Cursive capital i

Looking at leasing an EV in MA. Is the tax credit included as a capitalized cost reduction off the MSRP? As in, MSRP effectively is reduced from say $55k to $47,500 and I should calculate my costs from there? And with these incentives in place are dealers even negotiating on further reductions off MSRP?

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Summer 4984, 13 Doumoth
“Ugh! I hate this!” Daisy whined loudly, letting her head fall back to stare at the ceiling.
“Almost done…” Rerves said to reassure her, though he lacked his usual smile.
Ania picked up the last piece of armor, a steel vambrace, and began polishing with a groan to match Daisy’s, “When we aren’t cleaning, we're polishing, when we aren’t polishing, we're cleaning. How is this Paladin training?”
“If I wanted to be a servant, I would've joined their guild…” Thom’s small voice chimed in.
Shon said nothing. The five Squires, Shon, Daisy, Thom, Rerves, and Ania, sat under a shade in the Temple courtyard, polishing the knights' spare armor for the hundredth time. The sun beat down mere feet away, reflecting off the finished pieces as the shadow of their shade crept closer and closer, the sun climbing towards noon. The yard was mostly clear, the Paladins not on duty retreating into the cool stone fortress while those on duty only occasionally coming to check on the Squires' progress.
Ania had the right of it. Ever since they'd moved into the Temple proper and became official Squires, the five of them had done nothing but clean, polish, and memorize armor and weapon vocabulary. And complain… the others always complained. Shon just sighed as the four others continued to gripe. There was no point in it, the work needed to be done, and they were the ones assigned to do it. It didn’t matter how annoying or monotonous it might be.
Sometimes the younger Paladins would join them in polishing, caring for their own armor while the Squires worked on the spare pieces. The spares were used mainly by the enlisted, and only if they hadn’t finished buying their own sets yet. Occasionally a Paladin would check out a set to practice with. Although most of them had a preferred style, they needed to stay proficient with all types. At least that meant only half of the pieces the Squires had to clean were still polished from the day before. If the armor was never used, it really would be a useless task, instead of half useless as it seemed now.
The Paladins never complained…
The Squires hadn’t started out tired and annoyed. Daisy and Shon had been joined after their first week by Thom and Rerves, who both came from the capital city. They'd been friends growing up, Rerves was a noble, and Thom's family worked as their personal stewards, one step up from servants. A week after that, Ania arrived from a small village in the south. Only having known one Paladin and having never seen a proper Temple before, she'd been in awe of the fortress Temple of the city for at least a month. But then the excitement had given way to frustration, and -for Shon at least- boredom. And so the others had started complaining.
Their relationship with each other had started out warm enough. They stayed up late into the night, sharing their histories and dreams of their future as full Paladins. Shon joined them when prompted but mostly preferred to listen. He didn’t think he had any stories worth sharing, though they had bombarded him with questions after Veon-Zih’s first training visit. Just like everyone else, they didn’t seem to know how to deal with Shon’s quiet nature. But unlike everyone else, they hadn’t pulled away and stopped talking to him altogether. Except when they complained. Shon never complained. He didn’t see the point. When asked, he would say that they needed to follow orders. So they'd stopped asking him.
Shon held his last piece of steel plate carefully by the leather straps, wiping the last bit of polish off with a clean rag. He could see his reflection distorted by the curves and dings, and wondered if he could manage to draw the changes accurately when given a chance. The tinking of metal on metal sounded in the distance, and the Squires' heads shot up, followed by their bodies as they scrambled to their feet to salute the woman approaching.
General Rasnah was resplendent as always in her uniform, the chains of office clinking on her shoulders. She walked towards the Squires with her head held high and her hands clasped behind her back. With her was Master Veon-Zih and Shon felt his spirits rise just a little higher.
“At ease, Squires.” Sir Rasnah said as she drew to a stop just outside their shade. She waited until they'd taken the formal 'at ease' position, legs shoulder-width apart and hands clasped behind their back, “Report.”
Rerves took charge, as usual, “Sir, we're nearly done, Sir.”
“Just one piece left, Sir,” Ania added, then blushed furiously as she usually did whenever addressing a high-ranking officer.
Sir Rasnah nodded, then glanced to the sky. She then looked to Veon-Zih, who smiled and shrugged. Her lips turned up on half her face in what could almost be called a grin before she cleared it, serious again as she addressed the Squires, “You may have the afternoon off. Report to the kitchens and evening duties before sixth bell.”
“Sir, yes, Sir!” the Squires spoke in unison, Shon’s four fellows grinning broadly and sneaking happy glances at one another.
They held their positions until Sir Rasnah turned away, walking back to the Temple proper and leaving them to their freedom. Veon-Zih remained behind, smiling warmly at them and addressing Shon, “Lunch? I found a fine eatery a few blocks away.”
Shon nodded, finally smiling with the rest, “And practice?” he asked.
“After food,” Veon-Zih answered, stepping aside and gesturing towards the gates. Shon rushed to help the others put the clean and polished armor away, then jogged to Veon-Zih before falling into step with him as they left the Temple.
Veon-Zih waited until they were well clear of the gates before asking, “So what do you think of your fellow Squires?”
Shon sighed in answer, which made Veon-Zih chuckle for some reason. But the sigh hadn’t really answered the question, so Shon said, “They complain a lot.” he probably could have, and should have, come up with something nicer to say. But after hours of hearing them gripe while they worked, it was the only thing on Shon’s mind.
“There's nothing wrong with complaining, you know.” Veon-Zih mused. Shon merely shook his head. The knights never complained; he'd been watching them. If there was a job that needed to be done, they would do it. His fellow Squires seemed to complain before, during, and after every unpleasant assignment. Though never in front of the Paladin giving it.
“Do you honestly think the knights like polishing armor? Do you like polishing that much? Maybe you should've come to the Monastery after all. We don’t wear armor, but we have many fine statues that all need to be polished every day. Every little nook and cranny scrubbed clean and shining.”
He glanced at Shon with a grin, then leaned over to whisper, “They hate it too, but just like your fellows won’t complain in front of them, they won’t complain in front of you.”
“It needs to be done…” Shon tried to argue, though it sounded hollow considering his own, though silent, annoyance.
“A perfect excuse,” Veon-Zih stated, turning sharply down a side road, so Shon had to jog to keep up, “There are many reasons spare armor needs to be polished. The most obvious is that it's needed to stay in good repair. The task is assigned to Squires because it gets you intimately familiar with armor beyond just naming the parts. And because no one else wants to do it.
“That doesn’t mean we should be complaining about it…”
“Not in front of the officers, no. But amongst each other? Why not?”
Shon furrowed his brow but didn’t have an answer. Veon-Zih gave him one, “Joint misery creates companionship. Even if you have nothing else in common, everyone knows you all hate polishing already clean armor. Right now, I bet your fellow Squires are scratching their heads, wondering if you do actually enjoy the task. Some might even be wondering if they're worthy of being Squires. Since they complain, and you don’t.”
Shon’s steps faltered. Would they really think he was more worthy than them? For something so trivial as chores? He had to rush to catch up and argued, “But there's no point in complaining. We have to do it anyway.”
Veon-Zih sighed and stopped walking. He waited for Shon to turn to him then said, “But my statement still stands. Joint misery creates companionship. Your fellows take a risk in voicing their complaints to you, hoping that they're not alone in their opinions. What if they're the only ones who hate it? What if that really does mean they aren’t meant for the Temple? Just because they can channel divine magic doesn’t mean Hengist will choose them.”
Shon let himself ponder that for a while. The other Squires always seemed so sure of themselves, so excited to begin real training. Did they really have doubts and fears the same as he did? And what did that say about his assumptions? That they would complain and the knights didn’t? Was he actually judging his fellows as unworthy without realizing it?
“The Paladins really complained when they were Squires too?” he asked.
“I guarantee it.” Veon-Zih answered and started walking again, “I know I did, and all the other Monks in my class too.” he chuckled, “Sometimes routines like cleaning and polishing can be meditative. You can let your mind wander while your hands work through the familiar motions. But before you get to that point, or if you would rather be doing something of your choosing, then it's nothing but monotonous work. Necessary work, but still work.”
Following Veon-Zih around another corner, Shon pondered his Master’s words. They got all the way to the little eatery the Monk had been looking for, even took their seats, and gave their orders before Shon spoke again.
“I hate platemail the most…” he said. Veon-Zih arched an eyebrow at him, and he continued, “It’s bulky, and there's just so much of it. Then as soon as you're done, someone moves it aside and gets fingerprints on it again. Chainmail isn’t much better. You can’t see the fingerprints, but it’s hard to get the oil between the links. And yet water obviously has no problem with it because that’s where all the rust is.”
Veon-Zih laughed boisterously, throwing his head back and startling those at the closest table, “I hated the creases in the palms of the statues the most,” Veon-Zih held up his hand, his forefinger and thumb forming a circle, the other fingers extended, “how can so much dust cake itself in such a small space in only a day?” he complained, dropping his hand and shaking his head.
The waitress brought them their stew and drinks, and Shon started eating while Veon-Zih thanked her. Picking up his spoon, the Monk paused as he dipped it into his bowl, musing, “I wonder which parts your fellow Squires dislike the most?” Shon didn’t know, but he wanted to. Would they agree with him that the plate was the most frustrating? Daisy seemed to groan loudest at the leather, but their complaining always seemed to be general moans at the work as a whole…
“Maybe I’ll ask,” Shon mumbled, embarrassed for some reason.
“Or,” Veon-Zih took his first bite, then pointed at Shon with his spoon, “you could just tell them your least favorite, and they will open up and share their own.”
That’s what they expected of him, wasn’t it? They expected him to join in the conversation, not just answer questions… Shon could only nod.
***
Shon had grown so much. It was difficult for Veon-Zih to watch him without smiling. Only a head shorter than his Master, Veon-Zih could still see the ten-year-old oddity he'd spied upon almost four years ago in the church courtyard. And yet, he had grown so much. Veon-Zih wondered if anyone else could see it.
They practiced in one of the parks in the noble’s district. Veon-Zih thought it was important that Shon get out of Temple whenever possible, that he see the city and its people, to remember what he was training for, and why he wanted to fight. Shon was more like Veon-Zih, and his order of Monks than the boy would ever know. Or admit. He strove for perfection. Every punch, kick, and kata they worked through needed to go exactly right, or he would do it again. Like many Monks, Shon found true enjoyment in the process of working and growing better than his past self. But he was also different in a critical way. Shon wanted to use his strength. Wanted to protect people, fight evil. Many Monks never left the Monastery. A single Grandmaster could easily fell a small raiding force alone. Yet, so many chose not to fight outside their sparring rings and training.
Even Veon-Zih hadn’t left the Monastery because he wanted to help those locked outside its walls. He'd left because he believed he couldn't attain the perfection he strove for inside them. He'd wanted to be tested by the world, to rise to the challenges life presented and overcome them with his discipline and practice. Along the way, he'd learned to be more like Shon was naturally. He'd made friends from other orders, and saved countless non-combatants. Only after seeing the results of his fights, the grateful families reunited, had he realized the moral folly in his fellows and in himself.
They practiced and even sparred until well after fifth bell. The display at first earned them a few disapproving glares from the nobles and servants passing the park. Then they'd actually attracted a few spectators, who clapped as though watching a show. Shon blushed furiously at this, his pale cheeks growing pink as he tilted his head down, trying to let what was left of his now short hair slip down to hide his face. Yet, he never lost step or stopped the training. Veon-Zih had barely resisted laughing, though if more at the foolish watchers or his embarrassed student, he wasn’t sure.
Veon-Zih finally called their training to a halt, and Shon glowered at him. The boy had nearly gotten in his first solid hit in their sparring and was obviously reluctant to stop after making such progress. “It’s nearly time for you to get back, and Sir Rasnah will not accept me as an excuse for tardiness.” Shon’s eyes went wide, and fear replaced the look of frustration on his face. He ran his fingers through his hair, looking up at the sky to try and gauge the hour.
Veon-Zih chuckled, “I’ll race you back.” he said, a hint of mischief seeping through his voice. Shon arched an eyebrow and Veon-Zih could practically hear his thoughts. Run? Through town? You must be joking. “There's no law against running,” Veon-Zih argued with the boy’s expression, “Every moment offers us an opportunity to train. We're late, so this is the perfect opportunity to test our speed against time and run.”
Shon alternated his arched brow to the other side, looking down the road then back to Veon-Zih before confirming, “A race?”
In answer, Veon-Zih ran. He sprinted past Shon -though not at his full speed- before slowing down just enough to keep things fair. Shon bolted after him. Nobles, servants, and even a few guards gasped and called out in indignation as Veon-Zih and Shon swerved around them on the wide roads of the nobles' quarter. They were forced to slow when they reached the more densely packed streets in the city center. Shon was careful to run around the people doing their shopping but kept his eyes set ahead, planning his route and scaring those who noticed him out of the way with his intense blue stare. Veon-Zih was much more confident in his ability not to hit people and so brushed much closer, never quite knocking into them but often brushing their clothes as he passed.
Ahead a cart laden with crates and barrels ambled across the thoroughfare, and Shon slowed to a jog, trying to run around it. Veon-Zih lept, landing on his hands on the cart and propelling himself up and over before hitting the ground again and continuing the race. He heard the merchant curse and the bystanders gasp in surprise but was more amused at the growl of frustration that came from his student, who put on an extra burst of speed to try and catch up. Veon-Zih was half tempted to let him and half tempted to sprint all out and leave the boy in his dust. He chose to do neither and just laughed, continuing at the pace he'd set and soon coming into view of the Temple gates.
The Paladins on watch saw him coming and exchanged confused and nervous glances, drawing their swords but not barring his path. Veon-Zih didn’t slow his run until he reached the knights. Turning to the side and planting his feet, he slid past them on the cobblestones. Turning back as he slid to a stop, he found one of the Paladins facing him as though ready to fight and the other facing out as though looking for whatever force had sent Veon-Zih sprinting for the Temple.
Shon slowed to a jog and stopped before the knight facing him, breathing hard. “What’s going on? Squire report.” the Paladin demanded, still holding his sword at the ready.
Shon had to take a moment to catch his breath but eventually managed to gasp out, “Race…” before looking absolutely horrified at what he'd just done and said. “Sir…” he added quietly as if that might somehow make his unconventional arrival more acceptable.
“And you managed to keep up with him?” Sir Rasnah appeared from beyond the gate, arching a steely eyebrow and drawing sharp salutes from the Paladin guards who finally sheathed their swords.
“I went easy on him,” Veon-Zih assured her, earning a glare from Shon, who passed through the gates, still breathing deeply but no longer gasping for air. Veon-Zih hadn’t even broken a sweat.
Rasnah looked between the Master and student, finally settling on Shon, “Oh, don’t look at him like that, Squire. Master Veon-Zih could beat a riderless horse in a foot race.” which drew a befuddled look from Shon and a laugh from Veon-Zih.
“General Rasnah, Sir,” another man ran towards the gates wearing the uniform of an enlisted. A messenger from the city gates.
“It seems today is a good day for running,” Veon-Zih quipped as the guards allowed the man to pass and give his report.
“A wyvern has been spotted over the woods near Lakeland,”
Sir Rasnah didn’t respond right away. She narrowed her eyes at the messenger and spoke to Shon, “You have duties, Squire, hop to it.”
Shon saluted, though Rasnah still wasn’t looking at him. He glanced at Veon-Zih curiously, then turned to follow the orders.
Veon-Zih hesitated but decided to follow Shon. If he was needed, Rasnah would let him know.
“A wyvern?” Shon asked in a whisper.
“An abomination,” Veon-Zih explained, “Monstrous beasts with a body as large as a wagon, not including the tail. They fly like birds and will hunt anything that strays into their territory, including humans.”
Shon’s brow furrowed, and Veon-Zih patted him on the shoulder, “It'll be alright. They rarely attack settlements unless they're starving.” Which was good because a single wyvern could destroy a small town.
“What will the Temple do?” Shon asked as they reached the back door to the kitchens.
“That depends… most likely, they'll send a group to the village and watch the skies.”
“They won’t hunt it?”
“Maybe, and maybe not. Wyverns are dangerous enough that it’s a real risk to hunt one, but they also can’t be allowed to harm nearby towns. The Temple of Saint Giorgos will want it destroyed, but Sir Rasnah won’t needlessly risk her men if it isn’t necessary.” Veon-Zih explained.
Shon thought for a moment, then asked, “Have you ever fought a wyvern?”
Veon-Zih tried to make his smile reassuring, "Twice. Though I would rather not try a third time if it can be avoided.”
***
“Red, what're you doing?” Ran asked.
She rolled Her eyes, focusing again on what She was doing and not bothering to answer him. Her fingers ached, but She worked them into the cracks between the stones of the tower wall, shifting Her weight from one hand to the other and searching out the next handhold.
Brom laughed, and She heard the slap and woosh of breath as he pat Ran on the back hard enough to knock the air from the thinner man’s lungs, “Can’t you tell? She’s climbing!”
“Sort of…” Ran mumbled.
She wasn’t climbing up the wall, as much as She wanted to. Instead, She was up only about a foot off the ground and working Her way sideways around the tower. “Afraid of falling, Red?” Ran asked instead. That question was even more stupid than the last, and She arched Her neck back, holding tight to the wall and looking at him upside down.
“Really?” She asked in response to his denseness. He should know She wouldn’t be afraid of falling. She had fallen many times when She'd braved climbing the trees around the perimeter. Even broke Her arm once, and that hadn’t stopped Her from trying again with the splint still on. But that was when they used to let Her out more often, about once every other week. No, the thing that kept Her from climbing up the wall was the same thing that had stopped Her climbing trees. The same thing that stopped Her running around the tower at top speed while Brom or Ran kept time and She tried to beat Her record. And the same thing that kept Her from even crossing the tree line to play pretend in the woods.
Ran had the decency to look embarrassed, realizing his mistake eventually. There was only one thing that ever stopped Her from doing what She wanted, and even that often took multiple ‘lessons’ each time. Morndancer had grown increasingly erratic and more often violent of late. He would mutter to himself in draconic then give opposite orders to the journeymen and apprentices in common. Though everyone in the tower spoke both languages. He would lock himself in his room for days and hadn’t been back to visit his family or the Mages Guild in weeks. Shaloon would cover for him, but she wasn’t much better, cutting holes in reality and staring into the outer plains for hours on end, whispering. Half her words in draconic and the other half in common, mixing the languages in the same sentence.
Brom and Ran had refused to talk to Her about it, but She had listened at Her door when they thought She was sleeping. The Archmages were going mad. The eventual cost of power, they said. Though neither seemed upset that the same would happen to them eventually. Perhaps their lack of concern was the first sign they'd already started.
She continued Her climb, putting Her worries about Brom and Ran’s sanity out of Her mind for the time being. She would have plenty of time to stew about it when She was locked in Her room. For now, She wanted to enjoy being outside in the brief summer warmth.
A burst of sudden wind from above set Her hair whipping about Her face and nearly cost Her grip on the stones. Squeezing Her eyes shut, She tried to shake Her hair back, blowing at the strands against another huge gust before something heavy shook the ground behind her. She let Her head fall back again, so Her hair fell away from Her face, and She could see what had come upside down. The sight caused Her to fall off the wall.
Landing hard on Her backside, She scrambled to Her feet in a mix of awe and horror. A monster large enough to fill Her entire room and then some, stood in the clearing around the tower. It had a long sinuous neck and dull brown scales. It walked on great taloned legs in the back and the joints of its leathery wings in the front. It snapped at Archmage Shaloon as she jumped from its neck to the ground, its teeth as long as daggers and looking just as sharp. It didn’t bite the Archmage, who ignored it as she approached the journeymen.
“What are you three doing out here?” she demanded, mixing draconic with common and glaring at the two men who, for some reason, looked ashamed despite the permission they'd gotten to be out today.
The Firewyrm ignored the question, asking one of Her own, “What is that?” She pointed at the monster, not sure if She felt sad or disgusted at the sight of it. Both seemed odd emotions to have at the sight of a beast that could eat Her in two bites.
Fingers snapped, and She flinched, reaching for Her collar. The monster let out a strangled roar, thrashing its head wildly, its own copper collar shimmering with light and magic. “Another failure of our predecessors, thousands of years ago.” Morndancer exited the tower, his robes billowing around him.
Another snap, and the Firewyrm flinched again. But Shaloon just snorted, sneering at the other Archmage after stopping his torment of her mount, “The north-western Talon was gracious enough to lend us this sample after years of training. It should come in handy with the local draken who worship its kind as gods.” the beast snarled at the humans just out of reach but didn’t step any closer, digging its talons deeper into the ground and hissing, “It was a great success after the slaying. We’ve only had one greater.” she glanced at the Firewyrm who tilted Her head at the two of them, curious for more but sure they wouldn’t give it to Her.
Archmage Morndancer dismissed the defense of the monster’s existence with a snort, “And yet we are still facing the same problems as those before us. What information do you have?”
“A storm hit out at sea, and there are signs of another possibly brewing in Halakon.”
Ran swallowed nervously, and Brom stuttered, “Should we…?”
“No.” Morndancer answered the unfinished question, “There is only one thing that can stop these storms, and we are the only ones willing to make the sacrifices to do it.” he turned away from them, returning to the tower door before glancing over his shoulder, “Get back inside, we need more samples if we are to make up for our own successful failure.”
***
“Saint Giorgos says the wyverns are the last vestiges of the dragon’s evil in the skies…” Sir Rasnah sipped her tea thoughtfully.
Father Branston snorted, “Yes yes, and drakes are their evil on land, and leviathans their evil at sea. They are beasts, Rasnah, as old as memory.”
“Branston's right,” Veon-Zih shrugged, rolling his teacup between his hands, “They're terrible beasts with some magic to them, but they're no more intelligent than a drakwalf or horse.”
They sat together in Father Branston’s office to enjoy warm tea and a colorful sunset through his massive windows. But none of them could really relax with the news of a wyvern flying around the woods to the north. Just to the west of Hamerfoss.
“They've been known to hunt for sport,” Rasnah reminded them, her face pained at the memory.
“So do house cats.”
“House cats don’t pick off entire barbarian tribes over the course of a week.”
"I'm sure they would if they could,"
Branston sighed, reaching for his teapot and pouring himself another cup, “What will you do? If you need healers, I have a few skilled enough to go.”
Rasnah sighed, rubbing her forehead and resting her cup in her lap, “Perhaps one. I’ll send a group to watch. If it's sighted again, we'll have to do something.”
Veon-Zih cleared his throat to get her attention and arched a questioning eyebrow her way. The Paladin returned the look with a smile and said, “I will make sure they have a sending stone. If you're needed, I’m sure they'll wait for you to arrive before seeking it out.” her smile faded, and she stared into her cup, “If they really are vestiges of dragons then I suppose Saint Giorgos is right and all of them were evil.”
“Having a crisis of faith, Rasnah?” Branston asked softly, but with a smile, “Legends say Hengist was allied with goodly dragons.”
“Dragons of Gold and Silver and all the precious metals,” Veon-Zih finished for him, then added, “None of that matters anymore. All we can do is face the challenges life presents us with in the here and now.”
“Of course,” Rasnah agreed, looking up at her old friends and managing a lopsided grin, “And now we have a wyvern possibly claiming territory in our forests. Do you think Daunas will want to join the hunt? If necessary,” she added at the end.
“Mung's boy? He’s still stationed at Hamerfoss then?” Branston asked.
Veon-Zih chuckled, “I don’t believe he would forgive you if you didn’t let him.” his chuckle died, and the three gazed mournfully out the window. Remembering their last wyvern fight, and their friend lost in bringing it down. It had been their last adventure together.
-End of Part 1-
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All comments and are welcome and wanted.

Credit to u/SpacePaladin15
Memory transcription subject: Salvek, Human-Venlil Exchange Program Candidate
Date [standardized human time]: September 3, 2136
I hate banks. Or, more specifically, I hate the United Banking Service. I've never really used another bank, on account of my mother signing me up for a twenty-five year family plan for a cash bonus that never came (it was twenty-five thousand credits, I can't really blame her) but that just makes me hate this one more.
The fat, lazy Gojid on the other side of the bulletproof glass teller window tapped away at his keyboard in order to process my application for a loan. Above him I saw the UBS logo and motto: "Speed, Security, Success." All a load of vyalpic if you ask me. (I will die of old age before this loan ever comes through)
"Sooooo....." Thank the Herd, he was finally talking. I was worried his fat ass had a heart attack and died with how little moving he did. "Your credit score issss....." Oh Protector, just spit it out already! Now I get why predators have such violent impulses. (What if I can't control mine? What if we're worse than them?)
Brahk my intrusive thoughts. How does Jack control his so well? I resolved to ask him when my loan got processed, assuming neither of us starved to death in the meantime. (Speed, security, and success this dick)
"Seven hundred and ninety." Oh, thank Inatala. (Inatala hates predators, can I still say that with one as my best friend?) Venlil credit scores go from zero, being applied to people who took out million-credit loans and blew all the money on gear to unsuccessfully rob the bank they got the loan from, to one thousand, which went to those who panicked over a two credit overdrawn balance and had a heart attack whenever they were a week away from a loan's due date and it still wasn't paid.
Seven hundred and ninety was above average, since my parents had always taught me to manage my finances well, but only slightly above average since Jack's presence and the constant racism that came with it were more trouble than the government stipend was worth. (I would never send him back home, he's better to me than many Venlil)
I thanked the Gojid with sincerity that I meant none of, and asked "Is my loan approved?"
He told me "Yes, it's been approved at..." Oh Herd, not this again. How do his coworkers interact with him? "5% quarterly interest." That's not even bad. (Five percent might be a robbery, but for UBS banks it's decent) "You'll have six months to pay it off in full... or the interest will double every quarter." (Somebody should disband the United Banking Service)
I agreed to these terms, since they were the best I was going to get, and left without another word. Eight thousand Federation credits had just entered my bank account, making me a very rich man. (Not really, but it was the most I'd ever had)
Jack was sitting on a bench outside the UBS building tapping away on his pad. A more skittish Venlil would have assumed that he was plotting something or bathing in the virtual blood of his prey, but I knew better than to assume the game he was playing was predatory.
Never mind, it was absolutely predatory. An army of huge winged beasts descended on what looked like a walled fortress in the middle of a hellish landscape, and lightning rained down from the skies at Jack's command to pick apart what I assumed were strategic defenses. (He might not actively do predator things, but he is excellent at them)
Within thirty ticks of the timer at the top of the screen, the beasts were above the fortress raining destruction on whatever they pleased. A few soldiers ran out of a building near the center of the base, attacking Jack's army, but they were quickly dealt with. Without the defenses that were destroyed by what I assumed was orbital bombardment, the base was helpless against the conquering predator.
A chill ran down my spine as I saw the defenders being slaughtered. A Venlil general or admiral (there were actually surprisingly many when compared to the rest of our military) could accomplish such results but those types of Venlil were very few and often had mild cases of Predator Disease. (That needs a new name. Maybe Arxur disease? No, too scary)
Seeing an average human, whose only military experience was four years serving on a war boat (They still have a boat military? Herd, those predators love their weapons) complete what many Federation officers would struggle to do terrified me for good reason.
We Venlil had treated Humans like they weren't even sapient, just dirt or pests that we had to tolerate. And the rest of the Federation treated them even worse. What if they decided peace wasn't worth it? What if, in our fear of the Arxur, we unleashed a threat worse than them? (Could Jack spare me from a human cattle farm? I'd have to kill myself if he couldn't)
Venlil Prime would be the first world to fall. We'd all die of our own hubris.
"Hell!" Jack turned his pad down so I couldn't look over his shoulder anymore. "I'm sorry you had to see that." Why did he have to be sorry for everything? The way my species, my Federation, treated him and his kind always angered me.
I told him "Don't be sorry. It's not your fault your hobbies are so... you know." I didn't like using the word "predator". At least, not to describe humans. Jack was cool with me using it as long as it wasn't in a derogatory way, (since they are predators) but it just reminded me of how unjustly he and his kind were treated.
Jack clearly didn't listen when I said not to be sorry because he kept apologizing. "Yeah, but it's not your fault you're so damn skittish either. And it is my fault I played Clash... I mean the game here. I should've known better." Herd, why did he never stand up for himself? The exterminators can't be that bad!
I explained to him "You don't have to apologize, Jack. You never meant to scare anyone." and before he could keep apologizing (I know him too well to think he wouldn't) I changed the subject. "We have money at our disposal now, we can buy something from the Mellow Firefruit on our way to the train station."
Jack agreed, but he was worried about "spacists". (Oh Herd, has he lost it?) I asked "What in the Arbor is a spacist?" In case you don't know, the Arbor is where followers of the Great Protector go when they die. It's a huge forest with plentiful and delicious food, and no predators.
When I finally mustered up my courage and told Jack that the god I worship hates his kind, I was half expecting to die horribly by his unusually short claws or extremely dull fangs. (Are they so peaceful because of their lack of natural weapons, or do they lack natural weapons because they're so peaceful? I should ask Jack that)
Instead, he shrugged it off and told me that, apparently, "Jesus still solos." When I explained the Arbor at his request, he had the brilliant idea to convert to worshiping the Protector and then kill himself in order to appear there and scare the afterlife out of everyone else. He quickly and profusely explained that he would never actually do that, but Inatala would never have accepted him anyway so it didn't matter.
Anyway, back to real life. Jack told me "Oh, spacists? They're just space racists except I mushed the two words together. It's a play on words type thing." The words 'space' and 'racists' do not fit together in Venlilese, and frankly, I was astounded that the translator even gave me the concept. (I bought it second-hand from a Mazic who stepped on it one too many times, but it was incredibly cheap)
I told him "If you told anyone but me that the words 'space' and 'racists' fit together then you would be screened for Predator Disease." and he covered his mouth in the gesture that was universally recognized as a prey-safe predator's laugh.
"God, sometimes I forget you guys have a sense of humor."
Just then, I started walking. I was tired, like any Venlil would be after a long walk, a long wait in line and the anticipation of another long walk, but the thought of the sweet, delicious food at the Mellow Firefruit kept me going. (I have to get Jack some, he's been underrating Venlil cuisine ever since he first tried my subpar cooking)
Jack fell in behind me, then he moved up to be at my side as an equal. Us Venlil didn't care where you were in line, but I guess predators have different priorities. (Is thinking 'predator' as bad as saying it? That's a dilemma I need to deal with later) I asked him "How come your claws and... uh... those pointy front teeth are so small?" (I don't like talking about fangs, sue me)
Jack turned to look at me, jerked his head away a little, then he turned and looked at me again. He responded to my question, realized I was a Venlil, and realized I was Salvek, in that order. I was good at reading people. He told me "First of all, they're called nails and canines. And second of all, we've never needed claws so they never evolved." A predator never needing claws was absurd! When would Jack learn that he didn't have to lie to me?
I interrupted my friend's explanation by telling him "Jack, I'm not going to run away or faint just because you tell me that ancient humans hunted. I get it. Just tell me how you lost your claws."
Jack sighed. He didn't sigh a lot, only when he was driven to the end of his very long rope (Turns out that's a human idiom too! Who knew?) by someone else's, usually my, stupidity. "Salvek, we didn't lose them. We evolved to eat fruit from trees, and by the time we were eating meat we had at least developed the art of throwing rocks at things. There was never any need for them, and they never appeared as a result. Satisfied?"
Developing weapons early on did make sense for humans, given how good they are at combat, so I nodded. It wasn't really a Venlil expression, but those in the exchange program had learned everything they could about their human partners. (I'm saying human instead of predator! Progress!) "Yeah, that makes sense."
Jack continued, explaining about human 'canines'. We just called them fangs. "Canines were originally fangs, yeah," He lowered his voice when he mentioned fangs. "but when we made fire around a million years ago, we didn't need them anymore and so they got smaller. I'm no expert, but that's what I know."
That actually made sense. I knew the Arxur didn't eat cooked meat, since I found uncensored raid footage on an internet rabbit hole when I was fourteen, (I peed myself and had nightmares for weeks but no one has to know) but I always assumed humans shared that trait. Maybe I was just like the rest with how I kept comparing humans and Arxur. (Why am I capitalizing one and not the other? No one knows!)
Maybe I was just like the rest. Maybe one day I would lose control and run from Jack, or freeze up, or worse, call the exterminators, and then it would all be over. I could never live with myself if my damned instincts got him to hate me or got him killed. I've only known him for a few weeks, but when we met we just clicked.
It's still weird to me how the concept of platonic soul mates doesn't exist yet.
"That's it, right?" Jack asked while pointing to a red restaurant a few blocks away. That was it. I was about to eat good.
"Yeah, that's it. Come on, let's go!" I ran to the Mellow Firefruit faster than most humans could, on account of my species being designed for sprints, (or we're just better than them) and Jack tagged along in a brisk walk. He was probably trying not to be mistaken for chasing me and shot dead, or worse, set on fire.
I know most predators don't feel pain, but humans do. Why in the Herd didn't exterminators at least have the decency to kill them humanely?
A couple seconds later, Jack was waiting outside the restaurant and looking at his pad while I waited in line (In case nobody noticed yet, I hate lines) for my meal. Jack's meal too, since nobody wanted their entire customer base to leave the second they began serving humans. At least, that was the official reason. The real reason is that most Venlil are still racist.
After an agonizing minute and a half of waiting, since the Mellow Firefruit was a popular restaurant (for good reason, as Jack was about to discover) I finally got to order my food. "I'll have two yaccay salads, and two red fires please." Jack only asked for a salad, but red fires were excellent drinks and if he said no to one I would drink both. I was being smart with this.
"Okay, that will be 43.8 credits." All right, maybe not so smart.
I asked "44 credits?" in shock as my mind struggled to wrap itself around this sudden increase in price. The last time I got a meal here it was only twenty credits.
The cashier, a large green Krakotl who was a tiny bit taller than me, explained "Inflation. Those damn predators brahked up the economy and now we have this." Putting hate on my friend Jack wasn't something I would normally tolerate, but my father had always said it wasn't wise to anger the people who made your food. I just swiped my card across his card reader and stayed silent, like dad would have wanted.
"If you ask me, Sovlin was right."
Was my father really that wise? He probably didn't know what he was talking about.
"How can you say that? No one deserves what he did to Marcel." I shot back, managing to contain the venom in my voice.
The cashier retorted "No one sapient. But those... things that Tarva's dumb ass let roam our planet don't qualify." with barely-contained hatred. (Thank the Herd Jack doesn't have to hear this)
Before I could respond, however, the manager came with my order and reprimanded his subordinate. "Don't get into politics with customers, and certainly don't spit those lies in my establishment!" Maybe the Great Protector was still looking out for me.
The manager handed me my items and apologized profusely. "My cashier here is still new to Venlil Prime. He hasn't gotten used to the... the new arrivals yet. Herd, even I struggle sometimes, and I'm in the exchange program!"
I thanked him, explaining that it wasn't a big deal but the cashier should still be reprimanded, and brought our food to Jack. He wasn't playing that predatory (it was predatory, but predatory didn't necessarily mean bad) game again, but he was scrolling through his account on UHerd.
UHerd was the Venlil's main addition to the galaxy at large, being a huge social media service that Jack had described as "just like Instagram." when he first heard of it. Bleat was another large website just like it, but it was much less known than UHerd. (Fun fact: the U stands for Internet! Maybe not in English, but in Venlilese it does)
Jack never posted much, but he had me and a few mutual friends from the Program followed and he liked hearing what we were doing. I plopped down next to him and handed him his food. "Here, I got you something."
He picked up the salad nonchalantly, but when I handed him his drink, he inspected it curiously. "What in God's name is this doohickey?" He asked.
I told him "Try it, it's a red fire. It's good." and he did try it.
Jack exclaimed "Holy christ!" and the look in his eyes was comparable to what I saw the first time I agreed to being pet. "This is heavenly!" He guzzled the spicy fluid with hunger that would have terrified me if I hadn't seen him devour meals a dozen times before, (He'll eat me next I have to run I have to run run run run for it [oh, shut up already]) stopping only to praise its taste. "This is like the nectar of the gods!" Then "Shit, this is what I was missing out on? We gotta desegregate the restaurants immediately!"
That got him thinking, and I could almost see the money-making gears turning in his head. "You know, Salvek, what if we opened up a restaurant? You could be the official owner and waiter, I could cook some delectable earth recipes, and as long as no one saw me, we could make bank!"
I didn't like that idea. It sounded a lot like a recipe for disaster. I told him "Nah, it would be too hard for just the two of us. And besides, we already have the clothing business." Selling shirts online is a lot easier and cheaper than owning a restaurant.
Since Jack asked me a question, I figured I could ask one too. "Hey Jack, do you mind if I ask you a question?"
Jack didn't care, and he told me as much, so I continued. "How do you keep yourself in check all the time? How can humans control themselves so well?"
He paused for a bit, causing me to involuntarily panic, (he's looking for weak points, or exterminators, he's going to snap my neck for this) but I quelled these thoughts and there was no visible change in my expression. Finally, the colossal man spoke. "How do you do it?"
"W-what?" I stammered, and he picked up a leaf that was blowing in the wind before cherishing his last sip of the red fire.
He held the leaf up to my mouth. "How can you resist the temptation to just chow down on every plant you see? It must be exhausting." I took a brief nibble of the plant, despite it being completely unappetizing in nature, and he told me "See? Your herbivore instincts made you eat it! How can you keep them in check all the time?"
I wasn't a fool, not by any means. I knew he was mocking me. But the thought of a predator not having any predatory instincts was an entirely unheard of concept, bordering on heresy for some. It would probably have gotten me screened for Predator Disease if I spoke of it aloud, but I still spoke of it aloud. (There were no exterminators, I was fine) "So you're trying to say that you don't have predatory instincts? But what about the drive to hunt?"
Jack sighed again, muttering "So smart, but so damn stupid." in a low tone before he explained to me exactly what I wanted to know. "We have the need to eat meat in the same way you need to eat plants, because if we don't do it we die." That made sense. "But just like you don't have a primal urge to devour all the greenery in sight, we don't have any instincts of our own. Make sense?"
It did, but I was still struggling to wrap my head around it, so I just nodded and finished off my salad. Jack had apparently forgot about his salad, as he hadn't touched it. He opened the plastic carton, looked at its contents weirdly, and took a bite.
"This is mid." He told me, point blank. "Like, I don't mean to offend anyone, but it is mid. I'm not even hungry."
I was mildly offended, but there wasn't much I could change about his honest opinion, so I just told him "I thought it was good." and left it at that.
Jack slid his salad over to me (I love these things like my only son) and offered "You can have it. I don't want it." I would have accepted, but I wasn't hungry. Jack didn't really mind, so he threw his salad out and told me "Then we should get going. We have only [1/8 of a claw], I mean... 1/8 of a claw before our train leaves."
I agreed, getting up and walking to the train station, and Jack followed. I was well rested by then, so the brief walk was easy. Jack... Jack was Jack. He never got tired.
We actually made a pretty good pace to the train station, and within 1/16 of a claw we were on our way back to my home district and my third-floor apartment. I had money to my name, I had a huge predator (Human! Damn, those words get mixed up too much) friend, and he and I were about to make a truckload of credits. Life was good.
Previous Next comes when I say it comes

Mostly just for fun and practice, I have been working on a homebrewed artificer subclass for an automaton character (I'll post the race stats I'm working on in a comment, for those interested). I have been trying to keep it flexible, fun, and thematically satisfying without being overpowered or overshadowing other players. I am of the opinion that you win DnD when everyone involved is having a lot of fun, and that fun is most had when everything is well-balanced and everyone can do cool things and shares the spotlight. I am fully aware that everything is ultimately up to the DM I play with and that party balance is also an important factor. I have done my best to compare this to preexisting subclasses, spells, and features to keep this balanced, but I'd love outside input. As I said this is mostly a fun experiment that I don't really expect to ever get to play, but I enjoy the creative process.
Thanks for taking the time to offer opinions if you decide to do so. And feel free to use any part of this as inspiration for your own homebrewed stuff. Happy adventuring!
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Artificial Artificer
Expanded Spells (Similar to Battlesmith)
3rd Level Feature
Choose 2 extra cantrips from the Artificer spell list. Starting at 3rd level, you always have certain spells prepared after you reach particular levels in this class, as shown in the Artificial Artificer Spells table. These spells count as artificer spells for you, but they don’t count against the number of artificer spells you prepare.
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Artificer Level	Spells
3rd	Identify, Shield
5th	Knock, Misty Step
9th	Counterspell, Fireball
13th	Greater Invisibility, Wall of Fire
17th	Telekinesis, Teleportation Circle

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Tool Proficiency (Similar to Battlesmith)
3rd Level Feature
When you adopt this specialization at 3rd level, you gain proficiency in one type of artisan's tools of your choice.
Create Familiar (Improved and reskinned version of Find Familiar)
3rd Level Feature
Crafting Time: 1 hour
Tools: Artisan’s, Smith’s, or Tinker’s tools
Components: S M (20 gp worth of a strong material such as metal or wood, glass, and precious gems)

• Once per long rest, you craft a tiny familiar that takes on any form you choose; it uses the statistics of any of the following creatures: bat, cat, crab, frog (toad), hawk, lizard, octopus, owl, poisonous snake, fish (quipper), rat, raven, sea horse, spider, or weasel, though it is a construct instead of a beast.
• Your familiar acts independently of you, but it always obeys your commands. In combat, it shares your initiative and acts during your turn. It can attack on its own or perform any other action in its stat block.
• If your familiar is within 60 ft of you, you can cast spells (cantrips or 1st level, requiring an action or bonus action) through it. This counts as a combined action and takes the action or bonus action of both of your turns. You cannot cast spells through it as part of your reaction, but it can take its own reactions, if available. If your familiar is within 5 feet of an ally, your familiar can use its reaction to block a successful attack roll against that ally, taking all of the attack’s damage.
• While your familiar is within 200 feet of you, you can communicate with it telepathically. Additionally, as an action, you can see through your familiar’s eyes and hear what it hears until the start of your next turn, gaining the benefits of any special senses that the familiar has. During this time, you are deaf and blind with regard to your own senses.
• When the familiar drops to 0 hit points, it leaves behind a pile of unusable debris. Your familiar is resistant to healing spells and potions. The mending cantrip can be used to heal your familiar 1d4 + your spellcasting modifier. When not in use, your familiar can be stored in a compartment on your body. Your familiar will regain full HP when stored this way during a long rest.
• You can’t have more than one familiar at a time. If your familiar has at least one hit point, you may reconfigure it into a new form without extra material components.

Integrated Offense (Made this one from scratch, but kind of similar to Battle Ready)
3rd Level Feature
At 3rd level, you gain the ability to integrate your artificial body with offensive capabilities. You can integrate up to two simple or martial weapons into your body, one on each arm. While integrated, you are proficient with these weapons. When you attack with your integrated weapons, you use your Intelligence modifier instead of your Strength or Dexterity modifier for the attack and damage rolls.
These integrated weapons can be drawn or stowed as part of the same action you use to attack with them. If an integrated weapon is separated from your body, it becomes unusable unless you spend time and material resources reconstructing it.
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Artificial Arcanum (Intent here is to provide options for a weaker version of Arcane Recovery or to choose one of two unique abilities. Not sure how much the flexibility might make this overpowered)
5th Level Feature
At 5th level, you have developed an internal magical energy storage system. Once per long rest, you can utilize this stored energy in one of the following ways:
Option 1: Spellcraft Charge
The advanced energy storage mechanisms within your automaton body allow you to store a reservoir of spellcasting power. You can store a number of spell levels equal to your proficiency bonus. Whenever you cast a spell, you can choose to expend stored spell levels instead of using your own spell slots. This feature provides you with an alternative means of casting spells, conserving your own magical resources.
Option 2: Ethereal Circuitry
Your energy storage system can be expended to alter the magiphysical vibrations of your physical form, allowing it to phase through solid objects. By expending your available energy storage, you can activate your ethereal circuitry. For the duration of this activation, you gain the ability to move through up to 5 feet of solid material, as if it were insubstantial. Alternatively, if an enemy successfully hits you with an attack, you can use your reaction to activate your ethereal circuitry, causing that hit to miss. This ability extends to subsequent attacks made by the same enemy on their turn.
Option 3: Momentum Burst
Harnessing the stored kinetic energy within your automaton body, you can unleash a powerful burst of speed and agility. Once per day, as a bonus action, you can activate your Momentum Burst. This grants you the ability to move up to 8 times your movement speed for the current turn. Additionally, your next attack roll made on the same turn has advantage, benefiting from the momentum and precision of your swift movement. However, if that attack misses, the next enemy to attack you before your next turn gains advantage on their attack roll, capitalizing on the momentary vulnerability caused by your aggressive maneuvering.
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Enhanced Familiar (This level seems a common time to improve previously acquired class features)
9th Level Feature
At 9th level, your mastery over the art of artifice extends to the enhancement of your familiar, allowing it to excel in various aspects. When you craft your familiar, you can choose one of the following options: Combined Utility, Enhanced Offense, or Enhanced Defense. Crafting a familiar in this way requires 50GP worth of the relevant material components, rather than 20)
Combined Utility:
With this option, you can combine the non-combat capabilities of two creatures into one familiar, creating a versatile and adaptable companion. By melding the essence of these creatures together, your familiar gains a range of utility features and abilities. For example, you can combine the bat and octopus to create a mechanical familiar that can fly, has blindsight, and can swim and breathe underwater. The familiar crafted through this option utilizes the higher ability scores and skill values between the two creatures, providing a powerful tool for exploration and problem-solving.
Enhanced Offense:
If you choose the Enhanced Offense option, your familiar gains a potent attack ability to aid you in combat. It gains the Miniature Fireball attack, which deals 2d8 fire damage in a 5-foot radius, requiring a Dexterity saving throw for half damage. The number of uses of this ability is limited to your proficiency bonus, uses are regained during a long rest. You can also use your bonus action to command the familiar to self-destruct, causing 3d8 fire damage to anyone within a 30-foot radius. You must have at least one use remaining and using this effect drops your Familiar’s Hit Points to 0.
Enhanced Defense:
With the Enhanced Defense option, you bolster your familiar's resilience and endurance. Your familiar gains additional hit points equal to your spellcaster level, making it more durable in combat. Furthermore, it gains the Relentless Endurance feature, allowing it to endure the most devastating blows. When reduced to 0 hit points but not killed outright, your familiar can drop to 1 hit point instead. This ability can only be used once and is regained after a long rest.
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Artifice Mastery (Again made this one up from scratch, but tried to keep it balanced with other 15th level features)
15th Level Feature
At 15th level, your mastery over magical manipulation reaches new heights. You gain the following benefits:
Masterful Construction: When you create a construct using your Create Familiar feature, you can craft your familiar with two of the three options specified in the Enhanced Familiar feature. Crafting a familiar in this way requires 100GP worth of the relevant material components, rather than 20. Your familiar’s blocking reaction also has an increased range of 10ft.
Nullification Shield: Once per long rest, you can use your reaction to erect an arcane shield to absorb damage from an attack that makes a successful hit against you. This shield absorbs up to 5d10 points of damage before dissipating, any remaining non-physical damage is taken by you as normal. You can also cast this through your familiar if it is used to block an attack: doing this uses both of your reactions.

I decided to make this post since I have seen that people all over the media now see GW Bush as some sort of hero. He's not. He's a war criminal and had an awful presidency. Even worse than Trump's.
Before I go in to why, I will state, I acknowledge the wrongdoings of past presidents and how they could be seen as worse. Trump with attempting a coup, A. Johnson undoing reconstruction, Pierce and "bleeding kansas". These are all really bad and am not excusing those. Those are still some of the worst presidents. But here are my reasons for George W. Bush being the worst president we ever had.

• Torture - George W Bush literally had his officials torture INNOCENT civilians at Guantanamo Bay. These techniques included waterboarding, sleep deprivation, loud noises, forced nudity & sensory deprivation. The worst part is that most (if not all) of these people were innocent and committed no crimes. Anyone who can justify torture to themselves is a sociopath.
• Iraq War - Don't think this needs much explaining. This war was illegal and offensive against a country who did not attack us nor did they have weapons of mass destruction. This war was built on lies that Blair and Bush made saying they had access to intelligence data (which they never had) saying there was a "massive stockpile". Bush, Cheney & Blair all lied about it and got MINIMUM 250,000 innocent Iraqi citizens. People are gonna say "oh people believed them so it's not a lie". Either those people who believed it were duped or were just straight up lying. And if you don't believe they were lying, why did they keep changing their answers? First they said Saddam Hussein had connections to 9/11, then they had WMDS, when proven wrong they said "we need to fight terrorists", then they said "Saddam didn't treat his citizens well. Pretty fucking suspicious if you ask me. Anyone who wants to tell me this war was justified can fuck off. There is no justification for this war and you know that.
• Response to Hurricane Katrina - Of course, Hurricane Katrina isn't his fault that is ridiculous. But his response was bullshit. He took too long to visit the area affected since he was on vacation. He did not provide nor help enough with the issue and was completely unprepared. As well as took no accountability.
• NCLB (No Child Left Behind) - NCLB was widely unsuccessful and still left a wide gap between student's academic abilities. Which the point of it was to improve students ability and standards. It did not create higher standards for public school students. It made it so schools could only be funded based on standardized testing. And it brought down a lot of kid's educational potential. Failure with a capital F. Here is the article talking about the absolute failure it is.
• Economic Recession - The great recession of 2008 is one the worst economic downturns our country had ever faced. Now some people will say "oh it was Bill Clinton's fault". They aren't entirely wrong. Clinton did deregulation and the repeal of Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. So there was always gonna be a recession. But Bush made it worse. He gave gigantic tax cuts that pretty much only benefitted the wealthy (the 1%). He also pursued tons of deregulation in the financial industry (such as the Federal Reserve for an example) and the Housing Industry which led to the subprime mortgage crisis. He also gave bailouts to tons of big banks (such as JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs). This all caused a HUGE economic downturn.

There is a lot more but it would honestly take a long time to write it all. Of course, he may have had SOME achievements. Such as medicare part D and PEPFAR which were both fairly successful. But even then, every president has done SOME good. Even the worst of the worst. These are my reasonings for George W Bush being the worst president in American history. You could maybe make the case he's the 4th worst because of Johnson, Pierce and Buchanan. But personally, I see him as the #1 worst.

I have had mint for years, and I have a couple of accounts that are no longer active. Usually, this is because a credit card has switched their bank (e.g. Costco switched from capital one to CIBC).
I'd like to maintain the card history but also not get an error every time I login about this card no longer being active, prompting syncs, etc.
Is there a way to do this?

Now, it’s not even worth going into the details of the Sarah Comrie story because the woman’s lawyer literally provided the actual receipts: Sarah Comrie rented the bike, that’s not in dispute; the black teenagers apparently swapped the QR code so that she would unlock the bike that they were sitting on, which they could then steal - and that happens a lot in New York City, now that crime has been decriminalized. What’s interesting is why anyone, journalists or otherwise, pretended to believe this story for so long. Why would they pretend to believe, again, that a white middle-aged woman who just got off a twelve hour shift at a hospital try to steal a bike from black teenagers? Are people justifying afraid of Ben Crump and the race hustlers like him? It’s possible. Here’s what Crump tweeted as soon as that video came out:

This is unacceptable! A white woman was caught on camera attempting to STEAL a Citi Bike from a young Black man in NYC. She grossly tried to weaponize her tears to paint this man as a threat. This is EXACTLY the type of behavior that has endangered so many Black men in the past!

Of course, Ben Crump capitalized the “B” in black, but not the “W” in white just underscore the racial hierarchy. It could be that thugs and liars like Ben Crump are the reason why mainstream media outlets continue to lie about this story, even after Comrie’s lawyer provided the receipts. Here’s NBC News for example:

A New York City hospital employee was placed on leave after a viral video appeared to show her attempting to take a rental bike from a group of young Black men garnered millions of views online.

That’s journalistic malpractice, obviously, but the truth is that this is not just a media story, it goes much deeper than that. Consider the fact that even after the truth came out, the victim is the one who’s been apologizing. Here’s a groveling quote from Sarah Comrie‘s GoFundMe page, which has over $100 now, I think:

She holds racial justice and equity dear, and has dedicated her life to serving NYC's most challenged individuals.

Translation: Sarah Comrie, like so many other white women in this country, got what she voted for. And even when she is confronted with the reality of what she supports, she still feels that she has to affirm it. The woman has had her life ripped to shreds by a mob of racist ghouls. I mean, they are trying to destroy her for fun! That’s why she was targeted by these kids in the first place: just for FUN! Take her bike and destroy her life, because why not? For sport! And STILL, she signals her allegiance to the very predators who have made her the prey.
And this is far from the first case like this - remember Amy Cooper. A few years back, some whack job named Christian didn’t like that Amy Cooper’s dog wasn’t on a leash in Central Park, so what does he do about that? Well, according to his own posts on Facebook, Christian tried to lure the woman’s dog away from her with treats. And here’s Christian told Amy Cooper:

*If you're going to do what you want, I'm going to do what I want, but you're not going to like it. Come here, Puppy!”

Then Christian wrote:

I pull out the dog treats I carry for just for such intransigence.

Amy Cooper’s life was destroyed because she called the police on that lunatic, who again is the one who instigated this whole thing. She lost her job. Like Sarah Comrie, she was attacked for her skin color, and in the end, she was the one who apologized. “I’m not a racist”, she insisted.

DAE hate starting sentences with (some) vowels, or am I just weird? I and A is okay, but I always try to avoid starting sentences with capital E, O and U. I also have some additional vowels in my language that I dislike using.

I’m a car-less college student who’s fairly frugal, and the bulk of my purchases—and I mean almost all of it—is reserved toward food and drinks from restaurants. I only have the Discover It student card at the moment, which is nice for the quarterly dining 5%. But seeing as that runs dry in a a few days, I was curious whether I should get a second card to maximize the value of my dining purchases?
Outside of restaurants, most of my money is spent on online purchases, retail items (e.g., Target), or movie tickets. Grocery spending is quite sparse, as I have EBT, but I do cook a lot and regional ingredient-suppliers generally don’t accept it.
My Discover FICO is currently at 778, and I’m irrationally fearful that it will drop. So my thoughts of getting a new card right now lay in getting a new card while my score is solid.
I was thinking Capital Savor One for the Dining and Entertainment benefits, as I plan to travel a bit in the post-college years and I think it’d be good to build toward Venture X.
Any thoughts are appreciated.

I can’t believe that I’m resorting to Reddit to air out these questions, but at this point, I might as well express these sentiments to (hopefully) like-minded people. Let me state plainly what this post is about from the outset: it's about whether or not it’s really worth it to commit to what is essentially a lost cause. It’s easy for people to insist on having hope, but it’s much harder and more painful to confront the things we can’t change in the world.
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I’m a recent college graduate who, for several years now, has had a sustained interest and passion in Palestinian liberation. I’m even considering volunteering for a Palestinian NGO in the West Bank this upcoming fall.For some context, I’m a radical leftist, anti-capitalist, etc., and as I struggle to build a future for myself post-college I find myself confronting my burgeoning sense of political nihilism. For me, there are two types of people in this world. On the one hand, there are those who live under the veil of ignorance who never question the world in which we live; and those people will be a lot happier in life since they never choose to confront their alienation. On the other, there are people like me who choose to confront the alienating realities of capitalism and want to change the world accordingly. As I look at this world; having a boss, no social mobility, needing money to have fun; and it becomes all the more clear that the “progressive” change I have sought to enact will likely never be actualized.
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I first started paying attention to Israel and Palestine near the end of high school, during the Great March of Return. Unarmed men, women, and children were slaughtered by IDF forces because they dared to protest their confinement in Gaza. As I researched the so-called “conflict”, what struck me was the sheer scale of the pro-Israel proganda disseminated by Zionist organizations in the U.S. The central argument of these organizations was that criticism of Israel (especially criticism which “crossed the line” in the eyes of Israel’s political defenders) was disingenuously labeled as anti-Semitism.
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What further angered me is how plainly disingenuous these arguments were; even the people who made these arguments didn’t seem to believe it, but they knew they could exploit the hypersensitivity to anti-Semitism in order to effectively control the Overton window when it came to Israel. These people obviously don’t represent all Jews, even though they claim to. But as Israel is engaged in daily massacres, these people have the gaul to claim that specifically Zionist Jews deserve special consideration over and above others in the human community.
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I was particularly outraged by the assertion that anti-Zionism is comparable to anti-Semitism, and the various derivative arguments that stem from that position. I took this last line of argument somewhat personally because it just adds intellectual insult to injury; in order to take a position, I was forced to defend my ability, in essence my right to speak. And in the end, I would just get bogged down in a meta-argument over what was and wasn’t anti-Semitism. I mean really, there’s a way for someone to argue their cause without dictating what others should be allowed to say (but of course, that’s the whole point).
My investment in Palestinian liberation was further sustained by the culture at my college. The Zionist campus body politik held a lot of social power on campus, as well as real political power. And if anyone dared touch the issue of Israel/Palestine, they’d face the career-ruining allegation of anti-Semitism. Some student groups even choose to bar all discussion of the topic in order to avoid controversy.
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I’m the kind of person who simply can’t live under a veil of ignorance, no matter how much I’d like to. I am a Marxist, I believe in proletarian internationalism and class struggle; and I’m against all forms of ethno-national oppression, Zionism and anti-Semitism included. Israel is a settler-colonial apartheid society that is dedicated to maintaining a Jewish demographic majority in historic Palestine at all costs, even if that means destroying the Palestinian people. The Palestinians, on the other hand, have been exhausted and fragmented with two rivaling corrupt governments, no international allies, and very little hope for ever achieving political freedom (let alone the establishment of a unitary, secular, democratic state that would be necessary for Palestinian liberation).
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Hence, the reason I asked for “no Zionist apologetics” in the Title is because I hope there’s someone on this board who can sympathize without being disingenuous. I know that I’m just some WASPy college boy who is unaffected by the realities of the conflict; and I know that the change I wish to see in this world will likely never come to be. So what’s the point of continuing to exhaust my energies on what is tragically a lost-cause? Isn’t it better to just bite the bullet, come to terms with the evils in this world, and move on with my life?

Idk y’all if it’s my habit of self sabotage, but I’ve worked quite hard on my NF this past week. I got a live listing approved, posted 1 recorded listing, got a profile picture and a menu in the listings, only 8 with a script I wrote minutes and the quality is kinda shitty with iPhone voice memos app, but I’m still so shy about me having sex appeal and not my work persona having sex appeal. I know it’s because I identify as asexual in real life. Anyway all that is done, chats are on, I don’t have goodies yet but I just…am so scared actually to turn on the “accepting calls” and to bid??? I want to exclusively do NF and graduate to sextpanther and I know I need to turn on calls bc it’s a holiday weekend and around this time on Mondays are peak calling but I just can’t do it? Any encouragement, tips, wise words? Because this would be my first live day on NF and nothing might even happen, but I need to capitalize on new girl money and I’m already faceless so I need to get my head in the game and talk to these guys and take their money.

Hello there, just wanted to tell you that your capital city is my fav European city ever.So much beauty in there, was walking in the streets and could imagine that Harry Potter will came out from a random corner ❣️.. Hope soon to be able to visit Glasgow as well. My dream some day is to move in there.And yes i just love moody weather and i hate sun. Cheers from Greece!

Hatari Uoka was not having a pleasant time. He had not had one for several years now, as his existence been broken up into periods of boredom, inense work, and utter horror. The young man had been a semi-star economics student and slid comfortably into a fashionable think tank when he launched into his job search—in politics, but apolitical. Moving in the ranks of society that were considered cosmopolitan and especially liberal, he had no particular to connection to much of anything other than people without those connections, and Mr. Uoka considered this to be how things should be. He was free from those concerns, which had not done much for him, and he could attach himself to other things, like nebulous ideas. Since there was little in terms of immediate connection to fill his day to day life with, Mr. Uoka filled his life with such easy to grab things as money, himself, and ideas that he took a shine to. Some would say that he was rather plump, in a few sentences that contained profanity and some comments about his short-cut main and stupid hat. To be frank, whatever charges one could level about his character were secondary to how poor his taste in hats was; it is up to the reader to infer the scope of these defects of person.
Hatari Uoka was offensive in that bland way that he was inoffensive to anyone of strong conviction who needed a useful body to throw into an assignment, and so he was a shoe-in to monitor Chancellor Hay Rekk's modernization efforts. Mr. Uoka had expected to be lecturing, informing people of the importance of the types of accounts used to accumulate investment capital, the training of the right kind of engineers, and the introduction of unsubsidized market rates; he had not expected to see public whippings, dirt roads, unrefined drug use, or child labor. This ensured that he was subjected to an endless train of genuine unpleasantness, paired with isolation and cheap wine. It reflected in his reports back to parliament, who likely had a small chuckle at his objection and injured bleating. And it reflected in his final report.
Mr. Uoka had nothing good to say about Chancellor Hay Rekk. He was an offensive man, who did not care for anything but clone power. He was a racist and a fascist, vile and pernicious, a sadist who delighted in the suffering of lessers and the destruction of beautiful things. He had no value for life, no respect for effort, and no care for anything but his own gluttony. Rekk's persistence was near demonic, his smarts a brute's cunning, his speaking abilities rabble-rousing, his leadership nothing but cunning manipulation, his height the adjustments of hydraulic lifts, his gastronomic prowess wasted on eating fuel station sausages. Hatari's advice fell upon ears determined to do the opposite of what he suggested and shut out the non-clone who only wanted to exercise their inherent right to commercial freedom. Rekk, he concluded, was man opposed to the idea of freedom. All persons must be underneath the clone bootheel.
Their majesties, on the other hand, were much more in line with Mr. Uoka's ideas. They were aware of the abusive practices of the Shining Lords of old, and sought to end them with the power of the market. This had been most beneficial for food supplies, and had eliminated famine according to his analysis; it had also been enormously helpful for giving peasants access to their basic life needs. There were sticking points with clone industry—which Hatari had decried as 'robbing the people of their future' and 'dull, stultifying communism-lite', but he had generally said excellent things about their majesties policies. Encouraging more trade, supporting urbanization, and breaking down the social structures that he didn't like were all very good things in Mr. Uoka's opinion. He found that their majesties were somewhat anemic with their fiscal policy, as well as their need to avoid inflation in order to keep real economic growth doing things that he didn't see as super important—a little financialisation never hurt anything, you know? And so, he prepared to publish a report recommending that Kabria be heavily and thoroughly invested in as a potential developing market. The clones must be bypassed, he said—their friendship-communism would allow them to cripple the entire economic block that the Soverignty was putting together with endless dumping. They must be contained to protect the market.
And then the press conference happened. Epistocide was revealed. Mr. Uoka edited his report. There was no market here. No chance of one emerging for maybe five generations. The Kweens were ripping out thoughts, not customs. Only the clones were here, making everything, putting together nutrient paste for when the societal preserve failed. No wonder they saw the peasants as scum. The serfs, the petty nobility, the others—they were all locked in. How much had he seen those wild eyes, squinting in suspicion, gasping in fear—how much had they been genuinely locked in, stuck in impulse and reflex, blurting words that had been trauma-conditioned into them? He had seen pictures of slaves before, or some of the Shining Lord's thralls—but he hadn't seen it firsthand. Shortly after putting out his report, Hatari went to find himself some gutter ale,something with enough kick that could get him blackout drunk.
But as he hedged Kabria-related investments and watched the market dip on opening two days late, Mr Uoka found that the clones were of the same mind as him. They filed into makeshift canteens, drank horrible brews, cursed, burned the Shining Lords in effigy, snorted pills, talked solutions and damnation. Hatari consumed four glasses from the rop bucket, stumbled outside black out drunk, and then came to calling Hay Rekk 'like a fucking fat ass bitch yo, but he's still dummy thick, ya know what I mean? He got tha-that p-policy thiqqness, yeah!! Thiqq with TWO! Qs! He can...sit...on...those...holy...shit...what am...I saying...oh...balls. Front-nuts. I'm not...blackout. Fuck my ass.'
The front nuts in question vomited in the trashcan, then laughed hysterically and took a stimulant. 'You breeders are so weird! I don't even have those!'
Hatari got a hangover of unusual size, but he ate his way out of it by mid-afternoon. Shortly beforehand, he messaged Chancellor Rekk and asked for a meeting. He was the leading face of clone power, and clone power was now in shambles over the awful things it had uncovered. There was one chance for him to influence the situation to ensure that something good could come out of it. And Mr Uoka wanted to be remembered for influencing it when he could...

Hey, fellows! Bitcoin mining isn't anything new but I still find it pretty interesting. I’ve heard so many different stories about people making a lot of money off of it so I know there’s money to be made in the space. I personally don’t have the capability to do it (from what I know) so I wanted to see if there was a company that did it and there literally is a public company that does LMAO. The company is called Iris Energy. Have any of you heard of them? I really didn’t think it would be possible to have a public company that did that but here we are in 2023 lmao.
I've always been really interested by the potential of cryptocurrencies and the underlying technology, but the environmental concerns surrounding crypto mining have always been pretty surprising. When I saw Iris Energy is all about sustainable mining practices I thought it was pretty sick and was hoping that other miners could do potentially do the same.
Reasons I'm iffy about it:
Market Volatility: The cryptocurrency market is notorious for its volatility. Fluctuations in crypto prices can impact mining profitability, making it a risky investment. Investors should be prepared for potential price swings and consider the inherent volatility of the crypto market before making any investment decisions.
Regulatory Uncertainty: The regulatory landscape surrounding cryptocurrencies and mining operations is still evolving. Governments worldwide are grappling with how to regulate and oversee this relatively new sector. Any significant regulatory changes or crackdowns on mining activities could affect Iris Energy's operations and profitability. It's crucial to stay informed about the regulatory developments and their potential impact.
Competitive Landscape: The crypto mining industry is highly competitive, with numerous players vying for market share. New technologies and mining methods continually emerge, posing challenges to established players like Iris Energy. Investors should carefully assess the company's competitive position and monitor the evolving industry trends to ensure its ability to stay ahead in a rapidly changing market.
Reasons to Consider Investing:
Growing Demand and Adoption: Cryptocurrencies are gaining increasing recognition and acceptance worldwide. As more individuals, institutions, and even governments embrace digital currencies, the demand for crypto mining is expected to soar. Iris Energy, with its sustainable approach and innovative solutions, is well-positioned to capitalize on this growing market.
Sustainable Mining Practices: One of the biggest concerns surrounding crypto mining is its environmental impact. Iris Energy addresses this issue by utilizing renewable energy sources to power its mining operations. By combining cutting-edge technology with a commitment to sustainability, the company not only contributes to a greener future but also aligns with the shifting investor preference for eco-friendly investments.
Strategic Partnerships and Expansion Plans: Iris Energy has been making waves in the industry with its strategic partnerships and expansion initiatives. By forming alliances with key players in the renewable energy sector and exploring new markets, the company demonstrates its commitment to long-term growth and diversification. These partnerships can open up new avenues for revenue and enhance the company's competitive advantage.
From what I gathered Iris Energy presents an exciting opportunity within the crypto mining sector, driven by increasing demand, sustainable practices, and strategic partnerships. While also being environmentally friendly is pretty dope. However, I’m still not really sure if something like this is a great investment opportunity for me. Looking for a little more insight when it comes to this stuff so if anyone has any don’t hesitate to throw it in the comments.

TLDR: I'm scheduled for an interview tomorrow and over the weekend I got an automated email saying I was no longer being considered but HR's Teams interview invite is still active. What should I do?
So I worked for this large industrial construction company from 2016-2020, the current phase ended and future phases were out on hold due to economic volatility (as were most other capital projects, so this company was short on jobs altogether). I performed the duties of Emergency Response Coordinator on one shift and assisted with general safety and IH tasks as a collateral duty. My position and my shift counterpart were snuck into the ESH budget by keeping us listed as Craft workers (as opposed to non-manual/ professionals) and while it was a bit sketchy at first, I was fine with compensation and was getting experience. We separated on good terms, I received a ROF with full severance Nov 2020. Throughout the next couple years I worked several part time jobs in the ESH field and relocated 5 hours away to an area with more work. Now that same company is hiring a non-manual/professional ESH Specialist. I applied Apr 24, and was contacted by HR on Thursday May 25 to schedule a Teams Interview with the hiring (construction site) manager and his deputy, HR proposed May 30 which fit my schedule so I accepted the interview (which should be tomorrow). Then Saturday May 27 at 3am I got an automated email telling me "the requisition noted above has been closed and you are no longer being considered for the role at this time." Of course being a holiday weekend there's no one in the office to reach out to about this.
Question: Has anyone managed a hiring program where something like this has happened, and should I try to reach out to the HR contact prior to the interview to see what's up and possibly not waste my or the hiring manager's time, or just attend the interview?

Do I have to be for the ultimate abolition of Capitalism to be a socialist? Is it not possible and or desirable to allow small businesses or autonomous regions to practice an alternate market system if the inhabtance so desire as a democratic majority as long as long as they dont act as a tax haven or brian drain? cannot as system provide accomadations for the ayn rand anarcho capitalist y types to exist independently as long as we make sure they do not exploit or enslave others?

Hello! Would like some advice please. Sorry I'm not sure if this is the correct way but here goes.
Income 120k annually Experian Credit Score 694 Spending about 6-7k monthly between necessary purchases/groceries/eating out/fun purchases and traveling for vacations 2-3 times a year.
Capital One Venture- 10K limit, primary everyday card including bill pay (opened 09/2022) Discover it secured- 200 limit, for monthly Netflix subscription only (opened 02/2023) Bank of America unlimited cash rewards- 2600 limit, for monthly gym subscription only (opened 04/2023) Citi American Airlines AAdvantage Mile up- 1k limit, for monthly spotify subscription only (opened 03/2023)
Also, I recently got approved for a Hawaiian Airlines Mastercard 15k limit ,which I was going to start to use as my everyday card. Should I be utilizing one card over the other? I do not usually let balances carry over, 3 of my cards are on autopay and I try to pay my primary card in full every month. I'm not sure if I have too many cards or if I should be closing one or more of them. Please advise and thank you in advance!

Why do players constantly push main? I seriously don't get it, there's usually a minimum of 2 alternative methods to reaching either point, payload, or push bot. But NEARLY everyone seems to have this unnatural, masochist drive to push main regardless of the situation. Then they'll proceed to fight at the choke point for minutes.
This is significantly worse when the enemy team runs bastion or a relatively decent widow. They'll run into the bastion, the literal dps that shreds health. Consider taking height, consider not pushing bastion, consider waiting until he's not an actual moble minigun that will, more than likely, annihilate you before you even pull that trigger. Hell, a pocket bastion + zen means do not push into him. Same with widow, abuse the potential of them lacking object permanence. Some people will forget about you if you're not actively in their LOS.
Regarding widow, do not shoot her venom mine if you intend on flanking her. It still tells her that you're, at the very least, nearby. If you are going to destroy it, then fine do so, but take another position to at least confuse her. Believe me, from bronze - plat you can abuse the hell out of people who do not pay attention to their surroundings.
The single most important piece of advice; switch. Waiting to use your ult just so you can switch, isn't always the best option if you're actively losing the match. If there's a phara, don't just wait for your second DPS to swap, you have to take the initiative, you can't expect your partner to do so because they're probably expecting you to swap. Take control of your games.
Be an opportunist, there's always 1 player in your match that isn't on their best game. Find them, constantly kill them. Why? You'll change a 5v5 into a 4v5 constantly, that will significantly increase your chances of winning. If it's a support, that's even better because more than likely, their support will waste resources and time to assist their own support. Now you've turned a 4v5 into a 3v5 and your enemy team is starving for support, heals, or damage/speed boost.
Be the threat not the victim. Let's assume you're a support player, even better, let's assume you're Ana. How many options to deal damage do you have? Is it just your rifle? Nope, you have your sniper and your anti-nade. For a large portion of the time, your anti-nade isn't going to be helpful to your team, especially now at 60 HP heals, that's useless. However, do you know what's more useful? Denying the enemy the chance to get heals, they'll either back off or die and that's what you want. You want to be the threat, be the inconvenience to the point that they'll overextend just to kill you.
Ignore the tank, as a support or dps player, don't always dump your resources on the tank because for a large percentage of the time. All that damage is getting healed, supports are addicted to healing their tanks and partially for their DPS (assuming their DPS isn't just railing your team on a Sunday), so ignore that tank, find that one dude who isn't paying attention to you and screw them over, bonus points if it's the support that's pocketing the tank.
Use cover, please, I'm begging you to not just stand out in the open. Try sticking near a wall or behind a car, so long as there's something between you and the enemy. You will not believe how useful it is to just hide behind a pillar while a DPS has a hard on for your eventual demise. Move around the pillar, make it hard for them to hit you.
Change angles when you're in an active exchange between someone. Combine this with using cover and you can, more than likely, bamboozle someone. The concept of changing angles can also maximize your threat level, not only can you find other ways of targeting the slacking player, but you'll make it more difficult for the other DPS to secure a kill if they can't consistently find you.
Have an escape plan if you plan on flanking, you need to know where you can safely escape to regroup, where your enemies can pop up, and more importantly what cheeky angles can you claim.
Health packs, they're scattered all over the map and you're more than likely near one at all times. If you're a DPS, please use them to ease how much resources/time your support has to use on you. If you're behind your support, find a health pack because the last thing you want is for your support to not be looking at their enemy and teammates and risk someone dying because they had to give you attention. It's so much easier to ask for this if you're at least in front of your support or within their LOS.
Speaking of LOS (Line of sight) something extremely important is understanding it. LOS isn't just "Can my Ana see me" but also "Can my enemy see me" a lot of abilities rely on LOS. If you can't see it, then it more than likely won't kill you.
Now, we need to understand how certain ults (ultimate) work and possible ways of countering or minimizing the damage that you may receive. I, by no means, am a professional. I ranked at diamond5 on console as support, but I have experience in Overwatch 1 and now Overwatch 2. So, here's the deal and let's start with some common DPS ults (excluding phara because let's be honest, you're either consistently eliminating her or constantly getting eliminated by her. It's really just a good luck situation, and no, it's not a skill issue verticality in OW is just horrendou)
Anyways, let's start with Junkrat and I'll be honest, you're probably not going to destroy his tire, so here's what you should do. Run away from your team, stay away from everyone but don't extend to the enemy side. If you can make Junkrat kill 1 person that's better than him getting a full team kill.
For 76, abuse cover to break LOS because again, his ability requires LOS and a frustrated 76 may will overextend to maximize his ult. That's fine, you can capitalize this assume you have someone nearby. The same applies to Cass, B.O.B, Blizzard (Mei not the company), Sojourn, and surprisingly Sombra's EMP
Reaper will, more than likely, wraith form his way into an ult or teleport. If you see this, just back off from him since you REALLY do not want to fight him up close to begin with.
Bastion is tricky since it really depends on what kind of bastion you're going up against. Most will full dump their ult in one spot in some small circle, for this, you'll have to be quick in response and just run. If you have a more patient bastion that tracks, this is when you'll DEFINITELY need to be on your A-game for reacting. Don't jump, just run forward, not backwards, please do not run backwards you're significantly slower when moving backwards compared to moving forward. Pick a direction, move there, watch where he's targeting and move the immediate moment you see red (or whichever color you see). Since it's a circle, you only really need to move in a straight line in either direction, again, make sure you're moving FORWARD. Do not stop moving, but do not move in a single, constant, direction. For example, move forward when the first artillery comes, then quickly move left or right with the second, move the opposite direction for the third. (If you're feeling cheeky and know bastion will dump a full artillery in one spot, you can give it a moment before moving, it's a really short moment so stick to your A-game)
Now, let's chat about Mei, Sym, and Torb. These three dominate metal ranks, bronze, silver, gold, platinum, diamond(?). For Mei, you do not want commit a push unless she used her wall. Now, assuming she's using her self heal, ice block or whatever, just ignore it and find something else to kill. Mei is effectively not a threat while in ice block, she does not exist until she comes out and by then you'd want to kill at LEAST 1 or 2 of her teammates.
Sym is like bastion, it depends on which one you're up against but, understand this, most players have repeatable habits, some good, some bad. You'll have a Sym that's solely dedicated to securing and preventing your team from securing point, push bot, or payload. Here's what you'll do, first figure out where Sym Sentry Turret is located (It'll either be all clumped up in one spot, or spread out). Next, find a different angle, Sym has 3 turrets and together they will shred you regardless of who you are, once you find them take it out ASAP. I'll make it an important note that this isn't law, overwatch is a game where a lot of odd things can happen, but if you have an opportunity do destroy the turret. Torb functions the same as well so the rule tip applies, find turret, eliminate turret, then eliminate Torb.
Now you might be saying, "But Kyeonji, what if Sym lasers me with a max out laser because nobody could stop her?" Or "What if Torb gets all angry and red and spew his shotgun sludge at me?" Well good question voice in my head, for Sym it's honestly going to be an aim and decision skill check. If her laser is max and you know this, keep distance and just rail her from there (assuming you have range, if not, switch to get range). If it's Torb, you'll have to either capitalize on your range, wait for overload to be on cooldown, or punish him after he uses overload. (You can also bait it by just getting some cheeky pokeshot, they'll usually pop overload when they're either half health or near death, when that happens you can full commit).
Now, as far as I know there are a couple of tanks that people have difficulties dealing with, so I'll list some counter plays for some tanks, but honestly they can be applied to most, if not, all tanks. For now, let's do Zarya. This one is very easy, don't shoot her bubble, or at least try not to constantly shoot it UNLESS she's near death. The moment she pops bubble, swap targets. Your teammate may not be aware of this, but as long as YOU don't contribute to Zarya damage boost, then you're at least minimizing how much damage Zarya will output.
Winston, oh boy this is a tough one. I'll be honest, you'll have to counter Winston most of the time, especially if it's a good Winston. Your average Winston will go after your support, this is when you'd NEED to back up your support. Winston is HEAVILY reliant on his jump skill, this is what you need to keep an eye on. If you see Winston jump, track him, find him, and punish him as quickly as possible. To better assist in this, try and stick near your support or preferably, suggest that your support swap to a more mobile one that can, hopefully, distant themselves from Winston.
D.va is a game sense check, typically you'll run into a somewhat repeatable D.va gameplay style. But, there's 1 thing you NEED to pay attention to and it's Defense matrix above all else. This will mess you up, deny some of your abilities, or downright make you useless. So, you'll have these options; you can either dump your abilities AFTER D.va defense matrix isn't being used, or swap to a Hero that D.va can't consistently deny abilities. Mei is a good option as her primary fire denies Defense matrix, it slows her down to make it easier to land headshots, plus wall can deny her escape. Other options include, Zarya, Rein, Winston, Sym, Echo (You'll have to time your abilities with D.va Defense matrix), Doomfist (You're gonna have to be really smart about this one, don't full focus D.va, but abuse her endless shotgun to max your rocket punch, you can also stun her out of bunny rocket), Brigitte (keep moving, swap between attacking and shielding to maximize your self-heal against her endless shotgun, stun her out of bunny rocket, rinse, repeat), Moira (keep moving, try not to rely too much on your orbs as she can deny it with Defense matrix, disengage if she uses bunny rocket if necessary, just don't risk it)
The remaining tanks that oppress others in metal ranks can be dealt with following these steps. Junker queen wants to get close to you or pull you to her, deny this by keeping distance and prioritizing her support, abuse cover if you're struck by jagged dagger, so instead of being pulled to Junker queen, you'll be pulled into a wall which is safer than Junker queen (although the wall won't dom you like Junker would so... Gotta sacrifice something for the W).
Orisa, same as Junker queen, prioritize support because you're probably not going to kill a fully pocketed orisa. If you can't reliably eliminate Orisa's support, then time your abilities with hers. What you're looking out for is mostly fortify, it's not worth dumping resources into it. Now, Javelin blocks both projectiles and melee damage, so you're either going to have to take that javeline, or swap to Sym, Mei, Zarya, Winston, Doom, or Brigitte to at the very least inconvenience Orisa during javeline spin. Why you may ask? Well, here's a list of abilities that Orisa javeline spin cannot block: Sentry Turret, Rocket Punch, Shield Bash, Swift Strike I wouldn't recommend relying on Genji to deal with Orisa), Accretion (You may find value with Sigma if Orisa keeps shooting at your kinetic grasp, but again, wouldn't really recommend), Deployed Turret (Insane right?), Petal platform (Get creative), and Immortality field (Helps if you have a Kiriko as protection suzu isn't protecting you from the javeline)
Reinhart, mister big boy, destroyer of galaxies, the big daddy. This one is easy, keep distance, Rein is mainly melee and really does want to close the distance. So, take height and unleash hell but don't shoot that shield, swap angles because you're just wasting both time and resources on something that, unless you're boosted by Mercy, isn't going away anytime soon, again you can ignore this if he's near death.
Ramatra, Sigma, and Doomfist. This one is tough, so let's start with Ramatra. Again, try to not dump your resources on the shield, ignore him while he's blocking unless he's near death. Ramatra, like Rein, also wants to fight you at close-range, so naturally you'll want to abuse range which also applies to his ult.
Sigma follows this as well, but he's more mid-range, instead what you're really looking for is the timing between Kinect grasp being online or offline, capitalize that moment and again, avoid shooting the shield.
Doomfist is where you're dancing with cooldown and movement. The Doomfist combo is rocket punch, hand cannon, melee. Of course, Doomfist has a lot of mobility so what you're looking for is the gap between his cooldown. If you can position yourself in an inconvenient position where Doomfist will either die due to being too deep into enemy line, or forcing him to expend all of his ability and having no escape. Like Ramatra, ignore him while blocking as to not boost his rocket punch. (Unless you can CC [Crowd Control] him with Sombra, Sigma's accretion, Rein charge, Javeline, Sleep dart, hook).
Anyways, this is a pretty long post. So I'll end it with this note. None of these is by any means an iron-clad law that must be followed, Overwatch isn't linear and every player is different. However, every Hero, including their abilities, has a weakness which is exactly why swapping exist. If your opponent isn't aware of these weaknesses, capitalize on it. Be aware of your surroundings, don't be afraid to swap if you're losing to another play. You can lose the battle, but at the end of the day you want to, hopefully, win the match. Don't be afraid of your opponents, make them afraid of you. Be the threat and make them submit. Good luck out there Heroes and if you found this helpful, share it with others. If you have questions, suggestions, criticism, then share them don't be afraid to speak your mind.