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chubbychummy · 5 years

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Positive Week

This past week, I have spent only 2 out of 5 work days in the lab. I have otherwise been at some course in centre city (it’s about an hour away).This has been a good change of pace for me and tbh it just kind of pushes back the work I need to be doing but I think it is a much needed break.

Also a good chance for me to socialise — as I live outside of city centre, it is usually a lot of time/effort for me to get into the city. I have to plan for it. But spending all day here for the course, I was able to do things I would not have otherwise been able to doTuesday afternoon during the lunch break, I ran all over the city going to pharmacies trying to find T which apparently ran out of stock in all of France. I didn’t get all that I needed but it was enough so that was awesome. I won’t have to worry about that again til May.

Thursday, I had the chance to use my lunch break to change my transportation plan from monthly unlimited to what I should have had to begin with: pay as you go. I seldom use public transport since I usually just use my bike. I would have saved about 20€ a month which is nothing to shy from. But I won’t look at sunk costs I spent hat I could have saved. Just nice knowing that starting in May I will start saving money from this change ^^ I should have changed it many months ago (like a full year ago), but again, life came up and it’s hard to juggle everything I have going on. I’m just happy that in the future, I will not be spending unnecessary money on this

Tuesday evening I met up with Delphine. We just sat around and chatted for a bit - it was really low key. She was catsitting for a few days and I got to hang out with a super adorable and nice black longhair kitty (named Negro lmaoooo so they just call him bébéchat) Anyhow it was super super low key but it always just puts me in a good mood to see her. Later that night I went to the bar to a regular meetup type deal and chatted with some new folks I have not met before. Also relatively low key but it was just nice. ^^ Wednesday was a very inefficient day hahahh. (Monday was super super efficient- I worked essentially nonstop from 9am-7pm barely stopping for food. But I was on a good roll. Wednesday was not so efficient hahahh. But that’s okay.) crashed Wednesday night at 8:30pm and had a first long sleep in a week, which was good and my body needed it.Thursday back to the course — but it was a new course! Actually by the same instructor! I had not originally signed up for it but wanted to attend. And she said that she was looking for more students so I was welcome! Which was cool! Upside: I get to complete this course and add like 18h more to my training repertoire, it is in English so it’s easy for me, I am already familiar with the instructor, etc. downside: I still have some administrative stuff I need to sort out in centre city but I literally don’t have the time unless I take a vacation day to get it done, but I feel like I have too much work rn to try to take any day off in the next two weeks. This is my visa and residence permit thing. I needed to have done this two weeks ago hah. But anyhow. It was good that I got in this course - and how!

So there were two girls in this course also, one of whom talked to me (she’s very very talkative) and it was awesome! which is not very typical of a French person, but she did and it was awesome. (She is also fluent in German!)Anyhow the course was very cool and frankly I just felt good about the interactions. ÚwÙ Thursday evening, I had the second to last operation for my tooth surgery shitPutting in the anchor — it was back close to where I live which is 1hr away. So I hopped back on the tram then bus and made it there, got it done (it was fast!!) and it was only 19h20. There was some thing I had in my google calendar in centre city I thought I couldn’t go to cuz of the dentist thing but it was at 19h30, and honestly knowing French people, people always arrive fashionably late. So if I hopped right back on a bus/Tram from the dentist, I could get back to centre city by ~8pm so I did just that

The thing in my google calendar was at the Maison de Chercheurs, but my lab was having an outing elsewhere. So I figured okay, i would go to the one with the people from my lab. Tbh it wasn’t super great for me but also I’m still super glad I went cuz at least it completely eliminated FOMO, and honestly almost everyone was there. Like 20+ people. I hardly talked to anyone, but I was present. I did chat a little bit and the little I talked was fun. I think it was rly good I was there too cuz also I talked with the Portuguese intern who was there (she doesn’t speak French, so it was tough for her. There is only one other non francophone and he is Italian but Luca was there as well.) so she was rly alone and I’m glad I was there at least to chat with her occasionally. Anyhow it was good even if it wasn’t gr8, but I’m still very very glad I went( Plus since I had been working so much on my own this whole week - and last - I had hardly had time to see folks in the lab) So then Friday. Was tired waking up having only slept some 5 hours, but what was off to a tired start turned into a really good day.I didn’t pay too too much attention in the course today (had trouble focusing bc tired hah) but then around lunchtime, he girl who sat next to me yesterday (and her friend with whom she works — same cohort) invited me to lunch with them For some reason my student restaurant card doesn’t work here in centre city, so I couldn’t really pay the food things here (I was ready to pay a more expensive price with my bank card or cash but I don’t think they accept either), but one of the girls covered me. Albeit it’s only like €3, but still. (Whereas I think it’d be like 6€ idk)So I had lunch with them - chicken, fries, a dessert, and appetizer ! Good shit! And had a chance to talk to them about some stuff too so that was cool. It’s just rly nice talking with folks and meeting/getting to know new people.

Was late coming back (got scolded by the instructor), but it’s also okay. We worked on an activity where we essentially pretended to be journalists and interviewed one another about our thesis projects and I sat next to and worked with/interviewed this new girl who spoke a very fluent English! And !!!!!!! It was amazing ??????Idk you know when you instantly just click with someone And then like when that happens you kind of ?? Keep clicking ????Like repeatedly as the interaction continues, you just kind of keep clicking multiple times and it never seems to rly stop and you’re just like ??? God??? I rly get you?????? It was like that with her and it was too coolLike someone else in the class actually called out my name to tell me to lower my voice cuz I didn’t realise I was speaking too loudly — I was just ??? Really excited and enthusiastic???!?Anyhow it was just rly awesome and I was like “actually can I get your contact info later bc I would really love to talk”And we kind of had a chance in this mock interview to give each other mini professional life stories (like life stories but only what is pertinent to our professional work track I guess) and idk it was rly coolSo anyhow at the very end of the course I was getting ready to ask her to exchange contact info but she asked me firstLike literally as I was opening my mouth to ask, she was like “actually if you don’t mind—“ and I thought it would have to wait but then she straight up asked me for my contactsAnd so we sort of excitedly parted waysI considered going to the administrative building afterward (closes at 16h30 — it was 16h45 already by now) to see if I might catch someone ask they’re leaving, but also it takes like ten minutes to walk there so I decided against it in the endI was heading back to the classroom building figuring I could just spend 1.5-2hours chilling on discord or twitter while changing my phone and waiting until 18:30 cuz I told someone I’d get a drink with him later that evening. But when I turned around, the other girl was there and she waved and walked over and we chatted some more. Like where are you headed? Just going back home. You live in centre city? Yeah just around the corner. So I offered to walk her home cuz I have no other plans for the next two hoursShe asked if I had seen Les Machines (I had), and she admitted that since coming to Nantes in October (she is from Le Mans just a few hours northeast ), she hasn’t actually gone out and seen much. She bought the new assassin’s creed so she’s just been going home and playing video games all night lolBut she asked if I was down to just walk around and I’m like ?? Absolutely?? I love walking??I suggested the park, which is honestly beautiful - esp on a beautiful day - so we proceed to take the ugliest ass most inefficient route to walk there. But it was okay cuz we kinda just talked the entire time so it was fine.She’s rly rly cool and anyhow we got to the park and just continued talking while walking in the park. Eventually after hanging out with some goats, we saw there was another girl from the same course, who had her husband and her kids with her. So we just stood around and chatted for like another hour or so

Eventually it was 18h30 so I was like huh should probably meet up with that guy I said I’d get drinks with, so we headed in that general direction while still talking. Passed by a... spontaneous mini local food market? So I sent the message to the guy to come over cuz there’s something going on here. And the girl and I awkwardly accidentally walked out of the market cuz it’s rly rly small and takes about 30 seconds to walk through, and we’re just trying to decide what to do. Get a coffee? (She’s Muslim so no alcohol - also I seldom drink and I don’t prefer it). Or a kebab? She wasn’t hungry but also admitted she didn’t have money on her, and I told her not to worry - my treat. We ended up going back to the tiny food market and I got us both some granola and fruit leather? As a snack cuz she wasn’t rly hungry. But that way we could sit around and chat and munch while waiting for my other friend to show He eventually came and we walked around together but then the girl left (said she had to go home, but tbh I think she had a fear she might have been imposing?)Anyhow I ended up walking and talking some more with the other friend (Canadian guy) and we ended up in some restaurant (oops my bad I thought it was a bar— he likes beers and said he wasn’t that hungry, so a little awk that this turned out to be a restaurant). But anyhow, he got some beers and I got a sausage platter to share for us.And we spent the rest of that night kind of just sharing life experiences and discussing doctorate struggles and remarks about French culture and our experiences and anecdotes and shitIt was just a really really good night

#chum #long post

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differentnutpeace · 3 years

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Vaccine Passports: 'Scarlet Letter' Or Just The Ticket?

It's happening millions of times a day. Pharmacists jab an arm with the COVID-19 vaccine and hand over a paper card certifying that the shot was administered, and when. หวย บอล เกมส์ คาสิโนออนไลน์

"This is your ticket to freedom soon," smiles pharmacist intern Ojashwi Giri, as she hand-writes the name and birth date of another newly vaccinated customer on one of the coveted cards at Union Pharmacy in Newton, Mass. "I'm sure you're going to want to treasure this."

It's the low-tech version of the "vaccine passports" that have become the latest pandemic wedge issue. As states and businesses are debating and using them, Americans are deeply divided on whether businesses should require them to prove a person is immunized before boarding a plane, or entering a bar or a baseball game. What some see as a commonsense safety measure, others denounce as a violation of privacy and civil liberties.

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The Vaccine Passport Debate Actually Began In 1897 Over A Plague Vaccine

To many, it's no-brainer — a ticket back to normal life. Linda Simansky clutched her vaccination card, and beamed at the prospect of being able to venture out again with greater confidence. She says she's all for the idea of vaccine passports, and would definitely be more likely to patronize places that ask for them at the door, ensuring everyone else inside is also low-risk.

"I know its awkward," she says, "but they're not asking for [anyone's] life story, they're just trying to keep people safe, and trying to also keep their business. So, I think it's a win-win."

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"If we're going to end this nightmare, what we need is information," agrees Peter Wilson, a musician from Pheonix. "Some people pose less risk than others [...] and if people are making unsafe choices, the rest of us deserve to know. There's no sense in blindfolding ourselves."

Wilson sees it as no different than requiring students to get vaccines in order to attend school or camp. "We're just extending that to adults to keep everyone safe."

That's the idea behind New York state's "Excelsior Pass" that allows residents to flash a code from their phones which would earn them entry into anything from a Broadway show to a gym or even a private wedding. The nation's first such state-wide system, the Excelsior Pass has already been used at Madison Square Garden, Yankee stadium as well as smaller venues around the state, and while privacy features make it hard to pinpoint, state officials say hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers downloaded or at least started checking out the system in the two weeks since it launched.

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Judy Lisi, president and CEO of the Straz Center for the Performing Arts in Tampa, says a tool like that would be "essential" to reopening mass gathering venues like theaters that depend on a full house to survive.

"Why do you think these seats are so close to each other together behind me?" she says, pointing to the empty 2,640 theater seats on the image she uses as her Zoom backdrop. "Theaters [need] to put as many people in a space [as possible, in order to] pay for what's on stage."

Lisi says she was in the process of drawing up plans to use vaccine passports to screen patrons, when Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis preemptively banned businesses from requiring them.

"He's a pro-business proponent," Lisi says. "Why doesn't he allow businesses to do what we need to do then? The whole industry is relying on this. It's so frustrating."

But DeSantis and Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, who's also banned vaccine passports, as well as others argue they're a violation of privacy and civil liberties.

"It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society," DeSantis said.

Audra Young, from Haverill, Mass., who says she's not vaccinating because she doesn't trust it, agrees the passports are a bad idea.

"Just like it's your choice to own a gun, I mean, this is America, where we should have choice to pick what we want to do with our life," Young says. Vaccine passports "feel like it's going to be like a restricted society. It's like wearing the scarlet letter. It's crazy."

While much of the opposition to vaccine passports comes from those on the right who see it as a kind of Orwellian nightmare, there is concern on the left as well.

Judy Greenberg, of San Antonio, describes herself as "very liberal." She says she got the vaccine and hopes everyone else will too, but she's uncomfortable making people prove it for the privilege of dining out, for example.

"Being Jewish, I've always had this apprehension about [anyone saying] 'Show us your papers!'" Greenberg says, because it harkens back to the horrors Jews experienced in Nazi Germany. She's quick to acknowledge a vaccine passport is hardly the same thing, but she worries it would be prone to abuse. "It'll create two classes of human beings, almost like a caste system of vaccinated and unvaccinated. So then, what's next? It just makes me a little bit uneasy."

John Calvin Byrd III, has similar qualms. The self-described "far-left militant black man" lives in Los Angeles, and says he cringes at the thought of being seen as sharing the same concerns as "Trumpers," but he believes vaccine passports would impinge on his civil liberties. He says he and his family are not vaccinating, because they don't trust how fast the COVID-19 vaccines were rushed through the emergency authorization process, and because he doesn't trust Big Pharma.

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FAQ: What Is A Vaccine 'Passport,' And What Are These Credentials Used For?

But he thinks it's unfair to penalize people like him, by restricting his ability to go out for dinner, travel, or visit a park, museum, or grocery store.

"It's not like we committed a crime," he says. "We should be able to go and play and do whatever we want." He's also feeling pressure from his boss to vaccinate, and fears his decision not to, may cost him his job.

More broadly, Byrd worries that vaccine passports will exacerbate inequities for Black and Brown people, who are still less likely to be vaccinated — either by choice or because of lack of access.

"It puts people into separate groups, and one group has privileges and the other group does not [...] That keeps myself, my family and people like us in the margins," Byrd says.

Another concern is privacy. New York State Assembly member Ron Kim, says his state's "Excelsior Pass" is especially troublesome, given that it was developed in collaboration with a corporate giant, IBM.

"We're already dealing with big tech companies like Facebook and Google exploiting and extracting data without regular people even knowing that it's happening every day," Kim says. "Now we're allowing another path for companies to extract data and profit without our knowledge."

Both IBM and New York state officials, however, insist no personal data can be accessed or used for any such purpose. And no individual information is stored, or tracked. They say the Excelsior Pass only reads data that states already collect, to offer users the QR code that bouncers can scan to get a quick, clear green checkmark or a red "X." The same code can also indicate whether a user has recently tested negative for COVID-19, which many establishments screening customers may accept in lieu of a vaccination. For those without smart phones, results can be accessed on a computer and printed out instead.

Contrary to what many may think, given all the controversy, no state is mandating use of a vaccine passport; the Biden administration is also against any federal mandate, though officials say they're helping to develop guidance on privacy and equity issues. States can and do require large venues to screen customers for the coronavirus, but whether to do that with vaccine passports is still up to individual establishments.

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Coronavirus Cases Are Rising Again. See How Your State Is Doing

Some venues see the apps as an easier, more reliable way to verify that patrons are low-risk for spreading the coronavirus. Digital apps may well be more difficult to hack than vaccination cards are to forge, and they'd likely be more effective and efficient than what many are doing now, which is taking everyone's temperature and reviewing health surveys that patrons answer on the honor system.

But other businesses, especially in the hospitality industry, are proceeding with caution. A "no shirt, no vaccine, no service" policy may come across as inhospitable, many say, and may turn of customers who restaurants need now more than ever. Also, many bars and restaurants are loath to take on the burden of vaccine enforcement, on top of what they already do, checking ID's to make sure everyone's legal to drink, and constantly policing customers who may have had too much to drink.

That said, establishments that are still struggling to survive a year into the pandemic are not ruling it out. Doug Bacon, president of Red Paint Hospitality Group, owns eight bars and restaurants in Boston; four remain closed, and four are open, but still unable to make money because of pandemic restrictions limiting capacity. If requiring vaccine passports would mean he could fully reopen, he says, "I might have to give in to that. "

Bacon says he's more open to requiring vaccine passport checks for staff. In the past year, all four of his open places had to shut down for a week or more, because an employee tested positive.

"We had to sanitize the whole restaurant and have everyone tested," he says. "Perishable food had to be thrown away, and I had no income, and I paid my staff and all my suppliers and my landlords while were closed, so it's been a tremendous additional financial burden on top of everything else."

Ultimately, some are hoping vaccine passports, will prove one last bitter pill to swallow to help hasten a return to normal. It may be the carrot that induces more people to vaccinate. Or, as with so much else that's been politicized during this pandemic, it may be seen as more of a stick, that only deepens divisions, stokes resentment and leads those who've been vaccine-hesitant to dig in their heels even more.

"This is just one more thing to throw in the mix that's going to divide our country even more," Young says.

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aj-the-satyr · 6 years

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Malarkey at Cobb Mansion

The Mansion definitely looked old, that at least was a plus. The driveway didn’t seem like it had ever had much traffic. It looked like the sort of place that would need their brand of help but Lars still wasn’t happy, far from it.

Marcus gave him a grin from the passenger seat. “See! Told ya! Legit job and everything. Business cards and flyers are a great idea..... oh.... you’re still mad aren’t you?”

“It’s hard not to be..... you went behind my back Marcus.”

The grin vanished. “But.... I thought you wanted to start a business.... I was helping.”

“By naming the business Malarkey!?”

“Marcus and Lars, Key to solving your supernatural problem!”

Lars sighed. “I read the cards you had made....” it was hard to stay mad at his overly enthusiastic Satyr friend. “You do know what malarkey means right?”

“It means we’ll get to the bottom of things and fix your problems!”

Lars headbutted the steering wheel, the horn protested the violence with an off key semi squeal.

“Lars? You ok? Hey this place has a graveyard out front..... weird. Who does that?”

“Rich people I guess. Can’t be weird when you’re rich, or at least no one points it out to your face. Bump” he announced as he continued along the driveway. He glanced Marcus’s way just in time to see him bounce of the roof of the car. The covering above the passenger seat was a mess of tears and holes.

“OW! I hate cars.”

“No... you hate bumpy roads. Gonna have to fix the upholstery again.”

“Well you should be happy that we got a job then.”

“You got a job. I’m just part of this business that you set up without me.”

“I was helping.”

Lars shook his head. “Don’t sulk, you’re cuter when you smile.”

“Really?” Marcus smiled a little. “I’m cute?”

“Don’t push it goat boy.”

“Hey! Don’t call me that.” He sniffled. “I don’t like that.”

Lars stopped the car. “Sorry, still a little mad. Let’s see how this job goes. I mean we got several graves out front high possibility that we’ll see a few spirits hanging around. Only question is whether we need to boot them out or make a deal between them and the new owners.”

“No Exorcism?”

“Not if we don’t have to.”

“Then why’d we bring all the stuff?”

“Are you even paying attention Marcus? We.....” he sighed. “Let’s just go look at the place.” He got out and pondered briefly if he needed anything from the bag, probably not he decided. Despite the graves he didn’t feel anything really malevolent here. Mansion itself didn’t seem to be too run down either. I mean it clearly seemed to have been abandoned for a while, but it all felt.... undisturbed.

“Hey Marcus who hired us to do this again?”

Marcus shrugged as he closed the passenger door. “Some guy.”

“Some guy?”

“Yeah he came up to me at Donny’s said he’d seen a flyer and wanted help.”

“Where’d you leave the flyers?”

“Local bookstore, some mystic shops, places like that. Gave Donny a few too. Oh and the cards. Guy had one of those.”

“This guy got a name?”

Marcus shrugged again. “Probably. Gave me this address an envelope of money and asked us to check the place.”

Lars put his face in his hands wishing he’d asked more questions earlier or that he hadn’t got out of bed today. He pulled out his phone. “That’s something.” he mumbled to himself as it sprang into life. “Got signal at least.”

“To be honest I was surprised you didn’t ask me all this earlier Lars.”

“You waived 5000 dollars at me. You could have got me to do anything.”

“Anything?” Marcus grinned.

Lars rolled his eyes. “If you want that you just have to ask nicely.... not now!” he said spotting the look in Marcus’s eyes. “Job first.”

“Then?” Marcus waggled his eyebrows.

Lars sighed and shook his head. “We’re here to check if this place is haunted because someone wants to move in and that’s where your mind is?”

“Most of the time.”

Lars rolled his eyes again. “Let’s go do this. This place got a name?”

“Guy said it was Cobb Manor.” Marcus fell into step beside Lars. “Whatcha looking for?”

Lars’ thumb swiped over his phone screen. “Info about this place. Notable events and.... the fact that the entire family was cursed..... great.”

“Cursed?”

“Yeah, it’s vague but apparently no one in the family lived very long and there is talk of a curse.”

“Should I grab the bag?”

Lars paused for a moment. “No..... I don’t feel anything bad. I think we can talk this one out. Guy didn’t straight up say he wanted things banished right?”

Marcus stopped, almost tripped then tried to make it look like he was planning to stumble and pose, Lars just rolled his eyes. “Er.... not really. Just to check the place out see what, if anything, was here.”

“Huh.... well I need the money.”

“We.”

“What?”

“We. It’s Malarkey, Marcus and Lars the....”

Lars waived a hand to cut him off. “Fine, fine. We. Whatever.”

“Those cards and flyers cost money!” Marcus stamped a hoof.

“And you’re being a kid again. Come on. At least tell me you got the key to this place.”

Marcus sniffled. “Was that a goat joke?”

Lars stopped and took a breath before heading back to Marcus and giving him a hug. “No, it wasn’t. Seriously though man, I love you but you act like a child sometimes.”

“Sowwy.”

Lars rebelled against his instincts to say something, giving Marcus another squeeze before heading back towards the front door. “Key?”

“Oh! Yeah. I got it.” Marcus produced a rather large iron key.... from somewhere. Lars wondered if Satyr legs came with magical pockets built in.

“Well that’s good. Saves us a trip back.”

“Why would we go back?”

“Yes officer I did break in but it was to perform an exorcism.”

“Oh.... not a tv show.”

“No we are not. We’d be getting paid more.” Lars stepped up onto the rather expansive porch that surrounded the front door. “Key.” He held out a hand. Although thinking about it 5000 was a lot of money for something that seemed so simple. Just what was the catch here?

The voices drew her to the window, the years of grime no impediment to her peering outside. She wondered why the staff hadn’t bothered to keep them clean but the voices were certainly more interesting to think about. Men, two of them. Both seemed young, older than her of course, but young nonetheless. Was one of them wearing furry trousers? No..... no he wasn’t wearing furry trousers at all, those were his legs. She could see he had hooves as he made his way up the front stairs. He had horns as well. She’d been distracted enough by his legs she hadn’t noticed till now, had the Devil himself come to pay her a visit? Was he even here for her or was this something to do with the family curse? It looked like today might be interesting after all and they even had their own key.

The key was heavy, old school. Lars fought with the lock a little as he tried to turn it. There was a CLUNK just seconds before Marcus was going to make a joke, Lars muttered a thanks.

“What was that?” asked Marcus.

“Just glad the key works.” He said pushing open the door. “Huh... dusty.” the dust was kicked up by the breeze from the now open door. “Might have at least wanted face masks for this one. It’ll air out soon enough I guess.”

“Gentlemen.” came a young female voice.

Lars smirked, always fun when the denizens came to greet you. Saved the hassle of hunting them down. He looked at the owner of the voice. Wow. Purple. Purple was the color of the day indeed. Everything about her was purple, except the long black cigarette.... no that was a cigar holder. Hell even the cigar was purple. He blinked a little. “Miss.”

She ignored him for the moment and focused on Marcus. “Are you the Devil?”

Uh oh thought Lars. He reached for Marcus a second too late, he was already gone. Lars sighed. “You’ve upset him Miss.”

“Oh. But his legs..... He has horns.”

“And he’s rather sensitive to his looks. People make assumptions about him, most of them aren’t very nice.” He watched the young girl in purple frown, not a becoming sight on the young face. She certainly seemed corporeal enough, but there hadn’t been anyone living here for decades as far as he could tell. “If you’ll excuse me I have to go console my friend.”

“Ok.” she watched him go after his furry legged friend. She hadn’t meant to upset him, it was after all, merely a question. He did so fit some of the more religious paintings that she’d seen. She let her mind wander a little, the smoke from her cigar twisting and turning, forming vague figures as her memory searched for the source of those thoughts about the man. It couldn’t have been one of her Father’s could it? No his taste kept to his love of the hunt and all things related. It might have been at one of those dreadfully boring parties at a friend of his. One where they thought she might have had fun with the other children, but then only really spent time sneaking things out of the house like cigarettes, cigars, whiskey and the like. Must have been from one of those places. She nodded at her own decision. Must have been.

Lars looked skyward as he hugged an upset Marcus. “Come on man. Lets go back and get an apology from little miss purple. She didn’t mean anything by it.”

Sniffles were followed by a quiet “You really think so?”

“Yeah. Just one of those old rich people who say what they’re thinking because no one taught them any better.”

“Old? She looks twelve.”

Lars sighed. “You know what I mean, old like this place is.”

“So she died young?”

“Yeah, sadly. Whole family died pretty young so the internet tells me. That must be Lilly, the youngest. She was the last to go, although from how vibrant she is I’m not she she realises she’s gone yet.”

“Huh?”

“She’s either a very strong spirit or hasn’t quite gotten over the fact she’s dead. I can’t tell which.”

“Can we exorcise her now?”

“No Marcus, we are not going to exorcise her just because she upset you.” he held up a finger before Marcus could complain. “We’re going to talk to her and explain the situation.”

“Aw.... Ok.”

He rolled his eyes as they made their way back towards the entrance hall. Thankfully little miss purple had decided to remain waiting there for them.

“Lilly.... isn’t it?” asked Lars

“Miss Lilly Cobb.” she said with no uncertain pride.

“Well Miss Cobb, I would like you to apologise for upsetting my friend.”

She puffed a little on the cigar before nodding. “Sorry I upset you.”

Lars smiled. “Thank you.” the fact that everything about her was purple was still a little.... odd. “I’m Lars and this is Marcus.”

“And we’re Malarkey, the key to solving your supernatural problems!” finished Marcus.

Lars put his face in his hands but Lilly just looked thoughtful. “I really don’t think they’ve been a problem at all really. It’s what one gets for putting the graveyard so close to the house.”

“Not a problem?” asked a confused Marcus.

“No. I mean I sometimes wake up to find Mother wandering about or Father trying to organise a hunt again but it’s no bother.”

Lars couldn’t suppress the groan. Today was going to just be one of those days he could feel it.

(Still think it’s weird that anyone would request me to write something but hey, it’s a funny old world. I’d like to thank @waldorkler for the use of their OC @lilly-cobb and I guess since I write in small snippets of scenes, this one isn’t quite finished yet.)

#my writing #request #someone else's OC #Marcus is an idiot but I love him #Satyr #overly sensitive Satyr #Haunted Mansion?#Lilly Cobb #Malarkey

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sweetzombigirl-blog · 6 years

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Wayne Goss Brush Review

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Wayne Goss does an important tabletop demo on sun care and skin care.

I’ve been frequently traveling the past few years but dramatically so in the last 6 months. I thought I had become proficient in all transit procedures... until my luggage was lost in a perfect storm of two missed connections which left me naked apart from my small Guitalele, the clothes on my back, and the laptop that I had, fortunately, had the divine foresight to remove from my luggage before my carryon parted ways with me somewhere in Denver.

When my luggage finally arrived at my hotel looking rather tired and forlorn, I opened the contents of my bag to a relief that my valuables were all there apart from one very carefully wrapped linen scarf that I kept my sacred makeup brushes.

Like anything, experience points make the difference in the tools that you use. When first learning the Guitalele (for example) any cheapo 80 dollars eBay investment will do and does perform quite well for my limited knowledge of how to do basically anything guitar related. However, as I practice I hope that this will change. It certainly was the case for me and makeup.

Any serious artist will groan aloud when they hear that a collection of brushes were stolen. The fact that mine is used on my face shouldn’t make a difference. One brush could sometimes cost up to 70 dollars and surprisingly enough the larger ones were sometimes the less expensive!

The first thing I did when I arrived at my destination with no luggage was to go to Walgreens and try to find some kind of outfit for the next few days as I was at a conference and couldn’t let myself go wearing the same comfy set of stretchy pants I strategically wore on the plane... I was able to find the basics all in one place late at night and felt grateful to be an American where my consumer needs could be satiated even at 11 pm on a Thursday. I felt as if I was somehow parachuted into unfamiliar territory with only a few square bits of plastic (debit card) to use in my environment for survival. In a weird stressful way, solving that problem was oddly exhilarating.

But as I looked in the mirror of the fluorescent Walgreens bathroom in my 10 dollar replacement dress (which got compliments later on) and saw how tired my eyes were and the jet-lagged hair - dull and limp from recycled air - I knew I had to get SOMETHING to make myself feel more comfortable in this body that I more or less was dragging around at that point.

I don’t nag on drugstore makeup because it’s usually pretty workable if you know what you are looking for. Your canvas depends entirely on the genetic makeup you have and after years of trial and error with powders, liquids, and mousse, I can confidently find my way around the drugstore aisles and find which will work for me in a pinch... I bought a light whipped foundation in my shade, a small contouring pallet, eyeliner, mascara, and the cheapest application brushes that I could justify spending on.

Back in the hotel, I almost immediately discarded the brushes. They were cheap synthetic fiber and left almost invisible little hairs in the crease of my eye that were like cactus needles.... impossible to see but exquisitely painful to endure if you happen to want to blink your eye every now and then. I went to apply with my hand and fingers which I haven’t done (much) since I was a child playing in my mother’s shoes and grandmother’s makeup bag. Hopefully I didn’t look as clownish as I did when I was a small girl but no one ran away screaming. Either I blended in, or people were too polite to say otherwise so frankly, you’ll have to ask someone else.

After calling the airline when I got back home to my beautiful 3 bedroom apartment in the Bronx, I received the news that I could buy new brushes and then make a report and wait for 12 weeks on whether the airline would honor the receipt or not. I knew I couldn’t go without as I am going to be a guest speaker at an art auction in a little over a week so I knew that I had to figure something else out and fast.

I was caught between spending the money on high quality and risking that the airline would say “tough tiddies” or cheaper more available brushes that were less risky. In my heart of hearts, I already knew where to go. I poked around online for a bit but saw nothing that gained my TRUST in the artistry of makeup apart from what I had already researched in regards to Wayne Goss.

Wayne Goss is a brilliant YouTuber who unlike most of the Instagram/youtube beauty babes with their sugar skull contouring, Wayne Goss gives highly perceptive artistry tips on how to correct, enhance, and diminish traits on the face, as well as any of the old masters of the Renaissance, could do with oil on canvas. It does take skill and experience to create a visage on a three-dimensional surface that is essentially alive and reacting with the environment. The face is mass in movement and therefore makeup becomes interactive and involved in the flexibility of that movement.

So I ordered the Wayne Goss Anniversary Set Volume 2 (limited edition) and The Brow Set because these would replace MOST of the brushes that were too soon taken from me by an airline that will remain unnamed.

The Anniversary Set Volume 2 contains 8 brushes handmade by artisans in Kumano, Japan from pure white (undyed) goat hair. These eight brushes are:

Brush 01: a dense duo-fiber brush for fast, flawless foundation application

Brush 02: a tapered sculpting brush for highlighter, blush, and bronzer

Brush 03: a fluffy eyeshadow brush that doubles as a precision highlighter brush

Brush 04: a silky-soft crease brush that works with any eye shape

Brush 05: a finely pointed pencil brush for detail work around eyes and lips

Brush 06: an eyeshadow blending brush that softens pigment in a single swipe

Brush 07: a flat eyeshadow brush that packs on pigment and works wonders with concealer

Brush 08: a small push liner brush that works color deep into the lashline

The Brow Set contains 3 brushes also crafted in Kumano, Japan. They are:

Brush 21 – The Hero: A short, flat brush for applying all types of brow products—wax, powder, pencil, pomade, or gel—with precision and ease. Create natural, hair-like strokes with the fine tip to blend color seamlessly into brows.

Brush 22 - The Multitasker: This multitasking tool includes natural bristles to groom, shape, and define brow hairs for an endless array of unique styles. The fine-toothed comb separates lashes and de-clumps mascara.

Brush 23 – The Pre-Show: An upscale take on the classic spoolie, the soft, dense bristles on this cone-shaped brush are designed to distribute products smoothly into the brow. It’s also perfect for applying mascara.

The goat hair brushes from the Anniversary Set Volume 2 had some minor shedding as I tested them rather vigorously on my hand. The number 01 seemed to have the most shedding but also took the most of the circular blending technique and the others will mostly be used in a different method.

The hair is bundled in a tapered layered way which will promote excellent longevity to their lifespan. There are a few wisps that wander off from the heads of the brush but I think that mostly was done in the shipping and will some relaxing they will fall more so into place.

The Brow Set comes with different courses of boar bristles (I believe). Brush 22 has longer course hair and slanted plastic teeth for the reversed side. I like that these are of course natural hair and not synthetic as I find that synthetic has a tendency to become brittle and break easier. The plastic teeth are fine and tapered but seem durable enough. I ran my nail across the tip to see how flexible they are and they seem to be alright... The plastic and can be moved without much force. Brush 23 - The Spoolie is slightly bent at an angle to allow precision combing of the lashes. The angle itself seems almost perfect and intuitive. Many props to Wayne Goss and Co. for that.

The real test with any quality brush will be how it holds onto the wand. The metal seems durable and the promise of 20 artisans from Japan give me hope that it will last, but it’s been my experience that sooner or later my makeup brush heads always seem to pop off.

The packaging from Beautylish was DIVINE. I opened the package and was treated to a very stylish black box that fit the inside of the cardboard perfectly. Inside the black box, my eyes were treated to a handwritten note thanking me for my purchase, a crushed velvet drawstring pouch, a light black canvas bag which carried two tubes of my brushes inside.

I was apprehensive about how my brushes would arrive and if I would have to get a new brush roll, but luckily Wayne Goss saved my pennies a bit longer with their stylish carrying arrangement. The brushes were gorgeously wrapped in black tissue paper that felt like origami to unfold and was tied with thick black cotton ribbon.

As I opened up my package all I could say was “Oh Wow” and I heard myself becoming my tiny Italian grandmother who coveted craftsmanship in all of her purchases. This demand for quality made her the most stylish and beautiful woman I have ever come across in my days on this wide green Earth. If you are serious about makeup and it’s application as an art form then I am pleased to give you my suggestion to purchase from Wayne Goss. He is a deserving entrepreneur in the beauty industry whose videos are meant to enlighten the people (for free) and the advice is actually worth more than gold. I included a very important PSA about a lie that the beauty industry tells us to get our money while putting us at risk for serious health risks such as skin cancer. If you haven’t heard of Wayne Goss I urge you to find him and subscribe.

#WayneGoss #Beautylish #makeup #brushes #kumano #artisan #travel

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kisaragizan · 6 years

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“Dragon King’s Ritual” [Shadow Paladin]

Hey everyone, Kisaragi here to bring you all yet another deck profile! However, for the first time on this page (with the exception of Blue-Eyes), I’m bringing a non-Aqua Force profile - a Shadow Paladin one. I wasn’t going to do much of these ones since I figured I’d wait until they get supported (which would be soon), but I found myself playing the deck recently and was asked about it via a profile so: here we are. I’m going to do this profile a bit differently because I don’t have this deck in real life so I can’t really give alternatives for budget purposes but moreso as “preferences”. So without further ado, let’s take a look at Luard.

Before I begin, if I haven’t already done so: I’m going to mention that Shadow Paladin is my official secondary clan because a close friend of mine whom I look up to as a rival and a teacher mains Shadow Paladin. And during the time of my introductory to competitive Vanguard, I always talked and listened to him about the clan and his decks so the clan became secondary nature for me. I started actively playing Shadow Paladin more during Stride Era with Diablo and Raging Folm’s upgrades, with the former being my primary choice if I wanted to switch it up from Aqua Force. I didn’t take an interest of Luard until later when I saw how fun it was managing the resources, tool-boxing, and building advantage to which I started to like it enough to take it into competitive events which it did pretty well.

x4 Dragheart, Luard: The entire deck revolves around this unit - Dragheart, Luard. His main ability being Ritual 3, return two normal units from your drop to bottom of your deck and you can stride without paying the stride cost. His heartbeat is when you Stride, counterblast retire one rear-guard to call two grade 1 or lower units from deck to your field. He’s able to stride constantly without any issues, and he’s able to build up a field and provide units necessary for combos or to build resources. In some ways, he is the best Grade 3 not only in his clan, but in the entire game. He removes the caution of securing the ability to stride allowing players to play and guard more flexible than before. As per his namesake, Luard is the heart of this deck.

x2 Supremacy Dragon, Claret Sword Dragon Revolt: So to be perfectly honest, I’d much rather be playing Blaster Dark Diablo here like I did originally since he also has a similar “reduced cost of stride” concept going on. However, Claret Sword Dragon Revolt is searchable via his own stride fodder (which we do play but I’ll explain when it shows up) which is good for deck thinning and if you just wasn’t able to get Luard. His heartbeat looks at the top cards of the deck until 2 Grade 1s are revealed: one goes to hand and the other is called to field while the rest is shuffled to the deck. This is really just honestly a back up even though there is another preferred yet riskier back up of the deck.

x1 Sharp Fang Witch, Fodla: Fodla is the “true” back up/support Grade 3 of any Luard deck currently because she can call two grade 0s for one counterblast: some of which being key cards to plus off of. The reason I have her at one is because I do not wish to ride Fodla and would prefer to ride something a bit more safer if I couldn’t get to Luard, especially when she’s a 9k.

x4 Dragwizard, Morfessa: Morfessa is Luard’s best grade 2 with a Ritual 3 getting an extra 5k power when she attacks and an on hit to call a grade 1 card from the deck. Her other skill is when she’s in the drop zone, she’s treated as a Grade 1: allowing her to fulfill Luard’s Ritual costs.

x4 Dragwizard, Naoise: Naoise is the second best grade 2 in the deck for it’s ability to call grade 1 or lower units from the top five for free. Without a doubt, building field, getting units to retire to build resources. Naoise also gains power depending on the unit called, becoming a maximum 14k. At the end of the turn, the unit called does return to the deck if it’s still on the field.

x2 Knight of Brawn, Grosne: Grosne used to be played more in this deck being able to gain power for every grade 1 or lower called to your rear-guard. However, with the introduction of Naoise and having to remove my 10k Grade 2s, I lowered Grosne since he is very susceptible to control unless I place him down after using Luard’s heartbeat skill thus missing out on a free 6k.

x4 Abyssal Owl: Abyssal Owl’s is Luard’s trusted Owl that when placed from hand to rear, you can check the top seven cards and if you see Luard within those cards, you may add it and then discard cards equal to it’s grade to the drop zone. When Abyssal Owl is retired due to the cost or effect of Luard, you counter charge 1 (provided you have Ritual 3). Abyssal Owl is a grade 3 trade that you can afford to use since you’d be effectively building your drop zone and securing a Luard ride.The counter charge is also good because it makes your plays (which are typically counterblast one) free.

x4 Dragsaver, Esras: Esras another key unit of the deck being the default sentinel. On Ritual 3: you can choose another card named “Dragsaver, Esras” and return it to the bottom of the deck and retire one rear guard, to add her to your hand. It goes without saying that Esras is the best Perfect Guard in the game and would continue to set a trend for future clans to have recyclable sentinels (after fulfilling conditions) and even Perfect Guards with bonus drop zone effects. Being able to have infinite perfect guards makes Luard a very sturdy deck with it’s only answer is through a sentinel restricting unit.

x3 Black-winged Swordbreaker: When placed on rear-guard from the deck, you may soul blast one to draw a card. Originally, I didn’t play much of swordbreaker: 1-2 at best only preferred to call her if needed. However, there were times when she’d get placed in the damage zone or stuck in the soul: to which in later on the game I did actually need her. So I put her to three because it means while I won’t use all three, I can at least guarantee one being in the deck. Luard’s deck upon release was also very soul blast heavy (much like most decks nowadays) and even now meaning it’s best to use Swordbreaker if you need the extra hand and not to spam it just because you can.

x3 Cherishing Knight, Branwen: As I started in the Claret Sword Revolt section, Branwen is played here even if the Vanguard can stride for free because if you go second, you need to have another grade 3 since Luard’s skill happens at the beginning of the ride phase. So increasing your ability to pay the stride cost traditionally is good. Additionally, Branwen is a grade 1, so when you do stride with Branwen, it is adding to your Ritual condition being in the drop zone.

x2 Witch of Nostrum, Arianrhod: Arianrhod is a very strange card to use in Luard or rather in Shadow Paladin in general since her skill is to drop and draw while resting herself. However, there are amazing benefits to having her. Opening up with her early in the game will allow you to dig into your deck for whatever it is you’re looking for while also building up your drop zone with either grade 1s or just dumping away useless cards. There have been times when just dropping an Esras with her to draw into another card, and now having two Esras’ in soul, I can retire her and add back my Esras and have one at the bottom of the deck. And after she’s served her purpose, you can retire her away for skills as demonstrated above. Though I mostly value her for being able to dig into my deck especially if I’m looking for a grade 3 or a combo piece or something that’ll allow me to search/grab either of those two, on top of deck thinning.

Difarbau: Difarbau is my starter of choice for Luard. If he’s retired for the cost or effect of a “Ritual card”, you can throw him into the soul to check the top card and either call it to rear or put it to the drop zone. There aren’t too many starters for Luard save for Dragprince Rute, David, and the Creeping Dark Goat. Rute I find useless only adding a 5k and soul charging himself for a counterblast when retired. David used to be my go to starter since my finishers were Diablo units who retired 2-3 and being able to relax your field is a good thing. Creeping Dark Goat can secure a grade 3 but the chance to whiff after paying a counterblast and giving up a unit is not very fun. Difarbau let’s me replace himself while also having him be soul charged and leaving the rest to luck: either getting a solid attacker, a grade 1 to be retired later - worst case being a heal or vanilla trigger to be retired for a skill.

x4 Belial Owl: When you use Luard’s heartbeat skill, this is the unit you will call out the most despite being a trigger. When Belial Owl is retired from rear-guard due to cost or effect of one of your cards, and if you have a Luard vanguard, you draw a card. This also triggers when retired for Esras, any stride stride, and Luard’s heartbeat. Belial’s second skill is on Ritual 3, if you have a Luard vanguard at the end of your turn, you may put Belial at the bottom of your deck. This card is your engine and the reason why Luard is able to generate so much advantage by constantly skill after skill. The more Owl’s you’re able to kill in a single turn the stronger your defenses will be and of course being able to cycle them back into the deck. Even if it were to get damage checked, you can heal it and then it’ll be back in your deck by the end of turn.

x4 Critical Trigger: The rest of Shadow Paladins’ critical triggers are vanilla (except for one but in a Luard deck, it can’t be used so it’s vanilla), so it really doesn’t matter which critical you use. Alternatively, there are some stand triggers that are recyclable in Cursed Eye Raven or Mage of the Rogue Eye, Arsur: which both are really good if you’re looking to have a recyclable deck but I personally prefer to keep it critical due to LJ and due to Belial being out of the deck more than in the deck, will keep my ability to deal extra damage at a moderate level.

x4 Howl Owl/Dragwizard, Babd: Either of these will do since they both have the same effect: throw into the soul to +3k. Luard has little to no advantage at the start of the game, thus making him super vulnerable. Not to mention, his soul building is non-existent without the starter or these draws. So these draws in particular do help the deck a lot.

x4 Witch of Heresy, Jeliddo: Jeliddo is the only heal trigger with an effect that’s somewhat beneficial to Luard - pitching a grade 1 or lower to draw a card when she’s used for the cost of her G-guardian. However, and spoiler alert: we don’t run her G-Guard so at this point, any heal trigger will do.

(Note: Some of the G-Units are not present here because I couldn’t fit them in the banner.)

x1 Supremacy Black Dragon, Aurageyser Doomed: To this day, I still call this card by it’s original named: Aurageyser Damned. This is your first stride in every game, unless you G-guard and are in range to kill. Counterblast 1 and choose a facedown copy of Aurageyser Dragon face up from the G-zone and then retiring three units. You reveal the top two cards of the deck and for each Grade 1 or less revealed, you may retire an opposing rear-guard and the cards revealed get added to hand.

x1 Supremacy Black Dragon, Aurageyser Dragon: Aurageyser Dragon is here to fulfill the cost of Aurageyser Doomed. However, I wanted to use this section to explain why I prefer Aurageyser Doomed over Aurageyser Dragon. Aurageyser Dragon has to soul blast, counterblast, and retires two only to add 5000 for each Grade 1 or lower revealed upon attack. Aurageyser Damned: doesn’t have to soul blast, and is able to retire opposing units but more importantly retires 3 of yours in the main phase. Retiring more unit’s in Luard means you’re able to gain more benefits whether it’s retiring 2-3 belial owls, 2 Abyssal owls, so on and so forth. Additionally, retiring during the main phase is a lot better than in the battle phase because you can even strengthen your board or even go for more skills after using Damned’s skills with units you drew. Damned is a lot more flexible and opens the window to plus more than you normally would without having to expend soul which can be used for later skills.

x2 Dark Dragon, Phantom Blaster “Diablo”: Phantom Blaster was the original Shadow Paladin boss and was one of, if not, the strongest strides in the game. Counterblast 1 and persona flipping, you can gain 10k and +1 Critical if the number of cards in the G zone is two or more. It also gains another skill where if you retire three of your units when he attacks, your opponent may choose to retire two of their units and if they don’t or can’t retire 2 units, they cannot call cards from hand to the guardian circle. Phantom Blaster was the card you strode if your opponent wasn’t staying on their toes and leaving themselves wide open and an amazing punishment for mirage decks like Pale Moon, Granblue, and even Resist decks. In Luard, you hardly ever stride into him because retiring three in the battle phase is not really good since you don’t have units that can count as two retires so you’ll be left with only two units and one thing to note about Luard is that he wants to keep his field by the time it’s his turn, so he can use his heartbeat skill. Plus with G-guardians in the game, Phantom Blaster can still be guarded even if they choose not to retire three (especially since there’s no Blaster Dark Diablo to force a retire upon striding into him). Most deck’s don’t bother to run him, but I still feel he’s good to have if not for the mandatory retirement, but for the free 10k/+1 Critical.

x2 Dark Dragon, Spectral Blaster “Diablo”: By soul blasting 1, retiring one of your units, and flipping a face down card from your G zone, face up: Spectral gets the ability to stand after his attack with drive-2, by counter blasting two and retiring two. Spectral Blaster is a very powerful and flexible G-Unit, setting a trend for G-zones to have generic flips because financially it’s perfect: only needing one or two and not an automatic four and can even adjust for G-Assists and even flipping up specific units whose effects are dependent on the number of face up copies of itself. It also has a special bonus for having the “Diablo” heart which is also a G-Unit design that never got re-used again, but rather, preferring to stick to the heart restriction style. Spectral Blaster was at a time my go-to finisher, especially in his ideal deck, Diablo. In Luard, counterblast two is very hefty unless he’s retiring Abyssal Owls. Like Phantom Blaster, I very rarely go into Spectral once let alone twice, but if the situation calls for it, I will stride into one while the second copy is either flipped to pay for a flip cost or will be strode: depending on the game.

x2 Dragstrider, Luard: Going to note, I wish this cards name was swapped with “Dragdriver, Luard”’s name for a very obvious reason based off of their evolution from Luard and their effects. Dragstrider has Ritual 7, when he attacks, you retire two of your rear-guards and discard any number of cards from your hand to the drop zone. He gains 3k for each card discarded and if the number of cards discarded is two or more, he gains Critical+1, Drive+1, and guard restriction of grade 1 or higher from hand. This is your go-to finisher and is the reason why Phantom Blaster Diablo is considered to be removed from the deck. This is a really powerful card to go up against considering the requirements at minimum is discarding two cards to touch 32k with bonus skills. With no counterblast or soul blast card, you can just constantly stride into Dragstrider and keep throwing cards until your opponent has nothing else while also recycling your deck. It also takes advantage of the nature that Luard does draw a lot of cards: so you can go all in with very few clans being able to guard this effectively. I feel two is fine because if they survive one, then chances are, you’re probably dead and if they can’t kill you, then chances are that they’re dead.

x1 Draganger, Ogma: My favorite art from any Shadow Paladin. Ritual 5: counterblast 1, soul blast 1, and flip up a face down card in the G zone. Choose up to 5 grade 1 rear-guards and retire them and for each one retired, the opponent chooses a card from their hand or their rear-guards and puts them into the drop zone. You also draw a card if a total of three or more rear-guards by both fighters were put into the drop zone via this effect. This is a really really niche card, as most Generation Rares should be. Like Phantom Blaster Diablo, it punishes mirage decks and resist decks by dropping their hand since there’s either no field or the field cannot be touched. The only issue I have regarding this card is having five grade 1s to retire since specific Grade 0s such as the starter and Belial Owl also benefit from being retired, however, I think that was done intentionally so I guess it’ll just settle for being able to counter charge 2-3 from retiring Abyssal Owl or by flipping him for Spectral. Ogma is also the reason why having Naoise around is really good.

x1 Dark Dragon, Carnivore Dragon: Very basic stride, retire one of your rear-guards and your opponent has to retire two of their rear-guards (even if they have one) and they couldn’t retire two, three units in the front row gain 4k until end of turn. This is really just filler and very rarely would you stride this because even if you’re lacking counterblast and/or soul blast, you can stride into Dragstrider. Originally, I had two Claret Sword Helheim’s in place of this and one Spectral but I didn’t think they were that useful in this deck and I didn’t want to run Dragdriver either (even though he’s good for an empty board.)

x1 Dark Knight, Irgahn Vert: Irgahn Vert is the generation break 8 of Shadow Paladin. You counterblast one to choose up to five of your rear guards and retire them. Then you search your deck for up to the same number of grade 1 or lower units as the number of units retired and call them to seperate rears and they get +15k until end of the turn. Additionally, you retire the same number of your opponents rear-guards as the number of units called. This is a really strong game ender - not so much that they survived against everything in your arsenal but because you accelerated your G-zone far enough to pull this off. And because Luard does recycle his deck, getting a deck of grade 1s for this is pretty easy to fulfill.

x1 Air Element, Sebreeze: Standard G-unit because Luard is a stride based deck and doesn’t like to give up stride. There are also a number of Generic flips to flip this card should you choose not to go into him, making him flexible to play.

x3 Dark Dragon, Plotmaker Dragon: Plotmaker is a 25k Shield during Ritual 3 while on the Guardian Circle. This is currently the best and really should be the only G-Guard you should be playing except for the following one.

x1 Dragwiser, Bronach: Bronach is best used as your first G-guardian since once placed she checks the top five cards of the deck and calls all of the grade 1s from among them to the guardian circle with her. If you’re really lacking ritual, she will build it back up for you, especially when you want to go for a counter attack.

Deck Conclusion

Luard at a time was considered one of the best decks after his introduction and a follow up support set in Set 10. His only equals were Nightrose, Link Joker, and Gear Chronicle. Being able to draw and recycle his entire deck and have near infinite defenses, it was quite difficult to beat Luard because while he was overpowering other decks offensively and defensively, he also was allowed to grind out others forcing them to deck out. With a specific style deck build, not this one, Luard is also able to access a loop which can strengthen specific units and deck thin extremely hard. However, ironically, in his recent support: Set 12 Dragon King’s Awakening, while giving him Dragstrider and other important cards, they also strengthened decks that had the means to make him obsolete such as Narukami’s Thunderstrike, which is a keyword - like Ritual - revolves around the opponent having a specific number of cards bound. Most of the binds come from the drop zone, and with enough, you can lose access to your Ritual requirements making it extremely hard to go into your power plays. And with a number of guard restricts available to most clans in the game, Esras can be invalidated: forcing Luard to rely on his hand to guard everything. I don’t really have too much expectation of what Shadow Paladin will get in Set 14, let alone Luard since I would much rather see Diablo support since I do love Diablo a lot, but I also do appreciate Luard’s tool-boxing and combo play making.

So thank you all for reading this profile since this is my first non-AQ profile, I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to do this since I generally prefer to do deck profiles on real life decks that way I can step through alternatives but this didn’t seem too bad. I think next deck profile will be one that I actually have in real life: not to mention potentially some screenshots of a few updated decks in real life but other than that, look forward to this deck profile!

#shadow paladin #luard #cf-vanguard #zane kisaragi #zanjoyner614 #ritual #blaster dark

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florencefolly · 7 years

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The Heat

July 4, 2017

If I say to you tomorrow, take my hand child come with me, it’s to a castle I will take you…oh what fun it all will be…

It is so fucking hot. I am askew. Two years ago in Italy it was below 90 degrees only one day. We’re in Paris now and while it is not 90 degrees (thank GOD), it is freaking hot. The mornings are cooler but that only lasts for a few short hours.

The night before, we agree that we need a plan before heading out and have settled on an early train to Versailles. Robin, the kids and I know from experience that we need to be there somewhat early to beat the crowds. Rani has mapped out the day and has taken charge of the journey south to the Sun King’s summer palace.

For those of you who think you have seen excess and have not been to Louis XIV’s father’s original hunting lodge turned, summer party spot, turned eventual French Seat of Power estate—you ain’t seen nothing. It’s big. It’s sprawling. It even boasts its own getaway spot. The Trianon Palace. Marie Antoinette’s hideaway among the hedgerows is where we are heading today. Louis’ place is overrun and frankly would be more impressive with less people. The estate oversells it, one assumes to maximize revenue during the peak tourist season. I can only imagine the cost associated with its upkeep. No matter as I am actually more interested in the farmer’s market in the main square of Versailles quaint downtown. About an acre or so of every imaginable fruit and vegetable in season. Add in four separate permanent buildings, each containing a butcher, cheese monger, fish monger, wine merchant and boulangerie and you have a visual and literal feast that you could spend the better part of a morning wondering through.

We exit the apartment after a good breakfast. We will be walking; a lot. The 8:30am sun is blinding and the temps already on their way to scorching. It will be warmer in Versailles. Out on the street, we happen upon a pet shop and there are puppies on display in the window. Claire stops dead in her tracks. I know she would be all too happy to stay and play with them. She is not feeling well; the travel having caught up with her. The store is closed though and we have a garden to wander through. Bouncing up the street to our Metro station; Emily and I in the lead. We weave in and out of the locals on their way to work. We descend the stairs to the ticket machine. I am surprised to find that it finally accepts my American credit card. It is cheaper too than we originally thought it would be—bonus. We navigate to our platform under my twin’s direction. We are among many making the sojourn to the Rive Gauche Station.

The train is hot and full. We find a small section of the two-level car to tuck into. Eight seats contain two commuters and the six of us. We all travel together for several stops toward our destination. At the other end of the car there is a commotion. Some interesting music and singing has begun. It sounds like an accordion and something else. They are playing Guantanamera. It is lively and the performers are enjoying themselves. The train stops and the commuters exit. As we begin again, the performer with the unknown instrument appears holding a small coin purse, busking along. We toss in a euro and then the music begins again. The accordionist has moved to the next car via the train platform. The saxophonist opens the door to the next car and joins the party. I follow him to get a picture to save the memory. They completely ham it up; providing me with a great action shot.

The train arrives sooner than expected. We had to take a bus bridge last time we visited because they were repairing the tracks. This had made the journey much longer in my memory. We wait for the crowd to exit and empty out on to a waning platform. There are soon only us and a trio of French military personnel dressed in camo fatigues and black berets with tassels, carrying their helmets on their elbows and well-worn automatic rifles on their shoulders; fingers poised over triggers for a threat that has been all too present in France these past few years.

We follow them, unintentionally, up the tree-lined avenue towards the palace. The cool shade of the tall trees is welcome and fleeting, I move to pass the trio and realize that I have stepped in front of the muzzle of the soldier’s rifle and quickly drop back as he shoots me a steely glare. We make the turn in front of the palace, the tour bus filled parking lot is flanked by the growing line of visitors. A longer line I’ve never seen and this includes those I’ve seen on a summer Saturday at Disneyland. Thankfully, we are not standing in that thing.

I’m on a mission. I am hopeful that the market is going. The fear being that it is only going on the weekend. My fear is put rest after finding the square completely by accident. It does not disappoint. I will spare the description and my fingers and allow the pictures to do the talking.

We split up, I head to the market to spy the produce and learn some French words for the various fruits and vegetables that it contains. The quintet is going to do some shopping at one of the stores that caught Claire’s eye. We agree to meet at a creperie nearby for an early lunch. Gallates (savory) and Crepes (Sweet) consumed, I down my espresso finisher, pay the l’addition and we are off to the gardens and Marie’s house.

Entering the estate from the side via one of the neighborhoods through the Queen’s Gate, the fancy building to the right of the gate confuses us. Turns out to be a Walfdorf Astoria hotel and not the Trianon Palace. We pass through the gates and make a right up a long dirt road that is lined with goats on one side and sheep on the other. There is a male kid challenging his utter heavy mother. He rears up and lunges towards her where she is waiting with a thudding head butt. The crash sounds awful and it happens again and again as the two twirl around one another. There are two fences. They are on the other side of the second fence but between the two fences is a lone goat and that Claire is making friends with as she scratches its face. The hair of his chinny-chin-chin dangling below his snout.

Up the road there are several groups of elementary age children running around. We meander along, dodging the horse poop and taking in the view. In the pasture, the alpha male appears from behind a stable. Trotting down the slope, his bell announces his arrival. I can only imagine why that bell hangs around his neck. Who would want to be surprised by that fella. His horns twist above his head about two feet.

We need a bathroom. It is still a way off. I ask the attendant at the gate we approach if this is where her house is and I am instructed that it is down the road behind us. We make our way down a long, wide, dual lane stone road. This description does no justice.

We finally arrive at the Petite Trianon and make our way in to a shaded courtyard where there are about 30 boys running amok. Their teacher is shouting at them, her patience completely spent. She finally organizes them in a single file line and marches them out. It is quiet now. We use the restroom and plan to head in. Claire has succumbed to the heat. She and Rani are going to hang back. I don’t blame her. Robin and I agree that if it even begins to feel like the main palace we will bail out. It takes one staircase and two rooms. Nope. This is not happening. Out in the midday sun we decide to head over to the palace via the tram. We can see the gardens and the hit the train home. One tram goes by, two trams, three. We are all now maxed out. We finally get on only to be insulted by the 20 euros it costs to be bounced down the cobblestone lanes. At least Emily was free. We arrive to the side of the palace, first passing by the Neptune Pond and Dragon Fountain. We look for an exit only to be assaulted by the news that the exit is a 10 minute walk back in the direction from whence we came.

We surrender and begin the slog. Stopping for pictures in front of the gardener’s recent trimming of some ornamental conifers and of course the famous water features. Outside the Queen’s Gate, I dial up an Uber at the order of my womb-mate. Claire has lost it in the heat and our two or not far from the same state. “Get a drink and we’ll see you back at the apartment,” she tells Robin and I, who once again are left to our own devices. This time we will have that drink.

Sitting on the shaded sidewalk of the brasserie, we order. “Deux bierres. Tres, Tres froid, si vous plait,” I manage. “Grande?” the server replies. “Whay,” I phonetically respond, the equivalent of “Yah” A more casual version of “Oui” that you often hear on the street. Lovingly we caress the very cold pints of Cherbourg, watching the world pass by. We finish, pay for our sidewalk premium priced beers and head towards the train station, opting for the Rive Droit station. Turns out to be cheaper and offers sweeping views of the City of Lights. The panorama contains the Eiffel and Sacre Coeur at a distance. We each take turns nodding off in the heat of the train car. St. Lazare comes not soon enough and we are back in the cool of the train station. Only now, it is rush hour and the place is crawling with people. What. The. Fuck. Where are all these people coming from and going to? It is frenetic and everyone but us know where to go. There is order in the chaos and we are fouling it up. Down this staircase, around this corner, down that hallway, through this turn style, it takes us 10 minutes of dodging commuters to find our exist. Up on the Malesherbes side of the Huitieme, we are on a mission to get dinner purchased. For our 4th of July celebration we are having Mexican. Tacos and guacamole. Maybe not American but definitely Californian. Note to self: get to the grocery before 6pm. It is a ZOO and French people are ruthless in this Monop (French Grocer). I am selecting my avocados when this woman brushes past me to paw through the boxes for a ripe one. I am disgusted by brash rudeness and need to get out of the place. Now. We get in line, pay and exit.

Back at the apartment we collapse over a glass of cold rose, licking the wounds of the day. If asked to go to Versailles in the summer again, I will politely decline. If pressed, I will launch into a profanity laced rebuke. Forewarned is fair warned.

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