Nail art for french manicure

So I always had curiosity towards the game, something slivers helped to increase, but never bought anything due to a lot of different reasons.
Recently saw all the cool art of Sphinx creatures, and while I don't understand that well the rulings, I wonder... what sealed products would be a good start in this day to make a Sphinx/Angel deck?
Like I know a lot Sphinxes comes with blue and white mana costs and there are quite some cards that can help cover that cost.
And dunno, just for fun, I think both creature species looks cool XP
Not guaranteed I may play in the near future but would be cool to have the advice regardless.
Thanks in advance.

I really enjoyed the beginning, and the ongoing fights. I loved the logical way Sangwoo thought and how strict he is with following his logic. And the "ERROR" word art is superb!!!

!!!SPOILER!!!

I felt really, really bad for Sangwoo. I really liked both Sangwoo and Jaeyoung in the beginning, but the change in attitude felt extremely selfish.It was fine that he wanted revenge, being petty is human, but Sangwoo has no experience dealing with people, but Jaeyoung is the extreme opposite, so Jaeyoung changing his his mind about the kind of impression he wanted to leave felt so selfish and manipulative to me. It's similar to a situation of a character uses the horrible childhood of another character to get what they want.
It might be an unpopular opinion, but I just wanted to express it.

Expedition report from Rift Group 4
Report carried out by Lieutenant Marvin Bailey
Report states: Peaceful contact with the local town of Una has ended in failure. Upon nearing the gates, the elves demanded RG-4 to identify themselves and after identification, they opened fire on with bows, crossbows, and scorpions. RG4 retaliated by opening fire with its 50mm chain gun, destroying parts of the wall, killing an unknown number of defenders, and destroying their heavy defenses. The initial shock from the chain gun froze the defenders, allowing RG-4 to vacate the area with minimum damage and no losses taken. This was the first unsuccessful interaction with the local populace since the beginning of the expedition and the Rift Group program and it shows that not all natives will be pleased with REC's arrival.
Other news: The enemy force on the other side of the North Alston river has not shown any signs of movement. Moreover, drone footage shows a number of the local populace leaving the Meilume capital and Una across the river, further suggesting that the Imperial army wishes to fortify and wall off the area between the two Alston rivers with the intention of boxing the REC before attacking. CIA sources can confirm this is the case. As far as the Rosian vassal kingdoms are concerned, RG-1, upon making successful contact with the border town of Afa, has sent a platoon, led by lieutenant James Wilson, to the Alston capital of Olinor where they made contact with the king of Alston, Thavok Zorgen. After a number of debates, king Thavok has agreed to accompany the platoon to the duchies of Zirith, Dothen, and Elarith, as well as the kingdom of Opherin to convince the dukes and kind Ostontul to attend a meeting with ambassador Eugene Anderson. Additional transportation will be provided should it be necessary.
30th day of late yellow season
Elyana, Empire of Light
"So.", said the chained human, "Is it my turn to pick the nail or yours?". The torturer responded by punching him in the face. The prisoner spat out a piece of his tooth before answering, "C'mon, you're supposed to be consistent. It's nail, nail, cut, punch. The teeth come later when all the nails are gone. Everyone knows that.". The torturer punched him again. "There you go again, messing up the consistency. I think I know why you work in this shit hole now."
The torturer wanted to hit him again, but a voice stopped him, "Enough!". A moment later, two elves walked into the room.
"Great General Laeroth.", the torturer said as he bowed.
"How is the questioning, Maul?", Laeroth asked.
"Not well, my lord. This human is proving to be a greater challenge than I had anticipated. All I got was a name. Jack Mitchell."
Laeroth sighed as he approached the chained-up human. His body was cut in several places and half of his fingernails have been removed. In addition, he was missing two teeth and bleeding from his mouth and nose. Yet he still denies Maul. As much as it pained Laeroth to admit it, he was impressed. Any Rosian or even elf would have broken by now. What made this human different?
"Jack Mitchell.", Laeroth said, making Jack lift his head and smile.
"What's up?", Jack asked.
"The ceiling.", Laeroth answered, making Jack laugh. "What is humorous?"
"Maul over there said the same thing.", Jack replied as he wheezed, "You sure you're not related? You got the same shade."
This made Maul mad as he grabbed his hammer, "You insolent savage!"
"Calm yourself.", Laeroth said, "I still need this human alive. High mage Gunru, you have my permission.".
"Yes, general.", said Gunru. He was one of the seven high mages of the empire in North Altia, second only to the grand mage Ishton. Each high mage is able to use more than one type of magical ability. Usually, a mage is only able to use one ability from a single spirit. The mages of Vita can be healers or they can use their power to give life to made objects. This way they can create their own army, however, the mage has to remain alive in order for the creature to remain alive, and if the creature is destroyed the life will return back to its source. The mages of Elendi can use one of the various elements, such as wind, fire, water, and so on. One other ability the high mages possess is 'Mind read'. By focusing their spiritual energy on the mind of the target, they can visualize their knowledge.
"What the hell are you doing?", Jack asked as Gunru grabbed his head with both hands, "I mean I'm flattered but I'm into women, just so you know."
Gunru closed his eyes and white energy started appearing from his hands. That energy went into Jack's head, which remained perfectly still as this occurred. Gunru entered his mind and began to project Jack's memories, thoughts, and knowledge around him. Laeroth just watched. He himself couldn't see unless Gunru gave the knowledge to him. But he did see something that disturbed him. Gunru began to twitch. A twitching that turned to shake as his eyes opened and quickly pulled back while panting and holding his head as though he had a headache.
"Gunru.", Laeroth called, "Tell me, what have you seen?"
Gunru shook and could barely grasp the words to speak, "T-T-Terrible things. A mistake. All of this was a mistake."
"Show me."
"No!", Gunru yelled immediately, "You must not. I could not get all the details myself. You will go insane."
"I must know our enemy. Even if it is a little, I must know. Gunru, you must show me."
Gunru greatly hesitated and opposed this. But at the same time, he knew if anyone was able to take the strain, it was Laeroth, the most loyal servant of the empire. "Very well. I shall show you as much as I can. Forgive me."
As Gunru placed his hands on Laeroth's head, the same energy went into it. Laeroth opened his eyes and found himself on a field of battle. Two sides were fighting, humans. One side had blue clothing and the other was red, both fighting with cannons and boomsticks, but nothing else. The blue-clothed soldiers appeared to be winning and they charged the red ones, all while carrying a flag. Red and white stripes with stars. It was brutal. What could it mean?
Night turned to day over and over again, until another battle occurred. Same thing, broomsticks, and cannons, but they fought each other. Once again, there was a flag with stars and stripes but now there were two. A civil war? Hundreds of thousands of men died all for what?
Fast forward, Laeroth appeared in another field, but considerably more terrifying. It was a field of black mud, ash, and blood as far as the eye could see. Thousands upon thousands of bodies piled up around giant cannons that fired and destroyed castles. He could see waves of soldiers running forward at their dug-in enemies. They fell by the dozen until a few lucky ones reached the line and engaged in a brutal brawl. The fighting kept escalating until a massive white cloud filled the battlefield and everyone caught in started choking and dying.
Once the smoke cleared, Laeroth could see hundreds of thousands, no, millions of soldiers and armored beasts marching across a field. They fought another gigantic army, one Laeroth thought could never exist. Millions of troops met on the battlefield and slaughtered one another as the metal monsters spat fire and thousands of iron wyverns fought in the air. Massive ships of steel fired enormous cannons of steel at one another as hundreds of iron rods fell from the sky and flattened the cities below.
Closing and opening his eyes one more time he saw a city. A large city with towers of stone and glass that pierced the clouds. But then he saw it get destroyed as it was engulfed in a literal sea of flames. All of those people were dead in an instant, and in place of the city was a gigantic cloud in the shape of a mushroom.
The day turned to night again as Laeroth was lifted into the air and observed the world change. The nations fought one another while also existing in peace. Cities became massive and their armies even more powerful. But then, the fires came. The great cities turned to a smoldering pile of ash as they turned on one another in the name of 'salvation'. War, disease, poverty, entire civilizations were whipped out and empires started to fall. But in this chaos, something was born. The petty rivalry of the great powers vanished and united they led their armies and pulled the corruption by its roots. It took them decades but they did it. And now united, they rebuilt their homes. The world was not at peace but they made the most of it. At least until they showed up. The rift opened, the invasion failed and now an angered giant prepares to take its vengeance and punish them for their crimes.
Gunru stopped sending energy into Laeroth's mind and let go of his head. Laeroth bent over and panted. His heart was racing and his nose bleeding. He could not believe what he saw. Was there really no hope? Was this war lost before it even began? How was he to win? He wasn't, but he knew he couldn't just give up. His pride as a warrior and a soldier wouldn't let him. But more than that, it was Canus. His maniacal nature coupled with fear will only make things worse if he were to find out. Furthermore, the Inquisition will most likely pull strings and keep the war going for their sick and twisted games. Laeroth knew he had to come up with something, otherwise, the empire will crumble.
"General, are you alright.", Maul asked.
"I am fine Maul.", Laeroth answered, "Take the human back to the cell and treat his wounds. I will let you know what I want with him next later."
"Yes, my lord.", Maul said as he gestured to the guards to help him.
"Gunru."
"Yes, general?", Gunru answered.
"You must not speak of this to anyone. Not even the emperor. This stays between us. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, general."
"Good. Now excuse me, I must clean myself and prepare for the future.". Laeroth left the torture chamber and climbed up the steps to the halls. On his way to his personal chamber, he could feel a strange sensation run down his spine. The effects of the mind read? No, this was something else. He made a random turn and walked down a narrow hallway. After taking a few steps, he prepared a knife and waited. Soon, a cloaked individual suddenly appeared from behind the corner and started running away. Laeroth immediately gave chase, signaling the guards in front to stop him. Two guards formed up with shields, which made him stop for a moment. After a moment Laeroth threw his knife at his back. He yelled in pain as he fell over and the guards moved in.
"Leave him!", Laeroth shouted as he grabbed the man and pulled the cloak down. It turned out to be a woman. "Who sent you!? Talk!". His words fell on deaf ears as the woman's head twitched and a thick purple foam-like substance oozed from her mouth. Laeroth groaned and let her go, "Burn the body. Speak nothing of this.". The guards nodded and carried the body outside.
'Gilshor.', Laeroth thought, 'I will not let you turn this war into your own personal puppet show. The darkness will not rule the light.'
---
(Meanwhile)
Upper level of the Imperial palace
Lilyth Camilla Agorix was always a strange girl. While the other girls took care of their hair, she took care of the armor forged specifically for her. While the other girls practiced knitting and read poetry, she expressed an interest in politics and philosophy. This behavior wasn't particularly accepted by her father. Her mother, on the other hand, empress Alruna Flavia Agorix, greatly supported her. It was thanks to her effort that women were allowed to join the army, and at the moment, a tenth of the army is female. Alruna wasn't named the Lioness for anything, and Lilyth tries to live up to her expectations.
But some members of the family aren't as hard-working as her. Her brother Armas is the biggest and most disgusting slob. She could hear him and his hooligans laugh in his chamber. Trying her best to ignore them, she walked past, but as Armas exited the room he called her over, "Hey sister! Come on in. We have room."
Lilyth groaned, "I have more important matters to attend to than entertain a room full of children."
Armas laughed, "Oh come on, loosen up. The slaves taught me that."
"Armas, if mother finds out-"
"What? What will she do? These slaves were given to me and I can do whatever I want with them."
"Is that so?", spoke a mature womanly voice, "Tell me, Armas, what exactly have you been doing?"
"M-Mother?", Armas uttered. Next to her was the second youngest daughter, Khelsa, along with the captive human girl, Amy. The two became friends after Amy arrived and while Alruna didn't support it at first, she learned that a child is a child, and her being from a supposedly savage land is irrelevant. "Nothing. Just questioning these captives with my soldiers."
"You mean raping women with your hooligans.", Alruna said as she walked into his room. The stench and sight made her sick. "Guards! Take these women to my chambers and bring along some maids. Clean them, feed them, and dress them properly." Guards did just that, pushing away the thugs who grunted in response.
"Khelsa?", Amy asked, "Is that your brother?"
Khelsa sighed in response, "Yes. I'm sorry you had to see this."
As the guards took the women out, Armas protested, "Mother, this is unfair. These women are my slaves. Furthermore, they are savages from a barbaric land. They should consider themselves lucky to even be in my presence. Father says-"
Alruna slapped him, stopping his sentence, "Your father may be the emperor, but I know him better than anyone else. He is narrow-minded and frightened, only seeing what is right in front of him, and never bothering to properly assess anything. We may be the chosen bringers of light, but if we act as barbaric as our adversaries then we are no better than them. Now, get this room cleaned and then yourself. You are royalty, act like it." With that Alruna and Lilyth left, leaving Armas to bicker and throw tantrums.
"Thank you, mother.", Lilyth said, "I must go now."
"Go, my daughter.", said Alruna. Lilyth bowed and entered her chamber.
"Fenris.", she spoke, "Is everything ready?"
"Yes, princess.", Fenris said, "The savage stands before you in chains and the scribe has prepared the parchment."
"Excellent. Scribe, you are to document any and all findings. Listen carefully. Do you understand?"
"Yes, princess.", answered the scribe.
"Let us begin.", Lilyth said as she walked to the captive, "What is your name?"
"You know that.", he answered and received a back-handed slap. After moving his head back, he answered, "Brian O'Neil."
"Where are you from?"
"My mom.", to which he received a punch in the stomach. It didn't hurt a lot, considering he was a large man. "The United States of America."
"Tell me more about it."
"It's a unity of fifty-two states with three hundred and fifty million people."
This shocked Lilyth but she didn't show it, "Are there more countries?"
"Many more. My country isn't even the biggest one."
"So there are more empires in your world."
"No, there aren't any."
Lilyth paused for a moment, "Then what?"
"We are a republic. We elect our leader and that leader represents us. He doesn't have all the power and all of his decisions are put to a vote. Empires and kings are a thing of the past."
"You expect me to believe that? A nation cannot function without a centralized figure controlling it."
Brad chuckled, "We use to think that, too. But we found out that the opposite is true. One person can control a city, or maybe a small nation. But the bigger a nation gets and the more powerful it gets, the more strain appears on a single person. This is why our nations are governed by dozens of people and we have careful systems for governance. A single person is not enough. He would only bring ruin."
This shocked Lilyth more. A system like this was always theorized by politicians and philosophers, but nothing was ever tested because the emperors abolished it, saying that it goes against the path of light. "You say that. But our empire has grown powerful and spread across the world. We have become its rulers and spreaders of wisdom, knowledge, and civilization."
"There used to be an empire in my world that thought just like you. They wanted to conquer the entire world and make it so that only their ways exist. Do you want to know what happened?"
"What?"
"They became too big. There was too much ground. Their forces were spread thin and could be picked off by united barbarians who didn't like their ways. War stopped and since their economy depended on it, it crumbled. Their politicians became corrupt and power-hungry. They stole from and even killed each other. Eventually, they fell beneath the force of the united kingdoms they called savages and were wiped out. This is why no one can truly conquer the world. No matter how hard you fight, the world always wins."
Lilyth clenched her fists and stared at Brad with an angered look, "You say that we will end up the same?"
"If you refuse to change, then yes.".
After staring at him for a few moments, she spoke, "Fenris! Take him back to his cell. We will continue this tomorrow."
"At once, princess.", Fenris said and grabbed Brad by the arm.
As they were walking out the door, Brad turned his head to Fenris, "You know she likes you, right?".
Fenris looked at him for a bit before pushing him forward. Lilyth was left to ponder Brad's words. There is still much for her to learn.
---
(That night)
Somewhere between Meilume capital and Una
Being a prisoner is never good. Your rights are taken away and the ones who captured you can do anything they want to you. They could kill you, sell you or worse. This was the predicament the Belus family found itself in. Out of the two hundred soldiers that accompanied them, only one soldier remained, the others were killed and fed to the welfen and leanoids. The Belus family was in a cage with the last soldier, Klaus, and a servant, Lia. The five of them were all sitting with their hands tied behind their backs, wondering what will happen next. Taria was still grieving over the death of Aego, not even lifting her head.
"Bellon.", Nimriel whispered, "What will happen to us?"
"Do not worry.", Bellon said, "We will alright."
"Stop lying, father.", Taria said, still with head lowered, "These people will first rape us, torture us and then demand ransom from the empire."
"Hush, my lady.", Lia said, "Don't say such things."
"What? The truth?"
"You should listen to the little girl.", said a rogue elf as he crouched in front of the cage. Behind him was the fire in the center of the camp with four more rogues, two leanoids, and one welfen. Most of the bandits were asleep, only over a dozen stayed awake. "The money we'll get from you will make us set for life. Sure, we might have lost more than half our men, but that just means more for the living."
Taria spat, "Open this cage and I'll show you a little girl."
The rogue chuckled, "Quite a fighter. I saw you kill that leanoid. You're good. Why don't you come with us?"
"Why would I join a bunch of good-for-nothing traitors? You know nothing of honor, duty or the light."
The rogue laughed, "They still teach that shit? The light is nothing but a made-up excuse the first emperor made so we can take these lands. People like us? We see the truth. And all of you are being manipulated."
"You dare mock the path of light?", asked Bellon.
"Shouldn't a bad joke be mocked?"
Taria and Bellon gritted their teeth. This is why rogues are killed on sight. They know nothing but greed. As Taria stared at the rogue, something appeared in the corner of her vision. A man in green armor held a black boomstick and aimed it at the bandits by the fire. She looked around and saw six more. Are they insane? If they fire it, it will alert everyone. But when they fired them, only a slight sound was heard. Enough for the rogue in front of her to turn around. He saw his mates dead, but couldn't call for help as his neck was ripped out by a welfen. The Belus family was in shock as the welfen opened the cage.
"Don't be afraid.", he spoke, "I'm with the Americans."
This confused the family. "Who?", Taria asked.
Soon after, a soldier in green got to them, "My name is Lieutenant Caden Roberts of RG-3. We're here to rescue you.". He cut their ropes and waved his hand to signal the rest of his men. As they moved, Taria saw the dead bodies of the bandits and when they got out of the camp she could see that only fifteen soldiers, including two tribals, came to rescue them.
"Who are you people?", Taria asked.
"We're the Rift Expeditionary Force from the United States of America.", said the lieutenant as he pressed a small metallic box which caused the entire bandit camp to get engulfed in flames. The bandits burned and screamed, some ran out of the camp but got shot by the green soldiers. Their camouflaged armor, repeating broomsticks, and fire magic puzzled Taria greatly. She couldn't even see their faces from their masks and eyewear. Who are they? Her questions had to wait a little longer, as iron carriages moved from behind them and opened.
"Lieutenant, is it go time?", spoke the man from one of the carriages.
"Yeah.", said the lieutenant, "Let's go, I'll get them to the MRAP. Come on.". He led the five of them to the middle carriages through its back door. It looked like it was completely made of metal and that it could take a cannon shot. This just further confused them. As the carriages started moving, they noticed that it was going at high speeds, even faster than horses.
"Who are you?", Bellon asked, "What do you want from us?"
The soldiers in front of them looked at each other before taking their masks and helmets off, revealing their pale faces. It wasn't anything sinister and they didn't look like they intended to harm them.
"I am sergeant Jeff Parker.", spoke one of them.
"I am staff sergeant Liam Cook.", spoke the other one, "Over here is Lioba, our feelian, and Olaf, our friendly welfen."
"It's welfen that attacked us.", Klaus spoke.
"Do not speak as if they are of my kind.", said Olaf in an angered tone, "Those beasts lost their meaning in life."
"What do you mean?", Jeff asked.
"Each wolf lives for the pack. For the tribe. He fights for it, provides for it, and dies for it. These wolves, they've abandoned their blood and chosen the life of a wild animal. They're no better than the ferals."
"I see. We have those too. We call them deserters. They flee the army and abandon their brothers. And so we hunt them down and punish them."
"As you should."
After some silence, Klaus spoke, "Forgive me. I meant no disrespect.". Olaf nodded.
"Are you taking us home?", Nimriel asked.
"No.", Liam said, "We're taking you to Galdush. Our lieutenant-general wishes to speak with you. Well, lord Bellon more specifically." The five went silent. This was the enemy from the rift, and now they're taking them to their leader.
"Are we to become your slaves then?", Taria asked.
Jeff and Liam chuckled a bit. "No no, of course not. That kind of thing is in the past for us. Our lieutenant-general only wants to speak with you. After a nice conversation, we will personally bring you back to the Meilume capital."
"How do you know its name?", Bellon asked.
"We have our ways. Now sit back and enjoy the ride.", Liam said as he pulled some blocks out of his pocket. When he opened it, it was gray and seemed to be food. After offering it to Lia, he spoke, "Hungry?". After some hesitation, Lia took it and tasted it. It was quite delicious. As she ate the whole thing, Liam chuckled as he opened a bag, "Don't strain yourself, I have enough for everyone."
---
(Several hours later)
Fort Galdush
"My lady.", said Lia as she shook Taria, "My lady, wake up, we've arrived."
Taria woke up, "What? How long have I been asleep?"
"A few hours, my lady."
This was surprising, to say the least, "We're already here?". She looked out the window and saw their fort as well as their machines. The M2 battle tanks rolled over the hills and fired at the targets, blasting through them. She saw soldiers shooting their guns and groups running in a circle. At the gate, the lieutenant introduced himself and the convoy continued. Inside, they could see soldiers clad in thick, metal armor carrying large boxes and as they got out of the MRAP they saw the Invictus ACs flying in the air. All of this overwhelmed them. To them, these were otherworldly monsters. To the rangers, it was a normal everyday occurrence.
Lieutenant Roberts stood in front of his men, "Alright. I will take lord Bellon Belus to lieutenant-general Coleman. Parker, Cook, you take the rest to their temporary residents."
"Yes sir.", both of them said as they saluted, "Okay, let's go. I promise it's nothing bad."
Taria, Lia, Nimriel, and Klaus went with Jeff and Liam to their residence while Caden took Bellon to the lieutenant-general. The two of them went into the central command building.
"Lieutenant Caden Roberts of Rift Group 3 here to see colonel Andrew Marshal and lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman.", he said to a woman who worked as a secretary.
After some delay, the woman nodded, "Go down the hall to meeting room two."
"Thank you. Come on.". Bellon followed Caden through the hall. He admired how it was crystal clear and pearl white like they were made of pure marble. As they walked they reached the meeting room and entered. Inside were two men who stood up immediately.
"Good morning.", said the first man, "I am lieutenant-general Patrick Coleman of the Rift Expeditionary Corp. And this is our logistics officer, colonel Andrew Marshal."
"Nice to meet you.", Andrew said, "You are the lord of Meilume, Bellon Belus, correct?"
Bellon stuttered, "Y-Yes I am. Great general, you have my eternal gratitude for saving my life, and my family.", he said as he bowed.
"Please.", Patrick spoke, "No need to bow. And please call me Patrick. Sit down."
"Thank you, Patrick.", Bellon said as he sat down, Caden next to him.
"While I accept your gratitude, I'm going to need to ask something else of you?"
'Of course. What was I expecting?', Bellon thought, "And what would that be? If it is gold I assure you the emperor will pay a decent sum for my family and me."
"Oh no, god no. I'm not asking for money. I need something from you that only someone of your status within the empire can provide."
'Someone of my status'. "What exactly?"
"As you know, your empire opened a rift in our country and attacked without warning and unprovoked. We beat the invasion force and the force than came after it. You lost two armies in less than a month, or, a moon cycle as you call them."
"Yes, I am aware of this. What does that have to do with me? I didn't send those armies."
"We know. But you have a connection with the person who did. And we want you to send a message to him for us."
'A message?' "And what kind of message?"
"We would like an audience with a representative to negotiate peace."
This stunned Bellon. 'Peace?'
---
(Meanwhile)
Jeff and Liam brought the four to an empty army barracks, reserved for these situations. "Okay.", Liam spoke, "You'll be staying here until the lieutenant-general orders otherwise. Don't worry, you'll be comfortable." They entered the barracks and it was clean, with several beds, a fridge, desks, and lights, which Jeff turned on, surprising the 'guests'.
"Make yourselves at home.", Jeff said, "I'll bring you some breakfast soon.". He left and closed the door, leaving the four to talk.
"What do you think will happen, Klaus?", Nimriel asked.
"I don't know, my lady.", he answered, "But we shouldn't do anything to anger them. I think we should wait and see what is to come."
Taria looked out the window and saw the tanks and LAVs driving past as well as soldiers marching in unison. "Incredible. All this power. They could have destroyed Meilume before we even had the chance to escape. And yet here we are. In their fortress, waiting for them to bring us food. They want something."
"Well.", Lia said, "That man who offered me the sweet food was nice. I think they're not that bad."
"They are the enemy, Lia. Enemies should never be trusted. It might seem like they are good, but they are using us. They want us here so we can witness their power and use us to spread fear through the rest of the empire. Clever."
"I think you are thinking too much about it, my lady. Perhaps you need to sit down, and rest."
Taria sighed. She walked to a nearby desk and observed the notebooks, pens, and pencils. She sat down and opened a notebook, immediately noticing how the paper is milk-white with lines to help her writing. Picking up one of the pens, she observed how smooth it was and made of spotless, thin metal, but also how it didn't have a tip. Then she noticed the round top and remembered how the lieutenant pressed his metal box. Pressing down the top, the pen clicked and the tip appeared. Amazed, she clicked it several more times before starting to write.
"Taria?", Nimriel asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm writing down what I saw."
At that moment, Jeff opened the door and brought several white cardboard boxes, "I brought breakfast. I hope it's to your liking."
Each of them took one and Jeff put the last one on Taria's desk. She looked at him and asked, "Can you show me more of your fortress?"
Jeff hesitated a bit, "Why?"
"I'm curious. I wish to learn."
"So you can write it down and give the information to the army?". Taria sat silently. This wasn't untrue. "Look, we're not your enemy. Our commanding officer is talking to your father about peace. Truth is, we don't want war.". Taria paused to think about that. "But if I get permission, I'll show you around."
"I would appreciate it. Thank you."
End of chapter 10
​
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Thank you very much for reading
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I'll keep it short: For more than 3 years, we're developing this game with two friends next to our jobs and are almost done.
About the game: Kingsblood blends tactical autobattler mechanics and dungeon crawling in a mercenary RPG with a fully voiced campaign. Join the fight against a tyrannical monarchy in a grimdark world of political intrigue and injustice. Assemble a powerful guild of unique followers, send them on dangerous missions, while building your guild hall. Master the art of party composition and unlock the true potential of your warriors as you fight battles and dungeons in your quest for justice.
Steam store page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1515020/Kingsblood/ (with trailer, screenshots, and demo - check it out for yourself)
Feel free to ask me anything here, or join us in our Discord!

So with the news currently very focused on the French protests I have been wondering; what is the difference between the UK and other countries? Specifically, it seems to me that the UK general population is much more willing to accept changes and flagrant disregard for their interests from the politicians and parties representing them, than other countries. For example, we (the UK) have suffered years of corruption, and since the pandemic have seen politicians and the government not even attempting to hide corruption (see Boris lockdown party, granting of govt contracts to friends and donors without due process, various politicians directly profiting from govt contracts, the NHS pay rise debacle) whereas we see public revolt in other countries. France specifically at this time is in total upheaval after the attempted raise in their retirement age from 62 to 64. I understand there is more to the concept there and a bill was attempted to be passed illegally - however my understanding is, this is similar to some of the changes that the British government have made. Such as changing the regularity of general elections.
My question boils down to: Why aren’t the British Public revolting? Why do we sit back and allow these things to happen?

I trained in associative remote viewing and am published in the area of spirit communication,and occult scrying. I will put a book list at the end.
I have been experimenting with dreaming based on a contribution in the book Associative Remote Viewing by Debra Katz and Jon Knowles. I know Jon and worked with his group some in Applied precognition some years back. I applied the knowledge I gained there and developed a scrying technique which works better for beginners than the usual Stare and Prayer. I then expanded the technique to communicating with spirits including angels and saints. I was able to obtain verifiable real time information as well as interesting but not verifiable data. ( I was interested in interstellar flight and how it was accomplished with manned ships by other intelligent species)
So this eventually led to working with dreams. Dreams are extremely important in the Bible and are used frequently to guide people. So the first question was is a dream just a dream. The answer is no. In Associative Remote Viewing A formal psychological study was done to determine if dreams could be used to predict the outcome of selected ball games. ( games are just a way of quickly obtaining a target to work with) The study was set up to be done by 8 participants using ARV techniques but the data would be obtained by dreaming. No dream technique was used. It did not involve lucid dreaming or astral projection. Just recording nightly dreams after setting up the focus for the night. The results were interesting to say the least. Accuracy was higher than expected. 61% to 80%. There were people in the study who did online gambling and won a considerable chunk of change. Kinda debunks the old myth that you can't do this for money which was one of the purposes of the organization.
Catholics and Anglicans there is hope for bingo night after all :-)
​
So I set up a few dream sessions. This is kinda how I'm working on it.
Set the focus. Last night I was curious about Christs life and the second coming. I got some really interesting sketches which speak to his life and trade.
The character ambience of the second coming is not what modern Christians feel about it. It doesn't happen with a huge human population on Earth is the idea I got. That data was not as good a quality as the life of Christ info. You can explore these topics remembering that your dreams are symbolic and will not be literal most of the time. The symbolism is found in the comparison with real time data with the dream.
I sketch everything. Intuitive communication and perception is always visual and pictoral in nature. If it is verbal generally it's due to interpretation and rife with bias. Look at how Ezekiel works his visions. He describes things in terms of what they look like. Be like Ezekiel.
Reveal the target in the morning then compare the sketches but not the story line to the information that is known about the target. The story line of the dream is always bias and as far as I have seen so far is not accurate.
The ability to perceive the future is a trait all humans have. In fact it's present in most mammals, predators in particular. This has been studied and verified. So the " we cannot know the future" attitude is not accurate and was proven not to be true. This allows the biblical visions to have truth to them. The same rules apply for those visions. Look for the images, separate the images and discard the story line that goes with them.
I hope you find this a bit interesting. Have fun playing with it. Okay now book list.
https://www.amazon.ca/Associative-Remote-Viewing-Predicting-Outcomes-ebook/dp/B098KLC3Q9/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1FHSUDIUAUXFJ&keywords=associative+remote+viewing&qid=1680424629&sprefix=Associative+rem%2Caps%2C189&sr=8-1
​
https://www.amazon.ca/Tracks-Psychic-Wilderness-Precognitive-Synchronicity/dp/1862043515/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3MMJ5652D1CQV&keywords=tracks+in+the+psychic+wilderness&qid=1680424704&sprefix=Tracks+in+the+psychic%2Caps%2C104&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.ca/Art-Scrying-Dowsing-Foolproof-Methods/dp/0738767964/ref=sr_1_2?crid=16ANRSF7BTP4V&keywords=Art+of+Scrying&qid=1680424733&sprefix=art+of+scrying%2Caps%2C101&sr=8-2

In 2019, Public Theater did Shakepere's Much ado about nothing.

• https://publictheater.org/news-items/buckets/Features/muchado/

It was aired by PBS as S47 EP9: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING.

• https://www.kpbs.org/news/arts-culture/2019/11/20/great-performances-much-ado-about-nothing

There are clips on youtube. There's a "buy dvd" button on some PBS websites, but it's not offered in the shop. Some PBS websites say available on demand if you are a member, but the links go nowhere, so I wonder if that's actually happening.
Meanwhile, it appears that there are:

• No DVDs on Amazon
• No torrents anywhere
• No ebay DVD recorded off anything
• No bootleg tv dvd websites offering it.

Huge fan of the play, I collect all the versions. I use it for teaching purposes because it haz all the themes.
Why in the name of all that is Internet can't any version of this be obtained?

is it just me or is the station area restriction kinda.. meh.
in order to build a semi-big settlement, we need to spam workbenches, forges and stonecutters.
wouldn´t it just make more sense to need just the tools and supplies ?
and by that I mean dedicated tools & supplies.
so , workbench lets you craft : hammer (better version as we need the basic one to craft the workbench) basic saw (bonesaw maybe ? )
dowels, needed for real house construction
the forge lets you build metal tools. but the main upgrade would be a metal saw and nails.
and the stonecutter lets you carve extra decorative stone, sculptures and stone carving / masonry toolset.
so, you would still need each station. but instead of spamming the constrction area with each station and not needing it for anything else, you would need the station to repair tools and / or carve stones to keep working.
what do you guys think ?

I was thinking about it, especially how vulnerable are heavy team weapons crews like 17pounders or other only truck transportable weapons or even fixed arts, flaks etc because you have to just sit and accept you are going to be bombarded.
Do you think it would be a good idea to creat sub-units / very weak infantry crew units that can be retreated from these weapons? I think something like tank crews for the americans in COH1 (if memory is not trolling me)?
Of course it will never happen, but I think it would be a great addition.

Anyone feel due to the fact that the game doesn’t penalize you for losing a point needs rebalancing. For example I had a defense battle that was reported to be an auto resolve great loss as I only had a single battalion of 20 French troops. I had limited supply so I just defended the corner and killed 18,000 and lost 1,000. However since the AI didn’t cap my last point I really did do more damage and truly “won”. This isn’t really playing in a trench warfare system system but is pure cheese. There should be harsh morale decreases when you lose a point. This would encourage a balanced defensive line.

It's quite simple really.
When we're introduced to Walt, instead of being a Chemistry teacher heralding from a leading-edge, scientific background along with Gretchen and Elliot.........
.....he's an English Literature teacher and heralds from a background of promising young fiction writers who all make it big in their chosen genres, whilst Walt gets lumbered with the:
"those who can't DO it....just end up teaching it..."
...stigma.
However, Walt ends up having an epiphany after his cancer diagnosis.
I guess the fun (and challenging) aspect of this is.....how the hell does an underachieving English Literature teacher (formerly a young, fiction-writing hack) ...possibly "break bad" in such a way that it totally rocks the world and begins to furnish a multi-million dollar enterprise?
For those who think this couldn't be done, or that its a far too tame and boring premise upon which to concoct a believably sinister story arc......I have but ONE name to toss into the ring:
L Ron Hubbard.
The "drug" Walter White chooses to exploit in this alternative story arc....rather than being crystal meth.....is "religion."
Cue Jesse Pinkman....(Walt's streetwise young side-kick) ....gleefully enthusing as he belatedly rekindles affection for a high school subject that he flunked out of and didn't apply himself to:
But with Walt's expert steerage, Jesse now realises just how possible it is to turn imaginative prose into "fat stacks".....
YO.....SCIENTOLOGY man!!
Seriously though....what other high school teaching subjects might Walt....(in an alternative narrative) have been able to exploit his proficiency for in a "breaking bad" kind of way?
Chemistry was always the obvious choice for Vince Gilligan because there was a known, credible black market drug economy for Walter White to "break into" once he decided to focus his talents in that direction.
I very much doubt if ALL the subjects taught in high schools or universities lend themselves to some form of corrupted, deviant behaviour.....should those who teach them suddenly decide to exploit their knowledge of that subject for their own "dark" ambitions.
And....I'd even go further than this and say that if a subject or discipline CANNOT be readily corrupted in such a way that it can give those who teach it....."fat stacks" of cash.....then that basically tells us that the "black economy" has no practical use whatsoever for that subject or discipline.....corrupted or not.
If Walter White had taught "Art History" or "Underwater Basket Weaving" (for example)....then frustrated, underachieving genius or not.....there was no real pathway towards "fat stacks" in the black marketplace.
Walt may as well have had a master's degree in "Rooftop Pizza Tossing" for all that was worth, although granted.....he DID exhibit a natural aptitude for this....at least at the entry level where bungalow or one-story condo heights were the primary requisites.

Anybody has French library or wiling to take requests (1-2 a week) for French movies ?
I have my own paid subscription to Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon, YouTube, Spotify … but I really miss watching French movies and I can’t find a single paid service where I can watch movies from my current location.
Anyone wiling to help me ? Chat / DM are open.
Ps: for privacy purpose this is an alt account.

I'm already in my 30s, finished from a decent university with a degree under fine arts. I've never had a corporate job since I worked freelance (video/film industry) ever since graduating a decade ago. Creative work has been scarce since pandemic and I've realized that it might be a dead-end for me and started considering a career shift.. data analytics? Maybe but I'm still exploring new options.
The caveat is that I've invested a lot time and energy being the assistant of my parents in their business and real estate investments (being a very obedient child) for several years now. I'm not at all happy about but I did it because I had a lot of free time when I had no projects. I've brought up my dissatisfaction with parents about current track and insisted that I wanted to carve my own path in my life.
Their response has been lukewarm--reluctant to let me go my own way since what they've built is a sure path for security and suggest that I do both. But I am not a business person at all. I'm a creative, I like working in the field, working hands-on... but since pandemic I've been struggling to find jobs/projects and they've decided for me that I should continue the family business.
There's no one else left to inherit the business. My older sibling was in the same predicament but still rebelled against their wishes and took a bootcamp.. now he is now a successful software dev abroad. I am envious and sad because of course I can leave everything and still do what I want but my parents are already old (nearing 60s) and they've expressed that nobody else should continue what they're doing but me. I feel trapped and I am sad and frustrated..

We moved in last may and it’s a bit of a weird set up. We live on the same piece of land as the land ladies mum with a shared drive. Her dad used to use our place as an art studio and I believe lived here before he died. We knew this would mean she we’d see her a fair bit as her mum is elderly and she visits most days. We moved in in the spring and last May was warm. Over the winter we’ve had loads of problems with roof leaks and damp and condensation (in one area this has caused some wood work to swell and become damaged) We’ve reported it and she’s said we need to have the heating on more often which we A. can’t afford and B. didn’t feel we needed to as we were fine in extra socks and jumpers. We used the open fire for a bit but she then said we couldn’t use it without a window open because it causes condensation, negating the point of lighting it in the first place. The doors all swell and my daughter has been unable to get in or out of the house on a few occasions. The longer we live here the more we realise it’s all a bit bodged and not fit for a busy family really. Most recently (January) she told us we need to stop parking on our drive saying the weight of our van was causing damage to the shared drive. We have since had to park in the street across the road where there’s no lighting and invalidates our insurance as we say we are parked on a drive. It’s a shared drive and with the additional coming and going there’s no wonder there is more wear and tear and should surely be expected. The shared drive also isn’t on the inventory as far as I can see. She ‘pops’ in all the time and has asked to come over to inspect once a month to keep an eye on the mould/damp/condensation issues. We feel like we can’t enjoy living here because she is so over bearing. We gave our notice because it was just too much to deal with and had to negotiate our way out of a 12 month tenancy. She agreed to let us give 2 months after much debate. She is now saying we need to pay half to get the drive fixed before we go. She has had a quote for £400 which is ridiculous as it’s really just a wobbly slab and I really can’t see that we caused it. She even has a camper van herself so her reasoning about the weight of the van could in part be due to her van. She’s also saying we have to give receipts to show we have had the carpet and cooker professionally cleaned and a cleaner has been in before we leave. This will make moving out so expensive and we just don’t have that money! I’ve seen on the shelter website that they can’t make us pay for professional cleaning but could charge us for a cleaner if she thinks it’s not up to standard. I honestly think she’ll charge us no matter how much we do. Our deposit is with DPS so I know we have some level of protection. It just feels so subjective as how can we prove it’s ‘clean enough’ or that the ‘damage’ to the drive was caused specifically by our van? Also has she breached our right to peaceful enjoyment of the property? Any help would be great. We’d just like to make sure we get our deposit back as we will need it for our next house. Thanks

This is one of those rare "Pa is away for most of the episode" shows. Translation: Caroline and Mary will do battle. We begin with Pa building an addition onto the house (!!), but I hope you don't get too optimistic because there won't be any extra bedrooms, just that a water pump will be put into the kitchen and a remodel of that room. Charles knocks out a wall. We move to the Post Office, where that dingbat Kezia is today's postmistress, filling in for an ill Mrs. Whipple. Kezia is opening other people's mail again (a federal offense, played for laughs). Kezia hands Doc Baker a letter from Lars with news for Charles: the railroad accepted Lars' bid on a job, which means that will get top priority over the Ingalls house remodel. Caroline tries to make the best of it, but an unfortunate series of events unfolds: Carrie falls in the creek, then THE INGALLS COW! barges right into the house and eats their supper, then it starts to rain with that wall still down. Pa comes by to help finish the job of putting a tarp up in the meantime. Charles takes off for the job and just as things are beginning to look a bit bleak for the Ingalls, a handsome young handyman just appears right out of thin air and offers to finish the remodel. Caroline says she can't pay much, but the handyman (who goes by Chris) offers to work for room and board. Caroline still isn't sure, so Chris offers the Oleson's as a reference. Caroline immediately heads over to the Mercantile and Harriet offers a ringing endorsement of Chris, so Caroline heads back to her house and hires him. Chris gets to work and immediately endears himself to everyone.
Chris probably didn't mean to, but he comes off as a replacement for Charles, even playing the fiddle and taking the family to church on Sunday morning. This isn't lost on Mary. Sunday night finds Charles having a conversation with Caroline at the front door. Caroline won't let him in at that hour but she does talk to him. Caroline has her hair down which looks very beautiful, something that Chris notices. Now we get into the good stuff: The next day, lunchtime at the school finds the Ingalls girls sitting down trying to have their meal, but Nellie swings by with talk of "monkey business" at the Ingalls place. Tremendous camera/directorial work as they show Mary getting up from a seated position to show her height over Nellie, then cuffing her something fierce. Everyone nailed that part. Nellie runs off. Laura is offended that Mary hit Nellie and threatens to tell Ma and I can't tell if she really feels that way or if she's just trying to get revenge on Mary for all the times she told Ma and Pa about things she did, but considering how many times Laura hit and pushed people herself, it's probably the latter. Mary is in one of her "not taking any crap today" moods and orders Laura not to tell. Laura gets that particular message and obeys. Back at the Ingalls house, Chris falls off the roof, tearing and bloodying his shirt. Chris just gets right back up and goes back to work, but Caroline orders him to takes his shirt off and tells him he's lucky he didn't break his neck. Caroline gives him the shirt Mary gifted Pa in "Christmas At Plum Creek" and tells him to watch what he's doing. The girls come home from school and Mary notices immediately. CAROLINE VS MARY, ROUND ONE! Mary enters the house and angrily demands Ma tell her why Chris is wearing the shirt she made for Pa. Now see, if Caroline were smart, she would have kept her duplicate shirt she made as it would have came in handy here, but instead she calmly explains what happened and asks Mary why she's using that tone of voice. Mary apologizes, then eventually admits to hitting Nellie. Ma tells her to control her temper. Mary's mood rebounds somewhat, though she's still leery of recent events.
Pa stops by for a brief visit. Chris decides this is too awkward and ducks out for a brief bit while this is going on. Mary pleads with Pa to stay, but Pa declines and leaves again. Chris returns and Ma asks him where he's been. Chris gets evasive, but Caroline presses the issue and Chris angrily tells her that he's been in this situation before. Later at the creek, Caroline is getting buckets of water and Chris is cleaning up. Chris apologizes for his earlier behavior. Caroline gets up and slips and Chris catches her with Mary looking on.
Nighttime finds Mary ducking out of the house to stop by the Ingalls guest room: the sod house (where Chris is staying), which isn't easy to do considering Ma is right there and there is no door. Mary angrily orders him to pack up and leave, which Chris does. And now, CAROLINE VS. MARY, ROUND TWO! The next morning, Mary is working in the barn when Ma stops by, wondering if she knows what happened to Chris. Mary gets evasive, which gets Caroline suspicious. Mary tells Ma that she didn't know it meant that much to her. Ma has had ENOUGH of this disrespect and swings Mary around by the arm, demanding to know what the reason is for all this backtalk. Mary says she saw her and Chris out by the creek holding each other. Ma is shocked, then angrily explains what happened, saying it wasn't an embrace. Ma starts to run off, but Mary starts crying again and apologizes. They go and track down Chris making his way out of town and ask him to return, but he states his desire to return to the wandering lifestyle. Later, Pa returns, which gets everyone elated, and he promises to finish the job.
THE JERRY SPRINGER FINAL THOUGHT - This was a fun episode and probably the most rebellious Mary ever got. Chris was an enjoyable character and the actor that played him (Gil Gerard) probably would have a great replacement if something ever happened to Landon or if he decided he had enough and quit. Just exactly how much chemistry there was between Caroline and Chris is a matter of some debate, but there definitely seemed to be some sparks there and Caroline didn't exactly do a lot to deflect that. I mentioned revenge earlier between Laura and Mary and I do have to wonder if Caroline still had some lingering doubts about Charles and the Widow Thurmond from earlier, which might explain some of her behavior here. And finally, there's the Ingalls cow, which seems to have some sort of grudge against everyone in the household. Tempers were definitely flaring in this one and there were some hurt feelings, but it still manages to be a fun and enjoyable outing all things considered.

Hello all!
Was just hoping for some insight from anyone who knows about the Games Art courses from these Unis as i’m totally stuck on where to go.
Man Met is closer to me and Hudds is farthest with a notoriously bad train service, but I’ve heard the course is excellent there. I’ve also heard Man Met has good resources but bad lecturers and no industry connections, but is also talked about highly as a Uni.
I’ve met the Bolton lecturers and they’re really pushing for me to go there due to smaller class sizes and more chance for one-on-one.
I’m getting conflicting comments from my tutors so I’m stumped.
Any insight from recent years is well appreciated.

The music, the allegories, the cinematography. Each scene looks like a painting by Caravaggio. Henry Cavill's acting, the moment we see his face after the explosion of the courthouse, expresses all the necessary pain and helplessness. The face of a guy who just wants to help and do the right thing, against a barbaric humanity that only knows how to kill and reject him. This is not a movie. It's a work of art. I like to call it a painting in motion. Sorry for the rant but I'm tired of reading bullshit on other subs about how this movie is shit. It's not, it's a masterpiece. And I will defend it. Fuck you haters.