Hey again! Managed to get a part 2 finished this shift. I don't know how many parts this'll end up being, but it's fun to continue it. Anyway, enjoy, C&C always welcome!
​
***
Lugh was hammering at the forge, sweat just starting to bead on his forehead. He slammed his pick down, shaping the matrix core bit by bit. He struck hard and fast, his size belying the delicacy with which he worked. Baldr watched him from the equipment station, seemingly oblivious to the frustrated Durk working beside him.
“Is he always like that?” Baldr muttered to Durk, scratching at his beard.
Durk lifted his goggles, putting down his wrench. “Like what?”
Baldr shrugged. “Brooding? Menacing?” He turned his head, brown mane bobbing. “Was it something I said?”
Durk turned back to the bench, oil rag in hand. “What makes you think he’s ticked off?”
“I just get the impression he’s frustrated.” Baldr turned to watch Jurrum quaff another ale. “He seems the quiet type, but you can feel the heat coming off of him from here. Something’s digging at him.”
Durk sighed. He lifted his goggles, taking care not to muss up his sideburns, and looked Baldr in the eye. “Well,” he began slowly, “he is frustrated. At Mission Control, at you, and at the mission.”
“Is it because I’m a rookie?”
“Well that doesn’t help,” Durk muttered, shaking his head. “It’s what you said later that angered him.” Durk wiped his hands off on his chest plates, raising an eyebrow at Lugh. “When MC said your uncle was Karl- THE Karl- it gave us quite a shock. Do you know how many dwarves know his name? How many of us continue to work in his honour?” Durk shook his head. “Being left behind is the worst thing that can happen at Deep Rock. Now we’re being sent to retrieve what may be his remains and gear.” Durk sniffed, narrowing his eyes. “What an honour indeed…”
Baldr frowned, scratching his beard. “And?”
“And then you told us you never met or even knew him.”
Durk and Baldr turned, surprised to see that Jurrum had snuck behind them. For once his face was somber, the crags in his face like mountains. He burped, rubbing his mouth with his beard. “Karl is one of Deep Rock’s greatest reminders to stay together and work as a team.” Baldr raised a hand. “He’s also the poster dwarf for Skull-Crusher ale.”
Jurrum shrugged. “Aye, that may be. But as his nephew, you should know about what he means to us, and instead we learn you couldn’t care less.”
“Well, I mean-” Jurrum was already walking away. Baldr shook his head, eyes following the driller back to his seat. “Seriously? I get he’s a hero to you, but-”
“Family and clan, lad,” Durk said softly. “Family and clan and brother.”
They shared an uncomfortable silence, Durk returning to his tinkering while Baldr sat with his thoughts. It lasted until Lugh approached the table, core still glowing warm in his gloves. Lugh waved away Durk’s hand. “I’ll get it myself,” he growled. Durk let the table cycle his weapon back into storage before replacing it with Lugh’s minigun and moving aside.
Baldr couldn’t help but gaze at the weapon. Truly a veteran’s piece, Lugh’s Lead Storm minigun was beautiful. Glyphid teeth and hide were artfully placed at the muzzle of the rotary cannon, as well as around the mechanism and handle. The panelling was painted to match Lugh’s own armour, dark green slashed with olive in a semi-tiger pattern. The metal itself was highly polished, the barrels notched with what could only be kill counts. There were a few other ornamentations here and there; hanging crystals on leather thongs, inlaid precious minerals, and a phrase carefully etched onto the first ring of the barrels. Rock and Stone.
“Close your trap before you eat a flea,” Lugh broke Baldr’s musings as he ran Durk’s oil rag over the gun. He opened the top panelling of the gun with practiced ease, revealing the inner mechanisms. He had taken his gloves off, reaching for a screwdriver and the cooling core.
“Look,” Blade sniffed, crossing his arms. “I get that you’re upset. I’d hate to bring the team down, so I’m sorry for what I said. I just can’t help it, I didn’t know my uncle very well.” He sighed, and Durk could see in Baldr’s eyes some distant memories coming up. “All I know is everyone seems to use him as a symbol and I just can’t. I’m here to work, get paid, and kill some glyphid in his name. I promised my family- and myself- that much. But I don’t see him for the hero he was. I can’t. Otherwise I’ll be stuck in his shadow my whole life. I’m going to be my own dwarf. I was assigned this because of blood, but I’ll continue on after it because of heart. Believe that.”
Lugh had worked throughout Bladr’s speech, muscles in his forearms straining as he expertly worked the core into the gun’s innards. He hadn’t looked up once, focused on the task at hand. Durk’s eyes flitted between the two dwarves, and even Jurrum had wandered nearby, watching the two through his thick mole-eye goggles. Baldr simply face Lugh, face defiant, ignoring the other two. He had bet that Lugh was the team’s anchor, and if he could get Lugh’s blessing the team would welcome him. Yet now he had to stay honest and calm and, hopefully, earn his place. Jurrum and Durk would follow Lugh.
Lugh’s moustache rippled above his sly smile as the core clicked into place. He closed the panelling then wiped his hands on a nearby rag, eyes down. Baldr kept his expression calm, breathing even. Jurrum took a quiet step forward while Durk nervously played with his beard.
“Rock and stone,” Lugh broke the silence, unmoving. “That’s what we stand for. Rock and stone.” He turned his head, eyes hard as flint digging into Baldr’s. “Not just at Deep Rock, but as dwarves. No matter what happens, rock and stone. Karl was one of the first down on Hoxxes, one of the first to explore those depths, the first to get left behind. Was it because of the Skull Crusher? Who knows. Was he too slow? Did he get stuck? Did his team leave him?” Jurrum stiffened, Durk turned away. Lugh turned to face Baldr, looking down at the rookie. “Who knows? You, his nephew? His team?” Lugh shook his head as Baldr opened his mouth. “No one, greenbeard. No one. And I'll say this,” he leaned forward, face an inch away from Baldr. “Doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter if you’re his youngest nephew or his great grandson, all that matters to me is this- Are you for rock and stone?”
They stood there for a moment, eyes locked, Lugh’s hard green eyes on Baldr’s blazing brown. Durk and Jurrum shared a quick glance, tension evident.
Baldr stiffened his lip, straightened up, and reached to his belt. Hand wrapped around a solid handle, and with a quick move he drew the pickaxe and held it up. “Rock and stone!” He yelled, voice filling the rig.
Silence. Baldr stood there, sweat beading down his neck. Lugh didn’t move, eyes still on Baldr’s. Jurrum looked like he was about to faint.
I’m my own dwarf, Baldr thought to himself, Karl may be family, but I’ll make my own name. I won’t be left behind, and I won’t be like him. I’ll be ME.
Jurrum whimpered.
Then Lugh nodded.
The tension eased like a venting airlock, Durk letting out a deep breath and Jurrum visibly sagging. Lugh clapped a hand on Baldr’s shoulder, almost sending the rookie flying. “Remember that, youngest nephew of Karl. It doesn’t matter who you are or why you’re here, all that matters is that we’re rock and stone.”
“Well said, gunner.” The voice popped from the mission terminal, Mission Control appearing on the green holo. Durk jumped as the team moved towards the terminal, a new energy in their steps. “Rock and stone indeed. I do hope you don’t greet any more potential members that way, though; at Deep Rock Galactic we’re not about intimidation, we’re about the goods!”
“Aye,” Lugh put his gloves back on before running a hand through his mohawk. “The goods. What and where are they?”
“Like I said before,” Mission Control disappeared, Hoxxes appearing in the teal light of the holo. The planet spun before zooming in on one continent with a highlighted chunk. Numbers and statistics appeared around it, showcasing atmospherics and mineral deposit possibilities. “You’re going to the dense biozone, medium depth. We’ve located a series of deep caves through the before mentioned transponder, and that’s where we think the gear is likely to be. Likely, not guaranteed.”
“How about minerals?” Durk said, cracking his knuckles. “What sorts of goodies can we expect?”
“The usual from the region. Umanite, large readings of bismor and gold,” Durk let out a low whistle, rubbing his hands together. “But,” Durk froze, “it won’t be easy”.
“It never is,” Lugh grumbled, “specifics?”
“We can’t be certain, the radiation is making things a little foggy, but there’s the possibility of dreadnought activity. One of our teams recently returned from an excursion nearby, reporting monstrous glyphid activity, namely bulk detonator movements throughout the area.” Jurrum huffed loudly. Baldr raised an eye at Durk. “He hates anything that can blow up more than him,” Durk mouthed.
“Naturally, you’ll have to act fast. Hoxxes’ shifting will leave the region stable enough for only the next 36 hours, afterwards those caverns may reshape and change under the tectonic movements. This is vital team, not just for Deep Rock Galactic but for the dwarves back home. We’re counting on you. Arm up and get ready to go down there. Don’t forget, Deep Rock will grant a cut of your findings to your paychecks, as well as bonuses for finding the marked gear. Be smart, work together and be… well, careful. I’ll see you off when you ready the drop pod.” With a click, the lines closed.
“Did he mean to say safe?” Baldr asked, frowning.
“This is Deep Rock,” Jurrum grinned, teeth shining in the starlight from the window. “Safe isn’t in our vocabulary.” “Get your gear,” Lugh barked, hefting his minigun onto his shoulder. “We’re leaving in 10. Ammo and oxygen full, make sure your storage capacity is maxed. Durk, extra foam, we’ll probably need landing points. Jurrum, if you bring even one extra satchel charge I’ll make you eat it. Baldr,” He turned to the scout, “What’s your weapon of choice?”
“M1000 all the way,” He grinned, pointing to a badge on his shoulder. “Graduated training with full commendations for marksmanship.”
Lugh snorted. “This ain’t training, this is Hoxxes.” He turned towards his personal bay, hefting the gun like a sack of potatoes on his shoulder. “But good. The biozone’s big, we’ll need your range. Durk, make sure his cable’s got extra length.” Jurrum was groaning, gently patting a satchel charge while Durk fussed over Baldr’s gear. The equipment table whirred as it disgorged Baldr’s personal gear, fresh from the Deep Rock armoury. “You’ll need some optimization,” Durk mumbled, opening and checking the mechanisms of Baldr’s weapons. “Hm, ok, we can work with this. Completely unmodified is good…” He grinned savagely, “But I’m better. Come on, let’s forge your cores. Jurrum, get some ale ready, we’re gonna need it!”
--
8 minutes later they stood at the Abyss bar. Baldr couldn’t help but grin, thinking of his new gear. The longer barrel and magazine on his rifle added barely any weight, and the quick-load extra pellet shells jiggled weighty in his ammo pouches. Jurrum was licking his lips, hands hovering over his mug. A tap was held over it, Lloyd the bartender whirring above. Various liquids flowed through the tubes connected to his midsection, and his blinking eye stared expectantly at Jurrum. Durk was checking his watch, mumbling to himself while sneaking glances out the window at the planet below. The thump of heavy boots announced Lugh’s return from his cabin, and Jurrum squealed softly as Lloyd beeped.
“Lloyd,” Lugh’s eyes glanced over the beer list, eyebrows bouncing. He held a small pouch of nitra in his hands, and he tossed it up and down as he scanned. He nodded to himself. “Make it four Tunnel Rats.” Jurrum giggled with glee as the robotic bartender caught the nitra, and began pouring the ale. When all four mugs were full, he doffed his cap before hurtling into a panel with the nitra.
“Lads,” Lugh raised his tankard, the other dwarves following suit. “To a good mission.” “Here here!” Durk exclaimed.
“For Karl!” Jurrum yelled.
“For rock and stone!” Baldr said.
With furious gulping- followed by furious belching- the ale was knocked back. Wiping mouths with beards, the dwarves stomped to the hissing drop pod, clambering up the entrance ramp. Lugh flicked a switch on the side, opening the steel cage. The dwarves filed in, Jurrum and Baldr belting themselves in place while Durk double and triple checked the readouts. Lugh was the last to duck inside, tucking his helmet above his seat.
“You there, MC?” He tapped his mic.
“Always,” the voice fizzed over their communicators. “Not that management sees it that way, you should see our weekly memos. Anyway, the drop pod is set and ready for launch. Engineer, trust us, we triple checked.” Durk grumbled, pouting. He tapped a few more keys.
“Don’t forget, 36 hours. That’s all you get. I hope you came loaded for bear. The monstrous glyphid migrations will almost surely mean trouble for you. Molly has been loaded with extra oxygen and storage space. Be warned, any damage is coming out of your paychecks. You signed the waivers, don’t forget.”
“We’ll be fine,” Lugh rumbled. “We’ll get the gear back for you.”
“Management is looking forward to it. Great for publicity and marketing, and maybe now Karl will get a proper burial. Only took management this long to care… Rookie! Don’t forget, stick with your team and listen carefully to them. They’ll watch your back if you watch theirs. You may be the nephew of Karl, but we expect you to be working with us for longer. Don’t muck this up.”
Baldr’s face was a mask of determination, swallowed by his helmet. With the tap of a button, the goggles activated, turning the drop pod interior into a world of grainy colour and lines. “I won’t,” he whispered to himself. His gloves his his shaking hands as he steeled himself for his first, and possibly most important, mission. The drop pod rumbled, shaking in its harness. Lugh closed the steel grating, one hand on a grip above, as the ramp detached and the pod hung free. The dwarves heard the hiss of air as the airlock opened below them.
“Alright team. Prepare for drop. Coordinates set, engines primed. Good luck team, we’ll see you down there.”
“5.”
Durk smiled, eyes expectantly on the view screen.
“4.”
Jurrum adjusted his goggles and pot helmet before double checking his arm drills.
“3.”
Lugh did a quick once-over on his teammates, giving Baldr a sharp nod before swinging into his seat.
“2.”
Baldr gripped his restraints, heart hammering, focusing. He could do it. Not because of his name, but because he was his own dwarf.
“1.”
He hadn’t known his uncle. He wore the family name with pride, but he’d make one for himself. His own. He’d find the gear and lay Karl to rest before stepping out from the shadows.
He’d do it.
“Drop!” The pod dropped, sending Baldr’s heart into his mouth as they hurtled towards Hoxxes below.

Hello /fantasyfootball!
It's a beautiful morning evening for kicker projections. Let's get right to it.

Week 1 Results

I'm going to run through some of the surprise performances from last week.
#1 Wil Lutz - Projected: 9.959pts, Actual: 6pts
Well, that game did not go as expected. Welcome back, Fitzmagic. It's been a while, hasn't it?
I'm not going to lie to y'all. I thought there was a chance that Fitz could have a good game against the Saints. I never in my wildest dreams thought Ryan Fitzpatrick would be the QB1. This really screwed up my projection, as I figured the Saints would be in command of this game and work more for ball control-FG than have to gun for TDs in the late quarters. Thankfully the Saints do have a great offense and managed to get Lutz 6pts because it could have been much, much worse.
#3 Mason Crosby - Projected: 8.995pts, Actual: 7pts
Before I get into the kicker specifics, this was an incredible game. If you happened to miss it, go sign up for a free trial for NFL Gamepass and watch the whole thing. It's truly one of the best comebacks I've ever seen. Spoiler alert: Rodgers gets carted off in the 1st half and comes back in the 2nd to win it all.
Honestly, I had second thoughts about this ranking later in the week. I underestimated the impact of Khalil Mack, though I still thought that the Pack would be able to get enough offense going to get Crosby in range. Thankfully Crosby made the most of his opportunities and came away with a decent 7pt performance but this was ultimately a disappointing score total, especially given the other plays on the board.
#4 Daniel Carlson - Projected: 8.870pts, Actual: 7pts
Though the Vikings did come away with the W and Carlson avoided busting completely, this was ultimately a disappointing performance. The Vikings defense exceeded expectations, picking off Jimmy G three times and recovered a fumble for four total turnovers. This is what made Carlson such an enticing play. But the Vikings offense left a bit of meat on the bone, having one drive fall just short of field goal range and another drive where they opted to punt instead of attempt a 56 yarder. It ended up being the right call for the team, but cost Carlson a few points. It seems Carlson may have to earn the trust of the coaching staff before they allow him to make big kicks. Given the team's history with kickers, I'm skeptical that it will happen quickly, but I am optimistic that it will happen at some point given Carlson's pedigree.
#7 Matt Prater - Projected: 8.770pts, Actual: 3pts
This game couldn't have gone worse the for Lions. Not only did they get blown out at home by the Jets, but they got blown out in all three phases of the game. The one saving grace was that Prater still got attempts, but he simply could not convert on them. Prater is coming off a disappointing preseason as well. Until the Lions and Prater show that they can perform at a competitive level, abandon ship!
#8 Adam Vinatieri - Projected: 8.603pts, Actual: 12pts
Vinatieri was one of my top streamers for last week and he ended up doing quite well. He even lefts some points on the table missing a 55-yard attempt. The best news from this game is that Andrew Luck managed the game well for the most part, and should be able to dink and dunk the Colts into field goal opportunities for Vinny going forward. The Colts were efficient offensively and converted plenty of 3rd downs, but they struggled to find the end zone. The bad news is that the Colts defense really struggled to stop the run, allowing 5.1 yards per rush attempt. This is something that will come to bite Vinatieri in the butt when Colts are facing good teams on both sides of the ball. For now, Vinatieri is a guy you can play matchups with, but not someone you can count on every week.
#10 Jake Elliott - Projected: 8.565pts, Actual: 4pts
I think most of us caught Thursday Night Football, but in case you missed it, the Eagles managed to win a sloppy, sloppy football game. Uninspired play. Mental mistakes and the refs calling everything under the sun. If the Packers-Bears game was the zenith of football, this was the nadir.
The good news for Elliott owners is that the Eagles defense was stout all game. They kept Matt Ryan on his toes all game and decent job at stopping the run against a formidable Falcons offensive line. The Eagles run game was good as well, averaging 4.2 yards per rush attempt. The only negative was the pass game. Foles had a lot of inaccurate throws, including several that were nearly picked off. The good news there is that Carson Wentz will be back in a few short weeks, and Alshon Jeffery should be back in a few more. Though it was a disappointing start to the season for Elliott, the needle is pointing way up for him once this team is back at full strength.
#11 Robbie Gould - Projected: 8.533pts, Actual: 11pts
Another week, another time seeing Robbie Gould exceed expectations. In the Jimmy G era, Robbie Gould is still averaging over 13pts per game. That is a situation well worth your attention. If he is sitting on your wire, do yourself a favor a scoop him up. Though 13pts per game isn't likely to happen rest of season, Gould is still one of the best bets for 10+ points week in, week out and he has yet to score fewer than 8pts.
#13 Brandon McManus - Projected: 8.375pts, Actual: 13pts
Though the field goal and extra point volume was about in line with expectations, McManus crushed both of his attempts from long distance--from 51 and 53 yards--and he made it look easy. Kicking in mile-high conditions usually means good things for kickers, making McManus a very good stream play against bend, don't break defenses.
#17 Chris Boswell - Projected: 8.242pts, Actual: 2pts
Simply put, this game was bogged by weather. Boswell did have chance to win the game late in OT, but he missed wide left. Though it was only a 42-yard attempt and Boswell managed his extra points with aplomb, every additional yard makes a kick exponentially more difficult in heavy winds. So if happen to own Boswell, fear not. Better days are coming. Just remember to check the forecast next time before you decide to put him in your lineup, and pray that Big Ben's accuracy woes can be chalked to bad weather as well.

Week 2 Kicker Projections

Team	Kicker	Opponent	Time	Spread	O/U	Implied Total	Projected Score	Notes	PB rk
LAR	Greg Zuerlein	vsARI	Sun 4:05PM	-13.0	45	29.00	10.14	80F 5mph wind	1
NO	Wil Lutz	vsCLE	Sun 1:00PM	-9.0	49.5	29.25	10.02	DOME	2
SF	Robbie Gould	vsDET	Sun 4:05PM	-6.0	48	27.00	9.78	72F 5mph wind	3
DEN	Brandon McManus	vsOAK	Sun 4:25PM	-6.0	46	26.00	9.67	84F light wind	4
ATL	Matt Bryant	vsCAR	Sun 1:00PM	-6.0	44.5	25.25	9.56	DOME	5
WSH	Dustin Hopkins*	vsIND	Sun 1:00PM	-6.0	46.5	26.25	9.23	75F 8mph wind	6
HOU	Ka'imi Fairbairn	@TEN	Sun 1:00PM	-2.0	45	23.50	9.07	82F 11mph wind	7
PIT	Chris Boswell	vsKC	Sun 1:00PM	-4.0	52.5	28.25	9.00	80F 8mph wind	8
KC	Harrison Butker	@PIT	Sun 1:00PM	4.0	52.5	24.25	8.95	80F 8mph wind	9
PHI	Jake Elliott	@TB	Sun 1:00PM	-3.0	44	23.50	8.90	88F 10mph wind	10
TEN	Ryan Succop	vsHOU	Sun 1:00PM	2.0	45	21.50	8.86	82F 11mph wind	11
NE	Stephen Gostkowski**	@JAX	Sun 4:25PM	-1.0	45	23.00	8.85	87F 7mph wind light rain	12
BAL	Justin Tucker	@CIN	Thu 8:20PM	0.0	45	22.50	8.79	78F light wind	13
LAC	Caleb Sturgis	@BUF	Sun 1:00PM	-7.5	43	25.25	8.73	77F light wind	14
CHI	Cody Parkey	vsSEA	Mon 8:15PM	-3.5	43.5	23.50	8.71	77F light wind	15
CLE	Zane Gonzalez	@NO	Sun 1:00PM	9.0	49.5	20.25	8.45	DOME	16
JAX	Josh Lambo**	vsNE	Sun 4:25PM	1.0	45	22.00	8.44	87F 7mph wind light rain	17
NYJ	Jason Myers	vsMIA	Sun 1:00PM	-3	44	23.5	8.40	82F 6mph wind	18
MIN	Daniel Carlson	@GB	Sun 1:00PM	0.0	46	23.00	8.36	78F 7mph SSE	19
GB	Mason Crosby	vsMIN	Sun 1:00PM	0.0	46	23.00	8.36	78F 7mph SSE	19
CIN	Randy Bullock	vsBAL	Thu 8:20PM	0.0	45	22.50	8.29	78F light wind	21
IND	Adam Vinatieri*	@WSH	Sun 1:00PM	6.0	46.5	20.25	8.19	75F 8mph wind	22
CAR	Graham Gano	@ATL	Mon 1:00AM	6	44.5	19.25	8.06	DOME	23
DAL	Brett Maher	vsNYG	Sun 8:20PM	-3.0	42	22.50	8.06	85F light wind/DOME	24
OAK	Mike Nugent	@DEN	Sun 4:25PM	6.0	46	20.00	7.88	84F light wind	25
NYG	Aldrick Rosas	@DAL	Sun 8:20PM	3.0	42	19.50	7.86	85F light wind/DOME	26
DET	Matt Prater	@SF	Sun 4:05PM	6.0	48	21.00	7.75	72F 5mph wind	27
MIA	Jason Sanders	@NYJ	Sun 1:00PM	3.0	44	20.50	7.49	82F 6mph wind	28
TB	Chandler Catanzaro	vsPHI	Sun 1:00PM	3.0	44	20.50	7.49	88F 10mph wind	28
SEA	Sebastian Janikowski	@CHI	Mon 8:15PM	3.5	43.5	20.00	7.37	77F light wind	30
BUF	Stephen Hauschka	vsLAC	Sun 1:00PM	7.5	43	17.75	7.33	77F light wind	31
ARI	Phil Dawson	@LAR	Sun 4:05PM	13.0	45	16.00	6.75	80F 5mph wind	32

*There is a small chance that Hurricane Florence will head towards the DC area. I'm keeping Hopkins and Vinatieri where they are for now, which assumes some wind but nothing too serious. Most projections have the Hurricane coming inland and circling back for DC early next week, but there's a low probability chance that it heads up the coast. Keep a keen eye on the weather if you plan on starting either kicker for now. Here are current projected paths for reference: https://www.washingtonpost.com/resizeKKevZjEHRSsIH7s7foZOfRsW57Y=/693x0/arc-anglerfish-washpost-prod-washpost.s3.amazonaws.com/public/BMGMRH2SFEZNDCK2ZIQQYQLAXY.png.
**There is also a chance of high winds affecting the Jacksonville game. Stay tuned.
Week 2 brings nothing but warm weather and very few wind concerns EDIT: except for some hurricane gale force winds @WAS or @JAX. Stay tuned. It's not what you'd call traditional football weather, but it's great news for the kicking game. Warm weather means less air resistance, which makes kicking the ball accurately easier and the ball travels farther with the same amount of kicking force. It also means quarterbacks can throw the ball farther with accuracy. I'm expecting a lot of high scores this week though Vegas does not seem to agree.
Greg Zuerlein leads the way for week 2 just as he led the pack in scoring in Week 1. I'm a bit skeptical that Zuerlein will put up a big score due to the Cardinals defense being a shadow of its former self, but he has a tremendously high floor due to extra point upside. I have Zuerlein pegged at 10pts but it could easily be 13pts. But he could just as easily score 5-6pts. If you own him in season-long you're starting him anyway because of his long-term upside, but if you're chasing a big score in DFS or whatever, I'd look elsewhere.
Robbie Gould just keeps kicking 3-pointers as I mentioned earlier, and he gets to play the dumpster-fire, Matt Patricia-led Lions team. You know, the team that decided that keeping the same hand signals from last season was a good idea. Presumably, the hand signals will be different this week, but that won't stop the Niners from hanging beaucoup points on that putrid Lions defense. Gould should feast.
For my stream squad, I'm starting a ton of Brandon McManus. The Raiders defense sans Khalil Mack is a lot more kicker friendly, and I'm expecting McManus to fully reap the benefits.
You'll find Stephen Gostkowski and Justin Tucker uncharacteristically low in the rankings, but that doesn't mean they're not good plays. In fact, there's a good chance that they're among the leaders this week. They just have a lower floor than they typically do, but they're still good gambles.
One kicker that I haven't mentioned anywhere yet is Cody Parkey. He's a guy I'm bullish on this season due to Matt Nagy's arrival in Chicago. Nagy has historically done a good job of getting his kickers field goal opportunities and I'm expecting that to continue to the be the case all year. The only issue is that I'm not sold on Cody Parkey's accuracy. If you're in a deep format and none of the top options are available, Parkey should be a good dice roll pretty most weeks as long as there isn't severe weather.
I've partnered with Draft for the season to help generate some funds to launch my website. If you haven't checked out draft.com yet, they're a DFS site with a unique twist. Instead of using salaries, they use traditional snake drafts for all of your contests just like most season-long leagues. I've played a few contests and it is quite fun.
If you haven't tried out draft yet, sign-up and deposit with my link here and you'll get a bonus $3 entry www.draft.com/jaywillyff. After you deposit, shoot me a DM and I'll send you my rest of season rankings
If you want to help support my work and you've already signed up for draft.com, you can also PayPal fundraiser and I'll send you a copy of my rest of season rankings. Whatever they're worth to you. Every bit helps! https://www.paypal.me/jaywilly
For those of you who donated to my fundraiser last week, I can't thank you enough. Thank you for helping me get one step closer to achieving my dream of launching my own fantasy site.
For an alternate viewpoint, check out subvertadown's K rankings at the link below. He's doing some really cool work with kickers and defenses that is well worth your attention.
https://www.reddit.com/fantasyfootball/comments/9fjd0y/oc_and_heres_the_kicker_updated_streaming_numbers/
Apologies for the wait, folks! Hopefully it was worth it as this is by far the most in-depth article I've ever written.
As always, let's have another great discussion in the comments.
Best of luck, all!

Diclaimer: Incomplete!
Start from Scene 1 https://www.reddit.com/RWBY/comments/fde7nc/choose_you_own_template_adventures_rwby_midnight/ Or don’t I’m just a sign.
To start from this scene (how would I stop you?)
Choose one of the four following hashtags (if you wanted context) that ended scene 2
LuckotheDraw A very certain and circular logic brought you here. You may also use Adversarial Options and every item even if you don’t have it. Spoiler, that won’t be helping directly. If you could only warn the others.
LemonDOOM The very real and present danger of a lemon based apocalypse has presented itself. It also may or may not be your fault. You may not use the option #1 this whole scene. This is it...This is lemend game.
MysteriousMysteries Isn’t that like a double negative or something? You’ve been noticing interesting new patterns if you could only just find a nexus. Whoops, you cannot use any character options this whole scene.
TheAdventuresOf So there’s that. You are the characters you ended scene 2 with. If you are starting here choose two characters instead of one. You can use all their abilities unless...for some reason...you were instructed not to.
Unless otherwise instructed above or before, Choose a character from this list Ted, I can put all the characters here If I want to but I found this am using
You have items you ended scene 2 with. If you are starting here unless instructed above or before choose one item from this list Treats, Deck, Marker, Lemon, Chalk, Partyhat, Whichcraft, Alarm, Duct, Tape, BFID
If you are already Adversarial or accept this one time limited bonus offer to add that to your options go ahead and resolve this, If there’s anybody out there who can here this guitar, I’ve got some opposition for ya if you’re looking to spar. I’ve got the brand new hit rendition bout the worsening condition of the status of our human race as we erase our vision. It’s a logical decision when you look at all that trash and while you may now see it now, your in the shadow that it’s cast. (Reveal the LuckotheDraw)
If you are playing as TBD and only TBD reveal this spoiler, congrats, you are Penny, Duh. If you were adversarial you aren’t any more but you wasted time singing a song. You are going for the speed run, go ahead and reveal and apply the other three scene 2 endings above but be careful, one wrong move and you won’t be winning this round.
Scene 3 The One Before You Get Complete Instructions
& >!Call it a hunch but you think there is more going on here than meets the eye. You’ve gone inside as if by choice. The roar of this rain is unlike anything you’ve heard before. Could you even hear a lightning strike in this weather? The snarl of a grimm in the common room and a shriek overreachs the thunder.
#Ruby. Silver eyes ®
#Adversarial/Romanand/orNeo. Clumsy me I seem to have dropped my wallet and um... BFID card on the ground let me just grab those. (XI)
#Ted. Hi I’m- (T)#Alarm. Alarm! (A)
#Lemon. Lemon! (L)
#Treats. I shouldn’t have these
#1. Wait for a lull and head back out. (1)
#2. Prioritize securing the common room. (2)
#3. They’ll probably be fine. (3)!<
® Huh, that’s weird there is no profit from obscuring this. This should be studied for research and educational purposes. Used fairly, so to speak.
A. This was less helpful than you originally imagined it would be. The Pumpkin Pete Branded Alarm Clock had very lengthy instructions and there may have been a terms and conditions you didn’t read either. This mechanism normally sends you back to the beginning of scene 1. Why anyone in their right mind would do that now is beyond you. The very cosmos shudders to contain what would happen if someone taped down the buttons. 1#. However, no one is that dumb. #Jaune. The users guide was written entirely in limericks, those people are geniuses. (J) #Paradox. slowly remove the tape while looking sheepishly around for the narrator. (PPP) #2 Maybe you were just unlucky. (Q)
J Man I can’t wait for an english version! #2. It’s too bad we had to leave that thing behind. (You may use Tape, Alarm, and Duct options)(3)
J! What? I was here too…I gave me this. I said it was urgent... #Jaune. This will work, trust mes. (A-123) #Jaune. I want to get out Mr. Bones wild ride. (A-12) #Weiss. I think I see where this is going. (A-12)
K ing me! Or Queen I mean, I think?! (No input or output directions)
L. You were more confident this would do something before you did it. Invoking the mysterious powers of the lemons reliably moved you around campus in the past but now instead of attending to whatever is going on in the common room, now the kitchen, now the common room again, okay she’s getting dragged up to the tower. Anyways, suffice to say that was still a bad time to use the lemon even if you knew what it did. Maybe you were just unlucky. (Q)
P. Congrats! You created - Pumpkin Pete’s Paradox – This is figuratively a time bomb. You aren’t sure why you made it but you’ll be damned if you aren’t proud of it. (You no longer have Duct Tape or Alarm options)(You may use Paradox options)(A-1)
PPP. Now you have Tape and an Alarm and try to remember to stay away from ducks. (You may use tape and alarm options.) 1# I guess when life gives you lemons ...(3) #Paradox. Um... options? (P)(The other P)
Q. Just my luck. What sort of convoluted twist of fate could possibly make me deserve that? Better lock up my items before I lose...Any...Oh...This is bad. (Lose all your items)(7)
R. Insert Special Character: ®
O. UI
W. A giant and apparently french Le monster reduces the common room to rubble. Well that’s one way to do it I guess #Jaune. Jaune! (J!) 1# The room formerly known as common is now secure. (3) #2. No one appears to be injured and the grimm are hiding from the monster Lemon, Oh- hmm(5)
WW. Hi I’m- #Ted. - (WWW) #leMap. Point to france. #1. Ted (WWW) #2. Uncomfortable silence. (WWW-2)
WWW What did you say your name was? #Ted. Ted. (Z) #1 I said Ted, what a weird place. (Z) #2. T. E. D. What more do you people want? (X) #3. Stick a fork in me, I’m done. (Z)
W2 Weiss’s finishing move. If you defeated someone in a fair engagement, they are now your ally. (You may use NoTed options, neither a character nor an item but it seems to work like either neither or both as desired.) (T1000)
T. You have an odd feeling of not quite belonging and yet no one seems disturbed by your presence. #Ted. Perfect or Terrible or perfect and terrible? (MM) #1 You screwed up. (T1) #Adversarial. You screwed up big time. (LD) # Want to see a magic trick? (T9)
M You give into the the confusion. (SilentKnight)
MM Reveal the MysteriousMysteries spoiler above and resolve it, then proceed back (T)
LD Reveal the LemonDOOM spoiler above and resolve it, then proceed back (T)
T1 Reveal the LuckotheDraw spoiler above and resolve it, then proceed back (T)
T9 Go to scene 2 A. Yes really.
T1000 You do not question the partyhat on your head. (You’ve earned the Festive option, You are welcome to do as you please within the confines of this game.)
One (I just found this formating error, this was not intended to be invisible) You wonder how things could possible seem worse but just as you go outside the deluge abruptly ceases and the sun could be seen halfway across the horizon casting a rainbow seemingly into the courtyard. The ground still sodden reflected a glistening gradient from crimson through orange to patches of radiant purple inverted at eye level. Surprised to have to squint a shockingly dark storm cloud by contrast was just now moving over the academy. #Anycharacter. Huh. (11-7) #Qrow. Huh. (Q) #Zwei. Did they win yet (11)?
X. Mistakes are just opportunities to improve. #Ted. Okay (Z) #1. Okay (Z) 2#. Okay (Z-6/7) #TBD. Revert to last checkpoint (3)
XI Jackpot! High five! Who wants icecream? Qrow’s treat! #1 I do, I win (®) #6Adversarial (6) #7Romanand/orNeo. (7)
XII No. Nora. No. #Ren. (8)
XIII Silence. #Blake/Shadowclone. (9)
Y. Sounds like somethings about to go out with a Yang. (2) #Blake. They can handle themselves. (3)
Z. You speak french? Well please point out France on a map. #Lemap. Right here. (ZZ) #Anycharacter. Just point out england for reference. (ZZ) #Zwei. “Bark” (52) #6 (6-2) (54) #7 (7-2) (52-2)
ZZ. Oh um...I bet you have a lemon- wait no #noLemon. It doesn’t matter but (52) #Qrow. I actually don’t have a lemon. (ZZZ) #NoTed. And what exactly would that prove? (ZZZ)
ZZZ That has to be bad for you somehow! Doesn’t it? #BFID. Bad for someone, I guess. (4) #Lemon. Does this look like a lemon to you? (1) #Zwei. Show them your lemon dog. (10000) #Festive. I well and truly have no idea. (10000) #SpeedRunners. (S)

1. GOOD The ground is drying exceptionally fast #anyitem (21) #anycharacter (21) #1 (21) #6 (22) #7 (ZZZ)

Two. The comon rom short for the common room. Sometimes haste is required. #Weiss. Haste makes waste so Gigas, Smash! (W) #1 Area secure (3) #Anycharacter. That was easy. (3)#Treats. I immediately regret this decision. (5) #2 Why...Why would you do zis? (Z)

1. GOOD #1 Chalk one up for the good guys (W) #2 I want that other option (22)

22 NOT AS GOOD Chalk it up anyways! HashtagFreeRomanand/orNeo (51)
Three Sometimes you have to remind yourself what strange company you keep. At worst that’s like...a couple Grimm forced indoors from the weather and this is a grimm meat grinding facility, if they even had meat. There are more pressing matters to attend to. #ChalkPartyhatAndWhichcraft. I hope this works. (W) #DuctTapeAndAlarm. Don’t fail me now. (P) #DeckMarkerTreats. Hehehe. (53) #1. There’s only one place you need to go (31). #2. There’s only one person you need to find (8). #3. There’s only thing you require. (9) #TBD. That makes three (X) #6 How droll. (6-67) #7. Pardon me. (7)

1. GOOD Okay we just need a special map and qrows ID card. Oh for goodness sake please deposit all of your lemons somewhere else for safe keeping. No names, no number 1, and if it isn’t a Beacon Faculty Identification Card I don’t want to see it out of your pockets. #2 Let’s go!(8) #Weiss. A moment of your time, if you please. (66)

4 It’s an old code, but everything checks out…Oh you know what I mean. (S) (Speedrunnerz)
5 Lemonster can be left to remodel the place (P) (Perpetualade)
51 HA, That will keep them occupied. Just alittle more time (1)
52 Zwei has at least one playing card and... Oh great, A lemon. Good boy? Yes, good boy. Zwei is not an item but he also does not appear on the character list… #NoTed. This isn’t the time to fall asleep. (X) #2 What a strange game. (You may now use Lemon and NoTed option) (ZZ) or (ZZZ)
53 You have successfully marked a card with all purpose treats. #1You are still working out how to use this to your advantage (3) #2 Mark everycard-WHAT WHY?- (54)
54 This took awhile, honest. (Fullyoverstacked)
6 This is a trial version. Opposition Initiated. Combat Ready. Penny is launching an attack. J’accuse! #Zut, Zut, (Z) 1# uhh lore is a...uhh complicated topic. (Z) #anyitem. Crude. (Z) ###Just go to Z (Z) #2 “Counter J’accuse!” (66) #67Zwei. “Bark!” (67)
66 #1. Parry jacusse! (61) #anyitem. Thrust jacusse! (61) #anycharacter. Repost Jacusse. #Zwei. Get’em boy! (31)
61 What a match! Who know Ted was- Wait a second...who knew Ted? #Weiss. Now you get to see my finishing move. (W2) #Ted. Hey, that’s me! (T) #NoTed (T1000) #Mysterious. I am giving myself the authority to use this. (M)
67 Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, that was A- May-Zing. (10000)
7 Oh, I didn’t see you there. I mean just kidding. Admit it, I almost got you. I found your ID, whoops I dropped it. (You may use BFID options) #Romanand/orNeo. Scatter! (51) #Qrow. That’s what I thought. (2) #1 Sounds like the storm is passing (1). #2 Consider the lemonade industry less carefully. (5) Zwei “Bark” (52)
8 Yeah? What? (Z)
9 >!Oh, here it is, numbers larger than nine appear to be approaching infinity at an alarming rate. #1. Seek shelter… (LD) #2. Let’s call that one a whoopsie (2000000). #3 Umm(150000)! #4<
S Speedrunnerz Proceed to Scene 4
P Perpetualade Proceed to Conclusions
Fullyoverstacked Proceed to Conclusions
10000 (9-2)MagrickTic Proceed to Conclusions
150000 (9-3)MagrickTik Proceed to Conclusions
2000000 >!MagrickTok Proceed to Conclusions!>
A SilentKnight Proceed to Conclusions
Conclusions Are currently located in the comments section
>!Proof of purchase !< This part is broken on purpose but I may not be able to see real errors so please notify my of mistakes or changes you want to see correct.

Hi guys, I just read all the Football Leaks articles on Spiegel so far and made a bit of a summary, since I am sure most of you don't want to read everything (the summary is still long, but way shorter than the articles, believe me).
So for who is not informed, German newspaper and investigators Spiegel, together with lots of other newspapers did investigate and research the (second part of the) documents they received from Football Leaks, a portuguese hackergroup. This is 3,4TB of data which means about 70 million documents. They published the first articles, but there are many more to come in the next few weeks. More coming also on the topics doping, betting fraud and racism.
​
Man City:
In 2013 former French President Nicolas Sarkozy tried to raise money with the help of ManCity president Khaldoon Al Mubarak. A year later when ManCity was investigated by UEFA for FFP violation, Al Mubarak asked Sarkozy for help, who spoke with FIFA president Infantino. In the last 7 years Abu Dhabi has injected €2.7 billion into ManCity. In 2016 Infantino chose to directly negotiate an agreement with ManCity, and therefore bypassing the investigating chamber of UEFA. Between 2009 and 2011 ManCity has made a loss of €451M. ManCity threatened to take legal action against UEFA, if they would make them pay a penalty. 2014 the president of the investigating company of the UEFA recommended to exclude ManCity from the Championsleague. Infantino intervened and negotiated with City manager (and ex Barça VP) Ferran Soriano. Infantino actually told Soriano that he should make a proposal for the fine they would have to pay, so that it looks like FFP is still intact. In the end they settled on a $60m fine, which then Al Mubarak refused to pay. Infantino intervened again to make the fine drop to 20m, which UEFA investigating chamber initially refused to agree to. PSG was angry that ManCity's fine would be lowered, so the UEFA president promised PSG that their fine would also go down to 20m, while lying to Abu Dhabi that PSG's fine would be much higher than theirs. Since that agreement ManCity have spent €700m on new players. ManCity Secretary General Simon Cliff wrote after the death of one of the investigation chamber members in an email "one has fallen, there are six left."
EDIT (05.11.18): Additional Info
The year FFP was introduced, ManCity spent 9.9M pounds too much, apparently because of the termination of Mancini's contract. The only solution according to an Email where Chief Financial Officer Jorge Chumillas wrote "an additional amount of Abu Dhabi sponsorship revenues, that covers this gap". CEO Ferran Soriano suggested having sponsors pay the amounts they have to pay for the victory of the FA cup, even though ManCity had not won the FA cup. Ten days later many different apparently according to City "fully independent" sponsorship deals were adjusted, Etihad paying 1.5M more, Aabar 0.5M more, and the tourism authority 5.5M more than the deals they negotiated at the begin of the season. When Chumillas asked Simon Pearce if the dates of the sponsorship deals could be modified the answer was "of course, we can do what we want". Already in 2010 ManCity made a 15M deal with Aabar, who according to an email from Simon Pearce would only pay 3M, the rest comes from quote "his highness" (the sheikh). In December 2013 Pearce wrote that Etihad's (mainsponsor) contribution is 8M. According to the contract it should have been 35M. In 2015 Etihad officially had to pay 67.5M pounds per year, but inoficially they were still paying just 8M, the rest coming from the Abu Dhabi United Group, who give companies like Etihad the money to then give it to ManCity, so that everything appears in order.
Edit (06.11.18): Additional info from a new article
Another plan get Abu Dhabi money to the club was called "Project Longbow" (because the English used longbows to beat the French [in this context UEFA president Platini] at Crecy and Agincourt). This meant using parallel companies like Fordham to outsource the cost of image rights. 2013 ManCity sold the image rights of the players to the company that would later be called Fordham Sports Image Rights, which is attached to a company in the British Virgin Islands. This way money from Abu Dhabi could be injected. Officially Fordham paid players, without receiving anything themselves which UEFA investigators found suspicious, ManCity claimed that Fordham is an independent company and they don't know their business plan but agreed to the deal because it came at a good price. ManCity have recently stopped selling the image rights of their players, but Fordham still exists and has made in 2017 total losses 75M pounds.
Edit (07.11.18): Additional info
Pep Guardiola signed the contract with ManCity already in October 2015, 2 months after his last season with Bayern started. His salary in his first season with ManCity was 13.5M pounds, in his second it is 16.75M. Several weeks later a journalist from Sunday Mirror wrote that Guardiola has met with ManCity director of football Txiki Begiristain in Barcelona to discuss a possible deal. At this moment the deal was already long signed. ManCity then said this is wrong information and told the newspaper to remove the article. ManCity also compiled a riskreport on a potential sponsor called Arabtec, who have a terrible human rights record in UAE. Their marketing team advised them to not accept the deal, because it would let City appear in a bad light, but they went through with the deal anyways, but made it only a regional deal, in those countries were democratic values and human rights are not always a priority.
Edit (10.11.18): Another part
Since 2010 Manchester City has invested over a million euros a year in the so called "Right to Dream Academy" which has it's locations in African countries like Ghana. These children get a good education, but have also to work and travel a lot, and some around the age of 10 for example said that they have only time to call their parents on weekends, because their training schedule is so packed. Manchester City documents are referring to that invested money as "venture capital". The main point is not to have them at some point play for Manchester City's first team, but to loan and sell them, to make profit. After FIFA implemented new years in the last years, ManCity had to make changes at that academy, for example the Academy leader has taken control over a Danish team called FC Nordsjaelland, so that the academy players from Ghana can come to Europe through that club. There is an agreement that the Danish club can't sell Right to Dream Academy players without ManCity's permission. For being the third party club in that affair, they get 25% of the transferfee.
Edit (10.11.18): Now this should be the last part about ManCity
In 2015 City tried to get De Bruyne for 50M, but VW Wolfsburg didn't want to sell, because Volkswagen doesn't need the money. ManCity were pressuring them and ultimately they sold him for 75M. A year later they both Bayern and ManCity tried to get Sané, but ManCity offered to 20 year old a salary of 24.5M pounds over 3 years. Spending money like that was possible because they were able to increase and back-date sponsoring contracts with companies from Abu Dhabi at will. Also the TV money helps, last year they received €170M from the league, which is for example 75% higher than what FC Bayern gets. This helps making it possible paying salaries like €11M/year for Gündogan or >18M for Aguero.
Already in 2009 they were studying how to make the most profit and came to the conclusion that it's not enough to own just one club, but instead create a global network of subsidiaries which makes it easier to bring in profits. Back then Roberto Mancini signed 2 contracts on the same day: as coach for ManCity and as "adviser" to the Al Jazira Sports and Cultural Club in the Arabian Gulf League, both clubs owned by Sheikh Mansour. ManCity paid him a salary of 1.45M pounds, but the Abu Dhabi club paid him an even higher salary extra of 1.75M per year.
To create such a network, they not only own Manchester City, New York City and Melbourne City but have also stakes in league teams in Uruguay, Spain and Japan. Also they have cooperation agreements with clubs in Scandinavia and with an African Youth academy. Uruguay because there are many quality footballers & the local teams have limited budgets, also they didn't need to pay any taxes on the profits from player transfers. The investment in Girona is so that ManCity's academy players can develop and play in competetive men's football.
In 2008 City was bought for 100M pounds, in 2015 a Chinese media company bought 13% of the stakes of the City Football Group for 265M pounds, which shows that the value of ManCity has increased by a factor of atleast 10 in the last 7 years and Sheikh Mansour believes that there can be created a way higher value from football than what has been established until now.
​
PSG:
PSG received in total €1.8 billion from Qatar. They were also close to being excluded from UCL, but Platini and Infantino covered it up. Nicolas Sarkozy told Emir of Qatar Tamim Al-Thani in a meeting in 2010 that if he bought PSG & launched a sports channel in France (BeIN Sports), that he would instruct Michel Platini to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup.
Edit (07.11.18): Mbappé's transfer to PSG
Contract details about Mbappé at PSG are revealed. In the summer 2017 he nearly signed for Real Madrid, who offered €180M. His father was worried about the competition he would have at Madrid with forwards such as Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale. At the beginning of August he then told Monaco he would sign for PSG, who also agreed to pay 180M. The contract demands were 5M upfront and a salary of a total of 50M net over 5 years. Also he would receive an extra 30k/month to pay for his personal staff. He also demanded that in case he would win the Balon d'Or, his salary would rise so far, that he is the highest paid PSG player (more than Neymar). PSG refused. In case PSG would be excluded from UCL because of FFP, Mbappé's family wanted a monetary compensation. Monaco's owner received €124M out of the deal. The strange thing is that portoguese superagent Jorge Mendes (who is not Mbappé's agent) also received atleast 7.25M out of the deal. Spiegel are not exactly sure, but they say documents hint, that it might be for playing up the speculation that he would sign for Real Madrid, to increase his price.
Edit (10.11.18): Racism at PSG's scouting department
PSG had a recruitment policy which lasted from 2013 until Spring of this year, which discriminated against ethnic minorities at youth academy level. An example is when a talent called Yann Gboho was 13, PSG did not make an offer, only because he is black. The scout rated him highly, but he wasn't signed by the club after a meeting between people working at PSG's academy, because of his skin color. Until Spring 2018 the scouts had in their scouting documents to note the "origin" of players between the 4 categories: French, Maghrebi, West Indian and Black African. A PSG scout agreed to Mediapart that it should say white rather than French, because all the players they scout are French. PSG doesn't want them to sign players born in Africa, because you can't be sure of their date of birth, he said.
Note: After this was leak was published PSG made a comunicado, confirming the use of these scouting forms with illegal contents which were instituted on the personal initiative of the head of this department. They condemn all forms of discrimination and racism and already made an internal investigation at the beginning of last october to understand how such practices could exist and to decide on the necessary measures to take.
General:
In the coming weeks they will reveal the positive doping tests (note: plural) of a worldclass player who won the Championsleague multiple times. (Note: not many fit that criteria except Real Madrid players and some Barça players). Also the tax avoidance models of some EPL titans.
​
European SuperLeague:
The developments of a possible European Super League are more advanced than we thought. There is a binding term sheet thought to be signed this month. Started was this project by Bayern president Rumenigge. This would include 16 clubs. Bayern did already make research if the law made it possible to leave Bundesliga to join a Super League and also if they could forbid their players to play for the nationalteam. This would mean that these clubs wouldn't be part of Championsleague or National Leagues like La Liga anymore, and have every week a game against another European giant. This would totally mess up the balance between big and small teams in Football, and would overall be a disaster for Football. UEFA obviously trying to avoid this is heavily pressured and even blackmailed by ECA and the top clubs, which did lead to a reform, which allots greater revenues to those clubs that have found success in the last 10 years in the Champions League and Europa League. This means that there is less money for Europaleague and therefore smaller clubs .The reform also gave the ECA 4 director slots in a company joined with UEFA (one of which ex Barça board member Raul Sanllehi will fill), which will oversee all deals the UEFA makes. Bayern director Gerlinger who was the most essential person in all of this says the Super League was a possibility but is "as far away as ever". Meanwhile Real Madrid received on Octover 22 an email titled "Draft of an Agreement of the 16", which included the binding term sheet to create the Super League, which would be a breakaway from UEFA and the national leagues. This draft includes 11 founders (Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Manchester United, Juventus Turin, FC Chelsea, FC Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester City, FC Liverpool, AC Milan and Bayern Munich) who have secured membership for 20 years, and 5 guests (which would initially be Atlético Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Olympique Marseille, Inter Milan and AS Roma). The competition would have two phases: a group round and a knockout round. A company in Spain would be registered to make this possible. Shares of this company would be distributed: Real Madrid holding 18.77 percent, Barcelona 17.61 percent and Manchester United 12.58 percent. Bayern Munich would be the fourth largest shareholder at 8.29 percent.
​
More about Infantino:
Infantino also was vital that half of the money FIFA made would be distributed to the Associations in advance, without any control about what they would do with it (so that he would get reelected). In 2017 the investigators investigating Infantino were replaced by María Claudia Rojas, who has no experience in investigating, and is a good friend to the notoriously corrupt president of the columbian federation. She immediately cleared Infantino and did say that there are no investigations against him. After that also the FIFA code of ethics was changed (for example the word corruption disappearing). Rinaldo Arnold, a Swiss public prosecutor, is also a good friend with Infantino, who called him capo ("boss") in an email and who assured Infantino that the investigations wouldn't be against him and even offered to have the attorney general to publicly state that.
​
Edit: Added information from a new Article on 05.11.18
International Champions Cup (ICC):
A confidential document between Relevent Sports (note: the company organizing ICC and also want to have the Barça Girona game in the US) and FC Barcelona reveals how much money teams to play these friendlies: $3.25M per game. For the game against ManU there was a bonus of 750k, and for the Clásico in the USA a bonus of $6.5M. That's nearly $14M net for a week playing in the US with 3 games. In that contract were clauses: "if Messi didn't play for atleast 45min, Barça would receive 750k less, if Neymar didn't play 600k less, for Suárez 450k less".
According to Spiegel the chairman of Relevent Sports, Stillitano, has been trying for years to convince the biggest European clubs to play in a league, in which the best play against eachother. His goal is also to create a Superleague and lure them by showing them how big and plentiful the global revenues are.
​
Edit: Added information from a new article on 05.11.18 (info by Mediapart via @GFFN)
AS Monaco:
Apparently the AS Monaco owner and Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev attempted to hide a massive, illegal amount of funding into the team with a fictitious marketing contract and through the involvement of a series of offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong. Over the time of 2 years he invested a total of €326M, which does violate the FFP. In 2014 a marketing deal was agreed to, that was in reality a yearly sum of €140M by Rybovlev. This deal did then later fell through, because the Dutch head of Swiss-based sports marketing agency had a disagreement with him and threatened to reveal the scam to UEFA. The Investigatory Chamber of UEFA did find some disturbing things, when going through Monacos finances, but the head of UEFA's FFP program Andrea Traverso did agree to help prepare the club for their Investigatory Chamber hearing.
By 2014 Monaco had made losses of €170M over 3 years. Because of their tiny city, they did not receive much money from ticket sales and sponsorship deals. Monaco's marketing director suggested to the president to build a close relationship with Platini, without "giving the slightest indication" that Monaco is violating FFP. Monaco made a marketing deal with AIM, which gave the agency the right to manage sponsorship and marketing for the club, but if Monaco did not make €140M per year revenue, AIM would have to pay the difference. The year before this deal Monaco had a total income (without TV money) of €14.4M, which would mean AIM has to pay €126M, which obviously is an absurd deal to make for AIM. This made Monaco have an income of 11m instead of losses of 116m like the year before. A company registered in the British Virgin Islands called City Concept Ventures "surprisingly" agreed to invest in AIM €140m for 10 years, exactly what they would have to pay to Monaco. The agency of AIM founder de Roos did receive €2.2M for participating in the scheme. This way the Monaco owner was able to put money into the club, through sponsorship contracts. This deal then later fell through, because Rybolovlev had fallen out with Prince Albert of Monaco and decided to stop investing into the club and therefore selling their players. UEFA never discovered this attempted scam.
​
Edit (06.11.18): Added information
Russian Clubs
Zenit St Petersburg, Dynamo Moscow & Lokomotiv Moscow all artificially inflated sponsorship contracts in order to avoid FFP sanctions & UEFA were complicit in this practice.
Edit (07.11.18): Added from a theblacksea.eu article
Zenit is owned by Gazprom, who pumped €113M into the club in 2012. UEFA was investigating in this. Zenit told them, that Russia's league has not the ability to generate revenues like European leagues and if they would have to comply with FFP, they would need to sell their best players. This would be very bad for Russia ahead of the world cup in 2018. UEFA seemed to accept that argument, because 6 months later they closed the case without excluding Zenit from the UCL. Similar things happened to Rubin Kazan, FC Lokomotiv Moscow and FC Dynamo Moscow. In the past 5 years the state Russia has injected over €1.65 billion into these clubs.
​
Edit (10.11.18): New article
"Superagent" Pinhas Zahavi and his involvement in deals like Neymar to PSG
Let's start this with a quote by him to the investigative journalist meeting him: "So, listen: I did the biggest transfers in the history of world football. There isn't a big deal in the world where I'm not involved," the agent said. "There's no place in international football where I don't have influence and power."
The Israeli playeragent Pinhas Zahavi is one of the most powerful agents in world football, who is already way longer involved in football transfers than agents such as Mendes or Raiola, he already was part of transfers in the 1970s. He is known to position footballers against their colleagues, coaches and club bosses, and trying to forcefully push for a move to a new club. As an agent he is nearly invisible. He normally doesn't speak to press and does only "appear in the shadows". No one knows how much money he has floating around or which channels it is floating through. Many of the companies he owns or works for are located in tax heavens such as Gibraltar, Cyprus, Malta, British Virgin Islands. He engages law firms in Brazil and Israel to provide him legal support. He often joins forces with other superagents such as Mendes, or Ramadani. There were investigations against him, but never was anything illegal proven. Officially he is paying his taxes in Israel. Many of his companies have their business accounts at banks in Switzerland.
Last summer Lewandowski asked him for help, so that he could leave Bayern. Zahavi spoke with Lewandowski's agent Barthels, who told him that Bayern wouldn't agree to let him leave. He then went to the German newspaper Bild and openly told them that Lewandowski wants to leave and Bayern are aware of it, which made it on the frontpage. However he did not succeed with his plan to have Lewandowski leave Bayern.
However he was a vital part of the Neymar to PSG deal. He was noted as second agent, apart from Neymar Sr. and was due to receive €10.7+2M from that deal. Zahavi wanted that this would be paid to one of his companies in either Switzerland or Cyprus, but PSG didn't agree to it and after some angry emails he accepted that the money would be paid to his accounts in Israel.
His commissions are negotiated on a deal-by-deal basis and always by mobile phone, so there are often no concrete documents, which makes it harder to track it. Also his companies in tax paradises are often buying the transferrights of young (often underage) talents, for example Markovic to Liverpool of which Zahavi's company had half the transferrights.
​
Edit (10.11.18): Article was behind a paywall on Mediapart, so I used the summary of someone of soccer, hope everything is correct
More about Neymar's move to PSG and also the "loyalty-bonus"
PSG had to pay each of his agents – his father Neymar Senior and Israeli agent Pini Zahavi – a commission sum of 10.7M + 8.7M for Santos. Total price of his transfer: €252M. Zahavi received a 1.5M payement the first year + 2M/year the next 4 years conditional on Neymar remaining with the club. His father received 6M the first year + 3M the following year. The operation to bring Neymar to Paris was codenamed “Gold”. Over a period of five years, the 25-year-old will cost PSG a total of 528 million euros. PSG first proposed a salary of 25M per year, but Neymar would succeed in obtaining 30M/year, free, for him, of social charges and tax. Means 54.7M/year for PSG. PSG were unable to reach an agreement that Neymar would not enter into deals with sponsors who were rivals of the club’s sponsors. PSG lacked the funds to meet the huge cost of the transfer. Information gained by the EIC suggests it was Qatar Sport Investment (QSI), owner of the club, which paid the entire amount.
Neymar wanted to make sure he was paid a bonus payment promised by Barça. This was a bonus sum of 64M agreed when he prolonged his contract exactly one year earlier. He had been paid 21M, but their remained a further 43 million euros that FC Barcelona was committed to pay him by midnight on July 30th 2017 at the latest. On the morning of July 31st, the money transfer had still not been made. FC Barcelona informed Neymar that the 43 million euros had been deposited with a solicitor and will be released to him only if the player certifies that he will remain with the club. Since then, a legal battle continues. The player is still demanding payment of the 43M, FC Barcelona are demanding that the player pays the club 73M representing a total refund of the bonuses that were offered to him for prolonging his contract. On August 22nd 2017, Tebas lodged his complaint against PSG with UEFA, accusing the French club of violation of the European football associations’ ruling body’s financial fair play rules, and ten days later UEFA opened its investigation into the matter. The probe was opened against a backdrop of not only the pressure of La Liga, but also the anger against PSG of other enemies, including German club Bayern Munich.
According to documents obtained from Football Leaks, paying off of the cost of Neymar’s transfer plus the player’s salary would amount to a total of 528 million euros up until 2022, equivalent to 105 million euros per year. That meant that PSG would have to attract more than 100 million euros in extra revenue each year, or sell players to compensate for the difference. Including Mbappe the number rises to 166M. PSG asked Nike for a sponsorship deal worth 100 million euros per year. Nike declined because the contract with PSG, which they paid just more than 20 million euros per year, was not due to expire until 2022.

Introduction
It is said that there are as many ways to interpret magic as there are grains in the sands and stars in the sky. Even more so, when one takes into account the multitude of species existing in the world and their sundry perception of the world, stemming from the innate biological differences.
In the particular case of the Grazh, arcane traditions correlate with and closely follow the cultural quirks and oral traditions.
 
Overview
For starters, Grazh do not differentiate the magical from the natural. This seemingly paradoxical idea stems from the deeply rooted belief in the inherent spirituality of the world. The sky, the rivers, the winds - all the varying phenomena of nature are seen as the continuation of the intangible by the Grazh. When rain finally starts after drought, it is a sign of Sky showing kindness. If a river goes beyond the shores and floods the houses nearby - then the river must have been slighted in some way, or perhaps was feeling capricious as spirits do.
Such seemingly archaic beliefs, however, mean that magic is not perceived as something abnormal or unnatural. If a man starts spewing fire, then the fire spirits must have elected to share their power. If a woman can sense where salt deposits are hidden beneath the coastal rock - then the Sea or the Earth are guiding her senses.
The side effect of this concept is the interpretation of magic not as something randomly occurring and inherent in select individuals, but rather as something loaned - and requiring gratitude and respect. Over the centuries of cultural development, a Totem method was eventually coined.
 
Totems
A person’s totem is just what the name suggests - a tangible visualisation of the “patron spirit”. Whichever being is believed to have bestowed its powers upon the individual is assigned as the totem. There is little to no specialization between the clans of Grazh in regards to totems, with forest-dwellers just as likely to display underwater breathing as coastal villagers to exhibit plant manipulation.
Naturally, confusion can arise. For example, if a person can move rocks with their mind, is it a gift of the Rocks, or the Winds, or something else entirely? To mitigate the risks of not ascribing proper praise to the Patron, any person exhibiting magical powers is tested, usually at a young age when the gifts first manifest. Just as with many other duties, this task lays upon Tak-Azh¹ of each Dom, however many there might be. Relying upon centuries of orally transferred rituals (and personal wit) these learned men test the limits of the talents present. While generally harsh and exhausting for both parties involved, these tests are never expected to be lethal, for to harm a spirits’ chosen is to insults the spirits themselves.²
 
Totem types and examples
Broadly speaking, the totems can be classified into several categories:
Animalistic.
Formerly the most common group, harking back to the prehistoric days of the Grazh people, when understanding of the world was more limited and wild beasts were worshipped out of fear or gratitude. Indeed, if one swims like a fish, does that not mean a Fish spirit had bestowed this gift? It was only through long decades of philosophical and theological debates between the Tak-Azh that such gifts had begun to be seen as gifts of the Elements, or even the forces beyond the perception of mere mortals.
Some gifts, however, continue to elude such novel explanations, bringing back heathen practices and ancient, primeval ways (more on the specific gifts later).
While the complete list of animalistic totems is easily as large and diverse as the fauna of the Grazh, few are deserving of individual mention:

• Speckled Adder - Named after an iridescent, yet elusive snake native to the southern Grazh, the followers of this Totem are gifted with the ability to blend in with the surroundings. Their skin colour becomes mutable, able to perfectly match the background. Even the complex patchwork of the deep forest and the ever-shifting pattern of the grasslands flora are not beyond the power of an Adderite. Rumors claim that the more advanced adepts have even the power to shift the very texture of their skin, visually becoming as rocks or dirt upon which they are hiding, although the mages themselves are reluctant to reveal the truthfulness of such boasts.
  
• Verd - Those chosen by this Totem are exactly what one might expect from one of the most fearsome predators in the realm, the furious Verd. Verdites are strong, dwarfing even the already formidable muscle power of the Grazh. Their speed and reflexes are also heightened to match the wilderness raging within their souls. Finally, this totem grants a keen sense of smell. It is said a Verdite can track an individual Nak after a hunders-strong herd had passed by a week prior.³
  
• Fire Spider - The bright, crimson spiders are a stuff of legends in Grazh when it comes to the sheer lethality of an individual animal. While tiny, reaching only half a finger of maximum known length, it can kill an adult Grazh with a single bite. The same can be said about the Spider Mages, whose bodies produce a vast variety of toxins. Interestingly, not only do the poisons created in such a manner differ in effect, they also differ in physical properties and manifestation on the body. One Spider witch can cry blood clotting tears, another can breathe out noxious, fever-inducing gas, while other still could manifest tiny crystals of neurotoxin.
  
• Fly - The Fly totem is worth a particular mention not due to awesome powers or rarity, but as one of the few, if not only, totem to be outright hated by the Grazh. An Adderite may be found creepy as they appear seemingly from out of thin air. A Verdite may be met with enmity because of their quick temper and overreliance on brute force, while a Spider mage may be feared as their mere presence could mean death. But none are met with such contempt as the Fly - for Fly is a totem of filth. Flies fester upon the dead and the rotten, and so do those unlucky enough to exhibit its gifts. Fly warlocks seem to have a certain connection with death, able to sense - and consume - rotten and necrotic organic matter. The true scope of the Fly totem’s powers has never been explored, as all found “blessed” by this patron are immediately banished into the wild. Almost all die as a result, but grim legends persist, telling of hidden, unholy shrines in the darkest of woods and the most treacherous of morasses.
  

Many other Animalistic totems exist, such as those representing the aquatic fauna of the rivers and the strange molluscs of the Maelstrom sea, but many among the youngest generations find the concept to be outdated, archaic and undignified. Most, if not all, of the powers ascribed to the beasts can be found to be gifts of other, less personal sources. This brings us to the next category.
 
Elemental
Replacing Animistic totems as the most prominent and populous type are totems connected with the forces or inanimate objects of nature, such as fire or stone. One curious facet of this class is the relation established between the deified spirits of locations and entities, and the elements, associated with them. For example, Roica, the massive river and the centerpiece of the entire Grazh civilization is almost universally revered as the Great Mother and the giver of plenty, yet she is understood to carry water no different from waters in other, smaller rivers and springs. In that case, if a Grazh child displays an ability to shape water by will, which spring or river should be thanked for this gift?
Naturally, at the dawn of Totemic system, it was the individual objects that had received praise, but with the passing of centuries and countless debates, the consensus shifted in favor of the element itself. After all, if the wizard offers gratitude to water itself, does he not also revere all rivers and lakes in which the water flows? Such a seemingly impersonal agreement has been found to be a safer bet over trying to thank every single stream and well and risk offending another out of forgetfulness.
As a bonus, this approach allows to explain the limitations a magician may face, despite seemingly receiving gifts with a broader scope. Lightning, for example, is generally believed to be an expression of Sky’s wrath, but a Lightning Totem witch will not be expected to move clouds or make rain fall, despite these phenomena also being associated with the parental spirit.
The list of Elemental totems is fairly lengthy, but is generally what one might expect from warlocks of their own species and school of thought:

• Fire - Whether it’s breathing flames or summoning fireballs in one’s palm, the mages of this patron are hardly different from the fire mages among other races across the world.
  
• Water - Not necessarily able to shape water at will, Watermancers display other talents generally associated with this capricious element. Among the most common is the ability to breathe underwater⁴ and the significantly raised resistance to cold.
  
• Lightning - Despite association with one of nature’s most awe-inspiring and destructive manifestations, the followers of this totem have a rather benign reputation. Prized for their overall utility - being able to stun prey or make mass fishing finger-snapping easy - the wizards of the Lightning have also found limited use as healers, applying a fraction of their wondrous power to soothe the overburdened musculature of builders or clearing sinuses of the cold-struck.
  
• Wind - Once again, just what it says on the tin, with a few novelties mixed in. Wind warlocks can force the air to move by the force of will, however they are more often asked to quell the natural currents, as the torrents roaring above the steppes are a force to be reckoned with. Another type of sorcerer lumped into this class are the so-called Howlers - those with a gift to augment their voices beyond the nature-imposed limitations. Howlers are prized for their utility, serving both as long-distance messengers, exceptional cattle protectors and in other, more exotic roles.
  
• Salt - A minor totem, whose existence puzzles Tak-Azh to this day.
  
• Iron - A totem with importance that is hard to overestimate in such a metal-starved civilization as Grazh, Metal Mages display a variety of abilities - some more plain and straightforward (such as possessing naturally-growing iron alloy teeth), and some more sophisticated, such as the uncanny ability to sense the presence of specific metals in soil or handmade objects. Whether searching for ore deposits in northern bogs, or toiling at purifying iron in forges, Iron shamans are always a welcome sight.
  

Naturally, some gifts seem to defy explanation altogether, tied to phenomena beyond the limited science of Grazh - magnetism, radiation, or static electricity, while others are adjacent to the mysteries beyond the rational - dream-walking, mind-reading, or future divination. As such occurrences are seemingly impossible to connect with the elements or wild beasts, a different class of totems had eventually emerged.
 
Celestial
The newest and the least studied category. As a general rule, Celestial totems are attributed to those powers that don’t fit into the above categories or whose mechanisms are not understood at all. This includes moving objects regardless of their material, the ability to send or perceive thoughts and emotions, the ability to locate things by mentally picturing them, etcetera.
This gifts, seemingly bearing no connection to any real entity or natural phenomena, are ascribed to the workings of the spirits beyond - the stars, the sun, the aurora borealis (rare as it might be in the Grazh). To demonstrate a Celestial ability is the greatest gift of all, as it is seen as drawing attention of the mysterious powers by which the universe operates. It is also a great responsibility, as nothing short of greatness is expected from those blessed by the Beyond, with an added downside of less traditional lore to help train the fledgling mages.
As Grazh knowledge of the world grows, so does the list of the Celestial Totems:

• Sun - Initially grouped with the Fire totem, the mages under this benefactor differ in the manner their heat manifests. Unlike the flaming tongues of their more common brethren, Sun sorcerers emanate direct rays, oftentimes able to alternate between pure heat and pure light. Many, such as Blind Eye Ank-Da, are noted to emit beams directly from their eyes, while others do so from fingers and palms.
  
• Moon - The Pale Mistress holds many secrets, and among them are the strange talents of her chosen. The moonlight may not shine as bright as the sun, but it is noted to have an effect on the minds of men and beasts alike. Likewise, the mages of the moon are known to influence thoughts and dreams, rousing fears long thought overcome and soothing pains of the soul.
  
• Darkness-between-stars - The stars shine bright, yet darkness lingers in between. A totem with a reputation bordering on that of the Fly, it bestows the powers of shadow and darkness, a gift that is hard to master, but with immense potential. Ranging from parlor tricks, such as shifting one’s shadow despite the light present, to feats such as coating oneself entirely in a veil of impenetrable darkness, the powers of the Unlight await to be explored as thoroughly as those of the older patrons.
  
• Falling stars - As rare as their namesake, Falling Stars shine bright as they blaze their trail across the steppes. With a spectacular gift of speed, these spirit-blessed can outpace the raptors of the southern plains, running at velocities well beyond the biological limitation of the notoriously club-footed Grazh. But just like their patron, the impetuous mages of this totem rarely live long, succumbing to the side-effects of their amazing gift.
  

 
Commonly exhibited abilities & techniques
A few words must be spared for the magical powers themselves. As stated above, many of the Totem domains overlap, or are just plain confusing to differentiate. With that in mind, several disciplines deserve a mention.
 
Dowsing
A discipline with a long and storied history, dowsing proved to be instrumental in many breakthroughs of Grazh. Dowsers “home on” objects, with an almost physical sensation of where an object is. Usually, mages can only locate items belonging to their respective totems, such as Iron and Water, however the discovery of Celestial totems has broadened this school in new, breathtaking ways, permitting shamans to find practically anything, regardless of origin.⁵ For better performance, Dowsers utilize a Communion ritual, homing intensely on an entity of their Totem and meditating upon it, cleansing the mind from the external stimuli. After the ritual, the Dowsers can sense the desired targets with more clarity and precision.
 
Energy projection
This includes your fire breathers, your thunderbolt casters, and gaze-scorchers. While flashy and impressive, this category drains the mage’s mana rather quickly, requiring rigorous training and self-discipline.
 
Telekinesis
This type includes not only the classically understood “moving inanimate objects by will via arcane means”, but also the ability of the Elemental conjurers to manipulate their affiliated elements, such as Iron mages levitating metal nuggets, or Watermancers parting lakes. “True” telekinesis, not tied to any particular element, is only found among the Celestial totems, such as the Moon.
 
Cloaking
From Adderites blending their skin with the grass, to Darkness shamans obscuring their silhouettes with seemingly living shadow - the art of making oneself unseen is a long standing tradition of the Grazh, dating well beyond the discovery of magic and into the long-forgotten days before civilization. This also includes non-inherent techniques, such as Watermancers covering their bodies in river sand to blend with the shore.
 
Magic adjacent disciplines
Some disciplines, often associated with the use of magic fall on the shoulders of Tak-Azh and Doms. For instance, the painstaking process of finding the rare and hidden plants to be used as a medical potion often falls upon the shoulders of the resident alchemists and conjurers, but not so much in Grazh. Only those with the proper education and training of Tak-Azh are trusted to perform such duties^6, so unless the magician is one of those lucky enough to display the necessary mental fortitude, they will be excluded from such activities.
 
Additional information
Totem ranking
While no official hierarchy exists among the Totems, magicians themselves often argue on the merits of their patrons, especially if their gifts permit multifunctionality. A lightning totem adept, for example, may argue to be superior to a fire adept due to their ability to start fires, while having other uses. A firemancer could argue their ability to cook food without assistance as a retort.⁷
 
Name adaptation
Another noteworthy element of the Totem path is the naming convention. Generally, a Grazh name consists of a personal name and the name of his or her’s Dom, with nicknames sometimes used to simplify the addressing or to avoid confusion. In the case of the magicians, their patron Totem’s name is added after the Dom, to signify their newfound affiliation with the spirits. For example, a boy named Erg from the Dom Vra-Ak who can produce flames from his palms will be known as “Erg of Vra-Ak of Fire”.
Informal address, for example between members of the same Dom, usually skips the clan name, but must retain totem name. Not using totem name when addressing the mage directly is a usually sign of extreme intimacy, and is never used without explicit approval of the sorcerer himself.
 
Magical paraphernalia
Mages often wear objects associated with their Patron, believing them to either contain a fraction of the Totem’s blessings, or to serve as a means of communication with their unseen benefactor.⁸ For example, a Firemancer could carry a shard of flint or a still-warm ember.
Of particular note are Lightning mages, who spend days upon days, searching the sandy dunes for precious fulgurite fragments - a testimony to their totem’s power and a direct connection to the patron spirit. The fulgurite is then cleaned from excess sand and is fashioned into an amulet, depending on the size and shape of the specific fragment. The smallest ones are threaded with thin rope and worn over neck and limbs, while the larger ones are worn as rings. The latter are a sign of prestige not only among the mages, but among the Grazh in general.
 
Multiple totems
It is not unknown for a warlock to display powers related to different totems, however most often it is a sign of Tak-Azh failing to properly assess the spirit-blessed. In this case, a secondary set of trials is held, so the magician can determine his or her benefactor once and for all. The previously assumed totem, however, is not shunned, as the failure lies with the Wiseman and not the spirit.
Yet, there are recorded few who have manifested gifts from vastly distant patrons, such as Dom-Ka Ernohd. Not only could this esteemed Grazh project rays of scorching heat from his eyes, he could also turn his skin hard as a rock. Such individuals are as rare among the mages, as mages are among the general population, and their status can be compared to that of a saint in other races.
 
Miscellaneous
Despite the decades of trying, Grazh do not fly. Not even the Wind mages. Not even the Falling Stars.
 
Necromancy is all but unknown among the Grazh, as meddling with dead matter is the prerogative of the Fly. And the Fly has no place among the Grazh.
 
Mana by itself in unknown to Grazh mages, due to their view of the arcane, however the relationship between the prolonged usage of strange talents, the well-being of the sorcerer and the condition of the nature around is recognized and noted. Generally speaking, mana drain from environment is explained as “spirits needing to rest”. Warlocks getting exhausted from moving rocks or spewing flame is understood as getting tired from any other labour - physical or mental.
 
Conclusion
Despite the incorrect premise of the Grazh view on magic, the efficiency of the shamans and witches is beyond reproach. Perhaps one day this school of thought will be forgotten, replaced by the ideas loaned elsewhere in this growingly connected world. As it stands, however, the Totemic way of Grazh is a distinctive approach to the unknown and an integral part of the culture in their windswept, insular lands.
 
Footnotes

1. The responsibilities of Tak-Azh are manifold, as they are the keepers of folklore, technical know-how, spiritual practices and more.
   
2. While this may appear as a direct route for creation of a whole class of magically-empowered enfants terribles, the teachings of Tak-Azh emphasise the notion that whatever power the child may have, it is not their own. To abuse this power is to abuse the gift of the Unseen and to commit Injustice. And harming those who commit Injustice is only fair.
   
3. An exaggeration, of course, but only a mild one.
   
4. Or at least to hold their breath long enough to be mistaken for actual aquatic respiration.
   
5. It’s important to note that the mage’s performance relies heavily on how specific the and how far the target is. For example, locating a spoon the shaman forgot under his cot is trivial, discovering a freshwater spring in a hilly area where water is expected will take time and effort, while finding “all iron in the world”, as requested by one notorious Dom Jek, is downright impossible.
   
6. Although charlatans, of course, exist and will sell you snake oil that ‘cures all ailments and makes your sweat smell like steppe flowers in spring’ without batting an eye.
   
7. A good firestream to the face can also serve as an argument, but wasting magic on petty violence is a quick way to exile and/or death.
   
8. In reality, these fetishes only help channeling magician’s own power, serving as a focus and helping to get into the required state of mind.
   

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Despite which is it, via the next paragraphs we will certainly be specifying the aspects of a good sports representative, which need to enable you to pick a sports bookie that feels right to you.
First off, you need to establish whether you wish to deal with a "traditional sports bookie" or a sportsbook. By "standard sports bookie" I am describing people who have a tendency to a few unique clients, and already, I'll describe them as sport bookies or bookies (even if sportsbooks can be classified as sporting activity bookmakers as well).
Before moving on, let me offer a word of caution; if bookies are not enabled to exercise their occupation in your nation (or state/city), do not bet with them. Although you will probably have the ability to find sports bookies that works "in the shadows" within your city, if he gets caught you could shed money.
Continuing with the main subject, both alternatives present benefits and also disadvantages for us as clients.
Allow's begin by evaluating sportsbooks advantages and also disadvantages.
Sportsbooks (at the very least the ones with a solid track record) manage 10s or numerous hundreds of gamers at any type of provided moment, which means they create even more revenue and can pay for to pay when you win. Likewise, they have customer support representatives offered 24/7. If you incorporate those two variables with the reality that you can put your bet in a matter of seconds - either by calling or online -, their benefit comes to be quite obvious when taking into consideration comfort as an aspect.
On the other hand, sportsbooks will certainly never be able to use you personalized attention.
What's more, sportsbooks typically charge a set amount when you want to withdraw your cash. If you are a high-roller you won't also observe the distinction, however if you are gambling with percentages as well as aiming to take out simply a few hundred bucks you will certainly observe it.
Moving the spotlight over to sports bookies, it can be stated that these deal less advantages and more disadvantages; yet, some individuals choose to bet with them.
When using the services offered by a bookie in order to wager, your bet will certainly have a greater expense. Since these are "independent service providers" and also they give their services to a limited amount of clients, they bill higher costs in order to compensate for a lack of quantity.
Then, utilizing their services suggests a higher danger relating to not getting paid. They could quickly "vanish" in an immediate if they want.
Simply two adverse elements remain. First, they will put limits on wagers (often), as well as 2nd, it's hard to get in touch with them in some cases.
Now let's speak about the few benefits that are obtained when picking a sporting activities bookie as opposed to a sportsbook.
When "working" with a sporting activities bookie, there is no record of your incomes or losses. This means you can win millions as well as stay clear of paying any of it in taxes (not strictly lawful though). Also, because they have less clients (generally a really choose list), they tend to supply a customized solution.
A word of caution; sports bookies have a tendency to be quite skilled in the art of seduction. That does not indicate you'll be taking your trousers off, yet they can be encourage you into betting for a certain group, so beware of that skill.
Essentially, the benefits of picking a "traditional sports bookie" as your method are reduced to preventing tax obligations as well as personalized attention.
That's why I stated that sports bookies are not the noticeable choice, however many individuals favor them.
If you are going to choose a "traditional bookie", don't let them understand where you live, how much cash you make, or any type of delicate information; no matter if s/he becomes your "friend" for a while.
Additionally, make sure they are providing you a bargain, or else it isn't worth your time.
On the other hand, if you're taking the sensible course and choosing a sportsbook rather, it's just a matter of choosing a business that's been more than 10 years on the marketplace as well as has a great reputation amongst gamblers.
In the past, it was difficult for those who intend to place their bank on their favorite groups without making it through the conventional route - sporting activities wagering bookie. Today, one can now have access to genuine on the internet sporting activities wagering bookie - referred to as gaming house in betting parlance.
For those that are new to this form of online betting, it is important to note that there is even more to it than just locating the possible winning picks and obtaining your payouts. There are various other elements of the on-line betting procedure that require to be thought about especially by those that are doing sporting activities investing for the first time.
For instance, payments for football stakes are not necessarily made on straight wagers which as usually defined as wagers that have no variations as well as totally based on the final result of the game. Probabilities as well as spreads enter play in the betting process and this is where sporting activities wagering bookie participates in the picture. A genuine as well as strong on the internet bookie will certainly provide equitable betting lines that will make sure fair game for stakeholder including your house as well as gamers.
One may question why straight bets are not involved. Clearly, there are teams that carry out far better than the rest as well as if you have group that totes a 12-0 win-loss slate deals with another team with 1-11 win-loss document, 9 out of every 10 wagers would be going with the team with the much better win-loss document. This can not be maintained over time and will inevitably break the bank if the favored group appears victorious. This "imbalance" generates wagering lines and chances.
The sports bookie will essentially provide gaming fanatics with a line where the favored team is burdened. This handicapping process eliminates some factors off the preferred group and given to the group that is thought about an underdog. This is the adverse figure that is normally designated to the favored team and also factored into the last end result of the match.
The lines and odds are not randomly selected by the on the internet sports wagering bookie. The numerical variety is acquired after complete research study and also careful consideration of the gamer schedules, injury reports, win-loss records and also various other considerable criteria.
Locating the right online bookie is not a simple task. Actually, betting experts specify the experience as some type of finding the proverbial needle in a haystack. This indicates that the task require a lot of research study and also you will be at the top of your game once you have finished your job.
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