This is my first alternative history work, please tolerate my inexperience. I'm open to all kinds of feedbacks
In the final hours of 1999, on the brink of a new millennium, a shocking event sets the stage for a radically different future. Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and the richest man in the world, is found dead at his sprawling estate in Medina, Washington. The man behind this unthinkable act is his trusted butler who, in an apparent murder-suicide, leaves behind a chilling message: "Repent and donate all that you own, or die in shame. We are the unseen, the unheard, the forgotten. We will not be silenced." The public reels from the shock, and the police scramble to uncover the anarchists' network. But their efforts yield no results. The identity and motives of this anarchist group remain a mystery.
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Microsoft, under the leadership of Steve Ballmer, pledges to carry on Gates' legacy and forges ahead, despite a temporary slump in the market. The company reaffirms its commitment to its products and customers. This move stabilizes Microsoft but inadvertently gives a boost to open source platforms and Linux, as some companies and governments, fearing an over-reliance on one company's technology, promote open-source solutions to diversify their options.
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In 2000, the world is held in the grip of fear. The secret anarchist group responsible for Gates' death remains elusive, as law enforcement agencies worldwide scramble to unmask them. Heightened security measures are put into place, especially for high-net-worth individuals. Global discourse around wealth inequality and the responsibilities of the wealthy intensifies.
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The September 11th attacks occur as they did in our timeline, causing a further global shift towards security and surveillance. The focus on the anarchist group temporarily fades in the wake of this massive terrorist act.
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In 2004, another seismic event rocks the world. Warren Buffett, the investment guru, and the second richest man globally, dies in a horrific car crash. The culprit is none other than his personal driver, who planned the crash to end both their lives. The message left behind echoes the sentiment of the first: "Wealth is not a shield. Charity is not a facade. Share or perish." The untraceable nature of these attacks and the cryptic, threatening messages underline the deadly intent of this anarchist group.
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In response to these assassinations, several of the world's billionaires, led by tech tycoons Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Larry Ellison, Michael Bloomberg and Carlos Slim form the Global Equity Foundation. They pledge to donate a significant portion of their wealth to combat global poverty and inequality. This massive philanthropic endeavor is geared towards global health and education initiatives. Yet, it seems more like a desperate act of self-preservation than genuine philanthropy.
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Simultaneously, a group of ultra-wealthy individuals, led by Richard Branson, take a different approach. They purchase Necker Island, an island in the Caribbean, establishing an independent micro-nation free from the political complexities of their home countries. The island, referred to as "Eden," is fortified with state-of-the-art security systems designed to protect them from the anarchists.
This safe haven, populated by some of the wealthiest people on the planet, offers refuge from the growing threat of the anarchists.
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By the end of 2006, society is gripped with a sense of unease. The line between the wealthy and the less fortunate has become a tense battleground. The world waits with bated breath for the anarchists' next move.
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In the first week of 2007,Necker Island, owned by Richard Branson in our timeline - is struck by a missile, obliterating everything and everyone on it. The world mourns the loss of several leading business figures and philanthropists. Initial suspicions fall on the anarchist group that killed Gates and Buffet.
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As investigators sift through the wreckage, information leaks revealing the true culprits: a secret Russian military unit aiming to destabilize the US economy. The revelation sends shockwaves across the globe, stoking old Cold War fears and bringing the world to the brink of war. The US, under President George W. Bush, declares war on Russia, and the world watches in apprehension as military mobilizations begin for what looks to be the third World War.
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Before any attacks are launched, news breaks out of Russia that President Vladimir Putin and three influential Russian oligarchs have been assassinated. Prostitutes, apparently planted by the anarchist group, are identified as the killers. Security guards kill them almost immediately after the assassinations.
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In a cryptic message, the anarchists chastise the world powers for accelerating their plans, reasserting control over the narrative and reminding the world of their pervasive influence.
"Do not confuse our roles. We kill, you die. Do not hurry us up. Wait and your turn will come". Another part of the message states
"We do not wish for war, only justice. The innocents of Eden serving the rich were not our targets, but casualties of your greed. We are sorry for their loss, but this is but a dip in the ocean of the damage you are causing."
The message also includes a litany of detailed accusations against prominent global figures, exposing a wealth of crimes and unethical behaviors that were previously hidden or ignored. Among the accused is Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, whose alleged misdeeds are laid bare for the world to see.
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As 2007 progresses, the world is left in a state of uncertainty and fear. The anarchists seem to be everywhere and nowhere, with the power to target anyone. The impending war is temporarily halted as the world grapples with the revelations from the anarchists' message and the power vacuum in Russia. With the threat of the anarchists hanging over their heads, the powerful and wealthy are forced to reconsider their actions, while the less fortunate find a grim sense of satisfaction in their comeuppance.
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But the world doesn't remain a silent observer. As news of the assassinations and the extravagant actions of the rich spread, public sentiment starts to shift. There's a growing call for justice, transparency, and equity. Movements demanding wealth redistribution gain traction, the loudest among them being Italy's Five Star Movement. With the charismatic comedian Beppe Grillo at its helm, the movement benefits immensely from the public outrage against the wealthy, especially following the revelations about Silvio Berlusconi's illicit activities.
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In 2008, media tycoon Rupert Murdoch is poisoned, his death leaving a power vacuum in the media industry. The anarchists, in their now customary fashion, claim responsibility for the assassination in a chilling message. They condemn Murdoch's media empire as a tool of manipulation and inequality, and demand that his wealth be donated to nature reserves in Africa and non-profit organizations fighting against illegal and harmful fishing practices in South America. Such wealth is so tainted, they argue, that it should no longer be used to benefit humanity.
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The anarchists' message also takes aim at the Global Equity Foundation, the massive philanthropic endeavor established by some of the world's wealthiest individuals. The message accuses several members of the Foundation of continuing to amass wealth instead of fully committing to philanthropy. This marks a clear warning to the global elite - no one is safe, and insincere philanthropy will not protect them.
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This alternate timeline presents a world in turmoil. The ultra-rich are no longer invincible, and society begins to question the long-accepted power structures. The narrative also sparks a profound cultural shift. Discussions about wealth inequality, power, and justice dominate public discourse. As the world grapples with the radical changes and anticipates the anarchists' next move, an unsettling question looms large - who's next on the anarchists' list?
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In Japan, there is a cultural emphasis on harmony and group success over individual prosperity. While wealth is certainly respected, overt displays of wealth are often frowned upon. In this alternate timeline, Japanese society might view the chaos unfolding in the West with a mix of trepidation and schadenfreude. The government might enforce stricter financial regulations to avoid a similar crisis domestically.
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With one of the fastest-growing economies and a huge wealth disparity, India's reaction would be mixed. India's rising tech billionaires and traditional wealthy class might feel threatened and take drastic measures for their safety. Meanwhile, the masses grappling with poverty might feel vindicated and empowered by the anarchists' message.
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With its wealth stemming mainly from royal family members and oil magnates, Saudi Arabia reaction would be quite different. The royal family might further consolidate their power and use the ongoing global chaos as a reason to suppress dissent. There could be increased unrest among the populace, and movements for democracy and wealth redistribution might gain momentum.
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Scandinavian Countries are known for their strong welfare states and relative income equality. They might respond to these events by further emphasizing their commitment to egalitarian principles, possibly leading to increased taxes on the wealthy and more support for public services. The public discourse might focus on the ethics of wealth accumulation and the responsibilities of the wealthy to society.
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With its stark wealth inequality and history of social unrest, Brazil's reaction could be volatile. There could be increased protests and movements calling for wealth redistribution and social reform. At the same time, the wealthy class might double down on their efforts to maintain their power and wealth, leading to greater societal tension.
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The years following the assassination of Rupert Murdoch see a sharp turn towards radical socio-political change.
Italy, under the leadership of comedian-turned-activist Beppe Grillo and his Five Star Movement, introduces a novel form of governance, deemed as the 'Economic Equity Referendum.'
This new system allows Italian citizens to vote annually on the forced appropriation of assets belonging to five selected wealthy individuals.
Moreover, citizens are allowed to nominate five additional individuals, with the most nominated names appearing in the following year's referendum.
The move is controversial but reflects the significant shift in public sentiment against extreme wealth accumulation, catalyzed by the anarchist group's actions.
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By 2009, Spain, still recovering from the global financial crisis and inspired by Italy's novel approach, decides to implement a similar system. Spain's version of the 'Economic Equity Referendum' aims to redistribute wealth, hoping to bolster its struggling economy.
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However, these new policies are met with mixed reactions on the global stage. Some praise these actions as a progressive move towards economic justice, while others view them as an infringement on personal property rights, sparking fierce debates on wealth distribution, economic justice, and individual liberties.
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By 2010, the economic landscape has significantly changed. Wealthy individuals and corporations are increasingly cautious, devising new strategies to safeguard their wealth or diverting their investments to countries with more favorable policies. Some begin extensive philanthropic efforts to win public favor, hoping to avoid becoming targets of the economic referendums or worse, the anarchists.
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Despite no further assassinations, the fear instilled by the anarchist group still lingers. This, coupled with the disruptive socio-economic changes, fuels widespread uncertainty and tension. Meanwhile, ordinary citizens grapple with these new realities, some welcoming the disruption to the status quo, while others yearn for the stability of the past.
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Across the globe, nations observe Italy and Spain's experiments, grappling with the rising demands for wealth equality from their citizens. The actions of the anarchist group and the drastic measures taken by Italy and Spain have set the stage for an era of unprecedented change. The world enters the new decade with apprehension, knowing that the struggle between wealth, power, and justice is far from over.
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In 2011, an unimaginable twist in takes place. An international investigation finally uncovers the truth behind the string of high-profile assassinations that have been hitting the globe: all of it was a plot orchestrated by none other than Bill Gates and Vladimir Putin. It's an outrageous revelation that sends shockwaves through the world.
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Documents, videos, and testimonies are unearthed, providing irrefutable proof of their involvement. It emerges that Gates and Putin, recognizing the vast inequities and imbalances in the world, believed that a revolution was necessary for true change. But they knew that the world's wealthy and powerful elites would quash any such attempt and simply kill them if they were to seriusly try. Thus, they devised a scheme to subvert the established order.
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From 1990 to 1999, they secretly funneled resources into creating and training a clandestine group of individuals. The duo meticulously planned each assassination, devising the perfect circumstances, recruiting the needed personnel, even penning the anarchic messages themselves. They even managed to convince Murdoch's cook and Buffett's driver to join their cause. In essence, Gates and Putin willingly orchestrated their own deaths to catalyze a global transformation.
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The discovery of the secret hideouts and the apprehension of several group members corroborate this stunning revelation. The anarchists were, in reality, pawns in a grand design concocted by Gates and Putin.
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The revelation sparks a global uproar. Public opinion is polarized. Some view Gates and Putin as martyrs who sacrificed themselves for a noble cause. Others see them as manipulative puppet masters who plunged the world into chaos to fulfill their vision. In either case, the world is left to grapple with the consequences of their actions.
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As the shocking news spreads, nations across the globe face a common question: how to move forward in the wake of this revelation? The chaos initiated by Gates and Putin has already triggered a cascade of socio-economic transformations. Now, it's up to the world to decide whether to carry forward this radical change or attempt to restore the old order. But one thing is clear: the world as we know it will never be the same again.
User
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The years following the revelation of Gates and Putin's orchestrated upheaval unravel a tapestry of international responses, further accentuating the economic, social, and political diversities worldwide.
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In the United States, the shockwave from the revelation instigates an intense national debate on wealth and power dynamics. The US sees a surge in progressive movements pushing for economic justice and wealth redistribution. A strong response from the wealthier class culminates in an aggressive lobby for protection of assets and personal freedoms. By 2015, the US Congress introduces the 'Wealth Protection Act', aiming to protect the rights and assets of individuals. The act has a polarizing effect, leading to widespread protests and, in some cases, riots.
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Meanwhile, in Europe, reactions differ considerably between nations. Germany responds by tightening regulations on wealth accumulation and increasing transparency in financial transactions. The UK, however, initially resists change. By 2013, the pressure for reform, both domestically and internationally, leads to the introduction of the 'Fair Wealth Act', which aims to address wealth inequality through tax reforms and increased public spending.
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China sees this as an opportunity to exert its influence on the world stage. Emphasizing stability and prosperity, the Chinese government undertakes an extensive international diplomatic campaign. It advocates for a balanced approach to wealth management and presents its model of state-controlled capitalism as an alternative. By 2017, China becomes a more dominant player in global economics.
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In contrast, several countries in Africa and South America seize the opportunity to address endemic issues of inequality. Nations such as South Africa and Brazil begin implementing strict wealth regulation laws. In many cases, these are coupled with substantial investments in education, healthcare, and social services, aimed at reducing poverty and improving quality of life.
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Australia and Canada, known for their relatively high levels of social equity, undertake balanced measures. They introduce policies to moderate wealth accumulation, while also ensuring protections for personal freedoms and property rights.
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By 2018, the world is markedly different. The years following the revelation of Gates and Putin's plot witness an unprecedented global shift in attitudes towards wealth and power. It's a world that is trying to find a balance between economic justice and individual freedom, between stability and change, and most importantly, between the visions of two men who sacrificed themselves to spark a revolution, and the reality of the complex, diverse world they left behind.

Kind of a long one here but just hang with me, you may find it's well worth the time.
This post has been a long time coming. Repeatedly I’ve seen people worried about how they worship, if they should let others in their family know what they believe so I decided (and when I say decided, I mean, Hermes showed up and said we've got a message for you to pass on), with Hermes and Athena’s help and the blessing of both the Olympic pantheon and the Chthonic pantheon, that this needed to be said.
First thing first, there’s a message that the pantheons of the world want you to know: We are sorry for all of the painful and harmful lessons that have been beaten into you by the major religions of today’s world. We welcome you with open arms and open hearts, we rejoice you coming here. You are safe here.
Worshiping the Greek gods or any gods from any pantheon takes trust and trust takes time to build. You’ve been hurt and are still hurting. It’s okay we understand. You want to honor us and be devoted to us and we love that but we understand that life happens and before you know it, seasons have passed and you don’t think you’ve been honoring us; that you haven’t been worshiping us. This is where you’re wrong. Worshiping us isn’t a complicated thing. You want to do it right and the way they did it when we were at our highest peak of devotees and that’s great but we don’t require daily prayers and alter worship so relax, if you want to, great; if you don't, that's great too.
Here’s a few examples of ways you can worship, honor and love them without worrying what anyone thinks and without worrying too greatly about your safety:

1. Grab a bottle of water to take with you as you take a walk in the sun or moon. Visit a park, feel the breeze, listen to children’s laughter, watch as a bee flies among the flowers blooming. Close your eyes, tilt your head back and enjoy the rays of the cosmos shining down on you and say a silent thank you for the beauty you’ve seen, experienced and enjoyed. Watch the moon and stars. Take in a concert. Relax and get a good night’s sleep (Hypnos and Pasithea will love you for it). Eat a good meal.
   The gods you just honored may just surprise you: Poseidon, Apollo/Helios, Artemis/Selene, DemeteGaia, Persephone, Hermes, Nyx and Erebus, The Muses, Ares, Atlas (god of constellations), Antheia (goddess of flowers), Hera, and Aura (goddess of breezes).
   
2. Interested in mainly Hermes? Okay, here’s a few for you: write a thank you note to him. You don’t have to write his name, just be thinking about him when you write it and it can be a simple thing; perhaps something like, “Thank you for everything and for all the times you’ve listened. I appreciate it and you.” Okay yes that could technically be written to any and all of the gods and no one else is any the wiser. Another thing, start a journal of your walk from above—describe where you went, what you saw, what you felt. He’s the god of communication, writing and travel for a reason.
   
3. Learn something new. If jewelry making or pottery making interests you, learn about it. You’re hitting up Athena and Hephaestus.
   
4. Read a book. Depending upon the subject of the book, there’s several gods you’re paying homage to.
   
5. Pick up a sport even if you think you’re no good at it. Ares and Athena will love it.
   

There’s a lot more but it comes down to this, simple worship is still worship and the gods have eternity to wait for you. They’re not in a big hurry and they want you to be comfortable following them and in no way do they want you to be belittled or hurt for your beliefs. So stay safe and only share with those you know will support you even if they don’t understand. If you feel comfortable talking to the people in your life about the gods, then by all means do so but if you don’t, then don’t.
On a slightly different note, there are several gods who due to what they govern have been misunderstood and misrepresented in what they stand for. Ares and Thanatos are chief among them. Ares is a blood thirsty god of war, 100% true but he’s also a loving father who has always tried to be there for his children because he knows the bitter taste of watching his parents turn from him and treat him like he didn’t matter. It was a lesson he never wanted to pass onto his children; he’s not always successful but he does try.
As far as Thanatos is concerned, he really is a gentle and loving being. Yes he’s Death but he tries to be as gentle as he can when he comes for those who are moving on from this world. He doesn’t aim to scare or harm anyone and he’s always willing to help make the transition as easy as possible. He’s not required to do so, he chooses to do so and it hurts him when people think poorly of him. He leaves the violent, painful death to Keres whenever possible.
As far as other certain acts that were laid at different gods’ feet, try to understand that while there may be a grain of truth in it, back then, the justification was usually, if this god or that god can do it, then I’m just following their lead. Evil acts have always sought out the laziest justification possible when confronted with the truth. Just food for thought as you read through the different stories and a gentle reminder that there’s always two sides to the story.

Mission statement:
The AIF is a decentralized pro-democracy/anti-fascist organization operating in the United States. We are big-tent community for patriotic folks working to undermine the encroachment of all forms of authoritarianism. We wish to reclaim the meaning of the word 'patriotism' from ultranationalists, racists, alt-right, neo-nazis, and radical-religious. We fight to encourage the people of the United States of America to strive for liberty and justice for all.
Check out our website: https://www.ironfrontusa.org/
Public Discord invite: https://discord.gg/sHJcSFf9
Summer is an opportunity to connect with communities.
The zine is rolling forward on the Discord! What ideas do you want to publish?
We’re also in heavy need of marketing help to understand better ways to advertise ourselves to a wider audience.
Looking for friends. We could use help with funding and mutual aid.
Political activism can be an outlet for a variety of skills, including but not limited to:
-Intelligence
-Marketing
-Graphic Designers
-Programmers (Ruby, React.js, Python, etc.)
-Writers
-Survivalists/self-defense experts
-Community organizers
-Medical professionals
-Engineers
-Journalists/researchers
-Historians
If you are looking to become more involved with political activism, consider joining!
The best thing you can do at the moment is talk with local (and online) people, make friends, and give each other things to do that move you towards your goals. That communication, connectivity, and dependability drives organization. If you’re making social media accounts or local connections, please message us, we want to network with you!
list of ways to find people for building local affinity groups:
-protests
-community gardens
-seed banks
-conservation groups
-hiking clubs
-community fridges
-Democratic Socialists of America (https://www.dsausa.org/chapters/)
-YDSA (https://y.dsausa.org/get-involved/chapters/)
-Food Not Bombs (https://foodnotbombs.net/info/locations/)
-LGBTQIA+ groups
-Liberal Gun Club
-John Brown Gun Club
-Socialist Rifle Association (https://socialistra.org/chapters/)
-Extinction Rebellion
-https://www.actlocal.network/
-https://mutualaiddisasterrelief.org/co-conspirators/?

What Is Insurance?
Insurance is a contract, represented by a policy, in which a policyholder receives financial protection or reimbursement against losses from an insurance company. The company pools clients’ risks to make payments more affordable for the insured. Most people have some insurance: for their car, their house, their healthcare, or their life.
Insurance policies hedge against financial losses resulting from accidents, injury, or property damage. Insurance also helps cover costs associated with liability (legal responsibility) for damage or injury caused to a third party.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Insurance is a contract (policy) in which an insurer indemnifies another against losses from specific contingencies or perils.
There are many types of insurance policies. Life, health, homeowners, and auto are among the most common forms of insurance.
The core components that make up most insurance policies are the premium, deductible, and policy limits.
How Insurance Works
Many insurance policy types are available, and virtually any individual or business can find an insurance company willing to insure them—for a price. Common personal insurance policy types are auto, health, homeowners, and life insurance. Most individuals in the United States have at least one of these types of insurance, and car insurance is required by state law.
Businesses obtain insurance policies for field-specific risks, For example, a fast-food restaurant's policy may cover an employee injuries from cooking with a deep fryer. Medical malpractice insurance covers injury- or death-related liability claims resulting from the health care provider's negligence or malpractice. Businesses may be required by state law to buy specific insurance coverages.
Most insurance is regulated at the state level.
There are also insurance policies available for very specific needs, such as kidnap, ransom and extortion insurance (K&R), identity theft insurance, and wedding liability and cancellation insurance.
Insurance Policy Components
Understanding how insurance works can help you choose a policy. For instance, comprehensive coverage may or may not be the right type of auto insurance for you. Three components of any insurance type are the premium, policy limit, and deductible.
Premium
A policy’s premium is its price, typically a monthly cost. Often, an insurer takes multiple factors into account to set a premium. Here are a few examples:
Auto insurance premiums: Your history of property and auto claims, age and location, creditworthiness, and many other factors that may vary by state.
Home insurance premiums: The value of your home, personal belongings, location, claims history, and coverage amounts.
Health insurance premiums: Age, sex, location, health status, and coverage levels.
Life insurance premiums: Age, sex, tobacco use, health, and amount of coverage.
Much depends on the insurer's perception of your risk for a claim. For example, suppose you own several expensive automobiles and have a history of reckless driving. In that case, you will likely pay more for an auto policy than someone with a single midrange sedan and a perfect driving record. However, different insurers may charge different premiums for similar policies. So finding the price that is right for you requires some legwork.
Policy Limit
The policy limit is the maximum amount an insurer will pay for a covered loss under a policy. Maximums may be set per period (e.g., annual or policy term), per loss or injury, or over the life of the policy, also known as the lifetime maximum.
Typically, higher limits carry higher premiums. For a general life insurance policy, the maximum amount that the insurer will pay is referred to as the face value. This is the amount paid to your beneficiary upon your death.
The federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) prevents ACA-compliant plans from instituting a lifetime limit for essential healthcare benefits such as family planning, maternity services, and pediatric care.
Deductible
The deductible is a specific amount you pay out of pocket before the insurer pays a claim. Deductibles serve as deterrents to large volumes of small and insignificant claims.
For example, a $1,000 deductible means you pay the first $1,000 toward any claims. Suppose your car's damage totals $2,000. You pay the first $1,000, and your insurer pays the remaining $1,000.
Deductibles can apply per policy or claim, depending on the insurer and the type of policy. Health plans may have an individual deductible and a family deductible. Policies with high deductibles are typically less expensive because the high out-of-pocket expense generally results in fewer small claims.
Types of Insurance
There are many different types of insurance. Let’s look at the most important.
Health Insurance
Health insurance helps covers routine and emergency medical care costs, often with the option to add vision and dental services separately. In addition to an annual deductible, you may also pay copays and coinsurance, which are your fixed payments or percentage of a covered medical benefit after meeting the deductible. However, many preventive services may be covered for free before these are met.
Health insurance may be purchased from an insurance company, an insurance agent, the federal Health Insurance Marketplace, provided by an employer, or federal Medicare and Medicaid coverage.
The federal government no longer requires Americans to have health insurance, but in some states, such as California, you may pay a tax penalty if you don't have insurance.
If you have chronic health issues or need regular medical attention, look for a health insurance policy with a lower deductible. Though the annual premium is higher than a comparable policy with a higher deductible, less-expensive medical care year-round may be worth the tradeoff.
Home Insurance
Homeowners insurance (also known as home insurance) protects your home, other property structures, and personal possessions against natural disasters, unexpected damage, theft, and vandalism. Renter's insurance is another type of homeowners insurance.
Homeowner insurance won't cover floods or earthquakes, which you'll have to protect against separately.
Your lender or landlord will likely require you to have homeowners insurance coverage. Where homes are concerned, you don't have coverage or stop paying your insurance bill, your mortgage lender is allowed to buy homeowners insurance for you and charge you for it.
Auto Insurance
Auto insurance can help pay claims if you injure or damage someone else's property in a car accident, help pay for accident-related repairs on your vehicle, or repair or replace your vehicle if stolen, vandalized, or damaged by a natural disaster.
Instead of paying out of pocket for auto accidents and damage, people pay annual premiums to an auto insurance company. The company then pays all or most of the covered costs associated with an auto accident or other vehicle damage.
If you have a leased vehicle or borrowed money to buy a car, your lender or leasing dealership will likely require you to carry auto insurance. As with homeowners insurance, the lender may purchase insurance for you if necessary.
Life Insurance
A life insurance policy guarantees that the insurer pays a sum of money to your beneficiaries (such as a spouse or children) if you die. In exchange, you pay premiums during your lifetime.
There are two main types of life insurance. Term life insurance covers you for a specific period, such as 10 to 20 years. If you die during that period, your beneficiaries receive a payment. Permanent life insurance covers your whole life as long as you continue paying the premiums.
Travel Insurance
Travel insurance covers the costs and losses associated with traveling, including trip cancellations or delays, coverage for emergency healthcare, injuries and evacuations, and damaged baggage, rental cars, and rental homes.
What Is Insurance?
Insurance is a way to manage your financial risks. When you buy insurance, you purchase protection against unexpected financial losses. The insurance company pays you or someone you choose if something bad occurs. If you have no insurance and an accident happens, you may be responsible for all related costs.
Why Is Insurance Important?
Insurance helps protect you, your family, and your assets. An insurer will help you cover the costs of unexpected and routine medical bills or hospitalization, accident damage to your car or injury of others, and home damage or theft of your belongings. An insurance policy can even provide your survivors with a lump-sum cash payment if you die. In short, insurance can offer peace of mind regarding unforeseen financial risks.
Is Insurance an Asset?
Depending on the type of life insurance policy and how it is used, permanent or variable life insurance could be considered a financial asset because it can build cash value or be converted into cash. Simply put, most permanent life insurance policies have the ability to build cash value over time.
The Bottom Line
Insurance helps to protect you and your family against unexpected financial costs and resulting debts or the risk of losing your assets. Insurance helps protect you from expensive lawsuits, injuries and damages, death, and even total losses of your car or home.
Sometimes, your state or lender may require you to carry insurance. Although there are many insurance policy types, some of the most common are life, health, homeowners, and auto. The right type of insurance for you will depend on your goals and financial situation.
To known more about insurance visit: www.asanevent.com
Thankyou..😊

Nearly 15 years ago, I went to work for a company. The intent was for me to complete a project in quality and then move over into program management but someone quit and I was asked to fill in as a customer quality engineer. This meant that every month, I traveled to customer sites, did the first pass analysis of our defective products, and got yelled at - A LOT. It sucked.
Also worth mentioning, our branch of the company was too small to use the corporate travel so for every trip I was scouring discount travel sites to find the cheapest flight/hotel/car. I was ridiculously vigorous in seeking best prices. If the shittiest shitbox car was $32/day and the not-so-shitty car was $34/day, I picked the $32/day car to save the company $2/day.
One fine trip, several months in, was spectacularly awful. Not only did I have a truly terrible car, the hotel was all new depths of yuck. My shoes stuck to the carpet in my room and the security flipper thing on the door was plastic. Also, it was in the worst part of town and I worried about my safety to the point that I ended up pulling the little couch over to block the door and sleeping on it.
Adding to my misery, I was sick. I had some creeping crud that plugged my sinuses and made me long for death. Normally, I’d have canceled the trip but the customer was in an uproar about our continued repeating defects and required someone to be there.
I made this trek every month. And once during every trip, I would eat at the local Outback Steakhouse. It was a known quantity, the people who worked there were great, and it helped me to have that connection.
On this particular trip, I made my way to the outback for dinner and I was clearly sick and miserable. And the workers took care of me. They sat me next to the fireplace, brought me tea, and had the kitchen make me chicken noodle soup even though it wasn’t on the menu. I nearly cried I was so grateful. My bill for dinner was less than $10 so I charged $20. Yes, more than a 100% tip but their kindness kept me going.
I got home, did my expense report, and turned it in. My director called me into his office and screamed at me about how the corporate policy was 10% tip and it should never exceed 15% and what was wrong with me for paying them so much. Remember: total bill including “excessive” tip was $20. It broke me. Well. It shattered my loyalty to the company’s bottom line.
So, I made them give me the corporate travel policy where the tip policy was outlined and from that moment on, I followed the corporate travel policy exactly. No more shitbox $32/day cars; I’m in midsize or better. No more flying out at 4am in the center seat; the flights fit my schedule and I sat where I wanted. No more scary hotels in the worst part of town; now I’m staying at the nicest executive hotel allowed by the policy.
The cost of my trips were pretty regularly double or triple what they had been, adding up to thousands of dollars a year but I never disobeyed their allowable tip policy again.
The true irony: their corporate tip policy actually had verbiage that said “exceptional” service could be recognized with an additional gratuity but basically, don’t make a habit of it. Also, the allowable per diem was $50/day and a receipt was only required if over that amount so the tip that started the whole thing was within per diem, allowable for exceptional service, and the receipt for it had not been necessary.

What does it mean to be rich? Can we consider owning a well-furnished home or buying materialistic possessions as wealth? Or is it considered wealth to be able to afford a 100 rupee cup of coffee?
Because I know some people who have struggled in the past but are now living their lives comfortably. They not only save money but also fulfill their desires. For example, there was a person who once struggled to buy a car, but after finding a job, they were able to save and make proper investments, eventually purchasing a car. So, can we call this person wealthy? Even though their net worth may not be in billions, they are still able to make such purchases.
I have seen some people openly declare, "Oh, he is rich," when in reality, they are only buying things for their own convenience. But why should it matter? After all, they worked hard at one point and now they can afford those things. So, what's the problem?
I guess it's somewhat fair to a certain extent that maybe those who are struggling for a long time and their efforts are not paying off, get frustrated when they see someone else who is also struggling but things are working out for them. Perhaps, in their frustration, people tend to blatantly ignore the hard work of others and simply label them as rich.

In July 2021 my father had passed away after a 6 month battle with asbestosis related illnesses (asbestosis was only confirmed after 3 months). After taking the time to process it I’ve decided that I want to fight to at the bare minimum acknowledgement from the company that exposed him to the illness (this company has a reputation for exposure to asbestos). I have spoke to a “No win, no fee.” firm who said that they liked my chances but I can’t claim for things like “emotional damage” etc. which I find interesting considering the passing of him is what caused me the emotional damage.
I just want the right thing to happen and the company to acknowledge what they have done.
I guess what I’m asking is where do I stand? Are no win, no fee firms ok or should I explore a reputable solicitor? And is it even worth the resources it will take?
FYI, I am a only son. Mum and dad were married but separated at time of his death.

Jane <3

• Thread 1
• Thread 2

ALIENS, CRYPTOIDS AND SIMULATIONS

• What if Earth is like one of those uncontacted tribes in South America, like the whole Galaxy knows we're here but they've agreed not to contact us until we figure it out for ourselves?
• What are some horrifying things to consider when thinking about aliens?
• What do you think is stopping aliens from killing us all?
• What is your personal encounter with the paranormal - ghosts, aliens, sleep paralysis, glitch in the matrix, etc?
• What are some horrifying things to consider when thinking about aliens?
• People of Reddit that honestly believe they have been abducted by aliens, what was your experience like?
• Stephen Hawking has stated that we should stop trying to contact Aliens, as they would likely be hostile to us. What is your position on this issue?
• If UFO's aren't aliens, and aren't hoaxes, what's the scariest scenario for what they really are?
• What is the most "aliens did it" moment in history?
• Believers of reddit, what's the most convincing evidence that aliens exist?
• The President mistakenly declares Martian Law, instead of Martial Law. What powers does he think he has under Martian Law?
• Individuals of Reddit who have experienced crazy sightings such as Aliens, Cryptids, Humanoids, UFOs, Black Silouettes AKA The Shadow People, Dogman, Mothman, Stairs in the Woods etc- What stories can you share?
• Neil deGrasse Tyson believes there are better than 50/50 odds that we live in a simulation universe. What glitch in the matrix have you experienced?
• People of reddit who claim to have seen a mythical creature, such as faires, elves, gnomes, etc, what is your story?
• What do you think is scarier, the idea that we are alone in the universe or the idea that we aren’t? Why?
• UFO enthusiasts of Reddit, what is the most significant piece of evidence supporting extra terrestrial life?
• Who would you call if you caught bigfoot?
• Did a small-town college professor discover the first-ever evidence of extraterrestrial life back in 1959? - a little-known European mystery that totally belongs in the X Files

PLACES, ENCOUNTERS AND EXPERIENCES

• People of reddit, what is the one thing that was so disturbing and gruesome you saw in your life that still disturbs you deeply to this day?
• What’s something unexplainable that you’ve experienced?
• What place gets creepy when you're alone?
• When did a game of hide and seek go horribly wrong?
• Travelers of lonely roads, explorers of the great outdoors, workers of creepy jobs and late-night shifts... What's your scary story?
• Whats a horrifying/creepy experience you have lived through?
• What is the creepiest or most unexplained thing that’s happened to you that you still think and/or wonder about to this day?
• People of Reddit, what was the creepiest thing you experienced that you thought was paranormal, but was actually much scarier when you found out what really caused it?
• What is the creepiest thing you found in a forest?
• People who like to explore abandoned buildings. What was the biggest "fuck this, I'm out" moment you had while exploring?
• What’s the creepiest or most unexplainable thing you’ve ever seen that you haven’t shared anywhere?
• What was the strangest moment in your life that you still can't explain up to this day?
• People who avoided certain death by not going at a place they normally would be at (9/11, plane crashes, shootings, etc.), What did you feel when you found out something horrible happened at a place you would have normally been at?
• What is the most horrific event that you have personally witnessed?
• Road trippers, what's the scariest and creepiest portion of Interstate or State Highways to drive in?
• What is the strangest/creepiest thing that has happened to you, that left you saying what the hell was that?
• What is the Creepiest or most Unexplained thing that’s happened to you that you still think about to this day?
• Whats a horrifying/creepy experience you have lived through?
• What is your small town dark secret story?
• What are your most disturbing /unsettling memories from your childhood?
• What's the creepiest thing you've ever experienced when you've been alone?
• What is the scariest noise you've ever heard?
• What very realistic event could happen to make 2020 even worse?
• Parents, what's the creepiest thing you remember about your child and an imaginary friend?
• What is the strangest thing that happened to you that you can’t logically explain?
• What is the strangest thing you've seen that you cannot explain?
• What is the scariest thing to happen to you when you’ve been home alone?
• What is your “I was THAT close to dying” moment?
• What is the scariest thing you have seen?
• People of Reddit with security cameras, what is the creepiest thing you’ve caught on video?
• What's the scariest thing that's ever woken you up during the middle of the night?
• People who’ve had a “Something is VERY wrong here and I need to leave” feeling but stayed, what happened?
• What was your biggest ‘we need to leave... Now!’ moment?
• People who grew up in a small town, what’s the dark secret?
• When has a gut feeling saved your life?
• Reddit, what was the scariest place you have ever been to ?

SUPERNATURAL, PARANORMAL, AND URBAN LEGENDS

• What’s the most supernatural experience you’ve ever had?
• What myth or folklore do you FIRMLY believe in?
• What is your personal encounter with the paranormal - ghosts, aliens, sleep paralysis, glitch in the matrix, etc?
• People who aren't superstitious, what is something that still creeps you out/ you won't mess with?
• Reddit, regardless of your opinion of the occult or supernatural, what is the most downright creepy or inexplicable thing that you've ever experienced?
• What are some scary urban legends you have heard of?
• What was YOUR paranormal experience ?
• What is a paranormal experience you’ve had?
• What's your Favorite Cryptid or Urban Legends?
• Paranormal believers of reddit, what made you believe?

PEOPLE AND PROFESSIONS

• Redditors who work at remote places like forest officers, oil rig workers, etc, what creepy things have you noticed while at work?
• Deep woods hikers and campers, what is the strangest or scariest situation you have come across?
• Nurses and doctors of reddit what’s your weirdest/scariest paranormal stories that took place during work?
• Urban Explorers: What is the creepiest "We're not alone" experience(s) you've had?
• Urban explorer of Reddit, what was your "I better gtfo" story?Urban explorer of Reddit, what was your "I better gtfo" story?
• Truck drivers, what's a creepy story you've got from the middle of nowhere?
• Campers, backpackers and park rangers of Reddit. What is the weirdest or creepiest thing you have found while in the woods?
• Deep sea Divers, what are your horror stories?
• People that do autopsies, whats the weirdest thing that you have found that didn't have anything to do with the person's death?
• Sailors, what's the creepiest, scariest, or most unnerving thing you've seen/witnessed while at sea?
• Night shifters, ever witnessed a paranormal activity? If so, what was it?
• Graveyard Shift workers of Reddit, what crazy, creepy, unbelievable things have you seen working in the dead of night?
• Therapists of Reddit, have you ever been genuinely scared of a patient and why?
• Autopsy doctors of Reddit, what was the biggest revelation you had to a person's death after you carried out the procedure?
• People who make their living out of cleaning murder scenes, accidents and the like, what is the worst thing you have experienced in your career?
• Night time workers of reddit, what's the freakiest stuff you've seen on the job?
• Mariners of Reddit, what’s the strangest thing you’ve seen out on the open ocean?
• Detectives of Reddit, What are Some of the Creepiest Cases You Have Worked On?
• Former homicide detectives of reddit, what was the case that made you leave the profession?
• Surgeons of reddit, what was your "oh shit" moment ?
• Doctors of Reddit, what is a disease that terrifies you but most people don’t care about?
• People working in forensics, what was the most shocking thing discovered in your lab?
• People who have worked as forensic photographers what picture you took traumatized you for a long time ?
• People who work in graveyards/morgues/embalming bodies. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen...?
• Gamers of reddit, what was the most fucked up thing you heard in a voice chat?
• People who work for social media companies that reviews the community reports. What report that you reviewed that you will never forget about?
• Interstate rest area and truck stop employees, what’s the most bizarre story you have?
• Redditors who have hired a private investigator...what did you find out?
• Ex-homeless redditors, what was the scariest thing that you ever saw on the streets?
• What are your nightshift horror stories?

MYSTERIES, CRIMES AND CRIMINALS

• What cold case or unsolved crime still gives you chills?
• In three days it will have been 4 years since the Delphi Murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams. The case is still unsolved.
• Which real life serial killer frightened/disturbed you the most?
• In 1928, the third richest man in the world disappeared from his private airplane midflight. He went to the bathroom and simply vanished. To this day, nobody knows for sure what happened on that flight.
• What is the strangest mystery that is still unsolved?
• What is your favorite SOLVED mystery?
• People who knew Murderers, when did you know something was off?
• If you could learn the honest truth behind any rumor or mystery from the course of human history, what secret would you like to unravel?
• Former Prisoners of reddit, what was the most fucked up thing about the prison/jail in general you have witnessed ?
• What is the creepiest missing person case you know about?
• Which unsolved mystery are you most interested in? Why?
• Whats the craziest crime you or somebody in your family has commited?
• Ex Prisoners of reddit, who was the most evil person there, and what did they do that was so bad?
• What are some of the most eerie and unexplained mysteries that you have experienced in your life?
• Redditors who were almost murdered, what's your story?
• McKamey Manor, a “haunted attraction,” is a participation event “where you will live your own horror movie.” Critics have argued that McKamey Manor is not a haunted attraction, but a torture chamber. Founder Russ McKamey denies these claims, and maintains that the Manor has an element of mystery.
• Where is GirlsDoPorn founder Michael James Pratt? Wanted for charges of sex trafficking and child pornography, Pratt has been a fugitive since 2019.
• Ex-Friends of a Serial Killer What Were They Like?
• What unsolved murder are you sure you have the answer to and what is the answer?
• Redditors who have gone/were declared missing, what is your story?
• Dear Reddit, has anyone you've known simply disappeared? What's the story? Have you found closure?
• What was the most unexpected twist you came across in a case?
• What unresolved disappearance creeps you out the most?
• Around 2,000 Medieval era tunnels can be found throughout Europe. No one knows who built them, or why. So what are the erdstall?
• What’s Your Weirdest Theory?
• When the Spanish arrived in modern-day Mexico, they conquered the Aztec city of Teotihuacan. But this city was not built by the Aztecs, who discovered its ruins and claimed it as their own. Who really founded Teotihuacan, once the largest city in the Western world, and what led to its collapse?
• I compiled a list of images related to unsolved cases where investigators are asking the public’s help to identify the subjects of the photo. Each photo is of a John or Jane Doe, Suspect, or Objects in an investigation. Do you recognize any of these subjects?
• On September 11th 1990, a Peruvian Boeing 727 with 16 crewmembers on board went down off Newfoundland, Canada. In a distress call overheard by two other aircraft, the pilot of the doomed jet reported that they were low on fuel and preparing to ditch. But no trace of the plane was ever found
• Today marks the 3 year anniversary of the Las Vegas shooting. Yesterday a judge approved an $800M settlement lawsuit against the Mandalay Bay Resort for the victims in the shooting. To this day there has been no definitive motive discovered regarding the shooter.
• What happened to the children of Hamelin? The dark truth to the Pied Piper.
• The mystery of the SOS sign on the mountain and a corpse, found by complete coincidence
• The Last Victim of 9/11
• A ship is found adrift in the North Sea, covered in blood, partially burnt out and with no sign of its crew. A lone survivor is found in a life raft with suitcases of cash and keeps changing his story. What happened on the Bärbel?

THE INTERNET AGE

• What are some creepy incidents that unfolded through Reddit posts/comments?
• What mysteries from the early days of the internet are still unsolved to this day?
• What was one of the most mysterious post found on Reddit?
• What is the creepiest, bone chilling post on Reddit?
• What's the creepiest Ask Reddit thread you have come across?
• What's the creepiest unresolved reddit mystery?
• People who downloaded their Google data and went through it, what were the most unsettling things you found out they had stored about you?
• What is the creepiest unexplained thing you have ever come across on the internet?
• People who have read the data that Google has collected on you, what is the most disturbing data they had collected about you?
• Who is the worst person you've met on the internet?
• What are some of the creepiest moments in Reddit history that people have seem to have forgotten?
• What was your weirdest/creepiest online experience?

REAL LIFE

• What are some VERY creepy facts?
• What is your favourite, very creepy fact?
• What's a dark secret/questionable practice in your profession which we regular folks would know nothing about?
• what a creepy fact you know?
• People of reddit, what's an interesting creepy topic to look into?
• What are some dark secrets about regular life that people should know ?
• What is something about the universe that becomes creepier as we learn more about it? Why?
• What is something that doesn’t seem dangerous but actually is dangerous?
• When did you realize that someone you were cool with your whole life was actually really messed up?
• What psychological studies would change everything we know about humans if it were not immoral to actually run them?
• What scares you as an adult that didn't bother you as a kid?
• Scientists of Reddit, what's a scary science fact that the public knows nothing about?
• What's much more likely to get you killed than people realize?
• What is a product that if people found out how it was made they'd stop buying it?
• What is the creepiest thing that society accepts as a cultural norm?
• What is a crazy history fact that sounds like a time traveler was involved in?
• What's your story of seeing somebody's mental state degrade?
• What is the most terrifying fact?
• What is the scariest theory you know about?
• What are some useless scary facts?
• Whats a terrifying fact that keeps you up at night?
• What’s the most bizarre historical fact you know?
• What is something normal that scares the shit out of you?
• What is a NOT fun fact?
• Redditors who have been in such severe and enduring physical pain that they honestly would have clicked an 'insta-death' button, what was the cause of your pain?
• Someone once said "Everyone sees the world in a different way; so when someone dies, it is - in a way - the death of an entire world." So, Reddit. . . what unique world will die with you?
• What is not illegal, but is creepy?
• What's a scary or disturbing fact that would probably keep most people awake at night?
• What's way more dangerous than most people think?
• What human experiment would you want to see happen if ethics was of no concern?
• What are some of dark events happened in history not many people know about?

PEOPLE AND STRANGERS

• What terrifying confession has someone told you while drunk?
• What's the closest you ever came to cannibalism ?
• People of Reddit who have practiced or witnessed acts of the witchcraft, voodoo, or the occult, what was the strangest/most unexplainable thing you saw?
• People who have known victims of crimes that have appeared in the media, what happened after the media lost their interest in broadcasting?
• What's the fastest you've seen a crowd go from excited to horrified?
• Which celebrity/public figure gives you the creeps for no logical reason, when it's just a type of 6th sense, nope, type of feeling?
• What's the darkest secret you found out about a family membe relative?
• What famous person has done something incredibly heinous, but has often been overlooked?
• When was a time you interacted with a seemingly “normal” person, but later found out that they were not?
• Who was the creepiest person you've ever seen or met?
• What was the creepiest thing someone said on the first date?
• For those of you that escaped cults... what was your, “I need to get the fuck out” story?
• Has anyone known a killer before they killed? What were they like?
• Which one of histories ‘good guys’ was actually a horrible person?
• Who is the scariest person you've ever met?
• What secret do you keep from your family?
• Who's one person you wish you never knew/met?
• Fellow redditors, what was a moment where you thought a person you knew might be an actual psychopath ?
• Former cult members, what made you realize you were in a cult and need to get out?
• Has anyone ever given a "nice guy" a chance after they've thrown a tantrum because you didn't let them treat you like a queen? And if you did, how did it work out?
• What was the moment that you realized that someone was obsessed with you in an unhealthy way? What tipped you off?

"You want to what!?" Galax yapped.
"Is it really that surprising?" I asked. "Five Clerics have awakened due to their faith in Kurtulmak, You built your Temple outside of the town out of respect for the people, yes, but you could not build it in town because this land is Kurtulmak's." I paused. "Thus, on the behalf of our Clerics, I am requesting that a Temple be built."
"It's not an unreasonable request." Kuvli spoke. "Not to mention, without his help, we would all be dead."
"Without Bahamut's intervention, we would be dead!" Tallyn snapped.
"Yes, and you have enjoyed a very significant upsurge in attendance at the Temple." I replied. "Everyone knows where it is, how to reach it. You've even begun construction on an outer wall specifically to protect it from another attack."
"This is demanding preferential treatment!" Galax screeched.
"Oh, would you shut the fuck up?" Nakk asked. "You and your Temple have had it out for Ruuk since he made contact with Kurtulmak, and I guarantee you, if anyone else so much as talked with him, you'd burn them at the stake!"
"When have we been hostile to him?" Galax asked.
"Running through the list." Nakk said. "First, your Paladin tries to ruthlessly murder his brother because he wasn't, I don't know, sincere enough. Then you excommunicated him. Your Paladin went to his place, planning on spying on them under the pretense of temporary service. Then, when he went to your Temple, you spent several minute interrogating him before even giving him that- not to mention how casually one of your own considered using your own holy vestments as a punishment. I'm real sure your God is happy about that!" He added sarcastically.
He paused, taking a sip of water and clearing his throat. "Then-" His voice cracked and he cleared his throat again. "Then, when we were attacked. you spent basically the entire time praying instead of doing something, and when any of your faithful fell, your Clerics cast Revivify on them, saving them from death." He spoke this with barely restrained fury. "And then! You had the fucking audacity to openly admit you want this place to be a theocracy, giving an absolute non-answer to avoid telling the naked truth! You have been nothing but suspicious of his intentions, no matter what he says, no matter how he acts! Your God is ashamed of you!"
The silence was only punctuated by Nakk's enraged gasping. He had stood up, and now he leaned forward, his fingers being the only part of his hands touching it. "Maybe you started out genuine." He said in a terrifyingly cold voice. "But I don't trust a religion that talks shit about people behind their backs, and I sure as hell don't trust a religion full of hypocrites."
He sat back down, glaring at them.
"How did you know about some of those things?" I asked.
"I've got like thirty Rogues under my belt and twenty Way of Shadows monks on standby. I kept it a secret because keeping tabs on our local authorities allows us to call them out on corruption and bullshit. So far, the ones concerned most about justice are more interested in having Heaven on Earth. We've gotten complaints about your Clerics proselytizing, making it very obvious that your every action is a prayer to Bahamut."
He glanced at the rest of us. "It's fucking performative at best and insincere at worst. Plus, you have the monopoly of giant Dragon men, who must dedicate themselves to Bahamut- and even then, they're the only ones more consistently following him. It's almost like being transformed into a Dragonborn by a ritual that requires you to abandon your past life and your past ideals makes you actually willing to follow the teachings. Need I say more?"
He went silent, everyone just... stared at him in shock.
"Youi've had monks this entire time?" Tudru asked.
"Hey, having people who can turn invisible in the darkness and spy on people is great." Nakk replied. "Their representative approached me, asking me to keep their existence a secret because they knew what I was doing, and wanted to hold me accountable as well. And no, I don't know who they are, because they wore a very blatant ninja costume and had a carved wooden mask with kabuki designs painted on it."
"I've been aware of them as well." Tatla replied. "They've been doing the same for me, I'm pretty sure they're Unawoken volunteers, and they only seek out Unawoken who haven't found their Class."
"How many people here were unaware of these ninjas?" I asked.
Myself, Kalith, Tudru, Tallyn, and Galax raised our hands.
"Wow, get fucked, us." Tudru remarked.
"In any case." Nakk continued. "I've been keeping a close eye on you, Tallyn, Ruuk, and Kalith, and considering a lot of the shit you've pulled, the fact that I'm not demanding the destruction of your Temple, even if it means our friends and family stay dead, is the fact that you've been useful. The moment you step out of line, the moment you leverage your monopoly over future resurrections to enforce your theocracy, that's the moment I'm going to walk up to you and slit your fucking throat."
I didn't know what surprised me more. The fact that he was fully willing to kill Bahamut's High Priest here, or the fact that he didn't seem to know about mine and Kurtulmak's plans. An entire hidden spy ring, and a shadowy clan of Monks, there was no way they didn't know.
'Do I trust them, believing them to be on my side, or do I play stupid, and wait until I know for certain they support our goal?'
"We let Tallyn build his Temple. Not pissing off the God who's been helping us from the beginning is in our best interests, and if Bahamut wants to step up to the plate, then he's more than welcome to. I, for one, am not holding my breath. Especially since he's probably fucked off to find Tiamat or is banking on Kurtulmak keeping things stable here while he keeps her from causing any significant fires."
It came down to a vote, it was unanimous. Galax and Tallyn looked like they'd just had their every dream crushed, considering how fervent I got briefly, it was entirely likely they got carried away.
"Now, Tallyn. It might interest you to know the other Sorcerers have been organizing with the intent on taking over the Warren. "Nakk stated. "Considering your God outright threatened them for trying to use him as a means to gain power, you might have an idea as to what to do."
"Are they trying to summon Demons?" I asked.
"Not yet, at any rate." Nakk remarked. "But considering you're Level Five now, and they're still stuck at Level 3, I figured you might want to get on that."
"You're Level Five!?" Tallyn roared.
"As if you have any room to complain, Mr. Level 6 Paladin." Nakk remarked.
"How the fuck did you manage that?" Tudru asked.
Tallyn looked away. "We've been having a bit of an issue with undead." He said.
Even Nakk was caught off guard by his words. "There are fucking undead in the catacombs!?"
"We have been doing our best to keep the situation stable." Galax stated. "Hallow is a Fifth Level spell, that means we need to reach Level 9."
"We've basically been level grinding off of the undead." Tallyn said, his voice full of shame. "But it's the only thing we can do. They're just... so angry, accusing us of leaving them to die, accusing us of knowing about the mine ahead of time. They just mindlessly attack us, and it's all we can do to keep them down."
"You should have told us." I said. "We could have come up with a better solution, hell, we could have cremated them, or or something."
"That would not have solved the issue." Galax said. "They are angry and restless because they died violent and pointless deaths. We kept this secret because if this got out, the people would lose faith in us, at best, we'd be exiled. At worst, executed. We've had to deal with the fact that we're killing our loved ones over and over again." For the first time ever, I saw how exhausted he was. "We were doing routine maintenance when the attack happened. We couldn't devote anyone to more than defense simply because most of our spells go toward putting down ghosts. That is why we brought back our faithful. We can't afford to lose anyone, and now it's only going to get worse."
"Then move the dead here." We all looked to see Kurtulmak entering the Council Room. "I have a Pact with Kalith, I can observe what he is doing when I feel like it, and today I felt like keeping up with current events."
"Why should we move our dead here, in the middle of a populated area?" Tallyn asked.
"Because this land is my domain." Kurtulmak replied. "I may hallow and unhallow the land as I see fit, I can choose to imbue it with any effect I desire. Move your dead here, and they will finally know rest. I have exactly one condition for this."
"What is your condition?" Galax asked.
"Kneel before me, and beg my mercy." Kurtulmak replied with venom in his words. "Your actions have harmed the Warren."
Galax nodded and stood. He walked over to Kurtulmak, and after a moment of hesitation, he kneeled and said. "Please, have mercy on me and my Temple."
"Acknowledge me as Master of my Domain."
"Master." I said. "You are moving the goalposts. This isn't the time, nor the place, nor is it worth pissing Bahamut off."
"You speak sense, Ruuk." Kurtulmak looked at Galax once more. "'I grant you leniency for your actions against your Warren. However, understand if there is a next time, I will have you call me Master. Rise."
Galax stood up, he was clearly trying to hold in his indignation.
"In recognition that I did, indeed, go too far, I grant you permission to build a Temple within my Domain. I shall cede just enough land to Bahamut, under the understanding that once this situation has concluded, that Temple will be removed and my land returned to me. I shall ask no tithe of you, but may change my mind if you continue any form of belligerence against me or my followers. And if any of my Followers wish to seek counsel from you and your priests, you will give them guidance as you would any of your faithful, and I shall do the same. Is this understood?"
"Yes." Galax replied.
"Go, build your Temple, retrieve your dead."
At this, the meeting was adjourned. I walked over to Nakk, who was just leaving. "Care to have some company?" I asked.
"By all means." He said. We walked out together, and after a few minutes, I said, "You have listened in on my conversations with my God." I said.
"They are all fascinating discussions." He said. "Especially the followers you've amassed. A Warlock, a handful of Clerics, and others."
"What are your intentions?" I asked.
He led me down an unfamiliar road. "I will be frank with you." He said. "The Council isn't going to last forever. All of our desires pull us in different directions, and I sure as shit am not qualified for that." He stopped and faced me, then surprised me by kneeling. "Imperator Ruuk Stingtail, the Shadowscale Clan has chosen to pledge our service to you and our God. We will continue to work toward the establishment of your Empire."
I smiled, nodding. "Continue to serve us faithfully. Though you have not asked for a reward, I will ensure our God and Master rewards you appropriately."
He nodded. "Thank you." He said. "Is there anything you need, any information you require?"
"Can you or any of your Rogues create a still image?" I asked.
"Yes. What do you need?"
"I need an image of the interior of our enemies' base of operations beyond the wall, the place where they plan their movements. With an image, I should be able to listen in."
"As you wish, Imperator."
"Rise, before anyone happens upon us." I said.
He stood up. "S'not going to happen, Imperator. This entire street is inhabited by my Rogues, The Monks are neutral, but they do not care who leads."
I nodded. "Then it's in my best interests to earn their loyalty." I said. "Why do you wish for our Empire to rise?"
"Simple." He said. "I'm not cut out to help lead a nation, but I sure as hell am able to keep tabs on people. The Dragon-worshipers would make Bahamut's will law, they've spoken of a nation where everyone is faithful, where vestments are worn by all, where evil is punished. Shit's too rigid and it's going to get people killed. You and our Master, though, I know what he wants, I know he doesn't give a shit if we're good or evil. What he does care about is that we're safe."
"What do you know about the Sorcerers?" I asked.
"They want power, and they don't care how they get it. They are a direct rival to you, because they want to rule the Warren as well." He looked at me. "They do, however, respect power, you being a full two levels above them might be enough to get them to capitulate."
I shook my head. "No." I said. "I don't want anyone who even so much as thinks of betraying anyone. Keep an eye on them, if they start making any obvious attempts at contacting any beings, ensure whatever happens fucks up royally, to the point where they're terrified of ever doing it again. Do they have any outside help?"
"No. It's just them and their little circle."
"Ruin any material components they have for anything too dangerous. either that, or replace it with something different. Understood?"
"Yes, Imperator." He replied. "Would you like one of my Rogues to be available in the event you need something?"
"Yes, if they can be surreptitious." I paused for a moment. "Is there anything else?"
"No, Imperator. I will get everything prepared."
"Excellent. And Nakk, be sure to swing by so our Master can meet you properly."
We continued along the street and went our separate ways. I was getting more and more used to the idea of ruling this place, ensuring my Master's will was followed. I paused, examining that thought. It was the first time I had internally referred to Kurtulmak as Master. I thought about why I thought of him as such, I hadn't been avoiding it for any particular reason, if anything, this was just a slip of the metaphorical tongue.
Yet the more I thought about it, the more I realized that, yes, I absolutely considered him my Master.
I resumed walking, the two Temples were in the process of being built and people were observing with curiosity. I knew I would go in one day to show that even hosting my Master in my home, I respected him enough to give him the proper respect he deserves.
I still helped other Kobolds, even the Humans who had remained with us this long received my aid, but I was beginning to think, perhaps it was time for them to just join us. I greeted them, asked them how their day was and if they needed anything fixed. "No, Councilor. We're just doing our best with what we've got."
I nodded. "I understand." I said. "I used to miss being Human, but after the attack... It's absolutely irrational, but every time I see Humans, I feel a little jolt of panic."
They looked at me with expressions of sympathy. I told them of how proud I was of them for trying their hardest, for doing their best. "Sometimes, I just wish you were comfortable with being a Kobold." I said.
One of them began to transform, and then more of them joined when they expressed happiness. I welcomed them, and subtly encouraged them to ensure the Humans of the Warren were happy with where they were.
'The sooner they're all Kobolds, the better.' I thought idly. It took me longer than I care to admit, but I eventually realized I had thought that thought. I looked at another Human as they passed by, and the realization hit me. 'I hate Humans.'
I had always promised myself when I was younger and still Human that I would never be so low as to become racist, yet with all of the shit they put us through in the past half year alone, the very thought of Humans just filled me with rage and disgust.
I didn't think of our Humans as such, just... misguidedly holding onto their Humanity.
The next Human who spoke to me, it wasn't even a conscious thought, I didn't hate him, I just couldn't stand what he was. Seeing him embrace Koboldhood filled me with joy and delight, and I knew, before I achieved anything significant in life, before I raised up our Empire, I was going to ensure every Human embraced our way of life fully.
I started going out of my way toward the Humans, never overtly forcing them, just making them come to the conclusion that it was for the best, that they would be happier as a Kobold, that maybe they could help the other Humans embrace it. That maybe it should be mandatory at this point/
"Aren't you tired of feeling useless?" I asked. "You are better than you think you are, you know."
It was so easy, these people respected me, they trusted me, my opinions. I eventually dropped the pretense. "I think you would be happier as a Kobold." I would say. "It's a shame you can't fully be part of the Warren."
Like an avalanche, the transformations proliferated,, propagating as the former Humans came to accept what they should have accepted all along. I felt a rush of power as I gained another Level, it felt so easy to do,
I grew aware of a new spell, one that would allow me to slip into the Astral Plane if I so desired, I returned home, and looking at my Master as he continued working, I couldn't help but feel I wanted to do something for him.
I knelt. "I have gained power, Master." I said. "As well as the fealty of the Rogues. Nakk will be coming along to meet you properly."
"You kneel when I did not command it." Master remarked. "Why?"
"You are my Master."I replied. "I have come to the understanding I should be showing you my devotion more overtly. Case in point, I thought of you as my Master, where before I simply would mentally refer to you by your name. I don't know if I simply didn't accept it fully, or if there was some other factor, maybe I was just a little uncomfortable. I have such reservations anymore. You are my Master, and I am your servant."
He nodded. "Was there anything else?" He asked.
"I've convinced many Humans to embrace becoming a Kobold, and have convinced them to convince others. The result was... exponential."
"I see. I was wondering why the Humans had embraced the Warren completely. Why did you do it?"
"I realized I hate Humans." I replied. "And because they continued to stubbornly cling to a life they'll never have again, I helped them embrace the Warren. The joy on their faces simply makes it better."
"To do something so inherently selfish, yet to enjoy such a positive reaction. What a novelty."
"Master?" I asked, confused.
"Ruuk, congratulations. You have done your first overtly evil action. You have manipulated countless people to abandon their Humanity, all because your hatred could not reconcile their existence."
His words shook me in a way I hadn't expected. He was right, I had done something evil, I had done something irrevocably fucked up. "Does that make me evil?" I asked.
"Neutral." He replied. "Still leaning toward good. I am proud of you, Ruuk, you exerted your authority in a way to ensure our Empire's success. Those with power take what they need, what they want. You and I will see this world kneel."
I nodded, smiling."Thank you, Master." I said. "For your guidance."
"If you ever wish to fully embrace this, simply think of something you want, anything you desire, and take it."
"Anything I want..." I mused. "There is one thing, Master."
"Then grasp it tightly, no hesitation, not when- Wha-!?"
I didn't resist the impulse, obeyed him without hesitation. I took hold of him, and kissed him. He stared at me in shock as I pulled away. "The audacity." He hissed.
"Apologies, Master. I got caught up in the moment." I said.
He took hold of me by my armor. "It takes a special kind of foolishness to manhandle your God." He spoke in a threatening tone. He lifted me up and threw me onto the bed, then he pinned my wrists against it. His eyes were filled with fury, his grip so tight it hurt.
"No hesitation, Master." I said. "Make me hurt."
"No." He said. He let go and climbed off of me. "I did, after all, challenge you to embrace your desires. I should have anticipated it." He sat on the foot of the bed, the anger still smoldering in him.
"I am sorry, Master." I said. "In that moment, I wanted nothing more than to try."
"Why?" He asked. "Why did you too something so recklessly foolish?"
"Likely because I've never actually been with someone." I admitted. "In the moment, I realized I just... I wanted to know what it felt like."
"You will have all of the time in the world for consorts." He replied. "Why me?"
"Love, perhaps." I replied. "If not blind and reckless lust. May I touch you, Master?"
"Why?" He asked.
"To comfort you, to apologize for my actions."
"You may."'
I rested my hand on his shoulder, the texture of his scales was rough, yet pleasant. I didn't realize I was beginning to lean in to kiss him again until I realized how close I was. He shot me a scathing look as I pulled away. "Sorry, Master." I said.
"Undress." He said. I didn't even hesitate. He pushed me down again, not as roughly, his hands grasped my wrists and pinned me down. "I do this to show you I am not a gentle lover. I am going to make you hurt, Ruuk. I am going to make you beg for death."
I flashed him an audacious grin.
​
[Navigation for 'Dragon Rising'- [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]]

Here is what the Word of God has to say about it.
Leviticus 18:22:
"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman, it is an abomination"
Romans 1:26:
For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Romans 1:24-25:
"Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie"
Mark 10:6-9:
"But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female"
Deuteronomy 22:5:
"A woman shall not wear a man's garment, nor shall a man put on a woman's cloak, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God"
Matthew 19:4-6:
"Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female?"
1 Corinthians 7:2:
"But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband"
Hebrews 13:4:
"Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous"
Leviticus 20:13
"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood is upon them"
Ezekiel 33:11:
"As I live" says the Lord God "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live, turn! turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?"
1 Corinthians 6:9-11:
"Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God"
These are not my words but God's, so no one can accuse me of "homophobia/transphobia" the only thing i'm guilty of is proclaiming the Word of God.
i was also in this lie of lgbt lifestyle because i was ignorant of the Word, and i reaped nothing but sorrow, open your eyes and receive the Word of God and be saved from your sins and the consequences thereof, it is not worth it to hurt the heart of God and to lose your soul!! repent! repent for the kingdom of God is at hand!!
Acts 3:19
"Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out"
2 Peter 3:8-10
"Beloved, be not ignorant of this, The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but is longsuffering toward us, that all should come to repentance"
Acts 16:31
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved"
Dear people who identify with the lgbtq+ community,
i do not hate you
i love you more than you know, but because i love you i must tell you the Truth so that you can make an informed decision on the eternal destination of your souls. God bless, Seek Truth, Repent 🙏🏼

What do we think about smart farming? More harm than good? Cost analysis?
Are you interested in optimizing irrigation scheduling for maximum efficiency? Let's explore the principles of managing allowable depletion, the buzz around smart farming, and its cost-benefit advantages!
Know Your Crops: Understand the water needs of different plants at various growth stages.
Monitor Soil Moisture: Regularly check soil moisture levels using sensors or visual indicators.
Schedule Smartly: Develop a well-structured irrigation schedule based on crop requirements, soil properties, climate, and water availability.
Conserve Water: Use efficient irrigation methods like drip systems, mulching, and proper land grading to minimize waste.
Learn and Adapt: Stay informed about new technologies and research to continuously improve irrigation practices.
Now, let's delve into the buzz surrounding smart farming. Many experts and farmers are embracing smart farming technologies, with a consensus that it offers numerous benefits. For instance:
John, a farmer, says, "With smart irrigation systems, I can remotely monitor soil moisture and adjust watering schedules accordingly. It has significantly reduced water usage while improving crop yields."
Lisa, an agricultural consultant, mentions, "Smart farming integrates data-driven techniques like machine learning and IoT sensors. This enables precise irrigation scheduling and resource allocation, resulting in better water management and increased profitability."
The advantages of smart integration in irrigation scheduling can be supported by a cost-benefit analysis. Let's consider an example:
Costs:
Investment in smart farming technologies (sensors, automation systems): $10,000 Maintenance and operational expenses: $2,000 per year Benefits:
Water savings: 30% reduction in water usage Increased crop yields: 20% improvement Cost-Benefit Analysis:
Water savings: Assuming an average annual water cost of $5,000, a 30% reduction would result in savings of $1,500 per year. Increased crop yields: Considering an average revenue of $50,000 per year, a 20% improvement would lead to an additional $10,000 in profits. Total annual benefits: $1,500 (water savings) + $10,000 (increased profits) = $11,500
Net Annual Benefit: Total annual benefits - Costs = $11,500 - $2,000 = $9,500
Based on this analysis, integrating smart farming techniques in irrigation scheduling can yield significant financial advantages, outweighing the initial investment and maintenance costs.
In conclusion, optimizing irrigation scheduling through smart farming offers benefits such as improved water management, increased crop yields, and enhanced profitability. The consensus among experts and farmers supports the adoption of smart integration. With its potential cost-effectiveness, smart farming can pave the way for sustainable and efficient agricultural practices.
What are your thoughts on smart farming and its potential in revolutionizing irrigation scheduling? Let's discuss the possibilities!
View Poll

I am just starting to play FWW with some friends, and am planning to play Robots. I had a few questions, both about the rules, and just curious what people's experience is with the faction.

1. I noticed in the Fallout Battlemode Downloads (modiphius.net) The per unit costs of some units are *way* higher than in the app. Like most protectrons are increased 30-45%! I also noticed some other factions have different prices for robots, like the Assaultron on Gunners is 70 points cheaper! Which of these prices is the most current? The PDF says Wave 8, version 7, but I would think the app could update automatically.
2. For units that self-destruct, can you kill the unit before it explodes? I played a game recently, and we interpreted it as the Protectrons can be killed before they explode since they still have health, but the Assaultrons can't since they already went to 0 and the rule says not to remove them. But I'm curious on other people's interpretation.
3. Codsworth, P.A.M. and ED-E are all listed under battle mode, but Curie isn't. Is that an oversight?
4. The Mechanist can get three free Robot Perks, does the app have any way to make them free?

​
And for some opinion questions:

1. For any Robot players, how do you like to play/build them? If you aren't a robot players, what is your impression if you have played against them?
2. Are Assaultrons worth it at 320 points? They seem very expensive with a statline that is not as good as a Sentry Bot, but their special rules are a bit of an X-factor that I'm not sure how to judge.
3. How do I get the best value from The Mechanist leader? From what I can tell he's the only option in Battle Mode. I played my first game at 500 points and he felt a bit expensive for mediocre combat stats, but he's obviously a support using his auras, and probably scales better at higher values. idk, how do you feel? Are there any other Robot Controller units you like for non-Battle Mode? I thought someone with stun resist might be fun with a team full of clunky robots.
4. How do you like to kit out your Robo-brains if you give them hands?
5. What's your favorite protectron? Favorite Mr. Handy?

Ok that's a lot of questions. Thanks to anybody who answers one.

I’m not even gonna provide any kind of evidence or some kind of long winded explanation complaining because this community gets enough negativity but I just came here to let y’all know that it’s peak hours and the scumbags are out like never before this weekend.
It is so glaringly blatant and obvious at this point that if you aren’t actively participating in the problem, or you don’t play for 10+ hours a day then Tarkov simply just isn’t for you.
Ultimately I think the saddest part is that like myself most of these Tarkov related communities are just normal people who genuinely believe that EFT is one of the best games ever created. That most of us would actually want nothing more than to see this game work and not be in the current state (or death spiral whichever you think it might be) that it’s in.
After seeing entire discord communities dedicated to cheating and that the hottest content you can find on YouTube for this game nowadays is just people laying in a bush gunning down any one that walks by there’s no way any of you can convince me anymore that it’s ever going to get better without years worth of updates or a complete overhaul and revision of the game.
Anyways, I’m probably gonna go watch a bunch of eft content and get back on tomorrow because I can’t let it go either.
Good luck, boys.

Alrighty then. My thesis here is that [[Seize The Spotlight]] is generally as good a spell as [[Expropriate]] on most board states, at about a third the cost (manawise and marketwise). Let's examine why.
Expropriate is a well-known boogieman of the format. You are guaranteed to get at least one extra turn, and between one to three additional turns and/or one to three of the best permanents your opponents control. It's also well known that, generally, the extra turns are more valuable than the stolen permanents, yet players (especially less skilled ones) tend to give you those over giving you their stuff. "Always vote money, never time" is a well-worn piece of advice that is rarely followed. Usually as soon as one opponent votes "time," the rest do as well, because Prisoner's Dilemma, Sunk cost Fallacy, and general game-state tunnel vision (worrying about their own board rather than the game state as a whole) blind them to the cumulative power of extra turns.
The benefits of extra turns are many: an extra untap, an extra upkeep, an extra draw, an extra land drop, two extra main phases, an extra combat step, giving your stuff a form of haste (effectively), and the knowledge that you are (effectively) goldfishing against your opponents and can do any and all setup you like without being interfered with. These vastly outweigh the value of the permanent you steal, and each extra turn compounds cumulatively. Yet people still give you the turns, despite warnings not to (which then gives you an additional permanent to cause havoc with, for all the people who wisely chose Money but got screwed when other players voted Time).
Of course, Expropriate is a 9 mana spell, so it's supposed to be able to win the game. It's either very late in the game, or has been cheated out somehow, and takes a lot of setup to work.
Seize the Spotlight, on the other hand, reads as less powerful overall -- you don't get a choice yourself, you only get creatures, you can't keep them longer than the turn, and the fallback is a treasure token and a card draw, not a whole bunch of extra phases. Despite these limitations, when presented with the choice between stealing a creature for a turn and giving you a draw and a treasure, people still make the wrong one. They'll give you Fortune instead of Fame. Why?

1. Most players suspect they won't actually get their stuff back. If you play long enough, you've been subjected to the classic "I steal your thing and then sacrifice it/get it killed somehow" maneuver. And to be fair, this is probably going to be the case for at least some of the creatures being stolen. This fear is generally rational, if often exaggerated.
2. They believe the creature you're going to steal is the one they've put the most resources into. Which is, also, likely a rational fear. Even if you aren't borrowing their Commander (which may be vital to the functioning of their deck), you're probably borrowing something they invested turns and mana into in the hopes that it would benefit them. However, there's an element of sunk cost here -- if you'd used a removal spell instead of this, the creature would be just as gone. But losing a resource and having a resource used against you are two different feelings. Which leads to my next observation.
3. They believe you are going to use their creature, and probably the other creatures you may get, against them specifically. While this seems rational (you're going to use the stolen creatures against at least one of them), the fear is usually self-directed -- you're going to use their stuff against them, that thing they worked to get out, they're going to have to either kill their own stuff or make bad block that will preserve their stuff but hurt your board, you're going to activate their own Commander to screw them, you're going to send those other creatures at their face and/or use their abilities against them, OMGOMGOMG!

This little monkey fear, of being the one chosen to get the most hosed, is at the heart of why people pick Time over Money with Expropriate. Compared with that pressure, people often think that giving you one little advantage can't hurt them as badly as their board getting poached. And the tunnel vision here is what dooms them.
The absolute floor of Seize The Spotlight is that you cast it on an empty board -- everyone can chose Fame because no one has anything to steal. Why you would choose to cast Seize at that time is beyond me (maybe you hit it off an unlucky Cascade trigger after a board wipe), but it's technically possible. Hey, some people play [[One With Nothing]] for s#!%$ and giggles. Those unfortunate cases aside, the real floor of Seize The Spotlight is "Spend 3 mana, steal one creature for a turn" or "spend 3 mana, get a Treasure Token and a cantrip."
This is assuming the worst case scenario of one player has creatures to steal (and must then make a choice) and the other two players have nothing and can choose Fame without giving you anything of benefit. Again, why you'd willingly cast Seize The Spotlight in such a scenario eludes me, but let's use the "slightly less unfortunate Cascade trigger or other involuntary casting" to enable it (or you're down to a single opponent, which is a whole other kettle of fish).
The going rate for an [[Act of Treason]] style spell with no other effect or limitation is 3 mana. The going rate to create a single treasure token (such as with [[Strike It Rich]]) is 1 mana, while cantripping is generally worth 1-2 mana extra on an effect. [[Seize the Spoils]], which nets you 2 cards and a treasure token but requires a discard (and thus keeps you card-neutral) is 3 mana. So in this instance, for either choice possible you get a 1-for-1.
1-for-1's aren't great in Commander, but the value of the card rises substantially from there.
The next worst floor is that you have two opponents with creatures and one opponent without (probably playing a spellslinger deck or a pillow fort or something like that, but I Have Thoughts which I will get to in a bit). In this case, there are 3 outcomes:

1. You get to steal 2 creatures for a turn.
2. You get to steal 1 creature, draw a card, and create a treasure.
3. You get to draw 2 cards and create 2 treasures.

No matter how you slice it, this is a 2-for-one deal at the very least. This is the worst scenario I can think of where you're casting Seize The Spotlight on purpose, and it's a very good deal indeed. If you're casting it this way because you only have 2 opponents left, it's even better.
The last scenario, and probably the most common, is when you cast it and all three other players need to make a choice about whether to give you Fame or Fortune. The outcomes are:

1. You get three of the best creatures on the board for a turn.
2. You get two of those creatures, cantrip, and create a treasure.
3. You get one of those creatures, a [[Divination]], and two treasures.
4. You get an [[Ancestral Recall]], but better because you wind up mana-neutral with 3 treasures.

Did you notice the jump in power with each option? That's because card draw and treasure production both compound -- the benefit isn't linear. Each card you draw is exponentially better than the one before it (until you reach a point of diminishing returns, where the benefit lessens but doesn't exactly fall to zero). Treasure production, as a spendable resource that you can save up between turns, is a little more linear, but the benefit stops being just a 3-for-1 rapidly the more times you get Fortune. I am not even counting any artifact or sacrifice synergies you might have -- just in raw power alone, 3 cards and 3 treasures outweighs the benefits of most things you can get at 3 MV, and it just keeps getting better the more players are in the pod.
But my thesis was that Seize The Spotlight can be about as good as Expropriate on most board states. So while I gush about Seize The Spotlight, how do I justify comparing it to a 9 mana "I win the game" spell?

1. The mindjob is the same. You can only get creatures with Seize, instead of any permanent. But let's be real -- you were going to steal their Commander with Expropriate if they gave you the opportunity anyway, or take an even better creature. Creatures tend to be the most versatile permanent on a person's board -- a lot of artifacts and enchantments are tuned to a specific strategy and may not be useful at all to you, so stealing them is more about removing them than anything else; a planeswalker is neat, but rare to see in Commander and usually not about to ult, making it's utility limited; you aren't stealing a land unless they have literal nothing else or they have something bonkers like Cabal Coffers or Gaea's Cradle; Tribal cards are just other card types in cosplay; and you aren't stealing a battle, be real, you're just bringing that up to be contrarian. So all the psychological pressures for Expropriate are mostly going to center on a player's creatures, and those are the same pressures that come to bear with Seize The Spotlight.
2. Seize The Spotlight does a reasonable impression of giving you extra turns. The main benefits of extra turns can be boiled down to: free untap, free card, free land drop (if available), free combat step, effective haste, additional triggers. Any additional benefits are gravy compared to those. Seize The Spotlight provides a decent chunk of those benefits: free cards, free untap (you get between 0-3 treasures to replace the mana you spent, and any creatures you steal are untapped in the process), haste (for the creatures you steal). You don't come out with positive mana unless you save the treasures for a future turn, but it IS an option on the table.
3. Like as not, you are going to do your best to make sure you aren't giving those creatures back anyway. Sacrifice effects and suicidal attacks are what drive most of the fear players have about getting their creatures taken, and as mentioned, those are reasonable fears, because the sorts of decks that are going to play Seize The Spotlight are the sorts of decks that are usually going to have the means and interest in killing off their own stuff for fun and profit. It might take a little more effort than the perma-theft you get from Expropriate, but the end result is the same -- creature is gone, player is a sad panda, and you've probably done stuff they wanted to benefit from with the creatures in the first place.

So like as not, casting Seize The spotlight is going to have roughly the same effect on the board and your resources as Expropriate might, and for much cheaper. Anyway, this ramble is, well, rambly, so thank you all for coming to my TED talk. Give Seize The Spotlight a go if you can! (what oh I won a game recently with Seize The Spotlight that has nothing to do whatsoever with this ramble what are you talking about goodbyeeeeeeeee)
TL;DR: Seize The Spotlight might be Expropriate-At-Home, but it turns out Expropriate-At-Home is still REALLY good and you should play it.

WILD MAN: Saint or Sinner Posted on May 2, 2021by Dana Rehn The Representation of Wild Folk During the German Renaissance The wild man was inspired in part by pagan hybrid woodland creatures like the satyr, however, much of the mythology of the wild man stems from barbarians of Europe.[i] For much of the Middle Ages, they were considered the antithesis of the civilised Christian society. They were cannibalistic, sexually deviant predators whose many characteristics were related to monstrous races as well as the insane. Despite the wild folk’s outsider status and the antithesis of Christian morality, the wild man and woman nevertheless became an icon of German nationalism. The image of the wild man and woman became a pervasive figure throughout the German Renaissance, depicted on a vast range of media from stained glass, woolen tapestry, playing cards (fig. 3), and ordinary household objects. The wild man and woman transitioned from a demonic brute beast to a romanticised image of the noble savage. They recall a simpler time in German history and became a part of the image of a united and strong German people. They also posed as an affront to the court culture of Rome and became associated with the virtues of the natural wilderness. Cleric, Johann Geiler von Kaysersberg, associated them with the image of the hairy saints who found redemption in the wilderness by categorising them as a type of wild man in Die Emeis.[ii] The German forests that the Wild Man was thought to reside were starting to be romanticised. Geographer, Johannes Rauw, praised the ancient forests that had long been demonised by Italians as a place of barbarians.[iii] From rapists of damsels, wild men were depicted with the virtues of the nuclear family in the Garden of Eden before ‘The Fall’ (Genesis 3). In this way, the wild man and woman became increasingly mythologised, merged with ancient Germans, ascetic saints as well as Adam and Eve. Although there were a growing number of romanticised images of the wild man and woman during the sixteenth century, negative representations persisted. Their depiction was not a simple shift from demonic woodland creature to the image of holy saints; many possessed both contradictory notions of sinner and sainthood. The multifaceted representation of wild folk reflected many of the contradictions of German Renaissance society. Man or Animal The reputation of the wild man stems from antiquity. Aristotle believed that people who lived outside the civilising influence of the urban city lacked the ability to reason.[iv] In this way, they were considered closer to animal than man, subjected to their impulses.[v] The wild man and woman were also believed to lack speech, used primitive tools such as the club, and lived away from civilisation.[vi] Even the food that the wild folk would eat – berries and uncooked food – was a mark of uncivilisation and thus associated them more with animals than man.[vii] Many were also thought to crawl on all fours, which is illustrated by the often bare knees of wild men and women.[viii] The wild man as well as the woman were characterised for their violence and unhinged rage. They both shared a love of combat and have even been depicted jousting against one another.[ix] It is not just appearance, but also behaviour that made someone bestial like peasants who were described with animal qualities. The wild man has also been associated with bears and mythology exists with bears who were able to transform into wild men.[x] Their unbridled sexuality was also more associated with animals. Wild men were thought to abduct pretty maidens, while the wild woman would transform herself into a beautiful woman and attempt to seduce men with her true ugliness only to be revealed during intercourse.[xi] In this way, they were also associated with other pagan and hairy woodland hybrid creatures from antiquity including satyrs and centaurs, who were also known for their immoral behaviour and insatiable sexual appetite.[xii] Albrecht Dürer combined classical mythology with German folklore in the engraving of the Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn (1516) (Fig. 1). The print recounts the mythology of the abduction of the goddess of fertility by Pluto (Hades), God of the underworld – the pagan equivalent to the Devil.[xiii] In place of the classical god is a wild man on the back of a unicorn. Although this wild man is not covered in think body hair, he has wild hair on top of his head and a large bushy beard. He is identified as a wild man by his riding of a unicorn where the wild man was believed to be the only creature strong enough to overpower it by force.[xiv] Unicorns were originally regarded as ferocious beasts who used their horn as a weapon.[xv] Tales and visual art from the fourteenth century tell of wild men who become tamed by love after abducting a woman.[xvi] Yet this print illustrates man’s sexuality was thought to reduce them to a brute beast. Fig 1. Albrecht Dürer, Abduction of Proserpine on a Unicorn, 1516, Etching, 30.8 x 21.3cm, The Institute, Chicago. During the Middle Ages, many people concluded that wild man and woman were degenerative humans. They became an irrational beast in the same way that the insane were believed to be a form of wild people. Medieval romances frequently described people who suffered a crisis and lost their mind and ran into the forest living as semi-human wild people.[xvii] In Hartmann von Aue’s (c. 1160/70- c. 1210/20) Iwein, the protagonist who has broken a promise to his wife and is rejected, roams around in the forest until he is discovered by a lady who saves him from his insanity.[xviii] The wilderness in part created the state for wildness as it was away from civilisation and rationality.[xix] Like many monsters during the period, the wild man and woman were defined by their nudity. In this way, they were symbolically outside civilisation – both physically and behaviourally.[xx] Even those who have become temporary wild men through madness and fled into the forest shed their clothes and only returned to civilisation by again putting their garments back on. While in the forest they begin to grow hair all over their body to signify their move away from the human realm and into the animal one.[xxi] The wild man and woman encapsulated the fears of Europeans and what happens to one if they abandon civilisation.[xxii] The theme of civilising the wild man was popular during the Middle Ages. It was knowledge and acceptance of the one true faith that inevitably brought the wild man back to civilisation.[xxiii] In a thirteenth-century Bavarian epic poem, republished in the sixteenth-century German collection of stories, Das Heldenbuch mit synen figuren (‘The Book of Heroes’), recounts a wild woman called Raue Else (‘Rough Else’). The woman who was hairy all over and walked on all fours approached the knight, Wolfdietrich, who questioned if she was an animal. [xxiv] The wild woman demanded the love of the knight and upon his refusal turned him into a crazed wild man who crawled on all fours for half a year until God commanded her to disenchant him. In return, Wolfdietrich offered to marry the wild woman so long as she was baptised. She took him back to her kingdom at Troy and after bathing in the fountain of youth she was transformed into her former self, the beautiful princess, Sigeminne (‘Love’s victory’).[xxv] Wild Man as Noble Savage Although the wild man and woman were frequently represented in literature during the Middle Ages, they were rarely depicted in visual art until the fifteenth century.[xxvi] Therefore, their most ferocious reputation left little mark in visual culture. Instead, the wild man and woman were frequently represented in Renaissance art as the image of purity, with their family representing the virtues of parenthood and a companion or as a saint. Lynn Frier Kaufmann argues that the idea of chivalry and courtly love during the Middle Ages influenced the way wild men and women were depicted during the Renaissance.[xxvii] Larry Silver on the other hand interpreted their new role as cultural emblems brought by the rise in Germanic nationalism, which inspired the new translation of Tacitus’s Germania, describing wild people who only wore a cape of animal’s hide, as the first proud inhabitants of the Germanic lands (for example, fig. 2) .[xxviii] In this way, Tacitus’s Germania transformed the wild man into the romanticised version of the noble savage during the German Renaissance.[xxix] They lived a simple and virtuous life. They needed no written laws because they had good morals and rejected the habits of outsiders.[xxx] The nobility and urban elite began to romanticise the wild man for their strength and freedom from the rules of society.[xxxi] Conrad Celtis described a counterpart to early Germans in the Lapps. He described them as speechless but also that they had not been corrupted with luxury, fame, or wine. ‘Here no jurist twists the law, no doctor accumulates his blood money, and no tonsured man plagues the people’.[xxxii] Fig. 2. Nicolaes van Geelkerken after Clüver in Philipp Clüver, Germaniae antiquae libri tres, Leiden: Louis Elzevir, 1616, Engraving, London, The Wellcome Library. Source: archive.org On a playing card by Master ES printed in c. 1461, a wild woman is depicted with a unicorn (fig. 3). While wild men overpower the unicorn with their bold ferocity, it was the wild woman’s sexual purity that allowed her to get close to the unicorn. A tale of the unicorn captured only by pure virgin maidens arose during the Middle Ages. This led to the unicorn being represented as a sign of purity and thus underscores the image of the wild woman as epitome of the noble savage.[xxxiii] A sense of innocence accompanies their ignorance of the civilized world. Playing cards usually consisted of four suits with illustrations of plants, animals, and heraldic symbols. The wild woman with the unicorn is one of four cards surviving in the animal suit by Master ES.[xxxiv] Richard Bernheimer suggests that the images on the cards represent a hierarchy.[xxxv] Therefore, it places the wild man and woman in the realm of animals.[xxxvi] This is plausible since this wild woman represents the Queen of the Animals. However, her clasping grip of the unicorn who is dwarfed by the wild woman shows her dominate position in nature. Fig. 3. Master ES, Wild Woman and Unicorn (Queen of Animals from the Small Playing) c. 1461, Engraving on Playing Card, 10.5 x 7.3cm (Sheet); 9.8 x 6.cm (Plate), New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. The wild man also featured in more than 200 coat-of-arms across Europe, most of which were in German lands.[xxxvii] They were particularly popular during the second-half of the fifteenth century.[xxxviii] Interestingly, the wild man was illustrated beside coats-of-arms of popes and kings as their protector or guardian of the coat-of-arms despite the wild man’s history as a heretical being.[xxxix] Roundel prints of coat-of-arms were likely used as templates for goldsmiths or glassmakers who would fill in the family crest.[xl] It has also been suggested that these roundels were used by the middle class to emulate the coat-of-arms of the nobility. The templates were used as a substitute for commissioned coat-of-arms.[xli] In Wild Woman and Heraldic Shield, c. 1490 (fig. 4), a wild woman suckling her baby is reminiscent of the Madonna and child. This image reveals the redemption of women through childbirth for their responsibility for Original Sin (Genesis 3.16). She also serves as an emblem for fertility for the family whose shield she holds to ensure the family line. Fig. 4. Martin Schongauer, Wild Woman and Heraldic Shield, Colmar, c. 1490, Engraving, 7.7 diam. New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Return to the Garden of Eden The image of the noble savage in turn influenced the idyllic images of the wild family. Master bxg’s Wild Folk Family (c. 1475) parallel Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve who were portrayed in animal skins after ‘The Fall’ are akin to the hairiness of the wild family.[xlii] In Master bxg’s print stands the tree of knowledge, overlooked by an owl in the background, symbolising potential danger as owls served as a symbol for evil.[xliii] A rabbit bounds towards a forest in the top left. Rabbits were used as a symbol for fertility and has been depicted in images of Adam and Eve during ‘The Fall’ and thus can symbolise carnal knowledge. The wild woman’s long hair symbolises her fertility and thus her unbridled sexuality and parallels with the depiction of Eve in the Garden of Eden with long, loose flowing hair.[xliv] Although the representation of the wild family references Original Sin, they are still in a state of nature and innocence and their ignorance of God therefore cannot constitute sin.[xlv] However, it also provides a mirror of the tensions between good and evil within German Renaissance society – between temptation and godliness.[xlvi] The wild family not only recall Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, but also the image of the Holy Family who were often represented against the backdrop of the wilderness.[xlvii] In a comparative print in Hans Leonhart Schäufelein’s, Wild Man and Wild Woman originally printed in c.1520 (fig.5), the wild family are still hairy and naked, although they wear fig leaves to help preserve their modesty. The fig leaves allude to after ‘The Fall’ in the Garden of Eden once they have eaten from the tree of knowledge and realise their nakedness and feel shame. In this way, the sins of the past are not completely forgotten. However, the image lies in opposite to the unbridled sexuality of the earlier idea of the wild man and woman. One son attempts to place a leash around a domesticated dog, which further symbolises a new domesticity to the wild family.[xlviii] Despite its clear reference to Original Sin, it illustrates an idyllic family scene, away from the corrupting influences of ‘civilised life’.[xlix] Fig. 5. After Hans Schäufelein, Klag der wilden Holtzleüt, uber die ugetrewen Welt, verse by Hans Sachs, printed by Hans Guldenmundt, Augsburg, 1560 Coloured woodcut, 20.2 x 24.2cm (sheet), 20.2 x 15.2 cm (borderline) The British Museum, London. This image was later copied with an addition of a poem written by Hans Sachs in 1530. In the poem the wild folk lament against the corruption and evils of society such as the lust for wealth, flesh, and violence. The wild folk in Sachs’ verse have chosen to discard worldly pleasures to live the simple and pure life in nature. The verse ends with the wild folk declaring that they will be happy to return to civilisation once the world ‘see the light’.[l] This verse parallels the wild man with ascetic monks whose wildness is a temporary state and who seek redemption away from civilisation. Wild Man as Saints The tales of saints who found redemption in the wilderness by discarding worldly pleasures, growing hair on their body and then returning to civilization and shedding their hair once more became co-opted with the image of wild men and women during the Renaissance. Many stories of anchorites parallel with others, to the point that they can become indistinguishable.[li] Onuphrius is one of the better-known ascetic saints who lived during the fourth century. Paying penance, he lived in a cave for sixty years, as wild men and women were thought to do. His clothes wore away and he grew a thick coat of hair to protect his body against the elements (fig. 6).[lii] Saint John Chrysostom similarly went into the wilderness to pay penance and vowed to crawl on all fours until he found favour with God.[liii] Ascetic saints were similarly depicted with bare knees as wild men and women were also believed to crawl on all fours like an animal, wearing away the hair. In Leben der Heiligen (1499), where Saint John Chrysostom is depicted as covered in thick hair and crawling on all fours in the forest is described as an ‘abominable animal,’ despite being depicted with a halo around his head.[liv] Ascetic saints were therefore reduced to a beast just as the wild men and women had traditionally been as they are seen as degenerating into an animal who grow hair on their body and ate raw food.[lv] In this way, the figure of the hairy monstrosity was able to find redemption, at least in part, cast as the model of repentance. Fig. 6. Anonymous, Saint Onuphrius, c. 1480-1500, woodcut, 14.6 x 11.4cm, New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the German Renaissance, Saint Mary Magdalene, who was regarded for her beauty,[lvi] was frequently represented covered in hair like a wild woman. Her hairy image found wide devotion through the southern Germanic region.[lvii] In a tale originating in the tenth century, Mary was set adrift by non-believers and by divine guidance found her way to the south of France where she preached and converted the locals. She lived in a cave in Saint-Baume, Provence, paying penance for her former sinful life.[lviii] The name Magdalene means manens rea or ‘remaining in guilt’.[lix] She grew hair all over her body in the same way as a wild woman. In her cave she remained silent and when a hermit approached her, she had trouble speaking after being secluded for so long, not unlike the wild man and woman.[lx] Every hour, angels would ascent her to the heavens where she would gain nourishment as she was so remote that there was no food or water.[lxi] Mary’s ascension into the heavens as a hairy wild woman was a theme in German Renaissance prints and is illustrated in a print by Hans Baldung Grien (c.1484-1545) in c.1512 (fig. 7 ).[lxii] Her ascent represents her body’s transcendence from both worldly pleasures and the wilderness. Fig. 7. Hans Baldung Grien, St Mary Magdalen, c.1512, Woodcut, Sheet: 13 × 8.7 cm Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The image and identity of Mary Magdalene during the Renaissance is believed to be conflated with the story of Saint Mary of Egypt who lived in the fifth century. Mary has long been thought to be a prostitute. She travelled to Jerusalem where she became aware of her sins when she could not enter a Church as she was held back by a spiritual ‘force’. She saw the image of the Virgin Mary staring back at her and realised why she could not enter. Mary of Egypt, the antithesis to the Virgin prayed to her for forgiveness and renounced her life of sin.[lxiii] Mary went to live alone in the desert to repent for forty-seven years.[lxiv] The desert was a place to be tested against sins, for punishment, but also for contemplation and redemption.[lxv] Both Mary of Egypt and Mary Magdalene have both similarly been depicted covered by hair that represents their place outside of civilization and discarding worldly possessions. It was also used to provide modesty to discern from their previous occupation of the flesh.[lxvi] As seen in the print by Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Ecstasy of St. Mary of Egypt (1506) (fig. 8) who was thought to levitate in prayer,[lxvii] is similar to the composition of prints of Mary Magdalene being accented by angels. The naked saints signified the return to nature before ‘The Fall’ in the Garden of Eden.[lxviii] Despite this earlier legend, Mary Magdalene was not depicted in art as covered in hair until the mid-fifteenth century but was rather naked with her long hair covering her modesty. The image of the hairy Mary Magdalene was therefore believed to originate in fifteenth-century Germany.[lxix] The detail of the hairy Mary Magdalene was also not included in the popular thirteenth century The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine (c.1230-1298) that combined the tales of Magdalene. Her nudity was implied as the hermit who visited her passed her a garment to wear.[lxx] The hair covering Mary of Egypt was also a later addition to the story and also does not appear in The Golden Legend.[lxxi] She similarly does not seem to appear in art until the fifteenth-sixteenth centuries.[lxxii] The same can be said of other saints who turn into a wild man, at least temporarily such as Saint John Chrysostom.[lxxiii] This suggests ascetic saints who grew hair over their body was a contemporary idea that arose at the same time that the wild man and woman were popular in Renaissance prints. However, as Bartra notes, the idea of the hairy ascetic saint derived from Ancient Egypt when long haired hermits sought solitude in the desert.[lxxiv] Fig. 8. Lucas Cranach the Elder, The Ecstasy of St. Mary of Egypt, 1506 Woodcut, 24.4 × 14.2 cm, The Met, New York, Wild Man in Reformation Propaganda The image of the wild man was also co-opted into the Protestant Reformation in Germany and has been used by both Protestants and Catholics in contradictory ways. The engraving of The Pope as a Wild Man was created by Melchior Lorck (c.1526/7-1583) in 1545. This wild man with characteristic thick body hair with bare knees is a hybrid with long rat-like tail. Perched on top of his head is the three-tiered crown of the pope, but the last tier is a tower of excrement. Beneath his crown are ass ears, which represent folly and dishonesty. The ass’s ears allude to the myth of Apollo who made Midas grow the ears of a donkey to tag him for his dishonesty.[lxxv] On his back appears to be a bat with stretched out wings, which is a symbol for the Devil.[lxxvi] The wild man carries his characteristic wooden club, but this one has three cross branches at the end to represent the papal cross. He holds onto the papal key that is shattered at the end, which is a sign that the temporal powers of the papacy have been broken.[lxxvii] From his mouth pours a stream of toads and reptiles. This appears to reference the beast, the dragon, and the false prophet who release four foul spirits. A version of this image was discovered cast on a canon of Protestant troops captured during the Schmalkaldic War.[lxxviii] Melchior Lorck, The Pope as Wild Man, c. 1545, Etching, 22.9 × 19.4 cm, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett Conclusion In Renaissance Germany, complexity existed in people’s relationship with the wilderness. It both conjured up images of the Garden of Eden before ‘The Fall’ as well as the dangers that may lurk beyond. The wild man and woman were just as complex and represented sinfulness, but also redemption and innocence. As Merry Wiesner-Hanks concludes ‘beast, saint, or hero? the wild man was all three’.[lxxix] A closer look at images of the wild man reveals their complexity. There was not a simple evolution between a demonised creature associated with cannibalism and rape to the holy saint. In the age of the apocalypse, the wild man and woman provide a reminder of Original Sin and the need for repentance at a time of social reform. In this way, the hairy woodland creature is not entirely absolved. Further Reading: Abulafia, David, The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008 Bartra, Roger, Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness, trans. Carl T. Berrisford, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994. Bernheimer, Richard, Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and Demonology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952. Colin, Susi, ‘The Wild Man and the Indian in Early 16th Century Book Illustration,’ in Christian F. Feest (eds.), Indians and Europe: An Interdisciplinary Collection, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, pp. 5-37. Husband, Timothy, The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, exh. cat., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980. Kaufmann, Lynn Frier, The Nobel Savage: Satyrs and Satyr Families in Renaissance Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984. Moseley-Christian, Michelle, ‘From Page to Print: The Transformation of the “Wild Woman” in Early Modern Northern Engravings’, Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry, vol. 27, no. 4, 2012, pp.429-442. Schama, Simon, Landscape and Memory, London: HarperCollins, 1995. Wiesner-Hanks, Merry, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and their Worlds, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009. [ii] Simon Schama, Landscape and Memory, London: HarperCollins, 1995, p. 97; Timothy Husband, The Wild Man: Medieval Myth and Symbolism, exh. cat., New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1980, p. 12. [i] Bartra, Roger, Wild Men in the Looking Glass: The Mythic Origins of European Otherness, trans. Carl T. Berrisford, Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1994, p. 79. [iii] Schama, 1995, pp. 95-6. [iv] Bartra, 1994, p. 9. [v] Richard Bernheimer, Wild Men in the Middle Ages: A Study in Art, Sentiment, and Demonology, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1952, p. 11. [vi] Joyce E. Salisbury, The Beast Within: Animals in the Middle Ages, New York: Routledge, 1994, p. 151; David Abulafia, The Discovery of Mankind: Atlantic Encounters in the Age of Columbus, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2008, pp.16-7. [vii] Susi Colin, ‘The Wild Man and the Indian in Early 16th Century Book Illustration,’ in Christian F. Feest (eds.), Indians and Europe: An Interdisciplinary Collection, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1999, p.8. [viii] Abulafia, 2008, pp.16-7. [ix] Colin, 1999, p.6 [x] Bernheimer, 1952, pp.165, 59. [xi] Colin, 1999, p.8. [xii] Husband, 1980, p. 11. [xiii] Walter L. Strauss (ed.), The Complete Engravings, Etchings and Drypoints of Albrecht Dürer, Courier Dover, 2013, p. 178. [xiv] Bernheimer, 1952, p. 135. [xv] Anne Clark, Beasts and Bawdy, London: Dent, 1975, p. 46 [xvi] Lynn Frier Kaufmann, The Nobel Savage: Satyrs and Satyr Families in Renaissance Art, Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984, p. 34. [xvii] Salisbury, 1994, p. 152. [xviii] Classen, Albrecht (ed.), Meeting the Foreign in the Middle Ages, New York: Routledge, 2002, p. xx. [xix] Colin, 1999, p. 9. [xx] Danielle Régnier-Bohler, ‘Imagining the Self’, in Georges Duby (ed.), A History of Private Life: vol. II Revelations of the Medieval World, trans. Arthur Goldhammer, Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1988, p. 368. [xxi] Régnier-Bohler, 1988, p. 369. [xxii] Colin, 1999, p. 9. [xxiii] Colin, 1999, p.6. [xxiv] Husband, 1980, p. 62; Merry Wiesner-Hanks, The Marvelous Hairy Girls: The Gonzales Sisters and their Worlds, New Haven: Yale University Press, 2009, p. 42. [xxv] Husband, 1980, p. 64; Bartra, 1994, p. 101; Bernheimer, 1970, p. 37. [xxvi] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 139. [xxvii] Kaufmann, 1984, pp.32-4. [xxviii] Michelle Moseley-Christian, ‘From Page to Print: The Transformation of the “Wild Woman” in Early Modern Northern Engravings’, Word & Image: A Journal of Verbal/Visual Enquiry, vol. 27, no. 4, 2012, p. 431; Tacitus, Cornelius, Agricola and Germany, trans. Anthony Birley, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 46. [xxix] Schama, 1995, p. 96. [xxx] Caspar Hirschi, The Origins of Nationalism: An Alternative History from Ancient Rome to Early Modern Germany, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, p. 169. [xxxi] Colin, 1999, p. 23-4. [xxxii] Lewis W. Spitz, Conrad Celtis: The German Arch-Humanist, Cambridge: Harvard Universtiy Press, 1957, p. 100-101. [xxxiii] Anne Clark, 1975, p. 46. [xxxiv] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 168. [xxxv] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 167. [xxxvi] Gilmore-House in Husband, 1980, p. 168. [xxxvii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 35. [xxxviii] Bernheimer, 1952, p. 180. [xxxix] Husband, 1980, p. 4. [xl] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 44. [xli] Husband, 1980, p. 187. [xlii] Moseley-Christian, 2012, p. 438. [xliii] George Ferguson, Signs & Symbols in Christian Art, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959, p. 22. [xliv] Christa Grössinger, Picturing Women in Late Medieval and Renaissance Art, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1997, p. 82. [xlv] Husband, 1980, p. 15. [xlvi] Husband, 1980, p. 17. [xlvii] Kaufmann, 1984, pp. 36-7. [xlviii] Schama, 1995, pp. 97-8. [xlix] Colin, 1999, pp. 23-4. [l] Husband, 1980, p. 133. The full translation is found in Appendix B of Husband, 1980, pp. 202-4. [li] Husband, 1980, p. 97. [lii] Husband, 1980, p. 95. [liii] Husband, 1980, p. 102. [liv] Husband, 1980, p. 105. [lv] Bartra, 1994, pp. 83-4. [lvi] Roberta Milliken, Ambiguous Locks: An Iconology of Hair in Medieval Art and Literature, Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland and Company, 2012, p. 189. [lvii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 41. [lviii] Joana Antunes, ‘The Late-Medieval Mary Magdalene: Sacredness, Otherness, and Wildness’, in Peter Loewen and Robin Waugh (eds.), Mary Magdalene in Medieval Culture: Conflicted Roles, New York: Routledge, 2014, p. 117; Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 38; Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lix] Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lx] Antunes, 2014, p. 118. [lxi] Milliken, 2012, p. 189. [lxii] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 38; Husband, 1980, p. 100; Milliken, 2012, p. 189. [lxiii] Michelle Erhardt and Amy Morris, ‘Introduction’ in Michelle Erhardt and Amy Morris (eds.), Mary Magdalene: Iconographic Studies from the Middle Ages to the Baroque, Leiden: Brill, 2012, p. 9; Else E. Friesen, ‘Saints as Helpers in Dying: The Hairy Holy Women Mary Magdalene, Mary of Egypt, and Wilgefortist in the Iconography of the Late Middle Ages,’ in E.E. DuBruck and B.I. Gusick, Death and Dying in the Middle Ages, New York: Peter Lang, 1999, pp. 240, 242; Milliken, 2012, p. 204. [lxiv] Erhardt and Morris, 2012, p. 9; Friesen, 1999, pp. 240, 242. [lxv] Bartra, 1994, pp.47-8. [lxvi] Erhardt and Morris, 2012, p. 9; Friesen, 1999, pp. 240, 242. [lxvii] Milliken, 2012, p. 206. [lxviii] Friesen, 1999, p. 242 [lxix] Husband, 1980, p. 100. [lxx] Jacobus de Voragine, The Golden Legend: Readings on the Saints (c.1260), ed. Eamon Duffy, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2012, p. 381. [lxxi] Virginia Burrus, The Sex Lives of Saints: An Erotics of Ancient Hagiography, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2011, p. 149. [lxxii] Voragine, 2012, p. 228; Milliken, 2012, p. 205. [lxxiii] Husband, 1980, p. 102. [lxxiv] Bartra, 1994, pp. 74-5. [lxxv] Hélène A. Guerber, The Myths of Greece and Rome, New York: Cosimo, Inc., 2007, p. 57. [lxxvi] Russell, 1986, p. 232. [lxxvii] Robert W. Scribner, For the Sake of Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1981, pp. 135, 80 [lxxviii] Scribner, 1981, pp. 163, 164. [lxxix] Wiesner-Hanks, 2009, p. 35. Share this: Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window) Related Wild Men and Heraldry February 20, 2022 In "wild folk" Representations of Monsters in German Renaissance Prints September 5, 2021 In "cynocephali" Monstrous Women: Hair, Gender, and Sexuality in Early Modern German Prints June 6, 2021 In "Human-Animal Relations"

Yeshua Volkov's POV.
"Primo Victoria!"
We sang as we traveled deeper and deeper in the cave system we found ourselves in. We were stuck here due to a temporal anomaly because the overseers wanted to know what really was inside the temporal anomalies. We were an expeditionary force and got stuck outside of consensus reality. We really don't know where the hell are we but we are passing the time by singing along with songs from different other bands from all over earth. We had a USB stick filled with 16gbs worth of songs. Our tech guys had a USB stick laying around and got an idea to sing while we find ourselves a way out of this cave system.
"Captain, lieutenant. We are seeing the light outside the tunnel. We are probably going to either die, see some horrifying shit, or in some desert in the middle of nowhere outside of consensus reality by the prediction of one of the researchers with us."
Said one of our comrades through the radio.
We stood silent as we could see the outside world from the windows, and the holes in the transport trucks. We stepped out for a few seconds to see the world around us and smell the fresh air. After a few seconds we stood speechless as we saw the outside world. It was night time but the sky was more clearer, and the surrounding was beautiful. I was shocked at how pure the air was.
It was like earth but the air was more cleaner. In the distance we saw some sort of village burning down. We immediately got back to the BTR-80's and transport trucks. We saw what was happening from our H.U.D's inside the helmet. It gives us notices to what's happening around us, and we just saw a lot of things heading our way quickly closing in using the integrated radar inside the helmet. Funnily enough a fact that the researchers found out while waiting of the others taking a piss told us that anything considered to be a power source, and fuel can be self replicating if in contact with the temporal anomalies. Meaning we don't have to worry about fuel or the batteries, or fuel going out. We just had to worry about damages. So one of our men. A flame thrower expert with our detachment came out, and fired off his flame thrower, and burnt some sons of bitches to the ground. More, and more of those things kept coming, and coming. It was like an unrelenting horde of zombies flocking to a person like we saw in a movie in movies nights. We started firing our guns trying our best to stall for the other soldiers with flame throwers to equip said flame throwers.
More gunshots are herd in background as our comrades desperately tries to survive this seemingly unending horde of abominations. Some even succumbing to the horde. We slowed some abominations by hitting the knees and body, while some were either killed by a shot through the head, and some are screaming due to the excessive flames created from the flamethrower. We fired everything we got at the horde after a half an hour fight we eventually wiped the horde out, and burned them into cinders.
"Head check! People go check our casualties, and go heal the injured!"
I said with a demanding tone.
Everyone stepped out of the vehicles. They saw a burning wasteland created by the fires, and cinders of the horde that attacked us. It was like hell on earth.
"We really created a wild fire huh?"
Said the captain.
"Well it's either we die and possibly get sick from one of the infections inside those abominations, or burn them to cinders."
I said to the captain.
He sighed and looked at me with a painful look.
"Sooner or later that wild fire will probably kill us. So put it out lieutenant."
Said the captain as he walked away to one of the transports carrying the injured.
"Well time to put out the fire."
I said as I called in men who were asleep while the attack was happening. Well technically they are allowed to do that. They did basically pack everything we needed. But still it's frowned upon to sleep in the job. Specially in this kind of situation. You just need 6 or 7 hours to sleep at best.
We do have a motto after all. We die in the darkness so you could live in the safety, and blissfully ignorant of the horrors of darkness in the light. Humanity has learned a new threat. A threat to it's existence. The temporal anomalies. These thinks are better to be kept in the dark than let the world know about the true horrors of what reality was. Humans create lies that they themselves made to make themselves feel better. If they even knew about this they would freak out, and probably demoralized about what reality was. More cults would worship these anomalies thinking they were divine revelations, or even a sign that their god is real. The only "real" thing we can agree on is that you death is inevitable even if you worship these things. They don't give mercy nor care about you. They only want to dish out suffering, and damage as they can possibly do. Trust me we already delt with something like that. Multiple cults in Russia kept popping up that worship the temporal anomalies. And it didn't do so well. It cause the deaths of thousands, and caused a nuke to go off due to said worshiping of temporal anomalies.
Well anyway's. We searched for the fire extinguishers in a few of the transport truck after a few minutes we found them. My fifteen men fire fighters/soldiers walked through the fiery inferno we ourselves created.
After an hour we put out the fire. We immediately did a jog, and got back to the transports.
Yawn
I let the men rest as I walked to the captain as I struggle to keep myself awake.
"Yawn So how many died?"
I asked the captain.
"6 people. Some are still recovering from the sudden attack. About 10 were mildly injured while some suffered scratches, and bruises. They are currently in the transport trucks/Temporary medical ward."
"Thankfully we stocked up on the medicine."
Said the captain.
"So we're do were burry them?"
I asked the captain.
"Well somewhere. I don't know. Maybe this field?"
He said.
"Knowing what to expect e.i the quick decay it will probably be the best to put them in body bags, and put them in holes."
"So can I ask you a favor captain?"
I asked him nicely.
"Well what kind of favor?"
"Can I bring some of the men to scout out the area, and check that burning village in the distance?"
"Sure. Just be careful. We don't want to lose people again. Those soldiers that died today were just new recruit's. They barely know how to combat the threats. I wonder what to say to the families that those men cared, and loved."
He said while watching the men he cared about. He knew that this were his new family, his new home, and a new start. We only had each other now. We must take care of each other for the least casualties to happen, and for our men to survive, and go back to their homes, and their families who are worried sick about them.
Firstly we buried those who died to day and did a little send off ceremony. We first dug the graves and readied rocks to be used as markers for the dead, after that vigil, next we did bury the men, lastly we fired a few rounds to the sky, and immediately ran. We knew that if we stood there there was a chance we may get hit by the bullets that we fired. After all what comes up must come down.
We hurried to the transport vehicles and rested for a few hours while some stayed up to guard our comrades, and our fellow countrymen.
To be continued...