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streets-in-paradise · 1 year

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New Moves - Dastan x (Fem)Plus Size Reader

Word Count: 3.600

Warnings: Dastan loosing his shit over a chubby, curvy reader and mutual teasing happening.

Summary: A childhood friend of Sharaman and Nizam returns to the capital of the empire with his daughter. Dastan was still a kid the last time she visited the palace and things didn’t work out very well. Their reintroduction as adults becomes his chance to make things up when he realizes he can’t stop laying eyes on her.

Glossary: Shatranj - Persian game, predecessor of modern chess.

Inspired by ♫: Princess of Cairo - Eli ( I listened to this while writing,you may want to check it)

Notes: I wrote this for me, so expect some self indulgence lol

The governor of the most prosperous of the distant provincial corners of the empire was a man chosen because of his strong connections to the royal family, but always enjoyed proving his capacity. He never stayed in the capital for long, unless his presence would be required for a matter of war. A complex and crucial task was commanded to him when the king put him in charge of that territory, one that required the maximum commitment. Seeing him with his family was rare, but on that occasion he was about to become the one asking his friend for a committed favor. The protection of his most precious treasure, his young daughter, who was coming to spend a time on the capital as an obligated step to become a fully refined lady.

Garsiv and Tus had to practically drag Dastan to the receivement. He didn’t have fond memories of her and he was pretty sure she didn’t have any of him either. They both were children at the time of her last visit, and for most of it he remembered bickering to no end. The one positive thing about it was that, although he didn’t remember the exact cause, it didn’t start with her being demeaning to him due to judging his origins. It was surely a silly matter of children, but she left furious and he didn’t like to remember that.

“ Don’t worry, little brother. I bet she doesn’t even remember it.” Tus was attempting to calm him down. “ It happened so long ago… Why would she care?”

“ Yes, you annoy us everyday and we still love you.” Garsiv added.” I remember she was very curious about you at first. Whatever happened between you, it was probably a misunderstanding.”

“ One that made her despise me so much that she never came back.” Dastan recalled. “ Don’t try to make it seem smaller, I bet she still hates me.”

“ Give yourself and her a second chance. “ Tus insisted, trying hard to be the voice of reason. “ You aren’t children anymore, she must have matured as much as you.”

Garsiv bursted into laughter, showing blatant skepticism for that claim and frustrating all the good intentions of his eldest brother.

“ Let’s hope her maturity outruns yours and Garsiv’s as well, for the sake of us all.”

Dastan had little to no hope about that encounter, betting only on making it as less awkward as possible. He was not good at hiding his emotions, already famous for intempestive reactions, but he knew he couldn’t allow himself to accidentally offend her again. When the time came Tus went ahead first, making him wait for his turn to approach alongside Garsiv. The woman he saw cheerfully saluting his eldest brother was nothing like he would have expected from the girl he remembered.

Only a shade of her remained in the soft features of her face. Her hair was longer, her eyes were more vivacious, her lips plumper and those weren’t the only side of her that seemed fuller. She was an exuberant beauty, her curves were impossible to hide even in a modest dress for travel. Her round hips swinging with each one of her confident steps got him way more distracted than what he should have allowed himself to be.

That was how the youngest prince of Persia found you at the edge of your second introduction. To shamelessly check on you may haven’t been his intention, but you could tell he did by the drastic difference between his reaction to you and his brother’s next to him.

“ … and these are my brothers: Garsiv and Dastan. “ Prince Tus was reintroducing you all. “ … you may remember them.”

One was looking at you with a cordial smile and welcoming demeanor, the other one seemed lost for any sort of intelligent response.

“ I do.” You simply replied, your glance oscillated between one man and the other. “ The best Shatranj player I have ever met … and the boy who used to complain about being left behind to entertain me based on our similar ages because you don’t have any sisters.”

" That will not be a problem anymore." Garsiv spoke for him. " Tus has many wives now, the palace is full of ladies and you will find no time to feel alone."

You smiled at him in approbation of his sayings, but your attention was quickly back in the silent young brother.

The surprise was mutual, although you were better prepared. Fame had warned you about the man he had become. A ferocious, unstoppable fighter bards often compared to a lion in their poetry. His stories were being sung at every corner of the empire and rumors said women were falling at his feet, since he was claimed to be the most wildly handsome man of the royal house.

Gossips and legends turned out to be true and you felt the pride of the pioneer seeing it for yourself. He was your first crush, a failed one, back when people only acknowledged him as the street kid adopted by the king. You used to be fascinated with him, but he barely paid any attention to you. A matter of boys maturing slower than girls, your mother secretly explained to you a long time ago. At that age, he was surely clueless of what your reactions implied and the particular way in which you used to like him. Besides, the life he had before finding a family probably kept him used to being ignored. Getting attention was completely new to him, even more coming from a girl of his age. He didn't know how to react and neither of you were in good understanding of the situation because crushing was new to you as well. It was the recipe for an awkward dísaster, remembering it made you very curious about the effect that the changes of time had on him.

The man in front of you was better looking than what the guesses of your imagination expected and he was noticing you.

" ... Dastan." You called his name softly. " I hope to not be as boring and annoying to you as last time. "

The eye contact was intense enough to weird the outside witnesses.

" Surely not, my lady. '' Dastan replied, attempting to sound polite. In barely a moment you managed to make him feel regretful. " Welcome back! It has been so long since those simpler times. "

You chuckled and he followed instinctively.

" Of course, we all have changed. " You agreed, getting back into a more composed self. " Do you still play, Garsiv?"

" I do, although not as often. " the prince answered ríght away, hoping the tension between his brother and you would be over. " I switched the playing board for real strategy planning in warfare. "

" Bring it back anytime, I will be waiting. "

You were drumming your fingers on top of the skirt of your dress, involuntary reflex of your genuine excitement, but Dastan couldn't help himself from being caught by it. He felt very wrong for noticing a glimpse of how thick your thighs probably were underneath.

" I hope you will join us someday for a round, Tus. I haven't had the pleasure of playing against you. " He heard you following the conversation with his brothers, not long before you were back at him

" How about you, Dastan? Back then you used to be a beginner player, I remember that Nizam was instructing you and he used to watch us play... Have you been practicing?"

He felt some of his usual flirty cheekiness slowly restauring.

" I'm full of new moves to show you, I will not disappoint this time."

The encounter with more nobles forced a distraction and you had to excuse yourself from the royal trío to salute other people.

As soon as you were away from them, sibling bickering started.

" What's wrong with you?" Tus nagged Dastan. " Instants before you didn't even want to show up and now this?"

" Dastan is not in his ríght mind at the moment. " Garsiv pointed out. " Look at him, his head is empty."

" I'm surprised, that's all." The youngest defended himself. " Tus was ríght, she became a woman... and she is a very particular woman."

" Particularly beautiful, eh?" The eldest teased him. " We saw you, we have an approximate idea of what's going through that little empty head of yours."

" Just a bit of advice: don't take her to a tavern full of your uncivilized friends. She would cause a scandal just for entering there. Quite a few unrefined men would express rudely the same things you are thinking about her developed body of grownup girl."

" Her provincial life must have made her used to that, Garsiv. Our local savages are gentlemen in comparison to theirs."

Dastan was getting tired of their different versions of lecturing him.

" Are you two giving me dating advice for a woman we just met? The one who clearly remembers I was awful to her when we were children for some reason I am not sure yet?"

" Figure out what happened and fix it. " Garsiv concluded. " From all of us, she seems excited about you the most. "

His brother had a point and he was aware of that. Unfortunately, Dastan didn't find as many chances to put the advice in practice because you became harder to find than initially expected. Since you were actively choosing to socialize in the circle of Tus' wives like it was suggested to you, the younger prince was deprived of chances of getting close to you during the first few days.

Exchanging furtive glances in the dining hall was pretty much all he got around that time. He would often wink at you from afar, inviting you to come closer, but you would only smirk in return.

It was driving him insane, ironically punishing him for the perceived mistreatment of the past. He had no idea of when it would be over, but he was growing desperate. You didn't seem upset, but you were enjoying yourself playing with him and he was foolishly following your games. Chazing you subtly, waiting for the ríght moment to prove himself to you.

The occasional rounds of Shantraj could have been a good opportunity, if you wouldn't have challenged everyone else first. He was being left for last on purpose, he had no doubt of that. After your expected turn to play against Garsiv like in the old times, you asked to face Nizam. It didn't work out well, he warned you about that before starting, but you wanted to obtain from it more valuable outcomes than the round's results. Reminding him of when he used to play with your father as kids and get both of them to share once more the playing anecdotes from their childhood friendship.

After that, the following round was against Tus. Dastan was sure he would be the next one and he came up with an idea while he was watching you play against his eldest brother for the first time.

He would make sure you would be playing against him and he would make you bet, obtaining more than just vindication from the victory. The truth, you would have to explain yourself to him about the past.

You defeated his eldest brother, all your moves played with fearless precision. Your acts could have been perceived as insolence, but that didn't matter to you at that particular round. Humiliating the heir of the persian throne worried you way less than hurting the ego of his uncle.

" Congratulations! You have proved yourself well versed in games. " Tus cheered you. " However, I would love to play a new round soon. I shall vindicate myself. "

You smiled in return, he was clearly not the sort of man that would feel dismissed with your victory.

" Of course! And as we are speaking I want to thank you. I'm learning a lot from your wives, sir. All lovely women who have received me so kindly. "

" Haven't us, the lords of the land, done the same?" Garsiv snarked, clearly aiding Dastan although more mischievously than helpfully. " You are welcome to join us anytime, not just for games. My sisters in law see you so often that they may start thinking you are about to join them permanently."

The joke didn't suit you right. He noticed it and didn't insist with it.

" My father wants to find me a husband in the capital, he is here for advice from his greatest friends and thinks i haven't notice it. " You calmly explained. " The province has become a dangerous place for me. Many men that want me, he disapproves. Many men I disapprove want me. "

Dastan feared that could be a callout to him, but said nothing.

" King Sharaman and Lord Nizam are being consulted about it as we speak. Yesterday I could have tried winning, but I chose not to. Never piss off the man that holds your destiny in his hands. "

You were opening up the them for real and the younger prince was craving to comfort you.

" Fate it's yours to decide. " He spoke softly to you. " ... But if you ever need a defender to protect your will of choice, my mouth and arms will be there for you. "

Tus and Garsiv stared at each other in a desperate attempt to stiff their chuckles. Their little brother didn't pick the best word choices for his phrasing.

He meant he would support you with his words and actions, but it almost sounded like an ' i'm yours to take' sort of statement.

" That's very sweet, Dastan." You humbly and sincerely thanked him. " Between us? I'm particularly worried about your uncle's opinion. The Shantraj game was my attempt to show him I want to stay on his good side."

The three princes were amused by the implications of your confession. You, the overconfident girl who came one day to make Dastan go insane, were surprisingly afraid of their uncle. Scared enough to show vulnerability, to pause your silly game in seek of shelter from the danger.

" Are you afraid of Nizam?" Garsiv asked. " For real? Since when? That's absurd! "

" Darling, there is nothing to be afraid of!" Dastan followed him, seeking to calm you with the purest sweetness. " Tell me this... Are you afraid of me?"

He was waiting for your answer with the cutest smile and you couldn't help feeling a bit weak for him.

" No, not at all. "

" Then don't be afraid of him, we are very alike. I aspire to be like him someday. "

They weren't, not to you at least. There were certain things that you had kept hushed for many years, just like the secret of that old crush.

" Are you going to ask me now what happened for real the last time I was here or were you planning to compete for the truth?"

" She got you, little brother. " Tus mocked Dastan. " She still remembers you are easily vulnerable to challenges. "

" I almost jumped from a rooftop following him once. "

" ... And I would have certainly catched you in my arms before letting you fall, if you would have climbed there with me." Dastan defended himself again. " If you would have trusted me."

" How? Even when I was slimmer, I was still too heavy for you to hold me."

He stood up out of sudden and his brothers had the certainty that he was about to do something recklessly stupid.

" Let me lift you. I'm sure I was strong enough then and I am even stronger now. "

The proposal left you in weird disbelief.

" Now that is truly absurd! Why does that matter now? "

" If you feel safe in my arms, that means you were wrong about me; and if you were wrong about me you have to accept you can be mistaken about Nizam."

It didn't sound any smarter, but your heart raced to the thought of being held in his arms.

" Alright, but this has nothing to do with my lack of trust in your uncle's judgment. "

You stood up in front of him with a challenging demeanor, willing to let Dastan try picking you up. To your great surprise, he accomplished it with ease.

In the blink of an eye he was carrying you bridal style. Being so close to him in such a strange context may not have been the ideal, but it felt really good. The closer look to his gorgeous face, your body softly pressed against his torso while his arms were holding you tight

... and that damn irresistible charm of his...

It was a great move played against your resistance.

" How are you feeling, pretty one?"

You felt that tease to the deepest corners of your being.

" Safe, indeed... But I bet you wouldn't be able to carry me around the palace."

Dastan began to walk out of the room, no hesitation and no warning.

" See you later, my brothers! I'm going to show her around."

As simply as that, you both disappeared from their sight. He heard you chuckling all the way out, but the laughing stopped when you realized he wasn't pulling you down any soon.

It was his first time in days to be all alone with you and you had gifted it to him accidentally, falling for his games.

" It's alright, you proved your point and it has been very funny. You can let me go now.."

" What if I don't want to?" He playfully commented. " Tell me the truth you owe me first."

You were visibly annoyed, but couldn't stay mad at him.

" You weren't the reason why I never wanted to come back, even when my father travels here often and I could have asked him anytime. " You began to explain. " It was Nizam."

Dastan was looking at you like a confused puppy, but didn't interrupt you.

" He was quite nice to me before, but when i started to seek getting close to you his attitude changed. I'm going to be completely honest: i had a crush on you. He noticed it and I think he was disappointed of me for that, maybe thinking that the daughter of a governor wasn’t good enough for you even when said man is his friend. I was little and it hurted me, not only because I used to like him. He used to look at us with sarcastic disgust … and then one day. I heard him when I wasn't supposed to, he said such horrible things about me. It broke my heart, I never looked at him the same way. The fact that he will be consulted in the choice of my husband scares me to death."

He looked amazed, like if he wouldn't have paid any attention to anything after your ' I had a crush on you'.

Neither of you knew your assumptions were wrong or could have possibly imagined that. Those horrible insults you heard from Nizam weren't meant for you. He didn't want Dastan near you. It was his adoptive nephew who he judged in the most demeaning way and not the other way around.

" A misunderstanding with my uncle broke your heart, not me. " He summarized, as if he was trying to make it make sense. " I didn't behave at my best with you and I had no idea you felt that way for me... Are you still sure it wasn't me?"

"You were merely treating me like a silly little boy dealing with an annoying little girl who wants to be around him all the time for reasons he doesn't understand. " You insisted, fairly justifying him. " You didn't catch a single one of my signals, but it was ríght there. I must admit it was a very frustrating first experience for me, Dastan."

He raised an eyebrow, looking at you with skeptical curiosity.

" Is that why you keep frustrating me? Hiding from my sight in the rooms of the women to punish me, making me crave to see you once more day after day."

It sounded almost as if he was begging for it to be over. The light shade of sadness in his face was making you melt for him.

" Can you blame me? You look so cute when I catch you looking at my chest. Short peeks when you think no one else is noticing, but I do... and you haven't got a chance of watching me dance yet! I wonder where your eyes will stop first then. "

He released you immediately, carefully and securely as he promised. You could tell he was perhaps a bit ashamed.

" Feel no shame, my prince. Until quite recently I used to believe mine was the most provocative chest in the empire." You softly comforted him, then started running your fingertips through the límits of his always partially open shirt. " Returning to the capital has opened my eyes."

You were toying with his necklace, your eyes descending from his face to his chest and stopping there for an instant before doing all the way back.

If you wouldn't have been in the middle of a hallway, Dastan could have been capable of taking off his shirt by himself for more of your attention.

" Look at you, disappointing Nizam all over again. " He teased you in a fake reprobatory tone. " You haven't changed at all. "

" You neither, I bet you are still thinking about making me climb to that rooftop."

The mention gave him an even better idea regarding the place of your old altercate.

" Consider it from our current perspective. It's a distant spot where nobody would bother us and it offers an increíble view of the sunset."

It was a date, you accepted the invitation carelessly for the plans for your future that were being discussed between your father and his friends.

If Dastan was your fate, nothing and nobody would separate you from him.

#prince of persia #prince of persia sands of time #prince dastan #dastan #jake gyllenhaal #dastan x reader #jake gyllenhaal x reader #prince dastan x reader

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angelicagerebaby · 27 days

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Hihi, I wanred to ask if I could request some regressor Zhongli hcs with the adepti being his cgs and sibbies? :> its okay of not, have a great day <3

Little!Zhongli Headcanons!

Requested by baby-zakarii <3 ❌Please remember that these are my headcanons, if you do not like them please ignore them.

Hc count: 6

🍼 - Zhongli is a flip!

Okay so, I personally do not really see Zhongli as just a little, but as a flip with a caregiver lean! He does regress when he feels like he can be around the rest of the adepti, like Xianyun and Xiao, and also the traveler for example. And when he does regress, he regresses to around 4-6 years old, a little bit of an older kiddo but still a kiddo!

🪽 - Zhongli is quite clingy as a little, loving to hold onto his caregiver or sibling's hands, holding into their arms, etc.

He loves to cuddle his caregivers and siblings!! Zhongli will always tug on their arm sleeve to ask for cuddles. He gets especially clingy when it's around naptime/bedtime. He wants cuddles and a story for bed :3

🍼 - Xianyun and the traveler are Zhongli’s caregivers, while Xiao, Ganyu, and Yanfei are his siblings!

I think having Xianyun as his caregiver is pretty reasonable since she has taken care of both Shenhe and Ganyu, she just gives off the mom vibe you know? And the traveler, since Zhongli seemed to get rather attached real fast to the traveler, they are happy to be his caregiver when they are in Liyue.

For his siblings, Xiao is the big brother of the adepti, even though he was one of the youngest by the yakshas, he is much older and wiser than Zhongli when he is regressed. Ganyu is the older sister who is always there if he gets hurt, she helps him out with tasks that seem difficult (even though she has a lot of work herself) and just loves her little brother. Yanfei is the storyteller of the three siblings, she loves telling Zhongli about stories of Liyue.

🪽 - Zhongli is rather polite, even as a kiddo! He is rather quiet and rarely is up to mischief.

He is very polite when he speaks to his caregivers and siblings, he refers to his caregivers by mother or father depending on who is taking care of him. For his siblings, he just refers to them as brother or sister.

Zhongli asks always before he can do a specific plaything like going out, playing with plushies, etc. He just wants to check if it is alright first, and sometimes, if he can't do a specific activity he may have a tantrum.

🍼 - His favorite game to play is either hide and seek or chess!

The little guy loves to go around and hide from his caregivers when he is feeling mischievous! So he always wants to play a game of hide and seek, to Xianyuns dismay...

🪽 - His comfort item is a stuffed animal that looks like Morax (His dragon form!)

He can't fall asleep without it when he is regressed. Once he lost it when he and the traveler had a picnic just outside Liyue harbor and the poor guy cried so hard when it was nap time and they couldn't find it (they found it later around the docks)

I hope you enjoyed my take on Little!Zhongli !! It was really fun writing this for you Zak!!

#agere #fandom agere #sfw agere #sfw interaction only #agere fics #sfw regression #age regression #agere headcanons #agere little #agere blog #genshin agere #genshin impact agere #zhongli little #zhongli agere #🪽 ~ sleepi hcs #genshin agere headcanon #agere headcanon

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ndm1717 · 15 days

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slytherin things to do

Day-to-day activities of a classic Slytherin:

Strategic Planning: Slytherins are known for their ambition and cunning nature. They likely start their day by laying out their goals and devising strategies to achieve them, whether it's in academics, career, or personal endeavors.

Networking: Slytherins understand the importance of connections. They might spend time networking with influential individuals, both within and outside their social circles, to advance their own interests and ambitions.

Ambition-Driven Tasks: Whether at school, work, or in personal projects, Slytherins prioritize tasks that contribute to their long-term goals and ambitions. They are highly focused on success and advancement.

Competitive Engagement: Slytherins thrive in competitive environments. They might engage in debates, competitions, or intellectual challenges to showcase their skills and outperform others.

Manipulation and Influence: Slytherins are adept at persuasion and manipulation. They may subtly influence situations and people to align with their own agendas and objectives.

Self-Promotion: Slytherins are not shy about promoting their own accomplishments and talents. They may actively seek opportunities to showcase their abilities and gain recognition.

Observation and Analysis: Slytherins possess a keen sense of observation and are skilled at analyzing situations and people. They may spend time observing others to gain insights that they can use to their advantage.

Adaptation to Circumstances: Slytherins are adaptable and resourceful. They can quickly adjust to changing circumstances and find ways to thrive even in challenging situations.

Spare-time activities of a classic Slytherin:

Social Climbing: Slytherins often spend their spare time socializing with individuals who can further their ambitions or provide valuable connections. They may attend exclusive events or gatherings to network with influential people.

Personal Development: Slytherins are always looking for ways to improve themselves. In their spare time, they may engage in activities such as reading self-help books, attending workshops, or learning new skills that can enhance their abilities and advance their goals.

Strategic Games: Slytherins enjoy games that require strategic thinking and cunning. They may spend their spare time playing chess, strategic board games, or engaging in online multiplayer games where they can showcase their tactical prowess.

Political Engagement: Slytherins are often interested in politics and power dynamics. They may spend their spare time following political developments, participating in discussions, or even getting involved in local politics to further their own agendas.

Relaxation with a Purpose: Even when relaxing, Slytherins are strategic. They may engage in activities such as meditation, yoga, or mindfulness practices to recharge their energy and maintain their focus on their goals.

Creative Pursuits with a Goal: Slytherins may have creative outlets such as writing, art, or music, but they often approach these activities with a goal in mind, such as using them as a platform to express their ideas or further their ambitions.

Secretive Endeavors: Slytherins are known for their secrecy and discretion. In their spare time, they may engage in secretive projects or endeavors that further their goals, keeping their plans close to their chest until they are ready to reveal them.

Enjoying Luxuries and Comforts: Slytherins have a taste for the finer things in life. They may spend their spare time indulging in luxury experiences, whether it's fine dining, traveling to exotic locations, or enjoying high-end entertainment.

#slytherin #hogwarts #harrypotter #hogwartshouses #hogwartshouse #snake #cunning

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felixcloud6288 · 6 months

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Fullmetal Alchemist Chapter 63

End of one arc. Start of a new.

Xiao Mei is farting in Ed's drawing of her.

That cut Ed got from the younger Slicer brother, which has continuously reopened in every fight, is now a scar on Ed's head.

We see some cenz coins. Looks like one side is a multi-pointed star and the other side is a wreath crown with a king's crown in the center

It's resonable to assume these coins are 100 cenz coins since Ed didn't have to pull too many out to reach the amount Roy was asking.

In chapter 56, Ed placed 5 coins on top of the phone booth and those coins appear to be the same size and shape so they likely were the same value coins. So if Ed mugged borrowed 520 cenz from Roy and he had 5 coins on the phone booth, then the cost of a public phone is probably 20 cenz.

How long has Foo been away? Ed spent the next day in Resembool. The next day, he dug up the body then got to Central that evening. The next day, he and Al began Heist 3. After it's success, they spent the whole night and the next day dealing with the Homunculi. Ed returned Hawkeye's gun that same night and the next day, Ed and Al began searching for May.

Meanwhile, Roy implied Ed and Al spent several days baiting Scar and they've been searching fro May for several days as well. So I guess Foo has been gone maybe 2 weeks at most.

This is the first time we learn Lan fan is Foo's granddaughter.

Lan Fan and Foo's departure and Dr. Knox meeting his family make this part truly feel like we are closing a major act in the story. There have been other arcs, but none of them ended like this. Those other arcs were shorter and Ed and Al were traveling. So the departures gave a sense that we might meet them again someday.

But this arc doesn't feel like that. Roy's crew were sent away. Lan Fan and Foo have to go into hiding. Lin Yao is now their enemy. It honestly feels like we are saying good bye expecting to never see these people again, even if they say they'll be back.

In a separate post, I once mentioned trying to figure out what direction Central HQ faces, and it was because I wanted to know where Greed was looking out. He's looking southward, but I wish he'd been looking East instead. Then we could have the little poetic part of Greed looking toward Xing.

There's no way Greed's just been sitting in that spot for several days. Maybe he likes to look out there at night.

How does it feel to exist, Greed? How does it feel to look out and see there's this vast world, Greed? Do you dread when the morning rises and you're forced to return underground, Greed? Do you hear that little voice amongst the sea of souls in you, Greed?

And the second half of this chapter is the start of a new arc. Kimblee is released from prison to help the Homunculi out. His and Envy's conversation implies he's been affiliated with them for some time now. He probably was working with them before Ishbal, hence why he was entrusted with a Philosopher's Stone.

At this point Lust is dead and Gluttony is out of commission. Sloth is away doing a job. Wrath is stuck in Central. Greed is likely being kept on a short leash after the last one went AWOL. So that would leave just Envy and Pride able to pursue Marcoh. Obviously, Pride would never deign to do such a menial task. Meanwhile, Envy's power is likely too valuable and their temperament too volatile to go on a long term mission like this.

Ency drove by the Lab 5 ruins when they told Kimblee his second stone was made from the researchers.

Roy is coming up with a new plan after everything he's learned. Before, he thought he was playing chess. His goal was to take down the enemy king. But now that an internal takeover is impossible, he's choosing to play a new game with a new deck and a new set of rules.

Roy thought his opponent was Bradley, but it turns out he's just a piece on the board. So Roy's new plan is to win not by checkmating his opponent's king, but rather by killing his opponent.

Roy mentioned how Reole fell to riots only after Central got involved. Years ago, he questioned why the military went to such trouble to exterminate the Ishbalans. The dots are literally being connected.

back

#fullmetal alchemist #fullmetal alchemist reread

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sins-of-the-sea · 7 months

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Dash Game: Muse Interview

What is your name?

"Rashid al-Qadar ibn Zahid. Just Rashid will do. I am sometimes called by my nickname 'Jinni', given to me by my crewmate Wang Ruixiong."

Do you know why you’re here?

"Because I sold my soul to a bogus pact I cannot back out of no matter what I try. So I just do my best to not think about my immortality or the fact I am tasked to eternally steal souls at the behest of my Master, lest I relive the worst moments of my life as my personal Jahannam."

Do you have any family?

"Father, my birth mother, my father's other wives, and countless siblings I have no recollection of because of some issue I was never aware of growing up. On my own end, I once had a wife and a son, and that son has progeny I can confirm by three generations."

What did you last have for breakfast?

"Hmm, let's see. Coffee, eggs, chicken, beef, fish, hummus, dates, banana masoub, labneh, nuts, and a little bit of yogurt."

What do you last have for lunch?

"Mmm, kabsa with lamb, jareesh, tamees, and then I also had some polenta, congee, hulatang, and buñuelos."

What did you last have for Dinner?

"Thareed, saleeg, an original tomato-onion-fish stew Giovanni created, honey garlic chicken, crunchy pickled salad, couscous, and some baklava and sufganiyot.

"…..What? Yes, that was what I ate in one day, why are you all looking at me like that? Do you know which of the Christian Seven Deadly Sins I represent???"

How old are you?

"Forty-five when I sold my soul. As of this current date of writing, I would be 447 years old."

Do you have any friends?

"Outside of the Crew? Not really…"

Are you more comfortable by yourself or surrounded by others?

"I would love to be surrounded by others. The Master ensures that shall not happen as long as they are not bound to him."

Do you have any hobbies?

"I mostly read. I travel. I try to seek out global news and events, be it in trade and business or just anything else happening. I also like sports, either playing or watching. Football especially."

Do you have any aspirations or dreams?

"Hah. I ate them in 1621."

Are you quick to anger?

"No. Count your blessings, however. I am not one you want to anger thoughtlessly."

Can you dance?

"Sure. Have you heard of al ardah?"

Do you prefer casual or stylish wear?

"Have you not heard of stylish casual?"

Can you lift?

"Mhm. Heaviest I deadlifted was roughly 400 kilos."

Do you play games?

"Does chess count? I don't really play video games unless it's some sort of game that can be enjoyed in a party."

Are there any parts of your past self that you’re ashamed of?

"I still never found out why my wife ran away from home. And I wish I can take back what I said to my son to get me exiled from home."

Can you tell us a joke?

"Me! I'm a joke."

Is there anything you’d like to say before we wrap things up?

"What are you wrapping? Shawarma? There is a shop I recommend from this family of immigrants, their chicken marinade and garlic sauce is to die for~."

Stolen from: @thesafaribaggirl-returns Tagging: SLAPS YOU

#FUCK YOU RASHID YOU MADE ME HUNGRY #this was nonetheless a fun exercise #not only in trying to remain as culturally relevant to Rashid #but especially deciding on what icons to utilize for his expressions as he answers the questions #food tw #[Rashid al-Qadar]#religion tw

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sophichatter · 2 years

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{⋅-: ⚘ :-⋅} task 25:

𝕒𝕝𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕠𝕣 (𝕒𝕤𝕙𝕖𝕣) 𝕡𝕖𝕟𝕕𝕣𝕒𝕘𝕠𝕟

ᴛʜɪs ɢᴇɴᴛʟᴇ ɢɪᴀɴᴛ ʜᴇʀᴇ ɪs ᴀʟᴀsᴛᴏʀ ᴏʀ ᴀsʜᴇʀ ᴀs ʜᴇ ʟɪᴋᴇs ᴛᴏ ʙᴇ ᴄᴀʟʟᴇᴅ. ʜᴇ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴇʟᴅᴇsᴛ sᴏɴ ᴏғ sᴏᴘʜɪᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴏᴡʟ. ʜᴇ ʜᴀs ᴀ sᴛʀɪᴋɪɴɢ ʀᴇsᴇᴍʙʟᴀɴᴄᴇ ᴛᴏ ʜᴏᴡʟ. ᴡᴇʟʟ ʙᴇᴄᴀᴜsᴇ ʜᴏᴡʟ ᴄʀᴇᴀᴛᴇᴅ ʜɪᴍ. ʟɪᴋᴇ ғᴀᴛʜᴇʀ ʟɪᴋᴇ sᴏɴ. ᴛʀᴏᴜʙʟᴇ ᴊᴜsᴛ sᴇᴇᴍs ᴛᴏ ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ʜɪᴍ. ʜᴇ ɪs ᴀ ᴘʀᴏᴜᴅ ᴍᴇᴍʙᴇʀ ᴏғ ғɪɢʜᴛ ᴄʟᴜʙ ᴀɴᴅ ᴀ ɴᴀᴛᴜʀᴀʟ ʙᴏʀɴ ᴄʟᴏᴡɴ. ʜɪs ᴅᴀʏs ᴀs ᴀ ᴘʟᴀʏᴇʀ ᴀʀᴇ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ɴᴏᴡ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ʜᴇ ɪs ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ sᴇᴛᴛʟᴇ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ʙᴜᴛ ʜɪs ғʟɪʀᴛɪɴɢ ᴅᴀʏs ᴀʀᴇ ғᴀʀ ғʀᴏᴍ ɢᴏɴᴇ. ᴅᴇsᴘɪᴛᴇ ʜɪs ᴍᴇɴᴀᴄɪɴɢ ᴀᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴀɴᴄᴇ, ʜᴇ ɪs ᴛʜᴇ sᴏғᴛᴇsᴛ, sᴡᴇᴇᴛᴇsᴛ ᴍᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜ ᴡɪʟʟ ᴇᴠᴇʀ ᴍᴇᴇᴛ. ᴊᴜsᴛ ᴅᴏɴ’ᴛ ᴍᴇss ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ʜᴇ ᴄᴀʀᴇs ғᴏʀ, ᴏʀ ʜᴇ ᴍɪɢʜᴛ ᴘɪᴄᴋ ʏᴏᴜ ᴜᴘ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛᴏss ʏᴏᴜ ᴏᴠᴇʀ ᴀ ғᴇɴᴄᴇ.

{⋅-: pinterest - musing - spotify - bio :-⋅}

inspired by :peter quill (mcu), shinjirou chikami (belle), derek shepherd (greys anatomy), tidus (final fantasy), finn (adventure time), damianos of akielos (captive prince), hopeless opus - imagine dragons ( song ), etc.

{⋅. GENERAL .⋅}

birth name: alastor pendragon nicknames: asher, ass date of birth: aug 27 age: 30 gender: male pronouns: he/him powers: alchemy, teleportation, spell casting, elemental manipulation species: wizard / mortal sexuality: bisexual place of birth: unknown-somewhere over france current residence: elias, california occupation: botanist

{⋅.TESTS.⋅}

zodiac sign: leo mbti: ESTP temperament: sanguine dominant hogwarts house: gryffindor moral alignment: chaotic good

{⋅. APPEARANCE .⋅}

height: 6′8. hair colour/style: blonde wavy with highlights due to the sun. kept long. eye colour: ocean blue piercings: none. tattoos: your name on his buttock. notable markings: scar on left upper thigh from motorcycle accident. glasses/contacts? no. faceclaim: brock ‘o’ hurn

{⋅. HEALTH .⋅}

physical ailments: pretty healthy. allergies: none. sleeping habits: just give him a sleeping bag. he prefers the floor over bed. dominant hand: left. drugs / smoke / alcohol? no, no, yes.

{⋅. PERSONALITY .⋅}

( + ) traits: intuitive, open-minded, generous, creative, kind ( - ) traits: motionally driven, conflict averse, unfocused, impractical usual mood: energetic likes: crickets,traveling, rivers, the feeling of dirt, fishing, comedies, chicken nuggets, christmas, watching circe dance, paredes, camping, the smell of fall , foraging, the intoxicating feeling of falling in love, pumpkin spice,puddle jumping,long hikes, sunrises and sunsets, sleeping bags,rock music, growing your own fruits and veggies, driving motorcycles in long roads, storm chasing,rock climbing, being late, honest smiles, hot air ballon’s. dislikes: being early to anything,being alone, technology, high expectations,obscure trivia, strategy games, warm anything, not being wanted or needed, drama of any kind, not living in the moment. bad habits: drinking enough water, finishing other people’s sentences.

{⋅. RELATIONSHIPS .⋅}

parents: howl pendragon and sophie hatter siblings: philemon pendragon, theodosia pendragon, kieran adrastus. children: elias aster mcqueen birth order: eldest significant others: circe hawkins closest friends: dante mcqueen, benjamin teague, kieran adrastus, leo lemos-teague, josh axion, elise mcqueen and you!

{⋅.SKILLS & STATS .⋅}

languages spoken: english, french, latin drive? yes. jump start a car? yes. change a flat tire? yes. ride a bicycle? yes. swim? yes. play an instrument? no. play chess? no. braid hair? yes. tie a tie? yes. pick a lock? no. sew? no.

compassion. 10/10.

empathy. 10/10.

creativity. 3/10.

mental flexibility. 7/10.

passion. 5/10.

luck. 2/10.

motivation. 6/10.

education. 5/10.

intelligence. 7/10.

charisma. 3/10.

reflexes. 10/10.

willpower. 10/10.

stamina. 10/10.

physical strength. 8/10.

battle skill. 10/10.

initiative. 6/10.

restraint. 8/10.

strategy. 10/10.

team work. 10/10.

#watask #||NG- Asher

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baigujinq-a2 · 2 years

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Headcanon Dumps

What Chess Piece represents you?

Black King

You are the Black King.

You are the most important piece on the board, often called the weakest. But you are not weak in terms of tradition and status. The king gives orders to others, ensures difficult tasks are done, and makes the hardest decisions.

Yes, the king's movement is weak but in every other aspect, they are strong and important, for it is them that the game is fought for, to begin with. You rule with an iron fist, making the hard decisions that others won't, the only one to ever see the full picture.

Be careful, my dear king, for there are reasons kings are overthrown. You know what you do is right, now you must convince your entire kingdom.

Stay aware, my king.

Which (Major Arcana) Tarot Card Are You?

V: The Hierophant

You know the rules of the game and you know how to play.

The two things can be very different at times. Your opponent knows you as well as you know them, and you know them as well as you know yourself. They are as much a part of the game as any piece they control, and so are you.

You make your move and wait for their response.

WHAT POPULAR COWBOY ARCHETYPE ARE YOU?

The cold outlaw

You do what's best for you, and you alone.

You hope it comes across that anyone you associate with is merely a pawn in your game. Because of this, you're a 'tweener when it comes to what's considered "good" or "bad".

Your past definitely involves an early exposure to how cruel the world can be and gave you the survival mentality... You're not quite bloodthirsty but you're not scared of it either. Deep down you could use a hug or something though.

Once someone earns your trust (which takes a long time) they'll find you the most loyal person they've ever met, and that just maybe you've got a little heart deep down.

Pokémon

THE TEAM

Gxrdenofrxses

🎃!

🎃 : Do any Pokémon types unsettle your character? Do they have a phobia of them? Why?

No; there isn’t any type that really scares LBD.

Gxldeneyes

🗻, 👥

🗻 : What type of journey is your character on? Are they tackling the Pokémon League, engaging in contests, on researching endeavors, a ranger scouting for danger? Or do they have a more ‘normal’ occupation? What type of life do they lead?

Lady Bone Demon seeks to fulfil the ‘destiny’ provided and drag any unfortunate souls, regardless of who or what they are, to the spirit realm with her Pokémon and allies... And depending what’s going on the time; she will pretend to be either a trainer, a Coordinator or a ranger seeking to ‘help’.

👥 : Does your character travel with anyone aside from their Pokémon?

Not really however she has travelled with the ‘Mayor’ and she has stalked a few people in order to drag them into the spirit realm.

Samadhifire

☀️♠️🌟 !!

☀️ : Who is your character’s partner Pokémon? Do they prefer to stay outside of their Pokéball? What’s their dynamic with their trainer?

Frolass is her main Pokémon, and she does in fact keep the Pokémon out of her pokeball... As for their dynamic; simply put, Frolass serves Lady Bone Demon with no question and extremely loyalty to her.... Meanwhile, LBD is grateful for such a loyal Pokémon who’s willing to carry out her order.

♠️ : Does your character specialize in a Pokémon type or do their types vary? Do they pay much attention to type match-ups?

As you can probably guess; Lady Bone Demon specialize in ghost type Pokémon, and she doesn’t really pay much attention to type match-ups as she believes that her Pokémon are strong enough to take on any opponent regardless of weakness.

🌟: Has your character met any Legendary Pokémon before? If so, what were the encounters like? Do they have any Legendary Pokémon on their team? If not, do they believe in Legendary Pokémon?

Personally? Yes; Lady Bone Demon has met a legendary Pokémon {Darkrai and Giratina}. Although despite not capturing the Pokémon; Darkrai is on her team and will only really use Darkrai as a last resort where she’s pushed into a corner, if she’s caught in a very foul mood or she just really wants to mess with her opponent.

#OOC | OUT OF BONES #Headcanons | The spirit notes

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greggermeister · 8 days

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AI is BS spelled AI

I don't believe I've ever seen such a fantastic pile of nonsense as AI is going to solve every conceivable problem. I think anyone with a brain in their head should understand AI is just the latest over-hyped tech, that will fail to deliver just like everything else.

It's not artificial when Microsoft buys GitHub with the intent of injecting an all your code belong to us clause in legal language buried deeply in a EULA nobody is going to read. It's not artificial to use GitHub to power Copilot. It's not artificial to power text prompting image generators with all manner of existing content, some of which is copyrighted, or the same thing for music or written works.

It's not artificial when MS takes Cortana down for spewing racism within 24 hours, and retraining it with a subset of the internet that isn't racist. It's not artificial when Just Walk Out is powered by humans watching videos of customers to determine what they put in their bag and automatically bill them for it.

AI is way overhyped, Elon is just a typical full of himself CEO of a high-flying company. AI is not going to reshape the world. All it is going to do is augment existing technology and software and processes. It is only ever going to be capable of being an assistant. Anyone who thinks otherwise, is only fooling themselves.

There's a reason why AI code assistants generate insecure code from other insecure code - it simply does not have the ability to reason. I can reason with another developer about why I take a particular approach to a particular programming problem given a particular set of circumstances. My reasoning changes with changing circumstances.

Intelligence is largely a matter of U+1F595, Reversed Hand with Middle Finger Extended. An example would be Huckleberry Finn, travelling down the river with Jim. Huck grew up in an incredibly racist society, where the first sentence out of someone else's mouth of a different race than yours is either filled with hate or not filled with hate. Everyone wore their racism on their sleeve. The white kid Huck decided the grown up black man Jim is a good man, despite all the crap he had heard his whole life from white people about blacks. It was his U+1F595 moment towards the society he grew up in.

This is how we evolve our thinking, how we shape our attitude over time towards this world, and the people and processes we are surrounded by - we reverse our hands and extend our middle fingers towards everything we see as stupid, hateful, hurtful, useless, pointless, or any other sort of false premise. AI will never be capable of doing this in its present form. AI could only do this if it was self-aware.

Do you want an AI that explains to you why it is so smart and you are so stupid? Why everything you do to get ahead in life is hopelessly pointless? How your children would be better served if only you cared to be a better parent? Looks down on you as another waste of its cpu cycles? Sees you as the human child in its care?

We don't actually want AI because we don't want a self-aware consciousness we can't control running everything. We want an assistant to help us to perform boring, lengthy, and repetitive tasks better. We expect the assistant to be far better than current AI results offer. AI in its present form is useful for search tasks, such as:

Search for better ways to play games like chess or go

Find better ways to arrange thousands of traces on many layers of a motherboard

Optimize search results for considerations like heat, pressure, time, density, weight, colour

Find the best route for a salesman to travel and other graphing problems

A reasonable translation of text or spoken words from one language to another

None of the above is life-altering, it is simply more convenient. It was definitely more convenient for me and my other half in our recent trip to Mexico to be able to use Google Translate with cab drivers, and people on the street asking for directions, and other conversations. We could have gotten by without it, but it was definitely better.

We need to stop calling it AI and call it what it is - virtual assistance. That's all it is, and all it will ever be, and all we will ever want it to be. We will always want to know how things work, we will never want technology or processes that only the computer can understand. We will never have, and never will, want AI.

#artificial intelligence

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sunmarketing · 1 month

Text

North Goa, India Plus increasing brain power, my missteps

In this episode, FAQ is: Amanda asked me, How can I increase my brain power, mental memory and travel better?

Today’s Destination is: North Goa, India

Today’s Misstep- Tripped on a curb going up.

FAQ: Response

For solo travelers, Improving brain power, memory, and cognitive capacity while traveling involves a combination of lifestyle habits, mental exercises, and proper nutrition. Here are some tips that enhanced my cognitive abilities on the go:

Stay Hydrated:

Dehydration can impair cognitive function, so drink enough water throughout the day.

Healthy Nutrition:

Consume a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Foods with antioxidants, omega-3 fatty acids, and vitamins can support brain health.

Adequate Sleep:

Ensure you get enough quality sleep, as it plays a crucial role in memory consolidation and cognitive function.

Physical Exercise:

Regular exercise increases blood flow to the brain, promoting the growth of new neurons and improving overall cognitive function.

Mindful Breathing and Meditation:

Practice mindfulness techniques and meditation to reduce stress, improve focus, and enhance cognitive abilities.

Cognitive Training:

Engage in brain exercises like puzzles, crosswords, chess, or memory games to stimulate neural connections and improve memory.

Learn Something New:

Challenge your brain by learning a new language, instrument, or skill. This stimulates neural plasticity and enhances cognitive flexibility.

Limit Distractions:

Minimize distractions to allow your brain to focus on the task at hand. Use noise-canceling headphones or find quiet spaces when needed.

Socialize:

Engage in conversations and social activities. Social interactions stimulate the brain and may help improve memory and cognitive function.

Take Breaks During Travel:

If you're on a long journey, take short breaks to stretch, move around, and refresh your mind. Physical activity can help maintain alertness.

Stay Curious:

Cultivate a curious mindset. Stay open to new experiences and ideas, stimulating the brain and promoting continuous learning.

Mindful Observation:

Pay attention to your surroundings during travel. Engage your senses, observe details, and try to remember them. This can improve observational skills and memory.

Remember that consistency is critical when adopting these practices. Incorporate them into your daily routine, and you may notice improvements in your brain power, memory, and overall cognitive function, especially while on the move.

Today’s destination: North Goa, India

North Goa is known for its lively beaches, vibrant nightlife, and historic sites. Here are some of my adventures solo and on a budget. This is a Step 5 destination.

I arrived in North Goa from the Panaji airport and immediately found the beaches inviting, but unfortunately, not swimmable due to the monsoon weather conditions. If I had been here 15 days earlier, I could have been swimming in the ocean. I stayed in the Pinnacle Holiday Homes for two nights, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows and a view of the fields in the distance. Lush. The pool for swimming made this hotel a great venue. They cooked my breakfast here, and I went shopping along the road. They only accepted cash at this hotel. Two nights, including breakfast, was $64.00. I went to several beaches, including Calangute and Anjuna, which are both vibrant and laid back. I spent time at Baga Beach, famous for its nightlife, beach parties, and water sports activities. Baga Beach is a hub of entertainment with numerous clubs and shacks. This beach was dirty. I ate at the St. Francis Restaurant, people wanted selfies with me. The cows came right up to the restaurant for food or scraps.

I could see several Portuguese forts, waterfalls, and bird sanctuaries here. I also got a ride on the back of a motorcycle to the Goa Museum. I was waiting outside my hotel for the bus in the midday heat. None came. Finally, a motorcycle taxi driver stopped and sold me on a ride with him, and we agreed on a price. He later realized he did not know the area we were going to. He stopped 6 or 7 people to ask for directions. Finally, he dropped me off at the museum in an industrial area. At least I was safe. The museum was stunning and memorable. After my visit, I had no transportation to my next destination, South Goa. I got a ride from Subodh Kerkar, who founded the museum. He was a physician turned artist, and his museum was dedicated to his works. He exhibited many repurposed bottles, copper, paint, and natural materials created into sea art.

After 4 bus rides, I made it to South Goa, so hear more on the next episode.

to summarize, North Goa is a dynamic region with many beaches, historical forts, vibrant markets, and entertainment options, making it a favorite.

Today’s Misstep- Tripped on a curb going up.

I was in the center of Florence, near a cultural site, reading about it on my phone while standing near a curb. I stepped once, but that was a curb, so I fell on the ground. That hurt. No one was watching me. I checked myself out. Cuts, bruises, and humility hit hard. I got up and was surprised at how much I hurt, but mostly it was my pride. It was July 4, and I had been traveling for two months with one to go. Was I going to retreat? No, I kept going and made the most of it. I rested for the day and was back on my path the next morning.

Slightly altered quote: “WoMan cannot discover new oceans unless she has the courage to lose sight of the shore.” – Andre Gide

Connect with Dr. Travelbest

5 Steps to Solo Travel website

Dr. Mary Travelbest X

Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Page

Dr. Mary Travelbest Facebook Group

Dr. Mary Travelbest Instagram

Dr. Mary Travelbest Podcast

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Dr.Travelbest onYouTube

In the news

Check out this Dr Travelbest episode!

#travel #women #dr travelbest #best travel

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genzstan · 2 months

Note

Hello,

I hope u are doing well.

I have done the task for the Future spouse game!! May I have my oracle reading?

Thank you so much 😊💕💕💕

Certainly, let's explore a different track for the future spouse oracle reading, focusing on their hobbies and how they will treat you:

1. **Hobbies:** Your future spouse will have a variety of interests, including hobbies that involve strategic thinking and professionalism. They may enjoy activities such as chess, strategic board games, or even participating in professional networking events. Their hobbies will reflect their intellect, ambition, and desire for personal growth.

2. **Treatment towards you:**

- They will treat you with respect and admiration, valuing your opinions and contributions.

- Your future spouse will be your biggest supporter, always encouraging you to pursue your goals and dreams.

- They will be attentive to your needs and feelings, making you feel heard and understood in the relationship.

- They will be a true partner, sharing both the joys and challenges of life with you.

- Their love for you will be unwavering, and they will strive to create a strong foundation of trust and communication in your relationship.

3. **Interests beyond profession:** Despite their focus on strategic and professional hobbies, they will also have interests that bring joy and balance into their life. This could include activities like hiking, gardening, or cooking, where they can unwind and connect with nature or express their creativity.

4. **Balanced approach:** Your future spouse will have a balanced approach to life, knowing when to work hard and when to relax and enjoy the simple pleasures. They will prioritize quality time with you, cherishing every moment spent together and making each day feel special.

5. **Shared activities:** While they may have their own hobbies and interests, they will also be eager to share experiences with you. Whether it's traveling to new destinations, attending cultural events, or simply spending quiet evenings at home, they will cherish the time spent together and create lasting memories with you.

Overall, your future spouse will be someone who is not only intellectually stimulating and professionally driven but also deeply caring and supportive towards you, making them the perfect partner for life's journey.

They will have green eyes and a darker skin tone and excellent jawline.

#ask game

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jcmarchi · 3 months

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How you can use AI to push boundaries in SaaS products

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/how-you-can-use-ai-to-push-boundaries-in-saas-products/

How you can use AI to push boundaries in SaaS products

My name is Juliette Denny, and I am the CEO at Growth Engineering. We create really engaging technology fueled by artificial intelligence.

Now, I know this subject can seem like traveling to an alien planet, but I’m giving you a step-by-step guide to reach lift-off!

Here’s the breakdown: 👇

Main talking points

What is AI

AI in more detail

Hollywood has warped our understanding

Business applications

Unprecedented growth

Better outcomes

What is AI?

There’s a number of different definitions of AI. But none of them define it better than this quote from Professor John McCartney.

In other words, AI represents our efforts to stimulate human intelligence through machines. AI is usually applied to automate tasks or processes to make them more efficient.

These are the more challenging tasks that humans would do, rather than easier tasks. An important thing to note right off the bat, is that AI isn’t a substitute for human activity; it augments human activity.

AI can take over tasks that would be more time-consuming for a person, like looking through legal documents to find precedents and commonality. On the other hand, things that’re easy for human beings, like walking, are very hard for AI to pull off.

Okay, so now that we’ve got the definitions out of the way, let’s dig into AI in a little more detail.

AI in more detail

Now, within the subject of AI, there are many subcategories, and we’re going to cover them in this section.

Weak/narrow AI

Typically, when people are talking about weak or narrow AI, it’s the type of artificial intelligence that’s limited to a really specific or narrow area. So, for example, we have Alpha Zero. That’s a computer system that’s basically excellent at chess. But if you were going to bet on this system in a game of Scrabble, you’d be out of luck.

General AI

This system seeks to establish a kind of intellectual agent that can learn any top tasks that humans can. In other words, it’s on par with a human ability. This has been used when assessing loan criteria, for example, whether something is low or high risk.

Super AI

As you may have guessed by the title, super AI would be something that has superseded human intelligence. The potential of these kinds of technologies is unprecedented (and potentially scary!) It’ll probably be a long time before we arrive at this point.

Machine learning

This is a subfield of the wider AI. It allows the software to learn through an algorithm so that it can complete tasks more efficiently.

Deep learning

This is a type of machine learning that uses artificial neural networks. It progressively learns from the data that’s being pushed through the neural network. This is a textbook example of AI augmenting human actions.

Hollywood has warped our understanding

Sadly (or maybe luckily!) we’re not anywhere close to Terminator 2 or Ex Machina.

Better examples

Modern-day examples of AI include things like:

Recommendation engines

Virtual assistants

Chatbox

Intelligent Search

Email filtering

Driverless cars

All of these are powered by AI. Now, we’ve highlighted some modern examples of AI, let’s look at some companies that have invested heavily in AI.

Domino’s

So, I don’t know about you, but I love pizza, but do you know what I didn’t love? Ordering pizza on my cell phone for deliveries. Often you’d be waiting there, not knowing what time it was going to arrive, wondering if they’d forgotten about it even!

What Domino’s pizzas did is they used artificial intelligence to develop a model which allowed them to predict when your pizza was going to get to you. They went from an accuracy of 75% to an accuracy of 95%. This also worked out well for Domino’s because it meant they weren’t getting as many calls.

Deutsche Bank

This company really utilizes AI in a different way. They used it to identify attractive loan clients to speed up their loan approvals. This happens as the customer is actually filling in the form, and it’s really speedy and efficient. Just think about how much manpower and how much expense banks must rack up from having to employ people to carry out those checks!

The knock-on effect has been that more people have signed up to use this process. Now, more loans are getting approved, and more business is being done.

IBM Watson

IBM Watson has a number of applications in terms of customer service. They have a smart assistant, which uses conversational AI to help resolve over 7,000 customer inquiries a day. The reason why this works is that most of the customer inquiries are the same customer inquiries, it doesn’t require human intervention, so we’re driving down the cost of delivering the service.

Real breakthroughs

Having said that, there are also really powerful examples of AI. It has the potential to engineer unthinkable technology, as well as technological and scientific breakthroughs. Because machines are able to analyze data so much quicker than mortal brains.

A good recent example would be…

Deep Mind

Deep Mind’s AI program was able to solve a problem that scientists have been trying to crack for almost 50 years. Now, I’m no protein scientist, but what a protein does largely depends on its own unique 3D structure. Understanding how different proteins can fold can really help us develop new medical treatments.

It represents a real, significant advance in human understanding. Because scientists were unable to understand how the math worked, It was estimated that it would never be known.

But of course, Alphafold came to the rescue! It’s a software from DeepMind that’s able to analyze the available data. It then develops really strong predictions of the underlying physical structure of the protein within a matter of days.

Unprecedented growth in AI

A lot of large organizations are investing in AI. If you’re a small or medium-sized business, never think that you are locked out of AI, because the reality is, there has been a huge amount of investment made by the big technology companies. And now this technology is widespread. It’s very accessible to smaller companies.

Don’t believe me? Here are some key stats on the growth of AI:

97.2% of organizations are now investing in AI (NewVantage Partners)

AI tech investment will reach $232 billion by 2025 (KPMG)

AI will contribute $15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030 (PwC)

Why should AI be so interesting to you? Well, first…

It automates time-consuming tasks

Let’s say in customer success, for example, they’re answering the same questions over and over again. By utilizing bots, you can speed up the time that you can respond to customers.

When you usa a customer support helpline, you’ll typically encounter a bot filtering out the common questions before they put you in touch with a human being.

AI increases team efficiency

Your team is freed up from answering the same question over and over again. They can work on more challenging questions, and they can really formulate creative ways to innovate, do their jobs, and deliver value for the customer.

Is AI going to replace humans?

This is really the million-dollar question, right? But the reality is, it’s really not true at all. Robots are not going to replace humans, they’re going to make human jobs more humane.

Robots will be doing the four Ds in jobs. These are:

Jobs that are more difficult

Jobs that are more demeaning

Jobs that are more demanding

Jobs that are more dangerous

Humans get to be the superheroes

They can get creative and really focus on solving complex problems, those wonderful things robots will never be able to do. What we really should be doing is trying to advance AI and machine learning to take over stuff that we really don’t want to be doing ourselves.

What we do at Growth Engineering

The first thing is, we are not a big company. We’re working on a shoestring budget to produce something which is really meaningful. Humans are naturally curious, but sometimes when it comes to doing online learning, we stop being curious.

Our main goal is to determine how we can get AI to facilitate learning being easier. Here are some of the ways that we think can achieve that:

AI can automate tedious admin tasks

When you join a Learning Technology Department, you don’t join because you want to work a learning management system or create e-learning, you join because you love training people. So, one of the things that we really wanted to do is enable L&D professionals to focus on what they love doing, which is developing people.

How can we utilize AI for account provisioning, user provisioning, etc?

AI can create personalized learning pathways

Think about your Netflix recommendations – which are AI automated– how would you feel if it kept pushing the same content at you based on an algorithm? E-learning is the same. By freeing up people, we can allow them to curate pure curiosity and deliver the stuff our learners really want.

How can we refine learning?

One of the things that’s really important in learning and development is showing that you can do something as well as know it. We want to make learners more than a passive recipient of a piece of content.

AI can help in getting people to practice the skills before they actually put it into practice.

We want to make it easy for admins to understand the process of learning.

We want them to understand that:

You need to see the information.

You need to be reminded of it through testing and assessments.

You actually need to do it.

If we can pull together processes, AI can actually facilitate this for the admin, and we’re going to get better outcomes.

Better outcomes

Example 1: recommendation engines

There are many big technology companies that have recommendation engines you can plug into really easily. All you need to do is Google AI and you will find a whole variety of different services that they offer. One of the things that they offer is recommendations engines.

What does that mean for us? Well, we need APIs that bring together our user-provisioning information with our content information in order to deliver good recommendations for our learners

Now, one of the challenges in this is that the model can only be trained once the user information is there. You need to have a cold start, but once you get going, one of the great things about recommendation engines is they focus very much on what colleagues in your industry are doing rather than the actual content itself.

Example 2: User & content provisioning

This is admittedly pretty boring, but it’s a massive part of onboarding.With our customers from big companies like L’Oréal and BT, the users and content they provision can come from five or six different enterprise platforms.

Not only that, the content can come from five or six different content providers, including their own content providers. We can end up with different elements of metadata in the information that we get. For users, we can get a lot of patchy information.

Often it’s a real nightmare for some of our clients to be able to put the data in the structure. We need to onboard them and get the right recommendations in terms of content. What we’ve been able to do with AI is use auto-tagging.

This allows us to match between the content and the provisioning data in order to get the model started. It’s not quite a cold start. We’re able to get between 56 to 70%, depending on how much information is coming over from the content metadata.

Example 3: Intelligent search

We need a deep intelligence search on our own platforms, as well as on the learning content itself. We need to do intelligent search on everything in the ecosphere of our customers, not just the information on our platform, Intelligent Search is a great way of doing that.

Using API’s, you can easily push out to other platforms, get that information, and then bring it back to your users in whatever the user interfaces.

Example 4: Content Creation

Content creation is a massive headache! Most organizations have a huge amount of information that they need to get out to their people. Some of our biggest clients are in retail, and there are products coming all the time. You can have a situation where you’ve got to spend 180 hours creating a single hour of e-learning. Yeah, no-one has time for that, right?

AI can very easily upload PowerPoint presentations, upload work docs, upload PDFs, and then put it into a series of templates. Again, this frees up educators to do more actual educating. We’re in a situation where we’re able to coach people one-on-one in a more personalized manner.

Example 5: AI coaches and mentors

Okay, so let’s say we know what the correct curriculum is, if we push that into the AI engine, we create the content really quickly. Once students start asking questions, the AI can query it out, and find subject matter that answers these questions.

You’re going to have some tutors there initially, but it could be a very personalized level of learning.

Ideas are cheap…delivery is expensive

This may be true, but let’s also remember that there is no delivery without ideas. You’ve got to start somewhere, right? We can’t just all throw up our hands and say, “it’s all too big! It’s all too complicated. It’s all too expensive.”

AI is absolutely not a mysterious planet that can only be visited by spacemen, or, in real world terms, the top five technology companies. It really should be the new bread and butter of any SaaS company.

At Growth Engineering, we’re a very, very small company, but we’ve made AI and ML absolutely central to how we operate.

Everything that our department does is driving towards this idea of utilizing AI and ML where possible, in order to deliver more, for less. That mindset change is a really important part of moving towards AI.

The problem is always data

Don’t think that your first thing you’re going to be doing is building neural networks. The thing is, you don’t have to. There are just so many free and open-source elements to try. Instead, the constraint is always data. If the problem is that you’ve got lots of replicable data, then you will very easily be able to find an AI or ML solution.

Find the thing that can be automated

Find the process within your organization that can be automated. Find out which of those processes you’ve got the most data for. If you don’t have a large amount of data, then reach out to open source sites for code that’s been written, and try and play around with it, if you can’t find it for free.

There are lots of SaaS providers that have all the components you really need in order to plug your data for.

Find a pilot project

Finally, if you have exhausted the above, look at paying for a pilot project for a consultancy. This can be internal or it can be external. To be honest with you, I don’t think you need to be putting in huge amounts of resources for actually building the model.

Key takeaways

AI helps us to automate time-consuming tasks: Just imagine the much innovative, creative work your team can do when they’re freed by AI!

It has helped other industries to cut out costs and drive more value: It might seem like a big investment, but it’s more than worth it. Believe me.

Intelligence is what makes us human: AI is just an extension of that.

AI is not going to take over our lives. If anything, it’s going to make our lives infinitely better.

Have fun!

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robertflowersrealestate · 5 months

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starthetripledevil · 6 months

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Mario Legacy Challenge: 1984

Last year, Jumpman joined the circus career. At the end of the year, they gave him the task to capture a gorilla, but so far, Jumpman has not been successful. The search continues.

At the beginning of 1984, Jumpman finds a gorilla named Donkey Kong (I don't know how/if Jumpman would actually figure out the name, but I will still use the name here). The perfect gorilla for the circus, or at least that's what he thinks.

I would assume Jumpman also has other people there with him as the Kong is so strong that it would be hard for one person to transport him, but I didn't bother making more Sims for this.

Also my version of Donkey Kong's story is something similar to this, although there are some major differences. But the whole thing about DK being forcibly taken from his home and the Kongs' intelligence being underestimated by humans applies here. (Though in my version, Donkey Kong Junior was not also taken - we'll get to him later.)

Jumpman takes Donkey Kong to the city of Brooklyn (not New York).

Of course, he can't just keep the gorilla in his apartment, so he actually takes him to the circus. No longer having to travel to the Kong Island, Jumpman can return to a fairly ordinary life - at least for now.

Back home, Jumpman is feeling sick - though he is not sure if it has anything to do with his time in the jungle.

Mario and Luigi, age 3, are playing.

And here's the two with their older sister Pauline (about 8-9 years old).

Donkey Kong is kept at the circus, owned by Harrison Gibbs. We briefly saw him before in this legacy in 1972 as the one who moved into the apartment where Tony Arthur used to live, in the building in which Jumpman's first apartment in the city was located.

(In-game, I made Donkey Kong live in Harrison's household.)

During the year, the Marios visit the Arthurs.

Pauline spends some time with her cousins Marianne and Luigeena, who are twins and about a year and half older than her.

Mario is here with Uncle Tony.

And here we have Luigeena Sr. and Jumpman. In addition to being siblings-in-law, the two have also been friends for 20 years now. And chess matches have been a long-lasting tradition for Jumpman and Luigeena. (With this particular game, Jumpman also reaches level 8 of the logic skill, leaving only fitness as a requirement for his Renaissance Sim aspiration.)

Luigi is so tired, he falls asleep on the floor.

Some time later, Luigeena visits the area of the city where the Marios live. She and Jumpman play some basketball together.

At least once when Pauline comes back home from school while her parents are still at work, she spends some time talking to Emmalyn. As the two have a funny conversation, Pauline decides that she likes comedy.

Later in the year, Pauline and Lady go to the local art gallery again. Lady wants to look at paintings while Pauline wants to play the piano.

Playing for enough time, Pauline manages to complete her childhood aspiration (playing instruments for 5 hours was the only incomplete requirement left in Artistic Prodigy).

Jumpman's friend Lana is also here, playing the violin.

(Also Lana is pregnant here but she's supposed to be like 54 at this point so I decided to consider it "non-canon". I later used MCCC to move the child to another family but I needed her to age up into an infant first before it worked.)

And of course Elle is here again.

Now I know I didn't really show Lady until the end of the year, but she has really been here the entire time (except in the Jungle Adventure part). She is also the one who mostly takes care of the cooking in the household.

For Jumpman's experiences in 1985, see this post.

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elancholia · 7 months

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I recently read Invisible Cities, so here lie spoilers for a 50-year-old novel with almost no discernible plot. (Though I've concluded that it does, at least, sort of progress.)

Alright, so obviously there're cities, right (or are there?), which Marco Polo is describing (or is he??) for a solid majority of the word count. And the central question is, "how does Kublai go about understanding these cities, and, thereby, his empire?" At the beginning, yes, it's said that he "will soon give up any thought of knowing and understanding them", but it's what he spends most of the book trying to do.

Now, this is a difficult task. Well, that's why they're invisible. And, unlike the traveler seeking Kitezh or Irem, Kublai the world-emperor is seeking every city, seeking the totality of cities.

In this, he seeks a solution to time and decay, a reassurance, because he suspects that the empire is "an endless, formless ruin, that corruption's gangrene has spread too far to be healed by our scepter, that the triumph over enemy sovereigns has made us the heirs of their long undoing."

And he cycles through several strategies.

We start out with the ambassadors, but their accounts are dry and limited to what is of use to the empire. It is in contrast to them that Polo is first presented, because, while "Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says", the man is compelling. There's something in his words (or gesticulations) which the ambassadors lack, something eternal, "the tracery of a pattern so subtle it could escape the termites' gnawing".

So then we have the question of what determines the content of what Polo says. Does he even leave the palace at all? Could Kublai tell? Is he only ever really describing Venice? ("Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe...", you know, that's the opening line for a reason.) Hence, further methods:

Figure out the most ideal, most average city and infer the others from that. (Marco: "But I cannot force my operation beyond a certain limit: I would achieve cities too probable to be real." And how do you know what the average city looks like with no examples? Arches are only made of stones, after all.)

Try to guess at a city and then send Marco to find out if it exists, a simple yes/no. ("But the cities visited by Marco Polo were always different from those thought of by the emperor.")

Try to figure out the rules of the game that generates cities, in which officials, buildings, aristocrats, trees, all have definite relationships with each other. But Kublai can't come up with a system as good as chess, and he discards the attempt because he can't imagine what such a game would be played for. It is only by forgetting about the real things the pieces are supposed to represent that he can bring himself to suspend disbelief and accept it as a source of knowledge, and, by making it completely abstract, he renders it meaningless. (I suppose I'm a lowercase historical materialist, so I'm inclined to be more sympathetic to the chessboard project, but that's neither here nor there.)

By disembodying his conquests to reduce them to the essential, Kublai had arrived at the extreme operation: the definitive conquest, of which the empire's multiform treasures were only illusory envelopes; it was reduced to a square of planed wood.

Unravel the implications of individual objects into a whole empire, as the chessboard implies trees and woodcutters. (The possibilities are overwhelming and presumably impossible to compute. I think Polo offers this one up as a sort of reductio.)

So we're left with Polo. What is he doing, anyway, if we assume that he's not confabulating or imaginary?

For him, trying to understand the cities from first principles is useless, "Without stones there is no arch", and it's your trajectory through them that counts.

He travels around the cities in a unique order; this makes his impressions beholden to the interpretations engendered by an arbitrary life-path. He emphasizes the particular and experiential aspects of the cities, the aspects of the ur-city which are strong in them, their relationship to the memories and desires and life history of the traveller. Earlier experiences characterize later ones, and later experiences recharacterize earlier ones; describing things, articulating them, narrativising them, erases the original impression.

I think that's what it's about, emotionally--the uncertainty of memory, the impossibility of recapturing a first impression, how hard it is to retrace your steps in qualia-space.

Like a lot of speculative fiction, it's pretty overtly negotiating the limits of knowledge. Polo's story is not (primarily) about being unable learn anything from science or whatever (it's something closer to that for Kublai), it's about the ineffability, fragility, arbitrariness of human experience. But this isn't necessarily a problem for Polo, even if it is for the Khan; the same thing that frustrates Kublai is the strength of Polo's method. Kublai has seen the latent wisdom in Marco Polo's accounts, the consolation and perdurance it offers, but he has not has not yet abandoned his top-down, emperor's-eye-view way of trying to grasp it.

Polo insists that the pattern Kublai's seeking is experiential, that all his other methods are doomed because he's still thinking as an emperor, and this is not something you can encounter as an emperor. It has to be discovered from within, inside the path-dependency and temporality of travel: encountering the apple as a worm, not as a painter.

So it's a contest between a traveller and an emperor, in which the traveller tries to convince the emperor of his point of view.

(I'll talk about the atlas in a subsequent post.)

#speculative fiction #invisible cities #italo calvino #literature #about fiction

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