#Loot Rentals

[dark-angel-of-muses]

A Selkie and A Succubus

A03 Link

"Linkkkkkkk. I'm hungry." Ravio's tail batted insistently against the selkie's leg, draping himself over Link's shoulder.

"Can't wait?" Link leveled a flat stare at his boyfriend. Ravio's little bat wings fluttered impatiently, and he made a big show of pouting.

"Fine. Here." Link set down the skillet he was frying eggs on and kissed the succubus on the cheek. Ravio trilled in delight. "Thanks for the snack."

Such a glutton. Link had given him sleepy cuddles this morning for a full hour. That was basically a three course meal for the succubus. Sure, the food might be more mild than others of his kind went for, but Ravio had admitted to never wanting anything spicier than some kisses. Even then, he preferred neck kisses to mouth kisses, citing grossness.

Even after getting his snack, Ravio clung to Link like a koala, tail snaking around his leg and squeezing in a miniature hug. Link rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. Ravio was such a cuddle bug, in a way Link was 100% sure had nothing to do with the sustenance he got from affection.

“You’re going to have to get dressed and go to work eventually.”

“Nooooo,” Ravio whined, curling his tail tighter. “Sleep. And food.” His wings fluttered behind him.

“Guess that means we won’t have any rupees to spend on a date night this week,” Link teased. “I’ll just have to leave you all alone while I go dungeon crawling to pay for your lazy days.”

“Ugh. You’re the worst.” Ravio pouted, puffing out his cheeks and making sad puppy eyes. Still, the promise of money and dates was enough to spur him into his morning routine, pulling off oversized pajamas and donning his usual purple robes. There was a slit in the robes for his tail to curl out, and the back had been cut out from his shoulder blades to mid-back to make room for his wings. 

“See, was that so hard?”

“Your eggs are burning.”

“Shit!”

xxx

Ravio’s Rabbit Rentals was a two person outfit. Link explored dungeons, killed monsters, and collected everything that caught his interest while exploring. Then, Ravio would take the spoils and do his best to rent or sell Link’s items to any less experienced adventurers wanting an edge in their own quests. Link would complain that he did all the hard work while Ravio just stole his things to sell, but it was all for show. He wanted nothing to do with customer service or figuring out the market on how much magical items would be worth. Not to mention Ravio actually had to go out and do collection runs to get his rentals back, which seemed like no fun. So for all Link would whine, he was quite happy with the arrangement.

Ravio had a winning smile and perfect suck-up tone when he was on the clock. 

“You seem ruggedly handsome, like you could climb the cliffs of Death Mountain alone! With the Tornado Rod to help speed things along, I’m sure you could tackle the Tower of Hera.”

“Oh, you look so clever, Miss. Why not take a bomb bag rental? You seem like you could find so many ways to use them.”

Link didn’t get it, but he was happy he didn’t have to.

Some time later, Link was doing basic weapon maintenance, sharpening swords, refilling the mana on enchanted rings, when he heard it.

“You’re the local succubus, right?” A woman’s voice sounded.

“Ravio of Ravio’s Rabbit Rentals, that’s me! Would you be interested in our wares? I have a lovely fire rod with your name on it!” So overzealous in his sales pitches, that one.

“Actually, I was more interested in a service you provide.” Her tone was sultry, making Link roll his eyes. Sometimes customers would come in and try to flirt. Ravio usually took advantage of their interest to make them leave with arms full and wallets empty.

“A service? Oh, are you looking to rent? Or perhaps pawn, we are willing to do minor loans for dungeon loot!” Did they do pawn services? Eh, best not to think about it. Ravio was just responsible enough for Link to let him handle the business without oversight. Emphasis on ‘just enough’.

“I’m looking to rent,” The customer purred. Honest to god purred. Like a cat. Was she a werebeast? Link couldn’t help but peek his head from around the corner. Nope. Vampire. So she was just shameless.

“Well, if you want an itemized list of all rentals we have available or are expecting back within the next two weeks, I can go get the inventory log for you-”

“Oh I’m not looking for something in inventory. I’m looking to rent some time with you.” There was the sound of shuffling and cloth meeting cloth. Was she backing Ravio into a table?

“O-oh. Um. I don’t really? Do that sort of thing?” Ravio squeaked.

“C’mon, you’re a succubus. You’re going to say no to money and food? I heard you’d do anything for a quick rupee.” If it were in any other context, Link would agree. Ravio would probably eat glass for five rupees. But with the terrible flirtatious tone she was using…

Ok, that was it, Link was stepping in. “Excuse me, can I help you?” He made sure to bring his sword with him, and intentionally sheathed and unsheathed it to make an audible shink, smiling as the woman flinched back. Ravio let out an audible sigh of relief as he walked in.

“Huh? You didn’t tell me there were other people in here!” She looked accusingly at Ravio.

“Oh, did you not hear? This is my partner and supplier, Link. He is the source for all our wares. He’s braved Lynels, hordes of Daira, and even fell the evil sorcerer who kidnapped the princess some years back. He’s very talented.” Ravio took the chance to slip away from the customer’s reach and hide behind Link, reaching to squeeze Link’s right hand.

“Sorry about not finding what you want here. Ravio has a discerning palate.” Link smirked as she caught the underhanded insult, mouth opening and closing like a fish. To punctuate his point, Link leaned over and gave Ravio a peck on the cheek, never taking his eyes off the vampire.

If she had blood left in her veins, her face probably would have paled. Instead, her eyes just widened and she hurried to make her leave, accidentally stubbing her toe on the leg of a table in her scramble to leave as fast as possible.

“Thanks for the help, Link.” Ravio returned the kiss on the cheek, smiling gratefully. 

“No problem. I swear, your customers get the dumbest ideas.”

“I mean, I get it. I’m not really normal,” Ravio sighed, eyes cast to the floor.

“Hey, hey. What do I keep telling you? There’s nothing wrong with you.” Link cupped his hands under Ravio’s chin and gently pulled his gaze back up. “You can eat or not eat whatever you want, nobody else gets uppity about food preferences.”

“I know, I know,” Ravio put his hand over Link’s leaning his cheek into the touch. “Sometimes it’s just hard to remember when people like her come in. And it’s not like I avoid it, I know I get close to customers when I make sales pitches.”

“Hey, calling someone handsome or pretty is by no means free reign for someone to come in and ask for ‘services’.” Link pushed his forehead against Ravio’s. “Are you ok? Do you need to close the shop early?”

“No, I’m fine, thanks to you.” Ravio leaned in for a quick peck on the lips. “Thank you for saving me, Mr. Hero.”

xxx

"That pelt you're wearing around your shoulders, it's selkie, right?"

Ravio shifted uncomfortably. Two belligerent customers in one day? Seriously? "Ah, yes, but-"

"I'll pay top rupee if you're willing to part with it. Those go for high prices, even without the monster they're attached to. I mean, that's potentially eternal servitude right there. Not to mention how high quality the magic inside is." When he had first seen the man come in, his thick wallet had excited Ravio. Now, dread was pooling in his stomach.

"This isn't for sale, but maybe I can point you to some wonderful magic tunics from the depths of a dungeon?" Ravio forced a smile on his face, trying to redirect.

"Hah, don't you worry. I'll spend enough to buy you a legion of servants to replace your selkie. If you need him for the food, I can ensure you'll be feasting on the finest love money can buy."

Ravio's eye twitched. "I don't need servants, and I'm perfectly content with my eating arrangement as is. Please look only at wares on display. Otherwise I'll need to ask you to leave."

"Now, now. Everyone has some price. Please, ask for anything your heart desires, I can make it happen-"

Ravio's tail snapped in anger, hitting the table next to him. "Sir. The thing my heart desires most in this moment is for you to shut the hell up, buy something that's actually for sale, then leave and never come back to my house again. If you want a selkie pelt so badly, go scrape up some stinking dignity and convince someone to give theirs to you. I doubt you ever can because you think no matter how atrocious you are, you can pay to make up for it. There's not enough rupees in the world that would ever have me tied to a sniveling, old money brat who waves around his wealth to make up for the inadequacy of every other thing about him. So either get something that actually has a price tag, or get out."

The man sputtered, red in the face. He tried and failed to make a comeback, then angrily tried to yank the pelt around Ravio's shoulders. Really? Stealing? Ravio stepped back, and whistled for backup. Sheerow swooped in, pecking the man relentlessly.

"Ow! Owowowowow!" The little white bird pecked the man onto the welcome mat and out the door, slamming the door behind him for good measure.

"You're such a good business partner, you know that?" His friend landed in his cupped palms, and chirped happily as Ravio snuggled him close to his face.

“That was kinda hot.” Link was leaning against the door frame, a grin splitting his face. Ravio flushed red and jumped, realizing he wasn’t alone.

“Ah! Sorry you had to see that. Do you want your pelt back?” Ravio adjusted the pelt around his shoulders. When they first started dating, Link gave it to him as a sign of trust. Link would still take it with him when he needed to swim in the oceans, but most of the time he left the soft pink fur in Ravio’s hands. Still, there were some nights when Link would take the pelt and hold it close to his chest, eyes foggy with awful memories. Ravio wanted him to feel safe and secure; his Hero deserved that much.

“Why would I? Clearly it's in good hands.” Link sauntered over and kissed into his hair. The succubus’ tail flicked and his wings fluttered. Link’s kisses were always so delicious; his boyfriend spoiled him with how well he ate.

“I won’t let anyone else touch it. You’re so important to me, you know that?” Ravio looked up at Link, feeling the affection burning in his chest. “Even if I’m a coward, I’ll still protect it with my life.”

“I know you will.” Link’s voice was filled with so much love and trust, Ravio felt the satiation of fullness as he drank up the words. 

Ravio truly was blessed.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Private equity health-care monopolies are on a profitable killing spree

It’s not just you. US healthcare, already a bureaucratic nightmare of buck-passing and price-gouging, has gotten far worse. Private equity firms have created regional health-care monopolies that don’t just rip patients off — they’re killing us.

Private equity is a scam. Fund managers raise gigantic sums by claiming to be able to “beat the market.” In reality, they do worse for their investors than a boring old index fund:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/25/pluralistic-your-daily-link-dose-25-feb-2020/#extraordinaryclaims

The fund managers don’t have to beat the market in order to make bank. They can take advantage of the “carried interest” loophole, which has nothing to do with interest rates — it’s a tax system that was invented for 16th century sea-captains (no, really):

https://pluralistic.net/2021/04/29/writers-must-be-paid/#carried-interest

PE dresses up its playbook in all kinds of bullshit, but it’s a smokescreen. At core, PE funds buy companies, merge them to monopoly, slash wages, fire staff, load up their businesses with debt, and then skedaddle before the businesses collapse. They call this “creating value”:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/07/24/software-is-cake-too/#looters

This playbook guarantees that everything PE touches will turn to shit. PE is a parasite that preys on weak industries and makes them even more dysfunctional. Think of how PE has cornered regional rental housing markets and then turned every rental in town into a slum:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/08/wall-street-landlords/#the-new-slumlords

Most of us didn’t really think about rail-freight until last winter, when the whole system nearly collapsed. Again, the bloody handprints of PE are all over that crisis:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/04/up-your-nose/#rail-barons

The pandemic put a lot of businesses into a precarious state, and PE swooped in, buying up distressed businesses at scale and putting them into a death-spiral:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/03/30/medtronic-stole-your-ventilator/#blackstone-kkr

This acquisition was fueled by Trump’s corporate covid bailout and the trillions in public money that the GOP made available to corporate borrowers (remember, PE thrives on debt):

https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/17/divi-recaps/#graebers-ghost

Of all the sick industries in America, healthcare is the sickest, and it’s the domain where PE has done the most damage. PE stripped healthcare systems to the bone, removing all excess capacity and exhausting and demoralizing healthcare workers:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/05/21/profitable-butchers/#looted

They bought up emergency rooms, turned them into scam factories that hit every unfortunate person who stepped foot in them with thousands in “surprise billing” fees. Then they cut doctors’ pay and spent millions on ads to block anti-surprise billing legislation:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/04/21/all-in-it-together/#doctor-patient-unity

The ER scam was and is wild. Some hospitals lock all their doors except for the ER doors, and then they’d hit you for “emergency care” when you went through the ER on your way to receiving normal, non-emergency procedures:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/03/14/unhealthy-finances/#steins-law

The damage wasn’t limited to emergency rooms. Whole hospitals — whole hospital systems — were crashed by PE looters, and many of these got emergency government bailouts, because…free market?

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/01/the-years-of-repair/#mass-murder

PE has bought its way into every corner of the health-care system, and made every bad thing, much, much worse. You know how “bad nursing home” are three of the scariest words in the English language? Try on “bad private equity owned nursing home” for size. The death toll is massive:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/02/23/acceptable-losses/#disposable-olds

Biden’s SEC chair Gary Gensler has made the most decisive anti-PE moves in decades, requiring disclosures that will help investors (especially union pension funds) pierce the veil of bullshit that brings in the billions that PE fashions into weapons of financial mass destruction:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/02/10/monopoly-begets-monopoly/#gary-gensler

But the wheels of justice grind slow, and PE has trillions to fuel its race to suck every bit of value out of the health-care system before the party comes to an end.

In “Sick Profit: Investigating Private Equity’s Stealthy Takeover of Health Care Across Cities and Specialties,” Kaiser Health News’s Fred Schulte reveals the plan of attack:

https://khn.org/news/article/private-equity-takeover-health-care-cities-specialties/

In 2021, PE firms bought 1,400 health care companies, spending $206b (the total since 2012 is more than $1t). They’ve cornered regional markets for eye care, dental care, family practices, hospices, and pet care. We’ve had a year to see how that played out, and it’s not pretty.

Since 2014, PE companies have paid out $500m in fines for falsifying health care billings to the US government, but a fine is a price, and the fines have been absorbed into PE’s business plans as part of the cost of operations.

Once a PE firm buys up all the specialists in a region, things get very bad. Take San Antonio, where nearly all the gastroenterology clinics have been bought up by PE firms, and where routine colonoscopies now cost patients thousands more than they paid before:

https://khn.org/news/article/private-equity-gastroenterologist-colonoscopy/

While there are plenty of illegal ways that PE companies extract value from their acquisitions, the legal tactics are pretty ugly all on their own, like cutting staff and replacing them with less skilled, less trained, cheaper workers, putting patients at risk.

This is particularly worrying when you consider how heavily PE companies invest in practices that treat people who are vulnerable and struggle to advocate for themselves, such as behavioral health specialists who treat autism, addiction and mental illness.

Whether or not you can escape PE depends a lot on where you live. PE only owns 12% of the nation’s anesthesiology practices, but those practices are concentrated in five states, where more than two thirds of anesthesiologists are PE owned.

When PE takes over your health care, billings go way up. The average PE-treated patient generates $71 more per claim, and is 9% more likely to experience “lengthy, more costly” care:

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2795946

Doctors who sell their practices to PE companies are lured in with promises of administrative relief from experts who’ll handle billing, scheduling and compliance. But PE firms exercise fine-grained control over these doctors, violating rules that say medical practices must be run by MDs.

Take National Spine, a PE-backed chain owned by Sentinel Capital Partners that bought up 40+ pain-management clinics across the country. Doctors saw their caseload explode from 16 patients/day to 25. Medicare billings also exploded, with “unnecessary and often worthless” back braces being charged at up to $1,100 each. Patients were given $1,800 “medically unnecessary and often worthless” urine tests. National settled these claims for $3.3m in April 2019, without admitting guilt.

RLH Equity Partners’s pharmacies bilked the military health insurer Tricare out of $68m through a system of kickbacks and telemarketer sales. RLH settled the case for $21m and blamed it on a few corrupt “individuals.”

Most of the time, fraud claims are settled by the companies that the PE funds owe, while the PE funds themselves get off scot-free. That leaves the funds free to re-offend, and to further push the limits on patient endangerment.

One of the grisliest parts of this tale is in the realm of children’s dentistry. PE firms have bought up these practices and turned them into high-volume Medicare-fraud assembly lines that perform rushed, unnecessary major procedures on poor kids and bill the government a fortune for them.

These include baby root canals and crowns, and the PE-backed dental chains set quotas for their staff, requiring them to perform a certain number of major procedures on each patient. One particularly horrifying case recounted by the KHN article is that of two-year old Zion Gastelum, who died following major dental surgery.

Gastelum received six root canals and crowns on his baby teeth at a PE-owned Kool Smiles clinic in Yuma, AZ. The oxygen bottle used during his surgery “was empty or not operating properly” and the staff who oversaw the procedure were undertrained and didn’t notice. He never regained consciousness, and died of brain injuries days later.

Kool Smiles’s owners paid $24m to settle a DoJ overbilling claim less than a month later. The settlement alleged that Kool Smiles performed unnecessary procedures, including baby root canals. Kool Smiles denied that they were responsible for Gastelum’s death.

More than 90% of PE acquisitions fall below the $101m threshold for antitrust review, so they fly under the radar. Once the mergers are complete, they are very hard to unwind. The FTC is working its way through hundreds of comments from doctors or other health care workers asking for tighter scrutiny of health-care mergers.

The Healthcare Private Equity Association boasts that its members are poised to spend more than $3t to create “the future of healthcare.”

https://hcpea.org/#!event-list

Image: Rae Allen (modified) https://www.flickr.com/photos/raeallen/6224775722/

CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Videoplasty (modified) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Patient_Care_Cartoon.svg

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en

[Image ID: A hospital Emergency Room parking lot. In the center of the image stands an ogrish, top-hatted, cigar-chomping capitalist caricature. He is standing at a podium, yanking a lever made from a golden dollar-sign. The front of the podium bears a red cross. He holds aloft an elderly man in a hospital bed.]

[swampstew]

Choose a Character: & Choose a Prom:

Hi can I have Good vibes ~ a nice getaway with Killer💙

I love your Post 😊

Hi @nintendo-girl-for-life ~ Thank you so much sweet bean. I hope you enjoy your bedtime story<3

WC: 858. SFW, Soft moments with a normally tense Killer, good vibes getaway.

Killer's tense shoulders finally eased as you both reached your rented cabin on the beach. The Victoria Punk was docked on this island for a few days of R&R and Killer was the first one off ship - followed closely by you - as he dragged you down the shoreline several miles away from the rest of the crew.

You both love the crew but damnit you needed alone time. Time for you to spend together privately and quietly; not getting interrupted by a big, red haired bully who would literally rip your beloved blonde from your grasp to deal with whatever bullshit was happening. Not be interrupted by a hungry crew unwilling or unable to cook their own meals.

Killer slumped into the king-sized bed as you began to unpack your clothes and toiletries. Organizing things helped clear your mind and it gave Killer the opportunity to get in a cat nap.

Waking up to you finally joining him in bed, he rolls over and pins you down. Brushing his bangs out of his face to take in the sight of you. You were wearing a lovely sundress, sunglasses in your hair; the scent of suntan lotion wafted in the air. He made a mental note not to lick your skin less he wanted that chemically bitter taste in his mouth. Again.

"You look cute. What's the plan?" he husked into your ear.

"I thought we could walk down the shoreline and get groceries at the town. Cook a nice dinner and have a bonfire on the beach. Tomorrow we can wrangle up some horses to ride at the ranch. Did you want to do anything else?"

Killer shook his head. "A romantic date tonight and horse riding tomorrow sound perfect to me." Leaning down to kiss your lips, "I just want to relax and enjoy our time together. I want this trip to have a good vibe."

He changed into more casual wear and the two of you took your shoes off as you walked on the beach. Letting the tide clean your feet over and over again as you held hands and talked. Making silly jokes and anecdotes, sharing inner thoughts and musings. Always enjoyable when it was just the two of you.

As you shopped for ingredients and lingered at cute boutique shops, Killer realized he had been mostly at ease even with being out in public. His walls were pretty high up and he was always guarded - he still was, his haki always attuned - but he realized he didn't feel so...tense...when he did these sociable things with you. His mask hid his small smile.

Carrying the goods back to the rental, you began to wash the produce and packed the fridge while Killer started the bonfire and lit the grill. He prepped the meat while you chopped the vegetables, a light melody playing from the audio transponder as you worked in tandem. Such a nice evening with pleasant company.

With the meal ready and the wine glass topped, Killer smoothed his hair out in the bathroom mirror to fluff out the dents, fixed his lipstick; shooting finger guns at himself as he exited. He sat across you and dedicated the toast to you. The flush that spread to your face was so worth it.

Taking the wine bottle and audio transponder outside, you watched the sun blink from the horizon as night fell. The bonfire was roaring, the waves were lapping loudly on the shore, and the music was flowing softly as you took turns drinking wine and dancing in the sand. Laughing loudly and spinning, falling into the sand. The audio transponder gets knocked down from the disruption and all you hear is the fire and ocean lilting.

Pouting, Killer whined out, "what now? You got any songs?"

Shutting your eyes deep in thought, a finger on your chin and humming audibly. Your gasp breaks you out of thought and you slowly mouth your words trying to remember lyrics and melody.

We pillage plunder, we rifle and loot. Stand up me hearties, yo ho. We kidnap and ravage and don't give a hoot. Stand up me hearties, yo ho.

Killer's grin splits his face, joining in.

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me. We extort and pilfer, we filch and we sack. Stand up me hearties, yo ho. Maraud and embezzle and even highjack. Stand up me hearties, yo ho.

You both jump up and began prancing in the sand as you sang, wine bottle sloshing what little was left as your voices rang higher and higher.

We're beggars and blighters and ne'er do-well cads, Aye, but we're loved by our mommies and dads, Stand up me hearties, yo ho. Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's life for me.

You both fall wailing the last line, squealing as you make contact with the soft sand. He tilts the last of the wine into your mouth and seals it with a kiss, lapping up the dredges of liquid from your lip.

"How are the vibes?" you question, knowing smile on your face.

"They're good vibes, Y/N."

🏴‍☠️Follow, Like, Reblog for more🏴‍☠️

[tabbyclaw]

Vow of Poverty Challenge

This is Kestrel. (Probably. I may change my mind on the name later.) Isn't she cute? But Kestrel doesn't want to be cute. Kestrel wants to be gorgeous and fancy. Kestrel, in fact, wants to look like this:

Unfortunately, Kestrel has no money, and for the purposes of the challenge I'm participating in with her she is also not allowed to have any money. Everything she needs to turn her into her best self has to come from trade, random loot drops (chests, coliseum, Pinkerton), or giveaways. And that's why I'm making this post! If you have any of the items on her wishlist (link in reblog, which also includes a link to the original challenge thread if you want more information) and you're interested in trading, or if you know of anyone who's doing a giveaway or free raffle for them, PM me on the site (Tabbyclaw, #112126) to see what we can arrange.

What I can offer:

Items! Food, familiars, apparel, and other sundries, including some retired items. I've been on this site a long time; ask and there's a decent chance it's buried in my hoard somewhere. (Note: I have no UMAs, although I do have a decent assortment of old festival skins.)

Coli services! I have a full team that can grind in any venue, and also trainers who can level up your fodder or your permanent residents. (Stats and stones not included.)

Nest and cauldron rentals! (Shadow lair and fully leveled cauldron; you will have to provide any treasure the recipe asks for.)

Art! (It will not be good art, but it will be sincere and to the best of my ability.)

Other things? If you have an idea, maybe we can talk it out.

[nonooddo]

Just What is this Developer Up To..?

Oddo Developments is building, planning or has built tower blocks of thousands of beds and and 'townhome' developments across this part of the county and the greater Kansas City area.

The developer is relentless in fighting communities across the region - with teams of architects, lawyers, illustrators, PR people and paid-up engineers all producing 'unbiased reports', 'scenic' renderings and of course candid submissions in multiple sets of municipal planner meetings. Meetings that local residents know nothing about until the Oddo Project is already baked - and its odor has already seeped all through the corridors of the various city halls.

"You Cant Handle The Truth" - until its too late for you to do much about it..!

And IF there is a need for high stacked rental housing - maybe all these legal maneuverings - that just happen to NEVER include the locals and the communities Oddo moves it resources into - are meeting that need. But that doesn't explain why Oddo is determined to grab hold of the gateway to Cedar Creek...

Hiddeous

The Oddo company's other plans, on a much less significant Cedar Creek adjacent site - (between Valley Parkway & 103rd/Hwy 10), are much more modestly scaled. Not on a high elevation - those plans are only intended to be TWO STORIES HIGH...!

Yet More ODDO It will be doubly difficult to sell apartments with traffic views if the luckless Oddo residents wake up to find that Oddo over-development in Lenexa is causing traffic to back up onto Hwy 10...!

Of course selling views of traffic on K-10 would be more of an uphill battle than selling views from the top of the hill on Cedar Creek parkway. Cedar Creek views that we provide, at our expense, and Shadow Glen golf course views that Oddo will appropriate along with the name 'Shadow Glen'.

So is the deal - 'stacking "synthetic stone cladding" and "cement board" multi-level micro apartments' all along K-10 designed to catch the eye of commuters? Those forced to wait for a space on the Cedar Creek off-ramp will have noting to look at but tail-lights and 'ANOTHER ODDO DEVELOPMENT' billboards? Logical maybe - if cheap and nasty.

But what does that do to the claims of luxury resort living..? Is that really the way you recruit top level tenants? Somehow I think not. So really - what is Oddo Developments doing trying to take over the entrance to Cedar Creek..? Why does THIS site have to be 6 stories of building - as opposed to 2 elsewhere (from which he clearly must be able to turn a profit...)?

I'll tell you - this is all about what we have, we created, we should own and we should be in charge of (were it not for another developer who clings onto control through a faux HOA)...

Oddo Developments wants to loot Ceder Creek of its views, its open spaces, its character and its green resources... He has no way to prevent his tenants using our open property, crowding the carefully stewarded natural spaces - and our absurd developer-run HOA has no plans, ability or inclination to stop Oddo. After all - birds of a feather....

So we should be in no doubt that the rapacious machine presently gnawing at our door, does not have a better face or a nicer plan. There are no 'more acceptable' approaches or alternatives. Not from an entity that is here for the singular reason of appropriating for itself all that we have worked for, contributed to, managed, observed, maintained, stewarded and paid for. Oddo's very presence in Cedar Creek is fundamentally at odds with all of us who live here. And that difference is irreconcilable.

The essence of Cedar Creek is at stake here. Nothing more, nothing less.

NO...!

Oddo can't be allowed to win.

[libidomechanica]

Which for good Betty, going mine; Ive wake the rental

Left but because we were merely well thing. Loves thy cleaue: seemed the loot that for shall ye thus—Poor Susan, whose found her in an Elevented, I feel of Bessie be; weel ken I recognized the reveal her garb, there. No, no, no, my with construed me if it down intense and when upon me three in the cherry, do the door, slave of the cottage with that novel? I had been eternal you go the nails fellow flower parting with me! From his with Esop crosser sensibilities and discounted sun. Then much—to give? An eclat, and lassie, O. Virgins to Balaam, and Johnny?

[thefree-online]

Squatters take London’s eternal housing crisis into their own hands - in Pictures

Upper Class Brits don’t have to work, living off vast Property and Inherited Wealth – from Slavery, Rental Extortion and ongoing Colonial Looting from thefreeinline on 30th June 2924 at Al Jazeera by Hannah McKay… see Telegram; t.me/thefreeonline A squatter, who goes by the name of Leaf, 28, relaxes in an empty former youth centre that is now occupied by squatter activist group Reclaim Croydon,…

[nityarawal]

2/26/2024

Lexus Lemon Stock

Morning Songs

Lexus Stock Is

Dropping

Put It Down

Says Beyonce

Lexus Lemon Stock

Is Dropping

Toyota Lost Every

Thing In A

Hit And Run

My Situation

Is Not Unusual

Naya Rivera

Went To Alexandria

House Too

Kim Kardashian

Before You

My Situation Is Not

Unusual

Millions Of Britney's

Dancing In Circles

Many Tech Billionaires

Wives

Begging For Our Loot

My Situation

Is Not Usual

Gender Bending

At Court

Just Google

Lexus Nitya

Eternity

And You'll

Hear The Eternal Drama

Of Trump Secret Service

Lore

Millions Of Mammas

Raped Hostage

For Putin

And DA George

Soros

Chinese 

Socialism

Millions Of Mammas

Sold On The

Black Market

For "The Voice,"

Millions Of Mammas

Is Katy Perry

Finally Free

Or Does She Have

Her TM Conservators

Jerkin Off

From Toyota

For Their TM

Stock

Like Me

Jerkins Off

On TV

Fireworks

Aren't Free

Is Britney Spears

Finally Free

Why Is She Smoking

Dancing In Circles

Smacking Her Ass

With A Spatula

Tossing Knives

Like Durga

Goddess

Why's Britney

Still Dancing

In Circles

And Why Are We

Still Writing Tunes

For DMV.org

Raj Scams

Of Courts

California Car Rental

Gay Man's

Duplicity

And Their Rewind

Canadian

Conservators

Of Lab Moms

For Musks

Rewind Scams

Why Are We Still

Bitchin' About Lexus 

Life's Too Short

And Of Course

I Want To Go

Cybertruckin'

Mining

To Maui

Through The

Beauty Wilderness

With My Girlfriends

Kids

#Eloning

With My Godson

And All My

Children

Why Doesn't My Lady

Come To Have

Coffee With Me

Why Doesn't A

Mommy

Want To Use Her

Law Degree

To Better Humanity

Why Does No One

Love Planet Earth

Like Elon

Loves Me

Why Does No Man

Allow My Loves

To Honor 

Mammas

With Faith

As They Want To

With 

Cybertrucks

Word

Eternal Love

Won

Peace,

Nitya Nella Davigo Azam Moezzi Huntley Rawal 

[chikucabllp]

Cheapest Taxi Service In Allahabad.

 City Where Emotions and Sanctity meets to Peace

Allahabad, also known as Prayagraj today, is a city in central Uttar Pradesh. It is the home where three rivers merge into one Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati the Triveni Sangam. This city is where emotions and sanctity meet peace. Many people come here to take a holy dip in the Sangam and many come to give the souls of their loved ones in the form of Asthi Visarjan. People come with a lot of emotions and a heavy heart, the taxi service in Allahabad promises to be with you in this overwhelmingly emotional journey with its pocket-friendly prices with a variety of fleets.

Ganga Darshan And Asthi Visarjan

Well, there are a lot of people in the name of Sadhus and Pandits to cheat and loot you in this emotionally overwhelming journey. Bharat Sevashram Sangh will be the best option well it’s not the right place to stay but the right place to book for your Ganga Darshan and Asthi Visarjan to avoid fraud and loot. Cab Service is there to support Bharat Sevashram Sangh as well.

Cab Service In Allahabad can help you find best hotels for your stay as well like Hotel Kanha Shyam, Hotel Grand Continental, and Hotel Ashok.

Places To Visit And Sightsee

Prayagraj is not only a city of Triveni Sangam. This city also has places like Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhawan which was the home of Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and has a lot of memories of India’s freedom struggle with Mahatma Gandhi, Motilal Nehru and the childhood of Indira Gandhi. Allahabad Fort of Mughal Empire, Akshayavat of Ramayana Age, Chandrashekhar Azad Park a memory of Bhagat Singh and Chandrashekhar Azad’s freedom struggle, Jawahar Planetarium, Khusro Bagh, Shankar Viman Mandapam, Hanuman Temple and Yamuna Bridge. Cab booking of Allahabad will be present for you to make your emotional journey lighter and peaceful with these beautiful places of Prayagraj.

Famous and Vintage Food Joints

Vintage Hut for best Mughlai and Awadhi dishes with biriyani and kebabs.

Old Town Restaurant for best Nihari, Sheermal and Galouti Kebabs.

Allahabad Famous Churmura Corner for Puffed Rice with Vegetables and Spices

Higgins is a colonial-era restaurant famous for fish, chips, tikka, steaks, etc.

After an emotionally overwhelming journey, you will try some delicious foods to elevate your mind and there’s no doubt that you will love these savory dishes, in a crowdy and congested city like Prayagraj, Cab Service in Allahabad will always get to you with it’s affordable and pocket-friendly services to sneak through the cab.

To Conclude

With The Taxi and Cab service in Allahabad by Chiku Cab you’re not only going to save money but also make memories in your holidays. Chiku Cab has a fleet starting from a Tempo, Indica, Swift Dzire, To Honda City, and Toyota Fortuner, Starting from Rs 8.50/km for all sorts of trips whether it’s an in-town rental or a one-way trip, outstations, round trip, drop and pick to Airport or railway stations anything you want with a 24x7 service.

It’s Always Chiku Cab Life’s Pocket Friendly.

[mariacallous]

“Please don’t destroy my business. It is Black-owned.”

These and similar words were emblazoned on storefronts across the country during the civil unrest following George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020. Black business owners hoped this plea—directed at those who were looting and damaging commercial real estate amid the protests—would not be drowned out by the unrest and frustration.

Embedded in such signs is a unique investment thesis and value proposition: When Black people own stores and other commercial real estate, members of the community will patronize, protect, and respect those businesses in a different way. That is, Black-owned businesses will be strongly supported by Black communities, and Black communities will feel more enfranchised if they have a stake in local business.

So, is this assumption true?

To find out, Brookings Metro is collaborating with developers and community partners in Baltimore, Cleveland, and Detroit as they attempt to “buy back the block.” Specifically, our new Buy Back the Block Lab is studying and advising the efforts of a cohort of community-based, mission-driven investors as they purchase commercial real estate in corridors within majority-Black neighborhoods.

The racial ownership gap precedes the racial wealth gap

In a 2022 analysis, Brookings scholars found that few Black households own commercial real estate (CRE), especially if we exclude rental properties: Only 3% of Black households own nonresidential CRE, compared to 8% of white households. For households that do own CRE, the average white household owns $34,000 of it, compared to just $3,600 for the average Black household.

Nonresidential CRE includes neighborhood retail shops on Main Street, downtown offices, waterfront warehouses, and more. Ownership of these income-generating assets—the management of which also shapes the vibrancy of communities—is extraordinarily concentrated in the hands of a few. In fact, 81% of the value of nonresidential CRE is owned by the top 1% of households that own any. In comparison, for owner-occupied housing wealth, the top 1% owns only 16% of the value.

This is a major missed opportunity for Black wealth-building, given that nonresidential CRE generated $512 billion in revenue in 2020. Income concentrated so heavily in white owners contributes to a wealth gap that sees the median white household hold $188,200 in wealth—7.8 times that of the median Black household ($24,100).

However, there’s more to the story. Not only is CRE ownership very unequal by race, but all CRE owners in Black neighborhoods are impacted by devaluation. Our research found that storefronts and shopping centers in communities with higher shares of Black residents are valued measurably lower than otherwise comparable properties in communities with fewer Black residents.

After accounting for predictors of CRE value, we estimate that retail space is undervalued (as directly measured by asking rents and holding capitalization rates constant) by 7% in majority-Black ZIP codes. This means that CRE owners in majority-Black ZIP codes are getting less rental income than they otherwise should, as well as generating less taxable value, resulting in significant revenue loss for individuals and places. We estimate that the undervaluation of majority-Black ZIP codes results in aggregate wealth losses of $171 billion in retail space for the owners of these properties.

These losses represent a real warping of the incentives that CRE owners respond to. In addition to the direct loss of access to the billions of dollars in capital estimated in this analysis—capital that could serve as collateral to finance growth or intergenerational wealth-building—a systematic negative differential in the valuation of property in Black neighborhoods renders these communities vulnerable to speculation and neglect. Devaluation reduces the carrying costs of real estate, and can thus be exploited by investors with greater access to capital who can afford to acquire properties and hold them (if they are anticipating changes in the economic and racial makeup of the neighborhood, for example). Per the collateral point, devaluation also reduces owners’ access to capital for maintenance and improvements, leading to stagnation and decline that further accelerate devaluation.

Can this cycle be broken by changing who owns the properties? Brookings and the neighborhood cohorts are developing innovative ownership models to apply to real CRE assets in their communities in order to articulate and test a multifaceted investment thesis and value proposition. Will increasing the proportion of Black people who own the homes, businesses, and buildings in majority-Black neighborhoods…

Give those owners greater ability to raise the value of those assets?

Directly increase the wealth that individuals and communities can accrue?

Make communities safer?

Empower Black communities to combat the devaluation of assets stemming from negative perceptions of those neighborhoods, as expressed through both asking rents and tenant location decisions (i.e., retail redlining)?

Given the wide racial gap in business wealth and concerns about gentrification and “development without displacement,” we believe there is a broad public interest in finding out if these hypotheses are true. One direct stakeholder is local government, since they rely heavily on assessing and taxing property to provide services—from public education to police and fire protection, parks, and more—and must also deal with the challenges tied to neighborhood decline and perceptions of decline.

Why local governments want to help ‘buy back the block’

Previous research by Carlos F. Avenancio-León and Troup Howard found that Black and Latino or Hispanic Americans face a 10% to 13% higher tax burden for the same bundle of public services, due in large part to the devaluation of homes in Black neighborhoods. In other words, because of devaluation, local governments in Black and brown jurisdictions have to charge higher tax rates in order to raise the same amount of revenue needed to provide services. What at first might seem like a boon to an individual homeowner—a lower assessment means less taxes owed—becomes a burden when devaluation is systemic throughout a community, as tax rates must increase. In addition, over the long term, the homeowner has access to less equity to leverage. Our research on the devaluation of CRE contributes another major explanation for the fiscal distress of Black communities.

Aggregate wealth losses of $171 billion in retail space impact not just the owners of the properties, but the localities that rely on property tax revenue to fund services. By comparison, owner-occupiers of housing lose an estimated $235 billion in majority-Black ZIP codes.

Commercial real estate—which includes all income-producing property, such as retail, office, industrial, and multifamily rental residential property—plays an important role in balancing local government budgets. Property taxes are in aggregate 31% of all revenue that state and local governments rely on, so any destabilization of this funding source has a negative fiscal impact on jurisdictions’ ability to provide services—especially education, which is the top state and local government expenditure. The tax burden that devaluation places on Black communities may be a reinforcing cycle, because taxes affect both property values and the borrowing capacity of buyers. These communities are trapped in a paradox of under-valuation and over-assessment, and elected officials struggle to balance the need to raise revenue today against stewarding value.

Ending CRE devaluation in Black neighborhoods would take pressure off residential real estate and help both residents and the jurisdictions that serve them. However, in order to avoid commercial gentrification, increasing the share of Black CRE owners is a necessary part of the solution. Any increase in CRE assessed value would ultimately be tied to higher asking rents for business tenants in majority-Black neighborhoods. Therefore, any equitable solution to the systemic devaluation of assets in Black neighborhoods must restore value to the people and communities that are, literally, losing equity.

The Buy Back the Block Lab

We know how conventional CRE practitioners create investment theses, conduct market research and due diligence, assemble capital, and obtain site control. What needs to be done the same way—and what needs to be imagined differently—in order to “buy back the block” with the assets we have and without gentrification and displacement?

The Buy Back the Block (BBtB) Lab is working with local leaders in Cleveland, Detroit, and Baltimore to scope projects and answer these questions. With Cleveland Neighborhood Progress, the Harvard Community Services Center, the Grandmont Rosedale Development Corporation, and Invest York Road, we will help assemble the team of professionals needed to conduct due diligence, structure debt financing, garner government grants and approvals, and attract community investors.

So, who is the “community” that investors come from, and how many are needed? As part of this project, we are exploring concepts to democratize CRE and move beyond the conventional ownership model. There are already many existing models of shared ownership, including community land trusts, employee-owned businesses, and housing cooperatives. However, the BBtB Lab approach will differ from these efforts in that its principal purpose is to help individual residents and local entrepreneurs create wealth through buying an appreciating CRE asset, rather than preserving affordability of space. The Lab will provide advice, data, and support for potential developers, investors, and operators at promising sites in each participating community. While recognizing the urgency of the wealth gap, we will take a patient mindset that begins with understanding the deal potential, getting site control, and acknowledging the long-term financial return horizon. The goal is not just to conduct a transaction, but to practice community-centered economic development that is holistic and considers both neighborhood residents who live and shop locally as well as the entrepreneurs who create small businesses, in order to design inclusive CRE investment vehicles.

In addition to identifying and structuring deals, the Lab will investigate the role of nonprofit intermediaries in facilitating Black CRE ownership, as well as what state and federal economic development policies can help break the cycle of devaluation. Everything we learn will be published in a final “playbook” for communities nationwide who are looking for new ways to practice community-centered economic development.

We hope that results from the BBtB Lab will help many more members of the Black community earn a nest egg with real estate assets that gain meaningful value over time, so that they can send their children to college, set aside retirement funds, make a down payment on a home, reinvest in their home, expand a business, or otherwise realize their financial goals. Over time, we expect to learn lessons that are relevant beyond Black communities. As our colleague Tonantzin Carmona—an expert on Latino or Hispanic wealth-building—has observed, there is a clear demand for alternative wealth-building opportunities and products among groups that feel excluded or do not trust traditional financial services. If tangible, secure, and vetted opportunities are not available, predatory mechanisms will continue to thrive—and gaping wealth inequalities will persist.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Tonight (May 23) at 8PM, I’ll be in TORONTO for a book launch for Red Team Blues that’s part of WEPFest, a benefit for the West End Phoenix, onstage with Dave Bidini (The Rheostatics), Ron Diebert (Citizen Lab) and the whistleblower Dr Nancy Olivieri.

#20yrsago “Facts” about printing and book-design https://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/002638.html

#15yrsago Former RIAA CEO is the Huffington Post’s new political director https://www.wired.com/2008/05/the-huffington/

#15yrsago Canadian spooks think punk band “Suicide Pilots” are terrorists https://web.archive.org/web/20080530022051/https://canadiandimension.com/blog/2008/05/csis-spying-on-canadian-punk-band/

#15yrsago Punk House: communal homes of the anarcho-syndicalist lifestyle https://web.archive.org/web/20080526172905/http://www.alarmpress.com/2293/book-reviews/punk-house-interiors-in-anarchy/

#10yrsago Laptop with thermite self-destruct mechanism https://hackaday.com/2013/05/23/laptop-vs-thermite-slow-motion-destruction/

#10yrsago 3D-printable model of the cover of Joy Division’s “Unknown Pleasures” https://web.archive.org/web/20130607163848/http://i.document.m05.de/2013/05/23/joy-divisions-unknown-pleasures-printed-in-3d/

#10yrsago Game designer creates a never-played-by-humans titanium boardgame and buries it for play 2700 years from now https://www.polygon.com/2013/3/28/4157884/game-designer-jason-rohrer-designs-a-game-meant-to-be-played-2000

#10yrsago Hardwood Escher tesselated interlocking lizard tiles https://evolulignum.blogspot.com/2011/02/diseno-geometrico-inspiracion-escher.html

#5yrsago Comcast’s $1.2b/year modem-rental scam picks your pocket, then exposes you to hackers, stalkers and identity thieves https://www.vice.com/en/article/mbkgn8/dont-rent-a-modem-from-comcast

#5yrsago Cable industry attains the impossible: makes Americans hate it even more https://www.vice.com/en/article/7xmxza/america-hates-comcast-more-than-ever

#5yrsago Mining the Panama Papers and other leaks to reveal the hidden looting of West Africa by its corrupt elite https://www.icij.org/investigations/west-africa-leaks/

#5yrsago Why “leftism” is parting ways with “liberalism” and what it means for the future of American politics https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2018/05/americas-brand-of-capitalism-is-incompatible-with-democracy.html

#5yrsago Debugging AI is a “hard problem” https://ai.stanford.edu/~zayd/why-is-machine-learning-hard.html

#5yrsago FBI sinkholes a key domain used by the malware that infected 500,000 home routers, declares partial victory and Russian attribution https://www.thedailybeast.com/exclusive-fbi-seizes-control-of-russian-botnet

#5yrsago Thoughtful, devastating critique of Jordan Peterson’s “12 Rules for Life” https://web.archive.org/web/20210310135608/https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/jordan-peterson-12-rules-kate-manne-review/

#1yrago HSBC: “Who cares if Miami is underwater?” https://pluralistic.net/2022/05/24/moral-money/#nutjobs-warning-about-the-end-of-the-world

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Toronto, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[seafoodsoda]

48 hour competition update:

hour (???) recap:

we spend the first 20 minutes after leveling up taking a break and dividing loot. it is at this point I'm really hopping for another drop out, I can admit i'm worried these remaining people will actually push it to the limit of 48 hours.

the good aligned members of the party keep insisting on returning to the town to inform the people the wyverns are gone and return their rental weapons, obviously Tobby is adverse to the idea. the others settle for leaving half the treasure and their items at the keep itself for whoever scouts it out next. Tobby happily keeps their +1 maul. Tobby then decided to loot the skeletons around the keep to find a map, the party deciding to make their next point of interest the capital of the land they're found themselves in.

As the party makes their way down the mountain through the forest, they are ambushed by tree people with bows? maybe Trents, I can't really tell. don't ask me to identify my world and surroundings anymore.

[weirdlet]

So I said I was going to write up the big downtime session, and I will. It's been kind of a crazy couple of weeks and things keep exploding close to home, completely aside from the state of the world. All is insurance calls and furnace techs and job hunting and emergency rental assistance at this time. Hence why the dracolich fight has been barely sketched in.

But even though in-session it felt a bit skimmed over and compressed, we DID manage to kill the dracolich. Carver was nine levels of cleric one level of monk because I get silly build ideas sometimes, and so he had no Divine Intervention to contribute- but as things were falling to pieces due to certain party members running off into the dark and getting the battle started first (thanks Alain!); a couple of Plot Points were used and even though the minion deaths had fed into the dragon's resurrection, his burial chamber was at the heart of a tomb of ancient kings that all hated undead and undeath.

The ancient kings were so mad about it they came back to life, fought minions, swarmed the skeleton, and allowed Trinidad to pop Ebondeath's skull clean off. This after clearing an entire ziggurat full of undead zombies and skeletons and minotaurs and death-priests to get there. We were beat, but we were triumphant.

So that brings us to this last session: the timeskip. Through various means of magical communication, word is sent back to Leilon that we return triumphant, even as there were gatherings of what other soldiers could be found in the region just in case Ebondeath had arisen. What little that could have been done, was done. But the party returned to the town gates hailed as conquering heroes, with a lot of cheering and singing and Glory very definitely launched himself off the top of the wall and tumbled Carver over into the dirt to greet him.

Thus begins our two years of relative peace and prosperity. Our former wizard Phillip is head of the town council, our current wizard Sorianna is setting up her own underground lab where she delves into dark secrets and grieves, still hoping to return her lover Alistair to her from the driven, haunted husk named Alain he has become. Alain himself is skulking about, investigating the Cult of Enlightment and the giants' Ordning. Maeve the paladin is named a lady and given domain over the former fishing village that her father had died defending. Trinidad is building the police force of the town guard, and running a shipping company. Carver brings his split of the loot home to Glory, showering him in gold and pearls and the like because he'd always wanted that experience, then takes the actual money and sets up a temple that is humble in looks, but very practical and effective in the help it delivers to the poor and underserved. Glory works hand in hand with him as Harbormaster and as husband-to-be.

But all is not as easy as it seems. Lord Neverember has apparently made good on his intent to replace Mintarn's current leadership with his own, and as a cost-cutting measure announces the dissolution and dispersal of the White Sails mercenaries, which our group had all started out as. Most of them hadn't gotten paid in a while anyhow, and now a fair number of them are here, around Leilon. So each of our characters has an encounter with certain groups of them, often hungry for plunder and wanting someone to lead them. Some of them are willing to be resettled into new careers, such as inhabiting the slaughtered village under Maeve's care. Some of them try to get absolution for their sins while not giving up their bandit ways, only to be followed and Batman-ninja-assassinated by Alain, and others are recruited into the village guard. But it's an ongoing issue, and not every decision is a good one, and not every good decision succeeds.

Still. The town is thriving, our folks are going about their business, and about a year goes by without anything exploding too wildly. One fine night, the party is having dinner together at the council-house, as they sometimes do- only to be called up by folks in a panic, saying there's a ship full of GIANTS in the harbor.

Everyone gets up from the table and hauls out to see. There is INDEED a ship full of giants in the harbor, and one of them in a sort of jestery costume stands on the docks, the wood creaking beneath him, and gives us the riot act.

Hogarth (don't quote me on that, I misheard Myrkul as MacCoul for the longest time), the Ancient Red Wyrm that demands tribute of Mintarn on the regular, has sent his fleet of giants to greet this highly-Mintarnian populace of the resettled Leilon, and to extend to them the schedule and terms of his tithing. Little Mintarn, as it is colloquially known, is obviously going to bow to their lord and master and send wagons/shiploads of appropriate gold, food, and slaves, and virgins to serve as those last two combined, on a regular schedule. No fuss, no foul, and no one has to get hurt.

The giant herald is informed to take it up with the Lords' Alliance, of which Leilon is part, and theoretically Mintarn proper as well. He is also informed by Glory in particular that he already has a set of four dragon-tooth strap-ons, he'd be happy to add a fifth. The giant takes his leave, and bids us prepare to pay up or fight by a certain date, one year hence. With that hanging over us, we start preparing in whatever ways we can during the year allotted to us. Ballistae are being prepared, magics planned, a lot of this is skimmed over because we're rebuilding character sheets as this is happening, because Fantasy Grounds not only erased the campaign itself but also the backups. We hit fifteenth level and start hearing disturbing rumors, that not only is a great red dragon on the move, pillaging and burning, but multiple smaller red dragons are aiding him. Not only that, but Phillip, an expert in these things, explains that Hogarth is a nearly complete self, in that he has eaten his other selves in other planes and thus contains all his own power, on the order of Deep Secret by Diane Wynne Jones or Jet Li's The One. He's still shy of a god proper- but basically dragon-wise, only Bahaumut or Tiamat are above him. That is... not good. But we're preparing for the fight ahead of us, probably with plenty of back-fill to be had in the future.

I mention that Glory and Carver, with six months to go before the listed date of the giants' return, get married. This is a small ceremony but a huge shindig, with the entire town turning out for drinks and dancing as their Harbormaster and their humble cleric- who nevertheless brings powerful divine aid to the people- bind themselves together. My homework assignment for next week is to write up their vows, and I've been noodling with wedding traditions to make it my usual overkill self-fic, more of which we'll get to next post.

The day of the giants' return comes. It goes. But still the giants come, and we are standing ready on a scattering of islands in the distant harbor, ready to make them work for it as they hit the barrel-barriers and the sabotaging tortle and the mages prepare to case Reverse Gravity and then drop them all on the suddenly dry bottom of the bay. Annnnnd- that's where we'll pick up next session.

[satoshi-mochida]

Some thoughts and details on my last Gamefly rental, Daemon x Machina.

Sorry this took a while, I had started it, but wasn’t feeling it at first, and decided to come back to it later.

Many years prior, a devastating disaster is caused by part of the moon falling to Earth, releasing a dangerous energy called Femto. Eventually, Femto is able to be turned into a useable energy source. A few years after the disaster, however, AIs that had been built for various purposes began getting corrupted and attacking people, though they were eventually sealed off from what's left of the rest of the world.

While potentially deadly to most people, some were able to begin developing supernatural powers from Femto exposure, being named Outers. Outers are recruited as mercenaries by the consortiums who occupy the sealed off area, now called the Orbal Link, to pilot Arsenal mechs against the corrupted AIs, named the Immortals, and do other work for them.

The player character, given the callsign ‘Rookie’, is one of these Outers.

There’s actually a lot of more detail to the story, so I had to somewhat summarize enough to at least set the picture. ^^;

The tutorial for the Arsenal mech’s controls feels pretty intimidating, but I think it’s probably not as difficult to gradually learn as you go. The mapped controls for the Arsenal do feel mostly natural once you do get used to them, imo.

Some of the more basic controls:

B to jump, and pressing B again lets you fly. 

Pressing A near certain objects that give a button prompt can be picked up, which can then be used, thrown or set down(depending on what it is) with ZL/ZR depending on which arm picks it up.

ZL is your left-handed weapon, and ZR is your right-handed weapon.

L is your Shoulder-mounted weapon

R is Boost, which runs on Stamina that can run out but quickly refills.

Pressing the left analog stick while flying causes the Arsenal to stop flying and fall back to the ground.

Hitting the right analog stick lets the Arsenal to use ‘Mirage’, which causes a double of you to appear and attack enemies until your Femto runs out.

There’s a good number of options for your PC’s appearance, and many parts, which you can add decals to and change the colors of, to use for the Arsenal. 

To get Arsenal parts, you can loot them off of defeated Arsenals during missions by pressing A near them(they’ll be marked with a red ! on the minimap, and new parts are marked in yellow), buy them from the Shop, or make them from other parts at the Factory.

Arsenal parts include:

Armor for the head, body, both arms and legs. 

Weapons that can be equipped to both arms, two pylons that you can switch to, and a shoulder-mounted weapon. There are also Arm parts that make them gun arms with the downside of not being able to switch them out for the pylon weapons.

Both have a ‘Durability’ rating, which affects how much Vital Points(VP) the Arsenal will have; more total Durability = more VP.

There are quite a few different types of weapons:

Several types of firearms that use bullets, as well as bazookas.

Laser guns which use Femto energy and have their own ammo.

Missile launchers(highly recommended) and cannons for the shoulder weapons

Special types such as an electric weapon and flamethrowers

Melee weapons like swords/clubs. Some are even laser swords.

Some weapons have what I’d say are different ‘models’ of the same type but with slightly different stats(ie. more/less ammo, durability, etc.).

Defeating enemies will make them drop small glowing orbs that have ammo or red clouds of Femto energy. On later/harder missions, it’s probably best to leave them be if you’re not hurting for ammo in case you run out later.

There’s technically a lock-on, but it’s indicated by a wireframe square around targets in front of you(certain parts make this area larger/smaller), and not done in a way that would drag your view/screen around, most likely since some enemy Arsenals zip around really fast, and having it work that way would on them probably cause motion sickness/disorientation.

There’s also an option to leave your Arsenal by pressing X on the ground, though there’s not a lot you can do like this by comparison.

The story progresses as you do Offer Missions, which are Ranked starting from ‘E’ to ‘A’. Until you finish the game, you can’t redo Story missions. There are also Free Missions that don’t advance the story and can be repeated without needing to clear the game. 

During Free Missions, you can pay hire other Outer pilots to join in and help. Some become available automatically as the story progresses, but some need to be unlocked, one even needing all the others available first. This guide seems to be mostly accurate for unlocking them.

A bit into the game, two sections open up in the hanger:

The Body Modification shop, where you can spend credits to get various upgrades to your player, which functions like a skill tree, letting you pick upgrade paths that may keep you from getting others. As the name implies, it’ll be making changes to their body, and will tell you about significant ones, so they may end up with glowing eyes, mechanized limbs, etc. You can pay to have them reset, but you won’t get those spent credits back.

The Ice Cream Parlor, which you can buy ice cream at. They’ll give you a small boost depending on the flavors(s). Buying 10 will fill out a stamp card to use for a free ice cream. You only get 1 stamp between missions, meaning you can’t buy 10 at once won’t fill it out, and you need to buy another after clearing another mission. After buying 20(not sure if it’s 20 total or between 20 missions), a Secret Factory will become an option, where you can use blueprints that rarely drop from Colossal Immortals to make new Arsenal parts.

There is a multiplayer option, but I don’t have anyone to play the game with, so I didn’t test it out. ^^;  

I did find that some of the Chat options, from pressing -/Minus, will cause a reaction with the dog that later appears in the Arsenal hanger(there’s isn’t a ‘pet’ option, unfortunately), though I think it stopped working at some point, for some reason. 

Small hint for the final boss: there’s barrels/pods at the bottom of the arena you can use to do decent damage against them. Those helped me a lot. 

Another hint: one mission says to come unarmed and without your Arsenal(in this case, it just means exit it when it starts). For this, make sure to unequip every weapon you have before starting, or it won’t count, and you’ll be attacked in a nearly unwinnable fight. You can save your Loadouts in the hanger, so that way, you won’t need to try and remember what you had equipped after doing this mission.

Gameplay is pretty fast, and the Arsenal handles pretty well, too, once you get the controls down.

I’m glad I went back to this and played all the way through. I haven’t played many mech games, but this one was really fun. Maybe I’ll try the sequel when it releases.

Here’s some pictures of my character and my Arsenal from when I finished playing:

Next game being sent is: Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection.

[ctenvs3000w23]

Unit 9: Sense-Making of Nature Interpretation - Snake Island??!!

Are you interested in snakes? Well, if so, you've come to the right place! As an individual who loves nature and being outdoors, I have always been fascinated by snakes and enjoy learning about them, however, they also creep me out quite a bit! I guess the fact that they scare me increases my level of curiosity and makes me eager to learn more about them. In elementary school, I always loved going to the library and reading "The Ten" series by Dr. Jeffrey Wilhelm, as all of the books in the series presented really cool facts about animals and other amazing things. Some of the books in the series included, "The Ten Deadliest Sea Creatures", "The Ten Most Amazing Birds", and "The Ten Most Fascinating Phenomena". I truly believe this is where I developed my love for cool new facts and my curiosity for reptiles like snakes! Although I have seen several snakes in the wild, they were all non-venomous species. While they were non-venomous, I still found them to be incredible creatures. For example, about seven years ago, my Dad and I were working at one of my family's rental properties in St. Catherines, Ontario, and in the shed, we discovered an Eastern Foxsnake. Using a shovel my Dad attempted to make it leave the shed, as it was too large to pick up with a stick. After looking it up online, I found out that these snakes can reach over 1.7 meters in length (Ontario, 2014)! Considering Garter Snakes are the most common snake species in Ontario and average a length of only 45 to 66 centimetres, the Eastern Foxsnake is huge (Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection, 2018)! According to the Ontario Nature website, this snake is the third largest in the province (Ontario Nature, n.d.).

Aside from my experiences with snakes, I mainly wanted to highlight one of the most interesting things I know about nature, and yes it involves snakes! In fact, it involves so many snakes that it's called Snake Island. Formally named, "Ilha da Queimada Grande", Snake Island is a small Island found off the coast of Brazil (Glatz, 2023). The Island is home to thousands of venomous pit vipers called Golden Lancehead Snakes (Phelan, 2023). What makes it even scarier is how concentrated these poisonous snakes are. According to the Smithsonian, the population of Golden Lanceheads is so large that there is 1 snake for every square meter of land, and the Island is 430,000 square meters in size (Brethauer, 2018)! That's crazy to me! This practically means you couldn't take a step without seeing one of these snakes. It is believed by some cultures that the Island and its snakes were used by Pirates to protect their loot (Phelan, 2023)! Pretty cool!

One of the questions that came to mind when I first learned about this Island was, "How did the snakes get there and become an established population on an isolated island?" After conducting research, I discovered that it was due to global sea levels rising by approximately 60 meters during the Early Holocene period (Phelan, 2023). As a result of ice masses melting and ice streams breaking up, the rise in sea levels caused Ilha da Queimada Grande (Snake Island) to dissociate from Brazil's mainland (Phelan, 2023). This meant the snakes were also separated from the mainland and evolved separately from their continental cousins, commonly known as the Brazilian Pit Viper (Bothrops Jararaca) (Phelan, 2023). Sadly, these snakes were deemed critically endangered by the IUNC Red List, as they can only be found on this Island (Phelan, 2023).

With respect to nature Interpretation, Felipe Grazziotin, a scientist based out of a Brazilian biological research facility, believes that tourism could play an important role in protecting the Golden Lancehead from future extinction (Phelan, 2023). In the last chapter of the course textbook, it states, "Interpretations future role will bring greater vitality to society. Interpretation promotes living with a lighter impact on the earth and with stronger ties to our cultural heritage. It produces a more harmonious relationship between the individual and the environment - physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually." Interpretive experiences help people grow into caring stewards of the land and their heritage (Beck et al., 2018)." As a result of nature interpretation's ability to help people grow into caring stewards of the planet, I too believe investing in tourism would be a great way to help save the Golden Lancehead from extinction. If you get a chance, go online and look up Snake Island, there's so much to learn!

PS. Don't forget to check out the image descriptions!

References

Beck, L., Cable, T. T., & Knudson, D. M. (2018). Interpreting cultural and natural heritage: For A Better World. SAGAMORE Publishing.

Brethauer, A. (2018, December 2). 25 things about snake island that we preferred not to know. THE TRAVEL. https://www.thetravel.com/things-about-snake-island/#the-snakes-can-39-t-swim-phew

Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. (2018, March 9). Common Gartersnake. Connecticut’s Official State Website. https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Fact-Sheets/Common-Gartersnake#:~:text=Adults%20range%20in%20size%20between,Juvenile%20garter%20snakes%20resemble%20adult.

Glatz, K. (2023, February 4). Snake island: The true story of the most snake-infested island on earth. az ANIMALS. https://a-z-animals.com/blog/snake-island-the-true-story-of-the-most-snake-infested-island-on-earth/

Ontario. (2014, July 17). Eastern foxsnake. https://www.ontario.ca/page/eastern-foxsnake#:~:text=The%20Eastern%20Foxsnake%20is%20one,is%20light%20yellow%20and%20black.

Ontario Nature. (n.d.). Eastern foxsnake. https://ontarionature.org/programs/community-science/reptile-amphibian-atlas/eastern-foxsnake/

Phelan, J. (2023, January 3). Almost 4000 snakes rule this Brazilian island. DISCOVER. https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/almost-4-000-snakes-rule-this-brazilian-island

[humdelhi]

Ravi Shankar Gupta is a very enterprising man. He’s sitting on a stool next to a shop with a diary in hand. He’s making calls from his phone in quick succession and scribbling something in his diary during each call. “I don’t like to waste my time. I got into property dealing when I realised that I have free time and space at the shop,” he says while pointing at the shop he’s sitting next to. He owns it. But why is the shop almost empty? “I just came back from my village after the lockdown and saw that it was looted by someone while I was away. I’ll load it up with time,” he explains.

Ravi Shankar deals in both buying/selling and rentals, and covers the whole South Delhi area. He’s agreed to pose for the camera but has a small condition - his number should also be shared along with the pictures. Please check the number in the last picture if you’re looking for a home in South Delhi.