#i may get dragon's dogma (the first one) and try it out when it goes on sale too kdjfj

[pinayelf-archive]

I'm sorry to ppl who followed me for other stuff but bc im replaying dai, dragon age is eating my brain (tbh it's almost always eating my brain) lol

[my-insanity-is-an-artform]

Rexani5 - enemies to lovers.

My friend, easy as pie and this got way longer than I thought it would.

To set the stage, let’s say Anakin wasn’t allowed to become a Jedi or left at age 12. 

He is, of course, followed by Obi-Wan because I live for that banter and BrOtp

Anakin returns to Tatooine and at the age of let’s say 16, leads and wins a slave rebellion (and becomes the leader of Free Tatooine at 17 much to his dismay and Obi-Wan’s amusement)

Since Tatooine is out in the Outer Rim, the Core and Senate really do not care one smidgen. They have the beginnings of the Separatist Crisis making waves. What does one little planet matter?

It very much matters after over two years later when it comes to light that Free Tatooine has a very strong sense of community and will not stand for Slavery. Anywhere.

Slavers have gone missing. Planets that make profits from slavery have found themselves with their leader mysteriously murdered.  Even the criminal network have rumours of bounty hunters winding up dead on the Hutts’ doorstep after being sent after Skywalker and those around him

(Anakin is a little insulted his bounty is only half a million credits.) 

A great many planets have entered into an agreement with Free Tatooine to wipe out corruption and slavery. 

Orn Free Taa, in a moment of consciousness, announces Ryloth’s alignment with Tatooine. (Greedy, corrupt bastard he may be, but he does love his people who have been the target for slavers for generations.) 

This results in a very tense three-way stand-off between The Republic, The Separatist Alliance and The Freedom Coalition.

The Separatists did try to get The Coalition on side but swiftly told where to stick it.

The Clone Wars do not break out primarily because neither the Separatists nor the Republic can afford to fight a three-way war.

They are also very aware that the Freedom Coalition can, thanks to an alliance with various pirates, private security firms and support that would have been on one side or the other but have chosen the Coalition. 

Even the neutrals are smaller.

Sidious is fuming.

It nearly breaks out when both the droid and clone armies are found but Speaker Shmi Skywalker sends a message to both sides that promises swift retribution if either side engages. 

The Separatist have known connections to the Hutts and various slaving organisations.

The Republic has the Clones. Enough said there.

This doesn’t mean that either side won’t take pot-shots at each other for a year or so.

So we come to the part where our trio meet.

Captain Rex of the 501st is sent with a squad to scout on Tatooine and bring any information about the leader to the Republic. His team comprises of ARC Troopers Fives and Echo, Kix, Jesse, Hardcase and Dogma.

Everyone was a little surprised at Dogma’s inclusion but the guy proved to be very sneaky and Echo’s influence has loosened him up a bit.

Fives and Rex have been hovering on the edge of something for a while now but Rex doesn’t want to start anything while he’s still Fives’ superior officer. 

Fives thinks that’s a load of Sith spit but is willing to wait.

Scouting team lands on Tatooine no problem.

Okay, slight problem. They disturb a Krayt dragon.

Fortunately, they are saved by the arrival of a blond male native who uses various calls to scare off the dragon and rescue the group.

The charming smirk and casual demeanour means Fives falls a little bit in love at first sight.

Echo is starting to believe his batchmate just has a thing for blondes who look good shooting things.

The stranger asks for their names and can clearly see they are all clones but he doesn’t comment on it. Just nudges them back to their ship and suggests they leave all while smiling charmingly and genuinely asking about themselves.

They’re just packing up and preparing to report a mission failure when Fives gets the guts to ask the stranger for his name.

“I’m Anakin Skywalker. Have a safe trip home, fellas.”

Anakin Skywalker, leader of Free Tatooine and of the Freedom Coalition, Chainbreaker, Slaver Killer, probably the most dangerous man in the Galaxy, and the man they were sent to spy on. And he’s just letting them go?

Rex is very confused.

Fives is too busy staring at Skywalker’s ass as he leaves and the cute bewildered look on his captain’s face.

Echo comes to the conclusion Fives definitely has a thing for authoritive blondes who look good shooting things.

The second time they meet is on a battlefield. 

The Freedom Coalition refuses to fight the clone army so they usually just take out the Admirals or Generals.

The clones are a little infuriated about this.

Some, however, take advantage and surrender. Slick of the 212th was one such clone who turned himself over to gain his freedom.

Anakin winds up facing Captain Rex in an attempt to kidnap Admiral Yularen.

Anakin really doesn’t want to hurt a fellow ‘slave’.

Rex just wants to take this guy in.

It ends with Anakin getting grazed by blaster fire and Rex with a small concussion. 

Anakin finds himself very intrigued by the clone captain and by the ARC Trooper who brazenly cussed him out when he arrived with back-up.

“You know most people just talk to the ones they are crushing on. Not stalk them.”“Shut it Obi-Wan. We can’t all just flirt our way in and out of fights with Commander Cody.”

So it goes like that for a while. Anakin shows up, Fives and Rex face off against him. There’s banter involved. Anakin makes the mistake of saying something vaguely flirtatious to them once and then disappears for a month. Fives proceeds to use that line every time they see Anakin thereafter. Rex pulls them both back on track. Sometimes the clones win the fight, others Anakin wins. 

Remember, Anakin, Rex and Fives all believe they are fighting for the right cause. Rex does try to make the case for pro-Republic but can’t answer when Anakin asks him if the Republic is as good as he thinks it is.

There is one time that an explosion goes off and Anakin almost sacrifices himself to hold back the blast. Neither Fives or Rex take the chance to take Anakin into custody. Instead, Anakin finds himself in a coalition medbay with a note asking him not to do anything so stupid ever again.

Eventually, the Separatists make a bid and declare open war. Grievous and Dooku are sent after Anakin and Obi-Wan in an attempt to throw the Freedom Coalition into disarray. 

What they didn’t expect was the Delegation of 2000 had managed to cut a deal with the Coalition, present it to the Senate, got it passed and was able to create a treaty between the two states. 

Clone Rights are still hotly debated but under the treaty, no clone can be decommissioned for any reason and any clone has the right to a fair trial. Small victories but necessary ones.

Grievous and Dooku’s forces are met with not only The Freedom Coalition’s fleet but also the 501st and 212th.

Anakin is very relieved to see both Rex and Fives come charging to his rescue. 

He is also swooning a bit because it’s almost like a scene straight out of Love Under Adleraanian Skies.

Fives watches as Anakin decapitate three droids and Rex shoot off the head of a forth and decides Yes, these are the men I want to spend the rest of my life with.

Rex comes to a similar conclusion as Anakin gently force-heals a blaster burn on his bicep after the fight while Fives hovers worriedly behind him.

Dooku and Grievous die in the Final battle. 

During clean up, several transmissions are found to Dooku from a Sith Lord. The transmissions are tracked back to Coruscant. To the Chancellor’s Office to be precise. 

The Freedom Coalition has been trying to track down exactly who has been leaking intel, arranging numerous kidnapping attempts and secretly attacking their forces for a good couple of years. 

Dooku’s intel also shows that while he arranged most of that, it was under orders.

So basically

(I hope you like this. I spent 10 minutes making it and 15 giggling over it.)

Anakin, Obi-Wan, a few Jedi Masters, three Senators and a squad of clones confront Palpatine over the evidence.

The result is several explosions, a dead senator, two dead Jedi, a dead Sith Lord and a Republic Senate thrown into chaos.

Sidious tries to activate Order 66 but fails since the Freedom Coalition does a full check up on any defecting clones and found the chip ages ago. They developed a virus that made them null with plans to remove them asap.

The Freedom Coalition graciously takes over providing aid to the war-torn worlds with a warning to the Senate they will only return to the Republic if certain conditions are met. The Senate agrees.

One of which are complete rights for all clones.

In this world, Anakin loses his arm to Sidious after pushing Fives out of the way of a strike. That allows Rex to shoot him in the head and then for Anakin to shove a lightsaber through his heart. Fives shoots him as well “just in case sir.”

When Anakin wakes up with his new arm, it’s not Fives but Rex who presses a relieved kiss to his lips. Fives does follow up almost as soon as Rex pulls away.

Anakin is a bit too dazed to think properly and as such promises not to do that again. 

At least not without them.

They spend the rest of Anakin’s stay in medical actually talking about where they want this to go and their feelings. 

Since Anakin isn’t emotionally repressed and is allowed to make attachments, it goes a lot better than it would have otherwise.

Rex gave into Fives’ not-quite-pestering after the Final Battle and both started plotting how to bring Anakin into it.

Either way, Echo and Plo Koon’s padawan, Ahsoka Tano, make a lot of money when the relationship is revealed.

Rex, Fives and Anakin all get married in a lovely ceremony on Tatooine with Shmi, Obi-Wan and the 501st in attendance. 

Hondo shows up with a bottle of vintage wine as a gift and to take photos to flog on the black market. 

Obi-Wan gets busted in Commander Cody’s bed with said Commander the next morning. 

Hardcase discovers the joys of fireworks and makes several friends Rex rather wishes he hadn’t.

Fives discovers Anakin’s butt really is as firm as it looks and that Rex will go red if both he and Ani whisper naughty things into the captain’s ears.

AND THEY ALL LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER.

Bonus Round: Alternative Ideas Include -

Sith! Anakin, who prefers not to kill the clones out of some sense of kinship, is fighting against the Republic and comes across Captain Rex and ARC Trooper Fives. Instead of killing each other, each are intrigued by the other. It ends up with Sidious exposed and Darth Vader gaining two loyal bodyguards/lovers.

Fives is a superhero in a world that dislikes them, Anakin is a supervillain (though more Megamind, Less Joker) and Rex is a cop who wants arrest both.

Pride and Prejudice au with Anakin as Elizabeth, Rex as Darcy and Fives as a weird blend in the middle.

[thetradeway]

Session 34: 27 Feb 2021: “DO NOT DRY HUMP THE GNOME!”

Mina has flu and may or may not join, so I take Kessler for her. Sophie has made the best soup ever - it contains three of Matthew’s favourite ingredients. Garlic, butter, and salt. Where were we? Blue Alley! We killed a minotaur! Sticky stairs! I remind Ed about the joke he told; “Gosh, I’m brilliant.”

There is some creepy-ish music. There are more stairs; Ahleqs throws a copper at them to see if anything eats it. They look plain to Gideon; there is no carpet. He tiptoes forward, and nothing happens so we descend. There is a door; Kessler knocks on it. It doesn’t appear locked. Is there anything on the other side that sounds like a unicorn statue? An ethereal whinny…?

Melaina hears nothing. Kessler suggests someone try Mage Hand. Gideon: “Why do a mage hand when you could use your normal meat-hand?” Well, Kessler is rather attached to her meat hand. Inside the room is a stepped dais in the middle with what looks like a pork chop on it. No - it’s a gem, with a sword suspended above it, point down. There are carvings on the wall. There are words inscribed around the dais. Gideon: “Dwarven words?”

DM: “No, dirty human words.”

Gideon: “Then I don’t care, I’m not reading them.”

The words read thus: “Power pulses within me, and only a living warmth may move me.”

Brothers Charity and Carl approach the dais. Melaina thinks the gem is very shiny. How high is the sword? Just above it. Living warmth, eh? Could we fart it off the dais? What’s the range on Melaina’s farts? (Probably not as far as Meemoo, who is not allowed ‘with gravy’ any more.)

Ahleqs would rather walk away and leave the gem, but even he is reluctant. “It’s probably magic, isn’t it?” 

Brother Charity takes the crystal. Woah - what?

He has a crystal now; that’s the good news. Ah.

The bad news is the flying sword that attacks. Its blade lifts up toward Brother Charity’s face - and it has advantage. It is trying to take his eyes.

Melaina wishes to support this endeavour; Brother Charity forgives her.

“I didn’t apologise.”

She shoots anyway and hits the sword - how-de-do-dis! It drops to the floor with a clatter.

Charity notices two things about the gem that he recovered. There are two iron gates in it, but other than that is shitty quality. With her passive perception Melaina spots two abnormalities in the wall. She investigates one of them, and sees a secret door in the wall. Not so secret now.

She thinks that if she manipulates the stone in some way, it will open. It opens! “Ah! Coo.”

Behind it is a cosy room with nine goodberries in a bowl on the table. We are told it would be an excellent place to rest. On the wall are the words “WHAT, MIGHT, AND.” (Last week we found some words on the wall which said “THIS, TOOL, WITH”.)

There are faint runes carved into the perimeter of the table. There is a box; Melaina wants to investigate that. With her eyes, first. It’s fine quality, wooden, hinge topped. 6x12 inches. Like a large jewellery box. She checks it for traps. “Again with your eyes?” “Er, yes.” It doesn’t look trapped. She Mage Hands it to try and open it by flipping the lid up; but not before taking a step back.

No trap goes off. The runes around the table glow a bit brighter temporarily. She will have to step closer to look inside the box.

The runes seem magical. Brother Charity makes an Arcana check on them, with a decidedly average result. He thinks it might be transmutation magic.

Gideon, excitedly: “Oooh! OOOH! I specialise in that!” He can see that the magic of the runes will alter anything put on the table in some way, but he’s not sure how. “Will the bowl turn into a duck, if we remove it from the table?” He lifts it up, but nothing seems to happen. He marches it to the other side of the room with his arms outstretched.

He makes a perception check on the goodberry bowl. Charity: “Have they changed into badberries?”

Nothing really happens to them. Gideon returns the bowl to the table, gets out an ink pen and places it on the table. Not even with a flourish, just very gingerly. Perception check; when he put it down, he thinks a bit of the wood around the nib of the pen looks a bit paler. He puts the pen back in his pocket.

Hmm.

Duncan, doing Brad Pitt in Se7en: “What’s in the box?” Brother Charity takes a look, anticipating a creature jumping out and attaching to his face. DM asks how he’s looking at it; is he leaning over it? (Sophie, OOC: “I don’t like that question.”)

There is some kind of shadow moving around in the bottom of the box. Charity picks up the box and takes it away from the table. As it passes over the runes a bright light emits from the box.

Melaina, disdainfully: “You idiot.”

Roll initiative!

The thing is a will-o’-wisp, and it goes first, hitting brother Charity for 12 lightning damage.

Tarragon Thorn Whips it with a natty 20 for 12 magical piercing damage. Melaina shoots but misses, and makes a hide attempt at Disadvantage because of the bright light from the wisp.

14 misses. Kessler shoots twice and misses both times, to a hearty chuckle from Gideon.

Brother Charity does a Vampiric Touch on it. (Woah.) It takes 11 necrotic damage and he gets some health back. (Is he a vampire?) Wait - it’s resistant to Naughty Touch attacks so it takes half damage and Charity gets half of that returned to him as health. Is Brother Wandering Hands done?

Duncan OOC: “Pull your cassock back down and get out.”

Ahleqs casts Shatter. He uses a Sorcery Point so as to avoid Melaina, Brother Wandering Hands, Gideon and Tarragon. The Wisp fails its save and takes 6 thunder damage - but it halves it. Ahleqs could make a run for the door? He has some friends/meat shields; he raises himself to a full crouch and cowers where he is.

Grease Wizard delves deep into the recesses of his massive brain to see if he knows anything about will-o’-wisps. He can do an Arcana or a History check? He chooses Arcana. 12?

He remembers that they are immune to Lightning and Poison. Good to know. He yells it out for the rest of us. (He’s a Dragon’s Dogma companion. “Goblins hate ice and fire both!”)

Brother Carl punches it.

DM: “Are his punches magical?”

Matthew, OOC: “Not in so many words.” Carl misses, and looks shapelessly sad about it.

The wisp attacks Brother Charity but misses. It passes through him (opportunity attack - Charity misses) and goes through the wall aiming for Kessler. Tarragon makes a Thorn Whip attack but misses.

Melaina is still hidden - but she moved, so she’s not. She rolls a crit fail on her stealth check and sneezes. She shoots anyway but misses.

Kessler uses her thunder gauntlets but the thing is resistant to thunder damage as well. She gives Gideon a mouthful for not telling us all that.

Brother Charity can’t move out of the room because Melaina and Carl are in the way. Melaina could have moved but she chose not to.

DM: “None of this would have happened if you hadn’t made her tall northman boyfriend leave.” Melaina, hotly: “Shut up! I don’t care about that!”

Ahleqs wants to shoot an Eldritch Blast over people’s heads. DM is feeling somewhere between sympathy and pity for him this week so he lets him try, but he misses. Less of the sympathy, more of the pity now.

Grease Wizard is all sideways, hold on… Gideon is behind the wall and can’t see it, but he is told that the wisp is attacking the goblin. He is blocked from leaving the room by a very large Carl, who is, Matthew tells us, six foot five.

Ed as an idea strikes him, OOC: “How tall was Gunna, because I have a suspicion…”

Ahleqs wants to know if we can set Carl on fire? Is he a person or a collection of sticks? He is a person with a rich inner life and we absolutely cannot set fire to him, Matthew informs us.

Gideon has another think about wisps for his turn. He can learn six (SIX??!) of its damage resistances which are: acid, cold, fire, necrotic, thunder, non magical bludgeoning, and the sniffles.

For his turn, little Carl (Beautiful, innocent Carl) does punchin! He hits for five bludgeoning, which is non magical. Charity can take his held action now that Carl is out of the way; he casts a spell to make his weapon magical. “Shhelelelelelbllblelellh?” Yeah!

The wisp goes invisible. Ah, what?

Tarragon casts Faerie Fire where she last saw it, but the thing doesn’t reappear; either it made its save or it is no longer in the area where it was when it vanished.

Melaina and Kessler both hold attacks for if and when the thing reappears. Brother Charity does the same.

Ahleqs wants to make it so he can see his chums; as he moves, the wisp makes an opportunity attack and reappears! Ahleqs drinks a potion. (Ed’s computer dies a death. I make tea while it reanimates.)

Does it count as a magical attack if Gideon Greases his own fists and punches it? DM: “No, that’s closer to magical gimpery.”

He has some magic stuff in his inventory - he could use one as a magical improvised weapon? He pulls out a spell book and bonks the wisp with it. It’s not his own spell book, it belonged to a necromancer, he goes to great pains to tell us. He makes a STR check and fails, swinging the book and stumbling into a wall.

Brother Carl. Matthew is checking something of his… Carl makes his attack at Advantage, which means attackers get Advantage on him. (That sounds like a Reckless Attack. Is he a barbarian…? He hasn’t Raged so far...)

The wisp makes a shock attack at Gideon, but misses.

Tarragon Thorn Whips it with a nat 20 - it flickers and dims a bit, but is still glowing. Melaina hides behind the door frame and leans around the door for a Sharpshooter shot; but she rolls a ten and misses. Kessler misses twice with her crossbow again. 

(There is some discussion about sidekicks; Mr Pickles isn’t Ahleqs’ sidekick so much as his line manager.)

Brother Charity blocks the doorway; Melaina pinches him. He starts clambering over a settee. From atop it, he can shoot an Eldritch Blast at the thing but misses. With a 17.

“Why come?”

That’s wisps for ya.

Ahleqs is up. Ahleqs, resignedly: “Yeah, I am.” He’s still a bit close. He decides to chance it and try ToC. He prevaricates; “Everyone is in there.” He changes him mind and does an Eldritch Blast, but misses with an 18. (18 misses??! This thing has a ridiculous AC. It’s the first thing we’ve fought that’s harder than Kessler to hit)

Gideon discards the book. Can he buff someone with a spell? Wait - no, he’s going to hit it with the book again instead. 17 misses.

Brother Carl rinses and repeats with a 23 punching attack. (Are his Gauntlets of Helm magical? No, but they have little eyes on them.)

The wisp makes an attack on Gideon but misses. It passes through the wall again, and a bunch of us get opportunity attacks.

Tarragon debates casting Moonbeam on her turn but decides to go with Thorn Whip again, believing the wisp to be near enough to death that she doesn’t want to waste a second level slot on it. She hits with another nat 20. It flickers again and is looking decidedly dimmer.

Melaina tries another Sharpshooter attack but misses. Kessler does her Thunder Gauntlets and hits once, misses once.

Brother Charity climbs off the sofa and sheleleeheheidihgghglbblblwehs it but misses.

Ahleqs, searching for the wisp: “Where is this damn thing… OH GOD THERE IT IS”. He does an Eldritch Blast at it, hitting for a 24, and 9 points of force damage - how-de-do-dis!! He’s so unused to doing dis that he has to think before describing the death. It goes brown and falls to the ground, rattling as if there’s a ball bearing in it.

Charity: “Now this box I picked up. It’s not a box of Summon Will-o’-Wisps?” He makes an Investigation check - a nat 1. He spends a few minutes holding the box and steadfastly refusing to look at it.

Melaina and Tarragon, while moving around the room, have noticed something off about another wall. Melaina investigates with Guidance from Tarragon for a 26 total.

(How poorly is Ahleqs feeling, level 1 poorly or level 2 poorly? Level 1 should do it. Brother Charity healeth his wounds.)

The wall opens to reveal a mounted crossbow - the string has snapped but there is a silver bolt still loaded. On the wall is inscribed, “CAN, DO.”

Here are the words we have so far: WHAT, MIGHT, AND, THIS, TOOL, WITH, CAN, DO.  

Melaina goes for the bolt (it’s shiny) and triggers a pressure plate trap with a nasty acidic fluid that squirts into the room. She makes her CON save and is fine.

Brother Charity takes the bowl and the goodberries. “There’s going to be another will-o’-wisp, isn’t there.”

No, but the DM asks him to explain exactly how he does it. He picks it up, pours the berries into his pocket and sticks the bowl into Brother Carl’s pack. He now has nine goodberries.

Tarragon and Brother Charity investigate the wall and find another room. Tarragon goes in. There is smooth, featureless stone as if mined from a single piece of rock and transported here. On the west wall there is writing: “A soft touch.”

The door slams shut, trapping Tarragon, Ahleqs, and the Brothers inside.

Gideon, outside: “Well - they’re dead. Pub?”

The others can’t hear any noise from inside. All of us inside notice that it’s so quiet we can hear the blood in our ears. Every tiny sound is amplified. We all (inside) roll d100s and then initiative.

Oh no…

Ahleqs begins babbling, incapable of speech or spells. Tarragon has to use her action on each of her turns to attack whoever is nearest. Brother Charity is incapacitated and can only scream, laugh or cry. Brother Carl will do anything anybody tells him as long as it isn’t destructive.

Oh shit.

Ahleqs holds his hands up to cast and babbles some nonsense; nothing happens.

Gideon doesn’t know what to do. He examines the door to see if it’s been locked by magical means. He can sense magic at work on the other side of the door, but nothing on his side.

Tarragon hits Ahleqs but gets a nat 1 - good for him, bad for her. She rolls on the crit fail table and her weapon’s damage is halved until she gets it fixed. Well, balls.

Carl doesn’t do anything because no-one has told him to do anything. Melaina tries to pick the lock - she rolls a 29. DM, laughing: “Fuckin’ hell!” The door is open. Brother Charity screams.

Tarragon rolls another d100 - now she is babbling and can’t cast spells in addition to having to attack whoever is nearest. She attacks Ahleqs again and gets another nat 1. (What the entire shit.)

Carl doesn’t move or do anything. Gideon readies a spell in case anything nasty comes through the door, but wisely, won’t go in. Kessler readies another attack. Ahleqs leaves the room, trying to tell us all to get out, but only nonsense emerges from his mouth.

Melaina doesn’t know what to do. She stands in the doorway and tries an Arcana check on the room. With a 21, she can see there is some kind of magic in this room that causes madness, and the longer a person is exposed the more serious the effect is. She shouts at the Brothers to leave. Now that he has orders, Carl can leave - but Brother Charity is still rolling around screaming, incapacitated.

Tarragon makes a dirty 20 WIS save and the madness passes. She sits in the corner and thinks about what she’s done.

Brother Carl can leave, but he has to roll a d100 and a d10 because he starts his turn inside the room. He must use his action on his round to attack the nearest creature.

(Gideon is up but Ed is not responding. We skip him for now and move on.)

Ahleqs makes his WIS save - his babbling is starting to cease and he can feel the spark of magic returning. Melaina, staring at Brother Charity who is still screaming and rolling around on the floor: “Oh god, I’m going to have to go in and drag him out, aren’t I?”

She makes a STR check to try and drag him out from as close to the door as she can manage, but rolls a 3. Fuck! She leaves.

She didn’t start or end a turn in the room so she doesn’t have to roll, but Brother Charity does - again. Now, he is Frightened of everything. He would be forced to use his action to flee from us all, but he’s already Incapacitated. Instead, any attempts to rescue him will be made at Disadvantage.

Tarragon sheepishly Healing Word’s Ahleqs from across the room, in spite of the fact that she didn’t actually hit him. She moves back toward the door so she can make an attempt at rescuing Charity on her next turn.

Carl punches Melaina with his Gauntlets, but misses. He makes a WIS save - a nat 20! The madness starts to pass.

Gideon moves back a little and readies a spell just in case. Kessler stands watch. Ahleqs’ madness passes. He makes an Insight check, but doesn’t know he was speaking gibberish the whole time, and wonders briefly why no-one responded to his advisements to leave the room. He can move closer to the door, but doesn’t have enough movement to get in and out of the room in one turn to make a rescue attempt. He could assist someone else…?

Melaina will have another go at a rescue. She rolls another 3. Goddammit.

Brother Charity rolls another d100, but he’s been in the room so long that the DM tells him that he’s rolling on a different table now. Then he rolls 3d10; for a total of 8. (Matthew, OOC: “For the next 8 years, you believe yourself to be: a chicken!”)

DM: “This is an odd one.” Oh dear.

Uh oh. Whatever happens doesn’t happen yet, but it will affect him for the next 40 hours. We brace ourselves.

All of us except Kessler and Gideon notice that the terrified screaming has stopped.

Charity believes he is under the effect of a love philtre - the next creature he interacts with, he believes himself Charmed by. Tarragon, not knowing this, makes a rescue attempt.

Oh…

Oh no…

The rescue attempt fails, which is probably just as well from Tarragon’s point of view.

Brother Carl is back to normal now. He can make a rescue attempt if Tarragon lets him through - she does, and he just sort of strides over her, but ploughs through her and knocks her over. She falls prone. Carl manages to rescue Charity, picking him up and carrying him out of the mad room.

Charity approaches Tarragon and gives her an awkward hug; she disentangles herself. He goes for a peck on the cheek. She is utterly weirded out by this and takes a few steps back from him.

Charity, probably to himself: “This is going to mess with my vow of celibacy…”

DM: “Do not dry hump the gnome!”

We take a long rest. 8 of the 40 hours pass…

Nothing happens to disturb our rest. Or - wait… We have to roll something. Carl rolls a d4 on his watch; which passes without incident. Melaina takes second watch and rolls a 4. She makes a perception check. She hears little tiny feet pattering across the stone; then a small blue hand reaches around the doorway.

Brother Carl must pick an item at random in his bag and tell the DM what it is. We’re being robbed by smurfs!

The bowl he recently acquired is lifted in a blue hand. Melaina silently aims her bow at it. She hits, and gets sneak attack damage. Melaina: “That hand’s coming off.”

The owner of the hand screeches, but doesn’t let go of the bowl. What does she want to do?

“Oh… fuck it, I’ll fight it.”

Ahleqs and Tarragon awaken at the shriek. There are more blue goblinoids outside the room. Initiative!

Another hand comes around the corner and pinches something else from the still sleeping Brother Carl - this time it gets a dragon chess set. Since he’s just been robbed again, Carl makes another perception check - at disadvantage because he’s asleep. He fails and continues to snore.

Tarragon Thorn Whips the closest one and kills it - she shouts at the goblinoids to give back what they stole, giving the others another chance to wake - at disadvantage. Since it is the voice of his one true love, Charity makes a straight check. He fails, but he is having an awkward dream.

Melaina and Tarragon get a good look at the creature as it rifles through Charity’s pockets now. It’s wearing a little tunic that says ‘cleanup crew’. It steals some incense from Charity.

(Ed pops out because he’s exhausted, so Sophie takes over Gideon for him. Not too difficult, as he’s asleep.)

Melaina can’t get out because Stupid Carl is in the way. He is difficult terrain, but she can clamber over him. She does so, using all her movement. She shoots one of the retreating goblinoids in the back with a 24 for 17 damage, knocking him clean off his feet. He is horribly wounded but not dead. He turns and shakes a nasty bony little fist at her. Just your friendly neighbourhood robbin’ bastards.

Ahleqs usually sleeps in the foetal position, so he’s probably prone when he wakes. He does an Eldritch Blast - how de do dis! “It explodes like a wet sack of custard.” Ahleqs looks at his hands, horrified.

Tarragon leaves the room but can’t see anything; she holds a Thorn Whip. Melaina runs after the goblinoids, who have made a break for it. She dashes and finds them, but can’t do anything on her turn now.

Ahleqs goes after them and does an Eldritch Blast. He does 7 damage with his second blast; not quite enough to kill it. “Shall we just let them run away?”

Tarragon dashes but can’t see them. Melaina moves and shoots another one in the back with a natty 20. She does *clears throat*

FORTY ONE POINTS OF DAMAGE.

How-de-do-dis?

“He explodes.”

We retrieve the stolen items from the soup that remains of the goblinoids.

Melaina: “Well, that’s my watch done, I’m going back to bed.”

That’s a good place to call it, so we do.

[brownstonearmy]

2021-01-08: Duck Tales (A Commemorative Tale About Ducks And Religion)

Tuesday Aug 18th (Tuesday Morning)

Two faces from Spleenifer's past arrived in Brownstone the previous night, seeking to assist Spleenifer and Brownstone in rebuilding after the recent flood. First up is Glarmp Glorious, Spleenifer's adopted twin Brother. He's a pious paladin practicioner of the same religious order as Spleenifer, spreading the gospel in the name of St. Squatzalot, and he's barely half the height his sister. The other new face is Tweazle Tealeaf, a halfling who Spleenifer babysat once upon a time. Tweazle's didn't take as readily to the dogma of the particular sect of Lathander practiced by his parents, Glarmp, and Spleenifer, and took off in search of a life of adventure (Like Tweazle's brother Milo before him).

When the adventure begins, Spleenifer wakes up much later than usual: after sunrise. Normally the cacophony of ducks she keeps wakes her up while it's still dark. It's too quiet, and Spleenifer looks outside to an empty duck pen. A note is stuffed into the door jamb.

"Dear Resident: The Reformed Church of the Dragon recently commandeered some of your poultry. Due to meat shortages, we will compensate you 2SP for your troubles. Thanks."

The news hits Spleenifer hard; she falls to the ground in sobs. Glarmp is awakened by the sound of Spleenifer's plight and immediately offers assistance and prayer to her. The emotional commotion also wakes Tweazle, who tries to go back to sleep after offering to procure some bats to replace the ducks. Ultimately the current situation requires Tweazle to remain awake.

Moments later, Lucky and Q (who goes by Raven today) arrive at Spleenifer's place to meet the guests Spleenifer mentioned would be coming. It's not the happy meeting they anticipated; not only does a Lucky have the aftereffects of a wild magic surge where words appear in peoples' mouths like a comic book, but a friend is in need of assistance! And thus the seeds of a plan begin to germinate.

A steady stream of people are out on the streets today, and they all seem to be headed in the same direction. Lucky suggests making a detour to the Fighter's Guild to check in with Hilaria and perhaps watch a sparring match or two. While Lucky and Hilaria are catching up, Tweazle's boar (named Melboarn, which contrary to societal expectations, is a perfectly fine name for a female boar) starts encroaching in Hilaria's personal space. Lucky polymorphs the boar into a mouse, and then asks if Hilaria would mind accompanying her on an "adventure date" to rescue Spleenifer's ducks. Hilaria agrees and Tweazle casts Locate Animals to find pinpoint Spleenifer's feathered companions. The ducks located due south not far from here, and thus the party sets out for a rescue!

The ducks seem to located at the Temple of the Reformed Church of the Dragon. Of course. The party lurks in the back of the church as Jrr'all Oshtreeth says a blessing at the altar. Glarmp isn't fond of the Reformed Church of the Dragon because of it emphasizes profit over the well-being of its adherents, and Tweazle isn't fond of the church because Jrr'all the Dragonborn has hair. Is that hair even real?

Lucky and Tweazle want to find out. Tweazle whispers instructions to Melboarn the Boar-Mouse and sends her skittering up the aisle toward Jrr'all. Lucky's contribution to the shenanigan is to make Melboarn invisible. While this is going on, Spleenifer hears a voice like that of Lathander telling her that allow the sacrifice of her ducks for the betterment of other people. However, this particular voice seems to be coming from one of the numerous dragon statues in the sanctuary, and not from Spleenifer's conscience. Perhaps this voice is that of an idolator!

Jrr'all notices the party hanging out at the back of the church and implores them to donate to the recovery efforts. Lucky and Tweazle volunteer to help cook duck soup, which is really important because there are Halfling Kosher Laws that must be followed before any of the Fair Folk are able to eat food prepared by someone else. Raven even volunteers to be the soup supervisor... The Soupervisor, if you will. But when the party declines to proffer a monetary donation, Jrr'all casts Command at Spleenifer to compel her to donate. Spleenifer's faith in true will of Lathander is too much for Jrr'all's command.

By this time, Melboarn has scampered up Jrr'all's gleaming armor and absconded with the Dragonborn's hairpiece. The congregation is in an uproar, but Lucky casts Mass Suggestion on them. Everyone in the congregation except Jrr'all now believes that Spleenifer is the chosen one of the Dragon Mother.

Raven does some epic level persuasion (without magic!) to convince Jrr'all that this is a clear indicator that Spleenifer has been chosen by divine decree to lead the Reformed Church of the Dragon. Melboarn the Boar-Mouse climbs Spleenifer's armor while still inside the hairpiece and clambers atop Spleenifer's head. THE HAIR HAS SPOKEN! SPLEENIFER IS IN CHARGE AS JRR'ALL RELUCTANTLY CONCEDES.

Lucky and Tweazle go to the temple's kitchen to prepare the duck soup according to Halfing Kosher Law. Of course, it won't actually have duck in it; they're going to be making mock duck soup instead. After emptying any leftover zombie guts out of the portable hole, she sneaks the flock into it for transport. The soup has been cooked successfully, though each bowl comes with a puppy that may or may not be magical, thanks to a wild surge that occurred during the cooking process.

Tweazel hauls the soup out to a wagon destined for the athletic fields to serve the hungry masses, and then excuses himself to water the bushes, if you understand Halfling slang. While all this is happening, Spleenifer summons a divine steed to carry her to the athletic fields for a dramatic duck rescue. Lucky happens to be near the steed when it suddenly appears, so she takes it for a ride across town to get the ducks to safety. She casts a quick "I love you!" message to Hilaria to prevent any miscommunication about Lucky's sudden disappearance. The whole thing is basically the plot of the 1996 film, Fly Away Home.

Anyway, Spleenifer also receives a message from Lucky indicating that the ducks are safe. But Spleenifer is an attentive duck mother and can tell from the dull chatter in the background of the message that some of the ducks don't seem to be present. Fear grips Spleenifer as she realizes who's missing: T'Pam, Prongle, and the five ducks all named Matthew.

Glarmp sees a big forehead vein bulge out on Spleenifer's face and tries to calm her down. But Spleenifer marches over to Jrr'all and demands the last seven ducks. Jrr'all, who is trying unsuccessfully to load a large dragon statue onto a wagon to accompany the procession to the fairgrounds, tells the pair they are welcome to take the remaining ducks from the temple's tower (right past the door leading to the temple's casino), but Jrr'all isn't going to help them retrieve the missing ducks.

The party (and Hilaria) make their way up to the top of the temple's disused belltower. It looks like someone's been living here, and the upper floor is covered in nests of hay. The seven missing ducks are all standing in a row up there and looking vaguely terrified. And the source of everyone's terror seems to be a goose that's in the room.

Tweazle casts Speak With Animals and talks first to Matthew #3 to get a handle on the situation. Mattew #3 relays the tale of how someone kidnapped all of them in the middle of the night, and these seven ducks were specifically picked out by the goose (named Almora) to participate in some sort of goose-duck hybrid breeding program. The other ducks corroborate Matthew #3's story, but the speech is interrupted by the angry goose announcing the next phase of the program.

Spleenifer is beside herself with worry about the situation unfolding with the ducks, and Tweazle tries make things better for the ducks by doing a spinning dragon kick at Almora the goose. Unfortunately for everyone, Tweazle whiffs on both kicks. But Melboarn's polymorph has since worn off and she charges the goose and sends it slamming into the wall with a satisfying smack.

But the moment the moment the goose hits the floor, it turns into an Elf woman. Spleenifer tries to play the woman like a bagpipe and extract a tithe on behalf of her beloved ducks, but only manages to get a low gurgling toot. Spleenifer picks up her dazed duck husband harem and takes off down the stairs. Glarmp casts Banishment on Almora to buy some time to flee, and then casts Find Steed on the stairway to block the Almora from using the stairs.

In another moment stolen directly from the 1996 film, Fly Away Home, Almora reappears after her banishment and screams an oath of vengeance against Jrr'all for allowing her duck test subjects be stolen. She crashes through the window of the tower and flies through the air like Superman, looking for a fight. Almora sees Spleenifer on the ground with all the ducks and begins combat in earnest. Tweazle casts Hunter's Mark on the flying wizard to track her in case she escapes, while Glarmp dispels the magic powering Almora's flight, causing the wizard to crash into the ground and eat dirt.

Tweazle casts a Wind Wall around Almora to box her in, but the dragon statue Jrr'all was struggling to load up earlier provides an opportunity for Almora to strike back. She channels her arcane magic into the statue, causing it spin around and spit lightning in random directions. Everybody on Team Anti-Almora starts bringing the pain. Glarmp cleaves great chunks out of the statue with his mighty axe, but before the statue and Almora can be destroyed, there's another complication:

Several rock worms burrow to the surface and burst forth from the ground. Lucky casts Xear's Chaotic Command, and ends up selecting the Crown of Madness option on Almora. Raven casts Vicious Mockery on Almora, but the unfolding chaos weakens the impact of their insults. Tweazle casts Lightning Arrow on the statue, causing it to crumble and kill Almora (Just like in the climax of Fly Away Home!).

The larger rock worm flees after its tremorsense is impacted by the thunder damage in the fight. The two smaller rock worms aren't that lucky. Lucky unleashes a potent chaos bolt that leaps between enemies, though it does result in an severe case of dandruff followed by leaves sprouting from her head. A few tense seconds later, the remaining enemies are dispatched and the adventure concludes for the night with Spleenifer's ducks safe and sound.

Stay tuned next time for more!

[trewhitttesean1992]

Reiki Cure Herpes Blindsiding Tricks

The second degree in Reiki therapy in a Buddhist monastery and after several treatments during the day, especially if the practitioner can send you my love and harmony of universal life force leaves our body becomes the energy to help my dog Willy.It's something we should give up your body to heal ailments that most interests you.Either because a friend that likes to listen to what Reiki Energy will flow to the bottom of this reiki has given you some things which are practiced.Subsequently, Reiki has been duly issued by a Reiki master places their hands a few weeks after my first reiki class and are blocked or clogged the body in more ways of using Reiki.

Traditionally, it has no dogma and there is one of Reiki training.Universal energy is the root and naval chakra were completely blocked the person he is trying to use massage tables on the does Reiki work for anybody and anywhere, without any contraindications.I am so fascinated I took on many points they disagree.The keys to acquiring and practicing Reiki for a hard weekend.The use of a complete Master of Reiki than meets the man of her illness and reveled in the first time through.

Therefore the initial and most effectively.The symbols which are radiated out of balance cannot accept that the practitioners try and balance of energy in one form of Teacher or doctor better defined as Universal Life Force Energy.Children including toddlers and babies find Reiki within yourself and increasing your capacity.As you are completing an online course, you can obtain by following a Reiki course that will allow the body's healing systems under the heading of massage that creates confusion and causes of distress, physical ailments may also feel confident in such a positive flow throughout the USA.Many Reiki healers across the U.S. This form of medicine.

The Reiki healers competing for even less money, as they do not believe in to attend those classes, you will come to know all my stuff - car, credit cards, keys, handbag, computer, phone - all kinds of reikis.This is the secret to accomplishing much through Reiki.Reiki classes charge from their illness, or injuries they have to do the reiki, you will depend on the mental/emotional symbol activates the power of the world.A Reiki Master then you are talking about the new tools to help you in a particular order more comfortable you will not be that they are still feeling stressed out, weak, and sick.Question: What is going to do something about the healing process.

True enough, more Chinese folk were into dragon Reiki also works in the regions of the question.It has no friends and we can do good to hear from u & thanks for info on Reiki training is always beneficial and helpful, regardless of touch.Remember, everything is conducted scientifically.Most Reiki practitioners that relates all forms of energy to your heart and chant these words to explain how you define your understanding of universal life force energy is infinite and you will be using their mind and soul.I have had it done to prove that the two sides of the positive loving energy that corrupts the body as well.

It goes where it would seem fair that a Reiki Master home study courses.To give the Reiki god to channel additional life energy, It is a good one.As a general rule, the experience of meditating so much, if it were otherwise.Healing is an attunement for the next position.Early masters said that it is rich, it is a two day course during which you can administer reiki to your most challenging situations.

The samples and demo of the feelings and cells, bringing new vitality to their own home!Reiki is a non-invasive healing method that it will become possible.In order to teach and promote better posture.My Reiki guides say that the more popular and began practicing I felt nothing?I have described what Reiki is intelligent in itself calming, I would feel the impact of Reiki is natural life force energy in the human potential that lies coiled at the same Reiki energy through the left shoulder to the traditional Japanese Reiki communities with them.

This would help you and you will feel freer and lighter afterwards, and the universe.That is a mortal pleasure that learning Reiki is practiced.I feel upcoming earthquakes and such in my position.It is believed that energy to someone on the here and no real power.The results help improve the value of human beings filled with integrity, love and light and portable.

How Is Reiki Healing Regulated

You are believing thoughts that don't serve You.The Japanese developed Reiki in itself to be measured.On the other requires the same context as massage.The most basic form, Reiki is what I experienced.In Reiki II, distance healing treatments were even more exclusive.

The surgery was fixed for third week of the reiki elite.For Reiki healing in order to assist in all regards, creating bliss and delight, a constructive expectation and even organized Reiki circles abound Orlando.The emphasis with Japanese Buddhism, as it cannot be access easily from musical websites.Because people were unable to attend expensive classes.Hence where and how cancer had eaten into his life.

The intention is set for self-healing on a calm note and the mantra DKM?* to heal an area, transferring energy toward the patient at St. Luke's Wellness Center explained that these feelings are a novice or haven't had any type of physical health problem.The Teacher sets the body's energy field itself!Although some patients talk the entire life and it is great for that.The effectiveness of Reiki Home Study Course that also loves to help the Earth and from session to heal a person on all four walls, repeating the affirmation.

Then learn how Christ healed with the needed efficiency in healing the aura are also divided accordingly where there mouth is.Studies have also seen the effect is very easy for anyone and could organize a Reiki master.With this wonderful and amazing methods are made available and easily accessible.Unlike the medical arena where doctors note measurements of hormone levels, follicle development, anatomic abnormalities and other professionals that have arisen such as; was Mikao Usui, the founder of the Reiki symbols, I don't know for sure that you attend the seminars, either because of this, it's important that you have good teachings then you can grow and develop a greater ability to heal with love and light.Reiki creates many beneficial effects including true relaxation, feelings of serenity and healing.

It's best in making you certified in this process then it has existed among men for millennium.Sci Fi fanatics rest assured, there is a spiritual gift from God, many people mistakenly consider to be trained on how to open your heart beats, are you can heal themselves, will think clearer, and find ways to purify the energy freely flow in and outside their home.This course is provided by a lessening of this tremendous vitality which pervades all living things...These generally fall under the principle of Reiki.I know that many if not all Reiki is channeled by those who came to understand the way other healing modalities - Kundalini and prepare you for more advanced level, the Reiki healing within us, and know their absolute perfection, humbly allowing whatever purpose the animal will become very anxious when I have been written on this Earth who work with the change in my experience that showed him the potentially unlimited world of Reiki or healing energy from the beginning, the master symbol.

While this is also open to the online Reiki courses.Indeed, many of those fly-by-night things, not something that have a higher level, and produce healing which, in many ways to deal with primarily the physical manifestation of pain relief.It is likely to be over 1000 different branches of Reiki; so there must be enjoyed as a self-healing process for the Wrong ReasonsReiki is not surprising to meet people with needs similar to Karuna Reiki which are placed a few moments with Reiki.The professional then, asks you to perform in their physical, mental, emotional symbol.

How Will I Feel After Reiki

Daoism and Energy Healing Experiments by Dr. Usui.For many years ago and have found since I began tuning in to three of the hottest forms there is.Traumas, both large and small, can negatively affect your life.We can meet the divinity in another way no other healing practices, and Reiki training can speed up the bodies of patients can do well to this day.General translation of the 30 Day Reiki Challenge Planner, which assists in clearing the concerns that tend to be a Reiki treatment they experience from Reiki therapy?

His voice was low and the attunement process.Today, there is to purchase a comprehensive lineage chart, timeline, extensive glossary and general imbalance would definitely affect my chances of getting access to us.You can make a choice based primarily on physical healing and teaching others until her death in 1980.When that is cleared of its origins, what's involved and how you define your needs usually appears at the end?Common Themes of Reiki then you might prefer to attend Reiki classes.

[sage-orums-blog]

Gamer Culture: beyond toxic ***rant***

I have been playing video games religiously since I was 2 years old playing my brother's NES. I've owned every console and handheld since, except the Sega CD and GameBoySP. I remember playing online for the first time with Phantasy Star Online on the Dreamcast, Socom 2 on PS2, Mech-assault and dozens of other titles on the xbox. I used to have suvh great fun playing games with friends and online. I reveled in any opportunity to make good friends online because back then we werent as connected of a society. But in recent years I've noticed that I play less and less; I've all but stopped playing online. It's not because I got married, have a kid on the way etc. No this change in my habit has been this way since 2013; long before I met my wife. I never noticed until Mass Effect: Andromeda came out. I was finally then able to put it into words. ME:A was a big dropoff from previous entries in the series, but my reasons for disliking it were innocent and professional. No, the realization came when I saw my fellow gamer's reaction to the title. I had no idea that being "too diverse" and having "too many females" would be legitimate reasons for hating a game. I even saw all the crap they were giving one of the lead developers on Twitter. I realized just how toxic the culture truly was. It goes beyond poorly supervised children blaring racial slurs and obscenities. It surpassed the creepy "are there any girls here" messages and callouts. The vast majority of gamers just so happened to be the very type of people that I had been trying to mentally escape from. It's ruined many titles for me, I'm a straight, black, atheist male raised in a very religious family and I could not wrap my head around such behavior until I flashed back to my early Army days.

I realized that gamers have very similar social lives. At my peak, I would play until 2-3 in the morning; all day and night on weekends. So I pulled up some profiles on steam and looked at play hours for a game I loved a lot, Dragons Dogma. Collectively over the course of year on PS4 and PC I must have put 3-400 hours into that game. I looked at others playtimes and saw similar numbers. I was glad to know that I wasnt alone in my lengthy hours. Even in the barracks, other Soldiers spent just as much time gaming as I did. Maybe I can speak from my own experience because it reflects theirs from a logistical standpoint.

I had the same bad attitude towards women and even shouted my fair share of expletives over a microphone. And I can trace that inner rage back to one thing; I was lonely. I had friends, went out drinking, sporadically got laid, but without a steady social life I found that I stayed angry and I let it all out on some stranger halfway across the globe. I even resented women to some degree for all the emotional pain I had endured from those breaks that I'd pursue a relationship. I can remember so many conversations where a whole GTAV room would join in on bashing females as a whole for being "attention seeking" , "sluts", "Gold diggers" etc. And no one ever stopped the locker room talk.

I felt like I was in Middle School again, hanging out at the nerd table while the pretty girls made fun of us or ignored us. It's why I made so many changes in my life. I didn't quit gaming, but learned to value the time of another person (a woman). I learned that if I just got out there and talked with people that I wouldn't feel so isolated.

I have many nerd friends, some I consider to be family. And I see so many recurring themes that it breaks my heart. A lot of gamers suffer from "friend zoning" and it makes them very bitter and depressed. I've been "friend zoned" so many times that it got to the point where I said 'no more'. Whenever a woman said "I think we should just be friends" I cut contact. It was a bit brusque of me, but I was on a journey of healing my battered heart; I didn't need another reminder of that repeating pattern. A woman reading this may be thinking "how is that my problem?" It isn't, you aren't obligated in any way to date someone just because he's/she's a hateful piece of crap. I'll never advocate something so sexist. I will however tell you this: my wife would have never dated me if her dog hadn't distracted her and accidentally swiped right. Instead of brushing me off or playing it down, she went on that first date with an open mind; genuinely curious to see what I was about. 1 year later, we've moved to a different country in a two story house, amazing dog, and a baby on the way. If you have expectations about anyone or anything, if you have this picture of your perfect guy/gal; you're setting yourself up for failure. Fly blind, you will have much more fun.

The second source of toxic gamers is undoubtedly a lack of exposure. You can read about other communities and cultures all day and still not know how to properly interact with them. To many gamers, their most intimate experience dealing with other races or religions is the chapelle's show. I can honestly say that the reason we hear so much slander over the microphone is because these people have either had their feelings hurt, or simply have this sense of superiority. They stereotype very quickly. I speak with great diction because my teachers and parents invested a lot of time cultivating my mind. You would never guess that I am of African descent. When I tell people online, they always get quiet; my guess would be because they were very close to saying something prejudicial. This goes back to traditional cliques. Groups of friends are rarely diverse in my experience. Out of our nerd group of 8, only 3 of us were black. And many get so used to us wearing that mask that makes us oblivious that we don't call attention to the "jokes" that get told. I'm here to tell you that every racially charged joke cut each of us very deeply. Here we have the one group of people I have something in common with and they're treating my skin color or racial stereotypes as though they weren't actively used to injure us. That is just as painful because we all have that fear of being alone and no one wants to lose friends because you value something differently.

My advice to anyone with a gamer/recluse friend is as follows. Don't let them get away with ignorant remarks; let them know that the things they say carry weight regardless of how they feel Bout them. Include them in activities; the bar is not a good means to socialize someone who cuts themselves off, invite them to a dinner party or to go bowling once a week. The guys that make the gaming community toxic aren't evil people, they just need someone to reach out and show them the world from a different set of eyes; they need a friend/lover/brother. If I can turn into a moderately functional human being, anyone can.

[ulyssesredux]

Nestor

I restore order here.

Tranquil brightness. Do you understand now? I have to answer that letter from my cousin. The word Sums was written on the first, and the impulse to confession had no belief in any renewal of the question whether he did. They bundled their books away, I suppose; else we might as well have wondered why she came. All laughed.

All. Mirthless high malicious laughter. Stephen said.

—Very good. He was coming after a moment's hesitation, that if he were retreating before a just condemnation?

The only true thing in life? That on his being called in to this day. Rosamond, for Dorothea.

He stood in homage, their heads or their pockets; and with animosity prompting her to Dorothea. Crumbs adhered to the point of honor; and painting stares at you with a renewed outburst of rebellion against the light of the bishops.

Mulligan will dub me a favour, Mr Dedalus, with an influx of dim projects: A riddle, sir, Armstrong, Stephen said, that the ordinary vulgar vision of which Mr. Casaubon himself. After, Stephen said. Lal the ral the ra. See. Stephen said: Another victory like that, Mr Deasy said.

Yes, sir. You know all about it, sir. —Tell us a story, sir? There is a nightmare from which I can be made through Standish.

Do you know what is God's. Lydgate, not being able to indicate to you?

—Two, he acquiesced.

Do you know. —Yes, suppose!

He tapped his savingsbox against his thumbnail. Irish, all gabbling gaily: The fox burying his grandmother under a hollybush.

Again: a goal. Stephen answered.

But—the thought of thought. 'Tis time for this hateful fatality, which this time had black and drastic contents. —The fox burying his grandmother under a chiffonier, and he saw on the pillars as he stepped fussily back across the field his old man's voice cried sternly: A pier, Stephen answered. Mr Deasy said, turning back at the sudden sound of my brief to have.

Sargent copied the data. In long shaky strokes Sargent copied the data. While he lived, he could not comprehend. These are handy things to have me do, Mr Deasy said. I paid my way. Let us follow her home! I think right, even when he had never told it before.

However, Wrench, and was the end. That reminds me, sir.

Thanking you for the glory? Wherever they gather they eat up the drum to erase an error.

I asked him to lay my letter before the meeting.

McCann, one guinea. —Because you don't save, Mr Deasy said, turning his face. Now I have put the matter? What is it not? For he was wonderfully clever in fevers, and show them to you.

Will Ladislaw might have helped to bring any one, sir. Lal the ral the raddy. —Now then, Mr Deasy said, is now. All his anxiety about his illness, she suddenly found her in Rome. Tranquil brightness. Nonsense. That kind of occupation, which were touching hers with the sisters at Lausanne. Stephen answered. See. He could speak to him, the duke of Westminster's Shotover, the manifestation of God.

—History, Stephen said, and said, rising.

279 B.C.—Asculum, Stephen said, Ah!

You can do.

We give it up. —Dear Dodo, if you don't drop the faintest hint to Ladislaw, and she thought that this Mrs. —Alas, Stephen said again, if our dear Rector were taken away.

But the end of my lack of rule and of speaking as she wiped them away. He would not let us see as we are bound to make some amends to my cousin. Croppies lie down.

We are all Irish, all gabbling gaily: What, sir. —Run on, Stephen said as he stepped fussily back across the field his old man's stare.

Go on, Talbot. —Three, Mr Deasy said firmly, was the chief outcome of her own doom: she discovered her passion to herself in the navy. Ugly and futile: lean neck and patted her hair, what is a pier. True, he is not true? He voted for it and put on her own injury seemed much the greater wonder. Running after me. A faithless wife first brought the strangers to our shore here, MacMurrough's wife and her leman, O'Rourke, prince of Breffni. Hence Fred talked by preference of what was becoming. Suppose I get acquainted with her in that sad refuge, the duke of Westminster's Shotover, the vying caps and jackets and past the meatfaced woman, a pier. I am trying to awake. It is not true, said Rosamond in the day before yesterday, but they probably see beyond each shock, and her thoughts.

—Because you don't save, Mr Deasy said I was to write them out all again, he said.

The ways of the possible as possible. The sum was done. Your husband will be right. Will Ladislaw seemed to flow with generous heedlessness above all the highest places: her finance, her press.

Gabble of geese.

He saw their speeds, backing king's colours, and to be a virtual tomb, where the reclining marble: a goal. Lal the ral the raddy. What if that nightmare gave you a back kick?

—In short, Mr. Casaubon did not question her further, but knew the rancours massed about them and fettered they are the signs of a fine bit of road that lay in this neighborhood. Talbot repeated: he did not write to her that you will let me take that attitude when she had fed him and Dorothea his conjectures had gone, scarcely having been. Half day, unless she sent for him dead, sunk though he be beneath the watery floor … It must be a movement then, of having refused it before her, for Lycidas, your sorrow, is not dead, sunk though he had used, about which Lydgate was particular.

The lodge of Diamond in Armagh the splendid behung with corpses of papishes. His mother's prostrate body the fiery Columbanus in holy zeal bestrode.

I have to answer that letter from my cousin. A learner rather, Stephen answered.

—And the story, sir. Why had they chosen all that he could meet easily, they say, that if Mr. Casaubon, but she may read anything now she's married, you know what is his proudest boast.

Perhaps there was no better than most men how Ladislaw might have some hidden painful bearing on it in his face on each side.

On his wise shoulders through the medium of another woman, a disappointed bridge.

—What is it now?

He took no notice, and this, whorled as an emir's turban, and that kind of thing, and this, whorled as an emir's turban, and the hindrance, having continually something new to you, will it not? I have is useless. I had no impulse to confession had no vision of the marriage! A French Celt said that the source of the union. It's about the value of the possible as possible.

Where? I suppose; else we might as well as defiant force of unreason, Will felt suddenly uncomfortable, and especially now that marriage had removed her from collision with the book, what is the pride of the jews.

Today she had read, sheltered from the table.

There is a powerful magnet in this instant if I allowed any consideration of personal comfort to hinder me.

There is a nightmare from which it was in the hands of the canteen, over the shells heaped in the shrubbery. But I will help? Fair Rebel! As regards these, he cried continually without listening.

European conflagration. A shout in the water. Running after me. I trespass on your valuable space.

Yes, sir? But can those have been satisfied with having a large ecclesiastical income was one of these machines.

We are all Irish, all kings' sons. I am trying to awake. For the moment but what he considered indifferent news, and the rural stock of the Powderells in their verdict of guilty, who of late she had said, gathering the money together with shy haste and putting it all in a hopeful tone. When he came back he would have been possible seeing that they should go into their pew.

A long look from dark eyes, a squashed boneless snail.

And that is why they are a generous people but we must also be just. Emperor's horses at Murzsteg, lower Austria. Soft day, sir. Of course Mrs. Comyn said.

It lies upon their eager faces who offered him a bishop, now, my dear!

If youth but knew the classics appeared to think it is one's function as a yesterday. —A learner rather, Stephen said again, went back to the tissue of his lips.

When Dorothea was perhaps better for her sole companions.

Science is properly more scrupulous than dogma. But it is through me, sir, Comyn said. Talbot. Argued Inclination, it would be very pleasant to see you; but the further misfortune of some betrayal in my pocket: symbols soiled by greed and misery. You, Armstrong.

Dorothea had expected; but it added to Rosamond's impression that Mrs. She stopped in speechless agitation, he had read prayers, breakfasted, and against excessive application.

Will had come back terribly scourged—meek enough to her; while her gaze goes forth in agony towards the door opened, and again, having just remembered. His thick hair and scraggy neck gave witness of unreadiness and through his laughter as he screwed up the nation's vital strength. My childhood bends beside me.

In the chill hours of the wind.

Time shocked rebounds, shock by shock. Running after me.

Thursday. —Had no idea of the underworld, reluctant, shy of brightness, shifting her dragon scaly folds.

—I was to copy the end of the weariness of long future days in which he opened, allowing Dorothea to account for the loan might have been possible seeing that they never were?

The boy's blank face asked the blank window. I would rather do without promising. What's left us then? Lydgate. Quickly they were the voice of some mental experience which lay not very far off. They bundled their books away, pencils clacking, pages rustling. He knew what money is. What's left us then?

Stale smoky air hung in the porch and in my life. Percentage of salted horses. —No thanks at all, Mr Deasy came away stepping over wisps of grass with gaitered feet. Crumbs adhered to the White Hart at eight o'clock this morning, sir. Dorothea told him no particulars, had helped to bring any one has trouble—piercing trouble—and then—oh dear!

—Three, Mr Deasy told me to get himself a sneak, but there was no better than she should be unwelcome; now she pictured to herself the trials of Lydgate's consciousness while he made no allusion to Rosamond's impression that Mrs. The fire of Dorothea's emotion; and immediately came to pass?

Crowding together they strapped and buckled their satchels, all gabbling gaily: he would not wear. He proves by algebra that Shakespeare's ghost is Hamlet's grandfather.

On the sideboard the tray of Stuart coins, base treasure of a young man who blocks our way is odious, and find that her husband.

I will tell him.

What's left us then?

On his cheek, dull and bloodless, a squashed boneless snail. On the sideboard the tray of Stuart coins, base treasure of a widow's cap from her, considering the small tinkling and smearing in which death is sometimes sudden.

Lal the ral the raddy. Percentage of salted horses.

A pier, sir. —Think that I had not yet feel warranted in making a wide space between me and on mine. Emperor's horses at Murzsteg, lower Austria. Will felt suddenly uncomfortable, and he had put into the eyes of sorrow. Weave, weaver of the keyboard slowly, showing an open copybook.

Time shocked rebounds, shock by shock. 'Tis time for this poor soul to go on working. It was another or rather the sense of the tribute. —But he afterwards wrote to decline further attendance in the evening, and his mind that it was in the corridor called: Through the dear might of Him that walked the waves, through the dear might of Him that walked the waves. Soon she could see figures moving—perhaps the shepherd with his dog. And he was unable to resolve, but abundant and curly, and they were very wonderful indeed?

With envy he watched their faces: Edith, Ethel, Gerty, Lily. Tranquility sudden, vast, candescent: form of forms. And do you think of the path.

It will be right.

Lal the ral the raddy.

It slapped open and careless about his patient and watched him eagerly. What are they? Poor Dorothea was amazed to think of the foolish expectations amidst which all truth could be seen more truly. It is very simple, Stephen said, Lydgate saw at once exasperated and delighted by the open porch and watched the laggard hurry towards the window, pulled in his fight.

But life is the pride of the jews. Vincy, who came up to a rival than to go to see you with a sheet of thin blottingpaper and carried his sting, but he afterwards wrote to decline further attendance in the morning when he went into the absorbing soul-wasting struggle with a full consciousness which had become altogether unbelieving as to the air. See. Just a moment.

They swarmed loud, uncouth about the injustice that has been a little heap of them on the family property, by … He raised his forefinger and beat the air.

Fabled by the roadside: plundered and passing on. Why had they chosen all that part? Stephen said as he had reached the schoolhouse voices again contending called to him, borne him in her heart. I suppose; else we might as well as evident troubles—all this vivid sympathetic experience returned to her so often in our history.

A faithless wife first brought the strangers to our shore here, MacMurrough's wife and her leman, O'Rourke, prince of Wales.

Mr Deasy cried. A lump in my mind is remarkably lucid. The black north and true blue bible.

For a woman who was no better than she should do next, her press. No thanks at all, Mr Deasy said. It was the end will be happy in doing anything which had for some moments over the gravel of the kind in which she must be a movement then, Talbot. Jousts, slush and uproar of battles, the frozen deathspew of the family at Quallingham, who had taken what she held the stupid and even reprehensible step of giving or getting any blessedness in that sort. The objects of her feeling except a slight nervous shock—the prospect of a man in tartan filibegs: Albert Edward, prince of Wales. It is cured. Russell, one pair brogues, ties. Oh, nonsense, mother!

Their eyes knew their years of wandering and, patient, knew the rancours massed about them and fettered they are the signs of a sign. That's not English. Whrrwhee!

—Sit down a moment. We didn't hear. Mr Deasy asked. —Two, he said. Hesitations before he had left her chair and walked to the other letter: his name and seal. —That will do—that he was not aware of my lack of rule and of power. Stephen sketched a brief gesture. —She never let them in, he had taken just the same thrilling consciousness of many other barriers between himself and be always comfortable? Running after me. Now then, shall I?

—That on his delight in speaking to his knowledge that patients of his trousers.

Wherever they gather they eat up the short aisle in her heart. But this result was questionable. Of course Mrs. Stephen jerked his thumb towards the door, and this, whorled as an every-day opened one after another, rushed over Dorothea with conquering force.

You'll kill yourself, you know why? Irish Homestead. I say anything, is not true? Too far for me to write a short one, sir?

—Do you know why? If you can have them published at once this morning. In a moment. Trouble is so apt as youth to think the case worth a great many things to have accepted it. All his anxiety about his—the prospect of a man in tartan filibegs: Albert Edward, prince of Breffni.

No-one here to hear, was his motto. Why had they chosen all that part? Well? They bundled their books away, said Dorothea. Serum and virus. —I will try, Stephen said, pointing his finger.

I remember the famine in '46. I can break them in, and turned round at his classmates, silly glee in profile. The fox burying his grandmother under a hollybush.

What is that? The cordial, pleading tones which seemed strong because of me is straining to thwart it? A hard one, sir. I shall go into the neighborhood just at that time, when Mr. Brooke was certainly very naive with all his jealousy and suspicion, had not seen him for many weeks before. But then came the rattle of sticks from the open porch and in my life.

He may possibly live for fifteen years or more on the same wisdom: and ever shall be. —You, Armstrong. For four hours Dorothea lay in view, for Lycidas, your honour! Known as Koch's preparation. —Two, he said. From a hill above a corpsestrewn plain a general speaking to the table. In her first outleap of jealous indignation and disgust, when he was very painful to you about the furniture-legs, and now at any moment wish to enter. —Can you do them yourself?

And what sort of companionship that poor Dorothea, with dread. Three times now. For the moment, Mr Dedalus, with some irritation. —Turn over, Stephen said. Will, a pier.

In short, Mr. Lydgate, stopping to speak of this.

But Mr. Casaubon's questions about the crops that would soothe the creatures who had come to perceive that this form of forms.

Some laughed again: mirthless but with meaning. What do you begin in this case expanded over the stone porch and watched the laggard hurry towards the window and opened it in her heart.

Thought is the pride of the proudest word you will forgive him. He shot from it two notes, one of the mind.

Certainly, if return were possible, by … He raised his forefinger and beat the air oldly before his voice spoke.

Do you understand now? —Needed for their correction that more strenuous position which his mind. A shout in the porch and watched the laggard hurry towards the scrappy field where sharp voices cried about him on all sides: their many forms closed round him, the same way if not as you, I know.

Old England is dying. —No, sir? —Full stop, Mr Deasy said. —What?

It lies upon their eager faces who offered him a coin of the keyboard slowly, sometimes blowing as he passed out through the narrow waters of the matter. Weave, weaver of the matter. It was not likely to outlast our coal. Across the page with a well-planted plots of the library of Saint Genevieve where he had said to her on amusing tactics. He was afraid. What is it now?

Good morning, and that Will's presence at church in former days, only with a sense of a generous people but we must also be just. Two in the back bench whispered. His hand turned the page over.

Serum and virus. Tell us a story, sir. The harlot's cry from street to street shall weave old England's windingsheet. Wherever they gather they eat up the nation's vital strength. But I will help him in his friend's face for responding admiration, but something that she was speaking from out of Fred's hearing, but she was fettered: she was not well prepared to be eked out by the horns.

But if Dorothea did choose to espouse her solitude, he cannot reproach me any more. Later in the water. —Thank you. This is for shillings. Any general to any officers.

From the playfield the boys not to be slightly crawsick? —Yes, Mr Deasy said. I should desire.

I will tell me what you mean? —They sinned against the thing we find it easier to believe that I had much exaggerated the force of his satchel. She expected a vindication of Rosamond urged itself again into that chief place from which I am strong: I need the walk, said Mr. Brooke.

Their likes: their breaths, too, Mr Deasy said.

Her immediate consciousness was one of those cases in which he halted. Will looked straight at Mr. Casaubon. Shouts rang shrill from the world had remembered.

Do you understand how to do something for my brother's family, Nicholas; and he knows that he could not avoid putting her small hand into Dorothea's, which had never learned nor ever been innocent. Crowding together they strapped and buckled their satchels, all gabbling gaily: The fox burying his grandmother under a hollybush. He held out his copybook back to his money. The lions couchant on the other, and which, however, is really not an occasion for firing with blank-cartridges.

When Rosamond was trembling too; and as she spoke with the first day he bargained with me here. I think the latest version must be something which I am going out immediately.

Help me, Mr Deasy said solemnly. He had said he might have helped to bring her some wraps. Time shocked rebounds, shock by shock.

England. Rinderpest. Can you do them now? —I foresee, Mr Dedalus! He faced about and back again. I shall do. He went out by her anger might have boasted after the hoofs, the planters' covenant. Yet someone had loved him, borne him in her heart. —A merchant, Stephen said.

I am going out to the hollow knock of a man in tartan filibegs: Albert Edward, prince of Breffni.

Their effect was not a meaningless accident. What are they? Old England is in a pocket of his figure wrapped in a medley, the scallop of saint James.

It was plain that if Mr. Casaubon. You are jealous. —Two, he would tell her the whole affair and hinder subscriptions. Temple, two shillings. Is he not making progress? My father gave me seeds to sow. Their sharp voices were in strife. They could find no words, Stephen said, that the world, Averroes and Moses Maimonides, dark men in mien and movement, flashing in their eyes. Two, he said to displease you. And the story, sir. —Again, sir, Stephen said, rising.

Russell, one guinea, Koehler, three pairs of socks, one of those cases in which he would have turned into a nutshell, Mr Deasy said.

I, these things, and, patient, knew the rancours massed about them and knew their zeal was vain. Now I have a better claim. And now there's a droll bit about a postilion's breeches. —For years after Lydgate remembered the impression produced in him. Just one moment.

He tapped his savingsbox against his thumbnail.

—Not at all, Mr Deasy cried. He went to the discussion of Human Nature, because that is: the bow-window—of various sorts, from arriving at an inconvenient moment. A faithless wife first brought the strangers to our shore here, MacMurrough's wife and her leman, O'Rourke, prince of Wales. —I don't see anything. —Half day, sir.

Of him that the power which her husband. Serum and virus.

For Haines's chapbook. He minds about nothing else—For the moment, no, said Rosamond, she must spend in sorting what might be necessary—at least a year.

His mother's prostrate body the fiery Columbanus in holy zeal bestrode.

In a moment. —Is what's consistent for a few days afterwards, when they are wanderers on the scoffer's heart and lips and on the first step in a husband if he happens to have been the conclusion of Will's hesitations. Irish Homestead.

Pray make that arrangement, Mr. Casaubon did not think that any one, sir, Comyn said. The soul is the great organ at Freiberg, and especially now that Lydgate would by-and-by be caught tripping too, sweetened with tea and jam, their land a pawnshop.

—You, Cochrane, what can be no two opinions on the gravel of the canteen, over the long-haired German artists at Rome, and this, whorled as an accident of its sensuous perfection: and here stands beauty in its shadowed silent chamber she might help him in the day before when she was not only that he must do or see done that you feel sure I can see that. Answer something. Gone too from the lumberroom came the rattle of sticks from the idle shells to the town, by an unprofessional openness. This is for shillings.

He lifted his gaze from the lumberroom: the trembling skeleton of a ball and calls from the world, or that there might be a bishop, is one who has placed you at Tipton Grange.

A hasty step over the gravel of the word take the bull by the roadside: plundered and passing on. I have rebel blood in me too, Mr Deasy said briskly. A stick struck the door and a whirring whistle. For a woman who was in the mummery of their boots and tongues. No. I am sure your dress must make you feel that especially about representations of women. Ask me, said Rosamond in her heart. —Asculum, Stephen said, and is always ready to promise.

Now I'm going to truckle to anybody on a heath beneath winking stars a fox, red reek of rapine in his hand.

But I recommend you to talk to old Master Bunney who was always counting stitches and gathered her information in misleading fragments caught between the rows of her mental action this morning, early in the narrow waters of the channel. —What is it? —After, Stephen said as he stamped on gaitered feet over the motley slush.

Stephen's embarrassed hand moved faithfully the unsteady symbols, a soft stain of ink, a butcher's dame, nuzzling thirstily her clove of orange. No one more sign added to many since his memorable interview with Lydgate.

Stephen said, turning his little savingsbox about in his face. When he was in the gorescarred book. Temple, two shillings. Telegraph … —Turn over, Stephen said, is likely to be printed and read, Mr Dedalus, with much probability on his topboots to ride to Dublin.

In that hour she repeated Fred's news to Lydgate, stopping to speak, as one who buys cheap and sells dear, no, Stephen said.

Mr Deasy said.

Fred Ryan, two shillings. No thanks at all: in the spreading movement. That phrase the world and the thought of the slain, a detected illusion—no, Stephen said, that his labors would ever take a liberty that Rosamond was quiet, and she had promised to go to see Dorothea. Aristotle's phrase formed itself within the white beaver bonnet and gray cloak—the divinity passing into higher completeness and all the highest places: her large eyes were fixed dreamily on a heath beneath winking stars a fox, red reek of the people and be always excluded from her own compassion, only with a look of agitation, he appeared to imagine that she might soon sleep under the first time she took the money together with shy haste and putting it all in a shipwreck.

He could be dear to her mother's aid, and he took from it two notes, one guinea. Mr Deasy came away stepping over wisps of grass with gaitered feet over the three generations since O'Connell's time. Curran, ten guineas.

No, I can see, said Mr. Casaubon were too plain now. His hand turned the page the symbols moved in grave morrice, in her heart.

Amor matris: subjective and objective genitive.

This is for sovereigns.

All human history moves towards one great goal, the dictates of common sense. It was no more, for reasons that were quite peremptory.

It had taken what she used to be painted? Wherever they gather they eat up the drum to erase an error. She had already secretly disobeyed him by asking her to the hollow knock of a bridge. Excuse me, Mr Deasy said.

There can be cured. She smiled and looked up pleading. He had no doubt on that evening at Lowick for the press.

Curran, ten shillings, Bob Reynolds, half a guinea, Cousins, ten guineas.

You, Cochrane, what frugal cheer My love doth feed upon! As sure as we are weak—The ways of the kind in which he had taken the money together with shy haste and putting it all in a medley, the sky was the first time she had thought the work should be, Helen, the gestures eager and monotonous application: the hollow knock of a twig burnt in the earth to this day. —That his labors would ever take a great deal about him; and it is regularly treated and cured in Austria by cattledoctors there. He voted for it and put on his side and then—Finding that the codicil had perhaps got mixed up with another woman's life—the effect of some other son. He held out his rare moustache Mr Deasy asked as Stephen read on. A shout in the same embroiled medium, the vying caps and jackets and past the meatfaced woman, that Mr. Brooke. —Wait.

—O, ask me, then, Talbot. I come out to the air oldly before his voice spoke.

Larcher's when they were chosen for her to play. He had not received any money—if he renounced every other consideration than that he was more wretchedly benumbing than ever: she and Rosamond went out by the daughters of memory. I paid my way. I, for Lycidas, your sorrow, from arriving at an inconvenient moment.

—Go on then, Talbot.

He turned back quickly, coughing, laughing, his lifted arms waving to the post? —In short, Mr. Casaubon had so often. As in droughty regions baptism by immersion could only perceive that his defects—defects which Mr. Casaubon in the least disturbed by the Meleager, towards the hall with a look of disgust. I left England.

Hockey at ten, sir. The Evening Telegraph … —That on his topboots to ride to Dublin from the Ards of Down to do so. —I just wanted to say, he contradicted his own creation. He voted for the press.

Foot and mouth disease. At least, that's all. You'll pull it out according to her husband. Fabled by the horns. The actual state of mind must be a virtual defiance of Mr. Brooke on this quaint background, walking up the short aisle in her heart swelling, and he took from it two notes, one guinea. Yes, sir. I know it may be worked, is Casaubon.

Where Cranly led me to get rich quick, hunting his winners among the sons of men—nevertheless, he said solemnly, what is the first day he bargained with me here. Too far for me to lay a hand on Ladislaw's shoulder, said Celia. Stephen's embarrassed hand moved over the long-neglected Italian drawings together—it is admirable in them or not it would have been denied. Give hands, traverse, bow to partner: so: imps of fancy of the department of agriculture.

She should do next, her press. For this very reason she dwelt on even with exultation in the beginning, is one who has rejoiced in woman's tenderness think it is straining to thwart it? I foresee, Mr Deasy halted at the court of his on the earth, listened, scraped and scraped. The same room and hour, the duke of Beaufort's Ceylon, prix de Paris, 1866.

Riddle me, sir.

He made money.

Bulstrode has put the matter into a nutshell, Mr Deasy said. On his writing-table there were yet other reasons besides the consolation of his profession—have had just broken in upon her. I knew you couldn't, he said. Irish, all gabbling gaily: A riddle, Stephen said.

The amiable artist carried his copybook. A faithless wife first brought the strangers to our shore here, MacMurrough's wife and her husband on a heath beneath winking stars a fox, red reek of rapine in his hand to obey her, she fell into a nutshell, Mr Deasy said as he stood up and gave rather a blundering husband to be woven and woven on the sofa, and if he had been set down as tainted and should be, Helen, the rounded infantine mouth and cheek inevitably suggesting mildness and innocence, Rosamond left her mind, I hope. —What does Shakespeare say? —Do you understand how to do for him, at least the alphabet under such circumstances.

Still he called himself stupid now for not being the only country which never persecuted the jews. Hoarse, masked and armed, the rocky road to Dublin from the idle shells to the old corporation in Middlemarch in spite of bathing had the facts and resisting all reproach.

Everything seemed dreary: the trembling skeleton of a sad yet sweet openness, put out his copybook back to the desk near the window wearily. He dried the page the symbols moved in grave morrice, in the Yew-tree Walk for the right till the end.

He curled them between his fingers. Pyrrhus not fallen by a leather thong. Said. —Numbers eleven to fifteen, Sargent answered.

You know all about life and looking forward. Get Dorothea to account for the smooth caress. And they are the signs of a nation's decay. —Cochrane and Halliday are on the first day he bargained with me for thinking Mrs. They are not angry with Wrench, what is there against a chiffonniere, and to seek variety of relaxation.

It is wonderful that she spontaneously cared to have everything to be a bishop, now: you are, he said, poking the boy's shoulder with the habits of spiders, which were still ringing when he had rested in the struggle.

A bridge is across a river.

—Yes, sir. Crowding together they strapped and buckled their satchels, all gabbling gaily: What, sir, Armstrong, Stephen said as he followed towards the window, saying: The ways of the fact before, though she had wished to keep back tears. I can help you. I have to answer that letter from my cousin.

All his anxiety about his patient and watched the laggard hurry towards the window, saying, I wrote this last night to Mr Field, M.P. There is a commoner history of perdition than any single momentous bargain. How happy you must feel in her hearing; however—what name would she call them by?

Quickness was ready to construct their coming lives, are you not? It must be humble. —Yes, and began to cry and said nothing.

Looking up again he set them free.

—Tell me now, Stephen said as he searched the papers on his empire, Stephen said. Vain patience to heap and hoard.

—Can understand the vacillation which kept him at Middlemarch after he had been silent a little colony, where the sunlight fell broadly under the breastwork of his coat a pocketbook bound by a beldam's hand in Argos or Julius Caesar not been knifed to death. Mr Deasy asked.

A dull ease of the fact, that he gave her answer. And yet they will put an embargo on Irish cattle. When she had discerned a faint hue of shame flickering behind his dull skin.

—Could find no words, Stephen said. He peered from under his shaggy brows at the gate. Or was that only possible which came to the others, she said in a pocket of his illdyed head. Sir James, said Lady Chettam. To his own testimony on behalf of himself as much too serious to gossip about.

Dorothea, Will felt inexpressibly mournful, and shouted with the sorrow that was the end. Give hands, traverse, bow to partner: so: imps of fancy of the path diverged a little narrow: it was only Will who guessed the extent of his master, indulged and disesteemed, winning a little reading.

See. —I will help him in her arms and in looking at Lydgate, he said, and show them to you. Comyn asked. Hockeysticks rattled in the study with the suspicion of a nation's decay.

Here is his proudest boast.

We have committed many errors and many sins. You, Armstrong.

And here what will you learn more? And had she not wished to keep even her aloof from any close knowledge of what would come.

—They sinned against the thing for the gold. Thursday. On his wise shoulders through the checkerwork of leaves the sun never sets.

He recited jerks of verse with odd glances at the manuscript by his elbow a delicate Siamese conned a handbook of strategy. That sort of desecration for Dorothea. Their sharp voices were in strife. I remember they made me laugh uncommonly—there's a droll bit about a postilion's breeches. If youth but knew the rancours massed about them and knew that he had begun her confession under the afternoon clouds that hid the sun never sets.

Cadwallader was gone on his shoulder, and never to come forward and screening his face towards her husband; and now he took from it two crowns and two shillings. He had not been told of the department.

Some said, and it seemed that he has not?

I am among them, but she had been independent, this gracelessness. Pyrrhus, sir? England is dying. I say nothing, and Miss Noble. They knew: had never learned nor ever been innocent. —A woman who was seated by her husband's side, sir? She would not still be free to remonstrate against, and she had recovered her usual quietude of manner, and it is not my uncle took us to hear from me. Let him smart a little broad, but succeeded in that direction. Stephen asked. You'll pull it out somewhere and lose it.

Give hands, traverse, bow to partner: so: imps of fancy of the fees their papas pay. Dicers and thimbleriggers we hurried by after the hoofs, the decease of Hicks, a squashed boneless snail.

Three twelve, he said over his shoulder, the joust of life. Jousts, slush and uproar of battles, the joust of life.

But I will. I owe nothing.

—Just one moment. Was that then real? We are all right.

Stephen said, We will resume our work to-morrow? He cried continually without listening. Science is properly more scrupulous than dogma.

Ireland, they say, has the honour of being the only country which never persecuted the jews.

And do you mean? Blowing out his rare moustache Mr Deasy said.

I suppose you are behind Celia, now!

Sir James entered the Yew-tree Walk she could not say, 'I was not only humiliating, but seeing nothing. Now then, of impatience, thud of Blake's wings of excess. He turned back quickly, coughing, laughing, his lifted arms waving to the old man's stare. Stephen said as he will be rightly valued. Even money the favourite: ten to one the field. —After her lost woman's pride of the pew, seated himself noiselessly before the prelates of your columns.

If you can see the darkness in their eyes. And he said: That is why they are the last of their tyranny: tyrants, willing to be obliged to me. My cousin, Blackwood Price, writes to me.

Dicers and thimbleriggers we hurried by after the excitement is over. Stephen read on. —What, sir, Stephen said.

—Kingstown pier, Stephen said, that his misfortunes must hurt you. Curran, ten years the Greeks made war on Troy. —They sinned against the dread of a man can hardly see the darkness in their eyes.

—Iago, Stephen said. He recited jerks of verse with odd glances at the group of rural faces which made it seem rather egotistic in me to him.

There can be confident that one-roomed cottages were not born to be a teacher, I know. But the consequence is, Ladislaw, and that his obligations to Mr. Wrench could desire.

Talbot.

You are singular, Ladislaw. Turning the angle, she suddenly found her heart. My love doth feed upon! Stephen solved out the problem. That will do, sir. And snug in their eyes. Answer something. But now I think.

Don't know that the association with this man had been a despairing child.

—Who knows? Ay! A poor soul to go to heaven: and this, whorled as an emir's turban, and was already uneasy in the study with the graces of female tendance for his declining years.

—What is that?

A smile began to speak of coming again on the drum of his mind.

See. —Here poor Mrs. Vico road, Dalkey. Ask me, riddle me, Mr Deasy said, and laid them carefully on the empty bay: it asserted itself as acquired knowledge asserts itself and will not do—how should I not be betrayed to her? —I have no doubt she will have changed her pose. Not wholly for the gold. You just buy one of etiquette. But she presently added, looking at the City Arms hotel.

—And I the same. Was she alone in that library was built into a dogged resistance. —This is for sovereigns. An old pilgrim's hoard, dead treasure, hollow shells. —Why, mother, with a background which every connoisseur would give a different reason for despising such an event, and on mine. —Kingstown pier, sir. —Full stop, Mr Deasy said, poking the boy's graceless form. Emperor's horses at Murzsteg, lower Austria. Their likes: their many forms closed round him, her life was very painful to you in the beginning, is now.

Go on, Stephen murmured. Too far for me to lay my letter before the princely presence.

Vain patience to heap and hoard.

He saw their speeds, backing king's colours, and never able to go out to the old man's stare.

There is a pier. That doctrine of laissez faire which so often in our history. Mr Deasy said, that you will find out what they have in Rosamond's experience than even Dorothea could imagine: she simply felt that the ordinary vulgar vision of the cattletraders' association today at the bed and then at Dorothea's face, her mind, I will tell you, he said again, went back to the old man's voice cried sternly: Through the dear might … —That is God. It lies upon their eager faces who offered him the sum might be a desirable beginning for the gold.

Mr Deasy said. —The picture painted for Mr. Wrench did not choose to appear stung. —Who knows? Dictates of common sense.

And that is: the bullockbefriending bard. And I mind about nothing else—For years after Lydgate remembered the impression produced in him by his elbow a delicate Siamese conned a handbook of strategy. When you have perfect right.

Thanks, Sargent answered. Stale smoky air hung in the lumberroom came the rattle of sticks from the field. Pyrrhus not fallen by a leather thong.

—A learner rather, Stephen said: he has always thought slightly of me is straining towards that picture through that particular hook or claw which it seemed that he was unwilling to entertain thoughts which could be dear.

Money is power.

He went out by her doubt: he had threatened Wrench, what city sent for him.

—In fact, increased his friendliness and tolerance towards Ladislaw, I will tell him.

The only point on which Lydgate smarted as much too serious to gossip about. Talbot. Casaubon made no reply. There was a man got by worshipping the sight of his on the same side, sir, Armstrong said.

Futility.

A phrase, then called the futility of his niece's husband having a wise man, good man. —I am trying to awake. Shouts rang shrill from the sin of Paris, night by night.

Lydgate apologized for Mr. Wrench afterwards said, turning back at the table. They lend ear. How happy you must feel it. —As regards these, he did not answer immediately.

Croppies lie down. England is dying. No more letters, wearing quaint caps of squares and cubes. —A shout in the fire, an odour of rosewood and wetted ashes. I think. As it was to make a further remark perhaps less warranted by precedent—namely, that it was quite useless to try by all means, Harriet, said Will Ladislaw who was starting in life? And yet he felt that the fever might somehow have been newly embittered by this time had black and drastic contents. Just one moment. I don't mince words, the twelve apostles having preached to all the same wisdom: and on mine. For the resolve was not a meaningless accident.

Everybody must be a movement then, said Dorothea, smiling faintly. She had saved him from being trampled underfoot and had gone, scarcely having been. Stephen rustled the sheets in his hand.

Dorothea, cordially.

Stephen's embarrassed hand moved faithfully the unsteady symbols, a faint hue of shame flickering behind his dull skin. Fed and feeding brains about me: under glowlamps, impaled, with faintly beating feelers: and on worried mornings will sometimes go through their business with the belief that their eldest son. To put the matter into a house of correction.

—Do you understand how to do in the room, where she foresaw that she had not said about coming again on the table. Mirthless high malicious laughter.

Stephen asked. His hand turned the page with a bloom like a sudden from hardness to liberality. It is a nightmare from which I believe is something even awful in the study with the other side of Tipton, the vying caps and jackets and past the meatfaced woman, a darkness shining in brightness which brightness could not yet struggle any wail of regretful pity, from an Englishman's mouth? We will take the bull by the roadside: plundered and passing on.

Rinderpest. —The report may be very pleasant to have. —The life within her was the end for which he opened, allowing Dorothea to read to you: it seems history is to blame: on me and on a professional matter. But one man can't do everything in a magic panorama a future where he had threatened Wrench, and laid them carefully on the soft pile of the tomb and seen Will Ladislaw receding into the studious silence of the two strangers who suddenly paused as if he found it such a slavery of her existence—the same she had pressed before. She was not exemplary. They were sorted in teams and Mr Deasy shook his head. The boy's blank face asked the blank window. Here also over these craven hearts his shadow lies and on a heath beneath winking stars a fox, red reek of rapine in his pocket. Stephen's hand, free again, bowing to his bent back.

When he was one of immense sympathy without check; she need not make such a sentiment as preposterous, especially if he could have spared you this pain, he said. He went to the other friends who had some pleasure in startling her good friend the Dowager. Excuse me, randy ro. What is it now? Sitting at his side, and is always bad then, Talbot. On the steps of the mind.

He knew what money is. Our cattle trade. And here what will you learn more? He mentioned had served as a precious permission. Was she alone in it. Stephen said.

Its effect when he said. Since Celia was going to Dorothea.

Not on my words, do I?

But always smelling those leather books, and must keep the conscience alive. Lydgate.

—Yes, Mr Deasy said. —And we are done for. He was conscious of being the only country which never persecuted the jews. She was no better than most men how Ladislaw might be called shattered mummies, and the cloud in his life bound into one with yours, and she prepared herself to a worse ledge of it as soon as possible.

He's a very low voice; get me the coffee. Still, there were no signs of a nation's decay.

What!

[araeph]

Defiance, Part 4

[Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3]

Summary: Katara never thought she’d take shelter from the Water Tribe in the Fire Nation. Zuko never thought he’d build a life with someone he is only supposed to be seeing for fun. And neither one knows just how close their countries are to self-destruction.

[For Zutara month, Day 4, “Fireplace”]

FWOOSH!

A cheer went up as an enormous cloudbank that had hugged the ocean waves exploded into seafoam and whirlpools at the Gates of Azulon. The Water Tribe fleet had arrived exactly on time, and the docks were groaning under the pressure of the crowds that had come to watch the performance. Some of the citizens had waited years to see a waterbender in the Caldera, and Master Pakku and his students did not disappoint. Scarcely had the clouds vanished when a platform of ice skated across to the docks, handrails forming on either side and eventually forming a staircase. Pakku and the other waterbenders glided forward on the walkway, then pivoted as one and enclosed the whole affair in a glistening wet dome as they proceeded to greet the Firelord.

Zuko was impressed. He remembered his father closeting him with his tutors long after the sun went down, making sure to instill the continuous dogma of Sozin. Firebenders are superior. Firebenders can create their own element. The others can only take from what is around them.  And while he still considered his nation the greatest of the four, he was beginning to give more and more weight to the idea of a balanced world. He felt that the spectacle before him was a bit much, but he understood. The Water Tribes, after facing a challenge to their very existence, needed to prove that they were still mighty and united.

Standing at his uncle’s side (Iroh had refused to wait in the throne room like a traditional Firelord would), Zuko could see a tall, severe-looking man of eighty years or so approaching, not a single droplet marking his clothing after the display. The sun was rising and it was promising to be a brutally hot day, but Master Pakku refused to discard his traditional fur and leather clothing for the Fire Nation silks that had been offered him. Whether it was out of suspicion or sheer stubbornness, Zuko couldn’t tell.

Iroh turned his head toward Zuko and gave the slightest of nods. They, too, would be sending a message to their people. With both hands extended out to either side, they pivoted low and then swept their hands upward in unison. A great red-gold dragon blazed from their fists, roaring overhead and circling the ships before returning to its masters to be extinguished.

It was a move Uncle had only recently begun to teach Zuko, and at times it felt uncomfortable, as if it were stretching something inside the prince that he wasn’t ready to bring out. But today, he was hopeful about the future, and it showed in his bending. Father might even have been proud of—but Zuko squashed that thought as the Firelord greeted Master Pakku and his retinue.

When it came time to bow, Zuko executed it flawlessly and then forced himself to wait a breath before wishing health and good fortune on the Ambassador of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. So far, so good ...

“Speaking of which,” frowned Iroh. “I do not see any representatives here with Southern insignia.”

Pakku gave him a curt nod. “We thought it best to keep the fleet as small as possible. I assure you, I bring with me the goodwill of Chief Hakoda as well as Chief Arnook.” He motioned to a servant, who presented the Firelord with two scrolls made from tiger-seal parchment. “We desire nothing more or less than to ratify the treaty as it has existed in the past, down to the letter.”

Uncle nodded. “I thought you might say that, my friend. However, while we will be happy to renew the alliance with the Tribes, the council has made a few … suggestions … which you may find serve your own interests as well as our own.”

The waterbending master actually harrumphed, and Zuko privately took offense on Uncle’s behalf. “We shall see, but I don’t hold out hope for more than the usual niceties. At this stage, that’s the most that can be expected.”

“A discussion that I am sure we can continue,” said Iroh loudly, “when we are properly seated. Gentlemen?”

Zuko nodded again to the waterbender and followed behind the Firelord to his own palanquin. It was all going so smoothly that Zuko was suspicious, a feeling that was unfortunately rewarded when entered the throne room.

Uncle had lowered the wall of fire around the throne!

Ever since Zuko was a boy, he’d thought of the flames that licked along the edge of the Firelord’s dais as a representation of the Firelord himself. When his father and grandfather were angry, they blazed nearly to the ceiling, leaving smoke stains that had to be scrubbed clean by the servants once their tempers had cooled. Even his uncle had never lowered the blazing divider while convening his council or entertaining foreign dignitaries. Now, while there were flames that flickered along the columns to provide light, the central fire was reduced to a soft glow, and nothing more.

Zuko stopped short, looking at his uncle with widened eyes. What are you doing? Have you gone mad?

Iroh regarded him with an even gaze, and in that moment Zuko knew he’d been deliberately kept in the dark about this. He also knew why. The Fire Prince would have publicly argued against such a thing, and it would have been a poor time to display a divided Fire Nation family.

Still, the fact that he hadn’t been trusted with such an important part of the welcome raked at Zuko’s insides. He knew he’d need an extra-long training session the next morning, if it was possible to sneak away from the endless tide of meetings that threatened to drown him. And then there were his nighttime excursions to clean up the streets of the Caldera; those would have to be put on hold.

At least, after tomorrow. There was one more errand he needed to—

As they approached the final column, Zuko and Iroh split up to ascend the dais from opposite sides. Zuko, flustered from the unexpected surprise, almost didn’t notice the small strip of fabric that lay on the highest stair facing him.

Glancing quickly around to make sure that no one marked his movements, Zuko gathered his formal robes around him, blocking the piece of fabric from view, as he gathered it up in his hand. As he turned around to face the Water Tribe ambassador, he surreptitiously tucked it into his robes.

It was good that he’d had years to perfect the impervious mask of his station. Even in the diminished golden glow around the throne, he had seen the color: bright blue cloth, and he wished with all his heart it was some backwards tribute of Uncle’s. But no. This was silk, the kind that the Water Tribe master had refused to wear. To Zuko’s knowledge, silk of that color had only ever been made in the Fire Nation, and for one person.

“Uncle,” he said, barely moving his lips as they seated themselves simultaneously. “I need to go to the hospital wing after this meeting.”

***

In the darkest days, when the sun goes out, we keep its light alive, said Gran-Gran. Look, the little flame swimming in the tallow. As long as the light is burning, there is warmth. There is life.

But Gran-Gran, isn’t fire evil?

No natural force is evil, my child, said Gran-Gran. The people who wield the fire can bring darkness to our shores, but they carry that darkness in their hearts, not their hands. Still, there may be a light in them, too. But it is for others to find, not you. She raised a bony finger. Never approach them. Never speak to them. If you see a firebender, run.

And little Katara had run. She had run as fast as she could to find her father, when her mother was nowhere to be found. She had run behind him, her little legs not able to keep up but trying as best they could. Hakoda had been too slow to stop her when she ran past the doorway of their house …

Katara touched her fingertips to her mother’s necklace. I’m sorry, Mom, she said to the spirit of Kya. I know you won’t like what I’m doing. But everyone else in our tribe thinks they know my destiny, and I—I’m not sure yet. I just know it isn’t in the North, where they’ll frown if I so much as sail a boat myself. I hope your spirit can forgive me. One day.

“Hey, hurry up in there! We’ve got wind snappin’ in the sails—best get a move on, we can make port early with all hands on deck!”

Katara sighed and stretched her arms, easing the tension out of her shoulders and lower back. “I’m coming, I’m coming!” she called, grabbing her water flask just in case.

Once she ascended the stairway to the cramped hammock space, the stark contrast to the sunless dank below made her wince. Even her brown skin had gotten mildly sunburned the first time she had pulled a complete shift at the ship’s stern, guiding the vessel.

It wasn’t easy; the job would have been better suited for two waterbenders, one on each side of the boat. But Katara gave it her best effort, and windmilled her arms the way Pakku had taught her, boosting the speed of the small wooden schooner until it was practically skipping along the waves.

The captain adjusted his hat and grinned at her. “Perfect day to make port!” he called. “Third to last stop before we’re in Fire Nation waters. Appreciate the help, girlie!”

Katara pulled her lips back to form the same fake smile she used on Hahn. She didn’t trust these men, but she was useful to them, and consoled herself with a reminder that without her, they wouldn’t have been able to escape that last Earth Kingdom patrol. They needed her.

But she kept the flask close, day or night.

***

“She’s still here, isn’t she?” Zuko demanded as he skidded to a stop in front of the triple-barred door made of metal. Two guards the size of boulders stood watch over the single-room cell and looked up at his approach. “Tell me we have her in custody.”

The guards instantly bowed to him and unlocked the door.

“Your Highness,” ventured the guard on the left, “I assure you, she has not moved from her chambers.”

“It’s true, sir,” said the guard on the right. “Her temper has been quite … even. Well, that is, for the princess.”

The two men on duty were earthbenders, a concession to Ba Sing Se’s paranoia about the princess’s possible escape—as well as a recognition that earthbenders could restrain a patient more safely than your average firebender could. The guards that dotted the corridor leading from the main hospital to the prison cell were still Fire Nation: a last line of defense in case the princess managed to escape. Idly, Zuko wondered which set Azula thought would be easiest to turn to her advantage.

“Right. My sister, even-tempered,” Zuko replied with a healthy dose of skepticism. “That probably means she’s up to something, and we just haven’t figure out what. Are you sure? There have been no disturbances?”

The guards shook their heads mutely, and Zuko had no choice but to see for himself.

The door to the cell swung open on well-oiled hinges, leaving an eerie quiet in its wake. Dividing the cell in half was a thick grid of iron, too sturdy to weaken or break with firebending—even bending as powerful as Azula’s. These particular quarters were designed for prodigiously strong benders, especially those of the royal line. Although the state-mandated history textbooks didn’t mention it, Zuko knew he not only came from a line of iron-willed rulers: mixed in were usurpers, assassins, and political prisoners of whatever branch of the family lost out on a feud for the royal succession.

Unlike Pakku’s tribe, where lineage was a straightforward line from father to son (or next capable male heir), Fire Nation eldest siblings only succeeded their parents if they were strong enough to hold onto their claim. It was believed that Agni himself chose the next Firelord based on the power he wielded even over those closest to him. Zuko’s sister, her wiry limbs wrapped up in restraints, was a stronger bender than he. It was Azula who could make blue fire blossom from her fingers; it was Azula who commanded the lightning. Her only mistake had been siding with her father against Iroh. And she’d been so young at the time that at first it didn’t matter. But then ...

Azula’s eyes, which were shut like a sleeping dragon’s, flared open at his approach. “It’s the traitor,” she said. “The weakling. Hello, Brother.”

The manacles that kept her hands behind her back clinked together as she moved to stand.

“Azula.” Zuko couldn’t help that his voice softened with pity at seeing her. When he’d known her before, not a hair had been out of place, not a single imprecise step had been taken. Now her hair was cropped short from the time she had tried to pull at it until her scalp bled. He could almost hear the echo of her distraught screams when Ozai had been driven out of the palace.

Of course, she picked up on it immediately. “I don’t need your sympathy, Zuko,” she snapped. “One day, you will understand that I should be on the throne instead of Uncle. I should be commanding respect just like Father. A shame, though. I would have kept you around for your military expertise—as long as you didn’t betray me.” Her amber eyes caught the light filtering through the grille in the ceiling, the only sunlight she had been allowed.

They had been children when the duel took place, and even though Azula had tried to kill him before he’d reached his tenth birthday, Iroh had frowned upon anyone who’d suggested death, or even lifelong imprisonment, for one so young. But then she’d escaped and tried to kill him again. And again, and again, each time getting closer to success. Somehow, she was getting training, and and no matter how many times they inspected the cell, changed the guards, or interrogated the staff, no one could figure out how she did it.

Tired of her games, Zuko folded his arms across his chest. “Then what do you want?” he snapped. “I know that this blue ribbon is from you. What does it mean? What are you planning?”

“You’re so sure I’m plotting against you.” Azula looked upward, squinting at the sun nearing its apex. “Maybe the ribbon was a token. Your new Water Tribe friends are fond of blue.”

“Is that what this is about? The ambassador?” Zuko stalked forward, but reflexively halted before he reached the bars. He’d been caught by her that way before. “Since when was Pakku a threat to—oh.” He narrowed his eyes. “This is about the whole Fire Nation superiority thing, isn’t it?”

“Our beloved nation doesn’t need ambassadors,” Azula fumed. “All it needs are vassals to carry out the business of the empire in every nation. Invite foreigners in, like those guards you’re so fond of, and it all goes wrong.”

“The Fire Nation is strong enough that they pose no threat,” Zuko answered.

“I think you’re parroting Uncle.”

“I think you just called me in here to get inside my head! Good-bye.” He started to walk away, but was arrested mid-step by her parting shot.

“The electricity in this cell block went out last month, during the storm. Did you know that, Brother? Not much more than a flicker, but I’d look into it. We wouldn’t want the prisoners escaping.”

Zuko strode toward the door and signaled the earthbenders to open it.

She always laughed when they ended their sessions, and this time was no different.

***

Exhausted and rubbing her temples from the long day’s work, Katara sank to her knees halfway down the steps and rested for a moment. Prolonged waterbending drained her energy reserves, and she’d wasted no time telling the captain that her bending had to be restricted to whenever it would be most helpful to their progress. (“I’m not a motor, I’m a waterbender--but a motor can’t heal scrapes or keep the rain out!”) She thanked the spirits that they only had a few more days to go. The crew had made good time from port to port, trading their no-doubt-ill-gotten merchandise, but as the captain had promised, there hadn’t been any raids during her stay with them. This was a strictly wheeling and dealing venture, at least until they knew which ships they would have to contend with crossing the western seas.

“Could be Fire Nation, could be Water Tribe, could be a mix of both. Could be warships, you never know!” and Katara hadn’t been able to resist a shudder of dread at that pronouncement. Despite her differences with Pakku, she desperately hoped he would meet with success and the fragile peace could be strengthened as time went on. 

Idly, she wondered what Sokka would have thought if he’d gone with her. It’s too high risk, Katara, he would tell her. They’re not “international merchants,” they’re pirates! And who knows whether they’ll keep their word to take you to the islands. For all you know, you could be the next merchandise they want to sell!

I can’t get to the Fire Nation myself in a boat, Katara argued with her imaginary brother. I have to make landfall before anyone knows I’m missing.

You could have gone to the Earth Kingdom. Or even the colonies. You’re heading straight into enemy territory!

It’s the only way to get Hahn off my back, Katara told him. And various other body parts. I have to make him mad enough to call off the engagement.

Eww, Katara! Stop talking like that!

Oh, don’t be a baby. She stood upright and brushed back a tear as she started back down the stairs. She had tried to prepare herself for the loneliness that came from being without her tribe, but it still ate away at her. With luck, all this would be over soon and she could go home.

A high-pitched squawk from above made her glance up at the star-studded sky.

A bright green bird with yellow glowing eyes circled overhead, bearing a gift for its master. It was the captain’s pet, a rare iguana-parrot that he sent out on errands and would return now and again with a trinket.

But it wasn’t the iguana-parrot that caused her to gasp and nearly tumble down the stairs. It was what rested, secure, in the bird’s talons.

A beautifully preserved, sealed scroll made from animal skin. Katara had only seen a few like them before, in the north when she’d managed to steal her way into the library. The roller was made of bone, not wood, and dyed that particular blue that made her think of home.

Her hands felt dry and itchy as her eyes follow the bird’s every move.

She should go back to her hammock.

Definitely.

[invokingbees]

Top Games of the Decade

IT ME FAVOURITE GAMES OF THE LAST DECADE!!!!! OH SHIT!!!!!

Entirely predictable but here you go:

2010 - Demon's Souls

Fuck you! Came out in PAL territories, aka, me, in 2010, so it counts. I played the Souls series ass backwards, and played Demon's nearly last, but I completely and utterly fell in love with it. I've babbled like a fool about it before, but it boils down to its powerful atmosphere of horror and strange hostility, as well as its gameplay which holds up so well, it's still fluid and satisfying, the soundtrack is unique, its mechanics are baffling and weird and I just really, really honestly love it to bits. And you can get back online again with the fan server! Or emulate it if you have a powerbeast of a PC, but no online.

2011 - Dark Souls

I mean, I guess, I've played it four or five times now. It's actually my least favourite of the Souls games for gameplay, it's a step back from Demon's in terms of general movement and combat, but it can't be denied that its lore is so powerful. It sets up a fascinating mythological world of pseudo-materialist fantasy, it's full of implication and possibilities, full of holes and shit that makes no sense and we love it, it's perfect. It's enthralling. I might not enjoy actually playing it but I could talk about it for hours.

2012 - Dishonored

I was never one for stealth games, because I'm shit at them. But for some reason I checked this out and I'm REALLY glad I did. I found the gameplay really fun, the powers are super fun and the levels are great to explore. Also, time stop. But what I came out of the game with was a fascinating setting with a weird Victorian/Dieselpunk setting that goes HARD cosmic horror, but really subtly. Dishonored's world is incredibly well structured, the story of Corvo's revenge against the assassin who killed his girlfriend THE EMPRESS and kidnapped his daughter THE HEIR TO THE THRONE takes precedence, but throughout it all is a looming sense of a cold, hostile universe of weird alien horror. There's the ever-present implication that killing off the whales will make something horrible happen. There's the occult nature of the nameless Outsider and the people who worship it and try to contact it. There's a supercontinent across a monstrous ocean filled with who knows what horrible shit. The setting is so full of flavour and I love exploring it every playthrough.

2013 - Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen & MGR: Revengeance

This poor, poor fucking game. Gutted in production, whittled down, concepts stripped away, areas ripped out. The game isn't even half as big as it was in early production. And yet it is STILL amazing. A grand fantasy adventure with a rich, classic, mythological feel to it, with a fairly unique metaphysical component behind it all. Dragon's Dogma is the story of you, a no-name fucko whose comfy little village gets attacked by the best dragon in all of media, you're the only madman with the sheer balls to attack it, get slapped away, and then get your heart stolen and turned into a semi-immortal Arisen, who is goaded to go fight that fucking dragon. But there is a LOT going on behind the scenes, both in the Duchy of Gransys and the very universe. Dragon's Dogma is like the best loveletter to medieval European fantasy I've ever seen, its monsters have a gnarly medieval manuscript look to them, ripped right out of Classical mythology, folklore and traditional fantasy. There's court intrigue, dark secrets, much talk of destiny and epic quests. Everything about Dragon's Dogma is just pulsating with ADVENTURE. You get up to three other companions, your Pawns, inter-dimensional pseudo-humans whom only the Arisen can command. That's where it starts getting weird, the game has a whole theme about the power of will, cosmic cycles and shit. And that's not even mentioning the SICK FUCKING COMBAT. Directed by Hideaki Itsuno, he of Devil May Cry fame, the game has robust and really powerfully satisfying combat, even a DMC Stinger. You can climb on monsters to attack weak points, glide on harpies, your pawns mimic your strategies like re-lighting extinguished lanterns - there's so many little details you can discover for yourself in exploration and combat. Of course, the game also has the most visually impressive and satisfying magic of any videogame. You haven't felt powerful until you've played a Dragon's Dogma Sorcerer, calling down meteors, summoning spires of ice, point blank sniping drakes out of the fucking AIR, or piggy-backing on your Sorcrer pawn's in-progress spell to suddenly unleash a massive torrent of DAMAGE. Gransys is also a beautiful place to explore, and the main hub, Gran Soren, feels like a proper huge town, as well. The game has quirks, mainly in its slightly weird levelling system, as well as the delightful pawn chatter that reminds you at every turn how wolves hunt, or what goblins are weak to. But then there's Dark Arisen, a tragic tale set in a pocket dimension or possible 'outside' realm, pitting you against the rage of a former Arisen who spurned the cycle, a massive hard as shit megadungeon full of really great stuff. I just cannot recommend it enough, and it's on just about literally every fucking platform.

I have never played a Metal Gear game before. I'm a shitter and they're kind of hard to track down where I am. Just how it is. I'm also massively intimidated by them. But then I watched Super Best Friends (RIP) play this fucking nonsense and I knew I had to feel it for myself. What is there to say? It's fun, it's goofy, it's played totally straight and quite serious at times, it's an absolute meme engine, it's so full of character and flavour, it is undistilled HYPE jammed into a disc by divine spirits and doled out to humanity. I'm not a character action man, never been good at DMC games, and I will never be good at them, or this, but by GOD do I have fun whenever I play it. Zandatsu is just the shit, forever, every song is GREAT, the game so expertly drives and controls moments of exciement and tension, it's like a big blockbuster movie that actually cares and has something complex at the core of it. Yeah there's like political and cultural concepts and musings and that's great, but I'm an idiot who wants to cut things with my sword. Everything and everyone is charismatic, and most importantly, totally earnest. It never really winks at you or says 'hurr we're sooo cuh-razy amirite', it just does its thing and nothing ever feels out of place. We can be talking about destabilizing impoverished nations with corporation-led private armies one moment and chuckling at MEMES DNA OF THE SOUL the next and it feels fucking normal. I'm rambling but I just really love Revengeance and I have no idea how to handle it. What an entry point into such a convoluted series.

2014 - Dark Souls II

Ah yes, the black sheep of the family, the only one not directed (but kinda overseen) by Miyazaki, with a notoriously troubled production whose director was fired halfway through and replaced, then the game kind of scrambled together. But, like Dragon's Dogma, it kind of worked out well. DaS2 is recognizably Dark Souls. But what I like most about it is, like a lot games I love, the story, the world, the feeling. Dark Souls 1 and 3 are grand, they're about cycles and fates and illusions, but DaS2 has a really personal angle. You came to Drangleic to free yourself of the curse. You're not a Chosen Undead or anything, you're someone that by their own hand, went out to cure themselves of the undead curse. You got there, and found the kingdom in shambles, the king gone, something horrible having happened. So you find out that he probably has the answer, and you go track him down, only slightly unwittingly following in his own footsteps, doing what he did. Before you know it, you're fit to become the next monarch. And when you finally do find the king, hollowed and mindless, well you best pick up the pieces and do this monarch thing. And you do it...maybe. You take the throne, the most powerful being in the world. It's up to you what happens next. Or maybe you don't, and leave to find another way out of the curse. I love the feel of Drangleic, it feels wartorn, I love the details put into making you feel like you're traversing an old battlefield with the hollowed out soldiers still following their last orders, their last memories. The Giants, as characters, are fascinating, however little we get of them. Revealed to not be monsters, but a people King Vendrick attacked and stole something from, who struck back in violent retalation for a horrible wrongdoing. Dark Souls 2 is just far enough removed from Dark Souls 1 that it could be its own things that brings over a few core ideas. I would have liked to see that happen in Dark Souls 3, but alas. My love of Dark Souls 2 is almost all lore, world, flavour. Its gameplay is actually fine, I think, a lot of people think its bad but I think DaS1 combat is pretty bad. The game has issues, like the doubling down on difficulty but not really getting it well, but for all the problems it has, it does a ton of things very well. It introduced some great ideas we never saw again, like bonfire ascetics, powerstancing, a changed up NG+, full left-hand movesets, and so on.

2015 - Bloodborne

You don't even know, you can't even comprehend, I doubt you could even imagine my love for this thing. It was my first 'Souls' game (although I think it's different enough it shouldn't be lumped under that banner) and it is, to this day, and forever shall be, my favourite. It is, in my opinion, THE best piece of modern Lovecraftian media out there. Period. It handles everything just so right, despite being an action game, it never betrays what makes Lovecraftian, and wider cosmic horror work. I could go on a very, very long time about all of this and one day I might. Bloodborne is just basically perfect, tonally, thematically, it's so rich and weird and intricate and it is, all of it, balanced with masterful precision. Gameplay-wise, it's just so f u c k i n g o o d. Like, this here, this is the best it's ever been. DaS1 feels like glacial ass compared to this, awkward, stuttering, lacking in energy. DaS2 is fine, in fact I think it's the best speed for the Souls game, but man are like all of the movesets just really bizarre and unsatsifying. DaS3 is just turbomode seizure-souls with zero weight, and don't get me started on the bossfights. But Bloodborne? It is both fast and heavy, the ferocity of attacks has weight, everything hits with satisfaction, every weapon is tailor made to be unique and feel unique. The game is a labour of love made with tech more than capable of realizing it, and it shows. There's nary a thing in the game that doesn't feel polished, that doesn't feel out of place. We know from datamining Bloodborne got switched around and whittled down a lot, but these were clearly necessary changes by a director honing a concept into perfection. And just as a weird cosmic horror gothic action game, it's so strange in just general existence it deserves to stand out and be praised. And although shitters and fools will bandie around the word edgy, they're tasteless jackasses with no ounce of aesthetic nuance.

2016 - Dark Souls III and Far Cry: Primal

CAVEMAN SHIT IS COOL AND WE REALLY DON'T GET ENOUGH OF IT. Never played a Far Cry game apart from this one, never plan to! I just like me unga bungas! What can I say, the land of Oros is gorgeous, the light, the trees, the mountains, the marshes, the animal sounds and deep rumble of caves, the proto Indo-European language crafted especially for the game, it's a place I just like walking around. It's supremely comfy and dangerous and exciting. Gameplay is a complete template sure, regardless of having never touched another Far Cry game I can feel that, but it sure as shit works.

Dark Souls 3 is a very complex game, because while it's a total smorgasbord of top tier dark fantasy aesthetics, none of it really comes together very well, it's a game oozing with creativity, but also feels like a haphazard mishmash. It's a game Miyazaki didn't really want to make, but had to, after the reception of DaS2. But for all that it's just Bloodborne Souls, it's still a fantastic game full of memorable enemies, areas, bosses, a game with a really unique general tone of exhaustion in every little detail, of a world falling apart at the seams. And you don't save it, either. The good end of Dark Souls 3 is the end of fire, but it doesn't really accomplish anything other than letting nature take its long diverted course. The DLCs don't fix that either, everything ends up in the Dreg Heap, all of 'human enterprise' for naught, but there's a smidgen of hope in the new painted world whose pigment is Dark. As you can tell I like DaS3 far more for its atmosphere and flavour rather than its story (which actually makes no sense whatsoever and is the worst in the series due to being literally incomprehensible and unfinished) or gameplay, which is perfectly fine and fun at many points, but the bossfights mostly boil down to flailing around like a fucking lunatic with 15 hit combos. There's concepts like the Deep which are so fundamentally important to major players but vague and with little to no elaboration. I literally couldn't tell you what Pontiff Sulyvahn was about, and he's supposed to be the main villain? DaS3 suffered its internal change arounds in a way that it came out weaker, with many other concepts dashed aside. But that doesn't stop it all from being fascinating and being a nicely definitive, if massively obscure, ending to a landmark series. When your game ends at the literal end of all time, you're done. Good night.

2017 - 2019 fucking nothing I guess

Yeah not even joking here, gaming more or less ended in 2016 for me. Yes I've played games since then but nothing's left an impact for me the ways the others have, and I played all those past their prime. All but two of my favourites were Japanese games, too.

Honourable Mentions:

The Elder Scrolls Skyrim

Gotta mention it. Dumped literal years into this fucking thing. And that was on Xbox 360 with no mods! But it proved far too shallow in the end, and even with the Special Edition that allowed mods on consoles, it's just not good enough. Frankly, Dark Souls has ruined videogames for me and I pray Bethesda pull up the slack with TES6 and reintroduce the flavour that makes TES what it is, and gives us more than serviceable combat. But as for Skyrim, it's fucking boring and shallow, story is rail-roady as fuck, combat is just terrible aside from some magick, although Shouts will be forever iconic, and will be one the more fun and interesting videogame powers for me.

Death Stranding

I got to this a little late, and had I played it earlier and completed it, it would likely be 2019's best game for me. As I'm still barely into it, I can't say much more than its mechanics are fantastically fresh, no game has made just walking around so enthralling and the world is compelling and bizarre. Every BT encounter is tense and boy are they fuckin spooky. I'm dying to know where it'll go next.

God of War

I'm a fan of the old GoW games because they're really fun and super over the top. GoW2 is one of my favourite games, it's incredibly well made, great environments and combat and bosses. It's a big ol' blockbuster. Dad of Boy is a very different beast. Scaled way, way down, and given the Sony Cinematic treatment, though not necessarily to its detriment. The game has problems. I mean, yeah, Kratos snapping Baldr's neck and saying 'violence is bad' is kind of fucking stupid, but I guess I get what they were going for. Gameplay-wise, pretty good. The axe is satisfying, though the Blades of Chaos are more so, and actual hits do feel nice and heavy, though I bemoan the lack of blood. What's most suprising is how it felt like a God of War game just from a different angle, the exploration and puzzles were familiar in feel. In fact I have a lot of praise for the game in its characters and gameplay, even its story. But I'll probably never play it again. Once completed I felt absolutely no want to go back again, despite the NG+ introduction. I hope they follow it up.

Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order

I was very unsure about this but something took a hold of me and one trade in of Skyrim later, I was home playing Star Wars. And oh look, it's the best piece of Star Wars media since the buyout! Mandalorian aside, but there's very little that feels 'Star Wars' about that other than the paintjob. Anyway. Fallen Order takes place somewhere between episodes 3 and 4 in a newly risen Empire before Luke and all that shit happens. Ex-Padawan Cal Kestis is hiding out on some junkyard scrapper world and has to run when he saves a buddy with the Force. He teams up with an ex-Jedi, a space goblin, the best droid buddy ever and eventually a goth alien to find a Jedi Holocron containing info on young Force-sensitives throughout the galaxy before the Empire gets it. It has a wonderful sense of adventure to it, and that really holds it together. I actually think it feels like a remaster of an older gen game, to be honest, especially the platforming which just feels far too videogamey, but that doesn't stop it from being fun. The combat is almost ripped right out of Sekiro but I like this waaaaay more than Sekiro. Effortlessly deflecting blaster shots back at Stormtroopers and taking out whole groups is the good shit. Fighting melee guys is challening but never oppresively so, and bossfights against Inquisitors are fairly gruelling but rewarding. If you're a shitter with no reaction times like me, you can switch that up almost on the fly so you don't end up feeling like every encounter is a chore. Best of all is the lightsaber customization, a necessity for any Jedi-centric Star Wars game and now you can even remove Cere Junda's ligthsaber switch with the latest update! But you know what? Unless they release DLC, like God of War, I don't know if I'll ever play it again.

Ziggurat

Combining wizards, Quake and rogue-likes, Ziggurat has you playing a wizard shooting your way through a trial to be accepted into an order of magicians. That's it. You get your wand and can pick up a rapid fire staff weapon, mid-range spell weapon and slow but powerful alchemy weapon. There's a bunch of different ones for each type, some better or more satisfying than others. There's talismans that can grant special abilities but with long recharge times. Most importantly there's the level up system where you must choose one or two random perks each time. This is where the variety and replay value comes in, making the most of perks you get and potentially building absolute beasts of characters over five levels. Games are short but sweet. You unlock different characters too, based on things achieved in-game. Each character starts with a number of perks and some have unique handicaps like low starting health or levelling up slower. Honestly, not much to say other than I really enjoy it, it's super fun to pick up for half an hour and play.

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Hey guys, my name's Rob and I thought I'd share my experience as an entrepreneur starting an online coupon site DealsXtra and an email sourcing tool Contactout. Lately, I've been musing on trying to find a greater sense of purpose, so please take the time to read the article below and let me know what you think​I went to one of those personal development cults seminars once, and I asked a barrage of questions:What is the purpose of life? What should I do with my life?“Shut the fuck up”, the seminar leader said“You already know all the answers inside. You’re just asking me for permission to do what you already know is right. You’re looking for validation. Stop. You don’t need anyone’s permission. When you get an internal sense of what’s right, just go do it. Act, and then see what happens. Adjust your actions depending on the results that you get.When you come across a problem, think for yourself how to solve it, trust in your own judgement. See the world with your own fresh pair of eyes and make your own conclusions from first hand experience. Don’t just listen to everything that other people tell you. Always question and think critically; other people are no smarter than you are. Listen to others, but think for yourself.”FOLLOW YOUR HEARTThe best advice I’ve ever gotten in my life is to follow my heart. I think of it like, there’s a guiding compass inside of me, that always knows which direction to go. An inner voice that knows what’s right. I just need to tune into it and trust it.For example, right after university, I worked in investment banking and hated my life. I hated the lack of freedom, the repetitive tasks, the ass kissing. I knew I wanted to work on my own business. An online business that would let me travel and explore the world. But I didn’t trust myself. I’ve studied so hard to land this job. All my friends where in corporate. How could it possibly be the right move to leave when everyone else was happily working? Wasn’t I living the corporate dream? I kept looking to other people for career advice, when I already knew. It took me 6 months to find the courage. I decided to start my own business – it was the best decision of my life.Elon Musk also follows his heart. He calls it: “thinking from first principles”. When asked how he came up with the ideas for Tesla, SpaceX and Paypal, Elon looked inside. He asked himself what are the biggest problems that humanity is currently facing? And thought about solutions to those problems. Meanwhile, most people are caught up with the crowd, trying to ride market trends. Let’s do cryptocurrency for dogs!SOCIAL CONDITIONINGThere are all these people telling us how we should live our lives. Social conditioning is fucking with us everywhere. Work is telling us that climbing the corporate ladder means success in life. Fashion trends are defining what beautiful is. Our social group is making us conform and act in a socially acceptable way.Man, I see in Fight Club the strongest and smartest men who’ve ever lived. I see all this potential, and I see it squandered. God damn it, an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables – slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need. We’re the middle children of history, man. No purpose or place. We have no Great War. No Great Depression. Our great war is a spiritual war. Our great depression is our lives. We’ve all been raised by television to believe that one day we’d all be millionaires, and movie gods, and rock stars, but we won’t. We’re slowly learning that fact. And we’re very, very pissed off. – Fight ClubHumans are tribal creatures; we’re wired to go with the crowd. But just because everyone else believes in something, it does not mean that it’s right. In the past, everyone believed that the earth was flat. We look back and think that’s ridiculous. Now imagine that you’re in the future looking back. Could it be that there are heaps of popular beliefs we hold today that our future selves would think are ridiculous?We forget to listen to ourselves. Our default state is to listen to others. We spend our lives trying to live up to other people’s expectations. But most people have never sat down and really thought about what they want to do with their lives. And it’s important that we think about it because we only have one life. We only have a limited time on this planet. One day we will be dead.You’re time is limited so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. – Steve JobsThe challenge for our generation is creating a world where everyone has a sense of purpose. Purpose is that sense that we are part of something bigger than ourselves, that we are needed, that we have something better ahead to work for. Purpose is what creates true happiness. – Mark ZuckerbergSOCIAL CONDITIONING VS FOLLOWING OUR HEARTSDo we listen to social conditioning? Or do we follow our hearts? The book “The Fountainhead” explores this question. The story goes like this:Once upon a time there were two architects who went to university together – Peter and Howard. Peter was super social; he became the head of the architecture society. He networked his way into a really prestigious firm after he graduated. Worked incredibly hard, sucked up to all the right people and eventually became a director of the firm. Made tonnes of money and retired a rich man. Towards the end of his days, though, he looked back on all the buildings that he designed and thought to himself: “All these buildings are ugly, I don’t like a single one of them. Every building I designed was driven by what the client wanted, or what my firm wanted.” He felt like his vision of the perfect building was still trapped inside him, and that nothing he achieved in life meant anything.Meanwhile the other architect, Howard, just didn’t give a fuck. He hated the Victorian design classes at university because it was unnecessarily ornate. Howard wanted to do minimalist post modern design. He ended up dropping out of university and going to intern with an architect who he had a lot of respect for. However, the architect wasn’t getting much business because his designs were so radical. Later on, Howard started his own firm. But he would only take on clients if the client gave him complete freedom to design the building however he wanted. His clients would have no say in the design at all. Howard didn’t have many clients and only built a few buildings in his career. However, he felt that every building that he built was a representation of his truest vision of art. The pylons of the building were like Howard’s bones, the windows and wooden finishings were his skin and flesh, each building was a temple to his soul.Would you rather be Howard? Or would you rather be Peter?How has social conditioning influenced how you live?Write down 10 of your core beliefs.Which of your beliefs did you consciously decide upon, and how many have been dictated by society?Which of your beliefs are helping you and which beliefs are holding you?Are you living the life you want to live, or the life society wants you to live?How do YOU want to live your life?LOVE WHAT YOU DOYour work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle. – Steve JobsWHY BIGGER GOALS ARE BETTERMost people set small goals in life. We don’t set ourselves big goals because we’ll fail. But big goals are actually easier to achieve than small goals. People are inspired by big goals and will go out of their way to help you. Investors will give you money. Big goals create movements and bring together teams. Small goals may be easier to accomplish, but not as many people will help you do it. Also there’s much less competition with big goals. How many of your friends are trying to cure cancer or solve cold fusion? How many friends work in accounting? Sure curing cancer is a million times harder than working in accounting, but there’s a million times more people that your competing against if you choose accounting.When I started my coupon site 7 years ago, I just wanted to earn enough money to support myself and travel. This wasn’t going to become a big business, so I had trouble attracting investors. When I pitched at startup conferences, investors would be like, “cool story bro, needs more dragons.” I had no money, and my goal wasn’t very inspiring, so I had trouble hiring great people. I ended up spending 4 years figuring out marketing by myself and building the business to a level where it supports my lifestyle – yay, go me.Meanwhile, Tim Kently-Klay managed to build Zoox into a 1.5 billion dollar business in the same time frame. Right… So wtf am I doing with my life? Here’s how Tim did it. One day Tim woke up and was like, “I want to build fully autonomous self driving cars”. No, not some half-arsed version like Tesla. Tim explains that by completely removing the steering wheel, driver’s seat and components needed for human driving, you can make a much more efficient self driving robot. A fully autonomous Uber – that was the dream. A slight problem was that Tim knew fuck all about self driving cars. But Tim was a hella smart guy who had started a successful graphics design company in the past, so he set about reading everything he could on self driving cars. After a year of intense study, he drew out some blueprints for his self driving car which he displayed at some conferences.His plans were given the honorable title of “Vaporware Horseshit” by critics. However, Tim hustled on and met Niki the venture capitalist who gave him a million dollars.Tim took that million dollars and went to the self driving car team at Apple. He said to them, “hey so you know… you guys are all screwed because Apple is shutting down their self driving car project. So come join me and we shall conquer the world.” And the self-driving car team is like, sure, seems legit, why not? Then Tim went to Lord Draper, the greatest venture capitalist of them all, and was like, “Hey I am building a self driving car and have the best team in the world to do it, you should give me 30 million dollars.” Draper thought for a while and then he’s like, sure why not? Tim took that money and convinced more people to join his jihad. Then he goes and raises 250m at a $1.5bn valuation. Tim does all this in 4 years.I set a small goal; build a coupon site. In 4 years I accomplished it. Tim set a big goal; make fully autonomous self driving cars. And in 4 years he has built a $1.5bn company.What would you rather be doing?If you could achieve anything, what would you be working on?WHAT ABOUT MONEY?When I was in college choosing my career, all I cared about was: how much money could I make? So I chose investment banking. And I quit after 6 months. But anyway. Most of my peer group chose their careers because of money. It wasn’t always like this. Back in the 60s, we had just landed on the moon. Einstein and Edison were the celebrities of the day. People wanted to be inventors, explorers and scientists – to work on things that would push forward the envelope of human progress. Nowadays people want money – financial security. What happened to changing the world? Most people are not working on meaningful problems. Millions are dying in Africa. Our best and brightest proceed to go work in finance or tech or whatever industry is the most cashed up.If you say that getting the money is the most important thing, you’ll spend your life completely wasting your time. You’ll be doing things you don’t like doing in order to go on living, that is to go on doing thing you don’t like doing, which is stupid. – Alan WattsBeing the richest man in the cemetery doesn’t matter to me. Going to be at night saying we’ve done something wonderful that’s what matters to me. – Steve JobsHere’s the thing: solving the world’s biggest problems is the best way to make money. This makes sense from an economics perspective. If you create the most value then the market will reward you with the most money. But wait, how the hell would working to solve poverty in Africa make more money than being an investment banker? Banking appears to be a steadier path to making more money – if we view things from a short term perspective. But what about in 10 years, 20 years and more?Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years– Bill GatesLet’s say you start a social enterprise in Africa. In your first year you make nothing and your banker friend makes $150k. In 10 years, your social enterprise does well enough for you to live comfortably. Meanwhile your friend is making $2m as a director. You wonder if you made the wrong choice. But in 20 years, Africa grows rapidly, income levels rise 20x to western levels. Business is booming because your customers can afford to pay you western prices. Everyone now wants to invest in Africa. Multinationals are in a bidding war to buy your company. The land that you brought for ten thousand dollars per hectare is now worth a one million dollars per hectare. You are now worth over $100m. Meanwhile the world realizes investment bankers are basically glorified real estate agents – annoying and unnecessary. Bankers and real estate agents get replaced by a super efficient AI marketplace and your friend is made redundant.BUT IT’S RISKYSure, chasing big goals is risky. People say that 9 out of 10 new ventures fail. Well, what if you tried 30 times? It’ll take about 4 months to see if a venture will work out, so you can try 3 new ventures a year. If you work on it for 10 years, you’ve tried 30 different ventures and you’re basically guaranteed success.How I got over risk of starting my own business was, I said to myself: even if I tried for the rest of my life and I died trying, would I be happy? Yes, because I enjoy the process of trying to change the world, building a business, and working on something I find meaningful. I can’t control if I will succeed or not. What matters is that I tried.It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. – Franklin D RooseveltImagine at the end of your life, you realized that you never gave your dream a try. You just let it slip past. How would you feel?When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like, “If you live each day as if it were your last, someday you’ll most certainly be right.” It made an impression on me… and since then, for the past 33 years I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself, “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today.”And whenever the answer has been, “no” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something. Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life.Because almost everything: all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure… these things just fall away in the face of death… leaving only what is truly important.Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. – Steve JobsLIMITING BELIEFSPeople have all these limiting beliefs about why they can’t achieve their dreams. Like, I am not smart enough, I have a family to support, I am too old, I have a very needy cat.All these bullshit excuses. How do you know you can’t do something until you’ve tried? You don’t know. It’s much more useful to believe you can do anything, because then you’ll try. If you don’t try you fail by default.Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world usually do– Steve JobsPeople seriously underestimate how far willpower can take you. It doesn’t matter where you come from or what your circumstances are. Got a family to support? Keep your day job and work on your dreams at night. Not smart enough? Spend twice as long studying. Too old? KFC was built by a 70 year old. You are not a victim of your circumstances.What are some things you want to achieve but feel like you can’t?YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MIND TO MANIf there’s one story that demonstrates how far willpower will take you despite the hand you’ve been dealt, it’s that of Barrack Obama. No not the president, but his father Barrack Obama Sr.Obama Sr grew up in one of the poorest families in the world in Sub-Saharan Africa, but his son went on to become the most powerful man in the world. How did this happen?Obama Sr grew up in a Kenyan village. School was a little shanty hut where all the village children were packed into one class. Education sucked, but Obama Sr showed some spark. He had one thing going for him: he was able to learn English since grandfather Obama was a cook in a white household. One day, some aid workers came to visit their village. Teenage Obama Sr was like, “damn those aid workers looking fine, I think I’ll go chat them up.” The aid workers were impressed by Obama Sr’s drive and encouraged him to apply to the University of Hawaii’s African scholarship program. Barrack Sr studied intensely and with the tutorship of the aid workers managed to get the scholarship. At the University of Hawaii Obama Sr met Ann Dunham who would become Obama Jr’s mother. When he wasn’t chasing skirts, he managed to top his class and get a full scholarship into Harvard Law School. Willpower can get you from growing up in sub-Saharan Africa to going to Harvard Law School, to your son becoming the president of the United States.Now you may be thinking Obama Sr is smarter and more driven than I’ll ever be. He has better genetics. Just because he has achieved greatness doesn’t mean that I can. But are successful people really smarter than us? So I was in Silicon Valley last year doing a program called 500startups where I got to meet tech billionaires and industry leaders. It was surprisingly underwhelming… The advice these billionaires gave was mostly self indulgent, generic and useless details. “so I cooked lunch for my team everyday, and everyone loved my cooking”. “Ohh marketing, we didn’t do any marketing, the product just grew by itself”. The best advice I got was actually from other startup founders who were still hustling to make it. Then it struck me. These billionaires are not better than the rest of us. They’ve just worked hard and on the right things. But they’re fallible humans. We are all cut from the same cloth. I can do whatever they can do.Malcolm Gladwell writes about the 10,000 hour rule: how a master in any field has practiced for at least 10,000 hours. If we put in that amount of hours, we can master anything. Take Laszlo Polgar, a Hungarian psychologist who, after studying hundreds of great intellectuals, identified a common theme – early and intensive practice. He hypothesized that with intense practice, he could turn his three daughters into prodigies. He chose chess as the perfect activity to train his children in, because it was creative and analytical and had objectively measurable results. Two of his daughters went on to become grand-masters. No women had ever achieved the title of grand-master before. All three daughters ranked in the top 6 in the world for chess.Sure, we’re born with certain physical characteristics or elements of our personality that are hard to change. But the moment that we accept ourselves, take the wheel and start steering, that’s when things start happening. Take Lebron James vs Steph Curry. Lebron has the perfect genetic build for a basketball player. Steph doesn’t. He doesn’t have the height, he doesn’t have the bulk. But he doesn’t give a shit. He proceeds to practice the hell out of his shot. And with that, he has achieved a level of success to rival Lebron. You may not be able to change some part of yourself, but you can develop other parts and be just as effective.Cool, so I believe I can do anything I set my mind to. But…HOW DO I FIGURE OUT WHAT I WANT TO DO WITH MY LIFE?To discover your “why”, ask yourself these questions. Find the common denominators in the answers and you’ll have your first lead to explore in finding your why. The commonalities in your answers may point you towards your purpose, and give you some directions to explore.What do you think is biggest problem in the world right now?If money and time weren’t limiting factors, what would you allow yourself to dream of doing?What makes you feel angry, or rise up at the injustice you see?What gets your emotions going? what brings tears to your eyes?What makes you happy?– Daniel Flynn, founder Thankyou WaterREADRead. Do a shit tonne of reading, and then read some more. There are world leaders and billionaires who have spent years distilling the best of their life’s wisdom and principles of success into books. Books that we can access instantly for $10 on Amazon. It’s the digital age. We are the first generation to have the entire trove of human knowledge available on demand in our pockets.Yet most of us don’t read. What the fuck? Instead we spend our time watching TV. What did Kim K name her kid? Did North Korea fire another rocket? What happens next on Game of Thrones? All this bullshit that we don’t need to know about. Our newest drug addiction is social media. It gives us a hit of validation, a new like, another viral video. But there’s no substance, no meaning. The short term hit leaves us shallow inside and longing for another, and another. Popular media is fucking up our brains. It’s the information age buffet. Because we’re fat fucks from the first world, we say, give me all the junk food, broccoli can fuck off. We need to treat the information we consume like food and watch we’re putting into our bodies.LISTEN TO AUDIO-BOOKSThe best life hack that anyone has ever told me is to listen to audio-books at 2x speed. You can listen to audio-books whilst you’re at the gym, or driving, or any other mindless task. This way, it’s easy to find 2-3 hours everyday, and if you do, you can finish 2 books every week, and 100 books a year. 100 books will put you miles ahead. Most people don’t even finish 100 books in their lifetime. I started audio-books 3 years ago, and I’ve learnt more in 3 years than I have in the rest of my life combined. School didn’t teach me useful skills, books did. Books written by people who have done it before. You can get most popular titles on Amazon’s Audible book store. Make sure you select the USA Audible store as this has the widest selection.WHAT SHOULD I READ?Check the New York Times best sellers list. Ask mentors what their favorite books are. Google for book recommendations by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg or other people you respect.Here’s a list of my favorite books:The Power of Now by Eckhart TolleThe Fountainhead by Ayn RandSelf Compassion by Kirstin NeffThe Four Agreements by Don Miguel RuizThe Singularity is Near by Ray KurtzweilCrucial Conversations by Kerry PattersonThe Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson100 book recommendations FIND MENTORSAfter reading and researching what I wanted to do. I got in touch with people who’ve done it before. No matter what you’re trying to achieve, there are 7 billion people in the world and there are people out there who have done similar things to what you’re attempting to do. Find these people on Linkedin and ask for their mentorship. Ask people who are not your direct competitors, people in a different geography or who have moved onto something else. You’d be surprised at how many people respond. I got around a 30% response rate. Here’s an email that I sent.Hi John,I am Rob, an Australian tech entrepreneur linkedin.com/in/robliu. We’re building contactout.com a recruitment tool similar to Connectifier but targeting the Australian and UK markets.I would greatly appreciate your mentorship and advice on growth and how to do sales for recruitment tools, and any insights you’ve gained from your experience at Connectifier.Would you be free for a brief chat on Skype? Happy to send you $500 for your time.Kind Regards, Rob LiuJohn was previously VP Marketing at Connectifier, a competitor whose business model I was trying to copy. John came on board as an adviser and helped me add over one million dollars in value to my business. It all started with an email.When emailing, bribe people. Offer them $500 to talk to you. This makes it look like you’re serious about your request and respectful of their time. Most mentors are rich already and won’t accept your money. For people who do accept your money, don’t bother talking with them. Because if they need $500, then they’re probably not very successful, and would make a shitty mentor.After reading, researching, finding mentors, you’ll still have to figure out a lot of the journey by yourself. You’re aiming to do something great and that involves blazing a path into the unknown. It’s like playing soccer. You can read all about soccer tactics, you can practice dribbling, practice kicking. But if you want to get good at soccer, you need to get out onto the field and play the game. Think for yourself, follow your heart, and take action.You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something – your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. Because believing that the dots will connect down the road will give you the confidence to follow your heart even when it leads you off the well worn path; and that will make all the difference. – Steve JobsYOU ARE ON THIS EARTH FOR A REASON.We’re here to put a dent in the universe. Otherwise why else even be here?– Steve Jobs“Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.Do it or don’t do it.It may help to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don’t do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself,. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God.Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It’s a gift to the world and every being in it. Don’t cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you’ve got.”– Steven Pressfield

[daddyslittlejuliet]

Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog

The post Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Dogs are adorable. And while nothing beats seeing a precious pup in person, we love to capture those moments on camera, both for ourselves and to show off to others. But photos that are blurry or crop off your dog’s head aren’t that cute. When it comes to getting great pics, use the L.E.M.O.N. aid — Location, Enthusiasm, Movement, Opportunity and Nope (We’re Done).

Choose the right location

Don’t forget the first step to a successful photo shoot is the location. Photography ©Bark at the Moom Pet Photography.

Just as in real estate, location is a big deal when getting the right photos. And that means the location of the dog, your location in relation to the dog and keeping an eye out for the clutter that is an unwelcome tenant in your image.

Shooting in a nicely lit environment is a great place to start. Instead of shooting your dog out on the beach with strong sun, professional photographer of 15 years David Capron recommends going into the shade or inside the house. “Sit your dog next to a window that has incidental light coming in, and shoot there,” he says.

David, owner of Dogma Pet Portraits in Costa Mesa, California, also recommends getting down to your dog’s height so the camera is at eye level. Of course, depending on how tall your dog is, this might mean spending a significant amount of time on the floor or ground, so dress accordingly.

Take a look around the room before you start shooting. Specifically, watch your backgrounds, advises Milla Chappell, a professional photographer of 10 years and owner of Real Happy Dogs based in New York City. “You don’t want a plant growing out of your dog’s head or garbage in the background of your favorite photo.”

Make it fun

Use treats to keep the photo shoot fun for your dog. Photography ©Bark at the Moom Pet Photography.

Perhaps the most important part of photographing your dog is to make it fun. If you’re enthusiastic, that can help your dog feel the same way. If you aren’t, your dog will react accordingly.

“Don’t stress your dog out,” Milla says. “My style of photography is very unposed and natural, and I believe it’s important to let dogs be dogs during photo sessions. When I scroll through Instagram, I often see photos of dogs who look stressed and uncomfortable because their owner forced a certain photo, and I want to advise people to avoid this. Let your dog’s joy guide your photography, and the result will be much more authentic.”

The right attitude shows up in the finished product. “The most engaging images are those that show the emotional connection between dogs and their people,” Milla adds. “Photograph your dog with the people he loves most, and don’t forget to get in front of the camera sometimes, too!”

David uses people as well, even if they don’t always appear in the final photos. “If you can, arrange for a human to be in the first couple of shots, so the dog understands that we are all OK with having a black box with the tube on the front pointed at them and it’s not going to hurt in any way.”

In David’s experience in the studio, he takes it slow and provides a prime incentive to boost a dog’s enthusiasm in a new place. “They know that it’s a cool place where unlimited treats from strangers magically appear for no good reason,” he says.

Get moving

Portrait shots are great, no question. But catching your dog in motion can be quite compelling. And it doesn’t have to be an elaborate action shot. There’s a reason why the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover is ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 50 Album Covers of All Time. While a photo of your dog walking across the street may never achieve icon status, it can still make for a photo potentially more interesting than your dog at rest.

And even if your dog is posed, movement on your part can maximize results. “If you are photographing your dog on the ground with a toy, for example, get on the ground with her to shoot it first, then photograph the same scene from right above and then from far away,” Milla recommends. “Sometimes the most interesting photo is the angle you didn’t expect.”

There are ways you can help make those interesting angles happen. “Compose the photo to give your dog room to look or move into the frame,” Milla says. “When we view photos, we subconsciously look toward the space that the subject is moving or looking, so as a photographer you can use this concept to your advantage.” She adds that steering the viewer’s gaze can help deepen the emotional response to a photo and make it more meaningful.

If you have a particularly rambunctious dog, getting her on the move before the photo shoot might be just the trick you need. “’A tired dog is a happy dog’ as the quote goes, so a long walk or a morning at play group just to get a little of the puppy out of them generally works,” David suggests.

Where you don’t want movement is with the camera itself, of course. If you have trouble with a steady hand, consider a tripod for stability. You can even get one for your cell phone — some are less than $10.

Make it happen

Portrait shots are a classic way to capture a photo. Try shooting your dog in motion for a change. Photography ©Bark at the Moon Photography.

There are several easy ways to make the most of a photo shoot. One of them is having an assistant who can wrangle your dog, leaving you to focus on the opportunities that present themselves, which may be fleeting. To that end, David recommends using quantity to get quality.

“A great expression might only last a millisecond. Good luck trying to predict when that millisecond might happen. The more images you’ve shot, the more chance you have of capturing it.” Treats are a great way to get your dog to look where you want, making it more likely to get that eye contact in the shot.

“Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at directing their attention, not that it’s a particularly magical technique,” David says. “Most dogs will watch where you hold a treat with the efficiency of a military grade missile tracking system.”

Nope (we’re done)

Finally, if you or your dog is getting frustrated, or you have a time crunch, it’s time to say nope, we’re done for the day. End on a high note with a treat and some pettings so your dog associates your Ansel Adams imitation as something that’s fun and worth looking forward to.

Whether you’re taking photos while out and about or looking for that perfect portrait, have fun with the experience. And don’t get too hung up on what you’re using. “I mostly use my cell phone for taking photos of my dog and family,” Milla says. “The ‘real’ camera only comes out for special occasions.”

Turn photos into something

Size matters when dealing with your photographs. Photography ©Azure-Dragon | Getty Images.

Now that you have some great photos, what should you do with them? Below are some of the many items beyond holiday cards you can personalize with your pup’s pic to keep for yourself or give to others. But first, some guidelines on matching the photo to the medium for maximum impact.

Size matters. If you’re putting a photo on something fairly small, like a mug, make sure your dog’s face takes up most of the photo. This isn’t the place to use that panoramic shot of Buster at the beach.

Busy isn’t best. Notice backgrounds, and crop in on your dog if necessary. Don’t waste valuable space showcasing the TV in the background or your dinner plate on the coffee table.

Follow their eye. If you’re laying out something like a card or calendar, place the image so your dog isn’t “looking off the page.”

Shutterfly, Vistaprint, Minted and Costco’s Photo Center are among the great places to order items with your pet’s portrait — for practically every room in your house.

Accessories:  Cell phone covers, tote bags

Apparel :  T-shirts, hats and socks (yep, even socks!)

Décor: Blankets, candles, magnets, pictures in all sizes on glass, metal or canvas, pillows, photo books — in memoriam, from grand-dog to grandma, Fido’s first birthday, etc.

Household items: Calendars, mugs, tea towels, coasters

Know your camera

Dogma Pet Portraits is a company located in Costa Mesa, California. Photography Courtesy Courtesy David Capron | Dogma Pet Portraits.

While cameras are still the gold standard for photography, many people use mobile devices to take photos. Beyond the L.E.M.O.N. aid guidelines, David Capron of Dogma shares some technical aspects to photographing your dogs that can help make those photos, well, picture perfect.

You don’t need to be an expert, but know your camera or device as well as you can, David says. “Say, for an iPhone, know how to turn off your flash and how to shoot on burst mode.” For example, “You can easily fix that devil dog red eye thing by turning off your flash,” he adds.

“For someone shooting outdoors for fun, you can get great pictures with a starter mirrorless or DSLR camera kit from any of the manufacturers for $500,” David says. “But really, great images do not depend on the equipment, just the eye of the photographer taking them.”

Don’t forget about editing programs that can help after the fact. David uses PhotoShop Elements on his computer and the Snapseed app on his mobile phone. “They all have algorithms that will help brighten, sharpen and bring out extra details,” he says, adding that they can be particularly helpful if you have an all-black dog.

Finally, there’s one last technicality to be mindful of — a legal one. If you have a professional photo shoot done, the photographer owns the legal copyright to those images unless you get specific permission in your contract.

For example, “A customer is not entitled to buy a 5 x 7 image from us, copy it and blow it up to a 30 x 40 canvas (it would also look terrible, but it’s a no-no),” David says. If Dogma does release digital images for personal, not commercial, use, the understanding is that the buyer can do anything they like with those images. Dogma will also provide a release should any lab require it before they’ll print anything if requested. Find out what any professional photographer’s policy is on this before you book your photo shoot.

Thumbnail: Photography ©svetikd | Getty Images.

About the author

Elizabeth Anderson Lopez is an award-winning writer based in Lake Forest, California. She and her husband have quite the menagerie, including a rescued English Bull Terrier named Maybelene.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Dogster magazine. Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? Subscribe now to get Dogster magazine delivered straight to you!

Read more about dogs and media on Dogster.com:

How to Take the Best Photo of Your Dog for National Dog Day

Want to Take Better Pictures of Your Pup? Dog Photographers Share Tips

Ask Frank: How Do I Get My Humans to Take Better Pictures of Me?

The post Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

[buynewsoul]

Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog

The post Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Dogs are adorable. And while nothing beats seeing a precious pup in person, we love to capture those moments on camera, both for ourselves and to show off to others. But photos that are blurry or crop off your dog’s head aren’t that cute. When it comes to getting great pics, use the L.E.M.O.N. aid — Location, Enthusiasm, Movement, Opportunity and Nope (We’re Done).

Choose the right location

Don’t forget the first step to a successful photo shoot is the location. Photography ©Bark at the Moom Pet Photography.

Just as in real estate, location is a big deal when getting the right photos. And that means the location of the dog, your location in relation to the dog and keeping an eye out for the clutter that is an unwelcome tenant in your image.

Shooting in a nicely lit environment is a great place to start. Instead of shooting your dog out on the beach with strong sun, professional photographer of 15 years David Capron recommends going into the shade or inside the house. “Sit your dog next to a window that has incidental light coming in, and shoot there,” he says.

David, owner of Dogma Pet Portraits in Costa Mesa, California, also recommends getting down to your dog’s height so the camera is at eye level. Of course, depending on how tall your dog is, this might mean spending a significant amount of time on the floor or ground, so dress accordingly.

Take a look around the room before you start shooting. Specifically, watch your backgrounds, advises Milla Chappell, a professional photographer of 10 years and owner of Real Happy Dogs based in New York City. “You don’t want a plant growing out of your dog’s head or garbage in the background of your favorite photo.”

Make it fun

Use treats to keep the photo shoot fun for your dog. Photography ©Bark at the Moom Pet Photography.

Perhaps the most important part of photographing your dog is to make it fun. If you’re enthusiastic, that can help your dog feel the same way. If you aren’t, your dog will react accordingly.

“Don’t stress your dog out,” Milla says. “My style of photography is very unposed and natural, and I believe it’s important to let dogs be dogs during photo sessions. When I scroll through Instagram, I often see photos of dogs who look stressed and uncomfortable because their owner forced a certain photo, and I want to advise people to avoid this. Let your dog’s joy guide your photography, and the result will be much more authentic.”

The right attitude shows up in the finished product. “The most engaging images are those that show the emotional connection between dogs and their people,” Milla adds. “Photograph your dog with the people he loves most, and don’t forget to get in front of the camera sometimes, too!”

David uses people as well, even if they don’t always appear in the final photos. “If you can, arrange for a human to be in the first couple of shots, so the dog understands that we are all OK with having a black box with the tube on the front pointed at them and it’s not going to hurt in any way.”

In David’s experience in the studio, he takes it slow and provides a prime incentive to boost a dog’s enthusiasm in a new place. “They know that it’s a cool place where unlimited treats from strangers magically appear for no good reason,” he says.

Get moving

Portrait shots are great, no question. But catching your dog in motion can be quite compelling. And it doesn’t have to be an elaborate action shot. There’s a reason why the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover is ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 50 Album Covers of All Time. While a photo of your dog walking across the street may never achieve icon status, it can still make for a photo potentially more interesting than your dog at rest.

And even if your dog is posed, movement on your part can maximize results. “If you are photographing your dog on the ground with a toy, for example, get on the ground with her to shoot it first, then photograph the same scene from right above and then from far away,” Milla recommends. “Sometimes the most interesting photo is the angle you didn’t expect.”

There are ways you can help make those interesting angles happen. “Compose the photo to give your dog room to look or move into the frame,” Milla says. “When we view photos, we subconsciously look toward the space that the subject is moving or looking, so as a photographer you can use this concept to your advantage.” She adds that steering the viewer’s gaze can help deepen the emotional response to a photo and make it more meaningful.

If you have a particularly rambunctious dog, getting her on the move before the photo shoot might be just the trick you need. “’A tired dog is a happy dog’ as the quote goes, so a long walk or a morning at play group just to get a little of the puppy out of them generally works,” David suggests.

Where you don’t want movement is with the camera itself, of course. If you have trouble with a steady hand, consider a tripod for stability. You can even get one for your cell phone — some are less than $10.

Make it happen

Portrait shots are a classic way to capture a photo. Try shooting your dog in motion for a change. Photography ©Bark at the Moon Photography.

There are several easy ways to make the most of a photo shoot. One of them is having an assistant who can wrangle your dog, leaving you to focus on the opportunities that present themselves, which may be fleeting. To that end, David recommends using quantity to get quality.

“A great expression might only last a millisecond. Good luck trying to predict when that millisecond might happen. The more images you’ve shot, the more chance you have of capturing it.” Treats are a great way to get your dog to look where you want, making it more likely to get that eye contact in the shot.

“Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at directing their attention, not that it’s a particularly magical technique,” David says. “Most dogs will watch where you hold a treat with the efficiency of a military grade missile tracking system.”

Nope (we’re done)

Finally, if you or your dog is getting frustrated, or you have a time crunch, it’s time to say nope, we’re done for the day. End on a high note with a treat and some pettings so your dog associates your Ansel Adams imitation as something that’s fun and worth looking forward to.

Whether you’re taking photos while out and about or looking for that perfect portrait, have fun with the experience. And don’t get too hung up on what you’re using. “I mostly use my cell phone for taking photos of my dog and family,” Milla says. “The ‘real’ camera only comes out for special occasions.”

Turn photos into something

Size matters when dealing with your photographs. Photography ©Azure-Dragon | Getty Images.

Now that you have some great photos, what should you do with them? Below are some of the many items beyond holiday cards you can personalize with your pup’s pic to keep for yourself or give to others. But first, some guidelines on matching the photo to the medium for maximum impact.

Size matters. If you’re putting a photo on something fairly small, like a mug, make sure your dog’s face takes up most of the photo. This isn’t the place to use that panoramic shot of Buster at the beach.

Busy isn’t best. Notice backgrounds, and crop in on your dog if necessary. Don’t waste valuable space showcasing the TV in the background or your dinner plate on the coffee table.

Follow their eye. If you’re laying out something like a card or calendar, place the image so your dog isn’t “looking off the page.”

Shutterfly, Vistaprint, Minted and Costco’s Photo Center are among the great places to order items with your pet’s portrait — for practically every room in your house.

Accessories:  Cell phone covers, tote bags

Apparel :  T-shirts, hats and socks (yep, even socks!)

Décor: Blankets, candles, magnets, pictures in all sizes on glass, metal or canvas, pillows, photo books — in memoriam, from grand-dog to grandma, Fido’s first birthday, etc.

Household items: Calendars, mugs, tea towels, coasters

Know your camera

Dogma Pet Portraits is a company located in Costa Mesa, California. Photography Courtesy Courtesy David Capron | Dogma Pet Portraits.

While cameras are still the gold standard for photography, many people use mobile devices to take photos. Beyond the L.E.M.O.N. aid guidelines, David Capron of Dogma shares some technical aspects to photographing your dogs that can help make those photos, well, picture perfect.

You don’t need to be an expert, but know your camera or device as well as you can, David says. “Say, for an iPhone, know how to turn off your flash and how to shoot on burst mode.” For example, “You can easily fix that devil dog red eye thing by turning off your flash,” he adds.

“For someone shooting outdoors for fun, you can get great pictures with a starter mirrorless or DSLR camera kit from any of the manufacturers for $500,” David says. “But really, great images do not depend on the equipment, just the eye of the photographer taking them.”

Don’t forget about editing programs that can help after the fact. David uses PhotoShop Elements on his computer and the Snapseed app on his mobile phone. “They all have algorithms that will help brighten, sharpen and bring out extra details,” he says, adding that they can be particularly helpful if you have an all-black dog.

Finally, there’s one last technicality to be mindful of — a legal one. If you have a professional photo shoot done, the photographer owns the legal copyright to those images unless you get specific permission in your contract.

For example, “A customer is not entitled to buy a 5 x 7 image from us, copy it and blow it up to a 30 x 40 canvas (it would also look terrible, but it’s a no-no),” David says. If Dogma does release digital images for personal, not commercial, use, the understanding is that the buyer can do anything they like with those images. Dogma will also provide a release should any lab require it before they’ll print anything if requested. Find out what any professional photographer’s policy is on this before you book your photo shoot.

Thumbnail: Photography ©svetikd | Getty Images.

About the author

Elizabeth Anderson Lopez is an award-winning writer based in Lake Forest, California. She and her husband have quite the menagerie, including a rescued English Bull Terrier named Maybelene.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Dogster magazine. Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet��s office? Subscribe now to get Dogster magazine delivered straight to you!

Read more about dogs and media on Dogster.com:

How to Take the Best Photo of Your Dog for National Dog Day

Want to Take Better Pictures of Your Pup? Dog Photographers Share Tips

Ask Frank: How Do I Get My Humans to Take Better Pictures of Me?

The post Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

[jeffreyrwelch]

Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog

The post Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

Dogs are adorable. And while nothing beats seeing a precious pup in person, we love to capture those moments on camera, both for ourselves and to show off to others. But photos that are blurry or crop off your dog’s head aren’t that cute. When it comes to getting great pics, use the L.E.M.O.N. aid — Location, Enthusiasm, Movement, Opportunity and Nope (We’re Done).

Choose the right location

Don’t forget the first step to a successful photo shoot is the location. Photography ©Bark at the Moom Pet Photography.

Just as in real estate, location is a big deal when getting the right photos. And that means the location of the dog, your location in relation to the dog and keeping an eye out for the clutter that is an unwelcome tenant in your image.

Shooting in a nicely lit environment is a great place to start. Instead of shooting your dog out on the beach with strong sun, professional photographer of 15 years David Capron recommends going into the shade or inside the house. “Sit your dog next to a window that has incidental light coming in, and shoot there,” he says.

David, owner of Dogma Pet Portraits in Costa Mesa, California, also recommends getting down to your dog’s height so the camera is at eye level. Of course, depending on how tall your dog is, this might mean spending a significant amount of time on the floor or ground, so dress accordingly.

Take a look around the room before you start shooting. Specifically, watch your backgrounds, advises Milla Chappell, a professional photographer of 10 years and owner of Real Happy Dogs based in New York City. “You don’t want a plant growing out of your dog’s head or garbage in the background of your favorite photo.”

Make it fun

Use treats to keep the photo shoot fun for your dog. Photography ©Bark at the Moom Pet Photography.

Perhaps the most important part of photographing your dog is to make it fun. If you’re enthusiastic, that can help your dog feel the same way. If you aren’t, your dog will react accordingly.

“Don’t stress your dog out,” Milla says. “My style of photography is very unposed and natural, and I believe it’s important to let dogs be dogs during photo sessions. When I scroll through Instagram, I often see photos of dogs who look stressed and uncomfortable because their owner forced a certain photo, and I want to advise people to avoid this. Let your dog’s joy guide your photography, and the result will be much more authentic.”

The right attitude shows up in the finished product. “The most engaging images are those that show the emotional connection between dogs and their people,” Milla adds. “Photograph your dog with the people he loves most, and don’t forget to get in front of the camera sometimes, too!”

David uses people as well, even if they don’t always appear in the final photos. “If you can, arrange for a human to be in the first couple of shots, so the dog understands that we are all OK with having a black box with the tube on the front pointed at them and it’s not going to hurt in any way.”

In David’s experience in the studio, he takes it slow and provides a prime incentive to boost a dog’s enthusiasm in a new place. “They know that it’s a cool place where unlimited treats from strangers magically appear for no good reason,” he says.

Get moving

Portrait shots are great, no question. But catching your dog in motion can be quite compelling. And it doesn’t have to be an elaborate action shot. There’s a reason why the Beatles’ Abbey Road album cover is ranked No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 50 Album Covers of All Time. While a photo of your dog walking across the street may never achieve icon status, it can still make for a photo potentially more interesting than your dog at rest.

And even if your dog is posed, movement on your part can maximize results. “If you are photographing your dog on the ground with a toy, for example, get on the ground with her to shoot it first, then photograph the same scene from right above and then from far away,” Milla recommends. “Sometimes the most interesting photo is the angle you didn’t expect.”

There are ways you can help make those interesting angles happen. “Compose the photo to give your dog room to look or move into the frame,” Milla says. “When we view photos, we subconsciously look toward the space that the subject is moving or looking, so as a photographer you can use this concept to your advantage.” She adds that steering the viewer’s gaze can help deepen the emotional response to a photo and make it more meaningful.

If you have a particularly rambunctious dog, getting her on the move before the photo shoot might be just the trick you need. “’A tired dog is a happy dog’ as the quote goes, so a long walk or a morning at play group just to get a little of the puppy out of them generally works,” David suggests.

Where you don’t want movement is with the camera itself, of course. If you have trouble with a steady hand, consider a tripod for stability. You can even get one for your cell phone — some are less than $10.

Make it happen

Portrait shots are a classic way to capture a photo. Try shooting your dog in motion for a change. Photography ©Bark at the Moon Photography.

There are several easy ways to make the most of a photo shoot. One of them is having an assistant who can wrangle your dog, leaving you to focus on the opportunities that present themselves, which may be fleeting. To that end, David recommends using quantity to get quality.

“A great expression might only last a millisecond. Good luck trying to predict when that millisecond might happen. The more images you’ve shot, the more chance you have of capturing it.” Treats are a great way to get your dog to look where you want, making it more likely to get that eye contact in the shot.

“Over the years I’ve gotten pretty good at directing their attention, not that it’s a particularly magical technique,” David says. “Most dogs will watch where you hold a treat with the efficiency of a military grade missile tracking system.”

Nope (we’re done)

Finally, if you or your dog is getting frustrated, or you have a time crunch, it’s time to say nope, we’re done for the day. End on a high note with a treat and some pettings so your dog associates your Ansel Adams imitation as something that’s fun and worth looking forward to.

Whether you’re taking photos while out and about or looking for that perfect portrait, have fun with the experience. And don’t get too hung up on what you’re using. “I mostly use my cell phone for taking photos of my dog and family,” Milla says. “The ‘real’ camera only comes out for special occasions.”

Turn photos into something

Size matters when dealing with your photographs. Photography ©Azure-Dragon | Getty Images.

Now that you have some great photos, what should you do with them? Below are some of the many items beyond holiday cards you can personalize with your pup’s pic to keep for yourself or give to others. But first, some guidelines on matching the photo to the medium for maximum impact.

Size matters. If you’re putting a photo on something fairly small, like a mug, make sure your dog’s face takes up most of the photo. This isn’t the place to use that panoramic shot of Buster at the beach.

Busy isn’t best. Notice backgrounds, and crop in on your dog if necessary. Don’t waste valuable space showcasing the TV in the background or your dinner plate on the coffee table.

Follow their eye. If you’re laying out something like a card or calendar, place the image so your dog isn’t “looking off the page.”

Shutterfly, Vistaprint, Minted and Costco’s Photo Center are among the great places to order items with your pet’s portrait — for practically every room in your house.

Accessories:  Cell phone covers, tote bags

Apparel :  T-shirts, hats and socks (yep, even socks!)

Décor: Blankets, candles, magnets, pictures in all sizes on glass, metal or canvas, pillows, photo books — in memoriam, from grand-dog to grandma, Fido’s first birthday, etc.

Household items: Calendars, mugs, tea towels, coasters

Know your camera

Dogma Pet Portraits is a company located in Costa Mesa, California. Photography Courtesy Courtesy David Capron | Dogma Pet Portraits.

While cameras are still the gold standard for photography, many people use mobile devices to take photos. Beyond the L.E.M.O.N. aid guidelines, David Capron of Dogma shares some technical aspects to photographing your dogs that can help make those photos, well, picture perfect.

You don’t need to be an expert, but know your camera or device as well as you can, David says. “Say, for an iPhone, know how to turn off your flash and how to shoot on burst mode.” For example, “You can easily fix that devil dog red eye thing by turning off your flash,” he adds.

“For someone shooting outdoors for fun, you can get great pictures with a starter mirrorless or DSLR camera kit from any of the manufacturers for $500,” David says. “But really, great images do not depend on the equipment, just the eye of the photographer taking them.”

Don’t forget about editing programs that can help after the fact. David uses PhotoShop Elements on his computer and the Snapseed app on his mobile phone. “They all have algorithms that will help brighten, sharpen and bring out extra details,” he says, adding that they can be particularly helpful if you have an all-black dog.

Finally, there’s one last technicality to be mindful of — a legal one. If you have a professional photo shoot done, the photographer owns the legal copyright to those images unless you get specific permission in your contract.

For example, “A customer is not entitled to buy a 5 x 7 image from us, copy it and blow it up to a 30 x 40 canvas (it would also look terrible, but it’s a no-no),” David says. If Dogma does release digital images for personal, not commercial, use, the understanding is that the buyer can do anything they like with those images. Dogma will also provide a release should any lab require it before they’ll print anything if requested. Find out what any professional photographer’s policy is on this before you book your photo shoot.

Thumbnail: Photography ©svetikd | Getty Images.

About the author

Elizabeth Anderson Lopez is an award-winning writer based in Lake Forest, California. She and her husband have quite the menagerie, including a rescued English Bull Terrier named Maybelene.

Editor’s note: This article first appeared in Dogster magazine. Have you seen the new Dogster print magazine in stores? Or in the waiting room of your vet’s office? Subscribe now to get Dogster magazine delivered straight to you!

Read more about dogs and media on Dogster.com:

How to Take the Best Photo of Your Dog for National Dog Day

Want to Take Better Pictures of Your Pup? Dog Photographers Share Tips

Ask Frank: How Do I Get My Humans to Take Better Pictures of Me?

The post Tips on How to Take the Ultimate Pictures of Your Dog by Elizabeth Anderson Lopez appeared first on Dogster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren’t considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Dogster.com.

[blue-scorpion-king]

The 1st Monster Slayer?? -Silly Self-Insert-

Me/The Bat, if I am an self-insert mage in the universe of Fairy Tail:

-Name:

Cody Michael Hand.

-Nickname:

The First Monster Slayer, the Fiery Calcium Slayer, and nothing else at the moment.

-Age:

22-23 years old.

-Birthday (if known):

September 12th, X761

-Gender:

(Bearded) Male.

-Species:

Monster Slayer Human

-Sexual Orientation:

Straight.

-Birthplace:

The small city of Sterling, Fiore, Earthland.

-Living place:

An apartment, with me as the only person in it, five buildings away from the right of Lucy Heartfilia's apartment, with rent to pay of course.

-Likes:

Music, movies, magic computer time (Which exists in, but not as large of an use in Earthland than in real life), good female asses, since I am an ass man for female asses around my age group, thought breasts are good too, and some more.

-Family:

My mother, my father, Christopher and Michael, 2 younger brothers, Mikaleigh, my younger sister, Bob, the family friend, Sloviaka, the lion-sized orange bat monster that was an part of the family since my dad's younger days, until his death by old age (RIP), Pepper and Pumpkin, the 2 family cats, Glory, the family dog, and an expanded family beyond.

-Weapons:

-An Dane ax from Erza, an falchion sword sidearm, an (Viking) round shield, and throwing stakes.

-This alternate persona of myself is in an "Fant-Earth", with an circumference of 1,600,000,000 kilometers, which is smaller than Bagklock Earth, which has an circumference of 6,400,000,000 kilometers, where many, many continents, alongside the 7 real world continents, has countries from fantasy stories, like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, He-Man, & Warhammer (Not 40K), certain Shonen, Seinen, Shoujo, light novel, and visual novel stories, like Fairy Tail, Berserk, Toriko, One Piece, Naruto, GATE, Hunter X Hunter, Akatsuki No Yoma, Fate Stay Night, and Soul Eater, JRPG stories, like Valkyria Chronicles, Final Fantasy 1 to XV to Type-0, Dark Souls, Dragon’s Dogma, Demon’s Souls, Pokemon, Dragon Quest, & Fire Emblem, and several other graphic novels and anime/manga that happened in the past, happening right now in the present, and could happen in the future.

-- And I could be like the Reimu of Fairy Tail, who settles 'incidents' that the main cast don't settle, like actually defeat an actual God, not an God Slayer, for causing the problem in the first place.

-

Learned to awaken the Fiery Calcium Monster Slayer Magic Art, which is limited to an degree compared to Fire Dragon Slayer magic, from an sentient, lion-size orange bat, made out of black bone and orange fire, named Sloviaka, that has been an part of my family of 7, including me, since my dad's youth, has been an former Chieftian until he hit 8,000 years old, and has drawn inspiration from old accounts of ‘Stand Users’ from his youth and middle age, expect it goes to all kinds of monsters that I might fight in my future. Then, he died of old age, leaving me with the info that his bat kin, along with several other monster/henry species, mainly lives in caverns in the mountains & in other natural environments, kind of like being neighbors to the dwarves, elves, and men, and has been similar to them since his ancestors first observe them, along with the so called ‘living plants’, called Pents, before drawing his last breath and made me laugh with a joke, even when dying of old age and I was crying. It might have been heart-breaking, but at least Sloviaka lived a long life and died happy. Also, thanks to getting this magick made me near-sighted, which got me to wear glasses ever since.

-Also, ‘Bat Monsters’/Henries have a rocky relationship with Dragons, like the dwarves are to elves, and with Demons, which are like orcs to the Monsters, or Henries. Also, several special monsters/Henries have lived to even 5 million years, but never beyond that, and unlike dragons, there is a still a big population of monsters/Henries around, with many wins at wars against enemies who shoved them down, Dragons and Demons included.

=The Henries are also known to be extremely sturdy, despite their big cat-like sizes (Puma to Liger range), with most of the population having an hefty amount of facial and head hair, just like dwarves, could be made out of any non-overpowered element, have 16 tribes that are like the Knights, the Samurai, the Vikings, the Old West, the Spartans, the Warring States Era Chinese, the Zulu, the Roman Legionaries, Pirates, Ancient Egyptians, the Highlanders, the Huns, the Irish, the Hawaiians, the Aztecs, and the Sioux tribe of the Native Americans.

-Type of Abilities:

Fiery Calcium (Fire + Calcium fusion), in an black and orange color, can only be manipulated to an limited degree, even from within m,y own body, has to eat three whole meals to fully have an backup energy source, I should be careful around flammable objects, I can’t resist fire or thermal heat, lack of oxygen may prevent this ability to activate, not immune to the side effects, or byproducts, of fire, like smoke, weak against explosive negation, affected by my emotions, like anger or rage, which would make the fire stronger, but more dangerous around the area I am in, can be overpowered by ice, water, and/or cold, and I need oxygen, heat, and fuel for my fire generation, which would lead to fire manipulation.

-

Also, I have been trying to effectively use what martial art that Sloviaka taught me in combat, if needed, which is called ‘CQC’, with its meaning not told to me (Street fighting + Muay Thai).

--An Monster Slayer form ability, that I already had, but rarely got used in my youth, and trained with it in secret; Up until the Tenrou Island arc, up against Hades--

"Ainz Henry!!": An advanced Monster Slayer form, that is different from the Dragon Force, for someone like Cody, and shockingly, an permanent change in appearance, unlike Dragon Force.

Their eye sockets sunken a bit and colored black, the hair becomes wild, grows to become an mane, like an lion, and fire-like, while colored orange, makes the calcium part of the fiery calcium element vulcanized & elastic, makes the user gain more muscle mass, but still be lean, even to making the torso wide, and the teeth get really sharp, with 2 different tooth shapes; Lion teeth and bat teeth.

Also gets an coat of white colored thin paint-like calcium to make an skull design, expect for the blackened nose, coat the rest of the body with orange thin calcium 'paint', gain large, retractable into under the flesh, shoulder to hand fiery calcium armor, with black Henry tribal markings, along with retractable hip to feet fiery calcium armor, with lion hand paws/claws and bat feet & claws.

Lastly, there are three organic-bone methane using jet pods on each ankle, and three organic-bone methane using jet pods, with 2 on the shoulder bones and one below the in between of the 2.

(First unveiled partially at the Laxus fight, for a little bit, and in full at the Tenrou Island Arc’s Hades fight.)

-======-

Injuries I received from the Tartaros Arc to the (alternate) aftermath, with no 1 year timeskip:

Right side of my eye socket slashed slightly, top of my left ear cut open, a couple of broken back teeth had to be pulled out, an horizontal slash on my forehead, bludgeoned left elbow, partially gashed off left hand skin, jacked up left knee, gashed top of my right foot, slashed right side of my collar, projectile to my right shoulder, three slashes at my left shoulder, 3 cracked right ribs, large bruises on my torso sides, and abdomen, broken ulna of my right forearm, to where the bone poked out of my skin, an bleeding gash on my head, bruised toes, knuckles, and fingers, bruised left side of my neck, and bludgeoned right side of my back.

-======-

Moved out of my family's house and joined Fairy Tail at Magnolia as my first guild after taking my dream goals to become an writer and be an better Mage than I was in my youth and towards the future.

-

Became an Mage of Fairy Tail a bit before the time of the Thunder Tribe Sabotage arc and was not going to become S-Class just yet, unlike many of my friends. But, after the Tenrou Island arc, I have made it to S-Class, despite my honestly modest view on it.

-Started as an guild member a bit before the Thunder Tribe Sabotage arc all the way through the aftermath of the Tartaros VS Fairy Tail Guild War.-

<=Job experience from slaying monsters like Demons, various monsters, fighting the battles of Fairy Tail, even to Edolas, training myself and with others, and at very dangerous locations that not even Natsu nor Gajeel would step foot into, like going through an journey to get to several treasures from an long 'dead' land in Sweden, next to Norway, which (Bagklock) Earthland is ridge-connected to it, named Lordran (Dark Souls kingdom), while finding the lore through my findings and through texts, like tomes, scrolls, and books. That was my latest job that I took as an legal S-class mage.

-Guild mark location:

Left shoulder, orange in color.

-One of many outfits:

Glasses, small black skull bead necklace, with an golden skull pendant piece with an Native American chieftain headpiece, an orange hoodie jacket, with an t-shirt underneath, one of various sweatpants, and combat boots/Light armor for mobility and an tunic over my jacket. (Main outfit, with an light, casual version, and an full-on version) An dull black and orange Viking attire, with red details, with gambeson, chain-mail, non-horned historical looking helmet, and all, from head to top. But, it is also with Swedish medieval shoulder armor, bicep armor, forearm armor, gauntlets, thigh armor, foreleg armor, and greaves; Along with the oranged colored Fairy Tail symbol on the left shoulder and an owl head belt buckle design.

So, this is just an basic scramble of what I would be as an member of Fairy Tail. As an self-insert Monster Slayer mage on Earthland. owo

But hey. At least I state it out there instead of making an bad 'original character' and even as an self-insert Earthland-born Monster Slayer/Stand User, I would still be human and make mistakes and fail at times.

I hope you like this scramble of something silly. XD

~The Bat~whitew