#Prosperity Blueprint

[ladyrijus]

I'm not sure if the creators realize, but based on its title alone, Tears of the Kingdom has the potential to turn around the entire Legend of Zelda franchise in terms of its storyline.

Let me explain.

I think we can all agree that in most of the games, there is a core narrative of light versus evil that outlines the game. Link and Zelda are the benevolent heroes of the story and Ganondorf / Ganon is the irredeemable villain. Storywriters for the franchise like to use this formula for the franchise because hey, it's worked so many times, and gained lots of reception, so why not?

But just because it has worked doesn't mean it's right or suitable. 

Firstly, given the history of our world, it is problematic that the face of evil for this game series is a dark skinned man from a tribe of women who are based of the caricatures and sexualization of women raised in the MENASA regions (MENASA stands for the Islamic countries in Middle East, North Africa, South Asia) and the face of good is always two white characters who are held in the highest regard. Not to mention, Ganondorf and his foster mothers Koume and Kotake had their character designs in Ocarina of Time based on anti-semetic caricatures. This overall set-up speaks volumes already, but it doesn't stop there. The franchise decided to expand upon the lore of the Gerudo in Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker, and Twilight Princess, explicitly and implicitly establishing that the tribe was, in fact, oppressed, ostracized, and underwent genocide. Some people may argue that this information is up for debate, given that a lot of it comes from Ganondorf who is an unreliable narrator; however, this argument fails to consider that even then, it never proves that Zelda and Link are any more trustworthy. After all, the victors write history. With these complexities added in, it becomes hard to discern who exactly is in the right or wrong. In reality, the matters were never black and white to begin with.

This segues to my next point: the light versus darkness trope is not suitable this time around. It's a very two dimensional, inaccurate representation of the world of Hyrule that conflicts with the goals the creators are trying to achieve in Tears of The Kingdom. If they truly wanted to concentrate on the duality between light and darkness, they've already done it with Breath of the Wild. We had Calamity Ganon, a sub-sentient manifestation of hatred that sought nothing but death and destruction, and it was up to Link and Zelda, who strove for the preservation of life and progress, to seal it. So why continue to expand on that? Why bring back Ganondorf? Personally, I see no point in his return. 

Unless… the "Tears" of the Kingdom refer to the Sheikah. 

"But, wait!" you ask, "All this talk about the Gerudo and for what? What does the Sheikah have to do with this?" 

To explain this we'll have to start at the beginning. No, not Skyward Sword, though it shares striking similarities with Tears of the Kingdom, such as the return of the magatama relics, a character with a likeness to Demise, and the juxtaposition between land and sky. No, we have to go before even then. We have to go to the Era of Hylia.

The Legacy of Hylia

Not much is known about Hylia beyond the fact she was meant to protect the Triforce as supposedly ordained by the Golden Goddesses and the people worshipped her for it. But, notice how we learn this story through Fi, a creation of Hylia, with few additions from Impa, from the Sheikah tribe that Hylia established herself. The Triforce is seen as something to protect in this story they share, though interestingly, the relic itself is designed to be as unbiased and uncaring of the individual that seeks it out. It is, without a doubt, divine (as it quite literally is a means to warp reality), but there is also no tangible morality associated with it.

So why did the Golden Goddesses think it had to be protected? Why is Hylia chosen to do it?

…Why did Demise go for it?

If it wasn't clear enough, Hylia is much more flawed than the creators let on. She feels entitled to the Triforce, though there is no reference but the Golden Goddesses (whom no one has ever witnessed) that says she should. It's selfish, almost childish even, that she gatekeeps it away from any user. It's human. Perhaps her traits are a reflection of the time she had spent with the civilization that worshipped her. Because of this, I consider her to be a demigod rather than god. Not so distant and otherworldly like the Golden Goddesses, but a force of nature that can't be subdued but still respected. Time is ruthless, it flies and it trudges. But I digress. In short, for all that is said about Hylia and her divinity, she was certainly stubborn in her efforts to prevent anyone from wielding the Triforce so that her world could remain the way it is, perfect and idyllic. 

But that's the thing, life was not idyllic like she wanted the Sheikah and the rest of the world to remember; no, it was terrible enough to spur Demise and his "demon" forces to seek out the Triforce as a means to wrest control from her. Again, I want to make it clear that Hylia and Demise go beyond the bounds of good and bad. A lot of lives were lost to Demise, to the point the humans nearly went extinct. There's little to redeem on that end. But we're never told the stories from the other side of the battle, so who's to say they hadn't suffered as much extreme casualties? Either way, there had to be something Hylia had done (or even not done) for Demise to take severe measures. The hatred he feels is all consuming, but there is something to be said about how hate does not bloom spontaneously — it is cultivated and grown. Keeping all of this in mind, I sometimes wonder if Demise's name was in relation to Hylia, as in he was her Demise, and that those demon forces of his were actually the demonized. We'll never know. But what we do know, is that the Triforce was the Golden Goddesses' way of giving hope to the mortals, to be able to use divine power to shape the world as they see fit (at least, according to the first Zelda, which is a fantastic moment of irony if you ask me) and Demise had every intention of seeing his future through.

The Sheikah's Story

Now, let's fast forward a few eons and come back to the tears. Many people have associated the tears from the title to be the magatama relics seen with Zelda, Sidon, Riju, Tulin, and Ganondorf. But the tear's symbolism in the franchise has been around for much, much longer, thanks to the existence of the Sheikah. The tear is a part of the eye symbol for the Sheikah, and according to the The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia, it represents their willingness to go any lengths so as to support their divine mission of protecting the Royal Family that possesses the blood of the goddess Hylia. Given that information alone, wouldn't it make sense that the title "Tears of the Kingdom" refers to the Sheikah?

"Okay sure, but what role would they play in the game?" That's not the point. It's not the role they play now. It's the role they played in the past. Something of particular interest to me when it comes to the Sheikah is how differently the Sheikah are characterized between the games of Skyward Sword, Ocarina of Time, and Breath of the Wild. In Skyward Sword, they were a tribe who patiently for the day to protect the goddess's reincarnation and went so far as to transport her through time repeatedly. In OOT, they were agents who went so far as to secretly carry out the Royal Family's dirty work. In BOTW, they were inventors and sorcerers who went so far as to recreate divine power to protect the land. 

But guess what never changes? The fact that they write history.

Above everything else, they are the storytellers, and they have seen everything. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But with the role of storytelling, they have the ability to alter it, embellish it. And in the Sheikah's case, they have a tendency to omit the negative, so as to promote support for the goddess and her Royal Family. Think about it: Impa never explains why Demise wanted to take control of the world in Skyward Sword and she's the first to jump to fix issues at the Shadow Temple in Ocarina of Time so no one has to bear witness to what the temple had actually turned into. If she did, Hyrule would surely fall into chaos. To Hyrule, the governing powers like the goddess Hylia and the Royal Family are the pinnacle of morality. That image can't be compromised.

And for a time, it wasn't, until we reach Breath of the Wild. That's when things get interesting.

In the tapestry, as shown above, a majority of it is occupied by the tale of the warrior with the spirit of a hero, a princess with divine power, and a technological army pioneered by Sheikah. That's what the game's creators want you to see. But do you see that little strip at the bottom?

Yeah, that. It's a tiny piece of the story but it's a big one. By now, most game fans know that is the history of how the Yiga Clan came to be. Cado, one of the Sheikah that stands guard in front of Impa's home, elaborates on this imagery, remarking that once upon a time, the Royal Family (more specifically the King of Hyrule) did turn on the tribe that swore nothing but utmost loyalty to them.

Of course, this seems counterintuitive. Why punish the people who protected you? What was their sin? As far as we're told by Cado, Sheikah technology had once been praised as "the power of the Gods". Now, I won't get into too much detail about this, but the Triforce, which you might have noticed isn't really mentioned by word of mouth in Breath of the Wild, is now a power of the Royal Family that is passed down. All parts of it. It's a lot to take in, given my lack of elaboration, but I recommend watching THIS video by Monster Maze who does a fantastic job exploring the nature of the whole Triforce being hosted in an individual body.

But what I want you to take out of this information is how there is, essentially, a rivalry between the Sheikah and the Royal Family, a sudden leveling of the playing field that the latter party does not want. It's eerie how similar they act as their ancestor god. The entitlement is present yet again: you cannot change the world like I can, you cannot be as powerful as I am. I have the final say. This certainly paints a more explicitly, vicious picture of the Royal Family, but it's nothing really new. After all, the Sheikah remember everything cruel that had been done to others by this family, by them, but hid it for the purpose of the "greater good". But once they become the target, everything changes. The Sheikah don't remove it from history. They remember it. Some more passionately than others.

Ties between the Gerudo, the Sheikah, and the Yiga.

Something else on the Sheikah tapestry that seemed out of place for me is the depiction of the hero.

He is clad in green, which one would imagine, is a reference to Link's green motif throughout the games. However, I fully believe that detail is a red herring — that is to say, it's meant to throw us off. And from what I have seen, most fans of the game agree. Why? Because that same individual has red hair and a sword that looks more like a golden claymore than the sword that seals the darkness. And well, given that the Gerudo are the ones who use golden claymores, plus the way the figure is drawn to have a knee bent, there can only be one person this image is referring to:

Ganondorf.

Keep in mind how the Sheikah have erased his name, but did not erase him, and that the Yiga swear their allegiance to Calamity Ganon. To be completely honest, I think the Calamity did not have the name Ganon to it 10,100 years prior to the events of Breath of the Wild. But, to explain why it suddenly does in Breath of the Wild, I do believe Ganondorf had a calling to malice, whether the kind left behind by the Calamity or the kind that was already existing throughout the land. Read THIS post by @golvio to get an idea of what I mean. The only change I would make regarding this theory is that the people did not originally see the malice as inherently evil. A little rot was needed to clear the space for new growth. But with great power comes great responsibility, and I think Ganondorf might have utilized the malice in a manner the King of Hyrule was not pleased with. 

How so, and why? Well there can be different reasons to choose from for the creators, but I have a personal favorite theory that explains why the Sheikah and Yiga remember Ganondorf more acutely than even the Royal Family and why there's ruins in the Gerudo Desert: As a last resort, to protect the Sheikah who helped him defeat the Calamity, and to reclaim the technology they lost, Ganondorf used the malice to take over the guardians and to get rid of the soldiers wiping out the civilians. In response, Zelda from that time was tasked with defeating him with the help of the other "Sages" (those who possess the magatama relics/tears) and one of those sages sealed him away with the Zonai hand. Zelda's betrayal breeds the hatred that Demise foretold would reincarnate, time and time again, leading to Ganondorf internally accepting that a peaceful world is a world without the Kingdom of Hyrule, without the Royal Family, completing the cycle once more.

And so here it comes, the big storyline change that Nintendo stands on the precipice of:

To break the cycle, Ganondorf is not the one that needs to necessarily be redeemed. It's Zelda. That isn't to say that Ganondorf isn't flawed and should not repent; there are a million things he could have done better or have not done, whatever it is that lead him to be sealed. And what I mean by Zelda having to be redeemed is that even though she technically has done nothing personally to Ganondorf, it is her blood that binds her to the ancestors who spurred the very hatred that fueled the Calamity and left behind a legacy built on the maintained misfortune of others. If anything is to change, she must be the first to cast aside her fear so that the cycle cannot repeat again, and instead work on understanding her family's past and building her faith. And no, I don't mean her faith in the goddess (she has lost too much trying to), but faith in the goodness of a man who was unfairly pushed to become the worst version of himself to protect the helpless.

[themillionairethinking]

Millionaire Habits: Adopting the Mindset of the Ultra-Successful

🌟 Unlock the secrets behind millionaire success! 💰 Adopting the mindset of the ultra-successful is a game-changer. 🚀 Dive into the full guide at the link in bio and start cultivating millionaire habits today! 🌐✨ #MillionaireThinking #SuccessMindset

What do millionaires have in common? How do they think, act and live differently from the average person? And most importantly, how can you learn from them and adopt their habits to achieve your own financial success? In this blog post, we will explore some of the key habits and mindsets that millionaires share, based on research and interviews with some of the most successful people in the…

[selfdiscoverymedia]

C23-32. Raschell Harlingten, Your Prosperity Blueprint.

Choose Positive Living with Sara Troy and her guest Raschelle Harlingten, on air from August 8thRaschell Harlingten is a woman who chooses personal power, faith and hope to grant her resilience and strength in life. Born in England, Raschell’s family began when she was just four years old travelling to where her father’s work took them. However, through those experiences, Raschell learned to…

[successloops]

WHAT'S A BUSINESS BLUEPRINT??

So after being told to 'blueprint' my customer journey I posted my Community 'Labyrinth Circle to Success' -it's a scroll down in my page feed. - Then I realized but what about my private coaching, so I created my 'Detour to Success' journey - pictured here.

Then that made me think oh crap - these are just parts of the whole picture so I'm busy creating the complete picture of the 'Universe Of Prosperity, Freedom & Fulfillment' & I'll post that asap - but first the 'Detour To Success' personal coaching blueprint that's a 3 month walk through the whole make-over. Here's an illustration of the process.

If you'd like to know more & claim 6 free success resources, then just join a community of mover-shakers - read more here:

[high-priestess-house]

𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕻𝖔𝖜𝖊𝖗 𝖔𝖋 𝕴𝖓𝖙𝖊𝖓𝖙: 𝕱𝖔𝖈𝖚𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝖄𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝕸𝖆𝖌𝖎𝖈𝖆𝖑 𝕰𝖓𝖊𝖗𝖌𝖞

In the realm of magic, one principle stands above the rest: the power of intent. At its core, intent is the driving force behind every spell, ritual, and magical endeavor. Whether you’re a seasoned practitioner or just beginning your journey, understanding and harnessing the power of your intent can profoundly enhance your magical practice.

What is Intent in Magic?

Intent is the focused desire and purpose you infuse into your magical workings. It is the clear, conscious will you project into the universe to manifest a specific outcome. Think of intent as the blueprint for your magic—it gives direction and purpose to your energy, guiding it toward your desired goal.

Why Intent Matters

Clarity and Focus: A clear intent provides a focal point for your magical energy. Without a well-defined goal, your energy can scatter, diluting its effectiveness. Like an archer aiming at a target, your intent narrows your focus, ensuring your energy hits its mark

Alignment with the Universe: When your intent is clear, you align yourself with the natural flow of universal energy. This alignment amplifies your power, making it easier for the universe to respond to your wishes. It’s like tuning into the right frequency on a radio—when you’re on the right channel, everything comes through more clearly.

Empowerment and Confidence: Knowing what you want and why you want it strengthens your confidence. This self-assuredness not only boosts your magical prowess but also enhances your overall sense of empowerment in life.

How to Harness the Power of Intent

Define Your Goal: Before casting any spell or performing a ritual, take time to clearly define your goal. What do you want to achieve? Be specific. Instead of saying, “I want to be happy,” you might say, “I want to find joy and contentment in my daily life.”

Visualize Your Desire: Visualization is a powerful tool for focusing your intent. Close your eyes and vividly imagine the outcome you desire. Engage all your senses—see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, and even taste it if applicable. The more detailed your visualization, the stronger your intent.

Use Affirmations: Positive affirmations reinforce your intent. Create a short, positive statement that encapsulates your goal and repeat it regularly. For example, if you seek financial abundance, you might affirm, “I am open to receiving wealth and prosperity.”

Infuse Emotion: Emotion is the fuel for your intent. Feel the emotions associated with achieving your goal—joy, relief, excitement, love. Emotions heighten your energy and make your intent more compelling to the universe.

Release and Trust: Once you’ve set your intent, release it into the universe and trust the process. Holding on too tightly can create resistance. Have faith that the universe will respond in the best possible way and at the right time.

Practical Exercises to Strengthen Your Intent

Meditation: Regular meditation helps quiet your mind and enhances your focus. Spend a few minutes each day meditating on your intent, allowing it to sink deeply into your subconscious.

Journaling: Write down your goals and the reasons behind them. Journaling clarifies your thoughts and solidifies your intent. Revisit your entries to stay aligned with your desires.

Rituals and Spellwork: Design rituals and spells that resonate with your intent. Use symbols, colors, herbs, and crystals that correspond to your goal. The act of performing a ritual reinforces your intent through action and symbolism.

The power of intent is the cornerstone of effective magic. By focusing your magical energy with a clear, purposeful intent, you can manifest your desires and create profound changes in your life. Remember, the universe responds to the energy you put out, so make sure your intent is aligned with your true desires and highest good. With practice and dedication, you’ll find that your ability to harness the power of intent becomes second nature, transforming your magical practice and your life.

Embrace the power of your intent and watch as your magical journey unfolds with greater clarity, purpose, and success.

[universalitgirlsblog2]

🍨🍒QUOTES FROM THE POWER OF SUBCONSCIOUS MIND🍨🍒

🍨All you have to do is unite mentally and emotionally with the good you wish to embody . The creative powers of your subconscious will respond accordingly. Begin now, today. Let wonders happen in your life ! Keep on keeping on until the day breaks and the shadows flee away.

🍒The law of your mind is the law of belief . This means to believe in the way your mind works , to believe in belief itself. The belief of your mind is the thought of your mind , just that and nothing else. All your experiences , events , conditions and acts are produced by your subconscious mind in reaction to your thoughts. Remember, it is not the thing believed in , but the belief in your own mind that brings about the result.

🍨Every thought is a cause and every condition is the effect.

🍒You are like a captain navigating ship. He or she must give the right orders , or the ship is wrecked . In the same way , you must give the right orders ( thoughts and images ) to your subconscious mind , which controls and governs all your experiences.

🍨Change your thoughts and you change your destiny.

🍒Your subconscious mind is the seat of your emotions. It is the creative mind . If you think good , good will follow. If you think evil , evil will follow. This is the way your mind works.

🍨You must be very careful to give your subconscious only those suggestions that heal , bless , elevate and inspire you in all your ways . Remember your subconscious doesn't understand a joke. It takes you at your word.

🍒Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true , your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass . Believe in good fortune , divine guidance , right action , and all the blessings of life.

🍨All frustrations is due to unfulfilled desires. If you dwell on obstacles , delays and difficulties , your subconscious mind responds accordingly, and you are blocking your own good.

🍒Keep your conscious mind busy with the expectation of the best , and your subconscious will faithfully reproduce your habitual thinking.

🍨Know that faith is like a seed planted in the ground ; it grows after it's kind . Plant the idea ( seed ) in your mind , water and fertilize it with expectancy , and it will become manifest.

🍒There is only one process of healing and that is faith . There is only one healing power , namely , your subconscious mind.

🍨Whether the object of your faith is real or false , you will get results . Your subconscious mind responds to the thought in your mind . Look upon faith as a thought in your mind , and that will suffice.

🍒It is foolish to believe in sickness or in anything that will hurt or harm you. Believe in perfect health , prosperity, peace , wealth and divine guidance.

🍨Great and noble thoughts upon which you habitually dwell become great acts.

🍒Know that you can remake yourself by giving a new blueprint to your subconscious mind.

🍨Thoughts of jealousy , fear , worry , anxiety tear down and destroy your nerves and glands , bringing about mental and physical diseases of all kinds.

🍒What you affirm consciously and feel as true will be made manifest in your mind , body and affairs . Affirm the good and enter the joy of living.

🍨When your mind is relaxed and you accept an idea , your subconscious goes to work to execute the idea.

🍒Imagination is your most powerful faculty. Imagine what is lovely and of good report. You are what you imagine yourself to be.

🍨What you consciously affirm, you must not mentally deny a few moments later. This will neutralize the good you have affirmed.

🍒When fear knocks at the door of your mind , let faith in God and all things good open the door.

🍨The idea of success contains all the elements of success. Repeat the word " success " to yourself frequently with faith and conviction and you will be under a subconscious compulsion to succeed.

[markrosewater]

Hey mark, long time reader, also long time asker.

I like a challenge when deckbuilding. When I first found out about your psychographics, I thought “woah! it even have the same name as me!” (John). Commander helps tickle that itch for me, because I can start off with a dumb premise and try to make that concept as best I can, and since it’s not a competitive format, I know that there will always be SOMEONE with a deck on a similar power level, however bad that terrible deck idea ends up being.

This brings me to a qualm that I personally have, and have seen purely anecdotal evidence that other people have too.

It feels kinda lame when you guys make a commander that’s just “this is the best commander for X”. More and more we’re getting legends where they’re just the *correct* choice. If I want to build a sultai graveyard deck, Muldrotha is the answer. Nothing tops it, and I doubt anything every will top it. And that’s just one archetype. 5 color sagas? Bombadil. Snow? Jorn and Isu. Flash tribal? Nymris. Sure there are other cards that can be the commander, but you can say that about anything. Sure, I COULD make a Rakdos exile deck with Pavel Maliki in the command zone, but that’s just objectively wrong. The commander is always gonna be prosper. My point is that it’s getting harder and harder to say “how do I make this work” when you’re just handing us the blueprints and all the parts with a step by step instruction booklet on what to do.

To be fair, many archetypes have so much innate complexity to them and have reached a critical mass of options where it’s impossible to tell what the “best” option is, as there are so many different facets and roads to go down. Orzhov aristocrats and mono-green stompy are easy examples.

But the fact that it isn’t always the case doesn’t change the fact that happens a lot. I’m sure I’m not the only one that feels this way, but I’m also sure that if it was a majority opinion in the community y’all wouldn’t be doing it this much.

I just want to know if you have anything to say about this perception that I and many others hold. Thank you for all you do in magic, I hope you respond.

One of the most common requests I get here on the blog is "make this color combination Commander for this particular theme". Eventually, for some of them, we find an opportunity to make it. We don't know when that opportunity will arise again. We shouldn't try to make the best Commander we can for that slot? If it's too weak, players will just complain and ask we make another one.

The reality is a lot of players want prescriptive answers, and there's no way to make them for the players that want them and not for the players that don't. The idea is that players who want to do something different have access to the history of Magic to find less obvious answers.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Dharna Noor at The Guardian:

Climate experts fear Donald Trump will follow a blueprint created by his allies to gut the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa), disbanding its work on climate science and tailoring its operations to business interests.

Joe Biden’s presidency has increased the profile of the science-based federal agency but its future has been put in doubt if Trump wins a second term and at a time when climate impacts continue to worsen. The plan to “break up Noaa is laid out in the Project 2025 document written by more than 350 rightwingers and helmed by the Heritage Foundation. Called the Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise, it is meant to guide the first 180 days of presidency for an incoming Republican president. The document bears the fingerprints of Trump allies, including Johnny McEntee, who was one of Trump’s closest aides and is a senior adviser to Project 2025. “The National Oceanographic [sic] and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) should be dismantled and many of its functions eliminated, sent to other agencies, privatized, or placed under the control of states and territories,” the proposal says.

That’s a sign that the far right has “no interest in climate truth”, said Chris Gloninger, who last year left his job as a meteorologist in Iowa after receiving death threats over his spotlighting of global warming. The guidebook chapter detailing the strategy, which was recently spotlighted by E&E News, describes Noaa as a “colossal operation that has become one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry and, as such, is harmful to future US prosperity”. It was written by Thomas Gilman, a former Chrysler executive who during Trump’s presidency was chief financial officer for Noaa’s parent body, the commerce department. Gilman writes that one of Noaa’s six main offices, the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, should be “disbanded” because it issues “theoretical” science and is “the source of much of Noaa’s climate alarmism”. Though he admits it serves “important public safety and business functions as well as academic functions”, Gilman says data from the National Hurricane Center must be “presented neutrally, without adjustments intended to support any one side in the climate debate”.

[...] Noaa also houses the National Weather Service (NWS), which provides weather and climate forecasts and warnings. Gilman calls for the service to “fully commercialize its forecasting operations”. He goes on to say that Americans are already reliant on private weather forecasters, specifically naming AccuWeather and citing a PR release issued by the company to claim that “studies have found that the forecasts and warnings provided by the private companies are more reliable” than the public sector’s. (The mention is noteworthy as Trump once tapped the former CEO of AccuWeather to lead Noaa, though his nomination was soon withdrawn.)

The claims come amid years of attempts from US conservatives to help private companies enter the forecasting arena – proposals that are “nonsense”, said Rosenberg. Right now, all people can access high-quality forecasts for free through the NWS. But if forecasts were conducted only by private companies that have a profit motive, crucial programming might no longer be available to those in whom business executives don’t see value, said Rosenberg. [...] Fully privatizing forecasting could also threaten the accuracy of forecasts, said Gloninger, who pointed to AccuWeather’s well-known 30- and 60-day forecasts as one example. Analysts have found that these forecasts are only right about half the time, since peer-reviewed research has found that there is an eight- to 10-day limit on the accuracy of forecasts.

The Trump Administration is delivering a big gift to climate crisis denialism as part of Project 2025 by proposing the dismantling and privatizing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Weather Service (NWS) in his potential 2nd term.

This should frighten people to vote Democratic up and down the ballot if you want the NOAA and NWS to stay intact.

[genshin-impact-updates]

Web Event "Dancing Beasts and Soaring Kites" Now Online: Take Part to Obtain Primogems and Other In-Game Rewards

>> Click to Take Part in Event <<

Dancing Beasts to Wave in the New, and Soaring Kites for Blessings Too!

The Lantern Rite is here, bringing happiness, prosperity, and good fortune~

〓Event Duration〓

February 8, 2024 – February 17, 2024 23:59 (UTC+8)

*Rewards cannot be claimed after the event ends. Please claim them in time.

〓Eligibility〓

Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 10 or above can participate in this event.

〓Event Description〓

During the event, you can log in to Genshin Impact daily, claim Commission Rewards, consume Original Resin, and complete other missions to obtain the event item: Pale Yellow Silk Paper.

Pale Yellow Silk Paper can be used to unlock the various sections of the event and to search for the correct options. Once you choose the correct option, you'll be able to obtain Primogems and other in-game rewards.

〓Event Details〓

1. You can obtain the event item: Pale Yellow Silk Paper through the following methods: Complete missions such as logging into Genshin Impact every day, claiming Commission Rewards 2 times daily, and using a total of 40 Original Resin daily to obtain the corresponding amount of Pale Yellow Silk Paper.

2. Daily missions refresh at 04:00 (Server Time) each day. Unclaimed Pale Yellow Silk Paper will also be cleared by then. Please claim and use it in time. Claimed Pale Yellow Silk Paper will not be cleared.

3. A certain amount of Pale Yellow Silk Paper can be used to unlock different sections. There are a total of 5 sections in the event, which are located on different stages. You can click the Suanni and Crane buttons on the home page to switch between different stages and enter the corresponding sections.

4. After unlocking a section, you can play it multiple times until you've selected the correct option to obtain in-game rewards.

5. In each section, there are a total of three options to choose from. After you've chosen an option, you can flip it over to see the companion or item hidden behind.

6. Once you've flipped over the correct option, you'll have completed the challenge and will be able to obtain in-game rewards. If you flip over the wrong one, the companion or item behind will stay on the stage. You can continue flipping over the remaining options until you've selected the correct one in order to obtain in-game rewards.

7. If you leave halfway through, your progress will not be saved but your Pale Yellow Silk Paper will not be consumed either. You can try again multiple times.

*If Travelers try to visit the event at around 04:00 (Server Time), which is when the daily missions refresh, they may encounter a brief network error. Please refresh the page if you encounter this error.

〓Event Rewards〓

After you've unlocked all of the sections and completed the challenges, you'll be able to obtain Primogems ×120, Mystic Enhancement Ore ×10, Hero's Wit ×10, and Mora ×70,000. Also, after completing three sections and their challenges, you'll obtain a special reward: the blueprint for the Serenitea Pot Furnishing "Valley Store: The Leisure of Tea."

*The in-game rewards will be distributed via in-game mail. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the rewards in time.

*This web event is provided purely for entertainment. It is not indicative of any related gameplay features in Genshin Impact.

[probablyasocialecologist]

The global fashion industry, or as we call it in this report, ‘big fashion’, is controlled predominantly by corporate elites in the Global North, and is part and parcel of an economic system designed to maximise profit for the few, at the expense of the lives and livelihoods of working people across the world. The clothes we wear, and the processes that produce them, therefore provide us with a window into the broader inter-connected crises of poverty, inequality, climate and ecological breakdown. Radical alternatives such as degrowth movements offer different ways of envisioning industries like big fashion. Degrowth questions the relentless extraction of resources and exploitation of peoples in the pursuit of corporate profit, proposing that those most responsible for climate damage must reduce production and consume less. The idea is to prioritise moving to a socially just and ecologically sustainable society with social and environmental well-being replacing gross domestic product (GDP) as the indicators of prosperity. This report honours those working in the supply chains of an industry notorious for exploitation and abuse, both of workers and of our planet’s eco-systems. The report is not a blueprint for how to transform big fashion, but an insight into how the business model and economic system they operate in are inherently damaging. It situates the fashion industry as a key sector that must be urgently transformed because of its impact on the planet, and explores the extent to which corporate power and pursuit of profit has driven profound inequality, poverty, and worker exploitation. Crucially, this report explains why the transformation of sectors like fashion must be designed with and by workers and frontline communities, and not become another crisis they must endure.

[lmacoursereviews]

Examining Tim Han LMA Course Reviews for Transformative Personal Development

Tim Han’s Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course has attracted a lot of attention due to its revolutionary effects on people who want to advance both personally and professionally. In this thorough analysis, we examine the Tim Han LMA Course Reviews and examine how it enables learners to navigate their path to success successfully.

Techniques for Self-Control: The Foundation for Personal Growth

LMA Course is centered on a strong framework for developing self-discipline. This fundamental component is essential for people who want to reach their greatest potential. Han stresses the significance of exploring one’s psychology further in order to uncover latent traits and talents rather than only making superficial changes.

The idea of changing one’s identity is among Han’s most notable recommendations. This entails developing a fresh perspective of one that acts as an engine for achievement and constructive action. People can instill a sense of purpose and determination that are necessary for ongoing growth by changing the way they see themselves.

Han also presents the idea of enforcing severe consequences for breaking promises. This strategy provides a powerful incentive to uphold responsibility and discipline. People are driven to stay on course and pursue their goals with unshakable determination when there are repercussions associated with their behavior.

Changing Who You Are: Accepting Change for Personal Development

In order to evolve personally, Tim Han LMA Course pushes students to rethink who they are and welcome change. People are challenged to let go of limiting beliefs and embrace their actual potential through a series of immersive exercises and introspective reflections.

He stresses the need to embrace a growth mindset that promotes resilience in the face of adversity and ongoing improvement. Through adopting a new outlook and welcoming modifications, individuals can surmount challenges and access novel prospects for accomplishment.

Han also promotes the development of a good self-image that is consistent with one’s objectives and desires. Participants might use self-affirmation to drive themselves towards their goals by visualizing themselves as competent and accomplished people.

Success Insider: A Comprehensive Strategy for Individual Wealth

The thorough approach to personal prosperity used by Tim Han’s LMA Course is highlighted in Success Insider’s assessment. Tim Han Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course Review provides a wealth of knowledge covering many facets of life, including goal-setting, attitude development, habit-building, and personal growth, in addition to self-discipline strategies.

Participants receive access to a game-changing success blueprint by combining Tim Han’s tried-and-true techniques for building self-discipline with insights from Success Insider. This collaborative approach gives people the skills and mindset they need to prosper in today’s changing world.

In conclusion

Tim Han LMA Course provides a comprehensive framework for success and personal growth. Through the application of self-control strategies, adaptability to change and integration of Success Insider insights, individuals can set out on a transforming path to reaching their maximum potential.

The Life Mastery Achievers (LMA) Course is a ray of hope for people who want to reach their greatest potential. The course provides a thorough road map for success by emphasizing self-discipline strategies, identity transformations, and holistic approaches to personal prosperity. Through the integration of Success Insider insights and his tried-and-true methodology, participants get the skills and perspective needed to traverse the path towards both personal and professional fulfillment successfully.

People who go on this life-changing adventure are given the ability to accept change, get past setbacks, and fulfill their dreams, which eventually leads to an unmatched success in life.

Source Credit:

https://timhanlmacoursereviews.medium.com/examining-tim-han-lma-course-reviews-for-transformative-personal-development-56a6a172a1f3

[timhanlmacourse]

Tim Han LMA Course - Revolutionary Concepts and Effective Techniques Is Unveiled

Tim Han, a well-known expert in the field of personal development and the creator of the LMA Life Mastery Achievers Course by Tim Han from Success Insider, has created an unrivalled blueprint for self-improvement. This isn't just another program; it's a full journey that looks into numerous aspects of personal growth, creating remarkable changes in people's lives.

Tim Han's Life Mastery Achievers Course

Mastering Your Inner Power

Week 1: Inner Power Mastery is the core of the Life Mastery Achievers Course. This course focuses on discovering one's intrinsic potential, developing self-belief, and utilizing inner power. Participants learn to recognize their talents, gain confidence, and use these qualities to handle life's problems effectively.

Beautiful State Activator

Week 2 introduces the Beautiful State Activator, a transformative phase that creates an optimistic and motivated mentality. Tim Han's teachings focus on ways to shift an individual's mind, allowing people to work from a place of happiness, admiration, and resilience in the face of adversity.

The Life Mastery Achievers Course's Distinctiveness

Tim Han – Life Mastery Achievers Course is unique in its approach to personal growth. In contrast to traditional programmes, this course delves deeply into various factors critical for holistic growth.

Roadmap to Clarity and Purpose

The Clarity and Purpose Roadmap is introduced in Week 3, encouraging participants to determine their life's purpose and plan an unambiguous path towards their goals. This segment provides clarity, allowing people to connect their activities with their passions, leading to fulfilment.

Blueprint for World-Class Performance

The World Class Performance Blueprint takes center stage in Week 4. Tim Han teaches peak performance tactics, honing talents that motivate people to achieve.

Providing Additional Insights into the Course's Uniqueness

This course is notable for its practicality combined with an aura of responsibility and encouragement from the community. It does more than convey knowledge; it also provides participants with actionable skills and approaches that can be utilized immediately in real life.

Week 5 delves into the Unlimited Abundance Secrets, concentrating on cultivating a prosperous mindset, attracting riches, and opening the doors to limitless possibilities.

The Connection Laws

The last lesson, Week 6, is centered on The Laws of Connection. Tim Han illuminates the importance of interactions, interaction, and connectedness, helping individuals build lasting relationships in their personal and professional lives.

Conclusion

The fundamental core of this course is found not just in the understanding obtained but also in the revolutionary change it brings about. It is about absorbing, internalizing, and continually implementing the teachings to live a life of fulfilment, purpose, and success. Participants do more than ingest information; they grow into individuals capable of realizing their dreams and creating a life that aligns with their deepest wishes.

The Success Insider Life Mastery Achievers Course by Tim Han goes beyond traditional personal development programmes. Its multidimensional approach, practical tactics, and commitment to support from the public transform it into a transformational journey toward complete development. Tim Han's course is about embracing transformation and entering a life of fulfilment, purpose, and success, not merely learning knowledge.

[gaypuppiboi2]

In the late 21st century, the world underwent a dramatic shift as the Arab world, fueled by a powerful resurgence in cultural, economic, and political influence, began to shape the global landscape in an unprecedented process of Arabization. This was not a conquest by force, but rather a sweeping cultural and intellectual movement that redefined the global order, spreading Arab values, language, and traditions across continents.

### The Rise of the Arab World

The foundation for this global Arabization was laid during a period of rapid transformation in the Arab world, often referred to as the Second Arab Renaissance. This era was marked by significant advancements in technology, renewable energy, education, and governance, positioning the region as a leader in the post-industrial world.

Oil wealth, once the cornerstone of the Arab economy, was strategically reinvested into sectors such as clean energy, technology, and education. The Gulf states, in particular, became hubs for innovation and global finance, attracting talent and investment from around the world. As the Arab world modernized, it also began to export its culture, language, and values, using soft power to extend its influence far beyond its traditional borders.

### Cultural Influence and Language Expansion

Arabic, which had long been a language of religious and literary significance, began to gain prominence as a global language of commerce, science, and diplomacy. The spread of Arabic was driven by the region’s economic clout, with Arabic becoming a required language in international business, diplomacy, and academia. Leading universities around the world introduced Arabic as a core part of their curriculum, and Arabic-language media became dominant sources of news and entertainment.

The cultural influence of the Arab world extended into everyday life. Islamic architecture, art, and fashion gained widespread popularity, influencing global design trends. Traditional Arab music and cuisine also became staples in cities around the world, with fusion genres and dishes integrating into the global mainstream. Festivals celebrating Arab culture began to spring up across major global cities, attended by millions who embraced the rich traditions of the Arab world.

### The Global Spread of Islamic Values

Parallel to the cultural influence was the rise of Islamic values and ethics in global governance and societal norms. The emphasis on community, charity, and social justice inherent in Islamic teachings resonated with populations worldwide, especially in regions facing economic disparity and social unrest. As a result, many nations began to adopt aspects of Sharia-inspired legal frameworks, particularly in areas related to finance, family law, and social welfare.

The global financial system saw a shift towards Islamic banking, which emphasizes ethical investments and the prohibition of interest. This model attracted countries seeking more sustainable and equitable financial systems, leading to the widespread adoption of Islamic finance principles across Europe, Asia, and Africa.

### The Arab World as a Global Leader

As the Arabization of the world progressed, the Arab world took on a leadership role in global institutions. Organizations like the United Nations and the World Bank saw a significant increase in Arab leadership and influence. The Arab League, once focused primarily on regional issues, evolved into a powerful global alliance that set the agenda on key international issues, from climate change to global trade.

The political model of the Arab world, blending aspects of traditional governance with modern democracy, became a blueprint for nations seeking stability and prosperity. This hybrid model emphasized the role of wise leadership, community consultation, and religious guidance, offering an alternative to Western-style democracy that appealed to many countries, particularly in the Global South.

### Resistance and Integration

The Arabization of the world was not without its challenges. In some regions, there was resistance to the spread of Arabic language and Islamic values, driven by concerns over cultural homogenization and the erosion of local traditions. However, the Arab world, through a combination of diplomacy, economic incentives, and cultural exchange, was largely successful in addressing these concerns.

Integration into the Arabized global order often involved a blending of local and Arab cultures, creating new, hybrid identities that celebrated diversity while acknowledging the influence of Arab civilization. This cultural synthesis became a hallmark of the 22nd century, leading to a more interconnected and culturally rich global society.

### A New World Order

By the end of the 22nd century, the Arab world had succeeded in Arabizing much of the globe, not through conquest, but through the power of its culture, language, and ideas. The world had become a place where Arabic was spoken in boardrooms and classrooms from New York to Tokyo, where Islamic values shaped the ethical foundations of society, and where the architectural, artistic, and culinary traditions of the Arab world were celebrated as global heritage.

This new world order, shaped by the principles of the Arab Renaissance, was one of cultural exchange, mutual respect, and shared prosperity. The Arabization of the world had not erased other cultures, but rather enriched them, creating a global civilization that drew strength from its diverse roots and its shared future.

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for giving up everything, including my sanity and moral compass, in a desperate bid to save my daughter?

…I loved her more than anything.

Sorry. I know you probably don’t want to hear about it, but I want to make that much very clear. I have to, for my own sake. I want everyone to know, and so I will reiterate:

My daughter was my world. I can hardly put into words how much I cared about her, at least once upon a time.

She was a happy accident— she hadn’t been planned. I was young, or at least felt young at the time when her mother showed up on my doorstep. We weren’t in a committed relationship. I was a ‘player’ of sorts. I hadn’t intended to impregnate her, but then there we were.

She held her arms and told me what happened. She asked me what I wanted to do. She said she didn’t really want to keep her, and was thinking of adopting her out, but wanted to know what I thought.

I was stunned. I wasn’t ready. I was keen to get rid of her too. But then my baby girl— my daughter reached out a hand and grabbed my finger. And it was as if my whole world shifted.

I realized she was so small. And so incredibly alone. And MINE. I realized if I didn’t protect her, then no one would. That she was my duty.

I told her mother I’d keep her. I became a single father. It was frightening, but I was sure of it. For my daughter, I’d do anything.

And life was good, for a time. We were happy. But then, everything changed. I ruined it.

You see, I was a businessman and mechanic by trade. I had a moderately successful company producing technology. And one day, I stumbled upon the blueprints for a machine that would change EVERYTHING.

It was a wish granting computer… said to be able to make any dream come true. I was ecstatic. Not only would this surely help my company, but it would help ensure my daughter had a bright future. I decided I’d build it— make her life prosperous, and make all of her wishes reality. We even worked on it together.

It was our project. Our collective dream. We poured our hearts into that machine.

But it went wrong. It had to, didn’t it? There’s no such thing as a true miracle. Partway through building the machine, I…

I lost her.

Something malfunctioned. A portal opened up. Maybe I shouldn’t have allowed her to be near the computer— I don’t know, but either way, it stole her away. My daughter… the light of my life was swallowed by the portal. She screamed for help, and then…

The portal closed. She was gone.

My daughter was dead, and it was my fault.

I was inconsolable. I promised I’d hang the stars in the sky for her, only to to allow her to be murdered at only seven. In one terrible moment, my entire world came crashing down.

I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know where to go. But then it hit me, I realized.

…My wish granting machine— the same machine that had damned me— it was now my only hope.

If I completed it… if I were to make my dreams come true, then surely I could bring my daughter back to life.

Of course, it couldn’t function as was. I tried to make my wish, and it told me it was ‘impossible.’ But I didn’t give up. I just needed more resources. More time.

Did you know every planet has the power of the stars contained somewhere within it? A miraculous energy… that which my wish granting machine ran on. I harvested this power from my own planet, but it wasn’t enough.

I needed more.

I traveled to other planets, taking this power by force, if necessary. I constructed a grand spaceship, and my machine and I conquered.

But the grief in my heart hadn’t eased. I was beginning to feel delirious. I started suffering from severe health complications. I well and truly thought I was going to die. But I couldn’t allow that to happen before I saw my daughter again, and so I made another decision.

…The machine. I’d use its powers to transcend my mortal flesh. I replaced my faulty heart with a cybernetic one. My ailing limbs with machinery, and my weeping eyes with LEDs. That way, I would never die. My daughter wouldn’t recognize me upon her return, but that was okay.

It was all for her.

Slowly, I began to lose it, though. Something terrible was happening to me. I was more standoffish… edgy and angry, and even worse, my memory began to go. I began to forget things that were important to me.

…Even my daughter’s face.

I think, in some way, I was aware of it. I was aware it was that accursed machine. It was eating away at my brain every time I used it. But it didn’t matter. I still had to save her. And so I surrendered myself— gave my mind up, all in a desperate bid to MAYBE find a way to bring her home before I lost myself entirely.

I did not. I forgot my daughter— my precious child— the one who this was all for, and my priorities shifted.

Prosperity. That’s what I realized I wanted. Prosperity. For myself and the people cared about. But people were far too foolish to attain prosperity on their own. If I wanted prosperity to be treated with respect, then I would have to take it for myself. No-one else understood the correct way to live.

We invaded more planets— me and my precious machine. We did so with even more force. We stole their natural resources for ourselves, and as for the people who lived there…?

We improved them. We gave them the same upgrades I’d been given. It was the only way to live an efficient life, and so even if they didn’t want to, we mechanized them. We mechanized entire planets, spreading our agenda of prosperity all across the universe, and becoming incomprehensibly rich in the process.

It was… maybe eleven years into this when I met a peculiar person. She was young— couldn’t have been older than 18. She begged me for a job— said that she NEEDED to work for my company.

She had no credentials, but I felt… drawn to her, anyways. Her diligent demeanor and her strange sad eyes. I offered her a position as my secretary, and she agreed.

She, like everyone else, was mechanized, and she begun work at my company.

We didn’t always get along… me and this person, who I’ll call ‘S.’ I’d shout at her. I wasn’t an easy boss. I was mean-spirited and demanding. But even so, I was still kinder to her than I was to others, I think. She brought me a certain sense of peace.

…On quiet days, she’d sing me songs.

I trusted S, or at least as much as I could trust anyone. And so one day, when it came to us mechanizing a particularly important planet, I put her in charge of the operation. She’d shown she was competent, and I trusted her to do what needed to be done.

…She failed. Spectacularly. At every step of the operation, she messed it up. A rebel from that planet resisted our company’s takeover— destroying our spaceship and eventually making his way to my headquarters. S tried to stop him, but failed time and time again.

He waltzed right into my office.

She tried, one last time, to seize him… to make up for her mistakes and make me proud, but she was unable. He was too strong. He outright humiliated her.

I was… enraged. I’d trusted S with so much, and she’d let me down. I terminated her from her position right then and there— even though she begged me for mercy— even though she said she needed ‘just one more chance.’

I didn’t listen. I never listened to S.

I should have.

(I’m sorry. I’m so, SO sorry.)

I, too, was beaten by the rebel. But I had one last trick up my sleeve. I attempted to connect with the computer— my greatest accomplishment and my last hope. And S…

She stole it. That which I was using to sync with the computer, right as it was attached to my brain.

All at once, two things happened.

First of all, I lost control. I could feel the computer’s presence creeping up on me. I knew soon I’d be dead— TRULY dead as it reformatted me. S had killed me, whether she meant to or not.

But second of all…

For just a brief moment, I remembered. I remembered EVERYTHING.

And as I stared at S, dying… completely unable to move, I came to a horrible realization.

I knew her. Even looking at me with such hateful eyes. Even having changed her beyond recognition

I had met S before, a very, very long time ago. I’d forgotten it, but she was the one I did all of this for.

…She was my daughter. She’d been by my side all this time, and she’d murdered me.

The last thing I was able to process was just how angry she looked. Just how scared and small. She… well and truly despised me.

And really, I can’t blame her.

I’m in a better place now. My spirit was almost destroyed entirely by that which took everything else from me, but even a wish granting computer can’t defeat Death. Eventually, painstakingly, my soul was knit back together.

But I am not at peace. I am anything but. I can’t get her expression out of my mind… just how much she resented me.

Now, I know the full story. My daughter never died. Instead, she spent 11 horrible years trapped in a nightmare dimension. My computer could not bring her back because she was not gone… not truly. She was fighting for her life.

Eventually, she returned to me. She became the person I knew as ‘S.’ But by then, I had already forgotten her, and she was inconsolable. She vowed she’d find a way to save me… to ‘wake me up’ and have me remember.

She tried. She really, really tried. But I was beyond saving. And I guess when I tried to fire her… something snapped. Perhaps she thought maybe— just maybe if she were to get rid of the computer, she could change fate.

…She did not. I am gone now, and her efforts were all for naught.

I know, realistically, I am the bad guy in this story. I committed countless atrocities in the name of seeking salvation. I conquered planets. I mechanized strangers. I even mechanized she who was most dear to me.

But I didn’t mean to… I never meant to—

I just wanted to see her. One last time. I knew the fate it would condemn me to, but I did not care. Was that really so selfish? All we wanted was to rescue one another, and in doing so, we damned ourselves.

…AITA? For trying to save my daughter, and in doing so, perhaps condemning her to the worst fate of all?

[amarylliasky]

Number 27!

Five Times Calyan Fell Alseep on His Family and One Time He…

4. Eruhaben

Calyan took a moment to breathe in the almost frigid night air. Who knew late winter could be so cold? He’d gotten too used to the small bit of insulation in the cave where the Super Rock Villa resides, and almost forgotten that there was still snow on the ground and below freezing temperatures on the surface.

That and the Henituse territory has always gotten pretty cold in the winter.

It’s been awhile since he’d stayed at his “first” house. Lately, he’s taken to staying in the Villa or the black castle. And while the castle is definitely above ground, Lord Sherrit has a particular way of regulating temperature so that the cold air of the Forest of Darkness stays mostly outside.

Well, maybe it’s his fault for coming out to the balcony so late at night. Watching as his breath creates little white puffs of stream in the night air, he can’t help but think of the beings currently occupying his bedroom.

The children are sprawled across his large bed, tangled in the plush comforter with a mountain of pillows to cuddle (along with each other); his brother, Cale, at some point during Calyan’s nap, had fallen asleep on the sofa, and Choi Han, as always, had stayed near the door, ready to fend off any potential intruders. Even Alberu, who had been occupied with the aftermath of the last battle of Puzzle City, now sleeps in Calyan’s own room, slouched over a pile of paperwork at a desk he’d gotten from who knows where. He’d also seen traces of magic device blueprints and some ashes on a table in Raon’s experiment corner, no doubt Eruhaben and Rosalyn are around here somewhere; most likely off in their own guest quarters.

His family is here with him. Both the Henituse’s and his new family members are all within arms reach, not going anywhere.

They are safe, but he is not satisfied.

He really is so selfish.

Why now, of all times, does he suddenly feel like something is very wrong? After the years he and everyone else spent to attain this victory, why now does nothing feel right?

He’s spent the last twenty years as Calyan Henituse, a young master of the prosperous Henituse Duchy, but right now, he feels nothing but disdain for his identity. He feels like he doesn’t belong here. He thought he’d long since accepted this new person he’d become, but recently, he can’t even look in the mirror without feeling an overwhelming sense of disgust. What a time to develop imposter syndrome.

What is wrong with him?

“Child? What are you doing out here at this hour?”

Eek! He almost gasped out loud.

He hadn’t heard the doors open, though he made sure to close them softly as he came outside in order to not let in any of the cold air. Of course, the ancient dragon could have teleported out here, but how did he know that Calyan was on the balcony in the first place? And why was Eruhaben still up?

“I didn’t expect you to still be up, Eruhaben-nim.” He spoke softly, still mindful of the sensitive hearing of those inside.

The dragon sighed, “Unlucky human, I asked you why you were up so late. Weren’t you the one who claimed that you would do nothing but roll around on your bed for the foreseeable future?”

Eruhaben walked over to the railing, placing one hand on the cooled marble that made up the entire balcony. Calyan couldn’t say anything to that. He had told them something of the sort, and he’d planned to do just that, but he didn’t foresee this anxious feeling and the intrusive thoughts that came with it. So he just said whatever sounded good enough to placate the ancient dragon.

“I just couldn’t fall asleep.” He looked out over the Henituse castle. It wasn’t exactly a lie, he just left out the fact of why he couldn’t fall back asleep. “It’s fine though. I’ve slept pretty much the entire day, I can last a few hours without.” Well, that and, thanks to The Vitality of the Heart, he didn’t exactly need that much sleep to feel energized.

Eruhaben observed him, not entirely satisfied with that answer, but he must have decided it wasn’t an issue since he didn’t pry. What a relief. Calyan wasn’t sure how to even begin explaining how he was feeling, let alone why. The mental strain of trying to come to terms with who he had been for seventeen years and then thirty-six, before finally figuring it out at twenty; and then having an identity crisis at almost twenty-one would be a bit too much to process, even for a great and mighty dragon.

So yeah, he decided to stick with ‘can’t sleep’ as his go to excuse.

The elder looked out at the rest of the castle as well, not saying anything. Although Calyan had come out here to avoid everyone, the ancient dragon’s presence brought a strange sort of calmness to him. Huh, maybe living for over a thousand years does that to someone? Then again, a dragon’s presence; what should be intimidating to him, usually doesn’t affect him thanks to the Dominating Aura, so maybe he’s not the best judge of what should or shouldn’t be comforting. But that’s something he’ll think about much later. For now, all he does is stand next to the dragon as they watch the knights patrol along the castle walls.

Minutes pass gradually, and his eyes start to become heavy. Amidst the voices of his ancient powers, who had been silent until now, urging him to rest, he listens to the wind blowing softly through the trees. It’s nice, to just exist in the moment. How long has it been since he just existed outside of the never ending battles and his records constantly tethering him to the past? He doesn’t care to recall.

He stays out there for a few minutes longer, savoring the last bits of peace he would have before his thoughts threatened to consume him when he eventually has to go back inside. Just a few more minutes.

Eventually, he doesn’t know when, but Eruhaben had guided them both to sit on a nearby bench at some point. That’s fine. He doesn’t know how long he could continue standing like that. And this way, he can lean on the ancient dragon for warmth. Surely, he won’t mind just this once? It is getting rather cold out here.

He lets his eyes close and imagines himself being able to sleep as much as he wants for the rest of his days alongside his family and friends. With more moments like these.

He wouldn’t even mind not sleeping if it meant that he would get to spend more time with them. That is what they all fought for, isn’t it?

He feels a shift under his head.

“Hah. Such an unlucky human.” He stirs as he hears an almost indistinguishable voice speak. “Let’s get you to bed. The children will throw a fit if you catch a cold from something like this. You’ve had enough air for tonight.” But it hasn’t been that long? Wait, how long were they sitting there? Had he fallen asleep? Groggily, he opens his eyes, gearing up to make the short yet long trek back to his bed.

But before he can, he suddenly finds himself in the young looking dragon’s arms. How he got there, he hasn’t a clue.

He stutters, not sure how to react at the sudden action. “E-Eruhaben-nim? I can walk -“

“Nonsense. You would have spent the rest of the night outside in the cold.” Sigh “Just go to sleep, child. You clearly need it.”

He can’t refute that. Despite the fact that he slept nearly the entire day, he feels as if he could fall asleep standing up at this point. So despite his pride screaming at him to be put down, his exhaustion wins and he allows his eyes to close, content to let the ancient dragon do all the work.

He hears one last sentence as he finally succumbs to sleep, warm and comfortable in his bed.

“My unlucky child, just rest. It is okay to lean on us.”

With a light brush of a hand upon his head, the ancient dragon leaves the room. Calyan sleeps and dreams of the present, where they are all happy and alive. At least for now, he casts aside the fear and restlessness plaguing him. It can wait. He has more than enough time to figure things out.

[kon4ka]

Challenge: Drawing D&D classes - Topic 9 - Inventor

⚙ Inventor Artilleryman - Reese ⚙

Race: Human Origin: Aristocrat (Noble)

If anyone guessed where I mentioned it before, give yourself 5+ for intuition.

📒Background: Yes, she is the same “daughter of the duke”, at whose request Kenku the Squall Priest was ransomed from the pirates. All her life she grew up in prosperity, but she was restless and poked her nose everywhere. Her father is a Duke, who rules a small port city and especially its shadow and illegal world. He doted on his daughter and spoiled her very much. When Reese was a teenager, her father was framed by his rival, who entered into an agreement with one of the devils. Reese's father was executed, and she herself was saved because Kenku, who understood much earlier, that smells like something fried, forcefully dragged her onto a pirate ship and they left the city before they were captured. For a very long time, Reese was angry with the whole world, especially with Kenka, because he did not let her stay and beat up the killer on the first day. Moreover, she was suddenly thrown out of her luxurious life and found herself in the company of illiterate pirates… For a long time, For a very long time she was withdrawn and very suspicious; she was distrustful even of Kenku, whom she had known since childhood. But after a while, she perked up and decided to work with what she had, gather strength and return to get even with her father’s killer once and for all and reclaim the city.

Her skills were very useful to both pirates and ordinary sailors, she was an excellent map drawer, and as a result, she and Kenku, who became the priest of Valkur, traveled around the world in search of unique treasures and accumulated strength for the uprising. She also sold several of her inventions, and the harbor in which they established a base began to look like a tawdry monster, where the genius of the design coexisted with the inept implementation. Kenku helped her to the best of his ability and seemed to enjoy bringing her ideas to life with the help of “stealed” skills of copying and imitation. She created a windsurf that can fold down to a very small size and does not always require wind to sail.

✒ Personality: Cheerful, a real “lighter” who is for any boiling and drinking, fearless in a sense. Literally obsessed with drawings and maps, constantly striving to optimize everything. Can draw almost anything, from a map and the structure of a distillation apparatus, to a ship and a tower. Does not like and cannot sit still, constantly forgets about that not all people are “cute and fluffy”, and still believes in people. She is a little selfish, not used to caring about others or herself (in everyday matters at least). She is artistic and loves to show off, for which she would get a punch in the nose if Kenku weren’t around. Her kindness, bordering on naivety, often wins others over, but in disputes he does not give concessions and can even get into a fight for his ideas.

🪢 Skills: Very flexible, knows how to windsurf and feel the wind. He is able to draw and draw, showing the internal structure of almost all things in the world, and even those that he does not know very well from the inside. Since she was an aristocrat, she learned manners from childhood, etiquette, playing instruments and other such things. She sews well.

Features: Wears blueprints of things that might be useful under her skirt. Almost all of her drawings, especially those that she made only when she ended up with the pirates, were burned or carved into the skin, because paper drawings were not the best material at sea and did not last long. Dressed in old clothes A dress altered twenty times, in which she once ran away. A pince-nez with a sight, in a bun in the hair there is a broken powerful artifact that looks like a hairpin (these are local references).

RU

⚙ Изобретатель Артиллерист - Риз ⚙

Раса: Человек Происхождение: Аристократ (Благородный)

Если кто-то догадался, где я раньше её упоминала - поставьте себе 5+ за интуицию.

📒 Предыстория: Да, она та самая "дочка герцога", по просьбе которой Кенку Жреца Шквала выкупили у пиратов. Всю жизнь росла в достатке но была неугомонна и везде совала свой нос. Её отец герцог, управляющий небольшим портовым городом а особенно его теневым и нелегальным миром. Души не чаял в дочери и очень баловал её. Когда Риз была подростком, её отца подставил его конкурент, заключивший соглашение с кем-то из дьяволов. Отца Риз казнили, а сама она спаслась потому, что Кенку, который гораздо раньше понял, что пахнет жаренным, силой затащил её на пиратский корабль и они покинули город раньше, чем их схватили. Очень долго Риз была зла на весь свет, особенно на Кенку, что он не дал ей остаться и накостылять убийце по первое число. К тому же её вдруг выкинули из роскошной жизни и она оказалась в обществе неграмотных пиратов… Долго, очень долго она была замкнута в себе и очень подозрительна, она относилась с недоверием даже к Кенку, которого знала с детства. Но через некоторое время она воспряла духом и решила работать с тем, что есть собрать силы и вернуться, чтобы раз и навсегда поквитаться с убийцей её отца и вернуть себе город. Её навыки очень пригодились и пиратам и простым морякам, она превосходно чертила карты, в итоге она и Кенку, ставший жрецом Валкура путешествовали по свету в поисках уникальных сокровищ и копили силы для восстания. Она так же продавала несколько своих изобретений, а гавань, в которой они обосновали базу стала походить на аляпистое чудовище, где гениальность конструкции соседствовала с неумелым воплощением. Кенку помогал ей в меру сил и кажется получал удовольствие, воплощая её идеи в жизнь при помощи "сворованных" навыков копирования и подражания. Создала виндсёрф, который может сложиться до совсем небольших размеров и чтобы плыть на котором не всегда нужен ветер.

✒ Характер: Весёлая, настоящая "зажигалка", которая за любой кипишь и пьянку, бесстрашная в каком-то смысле. Буквально одержима чертежами и картами, все время стремиться всё оптимизировать. Может начертить почти что угодно, от карты и устройства перегонного аппарата, до корабля и башни. Не любит и не может сидеть на месте, постоянно забывает о том, что не все люди "милые и пушистые", и всё ещё верит в людей. Немного эгоистична, не привыкла заботится ни о других, ни о себе (в бытовых вопросах по крайней мере). Артистична и любит выпендриваться, за что получала бы по носу, если бы рядом не было Кенку. Её доброта, граничащая с наивностью часто располагает к себе других, но в спорах не даёт поблажек и за свои идеи может и в драку полезть.

🪢 Навыки: Очень гибкая, умеет плавать на виндсёрфе и чувствовать ветер. В состоянии нарисовать и расчертить, показывая внутреннее устройство почти всех вещей на свете, и даже тех, которые не очень хорошо знает изнутри. Поскольку была аристократкой, с детства училась манерам, этикету, игре на инструментах и прочим подобным вещам. Недурно шьёт.

✨ Особенности: Носит под юбкой чертежи того, что может пригодиться. Почти все её чертежи особенно те, что она делала только оказавшись у пиратов были выжжены или вырезаны на коже, потому как бумажные чертежи не лучший материал в море и не жили долго. Одета в старое, двадцать раз перешитое платье, в котором когда-то сбежала. Пенсне с прицелом, в пучке в волосах сломанный сильнейший артефакт, выглядящий как заколка (это локальные отсылки).