Small bum tattoo ideas for females

Hello all. I received a $20,000 bonus that has not been taxed yet - trying to decide between paying off $14,500 in student loans all at once, pay off 1 or 2 out of the three student loan payments, or just contributing $12,500 to Roth IRA for 2022 and 2023 and continuing to pay my loans.
(Would the contributions to Roth IRA mean I only get taxed 22% on the remaining $7,500? I already filed my 2022 taxes for what it's worth. Trying to see if I could minimize taxes I have to pay on this bonus.)
Student Loan principal and interest breakdown - $5,500 @ 8%, $5,500 @ 7%, and $3,500 @7%. Current minimum monthly payments total $359.40.
Other debt includes car payment at 3.59% interest, $369 a month, but my mom and I contribute $369 each because we are trying to pay it off within the next two years. Also because she is very nice and it was her wish/idea for me to get a new car. (I previously owned a 2005 Buick LaCrosse paid for in cash that she thought wouldn't make it through winter.)
Net income is $4000 a month after $1600 each month towards pretax 401K. I have a $10,000 emergency (mostly anxiety) fund and I have no other expenses as company pays for my rent and my mom pays for food as she lives with me. Broke up with GF recently, so aside from a few trips this year to visit friends I am not planning on spending much this year except treating myself to some small things from time to time.
Sorry for the disorganized thoughts, would really appreciate some input!

After the Bahrain Grand Prix, team boss Toto Wolff made it clear that it was time to look at a change of direction, and that there would be “no holy cows” in terms of sticking to established ideas.
The definition of exactly what the concept of an F1 car entails has been a talking point in recent weeks, with Wolff making it clear that it extends beyond the trademark ‘size zero’ sidepods that the team transferred from last year’s W13 to its current car.
Speaking in a Mercedes Q&A video, Elliott acknowledged that the definition of concept is a loose one.
“The simple answer is it means different things to different people,” he said. “I think after Bahrain we had to accept we weren’t where we wanted to be, that we had to look at all the things that make up our car and work out what could we be doing differently, how could we get more performance, because there is a significant gap for us to catch up to the front.
“So the engineers are busy looking at aerodynamics, they are looking at the shape of the car, things like the sidepod geometry, the floor geometry, have we missed a trick?
“But we are also looking in the simulation world of are we targeting the right things, are we pushing the aerodynamics in the right direction?
“We’re looking at the mechanical set-up of the car, are there things there that we are missing? What else can we bring to the car that is going to add performance? And we’re trying to do that as fast as we possibly can, because we want to get back to the front.
“We want to be competing at the front, and the only way we are going to do that is by accepting we are not in the position we want to be, and fighting and working really hard to get back there.”
Elliott stressed that the W14’s poor performance in Bahrain was a “reality check” for the Brackley-based squad, but he did point out it has energised the team into looking for solutions.
“Obviously, Bahrain was a real reality check and to find ourselves in the position we find ourselves in, not being competitive, was a real disappointment,” he said. “A disappointment for the whole team.
“But you have to get yourself through that, and you have to turn that into what we are going to do about it? How are we going to bring the sort of the energy and what we are capable of doing?
“How are we going to move ourselves forward? How are we going to get ourselves back in the fight?
“And actually, walking around the factory there is huge amount of energy, there is a huge amount of work going on, we are starting to see some of the development come through already that is going to get us back into this championship fight.
“All we can do is just keep pushing. I've been really pleased to see the attitude in the team.”
Asked about potential form in the Australian GP, he said: “Firstly, our main aim at the moment is to continue learning. We've only had two races so far. It's really difficult to build trends from that.
“In terms of the actual characteristics of the circuit, Australia is probably front-limited and probably more like Jeddah than like Bahrain. So, let's hope that we can find another small step forward, get a bit more competitive, find the learning that is going to help us move forward in the long term.”
Source: https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/mercedes-explains-approach-to-changing-f1-car-concept/10447257/

Hi all! I have a three year old (incredibly food driven) female chocolate lab. We have been training competitive obedience for the past couple years. This past weekend we had our first trials in pre-novice and she passed all four. We have the next set of trials mid April in the novice category.
My girl works amazingly during our twice a week sessions with our trainer. She is always dialed in and animated in her heeling. However, over the weekend at the trials I noticed slightly less focus in the ring than usual (I understand there was a lot more distractions and not having food with me in the ring changed things for sure).
My trainer says that I need to work on engagement with my dog so that she WANTS to work with me and not just for the food. I can't ever see myself becoming more valuable than food to my dog. She does not seem to care to please me unless there will be food at the end.
I have been working on using toys/bumper under my arm for engagement when heeling and trying to include more praise while decreasing treats. For example, we will do a full heeling pattern and she will only get a treat after it's finished.
I am seeking ideas on what I can do to keep her focused and continuously working to a high standard in the ring when the treats are removed.
I want her to know that once we are finished the routine - the treats WILL come eventually (just delayed) and she can't slow down or become less animated.
My trainer says that I need to become the reward myself and that my dog needs to want to work with me... but I just don't see that happening with my dog. I don't think she'll ever value working with me in the ring as high as receiving food.
Sorry if this was a bit of a rant - I'm open to all/any ideas! Thanks in advance.

Hello! I have a discord that I link in the descriptions of most of my videos because I really love a lot of the discords that I'm in for larger content creators. I made a notifications chat, announcements, memes, and general, but not a whole lot else. I didn't really think about it too hard since it was mainly my irl friends in there that wanted to be notified when a video went live, but I actually had someone that I didn't know join for the first time the other day!
It was super exciting, but I also realized I had no idea what to do. I tried a question of the day thing, but they left after a few days of no talking. It might be that I'm just too small (150 subs) and that it was a fluke with no real way to make it work, but if anyone has recommendations on stuff to do in a small discord I'm looking for advice :)

Not to sound like hHannibal Lecter I’m a Newbie here and have been tattooing for a couple years I have a very small client base but I’m looking to grow. I’m looking for skin to tattoo to build my portfolio can anyone help? Tia

Nearly a year ago I made this post:
https://www.reddit.com/Swingers/comments/uxhjiv/wrapping_my_head_around_why_i_40m_fantasize_about/
I figured an update was due because I've had people ask me periodically what has happened since.
In September of this past year, we did attend a swinger club near where we live. My wife has also become a bit curious about women. Those 2 things are covered in my post history.
Since our first club visit in September, she has really enjoyed going to the clubs. She has gotten all the male attention I knew she would get. I didn't realize how many women in the LS are bisexual and she's received a lot of attention from women as well. This has all been very tame. Basically enjoying the vibe of the club, having sex with each other and then going home and having more hot sex. She loves getting dressed up and ordering clothes for the theme nights. She has been buying and wearing really revealing outfits which I've loved.
Her confidence and self esteem has gone through the roof. I think she finally believes me when I tell her how attractive she is and how desirable she is to other men (and apparently women!). She no longer feels that I just tell her this out of obligation.
For New Year's we attended our first hotel takeover. We were literally having sex on a balcony overlooking the party shortly after the ball dropped. Friends of ours were watching us from the doorway of their room. Next thing we knew we were having sex on their bed parallel with 2 other couples. It was easily the most erotic thing we had ever done and we loved it!
Since then we've probably been to clubs a total of about 10 times. We've enjoyed meeting other couples and have parallel played several times with some light touching between the ladies. We've become much more comfortable discussing fantasies and boundaries and I think at some point we may be ready to soft swap. I realize our pace is slower than some other couples, but we are going at a slow pace to make sure we're both OK with what's happening and we don't want to make any mistakes.
There's been numerous changes in our relationship, but I'd summarize by saying she's lost weight, has become very confident in sexy outfits and being completely nude, has gotten much better at accepting sincere compliments from men and women, and has started becoming more comfortable flirting and talking to other men.
She also confided that she has been insecure about the size of her boobs since we were teenagers. She's very petite and does have small boobs. I've never thought about it or cared because she's gorgeous and I prefer petite women. I told her that she could have them done as long as she was doing it for herself and not for me. She's scheduled to get them done the first week of April and is very excited about it. I'm excited for her because I'm hoping it will finally make her feel the way I feel about her. She's already perfect.
We still haven't swapped, but we've talked a lot about it. I still don't know if we will, but neither of us is worried about it. We love each other and our current sex life so there isn't a need for it to happen. We have had a few small hiccups along the way and I think it would be disingenuous not to mention them.
1) A man she found attractive that we parallel played with at one point wanted her to join him and his wife for a soft swap. His wife was into my wife, but not into me. I'm fine with her not being into me. No hard feelings on my part. My wife explained that we only play together but would otherwise be interested. He didn't really seem to get the hint and made other comments about it and continued to pursue her. I was very conflicted and had trouble telling her how I was feeling. On one hand, I wanted her to have the experience if she wanted it, but on the other I hated the idea of being excluded. We discussed that our boundaries wouldn't change because of the fantasies of another couple and we've moved along. I'm open to the idea that maybe in the future if we've had other experiences, maybe her going with them wouldn't be a big deal, but we definitely aren't ready for that yet.
2) My wife still isn't comfortable of the idea of me flirting and communicating with another woman. She feels a lot of guilt about this because she wants everything to be "fair". I've explained that I'm totally fine working at her pace and this is about enjoying a collective experience for both of us. I don't mind hitting the pause buttons on things that she isn't comfortable with yet.
We've discussed doing a LS resort vacation, but nothing scheduled yet. For now, we'll continue to go to the club with no expectations and if something happens, it happens. We've got one particular couple that we're very comfortable being intimate around which has been a lot of fun.
Sorry for the rambling post, but it's difficult to summarize 10 months of craziness into one update. I can say that thinking back, it's insane to realize how much our marriage has changed and improved in the past 10 months. Considering we've been together for over 20 years, these changes in such a short time are very dramatic, but exciting!

It must be something that is said a thousand times here but I feel like anyone who watches only the movies is left with more questions than answers after the Deathly Hallows. A few that I picked up (having read the books many years ago)
​

1. Harry and the mirror

In the books it is explained quite easily. Sirius gifted the mirror to him as a way to communicate sometime around book 5. When Sirius died and Harry could no longer use the mirror to talk to him he lashed out and smashed it but nonetheless kept a piece of it. The remains of the mirror ended up being looted by Snape (though I forget how exactly).
In the movie Harry just *has* this piece of mirror that is not introduced at all. Harry later accuses Mundungus of stealing the rest of it - something that would confuse anyone because we still don't know who it belonged to in the first place or why Harry has it. Most egregiously however is the fact that it is put in Aberforth Dumbeldore's posession, not Snape's which means the whole Patronus at the lake (carefully and touchingly explained in the book) is a gaping plot hole. Especially when one considers that Harry spots Snape in his office on the Marauders Map moments before it appears (in the book this tells the reader that Snape was looking at the mirror, knew where Harry was and was able to help him. In the movie he is just looking at the map for no plot related reason).

1. The Fate of Peter Pettigrew

In the books Peter gets his thirty pieces of silver. His 'reward' from Voldemort, a new hand, is shown very dramatically in the 4th movie and subsequent appearances by the character feature it heavily. In the book Harry is able to convince Peter to free them from the basement of Malfoy Manor, something that reveals a kind of redemption (Peter did not believe in Voldemort's cause, he was chiefly a coward who followed the prevailing wind). For this, the hand chokes him despite Harry and Ron desperately trying to save him.
In the movies he is knocked out in a kind of slapstick fashion without any further comment. He is never seen again and the audience must presume that Voldemort killed him in anger? The fate of a fairly titular character is left completely up to the viewer to decide, and I personally think Peter is one of the best written characters in the story and he deserved better for the movies.

1. Lupin and Tonks

There is a lot more to these two than the movies let on. There is a scene that was cut from the film that showed them embracing and discussing their child before the Battle of Hogwarts. Not only is it touching and would make their deaths that much more impactful, but they never actually announce that they have a child in the movies - something that is only hinted at in part 1. The audience is no doubt left confused when Harry asks Remus what his son would do without them.

1. The entire second wizarding war

Is fairly underwhelming in the movies. It really only lasts for the duration of the Deathly Hallows, when the books make it feel much longer and more dramatic. Just a small criticism because I think that the books hammer home the fact there is a war going on, when the movies focused really heavily on the trio walking across country.

1. How did Griphook end up at Malfoy Manor

In the books Griphook is actually on the run with Dean Thomas. The details of this are a little fuzzy, but Dean was also meant to be at Malfoy Manor. Remember that Bellatrix had no idea that the sword had been stolen until the trio arrived, and Griphook was there before them. The audience is left wondering why they imprisoned the goblin responsible for protecting Bellatrix's vault because it is never explained why he is there apart from it being convenient to the plot

1. The name taboo

In the first movie Hagrid chastises Harry for using Voldemort's name. This is a trend followed in later editions, with only Dumbledore being fearless enough to use it. It is never explained in the movies that the name itself is actually cursed so that anyone that uses it broadcasts their location to the death eaters. This makes the whole 'you know who' thing seem immature when it actually reveals a great deal about Dumbledore's character. Also the line by Macgonnigal 'You mise well use it he's going to try and kill you anyway' to Flitwick in part 2 is very out of context if you don't know why it is taboo.

1. References to other characters that I think were missed

A few characters make small, almost cameo appearances in later books. Gilderoy Lockhart in book 5 would have been understandably innappropriate comic relief, but I think it's interesting to know that the knight bus guy was arrested under draconian laws for boasting about being a death eater or the guy in the top hat that Harry meets in the philosophers stone (book and film) later is responsible for transporting the Dursley's from Privet Drive at the start of the Deathly Hallows. What ultilmately happens to the Dursley's and those imfamous cut scenes that show a bit of humility from them in the end are also instances of characters deserving some better closure
​
Just some thoughts. I really feel like re-reading the books as I have only a fuzzy recollection. It was fun to watch all the movies all the way through and pretend I didn't know any better but man it changed my opinion about the last movie.

As the title says, I've been working on finding my voice and style on the page, keeping in mind the idea of directing the mind's eye (not the camera). I have some thoughts on the shortfalls of my writing, and I've been told that I can write scenes that are hard to follow.
If anyone is up for giving me some thoughts on what they "see" in this scene after reading it, I'd be hugely appreciative!
Here is the link to the first page, but it's pasted below as well if it's easier. (Obviously not in the correct formatting below unfortunately. Tried to compensate to make it readable.)

INT. ITALIAN GROCER - DAY

Fifteen tiles. Black then white, black, white, alternating like a chess board down the aisle of vintage shelves, cans, bags, everything in shades of grey until--
--specks of RED tickle the edges of a tile.
Droplets. The first hint of color. Small, hard to see on the white linoleum, invisible on the black. JAZZ MUSIC howls.
The drops turn to streaks, spattering the floor up to the checkout counter. Blood. Something terrible happened here.
Morning light spills onto the body of CHARLES CORTMIGLIA, hunched behind the counter with a HACHET stuck deep in his back, very out-of-place next to the gums and glass bottles.
By the counter, JOHN DAVILLA, 28, Black, too lax in posture for a military man despite his Navy uniform, scans something, eyes darting, brain on overdrive. But it's not Charles he's examining. It's a poster.
A still of a whiskey bottle and a man in a lab coat. DR. MONATET'S MIRACLE MEDICINE LOUISIANA'S #1 FLU REMEDY. In small letters: CONTAINS 8% RUM.
SUPER: New Orleans, 1919
The music scratches.
JOSEPH "DOC" MUMFRY, 68, Italian, intimidatingly-large in a trench coat, lifts the handle of the nearby gramophone. He pulls off a pair of gloves. John motions to the poster.

• JOHN

"Can't believe folks buy this stuff."
Doc glances. Barely. He's fishing for something in his coat.

• DOC

"Who plays Jazz during a murder?"
Doc throws back a pill, closing the bottle. OFFICER LECLERE, 40, White, in a constable uniform, enters from a back room.

• LECLERE

"Mother and daughter dead, too. Wounds match the details, details."

• DOC

"What about the injury bullshit?"
BAM--

I'm taking English classes and today we were asked to write a magazine article. I'm good at writing. I mean, I know generally what I want to say, but I'm really bad at structuring and organizing a skeleton of a text.
We were asked to draft it and plan it before writing it, but all I want to do is to jump to the writing itself.
Drafting it in topics and trying to structure it bores me to death and it makes me anxious, bored and with analysis paralysis. I want to get to the fun stuff, which is writing down my ideas. When I do that, the ideas flow and fall one after another cohesively. In a one-page text, this is not a problem. I can write it with an introduction, a development, and a conclusion. I can write things with structure. For instance, sometimes I'm sharing my thoughts and say stuff like: "I have 3 thoughts about this: 1) blablabla, 2), blablabal, 3) blablabla" (most time I actually find out I have a fourth one though, but that easily editable in text)
In a longer project, though, this is a bigger problem. It means that I can only move by writing things little by little. And sometimes I'll need to fix the structure and edit more afterwards because of it. It also means that I don't really know as well where I'm going, since I'm kind of discovering it in the process.
Structuring things overwhelms me. And they always turn out a little different than the structure anyway. So if a 1-page text is overwhelming me, imagine the impact in a PhD, which I'd like to pursue in the future, if I weren't a mess at managing big projects. (I would like to do it in theory, but I know that in practice it could be draining if I can't be disciplined and organized, which I'm not)
We didn't finish the text in class. I started writing it in a flow for the homework, but that's kind of cheating. I'm sure my teacher wouldn't mind if I didn't have a draft with topics, but the question is... I mean... it's more like a vent and me pondering if this is ok, or how I could make this process less daunting and maybe actually even enjoyable - because the writing part is what's enjoyable for me. I don't see how a structure will help me with something as small as this especially if it drains the joy out of the process. Any constructive and cool thoughts would be appreciated.

This topic came up on a trauma-related Discord server I am on.
On a personal level, I believe that there is a fine line between talking about trauma in a healthy way involving expressing emotions that were originally repressed, and re-experiencing/re-traumatizing by talking about trauma in an unhealthy, self-perpetuating way.
The goal in trauma therapy is frequently to 'process' the trauma, grieve, get angry if necessary, and then eventually, move on after the grief process is complete. For this to work the client must be shown that the client is now in a safe place, that the trauma will not repeat itself in the present. The trauma can then naturally be grieved and somewhat forgotten, or at least, it won't be as present in the conscious/subconscious mind anymore, because it has been sufficiently grieved, and the body recognizes it is now safe and no longer has to defend itself.
And I believe the same ideas can be applied to national traumas.
What I am saying, and this may be a controversial take, is that I believe Tisha B'Av to skew more as an emotionally unhealthy day. To me, Tisha B'Av is more about re-experiencing national trauma, and re-creating the feelings of danger, unsafety, fear, and sadness in the present, than it is properly mourning them.
​
For example:
Small children are taught to mourn a Temple they have never seen and have no connection to.
Slightly older children are taught about how the Romans martyred 10 Rabbis from the time of the Mishnah, and are taught of the gruesome deaths and tortures used. Children are taught to feel the terror of the pogroms during the Crusades, and are told graphic stories of death, fire, and wanton destruction. The Kinnot which are read are frequently incredibly graphic, with stories of men burned alive, skin raked off, and much worse.
Many adults in the more religious communities artificially induce themselves to cry in order to mourn the loss of the Temple.
The narrative (perhaps justifiable but still) that Eisav will always hate Yaakov is expounded on, and we are all taught to fear living as Jews in a world that will always hate us. A national identity of fear is created and reinforced.
And of course, the Holocaust. We recount horrific stories, that of course, should be taught and recorded, but is recounting them in public and requiring everyone to attend the way to do this? Should children be taught about Dr. Mengele? Many if not most Jews have had mental health struggles at one time or another. Should people with histories of trauma or even regular anxiety be subject to these stories? We are reminded by every Rabbi that the Holocaust could re-occur today given the right circumstances. This may be factually correct, but is this the attitude that our grandparents who survived the Holocaust want for us to live by? Do they want for their kids to live in constant fear, or did they survive the Holocaust to get out of that constant fear?
The amount of collective fear can make Jews living in the modern day afraid to talk to non-Jews, and find anti-semitism around every corner. Yes, anti-semitism is a problem in today's world, but the anti-semitism of today is nowhere near what it was in the times of the events described on Tisha B'Av. The practice of deliberately isolating Jews from non-Jews just recreates old problems, and the old ghetto's of the past are willfully re-created in the name of avoiding the hedonism of the modern world...
​
And the origin of Tisha B'Av is also to me a story of trauma and abuse. According to the Talmud, God was angry at the Jews for crying when they heard the meraglim's report that Israel was not as amazing a land as they had been led to believe. Apparently God said "You have cried in vain, so I will give you something to cry about."
That line is the classic line of an abusive narcissist parent to a child that needs compassion, rather than further hurt.
​
Why can't Tisha B'Av be a day of gratitude as well? A day to celebrate the differences between the past and the present, instead of interpreting the present in the lens of the past? A day of mindfulness where we can appreciate how different the daily life of the average Jew today is? A day to just exist in the present moment and marvel at how different things are today.
What are your thoughts?

If I look for cloaks I get cosplay stuff.
I want a good cloak, almost lord of the rings/medieval type, which pins/buttons/clasps at the shoulder. Common capelet-looking tops to em. PONCHOS ARE NOT IT
Depending on the type, have buttons that go up to that clasp. Change up how thick it is and everything like you would any jacket. With holes in it that you can put your arms out through (obviously layer the material so it doesn't show or make you cold) it would work to both cover a cute top for outside, show it off while unbuttoned/clasped, and come off really nicely as your outer layer.
I can think of all sorts of cute cuts and styles.
Best part: pockets
By mine I mean if I was customizing it from scratch. I'd want mine, like the one I wear almost every day as a default coat, to fit me. I want it to fall in such a way that when it is loose it is unrestrictive and when closed not tangly or Idk; you know how loose sleeves can feel in the way? Bracelets?
So I'd want it to fall so it doesn't hinder walking. I'd probably add a way to make it more secured to my legs directly so if I'm walking, hiking, trekking, running it stays in place or if there's wind so it doesn't go all flappy and I stay warm. Also makes it so it can't drag or snag or slow me down. For me the ability to run away is necessary, sometimes if I hear a noise I zip up a jacket so it couldn't be a hindrance in any way. It's what a jacket should be: your designated portable blanket. I think a cloak is way better than a snuggy.
I'd make it so the pockets hang in such a way that weight there pulls in the natural way the jacket falls. You have the entire inner part for pockets, technically. I generally would only have them on the sides/front. I might have an anti-theft pocket somewhere farther back, especially small ones for just a card, key, cash, jewelry...
If you only need a typical number of pockets, most cloaks would be easily reversible. That is a lifesaver to me when I really like a style, and want both black and deep brown so I can match it to warm and cold color palettes. It would also allow me to have a really nice material on the inside that I only sometimes use and that way it stays in better condition but I don't need a separate item for something more fancy.
I love the idea of having the more unique colors on the inside, the ones that are so pretty but have to be coordinated to really work, yknow? That way I could have my black cloak with red on the inside, when it matches I turn the red out. Or I could have one side of a capelet with a pattern, the other the solid color.
Is there some reason this wouldn't work? Does anyone know of easy ways to obtain large quantities of old blankets? For practice I could make some that are to pass out to homeless, I already wanted to pass out blankets and coats and stuff.

We shot downward, careening through space away from Mythellion III station before I had time to register what was happening. Emerald flashes splashed above us as bolts splattered against the launch barrier of the station.
The stark silhouette of a fighter screamed by, there one frame and gone the next.
I ignited the side engines, shooting us off course as a second rail of bolts slashed through spaces along our original path, fired from the fighter's rear cannons as it dashed away from the station.
"Shit. Shit. Shit. Mask on."
"Who is that?"
"Don't know. Masks on," I snapped, but I had a guess.
I snapped the mask in front of me over my mouse and nose, the telltale hiss of oxygen coming online as it clicked into place. I glanced at Victoria as she affixed her own, leaving her a second to adjust the straps. It wasn't like the last person in that seat was a Fotuan.
Once I was confident her mask was on, I started moving the power settings on the ship. Combat on smaller vessels was like conducting a symphony. The perpetual engines on the ships weren't big enough to run every system at once, so it was up to the pilots to find balance in the middle ground between surviving the fight and surviving in space.
It was a good thing Valet kept your ship warm for you.
The lights shut, oxygen stopped pumping into the cabin, the heater cooled, and the force dampeners deactivated everywhere but our seats; in their place, combat engines erupted, guns spun up, and critically our outer shield flickered to life.
The combat engines snapped our descent to a halt almost immediately as I fired them against us, stopping us from heading too close to one of the other moons that orbited Mythellion's parent planet. I scanned the station's lights to see if I could spot the enemy fighter, but we should have had time.
Every movement in space was a commitment. You could only pull a hairpin turn if you had the engine power to create the opposite force to your current speed. The faster you went, the longer it would take to 'brake.' Luckily our friend had been flying well above Solar paces, which meant I had a second to prepare for the second run.
"Where are they?" Victoria's voice was smothered by her mask but came over small speakers in my headrest.
"Don't wanna find out."
"Do you think that they're going to come back?"
We could try running from here, but we couldn't just shoot off in a straight line, predictive weapon systems would absolutely lace us the second the ship got back into firing range.
"Kingston?"
My scanners hadn't been able to read what kind of ship it was during its run, so I couldn't pick a fight. For all I knew, I had nothing on the Gunboat Diplomat that could crack its shields. Not for lack of money spent.
"Kingston."
I could put Mythellion behind me, but that wouldn't stop them for long; they'd just wait until they could open fire again.
"Kingston."
Maybe some of the Anteraxi Skitters came out to stop them from disturbing the peace, but that wouldn't matter much if we were scrap metal floating around Mythellion's first satellites.
"Knigston."
"Victoria, I need to think! Fucking-" I slammed the forward engines to a dogfighting pace, streaking away from Mythellion and toward the nearest sister moon. Even with the stabilizers in our seats, we were pinned against headrests as we tore through space. As we took off, I pulled the last power out of the heating systems and pumped it into the scanners, trying to find them before they found us.
The gravity of the moon, Zektah-Tiberon 7, grabbed us, yanking our heading to the surface. Engines flared all over the ship, righting it and setting it to slingshot around the moon once we were close enough to leverage the curvature of the orbit.
The scanner blipped and glowed in front of me, pinging the other civilian ships pulling away from the station, probably confused about what was shooting in semi-civilized space. The gravity of Zektah-Tiberon started to take control of our path.
"There!" Victoria called.
"What?"
"Fotuan Valikyria, on the scanner, it's on the- other side of the moon?"
"That doesn't make-" she was right; a fighter was taking the opposite orbit to us, matching our path to meet us as we locked into the slingshot. What kind of handling did those ships have if they could beat us to the fucking moon.
"Second one. Back by the station. A Class."
"Of course, there's two," I hissed.
"One on the other side is a D Class."
"What does that mean?"
"A Classes are the standardized fighter of the scout divisions of the Meri-"
"Victoria."
"D Class has big guns."
"Cool." We were either going to meet the one with big guns head-on, or we could try our luck in open space, but-
No, we were pincered; there was no avoiding that many shots; it didn't matter how robust the auto-avoidance systems were.
"Fuck it," I growled, pushing us closer to the moon's surface. Warnings popped up, letting me know that Zektah-Tiberon 7 had an atmosphere and reminding me about the speed limit for guaranteed hull integrity. Luckily I was pretty sure the human military undershot their numbers intentionally.
"Kingston."
"Mhm?"
"We're-"
"Yep."
The ship rocked under the pressure of entering the atmosphere, shaking around us as the outer cameras adjusted to the glow of superheated metal. We were almost 75 kilometres above the surface of the moon still, but dogfighting was not a planetside sport.
The video feed highlighted a dot of the horizon, part of the screen zooming in to show the Fotuan Valikyria adjusting to match our new heading, a glowing vapour cone erupting around as it dipped into the atmosphere and tore through every collective sound barrier.
"That's an Oniversa Therm-"
"Vic."
"Laser weapon."
"Got it."
I cut the power to the engines, watching our speed plummet as physics screamed against our momentum, and we cut lower and lower toward the moon's surface, but the sickly yellow clouds were still way below us. All that power went to the guns.
Just as we were about to come into each other's effective range, the Valikyria snapped off its current path, rolling to the side end over end. I opened fire just before I was supposed to.
There were 18 primary batteries and 84 auxiliary guns hidden within our hull. With full power, all of them that could fire forward turned the space between us into a flashing wall of death, a mix of hyper-accelerated metal shards and concentrated laser bolts.
The Fotuan ship fired a pair of concentrated beams off; I cut the guns and threw power back into the engines.
Sparks and light erupted as the Valikyria maintained its attack run, rushing almost headlong into our covering fire to keep the lasers on target as they cut toward us, scything from either direction to cut off our escape routes.
Our upper engines screamed to life, and I shot us straight down toward the moon's surface, putting precious distance between the Valikyria and us before the lasers ran into our shield. Two warnings flashed on my screen simultaneously: dropping shield integrity and altitude.
The lasers cut off as the Fotuan Valikyria screamed out of range, only adjusting its heading and correcting its spin once it was too far for laser fire to work. My scanners caught it just before it headed out of the range to get the ship's status. As far as the shields, we couldn't tell. Their hull was untouched.
Another ship was approaching the planet, the one that had taken the first shot at us. We couldn't win trading shots like that. They'd just wear me down and buy time for one another to recharge their shields when they kept me from doing the same.
I got the engines to slow our descent just outside of effective orbital exit range; though we were still moving forward at thousands of kilometres an hour, it felt like almost nothing compared to the scale of the moon; we'd had to drop too much speed to fly in-atmosphere.
"Fuck."
Silence reigned, it might have only been a couple of seconds, but it felt like hours.
"What are our chances?"
"Honestly? Not great, but I'm not out of-"
"PHMS Gunboat Diplomat, this is Huntress Pasoné of Valikyria Designation 24639. We believe you are harbouring a fugitive. Comply with a search, or our next shot will not be a warning."
They hadn't connected a video feed with the hail; instead, it was just her voice, speaking like she was reading an essay in the middle of a dog fight.
"PHMS Gunboat Diplomat. Reply."
"I think that's me you're talking about," I answered.
"This is not the time for games, PHMS Gunboat Diplomat."
"I am wanted on a lot of planets."
"PHMS Gunboat Diplomat-"
"Kali Registered Mercenary Kingston Diadona. You can call me Kingston."
"PHMS Gunboat Diplomat. Comply."
I kept the ship in combat power settings but spared a mote of firepower to bring up the internal lights. Vitoria was staring dead ahead, eyes wide, but the lights coming on woke her from her stupor, and she looked at me. I was nodding before she had time to offer a pleading look.
"I'll comply."
"Maintain heading and depower all combat systems. We will be alongside you shortly."
The feed didn't cut until I pulled power away from the weaponry, then there was a brief moment of static before Victoria, and I were alone in the cockpit.
"Kings-"
I cut Victoria off with a finger, then killed the lights. We would be naked for this, which meant I needed all the engine power we could spare. As the shadows set in, I saw my oxygen mask fogging as the cockpit's interior cooled.
The first Valikyria cut through the atmosphere to catch up to us, matching our flight path, pulling only a few hundred feet to the right of us. It was the one that had shot at us in the first place. Based on the guns on the bottom of the ship, the first shots at us as we'd left Mythellion III were warning shots.
I took a deep breath.
My scanner picked up the second ship, cutting through high orbit toward us.
It was time to test Fotuan reaction time.
I maxed out forward and bottom engines at the same time the panels on the exterior of our ship adjusted, guns folding away as it became, for a brief moment, invisible to scanners and systems.
We shot up toward the stars, the ship shaking from the ascent. We were on a straight shot to head out of the system on a path to Ovigaia. We just needed to get to the edge of the gravity well, and we'd be impossible to track over the black.
The A-Class we'd left behind hesitated, unprepared for our gambit. That was enough for us to almost be out of firing range.
Laser slammed into our shieldless hull.
The Gunboat Diplomat groaned and rocked off course as the firepower slammed into us as it cut blindly through the air where we were headed. Victoria screamed.
More shots chased us out of the atmosphere, falling short as we erupted into space, and I forced power into shields to cover the hull damage. The ship complained, and enough warning signs flashed in front of me that I couldn't tell if any were critical.
Free of gravity from anything other than the sun and without atmosphere in the way, the engines kicked up to interstellar settings.
With no idea of how damaged we were, I cracked us through the Veil and into the black.

"The key to trading success is to focus on how much money you can lose, not how much you can make."

Larry Hite

Why is risk management absolutely required for successful trading?
Allow me to present you with a new perspective of trading, heavily inspired by Nicholas Taleb:
What is it that moves the supply and demand forces that shape the markets?

1. Actual fundamental reasons for an evaluation of the earning capacity of a company.
2. The emotions of the masses who buy and sell.

Ok, so far nothing new. These 2 are widely accepted nowadays.
But what if I told you that there is an even more powerful force behind the movement of the markets?
What would that be? Luck and the lack of it. Buffet recognizes it, Jim Simmons prays for it every day before anything else, Nassim Taleb studies it and articulates its impact.
Tail events shape our lives far more than we would like to think they do. For the good and for the bad.
What are the odds of you being alive anyway? Wars, pandemics, revolutions, climate catastrophes, unexpected financial crash … unexpected surge in value of stocks in a specific niche …
Were these really predictable? Are you sure?
What if, as human beings, we are just wired to always require a narrative to explain them in hindsight. Bingo!
Were you really capable of predicting the 2020 pandemic? And in the most optimistic of the forecast would anybody be able to predict a soaring bull market when that same pandemic was asphyxiating the economy?
Examples like these have been following us from the outset of life, civilization … luck and the lack of it.
Ok, now what does this have to do with trading? Everything, or aren't the markets a refraction of real life events with a pinch (sometimes a truck load, but not always) of human emotion?
Yes, success or the lack of it, just like anything else is influenced by luck and the lack of it, more than we'd like to admit. No amount of skill will help you predict devastating events. And we both know that even a brainless person can achieve momentaneous success in trading.
What does that leave you with?
I love the answer suggested by Nassim Taleb, in my words: exposing yourself as much as possible to luck and simultaneously running away as fast as possible from exposure to bad luck. Betting on not knowing everything there is to know. Betting that we are flawed and reality is complex.
What does that translate to?
Risk management in first and second place. Staying alive. Doing everything at your reach to stay alive. Have trading mechanisms in place that will keep you alive for the long run? Even if that means, and spoiler alert, it normally does, collecting mainly losses … small losses.
Why?
Because by staying alive you allow yourself to be exposed to good luck, to the tail events that can make you rich!
What does this translate to in real trading?

• Trade small.
• Cut losers fast.
• Let winners run.
• Never risk more than 1% of your equity.
• Never have more than 30% of your total equity at risk.
• Open other trading accounts with other brokers.
• Have more than one strategy in place to capture different realms of the market.
• Be obsessed with the idea of avoiding ruin.

After all, the winners will take care of themselves shall you allow them to by remaining alive.
Thank me later.
Cheers,
Ruben
Tenacious Tribe
https://www.tenacioustribe.com/life-luck-and-the-lack-of-it-why-risk-management-is-the-single-most-important-key-to-long-standing-success-in-trading

"The use of heuristics in trading is like trying to navigate a ship with a compass that is slightly off - it may work for a while, but eventually, it will lead you astray."

Paul Tudor Jones

Heuristics! These hacks have been blessing us since the very beginning and have allowed us to survive and prosper like no other being on earth has been able to.
But what are these after all? Nothing but mental shortcuts our brain uses to make decisions quickly.
These tolls have been serving us like no other, it is never enough to reinstate. After all, where would we be if, back in the days, in the savanna, where all of us come from, we saw a glimpse of what just appeared to be a lion behind the bush and we didn’t instantly start running for our lives.
Reacting fast and making questions after is fertile. That’s what survives. Back in the days if you carefully asked questions and analyzed the situation before running you would be alive to process the answers.
Has this changed today? Of course not. We still use hundreds of heuristics for the majority of our daily decisions. Our world is still, and most likely will always be flooding in complexity and information which nobody can process accurately and quickly.
Among the millions of examples of this one can pull out, one caught my attention in particular. The hygiene paper frenzy during the covid 19 beginning days … pure nonsense, pure herd behavior and fear of missing out. Fantastic example of running first and asking questions after.
Well. But I’m not here to talk to you about hygiene paper, instead you need to be aware that these heuristics that have served us so well are not that friendly when it comes to assisting with your trading decisions.
At the end of the day, what they do is to oversimplify complex information and more often than not, overlook important details for a good decision.
Here’s a list of some heuristics we use everyday and how they can affect your trading:
Oh !and by the way, we have a solution to shield our trading from the hazardousness of these bittersweet tools. It’s more simple than you might think, you can find it at the end of this list of heuristics.

Confirmation Bias:

Confirmation bias occurs when we seek out information that supports our preexisting beliefs and opinions while disregarding or downplaying evidence that contradicts them. In trading, this can lead to a trader holding onto a losing position because they are only seeking out information that supports the idea that the market will eventually turn in their favor. As a result, the trader may miss out on opportunities to cut their losses and potentially make more profitable trades.

Sunk Cost Fallacy:

The sunk cost fallacy is the idea that we should continue to invest in something because we have already invested so much in it, regardless of whether or not it's still a good investment. In trading, this can lead to a trader holding onto a losing position because they have already invested a significant amount of money in it, even though it may no longer be a sound investment decision. As a result, the trader may continue to lose money instead of cutting their losses and moving on to more profitable trades.

Availability Heuristic:

The availability heuristic is the idea that we tend to make decisions based on the most readily available information, rather than considering all the available information. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on recent market trends or news stories, rather than considering the long-term market outlook. As a result, the trader may make decisions that are not based on sound analysis or research, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Attentional Bias:

Attentional bias occurs when we pay more attention to certain information or stimuli, while disregarding or minimizing others. In trading, this can lead to a trader focusing too much on short-term market trends or news stories, rather than considering the long-term market outlook. As a result, the trader may make decisions based on incomplete information, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Frequency Illusion:

The frequency illusion is the idea that when we become aware of something, we tend to notice it more often. In trading, this can lead to a trader seeing patterns or trends that may not actually exist, potentially leading to poor trading decisions.

Anchoring:

Anchoring occurs when we rely too heavily on the first piece of information we receive when making a decision. In trading, this can lead to a trader relying too heavily on the price at which they initially bought a stock, rather than considering the current market conditions and potential future performance. As a result, the trader may make decisions based on outdated or irrelevant information, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Contrast Effect:

The contrast effect occurs when we perceive something differently based on a recent comparison. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on recent market performance, rather than considering the long-term market outlook. As a result, the trader may make decisions based on incomplete or misleading information, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Clustering Illusion:

The clustering illusion is the idea that we tend to see patterns or trends in random data. In trading, this can lead to a trader seeing patterns or trends that may not actually exist, potentially leading to poor trading decisions.

Insensitivity to Sample Size:

Insensitivity to sample size occurs when we make decisions based on a small sample size, without considering the potential impact of a larger sample size. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on a small number of trades, without considering the potential impact of a larger number of trades. As a result, the trader may make decisions based on incomplete or misleading information, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Neglect of Probability:

Neglect of probability occurs when we do not consider the likelihood of an event or outcome when making a decision. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on emotions or personal beliefs, rather than sound analysis and research. As a result, the trader may make decisions that are not based on the actual probability of success, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Anecdotal Fallacy:

The anecdotal fallacy is the idea that we rely too heavily on individual cases or stories, rather than considering a more comprehensive set of data. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on individual trades or market trends, rather than looking at the broader market conditions and long-term trends. As a result, the trader may make decisions based on incomplete or misleading information, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Halo Effect:

The halo effect occurs when we make judgments or decisions based on one characteristic or trait, rather than considering a more comprehensive set of information. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on a company's reputation or brand image, rather than considering its financial performance and market outlook. As a result, the trader may make decisions that are not based on sound analysis, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

In-group Bias:

In-group bias occurs when we favor individuals or groups with whom we share similar characteristics or beliefs, rather than considering all available information. In trading, this can lead to a trader making decisions based on personal or group biases, rather than considering the overall market conditions and trends. As a result, the trader may make decisions that are not based on sound analysis or research, potentially leading to poor trading performance.

Hindsight Bias:

Hindsight bias occurs when we overestimate our ability to predict the outcome of past events. In trading, this can lead to a trader assuming that they could have predicted market trends and movements after the fact, leading to overconfidence and potentially poor trading decisions in the future.
Overall, it's important for traders to be aware of these heuristics and biases and to actively work to mitigate their potential impact on trading performance. This may involve taking a more comprehensive and analytical approach to decision-making, seeking out diverse perspectives and information sources, and constantly challenging one's own assumptions and biases. By doing so, traders can make more informed and effective trading decisions, potentially leading to greater long-term success.
What is the secret of the strategies in our store to overcome this problem? Simpler than you can think as stated above:

1. Trading in the higher timeframes

If we use these tools to make decisions quickly and they tend to be harmful when summoned, then why should we make decisions quickly? Luckily the markets offer the possibility of making decisions slowly and simultaneously making fantastic results … and simultaneously allowing you to spend more time doing other things you like, like spending time with your loved ones, or traveling. So why pass down on that opportunity and trade in the higher time frames instead?

2. Backtest thouroughly, through all asset classes, industries, countries, currencies and throughout, at least, the last 20 years ... before trading anything whatsoever.

If we use these tools to make decisions when we are too lazy to process large chunks of information … then why not stop being lazy, measuring what can be measured, getting the most objective possible intake, a large amount of numbers can provide and make decisions based on these numbers while maintaining the risk of being wrong and well managed? Answer: massive backtested systems, throughout a wide range of asset classes, industries, countries and throughout at least the last 20 years … which we offer as well. Drop by our store.
Cheers,
Ruben
​
https://www.tenacioustribe.com/trading-with-clarity-overcoming-biases-and-fallacies-with-2-simple-hacks

Whatever literature, small or big, is wrought out in Kashmir, is largely either in English or occasionally in Urdu. Not many writers take to Kashmiri, their first language.
"Writing a book might be easy,” Asif quips, “but writing a good book is not.”
Talking about youngsters, he says, it could be that their prompt in itself is not to produce good literature, it might well be that their elders or parents are telling them to publish something for people to know them across and beyond.
About youngsters getting to publishing so quickly, I reckon that perhaps there is a lack of ‘sabr’ (patience),” he says. “Perhaps, great effort and energy are not put into reading as much, or to know if such work has been produced before. If yes, then what makes theirs different?”
Not much thought might be given to what must be the appealing aspect of their work, or whether is it even worthwhile to be producing the same kind of work, will it hold any value, he reckons. “A writer must always bring something new to the readers. Also, the role of publishing houses is quite pronounced. It all boils down to business after all and certain self-publishing houses do not even bother to tell these novices that perhaps they need to rework, or their books need to be refurbished. If only they would take it more seriously, work with the authors on their manuscript, gauge its credentials and caliber, and refine it again and again then maybe a good piece might be produced. It shall help people as well in deciding whether or not writing is their realm and if they should explore other areas. Substantiating what I mentioned, refining is a process that demands immense patience.”
Aged 25, Asif Tariq Bhat is the youngest to author a novel in Kashmiri at times when Kashmiri as a language is more or less dwindling.
The first edition of the book published by ‘Ali Mohammad & Sons’ is all sold out with the second edition under process, bearing insightful critiques and remarks.
Recollecting his small journey of publishing, Asif had three publishers in mind- Gulshan, Ali Mohammad & Sons, and Meezan.
"Unfortunately,” he says, “some of these publishers brushed me away saying they already have a lot of work in progress and there is no room for more, some blatantly said that they have stopped publishing in Kashmiri.”
However, destiny had its own play and he culminated at Ali Mohammad & Sons.
“It was not a cakewalk there,” he says. “I presented the draft of my manuscript, and they returned it 11 times, saying it needs more refinement, needs more undergirding, needs more editing. It was at the 12th time that they were satisfied with the draft and waved a green flag. It was only then that I was able to get to publishing, and only then my book turned out so well. Had I not undergone that process, perhaps I wouldn’t have produced a book that sold out all of the first editions.”
Having chosen a nonconformist and idiosyncratic approach at a fairly young age, Asif stirs some thought about the ‘why’ of it.
“I’ve been a fervid reader of Kashmiri literature all along,” he says. “There is a void in the genre of novel writing in Kashmiri literature. Not that novels have not been written but just a few, and that is a meager quantity. I wanted to reignite the embers of novel writing and thus I aimed at writing one."
He does see quite a lot of poems in Kashmiri being published by magazines or newspapers, here and there.
“Poetry is vivacious in Kashmiri but prose yet needs significant attention,” he says. “Having absorbed a multitude of novels and prose in literature, I always felt despondent about the precarious condition of novel writing in Kashmir. Highly fond of Russian literature, particularly of Alexander Solzhenitsyn, I’ve read most of his work, which was originally written in the Russian language. Some of his books like ‘Cancer Ward’ or ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ (he won the Nobel Prize for) have fared exceptionally well, and still continue to be translated. People are ardently following his work. Such instances piqued me to think that if literature originally written in Russian can cause such strong undying currents throughout the world, what can possibly stop Kashmiri literature?”
Undoubtedly, he says, Russia is a mammoth community but still, the language is not as domineering as English or other global languages.
“Not going too far for another example, Paulo Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’ is the talk of every town. It is foreign to none, and must nearly be on everybody’s bookshelf. Nevertheless, not many would be aware that it was originally written in Portuguese, and was later translated into other languages. I asked myself if they can do it, what can possibly stop us, or what is stopping us.”
Literature of other lesser-known languages is taking the world by storm, Asif says, then perhaps Kashmiri literature also has unexplored potential.
"The best thing about any first language is that one tends to think in that language. It is the language of your thoughts in your head. Therefore, when you think and also write in the same language, the organic essence of your thought is preserved in a magical way. The work comes along more intricately with refined artistry. With all these thoughts, I ventured into the world of literature. Not many would read my work but I’m very content with all those who will. Tem chini sirf paran vael kihn, tem chi saran vael (because they are not only readers, they are prudent and sagacious readers.”
So invested in preserving and maintaining the essence and quiddity of the Kashmiri language, Asif has also launched an online program for teaching Kashmiri to the enthusiasts of the language.
Reminiscing the late Rehman Rahi, with a grim expression, Asif calls on the veteran’s words expressing love for his language and wanting Kashmiri to be taken to newer horizons so that people would be able to appreciate its beauty and finesse more.
Hooked on the same thought, Asif says he conceived the idea of starting his Kashmiri Speaking Classes (formerly named – Kashir Booel). Doling out free classes at first, Asif wanted to set about a welcoming space for the enthusiasts of the language
But certain people would join just for the purpose of poking fun at others or for the merry chase, without any zeal or interest to learn. Therefore, I arrived at charging money for the classes to keep away all the nuisance,” remarks Asif. “I’ve had students from distant places like Goa and New Zealand. Eleven successful batches have been accomplished hitherto, while not charging for the first four batches. I’ve observed fervor and assiduity in a lot of learners of Kashmiri as a language. I’ve regained the momentum now, and the ongoing batch is of 27 students and we are going well.”
These Kashmiri Speaking Classes are the first of their kind and Asif says that he wants to get them to prominence and make many more people aware.
These Kashmiri Speaking Classes are the first of their kind and Asif says that he wants to get them to prominence and make many more people aware.
Studying Kashmiri Literature, Asif is pursuing Masters at Central University Kashmir. To start with, he wrote for Sangarmal and Cultural Academy, sometimes short stories and poetry at others.
Reflecting on the rejections faced by writers with publishing houses, Asif evinces, “Rejection is a cure for any writer. It allows a writer to whittle out gems from gold. It pushes a writer to add so much more depth and profusion of vision, leading a writer to higher levels of confidence. At this stage, writers also develop great faith in their work, and patience propels them to make much more attempts. It is then that they know, perhaps some will reject but not all will or if today is not the time, tomorrow it has to be. Manifold, I was also rejected, however, today Khwaban Khyalan Manz is undergoing translation and we shall be reaching out to Harper Collins for it.”
The young Kashmiri author considers reading as oxygen for a writer. “One has to have an ocean of books within,” he says. “Often while reading, a writer comes to realize their style of writing and finds resonance with other writers. As I was reading Akhtar Moihuddin and Sadat Hassan Manto, I really resonated with their form and style of writing. Having explored that, I absorbed their work more extensively and also refined and improvised on my writing as well. That’s how reading makes a difference.”
Accentuating his words clearly for a stronger emphasis, Asif talks about hastened publishing, editing and mentorship in Kashmir.
"It took me six months to write the book but took me three years to taste satisfaction or to roll onto the stage where I felt ready to publish,” he recalls. “In those three years, I ground away all that I could for the book. I reshaped and revamped the characters, made changes to important climactic events, and read and wrote over and over. I’m not a great writer, I’ve a lot to learn yet, but I keep trying. I believe a writer should beam with contentment when they see their work on paper, and if that happens, it is only after that they should think of publishing. A writer must be happy and content with their work for others to like it.”
Mentorship in Kashmir, he believes, needs attention. “Our natural reflex is to run to our teachers for help. We tend to think they will rectify our mistakes and review our work. However, the worst I got to hear was that you have written a book, so do you think that is the end of the world? When things tell upon your self-respect, it does pull you down rendering you demotivated. I did think of giving up on the idea of publishing my book until I met Shafi Shauq and he guided my way forward. I was fortunate enough to cross paths with Shabir Ahmed Ganaie, who I could turn to for help with editing. Had I not crossed paths with them at a science fiction symposium, perhaps I would not have published.”
To market a book efficiently, critiques and reviews are fairly paramount, Asif avers. “It stirs the talks about the book in the literary circles and things follow from there onwards. The extra onus, I feel, also falls upon the writer, and the writer must be areligious and apolitical in their work.”
"My book is an allegory and a factual fiction, as I call it, and it’s about a boy who is dismissed and disdained by his community as a bad omen. The turn of events is such that the boy happens to be a blessing for another community at a place he travels to. Arham, the name of the boy meets a girl Isra, and both of them find a reflection of their lives in each other. The story is set in an Arabian setting and ends with a great climax, thence the name Khwaban Khayalan Manz.”

https://freepresskashmir.news/2023/03/22/rehman-rahis-language-legacy-has-a-new-heir-apparent-and-he-has-a-book-to/

Little bit of a follow-up to my last submission. First time DM, and we've just finished our first module as of last night. It was originally intended to be a one shot, but that was an underestimation on my part as we didn't even 100% the module and it still took us two sessions, with our second running about an hour over.
It was a lot of fun, to be sure. While I didn't manage to lure the party deeper into my favorite area of the module, I did end up planting the seeds for a potential return.
When we last left off, I allowed my players a short rest and level up in a small, oppressively quiet room that muffled all sound. It was unsettling, but one of the safer rooms of the wizard's tower. They had a short debate about whether they should go back and slay the two enemies they'd previously seen guarding a door. They ultimately decided against this action as the guards were just that - they didn't initiate combat against the PCd and simply stood there, watching and twitching next to each other as the party never approached their door. This allowed them to conserve some resources, but their decision would have consequences.
Instead, our intrepid adventurers continued upward into the tower, dread and apprehension building with every step they take climbing the walls. Upon coming to the next door this dread hit a peak, and due to the ranger's favored enemy and backstory I clued him into the Abyssal nature of whatever was behind that door.
The party began to panic, expecting a demonic monster on the other side of the door. What they found instead was the Abyss itself, stretching off into eternity around them, with only a single door across the black expanse of nothingness. Deep in the darkness, at distances impossible to tell they could see titanic shapes and drifting forms, limbs and bodies and faces, flashing then gone. The ranger felt something calling to him, urging him to come closer through the darkness. At the same time they encountered an odd traveler, utterly inhuman, yet friendly enough. This one similarly encouraged them to travel with it for a time, to abandon the Wizard's tower in favor of safer travels in the infinite darkness. Ultimately the party was too afraid to venture into the Abyss and instead made a mad dash for the other door - much to the Wizard's amusement.
They continued on with trepidation to new sights and horrors. As they set foot on the newest floor they could hear the Wizard's mad laughter, cackling around them in delight. Their path opened to a circular room with an odd, droning shape in the center. An utterly alien shape, comprised of pale blue tendrils that twisted and looped around each other in the air while emitting that low drone. The ranger used his mage hand to poke the floating shape with one of his arrows, and quickly found out that the tendrils reacted violently, smashing the arrow to pieces and partially corroding it. This was all the incentive the party needed to book it to the next door and stumble into the grisly sight of a dismembered man, still speaking and moving, his various body parts reaching for the party while his head babbled madly.
The smell was awful, but the party didn't back down from a few limbs. The sorcerer had the idea to geab the babbling head and drop it into a hole in the floor, plunging the screaming thing into the Abyss to be lost forever. This pleased the wizard, and he granted them a boon. The remaining body parts ceased movement and transformed, turning thick and gummy, and I learned that my players have less moral qualms about what they consume than I would have expected.
With their combat completed, they traveled through pitch black hallways, feeling amall somethings squirm and brush against them in the darkness, sharp and wet. The hallway led to another Abyssal space, a dark expanse with three doors suspended in the darkness, held by strange ropes that stretched up into the blackness, the source unseen. As they attempt to enter a new door the ropes jerked upward, preventing their escape. What followed was a desperate attempt to move through the doorways as they flew around the black expanse, changing exits each time someone crossed through. Eventually they managed to find themselves in the next room, though chattered and bruised from the doorways, the Wizard's cackle fading behind them.
After some exploration my heroes found the Wizard's trophy room and took their pickings from it. The Wizard remembers this. Backtracking through the rooms they realized some gargantuan creature was approaching the tower from the darkness, with only its eyes visible. The sorcerer panicked and made a mad dash to the next room, where the party encountered their next combat as two young Wizardlings assaulted them with their bladed arms and many, many legs. Partway through the fight an unnatural, Abyssal eel pushed its way through the floor and joined the fray. The party was able to dispatch their foes, taking a beating in the process and coming to two more doors. One, marked Exit. The other, plain.
The party got their final short rest and wisely ignored the exit door, venturing directly into the Wizard's lair. They finally came face to face with the creature that had been stalking and toying with them.
He was normal. With a perfectly average amount of limbs. He wore a pointed hat. And as he raised himself up on limbs that were not there, he shifted into the darkness above. His body was out of sight, concealed in magical darkness, leaving only pieces of himself exposed to the attacks of the party.
It was a very difficult fight, with two members being cursed by the Wizard, and all of them barely clinging to life as it threw Wizardlings at them between its own attacks, feasting on them to restore its strength. The druid morphed into a bear for the fight, battering Wizardlings away as the fighter tried to keep his body together while stabbing at whatever he could with his pike. At critical health the party was facing a TPK when the sorcerer was struck down.
In this darkest hour the party couldn't land a hit, everything was missing as the Wizard scurried around the room, skittering in the darkness, bleeding thick globs of blue onto the floor as it prepared for its final strike. One Wizardling remained, full health and eqger to feast. The sorcerer crit succeeded on his death save, standing back up just before the Wizard's next strike and launching a single ray of frost at the Wizard's main body, his sight enhanced by a magical grub to grant him vision through the darkness. It connected, tearing through the unspeakable Wizard and tearing its body apart, putting an end to the terror of the mad creature.
Or not. After leaving the tower and discovering it gone without a trace, the ranger found a simple note in his pocket.
BE SEEING YOU.
Overall I felt the session went well, but it had a few places I wasn't happy with or could've been done better. To me, the section with the flying doors felt like a real low point. Admittedly, I struggled to keep everything straight on this one, and I was worried this part dragged for my party due to the extra time I had to occasionally take to make sure things were right. It didn't help that I opened this with an error and had to quickly backtrack myself and tell them I'd messed up a bit. It didn't change anything major, but it made it messier than necessary. I also almost accidentally gave them a long rest because I misspoke, only catching it because one of my more experienced players double checked to confirm my intention.
I also fear my combat was a little dull at places, so I'll be asking for some feedback on that between sessions. Loot was light from the Wizard, the sorcerer took his hat and the party was rewarded with the 40 gold bounty, but I plan on giving them a little extra when they make it back to a bigger city.
With the module done, next comes the truly hard part of piecing the world together more, bit by bit. I had originally planned this one shot to be a stand-alone, but my players enjoy their characters and the adventure has given some interesting developments, so I'll see what happens. I won't keep spamming the sub with these posts after my sessions, fear not, but I just had to share some of my joy and excitement from this module I've been looking forward to for so long.

Does anyone combine F45 and Orange Theory? About a month ago I joined Orange Theory and I'm LOVING IT! I have also tried a few classes with F45 before and liked it as well (although I wish it was more slower for newbies like me) I'm thinking about adding a few days of F45 on top of Orange Theory as I'm looking for more strength training/ lifting
I have really never done any weight lifting before so was wondering if I'm going in the right direction here? I'm overall new to fitness so I was very happy to find a structured class with OTF. I have tried working out on my own but just have no idea what to do I'm not looking to bulk at all and for the reference I'm female 5' and currently weight 125 (Trying to get back to pre COVID about 100 - 105 pounds) I would appreciate any help here

According to the roadmap, an update focusing on improvements to the cult management side of things is coming by the middle of this year, and I do have some ideas when it comes to that. To start, I couldn't help but notice that some ingredients are only used in one dish, most namely the ones acquired through fishing. Here are some cooking recipes to maybe give people even more of an incentive to pick the Ocean's Bounty doctrine:

• Tuna Salad (Tuna and Grass); A two-star dish that has one potential positive effect and one potential negative effect with a small chance of occurring.
  
• Swordfish Steak (Swordfish Only); A two-star dish that has two potential positive effects with a small chance of occurring.
  
• Fried Calamari (Squid Only); A two-star dish that has one potential positive effect and one potential negative effect with a small chance of occurring, probably pooping, since it's fried.
  
• Octopus Roast (Octopus Only); A two-star dish that has two potential positive effects with a small chance of occurring.
  
• Sliced Pufferfish (Pufferfish Only); A two-star dish that has one potential positive effect with a moderate chance of occurring. However, since pufferfish is poisonous when improperly prepared, this dish also has a small five percent chance of killing whoever eats it.
  
• Crab Legs (Crab Only); A two-star dish with one potential positive effect that has a fifty percent chance of occurring.
  
• Lobster Tail (Lobster Only); A two-star dish with one potential positive effect that has a fifty percent chance of occurring.
  
• Mushroom Stir Fry (Menticide Mushroom and Grass); A two-star dish with many potential effects, both positive and negative.
  

Now, as for follower traits, I do believe that a higher variety of them would make things more interesting, with followers who have the exact same combination of traits appearing less often. Here are some trait ideas that I have:

• Judgmental (Max 1, Positive); This follower gains 5 Faith whenever another follower is put in prison, regardless of whether that follower is dissenting or not. Conflicts with Idealist.
  
• Idealist (Max 1, Negative); This follower loses 5 faith whenever another follower is put in prison, regardless of whether that follower is dissenting or not. Conflicts with Judgmental.
  
• Responsible (Positive); This follower has an increased chance of returning safely from missions. Conflicts with Careless.
  
• Careless (Negative); This follower has an increased chance of dying on missions. Conflicts with Responsible.
  
• Spiritual (Max 1, Positive); This follower gains 5 Faith whenever another follower dies, not in a "haha" kind of way, but in a way that implies that they already believe in an afterlife, regardless of whether the Belief in Afterlife doctrine is chosen or not. This also means that, if said doctrine isn't chosen, this follower will still animate as if it has been chosen. Conflicts with Terrified of Death.
  
• Weak-Willed (Negative); This follower is not only more likely to pay attention to dissenters, but also more likely to be swayed by them. Conflicts with Zealous.
  
• Iron Stomach (Positive); For this follower, any negative effects from food are reduced by half. Conflicts with Weak Stomach.
  
• Weak Stomach (Negative); For this follower, any negative effects from food have an additional five percent chance of occurring. Conflicts with Iron Stomach.
  
• Strange Taste (Positive); This follower, unlike others, will gleefully eat burnt meals and immediately go to eat them whenever they occur. This trait also has some hidden effects, such as a negation of the negative effects of grassy gruel and minced follower meat. In addition, if you get lucky enough to have a follower with this trait and the Coprophiliac trait, the same will go for bowls of poop. Conflicts with Refined Palate.
  
• Refined Palate (Negative); For this follower, the chances of negative effects on any one-star dishes are doubled. This means you're gonna be in for a rough ride if you're unlucky enough to get a follower with this trait and the Weak Stomach trait. Getting the Iron Stomach trait in combination with this trait also means that the Iron Stomach benefit only applies to two-star dishes. In addition, followers with this trait have a particularly high likelihood of being the target of the "prank" questline. Conflicts with Strange Taste.
  

These are just my ideas, but if anyone else has more, do feel free to share them!

I've never posted on reddit before, so I apologize about the formatting. I don't have anyone I can discuss this with personally, but can really use some advice. My (35F) husband, J (34M) has been dismissing my emotional needs lately, and I'm beginning to hate him for it. We've been together for 15 years, but he's been increasingly ignoring my needs. I can't get into too many specifics because I know he browses reddit, but J has been waving off my needs so much, its worth the risk of him seeing the post just so I can know where to go from here. J and I moved to a new country roughly 2 years ago, far away from any family. Mostly we moved to seek out a better life on our own, and I knew moving so far away from everyone would be difficult. I didn't think it would be a problem, J and I would just support each other. How romantic! Just us vs. the world! Except that's not what happened. J started to pull back from me emotionally, leaving me grappling for his love in anyway possible. His response, was to make me his mother. I cook, I clean, and I take care of our children, while also working a full time job. It's left me exhausted at the best of times and J is not getting any closer to me. But it gets worse! J has recently also taken away my ability to check our bank accounts. I have no idea how much money we have or what it is being spent on. I've wanted to travel back home to see my family, but he constantly complains that it's too much money. But when he wants something big, he doesnt even consult me, he just buys it. It's made me feel like my hard work and money belongs to him whether I like it or not. A couple months back, I had asked for a small vacation somewhere close by, something for us to do different, something to help my depression. To my absolute surprise, he acquiesced. But what was supposed to be a relaxing trip, was anything but. J couldn't relax and wanted to rush me from one location to the next. In the end J decided to end the trip early, and I (more exhausted than ever) did not put up a fight. I've begun to realize there's no romance left in my life. Sex has become mechanical, and there's no love behind it. As soon as J finishes, he's back doing what ever the hell he wants to do. I might as well be a blowup doll that does his laundry for him. J's new favorite thing is to make off-hand comments about my weight and what I eat. I am not a heavy woman and I've been dieting for more than a year. I don't know if he does it to hurt me or put me down, but his remarks always cut to the quick. In all my frustration and exhaustion, I could only take so much harassment, before I started to resent him. It didn't happen suddenly, but it snuck up on me before I knew it. How do I save a relationship that feels so broken? Are we only together because it's what's easiest? I'm beginning to suspect so. And if I decide to end it, how would I even break free? J has the bank accounts just out of reach and reaching out to family is next to impossible. I'm terrified that if it did come to that, J would win custody because of my history with depression. Is there anything I can do to save our relationship?

Is It The Young Guys Hitting the Wall?
A lot of people continually point to this team being “young” and that they are subsequently hitting the wall. While there is no denying that this is a youthful team, the idea that their youth is somehow negatively affecting their results is what bothers me. From my vantage point, the youth is mostly doing their job, or at the very least, they are not entirely responsible for the Sabres defensive demise.
The last couple of weeks have been an absolute trainwreck, anyone who has been watching the games can agree. While there have been moments of something, it’s been a lot more terrible than okay. I decided to look at the last four games where the team’s defensive play was abysmal (5v5 4+ goals allowed - which excludes the games against the Rangers, Leafs, and Capitals). Admittedly, this is a pretty random 4 game sample, but we’ll look at a bigger picture after.
I’m using Quinn, Peterka, Krebs, and Power as my focus as those are the young guys (rookies, or near rookies). I’ve left out Samuelsson, although we can add him in later if necessary.
March 9 vs Dallas - 9 Goals Allowed 5v5 (45 skater goals allowed) Quinn - 3, Peterka - 2, Krebs, 2, and Power - 3 Not great, but far from the problem. That adds up to 10 goals out of 45, less than 25%.
March 17 vs Philadelphia - 4 Goals Allowed (20 skater GA) Quinn - 1, Peterka - DNP, Krebs - 0, and Power - 0 Wow, 1 out of 20 goals. Not at all the problem.
March 19 vs Boston - 6 Goals Allowed (30 skater GA) Quinn - 2, Peterka - 2, Krebs - 1, and Power - 2 Not great, but again, far from the problem sitting at less than 25%.
Last night vs Nashville - 6 Goals Allowed (30 skater GA) Quinn - 0, Peterka - 0, Krebs - 1, and Power - 1 That’s 2 out of 30. Yea, that’s not the issue either.
So in this admittedly small and random sample we have 2 games where the young guys were about average, and 2 games where they weren’t at all responsible for the defensive lapses (at least compared to their teammates).
As I said, this is a very small sample, it’s more pointing to the fact that the young guys haven’t been responsible for the poor defensive play recently - at least not enough that has created negative results.
So let’s look at a larger sample, say, since Feb 1 (I haven’t, but I’m sure you can roll the dates and things wouldn’t change significantly). Looking at rate stats (per 60) and 5v5 let’s see where the young guys rank at Goals Allowed.
Quinn - 18, Peterka - 12, Krebs - 19, and Power - 20.
I mean, that’s incredible. Not “hitting the wall” in the least bit.
The collapse we have seen in the second half (.40 pt%) of the season has not been due to the youth and inexperience of this team. There’s something much more significant at play. I’ve made my opinion known on multiple occasions. Let’s just stop pinning the blame on the young guys.