#and that's not counting the fact that they still charge you for the currency change btw

[ayakashibackstreet]

"Please commission me! Cheap commissions!!" and then I go to view the details and

uh

uhhhhhhhhhhhh

[m42-fr]

Here’s my Lore Post™ on various types of common currency around Sorneith! Note that this covers only major forms of currency that can be found broadly throughout their territories of origin, or are otherwise culturally relevant in some way. This post does not include forms of currency that may exist between individual clans. If you happen to find that any of this worldbuilding goes well with your lore, feel free to use it so long as you credit me somewhere for the idea!

And, of course, a mandatory disclaimer: the names and lore of these currencies comes from my own head (and a random name generator). Any resemblance to anything from the real world is unintentional.

Vahrani (vah-RAH-nee) are small bronze coins that originate from the Ashfall Waste. Thanks to the Flamecaller’s ceaseless forges, vahrani are the most common and well-established metal-based currency in the world - and, in fact, are the most well-established currency in the world, period. Trade with the neighboring Windswept Plateau, which exports the products of Fire’s industry to every technologically developing region on the continent, has spread Ashfall coinage far and wide.

Most vahrani have been in circulation for decades, their surfaces oxidized completely teal-black. Pristine, metallic vahrani, either newly-minted or freshly polished, are considered a status symbol by some, but certain dragons may refuse to accept them as payment for fear that they have been recently (and illegally) forged. Vahrani jewelry makes use of the holes at their corners, stringing them together into necklaces, earrings, and other forms of decoration. In a pinch, vahrani can even be tiled together to create makeshift armor. 

Vahrani come in units of one, five, and ten. These coins bear an identical picture of the Flamecaller on one side and have a number inscribed on the other, which indicates their worth. The runoff copper from the creation of vahrani bronze is pulled into small lumps and stamped with the sigil of Fire while the metal is still hot, creating small, misshapen coins called vasi - or, in common slang, slag - each worth a tenth of a vahrani. Vasi are not nearly as widespread as vahrani, but they make up the majority of the payroll for poorer dragons within the Ashfall Waste.

--

Suuram (SOOH-ram) are long, paper-thin copper chits used as currency within the southwestern Shifting Expanse. The very first suuram were copper wires that had been pounded into rough rectangular shapes, but modern suuram are machine-punched from massive metal sheets, ensuring an incredibly consistent size and weight. The asymmetrical pattern of crescent holes at their edges is meant only to distinguish them from simple copper pieces. In practice, the holes are often used to hold chains of coins together with cord or metal clips.

There is only one value of a suuram piece. Rather than create different coins with higher values, dragons exploit the extreme thinness of suuram sheets by packing pieces into small containers; informal higher-value units consist of rectangular boxes holding a carefully-counted number of coins. Carrying around large blocks of copper sheets can become awfully inconvenient, so five-and-ten vahrani pieces have become a popular alternative currency in the Expanse. Suuram are used mostly as pocket change. 

Due to the relative geographic isolation of the far coast of the Stormcatcher’s territory, suuram are not particularly popular outside of the Shifting Expanse, and lack traction everywhere past the Charged Barrens. However, suuram are acknowledged as a valid currency in every territory with flourishing trade and worldwide connections, including the Ashfall Waste, Windswept Plateau, Sunbeam Ruins, Tangled Wood, Starfall Isles, and Dragonhome. 

The northeastern region of the Shifting Expanse is home to independent scavenger-clans who have little need for formalized currency. Rather than conducting trade with stand-ins like coins, they prefer to directly exchange goods and services, determining the value of each with every new trade. That being said, they do occasionally make use of a form of unregulated, low-value currency, colloquially known as scrap.

Scrap refers to any collection of relatively small, portable, usually worn-down and otherwise useless metal chunks - rusty nails, old gears that don’t fit anywhere, spare nuts and bolts found half-buried in the sand, weathered iron spring-coils and copper wires, and so on. While scrap has no immediate survival value, it serves much the same purpose of currency in that it acts as a metaphorical stand-in for something that is of value, and can be exchanged with others for goods and services. Scrap is considered a valid currency within the northern Expanse, although it is often looked down upon as a ‘primitive’ coin in the more technologically developed regions around Goldensparc and the Lightning Farm. 

--

Paxa (PACKS-uh) are hand-carved wooden chits infused with sparks of magic that keep them pristine even under the worst of abuse. Native to the Sunbeam Ruins, paxa owe their remarkably high value to the painstaking process of crafting them. Each coin is hand-carved to impossible standards of consistency, stained a beautiful deep ebony, and protected from damage with ancient Light artefact-preservation magicks. Their magical ‘fingerprint’ is nearly impossible to fake, which guards them from forgeries. The secret to creating paxa is zealously guarded by a handful of dragons who have dedicated their lives to the craft.

Paxa are a universally recognized coin, spread throughout the world by Light’s investment in research as well as their inherent value. Future-minded dragons convert their retirement savings into paxa, knowing that unlike many other currencies, the tight control on paxa production ensures that their value remains constant. Paxa is also the coin of choice for most illegal operations in Sorneith thanks to their high value and their impossibility to falsify. 

The average working-class dragon, even in the Ruins, will struggle to get their talons on any significant amount of paxa. Paxa are used to facilitate expensive transactions, and as such are favored by merchants, the wealthy, and the criminal; throughout most of the Sunbeam Ruins, workers are paid in vahrani, with the occasional handful of suuram thrown in for variety.

--

The origin of wek-ya, (WEK-yuh) Shadow’s mercurial coinage, is shrouded in mystery. Nobody knows when or where the first wek-ya were made - and, in fact, nobody knows how to make wek-ya at all. Ambitious blacksmiths who try their hand at smelting some are invariably struck with tides of bad luck that force them to close shop. And, moreover, the Tangled Wood can hardly be said to have an established government, so the presence of such a widespread and standardized currency is a curiosity in and of itself.

Wek-ya are crafted of pure silver, or something that resembles it. Each coin has two unique patterns - one to either side - that depict an incredibly broad array of subjects. The most common motifs are crescent moons, mushrooms, thorns, and dancing dragon figures, but there have been wek-ya known to picture oddly specific situations, such as trees being struck by lightning, rats climbing atop bookshelves, and draconic silhouettes that bear a strange resemblance to the viewer in the midst of suffering some catastrophe. Many dragons believe that wek-ya are infused with divination magic; coins are commonly drawn from bags to determine future events, and some individuals claim that their fortunes are told by the wek-ya they receive in trades. 

While wek-ya are the most common form of money in the Tangled Wood, they’re incredibly rare elsewhere. Common superstition holds that removing a wek-ya from its homeland will curse the coin’s bearer until it has been returned. There appears to be some vague truth to the statement, as the coins are known to have a way of mysteriously disappearing when they’ve spent too much time away from the Shadowbinder’s influence.

Wek-ya are capable of emitting a dim glow for several hours after being exposed to moonlight. Conversely, they’ve also been known to spontaneously melt when placed in sunlight, permanently disfiguring their faces - such coins are considered overwhelmingly taboo by most residents of the Wood and are traditionally thrown into bogs, rivers, and liquid-shadow ponds, such that they may be forever forgotten. 

--

Dazal (day-ZAHL) are large, chunky coins cut from smoky quartz. They come from Dragonhome, make for an uncommon sight in the northern Starfall Isles and Tangled Wood, and are rare elsewhere. No one institution governs the production of dazal, but most dragons don’t go out of their way to fake them - the coins are used predominantly within the handful of high-population regions of Dragonhome, particularly Terraclae and the Colonnades of Antiquity. Thanks to Light’s vested interest in archaeology, paxa are the most common currency in Dragonhome’s urbanized regions, followed by the eponymous vahrani.

Unlike suuram, which are largely shunned by Lightning’s more independent desert-dwelling clans, the value of dazal is respected by clans among even the most rural and harsh environments of Dragonhome. Most groups will carry at least a handful of them to use in trades - a few dazal will buy a weary traveler water and other goods. The nomadic routes of the Snappers often bring them to urban areas every now and again, which makes holding onto the currency useful, if occasionally burdensome. 

    The distribution of colors and patterns in a dazal is unique to every coin. Dazal have no varied values in a legal sense, but many individuals within Dragonhome will accept morion dazal - that is, those made of smoky quartz so uniformly dark as to be nearly black - as being worth twice as much as a singular dazal (or equivalent to one wek-ya). Some seek out dazal with unusual color schemes for collection purposes. Another commonly-sought variant is a coin without any scuffs; though crystalline, most older dazal are ridden with chips and cracks. 

--

The Sea of a Thousand Currents has no legally recognized currency. The stinging seawater makes metal-based money impractical, and even the magical toughness of paxa and arcslivers will wear under the waves. Among the more isolated, aquatic clans, though, an informal coin known as vanes (VAIN) are used in some transactions. Vanes are seashells that have been chipped and polished into glistening, guitar-pick shaped chits.

The production, distribution, and value of vanes is entirely unregulated. Any dragon with strong hands and sandpaper can collect seashells and file them to the right shape and smoothness. As such, individual vanes vary widely in color, texture, and shape. The value of a vane is equally variable - no bank in the world accepts vanes as legal tender, although they are acknowledged as being incredibly low-value, presuming they have any worth at all. 

Bags of vanes are often exchanged by coastal and reef-dwelling clans as stand-ins for the payment of debt. If an individual needs a good or service, but cannot pay for it at the time, they can hand over some vanes that serve as a sort of credit, later giving something of real value in return for their lent vanes.

Among the roughshod sailors of the Sea, bilgespray is a tawdry term used to refer to any collective mix of multiple types of currency. The wide variety of territories that they visit throughout their trading routes means that they inevitably collect a number of different types of coin. The term, ‘bilgespray,’ usually refers to a singular payout given in more than one type of currency, but used more broadly may account for any messy assortment of multiple types of money.

--

Popular within the urban areas of the central Starfall Isles, arcslivers (ARK-slih-vur) are tokens cut from the same magically-refined arcglass that makes up the shell of the Astrolodome. Their edges are inscribed with faintly-glowing runes that, like paxa, protect them from damage, although their enchantments are comparatively weaker. The appearance and value of an arcsliver is standardized; their production is controlled by banks within the Astrolodome and neighboring communities.

Well-wrought trading routes have established arcslivers as a valid currency throughout the entirety of the Isles. However, they have very little steading outside of Arcane’s territory. Similar to suuram, geographic isolation has kneecapped their spread, with traveling arcslivers found mostly in the neighboring regions of Dragonhome and the Windswept Plateau; a handful make their way to the Sea of a Thousand Currents and beyond from there. Though rare, they are legally acknowledged in institutions around Sorneith. 

--

Given the extremely well-connected, trade-focused culture of the Windswept Plateau, every currency - even strange or worthless ones, like wek-ya and vanes - can be found in abundance among Windsinger’s children. Vahrani from the neighboring Ashfall Waste are the most common coin, followed by paxa and arcslivers. Wind does not have a traditional currency in the way that other territories do. Rather than use a standardized object to represent physical value, Wind’s unusual currency holds strictly social value. These objects are called kuo (KOO-oh). They are long, ribbonlike textiles, made from hundreds of tiny interwoven beads, and are as much art as they are money.

The length of an individual kuo can vary considerably. Most are long enough to be used as sashes and belts, or be hung up as colorful banners. The harvesting, sculpting, weaving, and painting of their miniscule beads takes a painstaking amount of time and skill. As a monetary system, they indicate debts, allegiances, and other forms of social ‘money,’ whether paid or owed. The perceived value of a kuo is usually based on its size and craftsmanship - the longer and prettier, the better.

    While more rural and traditional clans will use kuo for their original purpose, younger generations - particularly those living in more urbanized areas - forgo the social value of kuo and create them for artistic purposes. The creation of an individual kuo ribbon is considered a long and meditative pastime. The patterns in every ribbon are unique, and the abundance of beads and paints mean that elaborate images can be threaded along the strings; given the extensive length of most kuo, many are used to depict the events of stories, be they mythical or factual. The longest kuo is rumored to be a ribbon that stretches the distance of the Cloudsong and depicts an embellished version of the Windswept Plateau’s entire history. 

In recent times, dragons have begun to weave kuo as gifts and decorations. Many young lovers and best friends will create kuo for one another, its pictures personalized to the other’s interests and personality, and wear the bands that they themselves were given (usually as scarves, sashes, or bracelets) in an open declaration of their bond. Kuo are becoming an increasingly popular export of the Windswept Plateau. Eager to share their culture with the world, Wind dragons often sell and gift kuo to travelers, and some have even begun to export them to other territories. 

--

The rough, lonesome barrens of the Southern Icefield makes the establishment of currency incredibly difficult. Like other harsh environments in Sorneith - the Shifting Expanse, Dragonhome, the Scarred Wasteland, and so on - coins are not particularly useful for immediate survival, and so trades are preferentially conducted with goods and services rather than coins. Northernmost or otherwise trade-savvy clans may occasionally cut deals with foreigners using vahrani, arcslivers, and even suuram.

The ancient institutions of the Gaolers, for all their fervence with law and order, never had reason to establish an expansive currency amongst themselves. The basic needs of all individuals are cared for free of charge; anything fancier is either owned communally, acquired by advancing in rank, or traded for without monetary stand-ins. Among a few circles, though - and particularly popular in teaching discipline to younger recruits - is a token system using units called snowcoins.

Snowcoins are very simple constructions. At their core is a singular link of a metal chain, which is encapsulated in magically-unmelting ice. The surface of a snowcoin is smooth and convex, forming an oblong shape not unlike a river stone, and they are remarkably translucent. Snowcoins, then, are a small reward earned through various services and good behavior, and can be traded in for small personal luxuries. The things snowcoins can buy consist mostly of curios and other decorative trinkets. 

Given that snowcoins are used only by the Gaolers, their existence is almost completely unheard of throughout Sorneith, even in the neighboring Snowsquall Tundra. Only a tiny handful have ever made it out of the Icefield - and even then, most of those found away from the Icewarden are replicas, not genuine. Those who are in possession of snowcoins usually regard them as oddities and collectibles. They hold some mildly curious historic value, but little else. 

--

For all their hatred for one another, the territories of the Scarred Wasteland and Viridian Labyrinth share a similar trait: neither has much in the way of currency. The Labyrinth prizes self-sufficiency and its clans want for little. Their isolationist nature has created a strict limitation on the influx of foreign currency - not even vahrani have made it past their coastal regions. Those from Nature who detest outside influence often use the derogatory term rootmuck to refer to any form of outside currency.

While Plague has a similar lack of established money, they don’t hold the same wariness of foreigners that the Gladekeeper’s children do. Most Plague clans see no reason in shunning something that may help them acquire useful things in the future. Various currencies are common at their respective borders - dazal in the north, wek-ya in the east, vahrani to the south, and arcslivers to the west. 

That being said, their central clans, much like those of the northwestern Shifting Expanse, trade mostly survival supplies with one another. Guttergunk is an informal term from the Wasteland that applies to any assortment of individually worthless items that are bundled together to have some collective value. Guttergunk is not anything that could keep you alive; it’s made of things like small trophies - teeth, scales, horns -, the last of old food preserves, tattered pieces of canvas, balls of string, and so forth. Trade offers of guttergunk are considered trashy, greedy, or desperate; in other words, a sign of either arrogance or weakness, perhaps both.

Alternatively, the term may apply to anything considered gross and worthless: “Your efforts are guttergunk,” is an example of a common insult. The word has become popular in neighboring territories, particularly by residents of the Driftwood Drag and sailors of the Sea of a Thousand Currents, and among them it has much the same meaning.

[falllingthroughspace]

What is going on in Belarus and how you can help

Yesterday, on 09.08 the Presidential Elections in the Republic of Belarus were held. According to the official statistics, Aliaksandar Lukashenka won with about 80% of the population having voted in his favour. THAT IS NOT WHAT HAPPENED. These elections, just like all the others in the history of the country, have been a sham, where the President demands a certain number of approval and the election committee writes it down. A short list of facts on the current elections:

1. The only international observers to oversee the validity of the elections were the representatives from CIS region (Russia, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan etc), who generally turn the blind eye to any inaccuracies. Observers from EU or other countries were not invited.

2. Many people from Belarus decided to apply as an independent observers at the elections. They weren’t even allowed in the buildings where elections took place and some were detained by the police. Despite it all they managed to prove that the committee doubles and in some cases triples the number of people attending the early elections. In Belarus, voting early = voting for Lukashenko.

3. To count the correct number of votes, a new system was developed, where people took pictures of their ballot and uploaded the pictures to the database. As of midday yesterday, 1 180 000 people registered in the system and about 800 000 votes were in favour of Svetlana Tikhanovskaya (after that the internet went down and people who voted after that still can’t register their vote.) The election committee says that out of 8 000 000 people only 500 000 voted for her. This already proves that the votes were not counted!

4. Seeing this injustice yesterday people went out in the streets to demand fair and just elections. They were faced with police brutality: several dozen people in hospitals, one allegedly dead and thousands detained. The protesters could face up to 15 years in prison for peacefully gathering in the street, clapping and chanting. Today, the protesters will gather again.

And that is only the tip of the iceberg. There’s been massive problems with internet, the majority of websites, messengers and social networks have been down because of “foreign attacks”, the ballots in many voting premises are miscounted and the cities are flooded with military. Many people are jailed on false pretences (including the original candidates for Presidency) and are yet to be released. 

How can you help Belarus?

1. Raise awareness. We are a European country, who is tired of being called the last dictatorship in Europe, and we long for a change. We are doing everything we can, but we need outside support. What is happening is a clear violation of our human rights. Read the news on Belarus, tell your friends. We are not Lukashenko, nor do we want to be.

2. If you possibly can, please donate. The money will go to pay the fines for those bailed and to help with the legal charges. All payments will be made in agreement with human rights defenders. Due to the currency exchange rate, even 10$ will be huge in the country where the salary for many doesn’t reach 500$ a month.

Signing petitions doesn’t help. Imposing sanctions doesn’t help.

If you want to know more, please read the news . If you have nay questions on the current situations, you can message me, but I can’t promise I won’t reply since the internet works only third of the time at best and we don’t know when that situation is going to get fixed.

Support Belarus. Help Belarus.

[sxfterhearts]

53. [4:07 pm]

➳ pairing: yugyeom x reader

➳ genre/warnings: fluff fluff fluff, baker!au, baker!yugyeom, exchange student!y/n

➳ word count: 2,040 words

➳ summary: “Sit down, I’ll get it.”

➳ author's note: rach-stop-mentioning-food-in-every-single-timestamp-challenge: failed. just the thought of baker!yugs and bread has me feeling all soft and gooey inside. which is why i whipped this one up! it has been a phat minut since i last wrote so yea :”) (also i should mention italicised are korean!!) regardless i hope this will help brighten up your day a little!! sending many warm hugs xx

//

Your phone screeched from its resting place on the other side of your room, signalling the start of your day. It was strategically placed atop your wooden, old-fashioned dresser, with the sole purpose of motivating you to get out of bed and turn the damn thing off.

With a groan, you stretched all four of your limbs, releasing a satisfied yawn as your joints popped after a good nights’ rest.

It was late afternoon. The rays of sunshine splattered deep orange and gold as it sneaked past the cracks the half-open blinds, painting your tiny studio apartment with lazy signs of life.

You dragged your sleep-ridden body to the dresser, still reluctant to start the day after what was an immensely taxing Friday night. Having just arrived in this bustling Korean city a mere two weeks ago, you were somewhat proud of yourself for landing a part-time job to support yourself when you started your semester of exchange. The only problem was, it happened to be a bartending job in a rowdier part of Seoul, commonly patronised by sleazy middle-aged men and their younger lady companions.

It wasn’t like you had much of a choice, anyways. Your Korean was still very much at an elementary level, which didn’t prove to be a hindrance in the bar you worked at. Most of the drinks were named in English, and the owner of the bar, a surprisingly kind, motherly lady in her sixties, paid you well above the minimum wage.

Still, it was your second Friday shift ever, and it clearly took its toll on you. Staring at your reflection in the bathroom mirror, you cringed. The eyebags under your eyes were so dark it could’ve easily been mistaken as a smoky-eye look gone wrong; your lips were awfully chapped and an alarming shade of red, while a few nasty pimples threatened to break through the surface of your skin.

In other words, you looked like a wreck.

Grabbing your phone, you checked the time. Ten minutes past four. Oh no, you winced internally. You were going to be very late if you didn’t leave your house in the next fifteen minutes. As though an internal switch flipped on, you turned the shower to full blast and stepped inside, sucking in your teeth as the cold water splashed against your skin.

In eight minutes flat, you were tugging on your beat-up sneakers and dashing for the elevator in your only pair of clean, non-alcohol-stained jeans and a plain white t-shirt that you conveniently picked off the pile of dry clothes on your sofa. You jammed the down button a couple of times, all while checking the time on your phone.

“Shit,” You cursed under your breath. 4:19. You couldn’t wait any longer.

Throwing all caution to the wind, you sprinted down the fire escape and did not stop for a single breath until you reached the final destination: a charming little bakery across the road from your apartment.

Rushing to the bakery just before closing time had become a habit for you. Amidst the chaos of moving and finding your feet in this new city, the bakery and its never-ending stream of patrons were your source of stability. Not only was it less busy and crowded during the evening, but it was also much easier for you to snag a couple of good bargains in the form of randomly-packaged, discounted breads.

The fact that the cute baker was the last one in store and in charge of closing up was just an added bonus.

//

A high-pitched, annoying chime broke him out of his daze. With a groan, Yugyeom straightened his slumped figure and stretched his arms above his head, releasing a satisfied sigh as his backbone cracked.

It was late afternoon. The rays of sunshine splattered deep orange and gold as it flooded through the drawn, white lacey curtains, painting his grandfather’s bakery with calm and relief; a peaceful conclusion. The end of daylight was drawing near.

He wiped a stray trail of saliva off the corner of his mouth before sucking on a mint. Checking the clock that hang above rack upon empty rack which usually contained baked goods, his palms inexplicably grew clammy.

4:27, Yugyeom mused. He shook his head to clear his spiralling thoughts. Keep it together, dummy. Just because she came the past few days doesn’t mean that she’ll come today too. She has her own life, her own friends, maybe even a boyfri-

Oh?

Just as his mind was about to veer off course and crash into the thorny garden of unrequited love, Yugyeom caught sight of a blurry figure at the corner of his eyes. Intrigued, he stood up straight and watched as you appeared in front of the bakery’s double doors. For a few seconds, you simply clutched your knees and huffed and puffed. Yugyeom could barely stop the shit-eating grin that split across his face and had to bite down hard on his bottom lip to avoid looking like a fool.

Then, you did the unexpected. From the back pocket of your jeans, you pulled out your lip balm and applied it on your lips, using the bakery’s glass window as a mirror. At that, Yugyeom threw his head back in a hysterical fit of laughter.

It was hard for him to explain the feeling in his chest, really. The first time you walked through the doors of the bakery, eyes twinkling with pure wonder and amazement as you browsed the array of baked goods like how a girl would admire a display of diamond rings, he was screwed. You captivated his interest as you fumbled for the right number of coins to pay for your discounted breads, tongue stuck out and head tilted adorably while doing so. He gave you, the damsel in distress, a helping hand, by laying all your coins out on the counter and ordering them from lowest to highest value. Probably not the most helpful of gestures, but Yugyeom liked to tell himself that he was performing his civic duty by welcoming a visitor of Korea through non-verbal currency explanations and an introduction to the locals’ favourite breads, pastries and drinks. That evening, the two of you sat on the high table by the window, slowly savouring melon breads, injeolmi toasts, ang butter or red bean butter breads and an assortment of cream cheese breads. While the breads were wonderfully fluffy and the sweetness was at an acceptable level, Yugyeom instructed you to wash it down with an iced Americano.

Since then, the mere thought of the bakery, going to the bakery, its breads and pastries, its drinks and Yugyeom coated your insides with sweetness. Admittedly, the reason why you kept visiting the bakery was to create more memories with Yugyeom and ride the amazing sugar rush you felt whenever you were around him.

After rearranging your hair for the nth time, you bravely pushed open the doors and walked in at 4:29pm.

“Hello!” You called out in Korean as you waved at him, a wide smile plastered on your lips. There was an obvious language barrier (you with your kindergarten-level Korean and him with his Game of Thrones-standard of English), but it wasn’t obvious. The two of you came up with creative ways to break it down.

“Hi Y/N! Sit down. I’ll get it.” Yugyeom answered in English, emerging from behind the counter with his trusty English-Korean dictionary and a matcha latte he prepared in anticipation of your arrival. He walked towards you with an air of confidence, reminding you of a model in a fashion show despite wearing his typical slacks and white button-up, with sleeves rolled up and cross drop-earrings adorning his ears. Yugyeom quickly set the items down before pulling out a chair, nodding towards it to encourage you to sit.

You muffled a giggle at his gentlemanly actions, but complied, nonetheless. You glanced over to the boy, sipping on the creamy drink as he retrieved two large plates from the cake fridge. Sure, the assortment of cakes should have been the main attraction, but your eyes drifted and settled on the stern look of concentration on his face and his prominent collarbones peeking out of his shirt. Unbuttoned, you assumed, as he was going to be off work soon.

You were halfway through the drink when Yugyeom returned to the table. He noticed this and didn’t pass up the opportunity to tease you about it. “Is it really good?”

“Thirsty. I just woke up.” You admitted, cheeks heating up in slight embarrassment.

Yugyeom’s wholehearted laughter filled the entire bakery.

“H-hey! Bad boy… Mean…”

“No, I…” Yugyeom stifled another round of laughter as he tried to pull himself together. “Cute. You wake up, come to see me in bread house.”

“Not ‘bread house’, ‘bakery’.”

“Ah, thank you. Bakery.” He tested the word on his lips, getting used to the pronunciation. “Bakery…”

“What are these?”

Yugyeom handed you a small cake fork while taking a seat. “Here. This plate is for tarts, and this one is for cakes. The tarts have the same filling – custard. But we use different fruits, like strawberries, berries, grapes and peaches. Whatever’s in season, really. Strawberries and cherry tarts are really popular in winter. Try some!” He reverted back in Korean whenever he was explaining, which was a great opportunity for you to pick up new vocabulary.

It was also a fantastic opportunity to try delicious pastries. You rotated through the entire plate painted in shades of pinks and green, taking a bite of each tart. Yugyeom just sat there, head in his palms, and admired the slight changes in your expression whenever you tried a new flavour. As creepy as it sounds, watching you eat the food he prepared was gradually becoming his favourite pastime.

“Cherry! That one is the best! It’s…” You quickly reached for the dictionary, softly muttering to yourself as you thumbed through the pages. “Here, acid. Acid, not too sweet. The strawberry one too.” Your eyes crinkled at their edges as they met his intrigued orbs, proudly smiling at yourself for learning a new word today.

“The word you’re looking for is ‘acidity’. ‘Acid’ is for chemistry.”

“Acidity?”

“Yes, that’s right.” Yugyeom reached over, his huge palm caressing the top of your head before ruffling your hair. You pouted and feigned annoyance, all while your heart squeezed and pounded away in your chest.

“Hey…” You protested weakly.

Yugyeom’s hand retreated. He placed it on the table, right next to your smaller ones. The distance between your hands taunted him; tempted him to close the gap and intertwine your fingers with his. Honestly, Yugyeom wasn’t used to this; wasn’t used to feeling like his insides were going to explode. His mouth opened and closed several times as he pondered his next move, wondering whether it would overstep your boundaries.

But then you stared at him in anticipation with your beautiful brown orbs, innocent and confused, as your lips wrapped around the straw of your matcha latte. Your gaze asked him an unspoken question, urging him on.

Yugyeom dragged your chair closer his, eliciting a high-pitched squeal from you. He rested both of his palms on top of your knees, gaining your full attention. “I like…” Yugyeom paused, catching his bottom lip between his pearly whites as the corners of his mouth tugged upwards. “I like this time with you.”

The soft giggle was purely involuntary, you swore to him afterwards. Yet, as you watched his expression flicker into one of panic, you were quick to cast out his worries. “No, no! Don’t get me wrong. Did you mean, you like spending time with me?”

“Ah, I was trying to be romantic. Stupid English…” Yugyeom cursed under his breath in Korean, unaware that you were familiar with the word ‘romantic’ due to the hours you spent (wasted) binging Korean dramas. “Yes, I do.” He said while squeezing your kneecaps in affirmation.

You had to remind yourself time and time again to keep calm in the presence of this charming man and his magical hands. “Me too, Yugyeom. You’re my favourite time of the day.”

Needless to say, your afternoon ritual continued for weeks and months to come.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

What drove this country crazy after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on 9/11? Was it how vulnerable we had been shown to be, that a group of 19 men armed with nothing more than box-cutters could bring the entire country to a halt? Was it that the attack was aimed primarily against innocent civilians, with nearly 3,000 killed at the Twin Towers alone? Was it that with the 19 hijackers dead in the suicidal attacks, we didn't seem to have anyone to retaliate against?  Was it that we had no grasp whatsoever on understanding why our country, the freest and most democratic ever, was hated so much that they would attack us?

I remember how disconnected things felt for days, even weeks, after the attacks. Travelers outside the country didn't have a way to get home because flights had been canceled. People stranded in cities they were visiting within the country couldn't find cars to rent, there were so many trying to get home. Everyone seemed to feel a need to gather with families and friends and hunker down, as if another attack could come at any moment.

The country's leadership was frozen, stunned. Remember the photos of George W. Bush as an aide leaned over his shoulder and whispered the news into his ear? He was the president of the United States, and he looked scared to death. In fact, he was rushed from the school he was visiting in Florida to Air Force One, and his plane took off on what amounted to a flight to nowhere as his administration tried to pull itself together and decide how they would respond. It wasn't until hours later that Air Force One landed at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana and Bush hurriedly addressed the press in a windowless conference room, vowing to "hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts." Three days would pass before the president was flown to New York to appear atop the rubble of the World Trade Center at what became known as Ground Zero to take a bullhorn and make the pledge that would launch the country on a trajectory that has yet to change: "I can hear you!" he shouted to the workers at the site, "The rest of the world hears you! And the people — and the people who knocked these buildings down will hear all of us soon!"

A collective madness ensued. A great scrambling began to protect us against … well, against what? Box-cutters first and foremost, it seemed, as a new regime of inspections began at airports everywhere. The initial panic over the hijacked flights would lead to the establishment of the Transportation Security Administration and the Department of Homeland Security, a kind of domestic department of defense which proceeded to put us on what amounted to a wartime footing within our own country that persists even today. How many times have you had to throw a set of fingernail clippers into a bin at airport security because a TSA agent was defending us from terrorism? How about removing your shoes because a lone lunatic made an unsuccessful attempt to blow up an airplane with a "shoe bomb"?

The entire paranoid regimen under which we still live 20 years later grew out of a supposed "war on terror" begun after 9/11 that has never ended. It took a decade to find and kill the actual terrorist who ordered the attacks on 9/11, but in the meantime two shooting wars were launched, only one of which had even the slightest connection to the terrorists who attacked us. There was an elemental problem: The war on terror wasn't against an enemy, it was against an idea, and ideas don't die when you hit them with bombs and bullets.

And so, without a readily definable enemy who could be seen and shot and killed and defeated, which is what wars are usually for, lies were substituted. We were buried with lies, and not just any lies. They had to justify the movement of hundreds of thousands of troops and the expenditure of trillions of dollars in treasure and the loss of thousands more American lives than died on 9/11 and countless more lives — enemies, civilians and, my goodness gracious, even a few real flesh and blood terrorists.

Sept. 11, 2001, was when the Big Lie was born. Or should we say, Big Lies, because they came fast and furious. By now they are known to be so completely without any basis in reality, so wholly bogus, that they hardly bear recounting. Weapons of mass destruction? Connections between Iraq and its government and leaders and the terrorists who attacked us on 9/11? Ha!

And then came new Big Lies to support the earlier Big Lies: that we were "winning" the war on terror. How many times were we reassured that all those lives and all those dollars were not being pissed away for nothing? How many times were we reassured that we were rebuilding the countries that hadn't needed rebuilding until we attacked them? How many times were we told of the miraculous training of the Iraqi and Afghan armies? They even invented a new word that I never learned in the classes I took in military history at West Point, a word to describe the magic bullet that was going to win both wars: the surge. If only we sent 10,000 or 20,000 or 30,000 or 50,000 more troops, we could  win the mythical war on terror.

"Shock and awe" was a lie. "Taking Baghdad was a lie. The army of Iraq just went away. The "surge," each and every one of them, was a lie. "Winning" was a lie, every single time the word was used. Every. Single. Time. The Afghan army was a lie. It didn't even bother surrendering to the Taliban. It just went … poof. The Afghan "government" was a lie. It too went poof. The Iraqi government is a lie. Everything we have done to win the war on terror for two decades, 20 long years, has been a lie. We wasted trillions of dollars that could have been spent to, I don't know, feed hungry children in Arkansas? Pay for health care for poor families? Send kids to college? Reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and save our planet?

We wasted all those lives, American and Afghan and Iraqi and German and Australian and Polish and every other soldier from every other NATO country who died fighting "terror." And we killed hundreds of thousands of Afghan and Iraqi people for nothing.

For nothing.

The biggest Big Lie of them all was that it had meaning, that we accomplished something, that we somehow won the war on terror. Terror hasn't gone away. Hell, we're growing it ourselves now, right here at home.

I'll tell you another war we lost, maybe even a bigger and more important war than the war on terror. We lost the war on truth. And we were warned. Oh yes, we were warned. Take Donald Trump's first Big Lie right after 9/11 as just one example. He claimed — I hope you're sitting down for this — that he could see from his office window in Trump Tower crowds of Muslims across the Hudson River, several miles away, on the roofs of buildings in Jersey City, cheering as the World Trade Center fell.

Remember that one? It was such a patently outrageous lie that it zoomed right past without anyone noticing as the rest of the Big Lies hit one after another.

But Trump got away with it, and he learned from it. Oh, yes. He learned how the Big Lie worked. He learned from watching Bush get away with lying about WMDs, and he learned from the Big Lies that we were winning in Iraq and Afghanistan. So he started trying out other Big Lies of his own, like the one about how Barack Obama wasn't a citizen of the United States, that he had a fake birth certificate, that he was a "secret Muslim." Remember when Trump was all over the TV for days and days claiming that he had sent detectives to Hawaii? All we had to do was wait and he was going to reveal the "truth" about Obama.

He got away with his "birther" Big Lie, and he learned something that he has used ever since, something that helped him drive us into the ditch of the pandemic he lied about for a year, something that has helped him transform an entire political party, the Republican Party, from one of two normal political parties in this country into an authoritarian cult.

He learned that if he told Big Lies that were big enough, and if he repeated them enough times, that he could get away with it, just like Bush got away with lying about WMDs to get us into Iraq. And his party, the Republican Party, learned right along with him. Look at what they are doing right this minute about the insurrection he incited against the Congress of the United States in his naked attempt to overturn the election he lost. Donald Trump and the Republican Party are on a campaign to deny that it happened. They are trying to make a case that it wasn't Trump supporters who attacked the Capitol, it was somebody else, and those who were arrested are political prisoners facing false charges … and on and on and on.

The legacy 9/11 has left us is that there is no common set of facts we can agree on about anything: Not about the COVID pandemic and masks and vaccines; not about the climate change that has killed hundreds and left town after town burned to the ground or under water and destroyed by tornadoes and hurricanes. We cannot agree that votes counted amount to elections won or lost.  We cannot even agree on the common good of vaccines that will save us, that science is worth studying, that learned experts are worth listening to.

The lies that followed 9/11 have torn us apart as a nation and put our democracy in peril. That's our legacy: Lies are now considered by an entire political party to be legitimate political currency. A man who has told so many lies we have lost count of them is now a legitimate political figure supported for the highest office of the land by one of our two political parties.

Lies began tearing us apart after the attacks on 9/11, and we have not regained our footing as a nation. The question hanging over us now is whether we ever will.

Lucian Truscott

[enderbot-magic]

I made a Splatoon AU. I don’t have a name for it yet.

Warnings: Spoilers for Splatoon 2 Octo Expansion DLC.

Tartar is an AI made by a human to pass on humanity’s knowledge to the next species. To ensure a great capacity of data, he gives Tartar DNA through the creation of primordial ooze. This creation is essentially Tartar, but needs technology to function.

Then the Salmonoids attacked, destroying humanity.

Thousands of years later, the Inklings and Octolings appeared and Tartar watched.

Octavio finds Tartar just before/early in the war. This saved Tartar from turning corrupted by loneliness, and they believed that they owe Octavio their life. Tartar passed human knowledge on to Octavio, acted as the Octarian’s Shellendorf, created weapons, armies, battlegrounds and even became his general.

The metro becomes an octarian battleground/base because of Tartar’s control of the facility, therefore giving octarians an advantage.

The Octarians still lost.

The metro got shut down since there was no longer a war, but Tartar maintained it.

Tartar helped Octavio develop mind control devices, even more drastic measures, although Octavio never used them.

They also knew how to clone cannon fodder since the professor that made Judd made Tartar.

The Octo Expansion plot also changes a bit, but it still generally follows the general story of “you are going through a facility and a series of tests to go to inkopolis.”

The Deep Sea Metro is the main exit to Inkopolis. Tartar still is in charge of Kamabo Co and by extension the Metro; so runaway Octolings are their responsibility.

They don’t want to instantly obliterate any Octoling who wants to leave, so they try to deter escapees with many tests. Tartar promises if they make it through that they have proven their worth and can leave for The Promised Land.

When Agent 8 arrives...

Tartar acts as weapons dealer for 8, like Sheldon. They will explain how weapons work and their specifics if asked.

They will also will elaborate on mem cakes, the tests, how much currency a test offers depending on the weapon, and The Promised Land.

Instead of sanitized troopers 8 fights sanitized clones of troopers.

Their dialogue gets more and more agitated throughout the game, but in post-game they are nicer. (Will explain that later*)

You can also ask about how they feel about Cuttlefish and Marina.

For Deep Sea Metro lore involving Tartar:

No longer 10,007 kill counts, but several Octolings did die to tests.

Sanitization is more of Tartar hacking someone’s brain with the primordial ooze, controlling the software (the brain) that’s already there.

Tartar stops controlling someone if they’re knocked out, if Tartar wants to, or the ooze dries off.

Instead of being blended, they are sanitized, controlled, and sent back to Octo Valley. (A few repeat offenders being blended if they are fed up.)

At the end it is revealed that Tartar was growing a festering hate of Inkopolis, and didn’t want to leap on destroying it since it embraced the last remains of human culture. 8’s success, escape, and Off The Hook helping 8 made Tartar snap and decide to destroy the main problem. In fact, Octavio will rule Inkopolis if everyone is Sanitized!

*When Tartar is defeated, Marina hacks the incapacitated AI to delete their hate of inklings, their culture, and the plot about sanitizing Inkopolis. This resets Tartar to a friendlier state. They recognize that 8 got through the tests fair and square, and lets them go.

If 8 returns they mention that Kamabo Co. is still running, and the facilities are still up if 8 wants to go through them again. There’s also a few more conversation options before and between tests where you get their opinion or input.

Extra:

Tartar mentions that Octavio has been gone for a while to do a collab. Insert “dad left to get milk” joke here.

They listen to the Squid Sisters but never heard the Inkantation. Tide Goes Out is their favorite song.

Contemporary Speech Mode is optional. You can turn it on and off throughout the game by going to Tartar.

C.Q. Cumber is a clone Tartar made to help around the Metro and be the mascot.

They constantly call Off the Hook Off the Heasy instead. Pearl hates it.

There’s chat rooms between them and Octavio.

“I’m older than all of you combined”, quickly followed by Pearl making a slew of “you’re so old” yo mama style jokes and sadly most are accurate. “You’re so outdated you listened to human music”, “you’re so old you saw Salmonoids appear more than once”, “you’re so old that your human friends are extinct!” “you’re so old- are you crying?”

[grandtheftstarship]

Drunken Promises (Leonard McCoy x Fem!Reader) [Request!]

“Hi I was wondering if you could write a story where Bones and the reader get really drunk on shore leave and get married. Neither of them know until they dock at a station and she gets a package on the bridge for Mrs. McCoy.” -anon

Hi anon!! I can NOT tell you how much I LOVE THIS IDEA. I had sooooo much fun writing this! Thank you for requesting!

Ughh I CAN NOT WAIT until summer break. Three more weeks, but they’re all going to be long ones. Here’s what’s going to be happening upload-wise: I have finals in two weeks and then I will be gone on a trip for another week without my laptop. I will hopefully have pre-written requests to upload from my phone, but I’m not sure if I will have time. If that doesn’t happen, once I get home I will write like there’s no tomorrow! I will be getting requests out

Word Count: 2043 Warnings: Fluff, swearing, implied smut Posted: Tumblr, Wattpad

You had definitely not planned on getting drunk. You were even the ‘designated driver’, and even though you were on Risa and had definitely not driven there, it was still (supposed) to be up to you to get everyone back to the ship safely. That was not what had gone down. 

The beginning was coming back slowly and in little pieces the next morning. You were hungover as hell, and supposedly everyone else that had gone on shore leave was too, judging by how Jim had given everyone an extra day to regroup. 

Sometime last night, you had rented a hotel room. You had assumed you had done it alone, since you woke up alone, but you couldn’t have been more wrong. You were sprawled over the king-sized bed, limbs tangled in the sheets and a bottle of fresh apple juice tucked under your arm. You groaned as light filtered into the room as one of Rigel V’s suns started rising higher, rolling over and taking a swig from your juice. 

You could remember who you went with; Jim, Scotty, Chekov, Spock, Uhura, Sulu, and Leonard. You remembered slipping into that [f/c] dress that you had been dying to wear in front of Leonard and caking on that ridiculous amount of makeup to make him jealous when other guys approached you. You just couldn’t remember anything after that. 

Hours later, your rumbling stomach was enough for you to drag your drunk ass out of bed, gripping the apple juice bottle tightly. You slid your legs out first, only then realizing you were nearly naked (which was just a little odd) and then allowing your head to adjust to the sudden movement. You didn’t have any clothes with you since you came here straight from the bar, so you shrugged a plush complementary robe over your shoulders and made your way to the doorway. That was, until something on your bedside table caught your eye. 

You stumbled back towards your bed, bending down to pick it up. Your eyes widened when it hit you, nearly dropping back down.

It was an elaborate, stunning wedding ring.

You scrutinized it, bringing it closer to your eyes so you could examine it further. You brought it with you into the living room, placing it gently on the small kitchen counter, before looking in the mini fridge for something to eat. When you again realized that there was nothing in this room because you rented it when you were drunk, you had no food, no clothes, and no currency. You called room service anyway, telling them that you were a Starfleet officer and that the tab could be charged as a work expense. After all, your extra day was Jim’s doing, therefore making it Starfleet’s problem. They could deal with a $25 breakfast. 

It wasn’t that much later when a young Risan knocked on your door to present an elaborate meal. (Maybe it would be a little more than $25) You thanked her and promised that a tip would be included on the bill since you didn’t have any Risan cash money. She left in a hurry after that and you sighed, pouring yourself some of the pinkish drink from the pitcher into a glass and walking out onto the balcony. You sighed at the beautiful view, wondering how the hell your drunk self had gotten this room, and your thoughts wandered back to the shimmering silver ring resting in your palm. You couldn’t have gotten married, could you?

Accidentally getting married to one of your closest friends would have been enough to deal with, but a stranger? You didn’t know if you could deal with that. You heaved another sigh, placing the delicate piece of jewelry into the robe pocket and settling into the plush chair. You decided you would figure it out later. For now, you wanted to enjoy the killer view and the sweet breeze before you had to face anything.

                                               _________________

Leonard woke up in a strange bed, with next to no clothes on. He didn’t know where he was, or who he was with, or even what had happened the night before; all he could think about was his throbbing head and the fact that he might have had a one night stand. 

The lump next to him was turned away from him, knocked out cold, tangled in the sheets and snoring softly. He slipped off the bed and found his pants, maneuvering around to the other side in hopes he would see who he had (possibly) slept with, but her face was obscured from view besides the mop of hair spewing out from the covers. He moved to pull the pillow away, but he stopped. He didn’t want to confront whoever it was if he woke her. That didn’t stop him from looking around the room for other clues, though. His eyes caught onto a peek of [f/c] fabric poking out from underneath the conforter, still slightly attatched to the wearer, and Leonard’s thoughts flashed to [y/n]. She had been wearing a [f/c] dress that night as well and the possibility that the hungover girl in front of him was her, but he quickly pushed the thought away. He didn’t want to deal with those feelings. His eyes wandered around a bit more as he shrugged his shirt on and he froze as a glittering piece of metal grabbed his attention. 

Horror filled him as he held the intricate ring between his fingers, the possibility that he slept with a married woman dawning on him. He quickly placed the ring back where he had found it and hurried out from the room, running his fingers through his hair to make it seem less messy but making it worse. He buckled his belt in the elevator and smoothed the wrinkles out of the black tee he had decided to wear. In his hurry to leave he missed one crucial detail.

The silver band he wore on his left hand, matching the one he had found on the bedside table. 

He could remember that he had gone with all of the senior officers to the crowded bar, and he remembered the dress [y/n] wore. Oh, that dress, with the seemingly modest frame from the front but if she had turned just slightly, the slit traveling up her thigh just enough, and the open back that exposed her smooth skin; it was all enough to make his mouth water all over again. The thought occurred to him again that the woman in the room might’ve been her, but he thrust it away a second time. There were plenty of women wearing that color that night, not that he would rather be with one of them. Part of him hoped that it was you, but then returned to the ring and all bets were off. She wasn’t married to anyone. 

Not until last night at least.

                                                 ________________

The next morning, you felt ten times better than the day before. You tidied up a little bit before leaving, placing the Risan cash on the table that you had gotten from the ATM in the lobby for the polite Risan waitress and the housekeepers. You also paid for the robe, which was what you wore over your open-backed dress in the chilly morning. You absent-mindedly fiddled with the ring in your pocket, slipping it on without thinking. You pressed your other hand onto the scanner as you walked through security to get back onto the ship, not even sparing a second glance to the screen that displayed your name. The security guard’s gaze snapped up to look at you curiously, but before you could understand why you were already walking up the skywalk back into the ship. You hastily made your way to your quarters to change, but bumped into Jim. 

“Hey [y/n], back so soon?” he shot you a knowing glance and you rolled your eyes. 

“Hold your horses, Jimmy. I woke up alone yesterday,” you assured him, sidestepping the captain and continuing forward. 

“You sure about that?” he slid into step next to you, nudging your shoulder lightly. “Bones came back early yesterday morning-”

You took a sharp turn, interrupting him. He caught back up with you. 

“Trust me, Jim,” you began, stopping in front of your quarters. “Leonard would never sleep with me. Plus, I have more pressing matters to deal with.”

You flashed the ring to him as the doors closed, Jim’s eyes widening before the metal hissed shut in his face. You breathed out in relief, calling the computer to bring the lights up to 75% as you slid out of your robe and dress to hop into the shower. You took the ring off and set it on the counter before slipping into the warm spray.

Ten minutes later, you stepped out and tugged on your uniform, walking out of the bathroom while toweling out your hair. You also put the ring back on, twirling it absent-mindedly as you made your way to the bridge for duty. The turbolift hissed open and you strode out to your station. You started prepping before you felt someone come up behind you. 

“This is for you, Mrs. McCoy,” Jim sneered, holding the small package in front of you. Your eyes widened and suddenly, it all came crashing back down on you.

                                                _____________

You sat at the bar, several shot glasses littered around you as you guffawed with a stranger who had just bought another round. You could barely hear or see anything, you were so drunk, and suddenly the man wasn’t there anymore. You looked around curiously, and that's when you noticed he was replaced with a familiar face. 

Leonard. 

He took your face into his hands and pressed his mouth to yours roughly, letting it escalate as you responded immediately. You made out for a while before he pulled away.

“I’m in love with you,” he slurred, caressing your cheek. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes,” you replied, grabbing his hand and stumbling out from the bar. You had found a small pawn shop that was selling stolen jewelry, but you and Leonard didn’t care. You quickly bought the rings and rushed over to a small place that resembled the Little Vegas Chapel, and you were married. It had gotten a little heated on your way out, so you both ran to the nearest resort and booked a room. You both stumbled in, kicking off your shoes. You were kissing again, and Leonard was fumbling for your zipper as you crawled onto the bed. His hands roamed over your body, resting dangerously over your ass-

You snapped yourself out of your reverie as the memories trickled in, heat blooming in your face. 

“Oh my god,” you breathed, eyes flicking back down to the ring on your left hand. 

“Did you just...” Leonard’s voice caused you to freeze as you turned around, ring in plain sight. His eyes zeroed onto it, slowly moving from his hand to yours over and over again. “Oh no.”

By now, you had attracted the attention of most of the bridge crew, all eyes on you and Leonard. He suddenly grabbed your hand and practically dragged you into the turbolift, pausing it as it started to move. 

“[y/n], I’m so sorry,” was the first thing he said, surprising you. 

“For what?” you asked. “I’m not mad about this.”

“You’re not?” he looked at you quizzically. “[y/n] we got married and we haven’t even had our first date yet. I took advantage of you-”

“No, you didn’t,” you insisted, placing your hand on his arm. “Len, what happened the other night; I wanted it. I wanted you. Drunk or not.”

He seemed to loosen up a bit, but he was still tense.

“Okay,” he said slowly, smiling lightly. “I wanted it too, but we still have this marriage problem..”

“Don’t worry about that,” you smirked cheekily. “I quite like being Mrs. McCoy.”

He returned your sly grin, sending chills up your arms. “Do you now?”

Your smile faltered a little at the predatory look in his eyes, adrenaline and excitement raising the hairs on your arms. He ran his hands up your body, resting them on your cheeks as he pulled you in for a sweet kiss.

He pulled away too quickly for your liking, eyes boring into yours. 

“I quite like it too.”

[oceanmastertrash]

the tides know our names- 16/?

Summary:   After losing the throne to his brother Orm is working with Arthur to try to help Atlantis move forward. A few months after this Elara, part of an ancient order of prescient Atlanteans known as Tidewatchers, has a vision of Orm’s death. Predicting and reading the future through the tides of fate has never been easy but Elara is in for the challenge of a lifetime working with her former king to save his life.

Part: 16/?

Word Count: 5,182

Warnings: none.

Read on Ao3

start from the beginning

Author’s Note: Alright this is the last chapter for today, this one is brand new! enjoy the binge my lovelies!

“Madren messaged you,” Orm clarified, equal parts apprehensive and intrigued.

“Yep,” Elara said. “And she wants to meet you.”

Orm stared back at Elara, completely unsure if that was a good or a bad thing.

-

According to Elara, Madren was currently running the Tidewatcher sanctuary in Guatemala. Orm would have preferred to just swim there but, also according to Elara, there were a couple obstacles to that plan. First and foremost the sanctuary was on the opposite coast of Central America than their current location in Belize. Secondly, given what Henrik had told them about the tracking method Black Manta and Dr. Shin were employing, it was in their best interest to stay on land for the time being.

Orm was apprehensive about leaving the shore entirely and fully immersing into life on the surface. The reality of tackling land travel was also something he had no experience with. Elara had some knowledge but she still had to use an internet cafe to nail down the details of their travel and acquired a cheap prepaid phone to better book their surface transportation.

She also changed out of her bloody garments so as to be less conspicuous. It did Orm better than he would like to admit to see her in her fresh clothes. Elara was not the sort to look fragile, wounded though she was, but it comforted him to see her look put back together in a sense. For her part, Elara took comfort in it, she still ached and smarted if she moved the wrong way but she felt less exposed without a literal gaping hole in her shirt.

Elara contemplated renting a car for their travels, as she did have some limited driving lessons but ultimately decided, given some of the weaving of the path, they’d be better off taking public transportation. It would be a long day and a meandering journey. Elara was certain that Orm would suffer quite a bit of frustration and annoyance from the surface dwellers but there was no way to avoid that at this point.

By now the sun was setting and they decided they would begin their journey in the morning. Elara found a motel for them. It was small and probably nowhere near the standards Orm was used to but it had two beds and he at least recognized their need for rest. Elara was exhausted and while her Atlantean healing and the meds from the clinic were helping with the pain of her injuries, she knew she needed some downtime to try to recuperate.

They stayed up a little while longer as Elara did her best to explain surface concepts like the bus system they’d be employing to get to Madren and the credit card she used for most of their purchases as well as her scant knowledge of the currencies she had. Orm thought it all more complicated than it should be but at her argument, conceded that Atlantis and all it’s kingdoms and politics would no doubt befuddle outsiders as well.

After their strenuous day, Elara fell asleep fairly quickly. Orm didn’t like the idea of them both sleeping at the same time surrounded by surface dwellers on all sides but Elara had insisted that the tides would wake her if anyone were to try anything and they should both rest while they can. Orm struggled with this idea. Letting his guard down was not anything that came easy to him, especially not considering they’d already been attacked that day by a surface dweller.

Ultimately though, fatigue won out and Orm fell asleep listening to the sound of Elara breathing. It wasn’t the most restful sleep by far but it was more than he’d expected. It was not particularly lengthy either, because before too long, they were woken by an annoying melody from the cell phone Elara had purchased. It was an alarm she’d set to ensure they would get up early enough to catch the bus. While such an alarm was useful, it was very irritating and Orm loathed it on principle.

They grabbed something to eat at a nearby cafe and then waited at the bus station. Elara had explained that the bus system they were using had many other stops on the way until it eventually stopped closer to the center of Guatemala where they would then catch a smaller bus for a short stint to the town closest to the Tidewatcher sanctuary. There weren’t as many people getting on the bus this early but Elara knew they would have a lot of contact with a lot of people by the time the day was over.

Elara had booked them on one of more luxury liners instead of what the locals referred to as ‘chicken busses’ which ran more locally and, well, had more livestock on board. Elara anticipated that they’d need to use them at some point but thought it best if they put it off for now; one thing at a time and all that.

The wait was short as those around them chatted in languages Orm didn’t understand. It was hard not to feel so very far from home in this moment. Perhaps Elara sensed this from the tides but she subtly shifted so her uninjured arm was pressed against his in a silent show of support. It was a small thing but it helped. If this had been a couple weeks ago he might have been perturbed by how well she could read him but then he supposed she wouldn’t be a very good tidewatcher if she wasn’t good at picking up things like that. She wouldn’t be able to keep them safe if she couldn’t sense something like a change in mood, that could mean everything in a surprise attack. And he had to note she’d never used this to manipulate him or use him, only to help them. He admired that about her.

He was glad to let Elara take charge in the small things like where they sat. If nothing else, he was glad that he didn’t have to reveal further how little he knew of these things though he suspected she knew anyway. They sat towards the back and not very close to any other passengers so they could talk a little freer as long as they spoke quietly. She sat with her bad side to the window. It was going to hurt all day anyway but at least this way she wouldn’t have to worry about him accidentally elbowing her tender side or scraping her arm. She was careful how she held her arm so as not to rub it the wrong way but the bandaging and the jacket she wore helped insulate it more against aggravation.

Once the bus was on its way they didn’t talk at first. While Orm acclimated to the feel of things on the road and amongst surface dwellers like this, Elara took the opportunity to get familiar with the flows of the tides for the bus and their route. As the whole bus had a hectic and chaotic atmosphere to it, she thought it best to get a feel for what patterns were normal for it so she could better spot what was irregular.

After some time had passed and nothing went wrong and no one bothered them, she could feel some of the edge had dissipated off of Orm. She figured now was a good time to try conversing with him to distract him. She’d also strategically let him take the aisle seat because she figured he’d feel more able to protect them that way even if she did not feel such actions would be necessary.

“So,” she began, turning to him, “what do you know about Madren?”

Orm resisted the urge to smirk, of course she would know he was curious about the old tidewatcher even if he hadn’t said anything. He wasn’t proud of it but the idea of meeting Madren intimidated him slightly. While he’d received reports from her during his reign, he’d never met her though he’d certainly heard stories from Vulko and the other Tidewatcher elders over the years. Combine that with all he’d heard from Elara since they’d come to the surface and Madren seemed a larger than life figure to Orm and one that left a profound impression. She was regarded by many as being exceedingly eccentric which Orm had always attributed to the fact that she’d spent several decades on the surface. She wasn’t the only Tidewatcher or Atlantean to maintain an outpost up above but she’d been topside longer than any other Atlantean he’d ever heard of.

She’d acclimated to her environment in unusual ways. When he’d been king, the tidewatcher council would regularly update him on reports from Madren. She could not only sense shifts of surface dweller politics through the tides but also witness it firsthand. She was an invaluable resource but a bit of a wildcard. He’d been content enough to let her stay up here as her intelligence was always timely. He could sense at times she disapproved of his war on the surface but she never interfered which suited him just fine. The same relations between Madren and the king of Atlantis had not always been the case when his father had been on the throne. It was not a subject Orvax had been inclined to speak of which had only served to make it a subject of curiosity for Orm.

“What can you tell me about Madren and my father?” he asked calmly.

Elara raised her eyebrows. That was not the question she had been expecting. “Well you clearly know something or else you wouldn’t ask. What have you heard?”

“Oh just the standard line Orvax circulated to the courts- that he banished her to the surface for her insubordination.” Orm answered with a wry grin, “and enough from Vulko to know that no one actually banished Madren.”

Elara shared a smug grin, “That he most certainly didn’t. Anyone who’s actually met Madren would know that she is not a woman to let anything but the tides tell her what to do. And even then she’ll argue and analyze it five ways to Sunday before consenting.”

“So what really happened?”

“I suppose the diplomatic answer would be that she resented the idea of being under his thumb and subject to his tempers and scrutiny,” Elara said after consideration.

“And the non-diplomatic answer?” he pressed.

“She was tired of his bullshit,” she said straight-face.

“Sounds like she taught you well on that count,” he replied slyly.

“That she did,” Elara agreed. “But the way she tells it, Orvax was a thousand times worse than you ever were. Madren was the best tidewatcher on the council and they both knew it. Madren wasn’t afraid to call him out on his ill-conceived schemes or throw the warnings of the tides in his face if things didn’t work out for Orvax. I don’t think he would have had problems if she was skilled and humble but she was abrasive and loud about it. He knew he couldn’t properly cut off contact with her because what results he saw and liked from the tides mostly came from her leads but he couldn’t abide her publicly contradicting and undermining him.”

“No,” Orm said quietly, “he certainly couldn’t.”

Elara could sense a bitterness and a history to that statement but also that it wasn’t something he was interested in exploring in depth at the moment so she moved on as nonchalantly as she could. “Madren’s no idiot and knew something had to give. Since the tides gave her no indication that Orvax was going to change and she knew she absolutely wasn’t going to, she decided she’d relocate as a sort of truce. Orvax wasn’t wild about her training others on the surface but ultimately agreed that it was preferable to her constantly embarrassing him down below.”

Orm found himself smiling. He enjoyed the way Elara told stories. He found himself content to simply watch how her eyebrows would quirk when she found something amusing and the way she’d gesture with her hands to make a point.  She was certainly more fascinating to watch than whatever was out the window at any rate.

“Everything that was said after she was gone was pure fiction made up to make Orvax sound better once Madren wasn’t in Atlantis to dispute him. All of us tidewatchers knew the truth but it didn’t really matter. Madren said the point was that she didn’t have to deal with him anymore so she was the real winner.” Elara gave an emphatic jab of her finger.

“What about after Orvax died? Why didn’t she come back then?” At this point Orm was just enjoying hearing her talk about it but he was still curious as to Madren’s continued presence on the surface.

A small part of him wondered if Madren stayed away because she didn’t think Orm had been any better of a king than Orvax had. He couldn’t be sure though, it wasn’t as if he and Madren had ever butted heads. It could be different with Tidewatchers, but two people were usually required to have met before having a feud. Orm then felt a twang of unease at the idea that Madren had stayed away because she’d seen his future sins and decided he was just as bad as his father. It wasn’t entirely unwarranted but it also wasn’t an idea he liked to entertain.

Elara sensed a pang of anxiety from Orm but rather than address it she simply continued on. “She was formally invited back for the sake of appearances but she declined. I asked her about it a few years ago and she said that as much as she loved Atlantis, she’d come to love the surface too and she wanted to instill some of that love into the next generation of Tidewatchers. She saw enough ill will between land and sea in the tides but wanted to do what she could to abate it, to remind her fellow Atlanteans that there was much to love and protect up above. She taught me well in that regard too.”

Elara nervously tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, looking down at their feet. Orm was hardly about to declare war against the surface again but she knew that her affection for this world above was still an aberration among her people. While she’d argued with Orm about attacking the surface while they were still in Atlantis, she never would have dared to reveal her fondness for it back then. If she had, he would have just rolled his eyes and condescended.

He did none of those things now. In the brief glance she allowed herself to gauge his reaction, she could have sworn he smiled ruefully.

“Indeed she did,” he finally said quietly. Try as she might, she could sense no derision from the former king and that filled her with a quiet sort of gratitude.

It made sense to Orm. Elara had never shown the slightest hesitancy about coming to the surface. To being the one tasked with keeping him safe, perhaps, but she’d held no reservations for the surface. As comfortable as she was down below, there was an ease to her manner up here that some small part of him envied. He didn’t loathe it as he once had but now he was willing to admit that a lot of his discomfort stemmed from not understanding. He still hated their waste and how the people here took so much for granted but he could see hints of joy too. Though he would at least admit to himself that he might not have seen any without Elara’s influence.

A companionable silence fell between them for a time and Orm found himself thinking about his father and Madren. He might have once considered their relationship a mirror of his with Elara. Both Elara and Madren being the stubborn and defiant Tidewatcher while he and Orvax stood opposite as the haughty and proud king. How things had changed. It surprised him to realize that now he felt more kinship with Elara than he did with his father.

His father might have thought he was doing what was right to make Orm the best ruler he could but that didn’t change the fact that Orvax was a cold and distant father. When he did express emotions for Orm it was more anger and frustration with occasional bursts of small pride. More proud of how he had molded Orm than of anything Orm had done for himself. And Orm had spent so long telling himself that it was alright. That Orvax knew what was best but a quiet doubt had always lingered after Orvax had ordered Atlanna’s death. Justify it as Orvax had, Orm had resented his father for robbing him of the one person whom he had known to actually love him. Altanna may have loved Arthur and missed her life on the surface but she had loved Orm fiercely and protectively. Doing her best to spare him the worst of Orvax’s wrath and raise Orm to be considerate and clever and thoughtful.

That was why Orm had never sent his commandos after Tom or Arthur before Arthur came to Atlantis. The rumors of Atlanna’s bastard had certainly plagued his rule as had the knowledge that Atllanna’s human family was what had led to her death and yet Orm had left them alone. He’d certainly been advised to silence the rumors and have the Currys killed but Orm had resisted. It was the only way he could think of to honor Atlanna’s memory. As much as he hated them for essentially taking his mother from him, he knew that Atlanna had loved Arthur and Tom so he’d left them alone.

It was only when Arthur had come to Atlantis himself and challenged Orm’s right to rule that Orm could resist no longer. He was so close to achieving everything he’d been fighting so long for and he hadn’t been able to stand by and let Arthur challenge him. Add Mera’s betrayal and Orm was stung and retaliated in kind. Orm wasn’t proud of it now, it was the actions of a petty man who was hurt and he knew now he would have regretted it if his commandos had succeeded in killing Arthur and Mera.

As ashamed as Orm felt for some of his actions, Orm realized that if he hadn’t done what he had, he would not be where he was right now. The subject of a future assassination attempt and on the surface he’d spent so long despising perhaps- but he was also sitting next to a befuddling, and bitingly clever Tidewatcher who had seen his worst mistakes and still believed in him and that wasn’t something Orm liked the idea of losing. Realizing this affected him in the most peculiar way. As soon as he thought it, he felt a rush run through him and he couldn’t help the slightest tremor that hit him.

Elara sensed it, of course she did, though he couldn’t be entirely sure if she felt it physically or through the tides. In any case, she had grown so accustomed to him that, minute as it was, she felt it and she tore her gaze from the window to meet his eyes.

Concern played across her wonderfully expressive face and he could practically feel her scanning the tides for the source of the tremor.

“You alright?” She asked quietly, unconsciously leaning closer.

He had the absurd desire to lean in as well, just to be even closer to this startlingly lovely woman, but he kept himself in check, trying to school his features in the wake of such an idea.

“I’m fine,” he answered back just as softly. Not because he was worried about any of the other passengers hearing them but because he had the foolish notion that his realization was like a small, easily frightened animal- likely to flee at any loud sound or sudden motion. He couldn’t stop himself from adding, as gently but reserved as he could manage, “I just wanted to thank you.”

Elara could sense something had changed in Orm but, as fast as her heart was beating at their closeness and distracted as her thoughts were, she just couldn’t put her finger on what that change was.

“Thank me?”

“I don’t think I ever properly thanked you for coming up here with me.” He said, even though that barely scratched the surface of what he was grateful for in this current moment.

He was right. He hadn’t thanked her but, if Elara was being honest, she hadn’t expected him to. She wasn’t sure if that was selling the prince short or not but when all of this started he wasn’t feeling any sense of appreciation at his glorified exile. His thanks were hardly some grand glorious gesture, but given where Orm had started, it meant something to Elara. He might have once taken something like this for granted or assumed that it was her duty and simply expected of her. She had begun this journey feeling like the tides were calling her to do this, so she may have once said that thanks weren’t necessary but many things had changed between them since they had left Atlantis.

“You’re welcome,” was all she said and before she could think better of it, she took his hand.

Orm was getting obnoxiously fond of holding her hand. He remembered seeing Elara and Calysa coming to meet them, holding each other’s arms and being very affectionate and he’d certainly seen such friendly physical exchanges among his citizens when visiting the regions but that type of physical familiarity was never something he’d had access to after Atlanna died.

Given all of her many gifts and deductions, Orm wasn’t sure if Elara knew that or not. Didn’t know if this was just her general way with people she was familiar with or if she was actively trying to compensate for his touch-starved youth. And while he wanted to believe he was special, he wasn’t sure how much it mattered in this exact moment. She was holding his hand because she wanted to, because he’d reached out to her and it felt nice.

They didn’t speak again for awhile and eventually she let his hand go with a tight squeeze before getting into her pack for snack bars. The rest of the day was more of the same. There were a few bathroom stops and a constant shuffle of passengers boarding and departing. Sometimes there would be other passengers all around them and paranoid as Orm was he didn’t feel like chatting much, just in case. Elara mostly respected this but sometimes engaged him in small talk about the food they ate or the areas they passed through. He didn’t feel like she was trying to placate him or appease him, but more felt like she was chatting for her own peace of mind and he did his best to help but obviously had little experience in the subject matter.

It was a baffling day but not as frustrating as it could have been if Orm had been left to navigate it alone. Confident and stubborn as he might have been, he had nothing on Elara’s unflappable calm. No matter how loud the bus got or unintelligible the bus driver, she kept her cool and guided them through. Hours passed in this almost mindless chatter. Elara encouraged him to try to get some more sleep, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to. He may not actively dislike and distrust everyone on this bus as he once had, but it was still too foreign an environment for him to get easy.

Elara, to her credit, tried to stay awake out of solidarity but she just didn’t have the same vigor she usually did. Her injury was healing well. She’d made a point to check on it before they left this morning and once at one of the bathroom stops. It would heal within a few days but it still took a lot of energy in the meantime. As there wasn’t anything pressing to distract her or keep her alert, she kept nodding off, lulled by the easy cadence of their fellow passengers and the feel of the bus rolling along down the highway.

Once she woke up abruptly when a bump in the road caused her forehead to collide with the window. Orm, who had been occupying himself counting and memorizing the other people on the bus, started at Elara’s gasp when she was woken. His warrior instincts immediately put him on edge and on the lookout for the cause. She immediately inspected the point of contact with one hand while holding the other out to him as if to give him the all clear.

“It’s fine, just a bump,” she said and instinctively tilted her head to show that no serious harm had been done.

He appeared to study it for a minute as if to make sure she wasn’t hiding any lacerations. Finally, he nodded as if agreeing with her assessment but then frowned minutely, saying almost under his breath, “this is hardly the smoothest form of transportation. It’s awfully clumsy.”

“Well it beats trekking through the jungle for days on our own.” Elara replied with her usual measure of snark and common sense as well as a signature smirk, “I know that we could handle ourselves but that would have been miserable. Just think of the mosquitoes.”

Not having much experience with the flying pests and still thinking of the realization he’d come to earlier that day, Orm wasn’t sure spending days alone with her in the jungle would be particularly miserable after all. However, he also knew she had a point and with mostly unknown adversaries out there, that would not be the wisest course of action.

“Perhaps,” was all he said in reply. He could accept these things in the name of practicality all day long, and he had, but he wasn’t sure he’d ever feel comfortable up here.

While passengers had left and boarded their bus for hours and no one had attacked them or even properly interacted with him or Elara besides the bus driver, he couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness and unease. Like they were too exposed. And while Elara was the one thing that was keeping him from complete uneasiness or from complaining about this clumsy earth vehicle spewing noxious fumes, it didn’t mean that he was able to feel comfortable up here.

Even Elara’s ability to balance and calm him instinctively was foreign to him. While Elara was the most familiar thing to him for hundreds of miles, he hadn’t been aware of how much he’d come to count on and trust her until surrounded by others. He still didn’t know what to make of how he was coming to regard her- it was still so strange and new to him.

Elara, of course, being as experienced as she was in interpersonal relationships and friendships might know better how to word or contextualize how he was feeling but he didn’t even know how he could put it into words to ask. And, if he was being honest with himself, he wasn’t sure if she felt any of these confusing sensations that he did. What if she simply had grown to regard him as a friend? While that wouldn’t be the worst fate he could suffer at her hands, he could feel something unlike friendship growing in him. He hadn’t had much experience with friendship to be sure but this was just unlike anything he’d ever known. Worse still, what if she still saw all this as duty? What if she was simply doing all this to fulfill the call of the tides?

She had been the one to kiss him that drunken night but she’d also been the one to leave and shut herself off from him after that. He thought it might have been repulsion at his admission but maybe it was her own way of prioritizing duty? Her way of saying that fun or feelings would always come last. He didn’t know where that left him if that was true. So while Orm had no activity to occupy him physically on their long bus ride, he certainly had much to think of.

Elara, for her part, slept for most of it. When she woke up at the stop where they’d be changing busses she was surprised to find that she had not fallen asleep against the window but with her head leaning on Orm. He was just the right height for her head to rest against his broad shoulder comfortably. As the bus fully stopped and other passengers started getting up, she almost sheepishly lifted her head off of his shoulder. She didn’t know why it struck her so odd, maybe in their tight quarters, Orm didn’t notice? Highly unlikely, but perhaps he was still offended at the crudeness of their transport and bore it to prevent her from further injury? It wasn’t the most plausible explanation but it was all Elara could figure as they gathered their things and disembarked the bus for the final time.

Elara gingerly stretched out. If she felt cramped after hours of being in those tight seats, she couldn’t imagine how Orm felt with his much longer frame. If they’d been alone or back at the cabin she’d expect him to work through some of those fighting forms he’d been so fond of but he instead he opted for more subtle stretches. After they’d both taken advantage of a bathroom and regained feeling in their limbs, she could feel him scanning the area. He hadn't been fond of the bus but after eight something hours it was at least more familiar than this little town in the middle of Guatemala.

Elara could understand that and did her best to feel through the tides for any threat, only to be surprised at a familiar thread.

“When is our next bus set to arrive?” Orm asked, looking around dubiously.

“Actually,” Elara said, feeling more confidence in her reading, taking gradual steps forward as she mentally tugged on the tide, “we aren’t taking a bus to the sanctuary.”

“We aren’t?” he asked, confusion and alarm coming off of him.

“No,” she replied as she reached the other end of the pull and pointed to the off-roads Jeep at the far end of the street.

An older woman with long gray hair pulled back under a sun hat sat in the driver’s seat. Her eyes were fixed squarely on the two of them with an almost wicked smile on her face, clear to see even from where they stood.

“Is that...” Orm began but of course it was. Who else could have seen when and where their bus would stop?

“Yep,” Elara answered with admiration and fondness in her voice, “that’s Madren.”

[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - Shadow Legacy

And with this we reach the final Classic Spyro game, but with all the gameplay differences, can we really call it part of the Classic series?

It’s a game I often come back to thinking I must have forgotten part of the plot, and always I come out of it going, “nope, I remembered everything. It’s really that short.” I consistently beat it in two days with long (but not too long) play sessions. It’s short, ends on a cliffhanger, and makes you wonder what would have happened if they actually decided to continue from it.

Gameplay

Take the GBA Digital Eclipse games, with their isometric point of view. Take out most of the platforming, and make what little’s there confusing because the art style doesn’t differentiate height nearly as well. Make Flame and Charge do nothing to most opponents and add some new melee and magic attacks. Do all that and you’ll get this game.

The actual combat is... okay. Different opponents require different strategies but most can be beaten by spamming one attack. In the real world, that attack is normally Flame. In the Shadow Realms, that attack is the Tail Swipe (and don’t upgrade the Tail Swipe to the point where it does the spin attack. It makes it so it’s no longer spammable).

Also there’s that dual-world gimmick that adds some but not much to the game. Change realms, go through obstacle, change back. It’s bare-bones as far as that mechanic can go. It’s cool that it’s there, though.

Additional Playable Characters/Game Modes

For the first time since Spyro 3, we get none. No minigames, no other characters, nothing.

Collectables

What collectables?

Oh right, there’s a couple.

Gems are still a currency rather than a real collectable though. And even worse, now how many you can collect is limited by the size of your wallet. This basically just means that certain sidequests can only be done after a certain point.

The only real collectable is Dragon Eggs. They’re scattered around and are given to you as rewards for sidequests. Once you get all of them, you learn a spell that turns you into an egg. You can roll around using the touch screen. Yay?

Sidequests usually involve finding or buying a thing and taking it to someone. They feel a bit pointless for the most part. But hey, you can get Ember off your back by introducing her to Bandit the armadillo and they’ll fall instantly in love.

Oh and there’s those shard/crystal/whatever thingies. Some wear out, some don’t, but really if you see one wearing out you just drop it and grab it again and it’ll be good as new. They have different useful effects so just find some that you like and keep them forever. Or don’t use glitches and buy the infinite ones, your call.

Breath Abilities

You get Ice Breath just like any other upgrade, by leveling up. It’s used in a few places to make towers of ice, and for a boss fight. It’s only really worth mentioning since Breath Abilities are so prevalent in the series.

But yeah, you level up and get different/stronger attacks. We’ve got health counts and everything in this game. Some are a lot more useful than others. Again: Tail Swipe>Everything except in certain circumstances (like those foes with the long slapping tails, or flipping over the roly-poly type things. It’s so spammable.

Bosses

Ice Minion and Fire Minion are really similar. You just use Fire against the Ice one and Ice against the Fire one. You just attack when they stop attacking to rest, fairly standard boss procedure. Their personalities are nonexistant and their designs are not very Spyro-y.

Red appears here and is the most pathetic boss. Is he really a boss? Well, to Blink he is, as Blink is just sitting there being thrown around. But for Spyro, he can just use the Shock spell twice (which the Professor specifically tells you to do) and it’s over. Turns out Red was being mind-controlled by someone else! (Was this the case in A Hero’s Tail?)

The Sorcerer is the final boss. He appears as a lizard-man throughout the game but reveals that he’s “a real purple dragon” at the end. This boss fight is a bit more involved, but the game tells you exactly what to do.

TLoS fans might find these guys very familiar. In fact, they may find the whole game familiar.

Levels

For some reason they take the names of levels in the Insomniac trilogy, but change who lives there and what themes it has. Except Wizard’s Peak; that has the exact same wizards as always lived there. Except now they aren’t enemies but guys who worship dragons. Skelos Badlands isn’t too bad, either.

Just... Treetops is in the Avalar and houses Fairies. Lost Fleet is a farm where Bianca’s family lives. And the Dragon Realms, Avalar, and the Forgotten Realms are all a boatride away from one another. And the levels themselves are within walking distance of one another. There’s also just as many original locations as reused ones.

It’s like, I’m glad you’re acknowledging existing lore, but either be consistent completely or make all the levels your own.

Actual level design is fine. It’s not amazing, but it works for what the game is. Except those random holes. I’ve played the game several times and I still have no idea what the purpose of them is. I wish some dataminers cared enough to see what they’re all about - they’re either completely empty or have enemies and there’s some sound effects when you enter but... what do they do?

Story

Spyro and friends are at Dragon Shores for vacation, but it’s time to go. Spyro, however, is staying behind to be trained by the Dragon Elders. Everyone commentates on school as they leave for their homes.

But, that night, a darkness fills the land and everyone is thrown into the Shadow Realms! Enemies are unaffected by Spyro’s regular moves, so he can only run, as directed telepathically by Tomos, one of the Elders. Turns out that since Spyro’s a purple dragon, and purple dragons are particularly magical, he has the ability to escape through use of the Shadowstone, as well as save others.

After saving the Elders and learning Dragon-Kata from them, Spyro goes out to save everyone else. The Elders suspect that Red’s behind this, but eventually Spyro corners Red and defeats him and it turns out that Red’s being mind-controlled by someone called the Sorcerer.

The Sorcerer is draining magic from all the realms, and he wants to fuse the Shadow Realms and the real world. Spyro confronts him and he reveals himself to be a fully-realized purple dragon. Spyro manages to seal him away, but he will return someday...

If this sounds like The Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning except with more rescuing people and the ending of Dawn of the Dragon stuck to it, it does to me, too. I always call Shadow Legacy “TLoS in the Classic Universe” for a reason.

The Sorcerer even looks like Malefor. They’re the same. It’s all-but canon. And it provided so much fanfiction fuel for me as a young teen.

And that’s really the only reason why I approve of this story, despite the fact that this is so much not Spyro-y. I want to see this mentioned, if not resolved. I want the three worlds to collide, and Malefor is the perfect bridge. As he claims, he is eternal.

So yeah. I think on its own this story is pretty strange and doesn’t seem related to Spyro at all. With the context of TLoS, though, it’s intriguing and I want to see more. Unfortunately, I don’t think we ever will. How many people played this game? I almost didn’t.

Unique in the Series?

Spyro’s moveset and the whole Dragon-kata concept definitely is, but other than that, it takes from other games and is taken from all throughout later games. It has the Season Trilogy perspective, the A Hero’s Tail artstyle and character interpretation, and a story that will be seen again very soon.

As far as Classic Spyro goes, this game is very unique, but as for the series as a whole, it’s a bridge that shows how Spyro is moving in a very different direction.

Conclusion

If you’re an avid fan of the entire Spyro series (or at least Classic and TLoS), Shadow Legacy is definitely worth checking out. It’s an oddity that bridges the two in a unique way.

As for someone just looking for a good game, look elsewhere. I never play this game for the gameplay. It’s not challenging enough to be fun.

So I don’t know where to stick this other than I’m glad I have it, glad I’ve played it, but it’s one of those games I have that I know isn’t good.

[biyapaynews]

The Beginner’s Guide To Understanding USDT (Tether)

Website: Biyapay.io

Have you heard of the Tether?

If you haven’t, here’s a quick explanation.

USDT (Tether) is a cryptocurrency that is backed one-to-one with the US dollar. It was established by Bitfinex in 2014 and it has quickly become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies on the market today.

But what exactly is USDT used for?

And why do some investors feel that it’s more stable than other cryptos?

The world of cryptocurrencies is growing every day, and it is now almost impossible to stay away from the word ‘Bitcoin.’ It’s one of the most talked-about topics at school, around the office, on the streets, and even on social media.

The rise of Bitcoin has made an impact on the entire world economy and it will likely continue to do so in the near future.

However, there is still a lot of confusion regarding how you can use USDT for stock exchange and currency trading.

Don’t worry if you don’t know much about USDT just yet because I’ll give you an overview of your options and tell you where to start using USDT to buy US and Hong Kong stocks..

How does USDT work?

You don’t have to be a financial expert to understand how USDT works.

It’s actually pretty simple.

USDT stands for “US Dollar Tether” and is simply a digital representation of the US Dollar.

You can buy USDT with fiat currency, but it’s not something that you can use to purchase goods or services online.

The reason why people are interested in using USDT is that it provides stability during times of market volatility.

When you’re using a fiat currency like dollars or euros, your money’s worth can fluctuate by as much as 10%. That makes it hard to plan for your future — and it means that you can’t count on your savings being there when you need them most.

By creating a digital coin called USDT, the creators of the coin claim that they’ve been able to create a stable currency (i.e., one whose value doesn’t change) from something that’s volatile and not always available.

How does USDT maintain its Price?

USDT is a stablecoin that maintains its value through smart contracts.

The price of USDT is determined by the supply and demand of the token at any given time, which means that the price will change based on how many people want to buy or sell it.

If there’s a lot of demand for USDT, then the price will rise; conversely, if there’s a lot of supply for USDT, then the price will fall.

The point of this system is to allow traders to trade without having to worry about the exchange rate fluctuating too much. Most exchanges have their own token, but USDT is designed to help traders make more informed decisions when trading with other currencies.

How do you start Using USDT?

You’ve heard the rumors. You’ve read the latest articles.

But you’re still not sure how to get started with USDT…

You’re not alone! There’s a lot of confusion out there, and that’s because the rise of Bitcoin has made an impact on the entire world economy.

So, if you’re wondering how to use USDT for stock exchange and currency trading, then let me help you with that.

Introducing, Biyapay, The next generation of remittance.

Biyapay is a blockchain-powered remittance platform that aims to make international transfers faster and cheaper!

It is an international payment platform that allows users to send and receive money worldwide.

Biyapay is also a gateway to the best exchange rates in the market, as well as competitive fees.

The platform only charges a small fee when you send money and there are also no hidden costs when receiving.

This means that you can use USDT to buy Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency on Biyapay with no additional charges!

And the best part is–

USDT can also be used to buy single stocks. In fact, Biyapay also has a feature that lets you use USDT to buy US and Hong Kong stocks!

Single stock trading is a type of investment that allows you to purchase shares of a specific company.

When you buy a single stock, you’re investing in that company and hoping that its stock prices will rise in the future.

Many people shy away from single-stock trading because it can be risky. However, if you’re knowledgeable about the company and its industry, then it can be a very profitable investment.

When you’re trading stocks, you’re taking on the risk of the stock price dropping, but you’re also hoping for a sizable return if the stock price rises.

That’s why it’s important to do your research before investing in a single stock!

Make sure that you understand the company’s business model, its competitors, and what could go wrong with their business.

If you’re interested in learning more about this, then stay tuned for my future blog posts on this topic.

Anyways, what are you waiting for? 

The Biyapay platform is easy to navigate and very intuitive– Head over to the website, sign up for an account today and start trading right away!

[havekiddoswilltravel]

Cuba Travel Tips

Havana, Cuba trip report and pro tips for a safe, personalized family travel adventure to Cuba.

Tips for family travel to Cuba - A guide to exploring Cuba with kids, friends, family or multigenerational groups.

Did you know that you can in fact still travel to Cuba independently?

Updated: July 2019 with new Cuban travel rules.

We cruised prior to the US restrictions. You can however, still enjoy these Cuban tours by traveling by air to Cuba. Keep reading for more details.

Our family of six enjoyed a 5 night Key West and Cuba overnight cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas in December 2018 prior to the cruise ship restrictions. We traveled with four kids ages 13, 10, 7 and 5 and thus felt that a cruise was a comfortable way for us to explore Havana. We’re hooked and already planning a return land trip in order to enjoy more of the island. The Cuban people were gracious, funny and talented. Our guide Dayami is fluent in both English and Spanish and a breath of information about the history, culture, art, music, architecture and food of the island. 

2018 Cuban travel update: The U.S. announced new travel rules for Cuba. Americans can no longer travel to the island under the People to People category as an individual and you're unable to patronized any military - owned business. 

Legal travel to Cuba is still possible under the Support For The Cuban People category and my recommended tours can assist you in planning a safe, educational and cost effective trip to the island. 

Have Kiddos Will Travel Cuba Tours offer: A one of a kind safe, private tour option for those wanting to visit Cuba and experience it like a local.

What we did in Havana:

Dayami picked us up at 9:00 am at the Saint Francis of Assisi Square

(the plaza right across from the cruise ship terminal in Old Havana).

We started with a guided walking tour in Old Havana (about 2 hours) which included:

-       All four main squares

-       Some of Hemingway’s favorite places in the city

-       Handcrafted perfume shop - the perfume is inexpensive and comes in beautiful hand made pottery. 

-       Free entrance museums - our kids loved these museums. We had to drag our 10 year old son out of the art museum. 

-       Cigar/coffee/rum shopping - Dayami was an angel and sat with our kids at a nearby table while my husband and I enjoyed this amazing tasting. I can’t recommend it enough. There was a live band playing during our tasting. In fact, music and dancing was everywhere in Havana. Buy Cuban coffee (I regret not buying more as gifts). Dayami is incredibly knowledgeable about Cuban rum and cigars. We bought two boxes (4 bottles total) of Havana Club 3 year white and 7 year dark rum for approximately 20 CUC. We also brought back 25 (fiftieth anniversary) Cuban Cohiba cigars. We bought handmade individual cigar boxes for the ones that we gave as gifts. 

We did a coffee-rum-cigar tasting/sampling. This service (about 1 hour) is provided by a Habanos sommelier Cuban cigar expert). I highly recommend this tour option. We learned so much and it added to our overall experience in Havana.

After the walking tour, Dayami had a air conditioned car with ready to drive us to the main places of interest in the city. I loved that she was flexible and worked with our children. We took extra breaks for water, snacks and to use clean bathrooms. She knew all of the best places to use the facilities and though I was prepared with my own toilet paper, we ended up never needing it. 

Our family’s personalized itinerary:

-       Ride along the Malecon (sea wall drive)

-       Colon Cemetery (World Heritage Site)

-       Callejón de Hamel (rumba performances/Afro-Cuban religion/art scene)

-       Central Park

-       Capitol building

-       National Hotel

-       San Jose Handicraft market

-       Fusterlandia community/art project

-       Revolution Square

-       Rainforest of Havana (National Park)

-       Bay fortresses and the Christ of Havana (viewpoint)

Dayami made a reservation for us a privately owned restaurant and we enjoyed it. We were lol a bit when we arrived because we literally walked behind a normal looking home in Havana and entered a massive outdoor restaurant which was packed with people and even had a live band. Our total lunch cost was 74 CUC which included drinks, 3 orders of chicken and all you can eat white rice and beans. 

The whole tour was from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, take into consideration that lunch may took over an 1 hour.

What to buy in Cuba:

- While cigars and rum are the main things that people buy when in Cuba, we also bought an amazing art piece (beware that customs will attempt to charge you art fee if you travel back with it in an art tube), engraved leather baseballs, Cuban key chains that I then turned into Cuban Christmas ornaments and a small piece of wood art. We ran out of time to stop by Clandestina, but they do have an online shop that you will not want to miss.

Pro - tips: - Everyone (including children) will need a passport book (not a passport card) that is valid for at least 6 months after your trip. Two pages are required for entry - exit stamps. 

- Each traveler will need a Cuban Visa if you're a US citizen (please research Visa laws for other countries) which cost $75.00 per person. Take your time completing this simple form, as mistakes are not accepted and you will have to buy another one.

-   U.S. credit and debit cards generally do not work in Cuba. Bring cash to cover your stay. The Cuban government requires that travelers declare cash amounts over 5,000 USD. Travelers should note that the Government of Cuba charges a 10 percent fee for all U.S. dollar cash conversions; this does not apply to electronic transactions or cash conversions in other currencies. - US dollar and credit cards are not accepted in Cuba. Do your research regarding how much money you will need and plan accordingly.  I recommend changing money into Cuban Convertible Pesos (CUC) before meeting your guide (for lunch, souvenirs, rum, the sampling, etc.). It is recommended that you change US currency to Euros prior to your trip (AAA will do this without an additional conversion fee for members) and then change euros to CUCs upon arrival. At the time of our visit   The official exchange rate (at the time of our trip in 2018) is 0.87 for every 1 USD (due to the 13 percent US dollar fee). The exchange rate for the euro at the time our trip was 1.15.

-  The export of Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) is strictly prohibited, regardless of the amount. When departing Cuba, U.S. travelers are advised to exchange Cuban convertible pesos (CUC) back to US Dollars well before reaching airport security checkpoints to avoid potential confiscation of the CUC. For other currencies, travelers may export up to the equivalent of 5,000 USD. Anyone wishing to export more than this amount must demonstrate evidence that the currency was acquired legitimately from a Cuban bank. - Dayami was very helpful in regards to helping us figure out how much cash we would need for all of our tours, meals, and shopping.

Getting there:

- You can fly to Havana depending on your group size and family needs. We’ve had family members fly and we did an overnight Havana cruise with Royal Caribbean as we were traveling with small children and wanted access to the comforts of the cruise line. Cruising if no longer an option as of June 2019.

Where to stay:

- If you’re flying, I highly recommend Casa Habana for a one of a kind, local Cuban experience. 

What to pack:

- Bring sunblock, hats, and sun glasses. I packed a back pack with safe drinking water, snacks and treats for our kids.- Wear comfortable walking shoes. Havana streets are beautiful, but the cobblestone is hard on your feet. 

What NOT to do:

- Leave your jewelry and fancy items at home. 

- Don't take pictures of Cuban police or military.

- Keep your strong tourist opinions about Fidel, the Castro family, the Revolution or communism to yourself. Avoid discussing politics (history discussions are okay) and you're good.

- There are two currencies in Cuba. The first is the Cuban Convertible Peso CUC  (which tourists use) and is worth 26 Cuban Pesos CUP. Count your change and keep your street smarts about you.

- Don't expect to have access to the many comforts of home. There is almost no access to many of the consumer goods that are common for us in the United States. So, make sure to bring that which you can't live without. If you wan't toothpaste, a toothbrush, toilet paper, hand disinfectant, mints or snacks, make sure to bring them with you. 

- Print out all of your relevant travel documents prior to your trip. I know, we’re digital people but access to technology in Cuba is pretty much nada. If you think you’ll need it, print it at home. 

- We’re big foodies and thus find it crucial to discuss Cuban food in Havana versus Cuban food in the United States and other parts of the world. Due to trade restrictions and general lack of access to ingredients that we take for granted, (our guide Dayami did a great job explaining the Cuban rations to our kids) we found the food to be good enough, but not something to write home about. The saving grace was that our kids love white rice and beans and literally were “starving” from all of the walking. They ate their food and loved it, with no complaints. Pro tip: if you’re traveling to Cuba, pack some salt and hot sauce. You’ll thank me. 

- Book your Cuba tours before you travel. The internet is hard to come by in Cuba and thus, don’t expect to be able to research or use the internet to communicate with tour guides while on the island. We arrived via a cruise ship, and I had all of my confirmation information from Dayami printed and I had confirmed pick up times and location with her while we were in Key West and still had internet service. 

By booking a trusted private tour, you will save hundreds of US dollars on your excursion time while on the island. Our tours are priced per car, not per person for a group of four and can be coordinated to accommodate larger family - group sizes.

- Lastly, let’s talk about safety. We’re a family of avid travelers. Our kids have had passports since they were newborns and we travel extensively throughout the United States and abroad. This cruise to Cuba was our third cruise in 2018 alone and all six of us are Diamond Crown and Anchor with Royal Caribbean International. Even with all of the stamps in our passports, I was perplexed by how safe we felt in Havana. Despite what our history classes and news tell us about communism and Cuba, we felt safer in Cuba than any other place that we’ve traveled to. Use common sense and respect the local culture and you’ll have a blast. 

Havana, Cuba - YouTube

https://havekiddoswilltravel.net/cuba-tours

Check out the link above for a full list of tour options and contact Dayami Interian dayainte@gmail.com to discuss further planning. Your won’t be disappointed!

About Ruth: I’m a wife and mami of 4 active and globe-trotting kiddos. I’ve always loved a good adventure and truly believe that it’s possible to travel with kids. Join me, as I share our adventures and inspire you to get out of the house with your kiddos. Whether you’re planning a family vacation, a road trip or a trip of a lifetime to an exotic destination, I’ll share insights, trip reports and information that will inspire you. Check back often to stay up to date on things to do with kids at your next travel destination.

family travel - adventure - explore - Travel with Kids

[healthyonefitness]

Comprehending Cryptocurrencies Today

Cryptocurrencies usually use decentralized control rather than a reserve bank digital currency.

When a cryptocurrency is minted or produced prior to issuance or provided by a single issuer, it is typically considered centralized. When executed with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency overcomes distributed ledger innovation, generally a blockchain guide to yield farming, that functions as a public financial transaction database.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading are still allowed to be traded, however just via over-the-counter markets, which is a slower process that may increase credit risk. While the deals and balances for a bitcoin account is tape-recorded on the blockchain itself, the private secret utilized to sign brand-new deals is conserved inside the Ledger wallet.

China has actually banned ICOs, called on regional exchanges to stop selling cryptocurrencies, and restricted mining. In addition, numerous banks do not use services for cryptocurrencies and can decline to offer services to virtual-currency business. Mining is the "glue" that holds together lots of cryptocurrencies, consisting of Ethereum, by ensuring that the network comes to agreement on each and every change made in the system.

Ethereum doesn't simply power a cryptocurrency-- it likewise supplies a platform for constructing decentralized apps that offer users more control of their data by eliminating intermediaries. The applications on Ethereum are operated on ether, its platform-specific cryptographic token.

When you try to create a new transaction, your computer asks the wallet to sign it and after that relays it to the blockchain. The transaction is secured with your private key and pushed to the blockchain. They are released and declared legal tender by a central federal government and normally don't use a distributed journal, such as a blockchain, to keep a record of deals.

In fact, the People's Bank of China has actually been developing its own model cryptocurrency and wishes to be the very first central bank to issue digital money. There is a possibility that you may sustain a loss equal to or greater than your whole investment no matter which asset class you trade; therefore, you should not invest or run the risk of money that you can not manage to lose.

China likewise recently punished a cryptocurrency loophole that permitted Chinese financiers to trade crypto properties on abroad exchanges. Cryptocurrency wallets are necessary for users to send out and get digital currency and monitor their balance.

Nevertheless, it wants to preserve full control of these deals. Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that does not count on banks to validate deals.

Regulators in several nations have actually alerted versus cryptocurrency and some have actually taken concrete regulative procedures to dissuade users. One of the features cryptocurrency does not have in contrast to charge card, for instance, is customer defense against fraud, such as chargebacks. Miners are paid to be this glue, getting awarded the "fresh" tokens of the cryptocurrency as their computers perform computations that unlock them.

You might have heard that many nation-states and central banks are dealing with producing their own variations of digital currency. As a matter of fact, they're often collectively described as reserve bank digital currencies.

Why Are Cryptocurrencies So Popular?

from Clement Wuest https://clementwuest.blogspot.com/2021/07/comprehending-cryptocurrencies-today.html

[destinyimage]

Freedom from Sexual Sin

To the struggler who grew up in a Christian home, to the one who up till now had no idea about the love of God, and to the one who still has questions if He is real — Jesus loves you.

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Your struggle is not a sign of anger from God. Your struggle is not a curse or punishment because of something you did or did not do. You are deeply loved with an unquenchable love that is so good, it’s hard to believe. Matthew 11:28-30 in the Message says,

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me — watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Jesus is offering you rest for your soul, peace that can’t be explained, and a joy that is unspeakable! This is what Jesus is offering you!

I won’t disregard the weight of your pain by lecturing you or telling you to get over it. We both know that if it were that easy, you would not be reading this. I do, however, want to share the beauty of the cross with you. What it means to bring our mess, our baggage, and our shame to the feet of the cross of Jesus where freedom is granted and not earned. Seeing Jesus for who He truly is removes every ounce of hesitation. Surrender becomes a delight in light of His precious gift of life. Following Christ can sometimes be painted as a dreadful experience, when in fact, it is exhilarating and adventurous.

God’s take on homosexuality is clear, and I don’t need to remind you of that. We know where He stands on the issue. Let me remind you, however, that He doesn’t condemn you to a life of misery and never-ending struggle. His invitation goes further than just offering you forgiveness. His invitation is for you to live a life of prosperity and victory here on earth.

While being financially stable is great, that’s not all I mean when I say prosperity. Prospering is being successful, flourishing, and thriving in every area of your life. As children of God, we are not designed to live apart from Him, although many of us do not live the life for which we are destined.

"God is not interested in behavior modification, He is interested in soul transformation."  -- Janet Boynes

You may ask, how does this help me with my same-sex attraction? Knowing God is the key. Your perspective of who He is will either draw you to Him or move you away from Him. Focusing on Jesus and all that He says about you, fixing your eyes on Him and all that He offers you, rather than constantly trying to change how you feel, makes all the difference.

If you struggle with pornography and you really try to stop watching it, for a week or a month, you might be able to do it. However, I can guarantee you that you will go back to watching porn. Why? Because the need that drove you to it is still there.

I don’t want you to focus on your weaknesses and struggles. The key is to pursue Jesus wholeheartedly. He asks that we love Him with all our heart, soul, strength, and mind. If we are conscious about this, and we are living purposely for Him, I can promise you that everything else will fade into the background. The chains that once bound you will no longer hold you. Only with Jesus’ help can we overcome sin. Paul makes this point in Romans 7:17-25, MSG:

But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it. I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me overtly rebels, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but I am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

The key to walking in complete victory over our sin, our emotions, and fleshly struggles is agreeing with Jesus and reinforcing sin’s defeat in our own lives. “How do we do that?” You are probably asking. The answer is that we focus, meditate, and speak out the promises found in God’s Word that tell us who we are in Christ.

There are dozens of verses in the Bible that include the phrases, “In Him,” and “In Christ.” When temptation comes our way, we should be prepared with specific verses of Scripture that we are ready to meditate on and say aloud.

Remember, Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness in Matthew chapter 4. For each temptation that came against Him, He quoted a verse of scripture back at the tempter. Ephesians 6:10-18 lists for us all the spiritual weapons that are at our disposal. Verse 17 says that we must take the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We must use it.

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Jesus already stripped the devil of his authority, and now we, as Christians, need to enforce the devil’s defeat by using our weaponry. Remember that Jesus said in Mark 11:23, “Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them” (NIV). God wants you to be an overcomer. He didn’t say you should dwell on the size of the obstacle. He loves you and has compassion on you in the midst of your struggle to change.

Let’s look at the process of change. There was a man in the Bible called Naaman. He was the commander of the armies of the king of Aram. He was a valiant soldier, but he had leprosy. There was a girl who had been taken from Israel and was forced to serve Naaman’s wife. She told her mistress that if Naaman would go see the prophet, he would cure him of his leprosy. Naaman went and told the king of Aram about what he had heard, and the king encouraged him to go to the prophet and sent him with a letter.

When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “Am I God that I can give life and take it away? Why is this man asking me to heal someone with leprosy? I can see that he’s just trying to pick a fight with me.”

But when Elisha, the man of God, heard that the king of Israel had torn his clothes in dismay, he sent this message to him; “Why are you upset? Send Naaman to me and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.”

So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of your leprosy.”

But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would certainly come out to meet me!” He said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! Aren’t the rivers of Damascus, the Abana and the Pharpar, better than any of the rivers of Israel? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. (2 Kings 5:7-12 NLT)

How many times have you asked God to remove the same-sex attraction and set you free? We know that He is all-powerful, so why can’t He just say the words? I understand. I have been there. I believe that He is more interested in seeing us through our struggle than taking us out of it. There are characteristics of who He is that He wants to reveal to us in the midst of our pain. He did not cause the pain, but He will never leave us or abandon us in it. Often the process can get the best of us. Naaman was given a way out, a solution to his leprosy. How many times has God given us a solution that we didn’t like? For whatever reason, it was not how we thought it should be, and we became angry at God and the process.

But the story doesn’t end there.

But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do something very difficult, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply, ‘Go and wash and be cured!’” So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his skin became as healthy as the skin of a young child, and he was healed! (2 Kings 5:13-14 NLT)

Your process will look different than mine. What God is asking of you in your journey to wholeness will be different from what He is asking of me. Don’t quit because the healing pain feels like too much to endure. Isn’t someone who has undergone surgery to fix a physical problem still in pain for a while after the surgery has been completed? In the same way, once Jesus mends our broken hearts, there will be evidence of the work that He has done. It’s a good pain. It’s a pain that will not last. Don’t give up on Jesus. Don’t allow your pride to drive you to turn away in rage like Naaman initially did. Your healing takes place from the inside out, because as I often say, God is not interested in behavior modification, He is interested in soul transformation. Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you. You are already the apple of His eye. Will you trust Him to carry you through? I promise He won’t disappoint.

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[ladala99]

Spyro Reignited Countdown - A Hero’s Tail

And finally we get... I guess it’s not really a return to form but it is a return to greatness.

A Hero’s Tail uses the Spyro characters and basic mechanics and makes it a modern (for the time) platformer. This does eliminate one of the franchise’s core features (finite gems), but ultimately, it did a good job and did the franchise justice.

And it also officially introduces Ember, who Spyro fanficcers liked to ship with Spyro, especially as a rival ship versus Cynder of later titles. Yes, that was a part of the fanbase I frequented. I am not sorry.

Gameplay

Spyro’s controls are brought to the modern (again, for the time) age, with a much more responsive camera and really that’s the only major difference. Spyro feels like Spyro. He flames, he charges, and he glides.

...Well, aside from the fact that they swapped the Flame and Charge buttons, and now you have to hold X to glide rather than just press it. I first played this game as a demo and legitimately thought the change was a mistake, but nope. Not entirely sure why it was made, but it was. Perhaps it aligns with other PS2 platformers better?

Mini rant, courtesy of how 3-year-old me remembered the controls: Circle is flame because it’s red and the mouth makes an O. Square is Charge because the sides are pointy. X is jump because the X is blue like air and you are in the air while jumping. Triangle is zoom in because the bottom represents a really wide view and the top represents a really narrow view. Why would you change this?

But anyway, it works for the game. Aside from not matching previous games, it’s easy to adapt to and the controls are very responsive. They’re not quite as tight as in the originals, but they’re very close.

Additional Playable Characters

We’ve got a few this time. There’s Hunter, Sparx, Sgt. Byrd and the new character Blink. Totally new. What are you talking about with the “but he appeared in a GBA game”?

While Hunter was technically playable before, this is the first time you can platform with him. His moveset’s pretty similar to Spyro’s, aside from one of his main attacks being very ranged. Aside from his arrows, he’s basically Spyro, but not as maneuverable. Yeah, he can scale walls and Spyro doesn’t in this game, but that ability originally belonged to Spyro, so it doesn’t feel unique.

What is unique is that one section that you’re forced to play as him as part of the story. That was neat. And frustrating because he does not platform as well as Spyro does, since his movements are floaty and you can’t correct them with gliding like you can Spyro’s, and this area has a lot of small platforms.

Sparx has a completely different gameplay style this time: rail-shooter. It’s honestly not that bad, especially in comparison to Season of Ice’s Speedways. I just prefer the other Sparx gameplay.

Sgt. Byrd, speaking of Speedways, takes over for Spyro during them. And his levels are definitely not designed in the same way the old Speedways were designed. It used to be that there was a clear linear path to take from one object to the next, but that is not the case here. I like these Speedways better than Season of Ice’s, but I don’t like them much.

As far as actual controls go, Sgt. Byrd does just fine. Sometimes his turning is a little difficult, but it works for how wide open the areas are.

Blink controls very similarly to Hunter, with the main difference being how the level is designed. Blink’s levels are all underground, having a specific set of enemies and such, and they’re all considered minigames with the goal of destroying Dark Gems. He suffers from the same floatiness as Hunter, and there’s certainly a lot of platforms. Somehow, though, his levels never got me stuck like Hunter’s did in that one section.

Sometimes I feel that Eurocom wanted to make a Blink game, not a Spyro game. While Blink’s levels are minigames, they’re really fleshed out and well-designed. They have plenty of variety, if not in appearance.

Collectables

Gems are not just currency to be used at Moneybags’ shop. They’re found everywhere, and can be collected from enemies multiple times. At the beginning you’ll be hurting for them, but by the end of the game you’ll have much more than you know what to do with. At least, that’s my experience.

Dragon Eggs return, with a twist. They’re pretty much optional, and much less valuable than the other main collectable. This time, dragon eggs come in different patterns and if you collect a set, you unlock a thing. A lot of those things are just the ability to play minigames from the main menu.

The things that I care about are the concept art gallery (as that’s always cool) and the Ember and Flame skins. Mostly Ember since I like playing as female characters. It’s just a skin, though, and it changes back to Spyro in cutscenes plus uses his sound effects. Still: first time skins are in the game, unless you count the color cheats!

Finally we get Light Gems. They’re used to power up gadgets and open doors. They’re required for progress in certain places, but not always. They’re always rewarded on the second round of minigames, which means everybody talks about how worthless Dragon Eggs are in comparison. We don’t want these unborn children, give us the shiny thing!

Oh, and Dark Gems. They aren’t collected, but destroyed. You need to smash all of them to continue.  They’re just scattered around the levels. You’ll come across them.

Powerups

Supercharge returns! Sort of! It’s one of the powerups that the Professor unlocks for you when you collect enough Light Gems. It really doesn’t feel the same, and it’s used for a few doors, some of which you can’t just charge to from the pad.

There’s also invincibility which works like it did in Lost Fleet, allowing you to travel through acid. Just with a stricter time limit and now it makes Spyro metal rather than red.

Finally I’ll mention the orb-thingys that let you use a ranged version of your breath abilities. I literally have never used them, but they’re there. I can’t say one way or the other how useful they are, but they definitely are not necessary.

Other Modes

The other minigames, as all minigames repeat, are turrets and ball gadgets.

Turrets aren’t hard, but they are stressful. You need to protect the thing while other things try to steal/eat/whatever it. Or you need to protect yourself and hit a huge number of enemies. I don’t like this minigame. Especially the baby turtle one.

Ball Gadgets are much more fun to watch than they are to play. The controls work, but it takes a bit to stop. There’s also a couple of on-rails ones that are really trial-and-error. Even knowing what to do, you’re going to fast to react so you need to memorize every action.

Breath Abilities

This game continues the trend of having them! And acts like it’s the first time at the same time. Enter the Dragonfly is apparently not canon.

Fire acts like it always has. They didn’t do the particle effect thing like Enter the Dragonfly did so it moves forward with you as it should.

Electricity starts out as a weaker Fire and then ends up being much more useful. It takes longer to defeat enemies, but there are certain enemies that are immune to Fire but not Electricity. After a point, it’s not worth it to switch back, since Fire just isn’t universally useful like Electricity is.

Water is just used for puzzles. Nothing else. This is also the only time Water is an element in the series.

Ice freezes certain things (like steam vents so you can use them to pole spin), and enemies of course. There are certain enemies in the final area that are only weak to Ice. (Maybe Water too, but I haven’t tried) Otherwise it freezes enemies so you can charge them like in other games.

Bosses

Finally, we get some new ones!

Gnasty Gnorc returns as the first boss. He’s actually far stronger than he was in Spyro 1, ironically enough. The fight itself is a pretty fun platformer boss fight, but his personality... it’s so childish. It’s like they didn’t know who he really was before.

Ineptune is a new character. The fight itself is, again, great for this style of game. Her character is kind of forgettable, though.

And then we get Red, who we fight twice. The first time is actually harder if only for the fact that you’re in an icy arena and thus the controls are more slippery. He’s not a very complex villain, but his fights are pretty fun, but very similar to the other two.

Special mention to the mammoth, who wins via being in a cutscene. You never see him again, having no chance to best him. He is truly Spyro’s greatest foe.

Levels

Continuing from Attack of the Rhynocs, the levels are much more seamless. They’re still very distinct, but in a lot of cases (moreso early-on than later) they feel like the same level as you begin in.

And again like Attack of the Rhynocs, the levels don’t have concrete ends. You can check your map and see how many Dark Gems are left, but it doesn’t really feel like you’ve finished even after you smash them all.

There’s no main conflict to defeat or anything, it’s just exploring and smashing Dark Gems, and occasionally finding a Dragon Elder to give you new skills. You get a checklist, but it’s not the same.

The theming is fine, if generic. Older Spyro games tended to have an irony to them, but not this one. Everything is played straight. Which, of course, makes it so this game doesn’t stand out very much.

Story

I don’t even know if I fully understand it. So Red’s an evil dragon who mined some Dark Gems to spread evil throughout the lands. And the Elders are very hesitant to tell you more.

Eventually it comes out that Red used to be an Elder, but he betrayed them. I really don’t understand why they couldn’t just tell Spyro that. Do the Elders just have a reputation that they don’t want to sully or something?

We get no motivation on Red’s part, and normally I’d be fine with that, but with all the secrets I expect a bit more. Also: who’s Ineptune in all this?

There’s parts where I feel I missed a game. Ember knows Spyro, and Spyro appears to know Ember. I feel like I should know who Ineptune is just because of how little introduction she gets.

I read that there was going to be a TV show that got cancelled but the games didn’t, but it was literally one forum post and it may have just been someone making things up. It would certainly explain things, though.

Unique in the Series?

Yes and no. It definitely has a unique feel as far as the series goes, but it’s very generic at the same time.

A lot of what it introduces is used again in later games, even though that part of the series is very different.

But yeah, Water Breath, Pole Spinning, and Wall Kicking are unique to this game in the series. They aren’t unique in general (See: Mario. Yes, even Water Breath. See: Sunshine), but for the series, definitely.

It’s at that weird awkward part in which it’s not anything groundbreaking, but it’s still really good.

Conclusion

Best post-Insomniac Classic Spyro, if only by default. It’s generic for its time, bringing Spyro fully into said time. It works, it’s fun, and I wish there were more to this part of the series that weren’t... well, Orange.

[cinnamon-sorceress]

Why does Leek love AMPL so much?

Word count: 2529; Reading: 5 minutes; Difficulty: 7; Charge: 0; Before I joined the Ampleforth official telegram group, I didn't understand that Leek was therefore passionate concerning this coin. I think about this coin from my own perspective. But after getting into the state telegram group, I was able to observe Leek's thoughts and behavior. Of course, I am very acquainted with leeks, and I am with them each day. The AMPL coin has several characteristics that are very appealing to leeks. The first is to "divide dividends" each day to stimulate the short-term excitement of leeks. Leek is an extremely short-sighted animal. If you go to the "square" of AICOIN, you can view probably the most leeks. Regarding expense, everyone will say that so long as you buy in the bear market and sell within a bull marketplace, you can make money. This is simply not a genuine flower, in fact it is generally correct. But what do you actually do? Leave the market in a bear market, plus come in to take a position in the bull market. Ethereum Some time ago, the stock market was on fire. When I was on the subway, I was shocked to see that the subway had been full of people watching the K collection. I submitted a sentence in the circle of close friends: "Let me inform a ghost story. Individuals on the subway are all viewing the K-line." Affirmed, the currency markets plummeted completely. Stocks tend to be more expensive in a bull market, and it is easier to lose cash when bought, rather than income, but leeks only enter the marketplace through the bull market, especially at the highest point of the bull marketplace. It is because only in a bull marketplace can you earn money "faster". It takes three, five, or a decade to buy shares in the bear marketplace to make cash. Can't wait. Leek does not have any patience. Once the currency market was on fire in 2018, I borrowed a lot of money to invest in projects. Since it will be borrowed money, it'll be repaid for a while. It is difficult for me to hold a currency for a long period, I can only invest in projects that can be "quickly" listed. Most of the leeks in stocks are borrowed cash, which must be repaid for a while. It is impossible to hold the purchased stocks for a long period. Also if it is not borrowed money, even if it is indeed own money, Leek hopes to make money "quickly" rather than waiting 3, five yrs and ten years to create money. If you tell Leek, it will take ten years because of this investment to return. Leek will be scared to passing away. A decade later, I don't know easily am nevertheless there, I can't wait. From the psychological perspective, anyone who has no patience to hold back for a return on investment, his native family lacks comfort and security. He has no basic feeling of protection and rely upon the world. Just how he interacts with the world is like the employees who shift bricks on the design site. They must be paid day-to-day. I shifted the bricks nowadays, and you need to pay me today. Hand, I can't wait around for the finish of the 30 days. I ran away afraid of you at the end of the 30 days. These people live in a bad family, and their parents cannot give him a feeling of security, especially his mother. Because of this, these children are very impatient with function and lifetime. You must get the return instantly, and you also can't wait. They are generally impatient and effortlessly get frustrated. In the small information on life, if you go to a eating place and await one minute to end up being served, you will be really anxious, you'll yell and eliminate your respect. In the event that you chase a woman, please eat a meal, and you can't "enter bed", you will experience a delay in your efforts and you will immediately modification your goal. Their impatience is manifested in all respects of life. In college, many classmates cheated on exams. They prefer to say that provided that they know this question, select C. You don't need to find out why this reply is. I love to figure out precisely why C is chosen for these subjects and how it really is calculated. When I was in college, I was extremely playful, studied badly, and cheated in exams. However in my coronary heart, I really hope to clarify the calculation procedure for each problem. I quite definitely disagree with the practice of basically remembering the answers to get ready for the exam. AMPL's daily fixed-point "dividends" (leeks state dividends are in fact systemic inflation, that is neither bullish nor bearish, and neutral), that may quickly stimulate the enjoyment of leeks. I really believe that if we make an hourly "dividend" coin, Leek could be even more excited. They can stay up all night and stare at their wallets. You can find two hottest gambling games in Macau casinos, one is bet size and another is baccarat. Both these games are very easy, and both possess the comfort and velocity of opening two eyes. Each game only takes 1 minute. It was too easy, as well fast to provide suggestions to gamblers. A game like TEXAS HOLD EM contains a complicated sport process. Many gamblers aren't fascinated. Gamblers who like TEXAS HOLD EM are mostly brain-like people who like the considering process. You will see the TEXAS HOLD EM area, and you can find fewer vulgar individuals. There is also a kind of person who doesn't like to use his brain and only loves to try his fortune. He breaks in to the sport of Texas Hold'em. He likes to near his eye and ALL IN prior to the flop and doesn't like complicated reasoning procedure. Through this simplified processing method, a complicated intellectual game is compressed right into a simple luck game. Of course, from the rational perspective, he was to do so. Because I've no benefit in cleverness or proficiency, therefore i changed to play a casino game of luck with you, and neither folks comes with an advantage. It's like, easily go to college, I cannot pass you, but if you come to buy lottery tickets, you and me will tie. Children who lack patience, the household that was raised in the catastrophic change, mom and dad are usually emotionally unstable, usually create conflict, tension, and destruction inside the family, causing the child to develop a fear, stress, and impatient character. The science fiction novel "Three-body" describes a terrible three-body civilization. As the three suns shift irregularly in the sky, the three-body civilization often enters the "chaotic era". Civilization didn't create for a few years, and it had been destroyed by natural disasters the moment it entered the farming culture. I believe that people surviving in this environment are afraid to build long-term worth, because your design will be ruined by the "heaven" anytime. It is better to think brief and shallow, long-term considerations often fail. I once spent a lot of time studying spiritual exercise. It could be said responsibly that most of the spiritual exercise is deceptive. But various spiritual schools help people set up a long-term value rather than short-sighted. For instance, Brahman (commonly misunderstood as Buddhism) advocates that people are reincarnated and multi-generational. There are various such thoughts in Chinese Ming Dynasty novels. Therefore the good and bad factors you do in this life will have consequences within the next life. Simply put, you don't only live an eternity, you have to live life many, many lifetimes, which means you have to construct long-term worth. The task that can't be completed in this living could be completed within the next life. In ancient periods, it had been called "cultivation for most generations." What I just talked about is the first feature of AMPL. It could provide immediate opinions and return rapidly. This is appetizing for leeks.

AMPL's second "advantage", Leek loves. Its theory is very simple. If I speak to Leek about how exactly MakerDAO works, most Leeks are scared away. EASILY talk about Uniswap's constant item formula, provided that I dare to create the method below, the reading level of this post will undoubtedly be reduced by 50%. Not forgetting discussing Balancer's power constant product method, leeks are usually scared to perform quicker than rabbits. Leek is most afraid of mathematics. There are a great number of formulas and charts in the AMPL white paper, but this is only a matter of light source. non-e of the mathematics in the white paper exceeds elementary school level. I am aware why the group has to create such a simple thing so challenging, because they're afraid that others will look down on the design, and they are afraid that everyone will state "that is it?" The person who writes the book either lifts the weight lightly or lifts light weight. As long as you cook leeks two times, it is possible to understand the theory of AMPL. If the price is higher than 1.06, the coin will be expanded, and if the cost is lower than 0.94, the coin will undoubtedly be reduced. Understand in one minute. (Despite having such a very simple principle, you may still find lots of leeks mistakenly thinking that this coin is a permanent "dividend") The third benefit of AMPL, it could be bought on the exchange, Kucoin and Bitfinex can be purchased. This kind of "internal disk" of NXM is very tough, and leek can't be bought. There are some coins, only Uniswap offers it, and Leek can't learn it. I often meet some close friends asking how to buy Hong Kong shares and how exactly to buy US stocks. We told them to download the Futu APP. However they all found it as well difficult. It really is too tough to open a bank-account in Hong Kong. Anyone who has used it once will find it easy. Nevertheless, you see many people are speculating in A shares, no one is speculating in Hong Kong stocks and shares and US shares. People who can purchase Tencent and Pinduoduo are rare, plus they are already high-end players in stocks. Any sport has fewer high-end players and several low-end players. Every time you increase a level, you drop 90% of the populace. Promotion: Becoming a member of the "Old Han and His Friends" Knowledge Earth, you can view Han Jiangxue's daily push for the next time. The very first thing you see will be Han Jiangxue's personal group, however the private group has been closed. Knowledge Planet ID: 14842945. 288 goals are billed. The planet includes a restricted lifespan. It expires on February 10, 2021, with 6 months staying. Choose whether to become listed on regarding to your personal situation.

[freefamilydigest]

Comprehending Cryptocurrencies Today

Cryptocurrencies usually use decentralized control rather than a reserve bank digital currency.

When a cryptocurrency is minted or produced prior to issuance or provided by a single issuer, it is typically considered centralized. When executed with decentralized control, each cryptocurrency overcomes distributed ledger innovation, generally a blockchain guide to yield farming, that functions as a public financial transaction database.

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency trading are still allowed to be traded, however just via over-the-counter markets, which is a slower process that may increase credit risk. While the deals and balances for a bitcoin account is tape-recorded on the blockchain itself, the private secret utilized to sign brand-new deals is conserved inside the Ledger wallet.

China has actually banned ICOs, called on regional exchanges to stop selling cryptocurrencies, and restricted mining. In addition, numerous banks do not use services for cryptocurrencies and can decline to offer services to virtual-currency business. Mining is the “glue” that holds together lots of cryptocurrencies, consisting of Ethereum, by ensuring that the network comes to agreement on each and every change made in the system.

Ethereum doesn’t simply power a cryptocurrency– it likewise supplies a platform for constructing decentralized apps that offer users more control of their data by eliminating intermediaries. The applications on Ethereum are operated on ether, its platform-specific cryptographic token.

When you try to create a new transaction, your computer asks the wallet to sign it and after that relays it to the blockchain. The transaction is secured with your private key and pushed to the blockchain. They are released and declared legal tender by a central federal government and normally don’t use a distributed journal, such as a blockchain, to keep a record of deals.

In fact, the People’s Bank of China has actually been developing its own model cryptocurrency and wishes to be the very first central bank to issue digital money. There is a possibility that you may sustain a loss equal to or greater than your whole investment no matter which asset class you trade; therefore, you should not invest or run the risk of money that you can not manage to lose.

China likewise recently punished a cryptocurrency loophole that permitted Chinese financiers to trade crypto properties on abroad exchanges. Cryptocurrency wallets are necessary for users to send out and get digital currency and monitor their balance.

Nevertheless, it wants to preserve full control of these deals. Cryptocurrency is a digital payment system that does not count on banks to validate deals.

Regulators in several nations have actually alerted versus cryptocurrency and some have actually taken concrete regulative procedures to dissuade users. One of the features cryptocurrency does not have in contrast to charge card, for instance, is customer defense against fraud, such as chargebacks. Miners are paid to be this glue, getting awarded the “fresh” tokens of the cryptocurrency as their computers perform computations that unlock them.

You might have heard that many nation-states and central banks are dealing with producing their own variations of digital currency. As a matter of fact, they’re often collectively described as reserve bank digital currencies.

Why Are Cryptocurrencies So Popular?

From https://clementwuest.blogspot.com/2021/07/comprehending-cryptocurrencies-today.html

from Clement Wuest https://clementwuest.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/comprehending-cryptocurrencies-today/

from Free Family Digest https://freefamilydigest.wordpress.com/2021/07/23/comprehending-cryptocurrencies-today/