#have. ryan <3 and the rose vest

[therosevest]

changing my url for a little bit in honor of halloween 🎃👻🥀 munamania-> therosevest

[viccharine]

is it still me that makes you sweat? (my fav outfits from the fever era)

(silly rambling + commentary + process under the cut! reblogs appreciated!!!)

happy 19th birthday, afycso!!!!!! can’t believe that it’s been 19 years since the best album of all time was released, time really does fly lmfaooo

as a bit of celebration, decided to draw some of my fav fits from the fever era!! from left to right is Katie Kay, Ryan Ross, and Roger Fojas!

here are the reference pics i used:

i had wanted to add in Dusty because her outfit is also AMAZING, but i did lose some motivation after sketching out the first three :( also, composition-wise, i probably would have had to readjust the sizing of everything if i added a fourth figure, so i decided to just leave it at three

Ryan Ross is a tad bit out of place since he’s part of the band and the other two are performers, but lowk? just wanted to try drawing the rose vest! I don’t think i quite did it justice, but it sure was fun!!! and that is all that matters tbh

about my process: I really love screen tones guys. like i REALLY love screen tones. this is just layers upon layers upon layers of screen tones, i truly think i am allergic to using anything other than screen tones

i can’t help it!!!! I LOATHE using color in my art actually and also im a sucker for texture!!!!! it was so fun messing around with textures and different screen tones, UGH!!!!! luv them fr <3

some extra process pics (sorry for shitty quality):

just some extra thoughts about the fever era: afycso is truly my favorite album in the world, HANDS DOWN. there really isn’t another album that I listen to completely on a regular basis (the only album that comes REMOTELY close is from under the cork tree)

to me the aesthetic of afycso is UNMATCHED, out of every band i’ve done fanart for I just keep constantly coming back to this album!!! it will never fail to inspire me genuinely, even 19 years later it still holds up remarkably well

(there is something to be said about the misogynistic undertones of a lot of early to late 2000s emo/pop-punk music which afycso was NOT exempt from, but I talk more about that in my commentary under the “dance dance” post I made about a year ago! to summarize, I cannot in good conscience make art about this album without acknowledging how it talks about women, ESPECIALLY as an afab person, but I also have to acknowledge that these songs played and continue to play a large role in my artistic journey. I am not saying that every band in the early to late 2000s was necessarily misogynistic just because of the lyrics, but rather that the standard, acceptable ways that we talk about and refer to women in media have changed in the last 20 years. we can enjoy the music, but we shouldn’t try to replicate it exactly. if you have any more thoughts about this subject, feel free to send me an ask! I love to chat!)

anyway that’s it, byeeeeeeeeee! <3

[reinvent-luv]

hi excuse me do any of your ryan decals work i need. a royale high pfp

i think i have 3 that should work...that roblox didn't take down at least

i have the selfie one set as my royale high icon XD

roblox terms are getting more strict but if u have a specific image in mind i can try to see if i can upload it lol lmk if the links work though!

cheez whizz link selfie link rose vest link

[astra-galaxie]

Poppy Douglas

Biographical information

Full Name: Poppy Douglas

Alias(es): Thron (stage name)

Gender: Female

Sexuality: Pansexual

Status: Alive

Age: 69 (season 3)

Birth: 1947

Race: Human

Nationality: Australian

Origin: Melbourne, Australia

Residence:

Melbourne, Australia

New York City, USA (formerly)

Past profession(s): Rockstar: Singer and guitarist

Family:

Digger Douglas (husband)

Lars Douglas (son)

Oberon Douglas (son)

Nathan Pandit (son-in-law)

Namgung Angela (ex-daughter-in-law) (incarcerated)

Avi Douglas (grandson)

April Douglas (granddaughter)

May Douglas (granddaughter)

June Douglas (granddaughter)

Affiliation(s): DC/AC (formerly)

Profile

Height: 5'5"

Age: 69 (season 3)

Weight: 150lbs

Eyes: green

Blood: B-

The mother of Lars and Oberon Douglas, Poppy is an ex-rockstar and current grandmother of four wonderful grandkids. She has a pixie-cut hairstyle for her pale dirty blonde hair, dark green eyes, and a pair of rusty pink-framed glasses. She wears a dark purple, long-sleeve turtleneck, a deep magenta vest, dark pants with a black belt, and magenta slip-on shoes. She also has red rose-shaped stud earrings and a silver chain necklace with a small gold lock.

Synopsis

Poppy grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where she met and married high school sweetheart Ryan "Digger " Douglas. While Digger was stationed overseas, Poppy and her band toured the country performing their songs in stadiums packed with fans. The band made a name for themselves, and Poppy shined with them in the spotlight.

In her mid-twenties, she decided to take a break from the band and start a family. She welcomed her first child into the world, and his first cry was music to her ears. When she eventually went back to performing, she'd search the crowd for Digger and Lars after getting on stage.

Years later, Poppy gave birth to her second child, whom she named Oberon after the character from her favourite Shakespearian play. After his birth, Poppy decided to step off the stage permanently and began teaching private music lessons. While she misses the bright lights and screaming fans, she will never regret the memories made with her family.

Poppy always hoped she would be a grandmother one day, so when Lars told her Angela was pregnant, Poppy was overcome with joy. While she never fully approved of her son's choice of a wife, Angela made her son happy, so she kept her comments to herself… Most of the time.

A couple of years after the triplets had been born, Poppy, Digger, and Lars got a call that sent them rushing from New York to Concordia. Oberon was near death's door after being trapped in a house fire. Poppy never wanted to see one of her children so badly hurt and prayed every day that she wouldn't have to bury her baby.

Her prayers were answered when the doctors declared Oberon stable enough to be taken out of his medical coma. Poppy cried when she saw him open his eyes for the first time and held on tightly when Oberon squeezed her hand. Once he was given clearance to fly, Poppy and Digger got everything ready to bring their son with them to New York.

The next time Poppy had to sit beside her son's hospital bed was after Lars found his brother had overdosed on pain medication. She never imagined that her son would try to kill himself, but once she found out why he had done it, she finally understood what he had been truly going through.

She cried for the son-in-law and grandson she never got to meet. Both sounded lovely, and she cursed whoever had robbed her son of his family, of his happiness. She was even more upset that Oberon's agency denied him the opportunity to say goodbye and bury his boys.

Poppy and Digger did everything they could to help Oberon, including moving back to Australia to be with him, and later Lars and Angela sent the triplets there to live with them while they travelled with the Bureau. She and Oberon reconnect through music, and Poppy was so happy when she saw the light returning to his eyes.

When Poppy had the chance to meet Lars's team, she never imagined that it would lead to her finding out that Oberon's husband and son had never died in the fire. And while she wished they could have met under better circumstances, Poppy welcomed the two into the family with open arms.

After everyone was safe, Poppy and her family witnessed Lars, and the Bureau set sail for SOMBRA island. While she will always worry about her children's safety, she knows her son is in good hands with his team - a team who has become a family.

Following SOMBRA's defeat, Poppy and Digger reunited with their family and friends in New York to celebrate the Bureau's victory. After being told what had happened following the team leaving Australia, Poppy couldn't believe what Angela had done to betray the Bureau and Lars. While she always thought there was something strange about Angela, Poppy felt she truly loved her son. But she cannot forgive Angela for siding with SOMBRA after everything the Bureau had uncovered. Nor can she forget about the danger Angela put the team in and how it was her fault Oberon had suffered so much. Poppy can only hope that Lars will find happiness again, even if he never remarries, and that Angela will never hurt him or any of Poppy's family again.

Story Information

First appeared: United in Ashes

Trivia

I chose the name Poppy because the flower symbolizes remembrance (in Canada and other countries) of people who died during times of war. And since I made her husband a veteran, it seemed fitting

The lock on her necklace is the lock she used to lock her guitar case with when she toured with her band

In case it wasn't obvious, her old band, DC/AC, is a parody of the real-life Australian band AC/DC

She taught her children how to read sheet music and play guitar. She is currently teaching her grandchildren how to read sheet music

Lars and Oberon get their love of puns, jokes, and pranks from Poppy

Disclaimer: Character design was created using Rinmarugames Mega Anime Avatar Creator! I have only made minor edits to the design! Background courtesy of CriminalArtist5

Links to my stories:

The Case of the Criminal (Ao3/Wattpad) Killer Bay (Ao3/Wattpad) Where in the World are the Killers? (Ao3/Wattpad)

[ghosttown-mp3]

what would you wear 1, 3, 48, or 49? (whichever you'd like most)

guess what, imma do them all cause im far too bored rn. 

1- ..to a fae gathering ? im gonna be going looking like legit any member of adam and the ants in the early 80s or ryan ross in the rose vest <3

3- ..to the royal masque ? depending on my mood i could go for either of the costumes used in the labyrinth ballroom scene

48- ..with a floral crown ? im going with these ryan ross outfits 

49- ..with black lipstick ? i hate to break it to yall, but like 99% of my outfits have black lipstick whether it goes with it or not, but i guess heres pics anyways so u get my black lipstick vibe i guess. for the 2nd pic yes i would wear all of these great outfits shown by echo and the bunnymen with black lipstick, its cooler that way. 

this has made me realize that too much of my fashion sense has come from musicians 

thanks for the ask del!!!!

[themightyboosh]

I was tagged by the purple hoodie bden 2 my rose vest ryan @rchtzr thank u miss afycso <3

Relationships: three and they were all terrible i do not recommend it ❤️

Break ups: ...............three

Kids: can’t have any and don’t want any

Brothers and sisters: two older brothers

Pets: no but i want a cat so bad ;(

Surgeries: just getting my wisdom teeth removed and getting whatever that thing is the connects ur upper lip to your gums removed which i always forget about

Tattoos: no, SIGH

Countries you’ve been to: mexico, canada, the bahamas

Been in airplane: yes a lot of times and i sleep through the whole flight every time because i simply do not want to be awake with the knowledge of how high in the air i am and the fact that the plane could malfunction and crash at any time and that is like VERY high on my list of ways i would really not want to die

Been in ambulance: no but speaking of ambulances that reminds me of once when i was waiting for my taco bell and so was this emt and they were taking foreverrrr and then he got a call and he had to run out to his ambulance and leave without getting his food and i think about that a lot because i was so sad for him 😭 i respect him, that could really not be me

I sing karaoke: would rather stick my head in a guillotine than do karaoke but i do sing in the car by myself

Ice skating: i used to go in new york city every winter but i haven’t gone in awhile.... it’s fun but also it hurts ;/ also i really like watching the figure skaters during the olympics

Been on a cruise: no thank u baby i’ve seen titanic

Drive a motorcycle: no and i do not trust myself to either

Ridden a horse: probably at the fair or the apple orchard when i was younger but i really have no idea

Stayed in hospital: not overnight

Favorite fruit or berry: apples to eat but raspberries to drink

Favorite colors: black and red

Last text: LMAO i was quoting my coworker to my other coworkers about our boss... “every time i’m doing something he shouldn’t see, he appears. i’m looking up a picture of an alligator with a watermelon in its mouth and then i turn around and there he is! standing in the corner staring me down like he’s dracula.”

Coffee or tea: neither

Favorite pie: APPLE!!!!!! ❤️🥧❤️🍎❤️  i know this is an extremely bold and perhaps cringeworthy statement but to get my point across. i think i may love apple pie more than dean winchester loves pie

Favorite pizza: cheese or buffalo chicken and i am very picky about where i get my pizza from

Cat or dog: cats

Favorite time of the year: halloweentimeeee 👻🧡🎃🖤

Met a star: just miss paula abdul and also. zac hanson lmaooo my 90s king.. oh wait i also just remembered i met snooki one time too... wow that’s weird

Flown a helicopter: no and i will not be

Been on tv: yes actually i went to this really weird chocolate factory and i’m a brat so i fought with the freaky candyman and long story short i got sucked into the tv. i’m actually still there. please help

Broken my leg: only on stage during my ~drama days 🤟🏻🤪

Seen a ghost: every time i look in the mirror

Been sick in a taxi: no, i’ve only been in a taxi like 3 times in my entire life lmao i hate them

Seen someone die: yeah, myself

I’m tagging @mid90srichie, @wldstdream, @datingdonovan, @k4spbrak, @ughkaspbrak if u would like & anyone who wants to 💀

[creativityworks-sx]

Paige Michel - 5 DJS on Instagram Live that bring the party to your house! - Dancehall & Soca Edition

For those of you that don’t know I am an Afro-Caribbean girl, my family originate from Jamaica, St. Lucia and Dominica. I am a care leaver, and my foster carer was from Barbados. I appreciate the beauty, arts and culture from the Caribbean. I love the music - I am a huge Bashment/Dancehall and Soca fan! Woi Yoii!

For two years, I was radio presenter and producer of a show I created with my two closest mates, Albert and Kaira, called URBAN P.A.K, at Surge – The University of Southampton’s official radio station. Together, we celebrated and showcased Black Music, Artists, DJs and Producers all over the world. Of course, I played all my favourite Dancehall, Soca and Afrobeats tunes, we played games live on air and I even hosted some quizzes too. We went to the R.U.M (Real Urban Music) events in our free time, to see the hottest artists and DJs live in clubs. It was such a lit experience!

The 5 DJs that are killing it on Instagram live right now are - DJ Supa Nytro, DJ Larni, DJ Nate, DJ Nassen and DJ Private Ryan! They are my Greater Londoners, because they have brought me and thousands of others so much joy, through Dancehall and Soca music, during lockdown. This Covid-19 crisis, has proven very difficult for self-employed creatives, like DJs, so please go check them out, show some love, book them for future events, and wuk up your waist lol!  

1.       DJ Supa Nytro :

Instagram: @SupaNytro

Twitter: @SupaNytro

I went to Manchester Carnival for the first time in August ‘19. Not gonna lie, it didn’t compare to Notting Hill Carnival, but I still had a brilliant time. My makeup was on point, purple glitter on my water line to match my purple ombre hair. I was palancing, jumping up, and throwing colourful powder everywhere like it was jouvert! The rum punch was sweet (and cheap... not overpriced like London lol)! The patties were delicious too. I watched the showcase of Manchester’s mas bands, their local musicians, and dancers. I was dancing with my cousin Bertha, to all the DJ sets. This is when I came across DJ Supa Nytro – and OMG, his set was everythingggg, playing all my favourite songs! He had his dancers with him - Miss Rose was my favourite. Lol, I like how he’s always wearing his customised hats and tops with his name on it – I see you! I loved DJ Supa Nytro’s set so much, I just had to get a pic with him! (Go check it out on my insta!) I’ve been going to see him play at Dancehall events in London ever since. 

I tuned in to DJ Supa Nytro’s Instagram Live one Friday Night, and I am so glad I did! I realised he is not only a DJ, he is a host too. He has no filter, which makes him absolutely hilarious. He initiated conversation like ‘who are your Top 5 Dancehall artists?’. I was definitely engaged in his conversations, and intrigued to see others opinions on the Instagram Live chat. I said my favourites right now are:

 1. Vybz Kartel A.K.A ‘THE WORL’ BOSS!’

 2. Popcaan

 3. Alkaline

 4. Aidonia 

5. Dexta Daps

I also mentioned there’s a difference between my top favourite Dancehall artists right now and of all time. What we could all agree on was the fact that Vybz Kartel is the King of Dancehall – Awaoh! As a Dancehall music lover, and a history student - I really appreciated Supa Nytro’s Dancehall History quiz. He really got me thinking. I was singing along to all the bangers he was playing. His Movado set was excellent, bringing back some old tunes, and bringing back some old memories lol! You know how a song has the power to remind you of a person, a place or time in your life. I can’t wait for Supa Nytro’s next live!

2.      DJ Larni – ‘Him nuh normal!’:

Instagram: @Dj_Larni

Twitter: @Dj_Larni

I have been to quite a few Dancehall events with my friends Channon, Aisha, Mercedes and Tiana, like Bashment Central. It was here I heard DJ Larni’s set and yasss he was superb! I’ve since, followed him on Soundcloud, so I can hear his mixes in my day-to-day life, like when I’m doing my makeup looks or travelling on the tube etc. Sometimes I feel to just bruck out on the train, because woii the tunes are too lit!

It was a dry quarantine Friday night and I was scrolling through my Insta, as you do. I was checking who was on live and I saw DJ Larni was online. The energy he was giving through the phone was madddd! He’s an amazing host, and knows how to entertain his audience. He’s hella funny too – just freee and crazyyy, I love it.  I like how his room was dark, lit with blue party lights, giving us that club feel. DJ Larni is innovative – he requested ladies who love to dance to dancehall music, to join his Instagram live. Seeing the ladies skin out and bruck out really gave us that dancehall experience! He also engages with his listeners, telling everyone to bring their flag to rep their country, just like you would at a Caribbean carnival. DJ Larni’s liveliness is a vibe, really contagious. His Insta live party was tun up!

3.       DJ Nate:

Instagram: @DjNateUK

Twitter: @DjNateUK

I have been listening to DJ Nate’s mixes on Soundcloud for a long time. I love his ‘Dancehall and Chill’ mixes. I like that some of his mixes specifically focus on one Dancehall artist at a time i.e his 100% Dexta Daps, Popcaan and Alkaline mixes– some of my favourite artists. Last year, I attended DJ Nate’s Caribbean Rocks Festival with my cousin Bertha and it was amazing! I wasn’t feeling too well at this time, but I said nahhh, there’s no way I’m missing it. Never that! I had the pleasure of seeing so many artists perform live like The Rara, Alicai Harley and Dexta Daps. I was gutted when I found out Shensea could not make it, but I had a fantastic time, nevertheless! Dancehall a mi everything!

I saw DJ Nate’s Instagram Live and I was really feeling it! It was the day he was wearing his Vans vest lol. He was doing a Soca special and the tunes were fireee. The comment section on his live was going off. Bare girls putting the gyal on headtop emoji lool! People were absolutely loving the music he was playing. People from all over the world were tuned in and having a lovely time. DJ Nate was telling us to go get a drink, to give it that party vibe. I think something a little stronger than orange juice lol. Then, he put on a Soca song called Party Bad – Mr Killa and Legz. Woiiiii, I really enjoyed myself!

4.        DJ Nassen:      

Instagram: @NassenUK

Twitter: @NassenUK

Back in Summer ‘19, when we could actually leave the house and live our best lives, I went on a couple dates lol! There was one fineee assss guy I met up with, and we had some good conversations, like our music interests. We discovered we both liked Soca and woiii that made my day. Anyway, the point is he told me to check out his cousin, DJ Nassen, for the hottest new soca tracks - and the rest was history! I love DJ Nassen’s Notting Hill Carnival 2019 Soca Mix on Soundcloud. I’ve been getting hype to all the jab jab music! Bringing back some good memories of my time with my friends at Dreamland Jouvert ’19 and Notting Hill Carnival ’19. Woii!

I was checking out DJ Nassen’s Instagram Live one Friday Night and it was poppin! He calls it Lockdown Fridays, with his host Mist Hooli. Mista Hooli was his hype man, making the party lit! I appreciate when creatives join forces to make magic – so thank you to them both. I was really whining on my sofa lol, I had that Jamish feeling! I was putting hella fire emojis in his Instagram Live comment section. DJ Nassen was really moving them hips lol, when he was playing his set, really grooving to the music. Some of my favourite soca songs, DJ Nassen played were:

Head or Tail - Lavaman ft Mr Legz

Famalay – Skinny Fabulous, Machel Montano & Bunji Garlin

Run Wid It – Mr Killa

Wet It Up – Zeek ft Shal Marshall

Bend Dong For Di Hmm – Krome ft Nassis

If you haven’t heard of these songs, go have a listen - I’m sure you’ll enjoy them…(unless your anti-Soca like Marv Abbey looool)!

5.       DJ Private Ryan:

Instagram: @DjPrivateRyan

Twitter: @DjPrivateRyan

 One day I just typed in Soca Mixes on Youtube, and DJ Private Ryan came up. I listened to his Soca Starter mixes, and loved them. When I went to my friend’s sleepover a few months back, we were dancing like crazy to Private Ryan’s mixes, having the time of our life. Lol, I’m so unfit, I was out of breath. Dancing to Soca music is really a workout and a half, which is great for your daily exercise intake. I followed Dj Private Ryan on Instagram not too long ago, and my guy is verified, a whole blue tick you know. Big up yourself, a great achievement!

I saw DJ Private Ryan’s live on Instagram and it was great! He calls it Freestyle Friday! He was playing a range of music from old school to new school, and a mixture of Dancehall, Soca, Afrobeats and RnB – The listeners were loving the versatility! In his comment section, many people thanked him for his mixes, as it was helping them pass time during quarantine. What I love about Private Ryan’s live is the inclusivity. He asks his listeners to send him song requests, which he plays, which makes it that much more personalised and special. You’ll definitely have a Fete in your house, tuning in to DJ Private Ryan’s Instagram live!

Many Dancehall and Soca events, like carnivals, have been postponed or put on hold due to the outbreak of Covid-19. So, this has left many of us feeling down in the dumps and disappointed. DJs using the Live feature on Instagram has been a great alternative, to bring the good music, and positive vibes to us. I have noticed, that some of these DJs Instagram live’s overlap with each other on Friday nights. But not to worry, if you do miss it, you can always listen back the next morning when they post it on their story or feed. So, go check out the 5 Djs that will bring the party to your house! – Dancehall and Soca edition. What are you waiting for!

If you know any other amazing DJs you think I should check out on Instagram Live, please feel free to hit me up. Apart from Soca and Dancehall, I like Reggae, Afro-beats, Neo-soul, RnB, and Hip hop. Thanks!

 By Paige Michel:

Insta: @ItsPaigeMichel

Twitter: @ItsPaigeMichel

[wordsfromgrime]

One Night in Richmond

~Busted~

It never hurts to show up with a case of beer so I stop at Lombardy Kroger on my way to the Circle and pick up some Blue Moons and a box of popsicles -both alluding to the festive mood facing through the air. This morning the mayor announced the resignation of our only ten-day old police chief, and while many understood the dense socio-political tactics implied with the decision, most celebrated the occasion as well. A Friday night at the top of summer will always carry with it feelings of excitement and reward.

I pull my bike up to the normal spot at Marcus-David Peters Circle and recognize a few familiar faces in the soft afterglow of dusk’s light. The sun is just now setting, leaving only about 30 minutes until full darkness and the cover that comes with it. Now, the sun is still tightrope walking over the horizon, the sky shimmering with raspberry-lemonade tones and watermelon marshmallow clouds. Around the turn of the Circle a free concert is underway, made possible with just a microphone, a generator, and a few amps. We doodle with spray-paint, or attempt freestyle tricks on our fixed gears, as we sip beers and bust musings on the day.

We’re all rocking on the obvious cookout vibe, but we’re tentative as well; We aren’t completely relaxed. We’ve seen things turn from lax to chaos before, in only a second, for no reason at all, and we know it can happen again.  When you’re facing an enemy that has full control over the definitions of combat, it’s forgiven to feel nervous.

For now though, it’s good vibes and sunshine. And while our conversations dance around the protests, the police, police brutality, human rights, the mistakes of the generations before us, and our determination to fix those mistakes, mostly we just talk about Richmond. It’s hard to explain Richmond to someone who hasn’t stayed there for any amount of time. Richmond is like an oasis that’s also a black hole. Richmond is the place you’re trying to get out of, and also the place you can’t wait to be back in. Richmond is the place you think you deserve. Richmond is where a lot of us feel most at home, but it’s a home that needs sweeping renovations.

As we expound freely on the failures and accomplishments of the capitol city, more and more of our friends arrive, skidding to stops at the periphery of our claimed area and slowly increasing our settlement size. It’s easy to dominate a space when everyone arrives with a bicycle, and in our group it’s pretty much a necessity to show up with some wheels of a sort. Besides a general interest in protesting the state, bicycles have been the strongest conjoining factor throughout the ragtag group of friends that I’ve been meeting with near-daily since the brutal murder of George Floyd at the end of March.

Some of these friends, like Salad (our stoic, de facto captain of the group who’s got friends in every part of town) and Funky (our resident artist and Big Wheel extraordinaire), I’ve known for a while and originally met just by biking in the same parts of town. But others, like Sophia (badass girl with a Wide Bars/Big Heart combo) or Johnny (no fixie yet [just a road bike], but is well-loved for his reputation of generosity and hilarious braggadociousness) I’ve only spent real time with since the protests began. All in all, there’s about 12 of us that have formed a little posse of itinerant protestors. Every summer brings with it something new, but something about the revolution marching down the streets had this summer already feeling particularly seismic. And something about all that “newness” in the air made me feel more like a kid again.

Soon, a few men in assault rifles and military vests approach us, seemingly threatened by their own lack of acceptance and comradery now reflected against our group of laughing friends.  

“Is this your tent? This tent’s gotta go!” the man begins the conversation, unaware or unwilling to exchange pleasantries.

“It’s not our tent but we don’t think it should go”, a few people begin to say at once. “That tent is covering a free community library.”

“Well, when the cops get here this is going to make them upset, and they’re going to come in here and destroy it anyway,” the man says. “So I’m just saying y’all should take it down before I come back with a few other guys with rifles and take it down myself….cuz we don’t want the cops to come!”

“You can do whatever you want, man, but we’re not going to take down some tent that isn’t ours just because you think the cops might come,” our friend Amin (always good for a giant smile and a fat joint) says. “And also, that whole theory doesn’t make a lot of sense to me” He punctuates this last part with a tip of his head and a swig of his beer.

The man grumbles to himself and walks away, returning ten minutes later with his aforementioned rifled goons, as well as a lady that doesn’t really seem to fit in with them.

“This lady owns the library so we’re getting her to take it down,” the man says, directing his speech towards our group for no apparent reason other than to start a conflict. He was obviously oblivious to how his aggressive, commandeering attitude was completely antithetical to the entire idea of the community space that is Marcus-David Peters Circle��or maybe he was just an asshole. Regardless, he was a blatant intimidator, and unless we’re talking about Number 3 (RIP) there’s just no room for that inside the Circle.

We ignored whatever the guy was trying to serve to us and kicked back, but soon the man was back again with an even larger group, now forcefully encouraging everyone to exit the interior of the Circle under the assurance that “the cops can’t touch us if we aren’t in the Circle”. As one tends to notice, it’s hard to say “no” to a group of men with large guns in their hands, so the group was having large amounts of success with their attempts to incentive people out of the area. Our group, though still not understanding completely or agreeing with the logic of the move, followed suit, packing up our blankets, beers, and popsicles.

Not five minutes after the entire populace of the Circle had been cleared out of the area that lay surrounded by graffitied barriers, officers in riot gear began to arrive, just as the man earlier had “predicted”. Predicted! *Hmpf*! Predicted, or imprecated? Or better yet, foretold? Because I reckon it’s a hell of a lot easier to predict the future when you’ve got a direct line to the chain of commands. I also reckon that about the only person who would come up and complain about the tent covering up a free library was some bootlicking wannabe-cop snitch who knew, without a doubt, that the cops were coming that night, whether they had a reason to or not.

And, of course, there was no reason that any amount of police officers, let alone 50+ outfitted in full riot gear, should have appeared that night. No reason for a city to sic a militarized pack of baton-wielding goons on its own people. No reason why the citizens of Richmond could not have just been left to be: listening to music, drinking beers, talking with friends. These were the crimes we committed before being attacked.

As police announced to the crowd that the surrounding area had been declared an “unlawful assembly” by the state, tempers began to flare on both sides. Rampant rubber bullets and flash bang grenades sliced through the air, as chants and screams rose up from the civilians. Suddenly, the space felt like a warzone, a battle with what seemed like completely lopsided enemies. On one side stood line after line of grown men adorned in battle armor, helmets, and shields. Some held Assault Rifles or guns meant for firing rubber bullets and smoke canisters; all wore heavy, polished, steel-toed boots. On the other side stood men, women, children, and pets equipped with nothing more than their wallets, sunglasses, tank tops, and shorts. Some held bottles of water for extinguishing smoke, others had gloves on for tossing tear gas canisters away; all wore a sense of fear, anger, confusion, and determination on their face. These Richmonders, who had done nothing more than to enjoy the public space of their city, would not be deterred so easily. A feeling had spread through the crowd that we would not be punished unjustly tonight. If we were going to have to face the consequences of merely existing in the street, then we weren’t going down without a fight.  

The ranks of G.I. Joe-pretenders slowly increased their perimeter, pushing citizens further and further from the reclaimed art space at the epicenter of the Circle. Soon, we stood in the middle of Park Avenue, a block from Monument Avenue, and still we were being told to “back up” and “get out of the street”, by both RPD and VSP. It seemed the boars with badges would not be content until they had claimed the whole neighborhood as their own Draconian hang-space.

When my friend Nick (The big love bully - The homie to ask you if you’re okay when you’ve got a down face) shines his flashlight toward a group of suspicious looking officers, he’s swarmed upon by a particularly dorky looking Virginia State officer who accosts him with a completely trivial question about the bike he’s riding.

“Whoah! Hey! You got lights for this bicycle here?” the officer asked, taking strides closer and closer to us, hand on his hip.

“Two, actually!” Came Nick’s response as we all flipped our bikes around to put some space between the officers and ourselves. “You’re not gunna get us on some shit like that!” He shouted over his shoulder as we pedaled up the street towards a safer space. “ya dumbass cop”

With some distance between the commotion and us, we regroup. Nick, Sophia, Salad, Ryan, Johnny, and I squad up at a park only a block away.

“Shit’s wild”

“What even started this?”

“Oh, they’re definitely mad about the chief resigning.”

“I saw someone get hit right in the face with a rubber bullet”

“Fuck!”

“I saw a couple kids with paint guns shooting at the cops, I think that’s what started it all”

“I mean, the cops started it all when they showed up…”

“AGREED!”

Looking behind him, Johnny says, “This car coming up is an unmarked cop car, anyone want to see where it’s going?”

“Let’s do it”, I say.

And we take off. The two of us darting after this beefy-looking tinted black SUV, keeping close but keeping our distance.

After a few blocks Johnny turns to me and says, “They aren’t going anywhere interesting, let’s head back.” and we reverse-course towards the way we came.

Coming back up towards the intersection where we left the rest of our friends, I can’t say that anything felt particularly off, though it did seem a little quiet, not a simple quiet but a stifled one.

As Johnny and I make our way through the shadow left in the space between two light posts, we hear a “GRAB HIM!” and a hidden mass springs from the darkness. I watch as Johnny’s bike finds the space between charging homunculus and a row of cards and skirts through it successfully, just as the same cop changes direction to tackle me off my bike (FUCK!). The goon leaps into the air as gracefully as an anemic hippopotamus, and tackles me off my bike with the ease of a drunken uncle at Thanksgiving.

“All right, big guy, you got me! You can chill out.” I say to the panting officer now shoving my arms in positions not familiar to them, restraining my non-resisting body with the help of 3 or 4 buddies. “I appreciate all the attention but it’s really not necessary”

“It’s for both of our safeties”, the stormtrooper says to me without looking at my face, instead holding his nose high with eyes darting around the perimeter like some cracked-out hound-dog.

“Oh yeah, I bet”, I say, laughing a little. “Hey man, you having any fun?”

The officer just grunts.

“Aw, c’mon man, what’s your name?”

“Officer Harris” Still no eye contact.

“Hey, officer Harris, you having any fun out here? It’s ok to have fun, I’m having some fun, are you having fun?”

Officer Harris shifts his weight from one foot to the other, rolls his tongue across his upper teeth, and says out of the side of his mouth, “Yeah, I’m having a little fun…but you guys are making it hard for us out here.”

“GROSSSSSSS!” I say laughing from the pit of my stomach, “Oh, Officer Harris, we’ve got real problems” And I continue to laugh as this confused cop looks down on me, still zip-tied at his feet. I was beyond affable at this point from the adrenaline and alcohol coursing through my bloodstream, and while the fear of this cop and his gang of buddies assaulting me crossed through my mind, I figured if I was in for a penny I was in for a pound. Being arrested for protesting the police force already put me in a vulnerable position, and I figured the policeman’s image of me couldn’t be altered much in the short time we were interacting with each other, but I wanted to say one more thing before Officer Harris cast me aside as some wanton rioter.

“I hope you don’t think I’m just some white punk, some revolutionary with no cause. I’m fighting for what I believe in, and I sleep well every night, Officer Harris, do you?”

“I try,” Khaleed Harris said with a sigh as he put me in a cage in the back of a van.

“Now, watch your head.”

[t-oresama]

“Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America” by Jeff Ryan

Synopsis: In 1981, Nintendo of America was a one-year-old business already on the brink of failure. Its president, Mino Arakawa, was stuck with two thousand unsold arcade cabinets for a dud of a game (Radar Scope). So he hatched a plan. Back in Japan, a boyish, shaggy-haired staff artist named Shigeru Miyamoto designed a new game for the unsold cabinets featuring an angry gorilla and a small jumping man. Donkey Kong brought in $180 million in its first year alone and launched the career of a short, chubby plumber named Mario. Super Mario tells the story behind the Nintendo games millions of us grew up with, explaining how a Japanese trading card company rose to dominate the fiercely competitive video-game industry.

Published: 2011; republished in 2012 (Penguin Group) Genre: Non-fiction, biographical, pop-culture Rating: 4 out of 5 Reader Review: The day has finally come. I’m finally doing a review for this book. I have to write this to believe it for myself because this book took me about two years to finish. Yes, two years for a book less than 300 pages. As with many books nowadays, I found this one at the library, my place of work. I skimmed through the book and took a vested interest in it. But rather than check the book out, I asked for it for Christmas and received it in December 2015. So yes, just about two YEARS. The reason for the length in time? I usually don’t do non-fiction. It’s not for lack of trying, and I do have non-fiction books in my possession, but I’ve always loved fiction for its ability to go all-out, create worlds and characters and situations beyond our wildest dreams because it’s not real; anything is possible. With non-fiction, it’s all facts and automatically trapped within the confines of reality. There isn’t much mind-wandering to be done with that. None of this is to bash non-fiction or those who admire it just as much as I do fiction. And despite my views on non-fiction as a genre, I persevered and stuck with this book until its end because of its subject matter and main character: Mario.

Video game history in itself is unlike anything else because, compared to other types of entertainment such as TV, movies or sports, video games are the newest form with the exception of the internet. Not even half a century old, many people who were around to play the “first” video game (Pong and the first surge of arcade cabinet games) are still alive today. It’s a young market, and its growth has been, as a whole, exponential and hard to ignore. It’s to the point where all forms of entertainment mentioned above have included video games at some point; there are cartoons and movies based on video games, there are TV shows dedicated to TALKING about video games, websites like Youtube are catering more to the gaming community, and just recently a marching band performed the Legend of Zelda theme song at a grand football game. So to read about how this all essentially started was fascinating. Now, I’ll try to stay unbiased as always, but I must say that as the great 21st century console wars go on, I’m Team Nintendo. I’m not exclusively Nintendo, but I’ve always been drawn to their bold, colorful and positively fun games rather than Playstation and X-Box’s direction of gritty “adult” action titles. There’s pros and cons with all three consoles, and I know Playstation and X-Box have done some things better than Nintendo. Like my preference with fiction and non-fiction books, that’s all I mean to express here: a preference. And I’m sure there’s books like “Super Mario” that go as in-depth with Playstation and X-Box’s histories (in fact, Playstation’s history started thanks to Nintendo, as they backed out of a deal with Sony in an admittedly scummy manner, prompting Sony to drop the idea of collaborating with Nintendo in favor of making their own console: the Playstation). But Nintendo is a unique specimen because this book doesn’t just talk about Nintendo’s history, but makes it quite clear that Nintendo IS video game history. They are the grandfathers of video gaming as we know it today. Nintendo has 10+ years on Playstation and X-Box, and it’s all thanks to Mario, their mascot still as synonymous with gaming as Mickey Mouse is to Disney nearly 40 years later. And that is the hefty goal of this book- to showcase Nintendo from its humble beginnings to their growth to now (well, to 2012, when the book was last updated).

“Super Mario” starts not just with the release of the NES/Famicom or the hiring of Shigeru Miyamoto, the father of Mario, but with the formation of Nintendo itself, when it was a trading card company... in 1889. So, how did it go from cards to electronics almost a century later? That’s what author Jeff Ryan breaks down for the reader. The book is separated by five parts with five chapters per segment. As this is a book depicting Nintendo’s development over the years, its parts are sequential and correlate to (almost) each new game console Nintendo has created and Mario has taken part in: The Donkey Kong arcade cabinets, the NES/Famicom, the SNES/Super Famicom, the Nintendo64, and the Wii. Each chapter, Ryan states, is named after a Mario game (’Mario’s Party’, ‘Mario’s Brawl’, ‘Mario’s World’) and just the fact that there are enough Mario games out there that Ryan could use 25 of them without repeating is pretty telling of Mario’s success. At times I felt the names were distracting or too much of an attempt to be ‘punny’, simply because some names had nothing to do with the subject matter. ‘Mario’s World’ is about the N64, and ‘Mario’s Kart(ridge)’ is about the Virtual Boy. It might just be because I’m doing a review, but finding events in a book to go back to is not easy when the chapter name and subject don’t correspond to one another.

Throughout the book, there are certainly parts that come off more as talking about Nintendo’s history rather than Mario’s  but Mario is ingrained in Nintendo electronics; there really is no separating the two, nor a way to talk about one without the other. And in the world of video games in the 1980s, where the rules were not yet made and the potential limitless, reading about seemingly small and minute decisions Nintendo made with Mario with nothing to go off of but instinct was amazing, especially when you read about the subsequent payoff of those decisions a few paragraphs later. There was a reason for Mario’s name, there was an idea that they wanted him to be not just a mascot but a character that wasn’t defined by one game/genre of game but could easily adapt to any situation (similar to Bugs Bunny), and there was even a reason to Mario’s design, stemming from both graphical limitations of the arcade cabinet and simply from laziness. Because no one was challenging them in the beginning, the risks were both high and low. Some choices Nintendo/Miyamoto made for the world of Mario stemmed from real life (such as the idea of the Chain Chomp enemies, created from a dog on a chain that would attempt to chase Miyamoto as a child). If they didn’t come from real life events, they came from a blend of business (Kirby, the pink ball-like creature in the Kirby franchise, was named after the last name of the lawyer who helped Nintendo during a lawsuit over Donkey Kong’s name) and culture (with Wario being named for the Japanese word “Warui”, meaning “bad”). I found all of these little factoids interspersed through the chapters, between talks of schematics for games and the reception of said games, really cool simply because I’m a lover of the useless fact. It got to a point when even stuff I didn’t think was done for a reason was, indeed, done for a reason (”Color theory links purple [Nintendo Gamecube] to feelings of royalty... Dreamcast had chosen white with neon orange highlights: orange was the color of happiness. Sony’s... Playstation 2 was black with distinctive blue piping: blue is the color of intelligence... [The XBox’s] black came with hints of green. Green is the color of renewal... These weren’t accidental choices.”).

As you can probably tell, reviewing non-fiction isn’t exactly my forte. Giving my opinions on facts is a little strange. So let me get to a part I can always critique: the structure. Obviously it has to go in chronological order, so on that it does an A+ job. But in the beginning of a majority of the chapters, before picking up where the last left off, Ryan does this really weird intro where he talks about pop culture and Mario’s presence in it. Sometimes it correlates with the timeline of the chapter (he talks about the Super Mario Bros. Super Show in a chapter also taking place in the early 90s, for instance), but sometimes it doesn’t. It’s detached from the timeline and just serves to talk about how impactful Mario is: “Mario garners 1,500,000 search results when you type in ‘Mario Cake’ on Google! Mario is on hundreds of T-shirts! Mario was painted onto a sponsored Nascar racecar and won its first race!” Those are all great achievements and serve the purpose of showing how big Mario is even today, but they’re just dropped in the beginning, Ryan brags about Mario for about 3 pages, and then the first line of a separate paragraph will be in bold, indicating that the singing of the praises is over and we’re back to the timeline again. It’s distracting to the point of being annoying sometimes. Why did all of these accolades have to be spread out through openings of various chapters? Why not just have a chapter dedicated to his pop culture impact? It just makes no sense when, for some of these intros, all Ryan is doing is literally listing things Mario has been in or on. 

And I feel the need to point this out, because despite the cover pictured above looking how it does, my copy has the words “with a new chapter” written in the top pixelated cloud. Ryan originally published this in 2011 (hence why it stops at talking about the Wii), but added this new chapter at the beginning of 2012. And what is this new chapter about? Well, to start, it’s titled “Mario’s Misfortunes”. And it’s about just that: it goes in month by month talking about the missteps and stock hits Mario and Nintendo took in 2011. We go from singing high praises to shooting him off his pedestal with a Nintendo Zapper. I feel similarly to this chapter’s inclusion as I did with the “bonus chapter” included in “The Bane Chronicles”: I hate it. Hate it hate it hate it. Yes, it’s factual, and yes, it was a pretty dismal year for Nintendo, but to end the book made to present Mario and Nintendo’s rise from underdog to top dog on that? On THAT? It’s so utterly depressing. And suddenly Ryan inserts himself in the book, in this additional chapter, addressing the audience directly and giving a solution to this “crisis” that no one asked for: “It’s time for a Mario theme park,” he declares. I’m still so baffled by this whole last part. He details it to even the specific location of this imaginary theme park and why it makes sense to put it there. I can’t honestly figure out why this exists other than to serve as a pitch, but we, the ones reading it, are not the people he should be pitching this to. It honestly made me irritated when I first read it. This is a book that, up until now, has been written in grounded facts (although, if you look on websites like Amazon where this book is sold, many Nintendo connoisseurs have been quick to point out some inaccuracies in the book as far as release dates and timeline happenings). Why, now, do we need it to veer from fact to opinion? “Because it’s an updated chapter” is not an excuse. I found something so smug about it, as if Ryan was saying “Well, if I was running the company, I’d do this. Dummies.” It was a chapter that really didn’t need to be. Nintendo is still up and running in 2017, and doing pretty spectacular in comparison (without a theme park, too, however I hear that one is actually in the works), and at this rate they’ll continue to exist. It’s pointless to add commentary for one year and then stop. If you commentate on 2011/2012, why not 2013, 2014, and so on? You set yourself up for failure by adding on to an already-complete book. If you really want to say more, just make another book ten years from now. Dummy.

Admittedly, I found the first half of the book more interesting than the second; that may be why my bookmark was lodged in page 116 for months and months. What I found so enjoyable about it was simply the history. The first half of the book is the start-up, how things came to be, how the public first reacted to the concept of “home gaming consoles”. Hands down my favorite story in the book was about Nintendo fighting a lawsuit from Universal who owned the rights to King Kong and argued copyright infringement against Nintendo for their similarly-named ape. That alone is a wonderful standalone story about Nintendo and just a good lesson for big companies trying to claim people “stole” something when it’s all within fair use. But then the second half starts to become more familiar territory. The N64, the Gamecube, the Wii... us millennials were around for all of that. Maybe not as game reviewers or commentators, but we saw the progression happen right before our eyes as players. It’s nostalgia-inducing, sure, and there are neat behind-the-scenes pieces about how Super Mario 64 was made as the first successful mainstream attempt at 3D graphics and why they made the Gamecube purple (really, I think I’m the only one that found that so totally enthralling), but it felt more like a recap at times than anything new and interesting (I know that’s not necessarily the point of a book chronicling Nintendo and Mario). I will say this, though- The second half, especially five years after this was written, makes for good comparison between then and now. Ryan points out that Nintendo like to keep to themselves and are weary about releasing things like mobile games; he even quotes the late great Satoru Iwata in talking about how Nintendo isn’t doing enough to meet the demands of the huge online demographic “nowadays” (2010). Fast-forward to now, and the WiiU and Switch both heavily encourage online play, and Mario exists in a mobile phone game. It’s like opening a time capsule and seeing what’s changed now to what it was back then. It’s an unexpected enjoyable treat at the end (thanks, last 40 pages of the book!) 

"Super Mario” is an easy, interesting read showcasing a history that is still so young, one has to wonder if you can really call it a “history”. I can guarantee that there are things you didn’t know about Nintendo or Mario in this book, and whether you’re just a casual gamer or a Nintendo fanboy/girl, you’ll find a reason to like this book and keep reading, as I did. While I had to force myself to read the book sometimes and was kind of critical of it in here, I enjoyed it. I learned a lot, looked at some game and consoles in my home in a different light, and I gained a lot of respect for Nintendo, for Ryan who took (I’m assuming) months to research all of this, and for the everlasting Renaissance man, Mario himself.

[bharatiyamedia-blog]

Virginia Gunman E-Mailed Resignation Hours Earlier than Killing 12

http://tinyurl.com/y3sc2kbt VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.:  After an unremarkable profession spent tending the water and sewer programs beneath this metropolis of 450,000 residents, DeWayne Craddock give up on Friday morning. The engineer for Virginia Seaside’s municipal authorities knowledgeable his bosses in an electronic mail that he was resigning, metropolis officers mentioned. However Craddock made one final go to to the drab brick constructing the place he labored and methodically killed his colleagues. Investigators, Craddock’s former co-workers and residents of this stricken oceanside group continued Sunday to know for clues to what precipitated the deadliest mass taking pictures in the US since November. Armed with two .45-caliber pistols, a minimum of considered one of them outfitted with a sound suppressor and prolonged journal, Craddock killed 12 individuals earlier than dying in a gunfight with police. Some killers go away behind manifestos, YouTube movies or social media profiles that show a thoughts transferring inexorably towards violence. What Craddock left was a resignation letter, in keeping with metropolis officers, and a piece historical past that gave no trace of his intentions. “Proper now we don’t have something evident,” Police Chief James Cervera mentioned at a information convention Sunday. He cautioned that investigators are nonetheless attempting to find out a motive. Officers wouldn’t focus on what Craddock wrote in his resignation, however an individual conversant in the e-mail mentioned it was quick and there was “nothing out of the unusual.” “He merely submitted his two weeks’ discover,” mentioned the particular person, who spoke on the situation of anonymity as a result of the investigation is ongoing. “There was no foreshadowing of something that resulted the remainder of the day.” Metropolis Supervisor Dave Hansen mentioned “a really thorough evaluate” of Craddock’s personnel file had revealed no issues. “To my information, the perpetrator’s efficiency was passable,” Hansen mentioned, including that Craddock “was in good standing inside his division . . . there have been no problems with self-discipline ongoing.” The mystification behind that coolly bureaucratic evaluation is shared by others who knew Craddock. A 40-year-old veteran of the Virginia Military Nationwide Guard, wherein he served for six years as an artillery cannon crew member, Craddock had a shaved head, bodybuilder’s physique and cameras within the home windows of his home on a peaceable cul-de-sac. Christi Dewar, a public utilities account clerk for town who labored throughout the corridor from Craddock, mentioned she knew of no incidents or arguments involving Craddock within the days earlier than the taking pictures. “There was completely no warning in any way,” Dewar mentioned. A 2003 report in Dolan’s Virginia Enterprise Observer mentioned Craddock had joined a consulting agency known as MSA and was a mission engineer. Agency companion Scott Acey declined to remark Saturday past confirming that Craddock labored for the corporate for 3 to 4 years earlier than going to work for Virginia Seaside. Shortly earlier than Craddock started Friday afternoon’s bloodbath, he was within the workplace rest room, brushing his tooth, mentioned metropolis engineering technician Joseph Scott, who recalled exchanging pleasantries with him. “Hello, the way you doing? Any plans for the weekend?” Scott recalled saying. “That was just about it. Then we went our separate methods.” Not lengthy afterward, about Four p.m., officers obtained calls a few shooter in Constructing 2 of the Virginia Seaside Municipal Middle, a cluster of presidency workplaces simply east of a golf course on this sprawling metropolis that has a suburban really feel. The police headquarters is on the municipal middle, and two detectives rapidly entered the constructing, adopted by a pair of Okay-9 officers. On Sunday, Cervera spoke of the challenges the officers confronted as they ventured contained in the constructing, a hivelike advanced that was constructed within the 1970s and whose inside has since undergone additions and renovations. “It is a maze the place the employees are,” Cervera mentioned. With no clear thought of the shooter’s whereabouts, officers entered that maze, ultimately encountering Craddock on the second flooring. A protracted firefight ensued, and at 4:19 p.m. one officer was hit however was saved by his protecting vest. Craddock, cornered in an workplace, started firing by the door. Police finally broke down the door and commenced attempting to save lots of the lifetime of Craddock, who was wounded. He was taken to a hospital and died. Between the time police have been known as to the scene and the time Craddock was subdued, 36 minutes had handed, officers mentioned. Craddock had killed 12 individuals – amongst them the mom of a 22-month-old, civil servants on the finish of three-decade careers, a bagpipe fanatic, an immigrant from Belarus who helped his buddy with yardwork – in what authorities described as an indiscriminate killing rampage. His first sufferer was a contractor within the parking zone, there to file a allow. The second was a lady on her approach out of the workplace. Craddock, who was nonetheless an lively worker, was in a position to make use of his badge to achieve entry to the constructing’s second flooring, the place a lot of the killings occurred. Inside about an hour of the preliminary assault, Cervera mentioned, the entire wounded had been transported for emergency care. Along with these killed, 4 individuals have been wounded and hospitalized. All have undergone surgical procedures, officers mentioned Sunday. “They’re progressing, and our prayers are with them,” mentioned Hansen, town supervisor. Authorities recognized these killed as Virginia Seaside residents Michelle “Missy” Langer, Ryan Keith Cox, Tara Welch Gallagher, Mary Louise Gayle, Alexander Mikhail Gusev, Katherine Nixon, Joshua Hardy and Herbert “Bert” Snelling; Chesapeake residents Laquita Brown and Robert “Bobby” Williams; Norfolk resident Richard Nettleton; and Powhatan resident Christopher Kelly Rapp. Officers mentioned they have been nonetheless piecing collectively Craddock’s whereabouts and timeline on Friday. It was not clear when and the place he picked up the weapons earlier than the bloodbath started. Officers with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives mentioned his two pistols have been legally bought in 2016 and 2018. They discovered one other legally bought firearm at his dwelling and a second gun that investigators have been working to hint. On the scene of the taking pictures, police discovered a sound suppressor, generally often called a silencer, and prolonged magazines. At Sunday’s information convention, metropolis officers disclosed that Craddock resigned Friday morning however didn’t share particulars of how or why he did so. “He notified his chain of command that morning,” Hansen mentioned. “My understanding is he did that by way of electronic mail.” The municipal middle will stay closed Monday, however Virginia Seaside’s different metropolis workplaces can be open. All Municipal Middle buildings aside from Constructing 2, the place the assault came about, will reopen Tuesday. “Our restoration is underway,” Hansen mentioned. “Our grieving is underway.” However as church companies and vigils have been held Sunday throughout Virginia Seaside, the state’s largest metropolis and a vacationer vacation spot the place jets from the naval air station frequently roar overhead, many residents mentioned they have been nonetheless struggling to come back to phrases with what had occurred. A whole bunch gathered Sunday morning close to the long-lasting Neptune sculpture on Virginia Seaside’s sandy coast for an evangelical service hosted by Trinity Church. Patty Richards mentioned she had been praying since she heard that folks had been shot on the municipal middle not removed from her home. Her husband, a contractor, had deliberate to go to that constructing on Friday for a allow however put it off till Monday. Richards, a former crucial cardiac nurse at a close-by hospital, mentioned she understood too nicely what the medical professionals treating the victims can be dealing with. “I find out about that type of ache,” she mentioned. Cassandra Ellis, 47, stopped on the grocery retailer together with her boyfriend for a dozen roses – one for every sufferer – including them to the stack of flowers left in entrance of the Police Division. “I’m going on my Fb feed and that is all there’s,” Ellis mentioned. “The vibes, the emotion is completely completely different. We’re in a deep place, a foul place.” It was the deadliest taking pictures within the metropolis’s historical past, and the most recent within the sequence of American gun massacres that now arrive with numbing frequency. The Virginia Seaside taking pictures was the deadliest in the US since a November taking pictures at a bar in Thousand Oaks, California, wherein 13 individuals, together with the gunman, have been killed. Robert Richardson, 39, a retired Navy veteran, mentioned he had been drawn to the tightly knit group in Virginia Seaside. “It has a big-city really feel, but it surely does not act like an enormous metropolis,” he mentioned. On Sunday, Richardson introduced his 4 kids to see the flowers on the police station. “My children go to highschool a block down the highway,” he mentioned. “I concern for my children after they go to highschool.” Richardson mentioned he lived by the taking pictures at Fort Hood, Texas, in 2014 and by no means thought he’d see one other office slaying like that one. Now that extra have taken place, he cannot say he is stunned. “If we did not study from Sandy Hook, the place all these harmless kids died, we’ll by no means study,” he mentioned. – – – The Washington Submit’s Moriah Balingit, Rachel Chason, Alice Crites, Jim Morrison, Gregory S. Schneider, Julie Tate and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report. (Aside from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is printed from a syndicated feed.) 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