Credit to u/SpacePaladin15 for his amazing worldbuilding.
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Sorry for the delay, I was again busy with a university project. Woe be upon me for I forgot the NOP: in the title.
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Memory transcription subject: Ryan West, Runner Date [standardized human time]: November 25th, 2136.
It’s hard to tell if you’re moving in space. If there’s no close point of reference it can feel like you’re motionless. The engines run at quarter capacity to lower our heat signature. Even with our target, the green, barren moon of Turadus, in sight I can’t tell if we’re approaching or slowly drifting away. I sink into my seat and close my eyes, a bit tired.
“Would the Nevok actually attack the ship if they detected it?” I ask Tsanma as she manually pilots the ship.
“No, it’s very unlikely they’d take any direct action, especially against a cargo ship. But the intel the Countess can provide will be more useful if the Imperium is unaware that we possess it.”
“I see.” I say halfheartedly. I open my eyes again and the moon seems to have gotten a bit closer.
***
The station comes into view, various metal structures and domes poked from the green rock. The surface of the moon was very jagged, like an emerald badland. I make sure I’m out of view of the camera as Tsanma hails the station. The visage of a masked Nevok appears.
“Hello Compact representative, you are clear to land at bay two.” Tsanma dips her head in response and the feed cuts as quickly as it started.
I head to the back of the ship, I’ll be waiting in the bunks until we leave. We’ve done nothing but stare at a slowly approaching moon for nearly half a day. It's been the most exhausting part of the job so far.
Memory transcription subject: Reossa, Nevok Imperium Countess Date [standardized human time]: November 25th, 2136.
“Oh Lady,” Maylak is on the verge of tears, “must you leave? The estate is so safe.” She holds my bag for me as we walk to the landing bay; she’s not been taking it well.
“The plot came directly from the capital Maylak, it’s safe for now, but it’s only a matter of time before the Imperium sends someone here. Then none of you will be safe.” A small entourage of my personal servants has conglomerated in the steel halls as I walk. Most have taken the news with somber acceptance, but Maylak has been my chambermaid since she was a kitten.
I push through the doors to the bay, the small crowd stopping at the doors. Some cry their final goodbye, some just stand in silence. I see the fissan standing at the top of a small landing platform, she must be the captain. I grab my bag from Maylak who whines and holds it for a moment longer than she should have, I walk towards the ship. As I approach, the fissan dips her head in greeting.
“Hello Lady Roessa, I am Tsanma, a representative of the Fissan Compact.” She says with the flat tone of one who’s recited the phrase a thousand times before.
“Hello Tsanma, I hope my background doesn’t invoke any hostility between us.” I’d weighed my options of who to go to for a long time. In the end the Fissans were the closest, and obviously had a great deal to gain from my cooperation.
“Nonsense, the Compact is always open to those willing to do business.” I almost instinctively voice an objection to the statement. No point in wasting breath defending an empire that wants me dead.
“Alright, please, show me where I’ll be-” I’m cut off by a cry from Maylak, she runs towards me, jumping over a guard who tries to stop her.
“Please Lady, I need to come with you,” she grabs onto one of my paws with both of her own. I’m shocked she’d go this far. I look over to Tsanma pleadingly.
“She can come, we have enough room for the both of you.” she says. I sigh, it had taken a lot of mental preparation for what I thought would be the rest of life servantless, what a waste.
“Then I suppose,” I look to Maylak, “you can come.” she signals joy with her tail. She quickly sprints back into the crowd of servants by the door, and comes back holding her own bag.
“My Lady, you won’t regret it.” She says, holding the small bag.
“You seem prepared.” I give, she holds her ears down in shame though her tail still says joy.
“A very touching scene, but please hurry, we have a schedule to meet.” Tsanma says as she walks back into the ship. Maylak and I follow her in. “I’ll go over everything once we’re voidborne, for now please just sit down.” She mans the ship and the engines begin to lightly rumble. The rumbling quickly eases as we leave the artificial gravity of the station. Tsanma activates auto-pilot and the ship begins a very slow ascent from the moon’s green surface.
“I can’t help but notice the lack of personnel. Where is everyone?” I ask.
“We keep our cargo ship crew light. I’m knowledgeable enough in ship maintenance that a dedicated mechanic is unnecessary. Though currently we have an exceptionally low crew.”
“Who else is there?” Maylak asks.
“Besides myself we have a single security contractor on board. I’ll show you around the ship.” Tsanma walks out of the cockpit, pointing to the various rooms of the ship.
Only two crewmembers? I consider as she points to a closed door,
“This is the dorm room you’ll be staying in.” She doesn’t open the door and continues the small tour. After a short time we’re back in the cockpit. “I hope you find the ship acceptable for our short journey.” She sits in the pilot seat and deactivates the auto-pilot.
“I’ll go prepare your quarters my Lady.” Maylak says as she walks out. Half a second later Tsanma turns back to her,
“Wait!” she says, the slight delay of the translators stopped the words from reaching her before she left the cockpit. Tsanma sighs, but just looks forward in her seat.
“What’s the matter? I presume the security guard was in the room but I’m certain Maylak won’t disturb them.”
“That’s not exactly the issue.” she says.
“Well what’s-” I hear a scream come from the back of the ship, my ears shoot up in alert. “Maylak!?” I run out of the cockpit, I hear a loud deep voice yell,
“Fuck, OW!” I almost run into Maylak as she comes sprinting out of the dorms.
“LADY IT- THERE- A- AH-” She speaks erratically, placing a hand on my shoulder. A large body comes from the door, a clawless hand rubs its face as it groans. Maylak scurries behind me. The being is without fur save a long patch that comes from its head to its back, unfamiliar clothes cover most of its body. A single piercing eye peaks through it’s hand.
“Ah, you must be the Countess, and…”, it looks between Maylak and I. Neither of us say anything for a few long moments.
“Are you a human?” I ask. It removes it’s hand from it’s face, revealing it’s second forward facing eye. The gaze is nearly paralyzing, but I maintain my composure.
“Tsanma didn’t explain to you? I’m the security detail.” I feel Maylak release her paw from my shoulder as she slumps to the ground, unconscious.
“A fine mess you’ve made Ryan, and in only a few minutes since we’ve left.” Tsanma’s voice comes from behind me.
“I hardly see how this is my fault.” He says as he walks towards Maylak, he stops right before he’s upon me and says, “Ah, I’m just going to lay her on one of the beds. Also, who is who?” He carefully grabs Maylak under her legs and neck. The sight of the predator holding her shoots fear through me. The only thing keeping me calm is the assurance that the Compact wouldn’t bring a predator if it was a danger to me. I repeated this fact through my head like a mantra.
“The one who didn’t faint is the Countess, Reossa.” Tsanma answers for me, “The one you hold is one of her servants.” The man, Ryan was his name? He looks at Maylak as he listens to Tsanma.
“I see, well if she wakes up in my arms she’ll probably have a heart attack.” He walks into the dorms. I feel my heart rate lower as he leaves my sight. I turn to Tsanma,
“Why a human?” A much more direct question than I hoped for, but the stress made it come out.
“Various reasons, chiefly their intimidation factor. The strength is certainly another qualifier.” She says as if it weren’t a mad calculation. A moment later Ryan comes back from the dorms.
“Also, I’m a really good dancer.” Ryan adds. Tsanma lowers her horn slightly towards him.
“We will not discuss that event in the presence of the Countess.” she says sternly, causing Ryan to give a small, rhythmic growl.
“Anyways, I’m a bit hungry,” he checks his holopad, “I’m eating.” He walks into the kitchen and Tsanma returns to the cockpit. He’s eating? What would he eat? Images of the human tearing into dead flesh made me sick, but a morbid curiosity consumed me.
Certainly they wouldn’t keep flesh on the ship. I peek into the kitchen and see Ryan procuring various tools. He flips a switch on the counter, and a small flame raises from a burner.
“You need something,” he pauses for a moment, considering his words, “countess?” He says unsure, “Sorry I’m not sure what would be an appropriate way to address you.”
“Just Reossa is fine.” I say, I don’t want to make the predator see me as above him, a contender for dominance. “But no, I’m just curious.”
“About?” He procures a small bag from the refrigerator and I sit in a metal chair.
“What you’re making.” I don’t know where the bravado to risk a glimpse of dead flesh came from.
“Oh, I’m making stir fry,” he dumps a small amount of oil into the pan, fat oils? I shutter slightly. “It’s like, well actually the name says it all, basically you put anything in a pan and stir it as it cooks. Though I don’t have a wok so it’s a bit hard.” he tears open the bag and a large amount of mixed Fissan vegetables falls into the pan. “I’m not sure what most of these are called actually. Tsanma keeps on telling me but I never eat any of them separate from the rest. Er, I guess I know the white beans are called urag beans, but that’s it.”
“And that’s all you’re having?” I ask
“Oh, you’re right, I’m missing something.” he returns to the fridge and my heart rate spikes, he must’ve forgotten the flesh. He pulls out a small opaque jar. He returns to the burner and opens the jar, he puts a spoon in and out, a small glob of black goo comes with it. He flicks the substance into the pan.
“What is that?” My eyes are wide, congealed blood?
“Uh, some sort of bean sauce, It’s a bit sweet, I don’t remember what it’s called though.”
“You’re not eating,” I shrink in the seat, “flesh?” I add quietly. He pauses, continuing to stir in the pan. He says nothing for a few moments.
“I know you probably think Tsanma is crazy or whatever for having a predator on board. But it’s not like she’s emotionless, eh? Please don’t go lookin’ at her like you do at me, she wouldn’t keep meat on the ship.” I was relieved for a moment before realizing the implication; he’d keep meat on the ship if he could, it’s merely not allowed. Neither of us speak for a moment.
“Well!” He says suddenly, “Want to try some when it’s done?” He asks. I consider the proposition, I saw everything he added, none of it seemed poisoned or from a living being. I quickly recall the oil he put in,
“What type of oil was that?”
“I don’t know, something fissan probably, Tsanma just called it ‘oil’.”
“Then, I will accept.” We sit in silence for a while until he declares the food ready, he walks towards a small cabinet with securely held bowls and plates. He grabs two bowls and fills them, he places one in front of me and sits across the table.
“I feel a bit bad, I gave you almost half of what I got but,” his eyes run up my body, “you’re about half my size though, so I guess it works out. I hope it’s up to your standards.” He quickly starts eating, when his mouth opens, the slightly lustrous, dulled ends of canines flash into sight. I find my attention drawn to his mouth every time it opens. I take a scoop of the food, various vegetables sit on the spoon, wilted from the heat. I put the spoon in my mouth.
“It’s alright. For someone who doesn’t know what they’re cooking, you did well.” He quickly finishes his food before I’m done half of my own.
“Alright, I’ll be with Tsanma, when you’re done we need to go over sleeping schedules.” I swish my tail to signify I understood, he seems to get what I mean, and leaves.
I slowly eat the rest of the food and look around. The internal design of the fissan ship is unfamiliar to me. I can’t name the food I’m eating. I’m on a ship with a predator. How long had it been since I had felt anything akin to this instability? I feel rootless, lost, betrayed by my nation for reasons completely unknown to me. With the fear of the predator subsiding, I realize it wasn’t the worst of what I felt. Perhaps this is why I stayed and watched him. I wish he was back so I could replace this feeling with fear and detest. I put another spoonful of the food into my mouth. I close my eyes as I chew— a tear falls into the bowl. I had lied; the food was amazing.
Memory transcription subject: Nittal, Takkan Mercenary Date [standardized human time]: November 25th, 2136.
I rhythmically tap a claw on the dashboard of the ship. The Imperium requested we give them the ship’s landing location, the fact that it had landed on the moon was supposedly a big deal. I wasn’t happy to be kept waiting after tailing the fissan ship manually, in real space for such a long time. Suddenly the ship is hailed from Turadus, Laz quickly answers the call. The visage of our contractor appears on screen.
“Hello, the deal is being updated,” I almost yell an objection before he continues, “we’re increasing your pay,” typically the ‘deal being updated’ was code for ‘we’re screwing you’, I quickly calm down “There’s a nevok that was picked up by the fissan ship, we want you to kill her. If you can confirm her death there’s another hundred thousand credits in the deal.”
“We will gladly take that update.” I give.
“Great. Since the ship took such great lengths to avoid detection from the colony, they’ll no doubt be doing the same while leaving. You’ll have plenty of time to intercept them on their path. Do not fail us.” The feed cuts, always so direct these people, but I wasn’t complaining.
The ship is currently resting in a small crevice on the surface of Turadus’ moon. For a bit the ship had been visible with the naked eye. I resist the urge to merely gun the ship down, we’d have to dock in order to capture the fissan agent. That means waiting until they were out of the moon's gravity well. Laz sits in the seat watching the radar, those stimulants were a godsend, neither of us were a bit tired. If anything I felt excited, dangerously so. By the great dissolution, this mission will be a test of will more so than anything.

I've been really enjoying studying up on Elden Ring lore for the past few weeks and thought it might be fun to write out my understanding of the (pre)-history of the Lands Betwen. Apologies for its length. Let me know if you have any thoughts!

Pre-history: the dinosaurs

First, there was the Age of the Great Tree. During this time, the dinosaurs (just kidding, Ancient Dragons) were in charge and Placidusax was the Elden Lord.
The problem with Ancient Dragons is that they are made of stone, so their experience of time (if they experience time at all) is extremely slow compared to the biological experience of time. Things stagnate and cannot evolve (perhaps this is the origin of Rot). Ultimately, the Greater Will decides that this is untenable, and sends a meteor to destroy the Great Tree and Farum Azula. Placidusax and his now-crumbling home of Farum Azula vanish into their pocket dimension.

The Age of the Crucible

The destruction of the Great Tree begins the Age of the Crucible. The stump of the Great Tree begins sprouting new growth, along with the grafted Erdtree that was seeded by the meteor. Biological life develops in the Lands Between: humans, giants, modern dragons, ancestral followers. New Outer Gods appear as well: Sun, Moons, Stars, Rot, Flame. Some new life arrives: Numens.
Numens are a long-lived, super intelligent, scientifically advanced race of beings. They are associated with Stars, Moons, silver, and artificial life. They universally have no interest in the nature worship of the tribal, indigenous population, and are primarily concerned with fate and artificial life. In their obsession with fate, they manage to seriously piss off the Greater Will, perhaps by murdering a demigod, so he turns them into Nightfolk that cannot go outside during daytime. The Nightfolk are forced to move underground and build Nokron, Nokstella, and the Unnamed Eternal City. Over time, the Nightfolk evolve into the Nox, but they never forget their hatred of the Greater Will.
Life on the surface continues to develop. Giants clear out most of the remaining dragons from the Mountaintops. Astrologers who live next to the Giants create schools of magic, primarily split into the Primal Current faction of Raya Lucaria and the Moon faction of the Carians. In the rest of the Lands Between, a castle culture develops that include Castle Redmane, Castle Morne, Stormveil, the Leyendell Fortified Manor, the Shaded Castle, and Castle Sol. This culture is shamanistic and worships the Great Tree, holding animals like lions and hawks sacred, and embracing of “devolution”, when humans would be born with bestial characteristics like feathers, scales, or claws.
Parallel to the shamanistic culture is the culture of the surface descendents of the Numen, who lived in Leyndell and Sellia. In Leyndell, one particular Numen named Marika develops an interest in the Golden Order, a small but fast-growing religious sect centered around the Erdtree and its blessings. Eventually, she becomes the leader of the Golden Order movement and finds her military support in the nearby Lord of the Fortified Manor. This Lord, of course, is Godfrey, who went by Hoarah Loux before defeating Serosh.

The Age of the Erdtree

The rebirth of Hoarah Loux as Godfrey marks the beginning of the Age of the Erdtree. He goes on to conquer essentially the entire Lands Between, symbolically pruning the growths out of the Great Tree stump that compete with the Erdtree. First to go are the Fire Giants, as their Flame of Ruin poses the greatest threat to the Erdtree. Godfrey and his Golden Army then systematically sweep through the Lands Between. In Castle Morne, Godfrey encounters fierce resistance led by a young laborer with Fire Giant ancestry named Radagon. He is so impressed with Radagon that he invites him to join his army.
The Erdtree is at its healthiest during this period, dripping life-giving sap from its boughs. Devolution is no longer considered sacred and the misbegotten are treated as sub-human. Godfrey and Marika have their first child Godwyn, who turns out to be a smash hit: powerful with the charm, beauty, and charisma that befits a future Lord.
This is also the era of Colosseum combat, a ritual combat practice supported by Godfrey that brutally recreated the conquest of the Lands Between by the Golden Order crusade (think of the Hunger Games). The conquered peoples included the Fire Giants and the Snake and Bird worshippers of Ravenmount (now known as Mt Gelmir). Godfrey was a tribal warlord at heart, after all.
This Age does not last long, however. Grafted trees must ultimately be rejected by the root stump. The Erdtree begins to weaken. The next two children of Godfrey and Marika, Morgott and Mohg, are Omens, a sign that the Erdtree is waning and the Great Tree is waxing. The Age of Plenty ends with the First Burning of the Erdtree.

The Age of the Golden Order

After the first burning of the Erdtree, the Erdtree is replaced by the golden phantom we see in-game. Minor Erdtrees begin sprouting all over the Lands Between, protected by Avatars. Now that Godfrey has completed his conquest of the Lands Between, Marika has no use for such a brute. She removes grace from him and exiles him. Radagon is called back from Liurnia to marry (merge with?) Marika. Marika sends Maliketh to defeat the Gloam-Eyed Queen and seal away Death. She asks Radahn to stop the Stars, to stop the flow of time/fate. This begins the Age of the Golden Order.
Quickly, things start going wrong. Marika and Radagon give birth to the twins Miquella and Malenia, but both are cursed. Marika begins to question the purpose behind the Golden Order, and ultimately decides that the Golden Order needs to be destroyed. Her greatest danger is Godwyn, the star prince, so she conspires with Ranni to steal a fragment of Death and murder Godwyn on the Night of Black Knives. However, Ranni double-crosses her and splits the Rune of Death in half, introducing Living in Death to the world. Things are really buggered now.
Marika may have hoped that Radagon would go along with this plan, but he does not. In the ensuing struggle, Marika takes the dramatic action of swinging a Numen Hammer at the Elden Ring. Radagon pops out immediately afterwards to attempt to repair the Elden Ring, loyal Champion of the Golden Order that he is (by the way, the fact that his immediate instinct was to try to reforge the Elden Ring speaks to his background as a laborer).
But it is too late and the damage is done. Golden Seeds fly out all over the Lands Between for the second time. The Elden Beast steps in and crucifies Marika. With her final moments of consciousness, as the vines are closing in to seal the Erdtree, Marika births her final daughter Melina, and sends her out of the Erdtree with a mission to burn down the Erdtree.
Miquella has a thought that perhaps he could help Godwyn by inducing a solar eclipse. Radahn obviously declines to cooperate, so Miquella asks Malenia to kill Radahn. This battle ends with the Bloom of the Scarlet Rot in Caelid. Meanwhile, Mohg the little pervert runs in while Malenia is gone to kidnap Miquella and take him back to his underground dungeon.

In what has become a mainstay of the news-cycle of Magic, MaRo has used a blogpost to foreshadow things to come. In this case, it is the reveal that The Lost Caverns of Ixalan, the second set after March of the Machine (and its Aftermath), will be focussing on a subterranean setting:https://markrosewater.tumblr.com/post/712380756707704832/ixalan-has-a-whole-contintent-that-the-vampires
This probably does not stray too much from anyone's expectation as not only the name alluded to it heavily, but also because Ixalan as a plane already lent itself to going in such a direction. While there are a lot of themes prevalent in Ixalan, one of its strongest certainly was a reflection on colonialism and imperialism - as witnessed in both the conquistador-vampires of (the continent) Torrezon as well as the Sun Empire, having recently turned more militaristic and keen on vengeance than before. While therein certainly lies a strong foundation for a narrative to follow up on, Ixalan as a whole - despite its obvious allusions to 15-17th century seafaring powerstruggles - has its bedrock somewhere else. While colonial oppression and the aforementioned conflicts certainly are an integral part of it, Ixalan seems to be based on the notion of the age of "discovery" (AoD), contentious as the word "discovery" might be when there is a whole continent of peoples who didn't feel the need to be "discovered" in the first place. Yet not only has MTG addressed that pretty succesfully in Ixalan as far as I can tell, it also would be only a halftruth assume that the plane would be a more or less direct lift from our world's history to Ixalan's.
No, Ixalan is not only an age of discovery-plane, it is also an age of discovery-plane as filtered through the pulpy early science-fiction and adventure literature of the 19th and early 20th century. There may be no world as foundationally enamored with literature as Ixalan besides Innistrad in its everpresent adherence to gothic literature and the (moon-)silver screen. Ixalan is adventure-serials become incarnate, heavily inspired by R.L. Setevenson, Jules Verne and Arthur Conan Doyle, to name only the most immediately obvious ones. Seen through this lense, the sometimes - unfairly, I would say - criticized as scatterbrained Ixalan makes a whole lot of internal sense.
Vampires and Sun Empire are the stand-ins for the poltical struggle of the AoD, pirates the displaced sailors and soldiers born from ceaseless struggle and to give all of this an air of adventure and levity, the filter of fiction makes a lot of sense. Bring dinosaurs in there, make pirates the freedom-loving swashbucklers we know them as and thus, in turn, lean heavily into the tropes this type of literature has to offer. European people at the time were clamoring for evermore tales from the deep jungles of Meso- and Southern America and could imagine the wildest thngs lurking in there - ranging from dinosaurs (recently starting to be discovered large-scale) to quite more ignorant and sinister assumptions. In the span of a century and in this weird mixture of fascination, unbridled ego, adventurous obsession, terra incognita-speculations and exoticism, works like "Journey to the Center of the Earth" (Verne) and "The Lost World" (Doyle) were becoming bestselling phenomena. To assume dinosaurs were still somewhere in the earth? Not unfeasible or at least not completely off the table. It thus makes sense for Magic to also lean into that if they were already willing to make such a risky, real-world-history laden top-down-design as Ixalan in the first place. Magic has proven that it could handle sensitive topics quite well the first time around plus Ixalan is popular as world - despite one of its limited formats being quite unfavorably received -, so another stint makes a lot of sense and a lot of people happy.
But where does this leave us in terms of what to expect, which mechanics and which storyline might they choose? It is, of course, too early to say, but from all that can be assumed if one is to take the "Lost World"-approach as the route to go in, some things can be assumed nonetheless. Or at the very least, it is fun to assume what Magic might shake up or leave as is.
1.) World-design: A Hollow World
Knowing that Lost Caverns will play underground, it is pretty straightforward to assume how we get there. Orazca has not appareared out of nowhere, it has been seated somewhat underground till woken from its slumber. Much like that, the Elder Dinosaurs were never gone, they just appeared from way underground. There had been other subtle hints of subterranean entrances, like the temple of Aclazotz or eyeless demons stalking some parts of the jungles. However, after the discovery of Orazca and even more than that, a full-scale Phyrexian invasion breaking open the earth, Ixalanians all-around are eager to explore *roll credits* the Lost Caverns of Ixalan. It will not only be earthy and rockish biomes, oh no. There will be these, yes, but going witht the slightly whacky vibes of adventure novels and serials, there will be whole underground seas (not that one) down there, lush dino-filled jungles and dark, menacing corners where really nobody should have ever gone. It will be colorful and rich and not compromise too much on what Ixalan is famed for. Though likely, the sea will be less prevalent than before overall.
Pairing all this with what was said before, I think we can expect this: a fully-fledged subterranean set which leans heavily into Ixalan's literary background and thus combines it into a swashbuckling adventure-romp with a lot of adventure-literature tropes. I expect traps (quite literally), exploration (also literally), skirmishes and battles (third time's the charm) and maybe even a riff on the venture-mechanic, yet not exactly that.
2.) Mechanics
Ixalan has not the strongest suite of mechanics since most of its design-space has been eaten up by creature type-support. Amass a critical amount of creatures, stick some lords in there, boom, you have your limited format. Triple-Ixalan was relying heavily on that to carry its weight and it made it into a fairly streamlined experience, even though RIX did some heavy lifting in correcting the first set's blunders. Judging from the Rabiah-Scale, Ixalan was popular in spite of its mechanics more than because of them. It is fair to assume that RnD will want to stick with what worked and make work what did not. You may not be able to rip out the core of "your creature-type matters" of Ixalan and it is a defining feature people like, but there will be more mechanical wiggleroom now. Magic has gotten confident in batching-designs recently and I think it will happen this time again. Looking at Neon Dynasty, I think this is the model of the future:
- Creature type-matters-set, but like NEO. Batch Merfolk + Rogue, Vampire + Knight etc., like NEO batched Samurai + Warrior, Ninja + Rogue. The only issue therein is, that p.e. Merfolk is more of a supertype than a Samurai is, but nonetheless, I think it can work this way.
Other than that, adventure always have one trope that we all know and some love: traps! Magic already has a - pretty good - design for trap-cards which is flexible enough to apply to MTG in this state of design. Ixalan before was unbridled jungle, but after Orazca resurfacing, it is time to shine a light on lost civilizations, abandoned cities and treacherous descents. Some - or all of it - not so naturally made. Maybe there are even still guardians of Ixalan's abandoned places? Adventure-literature would suggest that ...
- Traps will return! They are mechanically flexible and do provide wiggle-room outside of the usual creature-type-matters of Ixalan.
Speaking of guardians; there will of course be Ixalan's creepy palm-like eyeless demons, which are blackbased and have been featured to drain people and give advice to the willing. They are thus not feral and can be found in Ixalan's underground descents. This is pure speculation, but underground settings, with demons no less, have regularly been connotated with claustrophobia, the dampness of a skyless air and slow grasp of mold and rot. All of which causes madness or at least declining mental states, often expressed as "mill" in MTG.
- Mill will be a mechanic, probably UB and demon-based. Would make a lot of sense for some more sinister "descent into madness"-type scenarios plus it could play well with traps. (Archive Trap could really use a reprint, right?)
The descent is also quite literal. While I do not think that something like Venture will see the light of day in Ixalan, since it is heavily tied to DnD and also fairly complex and not that popular, I see a different solution to this. Explore- returns as the workhorse-flavor-mechanic and it feeds Quest-cycles. These quests are not like Zendikar, but are the equivalent to the fliplands we know from original Ixalan. Do something a couple of times and they flip.
- Explore is a flexible, flavorful mechanic. It symbolises descent into the setting quite well (digging deeper into the library) and could feed into interesting choices assuming mill and deck-density is a thing to track. I think this could work out well: would you really explore too far ahead if it means your library empties soon? Seems like a neat concept. Furthermore, venture is always defined by the end-room of a dungeon just as much as the starting-point. Yet we are in lost territory here, nobody knows that it is 5 or 7 rooms till the endpoint. I thus think there will be something like quests as enchantments. Do something a certain amount of times and you reveal a secret, the other side of the card. On Ixalan, these can easily be enchantment-quest-lands just as we know. I think this is far more elegant than venture.
Other than that, I assume Battles will be a thing:
- Not only are they recent as they will premier in MoM, but assuming they do not stay a one-off-thing, Magic likes to recontextualize things and link things together via mechanics. Battles could be used to symbolise the struggles between the different adventuring parties and are a main-stay of adventure literature. Having small-scale battles between different biomes within the caverns both explains and shows the world more and, in the more lighthearted tone Ixalan often uses, becomes less grandiose than in MoM and thus ... fun and rambunctious. It's epic to have battles like the "Invasion of XYZ" ... it's fun to have battles like "The battle for Jim Sliver's Lost Hats". Alternate enough between serious and fun, something Ixalan is already adapt at, and that could prove fun while flexing the designers' muscles just like they did with MDFCs. Everything in moderation.
Lastly, Raid will probably return. Simple as that, no notes really. It is easily applicable to pirates and established fairly firmly as "their" mechanic, even appearing in Jumpstart 2022, and fits perfectly in pirates raiding other treasure-hunt-parties for exactly that.
Speaking of treasures ... Yes, they will be there, for better or worse. They had been designed for Ixalan way back then and their inflationary use since then is no fault of this plane. On Ixalan and for ascend they worked, this time they will be back again, yet not as focussed on (hopefully).
3.) Story and Characters
Here we are with a section that can barely be one at this point, so I will not go into this too much. However, with the sparking of some recent planeswalker who is featured on a card called Thrilling Discovery, ropes down into a cave and is trained academicaly at a college, I think it is a given who will be one Planeswalker here. It is the perfect Indiana Jones-moment without feeling too forced if at all.
Other than that, I believe we are headed into a downtime-ear of Magic with the aftermath-storylines of MoM and ... Aftermath ... dealing heavily with character-driven repercussions of what was lost. And for that, I see none other than Jace being more apt. While I do think most compleated planeswalkers will meet their end in MoM, even Ajani, I do think Jace has a lot of story left in him - not only because of Vryn - and he would once again be a perfect ticket into Ixalan. It could be a bittersweet reframing of the first Ixalan: Jace returns to the place where he finally got to be loved and appreciated fully for what he was, only this time he returns having lost the love of his life, maybe to bury her remains or her memories where they were both happy.>! The first time around, it ended with him removing the memory of him from her so as to not endanger her.!< This time around, not being able to bear her loss and finding himself unable to move on, he plans to mournfully and also somewhat selfishly remove the memories of her from his own mind. Throughout his new adventure on Ixalan, his friends from the Belligerent and Vraska's positive impact on this world, he realizes that the best thing he can do is to honor her by remembering her as much as it may hurt. This, in the end, causes him to keep her memories and to finally set off on the path to search for his mother on Vryn and find peace with all that happened.
Pirate-Jace would also be quite interesting artwise as well. You know who wears hook-hands and peglegs? Pirates. You know who will have lost a Phyrexianized arm or have an adjustible metal-arm? Jace. Now if that doesn't scream piracy...

So here are some datamined unique items (build 0.8.0.39517). *Please note: These may not be final and there could be additional unique items added, or powers/names changed. I don't believe this is the final list, in fact, I've seen screenshots of many other uniques that aren't listed here. You'll notice a few fan-favorite uniques returning in the list from previous games along with uniques that are completely new.
*posted in the diablo reddit but was told I should post here as well.
In beta we got to see only a tiny part of charactebuild customization. Once we combine legendary powers, affixes and stats on gear, paragon boards, glyphs (socket these into paragon boards), uniques, skill trees, and the class-specific systems (enchantments, book of the dead, spirit boons, etc) we should be in a great place which should be enough to satisfy even the most veteran arpg fans out of the gate.
So uniques have the following:

• static affixes, any drop of that specific unique will always have the same affixes (although they still roll within a range, 5-15 strength for example. So it is possible to find a "perfect" rolled item).
• the affixes may be something that don't normally show up on that slot. For example, a helm could have 30% movement speed. Movement speed doesn't normally roll on the helm slot.
• There could be a unique affix on the item that doesn't appear on any other item in the game. For example, the Harlequin Crest has the affix "+45% crafting material find". I haven't seen that stat on any other item so it may be just exclusive to it. This list doesn't show those unique affixes.
• the number of affixes on the item don't have to follow rares/legendary. Could be more/less.
• the value of affixes can be unique. For example, if the max roll for a specific affix on a rare is 25%, you may find a unique that has a range going up to 50% instead. They don't follow any rules.
• Uniques are tied to lore/maybe have a tiny backstory or flavor text

Normal/Sacred/Ancestral tiers
Something that I've also not seen much discussion on are sacred or ancestral tiers of items. If you don't know what these are, they are similar to ancient items in D3. As you go up in difficulty (world tiers) you unlock the chance for any item that drops to be sacred or ancestral. All items; white, magic, rare, legendary or unique have a chance to roll as sacred or ancestral. Sacred items roll higher values and item power than normal tier, and ancestral items roll higher values and item power than sacred tiers. Finding an ancestral item at the highest world tier is actually pretty rare, so you can imagine that finding an ancestral unique or legendary item will be very rare and add to the actual endgame loot hunt.

Unique Items

Barbarian specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Ramaladni's Magnum Opus	1h Sword	Skills using this weapon deal x% increased damage per point of Fury you have, but you lose x Fury every second.	"Without him the wine is less sweet, the hearth less warm, and our blades less keen. Our blood brother is gone, but Bul-Kathos willing, we will meet again one day." - Sorrowsong for Ramaladni *this is a tribute to Travis Day, a Blizzard developer who passed away.
Ancients' Oath	2h Axe	Steel Grasp launches 2 additional chains. Enemies hit by Steel Grasp are Slowed by x% for x seconds.	"Weapons wielded by the fiercest warriors often catch the eye of the Ancient spirits. If the wielder is worthy, the spirits may bless the steel with their strength." - Gerti, Oxen Tribe Forgemaster
Hellhammer	2h Mace	Upheaval ignites the ground Burning enemies for an additional x damage over x seconds.	The demon prince Ikonoth slew hundreds of the Heavenly Host with this infernal hammer before falling to none other than the Archangel Imperius himself.
Overkill	2h mace	Death Blow creates a shockwave, dealing x% of its Base damage to enemies. Enemies who die to this effect also reset Death Blow's Cooldown.	The malformed snake creatures that live in the swamps are not content with simply killing their prey. They seem to take a malicious pleasure from inflicting as much suffering as possible before death.
Fields of Crimson	2h Sword	While using this weapon, damaging at least one enemy with Rupture creates a blood pool that inflicts x Bleeding damage over x seconds. Enemies standing in the pool take x% increased Bleeding damage.	"We've been fighting these flesh-eaters for so long, been soaked in so much blood, that after a while it's difficult to tell what side you're truly on." - Daelyr, Crane Tribe warrior
Battle Trance	Amulet	Increase Frenzy's maximum stacks by x. While you have maximum Frenzy, your other Skills gain x% increased Attack Speed.	"The change that overtook my brother in battle was terrifying. His eyes turned hard like diamonds, and the way he moved... it was like he was dancing to music only he could hear." - Captain Dervin
100,000 Steps	Boots	After gaining the final damage bonus from the Walking Arsenal Key Passive, you automatically cast Ground Stomp and gain x Fury. This cannot happen more than once every x seconds.	"While many Barbarians remained in the Dreadlands, small groups from the Oxen, Crane and Bear tribes instead chose to search the land for a new home." - A History of the Children of Bul-Kathos
Rage of Harrogath	Chest	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to reduce the Cooldowns of your Non-Ultimate Skills by 1 seconds when you inflict Bleeding on Elites.	Harrogath, the final bastion of resistance against Baal's assault on Mt. Arreat was destroyed along with the Worldstone. The survivors never forgave the betrayal that led to the loss of their home.
Gohr's Devastating Grips	Gloves	Whirlwind explodes after it ends, dealing x% of the total Base damage dealt to surrounding enemies as Fire damage.	"The brutish construction of these gloves belies the strength they bestow. Gohr was clearly no craftsman, but it would be foolish to ignore the triumph of his work." - Barrett's Book of Implements
of Hammering *(this is listed as unique test, but the name reads more like a legendary.)	2h Mace	(PH) Consecutive Hammer of the Ancients increase the next cast's damage by x% its radius by x%.	-

Druid specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Waxing Gibbous	1h Axe	Gain Stealth for x seconds when killing enemies with Shred. Breaking Stealth with an attack grants Ambush which guarantees Critical Strikes for x seconds.	The nights preceding the full moon are sometimes far more dangerous than the event itself. The frenzy has begun to rise, yet the night is just dark enough to obscure a hunter from their prey's sight.
Greatstaff of the Crone	2h Staff	Claw is now a Storm Skill and also casts Storm Strike at x% normal damage.	"She has existed in Scosglen since before Fiacla-Géar walked the land. Her purpose is a mystery to us all. However, approach her with deference; she may grant you her counsel." - Airidah, to Donan
Mad Wolf's Glee	Chest	Werewolf form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werewolf Skills.	"He was not a victim of the curse - he sought it out. As his skin split and his bones cracked, his laughter never ceased." – Tale of the Mad Nobleman
Insatiable Fury	Chest	Werebear form is now your true form, and you gain +2 Ranks to all Werebear Skills.	When the Days of Ash began, the great druid Nafain reminded his disciples that nothing, not even the loss of their humanity, was too great a sacrifice to protect Túr Dúlra from Astaroth's flames.
Tempest Roar	Helm	Lucky Hit: Storm Skills have up to a x% chance to grant x Spirit. Your base Storm Skills are now also Werewolf Skills	"Listen, child, to the music of the storm. It has its own rhythm. Its own melody. Hear how beautifully it sings, and perhaps one day you will be able to join in its harmony." – Airidah
Vasily's Prayer	Helm	Your Earth Skills are now also Werebear Skills and Fortify you for x.	"Roots from the Great Oak growing at the seaward statue of Vasily will, on rare occasions, be found twisted back upon themselves, suffused with ferocious magic." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Storm's Companion	Pants	Your Wolf Companions are infused with the power of the storm, dealing Lightning damage and gaining the Storm Howl ability.	"The storm's rage is my own, brother. I call, and the skies roar in reply." - Vasily, to Bul-Kathos
Hunter's Zenith	Ring	Gain a bonus when you kill with a Shapeshifting Skill: Werewolf: Your next Non-Ultimate Werebear Skill costs no Resource and has no Cooldown. Werebear: Your next Werewolf Skill will Heal you for x when damage is first dealt.	"By fang, claw, spear, or sword - send the bastards back to the flames from which they crawled! Soak the peat with their blood! For Fiacla-Géar! For Scosglen!" - Nafain, during the Days of Ash

Necromancer specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Black River	1h Scythe	Corpse Explosion consumes up to x additional Corpses around the initial Corpse, dealing x% increased damage and with a x% larger radius per additional Corpse.	"The scrolls describe a river of tar that separated the living from the land of the dead. Any unfortunate soul who tried to cross would be dragged down into oblivion." - Notes of Scholar Kamien
Bloodless Scream	2h Scythe	Your Darkness Skills Chill enemies for up to x%. Lucky Hit: Your Darkness Skills have up to a x% chance to generate x additional Essence against Frozen targets.	"My companion swung her odd weapon in a wide arc, and our pursuer stopped short. The look of horror on his face as his body fell to pieces will haunt me forever." - The Ebon Pages, Canto II, Verse XI
Deathspeaker's Pendant	Amulet	Blood Surge casts a mini nova on your Minions, dealing x damage. Damage is increased by x% per target drained by the initial cast, up to x%.	Once a sanctum for Rathma's studies, the Temple of the Deathspeaker became a proving grounds for potential leaders of his priesthood. Its halls are filled with the corpses of those who failed.
Greaves of the Empty Tomb	Boots	Create desecrated ground beneath your Sever spectres as they travel, damaging enemies for x Shadow damage over x seconds.	"The massive door to my family's crypt, which had taken a dozen men to close, was thrown open. Had I known the horrors to come I never would have set foot inside!" -The Ebon Pages, Canto I, Verse VII
Blood Artisan's Cuirass	Chest	When you pick up Blood Orbs, a free Bone Spirit is spawned, dealing bonus damage based on your current Life percent.	"The infamous Necromancer Gaza-Thul's mastery over blood magic was indisputable. Many suspect that upon his death, his skin was used to fashion this eldritch armor." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Howl from Below	Gloves	Instead of detonating immediately, Corpse Explosion summons a Volatile Skeleton that charges at a random enemy and explodes. Corpse Explosion's damage is increased by x%.	"Can you not hear it? That endless scream from the cold earth beneath your feet!? They are down there, trapped, blind with rage! Waiting to drag us down into the sod!" - Ravings of Madman Gustav
Deathless Visage	Helm	Bone Spear leaves behind echoes as it travels that explode, dealing x damage.	"Rathma is endless. He was the first Ancient, and will remain at the end. He is the master of the Great Cycle of Being. When Death comes for him, why should he fear it?" - Vauntus, Acolyte of Rathma
Ring of Mendeln	Ring	While you have x or more Minions you gain: Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to empower all of your Minions, causing the next attack from each to explode for x Physical damage.	The signet of Mendeln ul-Diomed, the founder of the Priests of Rathma and the first Necromancer, was lost for over 3,000 years. The immense power over death held within, however, has not diminished.

Rogue specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Condemnation	Dagger	Your Core Skills deal x% increased damage when spending 3 Combo Points. Your Basic Skills using this weapon have a x% chance to generate 3 Combo Points.	"I've never seen such ruthless butchery. He deserves to be be shipped off to die in the swamps with the rest of the godless murderers." - Witness to the murder of Sergeant Walcot
Asheara's Khanjar	Dagger	Hits with this weapon increase your Attack Speed by x% for x seconds, up to x%.	When Caldeum's gates closed, Asheara led her Iron Wolves out of the city knowing full well they would never return. Instead they roamed Kehjistan pledging their blades to any who were in need.
Skyhunter	Bow	The first direct damage you deal to an enemy is a guaranteed Critical Strike. If you had maximum stacks of the Precision Key Passive when you cast the Skill, gain Energy, this can only happen once per cast.	"Genai took up her bow and aimed at the sun itself. The light burned her eyes, but her arrow flew true. Wounded, the sun hid, and brought forth the first night. - Fable of the Great Sky-Hunt
Windforce	Bow	Lucky Hit: Hits with this weapon have up to a x% chance to deal double damage and Knock Back the target.	"There have been numerous world-shaping conflicts throughout history. This bow has been found on the battlefield of every one, and always in the hands of the victors." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Word of Hakan	Amulet	Your Rain of Arrows is always Imbued with all Imbuements at once.	"Let the great gates of Caldeum be sealed. Let its proud walls stand fiercely defended. The rest of Kehjistan may suffer this plague, but my city, and my people, will not." - Proclamation of Hakan II
Grasp of Shadow	Gloves	Lucky Hit: Damaging a Vulnerable enemy with a Marksman or Cutthroat Skill has up to a x% chance to summon a Shadow Clone that mimics your attack.	Dark wisps creep hungrily across these gloves, like an assassin's blade seeking a life to steal on a moonless night.
Cowl of the Nameless	Helm	You gain x% increased Lucky Hit Chance against Crowd Controlled enemies.	"He is banished from the Guild, his name stricken from the Book. His punishment is to never have been." - Excerpt from a burned parchment
Eyes in the Dark	Pants	Unless it hits a Boss or Player, Death Trap will continue to re-arm itself until it kills an enemy. However, Death Trap's Cooldown is increased by x%.	"And so, when the sun dipped behind the hills each night, he knew that Ashen Jack would soon be near. Watching, and waiting." - Greenslade's Tales, Chapter 2: "Each Long Night" name*:* Eyes in the Dark

Sorcerer specific uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
Flamescar	Wand	While Channeling Incinerate, you periodically shoot embers that are attracted to enemies, each dealing x Fire damage.	The burn may heal, but the pain is eternal.
Staff of Endless Rage	Staff	Every 3rd cast of Fireball launches 2 additional projectiles.	"Leaving even blackened bones for your kin to mourn is too good an end for you." - Josiah
Staff of Lam Esen	Staff	Charged Bolts pierce, but deal x% less damage.	"Also known as the Greatstaff of the Old Religion, this powerful relic is one of only a small handful of Skatsimi artifacts that have survived to this day." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Esadora's Overflowing Cameo	Amulet	Upon collecting Crackling Energy, there's a x% chance to release a lightning nova, dealing x Lightning Damage.	The only thing more potent than Esadora's magic was her endless hatred of humanity. As she lay dying, the pale amulet around her neck drank in both.
Esu's Heirloom	Boots	Your Critical Strike Chance is increased by x% of your Movement Speed bonus.	"While scholars have proven these boots were not created by Esu herself, it is noteworthy that they have been passed down since the formation of the Mage Clans." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Raiment of the Infinite	Chest	After using Teleport, Close enemies are Pulled to you and Stunned for x seconds, but Teleport's Cooldown is increased by x%.	The power you have is never enough.
Gloves of the Illuminator	Gloves	Fireball now bounces as it travels, exploding each time it hits the ground, but its explosion deals x% less damage.	After Inarius returned to Sanctuary, he sought a way back to the High Heavens. His first step was to reignite the religion he had abandoned millennia before: the Cathedral of Light.
Iceheart Brais	Pants	Enemies that die while Frozen have a x% chance to unleash a Frost Nova.	The mad artisan saw his fingers turn black from frostbite as he worked the cloth, but refused to stay the needle and thread for even a moment.

General (used by all) uniques:

Item Name	Type	Power	Flavor Text
The Butcher's Cleaver	1h Axe	Lucky Hit: When you Critically Strike an enemy you have up to a x% chance to Fear and Slow them by x% for x seconds.	A nightmarish amalgam of blood, bone and steel, this axe is as horrific, and as deadly, as its creator.
Doombringer	1h Sword	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to deal x Shadow damage to surrounding enemies and reduce their damage done by x% for x seconds.	Whenever this ancient sword has reappeared throughout history, it portends a time of great strife, as well as a devastating loss of life.
The Grandfather	2h Sword	Increases your Critical Strike Damage by x%. The other properties on this weapon can roll higher than normal.	An unbroken lineage of unwavering strength.
-	2h Sword	-	-
-	2h Sword	-	-
-	2h Sword	-	-
Melted Heart of Selig	Amulet	Gain x% Maximum Resource. In addition, when you take damage, drain x Resource for every x% of Life you would have lost instead.	"Do not allow your passions to become obsessions. Fuel the fire that burns within you, but it is madness to allow yourself to become ash to please an uncaring universe." - Last words of Master Selig
Penitent Greaves	Boots	You leave behind a trail of frost that Chills enemies. You deal x% more damage to Chilled enemies.	Remorseful devotees of the Cathedral of Light must undertake a grueling pilgrimage, journeying across the frigid glacier known as the Serac Rapture. Only then may their gravest sins be forgiven.
Razorplate	Chest	Gain x Thorns	Crafted by the cannibal Armoda, each piece of this interlocking armor has been sharpened into a knife's edge. Even a century after death, the plate remained on her corpse, unable to be removed safely.
Fists of Fate	Gloves	Your attacks randomly deal x% to y% of their normal damage.	"Will you let fear cheat you, or will you risk everything to find understanding? After all, death is simply the coin with which we purchase life." - Zurke
Frostburn	Gloves	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to Freeze enemies for x seconds.	A touch so frigid it stops the heart and chills the very soul.
Andariel's Visage	Helm	Lucky Hit: Up to a x% chance to trigger a poison nova that applies x Poisoning damage over x seconds to enemies in the area.	The horrific whispers of the Maiden of Anguish flicker through your mind, pushing you ever closer to madness...
Harlequin Crest	Helm	Gain x% Damage Reduction. In addition, gain +x Ranks to all Skills.	"This headdress was once worn by an assassin disguised as a court mage. Her treachery was unveiled, but not before she used its magic to curse the king's entire lineage." - The Fall of House Aston
Temerity	Pants	Effects that Heal you beyond x% Life grant you a Barrier up to x% of your Maximum Life that lasts for x seconds.	"The revelation that master tailor Callas was in fact a witch only served to further fuel the desire for her uniquely enchanted legwraps." - Barrett's Book of Implements
Mother's Embrace	Ring	If a Core Skill hits x or more enemies, x% of the Resource cost is refunded.	"Every tome, every scroll, every book in this temple produces the same answer. The only being willing to stand against the Eternal Conflict, against the Prime Evils, was Lilith." - Elias
Ring of Starless Skies	Ring	Each consecutive Core Skill cast reduces the Resource cost of your next Core Skill by x%, up to a maximum of x%.	"Yours is the power to pluck the stars from the heavens with the ease of a child gathering fruit from the bough." - Unknown

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6] [Part 7] [Part 8] [Part 9] [Part 10] [Part 11] [Part 12] [Part 13]
When my screams subsided, malevolent laughter filled the uneasy silence. Discordant, cruel laughter that sounded as though it bubbled from underwater. I turned around to see the macabre faces of the Kane sisters behind me, pressed against the window of their cottage, black teeth chattering.
“Where did they take him?” I demanded. My anger increased their delight.
“Where did they take him?” Margery mocked, my own voice coming out of her blackened mouth.
“Poor, poor girl lost her puppy!” Margaretta cackled.
I felt the rage rise within me, but I was utterly helpless. I knew they had the information we needed, but even if they were willing to speak, they could not be trusted.
Suddenly, their faces changed. Their dead white eyes widened in terror; their smiles had melted. Mina shrieked, a cacophonous cry that sent my hands to my ears.
It was René. Their eyes were fixed on him. His very presence caused them to tremble in fear.
“What is he doing here?” Margery hissed.
“Come back to hurt us again, he has!” Mina shrieked.
“Devil take you, vampire!” Margaretta cried.
I looked at René in astonishment. He wore an expression I had not seen before, a smile that was almost cruel.
“Well if it isn’t the old charlatan sisters!” He said. “I would have never guessed that she would still be keeping you around, but then again, she’s always loved the most pathetic of sycophants.”
“Be gone, vampire! Be gone!” They shouted.
“I would love nothing more. But you heard Nora. You have information we need. Where did they take the werewolf?”
Margery turned to me.
“Stay away from him, girl! Stay away!”
“He hurt us! He hurt us!” Mina moaned.
“How about we make a deal?” I said, thinking quickly. The sisters cocked their terrible heads in curiosity. “You can tell me your story. Tell me what he did. But in return, you must tell us where they took our friend.”
René raised his eyebrows, but did not protest.
“And I will know when you are lying,” he added menacingly.
The sisters looked at each other and began to nod eagerly.
“The girl says she will listen!” They whispered excitedly. I felt a pang of pity.
“Do you agree?”
“Yes,” they hissed, the glee returning to their voices. The door to the cottage opened.
I stepped inside with René close behind me. The sisters glared at him.
“Whatever you’re going to do, do it without drawing blood this time.” I said, remembering the claw marks in my wrists.
“No appreciation for the fine art of channeling,” muttered Margaretta.
The sisters gestured to the chairs at the table. René and I sat, but I kept my arms tightly crossed. The sisters closed their eyes and moved from side to side rhythmically, putting themselves into a trance. They moaned and their mouths opened, emitting a thick, ectoplasmic mist.
“Gross,” I whispered to René, who smirked in response.
The mist enveloped us and our ramshackle surroundings, along with the sisters, vanished. In their place appeared a mid-19th century parlor: a finely carved mantle draped in black crepe, the ornamental mirror on top covered with black cloth. It was night, the heavy damask curtains were drawn, elegant oil lamps were lit on a large oak table, also draped in black. The sisters sat at the table, very much alive, dressed in ostentatious displays of mourning, their wide skirts spread across the chairs they sat in, jet bracelets clattering at their wrists. Human hands wreathed by delicate lace grabbed those of an older man who trembled with emotion.
A small audience observed the séance, dressed for an evening’s entertainment. There was one man in particular, whose clothing was undoubtedly the finest, with a dazzling silver jacquard waistcoat. Though he wore a pair of blue tinted spectacles, I immediately recognized him as René. His brown hair was longer, combed away from his face and curling just under his ears. He was smiling, that same strange smile I had seen before.
The sisters made their usual dramatic entreaties to the Great Beyond and the crowd gasped when the spirits responded intelligently to their questions with a series of rapping sounds. The man begged them to contact the spirit of his young daughter who had perished in a carriage accident decades before. The sisters obliged, making contact through the rapping. With a flourish, Mina threw her head back and out of her mouth squeaked the voice of a small child. The man collapsed in tears. Women in the audience dabbed their eyes with their handkerchiefs. René was no longer smiling.
When the audience had shuffled out, René lingered. Margaretta gave him an unctuous grin.
“How may we assist you, sir?”
“I would like to schedule a…private appointment.” He lowered his glasses and fixed his grey eyes on her. Margaretta’s eyes widened. She stared vacantly as though in a daze.
“We are entirely booked. We are in such demand, after all. We leave Rochester for our world tour this Saturday.” Margery said. Mina peered at René over her sister’s arm and smiled. He winked at her.
“Such lovely ladies you are. Money should be no issue, of course. I think you will find that you are free tomorrow evening” he said slowly. Margaretta nodded.
“Yes, yes. We are.”
“Very good. I very much look forward to our session.”
“Yes!” Shouted Mina, clearly enamored.
René smiled and put on his top hat, taking his leave.
The next night, the sisters eagerly awaited their guest. René arrived with a veiled woman on his arm, wearing lace gloves, matching the sisters in a black silk gown. Mina looked slightly disappointed to see the woman, but the other sisters grinned at her obvious finery, expecting a hefty sum for their services.
“Ladies, I hope you do not mind I have brought my wife,” he said, almost unable to hide the sinister grin that crept across his face.
“Of course, of course, welcome, madam!”
The veiled woman made no response. René escorted her to the table and they joined hands. The sisters began their show: the room erupted in rapping.
“The spirits are many in the ether tonight,” Margery moaned. “To whom do you wish to speak?”
“I wish to contact the spirit of our deceased child.” René said, watching the sisters carefully.
“Ah yes, it is a child who has appeared before me now, a beautiful child!” Margaretta cried. “Child, rap twice for yes, or once for no. Are these your beloved parents before you?”
Two distinct raps were heard on the table. Mina made an exaggerated gasp.
“The child wishes to speak through my sister!” Margery shouted.
Mina began to speak in that same squeaking voice as the previous evening. René could no longer contain his fury. With one swift movement René rose and flipped over the table before them. He grabbed Mina by the neck.
“I have no child, you insidious swindlers!” He shouted. He dug his fangs into Mina’s neck and the sisters began to scream. The witch stood and removed her veil, green eyes glowing, black teeth grinning. She raised her hand and the remaining two sisters rose into the air. René threw the corpse of Mina at their feet. They sobbed hideously, begging the witch for mercy.
“I have no use for such talentless fools,” she said.
“We will do anything, we will be your most faithful servants,” they cried still suspended in the air.
“Ask them how much money they’ve bled from the grieving, how they’ve bankrupted their victims in the name of their lost loved ones!” René said, enraged, fangs bared. “Let me finish with them!”
The witch sighed. “Forgive my friend with his tedious sense of justice. Would you really do anything? Bind yourselves to me for all time?”
“Yes! Yes!” Margery and Margaretta cried.
“Idiots,” René muttered.
The witch curled her hand into a fist and the women began to cough, hands clawing at their necks. Their eyes rolled in the back of their heads. The body of Mina rose to join them. With a sickening snap, the necks of Margery and Margaretta broke and they joined their sister in death. The corpses’ mouths opened, so wide the jaws were broken and three familiar specters climbed out. The ghosts fell at the feet of the witch, making obsequies, hailing her their mistress.
The mist that had descended around the cottage dispersed, leaving the sisters glaring at us.
“Time to fulfill your end of the bargain,” René demanded. “We don’t have much time.”
They chittered angrily and turned their ghoulish heads to me.
“Girl! Have you nothing to say of the crimes of your beau?”
What I had seen had certainly shocked me, but it was something I could not bear to process at the moment.
“He’s right. Show us where they took Jake.”
“No lies.” René warned.
The sisters grumbled among themselves, but once again broke into a trance. A vision appeared before us. It was the river, a great gray mist hanging over it. A large, shadowy structure pushed its way through, revealing the towers of an elaborate stone castle. The castle was familiar to me. Around here, we call it Bellevue Castle, an abandoned Gilded Age flight of fancy on a private island that is now our most famous tourist site. During the winter months, it is closed to guests, leaving the island abandoned. The vision dissolved into smoke.
René stood up to leave.
“You’ll never reach him before dawn,” hissed Margery.
“Yes, yes, the sun is rising, revenant!” Margaretta cackled.
He ignored them. I followed him out, feeling their hateful stares at my back, leaving them to howl and complain among themselves. They had not been lying. The sky had lightened considerably, a thin line of orange had appeared on the horizon. René cursed and shielded his face.
“Let’s get to my cottage,” I said. We arrived just as I began to feel the sun behind me. René had bolted for the dark bedroom. I found him sitting on the bed, his face in his hands, shoulders tense with frustration. I was frustrated too. We’d been outmaneuvered and I feared for Jake’s safety. Would she make him the object of her retaliation? I was certain of it. But there was no way I could sail for the castle without René. I may have a death warrant, but I do not have a death wish.
“We leave as soon as the sun sets tonight,” he said, as though convincing himself.
“I don’t think we have a choice,” I said.
“Not if we want to find Jake.”
“Do you think…do you think we’ll be too late?” I didn’t want to contemplate it.
“I do not think she would kill him without us there to witness it. She wouldn’t deprive herself of the spectacle. We have to understand that she is anticipating exactly what we are planning on doing.”
“This is it then,” I said, trying to sound strong, though I felt like a fist were gripping my heart. René lifted his head and took my hands.
“I won’t let it happen,” he said. “I swear to you.”
“I don’t think that’s something you can promise, René.”
I pulled my hands back from his. It was hard to look at him, when Mina’s face flashed before me, eyes filled with terror just before he buried his fangs into her neck.
“I realize that you have not seen me feed before,” he said quietly.
“Feed? You make it sound so…casual.”
He raised my chin to his face, gray eyes resolute.
“I have spent many decades in utter misery, disgusted by myself, by what I am. That self-loathing is still with me and will be forever. But I cannot change the past and I cannot restore what I have lost. If I can channel this bloodlust, this propensity for violence, against those who have done evil, then perhaps through evil, I can accomplish something good, spare an innocent. This thought was the only thing that sustained me in that century of servitude by her side. This is something … something I hope you never have to understand.”
“I’m trying.”
“I know.”
“I’m going to take a shower.”
“If you return while I am at rest, remember—”
“You’ll look kinda dead. I know.”
He smiled sadly.
I was desperate for the warmth of the shower. The cold within me was not merely the effect of winter, but a numbness that I couldn’t shake. I tried to reach back to a couple months ago, before the sky had changed to that ghastly green, before the abyss opened before me. It was as though I were viewing another person’s life on a different planet. And yet the life I am living now does not seem like my own either. I am straddling the lives of two strangers.
I tried to imagine death. I tried to imagine not existing. Of course, I could not. Who can? I had to hope that there would be peace, that the spirits were not lying to comfort me. After all, I had already witnessed the existence of far more unlikely things.
The sound of the water soothed me. I stepped inside, relishing those first few drops, immersing my body, emptying my mind. The future didn’t matter. At that moment, I was alive and that was glorious.
I don’t know how long I had been standing there, when the water began to feel different. Thicker. Metallic tasting. I opened my eyes to find myself covered in blood, it was pouring out of the shower head. My skin began to burn, my hair falling out in clumps, my teeth loosening and I spat them out. I screamed.
I found myself on the floor of the shower, bruised but wet from water alone. My hands fluttered to my mouth, my hair. Nothing was amiss. I dragged myself upright, trying not to sob. She would take even those small moments away from me… I toweled off with trembling hands and allowed myself a brief glance in the mirror, too fearful of what might stare back if I lingered. Beyond some considerably dark rings under my eyes, I looked relatively normal.
Before, I had contemplated watching the full sunrise, sitting in the sunshine until eventually dozing on the couch. Instead, I went back to the dark bedroom and climbed under the covers of my bed. In my current state, my only comfort came in the form of the reanimated corpse next to me. I curled up beside him and fell asleep.
++
René woke me up at sunset. Despite everything, I actually felt well-rested and at ease. René prepared by downing a large thermos of blood. I secured my uncle’s knife under my coat in a leather belt sheath, my movements calm, almost mechanical. René handed me my silver bracelets and a wave of sadness passed through me.
“We don’t know what state he is in,” he whispered. I nodded and put them on my wrists.
We set sail in silence, the boat’s movements for once not triggering nausea. It was desperately cold on the water, despite the promise of spring in the near future. The cold struck through my gloves and burned my face. René was clearly not bothered by the climate; his coat wasn’t even zipped. He stared ahead with his brows furrowed, scanning all around us for ice and other enemies.
I thought of the summer and of the river crowded with life, with people laughing, speeding past each other on their boats, picnicking under the turrets of our destination, Bellevue Castle.
“Do you know the story of Bellevue Castle, René?” I asked.
“Manhattan hotelier wanted to build the grandest home in all of the Islands, but his wife died before it could be completed.”
“And in his grief, the husband asked all the workers to put down their tools and step away, leaving the castle a half-finished husk, a monument to lost love.” I added.
“I actually think he just ran out of money. I spent some time on that construction site in the 1890s.”
I laughed.
“Of course, you did. Don’t burst the bubble of anyone on the tourist board, alright? That place is a big money maker around here.”
It was good to smile with him, even if just for a moment.
As we neared the castle, a mist descended around us, just as in the vision of the sisters. The air felt heavy and old, as though rife with mildew and rot, difficult to inhale. The visibility severely decreased, but René was able to continue to navigate towards our destination, its hulking shadows barely detectible even by his eyes.
Our boat was hit by a wave, as though from the wake of a boat. René and I looked at each other, thinking the same thing: there was absolutely no one else on the river. A great creaking sound echoed all around us, the groaning of wood and metal. A veritable flotilla of ships and boats broke the surface all around us, arising from the depths glowing a ghostly green. There were wrecked wooden speed boats, steel-hulled freighters from the turn of the century, coal steamers, massive three-masted schooners, and frigates built for the wars of two hundred years ago.
No crew piloted these vessels, which groaned and sighed with the sadness of their years at the bottom. Something was weaving its way through the wrecks, howling through the air with the screeching of a cyclone. René leaned forward, craning his neck to spot it, when a rotting hand shot out of the water and grabbed his shoulder. He pulled it off, but another joined the attack, and another, until a great host of drowned, rotting corpses were pulling at him, threatening to board the boat.
I grabbed a paddle and whacked at them, but there were too many. They were pulling him overboard, despite our best efforts. I clutched his arm and with all my strength tried to drag him back in. The cacophony was approaching, my hair whipped around my face as the freezing winds accelerated. Something caught my boot and my grip on René’s hand slipped away. I was hurtled into the swirling air. I saw below me René’s struggling body dipping below the surface of the river, drowned dead glaring up at me lifelessly.
The whirlwind hummed with the cries of miserable souls. I was suspended among them, falling upwards and upwards until I could breathe no more.
x

Edit: the link should be viewable now! This is my first attempt at making a homebrewed setting; a Japanese themed setting taking inspiration from Kamigawa, Umizu and Wuxia. I wanted a setting that was removed from the usual 5e lore and did not feature the PHB races. The only races from 5e are a modified select few with East Asian inspiration; Kenku, Kalashtar, Hobgoblin, and of course Humans. Joining these races are Kitsune (fox people), Orochi (snake people), Soratami (Beautiful Moonfolk with rabbit-ears), and Kappa (kinda Tortles). I've attached my player handout link at the bottom of the post. I know the formatting and presentation aren't very polished (send dm if you want version with art), but I would like to get feedback on the content as well as resources and plot hook ideas I can use for building my campaign in this world.
"Set amid glittering turquoise waters, Aotsuki is named after the large full blue moon that is visible at all hours of night and day; it grows and looks more full with each passing year (Almost as if it is growing closer). . . The Imperial Court does their best to rein in crime, but the Empire’s lackluster bureaucracy is run by complacent samurai administrators and riddled with corruption. Crime syndicates control underground trade and administer their own brand of justice. Meanwhile, the Independent Merchant’s Concern clashes with the indigenous clans of Orochi. In the shadows the disaffected Children of Malice plot to overthrow the Empire through the dark powers of the Cold Heart.
In Aotsuki, the people exist in a balance with their gods, the spiritual kami. The land itself shows a sign of balance as the sources of land with mana are balanced and organized. The people themselves are strong believers in a sense of honor, a code of conduct which they ascribe themselves to. Some ascribe to the code of bushido, others to a sense of freedom, and others to high high standings of behavior. Honor is the most sacredly held rule, even if not everyone has the same interpretations of it when they conduct themselves. Honor drives many people and many often come to blows over it, all under the watchful gaze of the kami who guide and protect the people."
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Vt-6IMhxjbGFLk7pQ6PNChe_nbfkzs5SAU4b5Hf8KS8/edit#heading=h.oy8trevuh6jp

Sorry in advance if formatting is dodgy - doing this on my phone. Currently day 4 post op (I was lucky enough to have 2 sets of wisdom teeth and had all 8 teeth removed). So far recovery has been pretty easy where I haven't had much pain, just swelling. But yesterday and today especially I have had jaw aches just on my left hand side. Sometimes pain relief meds and icing have helped but tonight nothing seems to be doing the trick. I've read lots and have now convinced myself I have dry socket. The ache is just my lower jaw on one side. It's almost like it's coming from my teeth. It is entirely localised to the jaw, around where one set of stitches are.
If anyone has any advice for how to fix it (or if it is something to worry about) I am all ears!

TL;DR: We all agree the Royal Court kinda sucks, and I think there are some easy ways to fix it. I’ve tweaked some files and basic gameplay things as a proof of concept that (I think) help dramatically improve the Royal Court DLC. Brace yourselves for a gigantic rant.
So I’ve seen a handful of posts here recently complaining about the Royal Court DLC, and rightfully so. Unless I’m doing a Byzantine roleplay run, I forget about the court the vast majority of the time, and I think most other people do too. There isn’t enough depth to it most of the time, and the mechanics behind it are too simple. I would bet most people’s Royal Court experience boils down to this: pay for the max amenities, commission an artifact every now and then or just keep ones you get during wars, and MAYBE hire a court position or two. With this minimal effort, you’ve already got a level 10 court, and you forget about the whole system after that. Getting to level 10 should be a challenging process that's also incredibly rewarding!
I don’t consider myself any sort of a legit modder. I honestly just copy and paste stuff around, change values, and add a line or two of stuff. Even doing this small amount, I think the Royal Court can be dramatically changed and make it a much more interactive system. Here are some things I changed:

1. Decrease the amount of court grandeur from court amenities. Normally, you can get up to a level 7 court alone just by doing this, and this itself takes the majority of work away from maintaining a court. The level of grandeur change is currently +4/8/12/16, so I changed it to +3/6/8/10. This change makes it so that the max level of grandeur you can get from amenities alone is level 5 instead of 7. Honestly, this alone makes most of the difference in the court. Unless you have amazing artifacts, you’ll have to spend time appointing positions in order to stay at level 10. As for the effects of the amenities themselves, I didn’t change any of them, they seem fine where they are.
2. Remove the limitations to amenities that Tribal Courts have right now. I don’t care if you’re the Roman Emperor or Lord of the Unga Bungas. If you have the gold and patience to create a glorious court, you should be allowed to.
3. Make the effects of court level better. The only effect I ever even remember is the “Accept Vassalization” part of the Diplomatic Court, all the others are pretty meh. I just doubled the effects of each level for each court, but there’s probably a more tactful way to go about this. I’m all ears for ideas of how to make more pronounced changes.
4. Having a court level lower than expected should give you harsher penalties, like a much lowered vassal opinion, extra so for powerful vassals. I currently have these penalties set at -20 for normal vassals and -30 for powerful vassals. Instead of a leveled change, I have it as a flat opinion penalty, but maybe this could be changed.

The meat and potatoes of what I think could make the Royal Court more interactive is the court positions. I changed a bunch of things with this that I think lead to a more satisfying experience.

1. Increased opinion bonuses from court positions (+5 to +20 and +10 to +25). This makes it so that if you’re having trouble keeping vassals in line, giving them a court position could help ease tension.
2. Increased court salaries by 50%. This helps add an extra layer of decision-making in court positions, whether or not you want to break the bank by hiring someone really talented.
3. Better benefits for court positions based on their aptitude. This doesn’t apply to all positions (eg. an “excellent” Royal Architect improves building speed +30%, which is awesome), but improving the positions makes you more likely to fill them.
4. Slight increase to Court Grandeur bonuses for court positions. Basically, you get a +3 to court grandeur instead of +2 if you have someone in the position who is excellent, a +2 if they’re good, and +1 for anything below that.
5. Penalties are given to court positions that are either “poor” or “terrible”. Nothing dramatic, but still something to make you reconsider filing a position with an idiot. I don’t know how to script random events and stuff based on it, but I made these modifiers consistent like “-10 popular opinion”, “-5% Development Growth”, etc
6. The benefit of a court position for the holder is much more impressive. I honestly forgot when I get appointed to a court position, but not anymore. You get huge bonuses to monthly prestige, benefits of your own related to the task, but you also get an opinion penalty from fellow vassals, because they’re jealous of you and what not. I don’t have any concrete proof that this opinion penalty makes them more likely to scheme or war against you, but it might be the case.
7. Vassals can use hooks to get themselves court positions. I didn’t know how to make this one, but it seems like an interesting idea.
8. If you have certain court positions filled, you are given access to unique decisions. I didn’t make this one either, but they would be simple decisions that, based on the aptitude of the court position, could give you temporary bonuses or setbacks. Imagine a Master of the Horse giving you access to the “Conduct Military Exercises” decision that could give your Men at Arms a buff for a few years or a penalty for a few years if the guy is a dingus.

These changes dramatically improve the court positions and turns them into mini-council positions. It adds some depth to how you handle it, and rewards you for engaging in the system. You could either get some really talented people that boost your court and its stats, or maybe you’re just giving them to idiot vassals so they don’t rebel against you.
Lastly, here are some other things I changed that didn’t fit neatly into the above areas:

1. Allows you to hold court every other year instead of once every five years (decreased the prestige cost for it as well to make it more feasible)
2. The “Hold Court” decision triggers five events instead of three.
3. Courtier traits are improved. Instead of +1/2/3 for court experience, these values are changed to +2/4/5.
4. The Byzantine court has a bunch more court positions that can be filled, and I guess that some of these could be extended to other courts.

Long story short, I feel like small changes to the Royal Court system can make it a lot more playable, interesting, and beneficial. Hopefully, this wasn’t too long or unbearable to read, and I hope it gave everyone some stuff to think about!

That night, when the games were done and the light in the darkness was no longer needed, spirits were lightened and, despite the sadness that gripped the ship, at least our little corner was a little better, I returned to the room I shared with the Captain.
You will note that I referred to her by title, and that's because there is a curious divide in her, and in many like her, human and dlamisa alike. The divide between the personal and professional is actually surprisingly common among predatory species where individuality exists outside of a hivemind or a naturally evolved caste system.
In my observational and lived experience, dlamisa spent most of the last few thousand years in permanent professional mode. Neglecting the personal to an extreme degree, and the Captain was one of those outliers, along with her crew, to have rejected this over time.
So she had a personal to her that she was free to express. For all our embracing of human tendencies and trends and the things we rediscovered though, we still had our jobs to do. And in the wake of the death of Lou Salk, a man whose name I had never heard, and who she perhaps only knew from a dozen encounters or so, she had her duty to do.
I found her in her quarters where I expected, composing a letter of recommendation at her desk. She still wore her uniform, the flared red coat complete with ruffles, the boots, the hat on her head. Her ears were down and her tail bristled.
In sum, she was not happy. “Hi.” I said when I came in. That got her attention, at least enough that she flicked an ear toward me.
“Hello.” She said. She was speaking Enkanti at the time. Enkanti is a very precise language. English is very broad, very confusing, very imprecise. With so many internal variations and the adoptions of other languages that it’s sometimes a marvel that our translators did not outright explode in our bodies on hearing it. Even with the regional adaptation and learning software that made the language functional to our ears… I still wondered about whether we were always getting the best results.
Enkanti however, was designed to be precise, minimalistic, and based upon a range of very exacting meanings brought out by intonations. The only real variations in it were brought about by our body language, such as pheromones, our ears, our tails, and our postures. So a very precise spoken language, and a very rich chemical and visual one.
And right now, Captain Bonny Red was engaged purely in the focused use of our native tongue.
I answered back in kind, “Are you well?” I would have preferred to use English here, because ‘well’ did not properly acknowledge emotional states, it was intended precisely for the health of our bodies. The word for emotional health was so archaic and so removed from our current language that I doubted she even knew it.
“I’m working.” She replied. This innocuous phrase would be a dismissal if it were said in English. The phrase ‘I’m working’ in most human languages that I was familiar with, was the same way, a statement that a person was not to be bothered and that you should go away or at least be silent.
But in Enkanti it meant that a person had a purpose, that they were engaged in adding value to our society by what they were doing, it was meant to be a statement of favorable status in health and so, general positivity.
I couldn’t help but think of Bau right then, how many times she said that phrase while experimenting on the brain dead who gave their bodies to Dlamias to further our mastery of Genetics as a field. Right about how she would be overseeing the modification of plants and agricultural systems alongside human experts to create a higher yield. Or working on that strange sort of ‘moss’ to ensure less of it could serve the body more. Her conditions were worse, I knew. Even now the work on the ruined lands around the world was only just beginning. But I knew with certainty that she was happier than she’d ever been on Dlamias.
So naturally I was unsatisfied with the Captain’s answer. I intended to ask again, but I knew I would get the same answer if I asked the same way. That was after all, the natural limitation of our tongue in its current form.
I compensated for this shortcoming with body language, approaching her and putting a hand on her shoulder.
“Are you well?” I asked again, and she stopped scrolling over the data on her screen.
She looked up at me. “Would you be? I haven’t lost anyone in over thirty years. At least no crewmates. True he was not one. But even so, we shared the same struggles. He was one of us in thought if not in fact.”
The phrase ‘in thought’ served the same as the Earth phrase ‘in spirit’ which meant that we shared the same goal and were imparted with the same beliefs.
But more importantly, she hadn’t really answered the question. She had only answered with a question of her own. It was as good a denial that anything was wrong, and a confession that everything was wrong, both at the same time.
‘Throw yourself into your work to escape your struggles’ and ‘Seek the peace of productivity’ are popular phrases on Dlamias. And it appeared to me that the Captain was embodying those now.
“Captain.” I said, perhaps sharper than I intended to.
She had started to look back at her screen, but my sharp voice yanked her attention back to me.
“May I suggest something?” I moderated my voice some, lowering it, and leaning in so that I was closer to her when I spoke.
She didn’t object, so I continued. “I understand if you want to finish this now.” I tilted my head toward the letter of recommendation. “But if I may be so bold, borrow another idea from the humans.”
It says something about the degree of fondness she has for human ways that she didn’t immediately shut me down. I suppose there’s something to be said for a credible source.
“Go on.” She said, and I did as she requested.
“Humans have a profession called ‘therapists’ and a subset of those specialize in ‘grief therapy’ and how to cope with loss. After the death of Usagi, the Walkers underwent much of it, individually and together. They took time off from work, rather than working harder.”
“But, we’ve got a war to fight.” She objected.
I shook my head, “Fighting with a clear mind is better than with a clouded one. And I promise you, all of the human soldiers who knew Lou Salk even casually will engage in this to some degree or another. First to ensure they are healthy of mind, second to ensure that they do not begin a campaign of revenge on those they blame. There aren’t so many of these xenophobes all of the world that an hour on the schedule with one of the human experts will cost the Earth government the victory.”
It was a fair point. And here again it is important to note that ego plays a role in my species just as it does with humans. Those expressions of hard work are accompanied by a firm belief that every single one of us who works is important because of what we do. That it cannot go on without us, that we must support everything that needs doing, with everything that we are, even if it grinds us down to nothing. We are individually that important to the whole… thus creating a strange dichotomy where all of us believe we matter in principle, while no one of us matters in fact.
So the Captain’s reticence to take time for herself was born from that assumption that she in particular was naturally so important to the conflict that she could not take time for herself. Sometimes this might even be true, especially in the darkest of our dark days.
But we never realized the sun had come out, so we still labored as if we were on the brink of destruction.
Putting in the plainest terms that she wasn’t going to cause everything to fall apart if she took time for herself or gave time to others, seemed to snap her out of a spell, like she’d slipped into her centuries of training and experience without knowing it, in an almost zombie like fashion, and now she was waking up.
“You’re right, of course. I don’t know anything of that profession but… if you will find some humans on the surface who are willing to come on board the ship either temporarily or long term, I would appreciate it, Bailey.” She finished with my human name, rather than in Enkanti.
“Of course, anything for you.” I said and squeezed her shoulder.
A little light came back into her eyes, and her tail wagged a little, it wasn’t much, but it was a start.
That would be good enough for now.
AN: For those who said they were interested in doing a D&D session, I'm going to be away for the weekend due to Army Reserve training, but I'll plan on a session when I get back. :)

I asked chatgpt to write 2 poems for Kevin Parker:
1.

Kevin Parker, oh Kevin Parker, A master of sound, a musical marker, Tame Impala is his brainchild, A psychedelic journey, wild and mild. Through waves of melody and emotion, He takes us on a sonic motion, A fusion of rock, pop and groove, His creativity never to remove. The voice that echoes in our heads, The beats that move our feet ahead, The lyrics that hit us in the heart, Tame Impala, a work of art. From the shores of Australia he rose, A sound that nobody else knows, Kevin Parker, a name we all adore, A musical genius, forevermore. 

1. Another
   From Kevin Parker's mind, Tame Impala's beats arise, Ears rejoice, feet dance. But beware, for his music's spell, May leave you in a psychedelic, blissful hell!
   

So a couple days ago, I started being able to enjoy music again for the first time in like a month. I made a post about it too if you want to go through it. Since then, I've sort of carried this anxiety of expecting the feeling could just disappear again at any moment. But it hasn't and I'm pretty happy right now.
I still had an appointment with an ENT scheduled though and I thought it would be a good idea to still show up anyway despite feeling better. I had some problems physically with my ears during the period where I experienced (mostly musical) anhedonia. They kinda felt muffled and full sometimes. Music physically felt different, on top of the emotional factor. I recently went to the dentist and got my wisdom tooth removed because the dentist said I had an infection. I thought that might have been the cause of the ear problems. I also told the ENT that I could sometimes smell blood even though my nose wasn't bleeding. He proceeded with an endoscopy and found that my adenoids were enlarged. He told me that adenoids usually atrophy around puberty and that it was very strange that I still had mine. Upon researching more about adenoids in adults, I discovered that they can cause a whole bunch of symptoms, including problems with hearing. We're going to monitor the adenoids for now and see if they're still enlarged in around a month. But if you experience problems with your hearing like me and maybe deal with chronic sinus problems, you should maybe check if you also have enlarged adenoids. It could definitely be related to the feelings associated with anhedonia.

(Shared by Ed Durrant's blog. View more details: https://www.radioddity.com/blogs/all/adding-bluetooth-support-to-the-xiegu-g90-hf-transciever)

A “proof of concept” action.

First, it is important to define what we are doing here. Some modern radios have Bluetooth built-in so that they can be operated remotely. The G-90 does not.
I want to add such control to the XIEGU G90 (this may also work with the X5105 model as well, but this has not been tested). I do not intend to open the radio case, rather I will add standard external modules that are available over eBay and other online retailer sites. There are two parts to this action.
​

Audio via Bluetooth.

The first stage is to get audio to and from the radio from some Bluetooth enabled headset or earpiece, as used with many Smartphones these days. I expected this should be the easy part of the solution while there are many standard solutions available for this that can be purchased for a few dollars/Euros/pounds. Unfortunately, this part of the solution caused me the greatest problems as the issue with the common units is that they operate as a transmitter or a receiver needing to be manually switched between the modes or even they only operate one mode at a time by a cable being inserted into one or other socket. This is not going to work with a Bluetooth Headset (note we need to use a Headset, not Headphones – a Headset is Headphones with a microphone). The Bluetooth electronics in Smartphones have this “duplex” capability but to find an external adapter with the same capabilities is not easy. Investigation showed that “aptX” support can supply what is required to handle audio going to and coming from the headset at the same time but even an adapter that says it has aptX (often one that also has NFC) isn’t always one that will handle two-way audio! The alternative using two BT adapters, one running as TX and the other as Rx path, will not work as the headset is designed for use with a smartphone and hence a single (duplex) channel.
The audio connections (ought) to be the simpler part of this project – it seems not to be the case!
I gave up looking at the direct adapter solution when I saw that an audio plus PTT solution is already available for HTs. These kits include adapter, earphone/headset and PTT button are not cheap, so shop around but make sure you are buying the complete kit and not just the earphone at the advertised price, which is not always clear!
The ideal would be just to buy the “HB-6A” adapter in the middle of the picture above and I did eventually find one company selling just that at $25 plus P&P after I had ordered a complete kit. Prices for the same kit can vary from €29 to €90! The headset alone costs €13.95. Shop around and the “kit price” from several AliExpress and eBay sellers is around €40 including tax and shipping. Of course, if you don’t already have a Bluetooth headset that you wish to use, then the one in the kit might be fine as it’s supplied to use with the adapter in a communications mode. I already had an over the ears BT headset, so now I have both Headset and earpiece/microphone.
After wiring this set via 2.5mm and 3.5mm stereo jacks to the ACC socket mini-DIN plug, pairing the headset to the unit and testing, I found two problems.

1. I had no audio coming out to by Bluetooth headset or earphone. This was simply solved by switching the output from the Internal speaker in the G90 to the ACC socket in the system menu. This is reached by pressing the button once so that the orange light comes on and then the button on the right-hand side of the radio, twice and then using the main tuning knob to change the setting from SPKR to LINE. You can also access the levels of the line input and output in these menus and I suggest you set both of these to their top value of 15.
2. Then the microphone level was far too low. As I have wired to the ACC socket – it expects computer level (1v peak-to-peak) audio, whereas the HT, where this BT adapter would normally connect to, would be expecting electret microphone level audio. Now I could wire up an inline RJ45 connector and feed the audio into the microphone socket of the G90 but I decided rather than doing that I would add a small €3 LM386 amplifier module that is normally used with Arduino projects.

This has the advantage of having a volume control, so I can set the audio input level correctly.
The first test of this modified set-up was fine up to about 3 watts but after then there was constant output indicated even when I wasn’t talking – RF Ingress! So I added a parallel pair of a 0.1 (104) and 0.01 (103) µF ceramic capacitors across the input and output of this pre-amp module and a 0.1 (104) µF capacitor directly on the mic connector on the 3.5mm jack socket, to the ground (earth) connection on the 2.5mm jack socket and with my next test… No RF Ingress – all levels were quiet until I spoke then the output meter indicated full scale on 20 watts. I suspect I will need to back the gain off a little now H.I.
A total surprise was that after pairing the little PTT button that also came with the audio adapter set, it worked straight away with no issues at all, meaning I can use this rather than the PTT option in the remote-control app (more about that app below).
To avoid always having to unplug the module to charge its internal battery via a micro-USB cable, I added a regulator board designed for the Raspberry Pi to take the 8 or 9v coming from the G90 ACC socket down to 5v for the mini-USB socket so that the Bluetooth audio module is constantly being trickle charged while in use. This supply also has a spare micro-USB plug to charge the PTT button unit when needed.
​

CAT Control via BT.

The second part of the solution is to get CAT (Computer Aided Transceiver) remote control commands over a Bluetooth serial connection to the radio from the remote device.
Only by having a separate “remote control console” with the Bluetooth headset can the G90 radio be operated fully “cordless”.
The remote device and software to do the control work is not discussed in this article. You may have your own choices but my choice is to use an Android Smart Phone and the PocketRxTx software ($5/5 Euro/5 pound for the full version – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=ro.yo3ggx.rxtxpro ). The software handles the CAT side of this project. In addition, the phone itself could also handle the BT Audio but I prefer to use a BT headset.
Background – ICOM has used a 3.5mm jack for their CiV CAT connections on their rigs for some time. Xiegu on models other than the X108G (which uses a micro-USB port) has also adopted the 3.5mm stereo jack along with a subset of the ICOM CiV command set for remote control of the radio. There is one important difference, however – the ICOM radios although fitted with a stereo jack, have Tx and Rx on the tip of the plug shorted together and don’t need a connection to the ring. The case is earth. Xiegu keeps Tx and Rx signals separate and uses therefore all three connections.
There are already BT comms adapters that plug into the ICOM rigs on the market and cost around 15 Euros from China.
Using the graphic for the HC-05 module and tracing the lines back, it is clear these are the Rx and Tx data input lines which both go to the 3.5mm plug, so this bridge needs to be removed so that we have TxD and RxD separate as supplied and needed by the G90.
As the voltage is regulated down to 3.3v by the carrier board, a supply of 5-9v DC is fine to power the dongle. Of course, I had to remove the full-sized DIN plug from the lead and fit a suitable mini-DIN plug and wire to the available supply pin from the G90s accessory socket. Later for the combined BT CAT and BT audio solution, the audio in and out wires was also connected through to the mini-DIN plug.
All good so far – now comes the tricky part. The G90’s serial port ONLY works at 19200 bps, so the module needs to be re-programmed from 9600 to 19200 bps before it will work. For this, you will need another small par-dollar interface board and some free software to do the speed programming change. Full details can be found on pages 4 & 5 of this document:
https://www.yo3ggx.ro/btcat/FT8x7\_DIY\_Bluetootth\_CAT\_interface\_v1.pdf Credit: Dan Toma YO3GGX.
After updating the serial speed of the dongle, I was able to control several useful functions of the G90 radio from the PocketRxTx App running on my Android phone.
The final combined design using modules for adding Bluetooth Audio and CAT connectivity to the XIEGU G90 and possibly other radios.
In line with using modules, as the Handy Talkie, BT audio unit runs from an internal battery that has to be regularly charged up and the BT-Cat module needs to be powered, we need to supply their required DC voltages. While the BT-CAT module is happy with the 8/9v that the G90 can supply over its ACC socket – the Audio interface only expects 5v onto its micro-USB charging port.
In theory, a very simple solution might be to insert a resistor from the G90’s 9v DC supply however as the load will change depending upon how charged or uncharged the internal battery is, it’s best to use a proper regulator.
Looking around I found the small board below, that is used to power a Raspberry Pi with 5v to its USB connector, so this should suit our needs quite well. The charging cable supplied with the HT-BT audio unit has one USB-A connector and two micro-USB connectors so one will be connected permanently to the HT-BT unit and the other I will leave available and accessible to charge whichever Bluetooth headset is in use or the PTT button.
The cable with the mini-DIN plug from this box plugs into the ACC socket on the rear of the G90 and the stereo 3.5mm jack into the data socket on the side of the head unit.
Note: do not plug the data connection in until the radio is operating as otherwise, the presence of a cable in this socket can cause the radio to think it is in the middle of a firmware upgrade and to set it back into normal operation can be difficult should this occur.
When starting the use of the Bluetooth adapters, the HT module needs to be turned on by a long press on its button – this is inconvenient as it means the clear plastic box has to be opened. Once devices have been paired to the HT-BT unit once however they automatically pair again when they are turned on. (for the first time pairing procedure, refer to the HT BT-adapter documentation that it is supplied with (a magnifying glass may be needed).
​

Improvements planned.

The intention of building everything into the clear plastic box was always going to be a temporary solution. The use of the 2.5 & 3.5mm sockets on the HT-BT unit and its need to be turned on manually every time it is needed are two non-ideal situations. In a hope to resolve this into a better final solution, I have ordered an inline cable connector that has the stereo sockets in the correct spacing for the HT-BT unit and I have decided not to trickle change the BT-HT unit but rather have it accessible in an elongated cable harness with plus one end into the ACC socket and the other into the G90s data-port so that adding Bluetooth to the G-90 will then be the addition of just one cable with a small box in its middle housing the audio pre-amp and the BT serial board.
The main thing is that the solution has been proven here – it is possible to add Bluetooth support externally to a Xiegu G90 using easily available modules and without any changes to the radio being needed.
​
View more details with images: https://www.radioddity.com/blogs/all/adding-bluetooth-support-to-the-xiegu-g90-hf-transciever

I got both my ears pierced in september 2021. The right ear quickly got infected and needed to be removed but the left ear didnt, but it remains sensitive. Like if i wiggle it it hurts a little bit, changing earrings is uncomfortable, and larger guages or threaded earrings are excruciating and will not go through the hole. I wear my earrings 24/7 so idk why i have so many issues. Do i need to clean it more or smth?

 Im not afraid like i used to be. This is particular to the album Fear Inoculum where fear is inoculated out of the system through a Seven way process. With the tantrical worship of fungi(chocolate chips) and the overwhelming feeling of Invincibility that comes from taking them. The Demon claw grip of illuminating chants gone into beware from betrayal and imagined proposals(imagined interplay, blaming). With the sleeping waves of Cthulhu and the dawning feeling that it is ok to be over, in a certain way or not. What we take into our hands and bound our ships must be a painted way. Circle Star Patterns of murals of the fallen band members, as if to say "Goodbye" Laced in wax and pure karrat gold plating instrumented with audio bandwidths they have harnessed in 13 years . An illusion in the hologram mod is found in the book Fear Inoculum, just read the pages(past36). First we Fear, then we Define, then we Face, but what will come after? Idk. I just know that letting go of fear and getting past clarity's blinding truth. And too letting fear of power take its effect. No other way to face power, have i found. The only way to beat our 3rd enemy in this world is to tool the power. Letting it go as it will's is part of it, but to bow down is to show fear. Fear is the border, forgetting not that i need an exorcism to remove such thiccness as i have come to find. Im in need of intensive audio therapy(resulting in Fear Inoculum played out of 7 different speakers) and an intensity this great sertainly makes me feel great. 

Just thought id check in with everybody, did you check in today?

I obviously have no idea who is going to read this article. However, I am 100% convinced that someone reading this post today, spent last night looking at pornography. In fact, I imagine that someone reading this post probably looked at pornography within the last hour. Someone reading this post is hooked and can’t seem to stop. Someone reading this post wants to quit looking but subconsciously they’ve bought into the lies. They can’t help themselves. Men seem to be hardwired to be susceptible to the lies of pornography and once they’ve started believing them, as Romans 6-8 says, they do become enslaved. (Not that women can’t and don’t, but it is certainly more of an issue with men).
Allow me to assure you, men, if you buy into these lies, pornography will destroy your ability to have positive, healthy relationships with women, especially your wife. It will even make it hard for you to have healthy relationships with men.
I think the best way to overcome lies is with the truth. So, I’m going to tell you 15 lies pornography tells men.

1. Good women never say, “Not tonight.”

In pornography, a woman might start with, “No,” but always ends screaming, “Yes.” No woman gives a real “No” in pornography. They all at least pretend to be willing participants. But the truth is the good woman you have at home spent today taking care of kids or working a job or cleaning house or doing your laundry or volunteering at the school. She may have gotten bad news today. She may not feel well. She’s a good woman, but tonight just isn’t a good night for her. And trying to force her to be your personal porn star may get you what you want tonight, but it is killing your relationship with her.

2. Healthy women think about having sex all the time and can’t wait to get home to have sex.

In pornography, women are all nymphomaniacs who can’t control themselves. All they think about is having sex again and again and again. Reality check: these women are actresses. Just like actresses turn on the tears when they are pretending someone died in a movie, many of these actresses are doing just that–acting. They want to get paid and they know that acting out their bitter disappointment in men or their feeling of violation and betrayal won’t pay the bills. So they act. Certainly, healthy women have a healthy sex life if they are married, but that doesn’t mean non-stop, every day and twice on Sunday sex. This is hard for men to understand, but our wives did not spend their day waiting for us to get home so we could head to the bedroom. Many of them spent their day waiting on us to get home so they could have some stimulating conversation, so they could simply be held, so they could vent their frustrations to someone who will offer an understanding ear. Certainly, it is not healthy for a married couple to almost never have sex, but healthy women aren’t fixated on sex or just chomping at the bit for their next opportunity.

3. The most important part of women is their breasts, behind, and genitalia.

Sadly, pornography says that the most important thing women have to offer is in the bedroom. All that matters is do they have large breasts or shapely buttocks and will they put out. Don’t let your woman talk, except to say what an awesome sex god you are. Pornography ignores the fact that women have feelings, dreams, hopes, hurts, expectations, needs, thoughts, ideas, goals. Your wife has all of this. These are the more important parts of your wife. Don’t forget that.

4. If your wife really loved you, she’d have sex like this.

Sadly, pornography is actually an escape for those who struggle to develop intimacy with real people. Because they struggle with real intimacy, they often have struggles with sex in their marriage. An easy out is to go to the voyeuristic fakery of pornography. But going there doesn’t help with intimacy with your wife, it just makes it worse. Why? Because pornography puts too many expectations in your head. Every woman is different. Every woman enjoys different things. Every woman finds different things pleasurable. None of them are wrong; they are just different. When you try to force on your wife what you “learned” while watching porn, no matter what you think, you aren’t in it for her. You aren’t trying to get to know her better or please her. She does love you. She just may not love the kind of sex you saw in that pornography.

5. Watching this will make your sex life better.

This lie is so commonplace that it wouldn’t surprise me if someone stumbles on this blog and tells me about how he/she and their spouse started watching porn together and it gave the extra spice they were really needing. But it just isn’t true. If you have to watch porn to get that extra spice, then you simply don’t understand what sex is about (more about this in another lie in a later post). The problem is watching porn inevitably leads to dissatisfaction with sex and your spouse. Sure, at first it provides “ideas” about fun and pleasurable sex. Maybe you do learn a technique or two that adds to the immediate fun. (By the way: I have no problem with fun, creative, experimental sex; the marriage bed is undefiled – Hebrews 13:4). But in the long run, all it does is make the husband and wife wonder if they measure up to what their spouse has seen. It produces competition with the images on the screen. If things don’t go just like they did in the movies, it makes them wonder if a different partner might not be the answer. Further, it makes them fear that maybe their spouse is thinking that. Additionally, once the “spice” of the pornography and all the new techniques wear off, and they will, the only place to go to get that spice back is to try someone else. Using pornography to improve sex in your marriage is a dangerous and deadly approach and anyone who encourages it is a fool (I don’t care how many degrees they have or how much you paid them for therapy or how much they say porn helped them).

6. The purpose of sex is to entertain, recreate, compete or conquer.

Pornography removes sexuality from its rightful place in our lives. With pornography, sex is about either entertainment, recreation, competition, or conquest. Please don’t misunderstand. I think God made sex to be fun. But the ultimate purpose is not for recreation or entertainment. It is not to provide you something fun to do when you’re bored. Even if looking at porn starts here, it almost inevitably leads men into the competition. Pornography says sex is about being better, doing it more, doing it with more women than the next guy. Finally, if it is a competition, it becomes about conquest. First, it is about beating all the other guys. But sadly, it becomes about conquering the women who might resist. This all misses the great reason that God gave us sex. Sure, God gave sex for procreation, but I’m not even going there. I Corinthians 6:16 demonstrates that God gave sex as a celebration of the unity between one man and one woman who have committed themselves to each other. Sex for any other reason is unfulfilling in the long run and leaves the participants empty and desperate for something more substantial than a momentary orgasm. Sadly, the only thing they have been trained to think will accomplish that is more sex, better sex, or even a different partner. So they find themselves in a dreadful cycle of emptiness, searching, and loss.

7. The winner is the guy who has sex with the hottest women or the most women.

If pornography turns sex into a competition, who is the winner? The one who has the most trophies, either because he has had sex with the most women or because he’s had sex with the woman the most men want to have sex with. This seems to work for a while. But as the man leaves yet another woman that he was unable to really connect with on an emotional level, the high of the orgasm wears off, and he returns to his empty house, the victory seems hollow. It doesn’t last. No one on their death bed is going to look back and say, “I’ve had a meaningful and productive life, look at all the women I’ve had sex with.” Or worse, he returns to the house where his wife is waiting for him to love her like Christ loved the church, and the weight of betrayal rests on his shoulders. At that moment, all the locker room bravado seems worthless. There is momentary pleasure in this path, but there is never a meaningful victory.

8. Meaningful sex is about positions.

Missionary is boring. If you want to have good, meaningful sex you’ve got to learn the 25 positions that make her scream. At least, that’s what pornography tells you. This just isn’t true. Meaningful sex is about intimacy and connection. Many folks in the world can’t understand that. That’s why the newsstands are filled with repetitive headlines about sex secrets as if you can unlock the world of meaningful sex by learning the right position, trick, or technique. Without connection and intimacy the greatest tricks, techniques, and positions are actually meaningless. Sure, they may provide a moment of fun and an explosion of physical pleasure, but that is forgotten once the deed is done. When sex, no matter in what position, draws a husband and wife closer emotionally, mentally, and spiritually because they are enjoying one another and celebrating their oneness, that goes with them when the physical pleasure has subsided.

9. The most meaningful sex is just having the most sex.

Pornography says that if you have a meaningful sex life, you’ll have sex all the time. With pornography, especially on the internet, sex is never-ending. There is always another picture, another video, another webcam. Anytime a guy gets the least bit turned on, the women of pornography are waiting. But as we said above, the true meaning of sex is about intimacy and connection. It is not about forcing your wife to put out every time something has put you in the mood. The fact is meaningful sex is about two people learning to communicate with one another about needs, wants, and desires. It is about recognizing that those things are going to be different for each partner. Meaningful sex is about finding the balance that allows neither partner to feel deprived on the one hand or used on the other. Meaningful sex is about letting each experience be one of joy for both partners, not simply a physical pleasure for just one partner.

10. Size is the most important factor in being good at sex.

Let’s face it, we men were trained in our high school locker rooms to think that size matters most. We had our contests, if only verbally and full of lies. But pornography took it to a whole new level. Since in pornography, the only parts of people that really matter is their genitalia and since it tends toward competition, it naturally tells men that if they don’t measure up in the size department, they can’t possibly please their wife sexually. BOGUS! First, if you are married to a woman who saved herself for you, she doesn’t have anything to compare it to. Second, even if she didn’t, size isn’t that big of a deal to many women. They aren’t seeking to have sex with the man whose manhood is the biggest. They want to have sex with someone who will love them, protect them, honor them, care for them, provide for them, hold them, lead them, serve them, enjoy them, validate them, and take care of the children that might come from this sexual union.

11. You only did it right if your wife squirmed, screamed, or squealed.

Pornography is visual entertainment. It is about fast movement, quick cutting shots, and emotion. Since sex is to be pleasurable, it is supposed to be body-wracking. The famous scene from “When Harry Met Sally” demonstrates that is what most people think is a real orgasm. But there are two issues to understand. First, while for men successful sex is about reaching orgasm, that is not always the case for women. Their greater goal is intimacy (though I have no doubt orgasm is enjoyable, but that isn’t always the great goal for women as it is for men). Second, no one experiences or expresses pleasure in the same way. Let your wife express hers in whatever way she wants. You aren’t doing it right because your wife behaves the way an actress does. You are doing it right when you have communicated with your wife and shared with each other what you both find most enjoyable, pleasurable, and meaningful.

12. You don’t have to talk to have sex right, just do what happens naturally.

Pornography is not known for its great dialogue. Everyone just seems to know what they are doing. They know when to move where and how. Everyone looks like they are having a great time, so they must be. But once again, these are actors. And please, don’t be fooled by the amateurs. They’ve seen enough pornography themselves that they know the script by heart even if an actual one hasn’t been written. Sadly, too many guys think that great sex just happens naturally if you are any good. That just isn’t true. Great sex takes communication. Great sex takes patience and time to get to learn one another. Great sex doesn’t happen on your honeymoon, at least not if you’ve waited until your honeymoon to have sex. Each person will have their own likes, dislikes, comfort zones, pleasures. Each person has their own sexual baggage and liberties. Like it or not, if you’re just doing what happens naturally, you’re probably doing it wrong. Instead, you need to be patient and you need to talk. Communicate openly about not only what feels good physically, but what is comfortable emotionally and spiritually. You may coerce your wife into some exciting new trick, and it may even feel physically good for her, but if it makes her feel emotionally and spiritually uncomfortable, you’re trading off a great, meaningful relationship for a few moments of pleasure. Not a good trade-off, my friend.

13. Every interaction with any woman is your next opportunity to have sex.

Pornography says that the nurse who is helping with your physical, the receptionist at the office you are visiting, and even the teacher in the private parent-teacher conference you are having is a potential sex partner if you just play your cards right. If you are a pizza delivery guy, postman, or repairman, you are just minutes away from the sex of your dreams because some woman who has ordered your services is actually ordering your sexual services. Reality check. That just isn’t true. Most women aren’t walking around just waiting for the next willing participant to have sex with. That nurse, receptionist, and teacher are doing their jobs. Most of them are married and want their marriages to work. They aren’t interested in putting their marriage in jeopardy just because you walked into their place of business. Not to mention, as established in dealing with an earlier lie, women don’t walk around just waiting for their next opportunity to have sex.

14. Women are turned on the same way men are.

In pornography, everything happens fast. A man and woman see each other and are turned on, sex is the only solution. This just isn’t real life. Certainly, there are exceptions to every rule, but as Gary Smalley says, men are microwaves and women are crockpots. Even a momentary glimpse, a casual comment, even a brief memory can get a man ready for sex. In general, women just aren’t like that. Women are more in tune with emotions and intimacy. They don’t see a good looking man and suddenly want to have sex. Rather, they have to get emotionally revved up. They generally need to feel an emotional connection. For a man, foreplay might include one suggestive comment. For a woman, it is more likely to include doing the dishes for her, changing the baby’s diaper, having a long conversation about her day, letting her cry on your shoulder about trouble with the kids, giving her a no-expectations shoulder rub. Don’t go home and expect your wife to get turned on like a porn star just because you wiggle your rear as you walk out of the room. That’s just not the norm for women.

15. If what you’re looking at right now doesn’t fix your problems, the next one will.

Pornography is a trap. Most men continue to look at pornography because they are chasing the thrill they experienced the first time they got involved. The escape and excitement were tremendous. It promised to solve whatever issues they had whether it was their fear, their issues of self-esteem, their sadness, their anger, their hurt, their sexual desires. The problem is the solution doesn’t last. It is not even a good band-aid. It provides a momentary escape from whatever is going on, but when you come back down, everything is worse. So then you think you need to look into pornography again. After all, it seemed to help the last time. Then you’re in the trap. Because if it does help for another moment, you’ll want to go back. But if it doesn’t, all you can remember is how it helped the first time, so maybe you just need more. So you go deeper and deeper, crossing more and more lines, needing bigger and bigger hits. When this one doesn’t work, pornography tells you the next one probably will. Despite the fact that over and over again you’ve pursued solutions from pornography and it has never worked, you have been sucked into the pornado and keep believing the next one will do it. But it doesn’t. No one’s life has been made better long term by viewing pornography. Trust me, you will be no exception.
I know that many will deny what I’ve shared. Many will equivocate. Many will protest that pornography is harmless except for a few weirdos and perverts. It just isn’t true. Pornography is lying to you. Make sure you learn the truth.
Please, pass these truths on to anyone you know struggling with pornography.

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If not allowed, please remove. Hi, I started stretching my ears about month ago. Last week my gums around my wisdom teeth on both sides started to swell. I was wondering if the stretching could be connected in some way to my back gums or not, since I'm new to stretching. Thanks for answers.

Hello everyone, this is my first post here. I hope I follow the rules, I really want to share this for someone who might benefit
Anyone else who picks at their face knows how horrible it is because it is right there for everyone to see, it is very bloody, the scabs are either so thin or so thick that they are so hard to heal and difficult to leave alone.
My tip is spraying rose water on my face every 10-15-30-45 mins, whenever I can, when I feel the scabs drying up, or wanting to pick at them. I think it's important that it is alcohol free. Im not a doctor at all just a life time skin picker. Ive been using *****. *Edited to delete the product I use because I don't want my post removed for advertising
I spray it everywhere and it dries within 1 minute. I spray it in my hairline where I have major scabs and behind my ears (my earlobes got infected in all this picking mess) and spray it all long the sides of my face where I pick so much, and even at the bottom back of my hairline where I sometimes reach for.
Doing this repetitively daily has kept my face scabs protected so I can't easily pick at them. It was a goal for mine because it was really embarrassing to come back from spring break with a bloody, wrecked face. Using this spray I swear my face scabs have healed an incredible amount just doing this for one week so far. It has really helped me a lot, so much that I wanted to share it somewhere knowing someone else could benefit.

I just noticed this last night.
Dr. Pershing is giving his speech at the Republic and in the middle, he pauses to touch his ear very specifically. I thought initially that he was removing an ear piece because he starts talking about how his Mother died of heart failure and if he had a transplanted clone heart, she'd have lived and that's why he knew he always wanted to clone. I thought maybe he was getting fed words band decided to go off script and be intimate.
Then later, he is getting interrogated by the droid the second time and the droid asks if he has felt any anger towards the New Republic and he pauses and does the same thing to his ear right before he says No, which we know if a lie because he is mad they won't let him continue his work.
I'm thinking this is his tell, whenever he lies, he grabs his ear first. So that means he made up that whole story about his Mom when he was speaking in front of everyone.
Anyone else catch this?