#also once again no saffi

[heidithriel]

My name is Seven of Nine!

And I really want to fucken punch you in the face!

#also once again no saffi #I’m so sad after everything we got last season #I’m loosing hope #I hope we get something in the last two episodes #seven of nine #raffi x seven #r/7 #seven x raffi #saffi #star trek picard #jeri ryan #michelle hurd #raffaela musiker #Picard #Star Trek

[treason-and-plot]

REPLIES TO CONNOR FIGURING THINGS OUT AND SOME UNRELATED WAFFLE!

First off, I'd like to express my heartfelt appreciation to @mysimsloveaffair @dandylion240 @hurricanesims @bool-prop @simbico @windermeresimblr @oasislandingresident @pixelcurious @simlicious @simsdada @nectar-cellar @percosim @wannabecatwriter @ninjaofthepurplethings @muses-circle @zosa95 @simsdada @parystrange and @anamoon63 for your sweet well wishes on my flu post. I don't think I have ever had the legit flu before, although of course I have had my fair share of colds and viruses, and it really hit me hard. Worst thing was the fever and the loss of interest in everything. I still feel a bit weak and shaky but I'm 99% better. Thank you again for helping me get through it! I love youse all!🤗 Now, on to the replies to my last story post:

@justanothersimsblog

Why lie about it? Just be the supposedly proud you are of being the side piece

Because it matters to her what Connor thinks of her despite her denials. That's also why she didn't have a cigarette on the way over, in case he smelled it on her ;=)

@wannabecatwriter

Truth hurts, especially when someone smart confronts you with it.

This particular situation must be very unsettling for Saffron, who's used to being the smartest person in the room!

@echoweaver

Well, being that she's a high school student, the other explanation would be that he knows his peers would be creeped out regardless of his marital status -- as they should be.

I don't know if that would be a deterrent to be honest- at least not amongst Aussie men. In my experience they would be high-fiving him and offering their congratulations, as vile and depressing as that sounds!

@queeniecook

Hahaha, I love this!

@oasislandingresident

I am waiting for Saffron to either burst into tears or bust out of there tbh

Saffron bursting into tears would be epic. I can't remember an occasion that she has ever burst into tears! You're probably in a better position than me to remember if it's ever happened, lol!

@simsaralove

There’s no fooling Connor!

Try and fool Perceptive Sims at your peril!

@ktarsims

LMAO - Deny it all you want because you don't want him to know, Saffron, but Connor's very perceptive. You might fool him into thinking you don't know the guy's married, but he's certain of his facts. (He's right, too.)

Also I get the feeling that once Connor has made up his mind about something it's virtually impossible to get him to budge!

@sweetnovember77

First of all, it’s none of Connor's business. Saffy, you do not owe Connor an explanation. Most, if not all, of your mistakes can be excellent learning opportunities. If Connor wants to be with you, make him earn your love. —Not badger you for it. He needs to back off.

Except they are playing Truth or Dare so she kind of agreed to be badgered when she signed up. I think one of the underlying rules of Truth or Dare is that you don't participate in anything that makes you uncomfortable and hopefully Saffy would understand that. And I totally agree that mistakes can be excellent learning opportunities, except Saffron hasn't yet realised that she has made a mistake...which is going to be potentially disastrous.

@kscriba

In a vacuum, if I didn't know Saffy, just based on her answers I would assume it's a sugar baby situation LOL

This made me guffaw! I really can't imagine Saffy being in that kind of situation though because she is so strong-willed and independent. I could actually imagine her being a sugar mama though once she becomes a wealthy and successful lawyer!!

@muses-circle

I can't decide if Connor is honestly interested in Saffron and going about it the wrong way, or if he's doing this to be a smut jerk. He's totally right (and the truth hurts), but at the same time, Saffron's there to hang out...right? IDK, something about this feels off.

I think the first line is true! It may not be immediately obvious because of his good looks and privileged aura, but he is definitely lacking in key social skills. But he does genuinely want to get to know Saffron better.

@batsheba

Busted! Me thinks Saffy do protest too much. Maybe she's a tiny bit embarrassed of the relationship or that Connor so easily figured it out?!

I also think she knows she is protesting too much but feels temporarily powerless to stop herself! Connor has really gotten her flustered. And she feels torn between wanting to stay and being scared she will expose herself further.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

WAFFLE:

So I've been reading some of the comments posted in response to that aesthetics poll, and people have had some very interesting and diverse opinions. Here are a few of my thoughts.

As a storyteller my primary focus is on my writing, and editing my screenshots comes a very distant second. I have to confess though I once did try to download Reshade, around the time Sims 4 was released because as a Sims 3 blog I was hemorrhaging followers and I thought I had to up the ante as far as my screenshots were concerned to stem the flow. Anyway it froze not only my game but my entire PC, and I was so scarred by the experience I never tried again. I have never owned Photoshop either. I use Picasa and Pixlr to edit my pics and I'm generally happy with the results although I am envious of certain Simblrs who manage to combine lush photo editing skills with engrossing storytelling! But if anyone ever came into my ask box and criticized my screenshots I would reply that virtually all my creativity is expended on my writing, sorry, and if you're not following me for my Sims story you may want to reconsider that decision!

I'm probably not typical of most of the community either because I don't *get* a lot of the aesthetics that garner hundreds of notes. For content to resonate with me it has to touch something emotional, and a picture of a Sim with no context just isn't going to do that for me no matter how amazing and beautiful the edit. I'm here for Sims stories, and legacies and gameplay that communicate the lives and loves and all the idiosyncrasies and quirks of our Sims, no matter what iteration of the franchise you're into!

#replies #blather

[leighlew3]

For some reason I couldn’t send the link of this post but I could download the picture and send it (hopefully)

This is what I was references in that ask to you lol

Ah. And... yeah. A painful and unnecessary creative choice.

Look, overall I'm loving Picard, despite quite a few issues with some creative choices and contradictions, because this nostalgia is incredible and so appreciated and being able to witness these characters in action again has been WONDERFUL.

That being said... well, I'm about to launch into a ramble.

Buckle up, and keep reading if you'd like...

Picard had an ICONIC legacy female character in an interracial wlw relationship with a dynamic new Black female character -- both women over the age of 50 no less, an amazing thing to explore on screen -- and it worked. And so many fans loved it and felt represented and thrilled to kingdom come. And it fit with the Star Trek brand of inclusion and acceptance in a modern society. It also made Voyager fans of 25 years feel vindicated and seen, having Seven not only confirmed as sapphic, but actually exploring it on screen and finding love, even if a "happy ending" for Seven was never in the cards for many reasons, they could have explored why instead of just sweeping it under the rug off screen and reducing it to one awkward glance between them, a joke from Worf, and that was it. Seven and Raffi deserved better. Queer fans deserved better.

Alas, they tossed it in the trash for no valid reason at all, and at the worst possible time in our current social and political landscape of an outdated and frighteningly dangerous resurgence of homophobia, transphobia, etc. Life imitates art, and art imitates life. And thus, now we see conservative-run media companies catering again to the vocal, hateful little groups and extremist far right fear mongers. There is a very obvious bias of late again against LGBTQ content (especially wlw due to the frightening rise in misogyny yet again lately) across nearly every channel and streamer and studio.

For that matter, even beyond LGBTQ stories, there's also a significant reduction in the exploration of ANY sexuality on screen across the board lately, even for cishet couples. We somehow went from Hollywood being absurdly and unfairly exploitive towards women and putting actors in uncomfortable and unnecessary situations, to some sort of bizarre, puritanical, utterly sexless exploration of romance on screen. And even a reduction of romance entirely in many cases, for that matter. We went from one extreme to the other, and it's absolutely nuts.

Anyway, back on the topic of Picard, the two actresses who previously were captains of the ship and ALL about the pairing have since seemingly now had to backtrack, make excuses for this bizarre decision, or just not speak on it at all. And that's beyond sad.

And again, it makes me concerned that if Seven does get her own spin-off or is a part of a new spin-off again, they'd likely not include Raffi nor explore Seven being with women further. Which would just be LITERALLY going backwards in time to the days of Voyager where many (not all) straight male fans tried to claim her as theirs and theirs alone while reducing her to just "the hot Borg in a cat suit" even though everyone else knew she was three dimensional as hell, one of the best written and acted characters in franchise history, and inherently representative of the LGBTQ community.

Anyway, I really really hope they prove me wrong and Saffi get a satisfying ending in this show, and if nothing else, even if they don't have a future together in other series, any other shows at least continue to embrace Seven's pansexuality. It's important.

Alas right now my trust in creatives in the TV space who are under the pressures of conservative-run media conglomerates... is limited. Even once seeming allies are showing sides to themselves lately that are... concerning, to say the least. People who previously would tell incels to F' off, and weren't afraid to stand up to and block phobes on Twitter are now blocking queer fans for just asking "WTF?" about queer favorites being sidelined or ships being tossed in the trash. People who previously seemed to truly see and value queer fans are now bordering on just using them for clicks and stringing them along on likely hopeless efforts regarding show survival. And people who actually do mean well and usually stand up loud and strong for LGBTQ audiences are suddenly growing very, very quiet if not even in some cases TURNING on their queer fans entirely as TPTB remove more and more wlw content from airwaves and streamer services.

It's all very disheartening. As a writer who has had this conversation so often with producers and executives, I GET IT. The fight is NOT an easy one. And most the time inclusion efforts are flat out shot down. But it feels like so few people are walking the talk anymore. People who capitalized heavily on LGBTQ characters and ships and fans for a few years when it was hot are now turning their backs when the going has gotten rough. And that's frustrating for us all.

But, the good news: these things are often cyclical. So if everybody can hang in there, stay strong, and fight the good fight online and IRL, rock the VOTE, etc and drown out the hateful voices that want the LGBTQ community silenced or worse, then I believe we can set (or force, in many cases) the misguided, fearful, extremist-rightwing-catering media companies back to the proper side of history.

#picard #star trek picard #seven x raffi #saffi #seven of nine #star trek #lgbtq #representation matters

[annikasevenshots]

Seven and Raffi in Picard S3: What We Know

So Matalas has hinted that Saffi will be addressed “during one of [his] favourite moments of the season”, but explained during interviews that their relationship would probably better explained once the entire season was over and we’ve seen the whole arc. When asked about Saffi on Star Trek Day, Jeri and Michelle had giggled coyly, saying, “You just have to watch the season!” This leads me to believe that Saffi will have an arc, so I’m just going to track what we know, week by week, to see how it’s been designed to unfold.

Episode 1: Seven and Raffi are both in Starfleet, but living very different lives. In No Man’s Land, Raffi had said that “the only thing harder than loving a civilian is making it work with a fellow officer.” So that’s a promising start :^)

In Raffi’s psych eval (which I think was done between S2 and S3, before she returned for undercover duty), she states that she is currently single, and expressed regret about her relationships. She also says “my girlfriend left me” to an Orion, but many have suspected that this is part of her undercover story.

Seven is serving as commander on the USS Titan and is evidently struggling to reconcile her identity and her loyalties. Reminder here that Raffi was the first in this series to note that Seven would make a wonderful captain - Seven attributes Picard and Janeway to pushing her to join Starfleet, but would Raffi have said anything for or against that? It’s important to remember as well that last season, it was Raffi who helped Seven come to accept her Borg side and to stop running from it. Will Raffi help Seven again? Will Raffi give Shaw a good bop on the nose?

Bonus: Before Raffi met Seven, Raffi had stalked Janeway and gotten court-martialled for it. This is just funny to me.

#saffi tracker #picard s3 #seven of nine #raffi musiker #star trek picard #picard spoilers

[aprill-99]

Can I get some people to read the book “Saffy’s Angel” and the Casson Family series by Hillary McKay this year? Purely because I would like to talk to some people about it sometimes and my family are the only ones I know who have read it. Some bullet points to entice you in:

1. It’s an amazing family story, both found and biological. The kids all drag in their friends to be part of the household and never look back. Not unlike the vibe in the Bridgerton books in that regard which is apparently what I look for in fictional families

2. The whole family of children is named after paint colors and each book changes to focus on the POV of a different sibling

3. The writing is lovely and funny and comforting

4. The audiobooks are lovely too!

A Quote from each book in order:

1. Saffy’s Angel

“It will be so sad."

"You have to be sad sometimes," said Caddy. "Whatever Dad says. He may be right. Granddad probably had totally lost his marbles, but I am still sad and I'm still going to the funeral. I shall be as unhappy as I like and I shall where black.”

&

“You’ve all been walking past me for years and years.”

“Is that why you ran me over with your wheelchair?”

“Not saying a word.”

“Is that why?”

“Without even looking at me.”

“I didn’t think it was an accident.”

2. Indigo’s Star

“If you were a Casson family member, for example, and Eve drifted in from the shed asking, "Food? Any ideas? Or shall we not bother?" then you either joined in the search of the kitchen cupboards or counted the money in the housekeeping jam jar and calculated how many pizzas you could afford. Also, if you were a family member you took care of Rose, helped with homework (Saffron and Sarah were very strict about homework), unloaded the washing machine, learned to fold up Sarah's wheelchair, hunted for car keys, and kept up the hopeful theory that in the event of a crisis Bill Casson would disengage himself from his artistic life in London and rush home to help.”

3. Permanent Rose

“It had not seemed to matter that Rose was only eight years old.

"More than eight," said Rose. "Nearly nine."

"Darling Rose, even almost nearly nine-year-old's don't fall in love," said forgetful Caddy.

"Who said anything about falling in love?" growled Rose crossly. "Falling! Falling is by accident! I didn't fall in anything!"

4. Caddy Ever After

“This is how I do special.”

&

“How can I give you nothing? Do you seriously expect me to buy nothing, wrap up nothing, stick a gift tag on nothing, send a card saying I really hope you like your nothing and lie awake worrying that the nothing I got you was the right color nothing you always anted? Have a heart!”

5. Forever Rose

“‘Rose,' he said. 'I suddenly feel old. I did not realize how the years had gone by. Do not try to look sympathetic because you cannot possibly understand.'

Yes, I can. I have just spent a week with Class 1 and they are like people from another plane, but really they are just me, five years ago. Indigo and Saffy and Sarah and Caddy have changed too. They are turning into the sort of people I used to call Grown Up and I cannot stop them, although I would if I could. I would slow them down, anyway. Sometimes I want to shout, 'Wait for me! Wait for me!'

Like I did when I was little and they walked too fast.

They always slowed down back then, however much of a hurry they were in, but I do not think they can turn back now.

So I do understand.”

&

“School is no longer a peaceful place where you can catch up on your daydreaming, forget your family ( or what is left of your family) and talk about things like Dr. Who and how to stop GLobal Warming (we all know how but we don't stop it) and if it is okay for boys to wear pink and all those other things we talk about.”

6. Caddy’s World - (Prequel)

“The genie was at work again, and soon Caddy’s world would be set spinning once again.”

#book recommendations #book reccs #saffys angel #permanent rose #the casson family #indigos star #caddy ever after #long post #quotes #book quotes #please please someone else get in to this #i just want to read #I just want to rant #found family #all the good tropes #positive disabled representation in a novel

[baubeautyandthegeek]

I posted 6,427 times in 2022

That's 2,206 more posts than 2021!

624 posts created (10%)

5,803 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@storiesofsvu

@clueingforbeggs

@kalibrate

@princessfrogs

@vaspider

I tagged 1,687 of my posts in 2022

#saffi - 119 posts

#fluffbruary - 112 posts

#raffi musiker - 96 posts

#seven of nine - 94 posts

#trektober - 90 posts

#star trek picard - 85 posts

#law and order svu - 61 posts

#star trek discovery - 37 posts

#katrina cornwell - 36 posts

#natalie engler - 34 posts

Longest Tag: 117 characters

#it's okay to be confused about why you get uncomfy but for the love of frick ask yourself why until you figure it out

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Pearls & Promises - Farah/Luna

A/N: Written once again as part of @fluffbruary​ in June

 Farah smiles at the sight of Luna, her fingers nervously toying with the same string of pearls she always wore, shy, even as she kept the date, her eyes dancing with fears that make Farah step closer, reach slowly forward, then pull, curling Luna safely into her arms. “Welcome home Love.” It's a whisper but Farah’s smile is pure and Luna finds she swoons just slightly at it. She’s used to harsh or angry but with Farah it is soft and sweet and warm, loving. She’s safe here, warm and confident and she relaxes with each small stroke of fingers over her back. She’s safe and finally truly home. She sighs when she sees her gift later, Farah’s gentle touch settling her even as she allows Farah to change the pearls, the old set discarded, a remnant of his power, the new freeing her even more as she waits and relaxes into her lover’s touch all over again. She is free and she will be cherished here.

15 notes - Posted June 29, 2022

#4

Summer Solstice, Sweet Seductions & Sabrina - Zelda/Lilith

A/N: Written as part of @fluffbruary​ in June.

Zelda isn’t sure what makes her turn to Lilith for help with Summer Solstice. She knows it’s a risk, the Queen of Hell is never going to make her life easy, but somehow she doesn’t care, she wants Lilith’s help, wants her company more than ever. The solstice comes and goes, the event wild and wicked and wonderful. Sabrina leads the charge of witches and women and Zelda takes her chance to slip away to Hell, to rest with Lilith, her head in her Queen’s lap, eyes closing at the softness of her touch. She’s longed for this, she realises, longed for hope and freedom and love, now she has it.

18 notes - Posted June 29, 2022

#3

Stolen Shirts (Suit You) - Alex Cabot/Casey Novak

Warnings: Hinted smut but none shown Summary: Alex and Casey face another day in court, Casey stealing Alex’s shirt for a little more confidence. Written to fill the free space in @sweetprentiss​ ‘s Spring Has Sprung Celebration Bingo.

“Are you wearing my shirt?” 

Alex is almost smirking at the sight of Casey’s shirt, far too long, hanging over the top of her skirt, moving to help her tuck it in. Her voice soft and light as she spoke.

“You know I actually have some shorter than this…”

“They don’t…”

Casey’s words dry up and she sighs, shrugging a little.

“I prefer this one.”

Alex smiles slightly then, leaning down to kiss her softly, stroking hair behind Casey’s ear, smiling when Casey blushes a little. Casey had always been a little nervous about coming back to work and if stealing a shirt made her happy then it was worth it.

“Go get them Case…”

She spoke softly. Stepping back to let Casey free, smiling when Casey moves away before moving to get dressed, preparing herself to follow Casey to the courts, she’d sit with the rest of the team, watch Casey at work, support her as much as possible.

She is quiet as she settles to watch Casey at work. She knew, too well, how tense Casey could get, especially now, but she was also sure Casey would do perfectly well. The day ends and Casey comes home with Alex. She had won but she felt like she’d been put through the ringer.

She’s quiet when she’s changed, Alex smiling as she also changes, the two settled to rest, Casey relaxing into Alex a little more when she starts to fall asleep, content simply to be with Alex. They face plenty of challenges, they have since the first time they met, and Alex smiles softly when Casey sighs happily.

“You are amazing Case…”

“Stop it…”

Alex smiles then, letting it go and choosing instead to just settle into the warmth of Casey’s closeness, curling her arms around Casey when she shifts into her lap, nestling into Alex’s neck with a huffed sigh.

“Do I at least get to take you to bed?”

Alex teased, grinning when Casey rolled her eyes and sighed.

“Alex Cabot, sex fiend.”

She teases softly, her voice gentle.

“Fine… but you’ll keep those hands to yourself unless I say otherwise… right?”

“Of course.”

Casey’s smile is softer as she stands, leading Alex through to the bedroom, noting how tightly Alex held onto her hand. She knew why but she never once complained. Alex needing to feel safe tended to lead to tight hugs and sweet lovemaking, it wasn’t too hard to believe she was okay that way. Casey never once complained. She liked being held, held tightly to Alex, she definitely loved the way Alex looked at her like she couldn’t stand to lose her, even when she was shy or sore or just needing a little more TLC than usual.

They settle easily, of course. Alex behaving herself but clearly missing the body contact even as they change for bed, one more change of clothes in a long day. Casey curls into herself when she settles, smiling when Alex settles beside her before finally giving in and rolling to kiss her deeply.

“I love you Alex.”

18 notes - Posted March 7, 2022

#2

The Nightmare - Alex Cabot/Casey Novak

A/N: Written for @storiesofsvu​ ‘s Birthday Bingo 2022. Set post Ghost.

It starts when Casey wakes to Alex shaking, almost whining with the fear running through her. She’s used to this, the pain, the panic, the misery of Alex’s whines, but this time she waits, knowing she has to let Alex work her way through. Casey moves all the same to settle at Alex’s side, waiting for her to wake, which she does soon enough. Alex half-bolts upright, then sinks back with a choking sigh. She hates these nights, but she can’t help being thankful for Casey watching over her. “C’mere…” The word is soft and Alex sits up again slowly, her eyes locked on Casey, aching for warmth but still unsure what Casey has planned. “I mean it ‘Lex… C’mere…” Alex hesitates and Casey sighs shifting to settle beside Alex in the bed properly, her voice softer this time. “C’mere, let me hold you…” Alex moves then, curling herself into Casey with a half-sob, burrowing her face into Casey’s neck, relaxing when Casey’s grip curls tightly around her, her breath coming out as a huffed sigh. “M'sorry…” “For what? Needing a little tenderness?” Casey murmurs softly, running soft fingers through Alex’s hair. “I told you ‘Lex… I’m here whatever you need, never apologize.” Her voice softens as she murmurs a softer… “I’ll always be here.”

27 notes - Posted April 20, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

A pre-curser to a fic... 

40 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #wow... #not a single saffi reblog on that top 5...

[shioritsumi]

what if i made Vox Machina next gen kids?

bc that's....what i do, I guess? I have a problem, but at least it's consistent. I don't have them all figured out in my own AU for the kids, BUT....

first off, with the clearest image is the Vaxleth kids

Twins Saffron and Cinnamon aka "Saffy" and "Cindy" -Saffron is a Warlock/Necromancer, and Cinnamon is an Arcane Trickster -Saffron claims he holds the brain cell, and tbf he does tend to be less impulsive but he also has the tendency to overthink and panic easily once things stop following his plans; Cinnamon responds better under pressure even if she's generally more impulsive and chaotic altogether. -When they were kids, they were both impulsive and loud and whiny, then there was....an incident when they were teenagers. Long story short, Saffron almost caused a zombie apocalypse to try to get Vax'ildan home out of desperate loneliness and the overwhelming necromantic energy did physical damage and Saffron ended up having to spend a year with Percy and Vex relearning how to function physically again. His vocal chords are still considerably weaker than they used to be, so he's now literally the quiet twin bc he physically cannot raise his voice. -Saffron met his warlock patron during the incident, and the entity has basically decided to adopt him (Chaotic Neutral death entity from beyond time and space) -Cinnamon is a people person who lives to make people smile, she's a born entertainer -Both twins are v flexible for various reasons; Cinnamon does a lot of acrobatics, and Saffron actually built up a lot of flexibility stretching during rehab and he continues to do it daily to guarantee he doesn't lose any of his physical capabilities. -Saffron has a gun, a small one. Cinnamon is not trusted with firearms. She agrees this is fair, she shouldn't be trusted with them. (Saffron isn't sure she should be trusted with her own dancing lights or fire knife magic)

I liked the idea that both twins independently had twins on their own (however, my concept for Vex'ahlia's twins with Percy are much younger than the other kids, since Saffron and Cinnamon are at least in their 20s or so and they're on the younger side of the group)

I'm still working on fleshing out the other Next Gen kids, but rn i also have....

-Nana Shorthalt, Pike/Scanlan, Glamor Bard, tiny adorable idol and mom friend bc someone has to be -Halley Bridger, adopted daughter/student of Grog, half-orc half-elf barbarian who loves cute things but her definition of cute runs the gamut

#shiori rambles #vox machina next gen #oc stuff

[mowu-moment]

hello! me and @aethernalstars collected some data on strategies for EnchantWorldle, and i wrote up a nifty little paper about our findings!

give the full thing a read if you'd like, though i'll put the gist under the cut:

we played three strategies for 20 days each: Shardless Agent, Saffi Eriksdotter + Reduce//Rubble, and Pure/Simple + Temmet, Vizier of Naktamun.

of those, Temmet performed the best with a mean of 4.48 and a variance of 0.5; Saffi had a mean of 4.825 and a variance of 1.01, and Shardless Agent had a mean of 4.625 and a variance of 1.99.

due to Shardless Agent's high variance, we cannot say with confidence that any one strategy is the best, though we have about 85% confidence that Temmet is better than Saffi. which i feel bad about cuz Saffi was the strategy Nim came up with but that's the numbers.

also, if you'd like to improve the confidence and help figure out where Shardless Agent sits in all this, run some trials yourself and sent me the data! play each one for an equal amount of days and send your scores, i'll add them to the list, and once there's significant enough change i'll report back. having two players kinda sucks, i know i felt i did way worse with Saffi just personally. again, sorry Nim.

#mtg #enchant worldle #once we actually go over confidence intervals for means in stats class i'll send it to my teacher #...that's why i went so in-depth on how enchant worldle works at the start

[devour-cheats-engine-uz]

All Trainers (A-Z) - FLiNG Trainer - PC Game Cheats and Mods

💾 ►►► DOWNLOAD FILE 🔥🔥🔥 The world was born in the ancient age which was a time of chaos and overrun by demons. Though sturdy and animated, the first generation of demon had vulnerable souls that fear loneliness. Out of the fear, they chose to devour every single soul in the world. Soon demons started to devour one another, making the world a place permeated with shattered souls. The fall of demons became inevitable. At that time, a giant spirit tree appeared, absorbing and reshaping shattered souls, and bringing everything back to life. The spirit tree that saved demons is the tree of source. Blessed by the tree's energy, demons didn't need to devour souls, yet they were also bound, forever close to the tree. Countless demons dwelled near the spirit tree, leading a life of peace. Saffi's flight brought hige energy impact to the tree of Source, dividing the once stable power of souls into two parts, one brought by Saffi to infinity beyond the sky, the other falling down beneath the earth along with the spirit tree. The demons that fell with the tree had to live in the underworld devoid of any light. They began to wane as the spirit tree weakened, leaning against the tree and falling into deep slumber. The underworld with sealed demons is called the dark source. As aeons passed, the demons dwelling in Eternitus went through chances both in their appearance and souls, causing their demonic traits to disappear. So they started to call themselves Angels. While the demons left behind on land began to devour one another again, resulting in their own doom. Souls of these departed demons started to split, the part that represents wisdom combined with mundane substance giving birth to humans and elves, while the part that represents strength creating beats and the Fallen. Cheat secret gift code Castletale hack. Castletale recipe 5: enter password cheat-code, redeem-pass Remove ADD block!

[ddagent]

A Year in Review - Writers Version

Rules: pick your favourite sentence from a work you posted / wrote during a month of 2020! if you didn’t write anything in any particular month, don’t worry! tell us what you were doing or use it as free space for runner-up sentences. after that, tag 8 people or more to do the meme!

I know I am hideously late but I’m battling this sinus infection and only just now catching up. I was tagged by the amazing @aviss, and I am tagging anyone who wishes to do it! <3

January: Head, Hand, Heart (Chapter 15)

Brienne kissed Jaime in the spot where they had first met, where they had first embraced. Where they would stand as Queen and Prince Consort to preside over the kingdoms. Where they would present their first child to the Court. Where Jaime would tell their three children for the umpteenth time how he thought their mother the Maiden when she entered this very room. Brienne kissed Jaime in that spot until they both decided to return to their bedchambers and satisfy their hunger. They left the ghosts behind them as they went and began their new life together.

The Lion and the Beauty. Oathkeeper and Stormbreaker. The Golden Prince and the Warrior Queen.

February: I Can’t Get No Satisfaction 

“How gallant of you. Let us see how long it lasts before all you think about is your want; your need to touch your clit, fill that cunt of yours.” His teeth toyed with his bottom lip. Brienne loosened her grip. “You think I want to fuck you? I have no desire to bed anyone other than my sister, but I equally have no desire to walk all the way to the capital with my cock stiff and my balls blue. I am merely suggesting, my Lady, that we give each other a helping hand to take the edge off.”

“I won’t untie you.”

“There are other ways I can touch you, my Lady. You can straddle my face; let my tongue give you the orgasm you so desperately need.”

March: Sugar

Jaime’s forehead furrowed, and those beautiful lips fell into a frown. “Can you give us a minute?” he said to the waitress and, after she took her leave, leant across to Brienne once again. “You’re not used to asking for the things you want, are you?”

She bristled at his tone. “And I bet you never have to ask; they’re just given to you.”

He grinned. “Most of the time. I was lucky enough to be born into a family with more wealth than I can ever spend. My sister’s bought vineyards; my brother a boat or three. I’d like to buy your time and your company.”

“Why me?”

April: Table for One

As she completed the last table of appetisers, Podrick returned. He was smiling. “Table fourteen said to give his compliments to the chef.”

Brienne frowned. “He hasn’t even eaten it yet.”

“He said if you cook steak as well as your scallops, he’s in for a good meal.” Podrick closed the distance between them, so the rest of the kitchen couldn’t hear what else he had to say. “He also said that if he’s lucky enough to get a third course, he’d like the chef to bring it out herself.”

“Oh.” Her cheeks flushed. “I see.”

May: Chariot

Jaime pulled his car up in front of the Tarth Limited building; the blue-tinted windows shining in the King’s Landing sun. “We’re here.”

“Thank you,” said one of his passengers; a tall, striking woman with the bluest eyes Jaime had ever seen. Her companion, a shorter, plain-looking man whose face Jaime wouldn’t be able to pick out of a line-up, said nothing. “Have a good day.”

The woman went to open the rear door, only to find the handle stuck. Not wanting yet another comment about kidnapping passengers and holding them in his back seat, Jaime flung himself out of the driver’s side and opened Widow’s back door. While some (his mother, for example) found calling his car Widow’s Wail macabre, Jaime found it suited the faulty door, rusted exhaust, and the tendency for the radio to splutter to life at the oddest moments.

“Sorry about the door,” he offered, allowing the young woman to make her escape. “Have a–have a good day.”

June: Pride

Cat grinned, and Jaime just sat, watching his daughter smile his smile. She had her mother’s eyes and nose; both of their desire to wave around a stick at other people carrying sticks. But that smile was all him. She grinned at her lion cub, who had her mistress’ eyes, and Jaime knew the exact moment his daughter settled on the perfect name.

“Sapphire,” she said; the cub sneezing in response. “Saffie for short.”

“I love it. And your mother will love it, too.” He stroked his daughter’s head, earning a content smile from his child and a bop of the head from the newest addition to the family. “Now, will my little lions finally go to bed?”

July: Sparkline

“Nineteen Reasons why Hand Jaime Lannister is the sexiest politician in Westeros,” Brienne teased as Jaime entered her office. The Sparkline article was open in her browser; a topless photograph found on his brother’s social media reason number one. “And then there’s the one about your beard.”

Jaime ran a hand over his face as he slumped into his familiar seat beside Brienne’s desk. “Ah, yes. I saw that article.”

“They suggested you should call it Ovary Killer.” A clear riff on Oathkeeper, the ancient Valyrian sword that hung in the Queen’s office. It’s sister blade hung in his own. He’d like to take it to his laptop most days. Over her screen, Brienne caught Jaime’s eye and grinned. “The press is rather fond of you.”

“As they are of you, Your Grace. You and…Renly.”

August: Score

“Touché, Ms Tarth,” Jaime said; his smile fixed in place as he chatted with her. “Manager of the Evenstar and so desperate to meet me that you did a job one of your staff could have easily done.”

Brienne snorted. “I don’t believe in hiding in my office, Mister Lannister, especially during a busy weekend. Believe me, the highlight of my day will be watching you lose, not seeing you in a small towel.”

“Oh, so you did see me in that towel?” Jaime Lannister teased his bottom lip with his teeth, and her traitorous stomach somersaulted. “I should thank you again, Ms Tarth. My lucky gloves were in my room; without that key, who knows how many of your goals I would have nearly let in.”

“I don’t think your hands are nearly as good as you think they are.”

September: Mixed Doubles

The half-penny dropped, and Jaime had the sudden urge to throw himself in front of a fire-breathing dragon. Anything other than face this realisation. As Jason re-joined Brienne and Melara in the living room, Jaime gripped the kitchen island and tried not to scream. “Oh, Gods!”

“Now, Jaime, this isn’t something to get worked up about,” his father declared; a wry smile forming on his features. “In actuality, it’s rather amusing.”

“We’re not even on the same continent as amusing! Tyrion told me to wait a day.” Jaime turned sharply towards his brother. “Wait a day, you said. Ask her then if you think it’s right, you said. Well during that day, Brienne fell for the direct-to-DVD version of me!”

Tyrion held out his hands; trying to placate his brother. “Jaime, I know you’re angry—”

“—angry; I’m not angry. I just want to hit you, wait a day, and take you to the maester then!”

October: N/A

[I didn’t write anything in October. Not even headcanons :( ]

November: Not Marriage Material

“Is she presentable?”

From behind the handmaiden, a choked snort of derision echoed out into the hallway. Jaime, Lord of Casterly Rock, just smiled. The handmaiden, short of stature but sweet of face, merely nodded and allowed him entry. Her gaze lingered on his crimson tunic and golden curls before the girl took her leave; no doubt to return to the kitchens and wax poetic about the Golden Lion. Jaime took a moment to bask in the admiration before he entered his oldest friend’s chambers.

Brienne was sat in front of the looking glass, staring unhappily at her reflection. Jaime crossed the room and pressed his lips to her freckled cheek. “Lady Evenstar.”

“My Lord.” Brienne sighed as he perched himself atop the dresser. “Who is it today?”

December: A Sevenmas Carol

“I don’t deserve this.”

“Did I deserve my end, Kingslayer? Did my husband and sons? Does your sister, after all she’s done, deserve to die in your arms like lovers from a song?” Lady Stark blinked away a tear. “Life is not given to the deserving. It is not a case of what you deserve. What do you want, Ser Jaime?”

He did not even have to think. “Her.”

#ship: braime #moi #writing

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Bake away the weekend with confetti cakes

There's soooo much cake in the kitchen, it's unreal. On one hand, I enjoyed making the cakes, but on the other hand, what were we thinking? I don't mean that in a bad way, I mean that as in it's so much work kind of way. Overall, all that hard work and effort was worth it as we got to enjoy a masterpiece at the end.

I think it helps that it was a group collab instead of a solo venture. If it's just me I probably would've used a cake mix and add one layer of frosting and call it a day. In this case, we had some friends visiting the camp and we all felt like doing something creative, so that's how this baking marathon came to be.

Although it was a lot of work - and a bit frustrating at times - making all these cakes from scratch and decorating them was fun and rewarding. To be honest though, I won't be doing that again anytime soon just because it takes up a lot of stuff and time, plus it's something you really have to be in the mood for. Still, I'd be up for doing something like that again, just not anytime in the near future.

Again, we made so much cake - I'm actually kinda worried that it might go to waste. Hopefully that won't be a problem, but still, seeing that much cake is a bit intimidating.

Visiting us at the camp is Sandi, Lea, and Chase, Lea's partner at the agency. Lea and the others have talked about Chase so it kinda feels like I sorta know him even though we didn't actually meet until now. Lea has been trying to get him to join her on her adventures with us but their schedules never aligned. I remember a couple years back he was planning to meet up with us but couldn't make it at the last minute. So it's good to finally meet him after all this time!

It's a bit unusual to see Sandi and Lea without DJ, Dell, and Em. I think this is the first time I haven't seen them all together. It's funny how you're so used to seeing one thing that when the pattern changes, it takes a bit of readjustment. Although Sandi, Lea, and the others are known as a team, they don't actually see each other too much outside of that.

They're practically family so they do keep in touch often but since Sandi accomplished her main purpose, everyone sort of went their separate ways. Not exactly disbanded as they still get together for missions once in a while, more like the whole crime fighting/retrieving lost treasures team is secondary compared to everything else going on in their lives. They pretty much admitted on separate occasions that the main reason why they continue taking on missions here and there is so they can have an excuse to hang out. Nothing like a good ol' heist to bring the team back together again!

When Sandi isn't out on missions, she's helping her mom out at the orphanage they run together. She says that she's really considering the idea of going to school to become a teacher, which I can totally see her doing. Problem is, how to get in, especially with an unusual background like hers. While reuniting with her mom has helped Sandi fill in some of the gaps of her past, there's still a lot missing and there's probably no way of knowing since her father's been dead for years. In short, what's stopping her is basically a potential legal nightmare - and given her history with some certain agencies, that just complicates things further.

Speaking of Sandi's complicated and cluttered past, an interesting development popped up. Something about an old acquaintance who turns out to be a half sibling through her father. What makes it complicated is that they both had agreed to leave that part of their lives behind so finding that out has left her with mixed feelings. It seems that the more she tries to dig up information on her father, she just gets left with more questions.

Lea and Chase are currently looking more into it, but it's a long shot. Apparently, Sandi's father was pretty much living a double life as his colleagues were unaware about Sandi and her mom for a long time. As for Sandi's friend, she, Lea, and Chase believe that it's likely that her dad never knew about him, or else they would've found something by now. In fact, how this information came out was pretty much an incidental finding, a random occurrence that wound up opening a can of worms.

Aside from that, things at the agency have been the same. Lea, as usual, solved cases with her vast knowledge on art and history while Chase did his part by wreaking havoc and catching the culprits. Sandi pops in once in a while as an informant, helping out in her own way. Given how they all are now, it's hard to believe that Lea and Chase used to work against Sandi and the others.

Them coming here was a bit of an impromptu trip. Lea and Chase had a bunch of vacation days they need to use up so they decided to plan something together. Then Lea extended the invitation to the others but they were unable to make it aside from Sandi, making it one of the rare occasions where it's just the three of them.

Chase has been described as a loose cannon, mainly by Lea. Compared to Lea and Sandi, he does stick out for being a bit extra, not in a bad way though. More like he tries, but ends up being clumsy and a bit of a mess, the kind who wants to help but ends up getting in the way. He and Lea are pretty much the brawn and brains kind of partnership where it doesn't seem like they'd get along but they surprisingly work together well. Sandi likes to roast him, as does Em and DJ, but they do admit that once they got him on their side instead of him working against them, he's actually a pretty cool guy.

Hanging out with them, especially outside of a mission or event has been fun. It's interesting and entertaining seeing Lea and Chase's dynamic - I can see how they get along at work. As for Sandi, she and Chase have a fun sibling-like kind of relationship where they mess around and banter with each other.

For some reason we all felt like we're in a baking mood so we watched a bunch of cake videos for inspiration. Between the four of us, we consider ourselves decent bakers so we decided to make a cake from scratch. It's not as intimidating as one would think, but it takes some prep work. But other than that, it's mostly just mixing different ingredients together.

Since we were feeling ambitious, we went for a bit of a complex recipe. By that, I mean we used a recipe from a pastry chef that takes a bit more work but isn't too hard to make. We went for confetti cake since we had all the ingredients. Plus it's been forever since I've had confetti cake and Sandi's never had it before.

And if baking a cake from scratch wasn't enough, we decided to make a bunch and decorate them! The first cake, our trial run, was a huge success so we made more. The recipe is really good - the cake is light and fluffy with a sweet vanilla flavor. Definitely something I'll be making again.

Now I want to try other recipes by Saffy like her chai coffee cake and Boston cream pie. But like I said, as much as I enjoyed making and decorating all these confetti cakes, I don't plan on doing that again anytime soon. You just gotta be in the mood for it, ya know?

We also used Saffy's recipe for merengue buttercream, which can be a bit finicky as timing's important - another reason why it's better to work in a group instead of solo. The result is a sweet, cloudlike frosting that goes well with the cake - or any kind of cake really. It's also fun to mix the frosting with food coloring, especially with the texture of the buttercream.

Along with decorating a bunch of small cakes, we put together a three tiered cake and went all out on that. I don't know how cake decorators do it, especially with big cakes. Shoutout to Chase and Sandi for doing most of the heavy lifting - literally and figuratively!

Decorating the cakes were a lot of fun. It kinda turned into a mini campsite event with various campers decorating their own cakes. Working on the big cake was fun and challenging but I think I prefer the simplicity of working on a smaller cake. Not too shabby for a bunch of first timers when it comes to the centerpiece!

As for the cake scraps, we made cake pops and decorated those too. It's so interesting seeing everyone's personality show through cake decorating. Lea goes for patterns, the methodical, organized type. I don't know how she has the patience to do all those details! Sandi likes to go for color with rainbows and star sprinkles. She also has a thing for galaxy and marble patterns. Chase goes for simplicity, usually with a layer of frosting and a bunch of sprinkles scattered about. And I, of course, went with florals and stars, though I still haven't quite gotten the hang of piping frosting yet so the flowers are a hit or miss. At least I can never go wrong with starry sprinkles!

Overall, I think the baking process was my favorite part of the whole thing. There's just something so satisfying about mixing together ingredients and watching them come together. Baking, as frustrating as it can be sometimes, is also fun as well as rewarding. It's a good thing we have Lea here to double check the measurements as that made things go by a lot more smoothly.

After the unveiling of the masterpiece, we threw a little party - with a feat like that, how could we not celebrate? At least we made a dent in our cake supply!

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

[treason-and-plot]

REPLIES TO ROY & JOËL

@streetlightaurora

This is not going to be pretty 😬

@wannabecatwriter​

At least, he’s planning to tell the truth. Let’s see if he does.

The news about the baby rattled him, knowing that Anita had taken a white llama. He knew he didn’t have any choice. 

@sweetnovember77​

ROY BETTER PREACH!!! Before you judge him, make sure you’re perfect. Saffy hunted him down. Therefore, Roy is NOT the problem. Don’t hate the player, hate the game. 😂 #TeamRoy!!!

@shhhushhh​

Your last ask reply and this post made me remember why I love Roy so much. I’m still struggling with his decision to reunite with Sao and divorce Sonia (I know it’s best for everyone but I struggle with changes). But he is good and sensitive man when it comes to his close people. He is just a man, not a saint (which makes him a hindred times more lovable).

Roy in a nutshell. ;=) Thank you, Beautiful Mirena.❤️ 

@shhhushhh​

Also I feel Roy is not only a friend who will come at night to help you change a tire, but bury a body as well 😁🖤

I loved this so much I’ve added it to his bio!

@windermeresimblr

Nope, Saoirse, stay out of this. I mean, unless Joël’s about to put Roy in the hospital.

Roy is the love of her life, I think it makes sense that she would go to him when he’s hurt?

@shhhushhh​

You wonderful post put me into contemplating state… We people (apart from those mythical emotionally stable ones that scare me to death…) we always have that urge to put the blame on someone, very often on ourselves too, for what is happening to us or around us. And so many times shit just happens and noone is guilty. But it seems so hard to accept it.

Like in the given situation I realized - noone is actually guilty for anything. Not even Anita, as I stated before out of anger for emotionally harassing her child. She didn’t know she was pregnant  and there is no guilt for wanting to have fun. As there is no guilt that already adult Saff wanted to bond with her mother. Or Roy for supplying the pills - the Saffron would have probably found from another place.

And I feel JoJo has just realized it and that made him feel so helpless. On a human level I relate to him so so much in that very moment. Shit sometimes just happens…

Thank you, thank you for getting it. Yes, nobody in this situation is guilty, they are all victims of an unfortunate series of events and bad timing, but it is normal to try and apportion blame, to find a scapegoat. It’s an example of the just-world fallacy, as you described so perfectly. When people fall victim to misfortune, they tend to look for things that might explain their circumstances. It’s almost a knee-jerk reaction, to look for someone or something to blame rather than simply attributing something bad happening to bad luck. I think you’re right and Joël does realise that the world is intrinsically unfair and unjust, but his fear concerning the baby overrode his commonsense. Lashing out at Roy gave him a brief respite from the terrible truth, that nobody is responsible for stuff going wrong in the universe.

@wannabecatwriter​

Well! I must admitt I didn’t see this sort of a reaction coming. Then again, even calm people like Joel have a limit and once they get pushed past it… Roy just found out about all that.

Heh, Joël is a Scorpio and I found this quote which I think describes him perfectly: For the most part, Scorpios have a knack for remaining composed. … However, there are a few special instances when Scorpios get stretched to the limit and they lose their temper. When this happens, it’s best to run as far away as possible. 

@phoenixfg​

😬😬 Saoirse(how do you pronounce her name?? I’ve been meaning to ask!) needs to stay out of it for now. These two have some talking to do.

According to this site, the correction pronounciation of “Saoirse” is “Ser-sha” — it rhymes with “inertia.” And I think it was a natural reaction for her to run to Roy’s side when he was hurt. 

@streetlightaurora​

Saoirse doesn’t know what they’re fighting about and it’s instinct to try to butt in when someone you love is getting beaten. Roy’s taking it because he knows about Anita. I just hope that Joel understands Roy’s point - if Saffy was determined to get white llamas, she would have. Better to get it from someone who will give it to her without having to deal with someone looking to either take advantage of her or one that would sell it to her cut with God knows what.

Thank you, I agree with you wholeheartedly. And thank you for getting that Roy is copping it sweet. Hopefully common sense will prevail once emotions aren’t running so high, and Anita and Jojo will appreciate that Roy may actually have done them a favour by getting Saffron high quality drugs! 

@zx-ta​

The thing is I think Roy actually did the right thing, if he refused Saffron’s deal she would have asked someone else and probably got some very bad drugs from them.

@sweetnovember77​

Well, Roy appears to understand that he had it coming. So, he has no choice but to take it like a man.

That’s right. Knowing about Anita’s pregnancy, he had no choice but to cop it sweet.

@kscriba​

jojo and anita are a dangerous couple for roy’s beautiful face.

Lolololol! And I’m sure a lot of people will disagree, but I think the integrity he displayed in this scene made him even more beautiful. 

@dreamsascend​

Oh my god

@dreamsascend​

I think the right thing to do was, to not give saff the drugs and tell her parents she was seeking to buy or have it in her grasp. But, like the rest as stated, she might go all out to get it nevertheless by god knows who and it’s better to get it from roy. I don’t know. My conscience would never permit to give drugs to a minor let alone anyone. I blame the adults. They should know better.

Yes, Roy did make an error of judgment there, but he could argue that he was acting in Saffron’s best interests (which was what he was trying to say before Joël punched him) and Saffron is 18, technically not a minor. I think though that even if the issue of Anita being pregnant didn’t exist, Joël and Anita would still be upset that Roy procured drugs for Saffron. It just feels morally wrong, not matter how well Roy and Saffy could try and justify it. I think it’s also worth mentioning that Roy is a party animal, and his POV concerning party drugs is probably different  from most people’s. Which I’m sure is why Saffron targeted him!

@muses-circle​

“Totally going to fully confess” that’s bull, Roy. You were never going to confess. You’re only doing it now because you got caught. I admit that watching JoJo sock the snot out of Roy was satisfying 🍿, but I do wonder how this is going to impact their friendship.

But he was going to confess, as outlined here. Granted, he wouldn’t have confessed if he hadn’t learned that Anita was pregnant, but he still had every intention of telling Joël when he arrived at the apartment. 

@alittledaylight​

Good! I know they will kiss and makeup as good friends do but Roy needed to see the raw consequences of his actions for a change - Joel’s pain! 😤

It was not the most intelligent decision for Roy to obtain drugs for Saffron, not matter how he tries to justify it….I think he has learned a very valuable lesson here, whatever the outcome.

@simsloveaffairreblogs​ 

I knew that Joël was mad, but I didn’t see this coming! Roy has gotten it from Anita and now Joël. I’m guessing that eventually, he’ll see that his actions have real consequences. I have a feeling that the baby will be just fine though 

Yeah I wonder if Saffron or Jared will be next in line to let Roy have it, lololol! I think too he was genuinely shocked and blindsided by the repercussions. and fingers crossed for the baby AND Roy and Joël’s friendship!

#replies

[annikasevenshots]

Star Trek Picard: S2E7 Reaction (spoilers!)

crying at how the therapist had to pull on his shirt when he stood up. starfleet uniforms amiright 😭

Jean-Luc "acted out The Three Musketeers with Elnor" "quotes Shakespeare on the daily" Picard is bad at telling stories? Sure Jan

all due respect, Picard's childhood backstory is just something I'm not... Interested in? Give me La Sirena buddy

HELLO??????? I GASPED when Seven put a hand on Raffi's back???? Like I had to go back and rewatch that????

Seven and Raffi <3 <3 <3

"we're the main event" 🥺

Guys... I love them. So much. :')

Also looks like they had their outfit change from night to day, imma assume they had some sleep as well. Now that it's canon, fic writers can take the wheel lmao

Star Trek *Picard*: talks about Picard

me: boooo give me the space lesbians

Okay they canonically raided the lost and found, fic writers take note

THE WAY TERESA SLAMMED DOWN HIS HELMET PLSLSLSLALSLSA

In what world would Teresa know more about using a neural oscillator (something she's never seen before) than rios??? y'all on your last brain cell 💀

RAFFI BRINGING SEVEN COFFEE?????? HELLO?????? 😭

Seven talking about remembering Borg encryption code... yes very sexy love that for you queen

"You never don't touch your coffee" SEVEN LOVES COFFEE?????????? 🥺🥺🥺

RAFFI KNOWS THAT SEVEN LOVES COFFEE????? GOODBYE 😭

RAFFI KNOWING WHAT SEVEN USUALLY DOES AND WHAT SHE'S USUALLY LIKE,,, your honour they are Married

Love language check: we've had touch and acts of service so far,,,

-blinks- is this how we're portraying ✨mentol illness✨ in women ummm

like please stop romanticising this shit and using allegories and dungeons and mOnsTeRs or whatever

Rios drawing La Sirena with chalk WHY IS HE SO CUTE 🥺🥺🥺

Cool everyone has daddy issues for Picard

Didn't Rios call his former captain dad as well???

Place your bets y'all, will Raffi and Seven kiss first, or will Rios and Teresa?

Or god forbid Picard and Tallinn

A Borg Queen Loose in Los Angeles" is my memoir title okay

(also me: has never stepped foot in LA)

"Jurati with a side of Borg Queen or vice versa" A+ one-liners there omfg

ngl that's a really cool transition to Agnes? i don't hate it ooooh

Also it's so so cool that PatStew got his wife to sing in this???? She has a really good voice omg

Heard it was her original song as well and it BANGS

Okay but why do they use black eyes for everything???? First Control in Disco, then Borg Queen..,...,

Okay if they could do that for Tallinn why can't they just give Elnor a hairstyle that covers his ears. Or a headband. Why just fridge him 😭

Guinnan hellooooooo! <3 So great that she's back!!! and her sass is a+

Seven smashing a bottle is something that is so personal to me,,,,

My brain literally bluescreened when she did that. Like Seven said... endorphins

"What are you doing" "Understanding" Seven being so big brain is just... I've missed this side of her and I love love love that they're showing this instead of just angry!tired!jaded!Ranger Seven

"We're witnessing the birth of a new queen"

me: has seen it from miles away

also me: OHHHHH SHIIIIIT

i've said this once i will say it again, W H Y is the police/federal agents/whatever still in star trek picard???

also???? the episode's over already?????? man they cut off at the weirdest times ngl

In conclusion, Saffi really delivered for me this episode, which we love. Loved Sunny Ozzell's cameo. Not hating Rios/Teresa subplot, but man, Picard's storyline fell flat for me.

#star trek picard #s2e7 #reaction #seven of nine #raffi musiker #jean luc picard #cristobal rios #agnes jurati #sunny ozell #saffi #r/7 #raffi x seven #seven x raffi #raffi/seven #seven/raffi

[wildplumbobs]

Powers: The Bay Post Office

There’s no doubt that on the Powers’ Family ship Mum Saffie is the Captain. She makes sure her scatterbrained husband, Steve, gets his papers proof-read and submitted to the university on time. She’s the local post-mistress and shipping forecast-reader. She’s always on hand to help her neighbours. She knows everything that’s going on. 

Except what’s going with her sons? They couldn’t be more different! Andy looks set to be a sport’s star and is super popular at the high school. What about Alfie? Saffie just wants him to make some friends… other than Toby the family cat. Keep reading to get to know the Powers Family!

Saffie Powers: Self Assured / Family Oriented / Creative

Saffie prides herself on being able to take on anything. She and Steve met at a young age whilst they were at college. She admits that their first boy, Andy, was a happy accident. However he was still unplanned and, at a young age, Saffie decided to drop-out of college to stay home with him whilst Steve went on to get his Archeology degree. 

However Saffie wasn’t content to be a stay-at-home mum and, even though the first few years were a tough time, she still found time to study independently. By the time Andy was toddling Saffie knew enough about business to take on the failing Bay Post Office. Soon even the crustiest of old sea-dogs coming in for their mail came round to her cheerful, efficient manner. 

Now secure financially Saffie and Steve decided it was time to try the parenting thing again. Andy was followed by little brother, Alfie. Saffie loves ruling the roost looking after her boys and single-handedly running the post office. She even finds time to get involved in local crafts at the Maker’s centre! She’s one busy lady!

Steve Powers: Genius / Geek / Clumsy

In contrast to his wife’s fiery confidence Steve is more retiring and a man of few words if he’s in strange company. He relies on Saffie to keep him on the right track as he could very easily lose himself in a book all afternoon instead of submitting that paper which was due or grading term papers.

Steve teaches History at the local school whilst working towards his PHD in Archeology. He can always be found squirreled away in his study, hunched over his computer or peering into a book on an obscure dig. It’s what makes him happy and he’ll readily admit that he’d be useless at anything else!

Andy Powers: Active / Goofball

Every high school has their athletic star player and Andy Powers most certainly is it. He’s inherited his mother’s determination when it comes to sports and is on many of the school’s sports teams. He’d be on all of them if some didn’t clash! Being such a good sport’s player has made him popular at school and this is helped by Andy’s easy-going, good sense of humour. He’s a likeable guy! 

He helps his mum out at the post office by delivering the newspapers to the locals on his bike. Local teens (and lonely house-wives) are often spotted hanging about at the mailbox waiting for Andy to come riding up with a copy of the paper and an award-winning grin. For sure he’s got all the town wrapped around his little finger!

Alfie Powers: Loner

Alfie takes more after his dad than his mum. Unlike his brother Alfie prefers his own company without an adoring fan club. He likes to spend time in his room wherever he can. He likes drawing, writing and coming up with strange worlds with his toys.

This is starting to worry his mum who likes to chivvy him out to after school clubs and scout meetings whenever she can. All she wants is for Alfie to make friends but he already has all the friends he needs: his best friend, Toby. “We can’t all be like Andy.” Alfie shrugs to his mum.

Toby Powers: Free Spirit / Affectionate / Clever

Toby is a Manx cat. Saffie and Steve adopted him when they saw how quiet and shy Alfie was. Toby has helped draw out Alfie and the two are inseparable. Toby likes to sleep in Alfie’s toy-strewn room. 

When Alfie is at school Toby likes to slip down to the beach and fish about in the rockpools. He’s a free-spirit at heart. This goes back to his kitten days when he was a stray. However he’d never leave Alfie. He understands that the kid needs him. So he stays.

Tess Martin: Self Assured / Loves the Outdoors / Child of the Ocean

As if running the post office and taking care of the family wasn’t enough, Saffie also keeps a B&B on their property. It was once an old smokehouse from the days when the cottage was owned by a fisherman. It fell into neglect but, never one to turn down a challenge, Saffie restored it and now rents it out. 

The current occupent’s name is Tess. She’s new to the town and has decided to stay for the summer at Saffie’s B&B. No one really knows where she came from. She just showed up one day walking unsteadily down the beach road into town when she saw the sign for the post office and made her way there. Some people joked that she was a mermaid like the old stories who’d come ashore… but that’s silly! Mermaids don’t exist… right?

#sims #sims 4 #ts4 #ts4 story #ts4 edits #ts4 screenshots #ts4 simblr #sims 4 simblr #sims 4 edit #sims 4 screenshot #ts4 screenshot #sims cas #sims edit #brindleton bay #lifeonthebay #meet the bay neighbours

[commandertheory]

Modern Horizons Commander Set Review

The Commanders of Modern Horizons

Urza seems very, very powerful. He runs tons of 0-mana artifacts so that almost every card you cast nets mana, and then relies on Blue’s efficient card draw (like Windfall, Time Reversal, etc) to draw into more mana, cards, and eventually tutors, which will get Paradox Engine. Paradox Engine usually means game over, because every spell you cast off of Urza’s last ability will untap all your mana sources.

Urza, Lord High Artificer

This is a sweet commander with a lot of combo potential. My current list here:

Yawgmoth, Thran Physician

It’s also a decent opportunity for an Old Phyrexia theme deck, if that’s your jam.

The passive pinging could be very good if you slap a Basilisk Collar or another deathtouch equipment on him. I think this could build into a grindier sort of goblin deck, in contrast to Krenko’s goblin aggro or Zada’s goblin combo. I think Mons could makes use of sweet sac outlets like Arms Dealer, Shivan Harvest, Dark-Dweller Oracle, and Goblin Trashmaster to control the board and get value.

This can be solid if you draw the right engines. Beast Whisperer, Vanquisher’s Banner, and Guardian Project are good here, as is Evolutionary Leap. The main thing you want to avoid is playing out your hand of bears, having no way to refill it, then getting your board wiped.

Ayula, Queen Among Bears

I’m pretty sure you can get this guy down consistently on turn three. There are many good cheap creatures in these colors (well, most are in Green) and there are a decent number of cantrips that dump a ton of cards in your graveyard like Grisly Salvage. It’s not going to be hard at all to cast some combination of two creatures and a Grisly Salvage variant in the first three turns of the game, and once you’ve got your 8/8 beatstick, you can pump him up with Voltron enablers like Inquisitor’s Flail, Glistening Oil, etc. I’d also run cards that draw tons of cards off of big boys, such as Hunter’s Insight, Hunter’s Prowess, Rishkar’s Expertise, etc.

This was explicitly designed so that you could play all the crew members of the Weatherlight in one deck and then tutor them out every game, and although that build is super flavorful, I don’t think it’s going to be very strong (and I’m sure it’s not the most powerful thing you can do with her).

The build I’ve been messing around with uses a ton of legendary permanents that cantrip or scry (such as Fblthp, Oath of Nissa, Oath of Jace, Search for Azcanta, Growing Rites of Itlimoc, etc.), as well as legendary permanents that accelerate you, such as the Radhas, Rishkar, Neheb, Dreadhorde Champion, and Azusa, Lost but Seeking. Of the latter category, one of the most important cards is Selvala, Heart of the Wilds, which scales with Sisay to generate enough mana in the right colors to activate her.

Generally, I think the play pattern is going to involve spending the first three or four turns casting your legends that offer card draw, card selection, or acceleration. Then you’ll cast Sisay and basically pray that she lasts until your untap step. Once that happens, you pass with WUBRG up. If somebody tries to mess with her, you can grab Saffi and save her. If not, you can grab Selvala, and if nobody kills Selvala before you untap, you get to really go off. By this point, Sisay should be a 6/6 or so, so you can activate Selvala for six mana and use Sisay to grab Paradox Engine. Then all you have to do is cast a spell and Selvala untaps. Then you can activate Sisay again to grab Rishkar, who will buff Sisay and another creature and provide the green mana needed to repeatedly activate Selvala.

Then you cast another spell, untap Selvala, and you can activate Sisay again, who will now be large enough to grab Bolas’s Citadel (thanks to Rishkar’s counter). From there, you can cast cards off the top of your library to net mana with Selvala, and if you ever get landlocked, you can activate Sisay to shuffle it away. You can also search out legends like Azusa or Erebos to help clear lands off the top of your library so you can continue to combo off with the Citadel. The win condition isn’t super clear at this point, but I’m guessing once you cast most of your deck you can find a way to kill your opponents.

Note that while this all sounds very powerful, there are a bunch of moments where your opponents can jump in with spot removal to ruin your plans. Try to play around removal accordingly and limit the amount of time Sisay is on the battlefield but not actively comboing off.

Sisay, Weatherlight Captain

Although it doesn’t work as a universal tribal commander, Morophon does build into a unique deck. If you run 50 or so creatures of the same type and use Morophon to make it so that all of those creatures cost zero, then you just need a draw engine like Guardian Project, Beast Whisperer, Vanquisher’s Banner, Kindred Discovery, or Glimpse of Nature to draw through your deck and combo out.

Humans have more than three times as many Morophon-compliant members (meaning their cost is reduced to zero by Morophon) as the next best type, which means that you get more Humans that are also Wizards (17), more Humans that are Legendary (16), more Blue Humans (26), more multicolor Humans (43) and more Humans that have two or more power (47).

“Why are those characteristics relevant?” you ask. Well, having a large number of Human Wizards allows you to use Azami, Lady of Scrolls as an additional draw engine. Having a lot of Human legends allows you to use Reki, the History of Kamigawa. Having lots of Blue Humans turns on Dire Undercurrents. Multicolor Humans trigger Tome of the Guildpact. Finally, having lots of humans with two or more power means you actually have lots of humans with three or more power, thanks to Morophon’s buff. This allows you to make use of Elemental Bond and Garruk’s Packleader to keep the combo going.

All this means that you’re waaay less likely to fizzle if you’re running Humans compared to any other creature type, as you have access to more draw engines because of your deep card pool. Once you have one draw engine, you’re likely to keep going long enough to assemble a pretty large board state. Once you have two engines, you’re likely to cast your entire deck.

I’ve built a rough list that goldfishes pretty well. Be warned, however, that if your opponent has spot removal open the turn you cast Morophon, you’re going to have a bad time. If they don’t, you’ve got a good shot at winning.

Morophon Humans

Slivers have often had trouble dealing with board wipes (as have most nontoken, non-Voltron aggro strategies), so I like that they’ve been printing Sliver commanders to address this problem. Hivelord was a good attempt, but what tended to happen was that people would find a way to remove it and then wipe the rest of your Slivers. The First Sliver may be more effective because it turns every Sliver into many Slivers, so you can build an army while still sandbagging a bunch of cards in your hand.

The Maindeck Cards of Modern Horizons

In this set review, I’ll be using two five-point rating scales to evaluate the nonlegendary cards, one that measures how many decks a card is playable in (we’ll call that “spread”), and one that measures how powerful it is in those decks (”power”). Here’s a brief rundown of what each rank on the two scales means:

Spread

1: This card is effective in one or two decks, but no more (ex: The Gitrog Monster).

2: This card is effective in one deck archetype (ex: self-mill decks).

3: A lot of decks will be able to use this card effectively (ex: decks with graveyard interactions).

4: This card is effective in most decks in this color.

5: Every deck in this color is able to use this card effectively.

Power

1: This card is always going to be on the chopping block.

2: This card is unlikely to consistently perform well.

3: This card provides good utility but is not a powerhouse.

4: This card is good enough to push you ahead of your opponents.

5: This card has a huge impact on the game.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

As one of the rare Angel token generators, this will probably find a home in Lyra Dawnbringer. In other decks, the +1 is mostly a blank, the -3 is not super powerful, and the emblem puts you close enough to dead that the right removal will still finish the job.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

The deck that runs this wants both a huge number of cycling cards (more than the 10 or so that you can sneak in via cycling lands and staple effects like Cast Out) and a bunch of ETB creatures. I’m not sure that deck currently exists (and if the EDHREC stats for Astral Slide are an indicator, it doesn’t).

Spread: 2

Power: 2

I’d consider running this alongside commanders with really powerful ETB triggers, such as Azor, Tazri, Lavinia 1.0, Lena, Nazahn, and Niv-Mizzet 4.0.

Spread: 5

Power: 3

We’ve stated before on the podcast that White should have good removal like this (I think we may have floated the suggesting of a Banishing Light with flash), but Wizards hasn’t gotten around to printing a critical mass of the staple effects it has access to. I’m glad to see that Wizards is working to address the imbalance and I hope that we start to see some of White’s other gaps being filled in (such as a third good instant-speed creature removal spell or a second good Disenchant).

Anyway, the vast majority of White decks are going to want this card. Beast Within sees play in 30,000 decks on EDHREC and Chaos Warp sees play in 20,000.

Spread: 3

Power: 1

The ability to protect itself is what made Mother of Runes such a champ; it invalidated spot removal (and other effects) unless you were willing to cast a board wipe or spend multiple spells on Mom. In contrast, this card is much easier to deal with and so it’s not going to see nearly as much play.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

Reaper King will happily trade one of its more expensive Scarecrow for a 2-mana Vindicate, and this may see play in Arahbo since it attacks for six on turn 3. I’m not sure there are other White tribal decks that would be satisfied with a vanilla 3/1, however.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

4 mana is a bit much for a single changeling, but for two, it’s a bargain. Getting double Reaper King triggers seems great and it’s 3 vampires for Edgar Markov. It’s worth noting that 29% of Ally decks on EDHREC run Allied Reinforcements, and this is essentially the same card. Similarly, 43% of Knight decks run Call the Cavalry and 38% run Gallant Cavalry.

Spread: 1

Power: 3

I’ve often said that anthem effects need to be at least +2 power to be worth a deck slot in Commander because of the high life totals and multiple opponents. This guy clears that bar and should be a great addition to go-wide Cat decks like Kemba, Kha Regent and Raksha Golden Cub.

Spread: 2

Power: 1

Journey to Nowhere hasn’t seen much play and requiring snow lands restricts you to color identities that can afford to run lots of basics. However, this effect is cheaper than we normally get (with the exception of Chained to the Rocks), and being an Aura makes it relevant for Sram decks.

Spread: 1

Power: 4

This seems very good in Teshar, Ancestor’s Apostle, as you can use it to tutor out a 0-mana artifact creature and sacrifice it to keep your opponents from interacting with you for the turn. Then you cast your 0-mana robot to reanimate him (thanks to Teshar’s ability), and then search out another 0-mana robot. Sacrifice him again, reanimate him again, and then tutor out Glint Hawk. At that point, you have infinite sac fodder, as you can sac Glint Hawk to an Altar of Dementia or whatever, reanimate it by casting Memnite, and then Glint Hawk picks up your Ornithopter when it enters the battlefield. Then Memnite resolves and you’re essentially back where you started, except your opponent has milled a few cards. Continue until your opponents are dead.

Spread: 4

Power: 2

This is much closer to Lignify than it is to Darksteel Mutation, and it’s worse off for it. Not making the creature immune to most removal spells means it’ll be pretty easy for its controller to unlock it and go back to playing as normal.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

Some tribal commanders grant a reward that’s so powerful that you don’t care about any text on your creatures except the type line and the mana cost (ex: Reaper King). In those decks, cheap Changelings often outclass real members of the tribe. Because those decks are already running large numbers of Changelings, Valiant Changeling will often cost only two mana, making him one of the cheap changelings your deck needs.

Be aware that you need a critical mass of changelings for this to work, which might not be possible in restrictive color identities.

Spread: 2

Power: 1

I don’t think this is running as a narrow one-shot reanimation spell, but the combo potential is interesting.

It’s notable for going infinite with a Clone variant and a sacrifice outlet. Just copy Vesper and then sacrifice the copy, and the Clone will be in the graveyard in time to get brought back by its leaves the battlefield trigger. Repeat for infinite of whatever resource your sac outlet generates.

I’ve been tinkering with a Blue/White clone combo list for a while and this is the perfect addition to the deck.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

I really like that they’re printing cards that reward you for playing a monocolor deck. I was initially low on this card because three is a lot of mana to hold up for a counterspell (I usually stick to counters that cost 2 or less), but this does offer a lot of versatility and the options of snagging a Sol Ring/Mana Crypt or digging for an answer makes up for the mana cost.

Spread: 2

Power: 4

Decks built around Wheel effects (such as Niv-Mizzets 1.0 and 3.0, The Locust God, Nekusar, and Urza, Lord High Artificer) are going to love this card, especially because it interacts really well with other Wheel effects (provided they’re discard wheels and not shuffling wheels).

Spread: 1

Power: 2

It’s one of the best Flying Men variants ever printed for Edric.

Spread: 4

Power: 3

I love Negate, and the option to tap out and still hold up one of the format’s best answers seems very powerful. I’d happily run this card.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

This card is essentially landfall - scry 1 in a deck with a lot of snow basics. Retreat to Coralhelm doesn’t see a whole lot of play, and that has an untap effect stapled onto it. I’m also not crazy about the token, as the nature of the sacrifice trigger prevents you from cheating it out very early, and if your group can’t muster an answer to Marit Lage by turn 10ish, they deserve to die to it.

As a random scry effect, it might be worth running in the Circu Citadel Combo list I’ve talked about.

Spread: 2

Power: 3-4

The Mirran half seems great in Urza, Lord High Artificer as a way to double your mana production and create an army that will eventually win you the game.

I would use it for the Phyrexian half in artifact-centric lists with a self-mill component, such as Sharuum, Hanna, Ship’s Navigator, and Silas Renn.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

A Ninja that makes more Ninja is great for Yuriko, and I’ve also heard people talking about using it in Tetsuko Umezawa because it’s a 1-toughness creature with a solid saboteur effect.

Spread: 1

Power: 3

These are good in Yuriko and nowhere else. I like how the monoblue ones enable ninjutsu.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

I think most of the power of this card is in the body, which is not what you want to see on an ETB creature. That being said, Naban is in need of more monoblue ETB wizards and less competitive Inalla and Brago lists won’t turn up their noses at this.

Spread: 4

Power: 3

No matter what you’re trying to do, there’s a 2 CMC artifact that will help you. A short list of sweet targets for this guy:

Lightning Greaves, Null Rod, Mask of Memory, Strionic Resonator (y’know, for Brago), Winter Orb, Altar of Dementia, Scroll Rack, Grim Monolith, Konda’s Banner, and one day, Painter’s Servant.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

This could potentially be a useful sac outlet in Shirei, Shizo's Caretaker decks, although it is very slow.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

Kolaghan 1.0, Yuriko, Reaper King, and Beckett Brass provide really powerful rewards for committing to their tribe, so cheap members tend to get prioritized over more expensive cards because the power to mana ratio is inflated. Changeling Outcast is perfect for decks like these.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

I’m reading this as a cheaper Mutilate that can occasionally work in 2-color decks. I think the basic count in 3+ colors might be too low for this to be consistently good. This is probably the third-best board wipe in monoblack, after Damnation and Toxic Deluge.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

I really like the idea of running this card alongside Frenetic Sliver so that if someone casts a board wipe, you can flip a bunch of coins with Frenetic Sliver and save about half your slivers. Then on your next turn you can use Dregscape Sliver to return all the Slivers that lost the flip, then use Frenetic Sliver on those unearthed slivers before the end step to save about half of them (because Frenetic Sliver exiles the slivers, you’re fulfilling the requirements of unearth and you still get to bring them back). So any board wipe only actually kills 25% of your Slivers, on average.

This might be a little too hard to put together outside of Sliver Overlord, and it’s hard to evaluate how good Dregscape on his own. I would suggest testing him because he is one of the more interesting slivers and he does help with one of the deck’s biggest weaknesses.

Spread: 4

Power: 2

The power of these alternate cost spells is dependent on the value of the effect you’re getting. Considering that Snuff Out, Vendetta, and Dismember exist, holding Black removal up on an opponents turn is not very difficult, so this card isn’t especially necessary. I also wouldn’t expect to net a ton of card advantage relative to another spot removal spell, since most of the time you’re killing stuff on an opponent’s turn, it’s because of a single creature that’s got you worried.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

The high-powered tribal decks don’t have a lot of room for a 4-mana 2/2, but the promise of another member of the tribe can add some value to an otherwise bad deal, much like Irregular Cohort. I would try to find room for this in Reaper King.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

I would run this as protection against board wipes in Varina, Lich Queen. It also seems pretty good in decks with lots of Zombies and easy access to sac outlets, such as Ghoulcaller Gisa and some Grimgrin builds.

Spread: 1

Power: 3

This is both a cantrip and a win condition for Feather, the Redeemed so she should be happy to run this over a slowtrip or a 2-mana cantrip that doesn’t net you anything useful. Zada will also gladly find room for this card.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

It’s both a tutor and a recursion engine. Any Red-based artifact deck should be running this card.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

Red-based token decks (Zada, Purphoros, Krenko, Mob Boss, Marton Stromgald) won’t turn up their nose at three bodies for four mana. It’s not the best rate, but until we get some redundancy for Hordeling Outburst, it’s decent filler.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

Slivers that draw cards are relatively rare, so this one is worth paying attention to. I like that he gives you a way to dig through your deck for your most important slivers (potentially helping you cheat mana costs with Dregscape Sliver).

Spread: 1

Power: 2

Most planeswalkers don’t have abilities that are so powerful you only need to activate them once and the premier commander for superfriends is not Red. I don’t think this is a Commander card.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

The potential three bodies for three mana makes this appealing to Red token decks like Zada and Purphoros, and the ability to dig you out of a bad hand is a nice bonus.

Spread: 3

Power: 3

I feel like it’s probably correct to run this card. The sorcery speed prevents it from being a great answer to combos, but that never stopped Vandalblast or Shattering Spree. I especially like that you can discard it to Red’s many draw smoothers (e.g., Tormenting Voice, Cathartic Reunion, Faithless Looting, Wild Guess) when it’s not good and then get it back once it’s relevant again. I also love the idea of running this in lists with a self-mill component.

Spread: 3

Power: 4

This card completely negates the danger of flooding out. It also has powerful synergy with Crucible of Worlds, Life from the Loam, Ramunap Excavator, Rings of Brighthearth, Dakmor Salvage, Splendid Reclamation, and many, many more cards. Plus, if it’s ever not good, you can easily cycle it away, so there’s very little risk to running it in your deck.

It’s good in many places, but it’s especially good in the following decks:

Lord Windgrace: Runs pretty much every card mentioned above and he can recur the lands you cycle.

Neheb, the Eternal: This deck always have tons of mana but has trouble finding gas. Tectonic Reformation will make it a lot easier to find ways to spend your huge spurts of mana.

Grand Warlord Radha: Also pretty good at generating mana.

The Locust God: 1 mana to get a locust is a pretty decent rate, and it’ll help you dig to stronger draw spells. May also be good in Niv-Mizzet, the Firemind and Niv-Mizzet, Parun decks.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

This card can singlehandedly dig Red out of a manaflooded game and in the games you don’t need it, you can pitch it to one of Red’s many cheap rummaging spells. I would happily run this in any monored or Red/White list.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

Ayula will definitely want this, Lord Windgrace will be indifferent, and The Gitrog Monster will be very excited. Most of the discard outlets that Gitrog runs as part of the Dakmor Salvage combo don’t actually net you anything useful (see Noose Constrictor, Wild Mongrel), so having one that generates an army is a huge boon for the deck.

Spread: 3

Power: 3

Can be found consistently thanks to Green’s many creature tutors, and does a great job of shutting down decks that rely heavily on artifacts.

Spread: 3

Power: 3

Five bodies and 9 power is a great rate for 5 mana. I’d happily run this in any Green token deck.

Spread: 4

Power: 2

I don’t think Return to Dust is as good as it used to be. It’s great that this will never be worse than a two for two, but I would still rather run a Nature’s Claim or Return to Nature over this card. (There’s something to be said for the “free” aspect of these cards though, and this one can just stop combo like the blue one, so that might be worth it in some play groups for the peace of mind)

Spread: 1

Power: 2

Thanks to @follower-of-liliana for pointing this one out. Sasaya, Orochi Ascendant decks running snow Forests can use this to up their number of lands in hand.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

I’ve been a big fan of Somberwald Sage and this is mostly an upgrade in monogreen lists. It seems especially good in Ghalta; this, a 1/1 mana dork, and 4 lands are all you need to get Ghalta down on turn 4.

Spread: 1

Power: 3

Both Selvala, Heart of the Wilds and Marwyn the Nurturer add mana based on your creatures’ power, so upping your commander’s power by 4 or 5 is a solid deal for 1 mana, especially if you’re trying to combo off with Umbral Mantle or Staff of Domination. Note that this boosts base power and toughness, which means that it stacks with Marwyn’s +1/+1 counters and pump spells.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

This effect is comparable to frequently-played cards like Wood Elves (16k decks on EDHREC) and Farhaven Elf (9k decks on EDHREC), but I think this effect is slowly becoming less goodstuff and more of a card for Elf/Druid tribal. I think the format has been shifting toward cheaper accelerants like mana rocks and mana dorks and away from three-mana rampant growths.

Anyway, it’s pretty safe to toss this guy in Ezuri and Seton, Krosan Protector.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

Gorm the Great and Kynaios and Tiro of Meletis (and Ikra Shidiqi, sort of) have huge asses relative to their mana cost, and might be interested in trying for big butt voltron. They are on color for Assault Formation, and Kynaios and Tiro also gets High Alert, uncommon Huatli, and Arcades, the Strategist. Speaking of Arcades, this protects him and turns him into a 3-turn clock if you’re using him as your commander.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

These cards may not be great, but they’re significantly better than most spiders, which means you get to increase the quality of your Ishkanah deck (or your Morophon spider deck, I guess).

Spread: 2

Power: 4

I would definitely run this in Kruphix and Rosheen Meanderer, and I’ve also heard of people using Wort, the Raidmother as an X-spell commander.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

This is exactly the sort of card that Hogaak is looking for.

Spread: 2

Power: 1

Throughout spoiler season, I’ve been stressing that vanilla changelings can be quite good if the tribal reward is strong enough. This card seems to have been created to test where the threshold between playability and unplayability lies. Making a 3/3 scarecrow and vindicating at instant speed is still quite strong in Reaper King, but the rate is so abominably bad that I’m not sure it’s worth it (though I do concede that it is better than both Volrath’s Laboratory and Riptide Replicator). I wish they had bumped this up to rare so they could put some more power into it, as cutting a single mana off the casting cost and activation would drastically increase the number of decks for which this would see play without making the card broken.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

There are 8 Scarecrows, 10 changelings, a robot that pretends to be a Scarecrow while distributing counters, and a land with all creature types that cost 2 or less mana; the Farmstead is not beating them out for a slot in Reaper King (unless you’re a scarecrow purist). Compared to the 3-drops, it’s definitely worse than Mirror Entity, Taurean Mauler, Adaptive Automaton, Scarecrone, Scuttlemutt, and Wild-Field Scarecrow. Other must-run Scarecrows include Irregular Cohort, Graveshifter, and Valiant Changeling (the latter because he’s essentially a 2-drop). That’s 29 Scarecrows that you’re putting in Reaper King before you get to this guy. So how many Scarecrows should you be running?

I haven’t played Reaper King so I can’t speak to the optimal number, but the average Reaper King deck on EDHREC is running 30 scarecrows. That leaves one scarecrow slot open, and the remaining three-drop scarecrows are roughly equivalent in power level. So, I’d run this guy because his art looks cool. Hope that helps.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

I would run this guy solely to grab Scrap Trawler, as it sets up a sweet value engine where every artifact you sacrifice gets you another artifact and a Construct. You can even tutor out Constructs with death triggers like Treasure Keeper and Workshop Assistant for additional value. The fun never ends!

Be aware that the levels of durdling I’m describing are only feasible in color identities for whom traditional routes to card advantage and tutoring have been barred; I’m thinking of monobrown, monored, monowhite, and red/white.

Spread: 3

Power: 3

When I saw Sword of Truth and Justice I had hoped that the other allied color swords were intended to support specific decks. Unfortunately, this one is more generally powerful and can fit pretty easily in any deck with a cheap commander.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

This is a great proliferate engine and should see plenty of play in Infect decks and +1/+1 counter aggro.

Spread: 3

Power: 2

The green ones are less good since that color has access to better ramp/fixing, but the rest are all solid mana rocks.

I would usually run these in addition to the signets. If I was cramped for space, then signets are generally better, but if I needed to sneak sources of colorless mana into my deck (say, to power an Eldrazi Displacer), then I’d prioritize the Talismans over the Signets.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

This guy is the best changeling because he can fit into any tribal deck and he’s super cheap, so Reaper King, Yuriko, Kolaghan 1.0, and Unesh are all going to be interested in running him.

Spread: 1

Power: 2

Quick summary of all the characteristics a deck needs to make use of this card:

Must be a tribal deck

Must be in B/W

Must have lots of sac fodder

Must have a commander that really needs protecting

Maybe Aryel, Knight of Windgrace would be a good fit?

Spread: 1

Power: 3

I don’t think Varina, Lich Queen is very interested because it competes with her on four and she wants to keep her curve lower than this. Still, he’s an easy fit for Yuriko.

Spread: 1

Power: 3

I don’t think it’s good enough for +1/+1 counter decks, since it’s a terrible topdeck. If this card makes an impact in Commander, it’s going to be as a cheap combo piece for Ghave.

Spread: 1

Power: 1

Baleful Strix sees a decent amount of play (7800 decks on EDHREC), but a fair portion of that is in artifact decks, and the Strix’s deathtouch is more reliable than this guy’s. I’d also argue that not all of the decks running Strix should be doing so, but that’s a topic for another episode. I feel comfortable recommending Strix in maybe Rashmi, since it has flash and generates value. If you’re still trying to make Kaseto snake tribal work, I would run it in there as well.’

Spread: 3

Power: 2

I prefer my pinpoint removal kill exactly what I need it to kill, rather than generating random value. Between Anguished Unmaking, Despark, Generous Gift, and all the great monowhite and monoblack spot removal spells, this card is not going to be able to compete, even with that sweet graveyard hate rider. If the first mode was Murder I would probably play it, though.

Also modes 3 and 4 are blanks and I’d only entwine if I was horribly flooded or had infinite mana.

Spread: 1

Power: 3

Volley Veteran underperformed but cutting its mana cost in half and granting it flash basically makes it a Terminate, although it’s a shame that there’s only one Goblin deck in the format that can make use of this guy (Wort, Boggart Auntie). On the bright side, Wort can really make use of this guy, as he has to be one of the best goblins to repeatedly recur with her ability.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

At first I wondered if there were any good ways to consistently prune your graveyard so only the good stuff was left, but then I realized it didn’t matter if you got everything back by pumping a ton of mana into it with Rosheen or copying it with Riku or Wort 2.0.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

It’s a cheaper Conjurer’s Closet for your blink decks.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

It’s a cheap Scarecrow for Reaper King, and although most of the cheap changelings we’ve seen so far haven’t been good enough for Najeela (as there are so many real warriors that offer useful abilities), I think the protection offered by this guy pushes him into playability for that deck.

It also ticks a bunch of boxes for the Morophon Human Combo list I mentioned above, as it’s a Wizard for Azami, it’s a blue creature for Dire Undercurrents, it has 2 power, and it’s free when Morophon’s out.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

I like this card a lot but it doesn’t do a great job of protecting itself; if I’m going to devote deck slots to land recursion, I’d prefer to use cards like Crucible of Worlds and Life from the Loam that can’t get attacked to death.

Spread: 5

Power: 3

These are all good, the Green ones a little more so because of Ramunap Excavator and Life from the Loam. The Red/White land is also a little better than the Black/White and Blue Red ones because it’s in a color identity starved for card draw.

Spread: 2

Power: 2

Snow mana is a big commitment, as it limits you to one or two colors. Being an artifact makes it relevant to Arcum Dagsson decks and being a creature while on the battlefield but not while in your library makes it relevant to Jalira decks. I’ll also see if I can squeeze in enough snow lands to make it playable in my Depala list that’s all Vehicles, board wipes, and manlands to crew the vehicles.

Spread: 2

Power: 3

Using this to repeatedly wipe the board with Phyrexian Scriptures or Pernicious Deed seems great, and if it’s your fateful hour, you can take infinite turns with Second Chance. There also a few more self-sacrificing enchantments that serve as spot removal, such as Seal of Primordium, Seal of Cleansing, Aura of Silence, and Seal of Doom.

You can also use it alongside one of the many good sacrifice outlets for creatures in order to reuse enchantment creatures with good Constellation triggers, such as Thoughtrender Lamia, Doomwake Giant, or Eidolon of Blossoms.

In contrast to these proactive uses, it can also be used defensively to reuse powerful enchantment value engines like Aura Shards, Rhystic Study, Spreading Plague, etc.

Spread: 4

Power: 3

It’s a strict upgrade over Terramorphic Expanse (60,000 decks on EDHREC) and Evolving Wilds (75,000 decks on EDHREC). I wouldn’t run it in 5C or 4C, but I can’t think of a reason not to run it in a two- or three-color deck. It’s notable that this brings the fetch count to 7 for monocolor decks, 10 for 2-color decks, 12 for three-color decks, and 10 for four- and five-color decks, which means that any multicolor deck in the format has access to a critical mass of fetches (hypergeometric calculator says you’ve got a greater than ⅔ chance of drawing a fetch by turn 3 if you’ve got at least 10 in your deck. I would expect more 2- and 3-color decks to take advantage of the fetch + Crucible of Worlds engine with the advent of Vista, and more monocolor decks may take the plunge, as well (especially if they’re already running cycling lands, Strip Mine, Wasteland, and/or Tectonic Edge).

Thanks for reading!

Let me know if a reblog or message if you disagree with any of my ratings or if you think there are Commander-relevant cards that I missed.

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#set review #edh #commander #mtg #magic the gathering

[deathbyvalentine]

Magic For Wolves

The first thing I did was bury the bones. Bones could be more effective than a fence, if you knew where to put them. So I took my ruler and measured six inches into the soil and dug there, small graves perfectly suited to the bones that would rest there. They encircled the house, only the overturned soil hinting where they lay. It was only afterwards it occurred to me that the circle looked like a target, the house sitting at the bullseye. I doubt it would have stopped me if I’d realised during. We were always targets, visible or not.

*

He was washing the dishes when I came back inside, tutting when I thrust my hands under the tap to get the thick dirt off my palms, splattering the dishes. He tutted but didn’t complain which was my brother’s personality in a nutshell. He quite enjoyed being long suffering, I suspected, and I gave him plenty of opportunities to be so. Or so he said. I was never aware of my being difficult until long after, usually when I had overheard some whispers from the in between the landing banisters. There had been less of that recently, due to him having nobody to complain to. I preferred it just the two of us personally. There was less chatter, less noise, less pointless static filling up the air and cluttering up my head. Sometimes we could go long days without talking, just sighing and tutting instead. It was like his own language. Mine was made up of chirps and clicks, copied from the birds in the thorny brush outside. He understood it anyway, I think.

The reason we were alone now is because I didn’t bury the bones last month and Saffy got got. Even though I liked it better now, I had liked her fine. She was tall and wore dresses that had been bleached paler by the sun. She laughed constantly which made my brother smile which made me okay. The morning after she hadn’t come home, I had found a pale yellow scrap down by the river, caught in the breeze. I knew it was from her favourite Sunday dress so knew she was gone. I gave it to Robert and he’s using it as a bookmark nowadays. 

I told him I was going to bury the bones today and he had nodded with those great brown eyes of his. His eyes reminded me of mud and the woods and the dark fur I only managed to see in flashes. Robert wasn’t a wild thing but I sometimes wondered if he was one when he was my age. I couldn’t imagine him as anything but what he was now, but he must have been smaller once. I wonder if he knew what I knew - about the bones and about the tree carvings, about the words you should say for luck and the rivers you should never cross at night. These weren’t the sort of things you learnt. They came to you, little flashes like silver fish. The kids from the village called me a witch but it was just common sense. The world around you talked and you had to listen and at the very least talk back. 

I had been smaller than I was when I realised how important it was. I had fallen asleep with the window open, even though it was winter. I had woken up shivering, the cold moonlight that had fallen through the window chilled me to the bone. I had gotten up, bare feet on the wooden floorboards. I padded over to the window. Things were different at night. All the grass and hills and trees were not the same ones anymore. They were dark or silver, some of them had faces and some of them weren’t there at all. The village was only just visible, nestled at the end of the long road. And the wind whispered, coming from far away. I almost fell asleep on my feet looking out because it wasn’t all scary. It was beautiful too. I could hear the river and the leaves moving and something underneath it all, something like the earth humming.

My eyes were just closing and I was swaying a bit on my feet when I saw it. Standing below, it’s eyes empty and silver. It didn’t move and neither did I. I think I held my breath. I knew it could hear everything. It could hear my heart and my eyes when they blinked and if I breathed it could hear that too. We looked at each other. We looked and we looked. Then there was a noise from deep in the valley and off it sprinted, quicker than quick.

In the morning, mother said I must have dreamed it, that the moon was hidden behind clouds last night to begin with and besides, who would be wandering around at that hour?

Well she died three weeks later, so what did she know?

*

The fence did its job admirably but I was running out of bones. You couldn’t use the same ones twice and though sticks with runes did an okay job, they weren’t nearly as powerful. So I asked Robert for money and went into the village. 

Usually we looked after ourselves. We had chickens and vegetable beds, but Robert said we weren’t to kill anymore chickens until next year and anyway, we needed things we couldn’t make. Things like soap and candles and matches. He said I could spend whatever was left after the list was bought, as long as I didn’t tell him what I bought. This worked for me. Things being secret made the magic more potent. 

I didn’t step on a single crack on main street but that meant I was looking at my feet which meant I walked straight into someone. They were putting up posters on the telephone poles that dotted the street. Nearly every single one was covered, not just by this newest poster, but by ten or so similar ones that had gone before. All with faces rendered in black and white, all missing. I knew were they were but Robert had told me that if I said so, it would just upset the people of the village.

The people of the village loved Robert. They said his red hair was lucky and with his temperament and our house any girl would be lucky to have him. Everyone thought he was going to marry Saffy so now she was gone, they were jostling for attention again. Sometimes we woke up to baskets on our doorstep, filled with jam or bread or flowers or love notes. I hated that - it meant I had to go and check all the way around the circle to make sure they hadn’t kicked up any dirt or disturbed the bones. It was stuff like this that made the village people go missing. No respect, no common sense. They didn’t even notice the world around them if it wasn’t written on a newspaper or banker’s letter. I didn’t mind the jam though, that could stay.

When I got home, I gave Robert his bag of boring things then took my bag of exciting things to my room. I had bought; one steak, a deck of playing cards, a new pen and a whistle. I had also found on the walk home a handful of blackberries, a dead cricket and several interestingly shaped stones. The stones went onto my collection shelf and the blackberries went into a bowl to be crushed later. Blackberry juice could be used to dye fabric or wood, staining it a deep rich purple. You could always tell when someone had been eating blackberries. It stained skin too, fingertips and lips especially. It wouldn’t wash away, not for a while, not even with soap.

When that was done, I went outside and tucked the steak underneath the elderberry bush. The sun was starting to be drawn out the sky, like poison from a wound, leaving only stars behind. I appreciated it for a moment, the lazy buzzing of sun drunk insects, then headed back inside. I barred every door and latched every window. That was the sort of thing you forgot to do precisely once.

*

I didn’t sleep well. Dreams plagued me and made me walk while still asleep in my bed, my arms and legs aching when I woke up. I inspected myself in the bathroom mirror after stirring myself. An anxiety overtook me whenever I could not sleep, caused by remembering how much she tossed and turned before she simply disappeared completely, as quick as a spell. I looked at my reflection for signs of her illness. But there was no feverish flush high on my cheeks, no white spots on my tongue. When I sneezed, no blood painted the handkerchief. Cheered by this, I rescued Hazel from under my bed and carried her downstairs.

There was a stranger in the kitchen with Robert. My eyes flickered to the back kitchen door, but it had been rebolted with no sign of forced entry or scratches. Robert was smiling, which both reassured and scared me all at the same time. The stranger was a man with blonde hair and grey eyes and grass stains on the knees of his pale suit. His fingers were resting against Robert’s wrist when I entered, like he was taking a pulse but he moved as soon as he saw me. I stood in the doorway, Hazel squirming in my arms until I dropped her. She padded across to her empty food bowl and looked at me balefully but she would have to wait.

The silence lasted longer than anything ever had, but it was Robert who spoke first. Apparently this man was a police man, checking up on the village and us, to see if we knew anything more about the missing people or if anyone had threatened us. Nobody had, not in a long time, so I wasn’t sure what he was still doing here and I said so. He laughed, though it sounded like a laugh on the radio and picked up his hat, sliding over a card to Robert and telling him to call if he needed anyone to talk to. Which was a stupid thing to say because Robert had me. I watched him leave, still standing in the doorway. Robert got up and began fussing over breakfast plates and bowls and not looking at me. A great and terrible passion rose in my chest (that’s what my father called it, a passion) and I got so angry I pushed the milk jug off the table so it shattered on the stone floor into a thousand shards, maybe more. Robert stared at me. 

“Ellen, what was that for? You know we don’t have another.”

“That was for Saffy.” It wasn’t but I wanted to see him flinch, and he did, his eyes going big and hurt. “Since you’ve forgot.”

“No I haven’t. I’m... I’m allowed to have friends.”

“I’m your friend!” I bared my teeth. “You know what happens to our other friends.”

“I...” He trailed off because he knew I was right. Triumphant, I snatched a piece of toast from the pile and went back upstairs.

*

I stayed awake until it was pitch black and the moon rose over the horizon. I wasn’t meant to, but sometimes it was okay to look. Sometimes. I peeked over the window ledge and they were standing there, like I knew they would be. More of them than the first time, the wind catching their hair and fur, even though I couldn’t see the grass moving with it. 

I felt a tug in my chest that I thought maybe was sadness when I saw the state of Saffy’s dress. She used to like to stay so neat, ironing it until it had no creases and brushing it free of Hazel’s fur. Now it was torn and ragged and dirty and even if it hadn’t of been, it would have looked all wrong on her because she looked all wrong. She looked like her skeleton was wrong for the body it was in and her eyes didn’t see me anymore. They all faced the house, their shadows being cast across the hills.

I wonder if Robert looked too sometimes, or if he felt too guilty about it all. Or maybe he thought I was the cursed one. Either way, he would fret. I came away from the window and crept into bed, falling into a sound sleep. Tomorrow, I would go to the pond and collect frogs. I would sleep well.

#prose #short stories #fiction #original fiction #spilled ink prose