability to generate raucous ovation, the time had the crew informed Rocky his set had to be wrapped up. An earnest plea to keep it going was made, begging to at least get off Peso, but the euphoria was always going to be finite. It’s safe to say, anyone saying Rocky fell off is full of it.

Burna Boy

From start to finish, Burna Boy kept it hot. Bringing plenty of Nigerian flair to the CitiField air, I can safely say that Burna Boy’s set was one of the most enjoyable of the weekend. Even before he appeared, loud chants imploring him to take the stage could be heard ringing throughout the grounds. As his band and mom (who doubles as his manager) patiently waited, you could see them grinning and laughing as they knew we were in for a great show. Burna Boy then graced the stage and we were transported to another world, filled with laid back vibes, political protest, and triumph. Opening up with Gbona, it was apparent that the entire show was going to be electric. Hitting dance moves, grinning from ear to ear, it was obvious that Burna Boy planned on making a stellar first impression at the Governor’s Ball (he also earned major New York brownie points by giving us an animated performance of his velvety feature on Enjoy Yourself by Pop Smoke). Hearing some of my favorite songs live cemented them even further in the favorites category, as his performance adds another level of fun and personality. Collateral Damage, a beautifully subverted political protest anthem, felt truly harmonious as the entire crowd chanted the chorus with their fists in the air. As much as I love my AirPods, the heartfelt energy of both the crowd and Burna Boy I felt in the crowd during Anybody and Dangote could never be matched by speakers. Even the less upbeat songs (such as Wetin Man Go Do) he performed were met with incredibly cheerful reactions as. Live riffs from the band during some of his most popular singles added great spice for those who are familiar but equally exciting for new listeners. It’s apparent that there’s a great sense of camaraderie amongst the whole crew, that their main goal is to put on a memorable and joyous show. I can only hope that Burna Boy and the band make trips to the states more frequently.

Ellie Goulding

Have you ever felt the urge to forget everything that’s worrying you and just live in the here and now? Then you should go to as many Ellie Goulding shows as humanly possible. There’s a good chance you’re already familiar with some of her work (I’ll get to that in a bit), but it’s an entirely other thing to see her bring them to life. Hidden under the surface of a soft-spoken, singer-songwriter is a powerhouse performer, ready to give the show and attendees her everything. Watching her confidence grow during the set, seeing her come out of a shell that had likely developed as a result of not touring, was a beautiful sight to behold. In between comments about how grateful she was to be performing, quips about her outfit, you really got to watch her conviction begin to grow and take root. Anthemic at every instance, the crowd was equally ready to return the same energy Goulding graced us with. The only thing that was all over the place about her refined and poised performance was the eclectic mix of work she pulled from. From Lights (and yes, if you’re curious, that shit slapped) all the way up to her latest album, Brightest Blue, we got treated to the Ellie Goulding evolution set. Intermingling a solid slate of collaborations like Diplo’s Close To Me (I don’t know if I’ve ever sung along as fervently as I did for that one), Calvin Harris’ I Need Your Love (okay, I lied, this is the one where I lost my voice), and Major Lazer’s Powerful, there was a reference point regarding how they discovered Goulding for everyone in the audience. Hearing oldies like Aftertaste, Anything Could Happen, and Only You instantly transported me to simpler times, back when bills and deadlines seemed like an abstract concept. In another edition of music star leads a sing-a-long, the crowd could have taken over for Lights and Love Me Like You Do. Thankfully, we got to hear Ellie too. It’s a magical moment when a few hundred (maybe a full thousand) are all united by one common goal: to embrace the present and shower the performer with adoration in the form of knowing every lyric. Harmony amongst total strangers, tied together through a common love of music. Ellie Goulding gave us more than one of the best sets from the weekend, she gave us a sense of unity and togetherness unlike any other I’ve experienced.

Post Malone

When you find a superstar, with millions of fans and millions in the bank, that you feel like you can still crack open a crispy Bud Light, you’ve found something special. And we all know that Post Malone loves a cold one. The final chapter of Governor’s Ball 2021 ended with Post Malone’s Sunday night set, a perfect way to wind down the weekend. Opening up the set with an inquisitive “Hello?” to test out the mic, this show was one of the most authentic and down-to-earth concerts I’ve been to in quite some time. It almost feels like you’re just hanging out hearing some song ideas from your friend Austin Post, wearing some regular denim shorts and a “Where’s Waldo” style striped shirt, until the audible roars from the crowd of “Posty” remind you you’re at a headliner. Arguably the most larger-than-life aspect of Post’s set was his entrance on the stage, via a smoke-cloud suspended platform adorned with metal chains. With a healthy mix of beerbongs & bentley’s, Hollywood’s Bleeding, recent singles and old hits, Post Malone was showing us all of his repertoire. Chugging beers at the request of the crowd, checking in with all of us in between songs, calling for celebration and happiness, Post goes to great lengths to ensure that the crowd is with it and that everyone is having a good time. Tracks like Psycho were somehow both relaxing and energizing at the same time, as the chorus transformed the venue into an incredible echo-chamber. We also got to see how many friends Post has, as we got guest appearances from Young Thug (performing Goodbyes), Roddy Rich (gracing us with Every Season and The Box), and 21 Savage (to perform Rockstar, which Post Malone did his best to embody all night). With each feature, the crowd seemed to kick into another fear of excitement, but that’s not to say people didn’t lose it for some of Post’s solo work. Stay, which Post performed seated strumming an acoustic guitar, was as heartfelt as it could get in its stripped down state. Despite previously admitting to not being able to sing without autotune, you could see how much he cared about capping off the weekend right while performing that song (without autotune in an effort to be as real as possible). White Iverson and Congratulations were both barn-burners, as the whole festival grounds were chanting lyrics and bouncing along. After a very long weekend of raging and raving, Post Malone’s set managed to run through the whole gambit of festival emotions: joy, excitement, surprise, and relief. It’d be disingenuous to say anything other than Austin Post has mastered the art of headlining.

[hypexion]

A Pile of Fanwalkers (Part 2)

Part two of me posting a bunch of “OCs“, since actually working out a better way to organise and present is this information is clearly too much effort. Despite the fact I’m putting what could be charitably described as an amount of work into these posts.

The basic format for each planeswalker will be a Name/Colour Identity/Pre-Ignition Typeline/Homeplane blob of information, a quickish description of them and some “fun“ facts, and then some hits and misses for extra flavour. Also, I’m going to split this into three posts - “Heroic“, “Okay“ and “Villians“, for I believe I have the moral authority to judge my creations.

Also some of these are going to be from fanplanes, which will go undescribed beyond whatever tidbits come out the character flavour. Others will just have a ?, representing a lack of knowledge and/or sufficent worldbuilding. With that out of the way, let’s go!

Okay

Not everyone is actively Heroic, and that’s okay. Generally, this lot might not want to help you out, but they’re unlikely to ruin your day just for the sake of it. Of course, some might offer to help if their skills are a match for the situation, or if they stand to benefit. And some of them might be a little rude, but they generally won’t murder you.

Ferroxi - BGU, Faerie Artificer, ? - While other fae are luring you around in circles, trapping you in an eternal sleep, or stealing your name, Ferroxi is probably rummaging through your recycling looking for useful stuff. Born on a plane piled with interplanar scrap, she learned at a young age the value in taking things apart and occationally putting them back together again. Ferroxi sees the wastefulness of other planes as her gain, and is always on the look out for anything that can be fixed up, melted down or repurposed. This doesn’t stop at the physical, either. With a bit of work, she’s managed to keep a few Infinite Consortium cells spinning, as a way to provided access to resources she’d otherwise have trouble obtaining. Ultimately, Ferroxi brings her finds back to her clan, where she is considered a peerless salvager, able to seemingly conjure resources from nothing.

Ferroxi has hair she self-describes as “rust coloured“ and brown skin. Being a Faerie, she’s just over a foot tall. But don’t underestimate her. Just because her weapon of choice looks like a sewing needle, it doesn’t mean it can’t hurt you. Of course, she also has access to all the various fae tricks, so getting into a fight with her is generally going to end her favour. Just let Ferroxi have your old lightbulbs, okay? When she planeswalkers, she disappears into a puff of rust dust. Don’t breath that! (Generally you shouldn’t breath planeswalking auras, but the metal oxides to be especially avoided.)

Hits: Recycling, Izzet technology, Moxen, white and gold bordered cards. Misses: Izzet security, large animals, things that can’t be repaired or reused.

Mazamat - UB, Human Wizard, Akkyria - For Mazamat, death is merely a setback. After each defeat she rises again, a new body forged from mana in her ziggurat. As a mortal scholar, her fame was not enough to enjoy the immortality Akkyria offered it’s most renowned. So through careful research, she discovered an alternative, a way to tie her life force to the leylines that shaped her world. She divised a ritual, and performed it to perfection. And in seeking eternal life, she found something far greater. For Mazamat was born long before The Mending. Her ignition gave her powers beyond bound. Even with a fractional of her strength sequestered as an anchor for her soul, Mazamat was a force to be reckoned with. She mastered lifetimes of magics, slew gods, and accidentally created a few highly dangerous artifacts. Unfortunately, even without meeting Urza, Mazamat was affect by his ruinous influence. The Mending weakened her. Enough that it was now the majority of her strength that anchored her to Akkyria. This made planewalking fatal. But for Mazamat, death is merely a setback. No Lich forgets their Phylactery, and Mazamat did not forget the mechanics of her undeath. While the first sucessful test walk only worked because of the Interplanar Beacon, it provided Mazamat all she needed to write a new ritual, and continue her endless study.

Often, Mazamat isn’t hard to miss. It’s difficult to ignore the walking corpse with glowing purple eyes, even you’d prefer to. She could put more effort into looking presentable, given her wide magical knowledge, but generally considers it optional. When she does wish to tidy up her appearance, she tends to appear as she did in the middle of her mortal life. In this case, she has brown skin and grey-black hair, which she ties back into a bun to get it out of the way. She also dampens the eye-glow effect, although they still take on a purple hue. Mazamat tends to dress in the classical “Robed Wizard“ look, ardorned with various magical symbols. Mazamat’s planeswalking effet is a pulse of pale blue light, occationally leaving behind short-lived inscriptions on nearby surfaces.

Hits: Mastering skills, advising adventurers (who bring the appropriate tribute), a kind of savory cake served with honey and dried fruits. Misses: Dying (it’s still not fun, even if you come back), Nicol Bolas, Urza, whoever started the rumor that flying snakes could be found near her ziggurat, because now she can’t get rid of the things, being stuck on a plane.

Pyrolas - R, Dragon, Ithmorne - Many planeswalkers are subtle. Many are careful. Pyrolas is neither, because Pyrolas is a red dragon. When presented with a problem, they consider fire and fury to be an acceptable solution. As dragons go, Pyrolas is considered implusive and quick to act. This is good for the non-dragons living with their domain, as it means Pyrolas tends to deal with problems such as bandits within a week. Meaning you might actually have a home to go back to. Pyrolas is also less than interested in the ever-shifting politics of the Draconic Confedracy, prefering to get their excitement from visting other planes, or comissioning sweet new artworks. Like many dragons on their homeplane, Pyrolas graciously allows non-dragons to use the singular they when referring to them. This is nice, because in Ithmorne Draconic, pronouns are also honorifics, and using the wrong one can range from “slightly rude“ to “mortal insult“ (it’s also nice because some of them are very hard to pronounce if you aren’t a dragon).

Dragons on Ithmorne tend towards being more slender, and Pyrolas is no exception. However, unlike a certain dragon whose name has been misplaced, they all still look dragony. Pyrolas has red scales, except on the underside of their wings, where they are a more goldish colour. Since they’re a dragon, they don’t carry weapons. Rather, Pyrolas is the weapon, capable of spewing flame, clawing rocks to pieces and able to crush puny humanoids in their grasp. Thankfully, Pyrolas is a kind of “take it easy“ dragon, so you need to try pretty hard to provoke them. When they planeswalk, flames pour from their mouth and engulf them, followed by Pyrolas disappearing. This takes a little while, so they tend to do it while flying out of the way of danger.

Hits: Flying around, treasure, the fine arts, hosting tournements. Misses: Really cold places, dragon slayers, missing out on the chance to claw Bolas in his stupid dumb face, that time they went to Ixalan.

Tanzor - GUR, Shapeshifter, ? - Do you ever wonder how the multiverse fits together? Tanzor does, and they've embarked on the most ambitious planar cartography projection in the multiverse to work it out. Of course, along the way, they’ve picked up a number of other projects. These include subjects such as planar topology, monitoring aether currents, and tracking planes that have been inflicted by Phyrexians (thanks, Karn). Most recently, Tanzor has been investigating the aftershocks from the deaths of Kozilek and Ulamog, and the appearance of temporal anomalies around Tarkir. And with the possibility of more Planar Bridges being constructed, they could soon have a whole new set of issues on their hands. Or claws. Or tentacles. When you’re a changeling, it’s sometimes hard to keep track. When in doubt, check what the person you’re reflexively copying has. (When in a group of three or more people, Tanzor generally exerts concious control over their shapeshifting, as not to freak people out).

Describing Tanzor’s physical appearance is difficult, since as a changeling, it tends to shift around a lot. When changing form, it appears that their underlying changeling colour is dark blue, however. For simplicity, let’s just say they’re friend-shaped. When Tanzor planeswalkers, their form dissippates, and they appear to collapse into a single point.

Hits: Being able to be anything, wings/fins/toxins on demand, high vantage points, advanced eyeball techniques. Misses: Being asked why they can’t shapeshift into a form that isn’t injured, Phyrexians, whoever was the latest one to screw up the multiverse (currently: Bolas, previously: Gatewatch, Ugin/Sarkhan, and others).

Xand - BR, Human Rogue, Ravnica - Xand likes to introduce himself as a cultist of wealth and taste. Which is not entirely inaccurate. He’s a member of the Cult of Rakdos, he’s got money to burn, and he’s very concerned about food. But don’t mistake Xand for some regular glutton, looking to gorge on endless plates of substandard junk. Xand has standards. Out of a dozen recipes, even after days of refinement, only a few will make it to the menu of his bar - which is an unusually “classy“ environment for a Rakdos run business. Sure, you won’t find any Azorius, Selesnya or Ozhov patrons there, and higher ranked guild members tend to avoid the it, but it’s a decent place to grab a meal or a drink. And for the fancier members of Ravnican society, there’s always Café Xand, which features table cloths, a wine list and a krasis of the day. And with the countless flavours of the multiverse available to him, Xand is always looking to expand the menu.

Xand has pale brown skin and shoulder-length black hair. Like any self-respecting Rakdos cultist, he dresses in loud, colourful robes, often patched together from previous robes that didn’t survive whatever manic Rakdos event Xand was last at. He also has a surprisingly well kept set of chef’s clothing, as likes to ensure only the right ingredients get used when he’s cooking. For personal defense (and offense), Xand carries knives. Lots of knives. Too many knives, perhaps, even when you factor in his excuse that “you never know when you might need to cut a cake, or dice some vegetables”.  He’s also pretty good at using Rakdos “hype magic” to disorient his foes, since it turns out that feeling a bunch of conflicting emotions at once is really distracting. When he planewalks, Xand disappears in a burst of dark flame, which leaves a pleasant, yet unidentifiable scent.

Hits: Good food, fine wine, various parties, visiting Valor’s Reach. Misses: Canibbalism, bar fights in his bar, Orzhov insurance rates, not being able to get the right spices, people calling him Alexander.

Look at all these nice...ish people. None of them would be into Gatewatching, but they’re also not making things worse. Tanzor might be willing to help out if they’re in the right place, and if you can appeal to her self-interest, Mazamat might teach you something useful. But with the others, their self-interest is probably going to overcome their altruism most of the time. Of course, the multiverse also has some rather more... antagonistic planewalkers, but that’s for next time.

[mister-tom-a-dildo-lover]

Tomarry, Time Travel, Harry: “NOT AGAIN!“ Congrats on 2,000 Followers, dear💕😚

Fandom: Harry Potter

Pairing: Tomarry

Tags: Time-Travel AU, Drama, Curious-Tom, Pre-Tomarry, Thestrals, 

“NOT AGAIN!”

Tom had his wand out in seconds as he turned in a slow circle, trying to pinpoint where the yell of frustration had come from. The sound of crunching leaves and heavy breathing was coming from his left, and he approached the trees with caution.

A slew of swears erupted from the Forbidden Forest and he was tempted to just turn and get Slughorn. But then again, he was interested and was certain he could defend himself if need be. He was Lord Voldemort after all.

It wasn’t too far in that he found the source of the noise. A teen most likely around his age, dressed in a Hogwarts robe, was struggling to keep his bag from a small group of Thestrals that seemed very intent upon getting into it. Tom was hit with the realisation that 1.) the other teen could certainly see them judging by the scolding he was delivering, and 2.) a wand was nowhere in sight, so he didn’t wish to harm the creatures.

“I have nothing for you!” the teen explained, twisting out of the reach of one Thestral and ending up in the face of another.

Tom, who was a Prefect, decided that he could be generous for once, and stepped forward, gaining the attention of the four beings before him. The Thestrals fled instantly, leaving the teens alone.

“Um… thanks?”

He could finally see the other clearly, and nearly gaped. It shouldn’t be humanly possible to have eyes that bright a shade of green. But they actually existed.

Collecting himself immediately, Tom sent the other teen an imperious look. “The Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. You shouldn’t be here.”

Now it was the other’s turn to gape. “I haven’t been sorted yet… so do I really count as a student?”

No. Even if he was wearing the robes of the school. The lining wasn’t colored yet, so he indeed had not been sorted. Meaning no detentions could be given, nor could points be given or taken.

“You are new, I take it?” He’d never seen this person before. Tom was very good with faces.

“Yeah.”

“I’m Tom Riddle, a Prefect for Slytherin House. We’d love to have you join us if you consider it. The hat can be considerate.” I would like you to join me, he wanted to say instead, but refrained.

“I’m Harry Potter and I’m pretty sure I’ll be a Hufflepuff.”

Not bloody likely.

Tom gave his most charming smile, enjoying how it seemed to daze the other slightly. “We shall see. May I escort you back to the castle, Mr. Potter?” It wasn’t a true question, since he would be joining the other anyway.

Harry nodded, clutching his bag close to his chest. “You can just call me Harry.”

“Then I insist that you call me Tom.” Never had he wanted someone to call him by his given name before. But he wanted this, because this new student was interesting if he drew the attention of Thestrals, and had to transfer in mid-school year. Tom wanted answers to questions he hadn’t even formulated yet.

No matter the House was placed in, Tom would get what he wanted either way.

A/N: This could be the beginning of a fic.

[poorquentyn]

So Jon broke his vows... but it wasn't his idea to save Mance, even though he sent him later. Why was Mance saved, then? I recall Tormund did not know he was saved, so why? And even so, sending someone to rescue a girl without doing any damage, collateral or otherwise... isn't then defending the realms of men? One girl or one million, it's defending her from further damage, so I don't see the oathbreaking, and once he receives the letter, well... self-defence, Jon said it was to answer his words

Sending Mance to rescue (who he thought was) Arya did do damage–it led directly to the Pink Letter. “I want my bride back.” Because Jon interfered with the realm’s politics, specifically due to the family he’s supposed to put aside in favor of his brothers, he put the Night’s Watch and their larger mission at risk from Ramsay. Jon can’t claim self-defense, because unlike in the show, there was no sign in the books that the Boltons had any intentions of messing with Ned Stark’s bastard…until he messed with them. 

It’s a case study in why the Night’s Watch doesn’t interfere with politics south of the Wall. The Night’s Watch protects all of Westeros. If you tell Westeros that’s no longer the case, that the Night’s Watch is now Jon Snow’s private resource base to fight the Boltons on behalf of the Starks, the lords might decide to stop sending men or threaten to come in force, as in Ramsay’s case. Ramsay is not threatening Jon simply because he is Ramsay and that’s what he does (again, unlike the show). He is threatening Jon because Jon reached out and punched him in the face. Which is an entirely relatable and sympathetic thing for Jon Snow, person who loves Arya most of anything in this world, to do. But it is not an acceptable thing for the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch to do. 

Castle Black cannot be easily defended from the south. Why is that? It is a political statement: you have nothing to fear from us, because we believe in our neutrality so strongly that we have rendered ourselves defenseless against you. We leave ourselves open in that regard because that’s how certain we are that this will not be a problem. It’s a vital precondition for the lords allowing this institution to exist at all…and Jon, quite simply, fucked it up. Let’s not pretend that he was trying to uphold his Night’s Watch oaths when he sent Mance after his sister. He was doing it as the “boy” he’s trying to kill, the son of Winterfell. I’m sure there are many crows whose sisters are in danger, especially with there being a war on. Do they all get to send a special ops team to the rescue? No? Then why is it OK for Jon to do it?

Lord Commander Snow is not supposed to “defend the realms of men” by actively wading into their wars. The Protector of the Realm is not Jon, but Stannis, and he was doing his duty: “I will save your sister if I can.” Bringing justice to the Boltons is his job; whether Stannis succeeds or fails at that, Jon’s job is to hold the Wall. Does that demand emotional sacrifices of him? Yep! Does it demand he make some agonizing decisions about the greater good? Sure does. He has other wars to fight. That’s the job he accepted. That he strayed from his duty for relatable reasons is what makes it emotionally resonant; human heart in conflict with itself, and all that. This was the decision coming for Jon all along, from the very first book:

“Tell me, Jon, if the day should ever come when your lord father must needs choose between honor on the one hand and those he loves on the other, what would he do?”

Jon hesitated. He wanted to say that Lord Eddard would never dishonor himself, not even for love, yet inside a small sly voice whispered, He fathered a bastard, where was the honor in that? And your mother, what of his duty to her, he will not even say her name. “He would do whatever was right,” he said… ringingly, to make up for his hesitation. “No matter what.”

“Then Lord Eddard is a man in ten thousand. Most of us are not so strong. What is honor compared to a woman’s love? What is duty against the feel of a newborn son in your arms … or the memory of a brother’s smile? Wind and words. Wind and words. We are only human, and the gods have fashioned us for love. That is our great glory, and our great tragedy.

“The men who formed the Night’s Watch knew that only their courage shielded the realm from the darkness to the north. They knew they must have no divided loyalties to weaken their resolve. So they vowed they would have no wives nor children.

“Yet brothers they had, and sisters. Mothers who gave them birth, fathers who gave them names. They came from a hundred quarrelsome kingdoms, and they knew times may change, but men do not. So they pledged as well that the Night’s Watch would take no part in the battles of the realms it guarded.

“They kept their pledge. When Aegon slew Black Harren and claimed his kingdom, Harren’s brother was Lord Commander on the Wall, with ten thousand swords to hand. He did not march. In the days when the Seven Kingdoms were seven kingdoms, not a generation passed that three or four of them were not at war. The Watch took no part. When the Andals crossed the narrow sea and swept away the kingdoms of the First Men, the sons of the fallen kings held true to their vows and remained at their posts. So it has always been, for years beyond counting. Such is the price of honor.”

(Of course, we know that Ned actually wasn’t the “one man in ten thousand” Aemon is talking about, the person who would sacrifice the people he loved for the greater good. That would be Stannis, as we shall see when the Long Night falls and Mel points to Shireen.) 

As to the question of why Mance was saved, yeah, this is something I was debating with @racefortheironthrone and @rotting-sea-cow a li’l while back. I don’t think Stannis saved Mance–I think Mel acted on her own because she saw in the fires that Mance had a future role to play. Per her inner monologue: “Was I wrong to save this one?” After all, Stannis doesn’t have “Rattleshirt” do anything, whether that’s infiltrate Winterfell or head north to recruit Tormund. The king just leaves Mance with Jon to bum around Castle Black. It’s Mel who reveals the truth to Jon, with no indication that she’s made contact with Stannis about it, and she does so in response to the news about Ramsay marrying Arya, which the king didn’t know about before leaving Castle Black.

[ramblesandmumblesofanerd]

Rambling Reviews: Netflix’s Death Note

Welp, the day has come. As you can see, the Netflix version of the popular anime Death Note has just been released. And, as I said I would, I saw it. What are my initial opinions on the subject? Well, through the filter of professionalism I have put upon myself for this blog, I can certainly say that the film is dull, boring, ignores all of the rules of the source material and leaves you questioning as to why this film exists. If I were to remove this filter, all you could hear would be the incoherent screaming of a nerd who has been thoroughly wronged by whoever thought making this movie would be a good idea. For a better understanding of why this is the case, allow me to both make a few comparisons between the film and the anime/manga and also briefly talk about the film as a whole.

So, what is the plot of this particular version of Death Note? Well, one day at high school, Light Turner (ugh, that feels so wrong) comes across an old notebook which can kill people according to the onslaught of rules held within and the Death God Ryuk who practically forces the young man to try it out on a two-dimensional school bully. After he discovers the power he holds, Light and his high school sweetheart Mia Sutton decide to take it upon themselves to become KIRA, a God who will “never disappoint” and kill as many criminals as they possibly can. Eventually, the detective known as L gets involved and declares that he will capture and execute KIRA. And thus the story focuses on the struggle between Light being KIRA and also being a high school student all while trying not to be caught by L.

Firstly, things in this film just happen. The film never takes a moment to take a breath and calm down, every moment just races by at the speed of sound and smacks you in the face. Not even a full minute and thirty seconds pass until Light gets the notebook. No build up, no establishing characters, just: BOOM, Death Note. Also, the Death Note’s appearance comes with a lot of horror movie fanfare, as it comes on the breeze of a storm and causes all of the lights to flicker whenever it is being used. The same goes for Ryuk, especially in his initial appearance when he just messes around and scares the excrement out of Light. You expect big things to happen in this film, dramatic reenactments of iconic scenes lifted from the source material, but they fly by so fast that you're left wondering “...was that it?”. You wouldn’t have even known this was Death Note at the beginning of the film until you saw the title sequence.

So, I guess I should start talking about the characters at some point, shouldn’t I?

Well, Light was absolutely boring and was the complete antithesis to his predecessor. Light TURNER is just a punk high school student who helps other kids cheat on their tests for cash because his mom was killed. Oh, yeah, they go that route. One of Light’s first targets of the notebook was his mom’s killer, but I just couldn’t give a care. At all. Light Yagami was never driven by revenge (at least not until L started messing with his vision, and even then not by much), he just saw injustice in the world and his seventeen year old mind decided that if he uses  his Death Note to eliminate all of the evils of the world, he will assume the mantle of a godlike being. He does not care about anything else so long as it doesn’t benefit his vision. Granted, Light Turner eventually came to the same conclusion, but only after he got revenge and his girlfriend told him to keep going from there.

Meanwhile, there is Mia Sutton. “Who?” You may be asking? Well, she is Netflix’s version of Misa Amane, the Second Kira from the source material. She was a Japanese Pop Star who wanted to personally thank Kira after he killed the man who murdered her parents. By sheer coincidence, she came to possess her own Death Note and even more power than Light, thus how she was able to find him and become his girlfriend. Many people complain how she was not entirely necessary for most of the story, and I am willing to agree. Her character in the source material never seemed to go beyond “Love me, Senpai” and thus her intelligence in the later seasons suffered greatly. In the film, ironically, Mia is more like Light Yagami than Light Turner was for most of the film. She was the Id to Light’s Ego, as she constantly strived to eliminate all opposing forces, going so far as to plan ahead for certain scenarios. She was manipulative towards Light and vindictive to all who opposed KIRA. This would have made for an interesting twist, but by the time the climax was happening and everyone was going all in, I just couldn’t bother to care anymore.

Speaking of not caring, that is exactly how I believe the writers felt about the original, true version of L; they didn’t care, so they just made their own version. L in the source material was an orphan with a brilliant mind, one very similar to Sherlock Holmes. His soon to be butler and father figure Watari raised him at an orphanage where other children would soon be raised to succeed him should the need ever arise. This was due to the fact that L soon became a detective of then unparalleled genius and determination, solving all sorts of previously difficult or unsolved cases left and right until the day when KIRA became a looming threat. He is seen as secretive, emotionless, analytical, and deceptive in spite of his disheveled appearance. He is the perfect man to take on a mysterious psychopath like KIRA, be it from the shadows to keep his identity a secret, or face to face under a slew of fake names and aliases. Now, take all of that, and completely ignore it in this film. Netflix L is an overemotional child who openly mocks and taunts KIRA in the open without any form of protection other than a mask. He just comes out and says “HI, I will be your L for the evening!” And don’t get me started on him emotionally freaking out about losing control over the case to the point of actually holding a gun to Light’s head.

But what about Ryuk, the one character I was actually looking forward to seeing on the screen? Well, he is a mixed bag for me. On the one hand, I do actually like the way he looks, the effects are mostly practical and you do believe he is in the room...from the neck down. From the neck up, in spite of some moments, you can tell that the CGI isn’t registering as realistic to your eyes, so all you’re thinking is that Ryuk is just a man with either a green face mask or motion capture dots on his head. As for his character, Ryuk has apparently been a traitorous backstabber who has been passing down the Death Note for generations who constantly taunts Light for not just simply killing everyone who opposes him. All he’s really meant to do in this version is exposit rules about the notebook (most of which don’t even exist in the source material), laugh a bit and look scary. And yes, while the original Ryuk did that, he never came off as a threat rather than an interested bystander. Ryuk was a shinigami who just got bored in his world one day, as all you can really do in a world full of immortal death gods is gamble and sleep so long as you write enough names in your notebook to keep yourself alive. He sees how Light uses the Death Note and basically hangs around to watch the show and laugh at the funny humans until Light either gives up the notebook or dies. That’s what I like about the original Ryuk, he’s just a spectator and is thus an odd reflection of the audience.Netflix Ryuk is just a spiteful spirit who is more interested in Mia than Light.

So, you have failure across the board for all of the iconic characters, Not even the secondary characters like Light’s Dad or Watari get a pass, as they either have no character at all or the character we are given is so poorly written or overdone that we just do not care about them. Every character just felt so two-dimensional that I felt like I was watching a film starring a cast of cardboard cutouts. The only one who gave somewhat of a good performance was the tag team of Willem Dafoe as Ryuk’s voice and the poor shlub who had to physically be Ryuk.

And the effects...lordy the effects. When it comes to the deaths in this film, they are somewhat gruesome if not ridiculous. The first two deaths are reminiscent of Final Destination, as they are executed through what I can only describe as a Rube Goldberg Machine of Coincidence, and when the payoff comes watch out! There’s so much blood and gore, I’m surprised the town wasn’t painted red by the end of the movie. While death is kind of a big deal in this franchise, the way the film executed it was quite silly if not sickening.

So, in the end, Netflix’s Death Note was not a good film. It’s not even good in the “so bad, it’s good kind of way.” Fans will hate it because of how much it gets wrong and casual observers will just be bored and confused by it. I understand that when it comes to making an adaptation, some things need to be changed or erased, but when die hard fans of the source material leave your film feeling so much agitation that they want to make an entry in their sub-par blog(s) to talk about why it doesn’t work by repeatedly comparing it to the source material, perhaps it would have been better not to make your film in the first place. So, unless you like torture, avoid this film.

In the meantime, never stop rambling, TM

[lostsummerdayz]

Castle Point Anime Convention Wrap-Up!

Castle Point Anime Convention is in the books! It surely indeed was one for the books as well, coming from someone who has not attended Castle Point in literal years. Try...2012 to be exact. Seven years passes by so flipping fast. To think, the last time I was at this convention was back when I was a mere nineteen year old! Regardless, time flies and as we get older and we evolve, so too must our conventions that we attend. If conventions do not improve of evolve, then they will never last for the long term. Rather dire things to say for an opening to a wrap-up post, but it’s how I personally feel on the matter. It’s a challenge for grassroots conventions to pull it off, but for those who do, the payoffs are grand. In Castle Point’s case, they have pulled it off. They have evolved greatly from the small yet modest “college con” that I recall attending way back when.

KDA Akali by projectxayah and KDA Evelynn by melanubis

As such, to end this foreword, I’ll be making some comparisons to the last time I attended CPAC back in 2012, to now, throughout this article. It’s going to be quite a lengthy read, so strap in everyone!

The Meadowlands Expo venue was simple to arrive with no issues on our end. A simple fifteen-minute-at-best-half-hour-at-worse-due-to-traffic bus ride from Port Authority was all that was needed to arrive. The bus stop even lets you off directly in front of the convention center itself! Here is where I can immediately talk about how helpful the staff was towards myself and the rest of the podcast. When we needed help as far as knowing where to go and con assistance in general, everyone was able to help, but, there weren’t any crowding that I noticed as well. Lines were handled well, and the Dealer’s Room/Artist Alley, places where there’s known to be a packed pandemonium, was handled well. Mainly this was due in part to there being a designated entrance and a designated exit. Take notes future cons!

As the time drew nearer for the gates to be open, the hall slowly but surely filled itself with various cosplayers, attendees wearing gaming and anime inspired apparel, and soon enough the events began.

One of the first events was a maid performance, made to kick off the opening of the anime convention. It certainly had set the tone for the convention for sure, where one could hear it in ambiance even if they weren’t there to physically attend.

After the opening ceremonies concluded, I was left to explore the event as it were. One of the first stops I take in any convention is within the game room, so to speak. Majority of the games featured, due in part from the Snow Phoenix team, in the game room below are games in which I have played at least once, play on a regular at the local arcade, or games in which I never had played before (Or ever will play outside of cons)

Regardless of which category the games fell under, it’s always fun to go back to these games from time to time. Free play is just a bonus in all honesty. My personal favorite of the games featured here had to have been Sound Voltex, always a fine game in my book. The second being Crossbeats, a touch based rhythm game which, sadly, development ceased as of last year. It’s still a great game to go back to from time to time.

Another portion of the game room were console setups. These had a slew of fighting games ranging from the Street Fighter Collection to Mortal Kombat 11, Soul Calibur 6 to Tekken 7, and of course an entire section of CRT televisions dedicated to Melee. Tournaments were held throughout the weekend, which, unfortunately I didn’t make it as far as I would have liked. However, those who I had met were friendly enough to me.

Back on the topic of rhythm games, I had attended a rhythm game panel that was being presented later on that afternoon. The convention was split into two venues. The main venue, at the Meadowlands Expo, had the main events while the Holiday Inn had the extra panels. This was where the Rhythm Game panel was held.

Held by RhythmCore Gaming, the rhythm game panel spoke about the history of rhythm games, mainly focusing on Bemani games, as well as touching upon mobile rhythm games briefly as well. For those reading who aren’t aware of what a “Bemani” is, essentially it’s the rhythm game division of Konami. Familiar titles include Dance Dance Revolution, Beatmania IIDX, Sound Voltex, Pop’n Music, and so much more.

All in all, as far as presentation, it was a well run panel. From a technical standpoint, the Castle Point staff made sure all equipment that were in use were running well, as far as projectors for example. Crowd control was also handled quite well, to avoid overflow. From the panelist’s standpoint, I feel they had gotten the gist of what each game is and how they play. Being slightly critical, I feel some of those who were assigned to talk about a specific game went more in depth with their game than others, but I know more than anyone the challenge of running a rhythm game panel.

See, way back in 2013, I, too, ran a rhythm game panel at a convention that has long since been discontinued. A good friend of mine and I both ran the panel, yet, with technical difficulties due to the inability of the staff to assist us, as well as not informing the panel ahead of us that we were running late due to the technical difficulties, the experience gave me more of a headache than I’d like to admit.

An awesome ass couple cosplay that, sadly, did not have any social media :( I still dug it!

However, this is where I can once again praise the Castle Point staff for being on top of making sure the panel ran smoothly. I can also give respect to the RhythmCore Gaming group for tackling on a subject to appeal to a crowd that may look at an arcade rhythm game in fear and confusion. I suppose I admit I attended this panel to see how others would tackle such a topic. I give the panel a “Certified Nay’s Thumb Up.”

For the rest of the convention, I had made sure to try to get my fill in of taking pictures of as many cosplayers as I found whom caught my eye, all of whom you’ll see throughout this post. One in particular who caught my eye was a Kasumi cosplayer.

Kasumi from Persona 5 Royale by ZodiacKind

See, again, for the reader who may not know this about me. I am a huge Persona fan. When I had heard news that Persona 5 Royale was a thing and I had saw the trailer earlier that same week, I was hoping that the cosplay community would work fast.

The cosplay community would not disappoint me.

This cosplayer deserves special mention just for having this at the ready so quickly, so, for that I appreciate this so much!

Another cosplayer who I felt deserved an honorable mention was a woman who was a very good Sub-Zero, but also earlier that weekend she was Kratos. I had the chance to interview her as Sub-Zero in which the video can be found below.

Sub-Zero by Amarys Berry

I mentioned in my previous post about Winter Brawl that vendors are the underappreciated glue that holds a regional/major together. There will be a post separate from this one where I interview one of the vendors from Artist Alley, but the same sentiment is stated here. There are so many vendors in the Artist Alley with their own story and own purpose for doing what they love.

I, in fact, covered an Artist Alley vendor at the Con itself! However, I feel a paragraph alone won’t be enough to give them justice, so please be sure to read the companion article here where I discuss meeting with Bunnies & Cream! You don’t want to miss it, for sure!

In any case, the same could be said for cosplayers. Cosplayers are not so much the glue, but the exoskeleton that makes the entire convention worth it. Each cosplayer has their own story in terms of what got them into it, how long they’ve been doing it, and what made them cosplay certain characters.

Unfortunately, things can tend to go awry when you least expect it. The blade on your sword prop may hang loose, an annoying thread may linger on one’s dress, a shirt may be ripping from the seams. All of these nightmares are easily avoided by those on standby who are dedicated to make any mess a fixable one!

This was quite possibly one of the few points of interest that I saw at the convention. An “all in one” emergency repair station not unlike one you would see at a convention. I couldn’t help myself. I had to learn more. Thankfully these guys were friendly enough to answer my questions I’ve had. Big thanks!

With all of the maintenance that goes into making the perfect, subjectively of course, cosplay, no matter if it’s been a decade or ten days, every cosplayer is equally important to the well-being of any convention.

Even moreso when cosplayers engage in violent carnage within the squared circle and go for a swinging neck cutter as a finishing move.

In what was perhaps the highlight of the convention, the Cosplay Pro Wrestling event was a fitting end to an action packed weekend. Although I had caught it while in the middle of the event, what surprised me the most was how there was an actual story arc.

From what I was able to gather, the main story arc revolved around the face, or hero, Big Boss, feuding with Team Rocket, who formed an allegiance with Princess Peach. The main event was scheduled for Big Boss vs Princess Peach for the title.

Throughout the set, one of the matches I did see in its fullest was Winter Soldier versus, and I quote, “Jeff Harley Quinn.”

As you could expect from the name alone, this Harley Quinn shared a lot of Jeff Hardy’s likeliness as far as his mannerisms and his moveset. What one may not have expected, was Winter Soldier, who bore resemblance and a moveset similar to Roman Reigns.

Spears, Twists of Fates, Leg Drops, and Swanton Bombs were present here as one would expect to see from fans of both wrestlers, yet they also brought about some of Quinn’s cunning which was what gave her the overall victory.

Harley Quinn by Catie V

Eventually, after a match of Link vs Liu Kang, the main event transpired. Paing homage to heel stables of the Attitude Era, trickery was used while Team Rocket was able to give enough damage to Big Boss to have Princess Peach secure the pin.

However, when all hope seemed lost... Mario and Luigi, decked out in “Bullet Bill Club” shirts, went out and chased Team Rocket as well as Princess Peach out of the ring. What followed after was a tag team match, with more story building now that the Bullet Bill Club entered the scene.

There was so much more that could be said as to what transpired in this two hour finale to an otherwise action packed weekend, including one of the guys from Attack on Titan fighting Isabelle from Animal Crossing, but it was one of those events where you had to be there to experience it.

That’s the one thing I can say about the convention. For a two-day con, there was always something to experience. If you wanted to meet one of your favorite voice actresses like I had, you could do so.

If you wanted to take in the sights and experience panels and learn new things about otaku culture and the like, you could do so as well. There’s literally no right or wrong way to attend the convention and the only thing that I can recommend is to do everything you possibly can. Unfortunately some conventions don’t have that, but, with this year’s Castle Point I can definitely say that the community as well as the staff had pulled out all the stops to make it memorable.

With that said in conclusion, for this being my first anime convention of the year, it was a fantastic way to start. Thank you once again to the Castle Point staff for giving myself and my fellow members of the Geeks podcast for giving us the opportunity. I’ll definitely try to attend next year for sure.

As always, may the Lost Summer never end! Tune to us soon for the next post!

[studythewordatalltimes]

After Pentecost: The Apostles Deployed

Consistent in Their Message

The apostles couldn’t have been surprised when they were found and taken before the Sanhedrin after their escape from prison. God, not man, had set them free, and they had not exactly been quiet after their release. Even so, this was still a new experience for most of the apostles.

The Sanhedrin were riled up. They did not want to admit they had made a mistake in killing Jesus or had missed the Messiah they had been anticipating. Rather than consider the possibility that the Gospel might be true, they remained callous to the Holy Spirit is conviction. They concerned themselves only with the perceived threat that the Gospel posed to their control and influence in the Jewish community. The accusation they hurled at the apostles expressed a desire to be absolved of guilt, but refusal to confess it.

The apostles’ response to the Sanhedrin’s accusations offered no such absolution. Instead, they spoke the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth calmly and with confidence, not excusing the Sanhedrin’s role in Jesus’ death, but pointing it out. Then they proclaimed forgiveness through Jesus Christ to those who repent of, or turn away from, their sin.

Rather than being accusatory, combative, or rude, the apostles’ message was actually a loving one. Their faithfulness to convey the Gospel message in whole, not in part, gave the Sanhedrin an opportunity to repent. Had the Sanhedrin been open to the Holy Spirit, they could have found salvation that day, but they were not.

The apostles refused to decide for themselves who should or shouldn’t have access to the Gospel or presuppose who would or would nto repent. They simply did their job and gave the Holy Spirit room to do His, just as Jesus had done.

The Pharisees valued reputation, power, and rank over sincere worship and humility. In conversation with them, Jesus delivered a message that required the Pharisees to admit fault, putting them on the same level as people they considered to be beneath them. They resisted. Their pride kept the Pharisees from hearing the Truth, but did not keep Jesus from proclaiming it.

What about you? Are you more concerned with pleasing people or seeing them saved? Who determines the content of your Gospel message, your audience or God? Does the Gospel message you proclaim include the reality of sin and the need for repentance? Is it a loving one?

“But when the officers came, and found them not in the prison, they returned, and told, Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers standing without before the doors: but when we had opened, we found no man within. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and teaching the people. Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when they had brought them, they set them before the council: and the high priest asked them, Saying, Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭5:22-32‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭11:37-54‬ ‭KJV‬‬

[frederickwiddowson]

Luke 13:1 ¶  There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2  And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things? 3  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. 4  Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? 5  I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

 Jesus continues, as someone speaks of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, and his atrocities against Galileans at worship. He responds with a question that points at reality. When someone suffers do you think they were being singled out as the worst of the worst? Are there not many others just as evil or sinful who go unpunished? But, if you do not repent and turn from your sins and turn towards God you will also perish.

 He brings up a point about an accident, the falling of a tower that killed eighteen persons. Again, He asks them if they think these victims were the worst people in Jerusalem. Of course not, but unless you repent you, too, shall perish.

 Repenting of your sins against God and turning to Him is a fundamental doctrine of Christ. Paul wrote;

 Hebrews 6:1 ¶  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,

 Dead works are defined Biblically as works of the flesh, sins. Read Hebrews, chapter 9 for the context.

 Hebrews 9:14  How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

 To repent is to turn from something, changing your mind about it and rejecting it.

 Exodus 32:12  Wherefore should the Egyptians speak, and say, For mischief did he bring them out, to slay them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth? Turn from thy fierce wrath, and repent of this evil against thy people.

 Ezekiel 18:30  Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

     13:6 ¶  He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. 7  Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? 8  And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: 9  And if it bear fruit, well: and if

not, then after that thou shalt cut it down.

 Israel is likened to a fig tree in the Old Testament. Here is one example;

 Hosea 9:10  I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

 This statement about God’s forbearance and patience as Christ asks the Father for more time with the warning that there is a specific limit to God’s patience. The time is coming when the fig tree that is not bearing fruit will have to come down.

 For the Christian, which each one is a type of the nation of Israel, God also calls for fruit to be produced through the work of the Holy Spirit in how we treat God, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and our fellow men and women in general.

 It has been mentioned previously that the fruit or proof of having the Holy Spirit indwelling is found in Galatians, chapter 5. They are sharply contrasted against the dead works, the works of the flesh. The entire passage and warning bear repeating here.

 Galatians 5:13 ¶  For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. 14  For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 15  But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another. 16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law. 19  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21  Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23  Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24  And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. 25  If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26  Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another.

 If we do not bear fruit how long should God have patience with us before He cuts us down in this life on earth?

 We, too, should be grateful that we, when unbelievers, had one more season of restraint before judgment was to come upon us in this life. And it was God’s forbearance that gave us time to be saved for eternity as we wallowed blindly in our stubborn selfishness.

 Romans 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

     13:10 ¶  And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sabbath. 11  And, behold, there was a woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could in no wise lift up herself. 12  And when Jesus saw her, he called her to him, and said unto her, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. 13  And he laid his hands on her: and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God. 14  And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them therefore come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day. 15  The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? 16  And ought not this woman, being

a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the sabbath day? 17  And when he had said these things, all his adversaries were ashamed: and all the people rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by him.

 I have known elderly people who were bent over from various diseases. Some call this ‘old-age posture’. This does not say, though, that the woman was elderly although old-age in this culture came a lot earlier than it does now for women with primitive medical assistance and unending, back-breaking work day-in and day-out. There could have been several reasons for this woman’s trouble. But, Jesus healed her with words here that are classic, Woman, thou art loosed from thine infirmity. If we are not loosed here we will be loosed upon our physical body’s death and we will not be in the presence of the Lord in a crooked, broken body of flesh but in a glorified body, redeemed by God.

 Romans 8:23  And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

 As Jesus made His statement of why it was perfectly justified to heal this woman on the Sabbath He made a point that Satan had bound her. This gives us a clue as to the origin of certain diseases. A careful reading of the book of Job will show us that this is possible. Although it is clear that God can directly ordain someone to suffer from a disease it is also clear that He can give Satan permission to do that and we would never know the difference on this earth, while we are in this body.

 Job 2:3  And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. 4  And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. 5  But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he

will curse thee to thy face. 6 And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but

save his life.

 2Corinthians 12:7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.

 And yet;

 Deuteronomy 28:58  If thou wilt not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and fearful name, THE LORD THY GOD; 59  Then the LORD will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. 60  Moreover he will bring upon thee all the diseases of Egypt, which thou wast afraid of; and they shall cleave unto thee. 61  Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, them will the LORD bring upon thee, until thou be destroyed.

 You cannot possibly know whether God has permitted Satan to harass you or whether it is part of God’s perfect, direct will. You can treat the physical symptoms and underlying physical and emotional causes of a disease but you will not know now from where it came. But, it is clear in this passage that Satan doesn’t just afflict important people like Job. He deals his misery to common people as well. In fact, death is his bailiwick on this earth now.

 Hebrews 2:14 ¶  Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

 There is an implication in passages like this that while we seek the most advanced medical knowledge to treat the unpleasant, painful, and even deadly issues of life we must also look to the spiritual side of illness. Consider the following;

 James 5:14  Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: 15  And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.

[love-transparentstudentarca-blog]

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"Is nationwide a good car insurance?

im thinking of switching from geico to nationwide it would be way cheaper but i know cheaper isnt always better

BEST ANSWER:  Try this site where you can compare quotes: : http://averageinsurancecosts.xyz/index.html?src=tumblr 

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I've had acne since my teens but it's really been bothering me lately psychologically and hurting alot when trying to sleep on my back from cysts. Also sometimes minor acne on my face has been causing permanent scars. I want to go to the dermatologist and see if I can get accutane, but I just got my health insurance beginning of the year and had no creditable coverage before that. According to their written policy, I might not be eligible since I actually went to the doctor and got antibiotics for acne less than 24 months before enrollment in the health plan. I would like to say that the condition manifested itself in the past month psychologically which caused me to seek out accutane, which is true. Should I even mention my past diagnosis can they check it somehow? I really don't want to pay $3000 out of pocket for accutane, but I feel I really need to do this now for my own well being. What should I say to the doctor, how much will they investigate preexisting condition""

How do I sue my car insurance company?

I was in a car accident in March 2008 in a parking lot. The insurance companies BOTH decided that we were 50/50 at fault for the accident. During this process I kept getting phone calls asking me to verify WHY a person not on my policy was driving my car at the time of the accident. I repeatedly corrected the insurance companies...yes BOTH of them...saying that I AM AN INSURED DRIVER and I was driving my car. I had no passengers. I was in an accident with another single driver with no passengers. Eventually it seemed like everything was fine. The claim closed on May 2 and I thought it was all over. BUT today, May 29, I received a letter in the mail telling me that policy is being cancelled because WE HAD REQUESTED INFORMATION REGARDING --------- AS THE DRIVER OF THE 03/27/2008 CLAIM. TO DATE, THIS HAS NOT BEEN RECEIVED. I have NO IDEA what they are talking about. He is the OTHER driver. However, they are pretty much ignoring my calls and emails. What can I do???""

I had a car accident without insurance and they told me to get insurance my question is wold they help me?

I had a car accident without insurance and they told me to get insurance my question is would they help me with my car if i had the accident anyway and how they gonna help me?

What will happen if I don't sign up for covered california health insurance?

I live in ca, I don't have healthcare and I am eligible for covered ca health insurance. What will happen if I don't sign up for it? Do I have too? Will I get in trouble if I don't?""

How much would car insurance cost for a 17 year old from allstate in california?

does it also matter what kind of a car it is? I have a 1999 chevy malibu

Car insurance trouble?

i had posted this question earlier just not in the right way.so i have a car and its not under my name because im so young to have a new car with insurance under my name so its all under my aunts name. the insurance and everything else is in her name but its my car.so i have to go on a business trip to Vegas and my aunts flipping out!!! because she says i cant take the car because the insurance its not in my name and the car isnt either so im just really frustrated trying to figure out what to do besides flying?can she buy insurance for a couple days so i can go?

What amount would you consider affordable for health insurance and how did you arrive at this figure?

What amount would you consider affordable for health insurance and how did you arrive at this figure?

I'm shopping for Auto Insurance can you help?

Can anyone tell me their experience with GEICO insurance. I'm shopping for auto insurance and they have the better quote so far. I've got quotes from State Farm and Allstate. Thanks...

Finding health insurance that covers meds?

i turn 26 next year and i really need health insurance when i get kicked off my parents plan... i dont know what to do. what is just the most inexpensive way to get my meds? i take adderall and paxil. thank you

How much will my car insurance drop when i turn 25?

How much will my car insurance drop when i turn 25?

Will an insurance company know if I leave another insurance company without paying?

I am actually on my mom's policy, (we split the bill) and we are unable to come up with all the money they want(two months payments) totaling $1200.00. today is the cutoff day on our insurance now. she told me just to go to a different insurance company. her name is the name on the insurance we have now, so i don't think they will find out, or will they? please help!""

Where can i find affordable health insurance??

I am turning 23 in feb. and i loose my dependant status because my parents are military so i need to find some health insurance.

How can i get cheaper car insurance?

I have 2 years no claims bonus and im 19 and only drive a little 1.4 honda civic, but my insurance premium this year is apparantly going to be 900 (cheapest quote) is there any way of lowering this utterly rediculous price? I thought that after a couple of years driving the price was supposed to go down significantly well this is not the case.""

Im looking for a car thats as fast as any normal 1.6 but is cheap on insurance?

Im 20 years old and i am looking for a car with the same acceleration or bhp as a normal 1.6 normal but i would like one that's cheaper on insurance

Haggling Car insurance?

I am 20 years old Guy, and my car insurance is up for renewal, i have a Peugeot 306 hdi 2.0 turbo diesel. I have 2 years driving experience, however only have had a car for 1 year. I have had no claims, no tickets, no points on my lisence. Im Fully Comprehensive, live in a good area, have no criminal record, and park my car on the drive. I have my father, a Police Officer with 30 years no claims and 30 years experience as a named driver on my insurance. My Insurance last year was 1400 (steep yeah) and now its up for renewal i have had a quote of 1100. To me, this seems really steep seeing as surely by now i have proved that i am not some boy racer with a deathwish. My question is, do you guys think ill be able to get this price down with alittle haggling, what would you expect to pay for insurance if you where in my situation?""

What if i bought a used car and didnt get insurance? ?

what would happen if i got into a wreck?

Self Drive Hire car insurance?

Is therer any insurance company out there will insure under 21 on self drive hire cars?

Wondering how much is car insurance?

i am wondering how much is car insurance a month for a small car if you know an estimate please write it down

How and why do the British put with with ridiculous auto insurance rates?

I've heard of times where it costs more to insure the car than what the value of the car is worth. How did this happen and why do people let it continue?

How can I sort out this car insurance issue in the UK?

I've been living in the UK doing some studies for 3 years. When I came to the UK, I didn't know how to drive a car. Also, I found it difficult to pass the driving test in the UK and afford private driving lessons. Few months ago, I went for a 3-month holiday in my original country, Egypt. There, learning how to drive is much easier and less expensive. Besides, issuing a driving license is not so difficult as the theoretical and practical tests are not so complicated. Therefore, I decided to learn and get a national license. Based on this license, I could issue an international one from Cairo that allowed me to drive in some countries one of which is the UK. However, when I returned to the UK and decided to by car, I found a proper one for 550. I decided to buy it, but I was asked to go online to get a quote from a car insurance company. I spent the whole night trying all the websites that my friends told me about. The shocking fact is that many of them refused to give me a quote because I hold an international license, not a UK one. Even those websites which accepted that requested a huge amount of money (i.e. not less than 1, 200-1, 600) which is much higher than the price of the car itself. I wonder if there's a way to sort this out or if there's any alternative solution that saves money for me. I don't want to go through any further driving tests in the UK. Also, I don't want to provide wrong data (e.g. having a full-UK license). Your suggestions are highly valued (serious answers please as I really feel down!). Thanks so much in advance!""

Does a Dodge Dart have sports car insurance?

If i buy a dodge dart Rallye and it has the 1.4L turbo engine, will i have to pay for sports car insurance?I have statefarm..""

Woul insurance rates change depending on transmission type?

would automatic transmission cost more for insurance or manual? or does it not matter curious to know....

Is nationwide a good car insurance?

im thinking of switching from geico to nationwide it would be way cheaper but i know cheaper isnt always better

19 yr old looking for a fast & cheapest insurance car...?

So im 19 and looking for the best option in car with a cheap enough insurance <2,000. Wanting a car that is about as fast or sporty as im going to get for also <2,000. Any suggestions ???""

""I am 26 and currently a student and i dont have a job,i was looking for an affordable health insurance.?""

I am 26 and currently a student and i dont have a job,i was looking for an affordable health insurance.?""

Car insurance question?

My car is currently under my parents name any under my parents insurance. It was a gift from my parents but we never bothered changing the ownership over and it wasn't a big deal since we live in the same home. I am planning on moving out soon, do I need to have the car put in to my own name to get my own insurance and to make it legal? I've heard that continuing to pay through their plan without living in there house would make it void. If I don't change my ID right away would it still count as me not living there?""

Since car insurance is required?

and for many car ownership is not an oppition, should car insurance be on a sliding scale?""

""How much Unemployment Insurance if I made $50,000?""

How much money would I get from UI(Unemployment Insurance) if I made $50,000 Annually? I live in California, and I know the max is $450 a week. But I have a feeling that $50,000 doesn't qualify for the max. So how much do you think one person would qualify for if they made $50,000 Salary.""

Why is there such a big difference in premiums from reputable car insurance vs. cheap ??

Sorry for my use of generalizations, but its no big secret. reputable: American Family, State Farm, Farmers etc cheap : progressive, geico, etc. why are my quotes 3 times higher for the reputable, is it worth the drastic rate increase?""

How much does my car insurance go up after speeding ticket? ?

How much does my car insurance go up after speeding ticket? ?

Is insurance for a two door car higher than a four door car's?

is insurance for a two door car higher than a four door car's?

Tell me about your motorcycle insurance.?

i'd like to do a quick survey: how much do you pay; what type of bike; your age and location? who do you buy from?

Car Insurance company?

Hey I had this car accident. Therefore, I exchanged the whole information, including driver's license, plate number and everything. Even the guy's signature that he is responsible for this accident. Therefore, I called his insurance company representative last thursday, but the insurance guy was away, so he just received the voicemail. I called the representative again and he was still away from the desk. Would it possible this would take this long time? Thanks.""

Why did my car insurance go up almost $10 a month?!?

This is total bullcrap! I have the same car. I got not tickets or at fault accidents. Yet they raised my premium!

If my car insurance gets canceled b/c of late payments?

will they reinstate it again if i paid what i owed in full?

""I got rear-ended and my car insurance was cancelled a month ago, what's going to happen?""

I live in Oregon. I've been faithful with car insurance for about 4 years now, full comp and coverage. My auto-magic payment did not go through one month and my insurance was cancelled. An insured driver hit me, police cited him at fault. What is going to happen to me, my license and vehicle. The police didn't take my car or cite me for no insurance after knowing mine was cancelled. What will the DMV say and what should I do to save my butt?""

What effect does Cat D car insurance have on how much you pay?

What effect does Cat D car insurance have on how much you pay?

""I know NOTHING about insurance, I'm looking for car insurance?

My friend sent me the link to this website http://quck-insurance-quote.com and I'm wondering if it is good information I should use?

How much does canadian car insurance cost for a 20yr old male NEW driver for a used CAR or used SUV?

Just give me an estimate for a car or an suv in canada. Just an estimate. I know its different for all cars and suvs but just give me an idea obviously the differences CANNOT be thousands and its gonna be in a certain range. if u can give me a range fine, give me a range im just a new driver and male, 20. these stupid car insurance companies cant even give me that much its not like im going to be paying 9000$ instead of 300$.""

How much do you pay for health insurance per month?

Just your portion/ per month / your age I am 30 and did not choose a health plan at work because I think $170 a month for basic HMO is too much for a single healthy person. I used to pay $60 with dental and vision at my last job (which I know is really cheap). When I interviewed here they told me they had a great health plan. Well, guess what they lied! I will definatly be asking more questions about health insurance when I talk salary for my next position.""

What questions do the ask you when you call for a motorcycle insurance quote?

What questions do the ask you when you call for a motorcycle insurance quote?

Insurance for a new financed car?

I'm planning on financing a car. (May be a Kia Forte, Hyndai accent, or something simmilar). Right now I just have liability insurance and want to know what type of insurance I have to have legally to drive a new financed car. All advice are appreciated. Thanks.""

How much is a insurance for a mustang?

And the parts for it cost a lot

What health insurance company would work?

what insurance would be cheapest for a 18 year old female with no health problems?

How much info do the govt have on what sort of car insurance u have?

Like as long as I have an insurance certificate am I sweet until I have an accident? Or if I give the insurance company wrong info for a cheaper quote will the govt find out? If so how? My mates had his car for ages and has no insurance and the police have never said anything to him Cheers

Gap insurance on salvaged vehicle?

I recently bought a salvaged 2006 Honda Civic Ex for $10,800. The only damage that this car received was the airbag was blown during an accident. But it was replaced ever since. How will gap insurance work for this salvaged car?""

How much would a doctors check up be without insurance?

Please excuse my grammar, but I'm a bit panicky. I need to know the cost of a doctors check up in California for a 21 year old man without insurance. My boyfriend has been having some chest pains, and we think he sprained his wrist. I'm so worried about him. He can't afford insurance at the moment, due to the fact that he can barely pay for his college classes and food. I need an estimate from anyone who has been in a similar situation. Thank you so much in advance!!""

Is selling life insurance a lucrative job?

I am tired of all the jobs I've ever had!!!! I don't have a career and have been asked if I'd like to sell life insurance. It's for a good, and well known company and it isn't cold selling or telemarketing. Is it worth doing? How annoying are life insurance sales people? (i've never liked them), but people do need it. tell me what you think. I'd appreciate it.""

Is nationwide a good car insurance?

im thinking of switching from geico to nationwide it would be way cheaper but i know cheaper isnt always better

Car accident? insurance???

Long story short, I was in an at fault car accident (only because I crossed the double-yellow line) but thats beside the point. It came off as my fault. Now the other driver was driving a 2003 audi they're saying his car is totalled. So he's probably going to be getting a pretty hefty check. For my car insurance, I only have liability so its 1,300 a year. That's $108.33 a month. How much do you think it will go up after the settlement is given? I heard that it will go up so much percent for like 3 years??? I am 19 years old , and will be driving for almost a year at the end of October.""

What's the average price for teenage insurance?

my parents are making me pay for my insurance over the summer, but they won't tell me how much it is until then. can someone tell me the average price or something? i drive a 2000 mazda b truck (similar to a ford ranger). i just need a rough estimate. thanks!""

What is the average cost of car insurance for an 18 year old female in California?

What is the average cost of car insurance for an 18 year old female in California?

Can i go on another person's insurance?

im 18 and my mom doesnt drive. i got quoted for 358/month (female) would it be possible to go under another family members insurance (aunts, uncle) or does it have to be your parents (same adress)?""

Insurance Broker?

I am thinking about become an auto insurance broker. How do I get licensed and where can I buy the software thats needed?

How much would insurance cost. The car is a 2000 Lincoln Continental.?

How much would it cost I would mostlikely be put on my parents policy. Just wondering how much it would cost. Im 16.

Im pregnant and dont have insurance?

im pregnant and the father picked up and left any way what do i do????? i really need insurance i need to make sure im okay please help thanks

How much does business car insurance cost?

How much does business car insurance cost?

Need to switch car insurance?

i am 18 and a female, i have a car under my parents name along with the insurance. last year i was in a car accident, and this year my insurance went up to $2000 a year with statefarm. i have to come up with $400 for the renewal period now. we've looked for insurance to something cheaper but cant find anything...can anybody help me find a cheaper insurance or where to look for one. thank you so much""

Car insurance for learner driver UK?

I am considering to buy a car before I pass my test. Without buying the car first I can't get a quote online. I understand insurance is not much differenet for a learner driver and someone that just passed their test. Anyone knows how much roughly insurance cost for a learner driver? Thinking of getting a 2002-2003 ford focus, and I am a female 27 years of age if that makes any difference.""

""Better Grades, Better Car Insurance?

how does that work that if you have good grades your car insurance goes down? How much does it go down?

Is it true that you have a red car you pay less insurance?

one of my friends told me that if you have a red car you pay less insurance ... i wanted to know if this is true and if so what is the reason for it .. thanks for the info and God Bless

How much cost an insurance car in North Carolina?

How much cost an insurance car in North Carolina?

What insurance companies are in massachusetts?

I believe that insurance in mass is horrible, but I don't know if there are even other insurance companies here where can I find out?""

How much will State Farm raise insurance for a toll violation?

I didn't have any money on me so the attendant wrote down my license plate number and I went through. Here in Florida it counts a s a moving violation and is 3 points on your license. It's my dad's car, so I assume the points will be put on his license unfortunately. How will this affect his rates?""

Acura integra insurance?

im about to buy a 95 integra 2 door coupe stick shift... and my parents want to know the the cost of insurance before i buy it. but state farm is closed today and tommorrow. So are there any teen guys that have this car or similar one, and how much does your insurance cost. and im going to need collision coverage as well... and i will be listed under my parents with good student discount and safe driving stuff... so yeah just give me your thoughts on how much""

Looking for an inexpensive sports car?

I'm 16 and on my second car I've had an Mazda RX8 which i didn't care to much for and now have a mustang; I was looking for something with a little power and is preferable a coupe, insurance cost isn't a problem and when i say inexpensive i mean under 35 grand.""

How to get Health Insurance when you are 17?

My parents are divorced and my sister and I have been living with our mom. However, we received health insurance through our father's place of work. Now he is applying for disability and has quit his job, so currently my sister and I have no health insurance. Because of this, my mom forbids me to take my car or motorcycle out because if my sister or I get hurt, there is no way for us to pay for it (we are suffering financially because my mom's hours at work got cut, and she is still recovering from breast cancer). Anyway, is there any way for me to obtain health insurance (or at least help my mom to) that would be affordable? We live in New York State""

If my wife buys a car will my current insurance increase?

My wife is going to buy a car to learn in and use to get used to driving after passing her test. I am insured on my car and she is a named driver. If she gets a car and is insured as the main driver in it when I tell my insurance about her car how will my insurance be affected? Her insurance will probably be with a different company.

Insurance Coverage?

HI I was in accident about 5 Month ago..I was seen by a doctors but I stopped going becuase I didn't have that much pain. Now I started having all this pain on my legs..so My question is, if I go see a doctor now, does my insurance covers it. Thank you for your advice..""

Home equity loan insurance?

We are remodeling our home for $150,000 and are wondering about home equity loan insurance. The bank offers insurance, but I'm wondering what our other options are. How much should we get and for what ( disability/unemployment/accidental death)? Thank you!""

Best New York Health Insurance?

i got married 2 months ago, I m waiting to start the process for green card! at this time I wanted to get a good health insurance, my husband doesn t know aythin about it so please help me!!!""

""How much would 100,000 libility insurance cost? roughly or estimate?""

I'm looking to start a security company and am trying to figure a monthly premium. I know I need at least 100,000 of libility insurance. I don't have my license yet, so insurance companies wont even talk to me util I can give them more info. The prob is, I need a rough estimate of start up costs. Thank you""

""If someone wrecks my car and I have full coverage, would that person have to claim on their insurance also?""

Today I went about an hour away to purchase a second car. On the drive back it began snowing and the roads got very bad. I was driving my old car and a friend was driving the new one. He was in front of me, the car he drove hit a patch of ice and slid into the curb, I tried to stop but when I hit the brakes my car slid too and ran into the back of the one he drove. I have full coverage on my old, and minimum coverage on the new one. If I claim this on my insurance to cover damage, will he have to claim it on his too, or would mine cover it completly? Because I don't want to file a claim if it will effect his insurance, since it was both my vehicles. Any input would be helpful. Thanks!""

How much to insure for drivers insurance?

Im 16, so I know it will be expensive. I will be getting a 4 Cyl car, either a Honda Prelude, Civic, Accord, Nissan 240sx, something along those lines. I took a drug and alcohol class which takes off 15% and then I got a B average which takes off another 10% can someone please tell me how much it would be a month? Thank you""

Is nationwide a good car insurance?

im thinking of switching from geico to nationwide it would be way cheaper but i know cheaper isnt always better

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/my-car-stolen-recovered-insurance-offering-me-low-figure-larry-spears"