sunkentowers

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The Wolves, oil on board. — E. T. Merrill (American, 20th Century)

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Archeosky was having fun with this

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All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.”

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AU where Tobias is trapped as a social bird like a crow instead of a solitary predator. Bonus: Does he create the Crow Air Force by accident?

Yet another objectively excellent AU idea that has me stumped. Any fellow fandalites have suggestions about Tobias the Corvid?

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I think that horror, probably more than any other genre, has people who just hate it as a matter of principle. Which is fine, you like what you like, but I really wish they didn't let such people review horror for media outlets.

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A minor stress of yarncrafts which I don't see discussed much:

There is a small tangle in your yarn. Topologically you know it must be a slipknot; if you give it a good firm tug, it should come undone.

Just how much force are you willing to stake on that?

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crochet aquarium

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Pay attention to the particulars of Mastercard's responses, because this a textbook example of how to create plausible deniability.

"Mastercard has not barred any legal transaction" is, technically, a true statement – because Mastercard is not the one processing the transactions in the first place. Mastercard does not deal directly with any merchant, and in fact typically refuses to communicate with merchants at all; there's always a payment processing service sitting in between Mastercard and the merchant, whether that's Stripe or Paypal or any of dozens of other service providers.

Consequently, there are two layers of service agreements in place: the agreement between Mastercard and the payment processing service, and the agreement between the payment processing service and the merchant. That second layer of service agreements, between the payment processing service and the merchant, is where all of these content restrictions are being imposed. Mastercard can thus truthfully claim that they aren't barring legal transactions.

Now, if you've been paying attention, you've probably already spotted the issue: if the content restrictions are being imposed upon the merchants by individual payment processing services and not by Mastercard, why do all of those payment processing services seem to have exactly the same content restrictions?

That's where the critical sleight of hand comes in: while Mastercard's own terms of service do not require payment processing services to bar transactions of particular types, their ToS does require payment processors to bar transactions which could be damaging to the Mastercard brand. What constitutes damage to the Mastercard brand is not defined; it means whatever Mastercard wants it to mean. The payment processing services are thus in a position where they can be held in breach of Mastercard's terms of service for basically any reason, which gives them a strong incentive not to test any boundaries.

And that's why Mastercard can truthfully say they have never barred any legal transaction: they're never the ones doing the blocking. The layer of payment processing services that sits between Mastercard and the merchants are enforcing those content restrictions, based on a series of unwritten handshake agreements between the payment processors and Mastercard regarding what does and does not constitute acceptable content – and because the particulars of those handshake agreements aren't in writing, Mastercard can assert that their terms of service do not compel payment processing services to bar any legal transaction and technically be telling the truth.

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July's #BirdWhisperer is a sulfur-crested cockatoo!

Ref photo by Pen_Ash

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with my love as your garden, won't you fall for me?

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✦ PREORDERS OPEN ✦

Inventory tote bags and the complete collection of Armory enamel pins are returning for a final encore! Preorders are open through August 31st and all products will be available in my shop this fall, while supplies last.

Arm thyself at emilycheeseman.myshopify.com 🗡️

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Raven Steals the Sun a glass collaboration sculpture by Tlingit artist Preston Singletary and David Franklin.

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sightseer of the night

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‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves A stately pleasure-dome decreed. And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Could frame thy fearful symmetry?

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Cursed to be stuck inside this ancient amulet for years but you know I was kind of getting used to it. The solitude had eaten away just enough of my sanity that I'm pretty sure it only would've been a few more days before I started hallucinating some really neat shit.

But then. THEN. This fuckass twink descendant of my mortal enemies picks up my amulet. Takes right out of the sacred chamber. I guess it was finally a ruin now? Worse timing possible, too late to stop me going insane and right before the insanity could pay off.

So some clueless idiot is actually wearing me for the first time in centuries. I'm gonna wreck this dude's shit, I don't care if he is weirdly nice and kind of pretty in the face department. The second I accumulate enough power I'm breaking out of here and making him regret being born.

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crystal ball search weird amulet

crystal ball search weird amulet that gives you sexy dreams

crystal ball search dark lord sealed away five hundred years ago

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crystal ball search sexy armor on sale near me under 89 gold