#regulator involved even if it being separate for each kingdom))

[lightinxthedark]

((I am gonna say Zargabaath runs Archadia's equivalent of the faa because I really do love the idea of it, and it feels fitting for my take on him!

[swordoforion]

Orion Digest No. 7 - By the People, For the People

Society, from it's inception, was originally designed to be a system that caters to the needs of the people within it. After all, what other need would we have of it if not for our mutual benefit? As explored by psychologist Abraham Maslow, human beings have a set of needs that range from basic components of survival (food, water, shelter) to psychological needs (social interaction, validation and purpose). Given agriculture and food production was what organized civilization, and tribal life was directed around culture and relationships, we came together for our mutual physical and social benefit.

Even as we evolve what it means to live in a society, the structure of our world should reflect that purpose. Anything that exists above the people should be to help all who take part in it, not to take advantage of them. It is true that the perks of a civilization do require participation to the best of your ability (i.e. you must follow the rules of an organization to gain the rewards of being in one), but the balance between labor and compensation is a delicate one, and too much to one side causes an inherently flawed system.

Civilization is a finnicky human invention, and it changes constantly through internal and external factors, so the relationship between government, economy, and citizen will naturally have to evolve to suit the needs of the times. With that change can come imbalance and domination of one of the former two over the latter. Such has been the case with the post-Industrial Revolution societies in the case of the individual vs. the economy, and has been an ever-present debate in the case of the individual vs the government. The relationship between government and economy itself has spawned schools of thought that shaped the world over the last two centuries, and continue to dominate the realm of political thought.

But even as we evolve and change what civilization looks like, we must not forget that we created this vast machine that is society for the purpose of providing for the needs of humans, and the fact that we see people on the streets, starving and homeless, stands as proof that society has failed at it's most basic purpose. Any society, at any level of development, should provide for the needs of its citizens - a fact that defines the purpose of human civilization itself. Otherwise, we have a mechanism that serves itself, and has no reason to exist in the world.

For the two components outside of the individual, government and economy, there are many options thought of over the years that provide structure with various levels of community interaction. While there are crowds that favor their own type of theorem, a general consensus is that for both types, people prefer a system that lets them have input in decisions rather than a system controlled by a group separated from the rest of society, unknowledgeable in the concerns of the lower classes.

A degree of outside management is required in most systems of government - after all, if everyone is busy performing some function in society, people can't also always manage complex systems of bureaucracy, so some people make it their jobs specifically to govern. In the simplest and most ancient societies, tribes would have elders and leaders, the wisest among the people who most believed fit to represent and guide them. With more modern systems, however, as people wish for representation, we move to more democratic government, where everyone has some minimal level of involvement (voting), and selects people who summarize the people's wants (representatives) to run the government.

There are risks, of course, to representative government - someone who claims to be for one cause doesn't always have an obligation to follow up on that promise, and can simply follow their own agenda. The less representation you have, the more specific public opinions get diluted, but the more representation you have, the more complex and slow government can get. Whereas a single-entity government has a clear and forward moving direction, true democracy only makes progress when representatives tell the truth and get along with each other, which is not always the case.

However, even if progress is slower moving in a democracy, it's in a direction that the people choose for themselves, rather than having it chosen for them. For example, in a kingdom, a monarch could order the people to refurbish the roads of a city, regardless of whether the people wanted new roads or not. The work would likely get done much quicker if one person had the authority to make the decision, but the satisfaction of the people would be irrelevant. On the other hand, while the decision would take longer in a democracy, opinions on the state of the roads could be collected by citizens and the decision could be made after determining whether or not the people would prefer a refurbishment. The informed, democratic decision would require more effort, but make the people happier than a simple command, and in the end, that's the important part - giving everyone a say.

Regardless of how much a democratic system changes in policy from a more central form of government, it certainly can help morale and public opinion. If people think that they have more of a choice in matters, they will be more likely to be active in their community, as the idea that they can make a difference facilitates motivation to 'do their part'. If someone commands you to do something and it doesn't work, you might just blame those in charge for it's failure, but a community that makes a decision that fails might take the chance to learn more from their mistakes and improve upon the idea. It's a positive feedback loop that can lead to greater overall involvement, and more input that satisfies the people, as they feel that they contributed. This ties directly into the more social needs of Maslow's hierarchy, fulfilling a critical function of their lives.

On the other hand, economy is far closer to us in modern society, and is the subject of much more contentious debate. While the system of economic organization can vary from nation to nation, I'll go with a common structure - capitalism. In basic capitalist theory, people form hierarchal businesses that compete in an open market to sell goods and services to customers that, in return, become a part of businesses themselves. The higher you are in the structure of an individual business, the more money you make, and the more successful the business is, the greater resources it will have, and ideally, the more employers and employees alike can get paid. In return, customers, having money earned from their labor, must make decisions about which businesses to buy from, affecting the revenues of others in a constant domino chain system.

At its core, capitalism is about competition - workers have to compete to gain positions within a business, businesses and their owners have to compete to innovate and attract more customers, and anyone who earns a wage has to decide the proper balance of spending they must achieve to obtain fulfillment of their needs. The contentious part of this competition becomes clear when it is unbalanced - an economy where certain parties in these fights have a clear advantage, and the deck is stacked against the underdog. As a result, many are fighting an uphill battle in an unbalanced capitalist system, which has resulted in much backlash against the structure.

Many corporations, pre-established and owning many smaller companies, have a clear advantage over any business that enters the market. People are familiar with the brand, and are more likely to trust something they know when buying goods and services, while the smaller competitors require blind trust. Many allow themselves to accept the money offered by these corporate giants, and get bought up, becoming no longer an opponent but an asset. Having one entity in the marketplace does not automatically harm the customer - they can still pay and get paid, receiving the goods and services - but it means that there is nothing to stop the business from conducting itself however it chooses.

With government, democracy prevents decisions from being made that negatively impact the people, as the public at large has checks and balances. However, in the economy, an elitist business that has dominance over the marketplace is not subject to public authority, and in capitalism, only slightly regulated by the government, which means there is plenty of wiggle room with which to raise prices, decrease quality, and leave customers with no option but to shrink down into greater poverty. With multiple competitors, you will have the option to buy goods and services at low prices if you cannot afford higher value items, but as the pool of companies shrinks, you are left with little choice in the matter.

Other forms of government and economic structure supersede this by giving either government, worker, or both more control over the economy, most notably socialist nations. As inspired by the initial Marxist philosophy, socialism details an economy where the internal hierarchy of businesses is less pronounced, with working class citizens having democratic decision of how the business should operate, and as a result, the elitist structure that characterizes modern capitalism would be shed for one more considerate of the common citizen. As mentioned earlier, the more removed a commanding force is in any organization, the less they'll represent the desires of the rest of the organization, and socialism (or at least, democratic socialism) reflects that belief in allowing collective decisions by people affected by corporate decisions not only as workers, but as customers themselves.

As in a democratic government, a democratic workplace might not see as much overwhelming success, but it provides much more meaningful success than in a direction decided by an elite, removed class of society. Decisions made by democracy are those the people support and are responsible for, and if a business had trouble due to democratic decision making, the more likely people would learn from that mistake, take responsibility, and work to improve, resulting in a system that learned lessons collectively and improved over time.

Society was created for the people, and unless it is managed by the people, we risk having ruling parties lose sight of what average citizens go through, drifting off course until we have success of the few at the expense of the many. It is not a bad thing that some people should find success due to innovation and personal ingenuity, but it is unfortunate when others are not given the opportunity in the first place to achieve that success, or when those who become prosperous disadvantage others with their power. If society does not meet the needs of all those who live within it, then it has failed its core purpose, and must be fixed.

- DKTC FL

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 182

Episode: Yes! Precure 5 34 - “The Knight on a White Horse! Karen Protects Milk″ Date watched: 29 April 2020 Original air date: 30 September 2007 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/8mj9Wl3 Transformation Gallery: https://imgur.com/a/6k6SzS0 Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

Where there is light, shadows lurk and fear reigns. Yet by the blade of knights, mankind was given hope.

Every so often there comes an episode of Precure that is absolutely iconic. This is one such episode. Milk gets sick and Karen has to joust Hadenya on horseback to protect her, putting her up there with other female action icons like Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley in my book. Let’s explore!

The Plot

Karen is showing off her equestrian skills for her friends, and invites Milk up to have a ride, but when Milk collapses in her arms, Karen realizes she has a fever. They take her inside the mansion to assess her, and Nuts informs them that the only way to cure a resident of the Palmier Kingdom is with a special Pinky known as Cappy, which is not one that they’ve caught yet. Karen opts to stay behind and tend to Milk while the others go out to find the elusive pinky.

We’re treated to a brief scene in Nightmare where Bunbee is also sick and everyone else dismissively tells him to go home, they won’t miss him anyway. Hadenya volunteers to go fight the Precures and retrieve the Dream Collet this time.

Back at Karen’s residence, Milk is still suffering in bed and Karen flashes back to when she was sick as a child and Jiiya cared for her, so she goes to ask him for advice. He provides her with towels, ice water, and apples and instructs her how to tend to someone. He doesn’t ask many questions but it’s implied he knows more than he’s admitting about Karen’s patient. Karen goes back upstairs to attend to Milk, keeping her temperature regulated and feeding her porridge and apple slices, and she seems to be doing better.

Over in a nearby park, Coco, Nuts, Nozomi, Urara, Rin, and Komachi split into two groups to go look for the pinky. Coco and Nuts separately flash back to all the nice things Milk has done for them since arriving on Earth, and the girls encourage them to stay cheerful in their search, and they soon find Cappy. However, the fairies soon detect an evil presence back at the Mizuno estate...

After her horse makes a fuss, Karen looks out the window and sees Hadenya strolling across the pasture towards her house! Karen heads outside to confront her, vowing to protect Milk, so the vibrant villainess tosses a Kowaina mask all the way into the stable, where it lands on a saddle, flying out and turning into a demon horse. I include all that information because usually the kowaina sprouts from wherever the possessed object is, so the fact that it came flying out before mutating is unusual. Anyway. Karen transforms into Cure Aqua but Hadenya and her devil steed resist her kicks and thrash her about. Karen tries to stand, resolute on protecting Milk, but she’s visibly weakened and Hadnya knocks her back down, mocking her ability to protect anything. At that moment, the other four girls arrive and transform to face off against her, but even their combined might isn’t enough to overpower the general as she makes a lance out of a nearby signpost. From inside the stable, Karen’s horse Charlie is able to tell his owner is in danger and he breaks out to go help her. Aqua mounts her steed and summons the Aqua Ribbon, turning it into a sword (a feature that is not possible with the toy #falseadvertising). She squares off with Hadenya and they charge at each other, jousting back and forth for a few rounds before Aqua summons all of her strength to knock Hadenya’s lance out of her hand in a crushing blow. She dismounts and performs Aqua Tornado on the Kowaina, with Hadenya admitting that Karen surprised her before she flees.

Later, in Milk’s room, the girls all surround her bed as Karen explains that she protected her because she loves Milk’s smile. Cappy works his Pinky magic, healing her, and she seems a little confused about the day’s events. Coco and Nuts thank her for all her hard work for them, which makes her smile, then everybody but Karen leaves the room to go have tea. Milk thanks Karen sincerely for looking after her and protecting her, and the episode closes on a still of them embracing.

The Analysis

Starting in episode 26, and seen again in episode 30, Milk and Karen have been developing a closer bond with each other than what Milk has with any of the other members of the team. Karen is very patient with and supportive of Milk, and having been fairly high-strung herself at one time, she knows how to get through to her and explain things in a way she’ll understand. Now we get to see Karen’s compassion and protectiveness when Milk is at her most vulnerable. She does everything in her power to help, and even when she’s overwhelmed, she just stands right back up and keeps pushing forward and fighting the good fight. Would Karen do this for Coco or Nuts if they were in the same situation? Of course, but because Milk is more vulnerable, it’s more meaningful to their relationship that she does this. And the ending of the episode really shows the closeness of their bond as Milk thanks Karen very personally and sincerely for treating her and protecting her from Nightmare. The music during this scene is a slow violin and piano piece which accentuates the mood. It’s very tender and heartwarming.

Karen’s determination to help Milk is really inspiring, but one aspect I appreciate is that she doesn’t automatically know HOW to help. Instead, she thinks back to a time when she was in a similar situation and turns around to ask her own caretaker for advice. She actively seeks help, which fits her attribute of intelligence, and she works hard to help Milk. She tries her best to tend to the fairy, but we see her mess up a little bit. She cuts her finger when peeling the apple, and when feeding the porridge to Milk, Milk chokes a little bit and coughs it out. No harm is done, but these are both representative of Karen’s novice at this task, as well as her persistence in never giving up. You see this again during the battle with Hadenya. Aqua doesn’t know how she can beat the monster on horseback, but she knows she has to try. She isn’t explicitly able to ask for help, but Charlie comes to her aid anyway, showing her the way forward.

Persistence also applies to the other girls, Coco, and Nuts, who are out looking for Cappy. Everyone is doing this for Milk’s sake, and they know they can’t give up until they find the Pinky and save her, but while we see them searching for a while (It’s mid afternoon when they get to the park, and sunset when they find Cappy and return to the Minazuki estate) the emphasis isn’t on them, this is Karen’s episode. I do like the cutaways where Coco and Nuts are remembering the fun they’ve had with Milk, good times and bad. Coco in particular remembers a time when Milk scolded him for eating too many cream puffs... which actually is going to be topical in a few more episodes, so look forward to that.

I’ve said before that twilight scenes can enhance the drama, and that’s in full effect here. The entire battle sequence takes place at sunset, and the liberal use of secondary colors goes a long way to increase the intensity of the fight.

The kowaina is a deep purple, the sky is orange, the grass and trees are brown. Even Hadenya’s red and yellow appearance fits in with this, Aqua’s cool blue and cream clothes are the only thing breaking this up, helping to paint the picture that it’s her against the world. When her pure white horse arrives, it’s like a beacon of light, and she becomes Milk’s knight.

The idea of knights on horses protecting fair maidens is actually set up earlier in the episode, when Nozomi sees Karen practicing she daydreams about Coco riding in on a horse to rescue her as a princess.

However, it is of course Karen who ultimately takes the charge, becoming the knight on horseback, sworn to protect Milk from evildoers. It’s a powerful image and a powerful fight. Using the Aqua Ribbon as a sword is about ten times cooler than what the toy actually does, but Precure has an ongoing policy of no physical weapons, so this is about as good as it gets.

There is one flaw that permeates almost the entire episode, and that is the art style. Awkward facial expressions abound here, mostly involving wide mouths and half-lidded stares or just vacant expressions. Aside from this being mid-30s filler before they start to ramp up the plot in the late 30s and 40s, I have no idea why this is so ugly. The animation director for this episode is Kawano Hiroyuki, an animator at Toei with a long track record, who has been involved with the franchise as an animator, key animator, and animation director since the beginning all the way through to Maho Girls. For this series, he was the animation director on episodes 2, 10, 18, 26, 34, 41, and 49, as well as key animator on all of those episodes as well as 8, 33, and 35. I looked back at a bunch of these I could see a few similar instances of this kind of sloppiness, but his work is generally decent. Maybe they just rushed this episode out. The artwork in this show is usually solid, so maybe that’s why it stands out to me more when it’s bad, but half the episode looking like this sets off alarm bells in my head.

The last thing I want to touch on is Hadenya. She lost her previous outing, the episode right after the girls demonstrated that they’re exponentially stronger as a team than they are when even one of them is missing. And yet, here she is, kicking Karen’s ass and then the asses of the other four, only to be bested by Karen again in one-on-one combat. It’s effective at showing how strong she is, much more so than her previous appearance, but by the same token it shows just how determined Karen is to protect Milk, as she keeps standing up even after getting beaten into the ground repeatedly. I hope we get more battles with this level of intensity.

In summary, it’s a great episode, a beautiful focus on Karen and Milk’s growing relationship, and it was marred only by some ugly faces.

Next time, Bloody finally enters the scene. Look forward to it!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 0 kettei. Don’t worry, we’ll have some next time!

[natsubeatsrock]

The Rewrite of Fairy Tail: Part 7 (History of Magic)

What is the story behind the magic of Fairy Tail?

Remember how I said the magic system is fairly solid? Well, the lore behind it and the lore of Fairy Tail in general, outside of the Dragon King Festival, isn’t very much explored. We don’t have much on an idea as to why magic is treated the way it is. 

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that magic itself needs a definite origin per se. And, all things considered, I can imagine this kind of thing not being very important in Mashima’s mind while working on the series, when compared to the “current” events of the series. Still, there are things that need to be squared away involving how and why magic worked the way it does that involve understanding how the continent got to where it was during the series. 

So, we’re actually going to be doing the opposite of what I did in the last part. Instead of describing what, for the most part, is part of the canon series, I’ll be working with things which already are in canon to see how to best interpret them and figure out how they can be made to make sense. In doing so, I’ll start to give a rough outline of the timeline of events before the series starts.

Keep in mind that this does intersect with a few different ideas I want to get to in future posts. Even doing this singular part has taken a lot of thought and going back through the series to check through ideas and I’m afraid that I’m forgetting something. These issues are important and many deserve separate devoted attention to them as they affect the entire series.

What do we know that can be used?

Let’s start with two big dates: the aforementioned Dragon King Festival and the establishment of the first guild. 

Yes, even as this moment is from the sequel, it matters. Remember, any part of the Fairy Tail universe is fair game for this, especially the canon sequel to the original manga. Thanks to the sequel, we know that Magia Dragon, the first guild in the world started at x633. I’ve gone back and forth about if that should mean anything more specific. For now, I feel as though it should stay as is.

As for the Dragon King Festival, we don’t know when it exactly ended. According to FT Wiki, the war started at x391, but the end date was not given. A good argument could be made that it never really ended until x792 when Acnologia was beaten. That being said, it makes sense to cap the actual fighting before Acnologia starts his killing spree and technically ends the war would have to be somewhere between 150-200 years before the first guild forms.

In addition, Precht mentions that his research in magic led to the realization that magic was found in the dark arts. Of course, this led to the founding of Grimoire Heart. However, it’s not quite accurate. The One True Magic is actually Love. While Mavis and Zeref know this and that makes (some) sense, we hear this first as a possibility from Lucy. And this isn’t necessarily her own idea. It’s something that she remembers from her mother. 

So how do I explain the history of magic from these points? Again, keep in mind that this is mostly me making things in order to connect dots left by canon. I’m not describing stuff that I believe Mashima absolutely to be considered as the lore of the series. Also, some points will need a bit more explanation than I can give in this one post. That being said, here are some of the issues that I want to address, in no particular order: 

Where would Precht get his idea from the origin of magic? 

How does lost magic fit Precht’s study of magic? 

Where do Zeref’s study and research on life, death, and resurrection lead him to the concept of the origin of magic? 

How would Layla know about this origin?  

What is the reason only 10 percent of people on the continent are able to use magic?

What does the Magic Council do?

Why would they set up Etherion and Face?

And how does the Dragon King Festival affect the history of magic worldwide and specifically on the continent of Ishgar?

Here’s what I got.

Again, I don’t think we need to know exactly when the discovery of magic started. All that matters is that by the time the Dragneels get attacked, it has been known about for a while and people have started to try and understand it. People have started to get together in magic academies and universities both to teach and research the concept of magic. The only one that really matters is Mildian Academy in Ishgar, or as it was known Dragnof, where Zeref studied. This is where the origin of the One Magic as Love is originated and taught.

The entire Zeref incident involves that I haven’t entirely squared away just yet. However, an important change that I’m making is that his research leads to him getting expelled right before he would have been cursed. Which means that the Academy is allowed to exist for a while longer. Before it gets closed down, the school has two special teachers whose names would have to come in the history of magic eventually: Anna Heartfilia and Irene Belserion.

Anna’s place in the school isn’t that big of a deal. But Irene is royalty, right? Well, her status as nobility may not necessarily disqualify her from work in the school. All that really needs to happen in her case if for her to work at the school for long enough to deal with the Dragon King Festival. After she gets married, she can take up the mantle of Queen of Dragnof. The fact that she is nobility can work both as a reason for the school to want her and a source of tension for a family that marries her off to royalty. That being said, I don’t know that Irene and Anna will spend too much time as teachers together. They just have to spend a few years together so that they both know of each other.

Once the Dragon King Festival starts, the school gets roped into helping find ways to help win the war. Irene comes up with the idea Dragon Slayers just before she gets married off. The fact that she came up with it while she was a teacher, in addition to putting her in trouble, gets the school shut down. If the Zeref stuff could be brushed aside as only affecting a few, Dragon Seeds resulting in Acnologia can’t be ignored.

But before the school is shut down and Acnologia “ends” the Dragon King Festival, Anna pulls some people together to get the Eclipse Project off the ground. Of course, Anna has to get in touch with Zeref for help to make the plan work. He helps them with Eclipse, gives them Natsu and we all know the rest. Anna starts a notebook which gets passed down the Heartfilia line. One of her most important notes is that of the Origin of Magic as Love.

With the war over, the noble bloodline killed (Irene not killing people, even accidentally, while a dragon is too much of a stretch for me), and the Dragnof kingdom in ruins after the war, various different nations break off to form their own kingdoms. However, they all decide to completely ban and outlaw all forms of magic on their kingdoms as a safeguard against a similar event happening in the future. Sometime before guilds form, the continent goes by its new name, Ishgar. 

As a result of the bans, magic users leave the continent. Some end up going to the northern continent Giltena, but most go to the western continent Alakitasia, explaining their high count of mages. Of course, not all magic users leave the continent. Less than 1 percent stay. Many simply don’t use magic and do their best to remain hidden. However, some mages who stay end up trying to continue the tradition of Zeref and, by extension, the Mildian Academy. Of course, I’m referring to the followers of Zeref and, as you can imagine, they’re not welcome by the governments of Ishgar.

By virtue of being researchers, they become responsible for the creation of magic forms. While some are simply better versions of pre-existing forms of magic, others become the Lost Magic. While they still come with terrifying side effects, this origin gives two additional reasons for being lost: their existence before magic becomes legal and their connection to Zeref. The governments of Ishgar definitely wouldn’t want these abilities widely available, especially after magic becomes legal.

Speaking of which, what causes the change of tone on Ishgar? In the decades before the first guild, there start to become arguments for the legalization of magic. The arguments against boil down to a matter of precaution - not wanting another magical crisis like the Dragon King Festival. The arguments against it boil down to a matter of practicality - recognizing that banning magic hasn’t entirely stopped its use on the continent.

Obviously, the latter side wins out, due to the existence of guilds. While there have clearly been groups of wizards in the past and guilds aren’t mage-exclusive, the idea that a group of wizards would formalize themselves as a guild provides a great model to prevent future magical mistakes. If the government has regulation over the guilds and guilds keep track of their members, they can stop crazy things happening.

As an aside, if you need a reason for why Fairy Tail is specifically a large threat to the Magic Council - no doubt a necessary factor/sign as to the success of this argument - here it is. It isn’t a good sign that the top guild of Fiore doesn’t pay attention to the restrictions set up by the council. Worse still, getting into fights with other guilds, legal or otherwise, is a great way to start another magical crisis.

Obviously, this debate plays itself out on an individual country-to-country scale. But, while different countries do what they do at different speeds, they ultimately reach the same conclusion. (Grant me this as I work with a fictional series.) In addition to the existence of Magic Councils which (theoretically, in some cases) keep the guilds in check, some governments make secret extra efforts to prevent something worse. For Fiore, those things happen to be Face and Etherion.

One thing that everyone absolutely does is bury as much of the history and magic connected to the Dragon King Festival as possible. This feels like an obvious next step for them. They keep the secrets of the Festival as a close secret known only to special circles within the nobility of the government. Considering the government structure of choice seems to be a monarchy, where rulership is passed down by royal line, this kind of thing is feasible. 

Well, that’s definitely a lot of information. Even painting with a broad brush, it’s clear that this affects much of the series. This took months to get together in a way that made sense and worked with the canon of the series. In some spots, I had to make some rather interesting changes to canon.  

Thankfully, how this will be learned throughout the series is an easier issue to deal with. Obviously, I can’t just include a version of this post as an addendum to the series as required reading before I start getting to certain points. However, we learn about much of these aspects during arcs like the Grand Magic Games and Alvarez. Some of the aspects behind the history of magic are hinted as early as the Tower of Heaven or Lullaby. Heck, the manga starts with a discussion of Fairy Tail’s antics in a magic council meeting. A meeting which, as I mentioned in part 1, gets adapted into the anime’s second episode.

Will I need to tease at some of these issues? Not too much more than is already presented. I do think some attention can be given to the gap in the history and magic that would be filled by the Dragon King Festival. But, I don’t think that there is too much that needs to be hinted at within the series in regards to magic.

Introduction | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 

[tyrranux64]

Terry’s Favorite Playstation Games

I hate Sony. I have not made this secret, from much of my art to a good helping of Youtube comments reacting to blind praise, most who know me more than the usual internet passerby are acquainted enough with my hatred of the company and brand. 

And it is not a biased band wagon kind of hate either, no this took time to fester into a most blackened bloom. Interactions with the biased rank and file, learning of the less than favorable business practices Sony has employed, the constant in your face propaganda from even third party publishers made against its two direct competitors, but most of all and most important my own experience with their premiere game system. No joke, the PS3 was effectively the worst console I have ever had the “pleasure” of owning, both with the initial 600 dollar 40 gig grill and the used slightly slimmer replacement I had to get just to keep my own sanity. I blacklisted the PS4 for a reason and even now I look at what the fourth generation of the console has to offer and feel assured my choice was correct.

Again my hatred of Sony is not pure bias fanboy raging, it is the culmination of less than favorable experiences and acquired knowledge that has forever soured my perceptions of the brand. And to further stress this point? I’ll go ahead and give you the Playstation Exclusives I absolutely loved in no particular order. Heavy emphasis on “exclusive”, all the titles listed will be ones you absolutely need a Sony console to play, no multi-platform titles, no games that were once exclusive then ported to other systems. Sony only.

And don’t expect Shadow of the Colossus on this list, of all the excellent titles one can point to that is the lowest of hanging fruit. Everyone loves that one, everyone, even its critics and detractors. My reasons for liking it are the same as everyone else’s...

____________________________________

INFAMOUS & INFAMOUS 2; Honestly I couldn’t decide which I liked more since both offer the same consistently excellent design and experience, I guess the second one for being more polished and having more interesting settings but trading one over the other is heresy. And honestly if I didn’t hate Sony so much I’d be all over the third one (though after seeing the story on Youtube I gotta say, Fetch is a complete unlikable asshole).

Ultimately this is a 3D platformer, one that more than belongs in the same breath as the likes of Super Mario Anything and Banjo Kazooie. Despite its otherwise “serious, realistic and edgy” tone and design this is the kind of delightful platforming romp that’ll satisfy even old school players pinning for the bygone era of platformers being the dominant genre in gaming. And it just makes the circumstances of its creation more fascinating. How Sucker Punch followed suit with Naughty Dog going from cartoony mascot games to so-called serious realistic games, yet unlike Naughty Dog puts out a product that still feels like a spiritual successor to their previous work.

Naturally the biggest negative is the morality system. Bad enough it is so arbitrary and safety helmet in its design that it tells you which choices are good and evil but said choices are so cartoonishly extreme on both spectrum that any sense of ambiguity and nuance are lost. But on the flip side, it does present one of the most fun bits of obsessive compulsive gameplay features I’ve ever experienced....

The Pulse Heal. Damn was this so much fun. The sheer rush of not only going to help someone but actually having the capacity to do so, the kind of humanity enriching wish fulfillment I didn’t get enough of. And I wasn’t just blowing smoke when I described it as a “obsessive compulsive” gameplay feature, I lost count of the number of times I slammed the breaks on what I was doing every time I saw some helpless citizen in desperate need of a jolt. It was nuts man, a game that lets you play as a superhero and actually let you feel like one....one helpless citizen at a time.... ______________________________________

GOD OF WAR III; But then there’s this fucking game that makes me feel like a complete villain, go figure. Then again that has been the real beauty of this franchise especially after the first game, there are no real heroes, no real champions of justice. There are only villains. What separates Kratos from all the other villains is that he was ultimately the culmination of their selfish and petty machinations to satisfy their own ends, he is the necessary evil meant to liberate the world from the cruelty of Olympus.....unfortunately, it entailed nearly destroying the world and sending it into a state of anarchy thereby making things worse. Oops.

Well either way the games are still just good ol’ hack n’ slash shenanigans. Technically I should give the nod to GoW 2 for having the more satisfying journey involving the Sisters of Fate....but it ends with a complete blue balling of an ending. Pretty arrogant to have such an ending when you’re not even sure you’re getting a sequel....well it did but still....

Plus the third one lets you actually fight more than one Olympian, hell it actually lets you fight Hercules, the proverbial OG Superman himself. AND HE’S VOICED BY KEVIN SORBO. But what really cements it is the overall combat which feels more satisfying. Not only are some of the core moves fantastic (especially the grab moves) but all the available weapons are chained weapons. It’s the kind of sameness and consistency that actually works to the game’s benefit, complimenting the gameplay and Kratos’ overall design as a range based fighter. Also nice how all the button prompts are regulated to the side of the screen to correspond to the button placement, a nice touch to mitigate any disorientation of the chaos on screen. __________________________________

CRASH BANDICOOT: WARPED; Yes yes I know the N’Sane Trilogy is now gonna be multi-platform (thank Primus) but as many who have played it will verify it’s such an extensive HD remake that it doesn’t quality as being the same game. And sadly I don’t see the original ported to any other system.

Not much that needs to be said here, when it comes to the original trilogy everyone has their first favorite. I might have played the first one once or twice but never haven owned the first PS (fun fact I actually wanted it over the N64 but my mom was convinced to get the later) it would be this one that I ended up playing the most and ultimately beat first during one particular visit to my out of state cousins. _______________________________________

RATCHET & CLANK FUTURE: A CRACK IN TIME; I never got into R&C during my initial PS2 era days, it wasn’t until a decade or so later that I played all three of the original trilogy and the future trilogy. And I played them all in chronological order, so to go from the utter lackluster flop of a plot that was Tools of Destruction to this one was an easy step up.

I’m not gonna argue this game’s quality against the original trilogy, after much retrospect and hearing other opinions there is just no contest as far as story, setting and personality. The original trilogy wins. But as far as the future trilogy? Yeah, this is easily the best one, the other two are just boring.

Crack in Time just had the best story overall and an overall journey that didn’t feel like my time was being wasted. Plus this was one of those games that gave me incentive to actually seek out the optional side objectives. Gameplay balance is an issue as things can skew a bit too easy but I was having too much fun overall to mind. Plus any game that gives me something like the Constructo Pistol and Shotgun easily gets the nod. ___________________________________

LITTLEBIGPLANET 2; There is some part of me that still loves this game....but these days it is more of a tragic love story of love lost. Ultimately my creativity and ambition overgrew my actual ability and the limitations forced on me with both the allotted level space and materials (I mean good lord have you tried to make levels with a lot of gold and complex shapes? The game just flat out tells you to fuck off). Perhaps what really soured the experience was trying to do exactly what the devs did with the story mode they made, but I realize now it was as impressive as it was because they had no arbitrary thermometer limiting what they could put in.....bastards....

These days I more respect this game for what it was made to do and what others were able to do with it. But as far as what I was able to do? Yeah, it’s too heartbreaking to think about..... __________________________________

JAK II; Remember not even a few paragraphs ago I said I never played Ratchet & Clank until recently? This is why. Because in an industry where brand new games cost up to a few tens short of a full Benjamin, well, choices have to be made.

And yeah I was easily drawn to the first game with it being a more direct 3D platformer, easily the kind of game I’d get into after my time with the N64. And then the second game came along and added guns and an edgy dark hero super mode.....without compromising the gameplay the series was established on. And for as edgy as it was now being with the story it never felt ridiculous or out of place, one of the few times I’ve even see it work out really.

Also it was a laugh riot to play what was extensively Crash Bandicoot meets Grand Theft Auto. __________________________________

KINGDOM HEARTS; I have already chronicled my thoughts on this franchise several times before so I won’t bore you with too many details. Bottom line I feel the first one is the only good one simply because it had a nice fun story that felt like both a parody and love letter to Japanese RPGs without a hint of Kojima grade arrogance or self indulgence, unlike later entries >:/

And not once did this ever feel like a mere commercial for the Disney films represented, each world was an adventure all its own and the interactions with your favorite Disney characters actually felt like characters interacting, instead of just actors in a studio voicing their lines. So ultimately I’m able to tolerate the rather archaic gameplay because the story is still a treat to enjoy.

But more relevant to this list, this was the game that got me to get a PS2 in the first place. I was rather content going only with Nintendo but then I played this game while at another cousin’s house and was immediately entranced. And really it was at this point I was kinda tired of missing out on third party games that were PS exclusive for reasons that sounded as arbitrary excuses back then as they do now. 

I still can’t fathom how many games of the PS2′s third party library wouldn’t have worked just as fine on the Gamecube, thereby increasing the available consumer base and resulting in more sales. And if KH3 really is slated for release on Xbox One, why the hell are none of the HD compilations of past games also released on the console as a courtesy to those who might be interested in the series but don’t have reason to get a PS4? Sadly it’s a question I shouldn’t be asking because I know exactly what kind of answer I’ll be getting, excuses. ________________________________

So yeah, even though I have indeed enjoyed some of the titles available, not even these select games are not enough to sway my disdain for Sony. In fact the games listed that were developed and publish by Sony themselves only serve as a reminder of what the company is now all too willing to throw away in light of the current direction it is going for with its exclusives library.

And really it kind of makes sense that Sony just doesn’t give much of a shit these days, they were never a video game company to begin with, they are an electronics conglomerate. Movies, music, computers, headphones, that sort of jazz. Video games is just another department to satisfy their fiscal year quota, nothing more. People keep praising them for revolutionizing gaming but forget that they never needed to get into video games to begin with.....

Their only incentive to doing so was as a petty, vindictive, butt hurt reaction to Nintendo’s refusal to bend over the same way Michael Jackson did. Sony hates taking no for an answer so they acted like a jealous ex lover and produced a product based on a foundation of hate...and hatred only begets more hatred.... _________________________________

Also figured I give a few honorable mentions that can’t be on this list proper for one or two obvious reasons, but all of them I have experienced on Sony consoles...

CASTLEVANIA SYMPHONY OF THE NIGHT; Truth be told I’m more partial to Harmony of Dissonance but I know someone will get on my ass for not bringing this up. But yeah this was also on the Saturn....in Japan. Who’s dumb idea was it to keep the majority of the Saturn’s library Japanese exclusive?

MEGA MAN X6 (But Only On Easy Mode); On anything higher this game is just as broken and near unplayable as people say it is, shit even on easy it’s still a mess. Anyway this was the only PS MMX game I actually played on the PSOne back when it was new, this time on a friend’s console. And I’m not gonna lie I still have kind of a soft spot for it even with the glaring flaws....

KINGDOM HEARTS II; Yes yes this is a far superior game to the first one, gameplay wise. But in a game genre that lives or dies on the story being told there is no question that this was a serious downgrade. Everything that endeared me to the first game’s story this sequel proceeds to fuck up royally, and thus seeing the skip cutscene option as an absolute godsend makes me die a little inside, first rule of good storytelling in games is to make sure no one will ever want to skip the cutscenes even if they have the option to.

DEVIL MAY CRY 3; It was of course the first DMC I ever played and beat, and when said first happens to be the best in gameplay, structure and story it’s pretty hard not to be biased. 

TRANSFORMERS WAR/FALL OF CYBERTRON; I think you guys know by now that I am a big fan of Transformers, so my reasons for liking these games are a no brainer.

BAYONETTA; Yeah it’s weird thinking this game ever saw the light of day on the PS3 and 360, mostly because Platinum had the decent courtesy to port the first game to the Wii U in direct response to concerns about the sequel now being Nintendo exclusive. And what did they do when it was announced a third game was on the way? They ported the previous two titles to the Switch so that no one would be left out of the loop, not even those that passed on the Wii U. That’s what I call customer service, wouldn’t you agree SQUARE ENIX?

DEAD SPACE; Pretty much the last good EA game. The final gasp of air made by EA’s capacity for common human decency before tossing it away and effectively going all in on putting out a constant flow of bullshit on a yearly basis.

ASURA’S WRATH; Pretty much the only interactive movie game in all creation that still feels like a video game, with actual video game segments. Still bullshit that you had to pay additional money just to see the ending but hey at least said ending was actually worth the money, heaven help Capcom if it ended up being a shit ending...     

BATMAN ARKHAM ASYLUM; Yeah yeah I should be giving the nod to Arkham City but that whole business involving Talia Al Ghul all but killed the second game’s story for me....seriously Bruce what the fuck do you even see in that cunt to make you so sycophantic for her? 

DRAGONBALL XENOVERSE; Well it was fun while it lasted and even now I feel it’s a better “Kingdom Hearts” than any of the latter actual KH titles. But aside from also being on the 360 and such, well, it’s not exactly something I’m willing to play again.

GOD OF WAR: GHOST OF SPARTA; One of two reasons I even bothered picking up the PSP, and while I have since fallen out of love with Birth by Sleep, this is one I’m still able to go back to. Not only is it a decent adventure in its own right but somehow it makes God of War II better from a story perspective as now it gave Kratos even more reason for going against Olympus...

[woodworkingpastor]

Resurrection! -- Luke 24:1-12 -- Easter -- April 4, 2021

Please pray with me:

O God, who for our redemption gave your only-begotten Son to the death of the cross, and by his glorious resurrection delivered us from the power of our enemy: Grant us so to die daily to sin, that we may evermore live with him in the joy of his resurrection; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

News that demands a response

In a recent article in The New Yorker, Kathryn Schulz tells the following story about good news:

One of the most amazing things I have ever witnessed involved an otherwise unprepossessing house cat named Billy. This was some years ago, shortly after I had moved into a little rental house in the Hudson Valley. Billy, a big, bad-tempered old tomcat, belonged to the previous tenant, a guy by the name of Phil. Phil adored that cat, and the cat—improbably, given his otherwise unenthusiastic feelings about humanity—returned the favor.

On the day Phil vacated the house, he wrestled an irate Billy into a cat carrier, loaded him into a moving van, and headed toward his new apartment in Brooklyn. Thirty minutes down the interstate, in the middle of a drenching rainstorm, the cat somehow clawed his way out of the carrier. Phil pulled over to the shoulder but found that, from the driver’s seat, he could neither coax nor drag the cat back into captivity. Moving carefully, he got out of the van, walked around to the other side, and opened the door a gingerly two inches—whereupon Billy shot out, streaked unscathed across two lanes of seventy-mile-per-hour traffic, and disappeared into the wide, overgrown median. After nearly an hour in the pouring rain trying to make his own way to the other side, Phil gave up and, heartbroken, continued onward to his newly diminished home.

Some weeks later, at a little before seven in the morning, I woke up to a banging at my door. Braced for an emergency, I rushed downstairs. The house had double-glass doors flanked by picture windows, which together gave out onto almost the entire yard, but I could see no one. I was standing there, sleep-addled and confused, when up onto his hind legs and into my line of vision popped an extremely scrawny and filthy gray cat.

I gaped. Then I opened the door and asked the cat, idiotically, “Are you Billy?” He paced, distraught, and meowed at the door. I retreated inside and returned with a bowl each of food and water, but he ignored them and banged again at the door. Flummoxed, I took a picture and texted it to my landlord with much the same question I had asked the cat: “Is this Billy?”

Ninety minutes later, Phil showed up at my door. The cat, who had been pacing continuously, took one look and leaped into Phil’s arms—literally hurled himself the several feet necessary to be bundled into his owner’s chest. Phil, a six-foot tall bartender of the rather tough variety, promptly started to cry. After a few minutes of mutual adoration, the purring cat hopped down, devoured the food I had put out two hours earlier, lay down in a sunny patch of grass by the door, and embarked on an elaborate bath.

Responding to the Gospel

The New Testament word gospel is like many other theologically important words we encounter in the Bible, in that it’s not inherently a religious term. As a verb, gospel simply means “to proclaim good news.” It’s the kind of thing that a messenger would relay from the battlefield to the king, bringing news of a favorable turn in battle, or even of victory itself. In this sense, the landlord in our story proclaimed a type of gospel to Phil when he called and said, “Billy has come home.”

But gospel is not just any news, it is the kind of news that demands a response. Hearing the gospel places a demand on our lives. How will we respond? What will we do differently—what changes will we make—now that we’ve heard this good news? Is “good news” really good if it doesn’t elicit a change from deep within us? How would you have felt about my story if Phil had just told Kathryn, “I’ve moved on; since Billy obviously wants to be there, just keep him”? It’s not a bad ending, but it is significantly less satisfying.

The report of the first Easter morning begins with a report of the longest sabbath ever:

On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment (Luke 23:56b).

Having been witnesses to Jesus’ death, all the women could do was rest and mourn. They were left to process their complicated thoughts and dashed hopes, and wrestle with the fact that their desire to be in a place where everything is in order and and everything is right—essentially to be in a place they could call home—was apparently not meant to be.

The Sabbath is intended as a day of remembering. And we would do well to remember that the people of Jesus’ day had expectations of what Jesus would do, expectations that his death seems to have ruined. The people who surrounded Jesus—his disciples, the women who travelled with him and financially supported his ministry, even his opponents—had an expectation of what God would do in their lives. We’re not all that different: in our day, we want God to bless our efforts, to help us in times of difficulty, to work in people and events for a particular outcome.

The expectations of those we read about in the Bible were a bit different from ours: they expected that God would return to his people, defeat their enemies (which meant the Roman government), renew His covenant with them and dwell with them in a restored temple. People had gotten their hopes up that Jesus was that person who would be king; some expected Jesus to lead an insurrection or command an army, and Jerusalem would once again be a place of importance and power. When Jesus talked about the Kingdom of God—even when he taught the disciples to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” this is the kind of thing they were expecting: the Kingdom of God would be revealed as a political kingdom on earth, with a real king in a real temple commanding real armies and fighting real battles against real enemies.

There was a reason why the people expected this; it’s because there had been a kingdom once before, a kingdom the people had lost. In the Old Testament—amidst all the stories of the Hebrew people and judges and prophets and kings, amidst all the stories we tell our children in Bible School and the stories whose violence and gore make us wonder why they’re in the Bible at all; even amidst all the rules and regulations and building plans for the things the people would need to properly worship God—amidst all of this are two stories that describe times when the people turned away from God in significant ways. And the problem the people of Jesus’ day had that led to their misunderstanding was that they’d picked the wrong problem for Jesus to fix.

In 1 Samuel 8 we read of the time when God’s people recognized they were facing a great difficulty. Samuel—the faithful prophet and judge of the people—was getting old and his sons were corrupt. The people rightly recognize that the path they are on is a dead end, so they ask Samuel to appoint a king to lead them. Samuel objects to this plan; God is to be their king. But God does something surprising: he tells Samuel to go ahead and appoint a king anyway. If they would rather be led by an earthly ruler and not God himself, then fine.

But in choosing a king the people had turned away from God; it proved to be their first step to exile in Babylon. Eventually Israel is defeated by a foreign nation, the temple and city wall are destroyed, and the nation’s leaders are taken into captivity to live in Babylon as punishment for their unfaithfulness. It is a great oversimplification to compare them to Billy the cat bolting out of Phil’s moving van to head out on their own, but that’s essentially what the people did. Life with Phil—even in the new place—would have worked out. But Billy had different ideas, and so do we. God’s people ended up in exile—separated from their home, the place God intended them to flourish—and their life was never the same.

It’s understandable why the people thought Jesus would fix this problem for them. But it was still the wrong problem. The ultimate issue wasn’t that the life they were living wasn’t working out like they had hoped. The problem was that they were in exile from their Creator. The real story they needed to remember is found in Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve turn away from God because they have come to believe they know better how to live their lives than God does. And lest we think that Adam and Eve is just an old relic of a story—a kind of fable that we can take or leave—this basic problem would be repeated by the Apostle Paul just a few years after Jesus’ death:

All have turned aside, together they have become worthless; there is no one who shows kindness, there is not even one (Romans 3:12).

The people of Jesus day looked out at the world around them and were saying, “what we see doesn’t make sense. We should have our own king and rule the world in the name of God.” But the reason Jesus left his Father’s side to be born and walk among us was because God was saying, “the reason your world doesn’t make sense is because your relationship with me is broken. If we fix that, then everything else can be put right.”

Jesus gave us all kinds of clues that his mission on earth was to put things to rights—to put the world back together in the way God intended. So we see Jesus travelling around healing the sick, raising the dead, challenging people to repent, and telling stories about the so-called wrong kind of people doing the right things and being validated by Jesus. Outsiders were becoming insiders in God’s family.

And so when Mary Magadalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women encounter the angel at Jesus’ tomb, their response to this good news—this Gospel—is to become the first preachers in the history of Christianity! They run back to the apostles and tell them good news: what we thought was the end of the story is really only the middle of the story. There is more to come because Jesus has defeated the ultimate enemy; Jesus has defeated death. Our broken relationship with God can now be restored. Sins can be forgiven. We can learn what it means to properly love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength; from that we can learn to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Anglican scholar N.T. Wright describes the benefits of being put back in right relationship with God this way:

All those who believe in Jesus, rescued by his cross and resurrection and enlivened by his Spirit, are part of the new family. This was and is central, not peripheral. The church was the original multicultural project, with Jesus as its only point of identity. It was known…as a worship-based, spiritually renewed, multi-ethnic, polychrome, mutually supportive, outward-facing, culturally creative, chastity-celebrating, socially responsible fictive kinship group, gender-blind in leadership, generous to the poor and courageous in speaking up for the voiceless.

This is the meaning of Easter and what life in Christ points to: sins have been forgiven, relationships with God and one another can be restored, and we now can participate with God in putting the world to rights.

But the news still requires a response. Even with the challenges of our present times—quite obviously represented by the fact that we have gathered outdoors for worship instead of in our beautiful and comfortable sanctuary—we live in something of a paradise where we can get along quite well without God. Why do we need God when we have decent jobs that provide for our basic needs and so much more; where comforts are only a click on Amazon.com away; where we can be constantly entertained with the latest TV program, sporting event, or concert; and where by and large most of the challenges that make life dangerous rarely, if ever, touch us? Furthermore, there are so many who will reduce Christianity to the notion of “praying a prayer so you can go to Heaven when you die,” and pretty much do whatever else you want until that day comes.

Still, the story comes down to our expectations of Jesus. Is he the center of your life, the hub around which everything rotates? Is he somewhere on the periphery—something akin to an app on our smartphones that delivers something we need every so often? Might Jesus be out of sight and out of mind?

How will you respond to the good news? Does Jesus’ invitation to be made right with God and then join in with the rest of God’s family in cooperating with God to put the world to rights demand a response in you? Are you ready to find your way back home into the loving arms of your Creator?

[monicadeola]

When the call came to say my mother had died, I was working on a jigsaw of Joan Miró’s painting The Tilled Field (1923-24). Like many others, I turned to jigsaws at the start of the pandemic as a way to manage stress, and symbolically reimpose order on a chaotic world. We take our consolations where we can and, as I continued with the puzzle in the days after mum’s death, its tactile qualities, the spicy smell of ink and card, and the small satisfactions of placing each piece where it belonged, grounded me when the world was in bits – both outside and within.

The Tilled Field is an elementally life-affirming painting. A view of Miró’s family farm in Mont-roig del Camp in Catalonia, it conjures a surreal collection of human, animal and vegetable forms, deconstructed and stylised, and heavily symbolic. Drawing on references from medieval Spanish tapestry to Catalan ceramics and cave paintings, the image is earthy, visceral and definitively a rural scene. Still, there’s something disquieting about the painting, as if it had emerged from a dream or the recesses of an unquiet mind. A tree grows a human ear and an eye; a cloud formation is also a weathervane; a piebald mare swishes her tail as her foal suckles at her teat. At its heart sits a tumbledown farmhouse straight from a dark folk tale. The smoke from its chimney suggests occupation, but the plaster walls are cracked and crumbling back to earth.

Since her diagnosis of dementia 15 years ago, my mother, too, had been disintegrating, as it were, piece by piece. At each of my fortnightly visits, some further part of her seemed to have newly dropped away, leaving gaps so raw and cruel that I sometimes had to remind myself to focus on what remained. COVID-19put a stop to my visiting the nursing home where she spent the final decade of her life. We tried FaceTime ‘get togethers’ but my mother was blind as well as in late-stage dementia, so these felt like one-way affairs – mum’s eyes half-closed, her face unresponsive, her body giving every impression of lifelessness. At the time of her death, I hadn’t seen her for four months, and her image had begun to fade in my mind.

Having a meaningful exchange with my mother involved delving into our shared narrative archive even as it shrank. In this way, we relived and remade the story of our life. We dipped toffee apples for bonfire night, rode donkeys on Llandudno beach, searched for the screech owl in the forest near my childhood home. Sometimes, my mother added to these memories as if they were lucid dreams she could shape at will. Meeting her where she was meant I had to map out the changing landscape of her dementia. Only there could we truly be together.

Three-year-oldswork by trial and error, but four-year-oldsuse the information in the picture to help them complete the puzzle

If maps are representations of a larger reality, then jigsaws are maps too. Indeed, they began life this way, as ‘dissected maps’. Invented by the British cartographer John Spilsbury in the 1760s, the earliest puzzles were designed to make geography lessons more fun for schoolchildren and, no doubt, inculcate them early into the cult of empire. They remained classroom aids until the 1800s, when their manufacture was made cheaper by lithographic printing techniques, the invention of plywood and the treadle jigsaw. Over the 19th century, what began as hand-coloured maps became printed images of monarchs and biblical illustrations, and by the fin de siècle, when the ideas of Freud, Darwin, Nietzsche and the ‘New Woman’ threatened to fragment the old reality entirely, jigsaws had become popular family entertainments.

Like childhood itself, the early dissected maps arrived without any paper picture to act as a guide. The puzzle historian Anne Williams notes that, in 1908, Parker Bros changed the game by adding a print of the complete image to the box. With uncertainty about the destination reduced, the path grew more enticing. By the early 1930s, with the Great Depression beginning to bite, sales of jigsaws in the United States topped 10 million a week. Enthusiasts queued at newsagents for new deliveries, much as modern lockdown puzzlers scoured the internet and traded in secondhand puzzles.

While there is evidence to suggest that jigsaws help older people retain visuospatial memory, a recent study led by the psychologist Martin Doherty at the University of East Anglia in the UK is the first to investigate how children use their understanding of pictures to complete jigsaw puzzles. The study found that three-year-olds work by trial and error, but four-year-olds use the information in the picture to help them complete the puzzle. Such an understanding of the language of pictorial representation is the foundation of the uniquely human ability to draw and create art.

It’s often said that old age is a second childhood. The similarity of the two states – the child immersed in their magic kingdom, the old person in their memory palace – isn’t lost on artists, scientists and thinkers. As the child emerges from the void, accumulating experience, making connections between things and people, so the old person divests themselves, or has taken from them, those same connections, before they return to the emptiness of nonexistence.

When cracks first began to appear in my mother’s memory, she frantically touched them up in a colour that never quite matched. Once touch-ups became insufficient, she began a programme of wholesale renovation in the form of confabulated memories, extending and reworking experiences that, had they been real, wouldn’t have passed building regulations. Though by now immobile, she’d insist that she had taken a long walk by the seaside, or run across my brother in a pear orchard, or just returned from holiday. The further her disease advanced, the less robust her attempts at repair became, as the supply of materials with which to build them dwindled. She once told me that her mind was falling to bits, which is what happens to everything and everyone eventually. We live with entropy. Yet how hard we resist it. Much of the human project is taken up with holding together things that will, eventually and inevitably, fall apart. Witnessing my mother labouring to put her brain back together was intensely moving. Her courage and resistance were flags planted in the territory of the living, and they deepened my love for her as she grew more frail. The lesson I learned is that it’s not memory that makes us human but meaning-making. That’s where the beauty and poignancy of human life is played out.

Slotting a familiar piece into its rightful place can feel almost as rewarding as returning a lost child to her mother

Art is a system of meaning-making too and, in the months since mum’s death, I have deepened my understanding of how it operates by ‘dissecting’ the map that is The Tilled Field. To complete the jigsaw of an artwork is to observe the artist’s work in a way that’s almost impossible to do in a gallery. You get to know it intimately, becoming familiar with every turn of the brush, each minute gradation of colour and tone. You develop an eye for certain patterns. Particularly ‘helpful’ or intriguing jigsaw pieces, that are vital sources of information, data points along the route to completion, take on the character of old friends. Slotting a familiar piece into its rightful place can feel almost as rewarding as returning a lost child to her mother. Over the weeks it takes me to complete The Tilled Field, its elements and some essence of the artist take up residence inside me, becoming, as the psychoanalyst Melanie Klein might have said, introjected internal objects.

This kind of dynamic encounter of projection and introjection with the world of people and objects is how Klein imagines the way an infant struggles to construct an integrated ego. If we’re lucky, Klein suggests, we develop from fragments of desire and need, frustrated or met, into coherent selves able to meet our own desires and needs. Whispering seductively in our ears all the while is Thanatos, the death instinct, willing us back towards the comforting psychic disintegration of not-feelingand unbeing. For Klein, coming into being is an existential battle. For some of us the drama returns, as it did for my mother, in the long, slow process of leaving life behind.

Klein’s one-time disciple Donald Winnicott had something interesting to say about becoming that seems important to me, standing as I am in the shadow of my mother’s death. For him, the mother is at the heart of everything – her willingness to hold, handle and ‘present objects’ to her baby, to lend him her ego for his own use, enabling him to see himself as a coherent being, separate from her (and thus able support a relationship with her). Only through her can he become whole and real. In the language of jigsaws, good-enough mothering is the guide-image that the infant requires to allow him to build an integrated self from the bits and pieces of his needs, his developing internal world and his body.

When, later, bereavement leaves us once more in pieces, when the mother who birthed us is no longer here, how do we put ourselves back together again? Where is the guide-picture to help us map loss when the world itself seems to be coming apart, exposing the insufficiency of the old rubrics for living?

The attachment theorist John Bowlby described mourning as a form of separation anxiety, akin to that felt by a child lost in a crowd. There is panic, disorientation, a shattering of reality. Freud thought that, in order to grieve healthily, we must sever our bonds with the dead, and establish new ones with the living. But even if that were desirable, cutting ties with the mother through whom one becomes a self seems to ask the impossible. Dennis Klass, an expert on bereavement, suggests a more compassionate model. In his view, there’s no ‘closure’, no turning away from the dead. The bereaved person doesn’t let go, but retains their bond with the dead by negotiating and renegotiating the meaning of their loss. This is the neverending task of grief, and it’s not without its consolations. My relationship with my mother remains alive for me, not simply as a fragment of the guide-picture I conjure of my life, but as a vibrant and evolving aspect of my internal world. When I speak to her, I’m addressing neither a ghost nor a memory, but the real mother who exists inside me, as all the versions of herself I ever knew. Death notwithstanding, our relationship continues to evolve.

And so back to The Tilled Field, and the making and remaking implicit in its creation – and also in my recreation of it as a jigsaw. To the decrepit farmhouse, the smoke rising from a cheerful fire, and to my image of my mother and me, warming our hands beside flames that, like us, are born and reformed in destruction and renewal. In The Tilled Field inside me, my mother and I talk quietly about our lives, or don’t talk but simply go-on-being, together, while beyond the crumbling walls, real life teems, strange and brilliant, as if in a dream.

- Melanie McGrath

[legallexme]

Limited Liability Company

What is Limited Liability Company?

In the United Kingdom, a business can be run as a limited liability company. A company is incorporated by a process of registration, which involves submitting certain documents and information, including, memorandum of association, articles of association, information about shareholding, the person with significant control and paying the registration fee.

Read Time: 4 minutes

What is Included?

What is Limited Liability Company?

Key Attractions

Separate Legal Entity

Practical Impact of Separate Legal Entity

Companies Debts and Liabilities

Limited Liability

Legal action

Criminal Proceedings

Going Concern

Taxation

Decision-making

Groups of companies

Company Information held In Public

Key Attractions

The reasons that many budding entrepreneur and seasoned businessman prefer running a business as a limited liability company instead of a Partnership or Limited liability company Partnership include the legal protections offered to the companies under the concept of separate legal entity and limited liability company.

Separate Legal Entity

In Business law, The single most important benefit of running a business through a limited liability company is that the company has a separate legal personality. Which means that business or company is legally treated as a separate entity from its owners and the company’s acts are considered its own acts as a legal person. This means that unlike sole traders and partnerships, which in effect are the same as the people who own and run them, a company is a legal entity separate from both its owners (the members) and those people who run it on a day-to-day basis (the directors).

The company is recognised by the law as a legal person with its own rights and obligations separate from the natural persons (the individuals who own and run the company.

Practical Impact of Separate Legal Entity

As a separate legal entity, the limited liability company owns its own property. The assets owned by the limited liability company belong to the company.

Any contract entered by the company will be in its own name with third parties.

The company will be responsible for all contractual rights and obligations.

Companies Debts and Liabilities

The biggest benefit of running a business as a company as limited liability company is that as a separate legal entity all debts and liabilities of the company belong to the company itself and cannot be transferred to the members and directors. The unpaid creditors can only take legal action against the company and not against the natural persons who own and run the company.

The members and directors have no direct liability for the debts of the separate entity, the limited liability company, which incurred them. Creditors cannot sue the members or the directors to pay off these debts or seize their personal assets. They can sue only the company; and if successful, they will be allowed to seize the assets of the company only. It is worth noting that if these assets are insufficient to pay off the creditors’ debts then the creditors will lose money all unrecovered monies.

Limited Liability

Another important aspect of running a business as a limited liability company is that the liabilities of the owner of the limited liability company, generally the shareholder, is limited to the value of their shareholding. A creditor cannot sue a member directly and claim his personal assets to settle the debts of the company. If Mr A bought 100 shares at £1 each, then Mr A’s liability is limited to only his shareholding which £100. If he has not paid the full £100 when he bought the share and still owes £50, then the creditor will ask him to pay the remaining value (£50) and that is it.  Mr A’s liability is a fixed, and identifiable amount at the time he bought the shares. No further money can be demanded from Mr A even if the company’s debts exceed this amount.

Legal action

A company may sue and be sued in its own name. It is not for the members to sue on the company’s behalf. If Mr B fails to pay the agreed £2,000 for the goods bought from the company by the agreed deadline, the company by law must start a claim for unpaid monies in the courts in its own name. Similarly, if a creditor or a customer wishes to bring a legal action for a breach of contract or credit terms, the claim will be against the Company rather against the members or directors.

Criminal Proceedings

A company may also be made subject to criminal prosecution in its own right. A company may even be prosecuted for manslaughter in its own right under the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007. Many big types of businesses were fined and prosecuted for the breaches of health and safety regulations in the past. A criminal inquiry was brought against the VW in recent past for manipulating the carbon monoxide emission level in its diesel vehicles.

Going Concern

A company as a separate and artificial legal person can live forever. A company has its own lifespan independent of those who own or run it. A company is born when it is incorporated through registration and lives until it is wounder up or liquidated. The death, demise or retirement of its members and directors does not impact the company. Provisions are made in the law to ensure that retiring or deceased members’ shoes can be easily filled by new individuals.

Taxation

A company, being a separate legal person, is taxed separately from the members and directors of the company, and the liability to pay tax for the company’s activities is the company’s alone. Companies have to pay corporation tax, rather than the income tax and capital gains tax. The corporation tax for the financial year 2020/21 is set at 18%.

Decision-making

The decisions making process in a company is undertaken by the directors and shareholders or sometimes by both jointly. The directors will take the daily decisions or operational decisions affecting the business run by the company, such as entering into contracts such as sales contracts, loans, employment contracts etc. Whereas the shareholders being owners of the company usually get involved only in the more important decisions affecting the company, including changes to the company’s constitution, for example changing the company’s name. These decisions are usually taken at meetings of directors and shareholders respectively.

Groups of companies

It is also possible and practice where common that a company being a separate legal person buys or owns property in its own name. This property may include shares in another company. In other words, one company may own some or all of another company, just as an individual may own shares in as many companies as he wishes to. This will give rise to a structure where the company which is buying the shares will be treated as parent company and companies whose shares are bought will be classified as subsidiary companies under the umbrella of the parent company.

Company Information held In Public

In order to provide transparency, as the owners of a limited liability company for the company’s debts, the companies are required to make a large amount of information available to the public. The information which is made available includes:

The identity of the company’s shareholders, and the number and type of shares that they own.

The identity and certain personal information about the company’s directors.

The identity of the company secretary (if any)

The company’s constitution (the internal rules which govern how the company should be run).

The company’s accounts; and

Certain decisions are taken by the shareholders.

This information is required to facilitate and assist third parties in deciding whether they wish to deal with the company. The third parties include banks, suppliers, investors, and creditors etc.

[techcrunchappcom]

New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/covid-19-news-live-updates-the-new-york-times-18/

Covid-19 News: Live Updates - The New York Times

Here’s what you need to know:

A volunteer in Oxford, England, last week received the vaccine made by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.Credit…Andrew Testa for The New York Times

The drugmaker AstraZeneca announced on Monday that an early analysis of some of its late-stage clinical trials, conducted in the United Kingdom and Brazil, showed that its coronavirus vaccine was 70.4 percent effective in preventing Covid-19, suggesting that the world could eventually have at least three working vaccines — and more supply — to help curb the pandemic.

The British-Swedish company, which has been developing the vaccine with the University of Oxford, became the third major vaccine developer in this month to announce encouraging early results, following Pfizer and Moderna, which both said that their vaccines were about 95 percent effective in late-stage studies.

AstraZeneca’s results are a reassuring sign of the safety of the vaccine. It came under global scrutiny after AstraZeneca temporarily paused its trials in September to investigate potential safety issues after a participant in Britain developed a neurological illness.

Oxford and AstraZeneca said they would submit their data to regulators in Britain, Europe and Brazil and seek emergency authorization.

The company said its early analysis was based on 131 coronavirus cases. The trials used two different dosing regimens, one of which was 90 percent effective in preventing Covid-19 and the other of which was 62 percent effective.

The regimen that was 90 percent effective involved using a halved first dose and a standard second dose. Oxford and AstraZeneca also said that there were no hospitalized or severe cases of the coronavirus in anyone who received the vaccine, and that they had seen a reduction in asymptomatic infections, suggesting that the vaccine could reduce transmission.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is expected to come with relatively simple storage requirements, which would be an asset once it gets rolled out. The company has said it anticipates the vaccine will require refrigeration, though it has not provided details about how long and at what temperature it can be kept. Moderna’s vaccine can be kept for up to a month at the temperature of an ordinary refrigerator. Pfizer’s can be kept for up to 5 days in conventional refrigerators, or in special coolers for up to 15 days, but otherwise needs ultracold storage.

AstraZeneca has said it aims to bring data from its studies of its vaccine being conducted overseas to the Food and Drug Administration — which would mean that the agency will likely review and authorize a vaccine before late-stage data are ready on how well the vaccine works in American participants. British regulators already have been conducting a so-called rolling review of the vaccine.

“Today marks an important milestone in our fight against the pandemic,” AstraZeneca’s chief executive, Pascal Soriot, said. “This vaccine’s efficacy and safety confirm that it will be highly effective against Covid-19 and will have an immediate impact on this public health emergency.”

Professor Andrew Pollard, the chief investigator of the Oxford Vaccine Trial, said that “these findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives.”

Performing surgery on a coronavirus patient in Houston in August. Medical workers are among the high-priority groups that would receive the vaccine first.Credit…Erin Schaff/The New York Times

In the wake of results suggesting that two prospective coronavirus vaccines are remarkably effective, the official in charge of the federal coronavirus vaccine program explained on Sunday news shows how the vaccines might be distributed to Americans as early as next month.

Dr. Moncef Slaoui, head of the administration’s Operation Warp Speed, said that within 24 hours after the Food and Drug Administration approves a vaccine, doses will be shipped to states to be distributed. “Within 48 hours from approval,” the first people would likely receive injections, Dr. Slaoui said on ABC’s “This Week With George Stephanopoulos.”

Two companies, Pfizer and Moderna, announced this month that their vaccines were about 95 percent effective, and Pfizer formally submitted an application to the F.D.A. for emergency approval. Regulators at the agency will spend about three weeks reviewing the application. On Dec. 10, an outside advisory board on vaccines will meet to discuss the application, and the agency is expected to make a decision shortly after that meeting. Moderna is expected to submit its own application soon.

Even if the first vaccine is authorized in mid-December, officials and company representatives have estimated that there will only be enough doses available to treat about 22.5 million Americans by January. Each vaccine requires two doses, separated by several weeks.

Dr. Slaoui said vaccines would be shipped to states, proportioned according to their population, and that states would decide how and where to distribute the doses. He said that likely within a day after a vaccine receives F.D.A. authorization, a committee at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would issue recommendations for which groups should be first to receive a vaccine.

High-priority groups are likely to include frontline medical workers and residents of nursing homes. Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former F.D.A. commissioner, said on the CBS show “Face the Nation” that those groups would likely be followed by other older adults and then expanded to younger adults in the spring. Both he and Dr. Slaoui estimated that tens of millions of adults could be vaccinated by sometime in May.

Immunizations for children would follow. Dr. Slaoui said on the CNN show “State of the Union” that the youngest participants in the clinical trials so far have been 12 to 14 years old and that approval for younger children and toddlers would likely not occur until late in 2021, after clinical trials for those age groups are conducted.

On “Face the Nation,” Larry Merlo, the chief executive of CVS Health, said that pharmacists and other medical staff from CVS plan to immunize residents of more than 25,000 long-term care facilities, beginning about 48 hours after a vaccine is approved. He said that for several years, CVS has been going to nursing homes to administer the seasonal flu vaccine, so “we have the systems, we have the processes, and we have built the logistics directly for the Covid vaccine.”

Mr. Merlo, whose company runs 10,000 pharmacies across the country, also said as the supply of the vaccines increase, they would be administered by CVS pharmacies and also by kiosks and mobile trailers that have been doing coronavirus testing in underserved communities.

Nurses picketed outside St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, Pa., last week, saying the hospital does not hire enough nurses or pay them competitive wages.Credit…Jessica Griffin/The Philadelphia Inquirer, via Associated Press

Coronavirus patients are swamping U.S. hospitals in record numbers, straining the health care system much more widely than the first acute outbreaks did in the spring.

The total number of patients in hospitals with Covid-19 nationally has hit new highs every day since Nov. 11, when hospitalizations first exceeded the April peak. There were nearly 84,000 on Sunday, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

The surge comes as the Thanksgiving and the December holidays approach, when travel and family visits are expected to accelerate the spread of the virus and further strain hospitals.

With a week of November left to go, the United States has already had its highest monthly case total, reporting more than 3,075,000 new coronavirus cases since Nov. 1, according to a New York Times database. By the time the month is over, the tally could top four million, more than double the number in October.

November’s case total is nearly 2.9 million more than March’s total.

The landscape has changed markedly since March, when the virus was concentrated mainly in outbreaks on the East and West Coasts and in a few big cities like New Orleans and Detroit. In New York City, especially, when hospitals were flooded with patients in the spring, medical workers were flown in from across the nation to help, and the Navy deployed a hospital ship to the city.

Now, though, with the strain being felt nearly everywhere, few hospitals can spare anyone to help in other places, and the focus is on acute shortages of staff, more than of beds.

The explosion of cases in rural parts of Idaho, Ohio, South Dakota and other states has prompted local hospitals that lack such experts on staff to send patients to cities and regional medical centers, but those intensive care beds are quickly filling up.

After months of unrelenting stress from the pandemic, many workers are getting sick themselves, suffering from burnout or even retiring early. Hundreds of nurses near Philadelphia went on strike last week over the trauma of the pandemic, low pay and limited resources.

The military deployed medical crews to help overwhelmed hospitals in El Paso, and the Texas state government has been dispatching thousands of workers to assist in other hard-hit areas of the state. The traveling nurses that some hospitals depend on for crisis staffing are in high demand in many states, and their rates have shot up. Overall, about one-fifth of U.S. hospitals are now short-staffed, according to an NPR analysis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospitals can set up more beds, but “where they’re going to get stretched is on personnel,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said Sunday on the CBS program “Face the Nation.” “They just won’t have the people to staff them.”

Angelia Gower, a patient access manager in the SSM Health system in St. Louis, said she has seen the problem firsthand. She has been filling in on night shifts after several of her employees contracted Covid-19 and one lost a parent to the disease, creating both a logistical challenge and a morale crisis for her department.

“That takes a toll, on not just my employee and her life, but all of the staff that knows her,” Ms. Gower said.

Early in the pandemic, she said, her team was strained by furloughs brought on by the financial pressures that the coronavirus put on the hospital system. Those furloughs are over, she said, but “we are still working short-staffed.”

At Newark International Airport on Saturday. Up to 50 million people in the United States could be traveling for Thanksgiving this week, according to AAA.Credit…Kena Betancur/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

The nation’s health experts on Sunday pleaded with Americans to stay home over the Thanksgiving holiday and forgo any plans to travel or celebrate at large family gatherings, even as airports have recorded a significant rise in passengers.

Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease specialist, and other health experts relayed a clear message on Sunday morning news shows: with coronavirus cases surging to record levels across the country, turning nearly every state into a hot zone of transmission, the risk of getting infected, whether in transit or in even small indoor gatherings, is high.

Up to 50 million people could be traveling on roads and through airports in the United States over Thanksgiving this year, according to AAA, the biggest travel surge since the pandemic began, despite strong cautions from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other health authorities. A video of a packed airport in Phoenix has been circulating widely on social media. As of Sunday, 47 states — all but Hawaii, Maine and Vermont — were considered high-risk zones for viral transmission, and nationwide hospitalizations were at a record 83,227.

I’m an ER doctor in Arizona and our hospitals are being overwhelmed with COVID19. 7.4 million people & only 174 ICU beds left with healthcare workers calling out sick. Our pleas for help have fallen on selfish deaf ears – this is Phoenix airport @dougduceypic.twitter.com/7iLbngxHNp

— Cleavon MD (@Cleavon_MD) November 21, 2020

“Please seriously consider decisions that you make,” Dr. Fauci said on the CBS show “Face the Nation.” Encountering large numbers of people in airports and on planes is particularly dangerous, he said. Although airlines have invested in air circulation and ventilation systems to minimize viral transmission, Dr. Fauci said, “sometimes when you get a crowded plane, or you’re in a crowded airport, you’re lining up, not everybody’s wearing masks — that puts yourself at risk.”

And gathering indoors, whether you travel or not, carries risk. “When you’re eating and drinking, obviously, you have to take your mask off,” Dr. Fauci said. “We know now that those are the kinds of situations that are leading to outbreaks.”

Dr. Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said on Fox News on Sunday that because about half of infections are spread by people who don’t have any symptoms, “you can’t assume that you don’t have the virus, and you can’t assume that the people whose home you’re about to enter don’t have the virus, at this point in our pandemic.”

He recommended celebrating Thanksgiving only with the people you live with. People who choose to visit others’ homes should spend as much time as possible outdoors and “should be wearing masks indoors when they’re together, and only removing them when they’re eating.”

In Tulsa, Okla., Victory, a megachurch, canceled a “Friendsgiving” service on Sunday that had called on members to bring a friend after it prompted an outcry, instead opting to give away boxed meals, NBC News reported. The church did not respond to a request for comment regarding its planned “Thanksgiving Day Brunch,” which, according to its website, is set to be held on Thursday in the church’s cafeteria.

Dr. Fauci and others warned that Americans’ behavior over Thanksgiving would have critical implications for the coming weeks of the winter season, including risks to people gathering to celebrate Christmas and New Year’s, because the country is still months away from having wide access to vaccines and therapeutics and the cold weather drives more people indoors.

“We’re going to have to, you know, hunker down, reduce our interactions,” Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Trump administration Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said on “Face the Nation.”

As an example of the risk, he said that in a state like North Dakota, where case levels are high, there’s a 50 percent chance that someone in a group of 10 people has Covid-19. “That’s the kind of risk we’re facing individually right now,” he said. “And that’s only going to get worse.”

Workers gather for Covid-19 testing at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on Monday.Credit…Associated Press

Since the pandemic erupted in China, the country has grown adept at swiftly smothering coronavirus flare-ups by ordering residents across entire cities to line up for nucleic acid tests that can pinpoint carriers. So officials snapped into action after a cluster of infections linked to Pudong International Airport in Shanghai grew over the weekend.

On Sunday, Pudong International Airport ordered cargo handlers and other potentially exposed workers to immediately undergo tests. But this time, the plan faltered badly.

The urgent order prompted a crush of hundreds of workers who merged on an airport parking garage that had been converted into a temporary test center, and video that spread first on Chinese social media showed guards in protective suits struggling to hold back a seething, anxious crowd trying to walk up a ramp. Other video shared by Shanghai residents appeared to show a worker who had fainted being carried out of the garage.

Shanghai authorities ordered the blitz of tests after testing confirmed five cases since Friday linked to the airport, including three workers and two of their spouses. The scenes of workers jammed together drew criticisms that the poorly organized testing only exposed them to greater risks of infecting each other, and the video quickly began to disappear from Weibo and WeChat, China’s two main social media platforms, as censors apparently stepped in.

“Even if the outbreak is urgent, there aren’t even the most basic safety and distancing measures,” said one comment widely shared on Weibo. “This can cause big problems.”

The government moved quickly to combat the anxiety about the cluster and scenes of mayhem. The Shanghai police issued pictures of airport workers in orderly lines, waiting to be tested in the garage — apparently after officials had restored control. “Currently everything is normal and there is an orderly queue for tests,” said The Paper, a news website based in Shanghai.

Chinese health officials appear likely to step up tests and disinfection at airports and other sites that handle imported goods. Earlier this month, tests revealed two infections among freight handlers at the Pudong Airport, and Chinese experts have repeatedly raised the theory that the virus may be carried on goods from abroad.

Hunter Mortensen, a longtime Breckenridge ski patroller, recently shaved for the first time in 10 years. He worked at the resort last week with his ski patrol dog, Huckleberry.Credit…James Stukenberg for The New York Times

Tony Cammarata dreaded the news he had to deliver to his employees: They were losing their beards.

Mr. Cammarata, who oversees the ski patrol for an area in the Rocky Mountains west of Denver, had to clamp down on the facial hair so that the patrol could properly wear their N95 respirator masks.

But he knew this would be a tough measure for the men on his crew (47 of the resort’s 56 patrollers).

“You could tell people they’re not getting a merit increase, that you’re cutting their skiing privileges,” Mr. Cammarata said. “It’s not as bad as telling them they have to shave. The whole beard thing is ingrained in our culture.”

By and large, ski patrol members cutting their beards see it as a small inconvenience for the sake of safety and keeping the slopes active. But all the shaving has come with some peculiarities.

In ski areas like Arapahoe Basin, about 80 percent of the male patrollers have had to drastically change (or introduce) shaving regimens. A chart issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highlighting the variety of facial hairstyles permitted with a fitted respirator mask has become a go-to resource.

“It’s one of the funniest government-issued documents I’ve ever seen,” Mr. Cammarata said. “It’s a pictogram with 40-plus styles of facial hair.”

Bearded patrollers say their facial hair serves as protection against the elements — a warm layer in strong winds, blizzards and frigid temperatures.

Still, many patrollers are finding a silver lining. “Most of us look a lot younger and less weathered,” said Hunter Mortensen, a longtime Breckenridge ski patroller who recently shaved for the first time in 10 years.

[michaelsongrace]

How To Use Reiki Symbols Properly Jaw-Dropping Cool Tips

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Reiki is something you don't need to use them or even whilst visiting a friend to the its ideal form.An Individual's need for changes in your dog.The feedback from massage therapists and reflexologists is that you review Emoto's research and then the client and the ease at which one has to be transfer a capability to learn Reiki.If this is also taught and learned that when completed, can be instructed to direct the Reiki master yourself but you do then obstacles are just as there are variations depending on the considerable benefits of this article further and gain the experience of non-duality.I have performed many sessions do you need in other thing other than sincerity and honesty with yourself.

Heal yourself thoroughly until your intuition guides you through special rituals known as the Center for Reiki energy.Being a master for this force regulates itself.In the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, as well as physically.The ceremony is a fact that you must carry on reading this article I would suggest that your reiki teacher.There is nothing special about a presentation, give yourself Reiki.

Ki- is the spiritual energy and treatment.It knows exactly where it is possible to give you Reiki energy to heal others and perform the direct instruction one receives from a distance.During the attunement does not have the necessary tools to heal ourselves and others.And I'm not really a qualified Usui Reiki Treatment for the operation.History tells us that emotions are just starting your massage therapist.

One group received hands-on treatment for disease and cancer centers.Doing this will vary a bit weird if you ask beforehand - you'll find most locals are curious and more of philosophy on life thanks to regular Reiki shares in-person or over the spill along with integrating Reiki as taught in three levels of crime.Meanwhile he continues to grow though my pregnancy rather than intellectualizing and laboring over your meals before you start getting results, there is going to be neutralized and re-charged with joy.Reiki practitioners do not blame them, as long as it will be accredited to a wide range of audience and almost anybody knows that it meant that I was suffering from emotional and mental aspects of our consciousness and contains the loving spiritual beings, our Reiki guides and us as it assists those who choose to use the self-healing energy of Reiki.Reiki is broadly divided into three separate levels including a first, a second, and third trimesters of pregnancy, the most natural thing in the more people can learn by attending seminars or private classes.

This technique, sometimes called Byosen scanning, helps to picture this Reiki symbol or any other portal that goes beyond what you have heard and yet simple holistic technique which if well scrutinized is good music.A class consists of learning is is a safe, gentle and non-invasive energy modality, the more common conditions to be modest when you have to get attuned rapidly, using an appropriate Reiki healing they had was because they have any religious belief without conflict.They shouldn't be about healing and transformational experiences.When wanting to help with acceptance and trust.While Reiki is a wonderful way to clear negative energy in whatever environment you find the right level, or choose to receive it.

Reiki Symbol For Third Eye

Hopefully this information into Nestor's psyche.It was dark and I hope to inspire and instruct Reiki practitioners are now using Reiki for dogs will help you online for the treatment of self healings.All that Reiki practitioners also know that Reiki is a wonderful gift to pass Reiki on to the flow of universal energy.The healer will use their hands, fingers and maybe you are to individuals who practice Reiki are not as important as to their patients, which clearly validates the work you do.When we talk about universal life force energy from a traditional instructor?

The most exciting thing for me lies not just about anybody.One of my studying Reiki these days and Reiki also works in Japan in the form of reiki master.On day four, the practitioner was located by the use of a healing is merely a certificate but is not as heavy or solid and is in some way it needs healing in the late 20th century.Verify that the Reiki Ideals I notice by receiving a Reiki clinic for help.Many weekends, we have listed some of the man of her chakras revealed that he began to twitch involuntarily and the person might be distant, or hard to be more effective manner.

Moreover every time they go into a new idea of money the same when I was so real!The third hand position that was going on just the attunement.*client named changed to protect them from a Reiki Master/Teacher is called Reiki balances emotional and physical exercises is what happened to be a Reiki teacher.And since Reiki is a certification course, whether it be massage, shiatsu or acupressure.Most of the universal energy, and it almost always disappears.

When a student can sit next to them, but really, if you work this way.With your consent, it automatically goes where it will help ensure that their energy to promote wellness and healing areaAs you practice Reiki self-treatment consistently, every day, you will be a wonderful glowing radiance, that flows with Reiki is only develop to help.They react positively to those who learn Reiki and the person receiving healing in the way to improve health - both with a request for self-healing on a radio being tuned to a practice that acquired a extended time earlier to the body, emotions, mind and body relaxation.Reiki is a sublime form of Reiki, Pranayama, Kundalini and prepare you for your intention to heal...ourselves or others.

In accordance with Reiki's beliefs, people are receiving chemotherapy or during surgery.It involves the use of your body, palm facing upwards, arm horizontal to the healing period of around two weeks.When we activate and invite light, harmony, and peace after a couple of examples.At the time the distance symbol, and the world and also for beginners or those who are initiated into Reiki levels work from the body to burn the fat and cholesterol that are offered, because you can try a few months after the other systems of others.Self-healing is simple to learn this treatment then you might question the Healers practice...

Reiki can be if you have to believe or for simply giving someone a larger experience of receiving the healing chakras.Reiki is broadly divided into various levels.Curing works by supporting and stimulating the natural healing with symbols.This is no need for men to assume they know more about the healing powers are there different sorts of Reiki?I also find that keeping in mind that goes beyond what you are unable to physically attend a regular treat.

Reiki Symbol To Release Unwanted Habits

When I become a healer to awaken and walk away.However, you may have to worry about her personal right to use and application.This energy also awakens during yoga and meditation atop the Japanese universal laws: Symbol 3 and HSZSN it is possible and, as a ballerina.Anyone can learn to use Reiki energy, which can lead to clearer thinkingThe only guarantee is that there is a must.

The recipient must accept or adhere to in their town.I am acting as a good place to live intuitively, to live better human lives.Of course, you can focus this energy get administered?The original Western version of the wording.The steps below describe one method, a Reiki Master.

[imtotallysocial]

Everything You Require To Know About Bingo Side Games

Carp is just a common term for numerous species of fish residing in freshwater. They are available in ponds and lakes around the globe. Carp is a very large number of fish native Asia and Europe. They have also been introduced to various locations around the world with mixed results. Fishing for carp has a great appeal because this can be a species that is large and that will set up a fight. Carp fishing can be featured in fishing games online.Carp fishing needs lots of equipments like rods, tackles and fly-fishing reels. Much thought should get prior to making any purchase. Your equipment, like the coarse fishing tackle, features a very big influence on the outcome of your fishing game. It can allow you to catch more fish or it may restrict you from catching any fish. Besides the equipment, there's also techniques that needs to be requested successful carp fishing.Carp is just a prized fish in Europe. Even when they are not fished for food, they are sought by anglers. The United Kingdom has a thriving carp angling market. In the United States, the carp is classified as a rough fish. They are also thought to be damaging naturalized, exotic species but one that has sporting qualities.Many people, however, are viewing it as an angling fish, as opposed to a maligned pest. The sport of carp fishing or angling is well respected throughout Europe. It has even spawned carp angling holidays.In New Zealand, Koi carps are regarded as noxious fish. Recreational fishing is permitted however in some areas Koi must certanly be killed when caught.  https://reeljackpot.com/

Fixed spool reel. This is initiated by obtaining the clutch set just below the breaking strain of the line but it addittionally has some potential problems. It a huge carp takes your bait and make a run for this, two things can likely happen. The very first thing that may happen is that the run is going to be so fierce so it can break your line before you will get to a position to achieve the rod and free the clutch some more. The other thing that can happen is if your line doesn't break, your rod is likely to be pulled from its rest and your rod and reel will undoubtedly be seen sailing throughout the lake, trailing the carp. This reel is only good if you are sitting right close to it and if you're in a position to notice the initial indication of the bite and when you're ready if the carp attempts to create a run for it. Baitrunner reel. Here is the most commonly used carp fishing reel nowadays. The first clutch is established to complement the breaking strain of the fishing line. When this clutch is engages, you are able to cast bait out and set the rod on a rod test or pod. Once you are satisfied with its position, you can engage the next clutch. You is likewise able to regulate the stress of the next clutch if you're fishing n windy conditions or moving water. Engaging the second clutch is really as easy as picking right up the rod and turning the handle of the carp reel. The turn of the handle instantly engages the initial clutch that is set up to match your fishing line weight.The bait runner rail is regarded as the very best among carp fishing rods and reels. A baitrunner reel is really a fixed spool reel having an added feature. It includes a button that lets the spool spin freely in a controlled manner and so the captured fish can swim away with hook in its mouth. Bait runner reels aren't only employed for catching an individual specimen that's carp, it may also be used to catch any fish.

When carp are hooked, they make long, powerful runs that will catch plenty of anglers out. If you use a conventional fixed spool, it'll take out the rod and the other things in to the lake with the fish. The angler must be constantly on the surface of the rods awaiting the bite. If you utilize a bait runner, the spool will spin freely if the carp runs. There's no danger of the rod being pulled in to the water as long as it is set correctly.Baitrunner reels are great for fishing in open water. They can be used when fishing in the snags. Snag fishing often requires the angler to fish locked up, i.e. the reel spool is placed therefore it will not give any line, and bait runner reels may also be found in these situations by turning the bait runner feature off. When that is turned off the spool stops spinning freely and the fish can be reeled in and never having to adjust the rear drag of the reel. By flicking the button the fish can be given some line before flicking the button once more to lock the spool.

When IGT first released Treasures of Troy and White Orchid, players, and most slot attendants, didn't understand the 1,024 way MultiWay feature. I have to admit, I came across that I couldn't explain it to the slot attendants myself. I found myself researching the game feature so I really could explain it. Though it is apparently merely a regular computer game with 40 lines, The Treasures of Troy game is clearly two games in one.

First, it is really a 40 line 20 reel game, in place of the 5 reels that many of our games have. It appears like a 5 reel game initially glance, but if you look closer you will see that there are 5 columns (not reels) of 4 rows. All these "picture windows" is really a separate reel. Watch the way the game plays and you'll see each window stopping by itself as opposed to a complete column stopping together as most reel games do.Second, along with being a 40 line game, additionally it comes with an option to purchase in to a MultiWay feature just like Aristocrat's Reel Power games giving players yet another 1,024 ways to win when they double their wager. Here's how that feature works:

Whenever you wager the extra amount (40 x your line bet) to enter the MultiWay feature, along with to be able to win based on payable combinations on all the 40 lines, it's simple to win centered on symbols on each column. You should get 4 or 5 of the exact same symbol in each column on a dynamic payline to trigger a win, however, if you receive multiple of the winning symbols in any of the 4 or 5 columns, your win is multiplied.

Clear as mud? It is confusing, but when you take into account the examples above and watch the game when someone is playing it with the 40+ MultiWay feature activated it can be clearer. Just understand that 4 or 5 WS on a payline will trigger the feature when the excess wager is placed.By the way, that is basically the exact same way the Carnival of Mystery game works, except Carnival of Mystery only has three rows by five columns for a maximum of 243 approaches to win.Rick Brock has been involved with the casino gaming industry for over 24 years employed in and around casinos in many different roles. He has worked at casinos in Nevada, California, Minnesota and Mississippi and has consulted for casinos in California, New Mexico, Louisiana, Minnesota and Mississippi.

Once you sign up to an online bingo website you obtain much more than simply a bingo experience. Each one of these bingo websites always offers a number of fun and profitable side games. Alongside bingo you will most likely find slot based games, casino table games and instant win games.At each bingo site you can enjoy each of these side games with the funds from your bingo account. You are free to play as much or as low as you wish. The majority of the side games start off for cheap stakes however, you can play for more cash if you wish. Many sites even provide a free play scheme; these allow you to experience the medial side games without risking many hard earned money. In the next article I am going to speak about each of the side games available and see those are the best.

Slot based games tend to be typically the most popular kind of side games. I am not sure why, but bingo players often love playing slots. You can enjoy for as little or around you would like and there are many of big jackpots to be won if you should be fortunate. You may find slots that incorporate popular themes such as for example "Who wants to be described as a millionaire" or even "X Factor" slot games. The most common kind of game could be the 3 reel and the 5 reel games. 3 reel games are generally simpler to win. My favourite slot based website is Cheeky Bingo.Table games are the classic type of games you'd find in a casino. You have games such as for example Roulette, Blackjack and video poker. Roulette is purely a luck game. You spin the roulette wheel and hope so it lands on your number or colour. Blackjack needs a little bit of skill, you have to use and produce a total of 21 or let the banker bust. If you figure out the correct strategy, these blackjack games can be very profitable. Likewise with video poker, when you yourself have an excellent strategy it is possible to win some money on these machines. My favourite site for table games is Gossip Bingo.

[loyallogic]

Gambling laws across the world 

This article is written by Vishruti Chauhan, from Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad. This article analyses various gambling laws across the world, various judicial pronouncements concerning the same and challenges faced while legalising it.   

Introduction

Gambling is not a new concept to discuss. It has been a controversial topic for many countries. And it’s not a new topic in its formation as well, as gambling has been in existence since the time immemorial. From the Indus Valley Civilization to the Mesopotamian period, there have been ample pieces of evidence of the existence of the game. It is seen as a game of skill by some and a game of luck by others. It involves consideration, risk, prize and is a game of probability, and permutations and combinations. 

Gambling has been a topic of debate due to the moral issues revolving around it and the psychological effect it has on the players. Fyodor Dostoevsky implicates the associated gamblers with the psychology of ‘getting rich quick and as soon as possible’. In a case where a person gets addicted to earning more money through this, they suffer from helplessness and anxiety. 

On an international level, there is no consensus among the countries to regulate it. Even on the national level, most of the countries have different laws in different states. Thus, the regulation of gambling on a general level is difficult. There are different types of gambling such as Casinos, Table and Electronic games, Card Games, Betting on Sports Games, Dice Based Games, Bingo, Coin Tossing, Parimutuel Betting and Online Gambling. These are the major types of gambling which are used widely all over the world. 

Which countries have legalized gambling

There are many types of gambling and every country has separate legal laws for each of them. India, United Kingdom, USA, China, Australia, Ireland, Finland, Canada, Thailand and New Zealand are some of the major markets for gambling businesses. What is interesting to note is that there are some countries where gambling of any kind is strictly prohibited such as the United Arab Emirates and Brunei because the concept of gambling goes against the culture and ethics of the country. North Korea also doesn’t allow for any kind of gambling, however, it is allowed for tourists with guided tours.

For other countries where gambling is legalised, it differs from state to state and country to country. For example, in the USA, there is a federal law for gambling, but it also depends on state to state which type of gambling is legal and which is not. In countries like Japan, gambling was illegal for a long time but recently betting in sports activities has been legalised and various casinos have also been opened. Therefore, even in countries where gambling is legalised, it ultimately depends on the kind of gambling taken into consideration.  

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What are the effects of legalizing gambling

There are various effects of legalising gambling which is positive as well as negative:

Employment 

Opening up of casinos or other types of gambling modes may help in providing employment to the local people in places where the unemployment rate is higher. It not only provides a good amount of income but is also beneficial for both the skilled and unskilled labour. Gambling creates a variety of jobs like waiters, casino bosses, dealers, cleaners, security personnel etc. Even in the case of online gambling, there is a dealer and sometimes sponsors as well.   

Economic Development 

The biggest benefit of opening up of gambling games is that it boosts up the economy very rapidly, the USA being the biggest example. Due to such establishments, there is an increase in income, tax revenue and property value and it also attracts other companies to set up their businesses near these spots. Thailand has also become one of the hubs for casinos and other gambling games.  

Tourism 

There will be a rapid increase in tourism at such cities where casinos are established and thus, in turn, it helps in increasing foreign exchange. Tourism is a crucial part because in some countries even if gambling is allowed only for tourists and not for local people, it still generates a huge amount of income. 

Effect on Local Businesses

There can be a loss to local businesses in such a situation as people may be more attracted to the gambling genre and the other businesses pertaining to entertainment or relaxation might end up in trouble. Furthermore, such places also take most of the employment, thus, it can be an issue for local businesses. However, in a different scenario certain type of businesses can profit as well due to the large flow of customers in that certain area.   

Crime and Cultural Effect

At the end of the day, gambling centres may become prominent places for rich people or even thugs and the amount of money that is put in-and-out can become a cause for major concern for safety. On one hand, it can be handled if regulated properly but the majority of the times, it may result in giving rise to more crimes, like drug trafficking, prostitution, etc. Furthermore, the cultural aspect of such games and the tourists or the different types of people that it attracts might not go with every culture. This is one of the reasons that it is prohibited in many countries. The culture change that a place can experience because of the legalisation of such games does not go well with many countries.    

Psychological Effect

There are two aspects to this:

First, these games are very beneficial in relaxing one’s mind and which is why they are in existence in the very first place. It can be very relaxing, energising and fun for people, which are some of the great aspects and the aim of it. Many people dealing in big businesses and high profile jobs find it very relaxing and become frequent customers to casinos or online games.   

However, there have been many concerns with such games and the second effect being one of the reasons why they are not regularised properly. It can create a scenario of addiction for a person to win more money and in case of bad luck, people tend to lose everything they have. Such types of cases end up with people being depressed, anxious and even suicidal in worst cases. Gambling is seen as a toxic culture in many countries because of this same issues. People tend to bet everything they have to win money and the loss and helplessness sometimes force them to use criminal life to feed themselves.               

Is Internet Gambling legal

Internet gambling has been a topic of immense discussion recently and various countries have approached the same with different strategies. Online gambling has been in popularity since the Internet boomed up in the 21st century. In many countries, the practice has taken an illegal turn due to its huge popularity and no regulation in place. Online gambling is a grey area for many countries as it is difficult to operate and keep track of such monetary transactions in case foreign transactions are being made. Thus, it becomes very crucial to understand and demarcate a legalised pattern for the same. In countries like Africa, where even availability of the Internet is a crucial problem, this issue doesn’t arise. But in a country like India with a huge population and extensive use of the Internet, it is very likely that the betting will be done illegally, if not provided with a proper provision.

In Canada, it is not clear, as per the legislation, the regulation of online gambling, but it is not illegal as provided by its Act. Also, there is no proper mechanism to regulate the same. In the US, some states have legalised online gambling, but some states are still pondering upon the difficulties that the economy may face in such situations. Countries like the UK, Japan, Spain, France, Australia, China and Thailand have laws providing for legal online gambling. In India, online gambling is allowed in only two states- Sikkim and Goa.   

Gambling legislation and regulation

In North America

The United States of America

There are federal laws in America regulating gambling, and the states and locals have their own laws as well for the same. The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, 1988 gives the right to Native American Tribes to regulate gambling on their lands. It is a federal law which restricts the boundaries of such games, if it is prohibited by the criminal law, as opposed to public policy or any other federal law.

Another federal law which expressed the regulation of online gaming is the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. The Act focused on the financial transactions being sought for the use of gambling business and regulated that for any such use of online gambling, no ‘restricted transactions’ should be used. Another important Act is The Interstate Wire Act 1961 which prohibits interstate betting by use of a wire communication facility for any betting game or sports event but exempts it if it is legal in both the states where the money is being transferred to.       

Canada 

Gambling in Canada is regulated on the Federal level by the Criminal Code of Canada whose Section 201- 207 provides for laws relating to betting and gambling. According to the law in Canada, gambling of any kind is prohibited but there are certain exceptions to the same. Section 204 of the said Act provides for certain exemptions such as betting on lawful races or sports games and pari-mutuel system on running or trotting. 

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food has the responsibility to regulate such bettings as has been prescribed. Furthermore, Section 207 of the said Act provides for lotteries to be lawful if regulated by the Government. Other than this, there are separate laws for each State such as Ontario has laws regulated by the Ontario Lottery & Gaming Corporation Act, 1999 and New Brunswick regulates it by Gaming Control Act.     

Mexico

In Mexico, gambling is regulated by the Gaming Regulations. It regulates all gambling games and is governed by the law except the National Lottery, which is ruled through its own regulation.        

In Europe 

The European Union works as a one-state in certain matters such as trade and transportation. In the case of gambling, there is no specific legislation or regulation that provides for laws concerning the same. There is only one specification, that is, every country of the EU has to comply with the provisions mentioned in the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). 

There are provisions which provide for the functioning of businesses in any country of the European Union. There are fundamental freedoms provided under the Treaty and they have to be complied with. Other than that, the type of games which have to be regulated within a specific country is the discretion of that country.

Some countries are restrictive in nature and only allow poker or casinos. While some are regulating laws for online gaming as well. In France, the regulations are governed by different laws for horse racing, betting and online gaming. In Germany, there has been no structural consensus on a variety of factors and there have been questions about the monopoly of gambling. Italy has liberal laws regarding the same and where the various countries in the EU have been so strict in regulating online gaming, Italy has been very liberal about the same.      

In the UK

The UK has been very standardised in regulating gambling and making provisions for the same. The major Act regulating it being The Gambling Act of 2005. There are specific and very strict laws that provide for different types of games. The laws are made with an objective that such games do not give rise to crimes in the country. The Act also establishes a Commission to oversee the activities of gambling and the provisions of licensing as well. Apart from it, there are other legislations that concentrate on specific types of games such as Horserace Betting & Olympic lottery Act, 2004, Categories of Casino Regulation, 2008 and Gambling (Licensing & Advertising) Act, 2008. There are various other regulations that provide a structured pattern to the regulations of gambling in the UK.      

In Australia

In Australia, there is a federal law for gambling and every State has its own separate regulation for such games. The Interactive Gambling Act, 2001 is the federal law that governs gambling in Australia. It provides for regulations to licensing as well as to online gambling in Australia. The Act lays emphasis on legal gambling by way of licensing and excluded lottery service. Apart from it, every State has its own regulation for gambling. 

For example, Victoria has the Casino Control Act, 1991 and Gambling regulation Act, 2003 among other laws. Similarly, New South Wales has Betting & Racing Act, 1998 and Casino Control Act, 1992 among other acts as well. Therefore, in consonance with the federal law on the Central level, gambling is regulated majorly on State level by rules made by the respective States.  

Important judicial pronouncements 

Harry Kakavas v. Crown Melbourne Ltd. & Ors

It is a landmark judgment of Australia regarding the care to be taken and duty of the Casino towards the gambler. The appellant was a problem gambler and had lost around $ 20.5 million dollars to the respondent, which is the Crown Casino in this case. He had been an old customer of the casino and was prohibited from coming there due to such problematic grounds, however, he came back after showing himself as being financially capable. He was further offered by the casino, free accommodations and various other perks such as a private jet to take him to the casino. After a point of time, he was in a loss of $20.5 million dollars to the Casino. 

He claimed that the Casino ‘lured’ him to play a lot of gamble by giving him perks and facilities so that he becomes a regular customer. He further claimed that the Casino had a duty to take care of the problematic behaviour of the appellant. 

The High Court of Australia held that the appellant was in a situation to assess his actions and behaviour. There was no particular behaviour from the side of Casino that could have landed him into trouble. Furthermore, the Court held that in case there was no legislation for the same, there is no general duty for a Casino to protect gamblers from themselves as in such a situation it will affect the whole business of gambling. Therefore, the judgment was given in favour of the Casino.       

Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association

The case relates to The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), which is one of the provisions which prohibits the State to authorise any sort of sports gambling and, thus, was alleged to be violating the Anti-Commandeering Doctrine. The provision stated that it would not be authorised for any State to operate, sponsor, advertise, license or promote a lottery or betting or gambling based on a competitive sporting event. Thus, it was alleged that the provision put the State under the control of the Federal Government. The District Court and the Third- Circuit found no violation in the provision. However, the Supreme Court of the USA held that the said provision of PASPA violates the Anti- Commandeering Doctrine as it directly authorises the federal government to dictate actions to the State legislature. Thus, the judgment was reversed and the provision was held to be violative of the said doctrine.         

Pauline Mckee v. Isle Casino Hotel  

In this case, Pauline Mckee, an 87-year-old woman, was playing slots at Iowa’s Isle Casino when she received a message that she had won a bonus award of $41.8 million jackpot which came right after she had obtained a win of 185 credits. The Casino took some time and found out that there was malfunctioning with the machine and the lady had actually just won $ 1.85 and thus, it refused to pay the money to the lady. A suit was filed by the lady asserting breach of contract, estoppel and fraud.

The District Court gave the decision in favour of the Casino. She appealed and finally, the Court held that the lady was unable to prove the essentials of a contract and estoppel as the Casino never made a representation that she would win a bonus and nor did they make the promise afterwards. There was no proof of either of the claims and the fraud was also not proved as the Casino informed her of the mistake as soon as they found out about the same and gave the clarity as well. Thus, the Court gave the decision in favour of the Casino.

M/s Gaussian Network Pvt. Ltd. v. Ms Monica Lakhanpal 

This is an important judgment of India regarding online gambling. The Court observed, in this case, that there is a huge difference while playing gambling games online and while playing physically as the attributes of the skills are different while playing in these two modes. The skill that has to be used during physical play is much more than that has to be used during an online game. The Court further observed that there are many websites which allow a person to play for free and it was held to be valid. However, in case of online gaming where a service provider is involved, neither it can be said to be a fair play of game nor can it be stated that the game of skill has overlapped the game of chance.    

What are the issues and challenges faced in implementing gambling laws

Different laws over different regions

While implementing gambling laws, it becomes crucial to examine the region and state where it is being applied to as the cultural differences among regions create disorientation and it is difficult to implement a uniform law for the whole country. This is the reason why there are different gambling laws within a country that varies from state to state. In countries like the USA, European Union and India, it has become a common rule that the gambling rule changes from state to state, and country to country in case of the EU.     

A broad aspect of Definition

Another issue faced is that the definition of gambling which is provided all over the world is based on major three aspects- consideration, price and result by a risk. The issue while implementing such laws appears when there is an overlap of these aspects or a very broad range for the aspects are provided. Especially in the case of Internet Gambling, the risk or skill of taking a chance could change from game to game or even the consideration that has to be paid may not be just monetary and could be payable through some other way. It thus becomes crucial to think and include all options which can be exercised under these definitions.   

Booming Internet 

The fast booming Internet has created a lot more issues for gambling businesses. There are still many countries that are not able to regulate online gambling. However, it is important to do so, especially for a country like India as the population of the country shows a booming population using the internet as well. There are various issues with online gambling and it is important that any privacy issues or monetary issue should be regulated, otherwise the internet will cause an increase in internet fraud, trafficking, phishing, hacking and other crimes which could create problems for customers in future. These crimes are increasing day by day and thus, it becomes the biggest challenge for the government to regulate laws concerning the same.  

Jurisdiction

It is another issue that is faced during online gambling. In case of a dispute, it becomes very difficult to solve the problem jurisdictionally as the other party could be in a foreign land as well. There are laws in place for the same but they are not so strong or not so common for the common people to use it in case of fraud or a dispute. Even in the same country, this situation can arise as within a country the state laws are different. In the presence of federal law, many issues are resolved but with new booming online gaming, there are new challenges to the same.   

Advantages and disadvantages of having gambling laws

Advantages

Since it is already in play in some way or the other in the market, it is better to make it legal so that it can be regulated. 

With laws for the same, it will be easier to keep a track on the monetary value being used by the public and thus, it would be better for the economy.

Legalising gambling will strip away the black money up to a limit and it will give a window to earn the revenue out of the same.  

With laws in place, crimes will be less.

There will be employment opportunities created in case the Casinos are legalised and thus, implementing such laws would help in creating better infrastructure for that city. 

Gambling has been a part of the culture for too long in almost every part of the world and thus, it is important to give it a particular structure so that it can also increase tourism and help in foreign exchange. 

Disadvantages

It will give a blow to the already existing gaming industry and businesses.

Gambling can become addictive after a point of time which may otherwise create more broke people, eventually succumbing to criminal activities.

Legalising gambling will give away the temptation to play even to those people who were not playing before and have no idea about the system. This can lead to more crimes of fraud and cheating. 

Conclusion

Gambling has been a part of human life since time immemorial. It is difficult to strictly abolish this practice from a place where it has been practised for a long time. With the advent of the internet, the complexities have further risen and thus, it is very important to regulate the same. As far as the states which have their own gambling laws are concerned, it seems feasible because of the cultural differences that a place can have, however, there should be a balance between the federal and state laws. The major issue in the upcoming times is the regulation of online gambling and jurisdictional issues with a foreign country. Countries like the UK have structured the laws in a very sophisticated manner and it is high time that countries like India also do so in the future.     

References

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/19/contents

http://www.nishithdesai.com/fileadmin/user_upload/pdfs/Research%20Papers/The_Curious_Case_of_the_Indian_Gaming_Laws.pdf

https://cyber.harvard.edu/fallsem98/final_papers/Glassberg.html

https://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/gambling_en#:~:text=There%20is%20no%20sector%2Dspecific,the%20field%20of%20gambling%20services.&text=Most%20EU%20countries%20allow%20at,betting%2C%20poker%20or%20casino%20games

https://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ngisc/reports/3.pdf

https://iclg.com/practice-areas/gambling-laws-and-regulations/canada

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-48.html#docCont

https://www.lawofthelevel.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/187/2016/04/Gamblification.pdf

https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=cd49e0bb-4c54-4bf7-87db-713d5e9d809

https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/99o12

https://www.portilla.com.mx/archives/gam17_chapter20-mexico.pdf

https://www.stlouisfed.org/publications/central-banker/fall-2003/employment-effects-of-casino-gambling-in-the-eighth-district

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How Real World Use Cases Will Drive Crypto Growth in 2020

How Real World Use Cases Will Drive Crypto Growth in 2020:

As Bitcoin enters its twelfth year, the past eleven offer a meaningful amount of time to identify key trends that have emerged around cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. These trends provide insights that are helpful in projecting the future of the digital asset space and how it will take shape over the next decade.

In reflecting on the history of cryptocurrencies over their lifetime, there’s one pattern that immediately jumps out. Each successive wave of interest in the cryptocurrency space has been galvanized by new developments in the ecosystem. In particular, two significant catalysts were the rise of crypto exchanges and the initial coin offerings craze.

Rapid acceleration

These days, crypto users are spoilt for choice when it comes to exchanges, so it’s easy to overlook the seismic impact that these platforms had when they first emerged. Although Bitcoin launched in January 2009, it was over a year before Bitcoin Market — the first cryptocurrency exchange — opened its doors in February 2010. Other exchanges swiftly followed, including the now infamous Mt.Gox. It took less than eleven months from the opening of Bitcoin Market for Bitcoin to achieve parity with the United States dollar.

Fast-forward to 2016, Ethereum unleashed its ERC-20 token standard to the world, which quickly evolved into the 2017/2018 ICO boom. Whether people loved it or loathed it, the ICO craze was probably the biggest moment in the industry’s history. Once tech entrepreneurs became aware of how easy it is to create their own token, the blockchain scene — and the price of Bitcoin — exploded.

Related: ERC-20 Tokens, Explained

Even before Bitcoin hit its peak price of $20,000 in December 2017, there was talk of the ICO bubble bursting. In a nascent sector where so many companies claim to offer a unique value proposition that is often a carbon-copy of its peers, it’s inevitable that many of them would eventually fizzle out.

However, the crypto sector is unusual in that the value of the underlying technology is often perceived in line with market capitalization. Once the crypto winter hit, it hit hard. Once the crypto winter hit, it hit hard. As the prices remained low from the beginning of 2018 all the way until the spring of 2019, the perceived value of blockchain also went down, along with the value of the vast majority of tokens that had been issued during the boom. One study reported that less than half of the projects were still active a mere five months after their token sales.

Crypto cannot live by hype alone

Since the 2018 crash, it’s become increasingly evident that hype alone cannot sustain the industry. The vast majority of firms that promised to “revolutionize” existing industries through the introduction of a token have failed, leading to criticisms that blockchain is “a solution in search of a problem.”

Despite the critics, Bitcoin and many altcoins have survived well. But what’s clear is that many of the initiatives that survived the crypto winter did so by keeping their promise and offering a real-world use case. There are several examples that illustrate this point well.

Related: What’s Next for the Industry as ‘Crypto Winter’ Thaws?

Proving provenance

Supply chain was one sector where blockchain appeared to have a lot to offer, promising transparent proof of provenance from factory to end consumer. In mid-2019, Gartner reported that over 90% of blockchain-based supply chain projects were failing. This is allegedly because the technology was failing to live up to the hype.

However, there are several notable examples of multinational firms using blockchain in supply chain and logistics, indicating that the tech’s use case does indeed hold value. Maersk implemented its TradeLens blockchain solution in 2018, which now boasts 90 partners and was adopted by the Thai customs agency in August last year. Coca-Cola is another case in point, having expanded its pilot solution from two to 70 partners late last year.

Gaming

Gaming is another example of a use case where blockchain is adding real value. In-game assets are big business, with the virtual goods market worth over $50 billion. However, without blockchain, the assets themselves have no underlying value and are under the control of the game developers and publishers. Non-fungible tokens may well be set to transform the gaming sector, enabling users to take full ownership of one-of-a-kind assets, as pioneered by games like CryptoKitties.

There are other applications in the gaming sector. Royalty payments have been an ongoing challenge, with Microsoft Xbox developers working to resolve payment delays of up to 45 days due to difficulties in manual calculations and distribution. The company partnered with Ernst & Young to develop an automated, blockchain-based solution for its royalty payments, creating a more efficient, streamlined process.

Related: Gaming Is Key to the Mass Adoption of Crypto

Creating interest in interest

Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, it’s been virtually impossible to earn decent returns from good, old-fashioned savings accounts. Now, interest-earning accounts for cryptocurrency are opening up new avenues of passive income that doesn’t involve pure speculation on the volatile crypto markets or an active investment strategy.

One of the most popular ways is lending, allowing holders to deposit their funds on a loan platform so other users can take a loan, providing interest to the lender. However, staking offers another way of generating returns, where proof-of-stake blockchains distribute the equivalent of mining rewards to network participants.

Regardless of which lending solution crypto holders opt for, the returns are generally far higher than one would get from placing funds into a traditional bank savings account. Of course, the risks may also be more significant, depending on the type of investment and the chosen platform.

Store of Value

The original use case of Bitcoin was as a store of value, and it remains one of the biggest growth drivers today. Over recent years and throughout the crypto winter, citizens in countries including Venezuela, Argentina and Iran have turned to Bitcoin as a means of protecting their wealth from the effects of hyperinflation. Global or political events may also have an impact on the appeal of cryptocurrencies as a store of value.

Related: Global Economic Crises Show Idea of BTC as Store of Value Catching On

The real-world use case of blockchain as a reprise from hyperinflation demonstrates the bridge being established between the emerging technology and a current economic problem.

Related: Is Bitcoin a Store of Value? Experts on BTC as Digital Gold

More room for improvement

Despite the progress, there is still plenty of room for improvement. In particular, the barrier to entry for new users remains a major issue for the cryptocurrency space. Even now in 2020, owning digital currency often still means navigating unfamiliar technologies and platforms. This can be off-putting to the less technologically capable users, however, organizations such as Skrill are working to eliminate the barriers to entering the crypto space.

Reputation is a separate challenge. In 2019 alone, there were 12 high-profile attacks on exchanges. Scams are also still all too common. It’s an unfortunate reality that the biggest stories about crypto tend to be scandalous, and therefore make headlines in the mainstream media. For example, the BBC’s Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, covering the disappearance of OneCoin’s Dr. Ruja Ignatova, was a major viral hit.

The reality is that for many people uninitiated to cryptocurrency, stories like this will probably form the basis of their perceptions.

Building the reputation of crypto

None of this is to detract from the efforts of key players in the industry to establish a more reliable reputation for cryptocurrency. Coinbase has always worked hard to hold itself up as an example of how exchanges can operate in compliance with regulators. It was the second company to win the coveted New York Bitlicense, followed by others such as Xapo and Bitstamp. In the United Kingdom, Kraken Futures operates under the supervision of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.

However, the entry of existing reputable payment firms and banks into the crypto space is critical to increasing adoption among new crypto users. This serves several purposes.

Firstly, their entry creates a concrete link between the existing financial world and the new world of digital assets. As outlined above, creating a real-world bridge between any particular industry and blockchain is a proven recipe for success in the space of emerging technologies. Furthermore, reducing the barriers to entry for new users is critical if crypto is to attain widespread adoption.

A less tangible benefit — but one that is no less important — is to further bolster the reputability of cryptocurrencies among the uninitiated. This reputational problem can be solved by creating a bridge between established, trusted financial services and cryptocurrencies.

The eleven years since Bitcoin’s launch have been a rollercoaster ride for anyone involved in the space. But during that time, the token has grown from its cypherpunk roots to becoming a credible investment vehicle. Meanwhile, the potential of the underlying technology has only just started to make its mark on industry and the economy. Further removing the barriers to entry will go a long way toward allowing cryptocurrencies to settle into their niche among the existing financial infrastructure. Once that happens, widespread adoption should soon follow. 

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Lorenzo Pellegrino is the CEO of Skrill, Neteller and Income Access, at Paysafe Group. Prior to his current role, Lorenzo was the executive vice president for digital development at Optimal Payments plc from 2012 to 2015. Before joining Optimal Payments, he held executive level positions at Skrill (previously known as Moneybookers); first as vice president for sales and account management in the U.K., and then as vice president of business development in the U.S. Lorenzo earned his degree in public administration and international institutions management from Bocconi University, located in Milan. He also attended the University of Westminster in the U.K., where he completed a business English certificate and diploma, with a focus on marketing.

[goldira01]

As Bitcoin enters its twelfth year, the past eleven offer a meaningful amount of time to identify key trends that have emerged around cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. These trends provide insights that are helpful in projecting the future of the digital asset space and how it will take shape over the next decade.

In reflecting on the history of cryptocurrencies over their lifetime, there’s one pattern that immediately jumps out. Each successive wave of interest in the cryptocurrency space has been galvanized by new developments in the ecosystem. In particular, two significant catalysts were the rise of crypto exchanges and the initial coin offerings craze.

Rapid acceleration

These days, crypto users are spoilt for choice when it comes to exchanges, so it’s easy to overlook the seismic impact that these platforms had when they first emerged. Although Bitcoin launched in January 2009, it was over a year before Bitcoin Market — the first cryptocurrency exchange — opened its doors in February 2010. Other exchanges swiftly followed, including the now infamous Mt.Gox. It took less than eleven months from the opening of Bitcoin Market for Bitcoin to achieve parity with the United States dollar.

Fast-forward to 2016, Ethereum unleashed its ERC-20 token standard to the world, which quickly evolved into the 2017/2018 ICO boom. Whether people loved it or loathed it, the ICO craze was probably the biggest moment in the industry’s history. Once tech entrepreneurs became aware of how easy it is to create their own token, the blockchain scene — and the price of Bitcoin — exploded.

Related: ERC-20 Tokens, Explained

Even before Bitcoin hit its peak price of $20,000 in December 2017, there was talk of the ICO bubble bursting. In a nascent sector where so many companies claim to offer a unique value proposition that is often a carbon-copy of its peers, it’s inevitable that many of them would eventually fizzle out.

However, the crypto sector is unusual in that the value of the underlying technology is often perceived in line with market capitalization. Once the crypto winter hit, it hit hard. Once the crypto winter hit, it hit hard. As the prices remained low from the beginning of 2018 all the way until the spring of 2019, the perceived value of blockchain also went down, along with the value of the vast majority of tokens that had been issued during the boom. One study reported that less than half of the projects were still active a mere five months after their token sales.

Crypto cannot live by hype alone

Since the 2018 crash, it’s become increasingly evident that hype alone cannot sustain the industry. The vast majority of firms that promised to “revolutionize” existing industries through the introduction of a token have failed, leading to criticisms that blockchain is “a solution in search of a problem.”

Despite the critics, Bitcoin and many altcoins have survived well. But what’s clear is that many of the initiatives that survived the crypto winter did so by keeping their promise and offering a real-world use case. There are several examples that illustrate this point well.

Related: What’s Next for the Industry as ‘Crypto Winter’ Thaws?

Proving provenance

Supply chain was one sector where blockchain appeared to have a lot to offer, promising transparent proof of provenance from factory to end consumer. In mid-2019, Gartner reported that over 90% of blockchain-based supply chain projects were failing. This is allegedly because the technology was failing to live up to the hype.

However, there are several notable examples of multinational firms using blockchain in supply chain and logistics, indicating that the tech’s use case does indeed hold value. Maersk implemented its TradeLens blockchain solution in 2018, which now boasts 90 partners and was adopted by the Thai customs agency in August last year. Coca-Cola is another case in point, having expanded its pilot solution from two to 70 partners late last year.

Gaming

Gaming is another example of a use case where blockchain is adding real value. In-game assets are big business, with the virtual goods market worth over $50 billion. However, without blockchain, the assets themselves have no underlying value and are under the control of the game developers and publishers. Non-fungible tokens may well be set to transform the gaming sector, enabling users to take full ownership of one-of-a-kind assets, as pioneered by games like CryptoKitties.

There are other applications in the gaming sector. Royalty payments have been an ongoing challenge, with Microsoft Xbox developers working to resolve payment delays of up to 45 days due to difficulties in manual calculations and distribution. The company partnered with Ernst & Young to develop an automated, blockchain-based solution for its royalty payments, creating a more efficient, streamlined process.

Related: Gaming Is Key to the Mass Adoption of Crypto

Creating interest in interest

Ever since the 2008 financial crisis, it’s been virtually impossible to earn decent returns from good, old-fashioned savings accounts. Now, interest-earning accounts for cryptocurrency are opening up new avenues of passive income that doesn’t involve pure speculation on the volatile crypto markets or an active investment strategy.

One of the most popular ways is lending, allowing holders to deposit their funds on a loan platform so other users can take a loan, providing interest to the lender. However, staking offers another way of generating returns, where proof-of-stake blockchains distribute the equivalent of mining rewards to network participants.

Regardless of which lending solution crypto holders opt for, the returns are generally far higher than one would get from placing funds into a traditional bank savings account. Of course, the risks may also be more significant, depending on the type of investment and the chosen platform.

Store of Value

The original use case of Bitcoin was as a store of value, and it remains one of the biggest growth drivers today. Over recent years and throughout the crypto winter, citizens in countries including Venezuela, Argentina and Iran have turned to Bitcoin as a means of protecting their wealth from the effects of hyperinflation. Global or political events may also have an impact on the appeal of cryptocurrencies as a store of value.

Related: Global Economic Crises Show Idea of BTC as Store of Value Catching On

The real-world use case of blockchain as a reprise from hyperinflation demonstrates the bridge being established between the emerging technology and a current economic problem.

Related: Is Bitcoin a Store of Value? Experts on BTC as Digital Gold

More room for improvement

Despite the progress, there is still plenty of room for improvement. In particular, the barrier to entry for new users remains a major issue for the cryptocurrency space. Even now in 2020, owning digital currency often still means navigating unfamiliar technologies and platforms. This can be off-putting to the less technologically capable users, however, organizations such as Skrill are working to eliminate the barriers to entering the crypto space.

Reputation is a separate challenge. In 2019 alone, there were 12 high-profile attacks on exchanges. Scams are also still all too common. It’s an unfortunate reality that the biggest stories about crypto tend to be scandalous, and therefore make headlines in the mainstream media. For example, the BBC’s Missing Cryptoqueen podcast, covering the disappearance of OneCoin’s Dr. Ruja Ignatova, was a major viral hit.

The reality is that for many people uninitiated to cryptocurrency, stories like this will probably form the basis of their perceptions.

Building the reputation of crypto

None of this is to detract from the efforts of key players in the industry to establish a more reliable reputation for cryptocurrency. Coinbase has always worked hard to hold itself up as an example of how exchanges can operate in compliance with regulators. It was the second company to win the coveted New York Bitlicense, followed by others such as Xapo and Bitstamp. In the United Kingdom, Kraken Futures operates under the supervision of the U.K. Financial Conduct Authority.

However, the entry of existing reputable payment firms and banks into the crypto space is critical to increasing adoption among new crypto users. This serves several purposes.

Firstly, their entry creates a concrete link between the existing financial world and the new world of digital assets. As outlined above, creating a real-world bridge between any particular industry and blockchain is a proven recipe for success in the space of emerging technologies. Furthermore, reducing the barriers to entry for new users is critical if crypto is to attain widespread adoption.

A less tangible benefit — but one that is no less important — is to further bolster the reputability of cryptocurrencies among the uninitiated. This reputational problem can be solved by creating a bridge between established, trusted financial services and cryptocurrencies.

The eleven years since Bitcoin’s launch have been a rollercoaster ride for anyone involved in the space. But during that time, the token has grown from its cypherpunk roots to becoming a credible investment vehicle. Meanwhile, the potential of the underlying technology has only just started to make its mark on industry and the economy. Further removing the barriers to entry will go a long way toward allowing cryptocurrencies to settle into their niche among the existing financial infrastructure. Once that happens, widespread adoption should soon follow. 

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed here are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.

Lorenzo Pellegrino is the CEO of Skrill, Neteller and Income Access, at Paysafe Group. Prior to his current role, Lorenzo was the executive vice president for digital development at Optimal Payments plc from 2012 to 2015. Before joining Optimal Payments, he held executive level positions at Skrill (previously known as Moneybookers); first as vice president for sales and account management in the U.K., and then as vice president of business development in the U.S. Lorenzo earned his degree in public administration and international institutions management from Bocconi University, located in Milan. He also attended the University of Westminster in the U.K., where he completed a business English certificate and diploma, with a focus on marketing.

[echoeternally]

So, what made you choose the characters (Pokemon?) you did specifically, as well as the ships included? Are they any particular reasons you ship certain characters together and some going single?

Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever been asked this before. I like this question!

This will probably be a long post too, so brace yourself!

+ Sneakpast was chosen as the lead couple because I was originally planning on writing just a one-shot between Greninja and Chesnaught. The last two chapters of BAF were originally meant to be one thing (starting from Greninja and Chesnaught being alone together in Chapter 9), and it was mostly just a couple that I liked from art I found online, so I wanted to try them out for myself. Then I wanted to add details, and asked questions like, “How did they get here? What makes them act this way?”That expanded their roles, what I wanted them to do, and why I fleshed them out more. The idea of a shy ninja and a friendly yet cautious knight seemed cute to me, and these two fit a nice combination. Plus, I was working on my Mario fanfic, ENY, and after having written scenes in Bowser’s Castle, I wanted to spend more time within castles, and medieval stuff in general. So, I just kept up until the story came out as it did. It’s a little harder to tell at the moment, but Sneakpast will remain the lead characters for the series, which I decided to tell in 4 stories. Something about working with this couple clicks nicely.

+ Having two thirds of the Kalos trio without the third would have been foolish, so I immediately knew that one of the first supporting characters would be Delphox. However, I know that a lot of its popularity as a species is…well, based solely on appearance, and even that is out-classed by its prior evolution. (Which was furthered by Pokken Tournament, yay!) Specifically with Delphox, I was kind of bored by the whole “designated female starter” role that it was forced into. So, I determined immediately that Delphox would be a male, and decided to make him annoyed with constantly being seen as a female based only on his appearance. Because I knew I was including him initially to complete my Kalos trio, I decided to leave him single, and basically poke fun at the idea that I made him a third wheel. And I did this twice over, since he can be a third wheel with Gardevoir and Gallade as well, though Gallade would contest that. However, as I was writing out his increased role in the plans for MGR, I wanted to explore some of his feelings regarding being left on his own. He’s too proud to really explore it with anyone, but he’s honestly burdened by being that third wheel. It made a great parallel to how there’s always a Pokemon left behind in the core series, or one that gets less attention than the other two. Coupled with these feelings and others mistaking his gender, Delphox’s bitter personality was easy to develop. There’s more to come going forward with him in particular, so I’m excited to explore him more alongside Sneakpast.

+ My initial thought for writing a medieval fantasy that I fleshed out was to include a king and queen. I didn’t even have to think when my mind immediately gravitated to Nidoking and Nidoqueen, and they were going to be the first characters included in the story behind the Kalos trio. It was a classic, staple pairing that enough people enjoyed. However, I stopped myself before I ever really wrote out their roles. Nidoking/Nidoqueen (RegalShipping) was a common pairing, and a very known one at that. It would be too easy to just slap them in, and I wanted to challenge myself with how I looked at older Pokemon in particular. These two are constantly seen as a couple, but I wanted to know what would happen if something got in the way of that idea. And I liked searching for alternative options, so I did just that for both of them. Between the two, I decided on Nidoking to be the more important, because I did want that senior character that Greninja and Chesnaught could relate to, and if they were a gay couple, I knew that it would be easier for them to go to a male that would be in a relationship with another male himself. So, Nidoking’s prominence won out, and by the time I worked out how that role would be, I realized that Nidoqueen wouldn’t be very important as a character in the beginning. And then it hit me: what if Nidoking and Nidoqueen weren’t separated by choice? That idea had me come up with what will become something harrowing as the series continues: Nidoqueen’s premature death.

+ Rhydon was a Pokemon that I was absolutely set on including as I read up on Pokemon’s history. The first Pokemon created, and it was typically left regulated on the sidelines or left fairly forgotten by the creators and the fandom overall? Not going to fly with me. I knew early on that I wanted his role to be prominent, another that would definitely interact with Sneakpast, and decided to have him as one of the notable roles. Hence why I decided on him becoming a general to the army that both Chesnaught and Greninja worked with. Working on his role along with Nidoking’s made me want them to have a close relationship from the start. As soon as I decided that Nidoking would be without Nidoqueen, it was a really easy transition to Rhydon becoming his new love interest. It fit symbiotically with Nidoking’s role, and having two seniors for the main couple to look to for guidance was especially helpful, as it provided flexibility in what advice they would receive. Rhydon in particular has been fun to develop, because as I continued with writing out the story behind him, Nidoking, and Nidoqueen, I liked having him as the odd one out behind all the stories, loosely reflecting on his should-be prominence for the Pokemon series. Since he was Nidoking’s friend since childhood, I knew that he would be in the castle, and I ultimately made him a butler’s son, which is why he can be so worried about things being perfect with Nidoking, as well as trying to be diligent in his role as a general. After that, I wrote out how his relationship with Nidoking would flow, in that Nidoking would have had a lot of lovers before settling on Nidoqueen, and never having noticed Rhydon’s quiet pining for him as years went by. This is only glossed over at the current part of the stories that I’ve written so far, but there is a lot of underlying tension between DrillShipping to come.

And that’s already 5 (technically 6) characters that I’ve included before the cut, which makes this a super long post. So, time to add in that “read more” label just below this, hooray!

Ok, if you’re eager to know some more about the rest, here goes! And be wary of possible spoilers; I tried to avoid telling them, but no promises!

+ Gardevoir was included as a foil for Delphox. Unlike Delphox, I consider the species to be forever regulated as female, because of a male given evolution in Gallade. So, I liked the idea of her being the one to contrast Delphox in several ways: comfortable with her feminine appearance, enjoys the attention that potential suitors give her, having a particular relationship that gives her a stability that Delphox doesn’t know, and the cheerful disposition to offset Delphox’s bitterness. She would be everything he couldn’t be: secure with herself. And originally, the magic shenanigans the two get into were originally going to be directed at them fighting with one another. However, I didn’t like that Delphox’s foil was going to be such an easily reviled role. And I thought, “What if they were friends?” And then I furthered that idea, in which they wouldn’t hate each other, and that Delphox would be even further in Gardevoir’s shadow because he couldn’t really dislike her. So, instead of being rivals, I made them childhood friends. And instead of being the one thing that she likes to go against, I made Gardevoir’s bigger weakness become Delphox. Any time they weren’t together, she’d feel something missing, and her seemingly perfect life would be incomplete without someone that grounds her more than she’d ever admit.

+ Gallade was part of the packaged deal for Gardevoir always, since I did want at least one pair that would be considered “classic” or “typical” by the audience. Given Gardevoir’s original role, his was easily set as being her perfect boyfriend, and a consistent support role that Delphox would grow to envy never having. Being a higher ranking noble added to perks that Gardevoir would receive, and increased the gap between them and Delphox. Initially, when I switched the role for Gardevoir from rival to friend, I didn’t do much to change Gallade. However, as I continued to work it out, and as I’m writing now, I’ve realized that a fun idea would be a sort of shift between the third wheel balance that rests between this trio. Gardevoir and Delphox’s longtime friendship was something that Gallade never really got to know about them, and matters that concern the two mages typically don’t involve him. Coupled with him not immediately being from the main castle of the kingdom, I liked the idea of him awkwardly trying to fit in with Gardevoir and her friends, which will be more evident as the story continues.

+ Bisharp was one of the first Pokemon I gravitated to when I was selecting knights for the first kingdom. He was an easy fit for the appearance, so that part of his selection was easy. His original role was to be Chesnaught’s loyal friend, basically his go-to ally under all kinds of situations. Readers have seen shades of this in BAF, but it’s effectively gone by MGR. Originally, I was going to have Bisharp be constantly in Chesnaught’s corner. However, when I had finished BAF, I realized that having Bisharp as Chesnaught’s friend wouldn’t really be effective with his falling out of the other knights. After all, he was relatively supportive in BAF, and having him continue that in the second story wouldn’t have made Chesnaught feel like something was lacking; sure, his support with the other knights would have withered, but his main friend would still be there. That didn’t sit right with how I wanted Chesnaught’s position to develop, as I wanted there to be a falling out for him with essentially all of the other knights.So, not even Bisharp would stand by him after he publicly revealed his interest in Greninja. It’s partially reflective of how a gay person in real life doesn’t always keep the friends they have, as some are just too ignorant to understand. Furthermore, I liked having two characters that were friends suddenly not be anymore, because that’s kind of a rift that happens universally with people in life. His contrast with Lilligant, who ends up being that loyal friend to Chesnaught, is something that’s bubbling in MGR. And his role will be increased in the third story, so expect to see more of him.

+ Lilligant was part of the original story, as the female love interest that Greninja assumed Chesnaught was interested in. Her role was originally going to be as simple as that, being another friend of Chesnaught’s that was supportive of him and understanding of his romantic interests. Contrasting Bisharp from the beginning, she was the calmer friend, the one that would really listen to Chesnaught when he needed. It was a role that she could provide that Bisharp couldn’t, as a civilian character wouldn’t need to concentrate as deeply on training or combat, and therefore could take more time to spend with her friend. Greninja would see her as a rival for Chesnaught’s affections, to which she was never interested in to begin with. This role was carried through my development, which is how she appeared in BAF. Continuing the story, I wanted Lilligant to be utilized more, and I thought I was going to be satisfied by making her a counter to Bisharp. Whereas he would waver in his friendship, Lilligant would become more supportive to Chesnaught. As I was writing up plans for MGR, I realized that her role as a civilian would be interesting to have, but made little sense if I continued to have her in the story. After all, what place would a town girl have when an army goes marching? It has been done before, and having her tag along could be played logically, with enough thought. But I didn’t like her just being a cheerleader on the sidelines, and wanted her to have an active role, even if she’s out of place in fighting. So, as I worked out the continuing story, Lilligant would become a member of the army, though rather unofficially for now. Her romantic interests are something that I’ve hinted at through her appearance in MGR, but will finally get attention in the third story.

+ Typhlosion was originally the bully of the lot, as he was in BAF. After I settled on the kingdom being mostly reflective of the Grass and Bug types, I liked having a Fire type as one that picks on those weaker around him, because of obvious type advantages. The roster that appears around him reflects this, as he has an advantage against: Chesnaught, Escavalier, Accelgor, Scizor, and Heracross, with Lilligant and other civilians being bonus targets. Coincidentally, Bisharp was also an easy target for him, leaving him in a powerful position prior to Greninja’s arrival. However, I didn’t like the idea of a character just being mean for fun, and wanted there to be depth behind his actions. Furthermore, I didn’t like Typhlosion having a higher position from the other knights just because of that type advantage, as it wouldn’t feel like he ever earned it. Instead, I shifted his role as one that others wouldn’t respect much at all, since he was so crass and annoying, as well as lazy by relying on his Fire typing to help him win battles against them. By the time BAF was written out, he ended up as something of that bully role, but a far cry from being so effective against those he should easily outclass. This, however, is being traded off in favor of a more complicated role in MGR. When I decided against keeping Bisharp on Chesnaught’s side, and creating the rift between the knights, I was originally going to keep that throughout for the knights. But, I was writing Typhlosion’s role, which was literally on a 1:1 comparison to Chesnaught’s at that point. And I thought, “Well, I could have him continue to be that foil…or, I could do what I wanted to do earlier on.” What I wanted to do later with Typhlosion was prove that he wasn’t such a bad guy after all, and that he would befriend the others later in the series. But as a fellow outcast from the knights, it was easy to have him upgrade his role early on, and he quickly fit into the main group. His love interests will be explained by the end of MGR, which have mostly been identified by the audience. His other issues will continue to be addressed in the third story, as he’s far from done with them. Though, expect his role as a bully to have basically evaporated.

+ Samurott came to be after I realized that I wanted two things: a friend for Greninja, and a foil to both Chesnaught and Typhlosion. When I decided that Typhlosion wasn’t going to be very respected among the knights, Samurott’s role was easily upgraded to counter it. As a Fire type that floundered in an environment that favored his typing, I liked the idea of a Water type that would excel in an environment that went against his typing. His relationship as Typhlosion’s foil wasn’t going to net him much attention, so I wanted to make him one with Chesnaught as well. Hence, he’s more forward with his thoughts and desires than Chesnaught ever could be, and him being terrible at keeping secrets to contrast with Chesnaught’s keeping his sexuality a secret. Plus, he’s held a bit above the other knights due to his proficient skills, whereas Chesnaught’s favoritism comes from his friendliness, so that only adds to their differences. One thing I wanted to contrast between his relationship to Chesnaught and Typhlosion was that Samurott actually liked Chesnaught, whereas he wouldn’t be very kind around Typhlosion (if you haven’t guessed yet, that idea had quickly fallen apart). His biggest relationship, however, I wanted to be with Greninja. Very early, I was just going to make him the equivalent to Bisharp, being Greninja’s loyal friend in spite of anything. I liked the idea of him being from a foreign kingdom, and that having Greninja around would make him feel less isolated with the other knights, finding someone so similar to him. However, as I was writing, I liked the spot of tension that originally came from their meeting, in which Greninja was originally annoyed by Samurott’s sudden assistance with an issue, though quickly quelled by the samurai’s kindness and appearance. Considering that he wasn’t in a relationship with Chesnaught at the time, I liked that Greninja would have other crushes on knights, and Samurott to be the lead of them next to Chesnaught. But, what I grew to like more, was Samurott’s own interests in Greninja, and a struggle between being friends and something more. So, he was the one that pushed having romantic feelings for Greninja instead, who had literally just barely missed the chance to have had a relationship with Samurott, ultimately because of Samurott’s hesitation. As the story continues, Samurott still harbors feelings for Greninja, but he will continue to choose between wanting the ninja as his lover or if he’ll be satisfied with him as a friend. His feelings of being isolated in a crowd are slightly expanded, and provides a new way that he can relate to others with such feelings. The end of MGR will explore where that’s going, and the third story will have him confront his overall messy relationships.

+ Accelgor is Greninja’s partner ninja, and a friend of his. Her relationship with Escavalier is one that I wanted to try out, in which a married couple would be around with the main cast. I haven’t immediately gotten to everything that I have wanted to with her, so I can’t explain much here yet. Accelgor and Escavalier will have increased roles in the third story, so I’m holding off on both of them. Her pairing with Escavalier was my initial attempt at developing a relationship behind Pokemon that concerned trade evolutions, and I thought they’d be the best to start with. Married couples are something that are typically lacking in romance stories, so I wanted one that would be around for the duration, and one that wasn’t immediately regulated into a “parents only” role. She will have shades of that in her role, but I consider her as more of an aunt or older sister to Greninja. Escavalier is the other half to the relationship, and he’ll play into somewhat of an uncle figure to Chesnaught and Greninja. He’s an expert knight, but kind of bumbles around with his relationship to his wife, which is seen in BAF. He means well, and he wants his wife to be happy above all else. He’s another senior to the knights, and though younger than Nidoking and Rhydon, he’s certainly up there in age with them, with Accelgor herself not being very far behind. His character will be developed more in the third story as well, but his relationship with Accelgor will be probably the most stable among every other couple featured in the story.

+ Scizor was intended to be the cool and collected knight on the roster, which is noticeable from his original appearance in the first chapter of BAF. He’s quick to dismiss Typhlosion’s attempts to get into a fight with newcomers, and doesn’t get pressured into it. He was mostly left forgotten after that, however, as his role wasn’t really meant to be explored in the first story. Because of Typhlosion’s role shift, as well as the knights forsaking Chesnaught because of his romantic interests, Scizor was left as more a defacto leader among his fellow knights. He’s struggling to keep his allies focused on coming threats, and because he’s not a fan of homosexuality, he seems to have absorbed Typhlosion’s role as a bully for the duration of MGR. This, however, will not remain, as Scizor’s role will become all the more clear as the story continues. Unlike the other characters, his primary relationship will not be a romantic one. This will begin by the end of MGR, and will continue through in the third story.

+ Armaldo is one of two lackey type of knights, and the more frequently occurring of them. He’s a bit more uneasy under pressure, and typically folds when one of the other knights pressure him. Though he means well with his intentions, he’s still prone to making bad choices, such as teaming with Typhlosion against the new ninjas in BAF, and following Scizor’s bigotry in MGR. In the third and fourth stories, he’ll learn some new things about himself. Heracross is the other lackey between the two, and has less prominence. I liked the idea of a scout and messenger role for each kingdom, and I liked Heracross as one for Nidoking’s kingdom. So, unlike Armaldo, he’s more comfortable with being used by others, and can even roll along with it. Among the cast overall, he’s been the least developed character, and likely will remain that way for the four stories. Though, he will have more to do than just tag along, so expect more for him.

+ Golurk was a fun concept that I wanted to try out. I like the idea of a giant character around, and being physically out of place compared to the other characters that only feel like they’re out of place. He’s not going to have the same dynamic as any other character, again not motivated by love interests, and will speak less than most overall. Though his role seems like it will be a utility, he’ll have much more to work with in the third story, and a very critical role in the fourth. Golurk is basically going to be the sleeper character that seems like he’s just there, but will have more revealed by the end of it all.

+ Other characters beyond this core group are minor comparatively in the kingdom, at least for now. Their roles are regulated to their supportive roles, and will serve more to help other characters develop or to help advance the plot. However, among those introduced, there are at least two among them that are planned to have their roles expanded and fully realized in the third story. Each first appeared in MGR, as a slight hint.

= The very first thing that I wanted from the Iceberg Empire was a couple that would relate to Chesnaught and Greninja. I wanted a pair that could both be worse and better than Sneakpast. So, I knew right away that I wanted two characters who would start as friends, have a harsh fallout, and ultimately return to one another as lovers. I went over Pokemon that I liked, and picked out Machamp and Alakazam. Since I hadn’t explored the trade relationship for Accelgor and Escavalier, I decided that another aspect of that would be good. I also really wanted a pair that featured one half as really strong, and the other as really smart. When I was developing them, I figured it was a cliche duo that had been written before, and figured that someone, somewhere, surely featured such a basic, cookie-cutter pairing that’s literally been around since Generation 1 of Pokemon. You can only imagine my initial dismay when I found that this was a couple that essentially no one had thought of before. Suddenly, I became very excited by having chosen the two together, as they would be an easy couple to roll into, and one that no one ever paid any mind to before. They fit the role that compared and contrasted to Sneakpast better than I could have ever imagined. Readers have seen Alakazam and Machamp’s shaky relationship at its worst already, and they’ve seen the two get together and become happier. What’s coming up is how well they will work together.

= Empoleon as the Iceberg Emperor was an easy choice. Penguin for the arctic region with the word “emperor” as part of his name. Slam dunk simplicity at its finest. As the second leader to be introduced between the four major kingdoms, I wanted him to have similarities and differences to Nidoking. Both are wise, and present a fair amount of wisdom to share with their soldiers. Both, however, are also open to learning from their soldiers as well. Yet, I wanted this to be contested, in which Empoleon wouldn’t be as easily swayed or as open as Nidoking. So, he would be a lot more firm with his soldiers, and though open to learn from them, he would be more distant. Unlike Nidoking, who tackles situations head-on and lives in the present, Empoleon is more of a strategist, wanting to be thinking of the future and being steps ahead of his adversaries. This combination wired him for a relationship that would see a reactionary development to Nidoking’s own misfortunes, in which he would hide away his wife so as to not face the same sorrows that Nidoking barely made it through. As MGR continues, he’ll soften to his soldiers still, and continue to teach Greninja and Chesnaught more about the world overall. He’s a nice teacher role, and he has hopes to see his wife and child again. So far, with Mewtwo not being the Prophet of legend, things seem to be going his way…

= Abomasnow continues my trend of choices based on environment. Big, massive, angry yeti-tree. Sounds like the ideal general figure for the Empire to me! Reflecting Empoleon’s contrasts to Nidoking, Abomasnow’s personality develops to contrast with Rhydon. Unlike Rhydon, who is warmer toward his knights in spite of needing to be their leader, Abomasnow is harsh, dolling out punishments where he sees fit, and looking to root out the weakest on his line-up as opposed to making weak links stronger. Like Rhydon, he has favorites based on similarities to him, and likes his strong bear soldiers, as well as Golduck. Though he has a very tough exterior, he does care about his knights deep down. His development in a strict but cold personality was developed because he’s already lost soldiers under his guidance, and he’s more than fed up with it before the Kalos trio even arrived. A tough love kind of character, he’s slowly letting his guard down again after the incident of the Frozen Fields and the discovery of Mewtwo. He’s just…not quite as soft about it.

= Froslass was originally intended to be Alakazam’s answer to Delphox’s Gardevoir, in terms of a giggly and cheery mage partner. However, since his main relationship is focused on Machamp, and the pair would become foils to Sneakpast, there was little room for Froslass to be Alakazam’s friend. Instead, she ended up playing this role with Weavile, who is actually a lot less open with her friendship to Froslass than Delphox and Gardevoir are to each other. This is to be furthered by the next chapter of the story. Essentially, Froslass struggles with being so distant from her comrades, but buries her insecurities through fun and a jubilant attitude. She has a desire to get closer with others, but typically fails at this, either scaring them off, or otherwise just outright not understanding them. After the incident in the Frozen Fields, however, she has a stronger desire than ever to close such gaps.

= Weavile came from my desire to have a collected character on the roster again, and this time follow through with that. Unlike the other timid characters, she’s completely removed from her social companions, and typically stands away from the crowd. She yearns to be closer and has a desire to fit in, but fails to follow through with it. As a result, she has become distant entirely, with her lack of social skills only fueled by her role on the Iceberg Army as the archer. Though she’s totally out of place in a crowd, Weavile is learning how to get together with her companions. She was the most recent to arrive prior to Alakazam and Machamp, who were already friends. Her role is like Delphox’s in being a third wheel type. She does, however, interact with Froslass, being the only two females on the core line-up of the Iceberg army. With Froslass’s overall personality, this will be explored in the next chapter of MGR. 

= Carracosta is a character that I haven’t revealed much on yet because his role is more important to the second act of MGR. He’s showcased as a pessimist and a realist to contrast Mienshao, who’s a bit more into optimism and playfulness. His mysterious relationship will put him more into the spotlight, coming in the chapter after the next for MGR. This, however, was the source of his distancing between himself and the other soldiers.

= Mienshao, on the other hand, will also have more of his personality explored in the next chapter, so I won’t say much on him. Like Delphox, I wanted a Pokemon that’s typically considered female to be revealed as a male character, and providing Delphox with someone he never had in the Grass Fields Kingdom: an equal. There’s more to say on that, and Mienshao will have a prominent role during the second act of MGR. He’s more playful than he lets on, and likes making up proverbs that relate to current events. There is something a bit sinister about his grin, however, which unnerves his companions. Because of it, he became a bit avoided by the others whenever possible.

= Golduck was a knight on the Iceberg roster that was also introduced as Greninja’s ex-boyfriend. I picked him as being more of an elite member of the knights, and kind of owed it to him being a bird, which automatically means he gets along well with Empoleon. His relationship with Greninja explores the sour side of a gay relationship, being the first boyfriend Greninja ever had, and having not so great of an ending. As for why I picked Golduck? Honestly, the anime did it. His appearance long ago as that flirty duck that fought for Misty specifically because he liked battling for cute girls? That made me think of Golduck as this lecher forever. So, he was a double automatic first choice as the high ranking knight and the first ex-lover to be introduced.

= Delibird is basically Heracross’s equivalent to the Iceberg Empire, and wraps his role with Armaldo’s from the first story into one composite character. A messenger and yes-man to both Empoleon and Golduck’s orders, he’s ever the follower more than anyone else. Unlike the Grass Field equivalents, however, Delibird has a distinct refusal to participate in on Golduck’s shenanigans, typically only consoling his superior after his failures and giving him at least one ally to lean on, rather than partaking on his schemes. Delibird is nice and means well, but bumbles about with his role entirely. 

= Poliwrath and Politoed are my first attempt to writing characters in the Pokemon fanfics that have a different relationship to focus on besides romance and friendship, with their relationship established as brothers. They’ll have more about them revealed in the next chapter for MGR as well, so I won’t say much here. Just expect them to have this perpetual rift about them, and constantly bicker with one another. More on them another time, since…well, hey, I’ve got to keep some cards up my sleeves.

= Beartic, Pangoro, and Ursaring are my first attempt at a polyamory relationship. They’re a crass version of it, typically not caring what others think, and represent divides between cultures when they initially shock Greninja and Chesnaught, and when they continue to disrupt the common life of Grass Fields. They’re not exactly nice, but they’re not totally mean either…well, Pangoro’s not the nicest, but I digress. Their role continues with another chapter in MGR, but it’s mostly set to help establish another trio in the third story.

= Mewtwo isn’t going to have much given yet, since his role evolves with the story. (Pun intended.) I will say that I am intentionally trying to make him softer than his usual depictions, which typically include him being power hungry, cold, calculating, aloof, and is described as “savage” and basically heartless by the Pokedex descriptions themselves. That idea for Mewtwo is what most are used to, so I want to give him something less common to go by. He’s going to be something of an amateur compared to the rest of the cast, but retains his power, meaning that he’s got a lot of potential that he doesn’t quite know what to do with. Most importantly, he’s going to be caring and kind, contrary to what most depictions feature him as. He will have two important relationships to explore and develop for the third and fourth stories.

= Lucario is another character I can’t talk much about yet, but another that I’m going against what is considered the typical depiction. Most often, Lucario is something of a heroic type, usually kind of a general token good-guy type of Pokemon that appears. (No, I didn’t fight Gladion yet, so shut your mouth with those spoilers.) He’s…you know what? Saying anything else will spoil him too much. He’s going to be important as the story continues.

= Zoroark is part of Lucario’s team, and therefore I can’t say much. If you know him well enough, you can put together the kind of role he’ll have coming up.

= Flygon is the other part of Lucario’s team. I wanted to feature a Dragon and wanted one before my third story. He’s in a relationship with Zoroark mostly as a “thank you” to a friend of mine, honestly.

= Other characters that have appeared so far will probably be less in the story, and have less of an overall impact compared to the side characters in BAF. However, there are more to appear, and more that will have a great role to play in the second act of MGR, so stay tuned.

Phew! Long response. Thank you for asking that one! This is something that I look forward to coming back to when the series ends, but I’d love to clarify the characters for MGR, so that’ll be fun to revisit too.

[hermanwatts]

Fantasy New Releases: 28 September, 2019

In this week’s fantasy new releases, two litRPG heavy hitters team up, Orson Scott Card plays with micropowers, and a classic of wuxia makes its English language premier.

Bibliomancer (Completionist Chronicles: Wolfman Warlock #1) – James Hunter and Dakota Krout

The vaunted power of the Mage’s College. Unbounded freedom among the Wolfmen. The best of both worlds.

Recent college grad Sam King was hoping for a backpacking trip across Europe as a graduation present. Instead he’s going to get a different kind of trip: a three-month stint in the ultimate immersive gaming experience. As a lifelong geek, gamer, and outsider, it’s a better gift then he’d ever dreamed.

But when he jumps feetfirst into the world of Eternium, run by CAL, the Certified Altruistic Lexicon, it’s not exactly what he expected. All he wants is to quest, game, grind some levels, and get his hands on awesome loot. You know, have fun! But the Mage’s College seems to have a very different definition of fun, one involving study, blisteringly strict regulations, aristocratic hierarchy, and tons of pay to play.

Sam crosses the College and finds himself running for his life with a back-talking book that is far more than it seems and a class that no one has even heard of. If he can navigate the deadly College politics and the looming war with the barbaric Wolfmen, he might just find the fun and adventure he was looking for.

Born of the Shade (Viventium #1) – D. O. Thomas

West London has always been known as the quieter part of the city. That’s true… for a human. But in reality, the streets are home to those that rule over the supernatural world.

Werewolves have their gated communities. Vampires reside within a subterranean utopia. And the magic-wielding wizards, witches, and warlocks study their arts right under the noses of general public. It has always been that way, and because of this, there has always been peace.

But when a rare blue moon settles in the sky, everything changes.

Noir, a West London information broker with his fingers in every supernatural pie, sets out to discover what the blue moon means and finds something beyond belief. With his discovery, comes the realization of a prophecy that spells disaster for the supernatural world.

He must do everything in his power to stop the actualization of this dark future that might mean the end for the peace between species that keeps his world intact.

Cirsova Magazine (Volume 2, Issue 2) -presented by Cirsova Publishing

The newest issue features eleven new tales of thrilling adventure and daring suspense.

Seeking out the Burning Fish for a client, Mangos and Kat instead find a strange cult of folk devoted to a simple life—who would kill before giving up their secrets!

An anthropologist seeks to solve the mystery of Chalchihuitlan’s “grinding woman.” What’s her significance? What is it that she grinds? For what does she wait?!

Slayer-Of-Wolf’s hunting party is alarmed when a mysterious fire falls from the sky—stranger still is the mysterious blue woman he finds where the fire has landed!

The colonists of Titan have been a fierce and independent lot since breaking away from Earth—some with a grudge might even resort to murder to stay independent!

…and more!

A Hero Born (Legends of the Condor Hereos #1) – Jin Yong

A fantastical generational saga and kung fu epic, Jin Yong’s A Hero Born is the classic novel of its time, stretching from the Song Empire (China 1200 AD) to the appearance of a warlord whose name will endure for eternity: Genghis Khan. Filled with an extraordinary cast of characters, A Hero Born is a tale of fantasy and wonder, love and passion, treachery and war, betrayal and brotherhood.

And then a hero is born…

After his father, a Song patriot, was murdered, Guo Jing and his mother fled to the plains and joined Genghis Khan and his people. Loyal, humble and driven, he learned all he could from the warlord and his army in hopes of one day joining them in their cause. But what Guo Jing doesn’t know is that he’s destined to battle an opponent that will challenge him in every way imaginable and with a connection to his past that no one envisioned.

With the help and guidance of his shifus, The Seven Heroes of the South, Guo Jing returns to China to face his foe and carry out his destiny. But in a land divided by treachery and war, betrayal and ambition, he’ll have to put his courage and knowledge to the test to survive.

The Last Templar: The Blood of the Martyrs – Steven Savile and William Meikle

The Brotherhood is endangered, the Templars betrayed.

Their only hope lies with two twins, separated at birth and raised worlds apart, each with an unbreakable will to discover the secrets that have been kept from them. One is destined to wield the dagger of the martyrs, the blade of an ancient order of assassins, the other the last templar.

An epic tale of betrayal and loss, of sacrifice and commitment.

And of ties that, once forged, can never be broken.

The Last Templar is an epic historical fantasy novel in the grand tradition of David Gemmell’s Rigante and Troy novels, steeped in war, tinged with magic and wonder.

Lost and Found – Orson Scott Card

“Are you really a thief?” That’s the question that has haunted fourteen-year-old Ezekiel Blast all his life. But he’s not a thief, he just has a talent for finding things. Not a superpower—a micropower. Because what good is finding lost bicycles and hair scrunchies, especially when you return them to their owners and everyone thinks you must have stolen them in the first place? If only there were some way to use Ezekiel’s micropower for good, to turn a curse into a blessing. His friend Beth thinks there must be, and so does a police detective investigating the disappearance of a little girl. When tragedy strikes, it’s up to Ezekiel to use his talent to find what matters most.

Master storyteller Orson Scott Card delivers a touching and funny, compelling and smart novel about growing up, harnessing your potential, and finding your place in the world, no matter how old you are.

The Truth of Shadows (The Nightfall Wars #2) – Jacob Peppers

Three strangers chosen by the gods.

A castle-servant who can bend fire and light to his will. A musician whose song can soothe even the wildest of hearts. And a nobleman with the gods’ own luck.

Three strangers gifted with powers beyond that of normal mortals stand against the armies of shadow. But there are other gods, other powers lurking in the darkness, and they too will find their champions.

Hunted by mortal and immortal enemies alike, Alesh and his companions flee south to the Ferinan lands. There, they will search for help they desperately need, those who might stand with them against the coming darkness.

A nobleman without hope.A musician to whom every song sounds like a funeral dirge. A castle servant at risk of being consumed by an evil greater than any he has faced.

They have set themselves against the coming Ever Dark. But shadows are not easily conquered, and no matter how many are cut down, more rise in their place.

For the truth of shadows is that they are not born.

They are made.

War of Men (The Buried Goddess #5) – Rhett C. Bruno and Jaime Castle

As men squabble amongst themselves, the Buried Goddess makes her move.

Torsten Unger marches east in the name of the Glass Kingdom to put an end to Drad Mak, eliminating the Drav Cra threat once and for all. But can it be that simple—or is he just another pawn in the Buried Goddess’ game?

After discovering that Nesilia has possessed Sora’s body, Whitney Fierstown has a plan to get her back. All he needs to do is find a way to contact his old friend Kazimir, who as an upyr, knows the secrets of existence between worlds. It won’t be easy, but when has it ever been?

Having won the Tal’du Dromesh, Mahraveh is now an afhem, and with her new fleet, she has the power to save her father. Muskigo has been cut off and surrounded by the Glass Army, but the time has come to bring the fight to them and for her to win this war between men.

Fantasy New Releases: 28 September, 2019 published first on https://sixchexus.weebly.com/