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newjerseyprelawland-blog · 1 year

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Former President Trump Withdraws “Frivolous” Lawsuit Against New York Attorney General Letitia James

By Sara Beshai, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Class of 2023

February 3, 2023

Former US. President Donald Trump has withdrawn his lawsuit against the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, which accused her of investigating Trump's businesses for political reasons and infringing on his personal rights. This came after Trump was issued a warning and a nearly 1 million dollar fine from Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks for repeatedly filing "frivolous" lawsuits against General James.

This is not the first legal incident Trump has had with General James, a brief background on the two's legal history is as follows.

This past September, General James filed a lawsuit against Trump and his children for $250 million. She began to investigate Trump's businesses for fraud, including valuing his businesses for billions over their genuine value. The lawsuit listed Donald J Trump, Donald Trump Junior, Eric Trump, Ivanka Trump, the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust, the Trump Organization INC, and Corporation, among others. General James filed the lawsuit as part of a previous ongoing investigation into Trump and his business practices that began in 2020.

In his first attempt to stop the investigation and block the courts from accessing his business documents, Trump filed an appeal when General James was granted access to further investigate Trump Organizations and subpoenaed tax documents. Trump alleged that General James was conducting the investigation because the two's political beliefs varied and not because he was truly guilty of fraud. The appeal was dismissed by Judge Brenda Sannes.

The second attempt to stop the investigation was the suit filed this past November, which Trump withdrew this past week. In the preliminary statement, Trump's lawyer stated;

Extraordinary wrongdoings require extraordinary relief. As set forth below, James has repeatedly abused her position as Attorney General for the State of New York to pursue a relentless, pernicious, public and unapologetic crusade against President Trump, a resident of Palm Beach County, Florida, with the stated goal of destroying him personally, financially, and politically. Suffice it to say that these actions are contrary to both the laws of New York and Florida.6

The lawsuit was said to be advised against by several legal advisors and attorneys of Trump; the general council of Trump's real estate business even warned his lawyers in Florida to that submitting the suit to the courts could be an act of malpractice. Despite this, he continued with the suit and alleged that General James infringed on his rights to privacy in Florida, as this is where Trump currently lives. One of Trump's attorneys stated that the appeal was withdrawn "voluntarily" for "strategic purposes." 2

General James commented on the situation: "I am pleased that Donald Trump has withdrawn both of his pending actions against my office. As we have shown all along, we have a legitimate legal case against him and his organization, and we cannot be bullied or dissuaded from pursuing it.” 5

Trump previously tried to block the investigation by filing a complaint with the federal court in New York; however, Judge Brenda Sannes dismissed the complaint this past May. In November 2022, when his complaint was unsuccessful, Trump countersued. lawsuit was the second unsuccessful effort made by Trump and his lawyers to stop General James's investigation into his business, which led to pushback from Judge Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks stated that these lawsuits from Trump and his team, including a dismissed suit raised against Hillary Clinton, have been a misuse of the court system, done to seek revenge, and should never have been raised. As Trump’s lawyers file uncredible and baseless lawsuits, Trump and his attorneys risk more serious repercussions from judges. In his statement, Judge Middlebrooks wrote Trump’s lawyer’s actions could be considered malpractice because of how outrageous and baseless their claims are against General James. [1]

______________________________________________________________

1. Andrew Hamik. “A Judge Fines Trump and His Lawyer for a 'Frivolous' Suit against His Political Foes.” NPR, NPR, 20 Jan. 2023, https://www.npr.org/2023/01/20/1150298957/donald-trump-frivolous-lawsuit-fine-alina-habba-clinton-comey-middlebrooks.

2. Bromwich, Jonah E., et al. “Trump Files a Suit Against N.Y.’s Attorney General, and Against Advice.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 3 Nov. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/03/nyregion/trump-lawsuit-ny-attorney-general.html.

3. Debusmann, Bernd Jr. “Trump Drops Lawsuit against New York Attorney General Letitia James - BBC News.” BBC News, BBC News, 20 Jan. 2023, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64347994.

4. Gerstein, Josh. “Judge Slams Trump Suit Aimed at Blocking N.Y. Attorney General Probe - POLITICO.” POLITICO, 21 Dec. 2022, https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/21/judge-slams-trump-new-york-attorney-general-probe-00075067.

5. Mangan, Dan. “Judge Dismisses Trump Lawsuit against New York Attorney General James.” CNBC, CNBC, 27 May 2022, https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/27/judge-dismisses-trump-lawsuit-against-new-york-attorney-general-james.html.

6. Press, Michael R. Sisak, Associated. “Trump Drops Appeal, Ending Legal Fight against New York Attorney General Letitia James | PBS NewsHour.” PBS NewsHour, https://www.facebook.com/newshour/, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/trump-drops-appeal-ending-legal-fight-against-new-york-attorney-general-letitia-james.

7. Scannell, Kara. “Trump Withdraws Another Lawsuit against NY Attorney General Letitia James | CNN Politics.” CNN, CNN, 24 Jan. 2023, https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/24/politics/trump-letitia-james-withdraws-lawsuit/index.html.

8. Ralph, Kaylen. “New York Attorney General Letitia James Says Trump Can't ‘Avoid Justice’ with Pardon.” Teen Vogue, Teen Vogue, 9 Dec. 2020, https://www.teenvogue.com/story/letitia-james-new-york-attorney-general-trump-presidential-pardon.

Photo Credit: WBLS

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metanoiyed-archive · 3 years

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The Ahistorical “Burning Times”, Or: Why White People Shouldn’t Be Trusted To Record History

*cracking knuckles* If you saw this post about this post, you know what this is about. If not, read them and come back. Without further ado: The Ahistorical “Burning Times”, Or: Why White People Shouldn’t Be Trusted To Record History.

“The important backdrop for this group is the time period that modern witches and pagans refer to as The Burning Times.”

So the first thing you’ll notice about posts or books that mentioned the ‘burning times’ is that they use very purposeful wording and diction. Notice how the OP says ‘that modern witches and pagans refer to as’ and not, “what historians refer to as”? That’s because historian’s don’t refer to it as the burning times, they refer to it as the ‘Witch Craze’ or ‘Witch Hysteria’, where many people in medieval Europe and America [14th-17th century, but 16th and 17th were the most popular years] were often falsely accused of witchcraft and hung - not burned - for the crime. During the Salem Witch Trials, especially, people like to say ‘we are the granddaughters of witches you couldn’t burn’ -- but no witches were even burned at the stake in Salem (1). Accusing someone of witchcraft was very, very often a political tool used by the Roman Catholic Church or others who operated under it to execute whomever they wished, but we’ll get to that in a second.

“Europe and America were thrust into a moral panic and hysteria over alleged satanic witches. Most of those accused were midwives, healers, poor women, women suffering from mental health issues, and women who were practicing preChristian traditions.” So... Yes to: hysteria, healers and women suffering from mental health issues and practicing pre-Christian traditions. No to pretty much everything else. Men who were healers or suffering mental health issues were also accused, but that’s because anyone could call witchcraft like a boy crying wolf and it was believed. In my ‘A Deed Without A Name’ notes, I go over how in some cases it appears that a certain aspect of people who are in some way different can indicate they’re touched, but often in the past I’m inclined to think in most cases it was simply used to execute people. Also, they killed people practicing pre-Christian traditions because they were racist Europeans and colonialists, and most of the time those pre-Christian traditions were by POC. 14th Century-17th Century is by no means pre-Christian, by that point a lot of folk belief in Europe had been touched by Christian belief, not so much that it entirely changed it, but enough. ‘Alleged’ Satanic witches? Are we just purposefully looking away from Isobel Gowdie’s confession before she was executed? Confessions of people [of those who confessed and were actually witches] who made deals with the Devil/Man in Black/Witchfather in some form are overwhelmingly common. (2).

“Many witches fear a return to the Burning Times, when any old woman was burned at the stake for merely existing below the poverty level.” I really have nothing groundbreaking to say about this one, just that I hate the OP for making me look at it and I hope they stub their toe. ‘fear a return to the burning times’ my ass.

“The total number of those murdered under the guise of witch accusations varies widely by source. Many historians have argued that the number is anywhere between 40,000 and 60,000. Other sources, however, have claimed the number is closer to 100,000 with potentially hundreds of thousands more unaccounted for. It has even been suggested that there were 392,000 in Great Britain alone. The highest number, and number that has become part of popular legend, is approximately 9 million (with the fullness of the Crusades and Spanish Inquisition included). It will never be certain how many women, men, and children were killed, and truthfully the numbers game is irrelevant in the face of trauma. Any genocide, no matter how big or small, is a moral stain on our history.”

Other sources? What sources. You don’t name any of yours, I noticed. ‘Any genocide ... a moral stain on our history’ yet I am sure you turn a blind eye to the plight of those right in front of you, while my people suffer a real continued genocide, you make a fantasy crime. Statista did a chart on how many people were tried and executed between 1300 and 1850, and the number is even lower than you think. (3).

“The Burning Times were a systematic rooting out of female power and autonomy, and non-christian practices. The midwives and healers posed a threat to the structures and systems of politics and medicine... both groups challenging the patriarchy.” This sounds... so fishy. Doesn’t this sound like a weird radical-feminist argument? I’m not implying anything about OP, but the way this whole paragraph reads while trying to include ‘men, women and children’ and then focusing on how this was a whole attack on the women against the patriarchy just... grosses me out, a lot. Because it was never about that, has never been about that, and will never be about that. I also just don’t trust people who refer to women as ‘females’ but that’s just me.

“Most of the following women were (wrongfully) believed to have had sexual intercourse with Satan, signing their names into his black book with their blood.” Again, are we just ignoring Isobel Gowdie’s straight up confession? Or any of the other confessions from Scotland, England, and surrounding areas? This stupid purity culture of wanting to be seen as better to outsiders is so annoying. “I’m not like that trope of witches you’ve seen, we don’t actually have sex with the Devil or sign his black book with blood!” Just because some of us aren’t worried to get our hands dirty and you are doesn’t mean that other witches don’t do that. “wrongfully” where the fuck are you getting your information? Many confessions that they did get included detailed accounts of joining the Man in Black for sabbats, having sex with him, and signing his black book. Not everyone continues the practice today, but some definitely do, they definitely did, and it definitely wasn’t “wrongfully believed”. They were powerful women in their own right. If anything OP, by trying to separate themselves from the legacy of these women, has disgraced them in that way. It takes courage and strength to work with infernal forces from the otherside like that, and here this asshole is just shittin’ on their name pretending they never risked their lives doing it. A source on this from Isobel Gowdie, “As I was going betuix the townes of Drumdewin and the Headis, I met with the Devil, and ther covenanted, in a maner, with him.” and from ‘A Deed Without A Name’ by Lee Morgan, “As we can see when we look over the testimonies of witches from earlier times not everyone is initially approached by an animal spirit. Isobel Gowdie seems to have initially been approached by ‘the Devil’, Bessie Dunlop by a faerie man who claims to have once lived as a human man, others were taken by faeries or by the spirit of another living human practitioner.” (4)

And obviously there are various other sources, these are not the only ones. I’m just too tired to go through my library, cite them all, attach them all - y’all gotta do your own work for once. Read actual history, please. Learn discernment. I don’t even have the energy to go through the list of people the OP put as ‘in memoriam’ because I have no idea if those are historical reasons, either, but honestly I don’t even wanna know. Anyway, it’s bullshit and ahistorical, thanks for coming to my tedtalk. If you push this narrative you owe Black, Native, Jewish people and anyone else otherwise affected by the witch-craze repatriations immediately, I don’t make the rules except I do and those are the rules.

Citations:

Andrews, Evan. “Were Witches Burned at the Stake during the Salem Witch Trials?” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 13 Aug. 2014, www.history.com/news/were-witches-burned-at-the-stake-during-the-salem-witch-trials.

Wilby, E. (2013). The visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, witchcraft and dark shamanism in seventeenth-century Scotland. Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.

McCarthy, Niall, and Felix Richter. “Infographic: The Death Toll Of Europe's Witch Trials.” Statista Infographics, 29 Oct. 2019, www.statista.com/chart/19801/people-tried-and-executed-in-witch-trials-in-europe/

Morgan, Lee. A Deed without a Name: Unearthing the Legacy of Traditional Witchcraft. Moon Books, 2013.

#witchcraft #witchblr #isobel gowdie #bessie dunlop #a deed without a name #lee morgan #emma wilby #burning times #ahistorical narrative #ahistorical #history lesson #history #witch craze #witch hysteria #long post #history of witchcraft

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fiftymilehighclub · 3 years

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Crash Course: Billy and Tommy

For the uninitiated who just found out about these two via WandaVision, here is the sequence of events that leads to a) why the boys have different last names and b) why Tommy has white hair:

Vision and the Scarlet Witch, 1985: Billy and Tommy are born while Wanda and Vision are living a ‘normal’ life in New Jersey. It is later established that Wanda’s pregnancy was, initially, only a psychosomatic ‘hysterical’ pregnancy due to jealousy over her brother’s marriage to Crystal Amaquelin (Inhuman) and birth of their daughter Luna.

It is also later established (in Young Avengers Presents: Wiccan and Speed) that Billy and Tommy were actually created by Wanda, using her reality-warping powers and the power of an eldritch god which had inhabited her body, using fragments of the soul of Mephisto, lord of Hell.

During a battle, Wanda momentarily loses the focus which keeps the souls attached to the twins’ bodies, and they vanish. However, the fragments of soul which created them were purified by her love, and instead of returning to Mephisto, were instead reborn in the bodies of two boys living in separate parts of New England: Billy Kaplan, in the Upper West Side (later Chelsea), New York, and Tommy Shepherd, in Springfield, New Jersey.

Though it has been considered dubiously canon now, early on it was hinted that both boys were adopted at the same time; Billy also mentions having two brothers who are never named and only mentioned once.

Young Avengers v1 issue 1-6, April 2005: After the events of Disassembled. The Avengers are defunct, due to Wanda’s mental breakdown over the loss of her children caused a causality chain-reaction that led to the deaths of several Avengers (including Jack of Hearts and Ant-Man, Scott Lang). A group of boys, led by a time-displaced youthful version of Kang the Conqueror (Nathaniel Richards, a distant descendant of both Tony Stark and Reed Richards) is determined to change his destiny as a supervillain by reforming the Avengers and being a hero called Iron Lad and leading a team consisting of Patriot (Eli Bradley, nephew of Captain America/Josiah X, America: Red, White and Black), Hulkling (Teddy Altman, son of Captain Marvel [Mar-Vell] and Princess Anelle of the Skrull Empire, who is unaware of his heritage at the start and believes himself to be a mutant), and Asgardian (Billy Kaplan, who aside from being a massive Avengers fanboy doesn’t have an immediately recognized connection to the Avengers). Cassie Lang, daughter of the late Ant-Man, demands to join the team, calling herself Stature (she has stolen Pym particles and can grow and shrink at will) and later, after rescuing her family from a hostage situation, Kate Bishop insinuates herself into the team as well and is, at the end, simply called Hawkeye.

House of M, August 2005: The Young Avengers are too new to be ‘involved’ in the event, but the twins (and their creepy ‘brother’ Tyler) are present as small children in Wanda’s delusion. She re-lives their birth, and re-traumatizes herself in their loss. It’s a whole thing. Her daughter with Nightcrawler (TJ) from another reality shows up. (Nocturne is an actual bean please read up on her).

Decimation, January 2006: “No More Mutants.” 198 mutants out of millions are all that remain after Wanda’s proclamation. Fortuitously, two of those who remain are Billy and Tommy (and TJ)

Young Avengers v1 issue 7-12: Teddy is caught in the middle of an intergalactic power struggle: both the Kree and Skrulls want him, as he has significant positions of power with both races, and his mother (who he discovers was really his nursemaid who spirited him away from the Skrull homeworld to protect him) is murdered by the Super-Skrull. In order to rescue him, the Young Avengers use the Vision’s programming (now stored in Iron Lad’s old suit, now named Jonas) to track down another potential linked mutant. They break Tommy out of a mutant-research facility his mother had remanded him to after a run-in with the law. Tommy is unstable and violent, but it’s immediately clear he and Billy are twins and there is More To The Story. Billy drops the Asgardian name, starts calling himself Wiccan, and accidentally outs himself as gay (and dating Teddy) to his parents.

Young Avengers Special: Wiccan and Speed: Billy and Tommy go back to Vision and Wanda’s home in New Jersey to look for clues to their past. The Mephisto connection is established and it is confirmed that they are, in fact, Wanda’s children.

Civil War, 2006: After the New Warriors cause Nitro to detonate in front of an elementary school, killing hundreds of innocents in the process (known as the Stamford Incident), the government pushes through the Mutant Registration Act, forcing all superpowered individuals to either register with the federal government or else be deemed a risk and placed under arrest. This divides the Young Avengers -- Cassie, Kate and Jonas believe it is for the greater good, since they could still work as superheroes, just with government oversight, but Billy, Tommy, Teddy and Eli join the faction led by Captain America, which deems it unconstitutional and just plain wrong. They have a run-in with the Runaways, where they are captured by a mad scientist using Noh-Varr (Marvel Boy) as a mind-controlled soldier. Wiccan’s ears are covered with sound-dampening devices to prevent him using his powers, and he is forced to watch as the scientist attempts to study Teddy via surgical means. (it’s a little gruesome, fair warning) Later, during a night patrol these four are caught, and though they are quickly rescued, after Wiccan and Cloak transport them to another location, it turns out to be a trap, and Billy is captured and imprisoned in an extra-dimensional prison called 42.

It is speculated that he was imprisoned for anywhere from one to six months. It is also speculated that during this time, due to the verbal component of his powers (he must speak his will into being, at this point) that he was either comatose or muzzled during this time.

After being freed, Billy spends several months in shock, sitting at a window in a near-catatonic state, unable to react as his friends and family try to bring him out of it. Eventually, Teddy approaches him, and lays down an ultimatum. He proposes marriage, on the condition that Billy gets out of that window. In the issue’s last panel, they share their first on-panel kiss.

Tiny queers all over the world rejoiced.

The Children’s Crusade, 2010: The Young Avengers work on the sidelines for a while, until Wiccan accidentally overloads his powers during a fight with the terrorist group Sons of the Serpent. The Avengers want to put him on lockdown until he can control his powers, but he knows that if he can find Wanda, she can teach him all he needs to know. After busting him out of his ‘suite’ at the Tower, the rest of the Young Avengers accompany him to Wanda’s last known location -- Latveria, specifically its capital Doomstadt, ruled by Dr. Doom. There, they meet Magneto, and learn that Wanda has no memory of her past, and is a guest of Dr. Doom in his palace -- in fact, she is his fiance, and they are due to be married! Billy can’t let this rest -- he knows there’s more to it, and sneaks out of the inn they are staying at, leaving an apology note for Teddy and striking out on his own to break her free. It is revealed that Doom was taking advantage of Wanda’s amnesia in order to get access to the Cthonic power she still possessed, but after taking it for himself, Wanda’s memories return, and with the help of Billy, the rest of the Young Avengers (and absolutely no help from the Avengers or X-Men, who both show up to try and fight it out). In the end, Wanda embraces her two sons, promising to be a greater presence in their lives.

Sometime during this time, both Tommy and Teddy have begun permanently residing with the Kaplan household in Chelsea, NY.

Young Avengers, vol2, 2013: In an attempt to bring Teddy some happiness, Billy browses all possible realities to find a version of his mother who had not been murdered by the Super-Skrull. He appears to find one, but she turns out to be an extradimensional parasite called Mother, who can influence adults (here meaning anyone over the age of 21). Loki (still in his 10-year-old form due to having died and been reborn it’s a long story) appears, claiming he can help them vanquish Mother if they trust him, but America Chavez also arrives to try to discourage them. Kate and Noh-Varr have some sort of friends-with-benefits thing going and arrive with a spaceship. Tommy works at a tech-assembly company as a temp, where David Alleyne (formerly Prodigy, who lost his powers on M-day) also works. I admit my memory of this series is spotty since I wasn’t a huge fan, but it establishes that Billy is an entity known as the Demiurge, who created the reality America Chavez was born from and may, possibly, be the most powerful entity in the Marvel universe.

New Avengers vol4, 2016: Post-Secret Wars, in which a Cosmic Cube broke the Marvel multiverse and Dr. Doom attempted to put it back together again, with varying degrees of success. Bobby Da Costa (Sunspot, formerly of the New Mutants) has inherited the vast wealth and criminal empire of the organization formerly called Advanced Idea Mechanics -- A.I.M. Now calling it Avengers Idea Mechanics, he gathers a team to protect the Earth from extradimensional foes who are, apparently, spawned from a hyperfuturistic alternate version of Reed Richards. Chimeras with floating crystals for heads are nullifying magic all over the globe, but Wiccan and Songbird figure out how to use her scream to shatter them. Then, a Cthulhu-like entity called Moridun infects Billy, and a future version of the Avengers arrive in the past to kill him, including a beardly, barbarian-looking version of Hulkling. Eventually, Billy figures out that Moridun feeds on negative emotions -- and well, I’ll let Billy’s words speak for him:

“”I know what poisoned thoughts are like, Moridun. I always have. I get anxiety. I don’t think I’m good enough. I don’t like myself, even though I know -- rationally -- I know -- doesn’t matter. I have bad days, bad thoughts. And sometimes... sometimes, yeah, they’re hard to fight. But I don’t let them win every day. And I’m damn sure not going to let you win today. You’re just a cheap little bully who likes breaking toys, Moridun --

and you shouldn’t have let me see you! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!”

I freaking love this comic okay you get to see future Teddy go back home to his husband who’s standing at the sink washing dishes and talking about their daughter Katie and I cried when I first read it.

Bobby also gifts the boys a SUPER SWANKY PENTHOUSE RIGHT OFF CENTRAL PARK.

At this point, there is also a Scarlet Witch solo series, which I highly recommend reading. She is shown owning her mental illness, cutting Pietro out of her life in order to maintain it, and coming to grips with the loss of Vision and reconnecting with her sons.

There is also the Death of Magic run, which establishes a lot of lore about Billy as the Demiurge. Unfortunately, during a lot of this era Tommy is nowhere to be seen.

However, at the start of the latest event, Empyre, we find out why: He’s moved out of the Kaplans’ and in with David, who he has been dating since the events of YAv2. He seems genuinely happy, which makes me happy.

Now: Billy and Teddy have finally gotten married. Billy is still working toward becoming the best damn sorcerer and potential pseudodeity he can be, Teddy has put down his destiny as the Great Unifier, and everybody’s just happy.

I don’t care what Marvel does in the comics anymore my sons are happy.

I’m sure I missed some details but this got WAY LONGER THAN I INTENDED IT TO.

OH YEAH THERE’S A WHOLE COMIC WHERE VISION TRIES TO ‘RECREATE’ THE FEELING OF BEING PART OF A FAMILY AND INSTEAD OF CONSULTING WITH HIS ACTUAL LIVING SONS HE BORROWS WANDA’S MENTAL ENGRAMS AND MAKES HIMSELF A CUTE LITTLE WIFE AND TWO CUTE LITTLE KIDS AND IT ALL GOES TITS-UP IN A HURRY GDI VISION

I don’t like 616 Vision he’s kind of a selfish prick

Viv Vision is a Gift though she doesn’t deserve half of what’s happened to her

#nonsims #uhhhhhh so yeah can y'all tell i'm adhd #all this was FROM MEMORY

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andreyahalms · 3 years

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Fic Writer Review

Tagged by @mira--mira. Thank you for the tag! 😄 That WIP thing you tagged me months ago still haunts me and I promise I will get to it some day.

1. How many fics on AO3?

2. Total AO3 wordcount?

91,058

....when did this happen. 😂

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Naruto (10)

Harry Potter (5)

Hetalia (4)

+Bleach and Detective Conan on ff.net.

HP & Hetalia are from, like, 7-8 years back and earlier though.

4. Top Five by Kudos?

c'mon and get your kicks - SNS superhero AU ft. Sasuke's socially inept flirting and one of my favourite tropes - identity porn. Hand-written, typed and edited in a 10-hour daze.

Chameleon White - HSMD canon-divergent, time-travel fixit (sort of). Not sure why so many people read it, but I'm glad that it brought the readers some joy.

Of Monsters and Sleep - DenNor, Hetalia, written in 2013. Can only vaguely recollect the contents.

Simmer Down and Pucker Up - SNS spy AU ft. explosions, nipples, zombies and accidental honeypots. Marked my return to fanfic writing after a 7-year break.

For My Dreams (and a Pocketful of Gold) - Wolfstar superhero AU, written for R/S Small Gifts.

5. Do you respond to comments, why/why not?

I do if it's criticism, or if people have questions that won't be answered later on in the fic.

Otherwise, I don't. As much as I like praise and appreciation, it embarrasses me - both online and offline - and I never know how to react like a normal person since I wasn't socialised properly as a kid. I prefer to blush furiously in the safety of my room.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

There's a Naruto (SasuHina) fic I'd written back in high school. The angst is exactly as melodramatic and cringy as you'd expect coming from a 15 y.o. who's learning how to process their emotions. Otherwise, Chameleon White I guess? Not angsty per se, just a little sad.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written?

Nope. Can't go through the mental gymnastics of making characters from different universes react, haha. But I like fics where the cast of series A lives in and follows the same rules as the universe of series B.

There's an SNS JJBA AU I fiddle with sometimes, titled Sasuke's Bizarre Adventure. It's basically a retelling of Stardust Crusaders, with Hashimada playing the role of Joseph (the weird and dramatic grandfathers), Orochimaru as Dio (thirsty for that Uchiha blood) and Itachi (parallel to Jonathan's body that Dio...commandeered) who Sasuke and co. set out to rescue.

8. Have you received hate on a fic?

Not on anything after I picked up writing again. People here are really kind! I did receive some hate on a Bleach fic on ff.net that I'd written in 2011/12, but I came across that comment 8 years after it was posted, so it was kinda funny. They were viciously sore about how the 2 characters did not end up together. Which is not really my problem because I never hinted at a romance??? Idk man, it confused me.

9. Do you write smut?

Writing smut is embarrassing, sorry. It's like eating food I made myself, as opposed to consuming food that someone else has made for you with quality ingredients, impeccable hygiene and passion.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Nope.

11. Ever had a fic translated?

Haha, nope.

12. Ever co-written a fic before?

*looks at my million WIPs* I have commitment issues.

13. All time favorite ship?

Well, wolfstar (Remus/Sirius from HP) is a ship that's endured for literal years. I'm a big fan of the best-friends-to-tragedies (with a healthy dose of betrayal) trope. Really goes through the full emotion spectrum. Which is why I like Hashimada and SNS too.

14. What’s a WIP you want to finish, but don’t think you ever will?

Ahiṃsā, an Itachi & Sasuke-centric fic where after the massacre, Itachi runs away with Sasuke instead of running away to Akatsuki. It was going to based on some of the virtues of Hinduism & some other religions which developed in the same part of the world. Edo-tensei Madara would have made an appearance, and it would have been a fic about peace and brotherhood and family and the ties to your birthplace...but yeah. 😅

15. What are your writing strengths?

Conciseness (I say on the longest post I've ever made on this website).

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

Also conciseness. I would love for my writing to be more descriptive, where I set up the ambience and emotions but it's really hard for me. If I try it, I end up hating it.

Also prepositions. Is it sitting in a chair or on a chair. Stuff like this just fucks me up.

17. What are your thoughts of writing dialogue in other languages?

Not a fan. Some commonly used terms are fine - like common jutsu names etc, but otherwise, it breaks the flow. I get that if you're reading a fic from a character's POV, the general practice is to write in another language if that character is as clueless as you, but I don't like it. I'd prefer if people wrote "kommaut alle woo" (pardon my French) instead of "comment allez-vous" so that I read it in the same way the character hears it, but that's just me haha. Writing stuff in different languages/scripts is fine if the character is reading text they don't understand.

18. First fandom you wrote for?

Bleach or Detective Conan. I'm too scared to go to my ff.net and find out.

19. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I have a very hands-off approach with my fics. Once it's written, it's gone. I love the comments and kudos and bookmarks and feedback, but otherwise, it's not my problem. The author is dead, time to play with the next one. But the SNS spy AU kept me occupied the longest and gave me the freedom to write some really random shit, so. :')

......

I think most people I know here who write have already been tagged, but @libby-failedsage if you're up for it and haven't done it already - and anyone else who wants to!

#my post #my fic #long post #hashimada #sns

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pastorjdo3 · 3 years

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The Power of the White Male Voice

This is not prophecy, nor scriptural, but simply my thoughts on what I have witnessed over last 4 years, more specifically, the last 2 years. It’s written as thoughts to start dialogue, not to accuse, but to present an argument that seeks to understand what we have all witnessed.

While many have talked of “White Privilege”, my thoughts we taken back to the view and respect given to the “White Male Landowner”.

I know this will seem like a stretch to many, but watching the President of the United States file 60 court cases leading all the way up the Supreme Court (I know he wasn’t physically there, it was his legal counsel) (and I am also aware that the election provided special circumstances) with cases that were based on hearsay, conspiracy theories and most of all his word was mindboggling to watch.

All of the court responded properly and dismissed his claims, the fact remains there were millions of people who accepted the word of one man, who had many documented inconsistencies. There were millions of people who accepted the word of one White male over the voices of citizens and media (which he deemed fake news) to the point that people started recording private conversations and documenting all meetings.

This one voice was so believed that people stormed our nations capital, destroying property, injuring and causing the death of an officer, and loosing the life of 3 other citizens that were there to fight because of his word. People lost their lives because one white male continued to perpetuate a lie that he had been cheated out of what was rightfully his.

This would not be the first time the word of a White male was taken to be more credible that proof or used to support a lack of evidence. Somehow, success and acquisition, whether achieved noble or unethically have been used to justify the actions of some, and cover the track of others who have committed crime and atrocities that have damages one person to a Millions.

Can we learn from a history that has been rewritten?

Though history is often rewritten, we can still see the smoldering ashes of events that have taken the lives of people impacted by voices that crusaded, colonized, enslaved, raped, lynched, restricted, constricted people and entire people groups, AND USED THE BIBLE TO JUSITFY IT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sadly, many of the destructive waves of American and Christian History that can be traced back to false and misleading interpretations from the Word of God! And yep you guessed it, leading the charge to many of these movements were White Male Landowners.

Why I asked myself? Which such a track record, though many slants and edits have been given to the actions taken in the past, how is it possible that we could see so many people swayed by the voice of one white male landowner, who has a track record that is littered with documents and testimonies from thousands of people that have proof of him not honoring his word and standing behind his oaths and contracts? How is it that millions of people can find a man honorable that destroys relationship and turns his back on people who have supported him. How can millions of people find the behavior or a man righteous of just who places the lives of anyone with a different opinion in jeopardy with tweets and phone calls filled with threats and insults?

One thought I had was the image of Christ. Not the Biblical image of righteousness we are all supposed to be pursuing, but the image of Christ that has graced many walls and windows in congregations across the country.

We all know by now that Jesus was not a browned haired blue eyed male. And he was surely not the American White Male landowner he is presented to be by many. People, its just not historically accurate! This is where the argument of “Why does the color of Jesus skin matter?” by my White friends, associates and co-laborers. I normally encourage them to paint images of a Black Jesus on their church programs and stained glass windows. Of course, they would most likely loose 75% of their parishioners. Furthermore, many would also cease to believe because the association many have of people of color is negative and criminal.

Maybe the effect of the whitening of the image of Jesus Christ has served as a subconscious association with righteousness.

The Whiteness of Jesus is key to the belief or many American believers. Thus I asked myself if this fact contributes to the average person, particularly White person, hearing the words of a White male landowner and being unable to accept that he could be lying? Again, could it be that the likeness of the Whitened Christ serves as a covering and justification for the actions of any white male (particularly land owner/wealthy white male) that follows?

How can Misguided People be Guiding People?

Honestly, I don’t know, but can say I am writing and have pondered this after watching the response and dedication to this current white male voice. I have lived through Marshall Applewhite, Jim Jones, and David Koresh and believed that the advancement of society, and the widely connected community with so much access to information would make it impossible for people to be influenced and manipulated those who are misguided. Yet, history has proven me wrong.

Prosperity Gospel?

Last year, Kanye West spoke of his admiration of the White male leader that has caused such chaos and division over the last 4 years. He spoke of him as righteous, and referred to a doctrine that damaged the church for over 50 years. Something that dates back to the early 1800’s has moved from a minority teaching to the main focus of many Pastors and Preachers. This idea that God wants everyone to be wealthy and blesses and favors those He loves with money and acquisitions, has been a main stay that has sustained many ministries filled with people who are 1. Desperate and Suffering or 2. Greedy and Idolatrous.

Wealth is not Righteousness!

This idea of wealth being validation of God and a sign of being blessed or chosen might be another contributing factor that adds to the strength of the word of white male landowners. People have always and continue to look at individuals who have money as fortunate or at best lucky. While this envy will always be alive, the view of a wealthy individual is quite different when one believes that God made them wealthy because they were righteous and chosen. This causes people to worship and follow those who have money, and feel rejected and unfavored because of their lack or average existence.

As holders of The Word of God, we are able to see the real image of Christ. We are able to use His real image, not the edited image we see, to measure ourselves and others. We are able to look at the fruit from each tree. Not the financial fruit, but the spiritual fruit. We can look at the teachings of Jesus, and apply them to our lives, and understand when those we are in relationship are not applying the word in their lives. God has given us the Holy Spirit. This Spirit is to not only comfort, but is to give us wisdom. It enables us to try and measure other spirits by the righteous spirit of God.

Maybe my grandfather was right? The failings of the church is heavily tied to an inability to live by the Spirit? Maybe this image issue is why God said not to make any images of him? Maybe this is why those in the Muslim faith become irate with any images of their God? Images are powerful! God left us the perfect image of Himself in print for all to see. He wasn’t creating fashion trends, He was changing lives from within.

These are just thoughts and ramblings. Would love to hear feedback.

#PastorJDO3 #InternetPastor

#caucasion #whitemale #white males #evangelicals #christian #trump #republican #republican party #pastorjdo3 #internetpastor

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sepulcrorum · 4 years

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JUDE LAW, FIFTY, ARCHBISHOP DE MEDICI. ❝ ⤚⟶ EUROPE, 1458. thanks is given by the DUCHY OF FLORENCE, ARCHBISHOP GIANCARLO DI GIAN GASTONE DE’ MEDICI, from FLORENCE. they are at best CHARMING, and at their worst IMPIOUS. whilst abroad, their ambition is to REAP EVER MORE GREATER LUXURIES FOR HIMSELF. HE seems to remind everyone of JUDE LAW & DESIRES BOTH HERETICAL AND UNHOLY : THE SONG OF SOLOMON SPILLING FORTH FROM ONE’S LIPS WHILST IN THE THROES OF PASSION ; INTELLECTUALISM SOUGHT FOR HEDONISM’S SAKE : ANTIQUATED TEXTS SMUGGLED FROM THE CRUMBLING REMNANTS OF ANCIENT ROMAN VILLAS AND DISPLAYED TO EXPECTED LOOKS OF AWE ; & HOLINESS FOUND, HOLINESS LOST, HOLINESS REVERED : A CERTAIN SLANT OF LIGHT SHINING THROUGH HIGH-VAULTED ARCHES. ❞

introduction

Provide a blurb introducing your character generally. This should include an overview of strengths, weaknesses, aspirations, and set backs.

It has been once said by the Lord: be ye like children, for ye to enter the Kingdom of God. Capricious, selfish, absorbed only by thoughts of himself, petty, and whimsical, the Archbishop de’ Medici does not assume the dignity of his station as a member of the Church but he does assume all the qualities of a child in him, and that makes him saved by default.

His theology is quaint, bordering on unorthodox, and it’s almost tempting to call him out for heresies but he knows too much about Scripture and can run circles around any fellow servant of Christ, much more the ordinary layman. He’s either mystical or absolutely canonical: at a certain point in theology, everything becomes one and the same. Give him time, and he can justify anything—the cruellest of acts as well as the most compassionate acts of goodwill and charity—with verses pulled from the Holy Book and the most seraphic smile on his face, almost as if his lips are intoning a blessing. He’s a Devil’s advocate in perhaps more ways than one, the destruction of Rome entire as one itinerant preacher once called him, and yet he luxuriates on wealth on top of the social pyramid, secure in his position and backed by the splendorous wealth made available by his family’s support.

Yet despite all this, despite possessing all the qualities of a man who could be—intelligent, charming, sociable, and ambitious—Giancarlo ended up being the man who isn’t, by some strange (perhaps cruel) twist of fate. With his dubious origins erasing any hope for a cardinalate, much less a chance for the Throne of St. Peter, he languishes in his role as a mere archbishop. As the years pass, he has turned bitter, cruel, recalcitrant—for what does a child do when they are given what they want?

They throw a tantrum.

What are some potential plotlines you are interested in pursuing?

I’ve inserted the little nuggets of the plotlines I plan to pursue on the blurb but to expand on it:

First is I am definitely very interested in making him a Cardinal and that is very much a thing he also wants for himself, even as much as he denies it and says he never wanted it anyway. It’s a way for him to rationalise the fact that, strictly speaking, his life didn’t go the way he wanted it to go, and so he subsists on the lie that his life (as it is right now) was what he always wanted—but ultimately, I do think that he’s still on the lookout for any opportunity to finally have the red robes of a cardinal.

Second is the state of Florence and of Italy as a whole. The blemish of the riots on the Florentines’ reputation is something that must be rectified—not even because someone died (after all, very many people die everyday) but because it sends the message that they are unable to control their own people. The Church as an institution that does much works of charity can be used to pacify the rebellious masses and perhaps turn them into the better angels that they haven’t been before. Meanwhile, Italy as a whole concerns him because they are still, ultimately, disparate nation-states with differing goals and ambitions. In a world filled with empires and hegemons, Giancarlo realises that the Italian peoples must unite—far better that it be headed, of course, by the Church or by Florence, but unity itself is non-negotiable. If the Italians do not want to be swallowed up by their neighbours, they must pool together their resources and make a stand for their existence.

Thirdly is the option of interfaith dialogue. Giancarlo is by no means perfect, but I do imagine he’s a touch more tolerant than most holy men are. He’s less a crusader and more of a diplomat, far too disillusioned to really believe in any cause of holy war. Entrenched in cynicism—usually a character flaw—he’s cognisant enough of the fact that humans are going to be shitty one way or another, and religion has almost no bearing on whether one is a good person or not. As such, I do think he has a lot of plotting potential for those characters following a different faith, and it’s fun to see how that might all play out.

three bullet-points.

Giancarlo di Gian Gastone de’ Medici is born a stain of shame. Birthed by a servant-girl and the man from whom his name marks out as his progenitor, he is kept by his father as a spare heir—only to be tossed away when a legitimate one finally comes. In this act, his father has taught him the harsh realities of life: one minute, you can have everything in front of you; the next, it all comes crashing down with nothing to show for it. He is left with no security save that which his father carved out for him: mastery of an abbey at twelve years of age and, from there, the religious life. There was nothing else for him. There is nothing else to him.

Giancarlo takes to the intellectual and monastic life quite quickly. His learning under humanist tutors in the household of his father has enabled him to take quickly to reading dense texts that speak of grand contexts. It helps that he is good with languages, and that he is friendly to everyone he meets. How bright his career would be, some would say, before adding: if only he wasn’t illegitimate. And so that stain of shame that adorned the Medici family history now mars his own future: he was always going to be a mistake, and the world will never let him forget it.

He is, by all accounts, a very disenchanted man who works himself through a façade of mustered charm gathered from who-knows-where with his mind an utter repository of Scripture and theological concepts. He can quote from Papal Bulls enacted centuries ago as easily as if they had been dictated to him just that moment; yet he always says it so drily that you’d think he’s mocking the words he’s citing. He’s in the habit of mentioning what kind of sins one is doing but always concludes it with a small note of how God is a forgiving God. He delights in the company of the wicked and the infamous; truly good people disgust him. He thinks God is present more in ugliness than any kind of beauty exemplified in art and song, and that He is dirt-covered, bloody and bruised, made with mulch and rot and diseased flesh. His God is filthy; it is only natural. We all fashion God into the form that would accept us the most.

character sheet.

FULL NAME : giancarlo di gian gastone de’ medici TITLES :

commander of badia fiorentina ( from 1420 - 1428 )

commander and rector of badia fiorentina ( from 1428 onwards )

metropolitan archbishop of florence ( from 1446 onwards )

master of the sacred apostolic palace ( from 1450 onwards )

BIRTHPLACE : florence, italian peninsula

AGE : fifty, b. 10 november 1407

LANGUAGES : fluent — italian ( tuscan ), french, ancient greek, latin, arabic, spanish, german, bavarian ; conversational — english, portuguese ; learning — ottoman turkish, farsi / persian

DYNASTY / HOUSE: house de’ medici

MOTHER & FATHER : unnamed servant girl & gian gastone de’ medici

SPOUSE : none

ISSUE : none

SIBLINGS : giovanni, lucrezia, and girolamo ( half-siblings )

OTHER : lorenzo de’ medici ( tbd )

ZODIAC : scorpio sun / sagittarius moon / scorpio rising

RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION : roman catholicism

ORIENTATION : bisexual biromantic ( with a medium to high preference for his own gender )

PERSONALITY TYPE : estj-a / choleric-sanguine / enneagram tbd / slytherin

VICES : everything

VIRTUES : knowledge can be and is a virtue but not with giancarlo, babyyyyy

FACECLAIM : jude law

HEIGHT : 6′1″ or 1.85m

RECOGNISABLE FEATURES : kindly-seeming blue eyes that speaks to unfathomable depths — look too closely, and you just might find yourself falling in them; an ever-present smile that can turn earnest or mocking depending on the conversation; a smug demeanour that you can’t help but feel that he thinks he knows better than you

REPUTATION IN PORTUGAL : a famed master theologian but also a widely known libertine, giancarlo both attracts and repulses the whole of christendom with his easy smiles, his kindly-looking blue eyes, and the power of the storied lineage that has produced him. for all those who’ve had the chance to coalesce in rome—or perhaps even the italian peninsula—his name will revoke memories of scandalised whispers erupting from people huddled in corners as soon as they see him make entry into a room. portugal as of yet is a new frontier, not for reasons of lack of opportunity but due to lack of interest. after all, why stray from that eternal city whose glory is sung in ancient ballads and whose place in the world is the envy of millions? now that he is here, however, he is more than eager to make his mark.

WANTED CONNECTIONS :

i sought whom my soul loves — were giancarlo any other man, they could have been together, a couple enjoined in the warm embrace of love and unity; yet, alas, the Church has bound giancarlo to herself, and he is a weak and foolish man who cannot find himself able to stand up to anybody. ever since then, their meetings have been few and far between—but no less precious to giancarlo, no less treasured, no less sought for. ::: ( open to anyone, preferably female but any gender can technically work ! )

a young deer on the mountains of Bether — arcadian idyll had been the theme of their shared years, wild and wandering, when responsibility had been a far off concept that seemed as foreign as greying hair and the yoke of adulthood. they frolicked in sun-kissed green-topped hills and ran as carefree as the wind. now they are old, both with their respective offices, and there is nothing else to them save nostalgia over lost innocence—if they had innocence at all. ::: ( open to anyone of the same age range as giancarlo ! )

beautiful as the moon, clear as the sun — a look at them and they’re like fourteen again, dumbstruck and awed, ashamed of his own lowly station and the stain of his origins—yet now they are old, and they have significantly more resources available to them now than they had before. giancarlo has always loved what he has thought is lacking within himself; he has always sought the true, the good, and the beautiful. he deludes himself into thinking he’s found it in god, but he is about to discover he’s wrong. ::: ( open to anyone ! )

with my royal people’s chariots — people have the propensity to think that giancarlo’s last name and relative wealth and status makes him the gatekeeper to the pope’s favour. he does not think himself as holding the keys to anything, but he lets other people do—mainly because it affords him the simulation of power the likes of which he only imagined as a child. of course, there is no real backing to the promises he says he’ll fulfil for them, but it is a merry show nonetheless and a piece of theatre that giancarlo’s keen to continue in lisboa. ::: ( open to anyone who’s looking to curry favour with the pope ! )

you who dwell in the gardens — there are many blooms in the garden of God’s creation and it is not a stretch to say giancarlo is absolutely besotted with the idea of experiencing all of them. this meet in lisbon might prove to be a more fortuitous moot than the one in florence, and he is always keen to start dialogue with any and all those who would like to exchange knowledge for knowledge’s sake, even those that the rest of christendom would not welcome. ::: ( open to non-christian characters ! )

the shadows flee away — giancarlo isn’t known for moderation and temperance; he has always been one driven to excess, and he has never toned down his appetites for the sake of any cause or person. he is a flit of a thing, a butterfly eager to sap the nectar out of any willing flower before moving to the next, willing to spill honey-laced words out of cherubic lips if that is what it took to mark one as his next conquest. in this, he has doubtless transgressed against many, and there are some whose memories run long and whose desire for correction would cover even those who are consecrated to God. ::: ( open to anyone ! )

#crhs.intro #* ( 𝔤𝔦𝔞𝔫𝔠𝔞𝔯𝔩𝔬 ) ╱ per speculum in ænigmate : info !

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daresplaining · 5 years

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A Daredevil Comics Introduction for MCU Fans

I imagine a lot of MCU Daredevil fans are feeling pretty lost right now. The first thing the Iron Fist twitter account did after the show ended was provide a link to the comics, and since the Daredevil account wasn’t kind enough to do the same, I wanted to put together some basic information for Netflix show fans who are unfamiliar with the comics and want to keep Daredevil in their lives post-cancellation!

To start, there are a few basic continuity/character differences you should know about:

1. Matt has beautiful red hair. (This isn’t an important detail, I just... wanted to make sure everybody knew). Sticking with the theme of superficiality, he’s also significantly taller than Foggy.

2. Foggy was one of the last people to find out about Matt being Daredevil (though he is currently one of the only people who knows, thanks to a recent universe-wide mindwipe). Foggy also didn’t grow up in Hell’s Kitchen. He is from out-of-state and from a semi-wealthy family. He has a crusading party-girl younger sister named Candace, and his biological mother is the ruthless attorney Rosalind “Razor” Sharpe, with whom he has a distant and shaky relationship.

3. Karen Page is sadly no longer living. She was killed by Bullseye during a 1998 story arc. She was also never a journalist; rather, she was at various points Nelson & Murdock’s office manager, an actress, a social activist, and a radio talk show host. She and Matt dated on-and-off for a very long time. Matt has also dated many, many other people, and most of his girlfriends have died/suffered horribly in his presence. He is currently (and uncharacteristically) single.

4. Conversely, Ben Urich is very much alive. He was one of the first people to figure out Daredevil’s secret identity, and this formed the basis of what became a long-held and emotional friendship. (However, thanks to the recent mindwipe mentioned above, he no longer knows.)

5. Elektra and Matt dated in college, where Elektra was a political science major. She was born and raised in Greece, and her father was a Greek diplomat. When he was killed thanks to Matt’s amateur heroics during a botched hostage situation, Elektra left the country and trained with both the Chaste and the Hand, which sent her down a painful path that molded her into the expert assassin she is today. She was killed by Bullseye back in the 80s, but she got better.

6. Matt is a swashbuckling, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants adrenaline junkie, which is why he’s called “the Man Without Fear” and... well... Daredevil. He chose/reclaimed the name Daredevil as an act of empowerment during his first superhero outing (“the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen” is not a thing in the comics). He became a superhero to avenge his father’s death, which occurred when Matt was in either college or law school, depending on which writer you ask. Both Matt and Foggy attended Jack Murdock’s final boxing match.

7. Matt is much more religious in the show than he has ever been in the comics, since in the show he was raised in a Christian orphanage and in the comics he was raised by his father. There are a few story arcs that depict him as religious, but they are vastly in the minority.

8. This is true in the show too, but since it was sometimes unclear, let me reiterate: Matt cannot see. He doesn’t perceive any light. All of his sensory input is non-visual. He has superhumanly-enhanced senses, and something he calls his “radar sense”. The actual nature and parameters of the radar sense vary between creative teams, but it’s best to think of it as something like echolocation. It allows Matt 360 degree perception of solid objects up a certain distance from him. He could clearly do this in the show too, but it was never actually mentioned.

I could keep going, since there are plenty of other differences, but you should be able to catch on without too much confusion!

Where Should I Start?

You should start with Matt’s origin story, since there are a few key differences from the show’s version (some of which I mentioned above). The very first issue of Daredevil is quite good. However, if you’re put off by 1960s comics, you don’t need to start from the beginning. A really good retelling that is modern reader-friendly is Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s Daredevil: Yellow. It covers all of the basics, and is a very nice read. You may also see people mention Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear mini-series. It’s also good, though PLEASE NOTE that it was intended to be an alternate version of the story, and thus isn’t entirely canon.

Once you have the origin down, you can move to the main series. Don’t be intimidated by the 55 years-worth of comics-- again, you DON’T need to start at the beginning, and you don’t have to read everything if you don’t want to. All huge, decades-spanning series like Daredevil are filled with different jumping-on points in order to remain accessible to new readers. This can sometimes create confusion-- Daredevil will have been re-started six times as of February 2019, so if you look for Daredevil #1 you’ll get a whole bunch of different issues. Each of these re-starts is generally referred to as a “volume”, and if you follow this blog you’ll notice mentions of Daredevil volume 1, volume 2, etc. For the purposes of simplicity, in this post I’ll just be identifying the volumes based on the year they began, because that’s how they’re labeled in Marvel Unlimited. Marvel Unlimited is Marvel’s official digital archive, to which I highly recommend subscribing if you’re interested in reading a lot of back issues. All of my comics links in this post will take you there.

There are two starting points in particular that I recommend. They are both very good, but they're tonally different, so you can pick whichever suits your personal preferences.

1. If you crave more of the gritty noir of the Netflix-verse, I recommend starting with Daredevil (1998) #26. This is the first issue of the main thread of Brian Michael Bendis’s run, which is a phenomenal run that provided tonal inspiration for the show. At that point in continuity, Matt is still recovering from Karen Page’s death. He and Foggy have started up a new iteration of Nelson & Murdock (there have been many) and are doing very well; the run starts with them winning a multi-million dollar court settlement. The other important piece of context for this first arc is that Wilson Fisk was shot in the head in a previous story, while left him blind and weakened his criminal empire. Bendis’s run is quite long and will lead you directly into Ed Brubaker’s, which picks up immediately afterward with issue #82 and is also very good.

2. If you want something a bit lighter and more swashbuckley, I recommend starting with Mark Waid’s run. It’s my personal favorite Daredevil run (and I like a lot of Daredevil, so that’s saying something), and it’s a great jumping-on point because it starts a new volume. It kicks off with Daredevil (2011) #1 and goes through #36-- at which point the comic got another new #1. Thus, Waid did a little mini-series called Daredevil: Road Warrior to bridge the two volumes, then carried on the story with Daredevil (2014) #1. Context for this run is a little weirder. Matt has just recently returned to NYC after getting possessed by a demon and then taking a mental vacation to get over it. Upon his return, he and Foggy rebuild Nelson & Murdock yet again, and Matt decides that after all of the pain and suffering he’s been through, he’s going to be happy and enjoy life no matter what. It’s also important to know that his secret identity is basically public knowledge at this point, since a newspaper got ahold of the information and outed him during Bendis’s run.

From there, there are any number of places you can go. Here is my big post that goes into more detail about other recommended and essential Daredevil reading! And if you’re looking for other characters and/or other specifically-themed reading guides, here is our whole archive so far. (I also have an Iron Fist blog-- bookoftheironfist.tumblr.com-- for anyone looking to break into that area of the comics.)

What’s Going On Right Now?

As of right now (December 2018), Matt is in an exciting position! The latest Daredevil run (AKA Daredevil (2015) or Daredevil volume 5) just ended with issue #612. Currently, Matt is in Marvel Knights 20th, which is a six-issue bi-weekly mini-series about an alternate universe-type situation in which the world has been made to forget superheroes. Matt, Frank Castle, Elektra Natchios, Bruce Banner, T’Challa, and various others have to regain their own memories and figure out what happened.

Then in January 2019, we’re getting a five-issue weekly (yes, that’s right, weekly) mini-series called Man Without Fear (not to be confused with Frank Miller’s Man Without Fear, which I mentioned earlier). This will be a retrospective, with each issue covering a different significant person/group of people in Matt’s life.

And as soon as that ends, in February 2019 the next volume of the main series will begin, with Daredevil (2019) #1! GET EXCITED!

Where Can I Get Comics?

I already mentioned Marvel Unlimited, which is attached to the Marvel website, through which you can purchase digital issues in addition to subscribing to the archive. Another great source for digital comics is Comixology (though sadly, just like everything else on the planet, it’s owned by Amazon). And of course, you can buy physical copies. Don’t hesitate to visit your local comic book store, because they are great resources and can also be nice places to connect with other fans. To find stores in your area, check Comic Shop Locator, and to make sure they’re good ones, check Hater-Free Wednesdays.

New comics come out on Wednesdays.

Other Daredevil Resources

manwithoutfear.com This is an invaluable resource for everything Daredevil-- information on each issue, up-to-date news, comic previews, creator interviews... everything. If you ever need to know what’s going on in the world of Daredevil, this is the place to go.

The Other Murdock Papers This is everything our blog pretends to be. Christine Hanefalk, who runs The Other Murdock Papers, is a Daredevil expert who has written essay after essay over the years on everything you can imagine, from detailed storyline analyses to tracking Matt’s shifting hair styles. She is a particular expert on his hypersenses, and her work formed the basis of our own understanding of Matt’s powers. Do yourself a favor and browse through this website. You won’t regret it.

Daredevil 101 @pluckyredhead is in the process of tirelessly summarizing every single Daredevil story arc. Go have a look!

And of course, never hesitate to ask if you have any questions or want more recommendations or advice. I love getting people into Daredevil comics-- they changed my life, and I hope they’ll do the same for others!

#Daredevil #Recommendations List

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commandtower-solring-go · 5 years

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The Multi-Thing, Shoestring, Downswinging, Tin Street King Pin

With such a heavy focus on Planeswalkers in War of the Spark, we can see a notable difference in the power level of some Legendary Creatures in this set compared to others. They aren’t weak, by any stretch. But they offer unique effects that seem almost limited by their colour identity. Many cards that scream to be 2 colours are limited to 1 and some multicolour cards I feel, generally, weakly about. So I want to explore a few examples of this. But also work toward building up these cards as fantastic Commanders within the colour identity they do have. Today, we’ll start with Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin.

Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin

Living in the shadow of its older self, it is easy to look at this new Krenko with a heavy brow. Compared to a creature that could double your Goblins (an already overwhelming creature in Magic), there is a heavy expectation for this new incarnation. And with all due respect, there is no way anything could live up to Krenko, Mob Boss. He is the most ubiquitous Mono-Red Legendary Creature (according to EDHREC) to lead Commander decks ever. So to look at Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin with the scope it deserves we need to move away from Mob Boss.

Instead, let’s break down the card. Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin is a 1/2 for {2}{R}, Legendary Creature – Goblin. He has the ability “Whenever ~ attacks, put a +1/+1 counter on it, then create a number of 1/1 red Goblin creature tokens equal to Krenko’s power.” An interesting take on a familiar aspect of the character, but in a way that is much harder to abuse. For, you see, putting +1/+1 counters on arbitrary red creatures comes few and far between. Most creatures can only put these counters on themselves and this speaks in large part to why I wish Krenko involved another colour. Most likely white for access to cards like Cathar’s Crusade and even better Battle Cry creatures. But, lo. We have what we have. And what we have is a creature that strives to create a wide board while also building itself tall to do so. Keeping it simple, the best plan should lean into this, focusing on a mix of cards that can build up Krenko, and use the creatures he creates.

One of the key pillars of Commander comes in the form of card draw engines. However it may present itself, a card that is able to draw you multiple cards with little investment is powerful. Necropotence is one of the strongest representations of this fact as, despite it requiring you to pay life to draw any cards, giving them to you at your end step and costing {B}{B}{B}. It still warped the standard season it was a part of. Perhaps then we need to ask ourselves what we are willing to pay for card advantage in a colour that doesn’t get it. It doesn’t need to be efficient if it is cheap and effective. And, most importantly, works in line with our deck.

Grenzo, Havoc Raiser

I present Grenzo, Havoc Raiser as a potential solution to this problem. A weird card from Conspiracy Take the Crown he is a legendary creature, Goblin. As a 2/2 for {R}{R} he represents a solid and efficient body in our deck. Creature type is relevant, but what’s most important is his two abilities. Whenever any creature you control deals combat damage to a player, for each creature that dealt damage you get to choose one of two different effects. The first is you get to exile the top card of the defending player’s library, giving you the ability to cast it and spend mana as though it were of any colour. The second is that you goad target creature, forcing it to attack, and attack someone other than you if it can.

The card advantage is obvious here. We’re stealing our opponent’s spells. Perhaps it isn’t true card draw. Perhaps we are at the mercy of our opponent’s deck. But look at it this way. Red is limited in a lot of ways. Mono red, especially. With no way to deal with enchantments, ineffective card draw and a lack of powerful spot removal and creatures. What we lose by the very nature of the colour we play, we can make up for from our opponent’s deck. But what makes this ability all the more fantastic is the versatility of it. We also may choose to goad. Goading sets up a loop. If you’re in a multiplayer game it forces a player to leave their board open. Meaning you can consistently deal more combat damage safely. But it also helps fill in the limitations of Red as well. Big creatures? Who needs them. When you can deal with your opponent’s by forcing them to attack each other. It’s a neat piece of politics and gives Red the edge it needs.

And hey, worst case scenario, Mono-Red Mill can totally become a thing.

With a card like Krenko we can often find ourselves in a stalemate. Face it, red isn’t good in the long game. It goes hard quickly, uses it resources and often finds itself unable to deal with an insurmountable force before it. An army of a million 1/1s may be able to chip in damage past beefy blockers, but eventually that game of attrition will end in favour of those can play X/2 creatures. We can resolve this issue in a few ways. The first is, we can go around the blockers. The second is we could use burn damage to avoid the need for blockers at all. There is an inexpensive solution that can achieve both.

Goblin Bombardment

Goblin Bombardment is an enchantment for {1}{R} that reads “Sacrifice a creature: ~ deals 1 damage to any target”. Not only does this allow us to turn each goblin we control into a single point of damage to whittle down blockers, but it allows us to extend the damage our board of creatures represents to be twice it. Goblin Bombardment gives us added versatility in ways that not only threatens to slow down our opponent, but also simply close out games before your opponent has a chance to recover.

Hero’s Blade

Finally my last inclusion is nice and simply and brings us back to the underlying strategy that Krenko asks us to follow though with. Hero’s Blade is an artefact, equipment for {2} which gives the creature its equipped to +3/+2. And although it may equip for 4, it will automatically attach itself to a legendary creature when it enters the battlefield. The effect hear is subtle, but it pertains to fantastic tempo plays. At most you will only ever have to pay Hero’s Blade’s equip cost once. And if you manage to get it into play turn 2, then you’ll never have to pay it. Because now, if Krenko dies and you recast him, Krenko it’ll attach itself right away. And hey, indulge me in magic Christmas land as you Blade on turn 2, Krenko on turn 3 and swing for 5 power turn 4, making 5 goblins. It’s a cheap effect and a completely fair card, and its one that can so easily be overlooked when deck building. And if it finds a home nowhere else, I believe Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin will be the best place for it.

So when looking to construct a deck for Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin, I found the best plan is to focus hard on aggressive strategies. Which is difficult in EDH. Krenko begs for more colours and familiar archetypes found therein. But as Mark Rosewater himself says, limitations breed creativity. I don’t think there will be many Krenko, Tin Street Kingpin decks floating around, but I think the best of them will be fantastically interesting decks. Working hard to strike the balance between enabling Krenko, but also using the resources he offers in useful and powerful ways. And this is where we should look when deck building. Aggression, but in a unique way.

#mtg #magic #magic the gathering #edh #commander #Elder Dragon Highlander #krenko #mono red #red #war #war of the spark

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blackkudos · 6 years

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Bill Withers

William Harrison (Bill) Withers Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American singer-songwriter and musician who performed and recorded from 1970 until 1985. He recorded several major hits, including "Lean on Me", "Ain't No Sunshine", "Use Me", "Just the Two of Us", "Lovely Day", and "Grandma's Hands". Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for four more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film Still Bill. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015.

Early life

Withers was born the youngest of six children in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia. He was born with a stutter and has said he had a hard time fitting in. Raised in nearby Beckley, he was thirteen years old when his father died. Withers enlisted with the United States Navy at the age of 18 and served for nine years, during which time he got over his stutter and became interested in singing and writing songs. Mr. Withers left the Navy in 1965. Using the $250 he received from selling his furniture to IBM co-worker Ron Sierra, he picked up and relocated to Los Angeles in 1967 for a musical career. Withers worked as an assembler for several different companies, including Douglas Aircraft Corporation, while recording demo tapes with his own money, shopping them around and performing in clubs at night. When he debuted with the song "Ain't No Sunshine" he refused to resign from his job because of his belief that the music business was a fickle industry.

Career

Sussex records

During early 1970, Withers' demonstration tape was auditioned favorably by Clarence Avant, owner of Sussex Records. Avant signed Withers to a record deal and assigned former Stax Records stalwart Booker T. Jones to produce Withers' first album. Four three-hour recording sessions were planned for the album, but funding caused the album to be recorded in three sessions with a six-month break between the second and final sessions. Just as I Am was released in 1971 with the tracks, "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Grandma's Hands" as singles. The album features Stephen Stills playing lead guitar. On the cover of the album, Withers is pictured at his job at Weber Aircraft in Burbank, California, holding his lunch pail.

The album was a success and Withers began touring with a band assembled from members of The Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band: drummer James Gadson, guitarist Benorce Blackmon, keyboardist Ray Jackson, and bassist Melvin Dunlap.

At the 14th annual Grammy Awards on Tuesday, March 14, 1972, Withers won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Song for "Ain't No Sunshine." The track had already sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the RIAA in September 1971.

During a hiatus from touring, Withers recorded his second album, Still Bill. The single, "Lean on Me" went to number one the week of July 8, 1972. It was Withers' second gold single with confirmed sales in excess of three million. His follow-up, "Use Me" released in August 1972, became his third million seller, with the R.I.A.A. gold disc award taking place on October 12, 1972. His performance at Carnegie Hall on October 6, 1972, was recorded, and released as the live album Bill Withers, Live at Carnegie Hall on November 30, 1972. In 1974, Withers recorded the album +'Justments. Due to a legal dispute with the Sussex company, Withers was unable to record for some time thereafter.

During this time, he wrote and produced two songs on the Gladys Knight & the Pips record I Feel a Song, and in October 1974 performed in concert together with James Brown, Etta James, and B. B. King in Zaire four weeks prior to the historic Rumble in the Jungle fight between Foreman and Ali. Footage of his performance was included in the 1996 documentary film When We Were Kings, and he is heard on the accompanying soundtrack. Other footage of his performance is included in the 2008 documentary film Soul Power which is based on archival footage of the 1974 Zaire concert.

Columbia Records

After Sussex Records folded, Withers signed with Columbia Records in 1975. His first album release with the label, Making Music, Making Friends, included the single "She's Lonely", which was featured in the film Looking for Mr. Goodbar. During the next three years he released an album each year with Naked & Warm (1976), Menagerie (1977, containing the successful "Lovely Day"), "Bout Love" (1978) and "Get on Down"; the latter song also included on the Looking for Mr. Goodbar soundtrack.

In 1976, Withers performed "Ain't No Sunshine" on Saturday Night Live.

Due to problems with Columbia and being unable to get songs approved for his album, he concentrated on joint projects from 1977 to 1985, including "Just the Two of Us", with jazz saxophonist Grover Washington, Jr., which was released during June 1980. It won a Grammy on February 24, 1982. Withers next did "Soul Shadows" with the Crusaders, and "In the Name of Love" with Ralph MacDonald, the latter being nominated for a Grammy for vocal performance.

In 1982, Withers was a featured vocalist on the album, "Dreams in Stone" by French singer Michel Berger. This record included one composition co-written and sung by Withers, an upbeat disco song about New York City entitled "Apple Pie." The album was not released in North America, although it contains several songs about America.

In 1985 came Watching You Watching Me, which featured the Top 40-rated R&B single "Oh Yeah", and ended Withers' business association with Columbia Records. Withers stated in interviews that a lot of the songs approved for the album, in particular, two of the first three singles released, were the same songs which were rejected in 1982, hence contributing significantly to the eight-year hiatus between albums. Withers also stated it was frustrating seeing his record label release an album for Mr. T, an actor, when they were preventing him, an actual singer, from releasing his own. He toured with Jennifer Holliday in 1985 to promote what would be his final studio album.

His disdain for Columbia's A&R executives or "blaxperts", as he termed them, trying to exert control over how he should sound if he wanted to sell more albums, played a part in his making the decision to not record or re-sign to a record label after 1985, effectively ending his performing career, even though remixes of his previously recorded music were released after his 'retirement'. Finding musical success later in life than most, at 32, he has said he was socialized as a 'regular guy' who had a life before the music, so he did not feel an inherent need to keep recording once he fell out of love with the industry. He has also stated that he does not miss touring and performing live and does not regret leaving music behind. He seemingly no longer suffers from the speech impediment of stuttering that affected him during his recording career.

Post-Columbia career

In 1988, a new version of "Lovely Day" from the 1977 Menagerie album, entitled "Lovely Day (Sunshine Mix)" and remixed by Ben Liebrand, reached the Top 10 in the United Kingdom, leading to Withers' performance on the long-running Top of the Pops that year. The original release had reached #7 in the UK in early 1978, and the re-release climbed higher to #4.

In 1987, he received his ninth Grammy Award nomination and on March 2, 1988, his third Grammy for Best Rhythm and Blues Song as songwriter for the re-recording of "Lean on Me" by Club Nouveau on their debut album Life, Love and Pain, released in 1986 on Warner Bros. Records.

In 1996, a portion of his song "Grandma's Hands" was sampled in the song "No Diggity" by BLACKstreet, featuring Dr. Dre. The single went to Number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold 1.6 million copies and won a Grammy in 1999 for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals.

Withers contributed two songs to Jimmy Buffett's 2004 release License to Chill. Following the reissues of Still Bill on January 28, 2003, and Just As I Am on March 8, 2005, there was speculation of previously unreleased material being issued as a new album. In 2006, Sony gave back to Withers his previously unreleased tapes.

In 2007, "Lean on Me" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

On January 26, 2014, at the 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Bill Withers: The Complete Sussex & Columbia Albums Collection, a nine-disc set featuring Withers's eight studio albums, as well as his live album Live at Carnegie Hall, received the "Best Historical" Grammy Award (in a tie with The Rolling Stones' "Charlie Is My Darling - Ireland 1965.") The award was presented to Leo Sacks, who produced the collection, and the mastering engineers Mark Wilder, Joseph M. Palmaccio and Tom Ruff.

On April 18, 2015, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Stevie Wonder. Withers was stunned when he learned he had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. "I see it as an award of attrition," he says. "What few songs I wrote during my brief career, there ain't a genre that somebody didn't record them in. I'm not a virtuoso, but I was able to write songs that people could identify with. I don't think I've done bad for a guy from Slab Fork, West Virginia."

On October 1, 2015, there was a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall in his honor, featuring Aloe Blacc, Ed Sheeran, Dr. John, Michael McDonald and Anthony Hamilton recreating his 1973 concert album, Live at Carnegie Hall, along with other Withers material. Withers was in attendance and spoke briefly onstage.

On February 12, 2017, he made an appearance on MSNBC to talk about the refugee crisis, as well as political climate in America.

Personal life

Withers married actress Denise Nicholas in 1973, during her stint on the sitcom Room 222. The couple divorced the following year. In 1976, Withers married Marcia Withers née Johnson and they had two children, Todd and Kori. Marcia eventually assumed the direct management of his Beverly Hills-based publishing companies, in which his children also became involved as they became adults.

Wikipedia

#Bill Withers #07-04

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