#you lose your reputation your funding your ability to do what it is youre doing

[synchlora]

and so it happens once more

[theresattrpgforthat]

THEME: Magic and Mystics

This week's games are all magical in nature, whether they be solo games, supplements, or something as big and as grand as a wizard's tower!

Tower & Town, by Ari Calix.

After years at the Mages’ College, you have finally completed your studies and acquired a tower of your own. What better use for your new arcane residence than pursuing a wizard’s favourite pastime: magical research! The College, of course, has high expectations and anticipates regular reports on your progress.

There is, however, a complication. Your new tower is far from the distractions of the city, but it’s only an hour’s walk from a small town very eager for your magical assistance. You may have plans to revolutionize magical science, but the townspeople are really more interested in your warding their chicken coops against thieving sprites.

Tower & Town is a solo RPG about a rural wizard managing their time, making friends, and changing magical scholarship forever—while trying not to be driven out by an angry mob or lose research funding.

This is a neat little game that provides you with a balancing act: keeping up on your research while also doing favours for townsfolk in order to keep you in their favor. You’ll use two skills, Arcane and Mundane, and two specialties, one that informs your magical abilities and one that demonstrates your non-magical competencies. Your Reputation exists as two tracks that will move up and down depending on your success in meeting demands. The game provides a structured set of stages to ensure your wizard will receive many requests, and there’s enough moving pieces to keep your game playing over an extended period of time - so you can play a little bit every day.

Spellchitects!, by Viditya Voleti.

You craft and design the spells and rituals that are being cast all around your world. Using your advanced knowledge of how magic is weaved, you mark out the symbols, colors, and components to craft the desired effects. 

Sometimes you make spells for customers, sometimes you make spells just for the heck of it! As Spellchitects, it’s all about experimentation, collaboration, and fun!

As a spell-crafting game, this can be a fun little exercise on its own, but it could also be a way to design a magic system for a larger game. Each player will use a variety of different-coloured writing instruments to create elements of the spell. The colour and the marking involved in the sigil will each communicate something about what the spell does. The players will also have to assign a spell component for each extra symbol invoked in the creation of the spell. 

If you bought the Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality a few years ago, you already own this game! 

Summoner’s Fate, by Rae Nedjadi.

You are STUDENTS at a Learning Institution that focuses on the esteemed and complex art of ARCANE SUMMONING. You have learned how to call upon beings to be an extension of your own will and power.

A CONFLICT has arisen, an ADVERSARY reveals themselves. The stakes are high, things are dire! You few are the only thing standing in the way, there’s no one else. You have to rise to the challenge and trust that you’ve got what it takes!

This game takes inspiration from both Spindlewheel, by Sasha Reneau, and Royal Blood, by Grant Howitt. It has a Game Facilitator, also known as Fate, as well 2-4 players. It uses a Tarot deck to determine elements of the game: the Major Arcana provide story aspects and character elements, while the Minor Arcana are used for moments of the story where your summoners will make a wager in order to overcome a challenge. Your characters can summon Powers or Daemons to help them - but doing so also means that you could lose that which you wagered, cracking or shattering one of the crystals from which you draw your power. 

If you like heavily interpretive games, or you like playing with Tarot Cards, this game might be worth checking out!

Research Arcanum, by J. Evan Nyquist.

Research Arcanum is a PbtA game about learning the secrets of a fantasy world for 2-5 players including a GM. It can be used as a supplement to augment an existing tabletop roleplaying game or played on its own to generate the academic history of an Arcanist or to plumb the mysteries of a setting’s magic.

This game is something that you could run as a one-shot inside a larger campaign to give your characters a chance to really delve into the lore of a world, or to role-play the arduous journey of tracking down a specific magical solution to an urgent problem. If you like the idea of magic being something you can study in an institution, this game will give you a chance to really explore that.

I can also see this game being easily hacked into a sci-fi setting as well! Instead of a wizard university, your characters may be seeking information from an alien repository or a Jedi library. Just make the sources places like The Library Planet or Xritex, an alien researcher, and spheres things like Warp Travel, Robotic Intelligences, and Twi’lek Culinary Techniques. 

Wizard Pals, by Tadhg Lyons.

The world is a wretched place, and life is awful. Thankfully, You Are Magic, and even better, you can Do Magic, and it rules. Anyone can be a Wizard, and a Wizard can be anyone.

Wizard Pals is a lighthearted TTRPG/collaborative storytelling game in which every hero is a mysterious and magically powerful being known as a Wizard. To play, you need some pals of your own, some 12-sided dice, and an adventurous spirit. The game itself is easy to learn and approachable, open-ended and chaotic, and perfect for new TTRPG players and veterans alike.

In Wizard Pals, the colour of your robes denotes your area of expertise, your Signature Spells are powerful but require a re-charge, and all of you will go upon a quest to complete a Wizardly Task! There is so much room to make this game as goofy as you like - it’s hard to keep a straight face when one of your wizards is a frog in a top hat, or an ominous floating orb. 

There’s a number of mechanics that remind me of other games, including two abilities and a target number that you must roll under or over, similar to Lasers & Feelings. (The game uses d12s, which is what makes it slightly different!) However, when you’re in combat, your characters will be rolling using something akin to attack and defense, with a stat layout that you have to assign to both. 

This game comes with two supplements: The Bastard of Undertower, and The Haunting of Hobble. These are adventures that a GM can lead the characters through, which is great if your game master wants a little guidance, or just less prep to do. 

What’s So Cool About Street Magick?, by Vincent Quigley. 

So what IS so cool about Street Magick ?  Well... It's a micro-rpg where you play people that have shed the burden of banality and that yield terrible magick for it.  It's a game about the homeless, the vagrant, the people that tend to become invisible in our regular boring ass lives. 

It's a game about finding the fantastic within the rotten. 

It's a game that will need you to make your own. 

This is a simple hack of What’s So Cool About Outer Space?, about magic users on the streets. Follow rumours and fight of arcane threats that nobody else seems to care about. You have power now, but a happy ending isn’t going to just fall in your lap - you’ll have to fight for it. 

This game uses just d6’s and a bunch of imagination. I’d love to see this game in combination with a city-builder, such as I’m sorry did you say street magic, by Caro Acercion, or What is Here? by Matthew Gravelyn. I love the idea of creating a city and then exploring it - it gives me a lot of the same vibes as Urban Shadows or World of Darkness, but with less fiddly bits or chapters of lore.

[multiversetravelingjournalist]

Project Lock and Magi

This entire premise comes from the depressing genre of mature magical girl animes and Path to Nowhere.

Basically, magical girls -- or boys* -- (known as Magi or Magus in the singular) come about from certain circumstances. Their powers are awakened by exposure to magical energy, extreme emotional turmoil, being in the Prescence of a dying magi, or all three which will definitely awaken one's powers. The type of powers a Magus has varies from individual to individual but can be overall classified as:

Conjuring. The ability to summon items of a specific type (see Sayaka Miki and Mami Tomoe from Puella Magi Madoka Magika).

Manipulation. The ability to affect certain elements, materials, and in rare cases energy. These are your telekinetic individuals or “Benders” for an idea.

Amplification. The ability to enhance an aspect of his-*/herself. Whether it be muscle strength, intelligence, or endurance. (See Rinne Berlinetta from Vivid Strike**).

Summoning. Similar to conjuring except its living creatures instead of inanimate objects. If it moves on its own, it is summonable.

Control. Like Conjuring but instead affects more complex systems. these include living organisms, toys with moving parts, computers, etc.*

There might be more, but this is what I came up with so far. And while there are categories, each one is further subdivided by a specific type or how the magus in question uses said powers.

Now if you are wondering how that sounds a little overpowered. That’s because it is. Which is where Locks come in. Locks are the older male/female* counterpart of Magi with only one ability. What is that ability? To bond with a magus and control the intensity of her/his* powers. Locks are pretty rare, less in number than Magi, their powers manifest from emotional overload and/or discipline and even that happens after they passed twenty years of age, meanwhile a Magus will manifest at younger ages. Locks can control the intensity of said magus' powers through will and certain hand gestures (“Turning the valve”). When doing this gesture, a sigil will manifest in front of the Lock’s hand to indicate the power level he/she* is allowing. Said sigil is personalized by the Lock in question but is always easy to read and has scalable signs. Such signs include a circle of eyes with the ratio of opened to closed eyes indicating power level, a ring of padlocks doing similar, a rose bud in stages of bloom, etc. a “Chain” of similar aesthetic will manifest winding around the Lock’s arm when using his/her* powers.

Now a thing about magi. Their powers without a lock become uncontrollable and will continue to grow, think of a magus as a faucet, the water flowing through them is in constant flow and overtime the faucet will degrade until it breaks entirely. When that happens, the Magus will, in order:

Go crazy.

Lose control of his/her* abilities

Physically mutate.

At stage three they cease to be human and become a ravenous beast. Their mutations reminiscent of their former selves (e.g. a Magus with a Steampunk Aesthetic becoming a skeletal brass beast of gears and pipes with a Boiler in place of a heart). Untamable and destructive they are considered highly dangerous in the world. This led to the creation of organizations to stem the tide of such monsters. How they do this is by enforcing any recently awakened magi to be paired with a Lock, suppling the locks with weapons and armor to help accompany his/her* magi on the field, and provide tutoring and training for the nascent Magi.

The policies and sponsorship of these organizations vary. They could try to provide an emotionally supportive environment for both magical members, or they see them all as nothing more than tools/weapons that must be kept. they could be privately owned, or state funded. The less said about their reputations and the scandals, the better. *

Not to mention that most of these agencies also have a policy of making sure that the Lock and only the Lock survives no matter what. If the Magus the Lock is paired with dies, then it’s the equivalent of smashing a nozzle, messy but manageable. When the lock dies, then instead of experiencing the gradual increase of arcane energy, that unfortunate Magus will experience the pent-up force all at once, a dam being broken. Five out of five times this surge results in the Magus breaking. It is of these organizations' top priority that either the Lock survives, or that both die.

Such policies could also explain the existence of rogues. groups of Magi and/or Locks not aligned with any organization. At their worst, they are considered a bigger threat than the monsters.

All that said, there is a tendency for Magi to be females, while Locks are most likely to be males. but biologically male Magi and female Locks are not unheard of. though their appearances never fail to shock the rest*.

*Editions made thanks to NoMoreFsToGive.

** Its been a while since I first wrote this. I am no longer sure it is the case for her.

[rushpips]

Unlocking the Power of Forex Robots: Your Ultimate Guide

Are you tired of constantly monitoring the forex market, trying to catch the perfect moment to trade? Have you ever wished for a trading assistant that works tirelessly on your behalf, analyzing market trends, and executing trades with precision? Well, your wish might just have come true with the advent of forex robot!

In this comprehensive guide, we'll delve into the world of forex robots, exploring what they are, how they work, and whether they're the right tool for you to achieve your trading goals.

Understanding Forex Robots

What exactly are forex robots?

Forex robots, also known as Expert Advisors (EAs), are automated trading systems designed to execute trades in the forex market without the need for human intervention. Think of them as your personal trading assistants, programmed to follow specific trading strategies and criteria to enter and exit trades.

How do they work?

These robots utilize advanced algorithms and mathematical models to analyze market data, identify trading opportunities, and execute trades based on predefined parameters set by the trader. By harnessing the power of technology, forex robots aim to remove emotions from trading decisions, thereby potentially reducing human errors and biases.

Are they suitable for all traders?

While forex robots offer the allure of automated trading, they may not be suitable for everyone. Traders who prefer a hands-on approach and enjoy the thrill of making trading decisions themselves may find them less appealing. However, for those seeking to streamline their trading process and minimize the time spent in front of screens, forex robots can be a game-changer.

Advantages of Using Forex Robots

24/7 Trading

One of the most significant advantages of forex robots is their ability to trade round the clock. Unlike human traders who need rest, these robots tirelessly monitor the market, ensuring no trading opportunities are missed, even while you sleep.

Emotion-Free Trading

Emotions can often cloud judgment and lead to impulsive trading decisions. Forex robots eliminate this psychological aspect by executing trades based solely on predefined criteria, without being influenced by fear or greed.

Backtesting Capabilities

Before deploying a forex robot in live trading, traders can conduct extensive backtesting to assess its performance under various market conditions. This allows for optimization and fine-tuning of trading strategies, potentially enhancing profitability in the long run.

Speed and Efficiency

In today's fast-paced market environment, speed is crucial. Forex robots can execute trades in milliseconds, ensuring swift entry and exit from positions, thus capitalizing on fleeting market opportunities that might otherwise be missed by human traders.

Key Considerations Before Using Forex Robots

Choosing the Right Robot

With a plethora of forex robots available in the market, selecting the right one can be daunting. It's essential to conduct thorough research, considering factors such as performance history, strategy transparency, and user reviews before making a decision.

Understanding the Risks

While forex robots offer potential benefits, they also carry inherent risks. Markets are unpredictable, and even the most sophisticated algorithms may encounter losses under certain conditions. It's crucial to have realistic expectations and to only invest funds that you can afford to lose.

Monitoring and Maintenance

Contrary to popular belief, forex robots aren't entirely set-and-forget solutions. Regular monitoring is necessary to ensure they continue to perform as expected. Market conditions evolve, and adjustments to trading parameters may be required to adapt to changing dynamics.

Security Concerns

Given that forex robots involve automated trading, security is paramount. Choose reputable providers and ensure that the robot's software is regularly updated to mitigate the risk of cyber threats and vulnerabilities.

Conclusion

In conclusion, forex robots represent a revolutionary tool in the realm of forex trading, offering the promise of automated, emotion-free trading around the clock. However, they're not without their caveats. Before incorporating a forex robot into your trading arsenal, it's essential to weigh the potential benefits against the risks and to conduct thorough research to select the right one for your trading style and objectives.

Remember, while forex robots can enhance efficiency and potentially boost profitability, they should be viewed as a complement to, rather than a substitute for, sound trading knowledge and strategy. With the right approach and due diligence, forex robots have the potential to empower traders and unlock new possibilities in the dynamic world of forex trading.

[coldgladiatorkryptonite]

Loans for First-Time Home Buyers: A Guide to Financing Your Dream Home

Becoming a first-time homebuyer is an exciting and significant step in one's life. It marks a transition from renting to homeownership, with responsibilities and rewards. As you embark on this journey, you'll likely explore various financing options to make your dream home a reality. One such option that may be on your radar is a title loan.

Title loans for first-time home buyers, often associated with vehicles, have expanded to include real estate transactions, offering first-time homebuyers a unique avenue for financing. This guide will explore the concept of title loans for first-time home buyers, exploring the pros, cons, and key considerations.

Understanding Title Loans for Real Estate

What is a Title Loan?

Traditionally, title loans involve using a vehicle's title as collateral to secure a short-term loan. In the context of real estate, the concept is similar. Instead of your car, you use the title of the property you intend to purchase as collateral for a loan. This type of loan is often called a "property title loan" or "real estate title loan."

How Do Property Title Loans Work?

The process of obtaining a property title loan generally involves the following steps:

Property Valuation: The lender assesses the property value you plan to purchase. This valuation is a crucial factor in determining the loan amount.

Loan Application: You apply for the title loan, providing necessary documentation about the property, your financial standing, and other relevant details.

Title Transfer: If approved, the lender takes temporary possession of the property's title, which serves as collateral for the loan.

Loan Terms: The terms of the title loan, including the interest rate, repayment schedule, and any additional fees, are outlined in a contract.

Repayment: You make payments according to the agreed-upon schedule. Failure to do so could result in the lender taking possession of the property.

Pros of Title Loans for First-Time Home Buyers

Quick Access to Funds: Title loans can offer a faster approval process than traditional mortgages. This quick access to funds can be especially beneficial in competitive real estate markets.

Flexible Eligibility Requirements: Traditional mortgages often require an extensive credit history and a sizable down payment. Title loans may have more lenient eligibility criteria, making homeownership more accessible to those with less-than-perfect credit.

Opportunity for Those with Limited Options: For individuals who may struggle to secure a mortgage through conventional means, such as due to a low credit score or unconventional income sources, title loans can provide an alternative path to homeownership.

Cons and Considerations

Higher Interest Rates: Title loans, including those for real estate, typically come with higher interest rates than traditional mortgages. Borrowers need to consider the long-term financial implications of higher interest payments carefully.

Risk of Losing Property: Since the property is collateral, there is a significant risk of losing it if you default on payments. This risk makes it crucial to assess your financial situation and ensure you can meet the repayment obligations.

Limited Regulation: Title loans, especially for real estate, may operate in a less regulated environment compared to traditional mortgages. This lack of regulation could expose borrowers to potential risks, emphasizing the importance of due diligence when choosing a lender.

Key Considerations for First-Time Home Buyers

Financial Stability: Before considering a title loan, evaluate your financial stability. Ensure you clearly understand your income, expenses, and the ability to make timely repayments.

Thorough Research: Conduct thorough research on lenders offering property title loans. Look for reputable institutions with transparent terms and conditions. Reading reviews and seeking recommendations can provide valuable insights.

Alternative Financing Options: Explore alternative financing options, including traditional mortgages, government-backed loans, and assistance programs for first-time home buyers. Compare the terms and conditions of these options to make an informed decision.

Legal Assistance: Given the unique nature of property title loans, seek legal advice to understand the implications and legalities associated with such transactions fully. A legal professional can help you navigate the complexities and protect your interests.

Conclusion

Title loans for first-time home buyers can offer an unconventional but viable path to homeownership. While they come with advantages such as quick access to funds and flexible eligibility requirements, potential drawbacks like higher interest rates and the risk of property loss must be carefully weighed. First-time home buyers should approach this option cautiously, conducting thorough research and considering alternative financing avenues. Choosing a title loan should align with your financial goals, capabilities, and a comprehensive understanding of the terms involved. As you embark on your journey toward homeownership, make informed choices that pave the way for a secure and fulfilling future in your dream home.

[gspartnerinfo]

What Does Staking Mean in Crypto

Curious about the fascinating world of crypto? Ever wondered what staking means in this exciting realm? Well, let's dive right in and explore this concept together.

Staking, in crypto terms, is a way for you to securely hold and support a particular cryptocurrency network. It's like planting a seed and nurturing it, as you contribute to the network's operations and earn rewards in return.

By staking your crypto, you actively participate in the validation and security of the blockchain. This article from GS Partners will guide you through the basics of staking, the benefits it offers, how to stake your cryptocurrency, and important considerations to keep in mind.

Key Takeaways

The Basics of Staking

To understand the basics of staking, you need to know how it works and why it's important in the world of cryptocurrency.

Staking is a process where you hold and lock up a certain amount of cryptocurrency in a wallet to support the operations of a blockchain network. By doing so, you become an active participant in the network's consensus mechanism and help validate transactions. In return for your contribution, you're rewarded with additional cryptocurrency.

Staking is crucial because it plays a significant role in maintaining the security and integrity of the blockchain network. It encourages users to hold and participate in the cryptocurrency, ensuring a more stable and decentralized system.

Benefits of Staking in Crypto

By staking in crypto, you can enjoy a range of benefits that make it an exciting opportunity. When you stake your cryptocurrencies, you contribute to the network's security and operations, and in return, users are rewarded.

Staking also provides a way to participate in the governance of the blockchain network. As a staker, you may have the ability to vote on important decisions or propose changes to the protocol.

This gives you a say in shaping the future of the network and can be a rewarding experience for those who are interested in the underlying technology. Overall, staking allows you to earn rewards, support the network, and actively participate in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.

How to Stake Your Cryptocurrency

To stake your cryptocurrency, you'll need a compatible wallet and a sufficient amount of the specific cryptocurrency you intend to stake.

First, choose a cryptocurrency that supports staking and ensure that your wallet is compatible with it. Some popular staking wallets include MetaMask, Trust Wallet, and Ledger Live.

Next, acquire a suitable amount of the cryptocurrency you want to stake. The minimum amount required for staking varies depending on the cryptocurrency and the network you're using.

Once you have the necessary funds, transfer them to your staking wallet. Open your wallet and navigate to the staking section. Follow the instructions provided to delegate or stake your cryptocurrency.

Remember to consider factors like staking rewards, risks, and the reputation of the staking platform before finalizing your decision.

Popular Staking Coins and Networks

Some of the popular staking coins include Ethereum (ETH), Cardano (ADA), Tezos (XTZ), and Polkadot (DOT). These coins have gained traction due to their strong communities and promising technology.

When it comes to staking networks, Ethereum 2.0 is a highly anticipated upgrade that will transition Ethereum from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus algorithm. Other notable staking networks include Tezos, Cosmos, and Algorand.

Each of these networks has its own unique features and benefits, making them attractive options for stakers looking to earn rewards while supporting the network.

Risks and Considerations of Staking in Crypto

When considering staking in crypto, it's important to assess the potential risks and considerations involved.

One of the main risks is the possibility of losing your staked tokens. If the network experiences a technical issue or a smart contract vulnerability, your tokens could be at risk.

Additionally, there's the risk of slashing, which occurs when a validator behaves maliciously or fails to meet certain network requirements. Slashing can result in a portion or even the entirety of your staked tokens being confiscated.

It's crucial to thoroughly research the network and validators you plan to stake with, as the reputation and security of these entities can greatly impact your staking experience.

Furthermore, staking also comes with considerations such as the lock-up period of your tokens, potential yield fluctuation, and the need for a reliable internet connection and hardware setup.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Are the Different Types of Staking Rewards Available in the Crypto Industry?

There are several types of staking rewards available in the crypto industry. These include inflationary rewards, transaction fees, and governance rewards.

Can Staking Be Done on Any Type of Cryptocurrency or Only Specific Ones?

You can stake on specific cryptocurrencies, not all of them. Staking allows you to participate in the network and earn rewards. It's a way to support the blockchain and become more involved.

Are There Any Minimum Requirements or Restrictions for Staking Cryptocurrencies?

There are usually minimum requirements and restrictions for staking cryptocurrencies. These can vary between different cryptocurrencies and networks. It's important to research and understand the specific requirements before staking.

Are There Any Tax Implications or Regulations Associated With Staking Cryptocurrencies?

There may be tax implications and regulations associated with staking cryptocurrency. It's important to consult with a tax professional or research the laws in your country to ensure compliance. GSP

Conclusion

In conclusion, staking in crypto offers several benefits such as increasing community involvement and a more active network governance.

By staking your cryptocurrency, you can contribute to the security and stability of the blockchain network while potentially earning additional rewards.

However, it's important to be aware of the risks and considerations involved, such as the possibility of losing your staked assets.

Overall, staking can be a lucrative opportunity for crypto enthusiasts, but it requires careful research and understanding of the specific staking network.

[canadianmoratgefinder]

Maximize Your Financial Freedom with Home Equity Loans in Canada: Unleash the Full Potential of Your Property

Introduction

Homeownership is a significant milestone in one's life and comes with numerous financial benefits. One such benefit is the ability to tap into your home's equity through home equity loans in Canada. These loans offer homeowners a versatile financial tool that can be used for various purposes, from home improvements to debt consolidation. In this article, we will explore the ins and outs of home equity loans in Canada, offering insights based on both expertise and credible sources.

Understanding Home Equity Loans

What is a Home Equity Loan (HEL)?

A Home Equity Loan, often called a second mortgage, allows homeowners to borrow money using the equity they have built up in their property as collateral. Equity is the difference between the current market value of your home and the outstanding mortgage balance.

How Do Home Equity Loans Work in Canada?

In Canada, home equity loans provide a lump-sum amount borrowed against your home's equity. This loan is typically repaid over a fixed term with regular payments, much like a traditional mortgage. The interest rates for HELs can be either fixed or variable, depending on the lender and the specific terms of the loan.

Benefits of Home Equity Loans

Low Interest Rates: Home equity loans often come with lower interest rates than other types of loans, making them an attractive option for borrowing.

Tax Deductible Interest: In Canada, the interest paid on a home equity loan is generally tax-deductible, which can result in significant savings.

Flexible Use: Homeowners can use the funds from a home equity loan for various purposes, such as home renovations, education expenses, or debt consolidation.

Access to Larger Amounts: The amount you can borrow with a home equity loan is typically higher than other types of personal loans due to the collateral involved.

Evaluating Your Eligibility

Before applying for a home equity loan, it's essential to consider the eligibility criteria:

Sufficient Equity: You'll need significant equity in your home to qualify for a home equity loan. Lenders typically require a loan-to-value ratio below a certain threshold, often 80%.

Stable Income: Lenders will evaluate your ability to make loan payments, so having a steady income is crucial.

Creditworthiness: While home equity loans may be easier to qualify for than other loans, your credit history and score still play a role in the approval process.

Property Assessment: Lenders will assess your property's current market value to determine the amount you can borrow.

Risks and Considerations

While home equity loans offer numerous benefits, it's essential to be aware of the potential risks:

Risk of Default: If you cannot make the required loan payments, you risk losing your home, as it serves as collateral for the loan.

Interest Costs: Over the long term, the interest costs on a home equity loan can be substantial, so having a repayment plan in place is crucial.

Market Fluctuations: Changes in the housing market can affect the value of your home, impacting the amount of equity available for borrowing.

Conclusion

Home equity loans in Canada are a powerful financial tool that can help homeowners achieve their financial goals. However, it's crucial to approach them with careful consideration and a clear understanding of the associated risks. By responsibly leveraging your home's equity, you can make strategic financial moves, such as home improvements, investments, or debt consolidation. Always consult with financial experts and reputable lenders to ensure you make informed decisions that align with your unique financial situation and goals.

[ben1d]

Navigating Medical Loans: Exploring Key Features and Terms

Medical emergencies and healthcare expenses can arise unexpectedly, often putting a strain on your finances. Medical loans provide a solution to manage these costs, but understanding their features and terms is crucial. In this guide, we'll uncover the essential aspects of medical loans to help you make informed decisions when dealing with healthcare expenses.

1. Purpose and Use: Medical loans are designed specifically to cover medical expenses, including treatments, surgeries, hospital stays, dental work, and other healthcare-related costs.

2. Loan Amounts: The loan amount for medical loans can vary widely, depending on the lender, your creditworthiness, and the specific medical expenses you need to cover.

3. Unsecured Loans: Most medical loans are unsecured, meaning you don't need to provide collateral. This reduces the risk of losing valuable assets if you're unable to repay the loan.

4. Interest Rates: Interest rates for medical loans can be fixed or variable. Your credit score, loan amount, and repayment tenure influence the rate you're offered.

5. Repayment Tenures: Repayment tenures for medical loans usually range from a few months to several years. Choose a tenure that aligns with your financial situation and the loan amount you've borrowed.

6. Application Process: Applying for a medical loan involves providing necessary documentation related to your medical expenses. Some lenders might have partnerships with healthcare providers for a streamlined process.

7. Fast Approval and Disbursement: Medical loans are often processed quickly, allowing you to access funds promptly to cover your medical expenses.

8. Eligibility Criteria: While eligibility criteria vary among lenders, they usually consider factors like your credit score, income, and employment history.

9. Loan Usage Restrictions: Most medical loans are intended solely for medical expenses. Ensure you use the loan amount only for the purpose you've stated to the lender.

10. Prepayment and Foreclosure: Check if the lender allows you to prepay or foreclose the loan without heavy penalties. This could be beneficial if you're able to settle the debt early.

11. Loan Insurance: Some lenders offer loan insurance that covers outstanding loan amounts in case of unexpected events. This could be especially useful for medical loans, given the unpredictable nature of health-related expenses.

12. Responsible Borrowing: Before taking out a medical loan, carefully assess your financial situation and your ability to repay. Borrowing only what you truly need and can afford is essential to avoid unnecessary debt.

13. Alternative Financing: Explore other financing options like healthcare provider payment plans, health savings accounts (HSAs), or negotiating payment plans directly with healthcare facilities.

In conclusion, medical loans provide a valuable resource for managing healthcare expenses, but it's essential to understand their terms and features. Choose a reputable lender, review the terms carefully, and ensure the loan aligns with your financial circumstances and goals. By doing so, you can confidently address medical costs while maintaining your financial stability. If you're unsure, consider seeking advice from financial professionals to make the best decision for your situation.

[douchebagbrainwaves]

OK, I'LL TELL YOU YOU ABOUT WEALTH

When we started it, there wasn't any; the few sites you could order from were hand-made objects become store-bought ones—a wire service article whose first sentence is your own ad copy. Every startup that isn't profitable meaning nearly all of them, but none of their software could compete with ours. Most of the disputes I've seen between founders could have been having this idea at the same time, of course, but as far as I can tell it must be hard by how few startups do it. People think that what a business does is make money. In any purely economic relationship you're free to do what you want, not money. With trend stories, PR firms usually line up one or more experts to talk about selling the company to them, we had no experience in business. A programmer can sit down in front of a computer and create wealth. A lot of them try to make relativity strange. In industrialized countries, people belong to one institution or another at least by reputation, the level of measurement is more precise than you get from smallness alone.

I don't think there's an answer. Switching to a new set of buildings, and do things that you do not, ordinarily, be a group. The company that did was RCA, and Farnsworth's reward for his efforts was a decade of patent litigation. Who cares if you could read the minds of the consumers, you'd find these factors were all blurred together. It's rare to get things right the first time in our history, the bullies stopped stealing the nerds' lunch money. I had the misfortune to participate in what amounted to a controlled experiment to prove that. The discoverer is entitled to reply, why didn't you? I know, without knowing they know, that they can create wealth. When we switch to the point of view of a programmer using any of the languages higher up the power continuum. What were the results of this experiment? It takes an effort of will to push through this and get something released to users.

But these had had literally orders of magnitude less scrutiny. By the end of last year. In fact, nice is not the only way to decide which to call it is by comparison with other startups. What you're doing is business creation. It's a good metaphor because it reminds you that when the audience can communicate with one another. The whole tone is bogus. If you want a potato or a pencil or a place to work. Good does not mean being a pushover. But this is a list of the biggest ideas at Google is going to come up with more. And for the same reason: their performance can be measured. When you hear your call is important to us, please stay on the line, do you think, all you have to know who you should be nice to everyone. Developing new technology is a pain in the ass.

Giotto saw traditional Byzantine madonnas painted according to a formula that had satisfied everyone for centuries, and to lose one's sense of humor is to shrug off misfortunes, and to a lesser extent Britain under the labor governments of the 1960s and early 1970s. They didn't care what language Viaweb was written in, or didn't care, I wanted to keep it. He probably considers them about equivalent in power to, say, Python? For one thing, the official fiction is that you don't realize that. And it can't have been heredity, because it was more valuable, but because it is a good bet, he's still at a disadvantage. Gas stations? In this case we get three: the NPD Group, the creative director of GQ.

I had that something was amiss was that I couldn't talk to them. Their reporters do go out and learn Lisp. It must have seemed to our competitors that we had some kind of consumer gadget. If you do everything the way the average big company does it, you should leave business models for later, just as you'd leave some trivial but messy feature for version 2. But Durer's engravings and Saarinen's womb chair and the Pantheon and the original Porsche 911 all seem to me slightly funny. This bites you twice: in addition to the direct cost in time, there's the cost in fragmentation—breaking people's day up into bits too small to measure. Like having more than one founder, one VC, and he'll chase down the implications of what one said to them. Why call an auction site eBay?

When you made mistakes, what caused you to make them. I am much the richer for the operating system FreeBSD, which I'm running on the computer I'm using now, and so is Yahoo, which runs it on all their servers. I never reach them through the Times front page is a list of 5 commands Don't ignore your dreams; don't work too much; say what you think; cultivate friendships; be happy. And God help you if you choose them. There is no shortcut to it. It seems unlikely this is a simple answer to the wrong question. If you have a much greater chance of succeeding. But once you've admitted that one high level language can be more powerful than a community of talented people working on related problems. Another thing blogs and open source have in common is the Web. Salesmen are an exception. The recipe for great work is: very exacting taste, plus the ability to gratify it. Our startup made software for making online stores.

They want statements with punch, like top ten. When those far removed from the creation of wealth—undergraduates, reporters, politicians—hear that the richest 5% of the people have half the total wealth, they tend to write it first for whatever computer they personally use. Presumably it killed just about 100% of the startups we've funded have had a founder leave. They believe this because it really feels that way to them. Ditto for many other kinds of companies that don't make anything physical. For most people the best plan probably is to go to work for them. Facebook rightly ignored, look for ideas from the other direction. But you don't need to join a company to do that completely. But more people could do it than do it now. We did it because we want their software to be good. I had that something was amiss was that I couldn't talk to them.

And we weren't the only ones they did great things for the companies they fund, why didn't they start them? Microsoft would still have signed the deal. You look at them and you think, all you need is good hackers: if you depend on an oligopoly, you sink into bad habits that are hard to overcome when you suddenly get competition. When my IBM Thinkpad's hard disk died soon after, it became my only laptop. Few know this, I mean the structure of the calculation. The sterility of offices is supposed to suggest efficiency. If there are three founders and one who was away half the time talking to executives at cell phone companies, trying to arrange deals.

Thanks to Jessica Livingston, Jackie McDonough, Trevor Blackwell, Ben Horowitz, Justin Kan, Aaron Iba, Robert Morris, Karen Nguyen, and Harj Taggar for the lulz.

[min-jpg]

Hi!! Can you do they boys getting kidnapped but its Diluc, Childe, and Kazuha? Thank you!!💗💗

Note: I just want to point out that there's no actual reason on how I choose for the reader to beat up the kidnappers since part 1,, it's totally random as long as I'm trying out different ideas whatever fits ehe. Enjoy! 💖

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Kidnapped Genshin Boys x Fem Rich!reader pt.2

Part 1 (Kaeya, Zhongli, Xiao)

Characters: Childe, Diluc, Kazuha

Genre: fluff, established relationship, some woman kicking ass action, (TW: mentions of blood and violence)

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CHILDE

Your boyfriend would definitely try to go head-to-head against the shady group of people who abducted him. The gang accountable must be living under the rock for even considering one of the most dangerous Harbingers as their prey to carry out their schemes.

However, Childe learned that there would be ramifications if he tries to be rash without gathering solid intel first. Having no knowledge of your current circumstances and whereabouts troubled him to the core. They could have already sent out a corresponding group towards you and endanger you if he failed to listen.

Being wealthy is not a foreign concept to Childe as he is also a wealthy man himself. That said, the premonition of being a target for a ransom would not be unrealistic to him. For now, he is glad that he is the victim here instead of having to witness you kidnapped.

"You know, you could've asked me nicely for some money. I might just give it to you, instead of doing all this for my girlfriend's money." Despite being in a position far from desirable, Childe leisurely sat on the chair that he was bound to, crossing his legs. He was making small talks to push away the worst scenarios happening to you. Are you safe? Are you crying? Did they hurt you?

"I don't know who you are to be running your mouth, but you should value your life a little more." Their leader emerged from the group.

Childe's ocean eyes squinted as menace casts upon his pupils, his voice lowered, "Is that so? Ironic, because you guys seem to value money more than your lives."

The head stepped back slightly, "Enough with your empty threats! You should be aware of the current situation you're in. We're not fooling around here."

"I'm not fooling around either."

As sparks were thrown back and forth, you made your way in through the main entrance. Tapping the shoulder that belongs to one of the men, "Excuse me, I need to get to my boyfriend." Your fist sunk into the side of his face when he turned towards you. He collapsed on the ground with a few broken teeth and blood spewing out of his mouth. Moving on to the next adversary in your path, you fought with full faith in your abilities no matter how intimidating they were.

Soon, the leader and people further ahead finally took notice of it. You pave your way towards your boyfriend and eventually, both your eyes meet each other. Childe puffed out a breath of relief when he finally saw you, but also registering the fact that you just took down most of the men with your bare hands.

Kicking away the men who tried to grab you, you then waved enthusiastically at Childe, "Hey girlie, hold still." Rushing right ahead to the leader, you brought your arm near your face, elbow pointing outwards. The sharp edge from your elbow jabbed his throat, causing him to choke and lose balance.

As his reaction dulled, it was your chance to strike again. Thus, you gallantly overthrew their leader and the entire gang by yourself.

After helping Childe, he stood up abruptly and placed his hands on your shoulder with eagerness written all over the face, "I never knew you could fight so well! How about a spar with me right now?" Expect your boyfriend to continuously bug you to indulge in his rampant itch to fight anyone that comes across as a worthy opponent. Though, the real takeaway from this experience was the way your hair clings to your face with sweat as the adhesive and the triumph look in your eyes. It was a rather attractive sight to relish in his taste.

DILUC

Your boyfriend would be infuriated that crooked people like these exist, much less target him to extort money from you. Just another validation to add up on how incompetent the Knights of Favonious is, he thought. Someone will have to clean up their mess, that someone being him. What better way to do that than to follow them to their hideout to seek out the whole organization?

Diluc is renowned for being one of the richest men in Teyvat. Naturally, the group thought they hit the jackpot on not only holding him for ransom, but potentially garnering some money from him as well.

The only concern he carries is your wellbeing. Diluc fears that this incident will affect you mentally. His head started filling up with formulations on ways to resolve this matter without causing any uproar to guarantee your safety.

When the head was introduced to him, he gritted his teeth to suppress every ounce of his might to not reach for his claymore. Diluc still has to prioritize gathering information first regarding the gang. His patrons at Angel's Share are usually the ones providing him with promising intel of any evildoers, but some things are just meant to be obtained by himself.

"Is this the only hideout you have? Quite in a shambles, don't you think?" Diluc's eyes shifted around the dilapidated building, observing the surroundings to know his enemies better.

The leader rolled his eyes, "It wouldn't be so bad once we get some funding from you and your girlfriend." Diluc hummed. Judging from his answer, it is safe to assume that the organization is rather a small scaling one. Defeating them right now will result in uprooting the source once and for all.

As Diluc was about to do so, a lackey of the gang ran frantically towards them, panting labored when he reached and trying to catch his breath. "What is it?" The leader question.

"T-there's... there's someone." He pointed towards a direction with fear layering his voice.

"What? Why are you so scared?" They all glanced towards the spot.

"I swear there was a woman! I don't know who it is, but she took out some of our guys on guard outside."

In disbelief that a woman could have done anything so reckless, the leader trudged to said location. As it is a spot lacking light, the darkness and shadow made it challenging for him to pinpoint if anyone is there. When he moved closer, you crept out behind from his blind spot and kicked the back of his head, causing his head to spin. Your arm lunged forward, gaining a tight hold onto his nape. You put everything into pushing him, his forehead hammered down to the floor. Creating a loud thud, it gave him a concussion.

"Looking for me?" Your foot stamped onto his back, just making sure he stays down.

Everyone, including your boyfriend, had their pupils dilated at the scene. You sighed at the silence, "All of you just messed with the wrong couple." Lifting your foot away, you stomped forward without giving them a second thought. Your arms and legs are all warmed up for many rounds against your foes.

Diluc watched you from afar as you drove your way towards victory. Although he could step in to help, he admits silently to himself that he would like to observe you a little longer. Putting his trust in your calibers to carry you far, his eyes never left your brave figure.

Once you cleared the group, the next thing to do is checking on Diluc. Already unfastening the restrains himself, he walked to you, "That was well executed. Your abilities shouldn't be underestimated. Don't join the Knights though." He stressed the last remark, scoffing. You chuckled and held his hand to guide him out of here, "Thanks. Glad to impress you, Master Diluc. Let's go home."

KAZUHA

Your boyfriend is a rather hard target to impose on for their plans of kidnapping him. His senses are just too refined for an ordinary person to challenge. Basic tactics, such as overthrowing him with the element of surprise have proven to be futile. Thus, Kazuha will always be able to evade falling prey into their hands.

The only way Kazuha could have been kidnapped is through falsifying evidence of you being in a life-threatening situation. Although he has successfully saved his own skin, not the same could be applied to you. Feeling his resolve shaken, what other choices could he have? Prioritizing your safety is the most important thing right now.

Kazuha may have faced similar situations in the past when out in the sea, encountering pirates of other crew aiming for the Crux Fleet's fortune. Being in the position as a captive for ransom is new. He actually found it amusing, rather than having thoughts of blaming you. It is not your fault that you are blessed with wealth. It is the fault of the criminals.

"Ain't you that the kid who's with Beidou? You're part of her crew." The leader questioned his target, to which he was greeted by Kazuha's silence. "Tell you what. You're just like the rest of us. We want to be rich. How about you ask your girlfriend to bring some more money and we'll give you a share as well?"

Kazuha's face darkened, "I don't know what you've heard, but it must be really valiant of you to assume to worst out of the Crux Fleet and myself. I'd appreciate it if you cease lumping me together with criminals like you."

The Crux Fleet does put up with an infamous reputation amongst the Qixing. Perhaps the abductors concluded that Kazuha has a negative conscience just like them, as in upholding a relationship with you to have a taste of your assets. Still, if he tried to talk his way out of it, barbarians like them will never reach a mutual understanding with him. Kazuha shut his eyes, ignoring any further confrontations to preserve his energy as he contemplates a plan.

He was interrupted when he thought he heard your voice nearby, carried by the wind. The others around him did not hear it since it was just something only Kazuha could pick up. Applying full concentration, he managed to form what he heard, "Get out of my way, please, while I'm asking nicely."

Opening his eyes, he turned to stare at the entrance. As if on cue, the door swung open when you kicked it down, announcing your presence. Some men fainted below your feet.

The others instantly reacted by storming towards your direction to stop your advancement. You stood still in your position, taking a mindful deep breath. One thing you learned from Kazuha is to always remain cold-headed before engaging in a fight.

Kazuha wanted to get out of the restraints to rescue you, but instead, you started dishing out few moves against the men.

When you thought you finished with the remaining numbers, their leader was about to declare his victory, "I got you!" Encircling his arm around your neck in an attempt to strangle you, you huffed and grinned towards Kazuha to signal him you have it under control.

You elbowed his stomach and felt him loosen his grip when he winced. Making enough gap between his arm and your neck, you slipped away and swiftly kicked in between his groins. The color drained from his face and tumbled to the ground, passing out in pain, "Hmph, this is what happens when you touch a lady without her permission." You brushed away the hair from your face after an arduous fight.

Jogging towards your boyfriend, "Kazuha!" He brisked towards you as well and held you in his embrace, softly rubbed your nape, "You're giving me plenty of inspirations for a haiku after such a wonderful performance." Kazuha would appreciate you refraining from such a heedless approach next time. He was comforted to see you safe and knowing the threats were nothing more than to use you, his weakness, against him. After witnessing that, Kazuha will be slightly ashamed he even doubted you in the first place, so he trusts that you can watch out for yourself next time.

[noneatnonedotcom]

concept: TOTAL WAR RWBY

in a universe where the great war destroyed every kingdom and caused a collapse of civilization you play as one of the five remaining peoples of remnant as you seek to (re) forge a kingdom that can stand the test of the grimm tide

KINGDOMS

Vale: led by Ruby Rose

ruby's kingdom of vale focuses on light cavalry and ranged. her own special abilites as a general are

SILVER EYED WARRIOR: grimm are weakened greatly within her aura and can even be outright destroyed if the differance in power between her and them is great enough

OPTIMISTIC HEROISM: lower unhappiness in area's controlled by ruby means that there's less Grimm to fight overall meaning lower garisons and more money spent on the main armies

unique units

Wood Runners: long bowmen with added range and melee combat stats equal to melee infantry. light armor means that you should keep them in cover though as well as being a juicy target for cavalry. added range over most normal archers and better armor piecing with their arrows makes them a powerful, unit that can last in melee as well specializing in Anti heavy infantry

Dire corgis: large war dogs with aura unlocked. look like giant corgis because they are giant corgis. great for running off ranged units and light cav. weak to spears, though their aura lets them hang around in combat longer than most would think. they do rely on the charge bonus though and can't be controlled once they're let off the leash. can be called back to their handlers though to be repositioned

FOCUS OF CAMPAIGN: ruby's main focus is to retake the cities and villages of vale that were lost to the grimm tide. your main strategy should be to build up on patch while the rest of vale falls to the grimm before striking out. your main advantage is against the grimm not people after all. and your added happyness means that you can spend more on your armies to put in your frontlines rather than worrying about protecting your rear (ruby's got a great rear guys) your main rival will be

UNITED TRIBES OF VALE: led by Yang Xiao-Long

yang's all about shock infantry and charge bonuses. using them to break the morale of enemy armies her special abilities are

HOT STUFF: human morale lowers around her and buildings catch fire in her aura when she's in combat. she's too hot to handle

PROBABLY WASN'T IMPORTANT ANYWAYS: still recruits units and receives money from buildings that are burned down. though at a slightly reduced rate

UNIQUE UNITS

Bandits: replaces mob, cheap units that gain charge bonus when next to another bandit unit. burn down buildings when nearby. no formations though and can't brace for charges so avoid cav. low morale, they're bandits they're not sticking around when shit goes south

berzerkers: shock infantry, cause dread in enemies lowering morale. chance of going berserk which makes them unbreakable but uncontrollable may even attack allies if they're the closest unit. REALLY FUCKING STRONG ON THE ATTACK! weak to ranged

yang's campaign is all about uniting vale as a tributary state to the tribe. you can recruit units from burned down buildings and still get money so spread like a wildfire and try to show your baby sis that it's safer under your protection. be aware that grimm are gonna be a huge problem for you so keep some bandits as a garrison in every village to deal with grimm.

"some of you may die... but I don't really give a shit about you" - Yang to the bandits probably

vale is a mix of American and French culture. so yeah kinda like Louisiana plantations but with more anime

Vaccuo: led by Jaune Arc

jaune specializes in pike infantry with heavy armor and heavy knights on horseback. he's set up to be a slugger with his special abilities

AURA AMP: allied units in jaune's aura slowly recover health and have increased stats (including armor)

SCION OF HEROES: the effects of chivalry are doubled and you gain it faster.

UNIQUE UNITS

shining knights: heavy knights with aura and mounts also in aura and armor. fuck you, fuck the guy behind you, and fuck the guy behind him I'm coming through. very expensive high morale and capabilities

rainbow guard: heavy pike infantry that proudly protect the standard of the arc family. give extra morale to those around them. fuck you they're not breaking. if there's even one guy left they're still fighting.

jaune's campaign is centered around taking control of the deserts and jungles of vaccuo from your origins in the mountains and hill country of the arc territories.

vaccuo's culture is like Scotland mixed with the middle east. fiercely independent people with a very strong sense of honor. also fuck you they'd rather die then be seen as a coward so you'd better just fucking kill them all. AND FUCK TAXES! so jaune has his work cut out for him, but he's in it for the long haul

MINSTRAL: LED BY PYRRHA NIKOS

pyrrha's all about personal combat and single entity units

INVINCIBLE GIRL: pyrrha herself is fucking busted and everyone wants to be like her. single entity units like huntsmen or companions are stronger and get more XP from battles

AN OFFER THEY CAN'T REFUSE: if pyrrha has more military power than someone they have improved relations with her. peacefully annexing people is possible this way. though this can cause a problem if you expand too fast

UNIQUE UNITS

pyrrha's guard: heavy spear infantry made in the image of spartans. slow but they decimate cav outlast ranged and out fight most over infantry. but they are fucking slow and hate being flanked where their phalanx will not work.

nora and ren: two unit entity, stealth shock is the name of the game ren sneaks them in close to anything even grimm. nora deals a fuck ton of damage all at once that can't be blocked by armor and shatters units. you only get one though sorry the world isn't ready for two noras

while sino/Greco/Roman culture makes martial ability the most important, however, only champions and highly expensive units can be trained. your low-level fighters (I.e most of your army) will have to be mercenaries. still with enough champions, you can take on most things so that's good

SCHNEE DUST COMPANY led by Weiss Schnee

atlas is all about dust weapons. a necessity because of but funded by Weiss's special abilities

COMPANY MEN: units require less upkeep cost

WEISSY: she's kinda a bitch, -50 to all diplomatic relations -75 to faunas factions

UNIQUE UNITS

WEISS GUARD: dust rifle units, slow to reload but longer range than normal dust muskets. dust round in general deal moral damage greater than almost any other units in the game (only yang's berzerkers and blake's beast-men scare people more)

BIG GUNS: 24LBS rifled field guns. or cannons rather for those who don't know the difference. fire straight and have an effective range of 1500 feet. highly accurate and with enough kick to drop even the largest of grimm

atlas and the SDC by extension are based on German and Russian culture (mainly german now that the nobles are gone) and have their main campaign focused on dealing with internal divisions and grimm. their cheaper units lends themselves to using dust arms rather than melee but bare in mind they suck in melee as a result. still, weiss is of the opinion that if you can kill your enemies from the comfort of your home and simply bombard them into submission or dust, why wouldn't you?

Menagerie led by Blake belladonna

menagerie must toe the line between animal and man, utilizing special abilities like

SAVAGE REPUTATION: the effects of dread are doubled and you gain dread faster

CUNNING HUNTERS: blake has bonuses to stats and the stats of her army while ambushing or attacking at night. doing both will make the bonuses stack

UNIQUE UNITS:

white fang infantry: can deploy anywhere light armor but use spears so cav has a hard time with them

NINJA: can deploy anywhere, inspire dread, use grenades flung from slings. capable of vanishing or using smoke bombs to lower enemy stats in melee for a short time

menagerie is a mix between Australian and Polynesian cultures but they are relatively new on the world stage. having been granted the island of menagerie in the brief time before the collapse of vale after the great war. the fuanas population outside of menagerie is very low as a result of the collapse and you have to ask yourself "what will you do to ensure the survival of your people?"

menagerie is a mix between Australian and Polynesian cultures but they are relatively new on the world stage. having been granted the island of menagerie in the brief time before the collapse of vale after the great war. the funas population outside of menagerie is very low as a result of the collapse and you have to ask yourself "what will you do to ensure the survival of your people?"

concepts.

chivalry: is a meter in the game, doing honorable actions increases chivalry. making formal declarations of war and waiting a turn to attack, not doing night battles, honoring alliances and calls to arms. generally making combat harder for yourself will be seen as chivalrous. the higher your chivalry the bigger bonus you will have to morale in battles and to diplomatic interactions.

dread: dread is the opposite of chivalry and is gained by doing unchivalrous actions. it will cause the enemy to start with lower moral and cause everyone (including yourself) to lose moral more quickly. this can be really helpful against strong enemies that have better weapons than you. it will also cause diplomatic relations to be harder. using dust muskets or cannons will cause dread but only in small amounts the more you use them the more dread you'll cause

post-campaign content

finishing your kingdom will open up international diplomacy and will allow you to start a campaign in another kingdom. each with different results based on the person you're playing

jaune can marry the ruler of another kingdom giving him their special abilities (jaune can only get dust muskets and cannons after he marries Weiss btw)

Pyrrha may offer protection to the others and gains their general unit for her own army

yang may extort tribute from them and treat them as the tributaries she had before gaining access to their unique units. ruby may offer bonds of friendship and do the same

blake may create embassies and get faunas versions of each unit (they can fight at night) as well as improve her chivalric reputation with each campaign (basically lets you gain the bonuses of dread without the negatives)

and Weiss may open up branch offices and have each character as a leader under her (you basically play the official campaign as the character you choose but with access to Weiss's abilities and units now as well)

you may only do one campaign at a time. so if you're jaune you have to subjugate yang and ruby in vale before you can try to marry weiss. you gotta finish what you started before you move on basically

on each map, there's an ancient grimm. this is a massive single-unit entity and has an army of grimm backing it. defeating this grimm will grant you a major bonus to happiness and prevent further grimm from showing up later.

single unit entities are very powerful but get weaker as their health goes down. their health will recover with time though

if you finish every campaign as a single character you unlock the grimm tide. salem has taken notice of you and wants you gone before ozma has a chance to bring you to his side. grimm will spawn every turn based on the unhappiness of cities in every kingdom you will wage a war all over the world against the grimm and try to hold on as unique and powerful generals lead hords of powerful grimm to attack you. these hords will even be supplemented by the grimm attracted to your unhappiness to keep your pops happy!

if you beat every general salem herself will come to take you out. she has an unending army that will constantly get reinforcement from offscreen every time you kill off a unit and she's a capable commander in her own right with powerful magic that will prevent you from camping too much (she's out of practice so she can only cast a spell every once in a while, be sure to move when you see the strange glow) if you can manage to get your character to her through her army you'll win and defeat her once and for all

@weatherman667 don't know if you play total war but had an idea for total war rwby and wanted to know your thoughts on the various kingdoms as lead by the main characters.

anyone else who sees this and has suggestions go nuts with it. it's just a bit of fun at the end of the day. how would you incorporate a character? what would their unique units be?

[celticcrossanon]

BRF Reading - 4th of August 2021

This is speculation only

Cards drawn 1st of August, 2021

Question: Will Harry and Meghan divorce?

I am revisiting this question to see if anything has changed.

I am putting this under a cut due to length.

Interpretation: yes

Card One: The Queen of Swords. This is an air sign person, particularly a Libra, or someone who is good at strategy (but not as good as the King of Swords). This is someone who is able to look at situations from a purely rational point of view, devoid of any emotions. It is someone who assesses the facts objectively, without compassion, empathy, or any concern for other people's feelings (some people will add those factors in later, but that is not the provence of the Queen of Swords). What will achieve the desired result is the primary focus. These people can be very determined and they have no hesitation in calling out people who cross them.

In this spread, this card represents an attitude towards divorce, and with Meghan appearing as the underlying energy (King of Wands), it shows Meghan's attitude towards divorce. For her, it is all about strategy. She will divorce Harry when she thinks that is the best move for her and her ambitions. This card can also reflect the attitude of the people opposing Meghan - they are being very strategic in how they approach the question of divorce (the Air suit can be about communication, so any discussion of divorce will be done very strategically).

Card Two: The Eight of Cups. This is a card about loss, leaving a situation, walking away from something (such as a marriage). Coming after the Queen of Swords, this card shows that the strategy is related to leaving a situation, such as a marriage. The card shows Psyche leaving everything behind her as she descends into the underworld. This says to me that one partner may have to leave everything behind as they walk away from the marriage - they will leave with the clothes on their back and very little else (what eventually gets divided in a divorce settlement is another question entirely, this card focuses on the act of leaving).

The card also suggests that leaving may be very painful for one partner - like Psyche descending into the Underworld, it will feel like a descent into death for them. It is also suggesting that there is a loss of some sort that is the reason for one partner walking away from the marriage. I am getting both Harry and Meghan energy from this card - Meghan will walk away if Harry suffers a loss that is unacceptable to her (e.g. he loses his titles), and Harry will walk away if some sort of loss occurs that is very painful to him and it almost drives him out of the marriage. I don't know which one will occur first, but the Harry energy is stronger, almost as if he will be the one who is leaving.

Card Three: The Three of Swords. This card is sometimes known as the divorce card, and by appearing in this spread it tells me that Harry and Meghan will divorce. The card shows Queen Clytemnestra and her lover killing her husband, King Agamemnon, and so shows the end of a marriage by violence. The general meaning of the card is that of heartbreak and grief.

Coming after the Eight of Cups, this says that one partner will walk away from the marriage (the Eight of Cups) and the result will be divorce, not a reconciliation. The divorce will be painful. It will cause hurt to both parties. The picture on the card suggests that the divorce will not be amicable, and instead one party (most likely the female, Meghan) will try to 'kill off' the other party (Harry) as part of the ending of the marriage. Swords are the suit of communication, thoughts, strategy, so I expect the 'killing off' to be in terms of gossip and damage to Harry's reputation, and not a literal death. As per the picture on the card, Meghan may have a lover who is involved in this 'killing off' with her.

Card Four: The Devil. The Devil is a card about giving in to your base nature, and/or about being addicted to sex/drugs/alcohol/gambling etc. It is the card of Capricorn and as the shadow side of Capricorn it represents a desire for money/luxury and social status at any cost (the ruthless social climber).

Coming after the divorce card (the Three of Wands), this says to me that what will be of concern in the divorce is money and social status - the ability to fund a lifestyle of addiction to drugs and alcohol. The 'killing' of one party's reputation via gossip is intended to get the other person a larger amount of money in the divorce, and to preserve their social status. This card can also indicate that many unsavoury details about sex, drugs, alcohol use etc will come out in the divorce. It can also indicate that one person is 'addicted' to the other person in the relationship and will find it difficult to 'come clean' and break away during the divorce.

This card can also show the state of the marriage that is broken by the divorce - a marriage fuelled by drugs/alcohol/sex, where one person is unhealthily dependent on the other or 'addicted' to them.

As a card of a ruthless social climber obsessed with money and status, this card can represent Meghan. If that is the case, then if the divorce is not on her terms or she does not initiate it, then I can see her trying to get Harry to return to her by playing on his addictions and appealing to his base nature.

Card Five: The King of Pentacles. This is the card of an earth sign person, particularity a Taurus. Normally this would stand for HMTQ, and coming after the Devil card it would show that HMTQ is the person Meghan (the Devil card) is going after for money and social status, i.e. she will try to destroy the reputation of HMTQ so she looks better after the divorce. While I am getting that energy from this card, I am also getting the energy of another man from it - Harry's replacement. The suit of Pentacles is about wealth, and the King of Pentacles is the richest of the court cards, so this is a wealthy man. Meghan will have a rich man lined up as a future partner before she divorces Harry, although she will still try to destroy Harry's reputation and take everything she can from him.

Card Six: The Knight of Pentacles. This is the card of an earth sign person, particularly a Virgo, and here it stands for Prince Harry, a sun sign Virgo. The King of Pentacles stands between the Devil card and the Knight of Pentacles, so HMTQ as the King of Pentacles will shield Harry to a certain extent from the behaviour of Meghan (the Devil card) and her accusations during the divorce. The demigod Pan on the Devil card looks towards the King of Pentacles, but the King of Pentacles looks straight ahead and ignores him, indicating that the shielding will come through HMTQ ignoring/not responding to Meghan's provocations (grey-rocking).

It is interesting that while the demigod Pan on the Devil card looks toward the King of Pentacles, the Knight of Pentacles look away from both of them and towards the next card, Death. The focus of the Knight of Pentacles, Harry, is not HMTQ or Meghan's behaviour, but the card Death.

Card Seven: Death. This is a card of physical death or a symbolic death, the end of a cycle. Here it represents a symbolic death, the end of a cycle in someone's life. Coming after the Knight of Pentacles, this is referring to a symbolic death and/or the end of a cycle in Harry's life. It could be the divorce, of course, as the end of his marriage, but it could also be the end of his lifestyle in California, or him missing Meghan in his life (if she initiates the divorce). Whatever it is, Harry is going to be focused on this loss and not the divorce and what accompanies it (example: the BRF will be doing everything they can to preserve his reputation, and Harry is going to be sitting there mourning the loss of freedom in his life compared to California - I'm not saying this is what will happen, but it will be something like that, with Harry focused on his loss/the 'death' of something and not on his divorce).

Underlying Energy One: The King of Wands. This is the card of a sun sign person, particularly a Leo, and here it stands for Meghan, a sun sign Leo. Meghan is going to be a major factor in this divorce and may even be the initiator of the divorce, which is a change from the last time I looked, when Harry was the one leaving.

Underlying Energy Two: The Seven of Pentacles. This is a card about tending your investments and making sure they flourish, which means abandoning those that no longer give the return you want. This is Meghan's attitude to divorce - she will hang on to Harry as long as it is profitable for her, and then she will discard him.

The card shows Daedalus being offered money to help Queen Pasiphae, the wife of his patron King Minos, betray her husband. The energy here is of a divided allegiance. This is coming through as Harry's mindset - he has swapped his allegiance from the BRF to Meghan, but he may be wanting both, as Daedalus is torn between supporting his patron or being paid to betray his patron by his wife.

Underlying Energy Three: The Six of Pentacles. This is a card about giving and/or receiving amounts of money. The card shows King Minos holding an amount of money, while Daedalus the craftsman sits at his feet with his hands raised in a begging attitude. This is going to be Meghan during and after the divorce. She will be figuratively begging for as much money as possible from whoever is on the throne.

Conclusion: Yes, Harry and Meghan will divorce. One partner will walk out of the marriage, possibly after a loss of some sort. The separation will be followed by a divorce, with one party (most likely Meghan) trying to kill the reputation of the other party using gossip about sex/drugs/alcohol/addictions in general and the associated behaviour.

The divorce will be messy/violent, not amicable. Meghan will fight for her social status (eg HRH) and as much money as she can get. Her main concerns in the divorce will be social status and money. Harry will be focused on what he sees as a loss or ending, and he will be shielded from the fallout of the divorce by HMTQ.

If Meghan initiates the divorce, she will do so because she has got everything she can from Harry and he is now a liability to her. She views divorce as a strategy to help her with her ambitions and she will approach it without thought for anyone except herself and her aims. She will have another rich man lined up as her partner before she lets go of Harry.

If Harry is the one that walks away, Meghan will try to get him to return to her by playing on his addictions (to her or to other things). This won't happen. Harry will leave if something happens that he sees as a loss. It will upset him so much that he will walk away from the marriage.

Note: This reading was a general overview of where the situation is right now. There is nothing really new here, it is more confirmation of what we have already suspected. I want to do some more readings on this topic to see if I can pin down who will be the one leaving and who will be left behind.

[dwellordream]

“Because informal camaraderie between the sexes was an unfamiliar phenomenon, figuring out how to relate to each other was a complicated matter for both men and women. As one young man noted in 1924, "Nowadays when a woman goes everywhere and does everything, it is very difficult for a man to figure out how to treat her." "How is a man to know how to treat a woman anymore?" asked another bewildered soul. Obviously, these and other young men were at a loss when it came to relating to women as friends and companions. Did female companionship mean, they wondered, that men had to be courteous and gentlemanly at all times? 

Would they have to refine their language and manners in order not to offend female sensibilities? Or should young women simply be treated as men would each other? Most often they found no clear answers to these questions, and they had a hard time imagining new ways of behaving. "No matter what I do," grumbled one young man, "I never seem to do the right [thing]." Young women seemed equally unsure about how to interact with the opposite sex. On the one hand, they longed for frank conversations and easy rapport. On the other, they did not need advice columnists and etiquette experts, or their mothers, to remind them that "nothing is as delicate as a woman's reputation."

As they well knew, simply seeming too anxious for male companionship or too careless in selecting one's company was sufficient to cast doubt on a woman's moral rectitude. Yet, showing too much reserve might mean missing out on having fun. Their concerns were therefore of a different kind than young men's. Was it really true, they wanted to know, that men found women who went out at night by themselves to be "cheap"? Did men approve of women who wore lipstick? And under which circumstances could a woman allow a young man to walk her home? "I don't want to be prudish, but I don't know what is appropriate," one nineteen-year-old woman wrote, summarizing the dilemma she and many other young women faced.

In public discourse, the uncertainty over new codes of behavior came to a head in discussions over the seemingly trivial issue of male chivalry. Throughout the 1920s, young men and women debated this matter with an astonishing passion, and for that reason alone it is worth examining. What were these discussions about? What caused them? What was it about this issue that triggered such intense feelings? And what does this tell us about the difficulties associated with establishing cross-gender camaraderie? On the surface, the lines of conflict were clear enough. Over and over again, young women complained about what they perceived as rudeness among men. "Why are Danish men so ill-mannered?" "Femme" wanted to know in 1923.

"Girlie" was convinced that "chivalry and courtesy disappeared along with the crinoline." Writing from Italy, another woman was sure that Scandinavian men would "die of embarrassment" if they saw the gallantry with which "even lowly dock workers on the Arno River treat a woman." Adding insult to injury, one of the few Langelinie girls to speak out in public claimed that her interest in the visiting sailors stemmed solely from the fact that the foreigners were "considerate," "gentlemanly," and "chivalrous" companions who did not try to take advantage of "a decent and well-behaved young girl" like herself.

"A Copenhagen Girl" agreed. Since "you can use a very strong magnifying glass and still not discover even the tiniest trace of chivalry" among Danish men, she didn't find it surprising that nice girls like herself preferred the company of men like "Pierre and Giovanni, Tom and Jack." In most cases, young men declared themselves guilty as charged, but, they argued, this was only because chivalry was an outdated form of conduct entirely incompatible with the kind of camaraderie women seemed to desire. "What is it that determines that a man must always be chivalrous toward a woman?" a self-described "nonattentive gentleman" thus asked.

Another young man who defiantly labeled himself "nongallant" wanted to know whether "a young woman has any right to be offended because I do not pick her up before a dance but ask her to meet me at a trolley stop?" "Mack and Jack" were equally annoyed by what they saw as unreasonable demands on the part of female companions. "We are two young men," they wrote to an advice columnist in 1923, "who would like to hear your opinion about the behavior of two young ladies. The other night after we had been out dancing together, the young ladies wanted us to escort them home, but we live at the opposite end of town and escorting them home would have taken more than an hour out of our night's sleep, so we refused. Now they don't want to see us again."

The unmistakable tone of anger, resentment, and indignation that runs through this discourse suggests that more than etiquette was at stake in the controversies over chivalry. When young people debated whether men ought to open doors, assist with overcoats, carry packages, offer cigarette lighters, give up their seats in trolley cars, and walk companions home, they were, of course, trying to determine what constituted proper behavior in an era when gender norms were being redefined. That in itself was fraught with difficulty, and the confusion they expressed was genuine. 

But because both men and women perceived chivalry as a source of power and control, their "conversations" are therefore best understood as part of a much larger struggle over the relative status of men and women in a changing cultural context. For that reason it became such an intensely contested issue. Certainly, women's insistence on male chivalry was not merely motivated by a desire to indulge in the pleasures that spring from a companion's service and attentiveness. In their eyes, chivalrous behavior indicated, among other things, a certain level of male regard. After all, it had in the past only been disreputable women who could not legitimately demand such treatment. 

Insufficient male chivalry was therefore seen, even among many self-proclaimed "modern" young women, as an insulting sign of disrespect. More importantly, young women also perceived chivalry as a sort of sexual safety mechanism. At the heart of the ideology of chivalry lay the notion that men were responsible for serving and protecting women. Therefore, as long as women could hold men to a code of behavior that emphasized courtesy and (sexual) self-control, their ability to protect themselves from physical and moral danger seemed all the greater. And if this potentially greater degree of safety came at the expense of what seemed more egalitarian companionship, that was a price worth paying for most women. 

Besides, despite their modernity, young women were not out to eradicate gender-differentiated forms of behavior. While they were eager to assert their independence from older patterns of social interaction and to develop new forms of camaraderie with men, they still insisted on their femininity and on having that femininity acknowledged by male companions. "It might well be," one women poignantly argued, "that women in this country have reached their goal in terms of equality with men, but that does not mean that they have stopped being women."

That sexual equality and continued male chivalry were demands not incongruous with each other was a claim many men found hard to accept. "We don't understand how young girls can demand to be equals and at the same time demand to be treated as ladies," two male friends explained. "Women have by now for many years sought equality with men," another man elaborated, "and it is therefore my infallible [sicl] opinion that the ladies must either be entirely independent in all matters and renounce gentlemanly gallantry, or they must relinquish their equality with men." With such comments, young men laid bare what was for them at the heart of this matter. 

Clearly, they expected women to reciprocate for the favors and attentions they received with a certain degree of modesty and deference. As Karen Dubinsky has pointed out, the flip side of chivalry and protection is power and control. When men no longer felt they had power and control over women, they were, as they repeatedly stressed, no longer willing to respect a code of conduct that endowed them with a specific set of duties and responsibilities. Underlying the controversies over the issue of chivalry were therefore much more profound conflicts, most of which derived from young men's resentment over losing a set of gendered privileges and an authority over women that older generations of men had been able to claim. 

Even though many young men were attracted, at least in principle, to the idea of having fun and enjoying themselves in the company of female peers, they were also deeply ambivalent about young women's entry into what had previously been male territory and their encroachment on what had traditionally been male prerogatives. As one newspaper columnist complained in 1921, "Women have forced their way through every door—into the labor market, into politics, and into entertainment. They are getting more and more rights—rights to this and rights to that—but what about us men? We don't seem to be getting any more rights."

Many young men also took offense at women's relative independence in public arenas. As long as young women had money of their own, they did not have to depend on male companions in order to partake in public entertainment. Although most men had greater earnings and more spending money than their female peers, even those women with the most limited funds were usually able to afford a movie ticket, the admission to an amusement park, or a cup of coffee in a restaurant, and unlike in the United States, for example, young Danish women typically paid their own way when they went out with male companions, at least as long as they were not engaged or going steady.

 "Of course, we paid for ourselves when we went out," insisted Stine Petersen. "Yes, naturally! Naturally, we paid for ourselves," exclaimed Netta Nielsen, seemingly surprised at the suggestion that men might pay for female companions. While hard on their pocket books, such financial self-reliance had several advantages for young women. First, it allowed them, as Michael Curtin has pointed out, to signal that "the relation between themselves and [male companions] were of a public and egalitarian nature, not romantic as between lovers." Perhaps more importantly, it released them from any obligation to male peers and from the moral suspicion that surrounded any woman who accepted gifts and treats from men who were relative strangers. 

Besides, paying one's own way also protected young women from ending up, as Nikoline Sorensen phrased it, in an "awkward position" where men "might expect things" in return for their generosity. But rather than appreciating the potential for egalitarian friendships that such practices produced, most young men resented the self-reliance of their female peers, perceiving it as a challenge to male initiative and a lessening of their power. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, much of young men's resentment grew from their sense that women were in fact not only becoming less dependent, but were also acquiring a whole new kind of power over men. 

"What are men to do? How can they protect themselves against these attractive, scantily dressed young girls? We are under their spell," a twenty-two-year old man complained in a statement that interwove two of the most common strands in male discourse on postwar gender relations. First, men of all classes and ages spoke of young women as increasingly bewitching and seductive. Whether it was their short skirts, deep necklines, freer body language, or seeming flirtatiousness that led men to this conclusion, they generally agreed that the new generation of women possessed an unprecedented degree of sexual allure. 

Second, they constantly complained that women were using their wiles, their charms and their bodies as unfair means to gain control over men, who were ill-equipped to withstand such an onslaught. "This is the last and final battle in the war between the sexes," one observer declared in 1924. "After suffrage and all the other rights women have obtained, they are now plotting their final assault. With their physical allure, they are striving to master men who are, after all, only men." In this light, young men's unwillingness to behave chivalrously begins to take on its deeper meaning. In a situation in which many young men believed that women were gaining the upper hand, they were less than eager to engage in behavior that smacked of servitude to women. 

In earlier generations, a man who fetched a woman's coat or carried her packages had discreetly underlined his own masculinity through a show of physical ability. By the 1920s, the very same gestures seemed to many young men simply to demonstrate service and subordination to a new generation of women who already possessed too much power over them. Quite understandably, they therefore resisted any involvement in such behavior. Although the debates over chivalry are revealing of the underlying conflicts that seriously circumscribed any effort to create more frank and egalitarian relationships between young men and young women, they may ultimately be read as fairly innocuous. 

After all, having to fetch one's own coat is at most an inconvenience, and while ungentlemanly behavior might offend a woman's sensibilities it hardly impairs her autonomy or her freedom of movement. But because (sexual) self-control was a central component of the ideology of chivalry, young men's increasing unwillingness to adhere to this long-standing code of conduct had more serious consequences. Predictably, although unfortunately, it led to an unprecedented level of physical and sexual danger for all women who ventured into public arena.”

- Birgitte Soland, “Beauties and Boyfriends, Bitches and Brutes.” in Becoming Modern: Young Women and the Reconstruction of Womanhood in the 1920s

[starkskypines]

Hi Kylie! Your prompts look so cool!

How about 19 for any Star Wars characters of your choosing?

Hi KT!!! Thank you for this prompt and sorry it took so long! Also this one is a bit long at 2k words.

19 “we’ll sit and talk the stars down from the sky”: you know that dinluke trope where luke and din enter a political marriage? Yeah.

>>>

There’s a moment, just a moment, where Luke feels the entire weight of Mandalorian armor with a full-size male in it crash into his body. He realizes in that singular moment that he was wrong earlier when he asserted that no Mandalorian was a match for skill in the Force. Because if this Mandalorian was actually fighting him, he would be hard-pressed to recover from a blow like this. And given how much time Mandalorians spend training to counter Jedi fighting techniques, Luke doesn’t think he’d actually be able to win a fight against a fully trained Mandalorian. He’s had limited combat training himself. Just what he learned from Rebellion fighters. He’s skilled with his lightsaber, but Mandalorians are quick to disarm. They know how to defeat a Jedi and Luke hasn’t ever thought about how to defeat a Mandalorian before. Well, perhaps Boba Fett for a second on Tatooine, but he was busy and didn’t have time to realize exactly how skilled the armored man would be had Luke had time to fight him. He’s glad he didn’t because he has a feeling that would be embarrassing. Just like it’s going to be embarrassing when Paz makes him put his words to action. For now though, they’ve got other concerns.

The weight lifts after that moment and Luke is free-falling through the air. The wind rushes across his cheeks, hurting his ears just a bit, and making his eyes water. He closes his eyes and lets himself fall. The Force allows him to be aware of the ground below, the currents of the air, Paz fighting nearby, Din moving beside him. Both of them quiet confidence and brutal efficiency. Din is softer than Paz though, but Luke thinks he’s biased. Din is his husband after all.

Luke lands gracefully on the ground thanks to the Force slowing his fall. He looks back up to the clifftop where Din and Paz are still fighting. He can’t be of much help to them down here, but he doesn’t really think they need his help. Not like that. Sure they need him to strengthen ties to the Republic, but they don’t really need his skills as a Jedi. He’s glad they don’t hate him for that though, not like they used to in the beginning of all this.

But still, Luke isn’t one to sit out of a fight. So he gathers the Force around him and hops his way up the hundred-foot cliff to rejoin the fray.

The fight is over quickly when it’s a bunch of pirates against two Mandalorians and a Jedi.

***

“So, you want to reconsider your position on being able to take me down after seeing me fight?” Paz asks.

They’re cooking food over the campfire. Din claimed that Paz is the best cook, so just let him do it. Luke doesn’t like being unhelpful, but he allows Paz to cook. He was raised on Tatooine so his abilities allow him to make edible food but nothing that really excites the palate.

“I did challenge you.” Luke isn’t going to back down now, even if it means he gets his butt kicked in front of a public crowd. “But yes, I am worried I might lose.”

“Might?” Paz scoffs under the helmet. “Jetii, you will lose.”

“We’ll just have to see won’t we.” Luke smirks, something Leia says makes him look like an infuriating child who’s been listening to Han for too long.

“Sorry about pushing you off the cliff.” Paz shrugs. “Thought you’d live but still, Din says I should’ve warned you first or something.”

“It’s rude to push people off cliffs,” Din says.

“I was fine. It was fun actually. You know we might be able to turn that into something to be used during a fight. If we have to drop in, or fight from ship to ship in mid-air. You’ve got the jetpack, but I’ve got the Force so mid-air fighting could have some interesting possibilities.”

Paz laughs. “You bet we can work on that. You’re sticking around this time right? Didn’t come just to challenge me to a fight?”

“I’ve got time to stay. I can’t get funding to search out Jedi temples and artifacts until next year, so I’ve got a little while to get to know Mandalorian customs.”

“Well, rule one, we don’t take off the helmets,” Paz says although Luke already knows that and scoops out a bowl of stew and hands it to Luke.

“Thank you,” Luke says and stands to go find somewhere else to eat.

He settles down against a rock that overlooks a small clearing in the forest. It’s a fairly rocky world, giant rocks forming cliff faces, and other smaller ones dotting the landscape, a break against the green and brown of the grass fields and forests.

Luke has almost finished his bowl of soup when Din joins him. It’s not unusual for the armored man to seek him out. Usually to discuss something related to politics or culture or Grogu. Now that conversation had almost ruined the marriage. Din said no to training and Luke pushed and well...it had almost come to blows. Luke is a Jedi. He knows how to help Grogu. Sometimes he wishes he could do more, but that’s not his role here. One of the first Force-sensitives he finds and he can’t hardly speak to the child. It’s a good lesson for the future though. The Jedi’s reputation as child-snatchers is pervasive.

Din is quiet as he settles against the rock, his shoulder brushing Luke’s briefly before he pulls away. It’s the most touching Luke ever gets from him. He’s not sure he exactly wants more, but something warmer would be nice. But again, there’s only one point to this marriage, and it’s not Luke’s happiness.

“Why do you want to find Jedi temples?” Din asks.

“I’m a Jedi, and I hardly know anything about our culture. A lot was erased by the Empire. If I’m to train the next generation of knights, then I need to know what kind of people I’m inviting them to become. You can be Force-sensitive without being a Jedi. You can get training without being a Jedi. It’s a choice you have to make. I want to make sure everyone is informed before making that choice.”

“You can train as a Jedi and not be a Jedi?”

It’s not hard for Luke to see who he’s thinking of, but he doesn’t want to break the calm by bringing up Grogu.

“Yes. I’ve trained Leia how to control her powers and how to a do a few other things she was interested in. She doesn’t have the time to really be a Jedi, but she can’t just let her skills die out when they can be useful to her in any career.”

Din is quiet. “Grogu can’t sleep at night. I think it’s something Force-related.” Din pauses, and Luke gives him time to work out the correct words. “Could you–could you help?”

Luke nods and keeps his attention on the trees on the other side of the clearing. “I can try. What makes you think it’s Force-related?”

“Things move.”

Luke nods. “Let me talk to him when we get back, and I’ll see what I can do to help.”

“Not alone.”

“No, not alone. You’d be there of course,” Luke pauses and can’t help but adding, “I’m not trying to separate families. I’m building something different than the old Order.”

“You know you could get anything you wanted if you threatened him.”

Luke turns to Din then. “You think I’d do that?”

Din shrugs.

Luke turns away. He can’t really blame Din for thinking that. Jedi don’t have a good reputation in Mandalorian circles, let alone the son of Darth Vader. Clearly he can’t be trusted. The minute that little tidbit came out he and Leia lost a lot of standing in the New Republic. He’d convinced Leia to spin it so that it looked like Luke was the one more like Vader. The black clothes, the lightsaber, the fact that Luke had spent time alone with Vader and the Emperor on the second Death Star. It took the heat off Leia enough that she could make headway in the Senate, but the rumors and distrust still haunted them both.

“Maybe not, but if the New Republic asked you to.”

Luke wants to laugh at the absurdity, but here he is married to a Mandalorian because the New Republic asked him. It’s not his fault he was the only one that knew the Mandalor and his son. The seeing stone worked, but Din had changed his mind by the time Luke responded to the call.

“Well, I’m not in the business of betraying my husband,” Luke finally responds.

It’s silent as the insects begin to chirp, their symphony drowning out the silence. Luke should be the one to head back to camp, but he always feels the way Paz and Din don’t want him there. He aches for the day he can make a place of his own where he is wanted. Not even as a friend. He has Han and Leia and Chewie for that. But maybe as a leader, or just someone helpful, just someone that can be trusted.

“I don’t remember much about my parents,” Din starts suddenly, “Hardly anything in fact. But I remember when Mom and Dad fought she’d turn to him and say, ‘no, we’ll sit and talk the stars down from the sky.’ It was her way of ending the argument. I didn’t get it at the time, but it stuck with me. I think it means that when you lay all your cards on the table, there’s no more secrets or hidden motives that can cause arguments.”

Luke tilts his head a bit to look toward Din’s visor. He can’t make out the lines well in the darkness, but he knows Din is looking at him too.

“I can’t trust you, because I can’t trust anybody.”

“That’s a lonely way to live.”

“It’s not good for Grogu. I’m too protective, but I can’t–I can’t lose him.” Din nods once, as if coming to his own conclusion. “If he could defend himself–using the Force–”

Luke waits and Din doesn’t continue. Luke takes a risk and places his hand on Din’s arm. Din flinches but resettles.

“It will take time for you to trust me. I know. But I am willing to sit and talk the stars down from the sky as long as it takes for you to trust me. For no other reason than I think you’re right about Grogu needing to be able to protect himself, and I don’t like the air of loneliness that I get from both of you.”

Din puts his hand over Luke’s.

“Ask me anything. I’m an open book.”

Din shakes his head, the silver metal catching the reflection of moonlight from the rising moon. “You aren’t. You just like people to think you are.”

Luke can’t deny that, but he’s surprised that Din picked up on it.

“So why do you do that?”

Luke settles back against the rock. He goes to pull his hand away but Din holds on, and it doesn’t take much for Luke to intertwine his fingers through Din’s and open his mouth. He doesn’t think Din realizes just how much power he has over Luke in this moment because Din doesn’t know how much Luke wants Din to like him. He wants to be his friend and confidante and sometimes–like now–he wants permission to hold Din’s hand in the moonlight as the insects create a symphony that drowns out the fear that comes with opening up. Or maybe that’s just Din’s presence. The simple way he listens without judgment. The fact that Luke can sense his emotions if they spike, but otherwise he doesn’t really know what’s going on behind the mask, so Luke can pretend that it’s a soft smile and warm eyes as he tells truths very few are privy to.

[dragontamer-nia]

Max [Parental figures and fighting spirits]

Max and Judy Mizuhara 

Max Mizuhara is the child of two very different people. 

On one hand, we have Taro Mizuhara: a cheerful and friendly man who lives a simple life, owns a little hobby shop, and has taken a passion for a kids' game which requires a certain degree of technical knowledge. He's basically a mechanic, he has a rather small but very functional training ground in the basement of his shop, and he encourages Max to do his best, but most importantly to have fun with his friends. 

On the other hand, we have Judy Mizuhara: an ambitious, strong-willed woman, whose research and abilities have made her rise from the already prestigious position of university professor to the director of the most important and reputable research centre for beyblades, where she has all the resources, funds and technology she could ever need to work with at her disposal. We know the PPB is held in such high regard that her role requires her to answer directly to the goddamn Secretary of State. 

And… Taro and Judy love Max. However, while all we can gather about Taro's opinion on this whole "taking beyblade seriously and winning the world championship" thing is that he supports Max because he wants to see him happy, we know exactly what Judy thinks. 

She thinks Max doesn't have what it takes to be a champion. 

Max's crisis is, in a way, the opposite of Rei's: while Rei at one point already had everyone believing in him, and had to prove that the his actions are atypical but ultimately right, Max has to prove that he is worth believing in because the way he is is right; and that his fighting spirit is just as tough and resilient as everyone else's in this field, if not even more so than most, but his friendly, kind and bubbly personality throws people off. 

And the fact that, of all people, it's his own mother who rejects him almost crushes him. Judy loved him when he was just her fun, adorable child, but when he dared try and assert himself as a person with dreams and a fighting spirit, suddenly she turns her back on him. 

Worse yet, Judy has new children in America. Kids she personally chose as the best in the whole US. Kids who lived and breathed to follow whatever she said. Kids who are very explicitly competitive, who are sports prodigies and know it, who parade around wearing their sports' uniform like a badge of honour, knowing that they're just so much better than anyone else that they're backed up by the effin government... and people love them. They are stars, they are heroes. And so, people shower the All Starz with admiration and attention, and the All Starz love the glory Judy has granted them, and Judy loves them in return and supports them. 

Of course, not only has Max to deal with whatever is going on with his mother's behaviour, not only has he to endure his mom's new, arrogant kids, he also has to face their feelings of jealousy: after all, he is the coach's actual son. And he's a nobody. This is Max, the son of their beloved coach? He's weak, right? Not a trace of ambition, no competitiveness at all, only smiles and "lEt'S bE NiCe tO eAcH oThEr". Why does Judy love this guy? 

Poor Max is having the worst time of his life as the finals for the A block approach, and the night before the finals Kyouju bluntly tells him that he shouldn't fight at all in the coming matches. "They have your data," he says. "They don't have Kai's data," they all say. Max knows what's up: his own team is starting to believe in the All Starz, they are starting to lose faith in him too. What is his team thinking? Would the PPB not have taken his data, had he been stronger, had he been like Kai? They, his own team, his friends, think that even giving Max a mere chance at proving them all wrong would jeopardize their chances of reaching the world's finals, and they’re not willing to take that risk. 

Max is not the type to lash out at people and impose his own world view onto others, as Takao would, but he knows this is an injustice, he knows he doesn't deserve this treatment. Max storms off, leaving the rest of the team appalled: clearly, no one expected nice, friendly Max to react so strongly. They do eventually change their minds after the team finally understands just how badly he needs to. 

Because, after running on the roof of the hotel to get a bit of fresh air… Max finds his mother there. 

Judy thinks she's being objective, because that's what she's used to as a scientist: research is based on numbers, and numbers tell her that Max truly doesn't have a chance. But she's also a professional, and the spot she was put into requires her to not help her own son at all. She can do absolutely nothing but accept that Max is bound to lose, and Max has got to understand this as soon as possible.

Judy knows what it takes to rise to the top, because she has done it. Cold and merciless, ambitious and strong-willed, tough and resilient: she is a champion, in her own way. And she didn’t obtain the most prestigiuos position in her field by being nice; this is why, when choosing the players who would represent the US in the world tournament, she selected kids with a competitive background, who are capable of being cold and merciless when required. And now that her own son is competing against the PPB, a big machine that receives all the funding they need, a whole building full with equipment and any machine they could possibly think of to study their opponents, gather data, prepare a strategy, keep their bladers in top condition… she doesn’t want Max to even try and enter this ruthless race to the top. He is nice, and she accepts it and loves him for it, but... he’s too nice to survive in this world.

I think Judy is the one who chose this role for herself. She knows Taro. She knows she has to be the realistic and disillusioned parent to balance him out, because Taro is just so carefree and happy, with no trace of ambition or fighting spirit, and Max is just like Taro. 

Except… 

This is why the necklace is important. 

Max's fighting spirit doesn't just derive from the fact that he wants to prove his own progresses to Judy. He quite literally inherited his mother's fighting spirit. Max is just as ambitious and strong-willed, Max is just as tough and resilient. Who decided that someone cocky like Michael, or cold and merciless like Judy, is clearly inherently stronger than someone like Max? Max is having none of this shit, and he's having none of this shit as nicely as he can, because he will not bend: Max is not worth believing in even though he's nice and friendly; Max is worth believing in because he's nice and friendly, and it's perfectly fine, thank you. 

And Max proves that Judy was wrong about him, he proves that everyone was wrong about him, and the moment he does, the moment he finally wins against Michael and secures the path to the finals… 

He's just happy. 

At this point, Max would have every reason to brag. He'd be justified to take the spotlight, flip the bird to the All Starz - the kids who really thought the BBA guys were just a bunch of noobs - and laugh right at their dumbstruck faces. 

But the thought of doing so doesn't even cross his mind. He smiles and he's happy, and his team is happy for him, and they all celebrate the fact that Max has won. 

On the other side of the stadium, Judy is forced to face a hard truth that she, deep down, had always known: there's no number understandable by a computer that can describe how fucking stubborn and creative the both of them can become to reach the goals they have set for themselves. 

As she smiles at her own blindness, she walks to Max to congratulate him, and as Judy recognizes and owns her mistake, Max simply smiles and lets it all go, water under the bridge. Because that's who Max is.

The fact that, at some point, someone in the production crew decided to include Kyouju openly glaring at Judy in this fundamental shot is very telling in my opinion LOL

[languagehealing]

Thank you for being so prompt with a reply, and so patient in your wording. It’s got me thinking about a few different things. One, most of the stuff I find is from pirated or otherwise back-channel sources, when it isn’t so old that it’s fallen into public domain. It makes me wonder if as a long-term project it would be useful to collate those pirated sources for anyone to find - that way more people would have free access to the study of the languages in academic spheres. Secondly, and perhaps more pertinently - do you know of any reputable language preservation funds or the like? While there’s not much of that stuff in my immediate area, I recently got a better hold on my finances and the beginnings of a job, and I’d love to help out any way I can, even if it’s just donations.

Thanks for following up! Gonna answer this one under a cut to not take over anyone's dash, since this one might get longer.

Obvious disclaimer: I am by no means an expert, I'm just one Native. I do not speak for my entire tribe, let alone the entire Indigenous American community.

1) Piracy As A Solution

This topic also becomes a very complex one I feel, and it also really ties back into the ideas explored in the original post.

I'm going to say this first - I am not against piracy. Especially in terms of this topic, it is 100% true that piracy of Native American language resources can be a vital lifeline for Natives to learn their ancestral languages. Its definitely helped me immensely in revitalizing and preserving my culture. The ability to find those resources for free readily available is critical to boosting language usage. But its far from a perfect solution.

For one, there's no way to regulate it. It gives Native peoples a way to access their language without barriers, but that also means it gives white people that same access. So it really brings us back to that original question of if white people have the right to learn those languages. And if we decide they do have that right, this method does go against some of the core ideas that survey expressed (paying for the right to learn, being immersed in a community). And of course, someone can use a pirated source on top of paying for classes/other sources. Someone can use a pirated source to help them as they immerse and also learn within a community. But there's no way to ensure that - Natives lose control of this aspect and are left at the mercy of what white people choose to do. Because with pirated sources they can just as easily use it to exploit, appropriate, and further steal those languages.

And not all piracy carries the same ethical weight here. Its one thing to pirate the $2,000 Hopi dictionary made by and for white academics, versus the dictionary that was painstakingly made by a tribal elder who witnessed the violence of colonialism and devoted their final years to this project to preserve their language for their descendants. Its one thing to pirate the now-dead white anthropologist's translations of tribal stories from the 18-1900s, versus the bilingual storybook made by a modern Native writer who relies on that revenue to provide for their family. For the first of these, piracy does contribute to decolonization by breaking down class and racial barriers. But for the latter, piracy is exploiting the work of Natives.

And the one that is potentially more ethical to pirate is the one that is going to inherently be the less reputable source, as it was made by white people, potentially with evil motives like missionary work.

With all those considerations, some Natives may feel that the benefits outweigh the downsides. Its worth the risk as long as it helps even just one Native kid learn their language. But for others, they may not feel the same, and feel it should be closely guarded. And who are we to tell either of them that they are wrong?

When it comes to making these languages more accessible for Native people to learn their own languages, piracy can definitely play a role, but relying on it is just taking away from the actual barriers. White people turn these languages into "academic" pursuits that drive the prices up. White people enforced blood quantum onto tribal law that makes it harder for unenrolled Natives to access resources provided by the tribal government. White people put Natives into residential schools and all the horrors they caused to scare elders out of ever letting their language be spoken again. White people colonized the land and enforced new colonial languages that are inescapable except for in certain parts of reservations.

And all of that leads into the second part of your question. I know you just asked about funds to donate to, but I want to expand on that.

2) How To Actually Help Language Efforts

1. Focus locally. There are thousands of tribes, you cannot possible give each one the same amount of care. If you live in the Americas, I guarantee there is something nearby you can focus on. Even if there are no nearby reservations, your land belongs to someone. Find out who, and go from there. Yeah, its probably faster to donate to one of the well-known tribes, but for long-term efforts, you will make a much bigger difference where you live. As for where to donate, the tribal government website will have places. Look for tribal colleges, organizations, volunteers and activists, or hell, even just individual Natives you see who are in need. Its a lot easier to preserve your language if you aren't worried about starving or losing your housing.

2. Consistency over grandiosity. In my opinion, its better to make repeated, small donations, over one large donation and then you call it done. Constant support is needed. Some Natives have shared the idea of "paying rent" to the tribes, which of course ties back into focusing locally. It doesn't make sense to pay rent to the Lakota if you don't live on Lakota land.

3. Get involved beyond funds. Building connections can be so vital to making progress, and of course, it can create really meaningful bonds for you as well. Based on whatever COVID can allow, look into protests, events local tribes are holding, if they are doing anything that may need volunteers to help, etc. These may relate specifically to language-preservation, or something else! And if you do decide to learn the language, this is where you will truly get the immersion needed to learn well and learn with respect.

4. Stand with Natives in politics. Support Native politicians. Advocate and vote for LandBack. Raise awareness for MMIW. Like I said above, stability and security is the prime condition for language survival. If people have ways to get food, to get care, to get support, culture and language will do better. Until our sisters, mothers, matriarchs, and Two Spirit relatives are safe and have their rightful power restored, and we gain sovereignty over our ancestral home, our languages, and our people, will suffer. Languages are never divorced from the politics of their people, so Native languages are no exception.

5. If you own land/a home, you especially should build a bond with your local tribe and work with them. There may be options for you to literally give the land back to the tribes. No, this does not mean you are going to lose your home and get kicked out. What this may affect is how you pay taxes and who they go to, what type of land cultivation you may do to restore and heal the traditional ecology, and other things. I am not an expert in this regard, so again, talking with your local tribe will be the best way to get information about this and see what options exist.

And yes, most of things I listed here do not directly revolve around language learning. But all the same, all of these will help language preservation. And it may be overwhelming to learn about at first and get involved with! And that's okay, but the journey is well worth it. I highly recommend looking at what other Natives have to say, because many people are far more qualified and experience than me, and their words need to be heard as well.