#they survived each day with losses to carry and debts to pay

[satisaranea]

i honestly think that katniss and peeta didn't count as real victors. not the definition we know of them, anyway. they were set up for success and came out of the arena less scarred than any other, while other people bared those wounds. and then, their own kind were forced to die for them and their cause. just for a chance of freedom and a new world.

no, i don't think all the victors liked them. i don't believe they all got on. i do believe it took a lot of convincing on haymitch's side to trust and understand them in the empathetic way that he does. i do think that their victor experience is stunted because of the sacrifices others made in order to give them a near-smooth victory. they came out with wounds — that's guaranteed, but they didn't suffer in that proper way until the rebellion. there were times were K&P were both ignorant to the ways of a victor, and played off certain character's behavior and chalked it down to anything but their experiences.

president snow gave katniss a chance to quell the districts. they were allowed to play up the starcrossed lovers angle for as long as they needed to until the rebel plan panned out in full. they would've been eaten alive if not for the war.

[terrifyingstories]

@lingeringscars, x.

when she and dimitri had ended up in a ditch on the side of the road after he’d learned tasha was alive, all she could do was stare at the floor on the passenger side and try and count the carpet fibers to keep from hyperventilating. she couldn’t look at him, or his hands clenched around the steering wheel, or the path they’d abruptly pulled off of. then somehow, without knowing the reason, she’d caught her breath. she’d had to. using ties from his time as a strigoi to unravel the lies she’d told him came with a high price, and he couldn’t get that close to the past that haunted him without debts neither of them could repay. it was that simple. 

of course, she had her own debts she was still paying. a mind and heart shrouded in darkness in exchange for the magic lissa had used to bring her back, dizzy memories of the back of a car of a kind couple in russia that had been kind enough to take a half dying girl who couldn’t offer them a dime to safety. the bullets she, eddie, and lissa had escaped fleeing tasarov with mere luck. dimitri’s lethal voice as he’d fastened a wolf’s mask to his face once more, white knuckles and cold eyes. rose had paid parts of herself to monsters and shadows many times in her life to survive. 

her body carried each of those experiences with her every time she stepped into a car, tension she hadn’t realized had been set into her bones until some miraculous promise of safety had released it - something not verbal or written down, but that she knew was true all the same. it hadn’t been magic, nor manipulation - instead, it had been slowly built over time, a million car rides in which bellamy had, slowly and carefully instilled a sense of safety. so much so she found no need to insist on driving anymore when they both knew it brought her no pleasure, more than happy to hand him the keys while she got comfy on the passenger side. inexplicably, their car rides became some of the best moments of her days. 

before they’d started dating, it had been time built into their lives where they each be themselves, spend time together without the need to maintain a guardian’s perfect composure. time they could be rose and bellamy, people, instead of guardian hathaway and guardian blake, first and foremost of the queen’s protection detail. they talked, they laughed, they enjoyed comfortable silence neither of them felt pressured to fill. he indulged in her cravings when time allowed and sat with her when she needed a couple more moments of perfect quiet. when they’d gotten together, this had only grown - blossomed into perfect kisses and moments, a hand she almost never let go of, a little keychain hung on his rearview mirror she got for him that made her think of him and some other thoughtful additions to make the standard guardian issue feel more like bellamy, an extra jacket he keeps in the backseat because she’s always cold. 

when his hands still now, she feels a thousand times colder than any chill that jacket has saved her from at tasha’s, and that place gets cold in the winter, even with fire users around. she’s thought for a very long time that bellamy’s eyes carried enough warmth to shield her from the harshest of storms, but it doesn’t stop her from being startled by the chill that overtakes her when she feels his gaze slip. she doesn’t have to watch it happen; she can feel it the same way she could a hand slipping from her grip. it's only the sight of that jacket hung over the backseat that allows her to continue, an inexplicable, unspoken reminder that bellamy would never leave her out in the cold, would never take on a face of winter.

if nothing else, it's just not in his nature. if everything else, bellamy has made a habit of finding the energy to keep her warm even when there was no warmth to give. there's an out of body feeling she can't quite shake as she continues, though - almost like she's shaking on the inside, like her body is too stunned and devastated by the loss to reflect the horrible undercurrent running beneath her skin telling her she's losing him, she's losing him, she's losing him.

then they come back to life, hands she had become so terrified she might never feel around hers again. and like so many times before, being touched by bellamy is like gaining permission she has spent her entire life without - permission to cry, permission to grieve, to anger, to feel, to take up space, permission to exist. she trusts it in spite of the fear that's crept into them, and breaks a little at the confirmation, a sob catching in her throat as her head bobs in a couple of relieved nods. he believes her. he believes her. tears spill over at the words, the image of their hands pressed against his heart blurred by the water. a heartbreaking little smile survives the relieved hitch of her breath, the way her voice cracks as she returns the words, "i love you." i love you. i love you. i love you. she loves him so much. more fall as he tells her she's his destination, relief growing larger still as his fingers lace through hers.

why would i be mad at you? it should tell her something, that she doesn't immediately know. she's been completely honest with bellamy, has never once tried to soften or manipulate her history for him. he received more vulnerability from her than anyone else ever had in her life, even lissa. as much guilt as she harbors for her missteps with adrian, even she can recognize that anger and condemnation is not bellamy's to hold. sure, he could certainly judge her, decide that she couldn't be trusted after all, but she and bellamy were built on a foundation of trust, and when she looks for offenses that could have caused it to crumble, she comes up empty. bellamy didn't fall in love with her under the illusion that she was perfect; he'd walked into love with her with his eyes open. some part of her can even recognize that for bellamy to wield something from her past against her in such a way, he himself would have to create cracks in that foundation. and he wouldn't. he would never, ever do that.

dimitri would, though. dimitri had.

her breaths slowly come easier. save for a broken, "who said that to you?" when he mentions multiple people telling him she was meant to be with dimitri, she manages to listen without interruptions, kissing his hands after he had squeezed hers, the smallest of actions that told her that he was looking for support. more tears fall at his words, and rose isn't really sure why - if it's inspired by the beauty of what bellamy is saying, of how he's describing their love, or the horror of how when he tries to liken it to her feelings relative to dimitri, she can't think of anything that applies less. "no." she wipes her eyes with their hands, or tries to. "no. it.. it wasn't like that at all."

"i.. i don't.. i don't know how to explain it," she admits, wishing her eyes weren't so blurry. she closes them to shut out the distraction, but it just makes them burn more. "do you .. you remember when i accidentally broke that lamp? and.. i felt so horrible about it, i kept trying to fix it. and.. it was.. really dumb, because i couldn't. but.. i felt like i had to until.. you made me slow down and you told me it was okay. and.. i could see you weren't mad at me or... even annoyed that i broke it being a dumbass." which is all besides the point, but she's getting there. "i... i needed to put dimitri and i back together. and... all the stupid spirit stuff.." she really does resent it more and more with each passing day, and every time it makes bellamy doubt even more, "it.. made me feel like i could. i couldn't.. do anything else. i couldn't.. make victor alive again or take it back. i couldn't save tasha or change what she did. i couldn't help christian or lissa. i couldn't.. protect jill or ryan or sydney or eddie. i couldn't fix things with adrian. but.. i could put those pieces back together. it.. it was something i could do. if... if we slept together because.. we'd healed something.. if it.. made him okay again. if that was what was meant to happen... it meant that.. it wasn't all just a bunch of broken pieces."

"but it was." softly, she manages, "nothing felt in control that night. nothing felt meant to be. and... i don't think i felt like i was in control again for... for a really long time. i don't think.. i remembered what it was like to... to feel... good and.. and solid and.. in control and steady until ... until ...." she looks at him. "until you." her voice breaks, "i don't.. i don't care about whatever crap someone thinks they see in an aura. that's... that's what is meant to be. that's.. that's what makes me f-feel.. happy and.. and safe and.. like we can get through anything. like.. no matter what happens.. it's.. it's you and me. no one else." do you still think that?, her vulnerable gaze asks. do you still think we can get through anything? do you still believe in us?

"that's what i believe in."

[luna-01l]

The Fall Of The White Wolf [1]

Pairing: Geralt of Rivia X Child!Reader

Warnings: blood, injuries

Words count: 1700

Summary: Geralt is found almost dead by a young girl who saves his life, with her he will find that he is not the only one with secrets and painful past.

A/N: I love all the love you guys are giving to this. Please, do not stop! Tell me what you all think about this one!

masterlist // prologue

Walk around the woods was a thing in your daily life. It wasn’t because you enjoyed - a though you might, but she would never admit it - but because you needed it. In the woods you could find herbs, flowers, many types of wood, and others things. You never know when you might need them, especially when you live in a place so far away from the market or any close town, the only way of surviving it’s improvise. 

It was a day like any other, you was walking tediously into the woods, looking for a special flower for medicine, when you see him.

A strong man with white hair was laid on the floor, blood all over him. Your first instinct was run, escape to far far away from any contact with people. You didn’t knew him, he could be bad. But the man was in a bad shape, he was really hurt and could be dead. The thought of leaving him there, like he didn’t exist or you didn’t saw him sicked you.

In that chaotic world, you knew that kind thought would end up killing you, but you promised yourself to be different from the heartless people that crossed your way. With that, you made up your mind.

You set your basket on the ground far from the man, and walked slowly towards him. He was dead, you was sure of it. No human would survive a wound like that. 

Getting closer from the body you could see the wound better. It was something you never saw before, but then, you smiled ironically from your own thought. What had you saw anyway? 

You kneed next to the man carefully, afraid he might wake up and looked at him. He was different from anyone you had ever saw, although you didn’t saw many people to compare.

Looking at the man, a faintly sound reached your ears. It was difficult and weak, but it was there. The weak sound of his heartbeat. You gasped in shock. How it was possible? No one survived that kind of injury. 

You looked around. There were no signs of battle. It was just him, so you could breathe more relieved. The last thing you needed was people fighting nearby. People meant danger.

You looked around again looking for something that might help you. Then you saw the horse.

It was nervous, and agitated.  You wondered if the animal belonged to the man. You got up and walked quickly to the horse, but with light steps to not scared the animal. 

The horse looked at you, staring straight into your eyes. It seemed to beg for help. If you concentrated enough, you could hear the animal’s desperate plea to save its owner’s life.

You raised your hands, trying to show the animal you didn’t mean harm. It seemed like the horse understood, it suddenly became calm, and you slowly approached and patted the horse’s head.  Then you quickly approached the carriage, trying to find something that might help you.

The thought that these things might not belong to him but to a stranger who might come suddenly, startled you, but you shook your head and decided to risk it. No one would go there, that was the only carriage you had seen in months and he was the only man around.

With that thought you picked the bag that was there and looked. It didn’t had much, but had everything you needed. 

You ran back to the man, suddenly afraid that he had stopped breathing. He hadn’t. His breathing was weaker and harder, but his heart was still beating.

You put the bag next to you and started taking everything you was going to use. Bandages, herbs - which he had a lot, surprisingly - and oils. That was when you saw the little flask with a black liquid. You took the glass curiously and examined it, almost immediately recognizing what it was.

You looked to the men in understanding. He was a Witcher! Now it made sense why he would be there, and why he was so badly hurt.

You hesitate. Why was you doing this for a stranger? You wondered. Because you promised to be different. A voice answered softly in your mind. And you will end up being killed for it.

Your hands started to shake lightly with the thought of what you was going to do. You took some deep breaths, thanking the gods for be morning. This it would be much more difficult if it was dark. 

When your hands steady a little more, you began the work. 

You took the flask, raised the man’s head a little, and made him drink. “The potions that witchers drink are toxic to humans, so much so that the mixtures would be lethal. It is the magical and genetic enhancements that allow witchers to consume them and enjoy their benefits.” You remembered what you read somewhere. You took another flask of the black poison and putted in his wounds. He hissed in pain, still unconscious. At least he’s giving some response.

You stopped, looking for some sign that it was working. Suddenly, the man became more and more pale, like he was already dead. Black veins appeared in his forehead and neck. If it wasn’t for the glass on your hands, and the effects you knew it would give him, you would freak out, thinking that he was already dead.

You had to stop the bleeding or else he would die from blood loss. Although the black liquid had helped, it wouldn’t be enough. You picked up the herbs and dressings, pressing against the wound. He hissed in pain again, even though he was unconscious.

You closed your eyes, trying to shake the fear away, and concentrate in the life that it was in front of you.

For a moment you could feel everything, and the feeling was overwhelmingly good. you had forgotten how good it was. You could feel the warmth of the light that surrounded you, the heat of the sun, the inviting noise of the trees, who were also feeling your energy, the smell of blood, iron and salt… every little drop of water… but you didn’t dare open your eyes.

But all that feeling suddenly stopped. All that warm was replaced by the familiar and pain. It was weak at first. Just a little pain you could ignore. But with each passing second, it grew stronger, closer, until it was unbearable. Your hands began to shake again with the effort. You had to go on for a little while. Just a few more seconds. Keep going. Until you feel his heart beating faster.

It was torture. But you finally felt. The blood running faster through his veins, his breathing steading, and his heartbeat faster. It was working. Maybe he would live to see another day.

You tried to calm down and fill your lungs with oxygen. You closed your eyes and waited for the pain to disappear, gritting your teeth tightly. 

After a few torturous minutes, the pain subsided and you managed to open your eyes. You tried to hear his heart beat again, and it was stronger than before. The bleeding had stopped, but you had to clean the lesion to prevent an infection, the problem was that you didn’t have the necessary materials there to do so.

You looked around, biting your lower lip, trying to figure out what to do. 

You did everything you could out there in the middle of the woods to save him, with the things it was provided, but it wasn’t enough.

You would have to do more if you wanted to save his life. And the only place you could take good care of him was in the cabin.

You looked terrified with your own thought. No! You wouldn’t do that. Risk yourself like that was just stupid. Why would you do this for a stranger?!

Then, you looked again to the man on the floor with his heavy breathing, and you knew, you just knew that you wasn’t going to let him die there. You wouldn’t be able to live with yourself if you didn’t do everything in your power to make that man live.

Was you really going to do this? Risk yourself and your safety for a stranger? An almost dead men in the middle of the road? What if he was bad? Just because he was a Witcher didn’t mean he wasn’t going to hurt you if he recovered. He could be a rapist, murder - not only of monsters - or some kind of freak that liked to torture little girls.

But, again, the Witcher that helped you escape from that place came into your mind. He died trying to get you out of there, he gave his life. He was dead because of you. You had a debt with their kind, and maybe this would be the way of pay that debt.

You were determined. You would bring him to the cabin, but… how? You wouldn’t be able to carry him there. You looked at the carriage, it was your only option. You would have to take him there on horseback. It was not to your satisfaction that you found you would have to use magic again. You would have to put him in the carriage levitating him there.

You frowned disapprovingly, mentally bracing yourself for the next few minutes.

Gods! Why you were doing that, again?

You closed your eyes once more, and the familiar feeling took your entire body, until the pain came one more time. You had to make more effort than before to levitate him. It was painful. You struggled to steady him in the air, and by the time, you managed to place him carefully on the carriage, you were in the edge of unconsciousness. 

You fell down your knees, trying to regain control of your body and breathing. You let out a small groan, unable to bear the pain that was settling all over your body.

You stayed there for a long time, when you finally felt yourself again. You forced your aching body to stand up.

You picked up his bag and sword, placing them next to him, and drove the carriage, praying to all god’s that you had made the right choice, and for that man survive one more night. 

—–

taglist: @athy-n-lucas​ @the-winter-witcher​ @ladyrivia​ @uncoolcloudyhead​ @deansbbysblog​ @whatawildone​

[crossdressingdeath]

I think you're totally right and opened my eyes about stans treating JC leading the Wens away from WWX as his only in chara action and building their understanding of him from that when it was pretty much the exception compared to JC usual self-centredness and disregard of what happens to others, even to people close to him, as he barely hesitated before leaving WWX to his doom alone with a gravely injured man in the Xuanwu cave but still wanted plaudits from JFM for going back to get help(1/8

but like, walking really fast (another strike against the idea that JFM exceedingly favored WWX over JC). He did that one good thing, he wanted to try being a hero like WWX but realized the terrible price to pay for it, a price WWX was ready to pay each time, realized that there are things worse than death (losing his GC) and it broke him, so he's now seething when WWX takes the courageous "single plank in the dark" choice again and again, involuntary underlining in JC head how JC tried(2/8

doing it and couldn't bear it, coming 2nd here too. This sacrifice was OOC for JC and it's the whole point!That his jealousy and absence of trust in the goodness of WWX character weakened their bond and allowed for WWX fall, that his anger and inability to let go condemned him to push away people who cared for him just as YZY did and to WWX cutting all ties, that's the point too! But no, fandom goes, JC is so so full of love, sometimes he says bad things but he can't help it the poor dear(3/8

he just needs proof that he always comes first for WWX (by letting the Wens die, I suppose, I never understood that line of reasoning tbh, too much mental gymnastics and I'm bad at sports) meanwhile the author goes and here is JC with the title Sandu Shengshou, the master of the Three Buddhist Deadly Sins of delusion, anger and greed lol Even the whole JC tirade in Guanyin is not all about the consent the fandom always harps about or regret about not taking different decisions had he known (4/8

about WWX sacrifice because he has zero regrets and I'm sure he would do everything he has done since the fall of LP the same way again, but only about WWX besting him with his courage (the hero complex part), cutting JC usual avenue of blaming all things wrong with his life on WWX (the not taking responsibility by way of the reveal part) and also removing credit from JC achievements as the GC was WWX's. Which wasn't even WWX's reasoning, he never blamed JC once in his life for anything! (5/8

WWX explains that he has hidden the truth as a further sacrifice so JC can enjoy his new golden core with peace of mind and not think that WWX bested him again or that he owes WWX (such an abusive dynamic). I also never got the puzzlement in the fandom about why in that scene JC never mentions leading the Wens away to WWX? Outside of the fact that hopefully he's growing up and learning to let go, it's mainly pride because talking about it will again paint him in a lesser light compared to(6/8

WWX who looked at him and said that of course, I'll gladly give my core to you while JC couldn't find enough meaning and love for WWX for his involuntary GC core sacrifice to be worth it. Like the single thing that set me against any reconciliation is not even the cliff scene, but exactly that moment when JC learns about the GC and proceeds not to care about all the things in addition to the GC WWX risked and lost to give him that gift and just rants about how that made him feel. It's not(7/8

even the verbal abuse, but this single moment of total absence of empathy that made me think with 100% certitude that whatever their shared past is, WWX will be better without JC in his life. My whole issue is not even with WWX sacrificing things which can be a part of love (though giving his GC is definitely born of abuse), but giving and giving in a relationship and never getting anything back, be it support or understanding, unlike the relationship WWX has now with LWJ or even WN(8/8 

I actually got the entire thing for once! It’s a miracle!

My theory for the whole thing where JC leads the Wens away from WWX and then never risks anything for him again is that... Well, JC does occasionally speak up for WWX when YZY is screaming at him, doesn’t he? And the worst he gets from that is a few harsh words. And he chases dogs away! At zero risk to himself, because the dogs aren’t dangerous, WWX just has severe cynophobia. JC is used to being able to “defend” WWX without any consequences. He’s used to being able to get WWX’s praise and gratitude and put him in JC’s debt without any actual risk to himself. Then he leads the Wens away from WWX and learns that... actually, defending WWX can have serious consequences. It could cost him everything. And he decides that WWX isn’t worth that. Now, to give him a little credit, it is possible he didn’t want to lose this last remaining member of his family... but the point still stands that once he learned that standing up for WWX could have serious consequences, he never did it again.

And yeah, he was really quick to leave WWX in the Xuanwu’s cave; maybe he told himself that he was going to get help (which he did, to be fair, even if it was almost too late), but he did cut and run almost the second WWX suggested it. Just like later, when he kicks WWX out of the Jiang sect and stabs him when WWX suggests separating him from the sect, without really arguing against it. If I had to guess, I’d say JC likes having the excuse of “Well, it’s all WWX’s fault really because it was his idea, never mind that I didn’t have to go along with it and could’ve argued or straight up refused!”

Also, I’m pretty sure JC didn’t mean to sacrifice anything for WWX when he led the Wens off. Remember that thing I said the other day about how a sect heir with an exaggerated view of his own abilities is a dead sect heir? Yeah. JC was raised by YZY to believe that he was WWX’s equal and JFM was being super unfair by heaping praise on WWX and ignoring his totally equally skilled son. I’m pretty sure he thought he was skilled enough to take care of the Wens and then come back, and given the way he completely shut down the risk of losing his golden core to WZL (who he knew was in the area!) didn’t even occur to him. And then when it came to it... he just wasn’t good enough. His cultivation and martial ability weren’t enough to beat the Wens; he might have been better off alerting WWX to the danger and giving them both a chance to run, or fight together. It wasn’t some huge sacrifice for WWX’s sake, it was a vast overestimation of his skills that led to him taking on a fight he couldn’t win instead of cutting his losses and just running with WWX. Remember also, JC wanted to go back and fight the Wens to the point that WWX’s assumption all the way through the story was that JC left him to go back to Lotus Pier. Who’s to say his “sacrifice” wasn’t just him seeing an excuse he could give himself that would allow him to fight Wens?

And... you know, I always forget that the reason WWX didn’t tell JC about the golden core transfer was so that JC wouldn’t be all upset about WWX showing him up. It was about not upsetting JC, but not because JC would feel awful about costing WWX so much. WWX, who tries so hard to see only the good in JC, thought that JC’s primary concern on learning that WWX had sacrificed his cultivation for him would be that WWX was better than him. How fucked up is that, that WWX felt he had to hide such a huge thing from his own family for years, not even just saying “Oh yeah, WZL destroyed my golden core when he captured me” or otherwise giving an explanation for why he can’t cultivate anymore, because JC would throw a tantrum about being second best if he knew? WWX had to suffer through everyone, including his family, calling him rude and arrogant for refusing to cultivate properly or carry a sword because if he told even part of the truth his brother would whine about being shown up. He couldn’t even admit to losing his golden core, because when JC lost his he shut down completely, whereas WWX invented an entirely new form of cultivation so he could keep being useful.

And I never actually considered that aspect of JC not mentioning him leading the Wens off and getting captured; if he says that now, he’ll once again be second best because he couldn’t deal with the consequences of that risk, while WWX knew full well what he was getting himself into. I’m still not sure why he didn’t say anything before, though. JC, passing up such a golden opportunity to guilt WWX into staying by his side? Strange and OOC. Maybe he decided the fall of Lotus Pier was enough, or that it wouldn’t have enough impact since WWX gave up his “chance to get something from BSSR” by allowing JC to take his place. Who knows.

JC’s reaction to learning about the sacrifice is... very much not the reaction of a man learning his beloved older brother gave up something that huge for his sake. It’s all about him, how it makes him feel, how he can’t be the best now because he was using WWX’s infinitely more powerful golden core... He does not care that WWX gave up everything for his sake. He doesn’t care that it left WWX all but defenceless in a war because JC’s happiness was more important than his own safety, or that it led to WWX being thrown into the Burial Mounds, or that he was forced to turn to creating demonic cultivation in order to survive. It doesn’t matter to JC that he spent years unknowingly pouring salt in the wound by constantly getting on WWX’s case for not carrying his sword, not training the disciples, not cultivating properly. No, it’s all about JC and how it makes him feel that there’s now no way for him to surpass the brother he never would’ve been able to surpass anyway. It’s just so incredibly selfish and self-centred, and I do not understand people who say JC’s reaction to the transfer speaks to some failing on WWX’s part. JC is angry at WWX for giving too much, but not because he didn’t ask; it’s only because JC will now spend the rest of his life in second place.

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: 5 PILLARS OF ISLAM: ALMS AND CHARITY: VIRTUES OF ZAKAT:

DID ZAKAT EXIST IN RELIGIONS PRIOR TO ISLAM?

Past prophets have also been under obligation to take humankind by the hand and show all the roads leading to physical and spiritual ascension; thus, they too have shown the precious path of zakat as part of a primordial effort to diminish class differences in societies and to provide a judicious and blissful lifestyle remote from detrimental excessiveness. By virtue of providing examples of previous Prophetic applications, the Qur’an does much to put the accent on this mission. Following a brief reference in the Qur’an to the prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob comes the following declaration:

And We made them leaders to guide people in accordance with Our command: We inspired in them acts of virtue, the establishment of salat and payment of zakat. They were worshippers of Us. (Anbiya 21:73)

In reference to Prophet Ishmael, the matchless significance of salat and zakat as the primordial existence of alms as an essential component of worship is underlined from early on: “He used to enjoin his people salat and zakat, and was acceptable in the sight of his Lord” (Maryam 19:55).

Salat and zakat, in actual fact, are the common denominators of all monotheistic religions, where salat and zakat, after belief in the Oneness of God, form the very core of worship. In fact, salat and zakat are, or at least were, essential characteristics of all of the great religions of the world, those guided by a long line of prophets sent by God since the dawn of humankind, despite the fact that current forms of worship in some faith communities may vary in outward appearance. In support of this, the Qur’an, adamantly states:

They were ordered no more than to worship God with sincere devotion, to honestly establish salat and give zakat. And that is the Standard Religion.” (Bayyina 98:5)

The following verse, which provides insight into how the people of Midian first received teachings of Prophet Jethro (Shuayb) teachings about obligatory zakat, bears testimony to its practice in preceding times:

In sarcasm, they said, “O Jethro! Does your salat command you that we should abandon what our forefathers worshipped or that we should cease doing what we like with our property? Conversely, you are pleasant and right- minded.” (Hud 11:87)

The Midians’ apprehension at being compelled to cease doing what they liked with their properties denotes, almost certainly, a remonstration againstzakat. The people of the Midian, who evidently had complete appreciation for the altruistic Jethro, still could not get themselves to accept or follow Jethro’s brave attempts to encourage them to perform proper salat or give zakat; branding him instead as an instigator, and a rebel. As is the usual case with similar public dissentions, the people of Midian had a ready scapegoat for giving full vent to their frustrations about the obligation of zakatwhich was, as can be seen, salat itself.

Even though the Qur’an does not explain, literally, whether or not each prophet carried the duty of imposing zakat, it is highly possible to argue for its primordial existence through the i d e a l notion of peace, the humane spirit of assistance and support represented and accentuated by each Messenger, beginning with the Prophet Adam, and the Qur’anic references discussed above.

In addition, despite having their initial contents altered, the Torah and the Bible still include many passages which support the proposition that zakatactually predates Islam. As no revelations prior to Muhammad %(upon whom be peace) have survived to this day in their original forms, a fact supported even among Jewish and Christian scholars, the sole, authoritative point of reference in this argument remains the Qur’an itself. Additionally, it is worth noting that the Qur’an stresses zakat was enjoined as a duty on Jews and Christians, as well, not just on Muslims, as the textual references to the Qur’an which are included below will clearly demonstrate. Likewise, an analysis of the Torah and the Bible provides fascinating similarities and conformities with Islam’s all-embracing concept of zakat.

CAN YOU PROVIDE INFORMATION ABOUT

ZAKAT

IN JUDAISM?

The Qur’an generally tends to speak of the Jews as somewhat “skaters on thin ice,” underlining their preponderantly neglectful attitude concerning their religious responsibilities and periodically provides us a detailed account of what exactly those responsibilities were:

And (remember) when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel, We said; “Serve none but God, show kindness to your parents and to your relatives, to the orphans and the needy; speak kindly to humankind, establish the prayer and pay the zakat. But with the exception of a few, you turned away and paid no heed. (Baqara 2:83)

Zakat along with salat is sternly recommended as a requirement for divine acquittal for their transgressions:

God made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel, and We raised among them twelve chieftains, and God said: “I am with you. If you establishsalat and pay the zakat, and believe in My Messengers and support them, and lend to God a goodly loan, surely I shall remit your sins, and surely I shall admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow. Whosoever among you disbelieves after this has gone astray from a straight path.” (Maida 5:12)

And in spite of undergoing multiple amendments, the current text of the Torah still grants us glimpses of the spirit of zakat, grounded on the relations between the rich and the poor:

Jehovah has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has not hidden His face from that person. Jehovah heard when that oppressed person cried out to Him for help. (Psalms 22:24)

When you help the poor (needy) (lowly) (depressed) you lend to Jehovah. He will pay you back. (Proverbs 19:17)

He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker. He who has mercy for the poor honors his Maker. (Proverbs 14:31)

This is what you must do whenever there are poor Israelites in one of your cities in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. Be generous to these poor people. Freely lend them as much as they need. Never be hardhearted and stingy with them. When the seventh year, the year when payments on debts are canceled, is near, you might be stingy toward poor Israelites and give them nothing. Be careful not to think these worthless thoughts. The poor will complain to Jehovah about you, and you will be condemned for your sin. Give the poor what they need, because then Jehovah will make you successful in everything you do. (Deutoronomy 15:7-12)

He who gives to the poor will not lack. But he who hides his eyes will have many curses. (Proverbs 28:27)

And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will be like midday. (Isaiah 58:10)

He who gets ahead by oppressing the poor and giving to the rich will certainly suffer loss. (Proverbs 22:16)

It is certainly easy, by and large, to draw a connection between the above verses and many Qur’anic passages, not to mention the conspicuously striking similarities between some. It is these considerable parallels that lead us to the conclusion that the ideas and instructions all stem from the same source, God, and that the essential issues concerning humankind have, quite surprisingly, undergone very little change despite human’s apparent weakness as a transmitter over time.

One further point deserves mention. The above quotations gathered from the Torah, as well as the upcoming Biblical passages, are from current versions of the texts which have, as is widely accepted and was noted above, been partially or predominantly altered, though the exact extent and manner in which such changes have been brought to these ancient scriptures is a matter for debate. A tentative and prudent approach to the current versions is thus the correct attitude, as recommended wisely by the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) himself:

When the People of the Book utter a narration, do not agree nor disagree with them, but say, “We only believe in God and His Messengers.” This way, concurrence is avoided if they speak lies, and denial is avoided provided that they speak the truth.48

IS THERE INFORMATION ABOUT

ZAKAT

IN CHRISTIANITY?

The situation in Christianity is no different, for the Prophet Jesus, while still in the cradle, utters the duties obliged onto him by God in the following manner:

(Whereupon) he (the baby) spoke out: “I am indeed a servant of God. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a prophet. And He has made me blessed whereever I may be and has commanded me to pray and to give alms to the poor as long as I live. And (He) has made me dutiful to my mother and has not made me oppressive, wicked. So peace be upon me the day I was born and the day that I die and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again).” (Maryam 19:30-33)

Considering the fact that the Bible predominantly focuses on ethical issues, a jurisprudential adherence to the Torah, so to speak, was a social necessity. Nonetheless, there are copious Biblical verses which themselves allude to zakat and sadaqa. The following passages may throw light on this discussion; of course, the possible alterations to these passages must be kept in mind:

Be careful! Do not display your righteousness (good works) before men to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward with your heavenly Father. Do not loudly announce it when you give to the poor. The hypocrites do this in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do this to be praised by men. Believe me, they have already been paid in full. When you give charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (Matthew 6:1-3)

He looked at him and was afraid. “What is it, Lord?” he replied. The angel said: “God hears your prayers and sees your gifts of mercy. (Acts 10:4)

He said: Cornelius, your prayer is heard and your gifts of mercy are noticed in the sight of God. (Acts 10:31)

Jesus then replied: “If you wish to be complete, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. You will have wealth in heaven. Then follow me!” But hearing these words, the young man went away grieving, for he was very wealthy. Jesus said to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of heaven. Again I say, it is eas ier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:21-24)

Sell your possessions and give to charity. Make yourselves purses that do not get old, a treasure in heaven where moth and rest cannot corrupt and thieves cannot steal. (Luke 12:33)

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (Corinthians 13:3)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy and faith. You should do both and leave nothing undone. (Matthew 23:23)

It is thus quite possible to, again, draw connections between the Qur’an and Hadith, on the one hand, and many Biblical passages. The level of conspicuous similarities between the above texts accentuates their unity of origin. Adopting this approach in scrutinizing the Torah and the Bible will, undeniably, offer us much more evidence culminating in the very same conclusion.

[crystallized-iron]

Fic Recs

I really don’t read as much as I should, but there have been some really great ones. MCU and X-Men recs under the read more.

I think... if I counted right, this is 25 recs here. I may have gotten carried away a little bit. Enjoy.

--- --- ---

Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked by Kellyscams Rating: Explicit

Steve's just moved back to Brooklyn after spending ten years in California trying to make a life for himself as an artist right after high school. Having escaped to the other side of the country following the sudden death of his mother, Steve feels guilty about abruptly leaving all his friends for so long, unfulfilled, scared and nervous about started college at his age, and unbelievably lonely. So when he meets Bucky Barnes, a young sex-worker, at a bar the night before his first day of classes, temptations might be too high to resist.

One night paying for sex with the most sinfully gorgeous guy is nothing to brag to the papers about, huh?

S'not like he'll ever see him again anyway...

...Right?

And we pulled each other like gravity by hllfire Rating: Explicit

Erik accompanies Charles, Crown Prince of the Xavier Empire, to his first diplomatic meeting on the planet Themis, where he finds out something about the Prince and they end up talking about the past and how their paths had crossed before.

Fill for the Day 1 of Cherik Week: Space AU.

Bitter Sweet by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Teen

Bucky comes home from the war, finds out he has a daughter he never knew existed and now he must cope with life after the war while taking care of her.

Alternate timeline where Bucky's rescued after falling from the train, but Steve was never told and goes into the ice anyway.

Broken by NotEvenCloseToStraight Rating: Explicit

It took months of therapy for Bucky to break his Winter Soldier conditioning, and Steve was there for him, encouraging him to talk about his past, his fears, his time as the Soldier. And Bucky talked about everything-- except why the barest mention of an Alpha makes him panic. When Steve brings Bucky home, Alpha!Tony is ready to welcome Bucky with open arms and wings, but Bucky can't look at him, can't be in the same room without his wings flaring out to keep the Alpha away, a broken Omega panicking in the presence of a strong Alpha. But Tony is a good Alpha, and the team pulls together to help Bucky, showing him what it means to be loved, to be healthy and whole, and one day when Tony holds his hand out, Bucky trusts him enough to take it. And Bucky realizes that with a family behind him, with the safety hes found in the Omegas, the companionship from the Betas, and the unconditional love from the Alpha--HIS alpha, he isn’t broken at all. But with a team like the Avengers, tragedy is never far off, and this one rocks the family to their core. How can they fix the broken pieces of their lives when their Alpha is gone?

Close to you, I’m home by OneWithoutAName Rating: Teen

As Erik is searching the manor, he finds something strange in the attic. He knows that he needs to go to Charles, if he wants some answers. After all, why would there be a nest in a small dusty attic room, when there were countless rooms with ridiculously soft beds all around the manor?

Goodbye Brothers by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Teen

A look at Dum-e during the events of Iron Man 3 and beyond.

It’s Not What You Think... by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Teen

Bucky walks in on Tony dirty talking in the lab but it's not what he thinks.

Letters to Bucky by NotEvenCloseToStraight Rating: Explicit

Stuck in rehab after a near-fatal accident, Tony reaches out via letters to a soldier overseas, and Bucky is more than happy to write back, drawn to Tony for a reason he can't quite name. One or two letters turn into a years worth, then come the phone calls, with Tony quickly realizing that Bucky's voice, with that rolling Brooklyn accent might be his new favorite sound. When Bucky shows up unannounced at Tony's door, one thing leads to another and maybe a confession or two is made. But Bucky's tour overseas isn't over yet, not even close, and they have months more of distance between them. Then Bucky disappears, missing in action, and Tony doesn't know if he will ever get his soldier back. And if Bucky DOES make it home, will he be the same boy from Brooklyn who sent Tony love poems, or has his time away and his injuries changed him for good?

BONUS CHRISTMAS CHAPTER ADDED 12/10/18

Let your light shine by OneWithoutAName Rating: Teen

Inspired by Moomin TV series from 1990 and the episodes “The invisible friend” and “The invisible Child”. It’s the start of the summer break and Erik, a 13 year old boy living in a small house with his mother in the outskirts a small(ish) English town, is stuck in home because of the rain. The evening seems to get interesting though, when a strange man arrives with an invisible telepath boy and asks them to help him become visible again.

Loving a Vampire by Feelingsinwinter Rating: Mature

In the 19th century, Tony is a greatly appreciated and skilled inspector. His dire need to find the murderers and killers to every case he is given is well known among the people and while it doesn’t always help him to get the answers he needs, at least it makes it easier to convince people to talk to him. When Mary Ann Nichols is found dead, Tony Stark doesn’t know the investigation will put his life in harm’s way, put his marriage with one James Buchanan Barnes on shaky ground and shove him in a situation he wasn’t ready to face.

When a murderer does their best to earn the name of a monster, Tony is ready to do anything to stop them.

My beacon in a storm that is the world by OneWithoutAName Rating: Teen

Erik hated this planet. And he had seen a few along the years as a pilot of the most troublesome research team that had ever existed.

Or, they find a new alien species and Erik catches a bad case of feelings ragarding his relationship with Charles.

Of Broken Dreams and Mended Hearts by Kellyscams Rating: Explicit

When the House of Barnes is left in massive debt after the death of George Barnes, their oldest son and heir, Bucky, is forced to sacrifice his own hopes and dreams by entering an arranged married to Steve Rogers. Steve seems kind enough, has a prominent job in the government, and was even voted Society's Best Catch. But the House Rogers is significantly higher in status than Bucky's family, which means Bucky is marrying up in Society, and marrying up doesn't only come with rewards, it also comes with certain...expectations and losses--some of which Bucky might be willing to do anything to avoid. And those opportunities might come his way.

Unless, of course, he actually starts falling in love with his new husband...

Pirates Heart by NotEvenCloseToStraight Rating: Explicit

The 1700s, the Golden Age of Piracy, and Captain Steve Rogers has all he wants: a ship, a loyal crew, Bucky at his side, and the horizon offering a new adventure everyday. But an impulsive kiss gone wrong leads to a marriage between Steve and Tony Stark, and now Steve doesn't know what to do about ANYTHING. Steve loves Bucky, but something about Tony draws him in. Tony is too innocent for this life, but he picks up a sword anyway. Bucky is Steve's, but when he offers his hand to Tony and now the three of them are something new. When the truth about Steve's mission to ruin the Stark name comes out, Tony runs away, leaving Steve and Bucky behind in search of answers to the secrets hidden from him his whole life-- about his company, about Uncle Obie, about his parents death.

Steve and Bucky cant abandon their mission against Stane and Tony cant deal with the answers he finds in New York. Is this the end? Is Tony gone forever? Or will he leave his old life and return to the sea and the Pirates that hold his heart?

**BONUS CHAPTER ADDED 2/4/19!!** **BONUS CHAPTER ADDED 5/15/20!!**

Random Encounter by g33kyclassic Rating: Explicit

Charles is just a typical London commuter...until he sees the most gorgeous man on earth standing a few feet away from him.

Regret is in the past by OneWithoutAName Rating: Teen

Six years after first class, the cold war escalates and the missiles are fired, destroying the world as it was known. Those who managed to live, fight for survival against each other and against the living dead. One would think that the mutants have advantage, but Shaw was wrong in his assumption that the radiation would make them stronger. On the contrary, it made them weaker, their powers only half of what they used to be. In this world of waste land, Erik and what’s left of the brotherhood are trying to survive. It’s five years later, they are cornered by the zombies while they were trying to gather supplies in abandoned town. The situation seems hopeless, until a silver haired boy appears out of nowhere and tells them to be ready to run.

Small Indiscretions (Can Save the World) by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Teen

Captain Steve Rogers has defeated the Red Skull but lost his own life in the process, leaving behind a grieving Peggy and guilt-ridden Howard Stark. After looking to Howard for comfort following her great loss, Peggy finds herself facing the scariest mission she’s ever encountered: motherhood.

While this news is devastatingly unwanted for Peggy, Howard sees this as a golden opportunity to give his bride Maria the child she never thought she could have. With a little convincing and promises that she won’t have to be involved with the child’s life if she doesn’t want to be, Peggy agrees to keep and have the baby for the Starks, own personal comfort be damned. She wasn't planning on it being so hard, or finding someone she didn't want to lie to along the way. AKA what if Peggy Carter was more than just Tony Stark’s badass aunt?

The Consequence of Hiding by g33kyclassic Rating: Explicit

Charles is completing his PhD at Oxford when he finds himself in dire need of a new job to support himself and Raven. Erik is a grumpy Mutant Student Counsellor who has yet to fill his student assistant position. Enter Prof. MacTaggert and her matchmaking ways to bring her student and her friend together (in platonic, professional compatibility, of course). Will things stay platonic for Charles and Erik? Only time will tell.

The Funeral by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Teen

Tony attends the viewing and funeral of his parents. The other members of the company's board are not amused by his actions there.

The Risks by OneWithoutAName Rating: Teen

Inspired by post on Tumblr It takes Erik by surprise how Mystique doesn't seem to remember just how much Charles has done and risked for them, for their kind. But it seems that Erik wasn't quite aware of the risks either.

The Robot Who Could Feel Pain by slightly_salty_ace Rating: Teen

In which Tony leaves Afghanistan more machine than human. Or rather, Iron Man leaves Afghanistan. To the world, Tony Stark is dead.

Or...

Steve is convinced that Iron Man is just a robot with sass because the future is a strange place and he's stopped questioning things.

But when someone from Tony Stark's past returns, putting Iron Man in danger, Steve is forced to start asking questions. Specifically questions about his feelings towards a certain red and gold robot.

The Shared Dream by TurtleTotem Rating: Teen

Charles's cryo-pod malfunctions and wakes him up a century before everyone else. Will he spend the rest of his life alone on a ship full of sleepers? (A Passengers AU.)

The Soldier by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Explicit - Read Warning and Tags!

There's something wrong with Bucky. Something very wrong and it may have dire consequences for his friends and loved ones.

Time Falls Away by NotEvenCloseToStraight Rating: Mature

The Battle of New York: Tony flies himself and the nuke through the wormhole and when his suit shuts down and he starts to fall, he knows he's going to die. But then he wakes up in an alley in Brooklyn, two strangers staring down at him in confusion and Tony is sure he is dreaming when he shakes hands first with pre-serum Steve Rogers, and then Bucky Barnes. Trapped in 1942, Tony befriends Steve, and falls in love with Bucky but America is at war, and Bucky and Steve ship out to join the cause. Tony knows all the stories about the Howling Commandos and knows what’s coming for the soldiers, and has to live through history as first Bucky falls, and then Steve disappears. Tony is left alone in the 40's, crying himself to sleep in the house he had shared with his best friend and his lover. But then he wakes up on the pavement in New York, the Hulk roaring in his face, Steve staring down at him, and he has to wonder if it was all a hallucination. When Tony fell through the sky, did he fall through time as well? Why does Steve act so cold towards him? Were he and Bucky really that happy together?

Did it all really happen, or is Tony in love with a life he can only have in his dreams?

We want the same thing by hllfire Rating: Mature

Charles is locked up underground, where his telepathy won't be a problem, deemed too dangerous now to be kept free. Erik pays a visit.

Fill for the Day 2 of Cherik Week: Dark!Charles.

Your Love Alone Is Not Enough by LadyDarkPhoenix Rating: Explicit - Read Warning and Tags!

In an alternative post Civil War, Clint and Bucky fell in love and tried to make a life together. But then Thanos happened and Clint embraced the darkness within himself trying to cope with all his loss.

This is how after Bucky returned, Clint still can't cope with what happened and who he's become. How even though he seems to have it all, his own mind is his now his greatest enemy. Bucky tries to help but how do you help someone that doesn't believe he should be saved?

[essythewolf]

An Unexpected Asset

Fictober19 Day 17 - “There is just something about them/her/him.”

Fanfiction - Enderal: Forgotten Stories

Prophetess | Tharaêl

Warnings: Violence, Language

(I don’t think Lea would fight in the Pits but I wanted to find a way to get her started on the Rhalâta questline somehow...)

**************************

The Dust Pit hosted a wide array of bastards, monsters and poor fucks to warrant anything of true value.

Tharaêl knew this. Veterans tended to keep clear of the Rhalâta. New fighters usually didn’t make it far enough to be of any use. Still, he watched the fights and made sure Rasha paid her shadow tax to keep this bloodied hobby running. Still, he observed; hoping for that one that would survive long enough to meet his expectations.

A lithe figure caught his eye outside the caged arena. Their hands and face were pressed against the cage, body stiff as the one known as “Gur Hal’Nan” roasted his opponent with fiery magic from his mouth and a roar like a dragon. The figure carried a bow on their back and a hood covering most of their face. But he recognized this particular person. He’d seen them in the Undercity on several occasions. They mostly spent their time at the Pest House or here in the Pits but never signed up for a fight.

There was something…off about them. Not the usual brand of sick that molested or murdered, but off in aura and in their actions. Usually, it was every man for himself. That was made clear when two, skinny boys barely in their manhood tried to jump them on their way to the market. But instead of cutting them down, they talked smoothly and gently to dissuade. And in the end, they handed a bag of coin to the would be thieves to pay their debts to the Rhalâta.

Tharaêl learned two things from that exchange. One, that the figure was female. Two, that they were a foreigner. Her voice gave that away; feminine but with a lilt and accent that he might place as someone from Nehrim.

Such “generosity” wasn’t found down here in the caverns. Not without a price to be paid for later. Yet he was befuddled again when the woman helped Nathalia Poppyflower AND Kabar Thorwall. Kabar was known to be in deep debt to the Rhalâta and sold crucial alchemical supplies to the Pest House at high prices to make up his losses; much to Nathalia’s predicament as a runner for said house. Tharaêl stalked the foreigner as she conversed with both, shell even more pennies to Kabar once he confessed his sob story to her, then convinced him to sell at half price to Nathalia for affordability.

Who the hell was this wench?

Normally such things didn’t bother him. But it became even more intriguing to see the foreigner venture into the Tar Pits. Apparently to follow some dumb legend of a haunted miner. Though it was no secret Old Aisolon (naturally there were Pyrean ruins this deep in the earth) was crawling with undead, this little woman with a weird accent and “generous” spirit braved them anyway.

He followed, staying well enough back to watch as she fought her way deeper into the abandoned caverns and ruins. Her skill with a bow was to be commended. Each shot found its mark. The eyes of the undead or an oil lantern springing a fire trap; all were made before most could even touch her. Then, something peculiar happened.

A cluster of skeletons blocked the way into a wide cave. Instead of picking them off, the woman began to growl and transform. It seemed Raga Shadowclaw wasn’t the only one with this particular ability. Now, a large half-woman, half-wolf rampaged through the skeletons like a knife through hot butter.

A howl reverberated through the cavern and the she-beast sprinted further in. By the time Tharaêl caught up, she was struggling with an enormous spider. Its mandibles snapped furiously at the wolf’s snout, just out of reach as claws dug into its hairy legs. Tharaêl sprang into action.

He momentarily disappeared, then leapt on top of the spider. Both beasts shrieked in pain and surprise. He dug his twin swords into the spider’s back. Then again. And again until it collapsed. The she-wolf barely dodged the corpse falling on top of her.

Quiet settled into the cavern. The wolf’s ragged breathing filled the empty space but its stare bore into Tharaêl as he stepped off the spider’s corpse. Bright yellow eyes glimmered at him and it almost felt like she was smiling as her maw parted. He watched the transformation again until the lithe female was before him. The hood still covered her face and she was still hunched from the battle. But those eyes remained the same.

“Finally decided to come to me?” She said, the lilt in her voice still light.

Tharaêl definitely wasn’t sure what to make of her. But he made up his mind. She would have to do for what he had in mind.

“You and I need to have a chat.”

[corbo-florbo]

Fantasy Booking - Smackdown: Getting Old and Growing Up

Soooo, how about that ending to Super Showdown, huh? Yeah, I’m still reeling from that myself, but thankfully, this has altered this fantasy booking only a small amount. I guess I sat on this for too long! Rather than do a “what-if” of alternate events rather than the one we got, I figured why not run with what we’ve got? It’s even got a message I felt passionate about sharing, something I’ve been holding on to as a nostalgic person. Also, I promise this is the last one of John Cena I do for a while. Promise.

Tagging my favorite new people to talk wrestling with: @mith-gifs-wrestling and @adriennegabriella! Without further ado, here we go!

Friday Night Smackdown, the night after the Super Showdown pay-per-view. Goldberg is out, celebrating his win, as you expect - negative reactions. People are upset, angry. Almost as though they were in mourning. Goldberg cuts a promo about how he has let the WWE Universe down too many times. 2004, Wrestlemania 20, the night he left. 2017, Wrestlemania 33, his loss to Brock Lesnar before riding off into the sunset towards retirement after not being able to keep up with Lesnar. 2019, Super Showdown, the night he and Undertaker put on that horrific match. Yet, after defeating a horrifying monster, he is met with boos and jeers. “What does it take to please you people?!” The frustration and tension in the air is palpable from the sheer hatred from the WWE Universe, that Goldberg meets in kind. He’s done being Mr. Nice Goldberg, he doesn’t care what everyone wants, he just cares about “WHO’S NEXT?!”

Cue the Firefly Funhouse, as Bray Wyatt cheerfully welcomes everyone, even Goldberg. He claims that he and The Fiend harbor no ill will towards Goldberg. Goldberg has no history with Wyatt, so therefore The Fiend did not feel any need to dominate, not to mention never fighting Goldberg before. Now that Goldberg took something away from him, however, he doesn’t rule out collecting that debt. He then goes on to state that he never truly intended on obtaining the title. He was just after Seth Rollins at that time. Seth and Bray had a complicated past, so The Fiend had to make him pay like he made Finn Balor pay. Just like he eventually made Daniel Bryan pay. Miz, being the only exception, was targeted by Bray,not The Fiend, as there was little history, none of it hurting Bray in the past. The title means nothing to him, and he doesn’t mind moving on. Bray goofily asks “who’s next?” before resorting to that growl and saying the familiar “Let Me In.” 

This night, John Cena returns to a warm welcome. He’s happy to see us as much as we are happy to see him. Cena states he doesn’t know how long he has left to provide to the WWE, but he knows this is his home. He remembers where he came from, the place he held it down. Just the usual standard stuff. Nothing too big, but the backstage footages of him subtly show Firefly Funhouse puppets lurking around in the background. Ironically, it is Cena that can’t see them. 

Next Smackdown, the go-home to Elimination Chamber, Goldberg comes out to cut a promo asking “Who’s Next?” Out comes Roman Reigns, having ended his feud with King Corbin, and Roman looks annoyed. Pissed, even. He eyes down Goldberg, who smiles, confused. 

“Roman Reigns, nice to finally meet you in person. I see you’ve adopted my spear. So what brings you out here, and what’s on your mind, son?” Goldberg does not take his eyes off Roman.

“I’mma just say this once, Bill. The Fiend worked his ass off to get to where he was. He found himself - whoever the hell that was - and the fruits of his labor was paying off. You know how hard that is to do in this company? I’ve been finding out the hard way after my ass got taken out. Y’know, I too lost the Universal Title, and I’ve been busting my ass to get back there. It’s almost fate it’s here on Smackdown with me. Now, here’s my problem with you, and people like you.

“Y’see Bill, we are the new generation, and we’ve been dying to bring something new to the table. We leave it all in the ring only to hear that today’s product sucks. That we need to bring back the Attitude Era, and now the Ruthless Aggression Era. Everyone is stuck in the past, and that’s where guys like you come in. Some familiar face that the casual fan comes in to see, and all of a sudden wrestling is magical again, it’s captivating again. Out the window goes our hard work, all that easily ignored. Of course you wouldn’t know what that’s like, you’ve had a rocket strapped to your back your whole career. Squashing people left and right in WCW, and starting off dominant coming off into WWE. Then you couldn’t handle it and you left. Came back again, and lost, and guess what? You left. You gonna leave again? Might as well leave it to someone more capable.

Unfortunately Roman isn’t done with Corbin, as he comes to the ring, and cuts a short promo, followed by Robert Roode (planting seeds for dissention between their trio involving Dolph Ziggler). Then Shinsuke Nakamura and his mouthpiece Sami Zayn (with a tinge of longing and jealousy in his voice as he gazes at the title Goldberg holds.). Braun Strowman comes out, wanting to add another title belt around his waist. Daniel Bryan comes out and cuts a promo about how lost he’s been, and he needs this Elimination Chamber match to find out which direction he needs to go. Goldberg chuckles and leaves. The match has been set and the figures are in place. To the victor goes the spoils.

That same night, John Cena issues an open challenge for Elimination Chamber, and the Firefly Funhouse music plays. Bray greets John. “Hiya John! Yowie wowie, it’s been ages since I seen you! Let’s go Cena, Cena sucks! Remember that? I do...” then Bray transitions into a growl. “And so does he.” Back to smiles, Bray continues: “You’re a hero! A legend! Shoot, at Wrestlemania 30, you defeated me, even with the help of my former Fireflies! Your many, MANY fans loved it, but there’s someone that didn’t. HE still doesn’t like that, John.” Bray goes into a hush, “Maybe he wants to meet you again. Maybe at Elimination Chamber, he wants to get his hands on you... Let me in. See ya, bye!”

Unsettled but undeterred, Cena accepts, confident. If Goldberg could take down Fiend, why not him? But it was all a trick, as at Elimination Chamber, Bray comes out instead of The Fiend, but not even as Funhouse Bray, but Muscleman Dance Bray. Just like with The Fiend, Muscleman Dance Bray (MDB for short) no-sells every move by John Cena, and dances to taunt him. Desparate, Cena goes for every Attitude Adjustment and Five-Knuckle Shuffle (enough to the point the lead-up to his moves becomes shorter, until there is no lead-up.) Cena drops more and more moves from his arsenal: Running One-Hand Bulldog, Flying Shoulder Block, and what seems most effective, the STFU. Bray powers out of each, almost rhythmically, as he goes in for the win.

Jump to the Elimination Chamber match, starting out with Shinsuke and Roode. Shinsuke seems to dominate at first, but Roode starts powering out more. They go back and forth until the next entrant comes out: King Corbin. Sami tries to help in the back, trying to distract against Corbin and Roode, which works to a degree. It matters not, for Shinsuke still struggles. He reaches for Sami, as though expecting something and Sami reaches back, barely through the Chamber wall, before being attacked by Elias and laid out. Corbin gets the pin on Shinsuke, eliminating the King of Strong Style. As he’s rolled out, Corbin hits a surprise End-of-Days on Roode, covers him for the pin, bringing the fight down to four people. Out comes Daniel Bryan, who gets the boot by Corbin. Bryan takes opportunity of this by grabbing Corbin’s leg, pulling him down for a leg lock, shades of Ric Flair. This is broken up a bit later by the next entrant, Braun Strowman, but not without a bit of wait time. His pod door won’t open, so he breaks through and breaks the submission. Grabbing Bryan, Strowman carries him and slams him down on the mat and gets the pin. A roar erupts from the Monster Among Men, taking his eyes off Corbin, who dishes out a low-blow. As Roman steps out of his pod, Strowman kicks out at 2. Roman pulls Corbin to his feet, backs to the turnbuckle and dishes out a Superman Punch. That pin is broken up by an enraged Strowman. Tying Roman to the turnbuckle using the ropes, Braun barrels into him over and over again. Corbin crawls outside near the Chamber wall, watching as this goes on. Braun takes notice. “I’M NOT FINISHED WITH YOU!” as he steps over the top rope and grabs Corbin by his head. Roman gets untangled and wraps his arms around Braun’s head until he is brought over the top rope, but he lands on his feet. Two spears from Roman later, and Strowman staggers. Roman grabs his head, looks to the audience and gives a cocky smirk as he lifts Strowman up for a Jackhammer, ending with a powerful slam. 1, 2, 3. Now it’s Roman and Corbin. The two stare for a bit, Roman ever so determined, but there’s something different in Corbin’s eyes.

“I QUIT! Corbin raises Roman’s hand, and walks out of the Chamber. Confused, Roman shrugs it off and celebrates. 

Next Smackdown, Roman brags about his win. “Y’all, this has been a long time comin’. My ass fought long and hard to get back to the title I never lost. I kicked leukemia’s ass. I came back and dominated, even survived a crappy attempt at manslaughter by Rowan. Most importantly I survived Corbin, and I thought that would never end!”

Almost as if a reply, Corbin’s entrance theme plays. All seriousness with Corbin as he walks to the ring. “Don’t think this means we’re buddy-buddy. I still hate you. But I hate moments when old, legendary part-timers come in and take time from us. I know that’s cheap coming from me. I got so much camera time and I’ve had that “go away heat”, but this has got to end. It’s our time, Roman. And you might just be the one to stop Goldberg. I mean, he hasn’t even showed up for a match since he won the damn title! Meanwhile, you come in every week and do your job. You’ve kicked my ass I don’t know how many times over the past few months and did you complain? No. You’ve got the heart of a lion. No matter what happens, you do not stop until he is down, you got me? You take his ass down, Roman! Put an end to this, before I put an end to you! You owe it not to yourself, or even these idiots out here. You owe it to me and everyone else backstage. Get that title, Roman. So I can take it off of you.” Corbin leaves, and Roman isn’t smiling anymore. This isn’t fun and games anymore.

In the ring later that night, Goldberg is interviewed by Michael Cole. Cole asks if Goldberg is worried about Roman, which Goldberg shrugs off and laughs. “You’re asking me if that young pipsqueak has anything on me? Please, I took out the best of ‘em. Hogan, Raven, Sting, DDP, Jericho, even Brock Lesnar. Roman’s just a guy. He’s next alright, but not for the title. He’s next for a spear. He’s next to be my victim. Come Wrestlemania, he’s dead meat.”

John Cena’s theme song hits, and he walks down the ramp. “Seems you forgot, you got one more pay-per-view between now and Wrestlemania, pops. Fastlane, remember? Isn’t that where you took out Kevin Owens?”

“Maybe, but I figured it was just a pit stop, y’know?” Goldberg retorts, his dumb old grin spreading. Meanwhile, Michael Cole steps out, knowing how this goes, being a vet to the industry. “It’s just a formality at that point. It’s a foregone conclusion. C’mon, I’m Bill freaking Goldberg. You’re just Mr. Hollywood now, so run along now pretty boy. I bet I don’t even have to hit a Jackhammer on you!”

Cena chuckles. “Now ain’t that an arrogant way to see things? After all, why not deny these people a chance to see a dream match they didn’t know they wanted?”

“Screw these people! I come back and they turn on me.”

“They’ve been against me for half my career, it ain’t nothin’ new to me old-timer. I still came in regardless. They turned on Roman too, he ain’t never turned on them though. So I think it’s time I take your old ass down a few pegs and make you humble. How does Fastlane sound?”

“Really, Cena? You think you can take on me? Name one thing you think you got that makes you think you can go toe-to-toe with me!”

A smile spreads upon Cena’s face. It’s been a while he’s been asked this. “RUTHLESS AGGRESSION!” A slap to Goldberg, which is no-sold, as per usual. He pushes Cena, and crouches for a spear, which Cena dodges, as he gives the Flying Shoulder Block. “Remember Goldberg, at Fastlane, as you’re laying flat on your back and the ref counts to three, just remember that you were next. Cena out.”

Fastlane approaches, and the two legends face off in the main event. Cena displays an offense we haven’t seen in a long time from him. He’s brutal, attacking before Goldberg. Goldberg hits him with three spears in between Cena’s bigger arsenal of moves. Still, Cena persists. Cena resorts to heelish tactics, like tricking the referee, hitting Goldberg with weapons, and using the environment to his advantage. He’s wearing down Goldberg the best he can. After an AA, he sets it up for the Five-Knuckle Shuffle, knowing an AA won’t be enough to put Goldberg down. As he gets ready for the drop, the arena goes black. With the little amount of lights, Cena can be seen suffering a Mandible Claw at the hands of The Fiend until he is incapacitated. The arena brightens up again and The Fiend is gone. Goldberg takes advantage of this and gets the pin over Cena. Goldberg is then boo’d out of the building. 

The Friday following, Goldberg brags about how Cena was just another guy. “Yeah, he made me give out everything I had, but it just wasn’t enough. LIke I said, I didn’t even have to hit a Jackhammer on him! I’m going through everyone like I did him. I’m the bullet that’s shooting through all of your heroes!” He drops the mic and as he heads back through the entrance, he is met with a spear by Roman Reigns, mic in hand. “You still got me to deal with, grandpa.”

Later that night, Cena sits in a chair in the middle of the ring. The arena is dark, with all lights on him. “So I stopped your momentum back in the day, Bray. I get it. I was on my own power trip that I didn’t let you have your moment. Again, I get it. Someone with your capabilities could have taken over this company, yet I took out you and your goons. But you need to stop right now. I’m not just someone looking for a big payday. This is my home. If you keep coming after me, I will do all I can to put your ass down. Maybe I won’t last against you, you’re a different beast now. I may be looking at my next big defeat. Whatever it takes, come Hell or high water, I’ll do what it takes, even if I gotta take this golden shovel everyone claims I have, and I’ll bury your ass back to Hell where you belong!”

The Friday before Wrestlemania, Cena doesn’t show up, but he is shown in a montage vignette of getting himself in shape to take on The Fiend. Further into that evening, a Firefly Funhouse promo plays out, with The Fiend and the gang discussing John Cena. Ramblin’ Rabbit pleads with Bray to not go after Cena, before being killed again. Mercy the Buzzard says he wants to see blood run from Cena’s face. Abby the Witch asks Bray to make it quick so she can get back to her beauty sleep. Huskus the Pig simply sleeps. Bray stops the kiddie talk at the end, saying: “You’ve stopped me from taking everything over before, John. You’re next... Let me in...” Cheerful Bray returns, “See ya in Hell! Bye, bye, bye!”

The night ends with a contract signing between Goldberg and Roman Reigns. Roman signs first, not saying anything...yet. Goldberg cockily proclaims, “You’re awfully eager to get speared into an early grave! You sure you don’t wanna back out and play out the rest of your career? It’s only the end for you after Wrestlemania, young man!”

“I’m not gonna say your catchphrase, about bein’ next or whatever. I’m not gonna make any snide remarks. I am gonna  put your ass down, and make an example out of you. I’m gonna send a message for every old, decrepit fossil that decides they gonna step in the ring with my generation that we ain’t gonna take it anymore. We’re sick and tired, and it’s our time. If it takes my ass getting boo’d again, so be it. At Wrestlemania, you’re not next, last, or whatever you like to say. At Wrestlemania, Bill, you’re done.” Roman leaves and Goldberg signs. Commentary remarks about how rare it is that contract signings don’t end in a calamitous brawl.

Wrestlemania time:

John Cena vs The Fiend Bray Wyatt - John shows up in regular, red and blue wrestling shorts. No more jean shorts. The Fiend stares him down regardless. Cena hits low blow after low blow, and changes his AA into an FU. Not even that stops Fiend. Shoulder Block, Five Knuckle Shuffle, Running One-Hand Bulldog, and even the Sixth Move of Doom isn’t enough to end Fiend. Each time he gets up, he hits the Mandible Claw, only to have it broken out. Cena even removes the pad from the turnbuckle, and Irish Whips Fiend in that direction, only for it to be reversed and Cena hits it face-first. There is one move Cena hasn’t tried though, and doesn’t get to try after Fiend transitions his Mandible Claw into an STFU. Cena looks like he’s about to pass out, as drool drips from his mouth and blood drips from his forehead. He taps out. The Fiend has just collected another debt. 

Goldberg vs Roman Reigns (Universal Title) - Both men hit a spear on each other, first thing. Both men are flat. Goldberg attempts to knee Roman, but misses as he hits the Superman Punch. Roman even brings back moves he doesn’t use as much, such as the Drive By and the Moment of Silence. Goldberg gets up from those and spears Roman twice. Roman no-sells both of them, patting his vest, which he then takes off for the first time since he put it on in his wrestling career. He hits Goldberg with another Superman Punch, which only staggers him before giving Roman a Jackhammer, and goes for the pin, which Roman kicks out a second before the ref could count to three. Goldberg beats down on Roman’s head, until the referee forces him off. Goldberg watches impatiently as Roman gets to his feet, and quickly moves out of the way as Goldberg’s spear hits the turnbuckle post. Roman hits the “OOOH-AHHH!” before lunging another spear at Goldberg, and gets his leg up for the pin. 1, 2, 3 and Roman is reunited with the Universal Champion again.

Goldberg stays retired, having realized the error of his ways. He grows up and realizes those years as a dominant force are to be left behind him. Roman has a lengthy and entertaining reign (see what I did there?), and loosens up again, being laid-back and entertaining to the fans. John Cena sticks around for a bit, becoming more brash and abrasive, having gone heel, and he targets Roman, who has to teach another old man a lesson. As for Bray, he hints at targeting Roman in the future. Maybe not now, but someday, he will get that title back, as he still has a score to settle with Roman. But next on his agenda? The Undertaker. Survivor Series. Four decades since The Deadman's debut.

[azvolrien]

Water Horses - Chapter Four

This one got a bit longer than the last few. I didn’t think it was quite long enough to have a good place to split in two.

~~~

           After a good night’s sleep and a bowl of porridge, Asta wandered out of the broch to see Roan sitting cross-legged on top of the wall. Hens scurried out of her way as she crossed over to the steps.

           “What are you doing?” she asked, climbing the steps.

           Roan looked up. She had a damp cloth tied over her mouth and nose and a pair of goggles strapped over her eyes. “Making arrowheads,” she said, slightly muffled by the cloth as she waved a hand-sized lump of stone in the air.

           “Is that flint?”

           “Chert, technically,” said Roan. “But the skills involved are similar.” She set her hammer-stone down and held up a finished arrowhead for Asta to see. It was more of a lozenge or a leaf-shape than the barbed triangle that classically said ‘arrowhead’, but the point and edges had been knapped wickedly sharp.

           “And the…?” Asta sat down and waved her hand in front of her face to indicate Roan’s somewhat makeshift safety gear.

           “The cloth is so I don’t breathe in the stone dust,” said Roan, lifting her hammer again and returning to work on her current arrowhead. “The goggles are so I don’t get hit in the eye by a stray flake of chert.” She paused. “You might want to sit a little further back.”

           Asta nodded and shuffled back to a safer distance. “Do you use them for hunting?”

           Roan nodded and held the half-finished arrowhead up to her eyes for a closer look. “Birds, mostly. Grouse; pheasants. Sometimes deer. Just the little roes, though – I could take down one of the big reds or reindeer with a well-aimed shot, maybe even an elk if I was lucky, but most of the carcass would go to waste. I try not to kill anything I can’t carry by myself, since I don’t have a pony or anything.”

           “Seals are heavy,” Asta pointed out, nodding at the cloak and skull lying on the wall beside Roan.

           Roan laughed. “I didn’t kill the seal! It was already dead when I found it washed up on the rocks. That being said – I could carry a seal for long enough to get it from the sea to the broch.” She held up one arm and flexed her biceps. Asta nodded thoughtfully, momentarily distracted by the interesting way Roan’s tattoos moved over the muscle.

           “And the reindeer skin on your bed?” she asked once her focus returned.

           “Heh, you’ve got me there. I had to camp out on the hills for a few days while I rendered the carcass a bit more portable. So – knapping like this takes years of practice, but would you like to learn how to make arrows?”

           For a hermit, Roan turned out to have a surprising passion for teaching. By their second visit to the market island a week after the first, Asta could not only make a stone-headed, grouse-fletched arrow to a reasonable standard, but also gut a fish and cook it over a fire she had built herself, match wills with Vanessa the hen to collect the day’s eggs from the coop without too many pecks to her hands, roughly tell the time from the position of the sun, and pilot Each-Uisge with, if not Roan’s expertise, enough confidence to get it safely away from the island jetty while Roan finished securing their new supplies.

           “Before I forget,” said Roan as she locked the boat shed. “Here. Got a present for you back on the island.”

           It was a knife: about six inches of single-edged steel, with a black leather sheath, an antler handle, and a whetstone on a string to keep it sharp. It carried no ornamentation, not even a maker’s mark stamped on the blade, but there was a certain beauty in its simplicity and the quality of its anonymous craftsmanship. Asta accepted it in trembling hands, drew a couple of inches from the sheath to test the edge – it was sharp – and started to cry.

           Roan’s eyes widened. “Um. I’m sorry! I just – you seemed quite taken with the one you were using for the fish earlier! I thought that maybe – but no, it was a bad idea, I’ll just-” She reached out to take the knife back.

           “No!” squeaked Asta, hugging the knife to her chest. “I like it. I do like it. Thank you.” She sniffed, bowing her head, and managed a tearful smile. “It’s just.” She sniffed again and wiped her eyes with the back of her wrist. “It’s nothing.”

           Still a little wide-eyed, Roan patted her shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, then nodded towards the broch. “Come on. I think it’s going to be a cold night.”

           It was; by morning a thick blanket of snow had covered the ground, putting enough of a chill into the air that Roan opened the door, winced, and retreated back inside for her sealskin and a tunic with sleeves before she went to scatter some feed for the hens.

           “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you cover your arms,” said Asta, following her out with the reindeer skin around her shoulders and her thick woollen scarf wrapped around her neck as many times as it would go. “You don’t want a hat and scarf as well?”

           “Hey, I’ve got this,” said Roan, pointing to the seal skull on top of her head. “Besides, I quite like the cold, even if I do have my limits.” She threw another handful of oats for the hens. “Was there any spare porridge? We can give it to the girls for a treat.”

           Asta went back inside for the porridge pot. The hens gathered around, clucking excitedly, as she tipped the leftover porridge out on the ground for them. “They seem to like it.”

           “I think it’s good for them to get something warm now and then, don’t you?” said Roan, watching the scrum with affection.

           “This snow won’t kill off your vegetables, will it?”

           “Nah, I already harvested everything that can’t survive the cold.”  

           “Do you not worry about foxes getting in?” asked Asta as Vanessa missed a blob of porridge and pecked the toe of her boot instead.

           “No, I have the gate warded against them,” said Roan. “Besides – even if they did get past it, I’m not sure it would matter. Before I placed the ward I once saw Vanessa rally the others to chase off one that had got in.”

           “Tough chicken.”  

           “The toughest.”

           “So…” Asta linked her fingers over her stomach and leant against the chicken coop, looking at the ground. “You were probably wondering why I burst into tears when you gave me the knife yesterday.”

           Roan scattered a last handful of oats, brushed off the dust, and gently placed her fingertips under Asta’s chin, tilting her head up to meet her eyes. “I’ve never really been in the habit of asking people about their problems,” she said quietly. “I think it gave people the impression I wasn’t interested; it was more that it always seemed like prying into things that weren’t my business.” She laid both hands on Asta’s shoulders. “But if there are things you need to talk about, I am here to listen.”

           Asta sighed, ran a hand through her hair, and nodded. “Inside, though. It’s… a bit cold for it out here.”

           “All right. I’ll be back in soon – I need to check on some skins in my workshop.”

           Asta suspected Roan was really just giving her some time to compose herself. It was only a few minutes before Roan let herself back into the broch, sat down on the opposite side of the fire, and gestured for her to start when she was ready.

           “I’m an only child,” Asta began. “My parents had done the maths. They could feed one extra mouth quite easily, and still have a bit left over for a small luxury now and then. Two, and they would struggle to even afford the basics. I’m not sure what they would have done if I’d turned out to be twins.” Roan nodded and said nothing, her grey eyes glinting in the firelight.

           “So I had a pretty good childhood. Like I said earlier – not extravagant, but comfortable. I did well at school and went on to study literature at university.” If Roan had any opinions about this choice of degree, they did not show on her face. “Then in my last year, just after I graduated… It turned out my parents had decided to take a chance and invest some of their savings in… some venture or other. I didn’t take as much of an interest in the household finances as I probably should have, so I was never sure exactly what they’d paid into.” One of Roan’s eyebrows quirked very slightly upwards, but she still remained silent. “The plan was that if the investment paid off, they planned to make a presentation to Lord zeDamar to get access to the House funds.”

           “The more you pay in, the more you get out,” said Roan neutrally. “Theoretically.”

           “Theoretically. It… did not pay off. I’m still not really sure if the venture went badly and they felt they’d paid in too much to cut their losses and back away or if it had just been an outright con from the start but it was like it just ate money. They arranged to travel out to meet the people they’d invested with, have a look over things, see if there was anything to be done to fix things, but they never made it. There was…” Asta swallowed and closed her eyes for a moment, covering them with one hand. “They hit a storm on the way, up in the Kiraani Hills, and there was an accident. Their carriage went into a ravine. The House didn’t want to know about it; it was my immediate family’s mess so it was ours – mine – to clean up. So I was left to make all the arrangements by myself, which… was expensive. And then I started getting letters from my parents’ creditors.”

           “By law, debts are not automatically inherited,” said Roan quietly. “You have to specifically agree to take them on before they’re something you’re obligated to pay. A lot of creditors rely on people not knowing that.”

           Asta laughed bitterly. “Well, it worked! I sold off one thing after another, right up to the house, and the letters kept coming. So I went out to the slave markets. The Slavers’ League agreed to take on all the debts in exchange for putting me up on the next auction block. I suppose it was flattering in a way, how fierce the bidding was. Lady MacArra was prepared to pay a lot of money just for a secretary, and she was up against a lot of competition. She never really explained why.”

           Roan pursed her lips as if locked in some internal debate and briefly opened her mouth, but shook her head and did not comment.

           “I lived with her in Duncraig for five years. She was… kind, in her own way. A little grumpy at times, not really given to, ah, out-of-work socialising, but she was patient with any mistakes I made, gave me the weekends off, and more or less let me do as I pleased when I wasn’t helping in her office. Never let Daro bother me whenever he came to pester her, which I was grateful for. Even then I’d heard rumours about how her children and grandchildren treated slaves.” Asta sighed and gazed at the fire. Roan silently got up to add another log to the flames and sat back down. “And then she died. Something to do with her heart – it came on very suddenly. I ran to fetch a healer, but there was nothing they could do for her.” She closed her eyes again, scrubbing away the tears threatening at the corners. “Is it stupid, to grieve for someone who literally owned you?”

           “Grief doesn’t care about whether or not it makes sense,” said Roan quietly, stirring the logs with a poker. “Slaves are vulnerable, no matter who their owner is, and she protected you. There’s no shame in missing her for that.”

           Asta nodded and got up to lean on the wall by the stairs, facing the stonework. “So when you gave me the knife, I… I suppose everything just suddenly piled on at once and I realised that it’s been a very long time since anyone gave me a present just because they thought I would like it.”

           Roan’s footsteps padded across the stone floor and she laid the very tips of her fingers against Asta’s shoulder. Asta turned to face her again with a half-hearted smile, and Roan drew her into a tight embrace. Asta blinked in surprise, frozen for a moment, before she sighed and wrapped her arms around Roan’s waist. “I’ve been so lonely,” she mumbled into her shoulder.

           “I think I have too,” whispered Roan. “I just didn’t realise until I had someone around again.”

           The emotional conversation went undiscussed after that, but the thoughts felt lighter for having been spoken, and the daily routine at Dun Ardech went on as usual. Asta took on a few more of the chores as she learned how to do them, such as cleaning the fish Roan caught, and was able to share a more efficient fish trap design she had read about. She had long since lost track of what day it was. After another week, she finally put her foot down about the sleeping arrangements and insisted that Roan take her own bed back; it was ridiculous for her to still be sleeping on one of the couches when it was her own home. Somehow this just resulted in them sharing it, which wasn’t quite what Asta had had in mind.

           It did mean that Roan didn’t have very far to go when she suddenly shook Asta awake in the middle of the night, a couple of days before Curlew was due back from its voyage to the north. “Hsst! Asta! Wake up!”

           “What time is it?” asked Asta blearily.

           “Almost midnight.”

           “Is something wrong?”

           “No, nothing’s wrong.”

           “Then why are you waking me up at midnight?”

           Roan grinned, only visible by the faint witchlight she had conjured. “I’d forgotten what day it is. Nothing bad – but something is happening. Come up to the roof with me.”

           Grumbling under her breath, Asta wrapped the reindeer skin around herself again and followed Roan up the steps to the trapdoor and out onto the walkway. There was no moon, but the sky was perfectly clear, covered in thousands of stars with the silvery band of the Birds’ Road stretching all the way across. A faint curtain of green light shimmered at the northern horizon, but this clearly wasn’t what Roan wanted to show her: instead she pointed across the sea loch to the south, and the sound of voices raised in song – too many to count – drifted across the calm water to them.

           “Is that – is that a dragon ship?” asked Asta as the first boat came into view.

           “Aye,” said Roan. “Sort of – it’s just a replica.”

           The longship made its stately way down the loch, the carved dragon figurehead proud at the front. The striped sail was raised, but seemingly just for show; the propulsion came from a bank of oars on each side. Behind it, a row of boats smaller than the longship but longer and wider than Each-Uisge sailed side-by-side, each one with a row of burning torches fixed along the rails, while a whole flotilla of vessels from simple rowing boats to comfortable yachts followed behind, each bearing a lantern on its prow and each pilot and passenger joining in with the same song.

           “What are they singing?” asked Asta.

           “It’s an ancient hymn to the sun,” said Roan. “Thanking it for returning even after the longest winter nights, and praying that it always will. I wasn’t sure if you would have seen this before; a few boats in the fleet leave from Duncraig, but the dragon ship leaves from a little further down Loch Gorm and the rest join it along the way. It’s an old tradition – not sure how old exactly, but it’s been done since long before I was born. The song is in an old dialect. That’s why you can’t understand the words.”

           Asta shook her head. “No. I’ve never seen this before.”

           Most of the fleet came to a halt before they came level with the broch, but the dragon ship and its escorts carried on past it. One by one, the rowers on the dragon ship abandoned their oars and jumped into the water to swim back to the other boats, where they were hauled aboard and quickly bundled up in warm blankets with mugs of tea and soup.

           One man on the foremost escort boat stood up and raised his arm. The singing came to a gradual halt, the silence spreading back through the fleet in a wave. More people in the other boats got to their feet, nocking arrows to bowstrings. The man closed his fist; the arrows were set alight, the bows were raised, and the strings drawn back. Then he let his arm fall in one sweeping gesture and two dozen flaming arrows arched high above the water to plummet back down onto the dragon ship, punching through the sail and slamming into the deck like terrible rain. The flames spread rapidly; in the space of less than a minute, the entire ship was ablaze with the firelight reflecting in the water.

           “It was originally a funeral practice,” explained Roan. “When a monarch or a chieftain died, they’d be cremated in a ship like that. But nowadays it’s just symbolic.”

           “Of what?” asked Asta, watching as the longship’s yard crumbled and fell to the deck in a shower of golden sparks.

           Roan laid an arm around her shoulders and, after a tiny pause, leant in to kiss her on the cheek. “Happy New Year.”

           Asta laid her head on her shoulder. “I’m glad you woke me up for this.”

           They watched until the remains of the longship sank beneath the water and the rest of the boats began to drift home. Roan straightened up, stretched, and turned to go back to the trapdoor.

           Asta caught her hand. “Roan.”

           “Hm?”

           Now or never. Asta summoned her courage, reached up to take Roan’s head in her hands, and pushed herself up on her toes to kiss her on the lips. Roan didn’t even hesitate; she wound her arms around Asta, almost lifting her off the floor, and leant into the kiss.

           “Wow.” Asta drew back, swaying slightly. “You know,” she said dizzily, “for a semi-feral sea witch… you’re a really good kisser.”

           Roan just smiled and pressed her forehead against hers.

           She had disappeared in the morning, though she had left a note on her pillow saying ‘Checking traps’ with a heart symbol and a tiny cartoon of a happy seal. Asta yawned, got dressed, and went downstairs to collect some eggs and start heating some porridge.

           She took her breakfast up to the outer wall to watch for Roan coming back, but there was no sign of her yet. Strangely, even though it was light, the water horses were still on the rocks. Perhaps the burning of the dragon ship had disturbed them and they were catching up on their missed sleep.

           Movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. It was a boat, not as big as last night’s dragon ship but at least three times the size of little Each-Uisge, floating along on the breeze filling its sail. Asta frowned as the boat turned, heading for the rocks. Riabhach and his herd raised their heads curiously.

           There was a thrum of bowstrings and a volley of crossbow bolts shot from the boat into the herd. One of the water horses let out a high-pitched scream; Riabhach reared up to his full height, stretching out his forelegs to hold back the attackers while the rest of the herd made their escape into the water, but even he had to back away and flee with an enormous splash as people began to leap from the boat to the rocks, carrying long knives and hunting spears. The last to disembark held no blade, but a long whip hung coiled at his wide belt.

           Daro.

           Asta dropped her bowl and ran for the broch, slamming the door behind her and lodging the bar in its slots. Her knife was upstairs. She ran to get it and climbed to the roof to crouch behind the rampart. There was no mist to hide her today.

           Most of the strangers waited with the boat, but Daro led the rest up over the rocks and through the gate to the courtyard. The hens approached, expecting food, but even Vanessa ran back to the shelter of the coop when Daro aimed a vicious kick at her. There was a crash of splintering wood as his cronies broke down the door, then heavy booted footsteps coming up the stairs.

           Asta readied the knife as Daro pushed the trapdoor open.

           “So this is where you’ve been hiding,” he commented, leaning on the rampart as the others filed out after him. “It took me a while to round up enough help that weren’t too scared of ghost stories to launch an assault on Dun Ardech. I thought it might be easier to arrive by sea. Where’s your strange friend with the dog skull?”

           “It’s a seal,” said Asta, holding the knife’s grip in both hands.

           “A seal. Well,” Daro spread a hand on his chest in mocking apology, “consider me thoroughly corrected. I’m sure this has all been a lot of fun, but it’s time to come home, Asta.”

           “Your family estate is not my home.”

           “Asta,” he said, attempting a conciliatory tone. “Be reasonable. However far you may have fallen from your rightful place, you’re still nobility of the Empire. You belong in proper society, on the arm of a fellow noble and with a collar of the finest gold, not…” he cast an eye around the broch, “…here.”

           “Maybe I would rather live here than wear a collar at all.”

           “Come, now.” Daro placed a hand on his waist, just above the whip on his belt. “We have to maintain a certain level of discipline, but haven’t you been treated fairly?”

           “Fairly!?” Asta stormed forwards, brandishing the knife. Daro took a cautious step backwards, but motioned for the others to stay where they were. “You chained me to a post in your stable yard and whipped me until I bled when I had done nothing. I was lucky to be able to walk afterwards. If you want me to leave here with you,” she lifted the knife to his chin, “you’re going to have to drag me out.”  

           Daro shrugged. “All right.” In a flash, he caught both of her wrists and pushed the knife down from his chin until Asta lost her grip on the handle and it fell to the stone beneath their feet. “Give me some help here!” More hands grabbed her arms, forcing them down and binding her wrists behind her back, shoving her towards the trapdoor. In a last desperate move, Asta lunged forwards and slammed her forehead into Daro’s nose. The satisfaction of the crunch it made did not last for long; he lifted a hand to his face, inspected the blood that came away on his fingertips, and drove his fist into her gut. She doubled over, wheezing for breath, and three people at once lifted her off her feet to carry her bodily down the stairs and out to the boat.

           They dumped her in the stern like a sack of oats.

           “Enough of this nonsense,” said Daro, taking a moment to tie her ankles and force a gag between her teeth. “Let’s just get back to the estate and we can put this whole sordid affair behind us, hmm? Cast off!” he added to the crew.

           The boat turned to sail back up the loch. Behind it, Riabhach raised his head from the waves and roared once, before he and the other water horses climbed back onto the rocks.

           There was still no sign of Roan.

~~~

Well that’s not good

[jarrodwbrown]

Brokenness and A Plan for Mass Transformation.

A man, lying in the road, literally on fire.  A flame wicking off of his heal as bystanders looked on for the best shot with their phone cameras.  Then the attention shifted to something moving in the bushes, and as the camera changed its focus a person, perhaps a woman was moving, the look on her face was of desperation, burned from head to foot, skin coming off.  Noone to offer help.  No ambulance on the way.  No LifeFlight to the nearest burn unit.  This was on the road just a few miles from the school Mission Lazarus operates in North-East Haiti.  The man in the road was driving a motorcycle carrying the woman from the side of the road along with two five gallon jugs of gasoline when they wrecked.  The gasoline quickly combusted and engulfed the two in an inescapable inferno.  The driver hadn’t lasted long and the woman in the bushes would not last long either.  This did not have to happen but due to a massive fuel shortage in Haiti the people have been forced to take drastic measures to obtain fuel.  Fuel for their cars to get to work and fuel for their generators so that their businesses can operate (only 20% of Haiti has electricity).  So while it might seem obvious that carrying two jugs of gasoline on the back of a motorcycle would be extremely dangerous everything is relative in Haiti.  

I will probably make someone mad by writing this.  What I’m trying to say will most likely not be understood by more than one person.  I know that my life experiences are unique and that they have greatly shaped who I am, how I think, and how I view others, the world, and the Kingdom of God.  I cannot avoid using my lenses to see but I do recognize that not everyone has my lenses.  I hope that this will give you insights into how I see the transformational work that I believe that as followers of Jesus we are all called to.  

On thursday afternoon September 12 I was flying from Cap Haitien, Haiti back to the US after a week packed full of reviews and planning meetings.  My trip was a success and I was blessed to be with our team there.  But I was exhausted.  Not exhausted from working hard, something that I’m accustomed to, rather exhausted emotionally from the clear reality of life in Haiti.  I was exhausted and I was only there for five days.  

If you’re not aware, Haiti has been plagued this year by political turmoil.  From a massive government report detailing how  billions of Dollars, were skimmed off of the Haiti / Venezuela discounted fuel program “PetroCaribe”, to a fuel hike to reduce the level of government subsidy on the price of fuel, and to fuel shortages throughout the country due to a shortage of US Dollars to pay for fuel imports since the PetroCaribe scheme collapsed.  Those three primary issues coupled with a democratic political system that resembles more of a playground of bullies rather than the leaders of the nation, where the Survivor TV series tagline of “Outwit, Outlast, & Outplay” takes on a whole new meaning.  These realities can lead to many problems, one of the most common is massive protests and a crippling of the nation’s already fragile transportation infrastructure.  These protests are often times at the beckoning of whatever politician’s agenda is looking to stir something up this week and whether or not he has 1,000 Gourde bills to hand out (Haitien currency where roughly 100 Gourdes = $1).   Since 1,000 Gourdes is about US $10 or twice what a well paid Haitien garment factory work would normally make in a day it is easy to understand why unemployed men, young and old, will quickly take to the streets to block roads for the day for $10 each.  A rather cheap way to inflict possibly fatal political wounds on your political rivals.  And also a rather easy way to provide some food for your family for the day.  

However, when the protests get out of control and the crowds become mobs, when the road blockages become riots and the mob mentality takes over, all safety and security guarantees that should be afforded to private citizens of any democratic country are off of the table.  Such has been the case numerous times this year in Haiti resulting in the US state department declaring Haiti a Level 4 travel risk, the same level of travel risk shared by nations like North Korea, Afghanistan, and Iraq, for a few months this past summer.  But we’re talking about Haiti, our neighbor, just 900 miles from Miami, a 90 minute flight.  The result was economic devastation with hotels and restaurants throughout the impoverished island struggling to survive.  Travel booking sites like Expedia removed, at least for a while, all hotel and flight options to Haiti from their sites.   And not only has the tourism industry been affected but nearly all industry in Haiti.  When it is unsafe to go to work or when it’s unsafe to get home from work or when it’s unsafe to transport your goods to the port for export or when you cannot distribute your goods throughout the country then the entire nation is affected.  And then there are the  ministries or aid organizations operating in Haiti.  For better or for worse you cannot deny the incredible economic boost that foreign ministries and aid organizations provide to the Haitian economy.  Thousands of travelers come every year to Haiti to serve and when they don’t travel the loss of Dollars that are spent to house, host, transport and entertain missions and aid workers is devastating.  Tens of millions of Dollars are invested annually by these organizations as well, invested in everything from from water wells to new houses and schools.  All of which is put at risk when the country is practically shut down.  

The results of a year of political turmoil were seen everywhere on my recent trip.  In a country where brokenness is hardly able to be hidden.  Where the reality of living in a fallen world is ever apparent, not hidden by the excesses of materialism enjoyed by the West, the brokenness is palpable in a different way.  In North-East Haiti, where we focus our efforts, added to the political turmoil has been a prolonged drought which has made growing even the hardiest of crops, such as okra, nearly impossible, much less a crop of Haitian staples like rice, corn, and beans.  As I encountered friends from the rural villages we serve in, men and women alike, the result was obvious.  Malnutrition.  Plainly put everywhere you look the farming families we work with are skinny, bone skinny.  They never were exactly healthy but now these families were for sure suffering.  Another, more subtle result, is stress.  It was noticeable on the faces of our local leadership.  The constant concern over how will I get to this place or that, or if I get there will I get home or worse will I get home safely has taken its toll on our team.  While I was there last week I witnessed hundreds if not thousands of factory workers from the Caracol Industrial Park walking back to their homes in Cap Haitien, some 10 miles away, because their buses could not pass through the numerous road blocks along the way.   This level of stress is exhausting.  While generally a protest or road blockage rarely turns violent the possibility is that it always could.  And yet, day after day, our leaders make our operations happen.  They make it to work.  They make sure that our programs continue.  They make sure that our school can function.  They make sure that the teachers have the materials they need.  They make sure that the kitchen has food for breakfast and lunch everyday.  And they make sure that, even if just for six or seven hours a day,  the children of the Academie Lazare are able to be children, able to enjoy the most basic of things like a plate of food, a classroom to learn in, a playground to play on, and a safespace behind a wall that separates them from the painful reality of their village, their community, and their nation.  

So why bother?  It’s too broken to even fix.  I think that this same conversation could be had often or maybe has been had, between God and Jesus, or perhaps Gabriel and Michael, away from the earshot of God, have discussed this very topic, but in regards to the US, or perhaps even with regards to those “Christians” in the US, or maybe it’s with regards to humanity as a whole.  I don’t really think they are limited or defined by geo-political lines that man has drawn across the globe that seem to somehow indicate that this nation has or has not been deemed worthy.  In the US our strong economy, our good jobs, our nice houses, our facades tend to fool us to believe that we’re not broken when in reality the brokenness of Haiti is ever present in the US as well, we’ve just become skilled experts at covering up the stinch.  No it’s not evidenced by piles of burning trash on the side of the road covered in 300 pound hogs rooting for a meal, or poor roads making travel a nightmare or even by starving families, it’s evidenced by our own divisive politics that is hell bent on dividing our nation by political color or even skin color and by religion.  It’s evidenced by schools and churches, rather than being safe havens they are becoming targets for individuals who are obviously not well, who are broken and are hell bent on forcing their brokenness on others.  It’s evidenced by our economy, not the dire lack of economic activity but rather an obsession with spending and an overwhelming number of families drowning in debt.  It’s evidenced by corporate expansion that defies all logic, generating shareholder wealth at the expense of the most vulnerable in the foerign countries where they manufacture their wares.  So why bother?  It would appear that it’s too broken to even fix.  

We  learn from Jesus’ teachings that he came for all of mankind but his approach was to focus on the 1.  And that as a good pastor he’ll leave 99 behind to go after the 1.  The 1 woman by the well, the one blind man, the one tax collector, the 1 Jarrod, the 1 you, the 1 Haitian.  He’s always been about the individual, that 1!  He ministered 1 by 1, 1 at a time.  He healed 1 by 1, loved 1 by 1, and transformed 1 by 1.  He knew that the brokenness of man could not be cured in mass, rather that individual transformation requires individual attention and when massive numbers of individuals have been transformed then the masses are able to invest in massive numbers of 1.  Jesus knew that his saving ministry individual approach must be shared because serving the individual 1 by 1 was slow and unless there were others doing the same thing many, if not most, would be lost.  His investment in the disciples, 1 by 1, loving them, 1 by 1, correcting them 1 by 1, and encouraging them 1 by 1, put into motion a series of relationships and discipling opportunities that continues to this day, you and I are a direct result of that intentional effort, 1 by 1.  

Back to Haiti.  Would I like to see the city streets of Cap Haitien clean?  Sure.  Would I like to see the beauty of the Haitian countryside restored to what it once was?  Sure.  Would I like to see her coastline sparkling turquoise blue again? Sure.  I’d also like to see an end to brokenness in the US, failed marriages, addiction, abuse, debt, hate, and bigotry.  Sure I would.  But if I only focus on the masses and the enormity of the brokenness then I’ll never notice the impact that I’m having as a disciple of Jesus, one of his ambassadors, one of his representatives on this earth who is investing in the life of one other person.  I do not believe that the social political problems of Haiti, or any country for that matter, will be solved by schemes and strategies to solve social-political problems.  I do however believe, wholeheartedly, that when followers of Jesus invest their time, talent, and treasure in just 1 then there is a ripple effect, that grows exponentially.  Where 1 quickly becomes 10 and 10 quickly becomes 100 and 100 quickly becomes 1,000 and so on and so on.  I gave up on politicians solving the brokenness of our nation or any other nation a long time ago.  But I’ve not given up on believers, like you and I, doing what we can to guarantee that Jesus’s proclamation in John 10:10 not be a lie to billions of people living in brokenness in this world, some rich and some poor, but all broken.  

“I have come that they may have life, and have life in abundance.”  John 10:10

[stephenmccull]

Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout

Last May, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, laid off 1,200 employees and furloughed others as it braced for the then-novel coronavirus to spread. The cancellation of lucrative elective procedures as the hospital pivoted to treat a new and less profitable infectious disease presaged financial distress, if not ruin. The federal government rushed $454 million in relief funds to help shore up its operations.

This story also ran on The Washington Post. It can be republished for free.

But Baylor not only weathered the crisis, it thrived. By the end of 2020, Baylor had accumulated an $815 million surplus, $20 million more than it had in 2019, creating a 7.5% operating margin that would be the envy of most other hospitals in the flushest of eras, a KHN examination of financial statements shows.

Like Baylor, some of the nation’s richest hospitals and health systems recorded hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting the lion’s share of the federal health care bailout grants, their records show. Those included the Mayo Clinic, Pittsburgh’s UPMC and NYU Langone Health. But poorer hospitals — many serving rural and minority populations — got a tinier slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits, downgrades of their bond ratings and bleak fiscal futures.

“A lot of the funding helped the wealthy hospitals at a time, especially in New York, when safety-net hospitals were hemorrhaging,” said Colleen Grogan, a health policy professor at the University of Chicago. “We could have tailored it to hospitals we knew were really suffering and taking on a disproportionate amount of the burden.”

In Baylor’s case, the system, which runs Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and 51 other hospitals, said it spent $257 million last year on pandemic-related costs, including protective clothing for employees and patients and creating isolation rooms. Baylor has $197 million in unspent federal relief funds to use this year to cover costs of battling the virus and refrigerating vaccines, it said.

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“Our covid-19-related expenses and lost revenue continue to exceed the funding we have received to date,” Baylor said in a statement to KHN.

Other well-heeled hospitals or large systems faced bigger problems. Both NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and CommonSpirit Health, a 140-hospital Catholic system that operates in 21 states, lost money despite federal grants in the vicinity of a billion dollars each. A few systems, including the for-profit chain HCA Healthcare, returned federal funds when they saw they had skirted their worst-case scenarios. But most spent the aid and held onto any leftover money and new grants to cover anticipated pandemic costs this year because hospital executives fear more case spikes.

Much of the lopsided distribution was caused by the way the Department of Health and Human Services based the allotment of the initial bailout funds on hospitals’ past revenue. That favored institutions with well-off patients who have private health plans over those that rely on lower-paying government insurance, which is what many poor people use.

HHS distribution formulas did not take into account which hospitals had enough assets to survive.

Baylor, for instance, began 2020 with $5.4 billion in cash and investments, enough to keep it running for 238 days, the financial disclosures show.

Hospitals that ended the year with profits were entitled to federal aid because of the extraordinary latitude Congress and HHS set in how hospitals could classify their pandemic costs.

Last fall, when HHS attempted to limit how much aid hospitals could keep based on their profits — so the money could be redirected to struggling hospitals — the effort was swiftly beaten back by the industry and Congress. HHS officials declined requests for an interview but noted in a statement that Congress had ordered it to revert to its “broader definition of permissible use of PRF funds.”

“The Biden Administration continues to review programs and policies including considerations for the unallocated funding under the PRF program and the $8.5 billion recently appropriated under the recently signed American Rescue Plan Act,” the statement said.

Avoiding a Drawdown of Reserves

The bailouts were initiated last spring to help health care providers ride out a once-in-a-century public health calamity. The money designated to hospitals and other health care providers from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and subsequent legislation totaled $178 billion.

It was intended to offset all costs of treating infected patients, including purchasing ventilators, masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment. Congress further authorized hospitals to use the money to compensate for a drop in revenue when they shut down elective surgeries and non-emergency treatments to prepare for the anticipated deluge of covid-19 patients.

The money, referred to as the Provider Relief Fund, helped many poorer hospitals avert cash crunches, layoffs and bond rating downgrades. A survey by the consulting firm Kaufman Hall found that the median hospital gain during 2020 would have been 0.3% without the federal support. With it, half of hospitals posted gains of 2.7% or more, below the 2019 median margin of 3.1%, according to the firm, which also produces analytic work for the American Hospital Association.

In February, the association urged Congress to replenish the nearly empty relief fund, saying, “hospitals have never experienced such a widespread, national health crisis.”

Some hospitals’ finances deteriorated significantly during the pandemic. From the end of March through December, the rating agency Moody’s downgraded 28 hospitals, primarily because of weaknesses such as higher debt or more competition, said Lisa Goldstein, associate managing director at Moody’s.

Others suffered worse fates, like Williamson Memorial Hospital, which shut down last April. The hospital, in West Virginia’s coal country, had been trying to climb out of bankruptcy protection, but “unfortunately, the decline in volumes experienced from the current pandemic were to[o] sudden and severe for us to sustain operations,” its CEO wrote on Facebook.

Conversely, many prosperous health systems emerged unscathed from the moratoriums of last spring, often due to the federal aid. “It gave them an ability to not have to draw down on their reserves to make up for the loss in revenue,” said Suzie Desai, a senior director at S&P Global Ratings.

Systems saw patient visits return to near normal as the year wore on. In some cases, business in the latter half of 2020 was even higher than in the same period in 2019 because of pent-up demand for treatments postponed from the spring, financial records show.

“We saw volumes spring back” in every area except emergency room visits, said Kevin Holloran, a senior director at Fitch Ratings. Major hospital systems also reported that cases tended to be more complex than normal, leading to higher insurance payments.

UPMC accepted $460 million in bailout funds while collecting $2.5 billion more in revenue in 2020 than in 2019. The nonprofit system ended the year with an $836 million operating surplus — providing a 3.6% margin that was triple the prior year’s — in part due to the growth of the health insurance plan the system owns.

Other hospitals that sold insurance, including Baylor, persevered because the cause of their financial troubles — fewer surgeries and doctors’ visits — meant the health plans paid fewer claims.

UPMC’s strong finances went unmentioned in a recent fundraising pitch announcing the launch of its “Health Care Heroes” campaign. “During the past year, health care workers have carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, risking their own health and safety to ensure ours as we navigated the covid-19 pandemic,” the email said. “Now it’s our turn to recognize their hard work. … By making a donation, you will help provide training, recognition, and support for our staff initiatives.”

Donald Yealy, a senior vice president of UPMC and the chief medical officer of UPMC Health Services, said the fundraising appeal was a way to allow people in the community to show their appreciation.

“The intent of the request and the letter were clear. People are free to ignore or to have an opinion. I don’t begrudge that at all. I respect people having a different opinion," he said.

Hospitals can hold on to unspent relief funds until the end of July to defray any further pandemic-related costs. After that, any unspent money must be returned to the U.S. Treasury. UPMC retains $80 million in unspent relief funds, which the health system said it expects to use. “We’re still in the process of incurring significant costs related to covid,” said Edward Karlovich, UPMC executive vice president and chief financial officer.

‘A Shot in the Arm’ Sometimes Unneeded

In April 2020, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, forecast up to $3 billion in lost revenue because of the pandemic. Instead, Mayo, which received $338 million in federal relief funds, ended the year with revenue that was $202 million higher than in 2019. Mayo recorded a $728 million surplus, which equaled a 5.2% margin.

“It gave us a shot in the arm when we needed it,” said Dennis Dahlen, Mayo’s chief financial officer. Later, when it seemed likely Mayo would run a surplus, executives debated what to do with the federal funds.

“Honestly, we considered dropping the margin,” Dahlen said. After weighing their options, Mayo “landed in a middle-of-the-road decision” by returning $156 million to the federal government.

“We considered it with what everyone else was doing … and we thought about what was good for society,” Dahlen said. “'Nonprofit’ doesn’t really mean no profit. It means tax-exempt. We still have to create earnings so we can reinvest in ourselves.”

Mayo ended the year with $14 billion in investments, $3 billion more than it had in 2019, a 29% increase.

The funds were, indeed, a lifesaver for some. Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer of CommonSpirit Health, said “there was never a thought of turning back the money.”

Despite receiving $1.3 billion in relief funds, CommonSpirit, based in Chicago, ended last year with a $75 million deficit, which translated to a 0.2% loss.

“We have been set back by a year,” O’Quinn said. “All the things we wanted to do — to renovate, to building new facilities, to expand our service — we’ve had to slow up to get through the crisis.”

Scattershot Relief

The first $50 billion in relief funds “was sent out indiscriminately as a life support,” said Ge Bai, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. HHS tried to target subsequent distributions. It sent $22 billion to 1,090 hospitals with large numbers of covid patients. It sprinkled an additional $16 billion among hospitals that serve poor populations, Native American tribes, people in rural areas and children.

But even with the targeted aid, recipients included well-endowed academic medical centers and major urban hospitals. Only $14 billion took profitability into consideration, HHS documents show. HHS restricted those payments to hospitals with 3% or lower profit margins.

Wealthy hospitals also benefited because HHS used a broad definition of lost revenue. If a hospital earned less than in the year before, or simply less revenue than it had budgeted for, it could chalk up that difference to the pandemic and apply the relief funds to it. The implications garnered little attention at the time as they were overshadowed by the concerns about how HHS was doling out the money rather than how it could be used.

In September, HHS attempted to tighten its overall limits on how much money the hospitals could keep by basing it on the difference from the previous year’s net income rather than overall revenue — a number that in many cases would be much lower. The goal, the department said, was to “prohibit most providers from using PRF [Provider Relief Fund] payments to become more profitable than they were pre-pandemic, to conserve resources to allocate to providers who were less profitable.”

The American Hospital Association complained that would punish hospitals that had behaved responsibly by cutting costs and be an “administrative and accounting disaster,” as many hospitals had already spent the grant money.

HHS backed down a month later, citing “significant attention and opposition from many stakeholders and Members of Congress.” Not fully satisfied, Congress cemented the rollback in a December law.

Some hospital executives attributed their surpluses to their aggressive cost-cutting measures.

NYU Langone Health, for instance, received $461 million in relief funds, which covered about a third of its pandemic-related losses, said Daniel Widawsky, chief financial officer. Another third of Langone’s losses was absorbed by the record-high financial performance in the months before the pandemic, he said, and prompt cost control addressed the rest.

Widawsky said that at the beginning of March Langone canceled travel, froze hiring, paused construction and stopped discretionary purchases. “The first three days in March, we locked down spending,” he said. “If they wanted to buy a pencil, they had to call me.” Langone ended its fiscal year in August with $208 million in net income, and recorded a $136 million surplus in the final quarter of 2020, or 5.5%. Earlier this year, two credit agencies upgraded their outlook on Langone from stable to positive.

Despite accepting $942 million in bailout funds, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital had a $457 million operating deficit, a 7% loss, at the end of September. It was a sharp turn from September 2019, when the system recorded a $166 million surplus, a 2.5% gain.

The system, which declined to comment, has not yet released its financial metrics for the final three months of 2020, but Fitch projected it would remain in the red. Still, NewYork-Presbyterian remains fiscally solid: Its most recent disclosure reported $3.8 billion in cash and short-term investments, enough to keep operating for more than a year.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout published first on https://smartdrinkingweb.weebly.com/

[gordonwilliamsweb]

Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout

Last May, Baylor Scott & White Health, the largest nonprofit hospital system in Texas, laid off 1,200 employees and furloughed others as it braced for the then-novel coronavirus to spread. The cancellation of lucrative elective procedures as the hospital pivoted to treat a new and less profitable infectious disease presaged financial distress, if not ruin. The federal government rushed $454 million in relief funds to help shore up its operations.

This story also ran on The Washington Post. It can be republished for free.

But Baylor not only weathered the crisis, it thrived. By the end of 2020, Baylor had accumulated an $815 million surplus, $20 million more than it had in 2019, creating a 7.5% operating margin that would be the envy of most other hospitals in the flushest of eras, a KHN examination of financial statements shows.

Like Baylor, some of the nation’s richest hospitals and health systems recorded hundreds of millions of dollars in surpluses after accepting the lion’s share of the federal health care bailout grants, their records show. Those included the Mayo Clinic, Pittsburgh’s UPMC and NYU Langone Health. But poorer hospitals — many serving rural and minority populations — got a tinier slice of the pie and limped through the year with deficits, downgrades of their bond ratings and bleak fiscal futures.

“A lot of the funding helped the wealthy hospitals at a time, especially in New York, when safety-net hospitals were hemorrhaging,” said Colleen Grogan, a health policy professor at the University of Chicago. “We could have tailored it to hospitals we knew were really suffering and taking on a disproportionate amount of the burden.”

In Baylor’s case, the system, which runs Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas and 51 other hospitals, said it spent $257 million last year on pandemic-related costs, including protective clothing for employees and patients and creating isolation rooms. Baylor has $197 million in unspent federal relief funds to use this year to cover costs of battling the virus and refrigerating vaccines, it said.

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“Our covid-19-related expenses and lost revenue continue to exceed the funding we have received to date,” Baylor said in a statement to KHN.

Other well-heeled hospitals or large systems faced bigger problems. Both NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and CommonSpirit Health, a 140-hospital Catholic system that operates in 21 states, lost money despite federal grants in the vicinity of a billion dollars each. A few systems, including the for-profit chain HCA Healthcare, returned federal funds when they saw they had skirted their worst-case scenarios. But most spent the aid and held onto any leftover money and new grants to cover anticipated pandemic costs this year because hospital executives fear more case spikes.

Much of the lopsided distribution was caused by the way the Department of Health and Human Services based the allotment of the initial bailout funds on hospitals’ past revenue. That favored institutions with well-off patients who have private health plans over those that rely on lower-paying government insurance, which is what many poor people use.

HHS distribution formulas did not take into account which hospitals had enough assets to survive.

Baylor, for instance, began 2020 with $5.4 billion in cash and investments, enough to keep it running for 238 days, the financial disclosures show.

Hospitals that ended the year with profits were entitled to federal aid because of the extraordinary latitude Congress and HHS set in how hospitals could classify their pandemic costs.

Last fall, when HHS attempted to limit how much aid hospitals could keep based on their profits — so the money could be redirected to struggling hospitals — the effort was swiftly beaten back by the industry and Congress. HHS officials declined requests for an interview but noted in a statement that Congress had ordered it to revert to its “broader definition of permissible use of PRF funds.”

“The Biden Administration continues to review programs and policies including considerations for the unallocated funding under the PRF program and the $8.5 billion recently appropriated under the recently signed American Rescue Plan Act,” the statement said.

Avoiding a Drawdown of Reserves

The bailouts were initiated last spring to help health care providers ride out a once-in-a-century public health calamity. The money designated to hospitals and other health care providers from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and subsequent legislation totaled $178 billion.

It was intended to offset all costs of treating infected patients, including purchasing ventilators, masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment. Congress further authorized hospitals to use the money to compensate for a drop in revenue when they shut down elective surgeries and non-emergency treatments to prepare for the anticipated deluge of covid-19 patients.

The money, referred to as the Provider Relief Fund, helped many poorer hospitals avert cash crunches, layoffs and bond rating downgrades. A survey by the consulting firm Kaufman Hall found that the median hospital gain during 2020 would have been 0.3% without the federal support. With it, half of hospitals posted gains of 2.7% or more, below the 2019 median margin of 3.1%, according to the firm, which also produces analytic work for the American Hospital Association.

In February, the association urged Congress to replenish the nearly empty relief fund, saying, “hospitals have never experienced such a widespread, national health crisis.”

Some hospitals’ finances deteriorated significantly during the pandemic. From the end of March through December, the rating agency Moody’s downgraded 28 hospitals, primarily because of weaknesses such as higher debt or more competition, said Lisa Goldstein, associate managing director at Moody’s.

Others suffered worse fates, like Williamson Memorial Hospital, which shut down last April. The hospital, in West Virginia’s coal country, had been trying to climb out of bankruptcy protection, but “unfortunately, the decline in volumes experienced from the current pandemic were to[o] sudden and severe for us to sustain operations,” its CEO wrote on Facebook.

Conversely, many prosperous health systems emerged unscathed from the moratoriums of last spring, often due to the federal aid. “It gave them an ability to not have to draw down on their reserves to make up for the loss in revenue,” said Suzie Desai, a senior director at S&P Global Ratings.

Systems saw patient visits return to near normal as the year wore on. In some cases, business in the latter half of 2020 was even higher than in the same period in 2019 because of pent-up demand for treatments postponed from the spring, financial records show.

“We saw volumes spring back” in every area except emergency room visits, said Kevin Holloran, a senior director at Fitch Ratings. Major hospital systems also reported that cases tended to be more complex than normal, leading to higher insurance payments.

UPMC accepted $460 million in bailout funds while collecting $2.5 billion more in revenue in 2020 than in 2019. The nonprofit system ended the year with an $836 million operating surplus — providing a 3.6% margin that was triple the prior year’s — in part due to the growth of the health insurance plan the system owns.

Other hospitals that sold insurance, including Baylor, persevered because the cause of their financial troubles — fewer surgeries and doctors’ visits — meant the health plans paid fewer claims.

UPMC’s strong finances went unmentioned in a recent fundraising pitch announcing the launch of its “Health Care Heroes” campaign. “During the past year, health care workers have carried the weight of the world on their shoulders, risking their own health and safety to ensure ours as we navigated the covid-19 pandemic,” the email said. “Now it’s our turn to recognize their hard work. … By making a donation, you will help provide training, recognition, and support for our staff initiatives.”

Donald Yealy, a senior vice president of UPMC and the chief medical officer of UPMC Health Services, said the fundraising appeal was a way to allow people in the community to show their appreciation.

“The intent of the request and the letter were clear. People are free to ignore or to have an opinion. I don’t begrudge that at all. I respect people having a different opinion," he said.

Hospitals can hold on to unspent relief funds until the end of July to defray any further pandemic-related costs. After that, any unspent money must be returned to the U.S. Treasury. UPMC retains $80 million in unspent relief funds, which the health system said it expects to use. “We’re still in the process of incurring significant costs related to covid,” said Edward Karlovich, UPMC executive vice president and chief financial officer.

‘A Shot in the Arm’ Sometimes Unneeded

In April 2020, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, forecast up to $3 billion in lost revenue because of the pandemic. Instead, Mayo, which received $338 million in federal relief funds, ended the year with revenue that was $202 million higher than in 2019. Mayo recorded a $728 million surplus, which equaled a 5.2% margin.

“It gave us a shot in the arm when we needed it,” said Dennis Dahlen, Mayo’s chief financial officer. Later, when it seemed likely Mayo would run a surplus, executives debated what to do with the federal funds.

“Honestly, we considered dropping the margin,” Dahlen said. After weighing their options, Mayo “landed in a middle-of-the-road decision” by returning $156 million to the federal government.

“We considered it with what everyone else was doing … and we thought about what was good for society,” Dahlen said. “'Nonprofit’ doesn’t really mean no profit. It means tax-exempt. We still have to create earnings so we can reinvest in ourselves.”

Mayo ended the year with $14 billion in investments, $3 billion more than it had in 2019, a 29% increase.

The funds were, indeed, a lifesaver for some. Marvin O’Quinn, president and chief operating officer of CommonSpirit Health, said “there was never a thought of turning back the money.”

Despite receiving $1.3 billion in relief funds, CommonSpirit, based in Chicago, ended last year with a $75 million deficit, which translated to a 0.2% loss.

“We have been set back by a year,” O’Quinn said. “All the things we wanted to do — to renovate, to building new facilities, to expand our service — we’ve had to slow up to get through the crisis.”

Scattershot Relief

The first $50 billion in relief funds “was sent out indiscriminately as a life support,” said Ge Bai, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. HHS tried to target subsequent distributions. It sent $22 billion to 1,090 hospitals with large numbers of covid patients. It sprinkled an additional $16 billion among hospitals that serve poor populations, Native American tribes, people in rural areas and children.

But even with the targeted aid, recipients included well-endowed academic medical centers and major urban hospitals. Only $14 billion took profitability into consideration, HHS documents show. HHS restricted those payments to hospitals with 3% or lower profit margins.

Wealthy hospitals also benefited because HHS used a broad definition of lost revenue. If a hospital earned less than in the year before, or simply less revenue than it had budgeted for, it could chalk up that difference to the pandemic and apply the relief funds to it. The implications garnered little attention at the time as they were overshadowed by the concerns about how HHS was doling out the money rather than how it could be used.

In September, HHS attempted to tighten its overall limits on how much money the hospitals could keep by basing it on the difference from the previous year’s net income rather than overall revenue — a number that in many cases would be much lower. The goal, the department said, was to “prohibit most providers from using PRF [Provider Relief Fund] payments to become more profitable than they were pre-pandemic, to conserve resources to allocate to providers who were less profitable.”

The American Hospital Association complained that would punish hospitals that had behaved responsibly by cutting costs and be an “administrative and accounting disaster,” as many hospitals had already spent the grant money.

HHS backed down a month later, citing “significant attention and opposition from many stakeholders and Members of Congress.” Not fully satisfied, Congress cemented the rollback in a December law.

Some hospital executives attributed their surpluses to their aggressive cost-cutting measures.

NYU Langone Health, for instance, received $461 million in relief funds, which covered about a third of its pandemic-related losses, said Daniel Widawsky, chief financial officer. Another third of Langone’s losses was absorbed by the record-high financial performance in the months before the pandemic, he said, and prompt cost control addressed the rest.

Widawsky said that at the beginning of March Langone canceled travel, froze hiring, paused construction and stopped discretionary purchases. “The first three days in March, we locked down spending,” he said. “If they wanted to buy a pencil, they had to call me.” Langone ended its fiscal year in August with $208 million in net income, and recorded a $136 million surplus in the final quarter of 2020, or 5.5%. Earlier this year, two credit agencies upgraded their outlook on Langone from stable to positive.

Despite accepting $942 million in bailout funds, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital had a $457 million operating deficit, a 7% loss, at the end of September. It was a sharp turn from September 2019, when the system recorded a $166 million surplus, a 2.5% gain.

The system, which declined to comment, has not yet released its financial metrics for the final three months of 2020, but Fitch projected it would remain in the red. Still, NewYork-Presbyterian remains fiscally solid: Its most recent disclosure reported $3.8 billion in cash and short-term investments, enough to keep operating for more than a year.

KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Together with Policy Analysis and Polling, KHN is one of the three major operating programs at KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation). KFF is an endowed nonprofit organization providing information on health issues to the nation.

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This story can be republished for free (details).

Despite Covid, Many Wealthy Hospitals Had a Banner Year With Federal Bailout published first on https://nootropicspowdersupplier.tumblr.com/

[basicsofislam]

ISLAM 101: ALMS AND CHARITY: VIRTUES OF ZAKAT: Part 9

DID ZAKAT EXIST IN RELIGIONS PRIOR TO ISLAM?

Past prophets have also been under obligation to take humankind by the hand and show all the roads leading to physical and spiritual ascension; thus, they too have shown the precious path of zakat as part of a primordial effort to diminish class differences in societies and to provide a judicious and blissful lifestyle remote from detrimental excessiveness. By virtue of providing examples of previous Prophetic applications, the Qur’an does much to put the accent on this mission. Following a brief reference in the Qur’an to the prophets Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob comes the following declaration:

And We made them leaders to guide people in accordance with Our command: We inspired in them acts of virtue, the establishment of salat and payment of zakat. They were worshippers of Us. (Anbiya 21:73)

In reference to Prophet Ishmael, the matchless significance of salat and zakat as the primordial existence of alms as an essential component of worship is underlined from early on: “He used to enjoin his people salat and zakat, and was acceptable in the sight of his Lord” (Maryam 19:55).

Salat and Zakat, in actual fact, are the common denominators of all monotheistic religions, where salat and zakat, after belief in the Oneness of God, form the very core of worship. In fact, salat and zakat are, or at least were, essential characteristics of all of the great religions of the world, those guided by a long line of prophets sent by God since the dawn of humankind, despite the fact that current forms of worship in some faith communities may vary in outward appearance. In support of this, the Qur’an, adamantly states:

They were ordered no more than to worship God with sincere devotion, to honestly establish salat and give zakat. And that is the Standard Religion.” (Bayyina 98:5)

The following verse, which provides insight into how  the people of Midian first received teachings of Prophet Jethro (Shuayb) teachings about obligatory zakat, bears testimony to its practice in preceding times:

In sarcasm, they said, “O Jethro! Does your salat command you that we should abandon what our forefathers worshipped or that we should cease doing what we like with our property? Conversely, you are pleasant and right-minded.” (Hud 11:87)

The Midians’ apprehension at being compelled to cease doing what they liked with their properties denotes, almost certainly, a remonstration against zakat. The people of the Midian, who evidently had a complete appreciation for the altruistic Jethro, still could not get themselves to accept or follow Jethro’s brave attempts to encourage them to perform proper salat or give zakat; branding him instead as an instigator, and a rebel. As is the usual case with similar public dissensions, the people of Midian had a ready scapegoat for giving full vent to their frustrations about the obligation of zakat which was, as can be seen, salat itself.

Even though the Qur’an does not explain, literally, whether or not each prophet carried the duty of imposing zakat, it is highly possible to argue for its primordial existence through the ideal notion of peace, the humane spirit of assistance and support represented and accentuated by each Messenger, beginning with the Prophet Adam, and the Qur’anic references discussed above.

In addition, despite having their initial contents altered, the Torah and the Bible still include many passages which support the proposition that zakat actually predates Islam. As no revelations prior to Muhammad %(upon whom be peace) have survived to this day in their original forms, a fact supported even among Jewish and Christian scholars, the sole, authoritative point of reference in this argument remains the Qur’an itself. Additionally, it is worth noting that the Qur’an stresses zakat was enjoined as a duty on Jews and Christians, as well, not just on Muslims, as the textual references to the Qur’an which are included below will clearly demonstrate. Likewise, an analysis of the Torah and the Bible provides fascinating similarities and conformities with Islam’s all-embracing concept of zakat.

ZAKAT IN JUDAISM

The Qur’an generally tends to speak of the Jews as somewhat “skaters on thin ice,” underlining their preponderantly neglectful attitude concerning their religious responsibilities and periodically provides us a detailed account of what exactly those responsibilities were:

And (remember) when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel, We said; “Serve none but God, show kindness to your parents and to your relatives, to the orphans and the needy; speak kindly to humankind, establish the prayer and pay the zakat. But with the exception of a few, you turned away and paid no heed. (Baqara 2:83)

Zakat along with salat is sternly recommended as a requirement for divine acquittal for their transgressions:

God made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel, and We raised among them twelve chieftains, and God said: “I am with you. If you establish salat and pay the zakat, and believe in My Messengers and support them, and lend to God a goodly loan, surely I shall remit your sins, and surely I shall admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow. Whosoever among you disbelieves after this has gone astray from a straight path.” (Maida 5:12)

And in spite of undergoing multiple amendments, the current text of the Torah still grants us glimpses of the spirit of zakat, grounded on the relations between the rich and the poor:

Jehovah has not despised or been disgusted with the plight of the oppressed one. He has not hidden His face from that person. Jehovah heard when that oppressed person cried out to Him for help. (Psalms 22:24)

When you help the poor (needy) (lowly) (depressed) you lend to Jehovah. He will pay you back. (Proverbs 19:17)

He who oppresses the poor reproaches his Maker. He who has mercy for the poor honors his Maker. (Proverbs 14:31)

This is what you must do whenever there are poor Israelites in one of your cities in the land that Jehovah your God is giving you. Be generous to these poor people. Freely lend them as much as they need. Never be hardhearted and stingy with them. When the seventh year, the year when payments on debts are canceled, is near, you might be stingy toward poor Israelites and give them nothing. Be careful not to think these worthless thoughts. The poor will complain to Jehovah about you, and you will be condemned for your sin. Give the poor what they need, because then Jehovah will make you successful in everything you do. (Deuteronomy 15:7-12)

He who gives to the poor will not lack. But he who hides his eyes will have many curses. (Proverbs 28:27)

And if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in the darkness and your gloom will be like midday. (Isaiah 58:10)

He who gets ahead by oppressing the poor and giving to the rich will certainly suffer loss. (Proverbs 22:16)

It is certainly easy, by and large, to draw a connection between the above verses and many Qur’anic passages, not to mention the conspicuously striking similarities between some. It is these considerable parallels that lead us to the conclusion that the ideas and instructions all stem from the same source, God, and that the essential issues concerning humankind have, quite surprisingly, undergone very little change despite human’s apparent weakness as a transmitter over time.

One further point deserves mention. The above quotations gathered from the Torah, as well as the upcoming Biblical passages, are from current versions of the texts which have, as is widely accepted and as noted above, been partially or predominantly altered, though the exact extent and manner in which such changes have been brought to these ancient scriptures is a matter for debate. A tentative and prudent approach to the current versions is thus the correct attitude, as recommended wisely by the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be peace) himself:

When the People of the Book utter a narration, do not agree nor disagree with them, but say, “We only believe in God and His Messengers.” This way, concurrence is avoided if they speak lies, and denial is avoided provided that they speak the truth.

ZAKAT IN CHRISTIANITY

The situation in Christianity is no different, for the Prophet Jesus, while still in the cradle, utters the duties obliged onto him by God in the following manner:

(Whereupon) he (the baby) spoke out: “I am indeed a servant of God. He has given me the Scripture and has appointed me a prophet. And He has made me blessed wherever I may be and has commanded me to pray and to give alms to the poor as long as I live. And (He) has made me dutiful to my mother and has not made me oppressive, wicked. So peace be upon me the day I was born and the day that I die and the day that I shall be raised up to life (again).” (Maryam 19:30-33)

Considering the fact that the Bible predominantly focuses on ethical issues, a jurisprudential adherence to the Torah, so to speak, was a social necessity. Nonetheless, there are copious Biblical verses which themselves allude to zakat and sadaqa. The  following  passages  may throw light on this discussion; of course, the possible alterations to these passages must be kept in mind:

Be careful! Do not display your righteousness (good works) before men to be noticed by them. If you do, you will have no reward with your heavenly Father. Do not loudly announce it when you give to the poor. The hypocrites do this in the houses of worship and on the streets. They do this to be praised by men. Believe me, they have already been paid in full. When you give charity, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. (Matthew 6:1-3)

He looked at him and was afraid. “What is it, Lord?” he replied. The angel said: “God hears your prayers and sees your gifts of mercy. (Acts 10:4)

He said: Cornelius, your prayer is heard and your gifts of mercy are noticed in the sight of God. (Acts 10:31)

Jesus then replied: “If you wish to be complete, go sell your possessions and give the money to the poor. You will have wealth in heaven. Then follow  me!” But hearing these words, the young man went away grieving, for he was very wealthy. Jesus said to his disciples: “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of heaven. Again I say, it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a man with much money to go into the kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:21-24)

Sell your possessions and give to charity. Make yourselves purses that do not get old, a treasure in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt and thieves cannot steal. (Luke 12:33)

And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, I gain nothing. (Corinthians 13:3)

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! You tithe mint and dill and cumin and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. You should do both and leave nothing undone. (Matthew 23:23)

It is thus quite possible to, again, draw connections between the Qur’an and Hadith, on the one hand, and many Biblical passages. The level of conspicuous similarities between the above texts accentuates their unity of origin. Adopting this approach in scrutinizing the Torah and the Bible will, undeniably, offer us much more evidence culminating in the very same conclusion.

[enterinit]

New Xbox One Games for November 19 to 22

New Xbox One Games for November 19 to 22.

Munchkin: Quacked Quest (November 19)

Dive into Munchkin: Quacked Quest and re-discover the parody, puns, and humor from the hit card game Munchkin by Steve Jackson. Gather gold, throw your foes (and friends) into sacrifice pits, collect ducks, eliminate the monsters—from reanimated skeletons to the Potted Plant and even the Plutonium Dragon—and reach the highest level to win the game! After all, there’s only one spot at the top and you just found a chainsaw… Sometimes the enemy is next to you on the couch. Gather your best friends, or enemies (doesn’t matter, you’ll turn on each other either way), and take down the rampaging hordes of monsters! Beat your “allies” to the treasure and gear up with legendary weapons such as the Rat-on-a-Stick, a Scepter that sends love or a Flare Gun.. Fast-playing and silly, Munchkin: Quacked Quest can reduce any roleplaying group to hysteria. And, while they're laughing, you can be the first to grab the ducks. ..HEY, THAT’S MY DUCK! Not afraid of chickens and trolls? Do you enjoy smashing random objects for loot? Are you eager to vanquish epic bosses and betray your friends? In either the solo or local multiplayer mode, you race through randomly generated dungeons and overcome increasingly bizarre challenges. Choose from four different races and classes and unleash their special skills at the right moment to gain an advantage over your opponents. The mix between accessible, yet rich, gameplay and a leveling race offers intense and skill-based brawling action. ...I SAID DROP THE DUCK, BOB! Trust the Wight Brothers and their Fabulous Dungeonarium Machine (FDM™©) to generate unique dungeons filled with deadly traps, dangerous enemies and magnificent ducks. Every adventure will be enhanced by random modifiers. The more victories you claim, the more possibilities will be added to your game. Main gameplay features: Play solo or with up to four players in couch mode and adventure through deadly dungeons where enemies lurk. Be careful, sometimes the most dangerous enemy is sitting right next to you…Be the fastest, the most cunning, or the most effective at accomplishing the crazy objectives of each dungeon: capture ducks, slay monsters, defeat bosses, while throwing your friends/foes into pits and smashing furniture… everything you wish you could have done at your cousin’s wedding.Four races and four classes available: become a fashionable Orc Priest, a grumpy Dwarf Wizard, or dozens of other combinations. (Management will deny any liability in case of a botched spell or missing limb.)More than 20 weapons to wield for hitting, cutting, shooting, hugging, burning, smashing or knocking down more than 15 different enemies—or friends. Just in case, you know...they get in your way. And if you want to hit harder, run faster, or be even more annoying to the other players, there are nine almost-lethal items to choose from.Randomly generated dungeons for infinite replay value! You will never need to purchase another game. Ever. #MarketingDPTApprovesCustomized experience: choose player mode and game duration and let the back-stabbing, loot-grabbing, slaying, and betraying commence! HA HA! THE DUCK IS MINE! MINE!!!

Age of Wonders: Planetfall – Revelations (November 19)

Included in the Season Pass, Revelations introduces the ancient Heritor Secret Technology, new campaign missions, location mechanics and more. Revelations is the first expansion from Triumph Studios for Age of Wonders: Planetfall, the turn-based strategy game with in-depth empire building.

We Happy Few: We All Fall Down (November 19)

You’ve taken your Joy, but now it’s time to tear it all down in this final piece of handcrafted Season Pass content. Play as Victoria Byng, get a grip on her whip, and get the last word on the story of Wellington Wells. As Victoria reckons with her own withdrawals, the city slides deeper into Joy shortage and disorder. It’s always been Victoria’s duty to help keep things proper, but the closer she looks, the deeper the rot seems to run.

Titeuf: Mega Party (November 21)

The day before school started, Tootuff heard that it was possible to clone sheep by selecting the very best specimens. Terrified about the idea of being infinitely duplicated, Tootuff shares his concerns with his friends. Fortunately, Hugo always has a solution: if only the best are destined to be cloned, you just have to be as naughty as possible to avoid being chosen.

Farmer’s Dynasty (November 21)

THE PERFECT COMBINATION OF FARMING SIMULATION AND LIFE SIMULATION More than just an agricultural simulation: in Farmer’s Dynasty, you have to rebuild your farm and develop your heritage, start a family, handle your relationships and, of course, manage your crops to prosper. THE FARMER AND HIS MACHINES Dozens of authentic farming machines you can use to cultivate your fields and optimize your yields. CHOOSE THE CROPS AND LIVESTOCK Become an experienced farmer, expand your farm and invest in new fields so you can diversify and harvest even more. MAKE NEW FRIENDS Earn your neighbours' gratitude by accomplishing quests. Maybe you'll end up marrying one of them?

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels (November 22)

Narcos: Rise of the Cartels is a brutal turn-based action strategy game based on the hit Netflix TV series. Explore the entire first season from two sides each with their own unique story. Join the narcos and expand the drug cartel empire, or take up arms with the DEA and bring it crumbling down.

Debris (November 22)

An atmospheric first-person narrative adventure set in a surreal seascape locked between ice and rock. Following an incident, you and a friend must find power, defeat strange and deadly creatures, and decipher what mysterious forces are attempting to prevent your escape. Escape together or die alone.

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine (November 22)

Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is a Narrative-Adventure game about traveling, sharing stories, and surviving manifest destiny. Featuring gorgeous hand-drawn illustrations, Where the Water Tastes Like Wine combines 2D visuals with a 3D overworld US map. Players wander across a folkloric Depression era United States at their own pace, meeting strangers with their own stories to tell. Through these interactions, players will be able to collect unique stories which can then be re-told to unlock new interactions. In this way the in-game stories themselves act as a currency to progress through the game, and it’s up to the player to pair the right story with the unique needs of each of the characters that you will encounter throughout your travels. Only through these right pairings will characters reveal their true selves, and bestow you with the most powerful stories, the true ones which reveal something about their own lives. In Where The Water Tastes Like Wine, stories organically take on a life of their own as they grow larger and transform as they're told- and re-told. Features: Travel the Depression-Era United States, laboring to pay off a debt by learning the true stories of 16 signature characters across a wide range of American experience from migrant workers to a travellAs you explore, you'll encounter strange and unsettling things: slices of a country built on dust clouds and murky dreams, where the folk tales are bleeding through. You'll carry those tales with you,The stories you share will return to you along your journey, changed in the telling as they've made their way around the country. As you meet the characters time and again on your travels, they will gBeautiful combination of 3D overworld and hand drawn 2D illustrations Original stories written by a wide selection of accomplished authorsFully voiced characters from all walks of life brought to life by world-renowned voice acting talent, including Sting, Dave Fennoy (The Walking Dead: A Telltale Game Series), Cissy Jones (Firewatch), A hauntingly beautiful original soundtrack arranged by celebrated composer Ryan Ike and featuring performances from a collection of gifted musicians.An emerging fantastical, psychedelic and surreal overarching atmosphere.

Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts (November 22)

Experience pure sniper gameplay across the harsh terrain of Siberia in a brand-new, contracts-based system that encourages strategic thinking, playing as a silent assassin within engaging, redeployable missions. With hundreds of ways to take down a wide range of targets, Contracts offers precise, strategic sniping gameplay at its absolute best.

Lost Ember (November 22)

Explore a breathtakingly beautiful world that nature has claimed back from mankind. As a wolf with the power to inhabit and control other animals and with a trusted companion at your side, you’ll discover ruins of long forgotten civilizations and ancient cultures that tell a story of hope, loss, ambition, and failure.

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI (November 22)

Originally created by legendary game designer Sid Meier, Civilization is a turn-based strategy game in which you attempt to build an empire to stand the test of time. Explore a new land, research technology, conquer your enemies, and go head-to-head with history’s most renowned leaders as you attempt to build the greatest civilization the world has ever known. Civilization VI for Xbox One includes the latest game updates and improvements and four pieces of additional content which adds four new civilizations, leaders, and scenarios: Vikings Scenario PackPoland Civilization & Scenario PackAustralia Civilization & Scenario PackPersia and Macedon Civilization & Scenario Pack Features: PLAY YOUR WAY: The path to victory is the one you determine. Become the most scientifically advanced civilization, dominate through sheer military power, or become the foremost destination for the cultural arts.THE WORLD’S GREATEST LEADERS: Play as one of 24 different leaders from various countries around the world and throughout history. Build an empire of lucrative trade routes with Cleopatra of Egypt, flex the military might of your legions with Trajan of Rome, or develop a powerhouse of culture with Hojo Tokimune of Japan. Each of the leaders can be played any way you prefer, with unique abilities, units, and infrastructure in their quest for victory.EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map. Settle in uncharted lands, improve your surroundings, build new districts, and see your cities – and your civilization – prosper. ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unlock boosts that speed your civilization’s progress through history. To advance more quickly, use your units to actively explore, develop your environment, and discover new cultures.DYNAMIC DIPLOMACY: Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life, to late game alliances and negotiations. EXCITING AND UNIQUE SCENARIOS: Civilization VI on Xbox One includes four playable scenarios, each with a different setting and style of gameplay inspired by history. Be part of the colonization of Australia in “Outback Tycoon,” defend Poland from invaders in “Jadwiga’s Legacy,” choose a Viking leader to conquer Europe in “Vikings, Raiders, and Traders!”, or conquer the known world in the “Conquests of Alexander.”COOPERATIVE AND COMPETITIVE MULTIPLAYER: Up to 4 players can cooperate or compete for supremacy via online multiplayer.

G.R.E.E.N. The Life Algorithm (November 22)

Humanity is an endangered species and only you can save it. Welcome to G.R.E.E.N. The Life Algorithm, an adventure through spectacular natural scenarios in which you will face the threats and challenges of lethal plants that dominate the earth. But beware, you can’t kill your enemies here, just petrify them and use them to your advantage, so choose wisely to survive. Read the full article

[louiswpav926-blog]

Learn Your Rights Before You Take Out A Housing Loan

This month a brand-new insurance provider started offering a service to stay-at-home parents. They have actually valued their insurance coverage so that a moms and dad not able to do their weekly stay-at-home tasks would navigate $900 a week. To be sincere, I'm shocked no one has actually developed this concept before now.

Let's picture a hypothetical family. This household has a dad, mum, a three-year-old and a 6-month-old. Daddy works full time to bring in the money. Mum looks after the kids in your home, as both kids are too young to go to school. As mums would understand, this is a full-time new fidelity funding bbb task.

Their cash scenario is not what you would call tight, nevertheless, they certainly are not living like millionaires. They are keen budgeters and extend their dollars even more.

Daddy makes $50,000 a year working. Mum gets $250 from the government in Household Tax payments. So every week after-tax, they are making $1047. The family has $2,000 in cost savings. Plus they are 3 years into a 25 year home loan. They borrowed $300,000 for a home at 7.25% and have actually paid $16,000 off the balance.

Their house loan payments are $499 each week. So after tax and their home mortgage, they have $548 leftover. Usually their home expenses are $380 a week. (Please note this $380 is a very sensible amount for a family of their size. We utilized real information to come up with this figure. This includes groceries, house improvements, gas, health costs e.g. doctors, internet, smart phones, water, insurance coverage, council rates, electrical energy, gas, and hair stylist. Plus this family does enjoy the spending plan closely to stretch every dollar). The staying money of $168 a week they utilize to put into growing their $2000 savings account.

They are doing fine approximately the three year duration till one day mum injures herself. She pulls her back and it is literally impossible for her to stroll, not to mention get a kid. The medical professional states it will take 4 months of bed rest to fix her problem.

This is a problem if ever there was one. Mum can not look after the children any longer. No more getting out of bed in the middle of the night, or even being able to change a nappy.

Sure papa can get the slack and do feeds, nappy modifications, baths plus whatever else which accompanies parenting. However, he can just do this prior to and after company hours. Throughout the day he should work to generate the dollars. Dad can't even handle a second-night job or weekend task, as who would look after the kids then?

As this household has no one else who can care for their kids, they need to now check out day care. Just to put a baby plus a 3-year-old in daycare will cost this family $514 a week, and this is after the additional federal government payments.

Deduct this off their staying $168. Now every week they are losing $346.

If they rely on their $2000 cost savings to pay the weekly loss of $346 they will use all of it in 6 weeks.

At the end of 6 weeks, this household will have to go into financial obligation. As their cost savings will be non-existent and they still will be losing cash at the rate of $346 a week.

The most typical thing people carry out in this circumstance is to rely on credit cards. If the family loses $346 every week for the final 6 weeks of mum's injury, at the end of the 3 months they would have incurred a $2046 costs. An expense, which by the method is incurring interest at 20% a year.

Guess what, mum is all better after 3 months. She is back on board and there are no more daycare costs to pay. They go back to their previous scenario of remaining in front of $168 a week after taxes, house mortgage, and bills.

Now they can start utilizing this to pay off the charge card. It will still take them 3 months and 1 week to pay for the credit card/ interest by using their extra $168 a week. From day one of mum's injury, it will take a total of 6 months and one week to pay all the bills. They will lose their $2000 cost savings plus need to pay a charge card financial obligation of $2168. The total loss to them is $4168 or an extra $21.93 a day to survive.

As you can see, medical costs can strike you for six. Fortunately for this household, they had $2000 in cost savings. Plus their home loan was not very high in the plan of things (when you think about in Victoria average rates are above $500,000 for an average home). Likewise at the time, Mum was hurt, they had no charge card financial obligation, no individual loan debt, no automobile loans, no interest-free loans, and the injury didn't cost them anything in medical costs. Had they had any among these other problems they might have lost their house.

Can you see why it is so essential you have a standby fund? You require to have loan saved away simply in case. A lot of people play with fire and never consider this type of circumstance. They are truly surviving on the edge.

[howtousecreditcardwisely]

How To Use Credit Card Wisely

Some agree that credit cards give us great convenience, others see credit cards as evil who ruined their life. I was almost "ruined" by credit cards before I gradually know how to use it wisely. I've been a terrible loser on credit card issues. Over limit fees, late fees bothered me almost every month. What I paid was less than the financial charges. I worked hard every day to found my debt growing larger and larger.

Now my life is getting better and better as I learned how to manage credit cards. I know there are millions of people like me, who are struggling with credit card debt, and I really want to share all of my tips.

For different people, there are different strategies regarding credit card usage.

1. Before you apply for a credit card, think more about what kind of person you are.

If you are not a self-controlled person, if you spend whatever you have, DO NOT use credit card. Once you get a credit card, you will take the credit limit as part of your savings, and finally use it up. And that is the most terrible thing for a credit card user. Imagine if you have a credit card with credit limit of more than $10,000, it will take you years to pay it off. Creditors like to allure your interest by offering high credit limit. Some even offer 0% APR for the first year. If you get on the hook, and used up the limit, it will take you forever to free yourself.

If you are not an organized person, don't apply for more than 3 credit cards. Managing multiple credit cards is much more difficult than you thought. One more credit card mean one more bill, one more deadline. You have to pay them all in time to avoid late fee. If you don't carry a lot of balance, you may need pay attention to the grace period to avoid interest. If you carry a lot of balance, and paying interest is no longer a surprise to you, you have to worry about the available credits of each card, you don't want to go over limit.

If you are not a careful person, only apply for popular credit cards that are well known to most people. Don't apply for store credit cards, or credit cards offered by small creditors that you never heard of. Yes, you are protected by law, and they are not likely to cheat you. But in their membership agreements, there may be special rules like hidden charges, obligations or anything you don't want. Most people won't be careful enough to read through all these agreements before signing them.

2. Do all what to can to avoid fees

Fees are one of the major income streams of creditors. But if you are careful enough, you can get rid of these fees easily.

Adopt an automatic payment system to avoid late fees. A lot of checking accounts have the capability to send payment automatically to credit cards. I use Bank of America checking account, it can receive e-bills from credit card companies and pay either the minimum or full payment automatically before the due date (you can set how many days ahead).

Keep a record of available credits of different cards to avoid over limit fees. You can attach a sticker to each card, write down your available credit on the sticker, and update the number whenever you swipe the card. I use the portfolio feature in Bank of America's online banking to keep track of all my credit cards.

If your card has a low or zero introductory APR, keep in mind the introductory period, and try your best to pay off the card before the period ends.

Some store credit cards, like Bestbuy store card, offer no payment within certain time of purchase. Remember to pay off the amount before that period ends. Otherwise you will have to pay a huge amount of default fees!

Think twice before you take cash out of your credit card. Credit card companies tend to encourage you to use the cash advance service by sending your checks, giving you an ATM PIN... But don't do that unless you have no other choice, cash advance fee is very high.

Some credit card offers 0% balance transfer promotion, which is misleading. Sometimes 0% balance transfer is not equal to free balance transfer. The 0% here means balance transfer APR, but they still charge you balance transfer fee (around 3-4%). Well, some credit cards do offer real free balance transfer, you just need to be careful and verify before you transfer.

3. If you carry high balances on one or more cards, following tips may be helpful for you to eliminate your debt.

DO NOT file bankruptcy until the last minute! Bankruptcy is listed in the top 5 life-altering negative events that we can go through, along with divorce, severe illness, disability, and loss of a loved one. There are plenty of things that you can do to change the reality.

If you don't have a strong determination, pay off your debt from the card with lowest balance. send a little more than minimum payments to all your credit cards, and pay the rest of free money to the card with lowest balance. Keep the process going, and you will see your situation getting better and better.

If you have strong faith, try the more efficient method: pay off debt from the card with highest interest rate. Send minimum payment to all credit cards, and use the rest of the free money to pay the card with highest interest. This process could be hard, because you may find your self dealing with same amount of cards for a long time. But this the the most efficient way: total interest is the lowest.

No matter which method you use, use up all the free money, your savings account's interest rate is much lower than credit card's. Just be sure you have enough money to survive...

If you are not self-controlled, cut or dump your card when you pay it off. Otherwise you will use it again, and all your previous efforts will be spoiled.