#nox nigel

[eye-burning]

WE JOPPING!!!!

Yes! I'm still on this! To be fair I did warn it would drag on.

Cyan Includes: Nox, Felix, Slightly Off Taffy, Cerim, Florin, Brunhild, Eress, Oberon, Saella, Zett and, Chocolate Cake

[incorrectneopetsquotes]

Nigel the Stockbroker Chia: Good Credit? Bad Credit? No Credit? No problem! Are you DEAD? That's right - GHOST CREDIT. Hubrid Nox: I'm gonna get a Subaru!

[tranthologies]

S3 E2: SOUL SLAYER (PART 2)

"Soul Slayer (Part 2)" by Moira-Juliet Scott is out NOW!

Blood spills and hearts race in the finale to Soul Slayer, as our hero’s make their way through the home of the arcane spirits to find an un expected ally. Will Gallos get her revenge? Will Sot and 16 find a cure for this magical ailment? Will there be a magical fight to the death?

Written by Moira-Juliet Scott Directed by Moira-Juliet Scott Edited by Alex Abrahams Music by Scarlett Foster Art by Ari Moloney

Avalon Willowbloom as the Narrator Zoey Davis as 16 Moira-Juliet Scott as Sot and The Moon Jaye T as Gallos Felyx Pozorski as Prim/Nox Nigel McKeon as Gus Matthew O.K. Smith as Agra Shawn Tumbokon-Flowers as Aragnathoth Ari Moloney as Trezy

[theredbeggar]

Reading List

Because if I don’t organize my book reading order now, rather than later, I will end up in a disoriented pile of ebooks and PDF’s and the few I actually own.. SO, without any further dilly dallying, this is the reading order I’ll be following and I won’t mix up any other books until it’s DONE. After this, and once I’m finally done with Children of Cain, I’ll think of doing a general book list of the ones that have been useful to me personally.

This is NOT a suggested reading list or anything of the sort, it’s just my personal tracker. But if you find a title here you’re interested in or have read, feel free to poke me with a discussion even if I haven’t read it just yet. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Currently Reading:

Children of Cain, Michael Howard

Familiars in Witchcraft, Maja D’adust

Man and his Symbols, Carl G. Jung

To Read:

The Visions of Isobel Gowdie, Emma Wilby

Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits, Emma Wilby

Politicizing Magic: An Anthology of Russian and Soviet Fairy Tales, Marina Balina, Helena Goscilo, and Mark Lipovetsky

The Exorcist’s Handbook, Josephine McCarty

Forbidden Rites, Richard Kieckhefer

Letters from the Devil’s Forest, Robert Artisson

Pillars of Tubal Cain, Nigel Jackson, Michael Howard

Veneficium, Daniel A. Schulke

The Black Books, C.G. Jung

Liber Nox, Michael Howard

To Re-read:

Masks of Misrule, Nigel Jackson

Mysticism, Initiation and Dream, Andrew D. Chumbley

Opuscula Magica, Vol. 1 and 2, Andrew D. Chumbley

Call of the Horned Piper, Nigel Jackson

Aspects of Evocation, Phil Hine

[mason-dunn]

Folklore & Scholarly Books for the Traditional Witch :

• The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft, and Dark Shamanism in 17th Century Scotland by Emma Wilby

• Cunning Folk and Familiar Spirits: Shamanistic Visionary Traditions in Early Modern British Witchcraft and Magic by Emma Wilby

• Witches at the Bpundary Od South-Eastern and Central Europe by Eva Pocs

• Witches, Werwolves, and Fairies: Shapeshifters and Doubles in the Middle Ages by Claude Lecouteux

• The Tradition of Household Spirits: Ancestral Lore and Practise by Claude Lecouteux

• Encyclopedia of Norse and Germanic Folklore, Mythology, and Magic by Claude Lecouteux

• Carmina Gadelica: Hyms and Incantations compiled by Alexander Carmichael and John Machnes

• The Mabirogion - Welsh Mythology

• The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-Wente

• Fairy and Folk Tales of the Irish Peasantry by WB Yeats

• Tales of the Celtic Otherworld by John Mathews and Ian Daniels

• Ozark Magic and Folklore by Vance Randolph

• Teutonic Mythology (Volumes 1-4) by Jacob Grimm

• Grimms Complete Fairy Tales by Jacob and Wilhehm Grimm

• American Witch Stories by Hubert J. Davis

• Popular Magic: Cunning Folk in English History by Owen Paries

• Arcadia: Gospels of the Witches By Charles Leland

Poison Path & Herbal Books:

• Pharmako/Gnosis: Plant Teachers and the Poison Path by Dale Pendell

• Thirteen Pathways of Oculy Herbalism by Daniel Schultes

• Plants of the Devil by Corinne Boyer

• Plants of the Gods: Their Sacred, Healing, and Hallucinogenic Powers by Richard Evan Schultes

• The Witching Herbs : Thirteen Essential Herbs and Plants for Your Magical Garden by Harold Roth

• The Witches Ointment: The Secret History of Psychedelic Magic by Thomas Hatsis

• The Encyclopedia of Psychoactive Plants by Christian Ratsch

• Witchcraft Medicine: Healing Arts, Shamanic Practices, and Forbidden Plants by Claudia Muller-Ebeling

• The Devil’s Garden : Facts and Folklore of Perilous Plants by Edward R. Ricciuti

• Wicked Plants by Amy Stewart

• The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart

Traditional Witchcraft Books :

• The Black Toad : West County Witchcraft and Magic by Gemma Gary

• The Mill: Workings in Traditional Witchcraft by Nigel G. Pearson

• Traditional Witchcraft : A Cornish Book of Ways by Gemma Gary

• A Deed Without a Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft by Lee Morgan

• The Devils Dozen : Thirteen Craft Rites of the Old One by Gemma Gary

• Besom, Sting & Sword : A Guide to Traditional Witchcraft, the Six-fold Path & the Hidden Landscape by Christopher Orapello

• Weave The Liminal : Living Modern Traditional Witchcraft by Laura Tempest and Zackroff

• Liber Nox : A Traditional Witch’s Gramarye by Michael Howard and Gemma Gary

• Craft of the Untamed : An inspired vision of Traditional Witchcraft by Nicholas de Matteo’s Frisvold

• Children of Cain : A Study of Modern Traditional Witches by

• Letters from the Devils Forest : An Anthology of Writings on Traditional Witchcraft, Spiritual Ecology and Provenance Traditionalism by Robin Artisson

• To Fly By Night : Craft of the Hedgewitch by Veronica Cummer

• An Cracow Gwyn: Socery and the Ancient Fayerie Faith by Robin Artissin

• The Robert Cochrane Letter: An Insight Into Modern Traditional Witchcraft by Robert Cochrane and Evan John Jones

• Folk Witchcraft : A Guide to Lore Land, and the Familiar Spirit by Roger J Horne

• Balkan Traditional Witchcraft by Prademir Ristic and Michael C. Carter

• The Call of the Horned Piper by Nigel Jackson

• Ecstasies : Deciphering the Witches’ Sabbath by Carb Giazburg

[janas-grimoire]

Buchempfehlungen

Database:

the-eye.eu

Traditionelle Hexerei:

Gemma Gary - The Black Toad

Gemma Gary - Traditional Witchcraft: A Book of Cornish Ways

Gemma Gary - The Devils Dozen

Nigel Pearson - Treading the Mill

Nigel Pearson - Devils Plantation

Paul Huson - Mastering Witchcraft

Nigel Jackson - The Call of the Horned Piper

Lee Morgan - A Deed Without a Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft

Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold - Craft of the Untamed

Michael C. Howard - Liber Nox: A Traditional Witch’s Gramarye

Wicca:

Scott Cunningham - A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner

Raymond Buckland - The Complete Book of Witchcraft

Gerald Gardner - The Meaning of Witchcraft

Doreen Valiente - Where Witchcraft Lives

Margot Adler - Drawing Down the Moon

Patti Wigington - Wicca Practical Magic: Getting Started with Magical Herbs, Oils, and Crystals

Laurie Carbot - Power of the Witch

D.J. Conway - Celtic Magic

Sonia K. Woods - Deep Magick

Raymond Buckland - Wicca for One

Kräuter:

Scott Cunningham - The Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs

Arin Murphy-Hiscock - The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs

Karen Harrison - The Herbal Alchemist’s Handbook

Ally Sands - Plant Magic for the Beginner Witch

Lisa Chamberlain - Wicca Book of Herbal Spells

Marysia Miernowska - The Witch’s Herbal Apothecary

Judy Ann Nock - The Modern Witchcraft Guide to Magickal Herbs

Ann Moura - Grimoire for the Green Witch

[atopearth]

Shall we Date? Wizardess Heart Part 29 - Nox Noir Route

So, Nox is a phantom thief that steals magical tools? Sounds like it might be fun~ Gotta love how traumatised Rex seems to be of Zeus (since he used to be a Night Class Prefect) that he wouldn’t have come for the mission at the academy if he knew Zeus was joining in lol. Ooh Nox was a Night Class Prefect too~ I love how Zeus doesn’t like Nox because he used to scold him all the time hahaha. Well, Nox seems like an assertive flirt lol! Chocolate cake is such a long name for Nox’s familiar lmao, call him chocolate or cake instead lolll. Well, the cat disapproved but it’s good that the heroine shortened the name to Coco lolll.

On the other hand, I dig Rex with the heroine more right now, his smile and laugh just seemed so sincere when she said she thought he was a cold person when he actually wasn’t lol. He even pat her head! Nox better up his game lol. I like the mystery version of the board game they play! It was really fun to see how both Rex and Nox were so good at deducing who the culprit was and how it happened etc, too bad for Rex that his partner is Zeus who likes to blab and say whatever comes to his mind so he totally lost because of that hahaha. Lmao, can’t believe they played the game all night and got yelled at by Klaus for not going back to sleep at their dorms lol! Omgggg, they can’t do something like a love triangle, I can’t pick!! It was so adorable when both Rex and Nox got so sleepy and fell asleep on the heroine’s shoulders. They’re so cute lol. It was so cute when they went around the academy trying to solve the riddle, and one part told them to talk to a mirror, and the heroine sees it in the painting so she literally talks to it to see if it works hahahaha. I honestly forgot about the Phantom thief thing hahahah. Anyway, I’m glad to see that Willem is really enjoying his new life in the heroine’s village, and I love how he’s just accustoming himself to normal everyday human life and is enjoying stuff like making his own tea! It just feels so cute haha.

It’s actually kinda cute how the heroine started laughing at Nox when he nonchalantly ate a super spicy fire pie lol. I think it’s one of the few times, if not the only time that just as the guy is entertained by how “unique” the heroine is, the heroine actually feels the same about the guy and is amused by him. It’s kinda refreshing to see that lol. Anyway, considering how when they were at the Tower of Memories, the guardian didn’t attack the heroine and Nox/Nightmare took her away so she wouldn’t get injured, it was obvious that he likes her, but I didn’t expect a confession that fast tbh lol. Ooh okay, he’s confessing but he just wants her to think about it for now since he doesn’t want to really go out with her until he’s “done with something”. Lmao at Rex and Nox being silly and arguing about whether the heroine looks better with her hair up or down loll. Honestly though, when Rex confessed to the heroine, I was annoyed, not because of Rex, but because of how the route is being handled. I hate the love triangle situation in the story because this is supposed to be Nox’s route, I want to see it about Nox and the heroine, not a love triangle with another guy. I know they want to present how much of a rivalry the two have and yet how similar they both are, but instead of showing how they’re like two sides of a coin or something, all I’m presented with is practically like a shared or split route with Nox and Rex but it’s not like I can really choose Rex even if I wanted to, because why would I?! He has his own route! Sigh. It just really detracts from the romance because they could have spent that time that they focused on Rex falling for her to add more time for Nox and the heroine to bond instead zz. I prefer it to be focused on one guy and the rest like the heroine as friends, just like the other routes, sigh.

Anyway, lmao when Nightmare sent a calling card saying he would steal the heroine and all the guys (except Nox and Rex) thought it was impossible that Nightmare would want to steal the heroine, and that he must be coming to steal something she possesses instead🤣 Ooh, so Roger Nigel (the guy who competed with Walter Goldstein in creating magical tools) is actually Nox’s father! So I guess he’s stealing back all his father’s creations? Mmm, the magical tools sunk along with the ship his father was on and was then later pilfered by pirates to be sold around the world. Although I’m surprised that his father actually made a compact magic core used in his tools way before the Goldsteins, it is understandable for Nox to want to collect them all and destroy them since apparently his father chose to sacrifice his life to destroy all the cores with his ship in order to prevent power greedy kings etc from forcing him to hand them over and abuse their use. And the memory vial he needs to steal contains memories of the blueprint of the magic core so yeah, that’s definitely high on the list of what he needs to steal lol. You know, even though Nox has his reasons to be a thief, I don’t see why he needed to be like a phantom thief and throw calling cards or be so audacious and kidnap the heroine to tell her the truth. Like, uh, can’t you do it normally without causing so much trouble? I feel like he just wanted to spite Rex by stealing the heroine away when he was the bodyguard. On another note, I’m so annoyed that at this point of the story (near the end), the game is still going on about the stupid love triangle. IT’S SO FRUSTRATING. Like, now I know I like Rex much more, but I could and would have liked to discover that in his own route instead, like seriously, was Nox that boring of a character that they couldn’t be bothered spending more time developing him and his relationship with the heroine that they had to instead deal with this cheap love triangle all the time where they literally both just try to pull the heroine to them or whatever until whoever yields? It’s like, if you’re going to do a love triangle, at least do it in a way that enhances their personalities more or better because honestly, literally nothing has changed since the beginning. They’re like kids fighting over their favourite toy and I’m losing my patience over this.

I knew Rex realised that Nox was Nightmare and swapped the memory vial, but it was nice to see Nox’s reaction. He totally deserved it for underestimating Rex, but it was nice to see that he was happy to go against Rex another time to try and get the real vial back. Overall, although I quite liked Nox in the beginning, a lot of his personality and everything is established in the beginning and doesn’t really “grow” or feel any different afterwards. His love for the heroine is pretty much the same and he teases her etc but his character never becomes any more than that, which is rather disappointing. I’d say the main problem with this route though is that they focused more than half of the route establishing both Nox and Rex as love interests and honestly, it was pretty distracting and annoying because I totally favoured Rex, which felt really unfair to Nox but I couldn’t help it. Which is why I quite disliked this route even though I didn’t mind Nox. I really wanted it to only focus on romance with the guy that’s “chosen” and not any other guy, so yeah it was annoyingly sad and unfair to Nox, sigh. I felt like they could have totally put more emotion in the Phantom thief reveal etc if they didn’t waste so much time on their rivalry that was already established from the get go. Oh well..he was still a nice guy, but it’s so unfair to Nox lol.

[thiriumfilleddeviant]

RK900 has so many freaking names.

Here are as many names as I can think of that I’ve heard that lump of metal called:

-Nine(s) -Jacob -Aidan

-Niles -Ace -Rowan

-Richard -Conrad -Colton

-Caleb -Rick -Nick

-Callum -Rafe -Carter

-Conan -Allen -Kieran

-Connor -Nina -SCP-18119

-Ark -Connie -Cian

-RK -Nate -Arkait

-R -Apollo

-Ricky -Chris(topher)

-James -Reid

-Hunter -Dilan

-Cain -Ethan

-Nathan(iel) -Oleg

-Noah -Dick

-Cyrus -Bartholomew

-Cedric -Novem

-Col(l)in -Nigel

-Caden -Nox

Feel free to add anything else you’ve seen him called I’m kind of impressed to say the least

[cainsbrood]

Book Sale!

Hi folks! I’m moving to Germany in September, and find myself needing to downsize quite a bit. So I’m having a book sale. Take a look and message me for details on any titles that interest you. First come, first served.

“The Heart of The Initiate” by Victor and Cora Anderson - $5 plus shipping

“The Horn of Evenwood” by Robin Artisson - $12 plus shipping

“The Witching Way of the Hollow Hill” by Robin Artisson - $12 plus shipping

“The Cunning Man’s Handbook” by Jim Baker - $20 plus shipping

“Liber Kaos” by Peter Carroll - $10 plus shipping

“Liber Null and Psychonaut” by Peter Carroll - $10 plus shipping

“Azoëtia: Sethos Edition” by Andrew Chumbley - $600 plus shipping

“The Book of Enoch” - $7 plus shipping

“The Robert Cochrane Letters” - $12 plus shipping

“The Roebuck in the Thicket” by Robert Cochrane - $12 plus shipping

“Aleister Crowley’s Illustrated Goetia” - $12 plus shipping

“A Witches’ Bible” by Janet and Stewart Farrar - $20 plus shipping

“The Eternal Hermes” by Antoine Faivre - $12 plus shipping

“The Forge of Tubal Cain” by Ann Finnin - $12 plus shipping

“Lords of the Left Hand Path” by Stephen Flowers - $15 plus shipping

“Aspects of Occultism” by Dion Fortune - $8 plus shipping

“Seidways” by Jan Fries - $12 plus shipping

“Craft of the Untamed” by Nicholaj de Mattos Frisvold - $13 plus shipping

“The Meaning of Witchcraft” by Gerald Gardner - $13 plus shipping

“Witchcraft Today” by Gerald Gardner - $10 plus shipping

“The White Goddess” by Robert Graves - $17 plus shipping

“The Devil’s Dozen” (special edition) by Gemma Gary - $20 plus shipping

“Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways” by Gemma Gary - $15 plus shipping

“The Black Toad” by Gemma Gary - $12 plus shipping

“The Children of Cain” by Michael Howard - $35 plus shipping

“Liber Nox” by Michael Howard - $15 plus shipping

“The Pillars of Tubal Cain” by Michael Howard - $25 plus shipping

“Masks of Misrule” by Nigel Jackson - $18 plus shipping

“Sacred Mask, Sacred Dance” by Evan John Jones - $10 plus shipping

“Witchcraft: A Tradition Renewed” by Evan John Jones - $30 plus shipping

“The Satanic Bible” by Anton Sanders LaVey - $5 plus shipping

“The Magical Powers of the Saints” by Rev. Ray T. Malbrough - $10 plus shipping

“A Brief History of Witchcraft” by Lois Martin - $5 plus shipping

“Hymns of Hermes” by GRS Mead - $10 plus shipping

“Journeys Out of the Body” by Robert Monroe - $12 plus shipping

“The People of Goda” by Shani Oates - $15 plus shipping

“Tubelo’s Green Fire” by Shani Oates - $15 plus shipping

“The Star Crossed Serpent” by Shani Oates - $20 plus shipping

“A Grimoire for Modern Cunning Folk” by Peter Paddon - $8 plus shipping

“The Hermetic and Alchemical Writings of Paracelsus” - $10 plus shipping

“Pagans and Witches of Essex: Andrew Chumbley Biography and Letters” by John Powers - $50 plus shipping

[hellspathfinder]

A Taste of Vengeance

The Ruby Masquerade is in full swing. Nigel, dressed as a Dottari guard, is bluffing and sneaking his way through the opera house to gain intelligence about the coming ambush by Barzillai’s forces. Jiao, Clenchjaw, and Boudicca are mingling with the crowd, gathering information and building trust. Lothario is making-out with a noblewoman he just met in the art gallery.

While the Silver Ravens maneuver, the orchestra performs and the guests eat and drink. Nigel finds a side-room with three Cockatrices in cages, with a hidden quick-release switch. He disables this device and jams the cage doors so the beasts cannot be freed.

At 10pm, the Dance of the Damned begins in grand Chelaxian tradition. Guests take the stage and dance together, being tapped on the shoulder by their gracious host, Barzillai Thrune, and “damned” off the stage if their dancing does not please the crowd.

Jiao, with the grace and stamina, outlasts and outperforms the hall to wins the Dance of the Damned, which appears to irritate Barzillai. But the night continues unimpeded, and the stage is cleared for the next performance. 

A powerful singer takes the stage and fills the hall with her voice. Her song carries through the orchestra pit into the basement, where more Silver Ravens lie in wait. Boudicca begins her prep spells while resting a hand on the Edge of the Sea.

As midnight approaches the singer concludes and Barzillai takes the stage. He gives a short speech describing the Silver Ravens as murderous criminals whose reign of terror ends tonight. While confusion spreads amongst the crowd, he seals the exits to the Opera House, and dozens of thugs dressed as Silver Ravens flood into the crowd. 

What appear to be angels accompany these false Ravens, and they immediately attack. Dozens are killed within the first few moments as sword blades, axes, and flaming arrows fall amongst the civilians. Jiao, Clenchjaw, Femmik, Lothario, and Boudicca fly into action to combat them. Streya assassinates the loading bay guard and works her way into the backstage area.

The orchestra, apparently a detailed illusion, vanishes just as a huge creature appears in the middle of the first floor crowd. She has the upper body of a beautiful woman, and the lower body of a huge snake. She terrifies all around her and summons a cloud of toxic gas.  

Nigel joins the fight on the second floor, as Caleb, Gabriel, Morfak, and Azwraith fly up through the empty orchestra pit. A chaotic battle ensues on every floor and staircase, in every room, and in the center of the great hall. Civilians are dying by the dozen even as the Silver Ravens fight to save them.

Eventually the Thrune forces are all engaged and must pause their wholesale slaughter to contend with the Ravens. Barzillai and a heavily augmented Nox join the fight and square off against Azwraith and Gabriel. By now the Ravens have assessed the fake-angels are in fact Erinyes Devils and a Bone Devil.

Octavio and the Hellknights of the Torrent storm the front doors of the Opera House with Hetamon and Rexus following them. They find the outer door guards dead with Lore standing over them, but she cannot breach the doors.

Rexus releases the heavy lock with a ‘Knock’ spell but the Dottari have barricaded the entrance from the inside. Kasston and Octavio chop and bash through with remarkable speed and ferociously fight their way into the lobby.

Gabriel hammers Barzillai but is brought down by the Erinyes arrows. The huge man falls onto the edge of the stage and slips over the side, plummeting into the basement. Boudicca dives from the balcony to the stage to fell Nox, and then dives again down into the basement to save Gabriel. 

She finds him laying very still in the orchestra pit, about to be devoured by half a dozen hellhounds Barzillai has as guards there. She casts ‘Slow’ on the hounds and stands over Gabriels unconscious form with her gleaming blue sword held out in front of her as long-dormant runes light up along its blade.

With Nigel blasting from above, Caleb dispelling their magical attacks, and Morfak channeling positive energy, Barzillai’s forces are brought to heel and he is knocked to the ground. But the soldiers of Thrune fight on, and the snake-devil is still killing civilians with abandon. 

Clenchjaw and Jiao have been stuck in the thick of the fight throughout all of this. While she has held her own against several Thrune agents, Clenchjaw has not faired so well. The bartender and bouncer has been knocked unconscious five separate times and raised back into the fight by Morfak and Hetamon’s positive energy channels. 

Ilsani the Hellknight Monk would later recount how Clenchjaw was grabbed by the bone devil, held four feet off the ground by his neck and with a positive channel, awoke and punched the devil square in the face before being flung to the ground again.

The second Erinyes is defeated, and Streya murders her way to the front of the stage along with Benjen and Hortense. Civilians are rushing out of the opened back doors and breached front as the Hellknights usher them with shouts and shoves. 

The bone devil teleports out, and the remaining Thrune forces are defeated or captured. Nearly 100 civilians are down but the Silver Ravens employ their clerics and medics in every possible capacity to save those that can be saved. People are traumatized, but thankful. Many of those invited to the Masquerade were Thrune loyalists, a stance they now question given what they have seen tonight. 

The Silver Ravens and Hellknights of the Torrent secure every room in the Opera House, but Shensen finds a trap door that was not there before Barzillai made this his home. Gabriel and Azwraith descend through the door down a narrow vertical passage with only stone handholds.

There they find underneath the Opera House basement is a natural cavern, magically shaped to connect to this trap door. They are given no time to contemplate this before they are engulfed in a swarm of bats and attacked by a powerful vampire who is none other than Lord Mayor Jilia Bainilus!

Jilia attacks immediately, attempting to mind control Azwraith who hurries down the ladder but he resists. Caleb and Lothario join the fight but are mind controlled by the vampire. The wizard begins to cast protective spells on the vampire as Lothario sinks arrows into Azwraith and Gabriel. Morfak saves the day with a ‘Protection from Evil: Communal’ he’s been saving up and they defeat the vampire.

They take her body upstairs and Shensen instantly identifies, as she puts it, “the rightful ruler of Kintargo.” The Silver Ravens utilize their only scroll of ‘Resurrection’ on Jilia who apologizes for being forced to attack them, and thanks the Ravens for their heroism and generosity.

The Ravens prepare to return to the Lucky Bones but Shensen stops them, saying that they must hold the Opera House. When they ask why, she informs them that it is the only place that the Song of Silver can be activated, and they will need it to win the battle for Kintargo that will surely follow the Ruby Massacre.

In only a few hours, the Sun will rise over a city at war.

[placetobenation]

THAT. JUST. HAPPENED. #WWEBackstage pic.twitter.com/TDd5n0qk25

— WWE on FOX (@WWEonFOX) November 13, 2019

“Just when they think they have all the questions, I change the culture. I’ll see you next week.” – CM Punk on WWE Backstage Tuesday, November 12

In less than one minute of air time on Fox Sports 1 Tuesday night, CM Punk returned and blew up the wrestling industry once more! Not since the pipe bomb incident and his subsequent leave from WWE back in 2014 have we seen the man named Phil dominate the conversation. FOX Sports and WWE confirmed that Punk will now be a contributor to WWE Backstage on a regular, but not every week basis. This is huge news for WWE on two fronts. One, it gives the immediate buzz during Survivor Series build and two, it keeps Punk away from AEW, which reportedly did meet with him and offer a big-money contract. Now, since Punk’s contract is reportedly with FOX and not WWE, it will be interesting to see if the WWE plans to try and use him in a role other than on WWE Backstage, which unfortunately for them, is seen of the least watched platform they are on, as opposed to the USA Network and FOX.  I for one, like many of you, have been waiting for Punk to return as he is one of the generational talents that you will stop what you’re doing to watch or listen to on a weekly basis. I’m hoping they use him well, let him speak his mind and make it an awesome experience for him and us as fans and viewers. Because if they do, hold on to your hats. If they don’t, it will be very short lived!

Now, as for the week that was in the WWE, it continues to be centered around NXT’s involvement in the Survivor Series. After a very disappointing, and yes, taped, RAW from Manchester, England, we got solid shows from NXT and Smackdown. I think what the WWE has to do in the final week leading up to Survivor Series itself on November 24 in Chicago, home of CM Punk of course, is to do more than the run-ins it has been doing the past couple of weeks. Give me more storyline and emotion. Introduce the NXT superstars to those in RAW and Smackdown that may not know them. It may eventually get more eyeballs on to the product on Wednesday night, which is one of the big benefits if done properly.

We’re going to start a new feature to TWITW (This Week In The WWE). It’s the star of the week and this week, it’s an easy one.

Star of the Week – CM PUNK

For obvious reasons stated above. Punk sent shockwaves through the industry not so much for what he did, appear on screen for less than a minute, but what could be in the near and extended future. Count me in! Who knows, maybe a reunion with Colt Cobana could be the next near impossible thing we’ll see.

Now, on to the shows!

RAW

RESULTS

WWE Women’s Tag Team Title Match:: Champions The Kabuki Warriors defeated Becky Lynch and Charlotte

Drew McIntyre defeated Sin Cara

WWE 24/7 Title Match: R-Truth vs. The Singhs went to a no contest

Seth Rollins defeated WALTER @ 4:20 (DQ)

Seth Rollins, Kevin Owens, & The Street Profits defeated Imperium

Andrade defeated Cedric Alexander @ 3:50

Erick Rowan defeated Nigel Kickpads @ 1:00 via pin

Non-Title Match: RAW Tag Team Champions The Viking Raiders defeated Flash Morgan Webster & Mark Andrews

Randy Orton, Ricochet, & Humberto Carrillo defeated The OC

What we loved:

Humberto finally wins – We’ve been harping on this for a few weeks now and it was great to see Humberto Carrillo finally get a win on television. Albeit, it’s in a six-man tag match, but a win is a win.

NXT UK – Great way to introduce the mainstream audience to NXT UK’s most powerful entity, Imperium and its leader, WALTER, especially with the show coming from Manchester, England. Too bad WALTER vs. Seth Rollins fell apart after only four minutes only to lead to the predictable tag team match.

What we didn’t love:

The vibe – Because RAW was taped last Friday after a Smackdown taping in Manchester, you could tell the crowd just wasn’t into it, especially towards the end of the show. It’s almost as if the WWE was treating it as a throwaway show. That’s something they should NEVER do, especially when they treat Monday nights in such high regards.

Where was Natalya – I know they gave the obligatory Natalya couldn’t be there due to family obligations, but why not throw in there that Natalya and Charlotte Flair are getting a tag team title match soon. It seems as if they are defaulting to Becky Lynch and Flair as a team when ever they need a quick fix. I don’t like it especially since we’ve seen them as a team a lot lately. Make your champions special. I liked the team of Flair and Natalya together and it gave them a purpose, a storyline to get behind. Stick to it.

NXT

RESULTS

NXT Cruiserweight Champion Lio Rush defeated Angel Garza

Xli Li defeated Aliyah

Non-Title Match: Keith Lee defeated North American Champion Roderick Strong

Swerve Scott defeated Bronson Reed

Ladder Match for The Advantage in War Games: Io Shirai defeated Mia Yim

#SmackDown Women's Champion @itsBayleyWWE just DROPPED @QoSBaszler on #WWENXT! pic.twitter.com/ONpe5pxjGp

— WWE (@WWE) November 14, 2019

Yeah. We're ready for this.@FinnBalor @SuperKingOfBros #WWENXT #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/Da8aeb15NT

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) November 14, 2019

What we loved:

Climbing the ladder – Kudos to Io Shirai and Mia Yim for delivering another awesome NXT main event. Every week, these main events have given us quality matches that leave us wanting more. Yim getting busted open with a broken nose and the closing run-in by NXT Women’s Champ Katie Lee Ray, put the WOW in this one. And then to boot, we get what seems to be a thumbs up to KLR for her spot on Shayna Baszler’s Survivor Series team leading to…

Welcome home Bayley – It was short, sweet and effective. Bayley returns to Full Sail as the former NXT Champion takes out the current NXT Champion Baszler on the stage to avenge Baszler’s beatdown of Bayley on Smackdown. Straight to the point and well done.

Balor vs. Riddle – Yes, please. More of this! Talk about your way around not having Balor vs. Johnny Gargano, well here it is. This could be an epic match to come!

Keith Lee – Not only does he continue to get better and better each week, but now his win solidifies his team for WarGames and sets himself up for a future North American Championship title shot down the road. Really good stuff.

What we didn’t love:

Balor’s spotlight – Kill it already. Whoever is following Balor with the spotlight, it ain’t working! It makes it look minor league, especially in a small building like Full Sail.

Got us thinking:

Angel Garza and Lio Rush’s wife – Something watch as we could get more in this cruiserweight battle that saw round one goes to Rush.

SMACKDOWN

RESULTS

For Spots on The Survivor Series Team: Mustafa Ali & Chad Gable defeated Robert Roode & Dolph Ziggler

Smackdown Tag Team Title Match: Champions The New Day defeated The Revival (DQ after interference by Undisputed Era)

Heavy Machinery defeated Jimmy & Johnny Kickpads

Non-Title Match: Bayley vs. Nikki Cross (No contest after NXT interence)

Team Smackdown (Nikki Cross, Sasha Banks, Dana Brooke, Carmella) defeated Team NXT (Dakota Kai, Rhea Ripley, Mia Yim and Tegan Nox) – Nikki Cross wins spot on Team Smackdown for Survivor Series 

What we loved:

The dog mascot – Sure, we thought, probably like most of you, that it was going to be Roman Reigns in the mascot costume. But, pleasantly surprised when it wasn’t as Reigns came straight down to the ring in the middle of the match. Maybe we’ll get a surprise reveal to a returning star later at Survivor Series. That would be a nice payoff. Either way, some unpredictability is good.

#TheNightmare can't scare #TheBoss. #SmackDown @SashaBanksWWE @RheaRipley_WWE pic.twitter.com/nhfc2oSp4G

— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2019

Highlighting the SS teams – A lot of the time was devoted to building out the Smackdown teams, including forty minutes at the top of the show for the men and then the main event before MizTV for the women. It’s nice to see spots getting earned in the ring for Survivor Series rather than just being thrown together in a promo or graphic reveal.

At #SurvivorSeries, @WWEDanielBryan will willingly step into the darkness when he battles #TheFiend @WWEBrayWyatt for the #UniversalChampionship. https://t.co/d2iqO0jp2E pic.twitter.com/9Fgqb5GNAx

— WWE (@WWE) November 16, 2019

Someone says YES – It wasn’t Daniel Bryan that says YES, but Universal Champ Bray Wyatt that says YES! to a match with Bryan at Survivor Series. We still get Bryan in that clunky not a face, not a heel position, but we’ll get a great match between these two at SS while the fans try to decide who to cheer for as both are well liked at the moment. The possibilities are there and let’s not forget how Sami Zayn and Shinsuke Nakamura could still get involved with all this.

What we hated:

It’s not that we really hated anything this week, it’s more of a wish. With Smackdown moving to FOX, we expected something really different and we just haven’t seen it. Outside of the NXT invasion that was brought about due to “travel issues,” we haven’t really gotten the creative changes we thought were coming. Maybe with the change from Eric Bishoff to Bruce Pritchard, things are delayed. But much like we haven’t really seen too many Paul Heyman changes on RAW, maybe we are expecting too many drastic changes to a company that can’t really deliver that “edge” we may be looking for since it is, after all, sports entertainment, and it’s a public company that delivers to major, national sponsors on major, national networks so a pushing of the envelope has to be pushed softly and not with a Myles Garrett over-the-head helmet shot.

Parting shot:

Aside from Triple H, isn’t it refreshing to see a brand supremacy battle not being waged with a McMahon vs. McMahon vs. McMahon as the theme? While we love Stephanie McMahon as the ultimate heel villain when she really turns it on and not trying to be a brand ambassador, it is nice to see the superstars telling the story. Kudos for not defaulting into a tired storyline WWE. Thank you!

Thanks for letting us share our thoughts! Shoot me an email at jcrowe567@gmail.com. We’d love to hear your comments and suggestions! You can also check out my blog, The Crowe’s Nest as we delve into more pro wrestling, sports entertainment and the World of Sports. My apologies ahead of time – I AM a Patriots and Red Sox fan! If you’re not down with that, I’ve got TWO WORDS for you… NEW ENGLAND!

[pinkielord]

History of Neopets April Fools Day Pranks Part 2

Not much to say here other than that this will be on 2010-2018′s pranks leading up to when I liveblog Neopet’s prank for 2019 tomorrow. The links to each of the articles where I’m getting my info are from Jellyneo.net and will be linked to in the year headers!

2010

2010′s prank was definitely a more “back to basics approach” as there wasn’t really anything that would’ve caused Neopians to go into a panic. There were three different pranks spread across not only the website itself but also the Neopets Facebook page! The first prank was a “3D battledome” which were...interesting. Since words can’t really describe what it was, here is a link to an archive of what the 3D battledome was. There was also a thing which let you prank your neofriends! These had an arrary of things like, changing your pet to a different species and color, sliming them, pieing them or turning them into dust. (heres a link to a prank preview, it does everything but the changing of species and color) To help keep the prank a surprise there were also some filters in place to make sure those “pesky Neoboarders” didn’t know what was going on.

2011

Hey, remember how I said 2010 was something that DIDN’T cause mass hysteria throughout Neopets.com? Well, just THROW that out the window for 2011 cuz HOO BOY was this one a doozy! You might be wondering, “Hey, why are you so bent out of shape about this one in particular?” Well, my curious observer, this year’s prank was the first one I had encountered on Neopets and it scared the SHIT out of me as a kid! The basic premise for this prank was that around 12 am NST an epidemic had sweeped across Neopia affecting EVERY pet!  There were updates throughout the day about what exactly this epidemic was. It was eventually called Scourgies and while there were no permanent cures there were some different temporary cures. In the interest of time I won’t mention but one of them. If you had cured enough pets using the Blazingly Hot Soup you would get the Blazingly Hot Soup Background.

2012

Thankfully the prank for 2012 wasn’t as life threatening as 2011′s prank. First it started with the Shop Wizard getting dizzy through...something and getting searches wrong, then Jhuidah left the Trading Post in the “capable” hands of Hoka the Tyrannian. He couldn’t understand offers of over 1000 nps, and you could only use dung items. Also you could accidentally give away everything (including your pets) for something like a Furry Table. Then the Auction house only had dung items and only then you couldn’t get any of them due to Nigel the stockbroker Chia bidding on everything in sight. And to top it all off not only were there mishaps with the lab ray (firing at the wrong neopet and changing them into a predetermined species + color combo), an overload on the servers which made everyone have only 3 neopets instead of four, and for the piece de resistance of pranks, you had not only spam neomails but also a “male faerie” shown off on the Facebook page who...looks like he’s seen better days.

2013

For 2013 TNT decided to go back into making irl things like, an Esaphagor trash can and most worrying, a DIY cosmetic surgery kit. There was also several “delicious” food for availability as well. People with premium weren’t much better as they had gotten a special item which was hyped up to be an awesome item but then turned out to just be a hairbow. Also on the Facebook page, the Tiki Tack Tombola Man’s face was revealed to be... a Troll face. Overall a pretty good april fools day prank and it wasn’t too terrifying!

2014

2014′s prank was more laid back and thankfully it was just one instead of like three different ones. People who were eager to adopt, transfer, or abandon, found the Pound closed as Dr. Death was retiring to an undisclosed location. Due to this, a foster program begun to help out all of the pets that were in the pound. As Dr. Death was retiring, a replacement needed to be found. There were four candidates who could be voted on, Bug Eye McGee, Count von Roo, Rosie the Grarrl (a very sweet Grarrl who had the pets best interests at heart), and a Kreludan Defender Robot. Needless to say Rosie won, and while she didn’t actually become the face of the pound she did become the face of the pound chat!

2015

Since Jumpstart had bought Neopets the year prior people were sacred of what that meant for Neopets, on April 1st 2015 those fears were (semi) realized. There was an influx of School of Dragons and other Jumpstart related things, also a theme with a blue on red color scheme which caused eyestrain for several people. Regarding the switch, notable neopet was replaced by Viking of the Week (an actual thing on School of Dragons), and even the neopoints and neocash were changed into their Jumpstart counterparts. To be honest having something this lackluster after things like the Esophagor trash can, or the neo economy crashing, but still pretty good. Kinda wish the eyestrain wasnt there though.

2016

In 2016 Neopets introduced a Net Worth Calculator with certain clubs being available to those with high enough standing or net worth. These clubs were The Inner Circle (main one, it mentions unconverted plushie draiks, among other things), Chic UCs (supposedly if you were in here, there would be clothes specifically for unconverted pets), Paintbrushes Aplenty (”exclusive painbrushes” such as valentine or stained glass), Club Lutari (exclusive access to Lutari Island, sidenote, DAMMIT TNT WHY ISN’T LUTARI ISLAND USABLE, FOR FYORA’S SAKE USE IT!!!!!), and finally The Connoisseurs (exclusive items, thats it). There were a few items like a neocash printer (i’m pretty sure it was never released), and a Name Change Certificate. which were meant to help boost your net worth, but at the end of the day the calculator deemed everyone priceless which the clubs did not like so they rescinded their offers.

2017

Hey, you remember how in ‘07 the Battledome closed down for that prank? Well the Battledome closes down again to make room for the Befriending Dome! Which is to say the prank for 2017 was a completely peace themed version of the Battledome which touted even making friends with Balthazar or Hubrid Nox! There was also talk of a LoveCraft badge, which was sadly not eldritch abomination themed, which would have turned your weapons into wearables with help from Delina. There was also another paintbrush poll where the options were, Marshmallow, Inverted (turned your pet upside down), and Blurry. Due to there being a 3-way tie on the poll TNT decided to make a compromise and make, and I quote, “MarshInvBluDo“.

2018

And now we come to last years prank and it was 3-fold, again. First there was talk of a “Neopets amusement park” coming out in China in 2020 along with some tv shows that would be coming then too. Like, Cheeky Yurbles (Peaky Blinders), Neovia Falls (Gravity Falls), and Shenkuu Valley (Silicon Valley). There was also something around various official Neopets social media and it was a poll about which movies out of the four chosen which were DEFINITELY not picked on purpose and are TOTALLY random. The specific movies were, Frozen, Titanic, Frosty the Snowman, and Ice Age. Apparently the joke is that people use the social media things about badgering about frozen accounts? I don’t get it.

And there you have it, all of the Neopets pranks from 2001-2018. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to get a well deserved sleep and I’m going to liveblog 2019′s prank at round 8:30-9ish

[tartareus]

nox’s lack of self control attacks again | @nigellecter​

         the hairs of mischa's neck rise as the faint sound of her companion's breathing reaches her ears &&, for once, distract her from the noises that filled the dark wilderness that surrounds them. trekking was not her preferred past time, she muses as she gives the man a quick look from the corner of her eye as he speaks ------ and it certainly did not make it to her favourite activities, regardless of the company. walking without her faithful cane was complicated enough on it's own, on the rich wooden floors of her house, and ( although she would not complain && refused to lean on nigel for support ) she has to admit that the woods were hardly a place she'd go willingly to dump a body.

         oh, well ------ c'est la vie.   

         desperate times called for desperate measures, it all happened so fast that now, in the pleasant calmness of the chilly night, the younger lecter has a hard time on recalling what prompted her to drop her faux mask of politesse && attack him by surprise ------ practically impaling her cane through the man's eye's socket && only stopping when she heard an all familiar 'pop'. &&, in that moment, she knows her grip on reality is at its' weakest && her self control slips through her fingers with just as much ease as the running waters of the nearest river. and yet...that notion  doesn't seem to bother her at all.

         the corners of mischa's lips threaten to rise at the memory alone, despite the pain running through her leg that makes her slow down for a moment before she attempts to move faster again, to recover her previous pace. of course he hadn't died from that ( they never do, these unplanned annoyances were the ones the took the longer to leave this world ------ men seemed to have the annoying little habit of trying to cling into whatever was left of life, while women, at least the ones mischa had killed, always accepted their fates in quiet resignation ) && the thought of cutting his throat did cross her mind, if for nothing but a second, but she could not afford the mess. at least not during the festivities; suffocation had to be it, then.          extra plastic bags are always handy.

         their cabin is not located that far from the woods &&, even though she knows she'll have to find a better place to hide the body tomorrow, mischa briefly frets over the fact that she still has to greet her guests that were coming for the christmas dinner ------ she couldn't risk having a guest to accidentaly find a body hidden next to the wine && cheese in the cellar.           how embarassing that would be.

          ‘ ‘  you, drawn to my violence ? why, nigel ------ i did not take you for easily impressed...   ’ ’   the woman stops, taking a deep breath and leaning against a tree with a small arch of her eyebrow  ------ she was childish at times like these, keeping the teasing in her voice was only natural. to say he was drawn to the scene she displayed was one thing  ------ he seemed to be so focused on it that, when it was all said and done, mischa had to ask him if he was going to help her get the body out or was going to spend the rest of the night watching her panting as she tried to take a man twice her size to the woods on her own.   now, bathed in the pale moonlight && with crimson stains all over her silk green blouse, mischa must look a tantalizing fright.    ‘ ‘ you flatter me, my dear ------ i'm just glad at least red suits the occasion. ’ ’ 

         she takes a pack of cigarettes from the back pocket of her trousers alongside with a lighter &&, in less than a second, she's lightening one up and taking a long drag with a concentrated look on her face.  she knows she messed up. there was still blood on the floor && there was no way she could be seen with this blouse without an overly friendly neighbour coming to her 'rescue' to see if she needed help or if she was bleeding.

          ‘ ‘  you want one ? ’ ’   she offers him the pack absent minded as her eyes travel back to the path they came from. before dawn, she would come && chop the body into smaller pieces  ------ it would be easier to get rid of it if it wasn’t so bloody big.    ‘ ‘  i find them eerily helpful to take away the scent of death && the pain. ’ ’

             she doesn't say where she's feeling pain, doesn't have to. he knows her enough to understand that she would not ask for help. closing her eyes, mischa ponders on what to do next, slowly ignoring the pain to get her practical mind to work. most people erroneously assume that women are less likely to be violent because they are 'nurturing && delicate' ------ mischa should be glad of this stupid mindset, that was probably the only thing that stopped her from getting caught in her early years when she was still raw && thirsty for blood, a foolish careless girl.

              ‘ ‘  i still gotta clean the floor. fuck --- ’ ’   she mutters under her breath, opening her eyes and looking at nigel before taking a drag; her mind made. swift fingers unbutton the blouse with ease as she removes it from herself without a thought and tries to fold it in a way that doesn't let the blood visible. the cold air of the night makes her shiver and mischa does not hesitate before asking for his coat, bras were not made for this weather.      ‘ ‘  give me your coat, i'll put it on && we'll go. i have to fix this mess before our guests come, the body can wait till morning. ’ ’