#srs no idea how i did that i spent like 3 hours a week in church and they made me pray every night and in school and i still knew NO prayers

[calbeloved]

projecting onto gal because theres no way he has ever prayed in his life. he was such a rebel im convinced that while all the other kids were praying before sleep he would just. make stupid faces to anyone who would open their eyes. or to henri. and he would NOT remember any prayer even though they were repeated everyday, multipe times

[jeonjeonggukenergy]

Anti-Hero

summary ~ in search of wine at a party that’s so not your scene, you run into jungkook, the weeb from your film class, and become determined to learn just how much he lives up to his big reputation.

pairing ~ jungkook x reader

genre ~ fluff, smut - college!au

wordcount ~ 8.5k

warnings ~ 18+ only! smut, explicit discussion of kinks/sexual preferences (yay healthy communication), dom/sub undertones during both discussion and sex (dom Jungkook, sub reader), mentions of daddy kink and degradation but both are a no, marking, biting, hair pulling, spanking, they both have a srs pain kink lmao, brief oral (f receiving), penetrative sex, creampie

a/n ~ SO excited to finally have this chapter out for yall! it’s a huge one and i’ve been working on it for quite a while, this includes the first full smut scene for this fic and i would love to know how yall like it or any other feedback. i really enjoyed writing the character development in this chapter too! they’re so cute and whipped for each other already hhhhhh. thank you so much for loving this story so far, i’m really looking forward to writing the rest. hope you enjoy! ❣️

previous: chapter 1 | chapter 2 ~ next: chapter 4 (coming soon!) 

~ read on ao3 ~

CHAPTER 3 ~ particular, perfect

You concluded your walk home by ditching your shoes at the door, swinging your bag off your shoulders to the floor, and plopping down onto the couch immediately. Pulling all three nearby blankets over yourself, you realized you still weren't quite comfortable. You looked around for a second, puzzled, until an absentminded clutch of your boobs reminded you why. Triumphantly, you reached into a sleeve to untangle your bra and chucked it across the room with a deep stretch of relief. Okay, time to overthink again.

Jungkook? What the fuck?

Wait. A bag of chips on the kitchen counter caught your eye before you could descend any further into panic. The perfect emotional crutch. You clutched it to your chest like a safeguard against your own internal monologue, anxiously shoving handful after handful into your mouth. After about thirty minutes spent motionless on the couch with one hand shoved in the chip bag and the other distractedly scrolling through Twitter, your eyes suddenly widened and your hand froze, dropping your next bite of chips back into the bag. Fuck. You had just eaten nearly an entire family-size bag of chips before what could end up being your first fuck in over a year. Well, maybe this was part of why you hadn't gotten fucked in over a year. No, don't go there. You shoved down your own insecurity, knowing you'd just been too busy for a relationship and honestly, probably still were. But that wasn't going to stop you today.

You shook the chip dust off of your hands and got up to head to the shower, turning up your trashiest throwback playlist of getting-ready bops and resolving to at least shave your legs. Going in with no expectations was probably the best strategy here, but it never hurt to be prepared.

~

Having cleaned his apartment in record time, Jungkook was now at the gym. After triple-checking that his roommate Jin would be in rehearsal until 10pm at the earliest, he quickly scanned all the common spaces and his bedroom and realized he didn't actually have that much work to do besides politely closing the door to Jin's still-decent-but-somewhat-messier room. To be honest, Jungkook had mainly bought himself the time after class so he could shave just in case. But then he figured if he had to shower, he might as well hit the gym first. So here he was, burning off an unprecedented amount of nervous energy. Settling comfortably into the leg curl machine, he turned his music up and started on a low weight to put in reps until his thighs burned and his head felt pleasantly empty.

After completing his normal leg day rotation and dutifully stretching, Jungkook prepared to head home. He walked out of the gym feeling more energized and centered, barely even flinching when he switched his AirPods off to say bye to the nice girl at the front desk and the action accidentally blasted "Whistle" by Flo Rida from his phone speaker for the whole lobby to hear. As he walked back into his apartment, the kitchen clock let him know it was only 4:30. He had plenty of time. Jungkook hopped straight into the shower, shampooing his hair, shaving everywhere he normally did, and savoring several extra moments to relax his muscles under the hot stream of water. Finally, he toweled off to wrap up in the black t-shirt and cozy matching sweatpants he'd carefully stacked on the counter. Offhandedly singing to himself in the steamy mirror, he checked the time on his phone, deciding he might as well go ahead and text you before he got nervous again and did something stupid. Like chickening out completely.

hey its jk! im ready when u are :) my apt is 344 glencoe rd #1521 (yes its on the 15th floor sry D: )

His charming old-school smileys lit up your phone while you still had a leg perched on the bathtub's edge.

"Fuck!" you reacted. The hiss resounded, thanks to the too-good acoustics of your cramped bathroom. Your razor clattering to the floor, you paused your max-volume 2000s music to check the message, and then the time. Only 5! That wasn't dinnertime yet. Plugging his address into Google Maps, though, you realized it was a 15- to 20-minute drive from yours on the opposite end of campus. Even if you got ready at light-speed, you would get there closer to 5:30. Which was a bit more reasonable. He was being reasonable! You should be ready by now!

You leaned over to pick up your razor and cursed again as the water stream grazed the blouse you'd left on out of laziness. You'd showered this morning, so there was no need to repeat that with your shave, but now you'd have to change outfits completely. Feeling like an idiot, naked from the waist down but now all the way wet, you peeled the shirt over your head slowly to preserve your good hair day and glanced down at the dilemma you'd been facing. The patch of hair between your legs stared back at you like the final boss of stupid societal beauty standards. You'd only shaved down there once, as an anniversary present for your first boyfriend the summer before college, and it had been a fun, smooth novelty for about two hours and then itchy, red, gross-looking, and miserable for about three weeks. Also, it had kind of made you feel like a little girl, which creeped you out when you thought about why guys would prefer it. You'd been debating whether to try it again for the past fifteen minutes, because if there was ever a right time, this was probably it. But now you didn't have time, if you were going to be respectful and not keep Jungkook waiting. Well, this was the real you. He could take it or leave it.

Slathering a quick coat of lotion over your freshly shaved legs, you prepared to get dressed in a soft pastel sweatshirt and a flattering pair of workout shorts. Wait, should you wear lingerie? Was that too try-hard? You didn't really even need to wear underwear with these lined shorts, which could be a cool-girl move, you supposed. You settled on a cute white sports bra to go with the shorts, not wanting to deal with a real bra and hoping it still appealed to Jungkook's casual, athletic style. You checked yourself in the mirror briefly before grabbing your bag, confirming you looked chill enough but still felt like your best color-coordinated self. Heading out, you shoved a tin of chrysanthemum green tea in your water bottle pocket. Why not?

~

You whizzed over to Jungkook's apartment, yelling along to "Sex With Me" by Rihanna from your throwback playlist to hype you up in the car. When you knocked on his door after a nerve-wrackingly long elevator ride, Jungkook welcomed you with a "C'mon in!" amidst a mouthful of shrimp chips.

"It's not really dinnertime yet," (yeah, no kidding, you thought) "I went ahead and worked out but it's still kind of early, so I figured we could just have a snack and do the homework first."

"Sounds good," you affirmed. "I'm not really that hungry," (read: there's no way I can eat chips AGAIN right now, I'm going to bloat so badly) "but I brought tea so I can go ahead and make that if you want some too!"

"Oh cool, thanks!" Jungkook accepted. "Are you sure you're not hungry though?"

You almost gave into his sweet pout, but managed to convince him, and soon you both sat at the table with laptops open and twin cups of tea. You had a blast working together for the first time, acting out your "conversation" for the discussion board and pretending to respond spontaneously to each other's points like you hadn't already excitedly rambled back and forth through them in real life. You hit "send" five minutes apart, your idea to not seem too suspicious, and kept raving over Rear Window in between. As the sun lowered outside his living room window, you moved on to making the ramen.

After three offers to help Jungkook, all of which he denied, you simply made another steep of the tea, leaving a mug on the counter for him. Standing at the bar counter sipping yours, you enjoyed all the tiny, cute noises he made while chopping green onions and sprinkling extra garlic in the seasoning, like an anime character who came with his own sound effects. You could tell he made these recipe additions every time, because bulk quantities of the same simple ingredients lined the counters of his cozy kitchen. When he beat two eggs and dropped them into the pot, though, he couldn't seem to find a lid, and eventually settled on trapping the steam with a plate. You both waited on the egg for a silent moment, your foot bouncing under the bar while Jungkook restlessly acquired a slight wiggle. As he took a sip of his tea, a strand of hair fell over his eyes, and he yeeted it out of his face. Your inner language nerd cringed, but there really was no more apt word to describe the action.

You offhandedly said you liked his hair long, and he replied with a smile, "Maybe I'll have to keep it then."

"Do you like it too?" you wondered.

"Honestly no, it's kind of inconvenient."

"Oh, then why would you keep it?" you immediately asked back.

"Well..." he dragged out. "You like it? Maybe I should keep it if it looks better this way."

Your eyes crinkled appreciatively at his thoughtfulness, but then you backtracked. "Wait, no, it's okay! If you don't like it, don't feel like you have to keep it just because of something I said. You can do whatever you want."

"Hm, yeah." A demure smile tugged up the corner of his mouth as he lifted the plate from the ramen pot.

You watched him drag a chopstick through the floating, now-cooked egg to tear it into ribbons, then divide the noodles between two generously-sized bowls. He carefully wiped down the drips of broth from each bowl before sprinkling in his fresh toppings, then walked with you to the table.

Serving you with a pleased smile and a slight nod, he announced, "Dinner!"

"Wow," you mused playfully. "So gourmet."

"I'm really particular about my ramen," he admitted. "I have it down to a perfect routine at this point."

You took your first slurp of his particular, perfect ramen. "Well, it's really good. I'm impressed. And thanks for making me dinner, you didn't have to do all that."

"Oh, come on, it's instant ramen," he laughed. "Nothing special. And you brought the tea, so thanks. And thanks for coming over. And doing the homework with me. And...yeah." Rambling again. Why did he seem so...nervous? You were nervous. He couldn't be nervous. What reason did he have to be? But the twitch of his mouth under his wide eyes, his slightly reddened ears, his hand skittering over his neck—fuck—to ruffle his hair...every action turned another page of his open book. It felt infuriatingly unfair that genetics had assigned someone so sweet and shy and unsure of himself to that fucking body.

While you both ate and talked, you kept catching glimpses of any small flashes of skin you could find, as his long sleeves fell to expose his forearms and the wide neckline of his boxy black shirt gaped around his collarbones. What was wrong with you? Even if this did eventually turn into a dick appointment, the boy still had literally all of his clothes on. You tried to refocus on finishing your noodles, while your brain screamed at itself in shame that you could get this turned on by the sight of someone covered from neck to ankle.

Jungkook ate surprisingly slowly, probably because he kept pausing to excitedly explain his favorite things about the Cowboy Bebop episode you were about to watch together. You smiled into your tea through every out-of-context fun fact and "wait, sorry, that might have been a spoiler!"

Finally, he reached the bottom of his bowl and insisted on both taking your dishes to the sink and leaving them for him to clean later. "You sure you want to start on episode 2? Not 1?"

"Yeah, I remember well enough and your summary helped a lot too!"

"Okay, if you're positive!" he double-checked, grabbing the remote.

Gingerly lowering yourselves to the couch in sync, you avoided looking at each other as you both tried to calculate a comfortable distance between you. His hand looked ready to either hold yours or lower to your thigh, but he retracted at the last second, smoothing it over his own leg anxiously and still clearly itching to make a move. You shuffled closer to him until your thighs barely touched, and he shifted to slink an arm around you, letting your head rest on his well-muscled shoulder. After pressing “play”, he began wiggling slightly again, subconsciously grooving to the old-newspaper-style intro. Spike Spiegel appeared on the screen, his broad shoulders squared into a slouch as he listlessly watched TV. Jungkook kicked one leg over another and stretched his arms out symmetrically to echo the pose. Raising an eyebrow, he waited until you acknowledged him with a faux grimace and a hand to your ear, imitating the old man in a lab who’d just called up Spike for a new mission. You both burst into laughter and settled back into your former arrangement, Jungkook holding you imperceptibly tighter. Though you tried to stay staring straight ahead, wanting to genuinely appreciate the anime, you kept catching his doe eyes in the corner of your sight as you both giggled and gasped your way through the episode.

After avoiding eye contact too many times, you finally tilted your head for a cute sideways view of his face. He leaned toward you too, shyly closing the gap to touch his warm lips to your nose, then lower. You responded immediately, rolling your body with his so your chests met as he pulled you up into a full, deeper kiss. The longer you explored each other's mouths, the more Jungkook punctuated your movements with whimpers. He seemed hesitant to let his hands roam away from your face and neck, but his high, breathy moans made it clear that he was just as into this as you. Your hands had naturally found his taut waist, and at some point you started to bring them back up to his face too—but as your short nails grazed his chest, a particularly sensual, voice-cracking moan interrupted you. You drew back in slight surprise, blinking your eyes open to scan from his face to his body.

He followed your gaze, both slowly settling on the massive tent in his pants. You froze. Your breath grew heavier, confronted with evidence of his physical attraction to you, if nothing else. After regaining his composure, he laid a useless hand over his lap in a delicate attempt to distract you and brought his other hand up to tap your face lightly.

"Is this okay?"

His eyes glittered with equal parts hunger and concern.

"Yes!" you nodded, too quickly, too eagerly. "Yes, this is totally okay. Sorry if I'm being weird, I just...it's been a while." You cringed internally at your own words, but couldn't seem to avoid putting your foot further in your mouth. "I haven't really, like, hooked up like this before—like, I've had sex, but never really outside of a relationship. But don't worry, I get this is more your thing, and I'm totally down if you are. I just don't really know what I'm doing, and you clearly do."

Jungkook blinked at your admission, then his face twisted into something curious, inscrutable. Would he decide you weren't worth the potential for drama? His lips flattened out to a tight line, then pursed to speak, and you looked down at your lap, hoping he wasn't as embarrassed of you as you now were of yourself.

"Well, I've never had sex sober."

Your eyes flashed back up to his. A complex half-smirk offset the furrow in his brow as he exhaled in nervous relief. "So, I don't actually know what I'm doing here either."

You tried to delay your response as you processed the implications. "You mean..." You tilted your head for better eye contact, hoping to convey empathy but not pity while you silently contemplated how to proceed. "Never?"

"Yeah, I've always shown up to parties and the hookups just...happened. Nothing I didn't want, nothing bad like that, but always spontaneous. So I guess we're kind of meeting in the middle, because I've never really had to plan ahead for a situation like this and, uh, figure out what I want. Beyond, yknow, wanting to get laid in the moment, of course." Jungkook laughed off the end of his explanation, but the smile never quite hit his eyes.

"Well, okay, let's pause right there." You sighed. Something in his words didn't sit right with you. "What do you want? I want you to be sure about this, of course, but more than that, even—what do you like?"

"I..." he chuckled, sheepish, shaking his hair over his face again. "What, you want me to just tell you? Like, what I'm into?"

"Yeah," you shrugged, trying to project more confidence than you felt in hopes of encouraging him to keep opening up. "I want you to be able to communicate, I want you to be comfortable. And I want to know what you like, so I can make it as good for you as possible."

With your hands still laid flat on his chest, you felt his heart rate jump a tiny bit, and took the liberty of digging your nails in just slightly deeper. His breath caught him, and then he caught himself. "I don't know, I just want what you want."

Jungkook struggled to appear nonchalant as you rolled your eyes with an "Oh, come on," challenging his avoidance. Every instinct was telling him yes. He could hear his mind screaming at him to be intentional for once and let you take him, if not farther, then deeper than ever before. But he still hesitated, because being intentional in this case required him to be real. He had always been a fairly private person, but something about you made him feel so comfortable so fast that it counterintuitively made him more nervous. Of course Jungkook knew you weren't all innocent at this point, but the risk remained that you wouldn't really be down for everything he secretly wanted to explore. Even worse, though he didn't truly think you would, you could easily turn around and spin anything he revealed into yet another graphic rumor. Especially since you had no skin in the game yourself. He glanced down at your fingers, tensed into his chest, and narrowed his eyes.

"Why don't you tell me what you like first? And then I can tell you where we overlap," he grinned competitively. Your eyes widened as he tossed the challenge back your way. Not backing down, you flattened your hands and steeled yourself to settle the stakes.

"Fine—but only if you promise not to just go along with whatever I say. I'll let you know anything that's a hard no for me, but otherwise I want to hear at least one thing that's not on my list. I really do want what you want, that's how I am too, okay? So..." you paused to slide your fingertips over his collar and drag it down with a light scratch, now directly on his skin. You smiled with your eyes, enjoying the way he naturally responded with a hitch of his breath again. "Surely you can think of something specific."

He nodded quickly, before he could convince himself to back out. "Yeah. Promise."

"Okay," you confirmed, slightly nervous but determined to go through with this, for Jungkook's sake if anything. Seeing his body come alive with each new twist of the situation was building your curiosity, not to mention turning you on beyond belief. You could barely stand the warmth of his skin under your hands, so you drew them back to fold in your lap as you began. "So. Uh. To start. I've never really laid it all out like this either. I really like neck kisses? Like, a lot." Equally unused to this kind of directness, you wrung your hands together nervously, but sucked up the boldness to keep elaborating. "That's definitely, like, a big thing that turns me on...and then getting marked up and everything is really hot to me too. Like you can honestly go really rough with me on that, bite me even. I don't know if this is weird but even though it's annoying to cover up, I love taking off the makeup at the end of the day and seeing all the bruises on myself. Knowing I was walking around all day with that as my little secret." You swallowed shyly before continuing, but Jungkook interrupted the brief silence immediately with a hushed "Fuck."

You turned to face him fully and he didn't even move to meet your stare, eyeing the space above your sweatshirt's wide neckline like he was ready to devour you. Emboldened, your smile grew.

"So...yeah. I like being bitten, marked up. Mostly, uh," you rubbed a slightly trembling hand over your shoulder, "I'm just really into pain in general. Obviously not the bad 'I'm too dry and you're jackhammering me' kind of pain, or like, anal. Anal is a hard no. But things like biting, or hair pulling, or overstimulation. Or, like—I don't really know how to explain this, but...getting held too hard? That deep pain like when you get a massage when you're sore and it hurts but it's good, yknow?"

Jungkook looked like he was about to vibrate out of his skin, breathing shallow and rapid. His eyes flicked up to meet yours, just in time for you to whisper in conclusion:

"I love that feeling."

You suddenly looked away, reticent. A thick silence swelled between you, until he composed himself enough to punctuate it. "Okay. Yeah. Pain. So like, BDSM?"

"I mean, kind of? Sure? I don't have much experience with that and I don't really need the whole power dynamic aspect; I just like the, uh, physical pain. I wouldn't be opposed to trying further, but one thing I do know is I really don't like being degraded. And I'm not into the whole daddy kink thing either. I'm just not gonna call you that, sorry," you laughed, and fortunately he giggled too. "But I know that's not, like, necessary to the rest of BDSM, and the part about giving up control is still...interesting, for sure."

"Wait," Jungkook cocked his head, making a mental note of your last sentence before he went back to the previous one. "What do you mean, being degraded?"

You half-chuckled, half-cringed, never having needed to explain something like this, especially to a guy you hopefully were about to fuck. Cheers to better communication, you supposed.

"You know, how some people when they do dirty talk are like 'yeah, you little slut, you're such a whore.' I don't like being called any of that. Like it's fine that other people like it, there's nothing wrong with that, it's just really uncomfortable for me."

His brows knit together as you explained, and he shook his head so fast it almost looked cartoonish, like a little kid refusing vegetables. "Yeah, no. Don't worry, not really my thing either."

You sighed in relief. "That's nice. I feel like it's, like, weirdly common with guys. Maybe just the kind of thing people learn from porn."

"But you still like it rough, huh? Did you learn that...from porn?" he half-joked, trying to overcome both his shyness and his gritted-teeth arousal.

"No, I don’t like porn. Most of it’s really unethical. I learned from experience," you sassed back. "I don't have a whole lot, but enough to know what I like."

"Well. Hm." He worked his tongue over his teeth, poking one cheek out over his tensed jaw. You couldn't get enough of watching him grow fascinated by your every revelation, and you were preparing to keep pressing further when he beat you to it, posing a question. "Is there anything you haven't tried before, but really want to?"

Your face heated up instantly, tasting your own medicine. You looked back to your hands, breaking his intense eye contact to give yourself the courage to be even more uncomfortably honest. "I...I...um." Your first attempt at disclosing your fantasy came out as a squeak. Swallowing, you set your shoulders and tried again, selfishly reminding yourself Jungkook seemed so eager to please that this was 99% likely to get you exactly what you wanted. "I've always been, uh, really into the idea of, um, getting spanked. I've been, uh, too nervous to ever bring it up, before now obviously, but it's definitely one of the biggest kinks I've always wanted to try. Maybe being tied up too, I think I'd like it if I tried but I haven't thought about that as much. But, yeah...spanking, definitely."

"Fuuuuuuuuck."

A lengthened version of Jungkook's earlier under-breath exclamation made you peer up at him. Your thighs already pressed together from the tension of admitting something totally new, you found yourself needing even more friction just from the sight of Jungkook with his head thrown back on the couch, a veiny hand threaded in his hair to pull the long waves back from his forehead. The full reveal of his sharp eyebrows brought a whole new level of intensity to Jungkook's already beautifully carved features. He glanced over at you, then squeezed his eyes shut with a terse exhale. You couldn't place why, but you felt a deep attraction to the way he expertly restrained himself from acting on the lust written over his face—not under your control, but his own.

"Oh, fuck. What the fuck. How the fuck would you fucking know," he swore more in a single burst than he cumulatively had ever in your presence.

"What?" you toyed, heart rate still high but relaxed enough to enjoy agitating him. "Something ring a bell?"

Jungkook shuddered out a long breath, hand ruffling his hair as his other forearm still tried desperately to subdue his boner.

"Everything," he hissed, more willing to elaborate now that you had done the same, and especially now that he could tell you really did enjoy him being more assertive. "Shit. I...I want...I know you said not to just say this but I really do want everything you want. I can't wait to mark you up. I can't wait to hold you down and bruise your neck. I want it all, I want to make you hurt so good. And then—" Breathless. He looked almost embarrassed. "Then you had to go and somehow guess basically my biggest fucking kink, I can't fucking believe you." Both hands had come up to seize his long locks as he held himself back physically, while finally letting his guard down mentally to declare everything he intended to do to you. Letting out a short laugh, he finally met your eyes. "I wanna spank your ass bright red. Fuck. This is crazy. You're perfect."

Your core throbbed at every bold word. Leaning in close to him, you let your lips approach Jungkook's beautifully sculpted jawline as he panted, his chin tossed up to fully expose his neck. You stopped just short of his skin, in awe of how much you'd been able to work him up and still so tempted to take it to the next level. "Fuck," you echoed. "This is so hot," you murmured almost to yourself. Your eyes closing along with his, you dealt the final blow. "I love that we have so much in common. But come on, you promised. One thing that's not on my list."

Jungkook whined. You could tell he needed to touch you so badly, and no one was stopping him but himself. He had no way of knowing that if he cut the whole discussion and just took you, you wouldn't even try to resist at this point. Staring at his trembling mouth from below, you quickly averted your eyes when he opened his, pretending you hadn't been looking. He inhaled a short hiss, and then spoke.

"Okay..." He paused after just the first word, blowing air through the tiny "o" of his mouth as his eyes bugged slightly from nervousness. He couldn't resist a challenge, though, and his urge to please you overwhelmed his reluctance to peel back one more layer. "So, the pain thing. I think we, uh, feel the same about me giving and you receiving. But...I'm really into it for myself too. I don't know if you'd be comfortable with it, I know you maybe want me to be more dominant and I think I like that more too in general, but you can be as rough with me as you want back. I'd love that." Eyes still open but fluttering, Jungkook's tone grew breathier, heady as he confessed. You almost giggled at how bashfully he worded his desire to dominate you, to rough each other up, but the contrast was so hot you couldn't help sucking your bottom lip between your teeth, eager for him to continue. His voice lowered. "I love being scratched, marked, bitten...hit me, push me back, any kind of pain or any way you can hurt me, I want it." He shivered, but his voice firmed up even further. "I want it so bad."

You fought to stay motionless beside him, unable to even process how much more his honesty had turned you on. You felt helpless in your desire for him, your craving to give him everything he wanted and more. He noticed your charged stillness and shifted toward you, removing a hand from his hair to finally reach for your face. Threading his fingers through your hair instinctively like he had with his own, he tilted your head back to access your neck. Jungkook finally felt confident enough to tease you back as he skimmed his lips over your pulse point, tugging your skin between his teeth for a gentle first taste and grinning when you moaned. Seeing someone so satisfied, for reasons better than just his body or their pride, brought the most incredible rush of blood to his head. And his other head.

"And I get why you want it too," he finished with a whisper in your ear. "So trust me when I say I really, really want to give it to you."

In an instant, your hands yanked his hair down to bring his face up to yours, mouths crashing together. Feverish, restless, you kissed him, hastily attempting to straddle his thick thighs before he threw his body over yours and pinned you to the back of the couch. His hands wandered, intrepid, from your waist to a quick squeeze of your breasts before he spiraled you into his strong arms. Pressing your chest flush with his as your mouths meshed, he ground his hips into you shamelessly, enjoying the way you struggled beneath him to align your core with his rock-hard dick.

"Your room?" You rushed out the words.

Jungkook laughed a little, his tone half whine and half dare. "So we're done talking?"

"Come on," you pleaded back. He finally relented, pulling you up with him and dragging you across the living room and through his door, lips not leaving yours for a second. You backed him into the bed with your arms against his strong chest, and once he was sitting perched on the edge, you laid yourself horizontally over his thighs.

"What are you doing?" he murmured, curling a hand over the dip of your waist to hold you gently.

You angled your head back to make unsteady eye contact with him, flipping your shorts down boldly. His free hand automatically reached to slowly conform to the shape of your ass, so eager to touch you but tentative as he grazed your curves.

"Giving you exactly what you want."

"Fuck. Really? You're sure about this?" Jungkook held careful eye contact as you brought your arms back up, crossing your wrists over your head delicately. You nodded slightly and did your best to meet his gaze with confident invitation, convincing him how much you trusted and wanted him.

He smoothed his warm hand over your ass one more time, then brought it up and watched your thighs tighten at the loss of his touch. Breathing in, still a little shakily, he brought his hand down on your right cheek with a loud but mild smack. A grunt of satisfaction involuntarily left him when he saw your face flinch down into the sheets, subduing a small noise of surprise. He returned his hand to caress the light redness he'd left, checking in with you again. "Is this okay? Let me know if I should stop."

You replied with your face still tucked between your arms, muffled by the bed. "More than okay. Please don't stop."

He spanked you again, moving to your left cheek. This time you felt his dick twitch under you and couldn't help grinding down on him a little bit. "Is that as hard as you can go?" you taunted in low tones, brave enough to egg him on but not quite enough to meet his eyes again.

Jungkook's thighs and core tensed under you, and he squeezed his fingertips tighter, digging into the skin of your ass. "Not at all," he said simply.

Deep breath. A few seconds passed, and his hand came down, harshly. You cried out in shock, the timing unexpected and the sting far sharper, and he gave your other cheek a fourth hard smack before you could even process the third one. "Harder?" he tested. "Tell me."

Another spank. "Mmmf."

"You like this, huh?"

"Yes, I told you," you whimpered back, half-teasing even though you were in no position to do so. Immediately, he cut you off with a stinging hit across both cheeks, and you moaned.

"You really do," he breathed lowly. "Fuck yeah. Take it then."

He spanked you again, and again, then paused, tugging down your shorts all the way to your ankles to expose the crease right above your thighs. Rubbing your already sore bottom, Jungkook cupped the underside of its curve in his big, firm hand. Already anticipating your whine, he drew back his touch and hummed in harmony with you. He continued landing satisfyingly hard smacks, alternating to cover your ass evenly. His dick strained through his pants more and more each time you trembled under his touch. Never hitting you hard enough to do serious damage, he still clearly enjoyed his thorough reddening of your ass, and occasionally took a moment just to caress your skin as it warmed from the spanking. The pain lit your senses up from head to toe. Face burning with deep arousal, you mentally thanked yourself for going out of your comfort zone and unprecedentedly admitting your kinks before even venturing into your first time together. Amidst the thrilling sting of his hand meeting your soft curves, Jungkook eventually noticed your thighs clenching together, craving friction but not really wanting relief from the pleasurable burn.

"You're wet," he marveled, sliding two warm fingers up and down your slit.

"Mhm," you mumbled back as you tilted your hips into his hand. He gave you a light slap right on the folds between your legs, eliciting another soft moan.

"So good for me," Jungkook said softly, pulling you up into his lap by your waist. "You look so pretty like this. I wanna see all of you." He tugged your sweatshirt over your head, followed by your sports bra, thankful that it stretched over your head easily. Suddenly grinning, he wound up and shot it across the room like a rubber band, and you smacked his arm, giggling.

"What was that? You cheeseball," you teased, and he blinked, chuckling lightly back. It occurred to him that he'd never laughed, or made someone laugh, during sex before.

"It was so stretchy! Don't make fun of me," he blushed.

"You're so cute," you said, fingers sliding under his t-shirt hem.

"Cute?" His eyebrows rose in mock disbelief, and he reached around to land another hit to your still-red asscheek.

"Hot," you amended. Raising his shirt and finally getting a full glimpse of his enviable abs, you groaned. "You're extremely hot, and also really cute, and it's kind of ridiculous and I don't really know how to handle all of it at once."

His face scrunching up into a smile at the praise, he fell back onto the bed with his arms behind his head. "You are too, you know. Really cute, of course. But really hot too." As you discarded his shirt and moved on to easing his sweatpants down his hips, you held in a gasp as his erection sprung up from the waistband. He was big, thick, and painfully hard, his tip glistening warm with precum and a lone vein running prominently up his smooth shaft. Although you wouldn't be corroborating them, you had to admit to yourself that all the rumors were true. You instinctively curled a hand around it, barely covering half his length, and he winced at your slightest touch. Pulling off with a single slow stroke, you slid his sweatpants and briefs all the way to the floor and then stood, looking up from his legs to his blown-out eyes to take in the glorious sight of his fully naked body.

"You shave," you said, surprised by the clean skin under his arms and between his legs.

"Yeah," he demurred, self-conscious for some reason. He lowered his arms to fold them over his torso, somehow defining his biceps even more. "I'm on the dance team, and it's nice to feel all smooth for practice and stuff. I don't know, I just like it."

"Oh, that's cool! No worries, I like it too. And you don't mind that..." You looked down at yourself, still just standing naked in front of him. "...I don't? Like, down there at least."

"No, you do you!" he said quickly. With a shy smile, he admitted, "I actually kind of like it on you. I do this for me, anyway, not for anyone else," he playfully noted. Slowly, he was sitting up to take hold of your waist and lower you down to the bed with him. Pausing to kiss the sweet spot under your jaw, he continued. "So don't feel like you have to do anything, or not do anything, either."

Jungkook couldn't quite explain the nature of how his attraction to you had developed. Seeing how open and honest you were with him made it easy for him to be honest with you too, and just to feel comfortable being himself. He admired the way he could still tell you sometimes got nervous like him, but it didn’t stop you from getting real or going bolder. Unable to fully express it in words, he just hoped to ensure you felt as comfortable and respected around him as he did around you. He already knew that he wanted this to be more than just a one-time thing, and while he still hesitated to assume that you felt the same, he intended to leave no doubt by the end of the night.

You moaned as he nipped at the skin of your neck. It was so easy to get swept back up in Jungkook. You could barely handle the friction of his dick rutting against your wet folds from below, craving him inside you. "Ughhh. Wait, one more thing. I'm on the pill, are you clean?"

"Yes," he gasped, barely removing his mouth from your jaw. "Are you?"

"Yeah, so we don't need a condom. If that's cool with you!"

"Yeah! But, you're ready?" He seemed surprised.

"Aren't you?" you whined, beyond holding back. He felt so unbearably hard that his coherence and willpower kind of surprised you too. "Please, I want you so bad."

To your surprise, he lowered his head to the crest of your legs, dotting wet kisses down your torso. Keeping his big brown eyes on you, he teased your entrance with a finger and echoed your immediate groan at the welcome stretch.

"You really are ready," he remarked, awed at the ease with which your wetness sucked the digit in. Frankly, you were in awe as well. It had taken your ex-boyfriend months to figure out how to get you this worked up. Jungkook either had even more experience than you'd heard from the grapevine, or he was a natural. Or maybe you were just really, ridiculously, primally attracted to him. He went on to curve his finger in you and lick a messy swipe up your folds, sucking hard once he reached your sensitive clit. You cried out at the delicious burst of stimulation and he rose up to catch your lips with his.

"I had to do that, just once," he grinned breathlessly. "But—"

"Let me suck you off," you interjected, unbelievably fucking turned on and dying to please him.

"No," he gasped with far more fervency than you'd think anyone could refuse a blowjob. "Please, I was about to say—" he choked out a high-pitched moan as you ran a single finger up his shaft in anticipation, sinking the nails of your other hand into his thigh. "—I think I'm gonna explode if I don't get inside you right this second."

So he did have a breaking point. "Fuck," you muttered, bringing your legs around his to tuck your heels under his tight ass as he lined up. He eased his tip in, keeping heavy eyes on you the whole time, and you could feel the hot, thick tension in his thighs as he struggled to hold himself back from just thrusting into your heat. Slowly, he drew closer into you until he bottomed out with a low moan. You whined at the perfect slight pain of the stretch, and Jungkook squeezed his eyes shut, gripping you by your waist. Watching the veins in his forearms stand out as he drove almost all the way out and back into you, you rocked your hips carefully against his with each smooth stroke, getting used to his fullness. When his balls met your ass again, he shuddered a bit and opened his eyes into yours.

You answered his question before he could even ask it. "Jungkook—you feel so good. You can go faster, it's okay."

A smile hit his eyes before his mouth, and he kissed you once, pressing his chest to yours and intertwining your tongues eagerly. You bit his bottom lip as he slowly drew away, tugging it between your teeth to pull a sweet little whimper from his throat. Grinning, he leaned back in to touch his forehead to yours and simultaneously slid a subtle hand under your ass to curve your hips up with his. The slight leftover sensitivity of your skin amplified his light touch, and Jungkook seemed to realize this, curling his fingers to tease you with the tips of his nails. Instinctively, you ducked to bite his neck, not even registering your move to pass the pain back to him until he choked out a beautifully half-restrained moan and snapped his hips into yours. Gasping, you encouraged him to lose himself in you, dragging your lips up to latch around his earlobe. He hissed and thrust into you sharply again, meeting the time of your movements as you swirled your tongue between each of his hoop earrings. Soon he was pounding you rhythmically, finally letting you feel the full force of his strength but keeping remarkable control over both his body and yours. Both of you had gone silent except for your heavy breaths, lost in the moment, but the flexed shivers of his thighs and twitches of his fingers in your hair told you all you needed to know. Suddenly yanking your strands to pull you back from the additional bruise you'd sucked beneath his ear, he earned a new set of scratches on his back as your hands dragged down the muscular expanse in reply. Jungkook switched places with you to draw dark clouds from your skin, a storm brewing under your jaw. Your face fell into pure bliss, eyes shut and immersed in the barrage of sensation from his hands, mouth, and big dick filling you. Already feeling the familiar tension that preceded an orgasm building through your whole body, you chased him closer to his climax too, grinding back roughly into every thrust and raking your hands over every part of his firm body you could reach.

You had really been fooling yourself when you thought you could try something casual for once. You wanted more of Jungkook, all of Jungkook, nothing but Jungkook ever again. Knowing he'd never even gone back to the same hookup twice sank slight anxiety into your stomach, a kind of future nostalgia for this moment you already feared losing. You knew you weren't anything special compared to the catalogue of gorgeous girls he'd had his turn with, but a deviant voice whispered from the back of your mind that you could be, because it was clear none had bothered to learn him like this. You'd still try your desperate best not to want too much from him, but you resolved to do whatever you could to make him crave more.

Rolling your hips in a smooth circle against him, you clenched around his dick and your hands tightened their fierce hold on his tiny waist. You felt his abs tense within your grasp as he tried not to stutter into you.

"Fuck. No." His voice cracked, but held an undertone of ferocity. "You come first." Jungkook rushed a hand to your clit, adding pressure in small, deft motions with a fingertip as he kept fucking you deep. You sank your teeth into his shoulder in response, drawing your hands up his back to clutch him closer to you, and Jungkook cried out. You left your mouth on his golden skin to stifle your moans as he sped up his fingers, and he tried to let you stay there but eventually couldn't help pulling you off him to see your face. Eyes narrowed and eyebrows turning up sharp at the ends, he watched you like a hawk to track the exact moment when he pushed you over the edge. Your face crumpled and you felt your whole body burn under his gaze as you came, squeezing around him in waves of pleasure while he fucked you through your high, unrelenting. Drinking up the bliss obvious on your features, Jungkook's eyes never left yours and his expression grew more and more fucked out. You marveled at how even as you lost control and energy to fuck him back, your body freezing in orgasm seemed to turn him on further. One last pulse of the tension leaving your core made his dick throb inside you, and you impulsively broke your eye contact to lean in and bite down slow but hard on his neck again. He gasped.

"You're amazing." Murmuring into his skin, you kissed the bite marks gently. Jungkook whimpered at the sweet contradiction and lurched into your hips even harder. You recovered to move with him, squeezing him deeper into you every time he bottomed out, and as his breathless moans escalated in pitch, his whole body shivered with each stroke. Pressing wet, heavy kisses all over his neck, you felt his jaw flutter while his lips hung open. His considerable strength spent, Jungkook shuddered one last hard thrust into you and finally let go, coating your walls from within. His hips lightly rocked against yours as he stayed deep inside you, still hard and savoring the euphoric release he'd held back for so long. You felt so incredibly warm and comfortable around his sensitive dick, relaxed but still holding him tight, and he couldn't help holding you up for a languid kiss before pulling out of you smoothly.

He briefly looked into your eyes, and you saw stars. The sun had continued to set outside, and it peeked between the blinds of his window to wrap you both in a warm, slivered glow. Staring down at his hands on your body, Jungkook took a deep breath and collapsed to your side, holding you close. You settled into him, cupping a hand over his head on your chest. With your fingers laced through his sweaty hair, you stroked his temple with your thumb, worrying for a second whether the gesture seemed too intimate but forgetting your fear when he snuggled up into your touch. You felt the need to say something, to figure out what the fuck was next after this, but stayed silent, not wanting to disturb the comforting weight of his frame. Heartbeat still racing, Jungkook stretched out to breathe a long sigh. As he sank back into you, you stretched under him too, letting his solid, warm body drape over you like a blanket. This couldn't be farther from what you'd expected with him, but you weren't about to make it stop. Surely, eventually, he would.

A minute passed. And then five. And then, before either of you could talk yourselves out of it, you were asleep, intertwined.

[lizzybeth1986]

I love the code name, and I'll hopefully remember to sign my messages with it from now on. I'm actually quite flattered that I've earned one, so ty for that. I somehow came up with 2 more questions, most likely to turn into essays, for you. 1 should be more lighthearted than the other, so I'm gonna start heavy if ya don't mind xD. You've touched briefly on how families affect the courtly ladies, so I wanted to see your take on how families have shaped the people at court. Have fun!-CL anon :D

You come up with such amazing questions, CL anon! How do you do it! 😁

So...hmm...how families shape the people in court. That's a pretty loaded question! And I mean "loaded" in the sense that when we're talking about "family" in an environment like this, we're also talking about the larger society they inhabit and what values from that society these parents were busy instilling in these children.

Sometimes the struggle I have with theorizing on these things, is that Book 1 starts out with very different ideas of what modern Cordonian society is supposed to be like, but by Book 3 or Book 4 they have developed other ideas that contradict it...or that you have to really work around to make sense of. For instance, the entire idea of open relationships being accepted in Cordonia that crops up conveniently in Book 2 just so the MC can sleep with whoever she wants after she's gotten engaged...yet the same society has such a strong disapproval of PDA that you can lose points with the general public for even joking about being intimate with someone (can these two things happen in the same space? Of course!! But that point from Book 2 does make the overall stuffy atmosphere in Book 1 about displaying affection look a little confusing, you have to admit). So...making sense of these things with the way the books have changed over the series is challenging, but doable.

The one thing that gets clearer and clearer as the story progresses...is that most noble children seem to grow into an awareness from a younger age itself that their public life should not reflect their private ones. Another is that, in the political climate of the time - they may not understand everything that is going on...but their parents have inadvertently taught them to grow up in fear (a legitimate fear, considering the threats at the time). I'll start with the palace, then move to the duchies. (I won't include Drake and Hana much in this, as Drake's family seemed to operate very differently - and honestly we know way more about his American roots than his Cordonian ones - and Hana grew up in another country...though there will be a short paragraph about her towards the end).

--

Liam

Liam grew up in the palace, the second son and younger brother to the royal heir, but you can tell there were things he had to learn pretty early on in his childhood. Things like compromise. Things like weighing what was more important to the country at a time when many children should be caring about their own needs.

It's not a very easy life, Liam's. His mother was murdered when he was still a young boy. His father often neglected him (remember the Eiffel Tower sequence where he justifies Constantine breaking a promise to visit the landmark with him, by recognizing that his father had bigger responsibilities as King?) and expected a great deal from him even at an early age (I mean...forcing an eight year old into hours of diplomacy meetings for three whole weeks??). And while race is never really mentioned in the books, the subtext is there that Eleanor and Liam possibly might have had to work harder for approval from the court than, say, Leo.

Added to this is the entry of Regina later on, after Eleanor's death. I feel like some aspects of her are based on Queen Elizabeth II - especially the way she advocates for stoicism in Book 1 (which is why she is so hard on herself after Constantine's death, in Book 3). Every move of hers is consciously planned and measured so that only certain aspects of herself will be visible to the general public, and I do think Liam draws a little bit on that with his own public image as well. This can be advantageous, because that means someone like Regina (and Liam) will be in control of their image. Only what they want to show, is shown. But it does mean that they have to weigh anything and everything they do with particular care.

In the "wedding advice" scene in Book 3, Liam speaks of how - even if they did have a conflict - Constantine and Regina would always show a publicly united front (and we see elements of that in the aftermath of the MC's scandal. Regina doesn't openly disagree with Constantine's actions, but she does adopt countermeasures because she sees a bigger picture that Constantine isn't willing to see). The family as a whole seems to be very image conscious (and they would be! The royals will be subject to way more scrutiny from the press and the public than most children, so parents will do whatever they can to protect those children from the worst aspects of it) and have to keep in mind that even their slightest reactions in public could have consequences. You see this pretty clearly in the way Liam handles the chaos at the Coronation Ball. He does what he has to, to calm the court down even though he is personally in turmoil - and we see how much turmoil he is in right after he has made his way to the MC's room.

This might be more extensive than most of the other characters, most coz he is an LI and some of his arc was supposed to revolve around being a different man from his father (they...dropped the ball on that one in Book 3).

Maxwell

To me, at least in the beginning, the Beaumonts were supposed to represent two extremes in one House. Propriety is extremely important, and you see this clearly in the way Bertrand speaks and acts and even thinks. But at the same time, their space is also a space for the nobility to let loose and go wild, as one can see from their Beaumont Bashes. These two extremes are represented pretty accurately in both Bertrand and Maxwell, and in a limited way in their parents as well.

Barthelemy expects a great deal out of his sons (even though he isn't exactly the best at meeting expectations himself. In that way he reminds me a little of Sebastian Delacroix's father from The Junior) and requires that they keep the honour of Beaumont House first. But the mother...even though we never actually meet her or even know her name (a pity)...we do know that she made people relaxed and comfortable around her, and wanted her younger boy to be happy with who he was. In Maxwell's wedding advice, he speaks of the importance of laughter - how his mother made his serious-looking father laugh and that was the most enduring image he had of their relationship.

But it's not like the family wasn't prey to the tense political climate that was there in the country when the boys were younger. For instance, Maxwell's fear of carousels is deeply rooted in his own family's fears of their children getting targeted - because he tells us "I was only three, I had no idea what was going on...And because our parents had spent so much time trying to warn us about dangers, I thought I was going to get murdered". I mean...imagine being three and having those thoughts!! I think that kind of insight should give us pause, because it does direct us to how an unstable political climate can bleed its way into the personal life or people, of their families and children.

I do wonder what implications and impact the discussions between Bartie Sr and Godfrey have on the family, though. Because if most of the fandom is right about what those two were planning, I see Bertrand and Madeleine as the people who will correct the wrongs of their parents in their support of the Crown, much in the way Olivia was last book.

Kiara

Kiki's family is actually my favourite of the lot, and we can see how she developed her skills in an environment that was supportive, and vibrant with challenges and creative stimulation. It's clear that she is one of the few people who really thrived in her family environment. Nothing was really forced on her: learning languages, and mock-treaties, and diplomacy were all things she had an aptitude for, so she went for them. And I'm guessing given the speed at which the book had Hakim and Joelle accept Zeke's decision (which could be retconning for all we know, but I do think it doesn't jar with their characterization until that point)...had Zeke opened up to them earlier, they would have figured out a way without the MC or Penelope having to convince him to open up in the first place.

One thing that I loved about Kiara's family arc was that if the MC tried to sass her about whether "everything in your family is a negotiation", or tried to cast Kiara and her family into this bland, staid stereotype of "negotiators who have no personal connection as a family", Kiki would shut that nonsense down. Every single time. She would establish that these are things important and personal to the family, and make it clear that the MC is no one to judge how they interact as a family.

Hakim and Joelle are my favourite older couple in the series, honestly. We're told they met and fell in love in college, and that their political views align more with Liam's than they do with Constantine's. In fact Liam at one point even tells us that Joelle was "the kind of person King Fabian would have approved of", and she speaks the same language about how it isn't merely enough for the country to be safe - it needs to thrive as well.

Hakim and Joelle are very different people, and in her wedding advice Kiara tells us they "delight in their differences". This is especially apparent in a fail play, where Hakim plans to go to the wedding, and Joelle winds up going to Switzerland. There's plenty of banter between them beforehand about their different ways of thinking, but expressing the same delight.

If there is only one flaw, it's in the writers - because in their mad rush to make Kiara's trauma look like it didn't matter in Castelserraillian, everyone was made to look as if they didn't care...including her parents. Which is bizarre coz the entire reason Hakim was going to leave in the first place was the fact that his daughter suffered in that attack! They never let Joelle mention anything about what Kiara went through, up until the end where she asks us if we took care of Kiara during the tour (and we are the fucking lowlifes here who didn't put the effort to, so Kiara ends up having to lie through her teeth that we "had my back").

I do see Kiara having a particular idea of "strength" that she holds everyone up to, including herself. The whole reason she even agrees with us when we manipulate/emotionally blackmail her into coming for the wedding, is because she's ashamed of herself. She wants to handle her trauma the way she handled everything else, and finds it impossible. I don't see anything that proves this is something she picked up from her family, because even while diplomatic, Hakim is open about his feelings when upset (eg. Constantine) and Joelle is expressive as well. It probably might be more of something she has imbibed in court, and in the overall culture of Cordonia itself. But the fact that the writers made sure she had support from no one, not even her family, up until readers raised questions....that is bizarre, and pretty disgusting.

But other than that, the family is interesting for their political views, and their openmindedness, which is rare in the noble family dynamics we have seen so far.

Olivia

Besides her love for knives and weapons, Olivia's determination to make the Nevrakis name one to look up to...is her entire story arc. Her story revolves around doing the exact opposite of what her parents did, of what her aunt and Anton Severus wanted to do.

Olivia is the rare person in the books who is shown without her family at all, and that is because she lost hers at the age of five. Her aunt (great-aunt in Book 1, but they made Lucretia her mother's sister in Book 3) left her and hid in the French Riviera, insisting that "the Nevrakis heir shouldn't have needed me to hold her hand and wipe away her little tears". This is something Olivia is angry about, but accepts because she has equally high standards of her own resilience.

There is plenty in the culture of Lythikos that contributes to Olivia's character as well. These people pride in their ability to survive, their determination to power through the most challenging, exacting situations. They're a militaristic society, and Olivia takes to that mindset like a fish to water. She believes in self-reliance because it's a hard bitter lesson she has had to grow up with (though one must not discount the value of Liam as a support) and because it's part of her culture, and it's become so much a part of her thinking that when the MC insists to Lucretia that relying on friends and allies is not weakness, just common sense - Olivia is equal parts grateful and shocked by the logic of that statement. It has literally never occurred to her that she can voluntarily reach out for help!

Olivia grew up in circumstances no child should have to grow up in, and manages to embody the best of her culture in contrast to her family. She adopts her father's moniker "if you can breathe you can stand, if you can stand you can fight", but reinterprets it to mean she can fight for her beliefs, fight for more than just her family and duchy. She adopts all the good in the Nevrakis clan while working to obliterate the parts that can place her loved ones in danger.

Penelope

I've actually mentioned this before, but one of the best examples of "winging it" you can see from the books, is Penelope. The writing for her just bounces from one gaffe to another so that when you look at her overall story, nothing adds up. You have to literally stretch logic to connect the dots in her story! (I know, because I've tried).

In Book 1 she suffers from seasickness, but somehow in Book 3 she has grown up by the seaside and there is practically no mention of aforementioned seasickness. In Book 2 her family insist that she not return to court without a suitor (both her parents!) yet somehow in Book 3 when we actually meet her family you'd wonder how Landon would have allowed such things to be said to his daughter. There's a no-pets-allowed rule among the royals that Liam somehow changed when he became King, so how the hell did Penelope's parents think she was going to manage court without her emotional support animals? That too a social season and an entire world tour after that?? A lot about the writing for this family doesn't even make sense, and in some ways you can tell that the writers realized they hit a goldmine with the arc about Penelope's anxiety only when they published it, and then milked it for all it was worth (I know that sounds awful, and it is. But if they'd really, genuinely planned this properly, Penelope wouldn't appear so poorly developed as a character).

Landon and Emmeline are meant to serve as an inspiration to Drake, for their commitment to their people is something he wants to emulate (either as a Duke, or as someone who will do...something in court, I guess). The writing splits the major concerns between them: Emmeline is the Duchess who inherited this estate, and who will work through any condition or situation she is in to do her best for them. Emmeline particularly, seems to have a similar drive to power through - as Olivia, Regina and Madeleine show - the worst situations in the name of "stand up for Portavira".

Landon on the other hand, is more concerned about Penelope's well-being (not that Emmeline isn't, it's more like she doesn't fully understand how difficult it all is for Penelope), and reluctant to place her in situations where she is not comfortable (which is why the hints about them in Book 2 sound so jarring on rereads).

What stands out to me, especially in Penelope's characterization is how much coddling she has come to expect, from everyone. There is very little effort - or even inclination - to right her wrongs. Part of this is the writers seriously retconning the narrative on what Penelope did to the MC, so that NO ONE ever brings it up again. But it's partly also because, as I said, they were fully ready to commit to her story in a way they didn't for Kiara. Often I wonder what it would be like if Landon and Emmeline did get to know about Penelope's involvement. I think they'd focus their anger on the Crown for placing her in that situation in the first place, and going by this characterization they may also make Penelope out to be the victim in this situation (which isn't too far off the mark - but we also mustn't ignore how coddled Penelope is most of the time and how entitled she often sounds). But even this wouldn't be so bad if we saw Penelope take responsibility for her actions, which she never does in Book 3.

One thing I do remember from her "wedding advice" was how she spoke a lot about the need to relax in their relationship, and how in-tune they are as a couple. So in a lot of ways their success with their duchy lies in how they balance their work and family (which apparently Landon seems more comfortable doing? Because he doesn't keep as much pressure on himself for Portavira in the way Emmeline does).

Penelope's family honestly...is a mixed bag. But I can say that for the most part they're supposed to represent a supportive family that deals with a child's diagnosis of their mental health by providing support, and a couple that is dedicated to their people.

Madeleine

The characterization for Madeleine also bounces from one concept to another, tbh. They started out with writing her as merely power-hungry, manipulative, duplicitous....before retconning completely and putting all of this under the label "patriotic". There is a huge, huge disconnect between the Madeleine that rejoiced in almost breaking her lady-in-waiting, and the one who places too much pressure on herself "for the sake of Cordonia". A North Pole to South Pole sized gap, really.

If it weren't for the fact that they wrote her family storyline only because they were really that desperate to make us sympathize with Madeleine, I would have found it interesting. The seeds of it begin in the second half of Book 2, when we notice Adeleide worrying about the pressure becoming Queen is going to place on Madeleine.

In Book 3, we're faced with her father who constantly dubs her a failure and doesn't see her as worthy of attention unless he can benefit from it. And with her mother, who wants to show her support, but can't in a way her daughter is comfortable with. There is a constant emphasis in Madeleine's storyline on expectations, dealing with constant failure, and resilience. She doesn't have the kind of support system she wants from either of her parents, so she has to find her own way to make lemonade out of those lemons. So each time she has to convince herself that each failure is only another step towards the biggest success possible (marrying into the royal family), and when she is robbed of that, twice, she is left having nothing else to muster up the motivation for. Which is why, then, they promote the Cordonia angle so aggressively.

Only problem is, you don't exactly get this impression from Book 2. A person with Book 3 Madeleine's bent of mind, whose main aim was to do her best for Cordonia and who spoke of the importance of an entourage...wouldn't be so short sighted as to think that just because she was engaged she won everything, esp when her last fiancé fell in love and broke off his engagement to her as well. She wouldn't be so careless in her treatment of her own ladies-in-waiting, all of whom (except Hana, and even her family has immense influence even though her mother is from a minor noble house) are from powerful Houses and families, whose support she would need in the future.

Even if one brushes off her bullying of Hana and Penelope as no big deal (as I'm very sure some of her fans do), the fact remains that at the very least such behaviour is short-sighted and in a better story would reveal that she doesn't exactly have Cordonia's best interests in mind after all, if she jumps at the slightest excuse to burn bridges with these powerful families before she even becomes Queen.

In any case...Madeleine's family ranks as one of the messiest of the lot - her father is uninterested/feigns disinterest in the country unless it involves being involved in some elaborate plot against the monarchy, and her mother shows disinterest in her duchy overall, but is clearly invested in what makes her daughter happy. Her mother is supportive, just not in the way Madeleine wants support.

Regina also hails from Krona, and Madeleine is in some ways a reflection of her values and beliefs - which is why the two get along so well. So even though Adeleide is the Duchess of Krona, I'm pretty sure she's an anomaly in a family full of women who practice stoicism and diplomacy in their regular lives.

Hana

This note is going to be small, because as I explained earlier she was brought up in a completely different environment. Hana was brought up in a manner meant to make her flexible to whichever family she would marry into - so she learns different styles of horse riding, learns diplomacy over a toy tea set, is expected to know all the 26 important dance varieties in Cordonia by the time she is an adult, grows up learning about the countries neighbouring Cordonia as well. I have a whole other essay that speaks about her upbringing alone, so I won't speak much about that here, but you definitely get the feeling that her parents spent so much time trying to cultivate an asset for themselves that they rarely ever stopped to think about her as a person.

--

The overall impression I do get from modern Cordonian nobility in the books (not just from these guys, but also interactions with other nobles like Rashad and Neville, and palace staff like Bastien) is that Cordonia is a culturally diverse place, and people in different estates have different dynamics that are influenced by their family situation and by the culture they were born into, but overall there is more of an inclination to show resilience and power, than to confess to weakness. Which makes sense, because many of them are public figures under immense scrutiny, who are aware of the kind of message they could send if they show the slightest signs of weakness. That's my overall impression of this.

I hope you enjoyed that, CL anon! Now I'm curious about what the next question is 😀

[overwatchleaguereport]

Overwatch: I Made a Smurf Account For An Experiment

As OWL takes a breather, I thought I would write about some topics I rarely touch. As I wrote them, I realized they all shared a common theme.

As such, I now officially declare this “Finding Peace In Overwatch” Week. I hope you enjoy this, the first of three installments!

To begin with, I’d like to talk about Overwatch’s competitive mode and the experiment I ran regarding SR.

A General History

For the last three seasons, I have hovered in the low platinum range. No matter how much I’ve flexed, no matter how much I’ve one-tricked, I have not been able to rise in the ranks.

Initially, I blamed myself. But no matter how well I played, my teams would often contain toxic players, unskilled players, poorly positioned players, or even players who obviously didn’t understand counters. While I admit I was sometimes the potato of my team, for most games, I played my role and played it well.

I felt extremely frustrated the longer this went on. I began to doubt the effectiveness of the ranking system around the same time everyone else in the fandom did.

As Season 9 wore on, and my SR hovered just above Gold, I started thinking more about the theory that my MMR had something to do with my struggles.

The Idea

MMR, short for Matchmaking Rating, is a statistical value many video games use to determine player skill. In Overwatch, MMR is a secret, hidden number, and is usually only lost or gained by playing modes like Quick Play.

A popular theory regarding Overwatch’s SR system is that it is intricately linked with the hidden MMR system. In essence, if you have high MMR, it is hypothetically easier to rise in the ranks because the game secretly thinks you deserve to be in those ranks. If you have low MMR, the game won’t award you as much SR if you start to climb above that secret MMR.

For me, this made a lot of sense. When I picked up Overwatch on its launch week, I hadn’t played many shooters in my life. Whenever my friends watched me play Quick Play, they would literally double over laughing at how bad my aim was. I couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn with Symmetra’s primary fire. It was only after consistent, dedicated play that my aim started to improve. Shortly after I felt confident in my own abilities, I switched from Quick Play over to Competitive and rarely went back.

Because I was such a garbage player at the beginning, it made sense to me that my Overwatch MMR was low. It made sense that I could have been held back by my own noobish gameplay from the early days. But I wanted to be sure. I wanted to know. Was my invisible MMR potentially holding me back?

So I decided to test the MMR/SR theory.

I decided to create a Smurf.

My Background

I play Overwatch primarily on console, specifically the PS4. My main account is called AmasWatch, which you can view here. I named the account after the novel I self-published.

For further reference, I wanted to outline my specific history in every season of Overwatch. Note that I did not participate in Season 1, as I didn’t even want to know how bad I was at the time.

My Rankings for Each Season

Season 2

High: 2223

Final: 1994

Season 3

High: 2404

Final: 2404

Season 4

High: 2435

Final: 2259

Season 5

High: 2500

Final: 2500

Season 6

High: 2893

Final: 2589

Season 7

High: 2503

Final: 2197

Season 8

High: 2633

Final: 2502

Season 9

High: 2650

Final: 2517

The Smurf

Because I was playing on console, it was easy for me to create a Smurf. All I had to do was make another free Playstation account and log into Overwatch. I named this Smurf OWLERGuy.

My goal was to play my very best. I didn’t want to take advantage of less-skilled players, like the fifty-eliminations-per-match Widowmakers that prey upon my wife down in Bronze. I wanted to be matched with players of my same skill.

It took me the better part of a month, but I leveled up OWLERGuy to the necessary Level 25 about a week before the end of Season 9. I took a break from that account for a while, instead enjoying Retribution and other arcade games on the AmasWatch account. Then, once Season 10 began, I began my placement matches.

Placements

My goal was to do my placements first for the Smurf (OWLERGuy) and then for my main (AmasWatch). I did all twenty matches over the course of a week and a half. The results went as follows.

OWLERGuy:

Win – Win – Tie – Loss – Win – Win – Loss – Win – Win – Win

Final SR after placement matches: 2969

Top Three Heroes (According to Career Profile)

Moira – 1 Hour

Junkrat – 15 minutes

Reinhardt – 6 minutes

AmasWatch:

Win – Win – Loss – Loss* – Loss – Loss – Win – Loss – Loss – Loss

Final SR after placement matches: 2442

Top Three Heroes (According to Career Profile)

Moira – 1 Hour

Orisa – 20 minutes

Reinhardt – 11 minutes

*Our team had a leaver after the first round.

My Initial Conclusion

Aha! I thought to myself. My MMR was holding me back on my main account!

I was very pleased. I was only one or two wins away from my first ever Diamond rank. With my excellent winning streak, I was sure I would reach it in no time.

So I played five more games. The first match, someone left ten seconds in, and the game was cancelled. The same thing happened in the second match.

My third game resulted in a loss. My team picked poor counters, and I wasn’t surprised by how it turned out. What I was surprised by was my SR loss. In a single game, I went from 2969 SR to a 2918 SR, a 51 point drop. This was in stark contrast to my main account, where I never gain or lose more than 25 SR at a time. What was even more surprising to me was that I had 20,000 healing on Dorado as Moira. I felt a performance like that should cushion the loss in SR a bit.

For my fourth game, I saw a similar outcome. I had about 16,000 healing on King’s Row with Moira. We lost the game. I went from 2918 to 2865 SR. I didn’t perform nearly as well for my fifth game, where I only had about 5,000 healing on Moira. We also had a guy who was raging before the game even started, and I think that brought the whole team down. Either way, it didn’t matter. My SR was now at 2818, far below my main account’s career best, the 2893 SR I achieved in Season 6.

I knew I could go and play more games on the Smurf account, see if wins award me the same amount of SR as losses take away. At the same time, I believe I have my answer to the MMR question, at least according to my personal experience.

My Final Conclusion …

There’s a saying that Overwatch placement matches are simply normal competitive matches where you can’t see your SR gains and losses. I had quite the collection of wins for my Smurf’s placement matches, and I’ll admit, I was hard carried for a few of those matches. I think those wins alone helped bump me up to that high platinum rank, but the game knew I wasn’t performing at the level I should have been. As such, when the losses came, I really felt the hit.

Had I continued playing in like manner, I’m sure my Smurf’s SR would have stabilized in the low platinum range, just like where my main account usually lies. And honestly, now that I’ve done this experiment and looked at my skill from a more objective mindset, I’m not surprised.

… I Deserve My Rank

Compared to most people, I am a hardcore gamer. Sony sent me an email at the end of this last year, telling me I spent 1500 hours on my console over the course of 2017. That’s nearly 30 hours a week, almost another full time job. Over a fifth of that time was spent just playing Overwatch.

But 300 hours over the course of a single year is barely any time at all compared to the amount of time Overwatch’s Grandmasters, Masters, and even Diamond players put into the game.

Though I sometimes take breaks from the game, I’m currently averaging about 7-12 hours of Overwatch a week. In contrast, the Overwatch pros put more than forty hours a week into the game. Anyone wanting to rise toward their level has to be putting in a comparable amount of time.

And I, simply, am not.

Where I Found My Peace

I have a family, I work more than forty hours a week, and I write these blogs on the side.

In that light, I should be proud of my rank. I may not be among the top 15% of all players, but I’m doing pretty well for someone who barely puts any time into the game, comparatively. And I bet your rank reflects the amount of time you’ve put into the game, too. So own it!

I hope this post was helpful, and I hope it helps you be proud of your rank.

Zachary out!

Hey! If you like esports, be sure to visit my other blog, Clash Royale League Report! Today’s latest post should be out now!

[tobyjones]

OK KO! Episodes 6-10

I’ve wanted to keep writing about each episode, but they have been coming out so fast! Here is some background on 6-10. 

You’re Level 100 This one comes from a Dave Tennant pitch, suggesting we spend some time on showing how Pow Cards work in this world. As I've said, we internally consider episodes 1-6 as a mini-arc about KO's first week. Knowing that You're Level 100 would end of this arc, we tried to treat it as a culmination of everything so far. We didn't know how many episodes we'd get to do at this point, so we wanted to make sure that these six would be satisfying on their own, and You're Level 100 is their pseudo-finale. This is most clear in the third act, where we see all the characters we've met so far forming into a giant fist to help KO feel like a true hero for a moment. The image is a humorously direct metaphor for some important underlying themes of the show as a whole. Stevie and Danny did an amazing job, keeping things hilarious as KO’s ego takes over and incredibly warm and fun throughout. Also we meet DYNAMITE WATKINS!

Sibling Rivalry The relationship between Darrell and Shannon is something the original mobile game established really well, and we decided that the first episode to air after our initial "mini-arc" should focus on them. Ian had the great idea of introducing the sporty/romantic Raymond (also first shown in the game) as a shared enemy for all the characters.

This episode has some of the funniest sequences yet, in my opinion. I love the way Haewon depicts the familial relationship between Boxman and the bots, something she did previously in a 2 minute short that will hopefully release someday soon. Dave's ending scene with the zen faces is already immortal. We obsessed over it at every stage, milking its unexplainable hilarity for all it was worth. An early favorite of mine for its wall-to-wall insane comedy.

I Am Dendy We faced a big challenge in I Am Dendy, giving a whole episode to a character who was completely new to us at the time. We spent a crazy amount of hours discussing her character and how she could fit into the show's existing dynamics, going through three completely different story premises before finally landing on this one. As you can see, it started to work when we decided to make it as simple as possible. 

When we saw the first pitch from Geneva & Mira, we knew we had something very unique. After the high-octane first set of episodes, we get a surprisingly down to earth story about two kids spending time together. Geneva & Mira did a great job crystalizing Dendy's personality. In a lot of ways, Dendy and KO could not be more different. KO follows a strict heroic moral code, and Dendy does not. Their fascination and understanding of their differences brings them together for a friendship we will see much more throughout the series.

Special regards to Jake and Mint Potion for the jaw-dropping music in this episode! Dendy's theme is probably in my top 3 songs so far.

Do You Have Any More in the Back? The title of Do You Have Any More in the Back? actually derives from an ancient (2013?) premise that Ian wrote in his original bible for the pilot-era version of the show. The two stories have nothing in common, but it is a fun detail. This new one came from right when full time development started in 2015, which was basically a summer of me and Ian hanging out on an empty office floor and deciding what the show was going to be. A couple times a week Dave Tennant would come by to break stories with us, and I think this and an early, scrapped version of "We've Got Pests" were the first. The network liked the story, but asked us to sit on it for a bit because it's a somewhat deeper, more deconstructive look at Rad's character.

In my opinion, this is a very successful early episode that provides a pretty complete package of action, comedy, adventure, and emotion. Ryann and Parker stuffed it with countless cute, funny and exciting moments that ended up setting some important character details (and running jokes) for the future. I was extremely impressed by how they handled the emotional subtlety of the ending, which is my favorite thing about the episode.

My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad My Dad Can Beat Up Your Dad is another episode that has roots in Ian's original Lakewood bible, but unlike DYHAMITB?, this one is almost entirely intact from what was originally written. This is a fairly straightforward Carol/KO story that gives us a great opportunity for extended badass action sequences! Much like with Sibling Rivalry, Dave and Haewon took something simple and infused it with tons of personality. The first time we saw both versions of Chameleon Sr, the room lost it. The action scenes (with plenty of extra love from Jeremy, Max and Anna) are some of our most ambitious so far. The final scenes are sweet, heartfelt and weird in ways I absolutely love.

I have no idea if I’ll be able to keep up with these, but luckily the board artists are writing some of their own great thoughts on the other episodes! 

Geneva on I am Dendy Geneva on You Get Me Parker shares his demo animatic from You Are Rad Danny on the ending of We’ve Got Pests Ryann on We’re Captured

[true-halloween-tales]

2017: #11-VACATION FROM HELL, PART 1: NO BULL!

Back in 1989… Ronald Reagan was replaced by George Bush Sr. as President of the United States.  Voyager 2 was approaching Neptune.  Salmon Rushdie’s Satanic Verses novel had a controversy including an international death threat against the author.  The Dali Lama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  The final episode of the classic series of Doctor Who aired (see 2018: #2-GUIDE TO DOCTOR WHO).  Monty Python’s Graham Chapman died.  Tim Burton’s classic Batman film was released in theaters.  And I turned 20 years old.  Time for an adventure, how about a vacation?

I had been in contact with my friend known in these tales as Fu Man Chew.  He gained the nickname by chewing on a raw ginseng root for an afternoon.  He was highly interested in the latest technology, and purchased a black shiny sports car he called KITT, from Night Rider.  It had a removable T-top, a CD player for six cds, powerful speakers were everywhere, and it even had two type of radar detectors.  Fu Man Chew was up for a journey, except for one problem.  He had relocated to Sarasota, Florida two years previous.  So he had to drive to Chicago, visit his relatives, then we were off.  But where to go?

I performed a wee bit of research, found some places of interest, took extensive notes, collected maps, made plans, and hatched schemes.  The destination was to California – or bust.  Was the greatest adventure about to begin?  I took a couple of weeks off work from the drug store I worked at, and we sallied forth across the country (see 2014: #3-WORKING IN HELL).  We first headed to the Wisconsin Dells.  We left Chicago so early that we rolled into the Dells around 1 pm.  We visited the wondrous Paul Bunyan restaurant and devoured a gargantuan repast (see 2015: #2-PHANTOMS).  We climbed through the narrow tunnels of a somewhat white, styrofoam house named Xanadu, and enjoyed excessive mini golf.  We continued northwest then headed west across Minnesota in the dark of night, still the same day since we left Chicago.  There was a wrong turn, and we fizzled out at a rest area somewhere past Rochester.

On day two we zoomed out of southern Minnesota and into South Dakota.  Listening to Prince’s Batdance with the T-top off in the blazing sun, dry air, golden fields, and hills of South Dakota.  We stopped for the night in Pierre, South Dakota, a town piled on hills next to the Missouri River.  After visiting a Dairy Queen that only had vanilla, we saw Ghostbusters 2 at a theatre.  I was horrified to see I had developed a serious sunburn with that T-top off all day.  Fu Man Chew diabolically laughed at me, claiming that the sunburn made me look like the god Pan.  I dyed my hair blond that night to increase the Pan effect.  Driving that single day under the hot, heavy sun branded several deep wrinkles into my forehead that have never gone away to this day.  The marks of Pan are permanent!

On day three we were in western South Dakota.  We spent a few hours in Badlands National Park.  This place was a vast area with no trees, no vegetation, a road, and an enormous expanse of brown and grey rocky, craggy ground.  There were large areas containing cones of natural rock that were close together.  These areas were completely impassible.  It was about 90 degrees and dry in this forlorn vestibule of Hell.  I attempted a Herculean feat by climbing up a craggy hill.  As I descended, the rock began breaking apart under my Herculean feet.  I slid down about ten feet, my knee gave out, and I fell over into the invigorating dry rock and sandy dirt.  After leaving the joys of the Badlands, KITT passed a multitude of tourist attractions featuring life-sized dinosaur replicas to terrify the tiny tots.  KITT sped down the hot highways and over the sparse grassy hills to Rapid City, South Dakota.  Nearby possible locations to visit included Mount Rushmore and Devils Tower as seen in Close Encounters of the Third Kind.  We did visit Mount Rushmore; it was primarily a bunch of large noses.  I expect that in millions of years when the aliens visit, all they will find remaining of human civilization will be those noses but with the heads broken off, thinking us to be a species of nose people.

We visited some neat caves in the Black Hills with crystal hanging stalactites.  I noticed that one beautiful, white, crystal stalactite-stalagmite formation formed the appearance of a hooded, hulking figure.  I was deeply disconcerted why it was named the Klansman, why that was ok.  If this was a horror film, this was the moment of an evil foreshadowing.  There are so many other names that could have been given to that rock formation: White Death, the Ghost, or the Big Booger.  It is so true that hatred is the poison in this country!  We escaped the Cave of Racism and drove through the Black Hills, passing more tourist attractions of dinosaurs as Batdance replayed for the sixteenth time.  There were very few cds released in 1989 since cds were a new thing then.  Luckily I had The Residents Heaven? and Hell! cds to play (see 2012: #1-SPOOKY MUSIC).   KITT passed the large Chief Crazy Horse Mountain that was slowly being carved by American Indians of Chief Crazy Horse riding a horse; at this rate it might be finished in 300 years.  We were having a reasonably good time, but we we were getting hungry.  And then we went to the Mount Rushmore Restaurant, and everything changed.

The Mount Rushmore Restaurant looked very much as it does in Hitchcock’s classic film, North by Northwest.  We were rather ravenous.  I placed an order and took a seat at a booth.  Fu Man Chew placed his order and sat down after me, but he was inexplicably red and speechless.  After the food was served, he refused to eat.  Angry times ten.  It was not anything I did; whatever happened was when he was separate from me in line ordering his dinner.  It seemed that a waitress made a rude comment to him.  He would not talk.  I devoured my dainty dinner since I did not know what else to do.  We soon left.  Fu Man Chew was not speaking, and he seemed rigid and tense.  So we headed towards the Devils Tower, hopefully to reach it before nightfall – but there was an undefined tension in the air.  We tried to select a route to Devils Tower, and I rationalized that a slower, more relaxed route might be wise due to Fu Man Chew’s stress.  It turned out to certainly be a scenic road in the Black Hills National Forest, but it also was a gravel road.  Fu Man Chew kept it under 25 mph as we headed to Wyoming silently.  I looked for more cds.  He would not talk.  Still red.  Angry.  Then it happened.

An enormous black bull was on the right side of the road, just standing there in the forest.  As the red sun set, the bull glared at us with an evil hatred and a dripping snout (see 2009: #8-ATTACKED BY BATS, BULLS, AND BIRDS).  The huge, horned, demonic black bull – came charging at KITT as we passed by!  I alerted Fu Man Chew who was seriously shocked.  He glanced at the mirror and his eyes nearly popped out cartoonishly.  The bull was running at us faster than he was driving.  It was about three feet away from the car and gaining on us!  He pressed down the gas pedal, and we sped up to 30 mph.  The bull continued chasing us – quite fast – and it placed its head down with those sharp horns of destruction heading right for us.  The narrow road turned, and I informed Fu Man Chew in my Mr. Spock tone that the right side of the car was starting to go off the edge of the road into a gully.  He took evasive action, too quickly and forcefully, and the car skidded sideways in the gravel.  Time suddenly seemed to flow strangely.

I soon learned that skidding sideways at 30 mph on a gravel road meant that your car would start flipping upside down like in the movies.  KITT proceeded to flip over very quickly and also very slowly at the same time.  How many times did it flip over?  I really don’t know, but at least once.  Did I loose consciousness?  I am not even sure.  I soon found myself upside down – with the car also upside down!  We were twenty miles from the nearest town without a phone, on a mountain in the Black Hills.  We were in the middle of a thick forest.  The sun was setting into deep, hellish reds as I heard the chilling banshee-like malevolent moans emanating from the nearby lurking bull.  Luckily it was out of sight.

Fu Man Chew frantically inquired if I was ok.  I had no idea how badly I was injured, and I felt numb.  I climbed out of the car, and my knees gave out as soon as I stood, and I fell over.  I soon found only a cut on one finger and on my knee.  The windshield and windows were broken into tiny pieces.  I had not been wearing a seat belt.  If I had been, most likely I would have been decapitated since the roof was smashed down on the passenger side.  Fu Man Chew was ok and hyper.  We spent a long time salvaging items from KITT.  There was a very long search for Fu Man Chew’s wallet which was finally found in the dashboard of his car.  The bull from Hell bellowed in the dark forest but was not seen.  I relied on my Boy Scout survival skills and made a fire (see 2016: #13-SUMMER CAMP).

About ninety minutes later, a man and his son showed up.  Their first words of friendliness included that it was illegal to have a fire there.  They were on fire watch at a distant mountain which they pointed at, a speck in the darkness.  They saw the smoke and spent ninety minutes driving towards it.  I thanked them for their rescue, and they soon left promising that help would be on the way.  I put out the fire and waited in the dark as the bull surely lurked somewhere nearby with that dripping snout.  The county police finally showed up.  The single sheriff inexplicably interrogated us.  I later learned that it was illegal to have cattle on that land; it was federal land.  No bull belonged being there.  A rancher was breaking the law by allowing his cattle to graze and roam in the national forest.  By midnight the inquisitive sheriff left, promising the tow truck driver would arrive.  After an eternity of waiting in the dark with that bull lurking and smirking in the darkness, the tow truck drove up.  

The tow truck driver was a Lord of the Rings hairy dwarf covered in dirt and grease named Mr. Butterfield.  He flipped the car over with his tow truck in minutes.  We got into his tow truck, and I sat in the front next to his hairy self.  Mr. Butterfield did not speak clearly in any way, but managed to grunt out that there were no vacancies anywhere nearby, not even at Bates Motel.  He announced that he was taking us to his home to stay the evening.  I looked back at Fu Man Chew to see if he thought that this was a kidnapping, but he just sat in wide-eyed silent shock.  Mr. Butterfield drove at maniacal speeds down the highway forest road towing KITT.  My eyes bulged as he drove really fast straight through curves down the opposite lane.  He laughed that some locals do this, causing out of state people to be run off the road to their deaths.  Just last year they found a couple dead in their car off the road where they drove into a canyon and were covered up by vegetation.  They were pinned in their car for days and died.  He laughed and cackled as we speed down the dark road at 80 mph in the dark.

That drive down the dark road lasted about forty-five minutes, and it could have been a scene from a horror film.  The brown grease-covered, short, dwarf-like, aged, tow truck driver, Mr. Butterfield, drove like a maniac.  It was like a David Lynch scene as he made comments only he understood as he suckled on some sort of disgusting tobacco.  It was well past 1 am when he started slowing down.  He uttered something that sounded like Mohelmot, the language of the Mole people, and he drove into a private road (see 2014: #4-STRANGE MONSTERS IN SONGS).  We learned that all of the lodgings in the area were typically fully booked this weekend every year – because it was the July 4th weekend.  He showed us into his ranch-style country home which was located on a large piece of remote property.  He led us into the basement and warned of the bed.  It was a semi-broken water bed in a partially finished basement with some odd wall hangings.  There was a flag of sorts with a very aggressive eagle figure capturing a sad cartoonish rat with the words “Die Anarchist.”  As I checked myself for any possible anarchist identifying paraphernalia, my attention became fixed on the wall.  There was a shotgun.  As the light went out we barely fell asleep.  Were we in danger?

Little did I know that my misadventures had just begun on this vacation from hell.  I was far from Route 66 in many ways… and now was much closer to Route 666… (To be continued in two days with 2017: #12-VACATION FROM HELL, PART 2: STRANDED IN THE DESERT).

[bloginstantmooncollector-blog]

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

"Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

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I'm 17 and I've been looking at quotes for when I pass my driving test. I'm currently paying 1000.00 on provisional for a 1.3 Fiesta worth half that value.....The cheapest car insurance quote WITH pass plus too (which I plan to do) is 6,181.28. My car is worth 590 quid, I'm not a boy racer, and I don't stick pointless spoilers and all that shite on my car either. I used Compare the market for these quotes, is there anywhere else I can go to find quotes? also, is it illegal that I'm supplying false information, like saying I've passed my test etc. I'm only doing it to get a vague idea of how much lottery winnings I need to afford it....I mean who's stupid enough to pay 6 grand for a car worth a 10th of that.....""

""5. If you get paid $8.00 per hour at your job and insurance is $200 a month, how many hours will you have to..?

work to pay for insurance?

17 year old male first car insurance help!?

i really want a car im 17 but the insurance is crazy ive looked at about 30 cars on go compare today the cheapest i found was 5k for a old mini and none others were under 7 thousand. a 1l corsa 1as 7500! a 1.15 clio was 8 grand its ridiculous. Does anyone know how to drastically lower or any cars that are very cheap? thanks

Tesco Car insurance cancelled?

I have just returned from 2 months being away and was very much surprised to read letters from tesco insurance about being unable to take money from my account for the annual renewal of my policy and therefore cancelling it. I talked to my bank and they said that there were not attempts to take money from my account by tesco. While tesco says that my card has been refused. I asked tesco if they could reinstate my policy due to some fault with the payment, which does not seem to be my bank they say that cancelled policy cannot be reinstated and suggest to pay  230 for the period that they were trying to collect and open a much more expensive new policy. They also told me that I face penalty because my car is uninsured now. I would like to reinstate the policy as cancelled unfairly and at the same time I need to insure my car quickly to avoid facing penalty. I wanted to maintain Tesco policy in case they reinstate it, as i will not have cancelled policy on my records and will not have to pay extra for the month, they have been cancelling my account, i also have 2 years no claim with them, provided another insurance, whose car slightly dammaged my front door, while i was parked at a petrol station, pays them. This insurance admitted that it was their fault, but have not finished paying Tesco. This is another reason, tesco could do me even cheaper insurance, once the responsible party pays in full. If i leave it as it is i am afraid that in additioon to cancelled policy I will have a not fully payed claim on my records.""

How much does it cost to replace an in-dash navigation system and does insurance cover it?

So here's the story. I was driving in my 2012 Honda Civic today and got angry and punched my navigation system (I know. It was unbelievably stupid. I know.) Anyway, the screen is shattered now, but the system still works. I called up a Honda dealer who said it would cost $3600 not including parts and labor. When I search online, the navigation systems seems to cost between $250 and $700. So what I want to know is, how much should I expect to pay to get this fixed. How long does it take? Will my insurance cover it? If my insurance covers it, will my rates change? Is the dealer the best way to get it fixed? I'm also under my warranty still, is there any way this is covered in my warranty?""

Can the auto insurance kick you out?

1st time geting a license at the age of 63 then having 1st month of insurance then 3 weeks later geting an accident which involving crashing into an property which i assume the damage cost from the insruance eyes would be $25-30,000 where our eyes would be at maybe $10,000 plus they were 4 in the car all injured can the auto insurance kick a insurer out for this very 1st major incident? this shouldnt be suprising to any insurance company when it comes to New Drivers reguardless of age...bottom line can they kick them out and other insurance corps deny to sell insurance?""

What is the best life insurance company that dont require medical exams?

im trying to buy life insurance for me and my 49 yr old mother. what is the best company that doesnt raise premiuims and dont require exams....but stil lprovide full life insurance?

Best place to get term life insurance?

Best place to get term life insurance?

Cheap car insurance for young new driver?

hi, I`m 19 years old, i passed my test two months ago and i would like some help. I tried lots of insurance companies, different cars, last time i tried i used a 2002 smart for two with my dad as a first driver, 4 years ncb and the insurance is still 4k. can someone help me and give me some advice ? thank you""

Will court ask for insurance with guilty plea?

My fiancee just got a ticket. She just recently lost her insurance so she had none at the time she was pulled over. If she goes into court and pleads guilty will the court check to see if she had insurance or not? I live in California.

""Are you prepared to pay 10-11-13% of your income for $1100-1300 deductible health insurance, not copay?""

Will you go to the doctor more if another large percentage of your income is taken from your check and you still have to pay for office visits until you have paid $1100 to $1300 deductible before your insurance kicks in each year? http://www.bcbst.com/learn/affordability/04-639GovernmentMandatedBenefits.pdf Skip to page 16 to see the summary. This is a report by Blue Cross Blue Shield, a nonprofit health insurance provider. Government interventions causes health care costs to rise, not go down. http://www.quick-online-insurance-quote.com/blog/2009/05/13/what-is-the-average-price-of-health-insurance/ Why doesn't the government talk about the price each American will pay for government run health care plans?""

Auto insurance price? 16 year old.?

I am 16 in June. I own a mustang lx but it is the 2.3l model that my company geico doesn't classify dangerous or a sports car. My dad has wonderful credit. The car and insurance is in his name. So is my car ad tittle and tag. Basically to keep costs down everything is tech his. I will be listed as driving 10-15% of the time As a secondary driver. His driving record is clear and great credit. He has a jeep patriot 2013 and my 1989 lx mustang will be the 2nd car. They got a brand new car and his credit when checked was about the best possible. Forget the numbers but literally the best possible by a few. Never missed payments etc. so about how much a year or every 6 months would my 89 4 banger mustang cost to insure?

Car insurance/non valid?

i GOT PULLED OVER FOR SPEEDING( WHICH I'M GUILTY FOR) HOWEVER I DID HAVE INSURANCE WHICH THE CARD SAID IT EXPIRED 7/30 I GOT PULLED OVER ON 7/16. i GOT A LETTER IN THE MAIL SAYING MY INSURANCE ISN'T VALID. I DON'T HAVE INSURANCE RIGHT NOW BUT THE CARD SAID IT WAS STILL GOOD.. THE LETTER FROM THE D.M.V SAYS MY LICENSE IS GOING TO BE SUSPENDED... IF I GO AND BUY INSURANCE RIGHT NOW WILL I BE OK AND SHOW IT TO THE COURT THAT I DO HAVE INSURANCE? HOW DO I GET OUT OF THIS MESS? BTW I LIVE IN CALIFORNIA

How much is an average ttuck insurance quote? ?

I'm planing on geting a 1999 Chevy silverado 1500 and I'm wondering how much insurance is

Insurance for a Car Loan..?

The thing is.. I have just recently gotten my aunt to co-sign for a loan on a 2001 Chrysler Sebring lxi. Me and my boyfriend will be the ones who have the car, but me on the other hand, I currently have a Learners Permit so i'm unable to drive it but my boyfriend has a license therefore he can. So for the Financial Company who is loaning us the money has me on file because i'm the only one with income since he doesn't have a job. The problem i have is that the financial company has my information but I can't get insurance for myself as i will not be driving the car, ONLY my boyfriend. So my question is, since i hold a learners permit and he has the license and will be driving, can i just put his name for the insurance? The financial company asked for Proof of Insurance but i don't know if they'll allow him to have the insurance in his name since the loan is in mine? I don't want to get denied because of that one factor since i already got accepted for the loan. I'm sorry, i'm new at all at this :/ Any help would be appreciated, Thanks!""

Whats the cheapest car with cheap insurance?

im looking for when i pass my driving test a cheap car for about 1000 that will have cheap insurance i just want like a make and model

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

How does the affordable care act apply to me?

Right now, I live with my Mom and she earns about $120000 per year. I work and earn about $22000 per year.""

What happens if I dont have auto insurance for 2 years?

Hello all I have had a US drivers license for 2 years now. I am going back to school and so I want to get rid of my car as I have no need for one. So If I sell my car and don't have auto insurance for 2 years, when I come back after finishing school and try and get auto insurance will I be treated as a brand new driver? Are my rates going to be really high because I dont have any continuous insurance history at that point? Or will I be treated as a driver who has 4 years of driving history (since I will have had my license for 4 years at that point?) Thanks""

Cheapest car insurance rates for older car/no record/liability only?

hi- if anyone knows chespest company, i did a online quote for progressive, but dont want to take the time to go through all companies. if anyone knows cheapest rates-company, please let me know""

Cancelling car insurance?

I am a New York state resident, In order to cancel my car insurance, must I first surrender my license plates to the DMV ??""

What is the cheapest car to insure?

My Boyfriend has just passed his theory test today and has his practical test in a few weeks. He's 19 years old and we live in England. He wants a cheap car to insure but all are really expensive the cheapest insurance he can get is on a Romeo Mini for 2,500 a year. So i was wondering if anyone could tell me which is the cheapest car to insure and who with? Thank you for your help, Secret""

Will getting quote for Insurance affect my credit?

I am trying to switch to an insurance company with cheaper rate, so I have to get quotes from several. I am wondering if it will hurt my credit if everyone check my credit using my SSN? soft inquiries just like when I pull out my credit report?""

I got in to an accident will my insurance go up??

i live in canada i m 17 years old i m insured under my dads policy my dad only pays like 50 bucks per month because he never got into a accident for like 20 years and my insurance was same because i was the 2nd driver on the car but today i was backing up the call in the shopping malls parking lot and as i was backing it up i didnt really see back and on the sides properly so i hit the car from my back and their side i have like no damage on my car tat car got like few dents i m done with all the paper work collision center, police ,other party info, contacted my insurance etc but will my insurance go up now if yes how much i think their car will have damage up to 2500 and thats lil too much so how much will my insurance go up if i m paying 50 per month rite noe""

""Does the bank require you to buy flood insurance in antioch, oakley area? (california)?""

Does the bank require you to buy flood insurance in antioch, oakley area? (california)?""

Insurance for a driver without a license?

I'm getting my license in about a week, and the website said I need proof of insurance to do the driving test... I don't think they'll insure an unlicensed driver, so do I just need to show proof of insurance on the vehicle in general? It's my moms car btw, I can't find a job, so I don't have a car... Also, I'll be 18""

Progressive auto quote confirmation?

I had to ask a bunch of questions regarding insurance for a certain car for my driver education project and I got an email saying that I quoted with Progressive. What does this mean?

If a person gets a speeding ticket while driving someones car and they want your insurance does it effect you?

if you let someone borrow your car and they get a ticket while driving your car do they need your insurance? and if you decided to make a copy and give it to them for proof of ...show more

I'm 27 years old and I wanna get life insurance ? Any thoughts on which type i should get . ?

simplify your answer please .

Is it expensive to insure a Prius?

I want to invest in buying a toyota prius but I heard that the insurance for these vehicles is expensive. I have Allstate insurance. Anyone who owns a prius, is the insurance ...show more""

Will a sports car make my insurance more expenisive?

Im 18 years old and my parents just bought me a sports car. No, I'm not spoiled. They got it for me because its miles were under 100k, it was only 2000 dollars, and it wasn't ...show more""

Is anybody looking for affordable health care insurance?

I work with ASSURANT HEALTH, I can get you a free quote just let me know.""

Who actually has health insurance?

Just about everyone I know doesn't have health insurance. This sounds pretty bad. Who actually has health insurance?

How much would insurance cost for my car and is there discounts?

okay so is it better to take drivers ed will insurance be cheaper then?? i am 17 new to driving going to get permit have a job going to a cal state college this year. i want a 2010 nissa altima coupe 2.5s i dont want you saying it depends etc just estimated value or from experiences

How much is the average car insurance payment for a teenage?

I'm 16 & I know I'll be on my moms insurance since I'm not 18. would I be better off getting a 2011 or 2012 year car? I've heard it's pretty costly

How much would insurance be on a 99;-00' mustang gt for a 17 year old?

I'm buying my first car and i'm determined to get a mustang...i'm truly working my butt off to buy it. and i was just wondering how much insurance would be on it. the car would be added to my parents policy under one of there name's, but i would be driving it. so i was just wondering how much a month i'd be looking at paying. Additional details: -eagle scout -A B student - no wrecks, tickets, anything thanks for the help!""

How do I prevent myself from getting taken advantage of by the car insurance companies?

What steps do I need to take in order to always be well ahead of the tricks that car insurance companies would want to pull on me?

What is the average cost for car insurance?

What is the average cost for car insurance on a standard second hand car worth about 1,000 like a nissan?""

Help need car insurance I am 21 and dont want the black box :( help please?

anyone knows where i can get cheap car insurance from like 150 to 200 a month let me know am desperate please.......

Where do I find good health insurance for my parents?

I've tried ehealthinsurance.com and some other websites. I'm paying $500/ month for just basic health coverage for hospital emergency only. They're 56 and 61 years old and finding anything with good coverage and affordable is impossible. Anyone know what I can do to find better coverage?

How can i get my car insurance quotes down?

i have just passed my driving test for a full license in the UK, i am 18, male and after looking at several different websites (some comparison ones and some direct ones) i have found that for what is considered a good first car (no more than a 1.2 engine) i am likely to be paying the minimum of 4000! and this is just for third party and theft. i am wondering if there is any way i can get this number down.. can anyone suggest a good insurance company or anything like the pass plus that will lower it by a reasonable amount? or even a specific car that is generally cheaper than others. any help would be appreciated!""

""Obamacare supporters, question for you.?""

Actually a few questions. Which magic money fairy will appear to bestow money upon those who couldn't afford insurance before the mandate to allow them to afford it after the mandate? The Obama administration has already granted enough exemptions that the whole concept is pretty well doomed. Is there another magic money fairy that will appear and make up for all the exemptions they've already given? If your old enough to remember when your state made auto insurance mandatory how many fold did your auto insurance go up in the next five years. Mine went up %350 after insurance became mandatory. In light of this how would you not expect health insurance costs to do the same. Hasn't Obama essentially created a monopoly and forced American citizens to throw their money at health insurance. Given that half or more of the cost of seeing a doc IS insurance itself. Wouldn't LESS insurance be the answer not more insurance? You go to a clinic that accepts no form of insurance and you are paying only slightly more than folks pay in co-pay. Then your done. The insured usually gets a bill for at least part of the visit that's not covered and on top of that they have their premium deducted. For most people insurance is a losing proposition. Insurance companies being for profit institutions will go out of business if they don't make a profit. As such mandatory health insurance means you will certainly pay more for health care than if you pay out of pocket. The discounts given to insurance companies do not make up for the overhead costs that insurance companies force providers to go through. Nor do they make up for the no pays and slow pays so common from insurance companies. As such one sure way to raise the cost of health care in the US is to require insurance. If you got more out of it than you put in the insurance companies would go broke. Insurance companies regularly restrict activities and or penalize people for engaging in what they consider high risk activities. Athletes are especially restricted. Having a monopoly why would they not do the same for everyone? Snowboarders, Smokers, bungee jumping, riding a motorcycle all dangerous activities already prohibited by many insurance policies. How do you propose to prevent insurance companies from becoming lawmakers using collusion which they openly engage in already to prohibit activities? Before Obamacare if you didn't like it you just did without insurance. Insurance companies have had to be conservative with what they mandate and prohibit because of that choice. With that choice gone now what? Insurance companies have regularly engaged in activities to the detriment of a patients welfare in the past. HMOs especially forced Docs not only to give patients substandard but cheaper care they have gone as far as prohibiting doctors from letting you know that you cannot receive the normal standard of care because of restrictions by your insurance. The unprecedented power handed insurance execs by Obamacare will clearly change how medicine is practiced in the US and that doesn't worry you? If everybody has insurance then insurance companies will dictate to Docs what they can and cannot do as they do if Docs participate in HMO and even some PPO programs. The idea that we MUST purchase a product, doesn't that bother you? Today it's health insurance. Tomorrow maybe it's socks. How can the Gov FORCE you to buy anything? Don't hand me the auto insurance scam. Mandatory auto insurance hasn't significantly reduced accidents, hasn't reduced losses to uninsured drivers. It has made insurance far more expensive for all. It does violate a basic principle of individual sovereignty that is supposed to be a key component of any free society. What will they make us buy next? In 20 years will gov mandated expenses consume the entire budget of the average American? How do you stop such a beast once it starts rolling? Millions of Americans will lose everything they have because of Obamacare. They will make just a little too much to be exempted or the time/effort to get an exemption will be impossible given their work schedule or they will have a valid exemption or be rejected for invalid reasons and unfairly prosecuted. Sure they might eventually get it straitened out but not before it gets them tossed in jail. Literally millions will be left homeless by this law in the first 5 years. Doesn't that bother you?""

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

Got a question about changing my car color and insurance...?

So this past summer I was so close into painting my car into White! But my mom was hating on it, and she told me that if i had changed the color of my car we would had to contact the insurance people... Telling them that the car is getting a color Changed Them having to change some info on the car And the worst part... The insurances goes up? (btw... my car's color is black) So you guys out there... Please help answering my question! would my insurance go up if I change my car's color? I haven't paint the car yet.. maybe till' the spring time since its almost winter time!!! Thanks!""

What is a good cheap Car Insurance Company?

I am 22 years old, single mother of two children ( 2 & 4 ), looking for cheap insurance quotes, I live in NC I'm not sure if that matters. I checked Allstate and that's the cheapest quote I've found, but I had them before and owe them money, so EX them out. Any other people, I checked with Progressive, State Farm, AND Gecco (sp). Who are you with what are your companies??""

17 year old student Car Insurance for a Ford Fiesta 1.25 or a 1.4 climate 2004-2005?

Insurance for a Ford Fiesta 1.25 or a 1.4 climate 2004-2005 I need reasonable car insure I have no no claims bonus and I am new driver. I have been quoted around 4000 fully com on a 4000 car. My budget for insurance is around 1400 full or third party. I am an A level Law student I will going to uni next year and I might use the car to commute to there

""How can a high school senior, living on their on get affordable health insurance?""

My friend is emancipated from her parents, is 18 and needs to find affordable health insurance -she can only work part time as she's going to high school as a full time student.""

Car insurance for 17 year old ?

I'm doing car payments on a 2007 Mustang & want to know how much roughly my monthly payments would be for car insurance. I called Progressive & the guy told me my insurance could cost any where from $500 to $5000? I'm permitted to drive but will be getting my license in August after my 18th birthday. I live in southern California. I want insurance for myself & only myself. I just want a rough idea of how much I would be paying monthly.

Can anybody give me an idea on car insurance?

Im 18 year old and am from the uk i want to buy a mazda 2. i hold a clean uk driving liscience and would like to no if anybody has a rough idea how much per year i will pay for car insurance.

What does Term Life Insurance mean with no surrender value?

If I had a 15 year Term Life Insurance at $100,000. with no surrender value. What would it be at the end of 15 years. Can I collect the full amount on this type of insurance?""

Can anyone recommend a good homeowner's insurer in Massachusetts? I was just dropped from Electric Insurance.

I would discourage anyone from using Electric Insurance (EI). EI is a small company with a VERY LOW risk threshold. I had EI homeowners and auto insurance for over 18 years. In all that time, I had one claim filed against me for less $2,500 when my 6 lb doggie gave the lawn guy a bite. EI would not renew my homeowners policy and waited 45 days before it expired to tell me. Months earlier, the claims adjuster assured me my policy would not be dropped for such a small claim of this type. Dont take a chance with EI""

Does Gap insurance transfer if I refinance?

Gap insurance was included in my originol car loan-the same company refinanced me for a lower interest rate-will my gap insurance still be intact???

Do you think insurance policies are a waste of money?

i dont mean the ones we all have to have like motor and house insurance. I mean, small insurances for electical goods etc""

Funtions of home insurance?

what are functions of home insurance?

""How to apply for Louisiana Children's Health Insurance Program, LACHIP?""

Are you looking for a low cost health insurance program for your children? Do you live in Louisiana? Well, I just recently found a program called LACHIP that offers affordable healthcare coverage for children. Step1 I'm a stay at home mom, and for awhile my child was getting sick all the time. Our insurance was good but, it didn't cover everything. Then suddenly, my boss told me that she was cutting my hours. I frantically started seeking healthcare insurance that was affordable but, would cover everything we needed. That's when I found a program called LACHIP. Basically, LACHIP is a no-cost or low-cost medicaid health insurance program for children. Step2 First thing, you need to find out if you qualify for the program. The program is basic on income. To find out the income guidelines, contact your medicaid office. They will also give you an application to fill out. To find out your medicaid office contact information, go to: http://www.dhh.state.la.us/offices/contacts.asp?ID=119 Step3 Finally, when you get the application in the mail, fill it out and return it back to the office. Now when I filled mine out, I did not have to put a stamp on the envelope because it was already pre-paid. Then within about a week, someone from the medicaid office will call you and tell you if you are approved or not. If you are approved, then you will receive a medicaid card in the mail for your child(ren) within 6 weeks. Once you receive it, you use the card anywhere medicaid is accepted. Also, don't forget to ask your medicaid representative to include a list of things that medicaid covers. For more how to articles, please visit http://www.ehow.com/members/kleighwickham.html?view=3rd""

What is average insurance rate for liability only for a 19 year old female?

in N. C. on a family type car

Can you get insurance after a ticket for no insurance?

so i got a ticket for speeding, and i also didnt have insurance on my car so the cop gave me two tickets one for speeding, and one for no insurance. So i went to court pleaded not guilty and didn't have insurance and got a 500 dollar ticket. then couple weeks later i got a letter saying my license will be suspended for 3 months due to illinios law for not having insurance. I was wondering if could have gotten insurance and shown it at the court date and would it have been removed?? Also is there away i can get a lawyer to have the remove the suspension or anything???""

What's the best type of health insurance for a pregnant woman?

Is it PPO, HMO, etc...""

What is the least expensive car insurance money can buy?

So i REALLY need a car, but i CANNOT afford insurance. Honestly, if it was legal to not have insurance on a car, i would do that. So the only reason i'm getting insurance is so that i'm legal on the road. I don't care if the insurance covers only the tires of the car, what is the least expensive company and quote i can get?""

What is the best/cheap dental isurance?

What is the best and cheapest dental insurance in CA for someone who isnt married or have kids is on a tight budget, and needs major exstensive dental work including cosmetic and anestesia?""

Is it true that ObamaCare forces people to buy health insurance?

If not, risk going to jail and face a fine.""

How much would it cost to insure a 17 year old boy on a ford escort gti?

any answers much appreciated

Whats the best and cheapest car insurance?

Whats the best and cheapest car insurance?

How do you get new home owner's insurance after you were dumped?

Hypothetically speaking, say your home owner's insurance company does NOT renew your policy? How long do you have to find a new company and what if no company will take you on due to too many claims?""

How can I get insurance for my kids?

Does anyone know of any affordable insurances out there? We are a family of 4 and my two kids dont qulifiy for Chips, or medicaid. Is there any advice anyone can give? My kids are little. 1 and 7. It really sucks because my husband and i work full time and arent bums and cant even get any insurance for our kids.But i wont even get started on all that!.""

""One more question on insurance,,,, do I HAVE to cancel existing insurance on my mums car.....?""

i have a quote from an insurance company who is willing to give me temporary car insurance for 3 months on my mums car, it works out cheaper then going on as second driver, they said i have to cancel my mums insurance but maybe that is because they wanna make money at the end of the day, my mum is saying i don't have to cancel the existing insurance but i aint sure, i just think she is worried she may not get the refund for paying for a full years insurance if she cancels... help me out guys !!?""

The course of insurance and risk management deals with what?

Works as who?

""Can you help me-insurance, cars, and money?""

Okay, I'm planning on buying a car soon. My family is in a very deep hole financially, so I'm going to ask my grandparents to help me, because they are doing fine. I need a car to get to school, get to my current job on time, and have another job (along with 2 AP classes and babysitting!) I never ask them for anything, not that I've ever wanted to, so I'm really scared to ask them for this huge favor. I'm planning on paying them back for every single penny I borrow plus interest. So I want to know an idea of how much money I'm going to need to borrow. Okay, for insurance...I'm planning on buying a toyota yaris, matrix, or camry. Or a honda civic (perferrably hatchback). Or a volkswagon beetle. But right now, anything will do as long as its reliable. For a 16 year old, A average grades, living in KY, about how much would monthly insurance be? For payments, I know about 2000 for down would be good. But how much (about) would interest be on monthly payments? I'm planning on finding a car that is about 7000-8000 dollars. And lastly, how should I ask!? They know I'm mature and responsible, but I don't think they are willing to help me out. I absolutely hate asking for things from people, but I really need help so that I can help my family. So how should I do it? Thank you so much! :) I'll choose best answer!!!""

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

Health Insurance for 20 yr old in NJ.?

I live in New Jersey. I'm 20. I havent had health insurance since i was about 15, and I live with a friend's family because I have no parents. My Mom died in 2008, and my father is absent. Is there anyway i can get medicaid or any type of affordable insurance ? I read that Medicaid is only available to the elderly, disabled, and people with children. If thats correct, do i have any other options ? (My mom had medicaid and i was on her policy before she died). Also, im in school full time, but not at a university, so the school doesnt offer healthcare. Any opinons/information is appreciated.""

How much will my car insurance be?

R reg vw polo 999cc

HOW MUCH is your car insurance for your 17 yo boy?

Prices are crazy here in TX. We would pay $800 every 6 months for our son to drive our car. And he can't drive one of them, because we only have liability insurance on that one (he might make a mistake and cream the car and we'd have no insurance to fix it--our daughter already did that with the other car!). Is it fair to tell him he can't get a dr. license until he can pay for the insurance? In our state, you can get a license at 16, but we've made him wait.""

Which type of ticket goes on your insurance?

I know a speeding ticket will show up on your insurance and cause it to be quite a bit more than it was, but do any other less than obvious types affect your insurance? For example, my town has a completely pointless ordinance in which their residents are not allowed to park their cars in the street between the hours of 2 AM and 6 AM, unless you call the police that night and let them know that your car will be in the street, and then they'll just ignore your car if they see it. Well, I decided to rebel and not call last night, so, I wake up this morning to find a nice (still cheap, luckily) ticket on my window. I didn't call because I have gotten away with it each time before, so I figured maybe they don't check my neighborhood. Go figure. But I just don't want my insurance going up because of this and I'm not sure if all tickets are sent to the insurance company. Thanks in advance!""

How much do you pay for motorcycle insurance ?

how much do you pay for motorcycle insurance in canada ,for a 300 cc motor . like the kawasaki ninja 300 2013 .""

Provisional to Full license insurance?

I am 17 years old on provisional license and about to take out insurance for my car. I received a quote from Quinn Direct for about 1050, but I wanted to know what will happen when I pass my test and have full license? Will I have to pay more?""

Is it normal for Car Insurance rates vary so much.?

I'm thinking of buying my buddy's 92 corolla wagon and have been looking around for insurance prices. Progressive is the cheapest so far at $124 a month for liability. All other companies have been double. Geico is the most expensive at $278 per month. I'm a 20 year old male with a clean driving record. I just got my license and i've had my permit for a couple years and never got any tickets or anything. i have also taken drivers Ed. I qualify for the good student discount. Anyways my question is, is it normal for it to vary so dramatically. All these prices were for just the minimum state required insurance. Also does anyone know of a cheap alternative. I even tried the general and they wanted $248 per month.""

How much does the average American pay for Healthcare?

Spending on health care to reach $5,170 per Canadian in 2008 http://secure.cihi.ca/cihiweb/dispPage.jsp?cw_page=media_13nov2008_e I'm looking for this in American.""

""Wrecked best friends car, no license, I'm uninsured, 18 and terrified! I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!!!?""

So, I am 18, and yesterday my cousin was planned to come in from the UK at the Sky Harbor Airport in, Arizona. On my way there I was driving at a close speed limit of 50, speed limit was 45, approaching a red light, I was slowing down, when something abruptly ran across the road, close to the car, causing me to slam on the breaks, losing control of the wheel, and I tumbled 4 times over the street, busting the side window, scraping some paint, and cracking the windshield. Thankfully, I was not hurt, no neck, back, leg, or any body injuries for that matter. The police was near by, so helped me out, firefighters took care of me, to make sure I was okay. And then the report happened. I told them the honest truth, they said that I won't be arrested, or given a ticket, but I do have to go to court to prove I had no insurance. I don't know what to do, I know it was completely idiotic driving without a license, and no permit, with no insurance, but my friend has insurance on the car. I have the police report, and I don't know what I have to do, but I will help him with anything as this is my best friend, and I am not straying away from this situation. Will his insurance cover this? Do I look okay is this situation? PLEASEEEE! Someone help me! I'm desperate for advice, I've definitely learned my lesson, and I have no family here in Arizona as they are all in Georgia, I am here for school at ASU, please tell me his insurance will cover this!""

Can I get long term disability insurance and social security?

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How much would US insurance cost?

I am driving across america with a friend in a 1975 Camaro so I need us car insurance. I am 18 (Full UK licence) and have had no claims. However I only need insurance for 3 months.

Why can't Obama's affordable health act function without coercing people to pay a fine or buy insurance?

Why can't Obama's affordable health act function without coercing people to pay a fine or buy insurance?

My car insurance is 6000 and im 17 can anybody help pleeeeeeeeese.?

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High School Sport Insurance?

If i want to join track for high school as a freshman and i don't think i have health insurance... do i need it to join?

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Is 89-93 240sx (S13) expensive to insure? I am 16. I would put this car under my mom's insurance. She never had an accident, ticket, etc. Also I never took drugs or any stuff like that, never been pulled over or something if it matters insuring a car.""

So where do I get health insurance?

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Would a speeding ticket go to the lead insured or the owner of car?

my dad is the lead insured, my mum and i are named drivers, but my mum owns the car. Who would the speeding ticket be addressed to?""

Car insurance on new car in FL??

I am going to go get a new car today. The dealer told me I don't have to contact my insurance carrier yet until after I get the car. He just needs me to bring proof of insurance on any of my cars. Does anyone know how long I have in the state of florida to get my new car on insurance. I signed up for new insurance a few weeks ago that takes effect in a week so I wanted to know if I can wait until then or do I have to get it earlier? Thanks!

About car insurance?

i got a used car,mitsubishi sports car,1999....im a first time driver..they say i have to pay like $150 but then it would increase if its a sports car..how much do u think will it add up?do u think it will add up only a couple of dollars or way higher?thanks!""

Car insurance for first time drivers?

im 18 and looking to buy a car soon, i need to know what i should expect to be paying monthly for car insurance.""

My son-19- is a full time college student.His Ga peach care insurance ends august 3.can he get medicaid?

He is receiving student aid in the form of scholarships and the pell grant for low-income families. I don't want him to be without insurance coverage. His only income is back child support that will end in a few months. What are my choices? Please help. Thank you. I only receive disability income from social security disability.

Car insurance is too much.. must bring down $$ any ideas?

So my boyfriend's insurance went up a lot due to 2 accidents in the same year to the amount he is unable to afford to drive. We are considered Common law now... He needs to be able to drive due to his job he has to get to different locations! We thought about joining our insurance and downing to one vehicle to try and save money to see if that made a difference but the bottom line is we need to down his insurance so he can still get to site... Any ideas?

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Do you add your kids under your car insurance ?

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Where can I get pit bull insurance in Ohio??? What does it cost??

Where can I get pit bull insurance in Ohio??? What does it cost??

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

Mc Laughlin South Dakota Cheap car insurance quotes zip 57642

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/estimate-car-insurance-edward-walker/"

[democratsunited-blog]

From Obama to Clinton, Hamilton County Democratic leader reflects

https://uniteddemocrats.net/?p=3177

From Obama to Clinton, Hamilton County Democratic leader reflects

CLOSE

A brief highlight from election night.

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Tim Burke in 2001, displaying his collection of Borgman cartoons(Photo: Enquirer file)Buy Photo

Thanks, Tim Burke.

Just in case no one else has said it to him for the last quarter century. Burke is stepping down as chairman of the Hamilton County Democratic Party this weekend, ending a 25-year tenure in a thankless, time-consuming, unpaid role.

The party’s new era begins Saturday, when Democratic leaders are expected to elect  Springfield Township Trustee Gwen McFarlin and former state Rep. Connie Pillich as new co-chairs.

Burke, 70, served as chairman since 1993. The Mount Lookout resident, who’s been involved in local politics since 1971, will remain on the Hamilton County Board of Elections until next year. His term expires in March. Burke also will remain on the party’s state central committee and continue to practice law full-time at Downtown-based Manley Burke.

In the two years this column has existed, Burke was always willing to answer tough questions and offer historical perspective on local politics. He was accessible and offered story ideas.

More: Dem ‘peacemaker’ told Jerry Springer to fess up

Burke could be feisty, and naturally he disagreed with Republicans. But he is respected as someone who placed great importance on civility and implored his candidates to try to work with the other side.

“Tim is a man of honor and integrity, and we work well to further in the interests of the board of elections,” said Alex Triantafilou, chairman of the Hamilton County GOP. “I wish him well in his next endeavor.”

Triantafilou recalled having a voicemail when he walked into GOP headquarters his first morning on the job in March 2008. It was from Burke, who had called to offer congratulations. In 1993, then-county GOP chairman Gene Ruehlmann had called Burke to congratulate him on his first day. 

“I did not know him, but here he was calling me up and saying, ‘I want to come have a cup of coffee with you,’ ” Burke told Politics Extra. “It blew me away. That’s how politics should be. You have fights, but we have to have relationships.”

Burke leaves the county party in much better shape than he found it. He stepped into the big chair at a time when the Democrats were relatively powerless in what was then known as one of the most politically conservative urban counties in America.

In recent years, Democrats have gained control of the Hamilton County board of commissioner. They also have taken over offices of the sheriff and clerk of courts – seats most around here thought the Republicans would never lose.

Changing demographics in Hamilton County have had a lot to do with the Democrats’ victories, but let’s not take anything away from Burke. He’s held together a party that’s been divided in recent years. So-called urban progressives have tried – and failed – many times to wrest control from the establishment.

Burke had the unenviable task of trying to manage an ugly ongoing feud between Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley and City Councilman Chris Seelbach. The chairman took on lots of social media grenades from Seelbach and other progressive keyboard warriors, but Burke publicly handled the criticism with grace. Frankly, not many others would have.

Burke also had to keep things together amid some party leaders constantly trying to play racial politics. Throw in all the nighttime fundraisers and weekend party meetings, and, well, few people would do a job like this for free – let alone for so long. In fact, Burke stayed for so long because no one else wanted this pain-in-the-butt job.

In a wide-ranging interview with Politics Extra, Burke reflected on some memories and politicians from his tenure as chairman:

Top memories

1. Long lines for Obama: In the 2008 and 2012 elections, hundreds of early voters waited for hours outside of the board of elections headquarters, then in Downtown. Burke cherishes the memory because of the historical significance – the election and re-election of the first African-American president. “Those lines turned into parties,” Burke recalled. “Everyone was trying to cooperate with one another. We had a miniature horse come by. People were juggling. Jesse Jackson came by. Congressman John Lewis came by and urged people to stay in line and vote.”

2. Bill Clinton’s visit to Xavier in March 1996: Burke had previously met the president several times. But Clinton’s visit to the Evanston campus was special because XU is Burke’s alma mater and his daughter, Tara, was a student then and helped organize the event. Burke has a T-shirt from the even framed in his Downtown office.

3. White House visit: Weeks before Clinton’s visit to Xavier, Burke and then-party co-chair Mark Mallory visited the White House. They had a good rapport, and while there got the fun idea to start mentioning names of as many people they knew from Cincinnati. Said Burke: “We did that just so we could come back home and tell people, ‘Hey, your name was mentioned at the White House the other day.’ “

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Tim Burke, right, in 2014 at a rally outside City Hall with P.G. Sittenfeld, left, and Greg Landsman (Photo: Enquirer file)

In a word, phrase, sentence

Burke’s take on some political leaders, current and past: 

Jerry Springer (former Cincinnati mayor, major donor): “Incredibly generous friend.”

William Mallory Sr. (late Ohio House Majority Floor Leader): “Changed the color of justice in Hamilton County.” (Mallory led effort to implement municipal court districts, which helped African-American candidates get elected.)

Roxanne Qualls (former mayor): “Very dynamic.”

Alex Triantafilou: “Damn conservative.” (laughs)

John Cranley: “Very smart.”

Alicia Reece (state rep): “Incredible spark plug for voting rights”

Tom Luken (late mayor, congressman): “One of a kind. His political understanding of this community was better than anyone else maybe in the history of Hamilton County.”

Charlie Luken (former mayor, congressman): “Much more intellectual than his dad –and much nicer.”

Aftab Pureval (county clerk of courts): “One of a kind for this generation; the complete package.”

Dusty Rhodes (county auditor): “Sometimes a challenge, but a good friend.”

Biggest surprise win: Pat Foley

In 2014, a 66-year-old political rookie decided to run against respected, long-time Common Pleas Court Judge Carl Stich Jr. Foley had not been involved in Democratic politics, having spent most of his career in administrative law. He took 53 percent of the vote in what Burke calls the biggest surprise victory during his chairmanship. 

“My favorite memory from that night at the board of elections was Alex Triantafilou walking around (griping) about good Irish ballot names,” Burke recalled, chuckling. “Pat did some good training, ran a very quiet campaign and went out and did it.”

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Jason Williams (Photo: Enquirer file)

Politics Extra is a column looking inside Greater Cincinnati and Ohio politics. Follow Enquirer political columnist Jason Williams on Twitter @jwilliamscincy.

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