#feeling old and haggard at the age of 22

[man1cpixiedreamcowboy]

the fact that u can be an adult... and have started listening to mcr in middle school.. and not have been listening to them pre-reunion...

[kevin--of-desert-bluffs]

WTNV quick rundown - 145 - The Veterans

Featuring the voice of Mark Gagliardi as as John Peters (you know, the farmer?)!

Read the rest of my rundowns here, including live show and novel rundowns.

Fake it till you make it. Mic it till you like it. Book it till you look it. Welcome to Night Vale.

More Veterans from the Blood/Space War have arrived, landing in John Peters (you know, the farmer?) field. This includes John's brother, James Peters as well as Admiral Junior Blais, Sergeant Dan Christensen and his twin brother Drew. They say that the galaxy is under threat by the ruthless Polonian armies of Star System Lacaille 9352 and that's what they're fighting the war about.

The Polonian's are three times the size of humans with hundreds of sharp teeth up and down their boneless limbs. They have only one eye which gives them bad depth perception but it also shoots lazers. They have already completely destroyed the planet of a species which only speaks via dance - two members of which accompany the human veterans and are allies to them in the war.

There is an extremely lackluster attempt at supporting the financial, emotional and physical burden these veterans carry.

Senior Strategic Advisor Jameson Archibald at the Intergalactic Military Headquarters admits that he still has no idea what the Blood/Space war is about and lost all the money he kept getting from the government and not using in an intergalatic war in a faulty tech start up. Donations from the Bake Sale and Sheriff's Secret Police are received gratefully but since the Polonian's are so close he decides that it's probably too late. He then rolls up a $100 and eats it like a Snickers bar.

The Polonian ships are now visible in the sky. Harrison Kip sends Cecil and e-mail stating that in 1993 he found crashed ships that look exactly like the ones in the sky which had corpses of creatures matching the Polonian's in them whilst out on an unrelated exhibition. He was then reprogrammed to forget it but seeing them has recovered some of the memories and he feels he can recover the rest. However, he is then reprogrammed again and forgets it all. Cecil is then also reprogrammed for talking about it.

Luckily it seems the army of Polonian ships simply vanishes anyway. There one moment, gone the next.

Weather: “No Good Day” by Windows to Sky

Dan and Drew were born in 1912, both became tax accountants, had wives and children, donated to the Old NV opera house and were avid sports fans - even starting the first ever semi-pro Sand Hockey league. Dan passed away in 1994 due to liver cancer and Drew died of a heart attack a week later. Despite this both men when they return look to be in their late 20's and are entirely unable to reconnect with their middle-aged grandchildren or get jobs due to being legally dead.

Junior Blais, who is 50, says he was born in 2022 (this episode was written in 2019) to Oliver and Linda Blais both of who say they don't plan on having children making him either an accident or dramatic change of heart. He was badly wounded and has many 3rd degree burns that require grafts but clearance for them in NV involves getting clearance in Red Mesa and it's taking forever.

Jim Peters was honourable discharged from service and is decorated with many chevrons and medals. John Peters tells us that his brother used to play catch with him and show him where to get discounts on sweets and drinks. John is now 60 and was only 15 when his brother left, Jim is 22. John wants his brother to stay but Jim says that The General has a plan that will work and that they need him. John makes an attempt to make him stay but knows it won't work. Jim dons his space suit and leaves, already haggard with the horrors of war.

Meanwhile the NV Scorpions, the wheelchair basketball team that Janice is captain of, won their semi-final game against Cactus Park HS. They will playing Pine Cliff Saturday afternoon. City Council says that win or lose they will hold a parade next Tuesday for the team which will feature a celebrity appearance by Lee Marvin who is turning 30 that week.

A large chunk of the moon is destroyed by the Polonians but City Council just plans to buy a new one.

Reprogramming is done by men in camo-suits using some kind of metal hat full of wires and such.

Stay tuned next for simultaneous panic and relief as you realize all of your emails are gone.  Good night , Night Vale. Good night.

Proverb: Develop your chi. Really work that chi hard. Get six-pack chi. Totally swole with chi. Roll up those sleeves and welcome people to the chi show.

[cherienymphe]

Idk if you’ve answered this already but how do you feel about the gen z vs millennial debate? I’m gen z and I low key see where they’re coming from about how some of this generation looks older and it’s scary bc that means gen z alpha is gonna have it worse unfortunately.

I don't necessarily think gen z looks older. Speaking as a zillennial, I think gen z puts in effort to seem and look older than what they are but when you really look at younger gen z, you can definitely tell they're their age. It kind of reminds me of older men who'd tell me oh you don't look 17

Bffr I definitely looked 17 in the face and that's how I feel about this debate. The few good examples are not the majority I feel. Girls like Kylie Jenner, Millie, and Addison Rae only look older than what they are bc of surgery and fillers or as I said, putting in the effort to look older. The average gen z from high school to early 20s do in fact look their age to me. Heavy makeup and certain outfits can't hide that immaturity no matter how much they try. For me, looking at a lot of them reminds me of me being 15 playing in my mom's makeup without her knowledge. I may have been wearing makeup and heels to class but I looked and behaved like a 15 year old.

Now yes there have been a few people I've come across on tiktok who don't look 21 or 22 and I think those examples are just situations of people living hard lives. No names come to mind but I've definitely scrolled by the odd male tiktoker or two who I think should cut back on the drinking and smoking and ketamine 🤷🏾‍♀️ but again, I don't think that's representative of the whole generation

Both millennials and gen z tend to look their age imo. I think the problem with millennials is that they grew up in a generation where 35 was considered old and washed up. The times have changed and I think many have come to understand how young 35 or whatever actually is so because they don't look washed up like they expected, they mistake it for looking young or good for their age when they just look their age. 30s aren't old and 9/10 you aren't going to look all haggard or drove hard and put away wet when you reach them

[vickyvicarious]

Count Dracula and Jonathan Harker — Dark Mirrors

As Dracula Daily goes along, there has been an increasing reversal/exchange of traits between Jonathan and Dracula. There's a lot of parallels or contrasts to be found with most of the cast and the Count, to be fair, but I think Jonathan goes a step further. In some ways it's as if Dracula's early identity theft came true, and they really are beginning to exchange places, or at least meet in the middle.

As I started noticing more and more, I became curious about how often they are directly mirrored, using the same language to describe both Jonathan and Dracula. So... that's what I'm doing here! Below the cut I have collected quotes as much as possible for all the traits I can think of being shared/stolen/exchanged between these two. There's a lot to work with, so it's all divided into three subsections: physical appearance, abilities, personality/role/relationships. (Plus a bonus section for things I want to mention that don't have good quotes to pull or don't fit anywhere else for some reason.) Nothing is in any particular order within each section, but I have arranged any quotes I use for a single trait chronologically.

Enjoy - and feel free to let me know if you find one I've missed! I already plan to update as we go for things that would be spoilers at the moment, so I'm happy to add in anything else relevant too. I can also make a cheat-sheet of all the similarities listed off in bullet-points without all the lengthy quotes, if you want something shorter to reference (because, I will warn you now - this is long). Just let me know. EDIT: cheat-sheet available here.

Physical Appearance

These are some of the most obvious/dramatic changes. I wasn't expecting as much language matching exactly here, since the changes themselves are of such a visible sort. However, it does match surprisingly often.

HAIR COLOR - Dracula gradually goes from white to dark, while Jonathan more abruptly goes from dark to white. Dracula's color change is associated with the youth he regains while feeding, and may thus revert if he doesn't feed. Jonathan's trauma-induced change appears permanent so far.

[Dracula, May 5 - note, the names in brackets are just referring to who the quote is about, not who it's said by] Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere.

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[Dracula, June 30] There lay the Count, but looking as if his youth had been half renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey; the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck.

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[Dracula, September 18] There wasn't much people about that day, and close at hand was only one man, a tall, thin chap, with a 'ook nose and a pointed beard, with a few white hairs runnin' through it.

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[Dracula, September 22] He was very pale, and his eyes seemed bulging out as, half in terror and half in amazement, he gazed at a tall, thin man, with a beaky nose and black moustache and pointed beard, who was also observing the pretty girl.

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 3] Harker was still and quiet; but over his face, as the awful narrative went on, came a grey look which deepened and deepened in the morning light, till when the first red streak of the coming dawn shot up, the flesh stood darkly out against the whitening hair. [...] Last night he was a frank, happy-looking man, with strong, youthful face, full of energy, and with dark brown hair. To-day he is a drawn, haggard old man, whose white hair matches well with the hollow burning eyes and grief-written lines of his face.

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[Jonathan, October 11] Then her husband turned to her wan-eyed and with a greenish pallor which subdued the snowy whiteness of his hair, and asked:

AGE - Dracula begins the novel with the appearance of an old man, and regains youth and vigor to a degree. Conversely, when his hair changes color Jonathan begins to look very aged as well. While it's true there's only one mention of this, and it may thus be more hyperbole or descriptive language to describe his state in the moment, it still feels worth including.

[Dracula, May 5] Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere. He held in his hand an antique silver lamp, in which the flame burned without chimney or globe of any kind, throwing long quivering shadows as it flickered in the draught of the open door. The old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent English, but with a strange intonation:

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[Dracula, September 22 - his noticeable features no longer include age when Mina describes him. Jonathan remarks upon the contrast.] He was very pale, and his eyes seemed bulging out as, half in terror and half in amazement, he gazed at a tall, thin man, with a beaky nose and black moustache and pointed beard, who was also observing the pretty girl. [...] "I believe it is the Count, but he has grown young. My God, if this be so! Oh, my God! my God! If I only knew! if I only knew!"

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 3] Last night he was a frank, happy-looking man, with strong, youthful face, full of energy, and with dark brown hair. To-day he is a drawn, haggard old man, whose white hair matches well with the hollow burning eyes and grief-written lines of his face.

CLOTHES - Dracula directly wears Jonathan's clothes specifically to impersonate him on two separate occasions. There is a possible element of mirroring on Jonathan's end as well, but it is largely speculative and you can feel free to consider it a stretch on my part: when Dracula isn't dressed up as Jonathan, he consistently wears all black. Later on in the story, Jonathan is the chief mourner at Mr. Hawkins' funeral. I think it may be reasonable to imagine him wearing mourning clothes as long as a child would for a parent, thus reflecting their relationship to one another. This appears to have been around 6-12 months, though men often only wore a hatband, armband, or ribbon. That may have been based on them going back to work however, which Jonathan didn't really do. Basically... it's possible that Jonathan has also started dressing in large amounts of black (and a change I have seen people make in fanart, etc.), but there doesn't seem to be anything confirming it in the text.

[Dracula, May 5] Within, stood a tall old man, clean shaven save for a long white moustache, and clad in black from head to foot, without a single speck of colour about him anywhere.

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[Dracula, June 24] It was a new shock to me to find that he had on the suit of clothes which I had worn whilst travelling here, and slung over his shoulder the terrible bag which I had seen the women take away. There could be no doubt as to his quest, and in my garb, too! This, then, is his new scheme of evil: that he will allow others to see me, as they think, so that he may both leave evidence that I have been seen in the towns or villages posting my own letters, and that any wickedness which he may do shall by the local people be attributed to me.

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[Dracula, June 29] To-day is the date of my last letter, and the Count has taken steps to prove that it was genuine, for again I saw him leave the castle by the same window, and in my clothes.

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[Dracula, October 3 - first Seward's, then Mina's description] By her side stood a tall, thin man, clad in black. His face was turned from us, but the instant we saw we all recognised the Count—in every way, even to the scar on his forehead. [...] Then indeed, my heart sank within me: beside the bed, as if he had stepped out of the mist—or rather as if the mist had turned into his figure, for it had entirely disappeared—stood a tall, thin man, all in black.

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[Dracula, October 5] A tall man, thin and pale, with high nose and teeth so white, and eyes that seem to be burning. That he be all in black, except that he have a hat of straw which suit not him or the time.

-vs-

[Jonathan, September 19 - referencing Jonathan's role, and the first day Jonathan may have started to dress in mourning. The funeral itself was September 22] I dread coming up to London, as we must do the day after to-morrow; for poor Mr. Hawkins left in his will that he was to be buried in the grave with his father. As there are no relations at all, Jonathan will have to be chief mourner.

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[Suitor Squad, September 29 - Jonathan is not present in this quote. However, it references 'being in mourning' affecting clothes, and even those not officially doing so also wore black at least that particular day] A little before twelve o'clock we three—Arthur, Quincey Morris, and myself—called for the Professor. It was odd to notice that by common consent we had all put on black clothes. Of course, Arthur wore black, for he was in deep mourning, but the rest of us wore it by instinct.

ACCENT - Dracula speaks perfect English at the start of the novel, but he has a noticeable accent. He specifically asks Jonathan to help him practice his English accent and manners. Then, once he arrives in London, no one ever comments on his accent. Even the zookeeper and dockworkers, who otherwise describe his appearance and tone freely and rudely, make no note of his accent. It seems like Dracula has learned from copying Jonathan how to affect an at least somewhat passable British accent (contrary to common portrayal in film).

[Dracula, May 5] The old man motioned me in with his right hand with a courtly gesture, saying in excellent English, but with a strange intonation:—

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[Dracula, May 7] "I am content if I am like the rest, so that no man stops if he see me, or pause in his speaking if he hear my words, 'Ha, ha! a stranger!' [...] You shall, I trust, rest here with me awhile, so that by our talking I may learn the English intonation; and I would that you tell me when I make error, even of the smallest, in my speaking."

COLD HANDS - A single mention in both cases, but notable for using the exact same phrasing. (The phrase 'cold as ice' is used only one other time, to describe how Seward's heart feels as vampire!Lucy approaches.)

[Dracula, May 5] The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice—more like the hand of a dead than a living man.

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 25] We men are all in a fever of excitement, except Harker, who is calm; his hands are cold as ice, and an hour ago I found him whetting the edge of the great Ghoorka knife which he now always carries with him. It will be a bad lookout for the Count if the edge of that "Kukri" ever touches his throat, driven by that stern, ice-cold hand!

BLAZING/BURNING EYES - The Count's eyes are described as red multiple times, but Jonathan's never are. However, when they are angry or full of bloodlust, the same language is used to describe the look in their eyes - specifically 'blazing', and more generally fire/hellfire imagery. This only happens once for Jonathan, but it's still significant for mirroring the exact wording, and because as far as I could find, this wording/imagery is never used for anyone else who isn't actively being influenced/corrupted by Dracula (and it is overwhelmingly associated with him the most). The closest we come is one mention of "fire in his eyes" when Arthur is asking how to help on September 7th, but that has a different tone in my opinion, and in any case doesn't match the exact wording used for Dracula and Jonathan both.

[Dracula, May 8] When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat.

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[Dracula, May 16] But the Count! Never did I imagine such wrath and fury, even to the demons of the pit. His eyes were positively blazing. The red light in them was lurid, as if the flames of hell-fire blazed behind them.

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[Dracula, May 28] "See!"—he must have looked at it—"one is from you, and to my friend Peter Hawkins; the other"—here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly—"the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality!"

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[Dracula, June 30] Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. [...] There was no lethal weapon at hand, but I seized a shovel which the workmen had been using to fill the cases, and lifting it high, struck, with the edge downward, at the hateful face. But as I did so the head turned, and the eyes fell full upon me, with all their blaze of basilisk horror.

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[Lucy, September 29 - a bonus other vampire!] Lucy's eyes in form and colour; but Lucy's eyes unclean and full of hell-fire, instead of the pure, gentle orbs we knew. At that moment the remnant of my love passed into hate and loathing; had she then to be killed, I could have done it with savage delight. As she looked, her eyes blazed with unholy light, and the face became wreathed with a voluptuous smile. [...] The beautiful colour became livid, the eyes seemed to throw out sparks of hell-fire, the brows were wrinkled as though the folds of the flesh were the coils of Medusa's snakes, and the lovely, blood-stained mouth grew to an open square, as in the passion masks of the Greeks and Japanese.

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[Dracula, October 3] A dark mass spread over the grass, coming on like the shape of a flame of fire; and then He moved the mist to the right and left, and I could see that there were thousands of rats with their eyes blazing red—like His, only smaller. [...] His eyes flamed red with devilish passion; the great nostrils of the white aquiline nose opened wide and quivered at the edge; and the white sharp teeth, behind the full lips of the blood-dripping mouth, champed together like those of a wild beast. [...] It would be impossible to describe the expression of hate and baffled malignity—of anger and hellish rage—which came over the Count's face. His waxen hue became greenish-yellow by the contrast of his burning eyes, and the red scar on the forehead showed on the pallid skin like a palpitating wound.

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[Dracula, October 5] A tall man, thin and pale, with high nose and teeth so white, and eyes that seem to be burning.

-vs-

[Renfield, October 1 - a notable exception to the vampires being the only other ones with this phrasing. The timing of this description being given after he has aided Dracula to access Mina and is regretting what he's done, seems significant as well.] Suddenly he jumped to his feet, with his eyes blazing and all the signs of intense cerebral excitement. "To hell with you and your souls!" he shouted. "Why do you plague me about souls? Haven't I got enough to worry, and pain, and distract me already, without thinking of souls!"

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[Jonathan, October 3] I told him exactly what had happened, and he listened with seeming impassiveness; but his nostrils twitched and his eyes blazed as I told how the ruthless hands of the Count had held his wife in that terrible and horrid position, with her mouth to the open wound in his breast. [...] To-day he is a drawn, haggard old man, whose white hair matches well with the hollow burning eyes and grief-written lines of his face. His energy is still intact; in fact, he is like a living flame.

Abilities

These are all pretty much only in one direction - namely, Jonathan acquiring these abilities. They vary on how much you can say "that's not normal" versus Jonathan performing a human version of a vampire activity, but either way they still tend to come from Dracula first.

WALL CLIMBING - One of the first and most noticeable changes in Jonathan stealing traits right back from Dracula. While the Count's version of climbing is definitely supernatural (lizard fashion), Jonathan's freeclimbing is at least upright and subject to gravity, as well as initially shorter and limited to moving sideways rather than down. However, it could be argued that the circumstances under which he does so/speed he uses may be a little inhuman. The language used to describe their climbing on the castle does sometimes echo, though not usually exactly. That said, Jonathan is directly imitating Dracula's technique and mention is made of that (fingers and toes grasping mortar). They also are described climbing Castle Dracula the same number of times, though Dracula only gets described going down and Jonathan's descriptions cover both directions so the actual number of trips is different. Also notable: when Jonathan is attacking him/the group has crucifixes aimed at him on October 3, Dracula's flight out the window involves neither lizard climbing nor turning into mist/a bat. He has transitioned to a more normal/undignified manner of exiting, while Jonathan's climb after him seems much smoother/has greater ease based on the description. It's as though in London, or at least in that moment, they've swapped.

[Dracula, May 12] But my very feelings changed to repulsion and terror when I saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over that dreadful abyss, face down with his cloak spreading out around him like great wings. At first I could not believe my eyes. I thought it was some trick of the moonlight, some weird effect of shadow; but I kept looking, and it could be no delusion. I saw the fingers and toes grasp the corners of the stones, worn clear of the mortar by the stress of years, and by thus using every projection and inequality move downwards with considerable speed, just as a lizard moves along a wall.

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[Dracula, May 15] Once more have I seen the Count go out in his lizard fashion. He moved downwards in a sidelong way, some hundred feet down, and a good deal to the left.

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[Dracula, June 24] I had been at the window somewhat less than half an hour, when I saw something coming out of the Count's window. I drew back and watched carefully, and saw the whole man emerge.

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[Dracula, June 29] As he went down the wall, lizard fashion, I wished I had a gun or some lethal weapon, that I might destroy him; but I fear that no weapon wrought alone by man's hand would have any effect on him.

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[Dracula, October 3] The next instant, with a sinuous dive he swept under Harker's arm, ere his blow could fall, and, grasping a handful of the money from the floor, dashed across the room, threw himself at the window. Amid the crash and glitter of the falling glass, he tumbled into the flagged area below.

-vs-

[Jonathan, June 25] I have seen him myself crawl from his window. Why should not I imitate him, and go in by his window? The chances are desperate, but my need is more desperate still. I shall risk it. [...] The stones are big and roughly cut, and the mortar has by process of time been washed away between them. I took off my boots, and ventured out on the desperate way. [...] I thought he might have the keys on him, but when I went to search I saw the dead eyes, and in them, dead though they were, such a look of hate, though unconscious of me or my presence, that I fled from the place, and leaving the Count's room by the window, crawled again up the castle wall.

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[Jonathan, June 29 - an extra detail: Jonathan's final climb out of the castle was from the Count's window, not his own bedroom. So the way he left the castle mirrored the way Dracula had left while impersonating him. Also, if you subscribe to the belief (as I do) that Dracula drained Jonathan's blood the night before, then Jonathan is doing this extra-long climb with blood-loss which may be a point in the more supernatural tally.] Then a wild desire took me to obtain that key at any risk, and I determined then and there to scale the wall again and gain the Count's room. He might kill me, but death now seemed the happier choice of evils. Without a pause I rushed up to the east window, and scrambled down the wall, as before, into the Count's room. [...] With a last look around and at the box which contained the vile body, I ran from the place and gained the Count's room, determined to rush out at the moment the door should be opened. [...] I shall not remain alone with them; I shall try to scale the castle wall farther than I have yet attempted. I shall take some of the gold with me, lest I want it later. I may find a way from this dreadful place.

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[Jonathan, October 3] Godalming and Morris had rushed out into the yard, and Harker had lowered himself from the window to follow the Count.

KUKRI KNIFE - This is rather speculative. I feel like there is some kind of parallel to be built with how often Jonathan is mentioned carrying his knife, mirroring how often Dracula's teeth are mentioned (their respective weapons). The language isn't quite the same though it would have been relatively easy to do (sharp, white teeth = sharp, silver knife) which is why I hesitate to say it is a definite mirroring. I also didn't quote all those moments because they don't fully match and there's so many of them. Aside from that though, Dracula's reaction to the knife was slightly unusual. He was unbothered by the mate's knife on the Demeter, but actively dodged Jonathan twice, once before the others even had their crucifixes lifted. Given the myth about this type of knife being made to draw blood (per @thegoatsongsngs excellent meta), perhaps there is some level of symbolism with it matching Dracula's teeth and being dangerous to the other. Of course, you could just say Dracula was being wary because of the situation/timing of the attack/the money in his pocket, more than actually fearing the knife.

[Mate of the Demeter, August 3 - Dracula is unbothered by the knife] "It was in the bows, and looking out. I crept behind It, and gave It my knife; but the knife went through It, empty as the air." And as he spoke he took his knife and drove it savagely into space.

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[Jonathan, October 1 - the knife is intended only for mundane threats; Van Helsing doesn't expect it to harm Dracula] "Keep this near your heart"—as he spoke he lifted a little silver crucifix and held it out to me, I being nearest to him—"put these flowers round your neck"—here he handed to me a wreath of withered garlic blossoms—"for other enemies more mundane, this revolver and this knife; and for aid in all, these so small electric lamps, which you can fasten to your breast; and for all, and above all at the last, this, which we must not desecrate needless."

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[Jonathan, October 3 - another option for why the Count avoids Jonathan's knife may be due to him aiming directly for his heart. We don't know exactly where the mate's knife would have stabbed. That said, the Kukri is more for slashing while the usual danger to a vampire comes from being impaled in the heart (the mate seemed to make more of a stabbing motion), so it's still unclear.] I did not myself know whether our lethal weapons would avail us anything. Harker evidently meant to try the matter, for he had ready his great Kukri knife and made a fierce and sudden cut at him. The blow was a powerful one; only the diabolical quickness of the Count's leap back saved him. A second less and the trenchant blade had shorne through his heart. As it was, the point just cut the cloth of his coat, making a wide gap whence a bundle of bank-notes and a stream of gold fell out. The expression of the Count's face was so hellish, that for a moment I feared for Harker, though I saw him throw the terrible knife aloft again for another stroke. [...] The next instant, with a sinuous dive he swept under Harker's arm, ere his blow could fall, and, grasping a handful of the money from the floor, dashed across the room, threw himself at the window.

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[Jonathan, October 4 - Van Helsing now describes the Kukri as dangerous to Dracula after seeing his reaction to it] "We can know now what was in the Count's mind, when he seize that money, though Jonathan's so fierce knife put him in the danger that even he dread. He meant escape."

SUPERSPEED - While superspeed is never specifically noted as a vampiric ability, Dracula is known to move quickly. Jonathan's flight to Budapest from Castle Dracula happens at an alarmingly speedy pace which strains the limits of credulity. I know that there has been a more intensive meta/breakdown of the timing, but I can't find it at the moment so I will link this post instead, which shows the distance he was able to travel on a map. He leaves Castle Dracula on June 30th, and on August 12th Sister Agatha says that he has been with them nearly six weeks. A full six weeks would mean he arrived July 1, the very next day after he left, and anything close to six weeks means he only took at most a couple of days to travel to Klausenberg (where he caught the train to Budapest). While this is doable (Google maps tells me it's a 31-hour hike from the Borgo Pass, which is in the rough area of Castle Dracula), that would have been on foot through the mountains with no warm clothes, after climbing out of a castle window, possibly with heavy blood loss. Your mileage may vary on whether this was just Stoker not paying close attention to the timeline (something he has certainly been guilty of at other moments) or whether Jonathan moved with supernatural speed/endurance. Similarly, Jonathan's attack with the Kukri on October 3 is described as something Dracula only avoids via his superspeed - but that may simply be down to a human-speed blow that Dracula needed superhuman reflexes to escape since it was an unexpected/sudden attack.

[Dracula, September 30 - speed is not specifically listed as one of the vampire abilities, but it may be included under the umbrella of superstrength] "This vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men; he is of cunning more than mortal, for his cunning be the growth of ages; he have still the aids of necromancy, which is, as his etymology imply, the divination by the dead, and all the dead that he can come nigh to are for him at command; he is brute, and more than brute; he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not; he can, within limitations, appear at will when, and where, and in any of the forms that are to him; he can, within his range, direct the elements; the storm, the fog, the thunder; he can command all the meaner things: the rat, and the owl, and the bat—the moth, and the fox, and the wolf; he can grow and become small; and he can at times vanish and come unknown."

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[Dracula, October 3] Suddenly with a single bound he leaped into the room, winning a way past us before any of us could raise a hand to stay him. There was something so panther-like in the movement—something so unhuman, that it seemed to sober us all from the shock of his coming. [...] The blow was a powerful one; only the diabolical quickness of the Count's leap back saved him. [...] The next instant, with a sinuous dive he swept under Harker's arm, ere his blow could fall, and, grasping a handful of the money from the floor, dashed across the room, threw himself at the window.

-vs-

[Jonathan, August 12] He has been under our care for nearly six weeks, suffering from a violent brain fever. [...] He came in the train from Klausenburg, and the guard was told by the station-master there that he rushed into the station shouting for a ticket for home. Seeing from his violent demeanour that he was English, they gave him a ticket for the furthest station on the way thither that the train reached.

+

[Jonathan, October 3] The first to act was Harker, who, with a quick movement, threw himself before the door leading into the room in the front of the house. [...] Harker evidently meant to try the matter, for he had ready his great Kukri knife and made a fierce and sudden cut at him. The blow was a powerful one; only the diabolical quickness of the Count's leap back saved him. A second less and the trenchant blade had shorne through his heart.

PSYCHIC CONNECTION - You can interpret Jonathan as possibly reading Dracula's mind right before attacking him with a shovel. If so, there's a parallel there to Mina first gaining access to his mind via hypnotism the morning after she had begun turning into a vampire. Of course, that parallel only exists if you believe that Dracula drank Jonathan's blood the night of the 29th (which I do, and gave evidence for below). There is little other evidence for Jonathan knowing Dracula would spread vampirism across London, but he does express a fear of being locked out of Heaven if he dies via supernatural means, and he's aware of the existence of multiple vampires/could know they may have once been human, so he could also have been extrapolating from what he has seen. I've included both the possible mind-reading passage, as well as other relevant quotes below.

[Jonathan, May 16 - Dracula references possibly being the one to turn the vampire ladies into vampires in front of Jonathan] Then the Count turned, after looking at my face attentively, and said in a soft whisper:— "Yes, I too can love; you yourselves can tell it from the past. Is it not so? Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will."

+

[Jonathan, June 25 - Jonathan seems certain that a natural death will allow him into Heaven, implying he fears that won't be possible otherwise.] The chances are desperate, but my need is more desperate still. I shall risk it. At the worst it can only be death; and a man's death is not a calf's, and the dreaded Hereafter may still be open to me.

+

[Jonathan, June 29] Unless my ears deceived me, I heard the voice of the Count:— "Back, back, to your own place! Your time is not yet come. Wait! Have patience! To-night is mine. To-morrow night is yours!"

+

[Jonathan, June 30 - either he is reading Dracula's mind here, or he's had a theory building up over time since May and this is just the first he speaks of it. I also quoted Dracula's bloated appearance to support the previous quote/theory that he drank from Jonathan very recently] There lay the Count, but looking as if his youth had been half renewed, for the white hair and moustache were changed to dark iron-grey; the cheeks were fuller, and the white skin seemed ruby-red underneath; the mouth was redder than ever, for on the lips were gouts of fresh blood, which trickled from the corners of the mouth and ran over the chin and neck. Even the deep, burning eyes seemed set amongst swollen flesh, for the lids and pouches underneath were bloated. It seemed as if the whole awful creature were simply gorged with blood. [...] Then I stopped and looked at the Count. There was a mocking smile on the bloated face which seemed to drive me mad. This was the being I was helping to transfer to London, where, perhaps, for centuries to come he might, amongst its teeming millions, satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless. The very thought drove me mad.

+

[Mina, October 4 - the day after becoming linked to Dracula, she is able to read his mind while hypnotized] "I have an idea. I suppose it must have come in the night, and matured without my knowing it. He must hypnotise me before the dawn, and then I shall be able to speak."

SUPERSTRENGTH - Incredible strength is listed as a specific vampiric power, and is referenced multiple times throughout the book. In the final battle, Jonathan displays an incredible strength by lifting and moving Dracula's box of dirt, with him still in it. While normal humans have been known to exceed their usual limits of strength in extreme situations (hysterical strength) and thus it's possible this wasn't supernatural, it sure seems like it.

[Dracula, May 5 - the first two references are to the driver, the second two to the Count himself. Of course, we know and Jonathan later confirms they are one and the same] Then I descended from the side of the coach, as the calèche was close alongside, the driver helping me with a hand which caught my arm in a grip of steel; his strength must have been prodigious. [...] When the calèche stopped, the driver jumped down and held out his hand to assist me to alight. Again I could not but notice his prodigious strength. His hand actually seemed like a steel vice that could have crushed mine if he had chosen. [...] The instant, however, that I had stepped over the threshold, he moved impulsively forward, and holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice—more like the hand of a dead than a living man. [...] The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speaking; so to make sure, I said interrogatively:—

+

[Dracula, September 30] "This vampire which is amongst us is of himself so strong in person as twenty men; he is of cunning more than mortal, for his cunning be the growth of ages; he have still the aids of necromancy, which is, as his etymology imply, the divination by the dead, and all the dead that he can come nigh to are for him at command; he is brute, and more than brute; he is devil in callous, and the heart of him is not; he can, within limitations, appear at will when, and where, and in any of the forms that are to him; he can, within his range, direct the elements; the storm, the fog, the thunder; he can command all the meaner things: the rat, and the owl, and the bat—the moth, and the fox, and the wolf; he can grow and become small; and he can at times vanish and come unknown."

+

[Dracula, October 2] When I had promised to pay for his information and given him an earnest, he told me that he had made two journeys between Carfax and a house in Piccadilly, and had taken from this house to the latter nine great boxes—"main heavy ones"—with a horse and cart hired by him for this purpose. [...] "There was the old party what engaged me a-waitin' in the 'ouse at Purfleet. He 'elped me to lift the boxes and put them in the dray. Curse me, but he was the strongest chap I ever struck, an' him a old feller, with a white moustache, one that thin you would think he couldn't throw a shadder." [...] "Why, 'e took up 'is end o' the boxes like they was pounds of tea, and me a-puffin' an' a-blowin' afore I could up-end mine anyhow—an' I'm no chicken, neither." [...] I had gained a new painful experience; the Count could, it was evident, handle the earth-boxes himself.

-vs-

[Jonathan, September 29 - just one more note on the weight of these boxes. Though the workers were emphasizing the weight as a clue to buy them a drink here, the boxes are mentioned being heavy several other times as well] Their tally was exact with the list, and they had nothing to add except that the boxes were "main and mortal heavy," and that shifting them was dry work.

+

[Jonathan, November 6 - remember, this box is the same as the ones the workers struggled with above, and likely heavier given that it has the Count's body inside it] In an instant he had jumped upon the cart, and, with a strength which seemed incredible, raised the great box, and flung it over the wheel to the ground.

PARALYZING GAZE - Both times when someone actual seems about to physically harm him, Dracula is able to stare at them with a gaze that seems to sap their strength and force them to fall back. In the final battle, Jonathan seems to drive away the men Dracula has hired through the force of his gaze alone. You might say he just seems very ferocious and they don't want to mess with him; however, Quincey dies because they do not fall back for him in the same way and he gets stabbed while forcing his way past them, so there is at least some support for Jonathan's gaze being supernatural here.

[Dracula, June 30] There was no lethal weapon at hand, but I seized a shovel which the workmen had been using to fill the cases, and lifting it high, struck, with the edge downward, at the hateful face. But as I did so the head turned, and the eyes fell full upon me, with all their blaze of basilisk horror. The sight seemed to paralyse me, and the shovel turned in my hand and glanced from the face, merely making a deep gash above the forehead. The shovel fell from my hand across the box, and as I pulled it away the flange of the blade caught the edge of the lid which fell over again, and hid the horrid thing from my sight.

+

[Dracula, October 3] "So when He came to-night I was ready for Him. I saw the mist stealing in, and I grabbed it tight. I had heard that madmen have unnatural strength; and as I knew I was a madman—at times anyhow—I resolved to use my power. Ay, and He felt it too, for He had to come out of the mist to struggle with me. I held tight; and I thought I was going to win, for I didn't mean Him to take any more of her life, till I saw His eyes. They burned into me, and my strength became like water."

-vs-

[Jonathan, November 6 - his gaze isn't specifically described; however, Mina is too far away to see his eyes clearly, and the contrast to Quincey is notable] In the midst of this I could see that Jonathan on one side of the ring of men, and Quincey on the other, were forcing a way to the cart; it was evident that they were bent on finishing their task before the sun should set. Nothing seemed to stop or even to hinder them. Neither the levelled weapons nor the flashing knives of the gypsies in front, nor the howling of the wolves behind, appeared to even attract their attention. Jonathan's impetuosity, and the manifest singleness of his purpose, seemed to overawe those in front of him; instinctively they cowered, aside and let him pass. In an instant he had jumped upon the cart, and, with a strength which seemed incredible, raised the great box, and flung it over the wheel to the ground. In the meantime, Mr. Morris had had to use force to pass through his side of the ring of Szgany.

Personality/Role/Relationships

The title of this section is pretty loose, and encompasses attitudes and outside perspectives of them as well. Basically a catch-all for anything to do with ideals, personality, narrative role, their relationship to one another or others, etc. Several of these, especially further down the list, also start pulling away from direct quotes mirroring the same language, to being more about contrasting narrative arcs and the like.

LIVING FLAME - This was partially covered in the entry on 'blazing eyes', but I feel like it warrants special mention of its own. When Jonathan is hunting Dracula after Mina's attack, he is described with a turn of phrase otherwise only ever applied to the Count's warrior ancestors (in a very proud, bragging-about-why-they-are-conquerors context). Dracula is also described as looking/moving like a flame several times (usually from a distance or when he can't be seen clearly), which goes along with the hellfire imagery.

[Dracula, May 8] "We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship. Here, in the whirlpool of European races, the Ugric tribe bore down from Iceland the fighting spirit which Thor and Wodin gave them, which their Berserkers displayed to such fell intent on the seaboards of Europe, ay, and of Asia and Africa too, till the peoples thought that the were-wolves themselves had come. Here, too, when they came, they found the Huns, whose warlike fury had swept the earth like a living flame, till the dying peoples held that in their veins ran the blood of those old witches, who, expelled from Scythia had mated with the devils in the desert. Fools, fools! What devil or what witch was ever so great as Attila, whose blood is in these veins?"

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 3] To-day he is a drawn, haggard old man, whose white hair matches well with the hollow burning eyes and grief-written lines of his face. His energy is still intact; in fact, he is like a living flame.

HUNTER/HUNTED - Initially, Dracula is described as a hunter. Later on, this language reverses and he becomes the hunted. While Jonathan is by no means alone in hunting him, he started off the book in the role of prey and so in his case it becomes a reversal/exchange (unlike the other men who weren't directly hunted by Dracula/Mina who was attacked only after they were working against him first). Despite Dracula's taunt at one point about the group being 'jackals', they are clearly the hunters now, not scavengers. (There is also a lot of animal imagery used for Dracula in general, but I didn't get into that here.)

[Dracula, May 5] The Count's eyes gleamed, and he said:—"Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!" Seeing, I suppose, some expression in my face strange to him, he added:—"Ah, sir, you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter."

+

[Dracula, September 27] But it may be that he will not attempt the place. There is no reason why he should; his hunting ground is more full of game than the churchyard where the Un-Dead woman sleep, and the one old man watch.

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[Dracula, October 3] "Then he spoke to me mockingly, 'And so you, like the others, would play your brains against mine. You would help these men to hunt me and frustrate me in my designs!'"

-vs-

[Jonathan, May 12 - I just picked a couple quotes to illustrate his initial role as prey. If I had tried to gather up every mention of Jonathan feeling trapped/trying to flee the length would be insane.] I feel the dread of this horrible place overpowering me; I am in fear—in awful fear—and there is no escape for me; I am encompassed about with terrors that I dare not think of...

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[Jonathan, June 25] I thought he might have the keys on him, but when I went to search I saw the dead eyes, and in them, dead though they were, such a look of hate, though unconscious of me or my presence, that I fled from the place, and leaving the Count's room by the window, crawled again up the castle wall.

+

[Van Helsing, October 3 - these quotes about hunting are Van Helsing talking, to the whole group but (at least in the first two instances) especially Jonathan. Notably, by October 3rd Jonathan now 'understands' what it means to be a hunter... the feeling Dracula accused him of lacking in the beginning of the book.] "And so we have this day to hunt out all his lairs and sterilise them. So we shall, if we have not yet catch him and destroy him, drive him to bay in some place where the catching and the destroying shall be, in time, sure." [...] "We shall go there and search that house; and when we learn what it holds, then we do what our friend Arthur call, in his phrases of hunt 'stop the earths' and so we run down our old fox—so? is it not?"" [...] "Why take that money? You follow quick. You are hunters of wild beast, and understand it so."

RUNNING HOME - A subset of the previous one in a way, but something I wanted to quote specifically as well. The novel begins with Jonathan trying to escape Dracula and flee home to safety, only to meet his enemy there once more. Then, they reverse: Dracula flees home and Jonathan (together with the others) chase him towards home. If you want to take it a step further, you can note Dracula leaving vampire!Lucy behind alone to face her fate (unaware she already was killed) and prioritizing saving his own skin - and parallel that to Jonathan initially wanting to move on with his life and not confront whether or not Dracula was truly a monster (despite knowing if he is, he might be preying upon other people). I feel that is less distinct of a parallel but it can still be made so I included it here as well.

[Dracula, October 28] "So he came to London to invade a new land. He was beaten, and when all hope of success was lost, and his existence in danger, he fled back over the sea to his home; just as formerly he had fled back over the Danube from Turkey Land." [...] "As he fled back over the Danube, leaving his forces to be cut to pieces, so now he is intent on being safe, careless of all."

-vs-

[Jonathan, June 30] And then away for home! away to the quickest and nearest train! away from this cursed spot, from this cursed land, where the devil and his children still walk with earthly feet!

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[Jonathan, August 24] 'I have had a great shock, and when I try to think of what it is I feel my head spin round, and I do not know if it was all real or the dreaming of a madman. You know I have had brain fever, and that is to be mad. The secret is here, and I do not want to know it. I want to take up my life here, with our marriage.'

TAUNTING - Noted more because it seems a little unusual for Jonathan than for it being a recurring thing or using the exact same wording. Dracula is absolutely sadistic and takes great joy in mocking/tormenting Jonathan repeatedly throughout his imprisonment. While he doesn't waste time doing so in any open confrontation, saving it for his journal, when Jonathan is in what he perceives to be a position of power he gets in on the mockery of politeness as well. His words somewhat reference one of Dracula's taunts.

[Dracula, May 29 - only quoting one instance, as it is the most relevant one] "But I am in hopes that I shall see more of you at Castle Dracula."

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 17] Everything is pretty well fixed now, I think, to welcome the Count on his return from his tour.

BLOODLUST/BLASPHEMY - Not a direct mirror, but Jonathan's dedication to Mina has him willing to damn his own soul, even outright saying he would sell his soul to destroy Dracula. There are also several later moments that imply he would fight his own companions if they ever tried to kill her, despite that being what she requested. While hellish/demonic imagery isn't unusual for vampires in general, Dracula is directly compared to Judas and implied to have potentially made a deal with the Devil while still alive (hence his weather magic not being a normal vampire power). This in addition to Dracula's whole thing being going around damning others' souls to hell (via corrupting them into vampires), which is exactly what Jonathan wants to do to him.

[Dracula, May 29] The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me; with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.

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[Dracula, September 30] "The Draculas were, says Arminius, a great and noble race, though now and again were scions who were held by their coevals to have had dealings with the Evil One. They learned his secrets in the Scholomance, amongst the mountains over Lake Hermanstadt, where the devil claims the tenth scholar as his due."

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 3] To one thing I have made up my mind: if we find out that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone. [...] "I care for nothing now," he answered hotly, "except to wipe out this brute from the face of creation. I would sell my soul to do it!" [...] "May God give him into my hand just for long enough to destroy that earthly life of him which we are aiming at. If beyond it I could send his soul for ever and ever to burning hell I would do it!"

MINA - Everything about Dracula's relationship to Mina is trying to be a mirror to Jonathan, just in a darker way. The most notable direct contrast is during/after the attack of October 3rd. I've already directly compared the quotes for that day, so I won't repeat it here... but there's a lot of direct contrast. After that day, I think the relationship continues to be the same... while Jonathan and Mina chose one another and are bound by love, Dracula's connection to her is an assault and they both hate one another. An anon wrote me a note on the nature of their relationships while traveling, which I'm just going to quote here: "while Dracula is escaping London for Galatz, he's in inactivity and silence, all while occupying Mina's mind. Jonathan has been made to build "a door" between himself and Mina, who told him to never tell her anything about their actions or else the Count will hear. Jonathan is barred from Mina's mind, all the while the Count is claiming it. He's also silent and increasingly inactive and silent, cold and distant to his peers while this is happening." Generally speaking, Mina and Jonathan seek comfort together; Mina and Dracula use their connection to try and oppose one another. Dracula is (temporarily) tied to her soul just as Jonathan is, but the nature of that connection is vastly different.

[Dracula, October 3] "And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful wine-press for a while; and shall be later on my companion and my helper."

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[Dracula, October 11] "But you must remember that I am not as you are. There is a poison in my blood, in my soul, which may destroy me; which must destroy me, unless some relief comes to us."

-vs-

[Jonathan, August 24] I could only tell him that I was the happiest woman in all the wide world, and that I had nothing to give him except myself, my life, and my trust, and that with these went my love and duty for all the days of my life.

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[Jonathan, October 11] "You are nearest and dearest and all the world to me; our souls are knit into one, for all life and all time."

RESEARCH/PREPARATION - Not unique to Jonathan alone by any means, the research of our heroes is a large part of the reason Dracula is driven back/able to be defeated (Van Helsing and Mina being especially big stars). However, this is in fact a trait that the Count himself shares as well. This is not anything they learn from the other; both Jonathan and Dracula start out the novel as the type of person who tries to do research and prepare for the future when possible. The difference may be that Dracula is too convinced of his own superiority to admit when he makes a mistake (ex: feeding on the wrong person with Lucy), while Jonathan is generally perfectly willing to listen to most others (colonialist racism aside) and adjust his planning to accommodate new information or events. The many boxes are also an excellent example of this, as Dracula's plan to bring/scatter them about the country was very clever, but he didn't alter his plan to hide them swiftly enough or in new places even when he knew the group had investigated Carfax. Meanwhile, Jonathan dove headfirst into researching/tracking them before even knowing how they were relevant, and then took direction on how to deal with them. I'm only quoting from the beginning of the book, as both their research on the new region they were traveling to was what initially struck me here. *Edit: I'm adding a third quote, when Jonathan remarks to himself that Dracula would make a good lawyer. I don't think it quite needs its own section, but does show how their minds can work in similar ways.

[Dracula, May 7] In the library I found, to my great delight, a vast number of English books, whole shelves full of them, and bound volumes of magazines and newspapers. A table in the centre was littered with English magazines and newspapers, though none of them were of very recent date. The books were of the most varied kind—history, geography, politics, political economy, botany, geology, law—all relating to England and English life and customs and manners. There were even such books of reference as the London Directory, the "Red" and "Blue" books, Whitaker's Almanac, the Army and Navy Lists, and—it somehow gladdened my heart to see it—the Law List. [...] "But, Count," I said, "you know and speak English thoroughly!" [...] He was interested in everything, and asked me a myriad questions about the place and its surroundings. He clearly had studied beforehand all he could get on the subject of the neighbourhood, for he evidently at the end knew very much more than I did.

+

[Dracula, May 12] I explained all these things to him to the best of my ability, and he certainly left me under the impression that he would have made a wonderful solicitor, for there was nothing that he did not think of or foresee. For a man who was never in the country, and who did not evidently do much in the way of business, his knowledge and acumen were wonderful.

-vs-

[Jonathan, May 3 - Jonathan's account goes on into various things that he has learned about the region but I'm only quoting the first part that describes him researching.] Having had some time at my disposal when in London, I had visited the British Museum, and made search among the books and maps in the library regarding Transylvania; it had struck me that some foreknowledge of the country could hardly fail to have some importance in dealing with a nobleman of that country.

NO SAFE SPACE - I actually wrote a meta quite a while ago all about Jonathan's privacy being increasingly invaded during his time at the castle, which I'm linking for you. But there are ways that Jonathan actually begins to mirror Dracula's invasion/destruction of his safe space. Dracula gives Jonathan specific paper to write on that will be easily read through a thin envelope; Jonathan retaliates by trying to read his letters as soon as Dracula leaves the room. Dracula later intercepts Jonathan's shorthand letter and burns it while pretending to be Jonathan's friend; in London, Jonathan pretends to still be employed by Dracula in order to gain access to Dracula's documents and read his finished correspondence. Similarly, while staying in Dracula's castle, Jonathan knew that he had no safe space remaining when Dracula had carried him to bed, changed his clothes, could climb in through the window, and had stolen his belongings (more detail in the post linked above). Later on in the book, Jonathan leads the heroes through Carfax, which is meant to be Dracula's safe abode in London. He is almost singlehandedly responsible for tracking down all of Dracula's boxes of earth and thus his other properties, which are what allow him a place of refuge in a foreign land (like Jonathan's private room should have been). Finally, he knows roughly where Castle Dracula is and is the reason the rest of the heroes are able to work out where Dracula is ultimately headed once he's on the run (though Mina is the one who figures out the specific routes to get there). I'm only quoting the letters aspect below, but I think the parallel of the bedroom/home being entered and Jonathan's belongings being stolen/Dracula's boxes being purified is a valid one too. Just very long to quote and doesn't have as distinct line by line parallels to point towards.

[Dracula, May 12] "I pray you, my good young friend, that you will not discourse of things other than business in your letters. It will doubtless please your friends to know that you are well, and that you look forward to getting home to them. Is it not so?" As he spoke he handed me three sheets of note-paper and three envelopes. They were all of the thinnest foreign post, and looking at them, then at him, and noticing his quiet smile, with the sharp, canine teeth lying over the red underlip, I understood as well as if he had spoken that I should be careful what I wrote, for he would be able to read it.

+

[Dracula, May 28] The Count has come. He sat down beside me, and said in his smoothest voice as he opened two letters:— "The Szgany has given me these, of which, though I know not whence they come, I shall, of course, take care. See!"—he must have looked at it—"one is from you, and to my friend Peter Hawkins; the other"—here he caught sight of the strange symbols as he opened the envelope, and the dark look came into his face, and his eyes blazed wickedly—"the other is a vile thing, an outrage upon friendship and hospitality! It is not signed. Well! so it cannot matter to us." And he calmly held letter and envelope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed.

-vs-

[Jonathan, May 12] Then he took up my two and placed them with his own, and put by his writing materials, after which, the instant the door had closed behind him, I leaned over and looked at the letters, which were face down on the table. I felt no compunction in doing so, for under the circumstances I felt that I should protect myself in every way I could. One of the letters was directed to Samuel F. Billington, No. 7, The Crescent, Whitby, another to Herr Leutner, Varna; the third was to Coutts & Co., London, and the fourth to Herren Klopstock & Billreuth, bankers, Buda-Pesth. The second and fourth were unsealed. I was just about to look at them when I saw the door-handle move.

+

[Jonathan, September 29] They all knew that I was busy, and that my stay was short, and Mr. Billington had ready in his office all the papers concerning the consignment of boxes. It gave me almost a turn to see again one of the letters which I had seen on the Count's table before I knew of his diabolical plans. Everything had been carefully thought out, and done systematically and with precision. [...] I saw the invoice, and took note of it: "Fifty cases of common earth, to be used for experimental purposes." Also the copy of letter to Carter Paterson, and their reply; of both of these I got copies.

+

[Jonathan, September 30] Harker has got the letters between the consignee of the boxes at Whitby and the carriers in London who took charge of them. He is now reading his wife's typescript of my diary. I wonder what they make out of it. Here it is.... [...] The bundle of letters relating to the purchase of the house were with the typescript.

RETURN TO HELL - Not a true exchange of traits so much as an interesting parallel/contrast. To quote an anon, in the later sections of the chase, "The Count is going back to 'Hell' on a dark river, Jonathan is on the same river, also returning to his 'Hell'". I found this particularly interesting. The context of course for Dracula's hell being that he is returning home (hell = home, thus Dracula = demonic) whereas Jonathan is willingly returning to his personal hell where he suffered. This goes along with the Castle being the seat of an old power the likes of which “mere "modernity” cannot kill", as Jonathan says on May 15th (and possibly magical in its own right, as a malevolent ‘genius loci’, per the awesome meta by @see-arcane). Another interesting detail about the river travel as well, is of course the link to the River Styx. Taking a river to hell - of course you’ll think of Styx (though Hades as a whole is not actually a direct parallel to a Christian Hell, it still encompasses the 'bad afterlife' so to speak). But Jonathan and Arthur’s boating accident forced them off the river early, which is actually a good thing in this metaphor, because the further down the river Styx you travel, the worse your punishment will be in the afterlife. So in that sense, them being forced to stop traveling down the river in a boat is akin to saying that though they follow Dracula back to (metaphorical) hell, they aren’t going as far in/won’t be permanently damned the same way.

[Dracula, September 30] Thus, whereas he can do as he will within his limit, when he have his earth-home, his coffin-home, his hell-home, the place unhallowed, as we saw when he went to the grave of the suicide at Whitby; still at other time he can only change when the time come.

+

[Dracula, October 4] “Because my dear, dear Madam Mina, now more than ever must we find him even if we have to follow him to the jaws of Hell!”

-vs-

[Jonathan, October 30] “Do you know what the place is? Have you seen that awful den of hellish infamy—with the very moonlight alive with grisly shapes, and every speck of dust that whirls in the wind a devouring monster in embryo? Have you felt the Vampire’s lips upon your throat?”

Miscellany

This is a few notes that I don't really have specific quotes for, and which may not be parallels in the same way as everything else, but which still seem fitting to go in here. Some of these might not be as unique to just these two (not that all the others have been anyway), but they still affect them, so I think are worth mentioning. Some are also just interesting to me but not fully thought out.

COMPANIONS = POWER - Jonathan and Dracula appear to be seesawing back and forth a little bit. In the beginning, Jonathan was isolated while Dracula had his vampiric companions and wolf minions. Then, as soon as Jonathan (together with Mina) enters the story again in London, the tide changes. Until this point, Dracula has been gradually winning and finally kills/turns Lucy. However, when the Harkers arrive, the Suitor Squad (plus Van Helsing) quickly defeat vampire!Lucy, and they all begin working together to hunt Dracula. He seizes back control and gains a new companion of his own (in a sense) once they start leaving Mina alone, though they still drive him away from the country. Then, as tension builds between Jonathan and Mina over her wish to be killed if she poses a danger and his decision to become a vampire with her if she turns, Jonathan starts pulling away from his other companions as well. Or rather, he seems willing to do so if he thinks they're going to harm his wife. At the same time, Jonathan and Mina don't get to talk anymore - and Dracula is able to seize back control briefly and escape their trap, hiring new people to work for him along the way. When Van Helsing slays the vampire ladies and our heroes rejoin one another the balance of strength tips back towards them. Basically there is a pattern of back and forth. When Jonathan is isolated either mentally or physically, Dracula is in power and begins acquiring more companions; when he unites with his companions and especially Mina, Dracula begins to lose.

CULTURAL SUPERIORITY - Jonathan begins the book as a representative of the British, in a way (certainly for Dracula). There is a fair amount of colonialist attitude in his journal entries, dismissing local "superstitions", using racist language/terms, and generally seeming to express a kind of paternalistic fondness for "exotic" ways of life, in a way that reduces them to being lesser than what he knows. This isn't necessarily intended to make him an awful person, or indeed even unusual for someone of that time/place. He may actually be meant as an example of being better/more open-minded than most of his peers, as he does seem to be willing to change his own beliefs and respects their kindness even when he thinks they're being superstitious. But his perspective as a citizen of a ruling empire clashes/mirrors with Dracula's view as a bygone conqueror in interesting ways. Dracula also has a sense of innate superiority that he links to his culture and more specifically his direct family line. Dracula believes that his inherent abilities, his past, and his power all guarantee his success in the future as well. He is looking to conquer a new people, in a way. This divide intersects in interesting ways with Jonathan's status as middle-class employee and Dracula's wealthy nobility as well.

GRAVITY OF CHARACTER - This is more of a meta note. But I've just found it really interesting to watch as many people reading Dracula Daily have reversed their view of Dracula and Jonathan. In the beginning, Jonathan was the subject of a lot of jokes. Dracula too, don't get me wrong - but those jokes still tended to make more fun of what Dracula was doing (cooking dinner, playing maid, etc.), versus mocking Jonathan's character (his awareness, his intelligence, etc.), at least in my opinion. Both of them have been subject to a lot of serious analysis as well as memes, but on the whole, the trajectory has been that people increasingly take Jonathan seriously. Dracula is still being called a dumbass and mocked far more in the late book. There's also a kind of reversal where people who only knew the movies or pop culture didn't care about Jonathan in the very beginning and only knew/cared about Dracula, but now most people seem in agreement that we all hate Dracula and love Jonathan. Just fun to notice the exchange into their reception as well a bit!

[itslikethesizeofmy]

Seasalt Rub

Shane x farmer. Soft and silly. 213 words. Read on AO3.

The Stardrop Saloon was bustling with its usual Friday night buzz, and the patrons were enjoying their own. The farmer was sat next to Shane, enjoying each other’s company—albeit in a quieter way. They chat and share soft laughs as they sip their drinks. A roar of laughter bursts out from the game room behind them—Sam, Sebastian, and Abigale having their own fun together.

“Why don’t you ever hang out with people more… your age?” Shane asks. The farmer scrunches their face at him, taken aback.

“How young do you think I am?” they ask, taking another sip of their drink.

“Idunno, 22, 23?” Shane thinks out loud.  The farmer splutters, and raises their eyebrows at him.

“I’m 27.”

“Huh?” Shane gives the farmer a disbelieving look.

“I’m twenty-seven years old, Shane. They feel like babies to me,” the farmer says again. Shane takes another sip of his drink as he mulls over the new information.

“Shit…”

“I worked corporate for Yoba’s sake, I’m haggard.”

“You don’t look too bad for someone so old,” Shane smirks.

“Shut up.”

“Better than me, at least.”

“Baby, you don’t look a day over 27,” the farmer grins. Shane elbows them, failing to hide a smile behind the rim of his sparkling water.

“Shut up.”

PLEASE REBLOG! HELP ME OUT! ITS ONE MORE BUTTON!

[worldcakecakecake]

Feliciano and the King of Hearts

Chosen by the gods as the Queen of Hearts from the moment of birth,  we follow Feliciano’s story as he grows into royal life, learns to rule,  go against age old customs, and his relationship with his husband to  be, the King of Hearts.

Chapter 1 I  Chapter 2 I Chapter 3 I Chapter 4 I Chapter 5 I Chapter 6I Chapter 7 I Chapter 8 IChapter 9I Chapter 10I Chapter 11I Chapter 12 I Chapter 13 I Chapter 14 I Chapter 15 I Chapter 16 I Chapter 17 I Chapter 18 I Chapter 19I Chapter 20 I Chapter 21 I Chapter 22 I Chapter 23 I Chapter 24 I Chapter 25 I Chapter 26 I Chapter 27 I Chapter 28I Chapter 29 I Chapter 30 I Chapter 31 I Chapter 32 I Chapter 33 I Chapter 34 I Chapter 35 I Chapter 36 I Chapter 37I chapter 38 I Chapter 39 I Chapter 40 I Chapter 41 I Chapter 42 I Chapter 43 I Chapter 44 I Chapter 45 I Chapter 46I Chapter 47 I Chapter 48 I Chapter 49 I Chapter 50 I Chapter 51 I Chapter 52 I Chapter 53 I Chapter 54 I Chapter 55 I Chapter 56 I Chapter 57 I Chapter 58 I Chapter 59 I Chapter 60I Chapter 61 I Chapter 62 I Chapter 63 I Chapter 64  I Chapter 65 I Chapter 66 I Chapter 67 I Chapter 68  I Chapter 69 I Chapter 70 I Chapter 71 I Chapter 72 I Chapter 73 I Chapter 74 I Chapter 75 I Chapter 76 I Chapter 77 I Chapter 78

                                                  Chapter 79

“Now!” Arthur shouted.

 Renata quickly ceased the glow in her hand, gone like the flicker of a candle.

 “Now somebody go get-” Louis was interrupted by a sudden blast, white and rampaging across the room. They quickly thought it an attack from Destro that had managed straight at their location, but they didn’t hurt…the light became one of warmth, of familiarity. They actually heard Augustino laughing. The light was gone swiftly, everyone began to stand from their fall, just in time to see Feliciano arise, taking a large deep breath, to then cough as he held to the stairs of the pool. The first one to come to his side was Kiku, one hand to help him stand on the dry stone of the room, the other comforting on his back. They all rushed to circle him, but Kiku held a hand to give Feliciano some decency of space, to breathe back in actual living oxygen into his physical body…alive again after a month.

 In all honesty…Feliciano looked horrible. He was hunched as he leaned to breathe again, wet, dripping water to the ground, his clothes haggard and his body was only slowly recovering back its color. He still leaned on Kiku, who still offered to give him support.

 This was not how they expected him to return. If he was like this…it only meant… “You…couldn’t get it…couldn’t you?” Roderich guessed, deflated, all joining in this accept of what was soon to be a world ending failure. They believed it more so when Feliciano hanged his head lower, refusing to look at them.

 They sighed, some began to tear and whimper, given up, kneeling to the floor ready to have everything destroyed before them. But whatever wallowing that wanted to continue, was broken with a sudden red glow, cracking and even drawing upon Feliciano’s fallen hand. Feliciano chuckled, beginning to stand, carefully moving Kiku to the side. All water on him left, dried, looking pristine even if he was bare footed and still wore a simple blouse and pants. His hair and skin shone brighter, with deeper colors and from him came this stronghold of magic, decorating the room in a sense that alighted them, shone them forward to be coated in this new air.

 “I got more than just the alignment,” he assured as he opened and showed them his eyes covered completely in magic, bright, powerful, but yet still they held the childish wonder of Feliciano, assuring them it was deeply him. “Much…much more.” He opened his hands to let his arms begin to get decorated in shines of gold and red, letting the room tremble and grow with a garden of magic, of sparks and lights that fascinated all to a stupor. He let it all stop with a simple sway of his hands lowering, his eyes closing to then alight again with his usual amber. Before all could word and celebrate, smiling and shinning deeply with hope, another crash came into the room from a messenger, tired, huffing and ready to fall to the ground.

 “Destro is in the midst of the city! He’s approaching the castle and we are not enough to hold him! You must come and help us!”

 “Perfect! We have Feliciano with us and he holds the alignment,” Yao announced, as all brandished their weapons and magic again. Only but Feliciano startled and questioned as his gaze was frantic.

 “We’ll help him however necessary. We will attack this instant and make sure Destro is dead by the-"

 “Wait! Wait! Wait!” Feliciano interrupted his father, standing before all as a blockade.

 “Feliciano, we have to act now!” Lovino shouted.

 “I know, I know! Just please…don’t kill him…”

 They all widened and stood perplexed, for not just the words but the feel in his tone.

 “What do you mean not kill him? He has helped destroy a large part of Clubs and is the culprit for having the entire southern Hearts kingdom obliterated. If he comes any closer he’ll have us all killed instead!” Aldrich shouted.

 Even if all the energy currently rested inside him, Feliciano hurt, holding back tears as he shook and tried to control them to stay inside. “Let me deal with this! You can help me all you want when we have to defeat Khaos…but leave Destro to me.” With the words he managed his calm and straightening, a stronghold that actually got the rest to fall and stand back, lessening the hold of their weapons and even the energy of their magic.

 Feliciano sighed, calm…then potence as he turned to the messenger still trying to calm his breaths. “Tell everyone to fall back…and to come straight to the castle. One brigade is commanded to keep a Titanium shine spell so Destro can attack until everyone is safely secured inside. Once done, I myself will place a protective shield to keep the castle safe. I assure you all no harm will come.”

 “And then you’re going to face Destro alone?” Lili was dreading.

 Another shook that caused pieces to fall in the room, a roar that made them all shutter.

 “Yes. I will.” Decreed strongly in his voice, one everyone knew they could not go against, having to nod and accept, if even shaking with worry. “I will only put up the shield once everyone is in…and you have to promise you will stay inside.” He turned with strength in his foots, one that made all bow to in reverence and accept. “Only then will I head out and face him.”

 “Your majesty…what are you doing now?” Elizabeta dared herself to ask.

 “I will watch and make sure that my commands are fulfilled…and I have to look for my harp.” And with a surprising calm he took to the halls to head to its storage.

  The call was done quickly. Feliciano saw from his heights as messengers spread and began to lead way back to the castle. Some rushed alone, others needed assistance because of their wounds, depending on the help of other soldiers to make way, but they made haste. Whoever was left in the city made approach to the castle, all behind a line of wizards that kept the Titanium Shine as the Queen had told. The spell was but a hallucination, a tall pillar of strong grey magic that feigned the energy of a living person, a perfect distraction for Destro, who attacked it as viciously as he had done everything, the ricochets deadly to the city, tearing and coating in smoke of destruction. Entire streets were there no longer, others blackened, Destro’s mere presence calling poison to reign even in the skies, tempting to rain with burn.

 This was the first time Feliciano’s eyes fell on Destro, the expanse of darkness, raging and swinging with its own arms and face, with runes of red and white, shaped with strengths that were actually wider than Khaos. He had yet to see Khaos in his alignment, but already Destro proved much more evil than the depictions he had seen long ago in the cave of artifacts.

 He gulped, he gripped harder the column of the harp he had now…trying to contain his fear…to see…

 The ground shook, awaking Feliciano from his thoughts, to realizing that the wizards and the last of the soldiers were entering the front gardens of the castle. It was his time to leave…to face…to begin and end this all. He actually…believed. He had confidence, one that made him stand prideful, with a deep breath that was only for the beginning of a melody.

 “I’ll journey and see beyond the lines of our kingdom,

Never a fear to be lost, never a fear to fall,

In pleasure, I will take the mysteries of what I could meet,

If you accept to be mine, my Queen.”

 He sung it underneath his breath, tranquil and peaceful despite this disarray.

 In the eternal reserve, there was indeed much more than just the alignment, more than just power and magic. There was information, knowledge and instructions about everything, even notes of power left behind. One of those messages was the ability to actually change the harp. No…he would not dare change the design, structure and color Augusta had placed, for it was sufficiently beautiful. All he needed was to change its size, something small he could carry in his palm, to easily begin his descend down the castle, like a singular entity that existed out of everything, merely trying to make a passing.

 “No heat, no cold, will stop me of my search,

No sun, no rain to go against my strength,

Just promise me your hand,

And love me in our eternity.”

 This music he tried to make his own sound, away from the shouts, the hurry of everyone trying to make their place in the castle for the shield.

 “My sun, my moon, my land, my love,

I know it’s a journey you will overcome,

But I don’t need you to go so far,

I want you here to kiss me.”

 He entered the place of action, of all running and creating a panic that Feliciano felt suspended in as he made his way across. He paid no mind to them, he left them to their disorder. No one really came into silence until they noticed him…easy, like he was just strolling through the castle trying to find a pleasant breeze.

 “Would you want all the gold I will find for you?

Would you like the songs I will bring from afar for you?

Would you accept me as your shield?

And would you want me always by your side?”

 He sang on, making that image more the one that all thought Feliciano was really going through. They all stood as they witnessed him, letting a rare peace fall on these halls.

 “What is he doing?” One soldier asked.

 “Isn’t he supposed to be facing Destro?”

 “They said he was going to do it alone!”

 “But he’s just singing!”

 The whispers continued.

 “I don’t want any of the riches you will bring,

I don’t care for any of the songs,

I only want you to hold,

I only want your arms around me.”

 The voices would always fall, beginning to just accept…and trust whatever it was that the Heartian Queen will do.

 It was his own silent parade down the rest of the halls, down every stair he needed to take, reaching ground, the main door of the castle now appearing before him. The commotion was the strongest here, filled, with people in shouted pain and tears, healers coming to act quick, screams and hurry to head in from the royals at the front.

 “Bring me your love, your kisses, your loyalty,

Your passion, your hope, your defeat,

Your promise, your weakness, your strength,

I will keep it all in my heart.”

 “The casters are almost here!” Kandake shouted, shock panic in her expression.

 “And where in the hell is Feliciano?” Vash shouted, just as he was met with a surprising silence, noticing how all gazed back to the very figure he questioned, making his way singularly down the hall.

 “Let the doors open wider…let the last of them come in,” Lili reminded, strong and pushing so all could fulfill despite this rare glow Feliciano shone in, distracting and even beautiful.

 “I’ll journey and see beyond the lines of our kingdom,

Never a fear to be lost, never a fear to fall,

In pleasure, I will take the mysteries of what I could meet,

If you accept to be mine, my King.”

 Nobody dared question the song…they just gave the necessary space for Feliciano to take, in that moment handing everything to him. He now had their lives and future, hanging in his hands and power.

 The last of the soldiers made entrance to the castle, the casters were now right before them, still holding to the spell, turning to the royals awaiting the next command.

 “Stop the enchantment. Head inside. I’ll deal with him.”

 They nodded, albeit fearful still as they turned their hands to release the hold. They rushed inside, leaving the pillar as it was, able to withstand a couple of more whiplashes from the remaining energy.

 There was still some time.

 While all shook at the image of Destro so near the castle, Feliciano stood stable, unaffected and with a calm some were envious the Queen could keep. The royals kept a guard around him, watching and waiting for any action. Only Pookie broke this as he took landing on Feliciano’s shoulder as usual, cuddling and comforting no matter the turmoil. It was almost like the monster before them wasn’t there at all.

 “If you are waiting for me to change my mind, I am not.”

 “To be honest, do whatever you want…just get rid of that thing,” Arthur admitted, his fear shown in the slight shake in his tone, as well as the fierceness he gave that made this a command.

 Vincenzo glared, but it eased as he placed a hand on his son’s shoulder, “we’ll be here, ready to serve you for anything. Defeat this menace…but stay safe.”

 Feliciano smiled, the enchanting one that spread and made them all shine on this eve of darkness. “As I’ve said before…stay in the castle. Leave everything to me.” And with that he took a step out of the threshold, beginning his way, the others not daring to close the door, for it was their watch to the spectacle they knew would mark them all forever. Many others took watch from any of the windows, frozen and expecting.

 In that chest of power, not only had Feliciano found information, but he found the forgotten lyrics to a song Augusta had long ago created, a hymn to the misery of losing her beloved.

 “My sun, my moon, my land, my love…” he had begun to sing again. It was louder this time, echoing to the point that all in the castle could hear it…they even wondered if it spread to the whole city, since Destro suddenly stopped, a widened expression in his eyes that was eerily human.

 “The sky has all fallen…” he continued, but he didn’t go on without a sudden deep breath, alighting in beautiful marks, ruby red. Once all that energy he needed was gathered, as he released his breath, large red lights began to grow from different corners of the city. He didn’t have to twirl his hand or utter some incantation…he walked on down the main courtyard, a simple thought in charge of letting these lights glow the streets they were located on, rushing forward until they reached the center of the castle. From the base it created at its edges, a net like structure began to grow, beginning a covering sphere of the castle, slow as Feliciano was still kept at its circulated area.

 “The kingdom weeps their king’s farewell…” he managed to sing on as he found himself ever reaching the official gates, only a matter of steps now.

 “And a queen breaks at her lover’s parting again…”

 To his surprise…Destro remained awfully still…as if he was enjoying from the song…perhaps trying to find its location…or trying to find his target.

 “But in your defend, all will join and fight for our future…”

 The shield continued its upward current, to the amazement of all who stayed inside the castle, distracted in its form enough that they didn’t see as Feliciano finally placed a foot outside of the perimeters. With his exit, the shield met at the top and finished. The castle was now well protected…nothing would be capable of destroying it…and even at the worst it will still stand. Feliciano could now keep his focus on only Destro.

 “…so the heavens will bless in your rest our perfect peace,” he finished the song, elongating an indeed rare silence in the city. To the surprise of those back in the castle, Destro didn’t lunge forward and Feliciano didn’t attack…they were easy in this stillness. They both continue to breathe out, nervous, like two strangers worried over their first meeting.

 Somehow…even for this, Feliciano had a song, new and his…with thoughts for Ludwig and a willingness to do anything…absolutely anything for him.

 “My sun, my moon, my land, my love…” he then began a slow reach, a walk forward, brave and with a shining happiness from his expression to his steps, eager, each new approach lighting the more, extinguishing more the fear.

 “My king who shines above all,” he smiled, such joy that already teared at his eyes.

 Destro continued this stillness, awed and wondered, frozen yet in his spot.

 “Darkened, lost and taken…” and Feliciano finally took that weakness to use, beginning a spell that lighted up the entire city, glowing in gold as he used it for an intense heat, one that surely burnt and brought Destro back to screeching and sending swings, destroying streets and buildings…and yet Feliciano stood in  their fault, smiling and unaware.

 “I know your heart is stronger.”

 Now the song was an add to this poison. Destro wanted rid of it, so he trampled forward meaning to fulfill his kill as intended.

 Raging, monstrous, Feliciano still looking so diminutive in his shadow, and yet the Queen continued to smile and only move forward, in a want to meet him.

 Many in the castle had to shield their eyes, some began to weep and others shook as if Destro’s was above them ready for taking. It could very well happen if he just swallowed Feliciano…which seemed would be very likely the case.

 “Your light is brighter…” And Feliciano dared halt, much to the anguish of the castle, slowly, painfully slow, raising a hand…not the one that had the harp. From there, he gathered light…warming and loving…comfortable and even…happy. Despite how diminutive it was, right in the middle of this darkening blaze, looking like it could easily drown between all…Destro stood just as Feliciano, both not daring any harm to the other.

 “You are ruler, you are king…” and they saw then that the song was dedication…dedication to Destro. The gaze their eyes shared was of childhood friends…turned to lovers…to then the King and Queen of Hearts. Destro let himself sit, the viciousness of his killing hands, turning gentle, forming fingers…familiar fingers that reached only for a simple touch. There was no fire, no magic, when Feliciano reached for its touch, he didn’t hurt, in fact, his smile was only larger, letting his hand caress the large hand of darkness like any regular skin. He embraced it, he even cradled it, letting himself lay on it, already feeling him entirely. He gazed up, with hint of tears from the peak of this happiness, to those large eyes that now more than ever reflected his beloved.

 “I know it’s you…Ludwig…” he couldn’t keep the last words in the tune of the song, for it was more important that he knew he was there, more important that they had this reunion, a reminder that at the worst…they would triumph.

 Destro…Ludwig…accepted this welcome, letting himself lean in blissful rest and comfort, careful as he lay right over the tiny figure of his husband. How he could, Feliciano raised his arms and embraced him, even as his face was formed this monstrous, loyal in giving him his ever devoting love, caressing and mending and how he wished he could kiss him. It was difficult, but…he tried, his lips reaching to any corner of a mouth he could reach, and with it, he began the full intent of his spell, one that went on its own course as he instead focus on feeling the powerful emotion of having his husband's lips again.

 “Is he…is he kissing that thing?” Vash couldn’t help but mention. The rest were too dumbfounded to response, only watching as the city began to glow more in the scene of this kiss.

 Despite how it was all gold, it seemed like color was brought back to the city, enveloping everything, slowly tearing apart every inch of darkness from this evil vessel. No more storms, no more poison, instead there was healing, coating everything in flowers, in new jewels to the buildings, in a brightening that made the damaged parts of the city new again. Destro turned smaller, smaller, every part of him slashed to nothing, disintegrating instead in shine and stars that made this grey day shinning with the colors of a beautiful morning. Piece by piece this vicious monster began to be chipped away until only this body remained…a human body. The golden light it was developed in was too much to really notice any features, but there was no hesitation in the way Feliciano desperately held to it, letting it rest on him, coming to kneel down until it could lay on his lap comfortably.

 Knowing it was safe, the shield on the castle fell, in a blink, and in that instant the castle doors slammed open with the insistence of the royals. Feliciano didn’t care for this commotion, he simply let his hands trail on the figure’s hair, their blond strands coming back, their silk and softness, the hardened head, the strong jaw, nose and cheeks. His skin turned its rightful pale, his body as perfectly as Feliciano always considered it, left with only tattered remains of surely the last armor he had fought with. The brightness began to dwindle, leaving a wondrous heat in the city that made them swear a melody continued to sing. With the last twinkling of gold gone, there was a sudden grasp of air, of steady breathing…along with a heartbeat.

 Ludwig remained in this rest, letting his body slowly get used to skin, to breathing in and out his control, testing with sudden grips and shakes that indeed…he was his own again. He baptized that aware with a fluttering of his eyes, that beautiful blue that the very sky seemed to have granted him. He saw a shining day, he felt the warmth of great summers and then he saw…his own angel, his sun, his love and queen and already he smiled. It caused a slight pang…but it didn’t matter…it was just the right reminder he was back…this was real…Feliciano was there.

 “Ludwig?” Feliciano still questioned it, still wondering if this was the plethora of all dreams and he was still stuck in one of the realms.

 Ludwig groaned and still found it hard to move for now…but it would pass, he would heal…and he will live. This time he could show a grin that reflected the light of this new sun on him, making it more real for Feliciano, who began to tighten the hold he kept on his body, whose eyes began to water, but even so his own grin wanted to keep expanding.

 “Feliciano…” he managed to speak, rusted and sore, “…do you…remember that spell I used to do as a kid after my power activation…the one I had to do-” “-two for each afternoon hour,” they repeated together in a perfect sync that made them chuckle.

 “And do you remember…how it was you that always convinced me to do it when I complained about it…and you always…tried to heal or calm whenever I got burnt afterwards…”

 “Yes…yes, yes I remember that dearly.” Tears fell, but even with this shake, Feliciano went on smiling.

 “I feel like…something just like that happened now…I couldn’t…control my power…I couldn’t…I couldn’t….” Ludwig found it hard to speak when he was shaking with the same tears that took him, the emotion piling. “-do anything…I left myself turn into a monster and destroy everything I hold dear, but you …you brought me back…you stopped this…you saved me…”

 “Oh, but Ludwig, despite all this darkness, you managed to see me between and let the spell heal…you let yourself be freed. It wasn’t me alone. Oh, how I missed you and how I love you, I love you dearly and I just…I just had to save you. These last few weeks…without you were awful. I was so lost…everything was darker and hopeless…I was so ready to give up and join you wherever you were but…there’s a world looking up to us, there are tons of other millions we have to save and…” he raised his arms to the jewels were their children lay. Ludwig managed slight reaches to be able to caress them, smiling, the joy letting him raise from his lay a slight more. “…we have our own kids to show the very world we live in.”  The jewels had gotten brighter, new red vines began to grow around Feliciano’s wrists and Ludwig was sure to touch every line, proving to his children that he was there…that he will be there. Their gazes met and they knew for sure all was real, their touch was theirs, their breath running and every fiber of magic in them was glowing now for their return. It exploded as they reached forward for their kiss, deepening and passionate, letting themselves in that fuel, letting whatever tears come down and fall for once in comfort and trust in the new flourished land below them. They settled between on one another in whimpers, in a hold all around them that was tight and placed, nothing, nothing…not even the approach of all, shouting, crying and celebrating was enough to depart them.

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There’s so much that went wrong while writing this. To me, this chapter should have meant more, but in the end…I don’t know…it doesn’t feel like I wanted it to. I tried what I could of fixing it but after noticing I haven’t gotten any comments or words for this story in months…yes including the last amount of chapters…I should just…no care about this as most people do. So many times the last few weeks I’ve thought about stopping…but, NEWS, there’s only about three chapters left to finish the story, and after five years with this…I think I should give it the chance to at least let it be done. I told myself many times, I created this adventure for myself and anyone else who reads is just welcomed to come along on the ride. I really don’t like coming here all guilt trippy like this, but just…been through a lot the last few weeks, thinking a lot about usage of time…and sometimes I wondered why continue with a story that I only care about, wasting time? But then, exactly, I care about it, I adore it, I don’t need the lack of interest of strangers. It is great, I love it, and it is taking swell time. For those who have stuck and the very few who are the pushes that keep me going with this hideous mammoth. Thank you, and thus, I bring you a chapter in what I could of messy holiday shenanigans.

 As I said, savor it…only three more to go.

 Also, was this part really like the one in Moana? Yes, I know. I had this idea long before the movie came out, but sadly I was slower. The movie did give me the idea to add a song though~

[tabloidtoc]

Globe, November 9

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Prince Andrew fails lie detector -- new crisis rocks the palace 

Page 2: Up Front & Personal -- Bruno Toniolo shirtless, Heidi Pratt at a pumpkin patch in L.A., Jacqueline Bisset catches some rays in L.A. 

Page 3: Larry David leaves an L.A. office, Ellen Pompeo, Pete Wentz 

Page 4: Kathie Lee Gifford is talking to NBC bigwigs about coming back to Today and they’re hot over the idea but Hoda Kotb is not pleased and Jenna Bush Hager is feeling threatened because Jenna never really grabbed the audience like Kathie Lee did, Martha Stewart and Gwyneth Paltrow are heading into the holidays trash-talking each other even more than usual and their pals have nowhere to hide -- they’re snippier than ever and can’t get through the week without saying something crass but the trouble is they have the same friends and they use some of the same chefs and caterers and crew -- all their friends in the Hamptons including the Seinfelds and Beyonce and Jay-Z and Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley and Rachael Ray are trying to keep out of it but it’s impossible because Martha and Gwyneth are both screaming for loyalty 

Page 5: Legal hotshot and writer Jeffrey Toobin has been shelved by the New Yorker magazine for showing off his willie to co-workers during a Zoom conference call -- witnesses say Toobin was masturbating but he insists it was a blooper

Page 6: Dolly Parton was so lovestruck when she met Elvis Presley that she nearly chucked her marriage and career to shack up with Elvis -- Dolly is ready to tell all about Elvis after decades of protecting her husband Carl Dean and Elvis’ only child Lisa Marie Presley -- Dolly was in her late 20s and Elvis was in his late 30s when they had their sizzling encounter where she got dolled up to meet Elvis in a Nashville office and discuss working together and he wanted to do a duet but she didn’t trust herself to work with him and she didn’t even let Elvis do a cover of her song I Will Always Love You -- even though Dolly didn’t actually cheat on Carl she sure was tempted and she’s felt guilty about it ever since 

Page 8: Just two weeks after splitting with his wife of 14 years former Home Improvement kid Zachery Ty Bryan was arrested and jailed on charges of trying to strangle a terrified galpal -- after a night of partying where he was photographed surrounded by four gals with an iced bottle of vodka at the table Zachery reportedly got into a heated clash with his galpal and she claims Zachery grabbed her by the throat and squeezed then tried to snatch her phone when she attempted to call 911 so she ran to a neighbor’s home where she hid while cops were called 

Page 9: Distressed Kelly Clarkson and her two toddlers are in therapy to help cope with the anguish brought on by her divorce from Brandon Blackstock -- the talk show host is especially struggling because the split is playing out so publicly and the kids are seeing things about their mom on TV and she feels immense guilt about the divorce but knows it was the best decision because she wasn’t happy married to Brandon though she did try but staying in a marriage just for the kids wasn’t an option for her -- Kelly was deeply wounded when her father-in-law Narvel Blackstock’s management company recently sued her for $1.4 million in alleged unpaid commissions but she’s speaking with her ex privately in an effort to resolve the issue out of court but Kelly suspects he’s using it as a bargaining chip for a bigger settlement and also feels he’s using the kids against her as a weapon 

Page 10: Showbiz legend Michelle Phillips has become a shut-in who sits home alone tippling wine while watching movies on TV and listening to her hits from The Mamas & the Papas where she is the last surviving member of the band -- she’s sad the rest are all gone  and she’ll put on a record and sit in the dark; she misses them and so many other people -- she’s become a shut-in due to the pandemic and can’t bear for people to see her so old and haggard and overweight and all those years of partying have done their damage to her once-beautiful face -- she also hasn’t been able to see her young grandson and she’s grieving the loss of her longtime lover who died in 2017 

Page 11: Baywatch hunk Jeremy Jackson’s cover girl ex-wife has been found homeless wandering California’s mean streets in worn and shabby clothes -- lost for two years Loni Willison is now virtually unrecognizable with missing teeth and her long blond tresses cropped short -- she was found pushing a grocery cart filled with her battered possessions in Venice -- despite her tragic situation she insists she’d doing fine and doesn’t want help despite reportedly having drug and mental health issues 

Page 12: Celebrity Buzz -- Rita Ora in a see-through frock (picture), Lily James got caught brazenly canoodling with the very much married Dominic West who plays her father in the BBC miniseries The Pursuit of Love, just weeks after Cardi B filed to dissolve her marriage to Offset she’s put the split on hold and all it took was Offset to spend bucks on a heart-tugging Sunset Strip billboard and a Rolls-Royce and a Hermes Birkin bag, Kate Hudson’s getting loose-lipped about gross snotty smooches with her leading man Matthew McConaughey 

Page 13: Vinny Guadagnino eating in Beverly Hills (picture), Kaitlyn Bristowe has a puffy trout pout (picture), Shia LaBeouf doesn’t let an apparent injury keep him from getting out and about in Pasadena (picture), Alanis Morissette says the fame that came with her 1995 revenge song You Oughta Know wasn’t so sweet but instead was an isolating experience 

Page 14: Nicole Kidman is starring opposite Hugh Grant in the thriller series The Undoing but she really wanted to plays Hugh’s love interest in Notting Hill except she wasn’t well-known enough, Reba McEntire has landed herself a brand new TV show which is a modernized Fried Green Tomatoes drama series in which she’ll play the present-day Idgie Threadgoode, Fashion Verdict -- Regina King 8/10, Isabelle Huppert 2/10, Queen Maxima 5/10, Tracee Ellis Ross 9/10, Cher 4/10 

Page 16: How John F. Kennedy stole the White House from Richard Nixon -- Chicago mob rigged the 1960 vote and cheated Nixon out of the presidency 

Page 19: True Crime 

Page 21: Parkinson’s patient Alan Alda is refusing to slow down at age 84 and friends fear the fragile M*A*S*H legend is headed for a devastating health crisis and he’s busier now than he ever was even during his sitcom days and he bravely says he lives with it by staying active but medication can only do so much and his friends and family including wife Arlene are worried he’s pushing himself too hard, teary-eyed Ringo Starr confesses his last conversation with dying Beatles bandmate George Harrison was heartbreaking and unforgettable -- Ringo wanted to stay with George until the end but his daughter Lee had been diagnosed with a brain tumor and Ringo had to rush to Boston to see her and when Ringo told George he had to go to Boston George said D’ya want me to come wit’ ya? so even on his death bed George made his best buddy smile while both faced unspeakable grief 

Page 22: 10 Things You Don’t Know About S. Epatha Merkerson, Today show host Hoda Kotb reveals Frank Sinatra Jr. was the show’s worst guest because he clammed up instead of touting a book about his famous dad in 2015, Khloe Kardashian confesses she once worked as Nicole Richie’s personal assistant because she just needed a job and they went to school together -- Nicole’s reality career crashed in 2007 which was the same year Khloe’s series started

Page 24: Cover Story -- Disgraced Prince Andrew has flunked a lie detector test on his close relationship with murdered American pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and now the rogue royal insists he’ll never cooperate with the FBI for fear his testimony will land him behind bars but Queen Elizabeth’s favorite son has his back against the wall as new evidence surfaces on both sides of the Atlantic -- Andrew is terrified newly released secret testimony from Epstein’s accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell is just the tip of the iceberg of what she’s prepared to reveal and Maxwell’s revelations detailing her twisted sex life come on the heels of an explosive new British book accusing Andrew of attending debauched events with Epstein where teenage girls were parading around topless -- even though friends close to Andrew say he did nothing wrong and has no reason to fear the prince may not have a choice about spilling his guts because the fed-up royal family is threatening to cut off the cash-strapped rogue unless he plays ball 

Page 25: Prince Andrew has been banished from the gift shop at his mother’s Balmoral Castle -- tourists can still purchase postcards her Her Majesty’s kids Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Edward but Prince Andrew has disappeared which is a sure sign that Andrew is in the doghouse since items featuring Elizabeth’s beloved corgis are still up for sale 

Page 26: Health Report 

Page 27: Dirtiest places on planes exposed 

Page 30: Serial sleaze Matt Lauer’s ready to pop the question to girlfriend Shamin Abas over the holidays and he hopes for a brighter future with her a year after his 20-year marriage to Annette Roque ended in divorce -- Matt showers Shamin her with gifts and wants to buy a house on the East Coast where they can make new memories and Matt’s hinted he’s already bought the ring and plans to propose by New Year’s and he hopes to have a celeb-studded wedding at their new home, Kathleen Turner will be back at Michael Douglas’ throat as his acid ex in The Kominsky Method to fill the hole left by Alan Arkin who abruptly pulled out of the third and final season of the show

Page 35: Matthew McConaughey’s father predicted he’d die while making love to his wife and he did, desperate to turn back time Marie Osmond is going whole hog on a head-to-toe makeover -- Marie is no stranger to cosmetic fixes and she is considering a slew of procedures to get a new look that’ll knock ‘em out including everything from Botox and fillers to face-lift to boob job and lipo-sculpting to enhance her waistline -- the makeover is motivated by revenge because she’s bitter over recently being pushed off her co-host gig on The Talk and now she’s counting on a younger look to land her a plum new TV gig 

Page 38: Real Life Monsters 

Page 39: Kris Jenner blames social media for ending the 14-year run of Keeping Up with the Kardashians because when the show started there was no Instagram or Snapchat or other social media platforms but now she gripes that now there are so many the viewer doesn’t have to wait three or four months to see an episode but instead information spreads online in real time, Phil Collins’ ex-wife has traded him in for a 31-year-old guitarist who never managed to make much noise in the music industry -- Phil was furious when he heard Orianne Cevey married Tom Bates in Las Vegas, Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman died without a will according to his widow -- Taylor Simone Ledward filed a probate case in L.A. asking a judge to name her administrator of Boseman’s estimated $938,500 estate with limited authority

Page 44: Straight Talk -- Bruce Willis and Demi Moore’s daughter Rumer Willis claims posing for raunchy bondage shots proves she’s a liberated woman free from sexual stereotypes but it’s not that simple 

Page 45: Jeff Bridges is battling non-Hodgkin lymphoma which is a rampaging cancer that often spreads through the body to the liver and bone marrow and lungs -- while the cancer can be deadly experts say the five-year survival rate is 73 percent 

[illuminction-blog]

*  bryana holly, age 22, she/her  | oh, them? that’s farrah gold. they’ve lived in carina bay for, like, five years. last time i spoke to them they were a lifeguard, and if i remember correctly, they’re a leo. seeing them around always makes me think of sun-warmed sand sticking to tanned skin, wisps of blonde tucked under a haggard backwards baseball cap, the scrape of skateboard wheels along slats in the pavement. ( tally, 24, cst, she/hers )

unlike mr. fitz, this character is actually one i’ve played several times before and her fc is one i’ve giffed (badly) all from scratch so i’m quite attached. i’m hoping you love her as much as i love her. 

she’s originally a southern california girl but perhaps not in the stereotype one might expect. instead of being the Basic White Girl™ trope, she’s kind of... scrappy. like she’s the most chilled, laid back, easygoing personality type and, on top of that, a complete tomboy

she had an older brother who was in and out of trouble growing up which was kind of ironic considering her father was the chief of police in their hometown

had a relatively uneventful childhood? learned self defense at like age 4, played a shit ton of sports, LOVED going to the beach -- sand between her toes and getting her clothes wet kinda childhood

raised in that ‘one of the boys’ vibe but basically the embodiment of the raise boys and girls the same way motto of child rearing because she was literally just allowed to do what she wanted... and with her boyish aesthetic, that was always just cliche ‘guy stuff’ ( quotes bc gender is cancelled but you know what i mean ) 

she was kind of introduced to the dark side of humanity through her dad’s work but always at a safe distance. it really desensitized her to the ‘wrong crowd’ sort which will come back to bite her

high school is where things got interesting. before that she was kinda a gangly awkward kid with a pretty face but not much else to her name and in hs she blossomed

and yet... she stuck to her same old hoyden aesthetic, preferring getting tanned from too long at the skatepark to tanning beds and dirt on her cheeks from hiking than highlight and contour

still, she started attracting a certain kind of attention now that she’d entered into teenagerdom

she had a best friend for like FOREVER that everyone always thought she’d date. they were inseparable and platonically in love and knew each others secrets inside and out but

she ended up wooed by the badboy, her upbringing making her see some good in him beyond his poor life choices. he was involved in trouble and literally a walking stereotype but lived it just as readily. she didn’t fall for him because he was bad but, rather, because she thought that she could fix him

her father believed in the rehabilitation of the criminals he put away so why should she judge, you know?

things got way too dark way too fast and farrah ended up having to sneak around to see him and started to feel like she was being used as a cover more than as a girlfriend

the breaking point happened when she was just 17 years old -- they’d been dating two years or so but anyways, in vaguest terms, she got a little too involved with something criminal for him and ended up having to go on the run. at first she thought they’d stick together but he ditched town soon after which was as much of a breakup as she needed

too embarrassed to go to her father and be forced to confess to all the little things she’d done, she ended up letting that bff from earlier buy her a ticket to carina bay ( where he had some family or connections or something ) and he set her up in a decent little apartment and everything

she’s told her parents that she’s going to school in nc but really, she just has an average job working as a lifeguard on the beach ( swimming, skating, beach life all being right in her powerhouse)

personality wise, she’s still at total tomboy -- messy, laid back, unafraid of a bit of rough and tumble, disheveled, charming, a bit bad at communicating at times, impulsive, wry. she’s a bit guarded too, both in her immediate surroundings and just with her HEART (aw) but yeah that’s about all you need to know

she’s been here a few years so lets plot ;)

LIKE THIS TO TAKE PITY ON ME & PLOT!!

( TL;DR – california skater girl who got involved with a troubled boy and has now run away to the east coast to start a new life for herself, all while lying to her family back home about her reasons for moving to carina bay )

[1962dude420-blog]

Today we remember the passing of Johnny Paycheck who Died: February 19, 2003 in Vanderbilt University - Nashville, Tennessee

Johnny Paycheck was an American country music singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and Grand Ole Opry member notable for recording the David Allan Coe song "Take This Job and Shove It". He achieved his greatest success in the 1970s as a force in country music's "outlaw movement" popularized by artists Hank Williams Jr., Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, Billy Joe Shaver, and Merle Haggard. In the 1980s, his music career slowed due to drug, alcohol and legal problems. He served a prison sentence in the early 1990s and his declining health effectively ended his career in early 2000.

Johnny Paycheck was born Donald Eugene Lytle on May 31, 1938, in Greenfield, Ohio. By age 9, Lytle was already playing in talent contests. His big break came in the early 1960s when he convinced country music legend George Jones to hire him. Paycheck provided harmony vocals as well as bass and steel guitar for Jones. He later co-wrote Jones's hit song "Once You've Had the Best."

In 1964, he changed his name legally to Johnny Paycheck, taking the name from Johnny Paychek, a top-ranked boxer from Chicago who once fought Joe Louis for the heavyweight title. He first charted under his new name with "A-11" in 1965. His best-selling single from this period was "She's All I Got", which reached No. 2 on the U.S. country singles charts in 1971 and made it onto the Billboard Hot 100. His "Mr. Lovemaker" also reached No. 2 on the U.S. country singles chart in 1973. But with the popularity of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the mid 1970s, Paycheck changed his image to that of outlaw, with which he was to have his largest financial success.

It was his producer Billy Sherrill who helped revive his career by significantly changing his sound and image. Sherrill was best known for carefully choreographing his records and infusing them with considerable pop feel. The Paycheck records were clearly based on Sherrill's take on the bands backing Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson on records.

In 1981, Paycheck was arrested for statutory rape of a 12 year old girl in Wyoming, and appeared on an episode of the television show The Dukes of Hazzard as himself. The scene had him playing "Take This Job and Shove It" and arguing with Boss Hogg when the sheriff tried to give him a citation over the content of the song. In 1982, he pled down to a misdemeanor and fine over the sexual assault charge of the minor child.

In December 1985, Paycheck was convicted and sentenced to seven years in jail for shooting a man at the North High Lounge in Hillsboro, Ohio; he fired a .22 pistol and the bullet grazed the man's head. Paycheck claimed the act was self-defense. After several years spent fighting the sentence, he began serving his sentence in 1989, spending 22 months in prison before being pardoned by Ohio Governor Richard Celeste.

The most successful of his later singles, released during his appeal, was "Old Violin", which reached # 21 on the country chart in 1986. His last album to chart was "Modern Times" in 1987. He continued to release albums, the last of which, Remembering, appeared in 2002. In 1990, he filed for bankruptcy after tax problems with the IRS. Although Paycheck was addicted to drugs and alcohol during his career, he later was said to have "put his life in order" after his prison stay. He continued to perform and tour until the late 1990s. Shortly before his retirement, in 1997, he was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry; in a rare exception to protocol, Opry general manager Bob Whittaker personally invited Paycheck to join instead of having another member do the invitation.

After 2000, his health would only allow for short appearances. Contracting emphysema and asthma after a lengthy illness, Paycheck died at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center in 2003, aged 64. He was buried in Woodlawn Memorial Park Cemetery in Nashville, in a plot donated by George Jones.

[cosmeticnews]

14 Best Anti Aging Serum 2020 | For Your 20s, 30s, 40s

#cosmeticnews #janebrody #haircare #makeup #skincare #skinconcern #beautydevices

Not everyone wants to have a skin that looks old and haggard. Many people try all ways to bring back their youthful skin by using different creams or going on diets. Others opt to use supplements or hit the gym. The market has many types of products that promise to give you a youthful look after a while. While some of these products work, others may not work as well as expected.

Some of the anti-aging products contain very high concentrations of ingredients that can damage the skin after using them for some time.

Some of the most sensitive areas of the skin such as the skin surrounding the eyes need EYE CREAMS that have skin friendly ingredients. The best friendly ingredients are natural and organic, because we know how hard it is to find the right anti-aging products, we have listed some of the best Anti Aging  serums in the market today that will clear your skin problems to leave you with a youthful, softer, plumber, smoother and healthy complexion. All the products are available at Amazon at very affordable prices.

Our top picks of the Best Drugstore Anti-aging Serum

#1 Eva Naturals Vitamin C Serum Plus

Vitamin C Serum Plus 2% Retinol, 3.5% Niacinamide,...

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(Last update on 2019-12-15 at 06:26 ,UTC)

Eva Naturals Vitamin C Serum is one of the best anti-aging serums in the market today. Loaded with quality antioxidants the serum protects the skin against UV rays while at the same and at the same time, repairs damaged skin. The serum contains Hyaluronic Acid, which keeps the skin hydrated at all times. The serum also contains Niacinamide known for its soothing effects that leave the skin healthy and with an even tone. For people with clogged pores due to dirt and oils, you need not worry because the serum contains Retinol that works wonders to cleanse the skin to reduce the size of the pores and unclog them.

For the exfoliating effect, the serum has salicylic acid, which helps to fight the blemishes. The serum has a blend of natural oils, organic ingredients and vitamins that give your skin natural healthy complexion. The serum is ideal for all skin types and contains no artificial fragrances or chemicals. Eva naturals gives you a satisfaction guarantee and promises that unlike other anti-aging products in the market, you can your full trust on this product. If the product does not give you the expected results, you can always get in touch with the manufacturer for a refund. Repair, protect, moisturise, hydrate and promote a radiant complexion with Eva Naturals Vitamin C Serum and regain your youthful look.

#2 Olay Face Serum

Face Serum with Collagen Peptide by Olay...

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(Last update on 2019-11-09 at 19:36 ,UTC)

Olay offers a wide range of skincare products that make your skin look its best. The Olay Face Serum contains quality ingredients that fight the early signs of aging leaving your skin looking younger and healthier. The main key ingredient of this serum is amino peptides, which has very powerful anti-aging compounds. The serum hydrates the skin and improves its elasticity leaving with a firmer lifted look.

The cream is lightweight and does not feel heavy on your skin. It diminishes wrinkles and in just two weeks, you can notice the results. Over 90% of the women that have used Olay Serum said that their skin felt smoother, softer and moisturise after only two weeks of consistent usage. Take off those years and get a youthful look with no wrinkles with this clinically proven serum.

#3 InstaNatural Vitamin C Anti-Aging Skin Clearing Serum

InstaNatural Vitamin C Anti Aging Skin Clearing...

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 22:56 ,UTC)

The above serum is another fantastic ant-aging product from the makers of great skincare products, InstaNatural. The serum contains Caffeine, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Peptides, Niacinamide, Retinol and Lipo Hydroxyl Acid. The combination of the ingredients penetrates the skin to clear blemishes, moisturise, hydrate and clear wrinkles and fine lines. Other notable ingredients are Salicylic Acid, Tea Tree Oil, Rosemary Leaf Extract, Citric Acid and many others.

Used daily, the serum also defends the skin against environmental aggressors and bacteria, which in turn leaves it with a smooth healthy and even tone and texture. With its high concentration of salicylic acid and beta hydroxyl, you do not have to worry about acne spots formation, blackheads, breakouts and cystic acne. The two do not only prevent the formation of these skin problems but also cures you of them leaving you with a youthful look. The serum also helps to reduce skin redness, and to unclog pores.

It is a lightweight cream that will not feel heavy on your skin and it is ideal for all skin types. For best results apply the serum at night and wake up with a fresher look in the morning. Follow up the serum with an appropriate moisturiser to give your skin more hydration.

#4 Aveeno Ageless Intensive Ant Aging Renewal Serum

Aveeno Absolutely Ageless Intensive Anti-Aging...

(139)

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 12:27 ,UTC)

The above 1-ounce fluid bottle contains an ant aging serum that moisturises and renews your skin giving it the elasticity it needs. This keeps the skin looking young, healthy and strong as it gets rid of wrinkles, fine lines and skin blemishes. The serum hydrates the skin and improves its texture. The most active ingredient is natural blackberry complex. You can use the serum on its own or under your favourite makeup. It is safe for all skin types and you can choose to use it either in the morning or at night. For better results, layer the serum with an appropriate moisturiser. The serum is non-greasy and lightweight and after a couple of weeks, you start noticing positive results.

#5 InstaNatural Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid

InstaNatural Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid...

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(Last update on 2019-12-24 at 22:36 ,UTC)

If you are looking for a serum to give you a healthy glowing skin, then InstaNatural has you covered with their top of the range vitamin c serum with hyaluronic acid. The serum diminishes the appearance of wrinkles, fine lines dark circles, age spots and skin discoloration. It hydrates the skin and nourishes it restoring its beauty and health. The serum does this with the help of a blend of quality advanced formula made of Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin C, Ferulic Acid, Plant Stem Cells, Argan Oil Rosehip Oil, and Sea Buckhorn Oil among others. The manufacturers give a 100% satisfaction and you can call them for a refund if the results do not please you. The serum is ideal for all skin types and you can use it either at night or in the morning.

#6 Eve Hansen Retinol Serum for Face

-$2.99 OFF

Eve Hansen Retinol Serum for Face 2% | 72% Organic...

(1234)

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 12:27 ,UTC)

The above anti-aging serum helps to repair existing skin damage. It contains Retinol that helps to reduce fine lines, wrinkles and dark spots while at the same time helps to improve skin tone. The serum is a dark spot corrector for face, acne spot treatment, anti-aging serum, pore minimizer, dark circles under eye treatment, skin discoloration treatment, deep wrinkle filler, acne discoloration treatment, and as an anti-wrinkle serum. The complete list of functions of the anti-aging serum is to fade existing scars and to brighten the skin by unclogging pores in order to reveal a firmer and brighter skin.

The retinol face tightening serum helps to reduce the appearance of deep wrinkles, skin discoloration, acne scars, and sagging skin. The serum has a rich combination of ingredients like Hyaluronic Acid Serum, Vitamin A, Vitamin E, Jojoba Oil and Organic Aloe that help to keep the skin looking young all the time. The serum also boosts elastin and collagen in the body that in turn restores the natural glow giving the skin a plump look. Using the face-lift serum once a week builds skin tolerance to the ingredients, which in turn protects by feeding it with nutrients.

All the ingredients are natural and organic. The serum is cruelty free, a product from USA, parabens free, sulfate free and phthalates free. It is safe for all skin types but in the beginning, you could have slight irritation. This however goes away after the skin adjusts to the retinol.

#7 Eve Hansen Vitamin C Serum for Face

-$0.99 OFF

Eve Hansen Vitamin C Serum for Face | 76% Organic...

(79)

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 12:27 ,UTC)

Eve Hansen vitamin c serum rejuvenates and brightens your facial complexion by filling up wrinkles, removing brown and age spots, correcting dark spots, minimizing pores, and reducing eye bags, fine lines, dark circles and sagging skin. The serum has a combination of strong ingredients that do all these and more like boosting the skins natural defenses. The anti-wrinkle serum helps to enhance collagen production, skin clarity, even skin tone and provide a protective barrier around the skin while reducing the damaging effects of environmental stressors.

The Vitamin C serum is also a natural hyperpigmentation reduce the appearance of acne scars. The serum also tightens the skin to give it an improved complexion. The natural moisturizer uses a blend of the following ingredients Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Hyaluronic Serum, organic jojoba, horsetail plant extract, organic dandelion, organic gotu kola extract, and Organic Aloe. Made in USA, the vitamin c serum is sulfate free, cruelty free, parabens free, phthalates free and does not contain any artificial fragrances, dyes or oils.

#8 PEPECARE Natural Vitamin C Serum for Face Anti-aging & Whitening

PEPECARE Natural Vitamin C Serum for Face...

(9)

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(Last update on 2019-11-09 at 01:58 ,UTC)

PEPECARE natural Vitamin C, Serum targets the most prevalent signs of aging including firmness, brightness, wrinkles, fine lines, sunspots and, dark spots. The serum contains a strong Plant Based Formulation that is Free from fragrances, stabilisers and synthetic color additives. It is non-greasy and absorbs into the skin fast leaving it smooth and soft. The serum provides the skin with antioxidants that defend it from the aging effects of invisible aggressors like pollution and harmful UV rays that keep the skin from achieving a healthy radiance.

The Vitamin C Serum brightens, tightens, smoothens and clears any skin blemishes to leave you with a healthy and strong glowing look. It gives you a youthful radiance with the help of a potent blend of ingredients. The ingredients that go into making this serum effective are Vitamin C, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E and ferulic acid among others. The forma is non-irritating and good for all skin types. It contains only organic and natural ingredients and it has no parabens, harsh chemicals, artificial fragrances, dyes or colors and it is cruelty free. It is especially good for people with dry skin because of its great hydrating and moisturizing effects.

#9 YEOUTH Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Face

Hyaluronic Acid Serum for Face by YEOUTH - 100%...

(1849)

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 12:27 ,UTC)

The above face serum is a multitasking product loaded with a powerful blend of ingredients. With hyaluronic acid as the main ingredient, the serum soothes, repairs, and plumps the skin while toning and maintaining moisture for long lasting hydration. The serum is lightweight and offers you a whole day of moisture to the skin. It is good for all skin types and especially those that have dry skins. You cannot go wrong with this serum if you are looking for a plumper, softer, younger look free from wrinkles and fine lines.

#10 Pure Biology Premium Vitamin C Serum

Pure Biology Premium Vitamin C Serum (30%) with...

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 11:56 ,UTC)

The above serum is one of the best anti-aging blends in the market today. Packed with proven base ingredients like Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Hyaluronic Acid, Witch Hazel, Aloe and Jojoba Oil, Pure Biology face serum has a strong combination to even and tone your skin by diminishing the fine lines and wrinkles. The serum also brightens the skin, gets rid of acne scars, hyperpigmentation, dark spots, and sunspots. It minimizes pores and improves skin elasticity and the general appearance of the skin.

#11 YEOUTH Anti-Aging Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid & Tripeptide

YEOUTH Best Anti Aging Vitamin C Serum with...

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 12:36 ,UTC)

The above serum is another quality product from YEOUTH that deeply hydrates, plumps and reduces wrinkles and fine lines on the skin. It shrinks the pores, hydrates and moisturizes leaving you with a soft, smooth and radiant looking skin the whole day. YEOUTH Hyaluronic Acid Serum contains a dynamic trio of medical quality ingredients can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles, discoloration and can assist in the reduction of pore size. YEOUTH Hyaluronic Acid Plus is safe for all skin types, even the most sensitive skin around the eye. This anti-aging serum will leave no redness or irritation and is non-greasy.

#12 Kate Blanc -Vitamin C Serum for Face with Hyaluronic Acid & Vitamin E

Vitamin C Serum for Face 20% with Hyaluronic Acid...

(171)

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(Last update on 2019-11-08 at 12:36 ,UTC)

The eye area is one of the most delicate places on the face because the skin around there is weaker than the rest of the face. When we age, the area around the eyes is always the first place to show the signs. Now you can take care of that place by using the quality serum that contains vitamins a, e and hyaluronic acid to take away the aging and wrinkle effects. The serum gives you a radiant and energetic look within a short time after you start using it. Besides reducing wrinkles, the serum also moisturizes the skin and diminishes the appearance of dark spots and sunspots to give the face a tight even tone.

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Bella Gold Revitalizing Moisturizer has powerful natural antioxidants that help to improve the skins cellular restoration. The serum helps you to regain your youthful looks by fighting the anti-aging effects and keeping wrinkles and fine lines at bay. The blend of ingredients used on the serum is gentle and ideal for all skin types and for both genders. Whether you have sensitive skin, or you are a man or woman, you can trust this serum to act gently on your skin and give you back your youthful look. It moisturizes hydrates, softens, smoothens, strengthens and plumps the skin taking years off your look.

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The tree of life retinol serum is a quality product that gives your skin that extra shine and smoothness while getting rid of the anti-aging effects. The serum gives you a radiant young skin every day that feels soft and smooth to the touch. The serum has a blend of an exciting and a unique anti-aging activation formula. The formula blends well with botanical hyaluronic acid and other ingredients to moisturize, hydrate, and soothe the skin while at the same time it gets rid of wrinkles and fine lines.

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Wrapping it up

It feels good to have a youthful rejuvenated glowy smooth and soft skin. It boosts your confidence as well as making you feel healthy and strong. The above products contain ingredients that will make your skin radiate and get back its youthful texture. The products are all ideal for different types of skins and they are available from Amazon at affordable process. Get you face looking plumper and spotless with the best anti-aging serum from our top picks and enjoy the results.

We hope this article was of help to you. Read more on beauty tips, makeup tools, PERFUMES, MOISTURIZERS, ESSENTIAL OIL DIFFUSERS and much more from our earlier topics.

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The post 14 Best Anti Aging Serum 2020 | For Your 20s, 30s, 40s appeared first on Cosmetic News.

[blackhyena]

tagged by @mad-shelley ! thank you boo <3

rules: answer the questions and tag 20 blogs you would like to get to know better.

a - age: 22

b - birthplace: stretford. home of morrissey and ian curtis. its the reason theyre so sad

c - current time: 11:31

d - drink you last had: uhhh i didnt drink today. i think some water last night?

e - easiest person to talk to: probably bekka (but shes in GREECE so i can only email her atm) @j-eronimo or @theskyhasissues cause theyve lived with me and know intimately how gross and weird i am on a daily basis

f - favorite song: at the moment? good old-fashioned lover boy by queen.

g - grossest memory: um some are just unspeakably bad but one time i puked in the middle of a restaurant in finland and made all of the other guests leave

h - horror yes or horror no: yes!!!! though i tend to be into vintage horror films rather than modern ones because theyre just jumpscares and theres no plot

i - in love: uhhh i kind of have perpetual crushes on everyone that go nowhere so....???? hard to say

j - jealous of people: i try not to be but...... i am a spiteful thing

k - killed someone: ......... no

l - love at first sight or should i walk by again: should i walk by again.... in theory. im not as cynical as i perhaps should be

m - middle name: danielle

n - number of siblings: none!!

o - one wish: to just be like??? content with the way that i look and come across to other people. like once

p - person you called last: my father

q - question you are always asked: why did you go to italy to study english. i still dont know the answer actually

r - reason to smile: cat toe beans

t - time you woke up: 8:30!! earlier than usual cause im going to visit @cydoniahype and friends innit

u - underwear color: black

v - vacation destination: greece (for obvious reasons)

w - worst habit: getting preoccupied with what other people think, procrastinating, not finishing things

x - x-rays: of my teeth and a lot. i have a long and tumultuous history of dentistry

y - your favorite food: probably pasta if we’re going by the sheer amount that i eat

z - zodiac sign: libra

***

nickname: zanna, though my other housemate called me zan the other day and i loved it frankly

zodiac: libra... ?? didnt i just answer this?? do you want another??

height: 5′4

last thing i googled: misty day (i.e. from ahs) no word of a lie i wanted fashion inspo

favorite music artist: uhhhh probably florence and the machine atm

song stuck in my head: don’t stand so close to me - the police. its been in my head for so long aaaaa

last movie i saw: kingsman: the secret service. i didnt expect to like it as much as i did tbh

what i’m wearing right now: black sunhat, black croptop, black skirt, patterned tights, ankle boots, a red and black floral kimono, two rings and two pendants

why i chose my url: because @itsnotcrockettscience chose it 

do you have any other blogs: i have two!! my inspiration/writing blog @sibyllineleaves which really needs updating and my art blog @zannadraws

what did your last relationship teach you: don’t put all your eggs in one basket i guess? don’t rely on people to be as invested in you as you are in them?    feels bad scoob

religious or spiritual: uhhhh more spiritual. im really not traditionally religious in any way but im quite superstitious and open to new ideas..... i dont know how to phrase it lmao

favorite color: purple

average hours of sleep: usually 6-8

lucky number: 9

favorite characters: theres. a lot

how many blankets do you sleep with: a duvet and sheet

dream job: university lecturer in romantic/victorian studies (thats the current plan!!!), musician, haggard bog woman lurking in the Swamps, general lady of leisure

im not tagging 20 people but uhhhh @bisexualaudreyhorne @beau--brummell @fxvriel @yovartiosto @god--trash @adifferentkindofgentleman @strange-meeting @renfield 

[crazy-daves-crew]

New Post has been published on Crazy Dave's Crew

New Post has been published on https://cdcrew.com/why-was-2016-the-worst-year-ever/

Why was 2016 The Worst Year Ever?

Was 2016 The Worst Year Because of Death?

If you have spent any time at all on any of the social networks, such as Facebook or Twitter, you know 2016 was the worst year ever.  But why do so many people feel that way?

Maybe it’s because we lost so many celebrities and famous people this year  – I found a list compiled by fiftiesweb.com containing more that 150 names of well-known and some not so well-known folks who have passed away over the last year.  Follow the link to get the full list, but here are just a few you may recognize.

January

David Bowie passed away on January 10th at the age of 69.  He was a two-time Grammy winner influencing music and culture for four generations.

March

Nancy Reagan, First Lady of the U.S. from 1981-1989 passed away at the age of 94 on March 6, 2016

April

Merle Haggard died at the age of 79 on April 6th He was a very well-known Country and Western singer/songwriter

Prince, a flamboyant musician and winner of seven Grammy Awards,  died at age 57 on April 21st.

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Crazy Dave’s Yard Sale

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June

Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest boxers of all time, three-time heavyweight champion (1964, 1974, and 1978), died on June 3rd at the age of 74

Pat Summitt, who was the University of Tennessee Woman’s Basketball coach from 1974-2012 passed away at the age of 64 on June 28.

August

Gene Wilder, passed away at 83 on August 29th.  He was known for his roles in “Blazing Saddles”, “Young Frankenstein” and “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory”.

September

Arnold Palmer, one of the greatest golfers ever, died on September 25th at the age of 87.

December

John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, died on the 8th of December.  He was 95 years old.

Alan Thick, best known for his role as Jason Seaver on “Growing Pains”, died at 69 on December 13

Zsa Zsa Gabor, an Hungarian actress and socialite, most known for marrying nine times to mostly wealthy men, died on December the 18th at the age of 99.

George Michael, a singer/songwriter, the lead singer of WHAM and solo artist with #1 hits, “Faith”, “I Want Your Sex”, “Careless Whisper,” passed away at age 53 on December 25.

Carrie Fisher, best known for her iconic role as Princess Leia in “Star Wars” and four sequels was only age 60 when she passed away on December 27th.

Debbie Reynolds,  Kathy Selden in “Singin’ in the Rain” and the mother of Carrie Fisher, died on December 28th.  She was 84.

William Christopher, age 84, well-known for his role as Father Mulcahy on TV show “M*A*S*H”, died on December the 31st.

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Did loosing this many celebrities in just one year make 2016 the worst year ever?  Maybe….  But did you know we lose more than 90 iconic figures every year?  Don’t get me wrong, we lost over 150 this year, but does this really make 2016 the worst year ever?

I have a few other numbers that will probably shock you!

Was 2016 The Worst Year Due Abortions?

Did you know approximately 900,000 potential celebrities also died in 2016?  Who is shedding tears for these future movie stars, athletes, astronauts and world leaders?

Around 16% of all pregnancies in the U.S. end in abortion!

Why? you ask –

The top three reasons for abortion :

having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities (can’t be expected to take responsibility for my actions)

cannot afford a child (never thought about adoption)

do not want to be a single parent or are having problems with their husband or partner (selfish)

Now for the reasons everyone gives for allowing abortions –

Only 12% of abortions are for medical reasons

Only 1% of abortions are due to rape or incest

These numbers are just sad.  But I haven’t seen a single comment on Facebook or Twitter about this being the reason 2016 was the worst year ever!  We weep over 150 people who lived very full lives just because we saw them in a movie, but not a peep about the 900,000 babies murdered before the drew their first breaths.

Just because abortion is legal, doesn’t mean its right! Remember slavery?

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Or was 2016 The Worst Year Due To Terror Deaths?

Suicide attacks killed more people in 2016 than any other year on record. 800 terrorist carried out 469 attacks in 28 countries killing over 5000 people!

Amazingly, I haven’t heard one person mention this when they are whining about “2016 The Worst Year Ever”

Priorities

Something is mixed up!  We have not got our priorities in the right place.  We mourn the deaths of a handful of wealth individuals who provide us with entertainment, but not the genocide of 900,000 innocent babies that never got a chance to be!  We fail to mourn the thousand of individuals that died just trying to live their lives.

Please get your priorities straight folks

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Christianity, Crazy Dave, Parenting

I Will Always Be There For You!

https://i0.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/cropped-DSCN7597.jpg?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1 512 512 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-12-08 18:00:342016-12-08 19:21:57I Will Always Be There For You!

Christianity, Crazy Dave, Parenting

If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments

https://i1.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/1Orange-Beach-11-12-2013.074.jpg?fit=3648%2C2736&ssl=1 2736 3648 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-10-14 17:11:472016-11-13 17:39:14If You Love Me, You Will Keep My Commandments

Christianity, Crazy Dave

Tolerance : Satan's Favorite Trap

https://i2.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Satans-Tolerance-trap.png?fit=800%2C565&ssl=1 565 800 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-09-27 17:11:182016-09-27 17:11:18Tolerance : Satan's Favorite Trap

Christianity, Crazy Dave

Habakkuk : Contemporary Prophecy For America

https://i0.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IMG_20160916_105422244_HDR.jpg?fit=5248%2C2952&ssl=1 2952 5248 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-09-16 14:31:512016-09-16 15:02:07Habakkuk : Contemporary Prophecy For America

Christianity, Crazy Dave, Parenting

God Is Not Safe

https://i1.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/DSCN2424.jpg?fit=640%2C480&ssl=1 480 640 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-04-25 23:01:012016-09-08 10:23:10God Is Not Safe

Christianity, Crazy Dave

Transgender Target wants all to feel accepted

https://i2.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/gender-neutral-bathroom.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1 720 1280 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-04-21 08:54:452016-09-08 10:32:34Transgender Target wants all to feel accepted

Christianity, Crazy Dave

Not my will, but Thine, be done

https://i0.wp.com/cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Orange-Beach-11-11-2013.149-e1458958149677.jpg?fit=3638%2C2608&ssl=1 2608 3638 Crazy Dave http://cdcrew.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/CDC-logo-new-green-1.png Crazy Dave2016-03-25 22:28:112016-09-08 12:58:07Not my will, but Thine, be done

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[roadmoviemobilecinema]

22 Bullets #MovieReview Crime, Rated MA15+, 117 minutes. Starring: Jean Reno Synopsis: For the past three years Charly Mattei has led a peaceful life, devoting himself to his wife and children. Then one winter morning, he’s left for dead in the parking garage in Marseille’s Old Port, with 22 bullets in his body. Against all the odds, he doesn’t die. Now this former member of the Marseille mafia is hell bent on revenge, and will stop at nothing to destroy all those involved in his attempted assassination. Many more than those destructive 22 Bullets will fly before Charly (The Immortal) finally settles the score. Review: 22 bullets has a lot of clawing back to do after shooting a dog in the opening scenes. The dog after one shot unfortunately doesn’t make it, However it’s owner receives 22 Bullets and somehow survives – life can be so cruel sometimes. So from the outset you are asked to suspend your disbelief in a fairly major way, the film is called 22 Bullets, so you just go with it and try to forget about the dog and the bullets. From here we enter a familiar tale of a gangster eye for an eye type deal where the body count is high and bloodthirsty. The only thing holding the age old story together is a haggard man of few words Jean Reno (From Leon The Professional), together with some odd moments of humor that sit awkwardly amongst corpses. Somehow I feel this film would have had a lot more impact with a show less approach – Think the ear cutting scene in Reservoir Dogs. At least the dogs were left out of that movie. All in all it’s a violent and mildly entertaining ride. If you are gonna watch a Jean Reno film – choose Leon: The Professional. Review out of five stars: ★★★ Stars.

[doctorwhonews]

Empress of Mars

Latest Review: Written by Mark Gatiss Directed by Wayne Yip Starring Peter Capaldi, Pearl Mackie and Matt Lucas with Michelle Gomez, Anthony Calf, Ferdinand Kingsley, Richard Ashton, Adele Lynch, Glenn Speers, Ian Beattie, Bayo Gbadamosi, Ian Hughes, Lesley Ewen, and the voice of Ysanne Churchman Produced by Nikki Wilson Executive Producers: Steven Moffat, Brian Minchin A BBC Studios Cymru Wales production for BBC ONE First broadcast 7.15pm, 10 June 2017​This review contains spoilers. This review contains spoilers.   Earlier in the week, a friend circulated one of the pictures released by the BBC to promote Empress of Mars. It depicted an Ice Warrior serving tea to the Doctor, Bill and the British officers around a cloth-covered table, with hints of reddish cave walls. He declared that we had reached ‘peak Gatiss’. Empress of Mars repeats many of the techniques used in The Crimson Horror, Mark Gatiss’s previous excursion into Victoriana for Doctor Who, but perhaps with more restraint and to more broadly entertaining effect. There’s a great amount of detail in Empress of Mars which enhances its worldbuilding. Careful attention is paid to the Martian atmosphere. The introduction of Friday the Ice Warrior is a canny reinforcement of the idea that a menacing Ice Warrior bearing down on you is not necessarily hostile, a concentrated homage to The Curse of Peladon. From the Doctor’s poetic description of the Ice Warriors, blending or suggesting details established in Brian Hayles stories with Doctor Who Monster Book lore, the accretions of fandom and the innovations Gatiss introduced in Cold War, we move to learn about Ice Warrior hives and tombs that are not really tombs. The imagery owes something to The Tomb of the Cybermen via Dragonfire, but more widely to every film or television production featuring people or creatures preserved in ice. This is a fortress of solitude for superbeings more than it is a memorial to the dead. Influences are mixed and matched. The rhetoric surrounding the discovery of Iraxxa draws from late-nineteenth century imperialist fiction; I can spot H. Rider Haggard’s She but Gatiss doubtless knows his way around many more. However, the presentation of her tomb owes more to the European Middle Ages than Haggard’s sub-ancient Egyptian fantasies. Bill’s fourth-wall breaking recognition that the Ice Warriors are modelled on Vikings is in some way honoured, though Iraxxa on her bier looks more like a mediaeval knight, gilded like the armour of the Black Prince. Her awakening helps justify the awkward idea that reptilian Ice Warriors have hives like bees, the gold leaf fragmenting and disappearing like the pupal skins of some social insects. Dialogue throughout presents the Ice Warriors as guardians of military honour, but their military honour proves a concept over which there can be debate without integrity being compromised, in contrast with the non-negotiable values of devotion to Queen and Country and of bravery and cowardice proclaimed by the British soldiers. As this last point indicates, worldbuilding isn’t just a matter of sketching in Ice Warrior culture. One of this story’s observations is that the imperial culture of the Victorians is alien to their modern British descendants. By locating the soldiers as veterans of the Anglo-Zulu War – the battle of Isandlwana, 22 January 1879, is mentioned as the site of Colonel Godsacre’s desertion – the soldiers are associated both with both imperial conquest and with one of the British Empire’s most substantial defeats in southern Africa, where a European army equipped with technologically-superior weaponry was no match for a force armed with assegais which they held in contempt. There’s more than an echo of this in Captain Catchlove’s dismissal of the Ice Warriors as ‘upright crocodiles’; and the demonstration of the ‘thin red line’ formation in the episode only shows, as it did at Isandlwana, how soldiers could easily be picked off. Just as there are parallels between Iraxxa and Ayesha of She, then Catchlove has something of H. Rider Haggard’s imperialism about him. He’s far more the ideologue of empire than Godsacre is, and that he is also a practitioner of blackmail and unapologetically avaricious is not just a good character sketch for a forty-five minute drama, but a sharply unsubtle commentary on the reality of the supposedly civilizing mission inspiring British rule as presented by Haggard and others in the late nineteenth century. The most sympathetic of the soldiers is Vincey, the one who has a girl back home, and with deliberate irony this black character he’s given a name which is, in She, the family name of the British descendants of the forgotten white rulers of Kôr in central Africa. Gatiss enjoys the irony of depicting the reality that Victorian Britain was not monolithically white ‘Anglo-Saxon’ with a character name borrowed from a figure intended to represent white superiority. Likewise, his inclusion of Catchpole’s evident attraction at their first encounter towards Bill, whom Haggardian imperialism would regard as inferior to a white person. Bill’s stunned, appalled face at the casual way in which the British officers have named their Ice Warrior ally Friday, and by extension why they think he should to wait on them, helps pay off her earlier string of cultural references. It’s juxtaposed with the way the script is already establishing Friday as a courteous warrior, a mind rather than a shell. Arguably it also points towards Godsacre’s journey from servant of colonialism, whose demeanour is that of a dead man walking (as his grave name suggests) to a more self-aware person serving the colonized, much as Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, rescuer-captor of the original Friday, passes through several states of consciousness of his own actions during Robinson Crusoe the novel.   The regulars have quirks here which might not be found welcoming. Neither Bill’s tendency to spout film anecdotes nor the Doctor’s apparent ignorance of so much pop culture (which surely his tenth self knew about) rang as true as the production hoped or expected. Nevertheless, Peter Capaldi’s fiercely deliberate portrayal of the Doctor’s observation of Martian ritual helps bring home how crucial for all those on Mars negotiation is, and though I found Bill’s characterization early in the episode to be at odds with how she has been portrayed earlier in the series, Pearl Mackie restores her to alert and intelligent Everywoman by the second half of the story. Empress of Mars feels much more cohesively whole somehow than several other episodes have this series. It also feels more welcoming. Perhaps the assembling of recognizable old-fashioned ‘types’ among the characters helps; but so do the warmth of the red Martian soil, the fire, the gold and the green-hued Ice Warriors themselves. In recent years Doctor Who has often seemed grainy and blue, and so much of The Lie of the Land seemed to take place in a dystopian grey haze which reminded me of the post-nuclear Yorkshire of the BBC’s 1984 film Threads. Faced with a warm colourscheme it’s up to Murray Gold’s music to suggest cold and the thin atmosphere ‘topside’, and his thin, reedy notes manage just that. She featured a mysterious African queen who beguiled white men to do her will. Iraxxa, here, does not perform that part of Ayesha's role. Instead, it’s another queen behind a veil who is acting as seductress. It’s never explained why the TARDIS returned itself to the Doctor’s study at St Luke’s with only Nardole on board, but we are invited to guess who is its secret remote operator. The final scene of Missy as contrite woman-child facing the Doctor, backlit, as Murray Gold’s score slithers across the speakers, sets up how compromised the Doctor might just be by Missy, and also how the end of this Doctor’s era, now so close, might be brought about by his belief in an old friend's better nature. On a lighter note, perhaps… Who else of a certain vintage grinned or even punched the air when that high-pitched voice turned out to belong to a certain hermaphrodite hexapod? Who else exclaimed ‘It was Ysanne Churchman’? As the Ice Warriors are welcomed to the universe and give up isolation, those who regretted that this episode wouldn’t be set on Peladon learned that one doesn’t have to go there to use the Ice Warriors to make comments about Britain and its relationship with its neighbours in Europe. By invoking one of Doctor Who's own imperial phases, that of velvet jackets, Venusian aikido and broad political allegory, to warn about British imperial nostalgia (the brief visit to NASA is a concession to contemporary expectations, but feels like a stand-in for a Pertwee-era British Space Control), Empress of Mars recalls strong storytelling values whose appeal rightly stretches beyond the fan audience these references court, and help Doctor Who feel more anchored on Saturday nights than it has sometimes felt this year. http://reviews.doctorwhonews.net/2017/06/empress_of_mars.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[stormyrecords-blog]

new arrivals 4-27-17

record store day was a wonderful thing this year - so many happy people talking about great records and enjoying each other and music. as always - our volunters made th whole thing possible, as did all the great people who stopped by and said hello, looked at records, and celebrated with us. thank you everyone!! you all make what we do possible! we have decided to continue the in-store sales/discounts for a few more weeks. used 45s are 20% off, used rock cds 20% off, used indie cds are half off, and used tapes are half off. new items coming in NEXT week for the may 5th release date - Slowdive S/T new album (hoping for silver vinyl) on lp and cd - their first in 22 years!!Slowdive’s second act as a live blockbuster has already been rapturously received around the world. Highlights thus far include a festival-conquering, sea-of-devotees Primavera Sound performance, of which Pitchfork noted: “The beauty of their crystalline sound is almost hard to believe, every note in its perfect place.” Bonnie Prince Billy covers Merle Haggard on lp and cdBonnie "Prince" Billy, also known as Will Oldham, is a longtime fan of the "Okie From Muskogee" Hall of Famer, having covered a Haggard song at his first public performance 25 years ago. He also interviewed the legendary songwriter for a magazine feature in 2009 and included a cover of "Because of Your Eyes" on a 7" vinyl release in 2011.Best Troubadour is the culmination of that decades-long love affair with Haggard's music, featuring 16 tracks from various stages of Haggard's lengthy career. Oldham recorded the songs in his home with the Bonafide United Musicians. Moon Duo Occult Architecture  Vols 1 and 2 on lp Meaning all things magick and supernatural, the root of the word occult is that which is hidden, concealed, beyond the limits of our minds. If this is occult, then the Occult Architecture of Moon Duo’s fourth album - a psychedelic opus in two separate volumes released in 2017 - is an intricately woven hymn to the invisible structures found in the cycle of seasons and the journey of day into night, dark into light. ALICE COLTRANE new lp and cdAlice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda’s devotion to spirituality was the central purpose of the final four decades of her life, an often-overlooked awakening that largely took shape during her four year marriage to John Coltrane and after his 1967 death. By 1983, Alice had established the 48- acre Sai Anantam Ashram outside of Los Angeles. She quietly began recording music from the ashram, releasing it within her spiritual community in the form of private press cassette tapes. On May 5, the record label Luaka Bop, founded by David Byrne, will release the first-ever compilation of recordings from this period, making these songs available to the wider public for the first time. Entitled ‘World Spirituality Classics, Volume 1: The Ecstatic Music of Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda', the release is the first installment in a planned series of spiritual music from around the globe; curated, compiled and distributed by Luaka Bop. also expecting recent releases from Children of Alice (broadcast side project), Doug Tuttle, Bardo Pond, Creation box, Sun Ra singles 1 and 2, and much more!!!! for this week - the week of April 27th, 2017, we have these items for you!! FAUSTFresh Air LP+CD  $26.99LP version. Includes CD. Faust's new album Fresh Air differs in several respects from its predecessor, Just Us (BB 182CD/LP, 2014). The recordings were made at Jean-Hervé Péron's rehearsal studio in Schiphorst in northern Germany, hypnotic pieces with the kind of noisemaking the band is known for. For the new album, Péron and Werner "Zappi" Diermaier were looking for communication with musician friends and the audience. The tracks were recorded in changing ensembles at changing locations in the USA (during a tour in 2016). In these community recordings, with friendly support from Péron's database of field recordings, a strongly shaded noise music emerged which extends its feelers to the remotest corners of the here and now. Droning, swinging, lusting for freedom, here and there holding out quite stoically as machine-room blues. On board are the freely fabulous Barbara Manning in a live lecture, Jürgen Engler (Die Krupps) in overdub, and Ysanne Spevack as a wonderful wave-maker on the viola. The seven and a half minute title track begins with the poem by a French school friend of Péron (translated and recited in Polish) and ends in an industrial sound inferno. The singer cries for "Fresh Air" as if it is being taken away from him. Jean-Hervé Péron offers a political reading: "Can you breathe calmly here, or are we being poisoned?" "Engajouez Vous!" Péron presents this franco-Faustian artificial word to the audience and rewrites the Marseillaise for the here and now in the track "Chlorophyl". And finally, Zappi has his mini-dada performance with "Schnobs" and "Bia": a small dialect-based text piece, which starts with chlorophyl, goes over the meadow past the cow and lands with the farmer who drinks a beer and schnapps and suddenly sees two cows. The story of the band can tell that tale nicely. As Krautrockers, Faust had a worldwide career. On their first three albums in the early 1970s, they inhabited the vast field from improvisation to bricolage to rock'n'roll with the ease of rogues and the determination of declared sonic renegades. One can still feel the breathing of this music in current Faust pieces, in the stone-age thudding of "Fish", which Faust anticipated in 1972 on "Mamie Is Blue". "We let the music play through us," says Jean-Hervé Péron. Jean-Hervé Péron has a little tip for us: Listen to the fish. CORTINI & MASAMI AKITA, ALESSANDROAlessandro Cortini & Masami Akita 2LP  $39.99Alessandro Cortini (Nine Inch Nails) and Japanese noise legend Masami Akita (Merzbow) share a mutual love for the EMS Synthi, a British synthesizer from the early '70s notorious for its patch matrix, portability, and distinct tone. Astonishingly, these two disparate artists meld into a single sound as they flex the analog circuitry of the EMS Synthi in new ways; giving this classic synth a modern workout and proving that, in capable hands, a 40-year-old analog synthesizer is a tool for the ages. Metallic shimmer print on heavy duty jackets; 180 gram vinyl. VA: I Believe I'll Go Back Home LP $16.99"A sequel (of sorts) to the I Don't Feel At Home In this World Anymore compilation. The stone cold beautiful African guitar playing and singing of Sabelo and G. Wayawaya, the intense Native American country music of Jenks 'Tex' Carman, the great Tex Mex of Lydia Mendoza, the heavy hypnotic Cajun sounds of Amede Ardion and Dennis McGee, the shimmeringly beautiful singing and playing of the Genial Hawaiians, the deep deep deep Rembetika of Marika Papagika, the soulful gospel of Blind Willie Davis, the sacred Indian sounds of T.R. Mahalingham and Khansahib Abdul Karim Khan, the early Jewish mysticism of Max Leibowitz, the dark Cuban rumbles of Sexteto Bologna and much more. Here we have a diverse cross section of the world's music - a unifying sound during divisive times. Old school 'tip on' cover." VAContaminazioni No Wave Italiane (1980-1985)LP+CD  $27.99Taking up the gauntlet thrown down by New York's no wave scene, many Italian bands of the early '80s, playing far from the footlights of the world's stage, began creating compelling, and often cutting edge, hybrid sounds. This kind of experimenting soon went viral along the entire peninsula: from Southern Italy to the Alps, creating a brave new Italian take on post-punk. From the nervous white funk of Neopolitans Bisca, to the instrumental explorations of Confusional Quartet, to the "fake jazz" of the Hi-Fi Bros (who even had a track produced by Arto Lindsay), to Band Aid, this collection testifies to one of the most creative periods of the Italian underground. Also features: Eazycon, Modern Model, Die Form, Funkwagen, Nofun, Hakkah, Illogico, Rinf, and State Of Art. Includes CD; CD features the previously unreleased bonus track by La Maison, "Noise Express". ANDRIESSEN, JURRIAANThe Awakening Dream LP  $25.99LP version. Bureau B present a reissue of Jurriaan Andriessen's The Awakening Dream, originally released in 1977. Jurriaan Andriessen (1925-1996) was a Dutch composer. Although he was actually at home in classical music, he recorded three synthesizer albums in the late 1970s, the first of which, The Awakening Dream, is an outstanding excursion into experimental ambient and minimal music. Andriessen himself, 52 years of age at the time, called it a "trance symphony". The music - perhaps surprisingly for a contemporary classical composer - is less in the tradition of his peers such as Pierre Boulez or Karlheinz Stockhausen and more in tune with the electronic sounds of the '70s emanating from Berlin, Düsseldorf, or Forst, the likes of Cluster, early Kraftwerk, and Tangerine Dream, in places echoing Conrad Schnitzler. Andriessen was familiar with the work of these artists, but was probably more influenced by minimalist composers like Philip Glass or synthesizer pioneer Walter Carlos whom he admired. The entire album is played on a Minimoog Model D, a Fender Rhodes piano, a Hohner Clavinet, and a Philicorda organ. It was recorded sound on sound, before the 8-track machine entered the studio, using two Revox A77 tape recorders. Andriessen studied in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and in the USA with Serge Koussevitsky and Aaron Copland. Back in Holland he worked for radio, television and theatre. His compositions for state ceremonies such as the coronation of Queen Beatrix and the annual "Opening of Parliament" won him acclaim and he also wrote the music for the Oscar winning film The Assault (1986). Andriessen started to experiment with synthesizers on new compositions in the early 1970s. In 1973, he wrote music for Georg Büchner's play Leonce And Lena and performed it on the ARP 2500 synthesizer. Andriessen was more interested in the challenge of creating new, previously unheard sounds than he was in imitating existing instruments. He strived to invent a novel, unique musical universe. Later he worked mainly with a Minimoog Model D, experimenting and recording in the Dream Studio, the home studio he built with his sons Gijs and Nils in The Hague. As a composer, Jurriaan was always ahead of his time. He loved research and enjoyed using uncommon or newly invented instruments in his compositions, often in unconventional formations. His last work, Jeux Des Vents, appeared in 1996. He died later the same year in The Hague. CROATIAN AMORFinding People 12"  $15.99An assembly of choral traces and transmissions, these four new tracks are Croatian Amor's clearest move towards pop. At the same time, this is perhaps the weirdest record yet from Croatian Amor, introducing a complexity previously not seen. From the cut-up, granulated rhythm section and auto-tuned choir of the opener "Sky Walkers", to the duetting ballad of "Finding People" -- featuring additional vocals from new name Khalil -- the record never rests for long. The exploration is soothing, its search a tonic to the swarm of emotion it provokes.