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inukag-archive · 2 years

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Hello, I love The Half Breeds Wife by Gypsyn and For Better or Worse by Anime Wildfire. Do you have any recommendations for stories where Inuyasha and Kagome get married early on and navigate feudal Japan together? Thank you!

Hello, anon! We’ll admit that this was a bit of a challenge, but we did our best to find fics that take place in feudal Japan, where InuKag get married early in the story and go on adventures as husband and wife. We took a few liberties here and there in order to provide you with more options, so some of the stories on this list may not check every box (such as the feudal Japan setting or the timing of the marriage), but we really hope that you find something you enjoy!

To start, we’ve included links to the two stories referenced, for anyone who may not have read them. The rest of the list consists of similar stories compiled by our fic-finders.

The Half-Breed’s Wife by @gypsin (T)

On the night of the new moon, a runaway girl stumbles into Inuyasha's life. Little did he realize then what he would be undertaking by saving her. But when Kagome has nowhere else to go will he leave her to her fate Or will he rise to the occasion? And what will the humans think?

For Better or Worse by Anime Wildfire (T)

Kagome, priestess in training, turns her life upside down when she saves the life of the half demon Inuyasha… and accidentally finds herself bound to him via pesky subjugation beads. This is not how she thought her day- or her life- was going to go.

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Cannot Be Broken by White Dire Wolf (M)

Kagome has unknown powers. Found and raised by Sesshomaru, will she master these powers in time before she is taken? Even after she recklessly agreed to marry his enemy and brother, InuYasha? Rated for language, limes and lemon.

Early Crossing by Lady Elisabeth (T)

The love story of the hanyou and the miko is familiar to many. However, when a grievous tragedy forces Kagome's early arrival in the Feudal Era, the ramifications extend farther than either of the two fated lovers will perhaps ever realize.

Your Lying Smile by @dawnrider (M)

A beautiful day by the river quickly takes a turn, taking control of her life completely out of Kagome's hands. Her "rescuer" becomes something else entirely before she can get a word in edgewise. Feudal-esue AU

The Price of a Wish by @lazy8blog (T)

When a daiyoukai showed up at Kagome's village and demanded she do the impossible, against all odds, she somehow managed to do it anyway... but at what price?

The Shikon Princess by Stormcloud17 (E)

Marriage is sacred. It is meant to be between two people who held love for one another. Meant to start a happy and joyous life together.

That is, unless you're royalty. Then, you don't have much choice in the matter.

Kagome had just reached her 15th birthday when the Shikon Jewel was sent to her, an act of proposal on behalf of the Inu-Yokai clan, asking her hand in marriage to their Hanyo prince, Son of the late, great Lord Toga, as an act to secure his half of the western lands, Musashi.

Now, 3 years later, Kagome is finally to be delivered to her husband, a far less than willing participant in his father's affairs that lead to a mortal woman being laid on the doorstep of his palace wrapped in silks like a present.

~Once the red strings of fate become tangled, it cannot be unraveled~

The Shogun’s Daughter by @shnuggletea (E)

Kagome's father passed away when she was just a child but his Shogun status still makes her a valuable bride to a Lord of lands that border their village. Lord Inuyasha Tashio is pushed by the council into marriage, assured his new bride was an excellent choice. All their fears and anxiety are amplified when they meet.

Who’s the Outcast? by Wordsorcereress (T)

He was a hanyou, she was a human, he was called 'halfbreed' because of his blood, she was called a witch because of her demon accepting ways, he was sealed because of what he was, she is isolated because of what she does... Who's the REAL outcast here?

The 500 Year Bride by JijiAndGecko (G)

AU where Izayoi lives and sets up an arranged marriage for Kagome and Inuyasha almost immediately after she meets Kagome. They decide to fake it til they get the jewel shards, but then things get complicated. Over 200 pages of shenanigans! I wrote this story for myself so Kagome is demi now but otherwise I tried to keep everyone as in character as possible.

A Bloom in the Night by @petri808 (G)

Empress Higurashi is placed in a dire situation after her husband the Emperor was killed under troubling circumstances. A neighboring Kingdom is pressuring her to give them her daughter, Princess Kagome. Desperate, she contacts the Yokai ruler who oversees their territory for help, the Inu no Taisho. His son, Inuyasha becomes part of the answer... or really was Kagome herself all the strength they needed?

By the Match, Not the Flame by @goshinote (M)

Inuyasha is a hellbent hanyo on a mission for revenge. Kagome is a wanted miko on the run. Their intentions align in more ways than one, but secrets abound between them as they partner up during their travels. With an inevitable and impending betrayal looming over them, the pressure rises with every day they spend moving closer to the enemy’s clutches.

#inukag archive #inukag fanfic #early feudal marriage #feudal AU

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cyclone-rachel · 4 years

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👀

I’m not really working on anything except for the next chapter of Pay the Asking Price right now (because I want the chapter to come out on January 15th, when 3x10 first aired) but here’s the beginning of that chapter!

@ithinkthingsaboutstuff because I think you might like this too

Querl carried three pints of ice cream in his hands, as he walked from the freezer to the living room, and handed two to Kara before settling down on the couch beside her with one for himself.

“Wow.” Kara commented, starting to eat her ice cream, as he slowly did the same. “Six seasons in, and Kira and Odo finally got together.”

“Yes.” Querl said. “However, even though they have faced many challenges in their relationship, it is still questionable whether or not said relationship will last.”

“How can you say that? You saw how he admitted to the fake Kira that he was in love with her in season 3. And you’ve seen how much she cares about him, too.”

“Yes, but they are in the midst of a great conflict- and you, too, know the kind of people that they are. They would uphold their responsibilities above that relationship without question.”

Kara sighed.

“I guess you’re right. But they’re so perfect for each other…”

“If you do want peace of mind on this, you could always look up how things end for them.”

“Never. I wanted to make sure neither of us are spoiled on this.”

“And I am glad that you made that decision, as this has been quite an enjoyable experience.” Querl answered. “Even though television is still a primitive concept, and this program’s depiction of the future is highly inaccurate.”

“Well, it was what they thought the future would look like at the time.” Kara said. “You want to see an even older portrayal of the future? I should take you to Disneyland.”

Querl stared at her.

“…You probably don’t have that in your time, do you.”

“No… there are records that mention it, but its location was assumed to be the headquarters of a Mus musculus- or, house mouse- worshipping cult.”

“Oh.”

“But that is not relevant.” Querl said. “And I should stop interrupting. Are you sure Alex isn’t coming to join us?”

“Yeah, she said the DEO was keeping an eye on something that’s moving toward Earth. Apparently they just passed the moon.” Kara answered, continuing to eat one of her pints of ice cream. “If it’s trouble, she’ll let us know.”

“Right.” Querl said, trying to focus on the program, and isolating his very real fear into one of his thought tracks. This was supposed to be a date- a calming night in with Kara, and what, despite his criticisms, was one of his favorite sources of entertainment. She’d introduced him to it, as she had said he should get educated on the classics, and this one was something both her parents and Winn recommended, but she’d never seen. They were drawn into it together, watching episodes at a time in between their own responsibilities and the occasional other movie that Alex would bring for sister night or Kara would put on during game night.

But all that seemed trivial compared to the science fiction story that was playing out in their lives.

#papa don't look #rachel answers questions #loveofshows #karadox #supergirl #fanfics #minifics #ish #ship: believe in all the possibilities #kara danvers #kara zor el #querl dox #brainiac 5

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wearesorcerer · 4 years

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Crossblooded: Abyssal/Shadow

This one is by request of @i-am-the-incendiary-anarchist. If anyone else has a combo they would like me to analyze, just send me an ask.

The short version of this one (flavor aside): Abyssal is primarily focused on Strength-based melee attacks, while Shadow is entirely about Stealth. Focusing on both as-is would be a detriment unless you’re planning to be an Eldritch Knight (or some other gish build). However, if you pick one over the other (in IA’s case, Shadow) and use the other more as a supplement, then you’ll end up with a couple of interesting benefits.

General

There’s basically no overlap between these two bloodlines, which makes this a tricky wicket. It’s not precisely a candidate for the Eldritch Heritage feat chain, however, as you can use one bloodline to shore up issues with the other.

The closest to an overlap is in summoning. The Shadow bloodline provides shadow conjuration as a 9th-level bonus spell and its 20th level ability adds the benefits of Augmented Summoning to that spell. Abyssal’s arcana applies to spells of the summoning subschool, which shadow conjuration is not, but its 15th-level ability (summon an additional creature of the same kind whenever you summon a creature with the Demon subtype or the fiendish template) would because “summon” isn’t quite the same thing as “summoning subschool.” Yes, you’re going to be at an extremely high level before you see any benefit of this overlap.

If there were a feat (probably metamagic) that would allow you to treat Illusion (Shadow) effects as Conjuration (Summoning) ones, you’d gain the benefits of the Abyssal bloodline’s arcana as soon as you learned shadow conjuration, which would be amazing. I am not aware of such a feat, but I have barely started to peruse third-party material and am finding all sorts of tasty trinkets, so it’s possible that there’s something that would do this out there.

Bloodline Features

Bonus Class Skills: Stealth and Knowledge (Planes), natch. Stealth is useful in most campaigns anyway, so it’s good, and Knowledge (Planes) will become mildly relevant when using summoning and shadow conjuration.

Bonus Feats:

Abyssal - Augment Summoning, Cleave, Empower Spell, Great Fortitude, Improved Bull Rush, Improved Sunder, Power Attack, Skill Focus (Knowledge [Planes])

Shadow - Acrobatic, Blind-Fight, Dodge, Quick Draw, Silent Spell, Skill Focus (Stealth), Stealthy, Weapon Finesse.

As I said, Abyssal is heavily Strength-focused and Shadow is heavily Dex-focused. IA’s build is mostly Shadow, from what she has said, so feat-wise you’re probably not going to want much from Abyssal besides Augment Summoning (which won’t apply to Shadow spells) and Skill Focus (Knowledge [Planes]).

Bonus Spells: 3rd - cause fear/ray of enfeeblement, 5th - bull’s strength/darkvision, 7th - rage/deeper darkness, 9th - stoneskin/shadow conjuration, 11th - dismissal/shadow evocation, 13th - transformation/shadow walk, 15th - greater teleport/power word blind, 17th - unholy aura/greater shadow evocation, 19th - summon monster ix/shades

The only spell on these lists that isn’t a Sorcerer spell is unholy aura, which in this case I wouldn’t take because you’ll want greater shadow evocation. It’s a little odd that greater shadow conjuration isn’t a bonus spell, but that leaves you open for greater teleport, which is always useful (not that power word blind isn’t). Since this is more Shadow supplemented with Abyssal than the other way around, the only bonus spells I’d take from Abyssal are cause fear (because ray of enfeeblement doesn’t stack with itself) and maybe bull’s strength (because chances are you’ll already have darkvision as a racial trait and will be wanting See in Darkness anyway). Dismissal is fun, but you’ll want shadow evocation first anyway.

Arcana: creatures you summon via a spell of the summoning subschool gain DR (1/2 sorcerer level, minimum 1)/good, but it doesn’t stack with any DR they might already have; gain a circumstance bonus on Stealth = [darkness] spell’s level for 1d4 rounds.

The Abyssal bloodline’s arcana is one of the few things that points that bloodline towards summoning: it combos with the class skill (eh), Augmented Summoning bonus feat (which you need Spell Focus [Conjuration] for anyway), and 15th-level ability. The rest of the bloodline is about Strength.

While the Shadow bloodline’s bonus spells are primarily from the Shadow subschool and do not have the [Darkness] descriptor, that’s not a difficult issue to work around. The arcana synergizes with the bloodline’s 9th-level ability, could with the 1st-level ability (if it weren’t crap), and would with the 3rd-level ability if you could find a way of turning darkvision into See in Darkness.

Bloodline Powers:

1st: Two claws for 3 + Cha mod rounds (1d4 slashing; 5th - magic weapons; 7th - 1d6; 11th - +1d6 fire) or shadowstrike (melee touch attack that deals 1d4 + 1/2 Sor level nonlethal; targets without low-light vision or darkvision are dazzled for 1 minute). Take the claws: unless you find a way to upgrade dazzled to blinded, shadowstrike is worthless. You can deal nonlethal damage with weapon attacks (not sure about spells or energy attacks), so this is a restriction, and dazzled is the least effective condition in the game.

3rd: Electricity resistance 5 and +2 on saves vs. poison (+5 and +2 at 9th level) or Darkvision +30 ft. (+60 at 9th). Unless you’ve managed to gain the See in Darkness ability without a range limitation, the Darkvision is much less situational. Further, if you opt for the Abyssal’s 20th-level ability, the 3rd-level one becomes a dud.

9th: +2 inherent bonus to Str (+4 at 13th, +6 at 17th) or Shadow Well (hide in plain sight as long as you’re within 10 feet of a shadow besides your own, 1/day [+1 use at 17th and 20th] use a standard action to transpose yourself and a willing ally within 60 ft. [or at 13th swap two allies each within 60 ft. of you] as dimension door if all targets are in dim or lower light). Both of these are useful. An inherent bonus is the sort of bonus you get from wishes or tomes, but they usually cap at +5. Hide in Plain Sight is a lot of fun, but is fairly easy to get through prestiging, and the rest works like benign transposition (a 1st-level spell), but with slightly better range (but the lighting restriction).

15th: As mentioned, the Abyssal one adds a single duplicate summoned creature whenever you summon a demon or a creature with the fiendish subtype and works with the Shadow bloodline’s 20th-level ability. The Shadow bloodline’s 15th-level power is enveloping darkness (1/day deeper darkness that also entangles; you are immune to it, freedom of movement works as normal), which is crap for this level. (At a lower level it would be awesome.)

20th: Immunity to electricity and poison; Acid, Cold, and Fire resistance 10; and telepathy 60 ft. or +20% more real shadow conjurations and evocations and any creatures so created gain the benefits of the Augmented Summoning feat. Immunity is no laughing matter and this capstone gives you immunity or resistance to most of the major damage types and then gives you telepathy, but all of these are more easily gained through items. The Shadow bloodline’s power is better, especially since you don’t need to take either Augmented Summoning or Spell Focus (Conjuration) to benefit from it.

I’d go Abyssal (claws)/Shadow (Darkvision)/Shadow (shadow well)/Abyssal (added summonings)/Shadow (shadow master).

Since shadow evocation is on the table, I’d also recommend the Bloodline Mutation “Blood Havoc,” which adds one point of damage per die rolled for damaging spells from your bloodline or from schools in which you have Spell Focus. If you can convince your DM to let Crossblooded and Wildblooded stack, get the arcana from the Brutal (Abyssal) wildbloodline (one target takes +2 damage from spells that deal hit point damage).

Miscellany

From what I’ve gathered from this and IA’s description, the character should be a Tiefling, but could easily work as a Fetchling, Wayang, or similar. I’d go with Tiefling because it has the most support and you can take Improved Fiendish Sorcery to gain an additional +2 bump on class abilities (the wording allows it to stack with Fiendish Sorcery, so you’re talking Cha +4 for any class ability; that might include spell save DCs).

If you’re not taking the See in Darkness alternate racial instead of darkness 1/day, you can get it via the Fiend Sight feat (if you take that twice). Personally, I’d take the alternate racial, since I’m not sure your bloodline arcana will apply to your spell-like ability under PF rules (it would under 3.5 rules, but I think PF went out of its way to quash Warlock-enabling builds), though there are racial feats that make use of that SLA. Either way, See in Darkness negates the 3rd-level ability from the Shadow bloodline and would be more useful (it’d work with the bloodline arcana, for instance). If the Abyssal bloodline’s resistances don’t appeal (for a Tiefling, you get the bonus against Poison and your Electricity resistance would improve at 9th level), the Blood Intensity mutation works well with Blood Havoc.

The Shadow bloodline practically demands something like Arcane Trickster (Shadowdancer, Unseen Seer, etc.), but that would cost you your late level bloodline powers. If you do decide to go that route, I’d find ways of getting needed class features (e.g., Sneak Attack) without multiclassing and then finding feats to boost your effective Sorcerer level for determining what bloodline powers you have (like Magical Enigma). The UndeFEATable series has several feats for Arcane Tricksters; you’d absolutely want Devious Bloodline (bonus spells) and Greater Devious Bloodline (power of bloodline powers), but you’d need more than just that. (It almost begs to have another feat in the series -- Supreme Devious Bloodline: add your Arcane Trickster level to your Sorcerer level for determining what Bloodline powers you have.)

There are undoubtedly other options out there for such a character. Check around; you might find something interesting.

#Crossblooded #Abyssal #Abyssal Bloodline #Shadow #Shadow Bloodline #Shadow Sorcerer

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hope-for-olicity · 5 years

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Fabulous Olicity Fanfic Friday - February 15th, 2019

Happy Friday! So this is my attempt to both thank awesome fanfic writers for their amazing work and offer my recommendations to anyone who is interested. Here are the fantastic fanfic stories I read this week! They are posted in the order I read them. This and all previous Fabulous Olicity Fanfic posts can be found on my blog.

Time for a Story multi-chapter WIP by @smkkbert - This fic shows Olicity and their life as a (married) couple with family. Although Olicity (and their kids) are the protagonists, other characters of Arrow and Flash make appearances. YOU NEED THIS STORY IN YOUR LIFE. https://archiveofourown.org/works/3912157/chapters/8757172

Some Comfort Needed by CaptainSammyAngel - After leaving J'onns office in 4x10, Kara needs advice from someone with a younger sister and the one person she can think of is a certain green-hooded vigilante. Will she get the advice she's looking for or will his advice be ill-advised? https://archiveofourown.org/works/17671556

Together (Post 7x12) by @dust2dust34 - Post 7x12. Felicity tells Oliver about William, but it’s so much more than that. https://archiveofourown.org/works/15714660/chapters/41686247

Arrow Out of Context: "I don't even have a regular plan" ARGUS part 4 multi-chapter WIP by @smoaking-greenarrow - Prompts: “Please tell me you have a brilliant plan.” and “I don’t even have a regular plan.” https://archiveofourown.org/works/14957309/chapters/41691815

Our Version of Events multi-chapter WIP by @machawicket and @geneeste - Action star Ollie Queen is trying to clean up his image and land parts that require him to do more than appear shirtless while fighting stuntmen. Pop star Felicity Smoak wants to be seen as an adult in time for the release of her new, grittier album. And talent manager John Diggle’s got an idea about what coverage of Oliver and Felicity’s brand new (and totally fake) romance could do for them both. http://archiveofourown.org/works/8025382/chapters/18375349

Olicity Dialogue Prompt: Meet Me At Midnight. Alone. by @originalhybridloverfics - Dialogue prompt. Smut warning. https://originalhybridloverfics.tumblr.com/post/182600084154/olicity-dialogue-prompt-meet-me-at-midnight

seemingly impossible (but not untrue) multi-chapter WIP by @alexiablackbriar13 - Young genius historian Dr Felicity Smoak unknowingly and accidentally calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript within the Oxford Bodleian Libraries - a book that has been lost for centuries. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Felicity wants nothing to do with magic, despite her unruly and powerful abilities. But her discovery of Ashmole 782 sets the world of creatures stirring; with a mystery afoot and new, dangerous magical abilities manifesting for her to navigate, she is approached by the enigmatic vampire biochemist Professor Oliver Queen, who seems to have a deep interest in both the manuscript… and her. Based on A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. https://archiveofourown.org/works/16224353/chapters/37923743

The Fan multi-chapter WIP by @leuska - For the past couple of months, Felicity Smoak, previous child star known to the world through her alter ego Lisy the Tech Whiz, who ended her career and her growing popularity at the age of thirteen rather abruptly, has sporadically received disturbing notes and gifts in her mail. Police believe the notes to be just little tokens of appreciation by a former fan. Despite having left the spotlight over a decade ago and living in anonymity since, the fan mail keeps coming, increasing in frequency as well as intensity. The last drop is when Felicity receives another letter with a love note. A scary, ominous note. A note written in human blood.FBI director Amanda Waller tasks her best Agent to the case. Oliver Queen, a criminal profiler, is currently working on a special task force formed between SCPD and FBI to catch a man dubbed the Start City Slasher, who has murdered at least three young women in the past nine months. Agent Queen is not thrilled with the prospect of holding a former princess’ hand through her problem with a simple stalker while a serial killer is still at large. However, once meeting her, Oliver finds there is nothing easy or simple about Felicity Smoak as their worlds start to intertwine. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17726573/chapters/41820368

Quick Fix 7x12 by TimeforAstory - A quick fix for episode 712. Not the whole documentary thing that I was really looking forward from the episode description, that didn't have anything to do with it. I missed Felicity. I missed Olicity. I missed OTA. I miss everything that made Arrow a great show...Sorry for the ramble. I'm just really sad for what my show has become. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17688086

Shades multi-chapter Complete by @geneshaven - Felicity is preparing to spend the holidays with her guys Chapter 1: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/181215821029/shades Chapter 2: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/181291236319/shades Chapter 3: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/181398973624/shades Chapter 4: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/181513399444/shades Chapter 5: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/181607993734/shades Chapter 6: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/182028355089/shades Chapter 7: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/182214818554/shades Chapter 8: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/182265990139/shades Chapter 9: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/182394286309/shades Chapter 10: https://geneshaven.tumblr.com/post/182626910414/shades

With the Speed of an Arrow multi-chapter WIP by @academyofshipping - Oliver Queen’s elite and silver-spoon life has taken some blows in the past few years, but he is still the carefree billionaire everyone knows of and loves. When his role in the family business is in jeopardy and he is introduced to a motley of new people, his status quo is threatened. With a changed perspective, Oliver realizes his feeling for his best friend and anchor-in-life, Felicity Smoak, may be more than just platonic. OR A modern adaption of Jane Austen’s Emma with a gender swap* and no island. *Knowing that gender is not binary https://archiveofourown.org/works/16559846/chapters/38799857

Will Fate Allow? multi-chapter WIP by @mindramblingsfics - Seeing her parent's marriage dissolve at a young age made Felicity yearn for a healthy marriage of her own. She thought she'd finally found what she was looking for when Billy Malone showed up offering her what her heart desired. She thought she was happy and had everything she could want, but things began to unravel. Slowly she turned to someone who had become an unparalleled constant in her life...Oliver Queen. Oliver and Felicity are the definition of polar opposites. He is the mob boss that strikes fear in the hearts many, while she is seen as the sweet girl next door, but there is more to both of them underneath the surface. Along the way, they become connected to one another leading to their lives being intertwined forever. https://archiveofourown.org/works/16521596/chapters/38699951

Love and Little Cupcakes multi-chapter WIP by @christinabeggs - Felicity loved sweets so much that she paid no attention to her lovelife. Until Thea Queen came into her store wanting fabulous cupcakes for her sixteenth birthday. SO ADORABLE! http://archiveofourown.org/works/12400539/chapters/28216053

Home To You multi-chapter WIP by @the-shy-and-anxious-fangirl - Oliver Queen has never done what his family expected of him. He took a gap year after high school instead of going to college right away. He quit his fraternity sophomore year to join the student newspaper, switching his major from business to journalism. He became a photojournalist for a wire service instead of taking a place at Queen Consolidated. He went missing after six months instead of coming home for his sister’s twenty-first birthday. He survived five years of captivity in a war zone when everyone thought he was dead. He came home. But home didn’t have a place for him in it anymore. His parents were both dead, casualties of their own mistakes and a city they had turned against them. His sister was all grown up, the CEO of Queen Consolidated with a fiancé and a dog and a life of her own. Oliver didn’t belong in his old life, but there was nowhere else for him to go. He was a man without a home, without any way of finding one, until he stopped by the IT department of his sister’s company to get files off an old, battered memory card, and found a woman with curly blonde hair and bright, intelligent eyes chewing on a bright red pen and swearing at a computer screen. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12613188/chapters/28734552

Do You Remember multi-chapter WIP by @smkkbert - Eight years after Oliver and Felicity became teenage parents, they have everything they could have ever hoped for and more. They have a good life in a nice house. Their marriage is happy, and a second baby is on its way. The calm they have settled in is interrupted abruptly when a stalker starts terrorizing Felicity. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17409059/chapters/40978307

Charmed I'm Sure! multi-chapter WIP by @christinabeggs - What happens when three witchy sisters take on the evil in the world? https://archiveofourown.org/works/15852249/chapters/36922482

Nothing Breaks Like a Heart multi-chapter WIP by @by-mintsea - Oliver and Felicity struggle to reconnect after they leave Slabside. There is a lifetime of hurt festering inside both of them, but with the events of 7x08 and Elseworlds turning their lives upside down, can they figure everything out between them in time for William's return? (All the in between things we should have seen on screen in 7x08 and Elseworlds instead of what the writers gave us). https://archiveofourown.org/works/17221298/chapters/40496489

Pieces of Always multi-chapter WIP by @so-caffeinated and @dust2dust34 - Life continues after Forever is Composed of Nows. Ongoing non-linear collection of family moments for the Queens. http://archiveofourown.org/works/8220479/chapters/18840356

Overwatch multi-chapter WIP by @it-was-a-red-heeler - A burglary attempt convinces the Mayor of Starling City to hire Smoak Technologies to strengthen his security. But between the sassy AI watching him 24/7 and the personal trainer with his own reasons to kill him, Oliver may wish he’d stuck with his baseball bat for protection. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17500640/chapters/41221793

Run to the Water multi-chapter Complete by @someonesaidcake - The year is 1912, Oliver was 9 and far too old to be babysitting that nonsensical girl Felicity whose parents owned the cattle ranch where his parents worked and lived, but she won him over with oat and raisin biscuits and soon became his little blonde sidekick...with a completely unrequited crush on him. Years later she returns from boarding school and more than bush fires ignite in the changing times.... https://archiveofourown.org/works/7455738/chapters/16942293

Just Beneath the Surface multi-chapter Complete by @smoaking-greenarrow arrow - When an S.O.S signal is sent to the FBI from a woman named Felicity Smoak, Director Oliver Queen knows that she is in grave danger. He can’t help but notice the haunting similarities between what’s happening to her and what happened nine years ago; in thirteen unsolved cold cases that drove ex-agent John Diggle out of the bureau. With a race against the clock, Oliver enlists the help of his old mentor to reopen the investigation, and hopefully save Felicity’s life. https://archiveofourown.org/works/16239002/chapters/37963052

You Built Me from a Broken Heart (So Now What's Mine is Ours) multi-chapter by WIP longlivefelicitythequeen - Felicity meets Bratva Captain Oliver Queen at the Starling City Ball http://archiveofourown.org/works/5797147/chapters/13361644

A Quiet Valentine's by @alexiablackbriar13 - Part of the Man's Best Friend Series - Oliver and Felicity celebrate their first Valentine's Day as a couple (with Hunter!) There's blanket forts, cute banter, gift giving and of course, lots of cuddling. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17787413

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maidenariana · 6 years

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Long but Hopefully Helpful Post

As promised, here is a write-up about the last 7 days of my gender confirmation surgery recovery (11/29/17 to 12/6/17). My surgery was completed on November 15th. At this point, I am now three weeks post-op.

During this past week, I mainly rested and watched tons of Netflix. My movement was still very limited at the beginning of this period. Each time I would lift myself up from a laying position, I would be sore and have to move carefully.

On Thursday 11/30/17, I had a follow up appointment at my surgeon’s office. The goal for this appointment was to check my healing progress, but it was also for a lesson in dilating, and the point at which I would begin self-dilating sessions at home. It took me a while to decide what level of detail to write about dilation. There are many posts out there about it already and each surgeon seems to have a slightly different recommended schedule. I want to again point out that my desire for gender confirmation surgery has always been about bringing my body into alignment with my gender. It has never been about a desire to have a phallic shaped object up inside of me. As I discussed in other posts, gender is experienced neurologically, and some of us are born with our body out of alignment with our gender (it really is fairly simple to explain!). Sexual preference and desire are all separate from gender. I of course read a ton about this surgery and I knew that dilation can be both tedious and painful and eventually some do find it pleasurable. I was not sure what to expect, only that along with everything I have committed to in pursuing this surgery, I was committing to eventually dilating on a schedule. The intent of my blog has always been to hopefully be a positive resource for other transgender people while also educating others about what life is like for us. Bearing that in mind, here is my recount of my experience at my “dilation appointment.” This may be TMI (too much information) for some, and if you are a family member of mine, feel free to skip this post ;)

-- Dilation Details (and my appointment play-by-play)--

My Mom drove me to the appointment since I still was not supposed to sit upright and was not cleared for driving. I ride with the seat back as far as it can go and with a small pillow under one thigh to sort of side-saddle the seat. The appointment began with a brief check in with one of the nurses who just confirmed what I was there for and she gave me a gown with instructions to remove all clothing. The whole surgical team walked in once I was ready. It was my surgeon, his attending physician and physician’s assistant. At this point, I am of course familiar with all of them and being basically naked in front of them was no big deal. This appointment, like dilation itself is a procedure with a medical purpose so I looked at it as such. They asked how I was doing, we talked briefly about the additional stitches and the scare I had only 3 days prior to the appointment. One of them checked the recent stitches and said they looked good and assured me that there was very little risk of the issue repeating.

With that, one of them asked if I remembered to bring the dilators. There were 5 dilators in total that were given to me at the hospital and I certainly did not forget to bring them. The dilators come in varying sizes from small to scary big. The beginning ones are pliable while the later stage ones are rigid. They proceeded to clean the first two dilators and told me that I would only be starting out with those two and moving up to the third only when I was ready. I was given instructions on cleaning the dilators. They are cleaned simply with non-abrasive anti-bacterial soap. I was told that I should also clean them with betadine a couple of times a week. Next, I was told to use tons of lube and that KY Jelly (of which I had already acquired a 4-pack of from amazon) was perfect for the job.

The team were all wearing gloves of course. My surgeon personally instructed me as he began my first dilation. The first dilator is yellow and you can see it in a picture a little later in this post. It was shown to me heavily lubed so I had an idea on the amount I should use. The surgeon suggested that I place lube on my finger to locate the right position of my vagina for insertion (as it is not very easy to see looking down in a prone position, but you get the hang of it really quickly based on the length of your arm and if you are in a similar position each time), however he was going to do so this time. He quickly mentioned the location of the various parts of my new anatomy (all of which I already knew, but he was being thorough), giving each a light touch as he went. He did ask if I could feel him touching the clitoris (as there is a very small chance feeling can be lost in any given area). I told him that I could feel it and he said “That’s good!”

I was told to be as relaxed as possible. Using breathing or any other relaxation techniques that I know. In general, I am fairly good at easing tension in muscles with breathing and intentional “letting go” of tension. When you concentrate on doing this you can almost always find a few more muscles in your body that are still tense that you need to consciously release. However, in this instance, it did take me a bit. I will explain why in a moment.

It was time, my surgeon began to slowly insert the first dilator at a 45 degree angle and instructed me as he went. There is a point very early on where it will stop and that is when downward pressure is also applied to change the angle of the dilator to be more parallel with my body. This is done very slowly and steadily. Imagine insertion being done at a constant very slow pace that will take 3 to 5 minutes to complete. This is tissue that is still in the process of healing and there is to be no thrusting and no tearing! With the dilator about 75% of the way in I did voice some pain. I had not relaxed my body enough. I think I was struggling because of the mindset I had been living under in the days prior to this appointment. I was treating my body like it was made of fragile glass.. especially after the bleeding scare and being rushed to the ER for more stitches. I was harboring fear of more issues and I was tense. The surgeon gently pushed down on both of my legs (I was laying in a frog-legged position) to show me that there was still lots of room to relax and that my body could do it. I breathed more, called up some calmness from somewhere and felt even my shoulders relax more. The pain eased and before I knew it the dilator was all the way in. The surgical team acted like a bunch of cheerleaders for a moment and congratulated me. I was instructed to hold it there for around 5 minutes or a little more before moving onto the larger orange dilator. This stair stepping approach teaches the body to relax and accept each larger size while keeping the vagina from losing depth.

Removing the first dilator also has to happen slowly to prevent tissue damage, although it is still much faster than the painstakingly slow insertion. The next dilator went in just like the first as far as the angle and then change of angle after that initial stopping point. I was worried there would be more painful moments with this one and there were a couple, but I just had to again do some mental easing of tension and eventually we were there. With the orange one fully inserted it was certainly more uncomfortable to hold in place for the full 5 minutes, but I managed it. The surgeon slowly removed the second dilator and just like that we were done. I was told that cleanup would obviously be a little messy and to of course wipe front to back just like cleanup after urinating (duh!). Wearing a good pad is a must as even though you may think you have all of the lube out some more will eventually find its way out.

I was instructed to initially dilate twice a day with these two dilators and to douche once a day after both dilating sessions. Douching involves using about 400ml of a 1-to-1 solution of water and vinegar, followed by a similar amount of just water to clear out the vinegar residue. I was also told to douche once or twice a week with a 1-to-1 solution of water and Betadine, followed by just water again to clear it out. Betadine is the same iodine based (thankfully I do not have an iodine allergy) solution that is used on skin in surgery. Its color is horrifying and as I eventually found out.. douching with it looks like something out of a horror movie. No joke. Bleghh!!

I was again congratulated by the team and I was told that everything is healing great and despite my one setback that I have been doing amazingly well. I thanked them all, and was told I may be a little shaky getting up (I was!). I was told to come back the following Wednesday to have the stitches I got in the ER removed. After they left, I got cleaned up and dressed. I stopped in the bathroom real quick and took the photo below. My head was spinning thinking about the schedule I would now be on, but I did not look too worse for wear!

My Mom and I headed home, but not before a woman in the waiting room begged me to tell her wear I found my black sweater dress (I told her I was pretty sure it was from Macy’s but from a year or two ago). It was nice to hear a random compliment again :)

Once I was home, my Mom went to the drugstore for me to buy me a douching kit and Betadine (that’s a great Mom!). After she headed out the door to go home, I was left contemplating my new dilation schedule and all it entailed. I am not going to lie, I was intimidated. This schedule is just a starting point too and it will be expanded (lol, what a pun) all too soon. You all know I am a busy person when I am not recovering from surgery. I work, take care of two kids part of every week and then I blog, stream on Twitch and try to manage to have a social life. This seemed like it was going to throw a big wrench in something.

The next day, at first it did feel like a huge production. I kind of over-prepared. Just look at my setup:

What you see above are wipes, KY Jelly, the two dilators, a wash cloth, two small washable bed pads (I had bought a package of 4 in case of any bleeding issues on my sofa during recovery which did not happen - but thankfully they are handy for dilation at least!), a little pillow from another galaxy for my lower back, and a pillow encased in its plastic cover for my legs (easing tension remember). Not shown is my pillow for my head which is the same one I use to sleep. Also not shown is my phone, which I set off to the side playing my ‘thumbs up’ playlist on Google Play Music. This way, I don’t even need to watch a clock, once a dilator is fully inserted, I just listen to two full songs to time how long to hold it in. I am still using this setup today, so I guess I did a good job of thinking through what would work best. Also, douching felt like a huge chore at first too. The logistics of moving about your bathroom to get what you need and make a solution and clean up things all tend to take time when you are not wanting lube to be leaking from you all over the place.. but I am already getting quicker at it and have a system for that now too ;) Perhaps life will go on unimpeded due to having to dilate :)

-- End Dilation Details --

Now for other notes from this past week.

At my dilation appointment, I also had asked for the surgeon and his notary (she is right there in the office) to fill out my Affidavit forms for updating my birth certificate. They did so and it is now in the mail!

I should have my updated copies in several weeks!

The weather in the Chicago area was unseasonably warm until yesterday. As a result I was actually able to get several short walks in over the weekend. I walked in a ring around my condo complex, just in case anything happened health-wise and I needed to get back to my place quickly.

The weather was great and the walks were very refreshing, but I found myself falling asleep for a short nap not long after each walk. This was not bad considering I was still just barely over two weeks post op at this point and fatigue is still expected.

From Friday through Sunday and into Monday evening, I was entirely on my own. Even though I live alone, it was the longest stretch I can ever remember having without face to face human contact (other than my short walks that weekend, but I did not see anyone I knew so I did not speak to anyone). I chatted with friends online of course and had a few phone calls, but it is not the same. On Sunday, I did actually randomly cry for a bit. It was both tension release and just feeling very tired. I am allowed to feel randomly overwhelmed when my body is recovering and I am running on empty in the energy department :) I was also staring at a pile of dishes and decided to clean up once I calmed down a bit. On Monday evening, a good friend came over and brought me a Jimmy Johns wrap (unwich) for dinner. We talked for about two hours and I felt a little bad about talking her ear off :) It was just what the doctor ordered though because my overall mood was much improved.

Tuesday was a nice relaxing day with just sticking to my dilation/douching schedule as my only thing to worry about.

On Wednesday, it was time to get the stitches out! Yay! This will mean that I can take full showers finally rather than the piece-meal half showers I was doing to avoid getting my stitches wet.

I was looking forward to having the stitches out and I think you can tell in my pics below. I was also feeling more energetic and further along with my mobility. I wore a sweater dress and warm tights as the temperature was around 32 degrees.

This appointment (Wednesday 12/6/17) was back at the surgeon’s office. This time it was the surgeon and his female Physician’s Assistant, although the Attending Physician also poked his head in real quick to say Hi. I have to pause and mention that I am VERY HAPPY with my surgical team. I know there are a few bad reviews out there for this office, but people need to remember that a medical practice especially in this field takes time to build and the office staff has a decent amount of turnover so there can be issues there, but my experience with Dr. Schechter’s surgical team has been nothing short of outstanding. They do care about you and show it.

The stitches came out with no pain or issues and we discussed how to care for my scars to begin to reduce their appearance over time. It was suggested that I use Aquafor for now. We also discussed when I could drive again and it was left up to me based on my current progress, but the factors I needed to meet were the ability to sit upright for longer periods of time and that my range of motion needed to be there to operate all aspects of the vehicle of course. I do feel I need more time, but that I will likely be driving by sometime next week. I am going to work on sitting upright more over the next few days. I was also told that I did not need to come back for a checkup for another month!

All indications are that I am doing phenomenally well! I will also be returning to work the latter part of next week.

I snapped a couple of more pictures after they left the room, wishing me well.

So after a nearly a week of dilating, how do I feel about it? Well, I still consider it a bit of a chore and it feels more like necessary exercise than anything that I will ever truly “look forward to.” I mean, I can handle it and it is not going to be a crazy schedule forever. I imagine a stereo-typical dude-bro out there thinking.. “Oh yeah she will crave the big D now.. “ (sorry, I know a lot of guys that are not like this..)

Um.. no, I don’t think so. I have posted about my sexuality before, talking about how I do not ever really feel lust or sexual attraction to someone unless I already have a relationship with them and truly know them. Also, I am more interested in the quality of the person than I am in a specific gender. So, to all of those accounts that message me with a picture of your junk or a phallic profile photo .. take it elsewhere please. I just block those types of accounts anyways.

On a more positive note, I am feeling rather wonderful. I am again grateful to those that donated to assist me in paying for at least a portion of my surgery.

Your girl Ariana is nearly ready to get back in the game!!

You all better watch out!

Take care everyone ;)

-Ari

*** REBLOGS OKAY ONLY IF YOUR BLOG IS FREE OF PORN AND IS NOT A FETISH BLOG ***

My website: http://arianadanielle.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ariana_T_G

My Twitch channel: http://twitch.tv/maidenariana

#decade of ari #gender confirmation surgery #gender transition #Transgender woman #transgender health #transgender #trans is beautiful #girls like us #three years hrt #3 years hrt #Ariana's Transition Pics

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barelynakedthoughts · 3 years

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So we have quite a few weird weeks.

At 32 weeks, my blood pressure went up. I saw flashing lights in my eyes, got lightheaded and made our first trip to the hospital.

In that same week, we got another high blood pressure reading at an appointment that got us diagnosed with gestational hypertension.

Two days later, I went back to the hospital with chest pain that turned out to be severe heart burn and my blood pressure was significantly higher then as well.

Doctor said we were no longer looking at 5/29 for a due date. It is an "imaginary" day now to us because hypertensive patients are recommended to be induced around 37 weeks. So we're looking at May 9th to May 15th for arrival time.

This has scared me a bit because my older sister did not like being induced (lots of complications that led to a c-section plus a NICU stay) and it honestly wasn't necessary for her average-sized baby. My issue is a bit different and yet almost the same, but there's more now to consider.

Since I'm being treated as a hypertensive patient now, I have to do nonstress tests (NSTs) twice a week. Each time I've gone in, baby is fine - healthy as can be, and my blood pressure has been exceptional just like it was before that one week. It's made me wonder why we're hypertensive actually.

Towards the end of 31 weeks, the baby grew substantially overnight. I remember feeling woozy the next day, but I drank tons of water, ate lots of fruits and veggies, and then felt fine by Friday evening. I even stayed up late because I was so energized after taking care of myself. So the next day could have just been residual growth issues? Then the following week could honestly be explained by feeling more stressful from thinking we have 5 weeks instead of 8. I don't know...I'm no doctor but I'm doing to discuss this with them in our next appointment.

Now with this all being said, it did qualify us for an extra ultrasound, which was great because we got to see the little one again, but it then lead us to be in the same position as my sister. We have an LGA baby at 34 weeks (large for gestational age). Their head was huge - measuring at 39 weeks already. Their body was at 37 weeks and their femur was oddly at 34 weeks? Plus they're weighing in at 6 pounds 14 ounces (give or take a pound). This would put us at anywhere from 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule, which would correspond well with an induction date due to gestational hypertension.

Though our technician was surprised by a large baby because hypotension normally leads to smaller babies. So again, do we really have hypertension.

All of these numbers and estimations freaked me out even more, though. This baby has to come out of where!? Does that mean we're going to have a c-section no matter what? It'd be nice because it would save some of my vacation days for work, but I really want to have a vaginal birth experience for this first go around. I'm not sure how picky I can be at this point, though, since everywhere we turn something unusual is happening.

My sole goal is for all three of us to walk out of the hospital as a healthy family. So however we get there, I pray we are all living. (Please note the leftover fear of loss from losing my brother at such a young age.)

I'm excited for our appointment on Monday because I have a ton of questions. I think it's slightly too early to get a set plan, but we're getting closer and the doctors should know more and more as the days pass. We also get to see another doctor in the practice this week so it's almost like a second opinion?

-----

We just had our virtual baby shower this past weekend at 35 weeks. It went well. I'm super thankful for my family for putting it all together. We got a lot of things to help us out and my registry was basically bought out besides a few things! So I'm also really grateful for those who ventured into the world of a virtual shower and also helped us get prepared for parental living. It's weird. We're going to be parents soon.

-----

Symptoms: lightheaded here and there, dizziness comes and go, sporadic headaches and nausea. Yes, I am still getting nauseated.

Heartburn and acid reflux are unfortunately my new consistent friends. My joints are aching, especially within my right leg. My nipples have been leaking every so often but fortunately, it's not a lot.

I can't sleep on my right side anymore so my left hip is putting in a lot of work at night. Sleeping is abysmal. Waking up at 3 or 4 am every day is doing a number on my energy levels throughout the day. Napping is hard on the day because I'm still working 40 hours a week.

Otherwise, I really can't complain. We did this to ourselves with so much purpose and intent. I would take all of this over infertility anyway.

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scriptmyth · 7 years

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do you have any japanese ( shinto, underground, or otherwise ) myths related to death ( and/or rebirth )?

Hello,

We do indeed have some Japanese myths for you.

So when it comes to mythology about death in Japan, most people are likely to think about Shinigami. However, it’s a term that has been used to describe a broad range of entities. It wasn’t even a commonly used term until the Edo period (1603-1868) and even then was usually used to describe a malevolent spirit that would posess people and make them want to commit suicide. They could be family members with a grudge or simply bad spirits attracted to people with negative feelings, causing them to seek death. Sometimes a shinigami could be attached to a single area and would convince people to die by similar means there repeatedly. It’s only been recently, approximately since the 80’s, that shinigami have been regarded similarly to Western notions of death and have taken on individual personalities.

According to Shinto mythology there were two primary gods: the male Izanagi and female Izanami created by the first gods Kunitokotachi and Amenominakanushi. Between themselves, Izanagi and Izanami created the islands of Japan and bore many gods in the Shinto pantheon. The last child that Izanami bore was Kagu-tsuchi, a god of fire, and he burned her, causing her death. Izanagi was so furious that he slew Kagu-tsuchi, cutting him into eight pieces which became eight volcanoes. The drops of his blood created yet more gods, as did Izanami when her death throes churned up the sea.

Izanagi was so distraught at Izanami’s death that he decided to go to Yomi, the land of the dead, to bring her back. He searched everywhere for her in the darkness until he finally heard her voice, and begged her to return with him to the land of the living. She told him that she could not, having already eaten the food of the underworld. However, the next day she would ask the gods of Yomi for permission to leave. They laid down to sleep but Izanagi became impatient and wished to see his beautiful wife again. Taking out the wooden comb that held back his hair, he lit it to make a torch so he could finally see her.

However, he was horrified to discover she was now a rotten corpse, full of maggots and worms. Izanagi cried out and ran for the door to the land of the living, abandoning Izanami. She awoke and, discovering that he had seen her, set a horde of thunder gods and shikome (ugly hag spirits) after him to bring him back. She too joined the chase and they pursued him all the way to the entrance to the living world. Izanagi was just fast enough to out run them though and managed to push a boulder across the mouth of the cave that served as the portal between life and death.

Furious that Izanagi had abandoned her, Izanami swore to take 1000 residents of the living world every day. In return, Izanagi swore that he would create 1500 lives to replace them. The two separated in anger and Izanami remained in Yomi, becoming the queen there.

In terms of Buddhist beliefs and myths about death, how many days do you have? There are at least a dozen different schools of Buddhism practiced in Japan, several with multiple subsets of worship and belief styles. They are as different as the variations on Western Christianity which is to say the difference can be major of subtle. Now in termas of general beliefs, there is a Pure Land and a Hell which the soul may travel to after death. The Pure Land is a nirvana where the spirit can most easily reach enlightenment. Hell is a place of punishment where evil souls must atone for their sins before they can hope to move on.

I’m going to preface the rest of this with the caveat that not all of these beliefs are universal. Some schools of Buddhism may embrace them while others may reject them. With that said, Here we go.

Pure Land Buddhism teaches that after death, the spirit takes a new name to cut ties to its prior human life and embrace a new existence in the afterlife. It is also believed that after the body is cremated, the spirit starts a 49-day spiritual journey to reach its destination, which frees it from any bonds to the physical world. Some Japanese Buddhists believe that when they die, they must cross the Sanzu River to enter the afterlife. The river has three crossings. Those who lived good lives can cross a bridge. The spirits of people who lived ordinary lives can cross at a shallow path across the river. However, those who lived bad lives are compelled to walk through the river’s waters, which are inhabited by demons and other horrors. At the banks of the Sanzu River stand Datsueba, a female demon, and Keneo, a male demon. Datsueba unclothes the dead and Keneo weighs their clothes to measure their karma. Buddhists hold special ceremonies on the days they expect their departed loved ones will be making the crossing. (Source)

Many families celebrate Obon every year, typically on August 15th,although there is some local variation as it was originally held on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month. For three days family members will honor the spirits of their ancestors who are believed to return to their graves on these days. Families with offer food and flowers at the grave site and say prayers. Festivals are usually accompanied by a dance and music meant to welcome the spirits. There’s a wide variation in the regional traditions here so I recommend looking into this further on your own.

The festival’s practice is derived from the story of Maha Maudgalyayana (Mokuren), a Buddhist disciple who used his supernatural powers to look upon his mother in death. To his dismay, he saw that she had fallen into the realm of Hungry Ghosts and was suffering terribly. He immediately went to the Buddha and asked how he could free her from her suffering. The Buddha instructed him to present offerings to the many Buddhist monks who had just completed their summer retreat, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month. The disciple did this and, thus, saw his mother’s release. Note that there are variations of this story in different countries that practice Buddhism as well.

In terms of the funeral itself, it’s considered bad luck to say words that indicate repetition, lest you invite another death. Attendees will also typically be given salt to sprinkle over themselves or their front doorstep to purify themselves and protect themselves from bad luck. Attendees will also change out of their funeral clothes as soon as they get home for simillar reasons. Funerals wil probably not be held on the auspicious day of tomo-biki for fear of pulling a friend of the deceased into death (the phrase tomodachi o hiku “pull a friend along” contracts into tomobiki).

Regarding beliefs on the Buddhist afterlife and Hell, I defer to Matt Meyer who runs a great blog on Japanese mythology and monsters in general. These two articles on Meido and Jigoku might be a good place for you to start though.

If you have any more specific questions or questions about the answer given, please feel free to send another ask our way. We’re more than happy to help clarify.

-the Chorus

#suicide #death #shinto #mythology #myths #japanese #rebirth #buddhist #chorus #ask #answer #sharpobj-ct

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trulyterribletales-blog · 6 years

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The Letters from Dr. Alexander aka Project Lazarus (Part 1)

April 15th

My Dear TKH,

I do hope this letter finds you well. After what all you went through, you certainly deserve that. I have some pleasant news. I’ve finally found a sponsor. The last of my previous funding gone, I had no choice but to accept the funding from these men. My work will become a black box project from the department of defense. Their special weapons Division Σ, has offered to fund my experiments. I cannot tell you how excited I am, and my husband is as well. We do hope you can come visit us.

You’ve seen the work I’ve done already. Promising, but of course insufficient. The DNA of geckos was incompatible, however progress with the axolotl DNA is again promising. The process is incredibly strenuous, both for researcher and subject. It has taken me months to simply discover, much less isolate the relevant patterns. It isn’t a single gene, as you liberal arts types may think, rather I am seeking out dozens of genes to import. I don’t just need a single miracle machine, I need a factory of them. Luckily time, and now money is on my side. No secret in the universe can elude my grip, and if not mine, than others shall succeed where I fail.

In any case, progress is well under way, just yesterday we managed to revive a culture of cells in the Petri dish. The first set to respond to the mutagen serum alone, post separation from a subject. Or not a subject, since the sample was not collected from someone with recombinant DNA. The first fruit of a new tree of knowledge. Of course we have to repeat this, prove it is scientifically replicable. After that we will continue to scale the process up. The only words I have are that it is promising.

Eventually... Well, if we’re successful imagine the possibilities. New forms of medicine will be available! The destruction of diseases that have long plagued man kind! A cure for cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s to name a few.

Please old friend, come and visit soon.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexander

September 9th

TKH,

I understand your concerns in the last letter after visiting. However you seem to draw arbitrary lines all the time. At one point we held the stars eternally inaccessible, the domain of gods and not men. Now they are ours, if not in substance than in possibility. What we are doing is not hubris but progress.

On that note I shall not call this the “Icarus project” or “Project Babel” this is and always was, Project Lazarus. You are a man of faith, you should appreciate what we are doing here. You saw us revive the subject from death. By a combination of Mutagen and the antistrange particle ray, we reduced 72 hours of death for the monkey. It has suffered few adverse affects, save brain damage, but even that is healing. Three days in the grave and the creature has been returned. Humanity no longer will need to fear death. Death will have no hold over us. We can perfect the human condition.

I understand your hesitation old friend. You still hold things sacred. But soon, your old fashion notions will give way to progress as all other notions have. My means and my mechanisms will make us immune to the weather of time and decay. Let your god now send his horsemen, if we can stymie Plague, undo Famine, and defeat Death, then what have we to fear? In my lab I reject your god, and place my faith in science. We are the light of this world. I will bow to no god who would allow what has happened to us, to allow the evils that we see. If he will not answer me, than I shall be my own redemption. If he has barred us from the fruit of the tree of life, than I shall grow a new tree.

The line of life and death need not be sacred. We have walked amongst the stars. We have eradicated diseases from this planet. We have split what was long held unbreakable. Humanity is capable of anything, and we are the ones who will decide whether we yield to Fear or excel with progress.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexander

August 1st

TKH,

I am not yet ready to concede. The progress with human test subjects has been less than satisfactory. Even when the brain has fully healed, there seems to be underlying damages. Most subjects lack most higher function, as though they have no access to their frontal lobes. Which of course is actually a generous assessment. They are in reality, little more than raving animals. They can solve puzzles, open locks, and even undo restraints if they can reach them. However their speech patterns are basic, they express few higher emotions. And their eyes.

Their eyes have an unnerving quality to them. I know that this isn’t scientific, then again these are my letters not my notes, but I cannot shake the discomfort I feel when those eyes look into me. I cannot put my finger on what exactly is wrong, except that those eyes have some feral fury to them.

Some subjects have returned with their faculties in check. The facility staff, and even some of my aids, have taken to calling these wights. Even these have proved less than what I’d call a success. To begin with, they have little emotion. That in and of itself is not an issue, however while they clearly feel little emotion they are highly skilled manipulators. They care little for others, and some exhibit excessive degrees of aggression and sadism. None of their previous acquaintances or friends recognized this as normal behavior. The trauma has left effects that we can neither detect, nor can the mutagen fully effect.

We have tested a few generations of the mutagen as well as strength of the antistrange ray, with varying degrees of efficacy.

I know you will recommend we deem this a failure. You of all people know why I cannot relent. The disease has spread again. This time attacking his liver. The process of dialysis for his kidney failure is nearly unbearable. He can no longer walk and can hardly manage the electric wheel chair on his own. If I am honest, I must admit that my care for humanity is entirely selfish. I cannot live without him. I cannot go on without my husband by my side. Fuck progress. Fuck humanity. But more than that Fuck your god. If I can save him, I will face anything for that.

Sincerely,

Dr. Alexander

December 23rd

TKH,

There will be no funeral. The body was returned to me, and we have already begun the preparations for the process to be performed on him. I cannot lose him. I cannot.

Our procedure is near perfect. No body, regardless of age or decay does not return under our precise dosages of mutagen and radiation. Only one out of a hundred revived is feral and mindless. Some of those revived are even emotional and not devoid of empathy.

I will not yield in this. However I have found an odd coincidence, repeated often enough to be significant. These make reference to a “Dead King”, a “Xuzkrenmoor” and “The Great Grid”. We are unsure of these, but some remind me of things that you’ve spoken of.

Perhaps Matt can tell me. I have to go.

Dr. Alexander

#horror #cosmic horror #fear #fiction #writing #truly terrible tales

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roman-catholic-mass-readings · 4 years

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15th November >> Mass Readings (Europe, Africa, New Zealand, Australia & Canada)

Friday, Thirty Second Week in Ordina︎ry Time

or Saint Albert the Great, Bishop, Doctor.

Friday, Thirty Second Week in Ordina︎ry Time

(Liturgical Colour: Green)

First Reading

Wisdom 13:1-9

How have those who investigated the world been so slow to find its Master?

Naturally stupid are all men who have not known God

and who, from the good things that are seen, have not been able to discover Him-who-is,

or, by studying the works, have failed to recognise the Artificer.

Fire however, or wind, or the swift air,

the sphere of the stars, impetuous water, heaven’s lamps,

are what they have held to be the gods who govern the world.

If, charmed by their beauty, they have taken things for gods,

let them know how much the Lord of these excels them,

since the very Author of beauty has created them.

And if they have been impressed by their power and energy,

let them deduce from these how much mightier is he that has formed them,

since through the grandeur and beauty of the creatures

we may, by analogy, contemplate their Author.

Small blame, however, attaches to these men,

for perhaps they only go astray

in their search for God and their eagerness to find him;

living among his works, they strive to comprehend them

and fall victim to appearances, seeing so much beauty.

Even so, they are not to be excused:

if they are capable of acquiring enough knowledge

to be able to investigate the world,

how have they been so slow to find its Master?

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 18(19):2-5

R/ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God,

and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.

Day unto day takes up the story

and night unto night makes known the message.

R/ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

No speech, no word, no voice is heard

yet their span extends through all the earth,

their words to the utmost bounds of the world.

R/ The heavens proclaim the glory of God.

Gospel Acclamation

Hebrews 4:12

Alleluia, alleluia!

The word of God is something alive and active:

it can judge secret emotions and thoughts.

Alleluia!

Or:

Luke 21:28

Alleluia, alleluia!

Stand erect, hold your heads high,

because your liberation is near at hand.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Luke 17:26-37

When the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed

Jesus said to the disciples:

‘As it was in Noah’s day, so will it also be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating and drinking, marrying wives and husbands, right up to the day Noah went into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. It will be the same as it was in Lot’s day: people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but the day Lot left Sodom, God rained fire and brimstone from heaven and it destroyed them all. It will be the same when the day comes for the Son of Man to be revealed.

‘When that day comes, anyone on the housetop, with his possessions in the house, must not come down to collect them, nor must anyone in the fields turn back either. Remember Lot’s wife. Anyone who tries to preserve his life will lose it; and anyone who loses it will keep it safe. I tell you, on that night two will be in one bed: one will be taken, the other left; two women will be grinding corn together: one will be taken, the other left.’ The disciples interrupted. ‘Where, Lord?’ they asked. He said, ‘Where the body is, there too will the vultures gather.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

————————-

Saint Albert the Great, Bishop, Doctor

(Liturgical Colour: White)

(Readings for the memorial)

(There is a choice today between the readings for the ferial day (Friday) and those for the memorial. The ferial readings are recommended unless pastoral reasons suggest otherwise)

First Reading

Ecclesiasticus 15:1-6

Whoever grasps the Law will obtain wisdom

Whoever fears the Lord will act like this,

and whoever grasps the Law will obtain wisdom.

She will come to meet him like a mother,

and receive him like a virgin bride.

He will lean on her and will not fall,

he will rely on her and not be put to shame.

She will raise him high above his neighbours,

and in full assembly she will open his mouth.

He will find happiness and a crown of joy,

he will inherit an everlasting name.

The Word of the Lord

R/ Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 118(119):9-14

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

How shall the young remain sinless?

By obeying your word.

I have sought you with all my heart;

let me not stray from your commands.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

I treasure your promise in my heart

lest I sin against you.

Blessed are you, O Lord;

teach me your statutes.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

With my tongue I have recounted

the decrees of your lips.

I rejoiced to do your will

as though all riches were mine.

R/ Lord, teach me your statutes.

Gospel Acclamation

cf. Acts of the Apostles 16:14

Alleluia, alleluia!

Open our heart, O Lord,

to accept the words of your Son.

Alleluia!

Gospel

Matthew 13:47-52

The fishermen collect the good fish and throw away those that are no use

Jesus said to the crowds: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea that brings in a haul of all kinds. When it is full, the fishermen haul it ashore; then, sitting down, they collect the good ones in a basket and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time: the angels will appear and separate the wicked from the just to throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.

‘Have you understood all this?’ They said, ‘Yes.’ And he said to them, ‘Well then, every scribe who becomes a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out from his storeroom things both new and old.’

The Gospel of the Lord

R/ Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

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nigeiadigitalmarketingcompany · 5 years

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2:00PM Water Cooler 7/23/2019

Digital Elixir 2:00PM Water Cooler 7/23/2019

By Lambert Strether of Corrente

Trade

“U.S. farmers look past trade fears to cash in on China’s hog crisis” [Reuters]. “The U.S. trade war with China initially forced U.S. pork exporters to scour the world for new markets but as the swine fever crisis deepens they’re gearing up for new opportunities to supply the Chinese market later this year and next. The catch for U.S. hog farmers is that if they want to take advantage of the surge in Chinese pork demand, they can’t feed their pigs with the growth drug ractopamine which is widely used in the United States but banned in China. In recent years, the European Union has provided roughly two-thirds of China’s pork imports, excluding offal, with Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Denmark the main suppliers, according to Chinese customs data. Potential demand is so huge, however, that the EU alone can’t satisfy it.” • Chlorinated chicken, pork à la ractopamine…

Politics

“But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature?” –James Madison, Federalist 51

“They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery.” –Frank Herbert, Dune

“2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination” [RealClearPolitics] (average of five polls). As of July 23: Biden still climbing at 28.6% (28.4), Sanders down at 14.8% (15.0%), Warren flat at 14.6% (14.6%), Buttigieg steady at 4.8% (4.8%), Harris flat bump 12.6% (12.6%), others Brownian motion.

* * *

2020

Harris (D)(1): “Kamala Harris once opposed legalizing marijuana. Now she wants to decriminalize it” [Yahoo News]. “The Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act, which was written by Harris and co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level, implement re-sentencing or expungement for prior marijuana-based convictions, and tax revenue generated by the marijuana industry, with 50% of it used to create three trust funds…. he California Democrat, however, hasn’t always supported fully legalizing marijuana. Nine years ago, Harris opposed legislation that would have legalized marijuana in California.” • People do get to change their minds. But it’s always nicer when they do the right thing all along.

Klobuchar (D)(1): “2020 Candidates Delayed Paying Staff to Look Richer on Paper” [Daily Beast]. “For some campaigns, the ability to put off a payroll payment—whether by design or coincidence—made a substantial difference. That’s most true for the Klobuchar campaign, which reported $186,000 in salary expenditures on its last reported pay day, June 15. Federal Election Commission records indicate that the campaign was otherwise paying staffers on the 15th and last day of each month. But no paychecks went out at the end of June, according to its second quarter financial filing…. And at some point, she will either have to make all wage payments or simply not pay her staff. And by kicking the can down the road, she has been able to avoid taking the hit on a campaign finance filing for the time being.” • It’s gonna take an awfully big binder for Klobuchar to keep track of all that. Oh, and collective bargaining in the Sanders campaign is a big, big scandal. Potential wage theft? Not so much.

Warren (D)(1): “The Coming Economic Crash — And How to Stop It” [Elizabeth Warren, Medium]. “The [yield] curve has inverted before each and every recession in the past half century — with only one false signal.” • I’m not sure that’s entirely correct. From the Financial Times: “Prof [Campbell] Harvey’s research indicates only an inversion of at least three months is a reliable recession indicator. The curve briefly inverted in 1998, at the peak of the turmoil caused by Russia’s default and the blow-up of Long-Term Capital Management, but quickly normalised before a subsequent, more durable inversion in 2000 preceded the dotcom bust. The latest inversion only lasted five trading days.” In any case, a recession call at some point in the future is not a hard call. Still, good piece!

Warren (D)(2): “Warren warns of ‘coming economic crash’” [Politico]. How Politico summarizes the article above: “Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Monday predicted an imminent economic crisis unless the Trump administration and Congress quickly pass legislation to regulate the financial sector and significantly reduce middle class household debt.” • That’s shockingly bad and wrong, even for Politico. Warren recommends reducing household debt, monitoring and reducing leveraged corporate lending, strengthening manufacturing, and limiting potential shocks to the economy. Her recommendations are bulleted, ffs.

* * *

“‘She/hers’: In progressive move, 3 presidential hopefuls add pronouns to their bios” [NBC]. “Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s bio on her official presidential campaign Twitter page is touting a new addition: her pronouns. Earlier this month, her bio was updated to “U.S. Senator, former teacher, and candidate for president. Wife, mom … grandmother, and Okie. She/hers. Official campaign account.” She is one of three 2020 presidential hopeful to add pronouns on an official campaign Twitter account, along with Julian Castro and Bill de Blasio. On the surface, it’s just two words. But the inclusion of “she/hers” on a major candidate’s social media profile is no small feat in the eyes of LGBTQ advocates. Among the LGBTQ community and its allies, including pronouns in social media profiles has become increasingly common to avoid misgendering and to indicate solidarity with transgender and nonbinary people.” • Which is great, and one can only hope leads to solidarity with working class people.

RussiaGate

“Mueller testimony could be frustrating for both parties” [The Hill]. “Democrats want Mueller to breathe life into his 448-page report and demonstrate to the American public that Trump is guilty of obstructing his investigation — a verdict Mueller’s team purposely avoided in issuing its findings. Republicans will try to throw Mueller off his game, vowing to focus their questions on whether it was even proper to launch the investigation in the first place.” • I’ve noticed a tendency on the Twitter for liberal Democrats to assign work to others; here is the same tendency with Mueller. Why can’t they “demonstrate to the American public”? Meanwhile, I bet poor old straight-shootin’ Bob Mueller longs for the days when he was only greenlighting fake WMD evidence. Life was simpler, then.

2019

“Rashida Tlaib: Minimum wage should be $20 an hour, not $15” [The Hill]. “‘By the way, when we started [#FightFor15], it should have been $15. Now I think it should be $20. Make sure America Rising hears that. It should be $20 an hour — $18 to $20 an hour at this point,’ Tlaib said.” • And it also shouldn’t take six years to kick in. That’s even longer than ObamaCare took!

Realignment and Legitimacy

“Week-end Wrap – Political Economy – July 20, 2019” [Tony Wikrent, Ian Welsh]. • Interesting wrap-up.

Stats Watch

Richmond Fed Manufacturing Index, July 2019: “Fifth District manufacturing activity unexpectedly fell into contraction in July” [Econoday]. “The surprising weakness of today’s report contrasts with the Philly Fed and Empire State regional reports last week showing manufacturing rebounding in these regions. Despite the reported increase in input and output prices, the marked deterioration in the region’s manufacturing survey to the lowest level in six years is likely to bolster the dovish case for cutting the Fed funds rate at the FOMC meeting next week.”

FHFA House Price Index, May 2019: “FHFA had been holding up better than Case-Shiller but data for May point to less gradual slowing underway in home prices” [Econoday]. “Easing imbalances in housing are probably a plus for the long-term health of the sector but are perhaps unexpected given this year’s still strong job growth and the drop in mortgage rates.

Existing Home Sales, June 2019: “The housing market firmed in the early Spring but has since flattened out” [Econoday]. “Lack of momentum in housing, which is unexpected this year given the strength of the jobs market and the fall in mortgage rates, will be one factor that doves can cite at next week’s FOMC meeting in favor a rate cut.”

Shipping: “Trucking spot market underperforms expectations by 10% in June” [Freight Waves]. “The DAT US National Long Haul Van Freight Rate Index which measures the average long haul spot rate for dry van truckloads in the U.S. excluding fuel and other accessorial charges averaged $1.50/mile in June. This number fell well below expectations according to the freight futures settlement price which started the month over $1.66/mile, meaning futures market participants expected rates to be much higher than they were this June.

Tech: “Industrial robots are proving adept at picking up venture-capital funding. Logistics technology startup Fetch Robotics Inc. is adding to its support with a $46 million funding round…. which the Silicon Valley company will use to expand its range of products for the growing warehouse automation market” [Wall Street Journal]. “Fetch is working in a growing area of industrial automation focused on ‘collaborative robots’ that work alongside humans and can be easily integrated into existing operations. That can boost productivity without adding staff, a potential big plus for logistics companies as warehouse operators compete for workers in a tight jobs market.”

Tech: “How Amazon uses 18-wheelers to transfer heavy data loads to the cloud” [CNBC]. “Moving petabytes of data to a cloud like Amazon Web Services or Microsoft Azure just by sending it out over the internet can take years. Some companies would rather not wait that long. So the cloud providers have come up with special-purpose hardware that can be filled up with data and then mailed to the cloud vendors for much faster migration. Using this equipment can save money, too, because moving data over a network in the usual way can get expensive. One business with big data, DigitalGlobe — a subsidiary of Maxar Technologies, came up with a more radical idea. It had AWS send over a truck over for faster delivery. AWS wound up announcing its Snowmobile 18-wheel truck for this exact purpose in 2016. None of AWS’ cloud competitors have followed suit — yet.” • The cloud turns out to have a pretty heavy footprint.

Manufacturing: “The prolonged grounding of the Boeing Co.’s 737 MAX is starting to ripple through the U.S. economy. The problems with the jet are cutting into U.S. exports and clouding the outlook for airlines and parts suppliers” [Wall Street Journal]. “The impact of the grounding and Boeing’s production cuts highlight the deep reach the aircraft manufacturer has across a range of high-value supply chains that have been all but idled while the company seeks a solution. Economists say Boeing’s production cuts likely weighed on U.S. gross domestic product in the second quarter, and warn the impact could intensify if the plane maker can’t resume deliveries as hoped in the fourth quarter. Companies ranging from engine maker General Electric Co. to smaller parts suppliers have tied the halt in deliveries of the aircraft to financial damage, or suspended profit guidance.”

The Biosphere

“Melting ice sheets, storm-damaged homes: For some, it’s a business opportunity” [Grist]. For example: “Worldwide demand for air conditioning is only going to increase, according to investors and those in the industry. ‘The hotter it gets, the more your business increases,’ John Staples, president and CEO of US Air Conditioning, told the Verge back in 2013. And he was right — by 2050, two-thirds of the world’s households are predicted to own an air conditioner. But it’s a bit of a catch-22: As the planet warms, access to A/C can save lives, but the more we use it, the more the world heats up. And though people are certainly making money off this boon in the HVAC market, they aren’t investing in developing new, greener methods of cooling.” • The capitalists will sell themselves the rope…

“WASTE ONLY: How the Plastics Industry Is Fighting to Keep Polluting the World” [The Intercept]. “China’s decision in 2017 to stop receiving the vast majority of plastic waste from other countries blew the flimsy lid off our dysfunctional recycling system. That year, when the Chinese government announced the National Sword policy, as it’s called, the U.S. sent 931 million kilograms of plastic waste to China and Hong Kong. The U.S. has been offloading vast bundles of scrap this way since at least 1994, when the Environmental Protection Agency began tracking plastics exports. The practice has served to both mask the mounting crisis and absolve U.S. consumers of guilt. But in fact, much of the ‘recycled’ plastic scrap that the U.S. sent to China appears to have been burned or buried instead of being refashioned into new products. Although China’s turnabout made the failure of the plastics recycling system suddenly and undeniably obvious, in truth the plastics problem has been with us as long as plastic has. Over the decades, as production has grown exponentially, we’ve never managed to repurpose even one-tenth of our plastic waste.”

“This Is What America Could Look Like When Our Coasts Are Under Water” [Vice]. “Depending on how we do it, we face very different coastal futures. In one scenario, our coastlines will be dotted with derelict ruins—the haunting remains of communities that weren’t given a chance to get out of harm’s way. Cities will exist behind walls built that protect from the ocean, and there will be no access to the shoreline. In a more egalitarian vision, U.S. shores could be reclaimed as public land. A national shoreline could serve as a natural buffer to the ocean, and if paired with affordable housing, community investment, and employment, moving away from the coasts could promise survival but also, better quality of life. ‘The question isn’t whether we will retreat, it’s how we will retreat,’ said A.R. Siders, an environmental fellow at the Harvard University Center for the Environment. ‘In that, we have a lot of choice and a lot of opportunity.’” • Oh, there will be “access.” For a price.

“Was the Automotive Era a Terrible Mistake?” [The New Yorker]. “When the people of the future look back at our century of auto life, will they regard it as a useful stage of forward motion or as a wrong turn? Is it possible that, a hundred years from now, the age of gassing up and driving will be seen as just a cul-de-sac in transportation history, a trip we never should have taken?” • Um, hysteresis. We can’t just back up and go in another direction. That’s not to say cars will persist in their current form, just that cul-de-sac is the wrong metaphor.

“‘Climate Grief’: Fears About The Planet’s Future Weigh On Americans’ Mental Health [Kaiser Health News]. “Therapist Andrew Bryant says the landmark United Nations climate report last October brought a new mental health concern to his patients. ‘I remember being in sessions with folks the next day. They had never mentioned climate change before, and they were like, ‘I keep hearing about this report,” Bryant said. ‘Some of them expressed anxious feelings, and we kept talking about it over our next sessions.’” • Today is my day to be kind, so I’m going to cancel my curmudgeonly response to this.

“How Airplane Contrails Are Helping Make the Planet Warmer” [Yale Environment 360]. “[T]he condensation trails produced by the exhaust from aircraft engines are creating an often-invisible thermal blanket of cloud across the planet. Though lasting for only a short time, these ‘contrails’ have a daily impact on atmospheric temperatures that is greater than that from the accumulated carbon emissions from all aircraft since the Wright Brothers first took to the skies more than a century ago. More alarming still, researchers warned late last month that efforts by engineers to cut aircraft CO2 emissions by making their engines more fuel-efficient will create more, whiter, and longer-lasting contrails — notably in the tropics, where the biggest increases in flights are expected. In a paper being widely praised by other experts in the field, Lisa Bock and Ulrike Burkhardt of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany, forecast a near-tripling in the ‘radiative forcing’ from contrails by 2050….. Research in the American South and Midwest has concluded that when contrails are around, they raise night-time temperatures sufficiently to reduce the day-night differences by 3 degrees C.”

“Community Roots – Let’s Plant Some Trees!” [Richmond Tree Stewards]. “Homeowners in the City of Richmond will receive free a limited number of trees (2 or 3 depending on availability) from our gravel beds…. In Richmond we celebrate Arbor Day in October rather than late April because that is a much better time to plant trees in Virginia.” • This sounds like a great program!

Health Care

“A look at people who have persistently high spending on health care” [Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker]. “Those with persistently high spending, while few in number, are some of the most expensive users of care – the 1.3% of enrollees with high spending in each of three consecutive years (2015-2017) had an average spending in 2017 of almost $88,000, accounting for 19.5% of overall spending that year. The predictability and extent of their spending suggest that any efforts to reduce the total costs of care and improve health system quality must focus heavily on this group of people.” • Yes, “Peterson” is that Peterson. Ugh.

“Verma touts site-neutral pay policies, blasts hospital consolidation” [Modern Healthcare]. “CMS Administrator Seema Verma on Monday took swings at Medicare’s ‘hospital-centric payment model,’ touting the Trump administration’s recent site-neutral payment policy and decrying provider consolidation. Verma condemned Democratic proposals for a public insurance option at a policy summit for the Better Medicare Alliance, which represents Medicare Advantage plans. … ‘The secret of the public option is that it’s only cheaper because it uses the force of government to strong-arm doctors and hospitals into accepting below-market payment rate,’ she said. ‘But the government cannot wave a wand and impose lower rates on some providers while holding everyone else harmless.’ She touted another policy, hated by hospitals, that determines some Medicare payments: site-neutral payment regulations that cut Medicare dollars for some hospital services that can also be performed in physicians’ offices… From there, Verma doubled down on another topic that makes major health systems nervous: the growth of hospital monopolies and the ‘upward trend in provider consolidation.’ ‘Hospitals are buying up physician practices, and mergers of large health systems and health plans are a common occurrence,’ she said. ‘But without competition in a market, consumers have fewer choices, prices go up, and incentives to improve quality go down.’”

“The great plague of 2019, or how the United States got single payer health-care” [Alice Marshall, Medium]. “A few of Pence’s team went to a book party for a famous conservative commentator. Within a week everyone at the party was dead, but not before they spread the disease to their think tank, law firm, and trade association. Several staffers from AHIP and PhRMA were there. By the end of the month they had to close their DC office as everyone was dead.” • Not entirely implausible, even as wish fulfillmennt.

Class Warfare

“The Most Gullible Man in Cambridge” [New York Magazine]. • Yikes.

“Jeffrey Epstein doled out millions to Harvard and others. Is that cash tainted?” [Miami Herald]. “The multimillionaire hedge fund manager lavished at least $30 million on universities, scientists, politicians, cultural organizations, think tanks — as well as his local police department, according to records of three of his charities. Records for a fourth were not available. That $30 million figure includes at least $2 million doled out following a short stint in the Palm Beach stockade that resulted when a 53-page federal sex trafficking indictment got whittled down to a pair of minor prostitution-related charges late in the last decade. For those organizations that hung onto the money, is there a moral obligation to give it back, or alternatively, pay it forward to organizations that would benefit, for example, young sexual assault victims like those Epstein allegedly victimized?’” • Lol, no.

“Student Debt and Racial Wealth Inequality” (PDF) [Marshall Steinbaum]. “This paper analyzes the effect of cancelling student debt on racial wealth inequality using the 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. It concludes that cancelling student debt reduces racial wealth gaps as measured by the ratio of white wealth to black wealth at a given wealth quantile, across the wealth distribution. It then discusses why cancelling student debt disproportionately increases the net wealth of black households and thereby reduces racial wealth gaps.” • As surely all universal benefit programs must do?

“Baby born on 7-Eleven Day at 7:11 p.m., weighs 7 lbs., 11 oz., gets 7-Eleven college fund” [USA Today]. • Just another kind of legacy admission….

News of the Wired

“Dream Of Retiring Abroad? The Reality: Medicare Doesn’t Travel Well” [Kaiser Health News]. “After paying into the Medicare system for decades, it’s no wonder some expats are frustrated that they can’t generally use the program outside the United States…. And retirees should honestly consider whether they will spend the rest of their lives overseas.” • And spend the last days of my life drugged and strapped to a bed in a nursing home room with a TV I can’t turn off? I’d rather die in a ditch in the tropics.

“Don’t Put Your Work Email on Your Personal Phone” [OneZero]. “Here’s one reason: Your work account might be spying on you in the background. When you add a work email address to your phone, you’ll likely be asked to install something called a Mobile Device Management (MDM) profile. Chances are, you’ll blindly accept it. (What other choice do you have?) MDM is set up by your company’s IT department to reach inside your phone in the background, allowing them to ensure your device is secure, know where it is, and remotely erase your data if the phone is stolen. From your company’s perspective, there are obvious security reasons for installing an MDM on an employee’s phone. But for employees, it’s difficult to tell what these invisible profiles are collecting behind the scenes, as they provide people at your company with invisible control over your device. That’s why when it comes to your phone, no matter how much you trust your IT department, it’s a good idea to keep work and pleasure separate.”

* * *

Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Today’s plant (JL):

JL writes: “Mystery tree”!

* * *

Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So do feel free to make a contribution today or any day. Here is why: Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know I’m on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of small donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals. So if you see something you especially appreciate, do feel free to click this donate button:

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2:00PM Water Cooler 7/23/2019

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shuhadaaulmarakahsworld · 5 years

Text

The Eternal and Everlasting Unchanging Will Of God (Allaah) does NOT Change.

From:

AICP Main Office <[email protected]>

Sent:

27 September 2004 15:07

To:

AICP Main

Subject:

The 15th Night of Sha^ban

As-salaamu ^alaykum.

The 15th Night of Sha^ban will be Saturday 20th of April 2019.

Below the lesson mentions the rewardability of making a lot of du'a^ (Supplication to God) on that night, and fasting on the day.

The Month of Sha^ban andThe Supplication on Its 15th Night

The month of Sha^ban is the Eighth Month of the lunar year in the Islaamic calendar and the month immediately preceding the month of Ramadan. For Muslims all around the world, the month of Sha^ban is a special time in which they try to do more good deeds than usual and fast more optional fasts that they do in other months.

Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him used to fast a lot during this month.

It is the habit of the Muslims to celebrate the 15th night of the Islaamic Month of Sha^ban by Praying, Reciting Qur’aan, Praising Allaah, and making a great deal of supplication to Allaah during that night.

Ibn Majah narrated Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him said:

Which means:

Spend the night preceding the 15th day of Sha^ban in acts of obedience, and fast the next day.

The acts of obedience meant in this hadith are reciting the Qur’an, making supplication (du’a^) to Allah, and praying optional prayers. Even though there is a difference in opinion among the top scholars of hadith about the degree of confirmation of this hadith, acting in accordance with its orders (on that particular night, i.e., the 15th night of Sha^ban) is a good practice. This is so because the matters is orders with (i.e., reciting Qur’an, making supplication, praising Allah) are, in general, recommended matters in the Religion.

Although making supplication, in general, is a recommended matter, one needs to be cautious about what he is asking for in his supplication. It must be understood that when one supplicates to Allah (asks Allah for things) one is not asking Allah to change His Will. It is among the essentials of the belief of Muslims that Allah’s Will is eternal and does not change. Rather, one would be asking Allah to change the person’s situation from a difficult situation to an easier one, from a good situation to a better one, or the like. Knowing this, one needs to be cautious in his understanding of a supplication which some people recite on the night of the 15th day of Sha^ban:

It should be noted that this particular supplication was not confirmed from the Prophet, sallallahu ^alayhi wa sallam, nor from the Prophet nor from ^Umar or Ibn Mas^ud (as explicitly clarified by Al-Bayhaqiyy in his book, Al-Qadar).

When reciting this (aforementioned) supplication, some people erroneously understand that they are asking Allaah (God) to change His Will. That is, they understand the words they recite to mean:

“O Allaah (God), if you willed for me to be miserable, poor, and deprived of the good things, change Your Will and make me happy and solvent.” This is a dangerous situation.

The Eternal and Everlasting Unchanging Will of Allaah does not change.

This is among the basics of the beliefs of the Muslims.

Change is among the very obvious signs that thing is a creation.

Imam Abu Hanifah said: “Change occurs only in the creations.”

Allaah (God) is NOT attributed with change.

This matter is clarified in The Qur’aan and in the sayings (Hadiths) of Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him.

(Some understand that the meaning of Verse 39 of The Chapter of the Qur’aan called Surat-Ra^d is:

“Allaah changes His Will.”

Truly, this is not the meaning of this verse as interpreted by the famous companion, Ibn ^Abbas. Al-Bayhaqiyy narrated from Ibn ^Abbas that this verse refers to the abrogations, that is, Allaah willed for some verses of the Qur’an to be abrogated, and not for others to be abrogated. This interpretation of Ibn ^Abbas reconfirms that the Will of Allah does not change.) In Surat Qaf, Ayah 29, Allaah, ta^aalaa said:

Which means: {My Will Does Not Change}

Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings Be Upon him asked Allaah (God) for four matters:

That his nation would not be destroyed by famine;

That his nation would not be completely destroyed by any enemy;

that his nation would not be completely destroyed by torture similar to the torture which destroyed the previous nations; and

That the people of his nation would not fight one against the other.

Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him said that Allaah granted him the first three matters but did not grant him the fourth one.

So, although it was Prophet MuHammad, the best of the creations, who made that supplication, Allaah did not grant him all what he asked. This is because Allaah Willed in Eternity there shall be fighting between the Muslims in the different eras—and The Eternal and Everlasting Unchanging Will of Allaah does not change.

That Allaah’s Will does not change was more specifically clarified in Imam Muslim’s narration of the hadith in his Sahih. Imam Muslim narrated that after the Prophet asked Allaah for matters, Allaah revealed to him:

Which means: {My Will Does Not Change.}

Ibn Mardawayh narrated from the Prophet that Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him asked God (Allaah)for four matters:

That his nation (Us) would not be destroyed by famine;

That his nation (Us) would not be completely destroyed by any enemy;

that his nation would not be completely destroyed by torture similar to the torture which destroyed the previous nations; and

That the people of his nation would not fight one against the other.

Prophet MuHammad, Peace and Blessings be upon him, said that Allaah granted him the first three matters but did not grant him the fourth one. So, although it was Prophet Muhammad, the best of the creations, who made that supplication, Allaah did not grant him all what he asked. This is because Allah willed in eternity there would be fighting between the Muslims in the different eras—and the Will of Allaah does not change. That Allaah’s Will does not change was more specifically clarified in Imam Muslim’s narration of the hadith in his Sahih. Imam Muslim narrated that after the Prophet asked Allah for matters, Allaah revealed to him:

Which means:

{[O MuHammad,] if I Willed for something to happen, My Will would not change.}

In conclusion, it is rewardable and recommended to recite the Qur’an, pray, and make supplication during the 15th night of Sha^ban.

However, it is blasphemy (A Muslim exits the Religion of Islaam for believing the Will of God Changes) to make any supplication with the understanding that Allaah (God) changes. Reciting the aforementioned supplication with the understanding that one is asking Allaah to change the bad situation to become a better one (and not to change what Allaah eternally Willed) is not sinful.

It is a good matter to recite the following supplication on the 15th night of Sha^ban:

Which means: O Allaah, you are the Alive, the Qayyum, the Forgiver of sins, the One Who accepts the repentance, the One Who created the guidance, the One Who endows the Endowments on the people and sustains them, the Generous and Most Merciful. O Allah, We ask You be the virtue of Your Good Names to raise the rank of our Prophet Muhammad, to guide to mention you a lot, to make us rely deeply on You, and to make us satisfied with what You give us without leaning towards acquiring worldly matters from other than , to guide to mention you a lot, to make us rely deeply on You, and to make us satisfied with what You give us without leaning towards acquiring worldly matters from other than You, and to do the good deeds. We ask You to give a perfect belief and a strong certitude, and to gather us on the Day Judgment with the prophets, the martyrs, and the righteous Muslims. We ask You for all of that by the virtue of our Master, Muhammad, the Master of the Messengers and the Special beloved person to His Lord. Praise be to Allah, the Owner of the humans and the jinns. May Allah raise the rank of our Prophet, Muhammad, and protect his nation from that which he fears for them Aaameen.

#shaban #supplication #dua #duadoesnotchangeqadr #qadr #destiny #will #islam #allaah

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retireearlyandtravel · 5 years

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New Post has been published on https://www.retireearlyandtravel.com/slovenia/

Slovenia, a Spotlight on the Best Things to See and Do

Slovenia is an amazing country, and if it’s not part of your future travel plans, it should be. It is probably no coincidence that Slovenia has the word love in it. This small boutique country, in the heart of Europe, no pun intended exudes love in so many ways. To begin with, Slovenia is the first country in the world to be declared a green destination based on the Green Destinations Criteria. Caring for the environment is a priority of every Slovenian. In fact, one in every two hundred people, and growing, in Slovenia is involved in beekeeping. What a great way to help the planet!

We decided to visit the east side of Slovenia. Given Slovenia’s small size, it is easy to drive to most places for a visit in a day. In Slovenia, there are many diverse things to see and do. There’s something for everyone’s taste.

We have a recommendation for a complete, full day of amazing touring in Slovenia. We suggest visiting Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, climb Gonjace Lookout Tower and finish the day with a wine tasting at Edi Simcic Winery. Because getting to all of three places can be difficult, we recommend a private tour with Ride Around Tours. They customized this tour just for us when we were in Slovenia. We had the full attention of our guide, and we could decide on how much time we spent at each place. In addition, while our guide drove, she would discuss the wonders of Slovenia. One of our favorite things to do when we travel is to talk to a local so when we drove, there was never silence. The advantages of a local guide. Here is some insight into our recommendations:

Postojna Cave

We visited the Postojna Cave, otherwise known as the “Queen of the Underground World.” Let me tell you this 2 million-year-old cave system is jaw-dropping. Postojna is the largest cave we have ever toured. When you enter, they give you the opportunity to rent a coat. They warn you just how cold it is in the cave. The temperature is a constant 50 degrees F with a humidity of 95%. We had our own warm coats, so we were prepared.

The huge caverns are some distance from the entrance, but they have a small electric train system that transports you back to the walking area. We traveled on the train for about 15 minutes before entering the huge open cavern. We disembarked the train and joined the group for the tour.

Tiny droplets of heavy mineral water shaped the fascinating subterranean paradise that is now Postojna Cave for over a million years. There are many cave formations and diverse fauna. Postojna Cave boasts towering mountains, murmuring rivers and vast subterranean halls. The cave is home to the famous magnificent five-meter-tall bright-white stalagmite called Brilliant.

The cave first opened as a tourist destination in 1819. In 1884, they added electric lights. The rails came in 1872. At first, the guides pushed the cars along the rails. It wasn’t until the early 20th century that they introduced a gas locomotive to take tourist back into the caverns. Then in 1945, the locomotive became electric.

Used in World War 2

During World War 2, German-occupied forces used the cave to store aircraft fuel. At one point, the Slovenian resistors destroyed the depot resulting in a fire that burned for seven days. Another interesting fact is that the world’s first “cave” post office resides in Postojna Cave.

There are 15 miles of underground passages, galleries, and halls in this relatively young discovery of only 200 years ago. The cave is open 365 days a year but their hours vary by month so check there site before making your plans to visit. One cavern is large enough to hold a concert, which they have throughout the year. There is a fee for this 1.5 hours guided tour.

Baby Dragons

In the Postojna Cave lives, a very unusual animal called an Olm. Olms are unusual even in their appearance: they have long snake-like bodies, with a length of 10-12 inches. Their length makes them one of the largest cave predators. Their skin is pale and pink in color and looks almost translucent. They have small short legs with three digits on their forelimbs and two on their hind feet. The Olms move around the water by snake-like twisting of their bodies, assisted by the legs. They breathe with external gills and rudimentary lungs. They have no eyes, but they can “see” with the help of skin receptors. These creatures are very good at sensing their prey and their skin very sensitive to light. They can go without food for up to twelve years and have a lifespan of up to 100 years.

The cave has some of these beautiful creatures in an aquarium type enclosure allowing you to see them easily. For the olm’s comfort and safety, they do not allow flash photography.

Predjama Castle

A few miles from Postojna Cave is the Predjama Castle. This dramatic castle is an impregnable medieval marvel perched in the middle of a 5000-foot high cliff for more than 800 years. Behind the largest cave castle in the world, there is a network of secret tunnels, from where the knight Erasmus of Predjama would set out on his plundering expeditions. The tunnels included a vertical shaft that leads to the outside of the castle, which they built to supply food to the castle during times of enemy siege.

The castle is an amazing piece of gothic architecture that they built specifically to make access difficult. They featured the castle in a Jackie Chan movie and a Ghost Hunters International episode because of its paranormal activity.

The Legend of Erasmus

Erasmus was a 15th-century robber-baron who, like Robin Hood, stole from the rich to give to the poor. The cave below the castle is part of the 14km Predjama cave system. Erasmus carried out his plundering with the help of a secret passage that led out from behind the rock wall. During the wars between the Hungarians and the Austrians, Erasmus supported the Hungarians. The Austrians did not forget this. The Austrians killed Erasmus after a very long siege. According to legend, one of his men betrayed him. They got word to the enemy when he would use the bathroom. The bathroom located in the small-detached building to the left of the castle is where the enemy decided they would get Erasmus. The bathroom was a very vulnerable location. While Erasmus was using the toilet, the enemy shot a canon at the latrine, and that was the demise of Erasmus.

The world’s largest cave castle, listed as one of the Guinness World Records, tells a picturesque story about the times when comfort had to give way to safety. It is so special and unique; it ranks among the ten most fascinating castles in the world, and so romantic that many couples choose it for their wedding vows. When in Slovenia, If nothing else visit Predjama Castle for the great pictures. There is a fee to tour the castle.

Italy is so Close

It is strange to us how countries in the Schengen Area don’t have protected borders. Our guide pointed this out to us that while I was standing in Slovenia and Tina was standing in Italy. If you looked carefully, you would see a plaque on the ground that shows the border. If you look closely, you will see some of the old border walls that once stood and separated the two countries. The only way you would know what these were are from the plaques that describe what they used to be.

We were in the town of Nova Gorica. Originally, they split a single town Gorizia/Gorica between Italy and what was then Yugoslavia following World War II. The barrier, which divided relatives and friends for decades made people anxious. The people of each town began to fear the other. The fear was due to the tense atmosphere between the East and West in the 1950s.

Back in 2004, they removed the fence, which was one of Europe’s last symbols of the Cold War-era division. It took more than a decade after the fall of the Berlin Wall for this barrier that separated families to come down. Since 1947, this barrier separated the Italian town of Gorizia from its Slovenian sister Nova Gorica. Slovenia’s decision to join the EU was the factor that made all of this possible.

Today freewill determines whether Slovenian’s or Italian’s cross the countries border. Many Italians and Slovenians in the towns of Gorizia/Gorica are friends and family. However, I am sure there are still those who are fearful of the open border.

Gonjace Lookout Tower

Gonjace Tower located in the stunning region of Brda Slovenia is a great place to visit for 360-degree views of rural Slovenia. Brda with its rolling hills, vineyards, charming old villages will remind you of Tuscany. The lookout tower Built-in 1961 is 75 feet tall. There are 144 steps to get to the top. The tower located on the hill Mejnik above the village of Gonjace provides amazing views. They dedicated the tower to the 315 victims of World War II who lived in the area.

When the sky is clear, you can enjoy the breathtaking views of all four points of the compass: the Julian and Carnian Alps, as well as the Dolomites to the North, the Friulian plain to the West, the Trieste Gulf and the Karst to the South, and the Trnovo forest and the Vipava Valley to the east. Do not forget to bring binoculars and of course your camera. The winds can be fierce when at the top so be careful.

Slovenia and Wine

Slovenia is home to some fantastic wines. Winemaking in Slovenia existed long before the Romans introduced winemaking to France, Germany, and Spain. Winemaking here dates back to the Celts. Slovenia produces almost 80 million liters of wine a year, and almost all this wine is savored right in Slovenia. There is another reason to visit Slovenia, which is the Slovenian wineries. The wineries set in picturesque locations are all unique.

Edi Simcic Winery

Our guide Matic of Ride Around Tours took us to an area favorite called Edi Simcic. The winery located in Western Slovenia in the Goriška Brda region is charming. The region of Goriška Brda is on the border of Italy and Slovenia. This region is noted most for white wines: Mediterranean exotic, minerally, full-bodied and fresh at the same time, with an aging potential of up to five or six years. The most notable and famous red variety produced here is the Rebula. It accounts for around 25% of all the wine produced in Goriška Brda. Rebula is originally from Greece but has grown in Slovenia for at least 750 years.

The Edi Simcic winery and tasting room are attractive and complete with a friendly dog! The winery setting is magical with views of vines on sloping hills. The laid back, tasting-room setting, and the unpretentious hosts make you feel like you are tasting wine in someone’s home. But, they are not too laid back, they use the best crystal glasses for tastings. Edi began the winery but his son Aleks, who we met while we were there, runs the winery today. The winery began in 1990 with 9 acres and today is 30 acres. Besides wine, Edi Simcic has champagnes and local products like jams, juices, and of course honey.

Traveling to the Goriška Brda region is fascinating because you actually travel through a few kilometers of Italy before emerging on the other side in Slovenia again. Because of the proximity to Italy, this part of Slovenia does have an Italian feel.

Beautiful Slovenia

We can tell you from experience that visiting Postojna Cave, Predjama Castle, climbing Gonjace Lookout Tower for the scenic views and finish the day with a wine tasting at Edi Simcic Winery is the perfect way to spend a day in Slovenia. Moreover, having Ride Around Tours chauffer us around and educate us on the sites was the best way to experience this area. Not to mention we made a new friend.

Be sure and check out our other Slovenia experiences such as The Best Things to See and Do in Ljubljana Slovenia.

We have this fantastic 3-minute video highlighting this trip.

youtube

#Our Adventures

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novelmachine · 7 years

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Ten UNDERTALE Fanworks Every Fan Needs to Check Out

It’s February 15th, time once again to celebrate International Fanworks Day! Seriously, how great is that? Whether it’s books, movies, comics, games or television series, fanworks make up a huge part of their communities. This year I’m tackling UNDERTALE, the game that most people (myself included) fell in love with and whose fandom is still going strong more than a year later.

Some of them have been completed, some of them are only partially done, and some of them have been forgotten. Regardless of their status, I think they’re special and amazing and I hope you will love them as much as I do. I’ll do my best to leave out any spoilers.

Death by Glamour

Here’s a neat animatic featuring our favorite human and robot. Animated by Alyssa Gerwing, this video makes their battle look really cool, bringing the fight sequence out of the box and into UNDERTALE’s real world. You have to love the pacing and timing, which is perfectly in sync with the boss music. The facial expressions really give it something extra, whether it be humor or drama. What a stylish video! @walkingmelonsaaa

Papyrus Finds a Human

This animation was an unexpected delight. This was not the cutesy video I thought it would be. With it’s mild swearing and cartoon violence, Mike (a.k.a. Piemations) created a brilliantly funny video. The voice acting is flawless. The punchlines hit home. Papyrus is the best. I can’t write much else without giving all the best bits away. Just go experience it for yourself. As an added bonus, I highly recommend turning on the subtitles while watching the video for the second time. You will not be disappointed.

UNDERTALE ANNIVERSARY

This animation blew me away. I was a fan of iscoppie’s Game Grumps animations before this, but wow. This six-minute video depicts a moment I rarely see people tackle: how Undyne and Alphys met. It’s a bittersweet meeting when you really think about it, and this animation captures and balances all of the emotions involved: fear, hope, resignation, awe. The colors are gorgeous, the voice talent is wonder, and the music is beautiful. This is the best UNDERTALE tribute to date. @iscoppie

The Sons of Gaster

There are many theories as to how, or even if, Sans and Papyrus are connected to W.D. Gaster. One popular theory is that they were created by the doctor. This two-part comic series by sansybones depicts the skeleton brothers’ beginnings: their time with Gaster, growing and gaining independence, and how the two bros become family. The black-and-white style–with the occasional blue–is very effective and looks really nice. I especially love Papyrus’ facial expressions; they capture his personality perfectly. One thing I do appreciate is that this isn’t just a Sans story. Papyrus is just as important and has just as much focus and growth. Sansybones’ depiction of the UNDERTALE characters is fantastic. Their feelings, struggles, and personalities feel genuine and sincere. It’s an emotional roller coaster well worth the ride. @sansybones

They Say He Shattered

I’m a big fan of the multiverse theory. I’ve talked about it extensively in regards to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you’re like me, then this comic is right up your alley. Emily plays with the idea of timelines collapsing and converging in They Say He Shattered, creating the best kind of mess. It’s a fascinating story that balances humor and seriousness very well. Each game ending results in another dimension, but it seems the very fabric of time and space has been broken. Characters come face-to-face with different realities or feel the effects of forces on their other selves. Some things happen out of order. Some things that never should have been are now possible. It’s really hard to explain, but well worth a read. I’m really excited to get to the bottom of this mystery. @theysayheshattered

A CHARActer Analysis

Normally when we think of “fanwork” we think of art, music, fanfiction, cosplay, videos, and animation. However, this thesis bears recognition. Toby Fox created a cast of characters rich in personality and full of life. Chara is one of the only characters in UNDERTALE to be almost unanimously revered and portrayed as one-dimensional. They’re evil and hate humanity and that’s the end of that. Only it’s not. In this analysis we are shown every detail we may have missed. Chara’s story is scattered throughout the game. There are so many subtle hints and clues that most people wouldn’t notice or even think twice about. This in-depth thesis is by far the best explanation of who/what Chara is, who they were, and their role in the overall game. With all of this evidence, you may find yourself viewing Chara in a completely different light. @thefloweryfanclub

Never a Lovely So Real

The artwork shown above was created by theslowesthnery.

Of all the UNDERTALE AU’s, the Gangster/Mob AU is my big favorite. I adore this AU, and this fanficiton was heaven-sent. Kaesa’s Never a Lovely So Real is loosely based on Hnery’s neat headcanons and spectacular art surrounding the Gangster AU. This story is told from Sans’ point of view as he tries to keep the family safe. You have all of your favorite major characters playing their roles in the operation, while a lot of minor characters show up frequently as well. I really appreciate that Sans and Alphys are science bros and have to work as a team. I normally don’t like a who lot of new characters being added into fanfictions, but here it works. Getting to know the rival gang members goes to show that not everything is black-and-white, especially in these types of situations. Much like the game, the “bad guys” aren’t always bad guys. One of the greatest things about this fanfiction is how much research and knowledge went into it. I was impressed by how authentic this story felt the first time I read through it. Kaesa did her homework and it shows. There’s mystery. There’s action. There’s romance. There’s suspense. This is a great work. Did I mention the Gangster AU was my favorite? @kaesaaurelia

Under Shield

The artwork shown above was created by hamstermastersamster.

Here we have my favorite post-true-pacifist story. Under Shield by Fantasia Wandering is a series of fics told out of order telling of Frisk growing up and growing into their role as ambassador, as well as dealing with their past and becoming part of a family again. Frisk is given a lot of character and background, but it never seems like too much. Frisk is a person with big feelings and big thoughts, and sometimes they can weigh too heavily on their mind. These feelings, accompanied with the struggles of growing up, are relatable to everyone and make it easy to slip into Frisk’s shoes. Although Frisk is the main focus, some of the main cast have important developments as well. One of the most powerful chapters in this series is the eighth part: Penance. Asgore’s redemption arc is a prominent theme throughout the series. He’s not immediately forgiven for his sins by Toriel, or even himself. This in turn affects his relationship with Frisk. It’s a process that takes many years and the reader is there for each important step. This fic’s strongest suit is its stunning imagery. The environments Fantasia has created are painted so vividly. Any reader can picture the settings in great detail. Overall, this is one well-written series. @fantasiawandering

Blood of the Covenant

The artwork shown above was created by donidoodles.

Remember when PTA Sans was a thing? Well, this is the PTA slice-of-life UNDERTALE story the fans deserve. Blood of the Covenant takes place nearly a decade after the game. Everyone has grown up–and it shows–but they still retain their character. Doni’s characterization is so on point. This fic has the most realistic high school you’ll ever find. None of that Lifetime or Disney Channel nonsense here. The history teacher coaches the football team, the PTA is a hot mess, and aside form a few ass-hats the kids are generally nice and friendly. (Is this my high school? I feel like this was based on my high school.) The story’s strongest appeal is that every character’s time is balanced and utilized effectively. This cast is huge and yet every single one of them has their time to shine. I’ve read a lot of UNDERTALE PTA fics and most of them are a lot of fun, but a common trend in those stories is that the human members of the PTA (Linda, Helen, etc.) are usually so cartoonish and two-dimensional, like their only purpose is to be ignorant evil villains. Here our antagonists are fleshed out. They have feelings, struggles, even arcs of their own. They learn and grow just as the protagonists do. This is a fantastic, well-rounded story. I lost so much sleep the first time I read through it because I could not stop. It was all worth it, though. I promise. @doniblogs

The Scientist

The link provided leads to AO3, but you can also read it on Tumblr. The artwork shown above was created by hamstermastersamster.

This is my favorite pre-game scenario. Out of all the fanfictions I’ve read, this two-part series written by Pen has the best portrayal of Dr. W.D. Gaster and his backstory. The first part of the series, The Scientist, revolves around the life and times of the royal scientist before Dr. Alphys got the job. The passage of time feels seamless, from the point of monsters’ imprisonment to the end of Gaster’s existence. It makes sense and goes right along with UNDERTALE’s timeline. Everything fits together like a puzzle. I could go on and on about the relationship between Gaster and Sans. It is just so strong and told very well. They are co-workers instead of father and son as I’ve seen in many fanfictions. (I prefer the colleague dynamic, actually.) The audience can get a real sense that their bond teeters between healthy camaraderie and toxic friendship, eventually falling to the side of the latter. The second part in the series, Entropy, shifts the focus onto Sans and how he deals with the aftermath of Gaster’s disappearance. It shows Sans’ own decline; he is deteriorating into the character we see in-game. This story is as well-written and intriguing as its predecessor. It paints by far the most natural, realistic relationship between Papyrus and Sans. Their situation, their dialogue, and their banter is so believable. There’s something really pure about it that just makes me smile. This series, you guys. This series. @talkingsoup

So there you have it! I had so much fun making this list. I can’t believe I’ve been working on this post for a whole year.Shortly after I made a similar post about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fanworks last International Fanworks Day, I got right to work on this one. Thanks as always to anyone who read this. If you’d like to discuss anything you read here today or have recommendations of your own, please feel free to reply to this post or drop something in my ask box. Have an awesome day, friends! @undertale

#undertale #undertale fandom #international fanworks day #geeettttttt dunked on!!!#hannah reviews #hannah talks nerdy

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thedivinefish · 5 years

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TGIWednesday... and the positive side of life

TGIWednesday News

Wow, I hope you caught the free replay this past weekend of my interview with Darius on the You Wealth Revolution telesummit. If not, you’ll want to go ahead and register for the series now and catch the next time they open up the replay during this new Season #18 that runs through January. We had a great time together and Darius is an amazing interviewer, and how fun it was in that moment after I explained the technology of "the fish" in a way that made him go "Ooooooh, I get it...." Truly one of my favorite parts of doing shows like this and introducing new people to My Liquid Fish. He's such a talented and engaged interviewer and really pulled some brand new things out of me during our conversation. One of the other highlights was doing a 6-minute magical mystical prayer/meditation process for all the live listeners and for any who hear the replay. I think you’ll get a kick out of that and could make a huge difference for you.

"Loved the process! Used the issue of not having the large amount of money I'd like in order to take a training… When the bubble floated up into space, it docked into a teenage memory of my stepmother putting me down regarding money…and telling me I don't deserve. I let that scenario & bubble burst apart… Hope that helps!! I *do* feel lighter! Thanks!!" - Lis

So now for all you new folks who are joining us here at TGIW for the first time, it's your turn to learn about all the fun, free healing opportunities on my weekly radio show and be sure to check out the audios/videos and Mastery Certification program and revisit the Free MLF Starter Kit again! Hard to believe we’re plowing into the Fall season already - know that we are here as a resource to and for you.

TGIWednesday Download

~ THE POSITIVE SIDE OF LIFE ~ (Press play to watch and listen as I fish this for you)

I believe think, know and feel that I can be positive. I am ready, willing and able to radiate outwardly more positivity. I know when where how and why to attract the positive and to radiate out even more. And I am asking for this in all languages and throughout all time lines and so it is.

From the Fish Box

Q&A WITH JIMMY Q) "Thank you so much for interesting programs to which I listen a lot. However, I have two questions which I hope you would be so kind as to provide some feedback on: Could the Liquid Fish be visulalised and still be effective?" - Per H. /Norway A) "Yes, it’s what I do now but I can assure you it's only after a decade of doing it I would highly recommend you continue to trace and make the symbol for quite some time maybe the rest of the year because YOUR brain may not accept that change has been made/believe/think/know or feel that change has been made until AFTER you've done the symbol A LOT.........." - Jimmy Q) "Another symbol used in your logo consists of three interlocked circles. Would you please provide some info on that and if it is part of the techniques presented? - Per H. /Norway A) "This was a symbol my graphic artist printer friend came up with as my logo..............meaningless compared to the fish" - Jimmy

FREE Weekly LIVE Healings and Messages

TODAY at 3pm EDT - SPIRITUAL INSIGHTS RADIO Today Wednesday October 2nd at 3pm I'll be taking callers LIVE on air on Spiritual Insights Radio with host Charlotte Spicer. Call (347) 934-0751 or Listen Here Online EVERY TUESDAY at 9pm EDT - JIMMY MACK HEALING SHOW Join me and my guests weekly on Tuesdays at 9pm ET/ 6pm PT Call in LIVE (713)-955-0594 It's your chance to get FREE intuitive messages on my weekly radio show. My guests are some of the best psychic readers & intuitive healers on the planet! Tune in every Tuesday night LIVE or just catch the replay & YOU will receive changes & healings just by listening!

Visit the TheJimmyMackHealingShow.com for a full archived listing & all replays!

To listen LIVE, click the date links below: **Due to all of BlogTalkRadio being down last night due to technical difficulties which is pretty rare. The Oct 1st show w/Psychic Joanne Leo was not able to happen.

October 8th – Laura Romiero Will be my guest and she is an awesome angel communicator and reader. https://www.angelsandhealinglight.com/about

October 15th – Mark Hernandez Mark Hernandez is a Holistic Practitioner as well as a certified Body Code and Emotion Code Practitioner (Dr. Bradley Nelson). Mark has intuitive gifts and extensive training in reading subtle energy fields of people and animals, and identifying/releasing energies that can lock into place in our bodies. www.peopleandpetsenergetics.com

October 22 – Sandra Sullivan A gifted Psychic and Tarot Card Reader - http://www.crystalvisionsbooks.com/sandra-sullivan-2/

October 29th – Rev Debbie Dienstbier Our resident Trans Medium communicating with your loved ones in spirit.

Live In-Person Appearances

EVERY FRIDAY at KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

Tampa folks come see me on FRIDAYs - I'm scheduling 15 and 30 minute appointments at Kodawari Yoga Studios from 10am-2pm. Call Kodawari's front desk directly to schedule (813) 773-4017 and pay at the concierge desk... 15 minutes 33$ or 30 minutes 65$. 3965 Henderson Blvd Suite C Tampa (813) 773-4017 http://www.kodawariyoga.com/ Book on Friday October 4th October 11th October 18th October 25th

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime! (Newly added to Mastery - The Dowser's Handbook)

"Jimmy's My Liquid Fish Change Made Simple program is AMAZING!!! He gives you not only videos so you can see the changes within people, but also the books he's written as well! On top of that he's provided all the links and visuals you need so ANY type of learner can do it!! I appreciated having it to download in a PDF so I can go back to it any time, plus the books and ACTUAL healing sessions so you see, know and understand the whole process even better!!Highly recommend to ANYONE looking to change and make not only their life... but everyone's around them better as well!!" - E.J. / Florida

The Certificate of Mastery Program includes 2 best-selling ebooks and 2 clearing audios plus written & video instructions, AND one-on-one time with Jimmy ALL for about the cost of a single 1-hr session! This online course is for anyone who is familiar with OR new to "fishing" and is ready to dive into the deep end & get results that are beyond the ordinary! It includes The Tackle Box & The Dowser's Handbook ebooks PLUS 2 MP3s "Clearing Dark Energies" & "Increasing Your Intuition" to help clear, strengthen and prepare your energy field for optimal “fishing” results. This is a work-at-your-own-pace curriculum that will TEACH & CLEAR you at the same time! In under 2wks you will be finished with the program and ready to fish on your own with greater results! Level II offers Practitioner Certification for those who qualify.

LEARN MORE HERE

Receive 24/7 Daily Prayers From Jimmy

I will dial into you daily in the wee hours and make certain that you are a CLEAR YES, UNCLEAR to NO and RUNNING FORWARD before you start your day. You will send me a list of the members of your immediate household, and yes even pets, and I will add them to my daily prayers. I will arise daily before you are even awake to start my prayers and also run my intelligent computer software 24/7 deleting the negative and increasing the strength of the positive creating a higher probability of outcomes for you and the family. Each comes with a one-time email analysis print out via the intelligent healing software that I use on your behalf. Most clients have had amazing results and outcomes and I get emails of thanks each and every week!

Choose 7 days @$33 Choose 14 days @$66 Choose 30 days @$99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

OCTOBER 2nd "Today I will maintain my hope in my innocence and my steadfast resolve to succeed in life. I will continue to plow forward while acknowledging the power of the holy spirit to change any situation into my favor and direct the winds of change into my direction."

For those who aren't familiar, here's the list of the MyBeliefWorks™ audio library. Find a topic that addresses your issue(s), click on the link to read more. We had a lot of help downloading & channeling these over the years & they keep getting better.

Abundance Abuse Addiction Body Scan: Head to Toe Daily GPS Reset Dark Energies/Fears Decision Making Diet & Exercise Education & Learning Family & Relatives The Gold Coin Healing Physical Body Healing Mental Stress Holiday Stress

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Sex Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

Forward

Jimmy Mack 727.678.0557 EST | Appointments Skype: Jimmy.Mack55 Clearwater Florida USA Book a 15 minute session Book a 30 minute session Book a 60 minute session Transformational Healing of Body, Mind & Spirit, People, Places, Pets & Situations! Download the My Liquid Fish® Starter Kit (*Updated May 2019) Audio MP3 Downloads and books to improve your life! Get Certified in My Liquid Fish® Change Made Simple® Watch Free Videos on YouTube Weekly Radio Show Archives Shop for Supplements http://www.jimmymackhealingshop.com www.jimmymackhealing.com Copyright ©1998-2019 All Rights Reserved

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com

Stay connected!

Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

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divinefishingtips · 5 years

Text

TGIWednesday... and the positive side of life

TGIWednesday News

TGIWednesday Download

~ THE POSITIVE SIDE OF LIFE ~ (Press play to watch and listen as I fish this for you)

From the Fish Box

FREE Weekly LIVE Healings and Messages

Visit the TheJimmyMackHealingShow.com for a full archived listing & all replays!

October 8th – Laura Romiero Will be my guest and she is an awesome angel communicator and reader. https://www.angelsandhealinglight.com/about

October 22 – Sandra Sullivan A gifted Psychic and Tarot Card Reader - http://www.crystalvisionsbooks.com/sandra-sullivan-2/

October 29th – Rev Debbie Dienstbier Our resident Trans Medium communicating with your loved ones in spirit.

Live In-Person Appearances

EVERY FRIDAY at KODAWARI YOGA STUDIOS TAMPA

Go deep sea "fishing" with Jimmy!

Level 1 is open to ANYONE at anytime! (Newly added to Mastery - The Dowser's Handbook)

LEARN MORE HERE

Receive 24/7 Daily Prayers From Jimmy

Choose 7 days @$33 Choose 14 days @$66 Choose 30 days @$99

**Can't See The Full Email? Click Here to View Online**

Fish Food

The Daily Bread To Feed The Fish

Tell The Fish: 365 Daily Inspirations & Affirmations

Increasing Intuition IRS & Tax Time Love & Romance Money Mindset Moving Forward Pain Relief Pet Healing Sales & Success Sex Sleep Traveling w/Ease Work & Career Weight Loss Youth & Vitality

TGIFunny

Forward

-------------------------------------------------- TGIW newsletter managed by: Sandy Bidinger Digital Marketing Specialist at SMBeConnected Solutions www.smbeconnected.com

Stay connected!

Our mailing address is: Clearwater Florida 33756 USA

0 notes